Sports

New Seahawks owner Vinod Khosla defends Steelers fandom amid criticism

Published

2 hours ago

August 28, 2026

New Seattle Seahawks owner Vinod Khosla took to social media on Friday to defend his Pittsburgh Steelers fandom that dates back 50 years.

On Wednesday, NFL owners voted unanimously to approve the sale of the Seattle Seahawks to Vinod and Neeru Khosla. During the introductory news conference, Vinod Khosla said he has been, and still is, a fan of the Steelers since arriving in the U.S. in 1976, in the middle of the franchise’s dynasty.

On Friday, Khosla provided a lengthy response to a post on X from Barstool Sports criticizing his comments about rooting for Pittsburgh.

“Reporters will make every molehill into a mountain just to get column inches to write or video minutes,” Khosla said. “What’s wrong with admitting my 1976-78 period in Pittsburgh (CMU) got me excited about the NFL? I still watch their games doesn’t mean I won’t unconditionally ALWAYS as owner, want the @Seahawks to win and have every edge up, EVERY TIME over every other team!!!! Zero questions!!!

“At the other end is a set of teams I always want to lose every advantage. But happy to have the sports writer getting more column inches and fill their pages. You are welcome. Apologies in advance for my very transparent style.”

What did we learn at the NFL special league meetings?

Jonathan Jones and Johnny Sweet

On July 11, the Seahawks announced the Paul G. Allen estate had reached an agreement with the Khoslas to sell the franchise for an NFL-record $9.612 billion. Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, had operated the team since Paul died in 2018. The Allens were famously elusive during their tenures running the team, rarely making public comments.

Vinod was born in India and immigrated to the U.S. to continue his education, attending Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. He is considered one of Silicon Valley’s most influential innovators and venture capitalists.

Neeru Khosla will be the controlling owner of the Seahawks. Their son, Neal, is expected to have a major role in the team.

Vinod’s comments come on the heels of the first significant move under the Khosla family’s ownership. On Thursday, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Leonard Williams signed a contract extension that runs through 2029.

Shortly after the Khosla family was approved as owners, Vinod said the family is committed to keeping the Seahawks Super Bowl contenders.

“Our approach is generally going to be long-term focused,” he said. “That’s our inclination always. So keep winning, take a long-term approach, and learn a lot.”

Sports

‘The Athletic Football Show’ previews the 2026 Dallas Cowboys

Published

4 minutes ago

August 29, 2026

qasimgillani

Dallas Cowboys wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens

Wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are two big reasons why the Cowboys could have the best offense in the league this season. Dustin Bradford / Getty Images

The Athletic Football Show is previewing all 32 teams leading up to the start of the 2026 NFL season. Below are select quotes from the show’s preview of the Dallas Cowboys. The quotes are edited for clarity. You can watch the whole preview on YouTube and in the embedded video below, or listen to the full NFC East preview wherever you get your podcasts.

Derrik Klassen on what about the Cowboys most excites him: This might be the best offense in football. I just feel that they have all the right pieces. They have a quarterback who we’ve seen play at MVP heights before and put up some of the best passing numbers in the NFL. They have an offensive line that is young and really talented almost across the entire board. They have, outside of Cincinnati, the best one-two punch at wide receiver in the NFL. The offensive line was exciting last year, but they were a little bit banged up and a lot of those guys missed time. It wasn’t that many games, but when Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe played together, they had a 45.2 percent rushing success rate, according to TruMedia, which would have been tied for third in the league with the Chicago Bears. When they had their guys, they were mashing people. If they can get back to that in the second year in the system, this could be wheels up.

Robert Mays on what he’s watching the first month of the season: Can Christian Parker do this? People have said that I’m baking in an improvement from the Cowboys defense and how we talk about them, where I would typically be more speculative with a first-year play caller in other situations. I’m absolutely doing that. We collectively play the wait-and-see game so often on this show. And we do that because we understand the things we don’t know. But every once in a while, if you believe in something, if you have conviction about something, make a stand. I haven’t been shy about this. He’s got the goods and I think that they can do it. And yes, I’m baking that in a way that I wouldn’t with a coordinator I’ve never seen do this before.

Dave Helman on what’s keeping him up at night: We’ve been talking about it for two weeks, but at this point, across the NFL community, the defensive turnaround feels like a fait accompli. The Cowboys being a trendy Super Bowl pick because of a defensive turnaround that feels plausible but is entirely theoretical keeps me up at night.

I undermined myself a little bit when I looked at the DVOA stuff and saw that there’s plenty of precedent for units doing this. It’s not nuts. That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. And for all the teams I said had these big turnarounds, there were plenty that went from 31 to 27 or 32 to 24, and 24 is not going to be good enough to get where you’re trying to go.

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Sports

Umpire’s ABS nightmare: Bill Miller has 8 pitches challenged, each one overturned

Published

10 minutes ago

August 29, 2026

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By the end of Friday’s 10-8 win over the Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds were celebrating, Chicago was reeling with deep questions about its bullpen, and home plate umpire Bill Miller was left wondering where everything went wrong.

That’s because the 27-year veteran umpire and crew chief went 0-for-8 on ABS challenges, three by the Reds and five by the Cubs. Just nine plate appearances into the Friday matinee, Miller was charged with his first ABS challenge, on an 0-1 four-seamer from Cincinnati starter Rhett Lowder on the corner that should’ve been called a strike.

By the end of the ninth inning, eight in all were called, all overturned. Of those eight, only two were initially called strikes.

Cubs catcher Carson Kelly challenged four pitches, and Reds backstop Jose Trevino had two calls overturned. Each team had one successful challenge from a batter, the Reds’ Sal Stewart and the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki.

None of the challenges were initiated by Cincinnati backstop Tyler Stephenson, whose 88 overturns on 124 challenges lead all of baseball. Stephenson and Brewers catcher William Contreras are the only two players with at least 80 successful challenges this season.

Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time this season that Miller has drawn the ire of the Reds.

In the seventh inning of a mid-July game, Reds second baseman Edwin Arroyo ran into Miller while trying to field a grounder, leading to an extended inning for Caleb Ferguson. The left-hander did not take too kindly to Miller impeding his defense and the Mariners’ broadcast caught Ferguson’s expletive-filled tirade.

The very next day, Ferguson apologized for his actions, noting that he would seek out Miller to make things right.

“It’s just a very unprofessional thing on my part,” Ferguson said. “I know these things happen in the game, but I don’t like that I was kind of the centerpiece of what was going on.”

Using data gleaned from TapToChallenge.com, a website that tracks Automated Ball-Strike developments, Friday’s game at Wrigley Field is believed to be the worst since MLB introduced the ABS challenge system this season, as none of the eight challenges raised against Miller stood as called.

Even so, the distinction for the most challenges overturned against an umpire belongs to Clint Vondrak. In a June 8 game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Athletics, Vondrak faced 16 challenges and 11 were overturned (five from Milwaukee and six from the Athletics).

Miller can rest easy knowing that he did not set the record for most overturns in a game — he’s tied with Andy Fletcher, who had eight overturns in an April 1 game between the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals.

To his credit, Miller only ranks ninth in total number of calls overturned with 70. Hunter Wendelstedt, Dan Iassogna, Malachi Moore, Lance Barrett and Manny Gonzalez, in that order, lead the league in total number of overturned challenges.

“These umpires have a really, really, really difficult job,” Reds rookie Sal Stewart told The Athletic at the All-Star Game. “I only have to know my zone; they need to know the whole league’s zone. … I just want to say, man, the umpires have done a great job. This system, it’s not easy. They have to know a lot of people, different heights.”

Sports

How to watch Pirates vs. Cardinals: TV channel and streaming options for August 28

Published

17 minutes ago

August 29, 2026

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Aug. 28, 2026 Updated 8:15 pm EDT

The Pittsburgh Pirates visit the St. Louis Cardinals to open a three-game series at Busch Stadium, with first pitch at 8:15 p.m. ET on Friday. Jared Jones (2-5, 4.76 ERA) gets the start for the Pirates, who are 65-70 this season and fourth in the NL Central. Quinn Mathews (0-2, 6.43 ERA) is starting for the Cardinals, who are 67-68 and third in the NL Central.

How to watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Pirates vs. Cardinals odds

Favorite Moneyline: Pirates -118
Underdog Moneyline: Cardinals -102
Total: 7.5
Total Over Odds: -105
Total Under Odds: -115

Injury reports

Pirates

Endy Rodriguez: 10 Day IL (Hip), Ryan O’Hearn: 10 Day IL (Quadricep), Mitch Keller: 60 Day IL (Arm), Konnor Griffin: 60 Day IL (Finger)

Cardinals

Everson Pereira: 10 Day IL (Hand), Blaze Jordan: 10 Day IL (Ankle), Masyn Winn: 10 Day IL (Thumb), Peter Strzelecki: 15 Day IL (Forearm), Andre Pallante: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Hunter Dobbins: 15 Day IL (Forearm), Max Rajcic: 60 Day IL (Elbow)

Stats to know

Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds has hit 15 home runs this season. He has also tallied 66 RBIs and has scored 88 runs. In 587 plate appearances, he has recorded a .263 BA, .370 OBP and .425 SLG with a 13.1% walk rate and a 23.7% strikeout rate. He has been effective on the base paths, recording nine steals on nine attempts.
In 553 plate appearances, Brandon Lowe is hitting .249/.316/.470 with a .786 OPS. He has hit 27 long balls (17th in MLB), driven in 80 runs (13th in MLB) and scored 78 times.
St. Louis’ Alec Burleson is slashing .292/.356/.484 this season with 21 home runs, 99 RBIs (2nd in MLB) and an OPS of .840. He has a 16.6% strikeout rate and an 8.1% walk rate in 565 plate appearances, and he has scored 78 total runs.
In 560 plate appearances, Jordan Walker has hit 27 long balls (17th in MLB), tallied 97 RBIs (3rd in MLB) and scored 83 runs (14th in MLB). He is batting .286/.345/.502 and has posted a 24.3% strikeout rate and a 7.7% walk rate. Walker has recorded 18 steals on 23 attempts.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Photo: Jamie Squire, Ishika Samant, Scott Taetsch, Alika Jenner / Getty Images

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