LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 12: Starling Marte #0 of the Kansas City Royals looks on after striking out during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Royals will get some familiar faces back in the lineup tonight with the return of Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia. Both players were activated from the Injured List today, but to make room for them, the Royals demoted infielder Josh Rojas and designated outfielder Starling Marte for assignment. The team also added left-hander Connor Thomas to the bullpen, and demoted Jose Cuas.
Marte signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Royals in spring training as a veteran bat to bolster the outfield. The 37-year-old mostly played against lefties, appearing in 59 games, hitting .242/.298/.314 with two home runs in 168 plate appearances.
Pasquantino has been out three weeks after reinjuring his hand. It has been a rough year for the 28-year-old. He has battled hand injuries and is batting just .232/.318/.345 with just six home runs in 79 games. Jac Caglianone has been filling in at first base and has seen his bat take off. He moves back to right field tonight, with Pasquantino back at first base.
Garcia has been out since late June with a muscle strain in his hand. He was set to return in late July, but had a setback in his rehab. His numbers are also down from last year, although he has been near league-average with a line of .261/.320/.373, although with just five steals in 69 games. Garcia is in the lineup tonight hitting fourth, with Pasquantino hitting fifth.
Connor Thomas was claimed off waivers from the Athletics earlier this month, and the Royals are the fifth organization he has played for. The 28-year-old lefty appeared in two games with the Brewers last year, and two with the Braves this year. He has a 2.40 ERA in 41.1 innings of relief in the minors this season. With Daniel Lynch IV pitching in the rotation, Thomas is the only lefty in the bullpen.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 13: Blake Snell #7 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks across the field after the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game one of the National League Championship Series at American Family Field on October 13, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In a meeting of two pitchers who began their careers in the AL East, Blake Snell leads the Dodgers against Tomoyuki Sugano and the Rockies. This visit to Coors Field comes at an opportune time for a struggling offense, having just lost three out of four against the Brewers at home. The Dodgers averaged a terrible 2.5 runs per game, with the spotlight on Kyle Tucker’s hitless homestand, but between Brewers pitching and Rockies pitching, one could fill nearly as large a gap as you’ll find in baseball.
It’s only fitting that after speaking out on the challenges he faced in a rehab outing in Salt Lake City, having difficulty in making the ball move as he intended, Snell makes his first road start in Coors Field. Weirdly—despite having played in the National League West for the last six years—Snell hasn’t made a start in Colorado since 2023, when he went against his poor track record in Coors to toss a magnificent outing for the Padres, striking out 12 in seven innings and allowing just one run.
While pitching in Colorado has been uncommon for Snell recently, second-year starter Tomoyuki Sugano wants to avoid a third loss in as many starts versus the Dodgers, currently in his best form of the season. Sugano is on a run of five starts without allowing more than three earned runs—three of them at home—having led Colorado to a win in four of them. Based on what they paid for him, committing a little over $5 million, Sugano has been a terrific signing, the Rockies’ best starting pitcher on the season by a wide margin with a 110 ERA+.
The Yankees have enjoyed one of the best pitching runs I can remember this team providing, each and every starter taking their turn in the rotation and delivering while the bullpen holds their own in the backend of games. Unfortunately, it has coincided with one of the most futile offensive performances I can remember from a Yankees team, rivaling the days of the 2013-2014 squads that had no business winning as many games as they ultimately did. Unlike them this year’s Yanks are meant to be contenders, and still can be if they get more outings like Wednesday’s 10-run outburst or even the four runs they put up on Sunday with an extra frame.
Reinforcements are finally beginning to show up on the horizon, Cody Bellinger set to start his rehab assignment later this week. Giancarlo Stanton doesn’t have a definitive timeline yet, but he appears to be the second-closest starter while Aaron Judge remains in limbo. Can Bellinger return back at full strength, or will he continue his summer struggles? Will the deadline additions start to heat up, or have they added to the collective struggles on offense? Is Ben Rice about to turn a corner after his big two-run blast? If you have questions like these, or anything else on your mind, send ‘em in for a chance to be featured in our Yankees mailbag.
Answers will run on Friday afternoon. All questions received by the night of August 20th will be considered. You can leave your submissions in the comment section below or by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 09: Head Coach Jordi Fernandez of the Brooklyn Nets reacts during the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center on April 09, 2026 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jordan Bank/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Nets fans and fans across the country.
Whatever win total you have in mind for the Brooklyn Nets, double it before you ask Jordi Fernandez.
For whatever it means to the Nets, oddsmakers and pundits don’t project win totals based on what a head coach thinks about his team. Brooklyn added three-time All-Star Julius Randle and clearly improved this offseason, but the Eastern Conference only got stronger following the Knicks first championship in 53 years.
Eastern Conference Offseason Moves: Which NBA Stars Moved East?
LeBron James joined a loaded 76ers team with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown in Philadelphia.
Kawhi Leonard is headed to the Toronto Raptors. Still pending.
Trae Young, Anthony Davis, and 2026 No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa are all new additions for the Washington Wizards.
That’s at the very least. Tyrese Haliburton (torn Achilles tendon) returns to an Indiana Pacers team that made the NBA Finals two seasons ago. Giannis Antetokounmpo is headed to the Miami Heat from Milwaukee, jolting a new championship-contending era for Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra.
With all of this said, it’s all talk until the games are played. FanDuel has the Nets winning 24.5 games this season after they won 20 in 2025-26.
How many games do YOU think the Nets will win in the 2026-27 season?
DYERSVILLE, IA - AUGUST 13: Bryson Stott #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies talk with the media prior to the MLB Field of Dreams game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Minnesota Twins at MLB Field at Field of Dreams on Thursday, August 13, 2026 in Dyersville, Iowa. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Since the All-Star Break, Bryson Stott has been one of the better hitters in the game. His 1.6 fWAR is third in the game amongst hitters, behind only Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jackson Merrill, his 163 wRC+ tenth among all qualified hitters during that same time. It has made his overall numbers look much better on the season and brought about another round of an interesting question:
The chances of teams offering extensions prior to a CBA coming together are probably nil as teams want to see what the financial landscape of the future looks like, yet locking up Stott could also offer a modicum of financial stability for that future. Getting into comparisons would be foolhardy as there aren’t really many comps to what Stott can offer, but dig hard enough and you could probably find one.
We’ll check back on the results later in the week.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Phillies fans and fans across the country.
Toledo and Louisville tied the series 3-3 with Sunday’s result.
Dylan File wasn’t too sharp, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk. The big swing — a three-run homer — came in the third from Juan Brito. Louisville took a 3-0 lead and never looked back. The Bats tacked on insurance runs in the fourth and fifth, the latter coming on a solo home run off Yilber Diaz in relief.
Diaz wasn’t great either. He walked a pair in the sixth and needed Jack Little to get out of the inning. Little worked through the seventh, navigating his way around a double and a walk. Ricky Vanasco was the only Toledo arm to not allow a base hit, but he did walk the leadoff man in the ninth. A 4-6-3 double play allowed him to face the minimum, however.
The Mud Hens didn’t do a ton at the plate, mustering just five hits on the day. Zebby Zavala was the only one with multiple hits, including his first double with the team. Zavala has slashed .467/.619/.733 over six games with Toledo. He’s also walked (5) nearly as much as he’s struck out (6).
Jace Jung delivered the only run of the game for the Hens. Jung doubled in Jack Goodman in the fifth. A better left fielder would have tracked this one down, but it was still a well-struck ball.
It was a 5-1 week for Erie, but things got hairy in the final inning of the series on Sunday. Four of the nine runs scored in this one came in the ninth, and the difference ended up being an error by the Yard Goats.
Kenny Serwa was excellent, allowing just one run on two hits and three walks over seven innings. He only had two strikeouts, but knuckleballers are going to have those soft-contact kind of days. Erie built up a 4-0 lead for him before Hartford finally got on the board in the seventh.
Thayron Liranzo got the scoring started for the SeaWolves in the fourth with a solo home run, his 13th of the year. Seth Stephenson and Zyhir Hope both singled in runs in the fifth to put Erie ahead by four.
Zyhir Hope works an 8-pitch AB and then rips a 2-run single up the middle to put Erie up 4-0. pic.twitter.com/JQqTqGtxnF
Colin Fields tried to close out the final two innings, but he ran into trouble in the ninth. A leadoff walk and a single turned dangerous after a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position.
Which base the runners were on ended up being inconsequential, however, when Cole Messina hit a three-run homer to make it a one-run game. Fortunately, Patrick Lee scored in the top of the ninth on a bobbled grounder by the second baseman.
Tyler Owens took over for Field and got the final two outs, ending it on a strikeout.
Hope: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K
Liranzo: 1-5, HR (13), R, RBI, 2 K
Serwa (W, 6-8): 7.0 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves host the New Hampshire Fisher Cats next week, starting Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. ET.
West Michigan Whitecaps 12, Lansing Lugnuts 6 (box)
West Michigan also took the series 5-1, and it ended with a 12-run barrage.
The Whitecaps hit four homers in this one, including a pair in the first. Jackson Strong and Bryce Rainer opened the game going back-to-back. It’s Rainer’s third game in a row going deep. The kid is on fire once again.
Just gonna post the first two pitches of the game for… reasons ✌️
After Campbell’s two-run single, Lansing walked three straight batters, resulting in two more runs. Then, Nolan McCarthy hit a grand slam to make it 11-0. The best part about this rally is that it all came with two outs on the board. Sure, it took a bit of a meltdown from the Lugnuts’ pitching staff, but one mistake stops the big inning from happening completely.
Rainer notched another RBI with a single in the seventh, getting West Michigan to a clean dozen runs. Connor Fenlong comfortably left the game after six innings of shutout ball. Fenlong struck out six and allowed just three hits and one walk.
Bryce Rainer bounces an RBI single through the infield to put the Whitecaps up 12-0. pic.twitter.com/PE9Sezcvtk
Moises Rodriguez got the seventh. He gave up a leadoff single but induced a double play to stop Lansing from scoring. He walked the next batter and gave up a single, which definitely would have resulted in a run, before getting the third out.
Rodriguez couldn’t make magic happen two innings in a row, though. A leadoff double ended up scoring in the eighth. Jalen Evans took over for Rodriguez with a man on second and one out, but he gave up a two-run homer that put a run on both of their records.
Evans came back out for the ninth, but he loaded the bases with just one out. Logan Berrier had to close it out, but not before allowing all three runners to score on back-to-back hits. At least, the Whitecaps had a big enough cushion that six runs over the final two frames didn’t really matter.
Rainer: 2-4, HR (13), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K
Campbell: 2-4, HR (8), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
McCarthy: 2-4, HR (2), 2 R, 4 RBI
Fenlong (W, 3-1): 6.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, BB, 6 K
Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps are in South Bend next week, starting Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET.
The Flying Tigers secured a 4-2 series win on Sunday, beating Bradenton comfortably in the finale. Timely hitting and good pitching led the way.
Grayson Grinsell got the start, and he delivered four innings of one-hit ball for Lakeland. Grinsell has been solid this month, allowing just two runs on four hits over nine innings. His walks are a bit high at nine, but he’s still struck out 12.
Carlos Rodriguez made his third appearance — and second of the week — for Lakeland in relief of Grinsell. He worked a 1-2-3 fifth inning with a strikeout.
Xiomer Guacache was next out of the bullpen. He gave three innings of one-hit ball, striking out three and walking as many. Frenny Grant made his second appearance of the week in the ninth, but he couldn’t finish off the shutout. A walk and a couple of singles got Bradenton on the board, but Grant had four runs to work with.
Two of those four runs came early for Lakeland. Javier Osorio doubled in Jesus Pinto in the second, and Jordan Yost brought Osorio around right after.
Make it 2-0 Lakeland after Jordan Yost hits a dribbler in the right spot and Javier Osorio speeds home from 2nd. @AaronArnstein on the call. pic.twitter.com/Xxn6No9jM9
Michael Oliveto scored an insurance run in the sixth, leading off the inning with a double and coming home on a Nick Dumesnil single. Pinto added the fourth run in the eighth, singling with Dumesnil on base.
Jesus Pinto pokes an RBI single to right to score Nick Dumesnil and put Lakeland up 4-0. pic.twitter.com/kECbtFbyKI
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 08: Joe Espada #19 hands the ball to Alimber Santa #72 of the Houston Astros to pitch to the Washington Nationals during the fifth inning at Nationals Park on July 08, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Astros fans, let me start by saying I sincerely hope I’m wrong.
Maybe I’m overreacting to one series. Maybe losing two out of three to the Mariners was nothing more than a disappointing weekend against a division rival.
But I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen this movie before.
As impressive as the Astros have been in fighting their way out of another enormous early-season hole and climbing all the way back into first place, watching this weekend’s series against Seattle gave me some of the same uncomfortable vibes I had a year ago.
The Astros spent so much energy digging themselves out of trouble that you have to wonder whether they have enough left in the tank to finish the job.
That’s what happened last season.
Houston fought, scratched and clawed its way back into contention and eventually put itself in position to control its own destiny. But after expending so much energy just getting there, the Astros couldn’t finish the job. They ran out of gas down the stretch and ultimately fell short of the postseason.
Could we be watching it happen again?
That’s the concern.
Losing two of three to Seattle isn’t a disaster by itself. The games were competitive, the series was close, and nobody should be hitting the panic button because of one weekend in August.
It’s what we’re seeing underneath those losses that’s troubling.
The bullpen suddenly looks shaky.
Starting pitchers who performed well for much of the season aren’t consistently pitching deep into games or commanding the strike zone the way they did earlier in the year. That puts additional pressure on a bullpen that has already shown signs of vulnerability.
One problem starts feeding another.
Then there’s the offense.
Yordan Alvarez may very well be on his way to winning the American League MVP award, and we’ve watched him put this offense on his back repeatedly throughout the season.
But opponents aren’t stupid.
They know what Yordan can do, and increasingly they’re deciding they’re simply not going to allow him to beat them. They’ll pitch around him, take their chances with the hitters behind him and force somebody else in the Astros lineup to make them pay.
That’s where the problems begin.
Jeremy Peña has cooled off after playing at an incredibly high level. Isaac Paredes has certainly produced, but Houston needs more consistency from him. Christian Walker had a strong first half but has fallen off considerably.
And then there’s the outfield.
How many different ways can we describe the same problem?
It’s been a revolving door of mediocrity for much of the season, with the Astros seemingly waiting for somebody, anybody, to get hot and take control of an everyday job.
That hasn’t happened.
The trade for Daulton Varsho was supposed to help solve the problem, but so far it hasn’t produced anything close to the return Houston needs after giving up a starting pitcher like Spencer Arrighetti, who came with several additional years of team control.
There’s still time for Varsho to turn things around and make an impact.
But the Astros don’t have unlimited time.
That’s what makes the next couple of series so important.
Houston has two very winnable series coming up. This is an opportunity to create some separation in the division, rebuild momentum and perhaps put some of these concerns to rest.
It’s also an opportunity to prove this team has learned from what happened a year ago.
Because we’ve seen the other version of the Astros, too.
We’ve watched them play down to the level of their competition far too often. Instead of taking care of teams they’re supposed to beat, they’ve dropped series—and sometimes gotten swept—by clubs like the Angels and Athletics.
Those are the losses that come back to haunt you in September.
At this point in the season, you can’t give games away.
The Astros have already done the hard part.
They survived the terrible start. They survived the injuries. They survived stretches where it looked like the season might be slipping away. They fought all the way back and put themselves in first place.
Now they have to finish.
That’s why this weekend against Seattle bothered me more than perhaps it should have.
It wasn’t simply losing two out of three.
It was the feeling that came with it.
The feeling that the pitching isn’t quite as sharp. The bullpen isn’t quite as reliable. The offense is leaning too heavily on Yordan Alvarez, and too many other hitters aren’t producing consistently enough around him.
It felt familiar.
Maybe too familiar.
The good news is the Astros have plenty of time to prove that feeling wrong.
The next two series provide the perfect opportunity.
Beat the teams you’re supposed to beat. Create some distance in the division. Take pressure off yourselves heading into September and prove that all the energy spent climbing back into this race hasn’t emptied the tank.
I’ll be watching closely this week with my fingers crossed, hoping this team puts my concerns to rest.
Because after everything the Astros have overcome this season, it would be incredibly disappointing to watch them climb all the way back to the top only to stumble again before reaching the finish line.
So Astros fans, where are you right now?
Are you confident this team has enough left to win the division and get back to playoff baseball?
Or did this weekend against Seattle leave you with that same uneasy feeling that we’ve seen this story before?
The family, which has had ownership stakes in the Lakers since the late Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the franchise in 1979, is selling its remaining ownership stake in the franchise to businessman Josh Kushner and former The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger.
Jeanie Buss during a Lakers game on Oct. 13, 2023. ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the family said in a statement to ESPN. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
Once the sale is official, Jeanie Buss will no longer be able to be the Lakers Governor.
She’s been the franchise’s Governor after her father died in February 2013.
The NBA requires that all Governors have an ownership stake of at least 15% of the franchise to be in the role.
The Buss family’s remaining shares in the Lakers was close to 18% of the franchise.
When Walter purchased the majority ownership of the Lakers from the Buss family, the league announced that Buss would remain the team’s Governor for a period of at least five years.
“We have enormous respect and appreciation for Jeanie, her father and what they’ve contributed to this franchise,” Iger told the Post. “And we have every intention to honor the agreement that was made between Mark and Jeanie. If things change, they’ll change, but we’re going into this with enormous respect and appreciation for who she is and what she represents in the organization.”
Things changed.
The Buss family trust, which includes six of Jerry Buss’ children – Jeanie, Johnny, Jim, Janie, Joey and Jesse – needed a majority vote (four out of six) to allow the trustees to sell their shares.
Now, the trustees will execute the sale.
ESPN reported Jeanie didn’t vote to sell the family’s ownership stake in the Lakers, while the other five siblings in the trust did.
Kushner and Iger are buying around 65% of the Lakers in their deal with Walter, meaning they’ll own around 83% of the franchise once the sales are official.
Walter, who’s the CEO of Guggenheim Partners and TWG Global, will wind up being the majority owner of the Lakers for less than a year.
The news of him selling the Lakers came amid a federal investigation into Walter and some of his business practices. It was recently reported that the FBI seized Walter’s phone and laptop, as well as a top Guggenheim Investments executive last year.
That news prompted speculation that the Lakers sale was a quick way to liquify assets for any potential legal troubles facing Walter.
It could take several weeks, or months, before the sales of the Lakers are official.
The transactions still need to be approved by the league’s Board of Governors, with the next board meeting scheduled for mid-September in New York.
Kushner also must sell his minority ownership stake in the Heat before he can officially become the Lakers’ co-majority owner.
The Buss family has owned the Lakers since May 1979, when Jerry Buss bought the franchise from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million. The deal also included the NHL’s Kings and the Forum in Inglewood.
Buss sold the Kings to Bruce McNall in 1988, and sold the Forum in 1999 ahead of the Lakers’ move to Staples Center (now known as Crypto.com Arena).
The Lakers have won 11 championships since Jerry Buss purchased the franchise 1979, which is the most by any NBA team during that span.
Heading into the 2026-27 San Jose Sharks season, a number of players will be chasing various milestones. Some of those milestones will be major, career-defining ones, while others will mark an important stepping stone for future accomplishments.
The first player we're going to spotlight for a potential milestone is veteran forward Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli, 34, has been around the NHL for a decade and a half at this stage, and he's nearing a milestone that not many players are able to hit. Assuming he stays healthy and in the lineup on a nightly basis, he should play his 1,000th career NHL game in the Sharks' 31st game of the season against the New York Rangers on December 3.
A second round pick of the Los Angeles Kings during the 2010 NHL Draft, Toffoli spent the formative years of his career with the Sharks' rival. He spent eight seasons, and 515 games, representing Los Angeles to start his career before he became somewhat of a journeyman. He's gone on to play 119 games for the Calgary Flames, 89 for the Montreal Canadiens, 61 for the New Jersey Devils, 18 for the Winnipeg Jets, 10 for the Vancouver Canucks, and he's currently at 157 games with the Sharks.
So far, there have been just 421 players in NHL history to record 1,000 career games played. A few active NHLers, namely Ian Cole of the Chicago Blackhawks, Taylor Hall of the Carolina Hurricanes, and unrestricted free agent Reilly Smith, have the possibility of hitting the 1,000 game threshold before Toffoli does though, as they're very close to the milestone themselves.
Toffoli's role with the Sharks heading into the season is a bit up in the air. Although he'll likely be taking a bottom-six spot this time around, he should have no issues being in the lineup enough to play his 1,000th career game.
The Calgary Flames enter the 2026-27 season with plenty of uncertainty, but also plenty of opportunity. This is a young team still searching for its identity, with several players facing important seasons as the organization continues to build toward the future.
There are no shortage of storylines heading into training camp. Some are obvious, while others could ultimately shape the direction of the season. From a veteran looking to get back to his best, to young players trying to establish themselves as part of the Flames’ long-term plans, these are three questions to watch closely as the season gets underway.
Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Can Jonathan Huberdeau Find His Game Again?
For the Calgary Flames, few questions carry more weight heading into the season than Jonathan Huberdeau.
The 33-year-old is coming off a frustrating 2025-26 campaign that was limited to just 50 games. He began the season dealing with the effects of a concussion suffered in a preseason collision before eventually returning to the lineup. Huberdeau finished the year with 25 points (10g, 15a), but managed four points (2g, 2a) over his final five games before the Flames shut him down for season-ending hip resurfacing surgery.
It was another difficult chapter for a player whose Calgary tenure has been a far cry from the 115-point season he put together with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22.
Over his four seasons with the Flames, Huberdeau has averaged 48.5 points and 72.75 games per season. Calgary needs more from him offensively, but his impact won’t be measured solely by points.
The 24th overall pick from the 2020 NHL Draft finished last season with 12 goals and 25 points in 74 games. The production wasn’t what the Flames would have hoped for, but his usage is an important part of the story. Zary spent much of the season in a checking, fourth-line role rather than playing the top-six minutes he’s capable of handling.
Whether Zary remains in Calgary or ultimately becomes part of a trade, there is still plenty of offensive upside there. A strong training camp, a little more confidence and a bigger opportunity could give him the chance to show what he can really bring.
For a young Flames team looking for internal growth, Zary becoming a legitimate offensive contributor would be a significant development.
What’s the Next Step for Zayne Parekh?
There was plenty to like about Zayne Parekh’s rookie season, but there was also an obvious area that needed work.
The 20-year-old, selected ninth overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, occasionally looked physically overwhelmed against the pace and strength of NHL competition. That’s not necessarily surprising for a young defenceman, but it will be one of the biggest areas to watch as he enters his second season.
Parekh needs to find the balance between the offensive instincts that made him a ninth-overall pick and the physical strength and defensive reliability required to become a dependable NHL defenceman.
A full summer of professional-level training should help. If Parekh can make that adjustment, the Flames could have another important piece of their young core ready to take a significant step forward.
Los Angeles, CA - February 22: Jeanie Buss during the statue unveiling for former Lakers coach Pat Riley in Star Plaza in front of Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 22, 2026. Riley won 4 championships as Lakers head coach. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images
The Buss family, officially, no longer owns the Los Angeles Lakers.
Less than a week after Bob Iger and Josh Kushner purchased Mark Walter’s stake in the franchise, the Buss family opted to sell its remaining nearly 18% in the Lakers to the pair as well, as reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.
Breaking: The Buss family has decided to sell its remaining 17.8% ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to new majority owners Josh Kushner and Bob Iger, sources tell ESPN.
The Buss family trust — composed of siblings Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — received… pic.twitter.com/hPVqOvsuZ0
“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction. We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”
Iger and Kushner will not own 100% of the team — at least not yet — as Patrick Soon-Shiong still maintains a minority stake in the Lakers. The LA Times reported last week that he intended to remain a minority owner.
Among the many ramifications of this sale is that Jeanie Buss will no longer be governor of the team. League rules mandate the team’s governor must own at least 15% of the team.
However, according to Yaron Weitzman, who has been around the Lakers since writing a recent book on the LeBron James era, the five other siblings decided to sell the team, ousting Jeanie as governor in the process.
Follow-up reporting: The tag-along clause was executed after the other five siblings sent Jeanie signatures stating that they wanted the family to sell its shares, according to a source. https://t.co/OD06hOjVah
This sale will completely remove the Buss family from the Lakers. Calling it the end of an era would certainly be an understatement.
Dr. Jerry Buss bought the team in 1979 and the family maintained majority ownership through the sale to Mark Walter in 2025. When/if this sale becomes official, it will end over four decades of ownership by the Buss family.
While the transition from the Buss family to Walter felt like an attempt to keep something close to the status quo, particularly with keeping Jeanie involved, this feels like wiping the slate clean. That certainly may not be a bad thing.
Since Dr. Buss’s passing, drama has defined the family’s ownership. Over the last 10 years, Jeanie has fired every sibling from the franchise, culminating in Joey and Jesse’s abrupt end last fall. However, it appears the siblings made the biggest call.
Now, we’ll head into a completely new era of the Lakers, a phrase that’s been repeated multiple times over the last 18 months. But with the Buss family out and LeBron no longer donning the purple and gold, the franchise will get a fresh start on and off the court.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are getting one of their biggest power hitting threats back for the stretch run.
Outfielder Oneil Cruz has been activated from the 60-day injured list on Monday, Aug. 17 after he was seen with the team at PNC Park over the weekend, according to team reporter Jason Mackey. He has not played since June 6 because of fractures in his left hand.
GM Ben Cherington was cautious about expectations for the outfielder Sunday.
“It’s possible, for any player who had [left hand fourth and fifth metacarpal non-displaced fractures], it might not feel 100% even until the offseason,” Cherington told reporters.
“It’s really a matter of listening to Oneil about where he is. You can imagine, for Oneil specifically, the amount of trauma that he creates with how fast he swings the bat and what happens at contact.”
Cruz has 14 homers and 44 RBIs in 64 games so far in 2026. His .822 OPS was on track to be a career best over a full season before his injury. In the corresponding roster move, infielder Ronny Simon was optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis.
In another noteworthy roster move, relief pitcher Yohan Ramirez had be reinstated from the paternity list while Hunter Barco was optioned back to the minors. He’s been one of the team’s few reliable relievers in 2026. He’s allowed just three earned runs in 23 appearances since the start of June.
Cruz’s return will be a big boost to a lineup that has been decimated by injuries. Shortstop Konnor Griffin has been out since early July with a finger injury, and first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn has been out since the start of August with a quad strain. Those two have 22 homers between them.
The Pirates remain on the periphery of the National League wild-card race. They enter action Monday, Aug. 17 at 6.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres, who are tied for the final two playoff spots.
The Pirates broke a long string of series losses over the weekend by taking two out of three from the Boston Red Sox at home. They’ll welcome the Detroit Tigers to town for a three-game set starting Monday evening at PNC Park.
Kawhi Leonard is a seven-time All-Star.Photograph: Matt Slocum/AP
The NBA has disputed an ESPN report on the league’s investigation into possible salary cap circumvention by the Los Angeles Clippers.
On Monday, ESPN reported that, after an 11-month investigation, the NBA was not able to show proof that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money to Kawhi Leonard via team sponsorships to bypass the salary cap. The outlet also said the two sides have been “negotiating a resolution to the investigation”.
“ESPN’s article regarding the LA Clippers investigation – for which the NBA declined to cooperate – contains numerous and significant inaccuracies,” league spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement released Monday afternoon. “The results in this matter will be made clear once the investigation is concluded.”
The league did not clarify which parts of ESPN’s reporting it was disputing.
Per the ESPN report, the NBA is looking into whether introducing Leonard to team sponsors violates the league’s rules against salary cap circumvention, and if the Clippers committed a “failure to supervise” regarding their employees. What rule the organization may have violated or the potential punishment is not yet known.
The allegations first came to light last September in a report by journalist Pablo Torre. The Clippers were accused of feeding $28m to Leonard in the form of a “no-show” endorsement deal with Aspiration, a green-banking firm partly funded by Ballmer that went bankrupt last year.
Aspiration and three other companies that also signed sponsorship deals with the Clippers have been involved in the investigation, per the ESPN report. Aspiration’s co-founder wound up in prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges involving $248m.
According to ESPN, the league presented its initial findings late last month and has recently been in the process of resolving the investigation, which began last September.
In a statement to ESPN, the Clippers said the team “introduced players, including Kawhi Leonard, to companies with which we had business relationships. Making introductions between players and team partners is both an ordinary practice by NBA teams and a common request of players and representatives.“
According to the statement, the Clippers did not “negotiate or dictate” the terms of Leonard’s endorsement deals and added that a player-company business relationship does not prove any salary-cap circumvention.
The Toronto Raptors, who lost Leonard in free agency after winning the 2019 NBA championship, agreed in principle at the end of June to bring him back. The deal hasn’t been completed, and the NBA made it clear Toronto “would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi”.
“In light of this,” the Raptors stated, “we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”
The Clippers, who have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Leonard’s contract, also confirmed the deal was on hold. Ballmer has also denied the allegations.
Leonard, 35, is a two-time NBA Finals MVP, having won the award in title runs with the San Antonio Spurs (2014) and Toronto. He averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 games for the Clippers last season. A seven-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, he has made the NBA’s All-Defensive Team seven times.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last month that he hoped the investigation would be complete by the end of the summer. Training camps open on 29 September.
The investigation into whether the LA Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the NBA salary cap using sponsors to funnel money to Kawhi Leonard "found no evidence" to prove the allegations, according to a new report at ESPN. The league office quickly pushed back hard on that report.
The investigation and report from the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz are essentially done, both the Clippers and the league office have them, and the sides had started settlement talks, a league source told NBC Sports, something published in the ESPN report.
The NBA has found no evidence showing LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneled money through team sponsors to pay Kawhi Leonard in order to circumvent the salary cap... Instead, the NBA is focused on whether the team's introduction of Leonard to team sponsors constitutes a violation of the league's rules prohibiting salary cap circumvention, two of the sources said. The league is examining whether the Clippers are guilty of "failure to supervise" employees, though it's unclear what specific rule the team would have violated or what the penalties would be, two of the sources said.
The league office pushed back fast and hard on this.
At the very least, there is a mountain of oddly timed, circumstantial evidence — plus comments from employees at Aspiration — about the questionable endorsement deals. In practice, the contracts appear to be no-shows Leonard had with multiple endorsers who also had ties to the Clippers.
The Clippers and Ballmer have vehemently denied any wrongdoing from the start.
It started with Aspiration, a former Clippers sponsor and green bank company that has since gone bankrupt, something made public on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast (which has continued to push and drive this story). Aspiration's founder, Joe Sanberg, was convicted of defrauding investors and sentenced to 14 months in prison. Clippers owner Ballmer made a $50 million investment in Aspiration not long before Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement deal with the company (Ballmer and other Clippers executives made investments in the company, again, some oddly timed). Multiple former Aspiration employees told Torre this was a "no-show" endorsement designed to funnel more money to Leonard and circumvent the NBA salary cap. There is no evidence Leonard did any promotional work for the company.
"At the heart of this investigation are Joe Sanberg and Aspiration. We did not funnel money to Kawhi Leonard through Aspiration," the Clippers said in a statement to NBC Sports recently. "Like many sophisticated investors, financial institutions, and business partners, we were victims of a fraud initiated by Sanberg, who has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison."
The Aspiration part of the discussion was followed up by a report from Pablo Torre Finds Out that Leonard had an endorsement deal with Daktronics, the makers of the Halo board inside the Inuit Dome. This was odd because Daktronics does not do consumer-facing advertising and had never had a celebrity endorser previously.
ESPN's report says "at least three other companies that also had deals with the Clippers."
However, the report also says, "the league has presented no evidence that Ballmer funneled money to Leonard."
Which begs the question: how are we defining "evidence?"
Ballmer is too smart to have signed a memo or said something on record implicating himself. If the bar is that kind of "smoking gun" evidence, then nobody's going to have it.
However, the section of the Collective Bargaining Agreement dealing with salary cap circumvention allows for Silver to find a team "guilty" (or worthy of some punishments) based on having enough circumstantial evidence to prove the case. To many, that feels like the situation here: There are too many companies, too many odd coincidences, too many lower-level people who told Pablo Torre that that's what was happening to dismiss it.
Any punishment that Silver might hand down would have to go before a neutral arbitrator, who would review the evidence and decide if the consequences and punishments involved fit that evidence. Any decision by the arbitrator can — and almost certainly would be — appealed. That is why reports say this situation could drag out into 2027.
All that while, a proposed trade of Kawhi Leonard to Toronto for Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick sits on hold waiting for a resolution. If there isn't one before training camp starts, this gets messy.
Which is why talk of a settlement has increased in recent weeks, it would not be up for arbitration because all the parties would agree.
Is a settlement coming?
"This [investigation] needs to be wrapped up before the beginning of next season," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said a month ago in Las Vegas. "It's going on longer than I would have hoped, there's no question about that."
ESPN's latest report confirms that settlement talks are taking place.
In recent days, both sides have been negotiating a resolution to the investigation, the people said... at times [those talks] have been "spirited," one source said.
What could be under negotiation?
• Fine for Clippers. While this is almost certainly part of any final deal, what fine could the league give that would make Ballmer — the ninth-richest person in the world, worth an estimated $148 billion, according to Forbes — even blink? • Suspension for Ballmer. This is likely where Ballmer and the Clippers would push back on the evidence, saying there is no direct link. • Clippers lose draft picks. This also seems almost certain to be part of any punishment by the league or in a settlement. It likely would be multiple first-round picks, and it's not a coincidence that in trading players like James Harden in the past year, the Clippers sought out other teams' first-round picks, ones the league can't take away (because they're not the Clippers' own picks). • Fine and/or suspension for Leonard. The possibility of this suspension is what is holding up the Leonard-to-Toronto trade. The NBPA (players' union) would likely push back hard on any punishment for Leonard, especially if it costs him games. He may end up just needing to pay back some of the money he got from these endorsements.
As for when all this wraps up? Who knows. NBA training camps start to open at the end of September and that would be the first big deadline, because by then something has to happen with the Leonard trade. Either it goes through or is called off. A lot of other league business, for example a potential Bennedict Mathurin extension in Los Angeles, also feels held up by this trade being on hold. Things need to happen.
One thing is certain: Whatever ultimately is the end product of the investigation — especially if there is a settlement, like many around the league suspect will happen — there will be a lot of people unhappy. People inside and outside the league who feel the Clippers got off easy and that this sets a bad precedent. There may not be the pound of flesh many want to see.
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 27: P.J Washington #25 of the Dallas Mavericks looks on during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 27, 2026 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
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