Brent Venables got back in the lab after last season. He’s cooked up something worth watching at Oklahoma.
Oklahoma quarterbcak John Mateer shows he’s a tough football player in takedown of Michigan.
In make-or-break season for Brent Venables, he dialed down hot seat talk with Oklahoma’s win against Michigan.

NORMAN, OK — Brent Venables kept pointing to the ground. He wanted his players to put him down.

His Oklahoma Sooners had other ideas. They wanted their coach up on their shoulders, uplifted after a 24-13 takedown of Michigan.

And, so, although Venables felt a bit embarrassed that his players hoisted him aloft after a Week 2 victory, what could the Oklahoma coach do, but let the players enjoy their moment?

‘I’m not apologizing for celebrating with the guys,’ Venables said. ‘They need to celebrate.’

Even if Venables might have preferred to celebrate with his feet planted on the ground.

‘I don’t think Coach V. liked that very much,’ Sooners tight end Jaren Kanak said, as he chuckled, ‘but, it was cool to see that. It’s an incredible win for him, an incredible win for the program.’

It probably says something about just how poorly last season went for blue-blooded Oklahoma that Venables’ players lifted him onto their shoulders after a win against the nation’s 13th-ranked team, an opponent that finished 8-5 last year.

Venables faced make-or-break pressure in this Year 4. The Sooners’ victory and celebration created a scene of a team rallying around its coach.

‘There is an element of celebration to it, but I think that was more emblematic of how much they love playing for their coach,’ Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione told USA TODAY Sports. ‘He has built a great culture here.’

It’s time for that to show in the results column. This victory marks a start.

Venables reconfigured Oklahoma in the offseason. He acquired a new quarterback, and he hired a new offensive coordinator. The offense showed tangible improvement.

He installed himself as defensive play-caller. His defense brought the boom, while handcuffing Michigan.

‘We want to do the hunting,’ Venables said.

The offense, too, hunted in a way it failed to do throughout 2024. Credit the Sooners’ long-haired quarterback, fresh from Washington State.

Oklahoma’s offense resurrects behind John Mateer

Mateer knifed through defenders. He absorbed hits on repeated runs and admitted that he ought to consider sliding a little more often. He threw daring passes that, at times, risked interception, and other times resulted in thrilling completions.

He injected a spark the offense lacked throughout a 2024 season plagued by injuries and insufficient performance.

‘He made some amazing plays,’ Venables said of his transfer quarterback, ‘and threw some lasers.’

None better than Mateer’s rope up the sideline to Isaiah Sategna III, one of 21 transfers Venables brought in. Mateer nearly got sacked on the play. He escaped danger, rolled out, and fired a completion that only a quarterback with his moxie could envision.

‘I trust that kid to no end,’ said Oklahoma’s first-year coordinator Ben Arbuckle, previously Mateer’s coordinator at Washington State.

Mateer showed a steady hand when Oklahoma needed it most. He led the Sooners on a methodical, 16-play, 78-yard drive that chewed up more than eight minutes of clock and ended in a short field goal to extend the lead to two possessions and effectively snuff out Michigan’s attempt at a second-half rally.

‘That drive, altogether, was awesome,’ Mateer said.

So was Oklahoma’s defense. The Sooners never allowed Michigan’s blue-chip quarterback Bryce Underwood to find comfort or develop a rhythm. The Wolverines’ ballyhooed freshman completed only nine passes.

Mateer admired Underwood’s upside.

‘He’s way better than I was as a freshman,’ Mateer said.

Maybe so, but Mateer is way more polished now. He got just enough help, too. Deion Burks, Keontez Lewis, Sategna and Kanak have the makings of a good group of targets. Oklahoma’s offensive line showed progress after enduring an injury-riddled, maligned season. That unit held up against a sturdy Michigan defense.

‘We weren’t going against the sisters of the poor,’ Venables said. ‘You’re going against Michigan.’

Can Brent Venables go from hot seat to College Football Playoff?

The Sooners tasted a high under Venables previously. Two years ago, with a different star transfer quarterback galvanizing the offense, Oklahoma started 7-0 and beat Texas.

The good times didn’t last. Oklahoma lost three of its final six games in that 2023 season. The tailspin persisted. From last October through the end of the season, Oklahoma beat only one Bowl Subdivision opponent – Alabama, of all teams.

That positioned Venables on the hot seat.

Speaking of heat, Venables spoke of his team as having ‘gone through hell,’ and, when you emerge from those fires, ‘you don’t walk the same.’

‘I’m really excited about what this team can become,’ Venables said.

Castiglione hired Venables, then awarded him a raise and extension prior to last season. Castiglione will retire as athletic director later this athletic year and transition into an emeritus role. In other words, Venables’ future will shift into the hands of a different boss.

That won’t become an issue if Oklahoma keeps winning games like this, with a team that appears to have enough talent – and the right quarterback – to pursue College Football Playoff contention.

Oklahoma’s brutal schedule almost seemed tailormade to get a coach fired. It’s a minefield, truly, with many, many more opponents that will be as good or better than Michigan.

Considering the way Mateer and the Sooners’ defense played against Michigan, they could survive and even thrive against this schedule.

Just how good is Oklahoma? Good enough that this shouldn’t be the last signature victory the Sooners celebrate.

‘We have a lot of different types of challenges along the way, in front of us. We know that,’ Venables said, ‘but I think (this) is obviously a step in the right direction.’

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Four MLB managers have been fired during the 2025 season – but none of them are done.
Derek Shelton (Pirates), Brandon Hyde (Orioles), Bud Black (Rockies) and Davey Martinez (Nationals) were all sacked.
Martinez led Washington to a World Series title in 2019.

They have been bird-hunting and fly-fishing, watching their daughters play volleyball, hanging with their grandkids and attending World Series reunions.

They live in San Diego, Florida and Tennessee, and for the first time since they were kids, were home with their families for the summer.

It has been enjoyable, but sorry, it just wasn’t their preference.

They happen to be unemployed major league managers

This quartet opened the season as respected managers of their big-league teams, but all were fired before the All-Star break, some informed as they were packing for a trip, one after being informed his job was safe, and another on his off day.

Now, after mostly a summer of silence, Brandon Hyde, Derek Shelton, Bud Black and Davey Martinez are hoping to return this winter to the game they love, one that has caused stress, gray hair, angst, heartache – and real heart problems – and they can’t wait to have baseball consume their lives again.

“It’s hard to manage and it’s hard to walk away at the same time,’ says Black, who has managed 18 seasons for the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres. “I know it’s sort of contradictory. It’s weird. It’s just something special being part of that fraternity.’

From a series of interviews with USA TODAY Sports, here are their stories:

Derek Shelton, 55, Pirates

Team: Pittsburgh, 5-plus seasons
Date of Firing: May 8
Record at firing: 12-26
Record since: 52-52

Just two weeks after being fired by the Pirates, Shelton traveled to Birmingham, Ala., with his 15-year-old daughter, Gianna, for a volleyball tournament.

There were thousands of girls in attendance, but he looked across the way, and was momentarily confused. He couldn’t believe who was at the same event.

Brandon Hyde, who was fired just nine days after him by the Baltimore Orioles.

“Here we are, both fired managers, and we’re looking at each other, ‘What are you doing here?’ Shelton said. “Hey, it is what it is. But you know what, as much as I hated losing my job, it’s a blessing spending quality time with my 15-year-old volleyball player. You have to think everything happens for a reason, so if that reason was to spend quality time with Gianna, I’ll take it.’

For the first time since he was working for a St. Louis moving company in 1996, Shelton was home for the summer, dissecting just what went wrong.

Shelton, who has had vast coaching experience with Cleveland, the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins, inherited a rebuilding Pirates team before the COVID 2020 season that went 69-93 the previous season. It was a painful process with back-to-back 100 loss seasons, and after going 76-86 in consecutive seasons and another slow start, Shelton sensed trouble.

The Pirates had just lost seven consecutive games, and on off-day in Pittsburgh before they were scheduled to face Atlanta, was summoned to PNC Park. He was informed by GM Ben Cherington that he was fired just 38 games into the season.

He packed what he wanted from his office, drove home to Treasure Island, Fla., the following day without having the opportunity to say good-bye to his players.

“The one thing about being let go early in the season is that you not only have the opportunity to watch games and reflect,’ Shelton said, “but think about things you wish you could have done differently. You reflect on decisions, relationships, how you can be a better manager, leader and a better person.

“Now that there’s not the pressure of winning every day, there are decisions I wish I would have done differently. I’m not sure you grasp that when you’re managing every day.’

“Sometimes, it takes something dramatic as being fired to have the time to reflect.’

It took several weeks for Shelton to even turn on the TV and watch an inning of a game. He still hasn’t sat down and watched a full game. Yet, he also didn’t want the game to forget about him, and joined MLB Radio in a part-time role while also traveling to Phoenix to work on the MLB Network set for their annual draft combine.

“The biggest thing is that it takes time,’ Shelton said. “It takes time to get past the initial anger, the hurt, being pissed off. But then you realize you’ve got to learn from it to become a better leader.’

Now, with the experience he’s gained, he truly believes whoever hires him next will get a better and upgraded version of the man who oversaw the massive rebuild in Pittsburgh that’s still underway.

“When you go through a situation that’s a rebuild and all of the challenges for that,’ Shelton says, “it helps you prepare for the next opportunity. You have an opportunity to reflect on how you would have done X, Y and Z differently. How you build your roster. How you build your staff. Everything.

“You also realize is that how special it is to be part of this fraternity. The only people that understand it are the people that are in it. When you’re sitting in that chair, you appreciate all of the other managers and what they go through.

“I’d love to have another opportunity.’’

Brandon Hyde, 51, Orioles

Team: Baltimore, 6-plus seasons
Date of Firing: May 17
Record at firing: 15-28
Record since: 50-48

Hyde not only endured one of the biggest rebuilds in baseball history, with the Orioles averaging 111 losses over a three-year stretch outside the 2020 COVID season, but led the Orioles to back-to-back postseasons.

He was voted the American League Manager of the Year in 2023 after leading the Orioles to 101 victories, their most since 1979, winning the AL East title for the first time in nine years.

And was fired less than 1 ½ seasons later.

“I wasn’t expecting to be let go, I really wasn’t,’ Hyde said, “but we couldn’t have played any worse. We were pretty banged up. Our starting rotation was ranked 30th in baseball. Our offense was 28th. Just everything went wrong.’

When the Orioles lost 4-3 on May 17 to the Washington Nationals, GM Mike Elias came to his office and informed him that he and Tim Cossins, his close friend and field coordinator, were fired. The firing was kept a secret until the next day when the players were informed in a team meeting when they arrived to the clubhouse.

Hyde hurriedly packed up his office that night, said goodbye to his staff and clubhouse attendants, returned to his condo, and by the following morning was in the car driving to his home in Florida.

“That was one of the hardest things,’ Hyde says, “packing up my office. There was six-plus years of memories. We built such a personal relationship with that group. We had gone through so much together.

“Then, it was all gone.’

When Hyde got home, he wanted to watch the Orioles’ games, root for the players he spent so much time with during their rebuild, but simply couldn’t. Not yet.

“I tried to watch them,’ Hyde said, “but it was pretty painful. I’d turn it on for a little bit, but then I’d turn the channel. It was really hard to watch, but I had so much invested in those guys, and I still care.’

Just like that, for the first time since he was 19, he was home in the summer. He traveled with his son, Colton, during his summer baseball tournaments. He was with his daughter, Addison, for her volleyball games. He was catching up on everything he’d missed over the years.

“You have a lot of feelings when you get let go,’ Hyde said, “but to watch them play, that was enjoyable. It’s a strange feeling being home, but that was the silver lining.’

Still, Hyde hopes to not spend another summer at home – at least for the next decade or so. He believes he has plenty to offer, and of the four managers that were let go, he likely has the best chance to resurface the quickest. He was the farm director with the Miami Marlins and later their bench coach. He was a bench coach and first base coach under Joe Maddon with the Cubs when they won the World Series, and was well-respected in the industry with the Orioles.

“I really believe that Brandon will be back managing soon,’ Black said. “He’s really positioned himself to get another opportunity.’

The way Hyde sees it, if he can win with a bunch of kids and a miniscule payroll in the AL East, there certainly won’t be a challenge too big for him in the future.

“I feel more motivated than ever right now,’ Hyde said. “When something like this happens, a lot of reflecting goes on. I’m proud of what we accomplished with the payroll we were playing against and the success we had. Managing in the AL East definitely prepares you for anything. I’m glad I did that for six-plus years in that division.

“I feel incredibly prepared for whatever comes next.’

Bud Black, 68, Rockies

Team: Colorado: 8-plus seasons.
Date of Firing: May 11
Record at firing: 7-33
Record since: 33-68

Black, the winningest manager in Rockies history, was driving home to San Diego early the morning after his firing, on a highway in Utah when his cell phone rang.

It was Hall of Famer George Brett, his former teammate with the Kansas City Royals.

“Blackie, I saw the news. You can come to the reunion now. You’re coming.‘

A few hours later, there was a text message from former teammate Jamie Quirk, who told him that the timing of the firing couldn’t be better. Now he can come to the Royals’ 30-year reunion the following weekend of their 1985 World Series championship team.

Next was a text from Mark Gubicza, who was in the Royals’ starting rotation with him: “Sorry to hear the news. Hey, guess what, you can come to the reunion now.’

“Here I am taking a therapeutic drive,’ Black said, “and everyone’s telling me it’s good news because now I can come to the reunion. You know how it is, guys are hardened by this, especially your longtime friends, they’re not as sensitive as others are.

“It’s like, “Hey, you can come to the reunion, let’s [bleeping] go.’

“So, sure enough, I did.’

The reunion was the best healing elixir he could have imagined, catching up with old friends, telling old stories, and remembering the good times. It even included a gala one night where country star Garth Brooks arrived unannounced at the end of the night, singing “Happy Birthday’ and “Friends in Low Places,’ to Brett, who was celebrating his 72nd birthday.

Black has stopped trying to figure out just what happened around his firing. Rockies GM Bill Schmidt had just told the Denver Post a day earlier that Black’s job was safe. They lost 21-0 that night, but did bounce back and end their eight-game losing streak the next day with a 9-3 victory over the San Diego Padres.

He was in his office packing his bags for their upcoming road trip to Texas and Arizona when Schmidt walked in. He was fired less than 24 hours after getting a vote of confidence.

“It seemed like it happened real fast,’ Black said. “Usually you hear rumblings. I didn’t hear those rumblings. How that went down, I’m still not sure.’

Black sat stunned in his office, and slowly, players and staff members filtered in, saying goodbye before boarding the bus for the airport.

“That was cool for the players and coaches, one by one, single file, to come in for brief conversations,’ Black said. “It was pretty emotional.’

Black, not bothering to pack any of his belongings, drove back to his Denver suburban home, spent the night, and immediately got into his car the next morning for a 16-hour drive to San Diego.

“Most of us in that office don’t like having an elaborate bunch of stuff,’ Black said. “Just because of the nature of the job. I just had things boxed up that I wanted sent to me.’

It was Black’s second managerial stint after spending more than eight seasons with the San Diego Padres, from 2006 to 2015, having previously worked as the Angels’ pitching coach for seven seasons, including their 2002 World Series championship.

Black certainly could step away from the game, spend the rest of his life playing golf and hanging out with his wife, Nan, two daughters and five grandkids, but sorry, he just isn’t ready to retire.

He’d love to manage again, and if not, at least join an organization for an on-field role, or even a front office position – somewhere where he can make a difference.

“I’m going to stay in the game,’ Black said. “I feel good. My energy level is high. I think the managerial fit has to be right for everybody.

“But I still love the competition. It feels nice to win a World Series. I’d like to be part of another one. Or just help the game, whatever capacity that is.

“But I know I want to stay in the game.’

Davey Martinez, 60, Nationals

Team: Washington: 7-plus seasons
Date of firing: July 6
Record at firing: 37-53
Record since: 19-31

Martinez had just won his 500th game as the Washington Nationals manager and was packing his bags for a trip to St. Louis when Nationals owner Mark Lerner came to his office.

It took only a quick look into Lerner’s face that this wasn’t a congratulatory gathering.

Martinez was fired, just a week before the All-Star Game, and less than six years after leading the Nationals’ to their first World Series championship in 2019.

And, oh, by the way, he wasn’t the only one being fired.

The Nationals had just fired GM Mike Rizzo too.

Martinez sat stunned in his office, and minutes later, Rizzo, the man who hired him, came walking in.

They sat, chatted, reminisced, and became emotional for the next two hours, as Nationals clubhouse attendants hurriedly retrieved Martinez’s suitcase off the truck that was heading to the airport.

“Honestly, I was a little surprised,’ Martinez said. “I beat myself up a little bit. I know people said you did nothing wrong, but I tell them, “I was blessed to have this job, but sometimes you have to look back and say maybe it was time. You learn from things. I had a great run. Maybe it was time to move on.’

“I really have no regrets at all. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I told Rizz [Mike Rizzo], ‘We won a championship together. I feel I can win another one somewhere else.’

Bench coach Miguel Cairo soon joined Martinez and Rizzo in the office that day, letting them know that he was offered the interim managerial job, but he wasn’t going to take it without Martinez’s blessing.

“That meant a lot to me,’ Martinez said, “that kind of loyalty. He’s a great friend. We still talk a few times a week.’

Martinez, who had a 16-year playing career and figures he was last home during the summer back when he was in high school, hung around Washington, D.C. for the next week. He went back to his office the next day when everyone was gone, decided what was important to keep and what he no longer wanted to be reminded of, and had the Nationals clubhouse staff ship his belongings to his 350-acre farm in Tennessee.

“When I closed the door for the final time, I had a little moment where it was emotional,’ Martinez said. “I definitely miss the game. I look back, and I’ve been doing it forever. I honestly, 100% say it’s not the end. I love the game. I look forward to my next opportunity.’

Martinez believes the fact that he led a veteran team to a World Series title, as well as overseeing a complete rebuild, his resume will be a good fit for any team looking for a manager this winter. He played for Hall of Famer Bobby Cox and future Hall of Famer Dusty Baker as a player, and was Joe Maddon’s bench coach when the Cubs won the 2016 World Series.

“I went through a lot of adversity as a player, coach and manager,’ Martinez says, “and I know how to deal with it. I’m ready for any situation that comes my way.’

Black, who reached out to Martinez, Shelton and Hyde after their dismissals, say they’ll all be better managers having gone through the experience for the first time. It’s the same for Phil Nevin, Luis Rojas and Chris Woodward who also were fired after their first managerial stints and would like another shot.

“You learn a lot from your first job,’ Black said. “When they get another opportunity, they’ll for sure benefit because experience is the best teacher. These guys will be refreshed, more confident, more self-assured. They’ll know what it’s all about.

“The first time, you’re not sure. You pick it up rather quickly, but you’re learning it from one organization. Now they’ll go, be somewhere else, and they’ll have a different perspective because they came from another organization. The experience they gained, will really be beneficial.

“They will be back.’

Around the basepaths

– Iconic manager Davey Johnson died at the age of 82 on Friday night.

Johnson participated in two of the most famous World Series in history as a player with the Baltimore Orioles in 1969 and as manager of the 1986 Mets.

Johnson won a division title with four different teams and won at least 90 games in seven seasons, and 98 or more in five seasons.

He had the sixth-greatest winning percentage (.562) among the 35 managers who won at least 1,300 games: Joe McCarthy (.615), John McGraw (.586), Al Lopez (.584), Earl Weaver (.583) and Fred Clarke (.576). They are all in the Hall of Fame.

Johnson could join them as he almost certainly will be on next year’s ballot.

– Forget all of the talk, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber isn’t going anywhere this winter. He loves Philadelphia, and more important, the Phillies love him. They simply will not be out-bid by any team, knowing how vital he is to them as not only their greatest power hitter, but their ultimate clubhouse leader.

– The Arizona Diamondbacks, who didn’t receive any legitimate offers for starter Zac Gallen at the trade deadline, will definitely give Gallen a qualifying offer now that he has gone 4-1 with a 2.20 ERA since the trade deadline.

The D-backs wouldn’t mind having him return, but don’t expect him to accept.

– Atlanta wouldn’t have taken the gamble of claiming Ha-Seong Kim off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays if they weren’t certain that Kim would not opt out of the $16 remaining in his contract for 2026.

Kim is definitely staying, and Atlanta has its shortstop.

How badly is he needed?

Atlanta’s shortstops were hitting .217 with a .249 slugging percentage and .524 OPS, easily the worst in baseball, before Kim’s arrival. They had gone the entire season without a homer from their shortstop position until Kim homered.

– The Rangers’ resurgence has increased the likelihood that manager Bruce Bochy’s may return in 2026, after all. Bochy is yet to formally announce his decision, but says he feels healthy and rejuvenated.

– Despite Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker’s struggles since the All-Star break, hitting .242 with only five homers and 17 RBI, rival executives still believe he’ll be the highest-paid player in free agency. Their prediction where he’ll land? The Dodgers, who badly could use outfield help.

– Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez’s stunt, in which he intentionally crossed up his own catcher or at the least simply didn’t care that he hit him in the chest with his fastball, could cost Valdez millions in free agency. One scout said their organization already crossed Valdez off their list of free agent candidates after the incident.

– The Phillies, who shopped outfielder Nick Castellanos last winter, will be much more aggressive trying to move him this winter, even eating a significant portion of his remaining $20 million salary.

– If players can start hitting like Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, everyone is going to want an oblique injury.

Langeliers, who had a career .708 OPS, hit .237 with 10 homers, 20 extra-base hits and a .730 OPS through 56 games when he sustained his oblique injury on June 5.

Since his return June 30?

He is hitting .285 with 19 homers, 34 extra-base hits and a .951 OPS in 51 games.

He was hitting one homer every 5.64 games and 19.1 at-bats before his oblique injiury.

He is now hitting one homer every 2.68 games and 10.9 at-bats.

– While the Seattle Mariners once again are crumbling down the stretch, they are being reminded of the players former GM Jack Zduriencik drafted or signed but were traded away within the first three years Jerry Dipoto was hired Sept. 28, 2015 to replace Zduriencik:

Pitcher Freddy Peralta: signed in 2013, traded in December 2015.
Infielder Ketel Marte: signed in 2010, traded in November 2016.
Pitcher Taijuan Walker: drafted in 2010, traded in November 2016.
Pitcher Andrew Kittredge: signed in 2011, traded in November 2016.
Pitcher Zack Littell: drafted in 2013, traded in November 2016
Pitcher Ryan Yarbrough: drafted in 2014, traded in January 2017.
Outfielder Tyler O’Neill: drafted in 2013, traded in July 2017.
Infielder Luis Rengifo: signed in 2013, traded in August 2017.
Pitcher Emilio Pagan: drafted in 2013, traded in November 2017.
Pitcher James Paxton: drafted in 2010, traded in November 2018.
Pitcher Edwin Diaz: drafted in 2012, traded in December 2018.

– You remember when the Dodgers and Padres were actually good? They entered Saturday with an 0-8 record this week playing against the lowly Rockies, Pirates and Orioles.

The Dodgers were swept only four times in a three- or four-game series in a span of 514 games from June 14, 2022 to July 3, 2025.

They have now been swept five times in a span of 52 games since July 4.

Meanwhile, the Padres’ collapse brings back ugly memories of 2021 when they lost 34 of their last 46 games and missed the postseason.

The Dodgers’ and Padres’ struggles have allowed the Giants to gain six games in the standings in just 12 days by going 11-1.

– Thanks to the Mariners’ collapse, losing 15 of their last 21 games entering Saturday, there at least is one postseason race in September. The Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians all within 2 ½ games of the Mariners for the final wild-card berth.

– The biggest mystery to the Mariners’ fade is their starting pitching. Their rotation is yielding a 4.55 ERA since the All-Star break, and a 5.89 ERA on the road in their last 22 starts. They have a 4.69 ERA on the road overall this season, ranking fifth-worst in baseball.

– The Chicago Cubs can spend the final three weeks making sure their players are well rested for the postseason now that the Brewers have the NL Central virtually locked up, and the Cubs have a comfortable five-game lead to be the No. 1 wild-card team and host the wild-card round at Wrigley Field.

– The Boston Red Sox still are in good shape to make the postseason, but their road to a division title is treacherous.

Their opponents the rest of the season and their record since Aug. 5:

Arizona: 17-11.
Athletics: 15-12.
Yankees: 18-9.
Rays: 15-11.
Blue Jays: 15-11.
Tigers: 15-12.

– Boston Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet says he feels strong, but the numbers say different, after pitching a career-high 178 ⅔ innings this year:

March 27-June 1: 13 starts, 1.98 ERA.
June 7-July 26: 9 starts, 2.58 ERA.
Aug. 5-Sept. 2: 8 starts, 4.38 ERA.

– The Diamondbacks, after a disappointing season, not only plan to cut payroll next season, but will have to pay about $38.5 million to players who will open the 2026 season on the IL, including ace Corbin Burnes, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery and isn’t expected back until perhaps September.

– Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman, who signed a two-year, $26 million contract extension, becomes the first player to have a bonus for winning the BBWAA’s new Reliever of the Year award which begins in 2026.

– You can’t blame Guardians fans for screaming into the night every time they see Rays infielder Junior Caminero hit a home run, entering Saturday with 41 homers and 103 RBI.

This is the same guy the Guardians signed as a teenager, but gave away to the Rays for starter Tobias Myers after the 2021 season.

If the trade doesn’t look bad enough now, Caminero is only 22 years old and under team control through 2030.

– The Rockies’ starting rotation is yielding a 6.62 ERA this season, which will not only set a franchise record, but could be the worst in baseball history with the 1996 Detroit Tigers owning the dubious record with a 6.64 ERA.

– The Kansas City Royals were set to trade Seth Lugo at the trade deadline until he agreed to a two-year, $46 million contract extension.

Yet, now when they badly need him if they’re going to make a legitimate run for the playoffs, he has now gone belly-up, yielding a 9.11 ERA in his last six starts while pitching less than five innings in five of the starts.

– Aaron Judge is about to surpass Joe DiMaggio (361) for the fourth most homers in Yankee franchise history, but it will be awhile before he passes anyone else with Lou Gehrig (493), Mickey Mantle (536) and Babe Ruth (659) up next.

Judge, who is hitting an American League-leading .322, could become only the 10th AL player to hit 40 homers and win a batting title in history, and the third Yankee, joining Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle.

– Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe’s six-year, $24 million contract expires after this season but he’s hoping to spend the rest of his career in Tampa. The Rays hold an $11.5 million club option for next year.

– Nothing personal, but it may be awhile before the Boston Red Sox try to acquire another starter from the Dodgers.

They acquired Dustin May at the trade deadline, only to watch him implode with a 5.68 ERA in five starts and was temporarily demoted to the bullpen.

And this is after signing Walker Buehler during the winter, giving him a one-year, $21.05 million contract and releasing him after he went 7-7 with a 5.45 ERA.

– The Tigers are the latest contender to suffer a significant injury blow when reliever Kyle Finnegan, who had pitched 14⅓ innings since the trade deadline, went on the IL with a right abductor strain. He has easily been the best reliever acquisition at the trade deadline, recording at least four or more outs in four of his 11 appearances.

– Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham was confident he’d start hitting once he made a change to his prescription contacts in June, and sure enough, he has delivered.

He has been the Pirates’ finest hitter, batting .321 with a .912 OPS since June 22 with eight homers and 40 RBI.

– While Juan Soto could become the first Mets’ player to hit 40 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season, he could join Barry Bonds and Jeff Bagwell as the only players to hit 40 homers with 100 RBI, 100 runs, 100 walks and 30 steals in a single season.

Yet, Bonds never finished higher than fifth in MVP voting in the two seasons he accomplished the feat in 1996 and 1997, and Bagwell finished third and second in the two seasons he achieved those numbers in 1997 and 1999.

Soto, barring a miraculous finish, likely won’t finish higher than third in this year’s balloting behind Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.

– The Red Sox have a $14 million club option on starter Lucas Giolito that they plan to pick up, but Giolito needs to pitch just 14⅔ more innings to reach 140 innings for the season and turn the club option to a $19 million mutual option – which he could void and become a free agent again.

– Kudos to the Dodgers for paying tribute to more than 80 of their employees with at least 25 years of service in a pre-game ceremony on Tuesday, including three ushers who have spent at least 50 years in the organization. They will also honor the late James Mims, who was the press box steward for 45 years before passing away last week at the age of 89.

– Prayers to Jim Marshall, 94, a member of their original ’62 Mets team and the oldest living Mets’ player, who was placed in hospice Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

Playing as a college football team ranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 can put a target on the back of some teams.

Week 2 of the 2025 college football season was a good reminder that any team can be upset at any time if they let their guard down. Just ask Billy Napier-led Florida, which was upset, 18-16, after entering as 17.5-point favorites over Nico Gramatica and South Florida on Saturday, Sept. 6 in Gainesville, Florida.

In total, four teams ranked in the top 16 of the USLBM Coaches Poll fell in Week 2 after Alabama was the biggest loser of Week 1 of the college football season with a road loss to unranked Florida State. Week 2 provided tough wins for No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 LSU, as well, despite playing inferior competition.

Here’s a recap of the major college football upsets in Week 2 of the 2025 college football season:

College football upsets yesterday

Mississippi State 24, No. 10 Arizona State 20

This may have been the most shocking upset of Week 2. Kenny Dillingham and Arizona State are coming off a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff berth in 2024, while Jeff Lebby and Mississippi State were coming off a 2-10 season.

That did not matter early, as the Bulldogs jumped ahead 17-0 in the second quarter. The Sun Devils scored 20 straight points, including a go-ahead field goal from Jesus Gomez with 1:38 left in the game. However, Brenen Thompson caught a 58-yard touchdown pass from Blake Shapen with 30 seconds left to preserve the biggest upset of the day.

The win was so big in Starkville that fans rushed the field and tore down the goalposts following the top-10 win.

No. 24 Oklahoma 24, No. 13 Michigan 13

Oklahoma was the home team and a slight favorite over Michigan, but the lower-ranked team knocked off the higher-ranked team and that will cause a massive changeup in the rankings.

John Mateer passed his biggest test so far as the Sooners’ starting QB with a three-touchdown performance, as the Sooners never trailed. Brent Venables continues to make life very tough on freshman quarterbacks, as Bryce Underwood struggled in his first true road start.

USF 18, No. 15 Florida 16

All the goodwill Napier built over the last few weeks of the 2024 season is gone, and he’s right back on the hot seat with Florida fans following an ugly, undisciplined loss at home to the Bulls.

The Gators’ offense struggled in the red zone, committing 11 penalties for 103 yards ― including Brendan Bett spitting on his opponent ― and the defense could not get a stop on the final drive. Coupled with poor clock management from Napier, Alex Golesh picked up his signature win with USF, in a potential audition for his next gig.

Nico Gramatica ― the son of former NFL kicker Martin Gramatica ― served as the hero at the end with his game-winning field goal.

Baylor 48, No. 16 SMU 45

SMU led rival Baylor by double-digits on three separate occasions on Sept. 6, including a 38-24 lead with 8:38 left in the game. However, Sawyer Robertson connected with Kobe Prentice for a 21-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

In the second overtime, Mustangs’ kicker Collin Rogers missed a field goal, paving the way for Connor Hawkins to knock in his attempt to give the Bears the upset win over a rival. Baylor has now won 14 straight over SMU, with the Mustangs’ chance of a CFP run taking a major hit.

Army 24, Kansas State 21

Kansas State’s 2025 season continued to go sideways after a loss to Army. The Wildcats entered as 16.5-point favorites over the Black Knights, but Cale Hellums scored a 14-yard touchdown with 2:52 to help Army bounce back from a 30-27 loss to Tarleton State in Week 1.

Avery Johnson threw an interception in Kansas State’s final drive. Army beat the Wildcats 40:44 to 19:16 in terms of time of possession and rushed for over 200 yards.

Ohio 17, West Virginia 10

Rich Rodriguez’s honeymoon return to West Virginia ended after just two weeks. The Mountaineers struck first for a touchdown in the first quarter, but could not find the red zone again in the upset road loss. Ohio possessed the ball for 40:15 of the game clock and limited West Virginia to 250 total yards of offense. The Bobcats held a 17-7 halftime lead and basically played keep-away from Rodriguez’s offense in the second half.

Bryant 27, UMass 26

Bryce Soli hit a 25-yard field goal as time expired to give FCS program Bryant the road upset victory over UMass. The Minutemen had taken the lead with a field goal on their previous drive, but could not stop the Bulldogs from scoring on their final drive. UMass is off to a 0-2 start, with both losses coming at home in 2025.

UNLV 30, UCLA 23

Dan Mullen has UNLV off to a 3-0 start following an upset win over Nico Iamaleava and UCLA on Sept. 6. The win marked the Rebels’ first victory over a Big Ten Conference opponent in 22 years. UCLA entered the game as 3.5-point favorites, but instead are off to a 0-2 start.

Jacksonville State 34, Liberty 24

On a day Rodriguez lost at West Virginia, Charles Kelly picked up his biggest win as the Gamecocks coach. Jacksonville State entered as a 6.5-point underdog, but Cam Cook rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns to help it come out with the upset victory.

Missouri State 21, Marshall 20

Missouri State is off the schneid as an FBS team with its victory over Marshall. Jacob Clark threw for three touchdowns and 359 yards, including an 8-yard pass to Jeron Askren with 2:12 remaining to give the Bears the upset road victory over Marshall. The Thundering Herd is off to a 0-2 start under first-year coach Tony Gibson.

College football Week 2 scores

Here’s the full scoreboard for each ranked team in Week 2:

No. 1 Ohio State 70, Grambling 0
No. 2 Penn State 34, FIU 0
No. 3 Georgia 28, Austin Peay 6
No. 4 LSU 23, Louisiana Tech 7
No. 5 Oregon 69, Oklahoma State 3
No. 6 Texas 38, San Jose State 7
No. 7 Miami 45, Bethune-Cookman 3
No. 8 Clemson 27, Troy 16
Mississippi State 24, No. 10 Arizona State 20
No. 11 South Carolina 38, South Carolina State 10
No. 12 Illinois 45, Duke 19
No. 24 Oklahoma 24, No. 13 Michigan 13
No. 14 Ole Miss 30, Kentucky 23
USF 18, No. 15 Florida 16
Baylor 48, No. 16 SMU 45, 2 OT
No. 17 Tennessee 72, East Tennessee State 17
No. 18 Iowa State 16, Iowa 13
No. 19 Florida State 77, East Texas A&M 3
No. 20 Alabama 73, Louisiana-Monroe 0
No. 21 Indiana 56, Kennesaw State 9
No. 22 Texas A&M 44, Utah State 22
No. 23 Texas Tech 62, Kent State 14
No. 25 BYU 27, Stanford 3

(This story was updated to change a video.)

You never know what you’re going to see on an NFL Sunday.

One moment, it’s a fantastic highlight. The next, it could be a devastating injury. On Sunday in Cleveland, there was an unwanted guest that crashed the party.

A yellow sex toy was thrown in the southeast corner of Huntington Bank Field in front of the Dawg Pound. It continues a trend that began during WNBA games over the summer and resulted in multiple arrests.

Turns out, it wasn’t exclusive to the women’s basketball games.

During an NFL preseason contest between the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings, a sex toy was thrown onto the field on Aug. 23.

It’s unclear if the NFL incidents are related to those that happened in the WNBA.

President Donald Trump was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos upon his arrival at the U.S. Open final in New York City on Sunday, Sept. 7, with the majority of the stadium seats empty and the match start time delayed due to enhanced security checks.

The Queens borough native is attending the men’s final between No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz at the invitation of Rolex, the Swiss luxury watch company and sponsor of the tournament, according to independent tennis writer Ben Rothenberg.

He was accompanied by a group of administration officials and family, including U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Wtikoff, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, son-in-law Jared Kushner and granddaughter Arabella Kushner.

Here’s what to know about the 2025 U.S. Open men’s final:

USTA reportedly asks broadcasters to ‘refrain’ from showing reactions

The US Tennis Association, the hosts of the tournament, sent a memo to its broadcast partners asking them to “refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity,” according to The Athletic and Rothenberg.

“We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions,” Lisa Cradit, the USTA’s Head of Communications & Content, told USA TODAY in an email.

ESPN told USA TODAY that it would cover on-court play as normal, show images of Trump and acknowledge his presence.

Trump attended other major sporting events

Trump has been a fixture at major sporting events following his return to the White House in January.

He attended Super Bowl LIX and the Daytona 500 in February, the NCAA wrestling championships finals in March, as well as two UFC fights in April and June.

In July, Trump elbowed in on the celebrations of Premier League side Chelsea following their victory in the Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium in northern New Jersey.

What to know about the match

The final between Sinner and Alcaraz will mark the 15th meeting between the two competitors.

Alcaraz has a 9-5 record against Sinner, including three wins in the last four matches in 2025. Sinner managed to get the best of Alcaraz, winning the Wimbledon final in July.

The men’s final started at 2:30 p.m. ET, the USTA announced, due to “security measures in place, and to ensure that fans have additional time to get to their seats.”

The match will be broadcast on ABC.

This story has been updated with new information

Florida’s spitting incident dooms the Gators and potentially the season.
A Persian cat named Pudge the Cat has become a viral sensation as Bowling Green’s unofficial mascot.
Several on-field blunders marked Week 2, including a referee tripping a player and a horribly botched punt.

Nearly everyone at some point in their life was told that spitting is rude. On Sept. 6, we were again reminded it’s also consequential.

Just two days prior to Saturday, we learned what spitting at someone could cost you with Jalen Carter did the spit heard around the world on Dak Prescott, getting himself ejected in the 2025 NFL opener before he could play a down. You’d think that after the entire football world saw it, every player would understand not to do it.

Think again.

Florida had a chance to stave off South Florida from pulling off a major upset, but in the final minutes of the game, Gators defensive lineman Brendan Bett spit on Bulls offensive lineman Cole Skinner after the two had a brief confrontation. Even worse, he did it right in front of the referee.

An ejection and a free 15 yards for South Florida eventually led the Bulls to pull off the stunner. There’s no way to prove South Florida won because of the penalty, but it certainly feels like it started the free fall. Remember in 2020 when Marco Wilson threw an LSU player’s shoe, paving the way for the Tigers to upset the Gators and ruin a chance of the College Football Playoff?

Now, Florida’s hype is dead, and it faces a gauntlet of a schedule that can easily lead to another disappointing season. Let this be a lesson: Only bad things happen when you let out bodily fluids onto an opponent. Spitting likely flipped Florida’s season, and it leads the best and worst things we saw in Week 2 of college football.

Best: cats in football uniforms

The early breakout star of the 2025 season? A Persian cat.

He’s become such an icon, the Falcons brought him to the road contest against Cincinnati. Even better? He was in full uniform, looking like he was ready meow his way through defenders.

Bowling Green may have lost 34-20, but they’ll always be winners with Pudge.

Worst: Near referee tackles

Every now and then, referees find themselves in the middle of a play and their presence dictates how a play ends. Usually, it’s not that harmless, but that was far from the case in Southern Methodist vs. Baylor.

With the Mustangs in its opponent’s territory, quarterback Kevin Jennings was attempting to scramble out of the pocket when an official seemed not to have realized how close he was to the action. Jennings didn’t see the official, and he got tripped up by him for what ended up being a nine-yard loss.

It doomed SMU as the drive ended with a missed field goal, and likely could have been the shift in momentum that led to the Mustangs’ loss. Mistakes happen, but this one was clearly an official caught sleeping.

Best: Running out of fireworks

There are such things as good problems.

Minnesota had one when it scored so many points against Northwestern State, it had no fireworks left before the game ended. It started the game with a Pick-6 and had a dominant 35-0 lead after the first quarter. By the third quarter, it was 66-0, and the people at Huntington Bank Stadium clearly weren’t expecting to be celebrating so much.

Before the fourth quarter, Minnesota had to let fans know they used the entire allotment of fireworks.

It was about the only thing that could go wrong for the Golden Gophers, but no one will mind it leading to a massive victory.

Worst: Wins rewarded with sprints

It wasn’t pretty, but Syracuse overcame a second-half deficit to beat Connecticut in overtime in its home opener.

A hard-fought victory is worth celebrating, but not in coach Fran Brown’s eyes. He made his team stay on the field and run sprints following the victory.

‘We didn’t play our brand of football that I know we can play, that I watched us play all week,’ Brown said after the game. ‘And that’s what’s frustrating. … There’s a certain way you’re supposed to win a football game. They showed they were tough, we came back and we done that. But we just gotta play our brand of football.That should make Syracuse think twice about celebrating any win this season.

Best: Owning time of possession

Army was in danger of starting the season 0-2 after losing to FCS Tarleton State in Week 1 and going on the road against Kansas State. Despite a second-half deficit, the Black Knights pulled off the stunner to beat the Wildcats in Manhattan and leave with a $1.175 million payday.

But it’s how they did that deserves praise. In the second half, Army had the ball for a whopping 27 minutes, leaving the Wildcats on offense for just three minutes in the final two quarters. Kansas State only ran 13 plays in the second half.

The triple option couldn’t be stopped, and when you control the time of possession like that, that makes it an extremely miserable loss for the opposition. Now Kansas State is 1-2 and the curse of Ireland has plagued the Wildcats.

Worst: Using Powerball money to fire coach

How bad have things gotten for Kalen DeBoer in Tuscaloosa? Fans are ready to use life changing money to oust him.

Powerball has been all the craze with a $1.8 billion jackpot, the second-largest in U.S. history. Even though taking the lump sum would cut that by more than half after taxes, it’s still a big load of money. An Alabama woman told a local TV station exactly what she would do if she won: buy out DeBoer’s contract and then get rid of Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne.

A true example of it just means more. We know the expectations are high for the Crimson Tide, and it’s clear people are already done with Nick Saban’s successor. Maybe a 72-0 win over UL Monroe helps?

Best: Living your dreams

A dream was achieved at LSU, and it didn’t involve a player. Instead, it was a 66-year-old band member.

Kent Broussard made his debut at tuba for LSU’s marching band, an incredible accomplishment that showed you’re never too young to do what your heart desires. His story is incredible: a retired accountant, he always wished he could play for the Tigers. So, he trained for years and went back to school, hoping to make the band. He finally did it for the season opener at Tiger Stadium.

Even better, he got a standing ovation from the crowd and was recognized on the broadcast. Not bad for a freshman.

Worst: Another FBS loss to FCS team

It’s never good paying to lose, but it’s especially worse when it comes at the hands of an FCS team.

That unfortunate honor is handed to Massachusetts and Eastern Michigan; UMass lost to Bryant on a game-winning field goal while Eastern Michigan fell to Long Island, which led the entire contest. Now the Minutemen and Eagles are 0-2 and hoping that zero won’t stay in the win column for much longer.

Best: One-handed catches

Of all the spectacular plays of Week 2, the best arguably has to go to Southern California receiver Ja’Kobi Lane.

Against Georgia Southern, Lane had a defender draped all over him, but he still somehow was able to haul in the catch with one hand for a Trojan touchdown in a play you have to see to believe.

It was a great start to what would be a 59-20 win for USC.

Worst: Whatever this ‘punt’ was

Now that we have had the best play of the day, it’s time to look at what was really the worst of Week 2.

Oregon State was set to punt against Fresno State, but punter AJ Winsor couldn’t handle the snap. The ball rolled on the floor, and what did Winsor try to do? Kick it off the ground.

The punt strangely went forward, and it got worse from there. Fresno State’s Jaden Carrillo picked it up and took it back to the house for a touchdown in a disastrous sequence for the Beavers.

Obviously frustrating, Oregon State coach Trent Bray could only react one way in an NSFW rant on national TV.

‘Special teams, (expletive) joke,’ Bray said.

Can’t fault Bray for that one, especially since the Beavers ended up losing 36-27.

Cal Ripken Jr.’s streak of 2,632 consecutive games may be MLB’s most unbeatable record.
Orioles celebrated the 30th anniversary of Ripken passing Lou Gehrig with game No. 2,131.
Hall of Famers flocked to Camden Yards to relive the magical night.

They trotted out Hall of Famers Eddie Murray and Jim Palmer and even the man who hit the Warehouse on the fly – Ken Griffey Jr. – along with the voices of this town’s most iconic moment, Chris Berman and Jon Miller.

And for a moment, Cal Ripken Jr. was transported back, back, back to 1995.

On the 30th anniversary of that magical Sept. 6, 1995 night when Ripken played in his 2,131st consecutive game, shattering the seemingly unbreakable standard set by Lou Gehrig, Ripken was feted by former teammates and opponents alike, perched atop a red convertible to wave to fans and finally delivered to home plate, where he reflected for a few minutes on this moment in time.

‘Dad used to say, it’s great to be young and an Oriole,’ Ripken, now 65, told a near-sellout Camden Yards crowd of a yarn passed down by Cal Ripken Sr. before the team’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

‘I’ve had the great good fortune to play baseball. I’ve had the great good fortune to play with the Orioles. I’ve had the great good fortune to play against some of the greatest players in the game.

‘And I’ve had the greatest good fortune to play right here in my hometown of Baltimore.”

As hosannas go, it might fall a tad short of Joe DiMaggio’s proclamation that ‘I want to thank the good Lord for making me a New York Yankee.’ Yet for a town and franchise – and feat – that lands on the side of grit and determination and only a dash of showmanship, the phrase fit.

Certainly, the Orioles did their best to convene a gathering of significant figures from a night that, as current Orioles broadcaster Kevin Brown told the crowd, ‘rekindled a belief in the national pastime’ amid the fallout of an ugly labor war.

The teammates who shoved Ripken out of the dugout that night and urged him to take a victory lap when the game was official? Bobby Bonilla and Rafael Palmeiro were there. In the middle of the fifth inning, they recreated the moment, Ripken, Bonilla and Palmeiro all donning Oriole home white jerseys as the pair shoved the Ironman back on the field and he took a few more bows. (The actual game, alas, was not yet official as the Dodgers held a 2-0 lead).

Peers from the Orioles’ last World Series winner in 1983? Al Bumbry and Murray and Palmer were there, along with Hall of Fame pitcher Mike Mussina and slugger Harold Baines.

And Griffey? He merely drilled the Warehouse with a blast from the 1993 Home Run Derby. But iconic moments deserve iconic presences.

Even former President Bill Clinton – in the booth alongside Berman when Ripken blasted a Shawn Boskie pitch over the wall for undoubtedly the timeliest of his 431 career home runs – weighed in via video message.

As Whitney Houston’s ‘One Moment In Time’ played, it all seemed like a trip back in a time machine, at least until the convertible transporting Ripken rolled by the visitor’s dugout. And instead of the California Angels it was the Los Angeles Dodgers (interleague play having debuted in 1997, after all) and future Hall of Famer Freddie Freeman perched on the railing, reaching out to try to smack five with the Ironman.

After Ripken’s remarks and a first pitch thrown out by son Ryan – 2 years old in 1995 – the time for nostalgia was over.

‘It couldn’t have played out any better,’ Ripken told the crowd. ‘That night was a celebration of an old Oriole principle – that we show up each and every day to meet every challenge thrown our way.

‘We played great that night. That simple thought gave great context to the streak. In many ways, I was just following Dad’s instructions and Eddie’s example.

‘That one-day-at-a-time approach turned into 2,632 games in a row.’

And a singular achievement they’re still celebrating.

President Donald Trump was greeted with a mix of cheers and boos upon his arrival at the U.S. Open final in New York City on Sunday, Sept. 7, with the majority of the stadium seats empty and the match start time delayed due to enhanced security checks.

The Queens borough native is attending the men’s final between No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz at the invitation of Rolex, the Swiss luxury watch company and sponsor of the tournament, according to independent tennis writer Ben Rothenberg.

Here’s what to know about the 2025 U.S. Open men’s final:

USTA reportedly asks broadcasters to ‘refrain’ from showing reactions

The US Tennis Association, the hosts of the tournament, sent a memo to its broadcast partners asking them to ‘refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity,’ according to The Athletic and Rothenberg.

USA TODAY reached out to the USTA the morning of the match and did not receive an immediate response. The association told CNN in a statement that ‘We regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off-court disruptions.’

ESPN, which is the U.S. broadcast carrier of the US Open, did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY on Sept. 7.

Trump attended other major sporting events

Trump has been a fixture at major sporting events following his return to the White House in January.

He attended Super Bowl LIX and the Daytona 500 in February, the NCAA wrestling championships finals in March, as well as two UFC fights in April and June.

In July, Trump elbowed in on the celebrations of Premier League side Chelsea following their victory in the Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium in northern New Jersey.

What to know about the match

The final between Sinner and Alcaraz will mark the 15th meeting between the two competitors.

Alcaraz has a 9-5 record against Sinner, including three wins in the last four matches in 2025. Sinner managed to get the best of Alcaraz, winning the Wimbledon final in July.

The men’s final will start at 2:30 p.m. ET, the USTA announced, due to ‘security measures in place, and to ensure that fans have additional time to get to their seats.’

The match will be broadcast on ABC.

Florida’s loss to South Florida puts coach Billy Napier back on the hot seat.
Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa State secured significant wins against rival or Power Four opponents.
Oklahoma State and SMU suffered brutal losses, with SMU blowing a late 14-point lead.

Take a deep breath and prepare yourself for a brutal paragraph:

Leading South Florida 16-15 with 2:52 to play and taking over near its 40-yard line, No. 15 Florida threw an incompletion, gained two yards on a short run and then tossed another incompletion before punting the ball back to the Bulls, who went 87 yards in eight plays to hit the game-winning field goal from 20 yards as time expired.

The Gators’ possession went all of those two yards and took 27 seconds, including the time for punter Tommy Doman to take a snap, drop the ball onto his foot and deliver a 47-yard punt that pinned the Bulls at their own 11-yard line. Amid a loss that Billy Napier will never live down, this horrifically botched 27-second span will be difficult to top when we eventually look back at the worst coaching moments of the 2025 season.

Florida made the unique decision to retain Napier last November — his buyout played a huge role, of course — and seemed to have earned the dividends from this patience as the Gators surged to the finish line last season and then opened this year in the mix for the College Football Playoff.

The 18-16 loss erases any lingering goodwill from the Gators’ recent turnaround and will fling Napier firmly back on the hot seat. It’s not just the nature of the loss, of course; while that’s an inescapable part of the conversation, that the defeat came to in-state upstart South Florida is even more infuriating.

On the other hand, this win establishes the Bulls as the team to beat in the Group of Five race for the playoff, ahead of Tulane, Memphis, Boise State, UNLV and others. USF has made huge gains under third-year coach Alex Golesh, who won seven games in each of his first two seasons but has clearly built a team capable of double-digit wins in the regular season. That doesn’t make things any easier to swallow for the Gators.

Florida, South Florida and Illinois stand atop the biggest winners and losers from Saturday’s college football action:

Winners

Oklahoma

There may be a question about what it means to beat No. 13 Michigan 24-13 but there’s no questioning the terrific optics of beating a recent national champion with some room to spare — in prime time, no less, as the only game between ranked teams all weekend. That’s great news for No. 24 Oklahoma and coach Brent Venables. The Sooners have to be very happy about the play of transfer John Mateer, who threw for 270 yards, ran for 74 yards and had three total touchdowns. If Michigan is the fourth-best team in the Big Ten, this is a very telling result against an opponent picked closer to sixth or seventh in the SEC. This is another positive sign for those optimistic about thios year’s odds of a major turnaround from the Sooners.

Illinois

No. 12 Illinois is surging into this season and beginning to develop the resume needed to earn an at-large College Football Playoff appearance. After breezing through Western Illinois in the opener, Illinois rode a plus-five edge in turnover margin and beat Duke 45-19, outscoring the Blue Devils 31-6 in the second half to notch an impressive win against a very solid Power Four opponent. This is a huge one for the Illini. Lopsided wins against Power Four competition in non-conference play are always noteworthy, especially against teams also battling for eight or more wins in the regular season. But with this year’s Big Ten schedule featuring tough road trips to Indiana and Washington in addition to home games against Ohio State and Southern California, a loss to the Blue Devils could’ve ended up being extremely costly in the selection committee’s final comparison of at-large teams.

Missouri

Missouri put up 583 yards of total offense, 249 on the ground, and overcame a 21-6 deficit in the first quarter to beat Kansas 42-31 in the first revival of this bitter rivalry since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012. Two backs did the heavy lifting: Jamal Roberts ran for 143 yards on 13 carries with a long of 63 yards, while Ahmad Hardy added 100 yards and a score on 22 carries. This running game helped Missouri control the clock and keep Kansas and quarterback Jalon Daniels on the sidelines; overall, the Tigers had possession for over 40 minutes.

Iowa State

Here’s the latest reason to think this could be a special season for the No. 18 Cyclones: they beat Iowa in Ames. The Hawkeyes had claimed six wins in a row at Jack Trice Stadium but were upended 16-13 in the latest narrow result in a series recently defined by ISU kicker Kyle Konrardy’s late-game brilliance. After kicking a 54-yard field goal in the final seconds of last year’s game to give the Cyclones the 20-19 win, Konrardy drilled a 54-yard try on Saturday with just under two minutes to play. Despite those chronic failures at home, ISU has won three of four in this unpredictable series.

Arch Manning

After an inauspicious debut as the full-time starter in last week’s 14-7 loss to No. 1 Ohio State, Manning had a mostly get-right afternoon to lead No. 6 Texas to a 38-7 win against San Jose State. The good part: Manning completed 19 of 30 attempts and had over 300 yards of total offense and five touchdowns, four through the air. Now, the bad: Between a red-zone interception and a strip-sack fumble that nearly cost the Longhorns a touchdown, the redshirt sophomore still has obvious work to do on his ball control and placement. This is still progress, though.

Losers

Michigan

Coach Sherrone Moore exits this loss and heads off a two-game suspension, and things would not be great when he comes back in late September if the Wolverines lose to Nebraska. Things don’t look that great, period, even if Bryce Underwood’s struggles against Oklahoma shouldn’t come as a surprise. For starters, making young quarterbacks look bad is kind of Venables’ thing. And Underwood had all of one game of college experience under his belt before completing 9 of 24 throws for 142 yards. The offense definitely needs to expand and push things downfield to really turn the Wolverines into a threat to Ohio State, No. 2 Penn State and No. 5 Oregon.

Arizona State

The No. 10 Sun Devils trailed Mississippi State 17-0, which was surprising enough, and then stormed back to take a 20-17 lead on a short field goal with 1:38 to play. As in, an 18-yard field goal. Like, a field goal kicked from about as close as you can get without scoring a touchdown. It’s easy to defend and hard to criticize coach Kenny Dillingham’s decision to kick: kicking gives you the lead with 98 seconds left, and ASU had just been stuffed on successive plays from right on the doorstep. But the inability to punch the ball into the end zone gave Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen the chance to toss a 58-yard score with 30 seconds left for the win. Needless to say, this is a disastrous result for the Big 12, which saw the preseason conference favorite lose to what is seen as the weakest team in the SEC.

Oklahoma State

The investment gap between Oregon and Oklahoma State is clear, as longtime OSU coach Mike Gundy said heading into his team’s game against the Ducks, and so is the talent gap. In hindsight, maybe Gundy shouldn’t have said anything. With a little extra motivation against an opponent closer to a team from the Championship Subdivision than those Oregon will face in the Big Ten, the Ducks scored 20 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second and 28 in the third before slowing down in the fourth quarter of a 69-3 win. After he went winless in Big 12 play last season and barely retained his position for one more season, this is the type of loss that portends the end of Gundy’s record-setting tenure.

SMU

After taking a tough loss to Auburn in the opener, Baylor rebounded to beat No. 16 SMU 48-45 in double overtime behind a huge afternoon from quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who finished with 440 yards and four touchdowns. Let’s count the three ways this was an absolutely brutal loss for SMU, beginning with the fact that Baylor has now taken 14 in a row in the series dating to 1986. In addition, the Mustangs led 38-24 with under six minutes to go before the Bears forced overtime on a Robertson touchdown pass with 34 seconds left. Lastly, this loss marks the third in a row for the Mustangs against Power Four opponents, following losses to Clemson and Penn State to end last season.

Iowa

There’s still time for South Dakota transfer Mark Gronkowski to show why he was so hyped this offseason as the missing piece capable of bringing Iowa’s offense in line with the rest of the Big Ten. But let’s not sugarcoat what we’ve seen through two weeks: Previously one of the top quarterbacks in the FCS, Gronkowski has flopped in the transition to the Power Four with only a combined 127 passing yards on 3.3 yards per attempt in games against Albany and the Cyclones.