Sports
I’m Ready To Believe In Memphis Tigers Basketball
After seeing Memphis tee off on No. 16 Ole Miss on Saturday, I think I’m ready to acknowledge something.
I’m a longtime Memphis skeptic, but now I’m getting on board. Penny Hardaway has a serious team, one that can be more than a flash in the pan come March.
Hardaway has been the subject of plenty of criticism, plenty of it deserved, since he was hired from a high school coaching job to take over his alma mater, one of the proudest mid-majors in America. In his first six seasons, he only reached two NCAA Tournaments, winning just one game.
The other seasons were mostly characterized by middling performances in the American Athletic Conference, a league the Tigers have had the talent to rip through. Last January, for one example, they lost four in a row in January after a 15-2 start to the year—capped by a home loss to Rice, of all teams—but some AP voters were still throwing a few votes Memphis’ way because of, I dunno, the brand?
Players came in and out of the program long before the portal was truly in vogue. There was the James Wiseman eligibility debacle and a team that had not only Wiseman (for three games) but also future NBA players Precious Achiuwa and Lester Quinones still underachieved. Hardaway cursed out the media after a loss in January 2022, when the questions started getting more pointed before the coach made his first tourney.
Even this very fall, Hardaway fired his entire coaching staff about two months before the season—and we still don’t really know why.
Chaos combined with losses to the Tulanes and Rices of the world made it easy not to take Hardaway’s program seriously, but I’m not one to argue with results.
When Memphis upended Ole Miss on Saturday, handing the Rebels just their second loss of the season, it marked the Tigers’ eighth win against Quads 1 and 2—they had six all of last season. The Tigers have gone 10-3 against the fifth-hardest schedule in the country. And Memphis beat Ole Miss in every facet of the game, recovering from a loss to Mississippi State the prior week that Hardaway admitted the team was too exhausted to be at their best for.
Hardaway spoke to “The Field of 68: After Dark” on Saturday night, and I was most impressed with his answer when asked about Memphis quieting its doubters.
“I came in as a newbie and I really thought it was gonna be much easier than what it was because I knew the game, I knew I was gonna work,” Hardaway said. “My biggest problem was the culture. My culture was never really good up until this year.
“I failed at a lot of things, and it frustrated me because I thought that it was gonna be better. The criticism was warranted. All I did was just try to suck it up and go, ‘OK, you know what you can do.’ I went out and got a staff that I was very comfortable with and that allowed me to be me.”
That’s someone who’s done some genuine self-reflection and growth. Someone who isn’t going to let another team unravel late in the season.
Something that will help Hardaway is a roster that isn’t top-heavy. There’s a good mix of veterans who have played for winning programs (Tyrese Hunter, Dain Dainja), a fearless lead scorer (PJ Haggerty) and glue guys like Nick Jourdain and Colby Rogers, who shot 6-of-9 from three for 28 points against Ole Miss.
This team already failed to take care of business for a should-win home game against Arkansas State just three weeks ago, but you know what? I’ll forgive and forget. I just want to see Memphis not get pushed around by Florida Atlantic on Thursday to open AAC play. If the Tigers take care of business in January and February, Hardaway’s critics will only get quieter.
Sports
Marlins OF Kyle Stowers activated, to make season debut
Aug 8, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Kyle Stowers (28) walks and tosses his bat against the Atlanta Braves during the fifth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images Miami Marlins All-Star outfielder Kyle Stowers was activated from the 10-day injured list to make his season debut against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
The Marlins optioned infielder Deyvison De Los Santos to Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding move.
Stowers, who had been sidelined with a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, finished a rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville.
“Everything from the rehab checked out,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “He continued to check the necessary boxes. Certainly, there was a physical component with how he felt, how the hamstring was. He got back-to-back nine-inning games. I think he came out of that feeling like he’s in a really good spot physically, and also, I think mentally, now he feels like, ‘OK, I’m over this.'”
Stowers, 28, made a massive leap in production in 2025. He entered the season with a .208 average, six home runs and 35 RBIs in 117 games spread across three major league campaigns, including 67 games with the Baltimore Orioles.
In his first full season with the Marlins, after a 2024 trade, Stowers batted .288 with 25 homers and 73 RBIs in 117 games while earning a spot on the National League All-Star team.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers put 1B Freddie Freeman on paternity list, call up OF Ryan Ward
Apr 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) hits a single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Dodgers placed first baseman Freddie Freeman on the paternity list Sunday and called up outfielder Ryan Ward to the major leagues for the first time after seven minor league seasons.
Freeman, 36, is batting .296 with three home runs and 14 RBIs over 20 games this season. He had two hits in each of the last three games and four times in the past five games to raise his early batting average nearly 40 points.
Ward, 28, was drafted in the eighth round by the Dodgers in 2019 and is in his fourth season at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He won the Pacific Coast League MVP last season when he hit 36 home runs with 122 RBIs in 143 games.
Ward finally gets his first call to the major leagues after 154 home runs, 530 RBIs and a .266 batting average over 696 games in the Dodgers’ system, including 420 games at Triple-A.
“You talk about performance and he’s performed as well as, if not better than, anyone,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about Ward in spring training, according to the Orange County Register. “So for him to not get a shot, I’m sure he’s frustrated and understandably so. But the message for him is to keep putting up numbers and knock the door down and hopefully the opportunity comes for him sometime this year.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Transfer portal roundup: Kentucky adds Furman transfer Alex Wilkins
Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Furman Paladins guard Alex Wilkins (10) dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies in the second half during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Former Furman guard Alex Wilkins has transferred to Kentucky.
His move was one of the biggest on a busy transfer portal weekend.
Wilkins excelled in his freshman season with the Paladins, averaging 17.8 points, 4.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 35 games (all starts).
Listed at 6-foot-5, Wilkins showed his skills to a national audience in Furman’s lone game of the NCAA Tournament. He made four 3-pointers and scored 21 points in the Paladins’ 82-71 loss to eventual national championship runner-up UConn in the first round.
–Ex-Belmont forward Drew Scharnowski announced his transfer to Duke.
In his recently completed sophomore season at Belmont, the 6-9 Scharnowski averaged 10.7 points. 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists over 21.9 minutes per game. He shot 68.1% in 30 games (24 starts).
He takes the roster spot of forward Nikolas Khamenia, who transferred to UConn on Saturday.
–Florida State gained the commitment of 6-11 forward Sebastian Rancik, who heads to Tallahassee after two seasons at Colorado.
A native of Slovakia, he attended high school in Southern California, where he was ranked as a four-star prospect in the 2024 class.
In 29 games (26 starts) with the Buffaloes as a sophomore, he averaged 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
Marlins OF Kyle Stowers activated, to make season debut
Dodgers put 1B Freddie Freeman on paternity list, call up OF Ryan Ward
