The 2026 NFL Draft starts tonight
Padres bats go quiet but they sign another starting pitcher, NFL Draft preparations, Pistons and Thunder show why they're the #1 seeds in the NBA Playoffs, SDFC picks up yet another red card, and more
I have a confession to make.
I’ve been writing about the Chargers again.
Someone who was starting a blog about the Los Angeles Chargers about six months ago reached out to me via a Bluesky DM around that time and made me an offer of money-for-posts that fit with my situation at the time (in need of money while building a growing media company).
I replied to the person reaching out to me that I had not closely paid attention to the Chargers in about ten years, but he didn’t seem to mind. He remembered my blogging about the Chargers for SB Nation many moons ago and that’s what he wanted. I accepted, and started the grueling process of trying to become an expert on a team you know almost nothing about (and have a little hatred in your heart for).
I have been writing about the Chargers every day since early on in the 2025 NFL season. On weekdays, on weekends, on days where there was nothing even resembling news that could be covered, writing about games and free agency and…yes, now the 2026 NFL Draft.
I also told them earlier this week that I can’t do it anymore. I’m giving them the last few days of April and then riding off into the sunset.
I’ve lazily hidden this side project from the public. Partially due to shame and partially to avoid heckling. I also had my doubts about anyone following me still being interested in hearing my thoughts on the Chargers.
As such, I never posted about it on X or Bluesky. I never included an article in any edition of the Front Row Seat newsletter. However, for those morbidly curious, here’s your chance to go back and read through it all.
Or, if you’re a Chargers fan, hang out here for the draft (and probably beyond). It’s a pretty good group of writers.
As for me, I will probably never shake my love of the NFL. But, now that I am unattached, I can now go back to the time-honored San Diego tradition of wishing for nothing but horrible things to bestow the NFL franchise that left us behind.
Now, onto the links…
San Diego Padres
Padres’ offense continues to struggle in loss to Rockies - San Diego Union-Tribune
A night after scoring the game’s only run on a bases-loaded walk, in the greatest hitters’ paradise to regularly host big-league games, the Padres’ bats remained cold on Wednesday in an 8-3 loss to the Rockies.
Buehler missed on some pitches while allowing four runs in the second inning. But the Padres hitters, who did have some long but fruitless at-bats, also missed on some pitches.
Campusano’s big night at plate can’t carry Padres to a win - MLB.com
Luis Campusano was a bright light on the night, hitting to all fields for the Friars as he went 3-for-4 with a solo homer to left, a pair of doubles to center and right, two runs and an RBI. Both of his homers this season have come against the Rockies -- he’s hit safely in 14 of his 17 career games against Colorado. He accounted for all of San Diego’s extra-base hits on Wednesday.
Lucas Giolito signs with Padres, finally finding a free-agent fit a month into the season - The Athletic
One month into the 2026 MLB season, the last of the major free agents is finally off the board. The San Diego Padres announced Wednesday that they signed free-agent right-hander Lucas Giolito to a one-year, $3 million deal with a mutual option for 2027.
The deal, according to a league source, includes a $1.5 million base salary, a $1.5 million buyout on the $8 million mutual option, and up to $3 million in escalators on the buyout based on games started.
New Padres ownership group will include some familiar names - San Diego Union-Tribune
The group that owns the Padres will continue to be relatively large, and it will include some familiar names.
Among the current Padres owners that are expected to remain when control of the club transfers to billionaire Jose E. Feliciano is Mexican businessman Alfred Harp Helú, whose name is on the Mexico City stadium where the team will play two games this weekend.
Helú owns 15% of the Padres, which makes him the largest single stakeholder outside of the 24% held by Peter Seidler’s trust, of which his widow and three young children are beneficiaries.
Some members of the Seidler family are expected to retain ownership stakes as well. Those family members, as well as some others who have owned a portion of the team, are divesting a share of their stakes as part of the transaction.
NFL Draft
The Most Important Questions About the 2026 NFL Draft - The Ringer
What will the Jets do at no. 2? How high will Jeremiyah Love get picked? Will Ty Simpson be picked on night one? These are just some of the biggest story lines in this draft.
Cornerback Chris Johnson expected to end San Diego State’s NFL draft drought - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State has not had a player selected in the NFL draft the past three years, the program’s longest draft drought over the past six decades.
That is expected to change — perhaps as soon as Thursday night, when the first round of the 2026 NFL draft is conducted in Pittsburgh.
SDSU cornerback Chris Johnson is projected as a first-or second-round pick.
NFL Draft 2026: Running back may be devalued, but the safest pick is probably Jeremiyah Love - Yahoo Sports
Whoever drafts Jeremiyah Love is very unlikely to regret adding him.
You probably can’t say that about anyone else in this NFL Draft class, at least with as much confidence. The edge rushers at the top of the draft have questions. None of the receivers are Ja’Marr Chase level prospects. There are even questions about Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and his upside.
There is no guarantee Love won’t be a bust. Every prospect has bust potential. But throughout the NFL Draft process, there haven’t been many criticisms of Love’s game. He’s a complete prospect. The only knock has been that he plays running back.
NBA Playoffs
Magic-Pistons takeaways: Cade Cunningham shines, but questions remain about consistency and Detroit’s supporting cast - Yahoo Sports
As Game 2 between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic wrapped up, with the Pistons winning 98-83, one thing proved clear, yet again.
The Pistons, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, can either smoke teams or find themselves in an absolute dogfight. There does not seem to be a middle ground with this group.
Suns’ Booker, Brooks rip refs after Game 2 loss to Thunder - ESPN
Add the Phoenix Suns to the list of teams that have publicly complained about officiating after a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight through and through,” Suns star Devin Booker said after a 120-107 loss in Wednesday’s Game 2 that gave the defending champion Thunder a 2-0 series lead. “It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.”
Odds & Ends
San Diego FC loses fourth consecutive match, receives another red card - San Diego Union-Tribune
Amahl Pellegrino became the latest SDFC player to receive a red card, and the visiting club lost 1-0 to the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night. The 2025 Western Conference finalists have now lost four consecutive Major League Soccer matches, a club record.
Pellegrino’s red came in the 79th minute with the team down a goal; Pellegrino was sent off and will have to miss Saturday’s match between SDFC (3-4-2) and the Portland Timbers as a result.
SDFC has already seen twice as many red cards in MLS play this season (4) as all of last season (2) — and the 2026 schedule is still in its infancy.
Tempers flare, fans get involved in ugly end to Wave-Sockers Game 1 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Shoves escalated between the Milwaukee Wave and San Diego Sockers and fans got involved in the unpleasantries, turning the conclusion of Game 1 of the MASL championship series ugly.
In the final seconds of the Sockers’ 5-4 victory April 22 at the UWM Panther Arena, Wave defender Tony Walls took a kick to the groin on a play that ended any chance for a traditional exchange of handshakes and hugs.
Spirited jawing turned into jostling between players, and then fans joined in the altercation by pelting Sockers players with debris and drinks. Players retaliated. As the situation grew more chaotic, a security officer requested the presence of police who were at the Arena.
SDSU to pay $300K to settle Title IX lawsuit that alleged unequal treatment of female athletes - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State University has agreed to pay $300,000 — plus another $1.3 million in opposing attorney fees — to settle a class-action Title IX lawsuit brought by more than a dozen female student-athletes who alleged they received less scholarship money than their male counterparts.
The settlement, which was approved Monday by a San Diego federal judge, marks the first time ever that a university will pay for allegedly depriving female student-athletes of equal athletic financial aid.
SDSU did not admit to any wrongdoing and maintains that it treats its female student-athletes fairly and did not violate Title IX, the landmark 1972 legislation that prohibits gender discrimination at educational institutions receiving federal funding.
Toronto FC goalkeeper scores tying goal at the death on wild midweek MLS night - The Athletic
The 25-year-old Canadian scored on a header at the death to steal a point for TFC against the Philadelphia Union at BMO Field on Wednesday night. Philadelphia, the reigning yet struggling Supporters’ Shield winner, led 2-0, blew that lead and then seized it back in the 89th minute through Nathan Harriel, seemingly on course for the 3 points. The Union didn’t account for the heroic efforts of Gavran, though, who charged forward for a free kick and wound up in prime position to get his head – and his shoulder – to Alonso Coello’s cross in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Mike Vrabel To Seek Counseling Over “Completely Innocent Interaction” With Dianna Russini - Defector
This is all a bit silly. We’re clearly at the point now where both Russini (by resigning from her position at The Athletic) and Vrabel (by telling us all he’s getting therapy) have acknowledged that something more than innocent handholding between professional acquaintances was going down at that resort, but neither have said so directly. Russini’s way out of the scandal was clear—she committed a journalistic sin and had to resign over it—but Vrabel finds himself on shakier ground.
You get the sense that Vrabel and the Patriots have spent the last few weeks trying to divine exactly how mad people are at him, and for what. “Offseason infidelity with a reporter” is not something that carries a clear set of consequences for a coach, which is how we end up with Vrabel spending a good chunk of this week performing context-free penitence in front of the press. Even the timing of the trip to the therapist’s office—Vrabel won’t be leaving to get the help he apparently so desperately needs until the third day of the draft—suggests a sweaty strategy session in a conference room.