The American squad at the 2026 World Baseball Classic just got a little bit stronger.

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa unveiled several new additions to the roster on Tuesday, Dec. 9, with DH Kyle Schwarber, infielders Brice Turang and Gunnar Henderson, and catcher Will Smith committing to play in the tournament next March.

(It turned out to be a pretty big day for Schwarber as the free agent slugger also committed to another team, agreeing to return to the Philadelphia Phillies on a reported five-year, $150 million deal.)

The new additions join a U.S. squad that already includes captain Aaron Judge, catcher Cal Raleigh, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and ace pitcher Paul Skenes.

Team USA, which won its only title in 2017, was the runner-up to Japan in the last WBC played in 2023.

The final produced what’s almost certainly the most memorable moment in the tournament’s history, when Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout − at the time, his teammate on the Los Angeles Angels − for the last out in Japan’s championship-clinching 3-2 victory.

Ohtani has already announced he will play for Team Japan again in this year’s tournament.

Welcome to the fortunate few fantasy managers who’ve survived the season and are set to participate in the playoffs.

Roster management becomes slightly different in the postseason, with the primary focus centered on surviving and advancing. But at the same time, you want to make sure your flanks are covered so that a major injury doesn’t completely derail your title chances.

For example, we recommended Blake Corum last week as our top pick. Although Kyren Williams is still the Rams’ starting running back, Corum has been seeing more work lately. In Week 14, he rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries. Even so, Corum is still only rostered in one-third of Yahoo leagues.

Which players can help you on the road to a fantasy league championship? Let’s take a look.

Fantasy football players to add for Week 15

Due to the wide variance in types of leagues and individual team needs, the players listed here include their availability rates in Yahoo leagues, which may or may not match rates on other platforms. Since the fantasy playoffs begin this week in most leagues, the bar for picking up players is considerably higher with fewer teams in the mix. Spend whatever you must to get the players you need.

RB Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon, Miami Dolphins (3%, 8% rostered)

The biggest health concern for fantasy managers last week came when the Dolphins’ De’Von Achane exited early with a rib injury and didn’t return. Taking over as the lead back, Wright logged 24 carries for 107 yards. He also scored a short-yardage touchdown, which came before Achane’s injury. Gordon, a reliable backup all season, also got into the end zone − but he only saw five carries for 17 yards. Wright would be the top priority if Achane is limited going forward since he outsnapped Gordon 32-16 vs. the Jets. (Recommended FAAB bids: Wright 80%, Gordon 40%)

TE Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns (40% rostered)

If you need a tight end this week, Fannin is your guy. QB Shedeur Sanders seems to look his way constantly, and he responded on Sunday with a career-high eight catches for 144 yards. He also reached the end zone for the second week in a row. Veteran tight end David Njoku also scored, but he left the game with a knee injury on the play and didn’t return. (FAAB bid: 65%)

RB Bam Knight and Michael Carter, Arizona Cardinals (38%, 6% rostered)

The ‘… Trey Benson is coming back’ trope is wearing thin. If Benson is not activated off IR this week, he’ll be ineligible to play the rest of the season. Knight has been the most productive back in Benson’s absence, but the difference between him and Carter hasn’t been that great lately − mostly because of the success QB Jacoby Brissett has enjoyed throwing the ball. This week’s matchup against the Houston Texans is horrible, but Atlanta and Cincinnati await if you advance. (FAAB bids: Knight 30%, Carter 25%)

WR Ryan Flournoy, Dallas Cowboys (1% rostered)

With CeeDee Lamb exiting in the third quarter with concussion symptoms, Flournoy stepped forward on Thursday as Dak Prescott’s top target against the Lions. He hauled in nine of his 13 targets for 115 yards and also scored a touchdown. Lamb will have an extra few days to recover and should be back against the Vikings, but Flournoy is still a great insurance policy with the Cowboys so reliant on their passing game. (FAAB bid: 25%)

WR Isaac TeSlaa, Detroit Lions (12% rostered)

Not going to say his performance has been electric, but the Lions have been quite innovative in getting the ball to their opportunistic rookie. TeSlaa hauled in yet another touchdown on Thursday night vs. Dallas, giving him a total of four on the season − on only eight receptions. He didn’t see as much action as expected with star WR Amon-Ra St. Brown shaking off an ankle injury to play almost a full game. Even so, you could say TeSlaa is definitely a plug-and-play receiver should anything happen to St. Brown or Jameson Williams in this high-powered Lions offense. (FAAB bid: 25%)

WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears (17% rostered)

It can take time for some rookie wide receivers to find their niche. That could very well be the case for Burden, who led the Bears with six targets and 67 yards on Sunday. His production, however, has been steady, if unspectacular. If you feel comfortable betting on upside, he’s shown more lately than either Rome Odunze or D.J. Moore. (FAAB bid: 20%)

WR Rashid Shaheed, Seattle Seahawks (52% rostered)

Shaheed is little above the standard 50% threshold we use for waiver wire eligibility, but we’ll include him for shallow-league purposes. On Sunday, he scored his first touchdown since being acquired by the Seahawks, but it came on a kickoff return, not a pass from QB San Darnold. There’s always a possibility he can take another return to the house, but what was even more encouraging was his involvement in the offense. Shaheed caught four of five targets for 67 yards at Atlanta, by far his best effort with his new club. (FAAB bid: 20%)

WR Marvin Mims, Denver Broncos (13% rostered)

Mims also performs double duty as a kick returner and he took a punt back for a score on Sunday against the Raiders. However, he seems to be a bit further down the Broncos’ pecking order as a wideout than Shaheed is in Seattle. He hasn’t seen more than two targets since Week 7, having been passed on the depth chart by rookie Pat Bryant (3% rostered). (FAAB bid: 10%)

TE Dalton Schultz, Houston Texans (47% rostered)

A secondary tight end addition for the playoff run, Schultz didn’t do much on the stat sheet Sunday night. But a three-catch, 22-yard performance could have been much better if his red-zone touchdown reception wasn’t nullified by a penalty. Before that, Schultz had surpassed 50 receiving yards in six of his previous eight games. A matchup vs. the Cardinals this week should be more to his liking. (FAAB bid: 10%)

Quarterbacks to stream in Week 15

Let’s face it, you’re in pretty big trouble if you’re getting your starting quarterback in a playoff game off the waiver wire. But injuries do happen and we saw Daniel Jones, Jayden Daniels and Geno Smith exit early this past Sunday.

QB Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints (8% rostered)

He only had 144 passing yards on Sunday vs. Tampa Bay, but he did score a pair of rushing touchdowns. He faces the Panthers and Jets at home, then is at Tennessee in Week 17.

QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings (30% rostered)

Finally, McCarthy put up a decent game with three TD passes, albeit against a terrible opponent. However, that will be the case for each of the next three weeks as he goes up against the Cowboys, Giants and Colts − all ranked in the bottom-7 in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks.

QB C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (42% rostered)

Stroud had a nice first half and a dismal second half in Kansas City. But like McCarthy with Justin Jefferson, he has a top-tier wideout in Nico Collins, who can make plays all over the field. He has decent home matchups vs. the Cardinals and Raiders before a dangerous road date at the Chargers on championship week.

Egypt’s Football Association said on Tuesday it had sent a letter to FIFA urging the governing body to prevent any LGBTQ+ Pride-related activities during the national team’s World Cup match against Iran in Seattle next June.

The EFA argues in the letter that such events would clash with the cultural and religious values of the nations participating in the match.

The fixture on June 26 has been designated by local organisers as a ‘Pride Match’ to coincide with Seattle’s Pride weekend.

The two nations involved in the match – Egypt and Iran – impose severe penalties on LGBTQ+ people.

Reports said the plans, which include LGBTQ+ celebrations and artwork displays around the stadium and across Seattle, were drawn up before the tournament draw confirmed the Group G fixture.

In its letter to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom, the EFA said it ‘categorically rejects any activities promoting LGBTQ during the match,’ warning that such events could ‘provoke cultural and religious sensitivities among fans.’

‘These activities directly conflict with the cultural, religious and social values of the region, particularly in Arab and Islamic societies,’ the EFA wrote.

‘While FIFA is committed to ensuring a respectful environment that welcomes all fans, it is essential to avoid activities that could spark tension or misunderstanding between supporters from Egypt and Iran.’

‘We call on FIFA to guarantee that the match takes place in an atmosphere focused solely on sport and free from displays that contradict the beliefs of the participating nations.’

The EFA said its position was based on FIFA’s statutes, ‘specifically Article 4, which emphasizes neutrality in political and social matters during FIFA competitions,’ and on disciplinary regulations that require tournaments to remain free of ‘manifestations that could cause tension or conflict among fans.’

In Iran, same-sex relations can carry the death penalty, while in Egypt morality laws are often used to prosecute LGBTQ+ people.

The event is organised by the local committee and is not affiliated with FIFA. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by email.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, FIFA threatened yellow cards for players wearing the ‘OneLove’ armband in support of LGBTQ+ rights, prompting teams including England and Wales to abandon plans to use it.

Tottenham Hotspur moved their Progress Pride Flag from its usual spot at their stadium ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match against Slavia Prague, citing security concerns raised by the visiting team.

The flag is an updated version of the classic rainbow flag and is usually displayed in the north-east corner of the stadium.

‘The flag has been relocated at the visiting team’s request to UEFA on security grounds,’ the club told Reuters.

The decision has sparked disappointment among Tottenham’s LGBTQ+ fans.

‘We are, of course, frustrated. You don’t get to come to our stadium and dictate what’s acceptable, let alone complain about a flag representing our community,’ the Proud Lilywhites Committee, which represents LGBTQ+ supporters, said in a statement.

In September 2022, following Spurs’ 2-0 victory in a Champions League clash with Olympique de Marseille, five fans were arrested for violence after rioting and tearing down the Pride Flag.

Tottenham will be looking to boost their chances of finishing in the top eight of the Champions League table. They are currently 16th in the standings, following their 5–3 loss to Paris Saint-Germain last month.

CFP selection committee specializes in chicanery.
Committee will pretend a conference championship game never happened, if it needs to, to build bracket it desires.
Committee’s snubs include Texas and the Big 12.

If you skipped all of the College Football Playoff rankings shows except the final one, you probably saw a pecking order that seemed within reason.

If you’d been following along with the weekly rankings along the way, well, you could be forgiven for feeling confused, outraged or hoodwinked.

This selection committee acted deceitfully.  

It pulled a bait and switch on Notre Dame, it acted as if Alabama’s win against Auburn was a great “feather in the cap,” and it pretended as if some games never happened.

Did we learn anything? For one, the CFP committee specializes in chicanery.

Here are four more lessons:

1. Conference championship results won’t bump a team from CFP bracket

The committee had a way out of the Notre Dame or Miami dilemma. It could have selected both and dumped Alabama after the Crimson Tide tumbled rump over teakettle in a pitiful loss to Georgia. The committee resisted. It ignored the SEC Championship game result and didn’t budge Alabama an inch after its woeful performance.

In doing so, the committee cemented an unwritten rule: A team that’s in the CFP bracket entering December and loses in the conference championship cannot be bumped by an at-large qualifier. In other words, the conference title game becomes a free swing if you’re in the bracket entering that weekend.

This meshes with the precedent the committee set last season. SMU was in the bracket entering the ACC Championship game, where it lost to Clemson. The Mustangs dropped in the seedings after that result but retained their bid as the last team in.

The committee went a step further this year, not even altering Alabama’s seeding, despite a 21-point loss.

In the four-team playoff era, a loss in a conference championship game could eliminate a team from the bracket. After the bracket grew to 12 teams, the committee has adopted the stance no conference runner-up should be punished to the extent it loses a bid it otherwise would have received, if conference title games did not exist.

Unlike Alabama, Brigham Young dropped in the rankings after its loss in the Big 12 title game, but the Cougars weren’t in the bracket entering the weekend. They needed to win to nab a bid.

Alabama was safe, no matter what happened in Atlanta.

The committee’s machinations amount to a bending over backward to preserve conference title games.

Lesson 1: If the committee wants a conference runner-up in the bracket, it’s willing to pretend a conference championship game never happened.

2. Initial rankings are an untrustworthy carnival, all for ESPN

The committee consistently valued Notre Dame more than Miami when the rankings were just ESPN programming. In the initial rankings on Nov. 4, the committee put the Irish at No. 10 and the Hurricanes at No. 18.

The first several batches of rankings are nothing more than a TV show. The committee can and will reverse course on Selection Sunday.

Since the initial rankings, the Irish and Hurricanes each blew out four opponents that ranged in quality from bad to mediocre. Notre Dame dropped in the rankings, while Miami moved up eight spots.

What gives?

When the rankings stopped being a carnival for ESPN’s benefit and became an exercise to choose the playoff qualifiers, the committee picked Miami and booted Notre Dame, based on the Hurricanes’ head-to-head victory.

The committee reached a justifiable destination, but it charted a cruel and unnecessary course to reach the point of Miami being ahead of Notre Dame. The Hurricanes always should have been ahead of the Irish — or, at least, never eight spots behind them.

“We’re just really frustrated that we had the rug pulled out from underneath us,” Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said on the “Dan Patrick Show.”

Totally understand the frustration, even if I disagree with the Irish’s response to opt out of a bowl game.

Lesson 2: The first several rankings amount to a dog and pony show performed purely for ESPN’s benefit. The penultimate rankings offer some substance. Any rankings before that are meaningless.

3. Record still matters — a lot

Indiana, the lone undefeated team, earned the No. 1 seed. Nobody would argue with that.

Then come six one-loss teams.

Next come two-loss Oklahoma and Miami, with three-loss Alabama in between. The committee treated Alabama as a two-loss team, because it decided conference title game losses don’t count for teams already in the bracket.

Strength of schedule can offer a boost among teams with equal records (although it didn’t help Texas A&M), but the committee is not swayed by metrics as much as it is by record.

Just like last season, the committee had a chance to select a 9-3 SEC team, Texas, with a lofty strength of schedule, but it didn’t. Texas had a better resume than any of the SEC’s three-loss teams from 2024, but the Longhorns weren’t even among the first two teams left out of the bracket.

Texas and Georgia are the only teams with three wins against teams in the top 15. One of Texas’ losses came against Ohio State, now 12-1.

The Longhorns have a pristine strength of schedule, but they lost to a bad Florida team, and Georgia thumped them. Despite those Florida and Georgia losses, if Texas had swapped Boston College into Ohio State’s spot on its schedule, I think it would be safely in the field at 10-2.

Texas owns a head-to-head win against playoff qualifier Oklahoma. The committee can justify selecting the Sooners (10-2) based on record. It couldn’t justify that choice if the Longhorns were 10-2.

Lesson 3: Pains me to say it, but schedule nonconference cupcakes. The juice of a marquee nonconference win is not worth the risk of a loss. Texas A&M beat Notre Dame, but it’s positioned at the bottom of one-loss teams. Texas lost a close game to Ohio State, amassed fancy metrics, and finished a few spots short of a bid. Yummy cupcakes build playoff records.

4. Playoff committee still doesn’t love BYU or the Big 12

BYU owns a top-25 strength of schedule, per ESPN metrics. Its only two losses came against Texas Tech, seeded fourth in the bracket.

It amassed the most wins, 11, among Power Four teams left out of the field. For the second straight season, the committee stiff-armed BYU and stuck the Big 12 with just a single bid.

It’s hard to argue that outcome, if basing an evaluation of BYU on its showings against the Red Raiders. The Cougars were blown out twice, but Texas Tech profiles as a national championship contender.

BYU has more wins and a stronger SOS than either Miami or Notre Dame, but it’s ranked behind them. Clearly, the Cougars’ only path to playoff qualification required beating Texas Tech at least once. They didn’t, and the committee was not swayed by BYU’s win total, making it an outlier to Lesson No. 3.

Lesson 4: The Big 12 needs the bracket to expand to 16 teams, as much or more as any conference needs playoff expansion.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Three days after helping Inter Miami win its first MLS Cup, Lionel Messi added another milestone to his impressive collection of individual and club honors.

Messi was named Major League Soccer’s MVP for the 2025 season on Tuesday, Dec. 9. He became the first player in league history to win the MVP award in consecutive seasons and just the second player to win MVP honors twice, joining Preki, who took home the honors in 1997 and 2003.

Messi earned 70.43% of the total vote in a landslide win over San Diego FC’s Anders Dreyer (11.15%), Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga (7.27%), FC Cincinnati’s Evander (4.78%) and Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge (2.42%). MLS players, media and club executives vote for the award.

Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or recipient and 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina, finished the 2025 regular season with 48 goal contributions (29 goals, 19 assists) in 28 Inter Miami matches, winning the MLS Golden Boot. Messi is the only player in league history to record at least 36 goal contributions in multiple seasons (2024-25) and is the second player to lead the league in both goals and assists, joining Sebastian Giovinco (2015).

On Saturday, Dec. 6, Messi earned MLS Cup MVP honors while playing a vital role in Inter Miami’s 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the league championship game at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Messi had two assists in the win, which earned Inter Miami its third trophy in the club’s six-season history (2023 Leagues Cup, 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield). For Messi, it was the 47th trophy that he’s won for both club and country.

Landon Donovan MLS MVP award winners

2025 — Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF
2024 — Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF
2023 — Luciano Acosta, FC Cincinnati
2022 — Hany Mukhtar, Nashville SC
2021 — Carles Gil, New England Revolution
2020 — Alejandro Pozuelo , Toronto FC
2019 — Carlos Vela, Los Angeles Football Club
2018 — Josef Martínez, Atlanta United
2017 — Diego Valeri, Portland Timbers
2016 — David Villa, New York City FC
2015 — Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC
2014 — Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy
2013 – Mike Magee, Chicago Fire FC
2012 – Chris Wondolowski, San Jose Earthquakes
2011 – Dwayne De Rosario, D.C. United
2010 — David Ferreira, FC Dallas
2009 — Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy
2008 — Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew
2007 — Luciano Emilio, D.C. United
2006 — Christian Gómez, D.C. United
2005 — Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution
2004 — Amado Guevara, MetroStars
2003 — Preki, Kansas City Wizards
2002 — Carlos Ruiz, LA Galaxy
2001 — Alex Pineda Chacon, Miami Fusion
2000 — Tony Meola, Kansas City Wizards
1999 — Jason Kreis, Dallas Burn
1998 — Marco Etcheverry, D.C. United
1997 — Preki, Kansas City Wizards
1996 — Carlos Valderrama, Tampa Bay Mutiny