🤖 MLB To Use Robot Umpires Next Year

NBA expansion talk out of reach, Rangers New 100-Year Jersey, and more!

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Sportie Newsletter
September 24, 2025

🏀 Basketball

NBA Expansion Talk Out of Reach for Now

The latest round of NBA owners meetings resulted in “no new news” regarding movement around any sort of domestic expansion.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league’s Board of Governors wrapped up their annual September meetings in New York on Wednesday with the majority of the focus afterward having a heavy tilt toward the situation involving Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and allegations of potential circumventing of the league’s salary cap.

There were also several questions regarding the league’s plans and efforts at launching an NBA-branded league in Europe.

🏒 Hockey

Messier introduces new Rangers alternate jersey celebrating 100 years

It's a brand new look presented by a very familiar face.

The New York Rangers showed off their new alternate jersey on social media Thursday, with a little help from the captain of their 1994 Stanley Cup championship team, Mark Messier.

"This jersey holds 100 years of history," the Hockey Hall of Famer says in a video clip debuting the new sweater.

Mammoth open new state-of-the-art practice facility

The Utah Mammoth are skating into the season with sweet new digs.

On Wednesday, the team cut the ribbon for their brand-new state-of-the-art practice and training facility in Sandy, Utah.

The 146,000-square-foot facility features an 8,082-square-foot dry gym with 40 yards of turf, a recovery suite, team offices and two rinks. A public space is set to open in 2026 that has a team store, skate rentals, locker rooms and concessions.

A Local Positioning System is located above each rink for players to track the workload and performances during practice.

The building will serve as the team's permanent headquarters.

⚾️ Baseball

MLB approves robot umpires for 2026 as part of challenge system

Major League Baseball will implement a challenge system for balls and strikes in the 2026 season after the league's competition committee voted Tuesday to usher in the era of robot umpiring.

Following years of testing in the minor leagues, as well as during spring training and at this year's All-Star Game, MLB forged ahead with a system that will give teams two challenges per game.

Hitters, pitchers and catchers will be the only ones allowed to trigger the system by tapping their head, and if a challenge is successful -- the pitch will be shown on in-stadium videoboards -- teams will retain it.

Video Captures 12 Year-Olds Running For Cover After Gun Shots Ring Out At Game, 1 Coach in Critical Condition

A youth baseball coach in Texas was hit in the shoulder by a stray bullet that was fired during a game.

Video captured the moments the shots rang out at a sports complex. Young players and their coaches can be seen frantically running off the field.

“And there was bullets flying everywhere. It wasn’t one shot. There’s bullets flying everywhere, off the poles, onto the field,” Corbin Geisendorff, assistant coach for the Texas Colts, described. “It’s just unbelievable.”

A baseball field was turned into a crime scene.

🏈 Football

Dublin braces for influx of Americans as Steelers, Vikings play Ireland's first regular-season NFL game

Ireland has sent quite a few of its people to America over the years. The U.S. will be returning the favor this week.

The Steelers-Vikings matchup at Croke Park in Dublin is expected to draw a larger-than-usual chunk of U.S.-based fans compared to other international games.

It will be the first regular-season NFL game in Ireland, and all sides are hopeful it could lead to more.

That would be good news for fans in the States, who have shown massive interest in this one.

Giants to start rookie QB Jaxson Dart, Russell Wilson benched after Week 3 loss

Dart will replace Russell Wilson as the team's starting quarterback. The rookie's first start will come against the Chargers on Sunday.

Dart was always expected to see some time as the starter in 2025 after he was selected by the Giants with the No. 25 overall pick in April's draft. Dart put himself on an accelerated program after a strong preseason in which he threw three touchdowns and no interceptions in three games.

Despite the presence of veteran Jameis Winston, Dart's preseason performance was enough to push him into the No. 2 quarterback spot on the depth chart to start the regular season.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting 988. Call 911 in an emergency.