Lady Raiders finish second in District Tournament

The Atlanta Falcons signed wide receivers Daylen Baldwin and OJ Hiliare and released tight end Tucker Fisk on Wednesday. Fisk, 25, had been with the Falcons since 2022, mostly on the practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster multiple times in 2023 and played in six games, making two starts. He caught his only target for a 9-yard reception. Baldwin, 24, played in one game for the Cleveland Browns in 2022 and caught his two targets for 25 yards. He was on the Browns' practice squad most of that season. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings in November 2023, later signing a reserve/future contract before his release on May 7. Hiliare is an undrafted free agent who played for Alabama A&M and later Bowling Green. --Field Level Media

Police arrested a man in Sarasota, Fla., on Wednesday and charged him with murder in the shooting that killed Auburn running back Brian Battie's brother. Battie and three other men were injured in the shooting, and the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office now has Darryl Bernard Brookins in custody as a suspect. Battie's brother, Tommy Battie IV, was pronounced dead at the scene at around 3:30 a.m. local time Saturday. Brookins' charges include murder and attempted murder as a felon in possession of a firearm. ESPN reported that it is unknown whether or not Brookins has an attorney yet. Brian Battie's condition is currently unclear, but in a social media post on X on Monday, Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said that the running back was "still on a ventilator" after experiencing a setback on Sunday night. After three seasons at South Florida, Brian Battie joined the Tigers for the 2023 campaign and rushed for 227 yards and a touchdown on 51 carries. He also ranked fourth in the Southeastern Conference in kick return average (23.0 yards). In his three seasons with the Bulls, Brian Battie rushed for 1,842 yards and 10 TDs in 31 games from 2020-22. He was a first-team All-America as a kick returner in 2021. Two women stating to be the godmothers of Brian Battie and his brother organized a GoFundMe to support the Battie family, and it had brought in over $96,000 thanks to 878 donations as of Wednesday evening. --Field Level Media

Baltimore Ravens star Lamar Jackson, the most prolific running quarterback in the league, aims to make it even tougher on opposing defenses this coming season. Coming off his second NFL Most Valuable Player award, Jackson has lost weight and appears slimmer at the team's OTAs this week. Though he didn't reveal his exact weight Wednesday, saying it was "two something," Jackson had said in a video posted by Complex Sports last week that he was at 205 pounds. He was 230 pounds in 2022 and 215 last season, when he passed for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns, and rushed for 821 yards and five scores in leading the Ravens to a 13-3 record in 16 regular-season starts. "I don't really know how many pounds I lost," said Jackson, 27. "I'm like two-something (pounds) right now. But I (will) just say it was important enough to be able to move around a little bit extra, that's all." The 6-foot-2 Jackson said he lost weight "just so I can be more agile and be able to move more." Jackson said he feels great at the lighter weight and as elusive as he's felt in years. He doesn't believe it will diminish his ability to take the physical pounding at his position -- particularly for running QBs. "We sacrifice our body each and every game (and) practices," he said. "I believe it really doesn't matter about the weight." His coach, John Harbaugh, doesn't sound concerned about a lighter -- and faster--Jackson. "I think that's Lamar, he's a pro," Harbaugh said. "He knows what he's doing. He knows where he wants to be with that. My concern is that he is in shape, best shape of his life." A three-time Pro Bowl selection and first-team All-Pro in 2019 and 2023, Jackson has passed for 15,887 yards and 125 TDs and rushed for 5,258 yards and 29 scores in 86 games (77 starts) since the Ravens selected him 32nd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Louisville. --Field Level Media

At the NFL annual spring meeting in Nashville, commissioner Roger Goodell resurfaced the idea of playing 18 games. Goodell closed the three-day rules and planning session Wednesday with another round of discussion about the potential of an 18-game regular season. The NFL season as constituted is 18 weeks with one bye week and 17 games for all 32 teams. But Goodell shared at the draft last month his thoughts on expanding to 18 regular-season games, trimming the preseason from three games to two and shaping the calendar to play the Super Bowl in February on the Sunday before Presidents Day -- a no-school, no-work Monday holiday for some -- to shift Super Bowl Sunday closer to holiday status. "Moving to quality and making sure that we're doing everything possible to give the fans what they want," Goodell said in a detailed answer to how the topic came up and its focus. There is a considerable bridge to cross to make it all happen, Goodell admitted Wednesday. "The key thing for us is looking at making sure we continue to do the things that make our game safer," Goodell said. "Seventeen games is a long season. ... That's No. 1. "Working with our players association is No. 2. We would reach an agreement with them if we're going to proceed on that. But also, third, and this is not necessarily in order, is the quality of our game. We would do it in the context of reducing the number of preseason games. We think that's a good trade: less preseason games and more regular-season games. I think most anybody would think that was beneficial. But again those other two factors are important." No existing committee is pushing the potential plan for 18 games per season forward. Goodell said he first broached the topic as a reaction to playing the Super Bowl on a Saturday night. "I wasn't floating something we were actively thinking about. It is something that we think about in long-term context," he said. On another subject, Goodell said he hasn't received an update on internal tampering investigations related to the Eagles signing Saquon Barkley or the Falcons landing Kirk Cousins. But the NFL is planning to finalize a plan toward establishing rules around private equity of a franchise by the end of 2024. "I think it's fair to say that they agree with the direction that we're going," he said. --Field Level Media

Roger Goodell resurfaces potential 18-game season at NFL meetings

David Patrick resigned as head men's basketball coach at Sacramento State on Wednesday to take the associate head coaching position at LSU. The Hornets promptly named associate head coach Michael Czepil as the interim head coach for the 2024-25 season. Patrick went 24-42 in two seasons in Sacramento. He played at Louisiana (formerly called Southwestern Louisiana) and was an assistant at LSU from 2012-16. Patrick led the Hornets to the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament this past season, marking the first time the Hornets won two games in their conference tourney. "My wife and her family are from Louisiana, and the opportunity to go home and be the associate head coach at LSU was something I could not turn down," Patrick said in a statement. Overall, Patrick is 51-80 as a head coach, having coached UC Riverside for two seasons (2018-20). Czepil, from Australia, was hired by Patrick in June 2022 and also coached under Patrick at UC Riverside. "I could not have witnessed a better example of what it means to be a program leader than working with DP," Czepil said. "I can't thank him enough for his mateship and investment in me over the years, and I am thrilled to continue the work that we've started at Sacramento State." --Field Level Media

Pittsburgh will host the 2026 NFL Draft, the league announced Wednesday at its spring league meetings in Nashville, Tenn. "The NFL Draft is one of the biggest, most-anticipated sporting events of the year, and we're thrilled to partner with the Pittsburgh Steelers and VisitPITTSBURGH for our 2026 event," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "We have a unique opportunity to spotlight this wonderful community on a global stage, benefiting Pittsburgh's economy and entertaining football fans from all markets. We know this pride of Pennsylvania will shine bright in 2026." Pittsburgh will serve as the 10th NFL city to host the draft since it moved from New York in 2015. The 2025 NFL Draft will be held in Green Bay, Wis. The 2024 draft, held last month in Detroit, drew a record crowd estimated at 775,000 over the three-day event. "We are excited that the City of Pittsburgh has been selected to host the 2026 NFL Draft," Steelers president Art Rooney II said. "This will be an amazing event that will highlight everything the region has to offer on a national and international level. ... We look forward to football fans from all across the country coming to enjoy our city's culture while also showcasing our rich football history and tradition in the region." --Field Level Media

Pittsburgh to host 2026 NFL Draft

The Atlantic Coast Conference will be working alongside the Big 12 in House v. NCAA, and it will vote to settle that case in addition to other antitrust cases related to it, ESPN reported Tuesday. A settlement is expected to pass, which would create a framework that would allow schools to give millions of dollars to athletes in the future. Former athletes who couldn't sign Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals would also have access to a fund of over $2.7 billion. There will be four more votes this week, with three coming from Power Five conferences and the other coming from the NCAA board of governors. Presidents of ACC schools voted in-person in Charlotte on Tuesday, the same day that presidents and chancellors of Big 12 universities met virtually to vote. Texas and Oklahoma, the departing members of the Big 12, stayed away from that vote, which resulted in unanimous approval. ESPN's report indicated that conferences are putting forth little resistance to the settlement, and the NCAA is also in the same boat. The Pac-12 will be voting as a 12-team conference, the way it was when the House v. NCAA case was filed. As part of the settlement, the NCAA would have to pay over $2.7 billion in back damages over a decade. About $1.6 billion of that won't be given to the schools. Schools are trying to settle to avoid things spiraling further out of control in the future, something that legal experts foresee happening because of the NCAA's poor track record in court cases, per ESPN's report. --Field Level Media

Though his coach insisted there was "nothing to worry about," Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams will miss voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) with a foot issue. Coach Sean McVay said Williams will return in time for training camp. "He'll be ready to go for training camp, but there's a little issue when he was training," McVay told reporters "And (I'll) kind of just leave it at that. But nothing to be concerned about." Williams broke his foot during 2022 OTAs and missed seven weeks near the beginning of his rookie campaign. Then, he missed four games in the middle of last season with an ankle injury and also sat out Week 18 when many starters rested. That didn't stop him from ranking third in the NFL in rushing, as Williams put up 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns on 228 attempts despite playing just 12 games (11 starts). Williams, 23, figures to be the Rams' No. 1 running back again in 2024, though the team drafted Michigan's Blake Corum in the third round. "(Williams) is doing an excellent job physically, feeling really good," McVay said. "He'll be ready to roll and be a consistent producer for us this year." --Field Level Media