The Baltimore Ravens are gearing up for a critical Week 14 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Will they have their top quarterback available for the contest?

Lamar Jackson has started five consecutive games for the Ravens since being knocked out three weeks by a hamstring injury. However, the 28-year-old quarterback has been dealing with nagging leg injuries in recent weeks, and he has missed practice as a result of them.

Jackson’s practice routine changed ahead of Week 14, as he missed Thursday’s session because of an ankle problem. Does that signal a change in his status moving forward?

Here’s what to know about Jackson’s latest missed practice session and where the team would turn if he can’t play in Week 14.

Will Lamar Jackson play Week 14?

Jackson’s status for the Ravens’ Week 14 game against the Steelers remains unclear. He was a limited participant in practice before being downgraded to a non-participant in Thursday’s session, per multiple reports, casting doubt about his ability to suit up for the rivalry contest.

It’s worth noting that Jackson has missed at least one practice session per week dating back to Week 11. Each time, he has been listed on Baltimore’s practice report with a knee or ankle problem but has not carried any injury designation into game day.

That said, Jackson’s absences from practice have typically come during the team’s first session of the week. He missed the Ravens’ Wednesday practices in Weeks 11 and 12 before being a full participant at the Thursday and Friday sessions. The two-time MVP followed a similar pattern ahead of Baltimore’s Thanksgiving game against the Cincinnati Bengals, earning a non-participation tag Monday before returning fully Tuesday and Wednesday.

So, at the very least, the change in Jackson’s practice pattern is notable. It will also make his status at Friday’s practice worth watching, as what he’s able to accomplish will be the best barometer of whether he will be able to play Week 14 against the Steelers.

Who is the Ravens’ backup quarterback?

Huntley, 27, won his lone start of the 2025 NFL season, which came in Week 8 against the Chicago Bears. He has completed 27 of 37 passes (73%) for 254 yards and a touchdown across two appearances while adding 92 rushing yards on 11 carries.

Huntley has posted a career record of 6-9 across 15 starts while completing 65.2% of his passes for 3,040 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The 27-year-old – nicknamed ‘Snoop’ – spent the 2025 NFL preseason with the Cleveland Browns before rejoining the Ravens for his third stint since signing in Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2020.

Ravens QB depth chart

The Ravens have three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. Below is the pecking order within the unit:

Lamar Jackson
Tyler Huntley
Cooper Rush

The Ravens signed Rush to a two-year, $6.2 million contract during the 2025 NFL offseason to back up Jackson. The longtime Dallas Cowboys backup started two games in place of Jackson after the star quarterback’s hamstring injury and struggled, completing 65.4% of his passes for 303 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions.

Rush’s struggles allowed Huntley to leapfrog him for the backup role. The 32-year-old has a 9-7 career record and has completed 61.1% of his career passes for 3,766 yards, 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season features several games with significant playoff and divisional implications.
Three games will feature teams facing off with first place in a division at stake.
The Sunday night game will see the Texans and Chiefs, two teams currently outside the AFC playoff picture.
This week marks the final round of bye weeks for the Panthers, Patriots, Giants, and 49ers.

Full-fledged December football is here, Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season landing with what should be a spectacular Thursday night game between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions − a pair of teams with playoff aspirations, though neither will move into the projected NFC field even with a victory in what’s effectively shaping up as a must-win game at Ford Field.

Sunday afternoon serves up a meeting between the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars, the winner taking outright control of the AFC South. Similar scenario for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, one of the two scuffling clubs set to sit alone atop the AFC North following the latest installment of their rivalry.

But no rivalry has more history − or probably more juice at the moment − than the century-long-plus one between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. They’ll meet for the 211th time this weekend, first place in the NFC North − and possibly the conference − also on the line at Lambeau Field.

Sunday night will showcase the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs, a pair of clubs used to winning their respective divisions but currently sitting outside the AFC postseason field. Week 14 concludes with a pair of teams dealing with myriad issues but likely to reach the Super Bowl 60 tournament as the Los Angeles Chargers host the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.

Week 14 will also mark the league’s final round of bye weeks, the Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers all hitting their midseason breaks.

After a rough showing on Thanksgiving, here’s how USA TODAY Sports’ panel of NFL experts views this weekend’s offering of contests:

(Odds provided by BetMGM)

NFL Week 14 picks, predictions, odds

Cowboys at Lions
Commanders at Vikings
Colts at Jaguars
Saints at Buccaneers
Dolphins at Jets
Titans at Browns
Seahawks at Falcons
Steelers at Ravens
Bengals at Bills
Broncos at Raiders
Bears at Packers
Rams at Cardinals
Texans at Chiefs
Eagles at Chargers

Turns out Lane Kiffin will be at the SEC championship game after all.

No, the former Mississippi and current LSU football coach will not be there to coach a college football game, but rather he will join the ESPN ‘College GameDay’ crew as a guest. Kiffin left Ole Miss for the Tigers’ job on Nov. 20, two days after the Rebels’ win over in-state rival Mississippi State.

LSU announced Kiffin would be in Atlanta to make an appearance on the three-hour pregame show ahead of the SEC championship game.

Due to Alabama’s win over in-state rival Auburn, Ole Miss did not qualify for the SEC championship game, which will feature No. 3 Georgia (No. 3 in College Football Playoff) and No. 10 Alabama (No. 10 in CFP). The Iron Bowl essentially marked the end of Kiffin’s tenure with the Rebels.

Last week on ‘GameDay,’ analysts Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit each opined that Ole Miss should allow Kiffin to coach the Rebels in the CFP. However, Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter and the program decided that was not the best option.

Kiffin was an assistant for Saban at Alabama from 2014 to 2016 before leaving before the 2017 CFP national championship game to become the head coach at Florida Atlantic.

On Sunday, Kiffin announced he was leaving Oxford, Mississippi, for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was introduced as the LSU football coach on Monday, Dec. 1, just three days after the Rebels’ regular season ended with a 38-19 victory over Mississippi State.

The ‘GameDay’ appearance will be Kiffin’s first major appearance on ESPN since his decision to leave Ole Miss for a job with rival LSU.

Star linebacker Jacob Rodriguez leads surging Red Raiders into the Big 12 championship game — and much more.
‘… you can’t tell me there’s a better player in college football right now than Jacob Rodriguez.”

LUBBOCK, TX – Let’s begin with the mustache. The whole Pedro Pascal thing he’s got going on. It was two years ago in spring ball at Texas Tech when it first showed up, a raggy and shaggy looking thing that really had no business on Jacob Rodriguez’s face.

Now it’s high and tight and a beautiful sight, and part of a Heisman Trophy campaign.

Now it’s a quirky social media trend that draws attention to the best defensive player in college football. Throw on that West Texas cowboy hat, and sonofagun, he may as well be on the set of ‘Narcos’.

“My wife loves the mustache,” Rodriguez says. “It’s not going anywhere.”

Priorities, everyone. 

Happy wife, happy race to the national championship. Has a nice ring to it.

Want to root for someone as the College Football Playoff begins to take shape? Look no further than the guy who left Texas as a high school quarterback and signed with Virginia, and returned home a year later as a walk-on at Texas Tech ― and was told he had to play linebacker. 

A position he had never played. 

Pull for the player whose wife, Emma, is a Blackhawk helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army, and based in Fort Riley, Kan. — a mere nine-hour drive from Lubbock. If you’ve ever made the barren, lonely drive, once you get past Amarillo and the first two hours, you fully comprehend the meaning to long-distance relationship. 

This, everyone, is the heart and soul of Texas Tech’s big business roster.

“An unbelievable story of a guy who just wanted to play football, and then through hard work became so much more than that,” says Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire.

So while you’re watching a Texas Tech team that receives more headlines for the way it was built instead of the way it plays, while you read about the millions paid in private NIL deals and the billionaire booster who’s only playing the by the rules, stop for a moment and embrace old school football. 

A story all too familiar in a sport where it’s easy to get lost, and easier to fade away. 

Rodriguez had more than 20 scholarship offers out of Rider High School in Wichita Falls, which is about halfway between Dallas and Amarillo, and then roughly three hours West through absolutely nothing to reach this pristine Texas town in the middle of nowhere.

But Bronco Mendenhall found him, and wanted him to play quarterback for the Cavs — while McGuire, then an assistant at Baylor, wanted him to play defense. So Rodriguez traveled halfway across the country to Charlottesville, Va., and played quarterback, wide receiver, tight end and running back for a team that needed help everywhere. 

Or as Mendenhall said, “Playing, whatever position, is more fun than watching for any player.”

So when Mendenhall left Virginia to “reframe and reinvent” a relationship with his wife after 31 years as a college coach, it was time for Rodriguez to return to Texas. And play linebacker. 

But an interesting twist arrived along the way to returning home without a scholarship, and playing as a walk-on the first two semesters at Texas Tech. Never playing linebacker was the best thing for Rodriguez to actually play linebacker. 

Sounds odd, but let Rodriguez explain it: “Completely different than anything I’d ever known. I would play deep middle field safety in important games in high school, but never true linebacker. I knew nothing about it — and that was a huge advantage.”

He hesitates and continues, and here’s the key to everything: “No bad habits.”

In other words, everything was new. Every play, every formation, every responsibility, was learned from the jump. Not after being told one thing an entire football career, and being told something else with a different coach. 

The learning curve was quick, and after a season as a backup and special teams ace, he entered 2023 as a member of Texas Tech’s captains circle and was primed for a breakout season. Then he sustained a mid-foot sprain in the season opener, missed the next seven games and the season was a wash.

He has been a force since, finishing seventh in the nation in tackles (127) in 2024, with 10.5 tackles for loss. This season, he has 101 tackles, four interceptions, seven forced fumbles (two recovered), and six passes defended. 

In two seasons of full-time play at linebacker, Rodriguez has 228 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, five interceptions, 10 forced fumbles (four recovered), and 10 passes defended.

See? No bad habits.

“I have never seen a player grow so quickly, and make such an impact at one position,’ McGuire said. “I get it, there’s some really good quarterback play out there. But you can’t tell me there’s a better player in college football right now than Jacob Rodriguez.”

So if the masses won’t listen, you bring the masses to Lubbock. A record season helps, as does the attention from Cody Campbell’s millions — even though it should be about how McGuire has masterfully molded a group of one-year transfer portal mercenaries and the foundation built over his first three seasons.

Two weeks ago, during preparation for the senior day game against UCF, Texas Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich told Rodriguez to stay near him in the fourth quarter. He may have a Wildcat option for Rodriguez.

That plan got blown to pieces barely six minutes into the game.

“We’re at the two (yard line), and I had to have hit 19 mph running down the sideline to (Leftwich),” Rodriguez said. “I wanted it, he did, too. He called the play, and it worked. It was awesome.”

There was Rodriguez, three years removed from the last time he took a snap at quarterback, two seasons into a rare career at linebacker, busting through the line of scrimmage to score his first touchdown.

And striking the Heisman pose.

“This place, Lubbock, is so special,” Rodriguez said. “These guys who wanted to be part of this team, and bought into everything we had built. It just shows how special a season can become when people care about each other and are willing to work harder.’

A week later in Morgantown, W.V., Rodriguez found his way into the end zone again on a Wildcat run. This time, no Heisman pose. 

Sometimes rare moments are better left alone, their impact undeniable and unmistakable. Like Texas Tech’s first 11-win regular season in school history. 

Or Texas Tech winning every game this season by at least 22 points. 

Or Texas Tech being one win away from securing a first round bye in the CFP. All it takes is another victory over BYU in Saturday’s Big 12 championship game, which would also secure the first outright major college conference championship in school history. 

Maybe we’ll get another Rodriguez touchdown. Maybe he and his teammates will stand on the stage at AT&T Stadium celebrating a win, and he’ll throw on that cowboy hat and look like a Hollywood star.

High and tight, and a beautiful sight. 

“I’ve never had more fun playing football,” Rodriguez said.

Priorities, everyone. 

Gary Sheffield hit 509 home runs in a 22-year MLB career.
Sheffield struck out 10 times on the Hall of Fame ballot, but is up for another vote.
Sheffield’s support increased to 62.9% during his time on the ballot.

Gary Sheffield, one of baseball’s most intimidating players, has a confession to make.

If that phone call arrives Sunday evening, if his name pops up on the TV screen when MLB Network announces the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in a vote from the contemporary era committee, he just might cry.

Well, check that.

He will cry.

“I know it will be emotional, and the first person I’ll think about is my granddaddy,’ Sheffield tells USA TODAY Sports. “He’s the one who got me into baseball. He’s the one who told me that I was a chosen baseball player. He always had dreams for me. He always believed in me. He groomed me to be a great baseball player, and told everyone, ‘That boy is going to be special.’

“So, if I’m blessed to get into the Hall of Fame, it won’t be just me getting in, it will be my entire family, knowing this wouldn’t be possible without my granddaddy.’

Sheffield’s grandfather is Dan Gooden, the father of former Cy Young winner Dwight Gooden, whose jersey was retired last year by the New York Mets. Gooden is Sheffield’s uncle, with his sister, Betty, Sheffield’s mother.

Dan Gooden, who died in 1997 at the age of 69, had Dwight and Gary playing baseball by the age of six. His favorite player was Hank Aaron. His favorite teams were Milwaukee and Atlanta, wherever Aaron was playing. That was the player, on and off the field, he wanted his son and grandson to become one day.

“My granddaddy talked about him all of the time,’ Sheffield said. “Hammering Hank. The Hammer. Everything in the house was about Hank Aaron. And for Dwight, since he was a pitcher, it was always Bob Gibson. He made Doc throw fastballs up and in. He didn’t even let him throw a breaking ball until high school.

“He always hoped that Dwight and I would play on the same team one day. He had a great relationship with (former Yankees owner) George Steinbrenner, and was hoping that we would be drafted by the Yankees. And his dream was that one day we would both be in the Hall of Fame.’

Gooden was supposed to be the first family member to reach Cooperstown, winning the Cy Young award in 1985 after going 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and 268 strikeouts at the age of 20 in his second season. Cocaine and alcohol abuse put up a roadblock that curtailed Gooden’s greatness.

Sheffield, four years younger than Gooden, saw the pain his grandfather endured with Dwight’s drug abuse, and vowed to live a clean life, doing everything in his power to make his grandfather proud.

Sheffield never touched a drug in his life. Never smoked a joint. Rarely drank. And never, ever, he insisted, did he use steroids or performance-enhancing drugs.

“I saw my uncle go through that and the pain he caused for the family,’ Sheffield said. “Imagine the pain of watching my uncle, who was really like my big brother, going through that my entire 22-year career. It still hurts to this day.

“You can only take so much. The pain doesn’t go away.’

This is why Sheffield gets exasperated when his name is lumped with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

“People associate my name with theirs, and that’s not right,’ Sheffield said. “I don’t know who did what, but I’m nothing like the guys that are guilty. I can promise you that.’

He spent three weeks working out with Bonds in the Bay Area before the 2002 season. He was introduced to Victor Conte and the folks at BALCO. Sure, he worked out religiously with Bonds. He ate the meals cooked by his private chef. He even stayed at his house.

But knowingly take performance-enhancing drugs?

“I played this game clean, and was proud that I played it clean,’ Sheffield says. “Never, ever, did I cheat the game, and I’m proud of that.’

Gary Sheffield defends himself against steroid link

Go ahead, try to find anyone who ever accused Sheffield of lying. He was the most honest, unfiltered player in the sport.

“If you asked me a question, I didn’t do the political stuff,’ Sheffield says, “I never ran away from an interview. I just told the truth. I still wonder if that’s what hurt Dwight. He always did the political side, and maybe that’s what drove him to drugs. He was never authentic.’

Sheffield swears up and down that the only time he put a foreign substance on his body is when stitches ripped out from his cyst surgery while lifting weights with Bonds. One of Bonds’ handlers applied a balm on his knee to stop the bleeding. That was it.

“BALCO had nothing to do with me,’ Sheffield says. “I didn’t stay because I had a falling out with Barry and didn’t like the people hanging around him. So I went home. I was never accused of anything.

“I went to court as a witness to testify what I knew about Barry and BALCO. I was never a suspect.’

Conte, the founder of BALCO, told USA TODAY Sports three years ago: “I never, ever had a conversation, an email, a text message, with Gary Sheffield about steroids. The only thing we talked about was vitamins. He was getting his vitamins at GNC stores, and didn’t understand the various forms of minerals and vitamins and zinc and calcium. 

“He got absolutely railroaded.’

Sheffield’s name surfaced in the Mitchell Report because a check, written for $146 by his wife, showed up in a BALCO raid.

“I was just trying to figure out who I owed for my time there,’ Sheffield said. “That was it. So I had my wife write a check. That was the whole paper trail.

“That check has sabotaged me when I have done nothing wrong. I have no regrets. I played this game hard. I played this game right. And I always respected this game.’

Gary Sheffield’s Hall of Fame chances

Certainly, few in Sheffield’s era have ever played it better. He undoubtedly is the greatest player on the contemporary era ballot outside of Bonds and Clemens, with numbers that dwarf Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, Carlos Delgado and Jeff Kent.

Sheffield, now 57, was a nine-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger and had six top-10 MVP finishes.

He batted .292, hit 509 homers with 1,676 RBIs, produced 2,689 hits, stole 253 bases, had a .393 on-base percentage, .514 slugging percentage, and a .907 OPS – 40 points better than the league average.

The only other players in history to produce at least 500 homers, 2,500 hits, 1,500 RBIs, 1,400 walks, 200 stolen bases and bat .290 are Aaron, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Bonds.

The only players in history who have more homers and RBIs not in the Hall of Fame – and whose careers are not tainted by steroid allegations – are Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, not yet eligible for the Hall.

Sheffield, whose body never dramatically changed throughout his career, was a model of consistency.

He hit at least 20 homers in 14 seasons, but never more than 43 in a single year.

He drove in 100 runs eight times, but never led the league. He struck out an average of just 53 times a year over his 22-year career, and only twice struck out more than 80 times.

And he played at least 130 games in 12 seasons, including five years with at least 150.

While metrics knock his outfield defense, Sheffield insists he played out of position his entire career. He came up as a shortstop. The Brewers were the ones who moved him off the position at the age of 19. If he were permitted to stay at shortstop, he may have produced the most homers and RBIs by a shortstop in baseball history.

“I never did get the opportunity to play my natural position,’ Sheffield says, “when they moved me to the outfield. I would have loved to stay at shortstop instead of going to the outfield, but I was willing to do whatever to help the team.’’

And if Sheffield really was that poor of an outfielder, then why wasn’t he a full-time DH until his final two seasons?

Sheffield’s peers know he belongs in Cooperstown. Hall of Famers keep telling him that it’s going to happen.

Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre grabbed Sheffield by his face at last year’s induction ceremony, looked into Sheffield’s eyes, and said, “We’ve got to get you in. You belong.’

Now, is the time, with no one on this contemporary era ballot more deserving than Gary Antonian Sheffield.

“I just wish my granddaddy were alive to see this,’ Sheffield said. “He always said I was destined for this, going to the Little League World Series when I was 11, winning it when I was 13, being the Gatorade Player of the Year, drafted in the first round, playing 22 years in the majors, and now hopefully going to where every player dreams of going one day.

“I know I put the numbers up the right way. I gave baseball everything I had. If I’m blessed to get that call, well, it’s going to be emotional for all of us. I’ve always had the chill mentality, and have been trying to be cool about this, but with my kids, my wife, my family, I know what this would mean.

“And for my granddaddy, well, I know he’d be up there smiling, gloating, and letting everyone know what his grandson accomplished.’

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

Former Duke teammates Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg are the early standouts in the 2025-26 NBA rookie class.
Knueppel and Flagg were named the rookies of the month for November in their respective conferences.
Other rookies like Jeremiah Fears, Dylan Harper, and Ace Bailey are also making a significant impact.

They were college roommates and Duke teammates who were both selected in the top five of the 2025 NBA Draft, and it appears Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel and Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg are starting to distance themselves from the pack of rookies already making an impact during the 2025-26 season.

They have been the two best rookies in the NBA now that most teams have completed at least 25% of their schedule, with each earning rookie of the month honors for November in their respective conferences. Knueppel revealed during a recent appearance on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jimmy Fallon that Flagg even texted him about the coincidence of two roommates getting the rookie of the month award at the same time.

But there are plenty of other players showing out in their first season in the NBA. Jeremiah Fears of the New Orleans Pelicans, Dylan Harper of the San Antonio Spurs and Ace Bailey of the Utah Jazz all rose in the USA TODAY Sports NBA rookie rankings this week after encouraging stretches, and players such as Pelicans center Derik Queen and undrafted Mavericks guard Ryan Nembhard are coming on strong.

Here’s a breakdown of how all the rookies stack up now that the 2025-26 NBA season has reached December:

NBA rookie rankings

Stats as of games played on Dec. 3; NBA Rookie of the Year odds as of 10 a.m. ET on Dec. 4, courtesy of BetMGM.

On the bubble: Sion James, Egor Demin, Ryan Nembhard, Collin Murray-Boyles, Shaq Powell

10. Will Richard, Golden State Warriors

Last ranked: 8
Stats: 8.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +50,000

Richard’s efficiency numbers continue to impress, playing rotation minutes for a veteran team, though he’s been in-and-out of Golden State’s starting lineup in recent games. The second-round pick from Florida ranks among the top five rookies this season in PER, plus/minus, offensive and defensive rating and field goal percentage.

9. Ace Bailey, Utah Jazz

Last ranked: Not ranked
Stats: 10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +12,500

Bailey’s insertion into the starting lineup in Utah has coincided with an encouraging uptick in performance by the top-five pick. After a terrible start to the season shooting the ball, Bailey is averaging 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, two assists and 1.3 steals per game since Nov. 7 while shooting better than 50% from the field and 40% from 3-point range.

8. Ryan Kalkbrenner, Charlotte Hornets

Last ranked: 6
Stats: 9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +25,000

The second-round pick is still a steal for the Hornets, shooting nearly 80% from the field and ranking among the top five in the NBA in blocks. Though he’s also tied for the lead in rebounding among rookies, his issues clearing the glass defensively need to be cleaned up after a rough couple of weeks of mostly ineffective performances. It doesn’t help that Kalkbrenner left Wednesday’s loss to the New York Knicks with an ankle injury.

7. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Last ranked: 7
Stats: 12.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +1400

The good performances are beginning to happen more frequently than the bad ones for Queen, who averaged 15.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and nearly 5 assists per game over the past two weeks. That stretch began with a 30-point performance facing Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 19. He has the third-best rookie of the year odds, according to BetMGM.

6. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs

Last ranked: Not ranked
Stats: 13.6 points, 3.5 assists, 3 rebounds
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +10,000

Harper returned from injury after missing three weeks of action and picked up where he left off as a valuable and efficient asset off the Spurs bench. He followed up a 17-point performance against Minnesota with 15 points and six assists in a win over the Grizzlies and 16 points and five assists in a win over the Orlando Magic this week.

5. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers

Last ranked: 4
Stats: 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +3000

Edgecombe hasn’t yet recaptured his October shooting form since returning on a minutes restriction from a three-game hiatus due to a calf injury. But he filled the stat sheet with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in a win over the Washington Wizards in his most recent outing.

4. Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies

Last ranked: 2
Stats: 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +3500

Coward’s shooting has gone cold in recent games after a blistering start to his rookie campaign, but he remains a defensive asset for the Grizzlies on these off nights. He ranks among the top-five rookies in offensive and defensive rating, as well as plus/minus and player efficiency rating.

3. Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans

Last ranked: 5
Stats: 15.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +6600

Some of Fears’ advanced metrics aren’t pretty because of how poorly this Pelicans season is going, but he’s been perhaps the most consistent rookie on the offensive end. Fears has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and just had his first back-to-back 20-point performances.

2. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks

Last ranked: 3
Stats: 17.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: -150

Flagg keeps rising in these rankings and remains the NBA Rookie of the Year favorite after another solid two-week stretch on both sides of the floor. The No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft has the best defensive efficiency numbers among rookies and his offensive game is back in form after a slow start. Flagg just had back-to-back-to-back games in which he scored 35, 24 and 22 points to help lead the Mavericks to wins.

1. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets

Last ranked: 1
Stats: 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3 assists
NBA Rookie of the Year odds: +115

Knueppel keeps the top spot in the rookie rankings over his former Duke teammate because he keeps producing for the Hornets. He leads all rookies in points and 3-point shooting, while showcasing a more diverse game than analysts expected coming out of the draft. His ascension to begin this season even led to a recent appearance on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jimmy Fallon.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle is starting the Olympic season off strong.

The Olympic silver medalist was second in the World Cup downhill at Birds of Prey on Thursday, finishing 0.30 seconds behind reigning overall champion Marco Odermatt of Switzerland. This is the third career World Cup podium for Cochran-Siegle but first in five years.

It’s also the first time since 2014 that a U.S. man has been on the podium at Birds of Prey.

Cochran-Siegle was 10th in the super-G last week at Copper Mountain despite a mistake near the bottom of the course. But there were no such issues at Birds of Prey.

Starting fourth, Cochran-Siegle posted the fastest time of the day on the first section of the course. He lost some speed in the next section, but picked it right back up. He would have the second-fastest time in the third section, third-fastest in the fourth and close with the fastest finish in the field of 64 skiers.

His time of 1:30.14 put him in the lead, 0.39 seconds ahead of Norway’s Adrian Smiseth Sejersted. No one else but Odermatt would get close to topping Cochran-Siegle.

It was Cochran-Siegle’s best finish since winning silver in the super-G at the Beijing Olympics. It was his best World Cup result since December 2020, when he finished second in the downhill at Val Gardena-Groeden, Italy, and then, 10 days later, won the super-G in Bormio, Italy.

Bormio is the site of the men’s Alpine competition at the Milano Cortina Olympics.

Bryce Bennett was the only other U.S. man in the top 30, finishing 28th.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Mikaela Shiffrin’s fiancé, finished 11th in his first downhill since a horrific crash in January 2024 left him with severe injuries to his leg and shoulder. The Norwegian later developed sepsis from an infection in his shoulder, and missed all of last season. Last week’s super-G at Copper Mountain was his first World Cup appearance in almost two years.

Texas Longhorns stars Madison Booker and Rori Harmon have become synonymous with Texas basketball and are largely touted as critical drivers of a possible championship run. However, another sensation could be the key to the Longhorns earning their ring: sophomore guard Jordan Lee.

Lee, who joined head coach Vic Schaefer’s team during the 2024-2025 season, was part of the roster that advanced to the Final Four in Tampa, Florida, in April 2025. The Longhorns ultimately lost to South Carolina, 84-57, in the semifinals but Lee’s standout 16-point performance as a freshman was noteworthy.

Now, in her second season, she’s been essential to helping Texas achieve an 8-0 start, get upset wins over UCLA and South Carolina and earn a No. 2 ranking in the USA TODAY Women’s College Basketball Coaches Poll. She leads the Longhorns into another test against No. 10 North Carolina on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

The California native’s timely rise begs the question: Could she be what helps Texas potentially knock off the defending champion UConn Huskies? The answer to that question remains to be seen, but here are three ways Lee is helping the Longhorns push for a return to the Final Four.

1. Lee’s three-level scoring makes Texas true offensive threat

Look across the Longhorns roster, and it’s very easy to deduce much of what they do on the offensive end starts and ends with Booker and Harmon. Booker, who leads the team in scoring, averages 16.8 points a game, and Harmon handles the facilitation duties with 6.2 assists per contest. The question then becomes: where does the other scoring come from?

Enter Lee, who hasn’t stopped making an impact since the season began. Lee is averaging 14.6 points per game (second to only Booker) and has become an extra threat teams have to account for. She’s the true definition of a three-level scorer, something many players don’t achieve until later in their careers. The sophomore has solid range on her 3-point shooting, a gorgeous pull-up jumper and utilizes her speed to get into the paint quickly.

2. Lee’s two-man game with Harmon is hard to defend

Harmon does a tremendous job of finding open players for points, but her growing relationship with Lee is noticeable. Lee’s constantly moving around the court to get herself open for her teammate and thus, extending how Harmon can manipulate defenses. The sophomore’s energy, attention to detail and ability to find the seemingly undetectable open windows for a pass are something that other teams have yet to figure out.

3. Lee’s energy and aggression make her the X-factor

Lee has a motor that just keeps going. Her energy is infectious, and her aggression, whether looking for her own shot or applying defensive pressure, could be what helps elevate Texas to the next level.

The heavyweight division in pro boxing begins at 201 pounds.

Adam Fantilli is 205 pounds. But make no mistake, the third overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft is no heavyweight.

He’s not even a middleweight. Or a lightweight.

After all, he doesn’t really fight.

And yet, that didn’t stop Fantilli, who is tied for the lead among Columbus’ goal scorers, from picking a fight with New Jersey’s Jonas Siegenthaler in a brawling NHL game on Tuesday that featured four different fights and 74 penalty minutes.

After the game, Devils coach Sheldon Keefe blasted Fantilli and the Blue Jackets for not adhering to the ‘fighter’s code’ by repeatedly sucker-punching players who didn’t have a chance to drop the gloves.

Then again, it’s difficult to blame non-fighters for not knowing about the code — much less remembering it — when Fantilli had never fought in the NHL before, and Siegenthaler’s last fight was four years ago. Maybe that’s why Siegenthaler forgot to tie his jersey down, which led to Fantilli pulling it over Siegenthaler’s head.

‘I had my gloves off,’ Fantilli told the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, after the game, ‘Keefe says I threw seven punches before (Siegenthaler) takes his gloves off. I don’t know how you take seven punches before throwing your gloves off. That’s a pretty long time.’

The Devils play the Blue Jackets next on Dec. 31, so we won’t have to wait a long time before there’s retribution. Maybe Siegenthaler can remember to tie down his jersey down. And maybe the Blue Jackets will have an actual heavyweight, such as Mathieu Olivier, who was out with an injury on Tuesday, in the lineup.

Not that it matters much. 

How many fights in the NHL this season?

There have already been 97 fights this season, according to hockeyfights.com. At this rate, we should see slightly more than the 297 fights that occurred last season.

And while the heavyweights are throwing their fair share of the punches — Montreal’s Arber Xhekaj has fought five times this season, while Ryan Reaves, Nicolas Deslauriers and Tanner Jeannot have each fought three times — they are getting help from some unlikely sources.

Yes, Matt Rempe, who gained notoriety two years ago when he fought three times in his first five games, hasn’t played since Oct. 23. But the heavyweights aren’t going away. If anything, they’re being joined by skilled players who have more points than PIMs.

In addition to Fantilli, we’ve already seen fights from Buffalo’s Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson, Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog, Washington’s Jakob Chychrun, Vancouver’s Connor Garland, Carolina’s Logan Stankoven, Anaheim’s Frank Vatrano and Detroit’s Moritz Seider.

In a game last month, Dallas’ Mikko Rantanen fought Calgary’s Jonathan Huberdeau in a scrap that no one had on the fight card.

It was Rantanen’s first fight. But with the number of players the Stars forward has already injured with questionable hits this season, it might not be his last.

Which raises the question: what in the name of Don Cherry’s Rock’em Sock’em Hockey is going on?

What’s to blame for rise in fighting?

You can partly blame the Florida Panthers for this. After all, the Panthers showed you can win back-to-back Stanley Cups with Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand in their lineup and by playing a pugnacious style of hockey and employing pests who can beat you with their fists and their sticks. The NHL is a copycat league, so it’s natural that other teams are now stealing their championship blueprint.

Another factor that has contributed to the number of fights is an all-for-one sort of gang mentality within teams. If a player is being targeted, then the whole team has his back. We saw that in the Columbus-New Jersey game, where Dmitri Voronkov’s beatdown of Brenden Dillon set off a chain reaction of fights that probably would never have occurred. 

So far this season, there have been 10 multi-fight games. Two of those games included three or more fights.

‘It’s kind of an identity thing,’ Fantilli told the Dispatch after engaging in his second career NHL fight. ‘Yeah, we have Ollie (Mathieu Olivier), and we have Guddy (Erik Gudbranson) who can take care of that stuff, but when they’re not in our lineup, it’s still a part of our identity. It’s part of the way we play. 

‘Maybe we don’t fight four to five times every game, but when things need to be taken care of, it’s in this locker room. We care about each other, and we’ve got each other’s backs, and I think we kind of proved that, too.’

Chances are the Blue Jackets will have to prove it again when they play the Devils on Dec. 31. And this time, it looks like Olivier will be back in the lineup.

‘Oh, yeah, he’s fired up,’ Fantilli told the Dispatch. ‘He’s got that game circled on his calendar, for sure.’

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The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is denying an allegation from former Mississippi football coach Lane Kiffin that he was being run ‘off the road’ by angry Ole Miss fans after he decided to leave for LSU.

According to Mississippi Today, a spokesperson from the department said the office has no evidence or record of Kiffin’s claim — which he made in his opening news conference at LSU on Monday, Dec. 1 — and that he received a safety escort from the Mississippi Highway Patrol to the Oxford airport to leave on a plane for Baton Rouge on Sunday, Nov. 30.

Sean Tindell, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, confirmed Kiffin was given a safety escort in a humorous video the department posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Dec. 2.

‘Call a cop that you know so they’ll help you,’ Kiffin said on Dec. 1. ‘Because you personally know them because you are leaving the state. And you gotta turn around, and people are screaming at you, you know, trying to run you off the road I don’t know what they’re gonna do.

‘And so that. … That affects you. And that airport scene, and all the things being said, I understand that. It’s the passion. But they’re saying that about you, that you thought you did a really good job for six years for them. And that affects you. And even on the plane down there I’m kind of like ‘yeah we made this decision but like, god I really…’ You know?’

The Mississippi Highway Patrol isn’t the only agency denying Kiffin’s account of his Ole Miss exit. Rebels athletic director Keith Carter said in a radio interview with SuperTalk Mississippi there are ‘a lot of things’ Kiffin has ‘said publicly that I’m not sure have been totally accurate.’

Moreover, several members of Ole Miss’ leadership team have gone on X to dispute Kiffin’s claim that Ole Miss players asked Carter to allow Kiffin to ‘keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance.’

Kiffin officially announced his move within the SEC from Ole Miss to LSU on Nov. 30, two days after the Rebels picked up their first 11-win season in program history off a win in the Egg Bowl. He went 55-19 in his six seasons at Ole Miss.

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