Jürgen Klopp may be the ultimate pipe dream for U.S. men’s national team fans, but don’t tell ex-USMNT stars Tim Howard and Alexi Lalas.

With U.S. Soccer facing increasing pressure to dismiss coach Gregg Berhalter after the team’s embarrassing early exit from the 2024 Copa América, both Howard and Lalas went public in urging the federation to pursue Klopp.

The former Liverpool manager, who won six major trophies during an outstanding nine-year run at Anfield, has made no public pronouncements about interest in the USMNT job (or any other national team post).

That hasn’t stopped fans and pundits in the U.S. for citing him as the top target for U.S. Soccer.

“If you’re not going to go big, it flies in the face of what America is — we want big, we want bold, and dare I say we want arrogant in the things that we do, in particular in terms of maximizing the summer of 2026,” Lalas told the New York Post in an interview.

“Someone like Jürgen Klopp is out there. I know people scoff at the idea of someone with his pedigree and background would ever consider doing this. But until you have the conversation, you don’t know.”

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Tim Howard pledges in-person pitch to Jürgen Klopp

Where Lalas was simply interested in U.S. Soccer touching base with Klopp, Howard went much further.

“If I was in charge of U.S. Soccer right now, I’d be on my way to the airport. Why? Because I believe I could make a very compelling argument to Jürgen Klopp,” wrote Howard in an opinion column in the Daily Mail.

“After the disappointment of Copa América, after the United States lost to Uruguay and exited at the group stages, I will personally fly to Spain. I mean it.

“I know Klopp has only been retired a few weeks and I know he wants a break. But if we sat around his villa in Spain, I think I could lure him over here. 100 percent.

“The money is certainly there. So my pitch would be simple: he has a young group of players who can play progressive, front-foot soccer, exactly like his Liverpool teams. And in two years’ time he can go to the biggest World Cup in history.”

Howard’s insistence that the money will be there might be a stretch. Klopp reportedly made $19.1 million per season at the end of his Liverpool contract.

By comparison, World Cup bonuses took Berhalter’s contract for 2022 up to $2.3 million.

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In the least shocking free-agent decision this summer – considering the Los Angeles Lakers drafted his son, Bronny – LeBron James reached a two-year, $104 million contract agreement to remain with the Lakers, a person familiar with the deal confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.

The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly until the deal is official.

The deal includes a player option on the second season and a no-trade clause.

James, who made All-NBA for the 20th time in 2023-24, returns for his 22nd season after averaging 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds and shooting 54% from the field and 41% on 3-pointers last season. He will turn 40 on Dec. 30.

On June 27, the Lakers selected his oldest son, Bronny, with the No. 55 pick in the NBA draft, making LeBron and Bronny the first father-son pair to play in the NBA at the same time.

James had options this season offseason. He could have exercised the player option on the second and final season ($51.4 million in 2024-25) of the two-year, $99 million contract he signed a year ago. That would’ve made him extension eligible Aug. 18, and could’ve signed a two-year extension with the Lakers, giving him the equivalent of a three-year, $164 million deal. That option was the most lucrative financially, however, James could not include a no-trade clause in an extension.

By opting out of his contract, becoming a free agent and re-signing with the Lakers, James has a no-trade clause which will reduce chatter of the Lakers sending him to another team.

James is willing to tinker with dollar amount on his contract if it allows to the Lakers to make improvements to the roster and give them a better chance to compete for a top spot in the Western Conference.

He could’ve signed with another team, but that was always an unlikely option even before the Lakers drafted Bronny. At All-Star Weekend in February when asked by USA TODAY about his future, he said, ‘l am a Laker, and I am happy and been very happy being a Laker the last six years, and hopefully it stays that way.

‘But I don’t have the answer to how long it is or which uniform I’ll be in. Hopefully it is with the Lakers. It’s a great organization and so many greats. But we’ll see. I don’t know how it’s going to end (his NBA playing career), but it’s coming. It’s coming, for sure.’

The Lakers were 47-35 last season, but lost in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs to the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers fired coach Darvin Ham and replaced him with JJ Redick, a first-time coach who left ESPN/ABC for the high-profile job.

Philadelphia sports radio personality Howard Eskin has been banned from the Phillies home park for the rest of the MLB season for an unwelcome advance toward a stadium employee.

The parent company of WIP radio issued a statement regarding the incident that NBC 10 Philadelphia reports occurred in May,

‘We learned of an unwelcome kiss by Howard Eskin towards an Aramark employee at Citizens Bank Park. We take these matters very seriously. We immediately investigated and took action to address the matter,’ Audacy said in a statement.

The broadcasting company and the Phillies conducted an investigation and mutually agreed that a suspension was warranted.

Eskin, 73, has been both a major presence and a polarizing figure in Philadelphia sports since the 1980s on both radio and television.

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STILLWATER — All 10 Oklahoma State football assistants received new two-year contracts with raises for the nine returning coaches, plus an updated five-year deal for strength coach Rob Glass, according to contracts obtained by The Oklahoman and the USA TODAY Network.

Two years ago, head coach Mike Gundy boosted Glass’ salary to make him what was believed to be the highest-paid strength coach in college football, and the new deal increases his annual salary to $1.1 million, a raise of $100,000 per year on a contract that now runs through the 2028 season.

Last season, Glass and then-Michigan strength coach Ben Herbert were tied for being the nation’s highest-paid football strength coach at a public school. Herbert has since joined former Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. Herbert’s replacement, Justin Tress, is scheduled to make $500,000 for the 2024 season.

That means, at present, the second-highest-paid strength coach is set to be Ohio State’s Mickey Marotti, who made a little less than $900,000 last season.

Glass’ pay was increased to $1 million from $725,000 for the 2022 season.   

The 10 on-field coaches received two-year contracts that went into effect in February, with raises of at least $25,000 for each of the returning coaches. New defensive line coach Paul Randolph also was given a two-year deal that will pay him $475,000 per season.

Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn received a raise of $100,000, bringing his annual salary to the $1 million mark.

Second-year defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo’s raise of $50,000 brought his salary to $700,000.

Gundy’s five-year rollover contract, which he signed in 2022, was not changed. He received his latest annual increase of $125,000 on Jan. 1, which brought his total salary to $7.75 million for the 2024 season. 

Jessica Campbell made history Wednesday when she was hired to join Dan Bylsma’s coaching staff on the Seattle Kraken.

She becomes the first female full-time assistant coach in NHL history to work behind the bench

Campbell, 32, made similar history in the American Hockey League when Bylsma hired her as an assistant coach with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2022. Bylsma, a former Stanley Cup winner, is bringing Campbell with him to the NHL after being named Kraken coach in May.

She said in a news conference that she’s honored by being the first, but her focus is on the job.

‘I just know that if the team has success and my impact is a good one, it could potentially open the doors for others,’ she said.

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Coachella Valley had success with Bylsma and Campbell, reaching the AHL’s Calder Cup Finals the past two seasons.

“During our tenure in Coachella Valley, I saw firsthand Jessica’s commitment to player development,” Bylsma said. “Her ability to establish relationships with her players, specifically Tye Kartye, Shane Wright and Ryker Evans, was an important factor in this hire. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with her at the NHL level.”

Before joining Coachella Valley, Campbell was as an assistant coach and skills coach in 2021-22 for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in Germany’s top professional men’s league in Germany. She also was an assistant coach for Germany at the 2022 world championships.

Campbell played from 2010-14 at Cornell University, captaining the team her senior year. She played professionally in Canada and Sweden and was MVP of the 2010 under-18 world championships as Canada won gold.

‘There’s a long list of incredible women that are doing phenomenal jobs (in the NHL) in management, scouting, player development,’ she said. ‘I’m just excited to do my part now behind the bench.’

Bylsma also named longtime NHL assistant Bob Woods to his coaching staff. The two spent a season together coaching the Buffalo Sabres.

Campbell and Woods join Dave Lowry behind the bench next season. The rest of the staff includes goaltending coach Steve Briere, video coach Tim Ohashi and video assistant Brady Morgan.

“This is an important day for our organization,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. “We’re bringing in valuable coaching experience to our staff and are confident that both Bob and Jessica will make an immediate impact for our team.”

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Rookie Bronny James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, the team said in a news release, and ESPN reported the contract is for four years and $7.9 million.

For comparison, the 30th pick (Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman) in this’s year draft is slotted to make $12.1 million over four years, per the rookie contract scale for first-round picks. Last season, GG Jackson, the 45th pick in the second round by Memphis, signed a four-year, $8.5 million contract.

The deal comes on the same day that Bronny’s dad, Lakers superstar LeBron James, reached a two-year, $104 million deal. They are the first father-son combo to play in the NBA at the same time.

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‘Bronny is first and foremost a person of high character,’ Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said. ‘And second, he is a young man that works incredibly hard. And those are the qualities we look for in drafting players and adding to our developmental core with the Lakers.’

The 19-year-old James spent his freshman season at Southern California in 2023-24, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists and shooting 36.6% from the field and 26.7% on 3-pointers in 25 games.

Bronny was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect following sudden cardiac arrest a year ago. He was cleared to play by the NBA’s Fitness to Play Panel.

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt