Sports
Bears signing free agent WR Scotty Miller
Oct 16, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Scotty Miller (13) runs with the ball against Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Josh Newton (28) during the second quarter at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images The Chicago Bears are signing free agent wide receiver Scotty Miller, his representatives confirmed Saturday to ESPN.
Financial terms for the 28-year-old veteran were not disclosed by agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey.
Miller caught nine passes for 62 yards and no touchdowns in 13 games (no starts) for Pittsburgh last season.
He has 99 catches for 1,216 yards and six TDs in 93 games (nine starts) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019-22), Atlanta Falcons (2023) and Steelers (2024-25).
The Buccaneers drafted Miller in the sixth round in 2019, and he helped them win a Super Bowl the next season.
The Bears’ wide receiver depth chart includes Rome Odunze and 2026 third-round draft pick Zavion Thomas.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees recall All-Star LHP Carlos Rodon
Feb 13, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) works out during spring training practices at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images The New York Yankees returned left-hander Carlos Rodon from his minor league rehab assignment on Sunday and reinstated him from the 15-day injured list.
Rodon is expected to make the start on Sunday in Milwaukee as New York attempts to avoid a sweep in the three-game series.
In a corresponding move, the club optioned right-handed reliever Kervin Castro to Triple A-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Rodon, 33, had loose particles removed from his left elbow in addition to the reduction of a bone spur on Oct. 15, just days after the Yankees’ season ended.
He set a career high with 33 starts in 2025, posting a record of 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA. He earned All-Star accolades and finished 10th in MLB with 203 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.05.
According to Inside Edge, his batting-average against at home was .154, best in MLB.
He did struggle in a pair of postseason starts, allowing nine runs in 8 1/3 innings.
Rodon made three minor league rehab starts without a decision and put up a 3.38 ERA. That ERA ballooned after his final tune-up for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, when he allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings in an 83-pitch outing. He walked two and struck out four.
“This being probably my third time through a lengthy rehab process, I have some experience, although most people don’t want to really say that,” Rodon told the New York Post on Saturday. “Just (leaning) back on those times and working on the craft and trying to get back here and help the team.”
Rodon is 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA in five career starts vs. Milwaukee. He has beaten the Brewers in his lone start against them each of the last two seasons, allowing a combined two runs on six hits in 11 1/3 innings.
Rodon enters his 12th major league campaign and fourth with the Yankees.
A three-time All-Star, Rodon has a career record of 93-72 with a 3.73 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. In 231 appearances (226 starts), the Miami, Fla. native has fanned 1,409 batters and walked 477 in 1282 innings.
Castro appeared in only one game for New York, allowing one earned run in two innings in the 6-0 loss to Milwaukee on Friday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Why the Hawks Need the No. 1 Pick More Than Any Team in the NBA Draft Lottery
With the NBA Draft Lottery less than 12 hours away, the Atlanta Hawks stand to alter their franchise trajectory the most by nabbing the No. 1 pick – at least in the immediate term. They may have clinched the top spot two short years ago with 3 percent odds, but not all No. 1 picks are created equal.
Besides, the backstory of their 2026 lottery plight adds all the more intrigue.
Roster Resilience
After promoting General Manager Onsi Saleh and admirably re-tooling around Trae Young during the 2025 offseason, the Hawks 2025-26 campaign was about as turbulent and unpredictable as it gets. Trae sprained his MCL in late-October and it was not long before murmurings of Atlanta being better without him emerged. All the while internal tensions grew.
Within three months, Saleh and Co. replaced Trae Young and Kristaps Porziņģis with C.J. McCollum and Jonathan Kuminga – ultimately reloading their rotation and shifting identities on the fly with Jalen Johnson taking the mantle as franchise player. A series of events that would have derailed a season for most teams but only served to strengthen ATL’s collective resolve. It is that type of organizational adaptability and resourcefulness that render Atlanta proved a suitable landing spot for a blue-chip prospect.
Pulling a Rabbit Out of a Hat
Atlanta’s upper management preyed on newly-hired New Orleans Pelicans Executive Joe Dumars’ infatuation with Derik Queen by voluntarily moving down ten spots in the 2025 NBA Draft. The compensation? Rights to the better of New Orleans and Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round pick in the 2026 lottery – a 6.8 percent and 3 percent chance at the No. 1 pick respectively. It remains as shocking a move now as it did at the time, and Atlanta’s side of the bargain is about to come to a head.
High-end bites at the lottery apple like this are a luxury that every team dreams of stumbling upon. Not only would being drawn No. 1 have franchise-altering ramifications, but the lore of how it came about would go down as one of the greatest transactional triumphs in recent memory.
Hugging the Middle
Since their exciting, but fruitless, 60-win season in 2014-15, Atlanta has a cumulative regular season record of 658-701. Dwindle that sample size down to the last six seasons, their aggregate record is 247-235. As the internet would say, the Hawks have been as “mid” as an NBA franchise could possibly be for more than a decade.
That being said, there is a distinct sense of respectability in remaining competent all these years. While they have never quite risen to contender status – depending on how you classify their 2021 Eastern Conference Finals run – they have an air of persistence about them. Year-to-year competitiveness in a league that increasingly resorts to pulling the plug and bottoming out. Atlanta is more than likely one piece away from breaking through the ceiling of mediocrity that has plagued them for years. It just so happens that this is the perfect draft pool to twist their fate.
A Pre-existing Core
Last but not least, the Hawks already have a young, Playoff-tested nucleus to complement a prospective franchise cornerstone. After rising to an All-NBA level and testing his mettle as a go-to guy in the Playoffs, Jalen Johnson profiles as the perfect second option of a championship-hopeful roster. Onyeka Okongwu has cemented himself as their incumbent big man with defensive mobility and newfound shooting chops. Dyson Daniels boasts all-league perimeter defense with a burgeoning offensive game. Meanwhile Nickeil Alexander-Walker broke out as an upper-echelon starter and 20-point scorer on a nightly basis with a team-friendly contract until 2028.
Whether it be AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, or Caleb Wilson, Atlanta has the personnel and infrastructure to accommodate, and develop, a future franchise superstar while winning at a high level every step.
Sports
Minnesota United put strong form up against Austin FC
Apr 25, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota United FC forward Kelvin Yeboah (9) dribbles during the first half against Los Angeles Football Club at Allianz Field. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images After losing just once in their previous seven MLS matches, Minnesota United will play host to Austin FC at Saint Paul, Minn., on Sunday.
Minnesota United (6-3-2, 20 points) are in the midst of a 5-1-1 stretch since March 22, with their only blemish a 1-0 loss to Los Angeles FC on April 25. The success has come despite limited involvement from midfielder James Rodriguez.
Colombia’s national team captain is signed with the Loons through June 30, ahead of the upcoming World Cup, and has an option through December. But he has zero goal involvements in just four appearances and 103 minutes.
“We’ve had a couple different unforeseen circumstances that have made him unavailable for selection, and then there’s obviously the team performance,” Minnesota coach Cameron Knowles told SiriusXM on Friday. “It’s difficult to change a winning team, and we’ve been really consistent with the lineup selection and leaned on a smaller group of guys for some heavy minutes.”
Austin FC (3-4-4, 13 points) have won their last two matches following an 0-5-3 stretch across all competitions. The road has not been kind to the Verde, who are 0-3-2 away from home this season.
“I think we’re in a moment where we’ve played good away games, but we haven’t gotten the win yet, and I think we have to have a complete performance against (Minnesota) in order (to) get a good result,” Austin coach Nico Estevez said.
Austin welcomed back striker Brandon Vazquez during last week’s 2-0 win over St. Louis City, marking his first action since an ACL tear on July 8, 2025.
“When a player has been a long time recovering from an injury like Brandon, (given) his personality as a player inside the locker room and how loved he is, it’s always going to create a positive impact,” Estevez said.
Austin will be without Jayden Nelson (inflammation) on Sunday. Robert Taylor (knee) is day-to-day and will be reevaluated ahead of Sunday’s contest after missing Austin’s last three matches.
Kelvin Yeboah scored a brace for Minnesota in a come-from-behind 3-2 road win against the Columbus Crew last weekend, bringing his team-high goal total to seven. Myrto Uzuni leads Austin with four goals.
Austin’s last road win in MLS play came on Sept. 7, 2025 against Sporting Kansas City, although they did earn a 2-1 victory at Minnesota in U.S. Open Cup play 10 days later.
–Field Level Media
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