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LGD, PARIVISION earn playoff byes at BLAST Slam VII

YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year.YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year.

LGD Gaming, PARIVISION and BetBoom Team forged a three-way tie at 8-3 atop the group-stage standings of BLAST Slam VII after a chaotic final day Friday in Copenhagen, Denmark.

LGD and PARIVISION earned the top two seeds in the playoffs over BetBoom based on tiebreakers. Team Falcons, which entered the final day of the stage alone at the top at 7-1, lost all three of its matches Friday to plummet into fourth.

Further down the standings, OG and Tundra Esports received the last two playoff nods via tiebreaker advantages over Xtreme Gaming, which was eliminated along with last-place GLYPH.

The $1 million event began with a 12-team group stage that ran Tuesday through Friday. Group play was a round-robin, best-of-one format. The top two teams advanced to the upper-bracket semifinals of the playoffs, while the third- and fourth-place teams will start in the upper-bracket quarters.

The fifth- and sixth-place teams proceed to Round 2 of the last-chance qualifier, while teams 7-10 in the standings will begin in Round 1 of that stage. Both rounds of the last-chance qualifier will be played Saturday.

On Friday, LGD Gaming and BetBoom Team each went 3-0 to rocket up the standings. LGD defeated Xtreme Gaming in 40 minutes on green, Tundra Esports in 55 minutes on green and Team Yandex in a whopping 112 minutes, also on green.

Santiago “TaiLung” Aguero Gustavo of Peru led LGD in that marathon final match with a 22-8-27 kills-deaths-assists ratio. His Bolivian-Argentine teammate Adrian “Wisper” Dobles added a 20-9-28 K-D-A.

BetBoom’s first win of the day was also one of Team Falcons’ three defeats. Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov of Russia led BetBoom with a 17-1-15 and countryman Danil “gpk” Skutin had a 13-1-16 in the 42-minute win on red.

BetBoom went on to beat Tundra in 48 minutes on red and GLYPH in 41 minutes on green.

Falcons, meanwhile, took losses to Team Liquid and PARIVISION as well. PARIVISION joined the tie at the top by going 2-1 on the day; they opened with a 48-minute defeat to Team Spirit before coasting past Falcons in 30 minutes on green and beating Liquid in 37 minutes on green.

The tournament continues with four last-chance qualifier matches Saturday:

–Team Spirit vs. OG (Round 1)

–Aurora Gaming vs. Tundra Esports (Round 1)

–Team Yandex vs. Spirit/OG winner (Round 2)

–Team Liquid vs. Aurora/Tundra winner (Round 2)

BLAST Slam VII final group standings

1. LGD Gaming, 8-3

2. PARIVISION, 8-3

3. BetBoom Team, 8-3

T4. Team Falcons, 7-4

T4. Team Yandex, 7-4

6. Team Liquid, 6-5

7. Aurora Gaming, 6-5

8. Team Spirit, 5-6

T9. OG, 3-8

T9. Tundra Esports, 3-8

11. Xtreme Gaming, 3-8

12. GLYPH, 2-9

BLAST Slam VII payouts (prize money, team earnings)

1. $300,000, $100,000

2. $150,000, $45,000

3. $70,000, $23,000

4. $50,000, $17,000

5-6. $40,000, $15,000

7-8. $25,000, $10,000

9-10. $15,000, $5,000

11-12. $10,000, $2,500 — Xtreme Gaming, GLYPH

–Field Level Media

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Phillies place RHP Aaron Nola on paternity list, option OF Otto Kemp

May 26, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn ImagesMay 26, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies placed right-handed pitcher Aaron Nola on the paternity list in a series of Friday moves ahead of their road series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In a corresponding move, the Phillies recalled right-hander Nolan Hoffman from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia also optioned utility player Otto Kemp to Triple A and replaced him with outfielder Steward Berroa.

Nola, 32, is second in franchise history in strikeouts (3,031) and fourth in starts (296). This season, though, he’s 3-4 with a 5.72 ERA in 11 starts. He wasn’t scheduled to start this weekend after last pitching in Tuesday’s 4-3 win at San Diego, allowing two runs on three hits over six innings.

Hoffman, 28, has made two appearances for the Phillies this season, allowing one run on five hits over 3 1/3 innings. He made his major league debut last season for Philadelphia, making a single appearance on Aug. 18.

Kemp, 26, is hitting .080 in 25 at-bats across 13 games this season. He’s a career .216 hitter with eight homers and 28 RBIs, all of which came in 2025 when he debuted.

Berroa, 26, was acquired April 8 in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s hitting .250 in 38 games with Lehigh Valley this season and is a career .167 hitter at the major league level in 30 games with the Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Brewers (2025).

–Field Level Media

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Hailey Baptiste on injury: 'Still waiting to wake up from this nightmare'

May 24, 2026; Paris, France; Hailey Baptiste of the United States returns a shot in her first round match against Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic on day one at Stade Roland Garros.May 24, 2026; Paris, France; Hailey Baptiste of the United States returns a shot in her first round match against Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic on day one at Stade Roland Garros.

Rising American Hailey Baptiste confirmed her season is over on Friday, two days after sustaining major leg injuries during the second round of the French Open.

“Still waiting to wake up from this nightmare,” Baptiste said on Instagram. “In my head, all I can think is why, why, and why. Why me? Why now? And why like this?”

According to her agent, Baptiste sustained ACL and meniscus injuries and will require surgery.

Baptiste, ranked No. 26 in the world, was injured during a match against China’s Wang Xiyu when she landed awkwardly after hitting a forehand shot. She grabbed for her left knee, writhed in pain on the court and was eventually taken off the court on a wheelchair.

“It’s hard to see any purpose in something like this right now, but in my heart, I truly believe everything happens for a reason,” Baptiste wrote. “It’s been a long and heavy couple of days filled with bad news, uncontrollable tears, and a million thoughts running through my head.

“This new, but somewhat familiar, challenge faces me with what will probably be one of the hardest chapters of my life, and I’m beyond ready to show how strong I really am.”

Baptiste, 24, finishes 2026 with an 18-13 record. Just last month, she notched the biggest win of her career by upsetting World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach the semifinals of the Madrid Open. She lost to Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the semis.

Baptiste also reached the semifinals at Abu Dhabi in February before losing to Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia. She advanced to the Miami Open quarterfinals in March before losing to Sabalenka.

Baptiste was slated to play doubles with Venus Williams at Roland Garros but the pair withdrew Thursday, one day after Baptiste’s devastating injury.

–Field Level Media

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Brendan Sorsby placed at least 40 bets on Indiana football while with team

Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby talks to coaches during the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium.Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby talks to coaches during the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium.

Brendan Sorsby placed at least 40 bets on Indiana football during his two seasons with the program, ESPN reported Friday, citing court documents filed by the quarterback’s legal team as part of his request for a temporary injunction against the NCAA to maintain his college eligibility.

The court documents also revealed that Sorsby wagered about $90,000 over a four-year period using sportsbook accounts registered to a family member and friends, and that his gambling continued after transferring from Cincinnati to Texas Tech this winter, per ESPN.

Sorsby had been declared ineligible after investigations found he’d made thousands of dollars of bets on a variety of sports via gambling apps, violating NCAA policy. The current policy prevents student-athletes from placing bets on any NCAA-sanctioned or professional sports. Players can receive permanent bans for betting on their own teams.

The NCAA denied Sorsby’s request for reinstatement on Tuesday, making his lawsuit seeking an injunction for his 2026 season eligibility all the more critical. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Monday in district court in Lubbock, Texas.

The most recent documents filed revealed that Sorsby acknowledged he made at least 2,900 bets totaling more than $30,000 while enrolled at Indiana from June 2022 to December 2023. This included at least 40 bets ranging from $1 to $114 on Indiana football and/or individual players, per ESPN. The bets totaled at least $850 in September and October of 2022, while he was redshirting.

Sorsby made his debut for Indiana against Penn State on Nov. 5, 2022, with the betting reportedly coming to an end two weeks prior.

Sorsby said in a letter to the NCAA that he never bet in a game he played in, nor ever bet against his team.

On Tuesday, Sorsby said in a social media post that he’d recently completed a 35-day, in-patient rehab stay in Arizona to treat “a diagnosed gambling addiction and anxiety disorder.”

“While I accept responsibility for my behavior and know that I have a lot of work ahead of me, for the first time in many years I feel more free and no longer fully at the mercy of my addiction,” Sorsby wrote in part.

“With the support of my coaches, teammates and the university, I’m looking forward to returning to campus in Lubbock. If I’m blessed and fortunate enough to have the opportunity to continue my college career at Texas Tech, I know I will get the support I need, including through the school’s Center for Students in Addiction Recovery. I am deeply sorry to everyone I’ve disappointed and am committed to the hard and necessary work ahead.”

Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech from Cincinnati this offseason and was the Red Raiders’ projected starter for 2026. ESPN ranked Sorsby the No. 1 overall transfer in this year’s class.

Texas Tech on Friday appealed the NCAA’s denial for reinstatement, and members of the university including coach Joey McGuire and president Lawrence Schovanec continued to voice support for the quarterback amid the news of his addiction.

Sorsby’s suit took aim at what he called the NCAA’s “deeply hypocritical” stances on sports betting, and Schovanec wrote an open letter to the campus community Tuesday saying the NCAA’s ruling “should be reversed or modified” given the facts and “context” of Sorsby’s case.

“As a generation of college athletes face the legalization and rapid proliferation of sports betting in our country, gambling addiction is rising to the point of epidemic among college aged men in particular,” Schovanec wrote. “The NCAA’s stated mission includes ‘fostering (student-athletes’) lifelong well-being,’ and they have claimed their goal is to promote a ‘culture of care’ for student athletes’ mental health. Gambling addiction is a clinically recognized behavioral disorder.”

–Field Level Media

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