UNDATED (AP) — It’s been a rough few days for the headliners in the AP Top 25. Four of the top five and half of the top 10 have lost on the road to unranked teams. No. 1 Purdue lost at Nebraska. No. 2 Houston lost at Iowa State. No. 3 Kansas lost to UCF. No. 5 Tennessee lost to Mississippi State. And No. 9 Oklahoma lost to TCU. Each came in the past two days. It’s a reminder how much college basketball’s natural order has changed in the era of older teams, the transfer portal and talent dispersed across the country.
UNDATED (AP) — College basketball is undergoing a shift, a new era ushered in by the transfer portal, NIL compensation for athletes and conference realignment. Programs like Baylor and Virginia have won national championships. Upsets have become more commonplace in the NCAA Tournament. Even The Associated Press Top 25 poll has been affected. Teams like Buffalo, Furman, Wofford and Florida Atlantic have been ranked for the first time in the past five years. New teams have moved atop the poll.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tyreek Hill is returning to Arrowhead Stadium to lead the Miami Dolphins against the Kansas City Chiefs in a AFC wild-card showdown Saturday night. It is a rematch of their game in Germany that Kansas City won earlier in the season. Hill spent his first six seasons in Kansas City before a trade to Miami, and he's been pining for a chance to play at Arrowhead Stadium again. He will get it, along with a wind chill well below zero that could make the game one of the coldest in NFL history.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs coach Andy Reid says he hasn't even thought about retirement after longtime Seattle coach Pete Carroll stepped down on Wednesday and Bill Belichick parted ways with New England on Thursday. The 65-year-old Reid was asked about the possibility of his own retirement after this season, and replied: “I'm old, but I'm not that old.” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce likewise clapped back at thoughts of retirement, even though he talked about the possibility earlier this season. Kelce says “I have no reason to stop playing football.” The Chiefs face the Miami Dolphins in the wild-card round of the playoffs on Saturday night.
UNDATED (AP) — Bill Belichick is on to the next chapter of his life. The six-time Super Bowl champion and second-winningest coach in NFL history exited New England on Thursday after 24 years because his unprecedented, two-decade run of success didn’t continue when Tom Brady left the Patriots. Still, despite a 28-39 record without No. 12 over the past four seasons, Belichick will go down as one of the all-time greatest coaches in sports. He built the Patriot Way, instilled in players the importance of doing their job and presided over a dynasty that withstood changing times, free agency, salary-cap restrictions and much more.
UNDATED (AP) — Now that Bill Belichick is out as coach of the New England Patriots after 24 seasons, the question turns to where will the six-time Super Bowl champion go next. Belichick needs just 15 wins to surpass Don Shula’s all-time record of 347 in the regular season and playoffs and could have options about where to go if he wants to go after that record. There are already seven other coaching openings outside of New England with the Raiders, Chargers, Panthers, Falcons, Commanders, Titans and Seahawks all looking for new head coaches.
UNDATED (AP) — When Nick Saban retired after 17 seasons and six national title with the Crimson Tide, he joined Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw and Villanova’s Jay Wright has championship-winning college coaches in high-profile sports to call it a career over the last four years. They have have all talked about how the evolving landscape of college sports with players being paid through name, image and likeness deals and almost unfettered transfers has changed the profession they love. But Saban insisted the changes did not push him into retirement.
PHOENIX (AP) — The NCAA has taken the first step toward determining whether President Charlie Baker’s idea to create a new subdivision in which schools directly pay athletes can become a reality. The Division I Board of Directors asked policy makers to evaluate a proposal Baker made last month. Baker said he wants the association to create a new tier of Division I sports that would require participating schools to offer at least $30,000 per year through a trust fund to some athletes. The proposal now goes to the Division I Council.
NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that pitcher Marcus Stroman and the New York Yankees have agreed to a $37 million, two-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical. Stroman posted an Instagram story with a photo of himself in a Yankees uniform. The right-hander grew up on Long Island, about 55 miles from Yankee Stadium. Stroman joins a Yankees rotation headed by AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole that likely will include Clarke Schmidt. Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes are coming off injury-plagued seasons.
NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto and the New York Yankees have agreed to a $31 million, one-year contract that broke Shohei Ohtani’s record for an arbitration-eligible player. Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. filed for $19.9 million, the high among 23 players who exchanged figures with their teams among 194 eligible for arbitration at the start of the day. Among others who agreed to deals were New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso ($20.5 million), Milwaukee right-hander Corbin Burnes ($15,637,500), Atlanta left-hander Max Fried ($15 million), Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres ($14.2 million), Cleveland right-hander Shane Bieber ($13,125,000), Milwaukee shortstop Willy Adames ($12.25 million), Houston left-hander Framber Valdez ($12.1 million) and Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker ($12 million).
THURSDAY SCORES
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (10)Illinois 71 Michigan St. 68
Final Santa Clara 77 (23)Gonzaga 76
Final (24)FAU 85 Tulane 84
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Cleveland 111 Brooklyn 102
Final Milwaukee 135 Boston 102
Final Oklahoma City 139 Portland 77
Final Dallas 128 New York 124
Final Phoenix 127 L.A. Lakers 109
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Seattle 4 Washington 1
Final Buffalo 5 Ottawa 3
Final OT N-Y Islanders 4 Toronto 3
Final San Jose 3 Montreal 2
Final OT Edmonton 3 Detroit 2
Final OT Vancouver 4 Pittsburgh 3
Final Carolina 6 Anaheim 3
Final OT Tampa Bay 4 New Jersey 3
Final OT Florida 3 Los Angeles 2
Final Winnipeg 2 Chicago 1
Final St. Louis 5 N-Y Rangers 2
Final Calgary 6 Arizona 2
Final OT Vegas 2 Boston 1