April 2026

There were 1,683 posts published in April 2026 (this is page 166 of 169).

NBA touts ‘significant interest’ from investors in European league

In coordination with FIBA, the NBA on Tuesday touted “significant interest from a range of prospective teams and investors” for a new league to operate in Europe.

“The level of engagement and the scale of the bids reflect the marketplace’s belief in our proposed model and the enormous, untapped potential for European basketball,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said in a statement. “We will now review the bids in more detail and shortlist the partners who share our vision and commitment to accelerating the growth of the game across the continent.”

This comes days after Tatum presented an update on the NBA’s vision at the board of governors meeting. No votes were taken on the matter in New York, but owners continue to express “overwhelming support” for the plan, sources told Yahoo Sports.

As NBA commissioner Adam Silver outlined in a press conference last week, the NBA is working with investment banks J.P. Morgan and Raine, “soliciting interest” from “over a hundred organizations” to field teams in “12 separate markets” across Europe.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks at a press conference during the NBA All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS

“There has been enormous enthusiasm,” said Silver.

London, Paris and Rome are expected to be among the 12 markets. Spain, Germany, Greece and Turkey have also been mentioned in league circles as potential locations.

Prospective teams would come from some collection of: 1) existing basketball teams, 2) existing soccer organizations interested in establishing a basketball program, or 3) entirely new ownership groups. Multiple EuroLeague teams are among several existing basketball organizations that have submitted their bids, sources said.

The NBA has received multiple bids for prospective franchises in a range between $500 million and $1 billion, including several offers north of $1 billion, sources said.

The NBA is tentatively targeting a start date of October 2027 for the new league.

Silver has also been encouraged by “ongoing discussions” with the EuroLeague’s new CEO, as of January, Chus Bueno, who spent 12 years in the NBA’s front office.

“I think for the betterment of European basketball, the best outcome would be if we came together with the EuroLeague on a systematic approach to growing the game throughout Europe,” he said. “That means complementing country leagues, working together with the EuroLeague and working together with our federation, FIBA.”

The EuroLeague was organized by FIBA in 1958 and run by the federation until 2000.

The NBA’s most recent announcement of “significant interest” in a European-based league comes at the same time as it considers expanding itself to 32 teams. The NBA is seeking offers in a $7 billion-10 billion range for franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle.

Where to watch Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros: Live stream, start time, TV channel, odds for Wednesday, April 1

The Houston Astros (4-2) will play host to the Boston Red Sox (1-4) in the final game of their series. Garrett Crochet starts for Boston, while Mike Burrows takes the mound for Houston.

  • Date: Wednesday, April 1

  • Time: 2:10 p.m. ET / 11:10 a.m. PT

  • Where: Daikin Park, Houston

  • TV Channels: Space City Home Network, NESN

  • Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

  • Boston Red Sox: 1-4 (No. 5 in AL East)

  • Houston Astros: 4-2 (No. 2 in AL West)

  • Spread: Houston Astros +1.5

  • Moneyline: Houston Astros 125 / Boston Red Sox -150

  • Over/Under: 7

Boston Red Sox: Garrett Crochet (1-0, ERA: 0.00, K: 8, WHIP: 0.83)
Houston Astros: Mike Burrows (0-1, ERA: 7.94, K: 6, WHIP: 1.94)

Weather: 78°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 41,000 | Roof: Retractable | Surface: Grass

Fantasy Baseball: Andrew Painter has victorious debut, Shohei Ohtani returns to the mound and more

We’re just a week into the fresh 2026 baseball season and so many rookies are making their mark. And it’s time to add Andrew Painter to the list.

Painter is another post-hype kid to talk about. He was a top-10 prospect on most boards entering 2023, but elbow problems and eventual Tommy John surgery knocked him out for a couple of years. He was healthy enough to return to a full season last year, but the results were mediocre — 5.26 ERA, 1.49 WHIP over 26 starts. We understand if you ignored Painter during draft season.

Painter made the Philadelphia rotation off a solid spring, for whatever 11.2 innings might mean to you (7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 8 K). The more emphatic statement came Tuesday in his major-league debut, where he stopped the Nationals over 5.1 innings (4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K). The fastball was popping (high of 98.7 mph), the breaking stuff electric. You can see why Painter projects to be a No. 1 or No. 2 starter someday, health permitting.

The fantasy world has taken notice, of course. Painter chased up to 42% rostered after Tuesday’s win, and he’s worth a look even in shallow formats, working at San Francisco in his next turn.

Given how unstoppable Shohei Ohtani is on offense, sometimes it’s easy to forget he’s a dominant pitcher, too. Ohtani served up some of that dominance against Cleveland on Tuesday, allowing just one hit over six scoreless innings. He walked three, struck out six, threw 87 pitches in all.

If you look at the best pitchers in baseball since the beginning of 2021, Ohtani is all over the leaderboard. Among pitchers with 400 or more innings, he ranks fifth in strikeout rate, 11th in WHIP and third in ERA. In some alternative universe where Ohtani is only asked to pitch, he’d be a legitimate Cy Young contender in any healthy season.

It will be interesting to see how far the Dodgers push Ohtani on the mound this year. He obviously didn’t pitch at all in 2024, and last year he was limited to 47 regular-season innings. The Angels used Ohtani more in this area, with three seasons between 132 and 166 innings. Of course, there were physical breakdowns, too.

Because the Dodgers have a deep pitching staff and are a near-lock to make the playoffs, I suspect Ohtani won’t get past 110-130 innings or so. But anyone holding shares of Ohtani the pitcher would likely take that workload.

Injuries have forced rookie José Fernández into the Arizona lineup. And apparently, Fernández has designs on sticking around. He conked two home runs Tuesday as the Snakes ran down the Tigers, including the game-flipping tater off Kenley Jansen. It was part of a three-hit day, and led to four RBI.

We saw some of this pop in spring training — three homers, .840 slugging. And Fernández did accumulate 17 homers and 12 steals in 122 games last year, meandering through the minors. At times, his approach was too aggressive, as he’s battled with strikeouts for much of his pro career. But we’re still talking about someone who is only 22, far from a finished prospect.

If you want to kick some tires on Fernández’s plausible upside, he’s ready to add in 93% of Yahoo leagues.

While Fernández helped the Diamondbacks gain the lead Tuesday, it was Paul Sewald who closed up shop, striking out the side in the ninth. Sewald now has two saves in as many days, cementing his status as the Arizona closer. I’m surprised the market has been slow to accept Sewald, who is rostered in about one-third of Yahoo leagues. Holding the ninth inning is most of the battle with respect to fantasy closers.

When I make my next run of Rest-of-Season rankings next Monday, Sal Stewart will receive an overdue raise. The Cincinnati rookie has been a force through the first week, on a 9-for-16 binge with a couple of homers. All of his hard-hit metrics are pushed to the right, and the Reds have slotted him cleanup for every start.

Stewart gave us plenty of signal all spring, slashing .327/.450/.592 with three homers and four steals. He also drew 11 walks against nine strikeouts, the type of ratio that calls for a screaming buy. Obviously he looked like a star all last year, slashing .306/.377/.473 in the minors (20 homers, 17 steals) and hitting five home runs in 18 games for Cincinnati. Stewart will be somewhere in the top 150 for me moving forward; I’ll marinate that ranking over the next few days.

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo reveals he ‘talked seriously’ with Phoenix Suns about coaching vacancy in 2025

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo revealed Wednesday that he had been in talks with the Phoenix Suns about taking the team’s open head coaching job ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Izzo just completed his 31st year at Michigan State as the Spartans lost to UConn in the Sweet 16 on Friday. In an interview on “The Dan Patrick Show,” he said he had been discussing the Suns job with team owner and former Michigan State basketball player Mat Ishbia.

“I’ve had more than a couple job offers in the NBA, and look, that one last year with Phoenix, you know, my former player Mat Ishbia,” Izzo said. “And that was hard. That was a hard thing to turn down because number one, I kind of wanted to go with him, number two …”

Patrick then interjected and asked if Izzo had been offered the job in Phoenix.

“We talked seriously about it, let’s say that,” Izzo continued. “And then number two is, I’ve been pretty vocal about it — I don’t like what’s going on in college athletics. By the way, neither do 99.98% of the football and basketball coaches in America. And I think the kids are still going to find out before it’s done it’s not best for them, either.”

Phoenix is on its fourth coach in four seasons after hiring former Cavaliers and Lakers assistant Jordon Ott for the 2025-26 season. Former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer led the team to a 36-46 record in 2024-25 as Phoenix scuffled with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker on the roster. His lone season in Phoenix came after former Lakers coach Frank Vogel was in charge the season before as Phoenix won 49 games in the regular season and lost in the first round of the playoffs. 

Durant is now in Houston after he was traded to the Rockets, and Beal joined the Los Angeles Clippers after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Suns. And the Suns are already six wins better than they were a season ago at 42-34 with six games remaining in the regular season.

Discussions surrounding Izzo’s potential move to Phoenix came roughly 15 years after he almost left Michigan State for the NBA. In 2010, Izzo also had discussions with a Michigan State alum and NBA owner as Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert had offered him the team’s head coaching job.

But Izzo turned down that job in June of that year and said one of the big factors in remaining at Michigan State was his inability to talk with LeBron James. 

James, a free agent after the 2010 season, infamously made his choice to leave Cleveland for Miami in his televised special “The Decision” less than a month after Izzo said no to Cleveland. 

Where to watch Cleveland Guardians vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: Live stream, start time, TV channel, odds for Wednesday, April 1

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who have won all but one of their first five games take on the Cleveland Guardians (3-3). Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who won his first start, will be on the mound for the Dodgers. Gavin Williams is scheduled to start for Cleveland.

  • Date: Wednesday, April 1

  • Time: 8:20 p.m. ET / 5:20 p.m. PT

  • Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

  • TV Channels: SportsNet LA, Guardians.TV Presented by Progressive

  • Live Stream:ESPN+, MLB.TV | Follow on Yahoo Sports

  • Cleveland Guardians: 3-3 (No. 1 in AL Central)

  • Los Angeles Dodgers: 4-1 (No. 1 in NL West)

  • Spread: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5

  • Moneyline: Los Angeles Dodgers -275 / Cleveland Guardians 220

  • Over/Under: 8.5

Cleveland Guardians: Gavin Williams (0-1, ERA: 5.40, K: 7, WHIP: 1.60)
Los Angeles Dodgers: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0, ERA: 3.00, K: 6, WHIP: 0.83)

Weather: 68°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 56,000 | Roof: Open | Surface: Grass

Where to watch New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners: Live stream, start time, TV channel, odds for Wednesday, April 1

The New York Yankees (4-1) look to keep rolling as they take on the Seattle Mariners (3-3). New York shut out Seattle 5-0 on Tuesday to even the series heading into the decisive third game. Cam Schlittler is scheduled to start for the Yankees against George Kirby. Both pitchers won their first start of the season.

  • New York Yankees: 4-1 (No. 1 in AL East)

  • Seattle Mariners: 3-3 (No. 4 in AL West)

  • Spread: Seattle Mariners +1.5

  • Moneyline: Seattle Mariners -115.0 / New York Yankees -105.0

  • Over/Under: 7

New York Yankees: Cam Schlittler (1-0, ERA: 0.00, K: 8, WHIP: 0.19)
Seattle Mariners: George Kirby (1-0, ERA: 1.50, K: 6, WHIP: 0.67)

Weather: 48°F at first pitch

Ballpark: Capacity: 47,929 | Roof: Retractable | Surface: Grass