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The Utah Jazz have struggled in recent seasons. Since trading stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in 2022, the Jazz have embarked on a franchise rebuild. But progress to return to contention has been slow, and the Jazz posted a 17-65 record this season -- the team's worst since it moved to Utah from New Orleans in 1979.
As such, Utah is doing a bit of restructuring in the weeks before the 2025 NBA Draft, where the franchise holds the fifth overall pick. According to NBA insider Michael Scotto, the Jazz on Monday promoted Salt Lake City Stars general manager Marquis Newman to Director of Pro Scouting, bringing an end to his four-year stint in the G League affiliate's front office.
Sources: Utah Jazz will promote Marquis Newman to Director of Pro Scouting and Katie Benzan to Salt Lake City Stars G League GM. Newman has spent 11 years with Utah. Benzan is the second current female G League GM and played for the WNBA’s Mystics before joining the Jazz in 2022. pic.twitter.com/BcNzuvE7XZ
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 9, 2025
To replace Newman, the SLC Stars have elevated Katie Benzan, who becomes the second female GM in the G League as her reputation continues to grow.
Some basketball fans might remember Benzan as a collegiate teammate of the Chicago Sky's star forward Angel Reese. In 2020, Benzan transferred from Harvard to Maryland, where she teamed up with Reese for two seasons.
A strong three-point shooter, Benzan's scoring touch and leadership in the backcourt helped the Terrapins reach consecutive regional semifinals in the NCAA Tournament. Benzan then entered the WNBA, while Reese transferred to LSU after receiving a third-team All-America nod in 2021-22.
Entering the WNBA as an undrafted rookie, Benzan played three games for the Washington Mystics during the 2022 season, becoming the league's first player of Dominican heritage. She then joined the Jazz's basketball operations department, and the 2024-25 season saw her serve as the SLC Stars' assistant GM.
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Watch: Speedy Jimmy Horn Jr. Makes Carolina Panthers Cornerback Fall In Practice
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. went toe-to-toe against cornerback Chau Smith-Wade in Panthers training camp drills. The former Colorado Buffaloes star ran a nice stop route and made Smith-Wade fall to the ground before Horn hauled in the pass and turned upfield. Check out the play below. Jimmy Horn Jr. Makes Panthers Defender Fall in Practice The rookie wide Jimmy Horn Jr. put second Panthers cornerback Chau Smith-Wade on the grass with his stop route. Here is the play. Horn has begun to gain recognition for how well he can run routes and for his speed. Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn had this to say to reporters. “You got to put hands on Jimmy, he’s too fast. It’s hard to guard him cause his speed. He play tough. I don’t think he gets a lot of credit for how tough he play for his size,” Horn said. “You see him in camp, he made a tough catch across the middle today. He will lay out for it, so he a great receiver.” Jimmy Horn Jr. A Late Round Draft Steal? Jimmy Horn Jr. was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. Horn played four years in college from 2021 through 2024. His first two were with the South Florida Bulls and the ladder was with the Colorado Buffaloes. In his four seasons, Horn Jr. hauled in 162 receptions for 1,967 yards, and 11 receiving touchdowns. He also had a rushing touchdown and a kick return for a touchdown. A big reason why Horn may have been overlooked in the NFL Draft was because of the loaded wide receiving room he was a part of in Boulder. In 2024, the Buffaloes had Travis Hunter, LaJohntay Wester, Will Sheppard, and Jimmy Horn Jr. Horn had the fourth most receiving yards for the Buffaloes in 2024. They were led by Heisman trophy winner and the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Travis Hunter. Hunter was one of the most talked about players in the country all season long and for good reason. His elite two-way skillset was a sight to see. Hunter is now on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then there was LaJohntay Wester and Will Sheppard. Each of these players had solid campaigns for an explosive Colorado offense. Wester, like Horn, was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He is currently a member of there Baltimore Ravens. Sheppard on the other hand went undrafted but was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent. It would be an amazing feat if four receivers from Colorado’s team a season ago made a 53-man NFL roster in Week One as rookies.
Former NASCAR official sheds light on investigation, decisions during infamous 2013 'Spingate' scandal
In September 2013, one of the biggest scandals in NASCAR history took place at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. The 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 was the final race in the 2013 Cup Series regular season. At the time, only 12 drivers made the Chase for the Sprint Cup. After a chaotic evening that saw Carl Edwards snag the win, Michael Waltrip Racing was embroiled in a massive race manipulation scandal that played a huge role in the team's eventual downfall. Clint Bowyer intentionally spun in the closing laps in an effort to help teammate Martin Truex Jr. make the chase, while Brian Vickers was told to come down pit road for the same reason. When it was all said and done, Truex Jr. was booted from the Chase and ended up leaving the team at season's end, along with longtime sponsor Napa Auto Parts. Bowyer was docked 50 points and saw his title hopes evaporate before the postseason even began and general manager Ty Norris was indefinitely suspended. Former crew chief and NASCAR Vice President of Competition, Robin Pemberton, joined the "Dale Jr. Download" on Wednesday and explained NASCAR's side of the story from that infamous evening nearly 12 years ago. "About 10 o'clock in the morning (the day after the race) the phone rings," Pemberton said. "It's (former NASCAR president) Mike Helton. He goes, 'We got frickin' trouble. We got to do an investigation.'" At the time, Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, hosted the first race of NASCAR's postseason as well as media week for the Chase. The spotlight was going to be firmly on the race weekend regardless of extenuating circumstances, but what followed was one of the most bizarre set of occurrences in NASCAR history. "Monday at nine or 10 o'clock, I'm on a (expletive) airplane going to Chicago," Pemberton said. "They (NASCAR) put me in a room. The TV people came in, and they replayed stuff and replayed stuff. I was in that room for eight or 10 hours the first day and probably 16 the second day." After combing through footage and radio transmissions, Pemberton came to a conclusion. "Now, you're fixing a race," Pemberton said. But the MWR scandal was not the only domino to fall in regard to the 2013 Chase. Team Penske and Front Row Motorsports — a pair of Ford teams — were also found to have participated in race manipulation, with David Gilliland intentionally slowing on a restart in order to help Joey Logano secure his spot in the postseason. While Logano remained in the playoff field, NASCAR made an unprecedented decision by adding four-time champion Jeff Gordon as a 13th driver, claiming that Gordon and the No. 24 team had been placed at a disadvantage at Richmond due to race manipulation. "It was kind of no harm, no foul," Pemberton said of the move to add Gordon to the Chase field. "He wasn't having one of his best years. But that was a decision by a few people. "What a frickin' week that was." The NASCAR Cup Series field will return to Richmond on Saturday for the penultimate race of the 2025 regular season — an event that will hopefully be devoid of race manipulation and controversy.
Vikings joint practice recap, Day 1: How'd J.J. McCarthy fare vs. Patriots?
The Vikings and Patriots just held their first of two joint training camp practices on a beautiful afternoon at TCO Performance Center. Fans packed the stands to watch as the Vikings got an opportunity to test themselves against a different opponent in a practice setting after weeks of battling each other. Let's dive into what took place on Wednesday, starting with the obvious question. How'd J.J. look? J.J. McCarthy, coming off of one 12-snap drive in Minnesota's preseason opener on Saturday (and a normal, lighter practice on Monday), got a ton of reps against the Patriots' defense in this joint practice. That'll be the case again on Thursday. These two days are designed to provide some highly-valuable work for the Vikings' starters, who aren't going to play at all in this weekend's preseason game. McCarthy came out of the gates strong in 7-on-7 action. He completed his first three passes, all to Jordan Addison, including a great throw with touch on an out-breaking route towards the sideline. He also fired a ball into a tight window to Jeshaun Jones. McCarthy started 6 for 6, by my count. It wasn't all perfect, though. He threw a decent ball to Addison that wasn't quite hauled in through good coverage by the Patriots corner. And McCarthy's final throw of the period was one he'd like to have back. He tried to hit Jalen Nailor on an in-breaking route but sailed it way over his head for an interception by Marcus Jones. One thing we've seen from McCarthy is that when he misses, he tends to miss high — and that's dangerous in the NFL. He's continuing to work on his accuracy on certain throws, especially ones that require layering and touch. That was the only interception McCarthy threw on the day. For the most part, he threw the ball well, and his connection with his top two healthy targets was on full display. He and Addison connected numerous times, often on in-breaking intermediate routes. They nearly connected on a deep ball later in the practice, but Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers was able to break it up at the last moment. McCarthy also found tight end T.J. Hockenson frequently on short and intermediate routes. Those two have developed a strong rapport. As has been the case throughout training camp, McCarthy was up and down. There was one move-the-ball period that didn't go particularly well. His first throw was a bit high for Hockenson, although his TE was able to catch it. He then was "sacked" on consecutive plays — and it's always hard to tell from watching live if the blame falls on McCarthy, someone on the O-line, or his targets not creating separation. On 3rd and very long, he was pressured again and could only check it down to Jordan Mason for a short juggling catch. Later, McCarthy lost the ball on a snap exchange with Ryan Kelly. Back to the good stuff: McCarthy never lost confidence and continued to laser the ball into tight windows. He made a great throw to Nailor, who secured a contested catch against Jones. After the deep ball fell incomplete, McCarthy came right back to Addison for a chunk gain on the next play. And to wrap up his day, McCarthy led the Vikings' offense on a successful 1-minute drill. He moved the chains with completions to Hockenson and Aaron Jones, then couldn't quite connect with Nailor on the next play and had to throw the ball away on second down. On third and long, he scrambled to make it a manageable fourth and 5, and he kept the drive alive with yet another completion to Addison on an in-breaking route. The Vikings only had time to settle for a field goal, which Will Reichard drilled from 48 yards out to tie the hypothetical game as time expired. The overall takeaway from McCarthy's day is that it looked a lot like what we've seen from him over the past three-plus weeks. There's a lot of good, but there are plenty of teaching moments as well. I imagine things will continue to be up and down for McCarthy early in the regular season, with the Vikings looking to lean on the run game, short passes, and play-action passing to try to get him in rhythm. Despite the expected inconsistency, there's a ton to like about his potential both this season and in the long term. Thursday, which will feature a good bit of red zone work, will be another big day for McCarthy. Vikings' defense vs. Maye My vantage point for Wednesday's practice was close to the Vikings' offense going against the Patriots' defense, so that was what I watched more intently. But from what I saw — and heard from others who were closer to the far field — the Vikings' defense had a decent day. They were getting lots of pressure on Drake Maye, with Jonathan Greenard feasting on rookie left tackle Will Campbell and the interior guys making life tough on former Vikings center Garrett Bradbury. When the pressure didn't get home, though, Maye looked good. New England's second-year QB has a heck of an arm, which he showed throughout 1-on-1s and into the team periods. Another former Viking, Stefon Diggs, made his presence felt during practice. There were a couple coverage busts from the Vikings' first-team defense that led to long touchdowns for the Patriots. On one, Mack Hollins got wide open and proceeded to punt the ball into the stands after scoring. On another, rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson leaked up the left sideline past Ivan Pace Jr. and caught a Maye pass for a 70-yard TD. Other notes Not participating for the Vikings were Justin Jefferson, Andrew Van Ginkel, Harrison Smith, C.J. Ham, and Levi Drake Rodriguez. Christian Darrisaw did some live work with the first-team offense before giving way to Justin Skule. The biggest highlight of the entire day for the Vikings came from rookie guard Donovan Jackson. The Vikings dialed up a screen pass to Aaron Jones at the perfect time, taking advantage of a Patriots blitz. With tons of green grass in front of him, Jones moved upfield but didn't go into a full sprint, in order to let Jackson and Will Fries get out in front of him. Jackson, after hitting Milton Williams at the line of scrimmage, sent Patriots safety Jaylinn Hawkins flying to the ground and then knocked over Peppers for good measure. The Vikings' first-round pick pushed three separate defenders to the ground on a play that resulted in a gain of around 60 yards. Jackson's teammates and the fans in the stands went wild. The Vikings' second-team defense had a pair of pick-sixes off of former Minnesota QB Josh Dobbs, who is now the Patriots' backup. Dwight McGlothern got the first one, adding to his array of interceptions over the course of camp. The second-year corner is simply a ball magnet. Later on, safety Jay Ward jumped a route and got another one off of Dobbs, then proceeded to punt the ball in celebration (perhaps in response to Hollins' earlier punt). We didn't see a ton of reps from the Vikings' backup QBs, which is by design since they're going to play a lot in Saturday's preseason game. But all three looked solid in small samples. Sam Howell was accurate underneath, connecting with guys like Tai Felton and Thayer Thomas. The second-team offense was unsuccessful in their crack at the 1-minute drill, though. Brett Rypien also had a few completions, and for the second straight practice, rookie Max Brosmer connected with Tim Jones on a beautiful deep ball that drew plenty of cheers. Fighting can sometimes be a problem in joint practices around the NFL, but Kevin O'Connell and Mike Vrabel made it very clear that they didn't want the competitiveness to cross a line and impede the productivity of their work. There were no real skirmishes on Wednesday. The closest we got was when Patriots WR Javon Baker and Vikings DB Kahlef Hailassie got very chippy during a 1-on-1 special teams drill. This was the most we've gotten to see from the Vikings' punter competition throughout training camp. Ryan Wright had a couple bad punts during his opportunities, and I thought undrafted rookie Oscar Chapman clearly had the better day of the two. He might have a legit chance to win that job. Holding will also matter, but at least in this practice, neither punter had an issue. They split the holds as Reichard went 4 for 4 from 33, 44, 48, and 53 yards to end the day. More Vikings coverage
Celtics' ownership move should concern Lakers governor Jeanie Buss
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is supposed to remain in charge of the team for years even after the sale. Given what just happened with the Boston Celtics, it might only be months. When the Grousbeck family sold the Celtics for $6.1B in March, ESPN reported that Wyc Grousbeck would stay on as the Celtics CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season. Now, new owner Bill Chisholm will take over once the sale is final. That should concern current Lakers team governor Jeanie Buss, whose family sold a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to investor Mark Walter. Buss is supposed to stay on as team governor for "at least a number of years," according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, but new NBA owners haven't been keen on waiting to take control of teams recently. Mark Cuban thought he would continue running the Dallas Mavericks when he sold a controlling interest to the Adelson family in November 2023. Before the end of that season, when Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals, new team governor Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, was firmly in charge. General manager Nico Harrison reported directly to Dumont, which is how Luka Doncic ended up traded to the Lakers despite Cuban's objections. It might be different with the Lakers. Walter has owned a minority share in the Lakers since 2021, so he's had a working relationship with Buss. Her role as team governor may be a condition of the sale itself. With the team preparing for a long-term future with Doncic, Walter and his fellow owners might opt for continuity in the team governor role. But in general, people do not spend billions of dollars on a professional sports team so that someone else can be in charge. Buss is in charge of the Lakers now. Recent history says she won't be for long.
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