NFL Combine Preview; MLBPA Has Lost The Plot; Spring Training Moments; NBA & NCAAB Latest

TRENDING FAN CONVERSATIONS FROM THE WEEKEND IN SPORTS

FEBRUARY 20 - 22 2026

TOP 3 WEEKEND MOMENTS - NEW TO THE NEWSLETTER!

Jack Hughes’ OT Goal Heard Round the World — For the first time since 1980, 46 years to the day of the Miracle on Ice, USA Hockey wins gold over Canada 2-1 in overtime at the Olympics. Jack Hughes slides it through Binnington's five-hole 1:41 into OT and tops off the moment with a chipped tooth picture that will go down in the sports Hall of Fame. USA! USA! USA!

Jalen Green Goes 5-for-25 and Still Wins the Game in 2OT — Green was having an absolute nightmare of a shooting night (1-for-10 from three) but turned out 1.1 seconds was enough time for him to do more damage at the very end than throughout the entire game, draining a fadeaway three at the buzzer in double overtime to beat the Orlando Magic 113-110.

Cam Schuelke Just Made Grown Men Flinch at 87 MPH and We Have Questions — A 19th-round pick out is out here making professional hitters look like they've never seen a baseball before. As if hitting baseballs wasn’t hard enough, Cam Schuelke throws sidearm, then overhand, seemingly choosing at random what arm slot comes when. Batters’ timing is rightfully all over the place against him already this Spring!

TOP STORY

NFL Combine Kicks Off: 8 Non-First Round Prospects To Watch At This Year’s Event

QB — Cole Payton, North Dakota State: The most decorated FCS quarterback since Trey Lance, and just now are people starting to catch on. In 2025, he completed 72% of his throws, ran for 777 yards and 13 scores, and torched all competition with the highest single-season big-time throw rate from a clean pocket (11.80%) and when blitzed (13.3%) in over 10 years. For context, fellow NDSU alum and 2nd overall draft pick Carson Wentz had a 7.1% big-time throw rate from a clean pocket and a 2.6% when blitzed. There’s a growing audience who believe he might not just go day 2, but round 2. Payton's 95.8 PFF grade in 2025 tied Mac Jones for the highest in a season among FBS and FCS quarterbacks since PFF started tracking in 2014. Should he move around well and his arm talent shows up throughout drills, don’t be surprised if the 6’3 talent ends up the second quarterback off the board.

Honest question: who is the first player you think of when watching this clip?

RB — Nick Singleton, Penn State: Once upon a time, Nick Singleton oozed first-round potential. But Singleton's senior year at Penn State was statistically underwhelming despite still having the same raw physical tools. At 224 pounds with elite burst, he's a legitimate receiver out of the backfield and a battering ram between the tackles. Singleton flashed throughout the season and at the Senior Bowl in pass pro reps, and stands to benefit as much as anyone from a great combine. A 4.4 in the 40 could push his stock up a handful of picks, even if the recent tape suggests he tends not to create big runs himself (very Isiah Pacheco in that regard).

WR — Barion Brown, LSU: Brown holds the SEC record for career kick-return touchdowns with six. Either way, he should land a job as a starting returner among entering the league, but the ceiling is higher than that. This is the same dude who posted 10 for 145 and a touchdown against Georgia while playing for Kentucky. He transferred to LSU but was hampered by Garrett Nussmeier's injuries all year, never getting to show off the deep-ball work he's built for. He reportedly clocked 20.87 mph at the Senior Bowl, which was faster than almost any receiver in attendance. Watch for his name to appear near the top of the WR groups on the 40-yard dash. An event known to push stand-out guys up the draft board.

TE — Justin Joly, NC State: A 6-foot-5 pass-catcher with plus athleticism who has flown under the radar all year despite only one drop last season and catching roughly 70% of contested catches over the past three seasons. His blocking still needs refinement, but his receiving traits in tight spaces and the diverse route tree at NC State makes him a legitimate seam-buster at the next level. The combine's agility drills were built for guys like him to make money. Lots of Harold Fannin Jr. vibes in Joly’s game.

DT — Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati: The nickname alone should get your attention. "The Godfather" is a 6-foot-1, 335-pound nose tackle who has quietly been one of the most disruptive interior defenders in the Big 12 for three years running. Corleone posted 44 tackles and 5.5 TFLs as a redshirt freshman before blood clots, a knee injury, and a limited 2025 season knocked his stock from Day 1 potential down to a late Day 2/early Day 3 projection. Scouts who have studied the tape compare him to what the Ravens had in Michael Pierce: short-armed but extremely powerful plug with enough pass-rushing ability to earn meaningful snaps early on. The medicals in Indianapolis are going to matter enormously given his injury history. But if he checks out clean and clocks respectable times on short area drills, as scouts who have watched him expect him to given rare "quicks" for a man his size, he becomes a steal for any team that needs a run-stuffing anchor.

LB — Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh: The tape shows sideline-to-sideline range, burst, and instincts that gets any defensive coordinator sitting forward in their seat. He's undersized at linebacker, which hurts his pre-draft stock, but he packs a punch and left the Senior Bowl one of the biggest winners from practice and drills. His athleticism testing at the Combine could tier him up another level before draft night in April. Any team needing short to intermediate support in coverage is getting one of the stickiest coverage linebackers in recent drafts. Louis has the skill set to provide day 1 impact to whoever drafts him and the combine could push him another step closer to day 1 than day 3.

CB — Andre Fuller, Toledo: Started to come across Fuller’s name around mid-January and couldn’t help but dive into another top cornerback prospect out of Toledo after seeing what Quinyon Mitchell has produced in the NFL for the Eagles. Two downsides stand out with Fuller: He’s a sixth-year player and faced limited P4 talent (as one does playing for Toledo). However, Fuller was the fastest cornerback in the East-West Shrine Bowl, surpassing 20.50 mph. He measured in at 6-foot, 201 pounds and brings prototypical size for a modern press corner with plus mirroring capabilities. He's flying completely under the radar, but is another player with quality tape in coverage and as a tackler, production to match (56.5 passer rating against and 11 PBUs in 2025), and a fast 40 in Indy could put him squarely on the Day 2 radar for teams desperate at the position.

S — Genesis Smith, Arizona: At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds and cornerback-level movement skills from the safety position, Smith is one of the more intriguing under-the-radar names heading into Indy. He finished his Arizona career with 165 tackles, five interceptions, and 19 pass deflections across 37 games, earning All-Big 12 Third-Team honors in 2025. He falls outside the top 5 safeties on most big boards but his coverage skills rank among the best of any defender in the entire class. The rightful knock is his run defense and tackling consistency. But if Smith wants teams to believe those issues are more coaching-related than trait-related, his combine workouts are the perfect stage for him to answer those questions. If his athletic testing matches what the film suggests, a Day 2 grade is completely in play for a guy currently being treated like a Day 3 afterthought.

MLB

Orioles Pitcher and MLBPA Member Chris Bassitt Says Baseball Has Better Parity Than Every Other Sport, Making Salary Cap Not Needed

Chris Bassitt is one of eight active players sitting on the MLBPA's executive subcommittee. You know, the same MLBPA that just needed to remove executive director Tony Clark for nefarious minglings with his sister-in-law. This week Bassitt decided to fire off a take on the salary cap debate that is going to define the next CBA negotiation, and most baseball fans are pushing back.

The gist of Bassitt's argument is a salary cap suppresses player salaries to help owners make more money, and baseball already has better parity than every capped sport. So a cap isn't the answer. He pointed to the NFL's Patriots dynasty and the Chiefs' repeated Super Bowl runs as proof that capped leagues don't actually produce parity. "How can you sit there and say a salary cap is going to fix this when every single salary cap sport has less parity than ours?" he said. "It makes no sense."

After a bit of digging around, there’s a glaring problem that Bassitt is leaving out. The parity argument completely ignores why the Dodgers can do what they do in the first place. The Dodgers are exempt from paying the full 34% of MLB's revenue sharing until 2039. It’s a loophole born from a bankruptcy settlement that allows them to keep tens of millions of dollars annually that other teams would have to share with the league. Keep in mind, the Dodgers became the first MLB team in history to generate $1 billion in gross revenue. That's a structural financial advantage baked into a court settlement that the rest of baseball is literally paying for, and will be until 2038.

On the claim about parity? In the Wild Card era, 26 of the 29 World Series champions ranked in the top half of MLB in opening day payroll, and 20 of the 29 ranked in the top ten in spending. Only three champions, being the 2017 Astros (the sign stealers), the 2015 Royals, and the 2003 Marlins, came from the bottom half of the league. That's not a parity argument. That's a loaded-deck argument.

From 2013-2023 on LCS appearances vs. payroll rank, roughly 70% of teams making the League Championship Series were top-10 in payroll, and about 40% were top-5. Only 18% of LCS participants came from below the median payroll. This gives good insight into what it takes out of a bottom payroll team to succeed.

The 2015 Royals needed Hosmer, Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain to all play out of their minds simultaneously. Meanwhile, the Dodgers, Yankees, and Mets have comparable or better talent sitting on their benches for the simple reason because they can afford to.

Another fan responded, "The average fan doesn't care who gets rich in baseball, as long as their team has a chance to compete for a World Series. I want players paid as much as possible, but ultimately, I want hope. This isn't the way to win fans over."

And Bassitt's take is not wrong in principle. A hard cap absolutely would suppress salaries. That's a legitimate concern for players. But if the best argument the MLBPA's subcommittee can make heading into what's expected to be the most contentious CBA negotiation since the 2021 lockout is "we have more parity than the NFL,” without addressing the Dodgers' $334 million annual TV deal, the collapse of regional sports networks gutting small-market revenue, or the fact that teams receiving revenue-sharing money aren't being required to spend it on players, then the union is walking into a knife fight with a plastic knife. Fans aren't buying it. And come negotiation time, owners are counting on exactly that.

He's 19, He's Hitting Balls Off Buildings, and Pittsburgh’s Current Construction Might Have Them Embracing Momentum Rather Than Delay Another Top Prospect Call Up

Consensus No. 1 prospect and 19-year-old, Konnor Griffin, is out here showing off what video game power looks like, with a 440-foot home run in batting practice last week that cleared the batter's eye and he “hit two buildings in one round of batting practice." That's a 19-year-old, mind you.

The resume backs it up. Griffin hit .333/.415/.527 in his first pro season with 21 homers, 65 stolen bases across two levels, and a minor-league Gold Glove at shortstop. MLB Pipeline gave him a 70 overall grade, one of only 16 hitters in history to receive that recognition, with all five tools at 60 or better. A longtime NL executive compared his tools to A-Rod and Pirates teammate Paul Skenes said you'd never guess he was 19.

So, does Pittsburgh actually play him? MLB Pipeline gives it 50/50 odds. Manager Don Kelly said he's "really excited about the day Griffin is in Pittsburgh,” hinting at some future tense that Pirates fans picked up on. The franchise burned Skenes with service time manipulation in 2024 and it cost them a draft pick when the incentive rule kicked in automatically.

The roster nucleus is finally there for the Pirates to compete. With Skenes, Reynolds, O'Neil Cruz, Lowe, and a payroll pushing $100 million for the first time ever. The tools are real with Griffin and the moment is right for Pittsburgh to stop getting in its own way.

NBA

OKC Thunder Just Beat the Best Team in the East Without Their Two Best Players. In Case You’re Just Tuning In.. League Is in Trouble

Before tip-off Sunday, OKC was missing SGA (abdominal strain), Jalen Williams (hamstring), Alex Caruso (ankle), and Ajay Mitchell (abdomen). Their MVP, their All-NBA wing, their best perimeter defender, and a key rotational piece — all out. Cleveland came in on a seven-game win streak as 3.5-point favorites.

Final score: OKC 121, Cleveland 113.

Isaiah Joe dropped 22 and five steals. Cason Wallace had 20 and 10. Chet went for 17 and 15. Seven Thunder players scored in double figures, and OKC made 14 of 22 threes in the first half. Keep in mind that lineups without SGA, Williams, and Caruso had posted a 106.1 offensive rating before this one, good for fourth percentile.

Cleveland’s Sam Merrill called it "probably the best defense this league has seen in a while."

Defense? NBA? That’s refreshing!

OKC is 43-14. Winning is structural there, it's not just SGA. This was the Thunder's B-team beating one of the legitimate East title contenders on a Sunday afternoon with nothing particularly special about the game plan — just better execution, better defense, and a culture so deep that role players know exactly what to do when the stars disappear.

Jalen Brunson Stays One of the Most Clutch Finishers in the League After An Ice Cold First Three Quarters

Odds weren’t exactly in the Knicks favor after three quarters. Jalen Brunson had two points at halftime, Knicks were down 18 in the fourth and Kevin Durant was putting all burner drama on the, well, on the back burner. Everything about Saturday night at Madison Square Garden looked like a disaster unfolding in slow motion for Jalen Brunson.

Until it wasn’t.

Brunson checked back in with just under six and a half left and went 4-for-4, drew a couple charges, and crossed up Tari Eason with 21 seconds left on a mid-ranger to seal the Knicks largest comeback of the season.

Brunson now has 14 game-tying or go-ahead field goals in the final 30 seconds of the fourth or overtime since joining New York, ranking second only to DeMar DeRozan's 15 over that same span.

The Detroit problem is real. The Pistons have beaten the Knicks three times and exposed the Knicks size every time. That can't be ignored come playoff time. But the Knicks are 36-21, top-five on defense, and third in the East. Come May, you're going to want the guy who can single-handedly will the team to victory in the 4th quarter and can seamlessly flip a switch from ice cold to ice in his veins.

NCAAB

Duke vs Michigan Was Game of the Year in College Hoops, and It Was Duke Frosh Cam Boozer Running the Show Against The No. 1 Team in the Country

Two top 3 teams + neutral site game at Capital One Arena + College GameDay + courtside seats at $6,000 = the perfect atmosphere for the game of the year in college basketball. And Duke frosh Cam Boozer had the performance to match the moment.

Against a Michigan frontcourt featuring 7-foot-4 Aday Mara and the No. 1 adjusted defensive efficiency in the country, Boozer finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks. He scored seven of Duke's final nine points, including a dagger three with under two minutes left to secure Duke’s 68-63 win.

Boozer became the first D1 player in 30 seasons to post an eight-game stretch with 175+ points, 75+ rebounds, 25+ assists, 10 or fewer turnovers, and a perfect record. He leads Duke in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and hasn't scored fewer than 14 points in any game this season. ESPN's Paul Biancardi called him "a humble superstar who could lead Duke to a regular-season title, a conference tournament, and a Final Four."

Duke is 25-2 and headed to No. 1 in the AP Poll after beating their third No. 1 ranked opponent this season. The NBA ceiling debate with Boozer is real and worth having. But right now, in late February, Boozer is playing like the best player in college basketball, doing it under the brightest lights, and quietly sniping around 40% from long range on respectable volume.

Rick Pitino Has St. John's Playing Out Of Their Minds and Too Many Are Still Sleeping on Them

Thirteen straight wins. Longest streak for the Red Storm in 41 years, dating back to the 1984-85 Final Four run. And they just dismantled a Creighton team that had beaten UConn on the road — 81-52 — holding them to 32.1% shooting with 20 assists on 29 made field goals. Not a single Bluejay scored in double figures.

At 22-5 overall and 15-1 in Big East play, St. John's sits a half-game ahead of UConn with a road game in Storrs on Wednesday that could deliver them a program-record 14-game conference winning streak. Zuby Ejiofor — preseason Big East Player of the Year and Naismith Trophy watch list — is the engine, averaging 16.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. But Pitino has built real depth around him. Bryce Hopkins is producing double-doubles. Dillon Mitchell flirted with a triple-double Saturday with zero field goal attempts. That's a real thing that happened.

One fan on X said it plainly after Saturday: "St. John's might be the most underrated 1 seed candidate in the country right now."