Vikings go big on defense in the NFL draft, particularly up front

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — TheMinnesota Vikingsmight not know for some time whether this rookie class will get them back on track with theNFL draft, after recent years have not yielded enough quality depth for the roster and forced them to spend big in free agency.

Vikings Draft Football

Even if the dividends don't immediately pay off for him, defensive coordinator Brian Flores was clearly one of the biggest winners from the weekend.

Starting with Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks in thefirst round, the Vikings as directed by interim general manager Rob Brzezinski wound up with five top-100 picks and used four of them on defensive players.

Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday, who can play on the edge as well as inside, came in the second round. Iowa State defensive tackle Domonique Orange went in the third round, as did Miami safety Jakobe Thomas.

Then among their four picks on Saturday, the Vikings used a fifth-rounder on Stephen F. Austin cornerback Charles Demmings. Granted, Flores had to part withedge rusher Jonathan Greenardin a cap-relief trade with Philadelphia on Friday that netted two third-round picks. But the emergence of 2024 first-round draft pick Dallas Turner last season made parting with Greenard more palatable.

The upside of bulk and athleticism with Banks and Orange joining budding standout Jalen Redmond on the inside gives the Vikings more confidence they're building an interior that can't be easily bulldozed.

“Brian Flores has talked about it. I’ve talked about it: This is a big man’s game," coach Kevin O'Connell said.

Banks might be bringing a crowd

Banks during his introductory news conference at team headquarters revealed that he has four pets and plans to acquire more — two pythons, a chameleon and a dog. He said he plans to bring them with him to Minnesota, with more snakes, another dog, a tarantula and frogs on his radar for expanding the roster.

His love for animals was developed through an affinity for koala bears. He said he would've even majored in zoology at Florida if the time demands of those course didn't conflict with football practice.

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“Yeah, I'm different," Banks said. “I'm telling you, you'd be surprised.”

A special guest at the Bredeson family gathering

The first pick the Vikings made on Saturday was Michigan's Max Bredeson at 159th overall in the fifth round, targeting a blocking specialist who lined up in several places in the formation in college as a successor to recently retired fullback C.J. Ham.

When Bredeson's video conference call with Minnesota reporters began from his family's home in Hartland, Wisconsin, one of his former Michigan teammates popped on the screen: J.J. McCarthy.

The Vikings quarterback was in the same recruiting class as Bredeson when they joined the Wolverines, and they've remained close friends. They even had the same private quarterback coach as youths, before Bredeson wisely made a position switch. Landing on the same NFL team was quite a

“I'm a Midwest kid, so it's awesome to be in the Midwest,” Bredeson said. “All the time I've spent with anyone in the Vikings organization, it always felt real.”

Playing hot potato with the 198th overall pick

The Vikings selected Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne in the sixth round on Saturday with a pick that became one of the most popular in the draft. That originally belonged to the Vikings, who first sent it to Houston in 2024 for running back Cam Akers. They reacquired it in a subsequent trade with the Texans, then sent it to San Francisco last year for running back Jordan Mason. The 49ers wound up dealing it to New England. Then the Patriots sent it back to the Vikings on Saturday for one of their seventh-round selections (234th overall) and a sixth-rounder in 2027.

Nine picks in, nine picks out

The Vikings were less active on the trade market than usual, though the Greenard deal was the headline of the weekend. They got a third-rounder from Philadelphia, plus another one in 2027, for Greenard and one of their seventh-rounders. They made a minor move with Carolina in the second round on Friday to drop two spots and upgrade a sixth-rounder to a fifth-rounder. In the end, they made nine selections — the same amount they started with — and got five top-100 picks after starting with four.

AP NFL:https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

bySator Tenet

in

April 28, 2026

Vikings go big on defense in the NFL draft, particularly up front

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — TheMinnesota Vikingsmight not know for some time whether this rookie class will get them back on track with theNFL d...

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Olivia Pichardo is a reluctant groundbreaker as a woman in baseball

In her ideal world, Olivia Pichardo would just play ball and not take attention away from her teammates.

Brown Woman Pitcher

“Sometimes it feels a little ridiculous,” she told The Associated Press, “but it’s something I understand is going to happen. That's not what my primary focus is ever on.”

Pichardo has grown accustomed to being the only girl on her baseball team during her years in Little League, high school and travel ball. Four years ago she tried out for the Brown University team, made it and early in her freshman season became thefirst woman to appear in a Division I gamewhen she pinch-hit against Bryant.

On her senior day last Saturday, she became the first woman to pitch in a Division I game when she got the final out in a key win over Cornell.

“I feel like sometimes it might distract a bit too much from the success of our team,” Pichardo said. “We just made the playoffs for the first time since 2007, so that’s a huge accomplishment, and I wouldn’t want to take away from that."

Pichardo was listed as an outfielder and pitcher her first three years and focused only on pitching this season. The fact she stuck it out four years might seem surprising. Brown has played 151 games since Pichardo arrived, and she has appeared in only six. She pinch-hit once as a freshman, once as a sophomore and three times as a junior, when she also played right field for an inning and caught two flies.

Until Saturday, she hadn't appeared in a game this season, let alone warmed up in the bullpen. With Brown leading Cornell 16-3 in the ninth inning, coach Frank Holbrook's plan was to have little-used reliever Ty Harris get the first two outs and have Pichardo finish.

The 5-foot-7, 165-pound Pichardo has a four-pitch repertoire that includes a low-80s four-seam fastball to go with a sinker, changeup and curve. She entered with the bases loaded and threw two fastballs to Tyler Beaulieu, who grounded out to short to end Brown's 16-4 win.

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Pichardo said she has never had any problem melding with her teammates. She prefers just being one of the guys and not taking spotlight away from the team. She does, however, understand the magnitude of what she’s accomplished, not just in college but also in summer ball. In 2023, she became the first woman to hit a home run in a summer league,connecting for Sag Harborin the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League.

“It’s important for inspiring the younger generation of female baseball players, give them some kind of hope, I guess, that if they want to play at the collegiate level, no matter what division, that door is open for them and it is possible,” she said.

Pichardo, who graduates this spring with a degree in business economics, has been able to capitalize on name, image and likeness opportunities as the most visible woman in college baseball. She's in her third year as an endorser for the baseball equipment and apparel company Warstic Sports and she has a deal with Topps Allen & Ginter baseball cards.

Once Brown's season ends, she'll turn her attention to trying out for the U.S. women's team that will play in the group stage of the 2027 World Cup. She has been a regular on Team USA since 2022 and pitched against Japan in the 2024 World Cup in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Pichardo said she's been grateful for every baseball opportunity since her father signed her up for a league in her hometown of Queens, New York, when she was 6.

“He didn't have any sons, so I like to say I was his designated son,” she said. “I've always been able to play at every level that I've progressed to, so there was never any reason for me to stop playing baseball just because I didn't see other women in the same space as me. It was my first sport, my first love and I knew I wanted to try and play at the highest level possible.”

AP college sports:https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

bySator Tenet

in

April 28, 2026

Olivia Pichardo is a reluctant groundbreaker as a woman in baseball

In her ideal world, Olivia Pichardo would just play ball and not take attention away from her teammates. Brown Woman Pitcher “S...

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Tim Matheson Looks Back at Lasting Lessons from Working with Lucille Ball on the 58th Anniversary of “Yours, Mine and Ours”

Tim Matheson appeared in Yours, Mine and Ours as the oldest Beardsley son, Mike

NEED TO KNOW

• The 1968 film, which enjoyed box office success, celebrated its 58th anniversary this month

• Matheson has openly applauded Lucille Ball and spoken at length about the impact of working with her in his early acting career

Tim Mathesonis looking back at one of the most special moments in his career.

The actor, 78, took time on Friday, April 24 to honor the 58th anniversary of the premiere ofYours, Mine and Ours, his second film. The classic comedy starredLucille Balland Henry Fonda as the parents of the sprawling blended family which included 18 children in total. Matheson played the oldest of the Beardsley children.

Sharing a photo of the cast on Instagram, he wrote, "Yours, Mine and Ourscame out 58 years ago today. I was lucky to share the screen with the great Lucille Ball, and even luckier to learn from her."

"Lucy didn't just walk onto a set and be funny. She worked at it. Every beat, every look, every moment was thought through and earned," he continued. "Watching her taught me that comedy isn't effortless, it's craft. And if you're willing to put in the work, there's a rhythm to it you can feel. I'm grateful to have been a part of this one, and to have had a front row seat to one of the greats 🤩."

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On theStill Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetkopodcast in May 2025, Matheson shared more about his experience working with Ball, calling her "the most powerful woman in Hollywood" at that time.

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“She was so involved in the casting of that part and so helpful to me in getting the part,” Matheson said. And while they were filming the movie, which also starred Fonda and theVirgin Riverstar's late ex-wifeJennifer Leak, the actor remembered Ball would invite him into her trailer to talk about “the business” and “acting.”

Matheson added that to “just watch her, how precise she was and how perfect she was about the work she did and how seriously she took it” was just as inspirational.

Recalling another moment where Ball joked about an actor missing a line, Matheson explained the moment taught him that "Acting and making movies in Hollywood, it's a full-contact sport."

"And you gotta be ready to take the hit. And that's the biggest lesson I got from her because Lucy was tough. She was tough. She didn't care if it was a 6-year-old who blew his line or a 60-year-old.”

“She was the gold standard for me,” he said. She “didn't go out of her way to be extra nice” because they were at work, doing their jobs, he added. “But when you stepped offstage,” he remembered, Ball would ask how he was and be friendly and professional. “She was stellar,” he said of the star,who died in 1989 at age 77.

Read the original article onPeople

bySator Tenet

in

April 28, 2026

Tim Matheson Looks Back at Lasting Lessons from Working with Lucille Ball on the 58th Anniversary of “Yours, Mine and Ours”

Tim Matheson appeared in Yours, Mine and Ours as the oldest Beardsley son, Mike NEED TO KNOW The 1968 film, which...

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Kyle Tucker’s 2-out, 2-run single in the 9th inning leads Dodgers past Marlins 5-4

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kyle Tucker singled in the tying and go-ahead runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, rallying the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Miami Marlins 5-4 on Monday night in the series opener.

Marlins Dodgers Baseball

It was Tucker's only hit of the game after starting 0 for 4.

Jake Eder (1-0) earned his first major league victory, allowing one hit in one inning of relief.

The Dodgers improved to 3-7 when trailing after seven innings.

Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks (0-2) walked Andy Pages and he scored on Shohei Ohtani’s ground-rule double in the ninth, pulling the Dodgers to 4-3. Pinch-hitter Dalton Rushing walked and Freddie Freeman was intentionally walked to load the bases before Tyler Phillips replaced Fairbanks, who appeared to have a physical issue.

Phillips struck out Will Smith, leaving the Dodgers down to their last out. Tucker singled to center, scoring Ohtani and Rushing.

Liam Hicks gave the Marlins a 4-2 lead with a three-run homer off World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the fifth.

Facing an 0-2 count, Hicks connected on a 92-mph splitter with two outs in the fifth that landed in the lower right-field seats, scoring Jakob Marsee and Xavier Edwards, who both walked.

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Yamamoto gave up four runs and five hits over five innings in his shortest outing of the season. The right-hander struck out four and walked a season-high four. His streak of five consecutive quality starts to open the season ended.

Marlins starter Chris Paddack allowed two runs and four hits in four innings. He struck out one.

Down 4-2, the Dodgers left the bases loaded in the seventh. Pinch-hitter Alex Call and Ohtani singled and Freeman walked before Smith grounded out against reliever Andrew Nardi to end the inning.

The Marlins trailed 2-1 when Otto Lopez scored on shortstop Hyeseong Kim's fielding error in the fourth.

The Dodgers led 2-0 in the first. Teoscar Hernández's two-out RBI single scored Ohtani and Freeman, who singled back-to-back to open the inning.

Up next

Marlins RHP Janson Junk (1-2, 3.67 ERA) starts Tuesday against Dodgers RHP Shohei Ohtani (2-0, 0.38).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

bySator Tenet

in

April 28, 2026

Kyle Tucker’s 2-out, 2-run single in the 9th inning leads Dodgers past Marlins 5-4

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kyle Tucker singled in the tying and go-ahead runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, rallying the Los Angele...

Read More