SAN FRANCISCO — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said another Steph Curry-Sabrina Ionescu 3-point All-Star shootout didn’t materialize because it felt forced this year vs. the organic nature of the popular and energetic Curry-Ionescu showdown at last year’s All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.

“Last year was so magical, that competition, that it started to feel forced (this year),” Silver said. “And I think there was concern from all of us that we just weren’t feeling it … even though I had been public, I had said that I was very hopeful or said it was going to happen again. And I think that it just got to the point where, I don’t know how to say it other than we just weren’t collectively feeling it. That it was such a unique moment last year. …

“It just seemed like coming back here, as exciting as it might have been, that this just wasn’t the right time to do it. And there’s no more to it than that.”

Last season at All-Star Weekend Indianapolis, Ionescu and Curry put on a 3-point show with Curry edging his friend 29-26, and there was talk the two players would return this season for another display of 3-point shooting.

Curry’s Warriors are the host, and Ionescu grew up in the Bay Area. Earlier this season, Silver indicated there would be a similar event this year.

Moments after fans at Montreal’s Bell Centre could be heard booing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ ahead of the Team USA vs. Team Canada showdown in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Saturday night, multiple fights broke out between players immediately after the puck was dropped to start play.

As the opening face-off took place, the first donnybrook between Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel took place as both players instantly dropped their gloves for a brawl. Both players were sent to their respective penalty boxes.

On the ensuing face-off, Team USA’s Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett got involved in another dust-up, and both were sent to their respective penalty boxes, with Matthew Tkachuk enthusiastically greeting his brother Brady upon his arrival. The ABC broadcast reported that Brady Tkachuk was calling Bennett out to set up the second scrap while the first fight was being sorted.

The teams weren’t done scrapping. Just nine seconds into the game, Team USA’s J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko dropped mitts and started throwing haymakers after a shot on goal by the U.S.

Team USA was displeased with fans booing the national anthem ahead of its 6-1 win over Finland on Thursday night. Brady and Matthew Tkachuk each scored twice in the rout. After the game, Matthew Tkachuk was critical of fans booing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ saying ‘I didn’t like it, and that’s all I got.’

The negative reactions to ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ came even after the Bell Centre public address announcer asked fans to show respect for the anthems.

Canadian sports fans have been booing the U.S. national anthem since U.S. President Donald Trump made threats regarding import tariffs earlier in February. The Trump administration paused the threat for 30 days for Canada, as well as Mexico, to be hit with 25% tariffs, but the concern over the economic impact remains.

The 2025 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk contest was over soon after it began.

Mac McClung became the first player in NBA history to be crowned the slam dunk champion in three consecutive years after putting together four impressive dunks during the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco.

McClung’s first dunk paid homage to 2011 Slam Dunk champion Blake Griffin, who won the crown after jumping over a silver KIA. McClung jumped over the same car and upped the ante by having someone hang out of the sunroof with the ball. McClung jumped over the highest part of the vehicle, grabbed the ball and completed a reverse dunk to start the competition off with a perfect score. He earned a perfect 50 on his next three dunks.

‘Stuff like this doesn’t happen without sitting on the shoulders of a lot of people,’ McClung, the reigning G League MVP, said after his win. ‘I had a lot of help. People were opening gyms to fit a car in. People were letting me use their car. I’m just really grateful right now.’

Although it’s not clear if McClung will return to defend his title again — ‘This might be it for me, but we’ll see’ — his name will forever be etched into the NBA All-Star Weekend record books.

Here’s what you need to know about McClung:

Where did Mac McClung go to college?

Georgetown (2018-2020)

McClung started his collegiate basketball career at Georgetown in 2018, where he led all Big East freshmen in scoring with an average of 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and two assists per game in 29 games. He scored a career-high 38 points vs. Little Rock on Dec. 18, 2022 and earned a spot of the Big East All-Freshman Team. McClung was limited to 20 games during his sophomore campaign due to a foot injury, but still averaged 15.7 points, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 27 minutes per game.

Texas Tech (2020-2021)

McClung transferred to Texas Tech in May 2020 for his junior year and averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 29 games. He declared for the 2021 NBA draft following his junior season.

Was Mac McClung drafted?

McClung went undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft.

What teams has Mac McClung played for?

McClung has played a majority of his career in the G League:

South Bay Lakers (2021-22)

McClung signed with the South Bay Lakers, the G League affiliate team of the Los Angeles Lakers, in October 2021. He averaged 21.7 points, 7.6 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 27 regular-season games, earning the G League Rookie of the Year award and a G League All-Rookie Team nod. McClung was called up during the season and played 10-day contracts with both the Chicago Bulls and Lakers before returning to South Bay.

Delaware Blue Coats (2022–23)

McClung joined the Delaware Blue Coats, the G League affiliate team of the Philadelphia 76ers, in October 2022. McClung won the NBA G League championship with the Blue Coats. He was called up to the 76ers several times throughout the season, including Philadelphia’s regular-season finale, where McClung recorded 20 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists in a win over the Brooklyn Nets. That year, he also became the first G League player to compete in the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest and win it.

Osceola Magic (2023–present)

McClung signed with the Osceola Magic, the G League affiliate team of the Orlando Magic, in November 2023 after a short stint with Orlando. He led the G League in scoring with 25.7 points per game, shooting 50.9% from the field and 39.6% from three, in addition to 4.7 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per contest. McClung was named the 2024 Kia NBA G League MVP and earned an All-NBA G League First-Team nod.

“It means a lot. I really got emotional thinking about it because it shows the relentlessness in my story,” McClung said at the time. “Maybe you look at me as a dunker. Maybe you look at me as a highlight tape. And last year, they said I couldn’t shoot, but then I shot (close to 40 percent) from three. This year, I’m G League MVP. It’s one of the moments in my life that I’m most proud of myself (because it shows) that relentless pursuit.”

How many All-Star Slam Dunk contests has Mac McClung won?

McClung became the fifth player to win back-to-back slam dunk titles in 2023 and 2024, following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan (1987-88), Jason Richardson (2002-03), Nate Robinson (2009-10) and Zach LaVine (2015-16). But McClung stepped out of the shadows of the greats with his three-peat performance on Saturday. He’s the first player in NBA history to win the dunk contest three consecutive times.

Check out all four of McClung’s dunks in the 2024 Slam Dunk contest:

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Despite the NBA’s best efforts over the last decade to juice up its All-Star Game to a vague level of competitiveness and credibility, it’s hard to see the league’s newest gimmick generating significantly different results this weekend than the Elam Ending or having LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo drafting the teams. 

If that’s the case, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will likely see it as a failure. He has made it clear he wants the All-Star Game to be something other than a glorified pickup run, and the league hopes that this year’s format — dividing players into four teams and having a first-to-40 tournament — will be more satisfying for fans in the arena and more attractive for those watching on television. 

But the real problem with the All-Star Game is not something the NBA can fix with a new format, or even shoveling money into the bank accounts of the players.

The problem is us. Or, to be more precise, the way our collective consumption of the NBA has evolved. What’s the point of an All-Star Game when you can get one every morning in a 10-minute YouTube clip that gives you all the best parts of the NBA, cuts out all the boring bits and is delivered to your phone to watch at your convenience? 

How many people under age 30 do you know who will sit in front of a television and watch a 2½-hour NBA game? 

For that generation, it’s almost unthinkable. Sure, the allure of being in the arena and feeling the action in person hasn’t changed much over the generations. But if you ask a teenager these days if they’re going to watch a game, the typical response is: “Why would I? I’ll just watch the highlights later.”

Nobody understands this phenomenon better than the league itself. During the NBA Cup, Silver gave an interview to a handful of media outlets where he expressly disassociated the league’s sagging television ratings from the league’s cultural reach. 

“We’re at a point where our social media audience is at the highest of any league and continuing to grow exponentially,” he said, according to The Athletic. “So it’s not a lack of interest in this game.” 

Silver is right. No matter what the ratings say — and clearly the NFL overwhelms everyone in that department — the NBA is unquestionably the most potent cultural force in American sports. And it’s not limited to this country. Walk through any city in Europe or Asia these days, and the number of young people you’ll see wearing NBA merchandise dwarfs any of our other sporting exports. 

But a huge part of what makes the NBA so popular these days is also what makes the All-Star Game so superfluous. 

Just consider for a moment that the NBA’s official 13-minute highlight package of the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Utah Jazz from Monday night has 3 million views on YouTube. Not to mention millions more views on copycat highlight channels, highlights that specifically tracked Luka Doncic’s debut and highlights of every other game played in the NBA that night.

That is a staggering number of people who, every day, are consuming professional basketball primarily — if not exclusively — through games that are cut down to mostly slam dunks, fast breaks and 3-pointers. Every now and then, they might throw in a good defensive play, too.

It’s a great way to understand what happened in an NBA game without having to invest more than two hours watching one. But it’s also, in a way, corrosive to people’s expectations of what the experience of watching sports is supposed to be. 

For those of us who grew up before there was Internet access in nearly every home, being a fan meant investing in all of it — the good nights, the bad nights, the fouls, the timeouts, the stretches of missed shots, the commercials and all the rest of it along with whatever magic Michael Jordan was producing for the Chicago Bulls. 

The NBA All-Star Game was special precisely because it stood out from the trudgery of the 82-game regular season. It was just all the good parts and the great players turning their routine talents into an endless series of highlights. That’s the only thing about it that was ever inherently great — not that the All-Star Game had some existential meaning or that players were super competitive in that environment, but because it was different.

Now, as the league’s TV ratings slide but its social media reach explodes through a never-ending stream of easily consumable highlights, there is no way to ‘fix’ the All-Star Game because it would require a return to exclusivity that the NBA knows would be bad for business. Among all the great things the league has done over the last 15 years, nothing has been more transformative for its brand and popularity than embracing social media, new media and making sure the talents of its players are seen across the globe.

As much as that mentality helps the NBA for 364 days a year, it will crush it Sunday. Why would any fan get excited about an All-Star Game when they see one every night? 

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Dan Wolken on social media @DanWolken

Major League Baseball’ s offseason is truly an annual free-for-all, with more than 100 free agents aiming for guaranteed contracts and 30 general managers ready to strike when the right deal comes around.

Yet there’s typically one traffic cop orchestrating much of the mayhem: Agent Scott Boras.

For the past two winters, baseball’s silly season has been marked by a half-dozen of his clients festering on the market into – and in some cases, for most of – spring training.

Yet like a cat with nine lives, the struggling Boras client is a flexible creature, capable of playing their way back into financial good graces. And if anything, we’ve learned that it’s never really over for clients of the uber agent.

With Alex Bregman’s three-year, $120 million agreement with the Boston Red Sox, all six lingering Boras clients have homes – some of them permanent. A look at Scott’s Six and how they ultimately fared, even as some may soon hit the market again:

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Blake Snell: Six years, $214 million

First time around: Signed two-year, $32 million deal with San Francisco Giants, but opted out after getting paid $32 million in 2024.

Second shot: Signed five-year, $182 million deal with Los Angeles Dodgers, with $52 million signing bonus and $66 million deferred.

Outlook: After Snell’s dynamite second half following a soft launch after his delayed spring training, it’s clear teams erred in the 2023-24 offseason when they did not lock down the two-time Cy Young Award winner when they had the chance. While deferrals reduce the present value of his per annum from $36.4 million to about $32 million, it certainly would have been easier for someone simply sign him to a $192 million deal a year ago.

Matt Chapman: Seven years, $169 million

First time around: Signed three-year, $54 million deal with Giants, but opted out after earning $18 million in 2024.

Second shot: Signed six-year, $151 million extension in September 2024, nullifying the final two player options.

Outlook: Snell’s late-spring running mate from a year ago shined in the field and at the plate in San Francisco, and by season’s end was identified as a franchise cornerstone. His adjusted OPS of 125 was his best since 2019, allaying fears that Chapman would be a glove-only value.

Alex Bregman: Three years, $120 million

First time around: Signed three-year, $120 million deal with Boston Red Sox, with opt-outs after the first two seasons.

Outlook: A solid outcome for Bregman, whose dashed hopes for a longer-term deal and cracking the $200 million mark are softened by his $40 million annual haul. It will be fascinating if Bregman opts out after this year, perhaps sacrificing that elite salary (albeit with deferred money) for a longer-term guarantee. Observers almost unanimously agree Bregman will crush Fenway Park’s Green Monster – he has a 1.240 career OPS there – and it’s not hard to imagine a Chapman-esque, longer-term relationshp with Boston as he perhaps take over third base from Rafael Devers in future years.

Cody Bellinger: Three years, $80 million

First time around: Signed three-year, $80 million deal with Chicago Cubs, with two opt-out clauses. Traded to New York Yankees this offseason.

Outlook: Ever since the Dodgers non-tendered Bellinger in November 2022, he’s been in largely the same stratosphere: Good, not great. A solid platform year with the Cubs (.881 OPS, 139 adjusted, though in 130 games) couldn’t convince suitors he’d  consistently maintain his four-win production and top the 150-game mark. So he opted in for a second year after his adjusted OPS dropped to 111; after a trade to the Bronx, perhaps depositing balls into Yankee Stadium’s right field porch will unlock an opt-out and further riches this winter.

Pete Alonso: Two years, $54 million

First time around: Signed two-year, $54 million deal with Mets, with opt-out after first season.

Outlook: Nobody here has more at stake this year than the Polar Bear. At 30, he’s not quite a year younger than Bregman yet does not play a premium position, and famously turned down a $158 million extension with the Mets long before hitting the market. Now, he must bang his way into an opt-out – he’d make $24 million in 2025 – to get back into the nine-figure rent district, post-free agency.

Jordan Montgomery: Two years, $47.5 million

First time around: Signed one-year, $25 million deal with Arizona Diamondbacks, with a player option that vested for $22.5 million.

Outlook: The lone Boras Four client to fire his agent after his market experience turned sour, Montgomery’s 2024 campaign was nightmare fuel, signing late like Snell yet not turning around his fortunes and then having his owner publicly rip the contract he gave him. But a bullish 2025 after posting a 6.23 ERA a year ago could go a long way toward the riches the now-Wasserman client expected in the winter of ’23-24 – perhaps after Arizona trades him.

NFL RedZone already underwent a major change at the end of the 2024 NFL season, introducing a few ads to its previously famous ‘seven hours of commercial-free football.’

The program may see another occur ahead of the 2025 NFL season, as long-time host Scott Hanson’s future with it is uncertain.

Hanson has hosted NFL RedZone since the program’s creation in 2009. However, his contract with NFL Network expired after the 2024 NFL season, according to Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy. As a result, he is a free agent and is not guaranteed to return to NFL Media.

Where could Hanson end up? Here’s what to know about his potential suitors as he hits free agency.

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Is Scott Hanson leaving NFL RedZone?

While Hanson’s contract with NFL Network is up, he isn’t guaranteed to leave NFL RedZone. He is ‘still in negotiations to return to NFL Media,’ according to Front Office Sports, so a deal between the two sides remains possible.

That said, talks between Hanson and the company ‘have stalled… amid negotiations for ESPN to take over NFL Media and NFL RedZone,’ per Front Office Sports.

That could force Hanson to consider his options as he looks to lock-in a role – and a lucrative contract – for the 2025 NFL season and beyond.

Scott Hanson NBC rumors

To that point, Hanson is reportedly ‘in talks’ about landing a full-time role with NBC Sports. He worked with NBC during the 2024 Summer Olympics and drew rave reviews for hosting the network’s RedZone-like ‘Gold Zone’ program.

“Scott brought his inimitable enthusiasm and energy to Gold Zone. NFL fans loved watching him transfer his ‘all-in’ mentality from football Sundays to the Paris Olympics,’ Molly Solomon, president of NBC Olympics production, told Front Office Sports in a September 2024 statement. ‘Each of our four hosts brought his own unique personality to the show, and Scott was certainly a key contributor to our process of re-imagining how Gold Zone could be experienced and consumed going forward.’

The full scope of Hanson’s potential role with NBC is not yet clear. Front Office Sports described it as a ‘wide ranging’ one that would include Olympic and NFL coverage responsibilities.

It also isn’t clear how valuable a potential pact between Hanson and NBC might be – or whether a deal will actually get over the finish line without another suitor joining the fray.

Golden State Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry is weighing in on the NBA GOAT conversation, sort of.

‘A lot of debate but there can only be one GOAT,’ Curry shared on social media Saturday during the 74th NBA All-Star Weekend, which returned to the San Francisco, Bay Area for the first time since 2000. Instead of mentioning the likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, Curry teased his upcoming film, ‘Goat.’

Curry released the official movie poster for ‘Goat,’ which is set to hit theaters on Feb. 13, 2026. The release date coincides with the 75th NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles next year. Curry will serve as the producer of the original animated sports comedy, which features an actual goat playing basketball.

‘This kid’s got game,’ the film’s poster reads.

Alongside Curry, Unanimous Media’s Erick Peyton, Michelle Raimo Kouyate (‘The Spider Within: a Spider-Verse Story,’ ‘Silver Linings Playbook’), Adam Rosenberg (‘Creed 3’) and Academy Award winner Rodney Rothman (‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’) will serve as producers.

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Tyree Dillihay (Bob’s Burgers) is set to direct, alongside co-director Adam Rosette (Orion and the Dark). Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley (Fairfax) are writing the screenplay. David Schulenburg (The Spider Within: a Spider-Verse Story, Spider-Ham: Caught in a Ham) is set to co-produce, while Rick Mischel (Open Season: Call of Nature) and Fonda Snyder (Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum) will serve as executive producers.

Curry has several producing credits to his name. He served as producer of the 2024 Peacock comedy TV show ‘Mr. Throwback,’ which he also starred in as himself.

Curry is set to participate in his 11th All-Star Game. He’s on Team Shaq, alongside Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant and Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, who were all teammates on the 2024 U.S. men’s basketball Olympic team that won gold at the Paris Olympics. 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.

PHOENIX — The fans lined up in the early morning Saturday, rushed through the gates the moment they opened, and then camped out to secure the best seats possible for the most heralded bullpen session of the spring.

Shohei Ohtani was back on the mound, throwing his first bullpen session in spring training since 2023, surrounded by more than 1,000 fans and virtually the entire Los Angeles Dodgers’ front office.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts concedes he has never seen anything like it in his baseball career, not for a mere spring training bullpen session.

“There’s a lot of things since we signed Shohei Ohtani that I haven’t seen around a baseball field,’’ Roberts said. “He just handles it better than I could ever imagine any player handling it.’’

Ohtani thew 14 pitches, all two-seam and four-seam fastballs, hitting 92-94 mph on the radar gun. Ohtani was thrilled, hugged catcher Will Smith afterwards, and fans started cheering.

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“I thought it was great,’’ Roberts said. “Just kind of seeing his delivery, which was really good, the clean arm stroke. … Gosh, the velocity, the ball was coming out really good. I think he seems pretty pleased with it, and the command was really good. So really positive.’’

Ohtani, who hasn’t pitched in a game since Aug. 23, 2023 and undergoing elbow surgery a few weeks later, still isn’t expected to pitch again in a major-league game until May. He won’t appear in any Cactus League games as a pitcher, but is projected to face live hitters in batting practice before the Dodgers depart for Japan on March 11 to play the Chicago Cubs in a two-game series.

Ohtani was curious himself during first bullpen session of the spring, frequently asking questions to pitching coach Mark Prior and the surrounding coaches after virtually every pitch.

“He was looking early on velocity, and then he was looking for his two-seamer, the depth and movement of the two-seamer,’’ Roberts said. “So just to kind of line it with what he feels. But it’s interesting that he’s very good at knowing what his stuff does, and so a lot of his thoughts line up with what the metric says.

“So out here, first day is great.’’

Certainly now, Roberts says, he can start to envision what it’s going to be like having Ohtani pitch in the rotation while being his everyday DH. Ohtani will have occasional days off. He won’t run nearly as much as he did a year ago when he stole a career-high 59 bases. But the imagination of what it will be like having a two-way player is endless.

“I’ve seen him throw a handful of bullpens,’’ Roberts said, “but to see him here in spring training alongside other pitchers, to see him just as a pitcher in that particular moment, was a reality check for me. It was kind of different seeing him in this context, and seeing other pitchers watch him and dab him up after his pen, was good to see.’’

But even though he’s on path now to pitching again in the big leagues, dominating on the game at the plate and on the mound, his demeanor really hasn’t changed.

“No, not at all,’’ Roberts said. “The thing with Shohei as I’ve learned is that he’s obviously very routine-driven. He’s very methodical is how he goes about his work. It’s thought-out days in advance, and each day, he just kind of gets to the next marker on what he has to do, and then he goes to the next thing.

“When he’s preparing for his pen, his only focus was how to best prepare himself. He executes pitches, and after that, he’s going to now do his recovery. What I’ve seen doesn’t affect his demeanor. …

“We feel good because he’s done it, and he’s had success doing it.’’

It’s really the same mantra Roberts wants his entire team to take as they defend their World Series championship, trying to become the first National League team to win back-to-back World Series since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds.

Roberts spoke to the team before their first full-squad workout, stressing the need to keep their focus through October while playing with a $380 million target on their back.

‘There’s an understanding of what we’ve done, who we are, knowing that people are going to come after us with their best each and every night ….’’ Roberts said. “There’s a standard of how we prepare, how we play, getting guys to lock in for 8 ½ more months of baseball and stressing the mental part of it, the grind, how we do things, vs. outside expectations.’’

When you have the highest payroll in baseball, the biggest and brightest stars in baseball, and the most fans in baseball, the expectations are enormous.

Never has “World Series or bust’’ been more appropriate for these 2025 Dodgers.

Roberts wants his team to simply focus on themselves, stay the course, and if they do that, they should be back playing in deep October.

“There’s a real connection, a trust within our organization,’’ Roberts said, “that I think guys are really trying to stay the course with that. I think us being hunted or having a bullseye, when you put on this uniform, that’s just the way it is. …

“I do think that we’re the epicenter of baseball. I do think that we do a lot of things. We have a lot of talented players. Our fans come out in droves. Our players understand that. There’s a standard to uphold.’’

Roberts never used the word “dynasty’’ when speaking to his team, but he did remind them they have a chance to make history, going where no National League team has gone in a half-century, and no team since the Yankees have gone in a quarter-century.

“It’s a motivator,’’ Roberts said. “It’s an opportunity, it’s a motivator, but outside of that, I  don’t see anything outside of that.

“There’s a lot of guys in that room that haven’t won a championship, and so ’24 means nothing to them. I really welcome that infusion of guys that are talented, that are hungry, and that want some hardware.

“That’s good for the entire organization.’’

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