Sports
Starting QBs questionable for No. 18 Pitt-No. 20 SMU showdown
Oct 19, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings (7) throws a pass against the Stanford Cardinal during the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images The status of both starting quarterbacks is the top storyline heading into Saturday’s Top 25 matchup between No. 18 Pitt and No. 20 SMU in Dallas.
Coach Pat Narduzzi said the Panthers (7-0, 3-0 ACC) are taking a “wait-and-see” approach when it comes to Eli Holstein. Similarly, SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said Kevin Jennings is questionable for the Mustangs (7-1, 4-0).
Holstein sustained an undisclosed injury in the fourth quarter of Pitt’s 41-13 victory over Syracuse last week.
Narduzzi reiterated that he does not discuss injuries publicly during his news conference.
If Holstein is unavailable, Pitt’s backup is Nate Yarnell. Yarnell has seen action in three games this season, going 17-of-26 passing for 171 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Holstein, meanwhile, has thrown for 1,808 yards with 17 TDs and five interceptions in seven games.
Whoever is at quarterback will face a challenge against SMU’s defense, which ranks tied for 33rd in the country in total defense (327 yards per game) and tied for seventh in interceptions (12).
“Defensively, they’re four-down, change it up coverage-wise a little bit, but to me they’re very similar to us defensively in my opinion because I think they’re simple,” Narduzzi said. “I don’t think they do a lot. I think what they do is sound and they just play hard and play fast. That’s why they’ve had so much success.”
For SMU, if Jennings is not cleared, backup Preston Stone would get the nod. Jennings was injured Saturday but did not miss a drive during SMU’s 28-27 overtime win over Duke.
“Our guy’s availability is up in the air,” Lashlee said. “We got a bunch of guys beat up and most of them practiced today, not all of them, but even Kevin, not 100 percent sure he’s cleared yet.”
But signs seemingly point toward Jennings being available as he met with the media this week. Jennings has thrown for 1,594 yards with 10 TDs and five interceptions this season.
“I feel great, just trying to get my body back right,” Jennings told reporters. “As of right now, feel really good. Just stay in the treatment room and get myself back up. It was a really tough hit. I was down for a little bit, but thank God I was able to bounce back and come back in the game.”
SMU receiver Jake Bailey, who is considered day-to-day, has caught 19 passes for 275 yards with one TD this season.
Outside of the injury concerns, this is a must-see ACC matchup pitting teams who were not favored to contend for a conference championship.
SMU was picked seventh while Pitt was picked 13th in the ACC preseason rankings.
This will be Pitt’s first trip to SMU, which has won the last three matchups, including a 28-6 victory in the Compass Bowl on Jan. 7, 2012 in their most recent meeting. The teams have met six times, four at Pitt and twice in a bowl game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: St. Louis City signing Carlo Holse on $6M transfer fee
Jul 16, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Sporting Kansas City forward Capita Capemba (7) is congratulated after scoring against St. Louis CITY SC in the first half at Energizer Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images Aiming to boost a struggling offense, St. Louis City are bringing in Danish attacker Carlo Holse for an approximate $6 million transfer fee, The Athletic reported Wednesday.
Holse, 27, will be a designated player when St. Louis City and Holse’s club, Samsunspor, finalize the deal.
Only five MLS clubs have scored fewer than St. Louis’ 19 goals, so Holse will be a welcome addition. St. Louis (5-6-4, 19 points) sits 10th in the Western Conference, just one point behind the Los Angeles Galaxy for the final playoff spot with 19 matches remaining. The clubs face off Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Holse posted eight goals and four assists in the Turkish Super Lig last season and has scored at least eight goals per season with Samsunspor since 2023. In 10 appearances in the UEFA Conference League, he contributed two goals and five assists in the club’s run to the round of 16.
Holse, who has one cap for Denmark’s national team, can join fellow attacker Marcel Hartel in St. Louis’ dual No. 10 slots in head coach Yoann Damet’s 3-4-2-1 formation. Holse is capable of contributing as a scorer or goal creator, having posted 16 assists in one season for Norwegian side Rosenborg.
Over nine professional seasons in Denmark, Norway and Turkey, Holse has 42 goals and 36 assists in 242 matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Stefano Mazzoli accepts PGA Tour membership
Italy’s Stefano Mazzoli won the 2026 Puntacana Championship. Stefano Mazzoli officially accepted his PGA Tour membership on Wednesday, one day before he was set to compete in the 3M Open in Blaine, Minn.
Mazzoli was added to the field at TPC Twin Cities on Monday after winning the Corales Puntacana Championship in just his third start on the PGA Tour. The 29-year-old Italian drained a 24-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to win by one stroke in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Since he was not a member of the PGA Tour at the time of his victory, he received a one-year exemption on the Tour. He also is eligible to compete in the 2027 Players Championship and 2027 PGA Championship.
A rookie on the DP World Tour, Mazzoli earned his promotion from the HotelPlanner Tour just last year.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, this past year,” Mazzoli said after his maiden PGA Tour victory.
South Africa’s Casey Jarvis also accepted Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour and is eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season. Jarvis, 22, has two wins on the DP World Tour this season and reached the threshold for the Special Temporary Membership with his tie for sixth at The Open Championship.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Chiefs unveil renderings of new $3B stadium schedule to open in '31
The Kansas City Chiefs’ new enclosed stadium is scheduled to open in Kansas City, Kansas, in 2031. Though the exact location of the Kansas City Chiefs’ new stadium in Kansas has not been finalized, the team on Wednesday revealed the first renderings of the $3 billion, fully enclosed dome set to open for the 2031 season.
Paying homage to Arrowhead Stadium, the team’s home since 1972, the dome will feature a symmetrical, curved exterior, including a scalloped upper deck in both end zones. It will also feature a ceiling of translucent ethylene tetrafluoroethylene panels and be surrounded by 20,000 parking spots.
The stadium will have 70,000 seats and fulfill the request of several season-ticket holders of amplifying crowd noise, club owner Clark Hunt said in a team statement. Arrowhead regained the Guinness world record in 2014 for loudest stadium at 142.2 decibels.
“From the beginning, our goal has been to build something that (improves) the gameday experience for every single fan,” Hunt said in the statement. “This new stadium will do just that. It’s spectacular. It honors the rich legacy of this franchise while setting a bold course for the future of Chiefs Kingdom.”
Hunt added that he and his family will commit $1 billion in additional development to the stadium and the mixed-use district, which includes the team’s new training facility. Kansas lawmakers voted unanimously in late December to allow for sales tax and revenue (STAR) bounds to be issued to cover up to $70% of the cost of the entire project.
“I’ve been thrilled with what I’ve seen,” Hunt said in late March. “It’s very, very exciting. Our fanbase is going to get an incredible stadium, something that’ll be iconic and serve the community well for a minimum of 30 years — and hopefully closer to 60.”
As for the location, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said the dome would be in Wyandotte County. The Chiefs have shown interest in having it built near the Kansas City Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, which is also near The Legends – a retail and entertainment district. That area also features Children’s Mercy Park, where the MLS club Sporting Kansas City calls home.
When the new dome opens, the Chiefs plan to bid to host their first Super Bowl, among other major sporting events, including the World Cup and College Football Playoff games.
“When the World Cup comes back (to America) in 25 or 30 years, the field will be designed so that we don’t have to do the work that we had to do to (expand the field’s width) on Arrowhead in order to host the World Cup,” Hunt said during the NFL draft. “We’ll plan on bidding on Final Fours, College Football Playoff games, bowl games and, of course, a Super Bowl. The construction of the stadium is going to coincide with the construction of several other new NFL buildings, so we are going to have some competition.
“I’ll make sure that the Chiefs and Kansas City put their best foot forward in that process.”
–Field Level Media
Report: St. Louis City signing Carlo Holse on $6M transfer fee
Stefano Mazzoli accepts PGA Tour membership
