Sports
Sacramento State’s Move to the MAC Highlights College Football’s Travel Problem
This weekend, presidents from the MAC conference have made an interesting decision, voting to add Sacramento State to their conference. The Hornets have now officially made the jump to the FBS level, a project they have pursued for the last few seasons.
Sacramento State is joining as a football-only member starting in 2026, marking the second FCS program to make the leap to the FBS level. It’ll be an expensive move, as they will need to pay $5 million to move up to the FBS level and another $18 million to join the MAC.
Over the past few seasons, Sacramento State has been a solid FCS program and has invested money into developing its football program, but I hate that they’re joining the MAC. Football’s greed has ruined college sports conferences, and they’ve claimed another victim.
I’m not upset by Sacramento State trying to join the FBS; I just hate that they’re joining the MAC. No school in college football will have to travel more than the Hornets this year.
Stanford and Cal have been among the busiest travelers over the last few seasons, with their moves to the ACC. Fortunately, since they’re power conference programs, they’re able to spend the majority of their non-conference schedules at home. Sacramento State won’t be given that same luxury, as they will need to find ways to increase their bottom lines after the significant funding to make the leap to the FBS level.
The Pac-12 and Mountain West both denied Sacramento State entry, and now the Hornets are stuck traveling over 2,000 miles for every road game during conference play. On the other hand, you have Northern Illinois, who just finished up a 3-9 season, leaving the MAC for the Mountain West, where they will be one of the worst schools in that conference.
I’m not against all conference realignment; it just has to make sense. North Dakota State was the other FCS program promoted, but their move to the Mountain West makes sense. They’ve won 10 FCS National titles since 2011, they’re a well-funded football program that’s proven they can beat FBS-level competition, and they’ve joined a geographical conference that makes sense for them.
These mega-conferences that the power-four created have ruined college football and are making it impossible for smaller schools to keep up. They have to find every possible way to make more money from TV deals, and that’s by joining the biggest conference available.
At the end of the day, these kids are still student athletes, and having Sacramento State travel to Kent, Ohio, on a Tuesday night in November makes you think they don’t care about the “student” aspect of college sports. It’ll be interesting to see what the breaking point will be for these smaller FBS programs.
Sports
Prince Owusu leads CF Montreal over NYCFC
Apr 18, 2026; Montreal, Province of Quebec, CAN; CF Montreal forward Prince Owusu (9) celebrates with teammates including defenseman Dawid Bugaj (27) and midfielder Noah Streit (23) after scoring a goal against the Red Bull New York during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Prince Owusu scored a first-half goal on Saturday afternoon to help lead CF Montreal to a 1-0 victory over New York City FC.
Thomas Gillier made a pair of saves for Montreal (3-6-0, nine points), who won their second straight game since firing head coach Marco Donadel and hiring interim Philippe Eullaffroy on April 12. Montreal posted five shots on target to New York City’s two.
NYC FC (3-4-3, 12 points) saw their winless streak extended to six straight in MLS competition. Goalkeeper Matt Freese made four saves for the visitors, who lost despite owning possession for 64 percent of the match.
Trailing by a goal, New York City had second-half opportunities to even the score, as Maxi Moralez and Arnau Farnos’ shots missed in the 47th and 56th minutes, respectively.
NYC FC’s Tayvon Gray was sent off in the 78th minute after receiving his second yellow card.
Montreal had early chances, but Freese made three saves in the game’s first 10 minutes. Montreal broke through in the 18th minute, though, as Owusu scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Matty Longstaff sent in an entry from the left of the box, before Owusu tapped in the game’s only goal past Freese.
NYC FC mustered just one shot on goal in the opening half, while Montreal tallied four before halftime.
The Eastern Conference foes will meet again on October 31 at New York.
–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
Prince Owusu leads CF Montreal over NYCFC
Magic withstand Pistons’ rally to gain 2-1 series lead
