
Kouassi scores and assists in Spirit's 3-2 win over Stars
Rosemonde Kouassi had a goal and an assist and the Washington Spirit beat the Chicago Stars 3-2 in the National Women's Soccer League on Saturday.
Gift Monday scored the winning goal when she tapped in Kouassi's pass in the 80th minute.
Elsewhere in the NWSL, the Portland Thorns got a late penalty for a 1-1 draw with the San Diego Wave; and the North Carolina Courage tied 1-1 with the Orlando Pride.
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Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago Stars players started trivia nights for fun. The result was a stronger team bond.
The NWSL season is long, with games starting in March and rolling through November. The Chicago Stars have found a fun way to release the pressures of the year — and bond. The soccer players meet up weekly to try their hand at Waddayaknow Trivia, a free event started in 2008 at multiple bars in Illinois to keep family and friends connected in the Chicago area. Everyone needs a break, but trivia keeps the mental — and competitive — juices going. 'It's really nice to connect to something that's not on the field,' said defender Sam Staab, who has one goal and one assist this season. While Staab and the rest of her teammates knew each other to a degree, they were not the 'closest of friends' starting out. But playing trivia has brought them closer than ever. 'Now they look forward to hanging out every (week) and shoot the s—,' Staab said. 'Eat, play some trivia, hang out and catch up. So it's fun, and not soccer, which is really fun, too.' For the 1-2-8 Stars, formerly the Red Stars, they discovered these trivia nights at a normal team hangout at a bar. The club met up in 2024 to watch Caitlin Clark — whose Indiana Fever visited the Chicago Sky at United Center on June 7 — break the college basketball scoring record in her senior season at Iowa. A worker came up to the group with a suggestion. 'We were having dinner at the place and they (said to) come up and sign up for trivia and it starts in 20 minutes,' Stabb said. 'We all looked (at each other) and said 'Oh my gosh, we should totally play.'' The competitive spirit of the Stars looks the same whether on the pitch or guessing trivia answers. Once a year, there is a Tournament of Champions where over 300 teams compete for a grand prize. The Stars take the event 'seriously,' as well as the weekly qualifiers. 'You wager what you think is best for each answer, so Sam is also our wagerer,' midfielder Shea Groom said. Staab added: 'And I keep people on track as well. I'm a control freak, if you couldn't tell.' The Stars won their most recent round of trivia, with a full squad on hand: Along with Groom and Stabb, the group included forward Catherine Barry, defender Hannah Anderson, midfielder Maitane Lopez, forward Ava Cook, goalkeeper Halle Mackiewicz and defender Justina Gaynor. Each player has their individual role for answering questions, with random knowledge a necessity. Hailing from different areas of the globe brings a worldwide perspective to the trivia team, which is an advantage. 'We all went to college for different things, where maybe other teams work together and are in the same field,' Groom said. 'Ava is our music expert, Alyssa (Naeher) is pretty much random knowledge and I like to claim U.S. geography and African geography. We really balance each other out.' 'We have this diverse background,' Staab said. 'We're able to answer a lot of questions, or just have at least educated guesses on a lot of things. And we just kind of kept going with it.' The squad — named Cheeseburgers in Paradise — is on a winning streak now, claiming victory in their last two trivia outings. They usually finish in the Top Five, with the first-place prize a $50 restaurant credit. 'We got into a streak where we were up to probably $300, then we started (buying) dinner and actually eating,' Groom said. There's not a certain method of training for trivia days, as any question in any category can pop up on any given day. Categories can sway from old sitcoms to presidential history. Groom tries to stay prepared each week, as much as she can be, at least. 'I memorized the entire map of Africa,' Groom said. The trivia nights are 'pretty chill,' a welcome feeling for any professional athlete. And when sports is your day job, you might as well play that card when it helps. 'There was a question about the World Cup that Alyssa (Naeher) knew, and we wrote on the bottom (and asked) if we get extra points if we have a winner,' Groom said, referring to the Stars goalkeeper's two World Cup wins. 'And they did give us extra points.'


New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
The Big Ten's 10 biggest offseason moves, from Penn State returnees to key QB additions
Having 18 teams means the Big Ten's offseasons are bigger, too. This was a quiet year for coaching changes, as Purdue (Barry Odom) is the only Big Ten program with a new head coach. That doesn't mean Big Ten teams have been standing still since Ohio State raised the national championship trophy in January. New quarterbacks and new coordinators are prime movers for Big Ten teams hoping to build on last year's success and those trying to join the College Football Playoff crowd. Advertisement Narrowing the list of offseason moves to the 10 most significant is no easy task, but that's why we're here. These are the portal pickups, coaching changes and recruiting battles that will shape the Big Ten race in 2025. Other big offseason moves: ACC | Big 12 In a down year for quarterbacks, Allar could have been one of the top players drafted had he turned pro after his junior season. His decision to play another year at Penn State cemented the Nittany Lions as a national title contender and the potential preseason Big Ten favorite. Penn State has cycled through quite a few offensive coordinators before hitting on a combination that worked with Allar and Andy Kotelnicki. In his second season as starter, Allar completed 66.5 percent of his passes with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions while leading Penn State to the College Football Playoff semifinals. His shot at a signature drive ended with an interception that propelled Notre Dame into the national championship game, making Penn State the official 'Unfinished Business' team for 2025. That worked out well for Ohio State in 2024 and Michigan in 2023. Players like running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen and defensive linemen Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant also made key decisions to return, while Penn State brought in Devonte Ross (Troy), Kyron Hudson (USC) and Trebor Pena (Syracuse) via the transfer portal to reboot Allar's receiving corps. The saga of Iamaleava leaving Tennessee and transferring to UCLA would have made the perfect storyline for a Big Ten 'Hard Knocks'-style documentary. A quarterback who led his team to the CFP held out for a better NIL deal, ended up in the transfer portal, then signed with the rebuilding Bruins. To complete the quarterback swap, Tennessee signed Joey Aguilar, the Appalachian State transfer who was set to play for UCLA until Iamaleava came on board. Advertisement UCLA, which finished 5-7 in DeShaun Foster's first season, could afford to gamble on a talented quarterback who came with some strings attached. Anyone who tuned out on the Bruins after a 1-5 start missed a 4-2 finish that included wins against Nebraska and Iowa and a competitive loss to USC. Iamaleava should upgrade UCLA's passing game, though his most recent taste of Big Ten football, a 42-17 loss to Ohio State in the CFP, wasn't particularly pleasant. Whatever else it accomplished, this move got people talking about the Bruins. Speaking of 'Hard Knocks'-style drama, how about Ohio State's defensive coordinator joining a conference rival days after winning a national championship with the Buckeyes? Despite Knowles' success in Columbus, there was an undercurrent of tension that came to a head after the CFP championship game. Knowles did what he was hired to do and delivered a championship-caliber defense for Ryan Day. Now he's making more than $3 million per year to deliver the same results for James Franklin at Penn State. It's not as though Penn State's defense has been the problem. The Nittany Lions were second in the FBS in defensive yards per play in 2023 under Manny Diaz (now the head coach at Duke) and sixth last season under Tom Allen (now the defensive coordinator at Clemson). Knowles' job is to maintain that standard of success while finding a replacement for Abdul Carter, the No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft. Michigan had the Big Ten's most unstable quarterback situation last season in averaging 129.1 passing yards per game — more than only Air Force, Army and Navy in the FBS. The solution? Sign the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the country, who grew up a few miles from Michigan's campus but originally committed to LSU. Michigan pulled out all the stops to flip Underwood, getting help from Tom Brady and billionaire Larry Ellison. It appears the Wolverines won't have to wait long for their investment to mature. With Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene sidelined by an injury, Underwood took starter's reps in the spring and showed he can lead the team. He'll have to hold off Keene in preseason camp, but all signs indicate he'll be on the field sooner rather than later. The pairing of Underwood and new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey will go a long way toward determining whether Michigan can get back to the CFP. Advertisement This was the corresponding move after Knowles left for Penn State, and it's a consequential one for the Big Ten race. Patricia is a former New England Patriots defensive coordinator who, like many ex-Bill Belichick assistants, flamed out as an NFL head coach. Hiring him to fill one of the prime coordinator jobs in college football is bound to invite scrutiny. Detroit Lions fans don't have many fond memories of Patricia, but Ohio State didn't hire him to be its head coach. His job is to run a defense that lost some key pieces but returns one of the best players in college football in safety Caleb Downs. The Buckeyes may need their defense to shoulder the load while a new quarterback, likely former five-star recruit Julian Sayin, gets comfortable. The Ducks are reloading after winning a conference championship in their first season in the Big Ten. They have a lot to replace, especially if top wideout Evan Stewart misses significant time with an injury. The drop-off shouldn't be too big thanks to a deep portal class that's been hailed as one of the best in college football. Oregon beefed up its offensive line with transfers Isaiah World (Nevada), Emmanuel Pregnon (USC) and Alex Harkey (Texas State). Running back Makhi Hughes rushed for nearly 2,800 yards in two seasons at Tulane, and safety Dillon Thieneman is a tackling machine who was the Big Ten's freshman of the year at Purdue in 2023. Oregon also signed a pair of well-traveled talents in defensive lineman Bear Alexander (formerly of Georgia and USC) and wide receiver Malik Benson, a junior college star who had stops at Alabama and Florida State. The players Oregon added on offense should make life easier on quarterback Dante Moore, one of the top players in last year's portal class. It's not the posts themselves, it's what they represent. Whether he's dunking his face in a bowl of cucumber water, needling his rivals or taking jabs at the SEC, Bielema is posting with the confidence of a coach who just signed a contract extension after leading Illinois to one of its best seasons in a quarter-century. Day 1,558 as @IlliniFootball head coach (spring practice 4 prep) — Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) March 26, 2025 Going 10-3 at Illinois and beating South Carolina in a bowl game is proof that happiness exists outside of the CFP bubble. Illinois has its sights set even higher this season with the return of Luke Altmyer, one of the top quarterbacks in the Big Ten. Whatever happens, let's hope Bielema keeps posting through it. If you've wondered what Iowa would look like with competent quarterback play, you might finally get an answer. The Hawkeyes have subjected their fans to some brutal offensive football in recent years but took a baby step last season with the hiring of offensive coordinator Tim Lester. Now Iowa has its quarterback in Mark Gronowski, an FCS All-American from South Dakota State. Advertisement Iowa's defense, running game and special teams have been elite, but the passing game has been atrocious. Maybe Gronowski can fix that. A quarterback who threw for more than 10,000 yards and won a pair of national championships at the FCS level should be a clear upgrade. We'll see if that's enough to raise Iowa's ceiling beyond the Citrus Bowl. The ice is getting thinner for Lincoln Riley. The Trojans finished 7-6 in their Big Ten debut, a second consecutive underwhelming season for Riley. In somewhat curious timing, Riley parted ways with strength coach Bennie Wylie after spring practice and hired Trumain Carroll from Kansas State. Wylie, like ex-DC Alex Grinch before him, was part of Riley's staff at Oklahoma. Parting with another longtime staffer could be a tacit admission that USC needs to build its team differently to compete in the Big Ten. Losses at Michigan, Minnesota and Maryland took the air out of USC's season and exposed the Trojans' issues in the trenches. A partial offseason with a new strength coach won't make a massive difference, but it should show whether the Trojans are any closer to contending in the Big Ten. Curt Cignetti worked wonders last year with Kurtis Rourke, the Ohio transfer who led the Hoosiers to an unexpected run to the CFP. So what can Indiana do with a quarterback who's showing up in the first round of the early 2026 mock drafts? Mendoza flew under the radar at Cal, but draft evaluators like his size and his arm. Plugging him into an offense that ranked No. 2 in the FBS in scoring makes a ton of sense for both sides. The Hoosiers won't sneak up on anybody this season, but plenty of people viewed Indiana as a Cinderella team that benefited from a favorable schedule before getting smacked with reality in the CFP. Cignetti seems to thrive on that kind of skepticism. Another strong portal class and a big year from Mendoza could put the Hoosiers right back in the CFP chase. (Top photo of Nick Singleton and Drew Allar: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
2025 U.S. Open golf tournament: How to watch, full TV schedule, tee times and more
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change. Scottie Scheffler will play at the 125th U.S. Open this week. Here's how you can tune in to the Open when it begins on June 12. () The 125th U.S. Open golf tournament will take place from June 12-15, 2025, at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, marking the tenth time the club has hosted the competition. This year's field of 156 competitors includes last year's winner, Bryson DeChambeau, along with top players like Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele competing for the Jack Nicklaus Medal. Fans can tune in to the action across several channels and platforms, including NBC, USA and Peacock; here's a comprehensive rundown of how to watch the 125th U.S. Open when it begins this week. How to watch the U.S. Open: Date: June 12-15, 2025 Advertisement TV channels: NBC, USA Network Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more When is the 2025 U.S. Open golf tournament? The U.S. Open runs from June 12-15, 2025. Where will the 2025 U.S. Open be held? The U.S. Open will be held at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania this year. What channel is the 2025 U.S. Open on? The U.S. Open will be broadcast USA and NBC. How to stream the U.S. Open without cable: You can catch most of the tournament's biggest moments this year on Peacock. If you've cut the cord but don't have a Peacock subscription, NBC and USA are also available with subscriptions to Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and DirecTV. U.S. Open Broadcast Schedule (All Times ET) Advertisement Thursday, June 12 6 a.m.-5 p.m. (USA) 7 a.m.-8 p.m. (Peacock) Friday, June 13 6:30 a.m.-1 p.m. (Peacock) 1-7 p.m. (NBC) 7-8 p.m. (Peacock) Saturday, June 14 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (USA) 12-8 p.m. (NBC) 10 a.m.-8 p.m (Peacock) Sunday, June 15 9 a.m.-12 p.m. (USA) 12-7 p.m. (NBC) 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (Peacock) U.S. Open Round One tee times: All times are ET. 6:45 a.m. (1) : Matt Vogt (a), Kevin Velo, Trent Phillips 6:45 a.m. (10) : Zac Blair, Scott Vincent, Alistair Docherty 6:56 a.m. (1) : Chandler Blanchet, Alvaro Ortiz, Doug Ghim 6:56 a.m. (10) : Jacques Kruyswijk, Jordan Smith, Eric Cole 7:07 a.m. (1) : Evan Beck (a), Maxwell Moldovan, Justin Hicks 7:07 a.m. (10) : Tom Kim, J.J. Spaun, Taylor Pendrith 7:18 a.m. (1) : Harris English, Keegan Bradley, Tommy Fleetwood 7:18 a.m. (10) : Ludvig Åberg, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama 7:29 a.m. (1) : Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, Jose Luis Ballester Barrio 7:29 a.m. (10) : Ben Griffin, Andrew Novak, Maverick McNealy 7:40 a.m. (1) : Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Gary Woodland 7:40 a.m. (10) : Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy 7:51 a.m. (1) : Akshay Bhatia, Matt McCarty, Robert MacIntyre 7:51 a.m. (10) : Patrick Cantlay, Si Woo Kim, Lucas Glover 8:02 a.m. (1) : Cam Davis, Davis Thompson, Thomas Detry 8:02 a.m. (10) : Cameron Smith, Brian Harman, Phil Mickelson 8:13 a.m. (1) : Richard Bland, Trevor Gutschewski (a), Lanto Griffin 8:13 a.m. (10) : Niklas Norgaard, Brian Campbell, Justin Lower 8:24 a.m. (1) : Edoardo Molinari, Sam Stevens, Ryan Gerard 8:24 a.m. (10) : Davis Riley, Jackson Koivun (a), Johnny Keefer 8:35 a.m. (1) : Thriston Lawrence, Noah Kent (a), Thorbjørn Olesen 8:35 a.m. (10) : James Hahn, Mark Hubbard, Michael La Sasso (a) 8:46 a.m. (1) : Jinichiro Kozuma, Cameron Tankersley (a), Chase Johnson 8:46 a.m. (10) : Joakim Langergren, Mason Howell (a), Chris Gotterup 8:57 a.m. (1) : Philip Barbaree, Riley Lewis, Brady Calkins 8:57 a.m. (10) : Zach Bauchou, Jackson Buchanan, Lance Simpson (a) 12:30 p.m. (1) : Frederic LeCroix, Emiliano Grillo, Sam Bairstow 12:30 p.m. (10) : Will Chandler, Andrea Pavan, Takumi Kanaya 12:41 p.m. (1) : Byeung Hun An, Joe Highsmith, Ryan Fox 12:41 p.m. (10) : Bryan Lee (a), Guido Migliozzi, Preston Summerhays 12:52 p.m. (1) : Victor Perez, Jacob Bridgeman, Adam Schenk 12:52 p.m. (10) : Erik van Rooyen, Max Greyserman, Matt Wallace 1:03 p.m. (1) : Min Woo Lee, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka 1:03 p.m. (10) : Russell Henley, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Nick Taylor 1:14 p.m. (1) : Sam Burns, Nico Echavarria, Denny McCarthy 1:14 p.m. (10) : Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson 1:25 p.m. (1) : Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler 1:25 p.m. (10) : Tyrrell Hatton, Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka 1:36 p.m. (1) : Corey Conners, Jason Day, Patrick Reed 1:36 p.m. (10) : Cameron Young, Tom Hoge, J.T. Poston 1:47 p.m. (1) : Joaquin Niemann, Bud Cauley, Daniel Berger 1:47 p.m. (10) : Jhonattan Vegas, Michael Kim, Matthieu Pavon 1:58 p.m. (1) : MacKenzie Hughes, Tony Finau, Chris Kirk 1:58 p.m. (10) : Marc Leishman, Aaron Rai, Nick Dunlap 2:09 p.m. (1) : Ben James (a), Rasmus Højgaard, Stephan Jaeger 2:09 p.m. (10) : Matthew Jordan, Yuta Sugiura, Carlos Ortiz 2:20 p.m. (1) : Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson, Justin Hastings (a), Laurie Canter 2:20 p.m. (10) : Ryan McCormick, Trevor Cone, Zachary Pollo (a) 2:31 p.m. (1) : Frankie Harris (a), Emilio Gonzalez, Roberto Díaz 2:31 p.m. (10) : James Nicholas, Tyler Weaver (a), Riki Kawamoto 2:42 p.m. (1) : Grant Haefner, Joey Herrera, George Kneiser 2:42 p.m. (10): Austin Truslow, Harrison Ott, George Duangmanee a=amateur 1 or 10=starting hole More ways to watch the U.S. Women's Open: