Sports
No. 2 Duke ready to shuffle roster vs. Florida State
Feb 25, 2025; Coral Gables, Florida, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Mason Gillis (18) grabs a rebound as guard Cooper Flagg (2) follows on the play during the second half at Watsco Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images No. 2 Duke has been excelling in most areas, and yet it’s not all good news going into the weekend.
The Blue Devils could be down a couple of players, as injuries have struck at an inopportune time.
So how Duke reacts to the latest roster fluctuations will be worth charting when Florida State arrives in Durham, N.C., for Saturday night’s Atlantic Coast Conference game.
Duke (25-3, 16-1) has a five-game winning streak, with an average margin of 31 points. With eight conference victories by more than 25 points, it’s the most at that level in one season in ACC history.
“We know what’s ahead,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “We know the battles we’re going to be in. We know it can happen any night.”
Junior guard Tyrese Proctor left with a knee injury during Duke’s 97-60 romp Tuesday night at Miami. He’s out indefinitely, though it’s not believed to be a season-ending ailment.
Florida State (16-12, 7-10) has lost back-to-back games and will aim for only its third road victory this season.
Duke, already without injured reserve post player Maliq Brown, apparently will be minus Proctor for the Florida State game. Proctor, who led the Blue Devils in scoring in three games in February, reached 1,000 career points before exiting in the first half Tuesday.
So there could be a heightened role for freshman Isaiah Evans, who has had a recent uptick in production and started the second half of the Miami game.
“Isaiah has established himself with what he has done,” Scheyer said. “It’s easy to talk about the shooting. His defense has been off the charts. He’s guarding the ball as well as anybody.”
Evans made five 3-pointers in the first half Tuesday. In the last three games, he’s averaging 16.7 points and has shot 13-for-19 on 3-pointers.
“You’ve just got to trust yourself at the end of the day,” Evans said.
Florida State has allowed 89 and 96 points, respectively, in its last two games, so defense will be important for the Seminoles.
Guard Jamir Watkins has been Florida State’s top scorer in six of the last seven games. The redshirt senior is averaging 18.4 points per game, including a career-high 26 on Monday night in a 96-85 loss to visiting North Carolina.
The Seminoles also received a season-best 16 points from Jerry Deng, who contributed four of the team’s 10 baskets from 3-point range.
“Every time he plays, he gets better,” coach Leonard Hamilton said. “When you think about it, he should still be in high school for his senior year. But he came out a year early. He has made tremendous progress.”
Duke’s result against Miami marked the largest final margin in a game between two ACC teams this season. Despite the string of lopsided victories, there’s no reason for letting up.
“I just think our mission is bigger,” Scheyer said. “You have to have great humility in this. It’s delicate. It can change very quickly. I love the killer instinct that our team has had. I love the approach to each game. They haven’t big-timed anything.”
Scheyer, in his third season, is 79-21 across his first 100 games as Duke’s coach after replacing Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Giants planning to release LB Bobby Okereke
Nov 9, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke (58) leaves the field after losing to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images The New York Giants are planning to cut inside linebacker Bobby Okereke in a cost-saving move, The Athletic reported Saturday.
Releasing the seven-year NFL veteran, who turns 30 in July, will save the Giants $9 million against the 2026 salary cap.
Okereke has led New York in tackles in two of his three seasons with the team, including 143 stops in 2025 and 149 in 2023.
Okereke added one sack, two interceptions and one fumble recovery in 17 games (all starts) for the Giants in 2025.
He has recorded 805 tackles, 7.5 sacks, seven interceptions and 11 forced fumbles in 110 career games (95 starts) with the Colts (2019-22) and Giants. Indianapolis drafted him in the third round in 2019.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tyler Reddick starts bid for 3rd straight NASCAR Cup win with pole run
Feb 22, 2026; Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick rounds the track at EchoPark Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images AUSTIN, Texas — One of the few things that wasn’t startling about Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Circuit of the Americas was Tyler Reddick’s run for the pole position.
Negotiating the 2.4-mile road course in 97.760 seconds (88.380 mph) in the second qualifying group, Reddick claimed his third Busch Light Pole Award in six attempts at the track. He will lead the field to green in Sunday’s DuraMAX Grand Prix Powered by Reladyne (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Of course, there’s more at stake for Reddick than simply a victory at COTA. In winning at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta last Sunday, the driver of the No. 45 Toyota became the sixth Cup competitor to start a season with two consecutive wins. No driver has ever won three straight to open a season.
The 23XI Racing driver acknowledged that the pole position, the 12th of his career, is a positive first step toward that goal.
“It helps the chances, certainly,” said Reddick, whose series-best average finish of 4.6 at COTA includes a victory in 2023. “I think starting up front is huge.”
Michael McDowell led the first qualifying group of 19 drivers with a lap at 88.031 mph but fell to sixth soon after the second group took to the track. Ultimately, Ross Chastain posted the second-fastest lap at 88.256 mph (97.897 seconds) and will start on the front row beside Reddick.
The shocker was not that Chastain, the 2022 COTA winner, fashioned an excellent lap. What was surprising was that his two Trackhouse Racing teammates, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch — both vaunted road course racers — failed to crack the top 10 in qualifying.
Van Gisbergen was 13th fastest on his third lap. Zilisch could do no better than 25th. Van Gisbergen is seeking his sixth straight road course victory in the Cup Series, a mark that would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for most consecutive road course wins.
Chase Briscoe (88.242 mph) will start third, followed by Ryan Blaney (88.179 mph) and Chase Elliott (88.161 mph). Elliott leads active drivers with seven road course victories.
Behind McDowell in sixth, AJ Allmendinger qualified seventh, followed by defending race winner Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and William Byron.
“We’ll see how it gets going,” Reddick said. “Certainly, Ross, Shane, Ryan Blaney-there’s a number of good drivers who were really strong in practice today. We’ll try to understand what that all looks like and make our best decisions on the car and everything.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Warriors F Gui Santos signs multi-year extension
Feb 25, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos (15) passes the ball as Memphis Grizzlies guard Javon Small (10) defends during the third quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos signed a multi-year contract extension on Saturday.
Specific terms were not disclosed by the Warriors. However, ESPN reported it was a three-year, $15 million contract extension with a player option in 2028-29. Santos was in line to become a restricted free agent prior to this extension.
Santos, 23, is posting career-best averages in points (6.6), rebounds (3.2) and assists (1.7) in 48 games (13 starts) this season.
He is contributing 4.9 points, 3.0 boards and 1.4 assists in 127 career games (15 starts) since being selected by the Warriors in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft.
–Field Level Media
Report: Giants planning to release LB Bobby Okereke
Tyler Reddick starts bid for 3rd straight NASCAR Cup win with pole run
