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NBA announces new All-Star format for 2026: It’s four games now

The NBA All-Star Game has drawn ample criticism in recent years. But this season it’ll be impossible to complain about the same old format.

The NBA is introducing an entirely new one: U.S. vs. The World.

Two teams of U.S. players and a team of international players will compete in a round-robin tournament in four 12-minute games, all to be held on the final day of All-Star Weekend — Sunday, Feb. 15 — the NBA announced Tuesday, Nov. 11.

Whether the format will solve the listless play and almost non-existent defense that has come to define the NBA All-Star Game that will be played this season for the 75th time remains to be seen. But the league will unveil something entirely different when the 2026 All-Star Game is held at the Intuit Dome, the home arena of the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood, California.

How will round-robin tournament work?

This won’t be as straightforward as the old days.

All round-robin games will be played on Sunday, Feb. 15, and here’s how the tournament works:

Team A will play Team B in Game 1. 

The winning team from Game 1 will play Team C in Game 2.

The losing team from Game 1 will play Team C in Game 3.

So it’s as easy as ABC, 123. Mostly.

After Game 3, the top two teams by record will play each other in the championship game. But, if all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the point differential in each team’s two round-robin games will serve as the tiebreaker.

How will the All-Star voting work?

There’s less to learn about this process.

As in the past, there will be 24 NBA All-Stars — 12 from the Western Conference and 12 from the Eastern Conference. The five starters will be selected by fans (50% of the vote), current NBA players (25%) and a media panel (25%). The seven reserves will be selected by NBA head coaches. 

Here’s what’s new: The All-Stars will be picked without regard for position.

How players will be assigned to the two U.S. teams has not yet been determined, according to the league.

The two U.S. teams and what will be known as the World Team will have a minimum of eight players. If the All-Star voting produces fewer than 16 U.S. players or fewer than eight international players to meet the minimum requirement of eight players per team, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will pick additional All-Stars.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Doncic, Kidd emerge as winners, Dallas fans losers as Mavs fire GM

Arguably no team has undergone as much tumultuous change in nine months as the Dallas Mavericks.

In February, they made that seismic trade to ship Luka Dončić away to the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, the Mavericks are also in search of a new general manager after they fired Nico Harrison on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

In essence, by firing Harrison, the architect of that Dončić deal, the Mavs are conceding that the trade was a massive mistake. But there are still plenty of long-term ramifications to sort through, and the full effects of the last nine months won’t be clear for years to come.

Here are the winners and losers from the Mavericks’ decision to fire Harrison:

WINNERS

Luka Dončić

Although he may not say so publicly, and although he has more pressing matters to worry about, Dončić is a clear winner in all of this. Even though Dončić has appeared in just 40 games for the Lakers, and even though he hasn’t even won a single playoff series, Harrison’s firing vindicates Dončić, in a way.

Dončić is averaging an absurd 37.1 points per game this season, which leads the NBA. He has slimmed down and has landed with one of the iconic franchises, in one of the premier markets in the country, and the Lakers inked Dončić to a three-year max extension in August.

The Mavericks youth movement

Dallas, and whoever becomes the eventual general manager, has some decisions to make. Anthony Davis is 32 but often injured. Including this season, he has two more seasons left on his $175.3 million contract, with a $62.7player option for 2027-28, according to Spotrac.com. Kyrie Irving, 33, is in a similar position, though for decidedly less money.

Klay Thompson, 35, has two years left at around $17 million per year. Daniel Gafford, 27, Caleb Martin, 30, and any other pricey veterans should all be on alert as potential trade chips. With Harrison gone, the Mavericks may opt to fully reset, freeing up cap space and amassing draft picks.

Rookie Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, is the future face of the franchise. The Mavericks should build around him.

Jason Kidd

To a certain extent, this remains to be seen because Kidd faces a very difficult task ahead. He’s the head coach of a Mavericks team that may offload its veterans in a rebuild, so his standing could change quickly. But Harrison’s firing showed Kidd has some goodwill remaining after he led Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals.

In a way, Harrison becomes the clear fall guy for the controversial Dončić trade, and Kidd absolves himself; his argument becomes that he simply coached the roster that was handed to him. Yet, the Mavericks are 3-8 and facing injuries. Kidd may be a candidate to move into a front office role, potentially even replacing Harrison. The path forward won’t be easy, but Kidd at least is poised to be part of the plan, as opposed to one of its victims.

Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi

Both were assistant general managers under Harrison, and now both are set to be co-interims in Harrison’s place. This allows them to distance themselves from Harrison and the Dončić mess, even though Harrison promoted them and they were undoubtedly part of the process.

It also sets them up to be considered for the job on a permanent basis.

LOSERS

Nico Harrison

It’s hard to see Harrison recovering from this. He remains relatively inexperienced, as far as NBA front office positions go; Harrison had spent 19 seasons with Nike, eventually becoming the vice president of the shoe goliath’s North American operations. Given the shock of the Dončić trade, reason stands that NBA teams will be leery of bringing on Harrison in any high-level capacity. Given the way it was negotiated, that’s even more magnified.

Harrison reportedly did not field multiple calls for Dončić’s services, opting instead to quietly negotiate with his long-time friend Rob Pelinka, the Lakers general manager. By doing that, Harrison operated from a position of little leverage and hurt the Mavericks. Because if it became widely known that Dončić was available, teams would’ve lined up with far more attractive offers.

The reality, though, is that prior to the Dončić trade, Harrison was a mostly decent general manager. He orchestrated the trade that brought Kyrie Irving at a relative bargain. He was aggressive before the February 2024 trade deadline and acquired center Daniel Gafford and perimeter specialist P.J. Washington, both of whom played key roles in pushing the Mavericks to the Finals later that season. Derek Lively was a solid draft choice in 2023.

The Mavericks

This was a team that, just a little more than two years ago, made the 2024 NBA Finals. And though the Celtics breezed through in five games, the Mavericks still had a solid, young core and appeared to be just a piece or two away from winning their second NBA championship and first since 2011.

Now, a complete rebuild is almost certain, and team ownership must be careful and calculated in the way they fill the general manager vacancy. Another misstep could set the Mavericks back to complete irrelevance – all of which brings us to the biggest losers in all of this.

Dallas fans

This is a Mavericks fanbase that is passionate and knows the game well. They’re loyal to their stars and alumni; just look at the warm reception Dirk Nowitzki gets any time he’s near the team.

They had a generational talent in Dončić. They bought his jerseys and cheered him on, and he was only 25 when the trade happened. They were on the cusp of a championship.

Now, with the Cowboys mostly cooked, their best bet for a title appears to be the NHL’s Stars.

But, at the very least, the Dallas Wings have WNBA 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers to support.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Bill to end government shutdown survives key hurdle before House-wide vote

The House will vote on reopening the federal government Wednesday after lawmakers’ funding bill survived a key hurdle earlier in the morning.

The bipartisan deal to end the 42-day government shutdown advanced through the House Rules Committee overnight Wednesday, with all Republicans supporting the measure and all Democrats against.

It now moves to the full House for consideration, where multiple people familiar with GOP leaders’ conversations told Fox News Digital they believe it will pass with nearly all Republicans on board.

Passage through the House Rules Committee is a meaningful step toward ending the shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history by roughly a week.

The panel’s hearing to advance the bill lasted more than six hours, kicking off Wednesday evening and ending shortly after 1 a.m. on Thursday.

Democrats attempted to force votes on amendments dealing with COVID-19-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year and other issues opposed by the GOP, though all failed.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., made a notable surprise appearance at one point, testifying in favor of his own amendment to extend those subsidies for another three years.

The lengthy hearing saw members on opposite sides of the aisle clash several times as well, with Democrats repeatedly accusing Republicans of robbing Americans of their healthcare and taking a ‘vacation’ for several weeks while remaining in their districts during the shutdown.

‘I am sick and tired of hearing you all say we had an eight-week vacation,’ House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said at one point. ‘I worked every day. I don’t know about you. I don’t want to hear another soul say that.’

Democrats and some Republicans also piled on a provision in the funding bill that would allow GOP senators to sue the federal government for $500,000 for secretly obtaining their phone records during ex-Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation.

‘I think there’s gonna be a lot of people, if they look and understand this, they’re going to see it as self-serving, self-dealing kind of stuff. And I don’t think that’s right,’ Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said.

‘I’m trying to figure out what we can do to force the Senate’s hand to say, ‘You’re going to repeal this provision and fix it,’ without amending it here.’

The bill will now get a House-wide ‘rule vote,’ a procedural test that, if it passes, allows lawmakers to debate the legislation itself.

Lawmakers are expected to then hold a final vote sometime on Wednesday evening on sending the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

Trump signaled he was supportive of the legislation in comments to reporters on Monday.

‘We’ll be opening up our country very quickly,’ Trump said when asked if he backed the deal.

The Senate broke through weeks of gridlock on Monday night to pass the legislation in a 60-40 vote, with eight Democrats joining the GOP to reopen the government.

Meanwhile, travel disruptions have been causing chaos at U.S. airports, with air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers being forced to work without pay since last month. Many of those employees had been forced to take on second jobs to make ends meet, fueling staffing shortages and flight delays that threatened to overshadow the Thanksgiving holiday.

Millions of Americans who rely on federal food benefits were also left in limbo amid a partisan fight over whether and how to fund those programs during the shutdown.

The bill would extend fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through Jan. 30 to give negotiators more time to strike a longer-term deal for FY 2026.

It would also give lawmakers some headway with that mission, advancing legislation to fund the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction; and the legislative branch.

They are three of 12 individual bills that are meant to make up Congress’ annual appropriations, paired into a vehicle called a ‘minibus.’

In a victory for Democrats, the deal would also reverse federal layoffs conducted by the Trump administration in October, with those workers getting paid for the time they were off.

A side-deal struck in the Senate also guaranteed Senate Democrats a vote on legislation extending Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., however, has made no such promise in the House.

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Reagan-appointed judge resigns in protest of Trump, warns of president’s ‘assault on the rule of law’

A senior federal judge in Massachusetts who was appointed by former President Reagan announced he has resigned in protest against President Donald Trump, who he says has been ‘using the law for partisan purposes.’

U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf, 78, resigned on Friday and explained that the Trump administration’s actions that he described as threatening the rule of law compelled him to speak out.

In a piece for The Atlantic, Wolf wrote that he had looked forward to serving for the rest of his life when Reagan appointed him in 1985 but decided to step down last week because of Trump’s ‘assault on the rule of law’ that he finds ‘so deeply disturbing.’

‘I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom,’ the former judge wrote. ‘President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment. This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White House’s assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out. Silence, for me, is now intolerable.’

‘When I accepted the nomination to serve on the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, I took pride in becoming part of a federal judiciary that works to make our country’s ideal of equal justice under law a reality,’ he continued. ‘A judiciary that helps protect our democracy. That has the authority and responsibility to hold elected officials to the limits of the power delegated to them by the people. That strives to ensure that the rights of minority groups, no matter how they are viewed by others, are not violated. That can serve as a check on corruption to prevent public officials from unlawfully enriching themselves. Becoming a federal judge was an ideal opportunity to extend a noble tradition that I had been educated by experience to treasure.’

Wolf added that he now wants to do ‘everything in my power to combat today’s existential threat to democracy and the rule of law.’

The former judge noted that Trump cannot replace him with a nominee of his own, as former President Obama named Judge Indira Talwani as his successor in 2013.

Wolf criticized the Department of Justice’s prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James. The former judge also took issue with Trump’s social media post in which he asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute Comey, James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

He also said that even if a prosecution ends in an acquittal, it ‘can have devastating consequences for the defendant.’

Wolf also wrote that the DOJ must ensure prosecutors do not seek an indictment unless they have ‘sufficient admissible evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’

‘Trump has utterly ignored this principle,’ Wolf wrote.

Wolf blasted Trump’s ‘unconstitutional or otherwise illegal’ executive orders, criticized the president’s calls for judges to be impeached for ruling against him, said there was ‘corruption by [Trump] and those in his orbit’ and emphasized that attacks on the courts have led to actual threats against judges.

‘I resigned in order to speak out, support litigation, and work with other individuals and organizations dedicated to protecting the rule of law and American democracy,’ Wolf wrote. ‘I also intend to advocate for the judges who cannot speak publicly for themselves.’

‘I cannot be confident that I will make a difference,’ he added. ‘I am reminded, however, of what Senator Robert F. Kennedy said in 1966 about ending apartheid in South Africa: ‘Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.’ Enough of these ripples can become a tidal wave.’

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said Wolf’s ‘steadfast commitment to the rule of law, determination in wrestling with novel issues of fact and law, and dedication to making fair, equitable and legally sound decisions without fear or favor are the hallmarks of his time on the bench.’

‘His many opinions on complex issues of law in notable cases have had a great impact on jurisprudence,’ Chief Judge Denise J. Casper said in the statement. ‘In addition, his tenure as Chief Judge led to the increased engagement with the bar and community, including the initiation of the Court’s bench/bar conference and his continued support of the Court’s Fellowship Programs. I, along with my colleagues and this Court community, applaud his years of dedicated service.’

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World Series champion manager says Giants’ hire is ‘insulting’

World Series-winning manager Joe Maddon weighed in on the San Francisco Giants’ hire of Tony Vitello, who had no professional experience, saying that such a move is ‘insulting’ to those who have spent their entire careers paying their dues.

‘Quite frankly, I’m using the word insulting only from the perspective that it appears as though you don’t have to have any kind of experience on a professional level to do this job anymore,’ Maddon told KNBR in San Francisco.

‘When I was coming up, you had to have all that. You had to, like, go through the minor leagues. You had to ride buses. I was a scout. I started in 1981. I finally get a managerial job in 2006. I mean, there was a rite of passage, a method to get to that point.

‘So to think that somebody could just jump in there and do it, you took 20-some years to be considered qualified to do, it is kind of insulting.’

Maddon managed Tampa Bay from 2006-2014, the Chicago Cubs from 2015-2019 and the Los Angeles Angels from 2020-2022, winning a championship in 2016.

Now 71 years old, Maddon acknowledged that he wasn’t familiar with Vitello – who the Giants plucked straight from the University of Tennessee – but has been impressed with what he’s seen.

‘Having said that, I wish (Vitello) nothing but the best,’ Maddon said. ‘Because I watch videos of the guy, and I could actually understand why it’s perceived that he’s ready to do something like this.’

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Manager of the Year has repeat winners in both leagues for first time

MLB managers are often overlooked when it comes to team performance nowadays. Many fans believe it all comes down to turning in the lineup card. In reality, managers are the glue that keeps many clubhouses together. They are tasked with handling a myriad of personalities and ensuring everyone is all-in on making a winning organization.

All six candidates this year led their teams to the postseason. Five of them led their teams to division titles. And each of them had a case for their league’s hardware.

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy was given the award in the National League for the second consecutive season. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians’ Stephen Vogt won the award in the American League, just like Murphy, Vogt also won the award in 2024. Prior to this season, only two managers had ever won back-to-back Manager of the Year Awards (Bobby Cox, 2004-05; Kevin Cash, 2020-21). That number has doubled after today.

Here’s what to know about the 2025 AL and NL Managers of the Year:

Who won NL Manager of the Year?

The Brewers’ Pat Murphy was named National League Manager of the Year for the second consecutive year after leading Milwaukee to the best record in baseball in 2025.

Given how well the Brewers performed, it’s hard to remember that they were 0-4 to start the 2025 season, tying the 1954 Cardinals for the most runs surrendered through the first four games in MLB history. Murphy’s crew bounced back in unbelievable fashion though, rattling off three separate winning streaks of at least eight games between May 25 and August 16.

Murphy earned 27 of the possible 30 first-place votes. He becomes just the third manager ever − after the Atlanta Braves’ Bobby Cox (2004-05) and the Tampa Bay Rays’ Kevin Cash (2020-21) − to win back-to-back Manager of the Year Awards.

Who won AL Manager of the Year?

The Guardians’ Stephen Vogt won the award after leading Cleveland to their third division title in four years. This year’s title felt special though. After selling at the trade deadline, the team went on a massively unexpected run, winning 19 of their last 23 games to steal the AL Central away from the Detroit Tigers.

Cleveland’s playoff hopes were all but dashed at the All-Star break, yet Vogt managed to rally his troops and put together a totally unexpected push that knocked off one of the American League’s most consistent teams.

Vogt won the award in 2024 as well, becoming the fourth manager in MLB history to win Manager of the Year in back-to-back seasons. The Brewers’ Pat Murphy became the third-such manager earlier tonight.

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Antonio Brown enters plea related to May shooting

Less than a week after being extradited to the U.S. from Dubai, former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown is back in Florida and facing an attempted murder charge related to a May shooting in Miami.

Brown’s lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh, told the Associated Press that he has already filed a not guilty plea to the charge. He added that Brown could be in a Miami court this week for a bond hearing.

Miami-Dade County (Florida) police issued an arrest warrant in June for Brown in relation to an incident outside of a May 16 boxing event in Miami. Brown was detained temporarily after gunshots were fired during an altercation outside of an event hosted by streamer Adin Ross.

A social media video allegedly showed Brown fighting with multiple people before gunshots were fired.

Eiglarsh said Brown was protecting himself from someone he had problems with in the past.

“The actions he was forced to take were solely in self-defense against the alleged victim’s violent behavior. Brown was attacked that night and acted within his legal right to protect himself,” Eiglarsh said.

Brown addressed the incident in a post to X on May 17, the day after the alleged altercation.

‘I was jumped by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me,’ Brown wrote in part. ‘Contrary to some video circulating, Police temporarily detained me until they received my side of the story and then released me. I WENT HOME THAT NIGHT AND WAS NOT ARRESTED [sic].’

Brown appeared on a live stream with Ross a few days later and said he could not remember what happened during the alleged incident.

‘Yeah I got CTE, I blacked out,’ Brown said. ‘I blacked out, Adin. I don’t know what happened.’

U.S. Marshals apprehended Brown on Nov. 6, per Miami police spokesperson Michael Vega, and he was extradited to the U.S.

Second-degree attempted murder – the charge Brown faces in Florida – comes with a maximum 15-year prison sentence and up to a $10,000 fine if convicted.

This file will be updated with more information when available.

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Republican erupts at Democrat during shutdown hearing: ‘My people aren’t getting paid thanks to you’

Tensions flared at a House hearing to advance legislation aimed at ending the government shutdown on Tuesday night, with two senior lawmakers on opposite sides of the aisle trading barbs over the fallout.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., clashed with Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee repeatedly at the outset of the hearing. Cole accused Democrats of derailing the federal government, while McGovern railed against the GOP’s refusal to attach provisions extending expiring enhanced Obamacare subsidies to its funding bill.

‘This is the stuff you said you would never do. ‘We would never shut down the government. We would never do this.’ That’s exactly what you’ve done,’ House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said a short while later. ‘You’re putting thousands of people out of work.’

McGovern, who said emphatically that his constituents were ‘getting screwed,’ said, ‘You tried over 50 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act,’ Obamacare’s formal name.

He said he was getting calls from constituents who were ‘out of their minds’ trying to figure out how to pay for healthcare without the subsidies.’

‘Well the most immediate crisis in my district are the thousands of workers that you and your colleagues have put out of work, that aren’t getting a paycheck,’ Cole said.

‘They’re the ones that keep the airplanes flying. They’re the ones that do the national weather center. They’re wondering why they’re not getting paid.’

McGovern shot back, ‘You get no calls about healthcare?’

‘We could have had these debates, we could have had these arguments. Why are they being held hostage?’ Cole continued.

‘The healthcare issue you’re talking about is a subsidy you passed on your own, you said it was COVID-related…The most immediate crisis in my district, you’ve created. My people aren’t getting paid thanks to you and your colleagues.’

McGovern, who tried to interject multiple times, said, ‘So nobody in your district is complaining about healthcare?’

Cole conceded, ‘People complain everywhere about everything, but you asked me what the most important calls I get —’

McGovern cut him off with, ‘—We have a chance to do something about this.’

‘— is, ‘Why am I not getting paid? Why am I being forcibly furloughed?’’ Cole continued.

‘We have a chance to do something to help millions of people afford their health insurance. And what you’re all telling me is you’re not interested,’ McGovern said.

House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., was ignored as she banged her gavel multiple times in an attempt to call order.

Cole, meanwhile, said the subsidies ‘have nothing to do with the work of my committee.’

‘But you’re willing to hijack my committee,’ he continued, before McGovern cut him off again, accusing Republicans of voting to ‘cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires’ in the GOP’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ earlier this year.

‘But you could not extend these for people?’ McGovern asked.

The House Rules Committee is the final hurdle for most legislation before it sees House-wide votes. Lawmakers on the key panel vote to advance a bill while setting terms for its consideration, like possible amendment votes and timing for debate.

The funding bill at hand is expected to advance through the committee on party lines. Democrats on the panel are likely to oppose the measure in line with House Democratic leaders, while Republicans have signaled no meaningful opposition.

The vast majority of House Democrats have threatened to oppose the bill over its exclusion of the enhanced Obamacare credits, despite the legislation netting support from eight members of their own party in the Senate.

Republican leaders have signaled a willingness to discuss reforms to the system, which they have criticized as flawed. However, they’ve rejected any notion of pairing a healthcare extension with a federal funding bill that is otherwise largely free of partisan policy riders.

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Jaire Alexander stepping away from Eagles after trade

Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Jaire Alexander is stepping away from the team as he contemplates his playing future, according to multiple reports.

Alexander informed the Eagles of his decision on Tuesday, Nov. 11, according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer. The 28-year-old cornerback is looking ‘to focus on getting himself right physically and mentally’ as he prepares to make a decision about his future.

It isn’t clear whether there is a timeline for Alexander to make a decision.

The Eagles acquired Alexander from the Baltimore Ravens ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline. The eight-year veteran had played in just two games for the Ravens, logging five tackles while playing 61 total defensive snaps.

The Eagles sent the Ravens a sixth-round pick to acquire Alexander and a seventh-round selection, hoping the two-time All-Pro second teamer could recapture his form with a change of scenery. Now, the team will wait and see whether Alexander will ever suit up for the team.

Alexander spent the first seven years of his career with the Green Bay Packers, who selected him in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft after a standout career at Louisville. He quickly developed into a quality starter for the team and was named to both the Pro Bowl and All-Pro second-team during the 2020 and 2022 NFL seasons.

However, Alexander has played in just 16 games since the start of the 2023 NFL season because of a variety of injuries – including knee, shoulder and groin problems. That prompted the Packers to release him during the 2025 NFL offseason.

Alexander signed a fully guaranteed one-year, $4 million deal with the Ravens in free agency. The Eagles are on the hook for $1 million of Alexander’s contract, per Spotrac.com.

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Why Novak Djokovic says ‘cloud will follow’ tennis star Jannik Sinner

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic said a “cloud will follow’’ Jannik Sinner because the 24-year-old Italian tennis star tested positive for steroids in 2024.

Djokovic, during an appearance on ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ said over time the cloud will fade.

“But I don’t think it will disappear,’’ added Djokovic, 38.

Sinner, a winner of four Grand Slams, was ranked No. 1 in the world when he tested positive twice for an anabolic steroid in March 2024. Djokovic also said the way the case was handled raised “so many red flags.’’

The International Tennis Integrity Agency did not suspend Sinner after saying it determined the banned substance entered his system unintentionally during a massage with his fitness trainer. But Sinner accepted a three-month ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency that did not result in him missing a Grand Slam and spared him from more serious action.

“The lack of transparency, the inconsistency, the convenience of the ban coming between the Slams so he doesn’t miss out the other,’’ Djokovic. “It was very, very odd. Very, very odd. And so, I really don’t like how the case was being handled.

“And you could hear so many other players, both male and female, who had some similar situations coming out in the media and complaining that it was (preferential treatment).’’

However, Djokovic suggested he wants to believe Sinner, who said trace amounts of clostebol, a steroid, entered his system. Sinner said it occurred because the fitness trainer who gave him a massage used the banned substance after the fitness trainer cut his finger.

‘Those are the rules’

Of Sinner, Djokovic said, ‘I think he didn’t do it on purpose, but of course he’s responsible because those are the rules. You are responsible when something like this happens. And so, when you see someone for something very similar or same being banned for years and then he’s banned for provisional whatever, three months or whatever it was, it’s not right.’’

Djokovic said one of the reasons he believed Sinner is because he played with him when Sinner was 13 or 14 and they had the same coach, Riccardo Piatti, at a tennis academy in Italy. 

“And I was practicing with Sinner a lot of the times when he was a junior,’’ Djokovic said. “And I liked him actually a lot because he was always skinny as I was and tall and grew up skiing, grew up on the mountains. So very similar story to mine. And he always came across very genuine, very nice, very quiet…

“And I do have (a) sense of empathy and compassion for him because, and I think he has handled the storm in the media that keeps on coming back every once in a while. He’s handling that very well and very maturely and very steadily.’’

Djokovic faced a similar scrutiny when he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. That got him deported from Australia in 2022 and he missed that year’s Australian Open.

“I mean, look, that cloud will follow (Sinner) as the cloud of COVID will follow me for the rest of his or my career in this case,’’ Djokovic said.

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