If you were thinking Caitlin Clark would be part of the NBA All-Star 3-point contest, don’t get your hopes up.

The WNBA star will not be participating in any of the NBA’s All-Star Weekend festivities next month, her representatives at Excel Sports told ESPN on Wednesday. Instead, Clark wants to do her first 3-point contest when the WNBA All-Star Game is held in Indianapolis in July.

After finishing up her rookie season in the WNBA last year, there was speculation Clark would participate in some event at the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco. Ideas included her taking part in the 3-point contest, or having a showdown with an NBA star, similar to when Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry faced New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu in an NBA vs. WNBA 3-point challenge during the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend. Curry won the matchup.

Clark, who won WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2024 after she was drafted first overall by the Indiana Fever, did not participate in the last year’s WNBA 3-point challenge. She did play in the All-Star Game, which was Team WNBA vs. Team USA ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend will be at Clark’s home arena in Indianapolis.

NBA All-Star weekend be Feb. 14-16 at the Chase Center, home of the Warriors. WNBA All-Star Weekend will be July 18-19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Clark will have her jersey retired in Iowa on Sunday, when the Hawkeyes host Southern California.

Kevin Love, NBA player, father, husband, fashion model, influencer, pusher of fine goods.

Add this to his list of titles: content creator.

Love is the undisputed king of the Jimmy Butler memes, using his Instagram account to satirize Butler’s saga with the Miami Heat. Adding even more enjoyment to Love’s antics is that Love also plays for the Heat.

Don’t know if the Heat are having a good time and don’t know if Butler is having a good time, but Love is enjoying the spectacle while showing off his meme game with an impressive knowledge of pop culture and aptitude for applying it to Butler’s situation.

IG is a visual and audio medium so it needs to be consumed as such. But it started on Jan. 3, the day the Heat suspended Butler seven games. Love posted a photo of a person sporting a hairstyle like the one Jimmy Butler wore in his media day photo 2023 with the caption: “Last 3 hours – “Emo State” ‘.

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The same day, Love posted again with the caption: “Entering my Winston Wolfe (sic) phase” with a clip from ‘Pulp Fiction’ when the character played by Harvey Keitel rings a doorbell and says, “You’re Jimmie right? This is your house?”

“Sure is.”

“I’m Winston Wolf, I solve problems.’

“Good, we got one.”

“So I heard.”

Love followed up with a clip from ‘The Godfather Part III’: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in” with the caption “Jimmy after yesterdays news.” In the next post, Love wrote, “LIVE LOOK – Jimmy after his meeting with Micky #getmyjoyback’ (Heat owner Micky Arison) and a clip from ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ when Leonardo DiCaprio’s character says, “I’m not (expletive) leaving! The show goes on! This is my home! They’re going to need a (expletive) wrecking ball to take me out of here!”

It is brilliant, and interspersed in Love’s Butler memes are photos of Love with Ralph Lauren, both men dapper in tuxedoes; a heartfelt post about the California wildfires; a post of Love, whose uncle is Mike Love of The Beach Boys and whose dad, Stan, was a Beach Boys employee, wearing his dad’s Beach Boys jacket; and a tender moment between dad and daughter.

He uses a clip from ‘Scarface’ captioned “Jimmy dining out in Miami this evening” with Al Pacino’s Tony Montana character saying, “You don’t have the guts to be what you want to be. You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your (expletive) fingers and say, ‘That’s the bad guy.’ ”

Love has kept it going throughout three Butler suspensions, including the most recent on Monday when the Heat suspended Butler indefinitely.

The caption: “Bam (Adebayo) in Spo’s office (Heat coach Erik Spoelstra) pouring his heart out over this whole situation …” with a video from ‘The Green Mile’ with Michael Clarke Duncan’s character telling Tom Hanks’ character: “I want it to be over and done with. I do. I’m tired boss. Tired of being on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. I’m tired of never having me a buddy to be with or tell me where we’s going to or coming from or why.” 

Love is on point and never more so than when the caption is “Pat’s response (Heat president Pat Riley) to “anywhere BUT Memphis” – a reference to potential trade destinations – with a clip of Brian Cox’s Logan Roy character from ‘Succession’ saying, “(Expletive) off!” more than 20 times.

Love has taken a situation that has serious components and shed light on the silliness of it all, too. It has resonated with an NBA audience including players. His 10 Butler-memed IG posts have received nearly 350,000 likes and more than 210,000 shares.

After one Butler-related post, LeBron James replied with nine crying laughing emojis. James’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, responded to a post: “This is so good.”

Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson, Tristan Thompson, DeAndre Jordan, Max Strus, Kevin Hart and Bobby Cannavale have replied. One user wrote: “Kevin Love’s IG is the best TV show of 2025.”

When questioned by another user that Love must want to leave Miami too, Love responded: “not even a little bit! Love the people I work with.”

Love may no longer be an All-Star on the court, but he’s the NBA Instagram MVP in 2025.

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt

The 2025 Leagues Cup will feature 18 of 30 MLS teams and all 18 clubs from LIGA MX, beginning July 29 to the Aug. 31 final. Tournament organizers announced the new format Thursday.

At least 94% of the tournament (58 of the 62 possible matches) features an MLS club against a LIGA MX club before the semifinals.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami won the tournament in 2023, while the Columbus Crew won the 2024 edition. Both clubs, along with MLS Cup champion L.A. Galaxy, LAFC and Real Salt Lake are among the Top 10 ranked clubs in the 2025 field.

Leagues Cup 2025 will be played in two rounds: Phase One and the Knockout Rounds. Phase One will feature three consecutive match dates per club, and all 54 Phase One matches will be played between MLS and LIGA MX clubs.

Most Leagues Cup knockout matches will be played midweek as the MLS and LIGA MX regular seasons will continue play through the month of August.

The top four MLS and LIGA MX clubs, ranked with a points system after Phase One, will advance to the quarterfinals.

The new format was created following a collaborative effort of the Leagues Cup Organizing Committee with representatives from Leagues Cup, MLS and LIGA MX leadership.

Considerations included rewarding regular season results and geographical regions while addressing what they’ve learned from the last two editions of the tournament, including the need for more interleague matchups.

The Leagues Cup champion, runner-up and third-place team will again be awarded spots in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.

More information regarding Leagues Cup 2025 matchups, schedule and other details will be announced later.

What is the new Leagues Cup tournament format?

The teams will be separated into six sets of six clubs – three sets in the East, and three sets in the West – in Phase One of the tournament.

Each set of six will include an MLS and LIGA MX club ranked in Tier 1 (teams ranked 1-3 from each league), Tier 2 (ranked 4-6) and Tier 3 (ranked 7-9).

Each team will play three matches against the opponents from the opposite league within their set.

For example, Inter Miami would play three matches against LIGA MX clubs during Phase One.

What is the new Leagues Cup tournament points system?

MLS and Liga MX teams will compete in a league-specific table against the teams from their own league.

MLS clubs will earn points in the Leagues Cup MLS table, while LIGA MX clubs earn points in the Leagues Cup LIGA MX table.

The top four clubs from each league-specific table advance to the quarterfinals.

Leagues Cup points format, and no draws

Leagues Cup will maintain its current ‘No Draws’ format: Regulation wins count as three points, but games will go to an immediate penalty shootout if tied at the end of regulation.

During Phase One: Each club receives one point if the game is tied after 90 minutes. The winner of the penalty shootout will earn an additional point.

If tied at the end of regulation in the quarterfinals and beyond, the winner will be determined by a penalty shootout.

How will MLS and LIGA MX teams be ranked in Leagues Cup?

The Leagues Cup ranking combines MLS and LIGA MX league performance across 34 regular season matches into a unified table.

MLS teams will be ranked based on the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield standings with expansion franchise San Diego FC listed last.

LIGA MX clubs will be ranked based on the cumulative 34 matches in the 2024 Clausura and Apertura tournaments.

Here are the Leagues Cup East and West tier rankings:

East

Tier 1: Inter Miami, Toluca FC, Columbus Crew, CF Monterrey, FC Cinncinnati, Pumas
Tier 2: Chivas de Guadalajara, Orlando City, Charlotte FC, New York City FC, Club Leon, Club Necaxa.
Tier 3: New York Red Bulls, CF Montreal, Atlanta United, Atlas FC, FC Juarez, Club Puebla.

West

Tier 1: Cruz Azul, Club Tigres, LAFC, L.A. Galaxy, Club America, Real Salt Lake.
Tier 2: Seattle Sounders, Houston Dynamo FC, Minnesota United, Atletico de San Luis, Club Tijuana, Club Pachuca.
Tier 3: Colorado Rapids, Portland Timbers, Club Queretaro, Mazatlan FC, Club Santos Laguna, San Diego FC.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy was enchanted to meet Taylor Swift when he made a stark observation about the superstar singer and songwriter.

Following the Chiefs’ 32-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game on Sunday, cameras caught Worthy’s reaction to seeing Swift on the field to celebrate with her boyfriend and Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.

‘Oh s—,’ Worthy said to someone off camera. ‘She’s taller than me.’

Swift is listed at 5-foot-10, while Worthy is listed at 5-foot-11 on the Chiefs’ roster. It should be noted that Swift was wearing heels on the field, as was stated in the video. So it’s unclear who is taller — but either way, Swift and Worthy have similar heights.

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In an interview with ABC 30 Fresno, Worthy was asked whether he had met Swift before.

‘I just met her,’ Worthy said. ‘It’s the video going viral right now. I was like, ‘Damn, she’s tall. She’s taller than me.’

Worthy continued about the interaction with Swift:

‘We were on the field and she walked right past me and said, ‘Oh you’re the one who got drafted?’ Worthy said. ‘So we met like that. It was cool.’

Worthy and the Chiefs will look to win their third consecutive Super Bowl on Feb. 9, becoming the first team in NFL history to do so.

This story was updated with new information.

Millions of viewers tuned in to watch the U.S. men’s basketball team, led by NBA superstars Stephen Curry and LeBron James, defeat host country France, headlined by NBA rookie Victor Wembanyama, at the 2024 Paris Olympics in August. One detail in particular stood out to NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

During an appearance on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ on Wednesday, Silver opened up about one ‘wild’ idea he’s ‘a fan’ of: shortening each quarter to align with FIBA (International Basketball Federation) and the Olympics.

“As we get more involved in global basketball, the NBA is the only league that plays 48 minutes,” Silver said. “I am a fan of four 10-minute quarters. I’m not sure how many others are, and putting aside what it means for records and things like that, I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent with modern television habits.”

NBA ratings and 3-point shooting issues

The NBA has experienced a slight decline in viewership this season, per Nielsen. Ratings are up on ESPN and ABC but down on TNT vs. last year, which was the most-watched regular season in four years. Many critics have pointed at the quality of the game as a reason, from the onslaught of 3-point attempts to the lack of physicality and lopsided scores.

‘Is there too much 3-point shooting in certain situations? Maybe,’ Silver said. ‘I also don’t want to overreact to what we are seeing in the game. I think the game is incredible right now, day in and day out. I think some of the criticism is a bit unfair.’

Silver described the ongoing narrative as ‘frustrating’ and clarified that the NBA’s ‘ratings are now about even with last year.’ He said the excitement around basketball is still there, pointing to the Olympic gold medal game between the U.S. men and France, which averaged 19.5 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, the most-watched gold medal game since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. However, Silver said it has become more difficult to engage the public because there’s ‘unlimited numbers of channels and programming.’

‘My job is to get more basketball lovers to watch the NBA and watch it longer,’ Silver said. ‘Our job has become that much harder because we are competing against so many different forms of entertainment: podcasts, social media. … We have to up our game.’

Silver said the NBA has made a series of changes to improve the game’s entertainment value, from coach challenges to the play-in tournament and the NBA Cup, and will continue to do so: ‘We’re open here.’

As for 10-minute quarters, Silver says that would create a ‘more consistent set of rules globally around the game’ — FIBA and the Olympics both have 40-minute games, as does the WNBA — but a shortened game can also address the league’s load management and rest issues.

The NBA is not discussing implementing 10-minute quarters, a person familiar with league plans told USA TODAY Sports. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

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Super Bowl 59 is both the best of times and the worst of times for Jason Kelce.

The former All-Pro center for the Philadelphia Eagles faces a difficult choice with his rooting interests in this year’s big game now that he’s retired and his brother Travis will be playing in the game for the Kansas City Chiefs.

So where will his loyalties lie on Super Sunday?

He addressed the question on the latest edition of the New Heights podcast, which was released Wednesday morning.

‘I’ll always root for my brother,’ Jason said. ‘But there’s a lot of people in the Philadelphia organization … that feel like extended family to me …

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‘I’m rooting for those guys too.’

In the end, it was impossible to choose one or the other.

‘I’m rooting for Philadelphia and I’m rooting for Travis Kelce. That’s the reality of it,’ he admitted.

‘No matter what, on game day I’m going to be happy for one of those sides. And I’m going to be sad for the other side.’

The Chiefs are currently a 1.5-point favorite in Super Bowl 59, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 9 in New Orleans.

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The Utah Hockey Club is going another route with another fan survey after a popular choice for a permanent nickname was ruled out.

Utah Yeti was one of the final six choices in the initial fan vote for the NHL’s newest team, but KSL and The Athletic reported last week that a trademark bid was rejected. Smith Entertainment Group, which owns the team, said it’s no longer pursuing that nickname.

‘An SEG executive shared that it explored every avenue to make Yeti work but that YETI Coolers, LLC was ultimately unwilling to agree to a co-existence agreement,’ the team said in a statement.

Instead, fans attending the next four home games, starting Wednesday night, will vote on three choices:

Utah Hockey Club
Utah Mammoth
Utah Wasatch

Utah Hockey Club, the temporary name this season, and Mammoth were among the final six after the early vote.

Wasatch is a new option that was not among the original 20 suggestions. That’s the mountain range that towers over the east side of the Salt Lake valley. The team said the name was ‘designed to honor the idea of a mythical snow creature.’

‘Because this next round features not only names but also logos and branding treatments, only fans attending the next four Utah Hockey Club home games at Delta Center, starting tonight, will be able to participate,’ the team said.

The home games where fans can vote are Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. The club said it’s on track to announce the permanent name before next season.