Sports
Auburn's home streak presents tall task for visiting Seattle in NIT
Auburn Tigers guard Tahaad Pettiford (0) celebrates with guard Kaden Magwood (5) as Auburn Tigers take on South Alabama Jaguars during the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala. on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Auburn Tigers defeated South Alabama Jaguars 78-67. Soon after his Seattle University squad defeated St. Thomas in the opening round of the NIT, Redhawks coach Chris Victor was asked about facing top-seeded Auburn in its next matchup.
At that moment, Victor wasn’t concerned about how his team is one step away from the quarterfinals.
“I haven’t thought about it yet,” Victor said, smiling. “Really, I’m just worried how we’re going to get out there.”
The Redhawks (21-13) will be meeting an 18-16 Auburn team Sunday afternoon minus one of its starters, as Tigers forward KeShawn Murphy, who averaged 10.7 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds, decided against participating in the NIT.
Auburn rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to defeat South Alabama 78-67 in its tourney opener Tuesday, as Kevin Overton and Keyshawn Hall each scored 21 points.
Overton made 7 of 8 3-point attempts after the intermission after going 0 for 5 in the first half.
“The shots were falling in the second half,” said Overton, who added seven rebounds and four assists. “In the first half I was trying to find that rhythm. When you make those simple ones, the other ones become easier.”
Hall leads the Tigers with 19.9 points per game, with Tahaad Pettiford next with 15.4 points and a team-best 3.6 assists.
Seattle beat St. Thomas 67-52 as Brayden Maldonado had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Maldonado leads the Redhawks with 14.4 points per game, with Will Heimbrodt averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 5.3 rebounds.
“We’ve shown that we can beat some really good teams,” said Heimbrodt, who added 13 points and five rebounds in Tuesday’s victory. “We had an ACC win (against Stanford) and a Big Ten win (against Washington). So going into Auburn … it’s going really fun.
“They’re a great team, but I think we can hang in there with anyone.”
It won’t be easy, as the Tigers have won 65 consecutive nonconference games at home dating to the 2016-17 season. That’s the longest current streak in the nation.
But the Redhawks boast the No. 23 scoring defense in the country this season, giving up fewer than 67 points per game.
“One of the better defensive teams we’ll have gone against all year,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “Incredibly active, they really fly around and make what you do really difficult.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ian Poulter plays on torn meniscus, surgery set for September
Ian Poulter tees off on the ninth hole Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, during day one of the LIV Golf Indianapolis tournament held at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Indiana. Ian Poulter said he needs surgery after tearing his meniscus while hopping up two steps at LIV Golf Virginia earlier this month.
Poulter didn’t let the injury impede him on the golf course on Thursday, as he shot a 4-under 66 in the first round of LIV Golf Korea at Asiad Country Club. The co-captain of Majesticks GC followed with a 2-over 72 on Friday to reside in a tie for 13th place, six strokes in back of leader Talor Gooch.
“I tore my meniscus Thursday of Virginia just hopping up two steps, so went for an MRI when I got back from Virginia, and yeah, I’m going to have to have surgery in September,” Poulter said Thursday.
Poulter, 50, admitted that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to compete in Korea.
“Bizarrely I have no sensation throughout the golf swing that there’s anything wrong with it,” he said. “I sense it when I’m walking downhill, steep downhills. I’m just edging it a little bit. But look, I’m going to have to strengthen that leg. It’s not affecting my golf in any way, shape or form.
“I just have to be reminding myself that I can’t go and play paddle tennis or do anything stupid or hop up steps like I did a couple of weeks ago. Walking in straight lines and being super sensible is not something I’m used to doing.
“Look, I feel good. I feel great. The body feels good. We’ll deal with that at some stage.”
Poulter has yet to win an individual LIV Golf event since joining the upstart league in 2022. He has 17 professional wins, including three on the PGA Tour.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLB Betting Picks for Friday, May 29: Phillies and Marlins Featured
May 23, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (L) and third baseman Alec Bohm (R) slap hands after scoring during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images A light MLB slate two consecutive days sets the stage for the full Friday night menu in baseball.
There are several key series to keep an eye on, including a pair in the National League. The Chicago Cubs (31-26) seek their third consecutive win, facing the St. Louis Cardinals (29-25) in an NL Central battle.
Out west, the Philadelphia Phillies (29-27) square off with the Los Angeles Dodgers (36-20) in a playoff rematch at Dodger Stadium.
We’ll break down two plays for the Friday action. Remember to monitor the odds throughout the day, as the sides and totals market is constantly changing.
Here are the free MLB picks for Friday, May 29. Odds Courtesy of DraftKings.
Best MLB plays today
- Marlins F5 (-104) at Mets
- Phillies (+100) at Dodgers
Marlins F5 (-104) at Mets – 7:10 p.m. ET
The Marlins (26-31) swept the Mets at home last week as the two NL East rivals meet tonight at Citi Field. Miami P Max Meyer owns a tremendous 10-1 record in the first five innings, which includes leading New York, 4-0 last Saturday through five frames in a 4-1 win.
Freddy Peralta has led through five innings in three of 11 starts this season for the Mets, including a 1-3-2 mark in his last six home outings. New York is 2-6-1 in the first five innings of the past nine games.
Meyer has tossed at least five innings in nine consecutive games and has not allowed a run in the opening five frames in this stretch. Let’s go with the Marlins to continue their domination of the Mets and back them in the first five innings.
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Phillies (+100) at Dodgers – 10:15 p.m. ET
Philadelphia (29-27) faces Los Angeles (36-20) for the first time since getting knocked out in the NLDS last season. The Phillies started their west coast swing with a three-game sweep of the Padres, highlighted by a pair of shutouts. Tonight, Zack Wheeler heads to the mound as the Phillies are 6-0 in the right-hander’s six starts, while owning an ERA of 1.67.
The Dodgers cruised past the Rockies for a three-game sweep, extending their winning streak to five games. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski hasn’t lost consecutive starts this season after allowing five runs in five innings against Milwaukee. Wrobleski owns a 13.7% strikeout rate, which sits in the fifth percentile in MLB.
The Phillies are 11-2 in their last 13 road games since May 1, after starting 4-8 in their first 12 outings away from Citizens Bank Park. Wheeler didn’t face the Dodgers last season, but I expect a strong showing from him to continue his dominance and the Phillies to get revenge for their playoff loss.
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Sports
The NCAA May Be Losing Control of College Football as SEC Frustrations Boil Over
For all of you who appreciate college football as deeply as I do, I would strongly advise you to make the most of your enjoyment of the sport for as long as you can.
Because it’s getting hard to see the sport staying as it is now for very much longer.
Georgia president Jere Morehead and head coach Kirby Smart were the first people to say what has been boiling under the surface for years at this point: The way things are trending, it seems less and less likely that the future of the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference are in the NCAA.
As the NCAA pushes Congress to institute laws that would govern the sport and these attempts, like the SCORE Act, which stalled out this week, fail, college sports continue to be Wild West of sorts.
While the NCAA has instituted a cap for how much of its revenue it can share with players ($20.5 million across all sports for the 2025-26 academic year) and instituted a clearing house to approve all NIL transactions, things aren’t being forced on that front.
Tampering continues to be rampant — just ask Dabo Swinney — but we’re still waiting on the first punishment for anything of the sort. That leaves coaches at power programs, like Georgia, open to what they view as a better, NCAA-less future.
“I’ve been a huge advocate that if we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play on our own,” Smart told reporters this week at the SEC’s spring meetings in Miramar Beach, Fla. “I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and play.
“If we could actually function financially, it would make our programs more stable. We could support things financially — I’m talking about all the sports — and do our own rules. I’d be all for that.”
There have been discussions for years about if the college sports landscape, especially college football, is heading for a super league. Could a subset of the SEC and Big Ten break off and go independent, with a few ACC/Big 12 schools potentially replacing those conference’s lower tiers?
It’s always been a possibility this is where things were heading. This new league, which would likely contain an even greater percentage of the best players than these conferences already do, would have no trouble getting a TV contract to televise its games.
If these basketball programs also left the NCAA’s purview, that would seriously hinder the organization’s main cash cow in March Madness and drastically change its finances.
The NCAA is left with no real choice. It needs to bring actionable rules and real governance to college sports or it feels like just a matter of time until it becomes a college sports afterthought.
Even if it does those things, it’s still possible that there’s no keeping the band together at this point. But the NCAA has to try.
Ian Poulter plays on torn meniscus, surgery set for September
New Star Wars Movie Failed By Solving Marvel’s Biggest Problem
