Safety Caleb Downs, the top-rated player in the NCAA transfer portal, has committed to Ohio State.

His father, Gary Downs, told 247Sports.com that he would become a Buckeye. Downs picked Alabama over Ohio State, Georgia and Notre Dame as the No. 6 overall player in the 247Sports composite rankings as a high school senior last year.

He was named the Football Writers Association of America’s national Freshman of the Year, the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Year and was a second-team All-SEC honoree.

Downs, who’s listed as 6-foot and 203 pounds, led the Crimson Tide in tackles last season with 107. He had two interceptions, a forced fumble and returned a punt for a touchdown.

Downs, a Hoschton, Georgia, native, entered the transfer portal following the retirement of Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban. It was widely expected that Downs would land at Georgia after the Bulldogs hired his Alabama position coach, Travaris Robinson.

But instead, he is now a Buckeye. Ohio State coaches reportedly made an in-home visit with Downs on Thursday, and that clearly proved persuasive.

Downs becomes the fourth major transfer addition for Ohio State, joining quarterback Will Howard, All-SEC running back Quinshon Judkins, and Alabama center Seth McLaughlin.

Downs will join a safety unit that has returning starters Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles. Sixth-year senior Josh Proctor graduated after having a breakthrough final season as a Buckeye.

Ohio State also retained several defensive players eligible for the NFL draft, including linemen J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and Tyleik Williams. The Buckeyes yielded only 11.2 points per game in 2023.

The New York Islanders fired coach Lane Lambert and replaced him with Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy on Saturday.

President of hockey operations and general manager Lou Lamoriello announced the stunning move to dismiss Lambert and bring in Roy, who hasn’t coached in the NHL in nearly a decade.

The Islanders have lost four games in a row and six of seven to fall out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Lambert was midway through his second season on the job. Roy coached the Colorado Avalanche for three seasons from 2013-16 before abruptly resigning a month before training camp.

Roy, a four-time Stanley Cup champion who is third on the career NHL wins list among goalies, won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2013-14 after guiding the Avalanche to the playoffs. The 58-year-old has spent the past five seasons coaching and serving as GM for the junior Quebec Remparts.

Lambert, former Islanders coach Barry Trotz’s longtime right-hand man, got his first NHL head coaching job when he was promoted from assistant in the summer of 2012. He was on Trotz’s staff when they won the Cup with Washington in 2018.

In high school, there was a day C.J. Stroud had no receivers to throw with. The future Houston Texans quarterback went to a field alone. The teammates who couldn’t join him were replaced by visions in his head. The apparitions ran imaginary routes. Then Stroud threw the ball to the empty spaces. Stroud ran to the ball, picked it up and repeated the process.

“How many people in today’s world would do that?” John Beck, a private quarterback coach who has worked with Stroud, told USA TODAY Sports.

When Stroud told Beck the story of that solo session, the director of combine preparation/NFL development at 3DQB – a quarterback training center co-founded by former MLB pitcher Tom House – Beck gained instantaneous insight. It helped reveal how much football mattered to Stroud, his willingness to improve at any cost, and his not caring what anyone who may have watched him that day and wondered, “What the heck is going on?”

What stands out to those who have worked closely with Stroud is his ability to meet the moment. At 22 years old, he already has a track record in doing so. He’ll be in the spotlight at least once more this season, Saturday in the AFC divisional round against the No. 1-seeded Baltimore Ravens. Millions will be watching. Stroud will play like no one is.

Multisport mindset

Taylor Kelly, the coach at 3DQB who primarily works with Stroud, never saw the quarterback play high school basketball in Rancho Cucamonga, California. But they have participated in several pickup games together.

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“He’ll pull the trigger as soon as he crosses halfcourt,” Kelly told USA TODAY Sports. “You got to make sure you know where he is.”

On the fast break, Stroud gazes at the hoop. He can also attack the rim.

“But he’s lethal from behind the arc, for sure,” Kelly said.

Stroud has drawn praise for his accuracy on the gridiron. He had the lowest interception rate of any during the regular season (1.0%). In some cases of quarterback play, that could signal an aversion to risky throws. But Stroud has shown over the past two weeks – a win-and-in Week 18 victory against the Indianapolis Colts and rout of the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round – that he’s not afraid to make any throw anywhere, anytime.

However, his skills on the hardwood, Kelly said, translated to his quarterback play. The court is smaller than a football field. The action is condensed. Point guards have to feel the defense and anticipate. Vision is everything.

“I think C.J. took the approach as a kid – maybe he didn’t notice – that he would be very intent and focused on where he was putting that football. I think it comes with playing basketball, to be honest,” Kelly said.

Stroud’s pregame warmup routine has been documented this year. He shoots basketballs and takes dry swings like a baseball player or golfer. Beck said that’s the 3DQB way: leverage the athletic background and infuse it with quarterbacking.

It’s still rare for a first-year player – even one who’s a virtual lock to win Offensive Rookie of the Year – to have that type of poise in the pocket while also being able to deliver balls downfield in tight coverage. The 75-yard touchdown to Nico Collins on a deep pass to open the game against the Colts comes to mind.

“Taking it on the chin like a vet,” Beck said.

‘He’s the leader we need him to be’

Counting Ohio State’s trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals last year, a 15-game NFL regular season (Stroud missed two games while dealing with a concussion) and now the playoffs, Saturday will mark Stroud’s 30th game over the past 16 months.

Stroud finished the 2023 regular season with 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns while ranking second in adjusted yards per pass attempt (8.7) as the Texans won their first AFC South title since 2019.

“He’s built for that, just how he’s been brought up by his family and the resources around him,” Kelly said.

Kelly remained in contact with Stroud throughout the season and offers pointers after watching the game tape. The repeatability and consistency of the quarterback’s drops have vastly improved, Kelly said, from season’s beginning to now. The two talked about his upper-body posture early in the season. There have been minor footwork adjustments.

Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik have excelled, Kelly said, at having one vision. And Stroud has taken it upon himself to the game through the lens of the play caller, Slowik, who has drawn interest in the head-coaching interview circuit – in no small part due to Stroud’s play – following his first year as a coordinator.  

“Trust is everything,” Stroud said. “That’s something Bobby talked about a lot, and we know how important it is.”

Stroud knows what Slowik wants to hit in the passing game and his eyes progress in that manner.

“You don’t see him getting stuck on guys too often,” Kelly said. “That’s probably the biggest jump I’ve consistently seen from Week 1 to now.”

Stroud’s first pro start came in Baltimore in the season opener, a 24-9 loss for the Texans. Stroud was 28-of-44 for 242 passing yards, and the Ravens sacked him five times without allowing a touchdown. Baltimore finished the year as the top-ranked scoring defense (16.5 points per game) and also tied for the NFL lead in takeaways (31).

“We didn’t feel like you were going against a rookie at that point,” Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald said this week about Stroud’s premiere. “So, you’re just seeing the natural progression over the course of the season just being more comfortable in the system. You can tell the system’s growing around him.”

Looking back at the Ravens game, Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans said he sees the same player. What has changed is Stroud’s demeanor and leadership abilities.

“When we’ve needed it most, I feel like just throughout the entire season, and now in this moment, he’s the leader we need him to be,” Ryans told reporters this week. “He’s the player that we need him to be. His demeanor on the field, off the field, is exactly what you want out of a starting quarterback.”

Stroud’s edge comes from within

Following the Texans’ 39-37 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 5, in which Stroud set a rookie record with 470 passing yards and threw five touchdowns, the passer’s thoughts were elsewhere.

“What I’ve been battling with is trying to still be a family man, still help out, and still be a football player and do my job,” Stroud said. “It’s been tough.”

Coleridge Stroud III, the quarterback’s father, has been serving a 38-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2016 to carjacking, kidnapping and robbery charges in a drug-related incident.

“He doesn’t like to talk about his past, but he knows his past is part of him,” Beck said.

Stroud has a human side that is different than most because of what he’s experienced, Beck added. There is sincere gratitude – not just for people, but for the fact people such as Beck and Kelly believe in him.

“He just has that good person nature to him, and I think that matters,” Beck said.

To Kelly, Stroud is always smiling. Always joking. Winning over the Houston locker room was not merely a product of his play. Who he is as a person is the difference-maker, Kelly said.

“He cares so much for people. You get that immediately from him. It’s not fake … that kid is as genuine as it gets,” Kelly said.

Faith and family are top of mind for Stroud.

“Once he trusts you,” Kelly said, “he’ll die for you.”

After the Carolina Panthers selected Alabama quarterback Bryce Young first overall in the 2023 draft, Stroud went second to Houston. In the pre-draft process, Stroud scored poorly in the S2 cognition test, per multiple reports. The narrative could have sunk him. It had the opposite effect.

“That stuff motivates him,” said Kelly, who added: “Turn on the tape. The kid can play football. He processes it.”

On the field, the competitive atmosphere unlocks something within Stroud, Beck said. The coach, who also oversees the development of signal-callers such as the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, said he believed Stroud was at his best on his pro day at Ohio State. He had not much to gain but plenty to lose. With head coaches and general managers from across the league watching, “he lit it up.”

“When you needed him to nail it,” Beck said, “he nailed it.”

Beck mentioned the 2021 Rose Bowl as another example. Stroud, missing some key teammates, led the Buckeyes to a 48-45 victory over Utah. The clutch factor has been on display throughout his first pro season.

“Some people kind of get nervous or tighten up a little bit,” Kelly said. “He thrives in it.”

Stroud has played some big-time football between his Buckeye days and rookie year. But Kelly related Stroud’s excellence to a 3-on-3 run in a random gym.

“He just plays,’ Kelly said. ‘He’s not focused on things that don’t matter and the outside noises and what people are saying.’

Sounds like someone who would show up to a field with no one to throw with and put himself through a whole workout anyway.

“He’s very confident with who he is,’ Kelly said, ‘and he knows who he is.”

The future of Sports Illustrated is unclear after the magazine’s publisher announced plans to lay off most, if not all, of its staff on Friday following a terminated licensing deal. That means Sports Illustrated’s coveted ‘Swimsuit Issue’ is also in jeopardy.

What was originally created in 1964 to combat slow winter months when many sports were out of season – the first Super Bowl wasn’t played until 1967 – SI’s Swimsuit Issue has transformed into a cornerstone of pop culture that has spanned decades and catapulted hundreds of cover models to superstardom.

The most recent issue, published in 2023, featured lifestyle guru Martha Stewart on the cover, marking the oldest cover girl in the magazine’s history, in addition to actress Megan Fox and singer Kim Petras.

‘I’m going to be the oldest person ever I think on the cover of Sports Illustrated,’ Stewart said at the time. ‘I don’t think about age very much but I thought that this is kind of historic and that I better look really good.’

Here’s everything to know about SI’s Swimsuit Issue over the years:

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: To lay off most staff, putting future in jeopardy after nearly 70 years

How did Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue start?

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue was invented by editor Andre Laguerre as a way to ‘help fill the void between Jan. 1 and spring training’ during the quiet months in the sports calendar, according to the Sports Illustrated vault. He ran a travel story on Jan. 20, 1964, featuring model Babette March smiling in a white two-piece bikini, which became known as the inaugural issue.

Laguerre tapped fashion reporter Jule Campbell to create a multi-page swimwear feature the next year, asking her, ‘How would you like to go to some beautiful place and put a pretty girl on the cover?” Campbell catapulted SI’s Swimsuit Issue into the popular mainstay that it is known as today. She did so with an unconventional formula. At a time where skinny was considered high-end and editorial, Campbell instead opted for ‘more natural kinds of women’ and put them on the cover.

“I wanted them to look like real people that were beautiful… I think our audience related to that,” Campbell said in Michael MacCambridge’s 1997 book, “The Franchise: A History of Sports Illustrated Magazine.’

List of Sports Ilustrated Swimsuit Issue cover models

Sports Illustrated has published Swimsuit Issues for nearly six decades, featuring dozens of models. Here is every person who has appeared on the cover of the Swimsuit Issue:

Babette March (1964)    Sue Peterson (1965)  Sunny Bippus (1966)  Marilyn Tindall (1967)Turia Mau (1968)James Becker (1969)Cheryl Tiegs (1970, 1975, 1983) – Tiegs is the first repeat cover modelTannia Rubiano (1971)Sheila Roscoe (1972)Dayle Haddon (1973)Ann Simonton (1974)Yvonne and Yvette Sylvander (1976) – The Sylvander twins have the first ever multi-subject coverLena Kansbod (1977)Maria Joao (1978)Christie Brinkley (1979, 1980, 1981) – Brinkley is the first three-time cover model and the first to appear in consecutive yearsCarol Alt (1982)Paulina Porizkova (1984, 1985)Elle Macpherson(1986, 1987, 1988, 1994, 2006) – Macpherson holds the record for most covers with fiveKathy Ireland (1989, 1992, 1994)Judit Mascó (1990)Ashley Richardson (1991)Vendela Kirsebom (1993)Rachel Hunter (1994, 2006)Daniela Peštová (1995, 2000, 2006) Valeria Mazza (1996)  Tyra Banks (1996, 1997, 2019) – Banks becomes the first African-American solo covergirlHeidi Klum (1998)Rebecca Romijn (1999, 2006)Elsa Benítez (2001, 2006)Yamila Diaz-Rahi (2002, 2006)Petra Němcová (2003)Veronika Vařeková (2004, 2006)Carolyn Murphy (2005, 2006)Beyoncé Knowles (2007) – Beyoncé is the first musician on the coverMarisa Miller (2008)Bar Refaeli (2009)Brooklyn Decker (2010)Irina Shayk (2011)Kate Upton (2012, 2013, 2017)Nina Agdal (2014)Lily Aldridge (2014)Chrissy Teigen (2014)Hannah Davis (2015)Ronda Rousey (2016) – Rousey is the first athlete cover modelAshley Graham (2016)Hailey Clauson (2016)Danielle Herrington (2018)Camille Kostek (2019)Alex Morgan (2019)Kate Bock (2020)Jasmine Sanders (2020)Olivia Culpo (2020)Megan Thee Stallion (2021) – Megan Thee Stallion is the first rapper cover modelNaomi Osaka (2021) – Osaka is the first Black athlete cover modelLeyna Bloom (2021) – Bloom is the first transgender cover modelKim Kardashian (2022)Ciara (2022)Maye Musk (2022)Yumi Nu (2022)Martha Stewart (2023) – Stewart becomes the oldest cover model at age 81Kim Petras (2023)Megan Fox (2023)Brooks Nader (2023) 

Which athletes posed in SI Swimsuit Issue?

The SI Swimsuit Issue exclusively featured models in its early days, but the magazine opened its pages to athletes in 1997 with an appearance by German tennis star Steffi Graf. Russian tennis stars Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova and U.S. Women’s National Team soccer star Alex Morgan appeared in an inset cover in 2004, 2006 and 2012, respectively, but UFC star Ronda Rousey was the first athlete to grace the cover of SI Swimsuit Issue.

Other athletes featured in the publication include tennis players Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki; figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva; race car driver Danica Patrick; and Olympians Amanda Beard (swimming, Jennie Finch (softball), Lindsey Vonn (alpine skiing), Lauren Jackson (basketball), Clair Bidez (snowboarding), Lacy Schnoor (freestyle skiing), Hannah Teter (snowboarding); and soccer players Megan Rapinoe, Crystal Dunn and Abby Dahlkemper.

Tennis star Naomi Osaka graced the cover in 2021, alongside rapper Megan Thee Stallion and modelLeyna Bloom, to become the first Black athlete cover girl.

‘I wouldn’t have thought that I would have been the first one,’ Osaka said during a sit-down with Tyra Banks, the first Black woman featured on the cover. ‘I’m glad that this barrier is being broken.’

As the Baltimore Ravens practiced during their postseason bye week, a reward for being the AFC’s No. 1 seed, a key offensive piece returned to the field: tight end Mark Andrews.

Andrews has not played since suffering an ankle injury that cost him the remainder of the regular season on Nov. 16. The Ravens won six in a row without him before dropping Week 18 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Heading into the divisional-round matchup against the Houston Texans on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN), Baltimore opened the door to regaining one of its top receiving targets back in the fold for quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Here’s what we know about Andrews’ recovery and status for the playoff matchup.

Will Mark Andrews play vs. Texans?

No.

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Andrews was listed as questionable on the injury report. He was a full participant in practice Wednesday and Thursday. But the Ravens did not activate him from injured reserve Friday.

‘Mark is still up in the air,’ Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after Thursday’s practice.

Baltimore started the clock for Andrews’ comeback by designating him to return from injured reserve at last Friday’s practice. Players have three weeks to be activated from that date.

‘Knowing how good this team is, how good our players are, how good our tight ends are, if I feel like I’m going to be helpful to the team, I’m going to (play),’ Andrews said Wednesday. ‘If I feel like I’m close but not there, I’ll let these guys go and hopefully get there next weekend.

‘I’m starting to feel really good, being able to get after it, get in and out of routes. Feeling pretty natural with all that stuff.’

What was Mark Andrews’ injury?

Andrews suffered ligament damage to his right ankle when Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson tackled him during a ‘Thursday Night Football’ matchup. (Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow also suffered his season-ending wrist injury during the game.)

The Ravens knew it was severe immediately. Harbaugh said after the game that testing would likely confirm his fears that Andrews would miss the rest of the season.

Wilson’s tackle came under fire as an example of the ‘hip-drop’ tackle that some have called upon the league to ban. Months later, Andrews didn’t seem to have an issue with the play.

‘It kind of was just an unfortunate event,’ Andrews said. ‘I’m just going to let everybody else do their thing. If they want to ban the tackle, fine. I’m going to go hard no matter what. I don’t blame the guy. He was just playing hard.’

Mark Andrews’ recovery includes hyperbaric chamber

One key to his recovery, Andrews said, was the use of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. His girlfriend’s family had one, he said, and they moved it into his house to aid in his recovery.

‘I think that’s been big for me – help speed up that process,’ Andrews said.

‘The big thing is just coming in here every day and working,’ Andrews said. ‘To be able to push yourself, but not push yourself too hard, and teetering that line of getting better but not hurting yourself is something I’ve done.’

Mark Andrews stats for 2023 season

Prior to his injury, the 2021 All-Pro caught 45 passes for 544 yards with six touchdowns.

Who is Mark Andrews’ backup?

With Andrews out, the Ravens turned to a pair of second-year backups, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar. Likely became the primary replacement and caught all five of his touchdowns over the final six games with Andrews sidelined. He had 322 receiving yards on 21 catches in that span.

Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey won’t play vs. Texans

The Ravens will definitely be without one key starter. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who suffered a calf injury against the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 31, did not practice all week and was declared out.

Even though Selection Sunday is still a couple of months away, it’s never too early in college basketball to start stockpiling quality wins. That has never been more true than this season, in which the field in men’s hoops appears wide open, and just getting into the field of 68 offers the possibility of a deep run with the potential to change a program’s trajectory.

This week’s edition of the Starting Five features several such opportunities. We’ll begin and end our rundown of the best of the Saturday slate by looking in on the two schools that played for all the marbles last April, and in between we’ll visit a few teams generating early buzz in their leagues.

No. 1 Connecticut at Villanova, 8 p.m., Fox

Now that the defending champion Huskies have worked their way to the top spot, they seem determined to hold on to it if Wednesday night’s dominant decision against No. 15 Creighton is any indication. But winning on the road in this sport, let alone in a league as deep as the Big East, is never easy. The Wildcats have run hot and cold, picking up some solid wins in non-conference play but also some damaging losses in Big Five competition. UConn big man Donovan Clingan returned to action after a five-game absence with a foot issue, providing a low-post presence for the Huskies’ already formidable defense. Villanova tends to sink or swim with leading scorer Eric Dixon (15.3 ppg), and some early success from the arc will fire up the home crowd.

Alabama at No. 7 Tennessee, 2 p.m., ESPN2

The Crimson Tide’s challenging pre-conference schedule has begun to pay dividends as they’re off to a 4-0 start in the SEC, though they’ve yet to face anyone in the league’s top tier. That changes Saturday with this visit to Tennessee, which also challenged itself early and seems less limited offensively than last year’s squad. The arrival of Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht has provided the Vols with a consistent threat from three-point range, which has in turn helped open the interior for Jonas Aidoo. The Tide’s three-point heavy attack might have trouble generating good looks against Tennessee’s strong perimeter defense, but Mark Sears (47.8% from the arc) seems to have no range limit.

No. 21 Mississippi at No. 11 Auburn, 8:30 p.m., SEC Network

We’ll double dip in the SEC this week to look in on the other squad off to a 4-0 conference start. Though Auburn’s much-hyped opening night contest way back on Nov. 7 went into the books as a neutral-site loss to Baylor, the performance demonstrated the potential of this team that is now riding a nine-game winning streak. Ole Miss went unscathed in non-league play with wins against Memphis and North Carolina State that have gained value, but life on the road in the SEC has thus far proven difficult. Auburn has plenty of scoring options as freshman Aden Holloway has fit in well with veterans like Johni Broome. The bulk of the Rebels’ scoring is provided by the guard trio of Matthew Murrell, Allen Flanigan and Jaylen Murray.

No. 20 Iowa State at No. 22 TCU, 2 p.m., ESPNU

Did we mention winning road conference games in this sport is really, really hard? Just ask the Cyclones, who handed Houston its first loss but came up short in their most recent outing at Brigham Young. They’ll try again in Fort Worth, where TCU just took down Oklahoma and Houston in succession but is also coming off a road loss at Cincinnati. Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey is the consummate stat-sheet stuffer, leading the team in points (14.5), assists (5.6), rebounds (5.5) and steals (3.4). The Horned Frogs spread their scoring well with four averaging in double figures but usually look to Emanuel Miller when a bucket is absolutely needed.

No. 24 San Diego State at Boise State, 1 p.m, CBS

The Mountain West has sent multiple teams to the Big Dance on a regular basis and is well-positioned to do so again. But just how many and which ones will make the cut are the issues to be sorted out on the court. Though theoretically it isn’t supposed to matter in the committee room, the Aztecs’ run to the title game last year did a lot for the league’s overall reputation. None of SDSU’s losses thus far have been especially damaging, and a setback here in Boise wouldn’t be terribly egregious either. But it’s a game the Broncos, somewhat farther down in the all-important NET rankings, would very much like to have, particularly on the heels of Tuesday night’s home loss to UNLV. The marquee matchup pits Aztecs forward Jaedon LeDee (21.6 ppg) against Boise State forward Tyson Degenhart (16.0), both of whom have takeover ability.

On the day she becomes the college basketball coach with the most wins in history, Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer won’t deviate from her regular schedule. She’ll play bridge.

Yes, you read that correctly. A woman who has won three national titles and been to 14 Final Fours, the person widely considered the best strategist to ever coach in the women’s game, someone whose career win-loss record (1,202-267) soon will have no match, plays bridge. Every day, if she can. 

And it might be the secret to her longevity.

VanDerveer, 70, is poised this weekend to pass Hall of Famer and former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski as the winningest coach in college basketball when she earns her 1,203rd victory. No. 8 Stanford defeated Oregon 88-63 Friday and hosts Oregon State on Sunday, and in between, she’ll do her best to schedule her daily game of bridge against her mom, 96-year-old Rita VanDerveer. 

“I think bridge is a lot like basketball,” VanDerveer told USA TODAY Sports. “You’ve gotta play the hand you’re dealt. You’ve gotta maximize the cards you have. Sometimes you’ve got a lot of aces, and sometimes you don’t.” 

During the pandemic, when Rita was isolated in Colorado, Tara and her sisters — she’s the oldest of five — played bridge every day to help their mom fend off loneliness. Tara continues to find time for it now, adding to an already packed schedule that includes practice, staff meetings, walking her dogs and morning workout swims with Katie Ledecky (seriously). 

VanDerveer, now in her 45th year of coaching and 38th at Stanford, has always been good about finding balance. Other interests were necessary, probably because of what her parents told her when she was a kid. Get inside and finish your algebra homework, they’d say, because “basketball won’t take you anywhere.” 

Throughout the years, as she traveled the world coaching games with Stanford and the 1996 Olympic team, VanDerveer sent them postcards from all her international stops, letting them know just where hoops had, in fact, helped her go. 

Coaching for 45 years, Tara VanDerveer says, ‘What’s not to be happy about?’

But for all the accolades and passport stamps Tara has accumulated, Rita is most impressed by this: Her daughter, she told USA TODAY Sports, is a happy person. 

“She’s always had the capacity to enjoy life, enjoy people,” Rita said. “I just think it’s wonderful to be around someone who chooses to be happy.” 

Tara’s take: “I mean, look where I live. I work at Stanford, we’ve got a beautiful campus, I get to swim outside every morning with Olympians. I work with great people, we have a fantastic team. Basketball is an upbeat sport. What’s not to be happy about?”

When was the last time you talked to a college football coach with that perspective? 

In working at one of the most elite academic institutions in America, few would expect VanDerveer to regularly compete for national championships. It’s so tough to get into Stanford, VanDerveer’s recruiting pool is significantly smaller than her peers’. (At the 2022 Final Four, former All-American Diana Taurasi said the school told her she “was not Stanford material.” She played at UConn instead.)

And yet, someone who’s won more than 1,200 games clearly has standards for herself. 

“The idea of pressure, it’s all I know,” VanDerveer said. “I’ve been a head coach since I was 24 … but at the same time, I don’t think I’m defined by just being a basketball coach. I want to be a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend.” 

Again, not the big-picture take you hear often from people in big-time college sports. 

And yes, women’s basketball is big-time now, something VanDerveer has waited for her whole life. She’s not sure if it’s accurate to label the current explosion in popularity as “a women’s basketball renaissance,” but she knows this much: people are finally paying attention to the game she has loved for more than 50 years. 

“I think that sometimes, the public thinks that women’s basketball just sprouted up out of nowhere,” she said. “But we’ve had great players and a great game for a long time. I dreamed about what I’m seeing now — and isn’t it cool to see your dreams come true?” 

Don’t expect Coach K-type celebration

How much longer VanDerveer will stick around on the sidelines is anyone’s guess. Yes, four-plus decades of coaching have taken a toll on her. (Last week during the Cardinal’s 71-59 loss at No. 3 Colorado, Buffs point guard Jaylyn Sherrod collided with her on the sideline, cracking one of VanDerveer’s ribs). But every time Rita checks in on her oldest daughter after a stinging loss or a tough season, Tara’s answer is the same: “Mother, we just have to regroup, and work hard again.”

When Tara won her 1,000th game in 2017, the Cardinal celebrated with an on-court ceremony where Tara quipped she was “moving on to win 1,001.” Insiders understood the subtext: Can we please stop talking about this already? She probably feels similarly now. And while specials celebrating Coach K’s achievements have aired on ESPN, don’t expect anything similar when Tara hits the milestone. 

Said sister Heidi, the head coach at UC-San Diego and one of Tara’s closest confidants: “If we tried to do something like that for Tara, she wouldn’t come to the gym.” 

Though Tara acknowledged that being the winningest coach in the history of college basketball is noteworthy, she’s not motivated by records. If she were, she wouldn’t have taken the 1995-96 season off to coach the Olympic team; if she’d stayed at Stanford then instead of handing the reins to long-time assistant Amy Tucker, this record would have happened last January. 

What she cares about is helping her players get better. 

“I want to be able to take a player somewhere they can’t get by themselves,” she said. 

So she’s ready to stop all this talk about a record. She needs to watch more film, study a different opponent, talk to another recruit on the phone. And yes, play another bridge game. 

Follow Lindsay Schnell on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

Whether it’s by celebrating first downs and touchdowns, or delivering a clothesline to The Miz at WrestleMania 39, it’s no secret San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle – or “Stone Cold” Kittle – is a major wrestling fan, and to one WWE star, he’s made liking the sport cool.

Kittle has been open about his love for professional wrestling throughout his NFL career, telling reporters in 2020 “it’s something that I love.” But he also gets to connect with current WWE star Bayley, who is a Bay Area native and is a big-time 49ers fan.

Recently, Bayley has been a frequent visitor at Levi’s Stadium to watch her favorite team play, and the worlds of football and wrestling got to collide at the 49ers regular season home finale Jan. 7. Bayley met with Kittle pregame, and gave him a custom 49ers championship belt before posing for pictures with “The People’s Tight End.”

Bayley said she grew up a 49ers fan, but as she focused her career on wrestling, she wasn’t keeping up with the team as much. Eventually, when she made it to WWE and Levi’s Stadium opened up in 2014, she got back into football and attended more games.

It really connected when Kittle became a dominant force for the 49ers not long after he was drafted in 2017. It was around the 2020 NFL season, when fans weren’t allowed at 49er games due to COVID-19 restrictions, that Bayley really learned about Kittle’s love for her sport.

“I kept hearing about George Kittle and then I kept seeing him post stuff, and every time he had the ball, Stone Cold (Steve Austin’s) music would play,” Bayley told USA TODAY Sports. “I’m like, ‘Dude, this guy is so awesome.’”

Bayley also explained how Kittle’s appreciation for wrestling has helped the image of WWE and other wrestling companies.

“He makes wrestling seem cool,” she said. ‘Where people grew out of WWE or people are like, ‘I don’t watch wrestling anymore, I did when I was kid though.’ He’s a very well-known athlete on one of the best teams in the world, and he loves WWE, so I think that makes us look really cool.”

Bayley admitted even though she gave Kittle the title belt, they haven’t sat down to have a conversation together. But she’s sure “someday’ they will.

Even with the Royal Rumble and the road to WrestleMania on her mind, Bayley is certainly keeping tabs on her favorite team during the playoffs. As the No. 1 seed in the NFC, San Francisco had the first round off, and will begin their playoff journey at home against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. 

Bayley’s ideal start to 2024 is her winning the Royal Rumble in January, the 49ers winning the Super Bowl in February and her beating Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 40 in April for the Women’s World Championship. When that happens, Bayley said, there can be a whole celebration for the Bay. 

“We could have Super Bowl rings. We could have WWE Women’s Championship rings. We could throw a big party in the Bay Area,” she said. “We could throw a parade.”