Sports
Manfred disputes MLBPA's notion that CBA ads are 'perverse'
Oct 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred before game three of the 2025 MLB World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images While Major League Baseball celebrates with the 96th annual All-Star Game in Philadelphia on Tuesday, storm clouds continue to gather regarding whether the 97th edition will take place in 2027.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association interim executive director Bruce Meyer spoke separately with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and shared divergent views on the immediate future of the sport.
The current labor agreement between the league and its players expires on Dec. 1, 2026.
Both Meyer and Manfred lauded the current product on the field, but for different reasons.
Meyer accused MLB of putting out extremely negative messaging about the game’s future. He cited its complaints about the need for a hard salary cap, restrictions on amateur entries into the sport and limitations on free-agent agreements.
“The supposed stewards of the game have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to convince fans that they don’t have hope, that they shouldn’t have hope, or that the product that they’re paying to consume in record numbers is somehow broken,” Meyer said. “I think it’s perverse.”
Manfred countered by claiming that the fans are responding positively to recent changes such as the pitch clock and the automatic ball-strike (ABS) system. Attendance and viewing have risen, and the commissioner is claiming that fan input is driving the league’s proposals to the union.
“Momentum in the game is a great thing. We got that momentum by listening to our fans. And the best way to lose momentum is to stand still,” Manfred said.
“We’re doing exactly the same thing that we did with the rule changes. And what fans in a number of our markets are telling us, better half of them, is that there’s a lack of competitive balance in the game. Everything we’ve proposed is focused on addressing that fan concern.”
Meyer, who replaced Tony Clark in February, was steadfast regarding the union’s stance against a salary cap.
“All my years of experience in this tells me that these systems are really, really bad for players — now and in the future,” Meyer said. “The history in those (cap) systems, every one, it’s gotten worse (for players). Once they get into it, they never get out of it. And the history in every one of the other sports is that once the players get in, the owners will lock them out repeatedly until they get the player share further down. In football, players started at 64% (of revenue). Now, it’s 48%. Basketball and hockey were at 57%. Now, they’re at 50%.”
Manfred countered with the ineffectiveness of revenue sharing and luxury taxes to allay payroll disparity and bring more competitive balance to the field.
“I believe that in order for this game to reach its full potential, we need to continue to address the concerns our fans have, particularly the concerns that go to the core of what we’re about, which is competitive balance,” Manfred said. “It defies human experience to ask a fan to think that the bottom end of that (payroll) gap has the same opportunity to win as the top.”
Both leaders did add, however, that a deal will eventually be struck.
“We will do a deal eventually. We’re still in the early stages, and I remain hopeful and optimistic that we will get there sooner rather than later,” Meyer said.
“I am still an optimist when it comes to collective bargaining,” Manfred said. “I truly believe that if people engage in the process, you find ways to do things.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Robert Lewandowski could debut as Fire host Whitecaps
Jul 30, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski (9) gets ready to take a penalty kick in a tie breaker during a Champions Tour friendly match against Manchester City at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images The Vancouver Whitecaps visit the Chicago Fire on Thursday when the MLS regular season resumes play, and what was already an intriguing matchup between two of the league’s top teams now carries the possibility of Robert Lewandowski’s MLS debut.
Lewandowski signed a Designated Player contract with the Fire at the end of June and could see some on-field action as soon as Thursday. With the Fire (8-4-2, 26 points) already sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference, the team could emerge as full-fledged MLS Cup contenders with the two-time Best FIFA Men’s Player winner in the fold.
The 37-year-old Polish International comes to Chicago after finishing a four-season stint with Barcelona. The European side won three LaLiga championships during his tenure.
“I saw that already the team developed a lot the last months if you compare this season and the last season,” Lewandowski said during a Tuesday press conference.
“I’ve seen they’re doing a great job, and I hope I help my teammates, my new colleagues, to play better (and) to win more games. … And always when I’m starting to play at a new club, always in front of me is to win some titles.”
Lewandowski and Hugo Cuypers might already be the league’s most dangerous striker pairing. Cuypers leads MLS with 13 goals this season.
The Fire and Whitecaps are playing their first regular-season match since May 23, as MLS was on hiatus due to the FIFA World Cup.
Vancouver got a chance to shake off some rust in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Championship. The Whitecaps advanced in the tournament with a 5-2 aggregate win over Calvary FC in matches played on July 8 and 13.
“I think the physical state of the team looks very good,” Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen said Monday. “A lot of players have played a lot of minutes in these two games, and we’ve seen that they’ve been capable of doing so. … We got tested very, very well before going into (MLS play).”
The Whitecaps (10-2-2, 32 points) are in first place in the Western Conference, and one point behind Nashville SC in the Supporters’ Shield standings. Vancouver’s plus-22 goal differential is the best in MLS.
Ryan Gauld is expected to make his regular-season debut on Thursday after recovering from offseason surgery on his left knee. Ralph Priso likely won’t play, as Sorensen said the midfielder is still dealing with a lingering left hamstring injury.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros trade RHP Lance McCullers Jr. to Brewers
Apr 24, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (43) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images The Houston Astros finalized a trade to send right-hander Lance McCullers Jr., left-hander Colton Gordon and cash to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. The Astros received minor league outfielder Jadyn Fielder in return.
McCullers, a two-time World Series winner and former American League All-Star, has pitched only 39 1/3 innings this season, posting a 2-3 record with a 6.86 ERA in eight starts.
He has been on the 15-day injured list since May 21 with right shoulder inflammation. The 32-year-old earns $17 million this season in the final campaign of his five-year, $85 million contract.
McCullers is 53-40 with a 3.85 ERA in 154 career games (148 starts) with the Astros since 2015. He was an All-Star in 2017 and won World Series titles in 2017 and 2022, but he missed three entire seasons (2019, 2023-24) due to injuries.
Gordon, 27, has surrendered 12 earned runs in four appearances in the majors this season, spanning 9 1/3 innings. He was 6-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 14 games (13 starts) with Triple-A Sugar Land.
The 21-year-old Fielder is the son of Prince Fielder and the grandson of Cecil Fielder. The latter two combined for nine All-Star selections and 638 home runs in 25 MLB seasons. Jadyn Fielder is hitting .233 (31-for-133) with Class-A Wilson in his first full professional season, and has three home runs and 23 RBIs across 45 games.
The Brewers’ starting rotation has been affected by several injuries recently. Kyle Harrison (8-2, 3.01) sits on the 15-day IL while Brandon Woodruff (2-2, 2.98) recently joined the 60-day IL. Logan Henderson (3-1, 3.18) returned to active duty July 9 after missing six weeks.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Paige Bueckers, Wings to test 5-game win streak vs. Liberty
Jul 12, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Sky during the first half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images The Dallas Wings will look to expand on their season-best five-game winning streak when they host the slumping New York Liberty on Thursday in Arlington, Texas.
The teams are on different paths in advance of their third and final meeting of the season. Dallas took the first two matchups, both in Brooklyn, including an 88-77 decision on July 7 that started the Liberty’s current three-game losing streak.
The Wings (16-8) return to the floor after a gritty 96-91 win over Chicago on Sunday in a game played at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Paige Bueckers led the way with 22 points and 11 assists in that victory, while Jessica Shepard finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Arike Ogunbowale had 17 points, Azzi Fudd scored 16 and Li Yueru racked up 10 points and 10 boards.
Dallas won despite trailing by 10 points in the third quarter.
“We’re still continuing to find our identity,” Bueckers said. “We’re not perfect, and (the win over Chicago) wasn’t even close to our best game. But we stuck together, dug in, found a way to win, and I think that’s really been the key.”
Sunday’s performance marked just the third time in Wings history, and the first since July 31, 2018 (also at home against Chicago), that three Dallas players produced a double-double in the same game.
The victory pushed Dallas to its longest winning streak since the 2023 season — the most recent time the Wings have made the postseason. A triumph on Thursday would earn Dallas its longest winning streak since the 2015 campaign, when it forged eight consecutive wins early in the year and later six straight before bowing out in the first round of the playoffs.
Bueckers earned WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday for the first time in her career after averaging 23.6 points per game, 7.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds as Dallas carried a 5-0 record during the stretch.
The Liberty, meanwhile, are struggling. They head to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex having dropped five of their past six games and seven of their last 10.
New York’s most recent outing was a 93-91 road setback to the Toronto Tempo on Sunday in which it rallied from 16 points down after three quarters to tie the game on Breanna Stewart’s layup with 1:30 to play. After Toronto took the lead, Stewart missed a contested layup with 8.6 seconds left on the Liberty’s final offensive possession.
Sabrina Ionescu scored 28 points to lead the Liberty (13-11) in the loss. Stewart had 22, Pauline Astier finished with 14 points and Jonquel Jones collected 10 points and 10 boards.
New York has trailed by at least 13 points at some juncture in five of its past seven games and has dropped all five of those contests.
“It’s a matter of will and want,” Ionescu said. “And I’d say everyone that stepped out (on the floor) in that second half, especially, played with a lot of assertiveness and tried to do everything you could to get a win.”
–Field Level Media
Robert Lewandowski could debut as Fire host Whitecaps
Astros trade RHP Lance McCullers Jr. to Brewers
