Sports
BYU enters Kevin Young era, faces Central Arkansas first
Oct 23, 2024; Kansas City, MO, USA; Brigham Young Cougars head coach Kevin Young talks to media during the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Media Day at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images BYU enters its second Big 12 season with a new head coach and increased expectations for success.
Kevin Young will debut at the helm for the Cougars when they host Central Arkansas on Tuesday in Provo, Utah.
Young was the associate head coach for the Phoenix Suns before being hired to fill a vacancy left by Mark Pope, who departed to Kentucky.
A palpable buzz has surrounded the program since Young took over.
He immediately filled out the roster with several talented freshmen and transfers. Headlining these newcomers are Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings, both of whom are projected as first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. Keba Keita (Utah) and Mawot Mag (Rutgers) are key transfers who will make BYU stouter defensively than a year ago.
They join an experienced and dynamic nucleus that includes Dallin Hall, Trevin Knell, Fousseyni Traore and Richie Saunders.
“BYU had a great base with some really good players who had unprecedented success in Year 1 in the Big 12, so I thought that would help me transition nicely and give us a great foundation to build from,” Young said.
BYU was picked in the preseason to finish ninth in the Big 12 after tying for fifth with Kansas last season at 10-8 (23-11 overall). The Cougars received votes in the preseason Top 25 AP Poll but find themselves trying to prove doubters wrong for a second straight year.
Lighting up the scoreboard shouldn’t be an issue for BYU again this season. The Cougars return four of their top seven scorers from a team that averaged 81.4 points per game. They led the Big 12 in scoring and 3-pointers per game (11.1).
“BYU fans are going to love this style of play,” Knell said. “There’s a lot of freedom of picking your points and finding the weakness in the defense.”
Central Arkansas resides on the opposite end of the basketball spectrum from BYU.
The Bears won just nine games a year ago and finished 11th in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Elias Cato and Glory Etim are the returning starters from that team. Cato was the No. 2 scorer last season (11.9 ppg) and Etim was the top rebounder (7.5 rpg).
New Bears head coach John Shulman will make his debut in Provo. Shulman posted a 112-39 record in five seasons at Division II Alabama-Huntsville.
BYU will be one of five power-conference opponents Central Arkansas faces in the regular season. The Bears also play Utah, Georgia Tech, Arkansas and Oklahoma in November and December.
“It feels like we’re playing in the NBA Western Conference,” Shulman said. “We want to play the best. That’s why kids are coming here. We’re going to challenge them.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Browns OT Dawand Jones agrees to reworked deal
Sep 21, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Dawand Jones (79) lies on the field after being injured against the Green Bay Packers during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Dawand Jones agreed to a restructured deal for the 2026 season, NFL Network reported Saturday.
Jones’ deal was lowered to $1.5 million base pay with $1.145 million of it being guaranteed. He played in just three games last season due to a season-ending LCL tear in his right knee.
Jones, 24, was due to receive $3.674 million in 2026 after hitting an NFL escalator by playing in over 35% of his team’s offensive snaps in two of his first three seasons. Jones qualified via the Proven Performance Escalator, which pertains to fourth-year salary for players on rookie contracts who weren’t selected in the first round.
Jones initially signed a four-year, $4.63 million rookie contract after being a fourth-round pick in 2023 out of Ohio State.
But each of his three NFL seasons have ended with an injury and Jones has played in just 24 games with 20 starts.
He started nine games as a rookie before sustaining a season-ending MCL tear in his right knee. In 2024, he played in 10 games before a fractured left fibula ended his season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Braves RF Ronald Acuna Jr. leaves Rockies game with hamstring tightness
May 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) before the game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. left Saturday’s game at the Colorado Rockies with left hamstring tightness.
Acuna grabbed at his hamstring and pulled up when attempting to run out a grounder he hit in the second inning in Denver. He limped off the field under his own power after being examined by the team’s medical staff.
The 2023 National League MVP, Acuna entered the day hitting .248 with two homers and nine RBIs in 33 games. He led off the game with a single and scored when Drake Baldwin followed with a home run.
Acuna was replaced in right field by Eli White, who is hitting .186 with two homers and seven RBIs in 19 games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pirates wreck Reds; tie MLB record for consecutive walks
May 2, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Home plate umpire Willie Traynow keeps Cincinnati Reds second baseman Sal Stewart (27) away from Pittsburgh Pirates cvatcher Henry Davis after he was nearly hit by the ball during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images The host Pittsburgh Pirates scored 15 runs in the first four innings and took advantage of record wildness by the Cincinnati Reds to roll to a 17-7 victory on Saturday.
Rookie Konnor Griffin doubled, tripled and went 4-for-5 while driving in two, while Ryan O’Hearn doubled and drove in three as the top eight hitters in the Pirates lineup each had at least one hit while seven batters had at least two hits.
Pittsburgh also drew seven consecutive walks in the second inning — tying a major league record set in 1909 and equaled in 1983. The Pirates scored five runs in the second without a hit, becoming the first team to accomplish the feat since 1994.
Right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (2-2) was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst. He struck out a career-high 10 while scattering eight hits, two walks and five runs over 5 2/3 innings.
Will Benson and JJ Bleday homered and Nathaniel Lowe drove in three runs for the Reds, who trailed 15-3 after four innings. Cincinnati starter Rhett Lowder (3-2) surrendered eight runs, five hits and four walks before being removed with one out in the second.
Since losing 2-0 to Cincinnati in their first meeting on March 30, Pittsburgh has won the last four by a combined 42-14 score.
For a second straight day, the game was played in raw conditions, with a game-time temperature of 43 degrees.
Lowder appeared miserable in the cold and struggled badly early. He was unable to find his rhythm or command while allowing four runs before there were two outs in the first inning. The five runs allowed in the first were a career high for the right-hander.
Lowder labored through 30 pitches in the first as O’Hearn, Marcell Ozuna and Griffin each doubled in the five-run outburst. Lowder then walked the bases loaded in the second before being pulled.
Reliever Connor Phillips came in and walked all four Pirates he faced to force in four runs. He left after throwing just five of his 21 pitches for strikes.
The last time seven straight walks were issued in a Major League game came on May 25, 1983, when three Pirates pitchers walked seven in a row at Atlanta in a 6-0 Braves win.
The five runs without a hit in the second happened for the first time since April 27, 1994, when the Seattle Mariners allowed five runs to the New York Yankees in the top of the third inning.
With the score 15-6, Pittsburgh reliever Chris Devenski was ejected for throwing inside near the ribcage of Sal Stewart to open the seventh. Stewart took exception and stared out at the mound. But the encounter did not escalate as umpires intervened.
–Field Level Media
Report: Browns OT Dawand Jones agrees to reworked deal
Braves RF Ronald Acuna Jr. leaves Rockies game with hamstring tightness
