Just a few short years ago, college coaches everywhere got unwittingly launched into the windstorm that is NIL and the transfer portal era. This tornado spun some old-school-minded coaches, even great ones like Nick Saban, into retirement. For others, the constant swirl of uncertainty and ever-changing rules made for ripe griping grounds. Kentucky’s Mark Stoops found himself staunchly in this group of top coaches who trudged through the new environment, but begrudgingly so. To absolutely no one’s surprise, though, Mark Pope is embracing the new challenge.

Pope, whose relentless positivity oscillates between profoundly inspirational and borderline cheesy, spoke at the Larry Shyatt coaching clinic last week and expounded on his refreshing perspective about NIL and the transfer portal.

He said, “I believe it’s the greatest time to be a college coach. It’s the most challenging, but also the most rewarding.”

This message embodies a refreshing take compared to other coaches who often have expressed the sentiment akin to, “NIL is here whether we like it or not, so we might as well make the best of it.”

Pope, who wants all the smoke, welcomes the toughest challenges, whether that is a difficult schedule or forging for success amidst the windstorm of NIL. Instead of viewing hardships as hardships, he looks at them as opportunities to conquer.

Pope knows this new world is challenging for players, too

Mark Pope is looking to be a leader for young men equally entering new territory. Pope continued in his speech at the coaching summit, “The players need us more than ever before,” and he’s right.

Imagine if you received hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more than a million, at 18 years old. How would you have handled it? Most of us struggled with doing our own laundry, and we were broke.

Being thrust into living in the spotlight that is Kentucky basketball during such a formidable age is already a lot for a budding adult to take in. Add endorsement deals, accountants, and paying more money in taxes in one year than you made your entire life, and you might need your head coach to be more than just someone who draws up plays for you in the huddle.

Mark Pope’s message to coaches everywhere is not to serve as a mentor because the current landscape requires it, but to embrace it because the players need it. This attitude looks like it is paying off in the form of 14 scholarship players, some signing up fully understanding they will not see much time on the court.

Pope is truly a one-of-one coach, and his unique perspective on life unfolds in different ways every time he steps up to a microphone.

Just a few short years ago, college coaches everywhere got unwittingly launched into the windstorm that is NIL and the transfer portal era. This tornado spun some old-school-minded coaches, even great ones like Nick Saban, into retirement. For others, the constant swirl of uncertainty and ever-changing rules made for ripe griping grounds. Kentucky’s Mark Stoops found himself staunchly in this group of top coaches who trudged through the new environment, but begrudgingly so. To absolutely no one’s surprise, though, Mark Pope is embracing the new challenge.

Pope, whose relentless positivity oscillates between profoundly inspirational and borderline cheesy, spoke at the Larry Shyatt coaching clinic last week and expounded on his refreshing perspective about NIL and the transfer portal.

He said, “I believe it’s the greatest time to be a college coach. It’s the most challenging, but also the most rewarding.”

This message embodies a refreshing take compared to other coaches who often have expressed the sentiment akin to, “NIL is here whether we like it or not, so we might as well make the best of it.”

Pope, who wants all the smoke, welcomes the toughest challenges, whether that is a difficult schedule or forging for success amidst the windstorm of NIL. Instead of viewing hardships as hardships, he looks at them as opportunities to conquer.

Pope knows this new world is challenging for players, too

Mark Pope is looking to be a leader for young men equally entering new territory. Pope continued in his speech at the coaching summit, “The players need us more than ever before,” and he’s right.

Imagine if you received hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more than a million, at 18 years old. How would you have handled it? Most of us struggled with doing our own laundry, and we were broke.

Being thrust into living in the spotlight that is Kentucky basketball during such a formidable age is already a lot for a budding adult to take in. Add endorsement deals, accountants, and paying more money in taxes in one year than you made your entire life, and you might need your head coach to be more than just someone who draws up plays for you in the huddle.

Mark Pope’s message to coaches everywhere is not to serve as a mentor because the current landscape requires it, but to embrace it because the players need it. This attitude looks like it is paying off in the form of 14 scholarship players, some signing up fully understanding they will not see much time on the court.

Pope is truly a one-of-one coach, and his unique perspective on life unfolds in different ways every time he steps up to a microphone.

Just a few short years ago, college coaches everywhere got unwittingly launched into the windstorm that is NIL and the transfer portal era. This tornado spun some old-school-minded coaches, even great ones like Nick Saban, into retirement. For others, the constant swirl of uncertainty and ever-changing rules made for ripe griping grounds. Kentucky’s Mark Stoops found himself staunchly in this group of top coaches who trudged through the new environment, but begrudgingly so. To absolutely no one’s surprise, though, Mark Pope is embracing the new challenge.

Pope, whose relentless positivity oscillates between profoundly inspirational and borderline cheesy, spoke at the Larry Shyatt coaching clinic last week and expounded on his refreshing perspective about NIL and the transfer portal.

He said, “I believe it’s the greatest time to be a college coach. It’s the most challenging, but also the most rewarding.”

This message embodies a refreshing take compared to other coaches who often have expressed the sentiment akin to, “NIL is here whether we like it or not, so we might as well make the best of it.”

Pope, who wants all the smoke, welcomes the toughest challenges, whether that is a difficult schedule or forging for success amidst the windstorm of NIL. Instead of viewing hardships as hardships, he looks at them as opportunities to conquer.

Pope knows this new world is challenging for players, too

Mark Pope is looking to be a leader for young men equally entering new territory. Pope continued in his speech at the coaching summit, “The players need us more than ever before,” and he’s right.

Imagine if you received hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more than a million, at 18 years old. How would you have handled it? Most of us struggled with doing our own laundry, and we were broke.

Being thrust into living in the spotlight that is Kentucky basketball during such a formidable age is already a lot for a budding adult to take in. Add endorsement deals, accountants, and paying more money in taxes in one year than you made your entire life, and you might need your head coach to be more than just someone who draws up plays for you in the huddle.

Mark Pope’s message to coaches everywhere is not to serve as a mentor because the current landscape requires it, but to embrace it because the players need it. This attitude looks like it is paying off in the form of 14 scholarship players, some signing up fully understanding they will not see much time on the court.

Pope is truly a one-of-one coach, and his unique perspective on life unfolds in different ways every time he steps up to a microphone.

Just a few short years ago, college coaches everywhere got unwittingly launched into the windstorm that is NIL and the transfer portal era. This tornado spun some old-school-minded coaches, even great ones like Nick Saban, into retirement. For others, the constant swirl of uncertainty and ever-changing rules made for ripe griping grounds. Kentucky’s Mark Stoops found himself staunchly in this group of top coaches who trudged through the new environment, but begrudgingly so. To absolutely no one’s surprise, though, Mark Pope is embracing the new challenge.

Pope, whose relentless positivity oscillates between profoundly inspirational and borderline cheesy, spoke at the Larry Shyatt coaching clinic last week and expounded on his refreshing perspective about NIL and the transfer portal.

He said, “I believe it’s the greatest time to be a college coach. It’s the most challenging, but also the most rewarding.”

This message embodies a refreshing take compared to other coaches who often have expressed the sentiment akin to, “NIL is here whether we like it or not, so we might as well make the best of it.”

Pope, who wants all the smoke, welcomes the toughest challenges, whether that is a difficult schedule or forging for success amidst the windstorm of NIL. Instead of viewing hardships as hardships, he looks at them as opportunities to conquer.

Pope knows this new world is challenging for players, too

Mark Pope is looking to be a leader for young men equally entering new territory. Pope continued in his speech at the coaching summit, “The players need us more than ever before,” and he’s right.

Imagine if you received hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more than a million, at 18 years old. How would you have handled it? Most of us struggled with doing our own laundry, and we were broke.

Being thrust into living in the spotlight that is Kentucky basketball during such a formidable age is already a lot for a budding adult to take in. Add endorsement deals, accountants, and paying more money in taxes in one year than you made your entire life, and you might need your head coach to be more than just someone who draws up plays for you in the huddle.

Mark Pope’s message to coaches everywhere is not to serve as a mentor because the current landscape requires it, but to embrace it because the players need it. This attitude looks like it is paying off in the form of 14 scholarship players, some signing up fully understanding they will not see much time on the court.

Pope is truly a one-of-one coach, and his unique perspective on life unfolds in different ways every time he steps up to a microphone.

Mets pitching prospect Jonah Tong made his second Triple-A start Saturday night and continued to impress, tossing six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts for Syracuse against Indianapolis.

The 22-year-old let up back-to-back singles to open the game, but got a double play and a strikeout to avoid early damage. He allowed a double and a walk in the second before retiring the next 12 batters, cruising through the fifth inning. Tong was tested in the sixth inning, finding himself in a jam with runners on second and third base. The righty maintained his composure after a mound visit and struck out Rafael Flores to end the frame and keep it a 3-0 game.

Overall, Tong allowed five hits and walked one over 88 pitches (63 strikes) with 21 swing-and-misses. His fastball topped out at 97.6 mph.

The top prospect dazzled in his first outing with Syracuse on Aug. 16, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. He allowed just three hits and two walks. Over two Triple-A starts, Tong has tossed 11.2 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts and 39 swing-and-misses (h/t Joe DeMayo).

While New York has been hesitant to promote prospects to the majors too early, Tong may be up sooner than later, according to the NY Post’s Mike Puma.

“The wind has shifted in the Mets organization in recent days regarding Jonah Tong,” Puma wrote Saturday evening. “His name is entering the conversation for this season.”

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has also said he’d prefer to have a spot in the rotation open up for multiple starts, instead of a spot-start and the prospect being sent back down to the minors.

Fellow top pitching prospect Nolan McLean has impressed over his first two major league starts and it’s been expected that Brandon Sproatwould be the next starter to be promoted. The Mets’ rotation currently consists of Clay Holmes (pitching Saturday night), David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, and McLean. To make room for Sproat or potentially even Tong, New York could move Holmes to the bullpen and then would have to make a decision on other bullpen pitchers like Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett, or Huascar Brazoban, who was recalled on Saturday.

Jonah Tong had another excellent outing for Triple-A Syracuse tonight 🔥

His final line: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K pic.twitter.com/WuKPe15sIa

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 24, 2025

It was another deflating loss for the Yankees on Saturday afternoon.

Having already dropped the first two games of their crucial four-game set, Garrett Crochet kept the Yankees offense at bay and New York couldn’t keep the Red Sox bats quiet in their 12-1 loss.

The loss clinched another series win for the Red Sox, who are now 7-1 against the Yankees this season. The win also pushed their lead in the wild card standings to 1.5 games. 

“It sucks. It feels real crappy,” manager Aaron Boone said after the loss. “We gotta get past it. We can sit here and dwell on it, [but] we gotta play better. We gotta play better against these quality opponents in our division, but we can’t go erase what’s been a really crappy weekend so far for us, other than putting our best foot forward tomorrow and going and salvaging one and being in control of what we have in the pen and getting to write the story the rest of the way, but we gotta go do it.”

Crochet dominated the Yankees again, allowing just one run on five hits and striking out 11 batters across seven innings. But the Yankees skipper doesn’t put it on just the pitching they’ve faced in this series. For him, it’s his own offense and pitching that is the story of the three losses.

“We haven’t generated much here in this series. They shut us down…we have to find a way to scratch out some runs,” he said. “The story is getting shut down. Not generating much offensively and struggling to keep them down.”

Young right-hander Will Warren is the latest Yankees pitcher to struggle in this series. He allowed five runs across four innings before recently-acquired pitcher Paul Blackburn gave up seven runs in the ninth inning to make Saturday’s loss a laugher.

“We’ve got to beat them,” Warren said after the game. “We’re capable of beating them, we’re just not playing like we should.”

“It’s not ideal,” Giancarlo Stanton said of the loss. “Unacceptable. We all know that. We just got to get tomorrow.”

“It’s baseball, but it comes down to we got to play better,” Aaron Judge said of his team’s play against the Red Sox this season. “Doesn’t matter who we’re facing, whether it’s the Rays, Red Sox, Tigers, whoever. We gotta go out there with our best and we didn’t do that today or the last couple of days.”

Judge went 1-for-4 with a double, only the second extra-base hit the Yankees got on Saturday — the other being Stanton’s solo shot off of Crochet. But in the three-game series, he’s only 2-for-11 with a walk and four strikeouts.

It was brought to Judge’s attention that he’s said this team has “got to play better” a lot recently, and the reigning AL MVP said he feels like he’s been saying it since Opening Day because he always feels the team can be better and that it’s on the players to make it happen.

“Coaches can’t fix that, fans can’t fix that, media can’t fix that. It’s the players in this room,” he said. “We have to step up. That’s what it comes down to.”

He later added, “It’s baseball, it’s a tough game, we just have to keep stepping up. We have to get dirty, do the little things to put ourselves in the best position. Can’t give teams extra outs, if teams are going to give us a chance to score, we got to capitalize. We didn’t do that, especially these last three games. That’s what it comes down to. We have to show up tomorrow and start doing our thing.”

In the three losses, the Red Sox have scored 19 runs while the Yankees have pushed across just four. That’s less than the five errors they’ve committed in the first three games of this series.

After Sunday’s series finale, the Yankees have three more games against the Red Sox, but this time in Boston. But that’s too forward-thinking, as Judge said; they need to figure out how to get a win on Sunday. 

Mets‘ Frankie Montas, who was placed on the 15-day IL earlier Saturday with a UCL injury in his right elbow, will miss the remainder of the 2025 season.

Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters prior to the team’s game against the Atlanta Braves that Montas’ UCL injury is “pretty significant” and it’s “possible” the pitcher could need Tommy John surgery.

“He’s got a pretty significant injury there,” Mendoza said. “We’ve got multiple doctors looking at it to see what we’re dealing with. The first read was that he’s got a pretty big injury there.”

Mendoza said Montas “expressed soreness in the lower bicep area” on Friday and played catch before getting an MRI. He added that Montas was “pretty devastated” upon getting the bad news.

It was a tough season on the mound for Montas, who started the year on the IL and didn’t debut until June. He finished with a 3-2 record, a 6.28 ERA, and a 1.60 WHIP. The 32-year-old was recently moved to the bullpen to allow the team to call up Nolan McLean, but didn’t find success there either over two outings.

Montas signed a two-year, $34 million deal with New York during the offseason and was expected to play a key role in the pitching rotation both this year and in 2026. He has a player option for the 2026 season, but will likely miss most of the year if he gets Tommy John surgery.

Carlos Mendoza says that Frankie Montas’ UCL injury is “pretty significant” and Tommy John Surgery is possible.

Montas will be done for the season. pic.twitter.com/2HfKedurZz

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 23, 2025