The NHL Players’ Association has requested that the league conduct an investigation of coach Mike Babcock as the Edmonton Oilers move toward hiring him, TSN and The Athletic reported Tuesday.

Independent hockey insider Frank Seravalli added that the union specifically asked the NHL to step in and delay the Oilers’ hiring of Babcock until the league can complete an investigation into allegations stemming from his brief stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In 2023, Babcock was hired to take over the Blue Jackets for what would have been his first NHL job since the Toronto Maple Leafs dismissed him in 2019. But that September, reports emerged that some players felt Babcock invaded their privacy by asking to see their cellphone camera rolls in one-on-one meetings.

Babcock resigned before the season began, so the NHL did not investigate the claims.

At the time, Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner and the late Johnny Gaudreau confirmed Babcock asked to see photos on their phone, but they were not pressured to do so and understood it to be in the spirit of getting to know one another. Babcock reportedly also showed players photos from his phone.

However, younger players reportedly felt uncomfortable with Babcock’s approach, and he already had a reputation for controversial motivational tactics while with the Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings.

Per The Athletic, the NHL will only move forward with investigating Babcock once the Oilers confirm they are intent on hiring the 63-year-old.

Babcock has a 700-418-164 career record (19 ties) as the head coach of the then-Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2002-04), Red Wings (2005-15) and Maple Leafs (2015-19). He led the Red Wings to the 2008 Stanley Cup title.

–Field Level Media

The Big 12’s athletic directors held a call with conference commissioner Brett Yormark Tuesday to express their frustration about the temporary injunction that made Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby eligible for the 2026 season.

Sorsby was ruled ineligible by the NCAA after admitting to gambling on college football. District judge Ken Curry granted Sorsby the injunction on Monday, overruling the NCAA and prohibiting the association from suspending Sorsby from “practicing, playing or otherwise participating,” pending a change of heart.

With a trial date set for Feb. 8, 2027, that doesn’t seem likely.

Because of his historic ruling for a team which won its first Big 12 title in program history last season and made its first College Football Playoff, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this decision has been met with frustration from the rest of college football.

ESPN reported that TCU athletic director Mike Buddie and Kansas State AD Gene Taylor presented the possibility that the rest of the Big 12 could elect not to play Texas Tech this upcoming season due to their outrage.

“We had a thoughtful and productive conversation with our athletic directors today as we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation,” Yormark said in a statement shared by the Big 12 after the call. “Many of our athletics directors voiced their opinions. We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference.”

According to ESPN, Georgia and Nebraska will no longer allow their teams to play against Texas Tech in any sport, and the Big Ten as a whole will weigh a similar mandate.

NCAA president Charlie Baker also spoke out against the injunction while talking at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics conference on Tuesday, saying the appeal process is already underway.

“I spent eight years as governor of Massachusetts and three years and change in this job. This was pretty much a new low, and I’ll leave it at that,” Baker said, per Sports Business Journal.

“We’ll pursue every legal avenue that’s available to us. This is a pretty fundamental issue and the facts kind of speak for themselves.

“The rules on this one are pretty clear and they apply to everybody who plays sports at the amateur and professional level everywhere. But if you think about it, three or four of the most challenging issues that Division I faces are all the result of a court case. And in most cases it is one student-athlete. The judge looks up, sees that one student-athlete and makes a decision based on that, but the consequences ripple all over the place.”

Court documents filed by Sorsby’s legal team showed he placed at least 40 bets on the Indiana football team while a member of the program in 2022 and 2023. In all, he wagered about $90,000 through a variety of sportsbook accounts registered to friends and a family member over a four-year period before entering an addiction treatment program on April 27.

Sorsby threw for 5,613 yards, 45 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over the past two seasons at Cincinnati. He also ran for 1,027 yards and 18 touchdowns in 24 games.

–Field Level Media

Angel Reese tallied 17 points and 17 rebounds in her first game against her former team as the Atlanta Dream defeated the host Chicago Sky 82-75 on Tuesday night.

Reese was one of five players to score in double figures for the Dream (8-3, 3-1 Commissioner’s Cup), and she also notched four assists and two steals. Reese now has a double-double in eight of 11 games this season. She continues to lead the WNBA in rebounds with 12.2 per game.

Rhyne Howard added 17 points, five assists and three steals, Naz Hillmon added 16 points and Jordin Canada and Allisha Gray tossed in 14 points apiece. Atlanta got just four points from its bench.

Natasha Cloud paced the Sky (4-8, 1-3 Commissioner’s Cup) with 18 points off the bench. Skylar Diggins added 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting, while Kamilla Cardoso chipped in 13 points and four blocks.

Chicago led by four points near the start of the fourth quarter after Cloud knocked down her first and only 3-pointer of the day. The Dream then broke off a 12-6 run to take the lead with about four minutes remaining.

A layup from Cloud cut the Dream’s lead to just a point, but Atlanta responded by closing the game on an 11-5 run, a surge that began with back-to-back buckets by Hillmon — a layup and a 26-foot 3-pointer. Reese or Howard provided the assists on the Dream’s final five baskets.

Howard became the youngest player in WNBA history to record at least 2,500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocks in a career. She leads the league in steals this season with 3.1 per game.

The Dream won despite shooting a season-low 19.2% from behind the arc. Atlanta outscored Chicago in the paint 48-26. The Dream also won the rebounding battle by 11 and turned 16 Sky turnovers into 25 points.

–Field Level Media