Day: April 27, 2026

Louisville Kings quarterback Chandler Rogers, who led his team to a revelatory win in Week 5, revealed to the broadcast team in his fourth-quarter interview just how much the victory meant following a week when his predecessor, Jason Bean, had been traded away to make way for his ascension. “We just needed somebody to be a leader,” Rogers said candidly. “Not throwing shots or anything, but we just needed somebody to be like, ‘Hey, come follow me.’ And that’s what I did. I took off and ran with it.” The last time Rogers was in a quarterback derby, he lost to the man who became No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft: Fernando Mendoza. Flip it and allow yourself to imagine what might’ve happened to Rogers’ professional career had he won that QB battle. The margins are just that thin in professional football. With that, here’s a look at my fifth UFL power rankings list of the season: 8. Birmingham Stallions (1-4) Week 4 results: Lost to Defenders, 45-28Current odds to win 2026 title: +1800 UCLA product Dorian Thompson-Robinson enjoyed a rather remarkable debut, connecting on 28 of 43 passes for 313 yards, including nine to former Clemson wideout Justyn Ross for 107 yards. It was head coach AJ McCarron’s defense (2.0 sacks, one pass deflection) that ultimately led Birmingham to lose its fourth consecutive game. It has been a rough few weeks for a team that started the season ranked No. 3 and was tied for the best odds to win the 2026 title. 7. Houston Gamblers (2-3) Week 4 results: Defeated Aviators, 17-13Current odds to win 2026 title: +5000 The Gamblers “All-SEC-in-the-UFL” defense, highlighted by former Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante making five tackles and forcing a fumble, made itself known this week. What’s more, Houston earned a hard-fought win with starting QB Nolan Henderson playing with a broken finger on his throwing hand. 6. Columbus Aviators (1-4) Week 4 results: Lost to Gamblers, 17-13Current odds to win 2026 title: +2200 The Aviators had just five yards of offense in the first quarter, and that was indicative of their inability to establish an offensive rhythm. Even after leaning into their potent run game from one week ago with a 10-play drive that led to points, Houston’s defense continued to load the box and attack a Columbus offensive line that couldn’t protect QB Jalen McClendon in passing situations. McClendon has now been sacked 14 times this season, the most of any player. 5. Louisville Kings (2-3) Week 4 results: Defeated Renegades, 47-25Current odds to win 2026 title: +4000 The Kings created four takeaways that led to 27 points in their romp over the Renegades. In his debut as a starter, QB Chandler Rogers completed 13 of 18 pass attempts for 150 yards and — most importantly — did not turn the ball over. 4. Dallas Renegades (3-2) Week 4 results: Lost to Kings, 47-25Current odds to win 2026 title: +300 After beginning their season 3-0 and looking like the franchise most capable of ending the season with the best record in professional spring football, Rick Neuheisel’s Renegades have lost two consecutive games. Worse yet, Dallas watched its high-powered offense disintegrate with four turnovers — including an 83-yard pick-six thrown by QB Austin Reed. What’s more, there’s no longer a Luis “Spring King” Perez to insert should Reed’s form continue to fall. 3. St. Louis Battlehawks (3-2) Week 4 results: Defeated Storm, 25-17Current odds to win 2026 title: +650 QB Harrison Frost repaid the loyalty head coach Ricky Proehl displayed in allowing him to remain the starter with a workmanlike performance — 20 of 31 completions for 185 yards and one touchdown. The Battlehawks not only bounced back with a win but did so by beating the lone remaining undefeated team in the league. 2. Orlando Storm (4-1) Week 4 results: Lost to Battlehawks, 25-17Current odds to win 2026 title: +320 QB Jack Plummer was forced to dink and dump the ball down the field, needing 44 pass attempts for just 143 yards in what was the Storm’s first loss this season. Still, they’ve done enough to prove they should be near the top of this list. 1. DC Defenders (4-1) Week 4 results: Defeated Stallions, 45-28Current odds to win 2026 title: +150 The defending champions have found their form, as QB Jordan Ta’amu made like he ran a poker game on K Street as he was dealin’. He finished the day with 15 completions on 22 attempts for 275 passing yards and four touchdowns.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Here’s what’s happening this week Inside The Garage: Talladega Superspeedway (Talladega, Ala.) — It was a weekend where all the talk was about the future of NASCAR and the change in CEO. Then, as timing would have it, a very important person when it comes to the future of the sport celebrated on the track. The mostly unapologetic 22-year-old Carson Hocevar won at Talladega Superspeedway. He has generated some enemies on the racetrack but more frenemies. His goofiness and love for racing is infectious. His sometimes boneheaded moves on the track? Not so much. But those moves have become fewer as he matures in his third year of Cup racing for Spire Motorsports, an organization that has a little bit of a renegade attitude. “You already have Carson’s irrational confidence,” Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson said in his postrace news conference. “He’s going to show up in a fur coat on Monday.” It’s that willingness to live free of conventional boundaries that has fans enamored with Hocevar. Not all fans, though. There are some who feel he doesn’t treat his competitors nor his equipment with respect. He had the celebration of the win planned where he worked the throttle with his long legs and sat on the window waving and pointing to the crowd. The fans loved it. Some drivers would be afraid to plan out a celebration. They wouldn’t want to jinx it. Not Hocevar. As Dickerson said, Hocevar has irrational confidence. “I felt like it was an if, not when, so I felt like I wasn’t jinxing myself,” Hocevar said in his postrace news conference. “I was just kind of putting the confidence in it. I knew we were going to do it at some point. I knew we were going to do it pretty soon.” The victory also was a sign of Hocevar’s growth as a driver. He came close to winning the Daytona 500 before getting turned on the final lap. “Obviously, the 500, I think I’ve ran that back about 1,000 times in my head and was pretty confident the next big superspeedway we went to that we’re going to do it and take it back,” Hocevar said. It was just the second win for Spire and the first in a race that wasn’t rain-shortened. It was a culmination of an eight-year process of starting a race team and building it to a point where it is now part of TWG Motorsports, the group that owns Andretti Global in INDYCAR, Cadillac F1 and teams in other racing series. “Jeff truly believes we can make a championship organization out of this,” said Hocevar, who improved to eighth in the standings. “That’s why we’re all here. That’s why we’re all living it. We believe it ourselves. This isn’t a shock to any of us. Everybody says they want to win, but we truly believe in ourselves.” Several drivers went to Victory Lane to congratulate Hocevar on his first Cup win. They understand the struggles he’s gone through and likely view this victory as a sign of growth. As he drove to Victory Lane, Chase Elliott went over to his car and congratulated him. “I’m really happy for Carson,” Elliott told me and other reporters on pit road. “He’s done a great job. He’s really been deserving. He’s been really close a lot, too. … That’s a pretty special thing to win your first race. “I’m sure it’ll be a hurt Monday morning for him, there’s no doubt.” The symbolism of his victory was hard to ignore. He said he was inspired by watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. race at Talladega and win so often. Earnhardt retired after the 2017 season. And since about that time, the sport has searched for drivers who electrified the fan base. There have been some (Elliott for sure is one of them) but the sport seems to be looking for the next superstar who wants to watch races from the grandstands (as Hocevar does) and has the enthusiasm that the driver gets to live the dream. This all came on a weekend when the sport named a new Chief Executive Officer. Steve O’Donnell said the sport needs to get back to having fun again. He won’t ban the borderline dangerous celebration. With all respect to O’Donnell, the fans don’t connect with a CEO. They connect with the drivers. If O’Donnell is going to be successful in his new role, he needs the Carson Hocevars of the world to thrive. “There’s kind of like this big juxtaposition of how sometimes the garage looks at Carson, then you see the crowd up there going ape-s**t while he’s hanging out the window,” Dickerson said. “It’s going to take stuff like that. “That personality connects. Obviously, it’s on the drivers. They’re the biggest part of it. It’s going to take the teams, and it’s going to take NASCAR itself. … It’s kind of like what we’ve done here at Spire. It’s going to take everybody in there to keep pushing this forward. I know Carson will do his part, for sure.” Reddick Agrees To Extension Tyler Reddick made it official as he confirmed he would remain at 23XI Racing with a multiyear contract extension. Reddick was in a contract year and coming off a winless 2025. It was easy to wonder if he would go to another team. But he won five of the first nine races, including the Daytona 500, so remaining at 23XI appeared to be a formality. He confirmed to me after the race at Talladega that he had not even reached the point where he personally could talk to other teams, so he didn’t consider any specific offers. “We’re trying to try to build something great here, and it’s been a great process along the way, and for us to have the gains and the resilience to overcome last year the way that we have says a lot about this group,” Reddick told me. “I’m excited to keep building that as the years go by.” Gabehart Still Limited In Role U.S. District Court Judge Susan Rodriguez issued a preliminary injunction against Spire Motorsports chief motorsports officer Chris Gabehart. The injunction is similar to the restraining order that Joe Gibbs Racing obtained to keep their former competition director from using his JGR experience for the benefit of Spire. Gabehart can still go to races but cannot perform similar duties to his competition director role. Judge Rodriguez noted in her ruling: — Gabehart took confidential information that belonged to JGR, but there is no evidence (at least not yet) that Spire has that info. — Spire had not engaged in any illegal conduct in hiring Gabehart from JGR. — Gabehart’s 18-month non-compete as far as the competition director role is enforceable. Gabehart argued it wasn’t, alleging JGR breached contract by withholding pay. One of the next rulings from the judge will be whether to expedite and have a trial by the end of 2026 (which JGR has asked for) or whether it will be in spring 2027 (which Spire has requested). In The News — Kyle Busch has a new crew chief. Performance director Andy Street, a former crew chief for Austin Hill in the O’Reilly Series, will replace Jim Pohlman. Pohlman, who took the role this year, will remain with the organization in the competition department. — Cleetus McFarland’s next O’Reilly Series race will be in late May in Nashville, where he will again drive for Richard Childress Racing. — INDYCAR’s Independent Officiating Board has named its managing director of officiating, former CART and IMSA technical director Scot Elkins. Ellkins will oversee everything from technical inspection (headed by Kevin “Rocket” Blanch) and race director (headed Kyle Novak) and report to the board. The board was instituted to keep the officiating at arm’s length from the Penske Entertainment Group’s running of the series because Team Penske fields cars in the series. — Acura announced it will pause its IMSA program following the 2026 season, which potentially could impact the Meyer Shank Racing INDYCAR operation. Marcus Armstrong will have Acura branding for his Indy 500 car as the brand (which is under the Honda banner) increases its presence in INDYCAR. Without the Acura-supported sports car program, Shank could opt to operate a third INDYCAR team, considering it already likely would in 2028 because it is expected to field the chartered car that Honda will get as part of the new agreements with Honda and Chevrolet. Why The Call? Denny Hamlin could not take the wave-around even though the leader, Noah Gragson, pitted before the race went back to green during the final stage. The problem was, the pits were already closed, as they are when drivers come to choose a lap before going back to green. NASCAR does not let a driver get the wave-around after the pits are closed. It allowed Zane Smith to get it earlier in the race, but NASCAR said that was a mistake. Social Spotlight They Said It “He looks like Shamu hanging out the window at Sea World.” — Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson on the Hocevar celebration. In Inside The Garage, Bob Pockrass takes us behind the scenes of the motorsports world the way only he can.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the team to enter a residential treatment program for a gambling addiction. Texas Tech and Sorsby announced the move in a statement released on Monday. The school said it is “committed to supporting Brendan through his recovery process and to ensure his long-term health and well-being.” Sorsby was one of the biggest names in this year’s transfer portal. He transferred from Cincinnati, which then announced on Feb. 26 it would sue the quarterback for breaching his name, image and likeness contract. According to the lawsuit, Sorsby signed an NIL agreement in July 2025 covering the 2025 and ’26 seasons and that there would be a $1 million buyout if he transferred, payable within 30 days. Sorsby announced on Dec. 15 that he was entering the transfer portal and announced on Jan. 4 that he would play for Texas Tech. Sorsby received the most lucrative deal of the portal period — a reported $5 million — to return to his home state for his final season. It was not immediately known how Monday’s announcement could impact Sorsby’s availability for the season. “We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said in a statement released by the school. “Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person. Our program is behind Brendan as he prioritizes his health.” In the statement, Texas Tech said its “primary focus remains on fostering an environment where student-athletes feel empowered to prioritize their mental health and seek professional assistance.” The school said it would have no further comment on Sorsby’s status “to protect the integrity of the recovery process.” Sorsby began his career at Indiana before transferring to Cincinnati. In 35 career games, including 31 starts, he has passed for 7,208 yards and 60 touchdowns, along with 1,295 rushing yards and 22 TDs. Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports