South Carolina will unveil a statue in honor of women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley on Wednesday.

Per the Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network, plans for a statue for the legendary coach were initially revealed in 2023. On Monday, the ‘when’ and ‘where’ for the statue were revealed.

The statue will be unveiled at 4 p.m. ET at the intersection of Senate Street and Lincoln Street, next to the Pastides Alumni Center, in Columbia, South Carolina. The statue will be located half a mile from the A’ja Wilson statue, which sits in front of Colonial Life Arena, the home of the Gamecocks women’s basketball.

‘This tribute celebrates not only her championship legacy as a coach and player, but also her unwavering commitment to leadership, community empowerment and uplifting future generations,’ a news release read. ‘Dawn Staley’s influence continues to inspire both on and off the court, and this statue stands as a lasting symbol of excellence, resilience and pride for Columbia and the entire state of South Carolina.’

Staley and South Carolina fell short of securing the fourth national championship in 17 seasons when they fell to Paige Bueckers and UConn in the national championship game. However, Staley still has seven Final Four appearances, seven 30-win seasons and nine SEC tournament championships. Staley was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

She will enter the 2025-26 season with a revamped roster, led by Florida State transfer Ta’Niya Latson, seeking a fourth national championship. Another title would tie her with LSU’s Kim Mulkey for the third-most in women’s college basketball history.

With the NFL draft complete, the league once again is wasting no time in getting fans ready to look ahead to next season.

The 2025 schedule release has been set for May 14. And though the league is largely dealing with a blank slate for now, details on some key matchups are sure to trickle out in the coming days. One slot that almost assuredly will be afforded a big reveal: the season opener.

Though it’s known that the Philadelphia Eagles will kick things off on Sept. 4 at Lincoln Financial Field, the defending champions’ opponent has not yet been unveiled. The Eagles host just eight home games, and the league has typically resisted putting divisional games in this window save for 2019, when it celebrated its 100th season by training the spotlight on the historic rivalry between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. And while there are some intriguing options, the eventual Super Bowl 59 rematch won’t be a consideration given that it’s set to take place at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium.

With the schedule release just two weeks away, USA TODAY Sports ranked all of the possibilities for the season opener from worst to best.

8. Las Vegas Raiders

It’s wild to think about how much has transpired for these two franchises since they last faced off in October 2021, when Derek Carr went 31-of-34 to nearly set the NFL’s single-game completion record en route a 33-22 win in interim coach Rich Bisaccia’s second game after Jon Gruden’s resignation. The Silver and Black have plenty of new pieces in place, including coach Pete Carroll, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and quarterback Geno Smith. But other than first-round running back Ashton Jeanty, they’re all recycled entities. The Eagles are unlikely to occupy many 1 p.m. slots on Sundays this season, but this looks like one of the few matchups bound to be shunted to the side.

7. New York Giants

With the Saquon Barkley subplot officially out of gas after the All-Pro running back trounced his former team in last season’s return, this rivalry retakes its place as one of the NFL’s most lopsided affairs. Big Blue’s lone win in the last eight meetings came in January 2024, when the brutally battered Eagles continued their nosedive with a 27-10 loss to the Giants. Putting Russell Wilson against Philadelphia’s pass rush should result in an FCC warning rather than a prime-time slot. Between the massive competitive imbalance and the divisional dynamic, this is likely a complete non-starter.

6. Dallas Cowboys

This showdown was once destined to be a staple of the ‘Sunday Night Football’ schedule. But in 2024, Philadelphia rolled to two routs of Dallas with an aggregate score of 75-13. To be fair, Dak Prescott’s absence from both contests was a driving force in the Cowboys’ inability to find any sort of spark or mount a push once the deficit began to build. But with Brian Schottenheimer taking over as both coach and playcaller and the offense seemingly only growing more stale, this might be the least exciting the organization has been in some time. The Cowboys will assuredly find their way into plenty of the schedule’s spotlight games once again, but they don’t belong in this one.

5. Denver Broncos

By no means is this a bad matchup. After breaking the NFL’s second-longest active playoff drought at eight seasons, the Broncos are deserving of a brighter spotlight than the one they received last season. And Bo Nix could continue to outpace external expectations with another significant leap in his play. Still, as Denver showed in last season’s wild-card flameout against the Buffalo Bills, it’s not ready to run with the league’s top contenders just yet. Sean Payton’s crew very well may get there – but it won’t be in Week 1.

4. Chicago Bears

No team did more to transform itself this offseason. Between the arrival of first-time head coach Ben Johnson and the offensive line’s rapid transformation, there’s a legitimate reason to believe that the organization can make a sharp turn from the blunders that plagued Caleb Williams’ debut season. Watching how all of these pieces coalesce will no doubt be fascinating. But it’s a steep ask to except a group that went 5-12 in 2024 and lost 11 of its final 12 games to keep pace with the defending champs. This showdown is worthy of a standalone window – just not the first of the season.

3. Washington Commanders

Only a matchup this juicy could warrant breaking protocol for installing divisional games as the season opener. The Eagles’ 55-23 NFC title game rout might have soured some on the Commanders’ chances to measure up. But Jayden Daniels’ five-touchdown performance in a thrilling comeback win against Philadelphia in Week 16 last season reinforced that almost anything is possible for Washington when its star passer is in top form. With bold moves to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr., Dan Quinn and Co. seem intent on denying the Eagles the title of the NFC East’s first back-to-back champs since 2003-04. Expect Washington to be the new darling of NFL schedule-makers eager to show off a fresh young talent at quarterback, but it still seems like a stretch that this would get the nod.

2. Los Angeles Rams

Now we’re cooking. A rematch of last season’s NFC divisional playoff tilt feels like the first legitimate contender for the opener slot on this list. The early September setting would surely yield more comfortable conditions than the snowy scene in January, though it remains to be seen whether Los Angeles is any better prepared to corral Barkley than it was when he combined for 460 rushing yards in two meetups last season. Eagles fans also will surely love to rain more boos down on Jared Verse, even though the Rams’ breakout pass rusher followed up his harsh words for the Philly faithful by netting two sacks. While Los Angeles is largely running things back with the Matthew Stafford drama resolved, the receiving tandem of Puka Nacua and free-agent signing Davante Adams would be a telling litmus test for a young secondary now without Darius Slay Jr. providing a veteran presence. No one should have any objections if this is the choice.

1. Detroit Lions

A clash between the NFC’s top two seeds in the conference title game never materialized after the injury-ravaged Lions bowed out in the divisional round against the Commanders. Pitting these teams against one another to kick off 2025 would be a fitting way to show fans what they missed as well as what they have to look forward to. With Detroit breaking in two new coordinators, there will be plenty of intrigue in whether the abundantly creative offense and resilient defense can meet the lofty standards the units set the last two years.

And as Aidan Hutchinson embarks on what could be the league’s most compelling comeback push, facing Philadelphia’s formidable front would make for quite the welcome back to action from a fractured tibia and fibula. Above all, Dan Campbell’s crew can be counted on to rise to the moment in big matchups, just as it did in toppling the defending-champion Chiefs when the group was a somewhat surprising selection to kick off the 2023 campaign. Three years after the Eagles and Lions last met in a Week 1 tilt, the two could help shape the NFC race out of the gates by facing one another.

INDIANAPOLIS – “It was insanity,” Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said after it was over, after the madness that was the Pacers’ series-clinching, 119-118 overtime victory against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5, and I couldn’t tell you which part of the night he was referencing.

The start, when the Bucks scored the first 13 points and Carlisle was begging his players to “(bleeping) hit somebody”?

The Indiana Pacers eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks from the NBA playoffs in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, and tensions boiled over afterward.

At the heart of it all was Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose confrontation with Bennedict Mathurin led to a shoving match between the teams. The two-time MVP and 2021 Finals MVP also appeared to get in a verbal altercation with Tyrese Haliburton’s father.

Antetokounmpo was asked about the incidents after the game and spoke at length about people being ‘disrespectful.’

‘I believe (in) being humble in victory. That’s the way I am,’ Antetokounmpo said. ‘Now, there can be a lot of people out there that are like, no when you win the game you got to talk (stuff) and it’s a green light for you to be disrespectful toward somebody else.

‘I disagree. I’ve won the championship. They haven’t.’

Antetokounmpo then addressed the incident with Haliburton’s father.

‘Coming in the floor and showing me his son’s towel, with (Haliburton’s) face (saying) ‘this is what we do. This is what we F’ing do. This the F we do,’ …. I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,’ Antetokounmpo said.

‘I’m happy for him, I’m happy for his son, and I’m happy that he’s happy for his son,’ Antetokounmpo later added. ‘That’s how you’re supposed to feel. But coming to me and disrespecting me and cursing at me I think is totally unacceptable, totally unacceptable.’

Antetokounmpo ended his remarks saying he thought he and Haliburton’s father were in a ‘good place’ after speaking.

The Bucks won the NBA title in 2021, their first in 50 years, but have been going the wrong way since. They lost in the second round in 2022 and have bowed out in the first round three consecutive years. The future is murky with Damian Lillard likely to miss most if not all of the 2025-26 season after tearing his Achilles in this series.

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Bob Baffert is back at the Kentucky Derby in 2025 and looking to break the record he broke and then had revoked.

The decorated horse trainer had his three-year suspension lifted by Churchill Downs Incorporated last July and Saturday will be his first ‘Run for the Roses’ since 2021, when Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was disqualified after failing a post-race drug test. The Baffert-trained horse later died of a heart attack after a workout in December 2021.

Baffert initially denied any wrongdoing and appealed the suspension through a lawsuit, and Churchill Downs officials extended the suspension another year. But Baffert eventually accepted responsibility for the traces of betamethasone found in Medina Spirit after the 2021 Kentucky Derby in a statement released last year in conjunction with the end of his suspension. That paved the way for Baffert to have two horses in the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby this year.

Though neither are considered favorites to win, Baffert’s return to the race he has still won six times before will overshadow the horses leading into post time Churchill Downs. His reputation and legacy are more complicated now, but he simply sounds relieved to be there again.

‘Everyone’s been really nice to me,’ Baffert said, according to Reuters. ‘They say they are happy to see me, and I’m happy to be back.’

Here’s more on Baffert, why he was suspended from the Kentucky Derby and what to expect from his return to Churchill Downs for the 2025 Run for the Roses:

Bob Baffert’s Kentucky Derby suspension, explained

Nobody has trained more Triple Crown race winners than Baffert and he has trained two Triple Crown winners ‒ American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Baffert is also tied with Ben Jones for the most wins by a trainer at the Kentucky Derby, and briefly had that record to himself when Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first in 2021.

But the horse tested positive for the corticosteroid betamethasone in a post-race drug test, becoming the highest-profile horse doping case within the sport. It was also not the first failed drug test involving a Baffert-trained horse for various reasons. Medina Spirit’s violation was later confirmed after a second positive test.

Medina Spirit was disqualified and Churchill Downs, Incorporated handed Baffert a two-year suspension. It was just the second winner in the Kentucky Derby’s history to be tarnished by a drug-related disqualification.

Baffert vehemently denied he gave Medina Spirit the steroid and alleged contamination or tampering. He filed an appeal with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and a lawsuit against Churchill Downs in February 2022 hoping to overturn the suspension. But Churchill Downs officials ultimately extended Baffert’s suspension because of his continued efforts to discredit the positive test.

“Mr. Baffert continues to peddle a false narrative concerning the failed drug test of Medina Spirit at the 147th Kentucky Derby from which his horse was disqualified by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in accordance with Kentucky law and regulations,’ Churchill Downs said in a statement in July 2023 announcing the extension of Baffert’s suspension.

‘Prior to that race, Mr. Baffert signed an agreement with Churchill Downs which stated that he was responsible for understanding the rules of racing in Kentucky and that he would abide by them. The results of the tests clearly show that he did not comply, and his ongoing conduct reveals his continued disregard for the rules and regulations that ensure horse and jockey safety, as well as the integrity and fairness of the races conducted at our facilities.’

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission denied Baffert’s appeal in August 2023. Baffert wrote on social media in January 2024 he instructed attorneys to drop his appeal related to the disqualification of Medina Spirit.

Churchill Downs then announced in July 2024 that Baffert’s suspension had been lifted because ‘we are satisfied that Mr. Baffert has taken responsibility for his actions, completed a substantial penalty and is committed to running in full compliance with the rules and regulations going forward,’ Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said via a news release.

Baffert said in his own statement he was ‘responsible for any substance found in the horses that I train, and I have paid a very steep price with a three-year suspension and the disqualification of Medina Spirit’s performance.’

Bob Baffert suspension: What is betamethasone?

Betamethasone is a steroid used therapeutically to reduce inflammation in a horse’s joints. It is not considered a performance-enhancing drug. But the state of Kentucky limits the use of betamethasone to 14 days or more before a race, so the drug clears a horse’s system.

Bob Baffert Kentucky Derby horses 2025

There are two horses trained by Bob Baffert entered in the 2025 Kentucky Derby.

Citizen Bull (16-1 odds) is the other Baffert-trained horse in the 2025 Kentucky Derby field. He won the Eclipse Award as the top 2-year-old in 2024, but drew a poor post position (No. 1) in Saturday’s race.

How old is Bob Baffert?

Bob Baffert turned 72 years old in January 2025.

Kentucky Derby 2025: TV, streaming and where to watch

The 151st Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs is set for Saturday, May 3, 2025. The Kentucky Derby will be broadcast on NBC and USA Network. Streaming options will be available on Fubo (which offers a free trial) and Peacock.

Date: Saturday, May 3, 2025
Time: 6:45 p.m. ET
TV: NBC, USA Network
Stream: Fubo, Peacock
Location: Churchill Downs (Louisville, Kentucky)

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Watch the Kentucky Derby with Fubo

Former NBA players Mike Bibby and Shaquille O’Neal are starting to make waves in the transfer portal.

No, they are not coming back to play in college. Bibby is the new head coach at Sacramento State, and O’Neal, the Hall of Famer and a current NBA analyst for TNT, is the team’s new general manager, who will not take a salary and serve the program in a volunteer capacity.

After O’Neal’s son, Shaqir, transferred from Florida A&M to Sacramento State, the Hornets signed former four-star recruit Mikey Williams, according to ESPN.com.

Williams played last season at Central Florida and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Williams, a 6-3 combo guard from San Diego, California, played in 18 games last season and averaged 5.1 points per game.

The Hornets, who have never made the NCAA Tournament, hired Bibby on March 24 after the team went 7-25 (3-15 Big Sky) last season under interim coach Michael Czepil.

Sacramento State is making moves in the NIL world as well, reportedly raising $35 million in funds to compete with the upper-echelon schools in college athletics.

Ryan Garcia says Jake Paul eventually will have no choice but to fight him.

“I mean, he’s going to run out of opponents,’’ Garcia told USA TODAY Sports. “There’s only so many 40-year-old dudes out there in the world that have a name.

“So he’s going to have to come through me sooner or later. I know he doesn’t want to though because I’m going to be firing on him. He knows I got those punches on me. So I think that once he’s done fighting these old men and he is ready for a real fight, he could come see me.’’

Garcia, 26, is scheduled to fight Rolando ‘Rolly” Romero on Friday after a one-year suspension for a failed drug test.

On June 28, Paul, 28, is scheduled to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 39.

So, not quite 40.

“Close enough,’’ Garcia said.

Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) is coming off a victory by unanimous decision over 58-year-old Mike Tyson, who is the only one of Paul’s opponents who was 40 or older at the time of the fight. But of Paul’s 10 other opponents, eight were 35 or older.

Paul had two fights against Tyron Woodley, who was 39 at the time of each bout.

Garcia, who is 5-foot-9 and fights at 147 pounds, would face a significant size disadvantage against the 6-1 Paul, who weighed 228 pounds for his fight with Tyson. But Paul earlier this year teased a possible bout against Tank Davis, who fights at 147 pounds.

“If he could fight Tank Davis, he could fight me,’’ Garcia said. “Davis is smaller than me. I’m the one that taught (Paul) boxing, so he has to see me.”

Asked if Paul should be considered a legitimate boxer, Garcia replied, “He’s a wild card. I mean, I don’t know if he’s a boxer. At the end of the day, he’s never fought in a ranked match at his weight class. I don’t even know what his weight class is. I don’t know if it’s heavyweight. I don’t know. It’s cruiserweight. I don’t know what his weight class is, so can’t really say that he’s legitimate.

“But he’s had a lot of big fights because of who he is.’’

Commenting on Paul’s upcoming fight against Chavez, Garcia pointed out that Chavez lost a split decision to former UFC champion Anderson Silva in 2021.

At the time, Chavez was 1-1 as a pro boxer. Since then Chavez has had just two fights and won both by unanimous decision.

Garcia said Chavez “hasn’t been good for a long, long, long time. He’s already lost to Anderson Silva. And Jake lost to Anderson Silva. So it’s like, I can’t really consider this something. But it’s going to be a big fight regardless. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is a good name and Jake Paul got all the eyes on him. So they’re going to make a lot of money. I think that’s key to (Paul’s) career.”

Watch Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero

NEW YORK — At this point, for the New York Knicks, the pattern is concerning.

Seeking to close out their first NBA postseason series at home since the 1999 Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks fell short in a 106-103 loss replete with many of the same ailments that have plagued the team throughout the series, which now returns to Detroit for Game 6.

Championship-caliber squads recognize and address their weaknesses — or they work to hide them altogether. New York’s issues have been self-inflicted: low-energy third quarters, stretches of play distracted by complaints to the officials, carelessness with the ball. All traits indicate that, in their current state, the Knicks are not quite championship ready.

“We haven’t put ourselves in a position to get a commanding win,” center Karl-Anthony Towns told reporters after the game. “We’ve been very gritty this whole series and physical, and it has allowed us to find a way a lot of times to win. You only can do it so many times before it comes back to bite you.”

This is precisely the problem. The Knicks have proven time and time again that they can close; their winning percentage in clutch games during the regular season (.613) ranked fifth in the NBA. Across an 82-game slate, that is manageable. Against the compression and elevated stakes of the NBA playoffs, however, that becomes unsustainable.

And the challenges, should the Knicks eventually close out Detroit, will only get tougher.

The No. 2 Boston Celtics, a team that swept New York in its four games this regular season, awaits in the conference semis.

Against the Pistons this series, the Knicks have lost the third quarter in each game. Their combined points differential for the period, across the five games, is -33 — or an average of 6.6 points conceded per third quarter.

And in a series in which each of the past three games have been decided by six points combined, the sluggish starts coming out of halftime have a direct and undeniable impact on New York’s two losses.

Knicks’ fourth-quarter intensity lacking

What’s telling — and what’s indicative that this is a self-enforced energy and effort issue — is that the Knicks have typically responded with fierce intensity in fourth quarters when they’ve had to make up deficits.

In the post-game locker room, players were at a loss when asked for possible answers.

Forward Mikal Bridges suggested coming out of halftime in layup lines to “get everybody out there moving.”

Towns said the Knicks needed to control the things they could control, “effort … execution, discipline.”

Forward Josh Hart said the Knicks needed to stop appealing to the officials and yielding transition opportunities to the athletic Pistons.

Backup point guard Miles McBride proposed more communication from the bench, “yelling at those guys, cheering them on and just staying positive,” before pausing to expand his answer.

“At this point, anything,” he said. “We just got to figure it out, together.”

Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns start slow, but others step up

There was one positive that the Knicks should take away from Game 5. All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson and Towns have been the focal points of the team’s offense. In some games, New York has depended on the duo almost exclusively.

On Tuesday night, the pair struggled early, combining to make just one of their first 10 shots, scoring just five points through the four-minute mark in the second quarter. But Hart pushed the pace in transition and converted easy layups. Bridges worked the mid-range. Forward OG Anunoby scored inside and out.

New York had six players reach double figures, suggesting that role players can carry the burden when Brunson and Towns are otherwise reined in.

Despite the obvious frustration in the Knicks locker room, Brunson expressed confidence that the Knicks would solve the issue. Slow starts in the first quarter had also been a problem earlier in the series, and Brunson spoke about how the Knicks looked to get into their offensive actions more quickly.

But, with the Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers executing at elite levels, New York will not compete for a conference title without cleaning up its third quarters.

“It’s a really important first couple of minutes,” Brunson said. “It’s important for us to come out as a team.

“Regardless of how we feel or whatever, tomorrow we got to turn the page. I’ve said this before, if it’s a win or loss, it’s short-term memory because you’ve got to come back the next day to figure out what you’ve got to do to win the next one.”