Sports
Future Pac-12 foes Washington State, No. 25 Boise State face off
Sep 7, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) rushes for a first down during the first half against Oregon Ducks defensive back Nikko Reed (9) at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images The latest realignment juggling calls for Washington State and Boise State to become conference foes in the Pac-12, beginning in 2026.
The teams get a head start on their budding rivalry on Saturday night when the Cougars visit the No. 25 Broncos at Boise, Idaho.
Washington State and Oregon State are attempting to rebuild the Pac-12 and Boise State was one of four teams from the Mountain West that recently announced they had accepted an invitation.
The two schools are located roughly 300 miles apart via mountain roadways and have played just six times. The Cougars have won five of the meetings, including a 47-44 triple-overtime win at Pullman in 2017.
Though the Cougars (4-0) are unbeaten, the Broncos (2-1) are the team that is ranked. Boise State also will have the best player on the blue turf in star running back Ashton Jeanty.
The All-American and rising Heisman Trophy candidate is averaging a sparkling 10.5 yards per carry. Jeanty ranks second nationally with 586 rushing yards and is tied for second with nine rushing touchdowns in just 2 1/2 games — he sat out the second half of last week’s 56-14 victory over Portland State after gaining 127 yards on 11 carries in the first half.
“Ashton’s a pretty special guy,” said Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, a former NFL and college head coach. “I think he’s a special character. We’re calling downhill runs and we’re not expecting 75-yard runs.”
The 5-foot-9 Jeanty has scoring runs of 77, 75 and 70 and a non-scoring run of 68 yards. He set school single-game records for rushing yards (267) and rushing touchdowns (six) when the Broncos beat Georgia Southern 56-45 on Aug. 31.
Washington State coach Jake Dickert is impressed with Jeanty’s running style and skill-set.
“He’s strong. He’s got one of the best stiff arms I’ve seen in a long time,” Dickert said. “So if you think you’re going to tackle him above the waist, it’s not happening. You gotta get through his legs. You gotta kill his motors. You gotta gang tackle with this guy. It’s not gonna be one person.”
The Broncos are averaging 48.7 points per game while the Cougars are averaging 46.3, so the scoreboard figures to be busy.
Washington State is coming off last Friday’s 54-52 double-overtime home win over San Jose State. The Cougars trailed by 14 points entering the fourth quarter before rallying for the victory.
Quarterback John Mateer passed for a career-best 390 yards and added 111 on the ground to become the first Washington State quarterback to pass for 300 and rush for 100 in the same game.
Overall, Mateer has passed for 1,102 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 425 yards and five scores.
Dickert indicated the Cougars have plenty of room for improvement after the close call against the Spartans.
“I just think there’s so many things to clean up,” Dickert said. “We haven’t played our best football. We were on the short week. We got the win, and we’re moving on to Boise State.”
Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen has passed for 616 yards, five touchdowns and one interception.
“I’m proud of how he’s efficient with our offense,” Boise State coach Spencer Danielson said. “He knows the offense, he knows how to move the offense, he makes the right throws and he’s very efficient with it. It’s a testament to how he preps and he’s a competitor.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jerry Kelly holds on to win 'indescribable' Senior Open title
Jerry Kelly hits out of a bunker on hole No. 14 during round 3 of the Kaulig Companies PGA Championship, July 11, 2026, at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Jerry Kelly turned a clutch bunker shot on the final hole into a birdie and won the ISPS Handa Senior Open by two shots on Sunday in Auchterarder, Scotland.
Kelly, 59, delivered his third consecutive round of 2-under-par 68 on The King’s Gleneagles course and finished at 10-under 270 to win the fifth and final major tournament of the season.
Matt Gogel, Darren Fichardt of South Africa and Cameron Percy of Australia all finished two shots back in a tie for second place.
With a one-shot lead on the par-5 closing hole, Kelly found the bunker with his second shot. The Madison, Wisc., native put the bunker shot to within 4 feet and made the putt for his first Senior Open title and his third major victory on the Champions Tour.
“It’s indescribable to win it,” said Kelly, who now has 15 overall victories on the Champions Tour. “The senior Claret Jug is the trophy that I’ve wanted as an over-50 golfer other than any other. To do it in Scotland, at the home of golf … I mean, I’m absolutely speechless.”
Tied for the lead with Percy at the start of the final round, Kelly was 2 under through five holes before his first bogey of the day at No. 6. He bounced back by birdieing the par-3 eighth. Kelly also had a bogey at No. 11 before he reeled off six consecutive pars that led into his birdie at 18.
“My brain, actually, was the most successful part of my game,” Kelly said. “In the past I would have gotten down that I wasn’t striking it the way I’d like to strike it. But instead of worrying about that, I just went and took care of the next shot.
“I learned a lot about myself today, and I wish I would have learned it about 20, 30 years ago.”
Gogel worked his way into contention with a 7-under 63 in the final round as he shot a 4-under 30 on the front nine. He also had birdies at Nos. 10 and 12 to close the gap, then wrapped his round with his seventh birdie of the day at No. 18.
“Certainly by 10, when I had a two-putt birdie there, I was thinking, ‘Geez, we keep this thing going, we have a chance to get a high finish,'” Gogel said.
Percy (even-par 70) had a rocky ride in the final round and was at 2 over the front nine. He had his first birdie of the day at No. 10 before another bogey at No. 11. He gathered himself down the stretch for two more birdies but was unable to collect another at the 18th.
Percy missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have put more pressure on Kelly.
Fichardt shot a 4-under 66 to close in on Kelly. He started his round with a bogey on the first hole, but had a strong finish with birdies at Nos. 14, 15 and 18.
Kely remained undaunted with his one-putt birdie to win it.
“To be on this trophy, to be a part of this trophy, to be a part of the R&A — I just love it over here, I really do,” Kelly said. “It brings it full circle that I didn’t do what I wanted to in the Open Championship but to get it done here, I mean, I’m over the moon.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees OF Cody Bellinger out 4-6 weeks with Grade 2 hamstring strain
Jul 25, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger (35) hits an RBI single against the Philadelphia Phillies during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images New York Yankees All-Star outfielder Cody Bellinger was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and faces a recovery timeline of four to six weeks, manager Aaron Boone said Monday.
Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday after injuring himself rounding first base during a win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
His injury is the latest blow for a Yankees lineup that hasn’t featured Aaron Judge (rib) since the start of June or Giancarlo Stanton (calf) since April 24. Neither Judge nor Stanton have been cleared to resume baseball activities.
Bellinger, 31, was named the All-Star Game MVP earlier this month thanks to his two-run single in the first inning of the American League’s 4-0 victory.
The former NL MVP is in his second season in New York and played 102 of the Yankees’ first 104 games leading up to the injury. He has batted .259 with 11 homers, 53 RBIs and 55 walks this year.
In 1,259 career games for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2017-22), Chicago Cubs (2023-24) and Yankees, Bellinger is a .260 hitter with 236 homers, 748 RBIs and 114 stolen bases.
The Yankees recalled Spencer Jones from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday. However, they are starting utility player Max Schuemann in Bellinger’s usual spot in left field for the second day in a row as they begin a series Monday at the Chicago White Sox. Jones will start the game at center field.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Stanford players take first step toward collective bargaining unit
Sep 13, 2025; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal linebacker Ernest Cooper (44) during the third quarter against the Boston College Eagles at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Founded five years ago as an advocacy group for athletes, the College Football Players Association announced on Monday that Stanford football players have formed the CFBPA’s first chapter led by active athletes — a first step toward what the group hopes will eventually become a collective bargaining unit.
Regarding who the athletes will negotiate with, CFBPA founder and executive director Jason Stahl points to the conferences.
“We are very optimistic that other chapters will be announced soon,” Stahl, a former faculty member at the University of Minnesota, told The Athletic.
After communicating with Stanford players for more than a year, Stahl met with more than 50 players at the school’s campus in Palo Alto, Calif., late last month. The Cardinal players elected fifth-year offensive lineman Fisher Anderson and fifth-year linebacker Ernest Cooper as player representatives.
“We (at Stanford) have always had a pretty tight relationship with the NFL Players Association,” Anderson said on a podcast produced by the CFBPA, which was founded with a goal of organizing players from major colleges. “Last year when this opportunity came about, it made me think if this is something that has had such a benefit on the National Football League, could it be done on the college football level?”
Stanford third-year defensive lineman Benedict Umeh echoed his teammate’s sentiment.
“Whenever I leave those meetings (with the NFLPA) I think, ‘Why don’t we have one of those?'” Umeh told The Athletic.
A bipartisan bill, the Protect College Sports Act, introduced in May by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), is unlikely to be voted on before the session ends in early August, The Athletic reported last week.
The bill aims to establish antitrust protections and national compensation standards for the NCAA and college conferences. Without it, college sports leaders believe that collective bargaining with athletes could create stability and ensure compliance with antitrust laws without needing government involvement.
“Standardization is necessary,” Umeh said. “The congressional bill could serve toward that purpose, give us the legal scaffolding to get everything in place. The issue with a congressional bill, in my eyes, is the players don’t get much of a say at all.”
This isn’t the first time college athletes have tried to form a union, but none of the previous movements have panned out, including Northwestern football players in 2014 and Dartmouth men’s basketball team in 2024.
Stahl in 2020 was involved in another athlete-organized movement initiated by Pac-12 players and, the following year, started the CFBPA.
In 2022, he attempted to organize Big Ten athletes to negotiate better long-term medical benefits and possibly a share of conference revenue. The plan also fizzled out despite some progress, especially at Penn State.
Although schools have been allowed to pay athletes directly since 2025 as part of a revenue-sharing plan, the athletes are not technically being paid to play. The compensation is for their name, image and likeness (NIL), and the players are regarded as independent contractors.
“The schools are paying us to play,” Umeh said.
A wide variety of state labor laws could make it difficult for the CFBPA to operate nationwide. Therefore, Stahl said the CFBPA hopes Division I players will establish local chapters and negotiate collectively with their respective conferences.
“College football players deserve a meaningful voice in the decisions that shape their athletic, academic and economic futures,” Stahl said. “Stanford football is the first of what the CFBPA envisions as 17 ACC football chapters, creating the framework for conference-wide player representation and, ultimately, collective bargaining.”
–Field Level Media
