Category: Sport

The Indiana Hoosiers have their first Heisman trophy winner. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the 91st Heisman trophy on Saturday night. He beat out fellow finalists Diego Pavia, Jeremiyah Love and Julian Sayin by a wide margin. Andy Staples, Ross Dellenger and Steven Godfrey discuss Mendoza’s win and share their thoughts on the quarterback’s stellar season. Plus, Andy and Ross share who they voted for. The guys also discuss how the conversation around Mendoza immediately turned to if he will succeed in the NFL. They dive into the NFL’s quarterback obsession and where they go wrong when evaluating college quarterbacks. The Heisman ceremony was not the only big event that happened on Saturday. The 126th edition of the Army-Navy game saw Navy take the win for the second straight year. The Midshipmen defeated the Black Knights 17-16 on a late game touchdown pass from Blake Horvath to Eli Heidenreich. Ross was in attendance and shares his experience at the game after the guys share their thoughts on the game.

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Then, the crew discusses the Big 12’s latest news. Last week, Ross shared Utah’s news about their private equity deal and the guys said this would open the floodgates. Well, that may be proving to be correct as the Big 12 announced they are close to a private capital deal. Ross shares the story he broke and the crew discusses what the impact of this potential deal could be. Godfrey cautions the risk level of this move.

Later, we stay in the Big 12 for some more news. Utah announced that head coach Kyle Whittingham is stepping down. Utah’s appearance in the upcoming Las Vegas bowl will be his last game as the leader of the Utes. Defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley has long been Whittingham’s heir apparent and will be Utah’s new head coach. The guys discuss the timing of this move, if this move will work for Utah and Scalley and if this means that we may see Whittingham coaching elsewhere in the future.

Get caught up on all things college football with College Football Enquirer.

(0:46) – Fernando Mendoza wins the Heisman

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(23:05) – Ross’ Army-Navy game experience/ game recap

(30:38) – Big 12’s move towards private capital

(47:02) – Kyle Whittingham Steps down

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Hopefully, things are going well in your fantasy football playoff matchup and you’re positioned to make it to next week. If that’s the case, you’re going to want to do your due diligence and scour the waiver wire for any way of upgrading your roster (or blocking your opponents) as you make the climb toward a championship. It’s important to stay ahead of your competition and be prepared for anything. Below are some options off the wire going into Week 16 that could boost your roster even further.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Commanders (48% rostered on Yahoo)

Washington’s backfield has been a revolving door all season long. Just when we thought we had it figured out, Week 15 rolled around. Chris Rodriguez Jr. missed Sunday’s matchup against the Giants and it moved the rookie JCM back to the head of the backfield committee. Croskey-Merritt got the bulk of the work on the ground, finishing with 18 carries for 96 yards and a score for 15.6 fantasy points.

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C-Rod will have a chance to return on a short week against the Eagles on Saturday. If he misses that game, Croskey-Merritt will be on the RB3/flex radar if you endure any injury woes during your playoffs.

Luther Burden III, WR, Bears (17% rostered)

It looked like Rome Odunze was set to return from a foot injury after missing last week, but the second-year wideout aggravated the injury during pre-game warmups and was a late scratch. That left the rookie Burden to step up in Odunze’s stead. Over the past two games, Burden has led the Bears in receiving with 10 catches for 151 total yards. He’s building solid chemistry with QB Caleb Williams and has been Chicago’s most consistent option in the passing game lately. If Odunze remains out, Burden should continue to be a decent WR3/flex play in PPR formats for a big matchup against the Packers on Saturday in Week 16. Burden left the game early due to an ankle injury with the Bears up big, so be sure to monitor his status early in the week.

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Dalton Schultz, TE, Texans (49% rostered)

Schultz and the Texans went into Week 15 with a great matchup against the Cardinals, who entered Sunday allowing the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Schultz showed up when it mattered most if you started him in your playoff matchup, catching eight of nine targets for 76 yards and a touchdown, good for 17.6 fantasy points. He’s tracking to finish as a top-five tight end on the week and is worth adding in shallower leagues if available.

The matchup versus the Raiders in Week 16 shows red but it should be a positive environment for the Texans’ passing game. Plus, the run game still lacks elite options with Nick Chubb missing time with a rib injury and Woody Marks getting hurt on Sunday. As the clear second option behind Nico Collins for QB CJ Stroud, Schultz has a decent floor moving forward in PPR.

Jawhar Jordan, RB, Texans (0% rostered)

Here’s a name you’ve probably never heard before. Jordan was elevated from the practice squad for Houston prior to Week 15. He was drafted in the sixth round in 2024 out of Louisville and had 1,374 scrimmage yards in his senior season in 2023. With Chubb banged up and inactive against Arizona, Jordan was active and got involved on Sunday once Marks left with an ankle injury. Jordan had a 50-yard scamper and led the Texans’ backfield with 15 carries for 101 yards and two catches for 17 yards, finishing with 12.8 fantasy points.

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Jordan is more of a deep-league add who makes for a good stash if he continues to get work with Chubb and Marks not 100%. Even Ogunbowale isn’t a bad add in PPR in very deep formats, depending on how the injuries shake out prior to Week 16 vs. the Raiders.

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Kevin O’Connor is joined by Blake Griffin to break down the impact of Wemby in the Spurs’ victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinals. Did the Spurs find the formula for stopping OKC? Is Victor Wembanyama on track to become the greatest of all time?

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Next, Blake Griffin shares his favorite dunks, how his game evolved throughout his career and the evolution of the NBA. Then, he shares his experience of being traded during his career path and his reaction to the Clippers sending Chris Paul home.

Later, the duo discusses Jalen Brunson’s performance against the Magic in the NBA Cup semis and their top candidates for Rookie of the Year this season.

Plus, who will be crowned the champions of the NBA Cup this year?

(0:45) Wemby vs. OKC in NBA Cup semis
(5:01) Did Spurs unlock formula for stopping OKC?
(8:26) Could Victor Wembanyama become the GOAT?
(14:28) Blake Griffin’s greatest dunks
(18:36) Evolution of Griffin’s game
(26:18) Evolution of the NBA
(31:58) Griffin’s experience when traded by Clippers
(37:33) Reaction to Chris Paul sent home by Clippers
(44:30) Jalen Brunson vs. Magic in NBA Cup semis
(47:49) Rookie of the Year candidates this season
(51:50) Blake Griffin life after basketball
(58:31) NBA Cup Final predictions

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

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It takes a lot of work to wrest the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year award away from a guy who claimed the career Grand Slam, but Scottie Scheffler put in a whole lot of work in 2025. With all respect to Rory McIlroy and his legacy-sealing Masters victory, Scheffler’s six wins, including two majors, made him an easy choice to win his fourth straight Jack Nicklaus Award as Player of the Year.

Aldrich Potgieter, one of five rookies to win a PGA Tour event this season, won the Arnold Palmer Award as the Tour’s Rookie of the Year.

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Just three months after McIlroy closed off his own career Grand Slam in April, Scheffler began the pursuit of his in earnest by winning both the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Scheffler won the PGA by five strokes over Bryson DeChambeau, Harris English and Davis Riley, and the Open by four strokes over English. Scheffler is the first golfer since John Henry Taylor in 1909 to win his first four majors by three strokes or more. Since the development of the world rankings in 1986, he and Tiger Woods are the only players to win the Open Championship while ranked World No. 1.

Scheffler won six times on Tour in 2025, even though he didn’t claim his first victory until May as he recovered from an injury suffered last Christmas. He won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the Memorial, the BMW and the Procore Championship, in addition to both majors, over a four-plus-month stretch in 2025.

“I definitely didn’t start off the way I intended to start off. I missed the first couple weeks of the season, but did a good job of bouncing back from that,” Scheffler said Monday. “Started to play some pretty good golf in May, had that really nice start at the Byron here in Dallas … then started playing some really nice golf after that.” That’s one way of understating it.

The statistical landmarks keep piling up for Scheffler. He won the Byron Nelson Award for the lowest scoring average on Tour (68.131) for the third consecutive year, and he ranked first in scoring average for all four rounds for the full season — the first player since Woods in 2000 to achieve that feat. He made every cut and finished inside the top 25 in all 20 of his starts. Scheffler already ranks third on the PGA Tour’s career money list, behind only McIlroy and Woods.

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“When you look at the last few years, I’ve been able to have a lot of 54-hole leads and then hold those leads as well,” Scheffler said. “I felt like early in my career I wasn’t bringing the proper intensity to the first few rounds of the tournament. It was almost like when the lights came on on the weekend I was better than I was earlier in the week when there almost was lower stakes.”

Potgieter claimed his first PGA Tour victory at the Rocket Classic at just 20 years old, the ninth youngest Tour winner since the 1983 season. He won a three-man playoff against Chris Kirk and Max Greyserman. He led the PGA Tour in driving distance at 325 yards for the entire season, and was the only rookie to qualify for the 2025 FedEx Cup playoffs. He still has not played in a PGA Championship, and has never made the cut in the Masters or the Open Championship.

Both awards were voted on by the Tour’s players, and Scheffler bested fellow nominees Tommy Fleetwood, Ben Griffin and McIlroy. Four other rookies were nominated alongside Potgieter: Michael Brennan, Steven Fisk, William Mouw and Karl Vilips.

The transfer portal does not open until January 2nd, but you would not have known that by looking at the news coming from the college football world on Monday. Athletes continue to announce their intentions to enter the transfer portal, and some top quarterbacks will be on the move in a couple of weeks. Florida’s DJ Lagway, Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola and Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby all announced they will be playing for a different school next season. Andy Staples, Ross Dellenger and Steven Godfrey discuss who the top available quarterback is and where some of these guys might land. They also discuss NIL’s impact on all of this. A common thought is that players are transferring for more money, but are some quarterbacks transferring because they are being forced out of their current NIL contracts?

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Then, the guys chat about a judge granting Jeremy Pruitt a preliminary injunction against the NCAA. This blocks the six-year show-cause order against Pruitt and moves him one step closer to returning to the sidelines. Jesse Minter also has a show-cause from his time at Michigan, and Pruitt’s ruling makes the crew wonder if his show-cause order could get overturned should Michigan look to hire him as their next head coach. In the latest news from the Michigan coaching search, Kalen DeBoer has now said multiple times that he is not leaving Alabama. Although part of the crew is not convinced, the guys discuss who else the Wolverines may look to.

Later, Godfrey finally makes his case to save the bowls. The bowl season is a time that used to be cherished by many, but the creation of the College Football Playoff, among other issues, has caused a decline in anticipation and excitement for bowl games. Steven Godfrey turns the bowl season on its head and makes his pitch for how the bowls could be revitalized.

Stay caught up on all things college football with College Football Enquirer.

(2:03) – Top QBs entering the transfer portal

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(11:36) – How NIL could be forcing people to transfer

(25:24) – Jeremy Pruitt wins big court ruling

(33:45) – Michigan’s coaching search

(42:56) – Steven Godfrey saves the bowls

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There has been a lot of hype around Japanese superstar slugger Munetaka Murakami, as he was posted this offseason. With his posting nearing expiration, many are wondering which MLB team might make a move for the first baseman, or if there is a chance that he might not sign at all and stay in Japan for next season.

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On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about the fascinating posting of Murakami and why teams like the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Seattle Mariners, among a few others, could be a suitable fit for his services. They then get into the flurry of transactions that have gone on over the past few days, including Jorge Polanco going to Queens, the Philadelphia Phillies picking up Adolis García and an update to the Scott Boras Scoreboard.

Later, Jake and Jordan take a look at a couple of rosters for the World Baseball Classic, including the superstar power on Team USA and why the Dominican Republic squad is loaded on offense. They then ask a few questions pertaining to each team that could help them figure out which team could come out on top in the 2026 edition of the tournament.

1:14 – The Opener: Murakami signing soon

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31:40 – Predictions for his landing spot

36:36 – Around the League

57:09 – Scott Boras Scoreboard update

1:02:02 – World Baseball Classic: Team USA roster

1:11:09 – A look at Team DR

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We have a fun episode of The Dunker Spot on deck!

First, Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones check in on the MVP and ROY races — the top two for each award will be heavily contested throughout the year. Then, the guys react to a thrilling game between the Rockets and Nuggets, and open a broader discussion about the top of the West.

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From there, they quickly salute the Knicks before diving into the Spurs’ upset victory over the historically-good Thunder. They examine Victor Wembanyama’s impact — and the ways the Thunder bothered him — as well as potential growth areas for the Thunder to hone in on. Then, it’s a quick peek into Tuesday night’s Final between the Spurs and Knicks.

(1:59) — MVP discussion

(30:51) — Rookie of the Year discussion

(48:08) — HOU/DEN thoughts + Who’s the 2nd best team in the West?

(01:01:27) — NBA Cup discussion (NYK salute, OKC-SA, NYK-SA thoughts)

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

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Should we believe in the Pittsburgh Steelers after their MNF win? Yahoo Sports’ Andrew Siciliano, Jori Epstein and Frank Schwab discuss Steelers’ playoff chances and Tua Tagovailoa’s future with the Miami Dolphins. Also, did the New England Patriots need to lose to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday to strengthen their playoff run? Plus, Andrew sits down with Legion of Boom members Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor to discuss the 2025 NFL season along with their thoughts on the state of the Seattle Seahawks. Closing things out, the crew breaks down Frank’s latest playoff projections before talking about their “One More Thing”.

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(7:12) – Steelers MNF win over Dolphins

(18:30) – Did the Patriots need to lose to the Bills?

(24:14) – Richard Sherman & Kam Chancellor join the show!

(37:13) – How will the Packers move on without Micah Parsons?

(43:32) – Playoff Projections

(56:06) – One More Thing

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

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Kevin O’Connor breaks down the Knicks’ dominant NBA Cup final win against the Spurs and what it means for the team’s NBA title chances. He reacts to Victor Wembanyama’s tough night and the standout performances from Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Dylan Harper.

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Kelly Iko joins to talk Giannis Antetokounmpo’s possible trade destinations, and shares why both the Rockets and Spurs are unlikely to mortgage their future for the superstar. Then, Raheem Palmer dishes on the Clippers’ openness to dealing James Harden & Kawhi Leonard and why the Rockets may be the Thunder’s top challenger for the NBA title.

(0:32) Knicks win 2025 NBA Cup

(14:49) What’s next for Ja Morant & the Grizzlies?

(21:53) Giannis trade destinations

(28:30) Will Nuggets make a trade?

(37:36) Clippers open to trading James Harden & Kawhi Leonard

(43:20) Are Lakers & Warriors too old to contend?

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(51:18) Which teams can challenge OKC?

(56:23) Should there be an NBA team in Vegas?

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

The Washington Nationals’ youth movement is rolling full steam ahead. They’re hiring 31-year-old Philadelphia Phillies assistant general manager Ani Kilambi as the team’s new general manager, as reported Wednesday by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The Phillies hired Kilambi from the Tampa Bay Rays’ highly respected front office when he was just 27 years old. Kilambi went on to oversee the Phillies’ research and development department.

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Now he’ll team up with 35-year-old Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni to help 33-year-old manager Blake Butera turn around an organization that won the World Series in 2019 but hasn’t made the playoffs — or won more than 71 games — in a season since.

Washington finished last in the NL East this past season with a lowly record of 66-96. In July, the Nationals moved on from general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez.

One silver lining this season was the continued emergence of outfielder James Wood, who made his first All-Star team in his second season at just 22 years old. He raked 31 home runs and 94 RBI. He could be a pillar in the Nationals’ lineup for years to come, and so could shortstop CJ Abrams, another return from the Juan Soto trade in 2022. Abrams, 25, was an All-Star in 2024 and bumped his OPS up to .748 in 2025.

Wood and Abrams are at the forefront of a collection of young talent Washington has at its disposal. That pool features also 2025 No. 1 overall pick Eli Willits, though he’s only 18, so it could be a few years before he’s called up to the majors.

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The point is the Nats have plenty of youngsters. That’s relatively true about their front office and managerial leadership, too. In that way, Kilambi will fit right in.

He started with the Rays in 2015, even before he graduated from UC Berkeley with a double major in statistics and operations research and management science, and he spent seven seasons in Tampa.

The Rays have developed a reputation as a leader in the analytics space over the years. They’re known for getting the most of out of the least on a tight budget. Kilambi, according to MLB.com, received credit from team executives for helping construct a powerful bullpen made up of a hodgepodge of relievers who played a significant part in the Rays’ 2020 AL pennant run.

Kilambi was then tasked with applying his skill set to a Phillies organization that, despite a much higher payroll, was lagging in the analytics department. It had made up some ground by the time Kilambi arrived, but his job was to grow the Phillies’ R&D department even more, as well as improve its data use.

His latest challenge will be his biggest yet.