Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Dennis Santana has been suspended four games and fined for his altercation with a fan during an 8-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on June 19.

The statement said Santana has elected to appeal the suspension and fine, meaning he remains eligible to pitch for the Pirates until the appeal process comes to a close.

When asked after the game about the situation and what escalated it, Santana told reporters via an interpreter that he didn’t want to ‘get into’ the details of what caused it but said the fan ‘crossed the line’ a few times throughout the night. The fan was removed from the game by Tigers’ security, while Santana had to be walked back by a member of the Pirates’ bullpen staff.

‘Like I said, you guys know me and you know my temper. I’m a calm person and they crossed the line a few times. I would like to leave it at that,’ Santana said on June 19 through Pirates interpreter Stephen Morales.

Santana entered the game in the ninth inning with the game tied 4-4 but was only able to pitch to one hitter before the game was sent into its second rain delay of the evening. In that at-bat, Santana got Tigers right fielder Zach McKinstry to fly out to center.

The 6-foot-2 right-hander holds a 1.72 ERA in 31⅓ innings of work this season across 32 appearances.

The Pirates started their three-game weekend series against the Texas Rangers 15½ games back of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

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It is a strong likelihood that NBA referee Scott Foster will officiate Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday, June 22.

Foster, who is one of the NBA’s top referees based on a multi-pronged ratings system that uses feedback from teams, called Game 4 in Indianapolis, and Pacers fans were unhappy with his whistle in the Thunder victory.

The NBA does not publicly reveal referees until 9 a.m. ET of game day, but given the rotation of the Finals refs, it makes sense that Foster would get the assignment since he has reffed just one 2025 Finals game and hasn’t been in the rotation since Game 4.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle defended Foster at media availability before Game 5.

“I think it’s awful some of the things I’ve seen about officiating, and Scott Foster in particular,” Carlisle said on Sunday, June 15. “I’ve known Scott Foster for 30 years. He is a great official. He has done a great job in these playoffs. We’ve had him a lot of times. The ridiculous scrutiny that is being thrown out there is terrible and unfair and unjust and stupid.”

Before the Finals began, the NBA announced the 12 referees who were selected to officiate Finals games based on evaluations from playoff games this season.

Not every ref will get two games, but it won’t be a surprise if Foster gets Game 7.

Foster is working his 18th Finals and has reffed 25 Finals games, including Game 7 in the 2010 Finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers and Game 7 of the 2013 Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.

James Capers, Tyler Ford, Ben Taylor, Josh Tiven and Sean Wright are the other officials who have had just one Finals games this season. A crew of Foster plus a combination of Capers, Tiven and Williams makes sense. Ford and Taylor called their first Finals games this month.

In Game 4, both teams combined to shoot 71 free throws, including 38 by the Thunder. On the NBA’s Last Two-Minute Report, referee operations examined 17 plays and found they were all “correct calls” or “correct no-calls.”

Foster had reffed one previous Pacers playoff game this season.

Some fans have given Foster the nickname “The Extender,” claiming that he has a history of making dubious calls during the playoffs that have extended series.

Longtime NBA writer Tom Haberstroh, however, referenced a study that says there’s “not much evidence at all” of Foster’s ability to ‘extend’ the series.

How are NBA Finals referees selected?

According to the NBA, playoff referees are selected, “based on their overall performance throughout the first three rounds of the NBA Playoffs 2025. Officials were evaluated by the NBA Referee Operations management team after each round to determine advancement in this year’s postseason.”

Who is NBA referee Scott Foster?

Foster is considered one of the best referees in the league.

An official in his 30th season with the NBA, Foster entered this season having officiated 1,675 regular season games and 241 postseason games. Friday night was Foster’s 25^th time officiating an NBA Finals game. This is his 18th NBA Finals, overall..

Foster is also a noted pickleball player.

The latest first has come to the current era of college football, with name, image and likeness (NIL) reigning supreme.

Wisconsin football and its NIL collective filed a complaint in state court on June 20 against Miami over alleged recruiting interference, according to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The move is the first of its kind and a potentially precedent-setting action.

The situation revolves around former Wisconsin defensive backXavier Lucas, with the school claiming that Miami interfered with Lucas’ revenue-binding contract with the Badgers and their NIL collective. Lucas left Wisconsin for Miami in January.

Lucas notably transferred to Miami without entering his name in the transfer portal, according to numerous reports in January. Lucas had announced his intention to enter the portal in December, but Wisconsin reportedly refused to put his name in the portal after he had already signed a contract with the school.

The documents obtained by Yahoo Sports claims Miami communicated with Lucas despite knowing the defensive back had already signed a contract with Wisconsin.

“Miami interfered with UW-Madison’s relationship with Student-Athlete A (Lucas) by making impermissible contact with him and engaging in tampering,” the suit writes, according to Yahoo Sports

“We stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field,” Wisconsin said in a statement to Yahoo Sports. “In addition to our legal action, we will continue to be proactive to protect the interests of our student-athletes, our program and the broader collegiate athletics community.”

Dellenger also reported the Big Ten support Wisconsin on the matter.

Revenue sharing was approved in a House settlement on June 6, allowing for schools to directly pay athletes across all sports. The Wisconsin-Miami case could serve precedent for future situations of alleged or potential tampering.

Lucas finished his freshman season at Wisconsin with 18 total tackles, a sack and an interception. The 6-foot-2 defensive back from Pompano Beach, Florida, withdrew from classes at Wisconsin and enrolled at Miami as a student in order to skirt the NCAA transfer rules regarding enter your name in the transfer portal during the two separate portal windows.

Lucas reportedly signed a two-year revenue sharing contract with Wisconsin, according to Yahoo Sports. The contract binds the player’s non-exclusive rights to the school, allowing it to market their NIL. The contract forbids the player’s NIL rights to be used by other schools.

Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford met Fridaym June 20 in Saudi Arabia for a press conference to promote their megafight, scheduled for Sept. 13 in Las Vegas. But a Saudi powerbroker spoke first.

He is Turki Alalshikh (a.k.a. “His Excellency”), the central figure in Saudi Arabia becoming a big player in professional boxing as a deep-pocketed promoter.

“I hate Tom and Jerry’s kind of boxing,’ Alalshikh said, referring to the famous animated series as well as boxers who run from their opponents. ‘I am sure (Alvarez and Crawford) will deliver for me smashing face and blood and this is the boxing.’

Additionally, Alalshikh said, ‘We will have in this fight and our next fight’s a bonus for a KO.’

He did not provide specifics, but his message was clear. Alvarez and Crawford will be expected to deliver, despite recent history.

Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) is coming off a lackluster victory over William Scull by unanimous decision in May. The crowd booed as Scull spent most of the fight running from Alvarez, who exerted modest effort to chase down Scull. It also happened to be the first fight of Alvarez’s five-fight deal with the Saudis.

Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has not fought since August 2024, and that was an unforgettable bout, too. He beat Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision. Like Alvarez, he heard boos during a fight that included no knockdowns.

Alalshikh suggested he didn’t want a 12-by-12 ring to ensure adequate action for the fight. But apparently he thought it would be a good idea to have dinner with Alvarez and Crawford before the press conference.

“We talked yesterday and they are professional,’’ Alalshikh said later in the press conference. “But I think starting from last night they know what they need to do.’

Do Alvarez, Crawford get it?

Neither Alvarez or Crawford sounded as if Alalshikh’s words will have great impact when they fight at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, for the undisputed super middleweight championship.

Crawford, 37, is moving up two weight classes (14 pounds) to fight Alvarez at super middleweight. His standing toe-to-toe with Alvarez would enthrall the fans and perhaps create the fight that Alalshikh wants. But don’t count on it.

“I’m not going to let somebody else force or tell me how to fight,’’ Crawford said. “When I’ve been in fighting my whole life, I won’t be running. I could tell you that, but I will be doing a lot of touching.’’

 In defense of Crawford, before the fight against Madrimov, he’d won 11 straight fights by knockout.

Alvarez, 34, suggested his fight would be one for the history books. But it’s worth revisiting recent history – his fight against Scull. It was a dreadful fight.

“…but we win,’’ Alvarez said. “That’s all that matters.’’

If Alvarez had been listening, at the dinner or at the press conference, he’d know that’s not all that matters to Alalshikh – or, largely speaking, boxing fans.

Alvarez’s next knockout will be his first since 2021 – when he finished Caleb Plant with an 11th-round TKO.

Maybe it’s something “His Excellency’’ will address during another dinner with Alvarez and Crawford.

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One day after Department of Homeland Security officers infringed upon their home amid nearly two weeks of heightened tension in Los Angeles, the Dodgers on Friday announced a $1 million ‘commitment’ toward financial assistance for families of immigrants ‘impacted by recent events in the region.’

Los Angeles has been roiled by aggressive raids from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which have honed in on workplaces frequented by immigrants. Marines and the National Guard have been dispatched to Los Angeles in the wake of protests that have seen heavy use of tear gas and projectile weapons by law enforcement.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers have been heavily criticized for both action and inaction from their heavily Latino fan base. Manager Dave Roberts stated he didn’t have enough information to opine on the situation, and the club came under more scrutiny after R&B singer Nezza sang the national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium, and posted videos and correspondence showing it was against the Dodgers’ wishes.

Veteran utilityman Kiké Hernández posted a message of support on Instagram, and in the days following the club indicated it would soon show support for the area’s immigrant population.

Then came Thursday’s caravan of DHS vans and vehicles to the Dodger Stadium gate, where they apparently hoped to use the grounds for staging. Protestors arrived and DHS officials were eventually escorted out a separate exit by the Los Angeles Police Department. But many remained and turned their grievances toward the Dodgers for staying largely neutral at a time the community was reeling.

The Dodgers’ statement nodded non-specifically toward events in the area while not referencing ICE, DHS or other outside forces.

‘What’s happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected,” said Dodgers president Stan Kasten, whose club generated an estimated $752 million in revenue last season and is valued at nearly $7 billion. “We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles.”

Mayor Karen Bass indicated the external infringement on the community has had an impact.

“These last weeks have sent shockwaves of fear rippling through every neighborhood and have had a direct impact on our economy,’ Bass said.