There are few must-win January games in college basketball, but Kentucky and LSU were both in a position Wednesday that would make a loss very uncomfortable. Which makes what Malachi Moreno did all the more dramatic.
With 1.6 seconds left and down 74-73 in Baton Rouge, Kentucky got the ball cross-court and into the hands of Moreno, who made a turnaround buzzer-beater to stun the Tigers on their home floor.
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Final score: Kentucky 75, LSU 74.
The loss was a gut punch for LSU, who led 38-22 at halftime and by nine points as late as the 6:13 mark. It was still in prime position to win when Kentucky’s Otega Oweh missed his second free throw with four seconds left, leaving LSU ahead by one, but then Pablo Tamba missed both free throws to leave the door open for Moreno to win it.
Oweh led the Wildcats with 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting, while Moreno had 10 points and 8 rebounds. Marquel Sutton and Max Mackinnon tied for the LSU lead with 16 points each.
Kentucky, who had trouble with a competitive non-conference slate, entered the game with a 10-6 record and 1-2 mark in SEC play. LSU was 12-4, but 0-3 in SEC play. Neither team had reason for confidence it would be part of the NCAA tournament, with LSU having even less room for error.
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And now the Tigers have lost four straight games, with ranked matchups against No. 19 Florida and No. 17 Arkansas on the horizon next week. That’s particularly bad news for head coach Matt McMahon, who received a not-so-subtle message from athletic director Verge Ausberry earlier Wednesday via Tiger Rag:
“I’m going to support him. Matt McMahon is our coach,” Ausberry said. “If he doesn’t make it [the NCAA Tournament] … we’ll have to reevaluate.”
Kentucky, meanwhile, moves to a better location on the bubble, but still needs more wins before it can start planning for March Madness. Next up: a battle with No. 24 Tennessee.
Ole Miss somehow fended off a double overtime Wednesday night and escaped Athens with a two-point upset win. It was all thanks to a wild tip-in save from Patton Pinkins.
Pinkins lifted the Rebels to a ridiculous 97-95 overtime road win over No. 21 Georgia after he found himself open in the lane at the exact right time.
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With the game tied at the end of the extra period at the Stegeman Coliseum, AJ Storr took an off-balanced shot from near the free-throw line that was off the mark. With very little time left on the clock, it looked like the game was destined for a second overtime, especially considering the miss bounced off the rim into the middle of a scrum in the lane and was inadvertently tipped back off the backboard.
Somehow, the ball landed directly into Pinkins’ hands. He quickly got the ball back up and in just before the buzzer sounded to secure the two-point win. Naturally, he and the Ole Miss bench lost it.
The game had 16 ties, one of which came when Storr hit a layup near the end of regulation to eventually force overtime. Ole Miss opened the game on a 16-7 run, and then kept pace with the Bulldogs the rest of the way before sneaking out with the upset win.
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Jeremiah Wilkinson led Georgia with 32 points on six 3-pointers in the loss. Kanon Catchings finished with 17 points and eight assists, and Marcus Millender added 14 points off the bench. The Bulldogs have lost two of their last three games and sit at 14-3 on the season after climbing their way into the national rankings. They’ll host No. 17 Arkansas on Saturday, which will be a perfect opportunity to break the slump they’ve suddenly found themselves in.
Pinkins finished the night with 18 points and shot 7-of-9 from the field. Storr led the Rebels with 27 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Ole Miss has won two straight, is 10-7 on the season and 2-2 in the SEC. The Rebels will need a significant rally in the second half of the season to ensure they make the NCAA tournament for a second straight season, something the program hasn’t done since the early 2000s.
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Ole Miss will take on Mississippi State next on Saturday night.
Where did Vanderbilt go wrong? The Commodores got blown off the glass, with Texas holding a 42-24 rebounding advantage getting second chances on 11 of its 25 misses. Combine that with a cold shooting night — 22 of 60 (36.7%) from the field, 9 of 25 (36%) from 3-point range — and Vanderbilt just couldn’t keep up.
It was a close game early, but a quick 9-0 run at the end of the first half gave the Longhorns the advantage and then boat-raced the Commodores over the course of the second half.
Texas center Matas Vokietaitis led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Dailyn Swain had a good night with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
It’s a second straight big win for Texas, which beat No. 18 Alabama on Saturday to recover from an 0-2 start in SEC play. It hasn’t been the smoothest year, with a season-opening loss to Duke and other non-conference losses to Arizona State, Virginia and UConn, but Wednesday was another big step forward for the team, especially with a rival matchup against Texas A&M on Saturday.
⚾️ Suárez to Boston: The Red Sox have signed LHP Ranger Suárez to a five-year, $130 million contract after the southpaw compiled a 3.38 ERA across eight years with the Phillies. With Suárez off the board, just four of our Top 10 free agents remain unsigned.
🏈 Moore spurns draft: Oregon QB Dante Moore will return to Eugene for his junior season rather than declare for the NFL Draft, where he was considered a potential top-two pick. He’ll be backed up by former Nebraska starter Dylan Raiola, who committed to the Ducks on Monday.
🏀 Hoops portal change: The NCAA has shortened the basketball transfer portal to just 15 days following the men’s and women’s respective national championship games, meaning it will no longer be open during March Madness.
🏀 Are refs behind the NBA’s sudden scoring decline?
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)
Free throws have suddenly plummeted across the NBA this month, which has consequently suppressed scoring totals and led to a relentless cascade of bets cashing the under on point totals. Are referees behind this sudden scoring decline?
Team trips to the charity stripe have fallen from 26.1 free throws per 100 possessions in October to 24.6 in November to 23.1 in December to finally 21.7 in January, representing a nearly 20% decline from October to January in free-throw rate. The end result is games are seeing about eight points on average being wiped away in the month of January.
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In the long run, sportsbooks are quite efficient in predicting point totals and typically see over/under bets cash closely around 50% on either side, just as it had in October, November and December this season. But in the month of January, unders have cashed a remarkable 64.7% of the time, with normally sharp bookmakers wildly underestimating the mark on a nightly basis.
(Yahoo Sports)
The 2024 parallel: This wouldn’t be the first time the NBA saw a midseason change in how tightly the games were being called, Tom writes:
In early March 2024, I reported that teams were seeing a precipitous drop in scoring, anchored mostly by a sudden decline in free throws granted by officials. Were officials told to allow more physicality? There were weeks of denials, with the league office discrediting the notion that they secretly decided to let the players play more.
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In April, the league changed its tune. After the board of governors meeting, commissioner Adam Silver announced that they had made “a bit of an adjustment” in how the game was being officiated in order to bring more balance. “I think there was a sense earlier in the season that there was too much of an advantage for the offensive players,” Silver said.
Translation: The league pulled the strings to give certain advantages back to the defense. Which, by the way, I’m not arguing is a bad decision. The league kept it a secret and didn’t tell anyone outside of the referees. Not the teams. Not the media. And sportsbooks were, just as they are now, trying to list accurate over/unders without complete information.
Did the league office make another adjustment on the fly? According to several head coaches and executives, a league memo hasn’t been sent out to alert the stakeholders the game was being officiated any differently. But many insiders have expressed skepticism that there is an explanation beyond an officiating alteration like the one seen in 2024.
When the Australian Open begins on Sunday in Melbourne, the 100th Grand Slam of the 21st century* will officially be underway. The first 99, as you may have heard, were dominated by just a handful of men.
By the numbers: The Big Three of Novak Djokovic (24), Rafael Nadal (22) and Roger Federer (20) have won 66 of the 99 men’s major titles this century, and the Big Two of Carlos Alcaraz (6) and Jannik Sinner (4) have added 10 more.
Yes, five players are responsible for 77% of this century’s Grand Slams, which is hard to even comprehend. Andy Murray (3), Stan Wawrinka (3), Andre Agassi (2) and Lleyton Hewitt (2) are the only other men who’ve won multiple titles, while 13 have won exactly one each.
How’s that compare to the women’s side of things? Serena Williams (22) has claimed nearly a quarter of the titles but no other player has won more than seven (Justine Henin), and another nine women have won between three and six.
So, who’s going to win No. 100? Odds are very high it will be either Alcaraz or Sinner, who’ve combined to win every Slam in the past two years, but can anyone dethrone them? Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz have been knocking on the door for a while; world No. 3 Alexander Zverev reached the final in Melbourne a year ago; and you can never count out Djokovic, who may be 38 (and not in perfect health) but reached every major semifinal last year.
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*2000 or 2001? “This century” is usually referred to as starting in 2000, but technically that year belongs to the 20th century. The 21st century began on Jan. 1, 2001.
💯 Big numbers
Indiana coach Bob Knight (L) and players Scott May and Quinn Buckner hold the national championship trophy. (AP Photo)
🏆 50 years
In 1976, Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers completed the most recent undefeated season in Division I men’s basketball. Exactly 50 years later, Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers have a chance to complete the most recent undefeated season in Division I football.
Chasing perfection: Since 1976, five Division I men’s basketball teams have gone through the regular season undefeated. Ironically, the next to do so was Indiana State in 1979, led by Larry Bird, who had transferred from Indiana. The Sycamores, though, lost in the ’79 final to Magic Johnson and Michigan State. Most recently, in 2021, Gonzaga was 31–0 heading into the title game before losing decisively to Baylor. (via Sports Illustrated)
How it works: The first step in the ticket-buying process involves registering on the LA28 website. Fans who register will then be placed into a ticket draw. If you are selected as part of that draw, you earn a time slot during which you’ll be able to purchase tickets.
(Yahoo Sports)
🇺🇸 62 of 100
Americans make up 62 of the top 100 highest-paid athletes in 2025, according to Sportico’s annual list. But the top 15 includes athletes from 12 different countries, and a total of 28 countries are represented in the top 100.
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By sport/league: The NBA had the most athletes in the top 100 (40), followed by the NFL (22), soccer (13), MLB (9), golf (6), boxing (4), racing (4) and tennis (2).
🏀 3 unbeatens
And then there were three. Texas handed Vanderbilt its first loss of the season on Wednesday, leaving No. 1 Arizona, No. 8 Nebraska and unranked Miami (OH) as the only remaining undefeated teams in men’s Division I hoops.
Dropping like flies: There were six undefeated teams left entering last weekend before Michigan lost to Wisconsin, Iowa State got steamrolled by Kansas and Vandy took an “L” in Austin.
🏈 Another spin of the NFL coaching carousel
(Giphy)
There will be at least nine new NFL head coaches next season — with the Browns, Cardinals, Dolphins, Falcons, Giants, Raiders, Ravens, Steelers and Titans all looking to fill vacancies. That’s one shy of the record 10 new head coaches we saw in 2022.
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Here’s the wild part: Of those 10 hires from 2022, eight have already been fired.
Broncos: Nathaniel Hackett ❌
Buccaneers: Todd Bowles (still standing)
Dolphins: Mike McDaniel ❌
Jaguars: Doug Pederson ❌
Raiders: Josh McDaniels ❌
Vikings: Kevin O’Connell (still standing)
Bottom line: The NFL coaching carousel has spun before. It’s spinning now. And I can assure you, the NFL coaching carousel will spin again.
📺 Watchlist: Thursday, Jan. 15
The Magic pose in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
🇩🇪 NBA in Berlin
The Grizzlies and Magic face off today in the NBA’s first-ever regular-season game in Germany(2pm ET, Prime). The two teams will remain in Europe through Sunday, when they’ll play the first game in London since 2019.
More on Prime: There’s also a star-studded doubleheader in the states this evening, with Kevin Durant’s Rockets hosting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder (7:30pm) and Steph Curry’s Warriors hosting Jalen Brunson’s Knicks (10pm).
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⛳️ Sony Open
The PGA Tour’s 2026 season begins today in Hawaii (12pm, ESPN+; 7pm, Golf), where 120 golfers will compete for a $9.1 million purse at Honolulu’s Waialae Country Club.
Headliners: No Scottie or Rory just yet, but the field does feature four of the world’s top 10 players in No. 5 Russell Henley, No. 6 J.J. Spaun, No. 7 Robert MacIntyre and No. 8 Ben Griffin, as well as Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley and more.
🏀 No. 4 Texas at No. 2 South Carolina
This top-five matchup between SEC heavyweights is quickly becoming one of the nation’s best women’s college basketball rivalries. The Longhorns (18-1), coming off their first loss this season, were responsible for the Gamecocks’ (17-1) only loss so far.
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Best of the rest: No. 9 Louisville at No. 23 Notre Dame (6pm, ACC); No. 25 Illinois at No. 8 Michigan (7pm, Peacock); No. 24 Nebraska at No. 15 Michigan State (7pm, BTN)
More to watch:
🏒 NHL: Flyers at Penguins (7pm, ESPN); Maple Leafs at Golden Knights (9:30pm, ESPN)… Philly and Pittsburgh have split the first two games in this season’s Battle of Pennsylvania.
🏒 NCAA Men’s Hockey: No. 4 Michigan State at No. 2 Wisconsin (9pm, BTN)… The Big Ten has four of the nation’s top eight teams, with No. 1 Michigan and No. 8 Penn State joining the Spartans and Badgers.
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The beauty of sports is that any game — regardless of when it’s played and who’s playing in it — has the potential to instantly become a classic. The world of college basketball provided those in ample supply Wednesday night, as four games ended thanks to buzzer beaters.
On the men’s side, Kentucky, Ole Miss and SMU all picked up dramatic wins on last-second shots. For the women, TCU needed help against unranked WVU, and Marta Suarez delivered.
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And the best thing about all those shots: none of them looked the same. All four teams that won on buzzer beaters picked them up in different ways.
Here’s a look at how each of those four teams picked up the last-second wins on Wednesday.
Kentucky wins as Malachi Moreno recreates legendary shot
In order to win on Wednesday, Kentucky had to channel the ghost of one of its most-hated rivals. With Kentucky trailing by a point and 1.6 seconds to go in regulation, the team needed a miracle to pick up the victory.
With the ball all the way on the other side of the court, the Wildcats needed to complete a near-full-court pass before even getting a shot off. But somehow, everything came together.
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Kentucky freshman center Malachi Moreno came up with the long-range pass, turned around and hit a jumper as time expired to give his team the win.
The entire sequence was eerily reminiscent of Christian Laettner’s shot that propelled Duke to the Final Four in 1992. That shot came against — you guessed it — Kentucky.
Ole Miss upsets No. 21 Georgia with tip-in buzzer-beater
With 6.5 seconds remaining in a tie game in overtime, Ole Miss was looking to create some magic. Senior AJ Storr had the ball, and was hoping to hit a last-second shot to lift his team. But his accuracy was off the mark. The ball bounced off the front of the rim, was aggressively tipped back off the backboard and somehow found its way into the arms of freshman Patton Pinkins with less than a second to go.
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Pinkins quickly threw the ball back up just before time expired … and hit the shot that sent the entire Ole Miss bench into a flurry.
With the win, Ole Miss dispatched No. 21 Georgia. The game, which was evenly matched throughout, featured 16 ties.
SMU needs half-court prayer to sink Virginia Tech
With SMU down by two points and 2.6 seconds left on the clock, things looked dire. But the Mustangs had a plan: get the ball in Boopie Miller’s hands and hope for the best.
Miller didn’t have enough time to fully advance the ball up the court, but that didn’t matter. His half-court desperation heave connected, sending the entire stadium into a frenzy.
TCU relies on Marta Suarez for game-winning three
With 2.8 seconds to go, No. 10 TCU found itself in an unexpected spot, down by two points against an unranked team. Despite the fact that she hadn’t hit a 3-pointer all night, the team put its faith in Marta Suarez to come up clutch.
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She delivered. After receiving the ball, Suarez gave a quick jab step and then fired up the game-winning 3 to give her team the victory.
While Suarez had not connected on a 3 all game, it was only a matter of time. The sharpshooter leads TCU in 3-pointers attempted on the season. She showed why that was the case Wednesday night.
The 2025 fantasy football season has come and gone, but the offseason is just beginning. Fantasy analyst Joel Smyth will go over the potential WR moves in free agency that will drastically shift the fantasy outlook for 2026. Which wide receivers could land in new and improved spots, and which teams are primed to bring in a new player?
Early look at 2026 free agency
Most Likely Teams to Sign a Free-Agent WR
1. New England Patriots
Drake Maye took the NFL by storm in his sophomore season with not much help in the receiver room. Stefon Diggs was the top option, but he only ran 65% of routes coming off an ACL tear at age-32. Based on a per-route basis, Diggs was ninth in fantasy points, and he was third in receiving touchdowns on the team. If a true No. 1 lands in New England, watch out.
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2. Buffalo Bills
Buffalo has been looking for a top wide receiver for a while and hasn’t had any luck since parting ways with Diggs. For example, Diggs was a top-10 fantasy WR in all four seasons in Buffalo, including being top-five twice. The Bills aren’t a pass-heavy team in the slightest, but any offense that averages close to 30 points per game and has Josh Allen provides immense value.
3. Washington Commanders
It was a rough year for the Commanders offense, but not many landing spots come with good quarterback play. In 2024, Jayden Daniels provided the 11th-most fantasy points to his WRs. A new offensive coordinator is entering as well, but the ceiling will be high if Deebo Samuel Sr. does not return.
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4. New Orleans Saints
In my opinion, a surprising top-five option is in New Orleans. The Saints averaged 55.4 receiving fantasy PPG with Tyler Shough starting, which would have ranked eighth in the NFL.
5. Baltimore Ravens
Although Lamar Jackson provides elite efficiency, the passing attack usually only results in one top-24 WR. However, it can be a great WR2 landing spot alongside Zay Flowers. A new offensive coordinator could provide a higher ceiling if fewer than two TE sets are deployed.
Others teams to watch
WRs Who Are Best Where They Are
Mike Evans, Bucs
At 33 years old, it would be a huge risk for Mike Evans to leave Tampa Bay. Although the production wasn’t his usual this season as he dealt with injuries and Baker Mayfield’s struggles, the volume was top-level, even higher than his usual. On a per route basis, he had the fourth-best volume among WRs, a feat that would be difficult to achieve elsewhere.
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George Pickens, Cowboys
This one is a no-brainer. After years of being stuck in a poor Pittsburgh offense, Pickens finished the season as the fantasy WR4 after being traded to the Cowboys before the 2025 season. When CeeDee Lamb was healthy, Pickens still excelled as the overall WR7.
Deebo Samuel Sr., Commanders
I still believe in Daniels bouncing back in 2026. Samuel fits well with Daniels excelling versus zone coverage. Hopefully, without OC Kliff Kingsbury, the screen game stays high as well. In games with Daniels, Samuel averaged over 3.0 points per game more than without him in a bounce-back season.
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Others Who Would Benefit From Staying Put
Wan’Dale Robinson, Giants
They aren’t dominant WR1s, but these strong role players have found their niche where they are. The quarterback fits for each would be riskier to leave than if they decide to stay.
WRs Who Are Better Off Elsewhere
Romeo Doubs
The Packers have WR2s galore, and they aren’t going away anytime soon. Christian Watson is healthy, Matthew Golden will continue to have his role grow and Doubs’ likelihood of being a weekly fantasy starter isn’t very high. Landing in an offense that scores as consistently as Green Bay while having steadier volume could give Doubs a true shot at being a good flex play.
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Rashid Shaheed
The short experiment in Seattle has not panned out as expected (so far). After Shaheed was traded from the Saints to the Seahawks, he averaged only 20 receiving yards per game. Barring a playoff breakout, Shaheed would be better off elsewhere in an offense that isn’t No. 1 in run calls while having the NFL’s leading receiver on the other side. Last season, the deep-threat WR led the NFL in air yards per game and was top-25 in yards per route run.
Christian Kirk
It feels like forever ago, but Christian Kirk finished as a fantasy WR1 in PPR leagues back in 2022 with the Jaguars. At 29 years old, the veteran WR still has some juice, as seen on Wildcard Weekend, when he had eight catches for 144 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers. The Texans’ WR room is full, and volume is spread thin. If Kirk can land in a spot similar to Wan’Dale Robinson, Jakobi Meyers or Diggs, he can produce similar production out of the slot with a bump in volume.
The culmination of the college football season is here! The College Football Playoff National Championship. Top-seeded Indiana will take on tenth-seeded Miami at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Monday. Will playing a home game give the Hurricanes a boost? Andy Staples, Ross Dellenger and Steven Godfrey look at the matchup. They discuss what Miami needs to do to pull the upset. Plus, they look at the changing landscape of college football and how a team that was 3-9 in 2023 is now playing for a national championship.
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Then, they dive deeper into Indiana’s turnaround by looking at what Indiana is doing in the NIL space. More specifically, who is helping out with Indiana’s NIL. Mark Cuban became the talk of college football after news broke that the Indiana alum is now helping fund the Hoosiers’ NIL efforts. Andy, Ross and Godfrey discuss why people are making such a big deal about this and whether or not teams need to have a significant benefactor, or benefactors, to be relevant in the NIL landscape. Plus, they also look at all of the teams in college football and guess who has the best chance to have a program turnaround similar to Indiana. The guys also discuss a national championship first. This is the first national championship that will feature two teams sponsored by Adidas. They chat about what this means and the difference between Nike and Adidas’ efforts in college athletics.
Later, the CFP conversation continues, but this time it’s a look at the future. The guys talk about the latest news of an expanded College Football Playoff. While many conferences support a 16-team model, the Big Ten is holding strong with their 24-team model concept. Will they be open to a 16-team playoff? What kind of changes are coming down the line?
Get ready for the National Championship with College Football Enquirer.
CFP National Championship trophy Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images
(Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
0:00:00 – National Championship preview
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25:16 – Mark Cuban funding Indiana’s NIL
37:36 – Who could be the next Indiana?
46:41 – Nike vs. Adidas in college athletics
51:23 – College Football Playoff’s potential expansion
We’re three weeks from the Feb. 5 NBA Trade Deadline, and the smoke is getting thicker around some major names. Let’s cut through the noise and focus on what actually matters for your fantasy basketball roster.
Ja Morant: They Don’t Want You to Ball
Memphis is entertaining offers for its two-time All-Star, and ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that “Miami, Sacramento and multiple other teams have a level of interest” in Morant, with the Grizzlies seeking young players and draft picks.
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The numbers this season aren’t good for Ja’s standards: 19.0 PPG on 40.1% shooting — both career lows — while connecting on just 20.8% from 3. He’s played only 18 games this year due to injuries and that one-game suspension. Add in the off-the-court stuff and his recent argument with teammate Vince Williams Jr. ahead of Thursday’s Berlin game … yeah, the Ja era is a wrap.
There’s too much friction between Ja and the front office. Now, it’s bleeding into their locker room. A pivot from Morant is the right move. And if future picks and young players are the goal, ship Jaren Jackson Jr. out, too. JJJ’s agent, Rich Paul, is already lobbying for it in the media (smh). Either way, this team is done with Morant — a trade is coming.
Fantasy take: If you have Ja, you wait this out. Or trade him — much like real-life, you’d be selling low. Of the rumored teams, I like Miami most if it can move Tyler Herro. A team no one is mentioning, but it works in Brooklyn, too. The real winner, however, would be Cam Spencer (25% rostered). He’s become a huge asset for assists and stat-stuffing among guards.
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Jonathan Kuminga: DNPs with no guarantees
Kuminga becomes trade-eligible Jan. 15 and the situation could move fast. He’s been collecting DNPs throughout the season, averaging just 11.8 PPG on 43.1% shooting in 24.8 minutes after starting the year at 17.2 PPG through nine games. Steve Kerr’s made him essentially unplayable, and Jake Fischer reports that “there’s not a very robust market.” I’ve seen the Lakers, Kings and Bulls connected to JK interest.
Whoever Golden State decides to deal with, per Fischer, it wants “a legitimate rotational piece (or two)” in return (who doesn’t?). It also won’t take on long-term money with Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green’s deals expiring in 2027. The Warriors apparently want Michael Porter Jr. (more on him in a second), but that would likely take another team to pull off. It’s hard to see the Dubs doing anything after devaluing their former lottery pick to this degree — truly nasty work.
Fantasy take: Nothing to see here. Kuminga is only 23. However, he’s not a good fantasy player in 9-cat or High Score formats. Deep standard points leagues, I could get behind him, depending on the landing spot. Brooklyn would be ideal with no MPJ. I could also see Chicago, too, but it has more talent to take touches away from JK, which is, like, the whole point. He wants a star role and has yet to show enough consistency and opportunity to showcase that “upside.” L.A. is not it either.
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Michael Porter Jr.: Brooklyn’s finest trade chip
MPJ is having a career year in Brooklyn — 25.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.3 AST on 49/40/84 splits. John Hollinger of The Athletic called Porter “a lock” to be traded. Then there’s Marc Stein, who’s hearing Brooklyn might not want to move him.
Brooklyn owes Houston an unprotected 2027 pick swap, so tanking next year doesn’t help. Porter’s 27 and having his best season by a long shot; All-Star worthy. But he carries some injury history (bad back) and is surely going to want a pay increase after becoming a star in BK. He’s highly coveted right now and the Nets should consider selling high. Whether it’s to a contender or middling team looking for a boost, take the best offer of picks and young assets. If it makes it happen, let’s hope it doesn’t draft any more PGs.
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Fantasy take: Porter’s a top-35 asset across formats. If he gets moved, his efficiency might dip with fewer touches. If he stays, he keeps eating. Either way, he’s a hold.
Anthony Davis: Latest injury puts fantasy managers in a bind
Rich Paul wants Dallas to trade Anthony Davis despite AD’s hand injury, which is expected to sideline him for at least six weeks. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports it’s “very clear” that this is Paul’s priority. The Mavericks aren’t budging. “Rich Paul is not going to bully us,” a Dallas source told MacMahon.
Davis is averaging 20.4 PPG and 11.1 RPG when healthy, but he’s played just 20 games. He’s owed $54.1M this year. He’s racked up more injuries than 20-point games since joining the Mavs. To think an extension is on the way is pretty wild considering his availability issues.
Fantasy take: Davis opted against surgery and will be out at least six weeks. Fantasy managers holding AD should want him to be traded so that there’s more onus on the team that acquired him to get an early return on their investment. A tanking Dallas team has no incentive to rush him back. If you have him, hold through the deadline and pray for a trade. Otherwise, he’ll become cut bait like Zach Edey.
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Zach LaVine: Milwaukee’s Desperation Play
Milwaukee has “done recent due diligence” on Sacramento’s Zach LaVine, per Sam Amick of The Athletic, with Marc Stein adding LaVine’s camp might decline his $49M option to facilitate a deal. Chris Haynes reports the Bucks are in “desperate pursuit” of adding talent.
The money’s ugly: LaVine’s making $47.5M. Milwaukee would need to deal Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis and potentially add a third team. The Bucks are over the second apron and don’t control their first pick until 2031. They also aren’t good on defense, allowing 116 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 20th in the NBA.
LaVine’s averaging 20.0 PPG on solid splits, but at 30, he’s not moving anyone’s needle, especially on defense.
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Fantasy take: He needs out of Sac Town in the worst way. It’s not working, so as long as the Kings can figure out how to move two of LaVine, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis, the better it’ll be for everyone. Bucks would be a strong landing spot for LaVine, though. Portis would have more value than Kuzma anywhere, but I’d be most curious to see what happens with Ryan Rollins. He’s having a career year, but anyone entering the fray with LaVine’s skill set changes things.
Final Thoughts
We always want to see active trade deadlines, but in the era of this new CBA and aprons, I think all the smoke will dissipate with limited movement overall. And if we’re being honest? The biggest name hovering over all of this isn’t even officially on the market; the Bucks are 11-18, and every team will be quietly running the math on what it would take to land Giannis Antetokounmpo. That’s the real domino, the one everyone’s waiting to see if it falls.
On the list of the highest-paid athletes in the world, soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo holds an easy lead over everyone else. The Al-Nassr forward topped Sportico’s 2026 list of highest-paid athletes, coming in with a salary over $100 million more than the next athlete on the list.
Ronaldo’s contract with Al-Nassr is incredibly lucrative. The forward reportedly signed a two-year, nearly $700 million extension with the club last June. When Ronaldo initially joined the team in 2022, he reportedly signed a then-record deal set to pay him €200 million per year.
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All of that made Ronaldo the No. 1 highest-paid athlete in the world on Sportico’s list. Due to the way Sportico structures its list, Ronaldo is listed with a $260 million salary, making him the far-and-away leader compared to other athletes.
Two other soccer stars sit in the top 10, with Lionel Messi coming in third. The Inter Miami star is said to have a $130 million salary. Karim Benzema, who ranks sixth on Sportico’s list, makes $115 million per year.
The rest of the top 10 is littered with athletes from other sports. While Shohei Ohtani and his $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers get all the press, he’s not the highest-paid MLB player on the list. That would be New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto, who signed a 15-year, $765 million deal last offseason, breaking Ohtani’s record. Soto ranked fourth on Sportico’s list. Ohtani ranked eighth.
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Three NBA players hold spots in the top 10, with Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James leading the way in the sport. James ranks fifth with $128.7 million. Sportico estimates $80 million of that comes from endorsements, one of the highest endorsement totals on the list. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry ranks seventh on the list. Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant comes in at ninth.
Golfer Jon Rahm rounds out the top 10, coming in with $100.7 million. Rahm joined LIV Golf in 2023 on a deal rumored to be worth $500 million.
The only other athlete on Sportico’s list with an estimated salary over $100 million is F1 racer Lewis Hamilton, who ranked 11th on the list with a salary of exactly $100 million.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania have indicted 20 men for their roles in allegedly fixing college basketball and Chinese Basketball Association games.
The alleged fixing scheme first focused on CBA games, before turning to NCAA games beginning in 2023. The scheme allegedly involved 17 NCAA teams and involved at least 29 games. The governing body said Thursday that much of the information in the indictment was “not entirely new information to the NCAA” as it had already been investigating dozens of current and former players.
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One of the men charged is former NBA player Antonio Blakeney. He appeared in 76 games for the Chicago Bulls across the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons and was playing in the CBA in 2022-2023. Fifteen others are or were men’s Division I college basketball players and five other college basketball players who have been charged elsewhere are also mentioned in the indictment.
According to the indictment, “a group of individuals worked together to recruit and bribe players to help influence or ‘fix’ Chinese Basketball Association men’s basketball games through ‘point shaving’ during the 2022-23 CBA season. The fixers bribed CBA players to underperform and help ensure their team failed to cover the spread in certain games and then, through various sportsbooks, arranged for large wagers to be placed on those games against that team.”
In one alleged instance, Blakeney, who was averaging over 30 points a game that season, scored just 11 points in a blowout win by the Guandong Southern Tigers over his Jiangsu Dragons team. The Tigers were favored by 11.5 points and $198,000 was wagered on the team to cover the spread.
In another alleged instance, Blakeney helped recruit a teammate in exchange for a $20,000 payment to make sure the opponent covered the spread in a game Blakeney didn’t participate in.
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Following the alleged CBA scheme, prosecutors allege “the fixers” then “turned their attention to fixing NCAA men’s basketball games” over the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons. This alleged scheme followed a similar pattern throughout, primarily targeting first-half spreads in mid- to low-level Division I games. As a way to persuade the players, “the fixers” would allegedly FaceTime with players to discuss the scheme and even allegedly show them the cash that was at stake.
According to the indictment, Blakeney, Jalen Smith, Marves Fairley, Shane Hennen, Roderick Winkler and Alberto Laureano “would then place wagers on those games through sportsbooks, betting against the team whose player or players they had bribed to engage in this point-shaving scheme. Because of the proliferation of legalized sports betting, the fixers could use numerous sportsbooks to place their bets on these games and conceal the scheme from authorities.”
Prosecutors say the alleged payments to college basketball players ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 a game and there were efforts to recruit multiple players on the same team to make sure that a bet would succeed. Players would then allegedly get paid in cash after their performances.
The scheme allegedly involved Nicholls State players Oumar Koureissi and Diante Smith; Tulane’s Kevin Cross; unnamed players on Northwestern State’s team; St. Louis’ Bradley Ezewiro; Shawn Fulcher and Isaiah Adams at Buffalo; Jalen Terry, Da’Sean Nelson and Micawber Etienne at DePaul; and Kennesaw State’s Simeon Cottle, among others.
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Cottle is one of four active players named in the indictment along with Eastern Michigan’s Carlos Hart, Delaware State’s Camian Shell and Koureissi. All four of them have appeared in a game in recent days.
In October, the NCAA said that it was investigating at least 30 current and former men’s basketball players for alleged sports gambling offenses.
“Protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance for the NCAA,” president Charlie Baker said in a statement. “We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports.
“The pattern of college basketball game integrity conduct revealed by law enforcement today is not entirely new information to the NCAA. Through helpful collaboration and with industry regulators, we have finished or have open investigations into almost all of the teams in today’s indictment.”
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Prosecutors said that the defendants targeted players “for whom the bribe payments would meaningfully supplement or exceed legitimate NIL opportunities” and that they’d focus on underdogs who could fail to cover point spreads.
The indictment lists multiple Big East games DePaul was involved in during the early months of 2024. In one instance, Smith allegedly went to Chicago to pay the three named DePaul players and another person $40,000 in cash for the way they affected the first-half line in a game against Georgetown. On Feb. 24, 2024, the Hoyas had a 41-28 halftime lead. The spread at the half was 2.5 points.
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After that Georgetown game, Jalen Smith allegedly texted Etienne, “I love Jalen Terry he perfected his job.” Terry didn’t score in the first half before he dropped 16 in the second half.
Cottle was the 2025-2026 preseason player of the year in Conference USA and is currently averaging 20.2 points per game over 17 games after scoring 18 points a game a season ago.
Cottle and teammate Demond Robinson allegedly received $40,000 for their performances in a March 1, 2024, game against Queens University. Kennesaw State trailed 52-39 at halftime while Cottle went scoreless in the first 20 minutes. Queens was a 1.5-point first-half favorite.
