KANSAS CITY, MO ― The No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies took down three No. 1 seeds, including Kentucky, to win the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship, and even they can’t believe it.

‘What?’ blurted opposite Logan Lednicky as the team was introduced during its national championship presser.The eyes of starting outside hitter Kyndal Stowers enlarged just hearing the words ‘national champion.’ Starting middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, who scored the title-clinching point, couldn’t stop smiling, and neither could head coach Jamie Morrison.

The Aggies, who were wearing their championship hats and carrying pieces of the championship net, had possibly pulled off one of the most remarkable championship runs in college volleyball history. Texas A&M’s push for its first title included victories over five ranked opponents during the NCAA tournament, including eliminating No. 1 overall seed Nebraska.

By definition, a No. 3 seed pulling off this kind of dominance would be considered an ‘upset’ at the highest levels. However, don’t tell the Aggies. Since being down two sets against Louisville and pulling the revers sweep in the Sweet 16, the team has been asking, ‘why not us?’ The phrase became a rally cry for and eventually a full-fledged belief.

Morrison said when he started at Texas A&M three seasons ago, he had a vision and mission: to win a championship in five seasons. Still, he revealed Sunday that when he and his staff sat down 18 months ago to ask themselves if they could do it faster, he didn’t imagine this.

‘The reason why we’re all sitting up here laughing at this is [because] right now, we’re in disbelief,’ Morrison said. ‘I could be wrong, but I’m guessing this has never happened ― to take a program where it was to winning a national championship in three years.’

Though the Aggies have made the NCAA tournament every year under Morrison, they weren’t ranked last season and were bounced in the Sweet 16. They had dreams of winning a championship, but they were just that ― dreams ― until senior Lexi Guinn asked, ‘Why wouldn’t we try?’ after Texas A&M made the tournament last year.

Ahead of the season, Morrison told his team they needed to ‘make Lexi look like a genius.’ Perhaps Guinn knew what the rest of the volleyball world didn’t. The Aggies were more than capable; in fact, they were downright tenacious.

The team could have folded after a terrible 3-0 loss to SMU in September, a 3-1 loss to Kentucky in October, and even after a late-season 3-1 defeat against Texas in the SEC tournament. However, they never backed down, no matter who was across the net. Their ‘Why not us?’ motto turned into ‘It is us‘ on Sunday.

After a rough start to the first set, the Aggies switched their defensive formation to better receive Kentucky’s high-pressure serve and started sending more volleyballs towards one of the Wildcats’ best outside hitters, Brooklyn DeLeye, who has been playing through a torn meniscus and also had a tough night Thursday against Wisconsin. Lednicky, Stowers and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, with help from Emily Hellmuth, closed the set out and turned up the energy.

‘Come on!’ Cos-Okpalla yelled as the set was ending, which seemed to ignite the team. The Aggies went to work, proverbial lunch pail in hand, during the second set. The Wildcats seemed ready and focused again, but their momentum quickly declined. By the arrival of the mid-match break, Texas A&M was up 2-0 thanks to a huge 10-point lead they built in the middle of the set and a staggering 20 total Kentucky errors. The Wildcats’ .021 hitting percentage in the period reflected how unprepared they were for the Aggies’ adjustments. Stowers says Texas A&M might have lost a little bit of the joy they usually play with, but found it at the end of the first and into the second set.

‘We were headstrong coming, like ‘We’re going to win this game. We’re going to take this nattyhome,” Stowers said.

‘The second we flipped that switch and found that, ‘Hey, guys, we’re here to have fun’ … I feel like that just allows us to also trust each other. I think when we’re having a good time, like, we’re so joyful around each other that we don’t ever get at each other. We understand, and we trust each other, like, ‘Hey, you missed that one. No, we’re good. You got the next one.”

That belief in one another showed up in every point on Sunday as Texas A&M cruised to a 3-0 victory. The Aggies have become a sisterhood ― an unofficial team sorority, according to Stowers, Lednicky and Cos-Okpalla. Fittingly, the players shared it’s called ‘Tau Alpha Mu,’ an ode to the first letters in Texas A&M University. To the surprise of no one but the Aggies, their sisterhood powered them to a championship. It’s built on ‘grit’ and ‘love,’ which is written outside their locker room and on hats and T-shirts.

It also rebuilt hopes, as Stowers, who was sitting on her couch last year watching the Final Four, reiterated Sunday. The redshirt sophomore, who suffered four concussions months before and was medically retired, made the 2025 NCAA All-Tournament team with Lednicky and Cos-Okpalla and also won Most Outstanding Player. Stowers had a brilliant tournament run, including 10 kills on .304 hitting and six digs against the Wildcats. She says she joined Morrison because he believed in her when she hadn’t played volleyball in more than a year. Now, she not only has her confidence back, she’s a national champion.

‘[I’m] just so beyond joyful,’ Stowers said. ‘That’s our whole team, and I feel like that’s what our whole team has been all year. I feel like the first day we set foot in the gym during fall camp, our team was goofing off at 6 a.m. in the morning in the training room, making up some crazy scenarios, having a good time. That’s crazy that just came back to me because that’s just who our team has been through the thick and thin, through the highs and lows.

‘Obviously, now on the highest mountaintop. That’s very much so coming through. That’s really all I have. I feel like that’s what everybody has.’

Lamar Jackson suffered a back injury at the end of the first half of the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 16 game against the New England Patriots.

Jackson’s injury appeared to occur after he ran for three yards on a first-down carry after the two-minute warning, when the 28-year-old quarterback slid to the ground.

Jackson stayed in the game for the second-down play, a hand-off to backup running back Keaton Mitchell. However, the Ravens called a timeout following that play, and Jackson walked to the sideline to be examined by Baltimore’s medical staff.

Jackson was examined briefly on the sideline before being taken to the locker room. He was eventually ruled out of the game because of a back injury.

Here’s what to know about Jackson’s injury.

Lamar Jackson injury update

The Ravens officially ruled Jackson out for the remainder of Sunday’s game because of a back injury. Harbaugh provided an update on the malady – which he referred to as ‘a bruise of some kind’ – during his postgame news conference.

‘I don’t know how serious it will be,’ Harbaugh told reporters. ‘We’ll have to find out the next couple of days. He got kneed on the back [while] on the ground there.’

Harbaugh also clarified that sitting Jackson was not a precautionary move. He simply couldn’t play because of the injury.

‘If he could’ve gone, he would’ve gone,’ Harbaugh said, referencing Jackson’s availability.

Harbaugh had initially been asked about Jackson’s status during a halftime interview with NBC Sports’ Melissa Stark. The Ravens coach did not rule the quarterback out at that time, instead telling her the team was working on Jackson’s injured back.

‘They’re working on him right now, stretching,’ Harbaugh said. ‘We’ll see how he feels coming out.’

Jackson remained sidelined on the Ravens’ first offensive drive of the second half before being ruled out in advance of the fourth quarter.

Baltimore had originally deemed Jackson ‘questionable’ to return because of his back injury. Stark reported Jackson was ‘grimacing in pain’ and had trouble traversing the stairs while heading to the locker room after suffering the injury.

Who is the Ravens backup QB?

Tyler Huntley is the Ravens’ backup quarterback. The 27-year-old veteran is in his third stint with the team and was elevated into the backup role after Cooper Rush struggled in place of Jackson earlier in the season.

Huntley won his lone start for the team this season and has completed 73% of his passes for 254 yards and a touchdown. He has a career record of 6-9 in 15 starts and has completed 65.2% of his career passes for 3,040 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Ravens QB depth chart

The Ravens have three quarterbacks available for Sunday’s game. They are as follows:

Lamar Jackson
Tyler Huntley
Cooper Rush

Rush is the team’s emergency third quarterback for Sunday’s game and will only enter if Jackson and Huntley suffer game-ending injuries.

Rush spent almost all of his career with the Dallas Cowboys before joining the Ravens this season. The 32-year-old went 0-2 in two starts in place of Jackson earlier in the season and has completed 65.4% of his passes for 303 yards and four interceptions.

(This story will be updated as more information becomes available.)

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf got into an altercation with a fan during the first half of his team’s Week 16 game against the Detroit Lions.

CBS’ cameras captured video of the skirmish. Metcalf was seen having a conversation with a fan sitting in the first row of the stands at Ford Field on Sunday.

The veteran receiver then took a swipe at the fan, who was clad in a blue wig and leaning over the railing during the duo’s discussion.

Below is a full look at the incident:

‘He doesn’t like his government name,’ Kennedy said. ‘I called him that and then he grabbed me and ripped my shirt. I’m a little shocked. Like everyone’s talking to me. I’m a little rattled, but I just want the Lions to win, baby.’

CBS’ sideline reporter, Tracy Wolfson, also provided an account of the incident after watching it unfold.

‘[Metcalf] came over because the fan in the stands was holding a ‘4’ Pittsburgh jersey,’ Wolfson explained. ‘He went over and the fan said something to him, obviously. Metcalf did not like what he said and you saw the swipe there. No Steelers came over to him and mentioned anything.’

Luckily for Metcalf, the officials did not see his altercation with the fan. As a result, the 28-year-old receiver was able to remain in Sunday’s game.

That said, Metcalf could face additional discipline from the NFL, which is expected to review the incident ahead of the Steelers’ Week 17 game against the Cleveland Browns.

Georgetown men’s basketball coach Ed Cooley threw his water bottle into the home crowd after a loss to Xavier Saturday night, Dec. 20, appearing to hit a child sitting on his mother’s lap behind the bench.

Now, the Big East school has suspended Cooley for one game following the incident.

‘I met with Coach Cooley today to discuss the incident which occurred after last night’s game against Xavier,’ Georgetown Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Lee Reed said in a statement Sunday, Dec. 21. ‘I expressed that his conduct did not align with the standards we expect of our coaches, nor does it reflect the values of Georgetown Athletics or Georgetown University.’

Cooley had just watched his team miss 18 free throws in an 80-77 loss to Xavier and then miss a 3-point shot attempt at the buzzer that would have tied the game at the end of regulation.

Cooley opened his postgame press conference with an apology to the family.

‘Definitely out of character for me to be so frustrated but, really, that’s not called for and I’ll call them and make amends to them,’ he told reporters. ‘So I apologize to the fans, I apologize to our players. Totally, totally out of character for me to be that way.’

The Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network, identified the family to whom Cooley apologized as that of Georgetown center Vince Iwuchukwu, who is out after needing an undisclosed medical procedure last month.

Cooley mentioned the Nyahkoon family by name in his apology, but a Georgetown spokesperson confirmed Sunday they are not actually related to Iwuchukwu.

‘From everything to my knowledge, there is no connection,’ Georgetown Assistant Athletics Director for Communications/Creative Services Diana Pulupa told USA TODAY Sports when asked about the incident’s connection to Iwuchukwu. ‘The Nyahkoons are family friends of the Cooleys.’ 

Cooley, 56, is in his third season as Georgetown’s coach after taking over for Patrick Ewing. While Georgetown (8-4) has improved, going 18-16 last season after a 9-23 mark his first year.

‘I am deeply sorry for my actions during last night’s game, and sincerely apologize to the Nyahkoon family, whom I have known for years and regard as my own family,’ Cooley said in a statement released Sunday. ‘My conduct was unacceptable and does not represent who I am or the leader I strive to be. I want to also apologize to the Georgetown community, team, fans, the league and my family. I take full responsibility for my actions and their consequences. I will learn from this experience to ensure it never happens again.’

Cooley recently expressed frustration with the team’s attendance. The Hoyas have played before sparse crowds at Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena, which hosts the NBA’s Wizards and NHL’s Capitals. Last night’s was just over 5,000.

After a game played at McDonough Arena, the school’s smaller on-campus gym, Dec. 13, Cooley said he had scheduled the game there so it was more convenient for fans during final exams.

‘I wish we had more students take a study break to come,’ Cooley said, according The Hoya, a student newspaper. ‘It’s a little disappointing not to have those young men and women show up.’

Earlier in Saturday’s game, Cooley turned to the crowd behind him to try and encourage them to cheer when his team played defense in a close game.

Georgetown next plays Monday, Dec. 22, against Coppin State at McDonough, its second and final game scheduled on campus this season. Jeff Battle, the associate head coach, will coach the team.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Sidney Crosby is now the Pittsburgh Penguins’ all-time leading scorer, passing legend Mario Lemieux.

Crosby picked up a goal and an assist in the first period against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday, Dec. 21 to give him 1,724 career points, all with the Penguins. That moved him past Hall of Famer Lemieux, who had been the Penguins’ leader since he passed Rick Kehoe in 1989.

Crosby also moves into sole possession of eighth place on the all-time NHL scoring list by passing Lemieux.

He scored his 20th goal of the season, then set up Rickard Rakell on the power play for the milestone point. Teammates streamed onto the ice to congratulate him.

Lemieux got his point total in 915 games (in two stints after coming out of retirement in 2000) as he dominated despite battling back problems and missing time for cancer treatment. Crosby, who had concussion issues early in his career, has played 1,387 games.

Lemieux was drafted No. 1 overall in 1984 and helped turn around the franchise, winning Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and 1992.

Crosby, too, was a No. 1 overall draft pick and had a similar impact on the Penguins and the NHL after being selected in 2005 following a season-long lockout. He has led the Penguins to three championships.

Crosby’s first season (2005-26) was Lemieux’s last in the league. Lemieux, the Penguins co-owner at the time, had the generational prospect stay at his house early in his career, knowing he would be a special player.

Crosby has shown that and more.

In addition to the three Stanley Cups, he has won two points titles and two goal titles and was voted regular-season and playoff MVP twice. Like Lemieux, he was named to the NHL’s 100th anniversary team.

Last year, he broke Wayne Gretzky’s record with a 20th season averaging at least a point a game. He’s averaging that again this season. He has 645 goals and 1,079 assists in his career.

Next up on the scoring list for Crosby is No. 7 Steve Yzerman at 1,755.

College Football Playoff’s biggest flaw is not James Madison. It’s that the CFP cannot replicate a regular-season Saturday.
Blowouts are an unavoidable part of football. They’re just more noticeable in playoffs, due to the lack of other games.
Unlike the regular season, fans cannot simply change the channel to a more competitive game if a playoff matchup becomes a rout.

The worst part about the College Football Playoff cannot be fixed. Cannot be legislated away by changing the bracket format. Cannot be solved by replacing a few folks on the selection committee.

You know why?

Because, the worst part of college football’s postseason is that it’s not the regular season. The playoff cannot mimic a fall Saturday stuffed with 50 games, including the conference tussles and the rivalry clashes that made you fall in love with this sport.

You can eradicate automatic bids from the playoff. You can tweak the selection process. You can snuff out Cinderella. And, perhaps, those are worthwhile explorations after two first-round games involving Group of Five teams spiraled into predictable blowouts.

And, still, none of those modifications would fix the playoff’s unfixable issue, that 50 games are better than four, that the regular-season rat race is superior to the bracketed conclusion.

None of those modifications would change that last year’s first-round games featured no Group of Five teams. Each of those games stunk.

Blowouts happen, including in College Football Playoff

I hate to be the one to tell you, but blowouts sometimes are going to happen in football, no matter how much tinkering you do.

Blowouts didn’t begin with the 12-team playoff. In fact, blowouts transpired at a coma-threatening rate during the four-team playoff era.

And, wouldn’t you know it, a number of blowouts transpired in the last NFL playoffs, too.

The nagging issue here, the one you can’t format-change away, is not that blowouts happen, but that there’s not another playoff game you can flip to, when one does.

In the regular season, if the ballyhooed Big Noon Kickoff game becomes a stinker, well, some team coached by a guy named Swinney is on upset alert on ESPN. Just flip the channel. If a primetime conference matchup quickly wilts into a blowout on NBC, well, try the in-state rivalry on ABC.

And when UCLA comes out of nowhere to land an uppercut on James Franklin, you scramble to your guide button to figure out what channel that game is on.

You cannot replicate that on a playoff Saturday, when a single game sucks up a 3½-hour time slot and if, god forbid, the game gets lopsided, you’re left to choose between an NFL field goal fest or a Hallmark Christmas movie.

CFP bracket is not March Madness

We’ve got to stop comparing college football’s postseason to March Madness.

You don’t love March Madness because it avoids blowouts. You love it, because when the No. 1 seed beats the No. 16 directional school by 40 points, and an 8 vs. 9 brick-fest turns out to be less fun than you’d hoped, you’re flipping to TNT, where the 3-seed is in big trouble, and you love it, because you called that upset on your bracket!

Football’s postseason will not recreate basketball’s 48 games in four days.

Football’s can’t-be-missed bonanza occurs during rivalry week in November, instead of at the end of the season. Unless you want to completely devalue the regular season and bloat the playoff to a gluttonous size, you’re simply not going to replicate that feast in the playoff.

I won’t try to tell you Notre Dame-Oregon wouldn’t have been more interesting than James Madison-Oregon, if playoff format rules had allowed the committee to choose the Irish instead of the Dukes. That probably would’ve been a better game, in a 12-best-teams parallel universe, although someone somewhere would bemoan the underdog is now the tragic omission from college football’s postseason.

Probably, Notre Dame-Oregon would have hit the spot, but I’ll also remind you the Irish once lost by 28 stinkin’ points in a national championship game.

TCU saw that postseason beatdown and, years later, said, “Hold my beer.”

Do you remember when Michigan State got whipped in a playoff game, 38 to zip? Or, how about when THE Ohio State University lost 31 to zip? You probably turned those games off. I wouldn’t blame you, because blowouts are boring, no matter whether the losing team hails from the Group of Five or from the Big Ten.

Even Nick Saban got stomped once in the playoff, and he wasn’t coaching one of those “Triple-A” teams he’s tired of watching.

Blowouts happen, folks. No amount of wishcasting or format tweaking will extinguish them. They’re more glaring in the playoff, because there’s no barnburner occurring simultaneously.

Just be thankful that when the blowouts happen in the regular season, elsewhere on your dial, Big Game James stands on the ledge, and the natives are furious, because Penn State is about to lose to 21.5-point underdog Northwestern. Quick, where’s the remote?

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

Boxing fans were gifted an early Christmas present Dec. 19 when Jake ‘The Problem Child’ Paul faced off against former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Paul was knocked out in the sixth round.

While Paul did last much longer in the ring than many expected, the result was still the same: a devastating loss on Paul’s resume. However, that wasn’t the end of it. After the fight, Paul revealed he had suffered severe damage, including a fractured jaw, broken in two places.

The YouTube star turned boxer did manage to keep his sense of humor even after the injuries, joking on social media, ‘Give me Canelo in 10 days’ – a reference to Mexican boxing star Canelo Álvarez.

Despite his casual tone, Paul’s injuries were serious enough to require surgery around several parts of his face. After coming out of surgery, Paul revealed that he not only needed metal plates installed, but also needed a few teeth removed. He even noted that he’ll have to eat liquid foods for the next seven days.

What did Jake Paul reveal about his surgery?

In addition, Paul added that he is experiencing ‘lots of pain and stiffness’ and will avoid eating solid foods for the next seven days.

Who won the fight between Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua?

Anthony Joshua won the fight via knockout in the sixth round.

The loss was just the second of Paul’s career. He now boasts a 12-2 career record with seven of those wins coming via knockout.

When is Jake Paul’s next fight?

Paul does not have another fight scheduled as of yet, although Paul is not taking a break after losing to Joshua and has even stated he plans on returning to the ring in 2026.

Many suspect that Paul could target a bout with former undisputed middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. In fact, when Paul revealed his broken jaw on social media, he jokingly called out Alvarez, requesting the two fight just 10 days after Paul’s clash with Joshua.