Professional Sports
Re
Getty Images The Toronto Blue Jays have reached an agreement with first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a 14-year extension worth $500 million. The deal contains no deferrals or opt-out opportunities while in the process granting Guerrero a full no-trade clause. In addition to keeping Guerrero in Toronto for the foreseeable future — and perhaps […]

The Toronto Blue Jays have reached an agreement with first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a 14-year extension worth $500 million. The deal contains no deferrals or opt-out opportunities while in the process granting Guerrero a full no-trade clause.
In addition to keeping Guerrero in Toronto for the foreseeable future — and perhaps the remainder of his playing career — the pact has some obvious downstream effects. One of the most notable is how it reshapes the top of this winter’s free-agent market. Observant readers may recall that, just a few months back, we ranked the 26-year-old Guerrero as this winter’s best available player.
With Guerrero’s service now rendered to Toronto for the long haul, we figured this would be a good opportunity to offer a revised top 10. Below, you’ll find that — plus some brief comments on each player’s work through the earliest stages of the season. (Do note that for now we’re excluding players who have option calls. There’s simply too much baseball remaining on the schedule to feel confident forecasting those decisions one way or the other.) Scroll slowly with us, won’t you?
Tucker is off to a hot start with his new team, hitting .319/.458/.745 (233 OPS+) with five home runs, three stolen bases, and six more walks (12) than strikeouts (6) in 12 games. He’s a well-rounded talent who would have four consecutive five-win seasons to his credit were it not for last year’s fractured shin. Provided Tucker stays healthy, he’s going to sail into the winter as the top player on the list.
Cubs must do anything they can to extend Kyle Tucker now that Vlad Guerrero Jr. is off the free-agency table
Matt Snyder
Cease has recorded 11 more strikeouts than walks in 10 ⅔ innings over the course of his first two starts (both against playoff teams). More interesting than his results are the changes he’s made to his arsenal. He’s reduced his fastball usage significantly, deploying his slider on a default basis and embracing a changeup/splitter that some pitch models classify as his best offering.
Gallen is fresh off a dominant start on the road against the Yankees that saw him punch out 13 of the 24 batters he faced. His velocity is down about a tick on his fastball, but he’s atoned for the decline by adding nearly two inches of induced vertical break. So far, that trade-off is working in his favor, with the heater generating a 31% whiff rate and holding opponents to a .182 batting average.
Not to be outdone, Valdez too has seemingly tweaked his arsenal through his first two turns in the rotation. He’s throwing a touch harder (his sinker is up 0.6 mph) and he’s chucking his curveball at a would-be career-high 37% clip (at the cost of his changeup and other, lesser offerings).
One of the toughest players to rank entering the season, Buehler’s first two starts with the Red Sox have seen him surrender nine runs in 9 ⅓ innings. He’s dropped his arm angle, be it by design or otherwise, and his velocity has plummeted with it: he’s averaging a career-worst 93.3 mph on his heater. Buehler has also made his sweeper his go-to breaking ball. At least that’s working for him.
6. Michael King, RHP, San Diego Padres
Another volatile right-hander, King is experimenting with all kinds of arsenal tweaks through his first two turns in the order. He’s moved his sinker from his primary offering to his tertiary pitch, relying more on his changeup and four-seamer. Said four-seamer, by the way, has gained four inches of induced vertical break. That helps explain why he’s earned a 55% whiff rate on the pitch to date.
Bichette had a miserable 2024 showing. So far in the early going, he’s providing some reason for optimism. He’s making more contact (he’s connected on 95% of his in-zone swings) and making contact at a point that’s more conductive to hitting for power (even if that hasn’t shown up yet). Bichette’s defense is also grading better at shortstop, albeit in a super small sample.
Realmuto figures to be the best catcher on the market this winter. Even so, it’s fair to keep your eyes open for signs of decay now that he’s past his 34th birthday. There’s nothing too shocking in his statistical profile just yet, but he is swinging more overall and whiffing more within the zone.
9. Kyle Schwarber, OF/DH, Philadelphia Phillies
All Schwarber does is hit. That’s all he can do, and that’s all he needs to do. Through his first nine games this season, he’s batting .265/.390/.647 (188 OPS+) with four home runs and a double.
There were a lot of justifiable candidates for this spot. Eflin gets the nod for now after beginning the year with back-to-back quality starts against divisional foes. Will he end the year in the top 10? Who knows. Eflin is among those on this list toying with new approaches; so far, he’s thrown his cutter as his top offering rather than the sinker he used to deploy in that role.
Professional Sports
Mark Pope dishes out very high praise for Malachi Moreno
Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope has high expectations for freshman Malachi Moreno as the Great Crossing High School recruit makes his way to campus. “Malachi Moreno is gonna be fun,” Pope said in a press conference Monday. “We’re gonna have a lot of fun with him. He’s so young and he’s so capable. From […]


Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope has high expectations for freshman Malachi Moreno as the Great Crossing High School recruit makes his way to campus.
“Malachi Moreno is gonna be fun,” Pope said in a press conference Monday. “We’re gonna have a lot of fun with him. He’s so young and he’s so capable. From him, we’re gonna see moments where it’s like he should be in the NBA right now, and we’re gonna see moments where we feel like, I’m not sure Malachi knows exactly what he’s doing. And we’re going to see both of those, and that’s what growth is.”
It remains to be seen where Moreno will be in the rotation when the season starts. He should be behind Arizona State transfer commit Jayden Quaintance, but Quaintance may not be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from knee surgery earlier this year. That means Moreno could have a chance to start when the season gets underway in early November.
Right now, Kentucky’s front court includes Moreno, Brandon Garrison, Mo Dioubate, Reece Potter, and, eventually, Andrija Jelavic, who is still in the process of making his way to campus.
Even so, Pope likes what Moreno can bring to the Wildcats in his freshman season.
Professional Sports
UFC 318
[embedded content] New Orleans — Welterweight Islam Dulatov moonlights as a model, but as of Saturday’s UFC 318, he’s a UFC fighter with a big, bonus-winning victory in his promotional debut. Dulatov knocked out Adam Fugitt to earn a Performance of the Night bonus on the UFC 318 prelims, in a fight originally booked for […]


New Orleans — Welterweight Islam Dulatov moonlights as a model, but as of Saturday’s UFC 318, he’s a UFC fighter with a big, bonus-winning victory in his promotional debut.
Dulatov knocked out Adam Fugitt to earn a Performance of the Night bonus on the UFC 318 prelims, in a fight originally booked for February. A long time coming, in other words (Dulatov agreed on Saturday that fight camp felt never-ending), but the outcome he was looking for. Even better than he imagined.
“I think it’s not comparable to reality, because it’s better than I ever had in my mind,” Dulatov (12-1) stated following the bout, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press. “Unbelievable feeling, really. I trained so hard for this, over 10 years of my life.”
Sporting a cast following the win, Islam Dulatov revealed that he’d sustained in injury during training. “I think I broke my thumb last week in sparring already. In this fight I gave an uppercut… I don’t know what it is now, I have to check it.”
Of course, fighters never go into a bout 100% healthy, he acknowledged. “It’s okay. Part of the game.”
While he did have photoshoots booked this week, making it a good thing he didn’t take any damage to the face, Dulatov is currently focused on fighting. “I have some shoots coming up, all this stuff. A lot of things coming up. For me, it’s more important, what’s next for me in the UFC. Have to go back to the gym, start camp again, and fight soon again.”
As for when fights against ranked opponents might come for the talented welterweight prospect, he feels they’ll come when they come. No rush, in other words.
“I’m going to be honest with you guys, I want to take my time for this. I grow up, I make big steps in each fight. Actually, it will take as long as it will take. I waited so long for this opportunity to fight in the UFC. Two years or something like that. It will not change anything. I want to fight for the title when I’m in my prime. We will get there soon.”
Watch the full UFC 318 post-fight press conference with Islam Dulatov above.
High School Sports
These are the top returning 7A boys soccer stat leaders in 2025
The 2025 North Carolina high school boys soccer season is upon us. Schools belonging to the N.C. High School Athletic Association will have their first practice on July 30. HighSchoolOT has dived into last year’s statistics to give you a look a the top returning players in each of the new classifications this fall. Here […]

The 2025 North Carolina high school boys soccer season is upon us.
Schools belonging to the N.C. High School Athletic Association will have their first practice on July 30.
HighSchoolOT has dived into last year’s statistics to give you a look a the top returning players in each of the new classifications this fall.
Here are the top statistical leaders in the new 7A classification. Note: Teams must have posted season stats to MaxPreps or sent them to us to be featured in this article
See stat leaders from the other classifications and other sports below:
Returning 7A Soccer Leaders: Total Goals
- Joseth Banegas, senior, Southern Durham — 37
- Blake Oxendine, senior, Jack Britt — 25
- Christopher Serrano, senior, Clayton — 24
- Cole Capps, senior, Heritage — 21
- Robinhio Tanis, senior, Lumberton — 20
- Payton Popp, senior, Mooresville — 18
- Brendan Rayworth, senior, Smithfield-Selma — 16
- Robbie Reeves, senior, Grimsley — 16
- Collin Mckee, junior, Marvin Ridge — 14
- Brandon Martinez, junior, A.L. Brown — 14
- Facundo Rivera, sophomore, Jack Britt — 14
- Brian Valencia, senior, Parkland — 13
- Isaac Congleton, senior, D.H. Conley — 13
- Jahleel Green, junior, Pine Forest — 13
- Sean Lackey, senior, Overhills — 11
- Ethan Hancock-Arroyo, senior, Clayton — 11
- Deyson Castillo, senior, New Hanover — 11
- Alex Kuhner, junior, R.J. Reynolds — 11
- Colton Perkins, junior, Marvin Ridge — 11
- Henry Blackburn, senior, Sanderson — 10
- Clark Marriott, senior, Ashley — 10
- Warren Mountford, junior, Fuquay-Varina — 10
- Spencer Goodwin, junior, New Bern — 10
- Miles Bickel, junior, New Hanover — 10
Returning 7A Soccer Leaders: Total Assists
- Jacob Gibson, senior, Holly Springs — 15
- Tate Peel, senior, Grimsley — 14
- Noah Guzman, senior, Jack Britt — 13
- Carlos Figueroa, senior, Southern Durham — 13
- Nicholas Acevedo, senior, Pine Forest — 11
- Cesar Ramirez, senior, Cuthbertson — 10
- Blake Oxendine, senior, Jack Britt — 10
- Gustavo Ramos, senior, Southern Durham — 10
- Jacolby Locklear, junior, Purnell Swett — 10
- Cassias Mckinnon, senior, Marvin Ridge — 9
- Carter Macey, senior, Cardinal Gibbons — 9
- Joseth Banegas, senior, Southern Durham — 9
- Facundo Rivera, sophomore, Jack Britt — 9
- Brian Valencia, senior, Parkland — 8
- Robbie Reeves, senior, Grimsley — 8
- Brandon Martinez, junior, A.L. Brown — 8
- Alexis Ocampo-Ayala, senior, Reagan — 7
- Alexander Maure, senior, East Forsyth — 7
- Joshua Badillo, senior, Lumberton — 7
- Robinhio Tanis, senior, Lumberton — 7
- Cohen Wertz, senior, Cary — 7
- Deyson Castillo, senior, New Hanover — 7
- Tavalis Parker, senior, Clayton — 7
- Keinner Martinez, sophomore, New Hanover — 7
Returning 7A Soccer Leaders: Total Points
- Joseth Banegas, senior, Southern Durham — 83
- Blake Oxendine, senior, Jack Britt — 60
- Christopher Serrano, senior, Clayton — 54
- Robinhio Tanis, senior, Lumberton — 47
- Cole Capps, senior, Heritage — 43
- Robbie Reeves, senior, Grimsley — 40
- Payton Popp, senior, Mooresville — 40
- Brendan Rayworth, senior, Smithfield-Selma — 37
- Facundo Rivera, sophomore, Jack Britt — 37
- Brandon Martinez, junior, A.L. Brown — 36
- Brian Valencia, senior, Parkland — 34
- Collin Mckee, junior, Marvin Ridge — 31
- Tate Peel, senior, Grimsley — 30
- Jahleel Green, junior, Pine Forest — 30
- Deyson Castillo, senior, New Hanover — 29
- Isaac Congleton, senior, D.H. Conley — 28
- Alex Kuhner, junior, R.J. Reynolds — 28
- Carlos Figueroa, senior, Southern Durham — 25
- Sean Lackey, senior, Overhills — 25
- Nicholas Acevedo, senior, Pine Forest — 25
- Colton Perkins, junior, Marvin Ridge — 25
- Ethan Hancock-Arroyo, senior, Clayton — 24
- Clark Marriott, senior, Ashley — 24
- Miles Bickel, junior, New Hanover — 24
Copyright 2025 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
College Sports
Christopher Reeve documentary on Showmax get four Emmy nods
South African Robert Ford produced Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, which has just been nominated for four Emmys: Directing, Writing, Editing and Music Composition. Streaming on Showmax from Friday, 25 July, Super/Man has already won more than 30 awards, including Best Documentary at the 2025 BAFTAs, a Producers Guild of America Award and six Critics’ […]

South African Robert Ford produced Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, which has just been nominated for four Emmys: Directing, Writing, Editing and Music Composition.
Streaming on Showmax from Friday, 25 July, Super/Man has already won more than 30 awards, including Best Documentary at the 2025 BAFTAs, a Producers Guild of America Award and six Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.

The story of Christopher Reeve is an astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, and his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care – all while continuing his career in cinema in front of and behind the camera and dedicating himself to his beloved family.
Super/Man includes never-before-seen intimate home movies and an extraordinary trove of personal archive material, as well as the first extended interviews ever filmed with Reeve’s three children about their father, and interviews with the A-list Hollywood actors who were Reeve’s colleagues and friends.
Super/Man has a 98% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it, “a powerful story of human endurance… One of the aspects that makes Super/Man so satisfying is that, for a biographical film in which tragedy and loss play such a central part, it’s rich in evidence of hope and kindness, gratitude and the resilience of the human spirit.”
Watch the trailer, which has nearly 8m views
Ford spent the first 18 years of his life in Wellington, matriculating from Hugenote Hoërskool before moving to England. “I’m half British, so some of my family were in the UK, and I moved here to start my career. I wish I had known more about the South African film industry at that stage; I only discovered later that SA has such a vibrant film culture.”
Over the last 25 years, Ford worked in film in various roles, from assistant editor to sound assistant to camera operator, making his name as a production manager and then as a documentary producer.
In 2019, his career changed gear after he worked as a field producer on Formula 1: Drive to Survive, which is still one of IMDb’s highest-rated series of all time. This was followed by producing credits on two Emmy winners: The Deepest Breath, about world-record-setting free diver Alessia Zecchini, and Rising Phoenix, about the Paralympics, as well as Alex Gibney’s Citizen K, which was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award; Final Account, which was nominated for two Critics Choice Documentary Awards; and the Emmy-nominated Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, about the legendary Manchester United coach.
“I’ve done a lot of archive-based documentaries about people from recent history,” says Ford. “And quite a lot of them were sports documentaries. I don’t know why that happened; I’m not really a big sport person but I was just drawn to interesting stories in the world of sport.”

He’d worked with Super/Man directors Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhôte on Rising Phoenix, coming back to South Africa to film Paralympics double-Gold medalist Ntando Mahlangu. That documentary had opened all of their eyes to the struggle for disability rights – a key aspect of Reeve’s legacy.
“When I heard they were developing a documentary about Christopher Reeve, I immediately jumped at it because Chris was such an icon. I was always fascinated by his life, just because it’s such a dramatic story, with such highs and such lows. And then when I found out how much archive footage there is, that the family filmed everything and kept everything and had this huge treasure trove of archive, it felt like a no brainer to make this film.”

That treasure trove of archive became the biggest challenge. “It’s a complex story that takes place over decades,” he says. “We had to license the archive from so many different places, and then it was challenging to edit, because we had so much footage, hundreds of hours. The story could have gone in so many directions, so there were lots of difficult decisions in the edit. Letting go of the scenes you really love is hard; it’s hard killing your babies. There were wonderful scenes we could have included but we just didn’t have the running time.”
Having now made a couple of documentaries about disability, Ford believes it’s not only “important that those stories are heard and not marginalised” but that disabled talent is included in the filmmaking process. “It’s important to include their perspective and point of view.”
On Super/Man, their team included several disabled crew and consultants. “They were involved in every aspect of the film’s R&D. Their insights into living with paralysis proved particularly invaluable, helping us to understand not just the everyday challenges for a disabled person but also the ethics and (often controversial) politics around the idea of ‘cure’ which Chris championed.”
Ford is currently filming his directorial debut, a feature documentary set in the US that he describes as a “quirky, unusual nature documentary.” This will be the first project produced by his own production company, Radius Films.
Rising Phoenix is the only time he’s filmed in South Africa but he still has family here and visited last year with his partner. “I’d love to film in South Africa again,” he says. “South Africa has great filmmakers and crew, and the filmmaking infrastructure there is really brilliant.”
He’s looking forward to the people he grew up with being able to see his film on Showmax. “It’s a universal story,” he says. “Chris went out of his way to help others. He was a kind and empathetic person even before his accident, who did a lot for others, but that accelerated hugely after his fall, even while he was confronting unimaginable adversity. Behind the onscreen superhero was a real-life hero.”
Credits: DC Studios presents in association with HBO Documentary Films and CNN Films in association with Words+Pictures, a Passion Pictures and Misfits Entertainment production in association with Jenco Films. Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui; editor, Otto Burnham; composer, Ilan Eshkeri; produced by Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford, Ian Bonhôte; director of photography, Brett Wiley; executive producers, Connor Schell, Libby Geist, Marie Margolius, Mark Meatto, Andrew Ruhemann, David Moulton, Andee Ryder, Daniel Kilroy; written by Peter Ettedgui; co-written by Ian Bonhôte and Otto Burnham.
College Sports
Pro Volleyball Star Bails On Promising Career To Chase Olympics
© Kyle Terada-Imagn Images // USC Athletics Audio By Carbonatix Sara Hughes made a surprising decision to pick Ally Batenhorst as her new beach volleyball partner. The soon-to-be 23-year-old is bailing on a promising indoor career in an attempt to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Although this kind of switch is not […]



Audio By Carbonatix
Sara Hughes made a surprising decision to pick Ally Batenhorst as her new beach volleyball partner. The soon-to-be 23-year-old is bailing on a promising indoor career in an attempt to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Although this kind of switch is not uncommon, it is still an earth-shattering move in the world of volleyball.
One of the best indoor players in the world will kick off her shoes to join the former world champion on the sand. Nobody saw it coming!
Sara Hughes is already established as one of the top players in beach volleyball.
Sara Hughes is no stranger to the beach. The former top-ranked recruit in both disciplines of the sport chose to play beach volleyball for USC in college and at one point won 103 matches in a row. The Trojans won multiple national titles while she was on the team.
At 5-foot-10, Hughes is considered one of the best defenders in the world. The 30-year-old seems to get a touch on every single ball. It’s insane!
Hughes played with multiple different partners as a professional over the last eight years. She and Kelly Cheng ultimately chose to go their separate ways after a shocking upset loss to Switzerland at the Olympics last summer and an injury.
With the sour taste of Paris now in her rearview mirror, these next four years will focus on Los Angeles.
Enter Ally Batenhorst.
Batenhorst began her college volleyball career at Nebraska and later transferred to USC. She only played indoor for the Trojans but she played both indoor and outdoor for the Huskers, with a 39-28 career record on the sand.
However, Ally Batenhorst has not played on the beach since early 2024. The 6-foot-5 outside hitter signed a professional contract with the Omaha Supernovas of the Pro Volleyball Federation after college.
She recorded 128 kills on 348 swings (36.8%) as a rookie.
Batenhorst’s first year with Omaha was also her last.
She is making the move from indoor to outdoor.
Although Ally Batenhorst loved her time with the Supernovas, she moved back to California during the offseason and fell back in love with the beach. Hughes eventually asked her to be her partner for at least the next three years, which was an easy yes.
They officially announced their partnership earlier this week. It is very big news!
This is a little bit of a risk for Hughes. Batenhorst is not new to the sand but she is still learning the game on a professional level after a 18-month(ish) focus on indoor volleyball.
By partnering now, Hughes and Batenhorst will have enough time to get acclimated before the Los Angeles Olympics cycle gets going. Their partnership, while surprising, could be a really dominant force on the international level if everything comes together as smoothly as they hope!
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