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With Jayden Daniels in a dispute with LSU that reportedly stems from the use of his former jersey number, another Heisman Trophy-winning Tigers quarterback, Joe Burrow, said he had been told that the team would not use his No. 9 jersey again.

“They told me that they wouldn’t use it again, but you never know what happens,” Burrow told reporters after the Cincinnati Bengals’ 16-14 win over the Detroit Lions in their preseason opener Thursday.

Burrow, who led LSU to an undefeated season and a national title in 2019, wore No. 9 for two seasons before being drafted by the Bengals. No LSU player has worn it since.

Daniels, now the quarterback for the Washington Commanders, sent LSU a letter from his lawyers demanding that the Tigers end any use of his name, image and likeness. The cease-and-desist letter, which was issued to LSU vice president and athletic director Verge Ausberry on Aug. 5 and obtained by The Athletic, alleges, without providing specific instances, that the school has used Daniels’ NIL past its authorization date.

ESPN reported, based on a statement it received from a family spokesperson, that the dispute began when LSU issued the No. 5 Daniels wore there to another player, cornerback DJ Pickett. LSU has declined to comment. Daniels won the Heisman Trophy after the 2023 season and holds LSU records for career and season rushing yards by a quarterback.

When asked about the situation with Daniels, Burrows demurred.

“I don’t necessarily have too many thoughts at this time,” Burrow said. “I just heard about it a couple of hours ago. I don’t know enough about the situation to have any thoughts.”

LSU’s protocol for retiring jerseys requires the honoree to be five years removed from college competition and to have recorded “unique” performances, “such as winning of a Heisman Trophy or National Player of the Year award.”

The Community Shield is often treated as little more than the traditional curtain-raiser to a new Premier League season. But when Arsenal and Manchester City meet in Cardiff on Sunday, there will be an added intrigue over whether this early-season clash can offer any clues about which of these two sides is better prepared to challenge for the title.

Recent history suggests caution. Crystal Palace beat 2025 champions Liverpool on penalties in last season’s showpiece, before Liverpool endured a disappointing title defence.

A year earlier, Manchester City edged Manchester United on penalties but failed to go on and win the league. In 2023, Arsenal beat City in a shoot-out, only for City to claim the Premier League title.

In other words, the Community Shield has recently been a reliable source of penalty drama, but a poor predictor of what happens over the following nine months.

That makes this year’s meeting more interesting for what it tells us about the present rather than the future.

Arsenal arrive with momentum after winning the league for the first time in 22 years, while City are embarking on a new era, with Enzo Maresca taking charge competitively for the first time following his appointment to replace Pep Guardiola.

The betting market makes Arsenal narrow favourites at 13/8, with City 7/4 and the draw 12/5.

Goals are expected in the Community Shield, with both teams to score priced at 8/13, compared with 5/4 for both sides not to find the net.

A 1-1 draw is the favourite correct score at 5/1, while 1-0 and 2-1 to either team are all rated at 8/1.

Those prices reflect how difficult it is to separate the sides — something that could also define the title race itself. Arsenal are 6/4 favourites to win the 2026/27 Premier League, with City next at 11/4.

For Arsenal, the game is an opportunity to underline that last season’s success was the beginning of a new period of dominance rather than a one-off achievement.

For City, it represents the chance to signal that the transition into a new era will not mean surrendering their place at the top of English football.

Ultimately, the Community Shield may tell us very little about who will lift the Premier League trophy next May. But it could provide something almost as valuable at this stage, an early psychological edge and a first indication of which side is ready to hit the ground running.

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher, is inching closer to a return for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani, who has not pitched in a major-league game since July 3 while managing left knee soreness and a couple of flare-ups of right biceps discomfort, threw his first bullpen session in 23 days on Friday under the watchful eye of front-office personnel.

The Dodgers have not put firm parameters on Ohtani’s return timeline, which is complicated somewhat as he continues to serve as the team’s designated hitter. But the belief remains that Ohtani could return and pitch in a big-league game before the end of the regular season.

“Yeah, I think so,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told The Athletic following Ohtani’s bullpen session. “I mean, a lot of it, we just need to take our time and see if he comes in feeling good tomorrow, and then OK, what’s the next step?

“A lot of it is just how he’s bouncing back, and do we think it’s prudent to keep progressing?”

Ohtani has already tried ramping up and suffered a setback. First, he tried pitching through the discomfort and underwent a “lubricant” injection in his left knee to address the discomfort during the All-Star break. He threw a bullpen session a week later on July 22 in Philadelphia, but felt some regression in his knee along with biceps discomfort, which prompted the club to dial things back with him. It was his last time seen throwing on the field until Saturday, when Ohtani threw in the outfield at Chase Field before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ohtani has since played catch on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon. When Ohtani’s throwing ramped up Friday, he walked into the bullpen and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman followed.

The two-way star threw 34 pitches, appearing to mix in his off-speed pitches during the session.

“Obviously continuing to build up volume and intensity, and all of these things are positive,” Gomes said.

Gomes said Ohtani’s knee is “feeling good,” though Ohtani’s previous comments suggested he might not be 100 percent with his knee until this offseason. This has added a wrinkle to Ohtani’s recovery — they must get the knee to the point where it is manageable, even with the toll of Ohtani returning to two-way play.

“Rather than rush the progression of this, I would rather make sure we’re headed in the right direction,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton on Aug. 5, his last time speaking to reporters. “But making sure we’re taking the right steps.”

Once Ohtani has progressed to the point of facing hitters, the Dodgers would most likely ramp him up by having him pitch in big-league games, much like he did last summer in returning from a second major elbow surgery. Since Ohtani does not count against the Dodgers’ pitcher limit, they could effectively have him serve as an opener as he builds up, going from one inning to two innings and so on with each appearance. His return date will likely determine just how built up Ohtani could be in October.

“I certainly see him as a starter, but how much he could give us, to then have somebody behind him, that we don’t know yet,” manager Dave Roberts said last week. “That’s kind of where we’re at right now.”

For now, Ohtani throwing a bullpen session signifies progress.

Shohei Ohtani is throwing a bullpen session. pic.twitter.com/F8mW1SkBhb

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 14, 2026

“Continuing to put ourselves in a position, and him in a position, to be able to come back and help us on the mound in any way is obviously beneficial, but also can’t have it affect anything else,” Gomes said.

The Dodgers are also getting more reinforcements. Will Smith took batting practice on the field for the first time since June 5, when he went on the injured list for an inflamed disc in his neck. Smith, who has not spoken to reporters since June, has started ramping up baseball activities of late and is completely pain-free, Roberts and Gomes said.

“It’s kind of what we expected all along,” Gomes said, adding that Smith’s timeline for a live batting practice and eventually a rehab assignment is “sooner rather than later.”

The expectation remains that Dalton Rushing will also not need surgery to repair his damaged ulnar collateral ligament, Gomes said, echoing what Rushing told The Athletic this week. Rushing took batting practice on the field on Friday, another first since being scratched from the Dodgers’ lineup on Aug. 2. Then Rushing strapped on his gear and caught a bullpen session. He remains restricted from throwing, including in bullpen sessions, but Friday represented a good day in Rushing’s rehab. The Dodgers are more optimistic about Rushing’s chances of returning as a left-handed hitter off the bench rather than as a catcher, but they aren’t ruling anything out.