On today’s Kevin O’Connor Show, KOC is joined by NBC broadcaster John Fanta to talk everything NBA. They start with Eastern Conference contender power rankings: who’s the number one team in the East? Could Cade Cunningham really be MVP?
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Then, they turn to Team USA hockey’s gold-medal win against Canada before John tells the story of his call-up to the NBA on NBC by Mike Tirico.
Plus, they discuss if Anthony Edwards is the face of the league, address the troubles in Phoenix & Houston, and take a look at the top prospects in this year’s fiery draft class.
That and more, today!
Eastern Conference Contenders (1:39) USA Hockey and John’s NBC Career (43:16) Draft Class (1:10:20)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 22: Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics talks to head coach Joe Mazulla during the second half of their game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on February 22, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luiza Moraes/Getty Images)
The Utah Jazz are running out of players to put in their frontcourt. Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkić will undergo a season-ending surgical procedure on his nose, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. Nurkić has reportedly experienced complications with breathing and sleeping since fracturing his nose a few years ago.
Nurkić averaged 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists while shooting 50.3% from the field in his first season with the Jazz. The 31-year-old has also spent time playing for the Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets.
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Nurkić is the latest Jazz player to be ruled out for the rest of the season. Jaren Jackson Jr. was also ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his left knee. Jackson was reportedly shut down to ensure his long-term health after a localized PVNS growth was discovered post-trade.
Jackson was acquired by the Jazz in a trade in February that sent multiple players and three future first-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies. Jazz center Walker Kessler played in five games this season before undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
With Nurkić ruled out, expect the Jazz to go with Kyle Filipowski, 37-year-old Kevin Love and two-way contract player Oscar Tshiebwe. The Jazz could also experiment with playing star forward Lauri Markkanen at center, as long as he is not shut down.
The Jazz injuries come at a time when the league is trying to crack down on tanking, with teams near the bottom of the standings eyeing a loaded 2026 NBA Draft. The Jazz and the Indiana Pacers were recently fined for “overt tanking behavior.”
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The Jazz and Pacers have been under scrutiny because both team have a chance to keeping their 2026 NBA Draft picks, depending on where they land. The Jazz can only keep their pick if it lands in the top eight.
Teams such as the Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards have also recently sat star players they recently acquired. The Jazz are 18-39, currently second to last in the West.
LAFC sent a loud message in their 3-0 dismantling of Inter Miami, and it wasn’t just about the scoreline. Los Angeles FC looked sharp, organized, and ruthless, while Inter Miami CF looked frustrated and overwhelmed. We break down what went wrong for Miami, what this result means long-term, and whether Lionel Messi’s heated postgame interaction with referees is a sign of deeper cracks. Plus, we recap the rest of MLS opening weekend and highlight the teams that set the tone early.
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Across the pond, the Premier League title race is heating up once again. Manchester City and Arsenal continue to push each other to the limit at the top of the table. Can City pull off another late surge, or is this finally Arsenal’s year? We examine the remaining fixtures, squad depth, and pressure points that could decide the title.
Off the pitch, concerns are growing around the 2026 tournament. With New Jersey canceling its World Cup fan zone and Gillette Stadium reportedly resisting FIFA licensing without additional funding, we ask whether the 2026 World Cup is starting to show serious organizational strain. Is this just early logistical turbulence—or a warning sign for what’s ahead?
Timestamps:
(7:00) – LAFC thrash Messi and Inter Miami
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(23:00) – MLS opening weekend recap
(32:00) – Arsenal and Man City continue to battle in PL title race
(47:45) – World Cup in danger of falling apart already?
The NFL may be getting closer to allowing replay officials to throw penalty flags during games.
The league’s competition committee is discussing this week in Indianapolis the possibility of allowing replay officials to throw flags for non-football acts during games, according to ESPN.
“You don’t just want to be expanding the Pandora’s box, but we believe that things like the non-football act, you can really, really restrict what that is,” NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said. “That’s something that we believe that potentially there’s a little bit of tweaking in the language, that may be the first step.”
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Though the chance would be extremely limited, and wouldn’t be able to change anything football-related, Vincent noted a pair of incidents from last season in which the rules official would have been able to throw a flag if this were in place.
The most notable incident came during Super Bowl LX, when New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe got into it on the sideline. Jobe threw a punch that drilled Diggs in the facemask in the fourth quarter of that game.
The contest continued once the two were separated, and no flag was thrown.
Had the on-site replay official been allowed, they could have thrown a penalty or even ejected Jobe for the punch in the moment. Instead, as nothing was assessed in real time, neither Jobe nor Diggs were penalized.
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Vincent was admittedly hesitant about the possible change and knows how frustrating it could be for a player to be hit with a delayed penalty like that during a game.
“That may be the first step in getting to putting flags on the field,” he said. “I just think in the era of legalized sports betting, just as a former player, I would’ve found it very difficult to be at Lincoln Financial [Field], a big play occurred, nothing happened real-time in the stadium and then all of a sudden, 10, 12 or 25 seconds later before the ball snapped again, I see [a flag] on the field before the next snap. I don’t know.”
Just over a year after he suffered a torn Achilles, New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray is ready to return.
Murray, 29, is listed as available on the NBA injury report for Tuesday’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors. The nine-year veteran ruptured his Achilles on Jan. 31, 2025, sustaining the injury on a non-contact play versus the Boston Celtics during which he lunged for the ball then immediately fell to the court.
Murray was in his first season with New Orleans after being acquired from the Atlanta Hawks for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr. and two first-round picks. He also missed 17 games with a broken hand earlier in the season, limiting him to 31 games overall.
The Pelicans are slogging through a season that has them second-to-last in the Western Conference (and fourth-worst in the NBA) at 16-42. With 24 games remaining, some might question Murray returning. But tanking doesn’t serve much purpose for the Pelicans after trading this year’s first-round selection to the Hawks to move up to select Derik Queen.
Murray also wants to see some game action after being sidelined for more than a year.
“I’m here, I love New Orleans, I love the people. This is the reason I’m coming back,” Murray said to Pelicans Film Room on Monday.
“I’m not one of those guys like, I’m paid, I could get an extra 6-7 months, or our team is 14th in the West,’” he added. “There are a lot of excuses for a chump to say, ‘No, I ain’t playing.’ I am the opposite of that.”
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Murray will likely be on a minutes restriction as he works his way back. Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego didn’t say for certain how much Murray might play, but praised him for wanting to get on the court.
“It speaks to his character, that he cares,” Borrego said, via the Associated Press. “I’m not saying that everybody coming off this injury would even play right now. This kid wants to play. He wants to be out there on the floor. He wants to compete. He wants to be out there with his teammates. He wants to win.”
During his eight NBA seasons, Murray has averaged 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Hawks and Pelicans. He missed the entire 2018-19 season with a torn ACL sustained during the preseason.
The WNBA has floated a March 10 deadline for the framework of a new collective bargaining agreement to avoid an impact to the 2026 season, a source confirmed to Yahoo Sports’ Cassandra Negley Monday.
Per Negley, the league “suggested March 10 as a date after which the season schedule could start being impacted” in a virtual meeting that included league officials and more than 50 players.
That news arrives amid high-stakes and frequently publicly contentious negotiations between the WNBA and the WNBPA over a new CBA that will shape the future of the league when and if the two sides reach an agreement.
Amid explosive growth in women’s basketball and league revenue, the players association is demanding historic changes from the previous CBA that capped the league’s supermax salary at roughly $249,000 with a minimum salary of $66,000 in 2025. The WNBPA opted out of that CBA in 2024, and it expired at the conclusion of last season.
The WNBA’s 2026 schedule is weeks away from being impacted by ongoing CBA talks.
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The two sides have reopened talks in recent days following a weeks-long stalemate and multiple extensions to a deadline to reach a new CBA. The 2026 WNBA season is scheduled to tip off on May 8. Per Monday’s news, that start date is at risk if the two sides don’t agree to a new CBA in two weeks.
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Where negotiations stand
In the latest round of publicly reported negotiations, the WNBA offered a counterproposal that addressed player demands for housing and agreed to offer team housing for all players through the 2026 season. That was on Saturday.
Days earlier, the WNBPA reportedly offered a proposal with concessions to its revenue-sharing demands, reducing its asks from an average of 31% of gross revenue to 27.5% over the course of the agreement. The union reduced its demand of a 10.5% salary cap to less than $9.5 million. The salary cap in 2025 was roughly $1.5 million.
The league scoffed at that proposal, calling it “unrealistic” and declaring in a statement that it would “cause hundreds of millions of dollars of losses for our teams.”
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Per ESPN, the league has proposed instead that players receive 70% of net revenue — which adds up to less than 15% of gross revenue — while proposing a $5.65 million salary cap.
Under that proposal, the supermax salary would increase from $249,000 to $1.3 million in 2026 and would project to nearly $2 million by 2031. The average player salary would increase from $120,000 to $540,000 in 2026 with a projection of $780,000 by 2031, according to ESPN.
Those proposals remained largely unchanged in the league’s latest counter, per ESPN, and the two sides appear to remain far apart on those fundamental issues. The union’s executive committee previously authorized players to strike.
Despite the apparent gap, WNBPA vice president and All-WNBA Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier sees room for optimism. She offered hope last Wednesday that “I think negotiations are trending in the right direction.”
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“You want movement,” Collier said on Yahoo Sports’ Hoops 360 podcast. “You don’t want to be in a stalemate. You want there to be hope for the future, and I do have that. I think there has to be a lot of movement in a lot of places in the CBA, but the fact that we are moving, I think, is really hopeful.”
Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros break down the latest soccer headlines, starting with reports that USMNT striker Josh Sargent could be headed back to MLS with Toronto FC. Is it a smart career move or a major step backward for the American forward? The guys also react to rumors linking Timo Werner to the San Jose Earthquakes and debate whether the club made a massive mistake by failing to keep star winger Cristian Espinoza. Plus, with Chucky Lozano’s exit from San Diego seemingly inevitable, they discuss who the club should target as his replacement.
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Former Premier League defender Anton Ferdinand then joins the show to preview the West Ham vs. Tottenham derby and relive his legendary stoppage-time equalizer against Spurs in 2005. They also chat West Ham’s tough season so far and how the club can push forward to avoid relegation.
Finally, the guys debate whether Real Madrid made a massive mistake by firing Xabi Alonso and what it means for the club’s future. Christian and Alexis wrap things up with their AFCON Final predictions as Senegal and Morocco prepare to battle for continental glory.
Timestamps:
(6:45) – Josh Sargent heading back to MLS? Smart move or disaster?
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(17:30) – Timo Werner is headed to San Jose: redemption tour or flop?
(30:15) – Chucky Lozano is leaving San Diego – who will replace him?
(37:15) – Anton Ferdinand joins The Cooligans
(57:00) – Xabi Alonso now Real Madrid’s biggest enemy?
Divisional round weekend is right around the corner and we have Matt Harmon and Joel Smyth here to get you ready. The two preview each game and provide their favorite matchups and prop bets along the way. Smyth also shares his favorite DFS lineup for Divisional weekend.
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(5:00) #6 Bills @ #1 Broncos
(21:50) #6 49ers @ #1 Seahawks
(37:35) #5 Texans @ #2 Patriots
(49:00) #5 Rams @ #2 Bears
(1:01:50) Joel’s Divisional Round DFS Lineup
Divisional round weekend is right around the corner and we have Matt Harmon and Joel Smyth here to get you ready. The two preview each game and provide their favorite matchups and prop bets along the way. Smyth also shares his favorite DFS lineup for Divisional weekend.
The Los Angeles Dodgers did it again. The defending back-to-back World Series champions have had yet another big-time offseason. After adding star closer Edwin Díaz, they went out on Thursday night and brought top free-agent outfielder Kyle Tucker into their already star-studded lineup, solidifying them even more as the Evil Empire of baseball.
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On this episode of Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about the shocking—at least to some—move of Los Angeles once again bolstering their roster as they look for the first three-peat in baseball since the New York Yankees’ 1990s dynasty. With the Tucker deal coming in at four years, $240 million, should Commissioner Rob Manfred start to worry about the perception the Dodgers are giving off to opposing fans with their free agent spending?
Later, Jordan and Jake discuss the Boston Red Sox adding one of the big-arm free agents, Ranger Suárez, to their already crowded starting pitching depth chart and why he will be an interesting fit in their rotation. They then get into the Yankees trading for Ryan Weathers and the Arizona Diamondbacks acquiring Nolan Arenado from the St. Louis Cardinals before giving an update on Team USA’s newest roster additions. The guys close the show by making their picks for this week’s edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Uggla.
1:39 – The Opener: Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers
20:36 – Red Sox sign Ranger Suárez
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43:29 – Scott Boras Scoreboard update
46:10 – Around the League: Trade news
1:01:48 – Team USA roster update
1:08:09 – The Good, The Bad & The Uggla
Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images
(Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Kevin O’Connor is joined by Jason Timpf to check in with unhappy fan bases across the NBA. They discuss whether the criticism of Karl Anthony-Towns is fair and offer solutions to the problems in New York. Then, they break down the root of Atlanta’s issues since the Trae Young trade. Plus, what’s going on in Los Angeles and can it even be fixed?
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Next, KOC shares why Collin Murray-Boyles could be the next Draymond Green and why the Celtics-Pistons matchup is the game of the week. Who should the Pistons target before the trade deadline? KOC gives his picks! Plus, is Ja Morant’s stock rising? Do the Timberwolves need to make a trade to find success this season?
Later, Justin Boone joins to discuss why the Buffalo Bills parted ways with Sean McDermott, recap the wild NFL divisional games and preview the upcoming championship weekend.
(0:15) Jason Timpf joins
(1:23) Unhappy fan bases: New York Knicks
(9:18) Unhappy fan bases: Atlanta Hawks
(15:49) Unhappy fan bases: Los Angeles Lakers
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(25:16) Collin Murray-Boyles = Draymond Green
(29:13) Celtics vs. Pistons preview
(41:56) Is Ja Morant’s stock rising back up?
(49:19) Do Timberwolves need to make a trade?
(1:06:23) All-Star starters announced
(1:10:26) NFL 6 Points! with Justin Boone
Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks reacts during the game against the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden on January 17, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images)
