Sports
Meet Armando Villarreal, the man behind college football’s coolest helmets
Armando Villarreal was hanging onto the back of a garbage truck in his hometown of Imperial, Neb., when his phone rang. He quickly hollered to the driver to hit the brakes. Villarreal hopped off and answered the incoming call from Brad Haley, business manager of Schutt Sports, a company that manufactures football equipment. That conversation, which took place six years ago, altered both the trajectory of Villarreal’s life and his artistic career.
If that call goes to voicemail and Villarreal forgets about it, he likely never leaves his municipal job working for Imperial — a tiny city with a population of less than 2,000 in rural southwest Nebraska.
Luckily, he did pick up and listened to Haley’s unusual pitch: to airbrush a specialty helmet for Mississippi State in honor of alum Sonny Montgomery, a World War II veteran and former Mississippi state politician. Villarreal and Haley first met at a retail summit in Las Vegas years earlier, when Villarreal was working for a California-based art production company contracted by professional teams and leagues.
Since then, Villarreal has become a leader in this specialized field. Illinois’ leather helmets honoring legend Red Grange in last month’s game against Michigan were arguably his finest work.
“So iconic as far as the history of football.”
Individually hand-painted, each helmet being worn in the Memorial Stadium Rededication Game went through an intricate process to be ready for game day on October 19th. #Illini // #HTTO // #famILLy pic.twitter.com/CxaZlPR449
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) August 7, 2024
Villarreal has done individually airbrushed helmets for 12 programs since 2018, including Utah, UCF, Maryland, BYU, Michigan and Tennessee. A former member of the U.S. Army Reserve who was deployed both to Kosovo and Iraq in the early 2000s, Villarreal did his best to balance his city job with airbrushing hundreds of helmets each year — until 2022 when the demand for his artistry became overwhelming.
Typically, equipment staffers at various programs will reach out to Schutt Sports, which then contacts Villarreal with the school’s pitch. Schutt handles the orders of however many helmets are needed, and they’re eventually shipped to Villareal’s home in Imperial.
“I just have to make sure it looks good on TV,” he said.
Schools will have their own graphic designers send mock-ups to Villarreal. The tricky part is wrapping an image around the entirety of the helmet. Some ideas are simple and easier to apply, such as UCF’s moon design honoring the university’s historical ties to the U.S. space program, or Tennessee’s helmet honoring the Smoky Mountains.
There was one project so intimidating that he initially turned it down multiple times. In 2021, Utah’s director of equipment, Cody Heidbreder, asked Villarreal if he could paint helmets commemorating the passing of Utah players Ty Jordan in 2020 and Aaron Lowe in 2021.
(Video courtesy of Greg Gosse)
“I think I told them four times I couldn’t do it,” Villarreal said. “Cody just kept on me and kept on me. Finally, I said we’ll do it. That was the year I quit my day job because it was so much. It was about six hours per helmet.”
Programs usually come to Schutt and Villarreal with ideas in November and December to prepare for the following season. Right now, he’s finishing Utah’s speciality helmet for its Nov. 23 matchup against Iowa State in Salt Lake City.
“As soon as that’s done, we’ll start working on designs for next year,” Villarreal said.
Helmets sent to Imperial from Schutt will arrive anywhere from May to June each spring.
Villareal receives just the “shell” of the helmet — sans facemask and chin strap — and immediately works on sanding each one down, with the help of his wife and three children. In order for the paint and design to stick properly, the texture of the helmet needs to be much rougher, without as much gloss.
A typical order generally consists of around 150 helmets per team. Some schools order more because they plan on selling or auctioning them off as collectible items. Illinois, Villarreal said, has received such fanfare over the leather helmet that the athletic department is considering a special order after the season.
It takes a minimum of two months to complete an entire order and have it shipped back to the school. The Illinois order took an estimated two hours per helmet, while the Utah helmets that will debut against Iowa State later this month took about four hours each.
“When you’re doing 155 helmets, the 32nd one has to look like the 76th one and the 120th one,” Villarreal said. “They all have to be pretty similar.”
Villarreal occupies space in an old shop his dad uses, and he also relies on his father-in-law, who owns a welding and fabrication shop in town. That’s where Villarreal spends hours with a paint respirator meticulously applying the airbrush design on helmet after helmet.
The business is gaining so much popularity that he and his wife, Lora, are thinking about building their own studio and adding additional manpower if demand keeps climbing. Once upon a time, after returning from his tours of duty, Villarreal was in Florida airbrushing motorcycles. Now he’s at the forefront of college football uniform ingenuity.
“I’ve got to figure out how many we actually do, because ultimately it depends on the design,” he said. “The trouble is, the players don’t report until spring. And then they’ve got to get their helmets fitted. So there’s a tight window in there where I think, how can we do this? How many can we get done?
“This leather helmet for Illinois just exploded. I don’t know what the future holds. There’s going to be a pretty big learning curve in the next year or two.”
Maybe, but that doesn’t mean he can’t take a break and enjoy it. Recently EA Sports College Football 25 updated its video game options to include Illinois’ throwback leather helmets.
“The little kid in me is freaking out,” he recently posted on X. “I’m freaking out!”
The newest addition to The Game. #Illini // #HTTO // #famILLy pic.twitter.com/LfEkTSHPWN
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) October 24, 2024
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; All photos courtesy of Armando Villarreal)
Sports
‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
Sports
Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
Sports
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd
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LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
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