NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney is coming off the best season of his three-year career despite the fact that the Nets finished with the third-worst record in the NBA (20-62). Brooklyn went into the 2025-26 season with the goal of developing as many of the young players as possible and while Clowney played well, he knows what he needs to improve on this summer.

“Well, I think I worked on it and so I kind of did it a whole lot more so I was bound to get better at it. With that being said, I still drew fouls. I was good at that,” Clowney said during his exit interview when asked what allowed him to be a better scorer going to the rim. Clowney had his best season when it came to getting to the free-throw line after being run off the three-point line, but he knows that developing counters is the key.

“But, when teams didn’t foul me, sometimes I struggle to finish. Sometimes, I get caught on one foot instead of [taking the] bump, I could play off two [feet], really. The second level move like bump, step-throughs, things like that,” Clowney continued. “If I can get better at that, I think that’ll help me too, but ain’t much to it.”

Clowney, 21, finished the 2025-26 campaign with averages of 12.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assist per game while shooting 39.6% from the field and 32.9% from three-point range. While Clowney’s shooting percentages were down across the board compared to his first two years in the league, he still managed to produce within a heavier workload and he seemed to figure out how to draw fouls at an above-average rate.

Clowney went from averaging 1.6 free-throw attempts per game in his first two seasons to shooting 3.4 free-throw attempts per contest while shooting 80.4% from the charity stripe. As Clowney admitted, he did struggle to counter defenses when the gameplan was to run him off the three-point shot so it seems like this offseason should end with him learning how to play around that strategy.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Noah Clowney details how he can improve his game this offseason

The Logansport softball team won its ninth game in a row with a 16-5 victory in five innings over North Miami on Monday at Fincher Field.

Brooklynn Hagerty hit a grand slam and had a five-RBI game while also striking out eight of the nine batters she faced in three perfect innings for the Class 3A No. 5 Berries (10-1).

Aracyn Good went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs. Adrienne Scott had two hits and two RBIs. Bianca Cortez had a double and two RBIs. Amilia Zaragoza and Bella Nicoles each added a hit.

Jentry Strong pitched the final two innings and allowed five runs (none earned) on three hits and one walk with one strikeout.

Logan hosts Class 4A No. 15 Harrison on Thursday.

CASTON 11, NORTH WHITE 0

Caston (6-3) defeated visiting North White in five innings. The Comets outhit the Vikings 12-4.

Jordan Middleton had a double and three RBIs for the Comets. Hadlie Coffing had two hits and two RBIs. Myli Rude and Natalie Warner each had two hits and an RBI. Abby Apperson and Ava Russell each had a single and RBI. Kylie Logan had a double and Emily Rodas and Audrey Ault added a single apiece.

Mia Mersch pitched a complete game, striking out three, walking one and allowing four hits.

CASTON SWEEPS NJ

Caston (9-2, 6-1 HNAC) swept North Judson in a rescheduled doubleheader in Fulton Monday.

The Comets won by scores of 24-2 and 17-0.

The Comets pounded out 18 hits in the opener. Parker Zimpleman had a home run, single and four RBIs. Logan Mollenkopf and Eli Holloway had three hits apiece. Gavin Mollenkopf, Brodie Howard, Carson Harness and London Herd each had two hits.

Harness got the win, allowing two runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts in five innings.

Caston had 15 more hits in game two. Tucker Woolever had a home run, single and four RBIs. Logan Mollenkopf went 4-for-4 with two doubles and four runs scored. Howard had three hits and four RBIs. Harness and Herd had two hits apiece. Holloway and Zimpleman each added a double.

Logan Mollenkopf tossed a three-hit shutout, striking out five and walking three in five innings.

PIONEER 165, DEMOTTE CHRISTIAN 201, WEST CENTRAL 215

Pioneer picked up a pair of wins at Moss Creek.

Micah Rans led the Panthers with a 36, followed by Ivan Reyes (42), Dane Bowditch (43), Brady Price (44) and Cole Franklin (49).

One day after landing Troy transfer forward Thomas Dowd, the Auburn Tigers are adding another in-state Sun Belt standout. Per Justin Hokanson of Auburn Sports, the Tigers will have South Alabama forward Adam Olsen on the roster for the 2026-27 season.

Olsen was one of the top players for South Alabama for the 2025-26 season, helping lead the team to a 21-12 record and an appearance in the NIT. He was second on the team with 16.7 points per game and led the team in three-point shooting at 39.5%. Olsen also led the Sun Belt with 3.3 average three-pointers made per game and percentage. Olsen did not play in the first round NIT game versus Auburn, which the Tigers won 78-67. Olsen posted 15 games during the season with 20 or more points. His highest scoring game of the season was on February 25th with 29 points in an 89-54 win over Louisiana Monroe.

More: Tracking Auburn basketball’s latest roster moves

Auburn has rebuilt its frontcourt, which was a weakness for the team this past season. This week, the Tigers have added Dowd and Creighton center, Owen Freeman. Last week, Santa Clara Bukky Oboye signed with Auburn, and after the season, they picked up French center Narcisse Ngoy. The addition of Dowd and Olsen is big for Auburn, with Sebastian Williams-Adams transferring to Vanderbilt despite initially announcing he would return next season.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Phillip on Twitter @PJordanSports

This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn basketball adds forward Adam Olsen from transfer portal

Class 2A No. 10 Winamac scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning and held on for an 8-6 win at Pioneer in softball Monday.

The Warriors trailed 6-5 entering the seventh. Maggie Keller doubled and Trinity Harlan followed with a single to start the rally. With runners on second and third and one out, Brody Goodman hit a go-ahead two-run single. A two-out Pioneer error allowed a third run to score.

Ava Ott and Lois Layer had back-to-back singles to put two runners on for the Panthers with one out in the bottom of the seventh. But Adrianna Hall dialed up back-to-back fly outs to end the game.

The contest was scoreless through the first three innings before the offenses picked up.

Keller led the Warriors (7-1, 2-0 HNAC) by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Brooke Rausch had a double, single and three RBIs. Kylie Fisher had a double. Hall and Corrine Ulerick each had a single and RBI.

Rausch got the start for Winamac and allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits in 3 2/3 innings. Hall allowed two runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Layer went 3-for-3 with an RBI for Pioneer (2-4, 0-1). Ott had two hits. Hallie Lebo had a double. Addison Kennell and Averi Layer each had a single and RBI. Madyson Shaffer and Ava Bell each added a single and run scored.

Layer allowed eight runs (four earned) on nine hits with five strikeouts in seven innings.

“It was a very competitive game,” Pioneer coach John Bingaman said. “We had the tying run on base. We just couldn’t capitalize. We couldn’t get the big hit when we needed it in the bottom of the seventh.”

It was the Panthers’ first game in nine days.

“I was a little concerned we hadn’t played since April 11th,” Bingaman said. “We didn’t play all last week at all, so I was a little concerned about how we would respond. We hadn’t seen much live pitching, but I thought we handled it OK offensively.”

The Warriors are back in the top 10 in Class 2A and they are the defending HNAC champions. It was their second straight win over the Panthers. Winamac coach Jennifer Belcher recently picked up her 400th career win.

“Coach Belcher does a great job at Winamac,” Bingaman said. “She always has her teams prepared, so they’re usually not gonna beat themselves. They have pretty good pitching. They hit the ball very well. So that’s always one of the top teams in our conference.”

It’s been a tough run for the Panthers just because they haven’t played much. And it’s also in the manner of which their games were postponed last week in which they would be ready to play before a heavy downpour of rain would cause the postponement. They had five games postponed in a matter of six days last week.

That will lead to a very busy week this week.

“We don’t have much time to be in misery about this because we play Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and two Saturday,” Bingaman said. “We’ve got the pitchers that can do that. We’ve just got to get a little more consistency in our game. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Liga MX is nearing the end of the regular season, and we will have a double matchweek. Cruz Azul opens the curtain by visiting Querétaro on Matchday 16 of Liga MX.

La Máquina is going through a difficult spell. Out of the Concachampions and with 8 consecutive matches without a win, they have stopped fighting for the top spot and are now looking to stay among the top four.

Cruz Azul’s XI

Larcamón knows his team needs to win no matter the cost, which is why he is holding nothing back and is sending out his best XI against Gallos.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

Justin Fields reveals key reason for Chiefs move originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Kansas City Chiefs made the interesting decision to trade for New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields this offseason to be Patrick Mahomes’ backup.

With Mahomes dealing with an ACL injury, and Gardner Minshew leaving in free agency, that left just Chris Oladokun as the only quarterback on the roster.

So, the Chiefs moved for Fields, and now he comes to the AFC West looking to revive his career, and he’s detailed why Kansas City is the spot for him in 2026.

“I wanted to come here because of the [Chiefs’] culture, because of Pat and to learn from him and Coach [Andy] Reid,” Fields said via Nate Taylor of ESPN. “Just the winning, to be honest.

“We of course knew of each other, but we really didn’t communicate before coming here. I’m excited to learn from [Mahomes]. I’m already kind of picking his brain a little bit and just observing how he goes about things in the meeting rooms, field and stuff like that. I’m excited, of course, to work with Coach Reid and [offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy] and all the guys on offense.”

More:Buccaneers could make huge Baker Mayfield decision in NFL Draft

Fields set for career resurgence?

Well, at least initially, yes.

With Mahomes rehabbing, Fields will likely get a lot of first-team reps this offseason with Patrick on the sidelines, and that will bode well for him if Mahomes can’t go to open the season.

While Mahomes has made it clear he wants to start Week 1, there is a feeling that No. 15 will at least be sidelined for the first couple of weeks, and that is Fields’ shot.

Play well in those two games, before Patrick comes back, in a similar way to Mac Jones stepping in for Brock Purdy last season, and Fields’ stock could rise.

He hasn’t experienced a lot of winning in his career, but in 2026, Fields might just see it a lot with the Chiefs.

More NFL news:

• Analyst has Steelers going in QB direction in NFL Draft
• Bears’ Caleb Williams has ideal mindset ahead of 2026 season
• Colts GM shines light on harsh Anthony Richardson NFL reality
• Giants fix Saquon Barkley mistake in latest mock draft
• Browns fans will love Shedeur Sanders’ comments on Todd Monken

The New England Patriots brought in Boston College wide receiver Lewis Bond for a pre-draft visit. This was reported by the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed on Tuesday afternoon.

Bond was an explosive playmaker for the Eagles last season, recording 88 catches for 993 yards and a touchdown. He became Boston College’s all-time receptions leader during his career, tallying 213 receptions for 2,385 yards and 11 touchdowns during his time at Chestnut Hill.

The Patriots could still use another young wide receiver to draft and develop, and an emerging player like Bond would be an intriguing option.

With Romeo Doubs signing in free agency and the Patriots expected to trade for Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, one would think the team would be eyeing Day 3 for a receiver. Bond is a talented playmaker with local ties who could develop into a player who could help the team down the road.

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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots reportedly hosted WR with local ties for pre-draft visit

Last week, I dropped a request in the FEED for all y’all’s hottest Mariners takes and you definitely served up some HEAT. Here is a handy ranking system:

Blake Beaven = 1 star – a fine yet fairly tepid take
Chris Bosio = 2 stars – workmanlike, solid, but not earth-shattering
Hisashi Iwakuma = 3 stars – an above replacement level hot take, boundary-pushing but not absurd
Matt Brash = 4 stars – a very hot and BRASH take, will upset people, will get the people going
Cliff Lee = 5 stars – nuclear, scorched earth-level take

Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here. We’ll start tepid and work our way up.

Poster Donguelard says: “People give Randy Arozarena way too much shit for for how productive he is.”

Rating: Blake Beaven

I mean, I obviously agree with this. Randy is a good ballplayer. He definitely turns it up and turns it down as the situation requires. He is not a 100% hustle up the line every time player. He’s conserving his ammo for when he needs it, and as a 42-year-old who still tries to play sports, I respect that. He’s a couple hot streaks away or flashy catches away from being everyone’s favorite player again. Randy gonna Randy.

Poster Chris From Bothell says: “Dan’s devotion to doing lefty-righty matchups is going to directly cost the M’s at least 3 wins by the end of the season. The Padres finale on April 16 was one of those.”

Rating: Chris Bosio

I’m putting this on the tepid side of things, but still very respectable in terms of a take. Costing 3 wins can definitely mean the difference between the postseason or golf season, but I think this take would be much hotter if we were talking about Dan’s decisions costing the team 5-6 wins. Now we’re getting spicy.

MarinersFanInAZ says: “Emerson Hancock will be the second-best starter this year.”

Rating: Hisashi Iwakuma

Oooh baby, we’re cookin’ now. This is definitely a hot take, but certainly not impossible from the small sample size we’ve seen so far from the Mariners starters. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that Bryan Woo takes the top honors, and then we’ve got newcomer Hancock in second, so then how far behind are Gilbert, Kirby, Castillo, and even Miller once he’s back? If they’re all relatively close behind Hancock, then hello playoffs. If there’s big drop off, then yikes! This is a good and spicy one, well done.

Poster Nichos9 says: “Bryce Miller is coming for Luis Castillo’s job, not for Emerson Hancock’s.”

Rating: Matt Brash

Woooo, boy, this is BRASH as hell. I respect it, but definitely disagree for two reasons. 1. I think Castillo’s demise has been greatly exaggerated. He’s fine and he is a crafty veteran at this point and will figure out how to keep winning games for as long as his arm stays healthy. 2. This take assumes that Bryce Miller is going to come back and really put it all together again. Sadly, I have my doubts. I want it to happen because I love Cowboy Bryce and he’s fun to watch when he is on his game, but I will believe it when I see it. Still, this is steaming hot take because of how sneakily divisive it is. Well played!

Poster YesItsRyan says: “Cole Young proves he is the best Mariners 2nd baseman since the 90’s.”

Rating: CLIFF LEE (sirens, fire alarms, Chernobyl klaxons)

Hoooo YEAH, head for the hills! We’ve got a winner right here. Let’s take a look at the highest single season bWAR totals by Mariners second basemen since 1990

1. Bret Boone, 2001: 8.8 bWAR
2. Robinson Canó, 2016: 7.3 bWAR
3. Harold Reynolds, 1990: 4.8 bWAR
4. Joey Cora, 1997: 2.6

It goes downhill pretty quickly after that, so let’s stop there. So, I admit, I did not see this coming from Cole Young after what we saw last season. Obviously it’s April, but he’s been one of the compentnt hitters in the lineup for the last month and is currently 4th in bWAR for the Mariners in 2026. That’s pretty significant for a fairly overlooked prospect (not by one Kate Preusser, I am legally obligated to say). So Yung Cole is off to a great start, he is very strong, can slug the ball, and has a pretty high baseball IQ. Can he outdo 2.6 by Joey Cora? Pretty decent chance, I’d say. Could he outdo Harold Reynolds at 4.8? We’re in big stretch territory. Possible but unlikely. How about 7.3 by Canó? I mean, the Mariners are definitely in the playoffs if that happens. That would overcome A LOT of shortcomings by other players, but is extremely unlikely. Can Young outdo Boone at 8.8? I’m gonna say that record will probably he held by Boone until the sun burns out unless Young shows up with suspiciously swollen forearms out of nowhere and begins doing nonchalant flick of the wrist bat flips on dingers.

So, yes, I certify this take as NUCLEAR. Bombastic. Morally questionable. Scorched earth.

Okay that’ll do it for this week’s reverse mailbag. Thank you to everyone who dropped a take, I’ll include more next time. The spicier, the better. Keep an eye out for the next prompt later this week.