Grow Omaha Sports

Terence “Bud” Crawford once again rewrote boxing history Saturday night with his victory by unanimous decision over Canelo Alvarez, one of the top pound-for-pound boxers of this era. Crawford was the first male boxer in the four-belt era to become undisputed world champion at two weight classes, a feat now accomplished by Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk. He has now provided more separation between himself and the rest of the boxing world, and history, becoming the first to become undisputed world champion at three weight classes. 

He did so in improbable fashion, moving up three weight classes to take on the champion Alvarez. Leading into and throughout much of the fight, the boxing world lauded Canelo’s strength and size, questioning Bud’s ability to hang in and handle the much bigger boxer’s power. 

From the first bell, it was Bud who staggered Canelo with expertly placed combinations and strong jabs to the head. Over and over, round after round, Bud evaded Alvarez’s thundering attempts at a knockout blow and slipped his defense in counterpunches, leaving one of the world’s best boxers frustrated. Throughout the fight, Bud taunted Canelo. He wagged his tongue at him, smiled after slipping his shots, and shook his head when he would catch one, signaling he could in fact handle Canelo’s power. To no surprise, Terence Crawford put on a boxing clinic, and Canelo Alvarez had free admission.

In his post-fight interview, commentator Max Kellerman asked the champion the question the world wanted to know the answer to: Is this Crawford’s last fight? Not providing a solid answer, Bud noted “I don’t know [if this is the last fight of my career],” he said. “I’ve got to sit down with my team, and we’ll talk about it.”

If this was the last fight of Terence Crawford’s career, it was the perfect sendoff. This historic fight was representative of his entire career. As nearly every fight has gone, he outboxed his opponent from wire-to-wire both physically and strategically, impressing everyone watching that was not yet familiar with Terence “Bud” Crawford’s game. After being questioned his whole career – whether he was a draw, if he had personality, if he could beat the best-of-the-best – Terence Crawford once again proved every doubter wrong on his way to making boxing history.

He did it, as he always does, with “OMAHA” displayed proudly across the back of his trunks for the more than 70,000 fans in attendance and millions watching on Netflix. The pride of Omaha, Nebraska, permanently etched his name into boxing’s history books once again, doing something no man has ever done in the more than 100-year history of the sport.

Terence Crawford left no doubt that he is the best boxer of this era, and undeniably one of the best the sport has ever seen.

The most impactful night in Omaha sporting history will take place this Saturday. Terence Crawford, Omaha’s own world champion boxer, will take on Canelo Alvarez in a historic super fight at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) is widely regarded as the face of boxing and is a two-time undisputed super middleweight champion. Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will jump up three divisions to Canelo’s super middleweight class (168 pounds), despite fighting the bulk of his fights at super lightweight (140 pounds) and welterweight (147 pounds). Terence Crawford is no stranger to moving weight classes – he has won title fights at four different weights and was the first boxer in history to unify all four major belts in multiple weight classes. 

Crawford can cement himself as one of boxing’s all-time greats with a win on Saturday, and he can do it as the world watches. The super fight will be streamed live on Netflix as opposed to a traditional pay-per-view format, a first in major boxing. The six-fight preliminary card will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Netflix’s website. The main card begins at 8 p.m. on Netflix, with the main event walkouts expected around 10 p.m.

Omaha Volleyball was held winless at the Flo Hyman Classic in Houston last weekend. The Mavericks were swept by LSU and Houston on Thursday and Friday before falling to San Diego State, three sets to one. This weekend, Omaha will play in the Cyclone Invitational in Ames, Iowa. They will face Saint Louis on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Iowa State on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Creighton Volleyball went 2-1 this weekend in the Trojan Invitational but failed to pick up the win in the most important match against No. 22 USC. This weekend, the No. 18 Bluejays will play host. The Bluejay Invitational at D.J. Sokol Arena begins Friday, and Creighton will face a major test right away against No. 4 Louisville at 8 p.m. That match will be a powder blue stripe out. Even numbered sections, courtside, general admission and the student section should wear white, while odd numbered sections should wear powder blue. On Saturday, Creighton will play Rice at 4 p.m. and then close the invitational against Northern Iowa at 3:30 p.m.

Coming in at No. 18 in this week’s AVCA rankings, Creighton has set a program record with 65 straight weeks ranked. The Bluejays have earned their ranking for the past five seasons and will have to continue to do so playing against the nation’s best. Next Tuesday, the Bluejays have a marquee matchup with No. 1 Nebraska. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. The match will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.

Union Omaha extended its win streak to three games on Saturday, defeating Texoma FC 5-0. Three games is the longest winning streak of the season for the Owls, who now sit eighth in USL League One standings with eight wins, ten losses and three draws. Union Omaha travels to New York for a match against Westchester SC on Saturday at 6 p.m. All USL League One matches can be streamed on ESPN+.

Omaha men’s basketball released its 2025-26 schedule on Monday. The Mavericks’ first game of the season will come on November 3 against the Murray State Racers and former Creighton assistant coach Ryan Miller. On November 21, Omaha will head to Baton Rouge to face LSU and 2024-25 Summit League Player of the Year, former Maverick Marquel Sutton. The final nonconference game on the schedule features a trip to Eugene, Ore., where coach Chris Crutchfield will take on his former team (2021-22) and Dana Altman.

Creighton senior Grant Feldman was named Big East Golfer of the Week by the conference on Wednesday. For the second year in a row, Feldman finished in second place at the Wildcat Invitational, the season-opening tournament hosted by Kansas State. This marks the second time in Feldman’s career that he was named Big East Golfer of the Week. He shared the award with teammate Charlie Zielinski in 2023.

Creighton Volleyball will be playing on a brand-new court when it makes its 2025 home debut against Louisville on Friday night. Like Creighton men’s basketball’s new home court that debuted last season, the court features feather patterns with more than a dozen “Easter eggs” hidden within. Detailed photos of the new court can be found on the Creighton athletics website and Creighton Volleyball social media accounts.

The “Dodge Street Derby”, a doubleheader between Creighton and Omaha’s men’s and women’s soccer teams, was held last night. The women began the event, and Creighton edged out a 3-2 victory over the Mavericks. Directly after, the Creighton men gave the fans in attendance a dose of déjà vu, also taking down the Mavericks 3-2. The event benefited Kicks for a Cure, a local nonprofit that raises funds and awareness for local cancer research at Creighton University’s Lynch Cancer Research Center and the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.

The Omaha Storm Chasers are hosting the Charlotte Knights this week at Werner Park. After being swept last week at Iowa, the Chasers broke their losing streak in game one of this week’s series, downing Charlotte 7-1. Tonight is $3 Thursday – get tickets, Busch Light and select concessions for $3 each. First pitch is at 6:35 p.m.

Upcoming Games

• Omaha Storm Chasers vs. Charlotte | Sept. 9 – 14 | 6:35 p.m. Thursday
• #18 Creighton Volleyball vs. #4 Louisville | Saturday, Sept. 12 | 8 p.m.
• Omaha men’s soccer at Bradley | Saturday, Sept. 13 | 2 p.m.
• Omaha Volleyball vs. Saint Louis | Saturday, Sept. 13 | 4 p.m.
• #18 Creighton Volleyball vs. Rice | Saturday, Sept. 13 | 4 p.m.
• Creighton men’s soccer vs. Oral Roberts | Saturday, Sept. 13 | 7 p.m.
• Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez | Saturday, Sept. 14 | 8 p.m.
• #18 Creighton Volleyball vs. Northern Iowa | Sunday, Sept. 14 | 3:30 p.m.
• Union Omaha at Westchester SC | Saturday, Sept. 13 | 6 p.m.
• Creighton women’s soccer vs. South Dakota | Sunday, Sept. 14 | 12:30 p.m.
• Omaha women’s soccer at Western Illinois | Sunday, Sept. 14 | 1 p.m.
• Omaha Volleyball at Iowa State | Sunday, Sept. 14 | 2 p.m.
• Omaha men’s soccer at Notre Dame | Tuesday, Sept. 16 | 6 p.m.
• #18 Creighton Volleyball vs. #1 Nebraska | Tuesday, Sept. 16 | 6:30 p.m.

Brian Rosen notched his first win as Creighton volleyball head coach Sunday after a grueling start to the season. The Bluejays fell to the reigning national champions, No. 2 Penn State and No. 5 Texas in their first two matches of the season before getting the job done against No. 14 Kansas. In that match, Creighton tied a school record, playing its fifth straight match against a ranked team, dating back to the NCAA Tournament last fall.

For its perseverance, Creighton moved to No. 13 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Top 25 poll, back one spot from No. 12. Creighton’s 64th consecutive week in the poll ties a program record from October 2016 to March 2021.

Eloise Brandewie, a middle blocker for Creighton, was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week for her performance to begin the season. Brandewie averaged 1.64 blocks per set over three ranked matches.

Omaha Storm Chasers catcher Carter Jensen made his MLB debut for the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels after his contract was selected by the Royals on Monday. He pinch-hit in the ninth of the 5-1 loss and struck out for the final out. Jensen is the 11th Storm Chaser to make his Major League debut this season, the eighth with the Royals.

Harold Castro was named the International League Player of the Month by Minor League Baseball for his performance in August. The Storm Chasers infielder batted 39-for-90 (.433) and led the league in batting average, hits, home runs and total bases and won two International League Player of the Week awards. Castro is the first Storm Chaser to win a monthly award this year and the first to be recognized as the International League Player of the Month since Vinnie Pasquantino in May 2022.

Omaha soccer played a doubleheader against Drake University last night in Des Moines, Iowa. The women were up first, and fell 2-1. Roughly two hours later, the men’s team played the Bulldogs to a 1-1 draw.

The Mavericks women will head to Norman, Okla., on Sunday to face the No. 20 Sooners. Then, next Wednesday, both teams will head downtown for a doubleheader against Creighton. The matches will benefit Kicks for a Cure, a local nonprofit that raises funds and awareness for local cancer research at Creighton University’s Lynch Cancer Research Center and the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.

Omaha volleyball took care of business to begin its season, sweeping Milwaukee in both matches last weekend. Now, it heads south for the Flo Hyman Classic hosted by the University of Houston. The Mavericks begin the event today against LSU at 4:30 p.m. Friday, they will take on the host, Houston, at 7 p.m. before capping off the event against San Diego State on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Creighton soccer will host its 13th annual Socctoberfest Friday at Morrison Stadium, with both the men’s and women’s programs in action. The women will face No. 13 Arkansas at 5 p.m. to kick off the event. That match will be the women’s second in a row against a ranked opponent. They fell 1-0 to No. 3 Duke on Sunday. After the women’s match, the Bluejays men will take on Denver at 7:45 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

Creighton volleyball will continue its gauntlet this weekend in the Trojan Invitational hosted by USC. The Bluejays will face three unbeaten teams in the event, beginning with a match against San Diego on Friday at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Creighton will play UC Santa Barbara at 6 p.m. The biggest test of the weekend will come on Sunday, when Creighton will go head-to-head with the host, No. 22 USC. That game will begin at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Upcoming Games

• Omaha volleyball vs. LSU | Thursday, Sept. 4 | 4:30 p.m.
• Creighton women’s soccer vs. #13 Arkansas | Friday, Sept. 5 | 5 p.m.
• #13 Creighton volleyball vs. San Diego | Friday, Sept. 5 | 6 p.m.
• Omaha volleyball vs. Houston | Friday, Sept. 5 | 7 p.m.
• Omaha Storm Chasers at Iowa | Sept. 2 to 7 | 7:08 p.m. Friday
• Creighton men’s soccer vs. Denver | Friday, Sept. 5 | 7:45 p.m.
• Omaha volleyball vs. San Diego State | Saturday, Sept. 6 | 1 p.m.
• Union Omaha vs. Texoma FC | Saturday, Sept. 6 | 2 p.m.
• #13 Creighton volleyball vs. UC Santa Barbara | Saturday, Sept. 6 | 6 p.m.
• Omaha women’s soccer at #20 Oklahoma | Sunday, Sept. 7 | 1 p.m.
• #13 Creighton volleyball vs. #22 USC | Sunday, Sept. 7 | 3 p.m.
• Omaha women’s soccer at Creighton | Wednesday, Sept. 10 | 5 p.m.
• Omaha men’s soccer at Creighton | Wednesday, Sept. 10 | 7:45 p.m.