The Seattle Seahawks are set to change hands after the franchise announced Saturday that it has reached an agreement to sell the team to a new ownership group.

The group is led by the Khosla family and includes Vinod Khosla, the venture capitalist and Sun Microsystems co-founder who previously held a minority stake in the San Francisco 49ers.

The Paul Allen estate, which inherited the NFL team after Allen’s death in 2018, has been working to find new owners. Allen’s will stipulated that the team be sold, and assets be distributed to various charities.

“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” Vinod Khosla said in a statement. “We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though the Tacoma News Tribune reported it to be for an NFL record $9.61 billion. That would be the second-highest deal in North American sports history, behind the $10 billion the Los Angeles Lakers sold for in 2025.

The transaction must still be approved by the NFL, which should be put to a vote in the coming months.

–Field Level Media

The Milwaukee Bucks agreed to terms with swingman Gary Trent Jr. on a four-year, $64 million deal on Saturday, according to an ESPN report.

The deal keeps Trent in Milwaukee, where he appeared in 139 games (30 starts) for the Bucks over the past two seasons.

The combo guard/forward averaged 11.1 points in his first season with the Bucks, but that dipped to 8.1 points in 2025-26, Trent’s lowest average since his rookie year.

Trent, 27, originally signed with the Bucks for the league minimum before the 2024-25 season. He played well enough to earn a new two-year, $7.5 million deal, which he opted out of this offseason.

That turned out to be a prudent move, as he received significant market interest despite the Bucks holding his bird rights.

A career 13.0 ppg scorer, Trent could yet be the topic of trade discussions due to the size of the deal. ESPN reports that he’ll make $15.2 million in the first year.

–Field Level Media

By Nick Mulvenney

MIAMI, July 11 (Reuters) – Jude Bellingham scored twice, including the extra-time winner, as England ground out a 2-1 victory over a battling Norway side at Miami Stadium on Saturday to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth time. 

The teams were locked up 1-1 at the end of regulation time after Andreas Schjelderup had opened the scoring for Norway with a wonder strike in the 36th minute and Bellingham skipped into the area to equalise just before halftime.

Three minutes into extra time, though, Morgan Rogers fired a long-range shot at the Norwegian goal that Orjan Nyland could only parry and Bellingham stole in to bury the rebound, delighting the white-shirted fans in the crowd of 64,478. 

England will face Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday in their fourth semi-final in their last five major championships, looking to stay on course for a repeat of their sole World Cup triumph of 1966.

“The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing, but I’m not happy with the performance,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said.

“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves in the way we played. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.”

Norway will feel they deserved more out of the game, even if England kept Erling Haaland scoreless for the first time in his last 16 matches for his country, and will exit their first World Cup in 28 years with heads held high.

“It is a bit bitter, but it has been an adventure,” said Norway skipper Martin Odegaard.

“We must be proud. We are here for the first time in a long time, and we are making our mark. The whole world is talking about us.”

CAGEY FIRST HALF     

Perhaps because of the stifling heat, the first half was a cagey affair but Norway exploded into life when Julian Ryerson crossed for Haaland to head the ball at goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 35th minute.   

A minute later, Patrick Berg stripped Harry Kane of possession near halfway and released Schjelderup down the left, the winger turning makeshift England full back Ezri Konsa inside out before crashing a shot-cum-cross into the net.

England were rattled and Norway took full advantage with Alexander Sorloth hitting a rising drive over the bar and Martin Odegaard drilling in a low shot that Pickford parried away. 

They should have doubled their lead in the 44th minute when they briefly had a two-on-one inside the England half but Sorloth decided not to pass to Haaland and the defenders recovered their ground to snuff out the danger.

Norway would regret their profligacy in stoppage time at the end of the half when Bellingham conjured up an equaliser of real quality from Anthony Gordon’s clever ball across the edge of the box. 

Bellingham took one touch to steer the ball into the area, another to take him past a defender, before turning to whip it across goalkeeper Nyland into the far corner of the goal.  

The remainder of the half was all England with Kane getting the ball into the net again only to be adjudged offside, a decision confirmed by VAR. 

VAR RULES OUT NORWAY GOAL

VAR was again called upon 10 minutes into the second half when Torbjorn Heggem thought he had put Norway in front from a corner, his goal scratched off for a shove by Haaland on Elliot Anderson.  

Norway’s introduction of pacey winger Oscar Bobb in the 67th minute triggered another period of dominance with England fortunate not to concede when David Moller Wolfe headed the ball over Pickford and on to the bar. 

England’s right-wing substitute Bukayo Saka came close to helping his team take the lead with a dangerous cross that flashed across goal in the 78th minute and he carved out another great chance when he got to the byline and fired a low cross across the box that none of his teammates were able to get to. 

England substitute Djed Spence caught Nyland napping in possession towards the end of normal time but the second half was destined to finish goalless.

VAR was to intervene once more after Bellingham’s second goal to rule out an extra-time penalty awarded to England for a foul on Spence. 

Haaland, unable to add to his tournament tally of seven goals, was substituted at halftime of the extra period and although Norway poured forward looking for an equaliser, England held on to match their progress to the last four at the 1966, 1990 and 2018 World Cups. 

“I feel sorry for the lads, but this is top level sports at its best or its most gruesome,” said tearful Norway coach Stale Solbakken.

“We played fantastic football against a super team, but we didn’t make it.”

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Ed Osmond)

The Seattle Seahawks are being sold to the Khosla family, including Vinod Khosla, in accordance with the wishes of late team owner Paul Allen, the team announced on Saturday.

The Khosla family entered into a formal agreement to purchase the defending Super Bowl champions for $9.612 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to the The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is still subject to approval by the NFL.

The Khosla family will become the team’s controlling owner, according to a social media post by the Seahawks.

“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” Vinod Khosla said in a statement. “We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.”

Allen’s estate announced on Feb. 18 it had begun the process of selling the team, which is coming off its second Super Bowl victory in franchise history. Investment bank Allen & Company LLC and law firm Latham & Watkins led the sales process, which was estimated in February to continue through the offseason.

Vinod Khosla is the founder of Khosla Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.

His current net worth is $13.7 billion, Forbes reported this month.

The company invests in experimental technologies such as biomedicine, robotics, and was the first venture firm to invest in OpenAI, per Forbes.

The Khosla family will be required to relinquish its ownership stake in the San Francisco 49ers as part of the deal. Khosla joined 49ers ownership group as a minority owner in 2025, purchasing 3.1% of the team.

NFL owners still have to ratify a final purchase agreement and they are expected to meet in August to approve the deal, ESPN reported.

The Seahawks have been in the Allen family since 1997, when Paul Allen bought the team for $194 million from then-owner Ken Behring. Allen was critical in keeping the Seahawks in Seattle, which is where the team is expected to remain after the sale is finalized.

The Seahawks have a lease at Lumen Field that runs through 2032 with three 10-year options.

Since Allen, cofounder of Microsoft, died in 2018 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at 65, the Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers have been owned by his sister, Jody.

The estate agreed in September to sell the Trail Blazers to an investment group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon. The Trail Blazers will remain in Portland as part of the deal, which is awaiting final approval from the NBA Board of Governors.

The last NFL team to be sold was the Washington Commanders in 2023. A group led by Josh Harris that includes Magic Johnson bought the team from longtime owner Dan Snyder and his family for a record $6.05 billion.

The Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in the Super Bowl in February.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the name of the family purchasing the team to Khosla throughout.

___

AP NFL writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

By Nick Mulvenney

MIAMI, July 11 (Reuters) – Jude Bellingham scored twice, including the extra-time winner, as England ground out a 2-1 victory over a battling Norway side at Miami Stadium on Saturday to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth time. 

The teams were locked up 1-1 at the end of regulation time after Andreas Schjelderup had opened the scoring for Norway with a wonder strike in the 36th minute and Bellingham skipped into the area to equalise just before halftime.

Three minutes into extra time, though, Morgan Rogers fired a long-range shot at the Norwegian goal that Orjan Nyland could only parry and Bellingham stole in to bury the rebound, delighting the white-shirted fans in the crowd of 64,478. 

England will face Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday in their fourth semi-final in their last five major championships, looking to stay on course for a repeat of their sole World Cup triumph of 1966.

“The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing, but I’m not happy with the performance,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said.

“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves in the way we played. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.”

Norway will feel they deserved more out of the game, even if England kept Erling Haaland scoreless for the first time in his last 16 matches for his country, and will exit their first World Cup in 28 years with heads held high.

“It is a bit bitter, but it has been an adventure,” said Norway skipper Martin Odegaard.

“We must be proud. We are here for the first time in a long time, and we are making our mark. The whole world is talking about us.”

CAGEY FIRST HALF     

Perhaps because of the stifling heat, the first half was a cagey affair but Norway exploded into life when Julian Ryerson crossed for Haaland to head the ball at goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 35th minute.   

A minute later, Patrick Berg stripped Harry Kane of possession near halfway and released Schjelderup down the left, the winger turning makeshift England full back Ezri Konsa inside out before crashing a shot-cum-cross into the net.

England were rattled and Norway took full advantage with Alexander Sorloth hitting a rising drive over the bar and Martin Odegaard drilling in a low shot that Pickford parried away. 

They should have doubled their lead in the 44th minute when they briefly had a two-on-one inside the England half but Sorloth decided not to pass to Haaland and the defenders recovered their ground to snuff out the danger.

Norway would regret their profligacy in stoppage time at the end of the half when Bellingham conjured up an equaliser of real quality from Anthony Gordon’s clever ball across the edge of the box. 

Bellingham took one touch to steer the ball into the area, another to take him past a defender, before turning to whip it across goalkeeper Nyland into the far corner of the goal.  

The remainder of the half was all England with Kane getting the ball into the net again only to be adjudged offside, a decision confirmed by VAR. 

VAR RULES OUT NORWAY GOAL

VAR was again called upon 10 minutes into the second half when Torbjorn Heggem thought he had put Norway in front from a corner, his goal scratched off for a shove by Haaland on Elliot Anderson.  

Norway’s introduction of pacey winger Oscar Bobb in the 67th minute triggered another period of dominance with England fortunate not to concede when David Moller Wolfe headed the ball over Pickford and on to the bar. 

England’s right-wing substitute Bukayo Saka came close to helping his team take the lead with a dangerous cross that flashed across goal in the 78th minute and he carved out another great chance when he got to the byline and fired a low cross across the box that none of his teammates were able to get to. 

England substitute Djed Spence caught Nyland napping in possession towards the end of normal time but the second half was destined to finish goalless.

VAR was to intervene once more after Bellingham’s second goal to rule out an extra-time penalty awarded to England for a foul on Spence. 

Haaland, unable to add to his tournament tally of seven goals, was substituted at halftime of the extra period and although Norway poured forward looking for an equaliser, England held on to match their progress to the last four at the 1966, 1990 and 2018 World Cups. 

“I feel sorry for the lads, but this is top level sports at its best or its most gruesome,” said tearful Norway coach Stale Solbakken.

“We played fantastic football against a super team, but we didn’t make it.”

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Ed Osmond)

MIAMI, July 11 (Reuters) – Jude Bellingham scored twice as England beat Norway 2-1 in an extra time thriller in their World Cup quarter-final in Miami Stadium on Saturday. 

• Bellingham scored the winner in the first half of extra time when he was quickest to pounce on a rebound from a save.

• Norway’s Andreas Schjelderup had opened the scoring in the 36th minute with a rasping strike that went in off the far post.

• Bellingham equalised for England in first-half added time when he glided into the box and fired past two defenders.

• Bellingham is now level with Harry Kane on six goals in the tournament.

• England will play either Argentina or Switzerland in the semi-final.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Miami, editing by Ed Osmond)

By Gabriel Araujo

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, July 11 (Reuters) – The idea that soccer is not popular in the U.S. is “a little bit overstated” and the World Cup has helped prove it, “Ted Lasso” co-creator and star Brendan Hunt said, acknowledging the Emmy-winning comedy may have helped draw new fans to the sport.

Speaking to reporters in Kansas City ahead of the quarter-final between Argentina and Switzerland on Saturday, Hunt said he had heard anecdotal evidence that viewers who once ignored soccer became interested through the Apple TV series.

The comedy, which follows a U.S. coach unexpectedly hired to manage an English soccer club, became a breakout hit during its three-season run from 2020 to 2023, winning 13 Emmy Awards, including two for best comedy series.

Asked whether he credited the show with helping boost soccer’s popularity in the U.S., co-creator and star Jason Sudeikis joked: “I do within my own home.”

“It’s made it more popular,” he added, before deferring to Hunt, who plays Coach Beard.

Hunt joked that the show’s creators had “tricked” some reluctant viewers into embracing the sport. Still, he argued soccer’s growth in the world’s No.1 economy predates the series and is often underestimated.

The U.S. is co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico and Canada, more than three decades after staging the 1994 tournament.

While that event helped spark a rise in the sport’s popularity, with Major League Soccer launching two years later, soccer remains far from dominant there despite the likes of Pele, David Beckham and now Lionel Messi having played in the country.

Hunt said U.S. fans were far more prepared for this World Cup than in 1994, when awareness of the tournament was lower.

“We’re not as far behind in terms of the sport’s popularity as is made out to be, and I think this World Cup has shown that,” he said.

“The stuff about soccer being not popular here is a little bit overstated … It’s getting there.

“Now, because every World Cup gets bandwagon fans in every country, whether some of them stick around a little bit more remains to be seen,” he added.

The future of “Ted Lasso” had long been uncertain after its creators said they originally envisioned a three-season run, but a fourth season was announced in March 2025.

It premieres on Apple TV on August 5, with Ted returning to Richmond to coach a second-division women’s team.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Ken Ferris)

By Iain Axon

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, July 11 (Reuters) – As Kansas City prepared to bring the curtain down on its World Cup on Saturday, local organisers were already reflecting on a month that put the Midwestern city on the global stage.

Kansas City has been host to six games including a round-of-16 match and Saturday’s quarter-final between Argentina and Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs.

But the tournament’s legacy will be measured as much by the supporters who adopted the city as their temporary home.

The city welcomed large followings from several nations, including Algeria, whose fans spilled across neighbouring Lawrence, Kansas, where the North African team made their base camp.

A sea of Netherlands orange marched through downtown streets before turning parts of the city centre into a Dutch carnival.

Supporters from Argentina, Switzerland, Colombia and others packed fan zones, bars and public squares over the past month, transforming the self-styled “Soccer Capital of America” into a meeting place for the world and giving residents a rare chance to experience the World Cup’s unique blend of sport, culture and community on their own doorstep.

“The last month has been very special for Kansas City to have a chance to be on the international stage,” Clark Hunt, honorary co-chair of the KC 2026 board and chairman and CEO of the Chiefs, told reporters.

“Getting to see fans from all around the world coming to Kansas City to cheer on their teams … has been amazing.”

Hunt said he hoped the city would have the chance to welcome the tournament back one day.

“If we have the opportunity to bid, we’ll do it,” he said.

For KC 2026 Chief Executive Pam Kramer, the tournament’s legacy will extend beyond football.

“We’ve proven we can handle the biggest sporting competition in the world,” she said, adding that the World Cup had showcased Kansas City as a destination for business, investment and new residents.

SPIRIT OF KANSAS CITY’S WORLD CUP

Asked what she would remember most, Kramer recalled a chance conversation with an elderly gentleman that captured the spirit of Kansas City’s World Cup.

“(He) said, ‘You know, I didn’t know much about soccer before and, I have to tell you, I thought it was maybe going to be overblown, it seemed like much to do about nothing,'” Kramer said.

“But what seems to have happened is that people put aside their differences and cheered for the teams for a couple of weeks, and I thought that was so insightful to what has happened here … that will stick with me,” Kramer added.

Author and longtime soccer commentator Nate Bukaty said he will remember the spirit of connection.

“Everything I loved about what the game of soccer does has been here for the past month,” he said of Kansas City. “And that’s the part, I think, more than the soccer itself, that I will cherish. I’m already kind of nostalgic about it and a little sad that it’s almost over.”

For years, Kansas City wondered how the world would view the city. After a month of packed stadiums, Bukaty believes it got its emphatic answer.

“The question I heard over and over was, ‘What’s the world going to think of us when they get here?'” he said. “My response was, ‘Is the world ready for Kansas City?’ … I feel like everybody’s been pleasantly surprised with this place. And I think we’ve acquitted ourselves very well.”

Argentina, England, the Netherlands and Algeria held their base camps in Kansas City.

Kramer said more than 310,000 fans, from more than 150 nations, had attended the city’s FIFA Fan Fest Kansas City, with thousands more expected for Saturday’s quarter-final.

The 36,000 supporters who participated in the Netherlands’ “Oranje Fanwalk” were the largest Dutch turnout in the U.S.

(Writing by Lori Ewing, reporting by Iain Axon; Editing by Ken Ferris)

NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Bichette was held out of the Mets’ lineup on Saturday for a second straight day because of soreness in his legs and right ankle, and the infielder may sit through the All-Star break.

“It’s a day to day thing,” manager Andy Green said before the Mets continued a three-game series with Boston. “If he’s feeling great tomorrow we’ll get him back out there. If not we’ll likely use the All-Star break to kind of get him a full reset.

Green said Bichette felt pain during last weekend’s series in Atlanta when he went 8 for 18 but also fouled balls off his legs.

“In Atlanta, he fouled some balls off of his legs, kind of beat his legs up a little bit, played through a lot; the guy’s a warrior,” Green said. “Legs are just overall sore, got some right ankle soreness, as well, coupled with that.”

Bichette went 0 for 3 in Thursday’s 7-3 win over Kansas City and is hitting .320 with two homers and 11 RBIs in his last 25 games.

Overall Bichette is hitting .256 with 10 homers and 51 RBIs in his first season with the Mets after seven seasons with the Blue Jays. He started this season by going 2-for-22 and was hitting .219 through the first two months.

The Mets signed Bichette to a $126 million, three-year contract in mid-January to play third base and he made the majority of his 44 starts at shortstop while Francisco Lindor was recovering from a calf strain. Bichette can opt out of the deal after the first or second season to become a free agent.

Marcus Semien did some running Saturday after facing Clay Holmes in live batting practice on Friday and could start a rehab assignment soon as the second baseman recovers from a left hip flexor strain.

Semien’s rehab assignment may not occur until the end of the next week because the Mets’ Triple-A and Double-A teams are off during the All-Star break.

“Obviously, it’s tough timing with the All-Star break,” Green said. “Only games going on are in the FCL through the All-Star break and I’ve seen too many of those games in the last few years to feel great about putting our hitters in the batter’s box.”

Semien was placed on the 10-day injured list June 25 and has missed 16 games. Acquired from Texas for Brandon Nimmo in November, Semien is batting .214 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 80 games.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Expected to go as the first pick in the amateur draft, Roch Cholowsky submitted a video to Major League Baseball with the correct pronunciation of his last name.

For the record, the name is pronounced chil-OW’-skee.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred still botched the pronunciation of Cholowsky’s name at the podium Saturday when the Chicago White Sox indeed made the UCLA shortstop the No. 1 pick of the draft.

No harm done, Cholowsky insisted.

“I didn’t hear it get butchered,” Cholowsky said. “I heard Roch and kind of lost it.”

Cholowsky burst into tears at a draft party far from the Philadelphia site of the draft.

He led off the lineup of MLB draft prospects who did not show up at the city’s convention center, just a few miles away from Citizens Bank Park, the home of Tuesday’s All-Star Game. MLB said Friday that no amateur players were scheduled to attend the draft, just like last year.

Cholowsky was thrilled he’ll be headed to Chicago, where he enjoyed a fruitful predraft meeting with team officials and mingled in the clubhouse of a team that has been perhaps the biggest surprise in baseball and entered Saturday in first place in the AL Central.

“It really felt like to me like a college clubhouse,” Cholowsky said. “It’s just a different feel in there.”

A 6-foot-2 right-handed hitter, Cholowsky was a Golden Spikes finalist at UCLA and had a 1.088 OPS with 21 homers and 60 RBIs in his junior season. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz said in a statement that Cholowsky “is a leader on the field as well as in the clubhouse. He has more than lived up to very high expectations, and we cannot wait to get him into our organization, get started and see him continue his growth and success.”

The next two picks went about as widely predicted.

Tampa Bay selected Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson with the second pick and Minnesota took Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey third.

Just 18 years old, the 6-3, 185-pound Emerson bats left, throws right and is widely considered the best all-around player in the draft. A University of Texas commit, Emerson transferred to Fort Worth Christian for his senior year, when he played under head coach Rusty Greer, a nine-year MLB veteran who spent nine seasons with the Texas Rangers.

The 21-year-old Lackey didn’t receive any Division I offers until his senior year of high school and has since blossomed into one of the top catching prospects in the draft out of Georgia Tech. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder showed some versatility by also playing third base.

San Francisco selected right-handed pitcher Jackson Flora — a noted fried chicken aficionado — out of UC Santa Barbara with the No. 4 pick. The Pirates took outfielder Derek Curiel from LSU with the fifth pick. Louisville outfielder Zion Rose went sixth to Kansas City and Oak Grove High School (Mississippi) outfielder Eric Booth Jr. went seventh to Baltimore.

The Athletics drafted Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress with the eighth pick, Atlanta took Virginia outfielder AJ Gracia with the ninth pick and Colorado selected Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell 10th.

There were just three pitchers selected among the first 20 overall.

Phillies fans cheered the 34th overall pick in the draft when the White Sox drafted high school star Landon Thome.

The Nazareth Academy (Illinois) infielder is the son of former Phillies, White Sox and Cleveland great and baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome.

Jim Thome helped changed the perception of the Phillies from long-time losers to championship contenders when he left Cleveland and signed a six-year, $85 million contract with Philly ahead of the 2003 season.

The 18-year-old Thome went two picks before the Phillies drafted California high school shortstop Tyler Spangler with the 36th pick — and sent the bulk of the fans fleeing for the exits.

The Marlins selected shortstop Jacob Lombard with the No. 14 pick. Lombard is the son of Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard Sr and younger brother of top Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr.

The Brewers took high school shortstop Trey Ebel with the 25th pick. He is the brother of Brady Ebel, whom they drafted with the 32nd selection last year. Their father is Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel — expected to pitch to Phillies slugger Bryce Harper in the Home Run Derby on Monday night.

With former White Sox and Phillies players Jimmy Rollins and Greg Luzinski on hand to rally hundreds of fans at the draft, Chicago had the top selection for the first time since taking Harold Baines in 1977.

Baines was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.

The White Sox, who the No. 1 pick after they lost 102 games last season and won the draft lottery, have pegged Cholowsky as a future star that can help them win their first World Series title since 2005.

Led by All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas, the White Sox have emerged as one of the top surprises and entered Saturday in first place in the AL Central after enduring three straight 100-loss seasons.

“It’s definitely a lot more motivation to get up there and join those guys at some point,” Cholowsky said. “Being part of a contending team is pretty cool. I value winning a lot.”

Cholowsky is the first collegiate shortstop to go No. 1 overall since Vanderbilt’s Dansby Swanson in 2015 and was UCLA’s first No. 1 draft pick since Gerrit Cole in 2011.

No players in Saturday’s draft went to the podium after their name was called.

Major League Baseball has weaved the idea of forcing players to attend into negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. MLB proposed requiring up to 10 prospects to attend the draft, and each would get a $50,000 draft attendance bonus.

That meant the loudest ovation during draft festivities belonged to the Phillie Phanatic when he was introduced during mascot roll call. Phillies fans just about booed Braves mascot Blooper out of the convention center and had more jeers for Manfred.

Manfred turned the crowd reaction around before the start of the draft as he name-dropped some of the great stars in Phillies history.

There was another announcement to make inside the convention center.

“We’re going to see the arrival of tremendous talent today,” Siera Santos of MLB Network told the crowd.

Just not live in Philadelphia.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb