Sports
Union reacquire star D Kai Wagner
Oct 4, 2025; Chester, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Union defender Kai Wagner (27) lifts the 2025 MLS Supporters’ Shield after the game against New York City FC at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Three-time MLS All-Star defender Kai Wagner returned to the Philadelphia Union on Friday, being acquired via transfer from Birmingham City FC.
Philadelphia also sent $100,000 in General Allocation Money to Sporting Kansas City to swap spots in the waiver order, landing the No. 1 position to claim Wagner in exchange for the No. 22 spot.
Wagner spent seven seasons with Philadelphia (2019-25) prior to the seven-month stint with Birmingham FC. He had three assists in 18 matches across all competitions for Birmingham.
“Coming back to Philadelphia feels incredibly meaningful for me and my family. Over the years, this city has become our home, and returning was a decision that came from the heart,” Wagner said in a news release. “My time away gave me the opportunity to experience a new challenge, but it also reinforced how much this club, this city, and our supporters mean to me.
“There’s something special about representing the Union and playing in front of our fans. I believe in what this club stands for, its culture, ambition, and commitment to competing at the highest level. I’m excited to be back, and grateful for the opportunity to help write the next chapter.”
Wagner is a two-time MLS Best XI pick and helped Philadelphia win two Supporters’ Shield awards for best regular-season record (2020, 2025). He was also a stalwart on the 2022 squad which lost to Los Angeles FC in the MLS Cup Final.
Wagner holds the franchise record of 63 assists. He has eight goals in 204 regular-season matches.
In 2025, he had two goals and 11 assists in 32 matches and anchored a defense that gave up an MLS-low 35 goals and registered 14 clean sheets.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Kai back to Philadelphia. He’s been an integral part of this club’s success and has consistently established himself as one of the top left backs in Major League Soccer,” Philadelphia sporting director Jon Scheer said. “Kai understands what this club represents, what our supporters expect, and the standards we hold ourselves to every day. We’re confident he’ll make an immediate impact this season as we pursue our goals and be an important part of our club’s future.”
The Union (1-10-4, 7 points) are struggling with the fewest points in the league. They resume play after the nearly two-month international break for the World Cup on Wednesday when they host the New York Red Bulls.
–Field Level Media
Sports
The Defending Champion Knicks Must Navigate a Delicate Offseason
Next season waits for no one, not even a team that’s waited 53 years to once again call itself a world champion.
Thus, even before the most boisterous parade in New York City history Thursday afternoon, the composition of the defending champion Knicks (it is going to take a while to get used to that three-word phrase) was called into question by none other than owner James Dolan.
“If we could bring back the whole team exactly as it is, why wouldn’t you?” Dolan said on WFAN last month. “But I don’t know if we’re going to be able to.
“We’re willing to stretch, but there’s certain things in the NBA that you have to be suicidal to do. And we’re not going to do those. One of those is called the second apron. Cannot go on to the second apron.”
On one hand, it was classic Dolan, raining on the parade before it even began and reminding us all every time he speaks publicly why he so rarely speaks publicly.
On the other, again, the calendar isn’t pausing for the Knicks even as they enjoy long-awaited and much-deserved victory laps. So Dolan may as well have said the quiet part out loud, because the reality of constructing next year’s team must be confronted at some point sooner than later.
If ever a team earned the opportunity to try and run it back, future costs be damned, it’s these Knicks, fresh off a generational championship. And they are as well-positioned as possible to become the NBA’s first repeat winner since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors.
No matter what Vegas thinks, nobody should be betting against the team that authored two of the most incredible single-game comebacks in NBA playoff history on its way to the most dominant postseason run of all-time in terms of point differential.
All five starters are under contract through next year while Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart have player and team options, respectively, for 2027-28.
Things are far less clear when it comes to keeping together the rest of the Knicks’ rotation. Two of their top three reserves — guards Jose Alvarado and Landry Shamet — were free agents who opted to return. The one rotation piece that needed to be replaced after he left in free agency was center Mitchell Robinson.
It was asking a lot to bring all three back, even if team president Leon Rose can convince Dolan to forget about the second apron. (For the record, the lack of a mid-level exemption or the ability to include cash in trades are real impediments, but let’s all have a laugh at the idea of the “**** them picks” Knicks being put off by the idea they can’t trade a 2034 first-round pick at next year’s deadline)
Robinson helped. But he’s injury-prone and a liability at the free throw line while Alvarado and Shamet combined to average 15.9 points over 39.9 minutes per game — solid numbers for sure, but even they weren’t must-have returnees.
Rose, who saw a franchise-altering superstar in Jalen Brunson when everyone else saw a run-of-the-mill former second-round draft pick, has also earned the right to find Knicks-worthy supplemental players.
Contributions from all — Robinson, Alvarado and Shamet included — during the NBA Finals embodied the sum-is-better-than-the-parts nature of the Knicks.
Alvarado had eight points in the fourth quarter of Game 4, when the Knicks completed their historic comeback from a 29-point deficit. And of the 34 points Shamet scored in the Finals, 13 came in the fourth quarter.
Rose traded back twice, from picks 24 and 31 overall, and came away with players nobody had on the team needs list. But the Knicks look ready to give Jack Kayil a shot given his summer league showing and 47th overall pick Tyler Nickel could be an extra shooter off the bench.
The Knicks have spent most of the previous 52 offseasons trying to perform facelifts upon one of the league’s most downtrodden franchises. Trying to figure out a way to replicate championship success, even if it requites a slightly different formula, is a far better task — and, as Rose is surely getting to know, far more delicate and challenging.
Sports
5-star WR Moshun Sales highest-rated Indiana recruit ever
Lawrence North’s Monshun Sales poses for a photo Thursday, July 24, 2025, at Decatur Central High School in Indianapolis. Five-star wide receiver Monshun Sales made a verbal commitment to Indiana on Friday.
If Sales signs with the defending champions, he’ll supplant Class of 2022 linebacker Dasan McCullough as the highest-ranked recruit in Indiana history.
Sales, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound rising senior at Indianapolis’ Lawrence North High School, announced his commitment on “The Pat McAfee Show.” He chose the Hoosiers over Texas, Alabama, Ohio State and LSU. According to ESPN, Texas was the most serious challenger as Sales considered his future.
“My decision to commit to Indiana was not an easy one,” Sales said. “The relationships that I made with the coaches and staff at Indiana throughout the process is what made it feel like home. Coach Cignetti has built a winning program, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Sales, originally from Alabama, is a two-way star at Lawrence North. In his junior season, he had 37 catches for 794 yards and nine touchdowns along with 56 tackles on defense. In his sophomore year, he caught 34 passes for 568 yards and seven touchdowns. The team finished 11-1 and was ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 6A that year.
The Hoosiers’ 17-player class includes Brownsburg four-star receiver Branden Sharpe, Noblesville three-star offensive tackle Mason McDermott and Michigan City three-star offensive lineman Jeremiah Jones. Three-star quarterback Jameson Purcell (Maine South HS; Park Ridge, Ill.) has been committed to the program since July 2025; running back Da’Jon Talley Rhodes (St. John’s College; Washington, D.C.) rounds out the skill position talent bound for Indiana in the 2027 cycle.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers vs. Yankees Friday July 17 Best Betting Picks and Props
Jun 21, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Cody Bellinger (35) reacts after striking out in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The All-Star Break ended Thursday with one game — Phillies-Mets — and the rest of the league is back in the batter’s box on Friday.
Rested and ready, here are a look at tonight’s best bets.
Dodgers at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. ET
Streaks took these teams into the break and set the stage for their first meeting at Yankee Stadium since the 2024 World Series.
The Yankees won four in a row before the break and the Dodgers lost three consecutive games. They also had to address the ailing knee of Shohei Ohtani, who Is expected to play but unlikely to pitch in the three game-set.
Gerrit Cole (3-4, 4.04 ERA), who was on the mound for Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, starts for the Yankees. Cole last pitched July 8 when he allowed three runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 3-0 loss at Tampa Bay.
Cole is 4-2 with a 5.01 ERA in eight career regular season starts against the Dodgers.
Roki Sasaki (3-5, 5.33) starts for the Dodgers and is 0-2 with a 5.86 ERA in his past seven starts entering his first career appearance against the Yankees. Sasaki last pitched July 8 and took a no-decision in a 4-3 win over Colorado when he allowed three runs on four hits in six innings.
Yankees Moneyline (outright win) at -108 (FanDuel)
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White Sox at Blue Jays, 7:15 p.m. ET
The White Sox haven’t seen a lot of right-hander Spencer Miles (4-1, 2.85), but he gets the ball in the opener of a seven-game homestand. He has faced the White Sox once, tossing two scoreless innings in relief on April 5.
Chicago’s inconsistent offense led to a downturn in production, but the White Sox swept the A’s in response to a punchless series sweep prior to that at the hands of the Red Sox. Contact rate, and a high strikeout rate, are issues for the group and Miles is capable of missing bats. He has four starts with more than four strikeouts.
Blue Jays P Spencer Miles over 3.5 strikeouts (-132 DraftKings)
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The Defending Champion Knicks Must Navigate a Delicate Offseason
5-star WR Moshun Sales highest-rated Indiana recruit ever
