The rollout of Nike’s and Fanatics’ new MLB uniforms has been messy, to say the least.

Previously sewn-on elements now appear to be printed. The pants have been called “see-through.” There are concerns about the actual fit. There have been widespread pants shortages. And most noticeably, the player names on the backs of the jerseys are much smaller, giving the jerseys a cheaper look.

One team, however, appears to have avoided that last issue.

The Kansas City Royals took the field last weekend wearing what appeared to be their old uniforms. They at least looked like the same jerseys, with the larger lettering on the back used until this year. Some fans were confused, and there was even speculation that the team was revolting against the, well, revolting uniforms.

The truth turned out to be much simpler: The Royals just asked if they could use the old lettering.

According to the intrepid Paul Lukas of Uni Watch, who noticed the larger lettering and reached out to the Royals, the team lobbied Nike and MLB to retain their old lettering because they “felt strongly about maintaining the full-sized lettering as a way for fans to connect with the team’s players.”

Nike and MLB granted the request, so the Royals will get to use the large lettering on both their home and road jerseys this season.

The Royals aren’t the first team to get such a concession, either, as the St. Louis Cardinals were granted something of a waiver to retain their chain-stitched chest script after lobbying from team president Bill DeWitt III.

Of course, this raises a couple of significant questions in the ongoing uniform saga. If all a team had to do to keep the old lettering was ask, then a) why didn’t any other MLB teams bother trying and b) what’s stopping them from doing so now?

Barring an embarrassing and expensive about-face, MLB teams are likely locked into these unpopular uniforms for this season. Going forward, however, whoever manages Nike’s relationship with MLB and its teams might have a busy day at work ahead of them.

In a home game on Jan. 6, 1981, Lynette Woodard caught a pass at the top of the key. The Kansas star took one dribble and pulled up for a jump shot that slid through the net, and into history — at least it should have.

“Oh my goodness,” said Elizabeth Galloway-Mcquitter, President of Legends of the Ball. “Lynette was an all-around player. She could do everything. She could play all positions.”

Woodard’s jumper made her the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball history, but it’s a record that has been left in the shadows. Woodard’s feat came before the NCAA sanctioned women’s basketball, in the AIAW era (Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women).

That’s why when Caitlin Clark’s patented long-distance 3-pointer went down on Feb. 15, it was Kelsey Plum’s record she broke, not Woodard’s. Clark surpassed Plum’s 3,527 points, and is now nearing Pete Maravich’s mark of 3,667 points, which is the record for men’s and women’s basketball.

But in the middle is Woodard’s 3,649 points. Clark will likely pass Woodard’s total on Wednesday against Minnesota, or on Sunday against Ohio State. She averages 32.1 points per game, and needs 33 to pass Woodard.

Catching Plum was a feat, but it wasn’t the record. Not really. And letting Woodard get lost in history is a disservice to her, the pioneers of women’s basketball, and Clark herself.

“When you don’t know the history-makers, it cheats them and the current players,” Galloway-Mcquitter said. “One of the greats of our game is constantly kept in the shadows. And I imagine Caitlin [Clark] would want to know whose record she is really chasing.”

When she passes Woodard, Clark will officially be the record holder, but that number won’t be celebrated by the NCAA.

That’s because prior to 1982, women’s basketball operated separately from the NCAA, and to this day, the NCAA does not acknowledge the players from the AIAW era, nor their stats.

“We were playing against the best of our era,” Galloway-Mcquitter said. “[Those records are] legitimate. They warrant acknowledgement and recognition.”

Galloway-Mcquitter, and Legends of the Ball, want to make sure Woodard is celebrated.

The organization was created by basketball players from Woodard’s era, like Galloway-Mcquitter, who played at UNLV, to educate the public about women’s basketball history, particularly Title IX, the AIAW and the WBL (Women’s Professional Basketball League).

Woodard played four years at Kansas, from 1978-1981, averaging 26 points per game. Her list of accolades is extensive.

Woodard was a four-time All-American and the first woman at Kansas to have her jersey retired. She went on to win a gold medal with the United States in 1984, and a year later, became the first woman to compete with the Harlem Globetrotters.

In 2004, Woodard was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2005, she was selected for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Despite her lengthy list of accomplishments, and the role she served as a pioneer following Title IX, Woodard still hasn’t been granted the record she earned.

“I want the NCAA governing body to know that they should respect the AIAW players,” Woodard said on Sunday during an ESPN broadcasted game between Kansas and Kansas State. “This is the era of diversity, equity and inclusion. They should include us. We deserve it.”

Records lose meaning when only part of the picture is recognized, and Clark wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for players like Woodard, Galloway-Mcquitter said. The attendance records, sponsorships and doting fans that follow Clark’s every move are all made possible by the women who played before her.

“You can’t truly gauge how far the game has come until you know those seminal moments,” Galloway-Mcquitter said. “The names and faces, the events that helped get us where we are. That’s why history matters. We need to think about the ones who first opened the doors and kept them open.”

Galloway-Mcquitter knows Clark is about to break Woodard’s record, and she’s thrilled for the Iowa guard.

“Records are meant to be broken,” she said. “But Lynette should have been given the opportunity to pass that baton to Caitlin. It’s her baton to pass.”

Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill is facing a lawsuit from a model who claims his anger caused a blocking drill at his house to go horribly wrong.

Sophie Hall, a plus-sized influencer with more than 2 million followers on Instagram, claims she was invited to take part in an offensive line blocking drill after watching Hill train in his backyard on June 28, 2023, per a copy of the lawsuit published by the Daily Mail.

On her first defensive-line rep, Hall alleges that she managed to push Hill backward, drawing laughter from a group of witnesses, including Hill’s trainer, mother and sister. Hall said in 2019 that she is 6-foot-1 and weighs 250 pounds, while Hill is listed by the NFL at 5-foot-10, 191 pounds.

Hall claims that Hill became “embarrassed” and “angry” and that he insisted they do the drill in opposite positions. The second rep was apparently interrupted by a puppy, and the third rep saw Hall hold her own, but on the fourth rep, Hill allegedly charged into her “violently and with great force,” leaving her in “excruciating pain.”

Hall said she was later diagnosed with a fracture in her right leg. The lawsuit contains pictures of her leg and X-rays, with what appear to be two screws installed. She also includes screengrabs of Hill contacting her via Instagram DMs after she signed her son up for his football camp, which allegedly led to the invite to his house.

Hall posted a video of herself in a wheelchair and cast last July, with the same X-rays.

From the lawsuit:

The lawsuit also makes reference to Hill’s “violent and aggressive behavior towards women.”

That would be referring to past incidents in which Hill was dismissed from Oklahoma State in 2014 over a domestic violence arrest, which later saw him plead guilty to punching and choking his then-pregnant 20-year-old girlfriend.

There was also his suspension from the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019 after his fiancée recorded him saying that she and their 3-year-old son should be afraid of him. He avoided criminal charges in that case.

Also, part of Hill’s home was destroyed last month by a fire, which was found to have been caused by a child playing alone with a lighter. Last year, he reached a settlement with a marina employee whom Hill allegedly slapped on the back of the head.

All of this has come while Hill continues to be one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL. He posted a career-high 1,799 receiving yards on 119 catches and 171 targets last season, plus 13 touchdowns.

The Las Vegas Raiders fully intend to keep one of their offensive stars this offseason while holding out hope of retaining another.

First-year general manager Tom Telesco told reporters Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis that the team has no intention of trading three-time All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams.

“He’s a Raider,” Telesco said.

As for two-time Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs, Telesco said he is holding out hope that the team can entice him to stay.

“We’re going to explore pretty hard to see if we can bring him back here and kind of go from there,” Telesco said, per ESPN.

Where things stand with Adams, Jacobs

Adams is under contract. He’s approaching the third year of a five-year, $140 million deal signed when he joined the Raiders via a trade from the Green Bay Packers in 2022. He’s also a 31-year-old star best equipped to help a team looking to contend now.

Without stability at quarterback, the Raiders don’t look like one of those teams. Because of that, Adams is the subject of trade rumors, most notably linked to a potential reunion with former Packers teammate Aaron Rodgers with the New York Jets. Telesco made it clear Tuesday that option is not part of the plan in Las Vegas.

As for Jacobs, he’s slated to become a free agent. Telesco said Tuesday that he doesn’t “anticipate” using the franchise tag this offseason, confirming a report from Monday that the Raiders won’t tag Jacobs. Whatever exploring Telesco intends to do would involve enticing Jacobs to stay via a new contract before the start of free agency on March 13. Telesco sounds prepared to move on if that doesn’t happen.

“There’s a lot of backs that are available this year, so I guess it remains to be seen what other people think,” Telesco said, per ESPN. “But the talent pool at that position in free agency is relatively high.”

What will the Raiders do at QB?

The top priority in Las Vegas remains figuring out what to do at quarterback. The Raiders are expected to release Jimmy Garoppolo before an $11.25 million roster bonus kicks in. That would leave rising second-year pro Aidan O’Connell as the clear No. 1 option on the roster.

O’Connell was solid in 10 starts as a rookie last season, but the Raiders presumably would like to bring in some competition, whether that’s a veteran such as Russell Wilson or a move to the top of the draft to snag one of this year’s highly touted prospects.

If they don’t get quarterback right, what happens with Adams and Jacobs won’t matter much.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — There might not be a better rotation, top to bottom, than that of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ace Zac Gallen is a perennial NL Cy Young candidate with top-five finishes the past two years. Right-hander Merrill Kelly has been one of the most consistent starters in baseball the past few seasons. And the team added one of the best free-agent arms available this offseason in left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez.

But the arm that might be the key to unlocking the Diamondbacks rotation’s full potential is second-year right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. Pfaadt burst on the scene during the team’s run to the 2023 World Series and was arguably their second-best starter in October, behind Kelly.

However, Pfaadt’s arrival in the big leagues was neither the easiest nor the smoothest. The first start of his career, on May 3, 2023, against the Texas Rangers, didn’t go his way, as the then-24-year-old allowed nine hits and seven earned runs, including four homers, over 4 2/3 innings. Through his first five big-league starts, all in May, Pfaadt carried an 8.37 ERA, leading to the first of his two demotions to Triple-A last year.

“I feel like every young player, even veteran players, have a series of graduations,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo told Yahoo Sports this week. “You get to the big leagues. How are you going to stay? … He got sent down, I think, two or three times last year, and with each one, each one of those sendouts, he got some messaging. He took that in stride and came back improved.”

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Indeed, Pfaadt was given a list of things Arizona wanted him to work on during his stints at Triple-A Reno, including a slight adjustment to his pitch mix and shifting to the extreme first-base side of the rubber, as recommended by D-backs pitching coach Brent Strom. Pitchers often have a side of the mound that they prefer, but from watching Pfaadt’s struggles, Arizona believed shifting would help him locate his elite stuff better.

Sure enough, as each adjustment was made, improvements happened quickly, and results soon followed. Pfaadt made his way back to the big leagues, where the changes were noticeable. In the process, he made an impression on his teammates.

“I just saw the water underneath kind of just start settling,” Kelly said. “When he came up in the regular season for the first time, I think things were just moving super fast for him, like most of us when we first get here. I think that the send-down was a good thing for him. I think it kind of gave him a little bit of time to kind of chill out for a little bit.”

Kelly understood what Pfaadt was going through, as his road to the majors featured some bumps along the way, and success didn’t come as quickly for him as it did for Gallen, who burst on the scene in 2019. But together, Kelly and Gallen were the right people to mentor Pfaadt.

“It was like the perfect duo because they both can give a little bit of everything,” Pfaadt said. “And you can kind of pick and choose which one you want to go to. I think that helped me a bunch last year. And I was able to grow as a pitcher by asking and learning from Zac and Merrill.”

Once the D-backs called Pfaadt back up for the final time in July, it looked like things had finally started to click. He went at least five innings in nine of his final 13 regular-season starts, with a 4.22 ERA and 73 strikeouts in that span.

Fast-forward to the postseason, and the young Pfaadt was offered his moment to sink or swim. Because of how the season concluded, with the D-backs needing every game to make the playoffs, Pfaadt got the ball in Game 1 of the NL wild-card round in Milwaukee. The belief in Arizona, after his long and winding season, was that Pfaadt was just what the doctor ordered.

“He dialed it up and got some big outs when we needed to,” Lovullo said. “Because of that, I feel like it was one more little push in the right direction with his ability, and then it just took off from there.”

Pfaadt went on to pitch out of his mind over the next three weeks, next baffling the Dodgers over 4 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 3 of the NLDS. He then kept the Phillies in check in the NLCS, tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings in Game 3 and silencing a wild Philly crowd in Game 7 by allowing just two runs over four innings as Arizona clinched its ticket to the World Series. Pfaadt finished the postseason with a 3.27 ERA and Diamondbacks victories in four of his five outings.

“It was a growth of confidence,” Pfaadt said. “Get each one under your belt, move on to the next stage. That’s what it kind of felt like. That’s kind of the way I took it. Just grow each time and get better. That’s certainly what we tried to do.”

This spring, unlike last season, Pfaadt isn’t fighting for a spot on the roster coming off his breakout performance in the postseason. He’s joining the likes of Gallen, Kelly and Rodriguez as the bedrock of the team’s rotation. With the Diamondbacks having ascended back to contention in the National League, it’s little surprise that their pitching is at the forefront.

And while the D-backs are looking to show the baseball world that what they accomplished last season was no fluke, their young starter is out to prove that he can continue to be the guy who showed up on the sport’s biggest stage.

“I’m trying to just be the best version of myself,” he said.