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EspañolUefa hits Spurs with suspended one-match away fan ban over Nazi salutes
Three fans found to have made gesture in Frankfurt
Club impose indefinite bans on individuals involved
Tottenham have had a one-match ban imposed on their away supporters in Europe, suspended for a year, after three of them were found to have directed Nazi salutes at their Eintracht Frankfurt counterparts during the Champions League game between the clubs in January. Spurs have given the trio indefinite bans and described their behaviour as “utterly abhorrent”.
Uefa announced the sanction on Monday, saying it had also fined Spurs €30,000. If there is any repeat offence within a year, the club’s fans will serve a one-game away ban.
Continue reading...Could Makai Lemon link up with former Trojan teammate?
It is not likely that the Chicago Bears take receiver Makai Lemon with their first round pick. The Bears' last season set their fans' hearts on fire by taking tight end Colston Loveland with their first-round pick instead of addressing other critical needs. That move panned out to be one of the best picks of last year's draft. Colston Loveland looks like a top five tight end already after his rookie season. Ben Johnson was right, and Loveland fits the offense perfectly. Could Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles take another swing for Caleb Williams?
There have been talks that the Bears are going to move on from D.J. Moore, with his current contract not matching his production, and the Bears being in a bit of a pickle with their current cap. If they move on from Moore, there is a bit of a question which receiver would step up to being that alpha male. The Bears do have loads of talent at that position, just still no clear #1. Rome Odunze was supposed to be that guy, but injuries have set that back from happening, and he has a recurring issue with drops. Luther Burden is an insane playmaker, but it might be too early to expect him to be that #1 guy.
Makai Lemon, a former Trojan teammate of Caleb Williams, listed Caleb as one of his picks for quarterbacks he would want to play with. In 2023, there was not much success between these two together, but there is a great relationship still there. With the player that Lemon is now, he would be dangerous in a Ben Johnson offense and with Caleb Williams.
If the Bears were to trade up and draft Makai Lemon, it would be another move that would be hated, but a move that pays off big dividends. Makai Lemon, as a rookie, I think, would be the best receiver on this team, and he would fit in perfectly. He is a smaller receiver who can dominate in the slot, while Luther Burden and Rome Odunze can dominate on the outside. He is elite at things other than his counterparts, making for a truly special offense.
Now, this would be a fantasy situation, but if it were to actually happen, Colston Loveland, Makai Lemon, Luther Burden, and Rome Odunze would maybe be the best receiving combination in the NFL. All of them are young, too, which would be scary for the rest of the NFL. Allowing Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams to work with that seems like it would be illegal.
As I mentioned, it may be a far-stretched concept, but boy, would it be fun to watch. The Chicago Bears would have the best offense in the NFL, and they could bring back the idea of the greatest show on turf. While it is a very unlikely landing spot for Makai Lemon, I do not think there is a better case scenario for him other than landing in Chicago.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Makai Lemon and Caleb Williams would light it up together in Chicago
MLB News Updates, March 2: Andrew Painter makes 2026 debut, and more from spring training to note for fantasy baseball
Every week, we will update fantasy baseball managers with all the MLB news they may have missed as we make our way through spring training and get closer to Opening Day.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season]
Andrew Painter has brief, quiet outing in 2026 spring training debut
It seems like forever that fantasy baseball managers have been waiting for Andrew Painter to make noise in the majors. After all, three years ago, the then-19-year-old made his spring training debut, only to find himself undergoing Tommy John surgery, ending any hopes of an expedited career in MLB.
But Painter, MLB’s 28th-ranked prospect and long considered one of the Phillies’ best prospects overall, is healthy now and ready to make his mark in Philadelphia’s rotation this season.
Painter made his 2026 spring training debut against the Yankees on March 1. He pitched two scoreless innings and collected one strikeout, to Jasson Domínguez (another former highly-touted prospect who’s already gotten a lot of MLB action).
Painter will likely be eased along, but it seems like a given that he’ll get a chance to stick in the Phillies’ rotation to start the season. He’s currently carrying a 205 ADP in Yahoo leagues; that won’t last.
Stanton makes startling injury claim
In what ended up being one of the more bizarre-sounding news stories of the past few days, Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton claimed that the pain in his elbows is so bad that he “can’t open bottles, can’t open a bag of chips.”
As someone who has opened a lot of bags of chips in his day, that is a wild statement. Injuries, of course, are no strangers to Stanton — the last time he played more than 140 games was in 2018.
Highlights of Stanton running have been making the rounds on social media; that’s a low bar. But nonetheless, Stanton has remained one of the most feared, powerful hitters in baseball, despite his litany of injury woes. Last season was even a resurgence for him, posting a .944 OPS in 77 games (after returning from, yes, an injury) while hitting 24 home runs. Stanton currently has an ADP of 193, but this elbow news will probably lower that even further. At that point in drafts, you could do worse than taking a chance on someone who has 40+ homer upside.
Baseball’s No. 1 prospect makes his presence felt
The Pittsburgh Pirates are not a good team, but that doesn’t mean they don’t offer reasons for excitement. Oneil Cruz is an exciting hitter with a yet-untapped ceiling, Paul Skenes is already one of the five best starting pitchers in baseball and Bubba Chandler could reach that position at some point.
And there’s a chance another one of Pittsburgh’s prospects could take the field in the majors this season — and he might be the best of the bunch.
Konnor Griffin — who will turn a mere 20 years old when the season reaches its one-month mark — has already made waves across social media with his first spring training homers:
No. 1 Prospect Konnor Griffin hits his first #SpringTraining home run! 💪 pic.twitter.com/YllOJIHZLw
— MLB (@MLB) February 24, 2026
Not only did he launch that blast against Boston’s prized free-agent pickup, Ranger Suárez, but Griffin would go on and hit a second home run later in the game. Then, he hit a third spring training homer on March 1. At 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, Griffin is the Pirates’ top prospect — and the top prospect in baseball overall.
But again, Griffin is just 19 years old at the time of this writing. He’s only played in A-A+-AA (in which he made mincemeat of opposing pitching to the tune of a .333/.415/.527 slash line with a .941 OPS) in the minors. The chances of him making the big league roster before the summer — much less right out of spring training — are not high. And we know Pittsburgh isn’t exactly the place where prospects get rushed, no matter how good they are.
Griffin has a Yahoo ADP of 195.6 — apt for someone who is just a hopeful bench stash right now; Yahoo managers aren’t too hyped yet. But if he continues the highlight reel and fan pressure continues to build, the Pirates’ hand may be forced at some point in May or June. He’s a must-watch player during spring training.
Lindor on track for Opening Day; Carroll aiming for the same
Mets SS Francisco Lindor was one of a group of high-profile players who announced a need for surgery after injury to the hamate bone; for him, the surgery was performed on his left hand.
No one wants to hear about a star player needing surgery right before spring training, but thankfully, Lindor recently had his stitches removed and is reportedly still on track to start for the Mets on Opening Day.
Lindor is currently just on the cusp of being a second-round pick in Yahoo Fantasy leagues. If he falls to the third round, he’s a snap-selection, especially when you consider he’s gone nearly 30-30 (he stole 29 bases in 2024) for three straight seasons.
Diamondbacks OF Corbin Carroll (who currently holds a Yahoo ADP of 16.6) had surgery on Feb. 11 on his right hamate bone, and as he continues his rehab, he has stated that he’s “pushing” to be ready for Opening Day against the Dodgers on March 26.
At just 25 years old, we likely still haven’t seen Carroll’s best season; he has a .258/.341/.491 slash line with an .832 OPS in his career. His ADP could shoot up if his timeline does the same during spring training.
Hope for a resurgent Mike Trout season?
Once considered the clear best player in baseball, it’s been a rough couple of seasons for Mike Trout on the injury front. Trout last played more than 130 games in 2019 (134). He played just 29 and 82 games in 2024 and 2023, respectively. He did play 130 games in 2025, but the results were pretty subpar, by his standards: .232/.359/.439 with a .797 OPS, 26 home runs and just two stolen bases.
But maybe there’s a chance things turn around this season. On Saturday, Trout flew down the line in an attempt to beat out an infield single versus the D-backs. He was recorded as reaching a sprint speed of 29.9 feet per second — his highest sprint speed since a meniscus tear in 2024. Trout himself revealed that his goal for this season is 30 feet per second.
Now, this is not to say that Trout will suddenly return to his glory days of stealing 30+ bases, but a return to elite speed would certainly help in that regard. At the very least, a healthy Trout will undoubtedly steal more than the measly two bags he’s averaged the last six seasons.
For context, Trea Turner had the highest sprint speed in the league in 2025 at 30.3 feet per second, per Statcast. Trout was down at 223 with 27.9 feet per second.
Trout is coming off the board as OF58 in Yahoo leagues, a far cry from his previous elite years. Two years removed from his meniscus tear and with an eye on redemption, Trout could end up being a draft-day steal.
Yankee youth shining early in spring training
The Yankees aren’t exactly the Pirates in terms of exciting prospects, but they do have some young players who have been turning heads so far in exhibition play.
George Lombard Jr., baseball’s 32nd-ranked prospect, has been making defensive highlight after defensive highlight so far in spring training, and the Yankees expect his bat to catch up with his glove. Defense can get players onto the field sooner than later; Lombard’s ascension is one to watch.
Carlos Lagrange is another of New York’s top prospects, a potentially front-line starter with triple-digit stuff. His arm is already making waves on social media. In Double-A last season, Lagrange put together a 7-6 record with a 3.22 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 78.1 innings pitched. At 22 years old, Lagrange has the chance to not only begin the season in Triple-A, but could see himself in the big-league club sooner rather than later, whether as a starter or in the bullpen.
Finally, we have Ryan Weathers, the Yankees’ offseason trade acquisition from the Marlins. At just 26 years old, Weathers hasn’t even reached his prime yet; once upon a time, Weathers was a Padres first-round pick. He flamed out with San Diego, but delivered moments of promise with the Marlins. The Yankees traded for that promise, and it may have already shown itself in spring training:
Ryan Weathers with a 99.8 MPH strikeout. He has never thrown a pitch that fast in his MLB career pic.twitter.com/0gN2GGUdB5
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) February 25, 2026
Weathers ended his exhibition outing with the following line: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 5 K, 0 BB. Not bad for a debut. He currently holds a Yahoo ADP of 207.6; expect that to rise in the coming weeks, barring injury or a blow-up outing, as Weathers is projected to be the Yankees’ third or fourth starter to open the season.
Chelsea boss gives update on Cole Palmer fitness ahead of Aston Villa clash
Liam Rosenior has confirmed that Cole Palmer hasn’t suffered another groin injury and said the Chelsea midfielder is ‘absolutely fine’ to face Aston Villa.
Palmer was substituted during Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, with concerns that he has sustained another issue.
The 23-year-old has endured an injury-interrupted campaign, starting just 15 Premier League games due to toe and groin issues.
Chelsea take on Aston Villa in a clash with huge implications for the top-five race on Wednesday and Rosenior has confirmed Palmer is fit to feature. He also provided an update on Marc Cucurella, who is nearing a return to first-team action.
“It wasn’t that (another groin issue). He took a knock but he is absolutely fine,” Rosenior said on Palmer on Monday.
“He is looking really good and I think you can see the way we’ve managed him over the past six weeks. He played 83 minutes [against Arsenal], that was tactical. He is absolutely fine to start the game on Wednesday.
“Marc [Cucurella] is getting closer and looking really good. Hopefully we can get him back involved soon, if not for Wednesday then Saturday for sure.
“Estevao is back on the pitch and running which is great. Jamie Gittens is doing really well and it has been great to see Romeo Lavia get his first minutes in a long time as well. Reece [James] is also absolutely fine.”
Read – Every Chelsea player sent off this season as total reaches nine
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Positive injury updates won’t help Chelsea in time for huge Aston Villa clash
Liam Rosenior has just given a press conference update on the fitness of a few of his key players ahead of our game against Aston Villa.
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We’re desperately trying to find some positives from Chelsea’s horrible loss to Arsenal yesterday, featuring as it did another red card and two more goals conceded from set pieces.
The one place we could turn to was the team news, where it sounds like we’re close to getting some important players back. Rosenior had positive updates on a few of his first team squad members.
Rosenior drops update on Cucurella, Lavia and Gittens
Liam Rosenior speaks to the media after Chelsea’s loss to Arsenal.
“[Players are] getting closer. [Marc] Cucurella is looking really good. Hopefully, we can get him back involved, if not for Wednesday, for Saturday, for sure, which is great for the schedule we’ve got coming up,” Rosenior said.
“Estevao [Willian] is back on the pitch running, which is great. Jamie Gittens is doing really well. It’s been brilliant to have Romeo Lavia get his first minutes in a long time. I felt he looked really strong. So, yeah, the quicker we get all of our players healthy, the better.”
It certainly was nice to see Lavia back in the team – how long that will last is another question, of course. With Pedro Neto suspended for Wednesday’s game after his yellow card, it’s vital that Estevao and Gittens get fit as soon as possible too – although neither sound like they will be ready for this one.
In other news…
Cole Palmer took a knock in the game against Arsenal and looked like he wanted to come off, even though he ended up playing on.
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