Sports Headlines

HOUSTON - Team USA’s buses were scheduled to leave Daikin Park at 11:30 p.m. on Monday night, but their players weren’t ready to leave. Two hours after avenging their 2023 loss to Mexico, they remained in the clubhouse, chairs turned toward the middle of the room, talking ball, sharing stories and enjoying some extra time to soak in the experience before departing for the team hotel. To the coaches who […]

Daikin Park (Houston) — In the fourth inning of Italy's 8-6 stunner over Team USA, Jac Caglianone hit the Azzurri's third home run of the game. Returning to the dugout, he put on the Armani jacket waiting for him, downed a shot of espresso and received the due baci greeting from Vinnie Pasquantino, who placed a kiss on each of his Kansas City Royals teammate’s cheeks. Italy poured it on […]

The Baltimore Ravens' decision to call off the Maxx Crosby trade not only surprised the NFL world but also upset several people around the league. We surveyed several people around the league for their thoughts on Tuesday's news that Crosby was going back to the Las Vegas Raiders (at least for now). The consensus was that the Ravens might have overstepped their boundary by calling the trade-off, even if the […]

Two quarterfinal spots, three contenders. Pool B of the World Baseball Classic will go down to the wire with the USA, Mexico and Italy looking to advance to the next round. The USA beat Mexico, 5-3, in Monday's game but lost to Italy, 8-6, on Tuesday.  Italy and Mexico play each other on Wednesday. The other two teams in the pool (Brazil and Great Britain) are eliminated. How Can Team […]

The proposed trade between the Raiders and Ravens that would send star edge rusher Maxx Crosby to Baltimore was axed Tuesday night, sending shockwaves across the NFL. The Raiders said the Ravens "backed out" of the trade agreement, adding that it would have no further comment at this time. However, Crosby didn’t pass his physical as part of the deal, which couldn’t become official until Wednesday, The Athletic and others […]

It’s a bit of a tricky time for World Cup hopefuls. In order to make the 26-man roster this summer, U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to see players getting regular minutes for their clubs. That means he wants to see them at the top of their games, scoring goals, making an impact, and keeping clean sheets. On the surface, that’s all well and good. But there’s risk […]

Long before the season began, Illinois men's basketball head coach Brad Underwood and his staff devised a training tool they believed would help optimize offensive efficiency. Each and every kind of shot a player might take was funneled into a grading system derived from easily understood imagery: a podium at the Olympics. Regardless of whether shots were made or missed, each attempt could then be deemed worthy of a gold, […]

Daikin Park (Houston) — Three years after upsetting Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, Team Mexico’s fans were ready to party again Monday night. Among a sellout crowd of 41,628 fans, in a sea of green, white and red, Mexican flags were unfurled and the sound of noisemakers filled the air. And then, at least for one inning, they stopped. A five-run bottom of the third, courtesy of home […]

Daikin Park (Houston) – Tarik Skubal thought he knew what to expect. After all, just last year, the two-time Cy Young Award started the All-Star Game and pitched in three playoff games. Yet nothing could prepare him for the emotions of representing his country at the World Baseball Classic. In the first inning Saturday, he couldn’t feel his legs. "I haven’t felt that since, like, ‘24, just that feeling of […]