Sports
Pitt hires Charleston's Robin Harmony as head coach
Dec 9, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; General view of the court before the Pittsburgh Panthers host the West Virginia Mountaineers at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Pitt named Pennsylvania native Robin Harmony as head coach of the women’s team on Monday.
Harmony, 64, has spent the past seven seasons at the College of Charleston and led the Cougars to a 27-6 record and their first NCAA Tournament appearance this season.
“We are thrilled to welcome Robin Harmony to Pitt,” athletic director Allen Greene said. “Throughout this process, it was important for us to find someone who understands the value of connection with our student-athletes, with our alumni, and with the broader Pitt community. Coach Harmony has built a reputation on forming meaningful relationships with student-athletes and leading with an athlete-centered philosophy that prioritizes their growth both on and off the court.”
A Hershey, Pa., native, Harmony has compiled a 369-198 record as a head coach at St. Thomas (Fla.) (2005-13), Lamar (2013-19) and Charleston (2019-26).
A new chapter begins at Pitt ??
Welcome to Oakland, Coach Harmony!
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— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_WBB) March 23, 2026
Harmony was named the 2025-26 Coastal Athletic Association’s Coach of the Year and guided Charleston to its first CAA tournament championship. Her 14th-seeded Cougars lost 81-64 to No. 3 seed Duke in the first round of the Women’s NCAA Tournament last Friday.
“I look forward to recruiting exceptional student-athletes to one of the nation’s leading academic institutions with a proud athletic tradition; young women who will succeed in the classroom and compete at the highest level in the ACC. My promise to Pitt fans is to build a team that reflects the spirit of the University and the City of Pittsburgh with grit, determination and teamwork,” Harmony said.
Harmony replaces Tory Verdi, who was fired following an 8-23 campaign that included a 1-17 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Panthers have not been to the Women’s NCAA Tournament since 2015.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLB Betting Picks for Friday, May 29: Phillies and Marlins Featured
May 23, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (L) and third baseman Alec Bohm (R) slap hands after scoring during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images A light MLB slate two consecutive days sets the stage for the full Friday night menu in baseball.
There are several key series to keep an eye on, including a pair in the National League. The Chicago Cubs (31-26) seek their third consecutive win, facing the St. Louis Cardinals (29-25) in an NL Central battle.
Out west, the Philadelphia Phillies (29-27) square off with the Los Angeles Dodgers (36-20) in a playoff rematch at Dodger Stadium.
We’ll break down two plays for the Friday action. Remember to monitor the odds throughout the day, as the sides and totals market is constantly changing.
Here are the free MLB picks for Friday, May 29. Odds Courtesy of DraftKings.
Best MLB plays today
- Marlins F5 (-104) at Mets
- Phillies (+100) at Dodgers
Marlins F5 (-104) at Mets – 7:10 p.m. ET
The Marlins (26-31) swept the Mets at home last week as the two NL East rivals meet tonight at Citi Field. Miami P Max Meyer owns a tremendous 10-1 record in the first five innings, which includes leading New York, 4-0 last Saturday through five frames in a 4-1 win.
Freddy Peralta has led through five innings in three of 11 starts this season for the Mets, including a 1-3-2 mark in his last six home outings. New York is 2-6-1 in the first five innings of the past nine games.
Meyer has tossed at least five innings in nine consecutive games and has not allowed a run in the opening five frames in this stretch. Let’s go with the Marlins to continue their domination of the Mets and back them in the first five innings.
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Phillies (+100) at Dodgers – 10:15 p.m. ET
Philadelphia (29-27) faces Los Angeles (36-20) for the first time since getting knocked out in the NLDS last season. The Phillies started their west coast swing with a three-game sweep of the Padres, highlighted by a pair of shutouts. Tonight, Zack Wheeler heads to the mound as the Phillies are 6-0 in the right-hander’s six starts, while owning an ERA of 1.67.
The Dodgers cruised past the Rockies for a three-game sweep, extending their winning streak to five games. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski hasn’t lost consecutive starts this season after allowing five runs in five innings against Milwaukee. Wrobleski owns a 13.7% strikeout rate, which sits in the fifth percentile in MLB.
The Phillies are 11-2 in their last 13 road games since May 1, after starting 4-8 in their first 12 outings away from Citizens Bank Park. Wheeler didn’t face the Dodgers last season, but I expect a strong showing from him to continue his dominance and the Phillies to get revenge for their playoff loss.
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Sports
The NCAA May Be Losing Control of College Football as SEC Frustrations Boil Over
For all of you who appreciate college football as deeply as I do, I would strongly advise you to make the most of your enjoyment of the sport for as long as you can.
Because it’s getting hard to see the sport staying as it is now for very much longer.
Georgia president Jere Morehead and head coach Kirby Smart were the first people to say what has been boiling under the surface for years at this point: The way things are trending, it seems less and less likely that the future of the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference are in the NCAA.
As the NCAA pushes Congress to institute laws that would govern the sport and these attempts, like the SCORE Act, which stalled out this week, fail, college sports continue to be Wild West of sorts.
While the NCAA has instituted a cap for how much of its revenue it can share with players ($20.5 million across all sports for the 2025-26 academic year) and instituted a clearing house to approve all NIL transactions, things aren’t being forced on that front.
Tampering continues to be rampant — just ask Dabo Swinney — but we’re still waiting on the first punishment for anything of the sort. That leaves coaches at power programs, like Georgia, open to what they view as a better, NCAA-less future.
“I’ve been a huge advocate that if we can’t find rules that everybody plays by, then we should play on our own,” Smart told reporters this week at the SEC’s spring meetings in Miramar Beach, Fla. “I’m not afraid of that. I’m not afraid to break away and say that our conference is strong enough to go out and play.
“If we could actually function financially, it would make our programs more stable. We could support things financially — I’m talking about all the sports — and do our own rules. I’d be all for that.”
There have been discussions for years about if the college sports landscape, especially college football, is heading for a super league. Could a subset of the SEC and Big Ten break off and go independent, with a few ACC/Big 12 schools potentially replacing those conference’s lower tiers?
It’s always been a possibility this is where things were heading. This new league, which would likely contain an even greater percentage of the best players than these conferences already do, would have no trouble getting a TV contract to televise its games.
If these basketball programs also left the NCAA’s purview, that would seriously hinder the organization’s main cash cow in March Madness and drastically change its finances.
The NCAA is left with no real choice. It needs to bring actionable rules and real governance to college sports or it feels like just a matter of time until it becomes a college sports afterthought.
Even if it does those things, it’s still possible that there’s no keeping the band together at this point. But the NCAA has to try.
Sports
Sacramento group unveils bid for MLB expansion franchise
Mar 7, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; Nicaragua manager Dusty Baker (12) looks on before the game against the Netherlands at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sacramento is making its pitch for an expansion franchise in Major League Baseball.
Regional leaders near California’s capital city formally unveiled a bid on Thursday. The group tossed out “The Sacramento Pitch” in a release from the Greater Sacramento Economic Council that boasted about a “fully entitled 50-acre stadium site” and nearly $2 billion in public and private funds, as well as land.
“When MLB moves forward on expansion, Sacramento will be impossible to ignore,” said Mark Friedman, founder and chairman of Fulcrum Property and board chair of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council.
“We have the market, the site, the capital, and the community. Sacramento is ready to compete — and Sacramento is ready to win,” Friedman said.
Sacramento is the No. 20 media market in the United States. Of the markets ahead of it, only one — Orlando-Daytona Beach — does not have an MLB team.
The Athletics are playing their home games for a second straight season in West Sacramento, Calif. Their temporary home is Sutter Health Park, a minor-league stadium that effectively holds the fort until the A’s state-of-the-art ballpark in Las Vegas is completed in 2028.
“This is a defining moment for West Sacramento, and we’re ready,” West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero said in a news release. “Major League Baseball is already seeing firsthand the passion, energy, and civic pride that exists here. This region offers a practical and achievable path for long-term MLB success, and we have the financial capacity, community support, and clear vision needed to bring Major League Baseball permanently to West Sacramento. We’re built for this. We’re ready. Bring it on.”
Preliminary plans call for a stadium to be constructed near, or at, the site of Sutter Health Park.
In addition to politicians, “The Sacramento Pitch” features former San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker and former MLB player and Sacramento native Derrek Lee.
“I have always believed Sacramento is a major league city. Throughout my career, I’ve traveled across the country, and there’s something different about the people here. This community truly loves baseball,” Baker said in a news release. “For more than a century, this region has built a proud baseball legacy and developed generations of Major League Baseball players. I could not be more excited for the prospect of bringing a permanent MLB team here.”
The Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay (then-Devil) Rays were MLB’s last expansion teams. They debuted in 1998.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has said he would like to have two expansion cities chosen by 2029, one in the West and one in the East.
–Field Level Media
MLB Betting Picks for Friday, May 29: Phillies and Marlins Featured
NYT Strands hints, answers for May 30, 2026
