Category: Sport

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Kevin O’Connor and Tom Haberstroh discuss the implications of Jimmy Butler’s season-ending ACL injury and what’s next for the Warriors. Does Golden State need to make a trade to save their season?

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Next, the duo breaks down Wemby’s jump shot development, reacts to the details of the Lakers’ drama with Jeanie Buss and LeBron James, and discusses the Knicks’ bounce back performance over the Nets.

Later, they share the five NBA teams that must make a trade before the deadline. How can the Orlando Magic improve their shooting and what will it take to make the San Antonio Spurs legitimate contenders? Plus, Tyler Rucker joins for this week’s NBA Draft Class and Lottery Lessons.

(0:38) Jimmy Butler out for season with ACL injury

(19:55) Is Wemby’s jumpshot his greatest weakness?

(28:54) Los Angeles Lakers off-court drama

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(38:32) New York Knicks obliterate Brooklyn Nets

(44:09) 5 NBA teams that need to make a trade

(1:13:48) Draft Class with Tyler Rucker

🖥️ Watch this full episode on the Yahoo Sports NBA YouTube channel

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

Missouri defensive end Damon Wilson is heading to Miami.

The Tigers’ sack leader in 2025 is signing with the Hurricanes for the 2026 season, according to On3. Wilson had nine sacks a season ago, along with an additional half-tackle for loss and an interception over 13 games.

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Wilson came to Missouri after he spent two seasons at Georgia. He transferred after signing an NIL deal with Georgia’s athletic association after the 2024 season and the association has taken legal action against Wilson. Georgia says that Wilson owes the $380,000 he was set to receive over the balance of that NIL deal.

The edge rusher has filed a countersuit, accusing Georgia of attempting to prevent him from transferring by telling other schools that he would owe over $1 million if he transferred. Wilson had three sacks in a part-time role in his second season with the Bulldogs.

After entering the transfer portal following the 2025 season, Wilson took visits to Texas Tech and LSU before visiting Miami. He committed to the Hurricanes after a two-day visit with the school.

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Wilson is a huge boost to Miami’s pass rush for the 2026 season. The Hurricanes’ defensive front was one of the best in college football in 2025 but loses potential top-10 pick Rueben Bain along with Akeem Mesidor. Mesidor led the team with 12.5 sacks, and Bain had 9.5 sacks as Miami racked up 50 over the season on the way to the national title game.

The Tennessee Titans were hoping for rookie-year Jayden Daniels when they selected Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Instead, they got rookie-year Caleb Williams.

Ward looked raw and underdeveloped, and head coach Brian Callahan paid the price for it as he was fired after six games this season. With the Titans’ future contingent on Ward playing like a future superstar, the team entered the offseason determined to find a head coach who could bring the best out of last year’s top draft pick.

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The team zeroed in on that coach Monday night. On Thursday, the news became official: The Titans inked San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to a deal, reportedly a five-year contract.

[Get more Titans news: Tennessee team feed]

Saleh returned to Kyle Shanahan’s staff this season after a four-year stint as the New York Jets’ head coach, compiling a 20-36 record before being fired five games into the 2024 campaign. He worked the remainder of that season as a consultant for the Green Bay Packers.

This season, the 49ers’ defense lost Nick Bosa and Fred Warner to season-ending injuries and ranked 20th in the NFL (11th in rushing). His first stint as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator lasted four seasons, which included a run to Super Bowl LIV with the league’s No. 2 defense.

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While the entire Titans roster is in need of an overhaul, Ward’s development remains the top priority. The 23-year-old mostly struggled as a rookie, completing 59.8 percent of his passes and throwing 15 touchdowns against seven interceptions in 17 games. He also took a league-leading 55 sacks, both an indictment of his awareness and the team’s porous offensive line.

But Ward also had moments where his potential burned bright. Some of his best moments came on plays where he used his legs to evade the rush and then showed off his immense arm strength to make an absurd throw downfield.

Those bright spots didn’t happen enough, as Ward finished 29th in passing yards per game, 34th in completion percentage, 35th in passer rating and 35th in QBR. He ranked 39th out of 43 quarterbacks per PFF’s grades. Ward shouldn’t be written off after just one season, but it wasn’t an encouraging start for the No. 1 overall draft pick.

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But the Williams example proves how much things can change for a quarterback in a single season. After a rocky rookie year, Williams made significant improvements in his second season after the Chicago Bears hired offensive guru Ben Johnson. After finishing last in the NFC North in 2024, the Bears won the division in 2025.

That’s not the only example of a new head coach turning around a previously helpless rookie. The Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay helped turn Jared Goff into a Pro Bowl passer after a miserable rookie season.

With the hire, the Titans are hoping Ward and Saleh can join those examples and engineer a drastic turnaround in Year 2. The difference, of course, is that Johnson and McVay were both offensive-minded coaches. Saleh’s background is on the other side of the ball, making his choice of offensive coordinator a major storyline for Ward and the franchise.

Even if Ward takes a massive step forward, the Titans might be hard-pressed to win the AFC South next season. In addition to the division being tough, the Titans have far more issues beyond Ward. Tony Pollard was the only member of the offense to surpass 1,000 yards. The team’s leading receiver, tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, finished with just 560 receiving yards. Fourth-round rookie Elic Ayomanor had moments, but struggled with consistency. The offensive line combined to lead the league in sacks allowed. The Titans’ offense averaged just 16.7 points per game, good for 30th in the NFL.

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Things weren’t much better on defense. While Jeffery Simmons remained a tremendous player, he didn’t have a lot of help in 2025. T’Vondre Sweat and Cedric Grey — two of the team’s 2024 draft picks — played well, but essentially every other defensive started rated out as below average, per PFF. Even with three impact players, the team’s defense ranked 28th in points allowed.

Getting the entire team turned around will be a massive challenge. After three straight seasons finishing at the bottom of the AFC South, the Titans still have one of the worst rosters in the NFL.

But the team also has one of the biggest assets in the NFL: A No. 1 overall pick at quarterback. The Titans will enter 2026 with a number of issues, but Ward’s development trumps all of them. They will also have the fourth overall pick of this coming NFL Draft.

Having a true franchise quarterback can paper over a lot of other roster problems, and that’s what the Titans are hoping Ward can become with Saleh.

Detroit Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper announced on Instagram he is retiring after nine seasons in the NFL. Skipper battled a back injury this season and said after last season he thought this could be his last year. Skipper plans to transition into coaching and is reportedly volunteering as an offensive-line coach at this year’s East-West Shrine Bowl.

“24 years of putting on pads and a helmet every fall,” Skipper wrote on Instagram. “This year I’ll trade that out to pursue a career on the other side in coaching. The memories and experiences that the NFL has brought me and my family are hard to put into words. Thankful for every person that has been a part of my journey. It’s time for me to “report” as retired. (Sorry, I had to do it one last time!)”

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Skipper, 31, spent his last three seasons with the Lions and had four different stints with the team. He also spent time with the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Las Vegas Raiders and Indianapolis Colts. Despite his movement as a player, Skipper spent 66 of his 69 active games with the Lions.

[Get more Lions news: Detroit team feed]

At 6-foot-9, Skipper was the tallest active player in the NFL last season and was a Lions fan favorite. Former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson used creative ways to get Skipper involved in the game plan beyond his swing tackle role. Skipper would report eligible and motion out wide as a jumbo receiver.

He caught two passes for 13 yards and a touchdown in his career. Skipper was also part of the controversial call in the Dallas game in 2023, when he was reported eligible instead of Taylor Decker, who caught a two-point conversion.

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Skipper now becomes the latest Lions offensive lineman to retire after center Frank Ragnow surprisingly retired last offseason. Ragnow attempted to return to the Lions last season but remained retired after failing his physical.

Decker was also mulling retirement after Week 18’s regular-season finale against the Bears. The offensive line, which was once a strength for the Lions, struggled due to inexperience and injuries on the interior. Without Skipper, new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing will be tasked with strengthening the line with one fewer option.

Subscribe to The Cooligans

Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros react to a chaotic AFCON final and ask the uncomfortable question: was the spectacle a nightmare for the sport? The guys break down what went wrong, what it says about tournament organization, and why moments like this matter for global soccer’s credibility. Christian and Alexis dive into viral territory as iShowSpeed encounters his first ultra fans in Algeria — and quickly learns that not every football culture rolls out the red carpet.

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Next, Copa90 creative director Shawn Francis joins the show to talk World Cup 2026 coming to America, why he’s completely flipped his stance on MLS’s new schedule, and what the league needs to do to actually become “cool.”

The episode wraps with a look at Manchester City’s recent slump and whether Pep Guardiola has the answers to pull City out of their funk.

Timestamps:

(8:00) – Was the AFCON final an embarrassing moment for the sport?

(26:30) – IShowSpeed encounters Algerian ultras

(34:15) – Shawn Francis joins The Cooligans

(1:11:15) – Can Pep save Man City again or has he lost control?

🖥️ 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

It is officially the offseason, unfortunately, but just because the confetti has been cleaned up does not mean the conversations about the CFP have stopped. In fact it is quite the opposite. The difference is these conversations are not about what is happening on the field. The debate continues to rage on as commissioners discuss potential expansion of the CFP. Andy Staples and Ross Dellenger discuss what happened in the meetings that were held in the week leading up to the National Championship. The Big Ten and the SEC seem to be at an impasse of how much they want the College Football Playoff to expand. With the deadline fast approaching, no decision appears in sight. Ross explains why these two commissioners hold all the power for this decision.

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Then, the guys shift from one hot button topic to the next. The transfer portal. Specifically one athlete. Darian Mensah. The Duke quarterback has officially entered the transfer portal even though he has a signed NIL contract with Duke. The Blue Devils are suing Mensah to prevent him from leaving. It is expected he will head to Miami to be their new quarterback. Andy and Ross discuss the differences between this situation and the one with Demond Williams and Washington. They share why it seems like Mensah has a good chance to win this case and how schools can prevent these situations in the future. Plus, they dive into Adidas’ potential impact in this situation and their overall aggressive handling of NIL. Also, Duke wide receiver Cooper Barkate has entered the portal as well, with Miami being a favorite to land him too.

Later, the big news in college athletics is no longer about football. It is over in the college basketball world as Charles Bediako has temporarily been granted the ability to return to Alabama basketball. There is a hearing next week that will determine whether or not he can return full-time. Bediako previously played at Alabama and entered the 2023 NBA Draft. Although he has never played in an NBA regular season game, he has played on multiple Summer League and G League teams. Andy and Ross discuss Bediako being allowed to play college basketball again and the impact this could have on college athletics.

The season is over but the news never stops with College Football Enquirer.

0:00:00 – Will the CFP expand further?

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15:40 – Why the Big Ten & SEC hold all the power

27:44 – Duke sues Darian Mensah

37:48 – Adidas’ impact in the NIL space

44:08 – Duke WR Cooper Barkate to transfer

49:23 – Charles Bediako returns to Alabama

53:43 – How Bediako could impact college sports

🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out all the episodes of theCollege Football Enquirer and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family athttps://apple.co/3zEuTQj or atyahoosports.tv

Nate Tice & Charles McDonald deep dive on the AFC & NFC Championship Games as they decide who has the upper hand in the battles that determine who advances to the Super Bowl. The duo kick things off with the Denver Broncos taking on the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Nate & Charles break down both sides of the ball and discuss whether the stout Denver defense can keep Jarrett Stidham and the offense in the game against MVP candidate Drake Maye.

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The NFC Championship Game features a Hoss Fight of the Year in the Los Angeles Rams heading north to take on the Seattle Seahawks. Can Matthew Stafford and the Rams run game get rolling against Mike Macdonald’s masterful defense? Can Sam Darnold overcome his turnover-heavy play against LA this season to advance to his first Super Bowl?

Finally, the two hosts wrap things up with their Hail Mary bold predictions for the weekend featuring Kenneth Walker III and an interesting prediction for the NFC Championship Game.

(2:45) – Broncos @ Patriots deep dive

(27:55) – Rams @ Seahawks deep dive

(1:01:50) – Hail Mary bold predictions

🖥️ 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

The Miami Dolphins experienced major change before the end of the 2025 season. General manager Chris Grier was fired in October and Tua Tagovailoa was benched a few months later. Those changes continued in the offseason, as the team fired head coach Mike McDaniel a few days after the regular season.

The team moved quickly to find replacements for two of those three spots … and Tagovailoa could be next. During a news conference Thursday, new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said the team would focus hard on getting “the quarterback situation in place.” Sullivan added that the team will try and “find our guy” during the offseason, per ESPN.

“We need to get the quarterback situation in place, but we’re not going to do it in an irresponsible manner where we sacrifice building the infrastructure of this football team,” he said. “So that when we do find our guy, he can be successful. We’ve all seen teams that go about it maybe in a questionable manner and you get a really good quarterback, but he can’t stay healthy because he’s getting killed or he doesn’t have anybody to throw to.

“So yes, we will find our guy, but we’re going to make sure that we’re building the infrastructure along the way so when we do find our trigger man — whoever that may be, whether it’s Tua, Quinn [Ewers] or somebody that’s not in the building — we have a team that he can go play and win with.”

Sullivan mentioned both Tagovailoa and rookie Quinn Ewers as possible options, though he also implied the team would look to bring in talent from elsewhere before next season. “We’ll be very active in acquiring quarterbacks to make sure that that room is as deep as we can make it,” Sullivan added.

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The team could address that issue in the NFL Draft, where it holds the No. 11 overall pick. This year’s quarterback class, however, isn’t super deep this year, leading Nate Tice and Charles McDonald of Yahoo Sports to list just one quarterback in the first round of their most recent mock draft after Dante Moore decided to return to Oregon. That would be Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who many anticipate the Las Vegas Raiders will select with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

The Dolphins could also consider taking a quarterback later in the draft or picking up someone off the free-agent market. Yahoo Sports senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein wrote on one of those targets:

Multiple league sources told Yahoo Sports they expect the Dolphins to strongly consider Malik Willis for their 2026 starting quarterback position. Miami’s offensive coordinator decision will be a key prerequisite before moving forward with any formal plans. But after [head coach Jeff] Hafley and Sullivan spent two years watching Willis at practice and in meetings, the connection makes sense.

“I think Malik is on most people’s radar as a starting QB target in free agency, including them,” one NFC talent evaluator told Yahoo Sports.

If not Willis, there’s always former Packer Aaron Rodgers … if he wants to keep playing.

Whether the Dolphins view either player as an upgrade over Tagovailoa remains to be seen. While Tagovailoa initially thrived under McDaniel, multiple concussions seemed to change how the team ran its offense. With the team focusing more on getting the ball out quickly to protect Tagovailoa, the quarterback saw his numbers decline the past two seasons.

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In 2025, Tagovailoa threw for 2,660 yards, with 20 touchdowns against 15 interceptions in 14 games. At the time he was benched, Tagovailoa led the NFL in interceptions. By the end of the season, only Raiders starter Geno Smith had more interceptions than Tagovailoa.

With a new GM and head coach in place, Tagovailoa’s days as the Dolphins’ starter appear numbered. So much of the team’s success depend on who is under center, and Tagovailoa hasn’t produced like a star since 2023, his only Pro Bowl season.

The Washington Nationals are entering a new era. That means trading away some of their top players of the old era.

In their first big move under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, the Nationals are trading All-Star starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers, the teams announced Thursday. In return, the Nats are acquiring five prospects. That group includes third baseman Gavin Fien, the No. 12 overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft.

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Here’s the Nationals’ complete haul:

Gore brings a talented arm to the Rangers, with a five-pitch mix featuring a mid-90s fastball and a standout curveball. However, he has frequently struggled to keep the ball in the zone, with a walk rate that would have ranked sixth-worst among qualified MLB pitchers.

[Get more Nationals news: D.C. team feed]

The deal is significant for the Nationals given their recent history. Alongside fellow All-Stars James Wood and C.J. Abrams, Gore was one of the central components of Washington’s return in the Juan Soto trade, which signaled the franchise’s previous window of contending was fully closed.

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A down-to-the-studs rebuild ensued, with Gore intended to be one of the top starters on the Nationals’ next playoff team. Control issues have prevented him from becoming anything resembling an ace in his first four MLB seasons, but his stuff has been good enough to post at least 180 strikeouts in back-to-back seasons. He got his first career All-Star nod in 2025.

The Nationals have failed to progress into even a league-average team. Due to a completely broken player development pipeline, the franchise still has yet to win more than 71 games since its World Series title in 2019. That dysfunction saw general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez both fired during the 2025 season, with Toboni later taking over the front office and hiring 33-year-old Blake Butera as manager.

Trading away Gore essentially means the Nationals’ post-Soto rebuild has failed, if firing their GM weren’t evidence enough.

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You don’t trade away a pitcher such as Gore if you think you’re anywhere close to the playoffs, which the Nationals clearly aren’t. Some of their young talent has turned into productive MLB players, particularly the Soto trade trio of Gore, Wood and Abrams, but many others, perhaps most notably 2023 No. 2 pick Dylan Crews, just aren’t there yet.

That reflects a structural issue that Washington is trying to fix under new management, but it will be a long-term process. The team dealt Gore for five players who will, hopefully, help the Nationals down the line under Toboni and Butera.

The FBI is investigating Jim Irsay’s death and the recovery doctor who provided the former Indianapolis Colts owner with prescription pain pills and ketamine near the end of his life, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

In August, a bit more than three months after Irsay died at 65, The Post reported that Irsay secretly relapsed after publicly discussing overcoming his addiction to pain pills and that the newspaper found evidence that he suffered three overdoses in the final five years of his life.

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The FBI is notably seeking records and information regarding Irsay’s “substance (illegal and prescription) use” and “his relationship with Dr. Harry Haroutunian,” according to The Post, which cited a federal grand jury subpoena issued earlier this month in its Thursday report.

Haroutunian is a well-known addiction specialist who is based in California and who treated Irsay in his later years.

Irsay died while vacationing at California’s Beverly Hills Hotel in May. At the time, Haroutunian was also staying there while providing Irsay care. Haroutunian signed the death certificate, classifying the cause of death as “cardiac arrest due to pneumonia and heart issues,” The Post reported.

Because the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner didn’t consider Irsay’s death sudden, violent or unexpected, it didn’t conduct an autopsy. Soon after, the Beverly Hills Police Department closed its investigation into Irsay’s death.

Federal agents visited Indianapolis for several days this month, The Post reported Thursday, citing “two people with knowledge of the investigation.” While there, the agents reportedly interviewed multiple people who were close to Irsay late in his life.

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In December 2023, Haroutunian prescribed Irsay more than 200 opioid pills leading up to a two-week span that featured two overdoses, according to The Post, which also reported that Haroutunian eventually added ketamine injections to Irsay’s treatment.

“I dedicated 18 months of my life to try to care for him … as a brother,” Haroutunian told The Post this summer. “We did everything we could to make him as comfortable as possible.”

In a 2012 interview with ESPN, Irsay talked about his sobriety and the lifelong battle that comes with recovery. Two years later, though, Irsay was charged with DWI and four felony counts of possession after he was seen stopping in the middle of the road in the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel before failing several sobriety tests. Following the incident, he was suspended and fined by the NFL.

In the subsequent years, Irsay launched Kicking the Stigma, a nonprofit initiative targeting mental health issues, including substance abuse disorders.

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But in December 2023, Irsay was hospitalized after he was found unconscious in his home outside Indianapolis. He denied that an overdose was the cause of the incident. The Post, however, reported that it was indeed an overdose and that another followed at a hotel outside Miami 12 days later.

Following Irsay’s death, all three of his daughters — Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson — gained ownership of the franchise, with Irsay-Gordon serving as CEO and principal owner.

Irsay had held those roles since 1997, following the death of his father, Robert Irsay. The Colts inducted Jim into their Ring of Honor this season.

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During Jim Irsay’s 28 years running the franchise, the Colts won 10 division titles and reached the postseason 16 times, making two trips to the Super Bowl. They won it all in the 2006 season.

This season, the team wore a commemorative black jersey patch featuring Irsay’s initials.