In luring the hottest commodity on the NFL coaching market to the Windy City, maybe the Chicago Bears just hired the next Sean McVay.

Or perhaps they’ve secured the next Adam Gase. Time will tell. Like always.

Ben Johnson was introduced as the new Bears coach on Wednesday, fueling expectations that the man who pushed buttons for the high-powered Detroit Lions offense will inspire a similar brand of progressive football to catapult Chicago to a new era.

Suddenly, the sky is the limit for uber-talented Caleb Williams, rather than what he saw all too often in absorbing an NFL-high 68 sacks during his rookie season as the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s worst offenses.

After all, Johnson’s creative genius was on full display at Soldier Field in December, when Detroit suckered the Bears for a touchdown on a “Stumblebum” trick play. And NFL teams were falling all over themselves to hire Johnson – so hot that he pulled himself off the market last year and the year before that, too – as that coveted, young, bright offensive mind who fits the profile that so many desire.  

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Now Johnson, 38, can concoct a new plan for a franchise desperately trying to get out of its own way (again) after stumbling repeatedly in recent years when hiring coaches.

Is the fifth time the charm? Since Lovie Smith was fired after posting a 10-6 record in 2012, the Bears have cycled through Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy and Matt Eberflus. Over 12 years, that quartet combined for one winning season and zero playoff wins.

But now the Bears have won the coaching sweepstakes. Or so it seems. Here’s to hope and hype, NFL style.

Check out the message Johnson expressed to his new players: “Get comfortable being uncomfortable. The bar has been set higher than it’s ever been set before.”

Sounds good enough. Yet Johnson, never a head coach on any level, needs to prove he can command the room and make that leap from star coordinator to winning coach. He knows. Nothing is automatic.

“A lot of coordinators have failed in this role,” Johnson said during a 32-minute news conference. “What I can tell you is that every step of my journey, whether it’s quality control, whether it was position coach, whether it was coordinator, I have found a way to change myself to be the best in that particular job.”

He added, “I’m a football coach. So, I will be able to change and adjust accordingly.”

Brian Billick can relate. A generation ago, Billick was that hot offensive coordinator when the Minnesota Vikings set a then-NFL record with 556 points in 1998. He spurned the Cleveland Browns and landed with the Baltimore Ravens in 1999, then won a Super Bowl in his second season. Before joining the Ravens and teaming with legendary general manager Ozzie Newsome, Billick had never been a head coach on any level.

“My experience was that you work your entire life to get the chance to be a head coach, you develop an expertise, you get the job, you sit behind that desk and think, ‘What the hell do I do now?’ ” Billick told USA TODAY Sports.

“I think Ben Johnson has been around enough coaches that he’ll craft the right structure and system. But it is a task.”

Billick realizes the challenge includes suddenly having to deal with matters that land on the coach’s desk – such as off-the-field situations for players and personnel decisions. Johnson is bullish on the talent he inherits and, while mindful that the O-line needs an upgrade, envisions being “lock step” with GM Ryan Poles. Of course, he will continue to call the offensive plays. After all, that’s his calling card.

“When you’re a coordinator, it is a 24/7, 365 days-a-year job,” Billick said. “That’s all you think about. I call it the ‘3 a.m. rule.’ When you wake up at 3 a.m., you’re thinking about coordinator stuff. What about this protection? Do I put this guy in the flat? That’s all you think about. You have to be that kind of consumed with it in order to be good.”

Now, Billick added, the Bears need to have the system in place to support Johnson to the point where, “If you wake up at 3 a.m. thinking about whether you’re going to put the fullback in the flat, then somebody had better be waking up thinking about those other things.”

In one sense, Johnson’s challenge is typical. At the start of last season, 23 of the 32 coaches were in roles that had made them first-time head coaches. That includes long-timers such as Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh, but also a fair number still needing to establish themselves in an environment where opportunities can be fleeting.

No, Johnson’s challenge is only so unique when considering the reason his new job was open. Eberflus, who began in 2022, was 14-32 when he was fired in late November, a day after bungling the clock in crunch time of the Thanksgiving loss at Detroit.

And given the series of Chicago’s failed coaches, the change-the-culture mantra is apropos.

As Billick put it, “It’s kind of been the Black Hole for coaches. They go in there and just get gobbled up.”

At least Johnson has seen his challenge before. When Dan Campbell landed the Lions job in 2021, he kept Johnson from Matt Patricia’s previous staff. Johnson, who had worked with Campbell when they were on Joe Philbin’s staff with the Miami Dolphins, saw Campbell build the program from a 3-13-1 team to a Super Bowl contender. Of course, he had a key role after being promoted to coordinator in 2022.

Is he ready? A year ago, Johnson was hotly pursued by the Carolina Panthers and the Washington Commanders but pulled himself out of the running for the jobs after the Lions blew a 17-point lead and suffered a heartbreaking loss in the NFC championship game at San Francisco.

“As my emotions got the better or me at that point, I decided early on that I wanted to come back and take another shot at that in Detroit,” Johnson said.

He also used the additional year to better prepare for the next career step. This included deep reflections during the offseason.

“I was able to do a lot more thinking, and just throughout my head, my process, of what it would look like as the head coach,” he said. “I just felt a lot more comfortable, in terms of making that jump, regardless of how the season ended in Detroit.”

It ended with a thud in Detroit. Johnson’s offense put up 521 yards on Saturday night yet committed five turnovers – four from Jared Goff and an interception by Jameson Williams on an ill-advised wide receiver option pass in the fourth quarter of a 10-point game.

With Detroit riding momentum, it was a bad time for a trick play.

Johnson, though, wasted no time in making his next move. The Bears got their man before he even set foot in the team’s headquarters. He stays in the NFC North and has the key building block in place at quarterback.

And surely the Bears faithful can’t wait to see the next trick play.

Follow Jarrett Bell on X @JarrettBell.

With the New York Jets hiring Aaron Glenn to be their next head coach, the Detroit Lions will receive two extra draft picks, thanks to a 2020 amendment to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement as it relates to the Rooney Rule.

The Lions get third-round draft picks in the 2025 and 2026 drafts under a rule that stipulates that if a team lost a minority executive or coach to another team, that team receives compensatory picks. The 5-year-old rule was put in place to reward teams that develop minority coaches and front office personnel who go on to become head coaches or general managers. For example, when the Lions hired current general manager Brad Holmes from the Los Angeles Rams, the Rams received compensatory third-round picks in the 2021 and 2022 NFL drafts.

The Rams and San Francisco 49ers each had compensatory picks in the 2024 draft for losing Raheem Morris (current Atlanta Falcons head coach) and Ran Carthon (former Tennessee Titans GM), respectively. The Rams and 49ers will have additional compensatory picks in the 2025 draft as well.

For Glenn, the Jets job represents his first head coaching gig. Glenn, who played as a defensive back, was a first-round draft pick by the Jets in 1994. He went on to play 15 NFL seasons with six different teams and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. Glenn, who started his NFL coaching career in 2014 as an assistant defensive backs coach, was the Lions’ defensive coordinator for the previous four seasons.

What are compensatory draft picks?

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Compensatory draft picks also are presented to teams that lose minority assistant coaches or front office personnel to head coaching or general manager positions with other teams.

The compensatory selections are placed at the bottom of Rounds 3-7 and a total of 32 selections are presented. The announcement of the compensatory picks for the 2025 NFL draft will come in March.

According to Over The Cap, the 49ers, Lions and Rams will receive compensatory picks for minority hirings in 2025, while the Minnesota Vikings (Kirk Cousins) and Miami Dolphins (Robert Hunt) are projected to receive compensatory selections for free-agent losses.

What is the Rooney Rule?

In 2003, the NFL adopted a rule that each team must interview at least one minority candidate prior to selecting a new head coach. The rule was named for late Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who led the league’s diversity committee.

The Rooney Rule has evolved over time, with the aforementioned 2020 addition to reward teams for developing minority head coaching and general manager talent. In 2021, the league required every team to interview at least two external minority candidates for open head coaching and general manager positions and at least one external minority candidate for a coordinator position. The rule also was expanded to assure at least one minority and/or female candidate be interviewed for senior level front office positions.

THE NFL’s TRIPLE STANDARD: How Black NFL coaches face harsher expectations

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MEDLEY, Fla. — More than 3 million viewers tuned into the opening weekend of Unrivaled women’s basketball on cable television, TNT Sports announced Thursday as the new league enters its second week.

The figure – from games broadcast on TNT and TruTV – is an early and positive sign the fast-paced, 3-on-3, full court games created by and featuring WNBA players is resonating with fans and viewers.

“Everybody who I’ve talked to that has watched any of the games say it’s so fun to watch. So, just give it a chance, watch it,” Kate Martin told USA TODAY Sports. Martin played with Caitlin Clark at Iowa, the Las Vegas Aces last year, and will play for WNBA expansion team Golden State Valkyries next season.

“I think it’s just super cool because it’s not just about the basketball, but it’s about what this whole league is doing for women’s sports in general. And so, it’s bigger than just basketball.”

Unrivaled – co-founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier – attracted fellow WNBA stars by promising higher salaries and team equity, while not needing to play overseas outside of the WNBA season. 

While Clark and reigning WNBA MVP Aja Wilson aren’t in the league, other stars like Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu and Angel Reese have embarked on the new venture that has created buzz among fans on social media.

The league has outfitted a production warehouse about seven miles from Miami International Airport into a basketball facility with a showcase arena where up to 850 fans can experience the action for a nine-week season.

“It definitely feels really intimate. Definitely something I think all the fans should come out and see,” WNBA star Brittney Griner said. “You’re a fan, you’re not a fan. I think you might become a fan, honestly, because it’s different from 5-on-5. The action is always happening. There’s always a big play going on one end of the floor.

“I think the fan interaction has been great. And all the social media stuff that they’re doing, too. There’s a lot of content going out every single day. And that’s good for us. … It’s just pushing every pillar in the way that we want.”

Unrivaled’s fourth-quarter format – where teams must reach the target winning score, 11 points more than the leading team’s score after the third quarter – also appears to have also resonated with fans.

Otherwise known as the Elam Ending, every Unrivaled game will end with a game-winning bucket.

The format was quickly highlighted in the league’s first game when Skyler Diggins-Smith scored a game-winning three-pointer, helping the Lunar Owls beat Stewart and the Mist.

The Lunar Owls closed out the fourth quarter on a 17-7 run, after trailing by as many as 10 points, in the only comeback win of the opening weekend.

Teams with leads in the five other games played were able to secure victories. There were three games decided by nine points or less, a 20-point win, and a 38-point blowout among the league’s first six games.

“We were up going into the fourth quarter, and tightened up and didn’t execute enough. That’s a different position to be in,” Courtney Vandersloot, a WNBA free agent who won her second title with the New York Liberty last season, said of the Mist loss.

“So, I think that was a learning thing for us. But I think everybody’s still trying to figure out what they’re good at and how they can win.”

Players and coaches said Thursday they’ve settled down from the hype and unknowns from the opening weekend, and gotten into the grind of the season, which ends March 17.

Unrivaled returns to action for its second week on Friday, Saturday and Monday with games shown on TNT, TruTV and Max.

“I thought opening weekend was incredible, very competitive. Players were definitely getting after, and it was great to have the fan engagement,” Stewart said.

“Just to see their relationships between being W fans but now coming here, it’s a hot ticket to have, and I think everybody really wants to come. I think that the fact this is a player-led league, everybody’s trying to uplift one another and make it so we’re getting better on and off the court.”

AUSTIN, Texas – Lady Vols basketball coach Kim Caldwell is not with the team for Tennessee’s road matchup with Texas on Thursday, UT announced.

Caldwell, who gave birth to her son, did not travel with the team and will not coach the No. 17 Lady Vols (15-3, 3-3 SEC) against the No. 7 Longhorns (18-2, 4-1) at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Thursday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Tennessee announced an hour before tipoff that Caldwell and her husband, Justin, were proud parents of Conor Scott Caldwell. Both Caldwell and Conor are ‘doing well,’ according to the statement.

Assistant coach Jenna Burdette will be taking over head coaching duties Thursday. This is the first game Caldwell has missed due to her pregnancy. She coached Tennessee in its loss at Vanderbilt on Sunday.

Caldwell, 36, announced her pregnancy in September and has navigated her first season as Lady Vols coach pregnant with her first child. Caldwell’s husband, Justin, is the player development coordinator for Tennessee men’s basketball.

Jenna Burdette coaching Lady Vols at Texas with Kim Caldwell not in Austin

Burdette has spent the most time with Caldwell of anyone on her Lady Vols staff. Burdette was Caldwell’s assistant coach at Glenville State (2018-20) and Marshall (2023-24). Caldwell’s teams have swept their conference titles all three seasons Burdette was on her staff.

Glenville State went 56-8 and won the MEC regular-season and tournament championships both seasons Burdette was there.

Burdette was Caldwell’s associate head coach their one season at Marshall, and they led the Herd to a 26-7 record and both the regular-season and Sun Belt Tournament championships. Marshall earned its second-ever NCAA Tournament berth and first appearance since 1997.

Caldwell hired Burdette on her Lady Vols staff in April.

Hey Aryna Sabalenka, we know you’re getting ready to go for your Australian Open three-peat Saturday and you’re No. 1 in the world and far and away the best hard court player on the women’s tour. 

But for all of us American tennis fans, can you please just let Madison Keys have this one? 

My goodness does she deserve it. 

A few weeks from her 30th birthday, Keys played the match of her life Thursday morning in the U.S. (Thursday night in Australia) to outlast No. 2 Iga Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 7-6, capped by a 10-8 tiebreak in which it seemed like Keys was fighting from behind the entire way until a late burst of energy lifted her over the finish line. 

It took a stunning amount of clutch tennis for Keys to pull this off. At 4-4 in the third set, she had to erase a 0-40 deficit and ultimately save four break points. Then, after getting broken at 5-5, Keys found some heavy forehands and saved a match point to scratch out a break of serve and send it to the tiebreaker. 

There, Keys was down 3-1, 4-2, 5-3, 6-4, 7-5 and 8-7 — all of those moments potential backbreakers — before reeling off the last three points and joyfully screaming into her racket as Swiatek’s final forehand sailed long. 

For American tennis fans who have followed Keys over the years, it would have been hard to have faith that this one was going to go her direction. Maybe for Keys, too. 

She’s had a wonderful career: Nine WTA titles, a long time in the top 10 and nearly $20 million in earnings. But there have also been so, so many times that Keys has been on the verge of a big breakthrough in the Grand Slams only to have something go heartbreakingly wrong. 

The one time she made a Slam final, at the 2017 US Open, Keys didn’t put her best foot forward against her good friend Sloane Stephens and got swept off the court 6-3, 6-0. Every subsequent attempt to get back to that stage of a major has been disappointing — perhaps none moreso than the 2023 US Open when Keys let a 6-0, 5-3 lead over Sabalenka slip away and also couldn’t close the deal in the third set from up 4-2. In the fourth round at Wimbledon a year ago when it looked like everything was lining up for a deep run, Keys was up 5-2 in the third against eventual finalist Jasmine Paolini before hurting her leg and retiring at 5-5.

At this stage of her career, we don’t have to harp on the fact that Keys doesn’t have a ton of time to put a Grand Slam in her trophy case. This may be as good a shot as she gets. 

And as well as she played to beat Swiatek, the task in front of her will be even more difficult. 

All kidding aside, Sabalenka is not going to give this title up easily. For three straight years now, she’s been at her absolute best in Australia. This time, Sabalenka has dropped only one set in her run to the finals and seems completely dialed into the court speed, the conditions and what she needs to keep her massive baseline power game within the margins. 

In the head-to-head matchup, Keys has only won one of five meetings — all the way back in 2021 on a grass court in Berlin. 

So let’s be real: All the data points to another Sabalenka win, which would be her fourth Slam title and very much put her in contention to be the best player of the post-Serena Williams era. 

At the same time, there’s just something irresistible about the entire career arc of turning pro at age 14 under massive expectations, accomplishing a lot in the game but maybe not quite what everyone thought, then finally getting the ultimate reward after so many years and chances have gone by. 

What a great story that would be for Keys, who has been really good for a long time but not quite good enough to win one of these tournaments. 

The effort she put forth to beat Swiatek on Thursday was powerful, resilient, Slam-winning tennis. It was a performance for Keys and all of her fans in America to be proud of. 

Now she’ll have to do it all over again — and then some — to avoid another gut-wrenching near-miss at a Grand Slam. The old Sabalenka might have given away a final. She was too wild, too emotionally volatile, too anxious to perform on that stage. But now, this is her comfort zone.

So there’s no other option for Keys. After playing the match of her life, winning the Australian Open will require her to play that level of tennis one more time.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Dan Wolken on social media @DanWolken

Ravens tight end Mark Andrews had largely kept his head down and mouth shut in the aftermath of his team’s divisional round clash with the Bills. That changed on Thursday afternoon.

The veteran tight end shared his thoughts and emotions in the aftermath of the Ravens’ divisional round loss in an Instagram post Thursday.

‘It’s impossible to adequately express how I feel,’ Andrews wrote. ‘I’m absolutely gutted by what happened on Sunday. I’m devastated for my teammates, my coaches and Ravens fans. I pour every ounce of my being into playing at the highest level possible, because I love my team and the game of football like nothing else. That is why it’s taken me until now to collect my thoughts and address this publicly.

‘Even though the shock and disappointment are unlike anything I’ve felt before, I refuse to let the situation define me. I promise that this adversity will only make me stronger and fuel us as we move forward. I thank everyone who has shown me and our team genuine support these past several days.

‘Despite the negativity, I’ve seen heartfelt love and encouragement, including from those who have generously donated to the Breakthrough T1D organization. Even when the moment seems darkest, perspective can reveal that there’s still a lot of light in this world. I’m now going to do my part to bounce back and contribute to it. #GodBless’

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In the days since the game, football fans and other members of the NFL community have raised over $100,000 for Breakthrough T1D, a non-profit organization dedicated to research and advocacy for type 1 diabetes, using a GoFundMe created by a Bills fan.

Andrews refused to speak to the media on Sunday night following the Ravens’ 27-25 loss to the Bills. The veteran tight end’s critical drop during a two-point conversion attempt late in the game proved to be the difference in the loss, and as such, he’s been the target of much online hate and vitriol.

Three days after the fundraiser began and four days after the loss, Andrews was clearly ready to make his first public comments since the game ended.

Three individuals implicated in selling forged Jason Kelce-signed sports memorabilia valued at over $200K face dozens of felony charges, the Montgomery County District Attorney announced on Thursday.

Robert Capone, 51, LeeAnn Branco, 43, and Joseph Parenti, 39, were charged with 60 felonies, including forgery, theft by deception and dealing in the proceeds of unlawful practices, after attempting to pass over a thousand counterfeit sports memorabilia items purportedly autographed by Kelce as authentic goods.

According to the District Attorney’s office, the three suspects used Branco’s status as a Beckett Authentication Services employee to ‘verify’ forged Kelce signatures that he supposedly gave at the Valley Forge Casino Hotel in Pennsylvania in June 2024. The fake items were then listed for sale with a certificate of authenticity by Overtime Promotions and Diamond Legends, which are owned by Capone and Parenti, respectively.

‘The value of these 1,138 memorabilia items—including signed jerseys, helmets, mini-helmets, hats, photos, footballs and other items—was approximately $200,000,’ the District Attorney’s office said in a statement.

The Montgomery County District Attorney was alerted to the counterfeit items in June 2024 by THC Humphreys LLC, the sports memorabilia company that contracted Kelce to conduct a legitimate signing at a private event at the Valley Forge Casino Hotel on the days that the forged merchandise was said to be signed.

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‘Branco and Parenti attended the legitimate signing event on June 11, 2024, at the Valley Forge Casino Hotel, and Branco secured a photo with Kelce in order to validate her in-the-presence authentication of the forged memorabilia that was never actually signed by Kelce,’ the statement added.

In a statement to ABC News, Beckett Authentication Services apologized to anyone impacted by the scam and promised a refund. ‘A bad-acting independent contractor broke Beckett protocols. Luckily, we have identified this scheme, involved the authorities to take all proper legal action and are now looking to buy back all the fraudulent memorabilia,’ the company said. 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.

Among baseball’s newest Hall of Famers, Ichiro Suzuki came one vote shy of a unanimous election – something that has only happened once in history.

At a media conference in Cooperstown on Thursday, the first-ever Japanese Hall of Famer joked about the lone member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America who did not include him on their 2025 ballot.

“I was able to receive many votes from the writers. I am grateful for them,” Suzuki said, via an interpreter. “There is one writer that I wasn’t able to get a vote from. I would like to invite him over to my house and we’ll have a drink together and we’ll have a good chat.”

Suzuki made his Major League Baseball debut in 2001, winning the American League MVP award and Rookie of the Year. In 19 seasons with the Mariners, Yankees and Marlins, Suzuki racked up 3,089 hits and won 10 Gold Glove awards.

‘I’ve been coming to the Hall of Fame as a player … and what an honor it is for me to be here as a Hall of Famer,’ Suzuki said Thursday in Cooperstown.

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The only unanimous Hall of Fame selection was Mariano Rivera in 2019, with Derek Jeter also coming up one vote shy in 2020.

The first 12-team College Football Playoff is in the books after Ohio State’s national championship game win over Notre Dame, and that means focus on campus will quickly turn to college basketball and the March Madness that looms less than two months away.

Women’s college basketball, in particular, is in the midst of a crucial moment in its history, with more attention paid to the sport because of what generational players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have done for its popularity in recent years. This season – even with Clark and Reese off to the professional ranks – appears poised to continue that momentum, having already produced a series of intriguing headlines and another batch of stars with the potential to further fuel the growth of women’s basketball.

The national championship contenders are separating themselves from the pack now that conference play is here and there are several key games coming up soon that will set the tone heading into Selection Sunday. If you haven’t been paying attention to the women’s college basketball season until now, here’s a breakdown of some key trends and stories to track ahead of the 2025 NCAA tournament.

UCLA, LSU are only two undefeated teams left

No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 LSU are the only women’s college basketball teams without a loss through games played on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Each team, however, is preparing to face another stern test in the coming days. 

The Bruins handed No. 2 South Carolina its only defeat of the season in nonconference play and have wins over Louisville, Michigan and Baylor during the best start in program history. But a matchup with No. 10 Maryland awaits this weekend to kick off the teeth of UCLA’s first Big Ten schedule. 

LSU’s path to an unblemished record has been slightly easier with just two wins over ranked opponents. But coach Kim Mulkey’s team has reeled off five-straight SEC victories and gets a chance to cement its status as a Final Four contender against South Carolina on Friday in a showdown delayed by one day due to inclement weather in the southeast. 

Who will be player of the year?

A four-way race appears to have broken out to be crowned this season’s best women’s college basketball player with less than two months to go until Selection Sunday. Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, USC’s JuJu Watkins, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and UConn’s Paige Bueckers all have cases to make.

Hidalgo is the biggest reason why the Fighting Irish are the only team to beat USC and Texas this season, while Watkins is backing up her record-setting freshman season with the Trojans by becoming a more efficient player as a sophomore. Betts is averaging a double-double while emerging as a two-way force at UCLA. Bueckers, who recently missed just two games after an injury scare, became the fastest player in UConn history to score 2,000 career points this week. 

South Carolina well-positioned for another repeat

The Gamecocks might not have a player of the year candidate, but they look poised to be a force again when March Madness arrives. South Carolina is attempting to win its fourth national championship under coach Dawn Staley, a feat that would include the Gamecocks taking back-to-back titles.

South Carolina lost versatile forward Ashlyn Watkins to a season-ending knee injury earlier this month, but 10 players are averaging at least 15 minutes per game as part of the Gamecocks’ deep rotation. They’ve already taken down Texas once and LSU could be next. Will they get to eventually avenge their lone loss this season to UCLA in the Final Four? It’s hard to bet against the Gamecocks, who keep rolling no matter what players take the court. 

An LA collision course

UCLA and USC seem headed for a duel atop the Big Ten standings this winter, with Watkins and Betts ready to play starring roles in a script made for Hollywood. These are two women’s basketball teams capable of making the Final Four at rival schools in Los Angeles, right as the region needs a distraction to bring it together in the wake of devastating wildfires that have killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 15,000 structures, according to authorities.

UCLA and USC play two games as part of their first season in the Big Ten. USC hosts UCLA on Friday, Feb. 13 and Trojans officials have already announced a sellout. The two teams then close the regular season against one another in Westwood when USC visits UCLA on March 1. 

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark hangover

The Hawkeyes were the talk of the sport led by Caitlin Clark, but the post-Clark era is in danger of beginning with Iowa (13-7) on the outside of the NCAA tournament bubble. Iowa has only three wins in its first nine Big Ten games thus far and still must play a brutal league schedule filled with ranked teams the rest of the way. The Hawkeyes made back-to-back Final Four appearances with players like Clark, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall. It was never going to be easy to replace that historic group – and it hasn’t been.

Who has surprised?

No. 9 TCU was the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the national polls this week before losing a thriller to Oklahoma State, but the Horned Frogs were picked fourth in the league’s preseason poll. They’ve replaced Iowa State, one of this season’s disappointments so far, as a top Big 12 contender along with No. 8 Kansas State.

No. 18 Georgia Tech got off to a 14-0 start before a recent three-game skid in the ACC. No. 17 Tennessee started the season unranked only to reel off 13-straight wins under new coach Kim Caldwell, who’s due to give birth to her first child soon. The Vols have a gauntlet upcoming with games against Texas, South Carolina, LSU and UConn over the next few weeks.

Can Stanford keep NCAA tournament streak alive?

Stanford wasn’t expected to be elite in its first season following the departure of legendary coach Tara VanDerveer, who retired last year as the winningest coach in men’s and women’s college basketball. The Cardinal were unranked in the preseason polls and picked to finish seventh in their first year in the ACC. But Stanford entered this season with 36-straight NCAA tournament appearances, a streak surpassed only by Tennessee, and the distinction is in jeopardy of coming to an end.

Stanford has struggled against strong competition under new coach Kate Paye, with an 0-6 record in quadrant one games so far. It was slotted at No. 43 in the women’s basketball NET rankings ahead of Thursday’s action. ESPN had Stanford listed as one of its ‘first four out’ in its most recent bracketology.