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Flashing bleached hair under his cap as he settles in with his new team, Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz threw his first pitch of Thursday's live bating practice session to Freddie Freeman. It was called a strike. As Díaz got set for his next pitch, Freeman tapped on his helmet in a playful attempt to challenge the call.
In response, Díaz tapped his cap twice.
These gestures will become the norm in major league baseball this season, starting this weekend, thanks to the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System.
Each team will begin games with two challenges, initiated by a pitcher, hitter or catcher tapping their head within seconds of the call — no dugout consultation allowed. The moment it's challenged, a graphic will show the result of the challenge on the video board and once the call is confirmed or overturned, the game will go on.
Read more:Mookie Betts eyes a bounce-back year at the plate: 'I'll see what I can make of it'
Teams retain challenges when they're successful and lose them when they're not.
The added layer of strategy intrigues Stephen Nelson, the Dodgers’ radio play-by-play voice.
“As humans we are naturally resistant to change, especially baseball fans, and I say that as a baseball fan,” Nelson said this week at the team's Camelback Ranch training facility. “So there's definitely going to be that early period where everybody's probably going to hate it, but you got to get through that.”
In recent years, MLB has tweaked the game — implementing a replay system to challenge calls on the field, placing a runner on second base to start extra innings, using a pitch clock. The ABS system has been tested in the minor leagues since 2022, and major leaguers got a taste of it during spring training last year and also in the All-Star Game.
In 288 spring games last year, there was an average of 4.1 challenges per game, adding an average of 57 seconds to it. Pitchers and catchers successfully overturned calls more often than hitters.
So who will be in charge of making challenges during at-bats?
“I will let the catcher dictate if he [wants] to challenge or not,” Díaz said this week. “I won’t do it … he’s been there all day long, they know the strike zone for the umpire.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was hesitant to say the club will have a hard rule on who can call for challenges. He feels more comfortable with his catcher doing it than a hitter or pitcher, but if a catcher decides to challenge, he expects them to be right.
“He better be right,” Roberts said Friday.
“It’s good that we're practicing in spring, but we're having conversations about leverage and how to use it to our advantage,” he added.
Roberts said if hitters want to make a call, they need to be honest with themselves about their personal knowledge of the strike zone and their baseball IQ and understand when to challenge a call and when not to.
Read more:Healthy, slimmer Teoscar Hernández 'out to prove something' this season with Dodgers
“There's no perfect science to it, but we're just going to keep talking about it, trying to educate our guys,” he said.
Luis Cruz, a former player and now a Spanish-language announcer for the Dodgers, said hitters don’t need to be thinking about challenging a call.
“I don’t want to have another thing in my mind … then you lose your focus on your at-bat,” he said.
Left-hander Jackson Ferris, the Dodgers' minor league pitcher of the year in 2024, will start Sunday's game against the San Diego Padres at the Peoria Sports Complex.
Ferris, acquired along with outfield prospect Zyhir Hope from the Chicago Cubs for Michael Busch two years ago, logged a 3.86 ERA and 1.46 walks plus hits per inning pitched across 26 games and 126 innings at double-A Tulsa last season.
“I like Jackson,” Roberts said. “I like the player. He’s a good kid. A lot of talent. I think for me, it’s just trying to harness his arsenal. It’s a good fastball. He needs to continue to get ahead, be able to put hitters away with the secondary pitches, be efficient with his pitches per inning, but I like Jackson. He’s really talented. He’s scratching the surface, but he’s gotta go out there and perform, so I’m excited to see him on Sunday, and throughout the spring.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is not satisfied with an apology he received from the city of Beverly Hills on Thursday, days after police shut down an event he was hosting in the city's Trousdale Estates neighborhood.
The apology was not for shutting down the event. Instead, it was for including what the city called "inaccurate information" in its initial statement about the event.
Brown told ESPN's Andscape he is considering legal action against the city after it "embarrassed my brand and my team" and then continued "to tell untruths in [its] apology statement."
The promotional event for Brown's performance brand, 741, was held last weekend at the home of Oakley founder Jim Jannard on the eve of the NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome. It was scheduled to include a panel discussion featuring National Basketball Players Assn. president Andre Iguodala followed by an after-party with around 200 invited guests.
Read more:Beverly Hills police shut down Jaylen Brown's brand event during NBA All-Star Weekend
In an X post after his event was stopped, Brown wrote, “300k down the drain.” On Thursday, in response to the city's statement, Brown wrote on X: "You targeted me and my @741Performance event based on biased information then you give a half a— apology after the damage is already done."
The Times reached out to the city of Beverly Hills on Friday for a response to Brown's comments concerning the incident, including his mention of possible legal action. A representative referred The Times to the statement released the previous day.
The city's first statement, issued Sunday, said that "an event permit had been applied for and denied by the City due to previous violations associated with events at the address" and "organizers still chose to proceed with inviting hundreds of guests knowing that it was not allowed to occur."
On Thursday, the city issued a second release saying that upon further internal review it had determined that "no permit application was submitted nor denied for the event and the residence does not have any prior related violations on record."
Read more:Photos: Highlights from NBA All-Star Game weekend in Inglewood
The release included a statement from city manager Nancy Hunt-Coffey, who apologized for the inaccurate information but asserted that the city still had reason to shut down the event.
“The City’s previous statement about the weekend event at the Trousdale home was inaccurate, and on behalf of the City, I would like to apologize to Jaylen Brown and the Jannard family,” Hunt-Coffey said.
“The City has a responsibility to its residents and neighborhoods to ensure adherence to established regulations for events held at private residences. These are designed to support the safety and welfare of neighbors and attendees. City staff observed circumstances that are believed to be City code violations and for that reason alone, the event was ended.”
Brown was far from satisfied with the apology.
"The city has now stated the event was shut down because officials believed codes were being violated," he said in a statement released by Jalen Brown Enterprises Inc. "A private gathering cannot lawfully be terminated based on assumption alone, particularly when no official ever entered the residence to observe conditions or verify any alleged violation.
My response to @BeverlyHillsPDpic.twitter.com/cFmIMRJuTu
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) February 20, 2026
"This was a private, invitation-only gathering at a private home among friends and partners, not a public or commercial event requiring a permit. ... No proof of any alleged violation was ever produced to the homeowner, our team, or legal counsel. Without observation, documentation or confirmed violations, enforcement action based on belief alone raises serious due-process concerns.
"Jalen Brown Enterprises Inc. supports lawful compliance and cooperative engagement with municipalities wherever we operate. However, this private residential gathering was interrupted without substantiated cause, resulting in significant financial and reputational harm."
"We remain open to a constructive resolution with the city of Beverly Hills."
Brown had more to say on the matter after the Celtics' 121-110 win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night in San Francisco.
Read more:Lon Rosen to take over business operations for the Lakers
"This is All-Star Weekend at 7 p.m. I just wanted to enjoy myself. And I feel like that got taken away, and I got embarrassed to some degree," said Brown, who was named an All-Star starter for the first time this year. He added, "I feel like that apology, you know, even in the statement they put out, they included some stuff that wasn't true, even in an apology. So I don't think that apology was acceptable.
"I lost a lot of money ... and then people were making assumptions, like we didn't go through the proper protocols. So that's just all around a bad look, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm extremely offended. My team is offended still. I'm not sure what the conclusion is going to be. All I know is that, that was some bulls—."
Brown said he heard about the city's most recent statement on his way to the game and that it fueled his third triple-double of the season (23 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists).
"I wasn't even thinking about the game," said Brown, who will be back in Los Angeles when the Celtics play the Lakers on Sunday. "I was pissed. I was still pissed."
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
With some key members of the Ottawa Senators still away from the team for the Olympics, four top players from the Belleville Senators were recalled to help pick up the slack at Thursday’s practice.
Carter Yakemchuk, Tyler Boucher, Oskar Pettersson, and Arthur Kaliyev got the call, which made for better numbers and a smoother practice. But it also gave the organization a chance to check on their development as prospects.
For the players, it’s an encouraging sign to get a call like this because it means you’re a player of interest, which not every American Hockey League player can say.
But of the four players who filled in on Thursday, Yakemchuk is easily the best bet to play NHL games this season, though a lot will depend on what the Senators look like after the trade deadline.
The 20-year-old AHL rookie, generally a man of few words, described the practice as long and hard, but “super cool.”
“I think it's been a good year,” Yakemchuk told the media. “Obviously, the message is trying to keep getting better. You know you want to play here one day, so you just take it day-by-day and try to get better.”
Thomas Chabot might one day be Yakemchuk’s D partner and mentor and he likes what he sees.
“Seeing him up here is always fun, and you know it's only a matter of time before he’ll be up here,” Chabot said. “He’s so talented and the way he handles the puck and moves, he’s elite at it. So, it's fun. Obviously, it's more fun playing games, but still, practices are still fun to kind of come up and measure yourself up with the pace of practices.”
Yakemchuk is Belleville’s top point getter on the blue line with 25 points in 39 games. But it's hard to ignore a team-worst minus 28, 11 notches worse than any other player on the team.
Head coach Travis Green says the club remains high on Yakemchuk as a prospect, but the organization doesn’t want to rush him. They want him to have an impact when he arrives, not just trying to keep up.
“He's a young prospect that we obviously have a lot of hopes for,” Green told the media. “We want him to be the best that he can be and yet also want to make sure we do right by him to make sure that when he does get his opportunity that he's ready for it.”
Is he ready right now? That's up for debate. Sometimes players are better in the NHL than they are in the AHL. But the timing of Yakemchuk's NHL debut is also tied to what happens at the deadline, not to mention where the Senators are in the standings.
They certainly can’t afford many mistakes, and in the heat of a playoff chase, throwing a young player out there right now is like asking a first-time student driver to merge onto the Queensway.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News
BILBAO, Spain (AP) — A second half double from Gorka Guruzeta gave Athletic Bilbao a 2-1 win over Elche in an action-packed La Liga encounter on Friday.
It was a third consecutive league win for the Basque club and the first time it has put together three straight league wins since August.
It was also the second time in three games that Guruzeta has scored a brace, following his double in the 4-2 win over Levante on Feb. 8.
His first at San Mames Stadium was a fine finish to convert a low cross from Yuri Berchiche and his second came from the penalty spot after a controversial award in the 89th minute.
In between, André Silva converted a penalty for Elche after being forced to retake his spot kick due to a double touch.
“Little by little things are starting to go our way,” said Guruzeta, who missed the only other penalty he took for Athletic.
It was another agonizing reverse for Elche, which has gone eight games without a win. The result left it in 16th place, just one point above the relegation zone.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Atlanta Hawks will be taking on the Miami Heat tonight at State Farm Arena. The Hawks are currently 27-30 after a recent win over the Philadelphia 76ers, 117-107.
Atlanta is the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference while Miami is in eighth place. The Heat haven’t played a game since February 11th, when they beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 123-111. With the All-Star Break, the Heat may be rusty since it’s their first game back while it’s the Hawks’ second.
The Hawks have made some moves recently, including the trade of Kristaps Porzingis and others. But they’ve been able to maintain their offensive prowess with players like forward Jalen Johnson, who’s averaged 23.5, 10.6 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game as part of being named to the All-Star team.
Miami has won two out of their last four games as they continue to make a playoff push. Heat guard Norman Powell has been quite the addition to the team since leaving the Clippers, averaging 23 points per game for the Heat. Star center Bam Adebayo has been able to put up 18.4 points and 9.9 rebounds, leading the team on the boards. This will be the third matchup between the two this season, with them tying at 1-1, but the Hawks won their last game against the Heat in early February.
The Hawks will win against the Heat tonight, 110-104 in a close game.
For more sports content, be sure to follow me on X(Twitter) and Instagram @BJT_ERA
MILAN (AP) — US defeats Slovakia 6-2 in men's hockey to set up Olympic gold medal matchup with Canada.
The Washington Wizards play the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. tonight at Capital One Arena. Watch the game on Monumental Sports Network.
Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
ReadingYankee asks:I am starting to worry about the production of Stanton. He is aging and proved less effective in the postseason last year, although it would be foolish to expect his 2024 production again. He has another year or two, and he has not been trusted in the outfield more than a game or two in the last couple seasons. At what point do the Yankees pull the plug on an oft-injured, DH-only type player? And when that happens, what will be their plan for the DH spot?
Much like the offense at large, I’m willing to give some grace to Giancarlo Stanton’s performance in the postseason because of the heater he was on in the regular season, especially given the strong performances he’s shown in nearly every other October run. The team isn’t going to cut bait on one of the veterans of this clubhouse while he still has some juice left in his bat, and his absences aren’t that big of a hit because they free up space for the rest of the team to cycle through quasi-rest days as a DH. Between getting their superstar Aaron Judge some half-days, flexing Ben Rice’s spot in the lineup around, and working in playing time for Jasson Domínguez should he be on the major league roster, there’s plenty of options to fill the gap.
The concern going forward, however, is just how much mileage is actually left on those legs. Stanton’s been a notorious slow-returner from his injuries (which makes the run he put on in 2025 even more incredible), so if he has a season where he’s a frequent flier on the IL instead of going through one big injury, that could spell disaster for his productivity. There’s also the concern that Stanton’s good year was a product of how little he actually had to play, and while there’s a running assumption that he’s going to miss time in every season going forward the goal is to still field the best team possible — if Stanton is gassed from the rigors of a 162-game season by the end of it all, he may not find himself penciled in when the chips are down.
jmack1775 asks:Why did we get Goldy to platoon with Rice when Rice should be an everyday player and learn to be at least passable against lefties? And if the plan is for Rice to catch a significant amount of games and Goldy to fill in at 1b, isn’t Rice’s value diminished at catcher?
Paul Goldschmidt’s place on the team this year is more of a mentor figure for Rice to learn the position, as the Yankees likely see him as their everyday first baseman of the future. He’ll get the lion’s share of starts at the position, and then for the games where Goldschmidt takes over against lefties that frees Rice up to see time behind the plate and still get in the lineup for the experience (and hopefully, improvement). It shouldn’t be a significant amount of games where Rice is catching, since J.C. Escarra is still the backup catcher and Rice will be going in as the defined starter at first as opposed to bouncing around looking for playing time. Was it the ideal fit? No, and the Yankees outright acknowledged this when Aaron Boone discussed the signing, but there are ways that it can work out quite well for New York.
Shoducky asks:What would it take to pry Mason Miller away from the Friars? Would a package of Dominguez and Gil do it?
Trade packages are generally a tricky thing to speculate on considering the strengths of one system aren’t going to be the same as another, and organizations have internal scouting on prospects that differ from the outside publications — that being said, the Padres traded the No. 3 prospect in baseball at the time to acquire Miller as the headliner of a four-player package at last year’s deadline. The Yankees don’t have a prospect anywhere close to that ranking on any board, and even considering that the cost would be lowered with one less year of control on Miller’s contract it’d be a tough pitch for the Padres to listen in on. New York has also shied away from the flashier bullpen additions as of late, both in terms of free agent deals and in trades, with their deal for David Bednar being an exception that still only cost the team their eighth-best prospect. If they wanted to change direction on that they certainly could, but that’s likely a discussion for the summer when there’s a clearer field of targets to acquire.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off an impressive win against the Brooklyn Nets. We’ll see if they can keep that going as they take on a surging Charlotte Hornets squad.
I’ll be in the comments throughout the game sharing my thoughts. Come talk with me and the rest of your fellow Cavs fans there.
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Go Cavs!
MAINZ, Germany (AP) — Nadiem Amiri scored his seventh goal in seven games for Mainz while a deflected second half goal from Hamburg's Fabio Vieira ensured they drew 1-1 in the Bundesliga on Friday.
Mainz was looking to get back to winning ways after a 4-0 defeat by Borussia Dortmund last week . It took the lead through Amiri’s crisp volley three minutes before halftime.
However, 19 minutes into the second period Vieira’s free kick took a nick off the Mainz wall, giving goalkeeper Daniel Batz no chance.
The point helped Mainz climb one place to 13th.
Hamburg was unbeaten in six games and sat in ninth.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Pablo Lopez will miss the 2026 season.
The Twins right-hander is set to undergo Tommy John Surgery next week after it was discovered that he had a torn ulnar collateral ligament earlier this week.
Lopez, who turns 30 next month, had felt something in his elbow during a bullpen session on Monday.
The injury also takes Lopez out of the World Baseball Classic, during which he was set to take the mound for Venezuela.
The typical recovery timeline for Tommy John is roughly 12-to-18 months, meaning Lopez could be back on a big league mound by early next season.
It’s the second time in Lopez’s professional career that he will undergo Tommy John, having previously done the surgery in 2014 while he was in the Mariners’ organization.
Lopez has been Minnesota’s starter in each of their last three Opening Days since being traded over by the Marlins before the 2023 season.
In three seasons with the Twins, Lopez has posted a 3.68 ERA across 78 starts.
During his debut season with the team in 2023, Lopez had the best season of his career, making his first and only All-Star team and finishing 7th in the AL Cy Young voting with a 3.66 ERA across 194 innings.
Last season, Lopez dominated with a 2.74 ERA, although he was limited to just 14 starts with a shoulder and forearm strain.
After finishing 70-92 last season, Twins management cleaned house this offseason.
Shortly after the regular season’s end, Minnesota fired manager Rocco Baldelli after seven seasons at the helm, later replacing him with Derek Shelton.
Late last month, with spring training just weeks away, the Twins and president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey “mutually” agreed to split ways.
The team announced general manager Jeremy Zoll would continue “leading” the baseball department after Falvey’s departure.
BREST, France (AP) — Habib Beye’s reign as Marseille coach got off to a losing start as Ligue 1's top goal-scorer Mason Greenwood missed a penalty in Brest’s 2-0 win on Friday.
Beye replaced Roberto De Zerbi last week after a miserable run that saw Marseille exit the Champions League and lose to archrival Paris Saint-Germain 5-0.
But the former Newcastle and Aston Villa defender could not stop the rot that threatens Marseille's hopes of a European spot next year.
Two first-half headers from Ludovic Ajorque put Brest in the driving seat and he could have had a third had a fierce shot not rattled the bar.
Marseille came into the match more in the second half but Greenwood missed a golden chance to pull it back into the game seven minutes from time.
He was brought down by Daouda Guindo but his spot kick was well saved by Brest goalkeeper Gregoire Coudertt.
The result left Marseille winless in four Ligue 1 games and in fourth place, five points behind Lyon, which has a game in hand against Strasbourg on Sunday.
Brest climbed one place to 11th.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar’s bid for an injunction that would have enabled him to continue playing for the Volunteers this fall was denied on Friday by a Knox County Chancery Court judge.
Aguilar was arguing that he should be allowed a fourth year of playing Divisional I football rather than having the years he spent in junior college count against his eligibility. Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty instead dissolved the temporary restraining order he had granted in the case on Feb. 4 and denied Aguilar’s request for an injunction.
Aguilar played at Diablo Valley (California) Community College from 2021-22 before transferring to Appalachian State, where he spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Aguilar then transferred to Tennessee and completed 67.3% of his passes for 3,565 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this past season.
He also redshirted at City College of San Francisco in 2019 before the 2020 season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Although Aguilar has been invited to next week’s NFL draft scouting combine, he had filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in an attempt to return to Tennessee to play one more season.
Heagerty said the factors Tennessee courts consider before deciding to grant a temporary injunction are the threat to irreparable harm to the plaintiff if an injunction isn’t granted, the balance between this harm and any injury that granting the injunction would inflict on the defendant, the probability the plaintiff would succeed on the case’s merits and the public interest.
Heagerty noted that Aguilar’s lawyers pointed out the quarterback could lose $2 million to $3 million in name, image and likeness opportunities by not playing. But the judge also pointed out that granting an injunction “could cause sweeping implications and cause significant ambiguity and uncertainty regarding the eligibility rules of the NCAA.”
While Aguilar’s lawyers said an injunction would apply only to their client, Heagerty believed granting an injunction “could impact much broader issues and have a much more far-reaching effect than the plaintiff suggests.”
Heagerty also said the evidence before the court at this time indicated Aguilar “has a low likelihood to succeed on the merits of his claim.”
“The NCAA is thankful for the judge’s decision today, which demonstrates the court’s consideration of eligibility standards and protecting access to the collegiate experience for current and future student-athletes," the NCAA said in a statement. "We will continue to defend the NCAA’s eligibility rules against attempts to circumvent foundational policies and hinder fair competition to all student-athletes. The NCAA is making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes and will continue to work with Congress to provide stability for all college athletes.”
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The All-Star break wasn’t long enough for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Ajay Mitchell all start the second half on the injured list.
Although OKC is a massive 18-point favorite on Friday, February 20, there’s plenty of value in the Brooklyn Nets keeping it close in the first half.
My Nets vs. Thunder predictions and NBA picks break down why there are too many points for OKC to cover with so many key players sidelined tonight.
Nets vs Thunder best bet: Nets +10.5 first half (-110)
The Oklahoma City Thunder are just 2-3 SU and 2-2-1 ATS in the five games without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, dropping to 18th in net rating over that span.
Missing the reigning MVP is one thing, but with Jalen Williams also out, this is a different challenge.
Make no mistake, the Brooklyn Nets aren’t a strong team, but given who’s out for OKC, it could take a quarter or two for them to get going.
There are just too many points here, so I’ll take the Nets to keep it close in the first half.
Nets forward Danny Wolf has eclipsed 1.5 threes in each of his last four games and grabbed more than 5.5 rebounds in six of his last seven.
Oklahoma City has only hit the 1H moneyline in seven of its last 14 home games (-27.50 Units / -42% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Nets vs. Thunder.
| Location | Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK |
| Date | Friday, February 20, 2026 |
| Tip-off | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | YES, FDSN Oklahoma |
Not intended for use in MA.
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