Donovan Mitchell could not be stopped, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-98 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
Mitchell scored 45 points, shooting 15-of-25 from the floor (including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers). Monday’s performance was his second consecutive 30-plus point game versus the Magic and his third straight overall. He has scored 40 or more points in five games this season.
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Monday’s matchup was initially a game of big swings with Orlando outscoring Cleveland 32-22 in the first quarter. The Cavs responded with a 39-24 second quarter as Mitchell found his scoring touch with 15 points in the frame.
Orlando cut Cleveland’s lead to 61-60 in the opening minute of the third quarter with Paolo Banchero scoring two straight baskets. Mitchell answered with a scoring burst of seven points to increase the Cavaliers’ margin. Javion Tyson added nine points during the quarter, helping Cleveland go into the fourth with a 91-81 lead.
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In the fourth, the Magic couldn’t get closer than eight points as Cleveland never went into a scoring drought thanks to Tyrese Proctor and Evan Mobley helping Mitchell generate offense. Mobley tallied 20 points with nine rebounds, while Tyson scored 14 and also grabbed nine boards.
Cleveland improved to 28-20 and kept hold on the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 2.5-game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in the standings. Winners of six of their past seven games (and 11 of 15), the Cavaliers will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
Banchero nearly matched Mitchell with 35 points for the Magic with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Desmond Bane added 19 points, while Anthony Black contributed 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. The Magic have lost four in a row and next visit the Miami Heat on Wednesday amid a tight race for the seventh and eighth seeds in the East.
Drake Maye and the New England Patriots survived a wild, snowy battle in Denver on Sunday and beat the Broncos 10-7 in the AFC championship game. That sent them into their first Super Bowl since the Tom Brady era.
Crew Chief: Shawn Smith Umpire: Roy Ellison Down Judge: Dana McKenzie Line Judge: Julian Mapp Field Judge: Jason Ledet Side Judge: Eugene Hall Back Judge: Greg Steed Replay Official: Andrew Lambert
Dončić scored 46 points with 11 rebounds and 7 assists in the Lakers’ 129-118 win over the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Monday night. It was his eighth 40-point effort of the season.
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Per the NBA, Dončić’s performance put him with Kobe Bryant as the only players in Lakers team history to tally 45 or more points, 10 or more assists and five or more 3-pointers in a single game.
The scoring outburst began with 14 points in the first quarter. After a quiet second, Dončić exploded for 19 points in the third quarter. And he added 13 more during the final 12 minutes of the Lakers’ win. Dončić shot 15-for-25 from the floor, including making 8-of-14 3-pointers.
Dončić also joined Wilt Chamberlain and Walt Bellamy as the only players in NBA history to total 2,000 points in their first 65 games with a team.
Following the game, Dončić said he wanted to be aggressive in looking for his shot. He joked that JJ Redick would be mad about how many shots he took after he was reminded that the Lakers coach told him to share the ball more.
“I think I was just being aggressive, see what the defense gives you,” Dončić told reporters. “I said, JJ’s probably gonna be mad I took 25 shots. He’ll tell me to pass more … I’m kidding.”
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Dončić has scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games and in five of his past six outings. The Lakers have won four of those six games, as well. He currently leads the NBA, averaging 33.8 points per game, and is tied for second in assists with 8.8 per contest.
LeBron James added 24 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Rui Hachimura scored 23 points off the bench. The Lakers improved to 28-17 with the win, just a half-game behind the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference’s No. 5 spot.
Coby White led the Bulls with 23 points, along with 5 points and 6 assists. Ayo Dosunmu contributed 20 points off the bench, while Josh Giddey added 19 with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points with 11 rebounds and 5 assists.
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The defeat dropped the Bulls to 23-23 and missed an opportunity to hop over the Orlando Magic for the No. 8 seed in the East. The Magic lost 118-94 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In a matchup Monday featuring the nation’s No. 1 team and arguably the nation’s No. 1 player, the No. 1 team prevailed — barely.
No. 1 Arizona opened up a 44-31 halftime lead over No. 13 BYU and freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa, then survived a furious second-half BYU rally that was fueled late by a flagrant foul on Brayden Burries that allowed BYU to cut a 19-point second-half deficit to 83-79.
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The Cougars then had the ball and the chance to take the lead in the final seconds. But Burries redeemed himself with a late block of a Robert Wright shot at the basket and two free throws on the other end to ice the 86-83 Arizona win.
With the win, Arizona improved to 21-0 to maintain its place as one of three undefeated teams remaining in the top 25. No. 5 Nebraska and No. 24 Miami (Ohio) — both 20-0 — are the others.
The win was the sixth for the Wildcats over a ranked team following previous wins over then-No. 3 Florida, No. 15 UCLA, No. 3 UConn, No. 20 Auburn and No. 12 Alabama.
Burries shines as Arizona defense flusters Dybantsa
While Dybantsa was a one-man show for BYU for much of the game, Burries was the best freshman and the best player on the court — for Monday night, at least. Burries paced Arizona to its double-digit halftime lead with 19 points at the break. He finished with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals — and the single block at the end to secure the win.
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Senior guard Jaden Bradley joined Burries with 26 points on a 10-of-15 shooting night from the floor.
Brayden Burries, right, outplayed BYU’s freshman phenom and potential No. 1 NBA Draft pick AJ Dybantsa Monday night.
(Chris Gardner via Getty Images)
Dybantsa, meanwhile, struggled against an elite Arizona defense led by 6-foot-7 wing Ivan Kharchenkov. Dybantsa paced the Cougars with 24 points points alongside 4 rebounds and 5 assists. But he had to work to get there on a 6-of-24 shooting night from the floor while shooting 1 of 8 from 3.
And he was the only BYU player to repeatedly attack Arizona’s defense until late. Until 4:10 remained in the game, Dybantsa accounted for all 10 of BYU’s free-throw attempts. He finished shooting 11 of 16 at the stripe on a night when the Cougars shot 12 of 19 as a team. Arizona shot 53% from the floor while limiting BYU to 40% effort.
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There will be better nights ahead for Dybantsa, both with BYU and in the NBA. But he met a problem he couldn’t solve on Monday in an Arizona team that’s operating on all cylinders on both sides of the floor.
Arizona faces unranked Arizona State and Oklahoma State next before a four-game stretch against ranked Big 12 opponents that starts with a road game against No. 14 Kansas on Feb. 9. From there, the Wildcats will host No. 11 Texas Tech and play BYU again at home before facing No. 10 Houston on the road on Feb. 21.
If they survive that stretch without a loss, talk of an undefeated season will be unavoidable.
🏀 SEC makes history: The conference landed a record 10 teams in the women’s AP Top 25, with No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 6 LSU, No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 17 Ole Miss, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 23 Georgia and No. 24 Alabama all in the rankings.
🏀 Rising Stars: Cooper Flagg, Stephon Castle and VJ Edgecombe headline the NBA All-Star Rising Stars selections. The first- and second-year players will kick off All-Star Weekend next month in Los Angeles with a four-team tournament.
🎰 $1 million wager: Super Bowl LX officially has its first seven-figure bet, with one bettor at Circa Sports wagering $1.1 million on the Patriots moneyline at +188. If New England wins, the bettor will walk away with almost $3.2 million.
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🇺🇸 Meet Team USA
(Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports)
With just over a week before the 2026 Winter Olympics begin, it’s high time we meet the athletes who’ll be representing the United States in Milan-Cortina.
By the numbers: The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced the 232-team roster (117 men, 115 women) on Monday, representing the largest contingent they’ve ever sent to the Winter Games.
By hometown: Athletes hail from 32 states (plus D.C.), led by seven with at least 10 representatives: Colorado (30), Minnesota (24), California (19), Utah (17), Michigan (15), New York (14) and Massachusetts (12).
By appearances: There are 98 returning Olympians, including seven making their fifth appearance: Lindsey Vonn (alpine skiing), Evan Bates (figure skating), Nick Baumgartner (snowboarding), Faye Thelen (snowboarding), Kaillie Humphries (bobsled), Hilary Knight (hockey) and Elana Meyers Taylor (bobsled).
By medal count: Meyers Taylor is the team’s most decorated athlete, with five medals, but she’s still seeking her first gold. Humphries is the only three-time gold medalist, while Mikaela Shiffrin (alpine skiing) and Chloe Kim (snowboard) are the only others with two golds.
Notes:
Youngest and oldest: Abby Winterberger (freeskiing), 15, is the youngest athlete on the team; Rich Ruohonen (curling), 54, is the oldest.
Family affair: Team USA features four sets of siblings, including two pairs of NHL players in Matthew and Brady Tkachuk and Quinn and Jack Hughes. The others are Birk and Svea Irving (freeskiing), and Tara Peterson and Tabitha Peterson-Lovick (curling).
School ties: 84 members (36%) are current or former NCAA varsity athletes, with no school better represented than Minnesota (7). Another seven schools have at least three athletes: Boston College (6), Wisconsin (6), Boston University (5), Michigan (4), Northeastern (4), Dartmouth (3) and Ohio State (3).
Looking ahead: The Games officially begin with the Opening Ceremony next Friday, Feb. 6, though competitions get underway two days earlier.
Back in September, not many people had New England and Seattle meeting in the season finale. In fact, Patriots vs. Seahawks is the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup by preseason odds since such tracking began.
From Yahoo Sports’ Ben Fawkes:
In the months leading up to the 2025-26 NFL season, there were a variety of teams that bettors were wagering on to win Super Bowl LX. The Patriots and Seahawks weren’t very high among them.
The Seahawks entered Week 1 with 60-1 odds to win Super Bowl LX at BetMGM, and the Patriots had 80-1 odds. And there weren’t a lot of believers, either, as Seattle had the ninth-fewest wagers to win Super Bowl LX (0.9%) at BetMGM and the Patriots (1.3%) had the 11th-fewest.
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That makes this year’s title game the most unlikely Super Bowl matchup by preseason odds in at least 50 years, per Sports Odds History. The closest approximation was all the way back in 1982 when the 49ers (50-1 preseason odds) and the Bengals (60-1) met in Super Bowl XVI. The 49ers closed as 1-point favorites and won the game, 26-21.
Zoom out: Looking across the other major North American sports leagues, the only championship game/series matchup that was more unlikely based on preseason odds was the 1991 World Series between the Twins (80-1) and Braves (200–1).
🏀 How long can Miami (Ohio) stay perfect?
(Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Two of the three undefeated teams in D1 men’s basketball are power-conference programs: No. 1 Arizona and No. 5 Nebraska. Then there’s No. 24 Miami (Ohio), the little mid-major that could, scrapping its way through a historic campaign.
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Still perfect: The RedHawks have won two straight overtime nail-biters to become just the seventh mid-major since 1990 to start 20-0, and the first ever in the MAC. That perfect start has led to their first AP ranking since 1999,* and could power them to their first NCAA tournament berth since 2007.
Is this a mirage? This Miami team is clearly special — you don’t win 20 straight on luck alone — but there’s no denying that they’ve benefited from an easy schedule.
While they’re 24th in the AP poll, they’re just 48th in the NET Rankings and 86th in KenPom, and their strength of schedule ranks 332nd out of 365 teams.
Their toughest opponents thus far have been Akron (16-4), Kent State (15-5) and Bowling Green (13-7), and two of their wins came against NAIA schools: Indiana East and Milligan.
Yes, but: Cupcake schedule aside, it’s worth celebrating a mid-major with a minuscule NIL budget going 20-0 in this modern era of college hoops. Credit the continuity in Oxford, where 25 players and staffers returned to run it back after Miami went 25-9 last season and showed real promise.
What they’re saying: “I think retention is everything in today’s landscape,” head coach Travis Steele told CBS Sports. “You’ve got NIL, the portal. What’s the term some coaches use, mercenaries? We don’t have that. We recruit a lot of high school guys and I’m still holding on a little bit to that old model: development, get better, we have fun together, we win and I hope that means something. I think it does to our guys.”
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Looking ahead: Only 20 teams have entered the NCAA Tournament undefeated, including just three this century (2013-14 Wichita State, 2014-15 Kentucky, 2020-21 Gonzaga). Could Miami become the 21st? They have 11 games left plus the MAC tournament, and they should be favored in every matchup the rest of the way.
Tonight: vs. UMass (13-8)
Jan. 31: vs. Northern Illinois (6-13)
Feb. 3: at Buffalo (13-7)
Feb. 7: at Marshall (13-7)
Feb. 13: vs. Ohio (11-10)
Feb. 21: vs. Bowling Green (13-7)
Feb. 24: at Eastern Michigan (9-11)
Feb. 28: at Western Michigan (8-12)
Mar. 3: vs. Toledo (11-9)
*Flashback: That 1999 RedHawks team was led by senior Wally Szczerbiak, who was the No. 6 overall pick in that year’s NBA Draft and went on to become an All-Star with the Timberwolves.
🌎 The world in photos
(Al Drago/Getty Images)
🇺🇸 Washington, D.C. — A Washingtonian rides a snowboard while holding an American flag as he’s pulled on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol during this week’s massive storm.
(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
🇦🇺 Melbourne, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz plays a forehand during his Fourth Round Australian Open victory over Tommy Paul. Can he win two more matches to complete the Career Grand Slam?
(Malcolm Griffiths/Getty Images)
🇸🇦 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — The third season of the E1 Series (electric powerboat racing) began this past weekend on the Red Sea. Team owners include Tom Brady, LeBron James, Rafael Nadal and Will Smith.
(Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
🇯🇵 Sapporo, Japan — Kira Mária Kapustíková of Slovakia takes to the skies during the penultimate Ski Jumping World Cup event ahead of Milano-Cortina 2026.
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📺 Watchlist: Tuesday, Jan. 27
Braden Frager celebrates during a game earlier this month. (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
🏀 No. 5 Nebraska at No. 3 Michigan
The Cornhuskers (20-0) will look to keep their perfect season alive tonight (7pm ET, Peacock) against the mighty Wolverines (18-1). Can Nebraska, traditionally a football school with little success on the hardwood, pull off a “reverse Indiana” this spring.
In the area? Use Gametime to grab tickets for tonight’s game at Crisler Center (Ann Arbor).
🎾 Australian Open
The quarterfinals conclude tonight in Melbourne (7:30pm, ESPN+/ESPN2), headlined by No. 2 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 8 Ben Shelton in the men’s bracket and No. 4 Amanda Anisimova vs. No. 6 Jessica Pegula in an all-American affair.
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The other matchups: No. 4 Novak Djokovic (seeking his fifth straight major semifinal) vs. No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti; No. 2 Iga Świątek vs. No. 5 Elena Rybakina (reigning WTA Finals champion).
More to watch:
⚽️ Friendly: USWNT vs. Chile (10pm, TBS) … The Americans take the field in Santa Barbara three days after cruising to a 6-0 win over Paraguay.
🏀 NBA: Bucks at 76ers (8pm, NBC); Clippers at Jazz (10pm, NBC) … Kawhi Leonard is quietly averaging a career-high 28.1 ppg.
Thinking about heading to a game tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets, with instant delivery to your phone. Tap in, grab seats and go.
🇺🇸 State trivia
(Found Image Holdings/Corbis via Getty Images)
Colorado, which boasts the most Olympians on Team USA, is part of the “Four Corners,” the only point in the U.S. where the boundaries of four states meet.
Question: Can you name the other three states?
Answer at the bottom.
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❤️ Why we love sports
Sonny Liston glowers at Muhammad Ali as the champ examines the scale during the weigh-in ceremony. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
Paul K. (Boca Raton, Florida) writes:
It was May 25, 1965. I was 11, my brother was 13. We begged our dad to buy us tickets for the Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston heavyweight fight in our hometown of Lewiston, Maine. He said, “I’ll do better than that. I’ll pick you up at school at 11:30 for the weigh-in.”
Sure enough, we were called to the office at 11:25, and we hear the principal yelling, “You can’t take these kids out of school for a boxing weigh-in! They will miss out on a good education!”
My dad throws a right hook comeback: “These kids will get a better education at the weigh-in than they will at this school!”
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Off we go to St. Dominic’s Arena. During the weigh-in, Ali is cursing at Liston telling him, “I am going to kick your f*ing ass!”
We get in the car afterwards and my dad looks at me and asks if I learned anything. “Yeah,” I responded. “Ali is going to kick Liston’s f*ing ass!”
P.S. I still have a banner from the fight.
The banner. (Paul K.)
✍️ Submit your story: Do you have a fondest sports memory? Or an example of sports having a profound impact on your life? If you’d like to share, email me at kendall.baker@yahooinc.com. We’ll keep sharing your stories until they run out!
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
During the national championship game last week, one team played the first half without a key defensive player.
Miami cornerback Xavier Lucas spent the first two quarters sidelined as part of a targeting foul he committed in the second half of the previous game — a semifinal win over Ole Miss. The foul cost Miami 15 penalty yards, disqualified Lucas from the final three defensive drives of the semifinal and, in a carryover disqualification, kept him from playing in the first half of the biggest game of his career — the national championship bout against Indiana.
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Miami head coach Mario Cristobal described the foul and punishment as “unjust.”
Well, this offseason, officials plan to review potential changes to the most scrutinized penalty in all of college football.
“We’re going to be having a discussion on targeting,” Steve Shaw, the national coordinator of officials and the NCAA’s secretary-rules editor, told Yahoo Sports last week from Miami, site of the national title game. “That needs to be an annual discussion. It will be a focus discussion.”
Is targeting on the proverbial chopping block? No, not even close. There will be no “backing up” on the targeting rule, Shaw says, as it has been successful in its goal of making the game safer by changing player behavior related to head collisions.
Miami cornerback Xavier Lucas (right) was ejected from the game for this hit on Ole Miss receiver Cayden Lee during the College Football Playoff semifinal on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
(Chris Coduto via Getty Images)
However, aspects of the targeting penalty structure are under the proverbial microscope, such as the disqualification punishment.
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“What targeting has driven in terms of player behavior change has been really good and the numbers reflect that,” said Shaw. “But how can we continue this trend of taking out more of these hits we don’t want in the game while being less punitive?”
Targeting has, indeed, changed player behavior. In fact, since 2020 — what Shaw calls the height of targeting fouls — there has been an annual decrease in the number of targeting penalties. In 2020, officials flagged a player for targeting once in every four games. This year, that number is more like once in every seven to eight games.
Targeting, however, remains the most divisive, confusing and frustrating penalty among, not just college football fans, but coaches and administrators too.
The NCAA defines targeting as when a player initiates forcible contact against an opposing player to the head or neck area, most often — but not always — when leading with the crown (top) of the helmet against a defenseless player. If a player makes forcible contact with the head of a defenseless player, targeting may also be called.
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Targeting carries with it a 15-yard penalty, plus the player who committed the act is disqualified for the remainder of the current game. If the penalty occurs in the second half of a game, that player is also disqualified for the first half of the next game.
When exploring the penalty structure this offseason, officials must determine if the disqualification — and the carryover disqualification — is still warranted. Could rules officials create two different levels of targeting fouls, similar to flagrant fouls in basketball?
A more severe targeting penalty — lowering the crown of the helmet into an opposing player’s helmet, for instance — could warrant the penalty yardage plus disqualification. But a less severe penalty — such as Lucas’ hit against Ole Miss receiver Cayden Lee (shoulder into helmet) — may necessitate only penalty yardage.
“If we go to that, we have to be really good in our definition of what is a flagrant targeting call,” Shaw said. “The guiding principle is we cannot back up on targeting. It’ll be an interesting discussion in the rules committee and the commissioners will be a part of that discussion too.”
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Jon Steinbrecher, the MAC commissioner and chair of the College Football Officiating (CFO) Board of Managers, is open to the conversation, he told Yahoo Sports.
“It is a very tough penalty but it is a penalty that has been effective,” Steinbrecher said. “Those that want to do something else, I want to hear the conversation around it.”
The CFP board, made up of the 10 FBS conference commissioners plus two FCS commissioners, is scheduled to meet this week in person in Dallas around the National Football Foundation’s annual gathering of the 23 conference coordinators of football officials.
However, any changes to the targeting policy — or any other rule — will originate from a recommendation from the NCAA Football Rules Committee. The committee meets annually in late February.
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Other rule changes considered
The NFL’s drastic change to its kickoffs in 2024 caught the ire of the president of the United States a few months ago.
Well, he’ll have no issues with the college kickoff.
Few college executives want to move to the NFL’s version of the kickoff. In fact, the industry has made enough minor changes that the injury rate on kickoffs is less than a normal scrimmage down, Shaw says.
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“There’s not a medical player-safety driver to push us to change the kickoff,” he said.
College kickoffs are returned at a 30% clip, which Shaw describes as an “acceptable rate.” The kickoff remains a viable play, with 34 kickoffs returned for touchdowns this season, according to the NCAA database.
Over the years, industry leaders have made slight changes to the kickoff procedure to make it safer, including instituting the fair-catch option, moving touchbacks to the 25-yard line and eliminating double-team and blindside blocks.
Meanwhile, Shaw and college executives were pleased with the new rule intended to prevent feigning injuries. The NCAA instituted this year a rule charging a team with a timeout if a player dropped with an injury after the ball was spotted for play.
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The feigning injury issue curtailed as the season marched on, becoming a “non-story,” Shaw said. “We were pleased. The rule did what we wanted it to do.”
It was an incredibly frustrating day for Coco Gauff on the court Tuesday. Gauff experienced uncharacteristic struggles with her serve, notching five double faults in a quarterfinals loss to Elina Svitolina at the 2026 Australian Open.
Gauff never really got going against Svitolina. All five of Gauff’s double faults came during the first set Tuesday, leading to Gauff taking just one game in the set and losing 6-1. While Gauff has shown the ability to rally when put into tough positions, she couldn’t make that happen Tuesday. Svitolina dispatched Gauff 6-2 to win the match in straight sets.
The entire match lasted just 59 minutes, making it the shortest women’s singles quarterfinal match at the Australian Open in six years. With the win, Svitolina advances to the Australian Open semifinals for the first time in her career. She’ll take on women’s No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday.
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As for Gauff, well, she wasn’t too happy about her performance Tuesday. After the match, cameras caught Gauff smashing her racket in frustration in the tunnel at Rod Laver Arena.
Gauff intentionally tried to smash the racket away from cameras, and said she didn’t think the moment needed to be shown on the broadcast.
The 21-year-old explained her actions after the match, saying she didn’t want to have an outburst on the court in front of fans and didn’t want to take the loss out on her team.
The loss marks the second straight year in which Gauff was eliminated in the quarterfinals. She’s only advanced past the round one time at the Australian Open, when she made it to the semifinals in 2024. Gauff fell to Sabalenka that year, and has never won the Australian Open.
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Carlos Alcaraz picks up easy win in quarterfinals
Compared to Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz had a much easier experience Tuesday. The men’s No. 1 cruised to a win in the quarterfinals, taking down Alex de Minaur in straight sets (7-5, 6-2, 6-1) to advance to the semifinals.
It was a pretty clean match for Alcaraz, who notched five aces in the win.
Alcaraz also had a somewhat viral moment during his match. At one point, de Minaur was called for a time violation, but Alcaraz stepped in to take the blame, saying he “wasn’t ready” for de Minaur’s serve. The violation was rescinded after Alcaraz explained the situation.
For all of Alcaraz’s success in the sport, the Australian Open has proved to be his most elusive major. Tuesday marked the first time ever that Alcaraz advanced to the semifinals at the event. It’s the only tennis major he’s never won.
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If Alcaraz wants to break that streak, he’ll have to move past Alexander Zverev, who Alcaraz will face Thursday.
The New England Patriots were the first team to advance to Super Bowl LX, beating the Denver Broncos 10-7 as 3.5-point road favorites in a snow-filled game at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday afternoon. The game stayed well under the pregame total of 43.
Drake Maye and Co. were favorites in all three playoff games on their path to Super Bowl LX, but they’ll be underdogs in the biggest game of the season.
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The Seattle Seahawks, after beating the Los Angeles Rams 31-27 in the NFC championship game, opened as 5-point favorites in Super Bowl LX against the Patriots at BetMGM. The total in the game opened at 46.5.
Other sportsbooks opened the Seahawks at -3.5, before early action pushed it up to at least -4.5. It has seemingly settled at -4.5 for now.
“We opened Seahawks -4 and a total of 46.5 and we’ve been getting one-way action on Seattle,” Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook said in text message on Sunday night. “We’re at -4.5 now.”
The Seahawks closed as 1-point favorites in Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 against the Patriots, a game in which they lost 28-24 thanks to a late Malcolm Butler interception. Seattle was an underdog in the other two Super Bowls it has played in, so this will be the biggest favorite the Seahawks have ever been in the Super Bowl.
The NFL Panic Meter this week looks at the conference championship game losers, and how worried they should be about next season:
Are the Broncos set up for long haul?
After the Broncos lost the AFC championship game to the Patriots, defensive end Nik Bonitto said, “We’re definitely the better team.” That always sounds like sour grapes after a loss, but this was an unusual case.
The Broncos had two major things working against them Sunday: They were playing with backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, and the weather made playing football impossible in the second half.
The Broncos will forever wonder what would have happened if Bo Nix hadn’t suffered a season-ending ankle injury late in a divisional round overtime win over the Buffalo Bills. Or even if Stidham hadn’t faced a 10-7 deficit in a snow globe.
Jarrett Stidham’s first-half turnover led the way to the Patriots’ only touchdown in Sunday’s AFC title game. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
(Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The Broncos will be cited as a prime regression candidate this offseason. That’s easy-hanging fruit because most teams that go 14-3 in the regular season don’t get better the next season. But what will be repeated often is Denver’s luck in close games. The Broncos won 12 games that were decided by eight or fewer points, and that is very hard to repeat.
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Talent-wise the Broncos have a strong roster, assuming Nix returns from his ankle surgery without a problem. They finally get Russell Wilson off the books too. He had a salary cap hit of $32 million this past season. That’s a lot of money to spend, and Sean Payton’s teams have always been aggressive in free agency. The roster could be stronger next season and Denver could still have a worse record. That’s what makes the loss Sunday even more frustrating. The Broncos aren’t guaranteed to get a home game with a Super Bowl berth on the line again anytime soon.
Panic meter: This loss will sting for a long time
Rams come up just short
The Rams had a good argument as the best team in the NFL this season. Unfortunately for them, Seattle had a strong argument too and won a close NFC championship game.
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There’s no reason to believe the Rams will fall off next season, though there are some questions to answer. The first is if Matthew Stafford will return. Stafford told the “Let’s Go” podcast: “It’s a physical, mental and emotional decision. A personal and a family decision as well. So, we’ll figure all that kind of stuff out with some time.”
He will turn 38 years old in February. There hasn’t been any strong indication Stafford won’t return. Presumably, he’ll be back.
The Rams also could lose some members of the coaching staff, which isn’t unusual in the McVay era. Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, defensive coordinator Chris Shula and passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase are all getting head-coaching interviews, and there are still three openings. Losing talented coordinators can change the makeup of a team. Ask the Detroit Lions.
But McVay has dealt with many staff changes and always seems to find the next hot assistant, and the roster is still going to be strong. The Rams might have to retool the secondary, especially with safety Kam Curl and cornerbacks Ahkello Witherspoon and Cobie Durant about to hit free agency. But all teams deal with some roster turnover and the Rams are in good shape. They play in a tough division and there could be questions over whether veterans like Stafford and Davante Adams start to slip in their 30s, but the Rams will be a Super Bowl contender again. As long as Stafford returns.
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Panic meter: Once Stafford commits to 2026, there’s not much stress
The NBA announced the 10 players who’d been voted in as starters for the 2026 All-Star Game last week. Eight of the players on my official media ballot made the final cut: Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić and Victor Wembanyama in the West, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown in the East. Jalen Brunson earned the final starting spot in the East over my pick, Donovan Mitchell; Stephen Curry finished ahead of my pick, Anthony Edwards, in the West.
Those results are neither stunning nor injustices; Brunson and Steph would’ve been my first picks as reserves if they hadn’t made the starting lineups. Instead, it’ll be Mitchell and Ant kicking off my reserve picks — which, I hasten to remind you, are wholly and completely irrelevant and for entertainment purposes only. Fans, players and media members vote on starting lineups, but NBA coaches alone choose which players wind up comprising each conference’s reserve corps; my thoughts don’t matter at all!
That said: I do have some thoughts. Here are seven* players from each conference — chosen irrespective of position this year, in accordance with the most recent round of All-Star alterations decreed by the league office — that I’d pick to complete the 2026 NBA All-Star Game rosters:
* There’ll be more than seven, due to me making some assumptions on injury replacements.
All stats and records entering Tuesday’s games.
(Jonathan Castro/Yahoo Sports Illustration)
Western Conference
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
Deni Avdija, Trail Blazers
Alperen Şengün, Rockets **
(* will miss game due to injury)
(** injury replacement)
I made my case for Edwardsin voting him a starter. The 37-year-old Durant remains one of the sport’s most remarkable offensive players, averaging 26.4 points on 51/41/88 shooting splits to go with 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game to help elevate Houston to fifth in the NBA in offensive efficiency and fourth in the Western standings. While the Clippers scuffled through an absolutely brutal start, they’ve been arguably the hottest team in the NBA for weeks now, owning the league’s best record and second-best net rating since Dec. 20 — and Leonard has been at the heart of that turnaround.
Also good at basketball: three dudes to whom I’d give their first All-Star selections!
Holmgren gets the nod for the way he’s leveled up in his third season, as both a scorer (17.8 points per game, 57.1% shooting from the field, 37.6% from 3-point land) and a rim protector (holding opponents to microscopic 46.9% shooting at the rim, second-lowest among players to guard at least 100 up-close shots) for the best team in the NBA. Murray was already trending toward his first selection, putting up career-best scoring, assist and shooting efficiency numbers to help keep Denver within striking distance of Oklahoma City. The way he’s performed since his longtime running buddy went down, though — 28.2 points and 8.4 assists in 36.5 minutes per game, 50/43/91 shooting splits, helping Denver not only stay afloat but win more than it’s lost without the three-time MVP — cemented it. Avdija has been an absolute monster in Portland, kicking the breakout that began years ago in Washington into hyperdrive and averaging 26-7-7 on elite shooting efficiency to propel the Blazers into the play-in picture.
I wrote last week about Butler, and the All-Star campaign he was having. We’ll give him the nod here, with the understanding that his season-ending ACL tear will require an injury replacement; if Jokić isn’t able to play after recovering from his hyperextended left knee, we’ll need two.
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The first spot goes to Booker, averaging more than 25 points and six assists per game as the leading light for the seventh-seeded Suns, whose attitude adjustment and attendant turnaround have been the best story in the league this season. The second goes to Şengün, the ball-handling, playmaking hub of Houston’s top-five offense and massive paint-plugging deterrent at the heart of its top-five defense.
Apologies to: Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, James Harden, Amen Thompson, De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, LeBron James, Trey Murphy III, Austin Reaves.
Eastern Conference
Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks
(** injury replacement)
I covered the case for Mitchell with my starters last week. Barnes gets a spot for serving as the two-way heartbeat of the surprising third-seeded Raptors, averaging 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists and nearly three combined steals and blocks while routinely guarding some of the toughest covers the league has to offer, from all across the positional spectrum. Duren has shined in a larger offensive role (17.8 points on 63.2% shooting) while remaining a rebounding menace and taking a significant step forward as a rim protector and defender in space — one major reason why the Pistons have risen to second in the NBA in defensive efficiency, and all the way to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Johnson was in contention for an All-Star nod last season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. This time around, the fifth-year forward has stayed healthy and kicked his all-around production to an even higher level, joining Jokić as one of just two NBA players averaging more than 20 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists per game as the centerpiece of a post-Trae Young Hawks team that is, as is seemingly its ancestral birthright, jockeying for play-in position.
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There’s been plenty of sturm und drang and rending of garments about the role Towns has played in the Knicks’ post-NBA Cup swoon, and it’s inarguably been a down season for him on the offensive end, with his per-game scoring, 2-point shooting and 3-point accuracy all at or near career lows. But he’s still averaging 20 a game on .600 true shooting and leading the NBA in rebounding for a No. 4 seed playing at a 50-win pace — and, quiet as it’s kept, the Knicks’ defense has been better with him on the floor than off it, and top-five-caliber in the minutes he’s played without Brunson. I still feel like he’s done enough to get the nod.
I’d round out my list with two more first-timers. I thought Powelldeserved a Western spot last season, and he’s been even better in his first season in Miami, averaging a career-high 23.1 points per game on 47/39/84 shooting splits, launching 3s and getting to the free-throw line more than ever, and fitting seamlessly into the Heat’s new perpetual-motion-machine offense — which, by the way, scores at a top-six clip when he’s on the floor.
A reasonable observer could argue that Bam Adebayo, Erik Spoelstra’s beloved Giving Tree, is more central to the Heat’s success (especially, obviously, on the defensive end) than Powell has been. But in the consequence-free sandbox of this non-binding thought exercise, I think it’d be more fun to reward Powell for just continuing to get better and better as he nears his 33rd birthday. Similarly, while White has had a really rough go of it shooting the ball this season — just 48.4% inside the arc and 32.3% beyond it — he’s been an indispensable playmaker for Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics, who have overcome all manner of injuries, trades and free agency exits to somehow sit second in the East. He’s been a defensive monster — 1.3 steals, 1.5 blocks and 2.9 deflections per game — while toting a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio at the controls of what’s been the NBA’s second-best offense. The Celtics wouldn’t be where they are without White’s ability to give them whatever they need on a night-to-night basis. Sounds like an All-Star to me.
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That gives me seven. It sounds, though, like we’re going to need an eighth — at least, if Antetokounmpo’s assessment of his latest calf injury winds up bearing out. And with respect to a number of very good players on pretty good teams, I’m going with Siakam, an excellent player on a very, very bad Indiana team that is very bad through absolutely no fault of his own.
Everybody knew this Pacers season was going to be hopeless as soon as Tyrese Haliburton hit the ground in Oklahoma City last June. But even without the point guard who makes the Pacers special, and with a handful of other rotation players missing time to turn Indiana into arguably the most injury-ravaged team in the NBA, Siakam has just kept showing up for work and excelling: 23.8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists per game, shooting 48% from the field and 37.8% from 3-point land — all while shouldering the highest usage rate of his career, despite being double-teamed more often than ever, with a rotating cast of not-quite-ready-for-prime-time-players around him.
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The Pacers have only 11 wins. Siakam has hitthegame-winner in four of them, and is 14-for-28 overall on shots to tie or take the lead in the final two minutes, tied for the fourth-most makes in the league in those close-and-late situations. There’s a certain nobility in the way Siakam is performing this season, and I’m kind of a sucker for tilting at windmills. If things shake out the way I’ve sketched them out here, maybe Adam Silver rings up Adebayo or Evan Mobley — fellow established All-Stars on significantly better teams — to take Giannis’ spot. Here, though, we’ll tip the cap to Siakam, the missing piece who has continued to rage against the dying of the light on a team missing damn near everything this season.
Apologies to: Adebayo, Mobley, Michael Porter Jr., Joel Embiid (just FYI, you guys: 28.3 points on .631 true shooting in 33.6 minutes per game over his last 15 games), Josh Giddey, LaMelo Ball, Franz Wagner, Mikal Bridges.
