Sports
Surprising Saints hunting 3-0 start vs. Eagles
Sep 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws during the first half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Arguably no team has been a bigger surprise during the first two weeks of the NFL season than the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints (2-0) are one of nine undefeated teams as they prepare to host the Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) on Sunday afternoon.
Expectations for New Orleans (9-8 last season), which has missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons, were average at best before the current campaign started.
The Saints have defied the doubters so far with a 47-10 home win over the Carolina Panthers and a 44-19 road rout of the Dallas Cowboys.
“I think everybody took offense to how we were viewed, on the outside and in our own city,” New Orleans third-year head coach Dennis Allen said. “And rightfully so. We haven’t performed the way that I think we’re capable of and so it was really incumbent on us to make some changes and play better and that’s what we’re in the process of doing.”
Saints quarterback Derek Carr and the offense have thrived under first-year coordinator Klint Kubiak. New Orleans leads the NFL in scoring with 91 points, 22 more than the next closest team, the Arizona Cardinals.
Carr paces the league in passer rating (142.4) and running back Alvin Kamara is tops in scoring (five touchdowns) and yards from scrimmage (290).
The Saints’ defense has more than held its own, ranking fourth in scoring (14.5 points allowed per game), tied for fourth in yards allowed per play (4.5) and seventh in total yards allowed (273 per game).
“The focus for us is let’s not start patting ourselves on the back,” Allen said. “The focus for us is how are we going to improve because this is a long season and we’re only two games into it.”
While Allen is trying to prevent his players from feeling overconfident after just two games, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is trying to keep his team from dwelling on a lost opportunity in its last contest against the visiting Atlanta Falcons.
Philadelphia had a chance to take a two-score lead with less than two minutes remaining, but running back Saquon Barkley dropped a third-down pass. The Eagles settled for a field goal and a six-point lead, and Atlanta needed just 65 seconds to score the winning touchdown in a 22-21 victory.
“My whole thing is, OK, we’ve got some adversity right now, but let’s have the right mindset and work hard and prepare the right way,” Sirianni said. “Have a positive mindset and know you’re going to get better from the things that you went through.
“What is in the past is in the past, and we can’t change that, but you can control your daily habits and the way you approach your process and put yourself in position to win the next game.”
The dropped pass marred what has otherwise been a strong start to Barkley’s first season in Philadelphia. The former New York Giant is seventh in yards from scrimmage (248) and has scored three touchdowns.
This will be the Eagles’ first Sunday game of the young season. They held off the Green Bay Packers, 34-29, on Sept. 6 in San Paolo, Brazil, then played their home opener on Monday night.
Philadelphia wide receiver A.J. Brown (hamstring), who did not play against the Falcons, didn’t participate in the team’s walk-through Wednesday and he has said he expects to miss multiple games.
New Orleans tight end Taysom Hill (chest) missed practice Wednesday and cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) was limited.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Orioles place C Adley Rutschman on 7-day concussion list
Jun 18, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Adley Rutschman (35) walks to the clubhouse after being struck in the head by an errant throw while running out a ground ball against the Seattle Mariners during the ninth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images The Baltimore Orioles placed catcher Adley Rutschman on the seven-day concussion list on Saturday after he was injured on an unusual play on Thursday against the Seattle Mariners.
The move, which is retroactive to Friday, came after Rutschman was hit on the left ear while running to first base on a grounder in the ninth inning. Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson was trying to complete a double play and threw the ball inside second base at close range. Rutschman came out of the game and host Seattle went on to win 3-0.
Rutschman, 28, missed Friday’s 6-5 loss to the Dodgers as well as Saturday’s game in Los Angeles.
“Obviously, it sucks for Adley,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “Especially with concussions and head injuries, it’s tough, and especially the position he plays, with the constant foul tips and balls in the dirt and backswings, plays at the plate. So right now, Rutsch is on the concussion IL and we’ll kind of take it day by day and see where he’s at.”
Rutschman also was on the 10-day IL from April 11-21 due to left ankle inflammation. He is hitting .254 with 15 doubles, eight home runs, 40 RBIs and has a .787 OPS in 54 games.
For his career, Rutschman is batting .254 with 69 homers and 270 RBIs in 559 games. Baltimore selected him first overall in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Oregon State.
In a corresponding move on Saturday, the Orioles recalled outfielder Michael Siani from Triple-A Norfolk.
Siani, 26, has hit .221 (76-for-344) with two homers and 20 RBIs in 160 games over parts of four seasons for the Cincinnati Reds (2022-23) and St. Louis Cardinals (2023-25).
He hit a combined .185 (25-for-135) in 44 games this season for Triple-A Oklahoma City (Dodgers affiliate) and Norfolk (Orioles).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wings rally from 15 down in fourth quarter to stun Sky
Jun 20, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) and Chicago Sky guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) battle for the loose ball during the first half at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Li Yueru converted the deciding free throws with 12.5 seconds left as the Dallas Wings put everything together in the fourth quarter to produce a wild, come-from-behind 93-92 win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
Dallas’ 36 points in the fourth quarter resulted in its highest-scoring period of the season, and the Wings (10-6) needed every one of them to beat Chicago, which dropped its fifth straight game.
Chicago led by 17 points late in the third quarter but the Wings rallied in the fourth, drawing to within 81-80 on a pair of Jessica Shepard free throws with 3:21 to play. Paige Bueckers’ layup with 1:35 left tied the game at 86 before Sydney Taylor poured in a 3-pointer with 1:26 remaining to put Chicago up 89-86.
Skylar Diggins had a steal that resulted in her two free throws with 35.7 seconds left to push the Sky’s advantage to six points. A free throw by Azzi Fudd and then a four-point play from Bueckers got Dallas to within one, and Chicago turned over the ball with 29.8 seconds to play.
Kamilla Cardoso then fouled Yueru, who made both free throws to give the Wings their first lead of the game. Chicago’s Jacy Sheldon then missed a short jumper with three seconds left, and Azura Stevens’ putback layup just before the buzzer glanced off the rim and away, allowing Dallas to walk off with the unlikely victory.
Shepard led the Wings with 21 points, with Bueckers adding 19, Fudd scoring 13 and Arike Ogunbowale hitting for 12 points.
Cardoso’s season-high 26 points led all scorers. Taylor added 18 for the Sky (4-11), while Diggins had 14 and Natasha Cloud tallied 10. Stevens led all players with 11 rebounds.
The Sky dominated the first quarter, going up 25-13 after a running jumper by Gabriela Jaquez at the 2:24 mark before carrying a 28-16 lead after 10 minutes of play. Dallas eventually pulled to within a point and missed on multiple chances to take the lead before the Sky swung back as Cloud’s left-handed layup with 5.7 seconds left allowed Chicago to take a 43-38 advantage into the break.
Cardoso led all scorers with 14 points at halftime, while Maddy Siegrist paced Dallas with eight points off the bench in the first half.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Flyweight Manel Kape continues successful run at UFC Fight Night
Dec 14, 2024; Tampa, Florida, UNITED STATES; Manel Kape (red gloves) reacts during he fight against Bruno Silva (blue gloves) at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Flyweight Manel Kape stopped Kyoji Horiguchi in the third round for his fourth straight victory on Saturday night in the UFC Fight Night main event in Las Vegas.
Kape’s TKO at 2:42 in the third of five scheduled rounds marked a transition period in a division whose champion, Joshua Van, successfully defended his title for the first time last month at UFC 328.
Kape (23-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC), a native of Angola fighting out of Portugal, exacted revenge against Japan’s Horiguchi (36-6, 1 NC MMA) from their 2017 bout in RIZIN, when Kape suffered one of only two submission losses in his career.
Kape paid respects to Horiguchi, recognizing that without him, his path to a potential title shot would look a little different, as he faced adversity in both fights.
Kape did make one thing clear, though.
“I knew he was going to touch me at some point,” Kape said after the fight about Horiguchi. “Because I felt his hand (speed) before. But, if I touch you one time — believe me — you’re gonna be dead.”
Kape, who has won seven of his last eight bouts, said he doesn’t know if he’ll get a title shot against Van immediately but was gracious toward UFC brass, including CEO Dana White.
The co-main event featured a pair of surging light heavyweights in New Zealand’s Navajo Stirling and Ion Cutelaba of Moldova.
After surviving five takedowns and a few potentially fight-ending submission sequences, including a standing guillotine, Stirling railed to secure a brutal TKO against Cutelaba at 3:23 of Round 2.
Since making his promotional debut in 2024, Stirling (10-0 MMA) is 5-0 in the UFC with back-to-back finishes and 10 straight victories.
Cutelaba (20-12-1), on the contrary, is 3-3 in his last six UFC fights, having been a fringe top-15 contender in the division and remaining part of the promotion since 2016.
The finishes kept coming in a trio of featherweight bouts, as Christian Rodriguez’s first-round head-kick marked the beginning of the end for Hyder Amil of the Philippines.
At 3:43 of the round, Rodriguez (13-4) successfully found an opening to secure a guillotine choke following the kick, after much of the fight was spent on the feet. The American has won four of his last seven, while Amil (11-3) fell to 3-3 in the promotion after three straight losses.
Featherweight Murtazali Magomedov added his name to the UFC history books with a modified twister submission 1:17 into the opening round against the usually durable Melsik Baghdasaryan.
Since the UFC’s inception in November 1993, only three other fighters have successfully executed the combined version of a neck crank and a spinal lock: Chan Sung Jung (2011), Bryce Mitchell (2019) and Da’Mon Blackshear (2023).
Magomedov (11-0 MMA) of Kyrgyzstan was making his UFC debut, while Armenia’s Baghdasaryan (8-4 MMA) has dropped two in a row and three of his last four.
The UFC Vegas 119 main card kicked off with Brazilian featherweight Vinicius Oliveira securing a second-round TKO (4:56) against Andre Fili of the United States to secure his fifth win in his last six outings.
Oliveira (24-4 MMA) now has two UFC wins by KO/TKO, marking the 19th finish of his career. Meanwhile, Fili (25-14, 1 NC MMA) fell to .500 in the UFC (13-13) since 2013.
The UFC caps off June with a trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, next Saturday for the second straight year.
–Field Level Media
Orioles place C Adley Rutschman on 7-day concussion list
Wings rally from 15 down in fourth quarter to stun Sky
