Sports
Doug Pederson hopes return to Philly propels Jags
Oct 27, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson watches a replay against the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson returns to Philadelphia on Sunday without at least one top wide receiver and faces a surging Eagles team that is a Hail Mary away from first place.
The Eagles (5-2) have won three straight games and were on the verge of overtaking Washington for the NFC East lead before a miraculous, last-second touchdown pass by the Commanders last Sunday moved Washington to 6-2.
Philadelphia cruised to a second consecutive road victory last weekend, winning 37-17 at Cincinnati following a 28-3 defeat of the New York Giants in Week 7.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts accounted for four TDs (three rushing) against the Bengals and did not turn the ball over for a third straight game. Saquon Barkley ran for 108 yards, surpassing 100 scrimmage yards for the sixth time in seven games, and is No. 2 in the NFL with 766 rushing yards.
The Eagles rank second in the league in rushing with 165.9 yards per game and fourth with 12 rushing touchdowns.
“I think the identity of this football team is physical and that’s what we’re going to try and play by each week, is physical,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Now, when you say physical, that doesn’t mean you have to run it every time — you run it, you pass it, you can be physical in both aspects.”
Philadelphia meets a Jacksonville defense that ranks 29th in scoring (28.0 points per game) and total defense (382.1 yards per game).
The Jaguars (2-6) were unsuccessful in Pederson’s first return to Philly, where he coached from 2016-20 and led the Eagles to their only Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LII. Philadelphia welcomed him back with a 29-21 win against Jacksonville on Oct. 2, 2022.
In that meeting two years ago, the Eagles limited the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence to a career-low 11 pass completions and forced five turnovers by the quarterback — including four fumbles.
Lawrence may have bad memories, but Pederson said he looked forward to being back at Lincoln Financial Field, where he is honored with a statue depicting his “Philly Special” play call in the Super Bowl that helped to defeat the New England Patriots.
“Fans are great. Obviously, we won a championship there and I’ve still got a lot of close friends, family friends,” he said Wednesday. “That place is always going to be one of the spots for me that I enjoy going back to.”
As for the statue, Pederson said he didn’t plan to visit it. “Want me to tailgate, too?” he quipped.
Jacksonville last weekend lost by five or fewer points for the fourth time this season, falling 30-27 at home on Green Bay’s walk-off 24-yard field goal by Brandon McManus.
The Jaguars also lost receiver Christian Kirk for the season with a broken collarbone in the fourth quarter. He ranks second on the team in receptions (27) and receiving yards (379) behind rookie Brian Thomas Jr., who left that game with a chest contusion and was limited in Wednesday’s practice along with fellow wideout Gabe Davis (shoulder).
Jacksonville running back Tank Bigsby (ankle) was also limited Wednesday, but Pederson said he was hopeful for the return of starter Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring) after missing two games. Etienne was also limited at practice.
For the Eagles, defensive tackle Jalen Carter (shoulder), guard Landon Dickerson (knee), tight end Dallas Goedert (hamstring) and cornerback Darius Slay (groin) did not practice Wednesday. Offensive lineman Mekhi Becton (concussion) was limited.
After losing the first three meetings against the Jaguars from 1997-2006, the Eagles have swept the last four to grab the lead in the all-time series.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lakers sign developing forward Ziaire Willaims
Mar 31, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams (1) controls the ball against Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Lakers announced the signing of five-year veteran forward Ziaire Williams on Sunday.
Terms were not released, but multiple outlets reported on Monday that the deal was for one year at a $3 million salary.
The 6-foot-9 Williams is reuniting with Bronny James, who he played alongside at California high school Sierra Canyon. The Lancaster, Calif. native earned McDonald’s All-America honors and was a consensus five-star recruit in the 2020 class.
The No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Stanford by the Memphis Grizzlies, Williams is a career 8.7 points-per-game scorer, though he averaged a career high 10.2 points last season for the Nets, his second season in Brooklyn after three seasons in Memphis.
He reached career highs in games played and starts (63/45), points (632), field goals made (214), 3-point field goals made (103), rebounds (287), assists (84) and blocked shots (28) during his first season in Brooklyn.
Williams, 24, converted 85% (119 of 140) of his free throw attempts in 2025-26 and is an 82.4% career shooter from the stripe.
–Field Level Media
Sports
DeWanna Bonner helps Mercury halt losing streak, avenge loss to Sun
Jul 19, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward-guard DeWanna Bonner (24) drives against Connecticut Sun center Olivia Nelson-Ododa (10) in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images DeWanna Bonner scored a game-high 21 points and the host Phoenix Mercury ended a five-game losing streak with a 72-63 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
The win avenged a 96-83 loss to the visiting Sun on Friday. But on Sunday, Phoenix led for nearly the entire game and used a fourth quarter run to pull away.
Phoenix (9-18) had a balanced performance, led by Bonner’s 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Kahleah Copper added 18 points and made all eight of her free throws. Monique Akoa Makani tallied 11 points and grabbed six rebounds. Alyssa Thomas added seven points and dished out 11 assists.
Connecticut pulled to within 63-62 on a Charlisse Walker-Leger 3-point play with 4:42 to play, but Phoenix responded with a 9-1 run to finish the game, with Bonner and Copper scoring eight of the pivotal points. Copper’s backdoor layup and pair of free throws most on the next two possessions immediately stemmed the tide.
Phoenix led, 18-12, after the first quarter as Bonner and Akoa Makani each scored six points.
They took control after trailing 27-26 as Leger-Walker scored a lay-up for the Sun with 4:24 left in the first half. The Mercury went on a 17-6 run to end the first half, with Bonner contributing a 3-point shot and an old-fashioned 3-point play to the run.
Phoenix led, 43-33, at the half and 54-49 after three quarters.
The Mercury won despite shooting just 2-for-15 (13.3%) from 3-point range and being outrebounded, 43-39.
Connecticut (7-19) saw a two-game winning streak end. Veteran center Brittney Griner scored 19 points for the Sun, shooting 7-for-12 from the field while pulling five rebounds. Olivia Nelson-Ododa’s double-double helped Connecticut stay close, as she tallied 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds.
Leila Lacan scored a career-best 26 points on Friday but scored just seven points on 2-for-9 shooting on Sunday while committing nine turnovers.
Connecticut shot 37.9% (22-for-58) overall and committed 21 turnovers in the loss. The 21 turnovers led to 22 Mercury points.
Bonner Leads Mercury to Revenge Win over Sun to Halt Losing Streak
–Field Level Media
Sports
FaZe Vegas won't be denied at CDL Championship grand final
Jul 19, 2019; Miami Beach, FL, USA; A general view of custom PlayStation controllers sold by a vender during the Call of Duty League Finals e-sports event at Miami Beach Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images FaZe Vegas completed an undefeated tournament run with a 5-2 victory over OpTic Texas on Sunday in the grand final of the 2026 Call of Duty League Championship in Las Vegas.
The victory was worth $800,000 in the $2 million prize pool, with OpTic Texas collecting $480,000.
American Chris “Simp” Lehr of FaZe Vegas was named tournament Most Valuable Player.
This was the final event and the world championship of the Black Ops 7 competitive season. Eight of 12 teams qualified for the CDL Championship in the regular season from Dec. 5, 2025 to June 29, led by first-place OpTic Texas (40-12, +69).
The playoff format was a double-elimination bracket, with all matches best-of-five except for Sunday’s grand final, which was best-of-nine.
OpTic Texas took the opening map, Colossus Hardpoint, 250-216. FaZe Vegas responded by capturing the next four maps to be on the brink of the championship.
Vegas won 6-5 on Raid Search and Destroy, 4-3 on Scar Overload, 250-194 on Scar Hardpoint and 6-5 on Den Search and Destroy.
Texas stayed alive with a 4-3 victory on Den Overload, before FaZe Vegas closed out with another close outcome, 6-5 on Hacienda Search and Destroy.
Zack “Drazah” Jordan paced FaZe Vegas with a match-high 153 kills for a plus-23 kill-death differential. Teammate Jordan “Abuzah” Francois of Belgium posted 151 kills and a match-best plus-40 K-D differential. All four Vegas players had positive differentials.
All four OpTic players were in the negative, with Anthony “Shotzzy” Cuevas-Castro recording a team-best 129 kills but also a team-worst 156 deaths for a minus-27 K-D differential.
FaZe Vegas went unscathed in the tournament, downing G2 Minnesota 3-1, the Riyadh Falcons 3-0 and OpTic Texas 3-2 in the upper bracket to advance to the grand final.
OpTic Texas opened with a sweep of the Miami Heretics 3-0, then topped the Paris Gentle Mates 3-1. After losing to Vegas and dropping to the elimination side of the bracket, Texas beat the Falcons 3-1 on Saturday to get another shot at FaZe.
Call of Duty League Championship prize pool
1. $800,000, FaZe Vegas
2. $480,000, OpTic Texas
3. $320,000, Riyadh Falcons
4. $160,000, Paris Gentle Mates
5-6. $80,000, Miami Heretics, G2 Minnesota
7-8. $40,000, Los Angeles Thieves, Toronto KOI
–Field Level Media
Lakers sign developing forward Ziaire Willaims
DeWanna Bonner helps Mercury halt losing streak, avenge loss to Sun
