Sports
Suffocating defenses clash as No. 6 UConn meets Seton Hall
Feb 25, 2026; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Tarris Reed Jr. (5) reacts after a basket against the St. John’s Red Storm in the second half at PeoplesBank Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images Tarris Reed Jr. and No. 6 UConn will continue their quest to win the Big East regular season championship when they face visiting Seton Hall on Saturday.
UConn (26-3, 16-2 Big East) moved into sole possession of first place with a suffocating defensive effort in Wednesday night’s 72-40 rout of No. 15 St. John’s. The Red Storm shot 11 of 56 from the field and didn’t have a field goal in the final 17:28 of the second half.
“It just starts snowballing on you when you have a night like this,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “Obviously, we played really good defense on them, and I thought we demoralized them a little bit when the score gets where the score got. And I just think it was one of those nights where everything went great for us and everything went wrong for them. But we did a lot to make that happen.”
The victory moved the Huskies a half-game ahead of St. John’s at the top of the Big East standings. After Saturday’s matchup with Seton Hall (19-9, 9-8), UConn will wrap up the regular season with a game at Marquette on March 7.
Reed was the star against St. John’s. He finished the game with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added 11 rebounds, six blocks, three assists and two steals.
“(That) performance was as good as a center’s played for us in a game,” Hurley said. “The thing with Tarris is he can repeat that. And if he repeats that, we’re not going to lose many more games the rest of the way. And it’s repeatable what he was doing. He wasn’t hitting, like, fadeaway, dream-shake shots. He was just a guy with a presence at the rim as a deterrent. And his ball-screen defense and his rebounding, his post position and his passing out of traps — if he does that, this team’s going to have a great rest of the way.”
Seton Hall ranks last in the Big East in scoring (70.4 points per game) and 3-point field goal percentage (30.3%). Adam Clark is averaging a team-high 12.5 points.
Defense has been Seton Hall’s strength. The Pirates have held their opponent to fewer than 70 points in 22 of 28 games. Seton Hall has allowed 65 points or fewer in 14 games.
“Our defense is part of our identity,” forward Najai Hines said.
Despite missing all 18 of its 3-point attempts, Seton Hall beat Georgetown 51-47 Saturday, when the Pirates last played.
“We dug deep,” Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said. “Made plays when we needed to make them. Found a way to win the game. We need the rest.”
Reed scored 21 points when UConn earned a 69-64 road victory at Seton Hall on Jan. 13.
The Huskies led by 18 in the second half. Seton Hall pulled within one point on Mike Williams’ 3-pointer with 48 seconds left.
The Huskies didn’t have a field goal for the final 5:40 of the game, but Silas Demary Jr. gave them some breathing room by making four free throws in the last 29 seconds.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images Lions running back David Montgomery “wants out” of Detroit after three seasons, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Montgomery, however, immediately appeared to refute the report on X, posting: “Damn, Dmo told you that?”
The ESPN report claims the Lions would want “a decent Day 3 pick (possibly a fifth-rounder)” in the 2026 NFL Draft in return for Montgomery, who turns 29 in June and is owed $6 million next season.
The report follows general manager Brad Holmes’ remarks after the season about Montgomery being unhappy with his playing time in 2025. Sharing a backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs, Montgomery rushed for a career-low 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games (no starts).
“Those are conversations that we’re going to have to have because I’ve got a lot of respect for that player,” Holmes said of Montgomery in January. “He deserves to be in a situation where his skillset can be utilized, and so yeah would love for it to be here, but if it can’t be here then you’d just love to see where could work out best for him.”
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, Holmes said the situation with Montgomery is “fluid.” He signed a two-year extension during the 2024 season that runs through the end of the 2027 campaign.
“Yeah, I have been in touch with David’s agent, and his representation,” Holmes revealed. “Obviously, we love David, he’s a great player, we love to have him, you know, kind of want to put last year in the rear view, and just move forward. But, obviously, a player has to want to be at a certain place as well. The conversations are still fluid, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Montgomery has rushed for 2,506 yards and 33 touchdowns in 45 games (28 starts) in three seasons with Detroit (2023-25). He has 76 catches for 650 yards in that span.
He began his career with the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the third round in 2019. Montgomery rushed for 3,609 yards and 26 scores in 60 games (51 starts) with the Bears (2019-22).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees LHP Ryan Yarbrough joins U.S. roster for WBC
Jun 18, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough (33) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images New York Yankees left-hander Ryan Yarbrough was added to the Team USA roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic on Sunday.
The 34-year-old reliever replaces Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who is dealing with low back tightness. Ryan moves into the designated pitcher pool, meaning he is eligible for a call-up after each round of the WBC.
Yarbrough went 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA and one save in 19 games (eight starts) during his first season with the Yankees in 2025, striking out 55 batters and walking 19 in 64 innings.
Ryan Yarbrough has been added to our roster for the World Baseball Classic!#ForGlory???? pic.twitter.com/RrtKJQ20gz
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) March 1, 2026
Team USA will play its first game of the 2026 WBC on Friday night, meeting Brazil in a Pool B contest in Houston.
Yarbrough has a career record of 56-41 with a 4.22 ERA and four saves in 215 games (76 starts) with the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-22), Kansas City Royals (2023), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023-24), Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Yankees. The side-arming southpaw signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal in November to return to New York in 2026.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ex-pitcher Dan Serafini gets life sentence for '21 murder
Dan Serafini (file photo) pitched in MLB with seven teams. He was convited of first-degree murder. Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday for the 2021 shootings of his in-laws in North Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of the first-degree murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted first-degree murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood during a burglary. Spohr, 70, died from a single gunshot and Wood, then 68, survived but died by suicide the following year.
In the courtroom on Friday in Auburn, Calif., Placer County prosecutor Morgan Gire described Spohr and Wood as loving grandparents.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence,” Gire said.
Serafini, who pitched for six MLB teams from 1996 to 2007, addressed the court and maintained his innocence. He said he was out partying with his wife, Erin Spohr, at the time of the shooting and referred to himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes,” according to MyNews4.
The Minnesota Twins selected Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB Draft. He made his debut in 1996 and went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.
He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263 2/3 innings and struck out 127 batters.
–Field Level Media
Report: RB David Montgomery 'wants out' of Detroit
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