The Colorado Rapids signed forward Darren Yapi to a multi-year contract as a U22 Initiative player on Tuesday.

The deal with the 21-year-old homegrown player runs through 2028-29 with a club option for 2029-30.

Yapi has three goals and two assists in 11 MLS matches (seven starts) this season, boosting his career totals to 13 goals and five assists in 102 regular-season matches (38 starts) since making his Rapids debut at age 16 in 2022.

“Darren has made a really positive start to the season and continues to grow into a more complete front line player for us,” head coach Matt Wells said. “He’s shown a top mentality to embrace our football, has made big steps in his physical development and is consistently impacting the game in attacking positions. He has the right level of ambition and we believe he has so much more growth to come, so we’re looking forward to continuing to work with him.”

A former Rapids Academy Player of the Year, Yapi also contributed 11 goals and three assists in 35 appearances with MLS Next Pro affiliate Rapids 2 from 2022-25.

“He has consistently shown his ability to impact games at the MLS level, and we believe he has the qualities to develop into a top attacker in this league and beyond,” team president Padraig Smith said. “This new contract reflects both his performances and the standards he has set for himself, and we’re excited to see him continue to build on that here in Colorado.”

–Field Level Media

Luka Doncic was back to taking jump shots, with Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick downplaying what the on-court activity means for his star’s availability in the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tuesday marked 33 days since Doncic went down with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and his return is not expected for at least one more week. The Lakers’ second-round series against the defending NBA champions calls for games every other day through Game 5.

ESPN reported Doncic is not expected to play before Game 5 (Wednesday, May 13) in Oklahoma City.

“No update,” Redick said of any adjustment to the Lakers’ availability report on Doncic.

Doncic officially has been listed as out for Game 1 on Tuesday.

ESPN reported Doncic was “nowhere near” playing in a game despite reports he could begin playing 5-on-5 later this week to test his hamstring injury. Due to the risk or re-injury, the Lakers are expected to err on the side of caution while bringing Doncic back. Even if he returns in the series, he is expected to be on a minutes restriction.

“I don’t have any updates on Luka,” Redick reiterated when asked for more clarity.

Despite playing without Doncic, who averaged 33.5 points per game in the regular season, the fourth-seeded Lakers (53-29) defeated the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets 4-2 in their first-round series.

Oklahoma City is the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and went 4-0 against the Lakers this season. Doncic was injured in a 139-96 blowout loss to the Thunder on April 2.

–Field Level Media

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil expressed optimism Tuesday in his first public comments since Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund confirmed it will pull its financial support following the 2026 season.

O’Neil cited the value of the league’s 13 teams as a means to attract new investors in the wake of the PIF news.

“If you ask me where the value of this business is, it’s in the teams,” O’Neil said at his pre-tournament press conference ahead of this week’s LIV Golf Virginia event in Washington, D.C.

“If you’re looking for direction, we believe that teams will have extraordinary value,” O’Neil said. “We believe that once we set the business in the right direction with the right trajectory, with the right revenue base and cost base — which we’re well on our way to doing — that these teams will have extraordinary value. And that’s where, if you’re an investor and you’re listening to this or reading this, that’s where you’re going to get your value.”

His comments came one day after LIV Golf announced that New York-based Ducera Partners LLC will serve as an investment banking advisor as it seeks financial stability moving forward.

O’Neil also discussed sponsorships, ticket sales and television contracts on Tuesday as a means to drive up funding.

“The way the process will typically work — I may be getting ahead of myself — is that we’re going to create a business plan, we’re going to lock arms with the players, we will go to market and raise money on a top level, and then we will get investors in teams in that order,” he said. “The players on the team should be locked in.”

O’Neil also addressed whether the PIF had committed to honoring contracts past 2026.

“I mean, they own the majority of the business now, and they’ve agreed to fund through the season, as they said. Nothing there has changed,” he said.

O’Neil said later in his press conference that he has “confidence that this is a place players want to be.” That said, he also was asked about golfers pursuing other options.

“I have so much to say on this topic, and I’m going to keep this short because I’m under direction to,” he said. “I will tell you this, one of the beauties of LIV Golf, the beauties, the thing I enjoy most about it, is that we are for golf. We always have been and we always will be. Our players, we commit them to 14 weeks. They come and play. They know exactly the weeks they’re expected to play, they show up, and they play.

“If another Tour is open for them to play, that’s 14 weeks out of 52. That’s 38 weeks. So if you want to see the best players in the world playing together more often, no problem, let’s do it on the other 38 weeks. Like it’s such a special opportunity.

“I feel like the opportunity, the chance, the gift we’ve been given here at LIV Golf is that we have players who will travel the world, and that is a gift to the game.”

Founded in 2021, LIV Golf made its debut in June 2022 and used lavish, guaranteed contracts to lure dozens of stars like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau away from the PGA. Former LIV participant Brooks Koepka already has returned to the PGA Tour while Patrick Reed will return later this season.

PIF has provided LIV with more than $5 billion, but the league reportedly has lost millions of dollars per year. Earlier this month, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PIF’s governor and LIV’s main financial backer, shared a plan for the kingdom to cut back on international investments and focus on more domestic projects.

O’Neil replaced former league leader Greg Norman as CEO in January 2025.

–Field Level Media