Sports
Resurgent No. 22 Nebraska, No. 24 Illinois clash in Big Ten opener
Sep 7, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) hands the ball off to running back Dante Dowdell (23) for a touchdown run against the Colorado Buffaloes during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images For the first time since October 2011, No. 22 Nebraska and No. 24 Illinois find themselves listed in the same Associated Press Top 25 poll. They’ll meet in a Big Ten opener Friday night in Lincoln, Neb., to decide which team gets to stay there.
The Cornhuskers (3-0) are off to their best start since 2016 — their most recent bowl season — while the Illini are 3-0 for the first time since 2011.
After cruising through their respective non-conference schedules, both teams will get a much better picture of their might while they clash in front of Nebraska’s 400th consecutive home sellout.
“To have two big teams ranked on a Friday night game is a little bit unusual,” said Illinois coach Bret Bielema, who has his program in the polls for just the second time in the last 13 years. “It doesn’t happen all the time. To see it play out and be a part of it is awesome. Give a lot of credit to their team and what they’ve accomplished to this point. I told our guys to continue to keep our focus, our mentality, and see where it can go.”
The Huskers have three blowouts under their belt — they led at halftime against UTEP, Colorado and Northern Iowa by a combined score of 79-10 — but head coach Matt Rhule hasn’t been overly impressed yet.
“I think any time you don’t punt in the game, you feel pretty good,” Rhule said. “So I felt pretty good about what we did Saturday offensively (against Northern Iowa). But that was all preseason to me. Now the season starts. We’ll find out where we are. This will be such a different challenge playing against these guys.”
The Illini enter Friday’s game tied for second nationally in turnover margin (+8) and tied for fifth in turnovers forced (9). Defensive back Xavier Scott is one of four FBS players with at least 3 interceptions through three games, and he has forced four turnovers overall.
But Scott and company haven’t faced a passer like Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola. Even on the rare occasions when the pass rush has forced him to improvise, the five-star freshman has appeared unflappable while completing 73.8 percent of his passes for 670 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception.
“He brings a different element immediately,” Bielema said. “He’s a very talented young man that’s got a great deep ball throw. They maximize him pretty well. There’s some things you can literally see him get better on every series — just very impressive to see.”
Rhule seems eager to find out how Raiola will handle an Illinois group that ranks 12th nationally in pass efficiency defense (an 87.98 rating versus Raiola’s 162.22).
“They’ve altered a lot of what they’re doing,” said Rhule, noting how Illinois second-year defensive coordinator Aaron Henry has been using more disguises this season. “They’ll show man and play Cover 2. They’ll show man and play zone. With a young quarterback, he’s got to recognize because they don’t show it to you. He’s got to recognize zone on the snap. And they’re taking the ball away at a high level.”
On the flip side, Bielema wants to see his rushing attack be more reliable. The Illini’s quartet of backs have been satisfactory (153.3 yards per game), but Illinois hasn’t faced anything like the Huskers’ defense, which surrenders just 2.5 yards per carry and 70.3 rushing yards per game.
“If we’re going to win in the Big Ten, we’re going to have to run the ball in certain situations,” Bielema said. “I think the greatest definition of a team is a team that can run the ball effectively when they want to run it against good competition.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Donovan Mitchell nets 32 as Cavaliers overpower Raptors
Apr 18, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) during the first quarter of game one in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points and James Harden added 22 points and 10 assists, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 126-113 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first round series Saturday.
Max Strus had 24 points off the bench and Evan Mobley scored 17 for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who have won 11 straight playoff games over the Raptors. Game 2 is Monday in Cleveland, where Toronto is 0-8 all-time in the postseason.
Mitchell extended his league-record streak of scoring 30-plus points in a series opener to nine straight, two more than Michael Jordan had on two occasions. The Cavaliers’ largest lead was 100-76 early in the fourth quarter on a Sam Merrill 3-pointer.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Scottie Barnes contributed 21 points and seven assists for the fifth-seeded Raptors. Brandon Ingram added 17 points and Jamal Shead had 17 points in his playoff debut, starting for injured guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring strain).
Harden became the fifth player in NBA history to appear in a playoff game in 17 seasons, joining Karl Malone, John Stockton, Tony Parker and Jason Kidd. He also moved past Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird into 13th place in playoff points with 3,917.
Strus made back-to-back 3-pointers and followed with a layup in transition, giving the Cavaliers a commanding 82-60 lead midway through the third. Mitchell recorded 11 points in the period, which saw Toronto held to five made field goals.
Cleveland held a 61-54 advantage at the half, fueled by Harden’s 15 points and six assists and Mitchell’s 13 points and four assists. The Raptors had four players in double figures with Ingram scoring 13 points and Barnes, Barrett and Shead with 11 apiece.
Mitchell had eight points and a pair of assists in the first quarter, including a strip of Shead that he turned into a Strus’ layup at the buzzer and a 35-31 Cavaliers lead. Ingram and Barnes scored nine apiece.
Both teams shot the ball well, but the Cavs buried 16 of 32 from 3-point range. They also enjoyed a significant advantage at 52-36 for points in the pain.
Cavaliers backup center Thomas Bryant (left calf strain) was inactive and has not played since April 5.
–Field Level Media
Sports
LAFC, Earthquakes clash in Western Conference showdown
Mar 21, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; LAFC forward David Martinez (30) waits for gameplay to resume during the first half against Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images Goals will be at a premium when two of the top teams in the Western Conference meet Sunday as Los Angeles FC plays host to the San Jose Earthquakes.
Each team allowed just two goals through seven league games to lead MLS. They are also two of four teams in the league with a positive goal differential in double digits.
LAFC (5-1-1, 16 points) will be out to protect a perfect 4-0-0 home record in league play during a busy early part of the season.
In two home games during the first seven days of April, LAFC earned a 6-0 MLS victory over Orlando City and a 3-0 victory over Mexico’s Cruz Azul in CONCACAF Champions Cup play. The club absorbed its only MLS loss, 2-1 on the road against the Portland Timbers, on April 11, then went to Mexico on Tuesday and advanced against Cruz Azul with a 1-1 road tie.
While Denis Bouanga leads LAFC with four goals and eight goal contributions in MLS play, 20-year-old forward David Martinez of Venezuela has six goals across all competitions and scored twice in the first leg against Cruz Azul.
“If you guys would see training, for me it’s normal,” LAFC head coach Marc Dos Santos said of Martinez’s play. “… When he has space in front of him, he goes and it’s fantastic to watch. He has this quality. David is strong. He seems little, but he’s really strong when he has courage behind him.”
Mired in mediocrity after not delivering a winning season in any of the previous 13 seasons, the Earthquakes (6-1-0, 18 points) have been reborn in just the second season under head coach Bruce Arena.
The Earthquakes are on a four-game winning streak across all competitions and are coming off a 2-0 victory over Phoenix Rising FC on Wednesday in U.S. Open Cup play. The 7-1-0 start across all competitions is the best in club history.
“We’re going to utilize our (full) roster this week,” Arena said. “If we have any aspirations of being a good team, it’s critically important that we can show that we can have depth and we can rotate our squad when it’s called upon.”
San Jose also scored three goals in each of its last two MLS games, earning a road victory over Sporting Kansas City and a home shutout win over San Diego FC on April 4.
Jack Skhan scored a pair of goals against Sporting KC, and Niko Tsakiris scored two against San Diego FC. Preston Judd leads the Earthquakes with three goals on the season, while Tsakiris has four assists.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cody Bellinger homers twice, as Yankees eclipse Royals
Apr 18, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Cody Bellinger (35) hits a two run home run against the Kansas City Royals during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Cody Bellinger homered twice and collected five RBIs Saturday afternoon, and the New York Yankees easily recorded a 13-4 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Saturday afternoon.
The Yankees notched their most lopsided win this season after their previous five victories were decided in the final at-bat.
Amed Rosario hit a two-run homer, and Ben Rice hit a solo shot during a five-run third off Kansas City left-hander Noah Cameron. (1-1).
Rosario started the scoring with his two-run blast to left after a three-base error by Kansas City center fielder Kyle Isbel.
J.C. Escarra hit a fly ball to the warning track in center field, and the ball was not caught when Isbel and right fielder Jac Caglianone converged. Isbel knocked the ball out of Caglianone’s glove and was charged with a three-base error.
After Rosario’s homer, Aaron Judge walked, then Bellinger sent a first-pitch slider into the second deck in right. Rice homered two batters later when he hit a fastball into the right field seats for his third straight game with a homer.
Bellinger homered again in the sixth off Mitch Spence for a 10-0 lead. It was Bellinger’s 20th career multi-homer game and his eighth game with at least five RBIs.
Bellinger also had an RBI single in between homers. Rosario added a run-scoring single in the sixth and Escarra contributed an RBI double in the fourth.
Escarra also drove in two with his first career triple in the seventh as the Yankees collected 11 hits. Randal Grichuk added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for his first RBI with New York.
New York’s Will Warren (2-0) allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. The right-hander matched a career-high with 11 strikeouts and walked none.
The Royals dropped their sixth straight. Kansas City was blanked until Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer in the seventh and got a two-run double from Michael Massey in the ninth.
Cameron was shelled for a career-worst seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in four innings.
Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro was tossed by second base umpire Nestor Ceja before Cameron threw a pitch after the Royals batted in the first.
–Field Level Media
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Donovan Mitchell nets 32 as Cavaliers overpower Raptors
