Las Vegas Raiders Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby has been in the headlines lately after reports surfaced that he’s done with the team.
Since the season ended, the whispers have become much louder about Crosby’s seemingly inevitable departure from Las Vegas. He’s heard the chatter and doesn’t sound too pleased with the things he’s hearing.
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“People are gonna have rumors,” Crosby said. “I just looked at my phone, I’ve been working all morning. Everyone’s hitting me up, ‘Did you say this?’ I can’t control that. You earn that as a player. If I wasn’t doing the right things and if I wasn’t the person and player I was, you know, people wouldn’t be talking about all of the nonsense. But that’s what comes with it.
If you have drama, if you have a losing season, they just try to throw gasoline on the fire and make things a certain way. I know what I’m about, I know what I represent. I really don’t care what everybody has to say.”
Crosby has been a Pro Bowler in five of his seven seasons with the Raiders. He’s posted double-digit sack totals in four of those seasons, peaking in 2023 with 14.5 and finishing fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. Crosby came in as a playmaker for the franchise after being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He had 10 sacks that first year and finished second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year race.
Last offseason, Crosby signed a three-year extension with Las Vegas worth $106.5 million. Should he become available this offseason, Crosby would be one of the most coveted players in the trade market. Crosby ended the 2025 campaign on injured reserve due to a knee injury. However, he did appear in 15 games, ending the year with 73 total tackles, 10 sacks and his fifth Pro Bowl nod.
Cooper Flagg will end up missing his first All-Star weekend after all.
The Dallas Mavericks rookie underwent an MRI on Wednesday that revealed a left midfoot sprain, the team announced. He will now miss the Mavericks’ game with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and won’t participate in the Rising Stars game at the Intuit Dome on Friday to kick off All-Star Weekend in Southern California.
Unlike Flagg, though, Bailey wasn’t necessarily a focal point of his team’s lineup from the jump. While he’s started 37 of the 48 games he’s played in, his usage rate (18.7%) is noticeably lower than Flagg’s (24.7%).
That said, Bailey has still shown promise, particularly of late. He’s averaging 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 44.9% from the field, including 34.3% from beyond the arc.
He’s gone for 20-plus points on seven different occasions. Four of those outings have come in the past 12 games.
Although Flagg won’t get to participate in the weekend’s festivities, his injury arrived at perhaps the best time for the Mavericks. Flagg isn’t expected to miss any further time recovering, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. The Mavericks will return from the All-Star break on Feb. 20 for a matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, giving Flagg more than a week to recover.
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Flagg, whom the Mavericks selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft last summer, has averaged 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game this season. The former Duke standout has shot just better than 48% from the field. Flagg had a game-high 27 points and five assists in Dallas’ 120-111 loss to the Phoenix Suns in Arizona on Tuesday night.
But despite a strong start to his rookie campaign, the Mavericks have struggled lately. The team will enter Thursday’s game at Crypto.com Arena with a 19-34 record. They have lost eight straight and sit 12th in the Western Conference standings, which has them on pace to miss the playoffs for a second straight year.
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As for Bailey’s Jazz, they’re also in the West’s cellar. At 18-37, Utah is 13th in the conference table.
But both of those teams are planning for the future, and their teenage rising stars are at the core of those plans.
LIVIGNO, Italy — Shaun White didn’t just build a business empire on the back of Olympic medals, he practically built the entire sport of halfpipe into a worldwide phenomenon.
But when he retired from competitive snowboarding four years ago after the Beijing Games, there was one thing he hadn’t built: a bench of American stars ready to take his place.
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We’re about to find out if that’s on the verge of changing.
Alessandro Barbieri, a mere 17 years old, enters the men’s halfpipe finals Friday as the best American hope. He’s already being talked up as a future superstar in this event — including by White himself. If he continues on his current trajectory, it’s not a stretch to envision a gold medal around his neck in 2030 or 2034.
But is he ready to win it all now?
“Honestly, you never know if you’re really ready,” Barbieri said Wednesday night after qualifying with the fourth-highest score. “The only thing you can do is just land your tricks one by one. I don’t really think about if I could win because there have been a lot of times where I could have been on the podium or even won a World Cup and it didn’t go my way. You can never really think I’m supposed to do something. Nothing’s guaranteed in life.”
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That’s true, but Barbieri appears to be one of those jump-off-the-screen talents for whom it’s only a matter of time before it all comes together.
Need evidence?
Not only did Barbieri have to deal with the nerves of being in his first Olympics in the run-up to qualifying, he had to do it in the country where his parents were raised before moving to the U.S. in 2006 and where much of his extended family still lives.
Alessandro Barbieri practices before the men’s snowboarding halfpipe qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
But if Barbieri was feeling any added pressure, he didn’t show it, smoothly executing all five tricks of his first run to score 88.50, comfortably putting him in the finals.
“Let’s say what I really have in my head is a 10. That was more like a six,” Barbieri said, assessing his qualifying performance. “I have a lot more in the tank and I’m ready to show it to the public.”
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Yeah, the kid’s got some swagger, too.
But it’s well-earned.
After finishing second at the Youth Olympic Games a little more than two years ago, his career really started to take off. Last February, he made his first World Cup podium and has continued to put himself in the mix, showing it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through.
Will that happen at the Olympics?
Against a field headlined by Japan’s Ayumu Hirano and Australia’s Scotty James, who finished 1-2 at the last Olympics, it’s a tough ask. Between a handful of other Japanese and Australian riders, who are all at the top of their game right now, this is shaping up as arguably the toughest halfpipe field in Olympic history.
Former American snowboarder Shaun White celebrates with Alessandro Barbieri during run two of the men’s snowboard halfpipe qualification. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
(David Ramos via Getty Images)
But in an interview last week with USA Today, White identified Barbieri as someone who could pull off a big upset, citing a recent event where he landed two triple corks in one run and compared him to a student cramming for a test.
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“He’s advancing, he’s making these tricks happen right up to the wire, but that could be the tipping point to have him succeed and hit the podium,” White said.
In his second qualifying run, which was ultimately irrelevant having already banked a high score, Barbieri could not quite put down a triple but knows against this field it’s going to be a requirement to have any shot.
“You’ll see it,” he promised.
Oozing charisma, Barbieri is only one big performance with lots of people watching from reaching a whole new level of stardom. But whether it happens Friday or four years from now, it appears Team USA might finally have someone capable of taking the halfpipe torch on the international stage after White’s retirement.
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“We need another guy like Shaun,” Barbieri said. “We have really good snowboarders. Obviously no one to his level and dominance, but we need the U.S. back on the podium to keep the lineage of the U.S. greatness alive.”
“You should ask the Europeans and the World team if they’re going to compete,” Durant said, via Chron’s Michael Shapiro. “If you look at Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić now, let’s go back and look at what they do in the All-Star Game. Is that competition? So we haven’t questioned what they’ve been doing. But we going to question the old heads, and the Americans.”
Durant then said, with a laugh at the end, “But these two dudes out there, Luka and Jokić, they don’t care about the game at all.”
He continued: “These dudes be laying on the floor. They shoot from half court. But you’ve got to worry about the old heads playing hard? I can read between the lines, bro. … It’s just an overall topic that everybody’s been talking about.”
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, a member of Team World with Dončić and Jokić, told reporters on Tuesday that he plans on giving his all in this year’s All-Star Game, the 22-year-old’s second.
“I’ve seen the All-Star Game, and obviously it hasn’t been competitive,” Wembanyama said, per ESPN. “And I’ve always thought myself that if I was in there, I’m never stepping onto the court to lose or not caring. Just like at home, I’m never stepping into a board game not caring, thinking I’m going to lose. … I’m going to be out there, I might as well win.”
When asked about that statement Wednesday, Durant remained skeptical.
“He said that last year, too. They said it was the worst All-Star Game that people watched. So we’re going to see. … Who knows what’s going to happen? This format might change the game, but who knows? We’ll see.”
There were no positional requirements for this year’s All-Star lineups. That’s a first for the exhibition, now in its 75th year.
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In terms of the game itself, there will still technically be four 12-minute quarters, although each will be its own game. Each of the three teams will play twice during round-robin action. The fourth “quarter” will pit the two teams with the best records to decide a champion.
Point differential will be the post-round-robin tiebreaker if all three teams have 1-1 records.
The NBA All-Star Game has been a criticism magnet for years. At the heart of that condemnation has been fans’ frustration with players’ effort, or lack thereof.
But with the Paris Olympics not that far in the rear-view mirror and the Milan Cortina Olympics ongoing, the NBA hopes to ride the international wave.
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Perhaps Durant’s comments can stoke a flame that ignites more competitive play on Sunday.
The Seattle Seahawks completed an unlikely Super Bowl run on Sunday, beating the New England Patriots 29-13 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score and securing a title from long-shot preseason odds of 60-1. Those are the longest odds for a champion in 25 years … since the Patriots (60-1) beat the Los Angeles Rams in 2001.
One bettor cashed in to the tune of nearly $4.5 million on Seattle’s Super Bowl 60 win, including a $50,000 wager on the Seahawks at 60-1 odds at BetMGM that was placed last August. Another bettor at DraftKings had a $10,000 futures wager on the Patriots at 80-1 odds that was made last January, so there is potential value in making Super Bowl wagers early if you’re able to identify the right team.
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Coming off their Super Bowl 60 win, the Seahawks (+800) are the favorite at BetMGM, followed closely by the Los Angeles Rams (+900). The Seahawks were No. 1 in DVOA this season and the Rams were the top power-rated team by oddsmakers, so it’s not surprising that both are atop the odds board for next year, especially after Matthew Stafford indicated he’d be returning for the 2026-27 season. They are the only two teams with single-digit odds.
Two AFC powerhouses — the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills — have the next-best odds at 12-1, followed by the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles at 14-1 and two AFC West rivals (Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs) at 15-1. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL in Week 16 and it’s unknown if he’ll be ready for Week 1.
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The other Super Bowl 60 participant — the Patriots — also are at 15-1, tied for the fourth-best odds to win the Super Bowl in the AFC. New England had 80-1 odds in the preseason heading into this season.
Caleb Williams and the surprising Chicago Bears have 25-1 odds, their shortest preseason Super Bowl odds since 2019. Same for the Jacksonville Jaguars at 20-1, as they have their franchise’s shortest preseason Super Bowl odds since 2018.
In all, it’s a wide-open field for next season, with 17 of the 32 teams owning odds of 30-1 or better.
The Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins have the longest odds among NFL teams at 250-1.
MILAN — A Ukrainian skeleton pilot has been banned from competing at the Winter Olympics for insisting upon wearing a helmet featuring images of athletes killed during Russia’s invasion of his home country.
The International Olympic Committee announced “with regret” the decision to disqualify Vladyslav Heraskevych on Thursday just minutes before the first round of the men’s skeleton competition was set to begin.
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“This is the price of our dignity,” Heraskevych posted Thursday to X shortly after a last-minute meeting with IOC President Kirsty Coventry failed to produce a breakthrough.
When he spoke with reporters on Thursday, Heraskevych said he did not consider racing with another helmet because he believes he’s “not violating any rules.” Heraskevych pointed to “big inconsistencies” of athletes from other countries being able to express their political views during press conferences but him not being able to do so while competing.
“U.S. figure skater, Canadian freeskier, Israeli skeleton athlete who is also here today, they didn’t face the same things,” Heraskevych said. “So suddenly, just a Ukrainian athlete in this Olympic Games will be disqualified for this helmet.”
Vladyslav Heraskevych’s helmet featured victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty Images)
(TIZIANA FABI via Getty Images)
Shortly after Heraskevych first wore his helmet during a training run on Monday, the IOC met with his coach and Ukrainian officials to explain that the helmet was not compliant with its rules. The Olympic charter states that “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
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When Heraskevych made it clear that he intended to wear the helmet anyway, the IOC offered him the option to wear a black armband or black ribbon instead of the helmet. Coventry also traveled to Cortina to sit down in person with Heraskevych in hopes of brokering a compromise.
“The IOC was very keen for Mr. Heraskevych to compete,” it said in a statement. “This is why the IOC sat down with him to look for the most respectful way to address his desire to remember his fellow athletes who have lost their lives following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified by the IOC over his intention to wear a helmet honoring fallen countrymen in the ongoing war against Russia. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Calling it “an emotional morning,” Coventry reiterated when speaking to reporters that the ban was not about the content of Heraskevych’s message. The issue, she said, was that he insisted on displaying it “on the field of play.”
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“The messaging is a powerful message of remembrance, it’s a message of memory, and no-one is disagreeing with that,” Coventry said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Heraskevych for sacrificing his Olympic dreams to honor his countrymen. In a social media post, Zelenskyy said that 660 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed since the Russian invasion began.
“We are proud of Vladyslav and of what he did,” Zelenskyy said. “Having courage is worth more than any medal.”
“Sport shouldn’t mean amnesia, and the Olympic movement should help stop wars, not play into the hands of aggressors. Unfortunately, the decision of the International Olympic Committee to disqualify Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych says otherwise. This is certainly not about the principles of Olympism, which are founded on fairness and the support of peace.”
Following their luge relay competition on Thursday, the Ukrainian team members dropped to one knee and raised their helmets in honor of Heraskevych.
Team Ukraine raise their helmets in a tribute to Vladyslav Heraskevych. (Reuters)
(REUTERS / REUTERS)
Heraskevych competed at the previous two Winter Olympics in the skeleton, placing 12th in PyeongChang in 2018 and 18th in Beijing in 2022. He had an outside shot at a medal in Cortina based on the results of his training runs.
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On Thursday, moments after his disqualification, Heraskevych urged broadcast companies who air the Olympics to show his final training run “to honor athletes pictured on this helmet.”
“I believe they deserve this moment,” he said. “Certainly I do not get my moment at this Olympics, despite I would say pretty good results in the training runs. I really believe we could be among the medallists today and tomorrow, but we will not be able to race.”
In today’s Kevin O’Connor Show, KOC goes over his NBA awards rankings approaching the midway point of the season. Plus, he reacts to the news of the Jaren Jackson Jr. season-ending surgery, and proposes a new system to weed out the problem of tanking in the NBA.
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Then, KOC does a live mail-bag segment with questions from the YouTube chat. That and more for today’s pre-All-Star Weekend show!
(0:33) NBA Awards check-in (8:37) How can the NBA solve tanking? (29:07) Live YouTube Q&A
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 07: Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen #23 of the Utah Jazz looks on against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Kia Center on February 07, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
MLB owners want to make it harder for teams to engage in pitch-stealing tactics on the field. Team owners reportedly voted Thursday to enforce a rule that prevents first- and third-base coaches from leaving their coaches’ boxes on the field until after a pitcher throws a pitch, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
MLB owners wanted to crack down on the tactic due to concern about first- and third-base coaches moving up and down the foul lines to try to get betters view of the pitcher, per ESPN. If those coaches discovered what pitch was coming, they would reportedly relay that information directly to the batter or to a runner on second base, who could signal to the hitter what pitch was coming.
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The league attempted to curb the tactic during the 2025 World Series, when it told both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays to make sure their first- and third-base coaches stayed in their designated coaches’ boxes on the field.
With the creation of PitchCom, the art of stealing catcher signs is essentially extinct around the league. Because MLB teams will try to exploit any advantage possible, teams and coaches have turned to extensive film study ahead of games, trying to find tells from the pitcher or catcher to determine what pitch is coming. Unlike the pitch-stealing scandal the Houston Astros engaged in during the 2017 MLB season, this version of pitch stealing is legal since it doesn’t rely on the in-game use of technology.
In 2017, the Astros were accused of using cameras and video monitors to steal signs from their opponents. After MLB conducted an investigation into those claims, commissioner Rob Manfred announced one-year suspensions for then-Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and then-manager A.J. Hinch. Shortly after those suspensions were announced, the Astros fired both men.
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Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora was later suspended for a year for his involvement in the scandal. Cora coached with the Astros before being hired by the Red Sox in 2018. The Red Sox fired Cora ahead of the 2020 season but brought him back for the 2021 MLB season.
Players and coaches are allowed to steal signs from pitchers or catchers during games without the use of technology, but MLB owners reportedly believed first- and third-base coaches were getting too brazen with their tactics, per ESPN.
The MLB rulebook states that first- and third-base coaches must remain in the coaches’ boxes from the time the pitcher steps on the pitching rubber to the time the ball is caught by the catcher or put in play. Coaches, however, are allowed to leave the coaches’ box for safety reasons.
Under the new rule enforcement, first- and third-base coaches will receive a warning for their first violation. After that, coaches could be ejected from games for leaving the coaches’ box too early, per ESPN.
In a special edition of the pod, we share the best of the best from Matt Harmon’s radio row interviews with the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Trey McBride and other massive fantasy stars from the 2025 season. Harmon walks through all the interviews and shares his fantasy football takeaways from all of them.
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(2:45) – Harmon’s conversation with Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (11:50) – Fantasy takeaways from Lawrence interview (17:15) – Harmon’s conversation with Cardinals TE Trey McBride (26:25) – Fantasy takeaways from McBride interview (32:35) – Harmon’s conversation with Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan (39:25) – Fantasy takeaways from McMillan interview (43:05) – Harmon’s conversation with Colts WR Michael Pittman (51:30) – Fantasy takeaways from Pittman interview (54:50) – Harmon’s conversation with Bears WR Rome Odunze (1:06:55) – Fantasy takeaways from Odunze interview (1:10:35) – Harmon’s conversation with Bears WR DJ Moore (1:20:30) – Fantasy takeaways from Moore interview (1:23:30) – Harmons’ conversation and takeaways with Chargers WR Ladd McConkey + Keenan Allen
In a special edition of the pod, we share the best of the best from Matt Harmon’s radio row interviews with the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Trey McBride and other massive fantasy stars from the 2025 season. Harmon walks through all the interviews and shares his fantasy football takeaways from all of them.
Former lottery pick and All-Rookie team selection Jeremy Sochan has decided to sign with the New York Knicks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
Sochan will join the Knicks once he clears waivers. He reached a buyout agreement with the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
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Sochan had interest from 10 teams before deciding on the Knicks, who are contenders in the Eastern Conference, ESPN reported. New York has enough room to sign Sochan to veteran’s minimum contract, prorated for the remainder of the season, and stay below the second apron.
The Spurs selected Sochan with the No. 9 pick out of Baylor in the 2022 NBA Draft. He immediately secured a starting position for San Antonio and earned second-team All-Rookie honors after averaging 11 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Sochan started 73 games for the Spurs in his second season with similar production. He was a part-time starter in his third season with 23 starts in 54 games, but fell out of the rotation this season on an improved Spurs roster with more competition for playing time.
Jeremy Sochan is reportedly no longer a San Antonio Spur.
(Steph Chambers via Getty Images)
Sochan averaged 4.1 points while playing 12.8 minutes per game in 28 of San Antonio’s 53 games prior to the news of his release. He played in 11 of San Antonio’s previous 30 games in limited action.
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Sochan was on the trade block prior to last week’s NBA trade deadline. But the Spurs didn’t find a trade partner and have opted to release Sochan while providing him an opportunity to find a larger role with another team.
After missing the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons, the Spurs are championship contenders this year with Victor Wembanyama leading the team. San Antonio enters its last game before the All-Star break Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors at 37-16, good for second place in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
