No. 1 seed Auburn punched its ticket to the Final Four of the men’s NCAA Tournament, but it may have come at a cost.

The Tigers defeated Michigan State 70-64 in the Elite Eight Sunday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, advancing to the Final Four for the first time since 2019. However, star player Johni Broome sustained dual injuries to his left leg and right elbow in the vicory.

Despite Broome returning and finishing the game, his status for the Final Four matchup against No. 1 seed Florida Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET from San Antonio, Texas, is in the air. The 6-foot-10 forward and Auburn are seeking their first championship game appearance against a Gators team that beat them 90-81 earlier this season in Auburn, Alabama.

Broome, the SEC Player of the Year, is averaging a career-high 18.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game this season. During the NCAA Tournament, he is averaging a double-double of 17.3 points and 13.3 rebounds in four games.

Here’s the latest on Broome’s injury and his availability against Florida in the Final Four:

Johni Broome injury update

On Monday, the Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reported that Broome hyperextended his right elbow against Michigan State. However, according to Goodman, Broome is fully expected to play Saturday against Florida in the Final Four.

Broome returned to Sunday’s 70-64 Elite Eight win over Michigan State despite his injury. Broome left the game around the 10:47 mark in the second half with an injury inside the paint after Michigan State’s Freddie Fidler missed a layup. He returned around the 5:26 mark in the second half.

Despite missing five minutes of game action, Broome finished with 25 points on 10 of 13 shooting, plus14 rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 29 minutes. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl gave Goodman an update.

‘He’s sore,’ Pearl told Goodman. ‘We didn’t practice today, and we’ll practice tomorrow, but Johni won’t practice. He’s sore, but I fully expect him to play on Saturday.’

What is Johni Broome’s injury?

Broome sustained injuries to his left leg and right elbow in the second half of Auburn’s Elite Eight vcitory over Michigan State. Broome fell hard, seemingly hyperextending his leg and injuring his elbow on the play.

He had X-rays taken at State Farm Arena, but they came back negative.

‘Went to the locker room. We have a good support staff. I checked my arm out,’ Broome said after the game. ‘The (doctor) said nothing is wrong with it (or) anything serious, so at that moment I just wanted to help my teammates. And that is coming out and playing.

Johni Broome stats

Here’s a year-by-year breakdown of Broome’s stats at Auburn and Morehead State:

2020-21 (Morehead State): 13.8 points per game (57%), 9.0 rebounds per game and 1.9 blocks per game
2021-22 (Morehead State): 16.8 points per game (55.7%), 10.5 rebounds per game and 3.9 blocks per game
2022-23 (Auburn): 14.2 points per game (52.7%), 8.4 rebounds per game and 2.4 blocks per game
2023-24 (Auburn): 16.5 points per game (54.8%), 8.5 rebounds per game, 2.2 assists per game and 2.2 blocks per game
2024-25 (Auburn): 18.7 points per game (51.2%), 10.9 rebounds per game, 2.9 assists per game and 2.1 blocks per game

PALM BEACH, Fla. – As usual, Mike Tomlin made the pack of media wait in anticipation a few minutes more for his arrival at the AFC coaches breakfast on Monday morning.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers coach showed up at 7:51 for a session scheduled to start at 7:45, he wondered about the over/under as he settled into his seat at the table.

Yes, there was some sort of a line. Now Tomlin is a lot better than Bill Belichick, who was prone to show up (proudly) a half-hour late for such media sessions. Nonetheless, Gerry Dulac, the veteran Steelers beat writer, predicted the coach wouldn’t appear before 8:02.

“Just the game we play,” Tomlin said of the banter with the press.

Waiting. How fitting. Tomlin’s table was packed because of the suspense surrounding Aaron Rodgers, who is making the Steelers wait out the big decision on his football future.

Rodgers, 41, visited Tomlin and other key Steelers figures at the team’s headquarters on March 21 but hasn’t revealed anything publicly about his plans.

Is he coming to Pittsburgh? Pushing to join some other team, like the Minnesota Vikings? Contemplating retirement?

“I’m certainly not going to put words in his mouth or speak for him,” Tomlin said.

Typically, Tomlin was rather cool when peppered about the situation. He downplayed the extent to which he is unsettled by all of this.

“I’m really comfortable with being unsettled this time of year, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “It’s about talent acquisition.”

Sure, the start of the offseason program is still weeks away. And Rodgers, a football savant, is capable of coming aboard and quickly grasping – and influencing – whatever system that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith devises.

Yet most teams already have their quarterbacks in place. And given Pittsburgh’s struggles since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season to land a franchise quarterback of the future, this is urgent. Still.

Bruce Smith is a Hall of Famer. He’s now creating another great legacy away from football.

Then again, last year at this time the Steelers had their quarterbacks signed and delivered and … we saw how that worked out.

Of course, Rodgers would just be a short-term fix that might allow Pittsburgh to finally get past the first round of the playoffs again. Since their face-to-face meeting, the coach and quarterback have had follow-up exchanges.

Any idea on when Rodgers will have his big reveal?

“We’ve had some discussions,” Tomlin said, “but I’ll leave it between he and I.”

Maybe Tomlin has a gut feeling that he’ll eventually get his man.

After all, the NFL Network reported Monday that Rodgers had a throwing session at UCLA over the weekend with DK Metcalf, the star receiver the Steelers obtained from the Seattle Seahawks and signed to a four-year, $132 million extension. Steelers GM Omar Khan wouldn’t confirm the workout to reporters on Monday, but it was seemingly another sign that points to the possibility that Pittsburgh will wind up with Rodgers in the fold.

Regardless, this might remind Tomlin of his pre-NFL days recruiting top prospects on the college level. Someone asked about his preferred mode of communication. Text message, phone call or FaceTime?

“All of the above,” he said. “Interesting question, though.”

Clearly, Tomlin is content to wait it out. Not that he has much choice after the Steelers missed out on keeping Justin Fields, who took a free agent landing with the New York Jets as, well, Rodgers’ replacement. And the Steelers ultimately showed what they thought of Russell Wilson, who started fast in 2024 after rebounding from a calf injury but fizzled tremendously down the stretch as the Steelers season crashed and burned. Again.

The potential upside of adding the four-time MVP quarterback to a team coming off a first-round playoff exit for the second consecutive season – even if Rodgers isn’t as spectacular as he used to be – sure beats the alternatives about now.

In this desperate case, the potential payoff is worth any risk fueled by the wait.

It’s no wonder that, despite the shots coming from critics about the Steelers’ approach, Tomlin was so upbeat in assessing his face-to-face meeting with Rodgers.

“We had a really productive day,” Tomlin said. “He’s been in this thing a long time. I’ve been in this thing a long time, but it’s no substitute for, you know, intimacy and spending time together, getting to know one another in a non-competitive environment. And so that was really good. But I don’t have any new updates in terms of where the process is. We’ll see where it leads us.”

Tomlin insists there is no deadline from the Steelers that would force Rodgers’ hand. If the season started today, Mason Rudolph, brought back to Pittsburgh this offseason after a year with the Tennessee Titans, would be the starter.

Then again, maybe this situation needs some sort of firm date that would allow all parties to adjust as needed.

“I hadn’t thought a lot about it,” Tomlin insisted. “There is no drop-dead date specifically in my mind.”

In other words, this anticipation could stretch out for a few more weeks.

“He’s a free agent,” Tomlin added. “That’s what this business is about. Had a really good experience with him. He’s a heck of a guy, a heck of a talent, and we had a good experience together.”

There’s no question that Rodgers and Tomlin – who have both won a Super Bowl but found the trek back to the NFL mountaintop to be such a slippery slope – potentially can find commonality in the quest to prove their championship viability is still possible. That might be the ultimate answer to the question of whether Rodgers, with his huge persona, can fit into the Steelers’ culture. A lot of fits happen with winning.

Tomlin has never had a losing season in 18 campaigns as Steelers coach but hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season. Rodgers last played in a conference title game with the Green Bay Packers in the 2020 season.

They both know. The clock is ticking. And not just on Rodgers’ decision.

After all, they’ve waited long enough.

–Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell

Haslam spoke candidly to reporters at the NFL’s annual league meeting and took accountability for what has turned out to be a disastrous trade that landed them quarterback Deshaun Watson.

“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun. We thought we had the quarterback, we didn’t and we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole. (The trade) was an entire organization decision and it ends with Dee and I, so hold us accountable,” Haslam told reporters on Monday at the NFL’s league meeting, per Cleveland.com.

There’s no denying that the Watson experience in Cleveland has been a ‘swing and miss.’

The Browns decided to trade three first-round picks, a third-round pick and two fourth-round picks to the Houston Texans for Watson, and subsequently gave him the biggest guaranteed contract in NFL history.

Watson’s played in only 19 games with the Browns since the NFL reinstated the quarterback in November 2022.  He’s averaged a 61.2 completion percentage, slightly over 177 passing yards per game and an 80.7 passer rating during his three seasons in Cleveland, all well below his averages in four years with the Houston Texans.

Watson tore his Achilles in Week 7 of last season. He then re-tore the ligament while rehabbing, likely sidelining him throughout the 2025 season.

Haslam’s public comments probably won’t sit well with Watson as he’s still on the roster. However, the owner’s words create some uncertainty surrounding Watson’s future in Northeast Ohio.

The Browns acquired quarterback Kenny Pickett in exchange for Dorian Thompson-Robinson this offseason. They also flirted with veteran Russell Wilson before he signed with the New York Giants.

Pickett, who is familiar with the AFC North from his days as a Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, is the only healthy QB on Cleveland’s roster. The Browns could also draft a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

Some controversy erupted at the PGA Tour Houston Open over the weekend due to pace of play allegations.

During the final round on Sunday, Min Woo Lee’s tee shot on the par-5 8th hole went wide and into a bush. Lee consulted with a tour official whether the ball was playable or not, and while that’s nothing new in golf, it took about 30 minutes for Lee to take a drop and do his next shot.

While the ordeal happened, Lee’s playing partner Alejandro Tosti was seen talking to the course marshal and appeared to be frustrated by the time it took. Things seemed fine afterward until the 12th hole. There, Tosti appeared to slow his game down as some sort of retaliation. NBC reporter Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay was on the course and provided details of what transpired.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but Tosti’s playing at his own pace,” Mackay said on air. ‘At times it’s normal and at times it’s glacially slow, and he’s decided on this particular hole to really take his time. He’s holding up play in this particular group.

“The bottom line is this is incredibly unfair to (Lee) trying to get over the finish line for the first time.’

Alejandro Tosti explains pace of play allegations

The easy assumption would have been Tosti was getting payback for the slowdown with Lee earlier in the day. However, that’s not how Tosti saw it.

After news spread of the drama, Tosti went on a social media rant on Monday morning before he later deleted it. Golf Digest had screenshots of the post before it was deleted.

‘Playing at my own pace… omg,’ Tosti wrote, according to Golf Digest, adding that because he went to the restroom and prepared a drink ‘I am ‘slow playing and trying to throw off my playing partners’…. Go (expletive) yourself failures.

Btw stop the fake news idiots.’

After he deleted the post, Tosti made another post accusing Mackay of trying to start a narrative.

‘Bones talking (expletive) for the fans. Saying l am walking 50 yards behind and ‘trying to slow playing my partner.’ The part you don’t see is that l used the restroom and prepared myself a drink,’ Tosti wrote.

Quite the weird situation, but it didn’t appear to bother Lee. He went on to finish first in the Houston Open at 20-under-par for his first PGA Tour victory.

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Richard Sherman’s house was robbed at gunpoint while his family was home, the former NFL defensive back announced on social media Monday.

The former Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back sought help identifying the individuals who committed the crime, posting a screen grab and video of the robbery as captured by his home security system.

‘House being robbed at gun point with my family in it isn’t what anyone wants for a birthday gift,’ Sherman wrote on X. ‘Scary situation that my wife handled masterfully and kept my kids safe. If anyone has any info that can help find these people please reach out.’

The break-in comes months after the FBI reported ‘at least nine professional athletes’ had their homes burglarized. That included NFL stars like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and prompted the FBI to officially warn athletes about the burglaries.

Officials have attributed the crime spree to ‘multiple South American gangs’ across the country. Federal authorities filed charges against seven Chilean men in connection with the string of burglaries in February.

Typically, the burglars probed by the FBI have targeted the athletes’ residences when it is known they will be away from home. Sherman did not disclose whether he was in his house at the time of the robbery.

The New Orleans Pelicans are shutting down forward Zion Williamson and guard CJ McCollum for the rest of the season due to injuries.

Williamson suffered a low back bone contusion on March 19, while McCollum suffered right foot bone contusion on March 23.

Williamson leads the Pelicans with 24.6 points per game to along with 7.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals, but he played in just 30 games this season. McCollum averaged 21.1 points per game, while shooting 37.3 percent from 3.

The Pelicans (21-54) own the fourth-worst record in the NBA. The team has only seven games left on their schedule, and no real incentive to win.

The shutdown is the continuation of a disappointing, injury-riddled campaign for the Pelicans. Trey Murphy III (shoulder) and Dejounte Murray (Achilles) have already been sidelined with season-ending injuries.

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He will support Oklahoma’s ‘player personnel and strategic roster management planning,’ according to the program.

‘As someone who grew up in Norman and played at the University of Oklahoma, stepping into the role of assistant GM for OU Basketball is a huge honor,’ Young said in the announcement. ‘This program has such a rich history, which I am fortunate to have been and continue to be a part of. In my new role, my focus is on helping contribute to OU’s winning culture, working alongside the coaching staff and front office to bring in the right players to help us compete and succeed at the highest level.’

Young, who played one season for the Sooners in 2017-18, was the first true freshman to ever lead college basketball in both points (27.4) and assists (8.7) per game. He was then selected No. 5 overall in the 2018 NBA draft, and has since been selected to four All-Star games.

The Norman, Oklahoma, native has been a huge proponent of giving back to the community he grew up in, also giving a $4 million donation to the City of Norman to build the Young Family Athletic Center, a 122,000-square foot, multi-athletic gymnasium.

Young joins Curry as the only active NBA players to actively work in college basketball, as both now serve as assistant general manager for their alma maters, Oklahoma and Davidson, respectively.

The 26-year-old point guard is averaging 24.1 points and an NBA-leading 11.5 assists per game this season. The Hawks are currently seventh in the Eastern Conference standings and are looking to move out of the NBA play-in with the playoffs looming. He recently became the youngest player in NBA history to record 12,000 career points and 4,500 assists.