Sports
No. 25 Vanderbilt opens season-ending road swing vs. Kentucky
Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington works with his team against Tennessee during the second half at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. No. 25 Vanderbilt begins a season-ending three-game road swing with a Southeastern Conference game against Kentucky on Saturday afternoon in Lexington.
The Commodores (22-6, 9-6 SEC) are coming off an 88-80 win over Georgia on Wednesday, snapping a two-game losing streak.
They now prepare for the final stretch of the regular season and understand it’s crucial to stay on a winning streak, especially as they vie for an NCAA tournament bid. Vanderbilt is ranked 13th in the KenPom rankings.
Head coach Mark Byington said after the win over Georgia that he believes his team is heading in the right direction to be at its best when it matters most.
“That’s what you want,” Byington said. “We’re not close to the postseason yet, whether it’s the SEC tournament or NCAA, but we want to be playing good basketball.
“We don’t play anymore at home. We have to be playing our best for what is ahead.”
Kentucky (18-10, 9-6) just ended a three-game losing streak with a 72-63 win over South Carolina on the road.
The Wildcats, ranked 30th in the KenPom rankings, play two of their final three at home, where they are 13-3.
They beat the Gamecocks despite turning the ball over 15 times, marking the first time they have won an SEC game while doing so this season. The Wildcats, averaging 10.6 turnovers per game, are 7-0 in conference play when committing 10 turnovers or fewer.
“It’s going to be important that we continue to get better at protecting the ball,” head coach Mark Pope said in a postgame radio interview. That marker (10 turnovers or less) is important for us. It’s been almost perfect in its predictive value of the outcome of the game.”
Vanderbilt’s Devin McGlockton recorded his fourth double-double of the year in the win over Georgia, racking up 17 points and 10 rebounds. He is averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
“Devon was possessed,” Byington said. “He was not going to let us lose this game. You could see his determination. He plays hard every night.”
Tyler Tanner is the leading scorer at 18.5 points per game for a Commodores team averaging 87.3 points per outing.
One question mark for Vanderbilt is the status of Frankie Collins, who has not played since suffering an injury Dec. 17. He was originally slated to return at some point during the SEC schedule.
Byington told reporters after the Georgia win that he’d update everyone when he has a “definitive answer.”
The Wildcats are averaging 80.9 points per contest and are hoping to avenge an 80-55 loss to Vanderbilt in their last meeting on Jan. 27. Kentucky is 4-3 since that game.
Denzel Aberdeen scored 19 points in the win over South Carolina, knocking down four 3-pointers, to lead the way. He’s averaging 12.9 points per game on the year and has made 46 shots from 3-point range.
In the last meeting with Vanderbilt, Aberdeen scored 15, with Otega Oweh leading the way with 20 points.
Vanderbilt has played well on the road, going 6-3 away from home in true road games this season.
–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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