Category: Sports News Feed

ATLANTA (AP) — Cal Raleigh was just as successful with the first robot umpire All-Star challenge as he was in the Home Run Derby.

Seattle’s catcher signaled for an appeal to the Automated Ball-Strike System in the first inning Tuesday, getting a strikeout for Detroit’s Tarik Subal on San Diego’s Manny Machado.

“You take ‘em any way you can get ’em, boys,” Skubal said on the mound.

Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson also was successful as the first batter to call for a challenge, reversing a 1-0 fastball from Washington’s MacKenzie Gore in the fifth inning that had been called a strike. Mets closer Edwin Díaz and Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk also won challenges, and Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers lost one.

Skubal had given up Ketel Marte’s two-run double and retired the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman on a groundout for his first out when he got ahead of Machado 0-2 in the count. Skubal threw a 89.5 mph changeup, and plate umpire Dan Iassogna yelled” “Ball down!”

Raleigh tapped his helmet just before Skubal tipped his cap, triggering a review by the computer umpire that was tested in spring training this year and could be adopted for regular-season use in 2026.

“I think it’s a strike,” Raleigh said to Skubal in a conversation captured because they were wearing microphones for the Fox broadcast.

An animation of the computer analysis was shown on the Truist Park scoreboard and the broadcast. NL manager Dave Roberts laughed in the dugout after the challenge.

“I knew it was a strike,” Machado said.

Skubal doesn’t intend to use challenges during regular-season games if the ABS is put in place. He says he’ll rely on his catchers.

“I was joking around that I was going to burn two of them on the first balls just so that way we didn’t have them the rest of the game,” he said. “I’m just going to assume that it’s going to happen next year.”

Before the game, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred indicated the sport’s 11-man competition committee will consider the system for next season.

“I think the ability to correct a bad call in a high-leverage situation without interfering with the time of game because it’s so fast is something we ought to continue to pursue,” Manfred said.

ABS decisions may have an error of margin up to a half-inch.

“Our guys do have a concern with that half inch, what that might otherwise lead to particularly as it relates to the number of challenges you may have, whether you keep those challenges during the course of the game,” union head Tony Clark told the Baseball Writers Association of America. “Does there need to be some type of buffer zone consideration? Or do we want to find ourselves in a world where it’s the most egregious misses that we want focus in on?”

Manfred sounded less concerned.

“I don’t believe that technology supports the notion that you need a buffer zone,” he said. “To get into the idea that there’s something that is not a strike that you’re going to call a strike in a review system, I don’t know why I would want to do that.”

MLB sets the top of the automated strike zone at 53.5% of a batter’s height and the bottom at 27%, basing the decision on the midpoint of the plate, 8 1/2 inches from the front and 8 1/2 inches from the back. That contrasts with the rule book zone called by umpires, which says the zone is a cube.

“We haven’t even started talking about the strike zone itself, how that’s going to necessarily be measured, and whether or not there are tweaks that need to be made there, too,” Clark said. “So there’s a lot of discussion that still needs to be had, despite the fact that it seems more inevitable than not.”

Manfred has tested ABS in the minor leagues since 2019, using it for all pitches and then switching to a challenge system. Each team gets two challenges and a successful challenge is retained. Only catchers, batters and pitchers can call for a challenge.

“Where we are on ABS has been fundamentally influenced by player input,” he maintained. “If you had two years ago said to me: What do the owners want to do? I think they would have called every pitch with ABS as soon as possible. That’s because there is a fundamental, very fundamental interest in getting it right, right? We owe it to our fans to try to get it right because the players as I talked to them over a couple of years really, expressed a very strong interest or preference for the challenge system that we decided to test.”

Skubal wondered is all contingencies had been planned for.

“If power goes out and we don’t have ABS — sometimes we don’t have Hawk-Eye data or Trackman data. So what’s going to happen then?” he said. “Are we going to expect umpires to call balls and strikes when it’s an ABS zone?”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Saint Peter’s, Fairleigh Dickinson and Maryland-Baltimore County — three schools that have taken March Madness by storm at various points in the past decade — have declined to opt in to college sports’ new revenue sharing model.

The newly formed College Sports Commission, which oversees revenue sharing following the House settlement, posted a list of schools that have opted into revenue sharing. All members of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference are participating, and other Division I schools had to opt in or out by June 30.

Saint Peter’s, which reached the men’s Elite Eight as a No. 15 seed in 2022, did not opt in. Iona and Manhattan, who play with Saint Peter’s in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, didn’t either.

UMBC and Fairleigh Dickinson, the only two teams to pull off a 16-over-1 upset in the men’s basketball tournament, opted out as well. Fairleigh Dickinson is part of the Northeast Conference, which had just one school — Long Island University — opt in.

“It’s expensive to opt in,” Idaho athletic director Terry Gawlik told the Lewiston Tribune. “We don’t have that kind of money to pay for that.”

Idaho is one of several Big Sky schools opting out.

In addition to the costs of sharing revenue directly with athletes, Title IX concerns and scholarship limitations are among the reasons a school might opt out.

“Revenue sharing and scholarship limits are really one piece, but the big thing for us is the roster limitation,” Central Arkansas athletic director Matt Whiting told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette while explaining his school’s decision to opt out.

Military rules prevent Navy, Air Force, and Army from compensating athletes through name, image and likeness deals, but aside from them, the Football Bowl Subdivision leagues have full participation in the settlement.

Other conferences with all full members opting in included the Atlantic 10, Big East, Coastal Athletic, Horizon, Missouri Valley, Southwestern Athletic, Western Athletic and West Coast. The Big West had everyone opt in except Cal Poly and UC Davis, which play football in the Big Sky.

Nebraska-Omaha is the lone full member of the Summit League to opt out, and Tennessee State is the only full Ohio Valley member to do so.

The Ivy League said in January that its eight schools — which do not award athletic scholarships — would not participate. The Patriot League didn’t have any full members opt in either, although Fordham, Georgetown and Richmond — associate members who play football in that conference — did.

Of the 68 schools that made the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last year, only American, Nebraska-Omaha, Saint Francis and Yale have opted out of revenue sharing. Five schools that made the women’s tournament opted out: Columbia, Fairleigh Dickinson, Harvard, Lehigh and Princeton.

Commissioners of historically Black conferences have expressed concern that the push to make athletes school employees could potentially destroy athletic programs — but the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference had everyone opt in except North Carolina Central.

Some schools that don’t play Division I football or basketball opted in — such as Johns Hopkins with its storied lacrosse program. Augusta University, which is located in the same town as the Masters and perhaps unsurprisingly competes in Division I in golf, was on the list of teams opting in.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

LAUREL, Md. (AP) — A week before veterans arrive for Washington Commanders training camp, top wide receiver Terry McLaurin did not commit to practicing with the rest of the team, expressing frustration over a lack of progress toward a new contract.

McLaurin said Tuesday after taping a local television commercial he wants “things to work out … but at the end of the day, it takes two to tango.”

“I don’t know what happens next,” McLaurin said. “But without any progressive discussions, it’s kind of hard to see how I step on the field.”

What happens next, starting with his attendance at training camp or seeking a trade, is unclear. Instead of building on a dynamic passing connection with Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback Jayden Daniels, McLaurin skipped mandatory minicamp and some voluntary workouts this spring.

“I’ve been pretty frustrated — I’m not gonna lie,” McLaurin said in his first expansive comments on the contract talks, which became a 30-minute discussion with reporters. “Everything that has transpired to this point has been disappointing and frustrating. I’ve wanted to continue my career here. I’ve created my life here.”

McLaurin, who turns 30 in September, signed a three-year, $68.2 million extension in 2022 under the Commanders’ previous regime. His $23.2 million average annual salary ranks 17th among active wide receivers after the New York Jets agreed with Garrett Wilson on a four-year, $130 million extension Monday. McLaurin’s 2025 base salary is $15.5 million.

He had a career-high 13 touchdowns last season, his fifth in a row surpassing 1,000 yards receiving, on 82 receptions. McLaurin added another three touchdowns and 227 yards on 14 catches in three playoff games as Washington reached the NFC championship game for the first time since 1991.

Instead of that success leading to smooth extension talks, McLaurin said his camp has not heard from the front office in the past month. McLaurin, a 2019 third-round pick out of Ohio State, said his status for training camp and future with the organization are “up in the air.”

That is a twist for someone who had been a face of the franchise before Daniels’ arrival, producing on teams with a rotating cast of suspect QBs. That changed last season as the Commanders won 12 regular-season games with Daniels running the offense.

Only Daniels rivals McLaurin’s popularity among fans and for his locker room leadership.

“I understand that everything is a business, but at the same time, I want to put myself in a position where I’m valued and I feel appreciated and things like that,” McLaurin said. “Unfortunately, that hasn’t transpired the way I wanted it to.”

The Commanders have remained quiet during the protracted negotiations beyond general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn expressing a desire to keep McLaurin around for a long time.

While Wilson is on the verge of 25, McLaurin’s primary comparison may be closer to fellow 2019 draft pick D.K. Metcalf, who is two years younger and signed a $132 million extension with Pittsburgh following an offseason trade from Seattle.

“I think how the market is today, I think it pretty much conveys what guys of my caliber are deserving of,” McLaurin said. “I feel like I fit in that box because of how I’ve always carried myself on and off the field and the value I know I bring to a team.”

The topic of age befuddles McLaurin, who has not missed a game since 2020. He noted that he wasn’t a full-time player until deep into his Ohio State career and that this will only be his seventh NFL season.

“I’m not dismissing (age) completely,” McLaurin said. “There are data points to support that, but how come it’s not OK to say this may be a different case, and based on what he’s proven, showing no signs of deterioration? I feel that should be acknowledged, as well.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — It’s the summer to sue in NASCAR, the sport where the on-track bumping and banging is in danger of being overshadowed by the action in the courtroom.

Two teams — one owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan — are suing NASCAR over antitrust allegations. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are awaiting a federal court ruling before Sunday’s race in Delaware that could impact their ability to compete.

Meanwhile, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is battling tiny Rick Ware Racing and his lawyers at Legacy Motor Club went hard at Ware’s attorneys in a Monday hearing.

What is all the fighting about? Charters, which are at the heart of NASCAR’s business model. Having one is vital to a team’s survival.

The legal wrangling is only making the the charters skyrocket in value. When Spire Motorsports debuted in 2019, it had bought a charter for $6 million. Now, one of Spire’s founders brokered the now-disputed deal for Ware to sell one of his two charters to Legacy for $45 million.

Johnson is not enjoying the legal brawling, including the higher-profile antitrust fight. He called on those parties to settle.

“I’m just sitting back watching it all play out, learning a lot about the legal process and the amount of injunctions and appeals that can take place,” Johnson said. “It’s a big game of chess and I’m watching all the strategy that goes into it all.

“I would love to see a settlement of some kind. I really don’t think that getting into a knock-down, drag-out lawsuit is good for anybody.”

The NASCAR lawsuit

23XI and FRM filed a federal antitrust suit against NASCAR last year after they were the only two organizations out of 15 to reject NASCAR’s extension offer on charters.

The case has a Dec. 1 trial date, but in the meantime, the two teams are fighting to be recognized as chartered for the current season, which has 16 races left. A charter guarantees one of the 40 spots in the field each week, but also a base amount of money paid out each week.

Jordan and FRM owner Bob Jenkins won an injunction to recognize 23XI and FRM as chartered for the season, but the ruling was overturned on appeal earlier this month. Both teams were set to be stripped of a combined six charters on Wednesday, which would force them to compete as “open cars.”

Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin co-owns 23XI with Jordan and said they are prepared to send Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst to the track each week as open teams. But they still filed for a restraining order Monday and claimed that through discovery they learned NASCAR upon revocation planned to immediately begin the process of selling the six charters which would put “plaintiffs in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.”

NASCAR said it has asked multiple times for settlement proposals but heard nothing. NASCAR also has no intention of re-negotiating the charter agreements held by 30 other teams.

Jordan has the money to keep 23XI running without charters, but FRM doesn’t have the same level of funding. Additionally, if the teams aren’t chartered, they will have to qualify on speed each week to make the field.

It won’t be an issue this weekend at Dover as fewer than the maximum 40 cars are entered. But should 41 cars show up anywhere this season, someone slow will be sent home.

“We’re not worried because our cars have the speed. We’ve always said we’re racing no matter what. If we have to race open, we have to race open,” Hamlin said at Sonoma Raceway last weekend. “We worked to get an injunction and obviously feel like Dec. 1 is all that matters.”

Legacy vs. RWR

This case is actually a dispute over agreed-upon terms for Ware to sell one of his two charters to Johnson and his partners at Knighthead Capital Management.

Ware this season is leasing a charter to RFK Racing and was already under agreement with that team to get the charter back in 2026, then lease RFK its second charter next season. He never had a charter to sell for 2026 unless he ceased operations.

Yet when he signed the contract with Legacy, Ware has said, he didn’t read it through and catch that the sale terms were for next season and not 2027, when he’d have both charters in his possession.

RWR is alleging Legacy pulled a bait-and-switch, and if true, it is on Ware for not seeing it in the contract he signed.

The curveball came when T.J. Puchyr, the Spire co-founder who now acts as a consultant and brokered the deal between Legacy and Ware, said last month he plans to buy Ware’s team. Legacy argued in court Monday it was blindsided by the news, that if Ware is selling then the charter rightfully belongs to them, and they urgently needed depositions before Ware sold his race team out from under them.

It didn’t help when Ware’s lawyers couldn’t answer questions about a potential sale: “I think you need to talk to your client,” the judge told them before warning Ware may be in contempt of court and ordering depositions for later this week.

Ware, meanwhile, apparently accepted the Legacy offer for his charter despite a second bid of more than $50 million from another party. With NASCAR indicating through discovery in the 23XI/FRM suit that it has interested buyers for the six charters, it is a seller’s market.

Johnson, with financial backing from Knighthead, is certain he will be getting the Ware charter one way or another to expand Legacy to three full-time Cup Series drivers.

“I’m not sure there is a plan B,” Johnson said of his confidence level at winning the case.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

ATLANTA (AP) — Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain averaged 1.3 million viewers on TBS and the 24 matches televised in the U.S. with English commentary averaged 458,000, TNT Sports said Tuesday.

The streaming service DAZN bought world rights from FIFA and sublicensed 24 of the 63 matches to TNT, which televised the games on TNT, TBS and truTV.

Turner said 15 matches on nights and weekends averaged 535,000 viewers.

Sunday’s game peaked at 1.8 million viewers from 3:45-4 p.m. EDT as Chelsea took a three-goal lead into halftime.

DAZN has not yet released viewing figures.

Eighteen matches with Spanish commentary were sublicensed to TelevisaUnivision for U.S. broadcast.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Jets are making Sauce Gardner the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL.

The Jets and Gardner agreed on a four-year, $120.4 million extension through the 2030 season, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the agreement had not been announced.

Gardner took to social media to report “THE DEAL IS DONE” and thank his agents for making that happen.

“This only the beginning,” Gardner posted. “I appreciate the Jets organization for believing in me, my teammates for the blood, sweat (and) tears we put in.”

The contract paying the two-time All-Pro an average of $30.1 million a year comes a day after the Jets agreed to a lucrative extension with top wide receiver Garrett Wilson. That deal with Wilson is worth $130 million, as the organization locked up two foundational players for the long-term future.

Gardner, who turns 25 before Week 1, was the No. 4 pick in the 2022 draft out of Cincinnati. He established himself as one of the league’s top cornerbacks during his first two professional seasons, including being selected the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.

After a down year by his standards, he is out to prove naysayers wrong, saying he has always felt like an underdog. Gardner opted to participate in mandatory minicamp rather than hold out to try to push for a new deal.

After recently declining to say whether he wanted to be the richest player at the position, Gardner now has that distinction.

“Man, I just wanted to show my teammates, show the coaches how much I’m bought into this,” Gardner said. “I want to win. I want to change the organization. I want to be a part of changing the organization.”

The Jets have the longest active playoff drought in the NFL, dating to a trip to the AFC championship game in the 2010 season. The organization hopes the new regime of general manager Darren Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn — himself a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback in his playing days — can lead a successful turnaround.

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AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak Jr. contributed to this report.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the deadline to sign franchise-tagged guard Trey Smith to a multiyear contract, agreeing to terms Tuesday on a $94 million deal, a person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press.

The four-year contract includes $70 million guaranteed, said the person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been announced.

Smith, 26, now has the highest average salary of any player at his position in the NFL at $23.5 million annually.

The Chiefs had until 4 p.m. EDT Tuesday to work out a deal beyond this season after giving Smith the franchise tag in March. Smith and franchised Cincinnati receiver Tee Higgins each got a lucrative contract, though the agreements came roughly four months apart.

Smith has been a key part of the offensive line protecting two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes since entering the league in 2021 as a sixth-round draft pick out of Tennessee. Smith has started 67 regular-season and 13 playoff games, helping Kansas City win the Super Bowl twice and getting there last season before losing to Philadelphia.

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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

ATLANTA (AP) — Hugh Freeze is in unfamiliar territory as he heads into year three as Auburn’s coach.

The former Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty coach only had one losing season in his decade as a Division I head coach, but his first two seasons at Auburn have yielded meager results at 6-7 and 5-7.

Last fall marked the first football season without a head coaching change in the SEC since 2018, but Freeze certainly enters 2025 on the hot seat.

“I’m glad I’m at a place that has those expectations,” Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media days. “I think when you’ve done this awhile, you really don’t give into a lot of the pressure stuff.”

Everything starts at quarterback with the highest profile of Auburn’s 19 incoming transfers. Freeze signed former Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold, hoping he can finally provide stability. Starting quarterback Payton Thorne and his backup Hank Brown both struggled last season particularly with ball security, as the Tigers threw 13 interceptions as a team and finished 119th nationally in turnover margin.

Arnold himself struggled through a difficult season with the Sooners, losing his starting job for two games and playing the final five games of the regular season with an interim offensive coordinator. But between Freeze’s quarterback-friendly system and a year of SEC experience now under his belt, there is optimism about the fresh start being mutually beneficial.

“Coach Freeze isn’t scared to push the ball down the field, which I absolutely love,” Arnold said. “I thought with my experience running the RPO game, I think it meshed well with what Coach Freeze wants to do with his offense.”

He will have two of Auburn’s top three receivers from last year in terms of both yards and touchdowns back with Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons, along with incoming transfer Eric Singleton Jr. from Georgia Tech. That combined with a returning nucleus on the offensive line led by center Connor Lew has Freeze expecting a sizable jump offensively.

“This is my favorite offensive line when I look at it on paper,” Freeze said. “We’d better be able to run the football and protect the quarterback, because I think we’re pretty talented up there.”

Heading into 2025 Freeze is not only 11-14 overall, but 5-11 in SEC play, 2-6 in one-possession games and perhaps most damaging in the eyes of fans and administrators, 0-4 against rivals Alabama and Georgia.

“Our roster is one that can compete with those teams,” Freeze said, directly addressing the rivalry shortcomings. “We’ve been in the games the first two years, but we haven’t found a way to win.”

Auburn will get both games at home, with Georgia playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 11 and Alabama coming in for the regular-season finale Nov. 29.

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