Jedd Fisch pledges loyalty to Washington, just as he did to Arizona. (He left Arizona for UW.)
Georgia Tech’s Brent Key sounds ready to take a blood oath.
Lane Kiffin sits out loyalty pledges.

We’ve reached the most sickening point of the coaching carousel. Here come the loyalty pledges.

From Seattle to Atlanta to Los Angeles and lands in between, coaches are pledging allegiance to their employer. I think I might yack.

Taking first prize is Washington’s Jedd Fisch. In an Oscar-worthy performance, he pretended to be outraged his name has been included on speculative lists of potential candidates for the Florida job.

“Those lists are made by people who have no idea what’s going on, honestly. They don’t know what’s happening in our program,” Fisch said, in a speech made for a politician’s stump. “They have no idea how excited I am about the youth in our program. … We love coaching at the University of Washington.”

My guy, you just lost 13-10 to woeful Wisconsin, and the Badgers’ leading passer was the punter. So, yeah, you don’t need to convince us you’re not going to be Florida’s next coach. Your team’s last performance told me as much.

Those with good memories recall Fisch’s previous vows to stay at Arizona.

“I couldn’t do that to my wife, Amber. She has made 12 moves with me,” Fisch said back then on SiriusXM, when asked about whether he’d maybe leave Arizona.

“I am committed to the kids here,” he added. “I want to see this come to fruition.”

Fisch put it even more emphatically in 2024 during an appearance on “The Jim Rome Show” while at Arizona: “I have no interest in going anywhere,” Fisch said then.

Fisch left Arizona for Washington, shortly after his loyalty pledges. His wife and kids stayed in Arizona, so his teenage daughter didn’t have to change schools. Fisch brought along some Arizona players to Washington.

So, when Fisch pledges allegiance to Washington while Florida, his alma mater, is hiring, I say in the Ron Burgundy voice: “I don’t believe you.”

I do believe Florida should show restraint from hiring a coach who couldn’t beat an opponent that used a punter-led passing attack.

Shane Beamer channeled some Fisch energy earlier this season. Beamer called South Carolina his “dream job” and downplayed the idea of leaving for his alma mater, Virginia Tech, where his dad Frank became a legendary coach.

“I have conveyed publicly many times how much I want to be here,” Beamer said.

Is that a promise, or a threat? Beamer’s Gamecocks are 3-6, making them one of the season’s biggest busts after a preseason No. 13 ranking.

While Fisch and Beamer want us to believe they’re not feeling an itch to rescue their alma maters, Georgia Tech’s rising star Brent Key sounds ready to take a blood oath for his alma mater.

“Slice me open and see what colors I bleed,” said Key, a former Yellow Jackets offensive lineman.

Georgia Tech fans will absolutely love that line. Put it on T-shirts and print them by the thousands.

Maybe, Key is one of the real ones. Hey, you never know. For fans wishing to hedge their bets, keep some lighter fluid on hand for the shirt-burning bonfire if Key breaks his word.

At Southern California, former runaway Lincoln Riley apparently found his resting place.

“You guys know what I sacrificed to be here,” Riley said. “I’m where I need to be.”

Points for cleverness here. Riley is using the fact he vamoosed from his last job — a really good one — as evidence he won’t leave this job, another really good one.

His No. 7 Mississippi Rebels will host Florida this weekend in the Kiffin Bowl. Everyone from Steve Spurrier to Gators interim coach Billy Gonzales has endorsed Kiffin’s acumen. He remains a top candidate for Florida.

At what point does Kiffin need to decide whether he’s staying or leaving?

“I don’t know,” Kiffin said this week. “I’m not that far down the road.”

I finally heard something I can believe.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Four of our experts are taking the favorite in the AFC West showdown.
Four of our experts are taking the favorite in the NFC West showdown.
Two of our experts are taking the favorite in Sunday night’s game.

You’ll have to wait a minute, but Week 11 of the 2025 NFL season is going to serve up some really juicy matchups involving first-place teams … eventually.

But before we get there, the New York Jets and New England Patriots will kick off the action Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. The next game will be on Sunday morning (U.S. time), when the Washington Commanders and Miami Dolphins meet in the first regular-season game ever played in Spain − Madrid the final locale for this year’s installment of the International Series. Sunday afternoon’s 1 p.m. ET lineup will offer some decent appetizers, including Bears-Vikings, Buccaneers-Bills and Chargers-Jaguars.

The main course arrives in Sunday’s late-afternoon window, when the Los Angeles Rams host the Seattle Seahawks − both teams are 7-2 and tied for the NFC’s best record − and vie for first place in the NFC West, at minimum. Twenty minutes after their 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff, the Kansas City Chiefs (5-4), perennial AFC West champs, will play in Denver against the Broncos, who currently sit atop the division and are tied for the league’s best record at 8-2. Dessert will arrive Sunday night, when the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles, who lead their respective divisions, face off at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles are currently tied with the Rams and Seahawks for the NFC’s projected No. 1 playoff seed, while the Broncos are deadlocked with the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, who are idle this weekend, for the top spot in the AFC.

Week 11 will also have a compelling conclusion when the Dallas Cowboys play in Sin City on Monday night against the Las Vegas Raiders. It will be the Cowboys’ first game since trading for DT Quinnen Williams and LB Logan Wilson and, more importantly, their first since the stunning death of Marshawn Kneeland.

Here’s how our panel of NFL experts forecasts the pending results:

(Odds provided by BetMGM)

NFL Week 11 picks, predictions odds

Jets at Patriots
Commanders at Dolphins
Bengals at Steelers
Panthers at Falcons
Texans at Titans
Packers at Giants
Bears at Vikings
Buccaneers at Bills
Chargers at Jaguars
Seahawks at Rams
49ers at Cardinals
Ravens at Browns
Chiefs at Broncos
Lions at Eagles
Cowboys at Raiders

In a rebuttal to pundits and fans assuming players toiling for the Pittsburgh Pirates exist only to serve the needs of their larger-market overlords, Paul Skenes maintained he’s focused on success in the Steel City.

‘The goal is to win,’ Skenes said on a conference call after winning the National League Cy Young Award in his first full years a big leaguer. ‘And the goal is to win in Pittsburgh.’

Skenes has four seasons remaining before he is eligible for free agency, yet the perpetually desperate state of the Pirates – their last-place finish marked the ninth consecutive year finishing fourth or fifth in the NL Central – has hatched a guessing game for when the Pirates might be motivated to trade the dominant yet still blossoming right-hander.

A report from a suburban New Jersey outlet indicated Skenes might have told an anonymous former teammate he’d prefer to be a Yankee and be traded there. Skenes was unaware of the conversation with the mystery player after teammates showed him the report.

‘I didn’t think much about it,’ he says.

Asked Wednesday at the MLB general manager meetings about the possibility of trading Skenes, Pirates GM Ben Cherington reiterated that ‘Paul Skenes is going to be a Pirate in 2026.”

“It’s always respectful. Teams have to ask the question, right?” Cherington said. “I suspect that won’t end. But the answer has been consistent.’

Paul Skenes contract

Paul Skenes earned $875,000 in 2025 and is due for a raise next season. He is a free agent at the end of the 2029 season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA are catching a break with news that forward Auston Matthews won’t be out long after leaving Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said on Thursday he hopes the team captain will be out ‘a week, maybe.’
Matthews was hit from behind into the boards by Nikita Zadorov and later went down the ice to check the Bruins defenseman.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA are catching a break with news that forward Auston Matthews won’t be out long after leaving Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury.

Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Thursday, Nov. 13 he hopes the team captain will be out ‘a week, maybe.’

Matthews, who was one of the first six players named to the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team, went hard into the boards after he was checked from behind by Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov during the second period of the Nov. 11 game. The center got up, skated down the ice, checked the defenseman and lost his balance. Matthews also was hit by a cleared puck right before he checked Zadorov.

The Maple Leafs later announced that Matthews would not return to the game.

Auston Matthews injury update

Berube said it’s possible Matthews could return earlier than a week.

‘It’s just one of these things he could come in a couple days from now and feeling a lot better and hopefully he’s good to go, but we’ll see,’ he told reporters. ‘But it could be as long as a week.’

Berube also said goalie Anthony Stolarz (upper body) is day-to-day. The team recalled goalie Artur Akhtyamov.

On the original Zadorov hit on Matthews, Berube said Tuesday, ‘I think it’s a penalty, personally, but I’m not the referee. I don’t like it. I don’t like the hit. It’s a vulnerable position.’

Zadorov, known for his physical play, told reporters about his perspective on the hit.

‘It was just a normal play,’ he said Tuesday. ‘I didn’t really hit him. I hit my right shoulder, 99% of my hits in the NHL are with my right shoulder.

‘I’m not sure what hit he got hurt (on). Is it like when he went after me again and I counter-hit him? Or maybe when I cleared the puck, I hit him with the puck. … There was really no intention to hurt him. I play hard against top players on the other team, that’s my job.’

U.S. Olympic team injuries

Matthews is the fourth of the first six players named to the U.S. Olympic team to have been injured since the announcement.

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk had offseason hernia surgery. Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk had thumb surgery in October. Both remain out but are expected back before the Olympics in February. Matthew could begin the on-ice portion of his recovery in two weeks, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Thursday.

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes missed four games with a lower body injury but returned in early November. He left Tuesday’s game after an injury scare but returned. He’s day-to-day, coach Adam Foote said.

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel and Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy also were named to the U.S. team.

Final rosters are due on Dec. 31.

Currently riding a seven-game winning streak that is tied for the best in the NFL − as is their 8-2 record − the New England Patriots pretty clearly don’t need a nor’easter to suddenly blow in from the Atlantic Ocean in order to ground the New York Jets when they meet on ‘Thursday Night Football’ on Prime Video.

Yet ‘Nor’easter’ is going to be a theme for this contest regardless as the Pats, who are 13-point favorites, per BetMGM, become the fourth team this season to take the field in their new ‘Rivalries’ uniforms conceived by Nike. They are designed to pay homage to New England’s infamous weather, nautical history and proud football lineage.

What’s new about the Patriots’ ‘Rivalries’ uniforms?

The Pats’ new jerseys will feature a predominantly ‘Storm Blue’ colorway, which looks like something of a compromise between the club’s traditional blue muted by gray and is symbolic of the regional fog. A new ‘NE’ logo on the sleeves serves as a clean double entendre. Silver striping on the shoulders and pants is meant to represent beams from a lighthouse, like the one built into Gillette Stadium’s superstructure and also have an embedded netting pattern in honor of the area’s fishermen. Six red stars embroidered around the jersey’s neckline represent New England’s six states and the organization’s half-dozen (for now) Lombardi Trophies.

‘We Are All Patriots,’ famously proclaimed by owner Robert Kraft following the Patriots’ first Super Bowl win in 2002 − just months after the Sept. 11 attacks − is stitched inside the collar. The jersey numbers are perforated as a callback to the uniforms the Patriots used in the 1990s, when Drew Bledsoe was the quarterback and Bill Parcells the head coach. The matte white helmets and silver facemasks are a tribute to the snow and ice that typically blankets that part of the country in wintertime.

What are NFL ‘Rivalries’ uniforms by Nike?

Think of them as the football version of the sports apparel company’s NBA ‘City Edition’ uniforms or Major League Baseball’s ‘City Connect’ jerseys. Signaled during the NFL draft and unveiled in August, Nike has strived to create something that further strengthens NFL teams’ bonds to their unique civic environments. And, as “rivalries” would suggest, all of them will be worn in intra-divisional matchups.

‘The 2025 Rivalries uniforms will celebrate storied local traditions and unite fan communities with designs unique to select cities and teams,” Nike announced during the rollout.

‘The designs are rooted extensively in the legacies and inspirations true to each team, serving as authentic, competitive expressions of community pride while giving athletes and fans an opportunity to connect like never before.’

Which NFL teams have ‘Rivalries’ uniforms?

Eventually all of them. But for 2025, each team in the AFC East and NFC West is scheduled to wear its “Rivalries” unis one time this season. Two additional divisions will be added to the rotation in each of the next three seasons, and the “Rivalries” option then becomes part of a team’s closet for the following three years.

When will NFL teams wear ‘Rivalries’ uniforms in 2025?

 Los Angeles Rams: Nov. 16 vs. Seattle Seahawks

 New England Patriots: Nov. 13 vs. New York Jets

 New York Jets: Dec. 7 vs. Miami Dolphins

 San Francisco 49ers: Jan. 4, 2026 vs. Seattle Seahawks

 Seattle Seahawks: Dec. 18 vs. Los Angeles Rams

LAS VEGAS — The San Diego Padres, who are about $300 million in debt, are exploring the possibility of selling the franchise, the team announced Thursday at the end of the GM Meetings.

The potential sale comes two years nearly to the day, Nov. 14, 2023, that owner Peter Seidler died.

“The family has decided to begin a process of evaluating our future with the Padres, including a potential sale of the franchise,” Padres chairman John Seidler, the older brother of Peter, said in a statement. “We will undertake this process with integrity and professionalism in a way that honors Peter’s legacy and love for the Padres and lays the foundation for the franchise’s long-term success.

“During the process and as we prepare for the 2026 season, the Padres will continue to focus on its players, employees, fans, and community while putting every resource into winning a World Series championship. We remain fully committed to this team, its fans, and the San Diego community.”

The news of the sale was expected by MLB officials and owners considering that the team was in debt, even with their 3.4 million in attendance last season, second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The team, which was sold for $800 million in 2012, is now worth an estimated $1.9 billion, according to Forbes, but the timing may not be ideal considering the Padres lost their local TV contract and the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026.

The current ownership group of about 10 people or entities assumed control of the team in 2012, but Sheel Seidler, Peter Seidler’s widow, filed a lawsuit in January challenging control of the team. Yet, John Seidler, trustee of his brother’s trust, was approved as the Padres’ ownership group in February.

The Padres say that the potential sale will not affect their team or budget this season, but rival owners and GMs believe that the Padres will eventually have no choice but to shred their payroll in the future, including a potential trade of All-Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. or another player with a long-term contract. T

he Padres say they won’t trade Tatis this winter, but he is owed about $290 million with nine years remaining on his contract. They also owe All-Star third baseman Manny Machado about $298 million over the next eight seasons and shortstop Xander Bogaerts $203 million over eight years.

The Padres have been one of baseball’s most successful franchises in recent years, reaching the postseason in four of the last six seasons. They last reached the World Series in 1998 but have never won the title.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

As Washington goalkeeper Tanner Ijams prepared for a shootout against Michigan State in the 2025 Big Ten championship on Nov. 9, the sophomore asked herself a simple question: What would Mia Hamant do?

Hamant was the Huskies goalkeeper last season, but her budding soccer career was tragically cut short by a rare and aggressive form of Stage 4 kidney cancer. Hamant, 21, died Thursday, Nov. 6, three days before the Big Ten championship match.

Ijams took over as Washington’s starting keeper this season following Hamant’s diagnosis. As Michigan State players lined up to take their penalty kicks, Ijams was confident the Huskies would win.

‘(Hamant) has a really, really good way of reading which way the striker is going, and it definitely helped me a lot in those moments,’ Ijams told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. ‘She was always so supportive of me and teaching me little techniques and little tricks that she does to just be a better keeper. So she definitely shared so much of her knowledge with me, and she’s such an amazing keeper.’

MIA HAMANT: Washington goalkeeper dies from kidney cancer at 21

The moment the Huskies punched their NCAA Tournament ticket felt eerily similar to last season, when Hamant earned Big Ten All-Tournament honors after making three saves in a quarterfinal penalty shootout victory over Iowa to advance.

‘It was only fitting that we finished that game with penalties,’ said Washington coach Nicole Van Dyke, whose No. 4 seeded Huskies play Montana Friday, Nov. 14 (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+). ‘I felt like we had won it before we even started the penalties.

‘I could see Mia (Hamant) giving a few fist pumps in that and screaming from the sidelines because for a goalkeeper to be at the heart of that moment is something pretty special for this team.’

‘Mia (Hamant) continued to show up’

Hamant was coming off a career-best junior season at Washington, where she ranked third in the nation in save percentage (0.882), before she received the diagnosis in April. Hamant had Stage 4 SMARCB1-deficient kidney cancer. A GoFundMe organized by teammate Lucy Newlin’s mom, Kim Newlin, said the form of cancer Hamant was diagnosed with was so rare that ‘many medical facilities may only see a single case per year.’

Hamant sat out her senior season to undergo treatment, but was never far from her teammates or the game she loved. She was there the first day of practice, when the Huskies laid out their season goals, Van Dyke said. She was at every home game. She was only a FaceTime call away when the team was the road. The team celebrated Hamant’s 21st birthday together in July with games of Tic, Tac, Toss, Perfection and Tapple.

‘Mia continued to show up,’ Van Dyke said. ‘I think her connection and the connection she has with her teammates never left from the second she was diagnosed. If she could be here, she was here.’

Following a seven-month battle with cancer, which she documented on her Instagram account @miakickscancer, Hamant lost her fight. The devastating news came shortly after the Huskies’ 2-1 Big Ten tournament semifinal win over No. 15 Wisconsin on Nov. 6 in St. Louis, Missouri, at Energizer Park.

Van Dyke had the impossible task of telling her team, gathering players and families that traveled for the tournament. The coach said she ‘couldn’t be more grateful’ for the families, staff and university’s ‘team effort of wrapping their arms around our team.’

‘Everyone was going through the exact same thing, all together as a team,’ Ijams said, ‘and we were able to really look at each other and say, ‘Hey, we can feel everything that we need to feel. We can let everything out.’ And that’s exactly what we did that night that we found out. We cried together, we sobbed together, we reminisced on moments with her together and really just contributed to the team spirit.’

The Huskies prioritized connectedness on Friday, leaving space for players to process and grieve the loss of their teammate and friend. ‘We did things that every high caliber soccer team wants to do. We went to Target. We went and had Chick-fil-A,’ Van Dyke said. The Big Ten championship game was days away, but that didn’t matter in the moment. ‘One thing that we could control was just spending more time together.’

Van Dyke pulled seniors Lucy Newlin, Kelsey Branson and Kolo Suliafu aside to ask a question she knew may sound ridiculous to the competitive group: Do you want to play in the championship on Sunday?

‘Before all the words are even coming out of her mouth, our heads are nodding up and down,’ Newlin said. ‘We’re looking at each other with incredulous looks on our faces. But everyone on this team wanted to play and wanted to win for the person next to them, for Mia (Hamant), for the support staff, for the coaches, for everyone who’s gotten us to this point because we’ve had an incredible season so far. So why wouldn’t we just go on and win the whole thing?’

They wanted to finish what they started when they set their goals, with Hamant, on the first day of practice.

‘They knew that that’s what (Hamant) would want,’ Van Dyke added. ‘And that’s what she will continue to want for this team, is for the team to be successful and the team to pursue their goals because they’re not just their goals, they are Mia’s goals, and they’re always her goals.’

Huskies rally through grief

Hamant’s presence was alive at the Big Ten championship, and her team ‘felt her in a thousand ways,’ Newlin said. The Huskies listened to a playlist curated by Hamant in the locker room before the game. Her No. 00 jersey was draped on the bench during the match and the team was greeted by a beautiful orange sunset (Mia ‘was a big fan of sunsets’) that matched the color of the bows in their hair. (Orange is the official color of kidney cancer awareness.)

‘Songs would come up that I haven’t heard since I listened to them with (Hamant) for the first time, and she’s there … back with us,’ Newlin recalled. ‘We step on the field and the sun comes out from behind the clouds and shines directly on us where we’re standing as we’re doing the captain’s meeting. And she’s there in every moment, conscious or not, we know she’s there with us.’

Despite being ‘physically, emotionally, mentally tired,’ the Huskies were fueled by Hamant. Van Dyke’s final message before her team took the pitch: ‘There’s no result, win, lose, or draw that reflects how much we loved Mia (Hamant).’

Senior forward Kalea Eichenberger got the Huskies on the board less than four minutes into the match and pointed to an orange wristband she was wearing in honor of Hamant. Michigan State’s Kayla Briggs converted a penalty kick in the 11th minute to tie the match at 1. After two scoreless overtime periods, it was fitting the match came down to penalty kicks, a scenario Hamant loved.

‘I definitely felt Mia’s presence in that moment,’ Ijams said. ‘(Hamant) is someone that I share that love of PKS with. She’s been super passionate about it. … We’ve both talked about the fact that a lot of people think we’re a little insane for it, but we love penalty kicks. So the second that final whistle blew, I knew I needed to use momentum to our advantage.’

The sophomore keeper turned up the energy and made two PK saves, adding to her career-high six saves. When the match was over, all the emotions and grief the team had pushed aside flooded back. Tears were shed, a Big Ten championship trophy was hoisted and their trip the NCAA Tournament was booked.

‘You can see just how far (Ijams’) confidence has come, how much belief she has in herself, and how much trust she has in her teammates and how much trust they have in her,’ Van Dyke said. ‘I think that’s the turning point for a goalkeeper is when the team trusts you to the utmost.

‘We wanted to make sure that (Ijams) understood that she doesn’t need to fill anybody’s shoes. You don’t need to be Mia (Hamant), you just need to be yourself.’

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.