Sports
Joe Flacco takes saddle for Colts, to start against Vikings
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) gets in position against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. A midseason quarterback change frequently signals trouble for a franchise.
It will be up to Joe Flacco to prove that this time is an exception.
Flacco, 39, will take over at quarterback when the Indianapolis Colts (4-4) visit the Minnesota Vikings (5-2) on Sunday night in Minneapolis. The 17-year veteran will replace second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson, who was benched this week after an inconsistent start to the season.
Colts coach Shane Steichen said the switch would not be a short-term move.
“Joe will be our quarterback going forward,” Steichen said. “I feel like Joe gives us the best chance to win. … I’m just looking at where we’re at with the team. We’re at .500. It’s my obligation to 53 players in the locker room to win football games.”
The Colts will try to do just that on the road against a Vikings team that is suddenly desperate for a victory. Minnesota started the season with five straight wins before dropping back-to-back games against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams.
During the skid, the Vikings lost a key player as standout left tackle Christian Darrisaw suffered a season-ending knee injury. The team wasted little time to respond, acquiring left tackle Cam Robinson and a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a conditional fifth-round pick in 2026.
Robinson did not make it north in time for the Vikings’ first practice of the week but there is a chance that he will make his team debut Sunday.
“If he’s ready to go and prepared, I’d like to get him in the mix there,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “If for whatever reason, either situational or something where we hold him out and give him a full week of prep next week, we’ll see how it goes. I think we have a good plan in place.”
The Vikings feel more confident that veteran tight end T.J. Hockenson will make his season debut after missing the first seven games recovering from knee surgery. Hockenson, 27, had 95 catches for 960 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games last season.
“I think T.J. is ready to play,” O’Connell said. “He’s as good as he’s looked since we got him here. And that’s saying something considering the impact he made right away in (2022), and the season he was having last year at the time he was hurt. He’s a huge part of our offense, our system.”
The Colts hope to say the same for Flacco, who has a 102.2 passer rating this season compared with a 57.2 passer rating for Richardson. Flacco has thrown for 716 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception this season.
Jonathan Taylor leads the Colts’ ground game with 454 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Alec Pierce has a team-high 394 receiving yards and three scores.
For the Vikings, Sam Darnold will make his eighth start of the season. He has posted a 107.2 passer rating while throwing for 1,610 yards with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Aaron Jones has 501 rushing yards and two touchdowns in his first season with the Vikings. Justin Jefferson is dominating at wideout again this season with 41 catches for 646 yards and five touchdowns in seven games.
This is the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 17, 2022, when the Vikings emerged with a 39-36 victory in overtime. In that game, the Vikings overcame a 33-point deficit, making it the largest comeback win in NFL history.
–Field Level Media
Sports
St. Bonaventure sees influx of transfers added to basketball roster
Feb 28, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions forward Mason Blackwood (1) drives the ball to the basket during the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images Former Penn State forward Mason Blackwood became the latest transfer to commit to St. Bonaventure and to new head coach Mike MacDonald.
ESPN broke that news Sunday morning, and Blackwood’s transfer caps an eventful week for the Bonnies.
Per the 247 transfer portal and multiple reports, St. Bonaventure, located in Olean, N.Y., has added to its roster this week, along with Blackwood:
–Akbar Waheed III, a 6-foot-6 guard who redshirted at Boston College last season.
–Zach Philipkoski, a 6-4 guard, and 6-10 center Benjamin Bill, both of whom played for MacDonald at Division II Daemen.
–Taj Au-Duke, a 6-3 point guard who started his college career at Pepperdine but transferred to Indian Hills Community College in Iowa, where he became a first-team JUCO All-American.
–Ryan Kalambay, a 6-9 forward from Detroit Mercy.
Returning to the Bonnies from the 2005-06 roster are Ilia Ermakov, a 6-6 guard from Russia; John Ikpotokin, a 6-7 center from Ireland; Jack DeRose, a 6-foot guard and local product from Olean High School; Achille Lonati, a 6-5 Italian guard; and Joe Grahovac, a 6-10 forward from Santa Ana, Calif.
With Kalambay and Au-Duke from Canada, the Bonnies will have an international flair.
The Bonnies are losing four seniors and seven players to the transfer portal. According to 247Sports’ portal tracker, none of them have selected a new school.
Adding two players with experience in a power-conference program is a boost for St. Bonaventure.
Blackwood, from nearby Rochester, N.Y., appeared in 26 games as a freshman (one start) and averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds over 12.2 minutes. The 6-7 forward is expected to be a building block for the revamped Bonnies.
Waheed didn’t appear in any games at Boston College as a freshman. He will have four years of eligibility remaining.
St. Bonaventure finished 17-17 in the 2025-26 season and 4-14 in Atlantic 10 play.
MacDonald was hired as head coach on March 31 to replace Mark Schmidt, who retired after 19 seasons on the job. A 1988 St. Bonaventure alum, he led Daemen to a 265-86 record over 12 seasons. He led the Wildcats to NCAA Division II East Regional championships in 2026 and 2021.
He is the only coach to win 100 games with programs at the Division I (Canisius), II (Daemen) and III (Medaille) levels.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marlins OF Kyle Stowers activated, to make season debut
Aug 8, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Kyle Stowers (28) walks and tosses his bat against the Atlanta Braves during the fifth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images Miami Marlins All-Star outfielder Kyle Stowers was activated from the 10-day injured list to make his season debut against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
The Marlins optioned infielder Deyvison De Los Santos to Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding move.
Stowers, who had been sidelined with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, finished a rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville.
“Everything from the rehab checked out,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “He continued to check the necessary boxes. Certainly, there was a physical component with how he felt, how the hamstring was. He got back-to-back nine-inning games. I think he came out of that feeling like he’s in a really good spot physically, and also, I think mentally, now he feels like, ‘OK, I’m over this.'”
Stowers, 28, made a massive leap in production in 2025. He entered the season with a .208 average, six home runs and 35 RBIs in 117 games spread across three major league campaigns, including 67 games with the Baltimore Orioles.
In his first full season with the Marlins, after a 2024 trade, Stowers batted .288 with 25 homers and 73 RBIs in 117 games while earning a spot on the National League All-Star team.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers put 1B Freddie Freeman on paternity list, call up OF Ryan Ward
Apr 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits a single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Dodgers placed first baseman Freddie Freeman on the paternity list Sunday and called up outfielder Ryan Ward to the major leagues for the first time after seven minor league seasons.
Freeman, 36, is batting .296 with three home runs and 14 RBIs over 20 games this season. He had two hits in each of the last three games and four times in the past five games to raise his early batting average nearly 40 points.
Ward, 28, was drafted in the eighth round by the Dodgers in 2019 and is in his fourth season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He won the Pacific Coast League MVP last season when he hit 36 home runs with 122 RBIs in 143 games.
Ward finally gets his first call to the major leagues after 154 home runs, 530 RBIs and a .266 batting average over 696 games in the Dodgers’ system, including 420 games at Triple-A.
“You talk about performance and he’s performed as well as, if not better than, anyone,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about Ward in spring training, according to the Orange County Register. “So for him to not get a shot, I’m sure he’s frustrated and understandably so. But the message for him is to keep putting up numbers and knock the door down and hopefully the opportunity comes for him sometime this year.”
–Field Level Media
St. Bonaventure sees influx of transfers added to basketball roster
Marlins OF Kyle Stowers activated, to make season debut
