Sports

How 5 days of club fittings changed my mind on golf equipment

Published

2 months ago

12 February 2026

In early December, when I arrived in Carlsbad, California — home to (most) of the best golf club manufacturers in the world — it felt a bit like those first few days of college.

My future was spelled out — a week bopping around Southern California, from company to company, getting “Fully Fit” for new golf clubs at each spot. And I was as froshy as 7-handicaps get — anxiously interested in being there, in much the same way my 18-year-old self was anxiously interested in going to the University of Wisconsin. I understood my game upon arrival, but I also knew this experience would be very good for me. I knew I would learn a ton, would have a bunch of people looking after me, and that I’d probably make some friends along the way. These collegial vibes made sense, I would soon learn, because like many things in golf, an equipment journey can feel a lot like college. There are entry-level classes, courses mandatory for a major, and 700-level things like Spin Loft waiting to trip you up.

You can be lazy about it and not care, electing for the bliss of ignorance. Someone else may pay for your equipment, just as many parents pay for their children’s schooling. You can declare your intentions for a major just like you can declare your commitment to one manufacturer. Maybe your friend declared the same way, and you wanted to be like them. That can be a costly decision when you suddenly change things up years later.

Of course, another option is … leaning all the way in to an equipment education, seizing on the opportunity and coming out on the other side feeling like a graduate. (Knowing, of course, that there’s always a deeper version of golfy graduate school if you want to press on.) This stuff is costly, too! Just like higher ed. You want to get it right. That’s why I was there. I wanted to get it right.

To keep this analogy going, we’ll say I had dropped out of my equipment education years ago. Cobra gave me a great opportunity in 2016, asking me to claim whatever set of sticks I wanted. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, so I asked for a set of forged blades — the ones Rickie Fowler used to win the 2015 Players Championship — and told myself, You’ll learn how to hit them.

Sean Zak Fully Fit — Do clubs’ looks really matter? This 7-handicap thinks so | Fully Fit 2026

By:

Sean Zak

This sent me down a bad path, in part because I did learn. My ball-striking improved from sheer practice alone, and my handicap improved alongside it. But was I ever meant to play those blades? I ditched the Cobras for a set of unforgiving Mizunos a few years later, obsessed with how they looked, and then played a set of Titleist blades after that.

It was probably never meant to be that way. Between my action, my commitment to the game and my age, it has become clear that playing a set of butterknife irons — besides boosting my ego — led to gapping issues and extreme inconsistency toward the long end of the bag. And what my trip to California validated, day after day, was that there’s a promised land somewhere just outside of Bladesville.

TDay 1 was at TaylorMade’s Kingdom, where the difference between P770s, PTWs, P790s and P7CBs finally registered for me — much more than the letters and numbers in those names ever did before. My TaylorMade fitter waffled between putting me into Project X 6.5 (extra-stiff) and 6.0 (stiff) shafts, to match my Tour-average swing speed.

“Why are you swinging a telephone pole?” he asked. My eyes wide, my mind racing, I hoped he was joking. “That’s what Rory McIlroy uses,” he continued, chuckling. “You don’t swing like Rory McIlroy.”

And he was right. But as the fitting went on, I warmed up and felt comfort in those 6.5-stiffness shafts because, well, I had grooved a swing to match them over the years, and that swing wasn’t producing horrible results. So we actually stuck with them.

Sean Zak golf.com — The author learned a ton about his golf equipment.
Adam Christensen/GOLF

A day later, at Titleist, we learned even more. The gamers I arrived with were Titleist T100s, made for the very consistent ball-striker who has no problem hitting trajectory heights consistently. I can groove a nice, high flight with everything from 7-iron through pitching wedge, which made those clubs a fine fit. But it was 4i, 5i and 6i that were always a bit fickle. Any of my strikes toward the heel or toe always failed to fly the distance I needed, and often spun a lot more, too. But as we worked through different iron heads, we found something:

T150s and their extra forgiveness just outside the sweet spot — right in my typical strike zone — had a much tighter dispersion and carry distance. In simple terms, they were predictable. And when it came to getting those long irons off the ground, a higher-launching T250 5-iron was going to reach that 80-foot peak height a lot more often.

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On the third day, at Cobra, the knowledge of three consecutive fittings was washing over me like the second semester of a foreign language. Was I fully fluent? Not quite. But I could understand what others in class were saying. I understood what it meant when my fitters kept adjusting my irons two degrees upright, and I could really start to communicate what I was feeling. After some time, it wasn’t so daunting to speak up in class. It helped that my coworkers — many of whom could qualify as teaching assistants — stepped in and interrupted my fittings, pressing the teachers for more info specific to ME. (That may not help you, the amateur at home, who will likely go through fittings alone. But it is a reminder to study up on some club terminology before you get baptized in a hitting bay.)

My final two fittings tended to blend together, but not in a bad way. They featured a bunch of time spent just beyond the irons. In that zone between 3-wood and 5-iron, where you should still be able to see 10- to 15-yard gaps between clubs. My gapping had mostly been flattened to something almost nonexistent. Everything seemed to go roughly 220 yards.

At Callaway, I had my first experience with a 7-wood — their Quantum Max — which very nearly went into my bag (and still might, the more I experiment with it).

At Srixon, I hit more 5-woods than I probably have at any other time in my life. The ball just … went … in a way 4-irons never seemed to. That, more than anything, was the biggest learning of my week in equipment academia. The aspects of my experience, my action, my strength, my skills, my hand-eye coordination, my brain — it all makes a helluva lot more sense with fairway woods than it does with cute, tiny, aesthetically pleasing long irons.

The clubs we went with — built from comfort, performance and appearance — are all listed below, including a driver and 3-wood that I just can’t quit. What I need to do now — metaphorically moving the tassel of my ball cap from one side to the other — is apply all the lessons of the equipment degree I earned to the real world, as they say. You know, on the golf course.

Check out more on Sean’s WITB here

Sean’s Fully Fit 2026 WITB

Ball: 2025 Titleist Pro V1

Driver: Titleist GT2 9° (Tour AD VF-6 X)

3w: Titleist GT2 13.5° (Project X HZRDUS 6.5, 80g)

5w: Titleist GT2 16.5° (HZRDUS 6.5, 80g)

Utility: TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron (KBS Tour Lite S)

Irons: Titleist T250 5i, T150 6i-PW (Project X 6.5)

Wedges: Vokey 50.12F, 54.14F, 58.10S (Project X 6.5)

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour X (L-neck)

Ready to overhaul your bag in 2026 like our Fully Fit panelists? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

Watch Fully Fit 2026 below!

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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Praised In Pakistan: “Bowlers Won’t Know What To Do With Him”

Published

28 seconds ago

2 April 2026

NewsAdmin

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Praised In Pakistan: "Bowlers Won't Know What To Do With Him"

Kamran Akmal suggested that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will soon make his debut for India in T20I cricket.© PTI

Former Pakistan cricketers Kamran Akmal and Basit Ali have backed young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for a fast-tracked India debut following his blistering start to IPL 2026. The 15-year-old left-hander grabbed headlines on Monday by smashing 52 off 17 balls-including a record-equaling 15-ball fifty during Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) dominant eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Sooryavanshi’s explosive opening stand effectively killed the contest after RR’s bowlers had earlier restricted the five-time champions to a meager 127.

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Akmal suggested that Sooryavanshi will soon make his debut for India in T20I cricket.

“In just 8 IPL games, he has been piling records – he already has a hundred. I think in the coming international games for India, he will get a chance after IPL. He will become a young player of the T20 international team. He has proved himself in every place. If he continues to perform, he will definitely get the chance,” Akmal said on ‘The Game Plan‘ YouTube channel.

Akmal also praised Sooryavanshi’s remarkable game awareness, suggesting that bowlers may be “clueless” in a decade’s time if the 15-year-old continues his current trajectory.

“His presence of mind, game awareness, the way he plays – he has a counter to everything at such a young age. This is remarkable … We are discussing his performance more because it was a match of 128. But his performance is visible because he scored 50 runs on 15 balls. His family and his father should be proud – the way he has worked with him, the way the others, too, like coaches who have taught him in school cricket, in club cricket…I am afraid – when he is 25, the bowlers will not know what to do with him,” he added.

In a lighthearted take, Basit labelled Sooryavanshi as “ek bablu sabpe bhari” (one kid domination everyone), highlighting how easily he dismantled the CSK bowlers.

“They (Rajasthan Royals) chased down 128 comfortably. Suryavanshi smashed 50 off just 15 balls-what an innings, he clearly showed his form. Jaiswal remained not out on 37, as Bablu (Suryavanshi) was doing all the damage from the other end. One Bablu dominated everyone – that’s exactly how it felt in yesterday’s (RR vs CSK) match,” said Basit.

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Frustration spills over for Giants as Matt Chapman appears to curse out Casey Schmitt

Published

14 minutes ago

2 April 2026

NewsAdmin

The San Francisco Giants have had a challenging 2026 season thus far, and Wednesday’s game against the San Diego Padres suggested that frustration may already be creeping in. To start the season, the Giants endured a home sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees and were out-scored 13-1 across those three games. Wednesday presented an opportunity to erase those recent memories, as they had taken the first two games of the set against their National League West rivals. That turned out not to happen, as the Padres prevailed 7-1 behind a strong start from Nick Pivetta.

As for those aforementioned frustrations, they most visibly belonged to veteran third baseman Matt Chapman. With two out and two on in the bottom of the fifth, Xander Bogaerts chopped one to Chapman, who had to make a hurried and somewhat off-balance throw to Casey Schmitt at first base. It didn’t go as planned:

That’s a high throw and an error on Chapman, but it appeared to be catchable on the part of Schmitt. Chapman apparently agreed, as during the ensuing mound visit, he appeared to tell Schmitt to “catch the f—ing ball.”

No doubt, Chapman was also thinking of a similar play in the first inning when Schmitt was charged with an error:

Those plays accounted for both Padre runs, at least until they pulled away in the later innings. After the game, Chapman addressed the mound visit incident with reporters. Via NBC Sports Bay Area:

“We’re all brothers here. It’s the heat of the moment. I already talked to Casey. It’s all good.”

As for Schmitt, he also weighed in post-game, via the San Francisco Chronicle:

“We’re trying to win games. I mean, obviously I’m not mad about it or anything. That’s baseball. I mean, those are things I should have done and didn’t.”

In Schmitt’s defense, he’s far more familiar with the other infield positions, and Wednesday marked just his 18th career start at first base. However, the utility infielder was pressed into regular duty at first base because of Rafael Devers‘ balky hamstring, which has limited him to DH thus far. As well, the organization determined that young first baseman Bryce Eldridge, the Giants’ top prospect, needed further seasoning at Triple-A to start the year. If it’s any consolation to Chapman, Schmitt shouldn’t be at first base much longer.

All of this, of course, isn’t a big deal or even anything all that unusual. It just happened to be caught by the lens and lip readers, which is why we’re talking about it.

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Man United latest: Harry Maguire hit with FA charge and player’s contract clause expires

Published

27 minutes ago

2 April 2026

NewsAdmin

Manchester United face two fresh hurdles as Michael Carrick attempts to keep the club’s current run of form going after three weeks without a game

Michael Carrick faces the challenge of preserving Manchester United’s momentum once the club resumes competitive action. After the international break, United have an additional week’s hiatus while the FA Cup quarter-finals take place.

The squad is shortly due to embark on an intensive training camp in Ireland to maintain match sharpness. The players will head to Dublin on April 6 for a four-night stint ahead of the final seven fixtures of the campaign.

That said, there are already considerable obstacles in need of address. Fortunately for Carrick, though, two evolving situations lie beyond his remit as he attempts to concentrate efforts on matters on the pitch.

One such piece of business he’ll have limited influence over is Marcus Rashford‘s transfer future. MEN Sport examines that and more in the latest United headlines.

Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our United WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. You can also join our United Facebook page by clicking HERE and don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.

Maguire charged over red card fracas

Harry Maguire’s immediate participation in Carrick’s plans has been put in doubt after he was charged by the Football Association. It was disclosed on Wednesday that the England defender faces potential further sanctions following his red card at Bournemouth last month.

Maguire, 33, received a straight red for tugging Evanilson’s shirt in the box before Bournemouth scored the resulting penalty to draw 2-2. However, it was his furious response to referee Stuart Attwell and fourth official Matt Donohue that resulted in him being charged.

“Harry Maguire has been charged after being sent off in the 78th minute of Man Utd’s Premier League match against Bournemouth on March 20,” read an FA statement. “It’s alleged that the defender acted in an improper manner and/or abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards the fourth official following his dismissal. Harry Maguire has until April 2 to provide a response.”

Maguire’s suspension meant he was already set to miss United’s fixture against Leeds on April 13. Nevertheless, his ban could be increased depending on the outcome of his charge and whether United opt to appeal.

Carrick also expressed his frustration over the incident, insisting his side should have been awarded a second penalty. Amad Diallo went down following a challenge from Adrien Truffert, but the VAR determined the contact wasn’t sufficient to warrant a spot-kick after Bruno Fernandes had already scored once from 12 yards.

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“We should have had another penalty,” Carrick told Sky Sports at the time. “Obviously, if you get one, you must get the other. It’s pretty much identical for me, two-hand grab.

“Either way, [the ref] got one wrong, but to give one and not give the other, I can’t get my head around it. I think it’s crazy. It’s a bit baffling, really. Because of that, they score, and then it’s chaos after that, really. We should have had another penalty, and the game would have been totally different.”

Barcelona’s cut-price Rashford clause expires

For months, many have been puzzled over what has prevented Barcelona from tying Rashford down to a permanent deal. The exclusive £26million fee written into his loan agreement at the Camp Nou was widely regarded as a steal, but that option is no longer available.

Cadena SER reported that the conditions of that arrangement lapsed at the end of March. This now means Barca will need to negotiate a fee for the player in the same manner as any other club.

This could indicate the Catalans aren’t fully committed to securing the England forward on a permanent basis. Alternatively, it might simply suggest Barcelona are still undecided at a time when the club’s financial situation is unstable.

Club legend and now sporting director Deco was recently questioned about Barca’s chances of signing Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez. He referred to the three months until summer as “like an eternity,” so it’s plausible he and other board members may hold a similar perspective regarding Rashford’s prospects.

It’s uncertain how much United might demand for their player or whether Barca might still receive a slightly more favourable deal as a gesture to Rashford, who wants the permanent switch. However, one certainty is that the Spaniards will be expected to pay a higher fee than the bargain sum available had they acted more promptly.

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Lovelycut eyes Geoff Murphy Handicap in 2026 Caulfield return

Published

40 minutes ago

2 April 2026

NewsAdmin

Reece Goodwin, the Pakenham handler, is confident this prep could restore Lovelycut’s success on the track.

The mare, aged four, resumes action in Saturday’s Geoff Murphy Handicap (1200m), lacking concrete future engagements, but a sharp performance first-up may lead her to the Adelaide carnival.

Having raced sparingly, Lovelycut has often demonstrated considerable promise. Her breakthrough came with a Sandown win near the end of her two-year-old stint, and in spring she resumed to claim second at Listed level, fourth in the Vanity Stakes (1400m) at Flemington, before settling midfield in the Thousand Guineas at Caulfield, missing the winner by under three lengths.

She was rested to mature, skipping autumn as a three-year-old, and returned last spring for three starts ending in a 1400m victory at Seymour.

Goodwin voiced his approval of the mare’s current condition.

“Off the back of last prep where she won over 1400 metres, she’s going to be suited at 1400 and 1600 this time around and Saturday is a good kick-off for her,” Goodwin said.

“She could have run in one of the 1100-metre races at Flemington last week, but I just thought 1200 would be a better kick off for her.

“She’s probably not as sharp as she was when she was a two-year-old, three-year-old and it looks a competitive race on Saturday as well, but she’s pretty good fitness wise.

“She’s there to run really well.”

Goodwin highlighted how Lovelycut has matured into a tougher mare suited to racing rigours.

Winter’s arrival means precise programming is vital.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what she can do through the winter,” he said.

“(The) Adelaide carnival could be on the radar depending on how she goes Saturday.

“If she was to win, or run really strongly, we would have to give strong consideration to that because she would go into the mid-80’s ratings wise, but there’s no set plans.

“She’s a highly-strung mare, so travelling her would take a bit out of her, so we want to make sure if we were to go there, it was worthwhile.”

Compare racing betting markets for the Geoff Murphy Handicap ahead of Lovelycut’s run.

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Tiger Woods’s fiercest opponent is Tiger Woods himself

Published

54 minutes ago

2 April 2026

NewsAdmin

We’re all rooting for Tiger Woods here, rooting for him to get his life, physical and psychic, in a better place. If this were Tiger v. Phil or Sergio or Chris DiMarco you might have a different rooting interest. This, of course, is not that. Tiger became Tiger by often defeating, though not always, Phil & Co. That was fun, that was sport, that was drive and execution as most of had never seen before. This is different. This is Tiger versus himself. Tiger versus the pain of life.

Woods is a 50-year-old athletic icon — a true icon in an age of hyped everything. He has two children with his ex-wife, who has three other children with her current partner. Tiger has a girlfriend with five children of her own. The girlfriend has a former father-in-law who is both the most powerful person in the world and the man who gave Woods his highest honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, after winning the 2019 Masters. Woods won 14 Grand Slam events in a 12-year span. Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas and a host of others came of age in the decade-long wait between No. 14 and No. 15, the 2019 Masters.

Twenty-two months after that victory Woods drove off the side of a deserted Los Angeles County road early on a weekday morning, into a tree and nearly to his death. Don’t call it an accident — that would be an insult to the scores of people who did everything in their power to save his life. Don’t say that winning takes care of everything. The marketing people at Nike who trotted out that phrase in the wake of a long-ago Woods scandal were ultimately just trying to move product.

Tiger Woods of the United States stands on the 18th green for the trophy ceremony during the final round of the Hero World Challenge 2025 at Albany Golf Course — Tiger Woods’s latest car accident leads back to same difficult conclusion

By:

Michael Bamberger
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The great tragedy of modern life is that everything has turned into a product. Golf is a product, per PGA Tour brass. Journalism is a product. Clicks are monetized. It’s deadening. Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus and Watson were dominating golfers and unique personalities who captured our imaginations. But they weren’t products. Tiger Woods has been packaged and sold since he was 3. Woods knows his state of mind that morning in February 2021, when he was pulled out of another wrecked car. Cry for help is a hoary cliché but that crash had to be a cry for help. In the end, not a very loud one. His crash last week, a mile or so from his South Florida home may prove to be a louder one.

This time, his hand was forced, just as it was after his 2017 DUI arrest by police in Jupiter, Fla. In golf’s various and cloistered circles — on Golf Channel, on websites and in newsletters, in a release from the CEO of the PGA Tour — Woods’s statement on Monday was met with relief and admiration. He said he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.” You hope, of course, he can get the treatment he, by his own admission, needs. But there’s more going on here.

As this second DUI charge in Florida goes down its jurisprudence road, prosecutors were going to require that Woods seek treatment. Woods is trying to avoid a jail sentence here, of any length. He’s trying to avoid the spectacle of a public trial. There’s nothing for him to fight here. There are lawyers and advisors deep in his life. Signing up for treatment, on a voluntary basis, was a smart and necessary first step in an effort to keep a bad situation from getting worse.

Woods has been down the treatment road before. In early 2010, some weeks after running over a fire hydrant in the middle of the night outside his home in the Isleworth development near Orlando, Woods reportedly went to a residential treatment facility in Mississippi to deal with addiction issues. His 2017 plea required counseling as well. A statement is a statement. Last year, when Woods turned to X to announce his relationship with Vanessa Trump, he wrote, “Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side!” Please insert air quotes around wrote. Does that sound like Tiger Woods to you? Monday’s sober announcement has a completely different tone, of course. We don’t know anything about Tiger’s state of mind, and he doesn’t owe us that — or really anything.

Tiger Woods police report — Tiger Woods arrest report: New details of DUI crash released

By:

Sean Zak

What he owes us is what every driver in the world owes every other driver and pedestrian and bicyclist and stray pet in the world, and that is alert, uncompromised driving. After his crash on Monday, you can see Woods in photographs on the side of the road, golf shirt neatly tucked in his shorts, glasses on, cellphone to his ear. In those grainy photos, he looks like what he’s looked like for, well, over many years now, iconic golfer on yet another comeback trail. Photos can fool you like statements can fool you.

Tiger has pain and sleep issues. He’s acknowledged that many times. As an athlete, his glory days are long behind him. He knows that, of course. He likes to say, “Father Time is undefeated.” People take pain meds because they are in pain. People drive while impaired because of some level of arrogance, along with self-absorption. People go to recovery to figure out some kind of path forward. Sometimes it works. Because we love golf, because we admire what Woods did as a golfer, Tiger’s issues are getting attention here. In every other regard, he’s another guy trying to figure it out. Except he has to do it with the whole world watching.

We don’t know who Tiger Woods was talking to on his cellphone, when he was on the side of the road Friday afternoon. The single most impressive thing he could have done that day is apologize to the person driving the truck that was pulling the pressure washer. Luckily, the driver wasn’t injured. But his day was turned upside-down, too.

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Kansas coach Bill Self returning for 2026-27 season

Published

1 hour ago

2 April 2026

NewsAdmin

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament Second Round-St. Johns at Kansas

Mar 22, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts in the first half against the St. John’s Red Storm during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

After discussing his coaching future with family, Bill Self announced Wednesday that he will return as Kansas coach for the 2026-27 season.

Self, 63, indicated he still has the desire to coach the Jayhawks to the highest level possible.

“Jayhawk Nation, with renewed clarity and the ongoing support from our administration, I remain focused and committed to Kansas Basketball competing for a National Championship,” Self said in a statement posted by the school on social media. “I look forward to seeing and hearing the best fans in college basketball next season at Allen Fieldhouse.”

Self has won two national titles during 23 seasons at Kansas since arriving in 2003 but he has battled health-related issues in recent seasons.

In 2023, he missed the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments due to a significant heart issue. He had two stents inserted to clear blocked arteries.

He had another two stents inserted in July 2025.

In mid-January of the just-concluded season, Self was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital after he felt unwell and ultimately received IV fluids and did not travel with the team for a game at Colorado.

After Kansas (24-11) lost to St. John’s in the second round of this season’s NCAA Tournament, Self said he would discuss the situation with his family before making a decision.

The Jayhawks won national titles in 2008 and 2022 under Self. But since the second championship, Kansas has gone 68-35 with three straight double-digit loss campaigns, the first time that has occurred since the late 1980s.

With the Jayhawks, Self owns a 648-167 record and has made the NCAA Tournament field each season.

Self has an 855-272 career record with his other stints coming at Oral Roberts (1993-97), Tulsa (1997-2000) and Illinois (2000-2003).

He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.

–Field Level Media

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Trail Blazers fined, front office members suspended for illegally scouting player

Published

1 hour ago

2 April 2026

NewsAdmin

The NBA fined the Portland Trail Blazers $100,000 and suspended assistant general managers Sergi Oliva and Mike Schmitz for two weeks without pay for violating league rules “governing contact with draft-ineligible players” in connection with the team’s scouting of Yang Hansen in December 2023, the league announced on Wednesday.

The Blazers said they “self-reported” this matter to the NBA.

“When this was brought to our attention the Portland Trail Blazers self-reported to the NBA,” the team said in a statement. “The team cooperated fully with the investigation and accept the league’s determination.”

The Trail Blazers traded for Hansen, the No. 16 overall pick in 2025, on draft night, sending No. 11 pick Cedric Coward to the Grizzlies in a package that also brought a 2028 first-round pick and two second-rounders back to Portland. Before landing with Portland, Hansen played two seasons for the Qingdao Eagles in China’s top professional league.

Hansen, listed at 7-foot-1 and 270 pounds, was 19 at the time, and Portland general manager Joe Cronin said in July that the team “deeply” scouted him before selecting him in the first round.

“We’ve been scouting him deeply for almost two years now,” Cronin said after the 2025 draft. “We had a scout identify him during one of his under-18 events. And then we sent Mike and Sergi, our two assistant GMs, over to China that fall to go scout him live. When they came back from that trip, they left very, very impressed. We were actually hoping he would be in last year’s draft (2024). He didn’t declare last year, so we continued to scout him for the last year.”

Hansen became something of a social media darling when his game footage playing for the Qingdao Eagles was introduced to the masses. He also had his moments in Summer League, but he has struggled to make an impact during his rookie year. In 41 games, he’s averaging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per game while shooting just 31% from the field.

Winners of seven of their last nine, the Blazers are 39-38 and currently the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference standings.

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Boeser has hat trick, last-place Canucks overcome blowing four-goal lead to beat NHL-leading Avalanche

Published

2 hours ago

2 April 2026

NewsAdmin

DENVER — Marcus Pettersson scored with 5:39 remaining, Brock Boeser had a hat trick and the last-place Vancouver Canucks blew a four-goal lead before beating the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche 8-6 on Wednesday night.

The Canucks, who entered the game 58 points behind the Avalanche, scored in all sorts of ways, including 29 seconds into the game, short-handed, on the power play and into an empty net to snap a six-game slide.

They led 6-2 in the second only to see Colorado tie it up with 6:02 left. Just 23 seconds later, Pettersson knocked in his first goal since November. Boeser sealed it by lining the puck down the ice and into an empty net.

Teddy Blueger scored twice, while Max Sasson and Jake DeBrusk also added goals to spoil a night in which Nathan MacKinnon became the first player this season to reach 50 goals. Vancouver took advantage of the Avalanche juggling their defensive pairings with Cale Makar sidelined by an upper-body injury.

Kevin Lankinen made 24 saves.

Sam Malinski scored twice, while Gabriel Landeskog, Parker Kelly and Brent Burns also scored. MacKinnon notched his second 50-goal campaign of his career with his score early in the first.

Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was pulled with 4:39 left in the second after allowing six goals on 19 shots. Scott Wedgewood stopped five shots in relief.

The Avalanche were rolling after a 9-2 win over Calgary on Monday.

Before fans had a chance to settle into their seats, the Canucks were up 1-0. Sasson’s goal 29 seconds into the game was the fastest by the Canucks since Oct. 22, 2024 (21 seconds).

Burns had a goal and an assist as he played in his 999th straight game. The all-time Ironman streak belongs to Phil Kessel, who skated in 1,064 consecutive games.

Canucks: At Minnesota on Thursday.

Avalanche: At Dallas on Saturday.

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Sanjiv Goenka–Rishabh Pant exchange goes viral after LSG loss, sparks fresh IPL storm | Cricket News

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2 hours ago

2 April 2026

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Sanjiv Goenka–Rishabh Pant exchange goes viral after LSG loss, sparks fresh IPL storm

Sanjiv Goenka and Rishabh Pant (X)

Lucknow Super Giants found themselves under early pressure in IPL 2026 after a disappointing six-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals at home, a result that not only exposed batting concerns but also sparked conversation off the field. LSG struggled to get going with the bat, folding for just 141 in their opening game. The top order failed to deliver, with captain Rishabh Pant scoring 7, Aiden Markram managing 11, and Nicholas Pooran contributing only 8. While the bowlers made early inroads, Delhi turned the chase around through a composed unbeaten 70 from Sameer Rizvi and a steady 39 not out from Tristan Stubbs, sealing the game with 2.5 overs to spare. However, it was what followed after the match that drew just as much attention. LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka was seen in an on-field conversation with Pant, with head coach Justin Langer also part of the discussion. While no audio was available, the visuals suggested an intense exchange, and the clip quickly gained traction across social media. The moment inevitably brought back memories of a similar incident involving Goenka and former LSG captain KL Rahul during the 2024 season. That episode, widely viewed as a public fallout after a defeat, had drawn criticism at the time, and comparisons resurfaced following the latest visuals. Despite the speculation, Goenka struck a measured tone in his public response. Taking to X after the game, he backed his side and urged patience.

Sanjiv Goenka post

“This is a long season, and moments like these are part of building something meaningful. I have full confidence in our captain and the team to respond with strength. To our fans, thank you for your support at Ekana today, we will come back stronger. The story of @LucknowIPL this season is far from written,” he wrote. On the tactical front, Pant’s decision to promote himself to the top of the order also became a talking point. Having largely operated in the middle order in recent seasons, the move did not pay off in the opener. Pant was run out for 7 at the non-striker’s end after Mukesh Kumar got a fingertip deflection onto a powerful straight drive from Mitchell Marsh. When asked if he would continue opening alongside Markram and Marsh, Pant kept his options open. “It’s a 50-50 call,” he said after the match. With questions emerging around team balance, batting roles, and the early loss, LSG now face a crucial phase as they look to settle into the season and respond strongly in the games ahead.

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Chiefs GM Brett Veach silent on invite to Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift’s wedding

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2 hours ago

2 April 2026

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As Brett Veach prepares for the NFL Draft and works to position the Chiefs for a return to contention, the general manager is also staying quiet about a widely speculated wedding involving one of the team’s top players.

During a sitdown with ESPN at this week’s NFL meetings in Arizona, Brett Veach sidestepped questions about whether he received an invitation to Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s upcoming wedding.

“We’ll see,” Veach said during his appearance on “The Schrager Hour” podcast. “Couldn’t say either way.

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce attend an awards show

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards held at Dolby Theatre March 26, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)

“That’s like the hardest-hitting question you’ll ever ask me.”

Veach quickly shifted the conversation back to the draft, and then made clear he wouldn’t be sharing any wedding details.

“Off the record, you can ask me who we’re picking nine [during this month’s NFL draft]. I’m going to tell you who we’re picking nine. I cannot disclose anything about the wedding,” he said.

Brett Veach speaks at a press conference

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach speaks to the media during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium Feb. 24, 2026, in Indianapolis. (Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images)

Kelce and Swift revealed their engagement in a joint Instagram post in August 2025. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the couple captioned a series of photos.

TRAVIS KELCE’S DAD SHARES DETAILS OF SON’S PROPOSAL TO TAYLOR SWIFT

According to multiple reports, Kelce and Swift plan to wed June 13 in Rhode Island.

Last month, Kelce and the Chiefs reached a deal for the Pro Bowler to return for his 14th season in Kansas City.

“I’m still in love with this game. I still love going to work and putting on the pads, grinding it out and just playing the game,” Kelce told “The Pat McAfee Show.”

At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Brett Veach struck an optimistic tone about Travis Kelce’s potential return for 2026, calling the three-time Super Bowl winner an “icon.”

Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift and Aric Jones attend the Stanley Cup Final

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift react during Game 4 of the Edmonton Oilers-Florida Panthers Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena June 12, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

“Travis is the best,” Veach said in Indianapolis. “He’s an icon, and hopefully he comes back. We’ll just kind of let that process play out. It’s not your typical 27-year-old [and] first time at free agency. Travis has done everything and has accomplished everything.

“He’s about to get married. He’s got a lot going on, so I don’t think there’s an element of us not trying to get something done. You need to have some sort of deadline [or] timeline, but, at the same time, he’s Travis Kelce.”

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The Chiefs’ decade-long playoff streak ended last season, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes sustained a season-ending ACL injury in Week 15.

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