Browsing: led

Blake Monroe has quickly become one of the most recognizable faces in WWE NXT, but the rise in fame hasnâ€t come without its complications—especially online.

While speaking with TVInsider, the former AEW star, previously known as Mariah May, opened up about how overwhelming things got after her NXT debut, both in public and on social media. While Monroe had been on television before, she admitted that nothing couldâ€ve prepared her for the whirlwind attention WWE brought her way.

“When I debuted on NXT, that whole few days the amount of followers, Iâ€d never known anything like it. I got all these messages and everything. It was amazing and so awesome to see. It made me so excited.â€

But with the public praise also came a dark side. Monroe revealed that the trolling and negativity online quickly taught her a valuable lesson about boundaries in the digital world.

“There are definitely negatives that come with it and trolling Iâ€ve never seen before. Iâ€ve learned, and it took a while to implement this because we are all addicted to our phones. Iâ€ve learned you can give to social media, but you donâ€t necessarily have to consume it.â€

Even in everyday life, Monroe said the spotlight now follows her wherever she goes—even when making a simple grocery run.

“Iâ€d normally go to Publix and think I have to look a little bit cute because Iâ€m ‘The Glamour.†It is definitely bigger than anything Iâ€ve experienced. Itâ€s amazing, but a lot to process.â€

While she still values her fans and maintains a loyal base that has followed her across promotions, Monroe admits she now keeps her screen time limited. For her, itâ€s all about protecting her peace while giving fans just enough of what they want.

“I try to post my things and interact a little bit with my fans because I really do appreciate them… but I donâ€t go online anymore much because I think itâ€s a little much. I try to avoid it.â€

Blake Monroe might be building momentum fast inside the ring, but outside it, sheâ€s learning how to navigate the pressures of popularity in real time.

Are todayâ€s wrestling stars under too much pressure from social media? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.

October 20, 2025 10:59 am

Source link

Although he spoke of trying a new tactic, the surge Habtom Samuel (2276) made from a mile out was not too different from his winning move with 2K left on this course at the â€24 Pre-Nats. (PAUL MERCA)

VERONA, WISCONSIN, October 17 — Habtom Samuelâ€s 2025 cross country season debut at the Nuttycombe Invitational is hardly the beginning of a “redemption tour†for the 21-year-old Eritrean. Heâ€s won an NCAA track championship and oodles of other titles while running for New Mexico.

But two NCAA runner-up finishes can make you a bit hungrier, and Samuel showed heâ€s ready for a big race six weeks hence in Missouri with a convincing win in 22:58 over the 8K Zimmer course layout. It marked the second time he had won a race here, with the 2024 Pre-Nats (22:33.8) also in his victory column.

When Samuel made his move here in the final mile, he turned on the afterburners and the race was effectively over as he built a solid 50m lead, winning by 7 seconds over Washington Stateâ€s Solomon Kipchoge (23:05.6).

His win also set up New Mexicoâ€s first Nutty team title as the third-ranked Lobos scored 51 points to best No. 5 Colorado (150) by 99 points. New Mexico packed just as Coach Darren Gauson had wanted, with five runners in the top 22.

No. 11 Syracuse was 3rd (152), No. 13 Northern Arizona 4th (203), and No. 6 BYU 5th (218). Washington State, Michigan State, Butler, Wisconsin and Notre Dame — all ranked — rounded out the top 10 in the 32-team field.

“Obviously, we ran really well,†said Gauson. “A team victory, thatâ€s what our goal was. I wanted Habtom to stretch out a little bit, and he said, ‘Iâ€m going to go a little bit earlier than normal.†He did that. Our main goal was just packing up as much as we could. We had six guys right there. That was a key thing for us.â€

Adhering to Gausonâ€s “packing†plan, New Mexico did just that, with Collins Kiprotich in 6th, Evans Kiplagat in 9th, Vincent Chirchir in 13th and Mathew Kosgei in 22nd filling out its five scorers. Its top men held firm over the final 2K as Colorado finished strong, as has so often been the Buffaloes†MO over the years.

“We still have a long way to go,†Gauson said in pointing to the likes of Colorado, Oklahoma State and top-ranked Iowa State (which ran a “B†team here and rested its top 5). “This was our first opportunity — really, our last opportunity — to see where we are against multiple teams on the top national level.â€

Colorado was up 92–94 on New Mexico at 2K, while Samuel and Coloradoâ€s Dominic Serem had a couple meters on the lead pack, but no one was wont to break away. Approaching 4K, Samuel was co-leading, with Serem, BYUâ€s Davin Thompson & Tayvon Kitchen and Tulaneâ€s Bernard Cheruiyot all oh-so-close as they passed in 11:39.

By 4K, New Mexico had 5 in the top 20 and was sitting pretty at 45 points to 113 for Colorado, 170 for BYU. 172 for NAU and 202 for Eastern Kentucky. There was a lead pack of 16 at the 5K mark and Cheruiyot moved briefly into the lead in the next 200m. Then the eventual top 4 — Samuel, Washington Stateâ€s Solomon Kipchoge, Cheruiyot and Serem — put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field.

“I was testing myself, trying something different,†said Samuel who finished runner-up to champion Graham Blanks by 3 seconds in the â€23 Nationals and then 1.7 behind Blanks in last fallâ€s championships. “I tried to go more from the beginning but these guys covered [my move]. So, it was pretty good. The weather was good today, just a little windy. With a mile to go, I said, ‘I can handle this one.â€â€

And he clearly did.

How pumped is Samuel for the NCAA after taking 2nd each of the last two years?

“Iâ€m really motivated,†he said. “I really want to get this one no matter what.â€

NUTTYCOMBE MENâ€S RESULTS

Teams: 1. New Mexico 51; 2. Colorado 150; 3. Syracuse 152; 4. Northern Arizona 203; 5. BYU 218; 6. Washington State 2286. Washington State 228; 7. Michigan State 245; 8. Butler 257; 9. Wisconsin 271; 10. Notre Dame 274.

Individuals (8K): 1. *Habtom Samuel’ (NM-Eri) 22:58.0; 2. **Solomon Kipchoge’ (WaSt-Ken) 23:05.6; 3. **Bernard Cheruiyot’ (Tul-Ken) 23:10.0; 4. **Dominic Serem’ (Co-Ken) 23:20.2; 5. **Evans Kurui’ (WaSt-Ken) 23:26.5; 6. **Collins Kiprotich’ (NM-Ken) 23:27.0; 7. *Valentin Soca’ (CalB-Uru) 23:30.1; 8. *Riley Hough (MiSt) 23:32.1; 9. *Evans Kiplagat’ (NM-Ken) 23:32.6; 10. Davin Thompson (BYU) 23:33.6

11. *Ethan Coleman (NDm) 23:34.1; 12. Sam Lawler (Syr) 23:34.5; 13. **Vincent Chirchir’ (NM-Ken) 23:35.4; 14. *William Zegarski (But) 23:36.1; 15. Colton Sands (NC) 23:36.9; 16. **Liam Newhart (Wi) 23:37.2; 17. Assaf Harari’ (Syr-Isr) 23:37.5; 18. Colin Sahlman (NnAz) 23:37.5; 19. *Seth Clevenger (IaSt) 23:37.9; 20. Jonas Price (Port) 23:38.3;

21. ***Tayvon Kitchen (BYU) 23:39.7; 22. ***Mathew Kosgei’ (NM-Ken) 23:39.7; 23. ***Thomas Westphal (MiSt) 23:40.3; 24. *Nathan Lopez (Mi) 23:40.6; 25. Tomer Tarragano’ (NC-GB) 23:41.1; 26. ***Tam Gavenas (Harv) 23:42.3; 27. Matthew Forrester (But) 23:44.0; 28. *Josphat Meli’ (WaSt-Ken) 23:44.3; 29. **Noah Jenkins (BYU) 23:44.7; 30. ***Silas Kiptanui’ (Tul-Ken) 23:46.8

31. *Isaiah Givens (Co) 23:47.1; 32. *Leo Young (Stan) 23:48.6; 33. James Overberg (Co) 23:49.5; 34. **Matan Ivri’ (Wi-Isr) 23:51.0; 35. *Matthew Neill (Syr) 23:51.6; 36. *Dean Casey’ (Co-Ire) 23:51.7; 37. Albert Velikonja’ (Furm-Can) 23:52.1; 38. *Erik Le Roux (NnAz) 23:52.2; 39. *Birhanu Harriman (Gtn) 23:52.8; 40. Peter Walsdorf (Syr) 23:52.9.…

dnf—*Taha Er Raouy’ (EnKy-Mor), **Justine Kipkoech’ (EnKy-Ken), *Lukas Kiprop’ (NM-Ken), *Devan Kipyego (IaSt), -Reuben Reina (Wa), ***Josiah Tostenson (Wa).

Veteran editor, writer and author Don Kopriva has been writing for Track & Field News since 1970, primarily covering the Midwest, the Big Ten and major cross country meets. His coverage stats: 2 Olympic Games, 6 Olympic Trials, 55 Drake Relays, 165 Big Ten XC and track championships and more than 110 NCAA and USA championships, including 50 in NCAA Div. I cross country. He lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Post navigation

Source link

In a 23-year career with ESPN, Trey Wingo has had his run-ins with the sports elite.

But as he told GOLF’s Subpar co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode of the podcast, there was one day that was unrivaled for star power.

Wingo began by explaining that a lot of his run-ins involved his former ESPN colleague, the late Stuart Scott, because “Stuart knew everybody.”

At the 2003 NBA All-Star game, Wingo was staying at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Atlanta when he got a text from Scott.

“Hey, come down,” the text said. “I’m having lunch with somebody you probably want to hang out with.”

That person was none other than Tiger Woods.

Trey Wingo’s bold idea to help the U.S. Ryder Cup team

By:

Jessica Marksbury

“[I] go into a little restaurant, back booth, there’s Stuart and I turn, there’s Tiger having lunch with Stuart,” Wingo said. “I’m like the hugest— From the moment Tiger came onto the scene, I was like, this guy is just got it. I have a whole file in my computer of all the things in the awards and all the tournaments he won, all 82 of them. I’m like geeking out.

“I’m like, ‘Oh, hey.’

“Tiger looks up and goes, ‘Hey, Trey.’”

Wingo was like all of us. He lost all memory of how to act.

Woods could only stay for about 20 minutes and Scott left shortly after that. So Wingo did what any of us would have done in that situation: he raced out to call his dad.

“I’m getting ready to call on the old flip phone and the elevator opens in the Ritz in Atlanta,” Wingo said. “Like an idiot, instead of waiting, I just barge in because I am not thinking right. I’m like, I got to tell my dad, I just had lunch with Tiger Woods. This is amazing.

“So the elevator opens — it’s NBA All-Star weekend — and I just walk in and I run smack dab into this wall of a human being. And it’s just solid as can be. And I look up and he goes, ‘Wingo, watch where you’re going.’”

It was Michael Jordan.

“I’m like, ‘Michael, sorry, that’s on me. It’s my bad.’ So I went from having lunch with Tiger and texting, and I run into Michael Jordan,” he said. “Tiger and the MJ in like a 15 minute span. And I was like, yeah, I could die today.”

For more from Wingo, including the story of the golf slip that almost ruined his career, listen to the full episode of Subpar here, or watch it below.

As Pratika moved up through the age groups, she caught the attention of former India player Deepti Dhyani, who became her coach.

“I saw her play a few drives and realised she had the capabilities. Most state-level players have talent; the challenge is transforming it for professional cricket. That’s where we as coaches step in,” Deepti says.

“She stood out because whenever you asked her to work on something, she would tick every box, even if you weren’t watching.”

Deepti also emphasised fitness, something Pratika had embraced since childhood.

“We often think gym work means building bulky muscles, but it’s really about staying injury-free. Thankfully, Pratika understood that well and worked on her fitness seriously,” says Deepti.

Even as cricket became her focus, Pratika didn’t neglect her studies. She pursued a degree in psychology, which helped her understand the mental side of the game.

“She was in ninth standard when she got interested in psychology, so she decided to study it in college,” says her father.

“In cricket, psychology plays a major role. When you’re batting, trying to read what a bowler is thinking or why they’ve set a certain field, it helps you dissect situations better. It’s been really useful for her.”

It’s that out-of-the-box thinking which gives Pratika a useful skill off the field: she can solve a Rubik’s cube.

“It has an algorithm to it,” Pratika said, in a social media video. “The centre pieces don’t move, so you need to move everything around those.”

Easy, or so Pratika makes it seem.

Source link

Elsa/Getty Images

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins was betrayed by Bron Breakker, Bronson Reed, and Paul Heyman on Monday, jettisoning him from The Vision. The move was a shock, considering how united the group had been just days earlier at WWE Crown Jewel. According to new reports from PWInsider and Fightful Select, the attack on Rollins was the result of the company being forced to call an audible.

According to PWInsider, Rollins was seen with his arm in a sling following his Crown Jewel Title victory over Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes at the Perth PLE, and the betrayal was written to get Rollins off of TV while he deals with a shoulder injury, noting that Rollins hurt himself performing a coast-to-coast headbutt, but managed to finish the match and defeat Rhodes. Fightful Select confirmed PWInsider’s report, noting that the split from Rollins wasn’t in the plans for Breakker until next year. The company was forced to speed up Breakker and Reed’s ascension due to Rollins’s injury, which was described as a “heavy creative pivot.”

There is no word on the specifics of Rollins’s injury or how long he’ll be out of action, but he is reportedly set to undergo testing later this week. Rollins had been in the middle of a feud with CM Punk over the World Heavyweight Championship, which Rollins won from Punk after cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase at SummerSlam. Ironically, Rollins’s cash-in was built around inflated rumors of Rollins being injured, which included Rollins’s own child being in on the ruse.

Source link

PGA Tour veteran Beau Hossler has made a name, and a career, for himself on the golf course. And despite plans to continue his quest for pro-golf greatness, he also launched a new side gig as a coffee entrepreneur.

But the wildest part of Hossler’s story is how this all came about. That’s because Hossler came up with the idea in an unconventional way: by spending Masters week in Costa Rica tripping on the hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca.

How Beau Hossler earned a ‘scratch handicap’ in coffee

Hossler had his breakthrough pro golf moment before he was even a professional. At the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic, a teenage Hossler wowed the crowds by holding the solo lead during the second round and eventually finishing T29.

He turned pro in 2016, and played his way onto the PGA Tour in 2018, where he’s competed ever since.

The origins of the 30-year-old’s career as a coffee entrepreneur stretch back five years.

In a new video released by the PGA Tour, Hossler explained how he got into coffee in the first place.

Augusta National-branded coffee? The club has something brewing

By:

Sean Zak

“I’m going to give you a little inside track. This is something I haven’t disclosed yet,” Hossler began.

Five years ago, Hossler was looking for something to keep his mind off of golf while away from the course, and to bide the time during lengthy tournament weeks.

He found what he was looking for in coffee.

“It kind of became my refuge on the road from our freaking crazy lifestyles sitting at the golf course all day,” Hossler said. “I was like alright, let me get away. Let me immerse myself in something different that I actually really like.”

Hossler turned his attention to coffee and went all in. He preferred a golf analogy to describe the transformation, describing himself at the beginning of his journey as a “49-handicap coffee drinker.”

But how did Hossler’s love of coffee evolve into a second career in the coffee business?

He credits his recent experience with ayahuasca as the catalyst to turn a self-described “entrepreneur at heart” into a real-life entrepreneur.

Beau Hossler’s ayahuasca trip leads to coffee business

Earlier this spring, Hossler was feeling out of sorts on the golf course and in his life, as he explained in the video.

“April comes around this year, I’m just like not feeling myself. I don’t feel like me,” Hossler explained. “I’m not playing good golf, but it’s not just that… something’s off, I’m just not feeling great.”

So Hossler decided to follow some friends’ advice and make a big risk in an attempt to re-orient his mind: travel to Costa Rica and take ayahuasca, a psychoactive substance that triggers strong hallucinations. Having not qualified for the 2025 Masters, that seemed like the perfect week to give his plan a shot.

“I’m like, I’m going to Costa Rica. Ayahuasca, for a week. During the Masters, because I had the week off,” Hossler said. “I have some friends that have done it, and they’ve all had an amazing experience, and they told me that you’ll know when it’s time to go. And I was like, it’s time to go. So I went.”

The story gets even more bizarre. Having lost his wallet the night before his trip, Hossler convinced his cab driver to lend him $1,000 in cash, which is all he brought with him to Costa Rica.

“Lost my wallet the night before I went. So I went to Costa Rica, I borrowed a thousand bucks from my driver who took me to the airport. So I had my passport and $1,000, cash,” Hossler explained.

Ayahuasca is an ancient psychoactive concoction originating from South America that’s made from the combination of two different plants. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “At a chemical level, Ayahuasca is similar to psychedelics like LSD, mescaline and psilocybin. But — unlike those psychedelics — it’s rare to see Ayahuasca in use outside of South America.”

‘It was his fault’: Scottie Scheffler’s teammate recalls near-fight

By:

Dylan Dethier

Hossler described his own experience with the hallucinogen in detail.

“I go down there have this like amazing experience, felt like I learned a lot about myself,” he said. “For the first time was really proud of myself for my golf and the work I put in and gave myself credit. You can’t hide from it. It just shows you like who you are, what you’re about.”

The trip left him with two big takeaways: first, that he loves golf and will continue striving in his pro career; and second, he needed to find something else to get involved with to add balance and counter the “lonely” lifestyle of a Tour pro.

“I think I just realized that I love golf, I’m going to freaking be great at golf, but also I need my mind to be challenged in other ways as well. I need to be more well-rounded, and frankly, honestly I think it’s going to help with my golf.”

The experience also helped Hossler realize exactly what his non-golf outlet would be: a coffee business.

“That’s what spurred me into action.”

With that, Hossler’s new coffee company Beaurista was born.

Hossler said his business is not a licensing deal; he runs the operation himself.

“It’s for real, like, it’s not a joke,” he said. “It’s not like a ‘Oh, I just put my name on someone else’s coffee.’ I literally labeled the bags all myself, stamped them all myself. I’m doing it. All of it… I’ve got the people around me that really care about me, and they do their own thing, but they’re involved and they’re advisors and when I need help, they help me, and they bust their butt to help me. But as far as truly doing it, I’m doing all of it. Then I would called advisors to help me strategize, get stuff done, etc.”

To hear more about the process of starting Beaurista, check out the full PGA Tour interview below.

From a 49 handicap in coffee making to scratch 👀

After an ayahuasca trip, Beau Hossler found a passion outside of golf and turned that into his own business. pic.twitter.com/Ar5EOkSKlC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 8, 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t enter the season with plans of starting their third quarterback by Week 6, but that is the position they are in after trading for Joe Flacco amid Jake Browning’s struggles.

And Browning is “pissed” at himself for not taking advantage of the opportunity when Joe Burrow suffered a toe injury.

“Obviously, I’m pissed,” he told reporters Wednesday (35-second mark). “If I wasn’t pissed, then I shouldn’t be in this locker room. It’s important to me. I’m aware of the role I played in the offensive struggles over the last few weeks. But I’m also not shouldering the entire situation. I went through yesterday, watched my throws, tried to come up with some stuff I want to work on. I’m just doing that.”

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced Wednesday that Flacco, who is in his first week with the team after starting the year on the Cleveland Browns, will start Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

While Flacco will be learning the Cincinnati offense on the fly, there is at least some familiarity with the opponent since he just led the Browns to a Week 3 win over the Packers.

Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and the surefire starter when healthy, but his injury drastically limited the ceiling of a team that entered the season with realistic playoff aspirations.Â

Cincinnati surely hoped Browning could keep the offense afloat by relying on weapons such as Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown, but he is 0-3 in his starts with six touchdown passes to eight interceptions on the campaign.

The home fans loudly booed the offense during the most recent loss to the Detroit Lions, and it was clear the front office had to do something to salvage any hope of making the playoffs with Burrow sidelined.

Its response was to trade for the 40-year-old Flacco, who lost his starting job with the Browns to rookie Dillon Gabriel. And Flacco will immediately be put to the test against a strong contender from the NFC in the Packers.

It remains to be seen if it will work, but Browning’s play necessitated some type of change.

Source link

Mustafa Ali and Shawn Michaels had a difference of opinion regarding how he should cut his promo against Ethan Page this week on NXT.

On Tuesday night, Mustafa Ali made his shocking return to WWE NXT and confronted North American Champion Ethan Page. It was revealed in the segment that Ali will finally receive his North American title shot, a match he was supposed to have before getting released by WWE.

TNA Wrestling‘s Mustafa Ali recently spoke with Denise Salcedo. During the interview, Ali spoke about his NXT promo and revealed how a disagreement with Shawn Michaels led to the epic promo on NXT.

“I gotta be perfectly honest with you, thatâ€s what the original idea was,†Mustafa Ali said. “When I got there, I kind of shied away from it. It wasnâ€t that I wasnâ€t comfortable with it. Itâ€s just that I feel like Iâ€ve said this before, Iâ€m at a stage in my career, especially with TNA, where I feel like Iâ€ve presented this, this politician, like a very powerful, very confident individual that kind of condescendingly weaves and snakes his way into the match.â€

Further, Ali revealed how the HBK wants him to be real in this promo. This eventually led to the segment we witnessed on recent NXT.

“So when I got there, I did meet with Shawn, and I kind of pitched a different version of the same promo, but what I thought would be more in line with what I did. Initially, he was like, ‘Yeah, I kind of see it.†Then I want to say it wasnâ€t that long before weâ€re on, he changed his mind, and he pulled me aside with the writer.

“He goes, ‘Iâ€m telling you, youâ€ve got to be real on this one. Youâ€ve got to let people know what happened. Youâ€ve got to trust me on this. Start off how you want, but then midway through, just take the mask off and look him down in the eye and tell everybody what happened. Iâ€m telling you. Youâ€ve gotta trust me.â€

“At the end of the day, Shawn Michaels tells you how he wants it; he wants it. I wonâ€t lie, I thought he was wrong initially. And then I went out, and as Iâ€m cutting the promo, I myself started to feel it, and there was this pin drop silence. I think I said something along the lines of, ‘My dream was on the horizon, but that day, Mr. Page, the sun did not rise,†and you could just hear everyone felt that was real.

HBK made the right call…

“Then, I went on to what happened, and the reaction afterwards, and them cheering, and even the chatter online afterwards. I think people genuinely would be upset if I did not win. So when I came back, I looked at Shawn, I go, ‘You were right.†Itâ€s one of those things that even all this time in the game, I know me, but still, Iâ€ll 100% say that was 100% Shawn. Shawn made the call, and he made the right call.’†[H/T – Fightful]

READ MORE:Mustafa Ali Reveals Hilarious WWE ‘Hidden Camera†Prank That Went On For Months

Source link

• 

  Jenna LaineOct 4, 2025, 06:00 AM ET

  Close

  Jenna Laine covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for ESPN. She started covering the Bucs for ESPN in 2016, but she has covered the team since 2009. Jenna is a former cheerleader at the University of South Florida and speaks to the consistency of the program as being one of the top best in the nation.

TAMPA, Fla. — In the alternate universe proposed to Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka in a question asked by ESPN on Wednesday, the wideout isn’t catching passes from Baker Mayfield or slow-walking into the end zone and triumphantly pumping his fist. In an alternate universe, he’s not playing at Lumen Field on Sunday when the Bucs visit the Seattle Seahawks — or playing football at all.

Instead, he’s shagging baseballs and making acrobatic catches in the outfield across the street like one of his boyhood idols — 10-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove Award winner, two-time AL Batting Champion and 2001 AL MVP Ichiro Suzuki. Instead, Egbuka is playing at T-Mobile Park, where the Seattle Mariners will host Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers later that evening.

“I’ve definitely thought about that, but God has me here for a reason,” said Egbuka, who was just named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for September — with four touchdowns in the first four games of his NFL career.

Editor’s Picks

1 Related

“I thought he was going to be a baseball star for sure,” his father, Henry Egbuka, told ESPN.

After all, the Mariners were the first big-time sports team that bore witness to the talents of the DuPont, Washington, native. It was at then-Safeco Field where he won the 2011 MLB Pitch, Hit & Run Team Championship for athletes from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Alaska and British Columbia after advancing through the local and sectional rounds.

That earned him an all-expenses-paid trip to Phoenix for the 2011 MLB Aquafina National Pitch, Hit & Run Finals, held before the MLB’s Home Run Derby at Chase Field.

Wearing a Mariners ball cap, a determined Emeka Egbuka pounded the strike zone target that stood 45 feet away. Then, on his third try in the hitting competition, he smashed a baseball nearly 200 feet — the farthest an athlete can hit in the competition, emerging as the national winner in the 7-and-8-year-old age group.

“I think it was the first time anybody had won it from the Pacific Northwest,” Henry Egbuka said. “So it was a big deal.”

As part of his award, he got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Mariners-Chicago White Sox game the next spring. On the receiving end of that ball? Six-time All-Star and 2010 Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez.

“He was the one I threw my first pitch to. He caught it, so that was awesome,” Emeka Egbuka said. “I got to meet all my favorite players, pretty much the entire team. I [still have] signed memorabilia from all them, so I think it’s really cool.”

Henry Egbuka added, “It was a huge, packed stadium and everything. And I was like, ‘At 8?‘ It was incredible.”

Thirteen years later, when he was selected 19th in the 2025 NFL draft by the Buccaneers, the Mariners surprised Emeka Egbuka with a congratulatory message featuring an image of Hernandez and 8-year-old Egbuka on X, Instagram and Facebook.

“I was not expecting that,” he said of the shoutout. “That was pretty cool.”

EGBUKA HAD THE chance to potentially be drafted out of Steilacoom High School by the MLB. As a freshman on varsity in 2018, he batted .316 with a .376 on-base percentage as professional scouts sat in the stands. But football eventually took over, as he was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Washington after his junior season in the fall.

Then COVID-19 came in the spring of 2020.

“I believe the door to the baseball in my life closed by no means of my own,” said Egbuka, who received his first offer as a freshman from Florida State — a school whose dual-sport athletes include Heisman Trophy winners Charlie Ward and Jameis Winston and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.

Best of NFL Nation

• Bucs WR Egbuka could have been baseball star
• Mini-oral history of 2015 Superdome Duel
• Underdog Ravens face massive injury hit
• Falcons TE Kyle Pitts off to strong start
• Colts’ Latu making his move as a pass rusher

“We were three days out from my junior year [in baseball] — our opener and the whole season got canceled,” said Egbuka, who had just been named MaxPreps High School Football Junior Player of the Year after a 25-touchdown season with 1,600 receiving yards.

He helped Steilacoom reach the WIAA 2A state championship in 2019, finishing with a title-game record of 18 receptions for 163 yards and three touchdowns to go along with eight tackles and an interception. After COVID wiped out his senior season in the fall of 2020, Egbuka would end up enrolling early at Ohio State in January, ranked as the No. 2 wide receiver by ESPN in the 2021 class.

“There was COVID, there was a bunch of things that went into it to where baseball just made its way out of my life,” Egbuka said. “But I feel like God has me here for a specific reason, a specific purpose. So I’m definitely grateful to everything the game of football has given me, too.”

But baseball has helped aid his football success.

“I believe one strength that I’ve always had that I’ve [taken] a lot of pride in was ball tracking and catching the ball,” he said. “I think there’s never been a ball in the air that I felt like was a difficult catch or that I couldn’t track. I have an extensive baseball background, so I think that’s helped me out a lot — playing center field and stuff like that.”

In his NFL debut in Week 1, he scored two touchdowns, including the game winner with :59 left. At one point on the play, he momentarily lost track of the ball in the lights of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but in baseball, an outfielder must rely on instincts.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka was named Rookie of the Month for September this week. Jason Behnken/AP

“The ball got hung up in the lights a little bit, so I had to make sure I really concentrated to be able to haul it in,” Egbuka said. “It was a very memorable moment.”

Then there was the touchdown in Week 4 against the Philadelphia Eagles where Mayfield laced the ball between two diving defenders. It had a completion probability of just 21.2%, according to Next Gen Stats.

“I honestly couldn’t tell if it was tipped or not,” Egbuka said. “It was tough. It kind of just popped on me quick. … You’re tracking it the whole way, and then you lose it last second. You just got to trust what you saw, put your hands where you thought the ball was going to be and then once it comes out the back end, just have the concentration.”

He also credits baseball with his ability to bounce back from mistakes.

“There’s nothing more demoralizing than going 0-for-4 on a day with two strikeouts,” Egbuka said. “So I think building that mental fortitude in baseball definitely has helped me with my levelheadedness in football.”

HENRY EGBUKA WAS adamant about not pushing his son. Instead, he allowed him to find his way. Along with Emeka Egbuka’s mother, Rhonda Ogilvie, he was simply there to support his son.

“He was so driven and focused,” Henry Egbuka said. “He used to beat himself up every time he missed something he was supposed to achieve. And I kept telling him, he was so hard on himself.

“He was his own worst critic. Even if he never thought he did anything perfectly, he was always trying to improve. He has always been very, very driven and very fiercely competitive.”

Follow the NFL all season long

• Full schedule » | Standings »
• Depth charts for every team »
• Transactions » | Injuries »
• Football Power Index »
More NFL coverage »

That drive has taken Emeka Egbuka to a special place. He became the Ohio State all-time receptions leader during the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship game, surpassing K.J. Hill’s record (201) with 205 catches, along with 2,868 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns.

Now as an NFL player, he leads all rookies with 282 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions. He became one of just five players over the past 20 years to have recorded a touchdown catch in three of his first four games, joining Hakeem Nicks (2009), Martavis Bryant (2014), Terry McLaurin (2019) and Ja’Marr Chase (2021).

“He’s one of a kind,” Bucs receiver Chris Godwin Jr. said. “He’s definitely one of the more mature and pro-ready rookies that I’ve ever been around. He’s been a great addition to our room. Obviously, you guys see what he can do on the field. He makes unbelievable plays. Somehow, he makes even more unbelievable plays in practice, so now it feels a bit routine.

“He has all of the tools that you need to be a great pro. He has the speed, he has the playmaking ability, he has the mental capacity to understand the offense at all three positions, he’s unselfish. I think he has a really, really bright future ahead of him.”

If Egbuka notches two more touchdowns in his home state, he could tie Bryant and Calvin Ridley for the most through a player’s first five games since 2000 — although that will be a tall order given that the Seahawks have surrendered only six total touchdowns in four games — tied for second fewest in the NFL.

“It’s just incredible to watch him hit the ground running from the day he stepped on campus at Ohio State to today,” said Mariners general manager Justin Hollander, who’s a graduate of OSU. “It seems like his time to transition is just smaller than most, and that’s really impressive.

“In baseball, we have minor league levels, so you jump from A ball to AA, AA to AAA, AAA to the big leagues, and it seems like all the way through Emeka makes those jumps — and does it faster than most guys.”

Whatever he does next, it will be in front of some familiar faces, as Ogilvie has purchased what her son describes as a “very large section” of the stadium.

“The one thing is — if you want a ticket, you got to wear Tampa Bay gear,” Egbuka said. “I got a lot of Seahawks fans in my family and stuff like that, but they got to wear Bucs gear if they’re going to go to the game.”

There won’t be an issue with allegiances on the baseball diamond though. It’s the first time the Mariners have won the American League West title since 2001 — before Egbuka was even born.

He’s admittedly behind in his scouting of this current team, given how much time he’s devoting to football, but said, “I’m glad they made the playoffs and got some life for that city baseball wise. It’s awesome.”

@Mariners/X

“They’re a very great team,” Egbuka said. “They got Cal Raleigh, they got Julio Rodriguez, so you got a lot of guys who are X factor playmakers. So in moments like those — in the playoffs and when it matters — it just depends how your entire team plays and how your best players play.”

And his brush with the Mariners at a young age has left a lasting impact, something he wanted to pass on to students when he visited Tampa’s Lockhart Elementary Magnet School on Tuesday, where he led kids in football drills.

It took him back to the moment that he spent with his baseball idols all those years ago. A moment that has helped propel all of his athletic achievements.

“It kind of just motivates you and makes you want to push harder to get to where they are. Inspires you with a lot of hope,” Egbuka said. “It’s a moment that I’ve never forgotten — something that will stick with me the rest of my life.”

Though his journey in the NFL is just starting, Hollander made a lighthearted gesture that if Egbuka wanted to come home and play, the door would be open for him to take the field with Mariners.

“If Emeka wants to make a change, I’d be happy to work him out,” Hollander said. “I don’t think he’s going to want to do that, but I would be happy to get him a glove and have him run around center field if that’s what he wants to do.”

Source link

Sep 30, 2025, 05:41 PM ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A group led by Florida-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski closed on its purchase of the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, finalizing the sale of the team from former owner Stuart Sternberg.

Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the transaction last week. The price was not disclosed.

“It’s an incredible honor to become the stewards of the Tampa Bay Rays, a franchise with a proud history and a bright future,” Zalupski said in a statement. “We’re all energized by the responsibility to serve Rays fans everywhere and this great game. … We will work hard to earn the respect and confidence of our fans and new MLB partners, and we are excited about the upcoming challenge to deliver a world-class experience on and off the field.”

Editor’s Picks

Zalupski’s group, which also includes Bill Cosgrove and Ken Babby, is expected to restart the search for a new ballpark. The Rays in March withdrew from a $1.3 billion project to construct a new ballpark adjacent to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, citing a hurricane and delays that likely drove up the proposal’s cost.

Zalupski, CEO of Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes Inc., will be the team’s control person and a co-chair along with Cosgrove, CEO of Union Home Mortgage in Ohio.

Babby, CEO of Fast Forward Sports Group, will be CEO. Fast Forward owns the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, a Miami Marlins’ affiliate, and the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, a Cleveland Guardians farm team.

Erik Neander, in his 19th season with the Rays, will remain as president of baseball operations.

Tampa Bay said the new ownership group includes Dan Doyle Jr., Doug Hertz, Matt Silverman, Robert Skinner, Will Weatherford, and Rick Workman, who will be part of an executive advisory board that will include Fred Ridley as an independent member. Silverman has been with the Rays for 22 years, including 17 as team president.

“Major League Baseball is pleased to welcome Patrick and his partners to the ownership ranks,” commissioner Rob Manfred said. “Their collective experience and passion for the game will serve the Rays well as they enter this exciting new chapter.”

Sternberg took control of the team from founding owner Vince Naimoli in November 2005 and rebranded it the Rays from the Devil Rays after the 2007 season. The Rays won AL East titles in 2008, 2010, 2020 and 2021 and twice reached the World Series, losing to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.

Source link