The Louisville Kings have lived up to their name.
The first-year UFL franchise has capped the season with a win in the United Bowl. The 27-20 victory came against the D.C. Defenders at their home field in Washington.
Louisville trailed 16-7 at the half, before scoring 20 unanswered points. A 60-yard, four-point field goal from D.C. kicker Matt McCrane cut the margin to seven, and the Defenders failed to convert on fourth and five from the Louisville six with less than two minutes to play.
The Louisville offense sputtered for much of the game. Quarterback Chandler Rogers finished with 81 passing yards and two interceptions. The Kings had 181 rushing yards, including a 44-yard touchdown from tailback Ian Wheeler, who had spent time in the offseason and preseason with the Bears in 2024 and 2025.
Former NFL running back James Robinson, who gained 1,070 yards as an undrafted rookie with the Jaguars in 2020, added 69 yards and a touchdown.
The Defenders lost quarterback Jason Bean to a shoulder injury. E.J. Perry nearly led the comeback.
Washington outgained Louisville, 319 to 261. D.C. had three turnovers, including a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Louisville. That gave the Kings their only first-half points.
The Kings were led by former NFL quarterback Chris Redman. He made the most of his first year of coaching at any level.
The victory capped a three-game sweep of the Defenders by the Kings. Louisville won 30-13 in Week 7 at D.C., and 33-30 in Week 8 at home.
PFT Clips
49ers (for now) receiver Brandon Aiyuk has apparently extended an olive branch.
His two recent videos criticizing the 49ers have been deleted. It could be part of an effort to lay the foundation to get the 49ers to finally release him.
In the first video, posted on Sunday, June 7, Aiyuk accused the 49ers of being afraid to let him sign with a new team.
“Stop running from the belt,” Aiyuk said. “The belt coming. You scared. They scared. The truth is they scared. They know how I get. They gonna say, ‘Oh, yeah, B.A. did this, B.A. did that.’ You know that shit — ‘Allegedly. Allegedly.’ But what they not gonna say is ‘B.A. suck at football,’ because they know how I get.
“And they running from that belt that’s on the way. It’s inevitable. It’s coming. Stop running.”
Two days later, Aiyuk added another video message.
“And another thing,” he said. “You wanna know why they really mad, though? They mad ‘cause they stupid. They dumb. They mad that they paid me $50 million in eight months, and they [voided] my guarantees for [2026]. And I’m about to be on a new team in [2026].
“They mad at they selves, for real. They just acting like they mad at me but they stupid-ass mad at they selves.”
Aiyuk could have forced the issue by showing up for the team’s offseason workouts. With a season-ending injury carrying the risk of the 49ers owing him more than $26 million in 2026, the 49ers quite possibly would have released him the moment he walked through the door.
The cancellation of the 49ers’ mandatory minicamp further delayed a potentially awkward situation between player and team.
As it stands, Aiyuk’s best move will be to report for training camp, insist on practicing, and wait for the 49ers to grant his release.
The 49ers had been hoping for a trade, which would have required a significant reworking of Aiyuk’s contract. A new team (like the Commanders) would have acquired the benefit of having him in the building for the offseason program.
The specific reason for Aiyuk deleting the videos isn’t known. It’s not crazy to think that Aiyuk decided to do it based on possible discussions between his agent and the team, given that Aiyuk and 49ers G.M. John Lynch have a connection through their independent relationships with agent Ryan Williams of Athletes First.
Former NFL quarterback and receiver Terrelle Pryor’s name recently has been mentioned in connection with the Brendan Sorsby’s case. He’ll now be mentioned for a different reason.
Pryor, via WPXI, was arrested last month near Pittsburgh for drug possession.
After police in Monroeville pulled over a Mercedes that was speeding on May 24, they noticed Pryor lying in the back seat in an “odd” way and breathing heavily. A rifle was on the floor of the back seat.
When Pryor removed his wallet to show authorities his concealed carry permit, police noticed a baggie of a powdery substance that was suspected to be MDMA.
A third-round pick in the 2011 supplemental draft, Pryor spent three years with the Raiders at quarterback. Out of football in 2014 after being released in late August by the Seahawks, Pryor returned in 2015 as a receiver with the Browns. He spent two years in Cleveland and one in Washington. In the 2018 season, he played for the Jets and the Bills.
In 2016, Pryor had 1,007 receiving yards with the Browns on 77 catches.
Pryor left Ohio State for the supplemental draft after being suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season for selling memorabilia and trading autographs for tattoos. The NFL duplicated the five-game suspension, under the reasoning that he manipulated NFL eligibility rules.
In upholding the suspension, Commissioner Roger Goodell found that Pryor left OSU “in order to avoid the consequences of his conduct while in college -- conduct to which he had admitted and for which he had accepted a suspension -- and to hasten the day when he could pursue a potentially lucrative professional career in the NFL.”
That outcome has raised questions as to whether the NFL would embrace Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, if he had failed to secure a court order restoring his eligibility for 2026 and had entered the 2026 supplemental draft. That’s currently a moot point, unless Sorsby decides (given the storm of criticism and scrutiny that has emerged in the wake of his win) to withdraw his challenge to the NCAA’s ruling and enter the supplemental draft.
The deadline is June 22.
When UFL co-owner Mike Repole speaks, he often generates something newsworthy as to the spring pro football league. Most recently, Repole made an offhand remark that could be newsworthy as to the pro football league that plays during football season.
While discussing with reporters on Friday the various factors that will influence decisions regarding when the UFL season will be played (he made it clear that it won’t overlap with the NFL or college football), Repole mentioned that the NFL is “talking about two more expansion teams.”
As far as anyone knows on the outside, the NFL isn’t talking about adding teams. Given that Repole may be in position to pick up some inside information (he and Tom Brady are partners in NoBull, for example), it’s possible that Repole has heard something that wasn’t yet intended for public consumption.
Regardless, the NFL’s quest for more inventory eventually will pivot from adding more weeks to the season to adding more teams to the league. Either Repole, who delivered the information as if it were factual, is woefully misinformed or he inadvertently let the cat out of the bag.
The criminal trial against former NFL quarterback and former Fox analyst Mark Sanchez is due to begin next month. The prosecution recently made a supplemental disclosure of evidence, under the relevant discovery rules.
Lauren Conlin of Los Angeles Magazine has published the filing, which includes more than 50 different pieces of video evidence.
The clips come from surveillance cameras at the Indiana Convention Center, St. Elmo’s Steak House, the J.W. Marriott hotel, and other public locations in Indianapolis. Which makes sense. Prosecutors undoubtedly will show the jury all of Sanchez’s relevant movements, from when he left St. Elmo’s until the altercation with 69-year-old truck driver Perry Tole.
The supplemental discovery filing also identifies a forensics report and a witness who is described as a forensic scientist. This could relate to the question of whether, and to what extent, Sanchez was under the influence of one or more substances at the time of the attack.
Sanchez, who was in Indianapolis to work a Raiders-Colts game for Fox, allegedly assaulted Tole after a confrontation over where Tole had parked a truck. Tole, who claimed he was acting in self-defense, stabbed Sanchez multiple times. Both men suffered serious injuries.
The trial date has been delayed multiple times. Whether it will proceed as currently scheduled remains to be seen.
The presiding judge has previously ruled that cameras will be allowed in the courtroom.
Sanchez is facing a separate civil lawsuit, filed by Tole. Fox and the parent company of St. Elmo’s also have been sued for Tole’s injuries.
As a wise man once said (repeatedly), “That’s why they play the games.”
At a time when many are ready to pencil in the Rams for Super Bowl LXI, not everyone is willing to concede anything to the Rams.
That includes Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson. Asked earlier this week for his thoughts on Myles Garrett joining the Rams, Wilson said, “They’ve got to deal with us. At the end of the day, they’ve got to deal with us.”
It’s the right attitude. Even if the Cardinals finished 3-14 last year and, entering 2026, are considered to be a distant fourth to the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers in the NFC West, Arizona shouldn’t surrender.
The mindset may not alter the outcome, but it’s the only mindset they can have.
Whether that mindset should be kept internal or declared to the world is a different issue. To the extent the Cardinals hope to catch the Rams napping in Week 6 or Week 10, it’s better to not give them something to which coach Sean McVay can point in the days before they play.
“They said we have to deal with them. We will.”
There’s also a chance that Wilson’s attitude doesn’t extend to the top of the organization. The failure to pursue a clear-cut veteran starter at quarterback invites speculation as to whether the Cardinals are willing to accept their fate for 2026, in the hopes of parlaying that into the first overall pick in 2027.
Which could culminate in the presumptive first overall pick refusing to play for the Cardinals.
Regardless of the plans, or lack thereof, that the organization has for putting the best players on the field in 2026, the players who will be playing will be playing as hard as they can. If they can navigate a challenging schedule better than expected, it will be a very good story.
One of the best ways to get people to watch football on TV is to make them think the game is a big deal. The easiest way to do that is to have the stands full of fans.
For the United Bowl to be played at Audi Field in D.C. on Saturday, the stands will be full. The UFL has announced that the game is sold out.
It helps that the D.C. Defenders are playing in the game. The United Bowl would have less local sizzle if the Defenders had lost on Sunday to the Orlando Storm.
Images of large swathes of empty seats have plagued the UFL (and, before that, the XFL and USFL). The UFL moved several teams from football stadiums to soccer stadiums in 2026, for that very reason.
Audi Field holds 20,000 for football. And the stadium apparently will be full when the game begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, on ABC.
After the 2025 season, the UFL moved three of its eight teams to new markets. Could more changes happen after the 2026 season?
Via Kevin Seifert of ESPN, UFL co-owner Mike Repole said Friday that there’s an “80 percent chance” the eight markets for 2026 will be the eight markets for 2027.
Out after last year were Detroit, Memphis, and San Antonio. Those teams were moved to Columbus, Orlando, and Louisville.
The other five markets are D.C., Birmingham, St. Louis, Houston, and Dallas.
Oklahoma City will join as an expansion team in 2028. Repole mentioned several other potential markets: New England; Austin; Raleigh; Queens, New York; New Mexico; Greenville or Charleston, South Carolina; Utah; and Boise.
Birmingham could be at risk of losing its team. Not that Birmingham would notice. Attendance dropped 16 percent in 2026. In Week 7, barely 4,700 showed up for the game.
The UFL is surviving. The question is whether it will, or could, be thriving. The ultimate ceiling is unknown; Repole is determined to find out where it is.
The 2026 season concludes with the United Bowl on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET. Unfortunately for the UFL, one of its primary owners (Fox) will be televising a World Cup match between Qatar and Switzerland at the same time.
Which underscores one of the basic challenges the UFL faces — tailoring the schedule (and specific kickoff times) to avoid competing with other live sports.
The only good thing about dealing with a back issue for the past couple of weeks is that the only way to avoid all pain and discomfort is to sit in my office and stare at my computer screen.
That’s been a positive for overall productivity, both as to the primary job and as to the hobby. The common thread between the two is the ability to think (somewhat) clearly and type (somewhat) quickly.
Earlier this week, the final touches were put on the next book. I’m now working with my agent to figure out the next steps, which will begin with the exploration of traditional publisher options. It’s nice to have broad distribution (like Playmakers did), but there’s something to be said for controlling the entire process and making it directly available. It’s cheaper for you, and it gives me a lot more freedom over the task of turning the final draft into a finished product.
This one fully combines the two worlds I’ve known well, for decades. It’s a legal thriller set in Pittsburgh, with a football player turned lawyer immediately stumbling into a complicated mess that keeps getting messier.
The characters are memorable (I think), funny (I hope), and authentic (I know). It was written to be a page turner. When one chapter ends, there will be (or should be) a desire to immediately find out what happens next.
When it comes to turning this one into print, I don’t know what will happen next. One way or another, it will be landing somewhere.
Until it does, you can get the ebook version of the four available novels for only 99 cents at Amazon. (Now that Elon Musk is a trillionaire, it’s important to help Jeff Bezos gain some ground.) The most recent is Big Shield, a cautionary tale of the intersection between legalized gambling and sports.
I usually end these posts by offering a free book. Today’s giveaway will have a delayed payoff. Send an email with this subject line (“New Book June 13, 2026 giveaway”), and I’ll pick one person at random to receive the first copy out of the first box of the new book, signed, sealed, delivered to wherever you want it to go.
Yes, you’re getting old.
The son of former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb has made a college commitment. Via Keegan Pope of Rivals.com, Donovan McNabb Jr. will play for UNLV.
The younger McNabb, a receiver, picked UNLV over Kansas State, Iowa, Minnesota, Iowa State, and other programs.
In his junior season at Brophy College Prep in Phoenix, McNabb Jr. caught 23 passes for 280 yards and five touchdowns.
In 13 NFL seasons, McNabb Sr. made it to six Pro Bowls. He finished second in the NFL MVP voting in 2000, behind Rams running back Marshall Faulk.
McNabb Sr. led the Eagles to four straight NFC Championships, with one Super Bowl berth. After 11 seasons in Philly, he was traded to Washington. He played there for one year before ending his career with the Vikings in 2011.
