The Cavinder twins, a little more than a week from their departure from the University of Miami, have announced one of their next ventures.

Former Hurricanes women’s basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder are partnering with Betr Holdings, Inc., a company co-founded by social media personality and professional boxer Jake Paul. The agreement includes exclusive media rights and makes the Cavinders equity partners, content creators and creative directors with the brand. The deal was announced Wednesday.

The Cavinders will bring their podcast ‘Twin Talk’ over to the Betr network and will also make on-camera appearances to drive engagement of female-centric sports content. They will also make regular appearances on Betr’s flagship series ‘BS w/ Jake Paul.’

Betr was launched in 2022 by Paul and co-founder Joey Levy and is a sports betting and media platform that includes a focus on microbetting, which allows users to place wagers on individual plays and events.

“Betr gives us the ability to accelerate the growth of The Cavinder Twins brand in a focused and truly authentic manner,’ Haley and Hanna Cavinder said Wednesday in a statement. ‘We love sports, thrive on competition, and enjoy creating and bringing ideas to life. Betr truly makes The Cavinder Twins and our brand that much better and bigger.”

On April 11, two days after the WNBA draft, the Cavinders announced in a shared post on Instagram that they were leaving the Hurricanes program and transitioning away from careers in basketball.

The Cavinders, who were trailblazers in the NCAA’s name, image and likeness era, joined Miami in April 2022 after transferring from Fresno State. Haley was a starting guard as the Hurricanes marched to a historic season and averaged 12.2 points per game. Hanna, also a guard, came off the bench and averaged 3.8 points per game. The Hurricanes this season made their first-ever women’s Elite Eight run in this year’s NCAA tournament.

The sisters were on track to earn $1 million in NIL money and transferred to Miami for a bigger platform. They have a combined 1.3 million followers on Instagram and 4.5 million followers on their joint TikTok account.

While they were with the Hurricanes, the Cavinders struck deals with the WWE, Victoria’s Secret, Boost Mobile and Raising Cane’s.

Scottish ultra-marathon runner Joasia Zakrzewski was disqualified from the 2023 GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool 50-mile race after using a car during the event.

Zakrzewski finished third in the race but utilized the car to travel 2.5 miles and gain a competitive advantage. Race officials investigated the situation and determined the violation via GPX mapping data. The results found that Zakrzewski covered a mile in the race in one minute and 40 seconds.

Mel Skyes, who also competed in the race, was awarded third place.

‘The issue has been investigated and having reviewed the data from our race tracking system, GPX data, statements provided from our event team, other competitors and from the participant herself, we can confirm that a runner has now been disqualified from the event having taken vehicle transport during part of the route,’ GB Ultras race director Wayne Drinkwater told BBC News.

Drinkwater also mentioned UK Athletics is looking into the situation. The Trail Running Association will review the findings as it provides a license for the event.

BBC News reported that Zakrzewski felt sick during the race. Adrian Stott, a close friend of Zakrzewski, told the news affiliate that she has cooperated with the investigation.

‘The race didn’t go to plan. She said she was feeling sick and tired on the race and wanted to drop out,’ Stott said. “She has cooperated fully with the race organizers’ investigations, giving them a full account of what happened. She genuinely feels sorry for any upset caused.’

Zakrzewski has put together a decorated career. She set a world record at the Taipei Ultramarathon in Taiwan and won three medals at the IAU World 100km Championships. She took home a silver medal in 2011 and a bronze in 2014 and 2015.

Scottish Athletics chairman David Ovens expressed disappointment in the race results. He remains hopeful that Zakrzewski can learn from her mistake.

‘I hope she can put this behind her and that there is an innocent explanation, and she can resume her successful career,’ Ovens said.

At this point last year, the very idea that TCU would go unbeaten until the Big 12 championship game and reach the College Football Playoff would’ve been laughed away as an offseason fever dream.  

About nine months later, the Horned Frogs would beat Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl before getting swamped by Georgia for the national championship.

This goes to show: Almost anything can happen in any given year.

While the odds of another Power Five program surging from nowhere to the top of the Bowl Subdivision remains extremely low, there are a few teams capable of climbing out of relative obscurity to contend for the playoff.

To qualify for this list, teams must have won fewer than nine games last season or finished the season unranked in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

Texas

One easy benefit to naming Quinn Ewers the starting quarterback coming out of the spring game is the ability to focus on building around the sophomore instead of dragging out his competition with true freshman Arch Manning. After improving in his second season — admittedly, Texas couldn’t get much worse — coach Steve Sarkisian hopes to deliver a breakout year behind a roster that doesn’t lack for talent but has holes to fill at running back and on each level of the defense.

Replacing likely first-round pick Bijan Robinson will be a group effort built around Jonathon Brooks, the Longhorns’ leading returning rusher. One player to watch in this competition is true freshman CJ Baxter, who was on campus for spring drills. The defense will need immediate help from true freshman linebacker Anthony Hill and Arkansas safety transfer Jalen Catalon. But if the pieces come together, Texas can win a final Big 12 crown and compete for a playoff berth before leaving for the SEC.

Oklahoma

The program’s first losing finish since 1998 should yield a noticeable rebound in Brent Venables’ second season. But how high can the Sooners climb? Venables has flipped the roster with a top-five recruiting class and another dozen transfers, including huge pickups such as offensive tackle Walter Rouse (Stanford), hybrid linebacker Dasan McCullough (Indiana) and edge rusher Trace Ford (Oklahoma State). But Oklahoma needs to beef up an average pass rush, develop a go-to receiver for quarterback Dillon Gabriel and sort out a rotation at running back and in the secondary. If Venables has things pointed in the right direction, the Sooners will benefit from a schedule has just four games outside of Oklahoma, one the neutral-site rivalry in Dallas against Texas.

Iowa

Despite all the question marks around Iowa’s offense — all very timely after an absolutely putrid season on that side of the ball — a bigger factor might be the state of an historically strong defense that loses potentially irreplaceable starters such as linebacker Jack Campbell, lineman Lukas Van Ness and cornerback Riley Moss. That several returning underclassmen keyed the shutout of Kentucky in the Music City Bowl partially eases these fears; even if not among the best in program history, the Hawkeyes’ defense should stick near the top of the Big Ten and FBS.

On offense, Iowa will land noticeably stronger quarterback play from Michigan transfer Cade McNamara, who led the Wolverines to a conference championship and playoff berth in 2021 before losing a competition for the starting job to J.J. McCarthy last September. Another Michigan transfer, tight end Erick All, earned all-conference honors in 2021 and will step in for former starter Sam La Porta. 

North Carolina

This might feel two years overdue for UNC, which was a trendy playoff pick heading into 2021 after reaching the Orange Bowl in coach Mack Brown’s second year. The Tar Heels went 6-7 in 2021 but rebounded to win nine games and the ACC Coastal last season. This year’s team has one of the nation’s top players in sophomore quarterback Drake Maye, a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, and added in key transfers to bolster depth and production at wide receiver and in the secondary. But there are some big changes on offense with former coordinator Phil Longo off to the same position at Mississippi, and the Heels have to rebound from four losses in a row to end last season.

Texas A&M

The Aggies went from preseason contenders to the bottom of the SEC West in one of the biggest flops in recent FBS history. What’s changed? Maybe new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino will improve an offense that ranked 101st nationally in scoring but has a promising young quarterback in Conner Weigman. Several loaded recruiting classes might come together to form one of the most talented depth charts in the country. With some transfer help in the secondary, a more experienced defense could do a better job getting to the quarterback and forcing turnovers after ranking near the bottom of the SEC in sacks and interceptions. As a member of the SEC, the Aggies could lose twice during the regular season and still make the playoff by reaching and winning the conference championship game.

NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations Joe Dumars hung up the phone at 2:30 a.m. ET on the night Golden State’s Draymond Green stepped on Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis’ chest in Game 2 of the Western Conference series Monday.

Dumars was back in his office at NBA headquarters in midtown Manhattan at 7:30 a.m. ET Tuesday. After a long day leading the NBA’s investigation into the incident, Dumars and the league sent a news release at 11:41 p.m. ET announcing a one-game suspension for Green.

On Wednesday, Dumars explained the NBA’s decision to suspend Green for Game 3 Thursday (10 p.m. ET, TNT). The Kings lead the series 2-0.

“I can basically say three things that tipped the, that got us to a suspension,” Dumars told USA TODAY Sports. “It was a dangerous and unnecessary act. The second thing was conduct detrimental (to the league). And the third thing was repeat offender. And that’s how we got to a suspension. It was a totality of all of those three things.”

League investigators talked to both players, and Dumars and his staff spent Tuesday discussing what happened and what the league should do.

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While the league knew Sabonis was diagnosed with a bruised sternum, that was not a significant factor in the league’s decision to suspend Green, who was ejected from the game.

“It is important for us to know what’s happened with the player who’s involved,” Dumars said. “I think more so than anything, the three things that I listed overrides everything else.”

As for Sabonis’ role, the league considered several aspects, including a possible fine, but concluded the technical foul issued on the court was sufficient punishment.

“He was penalized on the court for his actions. It just didn’t rise to the level of postgame actions from the league office,” Dumars said. “We looked at it and felt like, ‘OK, they (referees) got it right. He got a technical foul for that. Golden State was awarded a free throw.’ So we felt like that that was enough there. Then you separate and you go to Draymond.”

The league made clear in its release that Green’s “suspension was based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts.”

The league has been consistent in considering a player’s history when ruling on potential fines and suspensions.

Had it been another player without Green’s reputation, it’s possible he still would’ve been suspended because of an unnecessary and dangerous act and conduct detrimental to the game. But Green’s history, including a flagrant foul two and one-game suspension during the 2016 NBA Finals, guaranteed the suspension.

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt

Fernando Tatis Jr. is set to make his return to the major leagues on Thursday after completing an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. There’s no guarantee he’ll be the same player he was when we last saw him on a major league field in 2021, but his recently completed minor league rehab stint gives us a pretty good idea.

In eight games at Class AAA El Paso, Tatis hit .515 with seven home runs (including three in one game), 15 RBI and a ridiculous 1.802 OPS.

He could have played a few more games in the minors but the Padres had more than enough evidence he’s ready to return. However, one thing will be slightly different from last time. He won’t be their everyday shortstop.

Partly because the Padres signed free agent Xander Bogaerts over the offseason and partly because of his history of shoulder injuries, Tatis will instead be playing in the outfield.

From a fantasy perspective, the additional eligibility will make Tatis even more valuable. If he can just stay healthy, he should have no trouble making up for lost time on the stat sheet. Remember, back in 2021, he led the National League with 42 home runs despite playing in only 130 games.

Short-handed at shortstop

Tatis’ return can also help balance out a wave of early injuries at the shortstop position – one that looked overflowing with talent this season at every level.

Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates. One of the game’s most exciting young players, the 6-7 Cruz has only scratched the surface of his immense talent. His biggest weakness had been a tendency to swing at almost anything, but he seemed to be making real progress – reaching base in all nine games with seven walks and only eight strikeouts in 40 plate appearances.

However, an awkward slide and a collision at home plate on April 9 resulted in a broken fibula and damaged ligaments in his ankle, which will keep him out until at least August.

Corey Seager, Texas Rangers. Freed  from the constraints of the dreaded shift, Seager was off to a ridiculously hot start when he strained his left hamstring legging out a double April 11. In 11 games, he posted a .359/.469/.538 slash line with a homer, four RBI, seven runs scored and a hard-hit rate (48.5%) that ranked among the top 10 in the majors. He’ll miss at least a month.

Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox. The 2019 AL batting champ was looking like his .300-hitting self and taking advantage of the new rules to swipe five bases in his first 11 games before he suffered a sprained knee trying to make a tag in a rundown. He could be back later this month.

Orlando Arcia, Atlanta Braves. The veteran was validating the team’s surprising decision to make him the opening-day starter. Hitting .333 with a pair of homers, seven RBI and 10 runs scored in his first 13 games, Arcia was hit by a pitch that resulted in a microfracture in his wrist and a trip to the injured list.

In addition to those injuries, minor ailments last week forced the Twins’ Carlos Correa and the Cubs’ Dansby Swanson to take some time off.

Rays of hope

Not everything has gone wrong at the 6 this season.

First of all, Bo Bichette has lived up to his preseason hype in Toronto. Through April 16, he was hitting .375 with four homers, 11 RBI and 11 runs scored. That’s good enough for third in Roto value at the position at $27 (via BaseballHQ.com, based on a $260 cap, 5×5 mixed league).

One of the biggest breakout performers in the early going has been Tampa Bay’s Wander Franco. Like the rest of the Rays, Franco is off to a sizzling start.

The 22-year-old has yet to play a full season in the majors – missing half of last year with a fractured bone in his wrist – but he’s one of the driving forces behind the Rays’ season-opening 13-game winning streak.

At the beginning of the week, Franco was hitting .318 and showing some newfound power with four home runs and a .621 slugging percentage. That’s after hitting just 13 homers in 652 career plate appearances entering this season. He ranks second among shortstops at $30 earned so far.

And perhaps the position’s biggest surprise has been Jorge Mateo of the Baltimore Orioles ($40), who began the week hitting .372 and tied for the major league lead with eight stolen bases. With a career average of .234, Mateo isn’t going to win a batting title … but he’s taken full advantage of this season’s new rules and could conceivably end up with 50-plus steals.

Better days ahead

Looking longer-term, fantasy managers can take inspiration from the way several MLB teams have plugged their holes at shortstop.

Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees. The Yankees didn’t want to put too much pressure on their prized prospect, so he opened the year batting ninth. But he started his big league career with only four hits in 31 at-bats (.129).

After hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time on April 12, Volpe put together a modest five-game hitting streak and seems to be turning things around.

He’s benefiting from hitting in front of Aaron Judge, and don’t look now, but he’s a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts.

Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels. Finally, the Angels made the unusual move to promote their 2022 first-round draft pick directly from Class AA over the weekend – after just 44 games in the minors.

The No. 13 overall selection last year, Neto hit .342/.418/.550 over parts of two seasons at Class AA Rocket City (Alabama). He has a nice power/speed combination and is a much better fit at short than the Gio Urshela/Luis Rengifo combination the Angels were using.

Neto, 22, went 1-for-16 in his first four MLB games, but there’s a good chance he’ll get a chance to play through any growing pains he experiences.

Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers? Following Gavin Lux’s season-ending injury in spring training, the Dodgers turned to veterans Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor to fill the void. However, Taylor left Monday’s game early with an abdominal injury and Rojas is hitting a putrid .129. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hinted his Gold Glove right fielder (who has already played five games at second base this season) could possibly be an option at short.

For a position that’s endured more than its fair share of injuries, that may be the most creative solution of all. 

Follow Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner

WASHINGTON – The Washington Wizards fired general manager Tommy Sheppard on Wednesday after the team missed the postseason for a second consecutive season.

Owner Ted Leonsis announced the move, saying the failure to make the playoffs the past two seasons was disappointing, and a search for new leadership will begin immediately. 

Sheppard’s dismissal comes less than two years after he received a contract extension in November 2021. Washington went 35-47 in 2021-22 and then posted the same record this season.

The failure to make it even to the play-in round was particularly distressing since the Wizards just signed star guard Bradley Beal to a max-value contract last offseason.

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Twenty years ago – or maybe even five – Bijan Robinson would have been a lock to be a top-five pick in the NFL draft.

In 2023, it’s hard to imagine the former Texas Longhorns running back being selected within the first 15 names called – even if the number of players who are more talented than him could be counted on one hand.

‘I’ve got him as one of the top-five players in the draft class just based on the skill and the football player,’ said ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay. 

The issue, as NFL offenses have evolved over the decades from being rooted in the ground game to centered on the aerial attack, is his position. Regardless, there isn’t much argument the Doak Walker Award winner and unanimous first-team All-American is the best running back prospect since Saquon Barkley, who went No. 2 overall to the New York Giants in 2018.

Almost certainly, Robinson will not be selected that high.

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‘It’s tricky trying to marry those two factors,’ NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. ‘You got to look at him as more than ‘just a running back.”

Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley comparisons 

As a do-it-all back who was prolific at the collegiate level, Robinson has long been tied to Barkley for his distinct, multidimensional offensive contributions.

‘I would make the argument that he is slightly – not significantly – but maybe slightly better as a prospect than Saquon Barkley was,’ McShay said last month on a conference call.

Barkley is one inch taller and has about 15 pounds on Robinson, who measures in at 5-11 and 215 pounds. Nevertheless, Robinson says he can run through defenders or elude them in space. 

‘Word’s been going around that my pro comp is Saquon,’ Robinson said at the combine last month. ‘I want to be myself. There are so many great running backs out there. In a year, we’re both going to be competitors and try to go after the same things.’ 

Shining in the Lone Star State 

In 2022, his third season at Texas, Robinson rushed for 1,580 yards and finished his Longhorns career with 3,410 rushing yards and 41 total touchdowns (33 rushing). 

Robinson said he can be a difference-maker as a receiving option. The idea of a player running routes on one play and dashing between the tackles on the next puts a strain on the defense, he said. 

‘I just feel like at the size I’m at and doing the things I can do on the field whether it’s pass catch, line up at receiver or in the slot – pretty much line up anywhere you need me to be,’ he said.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said Robinson projects as a 20-plus carry per game back who can run, catch and block. His balance while running through traffic and dropping his pad level sticks out, Kiper said. 

‘He’s just a natural-born runner,’ Kiper said.

Diminishing value of running backs

In the modern NFL, teams have largely shied away from using top picks on running backs amid the proliferation of mid-round ball carriers who become starters.

Jeremiah said he would never advocate taking a running back before a similarly graded player at a premium position, such as a defensive end, offensive tackle or corner.

At the combine, Robinson did not appear fazed by projections that he might need to wait until the middle-to-late first round to hear his name called.

‘I don’t want to say it’s unfair,’ Robinson said. ‘God has a plan for wherever I want to be at, personally. You never know on that day where you’re going to go. For me, it’s important to keep enjoying the moment because we might get to draft day and some surprise could happen. We never know.’

For Kiper Jr. – who has proselyted against taking a running back in the first round – has considered putting Robinson in the top 10 of his mock draft. Robinson has been ranked anywhere from six to eight on Kiper’s big board in recent months, but Kiper acknowledged his landing spot could be in the 20s. 

‘Bijan is a potential special player,’ Kiper Jr. said. ‘Are you OK with decent? Solid? Or do you want great?

‘Todd said he thinks that he’s Saquon Barkley. I think he’s a shade below Saquon, but even that is pretty doggone good.’

Some teams’ philosophies may be to approach the running back conundrum inversely, McShay said. Teams can have low-cost assets during what is typically the most productive part of their careers and then pass on paying ball carriers a bloated second contract. 

‘I think if there’s an elite talent, you draft him in the first round, you get him at a cheap price,’ McShay said, ‘you bring him in for the first five years when he still has tread on his tires.

‘We’ll find out a lot about the running back position, how it’s viewed, by teams in NFL.’ 

Potential landing spots for Bijan Robinson 

Robinson’s sweet spot on the board might be in the teens or early 20s, according to several draft analysts. 

‘To me, the gap between him and his ability level versus the other players you’re going to be comparing him to, I think that’s going to still lead to him being a top-15 pick when it’s all said and done in this draft,’ said Jeremiah, who rated Robinson fourth on his list of top 50 players. 

USA TODAY Sports’ draft experts have projected Robinson being selected as high as No. 8 by the Atlanta Falcons or No. 10 by the Philadelphia Eagles. In the latest mock drafts by McShay and Kiper, the Detroit Lions took Robinson with their second choice of the first round, No. 18 overall.

‘It’s hard to draft a guy that you have a late-first, early-second-round grade on over a guy that’s a top-five prospect on just about every team’s board that I’ve talked to,’ McShay said.

McShay added that his evaluation of Robinson revealed an energetic prospect with high character and a love of the game.

‘He’s the kind of guy that you want in the building,’ McShay said. ‘It’s hard to find many weaknesses in his game. That’s why I think he’s going to be so special at the next level.’

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

Twenty-five years ago, the Indianapolis Colts selected quarterback Peyton Manning with the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft – a decision that changed the course of franchise history.

Their other option, quarterback Ryan Leaf, went second to the San Diego Chargers and became one of the biggest busts in draft history. 

Ever since he flamed out after just four NFL seasons, Leaf has had to live with the ‘bust’ label. And in recent years, he’s not been afraid to own up to the mistakes he made. 

However, some comments earlier this week by former Colts executive Bill Polian have Leaf going on the offensive. 

He appeared Wednesday on NFL Network’s ‘Good Morning Football’ and called Polian’s criticism ‘revisionist history.’

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The Colts’ former personnel chief, Polian recently discussed the team’s 1998 draft deliberations on the 33rd Team podcast, noting how Leaf didn’t show up for a meeting with Colts officials at the NFL Scouting Combine and how another scheduled meeting at Leaf’s pro day didn’t go well. 

On Tuesday, Leaf responded to Polian’s comments with a blistering Twitter post. 

‘Well this is just a huge (expletive) lie,’ Leaf wrote. ‘Why Bill Polian continues to spew this (expletive) narrative is beyond me. Maybe he thinks it makes the story more compelling. Seems pretty compelling already, greatest QB ever, biggest bust ever. Doesn’t need ur (expletive) editorializing Bill!’

Leaf admitted on NFL Network that his wife ‘got mad’ at him for using curse words in his Twitter post. However, he said it was important for him to give his side of the story.

‘It’s been a long 25 years. For the longest time, I’ve buried myself with it. So much so that I ended up in a prison cell,’ Leaf said. ‘I’m clapping back a little more … If somebody’s going to lie about things, I’m just going to be like ‘Hey, you don’t need to do this.”

While Manning ended up leading the Colts to a pair of Super Bowls and one championship, Leaf struggled in his three NFL seasons and never played another down in the league after that.