Olympic gold medalist Gary Hall Jr. was among the thousands of California residents displaced by the wildfires raging across the Los Angeles area this week, and like many, he lost all of his priceless possessions – including all 10 of his Olympic medals.
However, for Hall, he is grateful to have walked away with his life.
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Hall recalled the moment he first saw a "plume of smoke" coming from his backyard. He was on the phone with his daughter when disaster struck.
"I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time," he recalled in the interview. "Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke."
The wildfires spread quickly. Hall only had time to grab the essentials – his dog and a few personal items.
The home in Pacific Palisades that he was renting was burnt down, and with it all of his Olympic medals, including five gold, three silver and two bronze. He thought about them at the moment, but the seriousness of the situation did not allow him to grab them.
"I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them," Hall told the outlet. "Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt. It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?"
Hall described the scene as "worse than any apocalypse movie you’ve ever seen and 1000 times worse." More than losing his medals, Hall’s home, where he ran a business teaching kids to swim, is now completely gone.
"It’ll be a range of emotions, particularly when it’s time to go back to where the house stood. I’ll shift through the ash and see if the medals melted together. Will I be able to find anything worth saving? Probably not. I don’t know."
Thousands of California residents were evacuated as fierce wildfires fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds tore through Southern California this week. At least five people are dead as the fires continued to burn more than 27,000 acres on Thursday.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday was postponed as wildfires in the Los Angeles area continue to rage on.
The team confirmed the multiple reports about the postponement, as the Lakers released a statement on X telling fans to "please hold onto your tickets. They will be honored for the rescheduled date."
The California wildfires have devastated Los Angeles County, with at least five dead and burning more than 27,000 acres, officials say. Thousands of homes have also been burned down.
An ESPN report added that Lakers head coach JJ Redick lost his home like so many others who live in the area.
"We’re heartbroken for Los Angeles," the Lakers said in a statement on Thursday night. "Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this unimaginable situation. And our gratitude is with the first responders and all of you who come together when we need each other the most.
"Tonight’s game will be rescheduled to focus on what matters most today. We’re with you, LA."
The purple and gold are not the only Los Angeles professional sports teams that are being affected by the fires.
The Los Angeles Rams could potentially play their wild-card game against the Minnesota Vikings at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, if the fires continue to affect the Inglewood area, where their home, SoFi Stadium, resides.
The NFL released their contingency plan on Wednesday night shortly after saying it was monitoring the situation in Los Angeles.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the air quality index read over 280, with 150 and above considered unhealthy.
The Los Angeles Chargers, though not playing at SoFi Stadium for their own NFL playoff game, limited players’ time outside during Wednesday’s practice due to air quality. They play the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon to kick off Wild Card Weekend.
The Chargers released a statement on Wednesday night, pledging $200,000 in targeted funding to wildfire relief efforts in the area.
LA County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone announced Thursday that the Eaton Fire, which claimed at least five lives, has seen growth "significantly stopped."
LA City Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley also told reporters that the Palisades Fire, which remains 0% contained, is "one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles."
The late Frank Wycheck, who is remembered for the pass that started the iconic "Music City Miracle" play, suffered from an advanced stage of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), researchers said.
Wycheck died in December 2023 after he sustained a fall at his Tennessee home. He had made clear that he wished to work with experts on CTE research and related brain injuries.
A study of Wycheck's brain conducted by researchers at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center confirmed the former Tennessee Titans star tight end also suffered from the degenerative brain disease during the final years of his life.
Wycheck was diagnosed with CTE stage III. Stage IV is the most severe form of the disease and can lead to dementia, memory loss and depression. CTE can occur after repeated head injuries, such as concussions or blows to the head, according to the Mayo Clinic.
A 2017 study conducted by the Boston University CTE Center concluded that the brains of 99% of former NFL players had at least trace amounts of the neurodegenerative disease. Researchers studied the brains of 202 former football players.
Wycheck, a three-time Pro Bowl tight end, played in the NFL from 1993 and 2003, starting with Washington and finishing his career with the Houston Oilers organization, which moved to Tennessee and became the Titans.
Wycheck’s family said in a statement they are grateful for this diagnosis, which they believe further highlights the concerns around CTE in contact sports like football. They want to honor his legacy with a stronger commitment to player safety and support for those affected by head injuries.
His daughters said their family had challenges understanding both the physical and mental changes Wycheck was experiencing, thinking he was just missing the spotlight of his career.
"We witnessed our father becoming increasingly isolated and experiencing drastic mood swings. He became more impulsive, and often inconsistent and undependable," Deanna Wycheck Szabo said in a statement. "Now in hindsight, I understand that he was suffering from the symptoms of CTE due to the repeated trauma his brain and body endured over 11 seasons in the NFL."
Szabo said Wycheck loved football and his teammates. She said he fought for years after retiring to bring attention to the symptoms and struggles he knew stemmed from CTE, feeling too often ignored and helpless. Szabo also said she wishes her family had been educated on CTE symptoms to know what to look for and now hope for increased intervention, education and support for NFL alumni and their families.
"Instead of believing that something was inherently wrong with him, we now know he was doing the best he could as a father and friend under circumstances beyond his control," Szabo said.
A federal judge in Kentucky blocked the Biden administration’s attempt to redefine sex in Title IX as "gender identity," striking down the change nationwide.
The U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky Northern Division made the ruling in Cardona v. Tennessee on Thursday.
"Another massive win for TN and the country!" Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a post on X. "This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor and vacated the Biden admin's radical new Title IX rule nationwide.
"The court's order is resounding victory for the protection of girls' privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically-accurate pronouns."
The ruling came months after the Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s emergency request to enforce portions of a new rule that would have included protections from discrimination for transgender students under Title IX.
The sweeping rule was issued in April and clarified that Title IX’s ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions."
The rule took effect Aug. 1, and, for the first time, the law stated that discrimination based on sex includes conduct related to a person’s gender identity.
It led to more than two dozen attorneys general suing over the rule, arguing it would conflict with some of their state laws that block transgender students from participating in women’s sports.
"When Title IX is viewed in its entirety, it is abundantly clear that discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being a male or female," the court’s opinion read. "As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head.
"While Title IX sought to level the playing field between men and women, it is rife with exceptions that allow males and females to be separated based on the enduring physical differences between the sexes."
The decision came as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is set to push the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to the Senate Floor.
A procedural vote on it will happen on Friday.
Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
It’s safe to say Josh Allen doesn’t want his offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, to go anywhere this offseason with teams requesting to interview him for their head coaching vacancies.
A reporter asked Allen what Brady meant to him during a press conference on Wednesday.
"Nothing. He hasn’t done anything for us, teams should stay away from him," Allen said with a smile on his face.
Then Allen took a more serious tone, praising his coach.
"He’s been fantastic, you know, coming into a situation last year, it’s not easy to switch play-callers’ mid-year, and he came in and from that day on, if you look at our splits, our success that we’ve had as a team, it’s noticeable. He’s one of the most positive guys in the building, he’s always got juice and energy for the guys. I think that’s something we love and appreciate about him, and he’s as real as they come," Allen said.
With the Buffalo Bills' success this season, offensive coordinator Brady is getting asked for head coaching interviews.
The Chicago Bears, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars have requested Brady in interview for their vacant head coaching positions, per numerous reports.
The Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after the Bills dropped to 5-5 last season, and Brady took over play-calling duties.
After Brady took over, the Bills went 6-1 down the stretch and won the AFC East.
With last season’s success, Brady remained as offensive coordinator, and his explosive offense, led by Allen, had the Bills at 13-4 going into the playoffs with Allen a favorite for the MVP award.
The Bills average 30.9 points per game, which is second in the NFL to only the Detroit Lions, who average 33.2 points per game.
Under Brady this season, Allen has played some of the best football of his career. The Bills star has completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,731 yards with 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
Allen has also been dynamic with his legs, rushing for 531 yards with 12 touchdowns on the ground, averaging over five yards per attempt.
Brady will have an opportunity to further entice teams when the Bills take on the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card Round at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday,
The Broncos pose a good test for the Bills, as they give up the third-fewest points per game in the NFL, giving up just 18.3 points per game.
Frances Tiafoe might be among the top-ranked American tennis pros, but he admittedly gets a little starstruck just like anybody else.
During a recent interview on "The Pivot" podcast, the 2024 U.S. Open semifinalist spoke about his breakout success and the recognition that came with that, including the attention from other celebrities and athletes.
"I’ve said it in real time, whoever I’m with, like, ‘Yo, I’m out here taking shots with Taylor Swift," Tiafoe said, adding that he is admittedly a "Beyoncé guy."
"But at the moment I’m like, man, like, this is crazy, she’s the biggest star out here."
Tiafoe, 26, said the turning point in his career was when he defeated legendary tennis pro Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the 2022 U.S. Open. The win would advance him to the quarterfinals, making him the youngest American man at 24 to reach the quarters since Andy Roddick did so in 2006.
However, shots with Swift is only the tip of the iceberg.
"Trav and Mahomes, they’re like ‘Yo, we gotta have you in [Kansas City]. Them saying that is wild to me and then they rolled out the red carpet for me," he continued. "It’s crazy because playing tennis and being able to reach that many people and people want to meet me and hang out and actually do stuff, those are the things of why you do what you do."
Despite enjoying the company of celebrities, Tiafoe also relishes in his relatability to fans.
"A lot of people can see themselves in you… I’m just a regular dude, man. I’m just a dude from Maryland that just loves tennis."
Tiafoe did not go into details about when the hangouts with Swift, Kelce and Patrick Mahomes took place, but the Kansas City Chiefs duo were spotted at the 2024 U.S. Open for the men’s singles final between American Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner.
The North Carolina Tar Heels and Bill Belichick landed a top defensive lineman in the transfer portal from the UConn Huskies amid rumors the legendary head coach has an interest in NFL jobs.
The Tar Heels landed defensive lineman Pryce Yates, who won Defensive MVP honors in the Fenway Bowl as the Huskies topped the Tar Heels, 27-14, ESPN reported Wednesday. He had 21 tackles and 3.5 sacks in seven games. He missed some time due to injuries.
The latest transfer endeavor came as the NFL Network reported that Belichick and Tom Brady spoke recently about him possibly taking the Las Vegas Raiders job. The report also mentioned the Jacksonville Jaguars as a possible landing spot for Belichick.
The Athletic reported Belichick has no plans to leave North Carolina.
Belichick led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles along with Brady, who recently became a minority owner of the Raiders. He was there through the 2023 season before the two sides mutually parted ways.
Belichick was out of the league in 2024 after no team made him their head coach. He interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons but failed to win the sweepstakes. He spent the season as an analyst before making the surprising move to take the Tar Heels gig.
He is 302-165 as a head coach between the Patriots and Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett shared a touching moment with Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Roger Rosengarten on Saturday during their Week 18 finale.
After a Ravens play, Rosengarten was heard asking Garrett to swap his jersey when the game was finished. The jersey swap has become a major part of the game for players in recent years.
Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2017 draft, won the Defensive Player of the Year last season and is angling to win the award for the second straight time. Rosengarten was the Ravens’ second-round pick in the 2024 draft. He has started in 14 of the 17 games he appeared in this season.
Rosengarten talked about the moment on Wednesday, according to the team’s website.
"It was just me and him walking after Derrick's big run for a touchdown. I was like, 'He's right next to me. Why not? No one else is around.' Actually, the whole world saw it," he said, adding that he wished he would have called himself a rookie instead of a "nobody."
The Ravens will play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Deion Sanders made clear last month before the Alamo Bowl that he planned on staying to coach the Colorado Buffaloes for the long-term future despite rampant rumors he could jump.
On Wednesday, Sanders appeared to throw in a caveat to his previous statement. He suggested the only way he would ever leave for the NFL was for an opportunity to coach his sons.
"You know what? The only way I would consider it is to coach my sons," he said Wednesday on "GMA3." He put an emphasis on "sons," suggesting he would want to coach both Shedeur and Shilo Sanders.
"I love Colorado. I love my Buffaloes. I love everything we’re building. I love what we’re doing, and I love Boulder, Colorado," he added.
He said in a trailer for the upcoming season of "Coach Prime" on Amazon Prime Video that the 2024 season was special because he was "99%" sure it would be the final opportunity for him to coach his sons.
Sanders could very well do that, but it would take a lot.
Of the top 10 picks in the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears each have head coach openings. Only the Raiders could really have a shot at selecting a quarterback.
Shedeur Sanders is expected to be one of the first players taken in the draft, but it will all depend on what the five teams in front of them do. The Tennessee Titans definitely need a quarterback and will likely choose one if they stay at No. 1. The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback but could opt to go for a veteran free agent. The New York Giants are also in need of a quarterback, but they also have a bunch of other needs to address as well.
Shilo Sanders may not be a first-round pick, which could make it easier for Deion Sanders and whatever team he may coach to select him.
It is a lot of hypothetical work for each of the Sanders boys to play together. A perfect storm will have to be created, but crazier things have happened in the NFL.
Former NASCAR star Danica Patrick wondered why water was an issue for firefighters and first responders who were called upon to battle the raging California wildfires this week.
Several wildfires popped up across the Los Angeles area on Tuesday and through Wednesday, which were fueled by the high winds that plagued the region. The widespread flames immediately put a strain on the water system in the city, according to FOX Weather.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) CEO and Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones said Wednesday teams have struggled to maintain water pressure on the system, which allows water to be pushed into fire hydrants used by firefighters.
"The strain that this fire has put on the water system and the hydrants, they’re just not designed for that type of usage all at once for 15 hours straight," Los Angeles County Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher Berkoh told FOX Weather.
"California has 840 miles of coast line and 3,000 lakes and reservoirs. Why don’t they have enough water to fix any and all fires?" she wrote on X.
"At some point I have to imagine it’s getting difficult for hardcore cali lovers to accept the state of their state and how it’s managed."
She then wrote that it would be time for Gov. Gavin Newsom to resign, only using the term "Newscum" as President-elect Donald Trump has done in his jabs toward the California leader.
By Wednesday night, another fire had broken out in the Hollywood Hills near the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Sheila Kelliher described the scorched hillsides as "dramatic and apocalyptic" in an interview with Fox News.
Kelliher said she watched winds "whip up to 70, 80, even 100 miles an hour," further fanning the flames."
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is leading the charge for a national ban on trans athletes in college sports.
Tuberville previously told Fox News Digital he will be re-introducing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to Congress after the new House rules package passed last week, which would punish schools financially if they allow trans athletes to compete against girls and women.
For the Republican, who has been a longtime advocate for the bill, certain decisions that have been made over the last four years under the Biden administration are the driving force behind his urgency on this issue.
"It's just a shame what's happened here over the last four years. It's been an attack on gender, it's been really an attack on women, all women," Tuberville said during an interview on OutKick's "Don't @ Me With Dan Dakich."
"They don't like women," he said. "They like everybody to think when they're born, ‘you’re not a woman, you're actually a man in women's clothing.'"
The Biden administration, alongside other Democrats, has taken sweeping actions over the last four years to enable trans athletes in women's and girls' sports.
On Jan. 20, 2021, just hours after President Biden assumed office, he issued an executive order on "Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation."
This order included a section that read, "Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports."
Biden issued a sweeping rule that clarified that Title IX’s ban on "sex" discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and "pregnancy or related conditions," in April. The administration insisted the regulation does not address athletic eligibility. However, multiple experts presented evidence to Fox News Digital in June that it would ultimately put more biological men in women's sports.
Multiple states filed lawsuits and enacted their own laws to address this issue, and then the Supreme Court then voted 5-4 in August to reject an emergency request by the Biden administration to enforce its sweeping changes in those states.
Democrats have proposed other federal legislation that would allow for more transgender inclusion in women's sports. These include the Equality Act, which was proposed in 2019 and has seen revisions that "would force public schools to allow biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls’ sports teams."
In March 2023, Democrats advocated for a transgender bill of rights, proposing a resolution "recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights." The resolution specifically called for federal law to ensure that biological men can "participate in sports on teams and in programs that best align with their gender identity; [and] use school facilities that best align with their gender identity."
Multiple national scandals erupted as a result of these laws, and other Democratic laws at the state level, in 2024 alone. The issue became one of the strongest attack points by the Trump campaign and other Republicans as they re-took control of the White House and both houses of Congress in November, as many Democrats have withdrawn from their past support for trans-inclusion amid insurmountable backlash. Biden's department of education was even forced to withdraw a proposed rule that would outlaw states from banning trans inclusion in December.
A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls and women’s bathrooms," as important to them.
Additionally, 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."
Now, Tuberville's bill will be their first step toward making good on their election-season stance on the issue.
The measure would maintain that Title IX treats gender as "recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth" and does not adjust it to apply to gender identity.
The bill would also ban federal funding from going toward athletic programs that allow biological men to participate in women's and girls' sports.
The measure is co-sponsored by 23 Republican senators, including Sens. James Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., James Lankford, R-Okla., Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Kennedy, R-La., John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb.
New Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has already granted Tuberville's bill the proper blessing to move forward, and a vote on the measure could come as soon as the end of the week.
JuJu Watkins says she has a goal that she keeps in the back of her mind.
That goal is to break the NCAA all-time scoring record, currently held by Caitlin Clark. It is a realistic goal for her, statistically.
"Naturally, being on pace, it's always in the back of my mind," Watkins told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. "The goal is to continue to produce at this level, and do it as efficiently as I can."
Watkins played the 50th game of her college career on Wednesday night in a 79-74 win over Maryland, bringing her career point total 1,318 over those first 50 games. Clark put up 1,328 points over the first 50 games of her college career. Watkins was outpacing Clark in career scoring after a 40-point game against California Baptist on Dec. 3, but slowed down over the next eight games compared to the same stretch in Clark's sophomore season.
Still, Watkins has the benefit of possibly playing more games in her career with an expanded Big 10, compared to the one Clark played in, and potentially more postseason games.
However, even with that competitive pace, Watkins only "wishes" she could play like Clark, who is far and away the better 3-point shooter.
"I wish I played like her," Watkins said.
Watkins also has multiple opportunities to do what Clark never could in college – win the national championship game. That first opportunity could come as early as this March. Watkins has led her squad to a 15-1 start and a top-four national ranking. They just have to get past the big sister in town, as rival No. 1 UCLA is undefeated, with two matchups to play against Watkins late in the season.
Clark's direct interference may or may not play a role in whether Watkins ends up doing any of that. At some point this season, or any in the future, Watkins has the option to ask Clark a question.
"I met her once," Watkins says. "She offered her number and she said, if I ever have any questions, she would answer them."
Watkins added, "It will probably just be a spur of the moment type of thing," when she does reach out.
There is plenty she could ask when that time comes. It might not even have anything to do with playing basketball. At just 19 years old, Watkins has already been anointed a subcultural icon.
She has a devout and visible following in her home community of Southern California and has taken the reins as the most popular player in the college game, nationally, in the aftermath of Clark's departure for the pros.
On her first road trip to the East Coast as a player in the Big Ten Conference for USC's inaugural season, Watkins made a stop in New Jersey to lead a 50-point blowout win against a Rutgers team reeling from the dysfunction of a mysteriously-benched star player. However, nearly the entire crowd stayed the whole game to watch Watkins.
On Thursday in Maryland, she put up 21 points before fouling out of the game, beating an undefeated top-10 team in front of a devout crowd of many of her own fans, while a national audience watched on Fox Sports.
"The attention wasn't always there, so to just see the eyes on it and people respecting the sport more, and young girls getting into the sport more, it's a dream come true," Watkins said, crediting Clark for bringing the attention.
Before it was playing in front of home court-type away crowds thousands of miles from home, Watkins' dream had plenty of harder moments along the way.
Watkins remembers all the hard moments. One particularly glaring moment came during the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020. Watkins was just a sophomore in high school and admitted she was probably out of shape because of the lifestyle restrictions during the pandemic.
"I was out of shape, I was so out of shape," Watkins said.
So Golden State Warriors player Draymond Greene came knocking with a workout offer.
"I will never forget it," Watkins said of the experience.
Watkins said Green's workout had her dribble up and down a court and shoot the ball over and over again until she threw up.
"I was done," Watkins said, adding that she did not even talk to him after the workout. "I don't even think I could speak, honestly."
Green spoke about this workout with Watkins during an episode of his podcast in February.
"It's not your typical NBA workout," Green said.
"You go shoot some spots and go to the next like we go and she came to our workout and the first day like you could tell her skill was there and like all the things, but she was struggling to get through the workout a bit and and like you know I'm pushing her like ‘hey come on Ju you got it come on.'"
Green said he has seen other athletes refuse to come back the next day after their first session, but Watkins returned for more punishment.
"I've had NBA players come to my workouts, throw up, not come back, you know. I've had, I've seen all different types, and she came back the next day, and I was like that ‘that young lady has a future in this game,’" he said.
What happened next?
Watkins went on to have such a strong sophomore season amid the crisis of a pandemic, that she won the 2020 Sports Illustrated Kids' SportsKid of the Year award. Her reputation started to really spread. Then she went on to win Gatorade National Player of the Year and Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and became the top-rated college recruit in 2022.
She shocked the nation when she turned down an offer to play for Dawn Staley at South Carolina, instead staying home in Los Angeles to play for USC.
Then came what she calls the hardest experience of her life.
"The adjustment from high school to college, and getting used to the rigorous schedule of it all, it was just a big adjustment for me. It was a big change," she said. "It gave me a new perspective on life."
Watkins did not get into too much detail about what that adjustment looked like. However, the numbers say she was able to adjust in time for the start of her first season. She got on pace to potentially break Clark's record right away with a historic freshman year and has stayed on course ever since.
A period of growth for women's basketball is also a time of diligence for players like Watkins. She is highly aware of the importance of players maintaining leverage as they negotiate their dues, rights and privileges from the WNBA and NCAA.
"It's so important to advocate for our rights, especially in this field as women," she said. "That's where true change comes, being able to voice our opinion and change things that don't seem fit for us."
In 2024, WNBA players got access to charter flights for the first time. Now the players' union, the WNBPA, is taking the league back to the negotiating table. The union voted to opt out of its current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in October, and the league could see a work stoppage if a new deal is not met by the end of the 2025 season.
The next CBA that the union negotiates will determine just how many rights and benefits Watkins will get as a player when she enters the WNBA in 2027 or later. So, she is rooting for the union to get as much as it can, especially after the wait for charter flights.
"Charter flights, that was long overdue," Watkins said. "It's what these women deserve, they work so hard, the least they can get is chartered to their games."
Watkins' passion for this is rooted in her family history. Her great-grandfather, Ted Watkins, organized and founded the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) in 1965. He organized it just months before the infamous "Watts Rebellion," also known as the "Watts Uprising" and "Watts Riots." This incident saw thousands of residents in the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles riot out of anger over issues that included employment discrimination and poverty.
After the riots, Ted organized the youth to clean up blighted vacant lots, plant grass and flowers and turn them into vest-pocket parks, according to the WLCAC website.
Ted Watkins' committee grew to prominence as a community self-help agency aiding thousands of residents in gaining employment and essential services. He was involved in the construction of a financial institution and hospital in Watts, as well as the development of low-income housing and youth programs.
"My great-grandfather is a big part of our family and one of my role models just to look up to for my city of Watts and just for so many people," JuJu said.
However, she also understands the importance of growing the sport as a whole to ensure that it can provide as much as possible for those players.
The WNBA has not been profitable in a single season in its history.
Clark's arrival in 2024 appears to be the league's best opportunity to change that for the first time. Clark's arrival, and the new wave of followers and media attention she has brought to the game, has also sparked controversy and criticism from WNBA veterans and former players.
Watkins, who is now seeing the spoils of all the attention Clark brought to the college game, is ready to embrace it all.
"I don't think anyone has changed the trajectory of the sport so much," Watkins said of Clark.
As Watkins looks to break Clark's scoring record, she hopes many of the new fans of women's basketball, even the ones who cause her "headaches" and "don't know what they're talking about sometimes," will come to cheer for her. But Watkins will also embrace these fans and the attention if they "hate" her.
It was a tough season for the San Francisco 49ers, and with it came Brock Purdy's worst stretch as a starter.
Certainly, Purdy did not benefit from injury issues all over the offense, most notably from Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, butPurdy's numbers were worse in 2024 than last season.
He threw for roughly 400 fewer yards, went from 31 touchdowns to 20, and threw one more interception (12) than he did in 2023. After posing QB ratings of 107.3 and 113.0, it dipped to 96.1.
After missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season, though, general manager John Lynch has no plans on letting Purdy walk out the door.
"What we know about Brock is that he's our guy. We have interest in Brock being around here for a long, long time," Lynch told reporters on Wednesday. "He's done so much for our organization. He's won big games and had a little tougher task, as we all did this year, with some of the things that happened throughout the course of the year. We just never could string games where we were all together. And through that, he continued to lead, he continued to play at a high level, so we have every interest in him being around."
Purdy is eligible for a large contract extension – as the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, his base salary this past season was less than $1 million. He could see a wild increase, as Spotrac says his market value is $59.7 million annually, which would be the largest in the league.
The site says he could be slated for a four-year deal worth nearly $239 million, which would be more than Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love, and Jared Goff.
If he were to sign such a deal, he'd become the 14th QB in NFL history to surpass to $200 million mark, with each of the previous contracts having begun since 2020.
Before his Nittany Lions take on the Fighting Irish for a spot in the national title game, Penn State head coach James Franklin was blunt about Notre Dame not playing in a conference.
Notre Dame is one of three teams that play an independent schedule in the FBS, but the College Football Playoff expansion has led Franklin to believe every team should be in a conference.
It didn't matter that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was right next to him during a joint press conference Wednesday. Franklin let his thoughts known.
"It should be consistent across college football," Franklin explained, via ESPN. "This is no knock at [Freeman] or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference. I think everybody should play a conference championship game, or nobody should play a conference championship game. I think everybody should play the same number of conference games."
To Franklin’s point, the Nittany Lions made the Big Ten championship game, where they lost to the Oregon Ducks, who were named the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks fell to Ohio State, who will take on Texas for the other spot in the national title game.
Penn State played one more game than Notre Dame, which made the CFP as an at-large team with the No. 7 seed.
So, with more teams entering the playoff, Franklin is calling for every team to play the same number of games and belong to a conference.
However, Notre Dame has been adamant about its independent status, which has been a part of its identity for decades. Other Fighting Irish teams play in the ACC, the conference with which the football program has a scheduling agreement.
There are also differences among conferences. For example, SEC teams play only eight conference games, while the Big Ten plays nine before conference championship games are played.
Franklin likes the eight-game conference schedule in the SEC.
"I was not a math major at East Stroudsburg, but just the numbers are going to make things more challenging if you’re playing one more conference game," Franklin, who previously coached at Vanderbilt in the SEC, said.
"We need somebody that is looking at it from a big-picture perspective."
The CFP selection process was already ridiculed in this first year of an expanded playoff, with teams like Alabama being left out. Franklin wants to see consistency because of scheduling differences, which makes it difficult for the selection committee in his eyes.
"How do you put those people that are in that room to make a really important decision that impacts the landscape of college football, and they can't compare apples to apples or oranges to oranges?" Franklin wondered. "I think that makes it very, very difficult."
Freeman said he recognizes how his program’s independence comes with a great sense of pride, but he also knows his squad can use conference championship weekend to rest and recover, a luxury only Notre Dame could afford before heading to the playoffs.
"I’m a guy that just [thinks[, ‘Tell us what we’re doing, and let’s go.' And you move forward," Freeman said when asked about whether he had an opinion on the matter. "I love where we’re at right now. [Notre Dame athletic director] Pete Bevacqua and our Notre Dame administration will continue to make decisions that are best for our program."
The Capital One Orange Bowl between Penn State and Notre Dame kicks off Thursday in Miami Gardens, Florida, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Philadelphia Eagles have Super Bowl aspirations, but they will very likely need their franchise quarterback to get them there.
However, Birds fans collectively held their breath a couple weeks ago when Jalen Hurts went down with a concussion.
The head injury caused Hurts to miss the final two games of the season. It should be noted that the Eagles rested plenty of starters in their season finale against the New York Giants, but even if they hadn't, Hurts would have been shelved, since he's still in concussion protocol.
But, Philly did receive good news on Wednesday, as he hit the practice field for the first time since the injury.
Hurts was spotted throwing and without a helmet on; thus, he didn't log a full participation, but it's at least a step forward ahead of the biggest game of the season.
The Eagles earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC, winning the East and going 14-3 on the season. But they certainly do not have an easy matchup.
They will host the Green Bay Packers, who are the seventh seed for the second year in a row; that didn't stop them from beating the Cowboys in Dallas last year, though, and this year's 11-6 squad has much more experience than last.
Philly did win both of their games without Hurts this year, although in the game in which he got hurt, they did fall to the Washington Commanders.
Further good news for the Birds is that their game isn't until Sunday, as two games will be on Saturday. So, Hurts will have one more day to be cleared.
Hurts threw for 2,903 yards, the lowest since he became a full-time starter in 2021. He did, however, run for 14 touchdowns thanks to the always unstoppable Brotherly Shove. His five interceptions were also the lowest of his career.
A contingency plan has been put in place by the NFL as it continues monitoring the wildfires in California ahead of the Los Angeles Rams-Minnesota Vikings wild-card matchup Monday.
The No. 4-seeded Rams are scheduled to host the No. 5 Vikings at SoFi Stadium, but as the wildfires rage in the area, there’s a strong chance the Inglewood venue won’t be used.
The NFL released a statement saying it plans on having the Rams-Vikings play as scheduled Monday night at SoFi Stadium. If the stadium can’t be used, the game will be moved to a different venue.
State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, will be the backup location for the wild-card game, if necessary.
"The NFL’s priority is the safety of the Los Angeles community," the league’s statement began. "We are grateful for the tireless efforts of the first responders. Our hearts are with Los Angeles and everyone affected by the fires.
"We will continue to closely monitor developments in the area and will remain in contact with public officials, both clubs and the NFLPA."
The league issued a statement earlier Wednesday, which noted it was monitoring the situation.
The Rams had a scheduled off day Wednesday, though the Los Angeles Chargers, who share SoFi Stadium and head to Houston for their own wild-card game Saturday, limited players’ time outside during practice due to poor air quality.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the air quality index in Inglewood hit 281, according to ESPN. Air is considered unhealthy at 150 or higher.
At least 70,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as three major fires burn from the Pacific coast to Pasadena. Officials say the number of evacuation orders continues to fluctuate as the fires rage.
The Rams made an announcement Wednesday that no players or staff members have been affected by the fires, but the team is monitoring the situation closely.
"Our hearts are with those affected by the Eaton Fire in the Altadena/Pasadena area and the first responders protecting our community. Be safe," the Rams said.
Rams star receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp were among many who posted on X to show support for the community.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the fires," Kupp said. "Thank you to the firefighters, first responders, and everyone else doing their best in unfathomable circumstances."
Nacua added, "Thank you to all of the first responders! God bless the families impacted!"
The New England Patriots fired coach Jerod Mayo after just one season on Monday, and a report on Wednesday revealed telling details about his first year as NFL head coach and what the lead up to that decision looked like.
The Patriots closed out the season with a win over AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills, but it wasn’t enough for owner Robert Kraft to want to stick with Mayo.
"After the game I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025. For me, personally, it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made," Kraft said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team's performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped."
Mayo had developed in the Patriots’ system, first as a player winning a Super Bowl during his eight-year career and later as a linebackers coach under Bill Belichick. But it seems that the "Patriots’ way" didn’t carry over into his coaching style.
According to a report from The Athletic, one incident that stood out to those close to the situation was a plane ride home after a loss to the Arizona Cardinals last month.
The report claimed that instead of reviewing film with the coaching staff, Mayo opted to play cards with the players.
"But in a move that surprised some at the front of the plane after such a lopsided loss, according to a team source, Mayo, the team’s first-year head coach who had been handpicked by owner Robert Kraft to succeed Bill Belichick, left his spot near the front and went back to where some players had gathered to play cards, choosing to hang out there while his assistants watched film," Chad Graff’s report read.
"Look, there are a lot of ways to do the job," a team source on the plane told Graff. "It’s not that Jerod’s was definitely wrong. But I can’t say I’ve seen that before."
Other sources added that Mayo’s attempt to differentiate himself from Belichick may have been his downfall.
"Mayo, they felt, tried too hard to be 180 degrees different from Belichick, then struggled to apply and uphold discipline after positioning himself as a players’ coach," the report continued.
For Kraft, he shouldered much of what led to Mayo’s troubles.
"This whole situation is on me. I feel terrible for Jerod. Because I put him in an untenable situation," Kraft said during a press conference on Tuesday. "I know he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job."
The Miami Dolphins' decision to hire Mike McDaniel in 2022 represented a distinct change in coaching style from the previous regime.
Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores was defensive minded, while McDaniel handled the offensive coordinator duties for the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. Each brought a distinct personality and took different approaches to player discipline.
The New York Jets defeated the Dolphins this past Sunday, which dropped their record to 8-9. While Miami finished the 2022 and 2023 seasons with winning records and postseason berths, this season's sub .500 record kept the Dolphins out of the playoffs for the first time under McDaniel.
Missing the playoffs also prompted McDaniel's final media availability prior to the team's offseason.
McDaniel made some rather telling admissions during the media session, suggesting that he perhaps gave players too much leeway at times. The third-year Dolphins coach also argued that issuing fines lacks a certain level of effectiveness.
"I can fine people till they are blue in the face. I can take their money, I can yell at them," McDaniel said. "But until they understand that part of the reason that we are in [this] position is controllable, and what we have to [have], with absolute certainty, is a zero tolerance for anything else, we have to clean the controllables up and we can have a chance to have success together."
While McDaniel stopped short of naming any specific player, he did hint that the Dolphins had "multiple offenders." He then doubled down on his belief that fines are inadequate, before noting that any internal issues that popped up during the season were not widespread.
"Certain specific individuals… I don’t think it was across the board… There’s a lot of guys that had certain fines before that didn’t have any. There were some people that had multiple that, you know, I think there are different ways to counteract that," McDaniel told reporters. "Bring it up as a team and continuing to fine guys wasn’t enough, so I’m not going to continue to just place all of the blame on even some of the smallest individuals that were multiple offenders."
Nevertheless, McDaniel made it clear that he is open to making adjustments. "I will adjust my process and make sure that it's team-wide knowledge anytime that things are done that aren’t in the best interest of winning football games," he said.
McDaniel's contract with the Dolphins ties him to the franchise through the 2028 season.
Jermaine Burton did not travel with the Cincinnati Bengals over the weekend, and there now appears to be a reason why.
The Cincinnati Enquirer says it made a public records request to local police after the coaching staff decided Burton would not join the team for Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The request yielded two reports and a recording of a 911 call made by a woman who claimed Burton assaulted her the morning of Dec. 30, three days before the game.
The Enquirer reported the two had been out together and had gotten into an argument. Later on, Burton allegedly followed the woman to her apartment, choked her and stole her phone while also threatening to kill himself as he held a knife to his neck.
"Jermaine Burton on the Bengals just broke into my house," the woman said in the 911 call, according to the outlet. "He broke my phone. … He's been, like, pretty abusive. He does a lot of things that I don't tolerate."
The woman also told police Burton "broke into my house" and "hit me and left."
"We are aware of information related to Jermaine Burton. We will continue to evaluate as we gather additional details and will have no further comment at this time," the Bengals said in a statement.
While playing for Alabama in 2022, Burton allegedly struck a female Tennessee fan who had stormed the field after the Volunteers beat the Crimson Tide.
After the Bengals drafted Burton in the third round, possibly as an eventual replacement for Tee Higgins, head coach Zac Taylor said he felt "really comfortable" about selecting him despite concerns about his character.
Burton appeared in 14 games but was seldom on the field, never taking half of the offensive snaps in any contest. He was targeted just 14 times and made four receptions for 107 yards on the season.
As wildfires continue to ravage the Los Angeles area, one of its pro sports teams is taking action to help relief efforts.
The Los Angeles Chargers announced Wednesday they will provide $200,000 in targeted funding to the American Red Cross, LA Fire Department Foundation, Team Rubicon and pet rescue organizations sheltering animals that have been displaced by the wildfires.
The franchise is also urging fans to attend the "Charge Up to Playoff" events ahead of the team’s wild-card game against the Houston Texans, which will kick off from Houston on Saturday.
The team’s watch party at Hermosa Beach Pier on Saturday will also serve as a supply drive, as the Chargers are asking fans to bring any supplies for evacuation centers, including El Camino Real High School.
"While we're currently experiencing unprecedented conditions that seemingly cannot get any worse as we deal with multiple fires across our region, we're also witnessing our community at its very best," Chargers owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. "The bravery, selflessness, courage, sacrifice and compassion on display over the past 24 hours by first responders, good Samaritans, friends, family and neighbors alike has been remarkable.
"Our hearts are with everyone who has been displaced by these fires, the firemen and police officers and frontline workers who are risking their lives to keep us safe and those among us who have stepped up to assist one another in this incredible time of need."
The Chargers had a "Charge Up to Playoffs" event scheduled for Friday in Sherman Oaks, but the fires continue to devastate the area. However, similar events will be going on as scheduled, and the hope is fans who can provide goods such as blankets, bottled water, new or gently used clothes, first aid kits and more will join the relief efforts.
The team has a history of helping those in need, and not just in their own community. They recently donated 50/50 raffles from the team’s game against the Tennessee Titans to the American Red Cross Mountain Fire relief efforts in Ventura County. Also, funds for relief efforts for the Maui fire, Hurricane Harvey and other causes have been contributed by the organization.
While the Chargers are focused on supporting their community in this time of crisis, they do have to think about their game in Houston in a few days.
The team may not be playing at its home SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, which had an air quality index above 280 on Wednesday, but the team did alter its practice schedule to limit players’ time outside, a team official told ESPN.
Meanwhile, a game is scheduled to be played at SoFi Stadium, as the Los Angeles Rams are set to host the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. The NFL released a statement saying it’s monitoring the fires in Los Angeles closely.
Weather conditions are not helping firefighters control the flames, as it’s often been too windy to fight the fires with aircraft.
The Los Angeles Fire Department has already put out a plea for any off-duty firefighters to help, with thousands already working day and night to get the fires under control.
