Tom Brady was officially approved to buy a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders in October 2024. The former NFL quarterback turned Fox broadcaster faced a long approval process but eventually cleared the hurdles needed to let him join the Raiders.

Raiders owner Mark Davis acknowledged he was excited about Brady’s role with the team during a Tuesday news conference introducing Pete Carroll and John Spytek as Las Vegas’ new head coach and general manager combination.

‘Bringing in Tom Brady was bringing in somebody on the football side that I had been lacking having here in the organization,’ Davis told reporters, per ESPN.

Davis also explained Brady will fill the role the Raiders had hoped Jon Gruden would when the team initially hired him ahead of the 2018 NFL season.

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‘He was somebody that I brought in and really expected to be that person on the football side that would bring stability to the organization,’ Davis said of Gruden. ‘He had a 10-year contract and all that, and his head was chopped off. And we were put in a really bad position as an organization.’

Gruden coached parts of four seasons with the Raiders before he stepped down from his role early in the 2021 NFL season after emails containing racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks he sent while working for ESPN were leaked to the media. He has not held a full-time coaching role since and currently works for Barstool Sports.

The Raiders are now onto their third different full-time head coach since Gruden’s departure, and fourth overall including 2021 interim coach Rich Bisaccia. Neither Josh McDaniels nor Antonio Pierce were given two full seasons to turn around Las Vegas’ franchise.

Davis expressed confidence Carroll – who will become the oldest coach in NFL history when he leads the Raiders into Week 1 – would be able to provide the Raiders with some stability in his new role, along with Spytek.

‘We want to build something here and again, that’s been the process and that mindset all along,’ Davis said. ‘Like I said, it got offset or kind of blown up when Jon Gruden was sent away and so we’ve been trying to get it right since then and we’ll see, but I’ve got patience to get it right, and I think we’ve got the people now – again I’ve always felt that results are what speak to me and that’s what we’ll see.’

The Raiders posted a 22-31 record in Gruden’s three-plus seasons, good for a .415 winning percentage,. Since then, Las Vegas has gone 25-38 (.397 winning percentage) and lost its only playoff appearance in 2022, under Bisaccia, to the Cincinnati Bengals 26-19.

Comparatively, Carroll has a career record of 170-120-1 and has posted a winning record in 11 of his past 12 seasons. The Raiders are coming off a 4-13 season, so the former Seattle Seahawks leader will have his work cut out adhering to his positive trend.

The university has accused the NCAA of “grossly overreaching” and “wildly overcharging” the Michigan football program, which was hit with 11 violations in a notice of allegations, many of which stemmed from the NCAA’s probe into an alleged sign-stealing operation led by former Wolverines staffer Connor Stalions.

Michigan’s response came in a 137-page document, a portion of which Yahoo Sports obtained and reported the details of on Tuesday.

Included in Michigan’s response are defenses of former coach Jim Harbaugh, current Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore and, interestingly, Stalions, the former recruiting assistant who resigned in 2023.

Michigan believes the NCAA’s notice of allegations, which it received last August, has “numerous factually unsupported infractions, exaggerates aggravating factors and ignores mitigating facts” and that the alleged sign-stealing operation offered the program “minimal relevance to competition.”

The university later requested that the NCAA apply “common sense and commitment to fairness” to the case, an approach that would require college sports’ governing body to treat it as a “Level II standard case.” Of the 11 alleged violations by the Wolverines, six are Level I infractions, the most serious charge the NCAA can assess to a member institution.

Michigan asserts that NCAA investigators have not proven “any coaches were aware of, much less participated in” Stallions’ sign-stealing scheme.

Perhaps the most notable coach included in the NCAA’s notice of allegations is Moore, who was the Wolverines’ offensive coordinator in 2023 and was elevated to head coach after Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers in January 2024, weeks after Michigan won the College Football Playoff championship.

Moore allegedly deleted 52 text messages between him and Stalions the day that news of the NCAA’s investigation into sign-stealing broke in October 2023. While Michigan acknowledges the deleted texts, it added that they were “innocuous and not material to the investigation” and noted that Moore cooperated fully with the investigation. In the school’s response, Moore said that he didn’t delete the messages to “hide anything,” attributing it instead to being “extremely angry” about the alleged misconduct and how it could harm the program.

Several texts between Moore and Stalions were about sign-stealing, which is a common practice among college programs, but none were about advance in-person scouting.

Michigan also refutes some of the NCAA’s findings on Stalions, who the university said attended only one game. Eight other games were attended by low-level Wolverines staffers and others were attended by Stalions’ friends and family, the latter of which Michigan believes does not violate NCAA rules.

While advance in-person scouting, the method the Wolverines allegedly used to record the signals of upcoming opponents, is against NCAA rules, Michigan asserts that “an enormous amount” of the signal decoding was “permissibly done” with television and other publicly available footage.

The response also touched on an allegation against Harbaugh, who the NCAA said failed to cooperate between Oct. 20, 2023 and Jan. 24, 2024 by not producing text and phone records from his personal cell phone. Michigan dismissed the claim as “without merit.”

The ongoing and intensifying saga between the NCAA and Michigan will soon head to a hearing before the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, which is likely to happen over the next several weeks.

Gabby Thomas is as smart as she is fast, a three-time Olympic champion sprinter who graduated from Harvard and then went on to get a master’s in epidemiology. Yet over the weekend, racist trolls flooded her X page with nasty comments belittling her intelligence and achievements.

This is what X has become: a toxic cesspool whose owner embraces, encourages and amplifies the very worst of humanity.

And it ought to be a blaring warning to the NFL, NBA, college athletics and all the other folks in the sports world who are ignoring the alternative to it.

Ordinarily hyper-sensitive to their images and petrified of anything that could threaten them, most teams, leagues and athletes are blithely continuing to use X despite the looming PR nightmare. They don’t seem to realize that as Elon Musk does more and more awful things, and X degrades further and further, it’s their follow counts and reputations that will take the hit.

I doubt the NBA wants porn ads adjacent to its account. Or members of the Proud Boys liking its highlight videos. I can only imagine the heartburn NFL commissioner Roger Goodell felt when he saw Musk make Nazi jokes on the same platform where the league has its largest social media presence and then, two days before Holocaust Remembrance Day, suggest the German people should just “move beyond” their “past guilt” over the atrocities of World War II.

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But this is what they are choosing. And given the skyrocketing number of people who are opting for Bluesky, it is most definitely a choice.

Bluesky defangs trolls. Musk feeds, waters and walks them twice a day.

“The value of Bluesky to athletes is that, because it’s moderated, players can engage and talk to their fans, without being overwhelmed by idiots,” Mark Cuban, the former owner of the Dallas Mavericks who has become a Bluesky enthusiast, said in an email. 

“Bluesky with moderation allows leagues, brands, players, celebs to engage with fans,” Cuban wrote. “I see it every day. The quality ratio is about 90 pct on Bluesky vs about 50 pct or less on X.”  

Yet the NWSL is the only one of the major professional sports leagues to be actively using Bluesky. According to Sportico, the NFL and NBA only operate on platforms where they have agreements, which often include financial incentives, and they do not have ones with Bluesky. The WNBA and NBA at least allow their teams to have Bluesky accounts; the NFL does not.

It’s hard to abandon social media sites where you’ve built up significant followings, as the leagues, their broadcasters and many athletes have on X. The NBA has almost 48 million followers on X; the NFL has 37 million. LeBron James has almost 53 million followers on X; Patrick Mahomes has 2.6 million.

It’s also hard to abandon it when X continues to be where people make news. (Full disclosure: I still have an X account solely for that reason, using the alert function so I can see what people I cover post.)

But as more and more people move to Bluesky, including sports influencers like Pat McAfee, Mina Kimes, Ian Rapoport and Monica McNutt, there’s an opening for the leagues to replicate that fan base.

Bluesky reached 20 million users in mid-November, tripling its userbase in just three months. It was nearing 30 million by Monday afternoon.

“I think the only missing pieces for Bluesky are real-time news and scores, which is rapidly being added, and a few verticals,” Cuban said. “I think that changes over time.”

The beauty of Twitter was as a second-screen community, allowing fans to interact, get additional information and, eventually, get replays. It was like watching the game from a broadcast control room with all of your closest friends. That was missing from Bluesky initially, but it’s gaining steam.

When the refs robbed the Buffalo Bills of a first down on Josh Allen’s QB sneak early in the fourth quarter, the reaction on Bluesky was reminiscent of Twitter in the old days.

“As it grows, it will only be increasingly valuable,” Cuban said. “The social media space has bifurcated into unmoderated vs. moderated. It sure looks like most people prefer moderation and a less hateful site.” 

And as Musk and X increasingly lean into their worst tendencies, that will only pick up pace.

The Guardian and Le Monde, France’s paper of record, have already stopped posting on X. After Musk’s hand gesture that sure looked like a Nazi salute at last week’s inauguration, moderators of the NFL, NBA, Formula 1 and soccer communities on Reddit banned links to X.

“We have reached this decision after taking recent events and strong sentiment from our community into account,’ the /r/NBA moderators said in a post. ‘While we try our best to stay neutral and apolitical, we do not believe taking a stance against Nazi symbolism is or should be a political issue. Hate speech and the promotion of it has never been tolerated in our community.”

Social media is supposed to be fun and informative, a way to reach people you otherwise wouldn’t. When it becomes a haven for white supremacists, neo-Nazis and others who don’t value democracy or diversity, it’s time to leave.

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

The Cleveland Browns are coming off a disappointing 2024 NFL season that saw them post a 3-14 record. Despite their struggles, the team isn’t looking to move on from star edge rusher Myles Garrett as it looks to rebuild.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry was asked Tuesday during a Senior Bowl media availability with three Cleveland beat writers whether he would consider trading Garrett for an offer involving two first-round picks.

‘Do you say I’m not interested?’ a beat writer asked, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

‘Correct,’ Berry responded. ‘You can put that on the record.’

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Garrett has been with the Browns since 2017, when Cleveland selected him with the No. 1 overall pick. He has starred for the team, posting 102.5 sacks over his first eight NFL seasons and earning four first-team All-Pro nods. He was named the AP’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and has recorded at least 12 sacks in seven consecutive campaigns.

With that in mind, it’s little surprise Cleveland would want to keep Garrett. Pro Football Focus graded him as the second-best edge defender in 2024 behind only Aidan Hutchinson, who played in just six games before a season-ending leg injury.

Garrett won’t turn 30 until December, so he should have plenty of good years left in the tank, provided he can stay healthy.

That’s part of the reason Berry implied Cleveland was hoping to sign Garrett to an extension and make him a member of the Browns for life.

‘I don’t want to go into contract discussions. I wouldn’t do that publicly,’ Berry said. ‘But I think you can assume that we do anticipate at some point doing a third contract with Myles. We want him to retire here.’

Time will tell whether Berry and Co. can achieve that goal, but they have plenty of time during which to hold contract talks. Garrett will play the 2025 NFL season on the penultimate year of a five-year, $125 million extension he signed with the Browns in 2020.

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When two headstrong colleagues are swinging sledgehammers in unison, there is harmony.

When two stubborn people are not swinging sledgehammers in unison, someone – and perhaps both – is bound to get bludgeoned.

That’s what is happening with Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and team president Pat Riley.

A once prosperous relationship has deteriorated.

On Monday, the Heat suspended Butler for the third time this month. The most recent suspension is indefinitely and for a minimum of five games which takes the Heat through the Feb. 6 trade deadline, which means in all likelihood, Butler will never play another game for the Heat.

It is an unfortunate situation, and it’s the kind of drama the league doesn’t need. Butler, the Heat and the NBA league office will be relieved when the split is official.

It is also a stunning implosion. It wasn’t long ago that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Butler, “He should’ve been in a Heat uniform long ago. It feels like he’s about what we’re about, and we’re about what he’s about” and Butler said of the Heat, “I really enjoy playing for this coach, for this organization with the guys that I’ve got riding with me. And I’m constantly smiling because I am happy. I’m home and everything about this organization fits me. Everything about the guys on this roster fits me.’

Butler is not smiling, is not happy and the organization no longer fits him, and the Heat can’t wait until Butler is no longer in a Heat uniform. The Heat appearances in the 2020, 2023 Finals are memories.

These breakups do not happen overnight. It’s usually not one thing but many things. Flaws aren’t so obvious – or they’re ignored – in the fun, early days of romance.

Miami didn’t give Butler an extension, and his on-court role has been reduced this season. But the friction had been growing before this season, and Riley has had limited communication with Butler over the past two seasons.

Butler’s bluntness once worked with Miami. Now, it’s unwelcomed, especially with Butler recently challenging Riley to get on the court and participate in a drill as Butler worked out near the end of a recent suspension.

Butler is known for making life uncomfortable for teams – it’s not the kind of “being comfortable with the uncomfortable’ the Heat prefer – and he did it with Minnesota and Philadelphia near the end of his time with both of those teams.

But this isn’t all on Butler. Riley, one of the NBA’s great all-time coaches and executives, isn’t perfect. His desire to compete has led to acrimony with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as they left the Heat for other teams. To be fair, Riley’s way has worked. It has produced championships, and Wade won three titles and a Finals MVP with the Heat, and James won two titles, two Finals MVPs and two regular-season MVPs with Miami.

Looking at this ordeal through the lens of how Butler left previous teams and how other stars grew weary of the Heat, this outcome was inevitable. It worked … until it didn’t.

Butler and Riley feel they’re being pushed in directions they don’t want to go, and neither likes that so they feel they have no choice but to do what they’re doing.

Their steadfast resolve to do things their way has gotten them both far. They’ve gone as far together as they can go.

A trade needs to happen before this split becomes more embarrassing.

The UEFA Champions League wraps up its first-ever 36-team group stage Wednesday, with 18 simultaneous games that will determine which teams advance, and who crashes out at the first hurdle.

This season’s changes include a ‘Swiss model’ group stage format that sees every team play eight games for the right to move on to the knockout stage. While some giants like Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, and Inter Milan have proceeded to the top of the standings, the new system has opened the door to some surprises: Dutch side Feyenoord and French debutants Brest currently sit ahead of perennial contenders like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Juventus.

The biggest potential shock is further down the table, where Manchester City — winners of four straight Premier League titles — faces a must-win match against Club Brugge. Anything less than a victory will see one of global soccer’s biggest powers on the sidelines in the knockout stage.

Here’s what to know about the new Champions League format and how to watch the final set of group-stage games.

Champions League format: How does group stage work?

For 2024-25, the Champions League made its first significant format change in many years. That included an expansion of the pool of teams to qualify, as well as extending the knockout stage to include one more round.

The long-standing set-up saw 32 teams divvied up into eight groups of four, with the top two teams from each group moving on to a round-of-16 knockout round. From there, it was simple: come out on top in a pair of games against your opponent (one at home, one away), and you advance, with the final two teams left playing a one-game final at a venue picked well in advance.

This season’s Champions League is much different. 36 teams qualified for the tournament proper, and the many small groups have been replaced by one huge table pooling every participant. UEFA — despite growing discontent over how many games top-tier professional teams are being asked to play — has given each group-stage qualifier an eight-game schedule (up from six in years past). The Champions League now features 189 total games, an increase of 64 from the previous format’s 125.

Each team plays four home games, and four away, with UEFA using the ‘Swiss model’ seen in international chess to sort a schedule. The eight teams who put together the best performance over that spell advance directly to the round of 16, while the bottom 12 sides in the table are eliminated.

For the remaining 16 teams, advancement into a new ‘knockout phase play-off’ round awaits. UEFA will use standing order as a form of seeding, but curiously will include a draw to actually pair teams. For example, the teams that finish ninth and 10th will be placed into one pot, while the teams in 23rd and 24th (the final two berths to the knockout stage) will be in another.

The draw will then pair one team from each pot, meaning the ninth-placed team will play either the 23rd- or 24th-placed team. This process will continue for the teams in 11th and 12th (paired with the teams that finish 21st and 22nd) and so on, with each pairing playing home-and-away games February 11-12 and 18-19.

The winners of those games will join the top eight group-stage participants in the round of 16, which will be sorted in a similar process to (in theory) give the best-performing teams a lesser foe. From that point on, the tournament returns to a normal rhythm, with the eight winners proceeding to quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final on May 31 at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Champions League: Schedule for Wednesday games

All matches kick off at 3 p.m. ET. Home teams listed first.

Aston Villa vs. Celtic
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Sparta Prague
Borussia Dortmund vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
Young Boys vs. Red Star Belgrade
Barcelona vs. Atalanta
Bayern Munich vs. Slovan Bratislava
Inter Milan vs. Monaco
Red Bull Salzburg vs. Atlético Madrid
Girona vs. Arsenal
Dinamo Zagreb vs. AC Milan
Juventus vs. Benfica
Lille vs. Feyenoord
Manchester City vs. Club Brugge
PSV vs. Liverpool
Sturm Graz vs. RB Leipzig
Sporting CP vs. Bologna
Brest vs. Real Madrid
Stuttgart vs. Paris Saint-Germain

How to watch Champions League group stage: Time, TV channel, streaming

The conclusion of the 2024-25 Champions League group stage will see all 18 simultaneous games streamed on Paramount+, with one game — Juventus vs. Benfica — being broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Fans can stream that latter game on Fubo, which is offering a free trial for new subscribers.

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 29
Time: 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. PT)
TV: CBS Sports Network (Juventus vs. Benfica only)
Streaming: Paramount+ for all games, Fubo (Juventus vs. Benfica only)

Watch the Champions League group stage on Paramount+

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