Liverpool play in Nashville, New York and Chicago on their pre-season tour [Liverpool FC]Liverpool arrived in Nashville on Friday before the first game of their pre-season tour against Sunderland on Saturday at 23:00 BST.Natasha Dowie, Liverpool women's all-time leading scorer, says she is excited about what is to come under Andoni Iraola."There's a buzz around the playing style of the new manager - the front-footed football that we like, the high pressure, the energy. That's what I want to see from the off and I think that's what the Liverpool fans want to see too," Dowie told BBC Sport."It's about seeing new players like Jeremy Jacquet and seeing some of the older faces come back like Harvey Elliott and Kostas Tsimikas. And seeing some of the younger players from the academy get opportunities too."When I retired three years ago [Liverpool's academy director] Alex Inglethorpe allowed me to get involved with the academy and do some mentoring there, so when I see the likes of Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha and Kieran Morrison here, that puts a really big smile on my face because I know how hard these guys have worked."On the opening day of Liverpool's tour in the US, young patients at Monroe Carell Jr Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville were treated to a special morning as Dowie paid a visit alongside former striker Ian Rush."The children had some brilliant questions for us, and you could really feel the passion for Liverpool here in Nashville. It means a lot that we've been able to spend time with supporters and their families in this way," said Dowie.

There is always baseball happening almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves. Don't worry, we're here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn't have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball: If the Chicago White Sox miss the playoffs by a game or two, their Friday night loss to the Houston Astros is a game that will stand out. Chicago entered the top of the sixth inning with a 5-0 lead. Then, the Houston bats exploded for an eight-run inning. In said inning, left fielder LaMonte Wade Jr. both singled and walked in a run; first baseman Christian Walker hit a three-run double; right fielder Cam Smith blasted a go-ahead, three-run home run, his 13th long ball of the year; second baseman Jose Altuve had an RBI single. Catcher Christian Vzquez later had an RBI double for good measure in the ninth, giving the Astros a stunning, 9-5 win. Houston, which used seven pitchers to get through the game, got three-hit performances from Altuve and shortstop Jeremy Pea. While 51-54, the Astros have won four consecutive games and are just two games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West and three games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the third AL wild-card seed. The Atlanta Braves hit four home runs on Thursday, and the long ball propelled them to another victory on Friday. Trailing the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 in the top of the eighth, catcher Drake Baldwin got the Braves even with a solo homer, which ultimately sent the game to extra innings. In the 10th, Atlanta got the lead on a fielder's choice and then first baseman Matt Olson gave it a four-run cushion with a three-run home run to right field. Now, Baltimore did make it close in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three runs, highlighted by a two-run homer from third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand who also laced a two-run double in the first but Atlanta held on to win, 7-6. Seven of nine Braves starting position players recorded a hit, with right-hander Grant Holmes going five innings and Elieser Hernndez being the unsung hero of the night, tossing three scoreless innings of relief. Meanwhile, Olson's homer was his 27th of the year, which is seventh in MLB, and Baldwin's homer was his 20th, which is fourth among catchers. This one was back and forth all night. After first baseman Nolan Schanuel gave the Los Angeles Angels a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, San Francisco Giants first baseman Rafael Devers hit an opposite field, two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning. Then, in the bottom of the third, third baseman Casey Schmitt launched a three-run home run, giving the Giants a 5-1 lead. All that said, the Angels narrowed the gap to one run in the fifth with a two-run triple from catcher Tyler Heineman and a sacrifice fly from center fielder Mike Trout. San Francisco later got a sacrifice fly from catcher Daniel Susac in the bottom of the fifth, but infielder Vaughn Grissom evened the score for Los Angeles at 6-all with a two-run homer in the eighth, and the game would go to extra innings. Unfortunately for the Halos, though, they failed to plate a run in the top half of the 10th, and Devers sent the San Francisco faithful home happy in the bottom half of the inning with a walk-off, RBI single to deep left field. Devers and Schmitt have each hit 21 home runs this season, combining for 110 RBIs and a .483 slugging percentage, with the Friday night victory snapping a five-game losing streak for the Giants. "Kramer, what are you doing?" "Well, I'm dominating!" Back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal was in top form against the Kansas City Royals. Over 7 innings, the southpaw surrendered just one run and six baserunners (four hits and two walks), while recording 12 strikeouts in a 2-1 win for the Detroit Tigers. It marked Skubal's longest outing of the season which was sidetracked for two months by an elbow injury and the fourth time he has pitched through the seventh inning. Skubal has given up just one run over his last two starts, with him pitching through seven innings in both outings. Through 15 starts, Skubal boasts a 2.70 ERA, an 0.92 WHIP, 110 strikeouts, a 159 ERA+ and 2.9 wins above replacement across 90.0 innings pitched. As for the offense, Detroit's two runs came in the first inning on a Riley Greene sacrifice fly and an RBI single from second baseman Hao-Yu Lee. Sure, the Tigers are 50-54, but they've won 15 of their last 20 games and, at this rate, they have the justification to keep Skubal past the trade deadline and push for a playoff spot, as they're just three-and-a-half games out of the third AL wild-card seed. And because this is baseball, that means bizarre things will happen. What was that bizarre thing on Friday night? The team with the worst record in MLB beating the team with the second-best record in MLB on their home field. Correct, the Colorado Rockies (42-63) got a road victory over the Milwaukee Brewers (64-39). Behind 5 innings from right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, who surrendered just two runs, and 3 scoreless innings of relief from Victor Vodnik, Antonio Senzatela and Jordan Romano, the Rockies got a 5-2 win. Colorado put two runs on the board in the top of the first on an RBI double from center fielder Cole Carrigg and an RBI single from catcher Hunter Goodman. The Rockies then got a run in the third on an RBI single from third baseman Kyle Karros and a fourth run on a sacrifice fly from designated hitter Mickey Moniak in the fourth. Their fifth and final run came on a pinch-hit RBI double from TJ Rumfield in the seventh. As for the offensive standouts, Goodman is third in MLB with 31 home runs and first among catchers with a .563 slugging percentage; Rumfield sports a .301/.384/.482 slash line in what's his rookie season; Moniak boasts a .558 slugging percentage, while Carrigg has an .866 OPS and Karros has a .794 OPS. New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit an opposite field, solo home run in the top of the fourth, and that was the offense. Like, literally, the Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0. New York leaned on burgeoning superstar right-hander Cam Schlittler, who posted 12 strikeouts and gave up only three baserunners (three hits) over 7 innings; Brent Headrick and David Bednar shut the door for the Yankees with 1 combined scoreless innings of relief. Meanwhile, Phillies left-hander Jess Luzardo was also sensational, surrendering just one run and four baserunners (three hits and one walk) over seven innings, while recording nine strikeouts; it just came in a one-run loss. In fact, Goldschmidt's homer was one of only three hits for the Yankees. Schlittler continues to solidify his case to be the 2026 AL Cy Young, with him owning an AL-best 2.07 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 157 strikeouts, a 203 ERA+ and 4.6 wins above replacement over an AL-high 130 innings pitched (22 starts). The Minnesota Twins drew seven walks, but they only tallied two hits and couldn't get a run to cross home plate against the Athletics in a 2-0 loss. Jacob Lopez pitched five scoreless for the A's, who then got four scoreless innings from Geoff Hartlieb, Jos Suarez, Elvis Alvarado and Hogan Harris. It was the longest shutout that Lopez has put together this season. As for the run production, the Athletics' two runs came on a fifth-inning sacrifice fly from right fielder Lawrence Butler and an RBI single from left fielder Tyler SoderstroTh, who sports a .472 slugging percentage, in the sixth. This was the Athletics' first shutout victory since beating the Angels on June 18 (5-0) and their first road shutout win since defeating the Astros on June 7 (5-0). Only one team scored double-digit runs on Friday night, and that club was the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa Bay struck early and often in an 11-3 smacking of the Cleveland Guardians. Second baseman Ryan Vilade sparked the party with a two-run home run in the bottom of the second, with the Rays later having a three-run fourth inning: RBI singles from right fielder Jonny DeLuca and catcher Nick Fortes and an RBI force-out from shortstop Ben Williamson. Junior Caminero put a sixth run on the board for the Rays with an RBI single in the sixth, with Fortes driving in a run on a double in the seventh. The Rays put a bow on the offensive outburst with a four-run eighth inning, as left fielder Chandler Simpson brought home a run on a sacrifice fly and Richie Palacios launched a three-run home run. Tampa Bay pulled left-hander Shane McClanahan after five scoreless innings. Through 19 starts, McClanahan, who's back in the big leagues after missing the second half of 2023 and the entire 2024 and 2025 seasons due to elbow and triceps injuries, boasts a 3.09 ERA and a 139 ERA+. The Rays, who are an AL-best 60-43, have won four of their last five games, while the Guardians have lost three in a row. Once the surprise team of the season, the Miami Marlins are reeling bad. After losing at home to the San Diego Padres, the Marlins have now lost 10 consecutive games and are 52-52. Over that span, they're averaging just 2.5 runs per game, with them losing 4-2 on Friday night. Regarding said loss, Miami struck first in the bottom of the second on a solo home run from catcher Joe Mack, with a Heriberto Hernndez solo homer later tying the game at 2-all in the bottom of the fifth, which was the score entering the eighth. With that said, Luis Rengifo put the Padres up for good with a pinch-hit, two-run homer to right field in the top of the eighth. San Diego got its first run on an RBI line-out from center fielder Jackson Merrill in the fourth and an RBI single from designated hitter Manny Machado in the fifth. The two teams combined to use 13 pitchers (Miami used seven pitchers, while San Diego used six). Miami is three games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third National League wild-card seed, while San Diego (51-53) stands four games back of the playoff spot. The 2026 MLB season has been a struggle for second-year Los Angeles Dodgers starter Rki Sasaki, but Friday night was a breeze. In a road outing against the New York Mets, Sasaki had one of the best starts of his MLB career, surrendering just one run and five baserunners (three hits and two walks) over seven innings, while totaling seven strikeouts in a 4-2 Dodgers win; he threw 94 pitches, 63 of them for strikes. Sasaki has given up just one earned run over his last two starts. On the season, Sasaki has a 4.71 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, 94 strikeouts, an 89 ERA+ and 0.1 wins above replacement across 93 innings (18 starts). As for Sasaki's run support, the Dodgers got a sacrifice fly from second baseman Miguel Rojas in the top of the fourth and a sacrifice fly from Shohei Ohtani in the seventh, with right fielder Kyle Tucker who owns a career-low .705 OPS in what's the first season of a four-year, $240 million deal creating separation with a two-run home run to right field in the eighth; Tucker finished with two hits. New York's two runs came on a solo home run from Luis Robert Jr. in the bottom of the second and a solo homer from catcher Francisco Alvarez (he has 12 home runs in 69 games) in the eighth. Meanwhile, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman had a three-hit night. The Dodgers have the best record in the sport at 66-38.

Hawaii Hilo womens soccer coach Gene Okamura announced the addition of 16 newcomers for the upcoming season.Payton Inabata (Punahou; Sacramento State) and Aubree Panui (Kamehameha; Western Oregon) are local players transferring back to the 50th State.The other recruits are Kaelyn Adams (Columbus, Ohio), Karina Da Silva (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Ariana Duenas (Los Angeles), Sydney Harpster (Riverside, Calif.), Olivia Hays (Portland, Ore.), Ari Hill (Sumner, Wash.), Cassidy Kelly (Penryn, Calif.), Peyton Looney (Pocatello, Idaho), Ashley Perez (Leander, Texas), Charlotte Rodriguez (Pasadena, Calif.), Silvia Shirey (Nashville, Tenn.), Drew Sievers (Santa Monica, Calif.), Ella Smith (Silverdale, Wash.) and Kaia Tindukasiri (Brea, Calif.).

Valter Walker kept the leg lock finishes going at UFC Fight Night 282.Walker (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) pulled guard to work for his signature heel hook, but wound up submitting Thomas Petersen (11-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC)by calf slicer at the 1:32 mark of Round 1 in theirheavyweight bout Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.Check out the replay of Walker's finish below (via X):5 RD1 SUBMISSIONS IN A ROW @ValterUFC proves he is a PROBLEM once again![ #UFCAbuDhabi | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/w8t3JPVMUM UFC (@ufc) July 25, 2026Walker scored his fifth straight submission, tying Demian Maia's record for longest streak in UFC history. Walker took the mic after the fight to say he wants to punch Ciryl Gane in the back of his head to avenge Alex Pereira. Gane finished Pereira by Round 2 TKO to claim the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250, where Pereira complained about Gane hitting him with illegal blows.Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 282 results:Valter Walker def. Thomas Petersen via submission (calf slicer) Round 1, 1:32Muhammad Saidov def. Dustin Jacoby via TKO (strikes) Round 2, 4:49Sam Patterson def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via TKO (punch) Round 2, 3:06Axel Sola def. Ismael Bonfim via submission (D'Arce choke) Round 1, 4:44Magomed Tuchalov def. Brendson Ribeiro via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)Nurullo Aliev def. Mike Davis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)Abdul Hussein def. Cody Gibson via submission (arm-triangle choke) Round 3, 3:07This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Abu Dhabi video: Valter Walker wants Ciryl Gane after calf slicer finish

If you get nervous to grab your lob wedge and hit 50-yard pitch shots, then this tip is definitely for you. Professional long driver Averee Dovsek demonstrates a repeatable way to execute 50-yard shots with a pitching wedge.Lob wedges can be tricky to hit perfect all the time, so you may want to reach for something more forgiving such as a pitching wedge. There are many systems out there on how far to take the club back, but the most important part is finding one that is repeatable and applicable to your golf swing.If youre interested in any of Averees fitness content, click here.If youre looking for more instruction, click hereThis article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek video instruction: Trade your lob wedge for a pitching wedge

Credit: WVTMAaron Suttles was once a decorated sportswriter for The Tuscaloosa News and The Athletic. Now hes been arrested on prostitution charges as part of a wider human trafficking operation.Suttles helped The Tuscaloosa News win a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting on a tornado in April 2011. He also covered the Crimson Tide for years for both the local outlet and nationally at The Athletic until 2023. The longtime sportswriter then left the industry to become the director of content for Yea, Alabama, the official NIL organization of the school.But instead of writing the headlines, he found himself in the them this week. Suttles was one of 15 men arrested on Thursday after an investigation by the Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force.According to their website, Yea Alabama is The Official Fan Experience of Alabama Athletics and facilitates authentic name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities for Alabama student-athletes. When you subscribe to Yea Alabama you get exclusive, all-access content, breaking news, announcements and more directly from the source.Yea Alabama confirmed that Suttles had been suspended while an internal investigation is underway.While Suttles covered the Alabama Crimson Tide for years, he did make one notable misstep in his sportswriting career when he prematurely reported the death of legendary quarterback Ken Stabler. Stablers daughter Kendra commented on Suttles arrest on social media saying, Sometimes life has a way of reminding us that integrity matters. When my dad, Ken Stabler, passed away, an Alabama reporter rushed to be first instead of being right. He reported my fathers death before it was confirmed and before our family had the opportunity to tell the people we loved. He later had to retract the story. That pain stays with a family forever. Today, the same reporter was arrested on unrelated charges. I dont celebrate anyones downfall, but I do believe that character eventually has a way of revealing itself. Call it accountability. Call it karma.According to WBRC, Suttles was charged with paying a prostitute $100 for sexual activity and was released after issuing a $1,000 bond. Although he was working for Alabamas NIL outlet, the university told the local station he was not an employee of the school.The post Alabama NIL director, former sportswriter, arrested in human trafficking operation appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga Live Results, Updates, Highlights From 2026 Heavyweight Fight originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.With a fight against Tyson Fury on the line, Anthony Joshua will look to make a triumphant return to the ring with a win against Kristian Prenga.Joshua (29-4) is a former unified heavyweight champion. He has defeated the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker and Francis Ngannou. Joshua had a four-fight winning streak snapped against Daniel Dubois in 2024, but he got back in the win column after taking out Jake Paul in December.Shortly after beating Paul, Joshua was involved in a brutal car accident. Following a recovery process that took him out of the spotlight, Joshua will attempt to shake off the rust and prove that he's ready for Fury.Prenga (20-1) hasn't lost a fight since 2017. He has won all of his fights via knockout.Follow along right here for analysis and highlights from the fight between Joshua and Prenga.Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga resultsAnthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga; HeavyweightsHamzah Sheerazvs. Simon Zachenhuber for the WBO super middleweight titleJosh Kelly vs. Caoimhin Agyarko for the IBF super welterweight titleReito Tsutsumi vs. Alvino Herrera; Super featherweightsPawel August vs. Jacob Bank; Super MiddleweightsCesar Diaz vs.Nishant Dev; Super WelterweightsLenny Patrach vs. Oleksandr Khyzniak; Light HeavyweightsFrank Mango vs. Ziyad Almaayouf; Super LightweightsMikie Tallon def. Orlando Pino via KO (1:31 into round one)Mohammed Alakel def. Lydon Chircop via KO (2:02 into round five)Sultan Almohammed def. Efren Besalduch via TKO (2:41 into round three)Omar Hikal def. Brian Castellano via unanimous decision (40-35, 40-35, 40-35)Mohamed Moubarak def. Bryan Zapata via unanimous decision (39-37, 40-36, 40-36)Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga live updates, highlightsAnthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga; HeavyweightsHamzah Sheeraz vs. Simon Zachenhuber for the WBO super middleweight titleJosh Kelly vs. Caoimhin Agyarko for the IBF super welterweight title11:22 a.m. ET: Former heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk has arrived in Saudi Arabia to cheer on Anthony Joshua. Former opponents, Usyk and Joshua have worked together since their two fights.USYK IS HERE Oleksandr Usyk arrives to be ringside to support Anthony Joshua against Kristian Prenga #JoshuaPrenga | Exclusively on DAZN pic.twitter.com/c3F0fBJ7Tc Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) July 25, 202611:10 a.m. ET: Three straight knockout wins on the undercard, asMikie Tallon took outOrlando Pino in the first round.11 a.m. ET: Mohammed Alakel, one of the top prospects in boxing, scored a vicious knockout win againstLydon Chircop.The KO & Backflip from Saudis Star, Mohammed Alakel Buy #JoshuaPrenga NOW at https://t.co/FoiaUucafv | Live Now | Danger Before Destiny pic.twitter.com/5PdW90ak1t DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) July 25, 202610:45 a.m. ET: Knockouts started early asSultan Almohammed took outEfren Besalduch in round three.As folks in the U.S. are starting to wake up,Mohamed Moubarak defeated Bryan Zapata via unanimous decision. Meanwhile,Omar Hikal defeatedBrian Castellano via decision.9 a.m. ET: The prelims have started!How to watch Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian PrengaLive stream:DAZNPPV price:$59.99 for event onlyor$49.99 per month for DAZN Ultimate packageJoshua vs. Prenga will not air on a national TV channel. The fight will be available to stream exclusively onDAZN.If you want to watch the event, the PPV price is $59.99. You can also sign up for the DAZN Ultimate package, which can be purchased for $49.99 per month.DAZNUltimate is DAZN's premium subscription tier, which includes a minimum of 12 PPV boxing events and more than 185 fights per year.Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga date, start timeDate:Saturday, July 25PPV start time: 1 p.m. ETMain event start time (approx.):6p.m. ETLocation:Jeddah Superdome (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)Joshua vs. Prenga will be heldin Saudi Arabia on Saturday, July 25. The main card starts at 1 p.m. ET, and the main event should begin around 6 p.m. ET, depending on how long the undercard fights last.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel will receive more than $7 million as part of his buyout plus additional perks, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by Front Office Sports.The agreement comes on the heels of Michigans announcement that Manuel will step down in the wake of investigations into the culture of Michigan athletics and into the handling of former football coach Sherrone Moores affair with then-executive assistant Paige Shiver.Manuel will stay on until the end of the calendar year, and will take on a special assistant role advising the university on how to implement reforms stipulated in the report, the university previously said.The Detroit News first reported several of the contract details.The separation agreement shines a light on some details regarding his status with Michigan. It is titled as a settlement agreement, and stipulates that it constitutes a complete settlement of Mr. Manuels claims against UM. The settlement also notes that Manuels personnel file with Michigan will reflect that he voluntarily resigns. The agreement was signed by Manuel on July 17, 2026one day after a Michigan university board meeting where his future was not discussed, and several days before the school made the announcement about his future.Manuel will continue to receive his current monthly compensation between now and his resignation in December, according to the agreement. Then, within 21 days of leaving Michigan, Manuel will receive one lump-sum payment of $7,143,346. He will also receive a retirement contribution from Michigan in the total of $108,000.Manuel will also receive former athletic director privileges including sports tickets and golf privileges. The school has agreed to pay $82,000 worth of attorneys fees.In addition, the contract included a non-compete clause, stipulating he would not be allowed to work for any Big Ten school as an athletic director or high-ranking athletics official for two years.His current contract, which has been in place since an extension in 2024 and runs until mid-2030, pays out a base salary of $1.9 million per year with additional compensation bringing total pay to about $2.4 million, according to multiple reports.A Michigan spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The results of the investigation into Michigan athletics, conducted by Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block, found some measure of fault with Manuelbut it did not appear to draw strong enough support to terminate Manuel for cause.A summary of the investigation published by Michigan last Monday found that there was no widespread misconduct within the athletic department and that no one had contemporaneous evidence of Moores affair. (After being fired for cause himself, Moore was arrested after appearing at Shivers house and threatening self-harm; he was sentenced to 18 months probation.)But the report did identify areas of improvement with regard to handling and investigating allegations of misconduct, as well as fostering an environment where employees and players didnt fear retaliation.The findings said Manuel in particular demonstrated important leadership strengths, particularly his commitment to student-athletes. At the same time, it identified failures to quickly and effectively act on allegations of wrongdoing by Athletic Department employees. (Subsequent reports, however, suggested the investigation produced evidence that Manuel knew, or at least suspected, the affair as early as 2024.)In a video address Monday, Michigan president Domenico Grasso stood by the athletic director who had seen the department through not just multiple scandals, but also multiple national championships. I have the deepest respect for Warde and his countless contributions to Michigan, Grasso said, adding that he himself asked Manuel to stay on until the end of the calendar year.The post Michigan AD Warde Manuel to Get $7M Settlement appeared first on Front Office Sports.

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 14: Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the sidelines against the Tennessee Titans in the first quarter at Levi's Stadium on December 14, 2025 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesThe San Francisco 49ers issued a statement on Saturday after head coach Kyle Shanahan was involved in a car accident.According to ESPNs Adam Schefter, Shanahan broke his nose, three ribs, and his hand, and needed over 40 stitches in his face. Shanahan also suffered a severe concussion after colliding with an SUV near his northern California home, according to Schefter.According to the statement issued by the team, Shanahans injuries were non-life-threatening:San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan was involved in a car accident last week where he suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Coach Shanahan will participate in team activities on a limited basis at the start of training camp while he recovers. Coach Shanahan and the 49ers organization would like to sincerely thank all first responders involved for their efforts and care. Assistant Head Coach Chris Foerster along with team coordinators will handle head coach responsibilities during this period.Schefter tweeted that Shanahan informed the coaching staff of the accident on Tuesday, while the players are slowly getting the news after the car accident was confirmed today.We will provide updates as they come in.

Down in Columbia last fall, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers had spent an entire evening shedding the Kentucky Wildcats pass rush like it was nothing more than an inconvenience. Then, with the game hanging in the balance, a 6-foot-5, roughly 300-pound tackle out of Savannah, Georgia, did something nobody else on Kentucky's defense had managed all night: he got home. It was the first sack of Tavion Gadson's career, and by his own account, he barely registered it as a milestone. He was just glad to be out there at all.That gladness carries more weight than it sounds. A little over a year before that sack, Gadson was on an operating table having his left knee rebuilt: a posterior lateral corner reconstruction, a biceps femoris repair, and a fibular collateral ligament repair, the kind of surgical language that usually ends promising careers rather than launching them. He'd played just four games as a true freshman in 2023, preserving his redshirt before the injury wiped out most of the following spring. Asked what it actually took to come back, he didn't point to the rehab room first. "The biggest step, I feel like personally, was that mental part," he said, processing the process of trusting his body again, snap after snap, regardless of what his head kept replaying.He trusted it. In nine games last season, Gadson piled up 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks and did it against the teeth of Kentucky's schedule, with four tackles apiece against South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas. Pro Football Focus had him graded as one of the five best interior defensive linemen in the entire SEC through the first five weeks of the season, and by year's end he owned the conference's second-best pass-rush grade among defensive tackles. Independent pressure tracking pegged him around 20 quarterback pressures and a win rate near 28 percent on passing downs, the kind of number that never shows up on a highlight reel but shows up on every offensive coordinator's call sheet. He made the watch list for Comeback Player of the Year. And film analysts, the ones paid to notice these things before the rest of the country does, have started reaching for a word that gets thrown around too loosely in recruiting circles but actually fits here: disruptive.That word is about to matter more than it ever has in Lexington.Kentucky enters 2026 as a program in total teardown-and-rebuild, with first-year head coach Will Stein importing an Oregon-bred offensive identity and a nearly all-new staff around him. The one real thread of continuity on defense is Anwar Stewart, the position coach who has developed Gadson since he flipped his commitment from Florida State to Kentucky out of high school. Everything else is new, including the man calling the shots.Jay Bateman, hired away from Texas A&M, is scrapping the 3-4 look Kentucky ran through most of the Mark Stoops era in favor of an attacking 4-2-5 built to generate pressure without needing to send extra rushers. Last season at A&M, that scheme helped produce 43 sacksfourth-most in the countryand sent three defensive linemen to the NFL draft. The logic is simple: if the front four can win their matchups, the back seven never has to gamble.That logic only holds if someone up front can actually win those matchups. It's one thing to draw an aggressive scheme on a whiteboard; it's another to have a body in the middle of the line who can collapse a pocket by himself, snap after snap, against SEC guards and centers who get bigger and better coached every year. Kentucky spent the winter restocking its defensive front through the transfer portal, adding pieces like Purdue's Jamarrion Harkless, and it still has Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace, with 31 tackles and 3.5 sacks of his own last fall, lined up beside Gadson. But none of that changes the fact that Bateman's entire defensive identity is staked on the same trait Gadson already showed he has: the ability to be a problem from the interior, not just off the edge.Interior disruption is a different currency than edge production, and it's much harder to fake or scheme around. An offense can chip a speed rusher off the edge with a tight end or a back released late; it's far harder to find an extra body to double a three-technique without blowing up the rest of the protection. When Gadson wins inside, he doesn't just collect a stat he collapses the pocket from the middle out, shrinks the quarterback's escape lanes, and turns a clean five-step drop into a scramble drill. That's precisely the disruption Bateman's scheme is engineered to exploit on the back end, and it's the one ingredient Kentucky can't simply install by August. It's either on the roster or it isn't.The stakes around all of this are not small. National forecasters have penciled Kentucky in near the bottom of the SEC again this year, citing one of the toughest schedules in the country and a roster still absorbing new systems on both sides of the ball. Bowl eligibility may hinge on finding wins in a home slate that includes Alabama, LSU, Vanderbilt, and Louisvillethe kind of margin-thin math where one dominant interior lineman changes a handful of third-and-longs, and a handful of third-and-longs change a season. Every rebuild has a shortcut: one player or unit good enough to buy time while everything else is still being installed. For Kentucky in 2026, with an offense learning a new system under Stein and a defense learning a new language under Bateman, that shortcut is a lineman from Savannah who has already proven he can do the one thing that can't be taught: get skinny through a double team and end a quarterback's day.Gadson isn't the reason anyone buys a ticket to Kroger Field this fall. He won't trend the way a transfer quarterback or a five-star receiver does. But if Kentucky ends up being the surprise team some corners of the SEC are quietly whispering about, it will be because a lineman who once needed reconstructive knee surgery just to walk normally again became the reason opposing coordinators can't simply run their offense straight through the middle. The Wildcats' season may ultimately be decided far from the ball in the half-second won or lost between an interior lineman and the guard trying to keep him out of the backfield. That's where X-factors live. That's where Tavion Gadson has already started making his case.This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Tavion Gadson is Kentucky's real x-factor in 2026