Author: rb809rb

Milton Williams has a different view of the New England Patriots now that he plays for the team and is about to play in Super Bowl LX.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Williams admitted that he was not a Patriots fan as a young football watcher.

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“I always tell people, and y’all gonna kill me when I say this, but I did not like the Patriots,” Williams said in front of his locker, via NBC10’s Nicole Menner.

[Get more Patriots news: New England team feed]

Williams was like so many NFL fans, tired of seeing the Patriots win the Super Bowl during the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. He wanted to see somebody different hold up the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.

Asked if that opinion has changed, considering which team he now plays for, Williams said, “Oh, for sure.”

“I mean, I’m here now so I love the Patriots,” he added with a smile.

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Local reporters pushed a bit more, inquiring as to what motivated Williams’ past dislike of the Patriots. Did he hate Brady?

“I wasn’t a Tom Brady hater,” Williams said. “You know when somebody always wins? It’s like, let somebody else win. But when you really get in it, and you really understand what comes with it and the work you gotta put into it, to consistently be doing that over and over again, you really can’t say nothing.”

Growing up in Crowley, Texas, and playing college football at Louisiana Tech, Williams had no local reason to root for or admire the Patriots. (Though local ties don’t always affect someone’s rooting interests.)

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Drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021, he also didn’t have to contend with New England being a playoff contender or potential Super Bowl opponent as his first four NFL seasons coincided with the Patriots’ decline after Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Two days after the possibility of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade became very real, the Milwaukee Bucks did a masterful job of showing why that’s the case.

Facing a Washington Wizards team that previously had the fewest wins in the NBA with 11, the Bucks lost 109-99 and fell to 18-28. They still sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, 4.5 games out of a playoff spot.

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Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since last Friday due to a calf strain and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks. In his absence, Myles Turner led the Bucks in scoring with 21 points plus a team-high 14 rebounds and 6 blocks. As a team, Milwaukee shot 41 of 98 (41.8%) from the field and 10 of 38 (26.3) from 3-point range, while getting outrebounded 61-43.

The Wizards got 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists from Kyshawn George, while Alex Sarr had 16 points, 17 rebounds and 2 blocks. It was a special night for D.C., which was hosting former franchise great John Wall for a retirement ceremony.

The win actually moves the Wizards from the worst record in basketball to only fourth-worst at 12-34, as the 12-36 Indiana Pacers, 12-37 Sacramento Kings and 12-37 New Orleans Pelicans all have worse win percentages right now. Given the stakes of the 2026 NBA Draft, that’s not necessarily a triumph.

In an ESPN article published Tuesday, the Bucks were reportedly described by potential trade partners to be “more open than ever” to moving on from Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee has been consistently hesitant about such a move, but the franchise’s recent struggles and Antetkounmpo’s potential decline at 31 years old have made the idea more feasible than ever.

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The Bucks don’t need to move the 10-time All-Star at next month’s NBA trade deadline, especially if they believe they can get more for him during the summer. If the gates are indeed open, there is no shortage of contenders who will be interested.

Olympic gold medal sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was arrested and charged with speeding in Florida on Thursday, according to the Orange County, Florida sheriff’s office.

Richardson, 25, was arrested for allegedly driving 104 mph on a highway in the Orlando area. She was “dangerously tailgating and traveling across lanes of travel to pass other motorists,” said a sheriff’s department spokesperson (via The Associated Press).

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The track star was charged with dangerous excessive speeding at 100 mph or more. NBC affiliate WESH reported that Richardson posted a $500 bond and was released from jail.

Under Florida’s new “super speeder” law, it is illegal to drive 50 mph over the speed limit or over 100 mph, according to NBC News. A first conviction results in a prison term of up to 30 days or a $500 fine. A second or subsequent conviction is punishable by a 90-day prison term or $1,000 fine. If that second conviction comes within five years, driving privileges are revoked for at least 180 days.

Richardson won a silver medal in the 100 meters and gold in the 4×100 relay at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. She was disqualified from the 2020 Tokyo Games after testing positive for marijuana.

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In July, Richardson was arrested for domestic violence after shoving her boyfriend at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The arrest was made based on security camera footage. Her companion, fellow U.S. sprinter Christian Coleman, declined to press charges. As a result, the case was cleared.

Richardson publicly apologized for the incident and Coleman told reporters that he felt she shouldn’t have been arrested.

No NBA player younger than Cooper Flagg has scored more points than Flagg did on Thursday.

Facing the Charlotte Hornets and his former Duke roommate, Kon Knueppel, Flagg posted a career-high 49 points in a 123-121 loss for the Dallas Mavericks. No teenager has ever scored that many points in NBA history, and it’s also a Mavericks rookie record.

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The latter record was previously co-owned by Flagg and Mark Aguirre. In a fun twist of fate, the Mavericks were retiring Aguirre’s No. 24 on Thursday night.

Knueppel also posted a career high with 34 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including a franchise-record eight made 3-pointers, plus 4 rebounds and 3 assists. In addition to finishing one point shy of 50, Flagg had 10 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 20-of-29.

The game came down to both players. Flagg tied the game at 121 with a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left, but Knueppel got a steal at his expense on the next Dallas possession and ended up shooting a pair of free throws to take the lead.

Flagg had a chance to tie the game and hit the half-century mark, but his buzzer-beater missed long after shooting through a double team.

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Regardless of the result, Flagg continued to enter rare company at only 19 years old. In addition to having the most points by a teenager, he is now one of three players to post multiple 40-point games at 19 or younger, joining LeBron James and Anthony Edwards.

The win is a welcome one for the 21-28 Hornets, who are now 2.5 games back from the Chicago Bulls for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. Knueppel’s star performance continued a strong rookie year for the No. 4 pick pick, who ranks second among NBA rookies in points per game with 18.9, behind only Flagg.

MOBILE, Ala. — As the Dallas Cowboys scoured defensive coaches to replace coordinator Matt Eberflus, they expected to glean a plan for defensive improvement from candidates.

The Cowboys knew they wanted to employ more five-man fronts next season to capitalize on their trio of talented defensive tackles.

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They knew they wanted to shore up their coverage in the secondary, tamping down on the explosive plays they allowed in 2025.

What the Cowboys anticipated less, but nonetheless learned more about while interviewing defensive coordinators: the value of receiver George Pickens.

“Talking to these defensive guys we brought in, we were a pain for them,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told Yahoo Sports from Senior Bowl practices. “They start talking about, ‘Oh my gosh, when we had to play you guys, that was a problem.’ They have to decide, ‘Hey, put your best cornerback on one and double the other,’ or do a lot of moving parts how they did it …

“[Candidates] said: ‘Your offense caused a lot of problems.’”

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[Get more Cowboys news: Dallas team feed]

The Cowboys dealt the Pittsburgh Steelers a 2026 third-round draft pick (and swapped a 2027 fifth for sixth) to acquire Pickens in May despite already having a No. 1 receiver in four-time Pro Bowler CeeDee Lamb. In the season that followed, Lamb still had 1,077 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 14 games. But Pickens posted a career-best 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in 17 contests.

With that duo, quarterback Dak Prescott led the league with 404 pass completions, ranking second with 600 attempts and third with 4,552 passing yards. The Cowboys ranked second in overall offensive production and seventh in scoring.

The Cowboys knew when they traded for Pickens that just one year remained on the contract of the talented but mercurial player. A trial season, to determine whether Pickens thrived in head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s offense and to determine whether he would stay out of trouble, ensued. Pickens was benched to start the Las Vegas Raiders game after he missed curfew on the road trip following a series of late arrivals to meetings.

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He returned to play 45 of 67 offensive snaps and caught nine of 11 targets for 144 yards and a touchdown.

The Cowboys must decide now how much they value Pickens and how to act on that value. If Dallas wants to retain Pickens in 2026 but doesn’t yet feel confident enough to offer a long-term deal, the club could place the franchise tag on him. A franchise tag could also buy time from March to July to negotiate a multiyear deal.

Executives and talent evaluators from several teams at Senior Bowl practices this week told Yahoo Sports they would keep Pickens if they were the Cowboys, though they disagreed on how they would approach that continued union. Some preferred a multiyear deal over a franchise tag projected to cost $28 million, per Over The Cap, all of which would hit the cap in 2026. Others preferred to see Pickens’ off-field behavior another season before a long-term commitment, one NFC executive saying the “cost of certainty” on the difference in average annual value would be worth it. Another NFC executive wondered if Pickens’ cost would make Lamb a trade candidate in 2026 or 2027, the executive projecting Pickens to command a price range similar to Lamb’s $34 million per year average annual value.

Jones wasn’t looking to negotiate publicly, but he did voice confidence they would keep Pickens past the looming expiration of his current contract.

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“That’s just something we’ll have to work through,” Jones told Yahoo Sports from Senior Bowl practice. “Obviously, we think George is going to be back and we can effectuate that. But at the same time, we want to be open-minded to anything.”

Why Cowboys believe Christian Parker can save their defense

Fronting the third-worst defense in yards allowed, the Cowboys finished 7-9-1 in Schottenheimer’s first season as head coach. Dallas hopes and anticipates hiring 34-year-old Eagles defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Christian Parker to coordinate their defense will change that.

In 13 seasons coaching, including seven in the NFL, Parker has learned defense from some of the league’s best coordinators in Vic Fangio and Vance Joseph. Parker communicated in interviews a philosophy reflecting each of their influences but also some of his own twists, Jones said. The Cowboys valued Parker’s vision for individual players like linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. and cornerback DaRon Bland as well as his plans to employ five-man fronts.

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“The bigger thing, which is we started to do some but we didn’t get to do it much in camp so it was kind of on the fly, but a lot of five-man fronts,” Jones said. “When we ran those five-man fronts, [it] creates a lot of one-on-ones for our better players going the three big guys plus [Donovan] Ezeiruaku and whether it’s a [Jadeveon Clowney] or someone like that.

“The things you can do with the exotic pressures … we obviously have a lot of interest in. We felt like we could have done a better job last year of getting more pressure and then obviously we need to cover better.”

Trading three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers one week before kickoff challenged the Cowboys’ defense this season. A slow acclimation to Eberflus’ principles, including his zone coverage assignments, further left Dallas defenders often misaligned. Some improvement followed the trade-deadline acquisition of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, bolstering an interior defensive front that already featured Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark. But the growth wasn’t linear.

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The Cowboys own two first-round picks, 12th and 20th overall, in April. Edge rusher and cornerback are their top needs and targets, though they don’t believe in passing up a far more talented player for a position of need as they showed when selecting Lamb in 2020.

With Parker in house, the Cowboys are optimistic about their ability to develop players. The Philadelphia Eagles selected cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in 2024, needing quick acclimation from each after salary-cap resources tilted heavily toward offense.

Parker didn’t just help the young defensive backs improve their technique in areas they’d already worked in college, former colleagues say. He helped DeJean master the spatial awareness and route feel to become a first-team All-Pro slot cornerback in his second year despite playing outside cornerback in college. And Parker helped Mitchell pick up the nuances of press coverage, improving his footwork, transition skills and physicality at the point of attack.

Colleagues from past stops rave about Parker’s schematic and emotional intelligence.

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“He’s a genius,” one former colleague told Yahoo Sports. “Talking about somebody who has a true understanding of the game, big picture conceptually, he understands the whys behind things and he is able to teach them. It’s extremely relatable. And he’s able to teach those whys.

“He has principles that he stands on, but he’s also reasonable. So let’s say they get a veteran player who’s used to being taught one thing one way. He’s not so stubborn that he’s going to be like, ‘No, you have to do it.’

“If it’s reasonable to him, he’ll be amicable.”

Two of the world’s best men’s tennis players will compete against one another in the men’s semifinals at the Australian Open. No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic, proving he’s still competitive after more than two decades in the game, will face off against No. 2 Jannik Sinner, winner of the last two Australian Open men’s titles. (Djokovic has won the tournament a whopping ten times. No big deal.) The winner of tonight’s semifinal will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev.

The men’s match begins at 3:30 a.m. ET, airing live on ESPN and streaming on ESPN Unlimited. Here’s what you need to know about the Sinner vs. Djokovic match at the 2026 Australian Open.

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How to watch Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open:

Date: Friday, Jan. 30

Time (estimated): 3:30 a.m. ET

Location: Rod Laver Arena

TV channel: ESPN, ESPN Deportes

Streaming: ESPN Unlimited, DirecTV, Fubo and more

When is the Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic match at the 2026 Australian Open?

The semifinal match between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open will be on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.

Jannik Sinner vs. Novak Djokovic match start time:

The match between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will start at 3:30 a.m. ET. The match will be available live on ESPN Unlimited and ESPN.

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Australian Open channel:

In the U.S., tonight’s semifinal will air on ESPN and will stream on ESPN Unlimited.

How to watch the 2026 Australian Open:

Where to watch the 2026 Australian Open without cable:

If you want to catch every match of the Australian Open and don’t currently subscribe to ESPN+, cable or a live TV streaming service, in Australia a majority of the action will be streaming free with ads on 9Now.

Don’t live in the land down under? Don’t worry, you can still stream like you do with the help of a VPN. A VPN (virtual private network) helps protect your data, can mask your IP address and is perhaps most popular for being especially useful in the age of streaming. Whether you’re looking to watch Friends on Netflix (which left the U.S. version of the streamer back in 2019) or tune in to tennis coverage without a cable package, a VPN can help you out. Looking to try a VPN for the first time? This guide breaks down the best VPN options for every kind of user.

9Now. Plus it’s Engadget’s pick for the best premium VPN. ExpressVPN offers three tiers of subscriptions: The Basic Plan (starting at $3.49/month), the Advanced Plan (starting at $4.49/month) and the Pro Plan (starting at $7.49/month).

ExpressVPN also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, in case you’re nervous about trying a VPN.

Australian Open 2026 schedule:

All times Eastern

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Tuesday, January 27

• (Day 10) Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals: 3:00 a.m.

• (Day 11) Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals: 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, January 28

• (Day 11) Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals: 3:00 a.m.

• (Day 12) Women’s Semifinals: 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 29

• (Day 13) Men’s Semifinal: 10:30 p.m.

Friday, January 30

• (Day 13) Men’s Semifinal: 3:30 a.m.

Saturday, January 31

• (Day 14) Women’s Final: 3:30 a.m.

Sunday, February 1

• (Day 15) Men’s Final: 3:30 a.m.

Who is playing in the 2026 Australian Open?

The top 10 seeded players for the singles draws are listed below.

Men’s singles seeds for the Australian Open 2026

1. Carlos Alcaraz

2. Jannik Sinner

3. Alexander Zverev

4. Novak Djokovic

5. Felix Auger-Aliassime

Women’s singles seeds for the Australian Open 2026

1. Aryna Sabalenka

2. Iga Swiatek

3. Amanda Anisimova

4. Coco Gauff

5. Elena Rybakina

Australian Open prize money:

For 2026, the men’s and women’s singles winners of the Australian Open each get $4,150,000, with the runner-up receiving $2,150,000 and Semi-finalists $1,250,000.

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More ways to watch the 2026 Australian Open:

February 22, 2026

Novak Djokovic will go for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title in the Australian Open final against Carlos Alcaraz after dispatching Jannik Sinner in five sets 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 during Friday’s semifinal.

The No. 2 and 4 ranked players exchanged set wins until the fifth when Djokovic, a 10-time Australian Open winner, finished off the match.

Djokovic’s semifinal win snapped a run of four straight Grand Slam semifinal defeats. He last reached a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2024 and last won a Grand Slam event at the 2023 U.S. Open.

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“It feels surreal, to be honest,” Djokovic said afterward. “The level of intensity and the quality of tennis was extremely high and I knew that was the only way for me to have a chance to win tonight against him.”

Sunday’s men’s singles final will be the 10th meeting all-time between Djokovic and Alcaraz. They have faced one another five times in Grand Slams and twice in Grand Slam finals (both at Wimbledon).

Djokovic holds a 5-4 lifetime advantage over Alcaraz.

“I know I have to come back in a couple of days and fight the No. 1 in the world,” Djokovic said. “I just hope that I’ll have enough gas to stay toe-to-toe with [Alcaraz]. That’s my desire.”

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Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from tennis immortality

Carlos Alcaraz will go for another Grand Slam title after a grueling five-and-a-half-hour match against Alexander Zverev.

With a 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5 win over Zverev on Friday, the world No. 1 advanced to his first career Australian Open final. If he wins on Sunday, he will complete the career Grand Slam at only 22 years and 272 days old, the youngest player to ever accomplish the feat.

His countryman Rafael Nadal is the current youngest to complete the career slam at 24 years and 101 days.

At one point, the match looked lost, with Alcaraz physically struggling with apparent cramps, having blown a two-set lead and down a break in the fifth set. He still found the gear he needed, at the expense of another Grand Slam disappointment for Zverev.

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He called “it one of the most demanding matches I have played in my short career.”

The first semifinal match didn’t even see Alcaraz at his sharpest, as the oppressive heat in Melbourne was wearing down both players early. It didn’t get any better as the match stretched into its fourth hour, then its fifth. Then its sixth

The first set saw Zverev hand Alcaraz an easy break with a pair of double faults and an unforced error. The German had hope in the second set when a break put him up 5-2, but Alcaraz roared back with his own break then won the tiebreaker to take full control of the match. It was in that tiebreaker when Alcaraz’s more daring side came out, such as when he won back-to-back points with his trademark drop shot.

The young Spaniard was 59-0 in Grand Slams after taking a two-set lead, and Zverev didn’t have the form to make history. The drama arrived in the third set, when Alcaraz appeared to tweak something. Zverev clearly believed it was just cramping and profanely objected when Alcaraz received time to get his thigh treated (supporting evidence: Alcaraz could be seen motioning for something to drink at the end of the second set).

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Whatever it was, Zverev went on to win the third set via tiebreak. The fourth set also went to a tiebreak, with a clearly limited Alcaraz committing regular unforced errors and Zverev becoming far more consistent with his serve.

The fifth set seemed like it would be far more when one-sided after Zverev immediately broke Alcaraz. However, Alcaraz stayed in the match, playing through the discomfort and avoiding a double break, then breaking Zverev back when all the German needed to win the match was to hold serve. One more hold of serve followed, then another break, and Alcaraz had one of the most incredible wins of his career.

Alcaraz already has two French Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and two US Open titles at an age where even the elite professionals feel fortunate if they’ve a single Grand Slam. In the case of the Australian Open, he had never advanced past the quarterfinal before 2026 due to some top opponents (Zverev in 2024, Djokovic in 2025), but he’s looked different this year.

And now he’s three sets away from something that would put him ahead of all the sport’s immortals.

When it was finally over after 4 hours and 9 minutes of tennis that didn’t make a lot of sense at times, Novak Djokovic raised his arms to the sky, smiled and made the same victorious walk to the net he’s made 37 times previously after a Grand Slam semifinal.

Pushing 40, playing part-time on the ATP Tour and faced with the reality that Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are younger, fitter and have been flat-out better tennis players over the last 16 months, it’s a walk Djokovic had no right to think he’d make again.

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But even after all the titles, all the money and the unofficial title of greatest to ever play, he still hungered to feel that walk just one more time. And when he did, having defeated Sinner 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in one of the most improbable Australian Open semifinals you’ll ever see, he had a message for his much younger rival who had beaten him convincingly in their last five meetings spanning over more than two years.

“Thanks for allowing me at least one.”

At this stage of the game, though, Djokovic should give himself more credit. Nothing was allowed. He just took it. And now he’s one more win from upping the historic ante to an absurd level. If he can get the job done on Sunday, the player who supposedly completed every possible goal when he won the Olympic gold medal in 2024 will have one more record in his possession. He has a chance to supplant Ken Rosewall as the oldest man in the Open Era to win a major title.

And to do it? He’ll have to beat Alcaraz, who has a chance to become the youngest man at just short of 23 years old to complete the career Grand Slam.

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After a pretty humdrum Australian Open, how’s that for drama?

If you were wondering why the 38-year-old Djokovic is still pushing his aging body to do this after 24 majors, 101 overall titles and 428 weeks at No. 1, well, there’s your answer.

It’s because he figured that if he could just extend his career out a couple more years, even if it didn’t look like there would be a payoff at times, there might be a chance somewhere for the stars to align.

And goodness, have they here.

Would Djokovic have been able to physically survive a five-setter with Sinner if not for getting a walkover against 20-year-old rising star Jakub Mensik in the round of 16? Would he have even had the chance to get this far if not for Lorenzo Musetti suffering a significant enough injury that he had to retire after going up two sets on Djokovic in their quarterfinal?

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We’ll never know, but there’s no asterisk. That’s tennis. And it set Djokovic up with a pretty full tank to go out against Sinner and play a really smart tactical match where he used down-the-line shots to get his opponent out of rhythm and then tried to unload on forehands whenever he saw one with the potential to end a point.

Sure, he got some help. Sinner, who actually won more overall points in the match (152-140), was unusually erratic. He had a ton of looks at break points in the fourth and fifth sets that he just couldn’t pay off, missing several routine forehands that he will regret as he replays the match in his mind. But again, that’s the sport. Sinner had a bad day, but Djokovic played a significant role in making it bad.

And after they embraced at the net, Djokovic went to his chair and buried his head in his hands — often a look of despair for him over his career. But this time, when he revealed his face, there were smiles instead of tears. He really couldn’t believe what he’d just done.

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None of us, including him, should take that for granted.

Because even if Alcaraz beats him Sunday — and let’s be real here, that’s what should happen — there was no guarantee Djokovic would ever make another Grand Slam final.

Age is real. Physicality does not improve for a tennis player coming up on his 39th birthday, especially when it requires surviving more than four hours on court. Yes, Djokovic made the semifinals of all four Grand Slams last year, but after he lost in straight sets to Alcaraz at the U.S. Open, he almost conceded that he couldn’t do it anymore at the Alcaraz/Sinner level in a best-of-five match.

“I think I have a better chance in best-of-three, but best-of-five, it’s tough,” he said. “I’m not giving up on Grand Slams in that regard, having said that. I’m going to continue fighting and trying to get to the finals and fight for another trophy at least. But, you know, it’s going to be a very difficult task.”

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When reminded of that quote by Jim Courier in his on-court interview Friday, Djokovic emphasized that he never said it would be impossible.

But we can go ahead and get in front of this: If Djokovic does win his 11th Australian Open and 25th major, it will seem like defying the impossible.

Men’s tennis has never been more physical and taxing than it is right now. Sinner and Alcaraz have existed in a world of their own for the last year-plus. If anything, they came into the semifinals projecting an image that they’d separated even further from the rest of the field at the start of 2026. And then in his quarterfinal, Djokovic did not look at any point like he still had the level of tennis in him to beat a Musetti-level player much less Sinner or Alcaraz. If Musetti doesn’t get hurt, Djokovic is almost assuredly back at his home in Greece right now.

But funny things can happen with the all-time greats: Jack Nicklaus winning the 1986 Masters, Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl at 43, Nolan Ryan throwing no-hitters into his 40s.

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And this might really be Djokovic’s last, best chance to put No. 25 on the mantle. Recovery from a five-setter against Sinner won’t be easy, but beating the two of them back-to-back to win the Australian Open would be the greatest achievement of his career. This will be the most interesting physical and psychological moment for Djokovic he’s probably ever had.

It’s also going to be fascinating to see how Alcaraz responds after a great five-set escape in his semifinal against Alexander Zverev, a match impacted by cramps and some type of quad discomfort.

When they played in the 2024 Olympic final — a similar situation with a physically compromised Djokovic looking at his last gold medal shot — he played free and aggressive while Alcaraz was stressed out from start to finish and did not play his best. Experience and nerves won Djokovic that gold medal.

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Now, time has passed. Alcaraz has reascended to No. 1, gotten better physically, matured emotionally and is putting together a career that could eventually match Djokovic’s. But this is his first time to play for the career Slam. There will be a different kind of pressure on him than he’s probably ever felt before.

If Djokovic is ever going to do it, now’s the time.

After watching what he conjured to beat Sinner, probably best not to count him out.

San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle suffered an Achilles tear in the team’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round. He missed the 49ers’ loss to the Seahawks in the next round and his status for the start of the 2026 regular season is up in the air.

But perhaps there’s reason for optimism. Matt Harmon and Justin Boone broke down the possibility of Kittle being ready for Week 1 on a recent episode of the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast.

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Now, to begin, Boone points out that by no means is he a doctor. But there was some potential positive news on Kittle’s Achilles tear. Because the injury was higher up on the Achilles, it is believed that Kittle could have an easier time recovering from the tear. Had he sustained a worse Achilles tear that is further down toward the heel, Kittle would likely be out until around November, which would mean he’d miss most of the 2026 regular season.

Kittle talked about his injury and says that he could come back before November. We know the 32-year-old Pro Bowler is going to do everything in his power to return as quickly as possible. That said, Boone thinks it would be wise for the 49ers to not rush this process for a player who will turn 33 during the 2026 season.

While it seems like a long shot still for Kittle to be ready for Week 1, this does seem like the tight end will be able to return and make a fantasy football impact at some point next season.

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Boone doesn’t have Kittle in his early 2026 tight end rankings but is thinking he’ll have to put the San Francisco star in there somewhere, possibly as a fringe-TE1. You can check out Boone’s TE rankings for 2026 here. For now, Boone does have 49ers backup TE Jake Tonges on the list as TE30, though that should change after the offseason.

Kittle finished the 2025 season as the TE11 in fantasy scoring and TE2 in fantasy points per game (12.8), though he only appeared in 11 games. In those games, Kittle had 57 catches on 69 targets for 628 yards and seven touchdowns.

As usual, the MLB offseason has moved at a glacial pace. While the key free agents in football, hockey and basketball are scooped up in the initial few days of their availability, we are two months into baseball free agency and still have outstanding players such as Framber Valdez and Eugenio Suárez waiting to find a team.

Still, even though they came in a trickle, there have been major signings and trades that have shifted the needle for important players in the fantasy baseball landscape. And managers can be forgiven if they missed some of the headlines while trying to keep up with the NFL, NBA and NHL seasons.

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[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season]

Here is a one-stop guide to the biggest changes in player values over the past two months.

Value Up

Kyle Tucker (OF, Los Angeles Dodgers): Signing with the Dodgers should maximize the value of Tucker’s considerable skill set, thanks to their homer-happy venue and high-scoring offense. This situation is so favorable that Tucker will maintain his status as a Round 1 option, even after a down year.

Willson Contreras (1B, Boston Red Sox): Contreras could have his best season now that he is the expected cleanup hitter for a team with a good lineup and a hitter-friendly home park. Managers can expect him to eclipse his career-best marks in homers, RBI and runs scored.

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Kazuma Okamoto (1B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays): The top arrival from Japan this offseason, Okamoto will get regular playing time (primarily at third base) in a strong lineup. He had outstanding on-base skills and six 30-homer seasons during his career in Japan. Managers can expect 20 long balls, 75 RBI and a respectable batting mark.

Luis Robert Jr. (OF, New York Mets): Finally freed from the White Sox’s grueling rebuild, Robert must now show he hasn’t lost the skills that led to 38 homers in 2023. Joining a talented Mets squad is a good situation for the 28-year-old to get his career back on track.

Adolis García (OF, Philadelphia Phillies): Like Robert, García is looking to bounce back from a pair of underwhelming seasons. The 32-year-old will be easy to acquire in the late rounds of drafts and still has 25-homer, 15-steal potential.

Cedric Mullins (OF, Tampa Bay Rays): Mullins avoided becoming a part-time player by signing with a Rays organization that plans to make him their center fielder. The 31-year-old has a fantasy-friendly skill set and should produce 15 homers and 25 steals.

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Harrison Bader (OF, San Francisco Giants): Bader is in a similar situation to Mullins, as signing with the Giants has ensured him a full-time role. He has a long injury history but has stayed healthy the past two years and could hit the 15 mark in both homers and steals.

Owen Caissie (OF, Miami Marlins): Formerly the Cubs’ best prospect, Caissie could earn a regular role with the Marlins. This prospect has power, and his contact skills will determine his rookie-year success.

Nolan Arenado (3B, Arizona Diamondbacks): If Arenado has anything left for his age-35 season, the D-backs are his best chance to unlock it. After all, Arizona has outscored every other team over the past two seasons.

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Luisangel Acuña (2B, Chicago White Sox): Although Acuna will start the season on waivers in most leagues, he’s someone for roto managers to monitor now that he has a path to a full-time role. The 23-year-old has 35-steal upside.

Konnor Griffin (SS/OF, Pittsburgh Pirates), JJ Wetherholt (2B/3B/SS St. Louis Cardinals), Kevin McGonigle (SS, Detroit Tigers): The Pirates improved their roster but kept the shortstop spot open for Griffin. The Cardinals cleared room in their infield by trading away Contreras and Arenado. And the Tigers elected not to add a veteran shortstop over the winter.

All three of these elite prospects have a clear path to debut on Opening Day, or by May at the latest. They are all draftable in standard formats.

MacKenzie Gore (SP, Texas Rangers): Gore has shown flashes in recent seasons and could finally put together a breakout campaign now that he is on a competitive team with a pitcher-friendly home park. The lefty could tally 200 strikeouts but needs to lower his WHIP before becoming a significant fantasy option.

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Tatsuya Imai (SP, Houston Astros): Imai is the top pitching arrival from overseas, having posted a 1.92 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP last season. He joins a Houston franchise that typically has success with its starters, and he can be valued as an SP5 with upside in 12-team leagues.

Mike Burrows (SP, Houston Astros): Burrows showed potential with the Pirates (3.90 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) and is locked into the rotation on a solid team with a strong track record of developing pitchers. He’s an exciting late-round option.

Value Down

Ranger Suárez (SP, Boston Red Sox): Although Suárez should continue to be useful, it’s worth noting that his new home park is tough on left-handed pitchers. And with mediocre contributions in the strikeouts and WHIP categories, he needs a low ERA in order to make an impact.

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Alex Bregman (3B, Chicago Cubs): Bregman’s situation is similar to that of Suárez — he should continue to be productive but by switching home parks, he has created a more challenging situation for himself.

Munetaka Murakami (3B, Chicago White Sox): Murakami could hit his share of homers during his debut season, but he would have helped his fantasy value by signing with a high-scoring team. The rebuilding White Sox aren’t there yet.

Brandon Lowe (2B, Pittsburgh Pirates): Lowe’s fantasy value is typically more dependent on his ability to stay off the IL than any other factor. Still, his upside was capped when he was traded to baseball’s lowest-scoring team.

Matt Shaw (3B, Chicago Cubs): The addition of Bregman pushed Shaw to a utility role, which will limit his opportunities on a deep Cubs roster. Previously a sleeper who logged an .839 OPS in the second half of his rookie year, he’s now undraftable in mixed leagues.

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Triston Casas (1B, Boston Red Sox): Any chance of Casas returning from a ruptured patellar tendon to serve as Boston’s starting first baseman flew out the window when the team acquired Contreras. Unless he is dealt, Casas can stay off draft lists.

Jordan Lawlar (2B/3B/SS, Arizona Diamondbacks): A clear path to playing time was blocked when Arenado was acquired to play third base. Lawlar will now enter Spring Training without a position, unless the team opts to use him heavily in the outfield.

Jonah Tong (SP, New York Mets): By adding Freddy Peralta, the Mets have at least six starters ahead of Tong on the depth chart. He should spend plenty of time in Triple-A and on the waiver wire in fantasy leagues.

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Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Maurico (New York Mets): The additions of Bo Bichette and Marcus Semien will leave these three youngsters to fight for DH and backup responsibilities, which makes them all waiver wire fodder in standard formats.

Coby Mayo, Ryan Mountcastle, Tyler O’Neill (Baltimore Orioles): Similar to the situation in New York, the acquisitions of Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward will leave these three players with limited opportunities, which negates most of their fantasy appeal.

Closer Chaos

Edwin Díaz (Los Angeles Dodgers): Díaz was already being treated as the No. 1 fantasy closer by some analysts and is now even more appealing as the ninth-inning man on baseball’s best team.

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Ryan Helsley (Baltimore Orioles): After succeeding as the Cardinals closer, Helsley faltered down the stretch as a setup man with the Mets. He is back in a ninth-inning role and should be valued as a second-tier option.

Devin Williams (New York Mets): The Mets believe that Williams still has the skills that made him a dominant closer with the Brewers. However, his struggles with the Yankees are enough reason to keep the righty out of the top tier at the position. Like Helsley, Williams becomes an option once 5-6 relievers are off the board.

Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suárez (Atlanta Braves): After getting his season back on track in the second half of 2025, Iglesias re-signed with the Braves. He is expected to pitch in the ninth inning while former Padres closer Suárez works the eighth frame.

Emilio Pagán (Cincinnati Reds): Pagán returned to the Reds on a two-year deal, which was the best possible news for his fantasy value. The veteran has the trust of manager Terry Francona and will get every opportunity to remain in the closer’s role.

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Pete Fairbanks (Miami Marlins): Fairbanks switched teams within the state of Florida. The relocation shouldn’t impact his first-half value, but it’s easy to see how the Marlins could trade away a closer who is on a one-year deal if they fall out of the race by July.

Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan (Detroit Tigers): Jansen converted 29 of 30 save chances with the Angels last year, which should be enough to get him the first opportunity in Detroit. Although manager A.J. Hinch will likely give a few chances to Finnegan and Will Vest, Jansen is expected to lead the committee and therefore is the only Detroit reliever worth drafting.

Kirby Yates (Los Angeles Angels): It’s hard to believe that just two years ago, Yates produced dominant ratios (1.17 ERA, 0.83 WHIP) and 33 saves. The veteran struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness last year, but if healthy, he could lead the Angels in saves.

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Seranthony Domínguez (Chicago White Sox): Domínguez jumped back onto the fantasy radar when the White Sox signed him to a two-year deal. The right-hander is now the saves favorite on one of baseball’s worst teams, which is good enough to make him a late-round pick in deep roto leagues.