All Sports

Brittney Griner's time with the Phoenix Mercury has come to an end.

After 11 seasons in Phoenix, Griner is departing in free agency. Per ESPN's Shams Charania and Alexa Phillippou, the 10-time All-Star is taking her talents to the Atlanta Dream. Griner and the Dream agreed to a contract on Tuesday.

The Mercury selected Griner first overall in the 2013 WNBA draft after her tremendous collegiate career at Baylor and she immediately made an impact, putting up 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and three blocks per game to earn All-Rookie team honors. She also helped lead Phoenix to the WNBA conference finals in her first season.

In Year 2, Griner put up 15.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game, winning Defensive Player of the Year and earning All-WNBA honors. She was an integral part of the Mercury roster as they won their third WNBA championship in franchise history.

In her 11 years with Phoenix, Griner was named to 10 All-Star teams, three All-WNBA First Teams and three All-Defensive First Teams. She was the league's scoring leader in 2017 and 2019, putting up 21.9 and 20.7 points per game, respectively, and led the WNBA in blocks eight times.

Now, Griner will take her tremendous inside scoring and defensive presence to Atlanta as the Dream look to find success after years of struggle. Atlanta reached the playoffs the last two seasons, but have not won a postseason game since 2018. The Dream haven't won a playoff series since 2016.

Atlanta has plenty of talent with Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray leading the way, and now it has another star in Griner to help ring in a new era with Karl Smesko taking over as head coach.

Former NFL head of officiating and current Fox Sports' officiating analyst, Dean Blandino, pushed back against the narrative that the Kansas City Chiefs get a favorable whistle from NFL referees.

"Do teams get breaks at times?" he told TMZ Sports. "They do. And not every call is right. And sometimes that happens. I think it evens out over time. But me watching it, I don't see these games and say, 'Oh god, the Chiefs are getting all these calls.' These are close, close plays and they happened to go in the Chiefs' favor on Sunday."

Granted, there is evidence to suggest that in the playoffs, at least, the Chiefs tend to get more calls:

Now, that doesn't mean that the officials are purposefully favoring the Chiefs, though some factors might be at play. For one, the Chiefs are a disciplined team that plays smart, situational football. For another, they put a lot of pressure on defenses with their dynamic offensive scheme, the dual threat of Patrick Mahomes as a rusher and passer and their ability to disguise blitzes and pressure on defense.

Pressure forces mistakes and bad decisions, and the Chiefs keep their opponents under constant stress throughout a game.

And there is also a more human element at play—the Chiefs have played a lot of home playoff games in the Mahomes' era, and the officials may be subtly and psychologically pressured by the Kansas City fans. Home teams often get a better whistle.

But as as for the even more nefarious accusation against the Chiefs and the NFL—that the league manipulates games to ensure Kansas City wins—Blandino found it absurd.

"For it to be really a conspiracy, do you know the amount of people that would have to be involved? Someone, somewhere would slip up and it would get out," he said. "If there's a room somewhere in the NFL offices where they were writing the script, they never invited me—and I was the head of officiating. I feel like I'd be a pretty important contributor to that."

The Cleveland Browns aren't worried about Colorado head coach Deion Sanders preventing his son, Shedeur, from playing for the AFC North team should it choose the former Buffaloes quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

"I don't anticipate that being a problem," Browns general manager Andrew Berry said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

It was a question because of comments Deion Sanders made earlier this month during an appearance on the Tamron Hall Show (h/t Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today).

"It's not like that," Sanders said when asked if he told his sons who he wants them to play for at the next level. "It's not like who I would like for him to play for. It's a couple of teams that I won't allow him to play for. So it's not like that. But this is my profession. I know what's behind the curtain. We ain't got to get back there for me to understand what's behind the curtain and what's not prominent for my son. I'm not doing it."

Cleveland would be a logical destination for Sanders.

After all, it is coming off a 3-14 season with no long-term answer at the quarterback position. The Deshaun Watson addition has been abysmal to say the least, and he may not be available for the 2025 season after tearing his Achilles for a second time.

That leaves more questions than answers, and it's no surprise the Browns were one of the teams to meet with Sanders at the East-West Shrine Bowl.

"Shedeur is a really impressive young man," Berry said. "He's poised, he's calm, he's smart and you can tell that he's been raised by—quite honestly—a Hall of Fame dad. We're going to get to know him even more over the course of the spring, but he's really impressive."

Earlier this month, B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranked Sanders as the second-best quarterback in this draft behind only Miami's Cam Ward. However, it projected the Tennessee Titans to take Sanders and the Browns to end up with Ward in its latest mock draft.

The Sanders situation will be worth monitoring ahead of the draft, especially as he begins to solidify himself as a potential top pick. That his father just so happens to be a Hall of Famer who turned heads with comments suggesting he could prevent the signal-caller from playing somewhere only adds another layer.

That is especially true with the Browns given past comments from Deion Sanders:

Still, that social-media post was from nearly seven years ago when the Cleveland front office looked quite different. Berry had nothing but positive things to say about both of the Sanders, and the AFC North team will surely continue to evaluate the situation as the draft approaches.

Amid rumors about quarterback Russell Wilson joining the Las Vegas Raiders, head coach Pete Carroll is potentially setting up a Seattle Seahawks reunion with his new team.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Raiders interviewed the Miami Dolphins quarterbacks and passing game coach Darrell Bevell on Tuesday for their offensive coordinator position. Bevell was the Seahawks offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2017, winning a Super Bowl with Carroll and Wilson.

The Athletic's Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur reported Monday that Bevell is believed to be the favorite to join Carroll's staff as offensive coordinator.

Bevell began his NFL coaching career with the Green Bay Packers before becoming the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator in 2006. That job led to him landing a position on Carroll's Seahawks staff in 2011, and he had plenty of success in Seattle.

The Seahawks missed the playoffs just twice during his tenure—his first and last season at the helm. They won the NFC West three times and reached the divisional round or better five times. Seattle made two Super Bowl appearances, winning in 2013.

Since his time in Seattle ended, Bevell has been an offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars. He joined Miami's staff in 2022 and was instrumental in leading one of the best offenses in the league in 2023.

Should Bevell join Carroll in Las Vegas, it's reasonable to think the Raiders would push hard to bring Wilson onto the roster in free agency. Wilson has had a handful of forgettable years since leaving the Seahawks but could revitalize his career with a pair of his former coaches.

It's also worth noting that Carroll wants to field a competitive team in his first year rather than guiding Las Vegas through a rebuild.

"It took us a few years to get to the very top of the last couple programs I was with," Carroll told reporters at his introductory press conference on Monday. "We're starting right now and going for it immediately. … We're going to start right now, (we're) going to go after it and build this team as quickly as we can."

Whether Bevell is the offensive coordinator and Wilson is the quarterback for Carroll's win-now scheme is to be seen.

The Boston Red Sox are inviting the top position prospect in baseball to Spring Training.

Boston announced Tuesday that outfielder Roman Anthony was one of nine non-roster invitees to its 2025 Spring Training roster. The 20-year-old is the headliner, although he will be joined by Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, Abraham Toro, Nathan Hickey, Mark Kolozsvary, Jovani Morán, Brian Van Belle and Jacob Webb.

According to the MLB.com prospect rankings, Anthony is the No. 2 prospect in the sport behind only newly signed Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Rōki Sasaki.

The potential future Red Sox star was a second-round pick in 2022 and wasted no time making an impact in the team's system. He was the Double-A Portland's team MVP in 2024 and led the entire Eastern League in slugging (.489) and OPS (.856).

He also tallied 15 home runs and 38 extra-base hits before he was promoted to Triple-A Worcester. Once in Triple-A, he slashed .344/.463/.519 with 16 extra-base hits in 35 games and showed his overall skill set as someone who can hit for power and average while playing an outfield spot.

Boston fans looking for a player comparison should look no further than Anthony's own words.

"He's one guy I'm really excited to meet in my career," he said of Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich, per ESPN. "Just as a kid, trying to model my game after him being that tall, skinny, awkward kid. I just always saw similarities of myself and him."

The Red Sox start Spring Training in Fort Myers, Florida, on Feb. 12.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick will be in familiar territory when his team faces the Philadelphia 76ers on the road Tuesday, and he believes his time as a player in the City of Brotherly Love helped give him the toughness necessary to coach the Purple and Gold.

"You can play in Philly, you can coach the Lakers," he told reporters when asked how his time with the 76ers helped him moving forward in his career.

Redick suited up for Philadelphia for two seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The team lost in the second round of the playoffs in each of those campaigns, but it gave Redick a chance to play in front of a fanbase that is known for its passion, high expectations and ability to create pressure.

Not only did he play there, he largely thrived.

After all, his 17.6 points per game with the 76ers was the highest mark for one team during a career that also included stops on the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks.

Redick has moved from player to coach and has the Lakers playing excellent basketball with wins in six of their last seven games to move into fifth place in the Western Conference standings and just one game behind the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets.

By comparison, the 76ers are just 17-27 and outside even the Eastern Conference play-in tournament in 11th place in the standings.

Philadelphia fans will likely greet Redick warmly upon his arrival, although they may change their tune if he hands their team yet another loss.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone offered an update on what he was thinking regarding the team's lineup configuration heading into the 2025 campaign after some major offseason changes, including the loss of Juan Soto in free agency.

"We'll try and get Jasson Dominguez up to speed in left," he said during an appearance on WFAN (h/t Phillip Martinez of SNY). "Cody Bellinger probably in center with Trent Grisham in the mix there too. If Giancarlo Stanton has a day off or I want to DH Aaron Judge, I feel good moving Bellinger wherever. Ideally, I don't want to move Dominguez as much. On a day [Giancarlo] is out, Judge is DH, I can move Bellinger over [to right field] and throw Grisham in center and keep Dominguez in left. We'll see how it all shakes out."

As for the infield, Boone said, "Right now I would have Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second. Then Oswaldo Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu and even Oswald Peraza are vying in the mix for that third base."

Paul Goldschmidt will ostensibly handle duties at first base, while Anthony Volpe should remain the starting shortstop and Austin Wells the primary catcher.

As for the lineup configuration, Boone said Chisholm could potentially serve as the leadoff hitter, but Domínguez is in the mix as well.

"Domínguez's DNA is that because he gets on a lot and has power and can really run, too," he said. "That's a positive. But he has a DNA that gets on while Bellinger and Jazz with their power and bat-to-ball, will play well in the middle [of the lineup]."

One possible configuration could be as follows if Domínguez proves effective in the leadoff role:

1. Domínguez
2. Judge
3. Bellinger
4. Stanton
5. Chisholm
6. Goldschmidt
7. Volpe
8. Wells
9. LeMahieu/Cabrera/Peraza

Expecting a 21-year-old with just 26 games of MLB experience to immediately serve as the leadoff hitter on a contender is no small ask, of course. The Yankees may end up with a revolving door atop the lineup.

"We're very left-handed, so it just depends who solves that leadoff spot and if it's one guy, or one guy vs. a righty, one guy vs. a lefty," Boone said. "I would prefer one guy... a perfect world you love rolling them out. The biggest thing is trying to have a guy that is getting on base at a high level in that No. 1 spot."

The Yankees pivoted well after losing Soto to the New York Mets and resolved a number of their most pressing needs this winter. Still, there remain a few uncertainties for the Bronx Bombers as they look to return to the World Series.

Tom Brady set the standard for quarterbacks during his NFL career, with seven Super Bowl titles and all-time records in passing yards (89,214) and passing touchdowns (649), among many others legendary accomplishments.

But given enough time, Patrick Mahomes might just give him a run for his money in the G.O.A.T. conversation.

"He's just gotta do it for a long time," former NFL wide receiver Julian Edelman said on The Dan Patrick Show Tuesday when asked what Mahomes would have to do to surpass Brady. "I mean, he's on pace. This is remarkable. If he goes out and does three in a row—in a salary-cap era—you can't say much. I'm as big of a Tom Brady guy as there is, and the only difference is the longevity. Tom had like three careers."

Mahomes, 29, already has three titles, five Super Bowl appearances and two MVP awards (Brady had three in his career). He's already over a third of the way (32,352 yards, 245 touchdowns) to surpassing Brady's record for passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Mahomes has played eight seasons already. Brady played 23. It's possible that many of Brady's records will never be touched, simply because most players don't play well into their 40s.

The ultimate measuring stick, of course, is championships, and Mahomes has the chance to do something that no other player in NFL history has done before—win three straight Super Bowls. He'll have to get through a tough Philadelphia Eagles defense to do it, but it would be the sort of legacy-defining accomplishment that would give him a real leg to stand on in the G.O.A.T. debate.