Sports
Defending champion Arnya Sabalenka sails through third round at Miami Open
Mar 22, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Aryna Sabalenka hits a forehand against Caty McNally (USA) (not pictured) on day six of the 2026 Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka won 10 of the last 12 games in dispatching Caty McNally 6-4, 6-2 in one hour, 25 minutes in a third-round match on Sunday night at the Miami Open.
Sabalenka of Belarus, coming off the BNP Paribas Open championship at Indian Wells, Calif., is defending her title in Miami Gardens, Fla.
It wasn’t all that easy, as Sabalenka blew a 4-2 lead in the first set for 4-4, then needed six deuces to hold serve — despite a 15-30 start — before breaking McNally’s serve for the third time to win the set.
Sabalenka converted 5 of 8 break points in the match, to 2 of 3 for McNally, and won 67.4% of her first serve points (29 of 43), to 55.3% (21 of 38) for her American opponent.
Next up for Sabalenka is No. 23 Qinwen Zheng of China, who had a much tougher match in beating 15th-seeded Madison Keys of the United States 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours, 17 minutes.
“The ball was just like a bomb for me at the beginning,” Zheng said of the early going against Keys. “I couldn’t react. I haven’t had this speed of match in a long time.”
Zheng would catch up, finishing with 31 winners — 23 in the last two sets — to Keys’ 15. Zheng had more aces (11-4) and fewer double faults (3-5). She converted four of 13 break-point opportunities, but Keys succeeded on just 2 of 12.
Sabalenka won the first six meetings against Zheng, who won two of the next three of nine total.
“I’ll focus on myself. I’ll focus on my game. I’ll try to stay focused from the first point ‘til the last,” Sabalenka said of playing Zheng. “She’s an incredible player. We played a lot of matches. I have a good record against her, but it doesn’t say anything. It’s always tough battles. I’m always looking forward to play her. It’s always a fight and I really enjoy it.”
Third-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan defeated No. 27 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4. No. 5 Jessica Pegula downed No. 26 Leah Fernandez of Canada 6-2, 6-2.
Other high seeds didn’t make it out of the round. No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy was knocked out by No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. No. 9 Elina Svitolina of Ukaine fell to American Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5. No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia was eliminated by No. 34 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5).
Australia’s Talia Gibson, coming off of a quarterfinal run at Indian Wells where she earned her first three top-20 wins, notched her fifth on Sunday. Gibson, who beat Naomi Osaka in straight sets on Saturday, downed 18th-seeded Iva Jovic of the United States 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday.
Gibson did not face a break point while converting four of eight.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ole Miss' Pete Golding questions why LSU isn't being investigated
Head coach Pete Golding speaks at Ole Miss “Meet the Rebels” in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 25, 2026. Pete Golding’s Ole Miss program is being investigated by the NCAA for tampering in relation to its recruitment of linebacker Luke Ferrelli, but on Wednesday, Golding openly called into question why other schools weren’t being investigated as well.
Asked about the tampering case involving Ferrelli at the Southeastern Conference meetings in Miramar Beach, Fla., Golding talked about Ferrelli becoming a replacement for another player who departed in the portal, and with dubious circumstances surrounding the latter’s departure.
Golding referred to the departing player as a three-year starter, a thinly veiled reference to former starting linebacker TJ Dottery, who transferred to LSU — now led by former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin — on the final day of the portal window.
“The kid we’re talking about with tampering was on an official visit that weekend,” Golding said of Ferrelli before turning his attention to Dottery moments later. “We’re not comparing that to a guy that was a three-year starter somewhere, that wasn’t in the portal that’s at a new school now? What are we doing?
“There’s an enforcement on this that just took an OV, but there’s not an enforcement of this, that he just ruined his brand over three years, who’s been tampered with his entire time?”
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney held a press conference in late January alleging tampering by Ole Miss with Ferrelli, who committed to transfer to the Tigers from Cal and had even arrived on the Clemson campus before departing for Ole Miss a short time later.
Dottery started for the Rebels the past two years, but he became the fourth player to defect from the program to follow Kiffin to LSU, who hired Kiffin away from Ole Miss in the midst of its 2025 playoff run.
Golding, who took over when Kiffin left, took another shot at Kiffin and LSU when he related the issue of tampering to coaches as well as players, an issue the U.S. Senate is attempting to address with its “Lane Kiffin Rule,” meant to limit coaches’ mobility during the season.
“My thing when they talk about tampering, you don’t think the coaches get tampered with?” Golding asked rhetorically. “You don’t think ADs meet with head coaches? I mean we’re talking about this new Kiffin rule and this s—, who do you think’s meeting with these guys and offering them the job before?
“So, I’m not getting into all of that, but holy cow.”
Ole Miss hosts Kiffin and LSU in Oxford, Miss. on Sept. 19.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Gerrit Cole brilliant again as Yankees sweep Royals
May 27, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images Gerrit Cole scattered four hits and struck out 10 over 6 2/3 stellar innings and Ben Rice had three RBIs as the visiting New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep with a 7-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
Cole (1-0) did not yield a walk during his efficient 79-pitch outing as the Yankees beat the Royals for the 13th straight time. His second start of the year was even more impressive than his first, when he tossed six scoreless innings versus Tampa Bay on Friday in his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery after the 2024 World Series.
Rice and Paul Goldschmidt each had two hits and Ryan McMahon clubbed a two-run homer in the eighth for New York, which has won four straight. The Yankees outscored Kansas City 26-4 this week — and 50-10 while sweeping the six-game season series.
Royals starter Noah Cameron (2-4) allowed two runs and four hits over five innings. Maikel Garcia poked two of the Royals’ four hits as they dropped to 3-13 since May 10.
Kansas City threatened Cole in the third, when Michael Massey roped a double into the right-field corner for the game’s first hit. However, he was thrown out at the plate by Aaron Judge on Garcia’s two-out single to right.
Cameron, meanwhile, was perfect through the first three innings. Then Goldschmidt opened the fourth with a single to left, then scored on Rice’s triple that went off the left field fence and caromed away from Kansas City’s Isaac Collins. Judge’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0.
Cameron’s night ended after he yielded another single to Goldschmidt and walked Rice to open the sixth. However, John Schreiber got Judge to ground into a 6-4-3 double play and Cody Bellinger to fly out.
The Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh. Nick Mears got Jose Caballero to line out and fanned Austin Wells, but he walked Goldschmidt to force home a run. The Royals brought in reliever Alex Lange, but Rice broke things open with a two-run single to right.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Boston Fleet head coach jumps to Hamilton's expansion team
Boston Fleet coach Kris Sparre responds to a question during a press conference at Boston Sports Institute on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. The new PWHL team in Hamilton, Ontario, has made its big acquisition.
Coach of the Year finalist Kris Sparre, who just led the Boston Fleet to a league record-tying 62-point regular season, has jumped to become Hamilton’s first coach. PWHL Hamilton general manager Meghan Duggan made the announcement Wednesday.
“I’m thrilled to have Kris as the first Head Coach in PWHL Hamilton history, bringing a combination of hockey knowledge, leadership, and player development expertise that make him an ideal fit,” Duggan said in a news release.
Sparre, 39, has extensive ties to Ontario. The Mississauga native grew up playing in the Ontario Hockey League and earned his first coaching job in the OHL. He and his family live in Burlington, Ontario, roughly 15 miles from Hamilton.
Sparre took over the Boston Fleet prior to the 2025-26 season and directed the team to a 16-5-4-5 record. That was a league-record 18 points better than the year before.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to build a foundation in Hamilton alongside Meghan, and moving closer to home and being near family makes this the right step for me personally and professionally,” Sparre said.
PWHL Hamilton was introduced as an expansion franchise on May 13. The league also has announced plans to add teams in Detroit, Las Vegas and San Jose to boost membership to 12 teams for the 2026-27 season.
–Field Level Media
