Athletics activate Brent Rooker after All-Star missed 14 games with oblique strain

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Athletics activatedBrent Rooker off the 10-day injured listSunday and put the two-time All-Star in the cleanup spot as the designated hitter against Texas after he missed 14 games with a right oblique strain.

Rooker was injuredfouling off a changeup in a 1-0 victory at the New York Yankees on April 9. The 31-year-old's absence ended a streak of 213 consecutive games played.

The Athletics designated infielder Andy Ibáñez for assignment to make room for Rooker on the roster.

Rooker was hitting .146 (6 for 41) with two home runs, six walks and eight RBIs before the injury.

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Last season, he hit .262 with 30 homers and 89 RBIs and earned his second All-Star selection. He also took part in the Home Run Derby.

Ibáñez was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers in February and made the opening day roster. He was 2 for 17 in 11 games. The A's have seven days to trade, waive or send the 33-year-old to the minor leagues.

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/MLB

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 27, 2026

Athletics activate Brent Rooker after All-Star missed 14 games with oblique strain

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Athletics activatedBrent Rooker off the 10-day injured listSunday and put the two-time All-Star in the clea...

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Sean McVay explains 'grumpy' demeanor after Rams' Ty Simpson pick

Friday night's all right for smiling, at least according to Sean McVay.

A day after theLos Angeles Ramshead coach raised some eyebrows with his body language and demeanor during his post-draft media availability, McVay seemed to be sunshine and rainbows on Friday.

"What do you guys think, am I angry right now?,"McVay said with a smile and a laughas he took the podium during the Rams' post-draft press conference.

The head coach explained his seemingly "grumpy" demeanor in the aftermath of thesurprising selection of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, saying "normal life" got in the way.

"There were other things that had nothing to do with that (the selection of Ty Simpson), that's normal life,"McVay said."The main thing was, I couldn't be more excited about being able to add him, but also understanding of, how much I love Matthew Stafford, how respectful you want to always be to just the way things can be interpreted.

"And, so, the demeanor would have been stoic by nature, because you are excited, but by no means, it is Matthew's football team, and we are excited to add Ty."

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1983: John Elway, QB, Stanford - Baltimore Colts (traded to Denver Broncos)

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McVay added that Simpson's time to ascend to the QB1 spot would only come on "Stafford's terms," and that all decisions that McVay and general manager Les Snead make come in "lockstep," and "collective and collaborative."

To that end, the Rams and Stafford are reportedly talking through a new contract, which could delay Simpson's debut as the team's signal caller.

More:Rams decision to draft Ty Simpson makes sense. Here's why | Opinion

That, coupled with Stafford's dominance in 2025 resulting in winning the league's MVP award, made the Simpson pick puzzling to some analysts, fans and experts, even before McVay'stense conference stoked flames.

For now, all's good in Hollywood, according to McVay, and the Rams are clearly welcoming the sequel to Matthew Stafford.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Sean McVay has an explanation for 'grumpy' reaction at press conference

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 27, 2026

Sean McVay explains 'grumpy' demeanor after Rams' Ty Simpson pick

Friday night's all right for smiling, at least according to Sean McVay. A day after theLos Angeles Ramshead coach raised some...

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Me'Arah O'Neal, Shaq's daughter, leaving Florida for Kentucky

Praised as the "best athlete in the family" by her father, Shaquille O'Neal, Me'Arah O'Neal announced on social media on Monday that she is transferring from one SEC school to another, leaving Florida for Kentucky.

Following a strong sophomore season with the Gators (13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks per game), O'Neal announced her intention to play elsewhere after coach Kelly Rae Finley's firing. Florida went 5-11 in the SEC and finished in a tie for 12th place in 2025-26.

"After a lot of thought and intentionality with my next steps, I've made the tough decision to enter the transfer portal," she wrote on Instagram. "With faith and high expectations, I'm ready to power forward and embrace wherever God takes me next."

O'Neal's siblings have also played college basketball, including older brother Shareef (UCLA, LSU), sister Amirah (LSU, Texas Southern) and brother Shaqir (Sacramento State).

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"My baby is the best athlete in the family because she can do it all," Shaquille O'Neal said about Me'Arah recently on his podcast. "She's not an old-school player. She's the new pick-your-type player, so I'm going to give her the title. She can shoot, she can dribble. She can't be fazed when it comes to certain things."

O'Neal will now play for coach Kenny Brooks at Kentucky, which made a run to the Sweet 16 in March.

The Wildcats return leading scorer and all-SEC first-team selection Clara Strack along with Asia Boone, who averaged 10.1 points and shot 36.5% from 3-point range. A trio of McDonald's All-Americans -- Maddyn Greenway, Savvy Swords and Emily McDonald -- highlight a talented recruiting class. Kentucky will also have UConn transfer Ayanna Patterson on its roster this fall.

--Field Level Media

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 27, 2026

Me'Arah O'Neal, Shaq's daughter, leaving Florida for Kentucky

Praised as the "best athlete in the family" by her father, Shaquille O'Neal, Me'Arah O'Neal announced on social m...

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Hypersonic weapon startup Castelion wins $105 million Navy contract for F/A-18 integration

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - Castelion, a small California defense startup, has won a $105 million U.S. Navy contract to ready its Blackbeard hypersonic missile for use aboard the Navy's ‌carrier-based F/A-18 fighter jets, clearing the way for the weapon to move from the laboratory ‌toward the battlefield next year.

The award matters because the United States is expending the kinds of weapons it would need to stop ​China from seizing Taiwan by force. Unlike a ballistic missile fired from land, Blackbeard can be carried aboard a Navy aircraft carrier and launched from an F/A-18 — a jet flying off a carrier deck — putting the weapon within striking range of Chinese missile sites and warships that a land-based weapon could not easily reach.

Because Blackbeard ‌travels faster than five times the ⁠speed of sound and is designed to be cheap enough to buy in large numbers, the United States could use it to make a Chinese military commander think ⁠twice before ordering an attack.

"The most sacred targets in our engineering process are schedule and affordability. That forces more creative solutions - instead of waiting 52 weeks for a space-rated computer, we use automotive-grade components backed by tens of ​billions ​in commercial investment annually, and they work," Sean Pitt, ​Castelion's co-founder and chief operating officer, told Reuters.

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The ‌Navy contract will fund hardware and software integration of Blackbeard onto the F/A-18, flight testing, and the full system safety and airworthiness certification the military requires before a weapon can be cleared for storage, loading and carriage from an aircraft carrier at sea — the last major hurdle before the Navy decides whether to buy Blackbeard in volume for the carrier air wing. Castelion expects to clear that hurdle and have ‌weapons ready for fielding next year.

To support anticipated production orders, ​Castelion has privately funded Project Ranger, a manufacturing campus being built ​entirely with company money at a cost ​the company puts at $250 million. The company already operates facilities across Texas, California and ‌Washington, and when fully operational the New Mexico ​campus will be capable ​of producing thousands of Blackbeard missiles annually, with that capacity expected to be in place by the end of next year.

Pentagon budget documents released this week show the Navy plans to buy ​4,500 air-launched hypersonic missiles for F/A-18E/Fs ‌over the next five years, with an average unit cost of about $384,000 — a relatively low ​figure for hypersonic-class weapons.

Castelion's contract award was posted to the government's awards database on Friday.

(Reporting ​by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 26, 2026

Hypersonic weapon startup Castelion wins $105 million Navy contract for F/A-18 integration

By Mike Stone WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - Castelion, a small California defense startup, has won a $105 million U.S. Navy co...

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Mike Tomlin, now with NBC, predicts that Aaron Rodgers will return to Steelers: 'He's got a love affair with the game'

Mike Tomlin won’t coach him. But he believes that Aaron Rodgers will return to play quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In his first official capacity asa football analyst for NBC,Tomlin sat down with host Maria Taylor on the network’s NBA pregame show Sunday night to promote his new gig. There, Taylor asked Tomlin who he thinks will play quarterback for the Steelers in 2026.

“Man, if you’ve got a gun to my head, I’d say it’s AR, Aaron,” Tomlin responded. “I just think, being around him for the 12 months I’m around him, he’s got a love affair with the game of football. And not only the game, but the process. …

“I think he has an addiction to that. And there’s only one way to feed it. And certainly, he is still capable and in really good shape. I think at the end of the day, he’ll play football.”

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Tomlin doesn’t appear to have any inside information. But as far as educated guesses on Rodgers’ future go, his carries some weight. Tomlin coached the Steelers for 19 seasons and spent his last season in Pittsburgh with Rodgers as his quarterback.

And with the NFL Draft in the rearview and no deals done to acquire a veteran quarterback, the Steelers appear to be counting on Rodgers’ return. Pittsburgh selected Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in the third round of last week’s draft. ButAllar appears at this point to be a long-term projectin Pittsburgh and not the Steelers’ planned quarterback of 2026.

The leaves veteran backup Mason Rudolph and second-year reserve Will Howard on the depth chart with Allar — neither of whom Pittsburgh should be considering as a starter for next season.

But for now, the waiting game continues and appears to hinge on Rodgers’ decision. Rodgers is 42 years old with 21 seasons of NFL experience. Now is a reasonable time for him to call it a career.

But the Steelers appear to be banking on what Tomlin speculated Sunday: that Rodgers loves the game too much to quit now while he still has gas in the tank and will return to play with his former Packers coach Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh.

byDaniel Coleman

in

April 26, 2026

Mike Tomlin, now with NBC, predicts that Aaron Rodgers will return to Steelers: 'He's got a love affair with the game'

Mike Tomlin won’t coach him. But he believes that Aaron Rodgers will return to play quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In hi...

Read More