morning win – Syndication Server

We just lived through the most consequential NBA trade deadline ever

The Lakers really got away with this.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Thanks for reading the Morning Win today. We appreciate you.

There have been some wild NBA trade deadlines throughout the league’s history since it began the “tradition” in 1987. We’ve seen some pretty big moves come down that have had ripple effects throughout the league before.

There are a few that come to mind. Remember 2011 when the Knicks basically gutted their roster for Carmelo Anthony? There was also that Deron Williams trade that, eventually, led to the Nets making one of the worst deals in NBA history.

Some of you old-heads probably remember the 1994 deadline when Dominique Wilkins was traded for Danny Manning. Or how about when Rasheed Wallace was dealt to the Pistons in 2004? What a nasty decade for the Hawks, man.

The thing about it, though, is that you could combine all of those trades together into one deadline and it would still pale in comparison to what we just witnessed, folks.

There is no doubt in my mind that this will ultimately go down as the most consequential NBA trade deadline ever.

The reason why is apparent. The Lakers got Luka Doncic for pennies on the dollar, which still seems highly fishy to me but whatever.

But, even outside of that deal, lots of other top-tier talent in the NBA changed hands.

In total, four current or former All-NBA players were moved in the week leading up to the trade deadline between Doncic, Anthony Davis, De’Aaron Fox and Jimmy Butler.

JIMMY TRADE GRADES: The Warriors didn’t get Kevin Durant, but they got something.

If you count those names and add Brandon Ingram, Khris Middleton and Andrew Wiggins (LOL) we’re talking about seven current or former All-Stars who changed teams in the last 72 hours. That’s a lot of talent on the move, folks. That doesn’t include the Lakers getting Mark Williams or Kings getting Jonas Valanciunas.

The Lakers went into deadline week as a frisky team that could be fun in the playoffs to a legitimate championship contender, thanks to a little help from Nico Harrison and the Mavericks. The Warriors have found a second-fiddle to play with Steph Curry. The Raptors are … I don’t know what the Raptors are doing. But it’s something. The Spurs got Victor Wembanyama an All-Star caliber running-mate.

This deadline will shape the NBA for the next decade and there’s still a few hours left to go. Things aren’t finished.

Buckle in, folks.

The Connecticut Sun can’t catch a break

Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images

Talk about a complete remake of a roster. The 2025 Connecticut Sun team won’t look anything like it did in 2025.

Marina Mabrey — who Connecticut just traded for last season — has requested a trade from the Sun, according to the latest from ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.

Assuming that she’s granted her request (which she probably will be), the Sun will have lost:

Dijonai Carrington (Dallas Wings)
Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix Mercury)
DeWanna Bonner (Indiana Fever)
Ty Harris (Dallas Wings)
Brionna Jones (Atlanta Dream)
Marina Mabrey (TBD)

That list doesn’t include losing their head coach, Stephanie White, who went back home to coach the Fever.

Connecticut has been a powerhouse in the W for years. Those days are done. Everything is being torn down to the studs here and it all happened so fast.

The WNBA, man. This league is nuts.

Pete Alonso is back

Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Pete Alonso is back, folks. It wasn’t a guarantee that the Mets would keep him around this season considering how much money the team already spent, but the two sides worked things out.

Here’s Cory Woodroof with more:

“News broke on Wednesday night that the franchise had re-signed its beloved first baseman to a two-year contract worth $54 million, per the New York Post‘s Jon Heyman. There will be an opt-out after the first year, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

After New York owner Steve Cohen gave a brutally honest assessment of where the “exhausting” negotiations were with Alonso’s camp last month, things worked out in the end between the Mets and their franchise star.”

That’s a lot of money. But it also feels like kind of a steal for the Mets, considering that Alonso turned down a massive extension two seasons ago.

Regardless, it’s good to see Alonso stick around in New York.

Quick hits: The Tom Brady timeline … Octopus, explained … and more

— Here’s a look back at Tom Brady’s complicated year in the booth with Fox from Charles Curtis.

— Shoutout to Blake Schuster because I wouldn’t know what an Octopus prop bet is without him.

— Jimmy Butler is as quirky as ever as he heads to Golden State. Here’s Cory Woodroof with more on that.

— Travis Kelce gushed over Caitlin Clark after finally linking up. Meg Hall has more.

— Myles Garrett is consulting the wrong guy about how to leave Cleveland, Robert Zeglinski writes.

— LeBron had one big message for Luka Doncic. Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky with more.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you. Have a fantastic Thursday. Peace.

-Sykes

The NFL can’t even let the NBA have trade season to itself

Trade rumors probably aren’t great for the Super Bowl news cycle.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks for joining us today.

We all know this week is all about the Super Bowl. It’s the biggest American sporting event of the year. Once Sunday gets here, everything else is paused. We all know how it goes.

FLY EAGLES, FLY: Three shrewd moves that got the Eagles to the Super Bowl.

But, every year, the NBA always takes a little bit of our attention with the trade deadline. It’s just a second! It’s not a long time. But it’s definitely a good one. We’ve already got a couple of blockbuster deals from the league with plenty more to come (looking at you, Jimmy Butler).

But y’all know how the NFL is. That league can’t let anybody have anything.

It tried to steal Christmas. It already had Thanksgiving. Now, it’s coming for the trade deadline — although, it’s not really on purpose.

We got huge NFL trade news on Monday. Myles Garrett demanded a trade from the Browns (FINALLY) and then the Rams decided to hit Cooper Kupp with the “It’s not you. It’s me. But, also, it’s kind of you” text. Two NFL superstars are now officially on the market.

Puka Nacua said he thought it was just the NBA’s trade season. I concur. These rumors are kind of coming out of nowhere for the NFL. Things don’t usually happen this way — at least not yet. And I’m sure the league likely isn’t happy things are shaking out this way, considering that this week is only supposed to be about the Super Bowl.

But, honestly, it’s probably better for the Rams and the Browns that this is how everything is playing out. It gives them more time to work with to field calls and bring in the best package possible for their stars.

But, man. NFL. Stop sucking up all the air in the room. Please and thanks.

The Luka trade still has everyone shook

Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Luka Doncic trade was obviously surprising to all of the fans out there. But what’s furrowed my brow a bit has been the reaction from the players around the league.

The players seem to be so shocked by the move because, well, it’s a shocking move. Things like this just don’t happen across sports.

The takeaway from this is simple: If Luka can be traded, anyone can be traded. Anthony Edwards captured this perfectly with his comments here:

Ant sends a message to the Timberwolves

"I'm scared… Tim, if you're gonna trade me let me know dawg"

(h/t @ohnohedidnt24 ) pic.twitter.com/RGEYpG65Ot

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 4, 2025

“I’m scared. I’m scared. Tim [Connelly] if you’re going to trade me, let me know dog. When Luka got traded, anybody is able to get traded at that point.”

Edwards is joking there … kind of. But there’s truth in his jest! If Luka Doncic — a five-time All-NBA player and a guy who just led a team to an NBA Finals — can be moved, then there’s not really any player who should be considered untouchable in the NBA.

It’s worth noting how rare this is. This never happens. We’ll probably never see anything like it again.

But this has definitely sent a ripple through the NBA’s star class. It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts players moving forward.

A’ja Wilson’s first signature shoe is here

We’ve been waiting months — actually, years — for A’ja Wilson and Nike to finally launch a signature shoe together.

Word came last May that one was actually on the way. Now, we’re finally getting a first glance at it. It looks dope!

This is the first look at the Nike A’One, set to drop in May this spring.

Can’t wait to see these on the court soon.

Quick hits: Roger Goodell defends the refs … The Fantastic Four are here … and more

— Here’s Andrew Joseph with more on Roger Goodell’s defense of the officials when it comes to favorable calls for the Chiefs.

—The new Fantastic Four trailer dropped! Charles Curtis has more on our first look at Galactus.

— Here’s Mitchell Northam on Aziaha James demanding our attention with here incredible performance.

— Saquon Barkley is trolling the Giants … again.

— Here’s Mary Clarke with Cooper Kupp’s message to Rams fans after learning the team put him on the trade block.

— Cory Woodroof thinks the Commanders should do everything they can to get Myles Garrett.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you. Have a fantastic Tuesday. Peace.

-Sykes

It’s time to hate the Lakers. Again.

Are we sure this isn’t collusion? Somebody investigate this.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you.

It’s been a little over 36 hours and I thought I’d be over the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade by now.

I’m not.

This deal sucks, man. No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t make sense. Short term. Long term. Somewhere in the middle. It screams, “Hey, this is a bad idea!” But the Mavericks did it anyway. There’s a reason we all thought this trade was fake.

TRADE GRADES: Here are our grades for the deal. As I’m sure you can imagine, Dallas didn’t do too well here.

I don’t need to break down the details here. You’ve surely seen them all by now. You know exactly how much this deal sucks — well, unless you’re a Laker fan. Then it’s great for you.

But that’s the thing, man. It’s always great for you. I cannot think of a time in my life when it has not been great for Lakers fans.

It always works out. Why? No idea, man. Because it’s the Lakers. That’s the only answer I have at this point. And you can’t say it’s not valid because look at how many stars they’ve lucked into.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was traded there for some dudes you’ll never remember. They got Magic Johnson because of a stupid coin flip. Shaquille O’Neal chose to go there on his own and they drafted Kobe Bryant thanks to a draft-day trade for Vlade Divac. But then, years later after Shaq leaves, they trade for Pau Gasol with Kwame Brown, guys. Kwame. Brown. Then, LeBron James became the team’s savior after Kobe’s Achilles tear.

And, now, this. Luka Doncic for just one draft pick.

This is Laker exceptionalism in the flesh. It’s the reason we hate Lakers fans so much. They’re always photoshopping other team’s stars into their uniforms. Do you know why they do it? Because it actually happens, man. They know it’s real. There’s never any rhyme or reason to it, but it’s real. This Doncic trade is proof.

I’ve been chill on my Lakers hate in recent years. The bubble title was a nice enough story and, frankly, they haven’t been good enough for me to care otherwise.

But that period is over now. Clearly, this team needs some haters. They’ve got a pretty good one in me.

The Spurs are back, too

Some of you probably don’t even know that the Spurs traded for De’Aaron Fox last night amid all the chaos going on in the NBA.

It was another massive three-team deal between the Spurs, Kings and Bulls where, of course, the Bulls somehow trade Zach LaVine away and draw the least value in the deal.

Regardless, though, this is a legitimately great deal for San Antonio. They got Fox while keeping:

Stephon Castle, who has been a very promising rookie player for them.
Devin Vassell, who has shown promise as a scorer.
A reasonable amount of future draft picks.

And, obviously, the big win is getting to pair Victor Wembanyama with an All-Star point guard in his second year.

San Antonio is going for it. Wemby is good enough that it’s a good idea to do so. The team also didn’t completely mortgage its future just in case this doesn’t work out.

The Lakers are getting stars for nothing and the Spurs are making smart moves again. Is it 2003 outside?

TRADE GRADES: This one was a stunner. Good on San Antonio.

WOP WOP WOP WOP WOP

Just wanted to give a shoutout to Kendrick Lamar, who won five Grammys on Sunday night for “Not Like Us.” He got:

Song of the Year
Best Rap Song
Best Performance
Record of the Year
Best Music Video

And he had the entire stadium screaming the lyrics to his song.

Drake gotta be somewhere punching air right now. Can’t wait until the Super Bowl.

Quick hits: Beyoncé wins best Country album … Boooooo America … and more

— Beyoncé won Best Country Album and she couldn’t believe it. Caroline Darney has more here.

— Here’s Charles Curtis on why Canadian fans are booing the U.S. National Anthem at games these days.

— Meg Hall has our WNBA free agent tracker humming. This league is going crazy.

— Christian D’Andrea has a new mock draft out with Shedeur Sanders going to Cleveland. Nice.

— Even the Grammys knew how stupid the Lakers-Mavs trade was.

— Here’s Luka Doncic’s message to Mavericks fans after their team completely let them down. This is so sad.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Have a great Monday and a great week. Peace.

-Sykes

A Terry Rozier gambling scandal would be a nightmare for the sports world

This could be catastrophic.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Happy Friday. Hope you’ve had a great week.

Let’s talk about this Terry Rozier gambling investigation.

The Miami Heat guard is being investigated by federal authorities who are looking into whether he manipulated his performance as part of a broader sports betting scheme.

Basically, without getting into the nitty-gritty, federal authorities have suspicions that Rozier tried to pull off the same thing Jontay Porter tried to pull off. The allegations involve the same group of co-conspirators, but the game in question for Rozier happened in 2023 instead of 2024.

The NBA launched its own investigation into the matter and reportedly found no rule violations, according to Chris Haynes, but federal authorities seem to have reason to believe they need to dig deeper into this.

EVERYTHING WE KNOW: Here are more details on the investigation into Rozier and everything at stake

A Terry Rozier gambling scandal has the potential to be destabilizing for the sports world. This should be considered a 10-alarm fire if investigators were to find any malfeasance on the Heat guard’s part.

This is the same as the Jontay Porter scandal, but it’s not.

Yes, if what is alleged is true, Rozier would’ve done the same thing Porter did in manipulating his stats to reach specific benchmarks to satisfy betting lines. That, in general, is a terrible thing to do and completely disregards the integrity of the game.

But it’d be different in that Porter made the league-minimum salary in the NBA. Whatever piece of the pie he was making off of fudging his numbers probably made a difference for him. That’s why sportsbooks no longer take bets on the lowest-paid players across the NBA.

But Terry Rozier? That dude’s current contract guarantees him nearly $100 million. He’s made nearly $134 million in career earnings throughout his time in the league. He doesn’t need the money. A betting scandal probably wouldn’t make much of a difference for him.

If he were to take part in something like this anyway? It’d be a huge blow to the sports betting industry. Detractors would point to this as proof that there’s no stopping temptation from winning over, no matter how many rules or regulations you put in place to stop it. The integrity of the game will always be in jeopardy.

Is that fair? It’s hard to say. On one hand, the regulations are doing what they’re supposed to do. One player has already been caught in a scandal and another one is potentially being investigated here. Nothing may come from this. And, even if something does, then that’s proof the system is working to catch wrongdoers in their tracks.

But, even if that’s the case, one could argue that the fact that we need a system for that in the first place makes the entire thing fraught to begin with.

Whatever you’re inclined to think about this, I’d probably hold off on any sweeping judgments. There’s an ongoing investigation and the results of that matter.

But, best believe, the sports world has its eyes on this one.

James Cook is a real one

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Everybody wants to chalk the Chiefs’ success up to the referees. And, look, I get it. They get a lot of calls that go their way. But the game comes down to more than that.

James Cook knows what’s good. If you give officials nothing to call, then they can’t call anything.

“At the end of the day, you got to come in there ready to go… [expletive] that ref [expletive]. You gotta come in there ready to go, ready to play. Don’t give a ref nothing to call.”

That’s honestly refreshing to hear. Maybe this is just Cook putting on airs so he doesn’t get fined by the NFL. Regardless, the officiating talk all season has gotten exhausting.

People hate the Chiefs, They have plenty of reason to hate the Chiefs and that’s totally cool with me. But, in the end, they win a lot because they’re just that good. Do they get the benefit of the doubt on some calls? Sure. When you’re that good, it happens.

But, usually, the game doesn’t boil down to that. We’d be better off acting like we know that.

Elly De La Cruz is so fun

And I’m so glad baseball knows it. This new commercial from Major League Baseball features a stop-motion Elly doing real-life Elly things.

Watch on TikTok

This spot is part of the league’s “Baseball is Something Else” campaign. It’s supposed to center the game’s young stars to get people excited about this upcoming season.

This commercial, in particular, features Elly as a created player who has come to life from a video game. MLB says it took 3,000 photos to bring the stop-motion animation to life, which seems extremely arduous. But it’s also totally worth it.

It’s always good to see baseball leaning in on its up-and-coming superstars like this. MLB is in a cool place right now.

Photo Friday: Kobbie Mainoo is floating

Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo looks like he’s flying on this shot attempt. What an incredible athlete.

Quick hits: The Justin Tucker scandal … Angel Reese’s big surprise … and more

— Here’s everything we know about Justin Tucker’s sexual misconduct scandal so far. Charles Curtis has it covered.

— Angel Reese paid off her mom’s mortgage in one of the sweetest gestures you’ll ever see. Meg Hall has more.

— Bryan Kalbrosky has your snubs from the NBA All-Star game here.

— Cory Woodroof has the full NBA All-Star game rosters ready to go for you.

— Shoutout to the Wizards for letting Bronny James get MVP chants. Sheesh.

— Mary Clarke has more on the Bruins honoring the victims of the Potomac plane crash here.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us this week. We appreciate you. Have a great weekend. We’ll chat again on Monday.

-Sykes

Words cannot explain how sad the Potomac plane crash is

What a tragedy this is.

“I hope everyone is OK.”

That was my only thought last night as I watched the local news broadcast here in D.C.

We’d learned that an American Airlines jet collided in midair with a Black Hawk military helicopter on Wednesday night. The plane was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members. The helicopter was carrying three service members.

Officials believe there are no survivors.

EVERYTHING WE KNOW: Here’s everything we know about the crash so far.

I can’t begin to explain the sadness that rained upon me as I heard that news. As I learned that nothing would be OK for those people. That the folks waiting for them at home will never see them again. They won’t hear that door open and be able to say, “Welcome home.” The only call they’ll get is from someone they’d never heard of telling them a loved one is lost and isn’t coming back.

I can’t imagine what it’s like to get that call. To be frank, I don’t want to. No one does.

Several members of the U.S. and Russian Figure Skating teams were aboard the plane. They were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating championships in Wichita. They flew together with coaches and family, all just trying to make it back home.

This is unspeakably sad. There are no words for it. There aren’t enough platitudes to make it OK. It’s just not and it never will be.

What I also find particularly upsetting is that we’ve already moved on to searching for answers. How did this happen? Was this avoidable? What was communicated between these two vehicles before they collided?

Maybe I feel this a bit more than you do because of how close I am to the situation in terms of proximity. Being so close here in D.C. has certainly shaped my perspective on it. The impact on the local community here cannot be understated.

The further away you are, the easier it is to be a bit removed from the tragedy. You want someone to blame because that’s the first thing you can connect to.

For folks like me who call this area home, you can see the impact more clearly. You see the concentrated rescue and. subsequent recovery efforts. You can see every critical moment of this up close.

Because of that, I can assure you this isn’t just a D.C. tragedy. It’s not a political story — at least not right now. It’s a human one first. It needs to be treated that way.

We all have questions. They’re well and good. Eventually, they will need answers. But I can’t bring myself to worry about those things today. It all feels so trivial when there are so many lives lost.

Officials will get to the bottom of those things. But those questions shouldn’t be the center of our attention. Not in this moment.

Look, I get it. In times of tragedy, we tend to look for someone to blame when things go awry. This has to be someone’s fault. Somebody has got to pay for this.

This doesn’t seem like something that should’ve happened. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, says this was “absolutely” preventable. If that is true, then somebody has to answer for this. Bottom line.

But searching for a pound of flesh today won’t bring back the lives that were lost. Nothing will.

There were 67 people involved in this crash. Sixty-seven people who will never make it back home. They were mothers, brothers, fathers and sisters to someone. They had people who loved them, and they loved them back.

As we search for answers and figure out how this happened, let’s do our best not to forget the human element. Today, we should focus on those people — not on who should lose what job. That comes second.

Make sure to tell the people you love that you love them. You never know when it’ll be your last chance.

Good for Caitlin Clark

May 16, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots a three-pointer while being guarded by New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot (22) on Thursday, May 16, 2024, during the Indiana Fever home opener game against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports — Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports

Caitlin Clark decided against participating in the NBA’s 3-point shootout with Steph Curry and Sabrina Ionescu.

Why? Meg Hall has the answer:

“Per Tom Friend, her representatives confirmed that she won’t be at All-Star and wants “her first three-point contest to be at WNBA All-Star in Indianapolis this summer.”

Good for Clark, man. I always thought it was weird that the NBA had already penciled her in for this off-the-cuff competition with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Sabrina Ionescu. No one asked her if she wanted to do it. No one asked if it even made sense to have her do it.

The WNBA and its players are not just props for the NBA to use at their whim. Shoutout to Caitlin Clark for recognizing that and rejecting this shot into the third row.

Jameis Winston discovers Jameis Winston memes

We all need a good laugh today, so here’s Jameis Winston discovering memes of himself.

Sorry, Jamies. They’re too good not to dabble in. Maybe just don’t be so ridiculous next season.

Quick hits: What’s a Wasatch? … Brittney Griner in Atlanta is perfect … and more

— Here’s Charles Curtis explaining what a Wasatch is. Let’s learn together because I have no idea.

— Here’s Meg Hall on why Brittney Griner’s move to Atlanta is a good one.

— Xavier Worthy balled out in the AFC Championship so he got to finally meet Taylor Swift.

— Eagles and Commanders players were both surprised the refs could just award the Eagles a touchdown for a palpably unfair act. Andrew Joseph has more..

— Here’s Mary Clarke with the latest goal count for Alex Ovechkin. He’s coming, Gretzky.

— This has got to be the funniest way to get injured. Blake Schuster has more.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. Appreciate you. Peace. Be kind to yourself today.

-Sykes

The Kings are officially the Kangz again. No, that’s not a good thing.

KANGZ gonna KANG.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today.

It looks like we’re in for a big shakeup on the NBA side.

The Sacramento Kings are reportedly open to trading De’Aaron Fox, according to the latest from ESPN’s Shams Charania. It also seems like De’Aaron Fox is also very open to a trade and has “zeroed in” on a spot to land, according to Chris Haynes’ reporting.

It seems like we’ve arrived at the place where it’s pretty much a given that the Kings will be trading their best player in the next week. We’re here — again. Just as we were three seasons ago when Sacramento decided to keep Fox over Tyrese Haliburton and bring in Domantas Sabonis.

It seems pretty clear that Fox is angling his way to the Spurs at this point, who are also desperately looking for a younger point guard to pair with Victor Wembanyama.

A FRESH START: Four landing spots for De’Aaron Fox, including two in his home state of Texas.

Seeing Fox with Wemby would be cool. Seeing him on a playoff team, in general, would also be very cool.

But something about this is all just so sad to me.

I thought we were out of KANGZ territory with the Kings. But here we are, squarely back where we were four years ago when Sacramento was an unserious organization.

The KANGZ meme started as a joke for those who don’t know. People would call it the team when the Kings did something dumb. It’s a sign of their dysfunction, which we thought was out the window.

This team just made the playoffs two seasons ago behind a dynamic core with Fox and Domantas Sabonis. It wasn’t just that they made the playoffs — they also made it look so fun! Mike Brown changed the culture. We were all lighting the beam.

Now, here we are in 2025. The lights are off. Mike Brown has been unceremoniously fired. De’Aaron Fox wants out, and there’s a strong chance he gets his way. None of this was supposed to happen this way.

But, I guess, once a Kang, always a Kang. Maybe the dysfunction just never goes away.

Shakeups in the WNBA

Speaking of trades, whew boy, WNBA free agency has been on fire lately. So many stars have changed teams in the last few days.

A quick recap of the last week:

The Sun traded Alyssa Thomas and Ty Harris to the Mercury for Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen and the No. 12 overall pick
Brittney Griner decided to sign with the Atlanta Dream after testing free agency for the first time in her career.
The Aces traded Kelsey Plum in a 3-team deal to the Sparks to acquire Jewell Loyd. The Storm get the No. 2 overall pick.

There have been busy WNBA offseasons before, but the blitz we just got is madness. This fundamentally reshapes the league in a way that I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted.

Things aren’t finished. There are still more moves to come. Satou Sabally still has to pick a destination. The Connecticut Sun look like they’re ready to bottom out, so we could see a Dijonai Carrington trade soon, too. The Chicago Sky are still looking for a point guard.

There’s a lot of meat still left on this bone. Stay locked in.

The Paul Bros. boxing match is probably not actually a boxing match

Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Jake and Logan Paul are scheduled to do…something on March 27. What that something might be, we have no idea.

It’s probably not a boxing match, though. Tyler Netunno broke down why that’s the case beautifully here.

“According to a report from USA TODAY’s Josh Peter, a fight between the Pauls hasn’t been listed on BoxRec, a database that charts both sanctioned professional and amateur fights. However, it does not list exhibitions.

Per Peter’s report, more information about the event is expected on Thursday. Neither Warner Bros. Discovery or Jake Paul’s MVP promotions put out a press release along with the brothers’ announcements.

Max, which did repost both announcements on social media, did not respond to a request for comment from Awful Announcing regarding whether there will be a fight between the Pauls.

There are also logical reasons to think this may not actually be a fight. As Awful Announcing’s Ben Axelrod points out, Jake is a much more experienced fighter and typically weighs 30 pounds heavier than Logan.”

No idea what this is. All I know is that I shall not be seated for it. That is, unless FTW makes me.

Please, guys, don’t make me.

Quick hits: Alyssa Thomas trade grades … The No Fun League returns … and more

— Here’s Meg Hall with a full trade grade for the Alyssa Thomas deal. I can’t believe this happened.

— The Eagles aren’t allowed to wear their Kelly Green uniforms in the Super Bowl. Andrew Joseph has more on this.

— Ace Bailey might be on the rise! Here’s Brian Kalbrosky with more.

— This moment for Chris Jones after the Chiefs reached the Super Bowl again is so nice. Charles Curtis has more.

— Christian D’Andrea ranked every Super Bowl quarterback ever. Yes, you’re reading that correctly.

— Tiger Woods had a hilarious message for his mom before playing Rory McIlroy in TGL.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Peace!

-Sykes

The Heat trying to out-petty Jimmy Butler isn’t going to work

This is not going to end well in Miami.

Good morning, Winners! Happy Tuesday. Thanks for rocking with TMW today.

The Jimmy Butler saga in Miami just keeps getting worse.

The dude just got back from a prior team suspension, and now, apparently, he’s suspended indefinitely for walking out of a team shootaround.

Is he taking it seriously? Absolutely not. He’s posting memes about how he doesn’t have a job anymore, like Tommy from Martin.

Guys. Who could’ve seen this coming?

OH, WAIT. We did.

Heat fans, I hate to say I told you so, but I definitely told you so.

The Miami Heat needed to trade Jimmy Butler weeks ago when this whole suspension saga started, but at the very least, it needed to happen last week when the team decided to suspend him for two games.

JIMMY BUTLER IS A CHAOS AGENT: Things have steadily gone downhill since he returned to the Heat from suspension.

Butler walked out of shootaround because, according to Kevin Love’s extremely hilarious and messy Instagram post, the Heat planned on starting Haywood Highsmith over him in their next game.

On one hand, I get it. Butler hasn’t been part of the team over this last month. He’s actively tried to force his way out. So it makes sense to reward someone who actually wants to be there with a starting spot over a guy who doesn’t.

On the other hand, Butler is better than Highsmith on his worst day. That’s not a knock on Highsmith — it’s just the truth! We all know it. So, yeah, I can see Butler crashing out a bit when he gets that news.

Here’s the thing: The Heat are trying to out-petty Jimmy Butler right now.

Butler is doing things to get under the team’s skin, and Miami is doing the same in return. They’ve demoted him, suspended him, and taken chunks of his salary away. That wouldn’t go over well with anyone, but certainly not the guy who has burned every bridge he’s walked across in his career.

And that’s the thing, man. Somebody needs to tell the Heat that they won’t out-petty Jimmy Butler. He won’t let you do it. He’s going to get the last laugh. He always does. Just ask the Timberwolves how that goes. That man embarrassed his team in practice and then sat down with Rachel Nichols to let us all know that he did it.

He always finds a way to embarrass you in the end. That’s what he does. He’s chaos through and through. So, sure, the Heat may have him cornered now with the demotion and the suspension. But this isn’t over. Not by a long shot.

I am begging Miami to please trade this man before things get worse.

MLB, please be cooler next season

We absolutely need to see minute-long home-run trots like the one Junior Caminero did in LIDOM, a professional Dominican Republic winter league.

Look at him strut, y’all.

An all-time home run trot from Junior Caminero with an incredible call to match. pic.twitter.com/N7d3WhqqXj

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 28, 2025

Mary Clarke has more on the situation here. This is definitely a strut-worthy moment.

“Monday night saw the close of the LIDOM, a professional Dominican Republic winter league, with Game 7 of the championship between the Leones del Escogido and the Tigres del Licey. And in the top of the ninth inning with the game tied 5-5, Caminero — an infielder for the Tampa Bay Rays — absolutely blasted what would end up being the game-winning home run to deep center field to give the Leones del Escogido the lead.”

Do something like this in Major League Baseball and you’re likely to get pelted by a ball six months later when you face the same pitcher again for the first time. It’s so corny.

MLB is a great league, but it can be so much more fun if it brings life like this into it. Please, baseball, let it happen someday.

It’s OK to hate the Chiefs

Ever since Nate Burleson went on his spiel about how people need to appreciate the greatness of the Chiefs after Kansas City made it to a third consecutive Super Bowl, there’s been a conversation going about whether that’s actually necessary.

And, look. I like the Chiefs. I’m someone who loves to see a video game boss in sports. Patrick Mahomes is my GOAT QB.

But people don’t have to like them. They don’t have to like anyone. It’s sports! Sometimes, you can be a hater. It’s fine! The Chiefs have everything else already. They don’t need your love, too.

Cory Woodroof spelled it out better than I ever could here.

“The Chiefs are everywhere, and we’re now expected to be happy for them lest we disrespect the very game of football. This is like forcing people to be happy for a billionaire who finds a twenty-dollar bill on the sidewalk.

How many times do we have to hear Kelce yell the lyrics to the Beastie Boys until we’ve justifiably had enough? How many times do we need to hear NFL broadcasters wax poetic about the greatness of Mahomes when he’s not even playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL?

How many times do we have to hear a team that has won three Super Bowls in five seasons groan on and on about how nobody believed in them when they’re literally the most popular team in the country?

How many reruns of that obnoxious David Lynch nightmare State Farm Bundle-Rooski commercial do we have to watch until we “Bundle-Rooski-Doo” our remotes into the television screen and watch it shatter into a million fragments of color?”

Put them hater-shades on, folks. It’s alright.

Quick hits: The Super Bowl is scripted … Oof, Liam Coen … and more

— The Super Bowl logo is perfectly color-coded again smh. HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!? Andrew Joseph has more.

— Liam Coen screwed up the “Duval” chant in his opening press conference with the Jaguars. Cory Woodroof has more.

— South Carolina suspended a DJ who played a song tied to Flau’Jae Johnson. Sheesh. Meg Hall has more.

— Mac McClung deserves a roster spot if he’s going to keep saving the NBA Dunk Contest. Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky with more.

— Jerry Jones is defending the Brian Schottenhimer hire like only Jerry Jones can. Cory has more.

— Remember that phantom flag at the end of the Bills-Chiefs game? Here’s an explainer for that. Christian D’Andrea has more.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Have a fantastic Tuesday. Peace.

-Sykes

5 good reasons you should root against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl

You might not be here for the Eagles, but you’re definitely not here for the Chiefs.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to TMW. Good to see you again on this Monday morning.

So we get the Chiefs and the Eagles in the big game again, huh?

As an Eagles fan, I am thrilled. I would say I can’t believe we got here, but that would be a lie. This team was always good enough to get back to the Super Bowl — it was only a matter of whether it would self-sabotage. They’ve managed to avoid that so far.

The only question is whether they can be good enough to cancel out whatever cockamamie hocus-pocus the Chiefs have going on over there.

I think we can help with that.

Have you ever watched Dragon Ball Z? Yes, this is a very random pull. But I promise I’m going somewhere with this.

Every time Goku — the main character of the series — is faced with an opponent that just won’t die, he has to go deep in his bag and pull out his most potent move: The Spirit Bomb.

But the Spirit Bomb is tricky. You can’t use it all the time because the only way it becomes more powerful is if all the living beings around you choose to donate their energy to it. If they don’t, then the blast is smaller.

So this is me, begging you all to donate all of your energy to Jalen Hurts’ Spirit Bomb that we absolutely need to send to the Chiefs right now.

I know this is a tough sell. The Eagles are not the most likeable team in the league. They don’t throw the ball all over the yard like the Bengals, or whatever. And Nick Sirianni has a very punchable face. Even the Eagles’ fans don’t really like him all that much. But, then again, to be fair, Eagles fans don’t really like anyone all that much anyway.

I digress. Look. Guys. We need your energy to make this thing happen. I’ve come up with five really good reasons why you should root for the Eagles in two weeks on Sunday.

Enough is enough. Patrick Mahomes is already the GOAT in my eyes. Ain’t y’all tired of seeing him win? Come on, man. They can drop this one and be just fine.
And I KNOW y’all are tired of seeing Taylor Swift. Me, personally? She’s good money in my book. But, hey, man. The cutaway shots can stop if the Chiefs lose.
The Hunt family also sucks. We don’t need another Clark Hunt speech where he gets to hold the trophy first like he actually played in the game. Did you know he was voted as the worst owner in the NFL? Do you want to support the worst owner in the NFL? No, you don’t.
It’ll be Saquon Barkley’s birthday! Cooper DeJean’s, too! And a Super Bowl would be a fantastic gift.
A.J. Brown needs a book deal ASAP.

If none of those reasons are good enough for you, then just do it for me. I need this. Revenge would be so sweet.

Go Birds.

A shakeup in the WNBA

A blockbuster trade just brought one of the league’s best scorers to Las Vegas.

The Sparks, Storm, and Aces concocted a three-team deal, sending Kelsey Plum to Los Angeles, Jewell Loyd to Las Vegas and the No. 2 overall pick to Seattle. That’s the skinny of it.

THE DEEPER DETAILS: Here’s Mary Clarke here with more from the trade last night after the news broke.

It’s far too early to discuss winners and losers in this one. The season doesn’t even start until May. Seattle probably made out the best here getting the No. 2 pick.

But, man. Las Vegas really broke the band up.

There was a strong chance that Kelsey Plum wouldn’t be back with Vegas next season. She was entering free agency and would command money that Vegas likely wouldn’t be willing to pay.

I get all of that. But, man. It’s going to be strange watching Plum on another team. It’s really going to be strange watching Las Vegas without her.

That core has been A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young for as long as I can remember it. Chelsea Gray came along later, but those three were the ones who really made the Aces what they were. That group shared so many moments together.

My favorite might’ve been this one.

Vegas is going to miss those vibes. I’m sure LA is happy to have them.

Big shoutout to Madison Keys

USA's Madison Keys celebrates beating Poland's Iga Swiatek in their women's singles semi-final match on day twelve of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images) — ((Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Don’t let all this football distract you from the fact that Madison Keys won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open over the weekend.

It’s been a long time coming — Keys was a tennis prodigy who we thought would surely rip off slam after slam through her career.

It hasn’t really materialized that way. She’s always been a great player, but she’s never been able to break through. Not until now. And she did it by taking down four top-10 opponents to make it happen, including WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the finals.

If we liked it, Lil Wayne loves it.

Congratulations Maddi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You earned and deserve it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unforgettable match! Thx to both players for their display of skill,resilience and grit. Simply amazing! Wonderful Aussie Open! F**k yeah Maddi!!!!!!!!!!!

— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) January 25, 2025

Shoutout Maddi. Go get another one.

Quick hits: Josh Allen’s worst nightmare … Patrick Mahomes is living the dream … and more

— Josh Allen was so confident going into the Bills’ last possession. This is rough. Robert Zeglinski has more.

— Patrick Mahomes, once again, is calling out his haters. Here’s Charles Curtis with more.

— The Bills’ mistake was abandoning James Cook. Christian D’Andrea has more here.

— Nate Burleson is imploring you to bask in the Chiefs’ greatness. Please don’t.

— Have you ever seen a mascot play defense? Well, you have now. Blake Schuster has more.

— The Commanders may have lost, but we all still won because Dan Snyder is miserable.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you. Have a fantastic week. Peace.

-Sykes

Novak Djokovic is kind of a jerk but he doesn’t deserve boos for being injured

Y’all really got me defending Novak Djokovic smh.

Good morning, Winners! Happy Friday. You made it through the week.

Look, we all know how annoying Novak Djokovic can be. He’s tennis’ self-proclaimed “villain.” He’s thrown tantrum after tantrum throughout his career, trash-talked entire crowds of people, and he’s argued with umpires and so much more. That’s before we even get into all the vaccine stuff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dude is a great tennis player. He’s also just, generally, a jerk. It is what it is. That’s how he’s always been and that’s how he always will be.

But still, he didn’t deserve the boos he got from the Australian Open crowd after getting injured.

Djokovic retired early from his match against Alex Zverev. He’s been battling a nagging muscle tear in his leg, at least, since his match in the quarterfinals on Tuesday against Carlos Alcaraz. He confirmed it following his win earlier in the week.

He attempted to manage the injury for the semifinal but, obviously, it didn’t work. Whatever pain he was in worsened to the point where he had to retire early from the match after one single set.

The Australian Open crowd didn’t like it. So they booed. All Djokovic could do was give a thumbs-up on his way through the tunnel.

ZVEREV COMES TO HIS DEFENSE: He implored the crowd not to boo Djokovic after his exit.

That was such a cringey moment. It felt so unnecessary. Salute to Alexander Zverev for coming to his defense. He shouldn’t have had to do that. He also didn’t have to do it. But he did it, anyway. That’s awesome.

And, look, I get it. Djokovic is a jerk. He also left at a convenient time, just as the match seemingly got rolling. It was an injury he’d played through before, so people are likely questioning why he couldn’t do the same thing here.

But, regardless of how you feel about him or what you think about him bowing out, nobody — not even Novak Djokovic — deserves to be booed for being injured. You don’t have to like him. You can absolutely root against him. You can boo him when he’s healthy.

But booing someone when they’re hurt and can’t play? That’s wack, man. We’re better than that as a sports-viewing public. Or, at least, we should be, anyway.

Mark Andrews speaks

Everyone has been waiting for Mark Andrews to say something after dropping a potential game-tying catch on Sunday against the Bills. The Ravens would’ve had another shot to get to the AFC title game.

Instead, they’re at home and Andrews has to live with his mistake.

“WE’RE A TEAM”: Lamar Jackson consoles Mark Andrews after devastating drop

Andrews hasn’t spoken to the media about the play, but he did finally issue a statement via Instagram on Thursday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DFLjJEFz-es/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“Even though the shock and disappointment are unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, I refuse to let the situation define me,” Andrews said.

There ya go. That’s how you do it. Get back up off the turf and try it again next year. It’ll be a tough pill to swallow, but taking the challenge head-on is the best way to go about it.

Salute to Andrews for committing to that.

Ichiro is a better man than me

Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Because ain’t no way I’m sitting down and kicking it with my biggest hater.

He said that he wants to have a drink with the lone Hall of Fame voter who left him off of their ballot. Andrew Joseph has more here.

“Ichiro said that he would like to have a drink with that voter, which was a gracious approach to someone who honestly deserves to have their voting privileges revoked.

To this day, Mariano Rivera is the lone player to reach the Hall of Fame through a unanimous vote. Ichiro surely deserved to be the first position player to have that honor.

But really, you have to love that response from Ichiro. It was all class.”

Andrew is right. That’s super classy. Ichiro seems like a very nice, stand-up guy.

But, again, couldn’t be me.

Photo Friday: The other side of sports

The anguish of sports is never celebrated, but it certainly exists. We see it plainly here through David Montgomery as he goes back to the Lions’ locker room after an upset loss against the Commanders.

Quick hits: Starters and snubs … The NBA in Paris … and more

— Here are the starters for the NBA All-Star game, including a surprising appearance from Jalen Brunson. This feels right.

— There are plenty of NBA All-Star snubs, though. Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky with more.

— Everybody pulled up to the NBA in Paris on Thursday. Fashion Week looks like a fun time. Here’s Meg Hall with more.

— Here are the best bets for NFL Conference Championship weekend from Christian D’Andrea.

— Here’s Robert Zeglinski with more on Amari Cooper’s selfless message despite his limited role with the Bills.

— Blake Schuster put together a fantastic explainer on why X and Meta links are no longer welcome on some subreddits. This is fascinating.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Happy Friday, Winners! Have a great weekend. Peace.

-Sykes

The Miami Heat need to dump Jimmy Butler now before it’s too late

Let it go, Pat Riley. Please.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win.

The Miami Heat have suspended Jimmy Butler again, the team announced in a statement. It’s not as hefty as the last suspension — this one is only two games. But it’s for something even more ridiculously petty than his “I can’t find my joy” press conference. He missed a team flight to Milwaukee and now he’s suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and disregarding team rules.

Let me start by saying I totally get the Heat’s perspective here. This suspension is valid. Missing a team flight is inexcusable if you’re cleared to play. The Heat have already allowed Butler more leeway than most other stars who’ve come through those doors. Being on time for flights is not that hard of an ask.

But this is getting so ridiculous, guys. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Ever since Butler made it clear he didn’t want to play in Miami anymore, he’s gone out of his way to be nothing but a chaos agent. That’s what this is.

This missed flight is just his latest trick. He’s openly trolled Pat Riley online. He’s making team interactions as awkward as possible and getting booed during team intros. He wore a No. 45 Michael Jordan Bulls jersey to his return game press conference for crying out loud.

This is not sustainable. It’s just not. We can all see where this is going and it’s not a great place.

Jimmy Butler is the type of player who will go scorched earth to get precisely what he wants. Just ask the Timberwolves how it goes. He didn’t want to be there and did everything in his power to get out, including airing the entire team out on live television.

Thankfully, we haven’t gotten to that point yet with the Heat. But, guys, it’s coming. It’s coming. You can see it so obviously developing.

The only guy who doesn’t seem to see it here is Pat Riley, who seemingly refuses to let Butler go without getting exactly what he wants in return. You know the drill.

THE SUNS ARE WATCHING: Phoenix agreed to a super weird trade with the Jazz just for a chance at Jimmy Butler

Trying to use leverage to get more for Butler is all good, but this situation is fraught. It’s already over. If the deal you want hasn’t materialized yet, there’s a chance it just might not be there. Especially considering how hard it is to trade for stars under the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement.

Meanwhile, the leverage is probably not worth playing hardball over anymore. That locker room is about to be miserable — or, well, more miserable than it already is. Things are going to get even more awkward than they already are.

Miami should just let this go. If they’re not getting what they want? Fine. Ship Butler to Siberia. Send him somewhere he doesn’t want to be. Or, quite frankly, send him where he does want to be and let him be their headache now.

Either way, Miami, these problems won’t be yours anymore. And that’s ultimately the win you’re looking for.

THE SILVER LINING: Don’t let Jimmy Butler distract you from the fact that Kel’el Ware is actually awesome

It’s Madison’s moment

Madison Keys (WTA No. 19) pulled off quite the upset victory over Iga Swiatek (WTA No. 2) in the Australian Open.

After falling down a set early, she won two straight to punch her ticket to the tournament finals and seemingly couldn’t believe it!

Our Meg Hall has more:

“What a comeback. It’s even more special when you realize Keys lost in the semi-final rounds in 2015 and 2022.

This might also explain why Keys flatly said, “Yeah” (while stifling a laugh) when asked about the moment and if it felt good to put herself back in such a position for the second time in her career. As she rationalized in real-time what just happened on the court, she giddily said, “Yeah. I’m in the finals!” That’s the kind of wholesome activity we love to see.”

What a sweet moment for Keys, man. Watch this.

Keep climbing, Madison. We’re rooting for you.

Netflix is never leaving sports alone

(Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

If you thought this whole sports thing was just going to be a phase for Netflix, think again.

New data from Antenna shows that the streaming service cobbled together about 2 million subscribers between the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight and Netflix’s big NFL Christmas Day bonanza. Here’s more data via The Verge:

“New data published by the analytics firm Antenna indicates that Netflix added 1.43 million subscribers in the days surrounding the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match, while 656,000 members signed up around its NFL Christmas Day games.”

In the aggregate, 2 million subscribers aren’t much. Netflix has amassed a subscriber base of around 300 million. Another 2 mil is typically just a blip on the radar.

But these 2 million subs are proof of concept. They prove that live sports — and live events, in general — can drive subscriptions to the platform the same way Peacock has used its NFL games to bring numbers to its streaming service.

The live sports era of Netflix has arrived.

Quick hits: It’s award season … Poor Lamar Jackson … and more

— Lots of awards news today. Caroline Darney has all the Oscars nominations here for you.

— Cory Woodroof has you covered with all the Oscars snubs. Justice for Denzel Washington.

— It’s also awards season in the NFL. Here’s Charles Curtis with all the award nominees from MVP to Coach of the Year and more.

— Lamar Jackson seems like an awesome teammate. Here he is consoling Mark Andrews after the Ravens loss to the Bills. Robert Zeglinski has more.

— Patrick Mahomes owned up to his flopping! Andrew Joseph has more on this.

— Christian D’Andrea is pretty high on the Jets’ hiring of Aaron Glenn. Maybe it’s not too late for that franchise to turn things around.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. Appreciate you. Have a fantastic Thursday. Peace.

-Sykes