Sports
ACC conference title game will no longer start opposite Big Ten
Sep 6, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; A view of the SMU logo and ACC logo during the game between the Southern Methodist Mustangs and the Brigham Young Cougars at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images It appears the Atlantic Coast Conference has given up on trying to compete with the Big Ten off the football field, as well.
A week after Big Ten champion Indiana completed a perfect season and won the national championship with a win over ACC stalwart Miami in the College Football Playoff championship game, the ACC on Monday announced changes to its scheduling in 2026.
Perhaps chief among them: moving its conference championship game to a Saturday noon ET kickoff.
The ACC on Monday released the schedules for all 17 of its institutions for 2026, the first season in which the conference will begin migrating toward a nine-game conference schedule for all schools.
But the move of the conference title game was perhaps the most eye-opening announcement.
The ACC for years has played its title game at 8 p.m. ET on Championship Saturday, in direct conflict with the Big Ten title game. The most recent Championship Saturday, on Dec. 6, an average of 18.3 million viewers watched Indiana beat Ohio State in the Big Ten title game while an average of 3.9 million watched Duke beat Virginia for the ACC crown.
Additionally, the kickoff temperature for the ACC game in Charlotte, N.C., was 31 degrees. The hope is moving the game up eight hours in the day will make for a more pleasant outdoor atmosphere and improve attendance. The ACC will be the only Power 4 conference playing in the noon ET window.
The last time the ACC played its championship game in the noon window was 2008.
Among the other changes in the ACC schedule:
** A pair of international games in Week 0 with North Carolina State and Virginia opening the season — and conference play — in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 29 and North Carolina playing TCU in Dublin the same day.
** At least 19 games played on a Friday, with the potential to add more. That includes Florida hosting Florida State on Black Friday (Nov. 27).
** CFP runner-up Miami playing the first Friday game of the ACC season, at Stanford on Sept. 4.
–Field Level Media
Sports
2-time Stanley Cup champion Trevor Lewis retires
Mar 5, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Trevor Lewis (61) skates against the St. Louis Blues during the second period at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Alex Gallardo-Imagn Images Two-time Stanley Cup champion Trevor Lewis retired from the NHL on Wednesday after 17 seasons.
Lewis, 39, last played in the NHL during the 2024-25 season, recording 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 60 games with the Los Angeles Kings. The forward spent 14 seasons with the Kings and won the Stanley Cup with the club in 2012 and 2014.
“As a kid growing up in Utah, I could have never imagined this journey,” Lewis posted on social media. “Playing over 1,000 games and winning two Stanley Cups. Those milestones aren’t just numbers to me, they represent years of sacrifice, perseverance and a deep love for the game.”
Lewis totaled 237 points (104 goals, 133 assists) in 1,034 career games with the Kings, Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames. He was selected by Los Angeles with the 17th overall pick of the 2006 NHL Draft.
“I want to especially thank the Los Angeles Kings organization for believing in me from day one,” he wrote. “You gave me an opportunity to chase this dream, and together we built something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
“Hockey has given me more than I could ever ask for — brothers in the locker room, lessons that shaped me as a man, and memories that will last forever.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Orioles 2B Jackson Holliday (hand) suffers setback
Sep 20, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) looks on during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday will have an MRI following another setback in his recovery from a right hand injury.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick was removed from Triple-A Norfolk’s game against Memphis on Tuesday after he experienced discomfort during a swing.
Holliday, 22, has been working his way back to the majors since fracturing a hamate bone in batting practice in February. This is the second time in a week that he has experienced soreness in his hand and wrist.
“We’re getting him up to Baltimore for an MRI,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said following the team’s 6-5 loss at Kansas City on Tuesday.
Holliday played 11 rehab games at Norfolk from March 27 to April 12 and two games at High-A Fredericksburg on April 18-19 before returning to Norfolk on Tuesday. He is batting a combined .176 (9-for-51) with no homers and four RBIs in 14 games.
Holliday, the top pick in 2022 and the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, batted .242 with 17 home runs, 55 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 149 games with the Orioles in 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Steelers owner has Ravens' fan seating moved at Pittsburgh draft
Apr 21, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A general overall aerial view of Acrisure Stadium, the site of the 2026 NFL Draft. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Brotherly love is not in the air in Pittsburgh, where Steelers owner Art Rooney II ceases to give the franchise rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens a day off.
Rooney surveyed the stage and draft layout ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft in his home city and was surprised to find the chart called for Ravens fans to be seated in front of the hometown Steelers fans positioned outside of Acrisure Stadium.
He asked the NFL to do something about it.
“On the normal seating chart, I noticed that the Ravens fans were sitting in front of the Steeler fans in one section of the draft theater,” Rooney said in a radio interview with WDVE 102.5 FM. “So I asked (the NFL) to make that change — and they agreed to make that.”
The Steelers and Ravens both changed head coaches in the offseason but the rivalry remains intense.
Baltimore lost a virtual division championship game in the stadium where the draft is held starting Thursday and will pick 14th overall. The Ravens attempted to trade that pick and more to the Las Vegas Raiders for Maxx Crosby, but general manager Eric DeCosta backed out of the deal for what he claimed were concerns with Crosby’s physical.
Pittsburgh has pick No. 21 in the first round Thursday but will be readily apparent Friday during a stretch in the second and third rounds in which the Steelers hold four picks between selections Nos. 53 and 99.
–Field Level Media
2-time Stanley Cup champion Trevor Lewis retires
Orioles 2B Jackson Holliday (hand) suffers setback
