Sports
Ranked again, No. 25 Tennessee faces road-tested Ole Miss
Tennessee forward Nate Ament (10) celebrates making a basket and getting fouled on during a NCAA basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Auburn Tigers at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 31, 2026. No. 25 Tennessee seems to be hitting its stride as the first half of the SEC season winds down.
The Volunteers (15-6, 5-3 SEC) will try to win their fourth consecutive game when they play Ole Miss (11-10, 3-5) on Tuesday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee slipped out of the AP Top 25 when it started SEC play 2-3, but wins at Alabama and Georgia and a 77-69 home victory against Auburn on Saturday returned the Vols to the rankings on Monday.
The latest victory came despite the absence of starting center Felix Okpara, a significant defensive force who averages 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Okpara suffered a calf injury against Georgia three days earlier.
“In a situation where somebody is a game-time decision (and doesn’t play),” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said, “somebody has to step up.”
Barnes got a team effort as Nate Ament, Bishop Boswell, Jaylen Carey and Amari Evans each grabbed eight rebounds.
“Our front line, that was something we haven’t had for a couple years,” Barnes said.
The coach was pleased with the victory against an Auburn team that had won four straight. The Vols overcame foul trouble for leading scorer Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who played nearly five minutes fewer than his average of 33.5 and finished with 11 points, 7.6 below his average.
But Barnes doesn’t want his team to be satisfied with its mini-surge.
“Complacency is an evil,” he said. “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. My biggest fear in coaching has always been complacency. It’s never easy. If players don’t realize that they have to get better every day, then it gets away from you.”
Ole Miss still has time to prevent its season from getting away, but coach Chris Beard admitted “our backs are against the wall.”
The Tennessee matchup will be the Rebels’ sixth road game in the first nine SEC games and they will face a seventh road game against Texas before getting back home.
“It’s been quite a challenge,” Beard said. “We’ve been able to win a couple road games at this point.”
Ole Miss almost got a third road win Saturday before falling to then-No. 18 Vanderbilt 71-68.
The Rebels fought back from a 13-point deficit against the Commodores and missed two shots on the final possession.
“We’ve been in a lot of games just like this,” Beard said. “We just need one more break down the stretch, one more play throughout the course of the game.”
Ole Miss has 10 more games beginning with the one against the Volunteers. Six of their last eight will be at home and then they’ll have the SEC tournament to try to bolster their postseason resume.
“We just haven’t done the things that we needed to do in the nonconference schedule to put ourselves in great contention right now,” Beard said, “but there’s lots of season left.”
Malik Dia, Ole Miss’ second-leading scorer (13.8), scored 16 points in each of the last two games after having just 16 in the previous three games combined.
–Field Level Media
Sports
MLB Owners Are Killing the World Baseball Classic
The travesty unfolding with Team Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic originates from the same place as the impending work stoppage in Major League Baseball:
The cold hearts and fat wallets of MLB owners, who again choose hoarding cash in lieu of stimulating competition.
Officials from Puerto Rico said Saturday the national team might withdraw entirely from the WBC next month because as many as 10 of the players on the roster, which includes some of the biggest stars in the sport, have been denied insurance coverage due to injury risk.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor reportedly won’t play, and neither will Houston Astros third baseman Carlos Correa, though Correa’s case and others remain under review, The Athletic reports. Lindor had surgery on his elbow in October, but it was minor enough that he’s healthy now and ready to report for Spring Training for the Mets. Correa’s sordid health history is well known, but he also played 144 games in 2025. No matter: they’re denied.
Additional Puerto Rican players who have been denied coverage include Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Enríque Hernández and Toronto Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos. Overall, more than a third of the entire roster is impacted. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that they’ve been hit so hard by the insurance premium bug, but Puerto Rico feels picked on.
Officials cite Puerto Rico’s small population (about 3.3 million) as a difficulty for adding viable ballplayers. That’s one issue. But the WBC is more, and should be more, than just finding bodies to fill out rosters. Puerto Rico typically has one of the best teams in the world. Lindor is one of the 10 best players in MLB, and Correa one of the two dozen best. Not only for their talent, but Puerto Rico’s enthusiasm for baseball, along with their historical influence, are well documented.
The Puerto Rican team is always among the top reasons to watch the WBC, a tournament in which MLB invests heavily and takes earnestly. But only to a point. Ensuring that Puerto Rico remains whole enough to field a competitive team is against league policy, so to speak.
Puerto Rico is not the only country affected by insurance roadblocks; Venezuela is too, with José Altuve and Miguel Rojas among the disenfranchised. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch for Japan in the WBC in part because insurance won’t cover that half of his game.
If only MLB could do something to defray the cost of insuring those who remain uncovered. It is apparent they don’t want to, and neither do the individual teams. Mets owner Steve Cohen probably has WBC PTSD about 2023, when closer Edwin Díaz took a bad celebratory step and had his season ruined with an injury.
Freak injuries happen, but the WBC happening outside of the MLB season doesn’t reduce its importance to Lindor and players like him, who take competing in it no less seriously than they would the World Series.
But what else should we expect from this league of owners? They contorted themselves to give the Dodgers, of all teams, a more favorable financial situation with local TV revenue following former owner Frank McCourt’s bankrupting ways. And yet, while being cheap with revenue sharing, MLB owners still won’t take steps to regulate minimum spending standards. Owners of smaller-market teams like the Cleveland Guardians and Pittsburgh Pirates take advantage by pocketing the money, and their fans lose. Congratulations — on your tremendous savings.
Instead of just encouraging the league to be competitive in the standings, MLB owners circle their Gucci wagons and talk about greedy players who need to be restrained with a salary cap. No matter that players already get a smaller share of the pie than the owners, and that salaries have been dragging, in relation to inflation, for 20 years. Ah, who else can’t wait for the upcoming reports on collective bargaining talks? More fun than arguing over insurance claims.
MLB owners still have time to do the right thing by pooling some (some!) of their formidable resources for Puerto Rico and anyone else denied because of WBC insurance. The integrity of the entire tournament is at stake. The decimation of Puerto Rico’s roster matters not only to one team and country, but to all who participate.
Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan hosts pool play in the WBC from March 6–11. Cuba, Panama, Colombia and Canada also are scheduled in Puerto Rico. Fans have bought tickets to see P.R. play them all. Puerto Rico’s best team should play if possible.
It is possible — if MLB does the right thing and shares.
Sports
Chicago Bulls Still Aren’t Contenders But They’re Finally Fun Again
Oct 29, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) drives to the basket against Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Chicago Bulls have been a play-in staple the last few years. From a lack of free agency moves, insignificant trades, and hit-and-miss draft picks, it doesn’t feel like the Bulls are doing a ton to change their image. Jerry Reinsdorf is one of the cheapest owners in sports, and as long as the Bulls continue to fill the United Center, I’m not sure a lot will change.
Fortunately, things have been a little better in Chicago this season. I don’t blame you if you haven’t kept up with the Bulls. They’re the 9 seed in a bad Eastern Conference, and their roster feels quite poorly constructed. They’ve got a plethora of guards to choose from, but lack size at both the forward and center positions.
Speaking of undersized players, the Bulls have recently added the shortest player in the NBA to their rotation due to injuries. Japanese sensation Yuki Kawamura stands at only 5’8” but is one of the most fun players to watch in the league. Had been in the G-League most of this season, but made his mark in his first piece of game action in 2026.
Yuki was hitting jumpers, causing havoc, and becoming the smallest player in NBA history to win a jump ball. I think he’s a perfectly symbozlies everything that is fun about the Bulls this year.
When he’s been healthy, Coby White continues to be one of the most underrated guards. When he’s been able to run the point for the Bulls, they’ve been one of the most efficient offenses around. When White is playing, the Bulls have a +7.8 plus/minus rating, an 88th-percentile points-per-possession rating, a 97th-percentile eFG%, and a 90th-percentile TOV%. Simply put, the Bulls are an elite offense when Coby White is active.
Matas Buzelis has also taken a leap forward offensively for the Bulls this season. Everyone knew Buzelis was going to be a bit of a project when Chicago drafted him last season. Fortunately, he’s already ahead of schedule on offensive development this year. He’s nearly doubled his points per-game, while becoming even more efficient from the field.
Nobody had Buzelis as much of a shooting threat while playing for the G-League Ignite. He shot just 26% from deep in his two years with the Ignite, but now he is shooting nearly 37% from deep on over 5 attempts a night. All of this while still delivering as promised on the defensive side of things.
The Bulls also have players like Josh Giddey and Ayo Dosunmu, who have had to increase their offensive roles and have seen comparable increases in production. Dosunmu becoming a 45% threat from beyond the arc has given the Bulls so much more to work with. He’s either increased his trade value or made other guards on the team that much more expendable.
Chicago won’t be playing for a title this year, but they’ve put together a core that is one of the most fun to watch as a fan of the league. Hopefully, they can add a true star to this core because they have a lot of young guys who thrive as solid role players.
Sports
Three Blockbuster NBA Trades We’d Love to See Before the Deadline
Jan 8, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) looks to pass against the Utah Jazz during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images One of the NBA’s biggest names could be headed for a new home as the league works its way toward the trade deadline on Thursday.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo has missed his team’s last three games because of a calf strain, but injuries in general — and calf issues in particular — are no reason to call off a deal.
In what has gone down as one of the most surprising trades ever, the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers last season as he sat out with a calf strain.
While the Dončić deal came out of nowhere, an Antetokounmpo trade seems inevitable. The 10-time All-Star and two-time MVP has not formally requested a trade, and the Bucks have not said they are looking to move on from their franchise player, but the sides seem to have come to an understanding that it is time for a change.
For Antetokounmpo, at age 31, there could be a desire to play for a different contender in a larger market. For the Bucks, they can see they are losing their grip as one of the top teams in the NBA.
A potential Antetokounmpo trade could be the one that starts a flood of player movement before the deadline.
Here are three trades we would like to see:
Antetokounmpo to the Warriors
Apr 29, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during game five of the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images A combination of Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry pulling from the same side of the rope is too irresistible to deny. It is likely going to take many first-round draft picks and players like Jonathan Kuminga and the injured Jimmy Butler to make it happen, but that Curry window is not going to stay open forever.
The reality is that Antetokounmpo to the New York Knicks would create an even bigger title contender, but the Warriors could end up offering more in order to shorten their longer championship odds.
Don’t count out the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat in making a push for Antetokounmpo. And did you hear the one about the Dallas Mavericks moving Cooper Flagg in a package to make a deal with the Bucks happen? Considering that Dallas is starting to fall deeply in love with Flagg, maybe a new heartbreak isn’t the best idea.
Ja Morant to the Timberwolves
Jan 21, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) and head coach Tuomas Iisalo looks on during the third quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Who were the top four teams in the Western Conference heading into play this week? If you said the Minnesota Timberwolves, it would be a reasonable assumption — but they were just on the outside looking in at teams who would have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Morant running the floor with Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle would add heat to the Minneapolis thaw this spring. Morant will be a hot commodity once Antetokounmpo is traded, so the Wolves will have stiff competition to get a deal done.
Because it was vague, Morant’s “time tells the truth” post on social media over the weekend read like more of a knock on the Grizzlies than a promise to dominate the league soon. Either way, it shows that whoever makes this acquisition will be getting a motivated player.
Anthony Davis to the Clippers
In an ordinary world, the Clippers would have set a course to tank the season right around the start of the new year to wring the most value possible from their next first-round draft pick. Except the Oklahoma City Thunder own the Clippers’ next first-round pick, so losing was not the preferred course of action.
Instead, the Clippers pushed oft-injured Kawhi Leonard to the front of their revamped offense, buckled down on defense, and have been the best team in the NBA over the past six weeks.
Without a first-round pick to look forward to, perhaps the Clippers roll the dice and move some expiring contracts for Davis, who has been a bust since the Dončić trade. The Mavericks would rather land a first-round draft pick for all of their trade troubles over the last year, but if they are out of options as the deadline ticks near, maybe salary cap relief wins out.
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MLB Owners Are Killing the World Baseball Classic
