LOS ANGELES -- After a record-setting scoring day in the first round of the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, the world's best golfers are back on the North Course on Friday.

With a marine layer once again leading to cloudy skies and damp conditions, there's a chance for low scores again, especially for those players in the morning wave.

What can the United States Golf Association do to make things more difficult? Expect pin placements to be more treacherous, especially on the weekend.

Here are some of the top moments from the second round:

Tee times | Leaderboard

Michael Jordan has agreed to sell his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall for an approximately $3 billion valuation, according to league sources. The transaction ends Jordan's 13-year run as majority owner.

Schnall, a minority owner with the Atlanta Hawks, and Plotkin, a minority owner with the Hornets, will become the franchise's governors once the NBA completes its vetting and approval process. Jordan will continue to oversee basketball operations through Thursday's NBA draft and the start of free agency July 1.

Once the sale is complete, Jordan will keep a minority stake and maintain a presence with the franchise.

Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP, is largely considered to be the greatest player in the history of the game and has been the league's only Black majority owner. Jordan paid $275 million for a majority stake in the franchise in 2010.

Jordan sold a significant minority stake to Plotkin, founder and chief investment officer of Melvin Capital, and Daniel Sundheim, founder and CIO of D1 Capital, in 2020, and Sundheim is part of the group purchasing the Hornets, sources said.

Schnall, co-president at private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York, was part of a group including majority owner Tony Ressler and Grant Hill that purchased the Hawks in 2015 for $850 million.

After a 27-55 season riddled with injuries to most of the team's top players, the Hornets hold the No. 2 pick in the draft.

The NBA has suspended Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant for 25 games to start the 2023-24 season because of conduct detrimental to the league, it was announced Friday.

The Grizzlies suspended Morant from team activities May 14 after a video on social media circulated showing the All-Star brandishing a firearm. The NBA suspended Morant for eight games following a similar incident in March, when he was seen on Instagram Live holding up a handgun while intoxicated at a Denver-area club.

"Ja Morant's decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "The potential for other young people to emulate Ja's conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated."

The suspension will come with conditions for his return, the league said.

"For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time," Silver said in the statement. "Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior."

Morant will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games, during the suspension. Due to make around $33.5 million this season, Morant now stands to lose just over $300,000 per game -- or approximately $7.5 million.

"I've had time to reflect and I realize how much hurt I've caused," Morant said in a statement issued Friday. "I want to apologize to the NBA, the Grizzlies, my teammates and the city of Memphis. To Adam Silver, Zach Kleiman and Robert Pera -- who gave me the opportunity to be a professional athlete and have supported me -- I'm sorry for the harm I've done. To the kids who look up to me, I'm sorry for failing you as a role model. I promise I'm going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I'm going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I'm going to make it up to you, I promise.

"I'm spending the offseason and my suspension continuing to work on my own mental health and decision making. I'm also going to be training so that I'm ready to go when I can be back on the court. I know my teammates are going to hold it down and I'm so sorry I won't be out there with you at the beginning of the season. I hope you'll give me the chance to prove to you over time I'm a better man than what I've been showing you."

The NBA's investigation into the incident has been completed for weeks, but Silver waited until the conclusion of the NBA Finals to announce the suspension because he did not want to distract from the league's championship series.

The NBA on Friday said Morant "wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded ... despite having made commitments to the NBA and public statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously disciplined."

"The potential for other young people to emulate Ja's conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated. For Ja, basketball needs to take a back seat at this time." NBA commissioner Adam Silver

The National Basketball Players Association on Friday expressed its displeasure with the length of Morant's suspension and the arbitrary nature of the conditions for his return.

"Ja has expressed his remorse and accepted responsibility for his actions, and we support him unequivocally as he does whatever is necessary to represent himself, our players and our league in the best possible light," NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said in a statement. "As to the discipline imposed ... we believe it is excessive and inappropriate for a number of reasons, including the facts involved in this particular incident, and that it is not fair and consistent with past discipline in our league."

The NBPA said it would explore "all options and next steps" with Morant.

After the March incident, Morant enrolled in a Florida counseling facility -- to learn how to manage stress better, he later said -- before traveling to New York City to meet with Silver at the commissioner's office.

Silver elected to suspend Morant for eight games without pay because of conduct detrimental to the league -- a punishment that included six games the point guard had already missed -- and issued a stern statement calling Morant's conduct "irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous."

"I think he understood that it wasn't about his words," Silver said during his news conference before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. "It was going to be about his future conduct.

"I guess in hindsight, I don't know. If it had been a 12-game suspension instead of an eight-game suspension, would that have mattered? I know it seemed based on precedent, and he's represented, and we want to be fair in terms of the league, it seemed appropriate at the time. That's all I can say. Maybe by definition to the extent we've all seen the video that it appears he's done it again, I guess you could say maybe not."

The Instagram Live video that emerged in May came from the account of Morant's best friend, Davonte Pack, who has been involved in several of Morant's off-court incidents that merited investigation from the league office.

Pack was banned from attending Grizzlies home games for a year following an investigation into a postgame confrontation with the Indiana Pacers' traveling party on Jan. 29, when a red laser was alleged to have been pointed out of an SUV in which Morant was traveling.

Silver said during his June 1 news conference at the Finals that factors he would weigh in determining the suspension included the "history of prior acts" as well as the "individual player's history" and the "serious of the conduct."

Silver also said Morant not being charged with a crime would not prevent the league from handing down more discipline.

The Grizzlies issued a statement Friday saying they respect the league's decision to suspend Morant.

"Our standards as a league and team are clear," the Grizzlies said, "and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them."

Including the postseason, Morant has missed 50 games over the past two seasons. The Grizzlies, however, have fared well without their star as they've had a 33-17 record in those games -- including a 20-5 mark during the 2021-22 regular season that is tied for the best win percentage by a team in NBA history in games played without a player averaging 25 points per game or more, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Memphis went 11-10 in games without Morant during this past season, including playoffs.

Morant's five-year, $194 million max contract is set to begin this coming season. It could have escalated to a supermax if he had made All-NBA this season, which he did not, costing him about $39 million in future earnings.

He has endorsement deals with Nike and Powerade, though the sports drink company pulled an ad featuring him after the March video and it currently is not running.

"We are pleased that Ja is taking accountability and prioritizing his well-being," Nike said in a statement issued Friday. "We will continue to support him on and off the court."

Morant averaged 26.2 points this season and helped Memphis secure the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, where they lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was suspended for 25 games of the 2023-24 season without pay for conduct detrimental to the league after the NBA's investigation into a second video of Morant, 23, holding a gun that circulated on social media May 13.

The video appeared during an Instagram Live session on the account of Morant's friend Davonte Pack, with the All-Star flashing a handgun in a car while rapping along with a song. The video was later deleted.

The NBA suspended Morant for eight games following a similar incident in March, when he was seen on Instagram Live holding up a handgun while intoxicated at a Denver-area club.

Morant enrolled in a Florida counseling facility -- to learn how to manage stress better, he later said -- before traveling to New York City to meet with Silver at the commissioner's office 11 days after the March incident.

Following news of Morant's 25-game suspension Friday, what are the other most notable non-drug-related suspensions?

Does the "Malice at the Palace" ring a bell? How about Gilbert Arenas' infamous gun altercation with a teammate in the Washington Wizards' locker room?

Here are the lengthiest suspensions handed down in the NBA and where Morant's 25 games stacks up on the list.

Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly known as Ron Artest) -- 86 games

Sandiford-Artest was one of nine players suspended for their roles in the "Malice at the Palace," a massive brawl that took place during a game between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons in Detroit on Nov. 19, 2004. The controversial former star was suspended for the remainder of the 2004-05 season -- which ended up being 86 games (73 in the regular season, 13 in the playoffs) for his role in the fight.

It remains the longest suspension in NBA history.

Latrell Sprewell -- 68 games

After initially receiving a 10-game suspension for an altercation with head coach P.J. Carlesimo on Dec. 1, 1997, the Golden State Warriors voided the remainder of Sprewell's contract and suspended him for a year. Following an appeal, Sprewell had the voiding overturned and the suspension reduced to 68 games (the remainder of 1997-98 season).

Gilbert Arenas -- 50 games

On Jan. 27, 2010, Arenas was suspended for the rest of the 2009-10 season (38 games) for bringing guns into the Washington Wizards' locker room in an altercation with teammate Javaris Crittenton and mocking the situation by making finger gun gestures at a game. The incident stemmed from a dispute over a gambling debt. Both players displayed firearms, although no shots were fired.

Arenas had already missed 12 games from being on indefinite suspension since Jan. 6 while under investigation for allegedly carrying and storing unlicensed firearms. Arenas was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, a violation of the District of Columbia's strict gun laws.

Javaris Crittenton -- 38 games

Crittenton was suspended for the remainder of the 2009-10 season (38 games) for the Dec. 21, 2009, confrontation with Arenas where both players admitted to displaying unloaded firearms in the Wizards locker room. The incident raised significant concerns regarding player conduct, the possession of firearms, and violations of NBA rules. As a result, the NBA took disciplinary action against both Crittenton and Arenas.

Crittenton was also later indicted on charges related to the incident and eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun offense.

Stephen Jackson -- 30 games

Jackson received a 30-game suspension for his role in the Malice at the Palace. After the initial on-court altercation between players, a fan threw a drink at Sandiford-Artest, triggering his escalation of the conflict. Jackson followed Artest's lead and charged into the stands to confront the fan who had thrown the drink, resulting in verbal and physical advancements.

Miles Bridges -- 30 games

The NBA issued Bridges a 30-game suspension for domestic violence on April 14, 2023. Bridges was accused of assaulting his then-girlfriend in front of their two children in May. He was arrested last June by Los Angeles police and released on $130,000 bond. The league deemed that Bridges, who did not sign a contract for the 2022-23 season, has already served 20 games, and will miss 10 games in which he is eligible to play.

Kermit Washington -- 26 games

Washington was suspended for 26 games after punching Rudy Tomjanovich in the face during a fight in a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets on Dec. 9, 1977. During the game, a scuffle broke out between Washington's teammate, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Rockets player Kevin Kunnert. While trying to intervene in the scuffle, Washington threw a punch that landed on the face of Tomjanovich, a forward for the Rockets. Tomjanovich suffered a fractured skull and serious facial injuries.

Ja Morant -- 25 games

Morant, 23, was suspended after an Instagram Live video May 13 showed him holding a gun -- his second gun-related incident in two months. NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Morant's conduct "irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous." Though Morant was not criminally charged for the firearm incident, Silver said it would not prevent the league from handing down more discipline.

Jeff Taylor -- 24 games

Taylor was suspended in 2014-15 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence assault and malicious destruction of hotel property. On Sept. 25, 2014, the former Charlotte Hornet was arrested in East Lansing, Michigan, on domestic assault charges stemming from an altercation with his then-girlfriend.

As a result of his guilty plea and the severity of the charges, the NBA suspended Jeff Taylor for 24 games without pay. The suspension took effect at the beginning of the 2014-15 NBA season.

Jermaine O'Neal -- 15 games (originally 25)

O'Neal received a suspension for fighting during the Malice at the Palace in the 2004-05 season. As the brawl escalated, O'Neal threw a punch at Pistons center Ben Wallace, which led to a larger-scale altercation involving players, coaches and fans.

O'Neal's punch did not directly connect with Wallace, but it contributed to the chaotic atmosphere and further escalated the situation. The brawl resulted in the lengthy suspension for O'Neal and several other players involved.

Carmelo Anthony -- 15 games

On Dec. 16, 2006, during a game between the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets, a fight broke out involving Anthony and Mardy Collins.

The incident occurred late in the game when the Knicks were trailing by a significant margin. Collins, playing for the Knicks, fouled J.R. Smith on a fast break. Following the foul, Anthony confronted Collins and tensions escalated quickly.

Anthony threw a punch at Collins, which ignited a larger altercation involving players from both teams. The incident spilled over into the crowd, with security personnel and coaches attempting to break up the fight. The brawl resulted in multiple ejections and suspensions.

As a result of his involvement, Anthony was suspended for 15 games, which at the time was one of the longest suspensions ever given for an on-court incident. Collins received a six-game suspension for his role.

Matt Williams of ESPN Stats & Information contributed research for this article.

After waiting nearly two months while the NBA conducted its investigation, the league announced a 25-game suspension Friday for Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant to start the 2023-24 season.

In March, Morant, 23, was suspended for eight games after an Instagram Live video showed him displaying a firearm in a Denver-area nightclub. In the days after, Morant spent time at a counseling facility in Florida. Two months later, the two-time All-Star was filmed posing with a firearm in a car. The Grizzlies suspended Morant from team activities then, and he has remained so since.

"Ja Morant's decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in the league's statement. "The potential for other young people to emulate Ja's conduct is particularly concerning. Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated."

But questions remain. Why 25 games? Where will Morant spend his offseason and his time away? How will the Grizzlies cover for his absence?

Here's everything you need to know about the suspension, from how the NBA determined its severity to how it affects both Morant and the Grizzlies heading into free agency. NBA insiders Bobby Marks, Kevin Pelton, Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst provide the latest:

Why did the league choose 25 games?

This penalty fits into where the league positioned itself following the Miles Bridges suspension in April. Bridges was suspended for 30 games, 20 deemed served during the 2022-23 season, for pleading no contest to a felony domestic violence charge. Silver is on record as saying Morant's actions were a safety issue, not a legal one, which was the case for Bridges.

The league is taking a position that Morant's actions were reckless and portrayed him and the NBA in a negative light, but that the incident did not rise to the level of Bridges' offense. Morant's suspension stands as the second-longest given out under Silver's 10-season tenure behind Bridges, tied with five players who were banned 25 games for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

The NBPA, from its perspective, believes the suspension is not in line with past precedent. "As to the discipline imposed, which keeps him off the court until December and requires some unstated conditions to be met before he can return, we believe it is excessive and inappropriate for a number of reasons including the facts involved in this particular incident, and that it is not fair and consistent with past discipline in our league," executive director Tamika Tremaglio said in a statement. "We will explore with Ja all options and next steps."

What precedent, if any, exists for this type of suspension?

Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton were both suspended for the rest of the season in January 2010 after an incident involving guns in the Washington Wizards locker room. Arenas' suspension (50 games) was technically longer than Crittenton's (38) because Arenas had been suspended for 12 games before then-NBA commissioner David Stern made his official ruling. In Morant's case, the guns were not on team property, but this was a second offense, following the March incident.

What rule(s) did Morant break? And is there an appeals process?

The NBA has broad power if it believes player conduct is detrimental to the league. "When we have a standard for conduct detrimental, at the end of the day, it's one based on what we see as the values of this league and what our expectations from our players are in terms of the image we're portraying to our fans," Silver said before Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals. "So, it's not a legal standard. It's a private organization standard." As part of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, Morant has 30 days to file a grievance. An arbitrator would then decide if the suspension holds or is reduced.

What will Morant be required to do to return?

Morant briefly enrolled in a counseling program in Florida after the incident in March, and he said he learned how to manage stress better. Silver has made it clear the league will be involved in approving the new counseling Morant must receive. "Prior to his return to play, he will be required to formulate and fulfill a program with the league that directly addresses the circumstances that led him to repeat this destructive behavior," Silver said in Friday's league statement.

What contact, if any, are the Grizzlies players, coaches and front office allowed to have with Morant during his suspension?

According to league officials, the exact terms of Morant's participation in non-public team activities haven't been decided. He will not be allowed to participate in any public activities or play in preseason games. But in the past, players who were under long suspensions were permitted to use team facilities for treatment and for workouts, and that is likely to be the case here. Under the general terms of a suspension, the only restriction is that the player is not allowed to be in the arena starting two hours before a game.

Where does Morant spend his offseasons? Do we expect he'll be there during the suspension?

Morant has in the past spent the majority of his offseasons at his home in suburban Memphis. The Grizzlies and the league office will likely have some input on where he spends this summer and this suspension. In his statement released Friday, Morant said: "I'm spending the offseason and my suspension continuing to work on my own mental health and decision-making. I'm also going to be training so that I'm ready to go when I can be back on the court."

How does this impact Morant's contract and 2023-24 salary?

The financial implications are seismic. Unlike the previous suspension that cost Morant $83,583 per game and a total of almost $669,000, the current suspension increases to $304,545 per game and a total of more than $7.6 million. There are two reasons for the significant increase. The first is that, because the suspension is for 20 games or more, the per-game amount is 1/110th of his 2023-24 salary. The eight-game suspension during the season cost Morant only 1/145th of his 2022-23 salary per game. And second, Morant is set to enter Year 1 of a $194 million rookie max extension that he signed last July. His salary jumps from $12.1 million to $33.5 million.

But the practical costs of these suspensions are far greater. Morant failed to be voted onto the All-NBA team this past season and, therefore, lost out on a $39 million contract bonus that would have made that five-year deal worth more than $230 million. Had Morant not been suspended, he was on a probable track to make the team, as he had the season before.

And it is impossible to calculate lost off-court revenue from the harm to his reputation. Two of Morant's biggest partners are Powerade and Nike. Powerade, in March, pulled its ads, while Nike, for now, is standing by him. "We are pleased that Ja is taking accountability and prioritizing his well-being," Nike said Friday in a statement. "We will continue to support him on and off the court." But Morant has essentially lost nearly $50 million in pay from these incidents already and will be ineligible for All-NBA honors next year, as well.

What are the salary cap/luxury tax implications of the suspension for the Grizzlies?

The Grizzlies will receive luxury tax and roster relief, and 50% of the suspended amount will get credited to the Grizzlies' luxury tax -- but at the end of the season. Memphis will also receive an extra roster spot with the Morant suspension. Any player who is suspended by the NBA for six or more games will be transferred to the team's suspended list following the fifth game of his suspension.

With the start of the new league year July 1, how could the suspension impact the Grizzlies' free agency plans?

The Grizzlies have backup Tyus Jones on the roster as a replacement with Morant out. Where the suspension might hurt is that the Grizzlies have a glaring need at small forward with Dillon Brooks set to enter free agency and his return unlikely. With Morant suspended, is a trade asset such as Jones now off the table? Outside of making a trade, Memphis has the $12.2 million non-tax midlevel exception and three picks in Thursday's draft (8 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN app), including a first-rounder.

What impact does the suspension have on Memphis' outlook in 2023-24? Who will replace Morant in the lineup?

Morant's suspension damages the Grizzlies' projection in the West, but Memphis will still have a quality starting point guard. The Grizzlies frequently refer to Jones as the best backup point guard in the league, and he has proved to be more than capable of filling a starting role.

In 22 starts last season, Jones averaged 16.4 points, 8.1 assists, 1.8 steals and only 1.5 turnovers while shooting 50% from the floor and 41.5% from 3-point range. The question is how Memphis will handle the backup point guard minutes in Morant's absence, whether it counts on starting shooting guard Desmond Bane to take care of those duties or finds a different option in the draft or free agency.

How have the Grizzlies performed with Morant out?

Extraordinary well. The Grizzlies are 34-15 in games started by Jones over the past two seasons, including the playoffs. Morant is a superstar who raises the ceiling in Memphis, but the Grizzlies have been more solid defensively and had better ball movement with Jones in the starting lineup.

Hitters for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will have to work a little harder to match the London slugfests from 2019 because the fences are being pushed back.

The center field wall will be 392 feet from home plate -- 7 feet deeper than four years ago -- as part of changes that Major League Baseball said came about because of some seat restructuring at London Stadium and not because of the high scores in the New York Yankees' two wins over the Boston Red Sox in 2019.

The Yankees and Red Sox combined for 10 homers over two games playing on artificial turf at the home of Premier League club West Ham. New York won 17-13 and 12-8.

In other changes, the power alleys are increasing 5 feet to 387 feet, the dugouts will be repositioned, and the foul territory will be greatly reduced to make the whole thing feel more authentic.

"When you're out at home plate, and you're looking [out], it looks like you're in a totally different ballpark than you were in 2019," Murray Cook, MLB's official field consultant, told The Associated Press.

Even with the increase, the center field fence would be among the shortest in the majors. The 16-foot wall in center field is back, and it slopes down on both sides to 8 feet around the rest of the outfield.

Down each line will be 330 feet -- same as last time -- but the seating adjustments will bring fans closer to the field.

"The new dugouts and the new seating configuration kind of pitch out like they would typically down the foul line, whereas in 2019 they were more a straight line behind home plate," Cook said.

The artificial turf is from Montreal -- the 2019 turf was donated to the Farnham Park national baseball and softball complex outside London -- and the clay is again from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.

"All these things that we've implemented this year, we can re-use again," Cook said.

MLB plans to stage games in London in 2024 and 2026 -- with Paris being eyed as a host city in 2025. The Cardinals and Cubs were scheduled to play in London in 2020, but the games were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

London Stadium in 2021 upgraded to an LED lighting system. Previously, the stadium lights were covered in chicken wire to protect them from flying baseballs.

The venue was built for the 2012 Olympics and was designed for minimal wind. It's often still called Olympic Stadium. Capacity is 62,500 for West Ham games.

The June 2019 games drew 118,718.

JAC CAGLIANONE WAS a freshman in high school in 2018 when Shohei Ohtani arrived in Major League Baseball. Like so many, the 15-year-old Caglianone marveled at Ohtani's ability to hit tape-measure home runs on the same day he threw 100 mph fastballs. His fascination went beyond just gawking, though. Caglianone aspired to be Ohtani.

"I just thought it was the coolest thing ever," he said. "I'd always done both, and it was something that I planned to do in college, and seeing the way his game grew and keeping a pretty close eye on him and studying all that he did -- that was exactly who I wanted to be."

Caglianone is 20 now and primed to make his Men's College World Series debut (Friday, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN) as a sophomore for a strong Florida Gators team. In a bracket loaded with future MLB stars, Caglianone might be the most fascinating. Of all the players in the past five years to attempt playing both ways, to embrace the mental and physical burden -- to have the gall to think he can imitate Ohtani -- none has done it as well as Caglianone in 2023.

In his first college season as a two-way player -- Caglianone didn't pitch his freshman year as he recovered from Tommy John surgery -- the 6-foot-5, 245-pound left-hander led the country with 31 home runs as a first baseman and regularly hit 99 mph with a fastball that carried him to a 3.78 ERA over 16 starts. While college baseball is populated with far more two-way players than pro ball, almost all of them leave behind such aspirations eventually, focusing on whichever position will best set them up to play professional baseball. Paul Skenes, the best two-way player in the country last year, ditched hitting after he transferred to LSU, where he flourished into the best pitcher in college baseball and a certain top-5 pick.

Caglianone has no such plans. Being the next great two-way player, he said, is his future.

"I don't really see me really stopping unless a team flat-out tells me down the road that I've got to pick one or makes the decision for me," Caglianone said. "I have no interest in stopping whatsoever."

Which means the player who gladly wears the nickname "Jactani" -- given to him by Nick De La Torre, a writer who covers Florida -- will introduce himself to the country on college baseball's grandest stage this weekend. And if he lives up to expectations, it will undoubtedly force teams to continue asking themselves the same question they've been asking all year.

Can he do it in the big leagues?

FOR THE PAST three years, Ohtani has been so much better than everyone else in MLB that it's easy to take him for granted. In almost every way, Ohtani is an accident, a glitch in the matrix, a confluence of physical qualities and skills that simply don't overlap in human beings who choose to play baseball.

The size, the power, the athleticism -- it is abundant in Caglianone, too. Caglianone (pronounced CAG-lee-own) grew up in Tampa and blossomed at Plant High, the baseball factory that also produced Pete Alonso and Kyle Tucker. His father, Jeff -- Jac is actually an acronym for Jeffrey Alan Caglianone, his given name -- played baseball at Stetson and encouraged the young Caglianone to take advantage of all his skills.

Florida recruited him and planned to use him as a pitcher only, but that plan changed after Caglianone blew out his elbow a week before arriving on campus in August 2021. To stay busy during the yearlong rehab, he lifted weights and swung the bat. The loud cracks did not take long to notice. Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan soon thereafter asked if Caglianone might consider burning his planned redshirt season so he could join the lineup. He agreed, homered in his third college at-bat, whacked seven total over 115 plate appearances and looked the part of a promising hitter. Caglianone, said Jarrett Schweim, the athletic trainer for Florida's baseball team, was "a 6-5, 235-pound freshman who can lift a house. Cags is a little bit of an anomaly when it comes to college baseball bodies and physical abilities."

Schweim knows outliers well. When he was the athletic trainer for the UCF basketball program, a 7-foot-6 center named Tacko Fall was playing for the team. Schweim wanted to know how to keep him healthy, and he knew he needed help. He placed a phone call to the training staff of the Houston Rockets, hoping that the Rockets' experience with Yao Ming, their 7-foot-6 Hall of Fame center, might offer some insight. (Don't skimp on orthotics, he was told.)

"The biggest thing is managing a body," Schweim said, and that sounds so much simpler than it is. In order to play both ways, Caglianone needs to do nearly twice the work of his teammates. The games are actually the easy part. It's the work in between, the maintenance, the discipline -- the recognition that health is more important than performance because performance can't exist without health.

As Caglianone began his return to pitching this offseason, it became clear that this would be no ordinary rehab. Planning a return from Tommy John surgery is tough enough. Doing so for a pitcher who also plays first base full time is madness. So Schweim and Florida's strength and conditioning coaches vowed to be even more hands-on -- literally and figuratively.

They monitor Caglianone's sleep patterns through a Whoop band and ensure he gets at least 5,000 calories a day to stave off the weight loss that normally comes during a season. They did almost daily maintenance on his body: massages Monday, acupuncture or dry needling Tuesdays, soft tissue work on his fascia throughout the week. They stayed on him about keeping his left arm hearty with lower-weight exercises that strengthened the flexor mass (forearm), rotator cuff (shoulder) and everywhere in between.

By the time the first game of a series rolled around Friday, Caglianone was ready to play first base. He would arrive at the stadium well over three hours before first pitch and climb into Normatec boots, which almost go from foot to hip and use compression to get blood circulating. As long as he felt good, the plan was the same Saturday, though if ever the staff felt Caglianone needed a breather, he could take it easy on drills and throws.

When Sunday rolled around, Caglianone would show up to the stadium around 7:30 a.m. for the noon game, hop into the hot tub for 10 or 15 minutes, do his arm exercises afterward, warm up and try to match his prodigious offensive output on the mound. Perhaps no other team in the country would use a player with Caglianone's stuff as their No. 3 starter, but having right-handers Hurston Waldrep and Brandon Sproat -- the former an expected top-15 pick, the latter projected to go in the first round -- is a luxury that affords it.

Next season, Caglianone figures the script will be flipped. Instead of playing nine innings at first Friday and Saturday before starting Sunday afternoon, he'll be in line to be Florida's Friday night starter and will have to manage any lethargy in the field Saturday and Sunday. It doesn't concern him.

"The biggest thing that goes overlooked is the recovery," he said. "I'm not going to sit here and say that I don't feel fatigued at all. But I feel I could do this all year, honestly."

OTHERS HAVE TRIED this audacious act and run into the harsh reality that dominance in college does not necessarily translate. Most of the great ones -- from John Olerud, after whom the college award for the best two-way player is named, to Nick Markakis, who was a two-way juco legend -- don't bother trying. Like Caglianone, Kent State's John Van Benschoten hit 31 home runs to lead the country in 2001. The Pittsburgh Pirates preferred his right arm to his bat. Van Benschoten's career ended with the single worst ERA of the 5,544 pitchers with at least 90 major league innings (9.20) -- and one home run hit.

The closest to Ohtani that the college system has produced is Brendan McKay, the fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Louisville. He debuted for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019 with 49 forgettable innings, homered once in 11 plate appearances, and has been hurt pretty much ever since. There are pitchers who become hitters (Rick Ankiel and Adam Loewen) and hitters who become pitchers (Kenley Jansen and Sean Doolittle, a two-way star at Virginia) and they are rightly celebrated for their skills, because it takes most players a lifetime of focus, of uber-specialization, to even sniff the big leagues. To be that good at both -- even if not simultaneously -- is an incredible feat.

For all the sanguine appraisals that Ohtani's success would pave the way for an influx of two-way players into MLB, multiple executives now say it might actually have the opposite effect. Said one longtime general manager: "If you have to be the most talented player in the world to do it, then it's probably too hard for anyone else to do." Only players with off-the-charts tools on both sides are likely to even get the chance. San Francisco took left-hander Reggie Crawford -- he of the 100 mph fastball and batted ball -- with the 30th pick in last year's draft.

Caglianone's aspirations are greater. If he can refine his control -- "I need to cut down on walks," he said, acknowledging that 49 in 69 innings won't play -- perhaps more teams will regard him long term as someone who could start on the mound. In addition to the big fastball, he throws a slider that flashes as an above-average pitch and a work-in-progress changeup. Even though his batting numbers this season (.336/.402/.766 with 31 home runs and 84 RBIs) were enough to place him with Skenes and his LSU teammate Dylan Crews as the finalists for the Golden Spikes Award -- the college baseball Heisman -- scouts said Caglianone needs to tighten his swing decisions next year if he wants to join UNC's Vance Honeycutt in the discussion for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

For all the chasing Caglianone might do, he hits the ball with the force of few in the world. His home runs regularly went more than 450 feet. His opposite-field shots rose with the majesty only truly elite power hitters produce. His peak batted-ball numbers -- in the 118 mph range -- put him in a cohort with the best sluggers in the world: Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Giancarlo Stanton ... and Ohtani. And even Ohtani doesn't test his limits by playing in the field daily, something on which Caglianone prides himself.

"I always was a hitter who could pitch," Caglianone said. "Then in high school, when the velo started ticking up, I became a pitcher who could hit. But now it's shifted to which one's going better for me at the moment."

Florida hopes the answer to that question is: both. This week, O'Sullivan could turn to Caglianone in a fireman role, perhaps a preview of what an Ohtani-adjacent big league career could look like: everyday player in the field, high-velocity arm out of the bullpen. Or maybe the Gators stumble in their first game against a dangerous Virginia lineup, win their second game and turn to Caglianone to start their third to avoid elimination.

Whatever his role is, it will include hitting and pitching. The Jac Caglianone experience is coming to the Men's College World Series, and it will serve as a reminder, to fans and all 30 front offices watching, that as cool as Ohtani is, Jactani is an excellent imitation.

Britain's Jodie Burrage reached the first WTA Tour semi-final of her career with a superb victory over Poland's Magdalena Frech at the Nottingham Open.

Harriet Dart plays British number one Katie Boulter on Friday, with Heather Watson also in quarter-final action.

Andy Murray and 22-year-old George Loffhagen are in the quarter-finals of the men's competition.

Burrage, 131st in the world, was in fine form in the opening set, breaking her opponent's serve in the fifth and seventh games.

However, Frech, who beat eighth seed Lin Zhu of China in the last 16 and British qualifier Sonay Kartal in the opening round, fought back well.

Burrage saved four break points in the second game of set two, but could not hold her serve later on as Frech forced a deciding set.

The Briton failed to take two match points in the 10th game of the third set, but sealed the victory two games later.

"This week has given me so much confidence, especially not playing so much with the injuries I have had," she said.

"To make my first semi-final of a WTA, the confidence it will give me is massive and I will take that into the next tournament.

"It was a really tough match, I'm feeling it a little bit. I would rather like to stop playing three-set matches but if it gets me the win I have to grind through it."

Burrage will play either American Elizabeth Mandlik or France's Alize Cornet, who beat top seed Maria Sakkari on Wednesday, in the semi-finals.

Victories for Boulter, Dart and Burrage on Thursday, following Watson's last-16 success on Wednesday, meant four British women had reached the quarter-finals of the same WTA Tour event for the first time.

Manchester United have included Mason Greenwood on their retained list for the 2023-24 season, the club announced on Friday, but sources have told ESPN that United have not yet made a decision on the footballer's future.

The 21-year-old has been suspended from matches and training since he was charged with attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour in January 2022 -- charges that which subsequently dropped in February 2023. United immediately opened their own investigation and the process is ongoing.

Sources have told ESPN that Greenwood's inclusion on the club's retained list, which has been sent to the Premier League, reflects his position as a contracted player and is not considered to be an indicator of his future at United.

He has a contract at Old Trafford until 2025 with the option of an additional year.

Meanwhile, United remain in talks with goalkeeper David De Gea about extending his deal.

The goalkeeper, who was manager Erik ten Hag's No.1 last season, will officially become a free agent once his contract expires on June 30 but the club are keen for him to stay.

United are hoping to agree an extension that would see the 32-year-old significantly reduce his basic wage, but with built-in bonuses depending on the amount of games he plays.

Sources have told ESPN that even if De Gea stays, Ten Hag would like to sign another goalkeeper this summer to offer the Spaniard more competition for his place.

Jack Butland, who arrived on loan from Crystal Palace in January, has signed for Rangers but Tom Heaton will stay at United after the club activated a one-year option in his contract.

Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe are among the players who have been released following the expiry of their contracts.