Sports
ACC notebook: Dabo Swinney trusts Clemson's QB options
Jul 16, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney speaks to the media during Media Day at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Clemson didn’t bring a quarterback to ACC media days, but the Tigers’ most important position battle still followed Dabo Swinney to Charlotte on Thursday.
Christopher Vizzina remains the favorite to replace Cade Klubnik, though Swinney stopped short of formally ending a competition that also includes true freshman Tait Reynolds.
Vizzina has waited three seasons for the opportunity, appearing in 14 games while attempting 105 passes. His only start came against SMU last November, when he completed 29 of 42 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-24 loss.
Clemson could have pursued a more experienced option through the transfer portal after Klubnik left for the NFL. Instead, Swinney trusted the quarterbacks already in the program.
“We all know the magnitude of these decisions. We’re not stupid,” Swinney said. “But that’s why we didn’t go get the big shiny object out of the portal. We believe in (Vizzina). But we also believe in Tait. He’s a high-level dude, now. He’s special.”
Both Vizzina and Reynolds remain largely untested at the college level, leaving Swinney willing to let the competition play out before naming an opening-day starter.
“Neither one of them have great experience, so at the end of the day, if CV’s 1, he’ll run out there first,” Swinney said. “If Tait’s 1, he’ll run out there first. We just have to go through the process and see how it all works out.”
The eventual winner will not receive much time to settle in. Clemson, coming off a 7-6 season, opens Sept. 5 at LSU.
–Virginia Tech wins offseason, awaits games
James Franklin arrived at Virginia Tech with a proven rebuilding record, an active approach to roster construction and no shortage of confidence.
According to the Hokies’ new coach, the first phase of the rebuild has gone about as well as possible.
“I think I would describe it as I think we have won the offseason,” Franklin said. “We’ve had a great offseason in terms of implementing our standards and our expectations and our culture.”
Virginia Tech is attempting to recover from a 3-9 season, its worst record since 1992, and has not won more than seven games since 2019. Franklin said the Hokies are bigger, stronger and faster, with enough depth to compete, but understands those improvements must translate once the season begins.
Franklin also acknowledged that winning the offseason does not count in the standings.
“All that’s great. That sounds great in a press conference, it’s a good sound bite,” Franklin said. “The reality is we have to make sure all that translates to the season.”
His unconventional decision to retain former Hokies head coach Brent Pry as defensive coordinator has helped ease the transition. Franklin credited Pry’s familiarity with the school and community while saying the program must balance its history with the demands of modern college football.
The Hokies open against VMI on Sept. 5.
–Louisville embraces demanding path
Jeff Brohm won’t need to convince Louisville that every week matters.
The Cardinals are set to face 11 Power Four opponents, starting with a neutral-site game against Ole Miss in Nashville on Sept. 6. Brohm stated that this tough schedule gives Louisville a chance to prove it belongs among the top teams in the nation.
“We think that’s what college football’s all about,” Brohm said. “That will challenge our football team. Definitely what fans want to see, players and coaches want to prepare for.”
Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz is expected to direct the offense after spending three seasons in a crowded quarterback room with the Buckeyes. Brohm praised Kienholz’s mobility, ability to extend plays and willingness to wait for his opportunity.
“We’re really excited about Lincoln. I think when you look for quarterback play, you look for guys, in my opinion, that are hungry first, that are willing to put in the work,” Brohm said. “I think he brings us some dimensions and skills that we have not had before. He’s a great athlete. He can run. He can extend plays. He can throw on the run. And he enjoys doing that.”
Louisville has won at least nine games in each of Brohm’s first three seasons, but its ACC record has declined each year. Brohm said greater consistency, particularly in close conference games, will determine whether the Cardinals can return to the ACC championship game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
BetBoom Team, Vici Gaming earn spots in Dota semis at Esports World Cup
Dota 2 competition at the Esports World Cup BetBoom Team and Vici Gaming became the final two teams to advance to the semifinals of the Esports World Cup Dota 2 tournament thanks to their wins Friday in Paris.
Vici opened the day with a 2-0 victory over Team Falcons, and BetBoom added a 2-0 win over Nigma Galaxy in the quarterfinal stage.
BetBoom and Vici will square off in one semifinal match Saturday with Team Yandex and PARIVISION going head to head in the other after both advanced on Thursday. The winners move on to the grand final on Sunday and the losers will compete in the third-place match.
The Dota 2 event at the Esports World Cup is the final championship of the ESL Pro Tour, now in its fourth season. The tournament has a $2 million prize pool, with $750,000 and 1,000 EWC club points going to the first-place team.
The format consists of three phases: a group stage of 24 teams that competed in a round robin, a survival phase (Tuesday-Wednesday) formatted into a single-elimination bracket that saw four teams advance, then a final playoff stage (Thursday-Sunday), which is single elimination.
The four group winners advanced directly to the playoffs. Teams finishing second through fourth in their groups went to the survival stage, a two-round bracket that decided the other four teams to make the playoff field of eight.
All matches in Phase 1 were two games, while the matches in Phases 2 and 3 are best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final.
On Friday, Vici prevailed in 57 on red and 32 minutes on green over Falcons. Guo “Xm” Hongcheng of China led the way for Vici with a kill-death-assist ratio of 29-5-21 across the two maps.
BetBoom took down Nigma in 35 minutes on red and 49 minutes on green. Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov of Russia put up a dominant 17-3-28 K-D-A for BetBoom.
The Esports World Cup features competition in 25 titles and a $75 million prize pool. Other upcoming events include League of Legends, PUBG, EA Sports FC, Call of Duty: Warzone, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Rocket League, Counter-Strike 2 and Fortnite.
The tournament continues Saturday with the semifinal matches:
— BetBoom Team vs. Vici Gaming
–Team Yandex vs. PARIVISION
Dota 2 Esports World Cup payouts (prize money, club points)
1. $750,000, 1,000 — TBD
2. $340,000, 750 — TBD
3. $200,000, 500 — TBD
4. $120,000, 300 — TBD
5-8. $70,000, 200 — Team Spirit, Rune Eaters, Nigma Galaxy, Team Falcons
9-12. $40,000, 0 — LGD Gaming, 1w, Team Liquid, Aurora Gaming
13-16. $20,000, 0 — MOUZ, Xtreme Gaming, Virtus.pro, PlayTime
17-20. $10,000, 0 — GamerLegion, Level UP, REKONIX, OG
21-24. $7,500, 0 — Poor Rangers, L1 Team, Team Nemesis, Inner Circle x Insanity
–Field Level Media
Sports
Flyers sign D Jamie Drysdale to 4-year deal
Apr 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale (9) skates with the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Flyers secured a key piece of their blue line Friday, signing defenseman Jamie Drysdale to a four-year, $26 million contract, the team announced.
The deal allows the two sides to avoid arbitration, carries an average annual value of $6.5 million and keeps the 24-year-old under contract through the 2029-30 season.
Drysdale secured a long-term deal after his best NHL season. He scored a career-high eight goals (three game-winners) and tied his personal best with 32 points over 78 games in 2025-26, ranking second among Philadelphia defensemen in scoring.
“Since we acquired him, Jamie has worked extremely hard and taken big steps in his development,” general manager Daniel Briere said. “We believe his best hockey is still ahead of him, and he’s going to play an important role in strengthening our blue line as we continue to build.”
Drysdale’s teammates selected him as the recipient of the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to Philadelphia’s most improved player.
Philadelphia acquired Drysdale and a 2025 second-round draft pick from the Anaheim Ducks in January 2024 in exchange for forward Cutter Gauthier. The Toronto native was originally selected sixth overall by Anaheim in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Drysdale has registered 25 goals and 77 assists in 295 career games with the Ducks and Flyers. He reached 100 career points during the past season, becoming the third-fastest defenseman from his draft class to hit the milestone.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bryson DeChambeau: 'Onto the weekend' after 2-stroke penalty
Jul 17, 2026; Southport, ENG; Bryson DeChambeau reacts after making a birdie putt on the ninth green during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bryson DeChambeau was handed a two-stroke penalty following his second round at the Open Championship on Friday in Southport, England, after R&A rules officials determined he had taken actions to improve “the area of his intended swing” on a shot 13 holes earlier.
For a few hours, there was a legitimate question as to whether DeChambeau would continue playing the final major championship of the year. He declined to speak to reporters about his penalty, and his agent, Brett Falkoff, claimed he was “100 percent” serious when he appeared to tell rules officials he won’t be back for the third round.
At 12:02 a.m. local time, DeChambeau posted to social media and left no doubt about where he’d be Saturday.
“Obviously disappointed with the ruling,” he wrote. “I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.”
A popular but divisive figure in the world of golf, the LIV Golf star originally posted a 4-under 66 to move to 7 under, one shot behind Australia’s Lucas Herbert. Now, rather than waking up Saturday in second place and the final pairing for the third round, DeChambeau will enter the weekend three behind Herbert instead of one, his bogey 5 at the fifth hole changed to a triple-bogey 7.
The downgrade for DeChambeau altered Saturday pairings, pushing Jackson Suber to the final group with Herbert. DeChambeau and Sam Burns, who shot 62 on Friday, are scheduled to tee off at 10:30 a.m. ET followed by Cameron Young and Ryan Gerard, then Suber and Herbert.
DeChambeau hit his drive at the par-4 fifth hole far right and eventually found the ball in a native area. Replays showed the two-time major winner stamping down on different patches of tall grass near his ball. It may have affected not the lie of the ball, but the path for his eventual swing.
DeChambeau vehemently disagreed with the ruling as officials shuttled him back to the scene of the alleged misdeed before he could enter the scoring trailer to sign his second-round scorecard.
U.S. TV cameras captured a discussion several minutes long, and at points DeChambeau could be seen gesticulating and getting animated.
“He’s a lot of things. He’s not a cheater,” Falkoff later told reporters. “He’s a big boy. He’ll see how he feels. But he certainly feels he was unfairly penalized.”
More than an hour after his round ended, the R&A, who organize The Open, cemented their decision. A new score was reflected on the massive leaderboard between the 18th green and where DeChambeau stood ripping golf balls on the driving range.
Following that session on the range, which commenced immediately after DeChambeau and his team left scoring, the narrative was less about the infraction and more about what comes next.
TV cameras had shown DeChambeau appear to tell rules officials “I just won’t play tomorrow” before they boarded multiple carts to return to the scoring trailer and the R&A released its decision.
DeChambeau didn’t have a choice whether he would play the weekend at the first three majors of the year, as he missed the cut at the Masters, the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open.
The R&A, which organizes The Open, confirmed DeChambeau’s penalty was not for improving the lie of his ball, but rather the path for his eventual swing.
“An improvement means to alter one or more of the conditions affecting the stroke so that the player gains a potential advantage for the stroke,” Grant Moir, the R&A’s executive director for governance, told reporters. “Now, I’ll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson’s case.”
–Field Level Media
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