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Quarterback Malachi Nelson, ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit from 2023, will take an official visit to Boise State in the upcoming days, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

It will be his first visit since leaving USC, where Nelson spent his freshman season in 2023 before entering the NCAA transfer portal in December. The trip to Boise State will mark his first official visit, as he’s received interest from myriad high-profile programs.

Boise State looms as the favorite, sources told ESPN, as Nelson looks for a blue-collar program where he can blend in and prove himself while growing up with a strong team. After being redshirted at USC in 2023, he would immediately available with four years of eligibility remaining.

Nelson would have an opportunity to earn the starting job at Boise State after quarterback Taylen Green‘s transfer to Arkansas. The Broncos won the Mountain West championship in 2023 under interim coach Spencer Danielson and have 18 starters returning.

The returning starters include four offensive linemen and Mountain West Player of the Year Ashton Jeanty, who led the nation in yards from scrimmage per game (159.6). Jeanty resisted big-money overtures from power conference teams to return to Boise State this year.

While at Los Alamitos High School in Southern California, Nelson threw for 2,898 yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior, eventually eclipsing Arch Manning atop the ESPN recruiting rankings. He won back-to-back California Gatorade Player of the Year awards and his offer sheet included Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame.

Nelson took four snaps for USC.

While Nelson got interest from bigger programs in the portal, the potential to play immediately and a strong roster loomed large in him choosing to first visit Boise State. This visit could end up as an anecdote that supports the trend of players in the NIL era seeking playing time over big brands, as the generations-long path of top recruits signing with the biggest schools and waiting their turns is being tested.

Nelson clicked during multiple conversations with Danielson, according to sources, and also has a long-standing relationship with offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. While Hamdan was an assistant at Washington in 2015-16, he began recruiting Nelson and stayed in touch with him.

Hamdan, a former Boise State quarterback, brings NFL experience from his time coaching Matt Ryan with the Atlanta Falcons and runs a pro-style offense, which is attractive to Nelson. There are also family ties in Boise, as Nelson’s aunt lives there.

Boise State finished 8-6 last season, firing coach Andy Avalos in November before winning the final three games to win the Mountain West title.

Boise has a rich recent history that includes 19 consecutive years of being ranked in the Associated Press poll, a run that ended in 2021. Since 2006, Boise State earned a top-five ranking at some point in the season in five different years.

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Journalism rallies to win Preakness; Gosger 2nd

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Journalism rallies to win Preakness; Gosger 2nd

BALTIMORE — Journalism won the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, coming from behind down the stretch to make good on the lofty expectations of being the odds-on favorite in the middle leg of the Triple Crown two weeks after finishing second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby.

Finishing first in a field of nine horses that did not include Sovereignty but featured some of the best competition in the country, Journalism gave trainer Michael McCarthy his second Preakness victory. It is Umberto Rispoli’s first in a Triple Crown race, and he is the first jockey from Italy to win one of them.

Gosger was second by a half-length after getting passed by Journalism just before the wire. Sandman was third and Goal Oriented fourth. Journalism went 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.37.

Journalism thrived on a warm day that dried out the track after torrential rain fell at Pimlico Race Course for much of the past week. Those conditions suited him better than the slop at Churchill Downs in the Derby.

Sovereignty did not take part after his owners and trainer Bill Mott decided to skip the Preakness, citing the two-week turnaround, and aimed for the Belmont on June 7. That made this a fifth time in seven years that the Preakness, for various reasons, was contested without a Triple Crown bid at stake.

But Journalism staked his claim for 3-year-old horse of the year by winning the $2 million American classic race run at the old Pimlico Race Course for the last time before it’s torn down and rebuilt. The Preakness is set to be held at nearby Laurel Park, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., next year before a planned return to the new Pimlico in 2027.

Journalism is the first horse to win the Preakness after running in the Kentucky Derby since Mark Casse-trained War of Will in 2019. Only two others from the 19 in the Derby participated in the Preakness: Casse’s Sandman and fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas’ American Promise.

Lukas, the 89-year-old who has saddled the most horses in Preakness history, referred to McCarthy once this week as “the new guy.” This was just McCarthy’s second, and he’s 2 for 2 after Rombauer sprung the upset as an 11-1 long shot in 2021.

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‘So that’s why they’re called the 0’s’: Twins troll Orioles after shutout win

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'So that's why they're called the 0's': Twins troll Orioles after shutout win

The Minnesota Twins are on a roll. They extended their winning streak to 11 games Thursday with a 4-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles that completed a series sweep. Their confidence carried over to social media, too, as they trolled the Orioles.

Minnesota used a three-run third inning to propel itself to victory, with home runs from DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Byron Buxton.

The Twins hold the longest win streak in MLB; its their their longest run of victories since winning 12 straight from April 22 to May 4 last season, according to ESPN Research. The franchise record is 15 set in 1991.

Minnesota poked fun at Baltimore’s namesake with a post after the game, referring to the Orioles also being known as the “O’s” — and swapping a zero in for the O.

The Twins have won each of their six matchups against the Orioles this season. All of them have come during Minnesota’s current win streak.

Minnesota (24-20) is fourth in the American League Central behind the Kansas City Royals, Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers.

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Red Sox rookie Campbell working out at 1st base

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Red Sox rookie Campbell working out at 1st base

Star Boston Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell has started working out at first base in the wake of Triston Casas‘ season-ending knee injury.

Campbell worked out at first before Friday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora addressed the situation when he spoke to reporters before the game.

“Looking for options,” Cora told reporters. “Obviously, we’re getting Romy [Gonzalez] probably at the end of the week, early next week, but just introduce him to first base and see how he looks. That’s where we’re at.”

Casas ruptured the tendon in his left knee while running to first base during a game against the Minnesota Twins earlier this month. His replacement at first, Gonzalez, was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a left quad contusion last week.

One potential replacement, star slugger Rafael Devers, said after Casas went down that he would not be open to moving to first after he went from third base to designated hitter during spring training to make room for Alex Bregman.

Campbell, one of baseball’s top prospects, broke camp with the big league team and has been its primary second baseman through the start of the season. He has also played in the outfield and at shortstop and third base in his career, but never first.

Asked what he would need to see for Campbell to be a realistic option at first for his team, Cora added: “The process started, right? It can take 10 days, 15 days, a month, two months. But we started the process and introduced him to first.”

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