This July, there will be a lot of sports fans tapping back into their childhood.

Earlier this year, EA Sports announced that its College Football video game series will return this year after last being released in 2013.

On Thursday, the brand announced that the game will be available for play on July 19.

This year’s video game features three athletes headlining the cover: Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Michigan’s Donovan Edwards, the latter of whom had two rushing touchdowns en route to winning the national championship.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and Carson Beck of Georgia can also be seen, as can Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins.

The series began in 1993 with the release of Bill Walsh College Football, and the game was released under the legendary coach’s name for two years.

The name changed to College Football USA for the 1996 and 1997 seasons before changing to NCAA Football from 1998 to 2014.

The game was on hiatus for a while due to disputes among EA, the NCAA and college athletes. Each installment since the 1997 version featured a cover athlete as video games normally do. However, the cover athlete wasn’t permitted to be paid for his image and likeness. 

A shot of the College Football 25 cover. (EA Sports)

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Plus, in each installment, game players were unable to see the names of the athletes when controlling them. Instead, Reggie Bush, for example, would be listed as “HB No. 5” and Tim Tebow as “QB No. 15.”

But now, with name, image and likeness running rampant, game players will know exactly who is on the field, rather than just a position and number.

EA Sports announced a return of the game three years ago and even said a game would be released last summer, but it did not happen.

(Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

The last cover athlete was Denard Robinson of the Michigan Wolverines.

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As the Lakers continued meeting with prospects in the final days of the NBA draft combine, their coaching search continued to be a strong topic of conversation among rival scouts and executives.

Internally, Lakers sources not authorized to speak publicly have tried to describe their coaching search as being a “wide-open” process, with things still in the early stages.

Following the dismissal of Darvin Ham, the team began researching a batch of candidates that included top assistants, former head coaches and, yes, broadcaster/podcaster JJ Redick.

Candidate interviews are close, but as of now, anything being discussed with certainty has been called “hypothetical” by candidates involved in the process.

But despite what the Lakers are saying, many around the league view Redick is the favorite and offered varying levels of approval.

Some see Redick as a bright, analytically driven basketball mind with a top understanding of the game and excellent communication and presentation skills.

Some wonder if Redick’s business relationship with LeBron James would poison his ability to connect with the rest of the locker room, an opinion prominently voiced on television by Udonis Haslam.

Others see nothing but inexperience and view the Lakers’ job as a disaster waiting to happen for even experienced coaches, never mind someone moving from the broadcast booth to his first coaching job.

Part of what’s driving the expectation Redick will get the Lakers job is a belief that he’ll have incredibly strong interviews, according to sources discouraged from discussing personnel moves for competitive reasons.

The reality is, at this stage, no one can say for sure.

New Orleans assistant James Borrego does have strong support in his candidacy and has been highly valued by New Orleans staffers and executives who spoke with the Times.

Boston’s Sam Cassell, an NBA assistant since 2009 after a 15-season NBA career, is expected to interview soon and has real support from others around the NBA.

The same can be said for candidates like Miami’s Chris Quinn, Minnesota’s Micah Nori and Denver’s David Adelman.

The race is seemingly open enough that anyone with a direct or second-hand connection to candidates was comfortable making their pitch in Chicago.

The Lakers’ offseason plans, and to some degree their coaching plans, also hinge on LeBron James and his future with the organization.

James’ courtside appearance in Cleveland on Monday night definitely raised suspicions around the league regarding his future intentions. Sources largely believe the Lakers will ultimately re-sign James, with the 39-year-old star merely working through different scenarios for the terms of the contract.

There were also discussions about the Lakers and their interest in Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell, which does exist according to sources.

The Lakers’ best offer in any blockbuster trade looks somewhat similar, with the team able to offer their first-round pick in the year’s draft — No. 17 — in addition to first-round picks in 2029 and 2031. Their best young player, Austin Reaves, is still regarded highly within the organization on two fronts — as a prospect for their future and a player on a team-friendly contract.

The team’s willingness to push all in on Mitchell or any other player is still unclear. Other options include using draft picks in smaller deals to try to improve around the margins, with Dallas’ acquisitions of Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington providing real-time examples of how small transactions can make a meaningful and immediate impact.

Other players commonly mentioned as potential trade targets this offseason include New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram, Atlanta’s Trae Young and DeJounte Murray and Chicago’s Zach LaVine — none seriously linked to the Lakers at the combine.

In terms of the draft, the Lakers seem like they’ll be the draft floor for Bronny James at pick 55, a player the team conducted an interview with in Chicago, according to sources not authorized to publicly discuss draft strategy.

James undeniably boosted his stock in Chicago with strong interviews, impressive athletic testing and strong play in a scrimmage on Wednesday, helping counteract the bad feelings after measuring 6-feet 1 ½ inches in socks.

Some other players who helped themselves in scrimmages, according to scouts, included Houston’s Jamal Shead, UCLA’s Adem Bona, Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro and Colorado’s KJ Simpson.

The Lakers’ first round pick at 17 is near the middle of the draft’s second tier, some scouts believe. That tier includes players like Ja’Kobe Walter, Terrence Shannon, Tidjane Salaun, Jared McCain, Devin Carter, Yves Missi, Kyle Filipowski, Tyler Smith and Tristan da Silva.

The city of Kansas City has apologized after posting a message on social media revealing the residence of Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker after the Super Bowl champion came under attack following his faith-based commencement speech at Benedictine College over the weekend. 

The official social media account of Kansas City issued a brief apology on X Wednesday after sparking major backlash on social media for sharing a post referencing the city where Butker resides. 

“We apologies [sic] for our previous tweet. It was shared in error,” the post read. 

The post was deleted, but Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas addressed the controversy in a separate post, calling it “clearly inappropriate.” 

“A message appeared earlier this evening from a City public account. The message was clearly inappropriate for a public account. The City has correctly apologized for the error, will review account access, and ensure nothing like it is shared in the future from public channels.” 

Butker, 28, has come under attack for his commencement address at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts school based 60 miles outside of Kansas City. 

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees of Benedictine College’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 11. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)

NFL CONDEMNS HARRISON BUTKER’S FAITH-BASED COMMENCEMENT SPEECH AFTER CHIEFS KICKER SPARKS BACKLASH

The NFL seemingly condemned the speech, instead reiterating its stance on inclusion. 

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” Jonathan Beane, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, said. “His views are not those of the NFL as an organization. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

Butker’s 20-minute speech included a remark directed at female graduates calling on them to embrace their “vocation” as a “homemaker.” 

“For the ladies present today, congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. You should be proud of all that you have achieved to this point in your young lives,” he said in part. “I want to speak directly to you briefly, because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs warms up before Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium on Feb. 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. I’m on this stage today and able to be the man that I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation. I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

Butker also referenced Pride month in his speech, calling it a “deadly sin sort of pride that has a month dedicated to it,” and specifically pointed to President Biden’s “delusional” stance on abortion. 

The Chiefs have not commented on Butker’s speech. 

Despite the criticism online, The Associated Press reported that Butker received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees.

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