The NFL owners failed to pass a ban on the Philadelphia Eagles’ controversial quarterback-sneak, falling two votes shy of passing the rule change on Wednesday. It ensures that the play will live for at least another season, something the Eagles have been celebrating ever since.

Barkley, on the other hand, appears to understand that it’s good for the team but bad for his season stats. The running back routinely lost out on touchdown-scoring opportunities to Jalen Hurts and the ‘tush push’ when the Eagles were at the one-yard line.

During an appearance on the ‘Exciting Mics’ podcast with teammates Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship, Barkley discussed that and also offered his thoughts on the play. The episode released Thursday was recorded before the owners’ voted.

‘I think it’s soft, to be honest,’ Barkley said. ‘Everybody can do it. It’s not a play that we only can do. We happen to have one of the best and biggest O-lines, and Jalen Hurts can squat 600 pounds. That’s not our fault.’

The reigning offensive player of the year turned his attention to the other teams across the league that have tried, and failed, to replicate the Eagles’ success.

‘Josh Allen is super big, they’re not successful with it,’ Barkley continued. ‘Lamar Jackson is one of the best running quarterbacks of all-time, they’re not successful with it. So it’s not something that everyone can’t do. Them trying to eliminate it, I think that’s kind of lame.’

There were 10 teams that voted to keep the ‘tush push’ – nine if you exclude the Eagles. Of those nine teams, seven play in the AFC. Barkley acknowledged that the biggest push for a ban came from teams that Philadelphia has to compete against more often.

‘And the teams that want to get rid of it are the teams that gotta see us two or three times a year,’ he said.

Barkley pointed out that he could understand passing a ban if there was a health risk for players. He suggested the league would have to ban the quarterback sneak in general if that were the case, since the ‘tush push’ is another version of the play.

DeJean and Blankenship presented Barkley with the idea of crafting an elevator pitch for NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell. The running back, like he would during a game, took that opportunity to change directions and focus on a bigger issue, in his mind.

‘Everybody can do it, there’s no health issue and why we talking about the tush push, let’s make sure everybody’s contract is guaranteed,’ Barkley said.

He added that baseball and basketball players have guaranteed deals, something the NFL doesn’t.

‘We play the hardest sport of all of them,’ Barkley said. ‘Not saying like technical wise, but physicality wise. There’s no reason why we put our bodies on the line, our minds, our brains on the line. It should be fully guaranteed, in my opinion.’

The trio proceeded to talk about the scheduling side of things, with games taking place on Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday throughout the season which leads to short weeks and limited recovery time.

As the NFL eyes an 18-game schedule and 16 international games across the league each year, the discussion surrounding player safety and contract value figure should only ramp up over time.

The current NFL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is set to expire in March 2031. If and when the players decide to take that fight to the owners, it should be an explosive battle.

Especially now that a star player like Barkley is on the record endorsing the change.

All plans for the 2026 edition of WWE’s flagship event have been scrapped with the news of it no longer taking place in New Orleans April 11-12. Instead, the city will get Money in the Bank 2026 and a future WrestleMania at a later date.

The news comes as a shock given it was revealed in February New Orleans would be the host city. Often compared to the Super Bowl, WrestleMania brings wrestling fans from all around the world to not only take part of WWE’s two-night extravaganza, but the several events and experiences that happen in the city as part of WrestleMania weekend.

WWE hasn’t announced the new location and it could already have a new city in mind for WrestleMania 42, but with the event scheduled to take place in less than 11 months, fans will want to know where it will be and begin the planning process to takeover the city. There are several top contenders of who can step up and take the hosting duties.

Las Vegas

Could the Sin City get a second straight year of hosting WrestleMania? NOLA.com reported Las Vegas is a leading contender to have WrestleMania 42 after it had WrestleMania 41 in 2025. It would mark the first time a city got the event in back-to-back years since WrestleMania 4 and 5 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Consecutive years aside, Las Vegas is the ideal location for WWE given all the space it has to have multiple events. It took over the Las Vegas Strip, and the close proximity of it all greatly helped have the biggest WrestleMania weekend to date. It’s a top tourism destination, and it would remain that way in 2026. TKO Group Holdings, owner of WWE, also owns UFC, which essentially lives in Las Vegas.

WrestleMania 41 was a massive success in terms of attendance, merchandise sales and hospitality experiences. Not only did WWE generate millions of dollars from it, but so did Las Vegas. The potential earnings from having the event there again could be too enticing for both sides to pass up.

If Las Vegas gets WrestleMania again, however, there will certainly be disappointment from fans for not showcasing a different city. It will feel like WWE is prioritizing money over fans, especially with how many complaints there were about the cost of attending this year’s edition, and like WWE is slowly turning into UFC. Prices would likely be the same − if not more − which could price out people.

London

This will be the top − and highly debatable − choice for WrestleMania 42. London mayor Sadiq Khan has not shied away from his desire to host a WrestleMania, and with the 2026 location now open, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him pounce on the opportunity to make a pitch.

London has plenty of large stadiums to select as the venue, but the top choice would be the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium, which could reach more than 100,000 with WrestleMania. An international WrestleMania would undoubtedly be a success, as it make it easier for European citizens and a majority of international fans the chance to experience WrestleMania for the first time. Its long been the consensus preferred location to host in the continent. Mix that in with how electric European crowds are at wrestling events, and it has the potential to be the most electric atmosphere in WrestleMania history.

While appealing, it’s a big gamble. WrestleMania has never left the U.S. outside of Toronto in 1990 and 2002. American fans are the priority fanbase, and would a large amount of them be willing to go across the pond? There certainly would be issues with not just the travel, but fans might not be on board with a 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT start time. All first-world problems, but still something WWE has to consider going international.

Indianapolis

Other than New Orleans, only one other city is guaranteed a WrestleMania and that is Indianapolis. WWE has a deal with the city that got it Royal Rumble 2025 and a future WrestleMania.

Royal Rumble was a success at Lucas Oil Stadium and the home of the Indianapolis Colts would certainly host WrestleMania. The indoor stadium wipes out any concern of frigid conditions like WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, which was so cold WWE decided to not do East Coast outdoor stadiums for the foreseeable future. Plus, the city has experience with hosting mega events like the Super Bowl and Final Four.

However, what could take Indianapolis out of the running will be the men’s basketball championship. The 2026 men’s Final Four will be held at the stadium April 4 and 6, and if WrestleMania kept the original date of April 11 and 12, less than a week would be too little time to prepare the stadium with the stellar stage the event is known for. It would have to be pushed back at least a week to April 18-19, or may just have to wait another year.

Houston

It’s been 16 years since WrestleMania took place in Houston, and the Texas city could make a run to get the event back at NRG Stadium. The venue has a retractable roof that could greatly benefit the presentation of WrestleMania. It has taken on several major events like the Super Bowl, College Football Playoff national championship and Final Four since WWE last visited the venue. It’s also slated to host 2026 World Cup matches, proving it is capable of handling the crowd for a weekend.

What could help Houston get the winning bid is the influence of Travis Scott, who has made appearances this year and has hinted at having matches in the future. WWE chief content officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque has shown great appreciation for Scott’s work, and the rapper could help persuade him to bring the event back to H-Town.

Orlando

WWE has loved hosting WrestleMania in Florida in recent years, with the event being in the state four times since 2008 − not including the WWE Performance Center in 2020 due to COVID-19. Since Tampa hosted in 2021, Orlando would be the best pick for the Sunshine State to host.

Camping World Stadium would be the choice, serving as the location for WrestleMania 24 in 2008 and WrestleMania 33 in 2017, and WrestleMania 42 in 2026 would coincidentally a follow nine-year timeline of the venue hosting. It was a success when WWE went with the stadium and the venue is remembered for having some of the best WrestleMania stages. Weather wouldn’t be a total issue with the outdoor space, unless rain and storms got in the way. Plus with Kia Center less than two miles away, it is optimal to have all of WWE’s WrestleMania weekend events taking place in close proximity.

Saudi Arabia

This will be an extremely unpopular pick, but Saudi Arabia getting the nod can’t be ruled out. WWE has a 10-year agreement with the country’s sports authority to bring events to the country. It seemed like Saudi would just get Crown Jewel and Night of Champions, but WWE proved its commitment to the country by bringing Royal Rumble 2026 to Riyadh. If WWE is willing to bring a major event like Royal Rumble to Saudi, nothing would stop it from bringing WrestleMania too.

There’s a glaring issue with it given the ‘sportswashing’ being done in the country. There was outrage when Royal Rumble was announced, and there would be even bigger problems if the biggest wrestling event in the world went there as well. If this move happened, it would create an ugly storm WWE would have to crawl itself out of.

WASHINGTON – James Wood could already stand eye-to-eye with the biggest, baddest dudes in Major League Baseball. Now, he’s developing a body of work to match them on the stat sheet.

At 6 feet, 7 inches, Wood is shoulder to shoulder with Aaron Judge and Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz. He could probably post up the great Shohei Ohtani – a mere 6-foot-3 – if this group of sluggers ever got together, say, for a pickup basketball game.

No, size isn’t the be-all in baseball. Long levers and big swings can produce big problems: Challenges making contact, lengthy swings that can’t beat the ball to the spot, too many strikeouts that can short-circuit a lineup.

But as he approaches his one-year anniversary at the game’s highest level, Wood, 22, is developing a mastery of his swing, his plate approach and, increasingly, his outcomes.

All coming from a 234-pound frame that likely hasn’t reached full physical maturation.

“Baseball’s an interesting sport,” Wood tells USA TODAY Sports. “You got guys my height. And you got guys almost a foot shorter than me doing their thing in the big leagues.

“I think everything is super individual and you have to find things that work for you.”

Wood found those things much sooner than than his hard-hitting predecessors. Judge, likely on his way to a third American League MVP honor, did not make his major league debut until he was 24, and wasn’t a full-timer until 25; Ohtani was 23 before making the transition from Japan to two-way superstardom in the USA.

Cruz was 25 when he put together an injury-free and productive 2024 season, though his 21 homers were accompanied by 181 strikeouts.

Wood’s rapid assimilation more closely mirrors Giancarlo Stanton, the currently injured Yankee who owns six of the 10 hardest-hit home runs in the Statcast era; he hit 22 home runs in 100 games as a 20-year-old in 2010, and 34 a year later.

He’s a long way from Stanton’s 429 home runs. Yet it’s impossible to deny that Wood is just getting started.

‘He uses his levers perfectly’

Wood might be baseball’s greatest juxtaposition – a swing so violent, producing the game’s loudest noises off the bat, coming from one of the chillest dudes you’d ever hope to meet.

He strolls the field and clubhouse alike with an effortless nonchalance that belies his determination to be a total player, and not just a slugger.

“The thing I love most about him is the separation between hitting, fielding and baserunning,” says Nationals manager Dave Martinez. “He understands who he is. He understands what he needs to do. And all he wants to do is help us win.

“He talks a lot about being one of 26 guys, being part of his team. Which for a 22-year-old is pretty impressive.”

Wood had a nice half-season debut last year after his highly-anticipated arrival as the most tantalizing piece in the 2022 Juan Soto blockbuster deal. He hit nine home runs in 79 games, posted a 121 adjusted OPS and got on base at a .354 clip.

He has since improved on several rate stats, his strikeouts down from 28.9% to 26.4%, while his walks are up a bit from 11.6 to 13%. What Martinez finds most encouraging is the drop in his pull percentage – down 8 points to 20.8%.

Martinez knows the pull side power is there for Wood, and that an all-fields slugger will be a nightmare for opposing pitchers.

“I don’t want him to pull the ball,’ says Martinez. “I’ve often talked the first time I saw Juan Soto, he didn’t pull the ball. He hit everything up the middle, left center. He learned how to pull the ball.

“I think that’s gonna happen with James. I want him to continue doing what he’s doing.”

Martinez says he’s tempted to initiate conversations and provide counsel to Wood, but “I refrain, because I don’t want to put too much in his head. I just want him to go out and play the game and assess things as we go.”

And perhaps that’s the most striking thing about Wood within the Nationals orbit – the low maintenance despite the long limbs and moving parts.

“The taller you get, the harder it is to be coordinated playing this game. And he does an awesome job on both sides of the ball,” says Josh Bell, the Nationals’ 6-foot-3, 260-pound DH and first baseman. “I think he uses his levers perfectly. He’s not trying to pull the ball. He’s trying to use all fields.

“And that’s very dangerous, so it’s fun to watch.”

Growth mindset

For Wood, the major leagues continues to be a journey of discovery, an element he feels will never go away.

Wood grew up in Olney, Maryland, about an hour from Nationals Park, and eventually played two seasons at Florida’s IMG Academy before the Padres drafted him in the second round in 2021.

His mother, Paula, is part of a Black Baseball Moms Facebook group, which helps connect Black players and families throughout the game. Father Kenny is a member of the University of Richmond’s hall of fame for his basketball exploits.

Wood’s locker stall is next to second baseman Luis Garcia Jr., who was born in New York but raised in the Dominican Republic. Wood has learned a lot from their frequent chats, and appreciates the endless paths his teammates have taken to the big leagues.

“It’s important to just be yourself, really,” he says. “Lucky to be in a locker room full of a bunch of different personalities. Guys from all over the country, different countries, different continents.

“It’s just a cool dynamic and I think that’s what makes things interesting: Everyone being their own person creates a cool dynamic.”

The core the Nationals are developing is pretty cool, too. Shortstop CJ Abrams, who came over with Wood in the Soto trade, is already an All-Star, and another part of that deal, lefty MacKenzie Gore, might earn that nod this year, too.

While outfielder Dylan Crews, 23 and the second overall pick in 2023, has struggled at the plate in his first full season, he’s shown the flashes of elite power, speed and defense that will make him a daunting outfield mate with Wood for years.

Wood, Crews says, “is like a young kid but doesn’t carry himself like that.” Yet for as precocious as he is now, Wood doesn’t place a ceiling on his growth – even if he’s topped out at 6-foot-7, plenty big to impact the game like few others can.

“It’s like life,” he says. “Someone told me that a few years ago: This game is the greatest teacher of life. Once you stop playing this game, your life goes on and you gotta keep learning, too.

“You can never stop learning, never stop growing.”

Rick Carlisle’s first teams in Detroit and Indiana were defense focused, but his belief in randomized action helped him build Pacers’ wide-open offense.

INDIANAPOLIS – Tyrese Haliburton calls it ‘organized chaos.’

The Rick Carlisle system of offense as currently constituted is for there to be no system, at least not one that is easily recognizable by opponents. There is a playbook with set plays — lots of them — but the intention is to use that sparingly for specific situations and for the players on the floor to flow and vibe in such a way that creates constant ball and player movement. The nightly goal for each player is to ‘play random’ so defenders don’t have a clear sense of where their man or the ball is going next, but to make all that randomness cohesive so that as frequently as possible, it gets the ball to the right player at the right time at the right spot.

It’s like jazz on a basketball court, and in Carlisle’s fourth season as head coach of the the Pacers, that offensive approach has become one of the most dominant forces in the NBA.

Last year, the Pacers scored 123.3 points per game, the sixth-highest figure in league history and the highest figure in the NBA in 40 seasons. This year the Pacers were a little less prolific, averaging 117.4 points per game to finish seventh in the NBA, but paired with an increased focus on defense it led the Pacers to a 50-win season and now it has them back in the Eastern Conference finals for a second straight season. Haliburton and the Pacers shocked the Knicks 138-135 in OT in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

The Pacers’ success, particularly on offense, is the product of a group of players that has bought in and a coach that has evolved. In the early years of his head coaching career at a time when the style of play in the NBA was dramatically different, Carlisle could be the type to steer a team with a white-knuckle grip on the wheel. But over time he’s learned the importance of putting trust in players and they’ve rewarded him for that faith.

‘I think it’s freedom that the coaching staff gives us,’ forward Aaron Nesmith said. ‘We talk about it all the time. He trusts the offense and us. We have such great offensive players on our team I think we just are able to read the game. We’re pretty friendly off the court and it translates on the court as well.’

Carlisle’s trust in players has become one of his most valuable assets as a coach and it’s helped make him adaptable over the eras he’s been in the game since he broke in as a head coach with the Detroit Pistons in 2001. He sits 11th on the all-time wins list with 993 regular season wins with only Doc Rivers ahead of him among active coaches. He’s 14th among all coaches in playoff wins with 79 in now his 16th trip to the postseason, and he’s arguably in the midst of his best chance at a title since 2011.

‘Where Rick has always been good in my opinion,’ Rivers said, ‘is he coaches the team he has.’

‘This is ridiculous’

Carlisle was hired by the Dallas Mavericks in 2008 in hopes he would make a good team great.

Under the ownership of Mark Cuban, the Mavs had gone from a forgettable lottery team in the 1990s to a consistent contender, winning at least 50 games and making the playoffs each year from 2001-08 with three 60-win teams and the 2005-06 Western Conference championship in that mix. However, previous coach Avery Johnson had been fired because the Mavs followed their NBA Finals appearance with back-to-back first-round playoff exits — including one in 2007 when the Mavs won 67 games but lost to the No. 8 seed Golden State Warriors — and Dallas wanted more. Carlisle took over a team with two future Hall-of-Famers in Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd carrying the expectation he could take them to the next level.

The Mavs began that season by losing seven of their first nine games including five straight. Carlisle realized then the most important thing he needed to do was find a way to get out of the way. He saw the game slow down as the Mavs looked to him for guidance on every possession, which made less sense because their floor leader in Kidd was already a 14-year NBA veteran at 35 with nine All-Star appearances and six All-NBA selections to his name and their other top players including Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Josh Howard and Erick Dampier were in their late 20s and early 30s and had plenty of experience, as well.

‘At a certain point, watching Jason Kidd, him looking over at the bench for calls, finally one day it just hit me that this is ridiculous,’ Carlisle said. ‘I’m gonna talk to him about just taking over all that stuff, running the team. Run plays, don’t run plays, just get guys immersed in the game. Lead, all that kinda stuff. He was unbelievably great.’

From that point, the Mavs went 48-25 to finish 50-32, then beat the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. Two years later, they won the franchise its first NBA championship, taking down LeBron James’ first Miami Heat team. Each of those first three teams finished in the top 10 in the NBA in offensive rating and they won even though they were never better than 10th in scoring defense or eighth in defensive rating.

‘Our season changed and so obviously from that point forward for the next couple of years we stayed the course on that,’ Carlisle said. ‘Our game became more of a free-flowing random game and that was one of the big things that led us to a title in 2011.’

Before that point, the hallmark of Carlisle’s teams was stingy defense at a time when the NBA and the Eastern Conference in particular played a slow, grind-it-out game. He won 50 games as a first-year head coach with Detroit by averaging 94.3 points per game and holding opponents to 92.2 per game, finishing sixth in the league in scoring defense and eighth in defensive efficiency. That year just four teams averaged 100 points per game and no team averaged more than 105 per game. The following season, the Pistons won 50 games again and reached the Eastern Conference finals by leading the league in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 87.7 points per game.

But Carlisle could sense the game was changing. He followed closely the work of Jerry Colangelo, the Phoenix Suns executive who had been appointed by then-commissioner David Stern to chair a select committee that advised the NBA’s Board of Governors on rules changes designed to increase freedom of movement and spacing to make the game a little more wide-open and high scoring. With the Mavericks, he knew he had a special collection of offensive talent — especially Nowitzki — and that maximizing their potential would require something different than getting the most out of the early-aughts Pistons. Even when they had personnel changes after the championship season he knew he’d have to be adaptable to new moves.

‘I was going to base my career on taking the players that were there and trying to do the very best to help them succeed,’ Carlisle said. ‘Mark Cuban was a big influence because after we won the title, we didn’t bring back the exact same team. We had good players but we had a lot of roster movement each year. We had seven or eight new players over the next three or four or even five years. That created some real fertile opportunities to keep adjusting. I just think it’s difficult to pigeon hole yourself as you’re just a certain style coach. The opportunities to teach become limited and it just kind of affects your whole approach to the game.’

Carlisle had ingrained trust in the idea of player freedom and free-flowing basketball because he’d seen it work as a player himself. He earned a championship ring on one of the most high-IQ squads the league had ever seen — the 1985-86 Celtics that included Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. So he knew that approach could work.

‘That was the big thing for me,’ Carlisle said. ‘It was a simple system. There were great players there. … Part of a playoff style is you’ve gotta be able to play a random, unpredictable game or a ‘flow game’ … You gotta acquire players that you know can do that, that can handle the trust involved with that responsibility, and the privilege really.’

The Mavericks eventually found another star who could handle that kind of responsibility in Luka Doncic, and he was starting to show the heights he could reach when Carlisle and the Mavs decided to part ways and Dallas made Kidd the head coach. Carlisle went back to Indiana to take over a team that was headed toward a full rebuild, but before the end of his first year, the Pacers acquired exactly the sort of player Carlisle wanted to run his offense.

‘He ran with it’

The Mavericks held the No. 18 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, but they knew that wasn’t going to be high enough to get the player they wanted. Carlisle and the front office believed in Haliburton more than most teams, but they also knew that the top 17 weren’t going to pass on him.

‘In the 2020 draft, we were desperately trying to move up to take him in the first round,’ Carlisle said. ‘… We knew that he could play with Luka and that he could be just another essential piece to our build in Dallas.’

Nobody made the Mavs a deal. The Sacramento Kings took Haliburton No. 12 overall and the Mavericks ended up taking Josh Green 18th, but Carlisle kept an eye on Haliburton’s development. And when the Pacers decided at the 2022 trade deadline they needed a roster overhaul, they created shockwaves in the league by sending All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis to the Kings with other pieces for Haliburton along with sharpshooter Buddy Hield.

Haliburton was initially stunned by the move because he had hopes of staying with the same franchise for his whole career. However, Carlisle had dinner with Haliburton his first night in town and gave him an idea of the responsibility he had in store for him.

‘When you make a trade like that and a kid like Tyrese goes from a situation in Sacramento where he thought he was going to be there long-term and a big part of what they were building, it can be shell-shocking that you’re going 2,000 miles away to some place in the Midwest that maybe you’ve never even been before,’ Carlisle said. ‘I wanted to make sure that he felt, No. 1, welcome, and No. 2, that I had great confidence in what he was not only able to do at that present time, but going forward. I thought him having the keys to the team was an important thing to get across in that first conversation. And he loved it. He ran with it.’

Carlisle could tell he made the right call immediately. The Pacers lost their first game with Haliburton at the helm 120-113, but he scored 23 points and had six assists. Even with a skeleton roster and little cohesion with anyone on the team outside of Hield, he had the offense whirling.

‘The first game he stepped on the floor, we played faster in that game than maybe any game I had ever coached before,’ Carlisle said. ‘That’s saying something. I’d coached a lot of games. It was clear that our blueprint had to be to built around his unique skills and vision and scoring ability and ability as an on-court connector.’

Said Rivers: ‘I think he realized early on with Haliburton, this may be one of those teams where I just have to wind him up and let him go. That’s why he’s such a sensational coach.’

‘Trial and error’

Building around Haliburton and building a randomized action-system, in Carlisle’s mind, meant finding players who play hard but play selfless.

When the Pacers got Haliburton, they already had a few pieces in place who fit that mold, though two of them sat out the end of that 2021-22 season with injuries. Center Myles Turner gave them a skilled big man who could score at all three levels and also pass, which made him dynamic as a ball-screen partner. Veteran point guard T.J. McConnell gave them a capable backup well conditioned enough to maintain pace and flow either with Haliburton on the floor or without him.

In the 2022 draft they added a top-lever perimeter scorer in Bennedict Mathurin and a combo guard in Andrew Nembhard who could play on the ball or off. They traded for Aaron Nesmith. The following year they added an elite floor runner and finisher in Obi Toppin. And then when they finally made a big trade for another All-Star caliber player, they found one with a remarkably low ego for his stature in Pascal Siakam.

And over the past three years, the Pacers have done what they could to keep that core together. With every game and every practice, they get a better sense of when to pass, when to drive and when to shoot.

‘It’s trial and error,’ Haliburton said. ‘Working on that through practice, working on that through games. … We have great offensive minds on our staff who continue to implement new things. We have a running joke that coach Carlisle has to add a new play every day.’

The Pacers have one of the most balanced teams in the NBA with seven players who averaged more than 10 points per game in the regular season but none who averaged more than 20.2 per game. They finished third in the league in field goal percentage, third in assists, fifth in fast-break points, seventh in pace and nine in offensive rating. They threw the second-most passes in the NBA with 330.5 per game after leading the league with 308.3 per game last season.

And, of course, the approach has produced wins. The Pacers went from a 25-win team in Carlisle’s first season to a 35-win team the following year to a 47-win team to a 50-win team. And now they’re just one step from the franchise’s second NBA Finals appearance and two steps from their first NBA title.

‘You just have a bunch of guys who want to play for each other,’ Siakam said. ‘You can’t have egos. You have to focus on team. We preach team and that’s the only thing in our minds. Once you have that mentality, it’s not easier, but you’re able to achieve that selfless basketball and playing for one thing, which is winning.’

‘It was determined that a new voice was required to take the team to the next level in the years ahead,’ MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley said in a statement on Thursday.

The Maple Leafs had one playoff appearance in nine years before Shanahan, a Hall of Fame player, was hired in 2014. They now have the league’s longest active playoff streak at nine seasons, but the postseason woes continued for a team that last reached the conference finals in 2002 and last won the Stanley Cup in 1967.

They reached the second round this season for the second time since 2004 and won the first two games against the Florida Panthers in the second round. But they lost the series in seven games. Games 5 and 7 were 6-1 blowout losses at home.

That collapse could cause changes in the Core Four, especially since Mitch Marner and John Tavares are pending unrestricted free agents. Recently extended Auston Matthews and William Nylander also are part of that key group.

‘While I am proud of the rebuild we embarked on starting in 2014, ultimately, I came here to help win the Stanley Cup, and we did not,’ Shanahan said in a statement. ‘There is nothing more I wanted to deliver to our fans, and my biggest regret is that we could not finish the job.’

Sportsnet reported Wednesday that Islanders have sought permission to talk to Shanahan about a front-office position.

Heading into Thursday’s draw for the French Open, there was only one huge storyline: Where would Iga Swiatek, the women’s champion four of the last five years, end up? 

Due to a recent dip in form, Swiatek shockingly fell to the No. 5 seed, meaning one of the top four seeds would have to face the most accomplished clay courter of their generation in the quarterfinals. 

The loser of that random drawing?  Jasmine Paolini, who lost to Swiatek in last year’s final and comes to Roland Garros in top form, having just won the Italian Open in her home country. 

The big winner? Coco Gauff.

Gauff, the No. 2 seeded American still seeking a second Grand Slam title after winning the 2023 US Open, will begin this year’s French as a pretty solid favorite to make the final given how the draw shook out. 

Not only would Gauff dodge Swiatek until at least the final, pretty much all of the other prime contenders for the title ended up in the top half of the draw with No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka. 

Gauff, who recently lost in the finals of Rome (to Paolini) and Madrid (to Sabalenka), even avoided tricky opponents in the early rounds – at least on paper. Her potential third-round opponent, No. 30 Anna Kalinskaya, has never advanced beyond the second round in Paris. In the fourth round, she would be projected to face former Roland Garros winner Barbora Krejcikova, who is coming off a back injury and hasn’t played an official match this year. 

In the quarterfinals, Gauff would potentially play No. 7 Madison Keys, who started the year hot with the Australian Open title but has cooled down considerably over the last couple months. And Gauff’s most likely semifinal opponents would be No. 6 Mirra Andreeva, whom she’s beaten twice in routine fashion on clay recently, or No. 3 seeded American Jessica Pegula, who is much more comfortable on hard court than the French surface. 

Meanwhile, if Sabalenka is going to make the final, she must deal with several stumbling blocks including potentially a quarterfinal against Zheng Qinwen, who won the Olympics last year at Roland Garros, and whoever emerges from the Paolini/Swiatek quarter. Of course, Swiatek may not even get there because she is potentially lined up for a round of 16 match with Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French champion, whom she has never beaten in six matches. 

Here are the four other key observations from the French Open draw. 

We may finally get Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in a Grand Slam final. For whatever reason, the top two players in men’s tennis have never met with one of the four big trophies on the line among their 11 career matches. But given how these two have pulled clear of the field, it is destined to happen several times – probably beginning here. Sinner, who has won the last two Slams, came off the three-month suspension he negotiated with WADA over last year’s banned substance positive (which he blamed on contamination), and reached the final in Rome before running out of gas against Alcaraz. In fact, Alcaraz has won their last four meetings and has a 7-4 overall lead in the rivalry – but Sinner is 52-2 against everyone else since last year’s French Open. 
Novak Djokovic is a big mystery. Since retiring from the Australian Open semifinals due to injury, he’s just 6-5 as of Thursday morning with more matches pending this weekend at a warm-up tournament in Geneva. The truth is, Djokovic just hasn’t looked very good since he miraculously won the Olympic title last summer. But that’s not surprising: At age 38 and having accomplished everything there is to do in the sport, his physical decline and motivation are major question marks. Given what we’ve seen from Djokovic for more than a calendar year, the odds of him grinding out seven best-of-five matches on clay to win his fourth French crown are low. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising if Djokovic took advantage of a pretty favorable draw, reached the quarterfinals and even beat No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev to spark a glimmer of hope. 
Oddly, most of the American men got bunched up in one quarter headlined by No. 4 Taylor Fritz. He could have to face No. 32 Alex Michelsen in the third round and either Frances Tiafoe or Sebastian Korda in the fourth round. The favorite to emerge from that quarter, however, might be No. 8 seed Lorenzo Musetti, a dazzling Italian shotmaker who has been stellar on clay this year. Ben Shelton, the No. 13 seed, landed in the Alcaraz section and has a tough opener against veteran Lorenzo Sonego. Tommy Paul, who made the semis in Rome, should get an interesting round of 16 matchup against two-time French finalist Casper Ruud. 
Keep an eye on Naomi Osaka. Though her results since coming back from childbirth have been middling at best, and clay isn’t her best surface by any measure, she did recently win a minor league-level title in Saint Malo, France. If she can get past a first round against No. 10 seed Paula Badosa, who continues to struggle with injuries, the draw would really open up for her to make a round of 16 run or deeper. 

The 2025 NBA Western Conference finals have begun, with the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 on Thursday night. The Thunder currently lead the series 1-0.

Coming off a Game 7 victory that eliminated the Denver Nuggets in the second round, the Thunder secured a decisive 114-88 win against the Timberwolves in Tuesday’s Game 1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 31 points, including 20 scored in the second half. Jalen Williams contributed 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while Chet Holmgren added 15 points and seven rebounds.

It was the Thunder’s defense that kept the Timberwolves at bay, forcing 19 turnovers and compelling Minnesota to take shots from outside the paint.

Here is how to watch Game 2 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.

What time is Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder?

Game 2 of the NBA’s Western Conference final series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder gets underway at 8:30 p.m. ET.

How to watch Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: TV, stream

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Paycom Center; Oklahoma City
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+, Fubo

The Indiana Fever hosted the Atlanta Dream in their first meeting of the season Tuesday. Atlanta won the game 91-90 despite a last-minute comeback by Indiana.

Two days later, the Fever will look to earn vengeance as the two teams finish up a home-and-home in Atlanta.

Indiana will once again rely on Caitlin Clark to lead it after the second-year pro racked up 27 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and two steals in Tuesday’s loss. Clark was key in the Fever’s fourth-quarter comeback, as she scored eight points and racked up four assists while Indiana outscored Atlanta 25-15 in the final frame.

Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell also enjoyed strong games, each contributing 24 points and working well in tandem with Clark, the primary ball-handler. Both will be key for Indiana, especially if Boston can help get Brittney Griner in foul trouble again.

Speaking of Griner, she fouled out for Atlanta but led the team in scoring with 21 points. Rhyne Howard also racked up 20 against the Fever as part of a well-rounded effort from the Dream’s starting lineup. Those two, Allisha Gray and Brionna Jones will be tasked with staying hot in order to keep pace with a Fever offense averaging 91.5 points per game.

Here’s how to watch the Fever vs. Dream game Thursday, along with updates and highlights from the game.

What time is Fever vs. Dream?

The Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 22 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

How to watch Fever vs. Dream game: TV, stream

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: State Farm Arena in Atlanta
TV (local): MeTV Indianapolis | PeachtreeTV
Stream: Prime Video

Fever vs. Dream odds

Odds via BetMGM

Spread: Fever (-4.5)
Moneyline: Fever (-190); Dream (+154)
Over/under: 173.5

That honor goes to his iconic header in the Champions League final against Manchester United, which capped off Barcelona’s treble winning 2008-09 season in La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

That goal will now be turned into a piece of art by artist Refik Anadol, and auctioned to benefit multiple nonprofits, including Inter Miami CF Foundation’s global partnership with UNICEF.

‘I’ve scored many goals that might have been even more beautiful and valuable — also because of their importance — but the header in the Champions League final against Manchester United has always been my favorite,’ Messi said in a statement released Thursday.

The artwork will be unveiled online by auction house Christie’s on June 11, with a public exhibition beginning July 15 at Christie’s New York at the Rockefeller Center. An international online auction period will be held July 15-22.

‘Top collectors in both the art and football worlds have contacted Christie’s expressing interest,’ Inter Miami’s statement read, adding that people working for Christie’s said the artwork has “the makings of a record-breaking sale.’

To score the goal, 5-foot-7 Messi leapt nearly 9 feet (2.70 meters) in the air, using his head to score past Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar on a pinpoint pass from Xavi Hernández.

Messi lost his left cleat mid-air, picked it up and kissed it as he ran toward a corner to celebrate the first of his three Champions League titles with Barcelona.

‘Leo Messi’s goal is more than a defining moment in sport — it is a complex expression of human intent, memory, and motion,” the artist said.Said Messi: ‘I already knew how special Refik Anadol’s work is, and after we had the chance to meet in Miami, it’s going to be exciting to see how he can transform a goal — a moment in sports — into a unique piece of art, like the ones he creates.’

Messi, 37, has accomplished a lot since that iconic moment. He scored the 860th goal of his career for club and country on May 10 with Inter Miami during a 4-1 loss to Minnesota United.

The Argentine World Cup champion and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner trails only Cristiano Ronaldo (934) on the all-time scoring list. He is Argentina’s all-time leading scorer with 112 goals, and he’s scored 672 goals with Barcelona, 32 goals with Paris Saint-Germain and 44 goals with Inter Miami.