Sports
Rebuilding Wizards draw red-hot Celtics in season opener
Oct 22, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7), guard Jrue Holiday (4) and guard Derrick White (9) react after a play against the New York Knicks in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images The Washington Wizards kick off their 2024-25 season Thursday night with a home game against the Boston Celtics.
The Wizards finished last season 15-67 — the worst record in team history — and the rebuild is ongoing.
Washington’s offseason additions include first-round draft picks Alex Sarr (No. 2), Carlton “Bub” Carrington (No. 14) and Kyshawn George (No. 24). The Wizards also added veterans Jonas Valanciunas, former Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon and Saddiq Bey, although Bey is expected to miss much of the season while he recovers from a torn ACL.
Brogdon will also miss Thursday’s game because of a torn thumb tendon.
“If we’re really to think about it — the phases of the rebuild — there’s the deconstruction phase. There’s the laying-the-foundation phase. There’s the building it back up, and then there’s fortifying what you build,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said during the team’s media day. “We’re still focused on deconstructing and laying that foundation.”
Jordan Poole, who is entering his second season with the Wizards after being acquired from Golden State, is expected to play more point guard this season. Poole’s role as a ball handler increased when Brian Keefe replaced Wes Unseld Jr. as the team’s head coach last January.
“Being able to get into transition, building confidence into my teammates — it’s something I’ve always been able to do, especially with the ball,” Poole said. “Guys are open, just get them the ball and try to put them in situations to be successful.”
Defending NBA champion Boston opened its season Tuesday with a 132-109 victory over the visiting New York Knicks. The Celtics tied an NBA record by making 29 3-pointers in the win.
Al Horford made the 29th 3-pointer with 8:54 to play, but Boston missed its next 13 shots from behind the arc to end the game. Boston tied the record set by the Milwaukee Bucks against the Miami Heat in 2020.
“It’s almost like we got jinxed or something,” Boston’s Jaylen Brown said. “When we were just playing, having fun, playing our style of basketball, everything was going in. And then once the crowd got into it and we started hunting them, we couldn’t even hit the broad side of the barn. Everything was off. We got a bunch of great looks and it was like a lid on the basket.”
Jayson Tatum made eight 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 37 points. Boston also received multiple 3-pointers from Derrick White (six), Brown (five), Jrue Holiday (four), Horford (three) and Sam Hauser (two). Payton Pritchard connected on the other 3-pointer.
“The biggest thing I’m proud of us is the mindset of the guys,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We weren’t stuck in the past. … We were physical on defense and were together on offense. It’s a great start.”
Washington hasn’t won 50 games in a season since 1979, which was the last time the franchise advanced to the NBA Finals.
“This is the best team I’ve been around in terms of chemistry, camaraderie and character since I’ve been in Washington,” Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Browns making Denzel Ward highest-paid DB in NFL history
Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (21) watches practice from the sideline during NFL training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Berea, Ohio. Five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward and the Cleveland Browns have agreed on a two-year, $62.2 million contract extension that includes $52.3 million guaranteed, ESPN and NFL Network reported on Tuesday.
Ward, 29, had two years left on a five-year, $100.5 million contract extension signed in 2022, though it includes no further guaranteed money.
The Browns’ longest-tenured player, Ward will earn $31.1 million annually, making him the highest-paid defensive back in league history for the second time in his career.
His annual average salary, per ESPN, edges Ward ahead of Los Angeles Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie, ($31 million), who was acquired in March from the Kansas City Chiefs and signed a four-year, $124 million extension. They are followed by the Indianapolis Colts’ Sauce Gardner ($30.1 million), the Houston Texans’ Derek Stingley Jr. ($30 million) and the Carolina Panthers’ Jaycee Horn ($25 million), per ESPN.
A native of Macedonia, Ohio, Ward was the fourth overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Ohio State product has 361 career tackles, 18 interceptions — including two returned for touchdowns — 104 passes defended, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries in 110 regular-season games (107 starts) for the Browns. Two of those recovered fumbles turned into touchdowns.
He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
–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
Waymo, robotaxi operators face fresh scrutiny over emergency response failures
The robot NASA hired to lift a orbital telescope tumbled out of control
