Sports
Galaxy's return to MLS Cup final began with a boycott
To truly understand how far the Galaxy have come in reaching the MLS Cup final on Saturday, you first must know where they started.
The Galaxy headed into last season having lost more games than they’d won since 2017. They’d made the playoffs twice in six seasons and had gone a team-record nine years without playing in the league championship game.
Once the model franchise in MLS, the Galaxy had become a dysfunctional mess. And it didn’t look like things would be getting better any time soon.
So when the Galaxy announced that Chris Klein, who presided over that free fall as the team’s president for a decade, had been given a contract extension, Andrew Alesana had seen enough. The team already had his money — he’d recently renewed the season ticket he had had since 2007 — but it would no longer have his support.
So just before the start of the 2023 season Alesana, president of the LA Riot Squad, joined with three of the team’s other main supporters groups to organize a boycott, promising to stay away from games until changes in the front office were made.
And guess what? It worked.
Will Kuntz, who would become the architect of the team’s turnaround, was hired three months later, Klein was sacked a month after that and after rebuilding the front office, the Galaxy quickly rebuilt their roster. The result was one of the most dramatic turnarounds in MLS history.
After winning just eight games in 2023, the Galaxy matched a modern-era record with 19 victories this season. After finishing in the penultimate spot in the Western Conference standing last season, the Galaxy tied for the top spot this season, becoming the first team since 2011 to go from second to last in the conference to the MLS Cup in one season.
And it all started when the fans went on strike.
“It’s crazy where we’ve come from in a year,” Alesana said. “I definitely take some pride in the team being as successful as they are.”
So does Mark Villa, a season-ticket holder since the first game in Carson in 2004.
“My kids grew up in this stadium,” he said. “The last eight seasons have been difficult to slog through as a fan. But seeing this revival really does start to make up for it.”
Villa said supporting the boycott was a difficult but necessary decision — and one that forced AEG, the Galaxy’s parent company, to listen.
“They already had our money. That’s all they care about,” he said. “The media scrutiny brought by the boycott grew to a point where [AEG] could no longer hide from it.”
Nor could they ignore the planes circling the stadium calling for the firing of Klein and technical director Jovan Kirovski. Or the empty seats and the boos that cascaded down after games. Seventeen months later some AEG officials admit privately that the boycott influenced their thinking and might have accelerated changes that were already being contemplated.
In other words, the fans were heard.
“The Galaxy became mediocre and the fans got fed up with that. They demanded that there be change,” said ESPN commentator Hérculez Gómez, who won an MLS Cup with the Galaxy in 2005. “If this pressure didn’t exist AEG would have just gone on and the Galaxy wouldn’t be in the position it is today.
“I don’t think change happens if these fans don’t take matters into their own hands.”
One immediate result of those changes was that Dignity Health Sports Park became a fortress again. Only two teams in MLS won fewer games at home than the Galaxy last season; this year the Galaxy were unbeaten there in 20 games in all competitions. Ten of those games were sellouts, helping the Galaxy break the franchise single-season attendance record.
If AEG learned nothing else, they learned that if they build a winner, the fans will come — or in some cases, come back.
“It really means a lot for the players,” winger Joseph Paintsil said. “The crowd, the people shouting, making noise. It gives us the energy to push for them, because they came for us.”
“Of course you notice,” Gómez added. “And you know, who else notices? The opponents. When you’re loud, when you can make your presence felt, the opponent notices. And they notice that the home team is feeding off that.”
Other ownership groups should also notice. Because if a boycott can work in Southern California, it can work in San José, where the Earthquakes haven’t had a winning season in 11 years. Or Washington, where D.C. United hasn’t won a playoff game since 2015. Or Chicago, where the Fire has made the postseason just twice since its last playoff victory in 2009.
“I definitely think other teams’ fans should look at this as an example,” Alesana said. “If people stopped showing for games, they can affect their ownership.”
As a former Galaxy player, Gómez has a different take. For him, the turnaround this season in Carson was personal. And he’s happy the fans see it the same way.
“When you go through the Galaxy, it’s once a G, always a G,” he said. “There are clubs that you go through in your career, there are fan bases that you come across, that seem to always remember, seem to somehow hold on to the past. There’s something to be said about that.”
“It’s special because not many places around the world have that,” he added. “It wasn’t too long ago that the Galaxy was the only team you spoke about when you spoke about a super club. It lost that, and now it’s regaining that, and people love it.”
Especially the people who boycotted the team to make it happen.
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The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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