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The source of his mirth was a boisterous crowd gathered in Chicago for the final press conference before he fights UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 on Saturday, Aug. 16.

Boos drowned out Du Plessis as he tried to answer the first question.

“Well, that was one of the best boos I’ve heard,’’ Du Plessis said when the noise finally died down. “Well done, gents, well done.’’

Almost as loud as the boos were the cheers for Chimaev, the Russian-born fighter with a bushy beard, scarred lip and mischievous grin. He has electrified fans with brutal victories en route to a 14-0 record and his first title show almost feels overdue as he prepares to face South Africa’s Du Plessis (23-2).

“Are you asking me if this is the fight of the year?’’ UFC’s Dana White said in response to a question at the press conference, and he grinned. “Yes, this is a big fight.’’

Maybe even bigger than initally realized gauged by the energy of the crowd that Chimaev fed with the grin and tough talk.

“Just going to go and (mess) him up, bro,’’ he said of Du Plessis. “That’s it, man.’’

Chimaev also said, “I come to take over, man. Take his head.’’

Take his head?

The crowd roared.

Of course the real show will take place in the octagon at the United Center when the 31-year-old fighters clash in a fight scheduled for five rounds.

“You have two of the best in the world right now in their prime for the title,’’ White said. “This is one of the best fights we’ve had in a long time. I don’t know how it plays out.’’

The sound of the crowd will let everyone know.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Some of the major North American sports have pretty much embraced gambling as a part of the culture, even partnering with some companies, as long as it doesn’t compromise the integrity of the game or what viewers see on the playing field.

Little League Baseball, whose World Series started this week in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, wants nothing to do with gambling, releasing a statement condemning the practice when it comes to their games and urging fans to place their bets elsewhere and stay away from their sport.

“While Little League International continues to monitor the complexity and ever-evolving world of sports betting, we feel strongly that there is no place for betting on Little League games or on any youth sports competition,” Little League Baseball said in a statement. “Little League is a trusted place where children are learning the fundamentals of the games and all the important life lessons that come with having fun, celebrating teamwork, and playing with integrity, and no one should be exploiting the success and failures of children playing the game they love for their own personal gain.”

No sportsbooks in the United States offer betting on the Little League World Series, but that doesn’t mean unregulated sportsbooks overseas or other gambling houses will heed calls to exclude the tournament from being wagered on.

The gambling site BetOnline.ag, based in Panama, has offered odds on the Little League World Series in each of the last four years.

‘The Little League World Series is an exciting tournament that our customers absolutely love to watch, and we get requests from them every year around this time to offer odds,’ BetOnline brand manager Dave Mason said in a statement. ‘This will probably be shocking to hear, but we’ll take more bets on these Little League games than we will on any professional tennis or soccer match over the next two weeks.’

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Friday’s matchup between the Indiana Fever (18-15) and Washington Mystics (14-18) is a must-win for both teams.

After going on a five-game win streak, Indiana’s longest in over a decade, the Fever have lost three of their last four games. During that stretch, the Fever lost guards Sydney Colson (left ACL tear) and Aari McDonald (broken right foot) to season-ending injuries, creating a glaring need for as Caitlin Clark remains sidelined because of a right groin injury.

The Fever are coming off a 81-80 loss to the Dallas Wings on Tuesday, Aug 12. Indiana trailed 17-points with 6:38 remaining in the game, but the Fever went on a 19-3 run and cut the deficit to one. Indiana had a chance to win it, but the Wings’ defense shut down the Fever’s final possession.

Following the loss, Fever coach Stephanie White criticized officiating this season, calling Aliyah Boston ‘the worst officiated post player in the league.’ White added, ‘She never gets a call. There’s a double standard there certainly, but if it’s going to be physical… allow both teams to be physical.’

Meanwhile, the Mystics are coming off a 88-83 loss to the Golden State Valkyries, marking the team’s fifth loss in six games. Rookies Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron have been sensational this year Iriafen leads all rookies in rebounds (8.3 per game), while Sonia Citron ranks second among rookies in points (14.8) but the Mystics find themselves outside the playoff picture in 10th place in the standings.

Here’s what you need to know for Friday’s game between the Fever and Mystics:

What time is Indiana Fever vs. Washington Mystics?

The Indiana Fever will host the Washington Mystics at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT) on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will be broadcast on ION.

How to watch Indiana Fever vs. Washington Mystics: TV, stream

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT)
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
TV channel: ION
Streaming: Fubo (free trial to new subscribers)

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Domestic violence charges against boxer Gervonta Davis have been dropped due to lack of cooperation from the alleged victim and witness.
The alleged victim, Davis’s former girlfriend and mother of his children, declined to prosecute, according to the Miami State’s Attorney Office.
The alleged witness, the victim’s mother, also failed to cooperate and did not appear for a prefile conference.

Boxer Gervonta Davis will not face misdemeanor charges for battery-domestic violence because the alleged victim, Davis’ former girlfriend, and the alleged witness, the woman’s mother, failed to cooperate, according to the Miami State’s Attorney Office.

Davis, 30, was arrested July 11 and the charge stemmed from an alleged incident with his former girlfriend, who is the mother of his two children, on Father’s Day, June 15, in Doral, Florida.

‘This case was dropped as the victim is declining to prosecute per her … attorney,’ Ed Griffith, Public Information Officer for the Miami State’s Attorney Office, told USA TODAY Sports by email. ‘Her sentiments were directly confirmed by the Assistant State Attorney handling the prosecution.

‘The witness to the incident, who is the victim’s mother, also failed to cooperate and failed, after being subpoenaed for a prefile conference on Thursday (Aug. 7). Followed up attempts to contact the witness via phone were unsuccessful. The incident itself was not observed by the police officer who had been called to the scene eliminating him as a possible witness to what had transpired.’

With the dropping of the criminal charge, the $10,000 bond required as a part of the pretrial release was dismissed, according to Griffith.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is launching an investigation into Meta after reports found that the company green-lit internal rules that allowed AI chatbots to have ‘romantic’ and ‘sensual’ exchanges with children. 

Hawley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, wrote in a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that his committee will dive into whether Meta’s generative-Al products enabled exploitation, deception or other criminal harms to children. Further, the probe will look at whether Meta misled the public or regulators about its safeguards on AI.

‘I already have an ongoing investigation into Meta’s stunning complicity with China — but Zuckerberg siccing his company’s AI chatbots on our kids called for another one,’ Hawley told Fox News Digital. ‘Big Tech will know no boundaries until Congress holds social media outlets accountable. And I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree that exploiting children’s innocence is a new low.’

Hawley demanded that the company must produce a trove of materials related to internal policies on the chatbots, communications and more to the panel by Sept. 19.

His announcement on Friday comes after Reuters first reported that Meta, which is the parent company to Facebook, had given the go-ahead to policies on chatbot behavior that allowed the AI to ‘engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.’

Hawley noted that Meta acknowledged the reports and charged that the company ‘made retractions only after this alarming content came to light’ in his letter to Zuckerberg.

‘To take but one example, your internal rules purportedly permit an Al chatbot to comment that an 8-year-old’s body is ‘a work of art’ of which ’every inch… is a masterpiece — a treasure I cherish deeply,’’ he wrote.

‘Similar conduct outlined in these reports is reprehensible and outrageous and demonstrates a cavalier attitude when it comes to the real risks that generative Al presents to youth development absent strong guardrails,’ Hawley continued. ‘Parents deserve the truth, and kids deserve protection.’

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to Fox News Digital that the document reviewed by Reuters was real but countered that ‘it does not accurately reflect our policies.’ 

‘We have clear policies on what kind of responses AI characters can offer, and those policies prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized role play between adults and minors,’ the spokesperson said. ‘Separate from the policies, there are hundreds of examples, notes, and annotations that reflect teams grappling with different hypothetical scenarios. The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed.’

The document in question, known as the ‘GenAI: Content Risk Standards,’ included over 200 pages of rules that outlined what workers at Meta should consider as acceptable behavior when building and training chatbots and other AI-generative products for the company.

Hawley demanded that the company produce all iterations of the GenAI: Content Risk Standards, all products that fall under the scope of the guidelines, how the guidelines are enforced, risk reviews and incident reports that reference minors, sexual or romantic role-play, in-person meetups, medical advice, self-harm, or criminal exploitation, communications with regulators and a paper trail on who decided and when to revise the standards and what changes were actually made. 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

The 2025 Little League Baseball World Series is back in action on Friday, Aug. 15 with another slate of group-stage games in the United States and International brackets.

The tournament began on Wednesday, Aug. 13 with four games on opening day, with another four on Thursday, Aug. 14.

Friday’s schedule features two games apiece in the United States and International brackets.

The action begins with Canada facing Venezuela in the first game before Nevada (Mountain region) takes on Washington (Northwest region). Aruba will face Panama in the third game of the day before Connecticut takes on Hawaii to end the night.

What time is the Little League World Series today?

The first game on Friday, Aug. 15 starts at 1 p.m. ET with the final game starting at 7 p.m. ET. All games take place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in either Howard J. Lamade Stadium or Little League Volunteer Stadium.

Little League World Series 2025: TV, time and how to watch

The Little League World Series began Wednesday, Aug. 13 and concludes on Sunday, Aug. 24. Games will be presented across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. Viewers can also watch with Fubo, which offers a free trial for new users.

Times: Coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+ (international games), Fubo

Watch 2025 Little League World Series on Fubo

Little League World Series Day 3 schedule

Friday, Aug. 15

All times Eastern

Game 9 (International): Canada vs. Venezuela (Latin America), 1 p.m. | ESPN
Game 10 (U.S.): Nevada (Mountain) vs. Washington (Northwest), 3 p.m. | ESPN
Game 11 (International): Aruba (Caribbean) vs. Panama, 5 p.m. | ESPN
Game 12 (U.S.): Connecticut (Metro) vs. Hawaii (West), 7 p.m. | ESPN

Little League World Series Day 2 results

Thursday, Aug. 14

Game 5 (International): Japan 12, Czechia (Europe-Africa) 0
Game 6 (U.S.): South Carolina (Southeast) 13, Massachusetts (New England) 0
Game 7 (International): Chinese Taipei (Asia-Pacific) 3, Mexico 0
Game 8: (U.S.): South Dakota (Midwest) 2, Pennsylvania (Mid-Atlantic) 0

Little League World Series Day 1 results

Wednesday, Aug. 13

Game 1 (International): Venezuela 5 (Latin America), Puerto Rico 0
Game 2 (U.S.): Nevada (Mountain) 16, Illinois 1 (Great Lakes)
Game 3 (International): Panama 7, Australia 2
Game 4 (U.S.): Connecticut (Metro), Texas (Southwest) 0

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Case closed.

The NCAA announced on Friday that Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore will not face further suspension in 2025 from the governing body for college athletics for his involvement in the Wolverines’ sign-stealing scandal that surfaced during their 2023 season, which ended in their national championship, but he will miss a game next season.

Moore, who was suspended by the Wolverines in a self-imposed sanction for Weeks 3 and 4 this year, will miss games vs Central Michigan and Nebraska. He will coach in Week 1 vs New Mexico and against his alma mater Oklahoma in Week 2. Moore was suspended for an additional game to be served in Week 1 of 2026 by the NCAA.

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Named as the successor to Jim Harbaugh − who returned to the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers in January of 2024. Moore is entering his second season as head coach. In 2024, Michigan stared 4-1 before four losses in five games derailed hopes of repeating as national champions. They did rebound at the end of the season with a win at Ohio State and defeat of Alabama in the ReliaQuest to finish 8-5.

Here’s what to know from Aug. 15’s release from the NCAA regarding Moore:

Did the NCAA suspend Sherrone Moore?

Sherrone Moore was suspended for a game in 2026, but will not face a further suspension in 2025. He will miss games Central Michigan and Nebraska, this season, but he be on sideline for first two games against New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Why was Sherrone Moore being investigated by the NCAA?

Moore was being investigated by the NCAA as part of its larger investigation into the Wolverines’ program for their sign-stealing scandal that took place in 2023. The 39-year-old Moore was being accused of deleting 52 text messages with former Michigan football analyst Connor Stalions around the time of the initial investigation, which is against NCAA rules.

Sherrone Moore suspension dates

In hopes of attempting to lower the severity of the NCAA’s punishments on Moore and the program, Michigan self-imposed a two-game suspension on Moore for the Wolverines’ Week 3 matchup on Sept. 13 vs. Central Michigan and their Big Ten opener at Nebraska in Week 4 on Sept. 20.

A thing to note about Moore’s suspension from Michigan is that it wasn’t issued for the Wolverines’ marquee SEC non-conference matchup with Oklahoma in Week 2 or their Big Ten home opener against Wisconsin on Oct. 4 in Week 6.

This is the second time that Michigan has issued a self-imposed suspension against Moore, as he was also suspended by the Wolverines for Week 1 of the 2023 season when he was serving as Michigan’s offensive coordinator for his involvement in the NCAA recruiting violations during COVID-19 that the program committed.

Interestingly, Moore was also issued a two-year show cause in addition to the suspension.

Here’s when Moore is scheduled to serve his suspension from Michigan:

Week 3 vs. Central Michigan (Sept. 13)
Week 4 vs. Nebraska (Sept. 20)
Week 1 vs. Central Michigan (Sept. 5, 2026)

Sherrone Moore record

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Jason and Travis Kelce are the role models we need right now. Young men, especially.

For two hours Wednesday night, the world got a masterclass in uplifting women, treating partners with respect and approaching life with lightness and joy. This after two years of watching them celebrate their mother and Jason Kelce’s wife every chance they got.

“Just dudes who don’t want drama. Dudes who are trying to avoid the mess,” Taylor Swift said of her boyfriend and his brother.

The internet lost its collective mind over Swift’s appearance on the Kelce brothers’ popular “New Heights” podcast, mostly because the superstar doesn’t often grant interviews and she divulged a gold mine of information about herself to fans used to spending hours, days, months deciphering her lyrics and photos for Easter eggs, the term for hidden messages and meaning.

As much as Swift was the star of the show, though, the reactions of the Kelce brothers is a lesson that should not be overlooked.

Travis gave golden retriever energy throughout the entire podcast, hyping up Swift’s talent, brains and professionalism at every opportunity.

“Greatest songwriter in the world.’

“Smartest woman in the world.”

‘I had never experienced something so mesmerizing on stage and then so real and so beautiful in person.’

Now, Travis Kelce is one of the best tight ends in NFL history and a three-time Super Bowl champion. He’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he’s eligible.

Yet he felt no need to one-up Swift or tout his own credentials. Even when Swift tried to turn the spotlight on him, he quickly redirected it to her.

“She makes me so much better,” he said, his pride in and love for Swift obvious in his voice. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

Jason Kelce, meanwhile, was equally effusive. But his admiration for Swift is not just for her musical talents. When she gushed about Travis Kelce being “a vibe booster” and “a human exclamation point,” Jason Kelce beamed, clearly thrilled his brother has found a partner who loves and appreciates him as he deserves.

The brothers have never been shy about expressing their affection for one another and others close to them, and Swift is now part of that circle.

“Thank you so much for hopping on,” Jason Kelce said at the end of the episode. “You are the best. This has been a blast.”

More of this, please. And less of the current crap boys and young men are being fed by social media.

Boys and young men have always been bombarded with toxic messaging. They’re told to be tough, to not cry or show emotion. They’re taught that they have primacy and to act accordingly. Some are encouraged to think of women as inferior or, worse, as objects.

It’s gotten worse lately, though. Popular podcasters and influencers have built careers out of promoting toxic masculinity and demeaning women. Our president was found liable of sexual abuse, in addition to being accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen other women.

Cryptobros have felt free to throw sex toys onto the court at WNBA games, egged on by the president’s son. Male politicians and Supreme Court justices have led the charge in stripping women of fundamental rights.

The atmosphere that’s created is awful for women, obviously. Women still earn just 85% of what men do, a statistic that’s even worse for women of color, and nearly 3 in 10 women in the United States have experienced intimate partner violence.

But we’re seeing that this alpha male attitude is also harmful for men. A Pew Research Center study released earlier this year found that 16% of men feel lonely or isolated all or most of the time. While that was only 1% higher than women, men reported having fewer places to turn with those feelings.

Suicide rates for men also have climbed steadily in the past 20 years, and a 2023 study found men were 3.8 times more likely than women to die by suicide.  

Two NFL players can’t singlehandedly end the epidemic of male loneliness and its harmful byproducts. They can, however, provide a very visible alternative to misogyny and toxicity.

The Kelces are about the manliest men you can find. They’ve each lasted more than a decade in the NFL, a league that chews people up in relentless fashion. They are hulking and hairy and make no secret of their love of beer and hijinks.

When they show their emotions, it gives permission for other men to do the same. When they’re supportive of the women in their lives, it tells boys and young men that demeaning women isn’t cool. When they model deep, lasting friendships with other men, it offers an example to men searching for connection.

The world has enough men who are jerks, and we’re all paying the price for it. Jason and Travis Kelce are a reminder it doesn’t have to be that way.

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

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

The Philadelphia Phillies had to stay overnight in the Cincinnati area because of plane trouble.
The Phillies staff scrambled to find a hotel where the team could spend the night.
The Phillies arrived in the D.C. area Thursday afternoon, and the Nationals clubhouse crew rushed to get their uniforms ready for gametime.

WASHINGTON – It was already a long and grim day in Cincinnati for the Philadelphia Phillies: Their series finale against the Reds was delayed an hour by rain, they got steamrolled 8-0 and faced a quick turnaround to get to the nation’s capital for a four-game series.

So as manager Rob Thomson settled into his seat on the Phillies’ charter flight to Dulles International Airport, he nodded off easily. Twice. And both times he woke up, he thought they had landed in the D.C. area.

Turns out they hadn’t budged an inch – and the team’s travel nightmare was just beginning.

The Phillies sat on the tarmac in northern Kentucky for more than five hours as maintenance and repairs were performed on their plane. But as Wednesday turned to Thursday and the issues remained, the Phillies got the order that so many commercial travelers dread after time spent idling:

Deplane. Find a place to sleep. Those are the breaks.

And thus began a significant disruption to the delicate rhythm that gets ballplayers, staff and a truckload of equipment from City A to City B overnight and ready to roll the next evening.

Instead, it set off a wild scramble in both Cincinnati and Washington.

“That’s baseball. These things happen sometimes,” says Thomson, a proverbial baseball lifer. “You can’t control it so you just keep moving forward.

“Really, the MVPs last night were Jameson Hall and Sean Bowers and Michael Roche. They did a heck of a job taking care of us.”

That would be the Phillies’ traveling secretary, clubhouse assistant and manager of team travel, respectively. With the team already checked out of its Cincinnati-area hotel, the travel gurus managed to finagle more than 50 rooms at a Marriott overlooking the Ohio River.

Ever peer out your hotel window, ponder the sights yet realize you’ll only be there a hot second? That was the Phillies.

“It was actually pretty nice. On the water, nice view,” says Phillies closer Jordan Romano. “That was kind of cool. They were accommodating, getting 50, 60 people in there.”

Yet that was just half the equation.

In an ideal world, the Phillies would be hitting their pillows in D.C. around 1:30 a.m., just about the same time a truckload of dirty laundry, baseball gear and supplies rolled up to Nationals Park for the visiting clubhouse crew to attack.

Instead, the clubbies at Nationals Park waited in vain, well past the estimated arrival time before calling it a night. And that created a fire drill of logistics for Thursday.

The Phillies snagged a few hours of sleep in their very temporary digs, got the word around 11 a.m. that their replacement plane was secured and were on a bus back to the airport by noon.

Two hours later, they landed at Dulles and actually beat their equipment to the ballpark.

Around 3:30, the truck arrived and clubhouse workers furiously laundered and dried and distributed their gear, piecemeal. Perhaps a preferred warm-up shirt was ready, but sliding pants were in another load of laundry. That kind of thing.

Meanwhile, room keys for their D.C. hotel were dropped on chairs at locker stalls. Checking in would come much later, after their 6:45 p.m. tilt with the Nationals.

Sure, big leaguers travel in the lap of luxury and avoid 95% of the hassles the hoi polloi endure for business or pleasure. Yet when things go awry, they’re at the mercy of the power of teamwork.

Finally, just a couple hours before first pitch, the Phillies and their gear were whole, everything in its place, thanks to an all-hands effort from Nationals staff.

“They’re grinders already, working hard,” Romano says as an attendant hung items in his locker. “And they’re grinding hard today.”

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

The NBA announced the full slate of games for the 2025-26 season on Aug. 14.
There will be 247 nationally broadcast games in the upcoming season, up from 172 last season.
Here are the top 25 nationally televised NBA games to watch in the 2025-26 season.

The NBA schedule, after a week of gradual rollouts, is finalized.

The league announced the full slate of games for the 2025-26 season on Thursday, Aug. 14, culminating a week in which the NBA had announced its national broadcast schedule for the return of the NBA on NBC, the NBA Cup and holiday tentpole games like Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

And while 1,230 regular season games are a lot to sort through, the focus of the average fan typically turns to the nationally broadcast games, of which there will be 247 in the upcoming season, up from 172 last season.

Here’s a list of the 25 must-watch, nationally televised NBA games during the 2025-26 regular season (All times Eastern):

Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)

The team that went all-in on an NBA Finals run (Houston) goes up against the young squad that just won a title (Oklahoma City). Plus, it’s the tip-off game and former Thunder player Kevin Durant gets to watch OKC raise the banner.

Denver Nuggets at Minnesota Timberwolves

Monday, Oct. 27 at 9:30 p.m. (Peacock exclusive)

These two teams typically play each other physically, and it’s a rematch of the thrilling 2024 conference semifinal series that went seven games.

Orlando Magic at Atlanta Hawks

Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)

Both these teams retooled — with the Magic adding Desmond Bane and the Hawks nabbing Kristaps Porziņģis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker — and both could be darkhorses in a wide-open Eastern Conference.

Minnesota Timberwolves at New York Knicks

Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

It’s another battle between familiar opponents, with the ramifications of the Karl-Anthony Towns-Julius Randle trade still unsettled.

Milwaukee Bucks at Cleveland Cavaliers

Monday, Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. (Peacock exclusive)

Giannis Antetokounmpo may use a game like this as a barometer to see where Milwaukee stacks up against some of the better teams in the East.

Golden State Warriors at Miami Heat

Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Although this won’t be Jimmy Butler’s first game back in Miami — he played back in March — Butler didn’t acknowledge Heat players Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro before or after that game.

Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors

Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 10 p.m. (ESPN)

This is a rematch of the fascinating, physical first-round playoff series from last year, a series in which there was a scuffle seemingly every night.

New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons

Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 at 7 p.m. (Peacock exclusive)

Another rematch of a fascinating physical playoff series, this will be a good test to see if the Pistons have developed further.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers

Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)

The Thunder and Cavaliers had the best records in the NBA last season, each winning at least 64 games, with the Thunder winning the title.

Indiana Pacers at Oklahoma City Thunder

Friday, Jan. 23 at 9:30 p.m. (Amazon Prime)

With star Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton out and center Myles Turner no longer in Indy, this matchup won’t have the same juice that a typical NBA Finals rematch would have. It’s still an intriguing watch, as the Pacers play a style that can give OKC fits.

Los Angeles Lakers at Cleveland Cavaliers

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026 at 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Will this be LeBron James’ final game in Cleveland, where he started his career and led the franchise to its only NBA championship?

Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets

Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 at 10 p.m. (ESPN)

The Nuggets beat the Clippers in a seven-game first round series last season and both are eyeing a deep run this season — the Nuggets relying on Nikola Jokić and the Clippers relying on a bunch of players in their mid-30s.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies

Monday, Feb. 2 at 9:30 p.m. (Peacock)

By this point in the season, we should have an idea of who the Grizzlies are under new coach Tuomas Iisalo, and whether he can make Memphis a contender with its young, athletic roster.

Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs

Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

The Thunder are the team of the present and future with MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Western Conference, but the Spurs are climbing with Victor Wembanyama.

Dalla Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs

Saturday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. (Prime)

This should be an entertaining matchup between this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick in Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg and the 2023 one in Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama.

New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers

Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)

On paper, these are the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, and this very well could be a preview of the conference finals.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons

Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. (ESPN)

If the Pistons are to break out further as legitimate contenders in the East, this will be an appropriate test.

Houston Rockets at Miami Heat

Saturday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. (Prime)

Last season, these two teams fought when Rockets forward Amen Thompson tossed Heat guard Tyler Herro to the floor. Some bad blood may linger.

San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks

Sunday, March 1 at 1 p.m. (ABC)

Victor Wembanyama compiled 42 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocks at Madison Square Garden last season. However, the Knicks won 117-114.

Dallas Mavericks at Boston Celtics

Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m. (ESPN)

A Maine native, Cooper Flagg grew up a Celtics fan and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft gets his first chance to play in the Garden.

Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Lakers

Saturday, March 14 at 8:30 p.m. (ABC)

Seemingly every time these two teams play, the games tend to be thrilling and go down to the wire.

San Antonio Spurs at Milwaukee Bucks

Saturday, March 28 at 3 p.m. (Prime)

Just sit back and watch Giannis Antetokounmpo go at Victor Wembanyama, a matchup both players relish.

Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks

Sunday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)

Who can resist Luka Dončić returning to Dallas and playing against the team that traded him for Anthony Davis?

Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors

Thursday, April 9 at 10 p.m. (Amazon Prime)

The last LeBron James vs. Steph Curry matchup? Is there any way they could be teammates in 2026-27?

Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets

Friday, April 10 at 10 p.m. (Amazon Prime)

The Thunder needed seven games to beat the Nuggets in the second round in May. This is an entertaining matchup any time of the season and playoff seeding could be at stake this late in the season.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY