Browsing: Nolan

Football

Northampton Town boss Kevin Nolan wants referees at club training

Kevin Nolan has called for referees to join club training sessions to break down the “them and us” relationship with players.

The Northampton Town manager believes an unhealthy distance has developed with officials which is not helping either party.

He feels that a system whereby referees work with specific clubs, but do not take charge of their games, would develop more trust.

“I think we can do more to help them, I really do,” the former Bolton and West Ham midfielder told BBC Radio Northampton.

“I always remember when I was playing in the Premier League, we always had referees come in and train with us and officiate and get to know how players are, which gave them a really good opportunity to see the craic and banter around training grounds. I think that’s important. There’s too much ‘them and us’ now.

“It’s not just in League One. I was assistant coach to Moysey (David Moyes) at West Ham and I thought then it was becoming ‘them and us’ and it didn’t feel right.

“If you’re doing training ground games and even just five-a-sides I think it would help.”

Nolan was dismayed at the decision-making in the Cobblers’ midweek defeat at Reading and made his point through the official channels but he feels a closer relationship will improve refereeing standards.

“[Former referee] Mark Halsey was with us for years and I know it helped him,” Nolan said.

“It gives an insight into what goes on in the week and the work that goes in from coaches, managers and players.

“Would that be allowed now? I’m not too sure with Premier League teams but I’d be open to referees coming in on a daily basis, a couple of times a week, because I feel there’s too much detachment.”

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Baseball

Mets prospects Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean earn MiLB Awards Show honors

Mets pitching prospects Jonah Tong and Nolan McLean dazzled in the minor leagues during the 2025 season and were recognized for their performances at the third annual MiLB Awards Show on Monday night.

Tong, the No. 2 prospect in SNY’s midseason rankings, was named the 2025 Pitching Prospect of the Year and earned All-MiLB Prospect First Team honors after his dominant season with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse.

The 22-year-old went 10-5 with a 1.43 ERA and 179 strikeouts over 113.2 IP combined across both levels. He was promoted to Triple-A in the middle of August and made two starts with Syracuse, tossing 11.2 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts.

McLean, SNY’s No. 4 prospect, won the Breakout Player of the Year after flying up the rankings and impressing each time he took the mound.

In his first season as a full-time pitcher, the former two-way player owned a 2.45 ERA with 127 strikeouts in 113.2 IP and 21 appearances with Binghamton and Syracuse.

Both prospects earned promotions to the majors and gave Mets fans something to look forward to for years to come. The pitching duo, along with fellow top prospect Brandon Sproat, is expected to play a major role in 2026, which will mark their official rookie seasons.

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Baseball

Mets’ offense explodes, Nolan McLean strikes out 11 to hold on for 8-5 win over Cubs

Two homers helped propel the Mets to an 8-5 win over the Cubs in Chicago on Thursday night to take the series.

Nolan McLean, while dominant at times, had an uneven night. But with the offensive production, the Mets didn’t need their young phenom to carry the weight of the season. And with the Reds winning their game earlier in the day, the Mets remain one game ahead in the wild-card race with three games remaining.

Here are the takeaways…

-New York got to Shota Imanaga in the first inning with Francisco Lindor setting the table with a leadoff walk. After Juan Sotonearly missed a two-run shot, Pete Alonso followed with a double to put runners on second and third with one out. Mark Vientospopped out toward the stands on the third base side, which Dansby Swanson caught in foul territory, but he fell into the stands, which automatically allowed Lindor to score from third since Swanson went out of play. Brandon Nimmo hit a single to score Alonso to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead.

Lindor would help the offense out again in the third, launching a fastball 408 feet out of Wrigley Field to put the Mets up 3-0. It’s Lindor’s 30th homer of the season, his second 30-30 year of his career. It’s also just the third time in MLB history two teammates — with Soto — had 30-30 seasons, joining the 1996 Rockies (Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks ) and the 1987 Mets (Howard Johnson, Darryl Strawberry).

It’s also the first time in franchise history that three players have had 30 home runs in the same season, joining Soto and Alonso.

-The Mets’ batters started to hit Imanaga hard in the fourth. Vientos hit a screamer tailing away from Ian Happ in left field, but the Gold Glover made a nifty diving catch for the first out. Nimmo and Luis Torrensfollowed with back-to-back singles before Brett Baty launched a three-run shot to give the Mets a comfy 6-0 lead.

With the Cubs trying to chip away, Tyrone Taylorgot the runs back in the sixth with a two-out double that scored Nimmo and Baty. Taylor entered that at-bat 0-for-5 since returning from the IL, but delivered a massive hit to reestablish the Mets’ six-run lead.

-McLean was asked to essentially save the Mets’ season again, and he did his darnedest on this night. After allowing a two-out double to Happ in the first, he struck out Moises Ballesteros to end the first inning and kept the momentum on the Mets’ side after their two-run opening frame. The young right-hander was cruising in the early going, striking out eight batters in the first four innings. He made one mistake, leaving a hanging changeup to Seiya Suzuki smashed it to straight center field for a solo shot, just the second home run McLean has allowed in his big league career. Swanson hit a solo homer of his own with one out in the fifth to get the score to 6-2. Despite the homers, McLean had reached a new career-high in strikeouts, fanning 10 Cubs across his first five innings of work.

After McLean picked up his 11th strikeout of the night, the most by a Mets pitcher this season, he started to lose his command. He walked Happ and allowed a ground-rule double to Ballesteros before Suzuki launched a three-run shot to trim the Mets’ lead to 8-5. New York tried to stretch McLean to get through six innings with the bullpen taxed, but McLean hit a wall.

McLean allowed five runs on five hits (three home runs), two walks through 5.1 innings (94 pitches/63 strikes) while striking out those 11 batters. The five runs pushed McLean’s ERA to 2.06 on the year.

-In relief of McLean, the taxed Mets bullpen was tasked with getting the final 11 outs of the game and performed masterfully. The combination of Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley, Tyler Rogers and Edwin Diaz shut out the Cubs to hold down the win. Here’s how each reliever did…

  • Stanek: 0.2 IP, 1 H
  • Raley: 1.0 IP, 3 K
  • Rogers: 1.0 IP
  • Diaz: 1.0 IP, 1 H

–Francisco Alvarez was not in the starting lineup, as manager Carlos Mendoza wanted to give the young backstop a day off after he had leg cramps toward the end of Wednesday’s game. Torrens started and went 1-for-4 with a run scored. The Mets’ skipper also said he had a decision to make with the lefty Imanaga on the mound, and chose Baty over Jeff McNeil. Baty finished 2-for-4 with the big blast and made a bare-handed web gem at third base to get McLean through the third inning.

Game MVP: Mets bullpen

With McLean unable to get out of the sixth, the ‘pen got the final 11 outs without giving up a run from the high-powered Cubs.

Highlights

What’s next

The Mets head to Miami to take on the Marlins. The series opener on Friday has a first pitch time of 7:10 p.m.

Brandon Sproat(0-1, 3.94 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets. Miami will send Sandy Alcantara (10-12, 5.48 ERA).

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