Sports
NFL Draft Rounds 2 & 3: 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 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.
After no quarterbacks were selected in the second round, Carson Beck and Drew Allar were picked in the third.
Arizona opened the round by selecting Beck with the 65th pick. He led Miami to the College Football Playoff title game last season after previously playing four-plus seasons at Georgia. Beck passed for 11,725 yards and 88 touchdowns and started 43 games in his college career.
Eleven picks later, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Allar, who ranks fourth in Penn State history in passing yardage (7,402) and third in touchdown passes (61).
Beck could find a path to the field in Arizona after the franchise parted ways with Kyler Murray. In addition, Jacoby Brissett, who started 12 games last season, is unhappy with his contract. The other veteran option is recent pick-up Gardner Minshew II.
“Experience matters and obviously having a ton of experience in college and having played a ton of games, you see how experience continues to teach you and continues to better you,” Beck told reporters. “Obviously just coming in with an open heart, open mind, and just trying to be a sponge and learn everything I can.”
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is still waiting for word from Aaron Rodgers on whether he will play in 2026. The Steelers also have journeyman Mason Rudolph and second-year-pro Will Howard on the roster.
The selections of Beck and Allar made it four quarterbacks to be picked in 100 selections over three rounds. The others were No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) by the Las Vegas Raiders and No. 13 Ty Simpson (Alabama) to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.
Only three running backs were selected in the first three rounds and two of them were first-rounders from Notre Dame — Jeremiyah Love (No. 3 overall) to the Cardinals and Jadarian Price (No. 32, Seahawks). Indiana’s Kaelon Black went in the third round (No. 90) to the 49ers.
The draft will conclude with the fourth through seventh rounds on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Despite 2-1 series deficit, Golden Knights not panicking vs. Mammoth
Apr 24, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) skates with the puck against Utah Mammoth center Nick Schmaltz (8) during the third period in game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images After an unlikely Game 3 victory, the Utah Mammoth will try to secure their third straight win over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Monday in Salt Lake City during Game 4 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Vegas secured a 4-2 home win in Game 1, but the Mammoth erased the Knights’ home-ice advantage by winning Game 2. Utah then took command of the series with a 4-2 victory Friday in the first-ever NHL playoff game in Salt Lake City.
The Mammoth won Game 3 despite being outshot by a 32-12 margin. Utah became the eighth team since 1974 to win a playoff game with 12 or fewer shots, while the Golden Knights lost despite allowing the second-lowest shots total in any game (regular season or playoffs) in Vegas franchise history.
Sunday’s practice saw the Knights deploy some new line combinations and new power-play units. Vegas has gone 2-for-9 on the power play in the series and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill, though coach John Tortortella felt “we lost the special teams battle in the first three games.”
While the lineup may have some new looks in Game 4, Tortortella said neither his coaching staff or his veteran players have any panic.
“We’ve made some adjustments, as you do in (the) playoffs. Not crazy stuff, but when you get down in a series and you lose a couple in a row, it’s belief,” Tortortella said. “It’s believing in what we’re doing, belief in how we’re preparing. This is mental. This is where I feel very comfortable with this team. … We can draw as much stuff as we can on the board x’s and o’s-wise, this is belief. I think we have that in that room.”
Utah defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said his team also has a few new tricks in mind for Game 4.
“We expect a really good response from a really good opponent over there, so we’re going to need to be focused and prepared,” he said.
As efficient as the Mammoth were with their shots in Game 3, Weegar knows that level of production won’t normally win games.
“We’re definitely going to make some corrections for the next game, which will I think build a little bit more speed and we’ll get a little more offense going.”
Twelve different Mammoth players have at least one point in the series, and five players share the team lead with three points apiece. Weegar, Dylan Guenther, Lawson Crouse, and Logan Cooley each have two goals and an assist, and Kailer Yamamoto has three assists.
Playing in his first career playoff games, Karel Vejmelka has risen to the occasion with a 2.36 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in the series. The numbers are a step beyond Vejmelka’s solid 2.75 GAA and .897 save percentage in the regular season.
Mark Stone, Ivan Barbashev (each with two goals and one assist) and Jack Eichel (one goal, two assists) all have three points in the series, sharing the Vegas team lead.
Though Carter Hart allowed four goals on 12 shots in Game 3, he’ll be back in the Vegas net on Monday. Hart went 7-1-0 with a .932 save percentage over his last eight starts spanning the end of the regular season and first two postseason games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spurs dominate 2nd half to go up 3-1 on Trail Blazers
Apr 26, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a three point basket by guard De’aaron Fox (4) during the first half of game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points and Victor Wembanyama had 27 in his return from concussion protocol, helping the visiting San Antonio Spurs to a 114-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series on Sunday.
Fox sank 11 of 17 shots from the floor and drained four 3-pointers to aid the Spurs in overcoming a 19-point deficit to seize a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Tuesday in San Antonio.
After sitting out Game 3, Wembanyama showed why he was the NBA’s first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year by recording 11 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals.
Stephon Castle collected 16 points and eight assists while dealing with both an injured left hand and foul trouble.
Devin Vassell added 11 points for the Spurs, who outscored the Trail Blazers by a 73-35 margin in the second half.
Deni Avdija scored 26 points, Jrue Holiday had 20 and Jerami Grant added 17 off the bench for the Trail Blazers.
Tied at 74 entering the fourth quarter, the Spurs opened the period on a 27-7 run. Castle set up Wembanyama for a trio of alley-oop dunks before Fox sank a pair of jumpers and a 3-pointer to give San Antonio an 87-77 lead with 7:47 left. Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson converted from beyond the arc and added a pair of driving buckets to extend San Antonio’s lead to 101-81 with 4:31 remaining.
Tempers flared after Castle pushed the ball into the chest of Avdija. A shoving match ensued, resulting in a technical foul on both parties.
Portland held a two-point lead after the first quarter before extending that advantage to 19 points at 58-39 after Donovan Clingan’s 3-pointer with a minute left.
San Antonio cut into the deficit by scoring the last two points of the second quarter and the first 13 of the third, highlighted by 3-pointers from Justin Champagnie, Fox and Vassell on consecutive possessions. The Spurs seized a 64-62 lead after a pair of jump shots from Vassell and then Wembanyama added a dunk in the final second to forge the tie at the end of the third quarter.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brotherly love: Matt, Alex Fitzpatrick capture meaningful Zurich win
Apr 25, 2026; Avondale, Louisiana, USA; Matt Fitzpatrick hits tee shot on hole 2 during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick of England birdied the final hole after their three-stroke lead vanished on the back nine Sunday, leading them to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at Avondale, La.
The birdie on the par-5 18th hole gave them a 1-under-par 71, pushing their tournament total to 31-under 257 at TPC Louisiana in the PGA Tour’s only team event.
Matt is a PGA Tour winner on back-to-back Sundays after winning the RBC Heritage a week earlier. As for Alex, a DP World Tour player, he’ll receive a PGA Tour card through 2028 and a number of exemptions, including into the PGA Championship.
Sitting in a three-way tie going to the last hole, Alex’s approach went into a bunker in front of the 18th green for the team’s second shot, but on the next swing Matt put the ball within 2 feet of the cup and they avoided a playoff.
Alex Smalley/Hayden Springer (68) and the Norwegian pair of Kristoffer Reitan/Kris Ventura (65) shared second place at 30 under.
Reitan and Ventura pulled even with an eagle 3 at the 18th. Reitan’s shot onto the green left Ventura less than 7 feet for the putt.
Smalley/Springer were tied atop the leaderboard until a bogey on No. 17. They recovered to forge a three-way tie at the top when Springer’s approach shot on the 18th left Smalley a tap-in for birdie.
The Fitzpatrick team still had two holes to finish and they cashed in on the final one.
The Fitzpatrick brothers, who began the day with a four-shot lead, played the first 11 holes in a bogey-free 3 under. Then a double bogey on the 12th — initiated with Matt’s tee shot into the rough and taking a stroke for a drop — and a bogey on the 14th suddenly wiped out their advantage.
The Fitzpatricks set a tournament record by posting 57 in Saturday’s four-ball competition.
Ben Martin/Trace Crowe (66) and the Danish tandem of Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen/Jacob Skov Olesen (66) tied for fourth place at 28 under. Martin/Crowe had eight birdies but two bogeys, while Neergaard-Petersen/Skov Olesen did not make a bogey.
There was a three-way tie for sixth place at 27 under with Billy Horschel/Tom Hoge (68), Eric Cole/Hank Lebioda (68) and Doug Ghim/Jeffrey Kang (70).
The start of the final round was delayed a couple of hours because of morning storms. That led to adjustments with groups beginning on Nos. 1 and 10.
–Field Level Media
Despite 2-1 series deficit, Golden Knights not panicking vs. Mammoth
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