Sports
Shaikin: In San Diego, an ownership dispute tests the belief of a great Padres fan base
SAN DIEGO — In 2009, as the couple that owned the Dodgers announced their separation, the attorney for Frank McCourt said he did not anticipate a legal battle over the team. The attorney said documents would prove the Dodgers were owned solely by McCourt, not jointly by the couple, and said there was “not a chance” the team would be put up for sale.
“Speculation about a potential sale of the team is rubbish,” attorney Marshall Grossman said then. “Frank McCourt is the sole owner. He has absolutely no intention of selling this team now or ever.”
The documents did not hold up in court. McCourt did sell the team — but not for another three years, a span in which the Dodgers did not make the playoffs, were outdrawn by the Angels for the first and only time, and were outspent one season by the Minnesota Twins.
On Saturday, as the Dodgers showed off their superstar-studded roster at Dodger Stadium, the Padres staged a fan festival of their own. The new year here started ominously: Sheel Seidler, the widow of beloved owner Peter Seidler, ignited a legal battle over whether she or one of Peter Seidler’s brothers should properly be running the Padres.
The Padres set a franchise record for attendance last year and already have sold out of season tickets this year. They boasted what we thought was the second-best team in the major leagues last season, and on Saturday fans proudly wore the jerseys of the core of what remains a very good team: Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado; Jackson Merrill and Luis Arraez and Jake Cronenworth; Yu Darvish and Michael King and Dylan Cease.
And then there was the guy walking around the outfield in a Mookie Betts jersey. Gavyn Wolf lives here, so he came with his friends, dodging the jeering.
“I refuse to wear anything Padres,” he said.
So who’s going to win the National League West this season?
“Who else is taking it?” he said.
His friend, Jack Endicott, shrugged. He couldn’t disagree.
“The Padres haven’t made any moves,” he said.
The Dodgers brought back Teoscar Hernández and Blake Treinen and brought in Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell and Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates and Hyeseong Kim and Michael Conforto.
The Padres brought back their backup catcher.
“Are we disappointed we haven’t made any moves?” Machado said Saturday. “Yeah.”
San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller gestures and smiles before a wild-card playoff game against the Atlanta Braves on Oct. 1.
(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)
Padres general manager A.J. Preller last winter traded Juan Soto for King, who brilliantly replaced Snell in the starting rotation after working as a swingman for the New York Yankees. Merrill jumped from double-A into the Padres’ outfield and should have won NL rookie of the year honors.
Preller said Saturday he wants to add a bat “or two” and a starting pitcher “or two.” And, by this time last year, the Padres had not added Arraez, Cease or Jurickson Profar, who was an All-Star outfielder.
Profar, who led the Padres with an .839 OPS last season, signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves. He said he was interested in returning to San Diego.
“Obviously the Padres have some issue with the ownership and all that,” Profar told reporters.
That explained the trepidation in the air at Petco Park on Saturday. Good team, great fans, best ballpark in Southern California – but is an ownership dispute going to paralyze the franchise?
Two springs ago, I sat in the passenger seat of a golf cart at the Padres’ training complex in Peoria, Ariz. Peter Seidler sat in the driver’s seat.
He wanted to emphasize he was spending lavishly to build a foundation to challenge the Dodgers year in and year out, not to pump up the payroll and attendance and then sell the team.
“Myself and my family, we will own this franchise for the next 50, 75 years,” he told me, “hopefully more.”
When Frank and Jamie McCourt split up, they both insisted the Dodgers would stay in the family, no matter what else happened. Then the two torched one another in court rather than privately negotiate a settlement, and now the family no longer owns any part of the team.
In San Diego, the torching has begun.
San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler speaks during a Padres Hall of Fame ceremony at Petco Park in July 2023. Seidler died in November 2023.
(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)
In her initial court filing, Sheel Seidler accused the Seidler brothers of “greed and betrayal” by enriching themselves with money that should have been hers, of allegedly painting Peter as “a cowboy who was irresponsible with the Padres payroll,” and tolerating her only so long as Peter was alive.
“After Peter died, they took off their masks and showed their true faces,” her filing read.
In his initial filing, Matt Seidler — one of the brothers — blamed Sheel for “recklessly” torpedoing the Padres’ pursuit of Sasaki by baselessly suggesting the brothers might move the team from San Diego and ridiculed her desire to run the Padres because her business experience allegedly is limited to “a brief legal career and her operation of a single yoga studio.”
According to Matt Seidler’s filing, “The crux of this case is Sheel’s pursuit of two things that Peter intentionally chose not to give her: control and unlimited money.”
The longer this goes and uglier this gets, the less the chance of the Padres staying in the Seidler family, no matter who might control the team.
As a strong team with a terrific ballpark in a market with no other major league teams, the Padres would attract bidders. That would come later, perhaps years later. Until there is some resolution to the court case, potential bidders would not know who the legal seller might be.
The Seidler brothers say this is not an issue. They have “no plans to sell the Padres to anyone,” according to a person familiar with their thinking who declined to be identified. They believe their documents will hold up in court.
In the Dodgers’ case, Jamie McCourt hired an investment banker to assemble a potential ownership group, in an effort to get Frank to sell her the team. In the end, Frank McCourt agreed to settle the divorce by paying Jamie $131 million, and she relinquished any claim to the Dodgers.
Frank McCourt then sold the team for $2 billion.
In her court filing, Sheel Seidler said she had assembled “an impressive roster of individuals with significant baseball and business experience to serve as advisors and executives” with the Padres and said she was concerned the brothers would sell the team.
So has she assembled a roster of financial backers to try to buy out the Seidler brothers? Dane Butswinkas, her counsel, declined to say.
“Ideally, we would like to resolve this with the brothers,” Butswinksas said. “However, for that to occur, it would take some level of cooperation from them. So far, we have seen no signs of that happening.
“The current path towards resolution, unfortunately, is through litigation, which we know can drag on for years and would be in no one’s interest.”
When the McCourts divorced, the lawyer for Frank McCourt wanted to make one point perfectly clear. The contemporaneous divorce of Padres owner John Moores had left the team a mess — he had to sell the team to resolve the divorce — and the Dodgers would not be a mess.
“This is not going to be another San Diego-like debacle,” Grossman said.
Here’s hoping there is not going to be another San Diego-like debacle in San Diego. The best rivalry in baseball deserves better. The people who run the Padres every day, and the people who root for them every day, deserve better.
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An envoy for President Donald Trump has reportedly asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy in the 2026 World Cup this summer.
The Financial Times reported the plan is an effort to repair the relationship between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which soured after the former’s comments against Pope Leo XIV regarding the war with Iran.
United States special envoy Paolo Zampolli suggested the idea to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
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President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5, 2025. (Emilee Chinn/FIFA)
“I confirm I have suggested to Trump and Infantino that Italy replace Iran at the World Cup. I’m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a U.S.-hosted tournament,” Zampolli told the outlet. “With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Italy had a chance to be in the World Cup already, but it lost in a penalty shootout to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a qualifying playoff final.
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Italy became the first World Cup-winning team to miss three consecutive tournaments after the 4-1 penalty shootout loss earlier this month.
“We still don’t believe it that we’re out and that it happened in this manner,” Italy’s Leonardo Spinazzola told reporters at the time, according to the New York Post.
“It’s upsetting for everyone. For us, for our families and for all the kids who have never seen Italy at a World Cup.”
While Zampolli told Infantino about his proposed plan, FIFA’s president said Iran “for sure” will play in the World Cup despite the conflict involving the U.S.
Mehdi Taremi of Iran celebrates after scoring a goal during a 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A game against Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium in Tehran March 25, 2025. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
“The Iranian team is coming, for sure,” Infantino said during the CNBC Invest in America Forum earlier this month in Washington, D.C.
“We hope that, by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation. That would definitely help. But Iran has to come, of course. They represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play.”
Infantino visited the Iranian national team in Turkey, which is where it has its training camp.
All three of Iran’s group stage games are scheduled to be played in the U.S. That remains the case after Iranian government officials suggested to FIFA that their games be moved to Mexico because they could not travel to the U.S.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed FIFA’s rejection of Iran’s request, and it is insisting Iran play where it’s scheduled — SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Lumen Field in Seattle. Iran said earlier this month it would only decide on its team’s participation once it heard from FIFA regarding its relocation request.
Iran is scheduled to play at SoFi Stadium against New Zealand June 16 to begin its tournament. It will also play Belgium at the stadium before finishing group play against Mo Salah and Egypt in Seattle June 26.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends an international friendly between Mexico and Portugal at Banorte Stadium in Mexico City March 28, 2026. (Antonio Torres/FIFA/Getty Images)
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Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month that Iran would be welcome to compete in the World Cup as scheduled, though it might not be “appropriate” considering the conflict.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” he wrote.
Trump also told Politico, “I really don’t care,” when asked about Iran’s participation in the tournament. Infantino, who has a strong relationship with Trump, said Trump has “reiterated” to him that the U.S. welcomes Iran’s team to compete.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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DENVER — Before Anze Kopitar left the ice after the final regular-season home game of his NHL career, he told the fans he was saying good-bye, not farewell.
He would return, he promised, in the playoffs.
He’ll make good on that pledge Thursday when his Kings and the Colorado Avalanche face off in Game 3 of their first-round series at Crypto.com Arena. But it could prove to be a short encore because after losing the first two games of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff in Denver, the Kings need a win Thursday or in Game 4 on Sunday to extend both their season and Kopitar’s Hall of Fame career.
The Kings’ — and Kopitar’s — last six playoff appearances have all ended after just one round. And they’re halfway to another first-round loss this year, though they probably deserve better after giving the league’s best team everything it could handle, only to lose twice by a goal, including a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 2 on Tuesday.
“To a man we’re playing hard,” interim Kings coach D.J. Smith said. “We hoped to split here, but regardless we’re gonna have to win at home. We’ve got to find a way to win a game.
“Clearly good isn’t enough.”
Kopitar announced his retirement before the start of this season, the 20th in his Hall of Fame career. And while many of his teammates talked of their desire to see their captain hoist the Stanley Cup one more time, just making the playoffs appeared beyond the Kings’ reach until the final two weeks of the regular season.
Colorado, meanwhile, led the league in everything, winning the most games, collecting the most points, scoring the most goals and allowing the fewest. The Kings? Not so much. They gave up 22 more goals than they scored, worst among playoff teams, and needed points in 11 of their last 13 games just to squeak into the postseason as the final wild-card team.
Colorado left wing Joel Kiviranta skates under pressure from Kings center Scott Laughton and goaltender Anton Forsberg during Game 2 of their first-round NHL playoff series Tuesday in Denver.
(Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)
Yet two games into this series, it’s been hard to tell the teams apart on the ice. The Kings have outhustled, outhit and outskated the Avalanche for long stretches. But those moral victories have been their only wins.
Asked if he can take solace for the way the team has played, goalie Anton Forsberg, who was outstanding in his first two career playoff games, stared straight ahead.
“No,” he said. “We wanted to go to home [with] a win.”
Forward Trevor Moore was a little more forgiving.
“We would have liked to steal one,” he said. “But you can’t look back. You have to look forward. Confidence-wise, we hung in there with them for two games and we’ve been competitive. I think we could have won either night.”
They won neither night, however, which leaves little margin for error in the next two games.
If the Kings lacked wins in Denver, they didn’t lack chances. On Tuesday they had a man advantage for nearly a quarter of the first 25 minutes and had five power plays and a penalty shot on the night.
When Quinton Byfield’s second-period penalty shot was stuffed by Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood, a group of Avalanche fans celebrated by pounding on the protective plexiglass behind the Kings’ bench with such force it shattered, raining shards down on the team’s coaches
“Whoever the guy [was] just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” Smith said. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, then it broke.”
The Kings couldn’t score on the power play either until Artemi Panarin finally found the back of the net with less than seven minutes left in regulation, giving the team its first lead of the series.
“We had every opportunity,” Smith said. “You’ve got to be able to close it out.”
They couldn’t. So when Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog evened the score 3 ½ minutes later, the teams headed to a fourth period.
The overtime was the 34th in 84 games for the Kings this season, an NHL record by some distance. But it ended in the team’s 21st overtime loss when Nicolas Roy banged home a rebound 7:44 into the extra period.
“We had some good looks. I thought we really had the momentum in overtime,” Smith said. “Maybe a bad bounce or a turnover, whatever, it ends up in your net. But to a man this team is playing hard and we’ve got to find a way to win.
“I expect that we’ll be better at home.”
If they aren’t, the Kings face another long summer and Kopitar’s retirement will start earlier than he had hoped.
Sports
Austin Reaves nearing return for Lakers as Luka Doncic remains out indefinitely with hamstring strain: report
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In early April, with just five games remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that star guard Luka Doncic would be sidelined at least until the NBA playoffs.
Doncic’s setback was a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, an MRI confirmed. The reigning NBA scoring champion sustained the injury during an April 2 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers also entered the playoffs without another key member of their backcourt, Austin Reaves.
The shorthanded Lakers upset the Houston Rockets in the opening game of their first-round Western Conference series Saturday. Ahead of Game 2 on Tuesday, the Lakers reportedly received a clearer update on the health of at least one of their injured stars.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves brings the ball up court against the Washington Wizards in Los Angeles on March 30, 2026. (Ryan Sun/AP)
Reaves, who was diagnosed with an oblique strain, appears to be progressing toward a return later in the first-round series if it extends to six or seven games. If the Lakers advance sooner, he could be on track to return for the Western Conference semifinals.
According to ESPN, Reaves recently returned to the practice court for 1-on-1 drills. The 27-year-old will still need to progress to 2-on-3 and then 5-on-5 work before he can be cleared for playoff action, but he appears significantly further along than Doncic, who remains out indefinitely.
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball against the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center on March 21, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
Doncic is unlikely to play in the first round, regardless of the series length. ESPN footage showed him on the practice court on Tuesday, though the six-time All-Star was not doing high-intensity work.
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The Rockets, despite being widely favored in the opening round playoffs series, also contended with key injuries. Kevin Durant missed Game 1 with a knee contusion. He was cleared to play in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. shoots the ball against the Lakers during Game 1 in the NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on April 18, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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LeBron James scored 19 points, while Luke Kennard led Los Angeles with 27 in Saturday’s win.
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