Sports
What NCAA Tournament Selection Committee Got Right, Wrong In Mock Bracket Reveal
Feb 4, 2025; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) takes a shot over Oklahoma Sooners forward Jalon Moore (14) during the second half at Neville Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images Good morning, sports fans. We are officially four weeks away from Selection Sunday. Can you smell March in the air?
The NCAA Tournament selection committee published its current top 16 seeds on Saturday, a now-annual tradition that gives fans a sense of where top teams stack up in committee members’ eyes.
They nailed down the most important items, like the four No. 1 seeds, but I have a few objections down the list. As you start getting pumped for bracket season, here’s what the selection committee got right and wrong Saturday:
Right: Auburn is the best team in the country
Auburn got the nod over rival Alabama and Duke for the No. 1 overall seed, and the Tigers proved their worthiness later in the afternoon with a 94-85 road win over the Crimson Tide in a top-two showdown.
That makes Auburn 14-2 against Quadrant 1 opponents, and the Tigers rank No. 1, 2, or 3 in the seven primary metrics on the committee’s team sheets. No need to overthink this; Bruce Pearl can peacock a little. Nobody wants to see Johni Broome, Chad Baker-Mazara and company next month.
Right: Florida deserves a No. 1 seed
Jan 25, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators forward Alex Condon (21) walks on the court after a call against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images Joining Auburn, Alabama and Duke on the No. 1 lines was Florida, and I think that’s the right call. The Gators are one of the two teams to beat Auburn, and none of their three defeats are that concerning—they may have lost to Tennessee by 20, but they beat the Vols by 30 a month prior.
Per committee chair Bubba Cunningham, the only other team considered for a No. 1 seed was Tennessee. And this is where I have to retort.
Wrong: Sleeping on Houston
Jan 15, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars forward J’Wan Roberts (13) dribbles against West Virginia Mountaineers forward Amani Hansberry (13) in the first half at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images Tennessee, Texas A&M and Purdue held down the fifth through seventh spots overall before the committee got to Houston for the last of the No. 2 seeds. Maybe this is a touch of Houston fatigue after the Cougars earned No. 1 seeds each of the past two years and lost in the Sweet 16 both times?
Kidding aside, I’d trust Houston more than a team like Tennessee, an apt comparison given both teams are defense-first. All the Cougars have done is win 17 of their past 18 games after a slow start (featuring losses to Auburn and Alabama), and a Saturday rally on the road against an ascending Arizona team was one of their best wins yet. Their predictive metrics (i.e., KenPom and BPI) are better than Tennessee’s, Texas A&M’s and Purdue’s, for the record.
Wrong: Kentucky is too high
Jan 18, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Ansley Almonor (15) celebrates with guard Otega Oweh (00) during the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images We were all drinking the Kentucky blue Kool-Aid a bit too quickly after the Wildcats’ hot start under Mark Pope, and I absolutely count myself in that category. The offense can be super fun, but there are too many nights when they just don’t defend.
The committee awarded Kentucky the 10th overall spot Saturday, translating to a solid No. 3 seed in the bracket. The Wildcats repaid their faith by… losing at Texas and dropping to 6-6 in the SEC. Yes, the SEC is a monster every night, etc., etc. But multiple teams deserve to be seeded higher than Kentucky right now: Wisconsin, Texas Tech, Arizona and possibly even St. John’s.
For reference, the committee’s top 16 as of Feb. 15:
1. Auburn
2. Alabama
3. Duke
4. Florida
5. Tennessee
6. Texas A&M
7. Purdue
8. Houston
9. Iowa State
10. Kentucky
11. Wisconsin
12. Arizona
13. Texas Tech
14. Michigan
15. Kansas
16. St. John’s
Sports
Liquid, Shopify post wins to wrap LCS Summer Split Week 1
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Team Liquid and Shopify Rebellion got on the board with wins to conclude Week 1 of the League Championship Series Summer Split on Sunday.
Liquid swept Cloud9 2-0, and Shopify Rebellion did the same to Disguised. The regular season kicked off Saturday with victories by LYON and Sentinels.
The LCS Summer Split is an eight-team event that began Saturday and will run through the finals in October. The seven-week round-robin regular season — in which all teams play each other once in a best-of-three match — will set the field for the six-team playoffs.
The top two teams in the regular season will advance to the playoff semifinals, while the third- through sixth-place teams will advance to the quarters. The bottom two teams in the standings are eliminated.
The playoffs, which run Sept. 12 through Oct. 4, are best-of-five and double elimination. The top three teams will advance to the World Championships, played in New York, Los Angeles and Allen, Texas, from Oct. 15 through Nov. 14.
On Sunday, Liquid ran through Cloud9 in 38 minutes and 29 minutes on blue. Sean “Yeon” Sung averaged a kills-deaths-assists ratio of 6.5-0.5-6.5 across the two maps for Liquid.
Shopify turned back Disguised in 40 minutes and 29 minutes, also playing on blue. Ibrahim “Fudge” Allami of Australia averaged a 6.5-0.5-7.0 K-D-A to guide Shopify.
The LCS 2026 Summer Split continues Saturday with two matches:
–Cloud9 vs. Dignitas
–FlyQuest vs. Disguised
LCS 2026 Summer Split Standings
Place, Team (Match Record, Map Record)
T1. LYON (1-0, 2-0)
T1. Shopify Rebellion (1-0, 2-0)
T1. Team Liquid (1-0, 2-0)
4. Sentinels (1-0, 2-1)
5. Dignitas (0-1, 1-2)
T6. Cloud9 (0-1, 0-2)
T6. Disguised (0-1, 0-2)
T6. FlyQuest (0-1, 0-2)
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dominic Canzone, Mariners seek series split against Rangers
Jul 26, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners designated hitter Dominic Canzone (8) singles against the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images Dominic Canzone was closer to assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes than just about anyone on the Seattle Mariners’ roster.
The two spent hours working on making Canzone more than just a platoon player.
So Canzone took it pretty hard when Magallanes was fired Thursday, the fall guy for the Mariners’ anemic offense.
Canzone responded by hitting his team-leading 16th home run, a three-run shot in the seventh inning, and added an RBI double in the ninth as the visiting Mariners rallied for a 6-4 victory against the Texas Rangers on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
The four-game series between the top two teams in the American League West concludes Monday afternoon.
“Offense can be contagious, and that’s the hope, that this sparks a fire,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.
The reigning division champion Mariners snapped a four-game skid and moved past the Houston Astros into second place in the division, 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Rangers.
Canzone’s homer gave the Mariners the lead and Randy Arozarena went deep on the next pitch, both off Rangers reliever Cole Winn.
“I just left a pitch over the middle and (Canzone) took advantage of it. Same thing with Randy,” said Winn, who hadn’t allowed a run in his previous seven appearances. “There’s really nothing to that aside from making bad pitches and them capitalizing.”
The Mariners, who rely on the long ball more than just about any other team in baseball, had gone deep just 28 times in their previous 34 games.
“It was obviously a big moment,” Canzone said. “It was nice to just get the team in front and get a win.
“Especially coming from behind and struggling a little bit offensively, obviously, this is a step in the right direction. We need to come out tomorrow and do the exact same thing.”
The Rangers won the first two games of the series 5-4 and 7-1.
They took a 3-1 lead into the seventh Saturday.
“I think the bullpen, we have different guys in different lanes that have done really good, and we’ve had some hiccups along the way that have cost us just like everybody else,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “Today the home run cost us.”
Monday’s series finale is set to feature a pair of right-handers in Seattle’s George Kirby (8-8, 3.57 ERA) and Texas’ Kumar Rocker (3-8, 4.13).
Kirby pitched six innings last Monday in an 8-0 victory against visiting Cincinnati, giving up three hits and striking out six. Kirby is 9-1 with a 1.33 ERA in 12 career starts against the Rangers. He suffered the lone loss by a 3-2 margin April 7 in Arlington despite pitching eight strong innings. He rebounded to beat them 7-3 on April 18 in Seattle.
Rocker beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 10-0 on Tuesday with six innings of one-hit ball. He’s 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in four career starts against Seattle.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lions starting S Brian Branch, Kerby Joseph to start camp on PUP list
Sep 28, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) holds his knee after an injury during the first half against the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images The Detroit Lions will be without starting safeties Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph when training camp begins, as they were placed on the physically unable to perform list on Sunday.
The Lions also placed veteran tight end Tyler Conklin — signed as a free agent in March — on the PUP list with an injury.
Branch, 24, sustained a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 14 last season. Joseph, 25, dealt with a knee injury last season that limited him to six games.
Players can be placed on the active/PUP list only before the start of training camp. The Lions begin camp on Wednesday.
Players on the active/PUP list count against the 90-man roster limit and can attend team meetings and use team facilities in the preseason. They can be removed from the list at any time during camp and begin practicing immediately. Otherwise, while on the list, they cannot participate in any part of practice.
A player on the reserve/PUP list doesn’t count against the active roster but must sit out at least the first four games.
A Pro Bowl selection in 2024, Branch played in 12 games (all starts) last season, making 75 tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and nine passes defensed.
For his career, Branch has 258 tackles, 4.5 sacks, seven interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 20 tackles for loss and 38 passes defensed in 43 regular-season games (37 starts) since 2023.
Detroit selected Branch in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama.
A first-team All-Pro in 2024 when he led the league with nine interceptions, Joseph played in just six games (all starts) last season. He had 18 tackles, three interceptions and four passes defensed.
Joseph has played in 55 regular-season games (52 starts) and has 265 tackles, 20 interceptions (one returned for a TD) and 35 passes defensed.
Detroit selected Joseph in the third round of the 2022 draft out of Illinois.
Conklin, who turns 31 on Thursday, had seven receptions on 10 targets for 101 yards in 13 games (five starts) last season for the Los Angeles Chargers.
He has 270 career receptions for 2,645 yards and 11 touchdowns in 127 games (69 starts) for the Minnesota Vikings (2018-21), New York Jets (2022-24) and Chargers.
Minnesota drafted Conklin in the fifth round in 2018 out of Central Michigan.
–Field Level Media
Liquid, Shopify post wins to wrap LCS Summer Split Week 1
Dominic Canzone, Mariners seek series split against Rangers
