Hitters, pitchers and catchers are not the only beneficiaries of the ABS challenge system. Fans benefit, too.

The ABS challenge system helped Cincinnati Reds’ fans get free pizza during the ninth inning of the team’s 7-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.

When the Reds strike out 11 hitters in a game, fans get free pizza from the local pizzeria, LaRosa’s. The Reds had 10 strikeouts going into the top of the ninth inning and needed one more to earn their fans some free pizza.

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Reds’ reliever Brock Burke was ahead 1-2 in the count against Colorado Rockies second baseman Edouard Julien. Burke fired a 98 mph fastball at the edge of the zone, but home plate umpire Carlos Torres called it a ball.

Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson thought otherwise and tapped the top of his helmet to initiate the challenge. As the challenge appeared on the scoreboard, Reds play-by-play announcer John Sadak set up the moment.

“Stephenson has won one (challenge) tonight, can he win pizza for those in the stands?” Sadak said on the broadcast.

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A general view of Great American Ball Park during the seventh inning of the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 14, 2026. (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

The replay confirmed it was a strike, giving the fans free pizza, and the place went bonkers.

“The crowd ready to burst. That’s a strike! He does it for everybody! He does it for the people,” Sadak said.

The broadcast panned to a raucous crowd that celebrated their free pizza. With Burke’s strikeout on the overturned call, all fans got a free small one-topping pizza at LaRosa’s.

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Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Brock Burke pitches against the Colorado Rockies in the ninth inning at Great American Ball Park. in Cincinnati, Ohio, on April 28, 2026. (Katie Stratman/Imagn Images)

For good measure, Burke struck out the 12th Rockies hitter to end the game and secure the win.

With the win, the Reds improved to 19-10 which leads the National League Central. They will take on the Rockies (13-17) on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. ET in the second game of their three-game series.

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The race for automatic promotion to the Premier League will go down to the final day of the regular season after second-placed Ipswich were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Southampton on Tuesday that ended the hosts’ bid for a guaranteed return to the top flight.

Ipswich’s Wes Burns opened the scoring early in the second half but the visitors’ lead lasted just 10 minutes, with Southampton, fresh from their FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester City, equalising through Ryan Manning’s free-kick.

And home fans at St Mary’s had even more to celebrate when Cyle Larin put the Saints ahead with 10 minutes of normal time remaining.
But Ipswich were back level in the 87th minute when, following a corner, substitute Jack Clarke drilled a left-footed shot from the edge of the area past Saints goalkeeper Daniel Peretz into the bottom left corner.

Only the top two at the end of the regular season are guaranteed places among the lucrative elite of English football, with leaders Coventry already assured of the Championship title.

Clarke, Ipswich’s leading scorer this season, almost sealed victory two minutes later when his shot hit the base of the post, ricocheted past Peretz and then rolled past the post for a corner.
And in the third of five minutes of added-on time, Ipswich put the ball into the net again only for the effort to be rightly ruled out for offside before Peretz denied Clarke with a superb save.

Had Ipswich — like Southampton relegated from the Premier League last season — won they would have been three points clear of Millwall and all but guaranteed promotion such is their vastly superior goal difference.
But the draw means they must win at home to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday to assure themselves of second place, with Ipswich now a point ahead of Millwall and two clear of fourth-placed Middlesbrough, both of whom could finish runners-up to Coventry.

Millwall are at home to already-relegated Oxford, while Middlesbrough travel to Wrexham, who need a good result to secure a place in the play-offs.
 
‘Love where we’re at’
“You probably can’t come much closer to getting promoted than we were at the end,” Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna told Sky Sports.
“It was a matter of inches from the ball going in the net, but I loved where were at and I looking forward to Saturday now.”

The draw extended Southampton’s unbeaten run in the league under Tonda Eckert to an impressive 18 games but ended their hopes of automatic promotion.

The Saints, however, will be involved in the play-offs, featuring the teams finishing third to sixth, that will determine which other team enters the Premier League.

“I would have enjoyed the game if we got the three points but if you want to make an advertisement for the Championship I think that was the game to watch,” said Saints boss Eckert, adding: “We have clarity now and we need to get ready for the play-offs.”

Following a lacklustre first half, Ipswich went ahead in the 48th minute when Burns powered a shot to Peretz’s left and into the top corner, via a slight touch off the keeper’s fingers.

But Southampton hit back 10 minutes later through Manning’s powerful free-kick from the edge of the box.

Michigan’s men’s basketball team secured its first national title in more than 30 years earlier this month. One day earlier, UCLA’s women’s team claimed its first NCAA Tournament crown.

Michigan and UCLA powered through a 64-team bracket to hoist their respective championship trophies, but an expanded bracket could make repeat runs more difficult next season. ESPN reported Tuesday, citing sources, that the NCAA is moving forward with plans to expand both tournaments to 76 teams.

Expansion has been on the table for more than a year, but this latest step could pave the way for formal approval, with an announcement possible as soon as next month. The larger field could be in place before the 2026-27 season.

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Though several hurdles remain with NCAA committees before any changes can become official, a source told ESPN the remaining steps are merely “formalities.”

Media rights deals remain unfinished, and signed contracts will likely be needed before the men’s and women’s basketball committees, oversight groups and other parties move forward. ESPN reported that NCAA officials have recently engaged in discussions with key media partners.

NCAA TOURNAMENT IS GOING TO EXPAND, UNFORTUNATELY. JUST WHAT WE NEED, MORE TEAMS

While the financial framework for expansion is still unclear, costs are expected to rise with more teams traveling and competing. A source told ESPN the plan could still ultimately produce profit and a “modest financial upside.”

A game ball with the March Madness logo is shown during the first round of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La., on March 22, 2025. (Beau Brune/NCAA Photos)

Expansion discussions appear to be fueled more by the push for at-large bids for power conferences than by financial considerations. Many leagues have added a considerable number of schools under the current agreement.

“Expanding the basketball tournaments would require approval from multiple NCAA committees, including the men’s and women’s basketball committees, and no final recommendations or decisions have been made at this time,” an NCAA spokesperson told OutKick’s Trey Wallace.

Currently, the First Four features eight teams across four games. Under expansion, that would grow to 12 games involving 24 teams, with the men’s tournament adding eight at-large bids.

The NCAA basketball goes through the net during the SEC women’s college basketball tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., on March 8, 2025. (John Byrum/Icon Sportswire)

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Overall, the proposal would mean the First Four would see 24 of those 76 teams competing Tuesday and Wednesday. Eight teams that once would have been in the customary bracket would now face eight new at-large teams. The main 64-team bracket would still tip off Thursday with little change.

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