PHOENIX — So, how do you like me now?

All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso had every reason to spend his winter bitter and frustrated, telling the New York Mets to stick it where the sun don’t shine.

Instead, he’s told everyone how elated he is to be back with the Mets and after showing the baseball world just what he’s capable of doing these first six weeks, hopes to not hear about his age again until he starts drawing social security checks.

“Honestly, why I would be angry?’’ Alonso told USA TODAY Sports. “For me, this organization has believed in me since I was a 21-year-old kid. They’re the team that drafted me. They’re the team that called me up. They didn’t trade me. So that means – I think – that they like me.’

It just took a private meeting before spring training in Tampa between Alonso, owner Steve Cohen and David Stearns, president of baseball operations, to express their true feelings about one another. Alonso didn’t get the long-term deal he wanted, but settled on a two-year, $54 million contract that he can walk away from after this season

“This is a great group, with a great culture and great people,’ Alonso said. “I’ve made a lot of great relationships here, with the fans, the coaches, my teammates, the security guards, the clubhouse managers, everything. It’s very special. So that weighed in my decision a lot to come back.

“I get to play with a winning team that had such an amazing postseason last year. You could see all of the promise that we had. We had a lot of good momentum. I didn’t want to leave that. So, for me, the biggest priority is playing for a winning organization.

“And there’s no bigger stage than New York.’

While Alonso eventually signed that deal 24 hours after their private meeting, Alonso’s perspective on free agency was different with his hometown of Tampa hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, with Alonso and his wife forced to move out of their home with the flood damage.

“The free agency stuff became secondary,’ he said, “because there were so many personal things in the offseason. I knew I didn’t have my best season, but I still knew I was going to be playing baseball somewhere. I just had to be patient.’

If Alonso has his druthers, he’ll never have to endure another free agency again after this winter, spending the rest of his career in a Mets uniform.

That feeling should be mutual.

Alonso, after winning the NL Player of the Month in April, entered Saturday hitting .324 and leading the NL with a .443 on-base percentage. He has nine home runs and was tied for the MLB lead with 34 RBIs and 24 extra-base hits. Alonso has an OPS+ of 205, and has already produced a higher WAR (2.2) than he accumulated all of last season (2.1), according to FanGraphs.

He doesn’t look anything like the guy who hit .240 last season with a career-low 34 homers, 88 RBIs and 172 strikeouts, a career-worst 24.7% clip. He is chasing and missing less than at any time in his career, with the best strikeout (17.8%) and walk rates (14.9%) of his career. He’s laying off the inside pitches that he had trouble handling, and punishing pitches in the strike zone. It doesn’t even matter if he falls behind in the count, hitting eight of his nine homers with two strikes.

Alonso’s spectacular start is challenging the narrative that first basemen in their 30s lose their power production.

“Stop looking at first basemen 30 or older and believing they’re in their decline,’ Scott Boras, Alonso’s agent, tells USA TODAY Sports. “The truth is that they still can be very valuable, and there are only five or six people [first basemen in their 30s] who can do what Pete is doing.

“These guys are a rarity hitting in the middle of their lineup.  I think the greatest metric in sports is M.V.: Managerial Value. When a manager puts you in the middle of the lineup all season, that tells you the value of the player. He gives you the best chance of winning. And Pete is doing that in New York.

“You’re looking at an elite talent.’

You don’t have to look any further than Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman for proof that turning 30 isn’t a career death sentence. Freeman will turn 36 in September, and is enjoying his best years since turning 30, slashing .311/.401/.536 since 2019, averaging 29 homers and 99 RBIs in those full seasons. He has made the All-Star team every year since turning 30, finished in the top 10 in MVP voting all but one season, and won two World Series championships.

“I’m glad people can look at me and see that you can still do it later on,’ Freeman said, “but in my mind, age is just a number. I think if you take care of yourself, it doesn’t matter what your age is. I hope the age [narrative] gets thrown out the window because if you’re a good baseball player, you’re a good baseball player, it doesn’t matter what age you are.’

Certainly, if Alonso continues at this pace, he won’t be sitting around waiting for the phone to ring all winter.

Alonso, who has hit more home runs than any player since his rookie season in 2019 except Yankees great Aaron Judge, has always had power. Now he’s performing like a guy who could be holding an MVP trophy in November, too.

“He can hit any pitch in any location right now,’ Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “It’s fun to watch. Now, he looks almost like a high average hitter that has a lot of pop, whereas before he was a power hitter. He looks fantastic. His work ethic has been outstanding.

“He’s always been focused, I just feel like he’s hit a point in his life where I think he truly understands his full body and his mechanics, the way he controls the strike zone. He knows he can hit any pitch at any given time, but he’s staying patient. He’s trying to do damage every single at-bat and dominate.’

Alonso, who also picks balls at first base as well as anyone in the game according to Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, shrugs his broad shoulders, as if he’s surprised that everyone else is surprised.

“I’m in my mechanics consistently,” said Alonso, who is hitting to the opposite field 27.5% of the time. ‘I have good body control right now and if something is not right, I can kind of flush that and adjust to the next pitch to where I feel like I’m back in it. My pitch-to-pitch adjustments have been really, really good. I just feel really, really comfortable.

“I’m not perfect, but I just feel like I am myself.’

Boras believes there’s another huge factor to Alonso’s success, and that’s the acquisition of $765 million man Juan Soto. While Alonso may be the one protecting Soto in the batting order, Soto is the one helping Alonso by simply being on base. Soto and Lindor have been on base 132 times already this season, with Alonso’s eyes lighting up every time. Alonso is hitting .343 with a 1.189 OPS with runners on base this season, and .400 with a 1.397 OPS with runners in scoring position.

“We talked a lot about what the tandem of Soto/Alonso would do, and frankly, what the Lindor, Soto, Alonso would do at the top of the order,’ said Boras, with Soto reaching base 295 times last season while playing with the Yankees. “We said, ‘My God, this tandem is phenomenal.’ We knew that Juan’s on-base acumen was just starting to take off, and having him on base would optimize Pete. Soto has increased the frequency of having a runner on base, and Pete has taken advantage of it.

“The combination is nitro.’

The Mets have ridden the best start of Alonso’s career to first place in the NL East, and don’t want to even think about how life would be without him.

“I am so happy he’s here,’ Lindor said. “He’s one of the best power hitters in the game. Hopefully, he stays with us for awhile.’

The Mets were prepared to go on with their life without him over the winter. Now, after seeing him carry the team these first six weeks, the idea of being without him might be terrifying.

“For Pete, it’s really all about winning and his performance,’ Boras said. “Right now, he’s in the right place at the right time.’

Around the basepaths

– The Boston Red Sox are performing their own version of ‘Cool Hand Luke’ these days: “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.’

While MLB executives believe Boston Red Sox GM Craig Breslow has done a rotten job in his communication with Rafael Devers trying to persuade him to move to first base (after already moving him from third base to DH), Devers doesn’t look great for his unwillingness to do so.

Aaron Judge moved to center field for Juan Soto. Bryce Harper moved to first base. MVPs Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera switched positions, as did Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and future Hall of Famer Jose Altuve, just to name a few.

The next step could be Devers formally requesting a trade, which likely would not be strongly considered until the offseason.

– The Chicago White Sox finally are starting to get some inquiries on center fielder Luis Robert with the New York Mets recently among the teams checking in and showing interest. The White Sox are eying 23-year-old Mets starting prospect Blake Tidwell as part of a package in return.

– The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to jump into the free-agent fray for Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker this winter. They may not be the high bidder, but they’ll surely keep everyone honest just as they did when they were in the Juan Soto sweepstakes.

– Several contending teams have already begun sending their scouts on the road to scour the market for potential available relief pitchers. It will be a seller’s market with so few high-quality relievers available this year.

– The St. Louis Cardinals are not receiving any interest in third baseman Nolan Arenado after he rejected trades this winter to the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels.

– You think the Dodgers have plenty of money?

They are the first team to use two planes on all of their road trips – one that is restricted only to the players – costing the team a minimum of at least $6 million.

– The Pittsburgh Pirates, according to information received by the players union and confirmed by several owners, are one of the most profitable teams in all of baseball, stashing a huge chunk of their revenue sharing monies instead of investing in their team year after year.

– The Dodgers are holding back Shohei Ohtani from pitching until after the All-Star break believing there’s no sense in hurrying him to the mound while he continues to put up MVP numbers at the plate.

“Between him and Barry Bonds, they’re the two best players I’ve ever seen,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says. “I played with Barry. But what Shohei does in the clutch, I’ve never seen anything like what he does in the clutch.”

– Dodgers rookie Rōki Sasaki’s electric fastball still hasn’t shown up since coming from Japan this season.

His 94 to 96-mph fastball was so pedestrian in his last start that he faced 20 batters and didn’t generate a single swing-and-miss and didn’t strike out a single batter. He’s yielding a 4.72 ERA.

– The Chicago Cubs made a “Dewey Beats Truman’ faux pas when they announced on their iconic stadium marquee that the new Pope is a Cubs fan – until his brother confessed that Pope Leo XIV is a White Sox fan. He was in attendance at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, showing up momentarily on the broadcast.

“Family always knows best, and it sounds like Pope Leo XIV’s lifelong fandom falls a little closer to 35th and Shields,” the White Sox said in a statement. “Some things are bigger than baseball, and in this case, we’re glad to have a White Sox fan represented at the Vatican.”

It was only fitting then that the Pope’s first full day on the job at the Vatican that the White Sox not only won, but so did the Cardinals.

– If it wasn’t embarrassing enough that the White Sox set a record with 121 losses last season, that record could be easily toppled this year with the Colorado Rockies (6-33) now off to the worst start in baseball history. Even before Saturday’s 21-0 loss to San Diego, the Rockies had lost seven straight games, while coughing up 34 runs and making eight errors in their three previous games.

Considering the Rockies play in the punishing NL West, is there any doubt that the record could easily go down?

“We’re playing a bad brand of baseball, all the way around,’ Rockies starter Kyle Freeland, a Colorado native, told reporters. “Pitching, fielding, hitting. It’s bad.”

The Rockies are currently on pace to go 25-137.

– With the way official scoring has become at ballparks, Tony Gwynn would be hitting .450 and Ozzie Smith wouldn’t have made a single error. Everything is ruled a hit!

– Diamondbacks bench coach Jeff Bannister, who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates until becoming the Rangers manager, is thrilled for Pittsburgh native Don Kelly becoming the Pirates’ new manager after the firing of Derek Shelton.

“I couldn’t be happier for Donnie to see him wearing that uniform,’ Bannister told USA TODAY Sports. “I know what this means to him. He’s a Pittsburgh guy, through and through, with a lot of ties there. He’s been a grinder his entire career with that smart baseball intellect, and he has that Jim Leyland lineage too.

“You know what I think of that that place. Those fans deserve a winning baseball team. They deserve an opportunity to have a team that is going to give them to eventually breaking through and win a championship. That’s such a tremendous sports town.’’

Kelly, who grew up in Mt. Lebanon, actually remembers trick-or-treating at Leyland’s house growing up.

“That’s why we went there,’ Kelly said at his introductory press conference. “They gave out the big candy bars. No cigarettes.”

– It’s remarkable that the Dodgers have the best record in baseball considering their relievers have pitched the most innings in baseball (172) entering Saturday with their starters throwing the fewest (171).

They are the first team in history to use 11 starters before the month of May.

The Dodgers will try to shift the workload to the starting rotation with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Sasaki pitching on five days’ rest instead of six, and Tony Gonsolin becoming their first pitcher to go on four days’ rest.

– The Diamondbacks’ recent track record of signing front-line free agent starters has been nothing short of horrendous. They blew $85 million on Madison Bumgarner, $52.5 million on Jordan Montgomery, and now their four-year, $80 million contract with Eduardo Rodriguez has looked brutal.

He has made 18 starts since signing the deal in Dec. 2023, and has gone 4-7 with a 6.06 ERA, lasting just 90 ⅔ innings with a 1.58 WHIP.

– St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol quietly has done wonders with a team that’s supposed to be nothing more than a rebuild. The Cardinals entered Saturday with a winning record (20-19), just two games out of first place after winning six consecutive games.

– Yes, those are the Kansas City Royals who have won 16 of 18 games for the first time in 47 years.

– How atrocious has the Texas Rangers’ offense been this season?

They have already lost nine games allowing three or fewer runs, tied with the lowly White Sox for most losses.

– Detroit Tigers Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal somehow continues to get better and better. He took a perfect game into the sixth inning and struck out 12 batters in his last start, and he now has an insane 50-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his past six starts. It’s the best strikeout-to-walk ratio over six games in franchise history.

– The Tampa Bay Rays absolutely love their new digs at George Steinbrenner Field, believing they have the nicest clubhouse in baseball – but their home field has proven to be a nightmare, going just 10-16 at home. It’s the most home losses in baseball.

– Is there a better comeback story than the Detroit Tigers’ Javy Baez, whom fans wanted released in the offseason, only for him to embrace a position switch to center field, hitting.308 with an .812 OPS?

– The Diamondbacks have managed to score 10 runs in an inning against the Chicago Cubs and still lose. They scored eight unanswered runs against the Dodgers on Friday and still lost after giving up six runs in the ninth inning. And they lost a game in which Eugenio Suarez hit four home runs.

The D-backs are 234-3 in games they’ve scored at least 11 runs in franchise history, with two of those losses occurring this season.

– Can you imagine how bad the Orioles’ pitching staff would be if they didn’t sign 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year, $13 million contract this winter. The early rookie-of-the-year favorite is 4-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 46 ⅓ innings.

– Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, who has heard plenty of fan abuse with his early-season struggles, echoed the thoughts of many players today who are being trashed on social media.

“People feel like they can say whatever they want to say, and they don’t realize who it’s hurting the most,’’ Muncy told the Athletic. “I signed up for this life. I understand that if you play bad, they’re going to have opinions. And it’s warranted. But when you’re hearing from your family about certain things that are being said to them, that’s when it gets tough for me.”

– The Detroit Tigers, who have not won the World Series since 1984, may be the best team in the American League. They were 34-19 in August and September (.641 winning percentage) last year, and are even better the start of this season with their 26-13 record (.667).

– Scouts have raved about the improvement of Diamondbacks All-Star right fielder Corbin Carroll’s arm. It used to be the biggest flaw in his game. Now, it has become a strength, perhaps making him the game’s best all-around young player.

– Remember a year ago when the Brewers had 39 comeback victories while running away with the NL Central?

This season they’re 0-13 when their opponent scores first.

– The NL West race is shaping up as a doozy with three teams on pace to win at least 100 games this season, with the Dodgers, Padres and Giants separated by only two games, and the D-backs lurking.

“I think we’re the best division in baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says. “I don’t think anyone is gonna run away with it.”

– Remember when the San Diego Padres insisted that the Yankees must take center fielder Trent Grisham in the Juan Soto trade to save $5 million?

Well, look who has 10 homers (one more than last year), hitting .280 with a .987 OPS.

– Feat of the Week: LaTroy Hawkins, 52, who spent 20 years in the big leagues after being drafted by the Minnesota Twins out of high school in Gary, Ind., graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Southern New Hampshire University. He promised his grandmother he’d complete his education, and last week walked across the stage to proudly accept his diploma.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers says he and his family were subjected to death threats after he gave up seven runs in the first inning of Saturday night’s 13-9 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

A team spokesperson said the Astros have notified the Houston Police Department and Major League Baseball security about the comments made on social media.

‘I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports, but threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with,’ McCullers said after Saturday’s game.

He and his wife, Kara, have two young daughters.

‘I think bringing kids into the equation, threatening to find them or next time they see us in public they’re going to stab my kids to death, things like that, it’s tough to hear as a dad.’

McCullers, a 2018 All-Star who has battled a number of injuries over the past few years, finally returned to the Astros active roster on May 4, pitching for the first time since the 2022 World Series.

Saturday’s game was only his second start since returning. In the Reds’ 10-run first inning, McCullers allowed a three-run homer to Elly De La Cruz and RBI hits from Tyler Stephenson and Will Benson before he was removed after getting only one out.

Astros manager Joe Espada was visibly upset as he addressed the media after Saturday’s game.

‘There are people who are threatening his life and the life of his kids because of his performance,’ Espada said. ‘It is very unfortunate that we have to deal with this. After all he’s done for this city, for his team, the fact that we have to talk about that in my office – I got kids too, and it really drives me nuts that we have to deal with this. Very sad. Very, very sad.

‘Listen, he hasn’t pitched in 2½ years. … It’s going to take a little bit of time to get him going. And that’s fine. But this can’t happen. I’m really upset that this can happen to athletes.’

Miami Hurricanes linebacker Adarius Hayes was injured Saturday in a car crash in the Tampa Bay area that killed two children, according to police.

The accident occurred at 1:45 p.m. when a Dodge Durango collided with a Kia Soul making a left turn at an intersection in Hayes’ hometown of Largo, Florida. Two children, ages 10 and 4, were killed and several others were hospitalized with ‘serious injuries,’ the Largo Police Department said.

Police did not say whether Hayes was the driver or a passenger in either of the two vehicles involved in the crash. The school declined to comment on the nature or extent of Hayes’ injuries when reached by the Miami Herald.

Hayes played in 12 games for the Hurricanes as a true freshman in 2024, making four tackles and recording one interception. He was a four-star prospect out of Largo High School and was ranked as Rivals’ No. 3 linebacker in the 2024 national recruiting class.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Peyton Manning was legendary for his meticulous preparation as a player.

He spent countless extra hours at the training facility, working out and going over game plans and scouting reports with the coaching staff. When he left, it was for more of the same.

‘All the extra film study and all the extra prep – I think people know I was wired that way,’ Manning told USA TODAY Sports. ‘I had this great film room in my house in Indianapolis. I would go down there and watch film from 12 at night to 2 a.m.

‘To have that documented would have been cool.’

That sentiment is the driving force behind the second season of “Full Court Press,” the four-part docuseries by Manning’s Omaha Productions that follows USC’s Kiki Iriafen, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson and Notre Dame’sHannah Hidalgo through the most recent college basketball season. The last two episodes of ‘Full Court Press’ air Sunday night on ESPN2.

Yes, Manning and ESPN are capitalizing on the explosion of interest in women’s basketball. But Manning is fascinated by how elite athletes do their jobs, and he’s bet others will be, too.

‘We just want to be a fly on the wall,’ Manning said. ‘Get behind the ropes, show their work ethic and not be distraction.’

Just as in the first season of ‘Full Court Press,’ which featured Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso and Kiki Rice, the Omaha Productions crew was given unprecedented access. It was allowed to film practices and be in the locker room before, during and after games – win or lose. There are extensive interviews with Iriafen, Johnson and Hidalgo, their coaches and their families, and the players all let the crew shadow them off-the-court, as well.

Manning said they were intentional about the athletes featured, wanting to have players from different parts of the country, different conferences and at different points in their careers. (Iriafen is a graduate student, Johnson a junior and Hidalgo a sophomore).

‘Our studies have shown people find these follow documentaries more interesting when you have three people and can see the different ways they operate,’ said Manning, who has used a similar format with Omaha and Netflix’s ‘Quarterback’ series.

But what makes ‘Full Court Press’ work is that it centers these women as athletes.

Too often, coverage of women athletes has focused on the aspirational and shied away from what makes sports so compelling. The drive. The work. The sacrifice. The grit. But ‘Full Court Press’ embraces and celebrates it.

‘Hannah Hidalgo, Kiki Iriafen, Flau’jae Johnson – these are women that play for legacy. That are unapologetic. That are badass hoopers,’ ESPN commentator Chiney Ogwumike says in the first episode.

Much of that first episode was devoted to the punishing defense played by Iriafen, Johnson and Hidalgo. Yes, each one can and does score. But it’s how miserable they make life for their opponents that sets them apart, and the game footage emphasizes just how relentless they are.

Their competitiveness is also a recurring theme.

‘I’ve always hated losing more than I love winning,’ Hidalgo said, a sentiment reinforced by her mother telling the story of her daughter not speaking to anyone for four days after one loss in high school.

The last two episodes focus on the end of the season, including USC’s intense rivalry with UCLA, Notre Dame’s collapse and the leg injury that kept Johnson out of the SEC tournament. There are searching questions and moments of doubt, and ‘Full Court Press’ doesn’t sugar coat that.

‘The thing that will always make me smile is her work ethic. Flau’jae will work. Sometimes she works too much,’ LSU coach Kim Mulkey says in episode three. ‘It concerns me because you can wear yourself out.’

There are light-hearted moments, too, like Johnson’s tour of Mulkey’s closet filled with her gaudy, game-day outfits, and Iriafen and her grad school classmates trying to flip quarters off their elbows. But Manning knows better than anyone what it takes to get, and stay, at the top of your game, and the main purpose of ‘Full Court Press’ is to give us mere mortals a glimpse of it.

Manning said when he first asked Patrick Mahomes to do the first season of ‘Quarterback,’ Mahomes was hesitant, uncertain if he wanted to open himself up like that. He asked whether Manning would have done a series like that when he was playing, and Manning said probably not, because he couldn’t imagine who would have been making it.

‘But if it was somebody I knew, who’d played the game and was all in on the work ethic and the extra work and was extremely passionate about it, then maybe so,’ Manning said.

He can be that person, especially knowing what he knows now.

‘I said to Flau’jae, your grandkids are going to want to know what you used to do, how you went about it,’ Manning said. ‘Hopefully we can show that.’

At 14-under-par for the tournament, Straka and Lowry hold a three-shot advantage over Keith Mitchell and Justin Thomas through 54 holes at The Philadelphia Cricket Club course. Hideki Matsuyama is another shot back at 10 under.

Last year’s winner and reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy is part of a group tied for sixth at 8-under.

The tournament is being played this year in Philadelphia, while its traditional venue – Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina – prepares to host the PGA Championship, which begins later this week.

How to watch Truist Championshp

Live coverage of the final round of this year’s Truist Championship will be broadcast on the Golf Channel and CBS.

Sunday, May 11

TV: Golf Channel, CBS
Time: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS)
Streaming: Paramount+, ESPN+, Fubo

Truist Championship prize money 2025: Winner payout, purse

This year’s total purse for the 2025 Truist Championship at The Philadelphia Cricket Club is $20 million. Here’s the prize money breakdown:

Winner: $3.6 million
2nd: $2.16 million
3rd: $1.36 million
4th: $960,000
5th: $800,000
6th: $720,000
7th: $670,000
8th: $620,000
9th: $580,000
10th: $540,000
11th: $500,000
12th: $460,000
13th: $420,000
14th: $380,000
15th: $360,000
16th: $340,000
17th: $320,000
18th: $300,000
19th: $280,000
20th: $260,000
21st: $240,000
22nd: $223,000
23rd: $207,500
24th: $190,000
25th: $175,000
26th: $159,000
27th: $152,500
28th: $146,000
29th: $140,000
30th: $134,000
31st: $128,500
32nd: $122,500
33rd: $116,500
34th: $111,000
35th: $106,500
36th: $101,500
37th: $96,500
38th: $92,500
39th: $88,500
40th: $84,000
41st: $80,000
42nd: $76,000
43rd: $72,000
44th: $68,000
45th: $64,000
46th: $60,000
47th: $56,000
48th: $53,000
49th: $50,000
50th: $49,000
51st: $48,000
52nd: $47,000
53rd: $46,000
54th: $46,000
55th: $45,500
56th: $45,000
57th: $44,500
58th: $44,000
59th: $43,500
60th: $43,000
61st: $42,500
62nd: $42,000
63rd: $41,500
64th: $41,000
65th: $40,500
66th: $40,000
67th: $39,500
68th: $39,000
69th: $38,000
70th: $37,500
71st: $37,000
72nd: $36,000

Just three weeks after his retirement match, wrestling legend and former ECW champion Sabu, 60, who’s real name was Terry Brunk, has died, All Elite Wrestling and WWE announced Sunday.

A cause or time of Sabu’s death has not been disclosed. Just weeks ago, Sabu participated in the final match of his career, defeating GCW star Joey Janela in the main event of the ninth annual Joey Janela’s Spring Break.

Sabu was known as a fearless wrestler, willing to perform high-risk maneuvers regularly in order to entertain his fans. AEW mentioned that Sabu was no stranger to such performances, pointing out his familiarity with ‘barbed wire battles.’ Sabu was considered a pioneer of the hardcore wrestling style.

Sabu was a well-respected wrestler who participated in multiple organizations throughout his career including the ECW, WCW, and WWE.

Sabu’s wrestling achievements

Two-time World Heavyweight Champion 
FTW Heavyweight Champion 
World Television Champion
Three-time World Tag Team Champion
ECW Triple Crown Champion
NWA World Heavyweight Champion
Insane Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion
XPW World Heavyweight Champion

Sabu also made an appearance during WrestleMania 23, as a part of the ECW Originals tag team that defeated The New Breed. Sabu left WWE soon after.

It shouldn’t have come as a shock given the developments of recent weeks, but New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr’s decision to retire from the NFL on Saturday morning still landed as at least something of a surprise given its finality along with the finally revealed physical limitations which the 34-year-old passer has been coping with lately.

“Upon reflection of prayer, and in discussion with Heather, I’ve decided to retire from the National Football League,” Carr said in a statement distributed by the Saints while referencing his wife.

“For more than 11 years, we have been incredibly blessed, and we are forever grateful and humbled by this experience. It’s difficult to find the right words to express our thanks to all the teammates, coaches, management, ownership, team officials and especially the fans who made this journey so special. Your unwavering support has meant the world to us.”

While wishing Carr the best as his post-football journey perhaps prematurely begins, it must also be acknowledged that his departure will have ramifications that range more broadly than New Orleans.

Your winners and losers from Carr’s retirement:

WINNERS

Tyler Shough

The Saints’ second-round pick last month, the rookie quarterback seemed to have the inside track to start in 2025 given what were already apparent doubts about Carr’s availability for the upcoming season. Now – barring a disastrous offseason or unexpected surge from Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler – Shough, 25, seems almost certain to attain QB1 status quickly in the Big Easy. He enters the NFL following a seven-year college career often interrupted by injuries but started a personal best 12 games for Louisville in 2024. He’s smart, mature and has a big arm, traits that should give him a shot to stick – especially given how Rattler and Haener have struggled early on in their own NFL careers.

2025 NFL DRAFT GRADES: Report cards for all 32 teams

Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers

The NFC South has long been ruled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the Super Bowl following the 2020 season and have finished atop the division every year since. But led by promising young coaches and quarterbacks, Atlanta and Carolina now see their chances to compete for the divisional throne – or maybe even qualify as surprise wild cards in 2025 – increase given the Saints, who have averaged 7.5 wins per season since QB Drew Brees retired four years ago, have suddenly been thrust into something of a shotgun rebuild.

Arch Manning?

Just sayin’. Speculation had already been running amok as it pertained to NFL teams potentially jockeying for draft position to enlist the presumed University of Texas star, who’s still only thrown 63 passes for the Longhorns. But this is what happens to football royalty when you’re the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, who combined to win four Super Bowls during their illustrious NFL careers. However there’s an added layer of intrigue if the Saints absolutely crater in 2025, which seemed entirely possible before Carr’s announcement given the aftermath of a 5-12 season in 2024 when he started 10 games. Now, just imagine if they secure the No. 1 pick in 2026, Arch Manning has the type of season in Austin everyone seems to expect and has the option to go home to his native New Orleans and revive the team his grandfather, Archie Manning, played so bravely but futilely for in the 1970s.

2026 NFL MOCK DRAFT: What if Manning stays at Texas?

Aaron Rodgers?

Hey, look who might have an alternative job option in 2025!

LOSERS

Aaron Rodgers

But much as you could argue that New Orleans’ offense might have more upward potential than the Steelers’ – not to mention the Superdome’s ideal playing conditions – little expectation Rodgers or the Saints would join forces just so they could go back to winning eight or nine games.

Saints veterans

Even since Brees left and former coach Sean Payton “retired,” longtime GM Mickey Loomis has continued to operate as if the Saints were just a move or two from reclaiming their former perch atop the NFC South. But not only has that failed to happen, this roster is jammed with aging veterans like DL Cam Jordan, LB Demario Davis, S Tyrann Mathieu, WR Brandin Cooks and RB Alvin Kamara. It’s worth wondering if Loomis might look to trade any of them – and maybe some will ask out – given this finally appears to be the time to collect future draft capital and tidy up a salary cap already loaded with dead money given the way this organization conducts business. Carr’s exit provides immediate relief given he was set to collect $40 million in 2025.

Kellen Moore

A few months ago, he earned a Super Bowl ring – in New Orleans – as the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator. Now Moore can openly face what will definitively be daunting conditions during his maiden gig as a head coach. Maybe having the certainty from Carr’s decision more appropriately sets expectations for him and the fan base. But even if better days lie ahead in 2026 and beyond, there’s obvious potential for short-term pain for one of the league’s better young play-callers – whose most important job for now might be holding this team together amid the inevitable doubt that will surround it.

Derek Carr

This isn’t the way any proud football player – especially a four-time Pro Bowler who was the face of the Raiders for nearly a decade before trying to reignite the Saints – wants to leave. There’s also been rampant speculation about Carr’s motives in recent weeks given the odd timing of when his injury suddenly came to light before the draft. The Saints disclosed that after Carr experienced shoulder pain as he began his preparations for next season that “medical scans determined objectively that Derek sustained a labral tear and also had significant degenerative changes to his rotator cuff. … Surgery was an option, jeopardizing the entire 2025 season, yet there was no guarantee Derek would return to the level of strength, function and performance of play to which he was accustomed.”

Which is to say, major bummer – to put it lightly – for Carr. A Round 2 pick of the then-Oakland Raiders in 2014, he played exceedingly well on a lot of bad Silver and Black squads and helped ease the franchise’s transition to Las Vegas in 2020. He retires as owner of most of the Raiders’ significant passing records, though only played in one playoff game – a loss at Cincinnati three years ago. Still, a commendable career, if one Carr doubtless would have chose to end under vastly different circumstances.

NEW YORK — The Boston Celtics made a statement on Saturday, beating the New York Knicks 115-93 in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, cutting New York’s series lead to 2-1.

Boston used its deadly 3-point arsenal to silence the Madison Square Garden crowd. The Knicks never led in the game and went away from the things that earned them victories in the first two games in the series.

The Celtics are going to hoist up 3-point shots whether they’re open or not. The Knicks have to guard against it and make Boston try its luck inside.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers of Game 3:

WINNERS

Celtics defense

Boston took control of the game in the first half and continued to pour it on after halftime, ensuring there would be no Knicks comeback. The Celtics led by 25 at the break and pushed the lead to 31 early in the third quarter. New York shot 40% from the field, rarely finding the space to create off the dribble and settling for shots early in the shot clock once it was down double-digits. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said the key to this victory was limiting live-ball turnovers, which in turn cut off the Knicks’ ability to push their fast break.

Payton Pritchard

The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year showed why he earned that award, scoring a team-high 23 points in the rout. Pritchard hit a career-high 255 3s during the regular season and scored 1,079 points off the bench, making five shots from downtown in Game 3. He added four rebounds and two assists.

LOSERS

Madison Square Garden crowd

Ticket prices for Game 3 were jacked up, but fans were treated to a pitiful performance from their team. The day’s biggest cheers came for Mitchell Robinson (more on that below), former Knicks and celebrities shown on the jumbotron and any timeout entertainment the team concocted to keep the 20,000-strong from falling asleep or leaving early.

Knicks free throw shooting, especially by Mitchell Robinson

In Game 3, the Knicks needed to get points anywhere they could find them, but when they went to the charity stripe, there wasn’t anything free about it.

New York shot 24-for-35 (68.6%) from the free-throw line, and center Mitchell Robinson, a career 52% free-throw shooter, made just four of his game-high 12 attempts. The Celtics proceeded to foul him on almost every possession in the third quarter, even up by more than 30 points. After each made free throw, he received a raucous (and somewhat sarcastic) cheer from the Madison Square Garden crowd. But the crowd went silent when he completely missed the rim on one.

OG Anunoby

There might as well have been an all-points bulletin put out for the Knicks’ starting small forward, as he was miserable for the second straight game, scoring only two points in 31 minutes in Game 3 after scoring five in the Game 2 victory. Anunoby was spectacular in the Game 1 overtime victory with 29 points, but went 1-for-6 from the field on Saturday, and was a game-worst -25 while he was on the floor.