Sources: Josh Kushner, Bob Iger to buy Lakers for $12.5B​

The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, a record-breaking price, multiple sources told ESPN.

The businessmen were involved in the expansion process in Las Vegas, but in a stunning turn, they pivoted to make an aggressive offer to buy the Lakers from Mark Walter, who purchased a controlling interest in the team from the Buss family last year for a then-record franchise valuation of approximately $10 billion.

Just sayin': $12.5 Billion......

Daniels sends cease and desist to LSU after Pickett given No. 5​

An attorney representing Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has informed LSU that it can no longer use his name, image and likeness, according to an Aug. 5 letter sent to Tigers athletic director Verge Ausberry, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN on Wednesday.

At the center of the dispute, according to a statement from Daniels' spokesperson to ESPN, is that the Tigers are allowing sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett to wear the No. 5 jersey that Daniels wore when he became LSU's third Heisman Trophy winner in 2023.

While Daniels' jersey hasn't been retired by the Tigers, it's the first time a player has worn No. 5 since he left the program for the NFL.

"The Daniels family is deeply disappointed and feels profoundly disrespected by LSU's decision to give Jayden's number to another player," the statement from Daniels' spokesperson said. "Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university."

Pickett was wearing the No. 5 jersey when the Tigers opened preseason practice last week, leading to questions about why first-year LSU coach Lane Kiffin had allowed the jersey swap to happen.

"Jayden made it clear that he did not want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected," the statement said. "His Heisman Trophy-winning season and everything he accomplished on and off the field cemented his place in LSU history. To see his number given to another player is incredibly disappointing and feels like a failure to honor the significance of what Jayden accomplished at LSU."
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Kiffin told reporters on Aug. 5 that Pickett had been promised he could wear No. 5 when he signed with the Tigers in December 2024. Pickett had worn that number as a high school star in Zephyrhills, Florida, where he was the No. 2 cornerback in the Class of 2025 by ESPN Recruiting.
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However, LSU's current policy regarding jerseys being retired, which is published on its athletic department website, states that any number retired after Jan. 1, 2007, "does not preclude a current student-athlete in that sport from wearing the jersey number in that or any other sport, subject to the discretion of the head coach."
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Just sayin': HOW LSU SHOULD FILE DANIELS' LETTER....

Thump said:

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“And then you were, absolute, dirty ass” - great eval by Valenti. Didn’t realize he was a scout.

ORD_Buckeye said:

God, I hope we can shut down the fucking hype train early.

2026 college football Way-Too-Early All-America team

From Arch Manning to Jeremiah Smith, these are the best of the best at every position.

www.espn.com

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A loss wouldn’t matter. He had the mechanics of a high school junior last year and talking heads were still trying to pencil him in as a first round pick. He’ll still have a strong arm, athleticism, and the name. That’s all they care about.

Hamilton West Side (Ohio) tops Kentucky, reaches Little League World Series​

The Hamilton West Side Little League baseball team has reached the Little League World Series for the first time since 2021 after defeating Kentucky's North Oldham, 6-0, in Whitestown, Indiana, in the Great Lakes region championship game on ESPN2.

The 2026 Little League World Series begins on Wednesday, Aug. 19, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. As the Great Lakes region winner, West Side will face the yet-to-be-determined Mountain Region champion on Aug. 20 at 2 p.m.

West Side starter Boone Treadway, the son of Badin head coach Brion Treadway, pitched a one-hit, complete-game shutout. He threw 62 pitches, and struck out nine.

"Feels amazing," Treadway told ESPN after the game. "I'm just glad to get to do it with this group of kids."

Josiah Infante hit a two-run homer during West Side's six-run first inning.

West Side is a 23-time Ohio state champion making its sixth LLWS appearance. The team also made LLWS appearances in 1991, 1993, 2007 and 2010.

In 2021, West Side advanced to the LLWS final before losing to Michigan.

West Side and North Oldham met twice in the Great Lakes regional. West Side won the first meeting, 11-4.

West Side cruised past Michigan and Indiana in the first two rounds of the tournament.

Only thing that sucks reading these things this year is knowing we had 3 studs (Styles, Reese, and Downs) and didn’t get it done. What a defense 2025 was.

So happy to see the reports about Reese etc

Classic

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This thread needs to be bumped because I went down a rabbit hole of watching his game film, and this kid is the real deal! If OSU were to land him, I'd put him as top 3-5 best players in the entire class, and honestly he'd be closer to 3 than 5. He's that good! He looks like young version of Eric Berry, imo. He has the talent to crack offensive players in the open field, but also the speed to make up and cover in space. Can line him up at both S spots and Nickel, similar to how Caleb was moved around. He also could be used in the return game as well. Keep an eye out for him
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GeorgiaBuck2 said:

Thought he was with addidas.

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Jeremiah Smith has an NIL deal with Adidas. I remember reading about how he represents them off the field, because he has to wear Nike on the field due to Ohio State's contract with Nike for apparel and shoes.

Chris Henry Jr. has an NIL deal with Nike (as do Bo Jackson and Jermain Mathews Jr.). But I think Henry might have had an NIL deal with Adidas while in high school.

Tanner said:

I dont think we are going much of a drop off on defense. I think the DL will be as good if not better. Linebacker will be worse but still good. Obviously the main concern is not having Downs---he basically prevented big plays himself. My biggest concern is the same it is basically every year---the o line

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Just sayin': The guy was a tackling machine. I don't remember ever seeing him ever miss on open field tackle. So far this season they are talking the OL up. May be it will be better. However, the problem with an OL is they are a team within a team. On any given play you can have four guys play like All-Americans and the other one misses his block (the back is tackled for a loss) and hence the entire OL looks bad. The OL is only good as it's weakest link and that weakest link could be a different guy during the same game especially if the defense rotates their personnel around.

billmac91 said:

Maybe I’m trying to reverse jinx it, but I hate this team. I hate their approach at the plate. I hate Vogt pulling pitchers too early. I hate their approach laziness I see on defense chasing down balls in the gap or down the line.

It’s the exact opposite of the gritty Guardians clubs of recent past. Maybe it’s too many new faces and the culture was lost…..I’m not sure.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so high on a manager and felt so low on him a year later. I think Vogt deserves another year bc this roster is trash, but man, they’ve been awful the last month.

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This team is awful, the only thing that kept them in "contention" for so long was an awful division in an overall awful AL

They have a new lineup every night basically, when you go full platoon with mostly a bunch of rookies and guys who have shown to be nothing more than below average-ish MLB hitters this is exactly what you will get. Once the bullpen fell off a cliff and the starters outside of Williams and Messick started being very shaky it was curtains.

Vogt constantly treating Matt Festa like he is some Andrew Miller level versatile high leverage reliever he can use in any situation when he actually needs outs alone has me wanting him fired. That among a pile of other questionable managing decisions he has made all year. The roster is garbage but his decision making has not exactly helped matters.

pnuts34 said:

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Saw that. Hope it’s true and not true.

True that he’s a stud but not true that he is one and done.

ORD_Buckeye said:

Yes, it's an official ncaa D1 sport. It's considered co-ed though, so there's only one set of points to get.

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Yeah, almost everything you would imagine has an NCAA Championship. The exceptions include 2 sports that are dominated by tOSU.

Artistic (formerly Synchronized) Swimming, which of course tOSU has won 34 times.

And Pistol, which the Buckeyes have won for the last 6 seasons, part of 11 overall co-ed and 8 women’s titles.

So there are a bunch of championships that haven’t been included in the Director’s Cup.

Zurp said:

If you think you're smart by putting "EST" or "CST" after the time a meeting is supposed to start, and you do it wrong, you're someone I want to punch.
"EST" means "Eastern Standard Time". We are currently in "Eastern Daylight Saving Time", or "EDT". If you make a meeting in August for 10:00 EST, you're doing it wrong. If you really want to set the meeting for 10:00EST, just set it for 11:00EDT.

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Over the years, I’ve deleted the ‘D’s and the ‘S’s between the ‘ET’ in probably hundreds of thread titles in an attempt to be accurate and avoid confusion.

Gonna be a playmaker for us!

ScriptOhio said:

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And not a single poster on BP is upset about it!

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