SDFC signs Luca Bombino to an extension through 2029-30
San Diego FC prepares for the future, MacKenzie Gore returns a haul to Washington, Trinity Rodman gets paid to stay in the US, NFL Conference Championship previews and more.
I’m still trying some stuff out here. Announcements on podcast/video things coming as soon as I have a plan. Until then, here’s another episode of “John talks to himself for a while”:
San Diego FC
Another no-brainer: SDFC, defender Luca Bombino agree to multi-year contract extension - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas spoke for the entire organization in November, when he said the decision to keep defender Luca Bombino rather than return him to LAFC was a “no-brainer.”
So, too, is Thursday’s decision to extend the young defender so he can stay with SDFC for years.
Bombino and SDFC agreed to a new contract that will run through the 2028-29 season, with club options for the 2029-30 season.
The 19-year-old Bombino started 30 matches across all competitions for SDFC in 2025, scoring two goals and logging three assists. He started all five MLS Cup playoff matches at fullback.
SDFC GAM/TAM: 2026 Preseason Edition - Chromatic FC
MLS has released its preseason GAM numbers, and San Diego FC is starting with $5,537,108. To understand how we arrived at this figure, we can look at the $3,424,625 remaining from the 2025 season combined with the standard 2026 team allotment of $3,280,000. When you subtract approximately $1,350,000 in committed GAM from trades involving players like McVey, Reyes, Saidi, Baird, and Vazquez, as well as buy options for Verhoeven and Bombino, you get a rough total of $5,345,625. The remaining discrepancy of roughly $182,000 likely stems from $100,000 in CONCACAF Champions Cup money and the conversion of transfer fees to GAM from selling Heine Bruseth to a club outside of MLS.
San Diego Padres
Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore trade stunner underscores the Padres’ miserable offseason - Friars On Base
The MacKenzie Gore trade isn’t just loud because it’s MacKenzie Gore. It’s loud because of the number attached to it.
Five prospects. That’s what Washington pulled back from Texas in a 5-for-1 deal for Gore — headlined by 2025 first-rounder Gavin Fien, plus Alejandro Rosario, Abimelec Ortiz, Devin Fitz-Gerald, and Yeremy Cabrera.
And if you’re a Padres fan, that’s the part that makes your stomach drop. Gore isn’t some random name. He’s a former top Padres pitching prospect — drafted third overall, developed under San Diego’s watch, then shipped out in the Juan Soto blockbuster… and now he’s the centerpiece of the kind of return the Padres haven’t been in position to chase all winter.
Manny Machado is on pace for Cooperstown. But will he be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? - The Athletic
Machado, for his part, has distinguished himself more through steady production and uncommon longevity than with dazzling peaks of performance. He has never won an MVP award or batted .300 over a full 162-game season. It has been a decade since Machado collected his second and last Gold Glove, a partial byproduct of sharing a league with Arenado.
But Machado is also a seven-time All-Star who has finished in the top five in MVP voting on four occasions. He is the lone major leaguer to hit at least 27 home runs in each of the last 10 full seasons. Since 2015, when he returned from a second reconstructive knee surgery with the Baltimore Orioles, Machado has appeared in more games than anyone besides Paul Goldschmidt.
Former Yankees, Dodgers Outfielder Retires, Joins Padres Coaching Staff - Newsweek
Locastro, 33, played 290 major league games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Mets from 2017-23. He’ll finish his career with a .228/.327/.337 slash line, and an impressive 45 stolen bases despite limited playing time. He was also hit by 43 pitches — 22 in one season alone, in 2019 with the Diamondbacks.
UCSD Tritons / USD Toreros
UC San Diego Earns Important Conference Win at UC Davis - UCSD Tritons
UC San Diego freshman Hudson Mayes scored a career-high 19 points and posted his second double-double this month, adding 12 rebounds in an 80-74 win over UC Davis Thursday night at UCU Center. Sophomore guard Alex Chaikin also scored 19 points for UC San Diego, hitting five three-point baskets in ten tries. The Tritons shot 55% in the second half, improving to 15-5 overall and 5-3 in Big West action.
Ray and Rhodes Shine in Thursday Night Thriller at USF - USD Toreros
University of San Diego women's basketball team made the trip to War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center on the campus of the University of San Francisco this week, looking to avenge their four-point, 59-55 home loss to the Dons earlier this month.
But on Thursday night, the Toreros were unable to pull out a road victory despite a double-double performance from Kylie Ray, once again losing to the Dons by a four-point margin — this time by a score of 69-65.
Odds & Ends
Trinity Rodman signs 3-year deal with Washington Spirit, becomes highest-paid women’s soccer player in the world - Yahoo Sports
Trinity Rodman has signed a three-year deal with the Washington Spirit, the team announced on Thursday. The deal carries a $1 million annual salary, per ESPN, making her the highest-paid women’s soccer player in the world.
How to watch Unrivaled 3v3 women’s basketball games this weekend - USA Today
The WNBA season is still some months away, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get in on all the women’s basketball action. Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league launched by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, kickstarted it’s season in January.
The Unrivaled league playoffs are about a month away, with the first round taking place on Saturday, Feb. 28, with the semifinals taking place on Monday, March 2 and the championship game scheduled for Wednesday, March 4.
NFL playoffs: AFC, NFC championship picks, schedule, odds - ESPN
The NFL playoffs’ conference championship round for the 2025 season has two great matchups, and we have you covered with what you need to know for both.
First, Patriots QB Drake Maye heads on the road for the first time in the playoffs to face a Broncos team that will be without QB Bo Nix (ankle) in the AFC title game. And then the weekend caps off with an NFC West battle between the surging Rams and Seahawks for the chance to go to the Super Bowl.
NFL coaching hire grades: Jesse Minter and John Harbaugh get top marks, so do Mike McDaniel and Eric Bieniemy as OCs - Yahoo Sports
The Ravens had Mike Macdonald as their defensive coordinator a couple seasons ago, and he left to be the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach. Macdonald led Seattle to a 14-3 record this past regular season, and the Ravens might have regret that the timing didn’t work out better for them to simply promote Macdonald to head coach. So they hired someone with a similar profile in Minter. He is 42 years old, was a Ravens defensive assistant from 2017-2020 and the past two seasons he has done a fantastic job guiding the Los Angeles Chargers’ defense. He was working under Jim Harbaugh, whose brother John was just fired by the Ravens. Before that he was with Jim Harbaugh for two seasons as Michigan’s defensive coordinator, and his final season there resulted in a national championship. Minter was a prime head-coaching candidate in this cycle, due to a lot of respect for his schematic excellence, and he should be a good fit with the Ravens. There is some risk in pairing a rookie head coach with a roster that should believe it can bounce back to being a Super Bowl contender next season.
Should the Knicks Trade KAT? Plus, More Deadline Dilemmas. - The Ringer
The championship-caliber dynamic duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson hasn’t hit the point of no return yet, but one of these two is familiar with seeing his name in trade rumors and can realistically be moved before this deadline. Towns is not the All-NBA big man he was last season. His 3-point percentage has not been this low since he was a rookie. His 2-point percentage is teetering into a ditch, particularly at the rim. The Karate Kid routine against Dallas was almost like a subconscious temper tantrum to release whatever frustrations Towns has felt in new head coach Mike Brown’s system all season long. This doesn’t mean KAT is bad. He’s on the bubble of making his second straight All-Star team, and in competitive minutes, New York is better on both ends when he’s on the court. But, for all the reasons listed above, a breakup may benefit both parties.
How Do You Justify Abducting A Child? - Defector
On Tuesday, some number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents camped out near Liam Conejo Ramos’s home in the Twin Cities suburb of Columbia Heights and waited for him to return with his father, so they could ambush them. According to news reports, agents grabbed Liam out of a car that was still running in the driveway, with one agent leading him to the door of his house in an effort to draw out any other family members at home. ICE then took Liam and his father into custody; their lawyers believe they are now likely being detained in Texas.
Liam is 5 years old. He was on his way home from pre-kindergarten, where he was doing all the things that other 5-year-olds do, like learning how to trace letters and learn words. A group of grown men in tactical gear, working under the auspices of the federal government, bum-rushed a kid in a bunny hat with a Spider-Man backpack on his way home from doing those things and then tried to use him as bait in the president’s ongoing siege against the country he leads.
How Athletic Brewing came to own Dry January - Axios
NA beer remains about 2% of the overall beer market, but don’t tell Athletic CEO Bill Shufelt. He says that sales in recent weeks are among the biggest in the company’s history, defying the broader slump in craft beer.
A new partnership with OpenTable allows the restaurant app’s users to find its beer on menus.
One other data point that Shufelt likes to cite: Athletic is on 20% of Michelin-star restaurant menus.