Following the completion of his 80-game drug suspension, Fernando Tatis Jr. knows he’ll be the target of opposing fans’ ire all season long.

If his actions on Tuesday night were any indication, Tatis looks like he’ll embrace playing the role of the villain when he and the San Diego Padres are on the road.

During the fifth inning of the Padres’ 6-0 loss to the Cubs, fans in the Wrigley Field bleachers could be heard chanting, ‘He’s on steroids!’ at Tatis while he was playing in right field. 

Instead of ignoring the fans, Tatis broke into an impromptu dance routine.

Tatis was hit with an 80-game suspension last year after he tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol he said was used to treat a case of ringworm.

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The suspension carried over into this season before he was finally eligible to rejoin the Padres on April 20.

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Earlier this season while Tatis was playing in minor league games, he got a taste of what life might be like when he returned to the majors. 

He hit three home runs in a game against Class AAA Sacramento and a pitcher who allowed one of the homers called Tatis a ‘cheater’ in response to a social media clip of the blast. 

Eventually, the best way to silence critics is not by dancing, but by performing on the field. In that regard, Tatis has a bit more work to do. On Tuesday, he went 1-for-4 with a walk, was caught stealing and he struck out to end the game.

For the season, Tatis is hitting .182 with one homer and three singles in 22 at-bats.

Peter Skoronski will in all likelihood hear his name called on Thursday as a first-round pick in the NFL draft. He will be carrying not only his name, but also the legacy of his grandfather, Bob Skoronski.

Bob Skoronski played tackle for nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers under Vince Lombardi and was an offensive captain as the team won three straight championships. He was also an Air Force veteran who missed two seasons to serve his country.

Before the draft, Peter, an offensive tackle from Northwestern, visited Whiteman Air Force Base outside of Kansas City with Texas running back and fellow top NFL draft prospect Bijan Robinson to chat with the military members there and thank them for their service. The trip, which was sponsored by USAA, the official NFL Salute to Service partner, was particularly special for the Skoronski because of his grandfather’s connection to the military.

‘He’s just been the person that I looked up to my whole life and always have wanted to follow his footsteps,’ Skoronski told USA TODAY Sports. ‘So that’s sort of been my motivating factor in my football journey and is sort of what pushed me to get here. So honoring his legacy is tremendously important for me. Definitely doing that on the field and with football, but also with stuff like this and giving back and showing appreciation to our military, which I know meant a lot to him too.’

Besides chatting with service members and getting an exclusive look at a B-2 bomber, Skoronski spent part of the trip seeing the setup for the NFL draft via a helicopter ride in a UH-60 Black Hawk.

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According to Forbes, the footprint of the draft site is 3.1 million square feet, the biggest in the event’s history. The NFL is expecting 300,000 fans and attendance could approach the record of 600,000 set in 2019, when the event was held in Nashville. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is even hosting a music festival over the weekend.

Seeing the event space gave Skoronski an idea of the magnitude of what he was about to be a part of.

‘Definitely looks intimidating to be honest, I’m glad I actually won’t even be there,’ he said, ‘‘cause it’s a big space and a big stage. But still cool to just to see how big of an event it is overall and how many people care and are excited about it.’

Peter Skoronski’s heart for the Green Bay Packers

Skoronski will be with his family on the big night and even considered wearing his grandfather’s Packers jersey, ‘but that might be a little too biased.’ 

Even though Skoronski would be happy going to any team that drafted him, he can’t deny his love for the team his grandfather played for, who might need some extra protection around third-year quarterback Jordan Love now that veteran Aaron Rodgers is now a member of the New York Jets. In the trade centered on the veteran quarterback, Green Bay moved up two slots to the No. 13 pick overall.

‘I’m not gonna lie. I grew up a Packers fan,’ Skoronski said. ‘It would be a dream come true in a sense to play for them. … Obviously happy wherever I go and to be part of a team, but the Packers have a special place in my heart.’

He’s modeled his game after Bob, who started all 12 games his rookie year and was responsible for protecting Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr. Bob has not been enshrined in Canton, but Starr himself was an advocate for his inclusion. Peter is ready to accept the challenge of making an impact right away, especially because of his high draft projection.

Besides being a football star, Bob was a family man who once asked Lombardi if his wife and children, including Peter’s father, could travel on the charter plane with them to the pre-Super Bowl championship game.

Peter has fond memories of his grandfather, who died in 2018 at the age of 84. Together, they would go fishing, get frozen custard and talk about sports.

‘We’re just very, kinda similar people to be honest,’ he said. ‘… He was able to make it to a few of my football games growing up, too, which was really special.’

Peter Skoronski on rise of teammate Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern journey

‘I think it’s funny that people just call him a riser or quote-on-quote that he came out of nowhere,’ Skoronski said. ‘‘Cause for me, I’ve always known how good he was and how talented of a player he was. So for me, it makes sense that he’s now very highly touted and seen as a top pick. … As talented as he is, physically, on the field, he’s an even better teammate and person. His work ethic matches, more than matches, what he can do on the field. (He’s) someone that I’m really happy that I got to be a teammate with and share the field with.’

The Wildcats only had one win last season and missed a bowl game for the second straight year after beating Auburn in the 2020 Citrus Bowl. But Skoronski did his best to keep everything in perspective.

‘Always kind of focused on controlling what I can control and just keep getting better,’ he said, ‘and that’s all you can really do regardless of results on the field. So obviously some tough times last season, but just kinda put your head down and work and try to get better and that’ll be my philosophy win, lose or draw.’

The Washington Commanders have chosen to not exercise the fifth-year option for defensive lineman Chase Young, NFL Network and CBS Sports reported Wednesday.

The team declining the extension of Young’s contract means he will become a free agent after the 2023 season.

Young was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. He was named to the Pro Bowl and awarded Defensive Rookie of the Year after starting in 15 games and recording 44 tackles and 7.5 sacks.

Since then, Young has only played in 12 games after suffering a knee injury midway through the 2021 season. He returned on Christmas Eve last year and recorded five tackles in three games.

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Young starred at Ohio State prior to being drafted by the Commanders. In three seasons with the Buckeyes, he recorded 69 tackles and 30.5 sacks. Among his accolades are winning the Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and he was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy after his junior season when he racked up 32 tackles and 16.5 sacks, including six forced fumbles.

Earlier this month, Young became the first American football player to sign with New Balance. He will help the athleticwear company design its first football cleat. The deal is in partnership with Rich Paul’s Klutch Athletics.

The Commanders are expected to be sold to an ownership group led by Josh Harris. They hold the No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, which kicks off Thursday in Kansas City.

Draft stocks can be delicate things, particularly in the week leading up to the NFL draft.

One such player who is seeing that is former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, who on Wednesday pushed back strongly against questions about his cognitive ability after a report alleged he performed poorly during a test administered by S2 Cognition that measures reaction time.

‘It’s football, I’m not a test taker,’ Stroud told reporters. ‘I play football. At the end of the day, man, I don’t got nothing to prove to nobody. I’m not going to sit here and explain how I process football. The people who are making the picks know what I can do. That’s all that matters to me.

‘There are people who know how to coach better, play quarterback better, do everything better on social media but the man in the arena, that’s what’s tough. I’m going to stand on that. I know what I can do. I know I can process well.’

Stroud added that he has ‘all the confidence’ and that ‘I don’t think you can play at Ohio State and not be smart.’

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What is the S2 Cognition test?

S2 Cognition is a relatively new tool, having been around less than a decade, that NFL teams are using as another data point to evaluate incoming prospects. Initially, S2 Cognition was something used by only a handful of teams, though it has become more widespread in recent years. The company administers a test on a specialized laptop or Xbox gaming console that records reaction times of visual stimuli.

Why has C.J. Stroud’s draft stock seemingly been impacted?

A report from Go Long published Friday indicated that Stroud performed poorly in the S2 Cognition test and scored well below former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. The report, which cited several anonymous NFL executives, also published the alleged scores of several other prospects. The report gained traction and may have even swayed the betting odds of where the top quarterbacks in the draft would end up.

‘I’m just very surprised that this has become a topic of conversation,’ Ohio State head coach Ryan Day told The Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Sunday. ‘Of all the things, I just feel like this is one that I’ve always felt was what makes him special. For this to be something that’s a topic of conversation right now is catching me off guard.’

What have executives from S2 Cognition said about the matter?

In an appearance Monday on ‘The Pat McAfee Show,’ S2 co-founder and director of football Brandon Ally pushed back on the leaked scores and said that he was not able to address specific cases or scores for privacy reasons.

‘What I will say is that the list of scores that I have seen, two of those scores are not accurate,’ Ally said during the appearance. ‘They’re not accurate at all.’

Ally added, again declining to speak with specificity, that some of the leaked scores may lack context and may be an early score. For example, he cited a case in which S2 Cognition was asked to administer a test during an all-star game. Ally said the player had a difficult time arriving because of travel delays and the player was in high demand and hungry and tired. The player was frustrated and it was 11 p.m. by the time the test occurred. 

‘We knew at that point in time, ‘Hey we’ll (test) you again,’ ‘ Ally said. ‘ ‘We’ll test you at your pro day, your 30 visit.’ We did that and his score is significantly higher than what is being reported.’

Manchester City routed first-place Arsenal, 4-1, on Wednesday, seizing control of the English Premier League title race after months of pursuit.

Kevin De Bruyne scored twice for City in a totally one-sided game at the Etihad Stadium that saw Arsenal on their heels from kickoff, and Erling Haaland’s 33rd goal of the season set a new Premier League record for a 38-game campaign.

The victory pulled the defending champions within two points of the leaders, but City (seven games remaining) has played two less games than Arsenal (five remaining) and have room for error the rest of the way. 

De Bruyne opened the scoring just seven minutes in, a stellar solo goal after picking the ball up near midfield from Haaland. The Belgian drove through the Arsenal defense on the counter-attack and slotted home a low shot past Aaron Ramsdale, who probably could have done better to make a save.

Haaland had several big chances in the first half but John Stones made it 2-0 in the 46th minute, heading home off a free kick from De Bruyne. The goal was initially called off, but VAR found that Stones had been onside by a narrow margin, giving City a a two-goal lead heading into halftime. De Bruyne scored City’s third in the 54th minute to put the game out of reach.

Defender Rob Holding netted a late consolation goal for Arsenal before Haaland’s record-setting 33rd of the campaign restored City’s three-goal cushion.

While Manchester City controls its own destiny, the team has a crowded schedule over the next month with two UEFA Champions League semifinal matches against Real Madrid in May in addition to the seven Premier League contests.

Arsenal has been in first first place for all but one match day since August but were held to draws in their previous three games, opening the door for Wednesday’s season-shifting loss.

Premier League standings through Wednesday

Arsenal (33 games played): 75 pointsManchester City (31 GP) : 73 pointsNewcastle United (31 GP): 59 pointsManchester United (30 GP): 59 pointsAston Villa (33 GP): 54 pointsLiverpool (32 GP): 53 points, +22 goal differenceTottenham (32 GP): 53 points, +7 GDBrighton & Hove Albion (30 GP): 49 points

Remaining Premier League schedules

Manchester City 

April 30 at FulhamMay 3 vs. West HamMay 6 vs. Leeds UnitedMay 14 at EvertonMay 21 vs. ChelseaMay 24 at BrightonMay 28 at Brentford

Arsenal

May 2 vs. ChelseaMay 7 at Newcastle UnitedMay 14 vs. BrightonMay 20 at Nottingham ForestMay 28 vs. Wolverhampton

Lionel Messi ‘can be bigger than any athlete of any sport that has ever played here in the United States,’ but he has to actually play in the U.S. for it to happen.

That’s the perspective of Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber, who spoke to the Associated Press Sports Editors on Tuesday. Garber hasn’t been shy about how much he wants Messi to come to MLS, and that is clearly still the case.

‘I can tell you that we would love him in Major League Soccer,’ Garber said in a response to a question from CBS Sports. ‘There isn’t a league that wouldn’t like to have Lionel Messi in their league.’

For Garber, the key for MLS is ‘to come up with a program for him that will allow him to establish a legacy that I think could be unprecedented globally, let alone unprecedented here in our country.’

‘I think of him as someone who crosses so many barriers that he can be bigger than any athlete of any sport that has ever played here in the United States,’ said Garber, immediately putting Messi in a class with superstars like Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, and Tiger Woods (not to mention putting pressure on MLS to get closer to the NFL and NBA in terms of national and international importance).

MLS ready to get creative for Messi

Garber was open with the fact that a hypothetical move to MLS would see Messi join Inter Miami, and that the league will almost certainly have to come up with new rules (or break existing ones) to make it happen.

‘We will work very hard with Miami, who is the team that is hoping to be able to sign him,’ said Garber. ‘We have been pretty effective at coming up with clever ways to sign players for our clubs in the right market.’

On that count, Garber isn’t just engaging in big talk. MLS invented new league rules to allow the Los Angeles Galaxy to sign David Beckham, ushering in the Designated Player era in 2007. Beckham’s contract included what turned out to be a massive discount on the expansion fee for Inter Miami, proving that time is something of a flat circle when it comes to MLS.

Clint Dempsey’s return to the league in 2013 involved MLS reportedly covering a $9 million transfer fee. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, signed a deal to play for the Galaxy at a discount in 2018.

A year later, Ibrahimovic would sign a new deal that paid far more, though that season eventually saw the Galaxy sanctioned by the league for violating salary budget rules by hiding payments and future agreements that would have made Carlos Pavón a DP that year as well. Miami — a club that has already been punished for breaking league rules on that front — would have to hold up their end of the deal within whatever new mechanisms MLS might come up with.

Competition for Lionel Messi’s services

Garber conceded that nothing is done, and that MLS and Miami face a competitive market when it comes to courting Messi.

MLS had felt confident they could land Messi in the winter, but in December Messi was reportedly closing in on a contract extension at Paris Saint-Germain. Barcelona say they would love to bring Messi back to the Camp Nou, but given their financial mess they’re probably a long way from making it happen. Messi has also agreed to sponsorships in Saudi Arabia, a country with plenty of clubs that would like a star to rival Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

‘There are a lot of dynamics that are going on there,’ noted Garber. ‘He’s got a lot of things to think about in terms of where he wants to continue his career… It’s very real-time and I hope that we’re able to get in front of the discussion and hopefully bring something over the finish line.’

New Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka took responsibility on Wednesday for his violation of team policies that led to his season-long suspension and ultimate dismissal as coach of Boston Celtics after just one season.

‘I released a statement months ago when everything happened and apologized to a lot of people for the tough position I put them in,’ Udoka said. ‘I stand by that and I feel much more remorse even now toward that.

‘I spent this last offseason working on myself in a lot of different, different ways, improving in areas. (It was a) chance to sit back, reflect, and grow. And I think that’ll make me a better coach and overall a better leader.’

Udoka added: ‘That’s where you start – with the ownership and accountability. I preach that to the players and so I have to take responsibility for my part in it.’

Udoka did not get into the specifics of what led to his suspension with Boston.

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Udoka led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference title and an NBA Finals appearance last season. Just before the start of training camp for 2022-23, however, the Celtics suspended Udoka for the entire season for ‘violations of team policies,’ which included inappropriate workplace conduct. He was let go when the Celtics gave Joe Mazzulla a contract extension Feb. 16.

Udoka said he took leadership and sensitivity training and attended counseling sessions with his son ‘to help him improve the situation that I put him in.’ 

Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and general manager Rafael Stone said the franchise did its due diligence and conducted its own background check into Udoka. They declined to say if they had access to the investigation conducted by the Celtics.

‘It’s important for me to feel good when I have questions and I get honest answers,’ Fertitta said. ‘The NBA told me they feel comfortable with Ime becoming coach of the Houston Rockets.’

Fertitta said he believes in second chances.

‘We’re a forgiving world, and anybody that isn’t forgiving then shame on them,’ he said.

Fertitta said he received a ‘glowing report’ on Udoka.

‘What we like about him is his ability to coach a basketball team, and that he’s going to hold these guys to toughness, respectability, accountability, and, and it’s everything how I like run a business.’

In his one season with the Celtics, Udoka was 51-31 and earned a reputation for being a no-nonsense coach who got players to buy into his offensive and defensive philosophies. He wasn’t afraid to confront players or call out their mistakes, but he also earned their respect with his basketball acumen.

The Rockets have some potential in young players Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr., who was the only Rockets player in attendance at Udoka’s introductory news conference.

Houston, along with Detroit and San Antonio, also has the best chance of winning the draft lottery and getting the No. 1 pick in the June draft.

‘I think Ime really aligns with me and the way I view the world and I view basketball,’ Stone said.