Kwasniok full of praise for "King of the Air" Ragnar Ache — and more

It's safe to say that Köln manager Lukas Kwasniok is happy with striker Ragnar Ache. Ache scored the opener for the hosts with a stunning bicycle kick after only 15 minutes. Hoffenheim's Oliver Baumann could only watch as the ball whistled into the back of the net.

Hoffenheim eventually fought back to secure a 2-2 draw, but that didn't make Ache's goal any less special.

“All I want to see today is the headline: Ragnar Ache - King of the Air,” said Kwasniok in a press conference after the game.

The goal was his fifth of the Bundesliga season, and fourth in his last six games. Only Said El Mala has more goals for Effzeh, as Ache, who was a substitute at the start of the season, has become a crucial player for Kwasniok and Köln.

“He's come a long way and is an indispensable part of the team,” said Kwasniok.

Ache joined in July 2025 after two strong seasons in the 2. Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He found minutes hard to come by, though, with Köln initially using Marius Bülter up top.

Ache has fought his way into the starting eleven, though. He scored his first goal for Effzeh in October in the DFB Pokal, although Köln lost 4-1 to Bayern Munich. Days later, the striker scored his first goal in the Bundesliga.

His strong form has continued into 2026. Ache has four goals already this year, with a brace in a crucial win over Mainz before goals against Stuttgart and now Hoffenheim. In total, he's up to six goals and six assists in all competitions this season. 

It doesn't hurt that some of the goals have been fantastic, either. His strike against Hoffenheim will not be forgotten in Köln anytime soon.

"The vote for Goal of the Year will now only be about second place," said Kwasniok.

The Dallas Cowboys reportedly agreed to terms with running back Javonte Williams on a 3-year, $24 million deal, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Williams will reportedly have $16 million in guaranteed money. 

Williams broke out in his first season with the Cowboys, rushing for a career-high 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 25-year-old running back added 35 catches for 137 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. Williams played in 16 games last season, after missing Week 18 with shoulder and neck injuries. 

Williams spent his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos after getting drafted in the second round out of the University of North Carolina in 2021.

This story will continue to be updated.

TAMPA, Fla. — Shortly after Gerrit Cole faced hitters for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last spring, Aaron Judge said that “you would have never known” the Cy Young winner was coming off a procedure that robbed him of the entire 2025 season.

“It looked like the old 45 that I’ve seen for years,” Judge said Friday after grounding out against Cole, who faced three batters, threw about 20 pitches, sat around 95-96 mph with his fastball and topped out at 96.9 mph.

Told of Judge’s assessment on Saturday morning, Cole said it was “a great compliment” to hear.

“I wasn’t in a rehab mindset yesterday,” he continued. “I was just in that performance mindset. So it didn’t feel like anything other than how it used to feel going out there and competing.”

Cole said that he had “fun” facing hitters again, and that he found the outing to be “rewarding and refreshing.” More importantly, he felt good during the session and again on Saturday morning.

He added that he was “a little surprised,” that he threw as hard as he did, though he noted that he’s pretty built up.

But with all going well for the right-hander thus far, Cole put to rest any speculation that he may try to expedite his rehab plans.

“It’s great to feel great,” he said, “but I don’t think it makes me want to accelerate.”

Cole, 35, previously reiterated that full Tommy John reconstruction comes with a 14-18-month timetable. That means he could return sometime in May — that would be on the earlier side — or June if all continues to go well.

Cole and the Yankees have left the door open for the pitcher to throw in spring training games before camp ends, but they haven’t settled on how many more live batting practice sessions he’ll have to participate in before graduating to that step.

Judge joined by another Big Bomber

With Cole serving as a challenging tune-up a day before his Grapefruit League debut, Judge didn’t have to wait long for his first homers of the spring.

The Yankees’ captain went deep twice in Steinbrenner Field’s exhibition opener on Saturday afternoon, first taking Detroit’s Burch Smith 420 feet off the batter’s eye in the Bombers’ 20-3 win. The two-run blast traveled at 104.5 mph.

An inning later, Judge clubbed another two-run dinger off Ricky Vanasco. The shot to left sailed 395 feet at 106.1 mph.

“It’s spring training,” Judge said when jokingly asked if he’s ready for Opening Day. “We still got a lot of work to do. You like seeing results in spring, obviously, but I’m just happy to get three at-bats and feel good in the field.”

Judge went on to note that getting lots of early at-bats in spring training worked out for him last year. The back-to-back MVP, captaining Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, also added, “You don’t want to get exposed playing for your country, so you gotta be ready to go.”

Judge wasn’t the only giant slugger to homer Saturday, as outfield prospect Spencer Jones cleared the ballpark with a solo shot in the second inning.

Statcast measured the bomb off Keider Montero, a big leaguer the last two seasons, at 111.7 mph and 408 feet.

“I’m feeling good,” Jones said. “I’m just trying to get some good feels with the hands, get those going and use that as a trigger.”

Lagrange’s spring debut

Another towering presence, Carlos Lagrange, started Saturday’s game. The results were mixed, as the pitching prospect totaled 2.2 innings, three hits, two runs (one earned), two walks, two strikeouts, one homer and 53 pitches.

However, Lagrange’s four-seam fastball topped out at 102.4 mph and hit at least 100 mph seven times. It also had an induced vertical break of 18 inches.

While his change-up coasted above 90 mph and his sweeper impressed, Lagrange didn’t hesitate when asked what his best pitch is.

“My fastball,” he said with a laugh. “It’s hard and big and vertical.”

Judge, meanwhile, praised the 22-year-old for the second time this spring, declaring, “Carlos’ potential is to be a frontline starter for the New York Yankees.”

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