Sports
Former NFL All-Pro DE Aldon Smith dies at 36
November 15, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) runs with the football against Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Aldon Smith (99) during the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Former NFL defensive end Aldon Smith, who quickly made an impact as an All-Pro pass rusher before encountering off-field issues, died on Saturday. He was 36.
The San Francisco 49ers, who selected Smith seventh overall in the 2011 NFL Draft out of Missouri, confirmed his death on Saturday without providing a cause.
“We are devastated by the sudden and tragic passing of Aldon Smith,” the team said in a statement. “Aldon’s undeniable talent and sheer dominance on the field were on display from the moment he joined our organization, having recorded one of the best rookie seasons the National Football League has seen. Beyond his excellence as a player, Aldon will be remembered for his infectious smile that lit up every room he walked into. Our entire organization sends its deepest condolences to the Smith family and all who knew and loved Aldon.”
Smith played his first four seasons for the 49ers and totaled 152 tackles, 44 sacks, 81 quarterback hits, one interception, five forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one safety in 50 regular-season games (30 starts). He added another 20 tackles and 5.5 sacks in eight playoff games (six starts) for San Francisco.
His 14 sacks in 2011 were the second-most by a rookie in one season since sacks became an official statistic in 1982, per the team. Smith’s 19.5 sacks in 2012 set a franchise single-season mark and his 33.5 total from 2011-12 are the most by any player in his first two NFL seasons, per the team.
Smith made the NFL All-Rookie Team in 2011 and was selected to the Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro in 2012.
Smith was suspended nine games in 2014 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The 49ers released him in August 2015 after a DUI arrest.
He was arrested 10 times in nine years for a series of incidents, per an ESPN report on Saturday, including an arrest for three felony charges of possessing illegal assault weapons in October 2013.
Smith played nine games (seven starts) for the Oakland Raiders in 2015 before the league suspended him indefinitely for another violation of its substance abuse policy.
After missing the entire 2016 and 2017 campaigns, the Raiders released him in March 2018 after an arrest for domestic violence.
The NFL suspended him in April 2020 when he signed with the Dallas Cowboys and he was reinstated from the suspension that May. He played 16 games (all starts) for the Cowboys in 2020.
The Seattle Seahawks signed him in April 2021 and released him that August.
His career totals were 228 tackles, 52.5 sacks, one interception, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one safety and 103 QB hits in 75 regular-season games (53 starts).
ESPN reported that Smith announced his retirement from the NFL in 2023, and the next year he began a project mentoring young athletes on dealing with the pressures and distractions of being a professional athlete. He also mentored the rookie classes of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders.
Smith, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, played two seasons at Missouri and totaled 79 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks in 23 games from 2009-10. He was a first-team All-Big 12 Conference pick and the team’s defensive lineman of the year in 2010.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Luigi Suigo withdraws from NBA Draft, commits to Villanova
Jan 20, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; General view of the Big East logo on the court at Wells Fargo Center before a game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Connecticut Huskies. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Italian center Luigi Suigo has withdrawn from the 2026 NBA Draft and committed to Villanova, according to multiple media reports.
Suigo, 19, averaged 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks across 18.1 minutes per game last season for Mega Superbet in the AdmiralBet ABA League. He is listed at 7’3″ with a 7’5.5″ wingspan.
The prospect, from Tradate, Varese, Italy, was viewed as a potential late first-round pick by media outlets. ESPN ranked him 32nd overall on their big board.
Suigo had offers from Villanova, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana. He will now join a Wildcats’ squad that is fresh off a NCAA Tournament appearance. They went 24-9 in Kevin Willard’s first season as head coach.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA Roundup: Emma Raducanu wins twice in one day to reach London finals
Emma Raducanu gets set to serve to Amanda Anisimova during their third-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Sunday, March 8, 2026. Former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu thrilled the home crowd in London by winning a pair of matches over several hours at the HSBC Championships on Saturday to advance to the tournament finals.
The oft-injured 2021 champion knocked off Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova, 6-3, 7-5, then came back a few hours later to oust No. 6 Iva Jovic, 6-2, 6-2.
In between those matches, Croatian Donna Vekic, a lucky loser into the main draw, defeated the United Kingdom’s Katie Boulter, 6-1, 6-3.
Vekic and Raducanu will meet for the first time on Sunday. The 29-year old Vekic has four WTA titles under her belt, while the London native is seeking her second.
Raducanu broke Jovic five times in their match and took advantage of the 18-year old American’s 58 percent first serve efficiency.
Vekic won 23-of-25 points on her first serve against Boulter and never faced a break point.
Libema Open
Robin Montgomery, ranked No. 484 in the world, knocked off Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-4, 6-2, to reach her first-ever finals in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands event on Saturday.
Montgomery, will take on eighth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s finals. Krejcikova, the lone seeded player to reach the quarterfinals of the grass court event, edged Poland’s Magda Linette, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Linette served at 5-4 in the second set, staved off four break points, but could not convert on a fifth. She took a 3-0 lead in the tie-breaker, but Krejcikova stormed back to win seven-of-eight to earn the win.
Montgomery smacked 11 aces and won 28-of-33 points on her first serve against Tomljanovic.
The two players have never competed against one another in a tour-level match.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ivan Herrera homers twice as Cardinals fend off late rally by Twins
Jun 12, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Blaze Jordan (33) hits an RBI single against the Minnesota Twins in his major league debut at bat in the second inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Ivan Herrera hit two home runs, with the second sparking a five-run seventh inning for the St. Louis Cardinals, who posted a 9-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Herrera went 2-for-3 with a walk and drove in three on his eighth and ninth homers. Jordan Walker also homered in the seventh, a 454-foot homer that hit off the third-deck facade in left field, and Blaze Jordan capped the inning with his first Major League long ball, a three-run shot.
In just his second game in the bigs, Jordan had his second 2-for-4 game and added a triple. Pedro Pages went 3-for-4 with two doubles.
Justin Lawrence (0-3) struck out the first two Cardinals he faced in the seventh, but St. Louis rocked him with four straight hits. Solo homers from Herrera and Walker, his 18th, started the rally. Jordan greeted Travis Adams with a three-run shot.
Royce Lewis (2-for-4) hit his third home run in his last four games for the Twins. Byron Buxton (2-for-4) hit his 22nd home run, and Luke Keaschall added a two-run shot for Minnesota’s scoring.
Matt Svanson (2-1) was perfect in 1 2/3 innings of relief for the Cardinals.
Herrera put the Cardinals up just six pitches into the game as he hit a two-run homer off Connor Prielipp. St. Louis got another two off the Twins starter in the second, thanks to Jordan’s triple, Pages’ first double and a Masyn Winn sacrifice fly.
Prielipp settled down from there to last six innings. He allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out two before giving way to Lawrence, who was tagged with his first loss with the Twins after they acquired him from Pittsburgh on June 2.
Minnesota got its three homers in the fourth and fifth innings off Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore to tie the game. Liberatore gave up five hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings and struck out four.
Kody Clemens’ RBI single in the eighth cut the Cardinals’ lead to four. St. Louis closer Riley O’Brien, pitching in a non-save situation, walked the first three batters he faced in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate three straight times. But only Josh Bell could bring in a run on a fielder’s choice.
–Field Level Media
Reports: Luigi Suigo withdraws from NBA Draft, commits to Villanova
WTA Roundup: Emma Raducanu wins twice in one day to reach London finals
