Florida State freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard is in stable condition after being shot in the head on Sunday night, his dad recently said.

Pritchard’s father, Earl Pritchard, told WFTV in Orlando that Ethan was driving himself and his aunt back from a family gathering in Havana, Florida, when the incident occurred. Earl also said doctors are waiting for the swelling to decrease before determining the wound damage.

‘He was actually in the car taking my sister around the corner to her daughter’s house to drop her off,’ Earl told WFTV. ‘They turned the corner, and as soon as they turned the corner, they heard gunshots.’

An investigation into the matter is still ongoing by local officials in Florida.

“It’s a lot,’ Norvell said. ‘I try to give the players a daily update. I talked to Ethan’s dad this morning. I try to check on them daily. I was able to go yesterday for a short period — limited visitation — but just being there was good,” Norvell told the media. “He’s still in stable condition. We’re praying for him every day. It’s about being there for our players, too, because that’s one of their brothers and they deeply care about him.”’

Ethan was a 3-star recruit in the 2025 class, ranked as the No. 507 player nationally and No. 54 linebacker, according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings. He didn’t appear in the Seminoles’ season-opening win over Alabama.

Florida State plays East Texas A&M on Saturday.

“We are going through the process,’ Norvell said. ‘He’s got all things that are in front, we are absolutely praying for him every day and trying to be there for our players too,” Norvell said. “Yes, it’s one thing on the field, but it’s also off the field. Just working through this part of the tragedy of what it is.”

The Super Bowl version may reside in Kansas City, but the Buffalo Bills star quarterback came out of the offseason with a wedding ring – tying the knot by marrying actress Hailee Steinfeld.

Allen hasn’t been shy about hiding how proud he is of his wife, discussing it with NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt during an interview for ‘Hard Knocks’ on HBO. Brandt asked Allen for some movie reviews – with ‘Sinners’ being the first one on the list.

‘A-plus,’ Allen said.

When pushed for a little more, the 29-year-old didn’t hesitate with his sales pitch.

‘Because it combines a lot of different aspects of life,’ Allen said. ‘My wife absolutely kills it. And hopefully, award season coming around, people make the right decision.’

Brandt shared that when he left the movie theater, he came to the conclusion that Allen is the second-most talented person in the marriage – asking the quarterback if that was a hot take.

‘Absolutely not,’ Allen said. ‘One-thousand percent, and I’m okay with it.’

The Bills’ star didn’t hold back, admitting that the film made him emotional at the premiere.

‘When we watched it at the premiere, I was crying at the end,’ Allen said. ‘I was just so proud of her. I get emotional thinking about it, but it was a pretty cool experience.’

As the NFL kickoff nears, it’s up to Allen to return the favor this season – as he tries to deliver on what he hopes could be the first of many Super Bowls.

The NBA All-Star Game, once again, is getting a makeover.

After several attempts to generate interest in the event have had mixed results, the NBA is reportedly likely turning to a round-robin tournament that features a pair of teams featuring domestic players and one consisting of international stars from around the world. Each team will have eight players, and the games will be played in 12-minute quarter games.

This is a departure from last season’s format at the 2025 All-Star Game in San Francisco, which saw a mini-tournament with four teams competing in three games. Just like the proposed format for the 2026 All-Star Game, each team at last season’s event had eight players; three teams were comprised of the 24 NBA All-Stars, and the other team featured players from the championship game of the Rising Stars game.

Although the NBA is filly leaning into the U.S. versus World format, one of the four teams at last season’s event was comprised mostly of international superstars. That team, Chuck’s Global Stars, had players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama, though it also had domestic players like Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young.

The 2026 All-Star Game will be played Sunday, Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the home arena of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Angel Reese expressed frustration with the Chicago Sky’s losing season in a recent interview.
Reese suggested she might seek other opportunities if the team doesn’t acquire more talent.
Following a win, Reese apologized to her teammates for her comments.

Two-time WNBA All-Star Angel Reese has faced criticism for her recent comments about the Chicago Sky organization, and she has apologized to her teammates for her remarks.

As the regular season nears its conclusion, Reese sat down for an interview with the Chicago Tribune and during the conversation, she shared her frustration with yet another losing season, emphasizing the team’s performance and the need for additional talent. She mentioned that she ‘might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me’ if the team does not bring in more players to enhance next season’s outcome.

On Wednesday, Sept. 3, the Sky beat the Connecticut Sun 88-64 as Reese contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Sky (10-30) have already been eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive year. In a postgame interview, Reese said her comments to the Chicago Tribune were not intended to be directed at or hurt her current teammates.

‘I think the language is taken out of context. I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates, because they’ve been through this with me throughout the whole year,’ Reese said. ‘I want to apologize to my teammates, which I already have about the article and how it was misconstrued about what was said. And I just have to be better with my language.’

Reese has averaged a team-high of 14.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season for the Sky.

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When the Dallas Cowboys traded edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in August 2025, some were quick to label it one of the worst trades of all time.

But where, if anywhere, does it actually rank among the worst in NFL history?

Only time will tell how the Parsons deal ages. There have been plenty of other miserable trades in the league’s past, some recent and others much older, that aged extremely poorly in the months and years after they happened.

There are seven trades, in particular, that USA TODAY Sports is ranking as the worst deals in NFL history.

Worst trades in NFL history

7. Falcons trade Brett Favre to Packers

The Parsons trade was not the first time the Packers have been the beneficiaries of a poor decision by another team, though it’s hard to blame the Falcons too much, given what they knew at the time.

In his rookie season in 1991, Favre played two games for Atlanta and was intercepted twice on four pass attempts and had zero completions. So when the Packers came calling and offered a first-round pick for the former second-rounder, the Falcons accepted what, at the time, was a no-brainer deal. The rest is history.

Favre went on to earn two Pro Bowl nods in his first two seasons with Green Bay, then won three straight NFL MVP awards from 1995 to 1997. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

6. Titans send A.J. Brown to the Eagles

The writing was on the wall in Tennessee ahead of the 2022 season. Their star receiver was set to hit free agency following the season. With the recently inflated wide receiver market leading to trades of other stars around the league that offseason – Davante Adams to the Raiders and Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins – the Titans decided that they weren’t going to pay Brown and would recoup draft capital for him instead.

The Titans ended up sending Brown to Philadelphia on draft night for the Eagles’ No. 18 overall pick. They used it to select Treylon Burks – whom the team waived just a few seasons after he was selected – and Brown went on to have the best couple of years of his career in the two subsequent seasons, leading him to sign another extension with the Eagles in 2024.

5. Chargers trade up for Ryan Leaf

The Chargers were desperate to take a quarterback in the 1998 NFL Draft, but there were only two highly touted prospects, and they had the No. 3 overall pick. Their solution? Trading their third overall pick, their second-round pick, a 1999 first-round pick and All-Pro kick returner Eric Metcalf to get the second overall pick from the Cardinals.

When the Colts took Peyton Manning with the first pick, the Chargers took the other top quarterback prospect, Ryan Leaf. He went on to be one of the biggest busts in NFL history, playing just four seasons and winning four of his 21 games as a starter.

4. Browns nab Colts’ first-rounder in Trent Richardson trade

Richardson began his career in Cleveland after the Brown traded up to the No. 3 overall pick to select him in the 2012 NFL Draft. He finished his first season with the Browns with 1,317 scrimmage yards and 12 total touchdowns, then made it only two games into his second season in Cleveland before he was traded.

The Colts sent their 2014 first-round pick to the Browns to acquire Richardson after Week 2 of the 2013 season in the wake of an injury to Vick Ballard in what wound up being his final career game.

Richardson never came close to the level of production he had in his final season at Alabama (1,740 yards, 21 touchdowns) or even his rookie season with the Browns. The Colts waived him after the 2014 season.

3. Broncos send five picks, three players to the Seahawks for Russell Wilson

Wilson’s time in Seattle was nearing its expiration date by the end of the 2021 season. The Seahawks had fired offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer – then-architect of the ‘Let Russ Cook’ era that saw some of Wilson’s best years between 2018 and 2020 – after the 2020 season, a move that frustrated Wilson.

So, the Broncos took another shot at finding their post-Peyton Manning era replacement by sending five picks, including two first-rounders, to Seattle. The trade also sent quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and tight end Noah Fant to the Seahawks.

Wilson’s two-year stint in Denver was very disappointing. He led the Broncos to a 4-11 start in his first year with the team under head coach Nathaniel Hackett in 2022, and he was the NFL’s leader in sacks taken with 55.

In 2023, new head coach Sean Payton righted the ship a bit more – to the tune of a 7-8 record with the veteran under center – but still benched Wilson for the final two games of the season in a move that indicated Wilson’s time as a Bronco was up. The team released him the following offseason

2. Browns trade three first-round picks for Deshaun Watson

The Deshaun Watson trade is one of the two deals on this list so bad it has its own Wikipedia page.

In March 2022, after the then-Texans quarterback had sat out a full season following an unsuccessful trade request, multiple – nearly two dozen in total – massage therapists came forward accusing Watson of sexual assault.

Two days after the first allegation came to light, the Browns traded their first-round picks in 2022, 2023 and 2024, along with a 2022 fourth-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick to Houston in exchange for Watson and a 2024 sixth-round pick. Cleveland then immediately signed the quarterback to a fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract extension in an unprecedented move.

The NFL suspended Watson for 11 games in the wake of the sexual assault allegations, meaning the quarterback did not make his Browns debut until Week 13 of the 2022 season, nearly two full years since his last appearance in a game.

Watson has since played a total of 19 games for the Browns as he’s battled numerous injuries and has never come anywhere close to playing like the 4,000-yard passer and three-time Pro Bowler he was in Houston. He is set to miss most, if not all, of the 2025 season after re-rupturing his Achilles tendon while rehabbing from the original rupture he suffered in October 2024.

Meanwhile, the Texans used the extra picks the Browns gave up to rebuild their roster. After a 3-13-1 2022 season, Houston drafted C.J. Stroud with the second overall pick in 2023 and have won a playoff game in each of the two seasons since.

1. Vikings trade so many picks for Herschel Walker

This trade is the other one to earn a distinction of ‘so bad it has its own Wikipedia page.’

After the Cowboys drafted him in 1985 then signed him in 1986, Walker established himself as Dallas’ best player by 1988, his third season as a pro.

The year before, the former Georgia Bulldog led the NFL with 1,606 yards from scrimmage on 269 touches and earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro nods. In 1988, he rushed for 1,514 yards and five touchdowns and caught 53 passes for 505 receiving yards to put him at 2,019 scrimmage yards.

When the Cowboys began the 1989 season 0-5, they started a bidding war over Walker, and the Vikings emerged as ‘winners.’ All they had to give up was their first- and second-round picks in 1990, 1991, and 1992, as well as a sixth-round pick in 1990 and a third-round pick in 1992.

Minnesota had actually traded five players and just three draft picks to the Cowboys initially, offering extra draft picks to Dallas that were conditional on those five players’ releases. The Cowboys cut all four of the players that reported to Dallas – and traded running back Darrin Nelson, the lone holdout, to the Chargers – to claim all of those additional, conditional picks.

Team owner/general manager Jerry Jones used that extra draft capital to construct the super-powered Cowboys rosters of the early ’90s and won three Super Bowls in four years.

As for Walker, he played just two more full seasons for the Vikings and never surpassed 900 rushing yards in those seasons. The Eagles signed him in 1992, ending his tenure in Minnesota.

Jack Leiter was the No. 2 pick in the 2021 MLB draft but struggled to start his pro career.
Rangers remain in the AL wild-card race, hoping to chase down the Mariners.
The 25-year-old is the son of two-time World Series champion Al Leiter.

PHOENIX — He’s a 25-year-old kid and was already being called a bust.

He was the second pick in the 2021 amateur draft but was branded a failure.

Here are with three weeks to play in the regular season, and Jack Leiter is now being heralded as the Rangers’ savior, instrumental in Texas’ stunning ascent to playoff contention.

“This is one of the things that we have to fight in terms of pitching development,’ Chris Young, Rangers president of baseball operations, told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s not linear. When you have bumps in the road in the development processes, it’s actually a positive because you learn how deal with adversity. Because at no point did he ever quit working. At no point did he ever feel sorry for him. And at no point did he ever question or lose confidence in himself.

“These big-hyped prospects, it’s hard to live up to, but it’s the mind that separates them. Once they mentally understand how good they are what they have to do to be successful, the results seem to happen. I always knew it was in there. You just didn’t know when.’

Well, when happens to be now, with Leiter showcasing his talents just when the Rangers (72-69) need him the most in their playoff push. He has gone 5-3 and yielded 2.89 ERA in his last 12 starts, striking out 75 in 62 ⅓ innings. He gave up two runs in the first two innings on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, then proceeded to retire 13 of the final 14 batters, giving up just three hits and striking out eight in six innings. It was his third consecutive quality start for the first time in his young career.

“What a great job Jack did,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said in his office. “Early, he was a little off with his command, regrouped, and he just put it in another gear. It just shows you the growth of this young man.’

Leiter is showing just why the Rangers never stopped believing in him, showing a glimpse during this nine-week stretch why he could become one of the preeminent young pitching stars of baseball.

Leiter’s prowess has helped the Rangers overcome the most horrific stretch of injuries manager Bochy has ever seen, losing eight players in 12 days to the injured list. They’ve had heartbreaking defeats with 25 one-run losses and 38 losses by two or fewer runs. Their offense has been abysmal they’ve played 51 games in which they’ve scored two or fewer runs.

And yet after winning nine of their last 12 games, they are back in the playoff race and beginning a critical homestand Friday night against the Houston Astros, thanks to the Seattle Mariners’ struggles.

“I mean, it’s just unreal the number of injuries we have seen here,’ Bochy says. “We’ve had some gut punches. I’ve never had a season like this where we had so many players go on the IL. It started in spring training, graduated from there, and just got worse.

“That’s why Jack can be huge for us. Really, he already has. He’s always had great stuff, but now he’s just learned to harness it. And we’ve sure needed him.’

‘This is a game built on failure’

This is the Leiter everyone envisioned when the Rangers drafted him with the second pick out of Vanderbilt, a kid who pitched a no-hitter in his SEC debut with 16 strikeouts, struck out 179 strikeouts in 110 innings, and featured a 97-mph fastball and lethal curveball.

It’s where expectations got out of control, with fans believing he’d morph into Stephen Strasburg or the second coming of Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.

When Leiter struggled his first three years as a pro – going 0-3 with an 8.83 ERA in nine MLB games for the Rangers last season, yielding 61 baserunners in just 35 ⅔ innings – questions arose whether he’d ever live up to the hype.

The criticism was harsh. And it was painful.

“It’s just society in general,’ Young said, shaking his head. “The expectations and pressures on today’s players are greater than ever. There’s more exposure than ever. And there’s a bigger following than ever. It’s a lot to live up to.

“This is a game built on failure, and very few people go through this game without really experiencing a certain level of failure. And when you have those types of pressure and expectations, it seems like it’s under a microscope, which isn’t fair.’

Leiter, the son of two-time World Series champion and two-time All-Star pitcher Al Leiter, and the nephew of 11-year veteran pitcher Mark Leiter, refused to let the ridicule burden him. He stays away from social media. Doesn’t read the press clippings. And doesn’t bother with talk radio.

“That can be tough, but at the same time,’ Leiter said, “those are outside perceptions. I’m not on social media or anything like that. I just kind of just keep to my inner circle. I’ve got my family, my friends, my teammates, and that’s more than enough for me.

“The only expectations I have are for myself, which are obviously high.’

Hey, when you are throwing a 99-mph fastball, a slider, sinker, curveball and newly improved changeup, who wouldn’t set goals to pitch 200 innings and be a 20-game winner?

“I really feel good right now,’ Leiter said. “I would say this is definitely the most confident I’ve felt in my big-league career.

“I’ve learned a lot because even from the bad games there’s always glimpses of good things. You learn from the bad, and you take the good from the bad. There hasn’t been one moment or one game where the confidence has just skyrocketed necessarily, it’s just part of the process.’

Leiter will tell you it has taken a village for him to get here. He’ll prop up a chair and listen to Nathan Eovaldi’s scouting reports. He soaks in the knowledge from two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. He has learned lessons of perseverance from veteran Patrick Corbin. And he’s always open to advice from his veteran catching corps, led by Kyle Higashioka.

When you’re surrounded by World Series champions and Cy Young winners, Leiter says, it would be foolish for him not to take advantage.

“He’s such a great kid,’ deGrom said. “I don’t want try to overwhelm him because sometimes you get too many people telling you stuff, and you over-think things. But I’ve talked to him about trusting his stuff, and going right at guys. I tell him if you’re in a tough spot, go with your best pitch. That’s the approach I take, I don’t want to get beat on my third or fourth-best pitch.

“You saw him nibble early in the season, but now he’s attacking those hitters, and saying, ‘Here it is, let’s go.’ He had ups and downs early, but kept a level head and kept coming, which is tough for a young kid.’

Said Corbin: “What really stands out to me is that he’s so mature for a young guy. You just see how his work ethic is a lot different from some of the young guys. You’re going to have some failures for sure, but you never saw it get him down.

“Really, there’s no reason that he can’t be one of the best pitchers in the game once he really trusts his stuff, and goes out and lets it go. Really, his stuff is as good as anybody in the game.’

Jack Leiter has ‘this desire to be great’

He’s old-school, too, just like his pop. He’s not trying to throw as hard as he can possibly throw, and high-fiving teammates after going four innings. He’s angry when he doesn’t go at least six or seven innings. He says his job is to go deep, keep his team in games, and give them every possible chance to win.

Leiter has gone at least six innings in six of his starts during the 12-game stretch, including three in a row. He has already had 11 games in which he’s thrown at least 90 pitches, and has still sustained his velocity through his final pitch.

“Jack just has this desire to be great,’ said Young, who pitched 13 years and won a World Series with the 2015 Kanas City Royals as a player and the 2023 World Series with the Rangers as their GM. “When you have guys like that, you have a high level of confidence they’re going to reach their full potential.’

Who knows, with Leiter coming on, deGrom dominating and Merrill Kelly arriving at the trade deadline, maybe the Rangers have what it takes to sneak into the postseason. They can’t expect the Mariners to keep losing, but if they can survive a 12-game stretch against the Houston Astros (six), Milwaukee Brewers (three games) and New York Mets (three), they finish the season with nine against the Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians.

“When people started going down, we definitely didn’t think that we’d be playing better,’ Higashioka said. “We kind of kicked it into gear a little bit. We’ve got a sense of urgency now.’

No one gave the Rangers a chance in 2023 when they lost the AL West on the final day of the season, had to travel to Tampa, and proceeded to win 11 consecutive road games in the postseason to win their first World Series.

But here they are, somehow alive, refusing to quit even with $500 million worth of infielders on the injured list with Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, Cy Young candidate Eovaldi done for the season, and outfielder Adolis Garcia perhaps the next to hit the IL.

“You never put limitations on a group of guys that play for each other and believe in each other,’ Young said. “I believe chemistry is the most important aspect of a baseball team, and to see what the guys are doing, and the way they’re fighting and playing for each other right now, I’m just sitting back and enjoying it.

“I love being the underdog, and that’s where are right now. This is the fight we signed up for. I’m excited to see how we finish it.’

A certain 25-year- Who knows, maybe season could wind up with a certain 25-year-old on the mound, with the Rangers’ fate resting on his shoulders?

“Pitching in under this pressure is not going to affect him at all,’ Higashioka says. “Really, nothing fazes him. His fastball is as good as anybody’s, and that changeup makes him so dangerous. Who wouldn’t want him on the mound?

“The way he’s pitching right now, hey, we would all love to see it.’

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

Nearly $80 million in name, image and likeness deals were cleared by the newly established College Sports Commission from June through the end of August, the clearinghouse announced on Thursday,

According to a report detailing the commission’s first two months, over 8,000 NIL deals were cleared, with values ranging up to $1.6 million and beyond.

The commission said more than 28,000 college athletes have registered to use the program, called NIL Go, which was created in the wake of the House settlement that allowed universities to distribute payments for the use of NIL directly to athletes. Schools are allowed to spend up to $20.5 million per year to athletes. The deas athletes have with schools do not go through the College Sports Commission. Only deals with external parties must get approval from NIL Go.

In a given week since going live on June 11, NIL Go has been used by an average of 1,658 athletes and 507 institutional users, the commission said.

There have been 332 proposed NIL deals that have not been approved, with 75 deals since altered and resubmitted for approval. The most common issues with rejected NIL deals were delays in submitting information, contradictory deal terms or incorrectly entered information, and proposals that failed to “satisfy valid business purpose requirements.”

There are currently no deals in arbitration, according to the report.

The commission currently outsources the review of proposed NIL packages to law and accounting firms, which measure packages based on factors such as whether the deal would apply to a general member of the public.