Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros break down Son Heung-Min’s impressive MLS debut and why Christian may already be wrong about his impact. They also react to the Premier League’s opening weekend with some bold overreactions—will Manchester United improve, or is it déjà vu? Finally, the duo celebrates 10 years of The Cooligans with heartfelt messages and reflections on their journey.
Giants catch break with controversial fan interference on Xander Bogaerts homer
Giants catch break with controversial fan interference on Xander Bogaerts homer originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Replay review worked in the Giants’ favor during their game against the San Diego Padres on Monday at Petco Park.
What initially appeared to be an Xander Bogaerts home run that went in and out of Heliot Ramos’ glove in the second inning was called back and ruled a fly out, after umpires determined a fan reached over the left-field wall and interfered with the play.
While the fan didn’t appear to touch the ball, MLB defines spectator interference as an instance where “a spectator clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball by reaching onto the field of play.”
Since the fan’s arms went into the field of play and presumably into Ramos’ line of sight as he attempted to rob the homer, it can be assumed this play fell into that category in the eyes of umpires at the replay command center in New York.
Padres manager Mike Shildt wasn’t happy with the call and was ejected after exiting San Diego’s dugout to argue with home plate umpire James Hoye.
The overturned call kept Giants pitcher Robbie Ray’s scoreless outing intact, and was a much-needed boost for a struggling Giants team looking for some morale and their second consecutive win.
Scott Frost returns to UCF to find his motto still adorning the walls
Scott Frost coached UCF to its best season in program history in 2017, when the undefeated Knights finished the season No. 6 in the AP poll as the only team to receive first-place votes alongside national champion Alabama.
Julian Sayin named Ohio State’s starting quarterback for season opener against Texas
Sayin is listed as a sophomore but has four years of eligibility remaining.
Former Panther Joining Igor Larionov's KHL Team
Former Florida Panthers winger Rocco Grimaldi will join ex-NHL star Igor Larionov's KHL team SKA St. Petersburg.
Grimaldi was a second-round pick (33rd overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft by the Panthers. After the selection, Grimaldi spent three seasons in the NCAA with the University of North Dakota. Following those three years, Grimaldi signed his entry-level contract and spent the better part of two seasons in the AHL.
Grimaldi was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche the following season, concluding his Panthers tenure. He played just 27 games, scoring four goals and six points.
Following his departure from Florida, Grimaldi bounced around the NHL. He went on to play in NHL games with the Avalanche and the Nashville Predators, but spent most of his time in the AHL with the Anaheim Ducks, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets AHL affiliates.
The 32-year-old hasn't played an NHL game since the 2021-22 season. Grimaldi was a successful AHL player, recording 192 goals and 428 points in 499 games. Skill has never been the issue for Grimaldi, but standing just 5-foot-6, 181 pounds, Grimaldi is extremely undersized for an NHL player.
Internationally, Grimaldi won two gold medals for the USA at the 2010 and 2011 IIHF U-18 World Championships and another at the 2013 world juniors. He also played for the USA at the 2023 world championships, where he notched seven goals and 14 points in 10 games.
Joining St. Petersburg in Russia, Grimaldi will be playing in a league that values skill more than physicality, which should benefit Grimaldi.
St. Petersburg iced a star-studded lineup last year, featuring Ivan Demidov, Alexander Nikishin, Mikhail Grigorenko, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Arseni Gritsyuk, Nikita Zaitsev and Tony DeAngelo. Only Zaitsev remains, but the organization has added long-time NHL great Igor Larionov as head coach as well as North Americans Trevor Murphy, Brennan Menell and Joey Blandisi, who have some NHL experience.
Auburn formally will retire QB Cam Newton’s No. 2 jersey during game against Georgia
The ceremony will take place during Auburn’s home game against rival Georgia on Oct. 11.
Manfred: ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ Deal on Deck, Realignment Likely
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Sunday night said the league was closing in on a deal to cover the final three years of its legacy TV contract with ESPN.
Manfred dropped in on the Sunday Night Baseball booth during the fourth inning of the Little League Classic matchup between the Mariners and Mets, and during an exchange with ESPN’s Karl Ravech, the MLB boss intimated that a new deal could be announced well before the postseason begins.
“We’re having very detailed conversations with a number of parties, including ESPN,” Manfred said as New York batted with a 3-1 lead over Seattle. “We hope to have it resolved in the next couple of weeks. It’s a little bit like a jigsaw puzzle, but we will have it resolved in the next few weeks.”
In response to Manfred’s update, Ravech said, “I put my hand up for hoping that we stay involved.”
Manfred had hoped to have a deal secured in time to make a formal announcement during last month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, but the process of finding a possible replacement for ESPN (which triggered its opt-out option on the Sunday night package in February) has been complicated by a flurry of interest from prospective partners, including NBC Sports and Apple. Also up for grabs are the Home Run Derby and the American and National League Wild Card Series.
As for ESPN, while the incumbent wanted out of the latter portion of its original $550/year media deal, chairman Jimmy Pitaro hasn’t been shy about his willingness to assemble some sort of reconfigured arrangement with MLB. To that end, ESPN has been kicking the tires on an opportunity to license the out-of-market MLB.tv package.
Aligning Bristol with a delivery system for local MLB games is consistent with Pitaro’s oft-stated desire to secure a portfolio of the league’s in-market rights. Pitaro first broached the subject last summer during an on-campus ESPN media scrum.
Wherever the ESPN package lands, the deal will expire at the end of the 2028 MLB season—at which point Manfred says he’ll combine the league’s local and national rights into a newly configured package.
During his Sunday night drop-in, Manfred also discussed the potential for a broad realignment of MLB, one that would presumably eliminate the canonical AL and NL in favor of a more travel-friendly geographical clustering.
The hypothetical realignment would coincide with the expansion of MLB to 32 franchises. In one scenario, a four-club “Northeast” division would include near-neighbors the Yankees, Mets, Phillies and Red Sox, while a “Mid-Atlantic” cluster would house the Nationals, Orioles, Pirates and Guardians.
“I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign,” Manfred said. “I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel. And I think our postseason format would be even more appealing for entities like ESPN, because … that 10 o’clock time slot where we sometimes get Boston-Anaheim would now be two West Coast teams. And so that slot, [which has been] a problem for us sometimes, becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience.”
Should such a shakeup occur, it would likely happen after Manfred steps down from his post in January 2029, when his term in office expires.
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No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Penn State each place 3 players on Associated Press preseason All-America first team
No. 1 Texas had one player from each level of its defense on the first team.
Canadiens Training Complex To Host Battle Of Generations
On Thursday, August 28th, at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard, fans will have the opportunity to watch a special skills competition event pitting three generations of Montreal Canadiens players: Lane Hutson, Paul Byron, and Patrice Brisebois.
Tickets to the Challenge Hockey Hush can be purchased here and are only $15. Proceeds will be donated to the Manoir Ronald McDonald, a charity picked by Hutson himself. Brisebois was on the Sans Restriction Podcast this weekend speaking about the event, and it will be interesting to see what he can do some 15 years after retiring. The 1992-93 Stanley Cup Champion chuckled and admitted that he hadn’t skated at all so far this summer, and that he would need to get on with it soon.
The veteran blueliner spent 18 years in the NHL, and only two of them weren’t with the Canadiens but with the Colorado Avalanche. He played 1009 NHL games and picked up 420 points in the process.
As for Paul Byron, he played part of 12 seasons in the NHL, seven of which were spent in Montreal, where he found an NHL home and played a significant role with the team. The speedy winger became a penalty-killing specialist with the Canadiens and had a knack for scoring shorthanded goals using his fantastic speed. Over his 521 games, he put up 208 points and was forced to retire due to injuries.
The main attraction will no doubt be Calder Trophy winner Hutson. The 21-year-old had a memorable first season with the Canadiens and even broke Chris Chelios’ record for the most points by a rookie defenseman with 66. The youngster quickly became a fan favourite, not only because of his points production but also because of his love and dedication to the game.
Hutson spent most of his Summer working at his dad’s hockey school, making dreams come true for several young players who got to not only skate with their idol, but also be taught by him. Don’t miss the Challenge Hockey Hush - it’s sure to be a great show, and you’ll be contributing to a good cause in the process.
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Yankees to activate INF/OF Amed Rosario off IL ahead of Tuesday's matchup with Rays: report
As the Yankees continue their push for the postseason, the club is getting healthier.
According to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, the Yankees are expected to activate infielder/outfielder Amed Rosario off of the injured list ahead of Tuesday’s matchup against the Rays in Tampa, the first contest of a quick two-game series.
Rosario, acquired from the Washington Nationals ahead of the trade deadline, appeared in four games with the Yanks before suffering a shoulder injury on Aug. 8 while trying to track down a ball in right field and crashing into the Yankee Stadium wall.
In those four games, the versatile Rosario had three hits in seven at-bats, including a double and one RBI.
It’s been a solid season overall for the former Mets top prospect, who has slashed .277/.315/.432 with five home runs and 19 RBI in 50 combined games between the Nats and Yankees.
While the Yankees have not yet officially activated Rosario, the club did announce that catcher J.C. Escarra has been optioned to Triple-A, which opens up the roster spot for Rosario.
Escarra, 30, has played in 40 games with the Yankees, posting a .629 OPS with two home runs and 11 RBI.
No. 22 Iowa State faces challenging start to the season with third-year starting QB Rocco Becht
The No. 22 Cyclones open Saturday against No. 17 Kansas State in Dublin, Ireland, and two weeks later play the annual CyHawk Game against Iowa at home.
Houston coach Willie Fritz revamps offense with new coordinator and QB
Coach Willie Fritz spent this offseason upgrading his offense after Houston had one of the worst units in the nation last year.
Nebraska-Omaha basketball player Deng Mayar drowns in a Utah reservoir
Deng Mayar, 22, was a graduate student who joined the Mavericks after playing two seasons for Summit League rival North Dakota.
Sabres Prospect Profile – Matous Jan Kucharcik
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, but the organization’s developmental model has not yielded enough results.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 40 NHL games.
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#25 - Matous Jan Kucharcik - Forward (Slavia Praha Jr. - Czech)
Kucharcik is a lanky forward who played for Slavia Praha in the Czech junior system, and played for his country at the Under-18’s before being selected by the Sabres in the fourth round (103rd overall at the 2025 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old forward was born in Italy, as his father (a 1991 Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick) played throughout Europe during his career.
The youngster is described by Elite Prospects 2025 Draft Guide as “a smart two-way centre who excels at facilitating others through his strongly ingrained supporting habits. He backtracks to intercept passes in the neutral zone, pickpockets opposing defencemen on the forecheck and takes the right routes to provide his teammates with passing options. There’s also a clear defensive upside with Kucharčík. His motor is solid, but it’s how he angles and positions that really drives his defensive value.”
Instead of remaining in Czechia, Kucharcik will be playing for Youngstown in the USHL next season, which would indicate that he is pursuing an NCAA track before becoming a professional.
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Oilers Best Young Goalie Target Revealed
EDMONTON – Good goaltending is imperative to winning a Stanley Cup.
While the Edmonton Oilers might not be able to acquire an elite starter, the tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard has been good enough to lead them to two consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearances.
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But, they don’t want to just “appear” in the Cup Final – they want to win it all.
That’s why Nico Daws is the best young goalie they can get their hands on this offseason.
The Oilers have been connected to Michael DiPietro of the Boston Bruins and Sebastian Cossa of the Detroit Red Wings. However, the New Jersey Devils' protégé might be the better acquisition target.
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The first box Daws ticks off is his NHL experience. While Cossa and DiPietro have good upside potential, Daws has played 52 NHL games to DiPietro’s three and Cossa’s single NHL outing.
There is minimal, if any, opportunity for Daws to play in the NHL this season. Jake Allen and Jacob Markstrom are returning to tend the twine, leaving Daws on the outside looking in. That checks off box number two for the Oilers; their organization presents a better opportunity for Daws than his current one.
Finally, Daws has better results in a bigger sample size than the aforementioned DiPietro and Cossa.
Daws has a career 2.98 goals against average (GAA), a .898 save percentage (SV%), and one shutout. Last season, he only played six games. In those games, he posted a 1.60 GAA, a .939 SV%, and one shutout.
If the Oilers are going to take a gamble on a young goalie, there are much worse options than Daws.
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