Sports
Justin Rose debuting clubs from F1's McLaren at Cadillac Championship
Justin Rose reacts after completing the 18th hole during the final round of the 2026 Masters Tournament. Credit: Katie Goodale-Imagn Images Justin Rose raised some eyebrows with the announcement that he will debut new McLaren Golf clubs at this week’s Cadillac Championship in Miami.
It’s part of the Formula One racing team’s launch into the golf space and coincides with this week’s Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
On the surface it looks like a big gamble by the 45-year-old Rose, who became the second-oldest player to reach No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking following his win at Torrey Pines earlier this year. Now No. 5 following a two-week break after a tie for third at the Masters, Rose is making the switch ahead of a stretch that includes two signature events and the PGA Championship.
Rose said he has been working with the McLaren Golf engineering team from the outset for “a lot longer than a year,” and has conducted extensive testing with the clubs.
“Clubs are feeling great. Obviously a lot of my own preferences have gone into the irons that I’m playing,” the Englishman said on Tuesday. “I’m excited to finally get them in the bag and sort of just enjoy them now for the rest of the season.”
Rose added that he has been playing without a club manufacturer deal and that he has been trying out different equipment without playing what he would deem the “perfect” set of clubs for him. He also made a club switch in 2019, so he also learned from that process.
“I’m actually looking at what can be better. I’m looking to mitigate risk,” Rose said. “I’m looking at some of the performance data that I’m getting on the range and places like that and out performing what I have. So that’s the exciting part for me.
“Obviously there’s going to be a refinement process. You can test all you want, you got to get the clubs in play, and there’s going to be little mini situations out there, different lies, all sorts of things, just getting comfortable. But in the long-term, no, I don’t see there being an issue at all.”
Rose sees McLaren focusing on a “high end” section of the golf landscape rather than trying to become a mass producer of clubs. He has also become good friends with F1 team principal Zak Brown and reigning world champion Lando Norris, with the McLaren Testing Center about 20 minutes from his home.
“They’re both very keen golfers,” Rose said. “I think there’s a little bit of a get together tomorrow night. So which is kind of before their week gets serious, before our week gets serious. But, yeah, those guys are probably as excited about the launch as I am.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ravens sign QBs Diego Pavia, Joe Fagnano to 3-year deals
Feb 28, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano (QB07) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The Baltimore Ravens signed Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia, formerly of Vanderbilt, and ex-UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano to three-year contracts as undrafted free agents on Tuesday, multiple outlets reported.
Both players had been invited to attend the team’s rookie mini-camp later this week but now have spots on the team’s 90-man roster, which will be pared to 53 before the season begins.
They join a quarterback room that consists of starter Lamar Jackson, a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, and backup Tyler Huntley.
Pavia, 24, is a dual-threat quarterback, throwing for 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns and rushing for 862 yards and 10 more touchdowns last season. He was intercepted eight times.
Pavia was the first Heisman finalist to go undrafted since 2014, when no team selected Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch. Pavia was the first Heisman runner-up to be unselected since Iowa quarterback Brad Banks in 2003.
He spent his first two college season at New Mexico State, the final two at Vanderbilt.
One of the knocks on Pavis is his size — he measured 5-foot-10 and 207 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February. The other is his maturity level, which has been likened to former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.
Fagnano measured 6-3 1/4 and 226 pounds. He will enter the NFL at age 25 after seven seasons in college due to injury redshirts and the extra COVID-19 season. He spent four seasons at Maine and three at UConn.
Last season, Fagnano finished with 3,448 yards, 28 TDs and one interception with a 161.03 passing efficiency rating. He was the only FBS quarterback with more than 200 pass attempts to have just one pass picked off. He led UConn to a 9-3 regular-season record before deciding to sit out the Fenway Bowl.
In 51 career games, Fagnano recorded 10,926 yards passing, 94 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
In 53 games. Pavia had 10,255 passing yards, 88 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He etched his name into Vanderbilt lore by guiding the Commodores to an upset of No. 1 Alabama during the 2024 season, the school’s first-ever victory over a Top 5 program.
Rushing, Pavia ran for 1,663 yards and 18 scores in his two seasons at Vanderbilt. Fagnano, more of a pocket passer, ran for 223 yards and four TDs in the UConn portion of his career.
–Field Level Media
Sports
J.B. Bickerstaff Is One Loss Away From Being Exposed as a Phony
The No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is on the ropes against a team that was in the Play-In Tournament just a few weeks ago.
The Orlando Magic took a commanding 3-1 lead against the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Pistons were supposed to be the Belle of the ball this postseason after winning 60 games in the regular season.
But as Detroit basketball fans were reminded in the first round of last year’s postseason that playoff basketball is different. Last year, the sixth-seeded Pistons were defeated in six games against the New York Knicks in Round 1. It was a moral victory for the Pistons to be there, and valuable experience for blossoming guard Cade Cunningham.
Expectations are a dangerous thing in sports, and the Pistons surpassed all of them by claiming the No. 1 seed in the East. But that came with lofty expectations as well, like getting through the Magic in Round 1, which is proving to be a difficult task for the Pistons.
Offensively, Detroit is a nightmare.
Here are their team point totals for their first four games against Orlando: 101, 98, 105 and 88.
That’s a decent offensive output if Chuck Daly was on the sidelines.
But Pistons fans are learning the shortcomings of J.B. Bickerstaff, who is the frontrunner to win NBA Coach of the Year. In two seasons, Bickerstaff has turned a floundering organization into the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Over the last two years, the Pistons realized they have more than one superstar in Cunningham, as Jalen Duren and other contributors emerged for the top-seeded team in the East.
It’s similar to Bickerstaff’s time with the Cavaliers. He took over a floundering organization that couldn’t move on from head coach John Beilein fast enough. In sequential order, the Cavs were one of the worst teams in basketball, lost in the NBA Play-In Tournament, traded for Donovan Mitchell, got bounced in the first round against the Knicks before barely beating the Magic in Game 7 just to get eliminated in Round 2 for back-to-back seasons.
All of that in four seasons was enough for Bickerstaff to lose his voice within Cleveland’s locker room. If the Pistons are an easy out in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs, could his seat already be heating up in Detroit?
Winning NBA Coach of the Year is a curse. In 2018, the Toronto Raptors fired head coach Dwane Casey before he was formally named NBA Coach of the Year after an early-postseason exit.
The Pistons likely wouldn’t want that to happen, and Bickerstaff should get another crack at this with a very young roster. But losing in Round 1 against the Magic? In a season when the Pistons were the No. 1 seed and one of the best stories in the NBA? At some point, it reflects poorly on the coach who constantly invents ways to underwhelm in the postseason.
Sports
Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich retiring June 1
Sep 3, 2022; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; University of Miami Athletic Director Dan Radakovich walks on the field prior to the game against Bethune Cookman Wildcats at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images University of Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich announced his retirement on Tuesday, effective June 1.
Radakovich, 67, has guided the Hurricanes’ athletic department since 2021 after previously working as the AD at Clemson (2012-21), Georgia Tech (2006-12) and American (2000-01).
“Dan came to us with an outstanding track record. I’ve enjoyed working with him as we’ve rebuilt and advanced Miami Athletics during an incredibly transformative time,” Miami president Joe Echevarria said. “Dan is a person of high character and has been an invaluable thought partner. I will continue to seek his advice and counsel going forward and wish him and his family all the best in what comes next.”
Radakovich was the senior associate AD at LSU from 2001-06. He began his career as an athletic business manager at Miami from 1983-85.
“Serving the University of Miami again has been an absolute privilege,” Radakovich said. “This place means everything to me, and I’m proud of what our student-athletes, coaches and staff have accomplished together. The program is in a great place, and it’s the right time for fresh leadership to shape what comes next.”
Highlights from his tenure in Coral Gables, Fla., include the football team’s run to the CFP championship game last season, the men’s basketball team’s first-ever Final Four in 2023 and the women’s basketball team’s first Elite Eight the same year.
The Miami athletic department matched a school record this past year with a graduation rate of 94%.
A national search for a successor is already underway. Deputy athletic directors Brian Baptiste and Rachelle Paul will serve as co-leaders of the department during the transition.
–Field Level Media
Ravens sign QBs Diego Pavia, Joe Fagnano to 3-year deals
J.B. Bickerstaff Is One Loss Away From Being Exposed as a Phony
