Sports
Starter Christian Scott, a bright spot for struggling Mets, faces test vs. Brewers
Jul 16, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets pitcher Christian Scott (45) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images A lost season thus far for the New York Mets has at least unearthed possible future rotation mainstays Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton.
Scott will look to follow in the footsteps of his fellow youngsters on Wednesday afternoon, when he takes the mound for the visiting Mets in the rubber game of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Scott (3-1, 2.87 ERA) will oppose fellow right-hander Logan Henderson (3-1, 2.97).
Thornton earned his first major league win Tuesday night, when he allowed three hits over six innings as the Mets earned a 4-0 victory over the Brewers.
Thornton, McLean and Scott have been rare bright spots for the Mets, who are in last place in the Nationals League East and 9 1/2 games out of the final NL playoff spot.
Thornton has thrown 18 straight scoreless innings dating to June 26 and has a 1.93 ERA in his first four starts. McLean, the only pitcher among the trio to open the season with the Mets, has allowed more than two earned runs just once in his last nine starts.
Scott, who returned this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2024, has thrown 10 2/3 scoreless innings over his last two outings and has yet to surrender more than four earned runs in any of his 22 big league starts.
Overall this season, the three pitchers are a combined 11-8 with a 3.03 ERA in 37 starts.
“I’ve always wanted to help this team win ballgames,” Thornton said. “It’s always been my number one thing as a baseball player, not my personal accolades or anything like that.”
The Brewers entered Tuesday with the best record in baseball but slipped a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in that category following a rare shutout defeat. Milwaukee was blanked for just the fourth time this season and the first time since suffering a 1-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants on June 3.
The Brewers were limited to four hits by Thornton and a trio of relievers Tuesday, though they also had 12 flyouts — including seven against Thornton, whose shutout was preserved when A.J. Ewing ended the sixth by turning around on the left-field warning track and catching Brice Turang’s fly ball to rob the second baseman of a two-run, extra-base hit.
“We did have some balls hit hard, but they don’t count,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “You’ve got to hit them on a line and you’ve got to hit them where they’re not standing.”
Scott earned the win in his most recent start last Thursday, when he tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings as the Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1.
Henderson didn’t factor into the decision on Friday after allowing one run over five innings in the Brewers’ 2-1, 10-inning victory over the Miami Marlins.
Scott has never faced the Brewers, and Henderson has never opposed the Mets.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Duke-Michigan game canceled over broadcast dispute
Mar 29, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer talks to a referee against the UConn Huskies in the first half during an Elite Eight game of the East Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images A blockbuster nonconference game between national champion Michigan and Duke, scheduled for Dec. 21, has been canceled, multiple outlets reported Friday.
The game was set to be played at Madison Square Garden and streamed on Prime Video as part of a three-game agreement with the Blue Devils. Instead, Duke will meet Texas Tech in New York, with the game remaining on Prime.
The Michigan-Duke matchup had been a question mark for about three months, with the Big Ten — backed by Fox Sports — contending it owned the broadcast rights, in part based on the game location. ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference already had given approval for the transfer to Prime Video, which is taking its first steps into the live streaming of college sports with the Duke games.
An effort to move the game to the Miami Marlins’ stadium — chosen, in part, because the venue is outside of a geographic area that the Big Ten could call neutral territory — did not pan out, forcing the cancellation.
The cancellation and rescheduling had not been announced as of Friday morning by Duke, Michigan or Texas Tech.
Amazon’s first foray into broadcasting live college sports also will feature the Blue Devils’ games against UConn on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas and Gonzaga on Feb. 20 in Detroit.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Panthers place LB Nic Scourton (knee) on season-ending IR
Nov 16, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Nic Scourton (11) reacts after a play in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Scourton’s season is over before it began.
The Panthers placed Scourton on injured reserve on Friday, one day after he injured his right knee on a wet field during the team’s first practice of training camp.
Multiple media outlets reported Scourton sustained a torn ACL. The Panthers did not confirm as much, however the move to season-ending injured reserve indicates the injury is severe.
Scourton, who is seeking a second opinion, appeared to know the severity of the injury immediately on Thursday in an emotional scene on the field.
Scourton, 21, was in tears and shielded his face from cameras as the cart pulled away from the field. Before the cart departed, the entire team and head coach Dave Canales had a moment with him as practice was halted for the day.
In just his second season, Scourton was penciled in to start on the opposite side of Jaelan Phillips, acquired as a free agent in the offseason. As a rookie, Scourton appeared in 17 games (eight starts) and tallied 47 tackles (seven for loss), a team high-tying five sacks and a forced fumble.
Veteran Patrick Jones II and Princely Umanmielen, in his second season, could see game time in his absence.
Also on Friday, the Panthers signed 2026 UFL Defensive Player of the Year Cam Gill and offensive tackle Derrell Bailey and waived guard Joshua Gray.
Gill, 28, recorded 10 sacks in the regular season for Louisville this spring. He also won Super Bowl LV with Tampa Bay and notched 51 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks in 50 career games with the Buccaneers (2020-21, 2023) and Panthers (2024).
Bailey went undrafted out of Georgia State this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WNBA All-Star Weekend Best Bets: Caitlin Clark, Marina Mabrey and More
Jul 19, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Connecticut Sun player Marina Mabrey participates in the 3-point contest during the WNBA All-Star Skills Night at the Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports The 30th WNBA All-Star Game tips off at the United Center in Chicago at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
Festivities for the league’s pearl-anniversary All-Star weekend begin a little more than a day earlier, though, with the 3-Point Contest highlighting the events set for adjacent Wintrust Arena beginning at 8 tonight.
Well, adjacent in the major-city sense; the venues stand about five miles apart.
As a batch of “W” standouts aims to connect with their surroundings before a growing fanbase, what would be better than wagering on the proceedings?
Caitlin Clark in the 3-Point Contest, you say? Hey, maybe next year.
Odds are via BetMGM.
3-POINT CONTEST
The All-Star host Chicago Sky play their home games at Wintrust but graced the UC twice last season for the first WNBA contests in arena history.
Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey had moved on from the Sky by then but still is no stranger to Wintrust. She even helped Notre Dame capture the NCAA Women’s Tournament Chicago Regional there on the way to a national runner-up finish in 2018-19.
Mabrey enters the All-Star break as the league leader in made 3s (82). She’s about one month removed from drilling nine 3s while tying the league single-game scoring record of 53 points. That came six days after hitting nine more.
Although Mabrey stumbled to a 1-for-8 effort from deep during the Tempo’s first-half finale Monday, expect her to recalibrate her touch in familiar digs to start her first All-Star appearance in style.
Marina Mabrey to reach 3-Point Contest final (+150)
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GAME MVP
Multiple teams shifted games against the Indiana Fever to larger arenas last season to accommodate a clamoring to see Clark, a transcendent star and the top pick in the 2024 Draft.
Injuries kept her from both contests at United Center, however. And no, there weren’t any dustups about the Fever’s injury-report designations.
Saturday marks a showcase event for the league, of course, but it could also serve as a dress rehearsal for Clark ahead of Indiana’s scheduled return to UC on Aug. 8.
Clark has navigated a balky back at times this season but otherwise is enjoying good health. She’s tied for fourth with Mabrey for the league scoring lead (21 points per game) and has the second-highest assists-per-game average at 7.9.
Clark recorded the first 40-point, 10-assist game in “W” history on July 17. See her shoot, pass and rise above the persistent social-media noise to set the tone Saturday night.
Caitlin Clark to win All-Star Game MVP (+600)
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GAME TOTALS
The WNBA All-Star Game shifted from the traditional East vs. West format in 2018. That included the 2022 game at Wintrust, in which a team captained by A’ja Wilson defeated one led by Breanna Stewart 134-112.
The game has featured at least 270 combined points twice in the three seasons since. The outlier came in 2024, when the WNBA stars edged their counterparts from the U.S. Women’s National Team 117-109.
With no Olympic-snub tension attached to Team Cynthia Cooper vs. Team Teresa Witherspoon, all signs point to another scorefest.
All-Star Game over 274.5 points (-114)
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