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September 30, 2026

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Arizona State placed men’s hockey coach Greg Powers on paid administrative leave Wednesday, two days after seven players sent an anonymous letter disputing the university’s account of the Aug. 20 workout that left sophomore Matthew Mayich in a coma.

—Meredith Turits

First Up

College football broadcasts are averaging 1.7 million viewers across all Nielsen-rated networks, which is down 11% compared to the 2025 season.
The Wyoming chapter director of the Sierra Club called the plan to stage an MLB game at Grand Teton National Park “irresponsible and shortsighted.”
Novig is raising a new round of capital that’s expected to value the sports-focused prediction-market platform at up to $2 billion, Front Office Sports has learned.
Sen. Eric Schmitt told FOS he didn’t mix up the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes during a viral, heated exchange at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday.

Arizona State Hockey Coach Greg Powers Put On Leave After Player’s Collapse

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Three days out from the Arizona State men’s hockey season opener, head coach Greg Powers has been put on paid administrative leave.

ASU AD Graham Rossini said in a statement: “Our focus continues to be on Matthew [Mayich] and his family, and on our student-athletes to make sure they have the support they need during this time and as the season begins. We have continued to collect as much information as possible. After thorough and careful deliberation, I believe this is the best move to provide stability for the hockey program.”

The decision comes after seven players sent an anonymous, 26-page letter to ASU president Michael Crow disputing the university’s account of the ex-Green Beret–led workout that left 21-year-old sophomore Mayich on life support. In the letter, which was sent Monday via a lawyer for fear of retribution from coaches for speaking out, the players called for the coaches to be put on leave while an outside investigation is conducted.

Following the letter Tuesday, Mayich’s parents also requested the removal of the coaches who ran the Aug. 20 workout. They also renewed their call for an independent review, which they initially asked for in their first public comments following their son’s hospitalization.

Despite Powers’s leave, which was first reported by the Grand Forks Herald, no independent investigation has been launched yet.

The ASU PD is conducting its own internal investigation, and the Maricopa County Attorney said Tuesday she will not take over the inquiry. Still, public pressure has mounted, including from two Arizona state Republican lawmakers, who on Monday night called for the Board of Regents to retain an independent investigator. One of the lawmakers told Front Office Sports on Tuesday that the players’ letter had pushed them to call for outside intervention. And after Powers was put on leave, Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly said in a statement to FOS “there must be a full, independent investigation so that no athlete faces this again.”

On Tuesday, team members met with Rossini and held a practice without coaches present. ASU players are expected to meet with school staff individually.

Powers has led the ASU program since 2008, which includes all 12 seasons Sun Devils men’s hockey has been competing at the Division I level. In 2025, he signed a five-year contract extension through 2030, endowed by ASU boosters Mike and Nancy Friend. The donation created The Greg Powers Endowed Men’s Hockey Head Coach as the athletic department’s first head-coaching endowment.

During National Collegiate Hockey Conference media day Sept. 23, more than a month after Mayich’s hospitalization, Powers refused to answer questions about his player and the workout, even when pressed by multiple reporters. He cited ASU’s ongoing investigation and directed all questions toward the team’s upcoming season.

ASU assistant coach Mike Corbett will coach the Sun Devils as they open their 2026–27 campaign on the road against Lindenwood on Friday. ASU begins conference play in the NCHC on Oct. 30 at St. Cloud State, and they face reigning national champion Denver the following weekend. An interim coach will be named soon.

The NCHC issued a statement saying, “The concerns raised by student-athletes deserve to be heard and thoroughly reviewed. We will not prejudge the findings of that review. … The NCHC will remain in contact with ASU regarding its review and the steps being taken to support and protect its student-athletes.”

Mayich’s family attorney Rob Carey asserts the school has not gone far enough. In a statement released after ASU’s decision, he said: “Putting Powers on leave while his best friend of the last decade stays in charge of the locker room doesn’t solve the problem.”

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ONE BIG FIG

Astronomical Disappointment

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34,011

That’s the number of people who attended the late-afternoon Tuesday game at Houston’s Daikin Park between the White Sox and Astros. It was below the ballpark capacity of 40,963, and the vast swaths of empty seats suggested the actual turnout was even lower. Astros players complained about the turnout and fan boos after dropping the wild-card series opener to Chicago, 6–3.

Attendance for MLB’s daytime playoff games remains a troubling issue: The Braves drew an announced attendance of 30,127 for their wild-card win over the Phillies on Tuesday afternoon at Truist Park. That figure is well below the ballpark’s capacity of 41,147, as well as Atlanta’s 2026 regular-season attendance average of 34,573.

EXCLUSIVE

Head of WPBL Fires Board Member

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Keith Stein, CEO of the Women’s Pro Baseball League, offered board member Mina Kim $600,000 to drop her legal fight against him and the league for financial transparency. She refused, and now, Stein is firing her from her WPBL board position, effectively squashing her legal campaign. On Wednesday morning, Stein wrote in an email to investors that he had removed Kim, the league’s largest investor, from the league’s board.

Dow’s Impact Beyond the Scorecard

A golf partnership can be about more than what happens on the course. For Dow and the LPGA, it has become a platform for advancing women’s golf while connecting competition with innovation, sustainability, and community impact.

The Dow Championship, Team Dow – The Next Generation, and the Dow Impact Award each play a role in that broader strategy, from supporting emerging professionals to creating opportunities for athletes to make a difference off the course.

Together, these initiatives illustrate how Dow is using its investment in the LPGA to build lasting impact across the sport and beyond.

Read the full story to see how Dow is putting purpose at the center of its partnership with the LPGA.

STATUS REPORT

Three Up, One Push

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WNBA ratings ⬆ ESPN aired the most-watched WNBA playoff game in history Sunday, with Game 1 of the first-round series between the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces drawing an average of 2.1 million viewers. The Aces cruised to a 102–85 victory, powered by back-to-back reigning MVP A’ja Wilson’s 38 points. Ratings jumped 122% from the first-round Game 1 that aired on ABC last year between the Fever and Atlanta Dream, and the broadcast peaked at 2.6 million viewers.

Fanatics ⬆ The sportswear and trading card retailer, plus the NFL, NBA, MLB and their respective players’ associations have escaped a proposed class action from customers who claimed the market for trading cards was being manipulated via exclusive deals Fanatics has with the leagues and players’ unions. The judge dismissed the case, saying the plaintiffs failed to “adequately” allege they were harmed. The case was first filed last year. Separately, Fanatics is still fighting a suit from rival Panini America, which has alleged the company is monopolizing the market for trading cards.

Michael Jordan ⬆ One of the Hall of Famer’s game-worn Bulls jerseys from the 1998 NBA Finals sold Tuesday for $12.26 million, becoming the most-expensive game-worn NBA jersey sold at auction. Joopiter, the auction house founded by musician Pharrell Williams, ran the sale.

D’Angelo Russell ⬆⬇ The former No. 2 NBA draft pick in 2015 is signing with the Shanghai Sharks, the defending champions of the Chinese Basketball Association. Russell was cut by the Grizzlies on Friday after they acquired him from the Mavericks in a six-team trade in July. The 30-year-old began his career with the Lakers, and he has also suited up for the Nets, Warriors, and Timberwolves. He earned a lone All-Star selection in 2019 while playing in Brooklyn. The signing is a major coup for the Sharks, who last season won their first CBA title since the franchise rostered Yao Ming.