Sports
Sounders transfer Obed Vargas to La Liga’s Atletico Madrid
Oct 27, 2025; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas (18) looks to pass during the first half against Minnesota United at Allianz Field. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images The Seattle Sounders transferred star midfielder Obed Vargas to La Liga giant Atletico Madrid on Monday.
Vargas is signing with Atletico through June 30, 2030, and ESPN reported that the Sounders will earn a club-record transfer fee for the move.
“I couldn’t be happier for Obed. He’s earned this opportunity through his work ethic, competitiveness and willingness to keep getting better every day,” said head coach Brian Schmetzer. “We’ve seen him grow into a confident, impactful player who has excelled in every situation he’s faced. This is a great moment for Obed and his family, and I have no doubt that he is ready to take on this challenge with Atletico Madrid.”
Atletico was Vargas’ favorite team growing up, and he declared last year that he had his eye on Atletico, one of the strongest clubs in Spanish soccer history with 11 La Liga titles.
“I hope (to one day play with Atletico). I think if I keep doing everything well then one day I’ll be able to join,” Vargas said after the Sounders faced them during the 2025 Club World Cup.
Vargas, a 20-year-old born in Alaska, was just 15 years and 351 days old when he made his Sounders first-team debut in 2021.
In five seasons, Vargas played 130 matches for Seattle across all competitions and tallied eight goals and 16 assists while helping the Sounders win the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2022 and the Leagues Cup in 2025.
He also represents Mexico internationally and has three caps with the national team.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Collin Gillespie pours in 30 as Suns shoot past Trail Blazers
Feb 3, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Royce O’Neale (00) drives to the basket past Portland Trail Blazers guard Blake Wesley (1) during the second half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images Collin Gillespie scored a career-best 30 points, tied his high of eight 3-pointers and dished out 10 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 130-125 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
Grayson Allen made six treys and scored 24 points to help the Suns recover from a 19-point first-quarter deficit and win for the seventh time in 10 games.
Mark Williams also had 24 points and collected 12 rebounds, Jordan Goodwin recorded 16 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high five steals off the bench and Dillon Brooks and Royce O’Neale added 11 points apiece.
Jerami Grant scored 23 points and Shaedon Sharpe added 19 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost their sixth straight game.
Portland’s Jrue Holiday had 15 points and six assists, Donovan Clingan registered 14 points and 15 rebounds, Robert Williams III had 14 points and eight boards off the bench and Toumani Camara scored 13 points.
Sidy Cissoko added 12 points and fellow reserve Blake Wesley put up 10 for the Trail Blazers, who were without All-Star Deni Avdija (back) for the second straight contest and seventh in the past 11.
Suns All-Star Devin Booker (ankle) missed his sixth straight game. Jalen Green (hip/hamstring) also sat out.
The Suns hit 20 of 41 (48.8%) from 3-point range and shot 51% from the field overall.
The Trail Blazers made 49.5% from the field, including 18 of 52 (34.6%) from behind the arc.
Portland trailed by 12 before making a late 12-4 push. Grant knocked down a 3-pointer to cap it and bring the Trail Blazers within 124-120 with 1:15 remaining.
However, Allen drilled a trey with 55.9 seconds left and Mark Williams slammed home a dunk with 25.4 seconds remaining to put Phoenix back up by nine, effectively closing it out.
Allen made four treys and Gillespie drained three during the third quarter when the Suns were 8 of 15 from long range.
The sharpshooting helped Phoenix turn a five-point halftime deficit into a 101-94 advantage. Goodwin drilled a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to end the rush of treys.
Portland moved within three early in the fourth, but Ryan Dunn hit two 3-pointers in 26 seconds to give the Suns a 116-104 lead with 7:11 remaining.
Clingan had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the first half and Camara also scored 13 points as Portland held a 72-67 lead at the break. Gillespie recorded 14 first-half points for Phoenix.
Camara and Clingan each made three treys in the first quarter as the Trail Blazers built a 41-30 lead.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLB Owners Are Killing the World Baseball Classic
The travesty unfolding with Team Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic originates from the same place as the impending work stoppage in Major League Baseball:
The cold hearts and fat wallets of MLB owners, who again choose hoarding cash in lieu of stimulating competition.
Officials from Puerto Rico said Saturday the national team might withdraw entirely from the WBC next month because as many as 10 of the players on the roster, which includes some of the biggest stars in the sport, have been denied insurance coverage due to injury risk.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor reportedly won’t play, and neither will Houston Astros third baseman Carlos Correa, though Correa’s case and others remain under review, The Athletic reports. Lindor had surgery on his elbow in October, but it was minor enough that he’s healthy now and ready to report for Spring Training for the Mets. Correa’s sordid health history is well known, but he also played 144 games in 2025. No matter: they’re denied.
Additional Puerto Rican players who have been denied coverage include Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Enríque Hernández and Toronto Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos. Overall, more than a third of the entire roster is impacted. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that they’ve been hit so hard by the insurance premium bug, but Puerto Rico feels picked on.
Officials cite Puerto Rico’s small population (about 3.3 million) as a difficulty for adding viable ballplayers. That’s one issue. But the WBC is more, and should be more, than just finding bodies to fill out rosters. Puerto Rico typically has one of the best teams in the world. Lindor is one of the 10 best players in MLB, and Correa one of the two dozen best. Not only for their talent, but Puerto Rico’s enthusiasm for baseball, along with their historical influence, are well documented.
The Puerto Rican team is always among the top reasons to watch the WBC, a tournament in which MLB invests heavily and takes earnestly. But only to a point. Ensuring that Puerto Rico remains whole enough to field a competitive team is against league policy, so to speak.
Puerto Rico is not the only country affected by insurance roadblocks; Venezuela is too, with José Altuve and Miguel Rojas among the disenfranchised. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch for Japan in the WBC in part because insurance won’t cover that half of his game.
If only MLB could do something to defray the cost of insuring those who remain uncovered. It is apparent they don’t want to, and neither do the individual teams. Mets owner Steve Cohen probably has WBC PTSD about 2023, when closer Edwin Díaz took a bad celebratory step and had his season ruined with an injury.
Freak injuries happen, but the WBC happening outside of the MLB season doesn’t reduce its importance to Lindor and players like him, who take competing in it no less seriously than they would the World Series.
But what else should we expect from this league of owners? They contorted themselves to give the Dodgers, of all teams, a more favorable financial situation with local TV revenue following former owner Frank McCourt’s bankrupting ways. And yet, while being cheap with revenue sharing, MLB owners still won’t take steps to regulate minimum spending standards. Owners of smaller-market teams like the Cleveland Guardians and Pittsburgh Pirates take advantage by pocketing the money, and their fans lose. Congratulations — on your tremendous savings.
Instead of just encouraging the league to be competitive in the standings, MLB owners circle their Gucci wagons and talk about greedy players who need to be restrained with a salary cap. No matter that players already get a smaller share of the pie than the owners, and that salaries have been dragging, in relation to inflation, for 20 years. Ah, who else can’t wait for the upcoming reports on collective bargaining talks? More fun than arguing over insurance claims.
MLB owners still have time to do the right thing by pooling some (some!) of their formidable resources for Puerto Rico and anyone else denied because of WBC insurance. The integrity of the entire tournament is at stake. The decimation of Puerto Rico’s roster matters not only to one team and country, but to all who participate.
Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan hosts pool play in the WBC from March 6–11. Cuba, Panama, Colombia and Canada also are scheduled in Puerto Rico. Fans have bought tickets to see P.R. play them all. Puerto Rico’s best team should play if possible.
It is possible — if MLB does the right thing and shares.
Sports
Chicago Bulls Still Aren’t Contenders But They’re Finally Fun Again
Oct 29, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) drives to the basket against Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Chicago Bulls have been a play-in staple the last few years. From a lack of free agency moves, insignificant trades, and hit-and-miss draft picks, it doesn’t feel like the Bulls are doing a ton to change their image. Jerry Reinsdorf is one of the cheapest owners in sports, and as long as the Bulls continue to fill the United Center, I’m not sure a lot will change.
Fortunately, things have been a little better in Chicago this season. I don’t blame you if you haven’t kept up with the Bulls. They’re the 9 seed in a bad Eastern Conference, and their roster feels quite poorly constructed. They’ve got a plethora of guards to choose from, but lack size at both the forward and center positions.
Speaking of undersized players, the Bulls have recently added the shortest player in the NBA to their rotation due to injuries. Japanese sensation Yuki Kawamura stands at only 5’8” but is one of the most fun players to watch in the league. Had been in the G-League most of this season, but made his mark in his first piece of game action in 2026.
Yuki was hitting jumpers, causing havoc, and becoming the smallest player in NBA history to win a jump ball. I think he’s a perfectly symbozlies everything that is fun about the Bulls this year.
When he’s been healthy, Coby White continues to be one of the most underrated guards. When he’s been able to run the point for the Bulls, they’ve been one of the most efficient offenses around. When White is playing, the Bulls have a +7.8 plus/minus rating, an 88th-percentile points-per-possession rating, a 97th-percentile eFG%, and a 90th-percentile TOV%. Simply put, the Bulls are an elite offense when Coby White is active.
Matas Buzelis has also taken a leap forward offensively for the Bulls this season. Everyone knew Buzelis was going to be a bit of a project when Chicago drafted him last season. Fortunately, he’s already ahead of schedule on offensive development this year. He’s nearly doubled his points per-game, while becoming even more efficient from the field.
Nobody had Buzelis as much of a shooting threat while playing for the G-League Ignite. He shot just 26% from deep in his two years with the Ignite, but now he is shooting nearly 37% from deep on over 5 attempts a night. All of this while still delivering as promised on the defensive side of things.
The Bulls also have players like Josh Giddey and Ayo Dosunmu, who have had to increase their offensive roles and have seen comparable increases in production. Dosunmu becoming a 45% threat from beyond the arc has given the Bulls so much more to work with. He’s either increased his trade value or made other guards on the team that much more expendable.
Chicago won’t be playing for a title this year, but they’ve put together a core that is one of the most fun to watch as a fan of the league. Hopefully, they can add a true star to this core because they have a lot of young guys who thrive as solid role players.
Collin Gillespie pours in 30 as Suns shoot past Trail Blazers
NYT Strands hints, answers for February 4, 2026
