Sports
NFL Draft Round 2: Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald lands with Texans
Apr 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Kayden McDonald poses on the red carpet before the 2026 NFL Draft at Point State Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Defensive tackle Kayden McDonald was in Pittsburgh for the NFL draft on Thursday night, and the defensive tackle watched 15 of his peers make the walk from the backstage green room to the stage to be announced as first-round selections.
The only player left in that room when the 32-player round ended was McDonald.
McDonald returned to the scene Friday night, and he didn’t have to wait long. He heard his name called early in the second round when the Houston Texans chose him with the 36th overall pick, the fourth made on Friday.
The Ohio State product who was a consensus All-American last season had tears flowing during the entire walk toward the stage. He stopped for a second to tap the Texans display on the wall.
When he got to the stage, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and McDonald conducted a long embrace, and Goodell was doing a lot of talking.
In essence, the long wait was over for McDonald, who was one of seven Buckeyes drafted in the first two rounds.
“This is emotional,” McDowell said on the ESPN broadcast. “I know I’m supposed to be here. I’m just so blessed and thankful.”
The Texans traded with the Las Vegas Raiders to move up two spots on a night in which the second and third rounds were held. When the Raiders chose at No. 38, they tabbed safety Treydan Stukes of Arizona.
The second round had a heavy defensive flavor with 22 players on that side of the ball being selected.
There was also was an impact trade announced as the Minnesota Vikings sent veteran linebacker Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick in this year’s draft and a third-rounder in 2027. The Eagles also received a seventh-rounder this year in the deal.
The San Francisco 49ers started off the festivities by selecting receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, who played for Ole Miss last season after spending two seasons apiece at Washington State (2021-22) and Oklahoma State (2023-24).
Two other wideouts went in the second round — Denzel Boston of Washington to the Cleveland Browns at No. 39 and Germie Bernard of Alabama to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 47.
Tennessee cornerback Colton Hood went 37th overall to the New York Giants. He was another player thought to be a possible first-rounder.
“Of course it was disappointing,” Hood said. “I know God does everything for a reason. He was probably preventing me from something or he had something better in store for me, and that being the Giants.
“I’m super excited to go into this next chapter of my life and will just go in there and give my best and give my all and be the best version of myself.”
Hood also played for Auburn (2023) and Colorado (2024) during his college career.
The Miami Dolphins appear to have made one of the best picks in the round by grabbing Texas Tech consensus All-America linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with the No. 43 pick.
Rodriguez was the face of the Red Raiders’ stunning season last year and loaded up on postseason awards, including the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defender. He led the nation with seven forced fumbles and also intercepted four passes.
At No. 48, the Falcons tabbed Clemson cornerback Avieon Terrell, the younger brother of Atlanta’s A.J. Terrell, who is entering his seventh season as a starting corner for the Falcons.
The New York Jets chose cornerback D’Angelo Ponds of national champion Indiana with the 50th overall pick. The 5-foot-8 Ponds played his first season (2023) at James Madison before following coach Curt Cignetti to Indiana and becoming one of the Hoosiers’ top defensive players.
In the first round, four Buckeyes were selected: receiver Carnell Tate, (No. 4, Tennessee Titans); linebacker Arvell Reese (No. 5, Giants); linebacker Sonny Styles (No. 7, Washington Commanders) and safety Caleb Downs (No. 11, Dallas Cowboys).
After McDonald went in the second, tight end Max Klare (No. 61, Los Angeles Rams) and cornerback Davison Igbinosun (No. 62, Buffalo Bills) went back-to-back near the end of the round.
The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks took TCU safety Bud Clark with the 64th and final pick of the second round.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Duke F Cameron Boozer declares for NBA Draft
Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) dunks March 21, 2026 during the second half of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round East Region game with TCU at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Standout Duke freshman Cameron Boozer, the 2025-26 Naismith National Player of the Year, declared for the 2026 NBA Draft Friday night.
He announced the news on his Instagram account with the caption, “Thank you for everything @dukeuniversity. Duke Blue forever.”
The son of former Duke star Carlos Boozer, Cameron Boozer was second in the Atlantic Coast Conference and ninth nationally with 22.5 points per game, led the conference with 10.2 rebounds per game and tacked on 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 38 games.
He was a first-team All American and is projected as a top-three pick in this summer’s draft alongside BYU forward AJ Dybantsa and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, who also both declared for the draft this week.
His twin brother, Cayden, announced he’s returning to Duke for his sophomore season after averaging 7.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds as a freshman.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Inter Miami take another swing at first win in new stadium vs. Revs
Apr 22, 2026; Sandy, Utah, USA; Inter Miami CF midfielder Lionel Messi (10) plays the ball against Real Salt Lake during the first half at America First Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will seek a third consecutive victory, and the first in their new home, when they host the New England Revolution on Saturday night.
After settling for 2-2 draws against Austin FC and the New York Red Bulls in the first two matches played at Nu Stadium, manager Javier Mascherano suddenly resigned and sporting director Guillermo Hoyos took over on an interim basis.
The Herons (5-1-3, 18 points) then hit the road for a 3-2 win at Colorado last Saturday night and 2-0 victory at Salt Lake on Wednesday evening.
Messi scored his team-leading sixth and seventh goals against Colorado. Against Salt Lake, late goals from Rodrigo De Paul and Luis Suarez made the difference.
And overall, the trip provided a team-bonding opportunity following an unexpected change.
“We spent, those two matches, almost a full week together,” Hoyos said in Spanish. “And during that time we really got to know each other on a much deeper level, especially with those we didn’t know before. But it was truly a pleasure because there was a lot of laughter. The players were very happy.”
Meanwhile, a New England side with modest expectations this season has quietly assembled a four-match league winning streak, including an impressive 2-1 victory at Atlanta United on Wednesday night.
William Sands and Peyton Miller scored in the 73rd and 78th minutes, respectively, as the Revolution (5-3-0, 15 points) rallied to a late win. And American World Cup hopeful Matt Turner made eight saves to raise his save percentage to 77.1%.
The Revolution have lost all four of their matches with the Herons since Messi’s arrival to MLS. But while first-year coach Marko Mitrovic respects the challenge the South Floridians present, he believes his side can exploit some of their deficiencies.
“I don’t want to say we can give them resistance,” Mitrovic said. “We’re not there to give resistance to players, to any team. We’re there to play our game, to try be on our best (level).”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Austin FC look to home match vs. rival Dynamo to end winless swoon
Apr 11, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Austin FC midfielder Joseph Rosales (30) controls the ball against LA Galaxy midfielder Lucas Sanabria (8) during the first half at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images Austin FC hope that the added intensity of a rivalry match at home with the Houston Dynamo changes their recent winless swoon when the sides square off Saturday in the latest edition of the quest for Copa Tejas.
The Dynamo head northwest to the Texan capital on the heels of a 1-0 home win over San Diego FC on Wednesday. Ibrahim Aliyu’s goal in the 35th minute was the difference-maker and keeper Jonathan Bond had to save just one shot to secure a second consecutive shutout for Houston (4-4-0, 12 points).
The shutout streak comes after Houston surrendered six goals in a shellacking at Colorado on April 11.
“After that loss, there was a refocus on the defensive side, on how we look off the ball and how we look after each other,” Dynamo coach Ben Olsen said after Wednesday’s victory. “We could have made things easier for ourselves with a second goal — we have to do a better job of understanding when it’s time to go against a team that leaves itself exposed.”
Dynamo starting striker Ondrej Lingr, who assisted on Aliyu’s goal on Wednesday, was shown a red card late in that match and will not be available versus Austin.
Austin travels home from the Bay Area after a 5-1 walloping Wednesday at the hands of San Jose. That match was the third on the road in nine days for the Verde (1-4-4, 7 points), with Joseph Rosales scoring Austin’s lone goal while goalkeeper Brad Stuver saved 11 of the 16 shots with which he was peppered before the floodgates opened.
Austin is winless in its last seven MLS matches (0-4-3) and has allowed 12 goals in its past four contests. The Verde, who scored a Western Conference-low 37 goals last season, have been outscored 19-12 over their nine matches this year.
The Verde are still looking for a balance between pressing to score and limiting their opponents’ opportunities. San Jose had a 37-6 edge in shots on Wednesday while defeating Austin.
“We were not a team that scored many goals (last season),” Austin coach Nico Estevez explained. “This is something we talked about in the offseason. And it’s true that sometimes when you focus so much on improving one thing, you can get worse in other aspects.”
The Verde have historically been dominant at home in MLS matches against Houston, forging a 5-1-1 mark the seven times the sides have clashed at Q2 Stadium.
–Field Level Media
Duke F Cameron Boozer declares for NBA Draft
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