IOWA CITY — While the rain appeared heavy at times on the Big Ten Network stream it was a case of “when it rains, it pours” as Iowa State (23-15, 4-8 Big 12) and Iowa (21-17, 5-10 Big Ten) combined for five home runs, punctuated by Reagan Bartholomew’s game-winning two-run homer to deep center field in the top of the seventh that secured the 9-7 victory for the Cyclones at Pearl Field on Wednesday.

Serayah Neiss was tagged with the loss, her fifth of the season, while Lauren Schurman earned the win – her 13th of the season – for the Cyclones after retiring the Hawkeyes in order in the bottom of the seventh.

Early Defensive Stands

The game began as a defensive struggle, with neither team scoring in the first two innings. In the top of the first, Iowa’s defense ended a threat when catcher Leah McAnally threw out Jessie Clemons at second base for a caught stealing. The Cyclones responded on defense in the second inning when Kadence Shepherd, Reagan Bartholomew, and Sydney Malott combined for a double play to neutralize an Iowa walk.

Third Inning Offensive Explosion

The scoring erupted in the third inning as Iowa State built a four-run lead. After McKenna Andrews drew a walk, Tatum Johnson hit a two-run home run to deep right field.

T3 | Tower Power from Tatum 💪💪

The senior puts us 🔛🔝

🌪️🥎🌪️ | @tatum_johnsonnnpic.twitter.com/iEAFoIyUdK

— Iowa State Softball (@CycloneSB) April 8, 2026

Reagan Bartholomew followed with a double, setting the stage for Kadence Shepherd to launch another two-run home run, extending the lead to 4-0.

T3 | @ShepherdKadence with a 💣 of her own!

Second two-run blast of the frame puts us up four 😎

🌪️🥎🌪️ pic.twitter.com/Oz3jPGAePf

— Iowa State Softball (@CycloneSB) April 8, 2026

This prompted Iowa to replace starting pitcher Avery Sapp with Carly Brewer.

Iowa responded immediately in the bottom of the third. After a walk to Brianna Johnson and a single by Devin Simon, Tory Bennett hit a three-run home run to deep left field, cutting the deficit to 4-3.

This surge led Iowa State to make their own pitching change, bringing in Lauren Schurman for Jaiden Ralston.

Mid-Game Lead Changes

In the fourth inning, Iowa State added an unearned run when Ames native Ireland Buss scored during a caught-stealing sequence involving Andrews.

However, Iowa leveled the score at 5-5 in the bottom half when the 2024-25 Iowa Gatorade Softball Player of the Year Mariah Myers hit a two-run home run that scored Nailyn Marshall.

The Cyclones reclaimed the lead in the fifth inning. Tatum Johnson and Reagan Bartholomew both singled to start the inning, eventually leading to a sacrifice fly by Sydney Malott and an RBI double by Karlee Ford to make the score 7-5.

T5 | Karlee doing Karlee things 🫡

Her second hit of the day drives in Shep to put us in front by two.

🌪️🥎🌪️ | @KarleeFord2pic.twitter.com/F2V4yK4uQD

— Iowa State Softball (@CycloneSB) April 8, 2026

The Hawkeyes continued to fight back, using an RBI single by Kiara Sipe in the fifth and an RBI single by Brianna Johnson in the sixth—following a double by Mariah Myers—to tie the game once more at 7-7.

The Decisive Seventh

The deadlock was broken in the top of the seventh inning. After Tatum Johnson led off with a single, Reagan Bartholomew hit a go-ahead two-run home run to deep center field off relief pitcher Neiss.

T7 | Who else but @reagbart23⁉️

The senior puts us in front!

🌪️🥎🌪️ pic.twitter.com/BsbOU8j7KZ

— Iowa State Softball (@CycloneSB) April 9, 2026

In the bottom of the seventh, Lauren Schurman retired the Hawkeyes in order to secure the victory. Schurman forced Tory Bennett, Kiara Sipe, and Leah McAnally into three consecutive groundouts to end the game.

Next up

Iowa State returns to Ames for a series against No. 19 Oklahoma State beginning Friday at 4 p.m.

Back for more combat sports chaos is Hype Brazil, which will again feature a pair of big UFC names, and this time includes a former champion as well.

To skirt UFC contracts, four MMA fighters will instead compete in submission-only grappling matches, with the main event being a 10-minute Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) match between UFC contenders one division apart in Jean Silva vs Marlon Vera. The other key grappling match up is former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo taking on Raul Rosas Jr.

BJJ legend Joao Miyao will also compete on the card, while the rest of the line up features bareknuckle boxing fights.

The card happens at the Komplexo Tempo Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and streams live TONIGHT (Weds., April 8, 2026) at PPV.com and Triller TV, starting at 7 p.m. ET.

Follow along below with live results and highlights from the mixed combat sports fight card.

Hype Brazil: Silva vs. Vera full results and fight card

Hype Brazil Main card:

• Jean Silva vs. Marlon Vera (10-minute grappling)
• Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Raul Rosas Jr. (grappling)
• Joao Miyao vs. Dennis Oliveira (grappling)
• Cicero Coutinho (Charles Oliveira’s coach) vs. Marfio Canoletti (bareknuckle)

Bareknuckle prelims:

• Breno Ceara vs Clayton Ferreira (bareknuckle)
• Lucas Sayajin vs. Thales Adriel (bareknuckle match)
• Matheus Rangel vs. Douglas Mutante (bareknuckle match) — Matheus Rangel def. Douglas Mutante by KO
• Laysa Silva vs. Bianca Sattelmayer (bareknuckle match) — Bianca Sattelmayer def. Laysa Silva by decision
• Romero Reis vs. Ricardo Sattelmayer (bareknuckle match) — Romero Reis def. Ricardo Sattelmayer by KO
• Vinicius Barros vs. Joao Marques (bareknuckle match) — Vinicius Barros def. Joao Marques by TKO

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FOR THE LATEST BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (BJJ) AND GRAPPLING-RELATED NEWS CLICK HERE. FOR ADDITIONAL GRAPPLING CONTENT, FOLLOW @BJJBEAT ON INSTAGRAM.

It never fails. Every year, there are late risers who find their way into round one conversations, while not even being mentioned at all during the regular season. This year, I would argue there is no bigger case than Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling. We did not hear his name once all season, but as soon as the season ended, he was being mocked as one of the top tackles on the board. Is this all hype, or is the juice worth the squeeze?

Let’s talk about it.

Freeling, a former four-star recruit out of Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, was the number 32 overall recruit nationally and the fifth-ranked tackle coming out. He saw the field early and often, appearing in eight games as a true freshman, and 14 appearances in 2024 with five starts. In 2025, he’d start 13 games for the Bulldogs, earning Second Team All-SEC honors.

Monroe Freeling is a plus-plus pass blocker, which, coming out of the SEC, is huge given his level of competition. He allowed minimal pressure across almost 750 snaps. His basketball background shows, as he is athletic for someone his size at 6’7. This is evident in his first step out of his stance, as he always seems to reach his spot before his defender arrives. When his first punch doesn’t land where he wants, he does a great job resetting his hands to where they need to be, which is not commonly seen among tackles in this class. His massive wingspan allows him to land early, too, which helps matters.

Freeling definitely has the advantage in pass protection, but struggles in the run game. His tape shows him struggling to get to his gap and seal defenders on outside runs, and doesn’t really climb as much as you’d think someone with his athletic profile would suggest. Unless he adds muscle this offseason, he might struggle early against bull rushers, even with a long wingspan, as play strength doesn’t show. There should also be more questions surrounding his limited starting experience.

Monroe Freeling is certainly a curious case. I can understand where the hype is coming from, as he appears to be projecting as a plus pass blocker, but his shortcomings in the run game leave me hesitant to pull the trigger early. However, I still landed with a mid-second round grade, as I could see him developing into a nice starter with decent upside once he earns more reps.

This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: 2026 NFL Draft scouting report on Georgia OT Monroe Freeling

Atletico Madrid were celebrating on Wednesday after a 2-0 victory over Barcelona at the Spotify Camp Nou, their first win at the stadium in 20 years. It leaves them in pole position to reach the Champions League semi-finals, which would be a fantastic achievement for Los Colchoneros.

As per Marca, head coach Diego Simeone gave his assessment of how things played out in Barcelona when he spoke to the media post-match.

“We defended in an orderly manner so that they could not progress. We couldn’t have any more chances than we would have liked and the one we were looking for appeared. I’m far from Cubarsí’s action, but the VAR calls the referee. Then there is an incredible goal from Julián. In the second half we looked more for the counter-attack.”

Simeone: Referee and VAR got Pubill incident correct

Barcelona were left furious at not being awarded a penalty in the second following a handball incident involving Marc Pubill, but Simeone believes that the right decision was made by the officiating team.

“If I was far from Giuliano’s play, I was even more so for the other. If (Pubill) and the referee interpreted that the play had not started, it is common sense of the game. Then we can look for all the situations we want.”

Tie not done yet – Simeone

Atleti only need to avoid losing by two or more goals at home to confirm their place in the Champions League semi-finals, but Simeone is clear that the tie is far from over at this stage.

“We are facing a very strong opponent, we have the humility to say that they are very good. We will play with all the enthusiasm, with our people, and with the commitment. I’d rather have the advantage, but after the 4-0 (in Copa del Rey) we saw how they responded at home. We imagine a difficult and complex match.”

On Wednesday, the Steelers brought in three prospects for pre-draft visits for the second-straight day. One of those is UConn’s Skyler Bell, who ranked second in FBS receiving yards last season. He was joined by Miami (Fla.) safety Jakobe Thomas and BYU linebacker Jack Kelly in advance of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Bell is an interesting option and a guy who reminds us a lot of former Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III. Bell is a little bigger and Austin was a little faster but both player’s film is loaded because they were the focal point of their team’s passing offense on mediocre passing games.

There are really two things about Bell’s game that hurt his stock. First and less relevant is his speed. Not on the stopwatch but on the field. Bell gives up way too much speed in and out of his routes and has to work against himself to get back to full speed. Second, and the bigger issue, is his drops. Bell had nearly as many drops as he did touchdown catches over the last two seasons, and in the NFL, if you can’t hold onto the football, there’s no place for you.

This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers bring in speedy UConn WR for pre-draft visit

Rutgers big man Baye Fall has entered the NCAA transfer portal, per On3’s Pete Nakos. He’s a former four-star recruit who started his career at Arkansas.

His four-star rating in the 2023 class, per to the Rivals Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services, saw him ranked No. 30 overall. He was the No. 1 overall recruit from Colorado and No. 8 power forward in the cycle.

He committed to Eric Musselman out of high school, but would only play nine games for the Razorbacks. Fall transferred after the season to play for Jerome Tang at Kansas State in 2024-25. Similarly, Fall would only appear in four games. His transfer to Rutgers this past season saw him log minutes in just nine games as well.

In all, Fall has been limited to 22 games overall in his collegiate career. He’s averaged 1.0 point, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game across his career.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Following the Mets’ 7-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, manager Carlos Mendoza and the players spoke about the game…

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Sean Manaea was once again tasked with saving the Mets bullpen after David Peterson struggled to get past five innings.

While it wasn’t Manaea’s finest outing, he was still effective and helped the get the final 12 outs of the game to save the relievers for Thursday’s rubber game against Arizona.

“Each day is trending in the right direction,” Manaea said after the game. “Changeup and sweeper were really good. Sinker, I kinda lost it there [in the eighth inning], but overall I thought things are trending in the right direction.”

Thursday marked Manaea’s 10th career relief appearance of at least four innings and his third overall this season. He allowed two runs on five hits and two walks against the Diamondbacks. 

Manaea said that he’s doing a lot of different drills to potentially make him feel better. He said that every day, there’s a plan for him and he just executes it. 

Prior to first pitch, Mendoza said he doesn’t plan to go to a six-man rotation. He reiterated that after the game, and was asked whether Manaea could replace a struggling Peterson in the rotation. The Mets skipper said that’s not in his plan and they will continue to go with the same rotation they started the season with.

Manaea has learned to be comfortable in his new role.

“I’m here to help this team win any way I can,” Manaea said. “My job is to do what I’ve been doing. I’m very happy doing that. Like I said before, we have five really good starting pitchers. I can help any way I can.”

“[Manaea was] Good, able to keep us there,” Mendoza said of his reliever. “Couple of plays we couldn’t make, gave up a couple of runs there. He was aggressive… I thought he was good.”

Luis Robert Jr. unable to make the play

Those “couple play” Mendoza mentioned came in the eighth inning. 

First, Robert Jr. nearly made a sliding catch in center but trapped it, allowing Ildemaro Vargas to get on with one out. Three batters later, and with the bases loaded, Jorge Barrosa lined a pitch to centerfield. The ball continued to travel toward the wall and Robert Jr. seemed to have a bead on it, but when he put his glove up to catch it, the ball bounced off it and fell for a double. 

“He got there. Maybe that ball just kept on going and it went further than he anticipated,” Mendoza said of the double. “He got there, he just missed it.” 

The two plays cost Manaea and the Mets two runs.

Hip, hip, Jorge 🎉 pic.twitter.com/WWDQejO5OZ

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 8, 2026

Benge gets off the schneid

Carson Benge has struggled since Opening Day. He was 0-for-24 heading into the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game. Benge got back on the hits board with a single through the right side.

“Yesterday, there were better at-bats. His work today was a lot better,” Mendoza said of Benge. “Shorter, barrel going through the heart of the zone. The path was better. Good to see him get that hit right there. He’s going to be fine.”

Benge has had a tough start to the season. He’s slashing .108/.214/.403 with one home run and three RBI. 

The NBA’s annual play-in tournament is less than a week away. We know, we’re shocked, too. However, despite the proximity to the end of the regular season, there are only two teams currently locked into their seeds in the Eastern and Western conferences.

Only the Golden State Warriors (locked into the Western Conference’s No. 10 seed) and Detroit Pistons (locked into the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed) know for sure where they’ll rank by season’s end.

Other than them, it’s an absolute mish-mosh of what-ifs and maybes that could shape the NBA’s postseason, with five teams in the Eastern Conference fighting it out to ensure they avoid the play-in.

Here are the current NBA standings and what the NBA postseason and play-in tournament would look like if the season ended today.

NBA Eastern Conference standings

*- clinched conference; d- clinched division; x-clinched playoff berth

1. *Detroit Pistons: 57-22
2. x – Boston Celtics: 54-25 (3 GB)
3. x – New York Knicks: 51-28 (6 GB)
4. x – Cleveland Cavaliers: 50-29 (7 GB)
5. Atlanta Hawks: 45-34 (12 GB)
6. Toronto Raptors: 44-35 (13 GB)
7. Philadelphia 76ers: 43-36 (14 GB)
8. Orlando Magic: 43-36 (14 GB)
9. Charlotte Hornets: 43-37 (14.5 GB)
10. Miami Heat: 41-38 (16 GB)

The Bucks, Bulls, Nets, Pacers and Wizards have been eliminated from postseason contention.

NBA Western Conference standings

1. d – Oklahoma City Thunder: 63-16
2. d – San Antonio Spurs: 60-19 (3 GB)
3. x – Denver Nuggets: 51-28 (12 GB)
4. d – Los Angeles Lakers: 50-29 (13 GB)
5. x – Houston Rockets: 50-29 (13 GB)
6. x – Minnesota Timberwolves: 47-32 (16 GB)
7. Phoenix Suns: 43-36 (20 GB)
8. Los Angeles Clippers: 41-38 (22 GB)
9. Portland Trail Blazers: 40-29 (23 GB)
10. Golden State Warriors: 37-42 (26 GB)

The Pelicans, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Kings and Jazz have been eliminated from postseason contention.

NBA playoffs bracket

(Through Tuesday, April 7)

Eastern Conference

• (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Play-In Winner
• (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Atlanta Hawks
• (3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Toronto Raptors
• (2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Play-In Winner

Western Conference

• (1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) Play-In Winner
• (4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Houston Rockets
• (3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves
• (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Play-In Winner

NBA Play-In Tournament

(Through Tuesday, April 7)

Eastern Conference

• (7) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (8) Orlando Magic
• (9) Charlotte Hornets vs. (10) Miami Heat

Western Conference

• (7) Phoenix Suns vs. (8) Los Angeles Clippers
• (9) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (10) Golden State Warriors

When do the NBA playoffs begin?

The NBA Play-In Tournament begins Tuesday, April 14 and finishes Friday, April 17.

The NBA playoffs begin the very next day, Saturday, April 18, featuring eight teams in each conference after two teams from both the East and West are eliminated in the Play-In Tournament.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be on Wednesday, June 3.

Which upcoming games could impact the postseason standings?

With just five days left in the regular season, every game matters, but there are a few games that could have serious impact on the end-of-season standings.

Wednesday, April 8

• Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers
• Oklahoma City Thunder at LA Clippers
  • Thunder can clinch top seed with win or Spurs loss

Thursday, April 9

• Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors
• Boston Celtics at New York Knicks

Friday, April 10

• Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
• Toronto Raptors at New York Knicks
• Los Angeles Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers

Sunday, April 12

• Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat
• Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers
• Denver Nuggets at San Antonio Spurs

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA playoff bracket, latest standings, scenarios

The news on Zach Eflin’s injury came back on Wednesday evening and it was as bad as you could have guessed from the get-go. The Orioles announced that Eflin had Tommy John surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow on Wednesday.

The only surprising thing about the announcement is that we skipped the step where we find out that Eflin has a torn UCL and soon will be getting Tommy John surgery. He was known to be flying to Dallas yesterday to have a second opinion consult with one of the current commonly-used surgeons for TJ. Although they didn’t announce it yesterday, it’s clear that second opinion resulted in, “Let’s just get you scheduled tomorrow.”

This outcome was telegraphed when the Orioles placed Eflin on the 60-day injured list earlier this week, meaning it was clear to them he wouldn’t be back for a while. It was also telegraphed more or less from when he walked off the mound in his first start of the year. When a player throws a pitch, leaves with the trainer without doing any warm-up tosses, and the injury announcement is about his throwing elbow, that tends to end up here almost every time.

It’s a bummer of a development for Eflin and for the team. Eflin looked like he was back to a better version of himself with how he was pitching in spring training. It seemed like he might have been behind the back issues that caused him to miss a lot of time last season and pitch badly when he was not on the injured list. The Orioles re-signed Eflin for a $10 million contract for this season with a mutual option for 2027 because they were willing to bet on that comeback. It was working, at least until something entirely unrelated went wrong.

The mutual option for 2027 was set for $25 million. There’s no chance now that the Orioles exercise that option. Perhaps there’s a chance of renegotiating the contract, with Eflin getting a smaller guarantee for 2027 – let’s say in the $6-8 million range – and the Orioles getting a team option for 2028.

That depends on what Eflin wants and what the team wants also. There can be some benefit to the player to having continuity with one team for his rehab work. The Orioles may still want post-surgery Eflin to be around starting next June or July and if that’s the case, they may be willing to guarantee him a little money to get the first look after he’s back in action. On the other hand, maybe they don’t want to carry an injured guy on the 40-man roster through next offseason. There is no 60-day injured list outside of the season.

Another thing that’s not clear at this moment is how the Orioles intend to replace Eflin in the rotation over the long haul. Although many people, including me, long assumed that Dean Kremer would appear the first time there was an injury in the Orioles rotation, the O’s went out of their way to not call him back to the majors after Eflin went down.

A spot start went to Brandon Young on Monday and the next one will go to Cade Povich on Sunday. Young’s spot start went fine, as did Povich’s emergency long relief back on Sunday. We’ll see how he fares against a team that’s not the White Sox.