Win and you’re in!

That’s what it took for Doc Rivers to be named the head coach of the East for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Dallas Mavericks 129-117 on Saturday for Rivers’ first win coaching All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

The victory brought the Bucks to 33-16 on the season and locks the best-eligible record in the Eastern Conference ahead of the midseason break, giving Rivers the All-Star coaching job.

Milwaukee named Rivers its head coach just two weeks ago. The Bucks fired Adrian Griffin after 43 games.

The former ESPN commentator made his debut at the helm on Monday and lost to the defending champion Denver Nuggets. He then dropped a game against the Portland Trail Blazers in Lillard’s return.

‘That is ridiculously bad,’ Rivers told the media with a laugh after beating the Mavericks. ‘It really is. Well Adrian’s gonna get some money, that’s for sure. And a ring. It’s one of these quirky things. I think there should be a rule somehow that someone else does it other than me. Maybe I’ll send my staff and I’ll go on vacation.’

Technically, the Boston Celtics, at 37-12, have the best record in the conference. But head coach Joe Mazzulla was in charge of Team Giannis in last year’s All-Star game. The NBA doesn’t allow a coach to lead an All-Star team in consecutive seasons.

This season’s game, which will be held in Indianapolis for the first time since 1985, will return to the East vs. West format.

Rivers won the 2008 NBA Finals when he was head coach of the Celtics and was an All-Star coach twice in his Boston tenure. When he was with the Philadelphia 76ers, he coached Team Durant in the 2021 matchup. His fourth time coaching an All-Star Game ties him with seven other coaches for fourth-most appearances in NBA history.

This isn’t the first time the phenomenon of a new coach participating in the All-Star game has occurred.

In 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt when the team was 30-11 midway through his second season. Tyronn Lue was given the reins, coached the All-Star game and won the Finals.

Timberwolves coach will lead West All-Stars

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch and his staff will coach the Western Conference in the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, it was announced Sunday night.

The Timberwolves have clinched the best record in the West (35-15) through games played on Feb. 4 (including tiebreaker scenarios).

This marks the first time Finch will coach in an NBA All-Star Game and Minnesota’s first All-Star Game head coach since Flip Saunders in 2004.

Nearly six decades into its existence, the Super Bowl has provided so many indelible memories. Highlights, lowlights, stories of redemption, moments of disbelief and so much more. And following a 13-season run of sheer dominance (1984 through 1996) by the NFC, the Super Bowl has generally lived up to its outsized billing over the past quarter-century-plus – an epoch that has included the NFL’s longest-running dynasty, its greatest player and some of the best bouts we’ve ever seen with the Lombardi Trophy hanging in the balance.

Here are 58 of my favorite Super Sunday memories as Super Bowl 58 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers nears:

1. Malcolm Butler’s INT

Pivotal. Shocking. Unforgettable. The New England Patriots’ undrafted rookie cornerback made the rarest of plays, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by intercepting QB Russell Wilson at the goal line with 20 seconds left to preserve a 28-24 win in Super Bowl 49. In the process, Butler derailed the Seattle Seahawks’ dynastic bid and launched a lifetime of second guessing for the legions who skewered Seattle coach Pete Carroll for not directing Wilson to hand off to RB Marshawn ‘Beast Mode’ Lynch, who’d already scored this day. Last, yet certainly not least, Butler saved Patriots QB Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick from the narrative that they were ‘only’ 3-3 in Super Bowls to that point. Way to just “do your job,’ Malcolm Butler!

2. Roethlisberger-to-Holmes

What was better, QB Ben Roethlisberger’s precision strike to the back corner of the end zone – rifled through three Arizona Cardinals – or WR Santonio Holmes’ ability to snatch it while keeping his toes down as he fell out of bounds with 35 seconds on the clock? Beautifully executed all the way around, and it gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a record sixth Lombardi Trophy as they rallied for a 27-23 victory in Super Bowl 43.

SUPER BOWL CENTRAL: Latest Super Bowl 58 news, stats, odds, matchups and more.

3. David Tyree’s helmet catch

Most coaches would cringe if their quarterback threw into triple coverage in the middle of the field while scrambling amid a broken play. But that’s what New York Giants star Eli Manning did, and Tyree famously managed to pin the pass against his helmet on the other end of the 32-yard hookup with 59 seconds to go. Four plays later, Manning hit WR Plaxico Burress for the game-winning TD as the Giants shocked the previously undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl 42.

4. Montana-to-Taylor

The 49ers’ game-winning march began with QB Joe Montana surveying the stands and asking teammates in the huddle, ‘Isn’t that John Candy?’ Joe Cool indeed. Eleven plays and 92 yards later, WR John Taylor caught the decisive 10-yard pass from Montana with 34 seconds to go as the Niners overcame the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 in Super Bowl 23.

5. Wide right

That’s where Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood’s 47-yard field-goal try (barely) missed with 4 seconds left in Super Bowl 25. The Giants hung on for a 20-19 win, and Buffalo would never get any closer to a title despite reaching Super Sunday three more times.

6. Mike Jones’ tackle

With the Tennessee Titans 10 yards away from a potential game-tying touchdown with 5 seconds to play in Super Bowl 34, Jones, an unheralded St. Louis Rams linebacker, limited WR Kevin Dyson to a 9-yard gain – just shy of the goal line – on the game-ending play.

7. Adam Vinatieri’s Super Bowl 36 field goal

On the final snap, the Patriots kicker split the uprights from 48 yards – he was celebrating before the ball went through – literally kick-starting the New England dynasty and completing one of the Super Bowl’s biggest upsets as the Pats knocked off the heavily favored ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ Rams 20-17. Vinatieri would drill an only slightly less dramatic FG in the final seconds two years later to beat the Carolina Panthers.

8. ’70 chip’

That was the play call by Washington, which trailed the Miami Dolphins 17-13, on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 17. The ball went to RB John Riggins, who, running behind his dominant ‘Hogs’ offensive line, ran through the tackle of DB Don McNeal before busting down the left sideline for a 43-yard touchdown the Fins wouldn’t overcome.

9. Tracy Porter’s pick-six

With QB Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31 yards from a game-tying touchdown with less than four minutes to go in Super Bowl 44, the New Orleans Saints corner swiped a pass intended for WR Reggie Wayne and set sail for a game-icing 74-yard TD.

10. James White in OT

The anonymous third-down back of the Patriots ran 2 yards to glory in the first (and still only) Super Sunday overtime, capping New England’s epic comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51 while boosting his Super Bowl single-game record point total to 20.

11. Doug Williams’ comeback

The Washington quarterback crumbled to the turf while being sacked in the first quarter, his surgically repaired left knee hyperextended with his team trailing the Denver Broncos 10-0. But Williams would miss just two plays before launching four TD passes in the next period on his way to becoming MVP and the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl as Washington cruised to a 42-10 rout in Super Bowl 22.

12. We’re No. 1

Joe Namath’s raised index finger as he jogged off the Orange Bowl field after the New York Jets’ monumental upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 3 said it all, especially after the MVP’s famous pregame guarantee that the 18-point underdogs would prevail.

13. James Harrison’s INT return

The Steelers pass-rushing linebacker dropped into coverage on a hunch and picked off Cardinals QB Kurt Warner at the goal line before a 100-yard tightrope sprint up the sideline for a TD completed what was at least a 10-point swing before halftime in Super Bowl 43, which Pittsburgh won by four points.

14. Terry Bradshaw KO’d

As he launched what would prove to be the decisive 64-yard TD pass to WR Lynn Swann in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 10, the chin of the Steelers quarterback was introduced to the helmet of Dallas Cowboys DL Larry Cole. Bradshaw was out before he hit the ground and wouldn’t play again in the game, but his throw earned Pittsburgh its second ring.

15. Isaac Bruce’s TD

It gets overshadowed by Jones’ tackle, but the Rams don’t win without Warner’s 73-yard TD pass to Bruce with 1:54 to go on St. Louis’ first play after the Titans had erased a 16-0 deficit.

16. Burrow bagged

Trailing 23-20 inside the final minute of Super Bowl 56, Bengals QB Joe Burrow was trying to pull one more rabbit out of the hat from midfield. Instead, Los Angeles Rams DL Aaron Donald burst through the line on what turned out to be Cincy’s final play, ragdolling Joey B. into a desperation incompletion that put the game on ice – Donald pointing to his ring finger, indicating where his new ice would be featured.

17. Favre-to-Rison

Vintage Brett Favre. On the Green Bay Packers’ second play of Super Bowl 31, the MVP quarterback called an audible before launching a 54-yard touchdown to WR Andre Rison streaking down the middle of the field. Favre sprinted after his receiver, helmet held aloft, and Green Bay was on its way to its first title in 29 years.

18. John Elway’s helicopter

The 37-year-old Broncos quarterback, in desperate pursuit of his first title after being blown out in his first three Super Sunday starts, famously went airborne and was spun around by Packers defenders on an 8-yard third-quarter run that gave Denver a first-and-goal. It set up MVP Terrell Davis’ go-ahead TD run in Super Bowl 32, which the Broncos eventually won 31-24.

19. Mario Manningham’s catch

Four years after being victimized by Tyree, the Patriots fell prey to an amazing 38-yard completion from Eli Manning to Manningham with 3:39 to go on the Giants’ game-winning drive of Super Bowl 46. Manningham barely got his feet down at midfield, a play the Patriots unsuccessfully challenged.

20. Jackie Smith’s drop

The Hall of Fame tight end, wide open in the end zone, dropped a perfect pass from Cowboys QB Roger Staubach in Super Bowl 13 that would have knotted the game 21-21, prompting broadcaster Verne Lundquist to exclaim, ‘Bless his heart, he’s got to be the sickest man in America.’ Yep. The Cowboys would eventually lose to the Steelers 35-31.

21. 2-3 Jet Chip Wasp

Trailing by 10 with more than half the fourth quarter expired and facing a third-and-15 from his own 35-yard line in Super Bowl 54, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes knew his team was backed into a corner. But he suggested this play, which required WR Tyreek Hill to run a late-developing route deep into San Francisco’s zone coverage. Mahomes took the snap and had to drop 14 yards into the pocket in order to evade the 49ers’ relentless pass rush, then heaved the ball toward Hill, who’d cut toward the sideline to find a soft spot in the zone. The result was a 44-yard completion that set up a Mahomes TD pass three plays later and opened the floodgates for K.C.’s belated 21-point outburst and first championship in 50 years.

22. Julian Edelman’s shoestring snatch

The Patriots’ slot man extraordinaire snared a ball that was deflected (and nearly intercepted) by Falcons CB Robert Alford microns above the turf, extending New England’s game-tying drive after the team had fallen behind 28-3 in the second half of Super Bowl 51. It was also a welcome turn of events to Pats fans, who’d suffered through script-flipping catches by Tyree and Manningham.

23. Jim O’Brien’s kick

The Baltimore Colts rookie saw his first extra-point try blocked and missed his initial field-goal attempt in a mistake-laden Super Bowl 5. But his 32-yard FG with 5 seconds left gave the Colts a 16-13 defeat of the Cowboys in the Super Bowl’s first truly dramatic moment.

24. ‘Philly Special’

It’s already earned its spot in Super Bowl lore as the enduring moment of the Philadelphia Eagles’ long-awaited Super Bowl 52 victory. However, QB Nick Foles’ 1-yard TD grab from TE Trey Burton off a reverse, on fourth-and-goal just before halftime, was really more gutsy than conclusive given the Patriots eventually overcame (temporarily) the 22-12 hole they fell into on the play.

25. The lights go out in New Orleans

With the 49ers trailing the Baltimore Ravens 28-6 in the third quarter of Super Bowl 47, half of the Superdome’s lights lost power, causing a 34-minute delay. The Niners surged back, eventually cutting the lead to two, before ultimately succumbing.

26. 49ers’ goal-line stand

Up 20-7 in the third quarter of Super Bowl 16, San Francisco turned the Bengals away three times from the 1-yard line, including LB Dan Bunz’s open-field tackle of Charles Alexander on a third-down swing pass. The 49ers would hang on 26-21 for their first title.

27. Ty Law’s pick-six

Decided underdogs against the Rams in 2002, the Patriots were hanging around in the second quarter, trailing 3-0. But Law pilfered a Warner pass down the right sideline intended for Bruce and, arm held high, raced 47 yards for a touchdown and 7-3 lead New England wouldn’t relinquish.

28. John Kasay’s errant kickoff

The Panthers had just tied Super Bowl 38 29-29 with 73 seconds to go. Then Kasay booted the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, putting Brady and the Patriots at their own 40-yard line. Six plays and 37 yards was all they needed to set up Vinatieri for the kill shot.

29. Seahawks safety

On the first play from scrimmage in Super Bowl 48, Broncos C Manny Ramirez’s snap sailed over the head of Peyton Manning and into the end zone, giving Seattle a 2-0 lead. No one knew it then, but the game was essentially over as the Seahawks would score the first 36 points in a 43-8 laugher.

30. Garo’s gaffe

The Dolphins’ Cyprus-born kicker made the team’s bid for a 17-0 season too close for comfort in Super Bowl 7. Trying to give Miami a 17-0 lead with less than three minutes to go, Yepremian’s 42-yard field-goal attempt was blocked. He unwisely tried to pass the ball after collecting the rebound, and it ended up in the hands of Mike Bass, who took it 49 yards for Washington’s only score.

31. Graham cracker

The play didn’t garner the cachet of the ‘Philly Special,’ but Eagles DE Brandon Graham’s strip sack of Brady with 2:09 remaining in Super Bowl 52 was the key (only?) defensive play on a day when the teams combined for an NFL record 1,151 yards of offense. Brady’s fumble occurred with New England trailing 38-33 and led to Philly’s game-icing field goal.

32. Ahmad Bradshaw’s TD mistake

The Giants tailback scored what proved to be a game-winning 6-yard TD with 57 seconds left in Super Bowl 46, which New York would win 21-17. However the Patriots let Bradshaw into the end zone in order to get the ball back to Brady – New York could have milked the clock before a chip-shot field goal – which he realized too late as he awkwardly fell into the paint. (The Packers used a similar tactic 14 years before, also unsuccessfully.) Ultimately, no harm, no foul for Bradshaw.

33. John Stallworth’s big catch

He’s often overshadowed by teammate Swann, but Stallworth’s 73-yard TD grab from Bradshaw in the fourth quarter finally put the Steelers ahead for good in what had been a nip-and-tuck Super Bowl 14 against the LA Rams.

34. Marcus Allen’s 74-yard TD

It was really icing on the cake as the Los Angeles Raiders took a 35-9 third-quarter lead over Washington in Super Bowl 18. But the MVP’s ability to find daylight after reversing his field on what looked like a doomed play had President Ronald Reagan quipping after the game: ‘I have already got a call from Moscow. They think Marcus Allen is a new secret weapon and they insist that we dismantle him.’

35. Ambush

The play call of the Saints’ surprise onside kick by Thomas Morstead to start the second half of Super Bowl 44. New Orleans recovered and soon scored a go-ahead TD.

36. U2’s halftime show

It’s not universally regarded as the greatest intermission performance on Super Sunday … but it should be. Bono, Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton concluded their three-song set with ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ as the names of those killed on Sept. 11 just a few months prior scrolled on a scrim suspended from the Superdome’s roof. The 2001 terrorist attacks forced the NFL season to be temporarily suspended and ultimately moved Super Bowl 36 back a week, marking the first time the game was played in February.

37. Vince Lombardi carried off

The iconic Packers coach, reviled by many of his players a decade earlier but eventually beloved, rode off the field on the shoulders of his charges, including G Jerry Kramer, as Green Bay won its fifth and final title of the 1960s by winning Super Bowl 2. It was Lombardi’s final game as the team’s coach.

38. Buddy Ryan carried off

The defensive coordinator of the famed 1985 Chicago Bears defense got the same treatment as head coach Mike Ditka after a 46-10 blowout of the Patriots in Super Bowl 20. It was emblematic of divided loyalties on a team that wouldn’t win another title after Ryan left to coach the Eagles.

39. Jerome Bettis leaves tunnel alone

The Hall of Fame running back was playing his final game in his hometown, Detroit, for Super Bowl 40. Bettis charged out of the tunnel for pregame introductions and, unbeknownst to him, LB Joey Porter held the rest of the Steelers back to give his teammate a special moment. Eventually realizing he was isolated on the field, a beaming Bettis beckoned his teammates to join him in a game they would win 21-10.

40. Super Bowl’s first TD

It was scored by Packers WR Max McGee, who was only playing because of an injury to teammate Boyd Dowler. McGee was less than 100% after a long night of partying, but you’d never know as he reached behind his back for an underthrown pass from QB Bart Starr on a 37-yard score that got Green Bay on course for a 35-10 win over the Chiefs.

41. Jacoby Jones’ heroics

Few had heard of him before he ended the Ravens’ final drive in the first half of Super Bowl 47 with a 56-yard TD catch. Jones then opened the second half with a record 108-yard kickoff return for a TD that gave Baltimore a 28-6 lead that proved too much for the 49ers … even with help from that power outage.

42. Whoops, Leon Lett

The mishaps of the Cowboys defensive tackle have overshadowed a sterling career. But we can’t forget that his showboating on a 64-yard fumble return in Super Bowl 27 enabled Bills WR Don Beebe to swat the ball out of Lett’s paw for a touchback just short of another Dallas touchdown. It prevented the triumphant Cowboys from scoring a game record 59 points.

43. 65 Toss Power Trap

Chiefs coach Hank Stram, famously mic’d up as NFL Films tried a new technique, gleefully called the play that would result in a 5-yard Mike Garrett touchdown and a 16-0 lead in Super Bowl 4, which Kansas City would go on to win 23-7.

44. Peace

45. Jack Lambert sticks up for teammate

Steelers K Roy Gerela had a rough Super Bowl 10, missing two field goals and an extra point. But when Cowboys S Cliff Harris patted Gerela on the helmet after his 33-yard misfire in the third quarter, Lambert – Pittsburgh’s menacing middle linebacker – flung Harris to the turf and stood over him. Dallas players later admitted Harris’ taunt infuriated the Steelers, who trailed 10-7 at the time but outscored Dallas 14-7 in the fourth quarter to prevail.

46. Wardrobe Malfunction

Admit it, Janet Jackson’s halftime ‘slip’ provided your most vivid memory of Super Bowl 38.

47. ‘Somebody take the monkey off my back!’

After throwing a Super Bowl record six TD passes (and finally escaping Montana’s considerable shadow), MVP Steve Young couldn’t contain his relief with this statement near the end of the 49ers’ 49-26 blowout of the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl 29.

48. Jermaine Kearse’s catch

His miraculous, tumbling 33-yard grab at the Patriots’ 10-yard line with 76 seconds to go seemed destined for a spot alongside Tyree and Manningham as surreal completions that would help vanquish New England. Sadly for Kearse and the Seahawks, Wilson’s next pass wasn’t nearly as effective.

49. John Mackey’s TD

The tight end got the Baltimore Colts back into Super Bowl 5 with a game-tying 75-yard TD from fellow Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas in the second quarter. The catch was memorable because it deflected off the fingertips of Colts WR Ed Hinton and Dallas CB Mel Renfro before settling into Mackey’s hands. The play would have been illegal at the time if Renfro had not touched it – and the Cowboys vehemently argued he didn’t in a game they would lose by three points.

50. Lynn Swann’s juggling catch

The 53-yard reception over Dallas’ Mark Washington was the prettiest of Swann’s four receptions in Super Bowl 10, when he earned MVP honors. However, as aesthetically pleasing as it was, the catch didn’t lead to any Pittsburgh points.

51. Gatorade shower

Still a novel celebration in 1987, it was first seen on Super Sunday when Giants LB Harry Carson, disguised in a security guard’s jacket, dumped the drink on coach Bill Parcells at the end of New York’s 39-20 Super Bowl 21 win.

52. Fridge scores

The ’85 Bears’ coronation in Super Bowl 20 was never in doubt, and DT William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry’s 1-yard TD run for a 44-3 lead in the third quarter may have been the crowning moment. Sadly, Ditka belatedly realized it came at the cost of providing legendary RB Walter Payton the Super Bowl score he had long dreamed of but wouldn’t realize.

53. Desmond Howard’s TD

His 99-yard kickoff return provided the final score in Green Bay’s 35-21 win in Super Bowl 31 and made him the only special teamer to win MVP honors.

54. Run, Willie, run

On the second play after halftime in Super Bowl 40, Steelers RB ‘Fast Willie’ Parker broke a 75-yard TD run, the longest in Super Bowl history, that would give Pittsburgh an insurmountable 14-3 lead over Seattle.

55. Devin Hester’s kickoff

Few thought the Indianapolis Colts would kick to the Bears special teams ace, who had six TD returns in the 2006 regular season. But Hester took Vinatieri’s game-opening kickoff 92 yards to the house with the kicker flailing to stop him at the end of it. Unfortunately for Hester, he didn’t get another opportunity in a game Chicago lost 29-17.

56. Larry Fitzgerald’s almost day

It seemed the Cardinals star had capped an unforgettable postseason – he had 30 catches for 546 yards and seven TDs in four games – in style when his 64-yard catch-and-run TD with 2:37 to go in Super Bowl 43 gave Arizona its first lead. Unfortunately for Fitzgerald, he left Roethlisberger and Holmes too much time.

57. OBJ’s emotional day

Making his Super Sunday debut in Super Bowl 56, Rams WR Odell Beckham Jr. opened the scoring against Cincinnati with a 17-yard TD catch from Matthew Stafford in the first quarter. But Beckham wound up celebrating LA’s victory in street clothes after suffering a torn ACL before halftime.

58. T.O.’s big day

Seven weeks after breaking his leg, Eagles WR Terrell Owens caught nine passes for 122 yards in Super Bowl 39. His courageous effort wasn’t quite enough in a three-point loss to the Patriots, but Jack Youngblood was still proud.

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter @ByNateDavis.

The schedule for World Cup 2026 was revealed Sunday in a live stream that featured comedian Kevin Hart, rapper Drake and socialite Kim Kardashian.

The show laid out the timetable for the tri-country edition of the World Cup and announced that MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will host the final on July 19.

Group stage matches will run from June 11, when Mexico opens the tournament in Estadio Azteca, through June 27. The United States will start and end their group stage campaign in Hollywood at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on June 12 and will play one group stage match in Seattle at Lumen Field. Canada will open its leg of the tournament in Toronto at BMO Field on June 12 and play the balance of its group stage games in Vancouver at BC Place.

The knockout stage will begin with the first-ever round of 32 on June 28 with the round of 16 starting on July 4. The Quarterfinals will be held in Los Angeles, Miami, Kansas City and Boston starting on July 8. Semi-final matches will be played in Dallas and Atlanta on July 14 and 15 respectively. The bronze medal match will be held in Miami on July 18.

Opening Matches

Tournament: June 11, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico

United States: June 12, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles

Canada: June 12, BMO Field, Toronto, Canada

World Cup 2026 stadiums

BC Place Vancouver, Canada
Lumen Field, Seattle
Levi’s Stadium Santa Clara, California
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico
Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City
AT&T Stadium, Dallas
Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta
NRG Stadium, Houston
Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
Gilette Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Who won the last World Cup?

How to watch World Cup 2026

Fox and Telemundo won the English and Spanish television rights to the tournament, respectively.

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Hall of Fame college basketball coach Rick Pitino isn’t a fan of the current landscape in college sports, but he seems to have a particular disdain for the way the NCAA is trying to enforce the rules.

‘I think the NCAA enforcement staff just should be disbanded. It’s a joke. Not because I dislike them. But they’re of no value anymore,’ Pitino said Saturday.

In response to an NCAA investigation at the University of Tennessee, the attorneys general in two states – Tennessee and Virginia – filed a lawsuit last week challenging its ban on the use of name, image and likeness compensation in the recruitment of college athletes.

College sports are turning into a free-for-all, the first-year St. John’s coach said, with the big winners determined in court, rather than on the court.

‘It’s a very difficult time in college basketball, because it’s free agency,’ Pitino said. ‘And now I think what’s going to happen is, they’re going to say everybody can transfer, and then if they don’t like it, they’re going to take ’em to court.’

DAN WOLKEN: Everyone’s to blame for current chaos in college sports

A U.S. District Court judge is set to hear arguments Feb. 13 for a preliminary injunction that would prevent the NCAA from enforcing NIL recruiting rules while the lawsuit plays out.

The NCAA filed a 25-page response Saturday with the Eastern District of Tennessee defending its enforcement of recruiting rules – which are made by member schools.

‘They are professional athletes. Get professionally paid. It’s not going away,’ Pitino added after St. John’s (13-9) lost to No. 1 Connecticut. ‘You can’t try to get loopholes, because they take you to court. That’s why I say – so I’m not knocking the enforcement staff – they’re going to get taken to court every time they try to make a rule.

‘So it’s a tough time in college basketball right now. And for us, you can’t really build programs and a culture because everybody leaves.’

Former New York Jets tight end and wide receiver Richard Caster, who was selected for three Pro Bowls during his 13-year NFL career, has died. He was 75.

Family representative Kenny Zore confirmed Caster died in his sleep on Friday morning on Long Island, New York, after a long illness.

Caster, a second-round pick of the Jets in 1970 out of Jackson State, caught 322 passes for 5,515 yards and 45 touchdowns during his NFL career.

Caster spent his first eight seasons with New York and became a favorite target of Joe Namath. The 6-foot-5, 228-pound Caster entered the league as a wide receiver who ran a 4.5 40-yard dash, but was later switched to tight end by coach Weeb Ewbank because of his combination of size and speed.

“The general approach from most teams defensively was to try to cover the tight end with a linebacker,” Caster recalled in an interview with the Jets’ website in 2018. ‘And I could outrun most linebackers or any linebacker that I ever ran into, really. But it was pretty much not a secret. ‘OK, let’s see how this matches up, if it holds up.’ It didn’t hold up.

SUPER BOWL CENTRAL: Latest Super Bowl 58 news, stats, odds, matchups and more.

‘I ran away from most of the people that I had a chance to get away from. It was all around getting a good matchup.”

Caster made all three of his Pro Bowls with the Jets, with selections during the 1972, ‘74 and ’75 seasons. His 4,434 yards receiving with New York rank 10th on the franchise’s career list.

In Week 2 of the 1972 season, Caster caught three of Namath’s six touchdown passes and finished with six receptions for 204 yards in New York’s 44-34 victory over Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts. Caster set career highs with 833 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns during that season. He had a personal-best 47 receptions in 1975.

Caster later played three years in Houston before splitting the 1981 season with New Orleans and Washington. He played in one game for the Washington team that won the Super Bowl to cap the 1982 season.

“I’m most proud of being able to play as long as I did, getting 13 years in the league during a period where the career average was a heck of a lot less than 13,’ Caster told the Jets’ website. ‘When I came in, I think it was somewhere around two, 2 1/2 years. I was real proud of my ability to still have some talent where I was able to be traded and signed late in my career to bring some value to some teams.”

Caster is survived by his wife Susan; sons Richard J. Caster, Max Caster and Sean Caster; daughters Shannon Myla and Alona Nicole; and five grandchildren. Max is a professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling.

After 24 seasons in New England, Bill Belichick has many reasons to be thankful.

The former Patriots coach wrote a heartfelt note ‘to Patriots fans everywhere’ in a full-age ad in Sunday’s edition of the Boston Globe, expressing his appreciation for their support throughout his tenure – which included a record six Super Bowl victories.

‘Nowhere in America are pro sports fans as passionate as in New England and for 24 years, I was blessed to feel your passion and power,’ Belichick wrote. ‘The Patriots are the only NFL team representing SIX states but in reality, Patriots Nation knows no borders.’

‘Six times, you packed Boston by the millions for parades that were truly a two-way expression of gratitude and love. The images from those days are burned in my memory,’ he added.

Belichick even took an opportunity to poke a little fun at himself: ‘You may even have enjoyed my fashion sense and press conferences, or maybe you just tolerated them. I loved coaching here and, together, we experienced some amazing moments.’

SUPER BOWL CENTRAL: Latest Super Bowl 58 news, stats, odds, matchups and more.

Belichick, 71, officially parted ways with the Patriots on Jan. 11 after a 4-13 campaign – his worst in 24 seasons with the organization.

His future in coaching remains unclear. He interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons job that ultimately went to Raheem Morris.

Since then, speculation has centered around some NFL teams whose coaches will be on the hot seat next season. There’s also a possibility he could join his former Super Bowl-winning quarterback and make the move to television.

It’s not like he doesn’t have the resume: In addition to those six Super Bowl trophies, Belichick also owns a Sports Emmy for his work with NFL Films and NFL Network on 2019’s ‘NFL 100 All-Time Team’ series.

Vontaze Burfict has been going back and forth with the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans for about a decade now, and the latest episode involves a TikTok video featuring the former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker.

‘I didn’t hit people after the play all the time,’ Burfict said during a Madden stream on Twitch. ‘Just the Steelers. (Expletive) the Steelers.’

Burfict, who played for the Bengals from 2012 to 2018, was playing the video game against a popular streamer named Sketch.

Last May, former Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell suggested he wanted to fight Burfict, and Burfict responded by proposing a charity golf event. Bell also accused Burfict of intentionally injuring him on a tackle during Cincinnati’s 16-10 win in Pittsburgh in November 2015.

SUPER BOWL CENTRAL: Latest Super Bowl 58 news, stats, odds, matchups and more.

The Kansas City Chiefs are seeing a surge of young women becoming fans due to the Taylor Swift effect.

But there’s another demographic of Chiefs Kingdom that is making waves on the internet, too, while the team heads to Super Bowl 58.

The Primrose Sedalia Chiefs Cheerleaders, a group of residents at the Primrose Retirement Community in Sedalia, Missouri southeast of Kansas City, went viral during the NFL playoffs for their ‘Swag Surfin” routine. A group of dancers performed choreography while sitting in chairs and others held up signs that said ‘Senior Swifties,’ ‘Chiefs For The Win’ and ‘Touchdown Kansas City!’

‘I couldn’t understand the music, or the words. I didn’t care ‘cause it was for the Chiefs. So it just made it fun,’ Jackie Canaan, one of the dancers, told USA TODAY Sports. During the interview, she wore a No. 87 jersey T-shirt for tight end Travis Kelce, Swift’s boyfriend.

‘You really have to move. It looks, like, easy. But it’s a little tough when you’re first starting it,’ Lory Moxter, another dancer who sported a red Chiefs sweatshirt during the Zoom interview, said. ‘And I think everybody enjoys it and we all get into it and really give it a go.’

SUPER BOWL CENTRAL: Latest Super Bowl 58 news, stats, odds, matchups and more.

Connie Chevalier is the life enrichment director at the Primrose Retirement Community and leads a group of members in chair Zumba every morning. She was watching the Chiefs’ wild-card game against the Miami Dolphins and saw the pop superstar joining the crowd at Arrowhead Stadium in the dance. Chevalier turned to Google and found the ‘Swag Surfin” song by F.L.Y., from which the dance originated. She decided to use it for a routine. She posted the Cheerleaders doing the dance on Facebook ahead of the divisional round and it took off.

‘We’re just like flabbergasted, we don’t know how this happened to us,’ Chevalier said of the video’s popularity, noting that she didn’t even know what the term ‘viral’ meant when media started reaching out. ‘… We just got to be one of them lucky people that we enjoy life and we got noticed, huh?’

Residents at Primrose love to watch sports, including the Chiefs and the MLB’s Kansas City Royals. Chevalier said she took her first Zumba class about 10 years ago and she wanted to combine the fun energy of the dance exercise with the community’s love for the Chiefs.

‘They’re just huge fans. They’re always watching (Chiefs games), so it was a no-brainer to pull this together for them to get pumped up and truly be cheerleaders,’ she said. ‘… It just makes it more special for all of us to know that we’re part of it. We actually feel part of it.’

Chevalier said she is going to teach the group one more routine for the season. She is planning to release the video Thursday before the Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in an attempt to lay another brick in their dynasty.

Last season, Chevalier taught the Cheerleaders a routine to Tech N9ne’s ‘Red Kingdom’ when Patrick Mahomes and company marched to Super Bowl 57 and beat the Philadelphia Eagles for their second title in four years.

After a rocky start this season, many of the residents were doubtful at Kansas City’s prospects of a repeat championship. But Moxter kept the faith.

‘Everybody here said, ‘Oh, I don’t think.’ I said, ‘They’re winning. They’re winning,” she said. ‘And there’s no other way to go.’

Besides teaching dance to a group of the residents, Chevalier makes signs for the less mobile members of the community. She found pictures of signs that fans brought to Arrowhead Stadium and copied them on poster board. One of her favorites was, ‘Is Taylor Here?’

 ‘I thought that was funny,’ she said.

Canaan said that her grandkids are fans of the 12-time Grammy winner and that’s how she got hip. Chevalier said that the Cheerleaders mostly listen to ‘golden oldies or classic country,’ but they have used Swift’s music in a few of their routines.

‘She’s got some good music out there,’ she said.

 ‘Everyone really gets in the mood to do everything and it just gets everybody together,’ Moxter added, ‘and I think it’s a fun thing for everyone.’

Chevalier, Canaan and Moxter all enjoy her music and also watching Swift and Kelce’s love story unfold.

‘In the end, it’s love and if they’re in love, then oh my gosh, yeah, we’re happy for them, very happy for them,’ Chevalier said. ‘I really do hope that she does find love and he finds love, and maybe they are gonna be the couple. Just cause they’re both superstars doesn’t really mean anything. They’re just normal people, really truly normal people. Everybody wants to be loved and to love.’

 ‘It’s just that we hope the best for both of them and hope it works out that it is true love, really,’ Moxter chimed in.

‘If not, enjoy it while you got it. Enjoy one another and if it’s not meant to be permanent, that’s OK,’ Canaan offered. ‘Have a good time, enjoy one another. We’re sure liking it.’