Month: June 2026

STORRS, Conn. — It’s toward the end of his grueling incline-run workouts when UConn head coach Dan Hurley feels the familiar yearning for some self-inflicted pain. As he runs, sweat spewing, Hurley cues up “One Shining Moment” on his phone, the annual highlight video that accompanies each NCAA Tournament. The Huskies make their first appearance after exactly 90 seconds, with forward Alex Karaban embracing a teammate following the Round of 32 victory over UCLA. Hurley’s face flashes across the screen moments later, twisted into a comedic sideline expression. Next comes center Tarris Reed Jr. flicking home a hook shot. And then there’s freshman Braylon Mullins burying perhaps the greatest shot in program history: a 3-point buzzer beater against Duke that propelled the Huskies to another Final Four, their third in the last four seasons. For Hurley, the palatable portion of the video ends shortly thereafter. He relives UConn’s win against Illinois in the national semifinals and then quickly taps his screen to exit. Treadmill session over. He still can’t stomach the way this particular montage ends: scenes of Michigan prevailing in the championship game. Even for a coach who built his career on suffering, who thought he was the failure of the famed Hurley basketball family, the self-inflicted anguish can only go so far. “You’re disappointed because you were pretty close to winning three out of four championships,” Hurley told me last week. “Sending Tarris out with a ring and a parade, [sending] Alex out as the most decorated college basketball player of his generation. So that part of it is crushing. And then you look at the historical context of being in that game three out of four years [and realize] we are doing things as a program that haven’t been done since the ’90s. And we’re doing it during a really volatile time. “So I think two things can be true, you know? The run that we’ve been on has been historic, but man, it sucked that we didn’t win it.” This is the headspace Hurley occupies on a scorching afternoon in mid-June, partway through the Huskies’ first week of their first summer session, the de facto beginning of another championship pursuit. As a perpetually tortured soul, Hurley’s journey toward fulfillment always seems to land at the crossroads between overly critical introspection and the healthy acceptance that even seasons ending in defeat can be enjoyed. It’s a lesson imparted on him by colleague Geno Auriemma, head coach of the UConn’s women’s team. So here Hurley stands, halfway between the loss to Michigan and the blank slate of a fresh campaign, reconciling those conflicting parts amid widespread changes to the program. Though nothing about his hunger for a third national title has waned, so much of what’s around Hurley is different. Gone are Karaban and Reed, the two leading scorers and two most important players from last year’s team. Gone, too, is assistant coach Luke Murray, an offensive mastermind and ace recruiter now in charge at Boston College. Shooting guard Solo Ball, who would have been the Huskies’ most experienced returner, is taking a medical redshirt as he recovers from wrist surgery. Seven newcomers arrived via the transfer portal, two more from the high school ranks, and there are fresh names within both Hurley’s staff and the strength and conditioning department alike. “Parts of it do feel different: new faces, new guys,” point guard Silas Demary Jr. told me last week. “But it’s still the same standard. It’s still the same [level of] holding everybody accountable, running through every line. It’s still some of the same rules we’ve had even before the changes that are now in place.” Much of that approach can be attributed to the way Hurley is wired — his unflinching competitiveness quickly flipping from one season to the next within a few hours of the final buzzer against Michigan, at which point the transfer portal had already opened. Once the Huskies boarded their return trip from Indianapolis the following day, still wounded from a six-point loss that separated them from a seventh national title, Hurley began asking general manager Tom Moore for an overview of how to retool the roster. It was the same thing Hurley had done the year prior on the way home from Raleigh, North Carolina, after losing to eventual national champion Florida in the Round of 32. By then, Moore and a group of support staffers had spent months working the phones to better understand how the transfer market was likely to unfold dollar-wise and which players were keen on entering the fray. His small council included graduate assistant Andrew Hurley — one of Dan’s sons — along with student managers Khaliq Young and Jack Richardson. Additional insight came from assistant coaches Murray, Kimani Young and Mike Nardi, though Murray’s involvement curtailed once he accepted the job at Boston College. Still, Hurley and Murray traded names of potential transfer targets on the flight back from the Final Four, a reflection of their extremely tight bond. While the pros of reaching the national championship game will always outweigh the cons, making three such appearances in quick succession has complicated the Huskies’ involvement in the transfer portal. Moore estimates that UConn and other teams participating in the Final Four are often entering the race for high-profile transfers two or three weeks later than their competitors, which is reflected by lofty price tags that suggest bidding began a good while earlier. He jokes that the program would be flush with cash if the Huskies received a fundraising dollar for every time an agent told Moore, “You’re late — but we’ll let you in because you’re UConn,” which is a tradeoff the staff is happy to make. “Our athletic director, Dave Benedict, is extremely supportive of us and our efforts and finding a way,” Moore told me last week. “It’s not easy anywhere. Everyone is trying to figure the thing out as best they can. But we’ve had about five offseasons in this new model. We always go into it with an idea of what [the roster cost] might be in December. And then we sort of have to up it a little as we sort of start to talk to people in February. Then it seems like we go back to Dave again in March with another [request]. And then we have to go to him again in April and May when we’re in the heart of it and say, ‘It may be even more.” “And he’s never, ever once pushed back. He’s sympathetic of what we’re facing, and he’s in our corner. He understands that to have championship goals, you really have to have championship aspirations in terms of fundraising and revenue generation.” There also needs to be conviction — particularly when the Huskies have faced such pronounced time crunches for identifying, scouting and hosting players in the wake of sustained postseason success. This, according to Moore, is another area where Hurley excels. He watches film, pores over statistics and dives into the analytics of each potential transfer target before making a “strong, firm decision” that prevents the program from getting “paralyzed by guys wanting to take a visit and the whole thing,” Moore told me, which can begin to feel performative. Hurley’s unprecedented success in the modern era, when NIL and the transfer portal conspire to make roster construction more difficult than ever, has only strengthened his belief in the general framework fueling UConn’s ascent. He described his approach to building next year’s team as “almost slotting people in to fit the type of pieces that we’ve had success with here.”The product on display during practice last week certainly reflects such an endeavor. The power forward spot that was manned for ages by Karaban now belongs to Duke transfer Nik Khamenia, whom Hurley described as having “a lot of attributes that Alex had in terms of the feel, the size, the versatility, the competitiveness, the love of the game, the shooting.” The center position will be anchored by another hulking bruiser in Seton Hall transfer Na’jai Hines, whose 6-foot-10, 260-pound frame is in keeping with the imposing presence Reed provided over the last two seasons. His primary backup, Stanford center Oskar Giltay, complements that strength with similar athleticism and shot-blocking that former UConn big man Samson Johnson offered both of Hurley’s national championship teams. The ultra-confident, self-assured perimeter shooter is now Wofford transfer Nils Machowski, who steps into an archetype once filled by players like Cam Spencer and Joey Calcaterra in recent years, both portal gems. The instant-impact freshman is expected to be forward Colben Landrew, a rugged wing with enough talent for Hurley to place him in the same category as recent first-year standouts Stephon Castle, Liam McNeeley and Mullins, all of whom were five-star recruits. So while there have been plenty of changes at UConn ahead of the 2026-27 season, with new faces in new places at seemingly every turn, the Huskies’ profile still looks and feels largely the same. And if recent history is any indication, that might be enough for Hurley to reach another Final Four. Perhaps he’ll even win it all and watch the entire “One Shining Moment” video next spring. “You never want to lose championship people,” Hurley told me last week. “But I think that the change is refreshing, it’s invigorating, it gets you excited to do it with new people that haven’t experienced the way we do it, you know? You’re exposing new people to the UConn way of doing it. It’s kind of fun.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

As far as Portugal manager Roberto Martínez is concerned, I am sure he is saying: Houston, we have a problem. But for DR Congo? Houston: this is a DREAM. On Tuesday afternoon in Texas, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal kicked off its World Cup campaign with a 1-1 result against DR Congo and once again, an African side delivered an inspiring performance against an Iberian squad to record the biggest result in its history. I think it’s obvious that Portugal needs to heavily improve and has so much to improve on. But it was yet another majestic performance from the early days of this tournament. DR Congo — just like Cape Verde’s draw against Spain — should be very, very proud. Here are my takeaways: 1. It Won’t Happen, But Ronaldo Shouldn’t Start For Portugal I am sure I will be getting a thousand messages from Ronaldo’s superfans, but here’s a statement I have made for a long time now. I think Portugal possesses so much more fluidity when the legendary captain comes off the bench. Portugal, looking to win its first ever World Cup title, is a team of stars — led by a 41-year-old Ronaldo who has joined Lionel Messi as the only male player to feature in six World Cups. But Martínez knows that with this deep squad at his disposal, which includes Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, who’ll join José Mourinho’s Real Madrid next season, wants to go far. I also want to state that this is nothing against Ronaldo, it’s more about Martínez’s philosophy and how he prefers an interchangeable attacking lineup and the 41-year-old striker essentially slows this down because he is such a target man. I know it will never happen. But I just think Portugal would be much stronger with some younger, more mobile attackers such as Gonçalo Ramos and Rafael Leão. 2. DR Congo Deserved The Result And Inspired A Nation It was a celebration 52 years in the making as DR Congo was making its return to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, when it was Zaire. There’s no doubt that the Central African team had heart and an intent to earn something against this talented Portuguese side. It gave away nearly 80% possession but for many moments, it decided to gamble and push forward with a more direct approach. And then history. Having given up 15 goals at the World Cup stretching back to that 1974 tournament, Yoane Wissa forever etched his name into his country’s history with a first-half goal. At the start, Wissa was isolated, as was his teammate Cédric Bakambu, but then when a beautiful cross came in, Wissa took his chance. It was well executed by the Newcastle United man. But throughout the action, the African side stood tall and held a resilient performance. There’s so much to be proud of from The Leopards. 3. Disjointed Portugal Needs More Cohesion Portugal made the semifinals in 1966 and then again reached that feat 20 years ago, when the Seleção das Quinas (the Team of the Shields) finished the 2006 tournament in fourth place. Its fallen short of that stage since then, most recently when it lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals in 2022 as the Atlas Lions made history by becoming the first Arab and African nation to earn a final four spot. I already mentioned the embarrassment of riches of this squad, but for a large majority of the action, Portugal, with and without Ronaldo, looked like a collection of individuals, playing next to each other, not for one another towards an objective. The passing accuracy was there. In fact, it was statistically at 96%, which was its best ever since 1966 — but it came to nothing. Similar to Spain, it was passing for passing’s sake. It can’t act like that. If Portugal wants to make at least the semifinals again, it needs to feel more like a team. 4. Colombia Can Take A Lot Of Inspiration From Today If Colombia earns a win against Uzbekistan on Tuesday night, I think Nestor Lorenzo’s side can feel very confident that it can top the group and take something from Portugal in the final game, especially since the match will be played in Miami in front of what should be a pro-Colombia crowd. But as we witnessed on Wednesday, DR Congo won’t be a pushover and Colombia can’t overlook this team when those two meet next week in Guadalajara. As for Portugal, the team will return to Houston and face Uzbekistan in what feels like a must-win scenario.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

LOS ANGELES — Max Muncy wasn’t alive the last time a Dodgers third baseman started in the All-Star Game. Adrian Beltré belted a career-high 48 homers and finished second in MVP voting in his final season as a Dodger in 2004, but the Hall of Famer didn’t become an All-Star for the first time until six years later in Boston. In 2014, Justin Turner joined the Dodgers and proceeded to accumulate more than 1,000 hits over the next nine years with the team, but his two All-Star appearances during that stretch came as a reserve. For all of their sustained success over the past decade and standout play at third base over the years, the Dodgers haven’t had an All-Star starter at the position since Ron Cey in 1977. A month from now, that 49-year drought should end. At 35 years old, Muncy is playing arguably the best all-around baseball of his career. He leads all qualified National League third basemen in home runs, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS and FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement. He also has the highest batting average of his career and, perhaps most strikingly, is grading out as one of the best defensive third basemen in the league by some metrics. The first All-Star balloting update reflects Muncy’s preeminence. As of Monday, Muncy already had accumulated more than 900,000 votes while every other NL third baseman had fewer than 400,000. After the update was announced, I asked Muncy what it meant to be playing at this level, in his mid-30s, five years since his last All-Star appearance. A smile crept across his face in the Dodgers’ dugout. “The truth is,” Muncy told me Monday afternoon before the Dodgers hosted the Rays, “it just means I’m healthy.” Muncy pointed out that after a slow start last year, he was on a similar pace to what he’s on right now until injuries slowed him down. Indeed, he produced an OPS over .900 from the start of May through the end of the 2025 season, aided by the addition of prescription glasses that he began wearing at the plate in late April to correct his vision — a “diamond-in-the-rough find,” as he described it. But oblique and knee injuries ultimately limited him to 100 games in 2025. The year prior, he hit 39% better than league average but missed three months with an oblique and rib issue. “For me, when you start getting older, and you’re finding it harder and harder to stay healthy, that always raises the question marks in your mind,” Muncy said. “So, it’s a big thing to just have been healthy so far this year.” Muncy has played in 68 of the Dodgers’ 74 games and is on pace for a 6.3-WAR season, which would make this the most valuable season of his standout 11-year career. His 148 OPS+ — hitting 48% better than league average — is the second-highest mark of his career behind only his breakout 2018 season (161 OPS+), when he rewarded the Dodgers for rescuing his career from the brink after he was released by the A’s. Eight years later, he’s continuing to reward the Dodgers in a season in which stars Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker and Will Smith are all hitting well below their career norms. “He put in a lot of work with his body this offseason to put himself in a good spot, and that’s helped the consistency of the swing mechanics,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But also, I think, Max has really matured as far as not letting things that he can’t control bother him. I think in years past, if it didn’t go well, it would start to speed up.” That could be evident both at the plate and in the field. Offensively, Muncy told me that it wasn’t until the beginning of the 2024 season when he finally felt like he had gotten his swing back, years after a collision at first base damaged the UCL in his left elbow and ended his All-Star 2021 season prematurely. He was constantly tinkering in an attempt to find his form again — “a lot of different Band-Aids,” as he described it — cycling through various bat models and even trying out a stepback move with his back foot in the box to assist with timing, looking for anything that could help get him back on track after averaging an .890 OPS and making two All-Star teams over his first four seasons as a Dodger. Defensively, meanwhile, he was struggling to translate his work from practice into the game after his transition from first to third base following Freddie Freeman’s arrival in 2022. “When I’d do my work, I’d feel very free with the glove, not afraid to field [the ball] at different positions, field it off-balance, field it on the wrong foot,” Muncy told me. “And then when the game would come, I just couldn’t find that freedom. The ball would get hit to me, and I would tense up. My feet would get stuck. I would be scared to field the ball one-handed, even though that’s how I do most of my work.” Conversations with Betts last year, as the six-time Gold Glove Award-winning outfielder made the full-time transition to shortstop, played a part in helping Muncy gain a better understanding of how he should be thinking about playing his own position. Then, early this spring, something clicked. A couple of balls were hit Muncy’s way that he said he “went out and got,” with his feet moving the way he wanted them to. “I’ve been able to take that ever since,” he said, “and just been kind of running with it.” More than his .266 batting average, his 16 home runs or his .891 OPS, it’s Muncy’s work at third base that he said he is most proud of this season. Better footwork has helped him improve his range, and he has made considerable progress on plays charging in. But it’s the routine ones — the balls hit right at him — that he feels much better equipped to handle this season. “You tend to get stuck at third base with the ball straight at you,” Muncy said. “When your feet are stuck, and you’re not moving, you’re always putting yourself at the chance of a bad hop. Going to my left, going to my right, I was always fine in years past. But it was the ball straight at me, that was the one you’d see bounce off my chest or I’m bobbling it. I just couldn’t find my rhythm because my feet would get stuck. So, now, I’ve been so much better at the one straight at me.” It’s not perfect. Last week, a potential inning-ending grounder got underneath Muncy’s glove in Pittsburgh and allowed a run to score. On Tuesday, the hardest-hit ball of the night from the Rays kicked off the heel of his glove, and he was unable to recover in time to make the play at first. Overall, though, those blunders are much more infrequent. He is producing his highest fielding percentage since making the full-time switch to third base, and Roberts said Muncy’s defense is as good as it has been since he can recall. By outs above average, Cleveland’s José Ramírez is the only qualified third baseman who has graded out better than Muncy this season. “Who I’ve been this year defensively is who I always thought I could be,” Muncy told me. “There’s been flashes of it and there’s been stints, but consistently it just hasn’t been there in past years.” There was no major technical change or transformation to get to this point. “A lot of it now is just about confidence,” Dodgers infield coach Chris Woodward told me. “He trusts that he can make any play.” He is also doing a better job listening to his body and understanding what it needs. Woodward said Muncy has learned that he has to throw every day, even on days when he’s not feeling his best, to have his arm where he wants it to be. But as Muncy has come to find out, more does not always mean better. “As I got older, part of the injuries happening the last couple of years was maybe me doing too much,” Muncy realized. There’s a balance that Muncy is finding between being prepared and not overdoing it, the way he had in previous seasons, in an effort to reduce injury risk. “Whether it’s weight room, cage, ground balls, throwing, running, there’s only so much your body can do,” Muncy told me. “For me, it was just maturing enough to realize there is a limit to that. “I used to come out here and take ground balls for an hour, trying to get better and trying to figure out what was going on. I’d be throwing for an hour, and I’d go into the cage, and I’d be hitting for hours, and my hands would be bleeding. And I had to understand that’s not the best way to stay healthy. You’re putting your body through so much stress.” Every year since suffering his elbow injury, Muncy has seen his batting average steadily rise: .196 in 2022, .212 in 2023, .232 in 2024, .243 in 2025 and now a career-high .266 to start the 2026 season. Five years after his last All-Star season, he has found a happy medium that is allowing him to excel as an all-around talent. The only Dodgers player worth more WAR than Muncy this season is Shohei Ohtani. “Now, he’s managed the lows, and the highs have been much more consistent,” Roberts explained. “I said this even last year, a year and a half ago, he’s just a better hitter now. I do think that he values getting a hit more than he used to.” And after making the All-Star team as a first baseman in 2019 and 2021, Muncy is now on track to become an All-Star third baseman for the first time in his career. “I’m happy to see him at the top,” Roberts said. “This All-Star Game, if it works out, this is going to mean a lot to him.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports