The Tennessee Titans have their choice at the cream of the crop with the No. 1 pick in April, and there's a fairly decent chance it will be Colorado star quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

That's who Shawne Merriman would personally go with – although Travis Hunter is a close second – but Merriman knows all too well that the No. 1 pick doesn't necessarily guarantee you get your guy.

Merriman, of course, was eventually part of the infamous Eli Manning-Phillip Rivers trade in 2004. Manning was adamant about never playing for the Chargers, but the team, then in San Diego, drafted him anyway with the first overall pick.

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Eventually, after the Giants drafted Rivers, the Big Blue sent Rivers, a 2004 third-rounder, and a 2005 first-rounder to San Diego for Manning. That first-round pick became Merriman (although, the Giants aren't complaining).

The Giants were in a great position to own the No. 1 pick, which led to Sanders himself actually being gifted a pair of Giants cleats for his bowl game. New York then won their third game of the season, losing control of the top selection, and they are now slated to pick third.

But, Merriman seems to believe there's a chance that Sanders' father and head coach, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, could play a role in repeating history with the same team from 21 years ago.

TITANS, WITH NO. 1 DRAFT PICK, FIRE GENERAL MANAGER RAN CARTHON

"I think Deion is smart by putting it out there that teams need to tread lightly, as far as what they plan on doing… I think Prime is smart enough to at least put the word out there that we're not just going with anybody, right?" Merriman said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. "But again, when you get drafted, I think things change, and anywhere in that top-five pick man is really a blessing for anybody."

Deion himself did say that "multiple IDIOTS… will say things that totally aren’t true regarding where I would like" his sons to play at the next level – but he didn't exactly rule out that he wouldn't influence it.

"If I say it I will say it directly to whom it may concern not a attention seeker," he said on X last week.

Merriman will get one more look at Sanders before the draft at the East-West Shrine Bowl, as his very own production company, Lights Out Sports TV, will live stream the game's practices later this month. Merriman got into television after his playing days were over a decade ago and felt the Shrine Bowl was a perfect opportunity to showcase his second dream.

"To get the opportunity now to have the live-streaming rights exclusively for us for the East-West Shrine Bowl practices, it's like, I wanted to play football as a kid. I dreamed about it. I wanted to play NFL, and to now be in this space that now, it's my ideas, it's my production, I'm putting together everything, and to have the ability to get in this space and get someone like the East-West shrine bowl, the 100th annual, it's a massive, massive deal for us. and we want go out and make this the most interactive practice week that anybody's ever seen," Merriman said.

The top pick figures to be either Sanders or Cam Ward, the latter of whom some sportsbooks have as the odds-on favorite at the moment. The Cleveland Browns, who own the second pick, are a true wild card with Deshaun Watson still rostered, so perhaps there is a chance Sanders will fall to the G-Men anyway. Deion also played professional baseball with the New York Yankees, so there is already a tie to the Big Apple.

The Giants announced on Monday that both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will be back for a fourth season despite going 9-25 in their last two seasons combined. Since joining the team ahead of the 2022 season, they have yet to draft a quarterback.

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The mother of Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr evacuated from her home in the Los Angeles area as wildfires raged on Tuesday into Wednesday morning.

Kerr’s 90-year-old mother, Ann, left her Pacific Palisades home as evacuation orders were given. The coach talked about the harrowing situation unfolding after the team’s 114-98 loss to the Miami Heat.

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"I want to send my thoughts and condolences to everybody in Los Angeles dealing with the fires," he said. "My mom lives in Pacific Palisades. She had to evacuate."

Everett Dayton, a member of the organization’s player development department, lost his family home in the area, Kerr said.

"Everything I’m seeing and reading is just terrifying what’s happening down there," Kerr said. "So just want to send thoughts to everyone who’s going through the devastation of the fire. Obviously the game is secondary to that and to many things in life. Perspective is important."

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Ann Kerr was among the thousands who were forced to flee the area as three separate fires broke out across the Los Angeles area on Tuesday. The first started near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of Los Angeles. The second occurred in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The third, which began around 10:30 p.m. PT, occurred in the San Fernando Valley.

On Monday, Los Angeles authorities warned of high winds that would plague the region. The winds helped fuel the fires on Tuesday as gusts topping 60 mph were seen in some places, increasing to 70 mph by early Wednesday.

A high-wind warning was in effect for the region through 6 p.m. PT, the weather service read.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young has proved time and time again he can nail a long-range 3-pointer when called upon, and Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz was no different.

The Jazz tied the game with under three seconds left to play. Atlanta inbounded the ball to Young, who took one dribble and pulled up before half-court and nailed the 49-foot game-winner.

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Young’s teammates mobbed him at half-court.

"This is part of what I do," Young said after the game. "I always get guys involved, always been able to find people. I feel like I’m the kind of guy who can pass you open. You don’t just have to be open for me to get you the ball. I can see things and get you into a good spot."

Young had 24 points and 20 assists in the 124-121 victory.

"I knew we had three seconds," Young said. "I could take a couple of dribbles and be closer to half-court, and then I made sure I used my legs and put some air into the ball and that was important."

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Hawks head coach Quin Snyder praised Young’s efficiency. The veteran guard was 6-for-16 from the floor but only had two turnovers.

"He has taken a lot of pride in being efficient and knowing when it is time to give the ball up and when it’s time to impress himself on the game from a scoring standpoint," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said.

Atlanta improved to 19-18 with the win.

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen had 35 points, two rebounds and two steals to lead the team. Collin Sexton, who tied the game with only a few seconds left, had 24 points.

Utah fell to 9-26 on the year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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When Bill Belichick became the head coach at the University of North Carolina, he adamantly said he did not go there "to leave."

However, one of his former players, Rob Gronkowski, disagrees.

Belichick, after being off an NFL sideline for the first time in nearly 50 years, agreed last month to become the next head coach at UNC, saying it was a dream fulfilled to get into the college ranks.

However, Belichick has obviously found his success with the National Football League, and Gronk believes Belichick still has his eyes on returning home.

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When asked during a recent interview with Fox News Digital whether he believed Belichick would retire as a Tar Heel, he said he did not think so. 

"I think if Bill has success, he's gonna eventually hand that program off to his son, whose son is just developing to be a future head coach," Gronkowski said. "Love his son, and he's doing a great job in the defensive ranks of college… So I believe that Coach Belichick will have some good success at UNC, but I believe that his heart truly belongs in the NFL ranks, and he's eventually gonna go back to the NFL if it's in three years or four years. But I think he ends his career coaching as a head coach for an NFL team."

Belichick coached the New England Patriots for 24 seasons, winning six Super Bowls during his tenure – three of those came with Gronkowski as his star tight end. After the 2023 season, the coach and team mutually agreed to part ways.

Without Belichick, the Pats had one of their worst seasons in recent memory, going 4-13, although Drake Maye gave fans something to be excited about. Entering Sunday, they owned the first overall pick, but with their victory, they will now pick fourth. Gronkowski, who recently partnered with Bounty, says the paper towel brand may just be enough to clean up the current mess in Foxboro.

"I'm about a couple minutes away right now.
If I just walk over, grab my Bounty paper towel, it's messy over there right now, and I just use the Bounty paper towels with a couple of wipes, man, I'll probably be head coach right after that," he joked.

Gronkowski joined fellow future Hall of Famer Drew Brees as his Bounty Wingman ahead of the playoffs, because as Buffalo native Gronk says, "You can't have football without wings, and you can't have wings without Bounty."

TITANS, WITH NO. 1 DRAFT PICK, FIRE GENERAL MANAGER RAN CARTHON

"That's why I'm the full package here. I'm all three of those: I love football ball, I love wings, and I love Bounty. And Drew Brees and I are going down to New Orleans, we're gonna dominate the city and we're gonna clean up our mess with the Bounty paper towels," Gronk, who, surprisingly, has never been out around the town, said of his partnership with the Saints legend.

In moving on from Belichick, the Patriots went to Jerod Mayo, a handpicked selection by Belichick himself years ago. But, after just one season, he was axed, and Gronk was not pleased.

 "I was surprised to hear about Jerod getting fired. I mean, I felt like it was kind of unfair to him, because he took a team over where it was gonna need some time to build and develop to get back to the winning ways." he said. "I mean, the roster was depleted, Jerod was a rookie head coach, and I felt like he needed another year to be able to really judge him based on how he would develop and grow after that first season. But obviously, just after the first season, it was apparent that [Robert] Kraft felt like he was just not the guy to build a culture around back to its winning ways. So therefore, Kraft was just wasting no time and let go of Jerod's duties.

"Now I feel like Kraft will be doing all he can in the process of hiring a new head coach that he believes will turn around this program and get them back into the playoffs as soon as possible. It's kind of an ugly situation, but I feel for both sides. You gotta win, but also, I just feel like it wasn't enough time to evaluate Jerod Mayo."

The overwhelming speculation is that Mike Vrabel will man the Pats – he played for New England and became the coach of the Tennessee Titans after his playing days ended.

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Tuesday night’s 82-72 win over Xavier marked the midpoint of St. John's season. It has been an interesting year, to say the least.