NFL Writer Urges Steelers To Cut Pro Bowl Defensive Player This Offse… — and more

The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to undergo several changes this offseason, and many of those adjustments could occur on defense.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down from his position following the season. Known for his defensive mindset, Tomlin brought in several players to fit his defensive scheme, and some of them may soon be on the move.

NFL.com’s Matt Okada suggested that the Steelers should consider cutting linebacker Patrick Queen during the upcoming offseason.

“The Steelers are in good cap shape, so this might not be a necessary move, but cutting Queen before June 1 would save Pittsburgh $13.3 million to help build an offense to new head coach Mike McCarthy’s specifications,” Okada wrote on Monday. “Pittsburgh could instead/also cut Jalen Ramsey for $19.5 million in savings, but his move to safety earned him a Pro Bowl nod and his leadership on the defense might earn him the Pittsburgh roster spot over Queen.”

Queen has been in the NFL since 2020, spending his first four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before moving to the Steelers in 2024.

The 26-year-old linebacker got off to a fantastic start with the Steelers in 2024, earning a spot in the Pro Bowl. However, this season he has experienced a slight decline in performance.

Pittsburgh may need to part ways with Queen’s contract to potentially bring in more offensive support this offseason, including the addition of a free-agent quarterback.

More NFL: Steelers Predicted To Pair DK Metcalf With 1,781‑Yard WR In Draft

The post NFL Writer Urges Steelers To Cut Pro Bowl Defensive Player This Offseason appeared first on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Radio Foot internationale revient à 21h10 T.U. Soirée européenne à l'occasion des barrages aller. Huit équipes qualifiées rejoindront les huitièmes de finale et les formations qui se sont qualifiées directement à l'issue de la phase de Ligue. Thomas de Saint-Léger est en direct du Stade Louis II pour suivre la rencontre entre Monaco et le PSG. Nous suivons les autres affiches de la soirée : Galatasaray/Juventus, Benfica/Real Madrid et Borussia Dortmund/Atalanta Bergame.

Cubs' Moises Ballesteros looking to take the next step this year originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Ahead of the 2021 season, Moises Ballesteros signed as an international free agent with the Chicago Cubs and went straight to the Dominican Summer League Cubs. 

The following year, he would play in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Cubs and then go on to Single-A. In 2023, in Double-A, he would become the club's Minor League Player of the Year.

He would play the majority of his games in Triple-A last season, but did get some MLB experience. He made his debut in May and ended up playing in 20 games. 

MORE: Veterans and a top prospect square off for the Cubs' fourth outfielder spot

Cubs' Moises Ballesteros looking to take the next step this year

During his cup of coffee in the big leagues, Ballesteros hit .298/.394/.474 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, and 11 runs batted in. 

With Kyle Tucker gone, his role for the Cubs has gotten much bigger now. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter believes he could be the club's biggest offensive breakout this year. 

"After a forgettable five-game cup of coffee in May and a one-off promotion in July, Ballesteros was called up for good in mid-September, and he hit .333/.435/.564 with four extra-base hits and five RBI in 46 plate appearances. The Owen Caissie trade makes him the clear beneficiary of Kyle Tucker's departure, with all signs leading to Seiya Suzuki shifting back to right field and Ballesteros slotting in as the primary DH."

Ballesteros is expected to be primarily used as a DH, while getting back behind the plate when he is needed. He will need to perform well to keep Suzuki out in the outfield. 

If he struggles at DH, you can expect the Cubs to move Suzuki back to the DH spot and put someone like Dylan Carlson or Chas McCormick to play the outfield. So, all eyes will be on Ballesteros early this year.

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'No racism' gesture in soccer: Explaining FIFA's cross-arm 'X' signal used in La Liga and Champions League originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Developing effective and widespread anti-racism protocols has been a major emphasis by global football over the past decade.

While FIFA has championed its three-step process of pause, halt, and abandon a match affected by racial abuse, critics argue that in practice this has not achieved the desired effect.

One of the most troubled regions plagued by instances of such abuse is the Spanish professional league, where a number of black players have reported being subjected to chants, insults, and other targeted abuse across multiple spheres, including at matches, on social media, and throughout daily life.

Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior has been vocal in his demands for authorities to stamp out racism, even calling for Spain to be stripped of hosting rights for the 2030 FIFA World Cup if the problem is not tackled sufficiently.

Perhaps they have heeded those calls at last. The Spanish federation, along with La Liga, became the first to adopt a new anti-racism procedure in fall of 2024 which FIFA hopes will become standard across all leagues and competitions around the globe.

MORE: All the latest soccer news | Barcelona news | Real Madrid news

What is FIFA's 'no racism' cross-arm gesture?

FIFA has implemented a new gesture for referees and players to signal that racial abuse is occurring during a game.

Per the new guidelines from soccer's governing body, players and referees will have the ability to cross their arms at the wrists in an X to signal an instance of racist abuse. Players may use it to get the referee's attention, while referees can use it to indicate to the viewing public what has occurred.

Should this happen, the referee will immediately begin the three-step process already in place to handle racial abuse. The first of the three steps is to pause the game until the abuse ends, and should it not, the next two steps of suspending the match and abandoning the match will be taken in appropriate measure.

"By crossing their hands at the wrists, players can signal directly to the referee that they are being targeted by racist abuse, prompting the referee to start the anti-discrimination three-step procedure," FIFA explained in its anti-discrimination announcement.

Additionally, if the referee notices or identifies racial abuse themselves, they can also use the gesture to signal that the three-step process is being adopted.

MORE:Antonio Rudiger claims racial abuse during Club World Cup match against Pachuca

When and how is the 'no racism' gesture used?

In leagues where the guidelines are adopted, players are able to utilise this gesture when being targeted by racial abuse.

The crossed arms will signal to referees that they are the target of abuse and allow the official to take appropriate action.

Referees themselves can also use the gesture to signal that the match is being affected by racist insults and that the three-step protocol has been initiated.

While nothing fundamental is changing with this guideline, what it will hopefully do is to allow for greater transparency for viewers, which in turn will, theoretically, force referees to take more immediate action when abuse occurs.

As it stands, discussions about racist abuse on the pitch between players and officials are often difficult to identify in the moment, and thus referees can waver in their ability to implement the three-step process. Under this guideline, everyone will immediately know a player has been abused, which will put pressure on the referee to react promptly.

During the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Antonio Rudiger informed the referee of racial abuse by a Pachuca player, at which point the official signaled such by crossing his arms during the stoppage.

O árbitro Ramon Abatti Abel fez o sinal do protocolo antirracismo após uma discussão do Rudiger com o argentino Gustavo Cabral.

📸 Reprodução pic.twitter.com/DC76vycYMK

— Papo de Boleiros 🇧🇷 (@_papoboleiros) June 22, 2025

When did La Liga, FIFA implement the 'no racism' gesture?

As no specific timeline for implementation was given by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) at the moment of publication, it appeared that La Liga will begin implementing this part of the anti-racism procedures immediately, and that was indeed the case.

"The Royal Spanish Football Federation, together with La Liga, will incorporate the gesture for racist incidents that was approved at the last FIFA Congress held in Bangkok into the Protocol for Action on Public Incidents," said the RFEF in a statement. "An agreement was adopted unanimously to continue fighting racism together and efficiently."

Spain has witnessed a number of instances of racial abuse at football matches, with high-profile incidents both during and around La Liga matches. Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. has often been the target of racial abuse and has been an outspoken critic of what he considers to be the country's systemic issue with racism. Most notably, Vinicius posited that Spain should lose the right to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup if the problem isn't stamped out.

Steps have been taken towards reducing the problem. In June 2024, three men were jailed for racially abusing Vinicius in a match between Madrid and Valencia at Mestalla in May 2023.

The Brazilian posted on X: "Many people asked me to ignore it, others said that my fight was in vain and that I should just 'play football'. But, as I've always said, I'm not a victim of racism. I am an executioner of racists. This first criminal conviction in Spanish history is not for me. It's for all black people.

"Let the other racists be afraid, ashamed and hide in the shadows. Otherwise, I'll be here to call them out. Thank you to LaLiga and Real Madrid for helping to bring about this historic condemnation. There's more to come."

Do any other leagues use the 'no racism' gesture?

By the end of the 2024/25 European season, no other top leagues used the crossed-arms gesture, but La Liga was not the first worldwide competition to implement the process.

The gesture is in place at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, which is currently in action in Colombia.

It was then implemented for all subsequent FIFA competitions, including the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States where the Rudiger incident took place.

Vinicius Jr racially abused during Champions League match

After scoring the opening goal of Real Madrid's knockout playoff first leg at Benfica in February 2026, Vinicius Jr. informed the match official that he had been the target of a racist comment by a Benfica player.

Replays showed Gianluca Prestianni covering his mouth with his shirt before saying something to Vinicius in the aftermath of his celebration, at which point the Real Madrid star immediately runs to inform the referee what he has heard.

At that point, French referee Francois Letexier made the crossed-arms gesture to indicate there had been racial abuse, and the match was stopped for nearly 10 minutes as the situation was resolved.

How the incident played out in full:

▪️ Vinícius Júnior scores a worldie strike.
▪️ He is booked for celebrating overtly.
▪️ Gianluca Prestianni says something to Vini.
▪️ Vini then charges over to referee who initiates the racism protocol. https://t.co/wUMWvXvRtUpic.twitter.com/2zAag49es1

— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) February 17, 2026

Throughout the stoppage, Vinicius Jr refused to continue playing the match, and multiple Real Madrid players protested the continued involvement of Prestianni in the match proceedings.

Eventually, the game resumed in the 61st minute, but there was a tense atmosphere in Estadio da Luz as the game continued. The CBS Sports broadcasters commented shortly after that "some of the air has been sucked out" of the match environment with what occurred.

The World Baseball Classic returns for its sixth edition in March, featuring a 20-team field spread across four pools. In all, 47 games will be played over 13 days at four sites: the Tokyo Dome, San Juan Puerto Rico’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Miami’s loanDepot Park and Houston’s Daikin Park. 

Team Japan, the only nation to win multiple WBC crowns (2006, 2009, 2023), is aiming for its fourth title while the Dominican Republic (2013) and U.S. (2017) are the only other winners of the event. Japan’s roster features 2025 NLCS MVP Shohei Ohtani and 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, both of the Dodgers, in addition to Angels lefty starter Yusei Kikuchi and Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki.

The U.S. roster is led by captain Aaron Judge and features both 2025 Cy Young winners in Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes. Team USA boasts a combined 65 MLB All-Star Game appearances and four former MVPs in Judge, Bryce Harper, Paul Goldschmidt and Clayton Kershaw. 

Most games will be broadcast in the U.S. on the Fox family of networks (Fox, FS1, FS2) and streaming on the Fox Sports app and Tubi. 

2026 World Baseball Classic pools

Pool A | Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico 

Canada
Colombia
Cuba
Panama
Puerto Rico

Pool B | Daikin Park, Houston

Brazil
Great Britain
Italy
Mexico
U.S.

Pool C | Tokyo Dome, Tokyo

Australia
Chinese Taipei
Czechia
Japan
South Korea

Pool D | loanDepot Park, Miami

Dominican Republic
Israel
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Venezuela

2026 World Baseball Classic schedule

All times Eastern

Pool play

Wednesday, March 4
10 p.m.: Australia vs. Chinese Taipei (FS1) 

Thursday, March 5
5 a.m.: South Korea vs. Czechia (FS1) 
10 p.m.: Czechia vs. Australia (FS1) 

Friday, March 6
5 a.m.: Chinese Taipei vs. Japan (FS1) 
11 a.m.: Panama vs. Cuba (FS2)  
Noon: Venezuela vs. Netherlands (Tubi)
1 p.m.: Great Britain vs. Mexico (FS1)
6 p.m.: Colombia vs. Puerto Rico (FS1)  
7 p.m.: Dominican Republic vs. Nicaragua (FS2)
8 p.m.: Brazil vs. U.S. (Fox) – Daikin Park
10 p.m.: Czechia vs. Chinese Taipei (FS2) 

Saturday, March 7
5 a.m.: Japan vs. South Korea (FS1) 
11 a.m.: Canada vs. Colombia (FS2)  
Noon: Netherlands vs. Nicaragua (Tubi)
1 p.m.: Italy vs. Brazil (Fox app only)
6 p.m.: Puerto Rico vs. Panama (FS1)  
7 p.m.: Venezuela vs. Israel (FS1)
8 p.m.: U.S. vs. Great Britain (Fox)
10 p.m.: South Korea vs. Chinese Taipei (FS2) 

Sunday, March 8
6 a.m.: Japan vs. Australia (FS1) 
Noon: Cuba vs. Colombia (FS2)  
Noon: Dominican Republic vs. Netherlands (Fox)
1 p.m.: Italy vs. Great Britain (Tubi)
7 p.m.: Israel vs. Nicaragua (Tubi)
7 p.m.: Canada vs. Panama (FS2)  
8 p.m.: Mexico vs. Brazil (FS1)

Monday, March 9
6 a.m.: Australia vs. South Korea (FS1) 
Noon: Israel vs. Dominican Republic (FS1) 
Noon: Panama vs. Colombia (FS2)  
1 p.m.: Great Britain vs. Brazil (Tubi)
7 p.m.: Puerto Rico vs. Cuba (FS1)  
7 p.m.: Nicaragua vs. Venezuela (FS2)
8 p.m.: U.S. vs. Mexico (Fox)

Tuesday, March 10
6 a.m.: Japan vs. Czechia (FS1) 
7 p.m.: Netherlands vs. Israel (Fox app only)
7 p.m.: Puerto Rico vs. Canada (Tubi)  
9 p.m.: U.S. vs. Italy (FS1)

Wednesday, March 11
3 p.m.: Cuba vs. Canada (FS1)  
7 p.m.: Mexico vs. Italy (Tubi)
8 p.m.: Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic (FS1)

Thursday, March 12
No games

Quarterfinals

Friday, March 13
6:30 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD (FS1) – loanDepot Park
8 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD (Fox) – Daikin Park

Saturday, March 14
3 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD (FS1) – Daikin Park
9 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD (Fox) – loanDepot Park

Semifinals

Sunday, March 15
8 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD (FS1) – loanDepot Park

Monday, March 16
8 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD (FS1) – loanDepot Park

Championship final

Tuesday, March 17
8 p.m.: TBD vs. TBD (FS1) – loanDepot Park