For some inexplicable reason, ESPN has decided to decrease its investment and interest in Major League Baseball. 
Despite the NBA seeing ratings stagnate or decline, and tanking becoming a catastrophic, historic competitive disaster, ESPN gave the league billions to secure future broadcasting rights. When it comes to MLB, though, they’ve backed out of Sunday Night Baseball and lost the Home Run Derby to Netflix.
With that in mind, it should come as little surprise that they aren’t exactly up on their awareness or knowledge of the inner workings of modern baseball.

Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball will not be suspended for Friday’s play-in game, the league announced Wednesday.
He was instead fined $35,000 for the play and assessed a Flagrant 2 foul for a play the league described as “unnecessary and reckless contact” that “created a significant injury risk.” Had he received such a foul during the game, he would have been ejected.
He was also fined another $25,00 for using profane language in a television interview.

ATLANTA (AP) — Bryce Elder pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning, three Atlanta players homered and the Braves won another series with a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night.
Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Matt Olson went deep for the first-place Braves, who took two of three from Miami for their fifth series win. They split their other series, a four-game set at Arizona.
Considered the weak link in the rotation coming into the season, Elder (2-1) lowered his ERA through four starts to 0.77.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 15: A detailed view of the retired jersey number 42 for Jackie Robinson before the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on April 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. All players are wearing the number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Dodgers conclude their three-game series against the New York Mets on Jackie Robinson Day, looking to get a sweep and take five of six games on the homestand.

When Peter Schrager linked Alabama guard Tyler Booker to the Dallas Cowboys last year before the 2025 NFL draft, it caught a lot of people by surprise. Not only wasn’t Booker a topic of conversation in most Cowboys circles but up until then he wasn’t predicted to go anywhere close to the top 12 in the draft. Schrager’s prediction turned out right and many Cowboys fans were left reeling as a result.
Just days before the 2026 NFL draft, Schrager again has offered insight into the Cowboys’ plans. This time it’s a player Cowboys fans are all too familiar with: Keldric Faulk.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil sent a memo to his staff Wednesday in response to reports the Public Investment Fund will no longer use its resources for the league.
Sources told Fox News Digital the Saudis will stop funding LIV after the 2026 season.
“Team, (f)ollowing up on my previous message, which I realize may have led to some confusion on where we stand as a business,” O’Neil wrote in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital. 
“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.

The NBA Playoffs always feel like a different sport compared to the regular season. The games slow down, every possession carries weight, with the margin for error becoming razor-thin. It’s where reputations are built or broken, and where even the smallest moments can swing an entire series.
This year, the playoff picture is especially exciting. There’s a good mix of proven contenders who know what it takes to go deep, alongside younger teams hungry to make a statement. Some squads have been dominant all season, while others have quietly built momentum at just the right time.

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Munich, Germany – April 15: Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid Referee Slavko Vincic shows Eduardo Camavinga the yellow Card during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final Second Leg match between FC Bayern München and Real Madrid CF at Football Arena Munich on April 15, 2026 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images) | DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Real Madrid bowed out of the Champions League and likely extended their trophy-less run to two seasons after a 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

Amid reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund might be on the verge of pulling its funding for the league, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil told staff in an email Wednesday that its season will go on “as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.

Brooklyn Nets rookie guard Ben Saraf was one of a few players on the Nets who had to adjust from playing internationally to playing in the NBA seemingly on the fly. Saraf has had some bumps along the road during his initial season in Brooklyn and he is looking forward to being a better player over the course of this offseason.
“I’m very excited for the offseason. I think it’s gonna be a huge summer for me. It’s time to work,” Saraf said after the Nets’ 136-101 loss at the Toronto Raptors on Apr. 12 to end the season.

Red Rocks’ Avery Neff reacts after competing in the uneven bars during the Big 12 gymnastics championships at the Maverik Center in West Valley City on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

The Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) during a Spring Training Game against The Los Angeles Angels, March 22nd, 2026 in Anaheim, California.
LOS ANGELES — The plan shifted, but the priority stayed the same for Shohei Ohtani.
A day after Dave Roberts said Ohtani would be available, the Dodgers adjusted course Wednesday: Ohtani will start on the mound against the New York Mets, but he won’t be in the lineup.
The change stems from the hit-by-pitch Ohtani took on his right shoulder Monday.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 14: Jacob Wilson #5 of the Athletics bats against the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the first inning of a major league baseball game at Sutter Health Park on April 14, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We’re about one hour away from gametime here tonight in Sacramento as the Athletics gear up for the third game of this four-game set against their division-rival Texas Rangers.

The Columbus Blue Jackets had a monumental collapse down the stretch that ended Tuesday night with a 2-1 loss to the Washington Capitals to put their season to an end.
How bad was it? How about going 2-7-1 in your final 10 games and missing the playoffs by just five to seven points?
Had they won just three or four more games, there’s a chance they’d be headed to the playoffs.
After the game, head coach Rick Bowness ripped the team’s effort — or lack thereof —down the stretch.
On Wednesday, players got the chance to respond to their coach’s fiery post-game comments.

MLB umpire Brock Ballou was assaulted during a street robbery in downtown Philadelphia last week, but it didn’t keep him off the field for long.
Ballou was walking along the 1600 block of Walnut Street around 7 p.m. Thursday when a suspect snatched his phone and took off. Instead of letting it go, Ballou chased him down and caught up near 16th and Walnut.
That’s when it turned into a fight. According to police and surveillance footage, the suspect turned and punched Ballou multiple times during the confrontation.

Life outside the MMA has treated Mike Perry better than life within it. Yet, after becoming arguably the biggest superstar in bare-knuckle boxing, he’ll put his old four-ounce gloves back on for a showdown with Nate Diaz on Netflix as part of Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions event on May 16.
Perry, 34, has gone on a tear throughout the bare-knuckle boxing world with BKFC since 2022, winning all six of his bouts with the promotion.

The NFL has started onboarding potential replacement officials as the expiration of its CBA with the NFL Referees Association approaches.

Coach Álvaro Arbeloa said it was “obvious” that Eduardo Camavinga’s red card was crucial in Real Madrid’s Champions League quarterfinal elimination by Bayern Munich on Wednesday, while midfielder Jude Bellingham called the decision “a joke.

The NBA is investigating LaMelo Ball’s trip of Bam Adebayo, which resulted in the Miami Heat star’s lower back injury during Tuesday’s play-in game against the Charlotte Hornets, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Maryland guard Darius Adams has entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Pete Nakos can confirm. Adams was a freshman for the Terrapins this past season averaging 10.8 points per game.
To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Detroit — He’s “El Mago.” The Magician.
And Javier Báez showed off some sleight-of-hand for the ages in Wednesday night’s Tigers game against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park.
Báez was on third base with one out in the bottom of the third inning when Jake Rogers hit a flyball to deep right field, where Jac Caglianone caught it and threw a seed home to catcher Salvador Perez. The ball beat Báez by a wide margin, and he was called out by plate umpire Jansen Visconti.

79 years after Jackie Robinson first took the field with the Brooklyn Dodgers, every player and coach in MLB took the field wearing No. 42.
MLB celebrated its annual Jackie Robinson Day on Wednesday, an occasion honoring the man who broke baseball’s color barrier. The event goes back to 2004, with the tradition of wearing No. 42 beginning with Ken Griffey Jr.’s request to don the retired number in 2007. Soon, all the players were doing it.

Discussion around Major League Baseball over the last year and a half has revolved around the seeming disparity in spending between the big markets and small market teams. 
The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the league in payroll again, by a wide margin, while the New York Mets have ranked in the top two or three each of the last five years. Meanwhile, small market organizations have cried poor, as teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, and Tampa Bay Rays rake in massive amounts of revenue sharing money that they’ve mostly pocketed.

NEW YORK – Nate Diaz and Mike Perry got face-to-face for the first time on Wednesday in advance of their highly anticipated scrap on Netflix.
Diaz (21-13) and Perry (14-8) will return to MMA competition for the first time in multiple years when they clash in the featured welterweight bout of the May 16 mega-event on Netflix from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
The matchup came together in somewhat surprising fashion, but with a massively positive reception.

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The Miami Heat are headed to Cancun, but the real play-in drama is playing out off the court between Nick Wright and the Ball family.
After Wright blasted LaMelo Ball on Wednesday over a controversial play that sidelined Bam Adebayo, Lonzo Ball fired back with an all-out social media attack.
Wright didn’t hold back on First Things First, making it clear he sees LaMelo as more spectacle than superstar. His take quickly went viral.
“That young man is a clown, and has been a clown forever and will never not be a clown,” he said on the program.

ABS has been the talk of the MLB season. Here’s what those in the game say about the new rule — and how it changes their jobs.

The News
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Wednesday that some of the travel bans and stricter rules that the Trump administration has put in place should not affect the ability of fans to travel to the US to watch the World Cup.
“We already obtained that there is a quicker path to obtain a visa for many fans, and that works actually quite well,” Infantino said in response to a question at Semafor World Economy in Washington, DC.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball is facing intense scrutiny from NBA fans after his trip on Bam Adebayo caused the Miami Heat center to miss the rest of Tuesday night’s play-in game due to injury.
It’s unclear whether or not Ball will be suspended for the play, but the NBA is set to review the second quarter incident before the Hornets next play-in game on Friday night. Ball did apologize for the trip, saying he got hit in the head and didn’t know where he was, but many in the NBA are hoping for more supplemental discipline after such a substantial moment.

UNC-Asheville transfer Kameron Taylor has committed to Florida State out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.
The 6-foot-7 sophomore is coming off a 2025-26 campaign where he led the Big South with 18.9 points per game and was named to the all-league team. In addition to his scoring prowess, Taylor pulled down 5.0 rebounds and dished out 3.8 assists per contest.
This developing story will be updated.

The Jets have decided to cancel their top-30 visit with Texas Tech pass rusher David Bailey ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, reports SNY NFL Insider Connor Hughes. 
Bailey, an NFL Draft prospect who led college football with 14.5 sacks last season with the Red Raiders, was supposed to meet with New York at the team’s facilities for player evaluations, including interviews and medical checks, but that will no longer take place.
The Jets did meet with a handful of young talent with their top-30 visits which has a deadline of April 15. Some of those players include Indiana WR Omar Cooper Jr.

Boom! Texas A&M has landed its 12th commitment in the 2027 recruiting class, as blue-chip four-star wide receiver Jade Upshaw, one of the more physical and versatile wideouts in the cycle, committed to the Aggies over Miami, Alabama, and Florida, making things official on Wednesday afternoon.
Before his official visit to College Station on May 29, the Georgia native took an unofficial visit last weekend during Texas A&M baseball’s sweep of rival Texas on the diamond, taking in the Aggies’ elite facilities that have developed countless NFL players and future Hall of Famers.

The New York Times and its sports section, The Athletic, has found its newest outrage target: a statue of a Texas Ranger outside Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers. Seriously.
That was the basis for Sam Blum’s 2,000-plus-word Wednesday piece about the Rangers installing the “One Riot, One Ranger” statue at the ballpark. Fellow Athletic writer Stephen J. Nesbitt piled on by calling it a “deeply controversial” statue and capping off his post with the always-serious journalistic flourish: “Yikes.

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – NOVEMBER 29: Carnell Tate #17 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates after a touchdown during the third quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Ohio State University.
I’m hardly a fan or an alum, but nicknames belong to the people who they belong to. There is no “the” for any other university. There is only The Ohio State University.

Carlos Ulberg’s one-legged win over Jiří Procházka for the UFC light heavyweight belt was one of the wildest title fights ever. The aftermath was apparently pretty wild too.
The newly minted UFC light heavyweight champion told Fox Sports Australia on Monday, two days after his win at UFC 327, that the physical belt went missing over the weekend, reportedly saying “I’ve lost the belt, bro.”
The New Zealander’s explanation for what happened in Miami:

“Ah, I don’t know exactly where it is,” the Aucklander continues.

College basketball transfer portal tracker 2026: Latest news on DJ Wagner, Juke Harris and others on the move originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Shortly after Michigan cut down the nets for the program’s first basketball championship since 1989, the 2026 college basketball transfer portal opened.
April 7 marks the beginning of transfer season in college basketball, and the floodgates will be open until April 21 to allow players to enter their name, spanning two weeks.

Content warning: This story contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide and needs support now, call or text 988 or chat with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org.
Major League Baseball and the Minnesota Twins are both investigating the allegation leveled by Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, who claimed Tuesday that a heckling fan told him to kill himself after he grounded out in the top of the fifth inning during a 6-0 loss at Minnesota’s Target Field, as reported by The Associated Press Wednesday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers still don’t have a definitive answer on whether Aaron Rodgers will return next season. With the 2026 NFL Draft approaching, it could be a prime opportunity to add some depth to the quarterback room and compete with Will Howard if Rodgers doesn’t return.
The franchise seems aware of this and has welcomed several quarterback draft prospects for pre-Draft visits.

This weekend, the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves will, once again, meet in the NBA playoffs. It’s the third time in the last four seasons the division rivals will have met in the postseason.
At no risk of hyperbole, each of the previous two entries produced some of the highest-level basketball we’ve seen this decade.
In 2023, the Nuggets dispatched the Timberwolves in a hard-fought five-game series en route to winning their first NBA title in franchise history.

IndyCar is headed to Southern California this weekend for the Grand Prix of Long Beach, one of the series’ marquee street races.
It’s a great weekend that also sees the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar series hitting the track, but unfortunately, one of the coolest things about Long Beach has been MIA for years, and that’s the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, which was retired back in 2016.
Now, I thought I knew a lot about that race.

One of the risks that Major League Baseball teams take when signing free agents is assuming how they’ll fit into the team and the existing clubhouse culture. Even though many do their homework on a player, there’s still some uncertainty for those making an adjustment to an unfamiliar situation and surroundings.
Those risks are elevated when that free agent doesn’t simply come from another MLB team or city, but from an entirely different country that has its own unique culture and routines.

Ryan Wilson and Leger Douzable join CBS Sports

Per NFL rules, the Green Bay Packers are allowed to host up to 30 draft-eligible players (excluding “local” prospects, such as those in the UW system or nearby regional schools such as Northern Illinois) for in-person visits. The Journal Sentinel is tracking the visits and supplying profiles based on information from sources and published reports.
To see other players who visited the Packers, visit the draft tracker.
GREEN BAY – With a nickname like “The Fridge,” you’d expect Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter to be able to stop the run.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Two golf tournaments separated by one week and 150 miles (240 kilometers) could not be any more different.
The Masters is the first major of the year, a high-stress test at Augusta National that requires full attention on just about every shot because of the razor-thin difference in the outcome. The RBC Heritage provides a tight, tree-lined Harbour Town course that oozes a sense of peace.
The winner gets a green jacket one week, a plaid one the next.

Add another big-time transfer portal target to the list of swing-and-misses for the Spartans.
College basketball insider Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported on Wednesday afternoon that Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell has committed to Indiana. The Hoosiers had been considered the favorite to land his commitment in recent days and it now appears to be locked up.

Sources: Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell has committed to Indiana.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 15, 2026
Sherrell, who is from Detroit, is one of the top prospects in the transfer portal.

Gina Carano was as good as gone from the MMA world after her last fight in 2009. But as is the case with nearly every legendary figure or pioneer in combat sports, she just couldn’t stay away, hence why she’s gearing up for a big return clash against Ronda Rousey on Netflix for Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions on May 16.
But the road to an in-cage return wasn’t without its many bumps and bruises for Carano. After rising to prominence as a notable name in MMA, especially among women, Carano, 43, instantly found success when she transitioned to acting in the 2010s.

The Washington Redskins have been dancing uncomfortably around abandoning their nickname and traditions in 2020, and they’ve never gotten the issue quite right. So, it’s no surprise that the latest attempt to fix the matter, which was unveiled on Wednesday, took steps in the right direction but still missed the mark.
The Commanders, as they’re known today, have gone through a number of rebranding efforts to escape their “Redskins” history.

This is it. The 2026 NFL Draft is right around the corner, so it’s time to lock in prospect rankings ahead of the offseason’s marquee event.
Here are the top 75 players of this draft class according to Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice.
Past individual big boards: 1.0 | 2.0
1. Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
Mendoza’s production and Indiana’s success went through the roof under Curt Cignetti, but just traits-wise, Mendoza has a lot to like. He’s a tall athlete with good size, a loose arm and good overall frame.

The Twins and Major League Baseball are investigating Jarren Duran’s allegation that a fan he pointed his middle finger at during a game had told the Red Sox outfielder to kill himself.