Over the course of his distinguished college basketball coaching career, Rick Pitino has won national championships with two different programs and led a third to a Final Four. He has written several books and been a fixture of the motivational speaking circuit. He has even played himself in movies like “He Got Game” and “Blue Chips.”

On Thursday night, though, he appeared on a different kind of stage.

Less than a week after his St. John’s team won its first outright Big East championship in 40 years, Pitino was a guest on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with host Jimmy Fallon to discuss his team’s season, share some interesting stories from his life and career, and sing a sea shanty (yes, you read that right).

Appearing on the show the same night as actors Alan Cumming and Parker Posey, Pitino recounted how he accepted one of his first college coaching jobs, as an assistant coach under Jim Boeheim at Syracuse – on his wedding night. With no job at the time, Pitino told his wife he’d step away for an hour to interview for the position. Three hours later, he returned.

“I said ‘I’ve got great news — I got a job,’” Pitino said. “Now, I didn’t tell her I was interviewing for the Syracuse University job. I said ‘Two problems. One, it’s Syracuse, New York.’ She says ‘Upstate New York? Syracuse? With 120 inches of snow?’ I said ‘Yes, but it’s a great job and Jim Boeheim’s terrific.’”

The other piece of bad news? He was starting the job immediately and had to go on a recruiting trip the following day, meaning the newly wedded couple’s honeymoon to Hawaii was going to have to be postpooned.

Thankfully for the Pitinos, the visit proved to be worth it. Pitino’s post-wedding recruiting jaunt was to Cincinnati to see a promising young player named Louis Orr, who signed with Syracuse and went on to become an All-American for the Orange, as well as one of 25 members of the program’s all-century team.

After two years at Syracuse, Pitino got his first full-time head coaching gig at Boston University, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“We never had a honeymoon to Hawaii, but we’ve had quite a few trips after that,” Pitino said, with a smile.

Pitino later joked that his wife “left me a year later” when Fallon asked how long they stayed together. He and his wife, Joanne, are set to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next year.

Pitino also shared a story from even earlier in his life, when he and his friend Al Skinner, who went on to become the coach at Boston College, decided to play college basketball at UMass because of the opportunity to be teammates with the legendary Julius Erving. 

There was one problem, though — back when the Long Island natives began their college careers, freshmen had to play on freshmen teams. By the time they joined the school’s varsity squad as sophomores in 1971, Erving had left college early to sign a contract with the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association.

Pitino wasn’t St. John’s’ lone representative on the NBC airwaves Thursday night. In the days leading up to the show’s taping, it was announced that Pitino’s entire Red Storm team would be with him, raising the natural question of how a coach and his 13-player squad would all fit on “The Tonight Show” stage.

As it turned out, it was for a pre-recorded sketch, with Fallon, Pitino and his St. John’s players singing a sea shanty that was a play on the Red Storm’s nickname.

In its second season under Pitino, St. John’s is No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, its highest ranking since the 1990-91 season. With a 26-4 record and a conference title already locked up, the Red Storm will wrap up its regular season Saturday with a game at No. 20 Marquette.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf requested a trade ahead of 2025 NFL free agency.

‘Everything is in a very cordial, professional place,’ Schneider told Seattle Sports 710. ‘Obviously DK has requested a trade, and we are entertaining that. We are talking to a ton of teams, taking offers, seeing what that looks like.’

However, the long-time Seahawks executive also expressed he wished Metcalf’s request had been made public at a different time.

‘Probably not intentional, but very disappointed in the timing,’ Schneider said. ‘We wanted this to be a very special day. We wanted it to be Tyler Lockett day.’

News of Metcalf’s trade request broke on Wednesday, March 5, less than an hour after the Seahawks released Lockett after 10 seasons in Seattle. The Seahawks ran an all-day social media campaign honoring Lockett – who ranks second in franchise history in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns behind only Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Largent – and shared his best moments with the franchise.

But nationally, attention was centered on Metcalf’s future and potential landing spots.

‘I felt bad for Tyler,’ Schneider lamented. ‘The TV’s all about DK instead of Tyler Lockett. It kind of correlates with his whole career. This guy is one of the most underrated wide receivers in NFL history.’

Nonetheless, Schneider didn’t blame Metcalf for the way the situation unfolded and was complimentary of the six-year veteran’s work ethic.

‘He’s a great worker, he’s a pro, he shows up all the time, it’s just really important to him,’ Schneider said. ‘And I get where he’s coming from to a certain extent. He’s 27 years old, he has very high expectations for himself and he should. So there’s no harm, no foul. We’ll get through this.’

INDIANAPOLIS — UCLA spent three months atop the polls, didn’t lose a game until mid-February and was projected — twice — to be the overall No. 1 seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament.

And none of it means squat.

Still licking their wounds from the thumping they got from crosstown rival USC last weekend, the Bruins held a players-only film session early Monday morning. As they rewatched the game, they were brutally honest with themselves and one another, taking accountability and promising a performance like that won’t happen again.

It can’t. March doesn’t give do-overs.

“It was tough. There were a lot of things that we don’t want to hear, but they have to be said for the better of the team,” Lauren Betts said. “It was a good experience for all of us to say, ‘OK, let’s just have this moment, let’s get it all out now and then we can move on from this and get better.’ Because we don’t have time to focus on that game. We have bigger things coming up.

‘It’s March. You don’t have time for feelings,’ Betts added. ‘We have to win games.’

Starting Friday night, when the Bruins play Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament. UCLA beat the Cornhuskers 91-54 in their only meeting this season.

For much of the season, UCLA looked like a juggernaut. The Bruins opened with 23 consecutive wins, all but one of them by double digits. That included an early-season upset of defending national champion and then-No. 1 South Carolina.

No one had an answer for Betts, offensively or defensively, while Kiki Rice was a steady presence who could cut your heart out if opponents weren’t careful.

But something shifted with UCLA’s first loss to USC. The Bruins were lucky to get by Michigan State at home and had to claw their way back to beat Iowa. After setting the tone all season and daring opponents to match it, UCLA was now shaky.

Then came Saturday’s loss to USC in their regular season rematch.

JuJu Watkins has a way of making teams look discombobulated, but this was more than that. The Bruins started slow and out of sync, turning the ball over 11 times in the first half alone. They showed some life in the third quarter but couldn’t sustain it.

With two minutes still to play, the Trojans led by 19 and USC chants were echoing throughout Pauley Pavilion.

The loss cost UCLA the regular-season Big Ten title and dropped the Bruins to the No. 2 seed in this week’s conference tournament. It also moved them off the No. 1 seed line for the NCAA Tournament, if only temporarily.

“Obviously we didn’t get done what we wanted to get done in the Big Ten championship game,” Rice said earlier this week.  

Teams used to success respond one of two ways to adversity: They either fall apart completely, or they use it as fuel to get better. The Bruins decided they were going to be the latter.

Rice and Gabriela Jaquez called the Monday morning film session, but no one fought them. The players had watched the film on their own already, so they knew where the fault lines were and came ready to own them.

The session lasted about an hour and 20 minutes, Rice said, only ending because they had a regularly-scheduled practice. But the impact was obvious immediately.

“That was probably one of our best practices in a while,” Rice said. “We felt really refreshed, got after it and competed. I think we had a new energy and a new commitment to everything we want to get done.”

There’s never any one problem or one player responsible when a team hits a rough patch, and UCLA is no different. But if there’s a theme, it’s forgetting that this is a team game and focusing on personal performances because you expect the wins will come as they always have.

“Our big thing right now is ‘we over me,’ ” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “I don’t think we ever totally lost sight of it, but I think we lost the power of it. If everybody doesn’t sacrifice for winning, winning suffers. Every single person.

“It sounds so cliché,” Close added, “but I really think that’s the difference.”

That renewed commitment is likely to get a test this weekend. Apologies to the rest of the Big Ten, but USC and UCLA are clearly the best teams in the conference and are likely to meet in Sunday’s tournament championship game.

The Bruins wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We still have a lot to prove,” Rice said. “I’d definitely love to see them again. Whether it’s in the Big Ten tournament or the NCAA Tournament, I definitely want another shot at them.”

UCLA was the best team this season. It took a loss to remind the Bruins of that.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

INDIANAPOLIS – The NFL is set up to push all 32 of its teams toward .500 – or eight or nine wins, as the case may be, until the league jams the long-anticipated 18th regular-season game onto the schedule.

But generally speaking, the deeper you go into the playoffs, the worse your draft position. The more you shell out for free agents one year, the less you’re able to spend the next. The more games you win in the regular season, the tougher your schedule is when the next one rolls around.

However, the savvy organizations find the cheat codes that separate them from the pack.

The Chiefs haven’t played in five of the past six Super Bowls because they’re lucky – or even because they have a quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, who might be regarded as the best of all time whenever he hangs up the cleats. Perhaps nearly as important is their stability and continuity, Andy Reid heading into his 13th season with the organization – all of that time spent with current GM Brett Veach, who’s worked for and with Reid in various capacities going back to the coach’s days in Philadelphia. Their rapport and shared philosophy explain why this franchise is typically several steps ahead of the competition, whether it’s drafting for anticipated needs, or moving on from seemingly indispensable players like former WR Tyreek Hill or All-Pro OL Joe Thuney, who was traded earlier this week.

“(W)e’re fortunate to have enough nucleus of good players that will be joining us and giving us an opportunity to have a productive ‘25 season and still compete,” Reid said at last week’s scouting combine.

As it pertains to roster construction, he added that it’s “all part of trying to bring the best people in that you can for your team. You can’t help but try to figure out how the pieces fit in the puzzle there, and we’ll work together and then inevitably, (they) can complement one another and win games for you.”

But while the Chiefs are again dealing with champagne problems, another club has a more foreboding K.C. issue. Among the Falcons’ myriad challenges is determining what to do with now-backup QB Kirk Cousins.

“We’re having all of those discussions,” GM Terry Fontenot said at the combine. “That’s the critical part right now. It starts with our roster. We’ll make sure we make the right decisions. Get in a good place with the cap. Then we have to make the right decisions in free agency.”

However, for teams like the Falcons and Chiefs, cheat codes notwithstanding, there seem to be far fewer decisions to make in 2025 due to their specific circumstances. Unlike the better-resourced teams poised to have highly impactful offseasons in 2025, these eight – ranked from most to least able to affect change – could struggle to make headway (salary cap projections courtesy of Over The Cap):

8. Seattle Seahawks

Significant roster churn is already underway for a team that seems to be in the process of becoming more philosophically aligned with the way second-year HC Mike Macdonald wants to play – which is with suffocating defense complemented by ball-control offense, almost precisely what the ‘Hawks weren’t in 2024. GM John Schneider can address several deficiencies with $32-plus million to spend and eight draft picks. But if he winds up trading WR DK Metcalf, the void will be tough to fill regardless of what he might bring in exchange.

7. Kansas City Chiefs

Offloading Thuney, 32, cleared $16 million in cap room even if he didn’t fetch nearly the return (a fourth-rounder next year) that Hill did in 2022. Thuney’s departure goes a long way toward paying for the $23.4 million franchise tag recently applied to RG Trey Smith. However, the AFC champs are still $3 million overspent, don’t have a reliable left tackle, will likely lose LB Nick Bolton and S Justin Reid, among several others, to the open market and only have six draft picks – most coming at the end of each round – to partially reload the roster. They’d also like to lay the groundwork to extend defensive stalwarts George Karlaftis and Trent McDuffie with both a year away from what will be cap-stretching fifth-year rookie options.

“Every offseason, there seems to be a unique challenge, and this will be no different,” said Veach.

6. Miami Dolphins

At least they’re set at the offensive skill positions, assuming Hill has successfully completed his damage control after shutting himself down in the team’s Week 18 loss to the New York Jets last season? Regardless, not a ton of quality or depth elsewhere on this roster – both lines, in particular, areas of significant concern. S Jevon Holland headlines the Fins’ fleet of free agents. But with only $12 million in cap space and a cluster of Day 3 draft picks, it appears Miami will be forced into something of a youth movement, if not necessarily blue-chip youth.

5. Baltimore Ravens

Similar situation in Charm City, where the AFC North champions don’t have much in the free agency bank (about $10 million) but have a load of draft choices, if concentrated in the later rounds. But unlike the Dolphins, the Ravens may also have to switch kickers given the salacious allegations surrounding Justin Tucker. But he’ll likely be easier to replace than Pro Bowl LT Ronnie Stanley, who’s scheduled to reach free agency.

4. Houston Texans

And the theme continues in Space City, where the AFC South champions’ budget hovers around $14 million while the draft quiver holds just six selections. It adds up to a much less aggressive approach than last year … though kudos to GM Nick Caserio for obtaining WR Christian Kirk from the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday for a song, i.e. a 2026 seventh-rounder.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

They’re pretty much capped out and only have six whacks at the draft board. But after a massive reinvestment in their own players last year – QB Baker Mayfield, LT Tristan Wirfs, WR Mike Evans and FS Antoine Winfield Jr. among them – that’s probably OK given it returned yet another NFC South crown. And if underrated GM Jason Licht can finagle a bit more room to keep WR Chris Godwin, so much the better.

2. New Orleans Saints

About one-sixth of their 2025 cap is tied up in three players who are long gone: CB Marshon Lattimore, WR Michael Thomas and QB Jameis Winston. And yet the Saints, who annually treat the cap like a kid who can’t pay down a high-interest credit card, still have $40 million they need to shed by Wednesday – which doubtless means more restructures like the one C Erik McCoy recently agreed to. Having the extra third-round pick obtained from Washington in last year’s Lattimore trade will help, but rookie HC Kellen Moore will likely be relying heavily on the draft for roster replenishment given the team’s cap constraints.

1. Atlanta Falcons

In the aftermath of a disappointing season, they still need to trim $5 million off the cap and own just four draft picks – their third-rounder belonging to New England and fifth-rounder forfeited for a tampering violation.

“You know, it is (a) tough market, because we are talking to a lot of players right now,” Fontenot said. “A lot of agents. Obviously, players on our roster.”

But it could get worse than trying to figure out how to re-sign 26-year-old C Drew Dalman.

Much worse.

Keeping Cousins means carrying the most expensive backup quarterback ever. Cutting him would incur a $65 million dead cap hit, including an additional $25 million accelerated onto this year’s bottom line (though Atlanta could spread that out with a post-June 1 designation). Given how the 36-year-old played in 2024, trading him seems like a non-starter unless – again – the Falcons are willing to eat a good chunk of Cousins’ contract.

“Yeah, we understand that it’s not ideal to have a quarterback at that cap number,” said Fontenot. “Now, when we gave him that contract, the expectation was for him to be the starter at this point. So, that is a good number for a starting quarterback. But now that he’s the backup, when we say we’re comfortable, we’re talking about the total funds allocated to the quarterback position. That’s already baked in.”

Unless second-year QB Michael Penix Jr. is superhuman in his first season as the full-time starter, seems more than likely that this team is already baked.

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Lloyd Howell is quick to declare the sentiment of NFL players when the topic is broached – and like repeatedly – about an 18-game season.

They hate the idea.

“The majority of the guys I’ve talked to about it, they already feel that 17 is long enough,” Howell, executive director of the NFL Players Association, told USA TODAY Sports during an interview at the recent NFL combine, reiterating previous statements.

Then again, money talks. And Howell, 58, realizes the expansion of the NFL season is firmly planted as an expectation – “We know fans love football and they want more football,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said during Super Bowl week. That won’t go away.

No, it can’t happen without re-opening the collective bargaining agreement between the league and players who currently receive 48.5% of NFL revenues. But with the NFL set to christen a new league year and free agent market next week with another record salary cap, $279.2 million per team, it’s fair to wonder how much bigger the numbers would be with an 18-game slate.

“It’s just not as simple as saying, ‘Play more games. All revenue calculations account for that, so that’s more money in your pocket,” Howell said. “Oooh, slow down. What about guarantees? What if I get hurt with a longer season? What about my benefits? The list goes on and on. So, we’re all about making sure our guys are informed. Being prepared if that becomes a reality.”

Of course, as much as the NFL has pushed on 18 games for years, it’s all still preliminary talk now. The last time the regular season was expanded, adding a game in 2021, the 11-year CBA struck in 2020 under then-union chief DeMaurice Smith was barely approved by players, with a narrow 1019-959 margin. And there was no shortage of criticism that the NFLPA didn’t get enough in return for agreeing to a 17-game season.

‘As I understand how we got to 17, the guys at the time felt some kind of way,” said Howell, elected in June 2023 to succeed Smith. “So, if there is a silver lining to it, we’re talking about it now. There’s nothing imminent. There’s been no formal negotiation or conversation or anything like that. Guys are aware, so you’ve taken out the surprise factor.”

Goodell, meanwhile, routinely floats the idea of dropping another preseason game while adding a regular season game.

“Roger talks to the media or he says something, and it gets everyone’s attention,” Howell said. “I was asked about it during Super Bowl week. You may or may not have heard my response: No one I’ve talked to wants to play 18 games.”

The CBA expires after the 2030 season but can be modified at any point. Undoubtedly, the NFL’s decision on whether to opt-out of media rights deals, including Fox and CBS packages after the 2029 season and the Disney package (ABC/ESPN) after the 2030 campaign, looms as a significant trigger that weighs on the CBA with players. The NFL’s media rights deals are reportedly worth $110 billion over 11 years, extending through 2033.

“Everything in this business is business,” said Howell, preparing for meetings with the NFLPA board of player reps that begin on Tuesday in Maui. “So, if you want to look at it through the lens of business and there’s an upcoming inflection point around TV, I think everyone can appreciate TV as probably the largest revenue contributor to this business. So, if that’s the catalyst to then say, ‘Hey, Lloyd, we have to negotiate the length of this season because it’s part of what the providers would sign up to,’ OK, game on.

“But right now it’s just conjecture.”

Still, Howell seems well-suited to guide the NFLPA at this point in its history, alongside union president Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Although a level of tension between the league and players union is inherent, the circumstances are vastly different than when Howell’s predecessor began his 14-year tenure. When Smith succeeded the late Gene Upshaw as the union chief in 2009, he stepped into an intense labor war and inherited a looming lockout.

And Smith, a bombastic former prosecutor who seemingly saw a good scrap as a badge of honor, may have been perfect for the union at that point – even while overmatched against NFL owners.

Howell, who spent 34 years with a major consulting firm, Booz Allen Hamilton, from which he retired as chief financial officer and treasurer, is scoring points in NFLPA circles as a consensus-builder. Some agents raved about the collegial tone of their seminar in Indianapolis last week, which Howell opened by declaring that the union needed the input and influence of the agents – contrasting the vibe from previous years.

During his first year-and-a-half on the job, Howell didn’t just meet with players while visiting each NFL team. He also had individual sessions with nearly every NFL owner as he familiarized himself with the landscape and dynamics.

As he eyes the next labor deal, he is hardly drawing a line in the sand. But he knows. The NFL, with revenues well above $20 billion per year, is progressing on its mission for a more significant global footprint on top of the prospect of growing its media rights packages.

And hey, while remembering how Upshaw – despite numerous work stoppages and court battles – used to preach that you can’t “kill the golden goose,” it’s essential to note that the NFL’s salary cap has risen more than $54 million over two years. And while nine quarterbacks carry average salaries of at least $50 million, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby just signed a three-year, $106.5 million extension that makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history.

It’s a good time for labor peace.

“You cannot be at odds with your workforce,” Howell said. “You should never be talking about lockouts. You should never be talking about strikes. Because why? That hurts everybody.

“We’ll see. Baseball’s on the cusp of their next CBA negotiations. The WNBA is in the midst of theirs. Sports is thriving in general.”

In the meantime, Howell is intent on having a plan in place that reflects the priorities of his membership. Maybe that includes a modified offseason, another bye week, more guaranteed contracts, lifetime benefits, larger rosters, and then some.

Sure, there are no official negotiations at the moment. But just wait.

“My job is to make sure that we’re ready,” Howell said. “If they open up next week, I don’t want to be and I don’t want our members to be caught flat-footed because our head’s in the clouds. I want us to be ready because it’s a business, and you have to be ready for any opportunities that come our way.”

Which ultimately might be wrapped in an 18-game season.

Follow Jarrett Bell on social media @JarrettBell

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith has no aspirations to get into politics, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to talk about the topic.

Smith and ESPN have reached agreement on a new five-year contract worth at least $100 million that will give him that opportunity, according to The Athletic. Under the new deal, Smith will remain on “First Take,’ a morning sports talk show he’s starred on since 2012. However, the media personality will step back from other obligations and appearances on the network to enter into the political media arena.

Smith’s name has been floated as a potential presidential Democratic nominee for 2028, but Smith shot down the idea and told USA TODAY Sports he doesn’t ‘give a damn about the office.’ He said he’s more interested in holding politicians accountable and would ‘salivate’ at the opportunity to verbally spar with candidates, much like he does on his sports shows.

‘I know the one thing that I want more so than the presidency is … to be on a debate stage debating those presidential candidates,’ Smith told USA TODAY Sports in early February. ‘I want to be on a debate stage going up against a bunch of politicians that’s going to try to sell to America that they have your best interest at heart.’

Smith will have the opportunity to discuss politics on other networks. In doing so, Smith will reportedly step back from being a regular on “NBA Countdown,” ESPN’s top NBA pregame show, after the network signed a licensing deal with TNT Sports for “Inside The NBA.” (Smith will still make guest appearances on the program as warranted.)

Smith disclosed that he voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, but he’s been critical of both the Democratic and Republican parties recently. He’s shared his political views during various appearances on other networks, including ABC’s ‘The View,’ Fox News’ ‘The Sean Hannity Show’ and HBO’s ‘Real Time With Bill Maher.’

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