Shakur Stevenson has pumped the brakes following a report that he is in preliminary talks to face Devin Haney.
The two elite Americans each have a claim for pound-for-pound status, both boast undefeated records and are considered amongst the most defensively skilled operators of the modern era.
A weight class or two has always separated them, however, and Haney’s recent move to welterweight – a division which Stevenson says he may arrive at but is in no rush – seemed to make the match-up less likely.
Advertisement
For it to happen, Stevenson said he would want Haney to agree to a catchweight of 144lbs, the same limit he met when beating Jose Ramirez in 2025.
However, Stevenson has now responded to Coppinger’s claim, saying on X that there has been no contact between the teams.
“I know fans like to get excited and they could play with y’all heads and manipulate y’all easily, but that rumour is cap for the 2nd time. I haven’t heard one word about that, [I don’t know] what they [trying to] cover up or disguise, but for me and my team we haven’t heard s**t.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones is set to plead guilty Tuesday to charges he cashed in on rigged poker games and gave sports bettors nonpublic injury information about stars, including his one-time teammate LeBron James.
Barring a last-minute change, Jones will become the first person to plead guilty in a gambling sweep that led to the arrests of more than 30 people, including reputed mobsters and other basketball figures.
Advertisement
None of the other defendants have shown a willingness to plead guilty. On Monday, prosecutors said they were seeking additional charges against a co-defendant in the betting case, former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.
Advertisement
Jones, 49, is scheduled to appear at back-to-back plea change hearings in Brooklyn federal court before Magistriate Judge Joseph Marutollo. Court records show he is expected to plead guilty to at least one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Jones previously pleaded not guilty in both cases to charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Both charges carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison. He remains free on bail.
Jones’ lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery, declined to comment.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Jones was arrested last October along with Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, and others, including a sports bettor accused of cashing in on injury information.
Jones was one of three people charged in both the poker and sports betting schemes.
Jones, originally from Galveston, Texas, earned more than $20 million playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to 2009. He and James played together in Cleveland from 2005 to 2008, and Jones served as an unofficial assistant coach for James’ Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-2023 season.
Prosecutors say Jones sold or attempted to sell nonpublic information to bettors that James and former Lakers forward Anthony Davis were injured and either wouldn’t be playing or would play less time in certain games.
Advertisement
Advertisement
In the poker scheme, prosecutors say Jones was among former NBA players used to lure unwitting players into poker games that were rigged using altered shuffling machines, hidden cameras, special sunglasses and even X-ray equipment built into the table.
According to the indictment, Jones was paid $2,500 for a game in the Hamptons where he was instructed to cheat by paying close attention to others involved in the scheme. When in doubt, Jones was told to fold his hand, prosecutors said.
In response, according to prosecutors, Jones texted: “Y’all know I know what I’m doing!!”
Bazzana, 23, was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Oregon State. Coming into the 2026 season, CBS Sports ranked Bazzana as the No. 16 prospect in all of baseball. Here’s part of our write-up:
“The No. 1 pick in the 2024 Draft, Bazzana is now positioned to debut sometime in 2026. He split his first full professional season between Double- and Triple-A, hitting .245/.389/.424 with nine home runs and 12 stolen bases in 84 games. The book on him remains the same as when he was drafted: he combines a disciplined approach with above-average contact chops and power output. Indeed, Bazzana atones for pedestrian exit velocities by lifting and pulling the ball at high rates, a combination that ought to play well in Cleveland’s ballpark. His comfort with deep counts will ensure he strikes out a fair amount, and he’s not going to win a Gold Glove award anytime soon. Even so, Bazzana is a heady player who should justify the Guardians’ selection for years to come.”
This season, Bazzana has been at Triple-A Columbus, and in 24 games he’s slashed .287/.422/.511 with two home runs, 21 walks, and eight stolen bases. As well, Bazzana presently leads all the minor leagues in doubles with 11. For his minor-league career, the Oregon State product has an OPS of .826 across parts of three pro seasons with 14 home runs and 25 steals in 135 games.
Bazzana will join a Guardians team that’s 15-15 after losing three straight and four of their last five. Not surprisingly, Cleveland has again struggled offensively, as they rank 19th in MLB in both runs scored and OPS. As for Bazzana’s future position, a job-share at second base in Cleveland has yielded a .202/.312/.330 line from the position thus far in 2026.
Bazzana is not yet on the 40-player roster, but the Guardians have an open slot. They will, however, have to make a roster move in order to add him to the active roster.
Naoya Inoue is set for an iconic battle with Junto Nakatani this weekend, in what will be the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. Following that potentially legacy-defining bout, ‘The Monster’ wants another major match-up.
However, the 32-year-old has revealed that his clash with Nakatani will be his penultimate one at 122lbs, with plans to stick around for one more fight in the division despite appearing to have cleaned it out.
In a game of ‘yes or no’ with DAZN Boxing, Inoue confirmed his interest in a showdown with Rodriguez and confidently forecasted that he would come out on top against the undefeated 26-year-old southpaw.
“Yes, [I would love to fight Jesse Rodriguez].”
“[Would I beat him?] Yes.”
Rodriguez will become a three-division champion if able to trump Vargas on Saturday, June 13, but he would usurp Inoue as the pound-for-pound king if he were to hand the Japanese sensation a first career defeat – providing Nakatani doesn’t do it this coming Saturday at the Tokyo Dome.
Advertisement
‘Bam’ Rodriguez has also expressed his interest in the fight, saying he would take it without hesitation should it present itself. With boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh close to both men, it might just.
The Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to terms with undrafted free agent linebacker Daylan Carnell, the team announced on Monday.
Carnell, who stands at 6-foot-2, 233 pounds, recorded 175 career tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 22 passes defended, five interceptions, four forced fumbles and three sacks in his five seasons at Missouri. Carnell played a hybrid safety/linebacker role in Missouri’s defense the last three years. He also returned two interceptions for touchdowns in his career.
Advertisement
Advertisement
In 2025, Carnell made 12 starts and played in all 13 games. He posted 41 tackles (22 solo) with 6.5 for loss … Picked off one pass and batted four others down. The Indianapolis native was a three-year starter at Missouri.
Carnell’s best season came in 2023, when he registered 51 tackles, six tackles for loss, seven pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and a pick six.
PITTSBURGH — Connor Dewar, Kris Letang and Elmer Soderblom scored and the Pittsburgh Penguins avoided elimination for the second time in 48 hours with a 3-2 win over Philadelphia in Game 5 of their first-round series on Monday night.
Sidney Crosby shook off a shot to his left knee to add two assists for the Penguins, who cut the Flyers lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.
Game 6 is Wednesday in Philadelphia, where the pressure will be on the Flyers to avoid putting themselves in danger of becoming just the fifth team in NHL history to blow a series after winning the first three games.
Alex Bump scored his first goal of the playoffs for Philadelphia, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie it on Travis Sanheim’s second goal of the series 15:06 into the second.
Advertisement
Crosby, who limped to the bench and then to the training room for treatment minutes earlier after a blast from the point by teammate Ryan Shea appeared to hit the top of his left knee, helped put the Penguins back in front just over two minutes later when he fed the puck to Letang at the top of the Philadelphia zone.
Letang sent a shot toward Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar that sailed wide of the net before bouncing back toward Vladar. The puck smacked off Vladar’s left pad, then his right and across the goal line to give Pittsburgh the lead for good.
After four games of mostly low-event hockey, Game 5 started with a frantic pace, a style that favors the Penguins, who finished as the NHL’s third-highest-scoring team during the regular season.
That offense went largely missing while Pittsburgh fell into a 3-0 hole. Pushed to the brink, it has returned with a flourish, and this time it wasn’t just Crosby, Letang and Evgeni Malkin shouldering the burden.
Advertisement
Soderblom scored on Pittsburgh’s first shot, taking a pass from Anthony Mantha originally intended for Ben Kindel and banging it home from the slot to give the Penguins the lead just 2:45 into the game. Dewar doubled it 3:17 into the second when his shot from the left circle rifled over Vladar’s right shoulder.
Bump needed just 12 seconds to cut the deficit to one when he bore in on Arturs Silovs and jammed it by the goaltender. Sanheim’s shot from the left circle, one that deflected off Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson, drew the Flyers even, but only briefly.
There was little space in the third period, with the Penguins clogging up shooting lanes to send the series back to the eastern side of the state.
Pittsburgh will take the ice on Wednesday, having all the momentum after two games in which they looked like the resilient, resourceful group that was among the NHL’s biggest surprises.
Advertisement
The Flyers and their late playoff surge were one of the others, though Philadelphia and its young core will have the difficult task of finishing off a more experienced group with Hall of Famers scattered across the roster.
Seth Rollins came out in the opening segment of Monday Night RAW and had quite the intense segment, with a huge match finally being set (but not made official yet). He blamed a 28-year-old star for not headlining WrestleMania this year.
Technically speaking, Seth Rollins has headlined WrestleMania thrice. However, he has only had two proper WrestleMania main events – headlining the Saturday editions of WrestleMania 40 and 41. Last year, he was victorious in the main event of night one as he defeated both Roman Reigns and CM Punk, which is where the entire Vision storyline began. However, his alliance with Paul Heyman didn’t quite work out, and his World Heavyweight Championship reign ended with The Vision brutalizing him. And as it looked like he returned on time and would have been ready to face Bron Breakker, he ended up facing Gunther instead at WrestleMania 42. Las Vegas was where Bron Breakker made his comeback, and he cost Seth Rollins big time.
Advertisement
Thanks for the submission!
Seth Rollins told Bron Breakker that he was the reason he didn’t headline WrestleMania 42 this year.
Advertisement
The entire segment was made to set the stage for the clash between Rollins and Bron Breakker. Breakker didn’t exactly sit silently as well. He completely roasted Rollins, telling him that he was the best at being second-best.
That’s a huge shot because Rollins has infamously been in that #2 spot in the company for quite a long time, never quite reaching the level of Roman Reigns despite having a fantastic record against The OTC in head-to-head competition. It’s one of those paradoxes that will be looked back on because Rollins has almost always had Reigns’ number, especially in big matches where it has mattered the most, but he could never quite reach the same heights that his Shield brother did.
Why did you not like this content?
Advertisement
Was this article helpful?
Thank You for feedback
Get all the hottest wrestling news FIRST by clicking here
Cooper Flagg is the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year, the league announced on Monday. Flagg’s victory marks the end of one of the most contentious Rookie of the Year debates in recent history, with Flagg beating out his former college teammate, No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel, to secure the trophy. Flagg won a close race, garnering 56 of the 100 first-place votes. Knueppel got the other 44.
Flagg, as the No. 1 overall pick who opened the season playing point guard for the Dallas Mavericks, was the initial favorite. However, a slow start and a poorly constructed roster hurt him in the season’s opening months.
Knueppel’s Hornets didn’t exactly explode out of the gates either, opening the season with a 4-14 record that even included some LaMelo Ball trade rumblings. But once the Hornets settled in, they emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the season. Following that initial 18-game slump, the Hornets went 40-24 with the No. 3 offense and No. 5 net rating in basketball. They rebuilt their entire organizational identity around their shooting, with the three-headed perimeter monster of Ball, Knueppel and Brandon Miller proving almost unguardable for overwhelmed opponents.
Flagg, on the other hand, improved slowly over the course of the year, but missed 11 games between the middle of January and early March. The Mavericks traded Anthony Davis and seemingly began to prioritize draft position. With Knueppel thriving on a team in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff race, the odds suggested that he was a lock. But then Flagg took a major step down the stretch. He averaged over 25 points in his final 15 full games of the season while chipping in 6.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He scored 96 points in a historic two-game stand that reminded the entire basketball world just how special he’s going to become.
Advertisement
All of this together forced voters into a rare, philosophical debate about the nature of the award. Flagg had superior counting stats and was the sole engine for a weak Mavericks team. Knueppel was more efficient, had a historic shooting season that included leading the NBA in 3-pointers, and was a critical part of a winning team. Winning rarely factors into the debate, as most top rookies get drafted high in the lottery by teams coming off of poor seasons. Knueppel didn’t just join a good team; he helped build one.
76ers forward VJ Edgecombe finished a distant third in the voting. Flagg’s margin of victory over Knueppel was the second-smallest in a ROY race in the last 23 years. Here are the full results:
NBA Rookie of the Year voting results
Cooper Flagg
56
Advertisement
44
0
412
Kon Knueppel
43
Advertisement
55
1
386
VJ Edgecombe
0
1
93
96
The race took another turn when Knueppel struggled in the Play-In Tournament. Normally, this wouldn’t have mattered. However, as multiple players had applied for exceptions to the NBA’s 65-game awards minimum rule, ballots were not sent out until after those games had been played. That gave voters a chance to reconsider the two candidates. Even if the award is only supposed to reflect regular-season performance, voters are human.
In the end, Flagg edged out Knueppel for the award. He is the third Maverick to win the award, joining his coach, Jason Kidd, and the star he replaced as the face of the franchise, Luka Dončić. He finished his rookie season averaging 21 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. With Flagg in place, the Mavericks have rebounded nicely from the disastrous Dončić trade and now, their new franchise player earns a lifetime of bragging rights over his Duke teammate.
It’s official: Nelly Korda is back on top. Following her dominating victory at the Chevron Championship at Memorial Park in Houston on Sunday, Korda has regained the top spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Korda leap-frogged Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul, who had been No. 1 since early August of last year. Thitikul then won twice in the fall of 2025, including the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. She also added a victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand two months ago.
But Thitikul has failed to top 10 in the five events since her last win, which includes a rare missed cut at the Chevron.
Korda, 27, dominated the tour in 2024, winning seven times to cement her place as world No. 1. But after a surprising 2025 that saw her go winless, she relinquished the top spot to Thitikul last summer.
Advertisement
Korda never fell lower than No. 2 in the world, and she opened this season on a tear. After winning a weather-shortened season-opener at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, she was the runner-up in her next three starts leading up to the Chevron, where she won the third major of her career.
“Honestly, if [last year] taught me anything, it’s to just focus on myself, not listen to the outside noise,” Korda said. “Every year will be so different. I love the game of golf and I feel like that really helps. I love competing. If you come out here and you’re just focusing on a paycheck, then I feel like the times when you’re not playing well and you get down on yourself.”
With her win Sunday, Korda becomes the first American player to win three majors since Meg Mallon in 2000.
“[Majors are] the reason why I started playing this game,” Korda said. “I walked on to the range at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2013 at Sebonack and that’s where I realized, like, this is what I want to do. You’re playing against the best players in the world, playing a challenging golf course that testing every part of your game, but it’s also testing you mentally. You get on to the back nine of a major on a Sunday and there is no bigger rush of emotions that you feel. Like right now the last thing I want to do is eat. I just feel sick to my stomach because there is a major rush of emotion.
Advertisement
“Even growing up watching my sister compete, the only time I watched her compete was in major championships,” she continued. “Then also like the people that you looked up to like Tiger — my sister refers to our generation being Tiger’s kids — and seeing the amazing shots and how much it means to every person that has come before us to win a major and then how much that has inspired other generations to keep wanting to come out and grind.”
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic had an altercation with Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels at the end of Saturday’s Game 4 at Target Center in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Tai Felton (13) fields the ball and turns upfield during first-quarter action against the Green Bay Packers, Jan. 4, 2026, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Felton accelerates into space as Minnesota looks to generate early momentum in a key division matchup at home. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.
On Sunday, we posted the “losers” from the Minnesota Vikings’ draft, a list of 10 players and coaches deep because Minnesota had so many selections this go-round. Now, it’s time for the winners.
Minnesota’s latest draft class reshaped the depth chart and opened new doors for several returning players.
These players and coaches clearly had to be all smiles during and after the event.
Advertisement
Turner Gets the Biggest Post-Draft Green Light
Ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = main winner), here’s who won the draft for the Vikings.
Jordan Mason bursts through the line with the football secured, pushing into open space as the Minnesota Vikings face the Houston Texans during first-quarter action on Aug 9, 2025, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The running back, wearing No. 27, shows power and vision while gaining yardage early in preseason play. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images.
5. Jordan Mason (RB)
In theory, the Vikings could’ve found a way to draft Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price (Seahawks), Arkansas’s Mike Washington Jr. (Raiders), or Washington’s Jonah Coleman (Broncos) at running back, which would’ve put Mason’s trajectory as the long-term RB1 in jeopardy.
Instead, interim general manager Rob Brzezinski waited until Round 6 to pick Wake Forest’s Demond Claiborne. When a player is chosen that late, he is truly a lottery ticket. A scratch-off.
Advertisement
While Claiborne could become “the next De’Von Achane” with the tutelage of Frank Smith and Kevin O’Connell, Mason remains the somewhat youthful main option at tailback for the Vikings in 2026, with a splash of Aaron Jones, who could split the RB1 workload if he stays healthy.
4. Blake Brandel (C)
One month ago, O’Connell essentially nominated Brandel as his starting center in 2026 — and he wasn’t kidding.
He said to media members who asked about the center spot, “It is great that we feel that good about Blake’s versatility, but ultimately we want to do what’s best for Blake to ascend and reach his highest potential at one position or have the flexibility still to play multiple. What his offseason looks like, what his training camp looks like and what his work flow looks like leading into the season, we want to have him more than likely at that center spot and build on some things that he did last year.”
Advertisement
“It’s a position that’s got some really unique names in the draft, depending on where you may be looking to take one. There’s some guys with experience, there’s some guys with tremendous upside and then some guys that have that flex above the neck of really the smarts and the command that it takes to play center at the National Football League level. We’ll continue to work through it.”
The “tremendous upside” guys turned out to be a single human, named Gavin Gerhardt from the University of Cincinnati, a man extracted from Round 7. While Gerhardt could emerge in time, it’s probably Brandel’s job to lose at center this season.
3. Brian Flores (DC)
After the Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah at the end of January, fans assumed that Flores would have more say in the organization and the draft process.
Advertisement
Fans were right.
Zone Coverage‘sTom Schreier wrote over the weekend, “Ultimately, the issue with Adofo-Mensah is that he didn’t have a scouting background. The idea behind hiring him was that he would collaborate with the coaches and scouts to identify the best players, then use analytics to maximize draft picks and free-agent spending.”
“By replacing Rick Spielman with Adofo-Mensah, the Vikings were moving from a super scout as their general manager to a CEO.”
Brian Flores observes players moving through drills, tracking positioning and effort as the Minnesota Vikings conduct organized team activities on June 10, 2025, at the team’s training facility in Minneapolis. The defensive coordinator studies each rep closely, continuing to shape a unit that gained momentum during the previous season and enters a pivotal offseason stretch. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.
Minnesota scouted oodles of wide receivers in February, March, and April. How many did they draft? Zilch.
Brzezinski and O’Connell said “no thanks” to dozens of promising wideouts, basically allowing Flores to cook from the section above. And — that turned out to be good news for Felton, who remains the Vikings’ WR3 right after the draft.
Advertisement
In theory, Minnesota could sign Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings, Tyreek Hill, DeAndre Hopkins, Stefon Diggs, or Keenan Allen — or even trade for Brandon Aiyuk — but for now, Felton is the WR3 on paper. Most fans didn’t expect that outcome in the fallout from the draft.
1. Dallas Turner (OLB)
For two seasons, Flores struggled to find full-time playing time for Turner, the team’s 1st-Round draft pick in 2024. Those days are over.
Dallas Turner lines up on defense during postseason action, focused on the snap as the Minnesota Vikings face the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC wild card game on Jan 13, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Wearing No. 15, the linebacker prepares to engage, bringing energy to a high-stakes playoff matchup. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
Pro Bowl outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard was shipped to the Philadelphia Eagles for two 3rd-Round draft picks, completely paving the way for Turner to start in 2026. He received ample playing time down the stretch of 2025 when Greenard was hurt, but now Turner doesn’t have to sit around and wait for injuries to hear his name called.
In September and beyond, you will soon find out if the [very] expensive Turner trade, conducted by the aforementioned Adofo-Mensah, was worth it.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login