Sports
No. 3 Florida relying on depth, eyes sweep of South Carolina
Feb 11, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Florida Gators guard Denzel Aberdeen (11) drives to the basket against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hale-Imagn Images Florida was forced to lean into its depth for two road wins over ranked teams, and the abundance of options may be a factor again.
The third-ranked Gators are content with their deep roster and believe it can help them beat scuffling South Carolina on Saturday night in Gainesville, Fla., if Alijah Martin and Alex Condon are unavailable.
Seeking its fourth straight win, Florida (21-3, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) is beginning a stretch of four straight games against teams with losing conference records. The Gators beat then-No. 1 Auburn last Saturday and No. 22 Mississippi State on Tuesday without Martin (hip pointer), their second-leading scorer behind Walter Clayton Jr. (17.5 ppg).
Martin, averaging 15.3 points, was injured in Florida’s win over Vanderbilt and practiced before their 81-68 victory at Mississippi State. Denzel Aberdeen, the team’s sixth-leading scorer (8.0 points), replaced Martin and scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half when the Gators shot 54.8 percent, made 8 of 16 3s and outscored Mississippi State 48-34.
Aberdeen’s big game saw him score seven points in Florida’s 17-0 run to start the second half. It occurred after the Gators lost Condon to a low ankle sprain 30 seconds into the contest when he was trying to gain possession of a loose ball on a sequence Florida coach Todd Golden believed was a “dirty play.”
Thomas Haugh replaced Condon and scored 16 points for the second straight game to supplement 19 from Clayton, who missed the win over Vanderbilt with an ankle injury.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team,” Golden said. “Our team has continued to show a great next-man-up mentality. We’ve got to keep it going. It’s not going to be easy, but this team has shown great resolve over the last week and a half.”
Five of Florida’s conference wins are by double digits, but their biggest resolve appeared in their visit to South Carolina on Jan. 22 when Will Richard hit the game-winning layup with 4.8 seconds left in a 70-69 win.
South Carolina (11-14, 0-11) allowed 22 points off turnovers and held the lead for over 38 minutes in the previous meeting. The loss to Florida is among six defeats by six points or fewer in SEC games, though five of those were at home.
The latest instance was a 72-68 loss to No. 19 Ole Miss on Wednesday night when South Carolina nearly erased a 13-point deficit. The Gamecocks held a two-point lead twice in the final 3:59 and held Ole Miss to 31.3 percent in the second half after allowing 65.2 percent in the first half
Collin Murray-Boyles scored 20 points but committed a costly turnover with 50 seconds left and missed a layup with 10 seconds left. Boyles, who leads the Gamecocks with 15.6 ppg, scored 20 for the third time in SEC play and seventh time overall.
“It’s difficult to know what to say to the guys to connect to them, because now it’s frustrating for me,” South Carolina coach Lamont Paris said. “But more than frustration, I feel a sense of empathy for them and what they’re going through. And for young people, it’s not that easy sometimes to bounce back and be as chipper as you need to be in order to go out and win another game.”
Paris has rarely discussed a close loss on the road as his team’s average margin of defeats away from home in SEC games is 18.4 points, including last week’s 23-point loss at Kentucky.
–Field Level Media
Sports
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan corrects record, says crash was his fault
Mar 30, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Making his first public comments since being part of a head-on car accident earlier this month, Kyle Shanahan admitted fault on Tuesday for the collision that left him with serious injuries.
The San Francisco 49ers head coach met with reporters in his office to give his side of the story after the initial news that leaked out over the weekend pinned the blame on the other driver.
A California database that tracks car accidents listed the other driver at fault for making an illegal turn. But Shanahan, 46, said that wasn’t accurate.
“I hit her,” Shanahan said. “I don’t know why it was reported that way (on the collision report database). The police report doesn’t say that.”
The accident occurred July 14 in Palo Alto and it did not become widely known — nor did the 49ers comment on it — until this past weekend in the lead-up to training camp.
“I was going 20 miles an hour,” Shanahan said. “I was not on my phone, but I dropped my phone and it was stuck in my seats. It’s on my lap and it slid off. And I went down to look for it and took my eyes off the road for two seconds. And as I was coming up, the airbags hit me in my face, and they broke my nose and then they said the visor really gashed me. … I took my eyes off the road looking for my phone, and my car veered into someone.
“It’s one of those roads where there’s no forgiveness. … When I hit her, the impact was just so, I’ll just never forget how violent it was.”
Shanahan suffered a concussion and broke his left hand, nose and three ribs in the collision. He required more than 40 stitches to his face.
The woman in the other vehicle was not harmed.
A Palo Alto police spokesperson told multiple outlets in a statement Tuesday that Shanahan was telling the truth.
“I can confirm that Kyle Shanahan’s statement that he provided is correct and that he was found at fault for the collision,” Lt. Nicolas Martinez said in the statement. “There was a clerical error in the preparation of the report that was transmitted to the State database. We are in the process of correcting that error.
“It is the officer’s discretion at the scene of the collision as to whether they issue a citation to either party. It is not uncommon for officers to elect to not issue a citation to either party involved in a collision. Neither party in this situation was provided preferential treatment.”
Shanahan is around the team but not healthy enough for full activity, so assistant head coach Chris Foerster is handling Shanahan’s duties along with the coordinators. He said although he is healing well, due to fatigue he cannot yet “stay the hours” required of an NFL head coach.
Shanahan also insisted he did not lose consciousness during the accident and was awake when receiving stitches at Stanford Hospital.
“It just crushed me hearing the girl get blamed for it,” Shanahan said. “I’m just lucky that I survived, that she didn’t get hurt and that I didn’t lose my eye.”
Shanahan enters his 10th season as head coach in San Francisco. He owns an 82-67 record in the regular season. He has a 9-5 postseason record and has guided the 49ers to a pair of Super Bowl appearances — losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 and 2024.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Red Sox tackle Blue Jays to secure sixth straight series win
Jul 26, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images Boston Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez and four relievers combined to shut down the visiting Toronto Blue Jays in a 6-1 win Sunday.
Boston, which has won 17 of its last 19 games, won a sixth straight series.
Suarez, pitching for the first time since July 5 due to a groin strain, was taken out after four scoreless innings and 64 pitches. The southpaw allowed four hits with no walks and struck out six.
Greg Weissert (3-2), Tyron Guerrero, Justin Slaten and Ryan Watson scattered five Blue Jays hits the rest of the way.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman (4-10) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings. The right-hander walked one and struck out six in 98 pitches.
Toronto has lost eight straight Gausman starts, and the 35-year-old has not won since May 22.
Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third when Andruw Monasterio led off with a single off the Green Monster. He scored on a two-out single by Ceddanne Rafaela.
The Red Sox added two more in the fourth when Willson Contreras led off with a walk and Caleb Durbin singled. Romy Gonzalez laid down a bunt to sacrifice the runners to second and third, and Jarren Duran drove them both in with a single to center for a 3-0 lead.
Suarez, meanwhile, kept the Blue Jays off balance.
His only trouble came in the fourth inning when Alejandro Kirk and George Springer hit back-to-back one-out singles. Suarez, however, induced Daulton Varsho to hit into a fielder’s choice and then struck out Kazuma Okamoto looking to end the threat.
The Red Sox scored three more in the seventh.
Duran led off with a single and Monasterio walked. Carlos Narvaez bunted them over and pinch hitter Jahmai Jones doubled them both in with a drive off the wall in center.
Jones came home when Wilyer Abreu broke an 0-for-20 streak with a double off the wall in left.
The Blue Jays finally broke through in the ninth with three hits. Andres Gimenez drove in Varsho with two outs for their lone run.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Birthday boy Ryan O'Hearn leads Pirates past Cubs
Jul 26, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (left) and designated hitter Bryan Reynolds (10) greet first baseman Ryan O’Hearn (29) crossing home plate on a grand slam home run against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Ryan O’Hearn celebrated his 32nd birthday by belting his second grand slam of the season and fourth of his career as the host Pittsburgh Pirates held on for an 8-7 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.
Pittsburgh’s Shawn Ross launched a two-run homer in his second MLB game while rookie Esmerlyn Valdez also went deep and added an RBI single
Brandon Lowe collected three hits and two runs as the Pirates snapped a three-game losing streak in the finale of the three-game series.
The offensive explosion proved just enough for Braxton Ashcraft (10-4), who allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings.
Carmen Mlodzinski bridged the gap to Mason Montgomery, who surrendered Seiya Suzuki’s two-run homer in the ninth before retiring the next two batters to secure his second save.
Pete Crow-Armstrong ripped an RBI triple and Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Pedro Ramirez each had an RBI single for the Cubs.
Swanson opened the scoring in the second with an RBI single, but that slim advantage didn’t last long.
Valdez sent a 1-1 cutter from Jameson Taillon (2-6) over the left center wall to lead off the second inning. Valdez’s homer was his 14th of the season and eighth in his last 13 games. After O’Hearn walked, Ross deposited a 3-2 cutter over the wall in left.
The Pirates loaded the bases in the third before O’Hearn deposited a 0-1 fastball from Taillon over the wall in center to stake his team to a 7-1 lead. The homer by O’Hearn was his 17th of the season and first since he went deep three times — highlighted by a grand slam — in a 12-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on July 7.
Taillon permitted seven runs on six hits in four innings to fall to 0-5 in his last eight outings.
Chicago scored three times in the fourth before Valdez’s broken-bat RBI single off Ryan Rolison extended Pittsburgh’s advantage to 8-5 in the fifth.
–Field Level Media
Sam Altman is ready to decelerate
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan corrects record, says crash was his fault
