The NHL season is a month old and there have been two trades and extensions signed by Jake Oettinger, Alexis Lafreniere, Linus Ullmark and others.

Top players remain eligible for extensions, including Igor Shesterkin, Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Brock Boeser and others.

There will be more trades as teams build toward a Stanley Cup or make moves for their long-term future. Here are key dates to watch: the holiday roster freeze in December, the league’s break for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February and the trade deadline in early March.

Follow along here this season for signings, trades, transactions and other news from the NHL:

Nov. 4: Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini ready to return from injury

San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, is ready to return to action after aggravating an injury in the season opener, according to NHL.com.

He took part in practice Monday on the top line with Tyler Toffoli and Mikael Granlund and is looking to play his second game season Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Celebrini said he reinjured his hip on his first shift of the opener but played the full game and had a goal and assist.

He has missed 12 games. The Sharks opened the season 0-7-2 but are 3-1 in their last four games.

Also: The Colorado Avalanche said Valeri Nichushkin has been cleared to practice with the team. The suspended forward remains in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHL Players’ Association Player Assistance Program and would have to be cleared to play. … St. Louis Blues defenseman Philip Broberg will be out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. He needed help getting off the ice Saturday after he was checked by the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitch Marner.

Nov. 2: Islanders’ Mathew Barzal, Adam Pelech go on injured list

New York Islanders No. 1 center Mathew Barzal was placed on long-term injured reserve with an unspecified upper-body injury. He’ll be out four to six weeks. He had 80 points in 80 games last season but had been limited to five points in 10 games this season as the Islanders have struggled to score.

Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech also will be out four to six weeks after being hit in the face by a puck. He went on the injured list.

Oct. 30: Sharks acquire Timothy Liljegren from Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs get defenseman Matt Benning, a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 sixth-rounder. Liljegren, 25, had been limited to one game in Toronto this season, and the Maple Leafs recently committed to blue-liner Jake McCabe with a five-year extension. But Liljegren should fit in well in San Jose, which is building around younger players. Benning, 30, and Liljegren are signed through 2025-26.

This is the second day with an NHL trade after none previously since the season opened in North America.

OILERS: Connor McDavid out with ankle injury

Oct. 29: Utah acquires defenseman Olli Maatta from Red Wings

The Utah Hockey Club gives up a third-round pick as it addresses a desperate need for a veteran defenseman. Sean Durzi and John Marino are out long-term after surgery. Utah has been leaking goals during a four-game losing streak, including blowing a 4-1 lead late in the third period against the previously winless San Jose Sharks. Maatta is solid defensively and has nearly 700 games of NHL experience.

Oct. 28: Maple Leafs sign Jake McCabe to five-year extension

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed defenseman Jake McCabe to a five-year extension with an annual average value of $4.51 million. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports there is some deferred money in the deal. McCabe, 31, had been acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in a February 2023 trade and ranks fourth on the team in average ice time this season. He has three assists in nine games and a team-best plus-6 rating.

Also: The New York Rangers recalled rugged forward Matt Rempe from the American Hockey League after he played two games there. The Rangers play the Washington Capitals on Tuesday in what has become a feisty rivalry.

Oct. 26: Penguins send goalie Tristan Jarry to minors

The Pittsburgh Penguins sent two-time All-Star goaltender Tristan Jarry to their American Hockey League affiliate on a conditioning loan after his early season struggles. He had been sent home from the Penguins’ road trip to work on his game after recording a 5.47 goals-against average and .836 save percentage in three games. He was pulled from his last start on Oct. 16 and gave up six goals in the opener.

Jarry is in the second season of a five-year contract that carries a $5.375 million cap hit. Rookie Joel Blomqvist has had the most starts in the Penguins net this season and Alex Nedeljkovic recently returned from an injury.

Also: The New York Islanders signed rugged forward Matt Martin for the rest of the season. He had been to camp on a tryout agreement after spending 13 of his 15 seasons with the Islanders. … The Calgary Flames activated forward Yegor Sharangovich from the injured list. The team’s top goal scorer last season had yet to play this season.

Oct. 25: Rangers’ Alexis Lafreniere gets seven-year extension

The New York Rangers and Alexis Lafreniere have agreed to a seven-year extension as he builds on last season’s breakthrough. The 2020 No. 1 overall pick will average $7.45 million in the deal, according to lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. That’s up from this year’s $2.325 million cap hit. Lafreniere, 23, broke through with 28 goals and 57 points last season and added eight goals and 14 points in the playoffs. He is averaging a point a game this season through seven games and scored his fourth goal of the season on Thursday. He is signed through 2031-32.

Also: The Rangers have sent fan favorite Matt Rempe to the American Hockey League to get him more playing time. The 6-7 forward made a name for himself last season with his epic fights and big hits, one that led to a four-game suspension. But he has played only two games this season.

Oct. 24: Golden Knights’ Shea Theodore signs for seven years

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore will average $7.425 million in the extension, which kicks in next season and runs through 2031-32. Getting him signed now is important after the Golden Knights lost Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson and others from their 2023 Stanley Cup team to free agency during the summer.

Theodore, 29, is the franchise’s top-scoring defenseman with 296 points and has opened this season with seven points in six games. Vegas’ top three defensemen (also Alex Pietrangelo and Noah Hanifin) are signed through at least 2026-27.

Oct. 24: Devils’ Brett Pesce, Luke Hughes returning from injury

The New Jersey Devils will get two players back on their defense when Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes make their season debuts Thursday at the Detroit Red Wings.

Pesce, signed as a free agent, has recovered from surgery for a broken leg. Hughes hurt his shoulder in September. He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy last season, leading all rookies with 21 power-play assists and 25 power-play points.

Their return comes at a good time because the Devils have yielded 14 goals over their last two games.

Also: New York Islanders forward Anthony Duclair (lower body) will miss four to six weeks, a blow to the 2023-24 playoff team that ranks 30th in scoring this season. … The Los Angeles activated goalie Darcy Kuemper from the injured list. Pheonix Copley was loaned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign. … The Colorado Avalanche loaned goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on a conditioning assignment. He was claimed off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets earlier this season.

Oct. 23: Utah’s Sean Durzi, John Marino out long-term after surgery

The Utah Hockey Club, who beefed up their defense in the offseason, will be without two key blueliners long-term after they had surgery.

Sean Durzi, who was injured in an Oct. 15 game, will miss four to six months after shoulder surgery. John Marino, who has yet to play this season, is out three to four months after back surgery.

Utah added defensemen Mikhail Sergachev, Marino and Ian Cole in the offseason. Durzi, acquired last season when the team was in Arizona, signed a four-year, $24 million contract during the summer.

In other injury news, St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas has a fractured ankle and will be evaluated in six weeks.

Oct. 22: Panthers give coach Paul Maurice contract extension

Maurice, who joined the Panthers in 2022-23, went to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season and won it last year. His 29 playoff wins are a franchise record.

He has 98 regular-season wins with Florida and his 873 career wins rank fourth all time in NHL history.

Also: The Blues signed forward Jake Neighbours to a two-year, $7.5 million contract extension.

Oct. 17: Stars’ Jake Oettinger signs eight-year contract extension

The Dallas Stars signed goalie Jake Oettinger to an eight-year, $66 million contract extension that kicks in next season. The $8.25 million cap hit matches the deals recently signed by the Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman and Senators’ Linus Ullmark.

Oettinger has led the Stars to the Western Conference final the past two seasons.

Oct. 14: Matthew Tkachuk’s illness to keep him out a week

Already down one star, the Panthers will be without another one.

Coach Paul Maurice said Matthew Tkachuk’s illness will keep him out more than a week. The team is targeting an Oct. 22 return.

Tkachuk missed Saturday’s game. So did captain Aleksander Barkov, who injured his leg in the second game of the season and is expected to miss two to three weeks.

Oct. 12: Aleksander Barkov, Macklin Celebrini are injured

The NHL season is young, but two prominent players are already out with injuries.

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will miss two to three weeks after crashing leg first into the boards while trying to prevent an empty net goal on Thursday. His stick had broken but he couldn’t stop Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle from scoring. The time frame should allow Barkov to participate in the two Global Series games against the Dallas Stars in Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 1-2. Barkov is the first Finnish NHL captain to win the Stanley Cup. He won the Selke Trophy last season for the second time as top defensive forward.

Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks placed No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Coach Ryan Warsofsky said Celebrini is week-to-week. He had been dealing with an injury in training camp but played in this week’s season opener, scoring a goal and an assist.

Oct. 11: Avalanche claim goalie Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers

In a busy day for goalie transactions, the Colorado Avalanche claimed Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. Colorado lost 8-4 in the opener, with Alexandar Georgiev giving up five goals and backup Justus Annunen giving up two goals on four shots. The Avalanche are Kahkonen’s fourth team in a year. He split time last season between the San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils.

In other moves, the Minnesota Wild called up Jesper Wallstedt, their goalie of future, who will join Game 1 winner Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury. The Nashville Predators sent down Matt Murray, who backed up Scott Wedgewood on Thursday with injured No. 1 goalie Juuse Saros unable to play.

Oct. 10: Hurricanes-Lightning game postponed because of Milton

Saturday’s game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning has been postponed as the Tampa Bay area recovers from Hurricane Milton. The league said a makeup date would be announced as soon as it can be confirmed.

The Lightning are playing their season opener in Carolina on Friday. Saturday’s game was to be the start of a three-game homestand (also Tuesday and Thursday).

Amalie Arena got through the storm fine, though Tropicana Field, home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Florida, suffered major damage to its roof.

Oct. 10: Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner has surgery

Jenner had shoulder surgery to repair an injury he suffered during training camp and could miss up to six months.

‘Our hope is he can return before the end of the season,’ said Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Waddell. ‘His loss will be felt by our club, but we have a strong leadership group in place and players will be given an opportunity to take on greater roles on and off the ice.’

Boone, who finished second on the Blue Jackets last season with 22 goals and is the franchise leader in games played, has been the team’s captain since 2021-22.

Oct. 9: Linus Ullmark, Joey Daccord get contract extensions

Ullmark, who won the Vezina Trophy with the Bruins in 2022-03, was traded to the Ottawa Senators this offseason so Boston had the room to re-sign Swayman. Ullmark will get four years, $33 million from the Senators and have the same $8.25 million cap as Swayman.

Meanwhile, Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord received a five-year, $25 million extension. He filled in for Philipp Grubauer after that goalie’s injury last season and got the NHL’s first shutout in the Winter Classic. Both contracts will take effect next season.

Oct. 8: Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin turns down extension offer

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes posted on social media Tuesday that the New York Rangers offered Shesterkin an eight-year, $88 million contract, with an $11 million average annual value that would have eclipsed Carey Price’s high-water mark of $10.5 million. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed those numbers to lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network.

It’s not a huge surprise that the 28-year-old Russian would reject it on the eve of New York’s season-opener in Pittsburgh. Another person familiar with the situation recently indicated the two sides have been far apart in negotiations, and that the chances of striking a deal before the start of the new season weren’t looking very promising. That could always change if Rangers team president Chris Drury decides to up the ante, but Shesterkin seems content to bet on himself and wait it out. – Vincent Z. Mercogliano, lohud.com

Also: The defending champion Florida Panthers announced after their opening victory that forward Carter Verhaeghe had agreed to an eight-year extension. It’s worth a reported $56 million.

For the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era in Kansas City, the Chiefs are 7-0 and have a chance to extend that win streak in their Week 9 ‘Monday Night Football’ matchup at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This is somewhat new territory for a franchise that’s played in four of the last five Super Bowls and won three of them.

They have a shot at an undefeated season in 2024 despite multiple key injuries on offense as well as the two-time MVP Mahomes on track for a career-high in interceptions and a career-low in yards per game. The defense is the strength of the team, as it was last year, as the offense makes enough plays to win every week. Five of the Chiefs’ seven wins have been decided by eight points or less.

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

Kansas City hasn’t had a shot at an undefeated season with Mahomes like they do in 2024. Here’s what it’ll take.

Can the Kansas City Chiefs go undefeated?

It is mathematically possible but could be tough. Of the nine matchups on the Chiefs’ schedule after Week 9, only three are against teams with a losing record at time of publishing.

Toughest remaining Chiefs games

Three games stand out as potential losses: at Buffalo in Week 11, versus Houston in Week 16, and at Pittsburgh in Week 17.

Bills-Chiefs has become one of the premier rivalries in the AFC. They’ve met seven times in the last four seasons. Kansas City is 1-3 against the Bills in the regular season in that span, but 3-0 in the playoffs. This year’s Buffalo Bills have a top-10 scoring offense and defense once again but quarterback Josh Allen is playing the most efficient football of his career with just four total turnovers through nine games.

Houston’s dropped two of their last three games but could be much healthier when facing Kansas City in December. They’ll have top wideout Nico Collins back by then barring a new injury as well as defensive starters Azeez Al-Shaair and Jimmie Ward, who missed the Texans’ Week 9 loss with injuries.

Pittsburgh will be playing the Chiefs at home right after Kansas City’s matchup with Houston on a short week. The Steelers have the best defense on the Chiefs’ schedule and an improving offense. But Pittsburgh will also be fresh off a crucial road matchup against Baltimore the week prior.

It’s also unknown whether or not Kansas City will be going for an undefeated season in the first place. They may clinch the division as well as the top seed in AFC playoffs before Christmas and could rest their starters in the final couple weeks, opening the door for a loss.

Kansas City Chiefs remaining schedule

Week 9: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers on ‘Monday Night Football’
Week 10: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 11: at Buffalo Bills
Week 12: at Carolina Panthers
Week 13: vs. Las Vegas Raiders on Black Friday
Week 14: vs. Los Angeles Chargers on ‘Sunday Night Football’
Week 15: at Cleveland Browns
Week 16: vs. Houston Texans
Week 17: at Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day
Week 18: at Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs win total odds

The Chiefs have the highest over/under win total according to BetMGM’s latest NFL odds. Here’s how their odds look entering Week 9’s ‘Monday Night Football’ matchup:

Win total over/under:14.5

Over (-110)
Under (-110)

To make playoffs

Yes (-10000)
No (+5000)

To win AFC West: -5000
Be the AFC’s top seed: -350
To make Super Bowl LIX: +195
To win Super Bowl LIX: +425

BetMGM’s odds say a Kansas City Chiefs vs. Detroit Lions matchup is the favorite for Super Bowl LIX at +900.

Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering NFL betting promos in 2024 including the ESPN BET app and Fanatics Sportsbook promo code.

Undefeated teams in NFL history

Only one team has completed a full season undefeated: the 1972 Miami Dolphins. They went 17-0 through 14 regular season games and three playoff matchups culminating in Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins repeated as Super Bowl champions during the 1973 season, but that title remains the franchise’s last Super Bowl win.

One other team has completed an undefeated regular season: the 2007 New England Patriots, who were 16-0. They tied the NFL record for single-season wins (regular season and playoff combined) with 18 but lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants.

There have been 14 one-loss teams in the regular season in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). The most recent was the 2015 Carolina Panthers team that finished 15-1 and reached Super Bowl 50 but lost to the Denver Broncos.

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The Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos are each 5-4, but Monday’s trade reflected that the two teams hold different opinions of where their seasons are headed.

The Cardinals agreed to acquire outside linebacker Baron Browning from the Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.

The move could end up proving beneficial for both franchises, as the Cardinals are gearing up for a playoff push in the NFC West at the same time the Broncos are taking stock of things after a 41-10 blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Here’s how the swap breaks down for both teams:

Baron Browning trade grades

Cardinals: B+

Arizona’s pass rush has been dormant for almost the entire season, with the team posting the NFL’s worst collective pass rush win rate (27%) through the first eight games of the season, according to ESPN. Things changed Sunday, when the Cardinals overwhelmed Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears for six sacks in a 29-9 win. But this was truly an outlier performance, with 16 different players registering a pressure, according to Next Gen Stats, against an offense that was clearly unable to adjust to what was being thrown at it.

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It might seem strange for the Cardinals to be buyers – and for a half-season rental – at this point given the overall state of the roster. But a sixth-round pick isn’t a hefty price to pay, and the organization’s first division title since 2015 is at stake. Hard to say no to a clear talent upgrade for a position of need. If Browning can stay healthy, he raises the ceiling of this group that doesn’t have much top-line talent in its front seven, especially after B.J. Ojulari and Dennis Gardeck were lost to torn anterior cruciate ligaments.

Broncos: B

It’s a modest return for a former third-round draft pick, but a person with knowledge of the agreement – speaking on condition of anonymity because financial details had not been made public – confirmed to USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon that outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper signed a four-year, $60 million extension with the Broncos this weekend. Given Nik Bonitto’s breakout season, that cements that there wasn’t a future for Browning in Denver beyond this season. Barring an injury, the Broncos’ stellar pass rush – tops in the NFL in pass rush win rate (57%) after eight weeks – shouldn’t take too much of a hit.

This story has been updated with new information.

The NFL moved the Indianapolis Colts into prime time in Week 9. Now, they’re moving the team out of the Sunday night spotlight in Week 11.

The league announced on Monday that it was bumping the Colts’ matchup against the New York Jets out of the ‘Sunday Night Football’ window and into a 1 p.m. ET slot. The Cincinnati Bengals’ showdown at the Los Angeles Chargers will move into prime time.

The decision marks the second time that the league has switched up its ‘Sunday Night Football’ matchup this season, as the Colts’ game at the Minnesota Vikings replaced the Philadelphia Eagles’ tilt against the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend. But Indianapolis (4-5) benched Anthony Richardson and installed Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback in the lead-up to the meeting, and Flacco passed for just 179 yards in the Colts’ 21-13 loss.

The 3-6 Jets, meanwhile, are trying to cling on to their slim playoff hopes after beating the Houston Texans last week to end a five-game skid.

Giving an exclusive window to the Bengals (4-5) vs. Chargers (5-3) will add more intrigue to the matchup between Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, who were the Nos. 1 and 6 picks in the 2020 NFL draft, respectively.

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For most fantasy football managers, the trade deadline is right around the corner. Whether your team is vying for a bye or a playoff spot, there’s a limited window to make significant roster improvements.

Right now is the time to be evaluating your roster and determining what trades you can make to help you in the stretch run. Things constantly change in the NFL – players get injured, starters get demoted, rookies earn more playing time. Fantasy managers should adjust accordingly.

Here are 10 players who saw their fantasy values increase or decrease most based on their performances in Week 9:

Fantasy football players to buy for Week 10

RB Tyrone Tracy Jr., New York Giants: Despite Devin Singletary now being fully healthy, Tracy isn’t showing any signs of relinquishing the starting job. The rookie had 16 carries for a game-high 66 yards against Washington, while Singletary had just seven touches.

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WR Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers: Another rookie who’s rolling is McConkey, especially for PPR fantasy managers. This young Ladd had five receptions for 64 yards, and he led the team with seven targets. He and Quentin Johnston have emerged as reliable fantasy options for the Bolts.

WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans: Westbrook-Ikhine has been the biggest beneficiary of DeAndre Hopkins being shipped out of town and Mason Rudolph taking over under center. Westbrook-Ikhine has scored in four consecutive games, and he is worth a look in deeper leagues, TD-only formats and DFS play.

RB Emari Demercado, Arizona Cardinals: Demercado had just six touches in Week 9, but he showed such tremendous speed that it is hard to imagine his role won’t expand. He had a 53-yard touchdown run, and he totaled 80 scrimmage yards. As long as James Conner is healthy, Demercado’s fantasy ceiling is limited, but he is on the rise.

TE Drew Sample, Cincinnati Bengals: Sample ended up finding the end zone in Week 9, and his role is on the rise with Erick All suffering at knee injury. While Sample still has Mike Gesicki to contend with, Bengals tight ends racked up three total touchdowns in Week 9.

Fantasy football players to sell for Week 10

RB Braelon Allen, New York Jets: At one point, Allen looked like he would be seeing double-digit touches. Former coach Robert Saleh might have been a fan of Allen, but the new regime has been keen on pounding the ball with Breece Hall, leaving Allen mostly nailed to the bench. He is averaging just over five touches per game since Saleh was dismissed.

RB Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars: Etienne has just 12 carries the past three games, and eight total touches in the past two outings. The emergence of Tank Bigsby has diminished Etienne’s role, and at this point he is only worth starting in the deepest of fantasy formats.

QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears: Williams has completed just 49.2% of his pass attempts in the past two games, while totaling just 348 passing yards with no touchdown throws. After his breakout 4-TD game in London against the Jaguars, things have gone south again.

QB Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts: Richardson was benched in favor of 39-year-old veteran Joe Flacco. While that’s not a surprise, it may not just be a short-term thing. That’s bad news for Richardson’s fantasy appeal for the rest of 2024, and possibly beyond.

TE Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions: LaPorta was one of the best, if not the best fantasy tight end in 2023. What a difference a year makes. The 23-year-old has two or fewer catches in three of the past four outings, and he has registered 28 or fewer yards in two of the past three. He is mostly a TE2, which is not what fantasy managers expected when drafting him in the early rounds.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Bakari Sellers, the former South Carolina state representative and current CNN political commentator, was at the Democratic National Convention in August when he ran into Susan Rice.

“I told her, ‘You know my girl’s coming,’” Sellers recalled in a conversation with USA TODAY Sports. 

Rice, the former United Nations ambassador and National Security Advisor under Barack Obama, wasn’t sure who he meant. 

 “Dawn’s coming,” he said, referring to South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.

Here is somebody in Rice who has been in rooms with the most powerful people in the world, worked in three presidential administrations and been part of some of the most consequential foreign policy decisions of our time. And yet the prospect of getting face time with Staley was so exciting, Rice wasn’t going to leave until they got to meet.  

“You’ve got to realize, Ambassador Rice waited right there about 30 minutes for Dawn to make her way across the arena just so they could talk basketball,” Sellers said. “I mean, she’s bigger than life.” 

And her life, especially right now as she begins her 17th season at South Carolina with another team ranked No. 1 in the preseason, is bigger than ever. The Gamecocks open their title defense Monday in Las Vegas against Michigan.

Just take a trip through Staley’s social media account where you see her photographed with everyone from Obama to Tom Brady, Serena Williams to Guy Fieri, Pharrell Williams to Nancy Pelosi and everywhere from the New York Stock Exchange to a Gucci fashion show in Milan to the Balenciaga/Under Armour show in Shanghai to the Paris Olympics to the DNC.

And that’s all just since winning her third national championship in April. 

“I love that for her,” said Te-Hina Paopao, the senior guard from California who transferred from Oregon to play for Staley last year. “She’s so cool, so chill. I want to be like coach Staley. One day she’s in Paris and the next day she’s at practice.”

Dawn Staley – a star with unvarnished authenticity

In an era of college athletics where so many coaches feel consumed by the job like never before thanks to the complications of roster building through name, image and likeness and the transfer portal, Staley has managed to leverage on-court success into a level of mainstream celebrity no women’s college basketball coach has ever achieved. 

Despite a Hall of Fame playing career including three Olympic gold medals, Staley has never been more culturally relevant than she is now at age 54 in a role that goes well beyond the importance of a Black woman building a college basketball dynasty out of nothing. 

On any given day, she’s a fashion icon, a Philadelphia sports superfan, a champion for equality and someone politicians and celebrities want to be around. Even her dog, Champ, the 7-year old Havanese, has social media accounts with thousands of followers. 

At this moment, as millions of new fans have been drawn in by the Caitlin Clark phenomenon, Staley is the bridge that connects the rise of women’s basketball as a major entity to a celebrity culture that now absorbs the sport rather than shuns it. 

“She and Caitlin have a lot of similarities in that they have both crossed over the sports media landscape into the mainstream media,” said Debbie Antonelli, the basketball analyst for ESPN and other networks who called Staley’s games as a player with the Charlotte Sting. “They are stories wherever they go. Not every women’s basketball coach or player can say that.”

Staley’s explanation for how it all happened – life was not like this when she was grinding it out in the early years at South Carolina, struggling just to make the NCAA tournament – is simpler and more organic than you might think. 

When you see her pop up in these places that belie the stereotypes around singularly focused and stressed-out coaches or rubbing elbows with the rich and famous, it is not part of some public relations strategy or recruiting gimmick. It is simply because the success she achieved has opened doors that now, at this point in her life, she is ready to walk through. 

“I was not invited to certain stuff, but when you win and you’re successful, you get invited,” she said. “If I was a player, I probably would have never gone to any of it – anything that wasn’t basketball-related. But now that I’m older, I’m able to experience. I’m unafraid.

“Before, I was singularly focused on my craft, and it was weird. I wouldn’t even want our players to be the way I was because I didn’t really have friends, and I was OK with it. Now I’ve probably got more friends in my life than I’ve ever had, and we enjoy things together, we go on vacation together. I want to see things. I want to compare the Balenciaga fashion show to the Gucci fashion show.”

That brand of unvarnished authenticity – whether it’s talking about herself, criticizing the pay scale for coaches in women’s basketball, highlighting the lack of opportunity for Black coaches or even being open about her preferences in the upcoming election – partly explains why she has carved out such a prominent place in sports culture. 

“She’s true to herself and she’s really, really comfortable in her own skin,” said Lisa Boyer, who has been her right-hand assistant since they started together at Temple in 2002 when Staley was simultaneously coaching in college and playing in the WNBA. “She’s not going to sit by and (let) things go. Part of it is because, you know, she has a team and she has young women. She has to step up. I’m not saying she’s consciously doing it, but she is leading them. She’s showing them a way.”

This has manifested in various words and deeds that, in theory, might make Staley a controversial figure in one of the nation’s most politically conservative states, one that didn’t even remove the Confederate flag from its capitol building until nine years ago. 

And, in fact, it is difficult not to connect those dots at a time when the nation is on the verge of a choice between former president Donald Trump and vice president Kamala Harris, who would become the first Black woman to reach the highest office if she wins on Tuesday. 

‘It’s OK, we can differ’

While most college coaches do whatever they can to avoid wading into politics at this time of year – Nick Saban in 2016 famously said he forgot that it was election day – there are exceptions. And the day before sitting down for an interview with USA TODAY Sports, Staley posted a picture to her X, formerly known as Twitter, account with her “I Voted” sticker and the following caption: “This just happened and I’m sure @KamalaHarris would approve of this vote.”

Though Staley is aware she lives in a state where Trump won by 14 and 12 percentage points in the previous two elections and admitted she’s “worried” about what will happen if he wins the presidency, she does not see this as a dividing line between herself and South Carolina’s fan base. 

“It’s OK,” she said. “We can differ. I always say we can agree to disagree agreeably, and if a lot more people would take that approach, we’ll be much better off.

“But I will speak from my heart. I don’t think I’ve changed from Year 1 until now. I really am the same. I’ll answer questions from what my experience is at that particular time.”

Of course, there is some backlash and a segment of the fan base who would prefer she “stick to sports.” Staley sees that, mostly on social media, and even engages it from time to time. But at the end of the day, this is an easy alliance: Staley is unquestionably one of the most important figures in the history of the university, and South Carolina has embraced and invested in women’s basketball at a level nobody could have imagined a decade ago with crowds that regularly fill their 18,000-seat arena.

“She has a great deal of runway,” Sellers said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. She wins, her girls are responsible and good citizens and good corporate citizens. Therefore she’s able to go out and endorse Kamala Harris and say what she wants to say. But you’ve got to remind people sometimes that she’s from Philly with the ‘F.’ She grew up in a different lifestyle, and that comes out a lot. That’s her edge.”

Fighting for gender equity

Staley said she does not have a personal relationship with the vice president, though Harris did stop by the team’s shootaround in January during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day visit to Columbia for an NAACP event.

And at this point, Staley has so much experience meeting presidents from Olympic gold medal and national championship White House visits that one might wonder if a bigger role in politics or elected office might be tempting. She was adamant that the basketball court is the platform where she can make a difference.

“I think the biggest moment for me was when she spoke at the ESPYs about just the different challenges within the game and for herself,” said Bree Hall, a senior Gamecocks guard who has been part of two national championship teams. “I was just like, wow that was incredible. That was so powerful and I feel like other people looked at that and were like, ‘Wow she’s more than just a coach. She’s a leader.’” 

In that speech earlier this summer, where Staley accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, she laid out clearly why this job means more to her than a $3 million salary and a growing trophy case. 

“How do I not fight injustice when I ask them to do things the right way?” she said. “How do I not fight for fairness when I ask them not to cheat themselves, not to cut corners? How do I not fight for equity when I tell them they can climb as high as they want?

“How do I not fight pay disparity when I do the same job and get paid less but win more? 

‘They’re watching me. I can’t ask them to stand up for themselves if I’m sitting down. Nor can I ask them to use their voice to affect change if I’m only willing to whisper. So when someone tells me to shut up and coach, I simply say, ‘No.’ I have a job to do. I’m being watched.” 

And suddenly, everything that has happened at South Carolina over the last half-dozen years makes sense. Becoming the sport’s dominant program isn’t just the talent or the X’s and O’s, though of course those things obviously matter a great deal.

It’s the idea that Staley and her program now represent: You can, in fact, demand better of people and institutions the way Staley did when she went to South Carolina and sought a contract extension that addressed gender equity. You can force those who may not agree with you about important things to appreciate the value you bring to a community. You can win and be generous, as Staley showed when she sent pieces of the net from her first national championship to every Black head coach in women’s basketball. You can have it all without compromising the values you believe are important and speaking up about important issues.

“She’s not rude or contentious but she is going to tell the truth,” Boyer said. “I don’t think she’s going to be silent about certain things, and I think that’s growth. That’s something that’s evolved as she’s been here, moving to South Carolina and not really knowing (what to expect), but the people here really embraced her especially when we started winning. There’s not a lot of nonsense here. People know where Dawn stands on most situations, and we run a pretty tight ship. I think those are values people of South Carolina really admire and can relate to.” 

And they are the values that have driven sustained success: Six Final Fours over the past nine NCAA tournaments and a championship team last year that, remarkably, had seven players averaging between 8.1 and 14.4 points while going 38-0.

Maintaining that kind of depth takes sacrifice and an unnatural level of buy-in from players, particularly now that they can so freely move around from one program to another. But it is not an accident. 

Last year, even as Clark was driving most of the national conversation in women’s basketball, you might have noticed that South Carolina did not complain about the attention deficit even as they were on the way to a historic season. In fact, after the championship game where South Carolina beat Iowa 87-75, Staley went out of her way to thank Clark for “lifting up our sport.” 

It was one more example of the type of leadership that has drawn a level praise from politicians, athletes and entertainers that borders on the absurd. Few people in any sport would have as high an approval rating as Staley right now as she starts the journey to a potential fourth championship. 

So she will keep sharing, keep advocating, keep being herself even in a world and environment at South Carolina where some might have wondered if it was tenable. 

But now that the championships have started to come in bunches, Staley has become something beyond even women’s basketball itself: An American sports icon whose voice and what she represents matters as much as her clipboard. 

‘I’m not going to subject myself to living in a box,’ she said. ‘If I have something to say, if I have a belief, if I have a perspective, we live in a day and age where you share it. You share it. Whether that pulls people in or pushes people away, that’s really not on me.”

“But I’m blessed. My players allow me to be me.’

Not only are the Kansas City Chiefs undefeated and on a quest for another Super Bowl-title defense, they also feature one of the most-followed romances in the world with tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.

The football star and pop icon became the talk of the year in 2023 when Swift showed up at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 3 of the 2023 season. From that point on, sports and music fans have watched their love story grow as Swift embarked on her Eras Tour while Kelce and the Chiefs attempted to win their second consecutive Super Bowl. It all culminated in Las Vegas in February when Kansas City won another title and the couple got to celebrate the repeat championship together.

The couple remains strong in 2024 and they’ve supported each other’s career recently with Swift at some Kansas City games and Kelce at the Eras Tour. There is a chance Swift supports her beau this week. The artist just wrapped up the U.S. leg of her tour on Sunday, so she is free to attend the Chiefs game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.

Swift has attended every home game so far for Kansas City, and while Kelce hasn’t put up the greatest numbers with her watching, the team remains perfect this season.

Travis Kelce stats with Taylor Swift in attendance this season

Swift has been at every home game for Kansas City this season. She saw the Chiefs’ season-opening victory over the Baltimore Ravens, the win over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Monday night game against the New Orleans Saints.

All things Chiefs: Latest Kansas City Chiefs news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Kelce did have a slow start to the season, but Swift did see him haul in nine catches against the Saints. In three games with Swift watching, Kelce has a combined 13 catches for 109 receiving yards. Here are his stats at the games she has seen:

Week 1 vs. Ravens: three catches, 34 yards
Week 2 vs. Bengals: one catch, 5 yards
Week 5 vs. Saints: nine catches, 70 yards

The Chiefs are 3-0 with Swift watching and, dating to last season, are 13-3 when she’s in the crowd.

Travis Kelce stats without Taylor Swift in attendance 2024

So far, Kelce has been better when Swift isn’t in the crowd.

Kelce is coming off his best game of the season when he had a season-high 10 catches for 90 yards, as well as his first touchdown catch of the season. In four games, Kelce has a combined 25 catches for 226 yards and one touchdown, far better statistical production without Swift. Here are his stats at the games she has missed:

Week 3 vs. Falcons: four catches, 30 yards
Week 4 vs. Chargers: seven catches, 89 yards
Week 6 vs. 49ers: four catches, 17 yards
Week 7 vs. Raiders: 10 catches, 90 yards and one touchdown

Kansas City is 4-0 when Swift isn’t there and 8-2 in the situation dating to last season.