Sports
Big Ten notebook: Ryan Day focuses on small margins for Ohio State
Jul 29, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Ohio State Football head coach Ryan Day speaks during Big Ten Media Days at Hilton Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Ohio State began last season with 12 consecutive victories and ended it with two losses that changed the way the year will be remembered.
Ryan Day is not interested in overreacting to either stretch.
The Buckeyes followed a national championship with a trip to the Big Ten title game last season, where they lost to eventual national champion Indiana. A second defeat against Miami in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals left Ohio State searching for ways to finish better without tearing what worked apart.
“When you’re chasing small margins like you are, you have to identify the things that need to get fixed and fix them,” Day said Wednesday at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. “The easy thing is to do nothing or overreact, where the real work is identifying what needs to get fixed and then make that change.”
One advantage is unusual continuity at quarterback.
Julian Sayin returns for his second season as the starter, making this only the third time during Day’s tenure that Ohio State has brought back its No. 1 quarterback. Sayin won his first 12 starts before the two season-ending losses and will again be paired with star receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Day said Sayin is stronger, more vocal and carrying himself differently after experiencing both ends of a championship chase.
“When you look in his eye now, you see a different person, a different body,” Day said. “He’s worked hard, gotten stronger. He’s found his voice even more.”
The lessons will be tested quickly during what Day called a “monster” schedule which includes a Week 2 road game at Texas.
–Moore passes on NFL to chase history at Oregon
Dante Moore could have been preparing for his first NFL training camp.
Instead, the Oregon quarterback returned to Eugene after being widely projected as the No. 2 selection in the 2026 draft, passing up a lucrative contract.
Moore said his decision was based on development and the opportunity to help Oregon win its first national championship, not concern over which NFL team might select him.
“It was a great decision,” Moore said. “When I first did it, I was a little bit hesitant, but at this point where I’m at right now in the offseason, it’s all full force. There’s no looking back from here. These guys I’m on stage with are for sure people that could’ve went to the NFL last year. For us to come back, we all want to chase history and help us reach our goals.”
Moore completed 71.8% of his passes for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns with 10 interceptions last season while leading the Ducks to a 13-2 record and the CFP semifinals.
Dan Lanning said Moore had unfinished business and described this year’s roster as potentially the most player-led team of his five seasons at Oregon.
“Obviously we have some great returning players that have been big contributors to our program,” Lanning said. “One thing I recognize is last year I felt like we had a team that had a ton of talent. This year, I feel like we have a team with a lot of returning experience. A lot of those young players that played are now guys that have also had great experience, and I’m excited to see what that looks like.”
–Fitzgerald returns to Big Ten with familiar blueprint
Pat Fitzgerald isn’t viewing his first season at Michigan State as a chance to bring over everything that worked during his 17 years at Northwestern.
Instead, the Spartans’ new coach is looking backward for the identity he wants to restore.
Fitzgerald said the traits he has emphasized since taking over have long been part of Michigan State’s most successful teams. His task is turning those familiar ideals into daily habits for a roster still learning what will be demanded of it.
“I said it in my press conference when I got introduced, that this was born at Michigan State, and that’s how we’re going to play,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re going to play smart. We’re going to play tough. We’re going to play with discipline.”
Fitzgerald has spent the offseason increasing competition throughout the roster and establishing a standard he hopes will eventually move the Spartans back into Big Ten contention after four straight losing seasons.
That process will require more than leaning on the program’s history, but Fitzgerald made clear where he expects it to lead.
“We’re looking forward to taking this program back to where it belongs at the highest level,” Fitzgerald said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Esports Nations Cup unveils 64 EA Sports FC direct invites
Sixty-four direct invites have been announced for the EA Sports FC tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026. Sixty-four direct invites were announced for the EA Sports FC tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 that will take place this November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The announcement was made by the Esports Foundation, and the EA Sports FC competition will feature a total of 128 players. The 64 direct invites include one player each from 64 countries and territories, determined “through official citizenship.”
One direct invited was allocated to the highest-ranked player from each country or territory.
DIRECT INVITES*
1. DENMARK – Vejrgang
2. ARGENTINA – nicolas99fc
3. THE NETHERLANDS – Emre Yilmaz
4. ROMANIA – RvPLegend
5. BRAZIL – Paulo Neto
6. ITALY – Bonnano
7. SAUDI ARABIA – AbuMakkah
8. MOROCCO – Nassada
9. GERMANY – Levyfinn
10. PORTUGAL – Jafonso
11. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – GuiBarros
12. BULGARIA – Alihanlion
13. GREAT BRITAIN – Tekkz
14. FRANCE – Brice
15. AUSTRALIA – Mark11
16. EGYPT – K1John
17. ISRAEL – Yuval
18. MEXICO – Happy
19. SOUTH AFRICA – Kaylan
20. ALGERIA – Ilian
21. SPAIN – Neat
22. CHILE – depeedcl
23. JAPAN – Web Nasri
24. CANADA – AgitPower
25. MALAYSIA – AkmalJHD
26. INDONESIA – Javiero
27. LITHUANIA – Domasas
28. TÜRKIYE – KTzn
29. INDIA – Charanjot
30. QATAR – RXSHIID
31. COLOMBIA – Gercrack30
32. IRELAND – JP Sleator
33. JORDAN – sabo
34. KUWAIT – aliKwtx
35. SENEGAL – KingCJ0
36. BELGIUM – Bradley
37. KAZAKHSTAN – Dan1k
38. REPUBLIC OF KOREA – Serry7
39. AZERBAIJAN – YuLite42
40. GEORGIA – Bero
41. PAKISTAN – SalmanAhmad19
42. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – iALAWE
43. SWITZERLAND – Gianluca
44. FINLAND – Kossu72
45. SOMALIA – NHaych
46. NEW ZEALAND – NoahJA
47. MALTA – brandsha
48. PERU – Dome
49. SWEDEN – Ollelito
50. LEBANON – YagoFawaz
51. VENEZUELA – Jorgezxa
52. YEMEN – Toobi
53. HONDURAS – ThiagoCapo
54. CZECHIA – Matejs
55. NORWAY – Cooler
56. SINGAPORE – Operation-Eses
57. OMAN – BBA_BILAL21
58. DJIBOUTI – Ama2zerr
59. IRAQ – hussienwaleed73
60. BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – HekTic JukeZ
61. HONG KONG, CHINA – psycho__xx__
62. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO – Griffeyfc
63. SYRIA – Momenx969
64. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR-LESTE – MarcusGomes
*Invitations subject to change pending acceptance by each player.
Anders “Vejrgang” Vejrgang continues to lead the world rankings despite being eliminated in the quarterfinals at the FC Pro World Championship at EWC 2026. Romania’s Razvan “RvPLegend” Puiu went on to win the trophy, who advanced his way through from the play-ins.
Online qualifiers for the Esports Nations Cup tournament will be held through the in-game FC Pro Live Events mode and the Battlefy tournament platform.
Phase 1 will see players compete in a ladder-based format from Wednesday through Sunday, with matches available 24 hours a day. At the conclusion of the ladder stage, the top players from each region, based on their peak “Skill Rating” during the ladder period, will advance to the playoff stage hosted on Battlefy.
The Esports Nations Cup tournament in Riyadh will begin Nov. 22 and conclude with the Grand Final on Nov. 22.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sky see second half as 'new season,' need wins starting with visit from Sun
Jul 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Sydney Taylor (12) flexes during the second half against the Los Angeles Sparks at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images The second half of the WNBA season provides an opportunity to reset and refocus.
That even applies to the Chicago Sky, who still hold onto playoff hopes despite being one of three teams with single-digit wins entering Thursday’s game against the Connecticut Sun.
Chicago (9-18) stands six games out of the eighth and final postseason spot with 17 to play.
Thursday’s meeting with the Sun (7-21) kicks off a five-game homestand for the Sky, who won two straight at Wintrust Arena before dropping two road contests.
“We have a long home stretch coming. We want to be present,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said. “We want to take advantage of what’s in front of us and treat this second part of the season as a new season.”
One notable area for improvement on Chicago’s proverbial performance review: Executing in crunch time. Eleven of the team’s losses have come by eight points or less.
Chicago closed the second half with road losses at Atlanta and New York by three points combined.
“Staying disciplined,” said rookie guard Sydney Taylor, who has scored in double figures in seven straight games. “Most of (the losses) were due to foul calls and bad fouls on our part.”
Connecticut had a shorter All-Star break than the Sky, returning to action on Tuesday. Despite scoring 33 points in the first quarter — a team best for any quarter this season — the Sun were unable to maintain the momentum in a 92-84 loss at Washington.
Aneesah Morrow (21 points) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (16 points, six rebounds) kept Connecticut afloat. Washington aimed to force the Sun to the outside while limiting their paint touches. Connecticut met the challenge, shooting 11-for-25 from deep.
“Tough loss, but we have to learn from that and be ready to play against the same kind of game plan against Chicago,” Sun coach Rachid Meziane said.
Thursday’s winner will earn at least a split of the season series. The home team prevailed in the previous two meetings, including an 85-80 Sky victory on June 5. Connecticut is set to host Chicago on Aug. 25.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Panthers rookie WR Chris Brazzell (knee) out up to 8 weeks
Jun 9, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Rookie Carolina Panthers wide receiver Chris Brazzell III (19) during the first day of mini camp at Bank of America Stadium practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Chris Brazzell II is expected to miss up to eight weeks with a partially torn LCL in his left knee which he sustained during Wednesday’s practice, according to multiple media reports.
The third-round draft pick was seen holding his left knee after going down during seven-on-seven drills before he was carted off the field. He was transported inside the practice facility on a cart after appearing to have difficulty standing.
“He felt weird on it, sat down. We took him in,” Carolina coach Dave Canales told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “We’ll get a full evaluation and get a picture of that, and we’ll give you guys more information there.”
It was also reported that Brazzell is expected to get a second opinion.
Brazzell, 22, had returned to practice Wednesday morning after missing the previous few training camp sessions with a knee injury.
“It was just something that kind of started to get sore after the first couple of days, and then we just, he mentioned it to us,” Canales said of the initial injury. “We started to look at it and we put him through some good recovery stuff and de-loaded him for a couple of days, got him back out there, and he couldn’t finish the day.”
The 6-foot-4, 198-pound wideout caught 62 passes for 1,017 yards and tied for the SEC lead with nine touchdowns last season at Tennessee.
–Field Level Media
Esports Nations Cup unveils 64 EA Sports FC direct invites
Sky see second half as 'new season,' need wins starting with visit from Sun
