Sports
QB watch on as No. 25 Texas A&M hosts Bowling Green
Sep 14, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) runs with the ball against the Florida Gators during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images All eyes are on No. 25 Texas A&M’s quarterback situation this week as the team prepares to face Bowling Green on Saturday in College Station.
Starting quarterback Conner Weigman remains “day-to-day,” Aggies coach Mike Elko said Monday. Freshman Marcel Reed, who had a terrific game in leading A&M past Florida last weekend, is the other option.
“We’ll continue to manage the quarterback room very similar to how we have and play the guy Saturday that we think gives us the best chance to win,” Elko said.
Reed looked the part in his first college start against the Gators, completing 11 of 17 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 83 yards and a TD in the 33-20 win. That performance earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
Outside of the quarterback situation, A&M has had little to complain about since its season-opening loss to Notre Dame. The Aggies rolled past McNeese on Sept. 7 and then had little trouble getting by Florida in the Swamp.
The season is young, but the Aggies have shown signs of a strong running game, averaging 263 yards per game on the ground. Defensively, they have a combined 15 tackles for loss and five interceptions.
Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler understands the challenge ahead for his team. The MAC has held its own so far against power schools, notably Northern Illinois stunning Notre Dame and Toledo routing Mississippi State. Bowling Green almost joined the list, holding a halftime lead against No. 10 Penn State before falling 34-27 last weekend.
This is another opportunity for the Falcons to make a statement but, in reality, there is a reason oddsmakers had them open as a 23 1/2-point underdog.
“We’ve got our hands full,” Loeffler said. “This is a very, very talented team. There’s some things where they’re very, very strong at that’s kind of our weaknesses a little bit.
“So, we’ve got to find different ways to get things done because they’re big, they’re powerful, super strong, athletic. Everything that you would think of when it comes to an SEC team.”
The Falcons are led by a former SEC quarterback, Connor Bazelak, who started his college career at Missouri. Bazelak has completed 65.6 percent of his passes so far with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also rushed for a score.
Bowling Green’s playmakers include tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who had 11 catches for 137 yards and one TD at Penn State.
“It’s a really experienced offensive group,” Elko said of Bowling Green. “They present a lot of stress on you with how they run their system. They do a really, really good job. And so this is a talented group for sure.”
For Elko, the matchup also brings back some fond memories of his early coaching days. He was Bowling Green’s defensive coordinator from 2009-13 under Dave Clawson. The Falcons went 10-4 in 2013, Elko’s final season as DC.
“Our family absolutely loved that town,” Elko said. “We have a lot of really fond memories, a lot of really good friends that live up in Bowling Green. A lot of respect for that school, a lot of respect for that university and their program.”
This will be the first meeting between Bowling Green and A&M.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Magic withstand Pistons’ rally to gain 2-1 series lead
Apr 22, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley looks on in the second half against the Detroit Pistons during game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane scored 25 points apiece as the Orlando Magic withstood a fourth-quarter rally to beat the visiting Detroit Pistons 113-105 on Saturday in Game 3 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Detroit trailed 96-79 with 8:34 remaining before Cade Cunningham’s 3-pointer capped a 25-8 run and tied the game at 104 with 3:15 left.
Cunningham made one of two free throws to put top-seeded Detroit ahead by one with 2:52 left before Orlando closed on a 9-0 run to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Game 4 is set for Monday in Orlando.
Banchero had 12 rebounds and nine assists for the eighth-seeded Magic, who improved to 7-1 in their last eight home postseason games, including play-in tournament games. Bane was 7-for-9 from 3-point range.
“That’s just him being himself,” Banchero said of Bane, who was 9-of-31 shooting in the series prior to Saturday. “He started slow in the first two games. We knew that wasn’t going to continue. He’s a killer; that’s just what he does. Glad to have him on our team.”
Franz Wagner added 17 points for Orlando. Jalen Suggs scored 15, and Wendell Carter Jr. had 14 points and 17 rebounds.
“We have a lot of respect for those guys over there,” Banchero said of the Pistons. “But we know how we stack up and we know what we have in our locker room. So we don’t fear them. We have a lot of respect for them. and we know we have to bring it on Monday.”
Cunningham scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons. Tobias Harris scored 23 points, Ausar Thompson had 17 and Duncan Robinson added 10.
The Pistons are now in a hole after being the top team in the East in the regular season.
“It’s one game at a time, that’s what playoff series are,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We come down here, we win on Monday and we take homecourt advantage back. Today’s game, we’ll learn from it but it’s over with. Our guys have been consistent all year. We’ve been able to move onto the next. I trust our guys that we’ll focus on it, we’ll learn from it, we’ll study it, we’ll get better at it and then Monday we’ll be ready to go.”
The teams were tied at 26 after the first quarter. Suggs was held scoreless before hitting a 3-pointer to put the Magic ahead 42-36 with 6:50 left in the second quarter.
Suggs had 12 points in the second quarter to help Orlando take a 61-54 at the half.
Thompson tallied 15 points to lead all scorers in the first half. Bane’s 14 points paced the Magic.
Bane made his first six 3-point attempts, including one with 8:32 left in the third quarter to give Orlando a 74-62 lead.
The Magic led 87-79 at the end of the third quarter and opened the fourth on a 7-0 run to move ahead 94-79 with 10:05 remaining.
Cunningham committed nine turnovers and was 8-for-23 shooting from the field and 3 of 10 from 3-point range for Detroit, which shot 34.4% (11 of 32) from beyond the arc.
Pistons All-Star Jalen Duren had just eight points in 27 minutes before fouling out. He is avearging just 9.0 points in the series, down from 19.5 in the regualr season.
“Just be there for him, encourage him and feed him the ball,” Thompson said of Duren. “Give him some space to work. I just want him to keep being aggressive. We’re good, we’re not worried about him.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reds place slugger Eugenio Suarez (oblique) on 10-day IL
Apr 17, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez (28) hits a double in the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images The Cincinnati Reds placed veteran designated hitter/third baseman Eugenio Suarez on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to a left oblique strain.
The move is retroactive to Thursday.
Cincinnati recalled outfielder JJ Bleday from Triple-A Louisville to fill the roster spot.
Reds manager Terry Francona doesn’t expect Suarez to be sidelined long.
“The hope is after possibly five or six days if symptoms are gone, we’ll get him imaged again,” Francona told reporters. “Then we’ll start to build him back up.”
Suarez was scratched from Friday’s lineup before a game against the Detroit Tigers about one hour before first pitch when he felt pain in his left side while swinging a bat. He underwent an MRI exam that detected the damage.
Suarez, 34, is batting .231 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 25 games. He signed a one-year, $15 million deal as a free agent in the offseason for his second tour of duty with Cincinnati. He also played for the Reds from 2015-21.
Suarez matched his career high of 49 homers last season while splitting time between the Arizona Diamondbacks (36 HRs) and the Seattle Mariners (13). He also hit 49 for the Reds in 2019.
Bleday, 28, was batting .341 with six homers and 19 RBIs in 24 games at Louisville. He nearly made the Cincinnati roster in spring training when he batted with .317 with four homers.
Bleday has 49 homers over four major league seasons with the Miami Marlins (2022) and Athletics (2023-25) but has just a .215 career average.
Cincinnati also recalled Jose Franco from Louisville and optioned fellow right-hander Kyle Nicolas to the same affiliate.
Franco, 25, had a 3.18 ERA in three appearances with the Reds earlier this season. Nicolas, 27, went 1-0 with an 8.59 ERA in seven appearances and walked 13 batters in just 7 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alexander Zverev holds strong to remain perfect in Madrid openers
Mar 27, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts after missing a shot against against Jannik Sinner of Italy in the semi-finals of the men’s singles at the Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Second-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany maintained his composure to nab a three-set win to keep up his perfect record in opening round matches at the Mutua Madrid Open by taking down Argentina’s Mariano Navone 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on Saturday.
The two-time Madrid Open winner improved to 9-0 in his first match at the tournament after receiving a first round bye. Zverev converted 4 of 8 break point attempts and had 22 winners to Navone’s six.
“It’s definitely a different type of tournament here,” Zverev said when asked about the high-altitude conditions. “I love it. You either love it or hate it, kind of, because there is no in between. Everything is a bit faster, the ball bounces higher, the serve is maybe a bit more effective. So you either love it or hate it. Winning the tournament twice here, of course I hope to add some more titles to that. I enjoy playing here.”
With the win, Zverev has a date in the round of 32 with France’s Terence Atmane, who beat his fellow countrymen Ugo Humbert, the No. 30 seed, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) earlier in the day.
Also advancing was defending champion and No. 12 seed Casper Ruud of Norway with his 6-0, 6-1 win over Spaniard Jaume Munar. Rudd maintained his serve without being broken and forced Munar into 17 unforced errors.
No. 3 seed and 2024 finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada advanced past Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas 6-3, 6-4. Auger-Aliassime never faced a break point behind his dominant serve that yielded seven aces.
Facing off against Auger-Aliassime will be Belgium’s Alexander Blockx, who upset American and No. 28 Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The other big upset of the day was Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo beating 17-seed Learner Tien 6-4, 6-3. This was Daniel Vallejo’s first ever win over a top 75 opponent.
Vallejo will take on No. 10 Flavio Cobolli of Italy. He beat Argentinian Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-4.
In the other three-set match, seventh-seeded Daniil Medvedev held strong against Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4.
In two-set action on the day, No. 13 Karen Khachanov of Russia took down Australia’s Adam Walton 6-2, 6-3; No. 16 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina outdueled German Yannick Hanfmann 6-1, 7-5; No. 18 Luciano Darderi of Italy bested Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-1, 6-3; Spain’s No. 20-seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat fellow countrymen Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3 and No. 23 Jakub Mensik of Czechia got past qualifier Martin Damm 6-3, 6-4.
Spanish qualifier Daniel Merida upset No. 26 Corentin Moutet of France 6-3, 6-4; Norwegian qualifier Nicolai Budkov Kjaer dominated No. 31 Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-1 and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas got the best of No. 8 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-2, 7-5.
–Field Level Media
