At the end of Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick’s pregame press conference before Game 5 on April 30, he was asked by a reporter if he leans on an assistant coach or has someone who can help him make rotation decisions given that five players played the entire second half in the Lakers’ Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Are you saying I’m inexperienced, and that was an inexperienced decision that I made,” Redick replied. “Do you think I don’t talk to my assistants about substitutions every single timeout?’

The reporter replied: “No, I just think there’s a lot of coaches who lean on their assistants in those situations.”

“As do I,” Redick said. “Every single time. That’s a weird assumption.”

Redick then sat the mic on the table and ended the press conference.

Redick played LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith the entire second half in Game 4, the first time in playoff history that has happened.

“He’s been getting criticized the last 48 hours for playing those guys, and he’s just sensitive,” TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley said. “Everybody’s afraid to say, ‘I was wrong.’ All he had to do was say, ‘Hey, you know what, I shouldn’t have played those guys the whole second half.’ That’s it, and then it would’ve been over.”

The Lakers entered the game trailing the Timberwolves 3-1 in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

A year after being swept in the first round, the Washington Capitals are heading to the second round after a 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5.

Credit an offseason retool that allowed Washington to jump from eighth in the Eastern Conference to first. It carried that improvement into the playoffs.

The Capitals have reached the second round for the first time since their championship run in 2018. Their win Wednesday was a combination of the leftovers from that team and the newcomers.

Longtime captain Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, opened the scoring at 9:12 of the first period, ripping a shot past Jakub Dobes after a Dylan Strome faceoff win.

Newcomer Jakob Chychrun scored a little more than two minutes later after jumping in from the point. Veteran Tom Wilson, who had a series-changing hit in Game 4, scored a power play goal in the second period to make it 3-0.

Goalie Logan Thompson, an offseason acquisition, made that lead stand up with 28 saves, allowing only a goal by Emil Heineman. Newcomer Brandon Duhaime put the game away with an empty-netter, his third goal of the series.

What’s next for the Washington Capitals?

They’ll face the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round and will host Games 1 and 2. The Capitals went 2-2 against the Hurricanes in the regular season.

What’s next for the Montreal Canadiens?

Their dynamic young top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky is signed long-term. Defenseman Lane Hutson will be a rookie of the year finalist and Ivan Demidov showed promise in his short time in the league.

Defenseman David Savard, a former Stanley Cup winner, has said he will retire, and forwards Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak are pending unrestricted free agents.

Patrik Laine, who was acquired in the offseason, dealt with multiple injuries, including in the first round. He has one year left on his contract.

The defending champion Florida Panthers ousted the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 in Game 5, wrapping up a convincing series win that bodes well for their repeat bid.

The Panthers, healthy after dealing with injuries down the stretch, won all three games in Tampa to advance to the second round. They’ve been to the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons and also beat the Lightning in five games last season.

The Panthers picked up wins in multiple ways in dominating the series against their division rivals: a rout in Game 1 and a shutout in Game 2. They rallied in Game 4 with goals 11 seconds apart to overcome Lightning goals that were scored 11 seconds apart earlier in the game.

And Wednesday, they won after giving up the first goal of the game for the first time in the series. Tampa Bay’s Gage Goncalves got that at 2:31 but the lead didn’t last long with Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell putting Florida ahead by the midway point of the period.

Every time the Lightning tied the game, the Panthers responded. Sam Bennett put Florida ahead to stay in the second period, coming out of the penalty box to score for a 4-3 lead.

Eetu Luostarinen made it 5-3 in the third period to give him a four-point game. Sam Reinhart added an empty-netter.

How far can the Florida Panthers go?

The Panthers, already a deep championship team, added Brad Marchand, Seth Jones and penalty killer Nico Sturm before the trade deadline. They showed they’ll remain a tough out in the playoffs.

They held the Lightning, the NHL’s top-scoring team, to two power-play goals in the series. They scored 16 times against Vezina Trophy finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy. They held NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov without a goal for two consecutive playoff series.

They wrapped up their Game 2 win with injured captain Aleksander Barkov in the dressing room. They won Games 1, 2 and 5 with Aaron Ekblad serving suspensions (PED violation and for hit on Brandon Hagel).

They’ll face the Toronto Maple Leafs (on the road) or Ottawa Senators (at home) in the second round. Toronto leads that series 3-2 but has lost the last two games.

What’s next for the Tampa Bay Lightning?

The Lightning have lost in the first round the last three seasons after three consecutive trips to the Final.

This appeared to be the deepest Lightning team in years after many previous salary cap-necessitated departures. But trade deadline acquisition Oliver Bjorkstrand missed the series with an injury.

Any team with Kucherov, Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel, Hagel, Victor Hedman and Vasilevskiy remains a threat. They’re all signed long-term as are Anthony Cirelli, Nick Paul and Erik Cernak.

Bjorkstrand has another year left on his contract. Yanni Gourde, Nick Perbix and backup goalie Jonas Johansson are unrestricted.

The ‘Great Barrier Thief’ has swiped the NBA’s 2024-25 Most Improved Player award.

Atlanta Hawks guard and Australia native Dyson Daniels was named the league’s Most Improved Player during Wednesday’s ‘Inside the NBA’ broadcast on TNT. Daniels got 44 first-place votes out of 100 ballots and a total of 332 points. Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers finished second with 23 first-place votes and 186 total points. Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons finished third with 15 first-place votes and 122 total points. 

Daniels averaged a career high in points (14.1), rebounds (5.9), assists (4.4), steals (3.0), field goal percentage (49.3%) and 3-point percentage (34%) in 76 starts this season. He had just 27 starts in the first two years of his career in New Orleans.

Daniels nearly tripled his points per game average from 5.8 in the 2023-24 season while playing for the Pelicans to 14.1 points in the 2024-25 season, his first year in Atlanta.

‘This is my third year in the league, with my first two being in New Orleans. I felt like I kind of went in there and wasn’t myself. I feel like I took a backseat role,’ said Daniels, who virtually joined the TNT broadcast from Australia, where it’s early in the morning. ‘I came into this third year wanting to really put my foot down and show what I can do. I think it’s just a small step in the right direction this year and I feel like I got a lot more in me.’

NBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Stephon Castle wins back-to-back awards for San Antonio Spurs

Daniels, 22, led the NBA in steals per game (3), total deflections (443) and in the combo category of steals plus blocks plus charges drawn (297). He’s the first player to average 3.0 steals since Alvi Robertson in 1990-91.

Daniels is only the second Hawks player to win the Most Improved Player honor. Alan Henderson was the first in 1998.

Among Daniels’ achievements:

First player since Scottie Pippen (1994-95) to record at least 200 steals and at least 50 blocks and just one of seven players to accomplish that in the past 50 seasons.
First guard to lead the league in steals plus blocks since Michael Jordan in 1987-88.
The 22-year-old Daniels, who was acquired by the Hawks from New Orleans in a July trade, is the youngest player to record 200 or more steals in a season since 1973-74, when steals became an official NBA statistic.
Just three players have recorded 200 or more steals since 2000: Allen Iverson, Chris Paul and Daniels.
Collected 79 loose balls in 2024-25, good for No. 2.

Who has won NBA’s Most Improved Player award?

Here’s every player that has won the Most Improved Player honor since the first award was given during the 1985-86 NBA season:

2024-25 — Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks
2023-24 — Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers (Voting)
2022-23 — Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
2021-22 — Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
2020-21 — Julius Randle, New York Knicks
2019-20 — Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
2018-19 — Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
2017-18 — Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers
2016-17 — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
2015-16 — C.J. McCollum, Portland Trail Blazers
2014-15 — Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
2013-14 — Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns
2012-13 — Paul George, Indiana Pacers
2011-12 — Ryan Anderson, Orlando Magic
2010-11 — Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
2009-10 — Aaron Brooks, Houston Rockets
2008-09 — Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers
2007-08 — Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic
2006-07 — Monta Ellis, Golden State Warriors
2005-06 — Boris Diaw, Phoenix Suns
2004-05 — Bobby Simmons, LA Clippers
2003-04 — Zach Randolph, Portland Trail Blazers
2002-03 — Gilbert Arenas, Golden State Warriors
2001-02 — Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana Pacers
2000-01 — Tracy McGrady, Orlando Magic
1999-00 — Jalen Rose, Indiana Pacers
1998-99 — Darrell Armstrong, Orlando Magic
1997-98 — Alan Henderson, Atlanta Hawks
1996-97 — Isaac Austin, Miami Heat
1995-96 — Gheorghe Muresan, Washington Bullets
1994-95 — Dana Barros, Philadelphia 76ers
1993-94 — Don MacLean, Washington Bullets
1992-93 — Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Denver Nuggets
1991-92 — Pervis Ellison, Washington Bullets
1990-91 — Scott Skiles, Orlando Magic
1989-90 — Rony Seikaly, Miami Heat
1988-89 — Kevin Johnson, Phoenix Suns
1987-88 — Kevin Duckworth, Portland Trail Blazers
1986-87 — Dale Ellis, Seattle SuperSonics
1985-86 — Alvin Robertson, San Antonio Spurs

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Update: Jeff Sperbeck died early Wednesday morning as a result of the injuries he suffered from Saturday’s incident, according to a press release from the Riverside County (California) Sheriff’s Department. He was 62.

John Elway’s business partner and former agent has died after falling off a golf cart Elway was driving.

TMZ confirmed that Elway was driving the golf cart when the incident occurred, though ‘there’s no indication he did anything wrong,’ TMZ wrote. The former Broncos quarterback immediately called 911 after the accident.

He and Sperbeck reportedly attended a party with their spouses before the accident.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department told KESQ in Palm Springs that they had launched an investigation into the incident. The sheriff later released information confirming Sperbeck’s death.

‘I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, business partner and agent Jeff Sperbeck. There are no words to truly express the profound sadness I feel with the sudden loss of someone who has meant so much to me,’ Elway said in a statement. ‘My heart and deepest sympathies go out to Jeff’s wife, Cori; his children Carly, Sam and Jackson; and everyone who knew and loved him.

‘Jeff will be deeply missed for the loyalty, wisdom, friendship and love he brought into my life and the lives of so many others.’

Elway played 16 years (1983-1998) in the NFL, all with the Denver Broncos. He won back-to-back Super Bowls with the team in 1998 and 1999 prior to his retirement. Elway later went on to serve as Denver’s general manager from 2011 until 2020.

In 2013, he and Sperbeck started 7Cellars winery together.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

The Bill Belichick era with North Carolina football continues to have an interesting start.

Three days after appearing on ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ to promote his forthcoming book, the first-year Tar Heels coach released a statement on Wednesday to address the viral incident of the interview that involved his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.

The eight-minute interview, which aired April 27, included a tense moment of Hudson turning down a question from reporter Tony Dokoupil on how she and the former New England Patriots coach met, which has since gone viral.

‘Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep that conversation centered on the book,’ Belichick said in a statement. ‘After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion.

‘She was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track. Some of the clips make it appear as though we were avoiding the question of how we met…

‘… The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation we had, which covered a wide range of topics related to my career. Instead, it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of his interview to suggest a false narrative — that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation — which is simply not true.’

CBS News issued a statement of its own late Wednesday afternoon saying that when Belichick agreed to the interview, ‘it was for a wide-ranging interview.’

‘When we agreed to speak with Mr. Belichick, it was for a wide-ranging interview. There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation,’ a CBS News spokesperson said in a statement.

‘This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed.’

Belichick’s statement comes hours after The Athletic reported that Hudson played an ‘instrumental role’ in HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ backing out of covering North Carolina for the show.

The rumored deal between North Carolina and HBO fell through on March 4, one day after Jessica Boddy, the NFL’s vice president for commercial operations and business affairs, sent an email to Belichick and his representatives mentioning ‘the conversation took a turn we were not comfortable with.’

Since his hiring in Chapel Hill in December, the legendary NFL coach’s relationship with Hudson has been under a lot of scrutiny. The pair were roasted at the NFL Honors ceremony before Super Bowl 59 in February by host Snoop Dogg. Hudson was also seen orchestrating things on the field prior to the Tar Heels spring game, including mic’ing up Belichick.

The six-time Super Bowl champion coach is the oldest active coach in FBS college football at 73 years old. Belichick and North Carolina are set to open the season on Monday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Kenan Stadium against the Big 12’s TCU.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

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For years, Bill Belichick was notoriously tight-lipped about pretty much everything, especially his personal life.

But since being ousted as the New England Patriots head coach following the 2023 NFL season, that tide has almost entirely turned.

From roasting Tom Brady on Netflix to writing a book about his career, Belichick has pulled back the curtain — and the ripped sweatshirt sleeves — on his life outside the NFL.

Most recently, the University of North Carolina football head coach’s 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, has captured the internet’s attention after she shut down an interview question about their romantic relationship.

During a ‘CBS Mornings’ interview to promote his new book that aired on April 27, host Tony Dokoupil asked the 73-year-old how he and Hudson met. Belichick’s girlfriend then cut in after Dokoupil’s question and said, ‘We’re not talking about this.’

The interaction sparked discourse and public interest in the pair’s relationship, including how and when they met. Here’s what to know.

How, when did Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson meet?

Bill Belichick met his girlfriend Jordon Hudson in February 2021, she wrote on Instagram earlier this year. The football coach confirmed in a statement that they met on a flight in 2021, the New York Times reported.

Hudson shared a video of a textbook Belichick signed for her during their first meeting on Instagram.

‘Thanks for giving me a course on logic! Safe travels!’ Belichick wrote in Hudson’s copy of ‘Deductive Logic’ by Warren Goldfarb.

Belichick was in a relationship with Linda Holliday until 2023, and he reportedly began dating Hudson after that.

Who is Jordon Hudson?

Though Belichick doesn’t frequent Massachusetts as much as he used to, his girlfriend has roots in the state.

Hudson is originally from Hancock, Maine, and is set to compete in the upcoming Miss Maine competition, she said on Instagram. She also said she comes from a line of fishermen.

She later moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, and graduated from Bridgewater State University with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, according to her LinkedIn. In college, she also competed on Bridgewater’s cheerleading team and won a National Cheerleaders Association Collegiate Championship in 2021.

In high school, Hudson completed a professional cosmetology license at New England Hair Academy through a dual enrollment program, according to her Instagram.

What have Bill Belichick, Jordon Hudson said about their relationship?

Following the ‘CBS Mornings’ interview, Hudson took to Instagram to share a screenshot of an email from Belichick earlier in April.

In the email, Belichick appears to take issue with media coverage surrounding his new book.

‘I don’t think this is fantastic, but it probably will hype the book, which is clearly the ongoing theme here,’ he writes. ‘This is about what I expected from the media.’

While Belichick is known to be an inactive social media user, Hudson has shared several pictures of the pair, including some that have gone viral.

‘Wishing the happiest of birthdays to my twin flame,’ she wrote on Instagram for Belichick’s birthday on April 16.

During the ‘CBS Mornings’ interview, Belichick glanced over a question about how he deals with the opinions about the pair’s relationship.

‘I’ve never been too worried about what everybody else thinks,’ Belichick said. ‘Just try to do what I feel like is best for me and what’s right.’

Bill Belichick’s relationship history

Belichick was married to Debby Clarke from 1977 to 2006. The couple has three children together.

After that, he was in a long-term relationship with Linda Holliday before the pair ultimately split in 2023.

Melina Khan is a trending reporter covering national news for USA TODAY. She can be reached at MKhan@gannett.com. 

Long before the recent controversy about jersey number retirements under coach Deion Sanders, the University of Colorado had different criteria for when a player could be eligible to receive such an honor.

A player needed to graduate from the university first, according to the criteria from the 1990s.

But that’s not the case with Colorado two-way football star Travis Hunter or Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion’s son. Both had their jersey numbers retired April 19 but have not graduated yet, according to an athletic department spokesman.

The university instead said the decision to retire a player’s jersey number is at the discretion of the athletic department administration and current head coach. That’s the policy, which strikes some former Colorado players as no policy at all.

“For them to not have a process for the retiring of a number is asinine for an institution like Colorado,” former Colorado linebacker Michael Jones told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s just completely asinine.”

It’s not clear when the criteria changed. University officials downplayed the former graduation criterion, saying it never was a specific policy but instead was the “preference of an academic counselor at the time.”

But former Colorado players say the current lack of defined criteria for retiring a player’s jersey number is a big reason for the backlash the university has received after deciding to retire the numbers of Hunter and Shedeur Sanders less than four months after their final game in CU uniforms. These former players said they feel like the decision to retire Hunter’s and Sanders’ jersey numbers was “premature” and “rushed” while overlooking players from a team that won the 1990 national championship. Jones called it “a serious ERASURE of our football legacy” in a post on Facebook.

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Incidentally, CU does have specific written eligibility requirements for a player to be eligible for its athletics Hall of Fame, even though that honor is less prestigious than retiring a jersey number. To be eligible for the CU Hall of Fame, a player needs to be at least 10 years removed from competition at CU and must be retired from pro sports, according to the nomination form. Winners are voted on by a committee.

Jersey number retirement decisions “should be a policy,” former Colorado quarterback Darian Hagan told USA TODAY Sports. “It should not be at the discretion of the athletic director and the head coach. Head coaches come. Head coaches go. ADs come, and ADs go… We had a policy in place. Where is that policy? We need to abide by that policy.”

Darian Hagan ‘flabbergasted’ by decision

Hagan said he was “flabbergasted” by CU’s decision to retire the numbers of Hunter and Shedeur Sanders but not because he thought those players were undeserving. He thought they deserved it “someday.”

“We were always told there was a waiting period,” said Hagan, now the running backs coach at San Diego State. “There was a policy in place. It had to be voted upon. I was never told that it was at the discretion of the athletic director or the head coach. That was shocking news to me. It was hard to stomach.”

After the university retired the numbers of Sanders (No. 2) and Hunter (No. 12), USA TODAY Sports followed up to examine CU’s policy for jersey number retirements and to get the perspective of Hagan, who has not been quoted on this subject previously and is considered by former CU players to be the most deserving candidate to also get his jersey number retired. He led the Buffaloes to the 1990 national championship and had a 28-5-2 record as a starting quarterback in three seasons, including a 20-0-1 record in the Big Eight Conference. He won three straight league titles with the Buffs in 1989, 1990 and 1991.

By contrast, Shedeur Sanders set over 100 school records but had a 13-11 record as a starting quarterback in two seasons, not including the final game he missed with injury in 2023.

“Thirteen and (eleven) does not rate; I don’t care how many passing records he set,” Jones said of Shedeur’s win-loss record. “By that estimation the greatest quarterback in CU history − I’m sorry, it’s Darian Hagan.”

Jones, a former team captain, played with Hagan on the 1989 Colorado team that finished 11-1.  

Previous process included a vote and graduation

In May 1996, USA TODAY Sports reporter Brent Schrotenboer wrote a column for the Colorado Daily that analyzed the prospect of retiring Hagan’s jersey No. 3 after Hagan graduated in 1996. The article cited the graduation criterion and said a decision to retire a player’s jersey number required the player to be nominated for the honor and then voted on by an athletic department committee.

This information came from then-CU sports information director Dave Plati.

“As soon as he gets that diploma, I’m sure he will be nominated,” Plati said in the column that published on graduation day, May 17, 1996.

Hagan never received the honor. Before Shedeur Sanders and Hunter, CU retired only four jersey numbers in football and only one since 1970. That was when CU retired jersey No. 19 for Rashaan Salaam in 2017, 23 years after he won the Heisman Trophy. Salaam also had not graduated but died in 2016. CU previously retired Byron White’s No. 24 in 1938, Joe Romig’s No. 67 in 1963 and Bobby Anderson’s No. 11 in 1970.

Plati said recently that the fact that Salaam hadn’t graduated from CU “had nothing to do with” not retiring his jersey number before he died. “It was just never suggested at the time,” he said.

“We never had a policy for retiring numbers,” Plati said after the recent jersey number retirements. “I would imagine the five we retired before Rashaan (three football, two men’s basketball) were done at the discretion of the head coach. Anyone who would really know is long gone.”

Plati attributed the prior graduation criterion to a former assistant athletic director for academics who was “big on graduation at the time for being a requirement for any post-career honor.”

‘This is no Shedeur hate’

Hagan said the policy requirements for this honor ‘absolutely’ should include graduation, in addition to considering a player’s body of work and championships won. After playing his last season at CU as a senior in 1991, Hagan pursued a pro football career and then returned to graduate in May 1996.

Hunter, who won the Heisman Trophy last year, has applied to graduate in fall 2025, according to CU. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL draft last week.

Shedeur said on his YouTube show in January that he hoped to graduate at the end of the current semester in May. He was selected in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns.

His father and coach, Deion Sanders, attributed the backlash to the fact the honor was given to his son.

“He said Shedeur is getting all this hate because his last name is Sanders,” Jones said. “If his son’s last name wasn’t Sanders, it would not be happening.”

Jones, now an elected delegate in the Virginia legislature, said it’s not personal with Sanders even though Jones’ son Jalon Jones previously played quarterback for Deion Sanders at Jackson State and transferred out in 2021 after it became clear that Shedeur would soon take the job.

“This is no Shedeur hate,” Michael Jones said. “I don’t care how many stats you got. It’s all about the wins.”

Jones added that Deion Sanders has done a “wonderful job” at CU.

Hagan tried to call Rick George

Deion Sanders, who was hired at CU in December 2022, suggested the recent decision to retire the jersey numbers was made by CU athletic director Rick George. Sanders questioned the need to wait, especially after CU didn’t retire Salaam’s number until after he died.

“I’m thankful Rick shot his shot and moved on what we all know was inevitable in due time,” Sanders said April 17. George issued a statement on the matter April 15.

“Recognizing the accomplishments of a Heisman Trophy winner and record-setting quarterback who ushered in this new era of CU Football now does not detract from accomplishments of the past,” the statement said. “Rather, it adds to the rich legacy of CU Football that has been passed down over the years by everyone who has worn a CU uniform.”

Former CU linebacker Chad Brown, a former teammate of Hagan’s, said the decision to retire the recent numbers was “blind to the greatness of the past,” particularly the national championship team.

“Of anybody who would symbolize that time and be my first choice, I’d put Darian Hagan as the No. 1 guy to have his number retired,” Brown told USA TODAY Sports.

Hagan said his reaction to CU’s decision isn’t personal.

‘I just thought about the pride and tradition of the Colorado Buffaloes,’ Hagan said. ‘That’s what I thought about. That seemed to be diminished.’

Hagan said he tried to call George after he learned of the recent jersey retirements but wasn’t able to connect with him. He wanted to tell him something.

“We just threw history aside,” Hagan said he wanted to tell him. “We went with the here and now. The here and now is gonna be gone. We won a national championship, and that stuff lasts forever. That’s what I was gonna tell him.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com