Sports
Aaron Judge named cover athlete for MLB The Show 26
Aaron Judge is the cover athlete of MLB The Show 26, the game announced Tuesday.
Judge becomes just the second player to appear on the game’s cover twice. Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Mauer is the only other player to be featured twice (2010 and 2011). The game launches on March 17 with early access beginning on March 13.
Unlike his first appearance, this year’s artwork reflects multiple chapters of Judge’s baseball career. Like the 2018 edition, Judge is shown in the New York Yankees‘ iconic pinstripes, but this time a Team USA jersey is also featured behind him ahead of his first World Baseball Classic appearance in March. The location of Judge’s high school is highlighted on a map of California with his baseball jersey at Fresno State included too.
The design blew Judge’s mind.
“The cover they have for this year is going to be pretty special,” he told ESPN. “Kind of has a lot of different ties to different parts of my life. I think fans are going to enjoy it, and I think even gamers that don’t watch much baseball [who] play the game will really enjoy it as well.”
When Judge went back home to California last Thanksgiving, he began going through his closet. The Yankees star stumbled upon sealed copies of MLB The Show 18, the video game whose cover boasts Judge in Yankee pinstripes, while holding a bat and mean-mugging.
There are about 50 unopened copies of the game at his parents’ house. Some are in New York and his Florida home, too. But in California, seeing the cover gave him goosebumps. Judge grew up playing MLB The Show, waiting every year for its March release date and asking his parents to rush him to the store to get a copy.
“Who would’ve thought when I’m in my hometown, in the house I grew up in, like little 10-year-old Aaron that dreamed of getting into the major leagues and then now you’re on the cover of the game. It’s just really surreal,” Judge said. “I gotta pinch myself every time I see it.”
He’ll have to pinch himself again this year.
Since MLB The Show 18, the three-time AL MVP told ESPN that he asked his agent if he could be on the cover every year. He admitted that he was always jealous of Tiger Woods having his own video game: Fourteen editions of EA Sports’ PGA Tour game included Woods’ name and likeness in the video game title and on the cover.
“I play a lot of video games, so it was always a dream of mine to somehow still be involved and have some type of impact,” Judge said. “So then when they called and said, ‘Hey, we want to have you on there again,’ it was pretty surreal.”
Being featured on the cover the first time was everything Judge dreamed of, and his feelings are comparable to how he found out in 2018. However, he didn’t expect to be on it again.
Judge pointed out there are many great players around MLB deserving of the honor that haven’t received it yet.
“Getting to do it twice is special,” Judge said. “I’d love to do it a third time, but I know there’s going to be a lot of other guys out there that are going to don that cover with a lot of humility and excellence and it’ll be fun. I’m still going to play the game no matter who’s on the cover.”
Judge’s desire of being on the cover goes beyond representing the Yankees, where he has spent all 10 years of his MLB career, it also strengthens his connection with the youth through his ALL RISE Foundation.
Some kids who come to his camp recognize him because of his presence on the cover. He explained that the connection it creates with kids who don’t have a chance to attend many baseball games is “the coolest thing.”
“Seeing the joy it brings them to get a chance to play this game or even the kids at my camp that know me and they’re like, ‘Hey, I saw you, you’re on the cover; I’m playing with you.’ That’s what it’s all about right there — just connecting with those kids and this next generation,” Judge said.
In 2018, Judge visited Sony Interactive Entertainment’s San Diego studio where they scanned his walk up, swing and motions. He said seeing his batting stance and the small quirks he brings to the box in real life also appear in the video game is always surreal.
“It’s still spot on like I don’t know how they have all this technology or what they’re using but it’s top of the line, man,” he said. “They don’t need my help with that, man. I got a better swing on the game than I do in real life.”
When it comes to playing MLB The Show, Road to the Show is the mode Judge will load up first. He’ll check out his ratings, too. He always plays as the Yankees, though he says it feels weird — and surreal — to play as himself.
For Judge, it’s just another “pinch me” moment.
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Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was fined $50,000 for “aggressively pursuing, berating and making inadvertent contact with a game official,” the NBA announced Saturday.
The league’s announcement said the incident happened with 10:59 left in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s 126-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns Friday.
Atkinson was assessed his second technical foul of the game when he stormed the court after a no-call against Sam Merrill for driving on Collin Gillespie after he bumped into an official before being escorted off and ejected from the game.
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat April 28, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rhona Wise)
Atkinson whipped his arm against the nearby referee before the whistle was blown.
Atkinson ripped the officials in a postgame news conference.
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers during Game 2 of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena in Cleveland May 6, 2025. (David Richard-Imagn Images)
“We had one free throw after three quarters against a team that [is 26th in fouls],” Atkinson said. “And the second free throw we got was after a flop. I’m not pleased. I thought the game got out of hand, quite honestly. Parts of the game seemed circus-like, quite honestly. I don’t know if that’s what we want as a league.
“Certain characters in this league take liberties, and we don’t stand up to them. And the game turns into reviews, challenges, go to the monitor for 20 minutes when we’re just trying to play basketball. I don’t think it’s good for the league, and I know it wasn’t good for us tonight. Thought they let the game get out of hand.”
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Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the first half against the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena in Cleveland May 4, 2025. (Ken Blaze-Imagn Images)
The Cavaliers fell to 29-21, while Phoenix improved to 30-19.
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Inter Miami CF signed Mexico national team forward Germán Berterame from Liga MX powerhouse Monterrey, the team announced Friday.
Berterame joins Lionel Messi and the reigning MLS Cup champions as a designated player on a contract running through 2029, with a club option for an additional year.
Miami secured the deal by paying Berterame’s $15 million release clause, sources told ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano.
Mexican forward Germán Berterame joins as a Designated Player, bringing a proven goal-scoring pedigree ⚽ Welcome to Miami!
Details: https://t.co/CBJatdte0z pic.twitter.com/IlIoaBuAbc
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) January 30, 2026
“I’m leaving with a clear conscience, knowing I always gave my all for this club [Monterrey], and I hope I can return further down the road,” Berterame said in a video posted on Rayados de Monterrey social media accounts.
“This opportunity [signing with Miami] is all new; it’s a unique and fresh experience at the same time. It was unexpected, but I think it’s going to be a beautiful experience.
“When I renewed my contract [with Monterrey], I told him [Héctor Lara, the club’s sporting director], ‘I’m not leaving unless something really eye-catching comes along.’ I was obviously talking about teams from Europe. And I also said, ‘Unless, obviously, Messi comes and takes me with him.’ So that anecdote stuck.”
The Argentine-born forward, who became a naturalized Mexican in 2024, started his career in the Argentine Primera División, starring for San Lorenzo and Patronato before making his Liga MX debut with Atletico San Luis in 2019. While playing for Atletico San Luis, Berterame scored 31 goals in 93 games in all competitions and earned the Golden Boot for the 2021 Apertura tournament.
His efforts in Liga MX earned him recognition from the Mexican national team after he became eligible to play for El Tricolor. Although Berterame previously featured for the Argentina youth national team, his lack of appearances with the senior squad allowed Berterame to represent Mexico without filing a one-time switch with FIFA.
Berterame scored the winning goal for Mexico last Sunday in a World Cup warmup friendly against Bolivia.
Other MLS teams previously expressed interest in Berterame. FC Cincinnati attempted to trigger Berterame’s previous release clause, but the two parties failed to agree to complete the transfer.
Green Shirts on Saturday set several new records during their dominant 90-run win over Australia in the second T20I of the three-match series at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.
Opting to bat first, the home side accumulated a massive total of 198/5 in 20 overs, courtesy of blistering half-centuries from captain Salman Ali Agha and wicketkeeper batter Usman Khan.
Agha top-scored with a 40-ball 76, studded with eight fours and four sixes, while Usman smashed six boundaries, including two sixes, on his way to a 36-ball 53.
Their batting prowess helped Pakistan register their highest score against Australia in T20Is, surpassing the previous best of 194/7, which they achieved during the league-stage match of the Zimbabwe-hosted tri-series in 2018.
Set to chase a daunting 199-run target, the 2021 champions’ batting unit was dismantled by Pakistan spinners, who shared all 10 wickets between them for the first time in the shortest format, while it was the second such occurrence during a T20I between two full-member nations.
Reigning champions India were the first team to achieve the feat during their fifth away T20I against West Indies in 2022.
Overall, in T20Is, however, it was the 10th instance when the spinners took all 10 wickets.
Leading Pakistan’s spin charge were Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan, who picked up three wickets each, followed by Usman Tariq with two, while Saim Ayub and Mohammad Nawaz chipped in with one apiece, as Australia were booked 108 in 15.4 overs and thus succumbed to a gruelling 90-run defeat.
Pakistan’s 90-run victory over Australia in the recently concluded fixture is now their largest against Australia in T20Is, bettering their 66-run triumph in the first T20I of the 2018 series, played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in 2018.
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