Sonny Gray’s neck became a strange little subplot in the Red Sox’s Wild Card loss to the Yankees on Wednesday night.
Gray, who had been Boston’s most reliable starter for much of the 2026 season, delivered a decent outing in Game 2. He gave up two runs over 4.2 innings and struck out five, but the Red Sox still came up short against New York.
The focus afterward shifted away from the box score and onto a patch of mystery on the right side of Gray’s neck. Throughout the game, he could be seen reaching up and swiping at the area, which set off a wave of speculation online that he may have been using something to help his pitches.
That chatter picked up quickly on social media, where one post noted, “Sonny Gray asks for a new ball and then immediately touches his neck. He was doing this all game 🕵️♀️”
Jomboy later weighed in with a breakdown of the clip, writing, “Sonny Gray obviously had sticky stuff on his neck, a breakdown”
Still, there was no firm proof that anything improper was going on. Officials believed Gray’s performance was legitimate, and one social media user pointed out that Gray has been seen wiping at his neck before. He also made the same motion several times early in the game, including in the first inning, before any visible residue appeared on his neck.
Another post tried to push back on the pine tar theory, saying, “This video is for anyone who thinks Sonny Gray used pine tar tonight”
Even so, the rumor mill kept spinning, with social media flooded by claims that Gray had used pine tar to make his pitches tougher to hit. Some, including Jomboy, also suggested Red Sox manager Chad Tracy may have taken Gray out early to keep him from getting tangled up in cheating accusations.
In Other News...
UConn Realignment Talk Is Back With The House Holding The Stakes
College sports realignment talk has a way of resurfacing whenever the rules of the road might change, and UConn is back in the conversation after the Protect College Sports Act cleared the Senate on a 77-22 vote. The bipartisan bill, which has the backing of President Donald Trump, now heads to the House, where its conference-related provisions could affect how the next round of reshuffling takes shape.
For a program like UConn, already used to living with realignment chatter from the outside, the timing matters because the legislation could put fresh limits on how big power conferences are allowed to get. On3 has already floated speculative landing spots around the sport if the bill becomes law, and that kind of projection only adds fuel to a debate that has a habit of reaching beyond football and into every corner of the athletic department. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Gets A Chance To Answer One Frustrating Syracuse Trend
UConn gets another crack at Syracuse on Saturday at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, with kickoff set for 12:02 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. It is the 15th meeting between the schools, and the timing matters for a Huskies team still trying to steady itself after a recent loss to Miami (OH).
For UConn, this is more than just another nonconference game on the schedule. Syracuse has owned the series in recent years, which has turned this matchup into a reminder of how quickly a familiar opponent can become a persistent problem. The Huskies will have home field this time, and they'll be looking to make that advantage count in a game that carries a little extra weight because of what has happened the last several times these teams have lined up. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Faces A Campus Safety Fight Over Blue Phones
A parent of a University of Connecticut student has taken the school to court over a campus safety issue that has been quietly building on Storrs and beyond: the removal of blue emergency phones. The lawsuit seeks to stop UConn from taking the phones down, arguing the devices still matter as a backup for students moving around campus, especially when safety is the central concern.
UConn, for its part, has said some of the blue phones will stay in place where cell service is weaker while the university continues assessing connectivity across campus. The immediate legal push did not get the emergency relief the parent wanted, and the dispute is now headed toward a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9, 2026, leaving the broader question of how much those phones still matter unresolved for the moment. [Read more 🡒]