The New York Knicks began the 2026 NBA Playoffs with a victory against the Atlanta Hawks before dropping the next two games of their first-round series. They haven’t been defeated since.
New York aims for its 11th consecutive victory and first appearance in the NBA Finals since 1999 when it visits Rocket Arena to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at 8 p.m. ET in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks, who are seeking their second straight series sweep, rallied from a 22-point, fourth-quarter deficit to post a 115-104 overtime victory in the opener before recording a pair of double-digit wins in regulation to push the Cavaliers to the brink of elimination.
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points and Mikal Bridges added 22 as New York cruised to a 121-108 triumph in Game 3. The Knicks are looking to improve to 5-0 all-time against Cleveland in the postseason and sweep the Cavs for a third time.
Evan Mobley recorded 24 points while Donovan Mitchell had 23 for Cleveland, which has lost consecutive home games after having won its first six this postseason. The Cavs have been swept four times in best-of-seven series in their history, most recently by the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals.
The 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs also continue Monday as the Montreal Canadiens host the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre at 8 p.m. ET for a pivotal Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final. The top-seeded Hurricanes were trounced 6-2 in the series opener following an 11-day layoff but evened the series with a 3-2 overtime win as Nikolaj Ehlers scored his second goal of the game 3:29 into the extra session. Carolina is 4-0 on the road this postseason, and Montreal is just 2-4 at home.
Monday’s MLB evening schedule features six games, including the opener of a three-game series between the Miami Marlins (25-29) and Toronto Blue Jays (25-28) at 7:07 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre. The Marlins are coming off a three-game sweep of the New York Mets at home, during which they allowed a total of two runs, while the Blue Jays had their four-game winning streak halted with Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Another game on the slate has the Seattle Mariners (25-29) visiting Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif. to face the American League West-leading Athletics (27-26) at 9:40 p.m. ET as the division rivals begin a three-game set. The teams are meeting for the second time this season, and the Athletics won two of three at Seattle last month.
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The Knicks are 2.5-point favorites against the Cavaliers in the latest consensus NBA odds. The Hurricanes are -142 favorites on the money line over the Canadiens, the Blue Jays are -162 favorites against the Marlins and the Mariners are -117 favorites against the Athletics.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Monday, May 25. All times Eastern
The Knicks are the highest-scoring team in the postseason with an average of 119.2 points, while the Cavaliers are fifth at 108.8 per game. New York has averaged 122.2 points during its 10-game winning streak, the most by any team over a 10-game span in the playoffs since the 2017 Warriors. At least 219 combined points were produced in two of the first three games of this series, and the SportsLine Projection Model sees the trend continuing as the Over hits in well over 56% of its simulations. SportsLine NBA expert Mike Barner (136-95, +2259 on his last 231 NBA player prop picks) likes Jarrett Allen to score at least 13 points in Game 4, as the Cleveland center has averaged 15.7 over his last nine playoff contests.
NHL best bets, where to watch
Hurricanes at Canadiens
Time: 8 p.m. | Location: Montreal | TV: TNT | Stream:Fubo (Try for free)
The teams combined for eight goals in Game 1, and two of the last three contests at the Bell Centre had eight or more total goals scored. But six or more were scored in only two of Carolina’s first 10 playoff games and seven of Montreal’s 16 contests thus far. The SportsLine Projection Model is leaning toward Game 3 being a low-scoring affair, as its simulations have the Under hitting 50% of the time.
Time: 7:07 p.m. | Location: Toronto | TV: MLB.TV | Stream:Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model: Over 7.5 (-111) | Expert: Blue Jays ML (-160, Adam Thompson)
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After a string of nine consecutive games in which at least nine total runs were scored, the Marlins played three straight against the Mets in which no more than five runs were produced. Four of the Blue Jays’ last five contests saw fewer than eight runs scored. The SportsLine Projection Model doesn’t believe the teams will have much difficulty scoring in the series opener, as the Over hits in more than 66% of its simulations. SportsLine expert Adam Thompson is backing Toronto to win behind right-hander Trey Yesavage, who has posted a 1.07 ERA over his first five starts this season.
Mariners at Athletics
Time: 9:40 p.m. | Location: West Sacramento, Calif. | TV: MLB.TV | Stream:Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model: Athletics +1.5 (-162) | Expert: Luis Castillo Under 4.5 strikeouts (-137, Angelo Magliocca)
The Athletics are 2-1 against the Mariners this season, and their loss was a one-run decision. The Mariners have lost three of their last five contests, with one of their victories coming by a single run. The SportsLine Projection Model believes the Athletics will at least keep it close in the series opener as its simulations have them covering the run line 65% of the time. Seattle righty Luis Castillo’s last appearance was as a reliever, as he struggled as a member of the team’s starting rotation, and he’ll likely have a short leash on Monday. With that in mind, SportsLine expert Angelo Magliocca doesn’t see him recording more than four strikeouts against the Athletics.
The Houston Astros capped their fourth straight win with a no-hit shutout on Monday. Tatsuya Imai started and pitched six innings before relievers Steven Okert and Alimber Santa took over to keep the Texas Rangers hitless.
The 9-0 victory marked the MLB’s first no-hitter since Shota Imanaga and two Chicago Cubs relievers combined for a 12-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in September 2024.
The last complete-game no-hitter came in August 2024, when Blake Snell held the Cincinnati Reds hitless.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai throws to the Texas Rangers during the first inning of a baseball game in Arlington, Texas, on May 25, 2026.(Julio Cortez/AP)
Imai went six innings in the 17th regular-season no-hitter in Astros history and fourth that was a combined effort. Houston also threw a no-hitter in the 2022 World Series when four pitchers combined against Philadelphia.
Okert worked the seventh after Imai got 16 outs over the last 16 batters he faced. He walked three of his first four batters but benefited from a double play in the first inning before settling into a groove.
Santa made his big-league debut in the eighth and retired all six batters he faced. His 24th pitch was a called third strike against Brandon Nimmo that ended it after an ABS challenge by the batter was confirmed a strike.
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Houston Astros pitcher Alimber Santa is doused with water after pitching in his major league debut and closing a combined no-hitter against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, on May 25, 2026.(Julio Cortez/AP)
The Rangers were held without a hit for the sixth time, the first since Corey Kluber threw a no-hitter against them for the New York Yankees on May 19, 2021.
The 28-year-old Imai is in his first big-league season after coming over from Japan.
Imai joined the Astros in January after agreeing to a $54 million, three-year contract. He was a three-time All-Star during eight seasons in Japan, and went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA last season for the Pacific League’s Seibu Lions.
On the court, Donovan Dent can read the floor like no other.
Off the court, the California kid who proved to be one of the best UNM Lobo point guards of all time still needs some work on reading the room. He just doesn’t seem to get how many people are so interested in what he’s doing.
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Take Saturday, for instance. The 6-foot-2 point guard, who finished his senior season in March at UCLA and recently moved back to Albuquerque, announced on Saturday he would host an inexpensive ($25) pop-up kids camp at ABC Prep Basketball Academy in Old Town.
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“I was expecting like roughly 25 to 30 kids,” said Dent.
Monday morning, 120 kids showed up, many with Lobo fan parents, to catch a glimpse of, and three hours of working out with, the Lobo great now known by some as “Coach Dent.”
“I never expected this,” he said with a big smile after the camp concluded, and after he’d signed any and every autograph and took pictures with kids and parents alike.
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He just couldn’t quite figure out why so many wanted to come to his camp.
Also on Saturday, and certainly the more newsworthy part of the weekend for those outside of Albuquerque, Dent seemed to think nobody would be all that interested in what he told the Journal about his plans to get into basketball training and coaching rather than pursuing a professional playing career.
Yeah, he was fairly oblivious as to that being some information the college basketball world might latch onto.
“My phone started blowing up on Sunday about whether I was still playing or not and I couldn’t figure out why,” Dent said Monday. “I guess it was because of the article. It was crazy.”
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As the news started to spread Saturday and then into Sunday about Dent’s comments in Saturday’s Journal article — posted online Saturday, in print on Sunday — Dent was, at least initially, oblivious to it all.
Many Los Angeles-based and national media began citing sources close to Dent that the point guard was retiring. Some cited the Journal. Others just posted the information to their social media accounts without any indication where they learned about it.
To be clear, here is what Dent — a source as close to Dent as the Journal could find for this story — told the Journal on Saturday: “I’m done with pro basketball. That’s why I came back here. I want to give back to the youth and I want to start training. I want to start working in individual training, group sessions, things like that and I want to get started on that out here (in Albuquerque) — young kids, older kids, just help them with their game and I wanted to start it here because Albuquerque gave me so much.”
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So, he did.
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He held his first camp on Monday, has another, larger one in Albuquerque July 13-15, and will also host camps in Farmington, Santa Fe and Las Cruces over the next couple months.
The lucrative UCLA experience — reportedly $3 million in total revenue share and NIL compensation to play one season for the Bruins — afforded Dent the luxury of pursuing his next step in the game before most players get that chance.
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Sure, maybe people should have noticed he wasn’t taking part in any pre-NBA Draft team workouts or combines, but still, when you hear a guy with lucrative playing opportunities out there isn’t going to pursue them, it’s going to get some buzz.
And to be clear, Dent does still train daily and is staying in top shape. And he will be playing in the $2 million, winner-take-all TBT (The Basketball Tournament) in July as the captain of The Enchantment, a primarily UNM Lobo alumni team (there are also a couple NM State Aggies playing and a couple of players with New Mexico ties who didn’t play for either UNM or NMSU).
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So, is he really done playing basketball? Is that “R” word that so many used over the past 48 hours to describe his status in basketball (“retire” never appeared in a Dent quote or in the Journal’s article on his decision to get into coaching and training) an accurate one in Dent’s mind?
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The Journal asked again on Monday in response to all the social media chatter, if he really meant it.
More specifically: “Is there a chance that one day you’ll still play basketball at a professional level?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about that,” Dent said. “All I’m thinking about right now is doing what I’m doing right now (at the kids camp), and that’s not a pro career. So, I guess people can say I’m retired as of right now.”
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OK, then. Nice and clear.
As for the camp…
First off, Dent after the camp said there were 93 kids in attendance. Turns out that was just the online number he saw. Some in-person paying campers — a couple dozen, in fact — pushed the total to 120, according to Brandon Mason, President of ABC Prep where the camp was held in Old Town and where several current and former Lobos regularly work out and train in the offseason. That number has included Dent over the past year when not at UCLA.
The camp was controlled chaos — probably a few too many kids for that setup than ideal, but certainly a learning moment for all — and got handled, as Dent noted, thanks to so many of the players and coaches at ABC Prep. Those included prep star Brandon Mason Jr., a top-70 nationally ranked high school recruit for the Class of 2027, and Bella Hines, the Albuquerque native who was a top 100 recruit last year, played this past season at LSU and has transferred to TCU.
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As for the kids in the camp? It was everything Dent could have hoped for.
“Absolutely, it made me so happy,” Dent said. “I appreciate everyone who came out today, especially on short notice. They had high energy, everyone just had a lot of fun. That’s all I can ask for. It was a great time out here.”
Rabindra Dhant, 27, will walk into the Galaxy Arena in Macau on May 28 and do something no Nepali fighter has ever done: compete in a Road to UFC tournament, two wins away from a UFC contract.After trying for a few years, Dhant has got his big opportunity with Road to UFC – a win-and-advance tournament offering top MMA prospects from across Asia-Pacific a direct path to the UFC, and he will be taking on Kimbert Alintozon of the Philippines in the Quarterfinals.Ask him what it felt like to be selected for Road to UFC Season 5, and he will not give you the answer you expect.“Indifferent,” he says, through his coach and interpreter Diwiz Piya Lama while speaking to TimesofIndia.com. “This is not the first year we tried. As a team, we had been pushing for this for probably the second or third year running. So when it finally happened, it felt like a step in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go. He’s been putting the work in the gym. It’s a job. Just a job he’s got to keep doing.”It’s a calm and measured response, even though he stands at the cusp of history. No Nepali has ever signed a UFC contract. No Nepali fighter has ever competed at this level of the sport’s global infrastructure. Dhant is, by any measure, in unprecedented territory for his country, yet when asked about pressure, his response remains unchanged.“The questions are putting more pressure on him than the fight,” Lama says, laughing. “He feels no pressure from the fight itself.”The Making of Nepal’s Top MMA ProspectDhant’s journey to the doorsteps of UFC tells a lot more about his mindset ahead of the biggest night of his career.Coming from Bajhang, a village in far-western Nepal, where there is no visibility for the sport, Dhant has had a tough and long journey that took him to India at a young age, doing manual labour, and an office job of serving tea and cleaning. MMA was never in the picture, but karate training at odd hours kept him going quietly, without family support or institutional structure.The results, however, were anything but quiet.He went 15 fights unbeaten across Indian regional amateur circuits. He won the Indian National Amateur MMA Championship back-to-back in 2019 and 2020, a feat that should have made him eligible for the World Amateur Championships.However, Nepal’s MMA infrastructure at the time was not equipped to send a fighter to an international amateur competition. He had qualified, but he simply could not go.“It was a salty phase,” he says, through his coach and interpreter Lama. “He had put in the work, won two tournaments back to back, and it counted for nothing on the international stage.”Then came a lucrative offer. Recognising his talent, he was given a way out: to assume Indian citizenship, compete internationally, and build a career on a more resourced platform. He turned it down. He decided to keep his Nepali passport.“Thank God he didn’t do that,” Lama says on his behalf, breaking into a laugh. “Right now, with where things stand, people would have burned us alive.”Diwiz Piya Lama: The Coach Who Backed HimLama, who has been Dhant’s voice throughout this interaction, has also been his guiding light. A jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai practitioner based in Kathmandu, Lama saw Dhant fight and decided to invest in him personally. Lama funded a training camp at the Fairtex Gym in Thailand, covering the costs out of his own pocket. It proved worth his while.In September 2023, Dhant made his ONE Championship debut in Bangkok, defeating Russia’s Torepchi Dongak by TKO in the third round. He became the first Nepali fighter to win a bout in ONE Championship. Then in August 2025, at Matrix Fight Night 17 in Greater Noida, he stopped unbeaten Indian bantamweight champion Chungreng Koren in the third round to become the first Nepali to win a major international MMA title.“The win was more important than anything else,” he says, when asked about the reception that followed – meeting the Mayor of Kathmandu, a cash reward, and recognition.“If he had lost, there would have been no President, no Mayor, no Minister. At the end of the day, it’s the win and the task at hand. These side quests don’t really mean much.”His original opponent, Australia’s Matty Iann, withdrew injured before the bout. Filipino fighter Alintozon, a 7-3 bantamweight with six finishes on his record, stepped in on short notice. Dhant’s preparation, he says, required no dramatic overhaul.“He didn’t train so specifically for Matty that an entire system needed to change. He did his due diligence and kept doing what he was doing. No drastic change.”Despite the accolades, Dhant is grounded, and as he says, it’s a job. A win moves Dhant to the Road to UFC semifinals. Two wins deliver a UFC contract: the first in Nepal’s history. So what does winning in Macau on May 28 mean to him?“A stepping stone towards what he’s destined for.”Watch Road to UFC (Day 1) – Round of 16 – Day 1 ( Rong Zhu vs. Martinez) on May 28th 2026 at 3:30 PM IST live and exclusive on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD.
Following a controversy-filled offseason, Stefon Diggs is back at it. The veteran wide receiver has gotten a lot of people talking in the last couple of months for football and non-football reasons, and it seems that won’t be stopping soon as he prepares for the 2026 NFL season.
On Monday, a video of the four-time Pro-Bowler’s intense offseason training surfaced online. Diggs, who remains without a team after being released by the New England Patriots in March, was seen doing push-ups with two weight plates placed on his back by his trainers.
Thanks for the submission!
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The clips quickly went viral among NFL fans, generating a lot of reactions mocking Stefon Diggs. While he appears to be putting quite a lot of work into the private training session, many fans were not impressed with his effort, sparking a series of classic social media trolling.
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Workout videos like this have become signature content for Diggs on social media over the years. They are often focused on highly intense off-season conditioning, agile route-running drills and high-energy gym sessions, enabling him to showcase his footwork and athleticism.
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Fans’ reaction to the latest highlights Stefon Diggs unique place in the NFL ecosystem. He’s become one of the players in the league whose every action, on and off the field, generates a lot of attention and reaction from fans.
Here’s a look at some of the reactions online:
@PatsPlanet_ Worst pushups ever
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What is this exercise? He barely doing anything
@PatsPlanet_ Old head reps
@PatsPlanet_ 😂😂😂😂😂
@PatsPlanet_ wtf 😂😂
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@PatsPlanet_ Tf bro doing
Analyst links Stefon Diggs to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Stefon Diggs remains one of the top available free agents this offseason. In an article published on Monday, Christopher Knox of Bleacher Reports is linking the wide receivers to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is despite the complete overhaul they’ve done on the offense this offseason.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers finally re-signed Aaron Rodgers, and the quarterback has admitted that this will be his final NFL season,” Knox wrote. “If Pittsburgh hopes to make Rodgers’ last ride a memorable one, it should add a little more to its receiving corps.
“DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. should make a solid receiver duo. However, rookies Germie Bernard and Kaden Wetjen are unproven, and Pittsburgh’s overall receiver depth is lacking. Adding a vet like Hopkins or Stefon Diggs would help give the Steelers a playoff-caliber offense.”
Diggs had a successful 2025 season with the Patriots, recording 85 receptions on 102 targets for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns. This means he will be looking for a prominent role in his next team. With the presence of DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. in Pittsburgh, there’s little chance he will accept going there.
Iran‘s national soccer team will sleep in Mexico and travel to the U.S. on the days of its three World Cup matches after Washington declined to host the squad for the tournament, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday.
Sheinbaum said FIFA approached her government after U.S. authorities said they did not want Iran staying in the country throughout the June 11-July 19 competition, even though Iran is scheduled to play three Group G matches there.
“We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” Sheinbaum told her daily press conference.
Iran is due to face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
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The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in March that Iran was welcome to participate in the World Cup but that he did not believe it was appropriate for Iran’s team to be in the United States “for their own life and safety.”
Mehdi Taj, head of Iran’s football federation, said on Saturday the team’s base would be moved from Arizona to the Mexican border city of Tijuana during the tournament. FIFA confirmed the move on Monday.
Taj added that the swap would help avoid visa-related complications and allow direct Iran Air flights to Mexico.
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Iran’s World Cup plans have been under scrutiny since late February, when the United States joined Israel in attacks on Iran, triggering a war that raised doubts over whether Tehran would send its team to play in one of the host countries.
In March, Taj said Iran was in talks with FIFA about moving its group matches to Mexico on safety grounds, and Sheinbaum said Mexico would be open to hosting them. FIFA kept the schedule unchanged.
The uncertainty fueled wider speculation about Iran’s place at the tournament. In April, Trump’s envoy for global partnerships, Paolo Zampolli, suggested Italy should replace Iran, prompting a dismissive response from Italian officials and FIFA.
Iran qualified for a fourth consecutive World Cup by topping its group in the third round of Asian qualifying last year.
MIRAMAR BEACH, Florida — Amid a flurry of questions about potentially expanding the College Football Playoff, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday night the conference still sees the value in its championship game.
It has almost become accepted that playoff expansion means the death of the conference championship game. There are already scheduling challenges even with a 12-team playoff, and the conventional wisdom is that a move to 16 or 24 teams will prompt the extinction of those title games.
“We have contracts,” Sankey said about the SEC Championship, “so pretty committed.” When asked a follow-up to his philosophical commitment to the game, he replied, “I’m pretty committed.” The SEC and Mercedes-Benz Stadium have a contract to play the game through 2031.
Sankey’s comments come amid a busy spring, during which multiple high-profile SEC figures called for the conference to move on from the championship game. Alabama AD Greg Byrne told USA Today about the SEC Championship, “I think the ship has sailed. It’s run its course.” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said in April that something would have to be gained if the SEC Championship was lost.
“Where we are right now with 12 teams, I don’t necessarily agree that it needs to quit being played,” Smart told On3. “But if it gets to 16 or 24 and we’ve got to move the end of the season up and we’ve got to get everything done by the second week of January, then I’d say it probably has to go.”
The SEC invented the conference championship game under former commissioner Roy Kramer back in 1992. Famously, Alabama defeated Florida that year and went on to win the national championship. Played annually in Atlanta, beyond the nostalgia and historical appeal, it is a significant revenue driver for the conference. Last year’s Alabama-Georgia SEC Championship game drew 16.86 million viewers on ABC.
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The financial appeal of conference championship games was part of Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti’s recent pitch to grow to 24 teams. Once a proponent of a 16-team automatic qualifier-heavy format, Petitti believes the financials no longer make sense for it. The Big Ten commissioner said the Power Four collectively would lose $200 million in annual revenue if it eliminated the conference championship games. A move to 16 teams and the accompanying additional revenue wouldn’t make up for it, he said last week at the Big Ten spring meetings.
“I just don’t think it works economically,” Petitti said. “I don’t think it works scheduling-wise as well. I think it doesn’t create enough new inventory. And then the last piece, I don’t think it gets enough access.”
Major League Baseball’s no-hitter drought has come to an end.
Three Houston Astros pitchers combined to no-hit the Texas Rangers on Monday, marking the first time since the Cubs’ combo effort on Sept. 4, 2024, that a big-league team has completed the feat.
Tatsuya Imai got things started with six hitless innings of his own before handing the ball to Steven Okert and Alimber Santa, who finished the job in a 9-0 Houston win.
Santa was making his MLB debut.
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Okert took over to start the seventh Monday night after Imai got 16 outs over the last 16 batters he faced. Imai walked three of his first four batters but benefited from a double play in the first inning before settling into a groove.
Imai’s fourth walk of the game was to Brandon Nimmo leading off the fourth, but Ezequiel Duran then grounded into a double play.
Imai threw 57 of his 97 pitches for strikes. He struck out two.
It is the 327th no-hitter in MLB history and the 18th thrown by the Astros.
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The last Astros pitcher to do so was Ronel Blanco on April 1, 2024, against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The previous pitcher to throw a complete-game no-hitter was Blake Snell for the San Francisco Giants against Cincinnati on Aug. 2, 2024.
Imai’s fourth walk of the game was to Brandon Nimmo leading off the fourth, but Ezequiel Duran then grounded into a double play.
Imai threw 57 of his 97 pitches for strikes. He struck out two.
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The 28-year-old Imai is in his first big league season after coming over from Japan. He was 1-2 with an 8.31 ERA in his first five starts for the Astros.
Imai joined the Astros in January after agreeing to a $54 million, three-year contract. He was a three-time All-Star during eight seasons in Japan, and went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA last season for the Pacific League’s Seibu Lions, striking out 178 in 163 2/3 innings.
Rangers leadoff hitter Joc Pederson was retired on a nifty play in the third when shortstop Jeremy Peña made a backhand stop and a twisting throw to first for the out. Justin Foscue and Danny Jansen had deep flyouts in the Texas fifth.
Okert walked Nimmo leading off the seventh before retiring the next three batters.
MIRAMAR BEACH, Florida — Greg Sankey arrived at the SEC’s spring meetings Monday with a message for anyone expecting a breakthrough on the College Football Playoff: the SEC has time, and it intends to use it.
Every other power conference has picked a side on whether to expand the CFP from 12 to 24 teams. The SEC might be filled with varying opinions, but the conference’s leadership is still thinking.
“I do not anticipate any decisions on the College Football Playoff — just so we’re clear, so we can tamp that down,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday evening, the day before the conference’s annual spring meetings were set to begin in Florida. “We have time. We’ll have informed discussion.”
That means the biggest story hovering over the sport will likely stretch into at least June, as the SEC remains the lone power conference not yet to publicly support expanding the format from 12 teams to 24 as early as the 2027-28 season. The SEC has long resisted expansion beyond 16 teams, but several athletic directors and coaches have expressed interest in renewing discussions initially sparked by the Big Ten last fall.
What is expected behind closed doors in a beachside resort in the Florida Panhandle is a wide range of opinions. CFP executive Rich Clark will present to coaches and athletic directors on Tuesday, covering the current 12-team format and selection process — a point of contention a year ago — before walking through the pros and cons of expansion.
Sankey pushed back on the cost of expanding to 24 teams, specifically the prospect of eliminating conference championship games to clear calendar space for a December playoff start.
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The CFP’s executives — 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame‘s athletics director — are not scheduled to meet until June.
Sankey has publicly supported expansion, but he offered last week that he prefers 16 teams. He reiterated Monday, however, that a decision from the SEC is tied to the coaches, athletic directors and presidents.
“I’ve never said, even last year, that we’re opposed to some number other than 14. I’ve told my colleagues that,” Sankey said. “I’m not an opponent of 24 or 28. We have to inform the decision-making. I think we did a good job informing our position last year on 16. We’ll consider other ideas, certainly, this week and moving forward.”
Sankey shared Monday that the SEC has studied expansion and how a 24-team playoff could affect the regular season, a point of debate among the sport’s leadership. He pointed to Oklahoma‘s upset of Tennessee on Nov. 1 as an example, a signature win that propelled the Sooners into the CFP.
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Would it carry the same weight in a 24-team field? Might teams with spots already secured sit starters late in the season?
“When you start to quantify, you look at a certain number,” he said. “What are games that may have mattered in a smaller number under the scarcity principles of 12? All of those games are high-leverage games for Oklahoma. Where you go to 24, and maybe one or two of those games don’t matter in the same way.
“Rivalry games will matter, I would argue. But, hey, if you’ve got somebody that needs to rest (at the end of the regular season) because they’re in at 24, those are things that we want to try to understand. I think you can quantify that because we’ve done some of that work for our own purposes.”
Most of Sankey’s 40-minute session with reporters focused on the CFP and governance. While discussing the CFP debate, he reflected several times on his 2020 work with a CFP subcommittee that explored expanding beyond a four-team field. The committee consisted of three commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, and it studied playoff models for five-, six-, eight-, 12-, 16-, 32-, and 64-team formats. They landed on 12.
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He said that experience can still inform the future, even as the portal, NIL and revenue-sharing have fundamentally reshaped the sport and its prominent issues.
“There was never one variable that was, ‘We’re going to expand just because of this,’” Sankey said. “That was never in there. There were a set of issues that were part of the presentations that informed the decision-making.”
SEC coaches and athletic directors enter this week split on the CFP format, according to a CBS Sports survey conducted last week. At least three athletic directors and three head coaches prefer a 24-team playoff, and seven ADs and seven coaches expressed they are at least open to discussing an expansion to 24, including an outdated proposal discussed last year between the Big Ten and SEC to move to 16 with a commitment to expand to 24 within three years.
While compromise might be on the table among the SEC contingent, a 16-team playoff appears to be a no-go for the Big Ten. Big Ten athletic directors and coaches unanimously supported 24 at its annual meetings last week. The ACC and Big 12 voiced their support for the Big Ten’s model earlier this month.
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“We’ve had zero conversation about 16,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said after the conference’s annual meetings outside Los Angeles. “Plan B is what we have now (12 teams), what we negotiated … we would stay with what we have.”
The coaches themselves have also weighed in.
Earlier this month, the American Football Coaches Association formally recommended expanding the playoff field to its maximum. Their proposal was tied to tightening the postseason calendar so it doesn’t conflict with the transfer portal in January, while also allowing a uniform season start date in late August — a spot historically labeled Week 0.
The latest 24-team format proposed includes only one automatic qualifier spot reserved for the highest-ranked Group of Six champion. The remaining 23 teams would be seeded based on the Selection Committee’s rankings, a point of contention among SEC schools since last spring, when the conference demanded tweaks to the committee’s strength-of-schedule metrics.
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The Big Ten and SEC hold decision-making power to change the CFP format, though they must consider the opinions of the other FBS conferences and Notre Dame before making a final decision. If the two conferences are unable to commit to a shared vision, the playoff will remain at 12 teams.
The deadline for a decision from the CFP’s executives is Dec. 1.
Minnesota Vikings fans watch pregame warmups before a matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 17, 2022, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Supporters filled the stadium ahead of one of the franchise’s most memorable regular-season contests, creating a loud atmosphere as Minnesota prepared for a nationally watched showdown against Indianapolis at home. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
If you are excited about the Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback changes in 2026, mainly the addition of Kyler Murray, CBS Sports does not share your enthusiasm. That website ranked Minnesota’s quarterback group as the NFL’s seventh-worst heading into the summer.
Minnesota’s quarterback group has risk, but calling it one of the league’s worst feels premature.
It’s the latest evidence to suggest that Murray’s stock is at its lowest.
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Murray’s Track Record Makes the Ranking Hard to Defend
Seventh-worst? Really?
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) looks on during action against the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 31, 2023 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Murray continued his return from injury late in the season while Arizona evaluated its long-term direction at quarterback entering another pivotal offseason for the franchise. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
CBS Sports: Vikings QB Room Isn’t Good
Garrett Podell of CBS Sports decided seventh-worst for the Vikings’ QB room ranking, explaining, “One would think the Minnesota Vikings’ signing of two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray would keep them off this list, but that’s not the case. Murray earned his Pro Bowl selections in 2020 and 2021. That’s a lifetime ago in NFL years. From 2022 to 2025, Murray missed 30 of his possible 68 games.”
“In the five games Murray played for the Cardinals in 2025, he averaged a career low 227.0 total yards per game. Recent first-round pick J.J. McCarthy was the worst quarterback in the NFL in 2025, which sparked the signing of Murray. McCarthy’s performance was simply incredible considering the offensive ecosystem under 2024 Coach of the Year Kevin O’Connell.”
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Murray is in town on a contract worth $1.3 million. The Cardinals are paying him to play for the Vikings.
“Despite an electrifying supporting cast, McCarthy ranked dead last in the league in completion percentage (57.6%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (11-12), and passer rating (72.6). Murray could rediscover his early career form with Minnesota,” Podell continued.
“Murray is one of just four players in NFL history with 20,000-plus passing yards (20,460) and 30-plus rushing touchdowns (32) through his first seven seasons, joining Josh Allen, Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson. Week 1 starter: Kyler Murray.”
Little Faith in Murray, McCarthy, and Wentz
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Vikings fans are enthused about this year’s quarterback trio, primarily because the franchise finished 2025 with a 9-8 record, despite posting the NFL’s fifth-worst quarterback performance per Dropback EPA/Play. Adding Murray feels like a serious remedy to an even graver malady.
It’s just that the NFL populace doesn’t agree yet. It has to see Murray thrive in Minnesota to believe it. After all, a team as lowly as the Arizona Cardinals got rid of Murray in favor of Jacoby Brissett and Carson Beck. That’s pretty damning.
Minnesota now has a quarterback with something to prove in Murray, a man with upside in the 23-year-old McCarthy, and a gritty veteran named Wentz in case the other two flounder or get hurt.
The Sam Darnold Lesson
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In 2024, the Vikings signed Darnold from free agency, and fans groaned. The club was really going to embark on the Kirk Cousins afterlife with Darnold, who was certifiably the butt of jokes at the time? Indeed, they were.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy shares a postgame moment with Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota following the final whistle on Dec. 7, 2025 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The exchange paired Minnesota’s young franchise passer with a veteran quarterback frequently connected to offseason rumors and backup speculation. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
That offseason, though, Minnesota knew what it was doing, even if folks groused when Darnold signed on the Vikings’ dotted line. He’d later post 35 touchdowns in Minnesota, fully reclaimed his career, and after the Vikings were done with him, he went on to win a Super Bowl with the 2025 Seattle Seahawks.
Compared to Darnold, Murray starts his post-Cardinals adventure with much more proven production. Murray isn’t a punchline like Darnold was two years ago. Perhaps it’s not the best time to write off the Vikings’ decision-makers before seeing Murray’s time unfold. If they struck oil with Darnold for a season, there’s no reason to believe Murray can’t achieve the same outcome.
Browns Take the Cake as the Worst
Who has the quarterback situation in football? That’s the Cleveland Browns, says Podell.
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He wrote, “There is no quarterback room more chaotic than that of the Cleveland Browns. There’s the husk of Deshaun Watson, a quarterback who tore his Achilles in 2023 and once more in his rehab process in 2024, set to enter the final season of his five-year, $230 million fully-guaranteed contract in 2026.”
“Then you have the lightning rod that is 2025 fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders, the son of Deion. Despite being blitzed on 24% of his dropbacks since his NFL debut in Week 11, Sanders faced pressure on 51% of his dropbacks, the highest such rate in the league. Dillon Gabriel, a 2025 third-round pick, started in Weeks 5-11 for the Browns.”
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz (11) runs with the football during the second half against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 19, 2025 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Wentz used his mobility to extend plays as Minnesota’s offense searched for momentum during a matchup against one of the NFC’s top contenders. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
All signs point to Watson starting for Cleveland in September.
“Then, there’s 2026 sixth-round pick Taylen Green, a player with so much athletic potential that fans are begging him to switch to wide receiver. It’s the final year of Watson’s contract, and if he can still move around after two Achilles tears, he’s the quarterback who has experienced the most NFL success with three Pro Bowl selections,” Podell concluded.
The Vikings’ first regular season game is less than 16 weeks away, when Murray can deconstruct the CBS Sports narrative.
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Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker
Montreal Canadiens fans briefly carried “The Star-Spangled Banner” after the microphone cut out before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.
Quebec singer Éléonore Lagacé and three backup vocalists began singing the American national anthem with no sound coming from the speakers.
The spectators at the Bell Centre then picked up the lyrics for about five seconds before the microphones came back on.
A stirring rendition of “O Canada” followed as Lagacé paused to exclaim “êtes-vous prêts, Montreal!” — which translates to “are you ready, Montreal!” — before hitting her final note.
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Monday’s brief carrying of the anthem contrasted with last year’s Bell Centre reception for “The Star-Spangled Banner,” as fans loudly booed the anthem amid political tensions before a Canada-U.S. game at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Montreal.
The response also comes less than a month after fans at KeyBank Center in Buffalo sang “O Canada” when a microphone failed before the Sabres and Boston Bruins played Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.
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