Edwards made a huge shot to give the Timberwolves a 92-88 lead over the Los Angeles Clippers with 42.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter, before getting in Finch’s face.

‘That’s what I do,’ Edwards could be seen telling Finch on the broadcast after the 3-point shot.

The Timberwolves went on to win 94-88 and Edwards was asked about that moment during his postgame interview with Amazon Prime.

“The play before, when I took the midrange over two (players), (Finch) said to pass the ball and I told him, ‘You don’t want me to pass the ball, you want me to shoot it,” Edwards said.

Edwards had 31 points, five assists and three rebounds for the Timberwolves. He shot 12-of-24 from the field, including 2-for-6 from the 3-point line.

U.S. women’s national team midfielder Sam Coffey said her team ‘needs to be better’ when it comes to speaking out on issues of social justice, but added that she and her teammates are doing the work as they find their collective voice.

The USWNT has a long history of activism, speaking out for years on topics both soccer-related and outside of sports.

The team famously spent years advocating for equal pay, representing U.S. Soccer on the pitch while battling with the federation off of it. USWNT players have also been vocal about a number of societal issues such as racial justice and LGBTQ+ topics.

But the current iteration of the team has not been as vocal in recent years. Part of that is likely due to a generational shift that has taken place, with outspoken stars like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn, among others, retiring over the past few years.

Coffey has emerged as one of the leaders of the current team, playing a vital role as the team’s defensive midfield lynchpin under Emma Hayes.

The Manchester City midfielder is also emerging as one of the more outspoken players on the USWNT roster. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Feb. 26 as the team prepares for the SheBelieves Cup, Coffey said that the USWNT has to find its own voice with many of its longtime veteran leaders no longer in the picture.

“We no longer have the Beckys (Sauerbrunn), the Klings (Meghan Klingenberg), the Pinoes (Rapinoe), the Alex Morgans,’ Coffey said.

‘I think it was easy as a younger player to just look up to them and know that they always knew what to say or what to do. But now that responsibility is on us and responsibility is the exact word. I think we have a duty to this team and a standard to uphold.’

The USWNT played its first game of 2026 on Jan. 24, the same day that federal law enforcement agents killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. There was no acknowledgement of the events in Minnesota before or during the game.

Head coach Emma Hayes was asked about the incident in Minneapolis three days later, and admitted that she hadn’t discussed the issue with her squad — which was missing several experienced players including Coffey.

The match on Jan. 24 against Paraguay may have been an occasion in which previous iterations of the USWNT made some kind of a statement.

Coffey was blunt in expressing her belief that the team needs to do more, but also said that they are working behind the scenes to decide the best path forward.

“I think we do need to be better in the ways that we’re being vocal and standing up and speaking out about a myriad of topics,’ the 27-year-old said.

‘But I think we can rest assured that we are doing that work, and that we are going to figure it out and figure out what it looks like for us and what feels authentic to this team, because no team is the same.”

The USWNT will face Argentina on March 1 in Nashville, Tennessee, then take on Canada in Columbus, Ohio on March 4. Hayes’ side will close the SheBelieves Cup against Colombia on March 7 in Harrison, New Jersey.

Ottawa Senators captain and USA gold medal winner Brady Tkachuk says a White House TikTok video featuring him and a dubbed voice that insults Canadians is ‘clearly fake.’

The video, released after the gold medal victory, says it uses artificial intelligence. Tkachuk’s comments after a fight-filled win against Canada at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off are dubbed with him talking about giving those ‘maple syrup eating (expletives) a lesson.’ The video then shifts to highlights of the USA’s victory on Sunday.

‘It’s clearly fake because it’s not my voice and not my lips moving,’ Tkachuk said during a media availability on Feb. 26. ‘I’m not in control of any of those accounts. I know that those words would never come out of my mouth. I can’t do anything about it.’

Asked if he liked the video, he said, ‘It’s not my voice. It’s not what I was saying. I would never say that. It’s not who I am. So I guess I don’t like that video.’

Tkachuk also addressed the postgame call with President Donald Trump in which the team was invited to the State of the Union address and White House. The president said he’d ‘have to bring the women’s team’ and joked that he probably would be impeached if he didn’t. The USA players laughed at the comments.

‘It was just a whirlwind of a moment that you can’t really control what somebody says and just caught off guard a little bit,’ Tkachuk said. ‘When you’re talking to the president 10 minutes after achieving your dream, just the fact that you’re talking to the president, you can’t believe that you’re talking to (him).’

Tkachuk, who attended the women’s semifinals with brother Matthew, said the men’s team was supportive of the women’s players and used that team’s gold-medal victory as motivation for its own.

‘When Megan Keller scored the OT winner, I think there was 15 of us back in the lounges in the village and we’re all standing and going nuts and clapping,’ Brady said.

He added that he was not the person who shouted, ‘Close the northern border’ on the call.

‘If you watch the video, that’s not my voice and something I’d never say,’ he said.

Tkachuk was one of 20 players who went to the White House and the State of the Union.

‘Being an American citizen, you never really think, ‘Oh I’m going to go to the White House, see the White House, be in the Oval Office.’ For it to happen it is really cool,’ he said.

Afterward, he went home to see his family where his son pretended the gold medal was the wheel of a car. He’s putting the medal away for safe keeping. ‘I’m not telling anyone where it is,’ he said.

As he resumes his NHL season, he remains in awe of the U.S. team’s accomplishment.

‘It still feels like I’m dreaming and someone’s got to wake me up,’ he said.

Lionel Messi scored a penalty kick to lead Inter Miami to a 2-1 win against Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle in a rescheduled preseason match in Puerto Rico on Thursday, Feb. 26.

The match became a bit chaotic in the final minutes as several fans invaded the pitch, including one who brought Messi down to the ground as he was being tackled by a security guard.

Messi quickly got up unscathed, but it did not stop other fans, mostly children, from trying to get their moment next to him as local police and security personnel tried to clear the pitch. He was escorted after the match ended.

Inter Miami’s Santi Morales scored on an assist from Luis Suárez in the 16th minute, before Independiente del Valle’s Patrik Mercado scored one minute later in the first half.

Messi did not start the match, coming off the bench in the second half. He scored in the 70th minute, firing his shot into the upper right corner after Suárez secured the opportunity by forcing a handball inside the box.

Messi delivered the highlight moment to fans at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Baymon, Puerto Rico, who were originally expecting to see the World Cup champion and two-time MLS MVP on Feb. 13. The match was postponed because Messi suffered a hamstring injury during the preseason.

Along with the chaotic ending, the match started an hour after its scheduled start time because both teams wore black jerseys during the exhibition.

Nonetheless, Inter Miami’s preseason is over, and it can turn its attention back to the 2026 MLS season.

Inter Miami will visit Orlando City at Inter&Co Stadium – a venue Messi has yet to play in since joining MLS in July 2023. Messi played the entire match in the season-opening 3-0 loss to LAFC on Saturday, Feb. 21.

Inter Miami vs. Independiente del Valle highlights

Inter Miami’s upcoming schedule

March 1: Orlando City vs. Inter Miami, 7 p.m. ET (MLS regular season)
March 7: D.C. United vs. Inter Miami, 4:30 p.m. ET (MLS regular season)
March 14: Charlotte FC vs. Inter Miami, 7:30 p.m. ET (MLS regular season)
March 18: Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC, 7 p.m. ET (Concacaf Champions Cup)
March 22: New York City FC vs. Inter Miami, 1 p.m. (MLS regular season)

This story has been updated with new information.

Can an Alabama passer turn the tide on the school’s quarterback reputation?

Helmet scouting isn’t fair to any draft prospect. While certain schools foster distinctions for producing quality NFL players at certain positions, generalizing a particular program for its failures to generate NFL-level talent isn’t smart evaluation.

Count Alabama passer Ty Simpson among those not buying into the narratives.

‘I feel like I’m ready, I’m a franchise quarterback,’ Simpson said on Friday at the 2026 NFL Combine.

He added: ‘Like I said, the Alabama locker room is as close to a locker room in the NFL as you can get.’

Simpson looks to become the answer for quarterback at one NFL franchise come April and beyond. The passer’s draft stock entering April is somewhat murky: some experts peg Simpson as a first-round selection, while others feel the passer can slip to Day 2 of the draft.

Regardless of where Simpson is selected, however, he’ll be the next Alabama quarterback in a line of Crimson Tide passers to take their talents from Saturdays to Sundays (and sometimes Mondays, Saturdays, Thursdays and Fridays). There hasn’t been a shortage, especially in recent seasons, of quarterbacks selected high coming out of Tuscaloosa.

But how have those passers performed? Here’s a look at a list that Simpson is looking to add to come April:

Alabama quarterbacks selected in the NFL draft

In total, there have been 17 quarterbacks drafted out of Alabama dating back to the beginning of the NFL draft, first held in 1936. That number doesn’t include Jalen Hurts, who transferred to, and was selected out of, Oklahoma in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

No quarterback from Alabama drafted since the merger (1970) has led his team to the Super Bowl, but two former Crimson Tied QBs have earned championship rings as backups.

Here’s the list of passers taken in the NFL draft since the merger in 1970:

1971: Scott Hunter, Green Bay Packers, Round 6, Pick 10 (140th overall)

1976: Richard Todd, New York Jets, Round 1, Pick 6 (sixth overall)

1979: Jeff Rutledge, Los Angeles Rams, Round 9, Pick 26 (246th overall)*

1987: Mike Shula, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Round 12, Pick 6 (313th overall)

1995: Jay Barker, Green Bay Packers, Round 5, Pick 26 (160th overall)

2006: Brodie Croyle, Kansas City Chiefs, Round 3, Pick 21 (85th overall)

2011: Greg McElroy, New York Jets, Round 7, Pick 5 (208th overall)

2014: A.J. McCarron, Cincinnati Bengals, Round 5, Pick 24 (164th overall)

2020: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins, Round 1, Pick 5 (fifth overall)

2021: Mac Jones, New England Patriots, Round 1, Pick 15 (15th overall)

2023: Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers, Round 1, Pick 1 (first overall)

2025: Jalen Milroe, Seattle Seahawks, Round 3, Pick 2 (65th overall)**

*Rutledge won Super Bowl 21 and 26 as a member of the New York Giants and Washington.

**Milroe was a backup quarterback on the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl 60 win over the New England Patriots.

Alabama quarterbacks selected in the first round of the NFL draft

While plenty of Alabama players have been selected over the years, only a select few have come at the league’s most important position, and the majority have all come within the last decade.

Here’s a quick look at players who have been taken in the first round of the NFL draft in the modern era (since 1970), with their baseline NFL passing stats:

2023: Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (Round 1, Pick 1): Young has had an uneven NFL career, posting a 14-30 record through his first three seasons in the league. Overall, Young has thrown 49 touchdowns to 30 interceptions over 8,291 passing yards and is entering a crucial fourth season under Dave Canales’ guidance.

2021: Mac Jones, New England Patriots (Round 1, Pick 15): Jones was the fifth quarterback off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft class, following Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance and Justin Fields. Luckily for Jones, he doesn’t have much to compete with in the way of his peers, but his NFL career has fallen short of franchise-passer expectations to this point. After showing some promise in his rookie season, Jones was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars after his third season, and then landed with the San Francisco 49ers in Year 5, where he performed admirably in relief of an injured Brock Purdy. In all, Jones has posted a 25-32 record as a starter, with 12,741 passing yards, 67 touchdowns and 50 interceptions. At this point, Jones may not be a franchise passer, but he’s certainly a viable backup and spot-starter option in the league. That should lead to a lengthy career, health permitting.

2020: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (Round 1, Pick 5): Tagovailoa’s story is well-told at this point in his career. Marred by concussion issues and inconsistencies, Tagovailoa was a well-regarded passer, national champion and Heisman Trophy runner-up in his time with the Crimson Tide. A devastating injury he suffered in 2019 didn’t do much to harm his draft stock: He still landed in the top-5 with the Dolphins, and after a rocky start to his career under Brian Flores, he was given a second wind by now-former head coach Mike McDaniel. Tagovailoa is enigmatic and has had turnover issues through his career, and it appears likely that his TENUREwith the Dolphins has reached its end this offseason. In all, he’s thrown 120 touchdowns to 59 interceptions across 18,166 yards passing with a 44-32 record. He has yet to find a playoff victory in six seasons.

1976: Richard Todd, New York Jets (Round 1, Pick 6): Todd was expected to become the successor of another former Alabama quarterback, Joe Namath, when he was selected by the Jets in 1976. Todd, though, couldn’t quite fill the big shoes left by Namath: he would throw more interceptions than touchdowns in his career (124 TDs to 161 interceptions) and would only have two seasons with the Jets in which he threw more touchdowns than interceptions. Todd also infamously shoved longtime New York Post reporter Steve Serby into a locker following a locker-room incident.

NFL teams were informed that they will have some extra cash to spend ahead of free agency.

The 2026 salary cap will increase by $22 million per club to $301.2 million, the NFL announced. Teams were notified of the salary jump on Friday, according to chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. The $301.2 million doesn’t include another $77.6 million in benefits per club.

In January, USA TODAY Sports confirmed a report that the league’s salary cap would balloon to between $301.2 million and $305.7 million per team in 2026.

Since the salary cap’s inception in 1994, it has steadily risen from $34 million, topping $100 million in 2006 and $200 million in 2022. The NFL’s salary cap has increased by $266.5 million since its inaugural year.

The 2026 season will mark the first time the salary swelled to over $300 million.

Friday’s news comes within two weeks of when teams can negotiate contracts with players and the NFL’s new league year. Clubs are permitted to contact free agents Monday, March 9 at noon ET. The new league year begins Wednesday, March 11 at 4 p.m. ET.

According to Over The Cap, the Tennessee Titans have roughly $97 million in available cap space, an NFL-high. The New York Jets and Las Vegas Raiders are the only other teams with over $90 million. The Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders round out the top five teams with the most cap space, with approximately $81 million and $73 million, respectively.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp has resigned from his coaching position at the University of Colorado.
Sapp served on head coach Deion Sanders’ staff for two seasons, most recently as pass rush coordinator.
Sapp’s departure is one of several recent changes to the Buffaloes’ defensive coaching staff.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp is no longer on the coaching staff at Colorado under head coach Deion Sanders after spending two seasons in Boulder as a high-profile, lower-rung assistant coach.

Sapp, 53, never had served as a full-time coach before he joined Sanders’ staff in 2024, first as a graduate assistant coach and then as pass rush coordinator. But he said he loved his new role. It’s not clear why he’s taking his mohawk out of town.

“Warren Sapp has resigned from the CU football coaching staff to pursue other opportunities,” Colorado’s athletic department said in a statement Feb. 26. “CU Athletics thanks Warren for his contributions to our football program over the last two seasons and for his commitment to our student-athletes.”

Sapp is one of several recent coaching staff departures for the Buffaloes on defense, including defensive line coach Domata Peko, who left to join the staff of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. Defensive coordinator Robert Livingston also left to join the staff of the NFL’s Denver Broncos, leaving a void that was filled by Chris Marve, who already was on staff as the team’s new linebackers coach.

The Buffs led the Big 12 Conference in quarterback sacks in 2024 with 39 but regressed in 2025 with only 13, which dropped them to a tie for 14th out of 16 teams in the league.  

Sapp earned $150,000 at Colorado in his first year at Colorado, working an entry-level coaching job before getting paid $156,000 in his second year. His prospective hiring at Colorado in 2024 raised concerns among domestic violence survivor advocates in Colorado because of his previous history. But Colorado released a statement then noting that athletic director Rick George “personally met with Warren to clearly articulate the department’s standards and expectations, to which he acknowledged and agreed.’

Last year, Colorado had three Pro Football Hall of Famers on staff, including Sanders, Sapp and Marshall Faulk. But now it’s down to one (Sanders) after Faulk also left to take the head coaching job at Southern in Louisiana.

Colorado opens the spring practice season March 2 with 15 practices through April 11. It will be the fourth spring season in Boulder under Sanders, whose team last year finished 3-9 in 2025 after a 9-4 season in 2024 and a 4-8 season in 2023.

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