Aaron Rodgers has responded to a report saying he believed that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a ‘government inside job.’

Rodgers took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday to say he’s ‘never been of the opinion that the events did not take place’ a day after CNN reported that he shared conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The 2012 mass shooting left 26 people dead, including 20 children. CNN reported that the New York Jets quarterback shared in private conversations with two people that it was a ‘government inside job’ and that the media was involved in a cover-up.

On social media, Rodgers didn’t specifically mention the CNN report, which said he spoke to journalist Pamela Brown about his Sandy Hook conspiracies at a post-Kentucky Derby party in 2013. CNN said it also spoke to another person they did not name who shared a similar conversation with Rodgers.

‘As I’m on the record saying in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy,’ Rodgers posted on X. ‘I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place. Again, I hope that we learn from this and other tragedies to identify the signs that will allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers continue to remain with the families affected along with the entire Sandy Hook community.’

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Recently, Rodgers made an appearance on the ‘Look Into It’ podcast, during which he espoused several conspiracy theories including those surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the assassination of president John F. Kennedy.

In 2022, DeShone Kizer, former Green Bay Packers quarterback and teammate of Rodgers, said Rodgers would speak with him about various conspiracy theories, including one surrounding the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Rodgers has also made recent headlines as being a potential vice president choice for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign. The quarterback has yet to issue a statement on his potential candidacy.

A federal judge once again dismissed a defamation lawsuit, stemming from a paternity case, filed against Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and other associates.

Judge Robert W. Schroeder III for the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas dismissed the lawsuit Wednesday ‘with prejudice,’ which means the case cannot be filed again, according to ESPN.

Alexandra Davis, a 27-year-old woman who claims to be the daughter of the billionaire owner of the Cowboys, first filed a paternity lawsuit in March 2022 in Dallas County. Later that same month she filed a separate defamation lawsuit, alleging that Jones and two others made deliberate attempts to call her out as an ‘extortionist’ and ‘shakedown artist.’

Schroeder partially dismissed the defamation lawsuit in October, leading to Davis refiling that case in November. In the latest dismissal, in a 17-page order, Schroeder supported Jones’ characterization of Davis, citing messages that ‘clearly show that Plaintiff requested money from Jones in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021,’ per ESPN.

‘Based on these facts alone, or viewed in combination with all the communications within their possession, it is not plausible that Defendants acted with actual malice in characterizing Plaintiff’s actions as a ‘shakedown attempt’ that was motivated by money,’ Schroeder wrote in the order.

All things Cowboys: Latest Dallas Cowboys news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

According to ESPN, Davis’ attorneys, Andrew Bergman and Jay Gray, issued a statement that said they were ‘disappointed in the ruling and intend to appeal.’

Davis’ original defamation claim alleged that Jones and his associates had used reported articles to malign her character, ‘based knowingly on false statements and accusations.’ In Schroeder’s original dismissal, he wrote that Jones’ statements about Davis had either been accurate or ‘not defamatory.’

The paternity case is still pending, after Dallas County Judge Sandra Jackson ruled in February that Jones must submit to a paternity test.

Messi appeared in Argentina’s new home and away Copa America jersey kit after a photo shoot inside Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium.

The jersey features Argentina’s albiceleste of white and sky blue with hints of gold to commemorate the 2022 World Cup champions.  

Argentina’s Copa America 2024 jersey kits went on sale Thursday on adidas.com.

Adidas also announced the Copa America jersey kits for Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, and the UEFA Euro 2024 jersey kits of Belguim, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Scotland, Spain and Wales.

Here’s a video announcement of Argentina’s new kit, and Messi in photos posted online.

When will Lionel Messi play with Argentina again?

Messi fans won’t have to wait long to see him in the new Argentina kit. He will join Argentina for two Copa America warmup matches later this month:

∎March 22: Argentina vs. El Salvador in Philadelphia.

∎March 26: Argentina vs. Costa Rica in Los Angeles.

Lionel Messi, Argentina has two more warmup matches before Copa America

Along with the two warmup matches, Argentina will have two more before Copa America begins in mid-June.

∎June 9: Argentina vs. Ecuador at Soldier Field in Chicago

∎June 14: Argentina vs. Guatemala at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

What is Lionel Messi and Argentina’s Copa America schedule?

Argentina, also the reigning Copa America champions, have three group stage matches set:

∎June 20: Argentina vs. Canada or Trinidad and Tobago will play in the Copa America opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

∎June 25: Argentina vs. Chile at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

∎June 29: Argentina vs. Peru at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

The Copa America final will be held on July 14 at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Thursday morning they are postponing their Jaromír Jágr bobblehead giveaway after the shipment carrying the bobbleheads was stolen.

Pittsburgh, who retired Jágr’s jersey number 68 in February, planned to give out bobbleheads featuring the Penguins icon’s likeness at Thursday night’s game against the San José Sharks. When the shipment of bobbleheads did not arrive when scheduled, the team concluded they had been stolen.

“We were shocked to be a victim of cargo theft, and we are working closely with local and federal authorities on the investigation” Penguins President of Business Operations Kevin Acklin said in a statement.

After the discovery of the theft, Pittsburgh announced a contingency plan Thursday morning. Fans attending the game will instead receive a voucher to pick up a bobblehead once the items are recovered or new ones are made.

Jágr, who was a planned guest for Thursday’s game, will still be in attendance at PPG Paints Arena.

All things Penguins: Latest Pittsburgh Penguins news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Penguins schedule

The Penguins (28-27-9, 13th in Eastern Conference) take on the San José Sharks (16-41-7, 16th in the Western Conference) Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. ET.

They’ll host the New York Rangers on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET and the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.

Social media reacts to Penguins’ Jágr bobblehead theft

Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty was among the first to react to the Penguins’ cargo theft on social media.

In his first 14 months on the job as head football coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders has reeled in some of the top recruiting prospects in the nation, including offensive lineman Jordan Seaton and cornerback Cormani McClain.

Records obtained by USA TODAY Sports also show he never even had to leave campus to seal the deal with them or any others.

The university confirmed that ‘Coach Prime’ has made no off-campus contacts with recruiting prospects since he was hired there in early December 2022.

Zero.

None.

‘Coach Prime did not conduct any off-campus recruiting visits,’ the school said in an email Feb. 28.

That means no visits to the homes or schools of recruiting prospects – which normally has been a traditional staple of the recruiting process in college sports.

By contrast, former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh had 145 off-campus contacts with recruits or their family members from Dec. 1, 2022 until he left for an NFL job earlier this year, according to data obtained by USA TODAY Sports in public-records requests submitted to several universities.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian had 128 of these off-campus recruiting contacts since Dec. 1, 2022.

Former UCLA coach Chip Kelly had 55 of his own during that time, including seven home visits.

The data since Dec. 1, 2022 covers the last two winter contact periods on the NCAA recruiting calendar, which generally restricts head coaches from making off-campus recruiting contacts beyond the months of December and January.

In Sanders’ case, his employment contract with Colorado also gives him an annual budget of $200,000 to use a private air travel service for recruiting called Wheels Up.

He didn’t use it.

‘The football staff have not used this service for recruiting since Coach Prime started his term as coach,’ the school said in response to a records request this month.

But what does this all mean exactly?

It depends on the viewpoint.

How has this been working for Deion Sanders?

Colorado didn’t return messages seeking comment from Sanders, who is on a national book tour this week before starting his second spring practice season in Boulder on Monday.

He does things differently, as he showed when he overhauled Colorado’s roster to an unprecedented degree in 2023, when the Buffaloes finished 4-8.

Sanders, 56, arguably didn’t need to go on the road to recruit and has had physical mobility issues since 2021 because of blood clots in his legs and pain in his foot. He also didn’t recruit very many high school players and instead mostly has recruited transfer players – older players who already have moved out of their family homes and might not need to be wooed by a home visit from another prospective new coach.

The university didn’t say why Sanders hasn’t used the private air travel service stipulated in his contract. Asked who was using it in athletics if not football, the school said the men’s basketball program has used it for recruiting, as did the previous head football coach.

What are his recruiting results so far?

According to several metrics, it’s a style that’s worked for him. He upgraded the talent on the roster from 2022, when the Buffaloes finished 1-11. Sanders’ class of transfer recruits last year ranked No. 1 in the nation.  His overall recruiting class for 2024 also ranks No. 22, including 24 transfer players and only seven high school players, according to 247Sports.

Virtually all of them were lured by his fame and football history as a Pro Football Hall of Famer. They came to him, visiting him on recruiting trips to Boulder.

‘I ain’t hard 2 find’ is even one of his recruiting mottos, currently for sale on Colorado T-shirts.

In the meantime, Sanders’ assistant coaches have put in legwork for him on the road and had more than 90 off-campus, face-to-face conversations with recruits or their family members during this time period, according to records from CU.

But this approach still is completely different than the traditional model of head coaches traveling to meet with recruits and their families to convince them to sign with their teams.

What is the risk of this approach?

Straying from this traditional approach can become a focus point for critics if the team’s fortunes turn for the worse. In the case of Kelly at UCLA, his record there (35-34) and perceived dislike of recruiting led to grumbling among the fan base before he left to take an assistant coach’s job at Ohio State.

Records provided by UCLA show he didn’t log as much road contact as Harbaugh or Sarkisian, whose data from Texas shows him making multiple off-campus contacts per day during the NCAA contact periods in December and January. For example, on Dec. 6, 2022, Sarkisian made 20 off-campus recruiting contacts, according to the data.

Kelly still was on the road making contacts for a total of 19 days during his contact periods since Dec. 1, 2022. He made 46 contacts at recruits’ schools, seven at their homes and two where contact was made at a meal.

Why else do off-campus visits matter?

It’s generally important to make in-home visits with recruits for two reasons, former coach Jackie Sherrill told USA TODAY Sports. One is to learn more about the player. The other is potentially to gain an edge over competitors.

‘I would never offer a player (a scholarship) unless I went into the home and saw the recruit in the presence of his mother,’ said Jackie Sherrill, the former head coach at Washington State, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M and Mississippi State. ‘If he was not respectful to his mother, then I would not recruit him. I signed a lot of players because the mother would say you are the first head coach to come to my house or that you are the only head coach that has come to my house. I could tell more about the recruit’s character in front of his mother in five minutes than talking to all the coaches and teachers.’

Those who don’t show for off-campus visits risk losing recruits to those who do.

One time, Sherill said he had a player at Mississippi State who asked him, “Do you know why I came here? Because you’re the only coach who didn’t flinch when cockroaches crawled across your feet” during his home visit.

What are the rules for off-campus visits?

A head football coach is generally limited to only one off-campus contact day with a recruit or their family members per year starting during a prospect’s junior year of high school and including transfer recruits, according to the NCAA.

The assistant coaching staff has more leeway and often does the grunt work of mining for talent on the road. Assistant coaches also can accompany head coaches on their off-campus visits. For example, Ohio State coach Ryan Day and his assistants made a home visit with Alabama safety Caleb Downs before he transferred to play with the Buckeyes.

By contrast, the rules are different for recruits who want to visit the campus of the college they’re considering. They generally can make unlimited unofficial, unpaid visits to campus and one paid official visit per school.

These limits are why schools log their coaches’ number of off-campus contacts, which USA TODAY Sports requested from various public schools.  The ones who responded so far show a range and didn’t include Georgia, whose head coach, Kirby Smart, has become known for his extensive helicopter travel on recruiting trips.

In January 2023, Smart traveled by helicopter on recruiting trips in eight states on eight days and helped ring up expenses of more than $145,000 on the “Kirby Copter,” including other trips, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

Do recruits even care about home visits?

It varies, but other factors are a bigger part of the equation for recruits now, including earning potential from their names, images and likenesses (NIL). In one case, a wide receiver recruit out of Calabasas, Calif., committed to play for Sanders at Colorado before reneging on his commitment and signing with Texas.

That recruit, Aaron Butler, told USA TODAY Sport that neither Sanders nor Sarkisian visited with him at his home in person.

‘I’m not really too much into that,’ Butler said. ‘My receivers coach is the one who is going to develop me.’

At Texas, that was Chris Jackson, a former NFL player who did visit Butler in California. Before he changed his mind about Colorado, Butler said Sanders called and asked to talk to his parents, including his father Robb-Davon, who crossed paths with Sanders years ago with the Baltimore Ravens.  The call went well, but Butler later said a communication breakdown led him to change his mind about Colorado.

Another factor with home visits

Sometimes the home visit is for the parents. Former Colorado coach Bill McCartney knew this and used home visits to land several top recruits out of Southern California and Texas, eventually building the team into a national contender before his retirement 30 years ago. Sometimes he’d get into personal discussions about his religious faith with a parent.

‘In a single-parent household, the mom is the decision-maker,’ former Buffs linebacker Alfred Williams said on a documentary about McCartney that aired on ESPN in 2015. ‘So he recruited my mom.’

McCartney explained it like this in the same film:

‘What that mom wanted to hear is what every mom wants to hear − is that she knows she can trust her son to you.’

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Dodgers, surrounded by suitcases and boxes throughout the clubhouse, cleaned out their lockers, double-checked to make sure they had their passports, and prepared for the longest flight of their lives. 

After playing their final game of spring training Wednesday, were instructed to be at their spring-training complex at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, board buses at 7 to travel to Sky Harbor Airport at 9 a.m. for a 6,277-mile flight to Seoul, Korea. They’re scheduled to land at 2:30 p.m. PT Friday, where they will open perhaps their most-anticipated season in franchise history on March 20 in the Gocheok Sky Dome against the San Diego Padres. 

This is a team that spent a record $1.1 billion in free agency, building a team that could be the envy of baseball, filled with future Hall of Famers, MVPs and All-Stars.

The Dodgers, who had thousands of fans each day just watching them work out on the back fields of their spring-training complex, are expected to draw a franchise-record four million fans at Dodger Stadium this season, and will be baseball’s No. 1 road attraction. 

They are the Beatles in spikes. 

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

“Let’s be honest,’ says former MVP Mookie Betts, “we all know why they’re here. It’s not like they’re coming to watch me, you know what I’m saying. We all know why people are coming.’

Yes, their names are Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two international stars who have captivated the sporting world.

“It’s cool being on a team like this, and you just embrace it,’ Betts says. “You don’t have to do anything else but just take care of your job, and let everyone watch.’

They watched Ohtani dominate at the plate all spring, hitting .500 with two homers, nine RBI and a 1.476 OPS.  They watched Yamamoto’s talent electrify at times, striking out 14 batters and walking four in 9 ⅔ innings.  They watched Tyler Glasnow, acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in December, pitch like a potential Cy Young winner, ending his spring with 8 ⅓ hitless innings. 

And, well, they just watched Ohtani’s comings and goings all day long, whether it’s driving up to the complex, walking from the cage or just swigging water. 

“It’s been crazy,’ Dodgers outfielder James Outman says. “The first day he was here, even before spring training started, I see cameramen and reporters lined up behind the fence at 6 in the morning. It’s been going on like that every day, just trying to capture anything they can. 

“I’m telling you, he’s like Elvis. Everyone screams just getting a glimpse of him.’

Says Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman: “There are thousands of people here every day. There’s cameras filming cars driving in here. So, yeah, it’s a little different. But that’s a good thing. It means something good happened in the offseason.’

With this Dodgers’ team, it may be breaking news any time they lose a game.

“There’s definitely a different buzz for sure,’ three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, who’s expected to join the team after the All-Star break, tells USA TODAY Sports. “I mean, expectations have been there every year, but this year is more. I know that our team’s going to be one that people are watching. I think it’s a good thing. 

“I think Shohei can handle it. He seems like he’s singularly focused on being really good at baseball and can handle all of the outside noise. He’s like the shiny new toy, I don’t see that wearing off anytime soon. Last couple of years, it’s been Mookie and then Freddie [Freeman]. There’s a lot that comes with it. Everybody’s kind of looking to you, looking at you. 

“Now that you’ve been around, it’s not that like you’re not any more important, but it’s just that somebody’s mew that catches your eye. It’s going to be like that for at least a year, especially next year when he pitches.’

The Dodgers already are the best team money can buy with a payroll projected to be a franchise-record $313 million, more than three times the size of the Baltimore Orioles, who won 101 games last season. 

“You know, people can get mad or say what they want, and say, ‘They spent all the money,’ ‘ Kershaw says. “Well, why don’t you guys do it too. Being an owner is a lucrative business, I don’t care what people say. Go do it, too.’

The Dodgers, who have been to the postseason the past 11 years, won 10 division titles, three pennants and one World Series championship, aren’t about to apologize.  

“Regardless of whether you win or not, we are supposed to win every year, and that is awesome,’ Kershaw says. “So, you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the ownership group because a lot of these teams go for it, and they tank. They go for it, then they tank. That’s not [the Dodgers’] model. They go for it and they reload at the same time.’ 

The Dodgers, who have won at least 100 games each of the past four full seasons, don’t even know the meaning of rebuild. The last time they had back-to-back losing seasons was 1986-87. And they won the World Series the following year. 

“We’re going to hear a lot of outside noise,’ says Dodgers veteran Jason Heyward, who won a World Series with the Chicago Cubs. “No one goes 162-0. It doesn’t matter if you’re picked to win the World Series not. We’ve got to keep a real perspective in our clubhouse. 

“It’s a fun time to be on a team that makes moves to go for it.’ 

Not without their flaws

It’s hardly as if the Dodgers are flawless. There’s plenty of uncertainty at the back end of the rotation. They don’t have a full-fledged closer. And, yes, there’s that massive question at shortstop. 

The Dodgers went into the spring planning on Gavin Lux to be their everyday shortstop after missing all of last season with knee surgery. The plans were torn up three weeks into spring training.

They now are going with Mookie Betts, the six-time Gold Glove outfielder who was making the permanent move to second base, only to be told that he’s now their new everyday shortstop. Lux will play second base. 

The last time Betts played shortstop on an everyday basis? 

Try 13 years ago when he was a senior Overton High School in Nashville, Tenn. 

“You’re going from one of the easier positions on the field,’ Betts says, “to one of the hardest outside of catching. And I’m definitely not catching. But I embrace challenges. I really love learning and processes. So, I think this is right up my alley.” 

Yet, it’s not as if Betts is in the winter leagues trying to learn a new position. He’s learning it at the big-league level. In regular season games that will count. And on a team where anything short of a World Series championship will be considered a failure. 

“I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that I can do it,” Betts says. “I can do it. I really believe I can do it. I trust I can do it. The coaches believe in me. We’re putting in all the work. I think just that positive mindset will take me a long way.” 

Time will tell how patient the Dodgers plan to be on the great shortstop experiment. They have Miguel Rojas, who could always be their defensive replacement in late innings if needed, and is tutoring Betts.

“I feel good about it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts insists. “I do know he is embracing it, he is excited about the challenge. Players like Mookie get bored sometimes, so a different challenge is exciting. It’s one of those things, though, you’ve just got to let that process play out until you know more. 

“If there’s somebody I would bet on, it would be Mookie.’ 

Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, isn’t worried a bit, saying it was a bigger deal moving Betts from right field to second, than second base to across the diamond. 

“Being around Mookie, he doesn’t miss when he puts his mind to something, and he’s all-in on this,’ Friedman says. ‘I would bet every two weeks we will look up and he’ll have gotten considerably better at it.’

The Betts move will be just another subplot in baseball’s greatest reality show. 

Can Ohtani become the first player in history to win back-to-back MVPs in different leagues?  Can Yamamoto win a Cy Young award in his rookie season after being the most the heralded pitcher to come from Japan? Will Betts and Freeman be even more productive with Ohtani in the lineup? Can the Dodgers finally have their first World Series parade in downtown Los Angeles since 1988? 

“I don’t think there is a gear up from the pressure we have felt every other year,’ Friedman says. ‘I’m looking at it that we just have a better chance of realizing what our goal is, but the pressure to realize the goal remains unchanged.

“We definitely feel like this team has a real chance to do special things.’ 

World Series or bust

Indeed, it’s hardly as if this is anything new to the Dodgers. They always talk about expecting to be in the World Series. It’s just that the now the rest of the country is now joining in the refrain. 

“There’s always going to those high expectations to win a World Series when you’re a Dodger,’ veteran reliever Daniel Hudson says. “So, I don’t know if there are going to be any more targets on our back than have possibly already been there. 

“I mean, it’s going to be crazy, but outside of when we go to Korea, I don’t know if it’s going to be too nuts.’

Well, try telling that to the guys who have never gone through anything close to this in their lives. 

Glasnow, 30, who has spent his eight-year career with the Tampa Bay Rays and Pittsburgh Pirates, has never seen so many reporters and fans. He’s used to a handful of reporters, and a smattering of fans in the stands. But if this is what it’s like in spring training, what’s it going to be like when games actually count? 

Says Glasnow: “It’s definitely different for sure with all of the fans, but when you’re on a team with these many star players, and are expected to win, hey, it’s a good position to be in.’’ 

But if you think Glasnow was in the least fazed, well, there may have not been a more dominant pitcher in the Cactus League. 

“I don’t know how anyone hits him. It feels like it’s an accident when someone does,’ Friedman says. ‘I think he’s really found his footing and has enjoyed the dynamic with our run-prevention group, his teammates, our catchers, and is poised to go out and have a really good year.’

It’s these expectations, Yamamoto says, is why he came to the Dodgers, signing a 12-year, $325 million contract, leaving the Yankees, Mets, Phillies and Giants at the altar.

“The Dodgers have had a great, great run the last 11 years,’ Yamamoto says, “and I just felt like that was a great fit for me to join them. … I’ve been given all of the support I need.’’ 

All that’s left, of course, is to run away with the NL West, storm through October, win a World Series title, and then get asked all winter whether they can do it again. 

There are more than seven months remaining before the start of the World Series, and a whole lot of things must go right, but if this spring is any indication, who can blame the Dodgers for dreaming? 

“You have visions of how things will come together and spend time when you’re acquiring different players, thinking about how it will all come together,’ Friedman says. “And it has exceeded even our wildest dreams in terms of cohesiveness and how guys have connected. 

“Anytime you’re bringing in personnel outside, there is that risk, where it could play out that there could be two separate clubhouses, the guys who have been here and the new guys. But the guys who have been here have done an incredible job making guys feel welcome and involving them in everything we do. It has really been seamless, and feels like these guys have been playing together for years.’

If things continue to go this smoothly until October, well, Hollywood will have their script. 

“Hey, these guys are pretty exciting to watch,’ said Will Ferrell, who stopped by the Dodgers’ camp this week. “Look at this talent.’

Follow Nightengale on X: @BNightengale

Keep watching.

That is Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry’s message to those who say that the four-time Pro Bowl selection, who will be 30 when the 2024 season kicks off, has already played out his best days on the football field.

‘Tell them to keep watching,’ Henry said during his introductory news conference Thursday. ‘People are always going to have something to say. Always going to have opinions. I’m just here ready to work, ready to get things started.’

Henry officially signed his two-year, $16 million deal (with $9 million guaranteed) with Baltimore on Thursday.

‘It really was a no-brainer for me,’ Henry said.

All things Ravens: Latest Baltimore Ravens news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Head coach John Harbaugh said he wasn’t sure which side of his staff – the offensive coaches who can now draw up plays for Henry or the defensive coaches who no longer have to worry about containing him – was more excited about the signing.

‘He wants to do everything he can to help the team win,’ Harbaugh said. ‘That’s kind of what it’s all about here.

‘This is a back that can do everything. He can change the game for you. We’re excited about it.’

Ravens general manger Eric DeCosta confirmed that the Ravens tried to acquire Henry, who played the first eight seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans, prior to the 2023 trade deadline.

‘I just want to be an added piece to this offense – to help them do better than they did last year,’ Henry said.

Henry said he hasn’t spoken with quarterback Lamar Jackson since joining the Ravens. But he wants to earn his teammates’ respect, even though he enters with an impressive track record. Since 2017, Henry leads the NFL in several rushing categories: yards (9,012), touchdowns (85), yards per game (86.7) and attempts (1,920).

Henry will join a running back room that includes Justice Hill and second-year player Keaton Mitchell, who is recovering from an ACL injury.

A 10-year-old Caitlin Clark witnessed the most famous stare in college basketball history.

Clark wanted to be around the game as much as possible, and, as fortune would have it, Tennessee played Baylor in a 2012 regional final in Clark’s hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. Clark was among the 9,068 in attendance as Brittney Griner and Baylor beat Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols.

Years before Clark would catapult this sport to its zenith, she watched a matriarch of women’s basketball coach in her final game. During the second half, with Tennessee trailing, Summitt struck her familiar pose: arms crossed, eyes piercing.

“To say I got to see the last game Pat Summitt ever coached is so, so cool – in my home state, in my home city,’ Clark recalled earlier in her Iowa career.

A dozen years later, Summitt would love seeing what’s taken hold in women’s basketball, this meteoric moment Clark’s stardom helped engineer. Few coaches worked harder than Summitt to promote and uplift the sport throughout her legendary 38-year career.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

DATABASE: Review salaries for women’s college basketball coaches

“What’s happening now is exactly everything Pat Summitt worked her whole career for, and it’s cool to see,” said Abby Conklin, who won two national championships playing for Summitt’s Lady Vols.

“She really would’ve been tickled to see this outpouring of support and interest,” Debby Jennings said of Summitt, who died in 2016 at age 64 five years after announcing she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Jennings is an encyclopedia of Lady Vols basketball. She was the program’s media relations point person throughout the Summitt era.

And what of Clark’s game?

Could the NCAA’s scoring queen have played for Summitt? What would a steely-eyed coach who preached discipline, defense and rebounding think of Iowa’s bucket barrage and a player whose 3-point range begins as soon as she enters the arena?

On that subject, we can only speculate. I spoke with former players and others who knew Summitt well to capture an idea of what a coach who raised the bar for women’s sports would think of this player taking the game to new heights.

Could Iowa’s Caitlin Clark have played for Pat Summitt? Let’s debate

Summitt could’ve coached anybody. That’s Semeka Randall Lay’s opinion.

In particular, Summitt “loved winners,” says Randall Lay, Winthrop’s coach who starred on Summitt’s 1997-98 team that finished 39-0.

Clark wins. The Hawkeyes have 104 victories these past four seasons. They’re a projected No. 1 seed for the NCAA women’s tournament, Clark’s grand finale before heading to the WNBA.

“Pat loved people who loved to compete, who wanted to win, who were willing to sacrifice, who were willing to do whatever it takes to win a basketball game,” Randall Lay said.

“Love and passion for the game, it breathes through (Clark).”

Conklin describes Clark as “a Pat Summitt-type player.”

“Pat Summitt would have loved Caitlin Clark,” Conklin said. “She’s hard-nosed. She’s mentally tough.”

Clark’s logo 3-pointers get her trending on social media, but the beauty of her game extends past her jumpshot. She’s also a conductor and a rebounder. Clark leads the nation in scoring, 3-pointers made and assists.

“I think her ability to fill a stat line, Pat would’ve appreciated,” said Dan Fleser, a longtime sportswriter who chronicled much of the Summitt era for the Knoxville News.

Marciniak played point guard for the Lady Vols during the 1990s. Marciniak admires Clark’s shooting, her competitiveness, her basketball IQ, her ability to create and see the floor. She thinks Summitt would have most appreciated her passing.

“This selfless part of Clark’s game would have gotten Pat’s attention in a very positive way,” Marciniak said.

Marciniak, though, said that if Clark wanted to play for Summitt, she’d have had to earn it like anyone else: by playing defense.

Marciniak recalls Lady Vols practices during which the ball rack never even appeared. You don’t need a ball rack to play defense.

“Caitlin’s defense would’ve driven Pat crazy, because she was such a defensive-minded coach,” Marciniak said. “Pat was an equal opportunity coach, which put everyone on the same playing field in terms of maximum effort on the defensive end – always 100%, or you could sit next to her on the bench, no matter who you were.”

Others are decisive in their assessment that Clark and Summitt would have been a premier match of player and coach.

Summitt famously said offense sells tickets, defense wins games and rebounding wins championships.

The 6-foot Clark leads Iowa in rebounding.

“Caitlin likes to play both ends of the floor,” Jennings said. “Pat being the defense and rebounding coach that she was, she would’ve loved that part of her game, because she is an all-around player.”

Imagining Caitlin Clark within a Pat Summitt offense

How might Summitt have deployed Clark on offense?

A couple of people I spoke with envisioned Summitt giving Clark the greenlight to fire away, within a team-structured offense.

Clark “would’ve blown the roof off of Thompson-Boling Arena,” Conklin said.

Committed and unflinching though Summitt was about defense, she took a flexible approach to offense. She evolved her system to meet her personnel.  

And she knew when to ask another coach for help.

Highlighted by the ‘Three Meeks,” as Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Randall Lay were known, Summitt had stockpiled a wealth of talent leading up to Tennessee’s undefeated season.

Summitt connected with Tex Winter, Phil Jackson’s longtime assistant coach, to inquire about the triangle offense. Winter innovated the Chicago Bulls’ triangle system. In the summer of 1996, Summitt traveled to Chicago to observe Bulls practices and learn their offense. She brought the triangle home to Tennessee.

“She ran that offense to center around Chamique and Tamika, who were deadly at the elbow,” Randall Lay said.

Nobody stopped the ‘Meeks.” The Lady Vols ran roughshod through their schedule – and they attracted quite a following.

Before Caitlin Clark’s celebrity, Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols were rock stars

Flip on your television, and you might see Clark on a State Farm commercial. On a night when Iowa plays, my X (formerly known as Twitter) feed populates with highlights of Clark draining 3-pointers. Fans lucky enough to watch Clark in person congregate hours before tipoff in long lines outside the arena.

Summitt retired before the height of social media or the dawn of NIL, so comparing Clark’s transcendent star power to the spotlight the Lady Vols attracted three decades ago is not apples to apples.

Like Clark, though, Summitt’s super squads brought new fans into the sport. Summitt won eight national championships. At the peak of her dynasty, the Lady Vols commanded the limelight.

Jennings remembers fans assembling eight deep to greet the team bus at the 1998 SEC Tournament in Columbus, Georgia.

When Fleser covered the Lady Vols on the road, he saw venues that typically attracted sparse crowds transform into buzzing arenas filled to the gills.

“The ’97-98 team that went undefeated, as the season went on, it was like traveling with the Rolling Stones,” Fleser said.

Well, either the Stones, or …

“By the time ’98 rolled around, … it was like traveling with the Beatles,” Jennings said. “We couldn’t get out of the gym, there were so many autograph seekers.”

In 1998, a record-breaking crowd of 24,597 crammed into Thompson-Boling, exceeding the Tennessee arena’s capacity for the Lady Vols’ win against rival Connecticut.

That was then.

And now?

Iowa turned Kinnick Stadium into Clark’s playground last October, when 55,646 fans watched Iowa beat DePaul in an exhibition game.

“Pat would appreciate the phenomena of Clark,” Fleser said.

For the final word, let’s return to Tennessee’s former point guard who read a eulogy at Summitt’s funeral.

“What would have really impressed Pat Summitt about Caitlin Clark,” Marciniak said, “is if she wins a national championship.”

Clark and the Hawkeyes cutting down nets, think of the attention that would command for the sport Summitt committed her life to elevating.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.