MIAMI — Cavan Sullivan, the 15-year-old Major League Soccer prodigy, wants to play for the United States in World Cup 2026.

He knows he might sound like “a pipe dream.”

You can’t blame the young, Philadelphia Union standout from dreaming big.

“A pipedream is to be in the 2026 World Cup. I’ll be only 16 years old. Just to be able to play in front of my home country, representing the first team of the U.S. national team will be absurd,” Sullivan told USA TODAY Sports during MLS Media Day on Thursday.

“At the end of the day, I want to win a World Cup, win a Champions League, win a Premier League and live up to my potential. MLS Cup is definitely on my list in the next three years.”

Sullivan might not be a household name just yet, but he’s oozing with potential.

He became the youngest athlete to debut in an American sports league last July. He was handpicked by Lionel Messi and adidas as one of 10 promising soccer players to be on the “Messi+10” team and wear Messi’s F50 cleats. He’s got three years to play and gain experience with the Union before he’s transferred to Manchester City in England when he turns 18.

“I’m just taking it every day at a time. Obviously, there’s a lot to look forward to in the future. But right now, my main focus is Philadelphia,” Sullivan said.  

“I understand that without this, that doesn’t matter. I need to show I can perform in the MLS before I can perform in the Premier League. So, a lot of work to do here.”

Sullivan has the potential to be the American soccer version of Caitlin Clark, the 22-year-old women’s basketball star who singlehandedly elevated the sport in the United States in the last two years.

He could even be like Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old soccer star who broke onto the scene during last summer’s European Championships for Spain.

The U.S. men’s national team is far from a World Cup favorite. Just getting out of the group stage, which they didn’t do during last summer’s Copa America, would be an accomplishment.

The Americans need a spark, outside of captain Christian Pulisic, to take the next step in the sport internationally.

Maybe, Sullivan could light the fuse.

Sullivan did not want to divulge if he’s had any contact with the U.S. national team, which recently hired new coach Mauricio Pochettino to steer the program.

Sullivan finished last year training with the U.S. under-17 national team. He’ll likely play in February’s Concacaf U-17 championship and the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar in 2025.

Perhaps, the international experience leads to an opportunity at the World Cup for Sullivan.

“We’re a growing country in terms of international football. If we want to be the best country in terms of soccer, we’re going to need to raise our standards for sure,” he said.

Just as important, Sullivan hopes to see more action with the Union first-team in 2025 to help his dream become a reality.

Last season, Sullivan played in just three MLS games with the Philadelphia Union first team, while being an available substitute in 10 other contests.

He did gain some experience with the Union MLS NEXT Pro team, scoring five goals with three assists in 17 games.   

Sullivan was 14 years and 293 days old when he made his debut for the Union on when he entered in the 85th minute of Philadelphia’s 5-1 win over the New England Revolution on July 17, 2024.

He was even younger than Freddy Adu – who was often heralded as “the next Pele” – when Adu made his debut for D.C. United in 2004 at 14 years, 306 days old.

Maybe, history repeats itself again with Sullivan and Adu in the next year or two.

Adu was 16 years old when he became the youngest USMNT player in 2006.

“If I want to accomplish my dreams, this is a really crucial year for me. If I break out this year, the dream of mine becomes way easier,” Sullivan said.  

“I think this year is probably the biggest of my life so far. And 2024 was pretty big. This is the next step.”

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Playoff football has arrived.

Sunday will feature the postseason debuts of two rookie quarterbacks, Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels both in the role of road dogs. Nix’s Denver Broncos will attempt to upset the Bills in Buffalo in the day’s first game, while Daniels’ Washington Commanders, who lost at Tampa in the season’s opening weekend, get a rematch against the Buccaneers on ‘Sunday Night Football.’ In between, the Philadelphia Eagles host the Green Bay Packers in another rematch from Week 1.

The final matchup will occur in the final Monday night game of the 2024 season with the Minnesota Vikings slight favorites to beat the NFC West champion LA Rams on the road, though the Vikes lost to them in SoFi Stadium back in Week 8.

The picks are in from our panel of USA TODAY Sports NFL experts:

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(Odds provided by BetMGM)

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Would ya lookie here. Seems there’s quite the conundrum brewing inside the rabid and unwaveringly loyal SEC fanbase.

All for One has quickly become None for Texas.

The Longhorns – a newbie and the last remaining conference team in the College Football Playoff – are the last hope for the loud and proud SEC fanbase to continue boasting of college football dominance. But the old school that never hesitates supporting all things Ess Eee See isn’t buying it. 

In fact, Friday’s Cotton Bowl semifinal against loathsome Ohio State has devolved into which makes you want to puke more? Ohio State and the subpar Big Ten (because they’re surely not a “rival” of the SEC), or Texas — a poison pill the devoted SEC fanbase now realizes it has swallowed? 

“I would say 80 percent of our audience is rooting against Texas to win it all,” said Michael Bratton, host and owner of That SEC Podcast, the highest-rated SEC show on Apple and Spotify podcasts and an organic show that feeds off the true North of the biggest, baddest conference in college athletics. 

Its passionate fans.

“If it were anyone but Texas, things might be different,” Bratton continued. “But the arrogance from those (Texas) fans has already rubbed most the wrong way.”

Well, well, well. It didn’t take long for Texas to find itself in the all too familiar place as villain, lumbering into the SEC with all the subtlety of a Bernese mountain dog. 

It has taken all of four months, and SEC loyalist already have figured out what the college football world has known forever. There’s no love for the Longhorns outside of those whose blood runs burnt orange. 

Texas is its own island, no matter conference affiliation, no matter public proclamations of love and fealty. The most affluent college sports program, the most arrogant sports program — because they can, and because we’re Texas and you’re not.

Texas ran roughshod over the old Southwest Conference, until everyone else decided the only way to keep up was to cheat. When the SWC later imploded and four teams were absorbed into the Big Eight in 1996 to form the Big 12, guess what quickly happened? 

The conference offices moved Kansas City, Missouri, to – I know this is going to shock you – Dallas. I’m sure that was just a coincidence.

In 2010, the Big 12 was on the verge of disbanding because (again, a shocker) Texas wasn’t happy with sharing media rights revenue and threatened to leave for the Pac-10. So ESPN and Fox pooled together an equal sharing agreement that made all Big 12 parties happy — and ESPN then created the Longhorn Network. 

A 24-hour network devoted to all things Texas. For the tidy sum of $300 million over 20 years. 

That cozy and profitable arrangement (for Texas, not ESPN) lasted 13 years, during which Texas won the Big 12 once. The Longhorns won 68 percent of all games as a member of the Big 12 (243-113), and four league titles in 28 seasons.

Yet this is college football royalty.

This inevitable Texas envy (hatred?) reached a boiling point earlier this season, when multiple SEC coaches and athletic directors, speaking anonymously to USA TODAY because of the sensitivity of the subject, said they weren’t thrilled about the fortunate scheduling given to the Longhorns in their inaugural season.

While the SEC office says the schedules were made with a detailed 10-year look at previous schedules and metrics, there’s no denying that the first true road game of the season for Texas didn’t happen until the last weekend in October — at historical SEC lightweight Vanderbilt.

Then Texas got the worst of the Power Four conference champions (Clemson) in the first round of the playoff. That was followed by the most surprising power conference champion (Arizona State) in the Peach Bowl quarterfinal, where an obvious targeting call that could’ve led to a Sun Devils victory in regulation, was reviewed and ignored and Texas eventually won in overtime. 

It is here where we reach the disastrous dilemma for dyed in the wool SEC fans: the Cotton Bowl semifinal. The fact that 80 percent of the audience of a wildly popular SEC podcast has tuned out of all things Texas is a stark reminder of what Texas has always been — and always will be. 

“It’s a worst-case scenario, one of them has to advance,” Bratton said. “Anyone but Texas and Ohio State is the general consensus from our fans.”

Finally, some true SEC sensibility.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

Thursday night’s contest between the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets has officially been postponed due to the raging wildfires in the Los Angeles area. The NBA announced the decision Thursday afternoon, hours before the game was supposed to tip-off.

‘The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tonight between the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena has been postponed due to ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area,’ the NBA said in its statement Thursday. They did not offer a new date for the game to be replayed, claiming that it would be announced at a ‘later date.’

There are at least five active fires in Los Angeles County and the ongoing struggle to contain the flames has inflicted significant damage. more than 100,000 people in the region have been forced to flee their homes. At least five people are dead and thousands of homes, businesses and even iconic Hollywood landmarks are either threatened, damaged or already destroyed by what Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called a ‘firestorm’ during a late Wednesday night briefing. Authorities warned more injuries and death are possible until the fires can be contained.

Why was the game postponed?

The fire in the Pacific Palisades continues to ravage the neighborhood, and additional fires have also cropped up in the Los Angeles area. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said it was too early to provide a death toll. He said almost 180,000 people have been ordered to evacuate, and another 200,000 face evacuation warningsThe fire has directly affected several members of the NBA community as well, including Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick, who lost his home.

This decision comes a day after Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard decided to step away from the team in order to help his family members who had been forced to evacuate their homes due to the fires as well. While the Clippers were not scheduled to play at home until Saturday, the Lakers were about to embark on a five-game home stand beginning Thursday night and running through Friday, Jan. 17. It is unclear how many, if any more will be postponed due to the fires.

Will the fire subside soon?

Wind gusts still pose a significant threat to Los Angeles and the fire crews attempting to stop the blaze, but the recent fights against the inferno have proved promising. The estimated damage to Los Angeles due to the fires is still being calculated, but NBC believes the total economic loss could tally over $50 billion.

The Las Vegas Raiders are starting from scratch after all.

Two days after firing coach Antonio Pierce on Tuesday, the team dismissed general manager Tom Telesco after only one season.

‘We appreciate (Telesco’s) efforts in helping build a foundation for the future,’ the Raiders said in a statement. ‘We wish Tom and his family all the best.’

Telesco, who previously served as the Los Angeles Chargers’ general manager from 2013-23, was the Raiders’ fourth general manager hired by Mark Davis since the owner took the reins to the organization in 2011. The team is also preparing to hire its sixth head coach in that same span.

Telesco was hired last January as the replacement for Dave Ziegler, who was fired alongside coach Josh McDaniels midway through the 2023 season. The Raiders stumbled to a 4-13 season, the franchise’s work mark since 2018, after trading star wide receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets and rotating through Gardner Minshew II, Aidan O’Connell and Desmond Ridder at quarterback.

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Telesco signed Minshew, who began the year as the team’s starting signal-caller but was lost to a broken collarbone in Week 12, to a two-year, $25 million contract this past offseason. The Raiders were unable to land a top passer in the 2024 NFL draft, with six players at the position being selected before they went on the clock at No. 13.

With that selection, however, Telesco chose tight end Brock Bowers, who went on to break several rookie records and be selected to the Pro Bowl in his debut campaign.

With both top positions now vacant, Davis and limited partner Tom Brady – whom Davis said he wants to have a significant voice in football matters – have the chance to reshape the organization.

The Raiders could be one of the most active teams this offseason in reshaping their roster. Las Vegas holds the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NFL draft and more than $107 million in projected salary cap space, according to Over The Cap, trailing only the New England Patriots for most in the league. Davis has voiced his desire to find a solution at quarterback, with Brady expected to help shape decision-making.

Las Vegas has already sought to talk with several candidates for its head-coaching vacancy, according to multiple reports: Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh and Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

This story has been updated with new information.

Former Tennessee Titans tight end Frank Wycheck was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) more than a year after his death at the age of 52, his family revealed.

Wycheck died on Dec. 9, 2023 after an apparent fall at his house. His family worked with researchers at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center to diagnose him with the neurodegenerative disease, which can lead to dementia, memory loss and depression in those who have suffered repetitive brain trauma.

Wycheck had Stage III CTE at the time of his death. Stage IV is the most severe form of the disease.

Wycheck played 11 seasons in the NFL, including nine standout years with the Titans and (Houston Oilers). He generated 505 catches, 5,126 yards and 28 touchdowns during his career but most famously tossed a lateral pass to receiver Kevin Dyson on the famed ‘Music City Miracle’ play.

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Wycheck’s effort on the play helped the Titans secure a 22-16 wild-card win over the Buffalo Bills en route to an appearance in Super Bowl 34. NFL.com named it the fourth-best play in league history in honor of the NFL’s 100th season in 2019.

Wycheck is survived by two daughters, Deanna Wycheck Szabo and Madison Wycheck Nowell, expressed gratitude for their father’s diagnosis in a statement provided by the family. They also noted that they hoped his death and diagnosis would shine a light on the disease, which greatly impacted Wycheck’s life and has been diagnosed in 345 of the 376 NFL players studied by Boston University’s CTE center as of February 2023.

‘My father put his body on the line throughout his career,’ Szabo said. ‘He loved the game and even more so loved his teammates. After retirement, he fought for years to bring light to his post-NFL journey and the fears he had around his struggles and symptoms that he knew whole-heartedly was CTE. He often felt forgotten and ignored, and that his situation was helpless.

‘Reflecting back, I wish our family had been educated on the signs and symptoms of CTE. Instead of believing that something was inherently wrong with him, we now know he was doing the best he could as a father and friend under circumstances beyond his control.

‘Our family is grateful to learn of his confirmed CTE diagnosis in hopes to continue our father’s desire to bring awareness, increased intervention, education, and support for NFL alumni and their families related to CTE. Our hope is that NFL alumni, who believe they are suffering from CTE, will be given the much-needed resources and guidance prior to their symptoms reaching a debilitating state. With on-going CTE research and diagnosis, we hope future NFL alumni and families will be explicitly given an outline and plan of action in receiving care and treatment. That’s what our father would have wanted.’

‘If one thing could come of this diagnosis, I pray that families all over the world would consider my dad’s story as a cautionary tale regarding the long-term consequences of repetitive brain trauma in athletes and to carefully think about their careers in professional contact sports,’ Nowell said.

‘This is a disease that began affecting my dad very early in his life, and I believe played a significant part in taking him way too soon. My hope is that with increased awareness, research, and advocacy for player safety, we can help fellow families of minor and professional athletes continue to thrive, not only during their careers, but after playing the sport they love so they can continue to share their legacies with generations to come.’