Link IconCopy linkFacebook LogoShare on FacebookXShare on XEmailShare via EmailLink copied to clipboardUndrafted Eagles rookies include Quinyon Mitchell’s roommate at Toledo big Rutgers offensive tackleToledo defensive back Maxen Hook and linebacker Lance Dixon were signed Two hours before Eagles rookies were scheduled to take the field at the NovaCare Complex for the first day of rookie camp the team announced its nine-player crop of undrafted free agents The Toledo-to-Philadelphia pipeline continued, with the Eagles signing a pair of players coached at Toledo by Nick Sirianni’s longtime friend One of the two Toledo players signed, defensive back Maxen Hook, was once a roommate of Quinyon Mitchell who starred as a rookie last year with the Eagles after being selected by the team in the first round Hook was a middle-to-late round safety prospect who did not get drafted last weekend » READ MORE: Quinyon Mitchell on Darius Slay’s podcast discusses rookie season, Slay’s Philly departure, and more The other Toledo Rocket signed after going undrafted is linebacker Lance Dixon, who was once a five-star prospect who began his college career in 2019 at Penn State He ended up at West Virginia before finishing up at Toledo One of the most intriguing players on the nine-player list in Rutgers tackle Hollin Pierce who at 6-foot-8 with 36-inch arms has size you cannot teach Jeff Stoutland has an interesting project in Pierce who was projected in the middle to late rounds and did not get picked What he has in size and length he does not have in speed A lack of speed and shaky technique will be the reasons it doesn’t work out if Pierce doesn’t find his way onto the Eagles’ roster or another The Eagles also brought in two running backs: Florida’s Montrell Johnson who ran a 4.41 40-yard time at the combine and ShunDerrick Powell of Central Arkansas who racked up three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons the Eagles signed two other defensive backs: Oregon’s Brandon Johnson and BJ Mayes from Texas A&M They also signed two receivers: Darius Cooper from Tarleton State and Wake Forest’s Taylor Morin who has the record for most receiving yards in school history The Eagles invited several players to this weekend’s camp on a tryout basis Former Temple defensive end Michael Dogbe is on the roster and is the most experienced player in camp Dogbe was a seventh-round pick by Arizona in 2019 and was last with the Vikings and Texans in 2023 The Eagles also brought in another rugby player from Australia They invited Carsen Patu to camp to try out at linebacker/edge rusher He comes by way of the same Conquest Athletic Performance facility that brought offensive lineman Laekin Vakalahi who is back in rookie camp after joining the team last season Delran’s R.J. Moten, a linebacker who finished his college career at Florida after starting at Michigan, is also in camp. Another New Jersey native, Atlantic City’s Nahsir Morgan a wide receiver who played at Delaware Valley Another interesting name is long-snapper Niko Lalos a defensive end out of Dartmouth who has been in and out of the NFL since 2020 and is trying a new position South Carolina punter Kai Kroger is also on the roster and notes from around the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Saturday John Brebbia made a strong rehab appearance in the first inning He collected fly outs from Roman Anthony and Nick Sogard before striking out Marcelo Mayer with a nasty back door slider Akil Baddoo then led off the bottom half with a laser beam at 111.5 mph to right field to make it 1-0 Hens and the lefty ran into two-out trouble as he allowed a single and then a two-run shot to Trayce Thompson Jordan Balazovic handled the third with no trouble and in the fourth the Hens broke the game open a little bit Baddoo started them off by hitting one of the longest home runs of the season The towering drive carried well over the batter’s eye in straightaway center field landing an estimated 461 feet from home plate and Stephen Scott launched a two-run shot to make it 4-2 Hens Akil Baddoo with an absolutely monstrous solo homer that went 461 feet to dead center. Cleared the batter’s eye by a LOT. pic.twitter.com/hbeL0r8xCm At that point the game went through a nearly two hour long rain delay Hens manager Gabe Alvarez turned to new southpaw starter Nick Margevicius The Tigers signed the former prospect to a minor league deal last week He tossed five scoreless frames with five strikeouts Have a Mud Hens debut, Nick Margevicius! HLD5.0 IP4 H0 R0 BB5 K pic.twitter.com/Q3rb39rmw0 Jahmai Jones hit a solo shot in the fifth and then added another in the sixth Baddoo doubled to complete a huge day in the eighth inning and Carlos Mendoza singled him in for their final run Matt Seelinger closed the game out in the ninth Coming Up Next: The Hens lead the series 3-2 heading into a 1:05 p.m the SeaWolves and Rumble Ponies were rained out in Erie They’ll play a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon Left-hander Joe Miller threw a great game on Saturday totally shutting down the Rattlers offense Trevin Michael and Preston Howey were just as good in two innings of relief work apiece as the trio combined to hold them to just four hits and a walk Miller struck out nine in five innings of work The lefties in the Rattlers lineup struggled Michael and Howey too over in style as each punched out three hitters with Michael allowing one hit and Howey none Joe Miller sets a new career high with his 9th strikeout. Excellent outing today: 5IP 3H 0R BB 9K pic.twitter.com/8b2W8q5axm The Whitecaps offense didn’t have a particularly good day either A two-out double from Izaac Pacheco in the second inning with two outs and a two-out single from Seth Stephenson in the third were their only baserunners in the early innings Archer Brookman reached on an error to lead off the top of the inning but Jack Penney singled to finally get a runner in scoring position and John Peck struck out to squander their best chance Brookman and Stephenson led off the inning with singles Penney grounded into a force of Stephenson at second but Briceño got the run home from third with a sacrifice fly Howey then carved up the Rattlers for two innings to earn the save Coming Up Next: The Whitecaps lead 3-2 in the series heading into Sunday’s 2:10 p.m Another low scoring game went the Flying Tigers way as they secured a series win on Saturday Josh Randall got the start and he was excellent. The Detroit Tigers third round pick last summer went five innings Randall struck out five and didn’t walk a hitter He scattered six hits sitting close to 95 mph with his sinker and mixing in cutters and sliders as the main secondary offerings The Flying Tigers opened the scoring in the bottom of the third Bad timing for the Cardinals as Bryce Rainer stepped to the plate and hammered a bouncer up the middle at 106.5 mph to score two runs Bryce Rainer plates two runs with a sharp bouncer up the middle. @ZachSurdenik on the call. pic.twitter.com/7OQP2uM335 Randall allowed a couple of singles in the fourth as the Cardinals scored one but he shut the rally down with a strikeout and tossed a good fifth to end his outing carried the one-run lead through the final four innings Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers look to sweep the three-game home series on Sunday at noon while the Rockets may not typically tend to draw a ton of national interest this bunch in particular is an intriguing one After an 8-5 go of it last fall and a thrilling 6OT victory over Pitt in the GameAbove Sports Bowl Toledo has a lot behind it going into this season Jason Candle is back for his tenth season running the program and he has a bunch that isn't that far removed from a MAC title (2022) This team has also been bowling in each of the last four seasons And as far as the individuals on the roster go the Rocekts are keeping some of their biggest names around for at least one more run meaning that they could pose a real threat to WSU come October 25 Redshirt senior quarterback Tucker Gleason threw for over 2,800 yards last year and 24 touchdowns and is back again He averaged over 230 passing yards per contest last season and he retains one of his favorite pass-catching targets as well in wideout Junior Vandeross III Vandeross was a first-team all-conference receiver in 2024 hauling in 85 throws for 957 yards and five TDs He did all that and most of those weren't even team highs as Jerjaun Newton eclipsed those stats is now gone and the main piece besides Vandeross in the passing attack should be newcomer Trayvon Rudolph Rudolph came over from Northern Illinois this offseason and should add a great deal of depth to the receiving corps Washington State's secondary should be ready for Toledo to throw the ball often the Rockets have said farewell to standout DB Maxen Hook who put together a terrific senior season in 2024 logging 107 total tackles and breaking up four passes while intercepting two more Hook was the enforcer on a Toledo defense that held its opposition to 23.2 points and 207.9 passing yards per contest last year Replacing him has been at the top of the list this winter and spring They are hoping that senior Jaden Dottin will be that guy Dottin played in all 13 games last season but did so in a primarily reserve role He registered just 16 stops and picked off one pass Washington State's offense should have a good idea of just how big a role Dottin will take on this fall Overall this is one of the more interesting matchups on the entire Cougs' slate because this Toledo team is in a very similar spot talent wise They're good enough to be a bowl squad yet again but so is WSU if they can put it all together The result could mean an exciting one for fans in Martin Stadium when they come together The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER Toledo Opera will present the inaugural spring performances of Opera ‘Round Town – formerly known as Opera Outdoors – with weekly performances at Wildwood Preserve Metropark The first performance will take place on the front lawn at the Manor House at Wildwood Preserve Metropark on Wednesday the performance will be moved indoors to the Manor House Lawn chairs and/or picnic blankets are recommended The series will continue Wednesdays May 14 and 21 both at 6 p.m The May 7 performance marks the first performance under the Opera ‘Round Town name following the rebranding of the series earlier this year Developed in partnership with presenting sponsor iHeart Media Opera ‘Round Town expands Toledo Opera’s community engagement efforts offering live performances at a range of community hubs across the region The upcoming spring series will feature the Opera’s 2024-2025 cohort of resident artists selected from an international pool of more than 150 applicants for a one-year residency in Toledo Resident Artists Sarah Rachel Bacani (soprano) and Alessandro “Alex” Rotundo (pianist) will perform iconic vocal selections from the classical repertoire along with musical theatre and other American standards Opera ‘Round Town represents an important step in making opera more accessible to the public: “With Opera ‘Round Town we’re bringing the power and beauty of live opera directly into the heart of our community – at the Metroparks and beyond Thanks to the generous support of iHeart Media this rebranded series makes opera more accessible and more connected to the region we serve.” “iHeart Media is thrilled to sponsor the newly rebranded Opera ‘Round Town and partner with Toledo Opera in yet another exciting music venture,” shared iHeart Media “We are passionate about supporting the arts and fostering musical talent and this collaboration is a wonderful opportunity to bring beautiful opera performances to our community we look forward to creating unforgettable experiences and celebrating the magic of music.” Click typewriter to read opinions from readers or to learn how to submit one of your own Interested in advertising here on the sidebar of BG Independent News, or in becoming 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Contact Elizabeth Roberts-Zibbel at elizabeth.lrz@gmail.com or click image below for the Advertise page also accessible from the Main Menu heading above The Komets opened the Central Division Final on Friday and fell to Toledo at the Huntington Center The Komets got on the board first as Blake Murray reworked an Alex Aleardi shot to push the puck across the goal line to make the game 1-0 at 8:30 Toledo tied the game at 12:12 and took the lead at 12:53 The Komets answered as Aleradi lit the lamp at 14:20 for his fifth goal of the postseason with an assist credit to defenseman Noah Ganske the Komets reclaimed the lead when Ethan Keppen scored an unassisted goal at 6:31 only to see the Walleye tie the game at 10:55 Both teams traded goals towards the end of the period but the Walleye entered the intermission with the lead when Matt Anderson scored 19:44 Neither team could add to their goal totals in the third period GAME SHEET Sign up for our email newsletter to be the first to know about news and upcoming games