The Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium will host the BWF World Championships from August 17 in New Delhi. (Image: TimesofIndia.com)

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi has received a fresh coat of paint, new infrastructure, and swanky lights ahead of the BWF World Championships, which return to India after a 17-year gap. The objective is to host the best in world badminton, administrators from around the planet, thousands of fans and multiple VIPs starting August 17. The objective is also to ensure the pigeons and monkeys stay away, avoiding a repeat of the chaos at the India Open, earlier this year.In January, during the India Open, pigeons halted play in the match between HS Prannoy and Loh Kean Yew. Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt strongly criticised the practice and warm-up facility’s hygiene. She complained about dirty areas and bird droppings near the training courts.While the Badminton Association of India (BAI) refuted the allegations, they and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), alongside the Sports Ministry, are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring something similar doesn’t happen again.Wooden doors have given way to a double-door entry system in order to keep the monkeys away from entering the four-court premises and the training facilities at the KD Jadhav Stadium. Vents have been sealed to keep the pigeons from entering. Additionally, six plug-and-play machines have been imported from the US and installed to emit noise made by predatory birds. Further, non-toxic gel has also been filled in the roof ducts.The wheels for the preparations began as early as February, with things picking up pace in May. Hundreds of workers and contractors from the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) have been busy at work for the past few weeks to bring the tournament to fruition.

Machines from the US have been brought in to tackle pigeons during the BWF World Championships in New Delhi. (Image: TimesofIndia.com)

“The order for the pigeon gel went out in April, and it was imported only recently; it arrives in 10 days. It is a plug-and-play machine and can be imported from one stadium to another,” said a source tracking developments to TimesofIndia.com.“The only hiccup is that it can’t be used at one place for a long period. The pigeons get accustomed to it and understand that this is not natural. But in the last 15-20 days of tests, it has worked well,” he added.The gel in use is castor oil-based and has been installed on the surface of the root at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. Every time a bird sits on the top of the arena, it’ll slip, ensuring they stay away.

Glass doors have been installed at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi as part of the infrastructural overhaul. (Image: TimesofIndia.com)

Another challenge for the organisers in the past has been monkeys. A full-grown rhesus macaque roamed the upper tier of the stands during the India Open. Now, as part of a Rs 20 crore revamp, 16 entrances have been fitted with glass doors and an automatic double-entry system.And if all else fails, a four-man team, led by Delhi-native Jabbar, is on hand to make noises similar to that of a langur to fend off monkeys. Born into a family of professional monkey whisperers, Jabbar, who earns Rs 25,000 a month, is confident that his and his team’s vocal cords will be enough to keep monkeys at bay.

Ask Kevin O’Connell and he’ll say that conducting a passer battle was the hope all along. After all, that’s what he told Dan Barreiro is a recent training camp chat.

The KFAN host lobbed a Cris Carter comment to Minnesota’s skipper, a claim that asserted J.J. McCarthy was a Kwesi Adofo-Mensah guy rather than an O’Connell guy. The implication, perhaps, is that O’Connell feels quite free to move on toward greener pastures: Kyler Murray.

O’Connell denied that claim, instead insisting that his desire back in 2024 was to see McCarthy battle with Sam Darnold. Welcoming Murray for a quarterback competition is therefore a restoration of the original vision rather than a refutation of the McCarthy decision.

In theory, O’Connell’s answer sounds good, but it doesn’t fully add up.

Kevin O’Connell and The Desire for a QB Competition

What was so striking about last season’s quarterback competition was that there wasn’t a competition.

At various points, Coach O’Connell worked through a clunky avoidance of the issue. He wouldn’t firmly name Mr. McCarthy as the starter but would (for instance) say that Mr. McCarthy was taking snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly. The odd game of cat-and-mouse eventually led to the sophomore quarterback getting named the starter. The competition was a long, awkward coronation.

Why didn’t true QB competitor get added in 2025? Per O’Connell, that’s been part of his vision from the beginning.

Maybe Minnesota felt as though they had competition in Sam Howell. That’s tough to believe, though, given how things unfolded. The former Seahawk got shown the door before the 2025 season began, suggesting that he did very little to impress the coaching staff.

Neither of the other options — Brett Rypien and Max Brosmer — were understood as competitors in the QB1 battle. They fought to be the QB3 rather than the QB1.

An obvious retort is that Minnesota made a solid effort to re-sign Daniel Jones. Doing so would have meant welcoming legitimate competition to the Twin Cities. That’s a vital detail that does carry weight and does need to be remembered.

What’s odd, though, is that Jones walked and then Minnesota did basically nothing until trading for Howell during the 2025 NFL Draft.

Refusing to sign Aaron Rodgers likely cost the team a spot in the playoffs. But, to be sure, the amount of headaches in Minnesota decreased. Rodgers likely was never going to be open to a true battle. If there was a real desire to conduct a competition, then Rodgers is the wrong guy. He’s insufferable as the QB1; imagine him being the QB2.

Why not a turn toward free agency, a spot that always has at least decent options? One such option, Mr. Carson Wentz, only got added very late. Too late, in fact, to have played a part in the competition (to the detriment of the Vikings’ ability to compete in 2025).

The point, folks, is that the Kevin O’Connell answer about wanting competition doesn’t fully add up. Quite possibly, the skipper pushed for a competitor and then had the former GM fail to deliver. If so, then O’Connell would be wise to avoid throwing his former colleague under the bus.

But then there’s another part of the mix: all of the public praise from O’Connell toward McCarthy. He hasn’t been shy about articulating his belief in McCarthy being the quarterback.

At one point, O’Connell referred to the kid as Minnesota’s franchise passer. So, too, did he posit that teams fail young passers before young passers fail a team. He’s likely very correct about at least one of those statements (franchise failure) and may end up looking a bit foolish for the other (McCarthy the franchise passer).

Looking back, the Vikings made a really poor decision when failing to introduce a true competitor into the mix last year. Doing so would have been much easier to manage in the media given that McCarthy was coming off a fully lost rookie season do the injury. Instead, the team worked through some weird, vague answers about McCarthy not being the QB1 before he really struggled as the QB1.

Hovering around all of this discussion is the possibility that Kevin O’Connell ends up rolling with the kid. McCarthy has proven to be scrappy, precisely the characteristic that makes him such a compelling option. Seeing him seize the starter’s job and never relinquish it would be the best outcome for the franchise.

The Vikings will see the pair of top arms get back into action tomorrow as the team gets back to work at practice.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

For the first time since 2019, the UFC’s Octagon will take center stage in the “City of Brotherly Love” on Saturday when UFC 330 lands at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. 

Pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev (28-1) will headline the event as he sets to make his first welterweight title defense against Ian Machado Garry (17-1). In the co-feature, Mackenzie Dern will defend her women’s strawweight title against decorated submission ace Gillian Robertson (17-8). 

Sign up for Paramount+ and watch UFC 330 for no additional fee — every UFC numbered event and UFC Fight Night is included with your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year!

As we draw closer to fight night, let’s take a look at the biggest storylines entering UFC 330.

1. Islam Makhachev takes his swing at UFC’s most vaunted record

With an incredible 28-1 career record and world titles in two different UFC weight divisions, Makhachev should already be under consideration for recognition among the top 10 fighters to ever step foot inside the Octagon. But should he defeat Garry on Saturday in his first title defense at 170 pounds, Makhachev will pass Anderson Silva for sole possession of the UFC record for consecutive victories at 17. It’s a hallowed record that speaks to a fighter’s consistency, ability to win close fights and sustained greatness. And outside of a flash first-round knockout loss to Adriano Martins in his second UFC bout in 2015, Makhachev has been just about perfect. Silva completed his record of 16 straight UFC wins in 2012 with a first-round TKO win over Stephan Bonnar at light heavyweight. The closest anyone has come to breaking it since was former welterweight king Kamaru Usman who, after winning his first 15 UFC bouts, suffered a 2022 upset loss to Leon Edwards via fifth-round knockout (while up handily on the scorecards) in their UFC 278 rematch. Makhachev, a protege of retired and undefeated former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, is a machine and, at 34, still has time to put the record out of reach.

2. Ian Machado Garry might be Makhachev’s toughest title test to date

For as polarizing as the 28-year-old Garry, a native of Ireland, can be to the MMA fanbase for his opinions and lifestyle, it’s hard to deny the physical and technical challenges he brings to the table in this matchup. It’s an opinion shared by many MMA pundits and members of Makhachev’s extended team. Garry, whose lone career defeat came in a competitive 2024 loss against Shavkat Rakhmonov, immediately bounced back with consecutive decision wins over feared knockout artist Carlos Prates and former champion Belal Muhammad. Even though Makhachev has already beaten more prominent names from a historical standpoint during his run at lightweight — including Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski (twice) and Dustin Poirier — Garry is much bigger, longer and more defensively sound than most of Makhachev’s foes. Garry will wield advantages of five inches in height and four inches in reach against the champion. And not only is Garry hard to hit clean and difficult to take down and control, he has supreme self confidence and a strong fight IQ. While few are outright picking an upset win for the nearly 3-to-1 underdog in Garry, most expect the fight to be competitive and difficult for the champion and a true test of his welterweight capabilities.

3. Women’s MMA gets a much-needed shot in the arm with UFC strawweight title bout

A rampant run of injuries to open 2026 has made for an uneventful first half of the year for the trio of UFC women’s divisions. Outside of former flyweight champion Alexa Grasso’s thrilling (and violent) first-round knockout win over Maycee Barber in March and the recent rise of strawweight contender Fatima Kline, there hasn’t been a whole lot to talk about on the women’s side. A bantamweight title superfight between champion Kayla Harrison and women’s G.O.A.T. Amanda Nunes, which was originally set for Jan. 24 at UFC 324, was postponed due to Harrison needing neck surgery and still hasn’t been rescheduled. And lingering injuries to two-time flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko has kept her out of action since November of last year. The good news for this weekend is that Dern-Robertson is expected to be a competitive fight between submission experts in a division that feels wide open at the moment. 

4. The true prime of Mackenzie Dern’s career (and star potential) begins now

Even before making her 2018 UFC debut, Dern was forced to shoulder the pressure of being the next big thing in women’s MMA and a possible successor to former champion Ronda Rousey from the standpoint of submission skills and marketability. It took a little time to get there, of course, including a stretch between 2021 and 2024, where Dern lost four of six fights. But at 33, the American-born daughter of Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Wellington “Megaton” Dias finally fulfilled her potential by capturing the UFC’s vacant 115-pound title last October in a five-round decision win over Virna Jandiroba. Now, the question becomes whether Dern can capitalize upon her opportunity by building a title reign and becoming a true star. A longtime fan favorite, Dern benefitted from the timing of not having to go through Rose Namajunas, Joanna Jędrzejczyk or Zhang Weili to win the title. And now is her time to prove she belongs as champion when she puts her three-fight win streak and 11-5 record inside the Octagon on the line against Robertson. With the division going through some real turnover at the top (and Zhang’s future uncertain after she moved up to flyweight and lost a title bout against Shevchenko last November), Dern has a real shot at making strawweight her own. 

5. Title challenger Gillian Robertson’s story is one of perseverance 

Robertson, a 31-year-old native of Canada, made her UFC debut in 2017 after an appearance on season 26 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” But just five years into her UFC run, Robertson held a record of just 7-5 in the Octagon and was looked at as anything but a title threat. Somewhere along the way, her skills leveled up and both her focus and confidence increased with experience. And ever since a 2022 decision loss to JJ Aldrich, Robertson has gone 7-1 with four wins by stoppage and she brings a five-fight win streak into Saturday’s co-main event. In 2023, Robertson also set a UFC record for the most submission wins by a female fighter with seven. A victory against Dern would also make her the third Canadian-born champion in UFC history after Carlos Newton and Georges St-Pierre.

Scott Spiezio underwent an MRI for back pain in 2018. The results of which would seem inconsequential.

When Spiezio exited the MRI, he was yellow. He had jaundice; his liver was failing after years of battling alcoholism.

The World Series champion, who was 47 at the time, was given a 20% chance of surviving.

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Scott Spiezio #26 of the St. Louis Cardinals poses during Photo Day on Feb. 26, 2007, at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. (Doug Benc/Getty Images)

Spiezio was told by doctors he had to stop drinking for six months before he could receive a liver transplant to save his life. He wasn’t sure he would be able to.

“I didn’t think that I’d be able to do it. I went from a guy that never drank alcohol to thinking I don’t know if I can go six months without drinking to save my own life,” Spiezio said.

Scott Spiezio’s father, Ed, was a two-time World Series champion and played Major League Baseball for nine seasons.

Scott remembered his dad telling him at a young age, “You’re going to be better than me.”

“As soon as he was born I knew he was going to be a ballplayer,” Scott’s mother, Verna Spiezio, said in the upcoming documentary, “Spiezio.”

“I was praying for a son,” Ed said.

Ed said Scott was born to be a baseball player, and he made sure that would happen.

Scott was switch-hitting at age three.

The two spent days working together, trying to achieve the goal of making it to the big leagues.

Their basement was set up for Scott to do drills. Throughout his youth, every practice ended with the same situation: a 3-2 count, two outs, bases loaded, down one run, bottom of the ninth inning, Game 7 of the World Series.

Scott and Ed Spiezio stand together. (Spiezio Family)

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In high school, they would arrive at the gym at 6 a.m. to hit in the batting cage, work out, and then Scott would go to school.

Everything was done with the intention of making it to the big leagues.

“I think for a long time that’s what my dad thought, and I did too. That (baseball) was my purpose in life. (It) was to be a better baseball player than him and to win championships,” Scott said.

And Scott did just that. Not only did he win a World Series, but he hit one of the biggest home runs in Angels’ franchise history.

In Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, the Angels were down 3-2 in the series to the San Francisco Giants. Spiezio was up in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runners on base and the Angels down 5-0, with their season hanging in the balance.

Spiezio had been practicing for a situation like this his entire life.

Giants manager Dusty Baker brought in reliever Felix Rodriguez to retire Spiezio and neutralize the Angels’ threat. It looked like Rodriguez was going to do it, too.

He got ahead 1-2 in the count and had Spiezio on the ropes. But Scott didn’t quit. Foul ball, ball, foul ball, ball, and he worked the count full at 3-2, a count he was quite familiar with. Spiezio then turned on a fastball and deposited it into the right-field seats.

“Everything was in slow motion. I was running to first, I was watching the ball, I was literally praying, like, God, please push this out, like let this go,” Spiezio said. “And then I heard the loudest noise in my life.”

Scott Spezio of the Anaheim Angels hits a home run against the San Francisco Giants during Game 4 of the World Series in Anaheim, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2002. (Chuck Solomon/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

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Spiezio’s blast cut the lead to 5-3 and sparked an Angels comeback, as they went on to win Game 6, 6-5, and eventually won Game 7 of the World Series, bringing the Angels their first World Series title in franchise history.

The home run also made Spiezio in demand. It’s when he said his ego started to kick in.

However, “ego,” to Spiezio, meant something different. For him, ego is an acronym: “edging God out.”

After the World Series win in 2002, Spiezio said he began edging God out, and things took a turn for the worse.

“People tell you how great you are and you start believing. And for me, ego stood for edging God out, and I started edging him out and started believing the hype and started drifting a little bit as a person,” Spiezio said.

After the World Series win, David Letterman wanted him on the Top 10 List. Jay Leno and Carson Daly wanted Spiezio on their shows. Spiezio had a band, and they were playing concerts in front of 1,500 people.

Jay Leno stands with Anaheim Angels players David Eckstein, John Lackey, Scott Spiezio, Tim Salmon and Troy Percival on Oct. 28, 2002, during an episode of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” (Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

Back in his hometown of Morris, Illinois, billboards went up calling Spiezio a hometown hero. The mayor gave him a key to the city. He was honored at his high school. The town named a street after him: Scott Spiezio Drive.

Scott Spiezio was at the top of the world.

Spiezio left the Angels after the 2003 season and signed with the Seattle Mariners on a three-year, $9 million contract.

In spring training, Spiezio was playing third base for the Mariners. As he tried to catch a pop-up over the pitcher’s mound, he tripped on the mound at full speed and hurt his back. Spiezio blew out his thoracic T6 and T7 discs.

Another collision for him would risk paralyzing him. It was the first serious injury Spiezio had suffered in his life, and it sent him down a troubling path.

“When I got hurt, kind of started feeling sorry for myself and drifted from God. More like, ‘Why I’ve done everything you wanted me to do? Why am I being punished?’ And instead of turning to him, I turned to alcohol,” Spiezio said.

“They told me I might be paralyzed. I might not play again, and I got depressed, anxious and all these things that I thought people made up.”

In Seattle, an unfamiliar city, and without an established friend group, and now with a serious injury, Spiezio was out of his element.

“I’m with a new team. I went out to try to fit in, and I ended up drinking too much, and before you know it, that first night out turned into an everyday thing, and I was on a roller-coaster ride of becoming physically addicted to alcohol.”

Scott Spiezio of the Seattle Mariners looks on against the San Diego Padres during a Spring Training game on March 3, 2005, at Peoria Stadium in Peoria, Ariz. The Mariners won 5-4. (Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Spiezio went from someone who was hesitant to take Advil or Tylenol, to drinking every day.

Spiezio went from winning the Oakland Athletics’ Dave Stewart Community Award in 1997, to being the Angels’ Roberto Clemente nominee in 2003, to being someone who worked with DARE, to becoming an alcoholic without knowing it.

He still believed in God, but Spiezio said he began to stray from His ways throughout his struggles. Spiezio said he was spending $2,000 to $3,000 a night on bottle service.

His relationship with his father became frayed as he started drinking more. He ended up having an affair with his future second wife and got divorced from his first wife. He began using cocaine recreationally.

As things were starting to spiral, Spiezio had a meeting at his parents’ house, when his father told him that things had gotten “crazy” and that “they had to stop.” As Scott tried to get into his car and leave, he pushed his father away, and the neighbors called the police. His kids witnessed it all and ran into the backyard.

After that night, he stopped speaking to his father.

Spiezio ended up getting released from the Mariners during the second season of his three-year contract, and he called it a reprieve. The following offseason, he ended up getting married to his second wife.

Yet none of his friends wanted to go to his wedding. Spiezio said at that point he was drinking nearly a handle of vodka a day. He was a different person than the one his friends knew.

In 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals invited him to spring training as a minor league invitee, and it rejuvenated him, coming back to the team his dad played for, and returning home. Despite not speaking to his dad, he donned his dad’s No. 26.

With the Cardinals, he had a resurgent season, hitting .272 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI while playing all over the field. Spiezio played a massive role in their World Series-winning team.

However, this World Series victory was different for Spiezio. He didn’t get to celebrate with his dad, as he did in 2002.

Spiezio won a World Series for the Cardinals, just like his dad, but he wasn’t able to share the moment with him.

The fanfare was also much different. There was not another party at the high school. He wasn’t being covered the same way by the newspapers. His reputation didn’t warrant the same celebration it did in 2002.

His relationship with his dad had deteriorated so much that he wasn’t sure he would be invited to his funeral.

Some things are bigger than baseball.

On Opening Day 2007, the St. Louis Cardinals were awarding players their World Series rings from 2006.

The Cardinals had a special surprise for Scott Spiezio. They were bringing out his father, Ed, to give him his World Series ring.

Ed, who still had not spoken to Scott since that fateful night at his house, wasn’t sure he should go.

“I didn’t feel I should go down there, but for this event I did,” Ed said.

As the Cardinals announced that Ed was presenting Scott with his ring, the son burst into tears.

Scott Spiezio at a ring ceremony with his dad, Ed. (Spiezio Family)

“The Cardinals brought my dad back without me knowing to give me my ring in 2007. The first time in history and only time in history that a father and son have won with the same organization. They called him up and presented my ring to him and then called me up, and he presented my ring to me, and we hugged and that was the prodigal son moment that turned everything around,” Scott said.

Ed said there wasn’t a dry eye in the whole stadium.

Scott called that moment a pivotal moment in their relationship. While he wished he had gotten sober right then and there, at least he knew he had his dad back in his corner.

St. Louis Cardinals utility player Scott Spiezio receives his World Series ring from his father Ed during a ceremony before the game against the New York Mets at Busch Stadium on April 3, 2007, in St. Louis, Mo. (Scott Rovak/Getty Images)

Later that year, Scott spoke at Christian Day in Busch Stadium after a game, and his father attended.

“I think he started realizing that there was a greater purpose and, uh, we started opening up to each other after I spoke at Christian Day at Busch Stadium with the Cardinals. And he told me at that moment, we hugged, and he said, ‘I’m proud of you. Like, I couldn’t be prouder of you,’” Scott said.

However, while his dad was back in his life, his relationship with alcohol worsened. During games, Spiezio was drinking alcohol out of water bottles in the dugout and was playing baseball drunk.

The legal limit is .08. Spiezio theorized he was playing at 0.20. He would drink during the game because he had the shakes, and he had cocaine on him so he wouldn’t sleep.

Spiezio eventually collapsed in front of the Cardinals’ trainers, and they sent him to an outpatient rehab facility in St. Charles, Missouri, near St. Louis.

The proximity of the facility to St. Louis was a detriment because people knew who he was in St. Charles, and Spiezio didn’t share at all and waited until it was over.

He checked a box and was in the Cardinals’ lineup 28 days later, but he was still an addict and an alcoholic.

After the 2007 season, Spiezio was involved in a hit-and-run, and went to rehab in Tucson, Arizona. He rejoined the team in 2008 but then got released after a warrant went out for his arrest.

The Atlanta Braves then signed him to a minor league deal, but he retired from baseball in 2008 because he didn’t want to be too far from home. Upon his retirement, Spiezio dove straight back into alcohol and cocaine.

He divorced his second wife in 2010. Spiezio was drinking one to two handles of vodka a day and spending thousands of dollars on cocaine per week.

From 2007 to 2016, Spiezio was in 11 different rehabs. He spent hundreds of hours in AA meetings and with counselors. At that point, Spiezio ceded control of his property and the money he had left to his parents.

“(My parents) strung me along to bring me food and would help me. They saved my property so I had somewhere to live. Otherwise, I would have spent everything and thrown everything away. And yet I was smart enough to give – I trusted them so much that I gave them power of attorney and I got rid of all my cars, got rid of all my credit cards, got rid of my checks, and let them do everything, so I wouldn’t have access to money,” Spiezio said.

At one point, things got so low for Spiezio that he had a death wish.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

“I remember the cops were called,” Kevin Donoho, Pastor of Crossbridge Community Church said in the documentary.

“And basically (Scott) had taken off on foot, and he was out in the field. The cops are out looking for him and basically they see him. And he said, ‘I’m going to run at them so they shoot me, and they can just put an end to all of this. I just thought, ‘That’s as low as it gets.’”

Spiezio was weighed down with guilt and shame over letting his kids down, letting his town down, letting his parents down and wasting his platform. His life revolved around drugs and alcohol for a decade.

He didn’t want to show his face.

For so long, Spiezio asked God for help, then took over the wheel and went back to his old ways. He got a wake-up call when an MRI for his back in 2018 changed his life.

“I would ask God for help, and he would help me, and then I’d take the wheel back. And then finally, I think he was like, ‘Hey man, you’re not getting this. I’m going to have to wake you up.’ And I ended up getting jaundice,” Spiezio said.

Scott Spiezio with jaundice in the hospital. (Spiezio Family)

His liver was failing. Doctors gave him a 20% chance to live. If he could make it six months without drinking, they could do a liver transplant.

Spiezio didn’t think he could stop drinking to save his own life.

“I went from a guy that never drank alcohol to thinking I don’t know if I can go six months without drinking to save my own life. I just cried out to God. I said, ‘God, take away my cravings.’ And that was April 6, 2018,” Spiezio said.

“From that day on, I’ve had zero cravings. When I see alcohol, I get physically ill when I see it. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

Spiezio said he was going to do what God wanted him to do. He knew it was his last chance.

Every couple of weeks, he returned to the hospital to have two liters of fluid drained from his abdomen. Slowly but surely, Spiezio felt better.

When he returned to Northwestern Hospital for the fourth time, the doctors were dumbfounded by what they saw.

“By the fourth time I went in, they read my scans, they looked at my blood work and said, ‘We don’t know how to explain it, but your liver is normal, and your blood work is great. We’ve never seen anything like this before. All we can say is somebody upstairs is looking out for you,’” Spiezio said.

“And I knew that that God had performed a second miracle on me.”

And then he started moving sticks.

Moving sticks in the yard so he could mow the lawn. Then he got a wheelbarrow and created a burn pile with the sticks. Just that simple action gave Spiezio the motivation to go out and talk to people.

He started building his relationship with the Lord. He was going to church more. He asked Donoho if he could work at the church and started cleaning the office complex.

He started reading the Bible. Spiezio started reconnecting with friends. His relationship with Jesus grew stronger. He felt a calling to share his story.

Spiezio used to have millions. According to Baseball-Reference, he made more than $16.5 million playing baseball. Yet now he lives month to month and is happier now than he has ever been.

Spiezio has a documentary coming out Sept. 10, titled “Spiezio,” which details his tumultuous journey. He released a memoir in July, called “The Hardest Comeback.”

For his memoir, there was a reason why he settled on “The Hardest Comeback.”

“I thought of a bunch of different titles for the book and one of them was ‘It’s never too late,’ and ‘Never Give Up. Like there was all sorts of of titles. We went with ‘The Hardest Comeback’ because we wanted people to realize how hard it really was. I had the comeback with the Game 6 home run in the World Series, but the hardest comeback was this by far,” Spiezio said.

For people who are struggling with addiction or mental health, Spiezio wants them to know that there is hope.

“I want people to know that there’s hope, if you’re vulnerable, and you let people in your life that that can steer you in the right direction and can hold your hand while you’re going through stuff, you have to be willing to want to stop. And I can tell you from a guy that thought I couldn’t stop drinking in order to save my own life to a guy that wonders why in the world I ever put any of that stuff in my system,” Spiezio said.

“Life is so much better.”

Scott Spiezio with his family. (Spiezio Family)

Spiezio now runs a baseball facility and gives one-on-one lessons to kids. He shares his faith anytime he gets a chance, and is very involved with his church. He goes to schools to talk about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

He is repairing his relationships with his kids. He has a 26-year-old, 24-year-old, 22-year-old and an 11-year-old. Spiezio said the 11-year-old is teaching him how to fish.

He lives back in his hometown, because the community helped him get back to his roots and remember who he really is.

Now, joy for him is helping others.

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Scott Spiezio with his sons, Cody (L) and Tyler (R). (Spiezio Family)

“I had millions and millions of dollars. Now, I live month to month. But I’m happier now than when I had seven cars and three houses and was hanging out with all these, you know, famous people. I have true joy now because I know how the story ends. And the biggest thrill for me is when people tell me that, you know, after talking to you I’ve saved my marriage,” Spiezio said.

“Or I’ve restored my faith in God or have 12 months sober or five years sober or 30 days sober. There’s nothing like getting those texts where people are like, thank you for taking the time.”

“It’s never too late. I always say as long as you got a breath, you got a pen to write a great ending. As long as you got a pulse, you got a purpose. It’s never too late to get sober. It’s never too late to mend broken relationships.”

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The Dallas Cowboys sport one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL. 

CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are each considered top-10 receivers, as evidenced by a recent poll of our staff here at CBSSports.com, where they checked in sixth and seventh in the league. (They also finished exactly sixth and seventh in ESPN’s annual poll of league executives.) We also ranked them as the No. 2 duo in the NFL, behind only Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Of course, it’s possible the duo could have a short-lived tenure. Last year was the first season Lamb and Pickens played together, and it was the final season of Pickens’ rookie-scale contract. But he was so good in 2025 (93 catches for 1,429 yards and five touchdowns, earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors) that the Cowboys decided they couldn’t possibly let him hit the open market, so they franchise-tagged him rather than allowing him to leave in free agency without a significant return.

Pickens eventually signed the one-year franchise tender instead of negotiating a long-term deal with the team, so it’s possible this coming season will be his last in Dallas. But Lamb doesn’t want that to be the case. In fact, he’s practically begging the Cowboys to make sure it isn’t, because he wants to form a dynamic duo with Pickens for years to come and help the Cowboys win the Super Bowl trophy that has eluded them for more than 30 years.

“I’m sure we can make a way,” Lamb said, via Yahoo Sports. “I know it’s going to be a little crazy, but I know we can make a way for this one. Listen, this is my advocation: ‘@ Jerry, can you please figure out a way? Let’s figure it out. I don’t care what needs to happen. Let’s figure it out and it’s going to get you a couple more championships.’”

Lamb is already one of the highest-paid receivers in the league, having signed a four-year, $136 million contract extension in 2024. The top of the receiver market has crept up since he signed that deal, though, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba setting a new receiver record with a $42.15 million average annual value on the contract extension he signed this offseason.

If Pickens plays well enough this year that the Cowboys feel comfortable giving him a new long-term deal, it seems likely he’d top the $40 million-per-year mark. That would make the Cowboys the only team in the league investing that much money in the wide receiver position. 

The Bengals and Detroit Lions have also made significant, top-of-the-market investments in their top two receivers, but the contracts for Higgins and Jameson Williams are much smaller than the one Pickens is likely to command if he has another season like he did in 2025. (The same was true of the Miami Dolphins when they had investments in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles when they were paying A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.)

Things could also get complicated because the Cowboys are surely going to want to extend star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, whom they acquired last year from the Jets and who is now only the 10th-highest-paid interior defensive lineman in the league. And, of course, the Cowboys have the NFL’s second-highest-paid quarterback in Dak Prescott, who makes $60 million per year. (They have only themselves to blame for that one, having badly bungled negotiations with Prescott multiple times.)

Still, it can be done if the team wants to do it and is willing to lay out the up-front cash to make it happen. Dallas has always had a reputation as a more free-spending team than it actually is, with Jerry and Stephen Jones constantly referencing the fact that there is only so much pie to go around, even for star players. But Jerry does seem at least somewhat open to keeping Pickens (and Williams) in the fold with Lamb and Prescott over the long term.

“Yeah, just you got to tell me the rest [of our spending], too,” Jones said, again via Yahoo Sports. “At some point, you’ve got to figure that out. But no, I think it’s realistic.” 

It remains to be seen whether that realistic scenario will become the Cowboys’ actual reality, but if Pickens has another strong season, it’ll be hard to make an argument against retaining him on a long-term deal.

Andrade El Idolo was ambushed at All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) Grand Slam Mexico after he punched his ticket into the Casino Gauntlet match at All In.

MJF returned to AEW programming on Wednesday night and assaulted Andrade after the pro wrestler became the No. 1 entrant for the match. MJF left Andrade bloodied and declared he would enter a qualifying match to become the second entrant. The winner of the Casino Gauntlet match will earn an AEW World Championship opportunity.

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Andrade El Idolo enters the ring during New Japan Pro-Wrestling at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 5, 2026. (Getty Images)

On Sunday, Andrade showed the aftermath of the attack. He posted a picture on social media of a brutal cut on his head and said he may be out of the ring for a few weeks.

“Hi everyone and especially Las Señoritas! I’ve just landed back in Miami, where I live, and I went straight to the DR,” he wrote. “I hadn’t been feeling well since the Wednesday after the Grand Slam, but as a professional, I had two shows in Canada with MLP.

“I’ll keep you posted, but I have to be out of action for a few days or weeks. It’s nothing serious, Take care! but… I have one question?”

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Andrade El Idolo enters the ring during New Japan Pro-Wrestling at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 5, 2026. (Getty Images)

MJF took a victory lap in his dismantling of Andrade in a subsequent post on X.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA How you know? OH I KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED!” he wrote.

Andrade wrote in a separate post on Instagram that he needed six stitches.

Andrade and MJF have been in the midst of a feud since MJF was loosely aligned with the Don Callis Family.

Andrade eventually broke from the faction as MJF won the AEW World Championship back from Darby Allin at Double or Nothing.

AEW Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, aka MJF, appears during “AEW Dynamite” at Footprint Center on Feb. 22, 2023. (Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports)

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After MJF lost the title to Kenny Omega, he returned last week with his personal Triple B title, which he declared the true championship. Regardless, MJF set out on a journey to get to All In and earn another chance at the title.

With the NFL preseason about to kick into full gear, you’d be hard pressed to find a team with worse vibes at present than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Their five-year postseason streak and four-year streak of NFC South division titles ended last season.

Their QB1, Baker Mayfield, aired out the team’s dirty laundry when he told reporters that he felt disrespected and undervalued by the contract extension offers he’s received from Tampa Bay.

An anchor on the Bucs defense, defensive tackle Vita Vea, has also formally requested a trade after extension talks sputtered out.

Coach Todd Bowles is back for a fifth season against the wishes of many in the fanbase.

Is this a salvageable situation at this point? I’m not sure.

Mayfield has redeemed his career in Tampa, brought on after Tom Brady’s retirement and throwing for 12,237 yards, 95 touchdowns and 37 interceptions over three seasons.

The former No. 1 pick’s immediate impact was rewarded when Tampa Bay signed him to a three-year, $100 million contract after one season leading the team. But Mayfield made it clear that his next deal needed to be nailed down before training camp for the final year of his current contract began.

That didn’t happen, with the Buccaneers reportedly holding firm to offering a two-year contract while Mayfield was seeking more years.

Now, it’s very much up in the air if Mayfield will hold to his words, not discuss a new contract during the season and instead elect to pursue free agency next offseason.

Given his brash attitude throughout a career spurred on by spite, I wouldn’t bet against him holding firm.

While Mayfield is at least practicing, Vea still hasn’t participated at the team’s training camp. He’s holding in, although the team is spinning the on-field absence by saying that he tweaked his back during a conditioning workout in July.

Even if that’s true, it doesn’t seem likely Vea — who is saying that the only way he sees this saga ending is with a trade — would be practicing even if he was 100%.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Buccaneers are also adjusting to life without franchise receiver Mike Evans, who surpassed 1,000 yards in each of his first 11 seasons before an injury-prone 2025 led to Tampa Bay moving on and Evans landing in San Francisco.

Tampa is not lacking in other receiver options, with Chris Godwin Jr. and breakout 2025 rookie Emeka Egbuka able to fill the void.

But it’s just more adversity that a team which appears to be entering the season on shaky ground will need to overcome.

The potential saving grace for the Buccaneers could be the state of the NFC South division.

They failed to win the division last year for the first time since 2020 due to a three-way tiebreaker which didn’t go their way.

Despite that, the Carolina Panthers, who won the division, don’t seem ready to be a perennial contender, the Atlanta Falcons are an enigma and the New Orleans Saints seem more ready to compete for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft than for a division title.

Still, the Buccaneers haven’t exactly separated themselves despite the success, winning double-digit games just once in the last four seasons.

This could be the year that things catch up with Tampa Bay, leaving a bleak near-future.

At his first press conference since causing a car crash that left him with broken ribs, a broken nose, a broken left hand, facial lacerations and a concussion, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan announced he’ll return to the sideline for his team’s first preseason game this week.

But Shanahan wasn’t done announcing.

He also made it clear his head-on collision in July, for which he’s taken responsibility, has left him with a new perspective on Tesla’s autopilot feature that seemingly drives the car by itself, and concussions, which are a significant part of all NFL seasons.

NFL EMPLOYEES’ TROUBLING DRIVING INCIDENTS MOUNT, COSTING JOBS AND PUTTING OTHERS AT RISK

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

“When you’re going at 20 miles an hour, and you’re on autopilot, I honestly have zero worries,” Shanahan told reporters. “I have so much trust in that stuff. That was a good lesson that you can’t ever have zero worries. I think it definitely could be an example for a lot of people.”

Shanahan is not a Tesla hater. He didn’t protest the brand or Elon Musk back in 2025. In fact, he’s owned Teslas for years.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

But this crash has made him see his driving experience differently.

“Dropping a phone, it falling all the way to my back seat to where I have to fully take my eyes off the road, it’s something that I normally wouldn’t do,” Shanahan said. “I’ve had autopilot for nine years, so I’m pretty comfortable with it. Who knows what happened when I turned around. Whether it malfunctioned or whether I knocked it off, that’s something I don’t know yet.

“But regardless, it is always your fault, whether you’re on autopilot or not. You can’t take your eyes off the road. It’s a partnership driving. You don’t just turn it over to a computer. It’s a good lesson, no matter how comfortable I am with that, that I believe someday could save my life or someone else’s. It’s really helped me have perspective on that stuff.”

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, left, reacts next to defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, middle, during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Santa Clara, California, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Shanahan hasn’t been coaching the Niners at the outset of training camp to the degree he normally would. Even now, with the stitches on his face finally out, and Thursday’s preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans looming, he’s still walking around with a cast and some lingering effects of the crash.

And that has led him to view his players’ concussions in a different light.

Shanahan, like many NFL coaches, is not intimately involved in the journey of his players through the league’s concussion protocol. They do not determine when a player is cleared to return to practice or games.

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But now, Shanahan admits, he “no doubt” has a new perspective on concussions.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida, on Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

“Just little things, like when they label things, like whether it’s severe or mild,” he said. “You hear someone has a mild one, I’m like, ‘Oh, alright. It might be one game, but usually that’s two.’ Then you kind of learn those are just words. Each one’s a little bit different.

“I definitely can relate to how scary it is when you don’t know if you will feel right again. It’s definitely made me more educated on it. Usually I just listen, and like, ‘Tell me when, OK,’ and I move on. But I understand it a lot better and what guys got to go through the protocol to get back.”

Shanahan admits he’s still not 100% following his concussion. He reports he still experiences headaches and fatigue.

Noise, particularly the soundtrack played over loudspeakers at practice, is no longer the challenge it was earlier.

“AC/DC hurt a lot more than some smoother hip-hop, but I think those days are over,” he said. “Noise doesn’t bother me like it was. I actually have two symptoms, I feel like, and that’s headaches and fatigue. That’s all I’m feeling right now.”

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