Category: Sports

NFL teams with young players in key positions dread the unexpected. With two weeks of preparation between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, veteran coaching staffs like the one in New England are going to be able to break down tape and prepare second-year quarterback Drake Maye for everything the Seahawks have shown on film, especially from their past few weeks of football. I have no doubt that Maye and his offensive brain trust had answers for what they expected from the Seahawks on Sunday, but knowing what the Seahawks are going to do and beating it are two separate things.

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Just when Maye thought he had the answers, Seattle coach Mike Macdonald changed the questions. The Seahawks brought a devastating wrinkle into their defensive game plan. And while Seattle probably would have been good enough to win the game without it, the unexpected look saved for the biggest game of the year tormented the Patriots, producing chaotic moments for New England’s offense before topping things off with a defensive touchdown.

A more experienced quarterback or one with better protection might have had the wherewithal and time to adapt quickly. Maye did not, and the Patriots were flummoxed by something the Seahawks hadn’t shown on tape in nearly two months. The end result: Seahawks 29, Patriots 13. Let’s make sense of what happened in Super Bowl LX.

Jump to:
Witherspoon | D-line | Walker
Dickson | Darnold

The Witherspoon pressure wrinkle

I have no problems with Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III winning MVP in this game, but I would have been happier to see Devon Witherspoon take home the hardware for what he did on defense. The Seahawks cornerback was excellent in coverage and made a number of splash plays, including the one that helped create Seattle’s game-sealing defensive touchdown in the second half.

To get there, Macdonald broke with an established tendency and showed the Patriots something they either weren’t expecting or severely underestimated. During the regular season, the Seahawks blitzed only 20.7% of the time, the fifth-lowest rate in the NFL. On Sunday, that number actually dropped to 15.1% — but it was heavily split by half. Macdonald blitzed Maye 33.3% of the time in the first half before dialing it back and sending extra rushers just 8% of the time after the break.

What’s more important than the general blitz rate, though, is which player the Seahawks sent after the quarterback. Witherspoon is an excellent blitzer and physical force around the line of scrimmage, but Macdonald had held off on using him to get after the quarterback. The third-year pro had rushed the quarterback just 33 times across 12 regular-season games. More recently, Witherspoon hadn’t been sent on a single blitz in Seattle’s past four games, covering the final two regular-season contests and Seattle’s wins over the 49ers and Rams in the postseason.

In the Super Bowl, though, Witherspoon rushed Maye seven times, with one being wiped out by an offside penalty on a teammate. His other six pass-rush snaps produced one sack and what was really a strip sack on a second, only for the ball to stay in the air as it flew into the hands of Uchenna Nwosu for what went down as a pick-six. Those pressures didn’t single-handedly win Seattle the game, but they created big plays and seemingly got into Maye’s head for the entirety of the contest.

Let’s start with the first Witherspoon blitz of the game. The Patriots were facing a third-and-9 in the first quarter from the Seattle 44-yard line. Even a few yards here might put the Pats in position to attempt a long field goal. Macdonald was incentivized to produce a negative play or an outright stop to force a punt, and the Seattle coach dialed up one of the more exotic pressures the Seahawks have shown all season:

Devon Witherspoon’s blitz on third-and-9 forces a Drake Maye throwaway. The Patriots punt from the Seahawks side of the field with 7:23 to go in the first quarter and don’t make it back onto Seattle’s side of the field until the fourth quarter. pic.twitter.com/VJ5SK6nYiF

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) February 9, 2026

There’s a lot happening here. Witherspoon (No. 21) looks as if he’s covering DeMario Douglas (No. 3) in the slot, but as the play clock winds down, he turns into a blitzer. The Seahawks are showing what looks to be two-deep zone coverage, but those two safeties essentially end up matching to the two remaining receivers in man coverage. The Seahawks have loaded up the line of scrimmage and covered up the interior linemen, and the Patriots respond by having their five linemen block the five most dangerous rushers. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson is also in pass protection when his man comes, giving the Patriots six blockers for six potential rushers.

Crucially, left tackle Will Campbell (No. 66) is occupied by DeMarcus Lawrence (No. 0), so there is nobody to block Witherspoon’s blitz off the edge. The Seahawks also drop two defensive tackles into coverage, leaving the two guards with nobody to block and defenders in Maye’s throwing lanes if he wants to get rid of the ball quickly. Maye is hot off the left side, meaning he’s responsible for getting the ball out before Witherspoon gets home. He doesn’t have time or anywhere to go with the football, though, so Maye frantically scrambles and throws the ball away. The Patriots punt from inside Seahawks territory; they wouldn’t cross midfield again until the fourth quarter.

Witherspoon would get his sack on the next possession. Facing third-and-15, the Patriots know that the left side of their line (and Campbell in particular) is vulnerable. The Seahawks bring three potential rushers to that side, and the Patriots keep Stevenson in to help block. But Seattle brings only two.

Seahawks dial up a blitz and CB Devon Witherspoon sacks Maye!

Super Bowl LX on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/JHDpGoeTrq

— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026

From the other side, though, Macdonald brings four rushers for three blockers. The Seahawks twist their interior linemen to occupy the center and right guard. They have Lawrence split way outside the tight end, forcing right tackle Morgan Moses to get on his horse to get outside and block him. Witherspoon loops inside, virtually untouched on the overload, for a sack. Maye has Hunter Henry on a checkdown, but even if he gets there, the Seahawks are going to be in position to rally and tackle him short of the sticks on third-and-forever.

In the third quarter, the Seahawks brought Witherspoon on a couple of sim pressures, where they rushed only four but brought a cornerback and dropped a lineman into coverage. Maye was instantly reactive to those pressures. On the first, he took several unnatural or atypical steps to his right and missed what should have been an easy slant to receiver Kayshon Boutte from an angle he probably hasn’t thrown from many times all season. On the second, he threw quickly into the flat for running back TreVeyon Henderson. That avoided a sack, but the throw was into a covered zone and picked up only 3 yards on second-and-10.

Maye hit a 7-yard out on the next Witherspoon blitz, but the sixth one put your Super Bowl party to bed. With Seattle up 21-7 and 4:37 to go, Macdonald had another exotic call left in the playbook. The Seahawks were showing a relatively safe look before the snap, but with the Patriots using tempo to attempt a quick score, Maye had time only to quickly declare a simple protection before the Seahawks were even fully set, with the Pats sliding four linemen to the left.

Devon Witherspoon brings the heat and Nwosu finishes the play 🔥

Super Bowl LX on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/kvQIdjdPgs

— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026

After the snap, the Seahawks completely shifted shape. Just two rushers came from the left side, as Boye Mafe dropped into coverage on Henry, while Nick Emmanwori came all the way across the formation to essentially bracket Stefon Diggs on the other side of the field, taking away Maye’s read and a potential quick completion over the middle. Both Ernest Jones IV and Witherspoon blitzed from the right side, leaving Maye with two blockers for three defenders. Stevenson took the one who had the shortest path to the quarterback in Jones, but Witherspoon was free to chase down Maye, who again had to get the ball out before he got home.

This time, he wasn’t fast enough to throw the ball away. Witherspoon missed out on a strip sack, but Nwosu — who beat Moses and was in position to capitalize — was credited for an interception and took it to the house.

Macdonald was repeatedly able to dictate and predict what the Patriots would do in pass protection and then take advantage of what they showed in response. Doing that with an athlete of Witherspoon’s caliber as the pass rusher makes things infinitely more difficult for the opposing quarterback. A veteran passer might have been able to reset the protection quickly, notice that Witherspoon was coming a tick earlier before the snap or do a better job of getting the ball out quickly afterward. But given how far under the radar the possibility of pressure from Witherspoon flew before the game, I’m not sure the Pats would have had a realistic response even with a more experienced quarterback.

Amid the blitz-happy first half and deep into the second half, Maye looked frazzled. His ball placement — which was so impressive during the regular season and even on big plays in the postseason — was inconsistent. He seemed to lock onto receivers and/or rush his passes out of fear that he wouldn’t have time to throw.

It didn’t always seem as if the NFL MVP runner-up was on the same page with his receivers as they read coverages; Maye would expect a receiver to settle and he would continue to run, or vice versa. On one third-and-3 back-shoulder attempt, Boutte ended up a full yard out of bounds on the sideline before the ball even arrived, rendering a potential completion moot. Mack Hollins slipped out of his break when running a deep post, leading to a Maye throw that was nearly intercepted. (Hollins did a good job of breaking up the pass.) And later on that same drive, Maye stepped up and seemed to throw a ball between his two eligible receivers downfield, not really coming close to either. That time, Julian Love picked off Maye.

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No blitz, no problem

The blitz was a fun part of the game plan, but even if the Seahawks had followed in the footsteps of Philadelphia Eagles DC Vic Fangio, who a year ago went the entire Super Bowl without sending extra men after the quarterback, they would have still given Maye fits. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Maye was pressured nearly 48% of the time when the Seahawks rushed four or fewer. That’s the highest pressure rate posted while sending four or fewer rushers by any team in any game this postseason, topping the Texans’ pummeling of Aaron Rodgers in the wild-card round.

Everyone on the Pats’ O-line had their rough moments in pass protection, but the clear target for most of the night was Campbell. The rookie left tackle had endured a brutal stretch of elite pass rushers since returning from a late-season knee injury, allowing four sacks and 15 pressures through his first three playoff games, per NFL Next Gen Stats. There was no doubt that Macdonald was going to do whatever he could to isolate Campbell one-on-one against Lawrence and Seattle’s other pass rushers.

In Sunday’s loss, Campbell was credited with one sack allowed but gave up a whopping 14 pressures, the most I’ve seen for any player all season. Four of those were quick pressures, tying him with Seahawks rookie Grey Zabel for the highest total of the game. Some of Maye’s 28 pressures were on the quarterback himself, but Campbell simply couldn’t hold up in pass protection and didn’t have a great day run blocking, either.

The Seahawks overpowered him with bull rushes and stronger, longer opponents. Lawrence fended off a Campbell block with one arm while stuffing Henderson at the line for no gain with his other. Derick Hall rode Campbell right back into Maye for the first sack of the night. That’s a 254-pound edge rusher bullying a 320-pound left tackle. That happens, but you rarely see what came up in the fourth quarter, when Hall did the same thing to Campbell with one arm as opposed to two.

It’s possible that Campbell was still battling the aftereffects of the MCL injury he suffered late in the season during what will go down as a dismal postseason. His performance on Sunday, though, seemed to affirm the predraft skeptics who suggested that the fourth overall pick didn’t have long enough arms to play left tackle at the pro level. Campbell has been an upgrade on the other left tackles the Patriots ran out last season, but there will be serious questions all offseason about whether he should be the long-term answer on Maye’s blind side.

Seattle has a deep, talented defensive line, but there was no Will Anderson Jr. or Nik Bonitto in this mix, the sort of edge rusher who goes completely supernova and can’t be blocked at his best. Even the backups were eating. Rookie Seahawks defensive tackle Rylie Mills missed most of the season with a torn ACL and had played just one defensive snap across Seattle’s first two playoff games. Yet he bull-rushed Jared Wilson into Maye for a sack on one of his five snaps.

There are no great answers for dealing with a great defense when you have a jittery quarterback and an offensive line that can’t reliably stop a four-man rush. One way to alleviate the pressure is leaning on the run game, but the Pats were able to get only 42 yards on 13 carries from Stevenson and Henderson, without a single run of 10 yards or more. The Seahawks repeatedly used their second-level defenders — most often Drake Thomas — to run blitz into the B-gap and force the Patriots’ guards to react quickly. The tactic produced an early tackle for loss for Thomas and a couple of unblocked tackles for Ernest Jones when the Pats struggled to deal with the run blitzes.

Little adjustments from New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels worked for a play here or there. The Patriots pitched the ball outside to get away from the B-gap run blitzes for a single 9-yard gain. They ran a jet sweep to Henderson to take advantage of an aggressive Seahawks defense and run past an unblocked defender on the end of the line. Maye had one quick out for a completion away from the Witherspoon blitz for a 7-yard gain.

In the big picture, though, the Patriots didn’t seem to pack the schematic choices that might have given the Seahawks problems or make many adjustments to make life easier for Maye as the game wore along.

Take the jumbo personnel grouping for example, where the Patriots used tackle Thayer Munford Jr. as a sixth offensive lineman. I noted in my preview that the Patriots used Munford on about 15 offensive snaps per game from Week 15 onward, as an extra run blocker and as a way to create explosives in the passing game. The Seahawks match just about everything with their nickel and dime defensive groupings, and the sixth lineman might have given the Patriots a way to physically overpower a smaller Seahawks linebacking corps.

In the first quarter, Munford came on the field for his first offensive snap of the game, and the Patriots went with play-action and hit Boutte for a 21-yard completion. He never saw the field on offense again. Munford was battling a knee injury in recent weeks, but he was off the injury report and did come back on the field in the fourth quarter to block on the lone Pats extra point of the day. If Munford was healthy enough to be active, it’s unclear why the Pats didn’t use that six-lineman grouping more often.

The Patriots didn’t take a single snap all game out of empty, where the Seahawks had struggled on defense during the regular season. Leaving Campbell one-on-one would have been a scary proposition, but they would have needed to trust Maye (who was second in QBR out of empty during the regular season) to get the ball out quickly, an easier task with five eligibles. Moving the launch point might have made life simpler, but Maye got outside the tackle box for only four pass attempts all game. There were also no trick plays from a coach who always seems to have one or two on his play sheet during a game in which New England desperately needed to create something out of nothing.

Adding an extra down could have helped, and the Pats tried flipping their tendencies in a modern way with no success. In the present-day NFL, third-and-5 can be a run down, given how comfortable teams have become with going for it on fourth-and-2 or less. So, the Pats checked into a third-and-5 run on their own 37-yard line … but then didn’t block defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who stuffed Stevenson for no gain. The Pats punted.

Throwing on third-and-1 is also a way to try to create an explosive play in a situation where the opposing team is selling out to stop the run, especially if you’re comfortable going for it on fourth-and-1 after an incompletion. The Pats took a downfield shot on third-and-1 in the third quarter from their own 41-yard line and had an open receiver, but Maye missed the throw. You can take that shot if you’re willing to try to convert on fourth down, but Vrabel punted, costing the Patriots 2.3 percentage points of win probability in the process.

I can understand why Vrabel didn’t trust his offense to get a yard, but given what the Seahawks had done to that point, punting and expecting his offense to drive the length of the field for a touchdown wasn’t going to be a very successful game plan, either.

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Let’s talk about the MVP. In his final game before free agency, Walker had something like the quintessential version of what his era looked like in Seattle. I thought the commentary about what Walker couldn’t do during the game was a little harsh (especially for a guy who was about to win MVP), but to be fair, he did drop a pass and came up short on a pass block attempt that led to New England’s only sack of the game. Just eight of Walker’s 25 carries were successful by EPA (expected points added), producing a 29.6% success rate, a figure the Pats’ backs topped while averaging 3.2 yards per pop.

None of that mattered, of course, because Walker was an explosive play machine with the ball in his hands. He had five runs of 10 or more yards, including 29- and 30-yard runs on the same drive. He added a 20-yard catch on a screen pass. The fourth-year pro finished with 135 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards. For most of the day, he carried a Seahawks offense that wasn’t getting much from the passing game.

Walker was able to create much more than what was blocked on the day. The Patriots helped by struggling to set their edges, allowing Walker to break outside to get into the open field. He was able to pick up 30 yards behind a pulling Zabel in the first quarter; the rookie guard was able to fend off K’Lavon Chaisson, who couldn’t force the play back inside. Walker got to the corner and then ran through a Marcus Jones ankle tackle on the sideline for 20 extra yards.

Later in the same series, Walker ran behind center Jalen Sundell into a vacated gap for a big gain. He added more at the end of the run by going around Christian Gonzalez, who was stuck in no-man’s-land in the open field. Gonzalez saved a touchdown, but Walker put the Seahawks in range for one of their many field goals.

We saw the league’s offensive evolution play out in miniature form during the second half. The Patriots started to lean into a 6-1 front to try to take away the zone runs and dare the Seahawks into passing, just as they did against the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, sparking the run-game evolution I wrote about in my preview. On the next series after the Pats showed that six-man front, Seahawks offensive coordinator (and future Raiders head coach) Klint Kubiak ran them out of it by calling one of the concepts that those offenses leaned further into as a response to six-man fronts: The Seahawks dialed up a pin/pull sweep, and Walker picked up 14 yards.

The repeated focus on Walker’s patience hitting the hole invited comparisons to another excellent back of the past in Le’Veon Bell. Some of that is schematic as opposed to stylistic; the Steelers’ favorite play with Bell was a counter run that took time to develop. Likewise, the Seahawks run plenty of duo with Walker, when he is essentially trying to get one-on-one with the opposing linebacker and steer him into blocking or make him miss. Zone runs have the running back on the move from the jump and have him make one quick cut upfield.

Of course, Bell’s performance after leaving the Steelers might be a cautionary tale for teams who eyed what Walker did in this game. Bell averaged just 3.3 yards per carry away from Pittsburgh, spending most of that time mired with a moribund Jets offense and a quarterback (Sam Darnold) nobody ever heard from again. It’s easy to be patient when you have a good run-blocking line and an offense that scares teams with the pass. And Bell was a much better receiver than Walker.

At the same time, this is a league desperate to find players who can create explosive plays against defenses that are selling out to stop them. That’s why speedy, underwhelming wide receivers like Dyami Brown and Tutu Atwell landed one-year, $10 million deals in free agency last offseason. Walker would probably be looking for a deal in the $12 million range, which is essentially in line with what those replacement-level wideouts were getting last season. He’s a better player than either.

This was a disjointed Super Bowl on offense, where neither team was reliably moving the ball for steady chunks of yardage. The only way to get in scoring range before the turnovers came was by producing explosive plays. Through three quarters, there were seven of those plays, and six of them were by Seattle. Walker was responsible for three of those six. Having a player like that in your pocket can be really useful, even if he’s running a middling success rate or dropping the occasional pass. Whether he re-signs in Seattle or heads somewhere else, Walker will have a market as a playmaker this offseason.

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Big boots

While they weren’t needed to decide a close contest, Seattle’s special teams showed up again in a big game. In the NFC West-deciding win over the Rams in December, it was Rashid Shaheed‘s punt return touchdown that helped spur a fourth-quarter comeback. The rematch in the NFC title game was likely decided by the second muffed punt from Rams returner Xavier Smith, which the Seahawks recovered for a short field and a quick touchdown.

The return men on both sides were quiet Sunday, but Seattle’s specialists played a critical role. Jason Myers didn’t have any particularly difficult kicks, given that each of his seven attempts was within 41 yards, but the veteran kicker went 5-for-5 on field goal tries and hit both of his extra point attempts. The Seahawks went 1-for-4 in the red zone against one of the league’s worst red zone defenses from the regular season, so those field goals were valuable points before Seattle broke things open late.

The real star on special teams was punter Michael Dickson, who probably belonged right behind Walker and Witherspoon in the MVP discussion. Dickson punted seven times in this game, and in concert with an excellent Seahawks coverage unit, he yielded just 4 return yards to star Pats returner Marcus Jones. Dickson dropped three punts inside New England’s 6-yard line and averaged 47.3 net yards per punt.

While the Seahawks controlled this game, they weren’t always in great shape in terms of field position. With the offense struggling for consistency, Seattle had four of its first nine drives stall out inside its own 30-yard line. Dickson’s punts prevented the Patriots from starting in a situation where one explosive play would have been enough to get into field goal range. And with the Patriots failing to pick up more than two first downs on any of their first 13 possessions, the Seahawks weren’t in danger for most of the day because of Dickson’s fourth-down contributions.

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Most Super Bowl recaps don’t get this far in without discussing the quarterback of the winning team, but Darnold wasn’t the in-game story. The Patriots clearly wanted to put the game on Darnold’s shoulders, as they tried to jump just about every throw early and blitzed the journeyman quarterback nearly 57% of the time.

Darnold should be credited under those circumstances for protecting the football. He didn’t turn it over against a desperate Patriots defense — meaning he went four critical games (two against the 49ers, one against the Rams and here in the Super Bowl) without any turnovers. It’s just the second time in Darnold’s career that he has started four consecutive games in a single season without turning the ball over at least once, and he pulled it off during his most important stretch ever.

It’s also realistic to note that Darnold missed a bunch of throws in this game, though. He had Jaxon Smith-Njigba for what could have been a long touchdown on a scramble drill in the first quarter, only to overthrow the star wide receiver by a couple of yards. And when Smith-Njigba beat Gonzalez for what should have been a TD pass on a post at the end of the first half, Darnold’s throw was behind him and gave Gonzalez a chance to break up the throw. (Gonzalez had a great game, but Darnold let him off the hook here.)

The Patriots showed Darnold Cover 0 (man coverage with no safety help) in key spots in the second half and lived to tell the tale. Facing a third-and-9 just outside the red zone, Darnold had Cooper Kupp open on an out against the blitz for what should have been a first down, but he missed his throw outside against a hot rusher. The most painful one might have been on the next possession, when Shaheed ran past Carlton Davis III in Cover 0 and was open for a potential 59-yard touchdown. Darnold overthrew him by a yard.

Instead, Darnold added value in unexpected ways. Maye’s ability to impact games with his legs was a story heading into the Super Bowl, but Darnold was much more valuable in the game we actually saw. He repeatedly managed to elude Patriots sack attempts, tormenting Milton Williams, who had an excellent game but managed only one QB takedown. Darnold was able to turn plays that should have been sacks into throwaways or short completions. He nearly did a Lamar Jackson impression on that scramble-drill overthrow in the first quarter, and he even added an 11-yard scramble for a first down after running away from Williams as the New England defensive tackle rumbled through the A-gap.

Darnold finished the day with a 53.0 Total QBR, which felt about right to me. And while he had long stretches during the regular season as both the best quarterback in football and one of the worst, if we include his postseason performance, Darnold finished the season 13th in Total QBR. That also feels fair. Darnold had a long run when he was really valuable by generating gobs of explosive plays — even while racking up turnovers. In the postseason, he was mostly providing value by protecting the football. The exception was the NFC Championship Game against the Rams, where the Seahawks needed a big passing day from their quarterback and got one.

There has been plenty written about Darnold and everything that has happened to him over the past 12 months. Like last season with the Vikings, there has probably been a little too much of a focus on him as the quarterback of a slightly above-average offense when the driving force for his teams has been what they’ve done on defense. At the same time, well, ask the Vikings if they miss having Darnold around.

The Seahawks didn’t win the Super Bowl because they had Darnold. But they wouldn’t have been in the Super Bowl if it weren’t for Darnold, who balled out during the first half of the season as the running game struggled to get going. He came through in the fourth quarter and overtime against the Rams to help the Seahawks claim the top spot in the NFC, and he was brilliant in the rematch to knock the Rams out in the rubber match two weeks ago, overcoming the one team that seemed to solve Seattle’s dominant defense.

Darnold answered the bell when the Seahawks needed him most. That’s a good teammate and an essential part of any Super Bowl team. For a quarterback who was branded as a bust through hopeless situations with the Jets and Panthers, Darnold is going to be a generational reminder to not count quarterbacks out before they end up in the right place. And after Darnold has started games for four organizations in four years, I suspect he has done enough to be back starting for the Seahawks as they raise their second Super Bowl banner to the rafters in 2026.

The top stories and transfer rumours from Sunday’s newspapers…

PREMIER LEAGUE

Harry Maguire’s team-mates want Manchester United to offer him a new contract – The Sun

Chelsea and Aston Villa reportedly made surprise enquiries for Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall during the January transfer window – Daily Mail

The head coach of the Hungarian national team has claimed that Dominik Szoboszlai has always ‘dreamed’ of playing for Real Madrid amid fresh transfer speculation over the Liverpool midfielder – Sunday Mirror

West Ham fans staged a protest against the club’s ownership before and during the extra-time win over Burton Albion – Sunday Mirror

EFL

A multinational group led by Robbie Earle has made a bid for a minority stake in AFC Wimbledon, the south London-based club that was born in 2002 after Earle’s former team Wimbledon FC moved to Milton Keynes – The Atheltic

SCOTTISH FOOTBALL

Portugal boss Roberto Martinez has gushed about his connection to Scotland amid links with the Celtic manager post – Mail on Sunday

Danilo has lifted the lid on the chaotic final days of the winter transfer window as he closed in on a move away from Ibrox – Scottish Sun

A Scottish football club has vowed to come down hard on one of its own fans for making an “abhorrent” comment towards their former manager – Scottish Sun

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

Como manager Cesc Fabregas brutally suggested one of his big-name stars – Alvaro Morata – should stop playing football after his red card against Fiorentina – Daily Mail

WORLD CUP

World Cup group games for England and Scotland are under threat – because the stadium has yet to be granted a licence – The Sun

WINTER OLYMPICS

Vladyslav Heraskevych has been awarded the Ukraine order of freedom by president Volodymyr Zelensky following the skeleton racer’s disqualification from the Winter Olympics – The Telegraph

The Canadian curler at the centre of a cheating row at the Winter Olympics has denied any wrongdoing, accusing the Swedish team of deliberately trying to “catch us in the act” – The Guardian

The Las Vegas Raiders are promoting run game coordinator/defensive line coach Rob Leonard to defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Leonard worked closely last season with Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby, whose future in Las Vegas remains uncertain.

Leonard joined the Raiders in 2023 after spending one season as the Baltimore Ravens outside linebackers coach. Prior to Baltimore, Leonard spent three years (2019-21) with the Miami Dolphins, where he held multiple positions during his tenure.

He also spent the first six seasons of his NFL coaching career (2013-18) as an assistant with the New York Giants.

Inside a tiny courtroom in a tiny (population 202) Mississippi town on Thursday, the football world awaited a decision on the college eligibility of Ole Miss star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.

Chambliss would eventually be granted an injunction against the NCAA that would provide him with a sixth year of eligibility and send him back to Oxford as a Heisman favorite for the championship-contending Rebels. The NFL draft would have to wait another year.

Yet for all the significance of the decision, the most passionately discussed item to emerge was about … fatherhood?

Part of Chambliss’ argument was that in 2022, a severe case of tonsillitis significantly impacted his sleep and caused him to not see any on-field action, entitling him to a medical redshirt season.

Ole Miss quarterbacks coach Joe Judge, formerly the head coach of the New York Giants, was called in to testify for Chambliss. One of the questions was about the importance of sleep for football players.

Judge decided to lean on his experience in both the pros and college and discuss how he handled players who had a child born during the season — and their significant others.

“We would have to educate,” Judge said of the conversations he would have with the baby’s mother. “This is always a tough conversation to have. It’s not even popular.

“We would have to educate significant others who may have been pregnant during the season or have a baby during the season,” Judge continued.

“And you have to educate them on, ‘You have this baby in the middle of season, that father has to play good football, right? It’s a day-by-day production business. He has to be ready to perform and go out there and play … You need to let him sleep. He needs to be in another room, detached.’”

“You have to explain to the mother like, ‘Hey, listen, he ain’t waking up for midnight feedings. After the season, he’s full-metal jacket. You do whatever you want with him. He can change every diaper. But in season, he’s got to have different priorities,’” Judge concluded.

Football coaches, they don’t just teach the game, they teach life lessons … from 1948.

Let’s give Joe Judge a little grace here. The married father of four is known in football for his decency and for being extremely family-oriented, which isn’t universal in that business. Testifying can also be nerve-racking, and given a do-over, he’d probably have left that analogy out or at least added further explanation.

He was trying to make a point to help his player get an injunction; he certainly didn’t expect it to go viral.

And look, if one parent wants to go through the meat grinder of handling every single middle-of-the-night feeding, diaper change and so on, all so the other parent can rack out in another room 10 hours a night because he has to play Arkansas next week, hey, that’s up to the couple.

Or maybe what Judge was suggesting — given how much money college players, let alone his former NFL players, earn — was to hire a night nurse or get family help to ease the burden.

That said, a passionate debate about fatherhood erupted.

“Don’t listen to this, young men,” DeMarvion Overshown, a Dallas Cowboys linebacker (and father of two boys) wrote on social media above a video clip of Judge’s comments. “Be there for the mother of your child and let the rest take care of itself.

“Those midnight feedings turn into financial freedom, because nothing will inspire you more than being a great father,” Overshown concluded.

Overshown couldn’t be more correct about that.

Being a father isn’t about being one when it’s convenient and you’re properly rested. It’s about being there for the hard stuff, and there will be more hard stuff than a new dad can even fathom, far harder than 2 a.m. wakeups (little kids, little problems; big kids, big problems).

Those early moments are about connecting with a child that you love more than you could have ever imagined, a bond that will refocus your entire world to the point where you would do anything for them, including pushing to become the best version of yourself.

That includes trying to embrace maturity and accountability, focus and perspective. It can drive you to be a better student, better worker, a better friend and certainly a better partner.

There is no doubt that proper rest helps athletes, but so can exchanging selfishness for selflessness and teamwork. Showing a child respect for their mother may be the most important thing you can do.

Balancing work and home is one of the great challenges of life, whether the office is a sold-out football stadium or not. Providing for your family is part of every father’s job, but providing means far more than just money.

Those midnight feedings tend to produce midnight lessons you can’t learn any other way.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — New Bills coach Joe Brady has added NFL head coaching experience to his staff, hiring John Fox as a senior assistant coach. The Bills announced Fox and more of the team’s coaching staff, which now includes 20 assistants, on Friday.

Fox, 71, has head coaching experience with the Carolina Panthers (2002-10), Denver Broncos (2011-14) and Chicago Bears (2015-17). He has two Super Bowl appearances as a head coach and prior to his head coaching career was a defensive coordinator. Fox most recently served in defensive assistant roles with the Indianapolis Colts (2022) and Detroit Lions (2023).

“Full transparency, I’d love to have [someone on staff with head coaching experience]; it’s not a must,” Brady said after he was hired. “There’s a fine line when you bring in coaches, and I’ve worked with coaches that have been in certain systems, and like, ‘This is the only way to do it.’ If there’s people that have had the experience that I can lean on will be great, but they’re not sitting there saying that they have all the answers. More so someone that can help me, bounce ideas off of. … The compatibility is way more important to me.”

Brady, 36, has never been a head coach before and is the youngest head coach in the NFL.

He also promoted Bills tight ends coach Rob Boras to running game coordinator/tight ends with offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who previously led the team’s running game, retiring. Joe Danna, one of a couple of defensive coaching holdovers, has been promoted to secondary coach from safeties coach.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are tracking Brenford striker Igor Thiago, while Manchester United look to move on goalkeeper André Onana.

Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.

Transfers home page | Men’s winter grades | Women’s grades

TRENDING RUMORS

– Manchester City remain determined to sign striker Igor Thiago despite the forward’s recent decision to sign a new contract at Brentford, according to TeamTalk. Chelsea and Bayern Munich are also thought to be monitoring Thiago’s development during a remarkable breakout season that has seen him score 18 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions. The 24-year-old, who joined Brentford in 2024 from Club Brugge, is under contract in West London until June 2031.

– Manchester United will attempt to secure a permanent exit for goalkeeper André Onana this summer, The Sun reports. The Cameroon goalkeeper is on loan at Trabzonspor, where he has played 17 times to date in the league, registering four clean sheets. However, it remains to be seen whether the Turkish side would be interested in signing him permanently at the end of his loan spell.

– Liverpool are among the sides interested in signing RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande, Christian Falk has revealed. RBL are expected to demand a transfer fee of around €100 million this summer, an amount which fellow German club Bayern Munich are unwilling to pay. As such, a move to the Premier League could become a concrete possibility, with Manchester United and Manchester City also tracking his development. Diomande, 19, is under contract at Leipzig until 2030.

– Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have all been informed that Real Madrid forward Endrick will not be available this summer, TeamTalk reports.The Brazil international is on loan at French side Lyon, but is expected to return to the Spanish capital at the end of the season.

– Barcelona are keen to try and lower Manchester United‘s valuation of Marcus Rashford, according to the Express. The forward, who is on loan at the Catalan giants from United, has impressed in Spain this season, with the club eager to make his move permanent in the summer. However, that would involve triggering a £26 million option in Rashford’s contract, a fee the Barça hierarchy feels is too high. Rashford, 28, is said to be “determined to stay” at the club after registering 12 goal involvements in 21 La Liga games this season.

DONE DEALS

OTHER RUMORS

– Charlton Athletic are in talks with former West Ham United forward Michail Antonio. The Jamaica international has not played club football since a car crash in December 2024. (Sky Sports)

– Manchester United have held talks with Manchester City’s 16-year-old prospect Kasen Brown. The defender is set to depart the Etihad at the end of the season. (Football Insider)

– Bournemouth will try to tie Eli Junior Kroupi down to a long-term contract amid interest from the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal. (TeamTalk)

– Borussia Dortmund have set an asking price of £35 million for wing-back Julian Ryerson. (Ekrem Konur)

– Several top Premier League and Serie A sides are monitoring Brentford’s Kevin Schade for the summer transfer window. (Nicolo Schira)

– The Philadelphia Union are closing in on a deal to sign left-back Philippe Ndinga from Degerfors. (Tom Bogert)

– Clubs from Colombia, the MLS and Europe are monitoring Atlético Nacional youngster Fabio Martínez. (Rudy Galetti)

Rory McIlroy insists he is still in contention after reaching the halfway mark
of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am six shots off the lead.

A birdie at the last took the defending champion to nine-under-par after a second round 67 at Pebble Beach, trailing second-round leaders Akshay Bhatia and Ryo Hisatsune.

American duo Rickie Fowler and Sam Burns are a stroke off the lead, two clear of a group which includes Austria’s Sepp Straka.

Matt Fitzpatrick is in a large group on 10-under-par with fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood among those level with McIlroy.

McIlroy made a strong start, eagling the second and adding two more birdies, before dropping shots either side of another pair of birdies after the turn.

“I feel like I wasted a few shots out there or at least just wasn’t efficient with my scoring and didn’t capitalise on my good start the last couple of days,” he said.

“I played pretty good but with the weather coming in on Sunday, [Saturday’s] going to be a really important day to get yourself in position.

“Sunday looks like it could be pretty messy and a lot of things could happen, so the closer you are to the lead Sunday the better. Even if I am a few behind going into Sunday, everyone will have a chance given those conditions.”

Bhatia carded an eagle and six birdies in an eight-under-par round of 64 at Spyglass Hill to move alongside overnight leader Hisatsune at 15-under-par.

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler picked up five shots in his last seven holes to move to six-under-par.

Watch the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Saturday from 4.30pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.

Welcome to the 2026 college baseball season!

With star players coast to coast, this opening weekend is sure to be as entertaining as ever. Shortstop Roch Cholowsky leads a talented No. 1 UCLA Bruins squad, Alabama’s Justin Lebron looks like the SEC’s premier player, and Georgia Tech’s Drew Burress might just keep racking up wild numbers.

We’ve also got a slew of new head coaches at top programs looking to make their marks early on, such as Josh Elander at Tennessee and Chris Pollard at Virginia. So, what else are we looking forward to this season? Our college baseball experts break it all down, plus give some way-too-early predictions for the end of the year.

Jump to:
Top storylines | Teams to watch
Under the radar | POY picks
MCWS predictions

What are you most excited about for 2026?

Ryan McGee: How about all these new coaches in some high-profile places? We did Marty & McGee from Starkville, Mississippi, last fall and I went over to The Dude with 15,000 of my friends, and seeing Brian O’Connor in maroon and white was downright psychedelic. Chris Pollard at Virginia, Josh Elander and James Ramsey with the big promotions at Tennessee and Georgia Tech, respectively — that’s a lot of movement at programs that know the road to Omaha.

Chris Burke: There are so many fascinating storylines in college baseball as we get ready to kick off 2026, but two of them are really top of mind. First, can UCLA unseat the SEC from making it seven straight national championships? History has not been kind to preseason No. 1 teams, but UCLA has the star power and experience to run this race. Can the Bruins live up to the hype? Secondly, speaking of UCLA’s star power, its biggest star is consensus projected No. 1 pick SS Roch Cholowsky. He leads a group of three shortstops who could all be top-five picks in this summer’s MLB draft. Alabama’s Justin Lebron and Kentucky’s Tyler Bell are two other DUDES to keep your eye on. This trio could be the best group of college shortstops we’ve seen in a long time!

David Dellucci: Several big programs in the preseason top 25 rankings have never won a national championship. One of the winningest programs historically, No. 16 Florida State, tops the list with tons of Men’s College World Series trips, but zero titles. Others from the rankings who have never hoisted the trophy are No. 5 Georgia Tech, No. 7 Arkansas, No. 8 Louisville, No. 9 Auburn, No. 10 TCU, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 17 NC State, No. 20 Southern Miss and No. 25 Texas A&M. All have strong histories, deep runs, near misses, but no hardware. After watching Indiana’s historic national championship season in football, these teams have to be thinking this could be their year to break through.

Kiley McDaniel: Given my draft-related focus, I’ll be watching the battle between (for now) Cholowsky and Lebron for the top pick in the draft. Cholowsky has the early lead as the clear top prospect due to having four of his five tools grading as plus, but Lebron has the tools to overtake him if he can make more consistent contact this spring. If he can, Lebron may have all five tools as plus.

Mike Rooney: Skip Bertman authored the original LSU baseball dynasty by winning an astounding five national titles from 1991 to 2000. And now Jay Johnson and this current iteration of the Tigers have won two in the past three years. With Tony Vitello leaving Tennessee for the San Francisco Giants, has that paved the way for a 2.0 version of LSU’s dominance in college baseball? Preseason No. 1 UCLA would like a word … as would Mississippi State and its new skipper Brian O’Connor. Regardless, the LSU Tigers are the best program in the sport right now.

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Which teams should we be watching?

McGee: The UCLA Bruins fascinate me. They were so good. Then they were so bad. Then we were all like, “They’ll just keep losing players to NIL elsewhere.” Then they joined the Big Ten. Then they nearly lost their ballpark. Now, they are so good again. Like, preseason No. 1 with the No. 1 MLB draft pick good. I’m fascinated, and we all should be.

Burke: Some of the teams I’ll be watching early will have my attention because of changes in leadership. Three of the top 14 teams in the preseason poll have new head coaches. No. 4 Mississippi State, No. 5 Georgia Tech and No. 14 Tennessee will all carry high expectations into a season where they break in new skippers. Mississippi State is led by one of the most accomplished coaches in the sport in O’Connor, who left the national championship program he built at Virginia to head to Starkville, to try to get that storied program back to Omaha. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech and Tennessee have handed the keys of their programs to their previous recruiting coordinators as Ramsey and Elander take over with sky-high expectations. Watching them manage those rosters will be fascinating.

Dellucci: Mississippi State and Georgia Tech are in comparable situations — historic programs that finished the past two seasons with eliminations in road regionals and both having fan bases who value beating in-state rivals as much as trips to Omaha. Although State’s head coach O’Connor and Tech’s Ramsey are entering in Year 1, they are stacked with two of the most talented rosters in baseball. The Jackets will field the top position player group in the country, led by No. 1 outfielder Drew Burress and No. 2 second baseman Jarren Advincula and catcher Vahn Lackey, while the Bulldogs’ lineup consists of a potent offense featuring preseason All-Americans Ace Reese and Noah Sullivan, along with highly touted freshman Jacob Parker.

McDaniel: Anchored by Cholowsky, UCLA is the big dog out west along with Oregon State, Coastal Carolina is the mid-major that’s a big threat, and TCU leads the way from the Big 12. Basically, all of the other teams you need to pay attention to in terms of making it to Omaha are in the SEC and ACC. Traditional powers like LSU, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee and a resurgent Mississippi State lead the way in the SEC while Georgia Tech, Louisville and North Carolina are the strongest competitors in the ACC.

Rooney: UCLA returned the majority of its Omaha roster. And then it won the offseason by acquiring transfer ace Logan Reddemann (San Diego), center fielder Will Gasparino (Texas) and high school righthander Angel Cervantes. Cervantes, who was taken 50th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, was the highest drafted player to make it to campus. Threats to the Bruins include an LSU program with momentum, a Texas team with pitching for days and two teams in Auburn and TCU with arguably the best sophomore classes in the sport.

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What’s something, or someone, under the radar to keep tabs on?

McGee: Maybe it’s because my dad is a former East Carolina pitcher and I’m a little close to it, but I feel like every year I use this spot to point out the Pirates. They are still the greatest baseball program to never make it to Omaha. After a very nice job emerging from a lot of transitional stuff one year ago, might this finally be their ticket to sail that pirate ship up the Missouri River?

Burke: An under-the-radar team to watch is Kansas. Yes, I said Kansas. In case you haven’t noticed, Dan Fitzgerald has turned Kansas into a legit NCAA regional contender and has one of the most talented hitters in the country leading the way this year. Brady Ballinger is the junior first baseman for the Jayhawks. He posted a 1.164 OPS last year, along with 16 homers. Don’t be surprised if at the end of the year KU is in the tournament and Ballinger is the Big 12 player of the year.

Dellucci: Vanderbilt pitcher Connor Fennell is a player to keep an eye on. Fennell defies today’s starting pitcher stereotype with his lean build and sub-90 mph fastball. What he lacks in modern-day analytics, he makes up with pinpoint accuracy, confidence and competitiveness. Fennell improved from a 4-4 record with 4.74 ERA at Dayton to 6-0 and 2.53 ERA at Vanderbilt, and he was a national leader in strikeout percentage, tallying 84 Ks to 11 walks in 53.1 innings. Fennell even held the talented hitters in the SEC to a .174 batting average.

Arkansas Little Rock finished the regular season losing 13 of its last 14 games before sweeping the Ohio Valley Conference tournament earning an automatic bid to regionals, where it outslugged Dallas Baptist for the first regional win in school history. Riding the hot streak, the Trojans then beat LSU before being edged out in a winner-take-all rematch that sent LSU to super regionals.

Coach Chris Curry’s five-year contract extension shows Little Rock’s commitment to its rising program and the immediate effect was keeping veterans like Angel Cano, who earned Baton Rouge Regional MVP after hitting three HRs and 14 RBIs, Ty Rhoades and Malcolm Brown, along with bringing in a talented transfer portal group that includes four players from the SEC.

McDaniel: Southern Miss is always dangerous from the mid-major ranks, but can get lost in the buzz around Coastal Carolina. Texas A&M seems primed to bounce back from a down 2025 season. Shane Sdao and Weston Moss can anchor the weekend rotation while Gavin Grahovac is returning from injury in the lineup, Chris Hacopian is one of the best transfers in the country, and Nico Partida could be one of the better freshmen in the country.

Rooney: Unranked Cal Poly and Arizona State are very interesting, unranked, teams on the West Coast. The Mustangs bring back nearly 70% of last season’s production, and that team was a regional finalist. Shortstop Nate Castellon (.888 OPS) and third baseman Alejandro Garza (.889) might be the best infield duo on the West Coast. Arizona State crushed the transfer portal and this program already returned an elite lefthander in Cole Carlon and one of the best bats in the Big 12 in Landon Hairston. Transfer outfielder Dean Toigo (UNLV) was co-MVP of the Mountain West last season, and the Sun Devils bullpen is flush with velocity and out pitches.

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Who are your early player-of-the-year picks?

McGee: That No. 1 MLB pick pretty much everyone here has already mentioned: Cholowsky. He’s the truth. And in Omaha last summer, the country saw what a beast Coastal Carolina’s Cameron Flukey can be. He struck out 117 batters one year ago.

Burke: Cholowsky is too easy of an answer here, so I’ll go with Mississippi State’s Reese. The slugging third baseman posted .352/21/66 last year, and he saved his best work for conference play. If MSU gets back to the top of the heap this year, Reese will be a huge reason.

Dellucci: Cholowsky had a memorable 2025, leading the Bruins to their first Men’s College World Series since 2013 and winning nearly every award, including the Dick Howser Trophy. But even with putting up an impressive stat line of .353/25/74, the national championship and Golden Spikes Award eluded him. With only one hit and one win in Omaha, he will have fuel to surpass his personal stats and the team’s success from last season.

Burress’ start to his college career was so dominant, batting .381/25/67, that I guess last season’s stat line of .333/19/62 could be considered a sophomore slump. Both performances earned him a place on the Golden Spikes semifinalist list in back-to-back years. Along with being one of the most feared hitters in college baseball, Burress is a human highlight reel in center field with game changing speed.

McDaniel: Cholowsky is the easy pick with Lebron also under consideration, but it wouldn’t shock me if Burress has a huge spring and ends up winning the hardware. You can debate what his pro potential is given his stature, but what he’s doing works at the top of the college level without a doubt. I tend to think it’ll work in the big leagues, too.

Rooney: Burress is an undersized outfielder with thunder in his hands and someone will have to wrestle player of the year honors away from him. That said, this is the year of the shortstop in college baseball. Cholowsky, Lebron and Bell are the big three, and all of them are projected top-10 picks. Eric Becker (Virginia), Steven “Monster” Milam (LSU) and Maddox Molony (Oregon) would be Tier 1 in a normal year. And there’s more where that came from.

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Give your way-too-early MCWS prediction!

McGee: LSU continues its new gen dynasty, but it’ll have to survive an epic SEC vs. Pac-12, er, Big Ten matchup over UCLA to do it.

Burke: Impossible to pick the Omaha field at this point, so I’ll just keep it general to conference. The SEC will have three, ACC two, UCLA will be there, and that leaves two spots for teams from the rest of the field … Coastal Carolina? TCU? Wouldn’t shock me! Let’s go!

Dellucci: My early prediction: If the bracket is aligned accordingly, LSU edges UCLA in Game 3 of the Men’s College World Series finals, becoming the first back-to-back champs since South Carolina, and the second repeat in program history after the Tigers’ dominant 1996-97 run.

McDaniel: I’ll go with LSU over UCLA. UCLA has top-end talent and depth along with experience, but I worry that the depth of high-level experience from pro-level arms isn’t good enough to compete with LSU’s. Every year we seem to see the team with depth of power arms get through the grueling postseason.

Rooney: We’ve had back-to-back outlier fields in the MCWS: just two conferences represented in 2024 and then a whopping seven last season. In 2026, I believe an ACC team will reach the MCWS finals for the first time since 2015. Clemson, Arizona State, Oklahoma State and Georgia are top of mind programs, too, as former Omaha regulars who haven’t been back in a minute. Several of whom have worn incredible gut punches in the postseason. Two of these four will return to Nebraska this June. Finally, the Big West will send a team to the promised land of college baseball in 2026. Let the games begin.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots are opening their defensive coordinator position by moving Terrell Williams, who missed the 2025 season after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, to a high-ranking role on coach Mike Vrabel’s staff, a source confirmed.

Williams was recently cleared to return, according to Vrabel, who noted Tuesday that there were things to work through with the configuration of the staff.

Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr served as the defensive playcaller in Williams’ absence this past season and thus is a leading candidate for the role.

When Vrabel was hired as Patriots head coach in January 2025, he targeted Williams for the job, citing his knack for making meaningful connections with players as especially valuable. Williams had previously served as defensive line coach on Vrabel’s staff with the Tennessee Titans.

When Williams had a self-described “health scare” in the spring that kept him away from the team, Kuhr — also a former assistant on Vrabel’s staff in Tennessee — stepped forward to serve as de facto coordinator during organized team activities.

Williams returned for training camp and the first week of the regular season, before leaving when diagnosed with prostate cancer. That once again thrust Kuhr, 37, into the playcalling role, and the defense ultimately became the backbone of the Patriots’ run to Super Bowl LX.

NFL Network first reported the news.

Leigh Leopards ran in five tries as they opened their Super League campaign with a 26-14 victory over Leeds Rhinos at Leigh Sports Village.

Leeds, who finished just behind their opponents last season in fourth, were first on the board through a penalty from Chris Hankinson after Jarrod O’Connor had the ball knocked from his grasp.

But Innes Senior went over in the corner in the 16th minute – seizing on a clever one-handed pass from Lachlan Lam – and it was 10-2 at the break after Edwin Ipape dived over for Leigh’s second try.

There were errors from both sides, and another very costly one from Leeds from the restart led to the third try, 10 seconds into the second half.

Riley Lumb spilled the ball from the kick-off, with Jack Hughes kicking through and then touching down.

Matt Davis’ next try, which also owed much to Leeds mistakes, was initially disallowed but the video referee ruled he had grounded the ball after a lengthy review.

Cooper Jenkins’ individual effort in the 52nd minute gave Leeds their first try, while tempers were fraying and a mass brawl ended with Harry Newman and Davis both sent to the sin bin.

Leigh extended their lead to 18 points thanks to Lam’s 66th-minute try, with Brodie Croft’s late score for Leeds scant consolation.

Catalans kick season off with Huddersfield win

Catalans began their Betfred Super League campaign with a win after beating Huddersfield 26-10 at Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Tries from Ben Condon and Charlie Staines gave the hosts the advantage before Sam Halsall replied on the stroke of half-time, but further touchdowns from Tommy Makinson and Solomona Faataape secured an opening-round win, either side of George Flanagan crossing.

The Dragons opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Condon touched down and Toby Sexton added the extras before they nearly extended their advantage, but Faataape’s effort was ruled out by the video referee.

Sexton sent the Dragons ahead further with a penalty and Staines burst through a gap to ground for their second try of the evening, with Sexton converting.

Oliver Russell was shown a yellow card for Huddersfield for a professional foul, but the visitors managed to pull one back just before half-time when Halsall broke forward to cross in the corner, but Flanagan was unable to convert.

With a 14-4 lead, Catalans almost struck early in the second half through Sexton, but they soon bagged their third try – 64 minutes in – when Faataape played the ball into Makinson to ground, with Sexton converting.

Flanagan then replied just minutes later for Giants after chasing down Tuimoala Lolohea’s kick and went on to score underneath the posts before converting his own try.

However, the French side wrapped up the game with six minutes to play when Faataape burst down the left to ground and Sexton’s conversion was successful.

Catalans Dragons coach Joel Tomkins: “We learnt some lessons from last week [against Batley], I’m not sure exactly what the completion was today but it was pretty good. Overall we’re really happy with some of the things we did tonight.

“I’m really proud, proud of the effort. I was really happy with the energy and the enthusiasm we turned up with. Some really good signs for us moving forward through the rest of the season. If we can keep that level of energy we’ll be okay.”

After competing in rainy conditions, Huddersfield Giants coach Luke Robinson said: “I think all credit to Catalans, I think they gave us a bit of a lesson in how you play wet-weather rugby.

“It was a little bit of an energy battle, particularly towards the end of the first-half, they scored four tries and we scored two so there wasn’t that much in it. But I think field position and territory were massive and that was due to us giving away seven penalties in that first half.”

TEMPE, Ariz. — New Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur will retain defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, the team announced Friday.

Arizona also announced Michael Ghobrial as their new special teams coordinator and made Nathaniel Hackett’s hire as offensive coordinator official.

Rallis was initially brought to Arizona in 2023 by former head coach Jonathan Gannon, who was fired on Jan. 5 after a 3-14 season. Rallis will enter his fourth season as the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator.

“Nick is someone I have always great respect for, especially going against him in the division over the last three years,” LaFleur said in a statement. “I’ve had the chance to meet with him and pick his brain over the last couple weeks and am even more impressed than I was before. I know the respect he has from coaches around the league and especially with the players on this team and that says a lot to me.”

Arizona interviewed Rams defensive passing game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant, Seahawks defensive passing game coordinator Karl Scott and Giants linebacker coach Charlie Bullen, who was a linebackers coach with the Cardinals from 2019-2022, for its defensive coordinator job, according to multiple reports.

The Cardinals finished the season ranked 27th in total yards allowed per game, 25th in rushing yards allowed per game and 24th in passing yards allowed per game. They were ranked 22nd in interception rate and 28th in sacks per pass attempt while giving up the most first downs per game. Arizona also gave up the fourth-most points per game last season in the NFL and allowed 40 or more points four times, 37 twice and 31 once.

Ghobrial comes over to the Cardinals from the Giants, where he led New York’s special teams units.

“The enthusiasm he brings is infectious, which is critical for all coaches but especially on special teams. As a team, we will definitely benefit from his energy and experience,” LaFleur added in the statement.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Arizona’s plan to hire Hackett as offensive coordinator earlier this month.

Hackett, 46, spent last season as a defensive analyst for Mike La Fleur’s brother, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. Before that, Hackett was the New York Jets‘ offensive coordinator for two seasons (2023-24), the Denver Broncos‘ head coach in ’22 and Matt LaFleur’s offensive coordinator from 2019 to ’21.

“With Nathaniel, when you combine his experience with his high level of offensive production, it’s hard to think of anyone better suited for this position,” LaFleur said. “I’ve never worked with him but know he’s definitely one of the top offensive minds in the league and cannot wait to see what he can do with the playmakers we have on this offense”

Hackett also was an offensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars during his career.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Turns out, the Philadelphia Phillies were ale-ing last year.

Deciding their relationship ruptured when Nick Castellanos angrily brought a beer into the dugout after he was pulled from a game, the Phillies released the outfielder even though they owe him $20 million for the final season of a $100 million, five-year contract.

In a four-page handwritten letter posted Thursday, Castellanos admitted he broke a team rule by bringing a Presidente beer into the dugout last June “after being taken out of a close ball game in front of my friends and family.” Phillies manager Rob Thomson made the move for defense with a 3-1 eighth-inning lead during a 5-2 win at Miami on June 16.

“I’m proud of him because he owned up to what he did and, hey, we all make mistakes,” Thomson said Friday. “Nick had helped us out in a lot of ways here. He’s had some big hits and big plays and helped us win a lot ballgames. So I do, I wish him all the best.”

During a season that ended with a division series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Castellanos hit .250 — his lowest in a nonshortened season — with 17 homers and 72 RBIs.

Any team can sign Castellanos for the $780,000 major league minimum. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had decided Castellanos wouldn’t report to the team for spring training — the 33-year-old did not have a locker assigned and two photos of him in the corridor of player images already had been removed.

“A lot of times when a good player has their role change with the club, it can cause some friction, and his role changed last year from where it was,” Dombrowski said. “I mean you played every single day for a lot years in a row, and so sometimes that can contribute to it. Sometimes then people have debates between themselves where they’re not all on the same page. But when you put all that together, sometimes you just need to make sure that you have a change of scenery.”

Castellanos’ minus-12 outs above average — how many outs they gain defensively over the average fielder at their position, according to MLB Statcast — tied the New York Mets‘ Juan Soto and the Los Angeles Angels‘ Jo Adell for 108th and last among 110 qualified outfielders.

Castellanos was removed for Johan Rojas, who took over in center as Brandon Marsh moved from center to left and Max Kepler from left to right.

“I then sat right next to Rob and let him know that too much Slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others and not [conducive] to us winning,” Castellanos wrote. “Shoutout to my teammates and [Phillies special assistant Howie Kendrick] for taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip.”

Castellanos said he “aired out our differences” after the game during a meeting with Thomson and Dombrowski.

“The conversation ended with me apologizing for letting my emotions get the best of me,” Castellanos wrote.

Castellanos was benched the next day for what Thomson said then was “an inappropriate comment.” Castellanos wrote the Phillies told him not to divulge details to reporters.

“I was surprised that a lot of people didn’t see what was taking place at the time,” Dombrowski said.

Thomson doesn’t regret the messy details not becoming public at the time.

“I thought it was appropriate what we did,” he said.

Castellanos appeared in 75 of the team’s final 90 regular-season games and hit .133 with three RBIs in the four-game division series loss to the Dodgers. His production decline led to the decision as much as the beer beef.

“That wasn’t the final or determining factor, because if that was, we would have done that at that particular time,” Dombrowski said.

Philadelphia secured a replacement in December, agreeing to a $10 million, one-year contract with Adolis García.

Reporting for the new season and hoping to win Philadelphia’s first title since 2008, Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber wished Castellanos the best.

“We’ve had a lot of really good memories here over the last four years and he’s had some really big moments with us,” Schwarber said. “Hopefully wherever he goes next, he’s able to keep going out there and keep doing his thing and keep having those big moments.”

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and George Russell set the fastest times on the final day of the first Bahrain test ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton amid continued claims and counter claims from F1’s four leading teams about who is really 2026’s early leading force.

Russell had topped Friday’s morning session with a then test-best quickest lap of 1:33.918 before team-mate Antonelli twice went faster during his afternoon in the car.

The Italian youngster finished up posting a 1:33.669 to set the benchmark for the first week of running in Sakhir.

Hamilton ran all day in the Ferrari SF-26 with his third-best time of 1:34.209 set during his morning’s running.

The seven-time world champion racked up a mammoth 138 laps, although the car did not make it back to the pit lane at the end of the day under its own steam after Hamilton had to pull over in the Turn Four run-off area with just over 10 minutes of the day to run.

Ferrari have not yet confirmed whether the car suffered a reliability glitch, or it was simply a precautionary stoppage.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who also had a busy full day of running, was fourth fastest in the world champions’ MCL40 after 153 laps, eight tenths slower than Antonelli.

Red Bull split their running between Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjkar and neither troubled the top of Friday’s timesheet, both drivers finishing over 1.5s back on Antonelli’s time in fifth and sixth places respectively.

However, echoing comments made by his team boss Toto Wolff on Wednesday, Russell said Red Bull and their first-ever power unit were actually the combination to beat heading into next week’s final test.

“Probably the most concerning thing for everyone is looking at Red Bull’s performance, especially on their engine side, they look a step above everyone else,” suggested Russell.

Russell added to the written media: “You’re talking in the order of half a second to a second in deployment over the course of a lap. So, it’s pretty scary to see that difference.”

But Red Bull themselves have continued to point to bookmakers’ title favourites Mercedes as having the best package so far, while both Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris have talked up Ferrari’s pace as Leclerc showed an eye-catching afternoon long run on Thursday.

“Ferrari were quick but clearly Mercedes on one lap were very, very quick today in bad conditions,” said Pierre Wache, Red Bull’s technical director.

“It’s difficult to judge but it looks like we are behind on our side. We also did a race simulation yesterday, so some stuff to improve. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari are there at the top.”

But as Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz quipped: “Between the top four teams it’s a case of pass the parcel!”

More to follow…

Sky Sports F1’s Bahrain Testing schedule

Test Two: Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th February

• 6.50am-11.05am: Morning session Live
• 11.55am-4.10pm: Afternoon session Live
• 8pm: Testing Wrap

Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime

The first round of the 2026 NFL draft will see 32 players selected. But how many of those players have true first-round grades?

There’s a difference between going in Round 1 and being graded in Round 1, and now that we’re just over two months away from the opening of the 2026 draft on April 23 in Pittsburgh, I have identified the players who I believe are no-brainer Day 1 guys. The average draft class has roughly 15 players who are deemed “first-round talents,” though the number varies by team and scouting department. These special evaluations are reserved for prospects who would be Round 1 selections regardless of the year, and my own guideline is whether a player would have been a first-rounder in each of the past five classes.

I gave only 13 first-round grades in the 2025 class, the lowest number I’ve ever awarded. But the 2026 class actually has fewer at the moment — only 11. For context, the final list in 2024 had 18 names on it, and the 2023 list had 20.

Here are the players who deserve a first-round grade on my board. (Players’ overall rankings are in parentheses after their names, and I will have one last update in April.)

Jump to position:
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | IOL
Edge | DT | LB | CB | S

Quarterback (1)

One year after zero quarterbacks had a true first-round grade, there is one in this class. Mendoza transferred to Indiana from Cal and developed into a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and potential No. 1 pick. He has outstanding pocket poise with expert-level touch to all areas of the field. My favorite trait is his ability to put the ball up for his receivers to make plays. And although his arm strength will never be elite, Mendoza protects the ball and is a great distributor. He threw for 41 touchdowns to six interceptions last season and has a game very similar to Jared Goff.

Running back (1)

My top overall prospect, Love has three-down ability and quickness in space. The 6-foot, 214-pounder has runaway speed that led to multiple rushes of more than 90 yards in his college career. He glided to 1,372 yards last season with an average of 6.9 yards per carry and 18 touchdowns.

With elite speed and vision, plus a build that can handle consistent carries, he’s the ideal NFL running back prospect. Love is on par with recent prospects such as Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs in terms of talent and upside.

Wide receiver (2)

The 2025 Fred Biletnikoff Award winner as the best receiver in college football, Lemon is a precise route runner with excellent hands (only three drops the past two seasons), the quickness to generate yards after the catch and the ability to create missed tackles in space. Lemon’s limited size (5-foot-11, 195 pounds) might be an issue for some teams, but he is proven from the slot and has the toughness to play out wide against press coverage.

NFL teams that watched the play of Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Amon-Ra St. Brown should love the way Lemon competes on crossing and underneath routes and how well he wins with leverage and quick breaks in and out of routes.

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Another Ohio State first-round wide receiver? Yep. Tate exploded last season, at times eclipsing superstar sophomore teammate Jeremiah Smith. Tate’s impact was obvious, with 51 catches for 875 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 games despite a lack of targets late in games due to Ohio State’s domination.

On tape, Tate looks like a Justin Jefferson-level prospect when comparing their college games. Tate is a polished, crisp route runner with the body control to adjust midroute or attack the ball in the air. He had one drop on 67 targets last season and showed he can consistently win in contested-catch situations.

Tight end (1)

Even with eventual second-rounder Terrance Ferguson on the roster in 2024, scouts were buzzing about Sadiq. He didn’t disappoint in his only season as a starter in 2025, catching 51 passes for 560 yards and eight touchdowns. The junior’s best trait is his ability to attack the ball in the air and contort his body to make plays on it. Sadiq is a high-end mover with the speed, strength and leaping ability to be a matchup nightmare. He lacks elite size at 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, and he had six drops on 70 targets last season, but he projects as a difference-making move tight end in the pros.

Offensive tackle (1)

The 2026 offensive tackle class looked strong before the season began. Perhaps it will prove stronger after the combine, but for now there’s only one prospect with a true first-round grade. Mauigoa is a three-year starter at right tackle, though some in the NFL believe he would be better at guard due to a squared-off, squatty frame (6-foot-6, 315 pounds). His tape shows a consistent performer with awesome strength but limited balance to adjust to speed rushers.

Mauigoa allowed only six pressures last season with non-mobile quarterback Carson Beck working behind him and gave up only two sacks in the past two seasons combined.

Interior offensive line (0)

The interior offensive line class doesn’t feature a first-round grade, but there are strong contenders to be selected late in the first round. Penn State guard Olaivavega Ioane ranks as a top-40 player on my board and has the consistent run game and pass protection skills at 6-foot-4, 330 pounds to be a starter in the NFL. Oregon guard Emmanuel Pregnon and Auburn center Connor Lew could push into that range, too.

Edge rusher (2)

When Bailey transferred from Stanford, he was expected to become a force for the Red Raiders’ defensive line. He did that with 69 pressures, 14.5 sacks and an edge pressure rate of 21.3% that was the best in the FBS. At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Bailey’s speed around the corner is evident on tape, and his production matches it. There might be size concerns, but Bailey is among the nation’s most improved players and has become a top-10 prospect.

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Arguably the best player in college football last season, Bain was a consistent, frustrating presence for opposing quarterbacks. With 71 pressures and 9.5 sacks, Bain has elevated from the middle-to-late first round to a certified top-10 pick. There are rumblings that his arms will measure shorter than 32 inches, but Bain has proved that he can excel against top competition — as evidenced by the 23 pressures and five sacks he recorded during Miami’s playoff run.

Defensive tackle (0)

The 2026 defensive tackle class has depth but no real first-round talents after a quiet season from Peter Woods (Clemson) and the failure of the rest of the class to produce pass-rushing talents worthy of a top pick. Though the class doesn’t have a standout talent, there are impressive nose tackle and 1-technique prospects such as Lee Hunter (Texas Tech), Caleb Banks (Florida) and Kayden McDonald (Ohio State) who will push to be top-32 selections.

Linebacker (2)

Reese wasn’t on the NFL radar entering last season, as he had limited starting reps entering 2025. But he might be the first defensive player picked in April. Reese’s production exploded in new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s scheme. Working as both a linebacker and a pass rusher, Reese posted 69 tackles, 18 pressures and 6.5 sacks while showing speed and power around the edge reminiscent of Micah Parsons and Abdul Carter in their transformations from linebacker to edge rusher.

Reese is still a work in progress, but his production and impact last season point to a player with the talent to quickly be an NFL difference-maker at linebacker or on the edge. His pro position is a subject of debate among NFL scouts, with most telling me he’ll likely begin his career at linebacker with reps as an edge rusher in order to fully learn that position — which is what Parsons did in his rookie season.

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Ohio State might take the “Linebacker U” label this year to go along with the “WRU” tag it has earned in recent years. Styles is a Fred Warner-like linebacker who has elite range and tracking ability while tipping the scales at 6-4, 243 pounds. His size and athletic ability are rare and are backed up by production (83 tackles, one interception, one sack last season) that points to his NFL-readiness.

Styles’ player profile and consistent production over the past three seasons make him one of the easiest evaluations in this class. He’s a rookie starter and has the tools of a future All-Pro.

Cornerback (0)

No cornerback currently has a true first-round grade, but there are two players on the radar who should be considered top-15 picks and could work their way into a 90-plus rating on my board by late April.

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy looked like a future top-10 pick during his sophomore season in 2024. He has an all-around NFL game at 6-foot and 193 pounds, but an ACL injury suffered in January kept him out last season. McCoy’s six interceptions the previous two seasons show his ball skills and instincts, but questions remain about his pro readiness after missing a year. There will be some rust that NFL teams must be comfortable with if they are going to use an early pick on him.

And then there is LSU’s Mansoor Delane, who emerged as the best cornerback in the FBS. The Virginia Tech transfer was a lockdown presence, allowing just 10 completions last season and grabbing two picks. Delane lacks ideal NFL size with shorter arms on a 5-foot-11 frame, but his play has been outstanding.

Safety (1)

If you could create the ideal safety prospect, it would look like Downs. The 6-foot, 205-pound junior is an elite open-field tackler with the closing speed to run down ball carriers and dominate angles in space. Downs can do it all, often lining up in multiple assignments depending on where the defense needs him. His four interceptions the past two seasons speak to his ball skills but also to the fact that offenses avoid him.

One rival offensive coach told me that they identify Downs on pre-snaps over a linebacker or key pass rusher — he’s that impactful. Safeties are rarely drafted in the top five, but Downs should not be overlooked. He could have a Kyle Hamilton-like role immediately as a rookie starter.