SAN JOSE, CA − Should the Seattle Seahawks have simply run the ball?

It’s a question that’s been posed countless times over the past decade-plus but has returned to the forefront with a vengeance this week as Seattle prepares to play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60 − 11 years after the Seahawks’ stunning, controversial, pall-casting 28-24 loss to the Pats in their last Super Sunday appearance.

‘I know that’s a sore subject for a lot of people but, uh … we’ll say pass?’ current Seahawks QB Sam Darnold smiled when asked the question during Super Bowl Opening Night on Feb. 2. (Wrong answer, Sam.)

Said Seattle receiver Cooper Kupp: ‘I would say probably hand the ball off.’ (Bingo.)

Head coach Mike Macdonald had had about enough after fielding the same query from multiple media members Monday.

‘I think the more important question is how many times am I gonna get this question over the next three days?’ is where a slightly exasperated Macdonald landed.

It’s a fairly understandable response given the typical Groundhog Day patina of Super Bowl coverage. And that’s especially true given neither Macdonald, Darnold, Kupp nor anyone on the present roster was part of the Seattle team that so memorably failed in Super Bowl 49, a defeat that potentially precluded a Seahawks dynasty while breathing new life into the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady-era Patriots − who had not won a Super Bowl in 10 years prior to that magnificent escape act. (They would go on to capture two additional Lombardi Trophies over the following four years, bringing their total to six, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for most won by a single NFL franchise.)

The laundry may be the same, but this weekend’s game hardly qualifies as a rematch. Yet Macdonald was asked again − sort of − on Feb. 4, the question repackaged in a way to suggest the 2025 Seahawks might be motivated to avenge the 2014 edition.

After a brief pause, Macdonald responded (with a laugh), ‘No. We haven’t talked about it once.’

If you’re even a semi-casual football fan, then you probably remember the particulars of the play in question. If not? Then consider this a learning experience as it kicks off my list of the 60 most memorable plays on Super Sunday going into Super Bowl 60:

1. Malcolm Butler’s INT

Pivotal. Shocking. Unforgettable. The Patriots’ undrafted rookie cornerback made the rarest of plays, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by intercepting Seahawks QB Russell Wilson at the goal line with 20 seconds left to preserve the four-point win in Super Bowl 49.

‘I can’t believe the (play) call,’ NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth, who will also call Super Bowl 60, said at the time. ‘You have Marshawn Lynch. You have a guy who’s been borderline unstoppable. … If I lose this Super Bowl because Marshawn Lynch can’t get into the end zone, so be it. So be it. I can’t believe the call.’

In the process, Butler derailed Seattle’s title defense a year after they’d won Super Bowl 48 in dominant fashion over Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos and launched a lifetime of second guessing for the legions who skewered coach Pete Carroll for not directing Wilson to hand off to Lynch, one of the most formidable backs in league history and a guy who’d already scored a touchdown and racked up 133 total yards in that game. Last, yet certainly not least, Butler saved Brady and coach Belichick from the narrative that they were ‘only’ 3-3 in Super Bowls to that point. Way to just “do your job,’ Malcolm Butler!

“It probably runs across my mind at least once a week,” Butler told USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett Bell earlier this week. “I sit around the house, and I’m so grateful for all the things I’ve got. Even if I didn’t make that play, my life was going to be good, because I was always a hustler, a grinder, who is going to make things happen, no matter what. But that really changed my life.’

2. Roethlisberger-to-Holmes

What was better, QB Ben Roethlisberger’s precision strike to the back corner of the end zone – rifled through three Arizona Cardinals – or WR Santonio Holmes’ ability to snatch it while keeping his toes down as he fell out of bounds with 35 seconds on the clock? Beautifully executed all the way around, and it gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a then-record sixth Lombardi Trophy as they rallied for a 27-23 victory in Super Bowl 43.

3. David Tyree’s helmet catch

Most coaches would cringe if their quarterback threw into triple coverage in the middle of the field while scrambling amid a broken play. But that’s what New York Giants star Eli Manning did, and Tyree famously managed to pin the pass against his helmet on the other end of the 32-yard hookup with 59 seconds to go. Four plays later, Manning hit WR Plaxico Burress for the game-winning TD as the Giants shocked the previously undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl 42.

4. Montana-to-Taylor

The San Francisco 49ers’ game-winning march began with QB Joe Montana surveying the stands and asking teammates in the huddle, ‘Isn’t that John Candy?’ Joe Cool indeed. Eleven plays and 92 yards later, WR John Taylor caught the decisive 10-yard pass from Montana with 34 seconds to go as the Niners overcame the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 in Super Bowl 23.

5. Wide right

That’s where Buffalo Bills kicker Scott Norwood’s 47-yard field-goal try (barely) missed with 4 seconds left in Super Bowl 25. The Giants hung on for a 20-19 win, and Buffalo would never get any closer to a title despite reaching Super Sunday three more times.

6. Mike Jones’ tackle

With the Tennessee Titans 10 yards away from a potential game-tying touchdown with 5 seconds to play in Super Bowl 34, Jones, an unheralded St. Louis Rams linebacker, limited WR Kevin Dyson to a 9-yard gain – just shy of the goal line – on the game-ending play.

7. Adam Vinatieri’s Super Bowl 36 field goal

On the final snap, the Patriots kicker split the uprights from 48 yards – he was celebrating before the ball went through – literally kick-starting the New England dynasty and completing one of the Super Bowl’s biggest upsets as the Pats knocked off the heavily favored ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ Rams 20-17. Vinatieri would drill an only slightly less dramatic FG in the final seconds two years later to beat the Carolina Panthers.

8. ’70 chip’

That was the play call by Washington, which trailed the Miami Dolphins 17-13, on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 17. The ball went to RB John Riggins, who, running behind his dominant ‘Hogs’ offensive line, ran through the tackle of DB Don McNeal before busting down the left sideline for a 43-yard touchdown the Fins wouldn’t overcome.

9. Tracy Porter’s pick-six

With QB Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31 yards from a game-tying touchdown with less than four minutes to go in Super Bowl 44, the New Orleans Saints corner swiped a pass intended for WR Reggie Wayne and set sail for a game-icing 74-yard TD.

10. James White in OT

The largely anonymous third-down back of the Patriots ran 2 yards to glory in the first Super Sunday overtime, capping New England’s epic comeback from a 28-3 deficit against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51 while boosting his Super Bowl single-game record point total to 20.

11. Mecole Hardman in OT

The largely anonymous receiver of the Kansas City Chiefs caught the game-winning 3-yard TD pass from QB Patrick Mahomes − on a play called ‘Corn Dog’ − in the second Super Sunday overtime, K.C. securing back-to-back championships with its Super Bowl 58 triumph in Las Vegas.

12. We’re No. 1

Joe Namath’s raised index finger as he jogged off the Orange Bowl field after the New York Jets’ monumental upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 3 said it all, especially after the MVP’s famous pregame guarantee that the 18-point underdogs would prevail.

13. Doug Williams’ comeback

The Washington quarterback crumbled to the turf while being sacked in the first quarter, his surgically repaired left knee hyperextended with his team trailing the Denver Broncos 10-0. But Williams would miss just two plays before launching four TD passes in the next period on his way to becoming MVP and the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl as Washington cruised to a 42-10 rout in Super Bowl 22.

14. James Harrison’s INT return

The Steelers pass-rushing linebacker dropped into coverage on a hunch and picked off Cardinals QB Kurt Warner at the goal line before a 100-yard tightrope sprint up the sideline for a TD completed what was at least a 10-point swing before halftime in Super Bowl 43, which Pittsburgh won by four points.

15. Terry Bradshaw KO’d

As he launched what would prove to be the decisive 64-yard TD pass to WR Lynn Swann in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 10, the chin of the Steelers quarterback was introduced to the helmet of Dallas Cowboys DL Larry Cole. Bradshaw was out before he hit the ground and wouldn’t play again in the game, but his throw earned Pittsburgh its second ring.

16. Isaac Bruce’s TD

It gets overshadowed by Jones’ tackle, but the Rams don’t win without Warner’s 73-yard TD pass to Bruce with 1:54 to go on St. Louis’ first play after the Titans had erased a 16-0 deficit.

17. Burrow bagged

Trailing 23-20 inside the final minute of Super Bowl 56, Bengals QB Joe Burrow was trying to pull one more rabbit out of the hat from midfield. Instead, Los Angeles Rams DL Aaron Donald burst through the line on what turned out to be Cincy’s final play, ragdolling Joey B. into a desperation incompletion that put the game on ice – Donald pointing to his ring finger, indicating where his new ice would be featured.

18. Favre-to-Rison

Vintage Brett Favre. On the Green Bay Packers’ second play of Super Bowl 31, the MVP quarterback called an audible before launching a 54-yard touchdown to WR Andre Rison streaking down the middle of the field. Favre sprinted after his receiver, helmet held aloft, and Green Bay was on its way to its first title in 29 years.

19. John Elway’s helicopter run

The 37-year-old Broncos quarterback, in desperate pursuit of his first title after being blown out in his first three Super Sunday starts, famously went airborne and was spun around by Packers defenders on an 8-yard third-quarter run that gave Denver a first-and-goal. It set up MVP Terrell Davis’ go-ahead TD run in Super Bowl 32, which the Broncos eventually won 31-24.

20. Mario Manningham’s catch

Four years after being victimized by Tyree, the Patriots fell prey to an amazing 38-yard completion from Eli Manning to Manningham with 3:39 to go on the Giants’ game-winning drive of Super Bowl 46. Manningham barely got his feet down at midfield, a play the Patriots unsuccessfully challenged.

21. Jackie Smith’s drop

The Hall of Fame tight end, wide open in the end zone, dropped a perfect pass from Cowboys QB Roger Staubach in Super Bowl 13 that would have knotted the game 21-21, prompting broadcaster Verne Lundquist to exclaim, ‘Bless his heart, he’s got to be the sickest man in America.’ Yep. The Cowboys would eventually lose to the Steelers 35-31.

22. 2-3 Jet Chip Wasp

Trailing by 10 with more than half the fourth quarter expired and facing a third-and-15 from his own 35-yard line in Super Bowl 54, Mahomes knew his team was backed into a corner. But he suggested this play, which required WR Tyreek Hill to run a late-developing route deep into San Francisco’s zone coverage. Mahomes took the snap and had to drop 14 yards into the pocket in order to evade the 49ers’ relentless pass rush, then heaved the ball toward Hill, who’d cut toward the sideline to find a soft spot in the zone. The result was a 44-yard completion that set up a Mahomes TD pass three plays later and opened the floodgates for K.C.’s belated 21-point outburst and first championship in 50 years.

23. Julian Edelman’s shoestring snatch

The Patriots’ slot man extraordinaire snared a ball that was deflected (and nearly intercepted) by Falcons CB Robert Alford microns above the turf, extending New England’s game-tying drive after the team had fallen behind by 25 points in the second half of Super Bowl 51. It was also a welcome turn of events to Pats fans, who’d suffered through script-flipping catches by Tyree and Manningham.

24. Jim O’Brien’s kick

The Baltimore Colts rookie saw his first extra-point try blocked and missed his initial field-goal attempt in a mistake-laden Super Bowl 5. But his 32-yard FG with 5 seconds left gave the Colts a 16-13 defeat of the Cowboys in the Super Bowl’s first truly dramatic moment.

25. ‘Philly Special’

It’s already earned its spot in Super Bowl lore as the enduring moment of the Philadelphia Eagles’ long-awaited Super Bowl 52 victory. However, QB Nick Foles’ 1-yard TD grab from TE Trey Burton off a reverse, on fourth-and-goal just before halftime, was really more gutsy than conclusive given the Patriots eventually overcame (temporarily) the 22-12 hole they fell into on the play.

26. The lights go out in New Orleans

With the 49ers trailing the Baltimore Ravens 28-6 in the third quarter of Super Bowl 47, half of the Superdome’s lights lost power, causing a 34-minute delay. The Niners surged back, eventually cutting the lead to two, before ultimately succumbing.

27. 49ers’ goal-line stand

Up 20-7 in the third quarter of Super Bowl 16, San Francisco turned the Bengals away three times from the 1-yard line, including LB Dan Bunz’s open-field tackle of Charles Alexander on a third-down swing pass. The 49ers would hang on 26-21 for their first title.

28. Ty Law’s pick-six

Decided underdogs against the Rams in 2002, the Patriots were hanging around in the second quarter, trailing 3-0. But Law pilfered a Warner pass down the right sideline intended for Bruce and, arm held high, raced 47 yards for a touchdown and 7-3 lead New England wouldn’t relinquish.

29. John Kasay’s errant kickoff

The Panthers had just tied Super Bowl 38 at 29-29 with 73 seconds to go. Then Kasay booted the ensuing kickoff out of bounds, putting Brady and the Patriots at their own 40-yard line. Six plays and 37 yards was all they needed to set up Vinatieri for the game winner.

30. Seahawks safety

On the first play from scrimmage in Super Bowl 48, Broncos C Manny Ramirez’s snap sailed over the head of Peyton Manning and into the end zone, giving Seattle a 2-0 lead. No one knew it then, but the game was essentially over as the Seahawks would score the first 36 points in a 43-8 laugher.

31. Garo’s gaffe

The Dolphins’ Cyprus-born kicker made the team’s bid for a 17-0 season too close for comfort in Super Bowl 7. Trying to give Miami a serendipitous 17-0 lead with less than three minutes to go, Yepremian’s 42-yard field-goal attempt was blocked. He unwisely tried to pass the ball after collecting the rebound, and it ended up in the hands of Mike Bass, who took it 49 yards for Washington’s only score.

32. Graham cracker

The play didn’t garner the cachet of the ‘Philly Special,’ but Eagles DE Brandon Graham’s strip sack of Brady with 2:09 remaining in Super Bowl 52 was the key (only?) defensive play on a day when the teams combined for an NFL record 1,151 yards of offense. Brady’s fumble occurred with New England trailing 38-33 and led to Philly’s game-icing field goal.

33. Ahmad Bradshaw’s TD mistake

The Giants tailback scored what proved to be a game-winning 6-yard TD with 57 seconds left in Super Bowl 46, which New York would win 21-17. However the Patriots let Bradshaw into the end zone in order to get the ball back to Brady – New York could have milked the clock before a chip-shot field goal – which he realized too late as he awkwardly fell into the paint. (The Packers used a similar tactic 14 years before, also unsuccessfully.) Ultimately, no harm, no foul for Bradshaw.

34. John Stallworth’s big catch

He’s often overshadowed by teammate Swann, but Stallworth’s 73-yard TD grab from Bradshaw in the fourth quarter finally put the Steelers ahead for good in what had been a nip-and-tuck Super Bowl 14 against the L.A. Rams.

35. Marcus Allen’s 74-yard TD

It was really icing on the cake as the Los Angeles Raiders took a 35-9 third-quarter lead over Washington in Super Bowl 18. But the MVP’s ability to find daylight after reversing his field on what looked like a doomed play had President Ronald Reagan quipping after the game: ‘I have already got a call from Moscow. They think Marcus Allen is a new secret weapon and they insist that we dismantle him.’

36. U2’s halftime show

It’s not universally regarded as the greatest intermission performance on Super Sunday … but it should be. Bono, Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton concluded their three-song set with ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ as the names of those killed on Sept. 11 just a few months prior scrolled on a scrim suspended from the Superdome’s roof. The 2001 terrorist attacks forced the NFL season to be temporarily suspended and ultimately moved Super Bowl 36 back a week, marking the first time the game was played in February.

37. Ambush

The play call of the Saints’ surprise onside kick by Thomas Morstead to start the second half of Super Bowl 44. New Orleans recovered and soon scored a go-ahead TD.

38. Vince Lombardi carried off

The iconic Packers coach, reviled by many of his players a decade earlier but eventually beloved, rode off the field on the shoulders of his charges, including G Jerry Kramer, as Green Bay won its fifth and final title of the 1960s by winning Super Bowl 2. It was Lombardi’s final game as the team’s coach.

39. Buddy Ryan carried off

The defensive coordinator of the famed 1985 Chicago Bears defense got the same treatment as head coach Mike Ditka after a 46-10 blowout of the Patriots in Super Bowl 20. It was emblematic of divided loyalties on a team that wouldn’t win another title after Ryan left to coach the Eagles.

40. Jerome Bettis leaves tunnel alone

The Hall of Fame running back was playing his final game in his hometown, Detroit, for Super Bowl 40. Bettis charged out of the tunnel for pregame introductions and, unbeknownst to him, LB Joey Porter held the rest of the Steelers back to give his teammate a special moment. Eventually realizing he was isolated on the field, a beaming Bettis beckoned his teammates to join him in a game they would win 21-10.

41. Super Bowl’s first TD

It was scored by Packers WR Max McGee, who was only playing because of an injury to teammate Boyd Dowler. McGee was less than 100% after a long night of partying, but you’d never know as he reached behind his back for an underthrown pass from QB Bart Starr on a 37-yard score that got Green Bay on course for a 35-10 win over the Chiefs.

42. Jacoby Jones’ heroics

Few had heard of him before he ended the Ravens’ final drive in the first half of Super Bowl 47 with a 56-yard TD catch. Jones then opened the second half with a record 108-yard kickoff return for a TD that gave Baltimore a 28-6 lead that proved too much for the 49ers … even with help from that power outage.

43. Whoops, Leon Lett

The mishaps of the Cowboys defensive tackle have overshadowed an otherwise sterling career. But we can’t forget that his showboating on a 64-yard fumble return in Super Bowl 27 enabled Bills WR Don Beebe to swat the ball out of Lett’s paw for a touchback just short of another Dallas touchdown. It prevented the triumphant Cowboys from scoring a game record 59 points.

44. 65 Toss Power Trap

Chiefs coach Hank Stram, famously mic’d up as NFL Films tried what was a new technique at the time, gleefully called the play that would result in a 5-yard Mike Garrett touchdown and a 16-0 lead in Super Bowl 4, which Kansas City would go on to win 23-7 against the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings.

45. Peace

46. Jack Lambert sticks up for teammate

Steelers K Roy Gerela had a rough Super Bowl 10, missing two field goals and an extra point. But when Cowboys S Cliff Harris patted Gerela on the helmet after his 33-yard misfire in the third quarter, Lambert – Pittsburgh’s menacing middle linebacker – flung Harris to the turf and stood over him. Dallas players later admitted Harris’ taunt infuriated the Steelers, who trailed 10-7 at the time but outscored Dallas 14-7 in the fourth quarter to prevail.

47. Wardrobe Malfunction

Admit it, Janet Jackson’s halftime ‘slip’ provided your most vivid memory of Super Bowl 38.

48. ‘Somebody take the monkey off my back!’

After throwing a Super Bowl record six TD passes (and finally escaping Montana’s considerable shadow), MVP Steve Young couldn’t contain his relief with this statement near the end of the 49ers’ 49-26 blowout of the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl 29.

49. Jermaine Kearse’s catch

His miraculous, tumbling, 33-yard grab at the Patriots’ 10-yard line with 76 seconds to go seemed destined for a spot alongside Tyree and Manningham as surreal completions that would vanquish New England yet again. (Ironically enough, it was Butler whom Kearse beat in coverage.) Sadly for Seattle, Wilson’s next pass wasn’t nearly as effective.

50. John Mackey’s TD

The tight end got the Baltimore Colts back into Super Bowl 5 with a game-tying 75-yard TD from fellow Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas in the second quarter. The catch was memorable because it deflected off the fingertips of Colts WR Ed Hinton and Dallas CB Mel Renfro before settling into Mackey’s hands. The play would have been illegal at the time if Renfro had not touched it – and the Cowboys vehemently argued he didn’t in a game they would lose by three points.

51. Lynn Swann’s juggling catch

The 53-yard reception over Dallas’ Mark Washington was the prettiest of Swann’s four receptions in Super Bowl 10, when he earned MVP honors. However, as aesthetically pleasing as it was, the catch didn’t lead to any Pittsburgh points.

52. Gatorade shower

Still a novel celebration in 1987, it was first seen on Super Sunday when Giants LB Harry Carson, disguised in a security guard’s jacket, dumped the drink on coach Bill Parcells at the end of New York’s 39-20 Super Bowl 21 win.

53. Fridge scores

The ’85 Bears’ coronation in Super Bowl 20 was never in doubt, and DT William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry’s 1-yard TD run for a 44-3 lead in the third quarter may have been the crowning moment. Sadly, Ditka belatedly realized it came at the cost of providing legendary RB Walter Payton the Super Bowl score he had long dreamed of but wouldn’t realize.

54. Desmond Howard’s TD

His 99-yard kickoff return provided the final score in Green Bay’s 35-21 win in Super Bowl 31 and made him the only special teamer to win MVP honors.

55. Run, Willie, run

On the second play after halftime in Super Bowl 40, Steelers RB ‘Fast Willie’ Parker broke a 75-yard TD run, the longest in Super Bowl history, that would give Pittsburgh an insurmountable 14-3 lead over Seattle.

56. Devin Hester’s kickoff return

Few thought the Indianapolis Colts would kick to the Bears special teams ace, who had six TD returns in the 2006 regular season. But Hester took Vinatieri’s game-opening kickoff 92 yards to the house with the kicker flailing to stop him at the end of it. Unfortunately for Hester, he didn’t get another opportunity in a game Chicago lost 29-17.

57. Larry Fitzgerald’s almost day

It seemed the Cardinals star had capped an unforgettable postseason – he had 30 catches for 546 yards and seven TDs in four games – in style when his 64-yard catch-and-run TD with 2:37 to go in Super Bowl 43 gave Arizona its first lead. Unfortunately for Fitzgerald, he left Roethlisberger and Holmes too much time.

58. OBJ’s emotional day

Making his Super Sunday debut in Super Bowl 56, Rams WR Odell Beckham Jr. opened the scoring against Cincinnati with a 17-yard TD catch from Matthew Stafford in the first quarter. But Beckham wound up celebrating LA’s victory in street clothes after suffering a torn ACL before halftime.

59. T.O.’s big day

Seven weeks after breaking his leg, Eagles WR Terrell Owens caught nine passes for 122 yards in Super Bowl 39. His courageous effort wasn’t quite enough in a three-point loss to the Patriots, but Jack Youngblood − Owens’ fellow Hall of Famer played on a broken leg himself in the Rams’ Super Bowl 14 loss − was still proud.

60. Hightower’s heroics

Let’s end back at the beginning. Former Patriots LB Dont’a Hightower is probably best known for his momentum-fueling strip sack of Falcons QB Matt Ryan during New England’s Super Bowl 51 comeback. But Hightower’s biggest Super Sunday moment occurred two years earlier. Before Butler’s mythic pick, Hightower, soldiering with a torn labrum in his shoulder, somehow brought down Lynch for a 4-yard gain on the previous play. Had it been a 5-yard gain, Seattle almost certainly wins Super Bowl 49 and NFL history looks much different.

WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark is ready for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

On Thursday, Comcast shared an Instagram video of Clark wearing an Olympic hockey jersey. In the video, the Indiana Fever star picks up a camera off the floor and shows off her outfit (a gray crop top sweater and jeans) before placing the camera down and covering the camera lens with her shoe.

In the next frame, she removes her shoe from the camera’s view, revealing a white, red and blue Team USA hockey jersey, complete with an emblem, the American flag and the iconic Olympic rings. Clark eventually tugs at her jersey several times, seemingly cheering the United States on.

‘Nothing brings us together more than sports,’ the caption reads.

From the Olympics to the NBA, Clark is having a huge week.

On Feb. 1, Clark joined the debut of NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Basketball’ as a guest analyst alongside Reggie Miller, Carmelo Anthony and host Maria Taylor. Clark, who was on-site for a Lakers-Knicks matchup at Madison Square Garden, covered several topics with the group, including the ongoing WNBA-CBA negotiations.

Clark’s Olympics video and her NBC appearance were made possible by an Xfinity marketing deal she signed in March 2024.

Since they weren’t able to swing a deal before the NBA trading deadline expired, the Brooklyn Nets are reportedly waiving guard Cam Thomas.

Thomas, 24, had an uneven tenure with the Nets. He proved at times that he was a capable scorer, averaging a career-high 24.0 points per game last season. But Thomas was a restricted free agent this past offseason and a true market never really materialized, so the Nets brought him back on his qualifying offer.

As Brooklyn has transitioned to its younger players, Thomas’ role has been reduced. Still, he’s a young player who has significant deficiencies with his defense and offensive efficiency, but he could provide a boost in the right system.

Here are potential landing spots for Cam Thomas:

Milwaukee Bucks

Now that Giannis Antetokounmpo is sticking around at least through the end of this season, Milwaukee may try to add some pieces to convince Antetokounmpo to commit to the franchise over the long term. The Bucks, though, may be trying to find the balance between staying competitive in the East versus improving their draft pick positioning in what’s a talent-rich draft. The Bucks rank 23rd in offensive rating (112.9), however, so Thomas could offer a scoring boost.

Orlando Magic

They weren’t that active before the trading deadline, but the Magic still have some offensive issues. Paolo Banchero has struggled to take the next step and Desmond Bane has offered a nice boost, but Orlando still could use some perimeter shot creation. The Magic are 25-24 and hanging around the play-in window in the East. Their defense is their strength, so they have other players that can mask Thomas’ deficiencies in that area, but the scoring is what they could use.

Boston Celtics

This is a team with the structure and culture in place to take a potential flyer on Thomas. Certainly, the defensive issues don’t align with Boston’s identity. But the Celtics may also be looking to find a low-cost replacement for Anfernee Simons, whom the Celtics just traded to Chicago for Nikola Vučević. The Celtics would feel that Thomas’ career-low 39.9% shooting is more of an aberration, but if there’s one team that can get Thomas to refine his game, it would be Boston.

Toronto Raptors

Toronto was mostly quiet during the deadline, but this is a team that could still be looking to make some modest improvements to ensure its playoff push. Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley are the primary offensive catalysts for this team, but Toronto still has periods of stagnancy and could use some shot creation off the bench.

Utah Jazz

The big splash was the move to land Jaren Jackson Jr., but the Jazz may still want to land some more offensive talent as Utah makes a push to creep into the play-in window. One reason why this could be a problematic fit, however, is the defensive concerns. The Jazz rank dead last in the NBA in defensive rating (122.0) and Thomas won’t help that.

Ahead of this year’s midterm elections, President Donald Trump is already starting to endorse some GOP candidates – including three-time MLB All-Star Mark Teixeira.

In a post on X, Teixeira shared a screenshot from President Trump’s Truth Social post, where he endorses the former World Series champ in March 3’s Republican primary for Texas’ 21st Congressional district.

‘I know Mark well, and is he a TOTAL WINNER, on and off the field,’ Trump wrote in his post.

Teixeira, who won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009, said he had ‘an excellent phone call with the President’ and that he’s ‘excited to be part of the team.’

Teixeira played 14 MLB seasons for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels and Yankees, retiring after the 2016 campaign.

Trump’s endorsements have often resulted in wins. In 2016, Trump endorsed four Senators and two Representatives, all of whom won except Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire). In 2017, every politician running for a spot in the House of Representatives that Trump endorsed won. More recently, in 2024, only six of the House candidates he endorsed lost their elections. He endorsed more than 50 candidates in total.

What is Mark Teixeira running for?

Teixeira is running for Congress in Texas’ 21st district. Teixeira’s opportunity comes after the district’s sitting congressman, Republican Chip Roy, revealed he would be running for Texas Attorney General in 2026. Roy had held the position since 2018, winning re-election in 2020, 2022, and 2024.

Since announcing his candidacy, Teixeira has always made it clear that he has been a Trump supporter. In his announcement post, he even claims he’s ‘ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda.’

When are midterm elections?

This year’s Congressional elections (also referred to as midterms) are set for Tuesday, November 3. The Texas primary will be March 3, 2026, and a primary runoff is set for May 26, 2026.

The Detroit Tigers are well-positioned to triumph in the land of the indifferent.

All it took was one handshake with Framber Valdez and a short-term commitment to the left-hander to ensure the 2026 Tigers will be significant favorites in the American League Central, where five teams worth a combined $8 billion typically engage in an annual ritual of seeing who can do less.

The Tigers decided to zag: While the modern fan has been conditioned into the loser mindset of ‘you better trade a guy before you get nothing,’ Detroit instead took the more appropriate tack of surrounding Tarik Skubal with another elite arm in his almost certainly final year in Motown.

And they even locked up a replacement when he walks. Novel, isn’t it?

In signing Valdez to a three-year, $115.5 million contract, the Tigers immediately trot out the AL’s most dominant 1-2 punch, a duo perhaps rivaled in Boston or Toronto or Seattle but still can’t match the raw dominance of possessing the game’s most dominant pitchers and also one of its rocks.

Skubal won his arbitration case against the Tigers, earning a $32 million salary compared to the Tigers’ $19 million bid. His greatness is well-documented. Valdez’s is a little sneakier, his greatest value coming in the 180 to 200 excellent innings he typically provides every season. Lest we forget, he was the lead blocker in the 2022 Astros’ push to the World Series title, going 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA, the Astros winning all four of his starts.

Certainly, a late-season kerfuffle involving his catcher might have dampened his value on the market a tad, but that’s the Tigers’ gain. And besides, his $38.3 million deal is still the largest per annum for a left-handed free agent.

You’d think stretching for a free agent prize might be out of the Tigers’ realm. Then again, memories are short, and baseball’s bean counters seem to like it this way.

This is a franchise that once extended future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander on a $202 million deal and also fellow Cooperstown lock Miguel Cabrera on a $292 million pact. Amid all that, they saw fit to sign free agent pitcher Jordan Zimmermann to a five-year, $110 million deal.

That came in November 2015. Have baseball’s revenues increased since then? (Don’t answer that).

The Tigers played the Verlander situation perfectly, trading him when they realized a down cycle was imminent. And unlike Skubal, Verlander had two to three years of club control remaining when he was dealt to Houston.

Detroit’s franchise-altering return haul? Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron and Jake Rogers.

While Tigers owner Chris Illitch is not nearly as win-now as father Mike once was, the basic fact remains: A dollar goes a long way in the Central. This is a division where the biggest-market team (Chicago) has never spent more than $75 million on a free agent, where Cleveland likes to pretend any star unwilling to sign a below-market extension must hit the trading block after three years, where Kansas City will nip around the edges until strong-arming any municipality that will have them into a new ballpark, where Minnesota takes on new investors and rotates family members as ‘control people’ and overturns its front office as if it doesn’t have the greatest ballpark in the division.

No, opportunity is ripe and as we know, consistent access to the playoffs is the most important piece to winning a World Series. Signing Valdez – who can opt out of his deal after the 2027 season – and pairing him with Skubal almost guarantees the Tigers an October ticket, and a favorable set-up when they get there.

Even if it’s just one year, what an opportunity. And the Tigers can always come back and reassemble after Skubal leaves. The door should still be left wide open.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Mikaela Shiffrin’s grief after her father died was so great her mother didn’t think the all-time World Cup wins leader would ever ski again.

‘Mikaela laid with her head on his chest for nine hours, I think,’ Eileen Shiffrin said in a new episode of adidas’ Illuminated docuseries that was released Thursday, Feb. 5.

‘We ended up having to withdraw support and she heard his heart stop beating,’ Eileen Shiffrin said. ‘That’s a hard thing to go through.’

The episode is filmed mostly at Shiffrin’s house in Colorado, which is filled with pictures of her father. It also features family videos of Shiffrin when she was young, with her parents and early in her skiing career.

For days after Jeff Shiffrin’s death, Shiffrin couldn’t get out of bed, her mother said. She couldn’t eat or drink, and she lost weight.

‘We lost our rock, the person that we all loved the most,’ Eileen Shiffrin said in the episode, as a young Shiffrin is seen with her dad. ‘I didn’t think Mikaela would ever ski again. I don’t think she thought she would, either.

‘We were constantly looking for signs of Jeff’s presence. She (said), ‘I’m just foggy. I don’t know where I’m going, I don’t really feel like I know what I’m doing,” Eileen Shiffrin recalled. ‘I said, ‘We don’t have to ski anymore, but we need to do something besides sit at home. So if you want, we can try skiing and maybe you would go on the hill and feel dad there?”

The rest of the 2019-20 season was canceled because of the COVID epidemic. Shiffrin went to Europe that fall for the start of the World Cup circuit, only to injure her back. She didn’t race again until November 2020.

‘There was this crazy battle between I don’t really want to be here or existing, but I still like ski racing, and I still am good at it, and I still want to win races,’ Shiffrin said.

Shiffrin has spoken often of not having her usual store of energy that had made her so formidable in the second runs of tech races. But that heaviness gradually lifted, each day bringing her a little closer to where she’d been before her father died.

On Dec. 14, 2020, Shiffrin won the giant slalom in Courchevel, France. It was her first win since Jeff Shiffrin’s death.

Shiffrin would win three more times that season, including the combined title at the world championships in Cortina, site of the women’s Alpine races at the 2026 Winter Olympics. She also won a silver in the giant slalom at those worlds, as well as bronzes in the slalom and super-G.

‘Winning was just sort of the statement, the proof that, ‘Oh, I’ve got fire. I’m just trying to figure out who I am again,” Shiffrin said.

The 16-minute episode is a sweet and revealing look at the relationship between Shiffrin and her mother, who has been by her side for her entire career. Shiffrin has often praised her mother, who also was a ski racer when she was younger, for knowing her skiing as well as anyone and being able to identify things others cannot.

‘I love feeling like there’s something I still have to offer that only I can give to her. It’s just still magical and special,’ Eileen Shiffrin said in the docuseries. ‘Knowing us, I don’t think we’re going to stop anytime soon.’

After months of speculation, we now know where Giannis Antetokounmpo will be – at least through the end of the 2025-26 season.

According to ESPN, the Bucks have informed other teams that they are keeping Antetokounmpo on the roster beyond the NBA trading deadline, which is Thursday, Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. ET.

This doesn’t rule out that Milwaukee could eventually trade Antetokounmpo during the offseason when potential suitors would have more draft capital and financial flexibility to sweeten their offers. But it also opens the path for the Bucks to try to make complementary moves to convince Antetokounmpo to commit to the franchise over the long term.

Antetokounmpo, 31, is signed through the end of next season and has a $62.8 million player option for the 2027-28 season. In theory, the Bucks would want to secure Antetokounmpo’s future with a multiyear extension, but if they get any indication that he’s not committed to signing a deal, they eventually might consider a trade to recoup assets for a post-Giannis era.

Antetokounmpo is averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, though he is currently sidelined with a right calf strain and is expected to miss several more weeks.

Antetokounmpo has had an eventful season with the Bucks.

Recently, he booed home fans at Fiserv Forum after they had booed the team’s performance. Earlier in the year, he scrubbed his social media of most mentions of the Bucks, leading to the rampant speculation that he was looking to be traded.

According to multiple reports, Antetokounmpo broached his future with Bucks management through his representatives, but he addressed the rumors and said ‘there will never be a moment that I will come out and say, ‘I want a trade.” In mid-December, however, he didn’t rule out that his agent might be having conversations about his future with the Bucks.

Antetokounmpo has maintained that he wants to compete for a championship, but the Bucks (20-29) are languishing in the East.

‘We’re not playing hard,’ Antetokounmpo told reporters Jan. 21 after a 20-point loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. ‘We’re not doing the right thing. We’re not playing to win. We’re not playing together. Our chemistry is not there. Guys are being selfish, trying to look for their own shots instead of looking for the right shot for the team. Guys trying to do it on their own.

‘At times, I feel like when we’re down 10, down 15, down 20, we try to make it up in one play, and it’s not going to work – we’ve just got to keep on chipping away, possession by possession.’

Projecting the NFL’s top award winners isn’t quite as difficult as determining who will take home an Academy Award.

While voting for honorees in inherently subjective categories can create some level of variance, the extensive sample size of a 17-game regular-season allows for some clear favorites to emerge for each honor. And while there have been a few surprises over the years, the pre-Super Bowl NFL Honors ceremony typically serves as a coronation for candidates, with the results locked in some time ago.

Nevertheless, with this year’s NFL Honors set to take place Feb. 5 in San Francisco, here is USA TODAY Sports’ rundown of what to expect with our predicted winners in each category:

NFL MVP: Matthew Stafford

Last year gave rise to a rare stir when apparent frontrunner Lamar Jackson lost out to Josh Allen despite claiming the first-team All-Pro nod at quarterback from the same voting panel. It doesn’t seem like similar drama is in store this time around. Stafford and Drake Maye created a healthy – and then unhealthy – debate, but the Los Angeles Rams quarterback seems positioned to beat out the New England Patriots’ second-year signal-caller after winning the first-team All-Pro battle 31-18 (Josh Allen received one vote). Maybe New England’s favorable schedule played a factor, though it’s questionable how much of an advantage that actually conferred on Maye given that the greatest benefit seemed to come from facing subpar quarterbacks. At 37, Stafford still discovered new peaks in his play, particularly in continuing to unlock explosive downfield connections while seldom putting the ball in harm’s way.

Offensive Player of the Year: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

The postseason doesn’t factor into awards consideration, so the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl run – and the receiver’s dominant outing over the Rams in the NFC championship game – won’t come into play here. No matter for Smith-Njigba, who should still claim this honor. The third-year pass catcher was central to Seattle’s effort to reimagine its offense in coach Mike Macdonald’s second season, with Smith-Njigba repeatedly delivering huge gains off play-action. His 1,793 receiving yards not only paced the NFL but were three times the total of any other player on the Seahawks’ roster. Rams receiver Puka Nacua made a legitimate run for this award and even bested Smith-Njigba in yards per route run. But Smith-Njigba gets the narrow edge given his outsized importance to his team.

Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett

There’s no mystery as to whether the Cleveland Browns defensive end will earn this recognition for the second time in his career. The only outstanding question is whether he will become only the second player to do so unanimously. After breaking the NFL’s single-season sack record with 23, Garrett might be impossible to deny, as all the other finalists are pass rushers who can’t measure up to his historic levels of disruption. His singular status was only reinforced by the lengths that opposing teams went to in the final four weeks of the season to prevent him from reaching the sack record.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Tetairoa McMillan

This has been arguably the most difficult award to track over the course of the season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egubka claimed early front-runner status with his sizzling start, but he cooled off down the stretch. Preseason favorites Cam Ward and Ashton Jeanty couldn’t overcome their teams’ respective deficiencies to remain in front of the pack. Instead, McMillan made a steady but sustainable surge by powering an otherwise listless Carolina Panthers passing attack with 1,014 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough created some intrigue down the stretch, but his performance in nine starts likely wasn’t sufficient to overcome McMillan’s more robust body of work.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Carson Schwesinger

Splash plays have routinely been the key in first-year defenders establishing a name for themselves, thereby making this award the territory of edge rushers and cornerbacks. Schwesinger, however, looks poised to become just the second off-ball linebacker in the last decade to emerge as a winner. As a second-round pick of the Browns, the former walk-on at UCLA continued to outshine some of his more lauded peers, establishing himself as a rangy and dependable asset to the defense with a team-high 156 tackles. Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori finished the season as perhaps the most dangerous first-year defender, while edge rushers Abdul Carter and James Pearce Jr. each made a distinct mark. But Schwesinger set the bar with his consistent level of stellar play.

Comeback Player of the Year: Christian McCaffrey

No other award has as nebulous criteria as this one. In some years, that’s made it hard to get a handle on a potential winner. This year, things seem fairly straightforward. Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson has a strong case, but McCaffrey, who also is a finalist for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, bounced back to form for the San Francisco 49ers after missing all but four games last year due to two separate ailments. Long an outlier at a position that has been devalued since his arrival into the league, McCaffrey should add another impressive line to his extensive resume with this award.

Coach of the Year: Mike Vrabel

No category is as loaded as this one, as any finalist would make a fine winner in any given year. And though the postseason doesn’t carry any weight for this award, it’s fitting that it might come down to Vrabel and Mike Macdonald, the Patriots coach’s Super Bowl 60 counterpart with the Seahawks. While Ben Johnson and Liam Coen engineered incredible single-season turnarounds, Vrabel became just the third coach in league history to win 14 games in his first year with a franchise – and he did so with a roster that had its fair share of faults even after an extensive offseason reconfiguration. Expect something of a splintered vote here, with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan also getting strong consideration for his work navigating a disastrous run of injuries. But Vrabel’s record-tying 10-win improvement in Year 1 likely puts him over the top.

Assistant Coach of the Year: Klint Kubiak

After a run of admittedly chalk picks, maybe there’s some mystery in the final few awards, which lack any consensus surrounding them. Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph could be the pick here after leading the way for the NFL’s most fearsome pass rush, and Josh McDaniels did superlative work in positioning Maye and the rest of the Patriots’ offense to thrive despite some lingering personnel limitations. Kubiak, however, was at the controls for one of this year’s most impressive reworkings with Seattle’s offense, and the unit managed to pull off the high-wire act thanks to his guidance.

Protector of the Year: Joe Thuney

Finally, the offensive linemen get their due. The finalists here make for an intriguing group, with Trent Williams and some other more visible names not in the mix. While a committee of former blocking greats has been instructed only to take into account this season, Thuney would make for a fitting inaugural winner given his accomplished career. But choosing him wouldn’t be a mere reflection of his body of work, as the first-team All-Pro left guard didn’t surrender a sack this season and played an instrumental role in stabilizing a formerly shaky front for Caleb Williams. This one, however, could truly go in any direction.