Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter believes that fans should avoid traveling to the United States for the World Cup this summer.

The 89-year-old cited Mark Pieth, an anti-corruption expert and law professor who chaired the Independent Governance Committee to oversee FIFA’s reform process from 2013 to 2016.

In a recent interview with Swiss newspaper Der Bund, Pieth said that President Donald Trump’s international aggression and violations within the U.S. made it too risky for fans to travel from abroad.

‘If we consider everything we’ve discussed, there’s only one piece of advice for fans: Stay away from the USA!’ Pieth said.

‘You’ll see it better on TV anyway. And upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don’t please the officials, they’ll be put straight on the next flight home. If they’re lucky.’

Blatter approvingly quoted Pieth in a post on X, adding: ‘I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.’

The United States will serve as the co-host for the World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada, with the tournament running from June 11 to July 19.

There has also been widespread criticism at home as federal agents have killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, Minnesota this month.

‘The country itself is in a state of tremendous turmoil,’ Pieth said. ‘What we’re witnessing domestically – the marginalization of political opponents, the abuses by immigration authorities, and so on – doesn’t exactly entice a fan to travel there.

‘The U.S. is in a similar security situation to Mexico. In Mexico, it’s the drug cartels threatening violence; in the U.S., it’s a state that’s becoming increasingly authoritarian.’

Blatter served as FIFA president for 17 years before he was forced out in the wake of a corruption scandal that erupted in 2015. He has frequently been critical of his replacement, Gianni Infantino.

The Cleveland Browns have a Pro Bowl quarterback.

It’s a statement that hasn’t been true since 2008, when Derek Anderson got the nod to be part of the NFL’s all-star game.

Now, Shedeur Sanders is set to join that short list. The rookie quarterback has been selected as a replacement player for the AFC team in the 2026 Pro Bowl Games, per multiple reports. It was a move necessitated by a vacancy created by the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, who will be playing in Super Bowl 60.

Sanders is part of an AFC quarterback group that includes the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen and Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert, who could also require a replacement after getting surgery in December to repair a fracture in his hand.

The news sent shockwaves through the NFL world, given that the fifth-round rookie finished outside the top-10 in fan voting and wasn’t named as an alternate.

Here’s the reasoning behind Sanders’ Pro Bowl selection.

Why is Shedeur Sanders going to the Pro Bowl?

Sanders was selected as a replacement for the 2026 Pro Bowl Games.

The exact process for Sanders’ inclusion is not known, given that the league doesn’t reveal the process for selecting alternates beyond the initial list. Only four AFC quarterbacks ranked in the top-10 for fan voting – Allen, Maye, Patrick Mahomes and Bo Nix.

That is what led to Herbert getting the nod for one of the three AFC spots. Maye’s spot was opened up after New England earned a spot in the Super Bowl. Mahomes and Nix are both out with injuries, forcing the league to move further down the list of AFC quarterbacks.

Even with those absences, there are still other signal callers in the conference that could be considered more deserving of the spot.

Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Aaron Rodgers are some of the bigger names that didn’t make the cut, but they could’ve turned down the opportunity if offered.

Regardless, the selection of Sanders remains shocking after his rookie season.

The quarterback was selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft and only started the final seven games of the season, leading his team to a 3-4 record. He completed just 56.6% of passes, tossing seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Sanders’ 68.1 passer rating is the 15th-lowest ever logged by a Pro Bowl quarterback since the Super Bowl era began in 1966, per Stathead. A total of 440 Pro Bowl quarterback selections have been made during that period to date, including Sanders.

When is the Pro Bowl 2026?

The 2026 Pro Bowl Games are slated for Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Where is the Pro Bowl 2026?

The 2026 Pro Bowl Games will be held at Moscone Center in San Francisco, just days before Super Bowl 60 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

It marks a change of venue, given that the Pro Bowl Games had been played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida each of the last two seasons, regardless of the Super Bowl site.

Pro Bowl selection process

The NFL Pro Bowl rosters are determined by votes from fans, coaches and players.

Each group’s votes count for one-third of the tally. Voting for the 2026 Pro Bowl Games opened on Nov. 27, 2025. Fan voting closed on Dec. 15, with ballots being worth double for the final two days. Coaches and players had until Dec. 19 to cast their ballots.

A total of 88 players, 44 from each conference, are selected for the event.

It’s the time of the season when NBA teams are taking stock and figuring out if they need to go all-in.

With the NBA trade deadline a little more than a week away, contenders are going to assess the market and see if there are capitalistic chances to strengthen any deficiencies on their roster.

And with that, there’s a new No. 1 on our weekly power rankings, as the Oklahoma City Thunder have shown some weakness recently, going 13-9 since Dec. 13, after they had blasted off to a 24-1 record to start the season.

Here are USA TODAY Sports’ NBA power rankings after Week 13 of the 2025-26 regular season:

USA TODAY Sports NBA power rankings

Note: Records and stats through Jan. 25. Parentheses show movement from last week’s rankings.

NBA Week 14 power rankings: Top 10

1. Detroit Pistons, 33-11 (+1)

2. Oklahoma City Thunder, 37-10 (-1)

3. Denver Nuggets, 31-15 (+1)

4. San Antonio Spurs, 31-15 (-1)

5. Boston Celtics, 28-17 (—)

6. Toronto Raptors, 29-19 (+1)

7. Houston Rockets, 27-16 (+1)

8. Los Angeles Lakers, 27-17 (+2)

9. New York Knicks, 27-18 (+2)

10. Cleveland Cavaliers, 27-20 (+3)

The battle for the top spot here is extremely close. The Thunder have one fewer loss and four more victories than the Pistons, but Oklahoma City has shown recent vulnerabilities, losing consecutive home games for the first time since Nov. 3 … of 2023! The Pistons, meanwhile, have won eight of their last 10 and have posted the NBA’s top defensive rating (101.7) over that span. The Raptors are proving they’re no fluke with Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram starring in key recent wins over the Thunder and Warriors, though it’s guard Immanuel Quickley who has shined most, earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors. And the Cavaliers have shaken off their slow start to slowly climb up the standings.

NBA Week 14 power rankings: Nos. 11-20

11. Golden State Warriors, 26-21 (+3)

12. Minnesota Timberwolves, 27-19 (-3)

13. Phoenix Suns, 27-19 (-7)

14. Philadelphia 76ers, 24-20 (-2)

15. Miami Heat, 25-22 (+1)

16. Chicago Bulls, 23-22 (+2)

17. Portland Trail Blazers, 23-23 (—)

18. Los Angeles Clippers, 21-24 (+1)

19. Orlando Magic, 23-21 (-4)

20. Atlanta Hawks, 22-25 (—)

Despite the injury to Jimmy Butler, the Warriors pulled off a massive win against a struggling Timberwolves squad that has lost five consecutive games. Over those last five, Minnesota ranks 26th in offensive rating (107.8), which is well below its season average (116.6; seventh). The Suns had been rolling but a sprained ankle to star Devin Booker has derailed their momentum a touch – though Booker shouldn’t be out long. The Clippers are surging and have gone 15-3 since Dec. 20, forcing a fan to eat his words — literally.

NBA Week 14 power rankings: Nos. 21-30

21. Dallas Mavericks, 19-27 (+2)

22. Charlotte Hornets, 18-28 (+2)

23. Memphis Grizzlies, 18-25 (-2)

24. Milwaukee Bucks, 18-26 (-2)

25. Utah Jazz, 15-31 (—)

26. New Orleans Pelicans, 12-36 (+4)

27. Brooklyn Nets, 12-32 (—)

28. Indiana Pacers, 11-35 (—)

29. Sacramento Kings, 12-35 (-2)

30. Washington Wizards, 10-34 (-1)

Despite injuries, the Mavericks have been stellar; Cooper Flagg (ankle) avoided a significant absence, and he’s improving with each passing week. With Giannis Antetokounmpo now set to miss at least a month and his future with Milwaukee uncertain, this is quickly becoming a lost season for the Bucks, who almost certainly won’t be buyers at the deadline. The Kings have lost five consecutive games and are a strong candidate to sell during the trading window. Two young teams headed in a problematic direction are the Jazz (-13.0) and Nets (-13.9), who have the worst net ratings in January.

The partnership between the UFC and Paramount+ is off to an impressive start.

The UFC’s debut on Paramount+ Jan. 24 delivered nearly five million streaming views and over seven million households, according to a news release issued by Paramount, the UFC’s new exclusive streaming partner.

The event, UFC 324, reached more homes than any other live UFC event in nearly a decade across linear, broadcast and streaming, according to Paramount, which cited Adobe Analytics and Nielsen Media as sources.

Paramount, which charges a subscription fee that starts at $8.99, is distributing the fights in the United States and Latin American without per-per-view fees that were charged by ESPN over the past seven years.

UFC signed a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount+, which replaced ESPN.

UFC delivered big inside the Octagon, too. A night of entertaining fights culminated with a riveting five-round bout between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett. Gaethje prevailed by unanimous decision and won the interim lightweight title.

The 2026 MLB season begins on March 25. That’s little more than two months away, and while everyone assumes the Los Angeles Dodgers are destined to three-peat, the bright side is that everyone is already looking to 2027 and beyond.

Looking so far ahead is difficult though. We don’t know how players will age. We don’t know what trades or free agent acquisitions will be made. We don’t even know whether or not there will be a lockout when the current CBA expires on Dec. 1 this year.

The only decent indication we have of each team’s future is their farm system. The teams with the best farm systems often become the best teams in the league soon after. The Chicago Cubs had one of the best in the league prior to their World Series title in 2016. The Tampa Bay Rays were near the top for much of the transition between the 2010’s and 2020’s. The Baltimore Orioles had the best for several years before finally breaking through in 2024, even if they fell apart just one year later.

So, looking ahead to the second half of the decade, which teams are set for contention? Here’s every MLB team’s farm system ranked from worst to best entering the 2026 season.

Power ranking all 30 MLB farm systems

*Prospect rankings listed via MLB.com

30) San Diego Padres

Top 5 prospects:

C Ethan Salas (No. 77 on MLB.com’s Top 100)
LHP Kruz Schoolcraft (No. 95)
RHP Humberto Cruz
LHP Kash Mayfield
RHP Miguel Mendez

The Padres basically gutted their farm system last year at the trade deadline, with their biggest prospects, Leo De Vries being shipped to the Athletics in the deal for Mason Miller. The Padres have some players who could wind up becoming franchise stalwarts in the future but outside of Salas, Schoolcraft, and Mayfield, there isn’t much to love about San Diego’s future.

29) Los Angeles Angels

Top 5 prospects:

RHP Tyler Bremmer (No. 91)
RHP Ryan Johnson (No. 96)
RHP George Klassen
LHP Johnny Slawinski
SS Joswa Lugo

The Angels reached for Tyler Bremmer at No. 2 overall, and he is widely considered their top prospect. That’s not a great combination unless Bremmer can break out and exceed the expectations he had prior to being drafted. Another one of the organization’s top prospects, Caden Dana, also experienced some setbacks a season ago. For a team prone to calling up their prospects much earlier than they should, that’s a very unfortunate situation and could further delay the team’s rebuild.

28) Houston Astros

Top 5 prospects:

2B Brice Matthews (No. 93)
SS Xavier Neyens
C Walker Janek
RHP Miguel Ullola
OF Joseph Sullivan

Losing Jacob Melton in the Brandon Lowe trade is a huge blow to the Astros’ farm system, which was already rated lowly to begin with. While Melton didn’t have a spectacular stint in the big leagues, slashing just .157/.234/.186 in 32 games for Houston, we’d yet to see how he could perform in a full season. Now, Houston is forced to lean on guys like Janek and Kevin Alvarez who have potential but have yet to establish themselves as legitimate fanbase-inspiring prospects.

27) Atlanta Braves

Top 5 prospects:

LHP Cam Caminiti (No. 72)
RHP JR Ritchie (No. 86)
SS/OF Tate Southisene
SS Alex Lodise
LHP Briggs McKenzie

The lack of depth in the Braves’ farm system is really showing here. The team had a great crop of young talent get called up a season ago including Drake Baldwin, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Hurston Waldrep, but outside of those guys, the Braves didn’t have much else to lean on in 2025. Now, heading into the 2026 season, the team didn’t do really anything to quell those concerns. Luckily for the Braves, most of their key players are locked up for a while, so the farm system isn’t much of an issue … for now.

26) Kansas City Royals

Top 5 prospects:

C Carter Jensen (No. 39)
C Blake Mitchell (No. 62)
OF/2B Sean Gamble
3B Josh Hammond
SS Yandel Ricardo

It’s hard to have faith in this team’s farm considering Jensen will be on the big league team sooner rather than later. Even with Jensen though, this team’s system lacks sustained star power. Sean Gamble doesn’t possess any attributes that really pop out of the stat sheet. Hammond likely won’t be ready for the majors anytime soon, and Ricardo is 18 years old and struggled in A-ball. There’s potential down the line, and Jensen is a stud, but they might have a dry spell of great prospects coming to the big leagues for a few years.

25) Texas Rangers

Top 5 prospects:

SS/3B Sebastian Walcott (No. 6)
SS Gavin Fien
RHP Jose Corniell
RHP Winston Santos
RHP AJ Russell

The Rangers have some potential with their group of prospects considering many of their young pitchers were highly touted, even cracking MLB’s top-100 prospect list before small stints of poor play and suffering injuries that derailed their 2025 campaigns. If guys like Santos, Alejandro Rosario, and even Emiliano Teodo can bounce back, there’s reason to be excited. Obviously, Walcott is a stud, but he’s the only sure thing the Rangers have currently.

24) New York Yankees

Top 5 prospects:

SS/2B George Lombard Jr. (No. 25)
RHP Carlos Lagrange (No. 74)
RHP Elmer Rodriguez (No. 97)
OF Spencer Jones (No. 99)
RHP Bryce Cunningham

Despite four players in MLB’s top-100 prospect list, the Yankees don’t have anyone outside of Lombard who has proven capable of sustaining such success. Spencer Jones smacked 35 home runs in Double and Triple-A last year, but his previous best was just 17. We’ll need to see more from him, Lagrange, and Rodriguez before we’re ready to rank the Yankees any higher.

23) Colorado Rockies

Top 5 prospects:

SS Ethan Holliday (No. 19)
1B/OF Charlie Condon (No. 61)
OF/SS Cole Carrigg
OF Robert Calaz
RHP Brody Brecht

Everyone lauds Ethan Holliday as this marvelous prospect. He is, but we can’t forget just how many lumps his brother Jackson has taken in the majors. He’s yet to really be an above average player for the Orioles. All that is to say that it might be some time before Ethan Holliday makes an impact for the club. That said, the team did pick up solid left-handed pitching prospect Griffin Herring at the trade deadline, and guys like Calaz and Carrigg have shown flashes of star potential if they can put all of their tools together.

22) Arizona Diamondbacks

Top 5 prospects:

OF Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 66)
OF Slade Caldwell
SS Kayson Cunningham
2B/3B Demetrio Crisantes
2B/OF Tommy Troy

Much of the Diamondbacks’ farm system lies in the strength of their 2024 draft haul. Waldschmidt has been an offensive juggernaut at every level he’s played in. Slade Caldwell has a great gap-to-gap swing which has allowed him to rack up extra-base hits in A and High-A ball. JD Dix hit .342 in rookie ball last year. And Daniel Eagen posted a sub-2.5 ERA in 97.2 innings of High-A last year. There’s reason to be optimistic moving forward, but it would be a shock to see many of these players make an impact at the big league level before 2027.

21) San Francisco Giants

Top 5 prospects:

1B Bryce Eldridge (No. 12)
SS Josuar Gonzalez (No. 82)
2B/SS Gavin Kilen
SS Jhonny Level
OF Bo Davidson

The Giants had legitimate depth in their farm system going into the 2026 offseason, then they added the No. 1 international prospect in Luis Hernandez as well. That’s a major get for a team that has struggled to produce home grown talent for the last decade. Eldridge is expected to be a massive bat right away for the Giants in 2026, and although the team lacks star pitchers in their farm, the team needs young position players considering Willy Adames, Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers are all 29 or older.

20) St. Louis Cardinals

Top 5 prospects:

SS/2B/3B JJ Wetherholt (No. 5)
LHP Liam Doyle (No. 36)
C Rainiel Rodriguez (No. 55)
C Leonardo Bernal (No. 92)
LHP Quinn Mathews

What’s not seen in this top-five above is that the Cardinals have another strong catching prospect in their system in Jimmy Crooks, who appeared in 15 games for the Cardinals last season. The team has depth at a very key position and it’s kind of shocking that they didn’t make any moves by dealing one of those players. Even with down seasons for players like Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews, the Cardinals have more than a few prospects with stellar upside and could probably make a move or two to make themselves more competitive in 2026.

19) Washington Nationals

Top 5 prospects:

SS Eli Willits (No. 15)
C Harry Ford (No. 42)
RHP Travis Sykora (No. 49)
RHP Jarlin Susana (No. 87)
RHP Luis Perales

The addition of Harry Ford really propels this team forward. Without him, this is a team that has sunk a lot of assets into unproven talent with recent draft picks Willits, Petry, Harmon, James, and Sime each earning more than $2 million in signing bonuses.

18) Toronto Blue Jays

Top 5 prospects:

RHP Trey Yesavage (No. 26)
SS JoJo Parker (No. 43)
SS Arjun Nimmala (No. 68)
LHP Ricky Tiedemann
LHP Johnny King

The Blue Jays lost some depth at the trade deadline last year, dealing guys like Khal Stephenand Juaron Watts-Brown, but Trey Yesavage also put together a monster postseason run, still classifying as a prospect. One hit from a prospect pool is a big plus in my books as very few players are every sure-fire hits. Yesavage looked like a future star and that alone is enough to push Toronto up a few spots in these rankings.

17) Cincinnati Reds

Top 5 prospects:

INF Sal Stewart (No. 31)
C Alfredo Duno (No. 48)
SS Tyson Lewis (No. 76)
SS Steele Hall (No. 79)
RHP Rhett Lowder (No. 80)

Sal Stewart and Rhett Lowder have both flashed significant potential in limited MLB action for Cincinnati, but Stewart still only posted a 102 OPS+ and Lowder is coming off a rather severe injury, so it’s yet to be seen if either can create long-term impact.

16) Miami Marlins

Top 5 prospects:

LHP Thomas White (No. 22)
SS Aiva Arquette (No. 41)
OF Owen Caissie (No. 47)
LHP Robby Snelling (No. 51)
C Joe Mack (No. 70)

MLB is underrating Thomas White in my opinion. This man could be the top pitching prospect in baseball. He’s succeeded at every level, and even is just 20 years old. He made a brief appearance in Triple-A last season and was striking out 16.4 batters per nine innings. That is insane. Just nutty stuff. That said, I’m not sold on most of the other players in this system. Arquette didn’t wow anyone in his first year in the minors. Caissie was the big name in the Edward Cabrera deal, but he spent nearly two full seasons in Triple-A, didn’t show much improvement between 2024 and 2025 (but he did display a bit more pop) and then struggled in limited MLB action. There’s a reason the Cubs gave him away. That’s all I’ll say.

15) Chicago White Sox

Top 5 prospects:

OF Braden Montgomery (No. 35)
LHP Noah Schultz (No. 40)
SS Billy Carlson (No. 71)
SS/3B Caleb Bonemer (No. 73)
LHP Hagen Smith (No. 88)

MLB.com isn’t considering Munetaka Murakami a prospect I guess, which is weird considering they counted Roki Sasaki for the Dodgers a year ago. If Murakami was on this list, the White Sox would have legitimate top-10, maybe top-7 considerations. Still, even without their Japanese slugger, the White Sox have tons of solid talent scheduled to come up in 2026, 2027, and 2028. While they don’t currently have someone who stands out as a potential MLB superstar, they have a well of talent that should continue to improve the team for years.

14) Chicago Cubs

Top 5 prospects:

C Moises Ballesteros (No. 53)
RHP Jaxon Wiggins (No. 67)
SS/2B Jefferson Rojas
OF Kevin Alcantara
OF Ethan Conrad

Even without Caissie, I like this team moving forward. They were very well-prepared for the departure of Kyle Tucker in free agency, with Alcantara ready to take over the starting right field job. Ballesteros also flashed remarkable potential in 20 games with the Cubs at the end of 2025. Essentially, the Cubs don’t have a plethora of top-100 talent and lost Caissie, but they have a lot of pieces ready to fill in for anyone who might suffer an injury or get traded and they likely won’t see much of a dip in production.

13) Philadelphia Phillies

Top 5 prospects:

RHP Andrew Painter (No. 16)
SS Aidan Miller (No. 32)
OF Justin Crawford (No. 54)
RHP Gage Wood
2B Aroon Escobar

When a guy with a 5.40 ERA in Triple-A is being heralded as the next big pitching prospect, there’s reason to be concerned. Painter was coming off Tommy John surgery, but there were more reasons to be skeptical about his potential moving forward. If he has a rough start to 2026, this team could fall much further down these rankings. Still, the questions surrounding Painter are mostly offset by breakout seasons from guys like Aroon Escobar, who managed an .828 OPS in A-ball from second base. That’s something to keep an eye on.

12) Athletics

Top 5 prospects:

SS Leo De Vries (No. 3)
LHP Jamie Arnold (No. 38)
LHP Gage Jump (No. 60)
RHP Brade Nett
OF Henry Bolte

The addition of Leo De Vries did wonders for this team’s farm. Sure, losing Mason Miller hurts, but it bolsters this team’s future drastically, which is good considering they want to be great for their first year in Vegas. There were far more breakout seasons than there were setbacks in the A’s system altogether. That’s a recipe for succcess when guys like Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson have already made valuable impacts at the major league level.

11) New York Mets

Top 5 prospects:

RHP Nolan McLean (No. 11)
OF Carson Benge (No. 21)
RHP Jonah Tong (No. 46)
3B/1B Jacob Reimer
OF/2B A.J. Ewing

It’s shocking to see how the Mets’ farm system has turned on its head in the past year. Brandon Sproat was supposed to be the top guy in the organization, and he didn’t experience a bad year per se in 2025, posting a 4.24 ERA in Triple-A before having a brief, mediocre stint in the majors. But he’s not even on the team anymore after the Mets traded him and Jett Williams to Milwaukee.

Thankfully for Mets fans, the team saw several of their mid-tier prospects break out in unexpected ways. Benge, McLean, Tong, Ewing, and Reimer all exceed expectations, which has set them up very nicely for the immediate future, and enabled them to make the move for Freddy Peralta without their farm system suffering too drastically for it.

10) Boston Red Sox

Top 5 prospects:

SS Franklin Arias (No. 24)
LHP Payton Tolle (No. 28)
RHP Kyson Witherspoon (No. 89)
LHP Connelly Early
OF Justin Gonzales

Many people believed the Red Sox farm would fall off after graduating guys like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer last season. However, the team enjoyed a plethora of breakouts, particularly from Payton Tolle. Pitching certainly won’t be a problem for this team for years to come.

9) Baltimore Orioles

Top 5 prospects:

C/1B Samuel Basallo (No. 7)
OF Dylan Beavers (No. 83)
C/OF Ike Irish
OF Enrique Bradfield Jr.
SS Wehiwa Aloy

A little top-heavy, it’s hard to rank the Orioles lower than top 10 considering how good and how ready for the bigs Samuel Basallo is. The Orioles certainly have depth but will need more consistency from their mid-tier prospects before anyone is ready to consider them a true powerhouse farm system again.

8) Tampa Bay Rays

Top 5 prospects:

SS Carson Williams (No. 50)
OF Theo Gillen (No. 65)
RHP Brody Hopkins
OF Jacob Melton
SS Daniel Pierce

Another year, another great haul of prospects for the Rays. The addition of Jacob Melton just added to an already loaded farm. The Rays do lack some pithing depth, particularly southpaws, as not a single lefty cracks their top-30 prospects, but outside of that, this team has such a ‘next man up’ attitude and great developmental program that you can’t really knock them too much.

7) Minnesota Twins

Top 5 prospects:

OF Walker Jenkins (No. 10)
SS Kaelen Culpepper (No. 52)
C Eduardo Tait (No. 57)
OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (No. 69)
LHP Kendry Rojas

Considering the fire sale the Twins endured in 2025, you’d hope they have a good farm system now. Thankfully, they do, the addition of guys like Mick Abel, Kendry Rojas, and Eduardo Tait mark a serious shift in the outlook for this team’s future.

6) Cleveland Guardians

Top 5 prospects:

2B Travis Bazzana (No. 17)
OF Chase DeLauter (No. 58)
SS Angel Genao (No. 59)
C Cooper Ingle
OF Jaison Chourio

For a team that was in the playoffs a year ago, it’s easy to forget they actually bolstered their farm system by playing the role of ‘seller’ at the trade deadline, shipping Shane Bieber to Toronto for Khal Stephen. Stephen struggled in Double-A for Cleveland, but has the tools necessary to be a strong major league arm. He’s still only 22 and doesn’t walk people much. His strikeout numbers could stand to improve though.

5) Pittsburgh Pirates

Top 5 prospects:

SS/OF Konnor Griffin (No. 1)
RHP Bubba Chandler (No. 14)
RHP Seth Hernandez (No. 27)
LHP Hunter Barco (No. 78)
OF/1B Edward Florentino (No. 81)

Griffin and Chandler are the truth. They were already on the team heading into the 2025 trade deadline. Then they added Rafael Flores Jr. and Sammy Stafura at the deadline? Yeah, this team has a bright future, meaning they’ll have a three-year window of playoff contention before all their best players sign with the Dodgers, thus beginning another 10-year rebuild.

4) Detroit Tigers

Top 5 prospects:

SS Kevin McGonigle (No. 2)
OF Max Clark (No. 8)
C/1B Josue Briceño (No. 33)
SS Bryce Rainer (No. 37)
C/1B Thayron Liranzo

Everyone knows how great the top four prospects in this system are, but they have some potential further down as well. A player a lot of people have noticed is Cris Rodriguez who slashed a stellar .308/.340/.564 at 17 years old in the Dominican Summer League.

3) Milwaukee Brewers

Top 5 prospects:

SS/2B Jesus Made (No. 4)
INF Luis Peña (No. 18)
SS/OF/2B Jett Williams (No. 30)
SS Cooper Pratt (No. 56)
C Jeferson Quero (No. 84)

Jesus Made and Luis Peña emerged as two of the best international prospects in baseball last season. They were already highly touted and then each enjoyed an OPS of .760 or better in A-ball. Oh, they’re also each entering their age-19 seasons.

Furthermore, while the loss of Freddy Peralta obviously hurts the team, the additions of the Mets’ No. 3 and 5 prospects in Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat gives the farm system a huge boost.

2) Los Angeles Dodgers

Top 5 prospects:

OF Josue De Paula (No. 13)
OF Zyhir Hope (No. 20)
OF Eduardo Quintero (No. 34)
SS/3B Alex Freeland (No. 45)
OF Mike Sirota (No. 64)

The rich get richer. Look at it. This is what baseball has become. It wasn’t enough for them to give out $1.2 billion in guaranteed money, they had to have a tremendous scouting department as well. On the bright side, most of these guys will likely get traded away for proven MLB-ready talent.

1) Seattle Mariners

Top 5 prospects:

SS/3B Colt Emerson (No. 9)
LHP Kade Anderson (No. 23)
OF Lazaro Montes (No. 29)
RHP Ryan Sloan (No. 44)
2B Michael Arroyo (No. 63)

The impressive part of the Mariners’ farm system is that they built it quietly and have put themselves in position to have a steady influx of highly-touted talent join the team for years to come. While the loss of Harry Ford certainly stings a little bit, the Mariners already have a decent catcher (in case you hadn’t noticed) and just added Luke Stevenson via the draft, who enjoyed a very solid year in A-ball, slashing .280/.460/.400.

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has implemented a system of fines for players who violate team rules.
Fines range from $400 for being late to a meeting to $5,000 for social media misconduct.
Players are also required to wear Nike apparel, and an appeal process is available for any fines issued.

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has laid out an NFL-style system of fines for his players if they violate team rules, including $500 for being late to practice.

He showed it on the video screen in his first team meeting of 2026 on Jan. 23, as briefly seen in a video posted by his oldest son, Deion Jr. Here is what it said:

Late to practice: $500
No-show to practice: $2,500
Late to meeting or film session: $400
No-show to meeting or film session: $2,000
Late to strength and conditioning workout: $1,000
No-show to strength and conditioning workout: $1,500
Late to treatment: $1,000
Violation of team rules: $1,000-$2,500 based on severity.
Public or social media misconduct: $2,000-$5,000
Damage to university or team property: repair cost +$3,000
Loss of team technology or equipment: replacement cost +$1,000
Players also are required to wear Nike shoes and apparel while representing the university at practices, games and organized team activities. Colorado has been a Nike-sponsored school since 1995. Sanders also is sponsored by Nike. Failure to comply also could result in disciplinary action.

There is an appeal process for players, with final decisions issued within five business days. But it’s another example of the professionalization of college sports, with players this year getting paid directly by schools for use of their name, image and likeness (NIL).

A Colorado athletic department spokesman said the fines are ‘completely independent of a player’s NIL licensing agreement.’ They are administered by the football program, and the money collected from them goes back into athletic department operating funds. 

A lack of discipline apparently was an issue for Colorado last year, when the Buffaloes finished 3-9 during Sanders’ third season in charge.

“All these lates and tardies and all these things, we can’t have that this year,” Colorado receivers coach Jason Phillips told the team. “Those are the things we will eliminate… Two ways to eliminate that. Either you change, or we change you.”

Sanders has brought in 42 new scholarship transfer players this year, offsetting more than 35 scholarship players who transferred out.

“You all are hand-picked, hand-picked, hand-picked,” Sanders told the team. “We watched darn near every one of y’all.”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

The new USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll is out, and unbeaten Arizona will spend a third week at No. 1. The Wildcats hold on to the top spot in unanimous fashion once again, though they’ll get a major Big 12 test Monday night at No. 13 Brigham Young.

There was less of a consensus among the 31 panelists for the No. 2 spot. Michigan will hold on to it for another week, but No. 3 Connecticut is just seven poll points behind the Wolverines. Duke hangs on to the No. 4 position, and Nebraska establishes another all-time best ranking as it cracks the top five.

TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll

Gonzaga climbs two places to No. 6, as Houston slips just one spot to No. 7 after losing a close one on the road at No. 11 Texas Tech. Michigan State, Iowa State and Illinois round out the top 10 as Purdue slides eight places to No. 12.

Georgia is the week’s lone dropout, but two teams join the ranking. That’s because there is a tie for 25th between returning Iowa and unbeaten Miami (Ohio) making its first appearance in the coaches poll Top 25 since March 31, 1991.

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Kansas State women’s basketball team, now 11-10, which made the NCAA Tournament three of the past four seasons.

Senior Tess Heal, who averages 9.8 points per game, played in both of Kansas State’s wins over ranked opponents this season — Texas Tech and Ole Miss — and scored in double figures.

But Heal was held out of the Wildcats’ loss on Sunday to rival Kansas due to an NCAA violation. While Kansas State has not confirmed what the violation is, multiple sources confirmed to USA Today Sports that it’s related to Heal signing a contract with a professional team in Australia.

Multiple posts on social media indicate Heal signed with Keilor Thunder of NBL1, a club based in Victoria, Australia, earlier this month. While the NBL1 season doesn’t begin until the spring, it is still an NCAA violation to sign a professional contract while participating in college athletics.

Talking to reporters after the loss at Kansas on Sunday, Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie seemed optimistic Heal would return to the Wildcats this season.

“We hope for a quick resolution,” Mittie said. “I don’t think — she made a mistake in regards to the timing of it — but there’s nothing else. We feel good that as soon as she gets through the reinstatement process, we’ll have her back.”

A spokesperson for Kansas State told USA Today Sports on Monday afternoon that there hasn’t been a change in Heal’s status since Saturday evening and the NCAA is reviewing her case.

“We have been in communication with the NCAA in regards to this situation,” Mittie said in a statement. “She is currently going through the reinstatement process and we are thankful for the NCAA’s prompt responses in this matter.”

One women’s basketball coach familiar with NBL1 told USA Today Sports most Australian players who exhaust their NCAA eligibility will go play in the league when their college season is over. Typically, those players make verbal agreements with teams in advance and then officially sign when the college season ends.

The NCAA got wind of Heal’s deal when social media accounts for the Keilor Thunder and NBL1 posted about her signing last week. Those posts have since been deleted from Facebook and Instagram.

An agent who has represented Heal in NIL negotiations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Heal is a native of Melbourne, Australia, who previously played at Santa Clara and Stanford before transferring to Kansas State last year. She was the West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2023. She has averaged 14.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists over her college career.

This situation with Heal arises at a time when men’s college basketball is grappling with its own eligibility issues. Baylor added James Nnaji, who was a first-round NBA draft pick in 2023, to its roster this season. Alabama also recently added a player with NBA G-League experience, Charles Bediako, to its roster.

Kansas State’s second-leading scorer this season, Nastja Claessens, was drafted by the Washington Mystics in 2024, but never signed a contract with the team and has not played in a WNBA game.