Month: May 2026

Plenty of people have botched the pronunciation of Seattle Seahawks star wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s name, but the NFL invented a new way to fumble it. Smith-Njigba, who earned 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors, posted a video of his trophy for the award, which reads “2025 Defensive Player of the Year,” instead of “2025 Offensive Player of the Year.” “It’s getting disrespectful, guys,” Smith-Njigba said in a video he posted to his Instagram account about the trophy. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told The Athletic that Smith-Njigba will receive a new trophy following the error, and apologized on behalf of the league. “The league made the mistake. We sincerely apologize to Jaxon for the error and are in the process of creating and shipping him a new trophy,” McCarthy added in his comments to The Athletic. “Of course, like the teams he played against this year, we know how great an offensive player he is. We just had a problem spelling it.” When Smith-Njigba was named the winner of the award back in February, comedian Druski mispronounced his name at the NFL Honors. Druski said he attempted to apologize to Smith-Njigba after the mishap, but didn’t hear back from him. As for the year that the “2025 Offensive Player of the Year” is coming off, Smith-Njigba, a Pro Bowler in each of the last two seasons, totaled 119 receptions for an NFL-high 1,793 yards (15.1 yards per reception) and 10 touchdowns in the regular season, helping the receiver earn his first career All-Pro honor. Smith-Njigba’s 19 receptions were fourth in the sport, and his 10 receiving touchdowns were tied with Los Angeles Rams star wide receiver and fellow two-time Pro Bowler Puka Nacua for sixth. Smith-Njigba led the NFL with 1,378 yards when lined up as an outside receiver, according to Next Gen Stats. Then, in the postseason, he logged 17 receptions for 199 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by a 153-yard performance against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game en route to Seattle’s Super Bowl LX triumph. In 2024, Smith-Njigba totaled 100 receptions for 1,130 yards (11.3 yards per reception) and six touchdowns. Smith-Njigba, who Seattle selected with the No. 20 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, has never missed a game in his three-year NFL career (2023-25). In March, he signed a four-year, $168.6 million extension, with the $42.15 million average annual value an NFL record for a wide receiver. As for Smith-Njigba’s franchise standing, his 119 receptions and 1,793 receiving yards in 2025 are each first in a single season in Seahawks history, with his 100 receptions in 2024 tied with wide receiver Tyler Lockett (2020) for second. Furthermore, Smith-Njigba already stands 10th in franchise history with 282 career receptions and 20 receiving touchdowns, while being 11th with 3,551 receiving yards.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has been sentenced to serve 30 days in jail after testing positive for marijuana in violation of the terms of his probation for his role in a crash that left multiple people injured on a Dallas highway two years ago. The Texas State Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that Rice was ordered to go to jail now as part of his original sentence for the third-degree felony of racing and causing bodily injury. Rice is set to be released on June 16, which is five days after Chiefs’ minicamp ends. The Chiefs declined to comment on the case. Rice, 26, pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury in the March 30, 2024, crash. As part of his sentencing, it was initially ruled that Rice would be able to serve his 30-day jail sentence at any point during his five years of probation. Rice was also required to pay the victims for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, which totaled about $115,000. Rice was driving a Lamborghini Urus SUV at 119 mph (191 kph) when he made “multiple aggressive maneuvers around traffic” and struck other vehicles, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said that after the crash, Rice failed to check on the welfare of those in the other vehicles and fled on foot. Shortly after his sentencing, Rice apologized for his role in the crash, saying he had “a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages that my actions caused.” “I am profoundly sorry for the physical damages to person and property,” Rice added in the statement. “I fully apologize for the harm I caused to innocent drivers and their families.” A month after Rice’s sentencing, the NFL suspended him for six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Rice had 53 receptions for 571 yards and five touchdowns in eight games last season before he was placed on injured reserve due to concussion-like symptoms. Rice tore his ACL the previous season, limiting him to only four games in 2024 after a breakout rookie campaign in 2023. News also broke on Tuesday of Rice’s recent surgery. Before serving his 30-day jail sentence for a probation violation, Rice underwent a clean-up surgery last week in Dallas to remove loose debris and inflammation from his right knee, ESPN reported. The procedure is expected to sideline Rice for the next two months. The Associated Press contributed to this report.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Welcome to The Greatest Spectacle In Racing. The Indianapolis 500 is set for Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. From “Back Home Again In Indiana” to “Taps” to “Drivers, Start Your Engines” to the green flag to the checkered flag to the milk in Victory Lane, there is no other prerace like it, there is no other race like it, there is no other victory celebration like it. The drivers of the INDYCAR Series work all year toward this race. Approximately 350,000 people — one person for approximately every 1,000 Americans — will attend. Several million will watch on television in the United States and around the world. Here’s what to know about the 2026 Indianapolis 500: What time will the race start? The green flag is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. ET. FOX coverage begins at 10 a.m. ET. How long is the race? It is 500 miles — 200 laps around the 2.5-mile oval. Unlike some other forms of racing, there is no overtime or provision for additional laps. An official race, if it rains or there are other factors for the race not to get to the finish, is 250 miles or beyond. Is it really an oval? It is a rectangular circuit. The frontstretch and backstretch are five-eighths of a mile each (1.25 miles total). The four turns are each a quarter mile (1 mile total). And the short chute between each turn one-eighth of a mile (0.25 mile total). The turns are banked 9 degrees, 12 minutes. The frontstretch and backstretch have no banking. The straightaways width is 50 feet; the turns width is 60 feet. Does IMS have lights? Not for the racing surface to be able to race at night. How many Indy 500s have there been? This is the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. Who are the favorites? You have to start with polesitter Alex Palou. He is the defending winner of the race and a four-time INDYCAR champion driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. And then? Most every other driver in the field could conceivably win the race depending on strategy, when they choose to pit, when the cautions come out and if they have to save fuel to make it work. In the 109 races, 21 winners have come from the pole and 46 have come from the front row. That should be good news for Palou, ECR Racing’s Alexander Rossi and Team Penske’s David Malukas. Another 21 drivers have won from the second row. This year, that’s Felix Rosenqvist, Santino Ferrucci and Pato O’Ward. And nine have come from the third row. This year that’s Kyffin Simpson, Conor Daly and Scott McLaughlin. That leaves 33 winners (30 percent) who have won outside the third row. No driver who has started 18th, 23rd, 24th, 26th or 29th-33rd has ever won the race. Rossi and O’Ward do have to go to backup cars after a hard crash in practice Monday. They get to keep their starting positions. [WHO TO ROOT FOR: Guide To Choosing Your Favorite INDYCAR Driver] How many former winners are in the field? There are nine former winners in the field: –Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021)–Takuma Sato (2017, 2020)–Josef Newgarden (2023, 2024)–Scott Dixon (2008)–Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014)–Alexander Rossi (2016)–Will Power (2018)–Marcus Ericsson (2022)–Alex Palou (2025) Castroneves, to me and other reporters, on the Drive for 5: “Last year, when I finished the race, I tell you what — I was already thinking about. I was actually angry a little bit because it was a lot of small mistakes. And even with the small mistakes, we still finished in the top 10. And that’s where my frustration came in because the car was excellent, the setup was really good.” Is there anyone doing The Double? Yes. Katherine Legge will drive in the Indianapolis 500 for HMD Motorsports as part of an alliance with A.J. Foyt Racing. She will then travel to Charlotte and compete in the Coke 600 for Live Fast Motorsports. Legge has made eight Cup starts over the last two years. [WHO IS KATHERINE LEGGE? The Double Driver On Dogs & Being Fearless] “It is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Legge said in a virtual news conference last week. “I’ll be the sixth person to have ever [done] it, and that’s in the world, right? That’s really cool. So I’m excited.” Do any other drivers in the field have NASCAR national series experience? Yes. Conor Daly has three Cup starts, three O’Reilly Series starts and six truck starts. Santino Ferrucci has nine O’Reilly Series starts. Are there any former F1 racers in this event? Yes. There are five drivers who have competed in a Formula 1 race. –Takuma Sato raced from 2002-2008–Marcus Ericsson raced from 2014-2018–Romain Grosjean raced from 2012-2020.–Mick Schumacher competed from 2021-2022.–Alexander Rossi did five races in 2015. Speaking of Rossi, is he injured from his crash Monday? The team says he has minor injuries to a finger on his left hand and his right ankle, both of which needed outpatient procedures. They say he plans to participate in practice Friday and race in the Indianapolis 500. Are there any other drivers nursing injuries? It’s hard to know. Mick Schumacher has been nursing an injured wrist from an accident at the start of the season that will likely require offseason surgery. Who are the rookies in the race? There are four drivers who will start their first Indy 500: –Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing–Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing–Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing–Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports Schumacher, Collet and Hauger are full-time rookies in the series. Abel was a rookie last year but did not make the race. This will be his first start of the 2026 season. Mick Schumacher, that name sounds familiar? Mick Schumacher is the son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher, who had great success at Indianapolis — on the road course, where he won five Formula 1 races. Mick Schumacher is a rookie this year driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. “I’m very much now looking forward to the race,” Schumacher said Tuesday in a virtual news conference. “I think that’s going to be the highlight of the year. It’s such a special event and such a special race, and I just can’t wait for everybody to be here.” Who are other big names in new places? Will Power, after 17 years at Penske, is now at Andretti Global, where he replaced Colton Herta. Power hasn’t had an easy transition as he sits 14th in the standings. He has speed but not the results. “This organization is great,” Power said in a news conference Monday. “The people are great. Obviously we’re working hard putting processes in place. I think we had really good handling cars here [in qualifying], but obviously there was a little bit of speed lacking. “But, honestly, I think our race cars are really good just with the work we’ve done in the short period we’ve had leading up to this. I’m definitely looking forward to the race.” His replacement at Penske, David Malukas, sits third in the standings and will start the race Sunday in the front row. “There was a lot of pressure going into preseason, not just even for this race, but also all the races,” Malukas said at his post-qualifying news conference. “It’s just been an incredible start. I’m just so thankful, so grateful. And every single day I show up to the track a little bit more confident, a little bit more happy to just to be here and be a part of this Team Penske family.” Speaking of Penske, where are the executives who were released last year? The three executives released after a technical violation was discovered in qualifying prior to the 2025 Indy 500 are all at Indianapolis hoping to win the race. –Former Penske INDYCAR President Tim Cindric is back at Team Penske, but only as a strategist for Scott McLaughlin. –Former Penske INDYCAR managing director Ron Ruzewski is now the team principal at Andretti Global. –Former Penske INDYCAR general manager Kyle Moyer is director of competition at Arrow McLaren and strategist for Christian Lundgaard, who won the Indy Grand Prix on the road course a couple weeks ago. Moyer said it is “odd” to be at Indy and not with Team Penske. Part of that is because he has been reunited with Tony Kanaan, who he had worked with at Andretti, and they are in the old Andretti shop. “I thought I would probably retire at Penske,” Moyer told me. “That didn’t happen. It was very, very nice that McLaren and TK and [McLaren CEO] Zak [Brown] gave me the offer for her to be able to run another professional team and be on top of the game. “I was hoping I could do another one of the bigger teams again and fortunate enough that it worked out here.” Ruziewski said being at the Indy 500 isn’t emotional because it is with a new team. “Independent of what group I’m working with, this place is — it’s an emotional place,” Ruzewski said during a news conference Monday. “Honestly, it’s why I do it. It’s why I’m in INDYCAR and not another series. “This place is special. It’s the greatest race in the world. I’ve been super fortunate to drink the milk seven times, and I only want to drink it the eighth time even worse.” What are these cars? These specifically-built cars, designed by Dallara, use twin-turbocharged, 2.2-liter, V-6 engines with hybrid technology. Chevrolet and Honda provide engines to teams. The cars weigh 1,635 pounds without driver or fuel. The cars are about 40 inches high with a wheelbase of 117.5-121.5 Inches. Firestone does the tires. The cars reach 240 mph in qualifying and will reach around 225 mph during the race. Why does the winner drink milk? The milk tradition goes back 90 years ago to 1936 when Louis Meyer, celebrating as the first driver ever to win three Indianapolis 500s, drank buttermilk in victory lane. [GOT MILK? Drivers’ Make Celebratory Milk Choice If They Win In 2026] Who will sing the national anthem? Jordin Sparks. She also sang the national anthem in 2015 and 2024. Singing “America The Beautiful” will be Indiana native Ephraim Owens. Who will give the command? There are two major commands for the Indianapolis 500. The first is “Drivers To Your Cars” — that will be done by Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark. The second is the command to start engines. That likely will be Roger Penske, owner of INDYCAR and IMS parent company Penske Corporation (and owner of Team Penske). Penske gave the command last year, and it traditionally has been someone from the track owner’s family. Who will drive the pace car? NCAA champion Indiana University football coach Curt Cignetti will drive the pace car prior to the opening lap of the race. Don’t know who he is? Google him. Who will wave the green flag? Actor Brendan Fraser, who was born in Indianapolis. Will Gronk be there? Of course. Rob Gronkowski will be the “grand marshal” of the Snake Pit. The Snake Pit? Yes, that is an area in Turn 3 where fans used to watch the race that IMS has now turned into a concert venue that has several acts before and during the first portion of the race. Expected to perform at the EDM festival are Crankdat, Wooli, it’s murph and Wax Motif before headliner Zedd takes the stage. Finally, what’s the weather forecast? The FOX Weather forecast, as of Tuesday morning, is for temperatures in the mid-70s and a 52 percent chance of rain.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Winning the Indianapolis 500 often takes the right mix of aggressiveness and patience. For those who keep trying to win the race, they learn with every run. So when someone asks who has the best chance to become a first-time winner, the first thought goes to those with experience. That had a big influence on this list of the 10 drivers most likely to win their first Indy 500 this weekend. There are only nine winners in the race and 24 drivers are looking for their first win. Long shots (in alphabetical order): Jacob Abel, Marcus Armstrong, Caio Collet, Louis Foster, Romain Grosjean, Jack Harvey, Dennis Hauger, Katherine Legge, Christian Rasmussen, Sting Ray Robb, Mick Schumacher, Nolan Siegel, Kyffin Simpson and Rinus VeeKay Here are the 10 drivers that I believe have a chance to get their first Indy 500 win, along with their odds. 10. Graham RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing No. 15 Honda80/1 (bet $10 to win $810 total) Rahal has just three top 10s in 18 starts in this race and has led only eight laps in his last seven starts. But if things fall into his hands, he won’t necessarily fumble it. 9. Ed CarpenterECR No. 33 Chevrolet40/1 (bet $10 to win $410 total) This will be Carpenter’s 23rd start. He led 65 laps in 2018 when he won the pole for the third time in this race. He hasn’t finished better than 15th since 2021. But he knows how to handle the car well at max speed and shouldn’t let the pressure get to him. 8. Christian LundgaardArrow McLaren No. 7 Chevrolet40/1 (bet $10 to win $410 total) In one race with Arrow McLaren, Lundgaard started eighth and finished seventh. He has strong support and resources at Arrow McLaren and his nerves of steel will help if he finds himself near the front at the end. 7. Conor DalyDreyer & Reinbold Racing No. 23 Chevrolet15/2 (bet $10 to win $85 total) Daly has led laps in four of the last five Indy 500s with a best finish of sixth in 2022. The fact he hasn’t raced at all this year makes one wonder if he can go 200 laps without an error. He certainly could make it exciting. 6. Kyle KirkwoodAndretti Global No. 27 Honda30/1 (bet $10 to win $310 total) Kirkwood has one top-15 finish (a seventh in 2024) in his four career Indy 500 starts. He hasn’t been great at Indy but he does have six career victories and clearly knows how to win. 5. Felix RosenqvistMeyer Shank Racing No. 60 Honda12/1 (bet $10 to win $130 total) Rosenqvist has had incredible qualifying speed at Indy but that hasn’t translated into being in the mix deep into the race. He’s only been running at the finish once in the last three years. If he is near the front, he has a shot. 4. Santino FerrucciA.J. Foyt Racing No. 14 Chevrolet11/1 (bet $10 to win $120 total) The fact that Ferrucci has finished top 10 in all his Indy 500s shows he’s someone who can’t be counted out. And the fact that he’s been known to make a daring move can’t be overstated because daring moves can win the 500. 3. David MalukasTeam Penske No. 12 Chevrolet8/1 (bet $10 to win $90 total) He’s got the speed and he’s got the car. But he only has three Indy 500s worth of experience. And he’s never won an INDYCAR race. A first win at the 500 wouldn’t be unprecedented. 2. Scott McLaughlinTeam Penske No. 3 Chevrolet10/1 (bet $10 to win $90 total) McLaughlin has the experience of being on the pole at Indianapolis. He has the experience of leading 66 laps in 2024. He has won races in INDYCAR. He drives for Penske. What’s not to like? 1. Pato O’WardArrow McLaren No. 5 Chevrolet6/1 (bet $10 to win $70 total) Of all the drivers in the field who have come close and haven’t won it, O’Ward would be the one that most would point to as having the most heartbreak at Indy. He’s been passed in the final laps a couple of times and watched a potential victory slip away. If he wins, it would be no surprise. And it would be a heck of a celebration.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports