INDIANAPOLIS – The NBA’s All-Star issues won’t be solved at a media hospitality event on the fun side of the midnight hour.

But that didn’t stop NBA writers – and NBA social media chatter – from tossing around ideas aimed at improving the fan experience and creating a better product for the league on Saturday and Sunday nights.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has a team of people doing the same, and his frustration at the players’ competitive ambivalence in Sunday’s All-Star Game was apparent when he awarded the winning trophy to the East, saying “Well … congratulations.”

The pause was a silent scream.

Answers aren’t easy, especially when it comes to the Saturday dunk contest and the Sunday game.

In Indianapolis Saturday and Sunday, 3-point shot contests salvaged the weekend – first Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard capturing his second consecutive 3-point contest and Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu delivered delivering a 3-point contest that elicited excitement and a thought-provoking exercise in whom can do what just as well or better than someone else.

But the dunk contest lagged, an event stuck in neutral for a variety of reasons, and the All-Star Game didn’t generate the competitive spirit that Silver had sought and that Basketball Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Charles Barkley tried to shame the players into providing.

“We’re not necessarily looking for players to go out there as if it’s the Finals necessarily, but we need players to play defense, we need them to care about this game,” Silver told reporters Saturday, concluding, “I think we’re going to see a good game tomorrow night.”

That did not happen.

Complaints and criticism are necessary not only to capture what happened, but to generate the ideas and solutions that are paramount to reinvigorating the weekend.

The NBA has tinkered with All-Star Weekend. Some ideas have worked. Some have not. And some ideas worked until they no longer did.

Let’s start with what works. The celebration of basketball, the NBA and its stars shines in every All-Star city. The spectacle of the weekend provides entertaining options, including ones that are not NBA-sanctioned events. In a compact downtown such as Indianapolis, the joy of basketball was everywhere.

The 3-point contest remains a popular event and even more so with the importance of the 3-ball in today’s game at almost every level.

The added bonus of Sabrina vs. Steph in a 3-point contest exceeded the hype especially when Ionescu made her first seven 3-pointers. The excitement was palpable in the stadium.

Free idea for next year: Curry and Ionescu vs. Damian Lillard and Caitlin Clark.

Now, onto what’s not working.

The dunk contest is stagnant but can be revived. The addition of G Leaguer and viral dunk sensation Mac McClung last year worked. And even though he had some nice dunks this year, it didn’t elevate the event. That’s not McClung’s fault. He searches for creative dunks.

Let’s also acknowledge the players have stretched the boundary of human gravity to its limit. They have jumped over objects both inanimate (cars) and animate (people) and a 720-degree dunk is unrealistic.

The larger problem is the visibility of the field. The actual All-Stars used to participate in the dunk contest and give Boston’s Jaylen Brown credit for his participation Saturday. But it’s been a decade since an All-Star entered the event.

Silver has said he can’t force a player to enter the dunk contest. Fine. That’s where the National Basketball Players Association needs to step in. New NBPA executive director Andre Iguodala, a former player, needs to implore his members. If Silver needs to coerce with more prize money, discuss that. The winner receives $105,000.

And the game’s best dunkers and high-flyers need to reconsider their lack of involvement. That’s Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards, among others. (And, you know, Morant could do the league a solid here).

Don’t forget, we’re not that removed from Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon producing worthwhile dunk contests.

The All-Star Game is trickier. The league has tinkered, going with captains to pick teams instead of East vs. West, and the league used a targeted score format to end the game. It provided blips of improvement but nothing sustained.

All-Star after another Sunday said the game can be more competitive but specifics weren’t provided. No one is asking for Game 7 intensity, but Silver, fans and sports writers want something more than an unguarded layup line and 3-point bonanza.

There is a sentiment that if the players don’t care, why should the fans, and that’s not a message that makes Silver rest easy.

It’s also worth examining if the game needs to be any more than that. We could be holding onto an antiquated idea of what the game should be in today’s world. It’s an exhibition, two months of the regular season remain, and for some teams, another month or two of playoff basketball. No one wants to get hurt, and if you’re the fan of a team, you don’t want your star player missing big games because of something that happened in the All-Star Game.

If money remains the answer – and not sure how well that would sit with fans though there are whispers of such a thing among stakeholders – then it should be explored. According to the collective bargaining agreement between players and the NBA, players on the winning All-Star team received $100,000 and the losers receive $25,000.

Players seemed to respond for a $500,000 incentive for winning the In-Season Tournament.

Ideas need to be realistic, too. A one-on-one event sounds promising but buy-in will be difficult. Scrapping the game – an idea that has sprouted on social media – isn’t an option either.

The commissioner wants something more than what has been delivered the past two seasons so that’s what the league will address. The NBA is not alone in this issue. The NFL, NHL and MLB have tinkered with their all-star events.

Away from what just happened in Indianapolis, the NBA’s basketball ops staff will begin searching for improvements. If Silver didn’t already have staffers working on it on the flight home.

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt

Something was fishy about a record-breaking white crappie.

On Friday, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) released a statement to local news outlet KSNT that a white crappie was found to have metal inside of it, voiding its status as heaviest catch in state history.

The white crappie was caught by angler Bobby Parkhurst in March and officials declared the fish broke the 59-year-old state record in April, calling the event a ‘catch-of-a-lifetime.’ The fish weighed 4.07 pounds on certified scales, measuring 18 inches long and 14 inches in girth.

‘As fisheries biologists, we get the chance to see a lot of big fish but this one is certainly for the books,’ John Reinke, assistant director of Fisheries for the KDWP, said in a statement at the time.

The previous record, set in 1964 with a catch by Frank Miller, was a white crappie weighing 4.02 pounds and measuring 17.5 inches long.

Parkhurst’s catch was removed from the record list in November. At the time of publication, the KDWP website has the 1964 catch listed as the record-holder.

‘Upon further review by KDWP officials, the crappie caught by Parkhurst could not be confirmed;’ KDWP said in an update to its initial press release, ‘therefore, the previous record for Kansas’ largest crappie still stands.’

Photo courtesy of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. 

“The fish appeared normal and healthy, and was accurately identified by staff; However, had the application been filled out accurately by the angler, it would have not qualified as a state record,” KDWP spokeswoman Nadia Marji told the local publication.

“I did it the whole way they wanted me to do it,” Parkhurst said, noting that he didn’t think he had a record when he caught the fish, but was encouraged by his family and friends to submit it. “I went through the procedures, I wrote down what I caught it on, I did everything they wanted me to do by the book. I did everything I was supposed to do. Their biologists looked at it more than once.”

On Friday, authorities provided information as to why the new crappie was disqualified. A witness tipped the KDWP that the initial weight of the fish was 3.73 pounds.

“To preserve the integrity of KDWP’s state record program, KDWP Game Wardens met with the angler who voluntarily presented his fish for re-examination,” Marji said. “When staff used a handheld metal detector to scan the fish, the device detected the presence of metal.”

The fish was then taken to a local zoo where an X-ray revealed two steel ball bearings in its stomach.

A representative for the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office said there is insufficient evidence to bring charges against Parkhurst in a criminal case.

The Sho has arrived.

During the Los Angeles Dodgers’ live batting practice in spring training, Shohei Ohtani blasted a home run.

The superstar made the monster hit in front of fans at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, on Monday ahead of Thursday’s Cactus League opener. It was public proof of how the three-time All-Star is recovering since he had elbow surgery in September.

All things Dodgers: Latest Los Angeles Dodgers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

‘When he hit it, I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s Shohei, so he’s got power,” Feyereisen told the sports network. ‘Then I turned around, I’m like, ‘Well, there’s another one.’ So it was good. It was fun to see.’

Last week, the 29-year-old reportedly hit 10 home runs in his first batting practice with the National League team.

Ohtani joined the Dodgers this offseason with a monster 10-year, $700 million contract after six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

The two-way player won’t pitch this season to let his elbow heal. He won’t play in the team’s spring training opening game against the San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers open the regular season against the Padres on March 20 with a two-game series in Seoul, South Korea.

The Pac-12 Conference has hired a new commissioner to take charge of a league with only two schools remaining and two years left to figure out how it might survive beyond that.

Her name is Teresa Gould, who previously served as deputy commissioner of the league and has more than 30 years of experience in college sports administration. She replaces commissioner George Kliavkoff, whose departure was announced on Friday. Gould now becomes the first female commissioner of a so-called Power Five conference – an exclusive club that essentially will become the Power Four after the departure later this year of 10 Pac-12 teams to the Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conferences.

“We find ourselves navigating an extraordinarily complex time in our industry,” Gould said in a statement Monday. “The challenges we face must be met head on, with a reinvigorated energy to transform and forge ahead. I look forward to working with both campus and national leaders to find solutions that will preserve opportunities for student-athletes and set us up for long term viability and success.”

What is Teresa Gould stepping into at the Pac-12?

Gould inherits a mess after the latest wave of college football realignment knocked the Pac-12 down to two members: Washington State and Oregon State. Those schools appointed her to her new job and now control the Pac-12’s assets and future revenues after the other 10 schools decided to leave for greener pastures starting this summer.

Under NCAA rules, the two-team Pac-12 has a two-year grace period to continue as a league in the Football Bowl Subdivision, which otherwise requires leagues to have at least eight members. After that, the future is uncertain, though the Pac-12 could remake its brand by combining with the Mountain West Conference.

In the meantime, Oregon State and Washington State will fill their football schedules with Mountain West teams and other non-conference games besides playing each other. In basketball and other sports, Oregon State and Washington State will compete as affiliate members of the West Coast Conference. The Pac-12 also said it will continue to sponsor select sports, sign media rights partnerships, and produce live events and content from the Pac-12 Enterprises studio in San Ramon, Calif.

What is Teresa Gould’s background?

Gould starts on the job March 1. As deputy commissioner, Gould oversaw management of all Pac-12 sports, including oversight of championship events, rules compliance and operations. She joined the league in 2018 and previously served in leadership positions at the University of California, Davis and the University of California, Berkeley.

In her new job, she takes on a role with a far different job description than 2021, when Kliavkoff came over from MGM Resorts International, where he served as president of entertainment and sports.

“You would need someone with a specific skill set based on what the services are going to be for the next two years,” Washington State athletic director Pat Chun told USA TODAY Sports in November when asked about a potential leadership change.

Kliavkoff’s official departure date is Feb. 29.

“Teresa’s deep knowledge of collegiate athletics and unwavering commitment to student-athletes makes her uniquely qualified to help guide the Pac-12 Conference during this period of unprecedented change in college sports,” Washington State University President Kirk Schulz said in a statement Monday. “As the first female commissioner of an Autonomy Five conference, Teresa will be able to bring new perspectives and fresh ideas to the table as the industry works to find its way through this shifting landscape. We look forward to her leadership as we write the next chapter in the Pac-12’s storied history.’

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

Another eventful week in men’s college basketball has led to unanimity at the top of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

As expected, Connecticut received all 32 first-place nods and retains the No. 1 ranking in undisputed fashion, thanks to the Huskies’ decisive win against then-No. 4 Marquette and Purdue’s upset loss at Ohio State. The Boilermakers only fall one position overall to No. 3 but are no longer getting No. 1 votes.

Big 12 co-leader Houston climbs back up to No. 2, with Monday’s rematch against Iowa State looming. The Cyclones are No. 6 for now, making a four-spot jump. Arizona and Tennessee move back into the top five as Marquette and North Carolina each slip four places to No. 8 and 9 respectively. Duke gains a notch to check in at No. 7, while Kansas falls three places but stays in the top 10.

TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll

After being one of last week’s big movers, South Carolina yo-yos back down nine spots to No. 20 after a pair of SEC losses. San Diego State returns to the poll at No. 19 after regaining a share of the Mountain West Conference lead. Washington State makes its season debut at No. 22, the first Top 25 appearance for the Cougars since the final poll of the 2007-08 season.

Rejoining the rankings are No. 23 Texas Tech and No. 25 TCU. The dropouts this week are Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Virginia and Indiana State.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov each had hat tricks for the Minnesota Wild, who faced a three-goal deficit in the second period before storming back with six unanswered goals and hanging on for a record-filled 10-7 victory over the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks on Monday.

Minnesota’s six scores in a span of 5:45 was the fastest such flurry in the NHL in 25 years, since Washington had six goals in 4:47 in a game on Feb. 3, 1999.

Matt Boldy, Mats Zuccarello, Marco Rossi and Jonas Brodin also scored for the Wild, who set their franchise record for goals in a game. They also registered their fastest four-goal stretch in team history, all on the power play in a span of 2:17 to take a 6-5 lead early in the third period.

Zuccarello scored with 27 seconds left in the second period. The Wild switched goalies at the intermission from Filip Gustavsson to Marc-Andre Fleury and then they let loose as the sloppy and sluggish Canucks squandered a hat trick by J.T. Miller.

The Minnesota goals came from Eriksson Ek, Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek again in the dizzying first 1:44 of the third period to make it 6-5. Then Rossi knocked in Jake Lucchini’s shot off his skate at 4:48 and Kaprizov tacked on another one at 5:12 to further the damage to Canucks goalie Casey DeSmith.

With Vancouver playing the first half of a back-to-back set of games, coach Rick Tocchet chose to keep primary netminder Thatcher Demko on the bench to rest.

Elias Pettersson got his team-leading 29th goal and Ian Cole had the first goal for the Canucks, who scored on their only two shots on net over the first 15-plus minutes of the game against Gustavsson.

The Canucks (37-14-6) took seven penalties and lost their second consecutive game. They fell to 28-7-2 when scoring first. Nikita Zadorov and Brock Boeser scored in the third period, cutting the lead to 8-7 with 2:08 to go, before the Wild tacked on two empty-netters.

Inter Miami was not exactly an elite MLS team in 2023. In fact, they were outside the playoff bubble for most of the season. However, in 2024, they are the favorites to win the MLS Cup.

Most of the hype surrounding Inter Miami this year can be traced to Lionel Messi playing a full season with the team. Once Messi made his debut last year, Miami shot way up the championship oddsboards. However, a series of injuries and unfortunate results forced Miami out of the postseason.

Had they made the playoffs, they undoubtedly would have been one of the scariest teams in the tournament. This year is their chance to earn back what could have been theirs if luck favored them just a little bit more. All that could rest on whether or not Messi can actually stay on the field though.

Even if Messi remains healthy, Miami won’t just waltz into an MLS Cup. They’ll have to contend with a myriad of great teams such as last year’s winners, Columbus Crew SC, and last year’s runner-ups, Los Angeles FC. Both clubs are looking solid heading into 2024, and they have the second and third-best odds to win it all respectively.

Here are the full 2024 MLS Cup odds, courtesy of DraftKings.

2024 MLS Cup odds:

Inter Miami (+300)
Columbus Crew (+800)
Los Angeles FC (+800)
FC Cincinnati (+1200)
Philadelphia Union (+1400)
New York Red Bulls (+1600)
Seattle Sounders (+1800)
Orlando City SC (+2200)
Nashville SC (+2500)
Los Angeles Galaxy (+2500)
Houston Dynamo (+2500)
New York City FC (+2800)
Atlanta United (+2800)
Sporting Kansas City (+3000)
St. Louis City SC (+3500)
New England Revolution (+4000)
Vancouver Whitecaps (+4000)
Portland Timbers (+5000)
CF Montreal (+5000)
Austin FC (+5000)
Minnesota United (+5000)
FC Dallas (+5000)
Real Salt Lake (+5000)
Chicago Fire (+6500)
Charlotte FC (+6500)
San Jose Earthquakes (+6500)
DC United (+6500)
Colorado Rapids (+10000)
Toronto FC (+10000)

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William Byron won the 66th annual Daytona 500 Monday, capping a memorable day at Daytona International Speedway that kicked off the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Byron won under caution following a crash that occurred seconds after he took the white flag, signaling the final lap. NASCAR reviewed the sequence and determined that Byron was just in front of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman when the caution flag was waved.

The victory was Byron’s first in NASCAR’s premier race and the 11th of his Cup Series career. Hendrick Motorsports celebrated the 1-2 finish on the 40th anniverary of the team’s first race.

Here are the full results from the 2024 Daytona 500 with finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, car, laps completed, laps led, finishing status and points:

(18) William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet, 200 (4) Running … 51
(7) Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet, 200 (0) Running … 42
(4) Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota, 200 (22) Running … 34
(29) Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Chevrolet, 200 (1) Running … 33
(24) Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota, 200 (3) Running … 39
(28) AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet, 200 (9) Running … 0
(10) John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota, 200 (0) Running … 30
(11) Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota, 200 (0) Running … 29
(38) Noah Gragson, No. 10 Ford, 200 (5) Running … 28
(20) Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Ford, 200 (0) Running … 27
(17) Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet, 200 (7) Running … 35
(34) Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet, 200 (12) Running … 37
(14) Zane Smith, No. 71 Chevrolet, 200 (0) Running … 24
(5) Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet, 200 (13) Running … 33
(27) Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Toyota, 200 (0) Running … 24
(37) Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Chevrolet, 200 (0) Running … 21
(15) Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota, 200 (0) Running … 20
(19) Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford, 200 (0) Running … 20
(8) Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, 200 (10) Running … 22
(40) David Ragan, No. 60 Ford, 200 (2) Running … 17
(21) Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet, 199 (14) Running … 24
(6) Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford, 199 (13) Running … 24
(25) Ryan Preece, No. 41 Ford, 199 (0) Running … 14
(36) Riley Herbst, No. 15 Ford, 199 (0) Running … 0
(30) Josh Berry, No. 4 Ford, 199 (1) Running … 12
(22) Justin Haley, No. 51 Ford, 199 (0) Running … 11
(39) Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Chevrolet, 198 (0) Running … 0
(23)Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Toyota, 196 (0) Running … 9
(3) Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota, 192 (0) Accident … 14
(32) Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford, 192 (12) Accident … 17
(35) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet, 192 (0) Accident … 9
(1) Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, 191 (45) Accident … 5
(16) Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford, 191 (3) Accident … 4
(13) Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet, 191 (2) Accident … 12
(31) Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, 191 (16) Accident … 2
(2) Michael McDowell, No. 34 Ford, 176 (6) Running … 1
(33) Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, 146 (0) Running … 1
(26) Kaz Grala, No. 36 Ford, 5 (0) Accident … 1
(12) Harrison Burton, No. 21 Ford, 5 (0) Accident … 1
(9) Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet, 5 (0) Accident … 1

With a 73-53 win over the Creighton Bluejays on Monday, UConn Huskies women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma has become the second-most winningest coach across Division 1 men or women’s basketball. Monday marked Auriemma’s 1,203rd victory, pushing him past former Duke men’s basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Who is Auriemma trailing in all-time wins?

The most wins as a coach in D1 college basketball history belongs to Stanford women’s basketball head coach Tara VanDerveer. VanDerveer is an active coach and has been coaching for 44 years, compared to Auriemma’s 38.

Auriemma holds a higher winning percentage (.882) than VanDerveer (.819), but still falls six wins shy of VanDerveer’s 1,209 career wins. Each of them has more than 100 wins greater than third-place among all-time women’s basketball coaches, former Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt (1,098).

Can Auriemma catch VanDerveer?

Yes, but not this season. Auriemma would need seven more wins than VanDerveer throughout the rest of the season, and there isn’t much season left. Futhermore, even if there was a ton of season left, Stanford is one of the best teams in the country this season at 23-3. They currently rank third in the Coaches Poll. UConn, as great as they are, is still 14th.

All that said, Auriemma, 69, does have a better winning percentage, so theoretically, as long as Auriemma does not retire before VanDerveer, 70, he should eventually catch her. Perhaps that’s asking too much though.

Auriemma does have more national titles (11) than VanDerveer (3). In fact, Auriemma earned more national titles in a four-year stretch (2013-2016) than VanDerveer has in her career. That’s an astounding stretch of dominance. Still, Auriemma will have to wait at least another year before he takes the wins crown from VanDerveer.

UConn’s 2024 national title odds:

As of Feb. 12, 2024, the Huskies are tied for the fourth-best odds to win the women’s national championship, according to BetMGM. The Huskies are tied with the UCLA Bruins at +1200 odds. The Stanford Cardinal are tied for sixth with Colorado at +1600.

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.