What's next for UFL? News on expansion, attendance, plans for 2026 season

What's next for UFL? News on expansion, attendance, plans for 2026 season

ST. LOUIS — Gold and white confetti fell at The Dome at America's Center on Saturday night as the DC Defenders put a bow on the United Football League's second season bywinning their first spring league title. The UFL's leaders will take a moment to bask in the glow of the championship game, which featured a record-breaking performance from the Defenders (58 points) and Jordan Ta'amu (390 passing yards, five total touchdowns). But in the weeks after, the league will begin looking at ways to improve in planning sessions ahead of its 2026 season. That will include beefing up efforts to improve attendance, exploring expansion and considering several changes that could improve and make more exciting what it believes is an already strong on-field product. Here's a look at what's next for the UFL as the league enters its second full offseason since the 2024 USFL-XFL merger. The UFL has not yet announced any plans to expand for the 2026 campaign, but it continues to explore markets that could potentially house future teams. "We're looking heavily into the process," Brandon said of expansion. "We're taking a lot of rigor to it. We're taking a lot of time and effort to do it the right way." The UFL's executive vice president of football operations Daryl Johnston added that it's "great" to hear so many are interested in the league's potential expansion. However, he was adamant sustainability is at the front of the league's mind as it evaluates potential UFL markets. "One of the things that Russ always talks about is incremental growth, and doing it in a way that is sound and provides us the opportunity to make sure this league is sustainable moving forward," Johnston said, before adding. "When it's right for the league, that's when we'll make that decision." The league's reticence about expansion comes afterProFootballTalk's Mike Florioreported USFL Enterprises LLC — which owns the USFL conference side of the UFL — had filed trademarks for the names of the names of four original USFL teams: Oakland Invaders, Philadelphia Stars, New Jersey Generals, and Tampa Bay Bandits. The filings occurred on May 6, 2025. It isn't clear whether the league views these as potential future market options or if it just wants to own the former USFL team names. Either way, the UFL isn't looking to rush into a hasty decision about expansion. The league is simply getting its ducks in a row as it considers the possibility. "I think as we stand now, we will continue to look at it over the next few months, meet with the board, and make some decisions," Brandon said. "But I think it's in a very good place from a process standpoint." Expansion is one of the UFL's eventual goals, but improving its attendance remains one of its No. 1 priorities. The UFL's overall attendance declined by 5% in 2025, according to the Sports Business Journal. That included seeing downturn in turnout across seven of the league's eight home markets, with the Michigan Panthers' 30.4% increase in attendance serving as the outlier. Those results could be viewed as discouraging given that the UFL invested resources into each of its markets for the 2025 season in the hopes of improving attendance. However, Brandon outlined the 2025 campaign was the first ahead of which the league was able to really focus on its attendance goals. Much of the 2024 season was spent getting operationally situated after the USFL-XFL merger closed on Jan. 13, just two-and-a-half months before the start of the season. "We were drinking out of a fire hose operationally to get up and running," Brandon detailed. But after learning more about consumer habits in 2025, UFL owner Dany Garcia explained the league has a better idea of what "The market actually thinks of us." "This is the year that we got the clarity, and now we know who we are, and now we push forward," Garcia said. As such, the league's focus investment in market-by-market strategies to improve attendance will continue on. "We know this: We have a great product. We know it's affordable," Brandon said. "We're trying to activate as much as possible in each of these local markets. And we have a great plan, I believe, in place to do that." UFL ATTENDANCE:UFL remains confident in growth despite 2025 attendance, TV rating declines The UFL has started its season on March 28 in consecutive years. Brandon revealed the league is planning to evaluate whether that rough timeframe — which was established to split the difference between the XFL and USFL start dates following the 2024 merger — works. "We're going to take a look and see what makes sense," Brandon said. "Not only the player feedback, but our consumer feedback as well." The UFL's current start date forces it to face early season ratings competition from the NCAA Tournament, which could be a part of the reason overall TV viewership for 2025 declined by 20%, per Sports Business Journal. Brandon didn't seem overly worried about the state of the league's TV ratings, referring to them as "phenomenal." "People would give their eyeteeth for the amount of eyeballs that are watching our games on TV," he said. The UFL set its roster size at 64 for the 2025 season after it was 75 for 2024. That roster size reduction also prompted the league to cut training camp from four weeks to three weeks. Some UFL offenses got off to a slower start in 2025 than the league was hoping, so Johnston explained going back to a four-week training camp model could be in play. "Those will be conversations we have with our coaches," Johnston detailed. "Did that impact you? Do you need more time?" Johnston also opined one of the reasons some UFL teams struggled out of the gate was because they hadn't yet found their No. 1 quarterback. He and Brandon pointed to the Houston Roughnecks — who finished 5-5 despite starting the season with a 1-3 record — as one of the prime examples, as their performance improvement coincided with Jalan McClendon's insertion into the starting quarterback role. A longer training camp could allow coaches more time to evaluate the position and make the all-important call about a Week 1 starter. "You have to have your guy in place Week 1," Johnston said. "I hope that's the big lesson that our teams learned this year." UFL rosters have often been plundered in the offseason as NFL teams swoop in and scoop up some of the league's top players to give them a shot at making it in the UFL. However, the league is set to have some of its own players experiencing free agency ahead of the 2026 season, as Johnston explained. "We've actually got players experiencing free agency this year," he said. "So, there could be movement with guys being on a team for two consecutive seasons." That will create a new challenge for UFL teams in addition to the one posed by the omnipresent threat of losing players to other professional leagues, namely the NFL. "How do we create that continuity where we're able to retain those guys without the other teams coming in and picking some of the higher-profile, more successful players in our league to try to bring them their way?" Johnston said. He believes that off-the-field battle for players could create some additional excitement within league circles. "I think it's going to be a fun offseason for us and for our young league to grow and mature." All the NFL news on and off the field.Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:What's next for UFL? News on expansion, plans for 2026 season

byMario Satorik

in

June 15, 2025

What's next for UFL? News on expansion, attendance, plans for 2026 season

What's next for UFL? News on expansion, attendance, plans for 2026 season ST. LOUIS — Gold and white confetti fell at The Dome at Americ...

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For MLB's second generation players, love of game tops genetics – and science agrees

For MLB's second generation players, love of game tops genetics – and science agrees

Jackson Hollidayhas read the scouting reports and heard the buzz about his own skills and those of his younger brother,Ethan, for most of his young life. And it rarely takes more than a sentence or two before talk turns from their work ethics or their gorgeous swings or power potential to the tie that ostensibly binds them to predictive greatness. Bloodlines. It's both the most obvious and yet oversimplified evaluation a baseball scout can make – a recognizable name leaping off the page, a player profile to dream on based on how far their father made it in the game. And ostensibly, the Holliday family justifies those dreams: For the second time in four years, a Holliday lad will be picked at or near the very top ofMajor League Baseball's draftwhen Ethan is selected somewhere in the first five or so picks at the July 13 selection party. Jackson, still just 21, is in his second year as a Baltimore Oriole and perhaps already on his way to his first All-Star Game. Ethan, while having to conquer several levels of minor league ball to join his older brother in a major league middle infield, could be a bigger and more powerful version of Jackson. Both are carrying the legacy of their father Matt, a seven-time All-Star, a batting champion, a World Series winner who slugged 316 home runs over 15 years in the major leagues. Genes to dream on, for certain. Yet the story of baseball bloodlines will forever be a classic nature vs. nurture equation, and despite inherent advantages of growing up Holliday or Clemens or Bellinger, countless environmental factors will determine if the child's most important adult acronym, say, is OPS or CPA. "It's nice to have the genes – my dad's a big guy and played baseball a long time," says Holliday, on pace for a 20-homer, 20-steal season in his first full season in the majors. "But I don't look like him and I just have the last name and he happens to be my dad. "I think a lot of it has to do with growing up in the game and watching someone you want to be like, and that's what they do. So, that's essentially what me and my brothers wanted to do." Indeed, the Holliday patriarch is built like an NFL linebacker – at 6-4, 240 pounds, he had both speed and power and at 45 still cuts an imposing figure when he's around a major league batting cage. While Holliday was a slugging left fielder, his eldest sons are cut from a different template: Jackson is 6 feet and 185 pounds, while Ethan is already 6-4, about 200 pounds and projected to stick at shortstop long term. Not exactly daddy duplicates from a physical standpoint. "Yeah, it's nice having good genetics," says Kody Clemens, youngest son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, and a versatile reserve for the Minnesota Twins. "But the exposure is probably more important." The scientific community generally agrees. It's been nearly a decade since Alejandro Lucia collaborated with renowned genomic professor Claude Bouchard - regarded as a godfather of genetics and exercise – on a 2016 study exploring the responses and adaptations of the body to exercise. Lucia, a professor and researcher at European University of Madrid, worked with human patients and animals and extensively explored how genetics influence the body. "We found, basically, nothing," says Lucia. That's not to say genetics don't affect body types. Lucia says there is an "undeniable genetic influence" that he pegs at around 50% that determines whether a person'sphenotypeis better suited toward respiratory fitness or muscular makeup. Humans, at their core, are endurance animals, he says. Yet what makes athletes great are almost exclusively influenced by environment, be it the preponderance of eliteEast African distance runnersor, say, an elite travel baseball team from Texas. "Is it the genes you have inherited from your father? Or is it the influence, the atmosphere?" says Lucia. "In the case of sports performance, we're not talking about a single phenotype. It's the combination of many phenotypes. What makes you a good basketball player? Is it strength? Is it skill? Is it motivation? It's many different things. "It is probably the combination of too many factors. We tend to blame our genetics on too many things." Certainly, genetics play some role in getting a child into the game. Stephen M. Roth, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Maryland, has studied genetics and elements of skeletal muscle and athletic performance for more than 20 years. Loosely, he pegs the chances of bestowing athletic genes on offspring at about 50%, though some factors have a higher likelihood of inheritance. Height, for instance, has closer to 80% inheritability. "Most of these traits are remarkably complex. It's not just a single gene that's contributing and you either have it or you don't," says Roth. "It's going to be a lot of different genes, all contributing and the likelihood that at least some of those are passed down is probably pretty good. But certainly not all of them, in the exact pattern that either parent has. "Biology is really good at mixing things up, and purposefully doing so." Roth says certain psychological factors – competitiveness, say – have about a 20-30% likelihood of inheritability. Yet it's almost impossible for genetics to outkick an athlete's surroundings. "When you see a given geographic group or set of families who are especially successful in a given sport, instead of thinking of genes I will think of the special environment of this particular geographic reason or this particular family" says Lucia. "The example, the inspiration they get from their parents. "I will never be a great baseball player. But maybe my genetic makeup is not that different from the best baseball player in the U.S." And sometimes the next generation quickly exceeds its predecessors. Cody Bellinger didn't need much time to push the label "son of ex-Yankee Cody Bellinger" into the background. He hit 20 home runs in hisfirst 51 major league games, and doubled his father's career total of 12 in his first 57. No, Cody wasn't inheriting Babe Ruth's genetic profile. Yet growing up Bellinger – Clay was part of World Series-winning Yankees teams in 1999 and 2000 – was pivotal. "You're in the batting cage, you're picking up baseballs, you're going out to batting practice and you just fall in love with it," says Bellinger, who won the 2019 NL MVP award and has a .760 OPS this season for the Yankees. "Moreso than other kids who don't have that opportunity. A huge blessing. "I think just being around it, you just appreciate it and you love it and it's not forced. For me, I loved it." That's one trait that can't be underestimated. The pressure of following in a famous father's footsteps can be immense. With no ceiling on travel ball and many ballplayer families residing in warm-weather climes, the potential for burnout is immense. "It's almost like going into the family business. You have this, maybe stated, but unstated expectation that you could, or maybe should, be following in this person's footsteps," says Roth, the Maryland professor. "You have this unique opportunity to go into this particular business. I think the concern is, how many of these kids actually feel pressure to do it, but don't realize they may not want to do it? "They may be good at it, but is this how they want to spend their lives? That can be really hard to disentangle. We see that following in the family business, too, where someone says, 'No, actually, I don't want to be a butcher.'" The second-gen kids who made the big leagues tended to steer into it. Craig Biggio, the Hall of Fame second baseman for the Houston Astros, was already retired by the time his son Cavan was in high school. So the elder Biggio took the coaching reins at Houston's St. Thomas High School, giving Cavan a potential double-whammy: A legacy to look up to, and the stigma that can come by being The Coach's Son. Yet it turns out his teammates thought it was nifty having a coach who was two years from having a bust in Cooperstown. "Because everybody loved having him, having a Hall of Fame guy," says Cavan, who is in his seventh major league season. "It was a professional environment from a high school level, which was really rare and cool. "So when I eventually got to pro ball, it was already things I was doing from a young age." Not that Dad can't be hard on the kid. Clay Bellinger also coached some of Cody's teams, preaching lessons Cody relies upon to this day, and also saying so much by saying virtually nothing. "I was lucky enough that my dad was the coach," says Bellinger, drafted in the fourth round by the Dodgers in 2013, "but me and my friends had a little joke – if you didn't do something well, you'd get the 'Clay Stare.' "He'd stare at you and you'd feel it. That you did something wrong. That was always something that we joked around with and that stuck with me – play the game hard." Of course, having a ballplayer dad means having lots of famous uncles. Matt Holliday played long enough that Jackson can remember kibitzing in the clubhouse and on the field with the likes of Nolan Arenado and Aaron Judge. Biggio recalls catcher Brad Ausmus as a "funny, witty guy," and appreciates the respect he was afforded from Astros such as Morgan Ensberg, Lance Berkman and Willy Taveras. Josh Barfield, a four-year major leaguer and now the assistant general manager of the White Sox and son of Blue Jays legend Jesse Barfield, counted Rickey Henderson and Ken Griffey Jr. as de facto family members thanks to his father's longtime friendships with both. As little kids and adolescents, they didn't go through the grind. But they got an up-close view of what it took to survive it. "You watch the work every day – and go out and try to replicate what I watched for so long," says Jackson Holliday. Sometimes, it's the only life they know. "Kasey and I always talk about how we really didn't understand what there was in life besides being a baseball fan or baseball player," says Kody Clemens of his older brother. "Growing up, we knew we wanted to be the players. "When (Roger Clemens) was in New York and in the tail end of his career in Houston - that was when I realized how good he was, why these people were coming to the stadium, why we were going to the stadium. From 5 to 10 years old was when I realized what was going on." While some of the legacy ballplayers become elite – like Bellinger and Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – or are burgeoning stars like the Hollidays, others are determined to stick. Clemens has never played in more than 56 games since his 2022 debut and at 29 is enjoying his first taste of extended success with Minnesota, slugging six homers in 36 games after Philadelphia designated him for assignment in April. Biggio is currently at Class AAA with Kansas City, after making the club out of spring training; he's with his fourth organization in the past two seasons. It's plenty of time to ponder who makes it, who stays, and why. "I think athleticism has a ton to do with it, but everybody in pro ball is athletic, even college baseball," says Biggio. "I more credit being around it as a young kid. For me, it developed a passion and a love and a want for what this was going to be for me." Or, as Maryland's Roth puts it, "baseball is always in the environment. You have this almost constant presence. That's going to lead to expectations and opportunities for these kids." And the cycle rolls along. As Bellinger glances about the Yankees clubhouse, a pair of young boys, baseball gloves in hand, tail behind assistant hitting coach Casey Dykes, like ducklings following their mother to the pond. "There you go," he says as elementary-school aged Kash and Jett head out to the field, perhaps taking the tiniest steps toward draft day 2036. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:MLB Father's Day: Love of baseball tops genetics – and science agrees

byMario Satorik

in

June 15, 2025

For MLB's second generation players, love of game tops genetics – and science agrees

For MLB's second generation players, love of game tops genetics – and science agrees Jackson Hollidayhas read the scouting reports and h...

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Unwavering party preference in 2 bills valued at $1.6T

Unwavering party preference in 2 bills valued at $1.6T

(The Center Square) – North Carolinians in the U.S. House of Representatives were unwavering of party preference for two bills now awaiting finalization in the Senate. Republicans who favored them say the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, known also as House Resolution 1, slashed $1.6 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse of government systems. The Rescissions Act of 2025, known also as House Resolution 4, did away with $9.4 billion – less than six-tenths of 1% of the other legislation – in spending by the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Corp. for Public Broadcasting (PBS, NPR), and other entities. Democrats against them say the Department of Government Efficiency made "heartless budget cuts" and was an "attack on the resources that North Carolinians were promised and that Congress has already appropriated." Republicans from North Carolina in favor of both were Reps. Dr. Greg Murphy, Virginia Foxx, Addison McDowell, David Rouzer, Rev. Mark Harris, Richard Hudson, Pat Harrigan, Chuck Edwards, Brad Knott and Tim Moore. Democrats against were Reps. Don Davis, Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee and Alma Adams. Foxx said the surface was barely skimmed with cuts of "$14 million in cash vouchers for migrants at our southern border; $24,000 for a national spelling bee in Bosnia; $1.5 million to mobilize elderly, lesbian, transgender, nonbinary and intersex people to be involved in the Costa Rica political process; $20,000 for a drag show in Ecuador; and $32,000 for an LGBTQ comic book in Peru." Adams said, "While Elon Musk claimed he would cut $1 trillion from the federal government, the recissions package amounts to less than 1% of that. Meanwhile, House Republicans voted just last month to balloon the national debt by $3 trillion in their One Big Ugly Bill. It's fiscal malpractice, not fiscal responsibility." House Resolution 1 passed 215-214andHouse Resolution 4 went forward 214-212. Republican Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky were against the One Big Beautiful Bill and Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Michael Turner of Ohio were against the Rescissions Act. No Democrats voted yea.

byMario Satorik

in

June 15, 2025

Unwavering party preference in 2 bills valued at $1.6T

Unwavering party preference in 2 bills valued at $1.6T (The Center Square) – North Carolinians in the U.S. House of Representatives were unw...

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Former French president Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour medal

Former French president Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour medal

PARIS (Reuters) -Former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of his Legion of Honour, France's highest distinction, after being convicted of corruption and influence peddling last year, according to a decree published in Sunday's Official Bulletin. The centre-right politician has been embroiled in legal battles since leaving office in 2012. Last year, France's highest court upheld his conviction for corruption and influence peddling, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a year, a first for a former French head of state. Also last year, an appeals court confirmed a separate conviction for illegal campaign financing in his failed re-election bid in 2012. The rules of the Legion of Honour award meant that the revocation had been expected. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

byMario Satorik

in

June 15, 2025

Former French president Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour medal

Former French president Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour medal PARIS (Reuters) -Former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been stripped of hi...

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Whatever the Club World Cup is, it's the world's passion for soccer that makes it sing

Whatever the Club World Cup is, it's the world's passion for soccer that makes it sing

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Some balked at the"alarming" ticket prices. Others werescared off by ICE. Some weredenied visasby U.S. consular officers. Others simply didn't give a crap about theClub World Cup. And yet, when this strange new tournament lifted off at 8:06 p.m. here on Saturday, tens of thousands of Al Ahly fans were bouncing, bringing it to life. More than 60,000 people ultimately filled Hard Rock Stadium. The first arrived several hours earlier, possessed by excitement. They queued at entrances long before 5 p.m., when gates were scheduled to open. Hundreds packed into a narrow corridor, melting in 91-degree heat. "We're gonna pass out," one woman told a security guard. Another in a hijab complained about the searing South Florida sun. But most sang. Theyjumped, and clapped, and sweat, and sang. A few waved Egyptian flags. Others whipped out phones to capture the revelry. Some had traveled from New York, others from nearby, others from Cairo. They came with massive banners and drums, with joy and passion, the type that soccer — or football, orkurat al-qadam, or whatever you call it — makes irrepressible. They came for a tournament thatFIFA vastly overbaked and overhyped. As this inaugural Club World Cup approached in April, May and June, organizers became increasingly worried, and desperate to sell tickets. They slashed prices and concocted special deals. They offered five tickets for $20 to local college students, and freebies to veterans. Their fears of empty seats, and a drab atmosphere, hounded the buildup to the tournament. Their missteps, clearly, were plentiful. But they were bailed out by the sport they govern. Theybanked on Lionel Messiigniting theirgrand venture, and attracting his disciples to the opener. What they seemingly missed was that the allure of the Club World Cup is not glitz and megastars; it's this organic, deep-rooted passion. It's whatever compels whole families to arrive at 4:15 for an 8 p.m. match; whatever compels sane men to chant like lovable maniacs. It's the communities and traditions and love that have grown around this sport over decades and decades, from the Middle East to Europe to South America and beyond. That's what brought tens of thousands of Al Ahly fans to South Florida to outnumber supporters of the local team that employs the greatest player ever. That's what brought hundreds, if not thousands, of Palmeiras fans to Times Square the day before their first Club World Cup game Sunday at MetLife Stadium in North Jersey. NOVA IORQUE É VERDE! 💚🎥@podporcopic.twitter.com/eDj6hzorLn — Gustavo Terini (@gustavoterini)June 14, 2025 That's what will drive, and in some ways save, this Club World Cup, from city to city and diaspora to diaspora. There will be some mostly empty stadiums, and some that close their upper decks due to lagging ticket sales, and some duds. FIFA's promotion (and pricing) of the tournament, at times misguided, at times arrogant, has largely failed in the host country. The Club World Cup, to many casual American fans, remains unknown or indistinguishable from the friendlies and preseason "tournaments" that tour the States every summer. And those casual American fans, unfortunately, are the ones to whom many aspects of the event have been tailored. At Saturday's opener, there was a forgettable pregame show; in-stadium hosts and DJs; and NBA-style, individualized player intros. There were fireworks and a flyover, all sorts of things that might, for some, accentuate the experience. But the Al Ahly fans in Section 304? They just wanted to sing. So they sang, and fans halfway across the stadium recognized the songs, and joined in. They bopped up and down, pulsing their arms, making noise that enlivened a0-0 draw. Al Ahly fans making all the noise at the Club World Cup opener in Miami.Remarkablepic.twitter.com/urjcm7VF3o — Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell)June 15, 2025 And when there was a lull, in the upper deck behind one goal, some supporters of Boca Juniors — an Argentine club that plays here Monday — would randomly start up one of their songs. "Boca, my good friend,"theychanted in Spanish."I don't care what anybody says. I follow you everywhere. And every time I love you more." All of this continued through 90 scoreless minutes. In the 90th, Al Ahly fans were still bouncing. Entire sections of them were standing for no apparent reason — other than, in a word,soccer. They had braved pregame gridlock and paid $40 for parking. Some had planned vacations that might be among the most expensive they'll ever take. They made themselves, not Messi, the stars of the opener, and reminded us all why the Club World Cup will, at least to some extent, be a success. Or, at least, if you can get past your cynicism, it'll be fun. Not every stadium will come alive, but Saturday's atmosphere, Inter Miami midfielder Telasco Segovia said, "was spectacular."

byMario Satorik

in

June 15, 2025

Whatever the Club World Cup is, it's the world's passion for soccer that makes it sing

Whatever the Club World Cup is, it's the world's passion for soccer that makes it sing MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Some balked at the...

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MCWS: Kade Anderson's gem lifts LSU over Arkansas

MCWS: Kade Anderson's gem lifts LSU over Arkansas

Kade Anderson allowed just three hits and one run in seven innings and No. 6 national seed LSU defeated No. 3 national seed Arkansas 4-1 in a Men's College World Series opener on Saturday night in Omaha, Neb. On Monday, the Tigers (49-15) will face UCLA, which defeated Murray State, 6-4, earlier Saturday, and the Razorbacks (48-14) will face Murray State in an elimination game. The Razorbacks didn't get a hit until Wehiwa Aloy led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, but Anderson held them scoreless until Reese Robinett led off the bottom of the sixth with his third home run of the season. Anderson left after allowing a leadoff single in the eighth. Chase Shores replaced him and retired the next three batters. Casan Evans then pitched a scoreless ninth. LSU knocked Arkansas ace Zach Root from the game while taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the second. Chris Stanfield had an RBI single, Michael Braswell III was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Josh Pearson's RBI grounder finished Root. Gabe Gaeckle relieved and held the Tigers scoreless into the eighth, but he allowed a one-out double to Steven Milam and, one out later, Cole Gibler relieved and gave up an RBI single to Derek Curiel. --Field Level Media

byMario Satorik

in

June 15, 2025

MCWS: Kade Anderson's gem lifts LSU over Arkansas

MCWS: Kade Anderson's gem lifts LSU over Arkansas Kade Anderson allowed just three hits and one run in seven innings and No. 6 national ...

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Macron to visit Greenland to show European support for the strategic Arctic island coveted by Trump

Macron to visit Greenland to show European support for the strategic Arctic island coveted by Trump

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron's first trip toGreenland, the strategic Arctic islandcoveted by U.S. PresidentDonald Trump, is aimed at shoring up Europe's political backing for Denmark and its semiautonomous territory. Macron's visit on Sunday comes just ahead a meeting of theGroup of Seven leading industrialized nationsnext week in Canada that will be attended by both Macron and Trump. The French president's office said the trip to Greenland is a reminder that Paris supports principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders as enshrined in the U.N. charter. Macron is also to meet withDanish Prime Minister Mette FrederiksenandGreenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Macron mentioned Greenland last week in his opening speech at the U.N. Ocean Conference, saying it isn't "up for grabs" in remarks that appeared directed largely at Trump. "The deep seas are not for sale, nor is Greenland up for grabs, nor are the Arctic or the high seas for sale, nor are fishing licenses in developing countries up for grabs, nor are scientific data and the security of coastal populations to be sacrificed,″ Macron said at the summit in Nice, France. Macron's role in Europe Macron in recent months has sought toreinvigorate France's role as the diplomatic and economic heavyweightof the 27-nation European Union. The French president has positioned himselfas a leader in Europeamid Trump's threats to pull support from Ukraine as it fights against Russia's invasion. Macron hosted a summit in Paris with other European heads of state to discuss Kyiv, as well as security issues on the continent. Sunday's visit will also be the occasion to discuss how to further enhance relations between the EU and Greenland when it comes to economic development, low-carbon energy transition and critical minerals. The leaders will also have exchanges on efforts to curb global warming, according to Macron's office. A meeting between Macron, Frederiksen and Nielsen will take place on a Danish helicopter carrier, showing France's concerns over security issues in the region, Macron's office said. Trump and Greenland Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon hasdeveloped plans to take over Greenlandand Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions during a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use ofSignal chats to discuss military operations. Hegseth's comments were the latest controversial remarks made by a member of the Trump administration about the Arctic island. The president himself has said he won't rule out military force to take over Greenland, which he considers vital to American security in the high north. The Wall Street Journal last monthreported that several high-ranking officials under the U.S. director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, had directed intelligence agency heads tolearn more about Greenland's independence movementand sentiment about U.S. resource extraction there. Nielsen in April said that U.S. statements about the island have been disrespectful and that Greenland "will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone." ___ Corbet reported from Paris. Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

byMario Satorik

in

June 15, 2025

Macron to visit Greenland to show European support for the strategic Arctic island coveted by Trump

Macron to visit Greenland to show European support for the strategic Arctic island coveted by Trump NUUK, Greenland (AP) — French President ...

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