Kylian Mbappe came through for Real Madrid again, converting a penalty kick 10 minutes into second-half stoppage time to salvage a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano and move Madrid back within a point of Spanish league leader Barcelona.

Vinicius Junior also scored for Madrid on Sunday after again being jeered by fans early on at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Jude Bellingham, also booed when the lineup was announced, had to be replaced 10 minutes into the match because of a left hamstring injury.

Madrid was coming off a 4-2 loss at Benfica that dropped the team out of the eight automatic spots for the round of 16 of the Champions League. It will face Benfica again in the playoffs.

“We came from a tough defeat, one that nobody ever wants, in the Champions, a competition many of us aspire to win,” Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde said.

“We wanted to change that image, today we had the first opportunity, and I think we played a great game.” 
It was a thriller at the Bernabeu on Sunday, with Mbappe giving Madrid the victory by coolly converting the last-gasp penalty for his eighth goal in five matches.

The result allowed Alvaro Arbeloa’s side to keep pace with Barcelona, which won 3-1 at Elche on Saturday.

“It was a victory in which the players put a lot of energy, their soul,” said Arbeloa, who took over after replacing Xabi Alonso last month. “We needed the help of the fans and without their push we would not have achieved it.” 
The boos toward Vinicius were subdued after he scored a superb goal in the 15th minute. The Brazil international cleared a couple of defenders before curling a right-footed shot into the top corner.

Rayo, which played a man down from the 80th after Pathe Ciss was sent off with a straight red card for a hard foul, equalized through Jorge De Frutos in the 49th.

Vallecano, which threatened at times at the Bernabeu, also saw Pep Chavarria shown a second yellow in the final minutes of added time.

Rayo, which has lost four straight in all competitions, had lost only one of its last five games against Madrid in the league. It dropped to 17th place, just outside the relegation zone.

Bellingham injured 
Bellingham was on his own when he seemed to pick up the injury. He immediately grabbed the back of his leg with his left hand before going to the ground. He received medical assistance and seemed emotional as he left the field under his own power.

Madrid did not provide a timetable for Bellingham’s recovery but Spanish media said he is not likely to recover in time to face Benfica in the Champions League playoffs.

The England international was replaced by Brahim Diaz, who five minutes later set up the Vinicius goal that made it 1-0 for Madrid. Diaz also prompted the foul of the penalty converted by Mbappe.

Mbappe had missed an open net in the 68th, hitting the crossbar after getting past the goalkeeper.

With the game tied 1-1 in the 64th, Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois came up with a crucial save on a one-on-one following a Rayo breakaway.

Basque Country derby 
Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta scored an 88th-minute equalizer as Athletic Bilbao salvaged a 1-1 draw at home against Basque Country rival Real Sociedad.

The visitors had taken the lead with Goncalo Guedes’ goal in the 37th. Sociedad played with 10 men from the 83rd after Brais Mendez was sent off with a straight red card.

Athletic, winless in six league games, moved to 11th. Eighth-place Sociedad was trying to win its fourth consecutive league match.

Other results 
Pablo Fornals scored an 88th-minute winner to give fifth-place Real Betis a 2-1 win over 15th-place Valencia, which had won three in a row in all competitions. Chimy Avila also scored for the hosts, three minutes after Luis Rioja had given Valencia the lead.

Seventh-place Celta Vigo drew 0-0 at 16th-place Getafe, which hasn’t won in nine consecutive matches across all tournaments. Celta stayed winless in three straight games.

Akshay Bhatia holds a two-shot lead after the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as fellow American Collin Morikawa’s round of 62 moved him into contention for his first victory in almost two and a half years.

Bhatia had been tied for top spot on 15 under with Ryo Hisatsune going into the day’s play, but six birdies in his first seven holes helped him on his way to a lead that was as many as five shots at one point.

Battling blustery conditions in California, a bogey at 17 saw his advantage cut to two.

Gusts then slowed play down considerably on the final green and a missed putt for birdie saw Bhatia card 68 to stand at 19 under.

Morikawa’s round, 10-under-par, saw him climb the leaderboard into second at 17 under.

An eagle at the last hole – having managed the same at the first – moved another American, Jake Knapp, into joint-second with his round totalling 66.

Austrian Sepp Straka made it a three-way tie with a 67.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy, six back at the start of the day, fell further behind the lead despite starting with two birdies in the opening three holes.

A three-over-par seven at the fourth and a double bogey at the last saw him shoot an even par 72 and trailing by 10.

With heavy rain and strong winds forecast for Sunday, start times for the tournament’s final round have been moved forward and will now run from 07:22-09:45 local time, with threesomes off split tees.

Rio Ferdinand has made it clear who he wants as the next Manchester United manager

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Rio Ferdinand’s call for Manchester United to appoint one of his favourite managers has moved a step closer to reality.

While his former United teammate Michael Carrick has impressed in his spell as caretaker boss, Ferdinand has long championed former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi, who reportedly held confidential discussions with the club in 2024 before joining Marseille.

Ferdinand expressed his admiration for the Italian back in January during a debate over potential successors to the dismissed Ruben Amorim. On his Rio Presents podcast, he said “Someone who’s free right now; not free [but] someone who’s gettable.

“More than someone like [Thomas] Tuchel, because Tuchel would be one of my biggest picks as well, is De Zerbi. I’m telling you. Any formation he wants to play, the guy is a proper coach who gets players working and playing.”

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While Tuchel appears unavailable following his England contract extension, De Zerbi has become an even more realistic prospect after departing Marseille by mutual consent amid reports of disagreements with senior squad members, who were said to be unhappy with his training methods and demanding style.

Marseille, currently sitting fourth in Ligue 1 and trailing PSG by 12 points, released a statement saying: “Following discussions between all stakeholders in the club’s management – the owner, president, director of football, and coach – it was decided to make a change at the helm of the first team.

“This was a difficult collective decision, taken after careful consideration in the best interests of the club, in order to respond to the sporting challenges of the end of the season.”

De Zerbi has reportedly had confrontations with senior management at former clubs. When questioned about whether United require a combative manager, Ferdinand remained steadfast, declaring: “I’d bring fire to the party, I’m telling you.

“I’d bring fire… I wouldn’t bring craziness, but I’d bring [in] someone who’s bringing that fire, that passion. But really, really backed up by someone who’s shown that they can coach the life out of a team. They can coach the hell out of a team.

“They can coach individuals, improve players and can really put down a way of playing football. I really do believe you need someone who is strong on their own identity.”

United face competition for De Zerbi’s signature, with the Italian also emerging as a candidate for the Tottenham job following Thomas Frank’s departure. Spurs have installed former Juventus manager Igor Tudor on an interim basis until the end of the season while they consider their long-term managerial options.

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On a day synonymous with love, Providence and No. 17 St. John’s spent part of their Valentine’s Day exchanging blows in place of pleasantries. The two Big East rivals had an old-fashioned brouhaha in Rhode Island on Saturday that led to six ejections, numerous flagrant fouls and one ugly scene after Providence’s Duncan Powell committed a hard foul on St. John’s star (and former Friar) Bryce Hopkins, which required nearly a 20-minute intermission for the officiating crew to sort out. 

That’s Valentine’s Day done the Big East way. 

But a brutal brawl in the Big East was just one of many headlines across college hoops on Saturday — even if it reverberated the loudest of them all.  

Elsewhere, Florida chomped down on the SEC lead with a 92-83 win over Kentucky, Purdue stayed hot with a road win at Iowa and Duke — as it has done much of the season — dominated another ACC foe to retain its grip on the lead league.

There were plenty of highs and lows from the day, which was largely frontloaded, and there are plenty more to come. To digest it all our team has a recap of some of the day’s biggest winners and losers below.

Winner: Duke sends a message to retain lead in ACC

With No. 20 Clemson one game back in the ACC standings heading into Saturday with a chance to take down top dog and fourth-ranked Duke inside Cameron Indoor, the Blue Devils sent a message with an emphatic 67-54 win, proving once again that they remain the class of the ACC. Duke led by double digits for nearly the entire second half and quieted any potential of a Clemson upset relatively early behind big days from Cameron Boozer (18 points, eight rebounds), Isaiah Evans (17 points) and Cayden Boozer (12 points). The win puts Duke two games clear of Clemson in the ACC standings and keeps it 1.5 games ahead of second-place Virginia. — Kyle Boone

Loser: St. John’s, Providence don’t feel the love on Valentine’s Day

Providence and St. John’s players certainly didn’t get the memo that it was Valentine’s Day. Six players were ejected after a massive brawl broke out in the battle of Big East foes. Providence’s Duncan Powell committed a hard foul on St. John’s forward Bryce Hopkins, who played at the school before transferring to the Red Storm this past offseason. Powell was assessed a Flagrant-2 foul and was ejected from the game. This game was delayed for nearly 20 minutes while the officials reviewed what just happened. It wouldn’t be shocking if some subsequent suspensions were handed out after what transpired. — Cameron Salerno

WATCH: Massive brawl breaks out between St. John’s and Providence, six players ejected

Will Backus

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Winner: Michigan makes a case to jump Arizona for No. 1

For the last two months, Arizona has occupied the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll. After the Wildcats suffered their first loss against Kansas earlier this week, that spot could be up for grabs. No. 2 Michigan has a strong case to jump the Wildcats on Monday after recording a dominant 86-56 win over UCLA at home. The Wolverines have the most Quad 1 wins of any team in the country, and six of their 12 wins in Big Ten play have been by at least 20 points. — Salerno

Michigan makes case to jump Arizona for the No. 1 spot in next AP Top 25 poll after dominant win over UCLA

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Cameron Salerno

Loser: Peterson peters out in KU loss

Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson did not play the final 7:01 of Saturday’s 74-56 loss to No. 5 Iowa State and was largely ineffective in the meager 24 minutes he was on the floor, finishing with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting. It was yet another game Peterson failed to finish, which has been a theme for the projected No. 1 pick for much of the season as he’s either missed games or exited early in games he’s played.

KU coach Bill Self said postgame the decision to sit Peterson for the final 7:01 was his to make as he looked ahead to prep the No. 9 Jayhawks for Wednesday because ISU was so in control of the game. He also added that Peterson, who missed Monday’s game vs. No. 1 Arizona because of an illness, did not get a full allotment of practices this week as he dealt with the lingering effects of it. — Boone

Iowa State routs Kansas, snaps Jayhawks eight-game winning streak in Darryn Peterson’s return after illness

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Kyle Boone

Winner: Hilton Magic shows off its powers

Far too often this season, Iowa State has relied solely on Milan Momcilovic to be the best shooter in the country and Joshua Jefferson to do, well, everything. But in the 74-56 dismantling of No. 9 Kansas, it was Iowa State’s supporting cast that had its best showing in awhile. Jamarion Bateman came off the bench and splashed three treys. Blake Buchanan (11 points, six rebounds) had his best game in a month. Momcilovic did his thin with 18 points and four triples, but 57 points from everyone not named Momcilovic or Jefferson is exactly what Iowa State needs to reach the peak of its powers. Oh, and a vicious defense doesn’t hurt either. — Isaac Trotter

Loser: NC State chokes late in blowing lead

NC State led by as many as eight points in the second half — and held a seven-point lead with 55 seconds remaining over Miami! — before flailing to the finish in the biggest choke job of the afternoon. Miami scored eight unanswered points in the final 52 seconds, which culminated with three free throws from Miami guard Tru Washington after an ill-advised NC State foul on a 3-point attempt from Washington.

Washington made all three attempts from the charity stripe, and NC State’s attempt to win it with a buzzer-beater on the other end was no good in the 77-76 Miami victory.

“I don’t see a whole lot of positives,” NC State coach Will Wade said. “Poor coaching. Poor coaching on my part that we couldn’t bring that home. We looked like Keystone Cops there at the end of the game.”

It’s the second consecutive loss for NC State after falling at Louisville on Monday by 41 points — its largest loss since 2017. — Boone

Winner: BYU’s Wright goes for career-high for second time this week

For the second time in as many games, BYU guard Rob Wright dropped a career-high in points in a game his team needed every bit of his production. Just four days removed from a career-high 30 points vs. his former team, Baylor, the first-year Cougars star scored 39 points and led BYU to a 90-86 overtime win over Colorado. He finished the game 12-of-16 shooting from the field, made all four of his 3-point attempts and was 11 of 13 from the free throw line. He also added five boards and four steals.

Wright’s production was only second-most important to the timeliness of said production. Twenty-three of his 39 points came in the second half, and a combined 29 of his total 39 points came in both the second half and overtime. In overtime, he scored or assisted on 11 of his team’s 12 points to eventually pull away. — Boone

Winner: TCU gets gritty OT win over Oklahoma State

TCU could have folded after giving up an uncontested layup to Parsa Fallah to force overtime with a tenth of a second left in regulation, but the Horned Frogs continued their standout play with a gut-check 95-92 overtime victory over Oklahoma State. It’s the second key road win for TCU’s ever-improving resume, and Jamie Dixon’s bunch has now won three in a row. Six different Frogs cracked double figures, but Jayden Pierre (16 points, four assists) was the star of the game. 

He snuffed any Oklahoma State momentum with his four trey of the game. David Punch (19 points) was also excellent after intermission. TCU has added +1.2 Wins Above Bubble to its ledger in the last five days after knocking off a top-10 Iowa State club and notching a road win — which is vital for WAB — over the Pokes. — Trotter

Loser: Fire briefly pauses Oklahoma vs. Georgia

During the first half of Oklahoma’s 94-78 victory vs. Georgia, the game was paused temporarily after a fire broke out on the concourse at Lloyd Noble Center. Fans near the fire were temporarily cleared out of their seats. The game resumed after a short pause in the action. It appeared that a popcorn machine was what caught on fire. — Salerno

Winner: Louisville’s Brown goes off (again)

Mikel Brown Jr.  followed up his 45-point Monday explosion against NC State with 29 points in No. 24’s Louisville’s 82-71 win over Baylor. The freshman flamethrower made 4 of 5 attempts from beyond the arc and also dished out six assists in another sterling performance that demonstrated the Cardinals’ high-end potential. Louisville was just 4-4 when Brown missed over a month due to a back injury, but it is 6-1 since his return. Brown is one of the most exciting guards in college basketball, and his presence on the floor makes Louisville a lethal offensive team. — David Cobb

Loser: Virginia Tech’s resume takes a beating

Virginia Tech entered the day as one of the First Four Out of the NCAA Tournament field in CBS Sports Bracketology after its at-large hopes picked up significant steam Wednesday night in a win at Clemson. That upset victory was worth a meaty 0.78 points in WAB, which is an important metric the NCAA Tournament selection committee uses in evaluating a team’s resume. But the Hokies turned around and gave it all back on Saturday — and then some — while getting run off their own floor late in a 92-69 loss to Florida State. 

The Quad 3 defeat will be tough for the Hokies to overcome in their quest to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. Big opportunities at Miami (Feb. 17), at North Carolina (Feb. 28) and at Virginia (March 7) still await, and now they loom even larger than before. After faltering at home to lower-tier ACC foe, the Hokies will likely need to win a couple of those. — Cobb

Winner: Purdue scores another important road win

The Big East looks like it’s Michigan to lose until further notice, but No. 13 Purdue took another important step toward remaining in contention with a 78-57 road win at Iowa. It’s the second consecutive road win over an NCAA Tournament quality team this week after downing Nebraska in overtime on Tuesday, and one that gets it to 11-3 in conference play with Michigan coming to West Lafayette on Tuesday night. — Boone

Winner: Florida builds SEC separation

Florida won the national championship last season, but it didn’t win the SEC regular season title. After a 92-83 win over No. 25 Kentucky on Saturday, the No. 14 Gators are well on their way to changing that in 2026. Since starting league play with a loss at Missouri, Florida (19-6, 10-2 SEC) is 10-1 and operating as efficiently as any team in college basketball. A few close early-season losses may have diminished Florida’s national profile, but this team is finding its stride, looking like the clear cut best team in the SEC and a legitimate national title contender.  — Cobb

Loser: Texas A&M’s slide toward bubble continues

Long losing streaks for otherwise good basketball teams are a Texas A&M staple now transcending multiple eras of Aggies hoops. Saturday’s 82-69 loss at No. 19 Vanderbilt was the fourth straight for A&M (17-8, 7-5 SEC), which is slipping rapidly toward the NCAA Tournament bubble after it was first in the SEC standings earlier this month. First-year coach Bucky McMillan is new in town, but A&M fans are used to this. 

Under Buzz Williams last season, A&M dropped four straight late in conference play but was still a No. 4 seed in the Big Dance. In 2024, it dropped five straight in February and still ended up as a No. 9 seed. The Aggies lost eight straight in league play during 2022 and nearly reached the NCAA Tournament anyway. The trend even dates back to Billy Kennedy’s tenure, when the Aggies started 0-5 in the SEC in 2018  and still managed to reach the Sweet 16. — Cobb

Winner: Navy (!) continues its breakout season

Navy has not made the NCAA Tournament since 1998, but the Midshipmen added another chapter to a breakthrough season under first-year head coach Jon Perry. Navy waltzed into Colgate, usually the Patriot League titan, and emerged with an 84-80 road victory to improve to 21-6 and 13-1 in conference play. Jordan Pennick splashed six treys and finished with 22 points. Donovan Draper came off the bench and added 20 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three assists. These Midshipmen can hoop. — Trotter

Loser: Georgia’s tourney outlook dims with ugly OU loss

Mike White’s Georgia Bulldogs entered Saturday as one of the Last Four In the 68-team NCAA Tournament field as projected by CBS Sports Bracketology — and then laid a giant egg on the road in a tough-to-swallow loss to an OU team that was tied for last place in the SEC entering the day. UGA’s 94-78 loss to the Sooners will almost certainly dim its immediate tourney outlook, but worst of all, it’s a loss that will potentially fester and stick as a Quad 2 loss given OU’s downward trajectory. Few games in SEC play qualify as can’t-lose games, but falling to this Sooners team at this time and by 16 points — while dropping the fifth game in its last six outings — is a tough one to stomach. 

Georgia shouldn’t feel good at all about where things are right now with respect to their March Madness hopes. There is work to do to bolster its lacking resume, and the schedule only gets more stiff from here. — Boone

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed whether David Benavidez, who faces unified cruiserweight champion Gilberto Ramirez in May, will keep hold of his world title at 175lbs.

The sanctioning body came under heavy criticism after it was announced that Shakur Stevenson would no longer be in possession of his WBC lightweight title.

This news emerged shortly after the American’s dominant points victory over Teofimo Lopez last month, which saw him claim the WBO strap at 140lbs.

Prior to moving up in weight, Stevenson had outlined the possibility of him bouncing back down to 135lbs, where he expected to maintain his world championship status after defeating Lopez.

Sulaiman, however, has since explained that the 28-year-old’s management team never submitted a formal request in writing, causing Stevenson to lose his WBC title in the aftermath.

If such a request was accepted, then Stevenson would have been expected to pay $120,000 to the WBC, which is less than the 3% sanctioning fee they require for world title fights.

But even so, many have argued that this rule is unfair on the champions, who must still pay a considerable fee when they are involved in a non-WBC title fight.

Yet despite this backlash, WBC light-heavyweight champion Benavidez has nonetheless submitted a request of such nature to Sulaiman, allowing him to retain his green and gold belt while challenging for Ramirez’s WBO and WBA titles later this year.

Speaking with Chris Mannix, Sulaiman confirmed this to be the case.

“If you want to keep your [WBC] title, there are specific rules, and these rules have been in place for decades.

“Benavidez is fighting in May, as WBC light-heavyweight champion, and he’s fighting [at] cruiserweight for another organisation.

“He made the petition in [writing, to keep his WBC title], and it’s the exact same case that is the way it’s done by the WBC rules.”

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With Benavidez abiding by the rules, it therefore seems that the WBC is unlikely to change their directive any time soon, despite high-profile fighters such as Stevenson and Terence Crawford taking a firm stance against them.

As for Benavidez, he has made it clear that his intention is to drop back down in weight to face Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. His WBC belt will be a key factor in negotiating those match-ups.

The Minnesota Vikings’ offseason, through about six weeks, has not been quiet, and the club has just three weeks until free agency, when the lid really pops off. To recap, the following is a list of the three most meaningful events of the purple team’s offseason to date — with several more to come.

Three developments have shaped Minnesota’s offseason early, setting the priorities at quarterback, the staff, and the front office.

In fact, the Vikings’ offseason is truly defined by three main events.

Three Turning Points Already Defining Minnesota’s Offseason

Counting down the order (No. 1 = biggest offseason moments to date), here we go.

3. Vikings Announced “Deep QB Room” as Main Priority

After an initial delay for unknown reasons, the Vikings held a press conference to recap 2025 and discuss the future. Former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was even there.

Asked if the Vikings would commit to J.J. McCarthy as the 2026 QB1, head coach Kevin O’Connell — now de facto general manager after Adofo-Mensah’s termination — replied: “Ultimately, I think in the quarterback room, it’s about having just the deepest, most talented room you possibly can, every single year.”

“What that looks like at a pretty impactful position on your salary cap, when you’re able to possibly plan for your depth chart looking in a way where you can be competitive no matter what. I think there has to be competition at quarterback. I think that’s what’s gonna make everybody better in that room. It’s gonna be what makes our entire offense thrive through that competition.”

His response to the McCarthy question … was “we need a deep quarterback room.”

Adofo-Mensah, now irrelevant, was asked the same question, and he said the Vikings must achieve their offseason goals, completely ducking a commitment to McCarthy.

In that moment, from O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah, fans learned that Minnesota would not simply find another Sam Howell or Carson Wentz; the Vikings will trade for or sign a quarterback to push McCarthy to the limit this summer or flat-out take his job.

NFL- and Vikings-themed media have speculated this week that Kyler Murray could be the Vikings’ target. ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss wrote about Murray’s trade price tag last month: “An NFC source believes the starting price for Murray, if Arizona is interested in trading him, could start with a second-round pick.”

“That source believes if the Cardinals can trade Murray, they will. The league source believes Murray’s market starts with a third-round pick. That source compared Murray’s situation with Geno Smith’s when he was traded from Seattle to Las Vegas last March for a third-round.”

2. Brian Flores Signs Contract Extension

Flores received head coaching sniffs from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, two fundamentally solid organizations that seemed on a track to perhaps hire him. The Steelers ultimately — and hilariously — chose Mike McCarthy, and the Ravens landed on Jesse Minter.

Striking out for a fifth consecutive offseason in finding a head coaching job, Flores re-signed with the Vikings for a reported $6 million per year. He’s not going anywhere.

Minnesota’s defense will feature continuity at the top and have a chance to build on these numbers:

• 1st in Pass Rush Win Rate
• 2nd in Yards Allowed
• 3rd in Defense DVOA
• 3rd in EPA/Play
• 4th in Defensive 3rd Down Conv%
• 7th in Points Allowed

The Vikings would’ve risked a statistical tumble by hiring a non-Flores newcomer.

1. The Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Era Ends

Some, including this website, whispered in November and December that the Vikings needed a new general manager because Adofo-Mensah’s awful drafting habits were coming home to roost. The team held a 4-8 record, and McCarthy could not stay on the field.

Minnesota rallied, winning five games to close out 2025 and finishing the wayward campaign with a right-side-up record. Black Monday rolled around, and the Vikings did not fire Adofo-Mensah. He was safe. He was allowed to move freely in the 2026 offseason, deciding whether to keep McCarthy or try something new.

But after Sam Darnold and his Seattle Seahawks won the NFC Championship, something changed in Vikingland. The team’s owners, the Wilfs, fired Adofo-Mensah five days later, marking one of the most shocking offseason transactions in Vikings history because of the timing. Nobody was terribly surprised that an executive with Adofo-Mensah’s draft record would be canned, especially after bungling the Darnold matter, but firing him 3.5 weeks after the end of the regular season was bizarre.

The team promoted to capologist Rob Brzezinski to interim general manager, making O’Connell the personnel general manager by default until the Wilfs hire a formal replacement.

The Adofo-Mensah era is over, and perhaps the bad drafts will cease.

Suryakumar Yadav and Usman Tariq (Agency Image)

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav admitted that the team’s batting has looked a little shaky in the first two matches of the T20 World Cup but expressed confidence in handling Pakistan’s tricky spinner Usman Tariq, describing him as “an out of syllabus question” in an exam. “See, sometimes there is a question in the exam as well which is out of syllabus. So, we can’t leave that question. To tackle that, you have to adopt your own way. Yes, he is a different character when he comes to bowl,” Surya said at the pre-match press conference.

He added, “But at the same time, we can’t just surrender. We practise with similar types of bowlers and similar actions. We will try to execute what we are practising in the net sessions.” India’s earlier matches exposed some vulnerabilities, with the team reduced to 77 for six against the USA and then losing five wickets for just four runs in the death overs against Namibia. Looking ahead to Sunday’s clash on the slow Premadasa wicket, Surya acknowledged the challenge posed by Tariq’s unusual bowling action, which has sparked debates about legality. “We had a scratchy start. You can’t run away from the fact that it was not a proper T20 wicket. But I said earlier too that you can’t actually brush everything under the carpet. There is no excuse,” he said. He remained positive about the team’s recovery, noting, “But we came back strongly. So, that’s the beauty of T20 cricket. One or two batters I think taking that responsibility makes us cross the line.” Surya also highlighted the mental challenge of facing Pakistan, saying the key is handling pressure and big moments. “Yes, there will be pressure. There will be nerves, butterflies in the stomach when we start the game tomorrow. But yeah, at the same time, if there’s no pressure, no nerves, then there’s no fun to play cricket. And yeah, it’s a big occasion. But yeah, I mean, every time I say the same thing, at the end of the day, it’s just another game. You have to pack your skills, play some good cricket, focus on what you want to do better, and we’ll see what happens.” Despite Pakistan being in Sri Lanka for the past fortnight, Surya remained confident. “They might have some edge. But as I said, we have come here before, we have played in these conditions, we know how the pitch plays, similar conditions to India. It’s like the same situation for both the teams. See, it’s definitely challenging when you come to Sri Lanka. But then at the end of the day, you have to challenge yourself, somehow find a solution and come out good,” he said.

The 2026 offseason has featured great change for the Minnesota Vikings. Most notably, there has been the decision to fire GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah alongside the change that is yet to occur: the needed reinforcements at quarterback.

Swirling around these prominent stories — the GM and QB uncertainty — has been the various moves for the team’s coaching staff. Brian Flores was retained to be the DC, but his side of the ball got hollowed out by various coaches being stolen away from promotions. Likewise, the offense lost some talent while assistant head coach Mike Pettine retired. At the end of the week, Minnesota officially announced the two most recent adds.

Vikings Make Coaching Adds Official

The team’s official social media passing along the word means that the ink has been put down on paper.

So, consider the news that got passed along: “The #Vikings have promoted Ryan Cordell to Tight Ends/Game Management Coordinator and hired Derek Warehime as Assistant Offensive Line coach.”

Already, the news about shoring up the coaching help at tight end was out there in the world.

In Derek Warehime, the Vikings add another coach to help out along the front. He’ll partner with Keith Carter to lead the large lads who are tasked with winning in the trenches.

On a 53-man roster, a team commonly carries somewhere between eight and ten players for the offensive line (with more on the practice squad), so that could be roughly 20% of the roster all at one position. Having a pair to coach the spot therefore makes sense.

Rolling into the ’26 season, the Vikings are facing ample pressure.

Coach O’Connell, in particular, is going to be sitting on a seat that’s getting warmer. He was retained while Adofo-Mensah wasn’t, breaking up the twosome that got added in 2022. In fact, Adofo-Mensah was hired before O’Connell, but the coach has survived longer than the executive.

O’Connell’s task involves responding to Minnesota’s underwhelming, injury-filled 2025 that resulted outside of the playoffs due to a 9-8 record. A major part of the problem was what took place at quarterback, with the injuries depleting Minnesota’s quarterback depth.

Something that would make a major difference is revitalizing the run game. Or, at least, feigning interest in committing to the run game.

Daniel House commented on the new add to help along the o-line, making a connection to running the ball: “Coastal Carolina ran a mix of zone and pulling gap schemes. QB run game elements too. They also had a solid screen game, which is an area he may be able to help as well. It’s clear that KOC has made a strong commitment to bringing in more run game perspectives.”

Lately, the Vikings have more been known for wide-zone running — picture the gliding, elusive Dalvin Cook going horizontal before putting hit foot in the dirt to explode through an open crease (Jordan Mason can do this, too) — but layering in some “pulling gap” would be a nice change up built on rugged physicality and power. At times, Donovan Jackson showed off an ability to pull, and Will Fries was signed largely due to being pretty mean.

Minnesota, like all teams, will do different things but will need to ensure that balance exists between run and pass. At worst, running allows the offensive linemen to fire off the ball rather than needing to constantly be on their heels to withstand the pass rush. At best, running allows a team to chew up clock by grinding out first downs, helping to set up explosive passes while making life easier for the defense, too.

The Vikings’ coaching staff may yet get another add or two. Unlike the roster, the coaching staff doesn’t have a salary cap, so money shouldn’t be an issue.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kellen Mond — for some reason — enjoys his role as a scoop merchant these days, once been employed by the Vikings and now sharing the team’s secrets on LinkedIn (of all places) and social media. This week, he used X (formerly known as Twitter) to proclaim that Minnesota wanted quarterback Derek Carr in 2023.

Mond’s latest buzz adds another layer to Minnesota’s offseason QB noise, with Carr rumors and timing doing most of the work.

It’s unclear how Mond arrived at this conclusion because he was a year removed from the Vikings, but he evidently has the tea.

Mond Joins the Vikings’ Rumor Mill with Tea

Mond’s on a mission to expose the truth.

The Mond Tweet

For starters, VikingzFanPage on X tweeted Thursday, “The Vikings are listed as one of the four potential landing spots for Derek Carr if he was to unretire, according to NFL.com.”

Mond found the tweet and retweeted, “They wanted him in 2023. Might be tough to pull him out of retirement though.”

He must be referring to October 2023, when Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles, and Minnesota scrambled via trade to find an emergency midseason solution. Former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah ultimately found Joshua Dobbs from the Arizona Cardinals. But per Mond, the Vikings poked around Carr’s availability, who played for the Saints at the time.

It remains unclear how Mond knows the factoid; he left the Vikings during the summer of 2022.

Carr’s Possible Unretirement

Carr, indeed, wants back in. NFL.com’s Kevin Patra wrote this week, “Derek Carr announced his retirement from the Saints last spring due to a labral tear in his rotator cuff. The QB’s injury could have been repaired by surgery, but it would have put his ability to play last season in jeopardy. With that reality hanging overhead, the Saints and the QB agreed on a retirement pact.”

“Heading into an offseason with a questionable available quarterback pool, Derek Carr’s name has piqued interest around the NFL. NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero reported on Sunday that Carr could unretire in 2026, provided the right situation and coaching staff materialized.”

Carr was then asked on his brother David’s podcast about unretirement, and he replied, “Would I do it? Yes. Would I do it for anybody? Absolutely not. Would I do it? Absolutely, I would.”

“I told you two things: I have to be healthy, and I’d want a chance to win a Super Bowl. And obviously, that’s a tough thing to find. That’s hard to do. That’s not easy.”

He’s basically telling the masses that he wants to be signed by a contender.

Connection to the Vikings

How did the Vikings immediately wiggle into the conversation? Easy — they might be the only team this offseason that needs a quarterback alternative to be on the doorstep of a playoff push.

These teams need or may need a quarterback this offseason:

• Arizona Cardinals
• Atlanta Falcons
• Cleveland Browns
• Indianapolis Colts
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Miami Dolphins
• Minnesota Vikings
• New York Jets
• Pittsburgh Steelers

If Daniel Jones re-signs in Indianapolis and Aaron Rodgers re-ups with Mike McCarthy’s Steelers, that would leave the Vikings as Carr’s one spot to contend for the playoffs and Super Bowl in 2026. The Vikings won nine games in 2025 with the league’s fifth-worst quarterback play (EPA per play). Kevin O’Connell’s team can probably get right back on the horse if it finds or develops a competent quarterback.

So, yes — most Carr unretirement theories boil down to the Colts, Steelers, and Vikings.

SI.com‘s Zach Presnell also mentioned a Carr trade to the Cardinals this week, explaining, “The Cardinals are seemingly ready to move on from Kyler Murray, but they don’t have another franchise option. They could turn to Jacoby Brissett, but there’s only so much upside in that idea. As a result, adding Carr could make a bit of sense. If he’s healthy and good to go, he would be an upgrade over Brissett.”

“This would give the Cardinals a chance to compete while they search for their next franchise quarterback. It would also depend on whether Carr is willing to play for the Cardinals. He might not want to come out of retirement if he doesn’t see a real route to the Super Bowl with his next team.”

A Verdict in Mere Weeks

Thankfully, for those curious about the Carr sweepstakes, a verdict from a Vikings standpoint isn’t far away. Free agency kicks off with “legal tampering” on Monday, March 9th — about three weeks from now — and if Carr is somehow the purple plan at quarterback, the trade details will come to life.

It’s severely unlikely for the Vikings to do nothing in March at quarterback again and spend all summer courting Carr.

This thing should be resolved or known in less than a month.

Kellen Mond can then go back to LinkedIn, posting his anti-Rick Spielman and anti-Mike Zimmer threads that are so popular.