Sports
No. 10 Penn State to work on 'focus' vs. Kent State
Aug 31, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Nicholas Singleton (10) runs the ball for a touchdown during the third quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images No. 10 Penn State returns to play Saturday, when it welcomes Kent State to State College, Pa., after each side faced their fair share of struggles the last time they stepped onto the field.
Penn State (2-0) earned a victory on Sept. 7, but one that felt far too close from a top-10 Big Ten side against unranked Bowling Green out of the Mid-American Conference. In the first two quarters, Bowling Green had 286 yards of total offense to 236 for Penn State as the Nittany Lions trailed 24-20 at the half.
Penn State scored the first 14 points of the second half to earn a 34-27 victory as Nicholas Singleton (119) and Kaytron Allen (101) each rushed for 100 yards. But future opponents were exposed to a path forward against the Nittany Lions.
Missed tackles and the wide-open style of play in the first half raised concerns for Penn State head coach James Franklin with how his defense was able to communicate throughout the opening two quarters.
“We were trying to rely specifically on the headset communication and at home that can be a little bit more challenging with the linebacker trying to verbally communicate to all 11 guys on the field,” Franklin said.
Kent State (0-3) was walloped Saturday at Tennessee, falling behind 65-0 at halftime before losing 71-0.
Playing against an opponent that is clearly overmatched this weekend, Penn State will get a chance to work on the shortcomings it showed in the first half against Bowling Green.
“The challenge is ultimately about us and our focus on Penn State and us getting better and developing and playing up to our standard week in and week out,” Franklin said. “(It) is easier said than done.”
It will be far easier than the situation Kent State is up against.
The Golden Flashes’ injury issues at running back increased Saturday, only adding to the woe felt after the humiliating defeat.
Starter Gavin Garcia already was lost for the season before the schedule even began with a knee injury. Against then-No. 7 Tennessee, running backs Curtis Douglas and Ky Thomas also sustained knee injuries after they combined to gain 25 yards on 11 carries.
“The way it’s going, you’re going to have to utilize that whole room and even maybe bring a guy into that room from another position,” Kent State head coach Kenni Burns said.
Even when taking into account what Bowling Green was able to expose with Penn State, Burns knows his team has a tall task ahead against a team that is likely to run the ball at his team all day.
On defense Saturday, the Golden Flashes were helpless as the Volunteers scored points on each of their first 11 drives. Tennessee delivered a program-record 37 points in the first quarter and piled up 740 yards of total offense against an overwhelmed Kent State defense.
“Like Tennessee, you’re not going to find very many weaknesses anywhere,” Burns said about Penn State. “I thought (Bowling Green) did a good job with some of the formational stuff to create confusion. But I think, like any good coaching staff, (Penn State is) going to make adjustments. They’re coming off the bye week. They’re going to know how to fix these things and grow. But they’re exceptional.”
Penn State is 31-3 all-time against MAC programs and earned a 63-10 victory over Kent State the last time the programs met in 2018.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spirit, MOUZ reach BLAST Bounty Summer grand final
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Team Spirit and MOUZ will meet in Sunday’s best-of-five grand final at the BLAST Bounty Summer 2026 tournament in Attard, Malta.
Team Spirit outlasted FaZe Clan 2-1 and MOUZ rallied past Astralis to win by the same score in Saturday’s semifinals of the Counter-Strike 2 competition.
The eight teams reached the bracket-style finals advanced from a pool of 32 clubs in a closed qualifier. Of the $740,000 prize pool, $410,000 was awarded to participants in the closed qualifier. The champion will also earn three BLAST Frequent Flyer Tokens, while the other seven teams will collect one.
Team Spirit sandwiched a 13-6 win on Dust II and a 13-11 victory on Anubis around a 13-9 loss to FaZe Clan on Cache. Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov of Russia led Team Spirit with 49 kills and a 1.24 match rating.
After Astralis opened with a 13-6 win on Ancient, MOUZ responded with back-to-back 13-9 triumphs on Mirage and Dust II. Adam “torzsi” Torzsas of Hungary paced MOUZ with 54 kills and a 1.29 match rating.
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026 prize pool (player prize, team share)
1. TBD
2. TBD
3-4. FaZe Clan ($28,125, $40,000), Astralis ($28,125, $40,000)
5-8. Team Liquid ($41,250, $40,000); 3DMAX ($21,250, $40,000); The MongolZ ($11,250, $40,000); paiN Gaming ($11,250, $40,000)
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mariners place OF Luke Raley (forearm) on 10-day IL
Jul 3, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners right fielder Luke Raley (20) takes a swing during an at-bat against the Toronto Blue Jays at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images The Seattle Mariners placed outfielder Luke Raley on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a left forearm strain, while outfielder Stuart Fairchild was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.
Raley’s move was retroactive to Friday, when he was out of the lineup with continued discomfort from a forearm flexor tendon injury.
Raley, 31, is batting .225 with 15 home runs and 39 RBIs in 95 games this season. He is a career .230 hitter with 63 home runs and 173 RBIs in 478 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2021), Tampa Bay Rays (2022-23) and Mariners.
Fairchild, 30, was batting .158 over 14 games with the Cleveland Guardians this season before he was designated for assignment in June. He signed a minor league deal with the Mariners on July 5.
Fairchild is a career .221 hitter with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs in 291 games for six different clubs, including three games for the Mariners in 2022.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sydney Taylor's trey in final second lifts Sky past Aces
Aug 1, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Sydney Taylor (12) celebrates with guard Natasha Cloud (9) after scoring a game winning three-pointer against the Las Vegas Aces during the second half of a WNBA game at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Rookie Sydney Taylor drained a 3-pointer Saturday with 0.9 seconds left and the Chicago Sky rallied to nip the visiting Las Vegas Aces 84-83.
A’ja Wilson drove for a layup with 3.2 seconds remaining that gave Las Vegas (20-9) a two-point lead. After a timeout, Taylor slipped around a screen and got off a clean look from the left wing for the last three of her team-high 29 points.
Natasha Cloud added 11 points for Chicago (11-18), which improved to 6-1 in its last seven home games and won for the first time in five games decided by three or fewer points. DiJonai Carrington came off the bench for 10, including a pair of foul shots that tied the game at 81 with 43.9 seconds on the clock.
Wilson starred in defeat for the Aces with a game-high 36 points and 12 rebounds. Jackie Young added 18 points and 11 boards, while NaLyssa Smith contributed 17 points.
The Sky, who outscored Las Vegas 29-18 in the fourth quarter, won despite making only 40.3% of their field goals.
The pregame storylines centered around the beginning of a five-game road trip for Las Vegas, while Chicago was hoping to carry over some momentum from a fourth-quarter comeback in its Thursday night home win over Connecticut.
Young got the Aces off the mark early with 10 first quarter points, helping them establish an 18-11 lead after draining a 3-pointer at the 2:15 mark. They took a 20-16 edge to the second period.
The Sky fought back in the second quarter to tie the game at 24 on Cloud’s 3-pointer with 6:26 remaining. However, Las Vegas was able to restore a five-point lead before Taylor’s floater with 1.5 seconds left sliced its lead to 40-37 at halftime.
Young’s 3-point play at the 1:58 mark of the third quarter gave the Aces their largest lead at 61-48. Even after Courtney Vandersloot played beat the buzzer with a jumper, Las Vegas still owned a 65-55 margin going to the fourth period.
Chicago’s Kamilla Cardoso tied Wilson for game-high rebounding honors with a dozen.
Las Vegas’ Chelsea Gray led all players with nine assists.
–Field Level Media
Spirit, MOUZ reach BLAST Bounty Summer grand final
Mariners place OF Luke Raley (forearm) on 10-day IL
