Nov 2, 2023; Frankfurt, Germany; Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith at press conference at the PSD Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The move was shocking not necessarily because of Adofo-Mensah’s resume, particularly in the NFL Draft, but because of the timing of the move, which came on January 30 — nearly a month after the Vikings’ season ended.
Now, the Vikings have continued to make some shifts in their leadership as reports came out that the team has made a new coaching hires on Saturday, which could signal a significant shift in Minnesota’s approach on offense.
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Vikings Make a New Coaching Hire
Jan 4, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell is seen during warmups prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.
The initial report came from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who tweeted, “#Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell continues to remodel his staff, adding former #Dolphins OC Frank Smith as assistant head coach and Keith Carter as offensive line coach, per me and TomPelissero. Smith worked with Mike McDaniel and will help with the offense and run game planning.”
Smith has extensive experience coaching in the NFL, serving various roles for the past 16 years. As Rapoport states, he was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins.
Throughout Kevin O’Connell’s head coaching tenure, Minnesota has struggled mightily in the running game, and this hire may signal a real desire to change that.
The highlight of Smith’s offensive coordinator tenure came in 2023 when the Dolphins went 11-6 and ranked second in points per game (29.2). The Vikings have not ranked higher than eighth in points per game (24.9) since Kevin O’Connell took over as head coach.
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Nov 2, 2023; Frankfurt, Germany; Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith (left) and coach Mike McDaniel during practice at the PSD Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
That season saw the Dolphins rank first in the NFL with 5.1 yards per carry, sixth in total rushing yards with 1650 (despite only running the ball the 15th-most times in the league), and first in rushing touchdowns, including a league-leading 18 from a 31-year-old Raheem Mostert.
The Dolphins also ranked fourth in yards per rushing attempt this season at 4.7. The Vikings have never ranked higher than 11th in that category during O’Connell’s tenure, which happened to come during the 2025 season.
Smith, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native, began his NFL coaching career with the New Orleans Saints in 2010 as an assistant offensive line coach. He also held the roles of tight ends coach with the Chicago Bears from 2014-2017 and the Las Vegas Raiders from 2018-2020.
Oct 30, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith stands on the sidelines during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
He then became the running game coordinator and offensive line coach for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021. That 2021 season saw Austin Ekeler lead the NFL in rushing/receiving touchdowns with 20, nearly doubling his career high of 11.
The move to bring in Smith as assistant head coach comes after Mike Pettine, who previously held that role, retired earlier this month. Pettine’s background almost exclusively came on the defensive side of the ball, but now, the Vikings are bringing in a coach who has proven experience in successful rushing offenses.
If we think about the move for a moment, it makes a ton of sense for the Vikings, especially if they were to stick with J.J. McCarthy at the quarterback position. If we think back to the critiques of the Michigan product heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, the main one that sticks out is “game manager.”
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The Michigan Wolverines had a bruising running game during McCarthy’s tenure at quarterback, but that also brought with it some great success for the program, including a national championship in 2023. An improved running game in 2026 will be crucial for the Vikings getting back into playoff contention, and the Smith hire seems like a real attempt to bring in an assistant coach who can do exactly that.
Mar 25, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) defends Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
With 10 games on the schedule Friday, we’re focusing in on a headliner in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics (44-28) seek their sixth win in seven games, hosting the red-hot Hawks (41-32) at TD Garden.
We’ll break down three plays for the Friday action. Remember to monitor the odds throughout the day, as the sides and totals market is constantly changing.
Here are the free NBA picks for Friday, March 27. Odds Courtesy of DraftKings.
Best NBA plays today
Heat/Cavaliers Over (242.5)
Rockets (-12.5) at Grizzlies
Warriors (-14) vs. Wizards
Heat/Cavaliers Over (242.5) – 7:30 p.m. ET
Miami took care of Cleveland on Wednesday night, 120-103 as the two Eastern Conference squads meet again tonight. The Heat held the Cavs to 46 first-half points after Cleveland dropped 136 points against Orlando the night before.
Erik Spoelstra’s squad put together their best road defensive effort since limiting Atlanta to 97 points on February 20. However, Miami allowed at least 120 points in five straight road games before holding Cleveland to 103 on Wednesday.
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The Cavaliers are 7-3 to the Over this season coming off a back-to-back set, so look for the teams to light it up tonight in Cleveland.
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Rockets (-12.5) at Grizzlies – 8:00 p.m. ET
Houston squandered a 13-point lead in overtime in Wednesday’s 110-108 setback at Minnesota. The Rockets look to end a two-game slide with a trip to Memphis, facing a Grizzlies’ squad that has dropped four in a row.
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In Memphis’ past four losses, it has been listed as a 13.5-point underdog or higher each time, failing to cover three times. The Grizzlies fell behind the Spurs on Wednesday, 38-19 after one quarter and never recovered in a 123-98 defeat.
In their last meeting in Houston on January 26, the Rockets held off the Grizzlies, 108-99 as 11-point favorites. The Rockets limited Memphis to 37% shooting from the floor and 7-of-37 from long distance. Look for Houston to take care of business against this undermanned Memphis club.
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Warriors (-14) vs. Wizards – 10:00 p.m. ET
Washington grabbed a rare victory on Wednesday, routing Utah, 133-110 to snap a 16-game losing streak. The Wizards are 1-4 on their last five wins, losing those games by an average of 23.2 points per game.
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Golden State erased a nine-point deficit headed to the fourth quarter in Wednesday’s 109-106 home triumph over Brooklyn. The Warriors never came close to covering as 12.5-point favorites, as they look to beat Washington for the second time this month.
Steve Kerr’s team knocked off the Wizards in D.C. on March 16, 125-117 as 7.5-point road favorites. The Wizards are 2-8 against the spread in their last 10 games as an underdog off a cover in their previous contest. Let’s back Golden State to pull off the sweep of Washington.
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Mar 26, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) congratulates defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) after recording an assist in the third period against the Dallas Stars at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
At some point, Matthew Schaefer’s standout debut season may see him break the team record for points by a rookie defenseman.
Of greater urgency for the New York Islanders is improving their position in a crowded Eastern Conference playoff race. The next chance for that occurs Saturday afternoon when the Islanders (41-27-5, 87 points) host the Florida Panthers in Elmont, N.Y.
Schaefer notched two assists in the Islanders’ 2-1 home win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday. He set up Bo Horvat’s team-leading 30th goal of the season at 4:48 of the first period and Calum Ritchie’s tally 2:19 into the third.
Those plays gave Schaefer 54 points (22 goals, 32 assists) in 73 games, tying Hall of Famer Denis Potvin for the second-most in team history by a rookie defenseman. Potvin had 54 in 1973-74, and his record stood until Stefan Persson finished with 56 in 1977-78.
Schaefer had two goals in his only three-point game on March 1 when the Islanders skated to a 5-4 home win over Florida. His latest multi-point effort occurred two nights after his team’s frustrating 4-3 home loss against the Chicago Blackhawks.
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“Sometimes it might not be pretty the whole time,” defenseman Ryan Pulock said after playing 20:53 and blocking three shots in his return from a lower-body injury. “You just gotta work through it. I thought tonight we did a lot of that. Important blocks, important times of getting the puck out, getting the puck in. I thought the forecheck at times was really good, created a lot for us.”
The Islanders are 6-6-0 in their past 12 games since winning five straight from Feb. 3-March 1.
New York heads into Saturday holding the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot, one point behind the Boston Bruins for the first wild card.
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Florida (35-33-3, 73 points) will play eight of its final 11 games against teams vying for postseason spots in the Eastern Conference. Aside from facing the Islanders, the Panthers face the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins twice along with games against the Montreal Canadiens, Bruins and Detroit Red Wings.
The Panthers are 2-4-0 in their past six games since winning three straight from March 6-10. On Thursday, Florida took one of its toughest losses of the season when it dropped a 3-2 decision to the visiting Minnesota Wild.
The Panthers allowed the first two goals in the second period before tying it on goals by Matthew Tkachuk and defenseman Aaron Ekblad in the third. Florida was five seconds away from getting to overtime before allowing a rebound goal to Joel Eriksson Ek.
The Panthers took the loss on a night in which they allowed 50 shots on goal and saw goalie Daniil Tarasov tie a career high with 47 saves.
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“He was unreal, the best player on both teams tonight,” Tkachuk said of Tarasov. “I’m more frustrated that we lost for him because he put on an all-world effort for us tonight and kept us in the game. We wanted to reward him with finally playing a bit better in the third.”
The two-time defending champions have been beset by injuries this season, and on Thursday, Evan Rodrigues broke a finger and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. The Panthers recently lost Brad Marchand and Anton Lundell to injuries while Sam Reinhart has missed six straight games with a foot issue.
The Filipino legend then defended that trinket against Adrian Broner, before a legendary win over full WBA (Super) champion Keith Thurman in 2019 which saw him become the oldest welterweight ruler in boxing history.
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Two years after that triumph, the veteran had still not defended his world title, but his inactivity was set to end with a difficult three-belt unification against undefeated WBC and IBF world champion, Errol Spence Jnr.
However, just 10 days before the fight, Spence withdrew from the contest after a torn retina was discovered during a pre-fight medical exam, replaced by Cuba’s Yordenis Ugas, who held Pacquiao’s old WBA (Regular) belt.
Ugas went on to pull off the upset against a faded Pacquiao, with the Filipino then retiring from the sport until his comeback last July. Meanwhile, Ugas lost in the two fights that followed, halted by Spence and outpointed by Mario Barrios, before retiring in September 2023.
As a result, Pacquiao may attempt to avenge his defeat to ’54 Milagros’ down the line, should the 47-year-old opt to continue boxing after his rematch with former foe Floyd Mayweather, which is set to take place at The Sphere in Las Vegas in September.
Mar 8, 2026; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg walks off the court after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
All my life, I’ve been an East Coast guy. Never been to Iowa; never been to Nebraska.
If you talk to me about their corn, I’m liable to politely inform you that Jersey corn is superior anyway.
And yet the only game I was interested in among Thursday’s quartet of Sweet 16 contests was Iowa-Nebraska.
Two Big Ten rivals whose football teams regularly put up 13-10 final scores when they play, and who have little to no modern history to speak of in men’s basketball? A 9-versus-4 game in the Sweet 16 with a bunch of Midwesterners and dudes from Turkey and the Netherlands running around?
That’s the sicko stuff. Inject it into my veins.
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I wrote about Nebrasketball in this space earlier in the season, and since then the Cornhuskers have polished off their best season in program history by earning a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and winning their first two tournament games ever. Nebraska was the last power-conference school that had yet to win a game in the tourney.
Which makes the end to their season sort of a butt-fumble. I wonder how many people will remember Nebraska’s 28-7 campaign, versus how many will just remember this ending:
“What happened?!” play-by-play pro Kevin Harlan exclaimed.
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What they don’t notice in real time is that Nebraska has only four players on the floor, with Rienk Mast half-jogging to the check-in table in the background, surely realizing he’s too late.
That open dunk for Alvaro Folgueiras and ensuing foul shot came after Tate Sage and Braden Frager (yes, their real names) traded threes for a three-point Iowa lead. The dunk was the killer. Final score: Iowa 77, Nebraska 71. Hawkeyes, see you in the Elite Eight against Illinois, ensuring at least one Big Ten team will make the Final Four.
“Put that one on me,” Hoiberg said. “It was a miscommunication and I’m the head coach, so put that one on me.”
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It must be infuriating for Nebraska fans, because Hoiberg has a reputation as a very good coach from his Iowa State days, but it took a while for him to get the Cornhuskers out of the mud. Sure, this would be true of any coach at that place, but Huskers fans were ready to have his head three years in before Nebraska’s AD put out a statement backing Hoiberg long-term.
Soon enough, Hoiberg did turn it around, with three straight 20-win seasons, the inaugural College Basketball Crown title and now a Sweet 16. And yet his team’s season ends on a coaching blunder that inexcusable.
The real coaching star from that game is Ben McCollum. Many who are just tuning in don’t realize that the dude has gone 38-8 in NCAA Tournament games: He won four Division II national titles and got Drake to the Round of 32 in his only season there. Then he showed up in Iowa City and took the Hawkeyes somewhere they haven’t been since the 1980s, an Elite Eight.
He outcoached the national champions to bring down a No. 1 seed the round prior.
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And just look at him. The hair. The shirt and tie, in an era where everyone’s wearing the same athletic wear on the sidelines. He exudes college basketball coach.
So one of the best stories of the 2025-26 season comes to an end in a rather blunt way. Iowa has won 10 of the last 11 meetings with Nebraska in football. The Hawkeyes just eliminated the Huskers in hoops. And we can’t forget…
RB Leipzig star Yan Diomande has been linked with a move to Manchester United ahead of the summer transfer window
Manchester United are reportedly expressing an interest in signing RB Leipzig starlet Yan Diomande as the club’s summer transfer plans begin to emerge. United are looking to finish the season by securing qualification for the Champions League, which would provide a boost to their summer transfer budget.
United are third in the Premier League table and have just seven matches left to play as they remain the overwhelming favourites to be guaranteed a Champions League qualification spot this term.
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Finishing in the top four or five would help United be able to go into the transfer market and try to sign the best talent available, and it seems that plans are already in place for this summer.
Sky Sports have reported that Diomande is one of several targets that United will look to sign once they have qualified for the Champions League.
Diomande has also been linked with Liverpool over the last few months, which means the Reds could have a battle on their hands to sign the talented Ivory Coast international.
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The 19-year-old is mentioned in the report as being a player of interest to United, but he is expected to also be wanted by several other clubs across Europe.
United are also being credited with an interest, once again, in signing Brighton star Carlos Baleba. The Reds were linked with the Cameroon international last summer, with the midfielder valued at around £100million at the time.
The report claims that United want to sign Baleba as soon as possible, as they look to take advantage of the fact that the 22-year-old will not be taking part at the World Cup this summer, which could lead to some transfers being delayed until later in the summer.
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Diomande and Baleba are not the only players to be linked with United in the same report. Newcastle defender Lewis Hall, Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes, Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton, Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliott Anderson and Everton playmaker Iliman Ndiaye also mentioned on United’s transfer shortlist.
Midfield is likely to be an area of the squad that United look to strengthen this summer, with Casemiro already expected to leave the club at the end of the season.
There have also been reports over the last few weeks claiming that Newcastle duo Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes could also be players of interest to United when the summer transfer window opens.
Here at The Manchester Evening News, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.
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Five of the Top Six Rookie RBs in the 2026 NFL Draft Class: Jadarian Price, Jonah Coleman, Mike Washington Jr., Emmett Johnson, and Nick Singleton
Since Kevin O’Connell took over the Minnesota Vikings four years ago, he’s never quite nailed rushing offense efficiency, and he may have to do precisely that for long-term job security. Accordingly, all the evidence is mounting to suggest a rookie running back for O’Connell and friends in next month’s draft, probably before the end of Round 4.
Kevin O’Connell could soon get a new toy in the backfield.
And, of course, Minnesota is wildly overdue to spend draft capital on a halfback.
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Vikings Look More Likely Than Ever to Draft a RB
A longstanding request from fans may be answered.
Arkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington Jr. (4) carries the ball during second-half action against the Memphis Tigers, with the play unfolding on Sep 20, 2025 at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, as Washington Jr. navigates defenders and pushes upfield in a competitive nonconference matchup on the road. Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hale-Imagn Images.
Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling: Vikings Probably Drafting a RB
Speaking with KFAN’s Paul Allen, Goessling was asked if we would be surprised by a running back selection by the Vikings early in the draft.
He replied, “I would not be surprised by that. I think there’s a very good chance that they do that. Yeah, because I think the concept of what they’re trying to do offensively with new assistant Frank Smith, some of the McDaniel stuff that they have been impressed by. I think it makes sense there.”
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“And you also have to think about the future. Aaron Jones, you know, is going to be 32 in December. So you’ve got to think about that going forward … Jones still has some speed, but we’ve seen it towards the end of seasons where he just hits a wall and the wear and tear slows him down a little bit.”
Jones, indeed, hit a wall in 2025 with pestering injuries.
Goessling added, “So I think it makes a lot of sense for the continued investment in that position. And I would not be surprised if one of those top one hundred pick is on a running back.”
The Vikings are also conducting pre-draft visits with tailbacks like Emmett Johnson (Nebraska), Jonah Coleman (Washington), and Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest). The clues are there.
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The Contenders
Minnesota would need a blockbuster trade to obtain the top halfback in the class — Jeremiyah Love from Notre Dame. In the off chance he tumbles down the board, Minnesota could perhaps scoop him around around Pick No. 10, but that feels like a long shot.
Therefore, if Love is not in play — he probably won’t be — the Vikings will have these runners on their radar sometime before the beginning of Round 5:
Jadarian Price (Notre Dame)
Mike Washington Jr. (Arkansas)
Jonah Coleman (Washington)
Emmett Johnson (Nebraska)
Nick Singleton (Penn State)
Price will likely be a Round 2 pick, and his talent mirrors Tony Pollard from about five years ago. Washington Jr. set the Combine on fire with his speed, and he looks like a young Latavius Murray with his size and locomotion.
Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson (21) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the UCLA Bruins, with the moment taking place on Nov 8, 2025 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena during first-half action, as Johnson reacts to the score and energizes teammates in a road conference matchup. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images.
Coleman is versatile and worthy of a bellcow role in time: think a bulkier Ray Rice. Johnson brings memories of Devonta Freeman from the Atlanta Falcons and actually ran a faster 40 (4.4) at Nebraska’s Pro Day this week than his disappointing 4.56 at the Combine.
Singleton cooked at Penn State, and Minnesotans should know him well from the University of Minnesota rivalry overlap. His toolkit is similar to Miles Sanders’s a half-decade ago.
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The Recent Numbers
The Vikings desperately need to fix their ground game once and for all. Each year under O’Connell, the unit improves but never enough to stand on business.
These are the numbers:
Vikings Rushing DVOA, NFL Ranking, in the Kevin O’Connell Era:
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2022: 27th 2023: 27th 2024: 20th 2025: 13th
While the 13th-best ranking in 2025 was impressive, Minnesota ran the ball 43% of the time, which ranked 19th in the NFL. The Vikings had a Top 13 rushing offense but ran the rock at a Bottom 13 clip.
The working theory suggests drafting Price, Washington Jr., Coleman, Johnson, or Singleton will “force” the offense to run more — and even more dynamically.
Time to Develop
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Whichever fighter Minnesota lands on in the draft, that youngster will have plenty of time to watch and learn. The Vikings re-upped with Aaron Jones, who will turn 32 in December, and have Jordan Mason (who turns 27 in May) lined up for the offensive backfield, too. Unless the rookie-to-be sets training camp and the preseason on fire, Mason and Jones figure to share the RB1 workload again.
Washington Huskies running back Jonah Coleman (1) carries the football against the Washington State Cougars, with the play occurring on Sep 20, 2025 at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium in Pullman during first-half Apple Cup action, as Coleman cuts through the defense while advancing the ball in a rivalry matchup. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images.
But that doesn’t have to last. Perhaps the rookie tailback will be too good for the RB3 job. In that scenario, either Jones or Mason will slide to the back of the rotation.
The Vikings are one smart running back draft pick away from owning the deepest RB room of O’Connell’s tenure. It will also help to have Kyler Murray at quarterback, who rushes for about 600 rushing yards every 17 starts.
Legendary athlete Mary Rand, the first British woman to ever win Olympic gold in track and field, has died at the age of 86.
Great Britain’s original “golden girl”, Rand topped the podium in the long jump at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, doing so with a world-record leap of 6.76m.
She then went on to achieve a feat that wouldn’t be replicated until Emma Finucane’s heroics at Paris 2024, adding pentathlon silver and 4x100m relay bronze to her Tokyo haul to become the only British female athlete to win three track and field medals in a single Games.
Rand was voted the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year for her success in 1964 before being awarded an MBE in the 1965 New Year Honours.
Mary Rand, Britain’s first golden girl, has died aged 86 (Getty Images)
Born in the Somerset town of Wells on 10 February 1940, Rand passed away in the United States, where she lived for many years alongside husband John Reese.
“UK Athletics is saddened to hear of the death of Olympic, European and Commonwealth champion Mary Rand, at the age of 86,” a statement from British Athletics read.
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Tributes were led by Mary Peters, one of her four room-mates at the Tokyo Games, who won Olympic pentathlon gold at the 1972 Games.
“She was the golden girl of her era and the most gifted athlete I ever saw,” Peters said.
“She worked hard and played hard, and she was a very talented all-around athlete. She could swim, she could she could play netball, she was a hockey player. And if you put her on the trampoline she would do front and back flips.
Mary Rand during her glory-laden Tokyo 1964 campaign (Getty Images)
“I even went with her to dart tournaments once at Crystal Palace, and whoever threw the first bullseye won a free set of golden darts. Naturally she got a bullseye with her first dart.”
Two years after glory in Tokyo, Rand took home long jump gold in the 1966 Commonwealth Games held in Kingston, Jamaica, going one better than the silver she had achieved eight years earlier at the event in Cardiff, when she was just 18. She also won two bronze medals at the 1962 European Championships.
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Rand retired from the sport just before the 1968 Mexico City Olympics after seriously damaging an Achilles tendon, which saw her miss out on the squad.
But her fame had soared beyond sport in the the 1960s, with Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger famously declaring Rand to be his ‘dream date’, though she insisted she was more of a Beatles fan.
Rand and first husband Sidney Rand at Buckingham Palace (Getty Images)
GB teammate Ann Packer, who similarly took home gold at the Tokyo Games and also shared a room with Rand, branded her as “the most gifted athlete I ever saw”.
“She was as good as athletes get, there has never been anything like her since. And I don’t believe there ever will,” Packer said.
Rand won the first medal of the 12 Team GB collected at Tokyo 1964, and later recalled: “If you talk to Ann Packer, she will say, ‘Mary came back and she’d won a gold and it inspired everybody’. They all thought, ‘If Mary can do it, we can do it’.”
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Rand also held the world record in the triple jump from 1959 to 1981, albeit an unofficial title as the women’s triple jump was not recognised by World Athletics until 1990.
She moved to the United States with her second husband Bill Toomey, the Olympic decathlon champion, three years after her divorce from rower Sidney Rand. Her marriage with Toomey lasted until 1991 and she later settled with Reese, holding UK/US dual citizenship.
Delhi Capitals Mitchell Starc, with captain Axar Patel, left, and Mohit Sharma (PTI Photo)
Injuries have already begun to reshape plans for several teams ahead of the Indian Premier League 2026 season, with a number of key players unavailable at the start. Among the biggest concerns are the absences of Australian fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, all of whom are expected to miss at least the opening phase.While Hazlewood has already linked up with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Cummins’ recovery is being monitored by Sunrisers Hyderabad, the situation around Starc remains uncertain. According to head coach Daniel Vettori, a decision on Cummins’ availability will be taken in the next 10 to 12 days. In contrast, Starc’s return timeline is still unclear, with Delhi Capitals awaiting clearance from Cricket Australia.The uncertainty around Starc sparked reactions from fans, one of whom questioned his absence on social media after spotting him at a golf course alongside his wife Alyssa Healy and other athletes.
Alyssa Healy response to a fan
“This is so unfair to us Delhi Capitals fan that Hazelwood and Cummins despite being injured will be available for their teams but you wont be,” the fan wrote.
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IPL 2026: Ishan Kishan steals the show at captains meet
Healy responded sharply, defending Starc’s situation. “Probably cause he’s injured mate…if he can’t bowl how’s he supposed to play?!”She added, “If he was fully fit he’d be there.”Delhi Capitals had built much of their bowling strategy around Starc’s pace and ability with the new ball, and his absence has forced the team to reassess their plans. Despite that setback, the franchise believes it has the depth to compete, combining experienced names with new additions.Last season, Delhi Capitals started strongly with four consecutive wins but lost momentum later, eventually finishing fifth and missing out on the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.As IPL 2026 begins on March 28, Delhi will be aiming to end that run and finally push for their first title, even as they navigate early challenges with key players unavailable.
WASHINGTON, D.C. —Jordan Scott had no shortage of options regarding where he’d play college basketball. A consensus top-100 recruit with offers from across the country, he was looking for a differentiating factor. He found them during his visit to East Lansing for Michigan State Madness in October 2024.
Other programs have preseason fan events and hallowed student sections like the “Izzone.” But Scott found something more.
“[Tom Izzo] being a huge part of the community here, for lack of better words, you don’t see that everywhere — you don’t see that anywhere besides here,” Scott said. “He trusts his community, and his community trusts him. … Just comparing this place to other places, it was like night and day, just how they do things here. It’s a special culture.”
It’s a trust Izzo built over 43 years — 31 as the head coach — and a trust that is becoming increasingly rare. Izzo is the second-longest tenured active head coach at one school, behind only close friend Greg Kampe’s 42 years at Oakland University.
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“I’m not sure anybody will stay in one place 31 years,” Izzo said, mentioning Purdue’s Matt Painter as one he hopes proves him wrong. “I’m fortunate to have the job I have. I am fortunate for the 31 years of success. I do not think people are going to stay in the same place like Jim Boeheim did. Mike Krzyzewski had a long run there.”
In an era when players and coaches change colors more often than not, the on-court bona fides of the four coaches in the nation’s capital for Friday’s Sweet 16 are unimpeachable. Izzo, Rick Pitino, Dan Hurley and Jon Scheyer have combined for 2,026 Division-I wins, five national championships and, including this year, 37 Sweet 16s. For as good as the players are — and in Cameron Boozer, Zuby Ejiofor, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Tarris Reed Jr. and others, they are very good — the coaches are driving the star power for this 2026 NCAA Tournament East Regional site.
Each is a pillar of the sport, each in his own way. And the careers of Izzo and Pitino show the fork in the road that Scheyer and Hurley face as they build their own Hall of Fame résumés.
“I think that’s what makes it exciting, right?” said Scheyer, who is 38 and in his fourth year at the helm of his alma mater. “It’s going to be an exciting atmosphere, high-level basketball, high-level coaching for sure. … I just keep going back [to] having great respect and admiration, at the same time having great confidence when you step on the floor. That’s what I want our players to have, too.”
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The winding backroads to the HOF
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Scheyer’s sideline opponent, Pitino, was a forebearer of this era of movement. He got his head coaching start at Boston University, left for an assistant role with the Knicks, returned to the college ranks as Providence’s coach, left for the Knicks’ head role and then resigned to take the top job at Kentucky — all within a seven-year stretch.
He’d leave for the NBA one more time, taking the Celtics job, but not after lifting a Kentucky program mired in scandal to a 1996 NCAA title and a 1997 runner-up finish. But after four unsuccessful years in Bean Town, he returned to coach Louisville from 2001-2017, when he was fired amid multiple scandals (it was later re-worded to a resignation after a lengthy legal battle). After a brief stint in Greece, he returned to coach Iona and, in 2023, got hired by St. John’s.
“I’ve loved every place I’ve lived,” Pitino said. “I’m a different guy. I’m not a nester. Everybody is different. I don’t want to live in the same place my whole life. I enjoyed Greece probably more than any place I’ve ever lived for those two years, not knowing one person, just exploring all the islands. For me it was great. For Tom, it’s great being in East Lansing. He loves it there. Everybody is different.”
St. John’s is the fourth different program Pitino has led to the Sweet 16. He has mastered the ability to fit into new surroundings while still standing out. After all, beyond the coaching ingenuity, what 73-year-old — let alone a 73-year-old Hall-of-Fame coach — dons an all-white suit for big games, invites Bad Bunny to sit courtside and says his point guard, Dylan Darling, has “balls as big as church bells?”
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“Since he’s 73, you would think that he’s slowing down, but I think he’s only getting better,” Bryce Hopkins said.
“I think that coach still coaching at his age helps keep him young, honestly,” Oziyah Sellers said. “I remember he told me earlier in the year that he wouldn’t know what he would do with his life if he wasn’t coaching.”
Pitino has certainly taken the road less traveled, but perhaps that has given him the edge in identifying and courting players whose careers have taken several turns, too. The Red Storm’s top seven scorers are all former transfers.
“His resume, it speaks for itself,” said Sellers, who started his career at USC and transferred to Stanford before landing with the Johnnies. “He’s succeeded at every school he’s been at, and he’s ‘The Godfather’ in this college basketball world.”
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The open road ahead in youth
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Pitino’s junior by 35 years, Scheyer is his third Sweet 16 in four years as Duke’s head coach. The two are, in some ways, polar opposites. If Pitino is “The Godfather,” Scheyer is the prodigy. They will form the eighth-largest age gap between opposing coaches in any NCAA Tournament game. All Scheyer has known is Duke. He won a national championship as a senior in 2010 and, after a brief pro playing career, returned to Durham to be part of Krzyzewski’s staff before taking over the program in 2022.
Since then? The trajectory has him with the most wins of any head coach in his first four years on the job — and approaching that same record just in March Madness:
Krzyzewski fielded several NBA offers over his 42 seasons leading Duke and declined each. In 2023, Coach K said, “I love Duke, and I love college, especially how it was then. I’m not sure that if it was today, and I was that age, I wouldn’t have gone.”
The “then” Krzyzewski refers to is when top players often spent their entire careers at one program. Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, JJ Redick and Shane Battier stayed for all four years. Jay Williams stayed for three. It’s a long-gone era, and Scheyer knows it. And the transaction-driven nature makes even the offseason more of a grind.
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When asked if he believes coaches will continue into their 70s, as Pitino and Izzo are and Krzyzewski did, Scheyer smiled and shook his head.
“I know from Coach K, initially when you start coaching, you have months, you finish the season, your players aren’t going anywhere, you go to the beach, you go wherever you want for a few months, you come back in the fall, and you’re ready to roll,” Scheyer said. “That’s just not the world we’re in. As you all know, it’s right to recruiting mode the next day, as soon as the season ends.
“But I think it’s incredible what [Izzo and Pitino] have done. … You look at the reflection of both of their teams. They still have the identity of how they’ve always coached: the toughness, the defense, all those things, but they’ve done it a different way.”
After all, the 2020s have been marked by high-profile departures, not just from septuagenarians such as Krzyzewski, Boeheim, Roy Williams and Jim Larrañaga, but from Jay Wright and Tony Bennett, too.
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The exit ramps and left turns not taken
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Hurley could be the best example of the thin line between staying and going — and, as of now, choosing the former. He turned down Kentucky in early 2024 and the Lakers a few months later, though he admits that turning down the Lakers was a difficult decision, one that Izzo, now his Sweet 16 opponent, helped with.
His players were briefly in a lurch. Reed, who had transferred from Michigan just months before the Lakers’ courtship of Hurley, remembers the immense relief of finding out Hurley was staying in Storrs.
“I came to UConn to play for a coach like Coach Hurley,” Reed said. “When Coach said he returned, I remember that first practice when he leaked out to the media, posted it on Twitter, he was ready to go from there.”
Returnees such as Alex Karaban and Solo Ball remember the uncertain few days of that July — long after rosters and coaching searches had formed, leaving them with fewer options if they needed to pack up.
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“Whatever he wanted to do, whatever would make him happy, his family happy, that’s ultimately what we all wanted,” Karaban said. “For him to come back and want to stay at UConn was a blessing for us. We greatly appreciated that. We just want to repay with him with how we play on the basketball court.”
“I thought he was going to be gone, to be honest, when it first came out,” Ball said. “Over time, when you get to know Coach, how he is as a person, all he wants to pour into is college athletes. It’s been great.”
The long road home
Perhaps the difference between staying and going can come down to personalities. Pitino has always wanted to move around. Izzo values the ability to “pump your own gas, wave to a neighbor, be around.” He had the same NBA rumor mill, the same opportunities to jump to marginally bigger college programs.
Or perhaps there’s more. The pressure of one spot can be downright grating. The nationwide monetary arms race gives more programs more opportunities to offer big paydays, better NIL, upgraded facilities and impressive support.
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“It’s nice to be in the same place,” Izzo said. “There’s pressure being in the same place, too. I don’t think most people are going to want to do that. I hope they do. I think it’s good for the university. I think it’s good for the players.”
Future offers will come for Hurley, one of the premier basketball minds at any level, and for Scheyer, who ticks the boxes of youth, smarts and experience coaching NBA players in-waiting. Both acknowledged the immense challenges they face.
“We talked about his opportunity with the Lakers and other places,” Scheyer said of Krzyzewski. “Down the road, that’s something you cross that bridge when you get there. For me, it’s 100% being at Duke, the place I want to be. We have unfinished business. That’s what this is all about for me.”
Hurley admitted it’s been a challenge, that turning down the Lakers two summers ago wasn’t easy and that coaching, period, even as a two-time reigning national champion, wasn’t easy.
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“Listen, I wanted a gap year last year,” Hurley said with a laugh that belied his serious answer. “I don’t know how Coach Izzo has done it. I don’t.
“I hope I’m looked upon when my career’s over, I don’t know that I’ll have his longevity, I can just only hope that people look at me as a coach the way they look at him and the way I look at him.”
Four disparate but remarkably successful coaching paths converge at Capital One Arena on Friday night. By Sunday night, one will continue to the Final Four, and three will return home. Where any of those four paths go — in the short and long terms — could be anyone’s guess.
The mother of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin made an emotional plea this week for increased fire department funding before Gaston County officials after she nearly lost her life in a North Carolina blaze that killed her husband in December.
Mary Lou Hamlin, 69, delivered a heartbreaking account of the Dec. 28 house fire that killed her husband, 75-year-old Dennis Hamlin, and reduced the family home to ruins.
Denny Hamlin looks on prior to a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Concord, North Carolina.(AP Photo/Matt Kelley, File)
“I’m sorry, I was trying not to cry,” a tearful Mary Lou Hamlin said as she spoke before the Gaston County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
“Dec. 28 was one of the saddest days of my life. It was the last time I saw my husband of 52 years when I pulled him out of our burning home. In addition to losing my husband, I lost everything from my entire life.”
Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin were found outside the two-story home near Stanley, suffering from what officials at the time called catastrophic injuries. Dennis Hamlin later died from his injuries at a hospital, while his wife was transferred to a specialized hospital in Winston-Salem for treatment of her burn injuries.
“I didn’t understand at the time that the firetrucks were there, but not the water,” Mary Lou Hamlin continued Tuesday.
“There was no water to put out my house. I am advocating for funding to be included on this year’s budget – training on emergency response, additional equipment, staffing as you just heard, are just a few things to help strengthen the fire protection in our area in which funds are desperately needed.
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Progressive Toyota, exits his car after the NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2, 2025, in Avondale, Arizona.(James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Denny Hamlin’s sister, Lisa Chapman, also appeared before the board, recalling her shock after arriving on the scene.
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“There’s nothing worse than pulling up to the house on fire and seeing everybody standing in the road,” she said through tears. “No water being thrown on the fire.”
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