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🏀 Five things to know Wednesday
- Daryl Morey is out as the 76ers’ president of basketball operations. The overhaul of Philadelphia’s braintrust stops there, though, as Nick Nurse will reportedly return for his fourth year as coach. The 76ers parted ways with Morey after six years, across which they reached the postseason five times but never advanced beyond the second round. One big-name executive will step in for another as Bob Myers is set to oversee basketball operations while leading the search for Morey’s successor.
- Dylan Harper has the Spurs one win away from the Western Conference finals. The box score says that Victor Wembanyama (27 points, 17 rebounds) was the leader of San Antonio’s 126-97 rout of the Timberwolves in Game 5, but it was Harper whose contributions really caught our attention. He grabbed 10 rebounds to post another double-double off the bench and looked more like a veteran than a rookie in helping the Spurs jump in front for a 3-2 series lead.
- Darius Acuff is among the NBA Draft Combine’s biggest early winners. The combine opened with prospect measurements and shooting drills, and Acuff (a projected top-10 pick) headlined those to boost their draft stock early in the week. The Arkansas product’s 6-foot-2 measurement shakes off any questions about his size as a premier point guard. UConn’s Alex Karaban also stood out in the 3-point shooting exercises when he nailed no less than 72 percent of his attempts in any of the four drills.
- NFL rookie minicamps are complete. All but one team (the Lions) welcomed their draftees for a couple days of practices over the past two weeks. This first opportunity to see the rookies on the professional field delivered key insights in many cases. From Jermod McCoy’s injury status to the multiple offensive linemen who took reps at new positions, we learned a lot about the impacts these newcomers will make in 2026. Plus, we took a stab at projecting the 2026 All-Rookie team.
- The NBA mourns the deaths of Brandon Clarke and Jason Collins. Tuesday was a sad day for the basketball world. Clarke’s agency announced yesterday the death of the Grizzlies veteran. The former No. 21 pick spent his entire career in Memphis after the Thunder traded him just weeks following the 2019 draft. His death is under investigation. Another wave of heartbreaking news came hours later when Collins’ family announced the former center lost his battle with brain cancer. Collins was the first openly gay NBA player and spent time with six teams over his 13-year career.
⛳ Do not miss: 2026 PGA Championship preview, predictions
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The second major of the year is just one day away. The 156 best golfers from across the PGA Tour, PGA of America and LIV Golf will begin play at Aronimink Golf Club on Thursday morning in search of the Wanamaker Trophy. The PGA Championship gets underway at 6:45 a.m. ET when the first group (Braden Shattuck, Alex Fitzpatrick and Ben Griffin) tees off. Check out the rest of the Round 1 tee times and groupings.
Of course, not everyone in the massive field has real expectations of winning one of golf’s biggest tournaments. There’s a large handful of legitimate contenders, though, and our Patrick McDonald ranked the 26 best. Three of the top four are past winners, including two-time champion Rory McIlroy.
- Scottie Scheffler
- Rory McIlroy
- Cameron Young
- Xander Schauffele
- Matt Fitzpatrick
If McIlroy is to secure his second major win of the year and third PGA Championship title, he will have to overcome a blister on his right pinky toe. The issue popped up at last week’s Truist Championship and led him to end his Tuesday practice round after just three holes.
Neither McDonald nor Robby Kalland are riding with any of the aforementioned top five players in the tournament in the expert picks, though. Instead, they are both on Ludvig Åberg, who enters play at 20-1 to hoist the trophy.
- Kalland: “This week feels like it will be a birdie-fest, and that will play into the hands of Åberg, a player who has few peers when it comes to putting birdies on the card. His ball-striking is back to an elite level, his short game is excellent, and he’s among the best at marrying distance and accuracy off the tee.”
Here are a few more items that will help you prepare for the PGA Championship:
🏆 College sports expansion frenzy winners, losers
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The NCAA basketball tournaments are expanding, and the College Football Playoff might be right behind it. The next iteration of March Madness will feature a 76-team bracket, and all indications suggest this year’s CFP will be the last of the 12-team model. Increased access to the postseason benefits numerous leagues and schools, but not everyone wins with these bigger brackets.
First, here’s where things stand. With regard to basketball, the men’s and women’s tournaments formally expanded and will debut their 76-team formats next season. On the women’s side, this is the second wave of expansion in five years, and our Isabel Gonzalez put together a comprehensive explainer on how the tournament will work. Take a look and see what a couple of coaches had to say about the new setup.
As for football, the ACC is expected to become the next conference to endorse the move to a 24-team CFP field, our Brandon Marcello reported. The league will join the Big Ten and Big 12 in pushing for a new format that doubles the number of teams in the national championship race.
Who comes out ahead in all this?
The power conferences are the biggest winners. The vast majority of these new postseason bids will go to teams from their footprints. Our David Cobb explained that reality while identifying the winners and losers from all of this expansion.
- Cobb: “Expansion wouldn’t be happening if the major conferences didn’t want it, and even though the SEC and Big Ten don’t see eye-to-eye on CFP expansion, both leagues are operating from positions of strength. They are the CFP decision makers. Similarly, they were the driving forces behind NCAA Tournament expansion.”
🤼 UFC 328 results flip pound-for-pound rankings
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Hardly anyone expected what occurred in the UFC 328 main event. In one of the biggest upsets in the promotion’s title fight history, Sean Strickland stunned then-undefeated and heavily favored Khamzat Chimaev in a narrow split-decision victory. Not only does Strickland now own the middleweight title for the second time, but he is also on the rise in our pound-for-pound rankings.
Chimaev wants another shot at Strickland — a rematch is the “only fight he will accept right now,” his team said — but until then, he stands behind the new champion in the pecking order.
Here’s how the two moved in our rankings:
- Strickland — Current: 6 | Previous: NR
- Chimaev — Current: 10 | Previous: 5
That shift created a domino effect in the rankings, as six fighters inside the top 10 are in new places.
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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📺 What we’re watching Wednesday
⚾ Angels at Guardians, 1:10 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 NBA Draft Combine, 2 p.m. on ESPNU
⚽ Coppa Italia final: Lazio vs. Inter Milan, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚾ Yankees at Orioles, 6:35 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
⚾ Phillies at Red Sox, 6:45 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ NYCFC at Charlotte, 7 p.m. on FS1
🏀 NBA playoffs: Cavaliers at Pistons, Game 5, 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Stanley Cup playoffs: Wild at Avalanche, Game 5, 8 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Aces at Sun, 8 p.m. on USA Network
⚽ Austin at San Diego, 9:30 p.m. on FS1
⚾ Cardinals at Athletics, 9:40 p.m. on Peacock
⚾ Giants at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Fever at Sparks, 10:30 p.m. on USA Network
