Golden Boy disputes termination, cites renewal talks
Lawsuit alleges lost earnings and fight opportunities
Vergil Ortiz Jr has filed a federal lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotions, seeking to end his relationship with Oscar De La Hoya’s company amid stalled negotiations for what he views as a career-defining fight against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Ortiz, the unbeaten World Boxing Council interim junior middleweight champion, filed the complaint on Thursday in US district court in Nevada, asking a judge to confirm that his promotional agreement with Golden Boy has been terminated and alleging that the promoter breached the contract and interfered with his earning potential.
Ferrari have announced they are to replace Riccardo Adami as Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer for the 2026 Formula One season, after the pair endured what appeared to be a fractious and testing relationship during the seven-time world champion’s first season with the Scuderia.
Ferrari issued a statement on Friday stating Adami would be moved to a new role with the team’s driver academy as academy and test previous cars manager, adding that his replacement as Hamilton’s race engineer, the crucial link between team and driver on the pit wall, would be announced in due course.
MLB Rumors: Bo Bichette and the New York Mets are in agreement on a three year, $126 million deal, per multiple reports. The deal reportedly includes opt outs after each of the first two years.
Bichette, who turns 28 in March, had spent his entire career with the Toronto Blue Jays, who selected him in the second round of the 2016 draft. The son of former major league Dante Bichette, he established himself as a regular in the 2021 season, when he made the All Star team, finished 12th in the MVP voting, and led the American League in hits while slashing .298/.343/.484.
A bat-first shortstop, Bichette has a career .294/.337/.469 slash line, and has had an OPS over 800 in every season other than his injury-shortened 2024 campaign, when he put up a 598 OPS in 81 games. His glove is a concern, however — he was in the bottom 1 percent in range in 2025, per Statcast — and it has been anticipated he would have to move off of the position in the relatively near future. With Francisco Lindor at shortstop and the newly acquired Marcus Semien at second base, Bichette, who has only played shortstop and DH in the majors, will presumably move out of the middle infield in 2026.
Coming off a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Spurs returned home to take on the Milwaukee Bucks. Devin Vassell remains out with his adductor injury. The contest started with a gigantic scare of Victor Wembanyama banging knees with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Vic would clutch his knee on the ground and hobble to the locker room. However, he would return in the second quarter. After leading by as much as 17 in the second quarter, the Spurs led the Bucks 66-53 at halftime. Usually, this is when the Spurs would allow their opponent to close the gap and make it a down-to-the-wire game. Except this time, the Spurs took care of business. Thanks to their hot shooting, they outscored the Bucks 40-16 in the third quarter and led by as much as 39. The Spurs ultimately won 119-101.
Victor Wembanyama dropped a double-double: 22 points (7-12 FG, 5-6 3PT) and 10 rebounds to go along with two blocks and an assist. After the OKC game, Wemby and Keldon Johnson decided to shave each other’s heads as a means of togetherness and ultimate focus. After surviving another injury scare, Wemby played decoy for most of the second quarter before going off in the third. He splashed five threes and dropped highlight plays on both ends. This was the first game of Bald Wemby, and he played like a seven-foot-five avatar.
Just throw it up there! Harrison Barnes finds Wemby on the lob, and Wemby finishes the play with a reverse tap layup!
Stephon Castle dropped a double-double: 19 points (6-9 FG, 6-6 FT) and 10 assists to go along with a board and 0 turnovers. Steph played a fantastic game as the Spurs’ primary playmaker. For someone who is averaging 3.7 turnovers a game, Steph took care of the ball by recording his first zero-turnover game of the season. He also finished with a team-high +36. Coming into the season as a combo guard, Steph is averaging three more assists than last season. His versatility and frame allow him to continue to be a combo guard, but it is clear the coaching staff is having him handle the ball more than De’Aaron Fox.
ST3PH! D-Fox drives in, draws multiple defenders, and dumps it off for a wide-open Steph splash!
De’Aaron Fox dropped 18 points (6-10 FG, 3-4 3PT), four assists, and four rebounds. D-Fox had a solid bounce-back game in terms of efficiency. His three-ball laced the nylon, and he seems to be embracing more of an off-ball guard role next to Steph. Even though he did not play the fourth quarter due to the score, the former Clutch Player of the Year will still have the confidence to run the offense in the clutch.
Stepback sniper! D-Fox toys with Myles Turner by creating space for the stepback trey!
Alley-oop! Speaking of pick and rolls, D-Fox finds Luke Kornet on the lob for the slam! Luke finished with 10 points, four rebounds, and a dime on a perfect five of five from the field!
Dylan Harper dropped 13 points, five assists, and four rebounds. The rookie continues to bounce back after a rough stretch. The shiftiness of Dyl was lightning quick for the Bucks to handle. Not only is he shifty, but his vertical is scary. Even though he went zero of five from three, all the threes he attempted were open shots. Once that shot becomes more consistent, he has the potential to be unguardable. However, the 19-year-old has plenty of time and will let the game come to him.
SHIFTY! Speaking of shifty, Dyl puts the behind-the-back on move on Gary Trent Jr. in transition and finishes off the glass!
Julian Champagnie dropped a double-double: 13 points (3-5 3PT, 4-4 FT) and 11 rebounds to go along with a steal. Julian dropped multiple threes and got to the free-throw line by drawing fouls on his three-point attempts. He even drew a flagrant foul on Green. Despite the scoring, Julian continues to sneakily grab defensive rebounds when players fall asleep on the boards. His hustle and defense remain the most underrated part of his game.
All in all, this was a much-needed bounce-back win. As soon as Wemby returned from injury, this team’s confidence stayed high and never got low. No better way to reignite the shooting slump than by making the Bucks pay for defensive mistakes. The way the silver and black played in the third quarter is a great tone-setter of how they need to approach the rest of the season. Take care of huge leads. This team’s chemistry continues to shine through the ups and downs, no matter who shaves their head. Next up, revenge against Minnesota.
Finally, here are the full game highlights.
The Spurs continue their homestand with a revenge matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves this Saturday at 7:00 P.M. (CST) on FDSN-SW.
Here’s where this gets fun (and, yes, please spare us the rant about homers and RBIs not mattering, we’ll get to our point shortly).
Kyle Tucker received $240 million. Getty Images
Player 1 just landed a $240 million contract with a $60 million annual average value, the most for any non-two-way player in MLB history.
Player 2 is perhaps the most unpopular player among fans on his team.
For those guessing, Player 1 is the newest Dodger, Kyle Tucker, while Player 2 is embattled Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe.
Tucker landing with the Dodgers on Thursday did not raise as many questions about how the Dodgers yet again landed a premier free agent with their seemingly never-ending supply of cash, but more of a focus on just how Tucker — a very good-to-elite but non-MVP-level player — landed $60 million per season.
To put that in perspective, he’s making $20 million more per season than Aaron Judge, who has three MVPs to his name, compared to the lone fifth-place AL finish from Tucker in 2023.
He’s making $9 million more per season that Juan Soto, who has five top-six MVP finishes.
Heck, he’s making roughly $35 million more on average per season than two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper.
Obviously, contracts are signed at different times and in different markets. Tucker would not have been the top free agent last year with Soto, but this year’s class lacked elite position players.
Aaron Judge is a three-time MVP. JASON SZENES/ NY POST
MLB is not like football, though, where each quarterback that signs a deal precedes the previous one in terms of setting the record for the position.
The Dodgers didn’t have to pay Tucker $60 million to top some previous deal, yet both they and the Mets — who offered $220 million over four years and then pivoted to signing Bo Bichette on Friday — had no problems doing so.
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Tucker turns 29 on Saturday, and team are always willing to pay a premium for players already in or entering their prime.
Judge signed his nine-year, $360 million deal before his age-31 season. Soto received his 15-year, $765 million deal prior to his age-26 campaign.
Teams want to play players entering their prime, and they’re more willing to do so for players who have their best years ahead of them versus those exiting that stage.
Then, there’s his Baseball Savant page (we apologize for the nerdiness in advance).
Juan Soto has never won MVP but is an elite player. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
He ranked in the 98th percentile in chase rate, 96th percentile in walk rate, 93rd percentile in expected weighted on-base average), 90th percentile in batting run value and 85th percentile in strikeout rate.
Those are categories that teams emphasize.
Tucker is a player who controls the zone, walks a ton and doesn’t strike out a lot.
Those players are extremely valued in today’s sport.
Let’s compare him to Judge and Soto in these metrics for 2025.
Players
Batting Run Value percentile
Expected weight on-base average percentile
Chase rate percentile
Walk percentage percentile
Strikeout percentile
Tucker
90
93
98
96
85
Judge
100
100
84
1000
36
Soto
99
100
100
100
62
Courtesy of Baseball Savant
Tucker ranks very well in those categories, although he’s clearly not on Judge and Soto’s level.
Looking beyond just 2025, Tucker ranks 10th in both weighted runs created plus over the last five years and wins above replacement.
He’s been a very, very good player for the last five years, although he has yet to truly have an elite season that puts him in the talk for the best players in the sport.
One other point to consider is that the Dodgers may have been paying up now for a premium bat knowing they won’t be doing so in the near future.
The next two free agent markets are rather bad for hitters, with next winter’s class being headlined by Jazz Chisholm Jr., Nico Hoerner and perhaps Dalton Varsho.
The 2027 class features William Contreras, Freddie Freeman (who will be 38) and Jeremy Pena.
Those players — excluding Freeman, who will be 38 at the time — are not at the franchise cornerstone level where they are worth hundreds of millions.
You add these factors together, and while it’s OK to disagree, the Dodgers felt that giving Tucker more money per year than Judge and Soto made sense in their quest for a three-peat.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will be without their best player tonight, but they still have a chance to push the Houston Rockets toward the Play-In Tournament.
That would mark a steep fall for a team that entered the season with legitimate title aspirations following the arrival of Kevin Durant.
My Timberwolves vs. Rockets predictions recognize the immediate Minnesota value in Anthony Edwards’ absence.
Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. ET at Toyota Center in Houston, with the game airing on ESPN.
Timberwolves vs Rockets prediction
Timberwolves vs Rockets best bet: Jaden McDaniels Over 16.5 points (-105)
Jaden McDaniels scored 14 points in Tuesday’s first quarter at Milwaukee, which is the reason he cashed this same prop by only half a point, adding a second-quarter 3-pointer. The Minnesota Timberwolves were so walloping the Bucks that McDaniels eased up.
He has now cleared this prop in six of eight games without Anthony Edwards in the lineup this season, averaging 19.9 points in those eight games, up from 13.5 points in 31 games alongside the Minnesota superstar.
McDaniels takes 10.1 shots per game with Edwards in the lineup, jumping to 13.75 without the MVP candidate. Maybe even more notable, McDaniels’s field-goal percentage rises to 55.5% in that increased usage, up from 51.0%.
The 25-year-old is a more complete player than given credit for, and that often shows up when the Timberwolves’ best offensive player is on the bench.
Timberwolves vs Rockets same-game parlay
Doubt Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard in all defensive matchups. He logged 19 minutes last night and finished a team-worst minus-10.
Yes, it was a 20-point loss to Oklahoma City, but some of that stemmed from Sheppard’s defensive issues. Minnesota point guard Donte DiVincenzo shouldn’t need much space to score in this matchup.
The McDaniels–DiVincenzo pairing has been a key reason the Timberwolves are 5-1 ATS in their last six games without Anthony Edwards, compared to just 13-17 ATS with Edwards since Nov. 1.
As brilliant as Edwards is, Minnesota often plays with sharper focus in his absence.
Timberwolves vs Rockets SGP
Jaden McDaniels Over 16.5 points
Donte DiVincenzo Over 14.5 points
Timberwolves +4.5
Our "from downtown" SGP: Gobert or Go Home
Prior to Rudy Gobert’s one-game suspension on Tuesday, he had cleared this prop in six straight games. Minnesota's center may be playing the best basketball of his career.
Houston has lost seven straight games against the spread, falling short of bookmakers’ expectations by an average of 13.1 points. That includes four outright losses as a favorite. Find more NBA betting trends for Timberwolves vs. Rockets.
How to watch Timberwolves vs Rockets
Location
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Date
Friday, January 16, 2026
Tip-off
9:30 p.m. ET
TV
ESPN
Timberwolves vs Rockets latest injuries
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The Tampa Bay Rays sent outfielder Josh Lowe to the Angels as part of a three-team trade in which left-handed reliever Brock Burke went from Los Angeles to Cincinnati.
Infielder Gavin Lux moved from the Reds to Tampa Bay and minor league right-hander Chris Clark from the Angels to the Rays.
Lowe, who turns 28 on Feb. 2, batted a career-worst .220 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs last year. He injured his right oblique for the third time in 13 months and didn’t play between the March 28 opener and May 15.
Lowe has a one-year, $2.6 million contract and is on track to be eligible for free agency after the 2028 World Series. He has a .250 average with 43 homers and 170 RBIs in five big league seasons, all with the Rays.
Lux, 28, hit .269 with five homers and 53 RBIs in his only season with the Reds. He agreed last week to a $5,525,000, one-year contract and can become a free agent after this year’s World Series.
He has a .256 average with 33 homers and 208 RBIs in six seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2019-24) and the Reds, who acquired him last January for minor league outfielder Mike Sirota and a draft pick. Lux missed the 2023 season after tearing his right ACL in a spring training game.
Burke, 29, was 7-1 with a 3.36 ERA in 68 relief appearances and one start for the Angels. He has a $2,325,000 salary also also can become a free agent after this year’s World Series.
Clark, 24, was a fifth-round draft pick in 2023 from Harvard and was 4-10 with a 4.73 ERA in 20 starts last year for Class A Inland Empire, High A Tri-City and Double-A Rocket City.
Winning isn’t the assignment in Brooklyn right now. Growth is.
This Nets team is unlikely to be competitive today, tomorrow, or anytime soon. Unless patience becomes a box-score category.
The process may be frustrating, but Jordi Fernández appears to be the ideal coach for the long, unglamorous road ahead.
The second-year coach is built for the slow burn, handling the delicate mindset of his young players with a mix of patience, constructive criticism, and encouragement.
Tough Love Pays Off
Fernández has had no problem identifying where his young players fall short, both privately and in public. Each rookie has taken a turn under the spotlight, with Fernández addressing his concerns to the media when necessary.
His messages are blunt and direct, and they often come with immediate results.
After rookie Drake Powell played just over two minutes during a 119–111 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on December 12, Fernández didn’t sugarcoat his decision to sideline the rookie. When asked about the 20-year-old’s limited playing time, he made it clear that Powell’s performance leading up to that moment didn’t meet his standard.
“These young guys need to understand how important every minute you play is,” Fernández said. “If the intentions are there, I’m completely fine. But if the mistakes are from easing into the game, that’s not how we do it here.”
Powell responded the next game by scoring 13 points while adding four rebounds, three assists, and a steal during Brooklyn’s 127–82 blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks. He’s continued to show steady improvement on both ends of the floor over the past month, highlighted by a career-high 16 points in Wednesday’s 116–113 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, even knocking down a clutch three to cut the deficit with five seconds left…
“I respect him for that,” Powell said of Fernández. “It just shows that he cares, not only about me as a basketball player, but as a human being.”
Following the Dallas game, he delivered a similar, but shorter, message to fellow rookie Egor Demin, who shot just 14 percent from the field while forcing several contested attempts.
“He’s gotta be better, otherwise the minutes are gonna go down, and somebody else will take advantage of them,” Fernández said.
Demin responded with a statement game of his own, leading Brooklyn with 17 points against Milwaukee and carrying that momentum throughout the month. At this point in the season, he ranks second among all rookies in three-pointers made with 79 on 39.1% shooting and is on pace to break Kerry Kittles’ franchise rookie record of 158 made threes. Moreover, in the month of January, he’s shot better and made more threes than Kon Knueppel in one fewer games.
Fernández’s criticism is direct, but it’s also balanced. Just as quickly as he challenges his young players, he’s willing to praise them when they deserve it. Less than a week after calling out the two rookies, he highlighted the way they bounced back.
“I think they both did a great job. We knew that that was in them,” Fernández said. “Our guys care and we know how much they care, especially these two kids. They came back and they did what was best for the group and their performance was up to our standards.”
For inexperienced players who are still acclimating and adjusting, sometimes they simply need to be reminded of what they are capable of.
A Different View of the G League
In many organizations, being sent to the G League can feel like a punishment.
For Jordi Fernández, who spent several seasons as the head coach of the Canton Charge, the league is viewed as a developmental tool that allows players to log meaningful live reps as they adjust to the pace and physicality of professional basketball.
“We have a system in place. It’s important for players to see what the path is to get better,” Fernández said. “I’ve been in the G League as a head coach. All of our players but one have played in the G League. It’s something that we embrace and believe in.”
All but one Nets rookie — Demin — has spent time with Brooklyn’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, as Fernández maintains a consistent line of communication with the developmental staff out in Uniondale.
Fresh off Danny Wolf’s 25-point, 13-rebound performance against the Capital City Go-Go on Nov. 10, the rookie forward pointed to the continuity between both staffs.
“We’re one big group. My position coach here and my position coach back in Brooklyn are in communication,” Wolf said. “They talk about the same things, watch the same film and help me. They do a great job sharing ideas with each other.”
By the end of the month, the Michigan product was ready for consistent NBA action, scoring a career-high 22 points while adding four assists and four rebounds in a 116–99 loss to Milwaukee.
Within the span of three months, fellow rookie first-round pick Nolan Traore went from struggling in the G League and looking unplayable at the NBA level to earning a call-up and averaging 21.6 minutes per game for Brooklyn this month.
“He took full advantage of the opportunities he had with Long Island,” said Fernández. “And when he came back here, he did so with a different spirit and a lot more confidence.”
Just this week, Long Island’s Grant Nelson who played for Brooklyn in the Summer League and training camp, credited the Brooklyn and Long Island performance teams with helping him get beyond knee soreness than has troubled him since his freshman year in college five years ago.
“I think it really shows how good the performance staff is here and what they’ve done to get me back on the court and be ready for when I get back on the court,” Nelson told ND’s Scott Mitchell. “The performance staff did a great job, and everyone really cares about me, which really meant a lot.”
Letting The Work Show
While the process doesn’t need to be rushed, each of the team’s young investments appears to be trending upward, despite the scrutiny and confusion that followed the team’s draft decisions.
What was once questioned as drafting three players at the “same position” has proven to be far from it. While the media guide may list Demin, Traore and Ben Saraf as point guards, Fernández has found a way to emphasize their unique skill sets to the team’s benefit.
Meanwhile, Powell’s strengths are being maximized to make him look like a value pick after serving a limited role in college, while Wolf has surprised many by translating his unique combination of size and coordination to the NBA after earning Fernández’s trust.
So far, so good. The Nets were heavily criticized on Draft Night for using five first round picks, the first time any team had done that. One issue was developing that many firsts all at once. It will be a while before final grades are handed in but at the moment, the professor and his students seem to be doing fine.
The Ducks made a trade on Friday morning, acquiring forward Jeffrey Viel from the Boston Bruins in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick. The Bruins will receive the better pick between the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers.
Viel, 28, has appeared in 10 NHL games this season for the Bruins. He spent most of last season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins.
Undrafted out of the QMJHL, Viel signed a two-year entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks in 2019. Playing the role of an agitating grinder, Viel spent two seasons in the AHL before getting NHL experience during the shortened 2020-21 season. He continued to split time between the NHL and AHL before spending the entire 2023-24 season in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose, the Winnipeg Jets’ AHL affiliate.
Viel’s sandpaper play style matches what head coach Joel Quenneville is looking for from his bottom-6 and also mirrors the style of play that general manager Pat Verbeek displayed during his playing days. A fourth line consisting of Viel, Ross Johnston and Ryan Poehling could prove to be an irritating combination for opponents.
With Nikita Nesterenko being assigned to AHL San Diego on Thursday, the Ducks had an open roster spot to accommodate Viel. Because the Bruins are at home on the East Coast, Viel is unlikely to play in either Friday or Saturday’s games against the Los Angeles Kings.
With mounting injuries, contradicting sourced reporting, and a will-they-won’t-they soap opera of trade rumors involving Anthony Davis, very little is going right for the Dallas Mavericks. The league’s trade deadline needs to get here asap so fans can accept whatever reality is next, and the team needs to refocus their vision. Part of that is accepting reality and positioning themselves as best they can for this summer’s NBA Draft.
All that considered, there are still some bright moments to hold to in these games. Cooper Flagg continues to flash brilliance. He is now nursing an ankle injury, but his composure and ability remains on display most nights. Players like Naji Marshall, mentioned below in this week’s Power Rankings Watch, has stepped up his game — perhaps just in time for said deadline. And Klay Thompson just moved himself into fourth all time in three-pointers. With so much in limbo it’s important to celebrate those mini victories.
Forward Naji Marshall has been one of the bright spots of a difficult season in Dallas. He’s averaging career bests of 13.6 points and 54% shooting, and his production has increased to 16.9 points on 58.6% shooting in his 17 starts. He has been especially productive attacking off the dribble, shooting 60.7% off of drives. According to NBA Advanced Stats, only Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have a higher field goal percentage among the players who rank in the top 50 in points off of drives. — MacMahon
Vegas and the national broadcasters were on NicoVision when it came to projecting this Mavericks team. Some even thought Kyrie Irving would be back by now. Alas, here the Mavericks are, with their injury-prone big men out of commission, top free-agent acquisition D’Angelo Russell playing zero 20-minute games since Thanksgiving and Cooper Flagg splitting awesome games with forgettable outings.
At this point, Davis has played in just 29 of a possible 74 games since he was acquired (along with Max Christie) for Luka Dončić. This season, the Mavs are 10-10 with Davis in uniform, but they’ve been outscored by 4.6 points per 100 possessions in his 626 minutes on the floor.
The Mavs were outscored by 28 points (54-26) in the restricted area in Chicago on Saturday, falling to 4-15 without Davis. They’ve scored just 106.7 points per 100 possessions over those 19 games, only slightly better (107.5 scored per 100) in Cooper Flagg’s 844 total minutes on the floor without Davis.
The offense was ugly on both ends of the floor in Sacramento on Tuesday, but the Mavs got the win with two go-ahead buckets in the final minute. Flagg had the first (a tough, lefty finish off the glass) and assisted on the other (a Brandon Williams 3), and he’s now 4-for-6 on shots to tie or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime. Those four buckets are tied for fourth league-wide.
Coming up: With their loss in Utah on Thursday, the Mavs are 0-6 (one of three winless teams) in rest-advantage games. They’ll have two more – vs. Brooklyn and Denver – as they play a four-game homestand this week.
The Dallas Mavericks pummeled the Utah Jazz on Thursday, but it’s tough to find big takeaways from a game without Cooper Flagg and Lauri Markkanen.
Dallas lost to Utah just one week earlier, is 4-7 in its last 11 and recently got some bad news on Anthony Davis. He may not need surgery on his injured hand, but he’s going to be out for several weeks and could still be traded before the deadline.
With Flagg now nursing his own ankle injury, all signs are pointing to the Mavericks more aggressively chasing improved lottery odds down the stretch.
Games on the road against quality competition are never easy, and the margins can get razor-thin in a hurry. The Phoenix Suns are coming off two losses where they easily could have walked away with wins in both. When that starts happening, the ‘disease of what if’ begins to creep in.
In this case, that conversation circles around Dillon Brooks.
Everything Brooks has brought to Phoenix, the attitude, the toughness, the edge, has reshaped this team. His brand of basketball, and the way he pulls teammates into that same mindset, is stamped all over the Suns you see now. I would not trade that for anyone. This team needed a cultural overhaul, and Brooks delivered it.
With that said, the next hurdle for him is self-awareness. If that part sharpens even a little, the Suns probably add a few more marks in the win column.
Look at last night. With Devin Booker and Jalen Green out, a combined $86.4 million in payroll, it was clear someone had to carry the load. That someone was Grayson Allen. He finished with 33 points on 11-of-25 shooting and set the tone offensively from the opening tip. Doing that on the road, against the top team in the Eastern Conference, a group with the second-best defensive rating in the NBA, is no small ask. What stood out most, though, was how the Suns stayed true to who they are. They competed. They absorbed the contact. They gutted it out. That says plenty about the culture they are building.
They had plenty of hurdles to clear. Jalen Duren living in the paint. A physical team more than willing to push back. But one of the biggest hurdles ended up being Dillon Brooks himself.
The inefficiency was brutal. He finished 4-of-16 from the field for 16 points and fouled out with 6 personals. On paper, that looks like a familiar Dillon Brooks night, especially when the stars are sidelined. He is always willing to take the shots, and I am not going to crush him for that instinct. But there are nights when you can feel it early. When you know you do not have it. Last night was one of those nights for Brooks.
I would have much rather seen more deference to Collin Gillespie or Jordan Goodwin than what we got offensively from Brooks. Gillespie took 10 shots and turned them into 18 points. Goodwin took 8 shots and finished with 7 points. Both were giving the team something cleaner within the flow.
The same theme showed up against Miami. The over-aggressiveness. The emotions creeping over the line. The flow of the game getting junked up late when the Suns were still in it. Every team needs an enforcer, and Phoenix needed one that night. But self-awareness has to step in at some point. No need to exaggerate follow-throughs. That is how Brooks picked up a technical that was later rescinded. That is how he ended up with a flagrant 1 after a missed three that would have tied the game in the final minute. Those moments matter. The Heat capitalized, the lead ballooned, and the Suns never recovered.
Down 3 with <15 seconds left Dillon Brooks kicks his legs out on the shot attempt and grabs then pulls down Andrew Wiggins earning him a flagrant offensive foul, essentially sealing the game for Miami (with replays).
Over the last two games, Brooks is shooting 3-of-16 from deep. That comes out to a cool 18.8%. No one is asking him to be something he is not. This is about self-awareness. About understanding what helps the team most in that moment.
The best thing he can give this group is opportunity. Opportunity comes from recognizing when the shot is not there, staying engaged on the floor, and resisting fouls that add nothing and disrupt the rhythm. The Suns are a team built on flow. When that flow gets interrupted, everything tightens.
Brooks can bring the antics. He can bring the edge. Those things have value, especially when Devin Booker and Jalen Green are out there to steady the offense. That is part of his role. When those two are missing, and he is asked to be a stabilizing force, the role changes. The edge still matters. Going over it does not.
So far on this trip, he has crossed that line. Two games. Eleven fouls. Two flagrants. One technical that later got rescinded. The point Norman Powell made still counted. That part does not get taken back.
Yeah, it really is the 85%, 15% equation with Dillon Brooks. You love what he gives you most of the time, and you brace yourself for the part that makes your blood pressure spike. That is the deal. That is the Dillon Brooks experience. You live by the Dillon. You die by the Dillon. Over the last two games, the Suns have died by it.
That is why getting Devin Booker and Jalen Green back matters so much. Their presence shrinks Brooks’ shot diet and lets him slide back into the role where he thrives. The disruptor. The irritant. The emotional anchor who tilts the floor without having to carry the offense. If that comes with a little more cerebral feel and self-awareness layered on top, even better. That is the version of Dillon Brooks this team needs when it is whole again.
Until then? The focus needs to be on making winning plays, not plays that prevent you from winning.
The Detroit Tigers draft strategy under Scott Harris has focused on prep talent and a few value plays for college players. That has left them looking for bargain development projects with their other picks in order to save the money to go overslot on their main targets. Right-hander Preston Howey fits that mold, receiving the minimum bonus to sign as a college senior out of St. Mary’s College as the Tigers’ 14th rounder in the 2024 draft. The now 23-year-old Howey didn’t receive any particular notice on draft day, but he emerged as a low key interesting relief prospect for the Tigers in 2025.
Howey threw a little in 2024 after the draft, and then began the 2025 season at High-A West Michigan. He worked in a relief role for most of the season before the Tigers let him stretch out and make nine starts to close out the year. He threw 62 innings total, posting a 3.19 ERA. A bout of walks over his final few starts hurt his peripheral numbers but were likely caused by the extra workload late in his first pro season. Prior to that he’d pounded the strikezone and was very rarely hit hard.
The right-hander stands just 5’10” with a compact, athletic build and gets a little above average extension to the plate. He’s shown a little increase in velocity in pro ball, as Howey was pretty comfortably sitting 94 mph later in the season and touching 95-96 mph. A relatively low release gives him decent plane to the top of the zone, and a year of work turning his above average fastball spin into better riding action out of his three-quarters arm slot helped him take better advantage of those traits. Still, it’s not explosive ride and he’ll need a little more gas to really turn the fastball into an above average weapon.
The breaking ball is a firm slider at 87 mph and while it played down a little due to its inconsistency, the best ones were above average with tight late break. His circle change is about the same speed and while it doesn’t fall off the table, its deception and late fade drew some ugly swings from Midwest League hitters. That pitch is unlikely to be a significant factor for him unless there’s a real breakthrough. As a four year college pitcher, Howey does have more experience and less obvious upside than some, but if he can find a bit more velo and break that slider off consistently he’ll rapidly become a more interesting relief prospect.
Howey already has pretty solid fastball command, and he used that to good effect in High-A. Hitters rarely hit anything hard in the air, and while he didn’t draw a ton of whiffs with his slider, those should come with better command of the pitch. While the Tigers did move him into a starting role late in the year, that was probably more out of necessity, and not his actual path to an eventual big league role. If he can build a little more velocity to sit 96-97 mph in relief and refine the slider a little more, he’ll turn himself into a quality middle relief prospect next summer as he tackles the Double-A level.
There are two kinds of losses in the NHL: losses that feel like one-off nights and losses that start to resemble patterns. The Philadelphia Flyers’ 6–3 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday leaned toward the latter.
Philadelphia showed stretches of the assertive, organized hockey that has carried it through much of the season, particularly in a dominant second period, but those moments were swallowed by recurring issues: slow starts, untimely penalties, and an inability to convert territorial control into scoreboard pressure.
The result was a fifth straight loss, and one that stings a little more coming against a bitter division rival that now leads the season series 2–1.
1. The Opening Act Sets the Tone—And the Tone Is Wrong.
Before most of the crowd had settled, the Flyers were already playing from behind. Pittsburgh scored twice in the first period with a directness that contrasted sharply with Philadelphia’s tentative puck play. The Penguins didn’t need elaborate sequences—just quick exits, clean entries, and a willingness to attack seams the Flyers left open through the middle.
This has, unfortunately, become a pattern in recent games. The Flyers' starts have grown cautious, almost procedural, as if the group is waiting for the game to reveal itself instead of seizing it. Defensemen retreated a half-beat too far, forwards arrived late on first touches, and breakouts lacked the crisp support options that contributed so crucially to the team's success earlier in the season. By the time the Flyers began to find their legs, they were already chasing a two-goal deficit against an opponent content to counterpunch.
The psychological tax of that dynamic is evident. Every shift becomes heavier when the margin for error has vanished before the game has truly begun.
2. Discipline as a Recurring Self-Inflicted Wound.
If the slow starts are the disease, penalties have been the accelerant. Philadelphia took a series of minors that felt avoidable and, worse, ill-timed. Each trip to the box functioned as a reset button for Pittsburgh, erasing the Flyers’ best sequences before they could mature into sustained pressure.
Against Tampa Bay earlier in the week, the Flyers were penalized 12 times. Thursday wasn’t quite that extreme, but the theme persisted: discipline eroding just as momentum appeared within reach.
It doesn't help that the Flyers' special teams are still leaving something to be desired. Their power play is currently sitting last in the NHL at just 15% effectiveness, and while their penalty kill is in a better position in 21st place at 77.8%, it hasn't shown the dominance it once did not all that long ago.
3. A Second Half That Promised Everything—and Delivered Too Little.
In the middle frame of this game, the Flyers started to look like themselves again.
Rodrigo Abols scored his third goal of the season—he’s now tied for second on the team with eight points since Dec. 20—and Matvei Michkov snapped his drought in the third period with his tenth, continuing his uncanny knack for producing against the Penguins (six points in seven career games).
Nick Seeler added his second of the year in the final frame, and Denver Barkey orchestrated sequences with the poise of a veteran, finishing with two assists.
But the Flyers kept conceding. One loose puck management decision became a rush against, one missed layer became a goal, and the air left the bench. It has happened too often in this skid: Philadelphia plays well enough to deserve a different scoreline, but not well enough to protect itself from a single lapse.
4. Goaltending Caught in the Crossfire.
Sam Ersson was pulled early in the second period, replaced by Aleksei Kolosov, who was called up in the absence of Dan Vladar, who left early in the game against Buffalo and is getting evaluated for an unspecified injury.
The move was not an indictment of Ersson alone; too many chances arrived uncontested, and too many cross-seam passes reached their target without resistance. Still, the change spoke to a growing unease.
Over the last five games, Flyers goaltenders have been asked to be crisis managers rather than backstops. Defensive layers that once arrived automatically are now inconsistent. When that happens repeatedly, even average chances begin to feel dangerous.
Kolosov provided some relief, but no matter who has been in net across these five games, Philadelphia has been leaking goals in bunches, and no goalie thrives in that climate.
Aleksei Kolosov (35). (Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News)
5. Barkey Shines, Which Is Both Hopeful and Telling.
Denver Barkey was the Flyers’ most compelling player, driving transition with speed and courage, picking up two assists and repeatedly arriving at the interior ahead of Pittsburgh defensemen.
It was also revealing. When a player fresh out of junior hockey is the engine in a rivalry game, it highlights how quiet some established voices have become. Michkov’s goal (assisted by Barkey), and his spirited response of dropping the gloves after Barkey absorbed a heavy hit, showed pride, but the broader attack remains disjointed—which is even more disappointing considering how much scoring they've enjoyed this season across all four lines.
Thursday night was not a blowout in spirit until the scoreboard made it one. Almost more frustratingly, it was a series of small failures stacked on top of one another.
Those habits have turned a manageable rough patch into a five-game slide in which opponents have piled on goals and forced Philadelphia into impossible scripts. The group that once prided itself on structure and steadiness now looks hurried and, at times, unsure of where the next answer will come from.
Losing to Pittsburgh always amplifies the sting, but the real concern is not the opponent—it is the repetition. Until the Flyers repair their starts, rediscover discipline, and convert their good minutes into safe leads, nights like this will continue to feel less like aberrations and more like warnings.
It's still January, so it would be unfair to say that the season is entirely lost, but what has been lost—at least for right now—is the advantageous position they held in the Metropolitan Division (they've slid from third to fifth), and what is in danger of slipping through their fingers is a comfortable shot at the postseason.
Catastrophizing and placing the brunt of the blame on any single player is unproductive in times like these. This is their first major losing streak, and their first significant test of self-evaluation and resiliency, under Rick Tocchet. Time will tell how they handle bouncing back from this rough patch because while the tide may be receding, the tsunami has not hit the Flyers' shores just yet.
NEW YORK — Bo Bichette and the New York Mets agreed to a three-year, $126 million contract, two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical.
The infielder Bichette can opt out after the first and second season. He would receive $47 million for one year and $89 million for two years, one of the people said.
The deal does not contain any deferred money and Bichette gets a full no-trade provision.
A two-time All-Star shortstop, Bichette hit 18 home runs and 94 RBIs for the Blue Jays in 2025. He homered off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series.
Bichette was injured last season in a Sept. 6 collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells. It kept him out of the lineup until the World Series. He returned for Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and played second base for the first time in six years.
Bichette finished second in the major leagues to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge with a .311 batting average this season, hitting 18 homers with 94 RBIs in 139 games.
He’s twice led the AL in hits.
Bichette turns 28 in March and had played his entire career with the Blue Jays since they drafted him in the second round of the 2018 draft. The son of former big leaguer Dante Bichette, Bo Bichette is a career .294 hitter with 111 home runs and 437 RBIs in 748 career games.
Bichette was one of the last remaining big name free agents after Kyle Tucker agreed to a four-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
