There’s finally NBA buzz in Charlotte again. That’s because the Hornets, amid the league’s longest active playoff drought, have won eight games in a row for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
They extended that head-turning streak with a 109-99 road win over the Houston Rockets, despite Kevin Durant scoring at least 30 points for the fifth time in his past eight games.
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In their first game since acquiring Coby White in a trade with the Chicago Bulls before the deadline, the Hornets (24-28) pulled away from the Rockets (31-19), causing the Western Conference’s fourth-place team to pull its starters for the back half of the fourth quarter in a game that wasn’t even as close as the 10-point differential suggests.
Continuing his standout rookie campaign, Kon Knueppel poured in a team-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting. LaMelo Ball made five 3s and wasn’t far behind with 20 points.
White didn’t play, and he’s not expected to until after the All-Star break due to a lingering calf injury, but the former UNC star is excited for this new chapter of his career.
“I just felt the love every time I was in the building just being there, it was just weird. … Something triggers every time I was in there. So I’m excited I get to play there more.”
White was talking about the Spectrum Center. The guard averaged 22.5 points per game in his two outings there with the Bulls earlier this season.
It’s also where Hornets fans will anxiously await their up-and-coming squad on Monday, when Charlotte returns home to host the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons.
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That matchup will mark the first of four consecutive home contests for the Hornets.
But first they’ll head to Atlanta to play the Hawks on Saturday. With a win there, they’ll officially match that 1999 surge, which occurred during a strike-shortened season that saw the late Paul Silas take over as interim head coach after Dave Cowens resigned in the wake of a 4-11 start.
That Hornets team lost eight of its first nine games. Similarly, the 2025-26 Hornets recorded only three victories in their first 10 games and were a meager 4-14 by late November.
This time, a coaching change hasn’t precipitated the turnaround.
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In his second year on the job, Charles Lee has overseen the midseason transformation.
The Hornets are getting production from an assortment of young players. In addition to the 20-year-old Knueppel and 24-year-old Ball, Brandon Miller is making a sizable impact. In his third season, Miller, 23, is leading the team in scoring at 20.4 ppg. Plus, it helps that big man Moussa Diabaté, 24, has become a reliable rebounder for the group.
Miles Bridges is still doing his thing, too. The Hornets’ future is bright, and they’re suddenly 1.5 games back of the Hawks for ninth place in the East — prime play-in position.
Charlotte plays Atlanta twice in the next three games, starting on Saturday night.
Last summer, in an effort to join a power conference, Memphis and its corporate sponsors pooled as much as $200 million in an offer to join the Big 12.
Ultimately, the Big 12 decided against further expansion.
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But the Memphis offer — bold and somewhat unprecedented — provided a future path for those seeking a promotion: Buy your way in.
A few months after Memphis’ proposal, the move — albeit at a much lesser scale — is being replicated.
Officials from Sacramento State are in the midst of an aggressive effort to join a Football Bowl Subdivision conference as soon as this coming football season, proposing to multiple leagues an eight-figure entry fee, plus the forgoing of league revenues.
While many FBS leagues have rebuffed the proposal — the Mountain West and the Pac-12 — other league executives are exploring the possibility, most notably the Mid-American Conference.
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Multiple sources within college athletics spoke to Yahoo Sports for this story under condition anonymity. Officials at Sacramento State declined to comment. Those in the MAC also declined comment, citing a standard policy of not discussing expansion.
For months now, Sacramento State executives — athletic director Mark Orr and university president Luke Wood — have made public their desire to elevate to FBS in football. In fact, the school’s waiver to play as an FBS independent this season was denied last summer. A waiver is necessary for those seeking to move from FCS to FBS without an invitation into a conference.
The school’s athletic department transitions this year from the Big Sky to the Big West, which does not sponsor football. The shift puts the Hornets football program in an awkward position of competing in FCS as an independent. The program has scheduled seven football games for 2026 so far, with six of those FCS opponents.
The MAC has yet to release its 2026 conference football schedule. The proposal puts the MAC in an interesting position. The league loses Northern Illinois this coming year and added UMass last year to remain at 12 member schools. The conference also has upcoming negotiations with ESPN for its new television deal.
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Presumably, Sacramento State’s offer is for football-only with its other sports to remain with the Big West — a model, as it turns out, similar to Northern Illinois, which left the MAC to play only football in the Mountain West with most other sports in the Horizon.
At a time of financial stress for universities — most notably the low-budget schools in the MAC — Sacramento State’s proposal is attractive and lucrative. In proposals made to other leagues, the school offered upwards of $10 million in an entry fee plus the forfeiture of conference revenues for a certain stretch of time— a similar proposal that helped move SMU into the ACC two years ago.
Those financial figures do not include the $5 million NCAA entry fee of moving from FCS to FBS. Executives increased that figure three years ago from $5,000 — a whopping jump that is indicative of the desire from many power conference leaders to slow a rapidly growing FBS group that now stands at 136 universities.
Sacramento State presents a fascinating case for FBS membership.
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The school, part of the California State System with an enrollment of about 30,000 students, is located in a burgeoning metropolis of more than 2 million people that is ranked 20th nationally among television markets, according to the latest Nielsen ratings.
Led by a non-traditionalist president intent on competing in major college football, the university’s athletic department has made significant investments for athletic promotion, even erecting billboards in an attempt last year for an invitation into the new-look Pac-12.
Renovations are planned for its football stadium to reach FBS standards and plans for a new stadium have been in the works. The university last year hired as its men’s basketball coach Mike Bibby, a 14-year NBA veteran, and announced Shaquille O’Neal as the program’s voluntary general manager.
In football, the team is led by Alonzo Carter, a first-year coach who’s won multiple recruiting and coach-of-the-year awards over a 27-year career. Carter replaced Brennan Marion, a long-time power conference assistant who left for a position on Deion Sanders’ staff at Colorado. Marion earned more than $1 million in salary in his one year at the school, dwarfing many of his counterparts in FCS.
“They do have money,” quipped one conference executive with knowledge of Sacramento State’s plans.
The school has a recent history of dominant football success. In three years under Troy Taylor, the program won three consecutive Big Sky championships and advanced to the FCS quarterfinals in 2022 with a 12-1 record. However, before 2019, their last conference title was 1995 as a member of the American West Conference, then 1-AA.
Notable former players of the school include NFL receiver DeAndre Carter and Cam Skattebo, who played his first two seasons at Sac State before transferring to Arizona State, where he led the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff in 2024.
The threat of airing dirty laundry has that effect on people.
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And when New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel issued the threat during training camp, he wasn’t threatening to air his players’ proverbial dirty laundry. He was warning them about their literal laundry. Particularly, their washcloths.
The warning surfaced in response to players leaving dirty washcloths on the locker room floors. A bin to retrieve clean washcloths rested beside a bin to deposit dirty ones. Not every Patriots player was availing himself of the second.
“I think 99% of people would’ve been like, ‘Hey guys, can you guys pick up your washcloths and put ’em in the bin?’” Bradbury told Yahoo Sports.
Nor does he hold his players to the standards of the 99%.
Head coach Mike Vrabel, working closely with offensive lineman Morgan Moses during drills, turned the Patriots from 3-14 to 14-3 this season. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Thearon W. Henderson via Getty Images)
So Vrabel told players they had two options. The first: throw their wash cloths in the dirty laundry bin, and the equipment staff would wash them as previously expected. The second: continue leaving them on the floor, and Vrabel would instruct the staff not to wash them — and instead to simply return dry, unlaundered washcloths back in the bin with the clean ones. Behold, showers with your teammates’ dirty washcloths.
“I don’t blame him,” Maye said Thursday of Vrabel’s instructions. “It’s probably a little bit TMI [too much information], but little things like that. Picking up after yourself, knowing that somebody has to pick up after you.”
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After Vrabel’s announcement, the Patriots’ dirty washcloths magically began finding their ways into the dirty washcloth bin. DirtyWashclothGate was averted. But the realization of the ample ways staff have helped the Patriots in their Super Bowl-bound season lingers. Vrabel insists his players understand, remember and acknowledge that.
“In our line of work, you forget how privileged you are and how much is done for you,” quarterback Josh Dobbs told Yahoo Sports. “And some guys … don’t know that when you throw something on the ground, someone else got to come pick that up. They think it just automatically happens overnight. And so it’s the realistic visualization of that. It’s like, ‘Yo, you throw that on the ground — the guy that’s catching the footballs at practice, he’s the one who has to pick it up and then wash it.’ Just nasty.
In his first year at the helm of the franchise for which he once played eight seasons, Vrabel has reinvigorated the AFC champion Patriots with the aggressiveness and physicality his defenses have long embodied. He has reinvigorated a struggling franchise with a level of culture-building of which many franchises only dream, and Vrabel has demonstrated joy so widely that his coaches view it as part of his identity.
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But beyond the scheme, the on-field accountability and the one-of-the-guys nature that has sent Vrabel diving headfirst into everything from on-field scuffles to postgame hugs, Vrabel has also emphasized a value that most coaches may want but do not preach with his intention nor his repetition.
Vrabel tells his players: “We’re gonna treat you how you treat the team.”
Treating the team right, he tells them eternally, does not only mean respecting their fellow players and coaches. Vrabel demands his players respect cafeteria workers, logistics coordinators, maintenance staff and more with the exact same caliber of respect.
“He wants us not to only be elite on the field as players, but he wants us to be elite as people as well,” right tackle Morgan Moses told Yahoo Sports.
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Added Landry: “He’s not a fan of anybody thinking they’re bigger than the team.”
‘When he talks about identity, he is the identity’
If Patriots veterans aren’t bigger than the team, then their rookies sure as heck aren’t either.
Bradbury had an idea on how to send that message in the offensive line room. Upon hearing the idea, Vrabel escalated it.
Bradbury signed with the Patriots last March after six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He treasured the Vikings’ tradition dictating rookie offensive linemen decorate meeting rooms. Bradbury remembers spending “way too much money” on Halloween inflatables and Thanksgiving bales of hay during his 2019 rookie year. He wanted to continue the tradition in Foxborough. To ensure all were on board, Bradbury “mentioned it to Vrabs,” he said, “because you got to OK things through the channels.”
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The Patriots coach was more than just OK with the request.
“Vrabs’ response was, ‘Then all rookies are going to decorate,’” Bradbury said.
Vrabel entrusted left tackle Will Campbell, the Patriots’ 2025 pick at fourth overall, for relaying the message to his draft class. And if rookies didn’t buy and hang the decorations themselves … ?
“He has a deadline for them and we have some people within the building that help us,” outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson told Yahoo Sports. “If the rookies don’t do it themselves, they have to pay them to help them decorate the room.”
Costs piled as the Patriots rookies purchased Halloween decorations in October and Thanksgiving decorations in November. Christmas and winter holiday cheer decked the halls in December, before Bradbury realized: He hadn’t played long enough before to warrant decorating for January and February.
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The Patriots combined January’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day and February’s Black History Month, rookies displaying a mix of King cutouts, historical facts and posters enhancing the position group meeting rooms.
A mantra from head coach Mike Vrabel: “We’re gonna treat you how you treat the team.” (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
(Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Some players said the decorations brought cheer and broke the monotony during a long season. Others realized Vrabel’s deeper message in telling the rookies they must pay the facility staff if they don’t accomplish the task themselves.
“Obviously the staff members that help us out, man, finding ways to give them love while also being involved with the creativity within the building,” Chaisson said. “Having some ownership in it.”
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Moses, who’s played for seven head coaches (including one interim) across 12 NFL seasons, said Vrabel’s emphasis on respecting staff is not the NFL norm. In a fast-paced, high-stress environment, some messages fade into the background. Moses has seen that.
“100%, 100%,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s how it was when he was coached or just that’s the makeup of the person who he is. But I think all of it – when he talks about identity, he is the identity. He preaches that every day.
“We get to see it from our own eyes, every day walking and talking.”
In biggest game, demand for respect doesn’t change
As the Patriots readied for Super Bowl LX week in the Bay Area, Vrabel understood the breadth of logistical considerations. So he told players: I don’t care if you’re about to play in the Super Bowl; you still need your credentials visible. Believing they were beyond security protocols was not only inaccurate, Vrabel told the team, but also disrespectful to the staff trying to keep them safe.
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“I know a lot of us probably have short tempers and saying, ‘Hey, we play on the team, why do we need a badge around here?’” Maye said. “But in one of the first meetings, he said, ‘Hey, we should have no problems with showing our badges. Everybody’s got to do it.’ Just little things like that, that go a long way of treating other people right. Coach Vrabel is the best at it.”
With meeting room reservations and family accommodations, the same reminder applied.
“He wanted to make sure that everybody knew that, no matter what, it isn’t going to be a 100% perfect, but we’re going to treat everybody involved in logistics and everybody in media with respect,” Landry said. “Because everybody has a job to do.”
Part of the Patriots’ job, per their coach’s directive, is to respect the jobs of others.
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The list of values that spill over from the egalitarian treatment is long. Humility evolves into accountability which evolves into gratitude and soon habit. Vrabel views molding a locker room mostly in their 20s as part of his job.
He does not expect perfection. But he does expect awareness.
“We all have our moments of frustration,” Vrabel said. “We all have our moments of being upset, and that’s fine. It’s just making sure that we don’t take those out on the people around the building. So, we always talk about that. We always talk about having conversations, being able to ask questions, have meetings and find out where everybody stands. So, the respect that I ask them to show the equipment staff, the training staff, the interns, the cafeteria workers?
“Those people are there well before the players are there, and they’re there well after the players are there to make sure that the players have everything they need.”
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Staff members have helped the Patriots’ season last well after 30 of their counterparts were eliminated.
So the Patriots know the consequences if they don’t conduct themselves with respect, and they know that if they follow Vrabel’s guidelines he will trust them and empower them.
Take the postgame locker room when the Patriots beat the Broncos in the AFC championship to advance to the Super Bowl. Vrabel told his players: no curfew. But if you’re not on the bus to leave by 8 a.m., you’re not playing in the Super Bowl.
“He’s got a very, very unique blend of the ability to hold everybody accountable to a high standard, and – you know he cares about you as a human being,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “Every minute of every day, and that’s just … that’s a rare trait, and he can do both at the same time, all the time.
“It’s why he’s who he is. That’s why we’re where we’re at.”
A charge of felony aggravated assault against Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna has been withdrawn by the Centre County, Pennsylvania district attorney.
McKenna, the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and a misdemeanor charge of simple assault, plus summary offenses for disorderly conduct and harassment following an altercation Saturday, according to Onward State.
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The 18-year-old Penn State freshman forward was reportedly at a downtown State College, Pennsylvania, bar with the team and friends and family following the Nittany Lions’ outdoor game at Beaver Stadium against Michigan State. It’s unknown how the altercation began, but McKenna reportedly broke the jaw of an unidentified individual.
“A review of the video does not support a conclusion that Gavin McKenna acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or with reckless indifference to the value of human life,” District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said during a press conference on Friday, via StateCollege.com.
“In order to establish probable cause for the crime of Aggravated Assault, the Commonwealth must establish that a person acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or acted recklessly under circumstances showing an extreme indifference to the value of human life,” Cantorna explained.
The Penn State athletic department released the following statement to Onward State a few hours after the arrest was reported:
“We are aware that charges have been filed; however, as this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not have any further comment.”
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In July, McKenna announced that he would be attending Penn State following three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League, one of three leagues that makes up the Canadian Hockey League. The move was made possible after the NCAA’s ruling that allowed CHL players to play collegiately.
Through 24 games this season, McKenna has 11 goals and 32 points for the Nittany Lions, who are in third place in the Big Ten. He was recently ranked as the No. 1 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting ahead of June’s NHL draft.
We’re still four months from the U.S. national team competing in the 2026 World Cup on home ground, and already we’re learning the Americans’ pathway to the 2030 World Cup.
The big takeaway: The ferocious qualifiers between the United States and archrival Mexico — from which “Dos a Cero” was born — are probably over.
Blame World Cup expansion. Because the tournament has swelled to 48 teams, the region now receives six automatic berths, twice as many as before. So CONCACAF’s traditional six-team final round, known as the “hexagonal,” no longer works.
Instead, the last stage will feature three four-team groups, with the winner and runner-up securing passage to the World Cup. The 2030 tournament will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with 100th anniversary matches also played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Unless something really strange occurs in CONCACAF’s earlier qualifying round, the U.S. and Mexico will not end up in the same final-round group. That means no more rambunctious showdowns before pro-U.S. crowds in MLS stadiums or monumental clashes in the thin air of Mexico City’s fabled Estadio Azteca.
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The U.S. beat Mexico 2-0 in four successive World Cup qualifying cycles in Columbus, Ohio, before losing there in 2016. Five years later, “Dos a Cero” returned, but in Cincinnati.
The U.S. has never won a qualifier in Mexico.
Of course, the Americans and Mexicans will continue to clash in the Gold Cup, Nations League and friendlies — but unlikely with a World Cup berth at stake.
If all goes according to plan, the U.S., Mexico and Canada would headline each of the three final-round groups.
The U.S. vs. Mexico rivalry may soon lose its World Cup stakes.
(John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF via Getty Images)
As host countries, none of those teams needed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Panama, Haiti and Curacao qualified in CONCACAF, while Jamaica and Suriname will compete in a six-team FIFA playoff next month.
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Because of scheduling issues caused by the pandemic, CONCACAF did need to alter the 2022 World Cup qualifying format. Instead of a hexagonal, the confederation arranged an octagonal, with eight teams fighting for three automatic berths in the 32-team field. (Canada finished first, followed by Mexico and the U.S.)
The expanded World Cup, though, prompted greater changes.
For 2030, CONCACAF teams ranked from No. 14 to No. 35 will compete in two-leg playoffs (based on rankings) in September-October 2027. Those 11 winners will join the region’s top 13 ranked teams in the second round, held in late 2027 and early 2028.
Those 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four, with each team facing every other team in its group home and away for a total of six matches apiece. CONCACAF did not specify procedures for determining the groups, but based on typical FIFA rankings, the U.S. and Mexico would be atop separate groups and heavily favored to finish first.
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In the current rankings, the U.S. is No. 15, Mexico No. 16, followed by Canada No. 29 and Panama No. 33. No other CONCACAF team cracks the top 50.
The group winners and runners-up in the second round will advance to the final stage in 2028-29. If both the U.S. and Mexico were to win their second-round groups, they would both almost certainly headline final-round groups. (CONCACAF, however, has not outlined group procedures.)
Should one slip up in that second round and finish second in group play, the U.S. and Mexico could end up in the same final-round quartet.
In which case, make your travel plans for Ohio and CDMX.
On Friday, less than 24 hours removed from the NBA trade deadline and a road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, in which the Sixers shot 5-of-24 from deep, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey admitted Philadelphia sent McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder in hopes of making an additional deadline deal.
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But, as Morey repeated throughout his news conference, “nothing materialized.”
“Because we’re playing well, we were trying to upgrade the team and add to the team now,” Morey told reporters. “That was goal No. 1.”
Before their setback in L.A., the Sixers were riding a five-game win streak. They’re still sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. Philadelphia is without veteran forward Paul George until late March because of his 25-game suspension, however, Morey maintains the Sixers are in the mix among the top teams in the East. They haven’t made it past the conference semifinals since the 2000-01 season, when they lost to the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Morey, who has been the team’s president of basketball operations since November 2020, explained Friday that the Sixers made the McCain move a day before the deadline so that they’d have assets to use as bargaining chips for a trade that could help them move the needle.
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While the defending NBA champion Thunder got the former Duke standout, the Sixers collected four picks: a 2026 Houston Rockets first-round pick and three future second-round picks.
“We were trying to reuse those draft picks to add now,” Morey said. “We do feel like this deal sets up better in the future, but we understand that we were looking to add now, and nothing materialized.”
In 37 games with the Sixers this time around, he was playing just 16.8 minutes per contest. He was overshadowed by the emergence of rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, whom Philadelphia selected No. 3 overall in last year’s draft, and the play of two-time All-Star Tyrese Maxey and Quentin Grimes.
Still, McCain was providing valuable perimeter shooting off the bench on a squad hungry for a postseason run after missing out on the playoffs last season for the first time in eight seasons.
“We see Jared as someone who is more likely to help a team in the future,” he said. “I think that’s fairly obvious. I think that he has a bright future. We thought that the draft picks we got will help us more in the future and could have helped us this deadline.”
Morey said that Philadelphia offered the picks it received in the McCain trade to “many teams,” and, yet, it couldn’t land a player it deemed worthy of that kind of transaction.
“But we feel like, going forward, those picks will help us build the team in the future in a good way,” he emphasized.
While Morey likes the potential of the 2026 NBA Draft, he’s not married to using the Rockets’ first-round pick the Sixers gained in the McCain trade.
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That pick, as well as the three second-rounders, could be used for moves around the draft, Morey noted.
On one hand, sending McCain to Oklahoma City put Philadelphia under the luxury tax, allowing the Sixers to convert two-way player Dom Barlow, a fourth-year forward who is averaging 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
On the other hand, the Sixers ducking the tax again has raised questions about the franchise’s willingness to spend for a championship-caliber roster.
“I understand the perception, and I hope to defeat it by finding a deal that, you know, I can go to ownership and say we think this move is the right move to do for that and create the apron issues that it would create,” Morey said. “But I haven’t been able to recommend that move yet.”
As the tournament nears, we’ll break down each pool and each team’s chances of claiming the WBC crown. For now, here are six major takeaways from the WBC rosters:
This level of pitching talent is unprecedented, particularly for Team USA
The World Baseball Classic has never seen so much elite starting pitching. There’s a decent argument that we’ll see five of the top six healthy pitchers on the planet — Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Cristopher Sánchez and Logan Webb, with Garrett Crochet the lone abstainer — toe the slab in the upcoming tournament. That’s the top four finalists for last year’s NL Cy Young and the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner.
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Simply put, it’s a monumental upgrade. As recently as 2017, not a single top-five Cy Young finisher from the season prior, in either league, featured in the WBC. A few more frontline arms showed up in 2023, including reigning NL Cy Young Sandy Alcantara, but that group pales in comparison to this crop of aces.
Throughout the event’s history, top-tier non-American pitchers have generally shown more interest in participating (Alcantara, Shohei Ohtani, Félix Hernández). But before this edition, the United States struggled to convince its aces to commit. Remember, USA skipper Mark DeRosa entered the 2023 tourney with a rotation composed of Merrill Kelly, Kyle Freeland, Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, Brady Singer, Adam Wainwright and Nick Martinez. Combined, that unit had zero Cy Youngs and just five top-three finishes, four of which were Wainwrights. The 2026 team has six Cy Youngs — to be fair, three of them belong to the retired Clayton Kershaw — and 11 top-three finishes.
It’s an incredibly encouraging development for this tournament that the most dominant hurlers in the world are willing to alter their preseason routines to compete on the global stage. — Mintz
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Team Italy is a fascinating dark horse
In 2023, the Italian squad showed well, battling its way out of the Taiwan pool before getting bounced by Japan in the quarterfinals. Impressive as that was, Italy’s roster was far from full-strength. Because their pool-play round was halfway across the world, the club struggled to convince Italian-American big-league regulars to opt in.
This year, Italy’s pool is in Houston, which appears to have been an absolute game-changer. Vinnie Pasquantino, one of two position players back from the 2023 team, said he spent a ton of time recruiting for Team Italy. Those efforts have paid off.
Italy’s starting lineup will be one of just a handful in the tournament entirely made up of active big leaguers. Pasquantino is the biggest bat, but he’ll be flanked by powerful sluggers such as Dominic Canzone (142 OPS+ last year) and Jac Caglianone (former top prospect with huge juice). Jakob Marsee is coming off a stellar debut with the Marlins. Kyle Teel should be the White Sox’s Opening Day catcher. Jon Berti is a versatile vet. This lineup has a lot to like.
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Even more importantly, the Italians have a greatly improved pitching staff. Aaron Nola is easily the most accomplished hurler to ever appear for Italy in international competition. Michael Lorenzen is a solid No. 2. Alek Jacob, Matt Festa, Kyle Nicolas and Greg Weissert are all legit big-league relievers. They’ll need to topple Mexico or the United States to emerge from a tough group, but this squad has the sauce to make that happen. — Mintz
It’s all a massive bummer for Puerto Rico, set to host WBC games for the first time since 2013. Between Nolan Arenado, Edwin Díaz, Seth Lugo and Heliot Ramos, this club still has enough talent to win an evenly balanced group, but they’ll dearly miss Lindor, Correa and Báez. — Mintz
Team USA’s final two roster spots revealed
While the vast majority of Team USA had been revealed over the past few months, there were two spots unsettled on the 30-man roster before Thursday’s announcement. It was a pretty safe bet that it would be one more position player and one more pitcher, but there were questions about what genre of hitter and hurler manager Mark DeRosa would prefer. Would Team USA go with a third catcher in support of Cal Raleigh and Will Smith? Would they target a player with defensive versatility, another Ernie Clement type — or one with more offensive upside? Did they need another starting pitcher or another high-leverage reliever?
The answers: first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and right-hander Michael Wacha. Goldschmidt — still a free agent entering his age-38 season — returns to the roster as one of five holdovers from the 2023 team, joining Smith, Bobby Witt Jr., Kyle Schwarber and right-hander David Bednar. Goldschmidt gives DeRosa a veteran presence off the bench, one who can still crush left-handers. He’ll either pinch-hit against lefty relievers or garner a start against a left-handed starter before making way for superior options later in the game.
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Wacha is a sensible addition as an experienced and dependable right-hander who gives DeRosa another pitcher capable of covering multiple innings. Navigating the various restrictions imposed by major-league clubs and pitch-count regulations is an enormous variable in this tournament, so affording the manager a bevy of arms who can provide length is smart roster-building. And while this is Wacha’s WBC debut, he does have Team USA experience, having played on the 2011 Collegiate National Team.
The Goldschmidt/Wacha duo might lack the flash of some of the younger, more ascendant participants in the tournament, but these two fill clear roles for Team USA, so their inclusions should come as no real surprise. — Shusterman
Team Brazil makes its return
Of the 20 teams competing in this year’s Classic, 19 are holdovers from the 2023 edition. The lone exception is Team Brazil, which claimed one of the final spots in the tournament during the qualification round last March and is effectively replacing Team China, which failed to qualify this time. This is Brazil’s second appearance in the Classic, having last participated in 2013, when it went winless in pool play (but had a lead through seven innings against Samurai Japan). That means Brazil is seeking its first WBC victory in this year’s tournament, and the team will have at least four opportunities to make that happen as the massive underdogs in Pool B in Houston, which also features USA, Mexico, Italy and Great Britain.
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Brazil’s squad includes just five players currently in major-league organizations, one of the lowest totals of any team in the tournament. But this roster is not without intrigue. The most interesting throughline is the trio of players with high-profile big-league fathers. Lucas Ramirez, 20, is one of the five affiliated players as an outfielder in the Angels organization, and he’s the son of 12-time All-Star Manny Ramirez. Infielder Dante Bichette Jr. is the son of four-time All-Star Dante and older brother of new Met Bo.
And perhaps most fascinating of all, 17-year-old Joseph Contreras is the son of 11-year major-league pitcher and 2005 World Series champion Jose Contreras. Joseph is the youngest player in the tournament and also a top prospect in this summer’s draft, a talented right-handed pitcher at a Georgia high school who is committed to Vanderbilt. A strong outing against one of the star-studded lineups in Pool B would be a unique and exciting way to boost his draft stock — and perhaps help Team Brazil make history on the international stage. — Shusterman
Plenty of prospects to watch
Of the 600 players named to WBC rosters, a little more than half — 305, to be exact — are currently members of major-league organizations. But only about half of those are projected to play in the majors in 2026; there’s also a gigantic population of ballplayers from all levels of the minor leagues. That means that beyond the overwhelming amount of established star power on these rosters, there’s a plethora of prospects scattered throughout the WBC player pool who will have the opportunity to raise their profiles on the international stage.
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There are some obvious headliners, such as Mets right-hander Nolan McLean, the lone rookie-eligible player on Team USA, and former No. 1 pick and Guardians top prospect Travis Bazzana, the biggest star on Team Australia. There are also a few other top-100 types who could make an impact in the majors sooner rather than later, such as Marlins outfielder Owen Caissie (Canada) and Nationals catcher Harry Ford (Great Britain).
Here are a few other notable names who are a bit further from the majors but worth monitoring once the tournament begins:
Mariners INF Michael Arroyo (Colombia): Arroyo has been one of the most productive hitters in the minors over the past two years, but he sometimes gets lost in the shuffle in a Seattle farm system loaded with high-profile position-player prospects. An undersized, right-handed hitter without a clear defensive home — he has mostly played second base but might fit best in left-field long term — he doesn’t have the explosive physical tools typically associated with premium prospects. But he raked his way to Double-A last year as a 20-year-old, and he’s on track to factor into Seattle’s lineup in some form in 2027.
Brewers INF Andrew Fischer (Italy): Fischer ranked 20th on my 2025 draft rankings after a prolific college career at three different schools. Milwaukee evidently agreed with that assessment, selecting him 20th overall and quickly sending him to High-A, where he had a strong pro debut. It’s unclear how much playing time Fischer will get on a surprisingly crowded Team Italy roster, but if he gets some at-bats, they promise to be highly entertaining.
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Athletics LHP Wei-En Lin (Chinese Taipei): Lin, who turned 20 in November, was a strikeout machine in the lower levels last season, and he exhibited solid command as well. This fun fact says it all: Only three pitchers with at least 80 minor-league innings had a higher K-minus-BB rate than Lin’s 27.1% in 2025: Trey Yesavage, Payton Tolle and Jonah Tong. Pretty good!
Yankees RHP Elmer Rodriguez (Puerto Rico): Acquired from Boston a year ago in exchange for catcher Carlos Narvaez, Rodriguez had a terrific first season in the Yankees organization, striking out 176 batters in 150 innings with a 2.58 ERA and climbing all the way to Triple-A. He’s still pretty far down New York’s starting pitching depth chart, but don’t be surprised if he pitches his way into the major-league mix at some point in 2026. — Shusterman
We have a jam-packed episode of The Dunker Spot coming your way!
The NBA trade deadline has officially passed, and we have plenty of deals to sort through. Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones discuss the headliners like Jaren Jackson Jr. (Utah), Anthony Davis (Washington), and James Harden (Cleveland); stealthier acquisitions like Ivica Zubac (Indiana) and Nikola Vucevic (Boston), and much more.
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From there, the guys discuss the winners and losers of #TradeSZN. Teams like the Pistons, Thunder and Hornets should feel pretty good; the Heat and Rockets? Not so much. Players like Spencer Jones and Dominick Barlow should have more security; guys like Cam Thomas will be looking for a new home.
Finally, they preview the weekend slate of Unrivaled games — plenty of standings shuffling could be on the way! — and Nekias reveals his media ballot for the upcoming 1-on-1 Tournament.
If you ever have NBA or WNBA questions, email us at dunkerspot@yahoo.com.
2:15 — Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Jazz 9:57 — Anthony Davis to the Wizards 15:55 — Ivica Zubac to the Pacers 22:53 — Kristaps Porzingis to the Warriors, Jonathan Kuminga to the Hawks 28:21 — Nikola Vucevic to the Celtics 33:12 — Trade Deadline Winners 01:03:01 — Nekias’ Miami Heat rant 01:10:38 — Other Trade Deadline losers + Cam Thomas landing spots 01:19:57– Unrivaled preview + 1-on-1 ballot reveal
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – JANUARY 8: Anthony Davis #3 of the Dallas Mavericks drops into defense during the first half of their game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center on January 8, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
An adventurous and historic Week of Trades™️ saw plenty of big names change places. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Anthony Davis are in win-later homes; James Harden and Darius Garland were swapped for each other. Ivica Zubac, a season removed from playing at a fringe-All-NBA level, will eventually get to catch passes from Tyrese Haliburton.
There will be, and already has been, plenty of audio and virtual ink spilled on those moves, and rightfully so. With that in mind, and in the spirit of the week, I decided to do what many other teams did: pivot to something else.
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We’re here to take a look at some of the non-stars (or close) that saw their situations improve, and could prove to be important factors as we trek ahead to the playoffs.
Let’s dig in, shall we?
Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves were largely discussed through the lens of the Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit. They should now be discussed for their acquisition of former Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu.
The fifth-year guard is enjoying the best scoring season of his career, logging a career high in points off the strength of insane 3-point shooting (45.1% on 4.3 attempts). It serves as a necessary complement to his driving chops, a skill that has improved in half-court settings and really pops in transition.
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He should vibe nicely playing off the attention Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle command. His ability to get downhill, particularly in early-offense situations, should make life easier for those stars, allowing them to attack tilted defenses instead of always being tasked with the tilting.
Dosunmu’s quickness and plus-wingspan (listed at 6-foot-10) allows him to hold his own defensively — and he’s shown flashes of being a real disruptive piece during his Chicago stint. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Wolves dabble in three-guard lineups with him, Donte DiVincenzo and Edwards. A closing group with those three, Jaden McDaniels (having one heck of a year) and Rudy Gobert could be incredibly tough to deal with.
If there’s one thing I’m eyeing, it’s how teams will treat Dosunmu on the perimeter in games that matter. He’s enjoying a strong shooting season, but historically, his catch-and-shoot efficiency has been a roller coaster. Tied to that is the fact he’s largely been dared to knock down the triples he’s taken.
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Here’s Dosunmu’s catch-and-shoot history from beyond the arc, as well as average closest defender distance when taking those shots:
2021-22: 37.6% on 2.3 attempts, 8.5 feet away
2022-23: 30.8% on 2.3 attempts, 8.6 feet away
2023-24: 40.4% on 3.3 attempts, 8.8 feet away
2024-25: 34% on 3.5 attempts, 8.3 feet away
2025-26: 42.3% on 3.7 attempts, 8.0 feet away
If the efficiency goes backward, I’ll be curious to see how often the Wolves feel like they can close with him. That’s also a first-world problem; him helping to solidify the second unit — along with the likely return of Mike Conley — makes this enough of a win.
Kevin Huerter, Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons have been the best team in the East; quiet as kept, they’re only two games behind the Thunder for the league’s best record. A conversational point around the Pistons, aside from their goodness, has been their willingness to make a major swing ahead of the deadline. They had the salaries, pick control, and, despite their record, a pretty obvious flaw in their design (shooting) to justify a swing.
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They ultimately decided against pushing all of their chips to the center of the table, instead bringing Huerter into the mix.
I like it quite a bit.
While it’s fair to raise a brow at Huerter’s shooting — he’s converting a career-worst 31% of his 3s this year — he is a career 37% shooter from deep. I think he’ll enjoy playing off the gravity of Cade Cunningham whenever they share minutes together; that miiiight be a friendly context for him compared to playing alongside Josh Giddey.
Beyond the pure shooting ability, Huerter’s ability to move away from the ball should immediately make this group better. He’s a smart relocator off the ball, often finding pockets of space to make life easier for drivers or post kickouts. On top of that, pay attention to his work as a cutter. He’s converting a career-best 63% of his shots inside the arc for a reason; I think Jalen Duren in particular will enjoy the Huerter back cuts when teams try to deny him on handoffs.
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Huerter should also add value as a second-side option for handoffs or ball screens; he’s an underrated playmaker, especially when defenses are already tilted. And on a basic level, Huerter gives the Pistons more optionality, taking some pressure off Duncan Robinson to be the movement/off-ball threat.
Coby White, Charlotte Hornets
Welcome home, Coby White!
The Goldsboro, North Carolina, native and former Tar Heel joins a Hornets group currently riding an eight-game winning streak. Not only is that tied with the Knicks (more on them shortly) for the longest active streak in the league, it’s the first time this century that the Hornets have won eight (or more) games in a row.
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While it’s been a “down” year for White as he’s worked back from — and through — injuries, it’s worth noting that he was looking more like last year’s version of himself before this trade.
2024-25 season: 20.4 points (54/37/90), 4.5 assists in 33.1 minutes
Last nine games: 20.3 points (44/40/86), 4.9 assists in 30.9 minutes
White brings a fun mix of pull-up shooting, drives (quietly logging the highest rim rate of his career), and off-ball prowess and secondary playmaking that the Hornets could use. He should slot in nicely in lineups next to LaMelo Ball. With the way the Hornets like to flow in the half-court, it’s easy to envision possessions where White initiates things, only for the ball to find its way into LaMelo’s hands against a shifting defense.
More pressing could be what happens when Ball isn’t on the floor. Of note, the Hornets’ offense falls off a cliff — from a would-be-league-best 124.3 offensive rating to a paltry 112.2 offensive rating — when Ball goes to the bench. White should help quite a bit with that issue.
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Jose Alvarado, New York Knicks
Speaking of homecomings, Alvarado making his way back to New York couldn’t have come at a better time. Deuce McBride, enjoying the best season of his career (12.9 points on 59.2 true shooting, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists in 28 minutes), is expected to miss significant time with a core injury. I was already a fan of adding Alvarado to this mix; in light of McBride’s strategy, it’s clear the Knicks needed this acquisition.
To call Alvarado a spark plug or energy shifter would be an understatement. His ability to flip games on their head — more importantly, the way he flips those games — should be greatly appreciated in New York. He’s so annoying (complimentary) at the point of attack defensively. Famously, you may need eyes at the back of your head to locate him after receiving an inbound pass, lest you get your pocket picked for a quick bucket.
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Quietly, Alvarado has turned himself into a serviceable shooter (36.5% on 4.6 attempts from 3 over the past three seasons) who’s willing to take them off the bounce if defenders disrespect him. His speed allows him to bob-and-weave into tight spaces, forcing defenses into tough decisions and opening up passing windows. The injection of pace, energy and aggression should vibe nicely with the Knicks’ second unit.
I’ll leave you with this: Among the many variations of Pelicans teams we’ve seen across Alvarado’s tenure, it’s noteworthy that they won his minutes and were outscored without him.
Spencer Jones, Denver Nuggets
Jones wasn’t traded, but a money (and roster) move involving Hunter Tyson helped create a pathway for the Nuggets to convert Jones’ two-way deal into a standard contract.
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Jones has been tasked with defending multiple positions, knocking down shots, filling space as a cutter, connecting possessions as a passer or hand-off hub, and generating extra possessions on the offensive glass. Those responsibilities have felt more important in light of Aaron Gordon’s absence; they likely feel even more necessary considering Peyton Watson is expected to miss at least a month.
Luckily for the Nuggets, Jones has been up for the challenge to this point. Across 34 starts, Jones is averaging 7.5 points (64/41/61 splits), 3.9 rebounds (1.3 OREB), and 1 steal. He deserves a salute for his impact, and I’m sure he’ll enjoy the added layer of security.
Deion Sanders also struggled in his first year at Colorado without his son at quarterback. The Buffaloes were 3-9 and played Kaidon Salter, Ryan Staub and Julian Lewis at quarterback last season.
Lewis is expected to come into next year as the starting quarterback. He finished the year with 589 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions before he redshirted. Sanders is now 16-21 since taking over as the Colorado head coach in 2023.
