Category: Sport

The NFL offseason has begun, and Yahoo Sports is previewing the coming months for all 32 teams, from free agency through the draft and more.

AFC East: Bills | Dolphins | Patriots | Jets
AFC North: Ravens | Bengals | Browns | Steelers
AFC South: Texans | Colts | Jaguars | Titans
AFC West: Broncos | Chiefs | Raiders | Chargers
NFC East: Cowboys | Giants | Eagles | Commanders
NFC North: Bears | Lions | Packers | Vikings
NFC South: Falcons | Panthers | Saints | Buccaneers
NFC West: Cardinals | Rams | 49ers | Seahawks

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Carolina Panthers

2025 season record: 8-9 (o 6.5 wins), first in NFC South, lost to Rams in NFC wild card,  25th in DVOA

Overview

The Panthers are on the right track. An 8-9 record might not feel like a win, but some offensive competence and competitive games would have been the goal heading into the season, and that’s what Carolina got. There are more building blocks in place than there were last season, and this is still one of the youngest teams in the league by snap-weighted age.

There might not be a clear answer about the long-term potential of Bryce Young, who finished the regular season 28th in EPA per play, but there have been enough high marks that the team could feel comfortable getting one more season to figure it out. Tetairoa McMillan is already a rising star on offense and ranked in the top 25 of wide receivers in yards per route run, a big reason why he was voted Offensive Rookie of the Year.

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[Get more Panthers news: Carolina team feed]

Carolina’s trip here was not a straight line — the regular season featured wins against the Packers and Rams, but losses to the Cardinals and Saints — but the Panthers sit at a much better spot than they did coming off last year’s 5-12 record and two years removed from a 2-15 finish, especially after pushing the Rams to the limit in the wild-card round.

Cap/cuts outlook

The Panthers have about $9.5 million in effective salary cap space, which was 19th in the league the day after the Super Bowl. Moving on from A’Shawn Robinson would give the Panthers the biggest 2026 cap relief at $8.5 million, though Robinson was third on the team in pressures. The team is more likely to move on from smaller hits like Patrick Jones II ($4.75 million), Tommy Tremble ($4.5 million) and Bobby Brown III ($4.4 million). Carolina could also free up nearly $35 million in cap space by restructuring the deals of Robert Hunt, Derrick Brown and Jaycee Horn.

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Key pending free agents

OL Cade Mays
OL Austin Corbett
RB Rico Dowdle
S Nick Scott

Corbett beat Mays out for the starting center role in the offseason, but an early-season injury put Mays back in the lineup for most of the season. Mays finished ninth among centers in blown block rate, per Sports Info Solutions. Corbett played all three interior positions, settling at right guard to end the year. Corbett has played only 22 games over the past three seasons. Dowdle signed a one-year deal in free agency and emerged as a productive back who often outshined Chuba Hubbard in the backfield. He was 12th among running backs in EPA per rush.

Positional needs

Linebacker
Edge
Slot corner

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The Panthers ranked 31st in pressure rate and 32nd in quarterback hits. Carolina took multiple swings at pass rushers in the draft and there were flashes from second-round pick Nic Scourton, but there was little impact on the edge elsewhere on the roster.

Carolina ranked 30th in DVOA against tight ends and 28th against passes to the short middle of the field. Those were two places where the lack of depth and coverage ability at linebacker was exposed. Christian Rozeboom ranked 86th among 96 linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap. The Panthers played the fourth-highest rate of dime defense, but didn’t necessarily have the defensive backs to play that way. While the defense had impressive play from outside corners, Carolina was picked apart in the slot. On slot targets, the Panthers ranked 31st in EPA per play allowed.

2026 NFL Draft picks

1st round, pick No. 19
2nd round, pick No. 51
3rd round, pick No. 83
4th round
5th round (MIN)
5th round
6th round
7th round

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Good draft fit

CJ Allen, LB, Georgia

Allen is the type of do-it-all defensive leader who could accelerate the Panthers’ build. He’s a great run defender, holds up well in coverage and is versatile, and that’s simply a hard player to find in today’s NFL.

What could move the fantasy needle in 2026?

Add to the offensive line

Bryce Young will be the starting QB on this team, and building an ecosystem around him to elevate his play while he hopefully improves as a pre- and post-snap processor is a must. All eyes should turn to the offensive line in this regard this offseason. Starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu ruptured his patellar tendon in the playoff loss to the Rams, which makes him a long shot to be ready early this coming season. Fortifying the offensive line will be key for emerging skill position players like Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker and Chuba Hubbard, with Rico Dowdle likely moving on. — Matt Harmon

Betting nugget

The Panthers won all eight of their games this season as an underdog, and went 8-0 against the spread in the regular season in the game following a loss.. — Ben Fawkes

The NFL offseason has begun, and Yahoo Sports is previewing the coming months for all 32 teams, from free agency through the draft and more.

AFC East: Bills | Dolphins | Patriots | Jets
AFC North: Ravens | Bengals | Browns | Steelers
AFC South: Texans | Colts | Jaguars | Titans
AFC West: Broncos | Chiefs | Raiders | Chargers
NFC East: Cowboys | Giants | Eagles | Commanders
NFC North: Bears | Lions | Packers | Vikings
NFC South: Falcons | Panthers | Saints | Buccaneers
NFC West: Cardinals | Rams | 49ers | Seahawks

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2025 season record: 9-8 (u 10.5 wins), fourth in NFC North, missed playoffs, third in DVOA

Overview

When Dan Campbell stood at the podium after the NFC championship game following the 2023 season and said he told his team there is no guarantee the Lions would be back, the 2025 season still wasn’t what anyone had in mind. A 9-8 record is disappointing given where the Lions had been, but this is still a team that finished third in DVOA — it was not a total disaster.

Detroit finished third in yards per play on offense, though there were times when the limits of Jared Goff as a quarterback were more exposed than in years past. A shaky offense forced Campbell to take over play-calling in the middle of the season and the Lions brought in Drew Petzing as new offensive coordinator to presumably take over play-calling duties. The defense had flashes — Aidan Hutchinson led the league in pressures — but there were too many injuries to make up for on that side of the ball, an unfortunate trend for Detroit.

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The Lions still had the eighth-best point differential in the league, better than NFC playoff teams such as the 49ers, Eagles, Packers, Bears and Panthers. It’s hardly a consolation prize, but this team is still on the right track.

Cap/cuts outlook

The Lions have around -$9 million in effective salary cap space entering the 2026 offseason, per Over The Cap, which is currently the sixth-least among teams. A restructure for Jared Goff is likely, which could open up as much as $40 million in cap space. However, that could depend on how much money the Lions want to push into the future for Goff as there is no guaranteed money on his contract beyond 2026.  A restructure for Amon-Ra St. Brown could open up $28 million. There are also extensions for more key players coming up.

[Get more Lions news: Detroit team feed]

Taylor Decker spoke about his contemplation of retirement. Should he retire, the Lions would gain $18 million in cap space — they would also need a left tackle.

Key pending free agents

LB Alex Anzalone
CB Amik Robertson
Edge Al-Quadin Muhammad
IDL DJ Reader
DL Levi Onwuzurike

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All of these players listed had at least a small part in the defense over the past few seasons. The most consistent was Anzalone, who played 91% of Detroit’s defensive snaps this season. Anzalone was a plus coverage linebacker — 21st in the position in yards per coverage snap — and formed a dynamic duo with Jack Campbell. Both linebackers made a positive play for the defense on over 60% of their tackles; two of three linebackers with at least 95 tackles to hit that mark.

Positional needs

Edge
Offensive Line
Safety

The Lions continue to need a consistent pass rush threat opposite Aidan Hutchinson. He led the league in pressures, but also had a league-high 42.6% of his team’s pressures. No other player was over 38%.

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Along the offensive line, the Lions must figure out the best combination on the interior. The retirement of Frank Ragnow threw the line into disarray. Detroit tried Tate Ratledge at center after he was drafted, but pivoted to Graham Glasgow there for the season. Glasgow and a guard duo that featured a rookie and a second-year guard in Christian Mahogany had some rocky moments. The Lions were 31st in pass block win rate and 20th in run block win rate.

Detroit entered the season with one of the best safety pairs in the league, but Kerby Joseph was lost for the season in Week 6 and Brian Branch tore his Achilles in Week 14. Joseph hurt his knee earlier in the season but played through it and was eventually put on injured reserve. He suffered a setback in his recovery, but the team is hopeful he’ll be available for 2026.

2026 NFL Draft picks

1st round, pick No. 17
2nd round, pick No. 50
4th round
5th round
5th round (projected compensatory)
6th round (CLE)
6th round (JAX)
7th round (CLE)

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Good draft fit

Vega Ione, OL, Penn State

Ione is a bruiser with good size and athleticism that could help retool the Lions’ offensive line, which needs to be a strength the way Dan Campbell wants his team to play.

What could move the fantasy needle in 2026?

Remake the offensive line

Much of the Lions’ step back this season will be blamed on the coaching brain drain, specifically the exit of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. That played a significant role but we might not be having this conversation at all if the offensive line even remotely resembled the unit we watched the previous few seasons in Detroit. As it stands now, Penei Sewell, who is one of the best right tackles in the NFL, is the only high-end starter locked in for 2026. Left tackle Taylor Decker will turn 33 in August and sounded like a man ready to consider retirement post-Week 18 for the same grueling health concerns of his former teammate Frank Ragnow. You can probably project some growth from Tate Ratledge at one of the guard spots going into Year 2; the other two spots are areas that held the Lions back in 2025. Detroit needs to hammer this position if it wants to get back to the offensive identity it has long held under Dan Campbell’s regime. — Matt Harmon

Betting nugget

The Lions (8-9 ATS) finished under .500 against the spread for the first time in the Dan Campbell era. — Ben Fawkes

Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schröder has been suspended three games by the NBA for something that reportedly happened with Luka Dončić behind closed doors.

The league announced the punishment out of the blue Saturday, alleging that Schröder had confronted and attempted to strike another player following the Kings’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 28. Per the league, Schröder sought out the unidentified player in a Crypto.com Arena hallway and initiated a confrontation.

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According to Prime Video’s Chris Haynes, that player was Dončić. Schröder had something to say after the news of his suspension broke, too.

The suspension will begin with the Kings’ game against the Houston Rockets on Sunday. It’s unclear if Schröder is appealing or has already appealed the decision. A three-game suspension would include a game against Dončić’s Lakers on Monday.

The Lakers won that game 125-101, breaking a three-game losing streak against a Kings team currently sitting in last place in the Western Conference at 8-30.

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While the NBA does not specify the other player involved, Dončić was the educated guess even before Haynes reported his identity. Schröder and Dončić were exchanging trash talk during the game and the Lakers star targeted what might have been a sore spot for Schröder.

Schröder has had two tenures with the Lakers. In the first, he was brought in to be the team’s starting point guard and eventually left in free agency after a disappointing postseason.

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It has been claimed that during the season, Schröder turned down a four-year, $84 million extension offer from the Lakers to test free agency. If that’s true, the bet on himself didn’t pay off, as he went on to sign only a one-year, $5.9 million deal with the Boston Celtics. Over the next four seasons, he made a total of approximately $34 million in salary from seven different teams, per Spotrac’s numbers.

Schröder has persistently denied any such offer was made, but the story has followed him ever since. And Dončić went right for it last month.

Apparently, Schröder had a problem with that.

The suspension takes away a player that ranked sixth on the Kings in points per game and second in assists while coming off the bench, though it’s hardly a long-term concern for a team crossing its fingers for a top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. If the suspension indeed begins Sunday, Schröder will miss games against the Rockets, Lakers and New York Knicks before being eligible to return against the Washington Wizards next Friday.

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Dončić, meanwhile, leads the NBA in scoring with 33.3 points per game along with 8.8 assists and 8.0 rebounds. It’s been rough sledding for the Lakers recently, though, with an 8-8 record since Dec. 1. The Lakers lost their last game to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

Here is the situation Chicago State found itself in at the end of regulation in its game against Stonehill on Saturday:

It was basically an unwinnable situation for Stonehill, which needed to somehow steal the ball and get a shot off in less than the blink of an eye. A win probability graphic could very well have read 100%.

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And yet …

The game ended as an 85-82 Stonehill win after an all-time blunder from the Chicago State side, which called a timeout on an inbounds play. Chicago State did not have any timeouts left, though, which meant an automatic technical foul and two free throws for Stonehill.

Hermann Koffi made both free throws, which sent the game to overtime.

Plenty of people still like to reference Chris Webber when this sort of blunder happens, but this goes well beyond calling a timeout while trapped and down by two. All Chicago State had to do was pass the ball into a defender who wasn’t in the process of shooting, and someone still wasn’t sure about the inbounds play.

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The error erased what would have been a cathartic win for Chicago State, which is now 2-14 and 0-4 in Northeast Conference play. Junior guard Doyel Cockrill III had made a 3-pointer with five seconds left to give the Cougars that two-point lead, after stealing the ball on a chaotic play in transition.

Chicago State was 354th in the Kenpom ratings entering Saturday, and a loss to Stonehill, which comes in at 346th, won’t help that effort. The Cougars’ two wins this season are against Loyola Chicago and St. Xavier, an NAIA program.

The Quad God is a national champion again. Next up: The Olympics.

Ilia Malinin captured his fourth consecutive national title at the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis on Saturday, continuing a run that will see him named to one of the three men’s skating spots on Team USA.

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Malinin dominated the men’s division, posting a free skate of 209.78 and a total score of 324.88. He left no doubt with his dominant free skate Saturday night, and will challenge for medals in Milan, Italy. Andrew Torgashev leaped up from fifth place after the short program on Thursday to finish second overall with a total score of 267.92.

Maxim Naumov, who skated with the vocal support and love of the St. Louis crowd, finished third overall with 249.16 points. Naumov lost both parents in the tragic plane crash that claimed so many in the skating community one year ago. He struggled slightly during his free skate routine, but nonetheless drew a standing ovation from the Enterprise Center crowd. And after Tomoki Hiwatashi, in second place after the short program, struggled in his free skate, Naumov was able to claim his first podium after three straight pewter-medal fourth-place finishes in the nationals.

Jason Brown, seeking his third Olympic berth, struggled in his free routine, finishing seventh overall (227.52 points), and will have an uphill fight to make the Olympic team.

In ice dance, Madison Chock and Evan Bates continued their absolute dominance of the discipline, claiming their seventh straight U.S. title. Their victory put them past Meryl Davis and Charlie White for the most total ice dance national wins in the history of the event. Skating to a version of “Paint It, Black,” they unveiled a graceful, flamenco-inspired routine that easily clinched a seventh straight title with a score of 228.87.

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Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik claimed the silver medal with a score of 213.65. Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko (206.95) finished in the bronze medal position, while Caroline Green and Michael Parsons (202.05) won the pewter medal.

U.S. Figure Skating will name the full Olympic roster on Sunday starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.

The Hershey Bears, the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, won a game 3-2 on Saturday, breaking a tie in the third period while short-handed. That’s not what fans were buzzing about from the game on social media.

Between periods at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a standard mites game became very un-standard when a bizarre brawl broke out between the two youth teams.

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Countless haymakers were thrown with tiny gloved fists. Multiple kids charged full-speed into the fray. At least one kid punched a teammate. The crowd, or at least the louder fans in the stands, was loving it. There are no officials in sight. Which is unfortunate, because at least one kid can be seen dangerously trying to kick an opponent with his skates.

The spectacle peaks at the 47-second mark when a goalie charges in and completely lays out an opponent who was grappling with his teammate.

What’s that? You want another angle?

Details are admittedly sparse here. We don’t know if any of those kids sustained an injury on the ice, or what even caused the brawl aside from youthful aggression. We’re just talking about something you don’t expect to see at a youth hockey game.

Jaylen Brown can expect a firmly worded letter from the NBA in his inbox over the next few days. He made very clear he is OK with that on Saturday.

In a battle between two teams near the top of their conference standings, Brown’s Boston Celtics lost 100-95 to the San Antonio Spurs. Boston finished the game with a season-low four free throws, while the Spurs received 20 attempts.

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Brown had a productive but inefficient game with 27 points on 11-of-28 shooting (and zero free-throw attempts), plus 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 turnovers. After the game, he blasted the officiating crew of Curtis Blair, Nick Buchert and Jason Goldenberg while speaking to reporters:

“I’ll accept the fine at this point. I thought it was some bulls*** tonight. I think they’re a good defensive team, but they ain’t that damn good. I hope somebody can just pull up the clips, because it’s the same s*** every time we play a good team. It’s, like, they refuse to make a call, then they call touch fouls on the other end, and that’s just extremely frustrating, bro.

“We play hard. We are outplaying our expectations, we compete hard on the defensive end and they reward the other team with touch fouls and we go down there and guys are allowed to get away with — somebody please pull it up. Every time we play a good team the inconsistency is crazy. I’ll take the f***ing fine. Curtis, all them dudes, was terrible tonight. I don’t care, they can fine me whatever they want.”

While we can’t break down every call and non-call Brown has in mind, the data indicates he might have a point. As a team, the Celtics had received 4.4 fewer free-throw attempts than their opponent per game entering Saturday, the lowest mark in the NBA, while the Spurs are the second-highest at 4.7 more than their opponent per game (the Los Angeles Lakers are first at 4.8 more).

What’s more, if we are to take “a good team” to mean a team that has won at least 60% of its games this season, that free-throw margin becomes an incredible 10.7 fewer per game when including the Spurs game. In a Nov. 1 loss to the Houston Rockets, Houston received 28 more free-throw attempts than Boston.

This all comes with a disclaimer: equal free-throw attempts does not mean good officiating. Different styles of play on offense and defense lead to different foul rates. An offense that focuses on driving the ball is going to receive more free throws than one that attempts more 3-pointers. The Celtics could fall in the latter category, as they have the second-most 3-point attempts per game in the league.

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Still, the team at the bottom of pile in what is essentially a ref decision is never going to be happy, and Brown insisted that the allowed physicality was hurting his team:

“I’m irate at how they officiated the game today. If we can’t get to the free throw line, and teams are allowed to be physical and bump us off our spots, it’s hard to win games like that. We shot four free throws tonight and lost the game by four.

“Not to say that’s the whole game, the whole story. We’ve got to be better in spots, I’ve got to be better in spots, but goddamn. I’m driving to the basket, I’m physical, I don’t flop, I don’t shy away from contact. I go up strong, I’m athletic, and nothing. I had zero free throws tonight. The inconsistency is f***ing crazy. Give me the fine.”

This isn’t the first time this season he’s complained about the officiating.

The loss knocks the Celtics’ record down to 24-14, placing them in a tie with the New York Knicks for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. However they are officiated, they’ve still been one of the NBA’s biggest surprises in a Jayson Tatum-less season.

In Tatum’s absence, Brown is averaging a career-high 29.5 points per game and will almost certainly be suiting up at the NBA All-Star Game next month if healthy.

NFL coaches have gone from never going on fourth downs unless it was a fairly obvious situation to going for it from nearly anywhere on the field.

Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson is a risk-taker, just like his former boss, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell. And he will have Bears fans questioning his aggressiveness after Saturday night.

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With the Bears trailing the Green Bay Packers 14-3 in the second quarter of their wild-card playoff game, the Bears had a fourth-and-5 at their own 32. For decades, that was an obvious punting situation. Even with the current trend of going for it often on fourth down, a fourth-and-5 already in the opponents’ field-goal range is rare.

Johnson went for it. The shotgun snap wasn’t great and then Caleb Williams’ pass was batted down at the line. The Packers took over at the Bears’ 32-yard line.

The Packers took advantage on their own fourth-down plays. The Packers went for it on fourth-and-1 after the Bears’ gamble and got to the 1-yard line, with Romeo Doubs recovering a fumble in the end zone when Christian Watson tried to jump over a defender for a touchdown. Because it came on fourth down, Doubs couldn’t advance the fumble and it came back to the 1-yard line. The Packers couldn’t punch it in on the first three plays but on fourth down Jordan Love hit Doubs for a touchdown and a 21-3 Packers lead.

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Despite the early setback, the Bears rallied for a thrilling 31-27 win to advance to the divisional round.

Johnson is a rookie head coach but will do unconventional things and is unapologetic about taking risks that don’t work out. In his first playoff game he wasn’t scared to go for it. He went for it five other times in the game and converted on just 2 of 6 tries.

Aggressive calls in fourth-down situations don’t look good when they fail. And the Bears put themselves in a hole when their fourth-down try didn’t work out.

The Chicago Bears’ incredible 31-27 comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers in Saturday night’s NFC wild-card game at Soldier Field was historic in several ways.

Here’s a deeper look by the numbers at the Bears’ win, which means they’ll host either the Eagles or Rams next weekend at Soldier Field.

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0

Number of wins in five games the Packers played this season in which Micah Parsons didn’t play or finish the game.

1

This was the first time all season the Bears had won a game without recording a takeaway on defense.

2

NFL teams all time, according to Greg Harvey of Opta Stats, to score at least 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime of a playoff game to overcome a 15-point or more deficit. The two teams: the Bears in Saturday’s 31-27 victory over the Packers; and the Patriots in their 28-3 Super Bowl LI comeback against the Falcons.

3

Bears’ lowest win percentage during victory over the Packers. From 6:51 in the second quarter to 2:59 in the fourth quarter, their win percentage never exceeded 25%. According to Next Gen Stats, Bears now two of the eight least likely comebacks of the season. Both are against the Packers, their NFC North rival.

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4

TD passes from Packers QB Jordan Love in Green Bay’s loss to the Bears. The four TDs tie for the most at Soldier Field in the playoffs by any QB in their career.

5

According to the AP’s Josh Dubow, Matt LaFleur is the fifth head coach to lose multiple playoff games he led by 7 or more points to start the fourth quarter. If it’s any consolation, two of the others are Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid (along with Jim Mora and Jim Fassel).

7

Number of fourth-quarter comebacks, including the playoffs, by Bears quarterback Caleb Williams this season. It is the most in a season by any QB under 25 in NFL history.

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15

Years since the Bears’ last playoff win, a 35-24 triumph over the Seahawks in the NFC divisional round on Jan. 16, 2011.

20

Slotting of the first-round pick the Cowboys will receive in the April NFL Draft from the Packers for their trade of Parsons. The Cowboys will also have their own No. 12 pick in this year’s draft.

33

It had been 33 years since a team scored 25 or more points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. The last team to do it? The Eagles in their wild-card win over the Saints in January 1993.

35

Years since a Bears QB had beaten beat the Packers multiple times in a season. Caleb Williams was the first to do it since Jim Harbaugh in 1991.

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74

Years it had been since the Bears scored 21 or more points in four straight games against the Packers, which they officially did again as of Saturday night’s comeback victory. Chicago last did so from 1949-52, a streak that reached seven straight games, according to NFL+.

Chicago is not exactly a city used to everything going right sports-wise.

The city has had a rough half-decade or so, with a Bears rebuild, the Cubs’ struggle to break through, no playoff berths for the Blackhawks since 2019-20 and the Bulls and White Sox still being owned by Jerry Reinsdorf.

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But Saturday offered a glimmer of hope, with three wins for the Windy City, including a comeback victory over a rival in the playoffs, and the city’s biggest MLB signing in a while.

The most obvious triumph was the Bears’ home win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFL wild-card round. After trailing 21-6 heading into the fourth quarter, Caleb Williams and Co. posted 25 fourth-quarter points to win 31-27 and stun a team that’s had their number to a historic degree over the past three or so decades.

The win consolidated the Bears’ triumph in the regular season, beating out the Packers for their first NFC North title since the 2018 season. The Bears went 11-6 under rookie head coach Ben Johnson and showed off a flair for dramatic wins all season, but reached another level in their first playoff game.

In the baseball world, the North Siders were the happy ones thanks to the Cubs’ five-year, $175 million deal with free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman. By total money, it’s the third-largest contract in franchise history and the largest ever by average annual value.

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The move gives the Cubs an impact talent on both sides of the ball at the hot corner. We won’t know how the contract will work out for a while, but it solidifies the team as the favorite in the NL Central at BetMGM, which is currently giving them +150 odds to unseat the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Bregman deal was reported early in the fourth quarter of the Packers-Bears game

The Bulls spent their Saturday blowing out a Dallas Mavericks team missing Anthony Davis, with seven different players scoring in double figures and Coby White leading the scoring with 22 points. Chicago had a double-digit lead for the entire fourth quarter.

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As for the Blackhawks, they notched their first win with Connor Bedard back. The phenom, who missed 12 games with a shoulder injury, posted two assists in a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators.

And the White Sox, well … they didn’t get worse. Their big offseason moves remain the two-year, $34 million deal they signed Japanese star Munetaka Murakami to in December and winning the 2026 MLB Draft lottery. Plus, they still have the pope on their side.

Granted, no Chicago team won a championship Saturday. The Bears are still three wins from the Lombardi Trophy, and neither the Bulls nor the Blackhawks are seen as contenders this season. The Cubs definitely have more talent now, but they have a long way to go to a World Series.

Still, it was a good day.