The New England Patriots have won six Super Bowl titles, but, in recent years, the Patriots have experienced more losses than wins.

New England has finished four of the past five seasons with a losing record. Mike Vrabel, who played linebacker for the Patriots for eight seasons and won three Super Bowls with the team, is now tasked with turning the once proud franchise around.

During his playing days, Vrabel learned what it took to reach great heights in the NFL. This week, the first-year Patriots coach laid out some of the expectations he has for players.

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As the 2025 NFL Draft nears, the Patriots are kicking off their offseason program. Some key points from Vrabel's first formal address to the team earlier this week have since circulated on social media. 

Players will be required to leave cellphones in their personal bags.

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"We've all got cellphones," Vrabel said. "Most of you have more than one, as a matter of fact. Just leave the cellphone in your bag. Just put the phone away."

He also wants players to be on time. If a player is running late, Vrabel instructed them to communicate. But he also doesn't want it to become a habit.

Vrabel then asked players to resist pulling sweatshirt hoodies over their heads during meetings.

"We're building our own identity," Vrabel said. "We're building our own team. We're building our own program. There are going to be things within that that are different ... and it's all about how we make you guys as good as you can possibly be as an individual, as a player and as a team. That's our whole goal, and you have to start understanding that — why we're doing what we're doing."

Vrabel also stressed that employees who work at the team's headquarters are there to "help" players be successful, but they are not the athletes' "housekeepers."

"They are here to help you do your job," Vrabel said. "They aren't here to be your valet, to be your housekeeper, to be your butler. You get where I'm going? We're going to treat those people with the utmost respect."

The Patriots and Bill Belichick agreed to part ways in January 2024 after the Patriots only appeared in one playoff game in the four seasons after Tom Brady's exit.

Shortly after Belichick's departure, Jerrod Mayo was named the Patriots' head coach. Mayo was dismissed after the 2024 season finale, and Vrabel took over. Vrabel was the Tennessee Titans' head coach from 2018-23 and spent the 2024 season as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns.

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Bulls guard Lonzo Ball had an emotional meeting with the family of the late Alex Reinhardt, who donated the knee cartilage Ball received in a transplant two years ago.

Sometimes, a good bit of irony is simply too perfect to ignore. Even Rory McIlroy can admit that.

The emotions were flowing on Wednesday night in Dallas, chiefly from Luka Dončić.

Jason Kidd might have his teams mixed up in the Yankees-Red Sox trade for Babe Ruth back in 1919.

Pat McAfee initially praised Travis Kelce for making a $3.3 million donation for the homeless, but the tight end admitted that the report was not true.

The Daily Mail recently issued that report, which led to McAfee telling his audience on his show last week that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was "making the world a better place."

But on his own podcast, Kelce said the report was not true.

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"I got to make a little statement in the ‘don’t believe everything you read, kids’ category realm that you see online," Kelce began. "Some false claims were thrown out there that I was doing something in the community that I was not. I’m not even going to talk about it specifically. I don’t want to bring any more attention to that whole nonsense and article and all that stuff."

"But if you ever want to know exactly what I’m doing in the community, just go to 87&running.org. We’re always trying to get out there, get in the Kansas City communities, in the Cleveland community, but this time, I wasn’t doing what was falsely claimed by the social channels or outlets posting all this AI stuff."

Kelce then gave a shout-out to McAfee himself for "always trying to look out for the guys and women in the sports world."

The charity, Foster Love, has since deleted a post that highlighted Kelce's supposed donation. It initially claimed that Kelce pitched in for a "6,500-foot property" that featured "six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, and plenty of outdoor space, including a garden, patio, and fire pit — all designed to offer a safe and supportive environment."

"Travis is offering housing, mentorship, and educational resources, giving these youth the tools they need to move toward independence and break the cycle of homelessness," the charity said. "It’s inspiring to see @killatrav use his platform to make a real difference for vulnerable youth."

It's widely speculated that Kelce broke the news of his return to the NFL to McAfee as the ESPN host said he got a text from somebody that he did not name that "I'm coming back for sure."

"Got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle!!!!" McAfee read from his phone, insinuating the text was from Kelce.

McAfee then added in his own words, "I think you can say Travis Kelce is coming back to play football yet again."

Kelce did not further explain his McAfee comment on the podcast.

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Lewandowski notched his 40th goal, Raphinha has Messi-like stats, and Yamal is the best player in the world. Dortmund were blown away on Wednesday by a team that is beginning to look era-defining.

Luka Dončić returned to Dallas Wednesday for the first time since the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers, and it hit him hard.

Dončić was shockingly traded in February, and Anthony Davis was one of the players the Mavericks acquired.

Ever since then, Mavs general manager Nico Harrison has been public enemy No. 1 in Dallas. Fans have not forgiven him for trading a global superstar in the prime of his career.

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That continued Wednesday with numerous "Fire Nico" signs as Dončić and the Lakers arrived in Dallas.

The arena was filled with white shirts that said "Thank you for everything" in his native Slovenian.

Just before the game, the franchise honored him with a video tribute, and Dončić became emotional.

Harrison said he made the trade to improve the team's defense fresh off an NBA Finals appearance. In Davis' Mavericks debut, he was injured (he has since returned), and Kyrie Irving later tore an ACL.

Since joining the Lakers, Dončić has put up his usual numbers, averaging 27.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists, and the Lakers are a serious contender.

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Aside from the defense though, Dončić would have been in a contract battle with the Mavs. His $207 million extension expires this year, and he was due for a supermax DEAL worth over $340 million. Plus, he could have opted out of any other deals with Dallas. So, Harrison wanted security.

"We really feel like we got ahead of what was going to be a tumultuous summer, him being eligible for the supermax and also a year away from him being able to opt out of any contract," Harrison said shortly after the deal was done. "And so we really felt like we got out in front of that. We know teams, they’ve had it out there, teams have been loading up to try to sign him once that comes available."

Entering Wednesday, the Lakers were 48-31, third in the Western Conference. It would be their best finish since winning the NBA title in 2020.

There are, however, four teams just one game behind them in the standings, which could drop them down to seventh and put them in the play-in tournament.

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Keegan Bradley traveled to Augusta National Golf Club as the reigning America's Ryder Cup captain. 

On Wednesday, the 38-year-old participated in one of the historic course's annual traditions — the Masters Par 3 Contest. The contest, which dates back to 1960, offers golf pros the opportunity to participate in a lighthearted session shortly before the real competition tees off.

Past Masters champions are also invited to play on a nine-hole course. Participants often include their caddies, relatives, and children to play alongside them on the shortened course.

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Bradley had his two young sons with him this year. The trio enjoyed a special father-son moment when he made a hole-in-one. A few near misses early on couldn't keep Bradley off track, as he made the contest's first ace on Hole 6 on Wednesday.

Bradley's mustache also returned just in time for the first major tournament of the season.

Bradley jokingly suggested the facial hairstyle could bring him good luck. 

"I shaved it off and I played two weeks and did not play well at all, so I had to bring it back," he said in jest during the broadcast of the contest.

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Bradley's best finish at Augusta National happened last year and in 2015 when he tied for 22nd.

The Par 3 Contest has produced 112 holes-in-one over the past 65 years. Last year, five participants made an ace. Sam Snead won the inaugural Par 3 contest in 1960.

Fan support for Bradley has seemed to be steadily rising recently. Although he is the current Ryder Cup captain, he was snubbed in 2023. His reaction to being rebuffed was chronicled on the Netflix docuseries "Full Swing." Bradley's handling of the situation helped make him one of the most beloved golfers on the PGA Tour.

The first round of the 89th edition of the Masters begins on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club.

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Another star edge rusher in the NFC North may be disgruntled.

Pittsburgh Steelers four-time All-pro defensive end T.J. Watt had a cryptic post on his Instagram account that had the NFL world in a social media frenzy. 

Watt posted a picture of him flashing a peace sign as he ran off the field. While it may just be Watt posting a nice picture in the offseason, Steelers fans are reading into it. 

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Watt has just one year left on his deal with the Steelers, and given his status as one of the best players in the league on either side of the ball, he's looking for his next big payday. Fans believe this post points to that. 

And some of them are predicting frustration from No. 90. 

"Doesn't look good," one X user said.

A big payday came for one of Watt's divisional rivals, Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett, who publicly asked for a trade after he and the team weren't seeing eye to eye on the contract front. 

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The Browns eventually compensated Garrett as the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league with a four-year, $160 million extension with $123.5 million guaranteed. 

Garrett and Watt have nearly identical production. Watt, 30, has the most sacks in the NFL since the 2019 season with 88. Garrett, 29, is second with 82. 

Watt has led the NFL in that category for three seasons, including his Defensive Player of the Year campaign in 2023 when he notched 19 in 17 games. 

Watt has been nothing but a menace for the Steelers’ strong defense since entering the league in 2017, racking up 108 sacks in 121 career games. He also has a knack for the strip-sack and forcing fumbles, doing so a league-leading six times in 2024 and 33 for his career. 

For now, the post is cryptic, but it seems inevitable Watt will get his payday. 

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St. John’s rose to the Top 10 in national polls this season and was the premier team in the Big East. Still, Pitino was surprised at how fast fans came back, filling up the Garden like the school hasn’t done in quite some time.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said it was a "big relief" that he and the Blue Jays were able to finalize a long-term deal. "I'm very, very happy to stay here and to be a Blue Jay," he said.

Raphinha apologized to Pau Cubarsí for stealing his goal after opening the scoring in Barcelona's 4-0 Champions League quarterfinal rout against Borussia Dortmund at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.

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Paris Saint-Germain achieved an important first-leg quarterfinal win against Aston Villa.

Barcelona are facing competition to sign Liverpool's Luis Díaz. Transfer Talk has the latest news, gossip and rumors.

Baty plays for the Mets. At least for now. 

Stephanie Turner refused to face off against the transgender athlete at a competition in Maryland.

The NBA said the decision to get rid of Doncic’s technical came after a “league office review.”

Trade back. It is the rallying cry of seemingly every fan around the NFL draft. Fans love the idea of stockpiling picks and getting more picks for future years. Well, if you like trading back, this is my mock draft for you. In Jets Mock Draft 2.0, I put on my trading hat and tried...