Sports
Report: Patriots plan to release backup QB Josh Dobbs
Sep 7, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito (16) and quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) takes the field before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images The New England Patriots plan to release quarterback Josh Dobbs after failing to find a trade partner, NFL Network reported Monday.
Dobbs has one season left on the two-year, $8 million deal he signed last March to become Drake Maye’s backup.
Earlier this month, the Patriots re-signed quarterback Tommy DeVito, who joined the team last offseason and served as New England’s emergency third-string quarterback, to a two-year, $4.4 million contract.
The Patriots will save $3.7 in salary-cap space but take on $1.05 million in dead money with Dobbs’ release.
Dobbs, 31, appeared in four games for New England last season, completing 7 of 10 passes for 65 yards. The 2017 fourth-round pick has appeared in 27 games (15 starts with a 3-12 record) with six teams over six seasons, completing 62.8% of his passes for 3,346 yards, 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, adding 515 rushing yards and eight scores.
DeVito, 27, didn’t appear in a game last season for New England but started eight of the 12 games he played for the New York Giants from 2023-24. He threw for 1,358 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions along with 227 yards and one rushing score.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jazz's Ace Bailey, an 'incredible athlete,' focuses on defense ahead of game vs. Raptors
Mar 21, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Ace Bailey (19) looks for a play against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images In an encouraging development for the rebuilding Utah Jazz, rookie Ace Bailey’s defense quickly is catching up to his impressive offensive game.
Bailey will look to continue his growth when the Jazz face the Toronto Raptors on Monday night in Salt Lake City.
Toronto (39-31) is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, while Utah (21-50) has been eliminated from playoff contention in the West and has lost five of its last six games.
The Jazz knew all about Bailey’s offensive upside when they selected the talented wing with the fifth overall pick in 2025 NBA Draft, out of Rutgers.
In recent weeks, the 6-foot-9 Bailey has starred on both ends of the court.
One game after scoring a career-high 33 points against the Milwaukee Bucks, Bailey had 25 points, seven rebounds and a season-high five blocks in a 126-116 home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Bailey became the second-youngest player in NBA history to score 25-plus points with five or more blocks in a game. Kevin Durant is the only player younger than Bailey to achieve the feat.
Jazz coach Will Hardy continues to be pleased with Bailey’s all-around play. Bailey has averaged 19.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his last nine games while shooting 45.7% from the field and 40.7% from 3-point range.
“Ace is an incredible athlete, and it’s not just offensively,” Hardy said of Bailey, who is averaging 13.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for the season. “Like, his ability to cover ground and close out his ability to guard the ball. I truly believe that he’s grown more on the defensive side of the ball than he has offensively.”
Bailey said defense has been a primary focus during his rookie campaign.
“With the team we’re looking to have, being a defender, it’s gonna be a very big role, especially if you wanna stay on the court. And if you wanna win, you’ve got to, and I want to win, so I have to play offense and defense,” Bailey said.
Utah is looking to avenge an 107-100 road loss to Toronto on Feb. 1.
The Jazz could use another strong outing from guard Kennedy Chandler, who scored a career-high 19 points in his team debut on Saturday after being signed to a 10-day contract.
The Raptors, meanwhile, will play the second night of a back-to-back set after losing 120-98 to the host Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
Scottie Barnes scored 17 points for Toronto, which trailed by as many as 31 points and never led in the contest. Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said he was baffled by his team’s lack of competitiveness.
“I wish I knew the answer to that one,” Rajakovic said. “I tried everything. I tried encouraging. I tried not encouraging. I tried a lot of things, and we failed. We did not have it tonight.”
Brandon Ingram was held to six points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field after averaging 25.8 points over his last five games, but Rajakovic said after the game that there was plenty of blame to go around.
“It’s a whole team. It cannot be just one player. We win as a team, we lose as a team. We never want to point out a player,” Rajakovic said. “I thought that our whole team did have enough urgency for the game, and enough respect for our opponent (Sunday).”
Toronto hopes to have forward Collin Murray-Boyles available as soon as Monday. The promising rookie has missed the past 11 games with a left thumb sprain.
–Field Level Media
Sports
With soft slate on horizon, Trail Blazers take aim at reeling Nets
Mar 22, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images The Portland Trail Blazers have their eye on rising into eighth place in the Western Conference, and the next six games may decide whether they can do so.
Portland enters a home-heavy stretch filled with also-ran teams on Monday night when it opposes the visiting Brooklyn Nets.
The Trail Blazers (35-37) closed a 3-2 road trip with a 128-112 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
Five of the Blazers’ next six games will be at home, and none of the five foes will be part of the playoffs or play-in round, including the Nets (17-54).
The lone road game will be against the Los Angeles Clippers, the team Portland hopes to pass and finish eighth in the conference. The Trail Blazers are a half-game behind the Clippers.
Portland missed a chance to get to .500 with the loss in Denver, a result that left Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter feeling a bit sour about the five-game trip.
The Trail Blazers opened with a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers before beating the Nets, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves prior to the defeat in the Mile High City.
“It could be better,” Splitter said of the trip. “I think that game in Philly, we should have been better. At the end of the day, it’s 3-2 and we got to take it and go take care of business at home. We have an important week in front of us.”
Deni Avdija had 23 points and matched his career best of 14 assists against Denver while Donovan Clingan added 18 points and 13 rebounds. Clingan has 10 or more boards in nine straight games.
The Trail Blazers never led in the contest, and Denver exposed them in transition with a 27-9 edge in fast-break points.
“They put a lot of pressure on us in transition,” Splitter said. “We couldn’t rebound as well as we wanted, and they were running against our defense and getting easy baskets.”
In a road game against the Nets last Monday, Portland had seven players score in double digits during a 114-95 triumph. The Trail Blazers led 65-41 at halftime and cruised to the win.
That was loss No. 4 of the Nets’ current seven-game losing streak. The latest was Sunday’s 126-122 road setback to the Sacramento Kings in an outcome that dropped Brooklyn to 2-17 over its last 19 games.
Rookie Ben Saraf scored a season-best 22 points against Sacramento and has reached double digits in five of the past six games.
“Probably one of his best games at finishing at the rim,” Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez said of Saraf. “I like how aggressive he was, five assists to two turnovers.”
Saraf had 15 points, four assists and a season-high four steals in the recent loss to Portland.
Ziaire Williams and Malachi Smith added 18 points apiece against the Kings on Sunday. The point total was a career-best for Smith, who made 7 of 9 field-goal attempts while playing in his fifth NBA game.
Fernandez was highly impressed by the way his team handled the ball against the Kings. Two games earlier, his club committed 23 turnovers while being routed 121-92 by the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder. That was the night the Nets scored 24 points in the first half.
Against the Kings, Brooklyn committed just one miscue in the opening half.
“Our 30 assists to only seven turnovers is very impressive,” Fernandez said. “So that’s definitely a step forward for us.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mason Jones vs. Axel Sola Saved UFC London With Fight of the Night Performance
Let’s be honest with ourselves: There wasn’t a whole lot to celebrate coming out of UFC London. Movsar Evloev won in a very controversial decision and may not have done enough to earn a title shot. Michael Page and Sam Patterson put on legitimately one of the worst fights the Octagon has ever seen.
There just wasn’t a lot of inspiring performances that took place; even the crowd wasn’t the normal kind of energy for a UK MMA show.
But for 15 minutes of Octagon action, Mason Jones and Axel Sola made things different that night.
Taking place as the featured attraction for the preliminary card, UFC London was off to a rough start, with the only true highlights being Shanelle Dyer’s finish of Ravena Oliveira in the opening bout and a first-round finish by Brando Pericic. Jones and Sola had a lot of pressure on them to bring some excitement into the O2 Arena – and both of them did that, and then some.
Jones is a strong up-and-comer from a region with a great comeback story behind him. Jones was a Cage Warriors champion when he was first signed to the UFC, debuting in January 2021. Unfortunately, his first tenure did not go as he hoped, going 1-2 (1 NC) in the Octagon before being released after his last fight in July 2022.
One year later, Jones was back in Cage Warriors, winning four straight before returning to the UFC in 2025. His two fights in 2025 saw him have an entertaining war with Jeremy Stephens and score a highlight finish of Bolaji Oki. And since that loss in July 2022, Jones has continued to win and win.
Sola was going to be an interesting test for him, however. Sola was a champion in ARES FC and made his UFC debut with a finish of Rhys McKee. He entered the fight unbeaten at 11-0-1, and he was looking to use Jones to make a massive statement for his own rise.
Jones looked to bring his offensive display right off the bat, looking to take control and score an impactful win. That also became a detriment, however, when Sola landed a spinning elbow that knocked Jones down. Sola, a grappling specialist, added in a pair of takedowns during the first round and controlled the action to trouble Jones in the fight’s first five minutes. Jones, however, was able to use his strikes to open up a cut on Sola.
Jones’ further response to being down on the cards? Initiate a greater volume of striking, and that helped him overwhelm Sola while stopping any of his attempts to control the pace. Sola held his own, but Jones seemed to have the upper hand in round two. In fact, Jones notably did damage with knees.
Jones and Sola then went bold in the third round, swinging with everything they had for a fun ride in the final five minutes. Jones took over, however, and whalopped Sola with flurries near the fence as the seconds ticked down. Jones wasn’t able to get the finish, but he did get the win.
The UFC London card had quite a few low points to it, including low in entertainment value. And some fans have admitted on social media that they haven’t been as entertained by the UFC product in the past year or so, let alone what they’ve seen in 2026. While that will be debated, it can’t be debated that UFC London made PFL Madrid – which was already a solid event – look like UFC 100 compared to most of what was seen in London this past Saturday night.
But Mason Jones and Axel Sola proved to be the exception. Praises could be sung for Jones, for having the heart and determination to keep going after being in trouble and putting on another gritty display in a seventh straight victory. But it takes two to tango, so Sola deserves his flowers, too.
They really were a rain of sunshine on a cloudy day of fights.
Jazz's Ace Bailey, an 'incredible athlete,' focuses on defense ahead of game vs. Raptors
With soft slate on horizon, Trail Blazers take aim at reeling Nets
