Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno’s recent comments have the Major League Baseball Players’ Association ticked off. 

Moreno was speaking with reporters on Friday when he mentioned that the “number one thing fans want is affordability” to attend games during the MLB season, per the Orange County Register.

But that wasn’t the worst of it, as Moreno said, “Winning is not in their top five,” referencing data the organization procured themselves.

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Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno gets ready for a game against the Kansas City Royals at Tempe Diablo Stadium on March 14, 2025. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)

“They want affordability,” Moreno said to reporters. “They want safety, and they want a good experience when they come to the ballpark. Believe it or not, winning is not in their top five.”

Bruce Meyer, the new head of the MLBPA following Tony Clark’s resignation, said “the players took notice” of Moreno’s comments, while the union did as well. 

“The bottom line is players are competitors,” Meyer told The Athletic. “They grew up competing every day. They go out, and they try their hardest to win every game. And players want to see owners doing the same thing.”

It may be hard for players to hear their owner isn’t focused on winning, especially those on the Angels’ roster like future Hall of Fame center fielder Mike Trout, who hasn’t seen playoff baseball since 2014. 

In fact, that was the last season the Angels finished the regular season over .500 (98-64), where they eventually lost in the ALDS. Since then, the best record the Angels have finished with was 85-77 in 2015. 

It’s been a rough go of it for the AL West franchise despite years with Shohei Ohtani and Trout on the roster, though the latter dealt with numerous injuries along the way. 

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Texas Rangers in a baseball game Thursday, June 15, 2023, in Arlington, Texas.  (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)

Last season, Los Angeles finished 72-90 for last place once again in the division after going 63-99 the year prior. 

Given the Angels are in a large market on the West Coast, one would suspect them to be a contender each year and a popular destination. However, that hasn’t been the case, and the product has suffered in the win-loss column in recent seasons.

On the other side of town, the Los Angeles Dodgers have become the franchise envied by fans and teams alike given their massive spending spree and utilizing deferred money to field an All-Star roster that continues to get better by the year. 

MLB ALL-STARS REACT TO DODGERS’ MASSIVE $400 MILLION PAYROLL FOR 2026 SEASON: ‘I F—ING LOVE IT’

“If you can’t have a successful operation in Los Angeles, it’s hard to see what the problem is,” Meyer said. “It’s easy to make excuses, but certainly the Los Angeles Angels have resources to compete in every respect.

“To come out and say that winning is not a priority, not even in the top five priorities, is really pretty remarkable.”

Moreno’s focus seems to be on how he can continue to put customers in the seats at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. The team was 13th in MLB for total attendance last season (2,615,506).

“Moms make about 80% of the decisions,” Moreno continued. “They want to be able to bring their kids and be affordable and they want safety and they want to have a good experience, so they get all the entertainment stuff or whatever. The purists, you know, it’s just straight winning.”

Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno reacts during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Angel Stadium on May 10, 2022. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

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Moreno, who is worth $5 billion according to Forbes, sees a payroll around $188 million for the 2026 season, which sits 15th in MLB. The franchise is currently dealing with its TV rights, too, having left Main Street Sports Group.

“Will [payroll] get back to $200 million? Probably,” Moreno said. “We’ve got to get our TV thing worked out, and we just have to improve our brand.”

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18-year-old forward Chido Obi has not been given any Premier League minutes this season despite being on the fringes under former Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim

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Manchester United youngster Chido Obi scored four goals for the under-21s against Leicester City on Monday as United’s first-team were in action at Everton. United fast-tracked Obi into the first-team set-up after his arrival from Arsenal last season with Ruben Amorim’s side struggling in the final third.

The Danish youth international made seven first-team appearances, but the club made the decision to move him back into the academy set up to continue his development. As the Manchester Evening News reported earlier this month, that plan was set before the 2025/26 campaign to keep the youngster away from the spotlight.

Obi has featured in just one senior matchday squad this season, the 1-1 draw with Wolves at Old Trafford, but was an unused substitute in one of Amorim’s final games in charge of the club.

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He’s been a regular in the EFL Trophy, National League Cup, FA Youth Cup, Premier League 2 and International under-21s Cup, with Obi believed to be learning more in those academy fixtures.

There have also been fewer first-team games this season due to the lack of European football and early cup exits, with Obi benefitting from that decision.

United reaped the rewards against the Foxes, with Obi opening the scoring in the 37th minute. Their lead would last just a few minutes with Leicester equalising through Lorenz Hutchinson.

That didn’t deter the young Reds, with Obi responding almost immediately, scoring his second goal in added on time at the end of the first half.

Things went from bad to worse for Leicester when Reiss Khela was shown a red card in the 75th minute. United turned the screw and put the result beyond any doubt with Obi completing his hat-trick in the 88th minute, scoring another five minutes later to wrap up the scoring and bag his fourth.

The youngster took to social media to pose with the match ball, holding four fingers in the air to symbolise each goal scored.

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United have been keen to stress the importance of taking their time with the young striker. Speaking back in September, Travis Binnion told the Manchester Evening News: “It’s not easy for him because people look at him like he’s a big kid. The key thing there is he’s still very young, he’s still learning his game.

“Because he’s had exposure with the first-team, I think people expect performance levels that are really consistent and really high. You’ve got first-team players across the country who don’t do that.

“The expectation on him is high, but he has to deliver the basics, and what he did from minute 30 to 80 when he came off is he pressed, he ran and he occupied two centre halves to give other players space on the pitch to exploit, which is why we dominated the ball.

“I’m really pleased with him and we haven’t even scraped the top of the iceberg with him. He’s got loads to come. That will come from how he sees the game, keeps working hard and recognises he has stuff to develop because that’s always a challenge when you have that first-team exposure and then you go away and have to start working on things.”

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Binnion added: “When you score as many goals as he has throughout his relatively short life, you can define yourself by goals. And we all know there’s probably only two or three strikers in the world who get two goals in every three games.

“If you’re used to scoring two goals in every game, then recognising what the role is, how you have to go around it takes a little bit of time. He is dying to be a footballer.

“He is hungry. And he’s still learning the game, learning how to project himself and learning how to play within a team, the club’s shape and system, so there’s still lots for him to do. The key is he wants to play, he wants to do well and wants to train. He could train every day if he could.”

Holders Chelsea will host either Tottenham Hotspur or London City Lionesses in the Women’s FA Cup quarter-finals.

WSL 2 side Birmingham City welcome WSL leaders Manchester City, while Brighton will travel to 14-time FA Cup winners Arsenal.

The final tie is WSL 2 leaders Charlton Athletic against WSL strugglers Liverpool.

The fixtures are set to be played on Sunday, 5 April.

Spurs and the Lionesses are playing the remaining fifth-round tie on Monday evening.

Six-time winners Chelsea reached the quarters-final on Sunday after beating Manchester United 2-1, thanks to an extra-time goal from defender Naomi Girma.

The U.S. men’s hockey team arrived in Florida on Monday hours after winning the gold medal in a thrilling overtime win over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The players flew to Miami International Airport and will begin the celebratory festivities. The team is set to revel at E11EVEN MIAMI nightclub later in the night.

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Jack Hughes (86) of the United States celebrates with teammates after scoring the game-winning goal against Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026. (Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)

U.S. fans, some with signs, waited for their arrival into the terminal with bated breath – and when they did, jubilation.

Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk showed off their gold medals to the cameras.

“We’re gonna celebrate for a few days,” Hughes told reporters at the airport.

The team will go to an upscale restaurant for dinner before continuing their celebration at one of Miami’s famous clubs.

Hughes gave the U.S. the gold on Sunday when he scored in overtime, getting the puck past Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington. The U.S. won 2-1.

Connor Hellebuyck of United States celebrates after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026. (David W Cerny/Reuters via Imagn Images)

“This is all about our country right now. I love the USA. I love my teammates. It’s unbelievable. The U.S. are a hockey brotherhood. It’s so strong and we had so much support from ex-players. I’m so proud to be American today,” Hughes told NBC after the game.

The team celebrated in the locker room and FBI Director Kash Patel was the go-between for the team and President Donald Trump.

Trump invited the team to his State of the Union address, which is set to take place on Tuesday.

“I’ll tell you what. I just told my people two minutes ago, I didn’t know they’d be calling, I said we’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night,” Trump said. “I can send a military plane or something, but if you would like to, it’s the coolest night, it’s the biggest speech …”

One player cut off Trump and said, “We’re in.”

“We’ll get Kash, and we’ll get the military to get you guys over,” Trump continued. “You won’t have to worry about the weather or landing. We don’t care if it’s snowing or if it’s the worst blizzard – we’ll be sailing through like you did on the ice.”

Jack Eichel (9) of the United States greets fans after the game against Slovakia in a men’s ice hockey semifinal during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 20, 2026. (Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)

It’s unclear if the team will attend.

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House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News that they were still working out the logistics of them attending the event.

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Genshin Impact has officially released the details of all characters and weapons featured on the Phase I banners of the Luna V update. The long-awaited Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, Varka, will be released during the Phase I character banners. His signature weapon, Gest of the Might Wolf, will also be featured on the Weapon banner.

The Phase I Character and Weapon banners will be available from February 25, 2026, till March 17, 2026. Flins will have a rerun banner, and his signature weapon will be featured alongside Varka’s weapon.

On that note, this article lists the details of all characters and weapons that will be featured in the first half of the Genshin Impact Luna V update.

Phase I banners for Genshin Impact Luna V

As mentioned, the Phase I banners for the Genshin Impact Luna V update will be released globally on February 25, 2026, at 11 am (UTC+8), and they will be available until March 17, 2026. Varka and Flins are the featured 5-star characters during these banners, and their signature weapons will also be featured on the Weapon banner, Epitome Invocation.

Since the Phase I banners typically release along with the new update, players can pull for the new characters and weapons as soon as the maintenance for the Luna V update ends.

Phase I Character banners

Here’s the list of all units that are featured on the Phase I character banners in Luna V:

• Varka (5-star Anemo Claymore)
• Flins (5-star Electro Polearm)
• Bennett (4-star Pyro Sword)
• Sucrose (4-star Anemo Catalyst)
• Xiangling (4-star Pyro Polearm)

Varka is the new character who will be released alongside the Luna V update. He is an Anemo DPS that can deal other Elemental DMG types, based on his team composition. Meanwhile, Flins is an Electro DPS whose teams primarily revolve around the Lunar-Charged Elemental reaction.

Phase I Weapon banner

Here’s a list of all weapons that are featured during the Phase I Weapon banner in the Luna V update:

• Gest of the Might Wolf (5-star Claymore, Varka’s signature weapon)
• Bloodsoaked Ruins (5-star Polearm, Flins’ signature weapon)
• Sacrificial Fragments (4-star Catalyst)
• Sacrificial Bow (4-star Bow)
• Favonius Greatsword (4-star Claymore)
• Favonius Sword (4-star Sword)
• Sacrificer’s Staff (4-star Polearm)

The signature weapons for both Varka and Flins will be featured on the Weapon banner, Epitome Invocation.

Also read: Genshin Impact Varka’s signature weapon leaked

Chronicled Wish Ode to the Dawn Breeze

HoYoverse has also announced that a new Mondstadt Chronicled Wish will be available during the first half of the Luna V update. This new banner features some 5-star characters and weapons from Mondstadt, and will be available from February 25, 2026, to March 17, 2026.

Here’s the list of all 5-star characters on this Chronicled Wish:

• Eula (Cryo Claymore)
• Klee (Pyro Catalyst)
• Albedo (Geo Sword)
• Mona (Hydro Catalyst)
• Diluc (Pyro Claymore)
• Jean (Anemo Sword)

Meanwhile, here are all the weapons that will be featured on the same banner:

• Song of Broken Pines (5-star Claymore)
• Elegy for the End (5-star Bow)
• Wolf’s Gravestone (5-star Claymore)
• Aquilla Favonia (5-star Sword)
• Skyward Spine (5-star Polearm)
• Lost Prayer to the Sacred Winds (5-star Catalyst)
• Skyward Blade (5-star Sword)
• Skyward Pride (5-star Claymore)
• Skyward Atlas (5-star Catalyst)
• Skyward Harp (5-star Bow)

Similar to the previous iterations of the Chronicled Wish, this banner will also feature all the 4-star characters and weapons from the Mondstadt region.

Also read: Genshin Impact Luna V first phase event schedule