There's a fairly decent chance that Max Scherzer, 40, is out of the majors by the time it's implemented full-time (although commissioner Rob Manfred wants it next year). But he got a glimpse of the system in his spring training debut on Tuesday.
One of Scherzer's pitches was challenged by a batter (the batter won), and Scherzer was clearly annoyed by the fiasco — while the system is in its rookie stages, it's taking a little bit longer than the 17-second average it's taken in the minors.
Later on, the new Toronto Blue Jay seemed to sarcastically challenge a pitch of his own — he lost.
"I'm a little skeptical on this. I get what we're trying to do here, but I think major league umpires are really good," Scherzer said after his outing. "They're really good. So what are we actually changing here? We know there are going to be strikes that are changed to balls, and balls that are changed to strikes. ... So we're going to basically be even. So are we actually doing to improve the game? Are the umpires really that bad? I don't think so."
"Can we just play baseball?" he added. "We're humans. Can we just be judged by humans? Do we really need to disrupt the game? I think humans are defined by humans."
This spring, teams will get two challenges per game, but are able to retain each challenge won. Only the batter, pitcher, or catcher can challenge a call, and it must be immediately after the call with no help from the bench or other players.
It is yet another big change to the sport commissioned by Manfred, who implemented a pitch timer, larger bases, and shift limits in 2023. However, fans seem to like the changes, as attendance increased in each of the last two years.
Taylor Swift watched the Kansas City Chiefs' hopes of a three-peat fizzle earlier this month when the Philadelphia Eagles steamrolled the Chiefs to win the 2025 Super Bowl.
Swift traveled to New Orleans in support of the Chiefs and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. At one point, Swift was shown on the Caesars Superdome big screen at the game.
Some fans inside the building appeared to disapprove of Swift's presence and promptly directed some loud boos at the music star. During his visit to Indianapolis this week for the NFL Scouting Combine, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid complimented how Swift handled criticism.
Reid described Swift as a "good girl," saying she has used the right approach when she's faced scrutiny.
"She’s a good girl," Reid told Pro Football Talk. "She handles that whole thing the right way. That’s a tough deal. She does a great job of handling it."
Reid also lauded Kelce for his response to the increased noise.
"Kelce, I think, does a great job with handling it," the coach added.
Reid suggested that critiques of NFL players' loved ones often come with the territory.
"She’s part of the team and, like the other girlfriends and wives, they’re part of it. And that’s all part of the process."
The boos targeting Swift appeared to coincide with some of the boos Chiefs players had to contend with from a seemingly pro-Eagles crowd as they emerged from the tunnel before the Super Bowl kicked off.
Swift and Kelce have maintained a relatively low profile since the Super Bowl. On Feb. 18, the "New Heights" podcast announced there would not be a new episode that week.
"No new episode this week, but WE’LL BE BACK with offseason episodes with amazing guests soon," the podcast's official account posted to social media.
Travis and Jason Kelce routinely post new episodes of the podcast on a weekly basis.
Much of the chatter about Travis lately has been about whether he will return to the Chiefs next season. During a recent "New Heights" episode, Kelce said he was "kicking every can I can down the road" as it relates to his retirement decision. He turns 36 in October.
Reid said he urged Kelce to take some time to "get away" before making a decision about his football future.
"I told him ‘Get away. Don’t think about all that. Just relax man. Chill down, and then we got time for that," Reid said at the combine. "I know it’s out there that there is a deadline, but he and I talk all the time. So, I’ll figure it out from him."
The Super Bowl loss also brought Kelce's 12th NFL season to a disappointing end. He finished the regular season with 823 receiving yards, the second consecutive year the star tight end did not reach the 1,000-yard mark.
Last month, during an appearance on "The Stephen A. Smith Show," Kelce admitted his thoughts on retirement tend to fluctuate, but he plans to "reevaluate" during the offseason.
The NFL veteran also said Swift continues to offer her full support for his playing career.
"She’s fully encouraging me to enjoy playing this game," Kelce told Smith. "I got all the support in the world to keep chasing these dreams."
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach suggested Kelce is leaning toward playing in 2025.
"How we left at the end of the season is that he was fired up. He has one more year under contract," Veach said.
"Still think he has that fire and desire to play and, as far as I’m concerned, there is no deadline. I think we left (it) as he’d be back, and we’re excited to get him back and get him going."
Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado made the three-hour, cross-state drive to play in an exhibition game Wednesday against the Yankees, among the teams that may be open to acquiring him in a trade.
Diana Taurasi, 42, is leaving the game of basketball on her own terms after 20 WNBA seasons. The news of her retirement, which broke Tuesday, shouldn’t have come as a surprise and yet still felt shocking
Even before the Mets lost two starting pitchers to begin the season, a healthy Kodai Senga at or near the top of the rotation was considered important for the team.
Former NCAA swimmer and OutKick host Riley Gaines delivered a message Wednesday to states defying President Donald Trump's executive order to keep transgender athletes out of women's and girls sports.
Gaines appeared on Fox News' "The Story With Martha McCallum" to praise U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi for urging states who have not complied with the order by threatening to withhold federal funding.
"The Constitution is very clear that federal laws, such as Title IX, takes precedence over state laws," Gaines said. "Even with President Trump back in the White House, the war on woke has not been won yet."
Bondi's warning came on Tuesday, when she warned California, Maine and Minnesota, who have openly defied Trump's order, that they will lose federal funding if they continue allowing trans athletes in girls sports.
Maine has become a battleground on the issue after a war of words between Gov. Janet Mills and Trump over the issue. Additionally, a Republican Maine state legislator, Rep. Laurel Libby, was censured Tuesday for bringing attention to the state with a social media post calling out a transgender high school athlete who took first place in a girls pole vault competition.
Gaines praised Libby and defended the lawmaker, while condemning Mills Wednesday.
"[Mills] would rather lose over $5 billion in federal funds to send a message that boys deserve to and are entitled to trample on girls in the process," Gaines said. "I commend and am so proud and so grateful for Rep. Libby. And just looking at this, watching a female representative lose her ability to vote and to speak on the House floor for defending girls and women.
"No, this didn't happen in Afghanistan. This happened in America."
In addition to Democrats in states like Maine and California, the NCAA has been criticized for its recent revision to its gender eligibility policy to comply with Trump's order. Many critics, including Gaines, have pointed out that the NCAA's new policy does not account for amended birth certificates, noting 44 states in the U.S. allow genders to be changed on birth certificates.
The apparel brand XX-XY Athletics, whom Gaines is a brand ambassador for, put out a video advertisement Wednesday that featured multiple college women's athletes speaking out against the NCAA for its policy, insisting it didn't go far enough.
"We partnered with XX-XY Athletics to release this ad directly to message (NCAA President) Charlie Baker, directly to the NCAA," Gaines said. "They released a policy following President Trump's executive order claiming to fall in line, but the NCAA policy is in direct conflict to Trump's beautifully and thoroughly written executive order."
Gaines will be traveling to Minnesota next week to advocate for a state bill to ban transgender athletes in girls and women's sports there.
The 2025 season isn’t off to a great start for the New York Jets.
The Jets suffered another lackluster finish last season, which prompted owner Woody Johnson to initiate a major overhaul of the team's coaching staff and put an end to the Aaron Rodgers’ era.
But on Wednesday, the NFLPA’s annual report cards dealt another blow to the organization.
The initiative, which includes feedback from 1,695 active players, saw the Jets rank 29th overall — a significant drop from last year’s ranking of 21st.
According to the report’s overview, some of the most glaring issues included the team’s food program.
"Rather than addressing concerns, players believed that management responded to feedback by making conditions worse," the report read, noting that the team's former dietitian left to take a full-time role with the Kansas City Chiefs.
But perhaps the most telling detail in the report that could explain the overall ranking was the players' sentiments towards Johnson.
In the ownership category, Johnson was ranked dead-last with an F grade. The Jets were the only team to receive that grade in that specific category.
"The players feel that Johnson does not contribute to a positive team culture, a rank of 32 out of 32," the report read.
Johnson will be under the microscope next season.
The Rodgers' trade failed to live up to the expectations set by Johnson, and new general manager Darren Mougey and new head coach Aaron Glenn are hoping to be the change.
"Every decision that me and (Mougey) make is to win and to win now," Glenn said at the combine on Tuesday. "This is not going to be the last decision I make that’s going to upset some people, and that’s OK. But as men, we talk about it. We make sure we keep it in-house, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do."
The NFL is mulling changes to overtime rules to decrease the coin-toss advantage, and the league plans to use its virtual measuring system to determine first downs.
Two NFL insiders got into a source-off on Wednesday over conflicting reports about a run-in between Raiders minority owner Tom Brady and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
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