There’s a hole at Maggie Hathaway Golf Course in Los Angeles patterned on an architectural template — the Lion’s Mouth, a classic feature defined by a meddlesome bunker fronting much of the green. You’ll find versions of it at select private clubs, and at marquee public courses where tee times require months of advance planning. Most days at Maggie Hathaway, you can walk up and get on.

It’ll cost you, though. Green fees max out at $9.50.

Maggie Hathaway is a nine-hole par-3 course that has been in operation since 1962, but not always under its current name and not always in its current form. It was originally known as the Jack Thompson Golf Course before being rechristened in 1997 in honor of the woman who helped make public golf in Los Angeles the melting pot it is today.

Hathaway was a blues singer, actress and civil rights activist who organized pickets of segregated courses and petitioned L.A. public officials to open county layouts to everyone. She wasn’t alone on the front lines of that fight, but she was a leader, and the course that bears her name is a monument to a worthy battle won.

Glen Porter never met Hathaway, who died in 2001. But he knows her namesake layout about as well as anyone. It was where he learned the game some 20 years ago, long before he came aboard as general manager. Some things haven’t changed since he first set foot on property. Now, as then, the course gives way to sweet views of the city, sweeping west across downtown and on to the Hollywood sign in the distance. Junior rates remain $1, the same fee Porter paid as a kid.

In that sense, the place feels as familiar as ever. In other ways, though, it’s dramatically transformed.

“Like night and day,” Porter says.

In late March, Maggie Hathaway reopened following a comprehensive renovation that delivered a new routing, new turf, new irrigation, new green complexes, and sandy waste areas, along with an expanded and relocated practice range and a large, unruly putting green.

Once soft and spongy, the terrain has been remade into a firm, fast playground, with the same tight-mown grass varietals golfers enjoy at Los Angeles Country Club, and a fresh injection of strategic intrigue.

“The greens used to be small, flat circles,” Porter says.

Today, they are rumpled, flanked by speedy runoffs and shot through with nods to classic design features, from a double-plateau green on the 4th hole that borrows from the work of C.B. Macdonald to a flip-wedge 9th hole whose green was inspired by the par-3 10th hole at Pine Valley.

In its prior iteration, Maggie Hathaway was light on bunkers. Sand now figures prominently, in waste areas that lend a rustic aesthetic and green-side bunkers that compound the consequences of errant shots. One such hazard is the Lion’s Mouth, lurking at the front of the 2nd green.

Like other recent headline-making muni renovations, including the Patch in Augusta and the Park in West Palm Beach, the Maggie Hathaway project was propelled by a public-private partnership. A fundraising effort, led by members of Los Angeles Country Club, brought in a total of $21 million. The county contributed another $8 million, and Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner — the architects who reworked both courses at LACC in advance of the 2023 U.S. Open — pitched in their design services for free.

One measure of the payoff can be seen on the tee sheet. The course now sees some 180 rounds a day, Porter says, roughly double the pre-renovation volume. And with a clubhouse and training center under construction, it will soon have even greater gravitational pull. Already, the First Tee has a home at Maggie Hathaway, as do local public-school programs, though the course is a magnet for old-timers, too. Many of the regulars came of age in the game here decades ago. Some drifted away but have found their way back. Porter is one of them. The $1 junior who grew up to run the place.

He never crossed paths with Maggie Hathaway. But he knows enough about her to know she would be pleased.

The Mittal family, led by Lakshmi N Mittal and Aditya Mittal, reached a definitive agreement to acquire the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in partnership with Serum Institute of India Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla from Manoj Badale and his consortium.

The transaction values the franchise at approximately $1.65 billion and includes the Rajasthan Royals’ Indian Premier League (IPL) team, along with Paarl Royals in South Africa and Barbados Royals in the Caribbean.

Following completion, the Mittal family will hold about 75 per cent stake, while Poonawalla will own around 18 per cent. The remaining 7 per cent will stay with approved existing investors, including Badale.

Approvals pending; deal expected by Q3 2026

The acquisition remains subject to approvals from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the IPL Governing Council, and other regulatory authorities. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.

Lakshmi Mittal, Aditya Mittal, Vanisha Mittal-Bhatia, Adar Poonawalla and Manoj Badale will join the board of Rajasthan Royals.

“Badale is set to continue in a supporting role, acting as a bridge between the existing management and the new ownership,” according to the media release.

Mittals cite Rajasthan roots, IPL growth appeal

Lakshmi Mittal highlighted his personal connection with the state and the sport.

“I love cricket and my family is from Rajasthan, so there is no IPL team that I would rather be part of than the Rajasthan Royals,” he said in the media release.

Aditya Mittal said the IPL had rapidly emerged as one of the biggest sporting leagues globally and described the Royals as one of its most iconic teams.

Vanisha Mittal-Bhatia said the family’s association with sport and India made the investment “an honour and a privilege”.

Poonawalla said he looked forward to supporting the franchise’s long-term growth.

Why Kal Somani-led US consortium missed out

The group, which had attracted high-profile global investors such as Walmart heir Rob Walton — owner of the National Football League’s Denver Broncos — and Sheila Ford Hamp of the Detroit Lions, struggled to translate interest into binding financial commitments.

People aware of the development said the proposed $1.63-billion transaction faced delays due to gaps in capital commitments, regulatory complexities, and difficulties in structuring the consortium.

These challenges prevented the group from meeting timelines required to close the deal, allowing the Mittal family-led consortium, backed by Adar Poonawalla, to emerge as the preferred bidder.

Advisers and transaction details

The buyer consortium was advised by Latham & Watkins, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Trilegal as legal counsel, Goldman Sachs as financial adviser, and Price Waterhouse & Co as tax adviser.

Raine Group managed the sale process and acted as commercial adviser to the seller consortium, alongside Deloitte, EY, Macfarlanes, and AZB Partners.

Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant mentioned owner Sanjiv Goenka at toss ahead of the IPL 2026 encounter against Mumbai Indians on Monday. It has been a tough campaign for LSG till now as they have won just 2 out of their 8 matches and face an uphill battle when it comes to qualifying to the playoffs. The Pant-led side need to win all of their remaining matches and depend on other results to make sure that they finish in the Top 4. Pant was asked about their form during toss and he said that Sanjiv Goenka is extremely passionate about the game as well as the team before adding that the team wants to improve their form in order to deliver consistent results for the fans as well as their owner.

“We would have done the same. In Wankhede it’s a good wicket to bat on and you can chase any target. (How does a week off help? Did it help to kind of get together?) It definitely [did], a lot of reflection, what we can do and what we can do as a team and as an individual. One thing we always found out, it’s been a tough season for us and there is no running away from that, but one person for us has the most difficult time was our owner Mr. Goenka, he’s one of that guy. Everyone knows how passionate he is about cricket and about his team. But at the same time we let down our fans down. The only promise is from this break is, we’re gonna give our 200%, try to bring that happiness back and hopefully we can do it for our owner and the fans for sure.”

“(Having a good record against MI) Records help but at the same time when you’re clearing your mindset, when you’re free, when you’re raring to go everything comes together. (Changes for you?) We have three changes. Josh Inglis comes in and Mukul goes out and Raghuwanshi is making his debut and bowling will decide later,” Pant said at the toss.

Playing XIs:

Lucknow Super Giants: Mitch Marsh, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c, wk), Akshat Raghuvanshi, Himmat Singh, Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav

Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Raghu Sharma

(With IANS inputs)

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After 26 quarters of basketball, the Raptors and Cavs were tied 718-718 in total points scored for the series. It had been a very underwhelming series for Cleveland up until that point. Donovan Mitchell and James Harden had been very quiet, and shots weren’t falling for the rest of the role players.

Someone had to step up to save the season for Cleveland, and it was Jarrett Allen. The man best known for the lights being too bright saved the Cavs’ season with a 14-point, 10-rebound third quarter. He took over this game for Cleveland, being the catalyst for a 38-19 third quarter, which Cleveland rode to a 114-102 finish.

More importantly than Allen showing up when it mattered, the Cavs finally played like the team we expected them to be this entire series. Instead of settling for bad isolation sets and last-second threes, the Cavs took it to the Raptors and would not let up with consistent rim pressure.

Cleveland has been out-physicalled by playoff teams during the Mitchell era, and they won this game by being the more physical team on both ends. The Cavs out-rebounded the Raptors 40-33, but more importantly destroyed them on the offensive glass 20-7. They also did a great job getting in the paint, shooting 37 free throws in this one.

Harden didn’t have an amazing game, but late into the second quarter, he started putting his head down and driving into the lane. He finished the game with 13 free throws and was a big spark to Cleveland’s offense whenever the game seemed to get tense. Most importantly for Harden, he only had 2 turnovers. He limited the possessions for a Raptors team that thrives on transition basketball.

Round two should be much different for Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell has to show up for the Cavs. Detroit has far fewer physical and talented defenders to throw at him. If he can’t attack the doubles they send at him, I’ll have questions on what he can ever provide for Cleveland in the playoffs.

It was an ugly first round for Cleveland, but I love their matchup with Detroit heading into the Eastern Conference Semis. The Cavs have a far more explosive offense than Orlando, and should be able to exploit a Pistons team that showed zero signs of offensive production outside of Cade Cunningham. Dean Wade did a tremendous job of slowing Cade in the regular season. If he can do that again, I think Donovan could end his streak of zero Conference Finals appearances in 2026.

Fernando Mendoza sky-rocketed to the top of every NFL pundit’s draft board during the course of the 2025 college football season as the Indiana Hoosiers standout won the Heisman Trophy and led the school to a national championship.

Mendoza’s status stayed clean as the Las Vegas Raiders selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft. He will be tasked with returning the franchise back to glory under head coach Klint Kubiak and veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is set to serve as Mendoza’s mentor.

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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza runs through a drill during a rookie minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, Nev., on May 2, 2026. (Candice Ward/Imagn Images)

A detractor came out of the woodwork on Monday as an anonymous ACC coach told ESPN that he didn’t believe Mendoza had the “NFL traits.” The coach competed against Mendoza when the quarterback was tossing the pigskin around for the Cal Golden Bears.

“He’s a good decision-maker, but I don’t think he’s got the NFL traits,” the coach told ESPN. “They’re all back-shoulder (throws). That’s not working in the NFL. His receivers made plays to make him look better than he is. In the NFL, those throws are getting picked off.”

FERNANDO MENDOZA, THE NO 1 PICK OF NFL DRAFT TO THE RAIDERS, TASKED WITH RETURNING A LEGACY FRANCHISE TO GLORY

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza warms up during a rookie minicamp at Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson, Nev., on May 2, 2026. (Candice Ward/Imagn Images)

Mendoza showed grit and determination with some of the throws he made at Indiana. One that comes to mind is the game-winning touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. against Penn State.

Cooper made the catch and an incredible toe-tap for the touchdown with 36 seconds left in the game, which kept Indiana’s dream season alive.

Raiders general manager John Spytek said last month he nixed any talk of trading the No. 1 pick because he was sure Mendoza would be their guy.

“I think any coach is excited to work with a big, athletic, talented thrower that is extremely smart and a very driven worker, and that’s been our experience with Fernando,” Spytek said. “That’s a great starting spot for any quarterback.”

It’s the heart that Mendoza showed throughout the season, including in the national title game against the Miami Hurricanes, that made him an attractive prospect for NFL teams.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, attends a news conference at the Raiders Headquarters in Henderson, Nev., on April 24, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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He had 3,535 passing yards and 41 touchdown passes in his lone season at Indiana.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LSG batting-first XI: Mitch Marsh, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c, wk), Akshat Raghuvanshi, Himmat Singh, Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav

Impact Bench: Siddharth M, Digvesh Rathi, Mayank Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abdul Samad

MI bowling-first XI: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar, Raghu Sharma

Impact Bench: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Robin Minz, Shardul Thakur, Trent Boult