Sports
Are the Pittsburgh Pirates Finally Ready to Contend in 2026?
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been one of the worst teams in baseball over the last decade. They have the 5th-lowest winning percentage in baseball and have more 100-loss seasons (two) than winning seasons (one) over that period.
Bob Nutting is one of the worst owners in sports, and because of that, the Pirates are among the lowest spenders in the league. To go along with a cheap owner, they’ve been mostly incompetent from an organizational point of view, squandering the actual talent they’ve had come through PNC Park.
But it sort of feels like the Pirates are ready to be a real baseball team.
If you want to talk about the Pirates, it starts with Paul Skenes. He leads a rotation that should be one of the better position groups in the National League. Bubba Chandler should be right behind Skenes in the rotation, and many scouts feel he has number one pitcher upside to him. He had some struggles in his first few appearances at the major league level, but in his final three starts last season, he threw 16.2 innings, allowing only two runs.
Braxton Ashcraft and Mitch Keller will also be featured in a Pirates rotation that should keep the team competitive on the mound. In the bullpen, the Pirates added Gregory Soto to a group of relief pitchers needing some depth.
They’ll also lean on Dennis Santana, who had one of the best chase rates in baseball last season, Carmen Mlodzinski, who’s been quite consistent the last few years, and a lot of other arms that come with many questions. The bullpen never had much help on the offensive side of things the last few years, but the Pirates actually attempted to add some quality bats to their lineup.
O’Neil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds had career-worst seasons in the outfield last year for Pittsburgh, but I’m betting on them to bounce back with more protection around them.
The Pirates got aggressive this offseason, bringing in Brandon Lowe, Marcell Ozuna, Jhostynxon Garcia, and Ryan O’Hearn.
Lowe and O’Hearn are coming off solid All-Star seasons and should provide immediate help to the Pirates’ lineup. Ozuna is coming off a bit of a down season, but he had hit 79 homers over the prior two seasons. I like them taking a risk on Ozuna on a relatively cheap one-year deal, just to see if he can bounce back.
Lastly, Garcia had been excelling in the Boston farm system, but it was unlikely he was ever going to break through a crowded Red Sox outfield. Pittsburgh had to flip Johan Oviedo, but I still think this was a pretty savvy move for the Pirates.
The lineup will also feature infielder Spencer Horwitz, who, after struggling with injuries at the beginning of the season, finished the year strong and generated a team-leading 118 OPS+ last year for the Pirates.
However, the biggest question facing the Pirates is what they will do with Konnor Griffin. He’s seen as the best prospect in the sport, and if they’re actually serious about contending this year, he will start the season as the team’s shortstop.
Griffin is a 6’4” 19-year-old who’s built like a 10-year veteran. He murdered the ball at all three levels of minor league baseball he played in last season; he’s a plus defender and a plus athlete. He’s the no-doubt hitting prospect that the Pirates have been needing for so long now. Adding him to a lineup that could feature 5-6 above-average hitters, this team could be serious right now.
The Pirates are currently +800 to win the NL Central and +425 to make the playoffs. It might be time to trust the Pirates, because they’re going to be contenders in 2026.
Sports
Cardinals draft Miami QB Carson Beck to open third round
Feb 27, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Miami quarterback Carson Beck (QB04) speaks to members of the media during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images The Arizona Cardinals became the next team to address the quarterback position in the 2026 NFL Draft when they used the first pick of the third round Friday on Miami’s Carson Beck.
Beck was the third quarterback taken in this draft and the first on Day 2. No signal-caller was selected between Ty Simpson to the Los Angeles Rams at No. 13 overall and Beck at No. 65.
Beck, 23, transferred to Miami last year after playing parts of five seasons for Georgia. He guided the Hurricanes to the national championship game, which they lost to Indiana and QB Fernando Mendoza — the No. 1 overall pick Thursday by the Las Vegas Raiders.
In 55 career games at the college level, Beck threw for 11,725 yards and 88 touchdowns with 32 interceptions, including a career-best 30 TDs in 2025.
Beck could have an early opportunity to start for Arizona, which released Kyler Murray in March. Jacoby Brissett, who went 1-11 as the Cardinals’ starter in 2025, is holding out for a contract extension. The team also has journeyman Gardner Minshew II and reserve Kedon Slovis.
Other quarterbacks waiting to hear their name called on Day 2 include LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar and Arkansas’ Taylen Green, among others.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NFL Draft Round 2: Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald lands with Texans
Apr 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Kayden McDonald poses on the red carpet before the 2026 NFL Draft at Point State Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Defensive tackle Kayden McDonald was in Pittsburgh for the NFL draft on Thursday night, and the defensive tackle watched 15 of his peers make the walk from the backstage green room to the stage to be announced as first-round selections.
The only player left in that room when the 32-player round ended was McDonald.
McDonald returned to the scene Friday night, and he didn’t have to wait long. He heard his name called early in the second round when the Houston Texans chose him with the 36th overall pick, the fourth made on Friday.
The Ohio State product who was a consensus All-American last season had tears flowing during the entire walk toward the stage. He stopped for a second to tap the Texans display on the wall.
When he got to the stage, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and McDonald conducted a long embrace, and Goodell was doing a lot of talking.
In essence, the long wait was over for McDonald, who was one of seven Buckeyes drafted in the first two rounds.
“This is emotional,” McDowell said on the ESPN broadcast. “I know I’m supposed to be here. I’m just so blessed and thankful.”
The Texans traded with the Las Vegas Raiders to move up two spots on a night in which the second and third rounds were held. When the Raiders chose at No. 38, they tabbed safety Treydan Stukes of Arizona.
The second round had a heavy defensive flavor with 22 players on that side of the ball being selected.
There was also was an impact trade announced as the Minnesota Vikings sent veteran linebacker Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick in this year’s draft and a third-rounder in 2027. The Eagles also received a seventh-rounder this year in the deal.
The San Francisco 49ers started off the festivities by selecting receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, who played for Ole Miss last season after spending two seasons apiece at Washington State (2021-22) and Oklahoma State (2023-24).
Two other wideouts went in the second round — Denzel Boston of Washington to the Cleveland Browns at No. 39 and Germie Bernard of Alabama to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 47.
Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood went 37th overall to the New York Giants. He was another player thought to be a possible first-rounder.
“Of course it was disappointing,” Hood said. “I know God does everything for a reason. He was probably preventing me from something or he had something better in store for me, and that being the Giants.
“I’m super excited to go into this next chapter of my life and will just go in there and give my best and give my all and be the best version of myself.”
Hood also played for Auburn (2023) and Colorado (2024) during his college career.
The Miami Dolphins appear to have made one of the best picks in the round by grabbing Texas Tech consensus All-America linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with the No. 43 pick.
Rodriguez was the face of the Red Raiders’ stunning season last year and loaded up on postseason awards, including the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defender. He led the nation with seven forced fumbles and also intercepted four passes.
At No. 48, the Falcons tabbed Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell, the younger brother of Atlanta’s A.J. Terrell, who is entering his seventh season as a starting corner for the Falcons.
The New York Jets chose cornerback D’Angelo Ponds of national champion Indiana with the 50th overall pick. The 5-foot-8 Ponds played his first season (2023) at James Madison before following coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana and becoming one of the Hoosiers’ top defensive players.
In the first round, four Buckeyes were selected: receiver Carnell Tate, (No. 4, Tennessee Titans); linebacker Arvell Reese (No. 5, Giants); linebacker Sonny Styles (No. 7, Washington Commanders) and safety Caleb Downs (No. 11, Dallas Cowboys).
After McDonald went in the second, tight end Max Klare (No. 61, Los Angeles Rams) and cornerback Davison Igbinosun (No. 62, Buffalo Bills) went back-to-back near the end of the round.
The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks took TCU safety Bud Clark with the 64th and final pick of the second round.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Max Arfsten nets early goal as Crew proceed to blank Union
Apr 25, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Crew midfielder Dylan Chambost (7) kicks the ball during the first half against the Philadelphia Union at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images Max Arfsten scored in the fifth minute and Patrick Schulte made three saves to help the Columbus Crew defeat the visiting Philadelphia Union 2-0 on Saturday.
After Arfsten staked the Crew (3-4-3, 12 points) to the lead, an own goal by Union defender Nathan Harriel in the third minute of first-half stoppage time provided the final margin.
The Union (1-7-2, 5 points) had a three-match point streak (1-0-2) stopped while the Crew is 3-1-1 in the past five.
Schulte recorded his second shutout of the season, the other coming March 7 in a 0-0 tie with the Chicago Fire.
The first half began and ended calamitously for the Union, which saw midfielder Jesus Bueno leave with a leg injury sustained at the onset of the sequence leading to the second goal.
Arfsten opened the scoring with the sixth goal contribution (three goals, three assists) in the past six matches for the U.S. World Cup hopeful.
Dylan Chambost sent a long ball out of the back which glanced off Union defender Philippe Ndinga to Arfsten down the right flank and he broke free for the score.
Just over a minute later, Arfsten had another break but Andre Blake made the save.
It wasn’t all in favor of the Crew because 10 minutes later, the Union had numbers heading into the final third and Danley Jean Jacques passed to Milan Iloski on his right but his shot pinged the left post.
Philadelphia nearly made it to the half with a one-goal deficit but a potential scoring opportunity quickly turned the other way.
The Union was on the attack after a turnover but a slide tackle by Seko Bangoura dispossessed Bueno, who stayed down with an injury, and the Crew created a counter with Arfsten once again on the run on the right flank before sending a cross to the box.
Harriel’s clearing attempt went off a sliding Blake and the rebound hit Harriel and went into the goal.
Crew defender Mo Farsi entered for Arfsten in the 81st minute for his first appearance since July 6, 2025, after undergoing sports hernia surgery.
Union defender Japhet Sery Larsen was red-carded in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time for preventing a goal-scoring opportunity.
–Field Level Media
Cardinals draft Miami QB Carson Beck to open third round
NFL Draft Round 2: Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald lands with Texans
