WEDNESDAY SPORTS, AUGUST 5, 2026
CLASS B STATE LEGION BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
— Madison defeated Dakota Valley 2-1 on Tuesday to win the Class B Legion state tournament. It’s Madison’s first Class B Legion state title since 2014. The host team went a perfect 5-0 during the five-day tournament. Henry Veenhof allowed just one run over 6 2/3 innings, striking out 11. Cale Johnson added a two-run double in the fifth inning for Madison. Dakota Valley’s Bryce Anderson allowed two runs on four hits over six innings in the loss.
BASEBALL
— Fire has heavily damaged the grandstand at First National Bank Field in Brandon. The Brandon Valley Baseball Association says the blaze started Monday night beneath the grandstand, destroying everything stored underneath and causing heavy smoke damage to the concession stand and press box. The grandstand also sustained damage. The state fire marshal is investigating the cause. The fire comes less than two days after Brandon Valley won the Junior Legion state baseball championship.
AMATEUR BASEBALL
KORN News Radio FM 101.3/AM 1490 will have complete coverage of all area teams in this year’s 2026 Class B Amateur Baseball Tournament in Mitchell at Cadwell Park.
Wednesday, August 5
Elk Point vs. Parkston Mudcats, 5:30 pm ***
Parkston, 15-7 on the season, qualified for state with a 14-9 win on Wednesday, July 29th vs. Winner/Colome.
Valley Springs vs. Kimball/White Lake, after 7:30 pm ***
Kimball/White Lake went 16-1 out of the Pony Hills league, winning the district championship last Wednesday, 5-2 over Four Corners. The Nationals only loss of the season came on July 12, 8-6 at Four Corners.
Thursday, August 6
Dell Rapids PBR vs. Colome, 11 am
Lesterville vs. Garretson, after 1 pm
Wynot (Neb.) vs. Lake Norden, 5:30 pm
Crofton (Neb.) vs. Alexandria, after 7:30 pm ***
Friday, August 7
Groton vs. Lennox 11 am
Salem vs. Volga, after 1 pm
Wessington Springs vs. Clark, 5:30 pm ***
Mt. Vernon vs. Tabor, after 7:30 pm ***
Saturday, August 8
Parkston Rays vs. Hartford/Humboldt Gamecocks, 11 am ***
Winner/Colome vs. Dell Rapids Mudcats, after 1 pm
Castlewood vs. Canova, 5:30 pm
Burke vs. Redfield Dairy Queen, after 7:30 pm
Sunday, August 9
Larchwood vs. Flandreau Cardinals, 11 am
Hartford/Humboldt Wood Ducks vs. Four Corners, after 1 pm
MINNESOTA TWINS
— Bobby Witt Jr. had three hits and two RBIs in his return to the lineup Tuesday night, leading the Kansas City Royals to an 8-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Witt, who missed two weeks with back tightness, went 3 for 5 with a two-run double and scored twice. Randy Dobnak allowed one run and three hits in five innings to help the Royals stop a four-game losing streak. Josh Bell homered late for the Twins, who have lost three in a row. They remained one game behind Cleveland for the final American League playoff spot. Royce Lewis went 4 for 4 and is batting .382 in his last nine games. Minnesota starter Joe Ryan gave up five runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. Game two of the three game series is Wednesday at 6:40 pm.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— Ohio State and Oregon are the top two teams in the preseason coaches football poll. The Buckeyes received 38 of 72 first-place votes to take the No. 1 ranking, while Oregon was second. Georgia, Texas, and Notre Dame round out the top five. Defending national champion Indiana is ranked sixth, followed by Miami, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Mississippi to complete the top 10. The SEC leads all conferences with nine teams ranked in the Top 25, including five in the top 10. Texas Tech is the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 12. The Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll will be released August 17.
— The Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences have finalized a settlement over a dispute involving “poaching” penalties and exit fees. The agreement resolves all pending litigation between the two leagues and several schools, including Boise State, Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, and Fresno State. The dispute began after the Pac-12 challenged a Mountain West scheduling agreement that included a fee for teams leaving the conference. The penalty called for a $10 million payment for the first departing school, increasing by $500,000 for each additional team, reaching a maximum of $55 million. The settlement comes as Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Boise State prepare to join the Pac-12 this fall. The Mountain West has added UTEP, Hawaii, and Northern Illinois to replace departing football members.
NFL
— Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson has agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2030 season. The deal is worth up to $75 million, including $51 million guaranteed, making Robinson the highest-paid running back in NFL history by average annual salary. Robinson led the NFL with 2,298 total yards from scrimmage last season, scoring 11 touchdowns. He rushed for 1,478 yards and added 820 receiving yards, becoming just the second player in league history to record at least 1,400 rushing yards and 800 receiving yards in the same season.
— Chicago Bears right tackle Darnell Wright has agreed to a record-setting four-year contract extension worth $116 million. The deal includes $93 million guaranteed, making it the largest contract ever for a right tackle and the most guaranteed money for an offensive lineman in NFL history. The Bears selected Wright 10th overall out of Tennessee in the 2023 NFL Draft. Wright earned second-team All-Pro honors last season.
— Green Bay Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons says he does not know exactly when he will return from a torn ACL in his left knee. Parsons suffered the injury late last season after recording 12 ½ sacks in his first 13 games with Green Bay following a trade from Dallas. Parsons underwent surgery in December to repair his ACL and meniscus damage. Doctors gave him a nine-month recovery timeline, meaning he could begin football activities in late September. Parsons says a return against his former team, the Cowboys, in Week 6 is possible.
WNBA
— Cleveland’s new WNBA expansion team has a name. The franchise introduced the Cleveland Sirens and its branding Tuesday. The Sirens will become the WNBA’s 16th team and begin play in 2028. Team officials said the name was chosen to create its own identity separate from the Cavaliers. The team is owned by Rock Entertainment Group, which also owns the Cavaliers. Cleveland paid a $250 million expansion fee to bring the WNBA back to the city.
MLB
— The Chicago Cubs spoiled Tarik Skubal’s debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night, with a 5-1 victory behind key RBI singles by Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Dansby Swanson connected for a solo homer for Chicago. Skubal allowed two runs and four hits over six innings in his first start since he was acquired in a trade with Detroit on Saturday night.
— Boston’s Caleb Durbin hit a grand slam in a six-run first inning as the Red Sox extended their winning streak to six games with a 14-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Wilyer Abreu had a pair of solo homers for the Red Sox, who have won 24 of their last 27.
— George Lombard Jr. homered in his big league debut as the New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0.
— Ezequiel Duran drove in four runs, the last on a game-ending double, as the Texas Rangers beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 to snap a season-worst six-game losing streak.
— Luis Arraez had two hits and two RBIs in his Philadelphia debut as the Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 for their fourth straight victory.
— Tampa Bay’s Ben Williamson scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch in the 11th inning, while Junior Caminero added a two-out RBI single as the Rays rallied to beat Colorado 9-7 after the Rockies roughed up Freddy Peralta in his Rays debut. Liam Hicks launched a grand slam in his Rays debut to give Tampa Bay a 5-1 lead in the third. Peralta lasted just 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs and nine hits after coming over from the Mets last week.
— Troy Melton threw seven shutout innings, while Colt Keith hit a two-run single as the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 8-0. Detroit has won four straight and moved within 1 ½ games of Cleveland. The Tigers have scored at least eight runs in six straight games, tied for the longest such streak in franchise history.
— Manny Machado had three hits and four RBIs, while Randy Vásquez threw six scoreless innings as the San Diego Padres jumped out to a big early lead in a 9-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres won for the ninth time in 11 games, moving one game behind the D-backs for the third and final National League wild-card playoff spot.
— Houston’s Taylor Tremmell hit a three-run homer, while Jose Altuve had three hits and two RBIs as the Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2.
— Luis Torrens had three hits, including a three-run homer in the second inning, and drove in four runs as the New York Mets defeated the Cleveland Guardians 6-2.
— Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley hit home runs as the Atlanta Braves extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.
— Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn homered, while Logan Henderson allowed two runs in six innings to win his sixth consecutive decision as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2.
— Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart drew walks leading off the eighth inning and both scored on wild pitches to help the Cincinnati Reds hand the Athletics a sixth straight loss, 5-4.
— Pete Alonso hit a two-run single, while Tyler O’Neill had his third pinch-hit homer of the season as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1.