Sports
American notebook: Tim Pernetti wants G6 access to double if CFP expands
American Conference Commissioner Tim Pernetti walks next to the court before the first round American Conference Tournament game between Memphis and Tulane in Birmingham, Ala, on March 11, 2026. To hear Tim Pernetti tell it, elected officials on Capitol Hill don’t like to see him coming.
“I’ve walked the halls in D.C. more than Frank Underwood did in ‘House of Cards,'” the commissioner of the American Conference said Friday at the league’s football media day.
“The American has a seat at the table. That’s great news. We have a national respected voice.”
Pernetti has made a point of being the most visible commissioner of a Group of Six conference and fighting for representation for the so-called little guys.
In Friday’s address to reporters in St. Petersburg, Fla., he expressed his support for the Protect College Sports Act progressing through Congress and said that if the size of the College Football Playoff doubles, G6 bids should double, too.
“The American’s position on the CFP is clear,” Pernetti said. “We’re supportive of an expanded playoff that provides more access for every conference.
“We’re asking for two things — fairness and common sense. Here’s a fact – 51% of FBS schools competing in football are outside the autonomy conferences. So, in any expanded format, including the one you’re reading about that could double the field to 24 teams, access should double for everyone.”
As for the Protect College Sports Act, the latest version of the bill, co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, would focus on NIL regulation and the implementation of a one-time transfer policy.
“It’s time for structure in college sports,” Pernetti said. “While this bill isn’t perfect, it addresses the core challenges facing the industry, led and headlined by transfers and eligibility.
“It demands that NIL deals have a legitimate business purpose. I promise you this, that will put an end to these sham pay-for-play deals that are turning recruiting into this unchecked auction.
“It’s progress over perfection.”
–Navy was voted the preseason favorite in the American Conference preseason media poll, garnering half the 14 first-place votes and finishing 12 total points above Memphis.
Navy has gone 11-2 and 10-3 over the past two seasons, including a 13-3 mark in conference games. The Midshipmen appeared in the AP poll both years.
The service academies may have done more for the American Conference than put their historic football programs in the mix. Pernetti pointed to the additions of Army and Navy as a gateway to getting more attention in Washington. Navy has been a football member since 2015, while Army only joined in 2024.
“Army and Navy being in our conferences has been great for us, but their engagement enabled me to create engagement in Washington, D.C., which got me in the room as part of these committees for college sports,” Pernetti said. “Their national profile and the relationships they brought to the table has really enabled the American to get to the table, and now we’re in the group. So we have a national voice in all this change.”
–Charles Huff was not shy in the way he introduced himself as the head coach of Memphis at his first American media day.
“Seventy-one new players,” Huff said of his roster. “I’ve kind of become the Lane Kiffin of the Group of Five. Which is the portal king.”
Huff’s rapid rise through the coaching ranks has taken him from Marshall (2021-24) to Southern Miss (2025) and then to Memphis in just a few years. The 43-year-old guided Marshall to a 10-3 season in 2024, and he took 21 of those players with him when he accepted the job at Southern Miss, which finished 7-5 in his lone season.
This time, 17 players followed Huff to his new post, meaning not all 71 newcomers at Memphis are starting from scratch.
“The first thing you’ve got to realize is it doesn’t matter about talent if you can’t get them to come together,” Huff said. “For us, we’ve been blessed to be in a situation where we’ve been able to retain some of them even though we’ve moved locations, which helps. And that’s the first step.”
At Memphis, Huff replaces Ryan Silverfield, who became the coach at Arkansas.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cam Schlittler twirls gem as Yankees blank Phillies
Jul 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) throws a pitch during the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Cam Schlittler struck out 12 in 7 1/3 innings as the visiting New York Yankees blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 Friday in the opener of a weekend series.
Schlittler (10-6) allowed just three hits and no walks, lowering his ERA to 2.07 and boosting his American League-leading strikeout total to 157. New York hitters weren’t much better, as the Yankees struck out 12 times against Jesus Luzardo (9-5) and two relievers.
Luzardo allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out nine. His only blemish was a home run by Paul Goldschmidt, who had homered just once in his previous 19 games.
With the teams combining for seven hits, Phillies fans did not have much to cheer about on a day that LeBron James agreed to join the Philadelphia 76ers. The Phillie Phanatic got into the act by mimicking LeBron’s chalk toss on the field to the roar of the crowd.
Neither team had a baserunner in the first three innings. Schlittler struck out two in the first, a pair in the second and two more in the third inning.
Goldschmidt opened the fourth with a leadoff homer against Luzardo. The New York first baseman got ahead 2-0 before sending a sinker into the right-field seats for his 16th homer of the season.
Philadelphia got its first baserunner in the bottom half when Kyle Schwarber doubled with one out. He advanced to third on a grounder but was stranded when Brandon Marsh struck out on four pitches.
New York nearly extended the lead in the fifth when its first two hitters reached base. However, Luzardo was able to escape the jam to keep the score at 1-0.
Schlittler allowed a two-out single to J.T. Realmuto in the fifth but struck out Gabriel Rincones Jr. to end the frame. He struck out two more in a 1-2-3 sixth.
After an uneventful seventh inning, the Phillies had runners on first and second with one out in the eighth. Brent Headrick relieved Schlittler and allowed a single before recovering to get Trea Turner and Schwarber with the bases jammed.
David Bednar needed only nine pitches to pick up his 19th save.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs get timely hitting to down Pirates in extras
Jul 24, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch (29) greets designated hitter Pedro Ramírez (75) crossing home plate with the game winning run on a bases loaded walk against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the tenth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Dansby Swanson had an RBI single in the 10th inning to fuel the visiting Chicago Cubs in a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
Pedro Ramirez reached on an infield single to join automatic runner Ian Happ on the bases in the 10th inning. Swanson’s single to center field off Yohan Ramirez (6-3) plated Happ to give Chicago a 2-1 lead, and Seiya Suzuki tacked on a crucial insurance run by drawing a bases-loaded walk.
That made a winner out of Caleb Thielbar (3-2), who retired the side in order in the ninth inning. Gavin Hollowell yielded a run-scoring groundout in the 10th before securing his first save of the season.
Yohan Ramirez permitted two runs on two hits with two walks in one inning.
Pete Crow-Armstrong belted a solo homer and had two of the six hits for the Cubs, who have won four of their last six games.
Henry Davis had an RBI single and joined Jake Mangum and Ryan O’Hearn in recording two hits for the Pirates.
Marcell Ozuna and Brandon Lowe each worked a walk off Matthew Boyd to lead off the fifth inning and Jared Triolo reached on an infield single to load the bases. Ozuna came home to open the scoring while Davis legged out an infield single to second base.
Boyd, however, limited the damage by retiring the next three batters to end the inning.
The slim advantage didn’t last long, as Crow-Armstrong deposited a 3-1 slider from Jared Jones over the wall in right field in the sixth inning. Crow-Armstrong’s homer was his team-leading 22nd of the season and first since he went deep on two occasions against the Baltimore Orioles on July 8.
Chicago second baseman Nico Hoerner kept the game scoreless in the third inning after following up his diving stop on a grounder in the hole by throwing behind Davis at third base. Alex Bregman, the Cubs’ third baseman, raced up the third-base line and tagged Davis to end the inning.
Happ, a left fielder, kept the game tied at 1-1 after throwing out Davis at the plate to end the seventh inning.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Galaxy, Quakes aim for first win since break in California Clasico
Jul 22, 2026; Carson, California, USA; LA Galaxy midfield Troy Elgersma (76) celebrates after scoring a goal against St. Louis CITY SC during the second half at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Griffin Hooper-Imagn Images The San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy will be out to solve their post World Cup-break issues when they meet Saturday for the 105th California Clasico at Stanford, Calif.
It is the third consecutive season, and the 13th time overall, the Earthquakes (10-4-2, 32 points) will play host to the Galaxy (5-7-5, 20 points) at the larger Stanford Stadium instead of their regular home in San Jose.
San Jose, led by Preston Judd (11 goals), holds second place in the Western Conference but was crushed 4-0 at home by Orlando City on Wednesday following the two-month break.
The Earthquakes gave up a goal early in each half and allowed two goals off set pieces, including one on an unmarked header in the seventh minute.
“The start of the game hurt us,” San Jose coach Bruce Arena said. “Conceding the first goal in the manner in which we did, was disappointing. I don’t think we had given up a goal off a defensive restart in the first 15 games of the season, and we gave up two. We played poorly. No excuses.”
The defeat came in the Earthquakes debut of goalkeeper Angus Gunn, who started for Scotland in the World Cup.
The Galaxy were outscored 6-1 in a pair of home defeats after the break. They dropped below the playoff line with a 3-1 loss to St. Louis City on Wednesday after they were reduced to 10 men on a red card for Emiro Garces.
The lone LA goal came from Troy Elgersma, a 22-year-old forward who was playing for USL League Two side Ventura County earlier this season. It was Elgersma’s first career MLS goal.
It was a rare recent moment to savor for a club that continues to be without forward Joao Klauss (foot), while playmaking midfielder Gabriel Pec departed during the break in a transfer to Cruzeiro in Brazil.
“Yeah, got to keep battling,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “We’re going to be down to maybe 11 guys that are on our 20-man roster for (Saturday’s) game between guys who might be out with injuries, suspension (or are) not here. … (Wednesday) we were at 14.”
This week, the Galaxy signed Japanese forward Kyogo Furuhashi, a former Golden Boot winner in Scotland in 2022-23, but visa issues could delay his debut.
–Field Level Media
Cam Schlittler twirls gem as Yankees blank Phillies
Cubs get timely hitting to down Pirates in extras
