If Aguilar gets the injunction, he’s likely to be on Tennessee’s roster in 2026. If he doesn’t, his chances of getting that extra season of eligibility are a lot lower.
“This outcome — after the plaintiff withdrew from a federal lawsuit and separately filed a lawsuit in state court with the exact same facts — illustrates the impossible situation created by differing court decisions that serve to undermine rules agreed to by the same NCAA members who later challenge them in court,” the NCAA said in a statement after the TRO was granted. “We will continue to defend the NCAA’s eligibility rules against repeated attempts to rob high school students of the opportunity to compete in college and experience the life-changing opportunities only college sports can create. The NCA and its member schools are making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes, but the patchwork of state laws and inconsistent, conflicting court decisions make partnering with Congress essential to provide stability for all college athletes.”
The former Appalachian State quarterback officially began his college football career in 2019. He redshirted at a community college in 2019 before his school’s 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He then played two seasons at a different junior college before he transferred to App State ahead of the 2023 season.
After two seasons with the Mountaineers, he transferred to UCLA for the 2025 season. However, he left the Bruins after just a couple months when former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA. Aguilar ended up at Tennessee in what was essentially the first trade in modern college football history.
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Aguilar has cited Diego Pavia as an example in his lawsuit. The former Vanderbilt QB played his final season of college football in 2025 after he successfully argued that his junior college time shouldn’t count against his NCAA eligibility. However, Pavia’s college career began in 2020, a year after Aguilar’s did.
Like Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, Aguilar filed his lawsuit against the NCAA in state court — ostensibly in an attempt to get a more favorable permanent ruling. Chambliss, who transferred to Ole Miss from Division II Ferris State, is seeking a sixth season of eligibility to play for the Rebels in 2026 after leading Ole Miss to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff in 2025.
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Neither Tennessee nor Ole Miss has a solid backup plan at quarterback if the legal maneuvering falls short, either. The chances of each team contending in the SEC hinge largely on their starting quarterbacks returning for the 2026 season given that neither the Vols nor Rebels added an experienced quarterback in the transfer portal.
American Winter Olympics fans will have plenty of hopefuls to root for who will contend for medals at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games. The United States features athletes capable of standing on the podium for a number of events, including figure skating, ice hockey, snowboarding, speed skating and Alpine skiing.
Whether the U.S. can improve on its third-place in the medal count from the Beijing Games has yet to be seen. But here are 12 competitors who are among America’s best candidates to return from Italy with a medal for their trophy case.
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Chloe Kim, snowboarding
Kim, 25, won gold in the halfpipe competition at both the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and 2022 Beijing Olympics. She is expected to follow up with a third gold in Milan Cortina, something no Olympic snowboarder has ever accomplished. Last year, Kim became the first woman to ever land a double-cork 1080 — two forward flips while spinning 360 degrees — in competition. However, a recent shoulder injury suffered during training could make her pursuit more difficult.
Ilia Malinin, figure skating
The “Quad God” brings his quadruple-jumping prowess to his first Olympics after winning four U.S. championships, two World titles and three Grand Prix Finals. At 21, Malinin is the first and only skater to complete a quadruple axel in international competition. And he is the only athlete to land seven quadruple jumps, doing so at the 2024 Grand Prix Final. That makes him the clear favorite for a gold medal.
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Alex Hall, freestyle skiing (slopestyle)
Hall, 27, is pursuing his second consecutive Olympic gold medal. Competing in Milan-Cortina will be sort of a homecoming for the freestyle skier, whose mother is from Bologna, Italy. Hall has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Italy because of that. A gold medal win for Hall would give the U.S. top honors in the slopestyle event for the third time in the past four Winter Olympics. (Sage Kotsenburg won gold at the 2014 Sochi Games.)
Jordan Stolz, speed skating
After dominating the world in the 1000- and 1500-meters last season (plus three World Cup wins in the 500), Stolz, 21, goes into the 2026 Winter Games as a favorite to medal in his second Olympics. No American man has earned a medal in the 500m event since 2006 or the 1000 since 2010. And if Stolz wins in more than one of those three races, he’ll be the first American since Eric Heiden in 1980 to seize multiple medals in speed skating.
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates, ice dancing
The husband-and-wife team will compete in their fourth Winter Games together in Milan Cortina and an ice dance Olympic medal is really the only prize the ice-dancing duo haven’t won. Chock and Bates have won the past five U.S. championships — and seven overall, surpassing Meryl Davis and Charlie White for the most — while also earning the last two Grand Prix Finals and three World championships.
Jessie Diggins, cross-country skiing
Diggins. 34, will attempt to medal for the third consecutive Winter Games after winning bronze and silver at the 2022 Beijing Games, in addition to earning a team sprint gold at Pyeongchang in 2018. Her individual medals were the first won by an American woman in cross-country skiing. Diggins is considered a contender for gold in the 10km freestyle event and could also medal in the skiathlon, which also combines traditional cross-country skiing and freestyle techniques.
Lindsey Vonn, Alpine skiing
Vonn, 41 is still planning on competing in her fifth Winter Olympics after coming out of retirement and suffering a torn ACL just days before competition is to begin. She remains the only American woman to win a downhill skiing gold medal in Olympic competition, in addition to two bronze medals. She has also won 12 World Cup races in Cortina. That success, along with a partial knee replacement, was a contributing factor to her returning after a five-year hiatus. But the torn ACL is certainly not ideal. Vonn says her plan is to still compete in the downhill and Super-G events. Before, her chance at a medal were on solid ground, but is she still after suffering the torn ACL? Not even she knows yet.
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Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine Skiing
Shiffrin is the winningest Alpine skier in history — man or woman — with 108 World Cup victories. But her success in the Olympics has been muted by her lofty standards (2 golds, 1 silver). Four years ago at the Beijing Games, Shiffrin failed to medal. Now, in her fourth Games, she will have three tries to redeem herself, including the slalom, her speciality. She has seven World Cup slalom victories this season alone. To say it’s gold or bust for her might be a bit much, but she will arrive as the overwhelming favorite.
Alysa Liu, figure skating
As part of one of the strongest figure skating contingents the U.S. has sent to an Olympics, Liu is making a comeback after retiring at 16 years old following the Beijing Games. Following a two-year hiatus, she found her love for skating again. Liu, 20, showed she could still compete at the sport’s highest levels by winning the 2025 World championship, the first American woman to do so since 2006. In 2019, she was the first American woman to land a quadruple jump at the 2019 Grand Prix.
Kallie Humphries, bobsled
Humphries, 40, is pursuing gold in her second consecutive Olympics for the U.S. Prior to winning the women’s monobob event in Beijing, Humphries had medaled in two-woman bobsled in three Winter Games (gold in Vancouver and Sochi, bronze in Pyeongchang) for Canada. Those accomplishments make her the first athlete to win gold medals for both Canada and the U.S., where she became a citizen in 2021.
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Erin Jackson, speed skating
Jackson, 33, won gold in the 500-meter event in Beijing. That made her the first Black American woman to win a medal in speed skating and the first to win an individual medal at a Winter Olympics. Making her accomplishments even more impressive is that she didn’t participate in speed skating until 2016, previously competing in figure skating, inline skating and roller derby. The Milan Cortina Games will be her third Olympics as she attempts to win gold in the 500m competition again.
Many of the sports and events at the Winter Olympics are a curiosity. What typically breaks through for observers is the individual athletes and the stories they bring to competition. Naturally, the physical feats they achieve and the accomplishments they reach at the world’s highest level of sport is also compelling.
Here are eight of the most intriguing athletes viewers can follow in Milan Cortina once the 2026 Winter Games begin on Feb. 4
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Lindsey Vonn: Alpine Skier, United States
Of all the athletes competing in Milan Cortina, none may draw more curiosity than veteran Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn. And that was before she announced she’d torn her ACL just days before competition is set to begin.
She is the only American woman to win a downhill skiing gold medal in Olympic competition, in addition to earning two bronze medals (Downhill, Super-G).
At the age of 41, Vonn is still planning on participating in her fifth Winter Games after being retired for five years and suffering the ACL injury. She originally opted to step back from competitive skiing due to a variety of injuries, notably her right knee that sustained a torn ACL and a lack of cartilage resulting in bone rubbing against bone.
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However, after undergoing a partial knee replacement, Vonn felt strong enough to return to the slopes. Competing in Cortina, where she’s won 12 World Cup races, also provided motivation. In December, she qualified for the 2026 Winter Games after winning a World Cup race in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and is planning on racing in the downhill and Super-G events. She insists she will be in the starting gate for the downhill on Feb. 8. If she does, it will immediately become the story of these Olympic Games.
Mystique Ro: Skeleton, United States
Ro, 31, ran track (hurdles) in college but began competing in skeleton in 2023 after being deemed too slow to complete in bobsled. Last year, she was the first American to medal in the event, winning an individual silver and team gold at the World Championships.
She likened herself to “a human penguin” in attempting to describe her chosen event.
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“Imagine a human penguin,” Ro told Vogue. “And the fastest speed is the best. More speed is always better. But it’s a little counterintuitive because your natural fight or flight instincts kick in and you want to slow down. To succeed, you just have to embrace the chaos, and you have to be very subtle.”
Ester Ledecka: Snowboarding and Alpine Skiing, Czechia
How about winning gold in not just one sport, but two? Ledecka previously won gold medals in the Super-G alpine skiing competition and the parallel giant slalom in snowboarding at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and is aiming to do so again in Cortina.
An Olympic gold medal in the parallel giant slalom would be the third of her career after she also won at the 2022 Beijing Games. That would make her the first snowboarder to ever win gold at three consecutive Olympics.
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Ledecka initially hoped to persuade the International Olympic Committee to reschedule the Alpine downhill competition because it’s on the same day as her snowboarding event — and 150 miles away. But that effort failed and she will attempt to win another gold in the Super-G.
Ilia Malinin: Figure Skater, United States
No athlete in Milan will have a more intriguing nickname than the “Quad God.” Ilia Malinin, 21, earned the moniker with his skill in landing quadruple jumps (and quad-quad combinations). As a result, he has fully embraced the title, sporting it on t-shirts, hoodies and hats.
Malinin was the first and only skater to complete a quadruple axel in international competition, doing so at the 2022 U.S. International Classic. Additionally, he is the only skater to have landed seven quadruple jumps at the 2024 Grand Prix Final.
The son of two Olympic figure skaters will compete in his first Olympics after winning three U.S. championships, two World titles and three Grand Prix Finals. He is viewed as the favorite to win gold.
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Sarah Nurse: Ice Hockey, Canada
By leading Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Games, Nurse became the first Black woman to win Olympic gold in ice hockey. That’s paired with the silver that Canada won in 2018. At the Pyeongchang Games, she scored the game-winning goal for Canada in a 2-1 win over the United States.
The biracial Nurse has been outspoken against racism in sports during her college playing days at Wisconsin, her professional career and in international play.
Nurse, 31, totaled 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) four years ago, setting a scoring record for a single Olympic women’s ice hockey tournament. That beat out teammate Marie-Philip Poulin by one point. (Nurse notched the assist on Poulin’s gold medal-winning goal.) Nurse’s assist total also set an Olympic single tournament record.
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Eileen Gu: Freestyle Skiing, China
Gu, 22, was born in the United States, but competes for China in international competition. She won gold in the big air and halfpipe events at Beijing. Gu also won silver in slopestyle, making her the first to win three freestyle skiing medals during a single Olympic Games.
Last August, Gu suffered an injury from “a very terrible accident” during training in New Zealand that required medical imaging. In a statement, she said the accident was “man-made” and implied that a fan interfered by recording video or taking photos during a training exercise. The specific injury was not revealed, but Gu has had to bow out of competition in the past due to hip and shoulder injuries.
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Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner: Curling, Italy
Never lost! Constantini and Mosaner have never been defeated in international competition. They went 11-0 in Beijing, competing in their first Olympic Games. After a three-year break, the duo slid through undefeated at the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.
That record makes Constantini and Mosaner a heavy favorite for gold in Cortina. Additionally, they will be competing in their home country. Mosaner will be a flag bearer for Italy during the Opening Ceremony.
A legend coming out of retirement, a legend in her prime trying to erase bitter memories from four years ago and a future legend’s health in doubt — these are just some of the storylines heading into the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
What’s that you ask — Milan Cortina? Yes, these Games will be held in multiple sites, with the city of Milan hosting some of the arena events — hockey, figure skating and speed skating — while Cortina (some five hours northeast) is where women’s skiing, as well as the nordic, sliding and curling events will be held. There’s also Bormio for men’s skiing and Livigno for freestyle skiing and snowboarding where …
American Chloe Kim will go for an unprecedented third-straight gold in the female halfpipe in Italy. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
(Sean M. Haffey via Getty Images)
The U.S. hopes Chloe Kim will be healthy …
She won gold in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe in 2018 … as a 17-year-old, then again in 2022 and now, at the elderly age of 25, Kim is expected to be one of the biggest stars on the U.S. team, going for a third-straight top-of-the-podium finish. But after separating her shoulder during a training run in early January, Kim’s status for these Olympics was thrown up in the air. A week later, though, she said she’s good to go, “just” having torn the labrum in her shoulder, and Team USA (and NBC) breathed a collective sigh. A three-peat would solidify Kim as the greatest her sport has ever seen, if she’s not there already, but still there will be questions about her health — maybe the biggest question ahead of these Olympic Games. The second-biggest question is …
She retired way back in 2019, but now Lindsey Vonn is back for one more run at Olympic glory. (Photo by BARBARA GINDL / APA / AFP via Getty Images)
(BARBARA GINDL via Getty Images)
Is Lindsey Vonn really a contender?
She’s 41, eight years removed from her last Olympic Games, 16 years from her one and only Olympic gold and yet … Lindsey Vonn, on a replaced knee, is coming out of her 2019 retirement for one last go. Why? Well for starters, Cortina, where the women’s skiing events will take place, is maybe her favorite mountain in the world. Is she a medal contender? Well, she’s won two World Cup downhills this year, so there’s that. Plus, as mentioned before, Cortina is a place she loves, having recorded 12 of her 82 World Cup victories there. But … and this is a big but … can she really compete on a torn ACL in her left knee suffered just days ago? She insists she will be in the starting gate on Feb. 8. That would inarguably be the story of the Olympics and inarguably the greatest comeback of her comeback-filled career. And Vonn isn’t the only one who’s back …
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The NHL is back, too
After a 12-year hiatus, the NHL is back to allowing its players to compete for gold. NHL players first competed in the Olympics back in 1998, and did so until 2014 when, essentially, the NHL got sick of going on hiatus for a few weeks to make room for Olympic competition. Alas, the league is back to “grow the game” and to appease players who want to wrap a gold medal around their necks. While players such as Connor McDavid (Canada), Sidney Crosby (Canada) and Auston Matthews (USA) will be there, newly-minted NHL goal king Alex Ovechkin will not. Why not?
Because Russia is still banned from team competition
While no Russian teams will be allowed to compete, Russian athletes will be allowed to compete individually under the “Individual Neutral Athlete” flag … though don’t expect many of those. The latest ban, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, came via an IOC decree in 2023 that disallows any Russian or Belarusian athlete who “actively” supports the Russian war effort. What will this mean for the medal table? Well, back at the 2022 Winter Games, when Russia competed under the “Russian Olympic Committee” moniker, a designation aimed at penalizing the country for its 2016 state-run doping operation, Russians took home 32 medals, including five golds. By comparison, the USA won 25 medals at those 2022 Games, none of which were won by ….
She arguably the greatest female skier ever, but Mikaela Shiffrin’s last Olympics in Beijing was a disappointment. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
(Sean M. Haffey via Getty Images)
Mikaela Shiffrin, who is looking to redeem herself
She’s the winningest skier in history, man or woman, having won 104 World Cup races … and yet, Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic experience has produced just two gold medals. While that may be enough for 99.999% of the world, it’s an underperformance for someone as great as Shiffrin, who failed to win anything at the 2022 Games in Beijing. Those Olympics were a disaster for the GOAT: a DNF in slalom, giant slalom and combined; a 9th in Super G; an 18th in downhill. She’s battled injuries and may not be in top form at Cortina, but she can still dominate the slalom — her best event. She’s not the only one looking for redemption …
Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito will each be medal threats in Italy. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
(Matthew Stockman via Getty Images)
Can the U.S. recapture figure skating gold?
Between 1992 and 2002, U.S. women won three gold medals. But since Sarah Hughes won at Salt Lake in 2002, the U.S. women have but one silver medal — via Sasha Cohen in 2006. That could (should?) change in Milan, as the U.S. features a trio of medal contenders in Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito. Glenn just won her third straight U.S. national championship; Liu is the reigning world champion after coming out of a two-year retirement; and while Levito may be the quietest of the three, she is the last woman not named Glenn to have won a national championship. While this trio of American women look to rise to the top of the podium …
Eileen Gu may be more well known for her Instagram account, where she has mover two million followers, than she is for winning Olympic gold. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
(Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images)
Will Eileen Gu’s star rise even higher?
She won three medals in Beijing, including gold in women’s freestyle skiing big air competition, and with more than 2 million following her on Instagram, Eileen Gu is one of the few Winter Olympic crossover stars. Now she’s back, still born and raised in the United States but competing for China, and she’s among the favorites in three disciplines: halfpipe, freestyle and big air. Speaking of big air …
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Will a ski jumping partnership with Norway pay off for the U.S.?
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, and that’s what the U.S. has done with Norway, who has dominated Olympic ski jumping to the tune of 36 medals to the United States’ one (at the 1924 Games). Four years ago, after yet another medal-less performance at the Beijing Games, the U.S. teamed up with Norway, sharing coaches and training camps. One of those Americans who moved to Norway to train was a teenager named Tate Frantz, who took silver at last February’s junior world championships in his hometown of Lake Placid, New York. Then, he scored more points in World Cup competition than any American in history. Now 20, can Frantz be the United States ski jumper to win a medal in over a century? As for another first …
Anna Gibson puts skins on the bottom of her skis, which is all part of the only new sport at the Milano Cortina Olympics, ski mountaineering. (Courtesy of Owen Crandall)
What’s new? How about Ski Mountaineering
The lone newcomer at this year’s Olympics, Ski Mountaineering — or Skimo — is pretty much what it sounds like — a combination of climbing up a mountain (on skis using skins), hiking on the mounting (in boots) and descending down a mounting (on skis without skins) through gates. The duo of Cam Smith and Anna Gibson just demolished a world-class field in December. In February, Skimo will be a must-see event, as will …
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Big air, which is getting even bigger
Two big-air competitors — one on skis, one on a snowboard — have completed 2340s in competition. (That’s 6.5 times around, in case you were wondering.) Will Italian skier Miro Tabanelli and/or Japanese snowboarder Hiroto Ogiwara go that big in Itlay? And will anyone else try to match them? It’s dizzying to watch, but if you can stomach it, it’s absolutely must see T.V.
This year, the U.S. is sending 17 Alpine skiers to compete in men’s and women’s downhill, team combined, super-G, giant slalom and slalom at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan Cortina, Italy. You can catch all of Team USA’s competitions live from Italy streaming on Peacock.
Here’s a complete schedule of all Team USA Alpine skiing events at this year’s games, along with a rundown of who is competing. While every race will stream on Peacock, some will also be broadcast on NBC and USA Network. (To see specific air times, check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule and toggle your search to “TV Only.”) Here’s a rundown of how to watch every Alpine skiing event at the 2026 Winter Games.
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Want to learn even more about every event at this year’s Winter Games? Here’s a guide to everything you need to know about Milan Cortina 2026.
How to watch Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Dates: Feb. 7 – 22
Location: Stelvio Ski Centre and Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre
TV channels: NBC, USA
Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, and more
Where can I stream Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
For $17 monthly, you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription, which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Where to watch Alpine skiing on TV
Team USA men’s and women’s Alpine skiing coverage will be split between NBC and USA, which you can stream on DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and more. NBC will only be airing select coverage live. For specific times on NBC, make sure to check out the official NBC Olympics broadcast schedule and toggle your search to “TV Only.”
How to watch Olympic Alpine skiing without cable
Who is on the Team USA Alpine ski team?
These are the athletes on Team USA’s Alpine ski team:
Nothing’s certain. But there’s a chance that Draymond Green played his last game for the Golden State Warriors Tuesday on night.
Green’s name has been bandied about in trade rumors as the Warriors are believed to be seeking a high-level player (Giannis Antetokounmpo, perhaps?) to pair with Stephen Curry for a run at another championship at the end of Curry’s prime.
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If Green’s 13 1/2-season run with the Warriors is over, he’s at peace with it. He spoke about the possibility of this being the end following Golden State’s 113-94 loss to the 76ers Tuesday night.
Be warned, the language is not safe for work. This is Draymond, after all.
“I think a lot of people want to know how I feel about it, like am I upset about it,” Green said. “I’m not at all. If that’s what’s best for this organization, that’s what’s best for the organization.
“I’m not, like, ‘Ah, man, they f***ed me over,” or something like that. I don’t really feel that way.”
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Green paused, then offered some perspective that’s likely to draw a few tears from the Golden State fan base if Green, indeed, gets dealt before Thursday’s trade deadline.
“If you would’ve told me 13 1/2 years ago like, ‘Yo, I’m gonna hand you this sheet of paper and you can sign it to be in a place for 13 1/2 years, would you sign it?’ And I would’ve signed it faster than you can blink.
“What do I have to sit and worry about? What do I have to, like, be upset about? Like, I’ve been here for 13 1/2 years. That’s longer than probably 98% of NBA players have been in one place. And this guy from Saginaw has been in a place for 13 1/2 years.
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“I don’t know that it ends at 13 1/2, but if it does, what a f***ing run it’s been.”
If it’s over, Green is right. It’s been a hell of a run.
Green joined the Warriors as a second-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. In the 13 1/2 seasons since then, Green has been a lynchpin of one of the NBA’s great dynasties while winning four championships alongside Curry, Klay Thompson and coach Steve Kerr.
He’s been one of the great defenders of his generation. And despite being the third- or fourth-best player on those championship teams, Green’s career will likely conclude with enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
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“I’m blessed,” Green said. “I’m lucky. I’m grateful.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo may have already played his final game with the Milwaukee Bucks. After years of sticking with the franchise, Antetokounmpo could possibly be dealt before the Thursday trade deadline.
Over the years, Antetokounmpo has shown incredible loyalty to the organization, re-signing multiple times when many expected he would leave and join a franchise with more superstar talent. Every time he’s asked, Antetokounmpo always expresses his commitment to both the team and city.
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But he also sees the writing on the wall.
With the deadline fast approaching, Antetokounmpo gave multiple interviews to local reporters reiterating his feelings toward the city of Milwaukee while also acknowledging that it’s probably time for him to be shipped off to another franchise.
Antetokounmpo spoke to both the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and The Athletic providing similar quotes to both outlets about his current situation.
When asked about leaving the Bucks, Antetokounmpo laid out all the reasons why he doesn’t want to leave Milwaukee. He mentioned that his children were born in the city, his dad was buried in the city and his mom owns a house in the city. “On what planet, on what Earth, would somebody want to leave this?” Antetokounmpo said.
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When asked what he would prefer moving forward, Antetokounmpo said he wanted to remain a Buck for the rest of his life … but with a significant caveat: The team needs to be able to win a championship.
With the team sitting at 19-29 entering play Wednesday, Antetokounmpo knows that’s not a possibility.
“Brother, if you ask me deep down what I want today, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career,” Antetokounmpo said. “I want to win here, another championship. And if you can tell me that’s possible, let’s just hang up the phone.
“You know basketball. You see basketball. You understand basketball. You’ve been around greatness. You’ve been around a championship team. You’ve been around a good culture. You’ve been around when the popcorn was popping. You were around; you saw it. If you tell me that that’s possible, we can hang up the phone and keep on moving with our day.”
It’s not the first time this season Antetokounmpo has been critical of the team’s play. In January, he called out teammates, saying the Bucks were being “selfish” on the court.
And while Antetokounmpo has still never officially requested a trade away from the Bucks, he made it clear he doesn’t want to play for a team where he’s “fighting for my life to make the playoffs.”
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That’s a good description of the Bucks this season. If Antetokounmpo stuck it out, the Bucks would still be in a tough spot the rest of the way. And if the team rallied down the stretch to make the postseason, it likely wouldn’t be seeded high. Barring an incredible turnaround and a superhuman effort from Antetokounmpo, it’s tough to see the Bucks winning multiple playoff series against higher-rated teams in that scenario.
For that reason, it seems likely Antetokounmpo is on his way out. He not only seems open to the deal, but it might be the best thing for the Bucks’ franchise at this point. Milwaukee stands to gain a number of draft picks or talented, young players in an Antetokounmpo trade. That could help the team rebuild much faster.
Still, it would be a sad end for Antetokounmpo and the team. No player has defined loyalty in this era more than Antetokounmpo. Seeing him leave the Bucks feels wrong, even if it’s the best thing for both sides at this point.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — We’ll get to Josh McDaniels’ head-coaching record in a moment, but first, he deserves some flowers.
McDaniels is back in the Super Bowl, which is a familiar spot for him. He is one of the few New England Patriots who have been a part of all six Super Bowl championship teams for the franchise. He was an assistant for the first three title teams (personnel assistant in 2001, defensive assistant in 2003, quarterbacks coach in 2004) and an offensive coordinator for the final three.
Having a huge season without Brady and taking Maye to a star level is impressive, and so is this: If the Patriots win Super Bowl LX, it will be the fourth time McDaniels has won a Super Bowl ring as a coordinator. That would tie Steve Spagnuolo’s NFL record for Super Bowl wins as a coordinator. McDaniels doesn’t turn 50 years old until April.
“It means I’ve been around a lot of great people,” McDaniels said on Wednesday at the Patriots’ Super Bowl LX media availability. “None of us would be here if it wasn’t for a great group of people in the organization that help us do our jobs. The players deserve the most credit for all those things we’ve had in the past.
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“You try to do the best in your role to help the team win, and if you’re so fortunate and lucky to be part of this thing, you cherish it.”
There was a question if Spagnuolo deserves consideration as a potential Pro Football Hall of Famer. No coach has made the Hall of Fame based primarily on their work as a coordinator. Maybe it’s time to have that conversation about McDaniels too.
However, that’s complicated.
Josh McDaniels is chasing his seventh Super Bowl ring, and his fourth as a coordinator. (Yahoo Sports/Hassan Ahmad)
Josh McDaniels’ unusual career arc
It’s hard to reconcile these two facts: McDaniels is one of the most accomplished coordinators in NFL history. He is also will be remembered as one of the worst NFL head coaches in recent memory, if he doesn’t get another shot to lead a team.
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McDaniels got two chances to be a head coach and both ended in midseason firings amid the franchise burning to the ground. McDaniels was 11-17 as Broncos head coach, and that came after a 6-0 start. He was fired due to losses and controversy; he was fined $50,000 for the team videotaping a 49ers practice before a game in London.
McDaniels’ time with the Las Vegas Raiders wasn’t better. He went 9-16 and was fired after a team meeting in which players ripped McDaniels for his coaching style.
Those two stops don’t count the time McDaniels accepted the Indianapolis Colts’ head-coaching job in 2018 but never got on the plane to Indianapolis, choosing to back out of the job and stay with New England as its offensive coordinator.
There have certainly been ups and downs throughout his career as a coach.
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“It’s football,” McDaniels said. “The game of football is an imperfect game. I try to learn the best I can every year, every week, to try to get better.
“The failings in your career are much like the failings in any other aspect of your life. You probably learn the most from them. I’ve had an opportunity to grow from the things I haven’t done as well and hopefully I’ve taken full advantage of those things and try to be the best version of myself going forward.”
In most other situations, a coach on the good side of 50 years old who is considered an offensive whiz and just developed a second-year quarterback into an MVP candidate on the way to the Super Bowl would be atop many teams’ list of head-coaching candidates. None of the coordinators hired this cycle have a better résumé as an assistant coach than McDaniels. But coaches with 20-33 records in their first two stops as a head coach usually don’t get a third chance, especially when there’s as much baggage as McDaniels has collected in that role.
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“Every day is one day at a time for me now,” McDaniels said about the possibility of being a head coach again. “I’m where I’m supposed to be. I’m incredibly happy to be here and doing what I’m doing, I love my job. I love the role I have. I love the group I’m with. Whatever that plan is down the road, we’ll figure that out. But I couldn’t be more happy where I’m at.”
McDaniels a big part of Drake Maye’s breakout
Whatever issues have prevented McDaniels from success as a head coach, it’s impossible to deny his football acumen.
The Patriots were 4-13 last season as McDaniels took a year off following the Raiders debacle. Mike Vrabel was hired by New England, he hired McDaniels to run the offense and the Patriots went 14-3. Maye led the NFL by completing 72% of his passes and also throwing for 8.9 yards per attempt.
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Vrabel has received a lot of credit, and will likely win NFL Coach of the Year when it is announced on Thursday. McDaniels is a huge part of this championship season, too, of course.
“Josh is always on top of it,” Patriots receiver Kayshon Boutte said. “With the game plan, he studies the other team really well. I always feel like he’s one step ahead.
“What impressed me most is I’ve never had an offensive coordinator that is really hands on and always one step ahead.”
Being as successful as McDaniels has been is also more than calling the right route concept to beat a Cover 3 defense. There was a moment during the Patriots’ AFC championship game win against the Broncos in which Maye, who will be the second-youngest quarterback ever to start a Super Bowl, seemed frustrated on the bench. It was cold, windy and the field was covered in snow.
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“It’s hard,” Maye said as he was mic’ed up. “Good god.”
McDaniels chuckled and told Maye: “Listen to me. Look at me. It’s going to be hard. But look, this will be the most rewarding six-and-a-half minutes of our lives if we can get it done.”
New England closed the win with Maye running for a first down that allowed the Patriots to run out the clock.
When McDaniels and Brady were working together, it wasn’t uncommon to see the two having heated arguments on the sideline. That was part of their relationship. The calming moment with Maye on the bench in Denver is not a side of McDaniels that is part of his reputation.
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“You try to do the right thing as a coach, no matter when it is, whether it’s Tuesday night in the office or you’re freezing cold on the bench in the fourth quarter of a playoff game,” McDaniels said when asked about that moment on the bench. “Whatever they need from you, whatever they require at the time, is what you’re really supposed to try to give them.
“I have four kids between the ages of 13 and 21, and they require guidance and as much wisdom as my wife and I can give them, as much as possible. I still think that’s part of my job as a coach.”
The job he’s done has landed him on the brink of a historic Super Bowl title. Strange as his career may be, that’s going to count for a lot in the end.
We’re back hoops fans with another Yahoo Fantasy x Arena Club drop for Week 16. Yahoo Fantasy Basketball Slab Packs are a brand-new weekly drop featuring real, graded trading cards of the hottest fantasy performers in the NBA.
If you’re new to Arena Club, here’s the lowdown. Arena Club is the premier online marketplace for sports cards, giving collectors a way to rip packs virtually, buy and sell graded cards and track their entire collection — all in one place. Whether you’re in it for the hobby, the thrill or the chase, Arena Club brings the excitement directly to your screen.
Each week, Arena Club curates real, graded NBA cards and builds two types of Yahoo Fantasy Slab Packs:
Every pack contains a graded card of an active NBA player — but the real treasure is the weekly Chase Cards, featuring some of the top fantasy basketball performers from the past week. These limited-edition hits can reach values up to 20x the cost of the pack.
Weekly NBA Slab Packs go live every Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET and remain available through Friday at 1 p.m. ET (or until they’re gone). It’s the ultimate mid-week boost for fantasy hoopers and collectors alike.
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To top it off, use promo code YAHOO at checkout for 20% off your first slab pack or card purchase on ArenaClub.com or the Arena Club app.
This Week’s Featured Players
Rip a slab pack today for a chance to pull one of the week’s biggest fantasy basketball stars:
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
Wemby has been a double-double machine despite playing around 30 minutes per game recently. He had a streak of six straight double-doubles until that ended at the end of January.
LeBron James, Lakers
King James isn’t posting triple-doubles night in and night out but he has been a nice second fiddle to Luka on the Lakers. He has been a solid source of assists in fantasy basketball, with at least five in 10 of the past 11 games.
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Nikola Jokić, Nuggets
The Joker is finally back! After missing just about the entirety of January due to a knee injury, Jokić is back in the lineup but on limited minutes. Hopefully he’ll go back to being a triple-double machine for fantasy managers soon.
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
Ant Man continues to play through injuries but perhaps some reinforcements are on the way with the NBA trade deadline approaching. Edwards continues to score in bunches with 30+ points in three of the past five games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
Giannis has been sidelined the past week or so with a calf injury and his days in Milwaukee may be coming to an end as the deadline nears. Wherever the Greek Freak lands, he should have renewed strength with a change of scenery, which would be ideal for fantasy.
Weekly Drops. Real Cards. Real Value. Real Thrill.
With new cards releasing every week based on real fantasy performance, the Yahoo Fantasy x Arena Club partnership delivers a constantly refreshing lineup of NBA stars — and the chase cards you’ll be talking about all season.
Don’t miss this week’s release.
Rip your slab pack, hit a chase card, and upgrade your collection today!
Perry Wallace, the first Black basketball player in the history of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and a trailblazer at Vanderbilt University, used to say that “reconciliation without the truth is just acting.” I can also hear the voice of the late David Williams II — the first Black athletic director in the SEC, a longtime Vanderbilt athletic director — chiming in with his oft-repeated mantra that “change does not automatically mean progress.” Among their many accomplishments, both were constant and fierce advocates for creating opportunities for women in sports.
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As I learned from these pioneering leaders, change, on its own, is not enough. Progress requires intention, resources and the courage to invest where the return may not be immediate — but is unmistakable over time.
Women’s sports illustrate this better than almost any arena. Long before women were formally recognized, funded or celebrated by their institutions, they were already competing — playing, organizing and building teams with little more than determination and belief. The absence of institutional support never erased their talent or ambition. It only delayed acknowledgment of what was already true.
That history matters because it reminds us of a persistent pattern: opportunity often exists before institutions are willing to name it, fund it or lead it. And progress depends on leaders who are willing to close that gap — not with symbolic gestures, but with sustained investment.
Today, on National Women and Girls in Sports Day, we are at one of those moments. Women’s sports are experiencing unprecedented visibility, competitive excellence and fan engagement. Yet the infrastructure that supports them — scholarships, facilities, staffing and long-term resources — too often lags the reality on the field and court. If we believe in excellence, we must be willing to invest accordingly.
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This is not about taking away from men’s sports or reallocating a fixed pie. It is about strengthening the entire ecosystem of college athletics. When women’s programs are fully supported, institutions benefit from stronger leadership development, broader engagement and a more durable model of success. Investing in women’s sports is not a side initiative; it is a core strategy for the future of college athletics.
For too long, girls and women were excluded from such opportunities — even as sports continued to shape leaders, communities and cultures for all of us. We also know the immense value that participation in athletics provides any human. That’s why it’s so important we don’t just mark this day with feel-good slogans or social media graphics. Celebrations matter, but they are most meaningful when paired with a commitment to truth and real change.
The popularity of sports continues to rise. And in the world of women’s sports, it seems that every day brings a new story about the formation of a league or a record being set — whether in attendance, television viewership, sponsorship dollars or professional player contracts.
A recent report by McKinsey found that between 2022 and 2024, revenue from women’s sports grew 4.5 times faster than men’s. And yet, even with that growth, revenues generated by women’s sports represent less than 2 percent of the total U.S. sports market. “The next frontier of growth for women’s sports,” the report concluded, “will be closing this monetization gap and realizing women’s sports’ full potential as a high-revenue market.”
Vanderbilt AD Candice Storey Lee hugs Mikayla Blakes after she scored her 1,000th point of the season on Dec. 3, 2025. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
(Johnnie Izquierdo via Getty Images)
But supporting girls and women in their athletic endeavors goes well beyond the idea of increasing revenues — and it aligns with what we know sports can do for any young person. It’s also about developing leaders who will help build a better society. Whether a girl or young woman plays competitively in high school or college, goes on to the Olympics or simply plays at the recreational level for the pure enjoyment of the game, sports can teach us so much.
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As someone who played basketball from about the age of 10 through college, I speak from firsthand experience when I say that without the lessons I learned through the highs and lows of sports, I would not be in the position I am today. Sports teaches people the value of teamwork — of being part of something larger than themselves. It teaches accountability, resilience, and discipline. It prompts us to have difficult conversations with peers, to feel a sense of mastery, and to gain confidence. We learn how to lead and how to follow, how to compete, and how to win and lose with humility and grace. In sports, we work and play alongside a diverse group of people who may not all look or think alike, but who can come together in pursuit of a common goal. Those opportunities are too few and far between these days.
If sports participation can benefit young women in so many of these ways, it’s no surprise that studies consistently show that more than 90 percent of women in C-suite positions have a background in playing sports. Studies also show that 85 percent of women who played sports attribute their career success to the skills learned through athletic participation. Count me among them.
These are astounding numbers — and they would have been unimaginable just a few generations ago, before Title IX. But we know we cannot take progress for granted. Remember, we can’t even assume that change equals progress. History has taught us that gains can be reversed in the blink of an eye. Support for women’s sports has ebbed and flowed. Leagues have come and gone. Women have been pushed out of leadership positions when money starts to flow. As we work to ensure more opportunities for women in sports at a national level, it’s important that women maintain seats at the table — working alongside men as partners, collaborators and allies in shaping the future of sports. Women should not only be the players on the fields and courts, but also the leaders driving business decisions, innovation and long-term strategy.
Make no mistake about it: Investing in women’s sports makes everyone better. When we commit to a level of equity where everyone is able to achieve at their highest capacity, it benefits all of us, regardless of gender, role or starting point. By not only celebrating girls and women in sports, but by strengthening the infrastructure that supports their participation, we build a stronger nation.
And that’s the truth.
(Editor’s Note: This is a guest editorial written by Vanderbilt vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director Candice Storey Lee.)
