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How to watch Messi, Inter Miami vs. Vancouver in Champions Cup semis

Lionel Messi is three matches away from hoisting another trophy.

Inter Miami and the Vancouver Whitecaps – two of the best Major League Soccer teams during the early part of the 2025 season – will compete in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals on April 24 and April 30.  

Vancouver leads the MLS Supporter’s Shield standings with 20 points (six wins, one loss, two draws), while Inter Miami – which won the Shield last season – is third in the MLS Eastern Conference and fourth overall with 18 points (five wins, three draws).

Vancouver will host the first leg of the semifinal at BC Place on April 24, before Inter Miami hosts the second leg at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

LIGA MX clubs Tigres UANL and Cruz Azul will meet in the other semifinal on April 23 and May 1.

The winners of each semifinal will meet in the Concacaf Champions Cup final on June 1.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals:

How to watch Champions Cup semifinal matches on TV, live stream?

You can watch the matches on FS1 in English, and TUDN, UniMás or ViX in Spanish.

When are the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal first leg matches?

April 23: Tigres UNAL vs. Cruz Azul, 10 p.m. ET

April 24: Vancouver vs. Inter Miami, 10:30 p.m. ET

When are the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal second leg matches?

April 30: Inter Miami vs. Vancouver, 8 p.m. ET

May 1: Cruz Azul vs. UANL, 10 p.m. ET

Messi, Inter Miami vs. Vancouver preview

Messi has been scoreless in his last two matches: A 1-0 win vs. Columbus Crew on April 19, and a scoreless draw against Chicago on April 13. But he delivered the dramatics, scoring two goals with an assist on April 9 to help Inter Miami advance past Los Angeles FC 3-2 on aggregate the quarterfinals. Inter Miami also beat Sporting Kansas City and Jamaica Cavalier during this Champions Cup run.

Former USMNT striker Brian White leads Vancouver with 10 goals in 14 matches overall, while new coach Jesper Sørensen’s impact has already been felt. Vancouver has ousted two LIGA MX clubs during its Champions Cup run, with Tristan Blackmon’s tie-breaking goal propelling the Whitecaps against Pumas UNAM in the quarterfinals. They also beat Monterrey in the round of 16, and Costa Rica’s Deportivo Saprissa in the first round.

Tigres UANL vs. Cruz Azul preview

Ángel Sepúlveda is the Champions Cup Golden Boot leader with six goals, while Cruz Azul boasts three former MLS standouts in Mateusz Bogusz (LAFC), Omar Campos (LAFC) and striker Giorgos Giakoumakis (Atlanta United). Cruz Azul ousted Club América in the quarterfinals, the Seattle Sounders in the Round-of-16, and Haiti’s Real Hope in the first round.

Tigres has eliminated Nicaragua’s Real Estelí in the first round, then ousted MLS standout FC Cincinnati in the round-of-16, and the defending champion L.A. Galaxy in the quarterfinals.

When is the Concacaf Champions Cup final?

The Concacaf Champions Cup final will be played on June 1. It will be a single match in the final, instead of the two-match format in earlier rounds.

Concacaf Champions Cup winner gets $5 million prize

The winner of the Concacaf Champions Cup will earn $5 million in financial distributions and prize money. They will also receive a berth to the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Palestinian leader demands Hamas release remaining hostages

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas demanded Hamas disarm, relinquish power and release the hostages.

The Palestinian leader said that by letting the hostages go, Hamas would ‘shut down’ Israel’s ‘excuses’ to continue the war that began after the terror group’s massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.

‘The first priority is to stop the war of extermination in Gaza. It must be stopped – hundreds are being killed every day,’ Abbas said, according to the Times of Israel. ‘Why don’t you hand over the hostages?’ 

The Palestinian Authority president also apparently called Hamas ‘sons of dogs’ during his address.

Abbas was speaking at a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council, which is expected to select a deputy who could be a successor to the 89-year-old PA president.

This marks the first time since the start of the war in Gaza that Abbas has called on Hamas to transfer its authority to the PA, according to Reuters, but he has done so in the past. 

It is unclear whether Hamas will comply with Abbas’ demand, despite his assertion that it could help end the war and save Palestinian lives in Gaza. Hamas and the PA have been at odds for nearly two decades, since the terror organization seized power in 2006 and pushed the PA out of Gaza.

The international community has pushed for the PA to play a role in a ‘day after’ plan for Gaza, but Israel has not been receptive to this idea.

The Israeli government and the Trump administration have long criticized the PA’s ‘pay for slay’ policy, which Abbas reformed in February of this year. The policy saw payments go to family members of Palestinians who were imprisoned, killed or injured in connection with attacks against Israelis.

‘This is a new fraudulent trick by the Palestinian Authority, which intends to continue making payments to terrorists and their families through other payment channels,’ the Israeli Foreign Ministry said at the time, according to Axios.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Musk says time commitment to DOGE will ‘drop significantly’ as focus returns to Tesla

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Tuesday that he will begin dedicating more time to Tesla and less to his work with the Trump administration starting next month, providing a relief to Tesla investors fed up with his political work and signaling a possible shift in power at the White House.

Musk’s comments came on Tesla’s call with investors following the company reporting a sizable drop in first-quarter profit and revenue. The company warned that the political environment along with the Trump administration’s tariff plans were challenges for its business.

‘Starting probably next month, May, my time obligation to DOGE will drop significantly,’ Musk said, referring to his Department of Government Efficiency.

‘I think I’ll continue to spend a day or two per week on government matters for as long as the president would like me to do so, and for as long as it is useful, but starting next month, I’ll be allocating far more of my time to Tesla, now that the major work of establishing the Department of Government Efficiency is done,’ he said.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has faced a swell of opposition for his work with President Donald Trump, which has made Tesla a growing target for protests and even vandalism. Musk has acknowledged that his move into politics has hit the company’s stock price.

Tesla — which is increasingly trying to diversify into high-tech products like robots — said profits fell 71% to $409 million, compared with $1.39 billion during the same quarter one year ago.

Shares of Tesla were up about 4% in after-hours trading, though the company has lost 50% of its value from its mid-December peak.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk’s announcement.

Musk reiterated on the call that he intends to pivot Tesla from its established electric car business into two new products: robotaxis and humanoid robots, two ideas that investors have been skeptical about.

Musk said that Tesla was still on track to begin selling robotaxi rides in Austin, Texas, in June, putting Tesla into head-to-head competition with Google spinoff Waymo, which launched robotaxi rides there in March via the Uber app. 

Tesla, in its written earnings report, said that ‘uncertainty in the automotive and energy markets’ associated with ‘rapidly evolving trade policy,’ along with ‘changing political sentiment,’ could have ‘a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term.’

It also said updates to its best-selling Model Y that affected its availability on the market contributed to the shortfall.

‘We remain committed to expanding our business model to include delivering autonomous robots across multiple form factors and use cases — powered by our real-world AI expertise — to our customers and for use in our factories, as we navigate these headwinds,’ it said.

It said it was not prepared to provide guidance for performance the rest of the year — a decision other companies are also making — because of broad trends that include the impact from tariffs. Tesla has boasted that is ‘the most American-made’ car, but it still faces tariff exposure due to imported parts.

It said it would ‘revisit’ guidance for 2025 in three months.

‘It is difficult to measure the impacts of shifting global trade policy on the automotive and energy supply chains, our cost structure and demand for durable goods and related services,’ Tesla said in the outlook section of its report.

Musk, on the conference call, said he pressed Trump to reverse course on his tariff policy but was not successful.

‘I’m one of many advisers to the president. I’m not the president, but I’ve made my opinion clear to the president,’ he said. ‘I’m an advocate of predictable tariff structures.’

Musk has faced pressure from many sides, including from investors who would like him to pay more attention to the company and from his job in the Trump administration, where he has volunteered to slash government programs.

Musk has kept his CEO roles at Tesla and SpaceX even while he has spent much of his time with President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency, the group charged with reducing federal spending. 

A CNBC All-America Economic survey released earlier Tuesday underscored the depth of the negative sentiment toward Tesla and Musk: 47% of the public had negative views of the company versus 27% positive, and half had negative views of Musk, compared with 36% who saw him positively.

‘Tesla has become a political symbol around the world,’ Daniel Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, said in an interview on CNBC after the earnings report was released.

Ives said the political controversy has hurt Tesla not only by reducing demand for vehicles but also because Tesla has become a target for retaliatory tariffs by other nations, such as China.

The earnings report did not explicitly mention the repeated vandalism against Tesla vehicles or the peaceful protests at its showrooms, instead citing the ‘changing political sentiment’ as a headwind for demand.

A key question for Tesla, Musk and the Trump administration has been how long Musk will remain in his White House position. His job as a “special government employee” is time-limited by law to 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days, which could put his legally mandated endpoint as early as late May. Musk told Fox News this month that he believed “most” of his work would be done by the deadline. 

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
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It’s Elon Musk’s turn for a ‘fork in the road’ as Tesla faces Wall Street scrutiny

It might be time for Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s own fork in the road.  

The electric carmaker is set to report quarterly earnings Tuesday afternoon that may say a lot about which direction Musk and the company he has ridden to immense wealth will go next.  

The company will update investors on revenue, profit and other key figures after months of turmoil as Musk continues to dedicate a large portion of his time to the Trump administration’s attempt to radically remake the federal government, far away from his corporate responsibilities at Tesla, SpaceX and his other companies. 

With Tesla’s stock and brand reputation getting pummeled — and with President Donald Trump’s tariff policy threatening to upend the automotive market, Tesla included — many Tesla investors have called on Musk to scale back or end his government work entirely and return his focus to business.  

The Trump administration has sent “fork in the road” emails encouraging federal workers to consider quitting their jobs.  

Even some of Tesla’s loudest proponents, such as Daniel Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, have lost patience with how Musk is dividing up his attention.  

“This is a moment of truth for Musk,” Ives told NBC News. “If he picks staying with DOGE and the Trump White House, the future of Tesla could be negatively altered permanently. The brand damage he’s created by being part of the Trump administration has already been a devastating blow to Tesla’s reputation, stock and confidence. … He’s made Tesla into a political symbol, which is one of the worst things that can happen to a consumer brand.” 

DOGE refers to the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk’s team of staffers spread throughout the executive branch helping to order spending cuts. Musk is a “special government employee” who’s expected to leave the Trump administration at some point, but with no set date to depart. 

Musk and Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon on whether he is stretched too thin and, if so, what they might do about it.  

Tesla is due to report earnings after the market closes. It also is scheduled to host a conference call with Wall Street analysts, and Musk sometimes joins the calls.  

Several possible paths lie ahead for Musk and Tesla, and it’s not clear which is most likely. Musk could scale back or end his White House job and spend more time at Tesla. Or he could quit as Tesla CEO and keep his focus on politics, putting the company’s future and brand in someone else’s hands.  

The status quo may also endure, with Musk continuing to bet that he has enough attention for everyone.  

Tesla’s stock price has provided a snapshot of the tumultuous run since Musk threw himself into the Trump administration. While its stock price is almost even with where it traded in the days ahead of the election, its shares are down more than 50% from their December peak. Still, Tesla’s total market cap remains just above $700 billion, well above those of its auto industry competitors but below those of major tech companies. 

On Monday, Tesla shares plunged again ahead of the earnings report, falling 5.8%.  

Tuesday will mark Tesla’s first earnings report since the full extent of Musk’s government role and ambitions became clear. Tesla last reported on its financials on Jan. 29, early in Trump’s second term.  

In the past year, Musk has somewhat aggressively started to pivot Tesla into new possible lines of business, including a proposed Cybercab autonomous vehicle and a potential robotic humanoid called Optimus, although the company hasn’t shipped either of those products and some on Wall Street are skeptical that they’ll be successful.  

In a note to clients, Wells Fargo stock researchers said they expected to hear more from Tesla on Tuesday about Cybercab and Optimus, but they called those subjects “razzle dazzle” that “distract from fundamentals.” Wells Fargo has a price target of $130 a share for Tesla, far below the $227.50 close on Monday and near the low end of analyst price targets, according to The Wall Street Journal.  

Tesla has already issued warning signs about its health. It reported April 2 that vehicle deliveries in the first quarter declined 13% from a year earlier, battered by rising competition and fallout from Musk’s involvement in politics.  

Hundreds of protests at Tesla showrooms have also weighed on the company. Under the banner of a “Tesla Takedown,” opponents of Musk and Trump’s government policies have targeted the company to try to gain leverage over Musk, and demonstrators have continued to swarm Tesla locations, especially on weekends.  

Allen Adamson, a co-founder of Metaforce, a marketing and brand consultancy, said that if any other corporation faced a similar image problem, the board of directors might have stepped in to switch out the CEO. But Tesla’s board is famously close to and supportive of Musk.  

Now, Adamson said, Tesla faces risk whichever path it and Musk follow.  

“Musk is the magic that has fueled the stock price,” he said. “If he steps aside [as Tesla CEO], he takes the rocket fuel out of the Tesla stock price, but if he stays, he’s equally damaging the company’s prospects.”  

One unknown factor is how much of the damage to Tesla’s brand is permanent. In other words: If Musk were to leave the White House and return to business, would there be any improvement in the brand’s public esteem?  

Ives said it’s hard to measure the damage Tesla has sustained.  

“It’s taken on a life of its own that he never expected — this has become something bigger and much more of a raging fire than he ever expected around Tesla,” he said. “He sells a consumer brand globally, and the demand destruction … you can’t wear rose-colored glasses about it, and to not see it would be smoke and mirrors.” 

If Musk does turn his attention back to politics, he’d still have an enormous challenge to rebuild the company’s reputation, Adamson said. He said that Musk would need to stop other polarizing behavior, such as posting on X about controversial topics, and that he would have to improve the company’s innovation. Tesla has launched only one new consumer vehicle since 2020, and that product, the Cybertruck, isn’t widely popular. 

“I don’t think he can pull a rabbit out of a hat fast enough to prevent a continued spiral down,” Adamson said.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
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Former Biden official ‘pleased’ Trump admin tackling antisemitism

Deborah Lipstadt, who served as special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism during much of the Biden administration, has indicated that she is ‘pleased’ the Trump administration is seeking to tackle antisemitism.

‘I’m pleased that they’re addressing it, because that’s what I did for the past three years, which was to really push the Biden Administration to seriously address it. So I am very, very pleased that it’s on their agenda,’ she told the New Yorker. The outlet noted that the conversation with Lipstadt was edited for length and clarity.

Emory University announced in December that Lipstadt would return to the higher educational institution later in the academic year.

Fox News Digital attempted to reach to Lipstadt on Wednesday via the email and number listed on Emory University’s website, but did not receive a response to the comment request by the time of publication.

Lipstadt told the New Yorker that the Trump administration has been ‘calling universities to account.’ 

‘I also think there are many Jews, and some non-Jews, too, but many Jews who are disappointed by how universities have behaved since October 7th, and they see a strong – to use Passover terminology – a strong hand being used. Now, whether that hand is being used properly or not raises certain questions about what’s happening,’ she reportedly said, noting, ‘a lot of people were relieved to see this forceful approach. I think, in many respects, it’s going too far.’

She indicated that many colleges have fallen short in tackling antisemitism.

‘Look, the universities failed to address this seriously. And by failing to address this seriously, they failed the Jewish students on campus. They dismissed their grievances. They created an inhospitable atmosphere. We’re now seeing the fruits of that failure. What disturbs me so much is that the debate will now become over whether antisemitism is being used as a weapon to fight against people we don’t like. Antisemitism should not be a cudgel,’ she noted, according to the outlet.

‘The fight should be against antisemitism and not against the institutions. The institutions opened the door. Most universities failed miserably to address this, and we’re seeing the consequences of that now,’ she told the New Yorker.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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’60 Minutes’ producer leaves show, citing a loss of journalistic independence

The top producer at CBS’ “60 Minutes” announced Tuesday he would step down from the newsmagazine because he had lost his journalistic independence.  

“Over the past months, it has … become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it,” Bill Owens said in a memo to staff members, which was obtained by NBC News. “To make independent decisions based on what was right for ‘60 Minutes,’ right for the audience.” 

“So, having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward,” Owens added.  

Owens’ departure comes during a tumultuous chapter for “60 Minutes.” President Donald Trump has sued CBS for $10 billion over an October interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that the president claims was deceptively edited. The network has denied that claim. 

Trump amended the lawsuit earlier this year, upping his damages claim to $20 billion.

“Former President Donald Trump’s repeated claims against ‘60 Minutes’ are false,” CBS News said in a statement in October. “The interview was not doctored” and the show “did not hide any part of Vice President Kamala Harris’s answer to the question at issue.”  

In a separate statement, “60 Minutes” said it gave an excerpt from its interview with Harris to the Sunday morning program “Face the Nation,” which used a longer section of the former Democratic presidential candidate’s answer to a question.

“Same question. Same answer. But a different portion of the response. When we edit any interview, whether a politician, an athlete, or movie star, we strive to be clear, accurate and on point,” the statement said. “The portion of her answer on 60 Minutes was more succinct, which allows time for other subjects in a wide ranging 21-minute-long segment.”  

Bill Owens, Executive Producer of 60 Minutes, CBS News, in Toronto on June 22, 2022.Piaras Ó Mídheach / Sportsfile via Getty Images file

Trump has repeatedly lambasted the venerable newsmagazine over its reporting on him and his administration.  

In a post on Truth Social on April 13, for example, Trump wrote: “Almost every week, 60 Minutes … mentions the name ‘TRUMP’ in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend’s ‘BROADCAST’ tops them all.” He appeared to take issue with segments about the war in Ukraine and his interest in acquiring Greenland.  

Trump added that he believed CBS should lose its broadcast license and “pay a big price.” He said he hoped Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr would “impose the maximum fines and punishment.”   

Owens’ exit, first reported by The New York Times, also comes at a pivotal moment for CBS’ parent company, Paramount. Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, reportedly needs the Trump administration to approve her media conglomerate’s sale to Skydance Media, a production and finance company run by David Ellison, the son of tech mogul Larry Ellison. 

The New York Times reported in late January that Paramount was in settlement talks with Trump. The Times later reported that Owens told staff members he would not apologize for the Harris interview as part of any prospective settlement. NBC News has not independently verified either report. 

In his memo to staff, Owens said “60 Minutes” would “continue to cover the new administration, as we will report on future administrations. We will report from war zones, investigate injustices and educate our audience. In short, ‘60 Minutes’ will do what it has done for 57 years.”  

“Thank you all, remain focused on the moment, our audience deserves it,” Owens said in closing.  

Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News, notified company employees by email that Owens would be leaving and touted his work at the company.

“Tom and I are committed to 60 Minutes and to ensuring that the mission and the work remain our priority,” McMahon said, referring to CBS News president and executive editor Tom Cibrowski. 

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
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Lane Kiffin sounds off on College Football Playoff format

Lane Kiffin says getting over Ole Miss’ 2024 season is like navigating stages of grief.
Jaxson Dart came over to Lane Kiffin’s house to watch SEC prime-time games after Ole Miss lost to Florida last November. What else was there to do at that point but watch?
Ole Miss narrowly missed College Football Playoff. Lane Kiffin says playoff system ‘doesn’t have it right.’ He favors a 16-team bracket with no automatic bids.

Jaxson Dart had one question for coach Lane Kiffin after Mississippi’s gutting loss at Florida last November.

Can I come over?

Sure, Kiffin told his quarterback.

Kiffin and Dart sat on the couch and watched football.

What else could they do?

Hours previously, Mississippi lost in The Swamp, a result that impaired the Rebels’ College Football Playoff hopes. That night, Kiffin and Dart watched more SEC playoff contenders lose. Texas A&M lost in overtime at Auburn, and, stunningly, Alabama got trounced at Oklahoma.

“Him and I are just sitting on the couch, watching the night games, watching other people get upset on the road in the SEC on senior days,” Kiffin told me, “but he just was like, ‘Man, I just feel like I just let down everybody in Oxford, like every person.’”

Kiffin felt similarly. The Ole Miss coach told me a few weeks ago that he’s not fully over last season. He compared the process to navigating the stages of grief – something he experienced after his dad, Monte, died in July.

Ole Miss entered last season oozing hype centered on the possibility of the program’s first College Football Playoff bid. Kiffin had assembled a talented roster, complete with a star quarterback in Dart, and Ole Miss finally had a defense to match its offense.

The Rebels’ playoff aspirations clung by a thread after the Nov. 23 chaos that started with their loss at Florida. Ultimately, the selection committee chose Indiana and SMU instead of a three-loss SEC team like Kiffin’s Rebels or Alabama.

“You may think you’re over it, and you’re over it in certain areas or parts of it,” Kiffin said about last season, “but then there’s a bargaining stage. … I think sometimes I still do that.

 “It was a really good team, it’s just, we played three one-score games and lost them all.”

The Rebels failed to protect fourth-quarter leads in losses Kentucky and LSU. The Wildcats and Tigers each converted key fourth downs during their rallies, and Kentucky scored the winning touchdown after recovering its own fumble.

The margin of being a playoff team versus enduring anguish became that close.

Although Florida delivered the final blow to the Rebels’ résumé, the Kentucky and LSU losses remain bitter pills for Kiffin.

“The first two (losses), I struggle with more, because you’re ahead,” Kiffin said, adding that his team played “flat” against Florida and failed to overcome a first-half injury to star receiver Tre Harris.

Dart is projected to be a first-round selection on Thursday in the 2025 NFL Draft after three seasons starting for Ole Miss. His former backup, Austin Simmons, is in line to become the starter for a Rebels team that figures to be ranked in the preseason Top 25, but must reconfigure after the departure of several prominent players.

Lane Kiffin: Playoff system ‘doesn’t have it right’

Two weeks before losing to Florida, the Rebels smashed Georgia. If the playoff committee had opted for a three-loss team with marquee victories, Ole Miss would have been a prime choice.

Kiffin aired repeated grievances after the committee’s selections of Indiana and SMU, teams with inferior strength of schedule metrics compared to Ole Miss.

The Rebels’ routs of Georgia and South Carolina dwarfed any triumph by Indiana or SMU. However, 11-win Indiana and ACC runner-up SMU avoided unsightly losses akin to Ole Miss’ home loss to Kentucky. Ole Miss was the only Power Four opponent Kentucky beat.

The committee faced a decision of what it valued most: strength of schedule and marquee victories or overall record and avoidance of a bad loss? Kiffin believes the committee showed its hand: Record is “by far the No. 1 part,” he said.

“The system doesn’t have it right,” Kiffin said. “I don’t think anybody, after watching the games, would say those are the best 12 teams in America. In my opinion, that’s what it should be: You should be getting the best teams.”

Penn State crushed SMU, the committee’s last team in, in the first round. Ole Miss routed short-handed Duke in a bowl game to finish 10-3.

Of the SEC’s three CFP qualifiers, only Texas won a playoff game. SEC teams combined for a 2-3 playoff record. The 2024 season won’t be remembered as a banner year for the conference.

I maintain that either Ole Miss or two-loss BYU – the Cougars beat SMU on the road during the regular season – would have been a better playoff choice than the Mustangs, but that the committee chose SMU because it did not want to penalize a team for losing its conference championship game.

Never mind that CFP rules list no specific protections for conference runners-up.

Lane Kiffin reveals preferred College Football Playoff format

The playoff will remain at 12 teams this season. The field could expand as soon as the 2026 season.

Kiffin favors a 16-team bracket with no byes and no automatic bids. Such a field would have included Alabama, Miami, Ole Miss and South Carolina as the extra four qualifiers last season.

“Sixteen teams, you’d get more people excited about it, more people in play,” Kiffin said, “and less (chance) for error by the committee.

“Forget giving (automatic bids). Figure out the best teams. Let an educated committee figure that out with analytics.”

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

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Attorney: Shannon Sharpe offered plaintiff $10 million to settle

Pro Football Hall of Famer and media personality Shannon Sharpe vehemently denies sexual assault and battery allegations filed in a lawsuit against him, alleging that he’s the victim of a ‘blatant set-up’ and ‘shakedown’ attempt.

Sharpe has been accused of sexual assault and battery, in addition to engaging in the intentional infliction of emotional distress in a lawsuit filed in Clark County, Nevada on Sunday. According to the suit obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the plaintiff, listed under the alias ‘Jane Doe,’ alleged that Sharpe sexually assaulted her twice, once in October 2024 and again in January 2025. They met at a Los Angeles gym in 2023 when she was 19.

One of the attorneys representing ‘Jane Doe’ is Tony Buzbee, whom Sharpe accused of targeting him. Sharpe said he expects Buzbee to release a 30-second clip from a sex tape ‘that tries to make me look guilty.’

‘This is a shakedown. I’m going to be open, transparent and defend myself because this isn’t right,’ Sharpe said in an Instagram video on Tuesday. ‘This is all being orchestrated by Tony Buzbee… I believe he is going to release a 30-second clip of a sex tape that tries to make me look guilty and plays into every stereotype you can possibly imagine.’

In a statement to USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday, Buzbee said, “Mr. Sharpe is unfortunately a liar.

“Sharpe offered Jane Doe $10 million to settle her case that she rejected,” Buzbee said. “She chose to file her case instead. I’m proud to be her lawyer. I didn’t seek her out as a client or target anyone and Sharpe is well aware of that.”

The plaintiff, who is seeking $50 million in damages, said she was in a relationship with Sharpe for nearly two years, and it began as a ‘rocky consensual relationship.’ The woman says Sharpe became violent over the course of the relationship, threatened to kill her during one incident, and recorded their sexual encounters without her consent.

In October 2024, Sharpe violently sexually assaulted the plaintiff on two separate occasions in Las Vegas, ignoring her requests to stop, the lawsuit says.

On Tuesday, Sharpe denied the allegations and said ‘the encounter in question took place during the day at her invitation.’ He alleges that Buzbee and ‘Jane Doe’ are attempting to ‘manipulate the media’ with an edited segment of a sex tape.

‘The video should actually be 10 minutes or so,’ Sharpe said. ‘Hey Tony, instead of releasing your edit, put the whole video out. I don’t have it or I would myself. You know what happened and you are trying to manipulate the media.’

Buzbee was part of the legal team that reached settlements against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson after more than two dozen massage therapists accused him of sexual misconduct. Buzbee also represented an anonymous woman who claimed that rapper Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sexually assaulted her as a teenager more than two decades ago in a since-dismissed civil suit.

Sharpe said Buzbee has a history of ‘targeting Black men,’ pointing to Buzbee’s involvement in the civil lawsuit filed against Jay-Z in December. Sharpe added that Buzbee is actively ‘trying to take me down.’

In a statement released Monday, Sharpe’s attorney Lanny J. Davis called the lawsuit ‘a blatant and cynical attempt to shake down Mr. Sharpe for millions of dollars. It is filled with lies, distortions, and misrepresentations – and it will not succeed.’ Davis’ statement included several explicit text messages allegedly sent from Doe to Sharpe in order to ‘set the record straight.’

‘Mr. Sharpe categorically denies all allegations of coercion or misconduct — especially the gross lie of ‘rape’ — and will not submit to what he sees as an egregious attempt at blackmail,’ Davis said in the statement. ‘He stands firmly by the truth and is prepared to fight these false claims vigorously in court. He looks forward to vindication through due process and a judgment based on facts and the law.’

Sharpe, a three-time Super Bowl-winning tight end, has his own successful podcast, ‘Club Shay Shay,’ and makes regular appearances on ESPN’s First Take. It was reported last week that Sharpe is eyeing a new podcast deal in excess of $100 million.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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U.S. Center for SafeSport CEO ousted amid criticism

Ju’Riese Colón has been ousted as the chief executive officer of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the organization announced in a statement Tuesday night.

Colón’s departure comes as SafeSport faces persistent questions and criticism from members of Congress, including about the center’s hiring of former investigator Jason Krasley, who is now facing sexual assault-related charges stemming from incidents from his time as a police officer in Pennsylvania.

SafeSport, which was created in 2017 and is tasked with investigating allegations of abuse in Olympic and Paralympic sports, said board chair April Holmes will lead the organization on an interim basis as it searches for a new CEO.

‘We are grateful for Ju’Riese’s leadership and service,’ Holmes said in a statement. ‘As we look ahead, we will continue to focus on the Center’s core mission of changing sport culture to keep athletes safe from abuse. The board is committed to Center employees, stakeholders, and most importantly athletes.’

Colón was just the second CEO in SafeSport’s history and had served in the role since 2019.

Congress created SafeSport following high-profile sexual abuse scandals in several sports, including gymnastics and taekwondo. It was intended to be an efficient, fair way to handle abuse complaints at all levels of the Olympic and Paralympic movement, from those involving Olympic-level athletes or coaches to those in youth sports.

In the roughly eight years since, however, the center has faced consistent criticism on a variety of fronts. There have been complaints about the lengthy delays in the resolution of some cases, and jurisdictional issues that routinely leave national governing bodies in the dark. The center has also been criticized for its high rate of administrative closures, which occur when SafeSport either decides there’s insufficient evidence to support an allegation or the victim chooses not to participate in the investigation.

As CEO, Colón often acknowledged SafeSport’s shortcomings and spoke about the various ways the center was working to improve its policies and procedures. But time and again, members of Congress have appeared unconvinced by the center’s claims of progress or have been concerned about its actions in specific cases.

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was the most recent member of Congress to speak out, requesting additional information from Colón about Krasley, the former SafeSport investigator. Krasley was fired in November after being arrested for allegedly stealing drug money during a police raid in 2019, prior to his time with SafeSport. He has since been charged with multiple felony and misdemeanor charges related to sexual assault.

‘Accusations of rape and other sex crimes against any SafeSport investigator are especially concerning given SafeSport’s mandate to protect athletes from similar abuse,’ Grassley wrote.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY
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Politics

Vance issues ultimatum to Russia, Ukraine on peace negotiations

Vice President JD Vance told reporters in India that the U.S. had offered Russia and Ukraine ‘a very explicit proposal’ to end the war that has been ongoing for over three years: make a deal or risk the U.S. walking away.

‘We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the U.S. to walk away from this process. We’ve engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on-the-ground work,’ Vance told reporters.

The vice president also said that ‘the only way to really stop the killing is for the armies to both put down their weapons, to freeze this thing and to get on with the business of actually building a better Russia and a better Ukraine.’

Vance’s comments come after Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that he would not be attending talks in London aimed at facilitating a ceasefire. On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Rubio would not be attending the talks due to ‘logistical issues.’ 

The secretary later wrote in a post on X that he was planning on ‘following up after the ongoing discussions in London and rescheduling my trip to the UK in the coming months.’

During Tuesday’s briefing, Bruce also said Gen. Keith Kellogg, special presidential envoy for Ukraine, would represent the U.S. at the talks in London.

On Friday, Rubio suggested that the U.S. might walk away from negotiations to end the war within ‘a matter of days,’ despite President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire deal. Trump later told the press that Rubio was ‘right in saying that we want to see it end.’

‘Think about it, every day a lot of people are being killed as we talk about, you know, as they play games, so we’re not gonna take that,’ Trump told reporters. He also said he thinks the U.S. has a ‘good chance’ of bringing peace to Ukraine and Russia.

Security experts, however, are not as confident that peace is on the horizon, as some warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want peace.

Trump seems to be hoping to entice Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop the fighting with talk of how both countries could benefit from doing business with the U.S. after the war ends. He made the remark after Ukraine and Russia’s temporary Easter ceasefire ended. Both Ukraine and Russia accused each other of violating the ceasefire.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

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