Sports
Streaking Hornets see opportunity against lowly Kings
Mar 19, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) smiles as he dribbles the ball during the first quarter against the Orlando Magic at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images The Charlotte Hornets have made some big strides lately to put themselves in position for a postseason spot.
So they can’t afford to miss the opportunity presented to them Tuesday night when the lowly Sacramento Kings visit.
“There is no guarantees,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “It doesn’t matter what the outside noise and expectations may be. That’s why you’ve got to go out, you’ve got to execute. You have to have the appropriate respect for your opponent.”
The Hornets are 3-0 on a seven-game homestand. Their last game was Saturday night’s 124-101 trouncing of the Memphis Grizzlies, their third straight romp by at least a 19-point margin.
Charlotte (37-34) has won five of its last six games, with nearly double the number of victories this season held by the Kings (19-53). With 11 games left, the game against Sacramento will be one of three remaining outings against teams with sub-.500 records for the Hornets.
LaMelo Ball posted 30 points less than two weeks ago in Charlotte’s 117-109 victory at Sacramento. That’s one of four games in the Hornets’ last seven that the guard has led the team in scoring.
But his impact is growing in other directions.
“Him on the defensive side, nobody really talks about,” teammate Brandon Miller said. “Everybody always looks at the one-leg 3s, the flashy moves and lobs. One thing that separates him this season is the defensive effort and the competitor that he is.”
The Kings put up 41 points in the fourth quarter and beat visiting Brooklyn 126-122 on Sunday. Malik Monk, a former Hornet, led Sacramento with a season-high 32 points.
“You see a performance like that from him, it’s not surprising at all,” Kings guard DeMar DeRozan said.
Monk made an impressive return after sustaining a shoulder injury Thursday that put him out for the rest of that game.
Now questions have surfaced about Nique Clifford after he limped off the court Sunday with a left ankle injury.
“It seems like every day, every other game somebody (is) getting hurt,” DeRozan said. “Playing with eight, nine (guys), just trying to string it together and get something out of the games we’re playing.”
It has been a rough season for the Kings, but they’ve won five of their last eight games. They’ll begin a five-game road trip in Charlotte.
“It definitely lifts the mood of everybody seeing a few wins lately,” Monk said.
Kings coach Doug Christie said there are still things to accomplish.
“The competitiveness is really what we’re looking for,” Christie said. “It’s all about playing the right way.”
Kings center Maxime Raynaud has made impacts in his debut season. He’s averaging 11.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game but has been overshadowed in rookie conversations by Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel, among others.
The Hornets have been benefiting from certain matchups in the post regardless of who’s on the court. Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner have provided that flexibility.
“It makes us super versatile,” Lee said. “It’s nice when in different situations we can switch off ball screens, knowing we have so many like-sized guys.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Union Prez: WNBA players nearly unanimous yes on CBA
Sep 9, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike (3) shoots the ball against the Golden State Valkyries during the first half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images The WNBA labor dispute moved one step closer to a final resolution with players voting to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement with the league, according to the players’ union president on ESPN’s “First Take” on Monday.
Women’s National Basketball Players Association president Nneka Ogwumike said the results of the ratification vote were a near-unanimous yes with 90% of players taking part in the voting.
The CBA will now go back to the league for its approval.
The league, in partnership with the Players Association, officially announced on Friday that a seven-year CBA had been agreed upon.
The agreement will run through the 2032 season.
The revenue-sharing deal will increase the average salary to $583,000 this season and the maximum salary to $1.4 million, while providing over $1 billion in salaries and benefits over the contract.
“This Collective Bargaining Agreement represents a defining moment in the WNBA’s 30-year history and all of women’s professional sports,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Friday in a news release. “Since its inception, the WNBA has been shaped by extraordinary athletes who believed in the league’s future. The agreement is a testament to that belief and to the tremendous progress we have achieved together.”
The salary increases represent a significant jump for WNBA players. Team salary caps will be $7 million this season — a huge leap from $1.5 million in 2025 — and will be adjusted annually based on teams and league revenue growth.
The deal projects the maximum salary to reach $2.4 million by 2032, and the average salary to surpass $1 million by then.
The minimum salary this season will range from $270,000 to $300,000, depending on service time. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft will earn approximately $500,000.
“We’ve always believed that as this league grows, the players who power it must grow with it, and we’re proud to see that belief shared,” Ogwumike, the league MVP in 2016, said Friday. “We love this game enough to push for what it can become, not just for ourselves, but for those who built this league and those who will carry it forward.
“This agreement reflects that shared commitment, with players owning their value and future alongside a league growing stronger because of it.”
The players have been without a collective bargaining agreement since they opted out of their existing agreement in October 2024, a year before its Oct. 31, 2025, expiration.
All players on the WNBA championship team will receive $60,000 — the payout was $22,908 in 2025 — and the runner-ups will receive $20,000 (up from $8,521). The WNBA Finals MVP will get a $30,000 bonus (up from $5,000).
The season MVP will receive a $60,000 bonus, the Defensive Player of the Year will get $30,000 and the Rookie of the Year will receive $15,000.
The All-Star Game MVP will receive $20,000.
The length of the regular season will increase to 50 games in 2027 and 2028 and 52 from 2029-32.
The WNBA Draft is slated for April 13 with training camps opening six days later.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bipartisan bill aims to ban sports on prediction markets
President Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Cali on his final day as president on Jan. 20, 2025. A bipartisan bill proposed on Monday seeks to block prediction markets from offering wagers on sporting events.
The legislation would restrict platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket and other entities registered with the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission from listing or making available any “agreement, contract, or transaction relating to any sporting event or athletic competition.” It would also bar similar contracts for casino-style games like blackjack and poker.
U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) introduced the bill to amend the Commodity Exchange Act.
While traditional sports gambling falls under state regulation, prediction markets use a different trading mechanism that falls under federal oversight.
“Sports prediction contracts are sports bets — just with a different name,” Schiff said in a statement. “These contracts are currently offered in all fifty states in clear violation of state and federal law.
“It’s time for Congress to step in and eliminate this backdoor which violates state consumer protections, intrudes upon tribal sovereignty, and offers no public revenue.”
Curtis said the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act is designed to respect states’ authority, protect families and keep “speculative financial products out of spaces where they don’t belong.”
“Too many young people in Utah are getting exposed to addictive sports betting and casino-style gaming contracts that belong under state control, not under federal regulators,” Curtis said in a statement.
Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana countered in a statement that federally regulated prediction markets “offer a fairer choice to consumers, with no house that restricts winners and hooks people the more they lose.”
“Banning sports on regulated prediction markets would just push this behavior offshore, where no regulation exists,” Diana said, per Front Office Sports. “It’s clear this bill is motivated by casino interests that are threatened by competition. They’re more worried about protecting their monopolies than protecting consumers.”
Prediction markets recently have soared in popularity in the U.S., with more than $1.2 billion in total trading on the day of last month’s Super Bowl, according to NBC News.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Zinedine Zidane to take over as France coach this summer
Jul 26, 2024; Paris, FRANCE; Zinedine Zidane during the Opening Ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games along the Seine River. Mandatory Credit: Andrew P. Scott-Imagn Images French soccer icon Zinedine Zidane has agreed to take over his national team’s head coaching duties following this summer’s FIFA World Cup, ESPN reported Monday.
Zidane, 53, reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the Federation Francaise de Football to replace Didier Deschamps, who has held the role since 2012.
Zidane, who managed La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid for two stints (2016-18, 2019-21), has long been expected to eventually become the skipper for France.
As a player, the dynamic midfielder won the 1998 Ballon d’Or and was a three-time FIFA World Player of the Year (1998, 2000 and 2003). He helped France win the World Cup in 1998 and finish second in 2006. He was infamously sent off during the final of the latter World Cup when he headbutted Italy’s Marco Materazzi in the chest.
–Field Level Media
Union Prez: WNBA players nearly unanimous yes on CBA
Bipartisan bill aims to ban sports on prediction markets
