Sports
Missouri never lets up in dominating win over Mississippi State
Jan 31, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers center Shawn Phillips Jr. (15) dunks the ball against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the second half of the game at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Missouri’s Mark Mitchell notched a game-high 17 points and four rebounds, and the Tigers collected their 10th Southeastern Conference victory by bashing Mississippi State 88-64 on Saturday afternoon in Starkville, Miss.
Missouri (20-9, 10-6 SEC) was on its game from the opening tip and ran out to a 20-point lead, 28-8, just past the midway point of the first half and never let up in the wire-to-wire win.
Shawn Phillips Jr. scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half and had four rebounds and two blocks.
Anthony Robinson netted 13 points, and T.O. Barrett and Trent Pierce had 10 each.
Missouri scored 27 points on Mississippi State’s 18 turnovers and moved to 20-1 when scoring at least 73 points in a game.
In losing for the sixth time in eight games and dropping their third straight overall, the Bulldogs (13-16, 5-11) did not take care of the ball on the offensive end and their defense — yielding 80 points per game and ranked next-to-last in the conference — failed to defend.
Josh Hubbard, the SEC’s second-leading scorer at 21.6 points per game, led with 16 points and three steals, while Quincy Ballard had 12 points and six boards.
A very slim favorite in the matchup, Missouri did not play like it right away, scoring the first nine points, highlighted by Phillips’ thunderous putback dunk at 18:45. The home side finally scored nearly three minutes in on Hubbard’s layup.
While Missouri made 7 of their first 10 shots and got four points apiece from Mitchell and Phillips, the visitors’ size and athleticism were an obvious advantage as the Bulldogs hit just three field goals and trailed 20-6 with 12 minutes remaining.
Increasing the lead to 50-19 at 2:07 after two free throws by Barrett, Missouri shot 61.3% (19 of 31) and forced 12 Mississippi State turnovers to take a 54-23 lead into the locker room at halftime — the squad’s largest halftime lead in SEC play this season.
Six minutes into the second half, the Tigers’ lead sat at 60-30 before Missouri went off on a 12-2 run.
That stretch was accentuated by Pierce’s wing three-pointer for a 68-32 edge at 12:42 as the Bulldogs could not chip into the massive deficit.
The Tigers continued the onslaught by growing the lead to 36 points and rolling on to a 6-2 mark in the past eight outings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alex Pereira vacates UFC light heavyweight title
Oct 4, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Alex Pereira (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Magomed Ankalaev (red gloves) during UFC 320 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Alex Pereira vacated the UFC light heavyweight title, UFC president Dana White announced.
No reason was disclosed on Friday for the decision surrounding Pereira (13-3-0), however speculation is running rampant that the Brazilian is poised to move up in weight class.
Pereira, 38, had yet to defend the title after reclaiming it from Magomed Ankalaev of Russia via first-round knockout at UFC 320 on Oct. 4. Pereira got revenge for a unanimous decision loss to Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March.
Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg will battle over the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 327 on April 11 in Miami.
–Field Level Media
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Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
