The final statistics are in for transfers for the 2025-26 school year compiled by the 10 sections that make up the California Interscholastic Federation, and it was another record year for transfers.
The Southern Section led the way with 7,248, a record.
CIF transfer numbers for 2025-26.
(Los Angeles Times)
Transfers have been a major topic for discussions in high school sports around the country, with state associations coming up with different ideas, from making athletes ineligible for one year in Texas if they transfer for athletic reasons to offering one-time free transfers.
The CIF held a roundtable for discussions in 2025 about possible policy changes but everything has been on hold while waiting for a court case to play out that was dismissed for a second time recently.
CIF membership has been cautious about intervening or limiting transfer opportunities for fear politicians in Sacramento might get involved.
Jason Heyward didn’t give Freddie Freeman the heads up that he’d secured a job in the Dodgers’ front office. He hadn’t told any of his former Dodger teammates. But Freeman, who’s known Heyward for two decades, now says he’d heard rumblings. He was just going to let his longtime friend break the news himself.
On May 13, midway through a home series against the Giants, Freeman walked into the food room at Dodger Stadium, and, to his surprise and confusion, there was Heyward.
“What are you doing here?” a slack-jawed Freeman asked.
“Well, I’m working,” Heyward said.
No text. No call.
“He waited to tell me in person,” Freeman said.
Heyward technically started his job as a special assistant at the beginning of May, but he was on site for the first time a couple of weeks later. That game against the Giants, with Heyward looking on as a Dodgers special assistant for the first time, Freeman stole a base — a rarity in recent years.
“I wanted to ask him, what was my grade?” Freeman said. “What do you give me, a 70 on the 20-80 (scouting) scale?”
Freeman chuckled. Though he has long been an adept baserunner, it’s never been because of his speed — not even in high school, when teams were scouting him for the 2007 MLB draft.
Jason Heyward, who joined the Dodgers as a special assistant earlier this season, stands on the field before a game against the Seattle Mariners at Dodger Stadium last month.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
That’s when Freeman and Heyward first met, the summer before their senior year. They had no way of knowing that they’d go on to experience baseball and life milestones together for the next two decades and counting.
They were both drafted by the Braves, Heyward in the first round (No. 14 overall), and Freeman in the second (No.78). They became roommates and teammates, debuting in the same year.
Over the course of two long and decorated MLB careers — which includes Heyward’s five Gold Gloves, Freeman’s 10 All-Star selections, and five World Series rings between the two of them — their paths diverged and reconnected multiple times.
In this most recent chapter, Heyward has ventured into the front office, Freeman is adding to his Hall of Fame candidacy, and they’re once again on the same team.
“To see us now, it’s crazy,” Freeman said. “It really is.”
Strangers
It’s rare for friends of 20 years to be able to pick out the details of their first encounter. Over the decades, fond memories start to jumble and fade.
But not for Freeman and Heyward.
Without hesitation they’ll bring up August 2006, when they were both 16 and played on opposing teams in the Aflac All-American Classic, held that year in San Diego. They really got to know each other during the down time that week, hanging out in the communal game room in the hotel.
When they met, Freeman was playing Pop-A-Shot.
“That’s where he was most of the time,” Heyward said.
The group could gravitate to another part of the room to “trade cards, sign autographs, talk a little shop,” and Freeman would somehow end up back at the Pop-A-Shot.
That, however, didn’t stop Freeman and Heyward from hitting it off.
On the surface, they were an opposites-attract kind of duo, in pretty much every category but height — listed as 6-foot-4 and 6-5 during that showcase. Heyward grew up in the Atlanta metropolitan area, playing on the East team, and Freeman was an Orange County native, representing the West.
Their priorities and aspirations pulled them together.
“You kind of look around and see all the other guys there and see what they’re doing, how they talk, how they act,” Freeman said. “And then you run into Jason, and then, I’m like, ‘That’s who I want to hang out with.’ He had everything figured out at such a young age.”
Heyward was the more hyped prospect, and the star of the East in that game, with four stolen bases, a pair of hits and two RBIs.
The second time Heyward reached first base, Freeman said to him, “You’re not going to steal again.” Heyward’s response: “I’m going again.”
“I looked down, he was kicking dirt on my shoes, all that,” Heyward said. “So, same guy who he is today on first base, that’s who he’s always been.”
Even in practice, Freeman’s competitiveness stood out to his new friend.
“One hundred percent competitive, but it was fun for him to be competitive,” Heyward said. “Not competitive in like, ‘Get off me,’ [stuff] like that. He welcomed me.”
Though they became fast friends, and ran into each other on the showcase circuit throughout their senior year, who knows what would have happened if the 2007 draft had played out differently?
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman takes his shoes off after batting practice during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix in February.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Draftees
Freeman was scheduled to take a final exam the day he was drafted.
That year, the draft made its television debut. The first round — including the Braves selecting hometown kid Jason Heyward — was broadcast on ESPN2. Heyward’s selection wasn’t a surprise — “We know the Braves have a history of drafting young players from the area,” he said.
But Freeman would have to be in front of a computer to track the subsequent rounds. He finagled permission to go home until he was selected, and then return to school.
“We were going along, and I had some other teams calling for me as a pitcher,” Freeman said. “And I was like, ‘I don’t want to pitch, let me hit first.’”
Eventually the Braves called, with their second pick of the second round approaching. Freeman, wasting no time, kicked off the conversation with: “I don’t want to pitch.”
“And they’re like, ‘Good, because we don’t want you to,’” Freeman recalled.
Finally. The excitement began to set in.
Even after the Braves drafted Freeman, it wasn’t a done deal on his end.
He’d committed to Cal State Fullerton, the alma mater of his father, Fred Freeman. And Freddie had his sights set on becoming a CPA and taking over his dad’s business.
A couple days after the draft, at 2 or 3 a.m., Freddie knocked on Fred’s bedroom door with a decision.
“Dad, I don’t want to go to college,” he said. “I want to play baseball.”
They talked for a while. And though Fred had wanted his son to pursue an education, he softened his stance, supporting Freddie’s dream. They agreed, Freddie remembers, that if he didn’t make it to the big leagues in four years, he’d quit to follow the original plan.
“Back then, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s fine,” Freeman said. “And now you think about it — that was crazy to think, right? Four or five years in the minor leagues, that’s what the norm is. … We didn’t know any better.”
That set Freeman and Heyward on course to reunite, this time as teammates.
Heyward, poised to sign for above slot value, had to wait until mid-August to sign his contract ($1.7-million bonus). So, when he finally joined the Gulf Coast League, for all of eight games before finishing the season with rookie-ball Danville, he remembers Freeman greeting him with a disgruntled, “Hey, man, I’ve been waiting on you. I’ve been here, it’s been hot.”
“My bad,” Heyward said. “I couldn’t control it.”
Freeman broke into laughter.
After the instructional league that fall, Freeman and Heyward decided to room together in spring training. And though the accommodations changed throughout the years, they’d remain roommates through 2010, their debut season in the majors.
Roommates
Outfielder Jason Heyward, left, and infielder Freddie Freeman celebrate before the start of a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays in March 2010.
(Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images)
There’s no better way to quickly learn a person’s idiosyncrasies than living with them.
In terms of morning routines, Heyward and Freeman were on far ends of the spectrum. If Heyward was going to start getting ready at 12:30, Freeman was waiting until 12:48 — and it was always something that specific too. Extremely structured to this day, if something throws off Freeman’s schedule, his “robot mind,” as he puts it, malfunctions.
While Heyward would marvel at how close Freeman was willing to cut it, Freeman would give Heyward grief for how long he’d take to get ready.
“In the minor leagues, we had to shave, had to keep it low,” Heyward said. “And I’ve been, at that time, shaving since I was 15. So sometimes I had to shave twice a day, otherwise it was just freaking uncomfortable.
“So, yeah, if I may take a long time to get ready, ‘You’re rocking with what you’re rocking with; you can just get out of bed, literally wet your hair, and then go.’”
On the road, Freeman still jokes, Heyward’s BlackBerry phone came into play. The team would put the players up in hotel rooms with two beds, subjecting Freeman to the incessant clicking of Heyward texting.
“Anybody can nitpick something, but if I complain about a BlackBerry texting, that’s not really anything,” Freeman said. “‘Sorry, I had friends,’ he would say.”
Freeman and Heyward were inseparable. They’d hit back-to-back in the lineup, and then get on the bus for a 13-hour ride and sit right next to each other.
They rose quickly through the farm system, one after another, sharing the highs and lows.
“There was some irony in the fact of how he was treated in the South, versus how I’m treated in the South, even though I’m from there,” said Heyward, who is Black. “And that goes back to even in the minor leagues.”
A road trip to Savannah, Ga., in 2008 immediately came to mind for Freeman, who is white. From first base Freeman could hear everything the crowd said to Heyward in right field — including the racial slur a fan yelled in the middle of a game.
“It was the first time I ever heard the N-word,” Freeman said. “It was crazy to me. And I was almost in tears. I wanted to run into the stands.”
In fact, he started walking over there, before Heyward stopped him.
“For me, obviously, that’s been my whole life, especially growing up where I grew up,” Heyward said. “But it’s just a good perspective on him not hearing it before. And I think that’s it.
“But, yeah, if anybody would have tried him on anything, I’m fighting them too. … What’s understood didn’t have to be explained there.”
The fact that Heyward could remain so calm was eye-opening for Freeman. The pair came away from that incident, and more subtle slights (like having to wait 20 minutes to be seated in a mostly empty restaurant), with a better understanding of each other.
“For an 18-year-old to have that be a normal thing is even more saddening,” Freeman said. “To this day, it’s hard to even talk about. That those kids, or young adults [in the stands] grew up thinking that was an OK thing to say, it’s just baffling to me.”
Teammates
Heyward’s highly anticipated MLB debut came on April 5, 2010, opening day at Turner Field. And in his first major league at-bat, he smoked a three-run home run to right field.
Freeman, on the other hand, started the season in triple A. But that didn’t split up the roommates. Freeman made the 35-minute drive northeast to Gwinnett, and Heyward headed south for 15 minutes.
By late August, it was obvious Freeman would be among the Braves’ call-ups when rosters expanded on Sept. 1.
Sure enough, Heyward and Freeman both headed south that day — still driving separately because of their differing morning routines.
Freddie Freeman, left, Jason Heyward, center, and Brian McCann chat during a workout at spring training in Kissimmee, Fla., in 2011.
(Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press)
“I walked into Turner Field, and saw my name in the lineup, hitting sixth, and I almost threw up,” Freeman said.
Seeing familiar faces helped. Freeman knew many of the coaches and his new teammates from major league spring training the past two years. And, of course, there was Heyward.
“Just a special day,” Freeman said. “I didn’t get any hits, but I didn’t care.
“Jason got all the hits for us, he went four for four. He was so happy I was there. He took all my hits.”
As Freeman went through his big-league firsts, he appreciated having Heyward, who’d already checked them off for himself, by his side.
Freeman looks back fondly on their plane rides. He and Heyward would sit together, eating Chick-fil-A.
Raising the level of decadence, the next year, Freeman had his first “show dinner” with Heyward and veterans such as Eric Hinske and Chipper Jones at a steakhouse in Seattle called El Gaucho.
“I was like, this is the coolest thing ever,” Freeman said.
“Those were both of our ‘college years,’” Heyward said. “So seeing the real world a little bit, spending time on flights, clubhouse, dinners, enjoying teammates, becoming young adults.”
Jason Heyward, right, high-fives teammate Freddie Freeman after scoring off a single by Justin Upton in the first inning of a June 2013 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
(David Goldman / Associated Press)
They were also playing well. Heyward and Freeman finished No. 2 in NL rookie of the year voting in consecutive years. And they started filling up their own individual trophy cases, while the Braves made it to the postseason three times in five years.
“Everyone has fun playing baseball,” Freeman said, “but to experience the big leagues with your best friend, I don’t know if you can get much better than that.”
Rivals
As soon as the Braves were eliminated from the 2014 postseason chase, the team fired general manager Frank Wren. Plunging into a rebuild, new president of baseball operations John Hart’s first big move was to trade Heyward to the Cardinals for pitching.
“That was the first time I saw the business side of baseball,” Freeman said. “Sad day. But it opened my eyes to, this isn’t just fun all the time. The fun has to end at some point.”
Freeman and Heyward kept in touch and celebrated each other’s successes. But it wasn’t the same.
“That was like, ‘Alright, this is becoming more of a job,” Heyward said.
Heyward leveraged that platform season in St. Louis into an eight-year free agent contract with the Cubs worth $184 million, setting a franchise record.
The Braves extended Freeman. Then when he finally hit free agency after the 2021 season, he became the first infielder to sign a $100-plus million deal with the Dodgers, signing a contract for six years and $162 million.
For eight years, Heyward and Freeman played for opposing NL teams. Then, an unexpected turn of events set the ball rolling for a reunion.
In early August 2022, when Heyward had already been on the injured list for over a month with what the Cubs called right knee inflammation, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer announced that the team intended to release the veteran right fielder from the final year of his contract after the season.
Freeman saw an opportunity. And for the rest of the year, he didn’t let Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman or general manager Brandon Gomes walk by without hearing his pitch for Heyward.
“I’ll shoot you straight,” Freeman told them. “I don’t know what you’re going to get from the baseball player Jason Heyward, but I know what you’re going to get from the person Jason Heyward, and what he would mean inside of a clubhouse, and what he can do to young guys and help them. There’s no one better to be in this clubhouse than how you are envisioning clubhouse culture and chemistry than to bring this guy in.”
Friedman doesn’t have an exact count on the number of times Freeman mentioned Heyward to him in those months, “but it was definitely a lot.”
Friedman and Gomes were intrigued enough to have their group dig into the evolution of Heyward’s swing. But they still had questions, like how open was he going to be to diving into adjustments with their staff?
Soon after he was officially released, the Dodgers set up a Zoom.
“He was all-in,” Friedman said, “in terms of open-mindedness, desire to change some of the recent narrative, and he was excited about the prospect of working with our guys and doing what he could to help us win games, both on and off the field.”
Heyward said he heard from the Dodgers three times before he heard from any other team in free agency.
“That was how persistent they were,” he said.
Jason Heyward, left, celebrates a run with Freddie Freeman against the Texas Rangers in June 2024.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
Heyward signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in early December. He spent time in Southern California over the offseason to get a head start on overhauling his swing. And he met Freeman in Newport Beach, to hang out, hit and work out together.
Heyward’s efforts paid off. He made the team out of spring training. And he and Freeman were officially teammates again.
“It was so fun,” Heyward said.
Their reunion on the field was brief — the Dodgers re-signed Heyward for the 2024 season and then, his first half derailed by injuries, released him in August — but it was still sweet.
“You go from sitting together on a bus coming from Rome, Ga., going to Wilmington, Delaware — and like now you’re on a first class flight with the L.A. Dodgers, and traveling from West Coast to East Coast, wearing the jumpsuits, all that stuff,” Heyward said. “That was a very cool experience coming from being 16-years-old, Aflac All-Americans, to now sharing a World Series ring.”
Co-workers
Heyward finished 2024 with the Astros and spent the next season with the Padres. He trained this past offseason to be ready for spring training if a team gave him an offer. But in the final weeks, he also started laying groundwork for a post-playing career in case the phone never rang.
“This year I said, ‘If we get a Super Bowl weekend, that’s it, and I’m content,’” Heyward said. “Not complacent; I’m content. I let it run its course, and now I have clarity to go do whatever else it is.”
He said he reached out to the Cubs first about a non-playing role, and had cursory conversations with the White Sox. He exchanged texts with Friedman, reviving conversations they’d had in his stint with the Dodgers. In many ways, it came down to timing.
Heyward had already been planning on meeting up in spring training with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, a former player, to pick his brain about the transition.
They went to dinner, with both their wives, and stayed for six hours.
“I basically was just honest with him, in telling him that, No. 1, I think it’s great that he wants to stay in the game,” Roberts said. “But No. 2 is that when you’re a player, you look at certain things in a certain lens, but for him to be good at this job in the front office, he’s got to be really open-minded to learn.”
Roberts came away from the conversation excited by how earnestly Heyward embraced that message. And he mentioned to Gomes: “Someone with his character that has his desire to work could be a huge asset for us.”
Two and a half weeks later, Heyward stopped by Dodgers camp at Camelback Ranch to catch up with old friends and teammates.
“I was here for two years, and it felt like I was here for 10,” Heyward said. “And that’s family included — my family, my kids, my wife … So, what I thought was going to be natural, this was even more organic.”
Friends
Dodgers outfielder Jason Heyward, right, congratulates Freddie Freeman after bringing him home on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium in a June 2024 game.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Life changes dramatically between the ages of 16 and 36.
“Single guys trying to make it, to married with many kids,” said Freeman, who turns 37 next month. “And we’re still as close as ever, which is really, really special for me.”
Then, he added: “This is going to be friends forever.”
Their wives, Chelsea Freeman and Vedrana Heyward, are close too. The Freeman’s middle children are just a little over a year older than the Heywards’ eldest. And the families’ newest additions were both born months apart.
Freeman and Heyward are already coordinating family schedules and travel — the Heywards are based in Chicago — to all get together in California this offseason.
They’re no longer those high schoolers bonding between rounds of Pop-A-Shot. In June, Freeman surpassed 2,500 career MLB hits.
“The way Free’s done it, winning is all over it,” Heyward said. “I think that’s one of those unique abilities, to this guy is playing the game first, winning first, and then he’s getting a result, then he’s having the big at-bat, doing it obviously in the postseason. So I’m just happy to see him get the recognition that he’s earned the time he put into it. I’m happy to see his stubbornness pay off.
“It’s not easy to do. It’s much easier said than done.”
Heyward, moving on from a 16-year major-league playing career, would love to be a general manager one day. But he’s keeping an open mind. He took Roberts’ advice to heart and is using his first year as a special assistant to learn and explore the possibilities.
Heyward has been around the major-league team for a handful of series in Los Angeles and Chicago (even giving Freeman advance notice before the White Sox series to make up for his May drop-in).
Trying his hand at player evaluation, he sat in the stands during the Southeastern Conference tournament. And as he pops in on affiliates, the Dodgers also see the time he spends with their outfield prospects — the biggest strength of their farm system — as invaluable.
“Whatever he wants to be in the front office, he’s going to be it, because that’s just who he is,” Freeman said. “Because he is a special man, he works hard, he cares, he wants to be the best.”
Freeman has already seen Heyward manifest his dreams once — and vice versa.
Being drafted, making it to the majors, winning championships, those were just dreams 20 years ago this month, when they both wandered into the communal activities room between All-American Classic obligations.
“That week in San Diego,” Freeman said, “obviously we’ll never forget it.”
Sir Nick Faldo says LIV golfers seeking a return to the DP World Tour may have to “eat a bit of humble pie” before regaining eligibility for the European-based circuit.
Tyrrell Hatton, Tom McKibbin and Adrian Meronk are competing instead at the Husqvarna British Masters starting on Thursday.
Six-time major champion Faldo is promoting the Belfry tournament while LIV’s boss Scott O’Neil continues his quest to replace Saudi Arabian funding. He wants $350m (£258m) investment to keep the league operating next year.
“I’m hearing there are more players wanting to leave LIV than want to stay,” Faldo told BBC Sport.
“So it doesn’t sound good for them for the future.”
Hatton, McKibbin and Meronk are able to compete as DP World Tour members after accepting a deal that allowed them to play both tours without sanction this year.
For his walk on music at the Indianapolis tournament last week, Hatton chose Queen’s I Want to Break Free, interpreted as a firm signal that the Englishman wants to leave the tour that began in 2022.
Hatton has recent tournament wins that protect his DP World status. Two-time major champion Jon Rahm also has exemptions that would qualify him for the tour should he quit the previously Saudi Arabia-funded outfit.
But Faldo is clear that it should not be overly easy for LIV players to walk straight back onto the DP World Tour.
“How do they actually give them a route back?” Faldo added.
“You know, given the way they’ve disrupted – go and start again. Go back to tour school.
“Hey, you might have to eat a bit of humble pie and say, well, I want to be a proper golfer again, and so I’ve got to start back where I’m meant to be and I’ll work my way up the good old way with my skills and my scoring.”
Yan Diomande topped Real’s transfers, and Jose Mourinho says he is happy despite missing out on Rodri to Barcelona.
Published On 25 Aug 202625 Aug 2026
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says he is “very happy” with his squad, which he considers complete despite missing out on midfielder Rodri, later signed by rivals Barcelona.
Los Blancos revamped their squad this summer, signing six players including record arrival Yan Diomande, Bernardo Silva and Marc Cucurella.
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However, Madrid’s approach for Rodri broke down, meaning that, beyond former Man City playmaker Silva, they have not strengthened in midfield.
“For me the squad is closed, but the market is still open – you never know if a player will come and say ‘I’ve been benched twice and I want to leave,’” Mourinho told reporters on Tuesday.
“In theory, no [more deals]… but something could always happen… In my head the squad is closed, and I have not asked for anyone. I am very happy with the players I have.”
With midfield maestros Toni Kroos and Luka Modric departing in 2024 and 2025 respectively, Madrid have struggled to control matches.
Mourinho’s side snatched a late 2-1 win at Espanyol on Saturday in their La Liga opener, starting with Silva and Federico Valverde together in midfield.
Mourinho said French defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni was not ready to play against Real Sociedad on Wednesday.
“He’s got a problem, the holiday time wasn’t enough [for him to recover], seeing the games approaching, the player wanted to try … but we’ve decided that you can’t start a season in suffering,” explained the coach.
“You can finish a season suffering, the last couple of months, but you can’t start in August not at 100 percent.
“So we decided with him, the staff, the medical department, to get him to return at 100 percent.”
Mourinho said he had faith in Uruguayan international Valverde as a midfielder, despite previous coaches using him in a variety of roles, including right-back and right winger.
“For me he is a player for the centre of the pitch,” added Mourinho.
“Depending on the opponent and our objectives, he might be more set in his position or more mobile.”
Mourinho said that in modern football, players’ positions were less relevant.
“I don’t want to identify Tchouameni as the No. 6, Camavinga No. 6, Fede No. 8, Bernardo No. 10 … things dilute during games.”
Carsley said the 45-year-old Cole, who retired from playing in 2019 before going into coaching, had a “positive, inspirational impact on his players”.
“I want to pay tribute to Ashley who played a major part in our two Euro wins and also had a key role in the current campaign with his tactical and technical knowledge,” he added.
“I am certain he will have even more success in his coaching career whatever the future holds.”
After completing his coaching badges at Derby County under Frank Lampard, Cole worked in Chelsea’s academy before further spells assisting managers at Everton, Birmingham City – under Wayne Rooney – and then England during Carsley’s brief spell as interim boss of the senior side in 2024.
Cole took over as head coach of Serie B club Cesena in March after feeling “discouraged” within the English football pyramid from succeeding in a managerial role.
He left the role in June, external after discussions with the club’s sporting director regarding a “change in the club’s strategy”.
As a player Cole won 107 England caps and secured multiple trophies with Arsenal and Chelsea, including three Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Europa League, seven FA Cups and one League Cup.
“We and others have shown that in NFL players, specifically, there is about a four times higher rate of death from neurodegenerative disease than the general population,” said the report’s lead author Daniel Daneshvar, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.
“These findings indicate that NFL players have a higher prevalence of CTE at death than has been previously shown in multiple community based studies.”
Researchers calculated a “conservative minimum” of CTE prevalence among those who died in the six-year period to be 24.5% – rising to a “maximum” 97.7%.
They have urged the NFL to take prevention measures to reduce repetitive head impacts across all levels of the sport.
The 49ers were part of the US consortium who took control of Rangers last year but York is not involved in the day-to-day running of the club.
Rangers and Leeds have both said they will not be commenting.
The 49ers said: “As this is a legal matter, which has been resolved, we will not be providing any further comment at this time.”
York became a co-owner of Rangers through 49ers Enterprises, the investment arm linked to the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, where he serves as chief executive and principal owner.
In May 2025, a consortium led by US businessman Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises completed a takeover of Rangers after acquiring a controlling 51% stake in the Scottish Premiership club.
Cavenagh became Rangers chairman, with 49ers Enterprises taking a leading role in the club’s ownership.
The takeover followed months of negotiations and brought Rangers under majority American-backed ownership.
49ers Enterprises first invested in Leeds United in 2018 when the club was in the Championship, steadily increasing its investment as the Whites returned to the Premier League following a 16-year absence, before assuming full control in 2023.
As an NFL owner, York is subject to league policies. “We are aware of the matter which will be reviewed under the personal conduct policy,” the NFL said.
Sir Kenny Dalglish and Karen Carney have been named the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Merit Award winners for 2026.
The award honours individuals who have made a lasting contribution to football.
The PFA Awards ceremony will be held in Manchester on Tuesday evening, where the men’s and women’s players’ player of the year winners will be announced.
Dalglish enjoyed a prolific career as both player and manager, becoming Scotland’s most-capped men’s international with 102 appearances and matching Denis Law’s national team record of 30 goals.
At club level, he began with a trophy-laden spell at Celtic before moving to Liverpool for a British record fee in 1977 and becoming an integral part of the club’s golden era.
Over the next 14 years, Dalglish won eight First Division titles and three European Cups across 515 appearances for Liverpool and was runner-up for the Ballon d’Or in 1983. Appointed player-manager in 1985, he guided the club to three league titles and two FA Cups – including the double in 1985-86 – before retiring from playing in 1990.
After resigning as Liverpool’s manager in February 1991, Dalglish led Blackburn to the Premier League title in 1995 and had stints with Celtic, Newcastle and Liverpool again, where he won the 2012 League Cup.
Off the field, Dalglish remains a significant figure in Merseyside. He led the club through the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, earning praise for his support of the bereaved families, and has raised millions of pounds to support cancer care and treatment through the Marina Dalglish Appeal, set up in 2005 following his wife’s treatment for breast cancer.
Former England attacking midfielder Carney was a member of the Arsenal side that completed a historic quadruple in 2006-07, winning the league, FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Women’s Cup, the forerunner to the Women’s Champions League.
She spent two seasons with Chicago Red Stars before returning in 2011 to home club Birmingham City, where she had started her career. Carney scored an extra-time equaliser as Birmingham won the FA Cup the following season.
Moving to Chelsea in late 2015, Carney won the WSL and FA Cup double in 2017-18 and later served as club captain before ending her playing career in 2019.
On the international stage, Carney made her England debut as a 17-year-old in 2005. She went on to score 32 goals in 144 appearances for the Lionesses and helped England finish third at the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
That was one of eight major tournaments for Carney with England, while she also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics.
Since retiring, Carney, 39, has built a career as a broadcaster and analyst and was appointed by the UK Government to chair an independent review, published in 2023, into the future of domestic women’s football.
1. Sir Alex Ferguson. Title winner 1992-93, 93-94, 95-96, 96-97, 98-99, 99-2000, 2000-01, 02-03, 06-07, 07-08, 08-09, 10-11, 12-13.
The first two decades of the Premier League were dominated by one man.
Sir Alex Ferguson won 13 titles and was able to continuously rebuild his side in order to keep Manchester United at the top of English football – from Eric Cantona to the ’99 Treble winners, and later that front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.
Even after Ronaldo left for Real Madrid in 2009, and Tevez defected to the other side of Manchester, Ferguson continued winning titles until he retired in 2013.
His record title haul is more than double any manager from any era of men’s English top-flight football, not just the Premier League – Guardiola, Liverpool’s Bob Paisley and George Ramsay for Aston Villa are next on the list on six.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion confirmed he’s only going to play in an exhibition match and has no plans to return.
Published On 25 Aug 202625 Aug 2026
Roger Federer is actually nervous about his tennis.
The man who won five straight US Open championships during the height of his dominance of the sport is set to play again in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night for the first time since 2019. And he’s not quite sure how the game that perhaps nobody ever made look more elegant will appear now.
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“I haven’t played a singles set in, I don’t know, [Hubert] Hurkacz at Wimbledon maybe, so it’s been five years,” Federer said on Monday, referring to his 2021 quarterfinal loss in his last Grand Slam match.
“I don’t know how it’s going to go tomorrow. So there is a lot of uncertainty but a lot of happiness that I can return to Arthur Ashe, a place where I have had so many beautiful moments.”
It’s only one set of singles in an exhibition against Andy Roddick and one set of doubles with John McEnroe against Roddick and Andre Agassi. The winner of 20 Grand Slam singles titles should be fine for those.
But a return to tennis beyond that, competing in major tennis tournaments in his mid-40s like Venus and Serena Williams?
“No, no, no, no. No, not at all,” Federer said during a news conference.
“Thanks for asking. I wasn’t sure if the question was going to get asked, but I’m happy you did so I can clarify in case anybody thought.”
At 45, Federer still looks fit, and said he enjoys working out in the gym. But he said he goes through long stretches where he is rarely on the court.
His lengthy absence from the US Open has done little to dampen his popularity, based on the number of people around the grounds who were mentioning his name. The appearance of “Roger Federer” up on the big board for all to see again, before his afternoon practice on Ashe, where Federer collected the trophy every year from 2004-08, was a welcome sight for his fans.
The trip to New York is a stop for Federer on his way to Newport, Rhode Island, where he will be enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Federer never really had the chance to say goodbye to New York as a player, because there was no way to know his loss to Grigor Dimitrov in the 2019 quarterfinals would be his last match. He had reached the French Open semifinals and the Wimbledon final earlier that year, falling to Rafael Nadal in Paris and then Novak Djokovic in a fifth-set tiebreaker at the All England Club.
Federer will play one set of singles in an exhibition against Andy Roddick and one set of doubles with John McEnroe against Roddick and Andre Agassi [Sarah Yenesel/EPA]
‘Knee is tired’
It was easy to imagine him returning to the US Open the next year and making another deep run. But after falling to Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open to begin 2020, he had knee surgery that February, then another procedure in May.
He returned to play in the French Open in 2021 but had to withdraw before his fourth-round match. After the loss to Hurkacz – where he appeared to struggle and lost 6-0 in the third set – Federer had another knee surgery that August and knew there would be no more comebacks.
“The knee can’t do it any more. It’s tired,” he recalled thinking. “The mind can’t be patient even more and wait for another couple years and see what happens.”
Federer knows Tuesday night won’t be real tennis, joking that he and Roddick hopefully would be respectful and not try to drop shot each other. But it will be different from when he did return to Ashe a couple of years back to watch.
“They gave me an ovation because they saw me on the big screen, but I just feel, like, tomorrow and I guess today, as well, and Monday next week, it really gives me a true opportunity to say thank you and goodbye, which I think is important for some,” Federer said.
The New Orleans Saints have signed two-time All-Pro kicker Daniel Carlson to compete with Charlie Smyth for the side’s starting kicker position.
Smyth, a former Gaelic footballer from Mayobridge in Northern Ireland, was the incumbent coming into pre-season having assumed the role from Blake Grupe in November.
The 25-year-old made 12 of 16 field goals and was successful on each of his 13 extra-point attempts as a starter last season.
In June, the Saints signed Tanner Brown, previously of the Louisville Kings in the United Football League, to compete with Smyth but the 26-year-old missed a 39-yard field goal attempt in the side’s pre-season defeat by the Los Angles Rams on Saturday.
Smyth himself missed from 52 yards in the loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars a week prior and Kellen Moore’s side have now moved for Carlson.
The 31-year-old was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2018 but waived during his rookie season and picked up by the then Oakland Raiders.
Carlson had his best years in 2021 and 2022, when he was named second-team All-Pro and first-team All-Pro, respectively.
He has not missed a game in the past seven seasons but his 81.5% success rate from field goals last year was his lowest since 2019.
Signed to a three-year contract last season, Smyth told BBC NI this month that competition for places in the NFL is “just the way it is in this business” and that he would not be taking any such signings “personally”.
The Saints’ final pre-season game is against the Dallas Cowboys this weekend before their 2026 regular season begins away to the Detroit Lions on 13 September.
Angel Reese broke the WNBA single-game rebounding record with 26 while also breaking the league’s season record for rebounds as the Atlanta Dream beat the Sparks 78-71 on Monday night.
Reese surpassed Chamique Holdsclaw’s record of 24 rebounds, set on May 23, 2003 for Washington.
The Dream star has 458 rebounds this season, seven more than A’ja Wilson’s mark set in 2024. Atlanta still has six games remaining in the regular season.
“I’m just in awe watching her rebound,” teammate Allisha Gray said. “That’s a talent.”
Reese finished with 11 points. She secured her WNBA-leading 27th double-double of the season on a basket with 13.9 seconds left in the game.
The Dream have won four straight games — all on the road — and have beaten the Sparks nine straight times.
Gray led Atlanta (25-13) with 20 points. Rhyne Howard added 18 points to eclipse 3,000 for her career. Gray set an Atlanta record for field goals in a season with 247.
Atlanta trailed 37-36 at halftime before starting the third quarter on a 9-2 run. The Dream also began the fourth on a 9-2 run to make it 71-57 with 6:57 left.
Up next for the Sparks: host Washington on Friday.
Parker Messick pitched six innings of one-run ball and Austin Hedges hit a two-run homer in the Cleveland Guardians’ 4-2 victory over the Angels on Monday night.
Jo Adell hit a go-ahead single for the Guardians against his former team. Messick (10-8) gave up three hits, struck out four and walked one while extending to nine his string of consecutive starts with two or fewer runs allowed.
Through 26 starts, the rookie left-hander has a 2.50 ERA with 156 strikeouts in 155 innings.
Colin Holderman struck out three of four batters in the seventh. Hunter Gaddis tossed a scoreless eighth and Cade Smith gave up a run in the ninth before earning his 34th save.
Cleveland (66-66) won its fifth straight and pulled within 2½ games of the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.
Angels rookie George Klassen (2-2) gave up three runs — two earned — and six hits in 5⅓ innings.
Adell, acquired from the Angels on Aug. 3, snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-out single in the fifth — his 13th RBI in six games. Hedges made it 4-1 with a two-out homer off reliever Blake Weiman in the sixth.
The Angels (52-80) pulled to 4-2 on Gustavo Campero’s sacrifice fly in the ninth, but Christian Moore flied out to the left-center warning track with a runner on for the final out.
Messick retired his first nine batters before Zach Neto and Mike Trout opened the fourth with singles. Neto went to third on Trout’s hit, and Trout took second on the throw.
Trout was caught off the bag on Vaughn Grissom’s hard grounder to second but stayed in a rundown long enough for Grissom to reach second.
Moisés Ballesteros dunked an RBI single into center for a 1-1 tie, advancing Grissom to third. Messick escaped further damage by striking out Jose Siri and getting Campero to pop out.
Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the third when Steven Kwan and José Ramírez singled, Adell walked and Nathaniel Lowe hit a sacrifice fly.
Up next: Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (12-7, 3.72 ERA) will oppose Angels RHP Walbert Ureña on Tuesday night.
SAN DIEGO — José E. Feliciano, the new controlling owner of the San Diego Padres, lives in Los Angeles. You know, that place at the end of the Padres’ incessant “Beat L.A.” chants.
No worries, Padres fans. Feliciano is — make that was — a longtime New York Yankees fan.
“The good thing is,” he told me after an introductory news conference Monday, “rooting against the Dodgers comes naturally to me.”
It was only 18 months ago that Padres fans wondered whether the good times might come to an end, with the widow of beloved owner Peter Seidler suing his brothers for control of the team. For their part, the brothers said they had “no plans to sell the Padres.”
That sounds a lot like what Dodgers president Stan Kasten said Friday, amid a federal investigation into alleged financial improprieties among insurance companies controlled by Dodgers owner Mark Walter.
What is true today might not be true tomorrow. What is true today, as potential bidders for the Dodgers lurk and coalesce amid L.A.’s turn at uncertainty, is that the Padres have an energetic and effervescent couple as their new principal owners.
Feliciano, a founder of Clearlake Capital in Santa Monica, took the mound at Petco Park on Monday afternoon, working out of a stretch and looking toward an invisible runner at second base before delivering a pitch. In spring training, he said, he stepped into the batting cage to try to hit simulated pitches from Padres All-Star closer Mason Miller.
His wife Kwanza Jones, an artist and entrepreneur, led her husband into the news conference amid the sounds of a song she co-wrote, she said, inspired in part by a catch made by Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
“My only musical talent is my name,” Feliciano said. “I humbly ask you to please add my middle initial so I never get confused with the singer.”
As the couple looks for a home in San Diego, Jones appealed to fans to share what they love about their neighborhoods. Later, the couple took selfies along the first-base line.
New San Diego owners Kwanza Jones, center, and José E. Feliciano, right, speak at a news conference with Padres Chief Executive Erik Greupner at Petco Park on Monday.
(Greg Beacham / Associated Press)
Their enthusiasm bubbled forth as the news conference proceeded, as their sense of whether the Padres might finally win a World Series got more and more optimistic.
Feliciano, three minutes into the news conference: “We cannot promise we are going to win.”
Jones, two minutes later, riffing off her lyrics, her voice rising: “We gonna win! We gonna win! We gonna win — win it all!” And then a pause, to lower her voice: “We hope it’s sooner rather than later.”
Feliciano, two minutes later: “We need to win a World Series. It’s that simple. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Jones, one minute later: “Multiples.”
Feliciano, one minute later: “The impossible becomes possible when somebody does it. So let’s do it.”
This is not Feliciano’s first foray into professional sports. Clearlake Capital is the majority owner of Chelsea, the storied soccer club.
“I’m missing the first game of the Premier League right now,” Feliciano said.
He said he could not comment on reports Walter is looking to sell his stake in Chelsea. Two weeks ago, Walter announced an agreement to sell controlling interest in the Lakers at a $12.5-billion valuation, the cash from which could help repay loans under scrutiny. The Dodgers could command a similar valuation, industry sources not authorized to discuss the issue publicly told The Times, should Walter decide to sell.
As part of a search for cash, Puck reported last week, Walter had talked with Charter Communications about whether the company would be interested in paying a lump sum now to get out of its SportsNet LA contract — a money-losing deal for Charter, but the primary source of the Dodgers’ financial advantage over the other 29 teams in the major leagues.
The talks “went nowhere,” Puck reported. Kasten declined to address the matter, as did a Charter spokesman.
In 2011, with the Dodgers headed toward bankruptcy, former owner Frank McCourt found what he believed would be his financial lifeline in a television rights deal with Fox Sports.
In a withering letter to McCourt, then-commissioner Bud Selig rejected the deal, criticizing McCourt for proposing a financial structure that would have foreclosed the Dodgers from pursuing more lucrative options “because of your desperate need for immediate cash.”
That precedent could inform how Rob Manfred, the current commissioner, would evaluate any proposed restructuring of the Dodgers’ television deal. Under the owners’ current collective bargaining proposal, to which Walter agreed, the Dodgers’ annual television riches — more than $500 million per year by the end of the deal in 2038 — would be fully contributed toward revenue sharing among all 30 teams.
I asked Feliciano whether the Dodgers’ uncertainty might make this a particularly opportune time to buy the Padres.
“You’ve got to look at these things on a generational, multi-decade basis, honestly,” he told me. “It’s like trying to time a great investment in the market. You can’t.
“What I can tell you is that this is the good time — the best time — for us. I think it also coincides with Peter’s legacy: The team is in a great place, the city is in a great place.”
The Dodgers’ revenue advantage remains significant, not just because of their SportsNet LA deal but because they fill the largest stadium in the majors almost every night and employ Shohei Ohtani.
In San Diego, however, where ticket sales represent the largest source of team revenue, the Padres sell more tickets than any major league team besides the Dodgers. Petco Park already is a year-round concert venue and event center, and the Padres could rekindle plans to develop a large parking lot near the ballpark.
And, if owners emerge from collective bargaining with a salary cap or other restraint on the Dodgers’ spending, that would be a win for San Diego.
On the field, the Padres entered play Monday with 21 victories in their past 28 games. The Padres acquired Robbie Ray and Casey Mize at the trade deadline to bolster a patchwork rotation, and they retained Miller and Adrian Morejon rather than break up a mighty bullpen. Tatis leads the National League with 12 home runs since the All-Star break; outfielder Jackson Merrill has 11.
“As we have seen the last few weeks, we are very competitive. I feel we are one of those teams — us and the Phillies, probably — that nobody wants to play,” Feliciano said.
“We want to keep it that way.”
The Phillies entered play Monday on a nine-game winning streak, in position for one of the National League wild cards. The Padres also are in position for an NL wild card, keeping alive the possibility that the Dodgers and Padres could meet in the NL Championship Series.
If that happens, it won’t matter how many games the Dodgers finished ahead of the Padres during the regular season.
While Palmer and Joao Pedro have generally carried Chelsea‘s biggest attacking threat in recent times, they have now been joined by the impressive Rogers too.
His arrival reunites him with Palmer, an ex-Manchester City team-mate and someone he described after the win at Craven Cottage as his “best friend in football”.
“He had a difficult season with injuries and stuff last year – and you could see it in his eyes in pre-season and training that he’s ready this year and ready to prove people wrong,” added Rogers when asked about Palmer’s display.
“You saw that with that performance. He was the best player on the pitch by a mile and that’s what he does. It’s good to have him on our side.”
Indeed, it was also encouraging how Rogers, whose pre-season was shortened by his involvement in England’s run to third place at the World Cup, looked so fit and powerful.
Rogers is the first Chelsea player to score on his Premier League debut since Christopher Nkunku in 2023 – and the first to create five chances in his first league appearance since records began in 2003-04.
It was also the first time Chelsea supporters sang the new Rogers chant in the away end.
Like Palmer, Joao Pedro missed out on the World Cup – as a high-profile omission from Brazil’s squad – but returned in pre-season with eight goals in seven games.
It was no surprise to see him on the scoresheet so early in the Premier League campaign, having inherited the number nine shirt from Liam Delap, who was left out of the squad on Monday, following the contract extension the Brazilian signed this weekend.
“Great combination, great quality,” Alonso told BBC Match of the Day when asked about his front three.
“We know if we reach them [Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer] in good positions, they have this talent to create special things and I am very happy the three forwards have scored.
“We need to put them in the best situations. I am happy for the three of them. They played for the team.”
Marc Guehi (Man City): I’ll have Guehi in as my holding midfielder. He should have scored two against Bournemouth because he missed a massive chance before he ended up scoring. But he got the equaliser and offered a lot more of a calming presence than City’s £116m record signing Elliot Anderson – Guehi controlled the game a little bit more.
Vitaly Janelt (Brentford): He is one of those big, powerful and dominant players who does the basics really well. He mixed that with a goal against Spurs and you don’t really speak about him, but he was always the one breaking up play and doing the horrible things really well.
Christos Tzolis (Arsenal): A lot of people are talking about Arsenal and how they’re great. That is absolutely true. And so is the bit of business they did bringing this young man in from Club Brugge. So many goals and assists he brings to the team, but also a calming influence and tenacity as well. Look at Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, he feels to me like both of them in one. He has a lot more output than those guys. He’s going to be a beast for this year.
Anthony Elanga (Newcastle): Last season I though he was treated poorly by Eddie Howe because he was one that kept being put on the bench, being introduced late or would be the first one to come off. But he showed in a new formation, under a new manager and somebody who believes in him that he can use his pace and power. As a result he looks like a completely different player and he looked happy. He ran past Milos Kerkez like he wasn’t there despite the Liverpool left-back having a five-yard start and produced an unbelievable finish for his goal.
Cole Palmer (Chelsea): One we were all talking about, and should’ve gone to the World Cup with England. Feels like he’s got a point to prove, feels like he’s been working hard. The injuries from last year skewed everyone’s vision. This is going to be a breakout season for him. Everything he did was positive. Ran forward with pace, looked like he could move. He had those issues with the groin but now he’s chopping and turning.
In the mixed doubles competition, Britons Henry Patten and Lloyd Glasspool will both seek to beat some of the sport’s biggest stars after coming through two qualifying matches on Monday.
The US Open mixed doubles was controversially revamped last year to include singles stars in a bid to attract more attention to the format.
Under the new format, the top six pairs with the best combined singles rankings received direct entry into the main draw, with another eight receiving wildcards.
The tournament now takes place over three days in the week before the main draw began, and features a shorter scoring system with only four games required to win a set in matches before the final, no ‘advantage’ scoring and 10-point match tie-breaks instead of a third set throughout.
Both Patten and Glasspool had to come through qualifying with their respective partners on Monday.
Patten, a two-time winner of the men’s doubles competition at Wimbledon, and Czech team-mate Katerina Siniakova defeated Americans Peyton Stearns and Christian Harrison in straight sets in their second qualifying match.
Next, Patten and Siniakova – the respective men’s and women’s world number ones in doubles – will take on 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic and top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the first round of the main draw.
After defeating El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo and France’s Kristina Mladenovic, Glasspool and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe will face 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams and seven-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz will be playing his first match in four months after recovering from a wrist injury, while Williams is making her return to the sport after a four-year absence.
Second inning, Blake Snell gives up a one-out single to Spencer Horwitz, who advances to second on a passed ball, but Snell strands him with a strikeout of Billy Cook.
Lovely, but what happens if Mark Walter sells the Dodgers?
Third inning, Bryan Reynolds draws a two-out walk, but Snell strands him with a flyout to left by Brandon Lowe.
Walter, Lakers, feds, billions, sell?
On a blistering Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 to complete a three-game sweep, but the rumblings beneath Chavez Ravine indicated there was much more at stake.
This is a solid franchise fighting for its footing. This is a powerful dynasty that could be undone by paper.
So, seriously, are the Dodgers getting sold?
Nobody knows, but a reasonable guess would be yes.
The Dodgers, of course, say no way, no how, no chance. Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president, even met with the media Friday specifically to say it’s not happening.
“The Dodgers are not being sold,” Kasten said. “They’re not going to be sold. They’re not for sale. There’s no process that has been started to sell [the franchise]. Period.”
Period? Kasten is a busy man, and there’s seemingly no way he holds even an impromptu meeting with reporters about a possible sale if that “period” wasn’t a “question mark.”
It is indeed a huge question mark, one that suddenly appeared less than two weeks ago when Walter stunningly sold the Lakers just 14 months after buying them.
A federal investigation into insurance companies Walter controls may have led to the Lakers sale, and there’s since been plenty of confusing talk about related-party transactions and holding companies and invested assets.
Translated for Dodgers fans?
The owner of your team also owns another business facing a big legal problem that requires billions to fix. And the only way he can raise those billions is to sell his assets. And the $2.5 billion he will receive from the Lakers flip is only a drop in the bucket.
Which means the Dodgers could be next.
There are reports that Walter is selling his shares in the Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League, but that won’t cut it.
He could sell some of his smaller properties such as the WNBA’s Sparks, the Cadillac Formula 1 racing team, and the entire Professional Women’s Hockey League, but that might not cut it, either.
His richest, most lucrative, and perhaps most expensive property is the Dodgers. A source told The Times’ Bill Shaikin they could be worth between $10 billion and $13 billion, which would be a record price for a baseball team.
Though no charges have been filed against Walter or anyone associated with his businesses, one could imagine Walter pulling the trigger on the Dodgers sale simply to keep the feds at bay.
“I wanted you to hear it definitively: We are not selling the Dodgers,” Kasten repeated. “We are continuing with our plans going forward, like we always have had them. This comes from Mark. He’s gung ho about continuing to try to win, again, including next year, subject to whatever next year’s climate looks like.”
This full-speed-ahead attitude by Dodgers management is what makes it so hard to imagine the team being owned by someone other than Walter.
Without Walter, there is no dynasty. Without Walter, there is no richest team in baseball. Without Walter, there is no happiest fan base in baseball.
Dodgers owner Mark Walter helps Shohei Ohtani put on a jersey during a news conference on Dec. 14, 2023, after the two-way star signed a 10-year, $700-million deal with the team.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Since Walter and his Guggenheim Baseball Management Group purchased the team in 2012, they have spared no expense in winning 12 of the last 13 National League West championships and three World Series titles.
Nobody in baseball spends like Walter, or will ever spend like Walter. From allowing the team to travel on two planes to adding baseball’s highest-paid player and relief pitcher last winter — Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz have been busts, but there’s time for redemption — nobody is willing to pay more for success than Walter.
Fans benefit from a Walter partnership on a daily basis. Witness Snell’s six shutout innings against the Pirates on Sunday. The Dodgers swept the three-game weekend series against the supposed contenders behind three starting pitchers who will lead off the playoffs yet who would not all be here if Walter didn’t own the joint.
Who else could pay to acquire superstars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Snell while building up a farm system that could produce prospects who were used to acquire Tarik Skubal?
The three starters combined to allow the Pirates just five runs in 19 innings with 26 strikeouts and five walks, and how good is that going to look in October?
While Andrew Friedman supplies the talent and Kasten works the business, none of it is possible without the seemingly endless flood of money approved by Walter.
Well, the end might be near.
If Walter sells the team, they could possibly lose their two MVPs — Friedman and Ohtani. Unless the new owners give Friedman a piece of the team, he could set off to build another dynasty elsewhere. And Ohtani has a clause famously included in his contract that allows him to leave if either Friedman or Walter leaves. If Walter goes, Ohtani could demand a new contract with terms that a new cash-strapped owner cannot afford.
As of last week, there is so much at stake, so many reasons to worry, and even all the winning by baseball’s best-run team won’t offer much relief.
Now baseball’s best owner is suddenly its most embattled owner, and Dodgers fans should be afraid.
When Lane Kiffin dials a number, the person on the other end usually answers and takes the call.
Todd Monken crossed paths with Kiffin many times while both crisscrossed the country for decades, taking this job and that, as head coaches and assistants at top colleges and in the NFL.
Monken became an NFL head coach for the first time in January, taking over the Cleveland Browns. Kiffin is about to begin his first season as the Louisiana State head coach, so Monken didn’t know why Kiffin’s number popped up on his screen over the weekend.
“I wondered why Lane Kiffin reached out to me a week ago,” Monken told reporters Sunday. “Now I know. I didn’t call him back. I guess I should have.”
Kiffin called to tell Monken something the rookie NFL coach learned later in the day. Dae’Quan Wright, a tight end the Browns waived Sunday morning, plans to play for LSU if he clears waivers, his agents told ESPN.
Dae’Quan Wright of the Cleveland Browns warms up before a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills at Huntington Bank Field on Aug. 22.
(Nick Cammett / Diamond Images via Getty Images)
Wright, who went undrafted after playing for Kiffin at Mississippi, is believed to be the first player to have an agreement to return to college football after signing with an NFL team. He was with the Browns for fewer than two weeks after the Philadelphia Eagles signed him as an undrafted free agent and placed him on waivers in early August.
Although Wright didn’t play in the Browns’ two preseason games, he suited up Saturday against the Buffalo Bills because injuries to other players created a potential need. He never left the sideline.
Another NFL player being courted by Kiffin, however, saw action. . Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie linebacker Jack Pyburn recorded two sacks in a preseason victory over the New York Jets on Friday.
Pyburn, who also went undrafted after playing three years at Florida and his senior year at LSU, can regain his college eligibility if he terminates his contract with the Bucs and repays earnings. Pyburn’s deal guaranteed him $115,000 and included a $15,000 signing bonus.
LSU could pay him an estimated $1 million for his NIL, exceeding the NFL full-season rookie minimum of $885,000.
“I’m kind of caught in the middle of a whirlwind,” Pyburn told the Athletic, “and I’m just trying to play football.”
Wright and Pyburn are two of about 30 athletes who filed a lawsuit in Louisiana and were granted a temporary restraining order to return to college for one more season.
The lawsuit challenges new NCAA eligibility rules that give athletes a five-year window to compete in college sports. The plaintiffs are 2022 high school graduates whose college eligibility expired last spring under the previous rules. The NCAA did not include them in implementation of age-based eligibility, prompting lawsuits.
Several state courts have ruled in the players’ favor, and they have eligibility in the upcoming school year until appeals are ruled on. Most of the plaintiffs are basketball players, but Wright and Pyburn are two of 16 football players benefiting from the temporary restraining order granted by Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court.
Cole Palmer scores a goal and provides an assist as Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers also get on the scoresheet to secure Chelsea’s win over Fulham at Craven Cottage. With both Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa making their Premier League managerial debuts, the Blues hold on against a spirited Fulham to give Alonso a winning start.
Chargers running back Omarion Hampton is a serious breakout candidate entering his second season in Los Angeles.
“I would say he has, from the first day that we’ve gotten on the field … had as much, if not the most, growth as any player,” offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said earlier in training camp. “And that’s because … this guy’s completely obsessed and focused. His tracks and the urgency in which we’re trying to get him to start the play has been phenomenal.
“Nobody wants to tackle that guy. That is a massive human moving very fast. The less we can get him to stop his feet and do what we call ‘slash’ and pick edges of defenders and shoulder-punch them, the better. I’m very confident, and it’s very exciting, what he’s doing each and every day.”
Hampton, the No. 22 overall pick in the 2025 draft, flashed his skills as a rookie. The 6-foot, 220-pound North Carolina product gained 737 yards from scrimmage and had five touchdowns in 156 touches — 124 rushes and 32 receptions.
Hampton would’ve done more if not for deflating injuries that limited him to 10 games. He fractured his left ankle in a Week 5 loss to the Washington Commanders and injured his other ankle in a Week 17 loss to the Houston Texans.
The past is the past, though.
“Looking forward to next season, putting everything I can into treatment, everything I can to get back to 110%,” Hampton said of his offseason regimen. “I feel like I did that well. Couldn’t be more excited for next season.”
Entering the final week of preseason play, Hampton has looked better than ever.
His speed and agility remain electric despite the ankle injuries. The hands are still reliable. And, maybe most importantly, picking up the playbook hasn’t been a problem.
“All the running backs, really, I feel like it’s going to benefit us a lot,” Hampton said of the offense. “We know [McDaniel] loves to run the ball, so we couldn’t be more excited.”
Chargers running back Omarion Hampton gained 737 yards from scrimmage last season and scored five touchdowns in 10 games, missing seven because of injuries to both ankles.
(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)
Added head coach Jim Harbaugh: “Man of few words. [Hampton’s] got places to be and things to do. When I do have a conversation with him, I see a smile. And when I watch the tape, I smile. I think [McDaniel’s offense] fits him great. … Big year for Omarion.”
Where Hampton has really stood out, though, is with his ability — in the words of the iconic Marshawn Lynch — to run through faces.
“[McDaniel’s] just saying, if I run full speed, it’s going to be hard for [defenders] to tackle me,” Hampton said.
Although Hampton, a certified starter, only played in the Chargers’ opening series in Thursday’s preseason loss to San Francisco, he made waves in the two teams’ joint practice on Tuesday by bulldozing several 49ers defenders.
Hampton arguably made the play of the day when putting 49ers safety Ji’Ayir Brown on his back during a big run.
“He’s incredibly tough,” Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said of Hampton after that joint practice. “He leads by example. He doesn’t say much, but what he does on the field is so loud, and guys respect him.
“It’s so cool to hand him the ball and see what he’s able to do because he’s an incredible athlete and an incredible competitor. I’m glad he’s on my side of the ball.”
The Chargers’ running back corps, led by Hampton, also features trustworthy options in veterans Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal.
Although McDaniel’s offenses usually feature eye-popping aerial attacks, he also loves to run the ball. The trio of running backs should see plenty of carries, particularly with opportunities for big-chunk gains.
“Top to bottom, guys are legit,” Vidal said. “Everyone’s here for a reason. … Everyone knows about Omarion and Keaton. I think all guys can contribute at some point during the season.”
McDaniel teased reporters when asked about Hampton’s expected usage, apologizing to fantasy owners for his inability to declare the running back the bell cow because of their other options he has to work with.
Make no mistake, though, Hampton’s the guy.
He’ll be a critical part of the Chargers’ offense and a major factor in determining whether the franchise can get over the playoff hump.
“There’s a lot of small things that go into it,” Hampton said. “But I feel like the more you do it, the more you get comfortable with it. I feel like now, I’m at a more comfortable place with it.”
