Sports
No. 16 LSU vows self-scout, improvement against UCLA
Louisiana State University safety Major Burns (8) and linebacker Greg Penn III (18) react after sacking South Carolina quarterback Robby Ashford (1) during the fourth quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. Saturday, September 14, 2024. No. 16 LSU and UCLA had problems in their conference openers last week.
The Tigers gave up touchdown runs of 75 and 66 yards and allowed a blocked punt. They trailed by 17 points to South Carolina before a rally to escape with a 36-33 victory.
LSU (2-1) faces UCLA (1-1) in Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday, one week after the Bruins made their debut as a member of the Big Ten in a 42-13 drubbing at Indiana.
Tigers coach Brian Kelly said he was pleased with his team’s resiliency in coming back, but admitted it has a lot of work to do.
“The reality of it is it’s hard to win on the road,” Kelly said. “And given the fact that we made a lot of mistakes, we still found a way to win that football game. That’s incredible resolve and resilience amidst your group.”
Kelly said he and his staff will continue to evaluate scheme and personnel for potential changes.
“I’m not saying we’re making wholesale changes,” Kelly said. “The big takeaway is when you’re making mistakes, are you putting your guys in the right position? Do you have the right guys there? And are you preparing them for those scenarios? Do we need to do things differently, relative to particular schemes?”
The Tigers opened the season against another Big Ten newcomer from Los Angeles, losing to USC, 27-20, in Las Vegas. They also had a more difficult time than expected in its home opener, leading FCS opponent Nicholls just 23-21 in the third quarter before scoring the final 21 points of the game.
“This is a lot about us and how we clean up the things we need to clean up to be a better football team playing now against a Big 10 opponent,” Kelly said. “As we’ve seen, everyone’s going to play their best against LSU.”
The Bruins will play marquee games against new conference opponents such as Penn State, Nebraska and Iowa, but it was a long-time Big Ten school known for its basketball program that handed UCLA its worst loss in a home opener since 2010.
“I just told them to keep that feeling that you had as soon as the game was over,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said Monday. “Bottle it up and have it out here every day this week and find a way to just not have that feeling.”
The Bruins, who struggled to a 16-13 victory at Hawaii in their season opener, is averaging just 14.5 points while struggling to run the ball with any consistency, averaging just 83.5 yards.
“The run game’s going to be fixed,” Foster said.
Foster added that he has “the right type of kids” to make the necessary improvement.
“We’ve got a big game this week on the road, so we can’t just hang our heads low about last game,” running back T.J. Harden said. “We just have to move on. It’s still early in the season, we still have a chance to redeem ourselves and move forward.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Lions running back David Montgomery “wants out” of Detroit after three seasons, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Montgomery, however, immediately appeared to refute the report on X, posting: “Damn, Dmo told you that?”
The ESPN report claims the Lions would want “a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder)” in the 2026 NFL Draft in return for Montgomery, who turns 29 in June and is owed $6 million next season.
The report follows general manager Brad Holmes’ remarks after the season about Montgomery being unhappy with his playing time in 2025. Sharing a backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs, Montgomery rushed for a career-low 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games (no starts).
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player,” Holmes said of Montgomery in January. “He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Holmes said the situation with Montgomery is “fluid.” He signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Yeah, I have been in touch with David’s agent, and his representation,” Holmes revealed. “Obviously, we love David, he’s a great player, we love to have him, you know, kind of want to put last year in the rear view, and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place as well. The conversations are still fluid, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Montgomery has rushed for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 45 games (28 starts) in three seasons with Detroit (2023-25). He has 76 catches for 650 yards in that span.
He began his career with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round in 2019. Montgomery rushed for 3,609 yards and 26 scores in 60 games (51 starts) with the Bears (2019-22).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
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