Joel Klatt Makes Steve Sarkisian Admission Ahead of 2025 Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has brought the program back to a level where it competes for national titles. 

Texas is still searching for its first national title in college football since 2005, but the Longhorns have reached the College Football Playoff semifinal in consecutive seasons. 

On a recent episode of “The Joel Klatt Show,” Joel Klatt shared his ranking of the Texas head coach. Klatt credited Sarkisian and placed the head coach inside the top five or six in the country. 

Along with the CFP, Sarkisian led Texas to the SEC Championship Game in the Longhorns’ first season in the conference. 

“He’s done a remarkable job,” Klatt said. “But, now it’s been back-to-back years in which they’ve lost in the national semifinal. So now he wants to take a step forward. They’ve recruited at a ridiculously high level. You know how I feel about Steve Sarkisian. He is one hell of a college football coach. He would easily be in my top five or six in the country, but now he’s going against a guy that is now easily in the top two or three in the country, and that’s Ryan Day.”

Sarkisian has a chance to get revenge in the season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team that knocked him out of the CFP. 

In this meeting, Texas will be led by Arch Manning under center, now that Quinn Ewers has entered the NFL. 

Klatt has discussed how Manning’s ability to run will allow the Longhorn offense to open up. However, Klatt does not think Manning is the best quarterback in the country heading into 2025, ranking Clemson Tigers star Cade Klubnik ahead of the Texas gunslinger. 

Texas and Ohio State meet at “The Shoe” on August 30 at Noon ET on Fox. 

Related: College Football Powerhouse Predicted to Win CFP After Change in Format

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.

Time apparently doesn’t heal all wounds. 

The Thunder won the franchise’s first NBA championship since moving from Seattle to Oklahoma City Sunday night with a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers. 

For one Seattle sports broadcast, this was not news worth celebrating — or even news at all.

Fox 13 sports director Aaron Levine concluded a 30-minute sports show Sunday night with a note about the result of Game 7.

“Finally tonight, unfortunately, the Indiana Pacers lose Game 7 of the NBA Finals,” Levine said as the show signed off. “Big game for the Sounders tomorrow! We will see you out at Lumen Field.”

That was it. There were no highlights, no mention of the score or a championship and no utterance of the words “Oklahoma City Thunder.” 

Just to hammer home that the absence of coverage was not merely an oversight, Levine tweeted out video of his sign-off with a caption:

“How this #Seattle news station covered Game 7 of the #NBAFinals at the end of our half-hour sports show. The way it should be. @Fox13Seattle#BringEmBack#StillBitter“

Stay bitter, Seattle. 

Why so bitter?

In 2008, Seattle — and basketball culture as a whole, to be honest — was robbed of the SuperSonics, one of the coolest franchises in the NBA. Seattle loved its Sonics, a franchise that had resided in the city for 41 years, produced an NBA championship in 1979 and one of the iconic teams of the 90s featuring Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton.

In 2006, Oklahoma City native Clay Bennett led an ownership group to buy the Sonics from Seattle and Starbucks business titan Howard Schultz. Bennett vowed at the time of the purchase to make a good-faith effort to keep the Sonics in Seattle amid negotiations for a new arena.

Comments from Bennett’s ownership partner and OKC energy tycoon Aubrey McClendon in 2007 to an Oklahoma paper stated otherwise. 

“But we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here,” McClendon told the Journal-Record.

Then-NBA commissioner David Stern fined McClendon $250,000 for those comments. Months later, Stern and 27 of Bennett’s 29 fellow NBA owners joined Bennett in clearing the way for the Sonics to move to Bennett’s home town. 

They’ve been the Oklahoma City Thunder ever since. And now, they’re NBA champions. And Seattle remains without an NBA franchise. 

Schultz, meanwhile, calls selling the Sonics to Bennett’s group “one of the biggest regrets of my professional life.”

So forgive the locals in Seattle if they’re not joining in on the Thunder celebration — or acknowledging at all. 

Time apparently doesn’t heal all wounds. 

The Thunder won the franchise’s first NBA championship since moving from Seattle to Oklahoma City Sunday night with a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers. 

For one Seattle sports broadcast, this was not news worth celebrating — or even news at all.

Fox 13 sports director Aaron Levine concluded a 30-minute sports show Sunday night with a note about the result of Game 7.

“Finally tonight, unfortunately, the Indiana Pacers lose Game 7 of the NBA Finals,” Levine said as the show signed off. “Big game for the Sounders tomorrow! We will see you out at Lumen Field.”

That was it. There were no highlights, no mention of the score or a championship and no utterance of the words “Oklahoma City Thunder.” 

Just to hammer home that the absence of coverage was not merely an oversight, Levine tweeted out video of his sign-off with a caption:

“How this #Seattle news station covered Game 7 of the #NBAFinals at the end of our half-hour sports show. The way it should be. @Fox13Seattle#BringEmBack#StillBitter“

Stay bitter, Seattle. 

Why so bitter?

In 2008, Seattle — and basketball culture as a whole, to be honest — was robbed of the SuperSonics, one of the coolest franchises in the NBA. Seattle loved its Sonics, a franchise that had resided in the city for 41 years, produced an NBA championship in 1979 and one of the iconic teams of the 90s featuring Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton.

In 2006, Oklahoma City native Clay Bennett led an ownership group to buy the Sonics from Seattle and Starbucks business titan Howard Schultz. Bennett vowed at the time of the purchase to make a good-faith effort to keep the Sonics in Seattle amid negotiations for a new arena.

Comments from Bennett’s ownership partner and OKC energy tycoon Aubrey McClendon in 2007 to an Oklahoma paper stated otherwise. 

“But we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here,” McClendon told the Journal-Record.

Then-NBA commissioner David Stern fined McClendon $250,000 for those comments. Months later, Stern and 27 of Bennett’s 29 fellow NBA owners joined Bennett in clearing the way for the Sonics to move to Bennett’s home town. 

They’ve been the Oklahoma City Thunder ever since. And now, they’re NBA champions. And Seattle remains without an NBA franchise. 

Schultz, meanwhile, calls selling the Sonics to Bennett’s group “one of the biggest regrets of my professional life.”

So forgive the locals in Seattle if they’re not joining in on the Thunder celebration — or acknowledging at all. 

The Dallas Mavericks are locking down Daniel Gafford. 

Gafford and the Mavericks intend to sign a three-year, $54 million contract extension in the coming days, according to multiplereports. The deal will keep Gafford in Dallas through the 2028-29 campaign. 

Gafford is coming off a career season in Dallas, where he averaged 12.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game. He shot 70.2% from the field, too. Last season was Gafford’s first full one with the Mavericks, who struck a deal for him with the Washington Wizards ahead of the deadline in 2024. 

Gafford, who will turn 27 this fall, is entering the final year of a three-year, $40 million deal he first signed with the Wizards. He’s set to make about $14.4 million next season. 

Though Gafford isn’t the Mavericks’ marquee center, he’s been a very solid piece for the team’s frontcourt — which has since been bolstered by the additions of Dereck Lively and Anthony Davis, who landed in Dallas as part of the stunning deal that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks also have the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft this week, where they’re expected to select former Duke star Cooper Flagg. 

The Mavericks went 39-43 last season, and ended up missing the playoffs after struggling significantly following the Dončić trade. But with their new frontcourt solidified, Flagg coming in and star Kyrie Irving expected to make it back on the court at some point next season after his ACL injury, the Mavericks are still in a good position in the Western Conference. From there the team was just a few months ago in the wake of the trade that had fans gunning for general manager Nico Harrison’s job, that’s a pretty remarkable turnaround.

The Dallas Mavericks are locking down Daniel Gafford. 

Gafford and the Mavericks intend to sign a three-year, $54 million contract extension in the coming days, according to multiplereports. The deal will keep Gafford in Dallas through the 2028-29 campaign. 

Gafford is coming off a career season in Dallas, where he averaged 12.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game. He shot 70.2% from the field, too. Last season was Gafford’s first full one with the Mavericks, who struck a deal for him with the Washington Wizards ahead of the deadline in 2024. 

Gafford, who will turn 27 this fall, is entering the final year of a three-year, $40 million deal he first signed with the Wizards. He’s set to make about $14.4 million next season. 

Though Gafford isn’t the Mavericks’ marquee center, he’s been a very solid piece for the team’s frontcourt — which has since been bolstered by the additions of Dereck Lively and Anthony Davis, who landed in Dallas as part of the stunning deal that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks also have the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft this week, where they’re expected to select former Duke star Cooper Flagg. 

The Mavericks went 39-43 last season, and ended up missing the playoffs after struggling significantly following the Dončić trade. But with their new frontcourt solidified, Flagg coming in and star Kyrie Irving expected to make it back on the court at some point next season after his ACL injury, the Mavericks are still in a good position in the Western Conference. From there the team was just a few months ago in the wake of the trade that had fans gunning for general manager Nico Harrison’s job, that’s a pretty remarkable turnaround.

The Cincinnati Reds announced on Monday that infielder Jeimer Candelario has been designated for assignment by the team. In doing so, the Reds will still be on the hook to pay the 10-year major leaguer the remaining $22.5 million he’s owed on the final year and a half on his contract

Candelario, 31, is batting .113/.198/.213 with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI in 91 plate appearances this season. He had just finished a minor-league rehab assignment while finishing out an injured list stint for a lumbar spine strain. Rather than add him back to the active roster, the Reds decided to cut ties with the underperforming veteran.

“At the end of the day, you have to look at it as a sunk cost because you can’t bring a player that’s not going to help his team win,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall told The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans.

While Cincinnati isn’t getting impactful production from Spencer Steer (.230/.287/.352, 6 HR) at first base or Santiago Espinal (.244/.295/.290) and Christian Encarnacion-Strand (.202/.229/.384, 5 HR) at third base, all three players are less expensive and younger. Steer and Encarnacion-Strand started at their positions for Monday’s matchup with the New York Yankees.

Candelario signed a three-year, $45 million free agent deal with the Reds in December 2023 after hitting .251 with an .807 OPS and 22 home runs for the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs. The $22.5 million he’s owed by Cincinnati comes from the remainder of his $16 million salary for this season, next year’s $13 million and a $3 million buyout from an $18 million mutual option for 2027. 

That total surpasses the $22 million that Cincinnati still owed Mike Moustakas when he was released in January 2023. 

The Reds have five days to explore a trade, but no MLB team will likely want to pick up that $22.5 million. Especially when Candelario wasn’t hitting well on his rehab assignment, batting just .211/.318/.333 in 15 games. The same applies if a team were to claim Candelario on waivers. So he will likely opt for free agency and look for a team that needs infield depth for the prorated major league minimum salary. Or the Reds could release him before that five-day period finishes. 

In his 10 MLB seasons, Candelario has batted .237/.315/.411 with 190 doubles, 110 home runs and 384 RBI with the Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Nationals and Reds. That includes a .207/.265/.394 slash average with 22 homers and 66 RBI for Cincinnati. 

The Cincinnati Reds announced on Monday that infielder Jeimer Candelario has been designated for assignment by the team. In doing so, the Reds will still be on the hook to pay the 10-year major leaguer the remaining $22.5 million he’s owed on the final year and a half on his contract

Candelario, 31, is batting .113/.198/.213 with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI in 91 plate appearances this season. He had just finished a minor-league rehab assignment while finishing out an injured list stint for a lumbar spine strain. Rather than add him back to the active roster, the Reds decided to cut ties with the underperforming veteran.

“At the end of the day, you have to look at it as a sunk cost because you can’t bring a player that’s not going to help his team win,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall told The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans.

While Cincinnati isn’t getting impactful production from Spencer Steer (.230/.287/.352, 6 HR) at first base or Santiago Espinal (.244/.295/.290) and Christian Encarnacion-Strand (.202/.229/.384, 5 HR) at third base, all three players are less expensive and younger. Steer and Encarnacion-Strand started at their positions for Monday’s matchup with the New York Yankees.

Candelario signed a three-year, $45 million free agent deal with the Reds in December 2023 after hitting .251 with an .807 OPS and 22 home runs for the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs. The $22.5 million he’s owed by Cincinnati comes from the remainder of his $16 million salary for this season, next year’s $13 million and a $3 million buyout from an $18 million mutual option for 2027. 

That total surpasses the $22 million that Cincinnati still owed Mike Moustakas when he was released in January 2023. 

The Reds have five days to explore a trade, but no MLB team will likely want to pick up that $22.5 million. Especially when Candelario wasn’t hitting well on his rehab assignment, batting just .211/.318/.333 in 15 games. The same applies if a team were to claim Candelario on waivers. So he will likely opt for free agency and look for a team that needs infield depth for the prorated major league minimum salary. Or the Reds could release him before that five-day period finishes. 

In his 10 MLB seasons, Candelario has batted .237/.315/.411 with 190 doubles, 110 home runs and 384 RBI with the Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Nationals and Reds. That includes a .207/.265/.394 slash average with 22 homers and 66 RBI for Cincinnati. 

Almost two months after his knee injury, LeBron James is back on the court.

The Los Angeles Lakers star shared a video of a workout in New York on Instagram on Monday, which came roughly eight weeks after he sustained an MCL injury in the playoffs.

“Obviously not where I wanna be ultimately but off to a good start,” he wrote, in part. “Damn what a GREAT FEELING!!”

James went down in the Lakers’ elimination loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs after he collided with Donte DiVincenzo. James briefly left the game, but returned to finish it out. The Lakers ended up losing 103-96.

James averaged 24.4 points and 8.2 assists in 70 games last season with the Lakers while earning his 21st All-Star nod. The Lakers, however, fell in the opening round of the playoffs for a second straight season.

James has yet to comment on his plans for next season, though many expect that he’ll opt-in to a $52.2 million player option and return to the Lakers. That would mark his 23rd season in the league. His deadline to pick up that option is June 29.

While Monday’s video doesn’t confirm that by any means, at least playing again in some form doesn’t hurt.

“At this point of my career, you think about when the end is. That’s human nature,” James said after the Lakers’ loss. “You think, is it this year? Or next year? Those thoughts always creep into your mind at this point of the journey. But I have not given it a specific timetable, date. I’m seeing how my body and family reacts too.”

Almost two months after his knee injury, LeBron James is back on the court.

The Los Angeles Lakers star shared a video of a workout in New York on Instagram on Monday, which came roughly eight weeks after he sustained an MCL injury in the playoffs.

“Obviously not where I wanna be ultimately but off to a good start,” he wrote, in part. “Damn what a GREAT FEELING!!”

James went down in the Lakers’ elimination loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs after he collided with Donte DiVincenzo. James briefly left the game, but returned to finish it out. The Lakers ended up losing 103-96.

James averaged 24.4 points and 8.2 assists in 70 games last season with the Lakers while earning his 21st All-Star nod. The Lakers, however, fell in the opening round of the playoffs for a second straight season.

James has yet to comment on his plans for next season, though many expect that he’ll opt-in to a $52.2 million player option and return to the Lakers. That would mark his 23rd season in the league. His deadline to pick up that option is June 29.

While Monday’s video doesn’t confirm that by any means, at least playing again in some form doesn’t hurt.

“At this point of my career, you think about when the end is. That’s human nature,” James said after the Lakers’ loss. “You think, is it this year? Or next year? Those thoughts always creep into your mind at this point of the journey. But I have not given it a specific timetable, date. I’m seeing how my body and family reacts too.”