USA TODAY Sports Weekly

NFL CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

We break down Patriots-broncos, Rams-seahawks Can QB Stidham pull it off for NFL’S drama kings?

U Turn!

Head coach Mario Cristobal used lessons from Jimmy Johnson and Nick Saban to bring Hurricanes back.

NFL WILD CARD

● Previews, predictions, picks for six matchups ● So far, Rodgers has still got it for Steelers ● Patriots, running back take redemption tour

WIN OR GO HOME

Holiday bonanza awaits in College Football Playoff

BELIEVE IN PETE

● NFL Week 17, college bowl previews, picks ● Barkley is heating up, and the Eagles are back in playoffs

Our picks for College Football Playoff’s 1st round

mour picks for College Football Playoff’s 1st round

WHO SURVIVES?

● Previewing the Playoff and entire postseason lineup ● Go behind the recruiting curtain of two programs

NFL Week 14 previews

Jaguars-colts, Bears-packers, Texans-chiefs, Steelers-ravens, Eagleschargers are on the slate. Pages17-21 ● Fantasy value meter, Page 8 ● Best bets against spread for college/pro games, Page 13

How fans watch MLB to change

What to know: Baseball pivots toward a future where linear television and streaming coexist.

FOOTBALL

Pro, college picks for this weekend Inside the survive-and-grind SEC

FOOTBALL

● Previews, picks for this weekend’s college, NFL games ● Oklahoma takes its playoff shot on rugged path

18 NFL Week 10 preview

We size up the matchups starting with Raiders-broncos, head to Berlin for Falcons-colts and cap it on “Monday Night Football” with Eagles-packers. NFL statistics, boxes, ●

Condemning our sports?

NBA scandal and our cynicism aside, sports are still too compelling to be authored by some athletic puppet master. Or sullied by shysters. Nate Davis offers his insight.

FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL Previews, picks for college and pro games

Pro, college picks for the weekend: Lions-bucs, Ole Miss-georgia

FOOTBALL

● Previews, picks for Texas-oklahoma, college and pro games ● Best ever? Day has Ohio State winning at near record pace

WORLD SERIES?

● Ranking all playoff teams, making wild card predictions ● Heated rivals meet in first round. Which one escapes?

FOOTBALL

● Pro, college previews, picks and betting tips ● Colts’ Daniel Jones is playing like a franchise QB

FOOTBALL

● 32 things we learned from NFL Week 1 matchups ● Previews, picks, betting tips for pro, college games ● Rodgers shows Jets he can still play. Will he keep it up?

POWER SHIFT

New Dallas narrative presents an opportunity for Prescott Record projections for every team Week 1 previews and picks

QBS with time running out

Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Joe Flacco are starters with their teams, but for how long? They’re all signed to one-year deals for their respective teams and their futures are uncertain.

FANTASY EXTRA

● Player breakdowns, past and projected stats ● Rankings: Top 200 and by position ● How the experts are drafting

1 TO 252

What goes through a hitter’s mind as he chases his team’s distinguished career home run record?

Chief motivation

stinging rout in Super Bowl 59 leaves Patrick Mahomes and company eager to hit the ground running in 2025.

Ichiro to enter Hall in 90% club

Ichiro Suzuki, signing autographs in 2018, is set to be enshrined in Cooperstown, New York, this weekend. We remember his splendid career, as well as those of the other four being inducted.

SEATTLE SWAY

● MLB draft’s highly touted twins owe it all to supermom ● Soto has fingerprints all over the Mets’ postseason aspirations

TRUE BREW

● NBA team grades, post-draft power rankings ● With Cooper Flagg pick, Dallas has NBA title aspirations ● Did recent No. 1 NFL picks live up to Flagg-type hype?

Thunder tie roots to tragedy

Most Oklahoma City players weren’t born when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed 30 years ago. But they have learned the story. ● Caitlin Clark doesn’t miss a beat on return to WNBA court, Page 31

BASEBALL

White Sox offer Rockies advice about coping with losing Why Louisville can win the College World Series

NBA FINALS

How Pacers, Thunder grew so quickly into conference champions

Phillies are fast risers up ranks

Kyle Schwarber scores for the Phillies, who owned MLB’S best record entering week, against the A’s. Philadelphia just had a nine-game winning streak snapped but was controlling NL East. MLB power rankings,

NFL schedule release

Jayden Daniels jacks up interest in his team as it becomes prime-time darling; ‘best-case scenario’ for division matchups; did the Cowboys lose out?

BASEBALL

● Cool Clay Holmes aces move to Mets rotation ● MLB’S second-oldest hitter keeps slugging for Guardians

Who are football’s top coaches?

A national championship continues to elude Penn State’s James Franklin but he still makes a good showing on our list of the best in the college game. Where do our experts rank him and the other 24?

NFL DRAFT REVIEW

● Grades, analysis for every team’s selections ● Which picks can immediately be stars?

WINNING PICKS

● Which NFL teams have the most at stake? ● Top 150 draft board; grading each position ● Is Louisiana the new Texas for talent?

Three times the champs

4 First off-path turn of events Titans would stun the NFL draft right from start if team didn’t take Cam Ward. 4-5 NFL draft QB rankings Is this year’s class a minefield? A look at 10 players whose names are likely to be called over the three days...

HOUSE MONEY

BASEBALL ● Payrolls and top salaries: Are Dodgers really No. 1? ● Bookie at heart of gambling scandal talks Ohtani

Remembering “Finley Ball” years

Bob Hope throws the first pitch with Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley (right) and MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn (left) at the 1973 World Series. As the A’s shift to Sacramento, we revisit a glorious era and its end.

NCAA TOURNAMENT

UCLA has another super center in Lauren Betts Calipari silences doubters of Arkansas

WHY WORRY?

● Projected lineups, keys to victory for every team ● Preseason power rankings, season predictions ● Loss of ace doesn’t dull Yanks’ high aspirations

FANTASY EXTRA

● Player rankings: Overall, by position ● Stat projections: Hitters, pitchers ● See how the experts bid, draft

‘I made a lot of people happy’

In an exclusive with USA TODAY, Sammy Sosa, now a Chicago Cubs guest instructor, talks about playing during the major leagues’ steroid era. “Nobody was blind,” he tells our Bob Nightengale.

BASEBALL

● Trimmed! Why did Yankees ease their facial hair policy? ● Will Justin Verlander be the last to 300 wins?

SKENES STYLE

● Spring schedule, around the parks, 40-man rosters ● Projected major league records for 2025 ● New big fish brings brash style Boston needs

Who are MLB’S winter winners?

4 All-out Eagles Philadelphia’s defensive front comes together to find its masterful stroke to stymie K.C. in the Super Bowl. ● Eagles rookie gets ultimate birthday gift, Page 5 6 ‘I take ownership’ Battered Patrick Mahomes blames himself for loss....

Doncic-for-davis and the all-time biggest basketball trades

● Winning ugly formula has Chiefs on verge of history

Winning ugly formula has Chiefs on verge of history

CFP CHAMPIONSHIP

Buckeyes vs. Fighting Irish: Who wins it all? Ohio State oh-so-close to rewriting narrative Notre Dame finds new ways to push back

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Irish-nittany Lions, Buckeyes-longhorns; who wins? ● Ohio State finds fuel from Michigan loss ●

Bold proclamations for ’25

BACK: Dan Campbell (left) and Lebron James. FRONT: Travis Kelce (left) and Paige Bueckers.

Cover credits

Ryan Day by Adam Cairns/columbus Dispatch/usa TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, James Franklin by Robert Goddin, Imagn Images. Rickey Henderson is shown during the 1995 season, Imagn Images. Michael Penix Jr. by Brett Davis, Imagn Images.

Yankees, Red Sox strike back after losing Soto

NFL Week 14 previews

Picks for Packers-lions, Bills-rams, Chargers-chiefs, every other game.

FOOTBALL

Previews, picks for NFL, monster college football weekend Is Ohio State a national title contender? Michigan still looms

IU-OSU: It gets real

Indiana is in an uncharacteristic place under a coach who has changed the football culture. Is Ohio State ready? ● New Curt Cignetti contract sends clear signal: IU is serious. Page 8 ● Florida, Colorado headline college football Week 12 winners and...

MLB OFFSEASON PREVIEW

● Ranking the free agents; where will they land? ● 10 teams to watch as hot stove season heats up

HOOSIER BALL

● Previews, picks, betting tips for this weekend’s NFL, college games ● Powerhouse Dodgers, Yankees reinvigorate a storied Series rivalry ● NBA preview: Team power rankings, predictions, title odds

Cover credits

Nick Sirianni by Tim Nwachukwu, Getty Images. Steve Sarkisian by Sara Diggins, American-statesman (via Olydrop). Dan Lanning by Chris Pietsch, The Register-guard; Ryan Day by Joseph Maiorana, Imagn Images; Jalen Milroe by Steve Roberts, Imagn Images.

DON’T BLINK

● Previews, picks Ou-texas, Ole MISS-LSU, monster weekend in college football ● NFL Week 6: Cowboys-lions, Bucs-saints, Steelers-raiders. Who wins? ● NHL point projections, predictions for the new season

Bama survives; is Texas on horizon?

Alabama’s Zabien Brown (2) had a key interception that drop-kicked Georgia and charted a course that may include a Texas rematch.

Why a Steelers QB trade makes sense

Justin Fields has gone 3-0 as the starter. Moving Russell Wilson, right, could benefit this other AFC team, as well as Pittsburgh. Page 5.

NFL overreactions

The Ravens and Dolphins are doomed. The Saints are the class of the NFC South. The Rams are a non-contender. We sort out what might (or might not) be true after Week 2. ● Fantasy football rankings and sizzlers/fizzlers, Page 7

Pro, college previews, picks, betting tips

Ranking the top fantasy players

Where do Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs and others rank overall and by position? Our cheat sheet pullout is on

MUCH TO PROVE

● Previews of every FBS conference ● Heisman watch, All-American team ● Can Oregon be the best in the Big Ten?

MLB power rankings

Needless to say, the 27-87 White Sox have a permanent lease on No. 30 in USA TODAY Sports’ MLB rankings, what with No. 29, the 41-71 Colorado Rockies, way ahead of them. But Chicago’s futility is almost immeasurable. Forget about the 1962 Mets. There...