Kyle Shanahan claims Rams got game moved to avoid 49ers fans
Did the Los Angeles Rams lobby for an international game to ensure that their home stadium did not get taken over by San Francisco 49ers fans? Kyle Shanahan thinks so.
In a joint interview with Packers coach Matt LaFleur, Shanahan said he knows “for a fact” that the Rams lobbied to get their home game against the 49ers moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2026. He indicated that the Rams did not want SoFi Stadium packed with 49ers fans for what was meant to be a Rams home game. Shanahan indicated that the NFL should respond by making the Rams the visiting team for the 49ers’ “home” game in Mexico City.
“I know for a fact they did,” Shanahan said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “That’s what’s so bothersome.
“That would suck to have to do silent cadence and to have our home game at their stadium. So I get their ambitions, but they were rewarded that. So I’m just hoping we can get our request, too. I’d love them to come to Mexico.”
The Rams have long had a problem with fan support at their home stadium, as opposing fans have frequently traveled well and taken over SoFi Stadium. It has been particularly troublesome for games against the 49ers.
Whether or not Shanahan is correct, it does make sense that the Rams might want to neutralize that game a bit on their schedule. The 49ers are the ones who would theoretically be hurt more by it.
Steph Curry sets target date for his return from injury
Steph Curry appears determined to try and come back for the Golden State Warriors before the end of the season.
Curry is targeting the Warriors’ home game against the Houston Rockets on Sunday for a return, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. However, Curry still has to make it through 5-on-5 scrimmages this week without any issues before he can be fully cleared to play.
Reporting for NBA Today — Stephen Curry has set a goal to return for the Golden State Warriors on Sunday against the Houston Rockets, with the next few days as a vital period to receive clearance: pic.twitter.com/GdDVBIIkDS
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 1, 2026
Curry’s return this season had not been a guarantee and still isn’t. He will miss his 26th consecutive game Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs due to his lingering knee problem, and has not played since Jan. 30. However, Golden State has been consistently determined to get him back in the lineup this season.
The Warriors managed to hang around without Curry and have clinched a berth in the play-in tournament, likely as the No. 10 seed barring a late win streak. They aren’t considered likely to stage a lengthy playoff run, but having Curry available would at least give them more of a chance.
The Warriors enter play Wednesday at 36-39, but are 23-16 in games Curry has played in this season.
Tiger Woods is leaving the country to seek treatment
Tiger Woods has been given permission to leave the United States to seek treatment following his recent DUI arrest.
Woods’ attorney Douglas Duncan petitioned a judge to allow Woods to leave the country for outpatient treatment, according to TMZ Sports. Duncan cited a lack of privacy as a major reason for the request.
“Based upon the Defendant’s treating physician, the out of country treatment facility recommendation is based upon the Defendant’s complex clinical presentation and the urgent need for a level of care that cannot safely or effectively be done within the United States, as his privacy has been repeatedly compromised,” Duncan said in a court filing.
Woods was subsequently granted permission to travel outside the country.
Tiger Woods is headed abroad for treatment.
— michael j. babcock (@mikejbabcock) April 1, 2026
His attorney asked a judge to approve international travel, and the judge signed off.
The reason? Privacy.
Tiger's attorney argued he couldn't receive the care needed in the U.S. because his "privacy has been repeatedly compromised."
Woods announced Tuesday that he is stepping away from golf to “seek treatment and focus on my health.” Understandably, he has offered no further details, and we only know about his plan to go overseas thanks to the court filing.
Woods was arrested and charged with DUI after a rollover crash in Jupiter Island, Fla., on March 27. Police said he showed “several signs of impairment” at the time of his arrest.
Zion Williamson addresses Pelicans trade rumors
Zion Williamson’s future with the New Orleans Pelicans remains in question, and the former No. 1 overall pick is coming to terms with that.
Williamson admitted his preference would be to stay in New Orleans, but acknowledged that the NBA is a business and cannot be certain whether he will be back with the team next year.
“New Orleans is home for me. It’s where I want to be,” Williamson said, via Yaron Weitzman of Yahoo Sports. “But at the end of the day, if we’re going to be realistic about it, the NBA is a business. I could be traded in the offseason, or I could be traded before [next season’s] trade deadline. Not that I want that to happen, but that’s just the realism of it.”
One thing that might keep Williamson in New Orleans is his trade value. One NBA executive anonymously described Williamson to Yahoo Sports as “a borderline All-Star who makes a lot of money,” and added that “a lot of teams are now avoiding” acquiring such players.
Williamson has two years remaining on his current contract. He is slated to make over $42 million next season, and much of that money has become guaranteed thanks to the fact that he has largely stayed healthy this season.
Williamson, 25, remains skilled, particularly when driving to the basket. His defense and rebounding are suspect, though, and he is making a lot of money for a player who is unreliable in that many respects. The Pelicans were reportedly eager to move him earlier in the season, but found no takers. It remains to be seen if that will still be the case this summer.
Bryce Harper loses an out on rarely-enforced rule
Bryce Harper was left frustrated on Wednesday when he had an out taken away from him thanks to a rule that rarely comes up in Major League Baseball.
Harper thought he had the third out of the inning when he tagged Washington’s Jacob Young out at first during Wednesday’s game between the Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pa. However, Young was ruled safe when first base umpire Ryan Blakney ruled that Harper pushed Young’s hand off the bag to make the tag.
Umpire rules that Bryce Harper pushed the runner's arm off the base. Instead of it being three outs, the game is tied pic.twitter.com/C957yxo59J
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 1, 2026
Had Young been ruled out, the inning would have been over. Instead, a run scored and the Nationals tied the game at 1.
The call appeared to be the correct one. Young narrowly got back in and Harper, intentionally or not, nudged his hand off the base to tag him out. The rule rarely comes into play, but it did here.
It has been a rough start to the season for both Harper and the Phillies. He entered Wednesday’s game in a 2-for-20 stretch to start the season. Needless to say, that was not how he hoped to start the campaign after taking offense to the Phillies suggesting that his performance last season was not to the elite standards that are expected of him.
CB Bucknor gets knocked out of game by foul ball
Umpire CB Bucknor’s terrible week culminated in him getting knocked out of Wednesday’s game by a foul ball.
Bucknor was the home plate umpire during Wednesday’s game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wi. During the top of the second inning, he took a foul ball directly to the mask off the bat of Rays catcher Nick Fortes.
Bucknor dropped to a knee and was clearly a bit dazed. He left the field with assistance from the trainers.
CB Bucknor took a foul ball to the mask and was in visible pain.
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) April 1, 2026
He left today’s game as he may have a concussion. pic.twitter.com/YHuluPblER
Jacob Misiorowski’s pitch came in at 100 MPH even before the foul tip. It’s hardly surprising Bucknor was left reeling from that.
Bucknor has had a very rough first week of the MLB season. He was widely mocked for his performance in Cincinnati on Saturday, when he had six calls overturned by ABS review and could have had the same happen to at least a dozen more. On Tuesday, he produced a call that was so clearly wrong that both managers had to keep from laughing about it in their respective dugouts.
The 63-year-old Bucknor is one of MLB’s two longest-tenured umpires, having worked at the major league level since 1996.
Jason Kidd responds to Mark Cuban’s latest comments
Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd had a firm message in response to recent comments by Mark Cuban that painted him as partly responsible for the decision to trade Luka Doncic.
Kidd is clearly fed up with the lingering fixation on the Doncic trade and how much it changed the trajectory of the Mavericks. He had an exasperated response to the new quotes from Cuban and toward Dallas fans in general.
“When are we going to move on?” Kidd said Tuesday, via Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “We have to move forward. We’re focused on the present and the future and we’ve got an incredible opportunity to build.”
In a recent interview, Cuban expressed regret for who he sold the Mavericks to, and shared his disappointment with how “our coach and our general manager” engineered the Doncic trade. His pointed inclusion of Kidd challenged the narrative that the coach had not had a major hand in the deal.
On the other hand, Kidd has a point. No one is going to undo the Doncic trade. Everyone has shared their side of it. There is not really anything left to litigate. Kidd has a job to do, and at a certain point, he is justified in not wanting to answer the questions anymore.
Jalen Hurts accused of holding back Eagles’ offense
An unflattering new report blames quarterback Jalen Hurts for many of the issues that have plagued the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense over the past few years.
Tim McManus and Jeremy Fowler dug into the tension between Hurts and the Eagles in a new story, which suggested the quarterback has a significant hand in the issues the team has faced. Hurts is said to be resistant to change that would diversify the scheme, including playing under center more. He has shown a reluctance to really let it rip, and the Eagles have catered to him by playing to his strengths and subsequently limiting how diverse the offense can be.
Hurts’ quiet determination also has not always had the impact on his teammates that it is meant to have.
“Poor body language, not always bought in, not the most coachable and the players notice,” a team source told McManus and Fowler.
Hurts has been resistant to changes previous offensive coordinators have made, including when Kellen Moore tried to add more motions and shifts. Hurts also fights efforts to get him to play more under center, as he doesn’t like to “turn his back on the defense” and limit his ability to process coverages.
In addition to all this, Hurts has a level of freedom to change plays that some in the building call “excessive.” One source even said players “never know” what play they will run coming out of the huddle because of Hurts’ penchant for changing things.
Hurts is presented as talented, but resistant to change and set in his ways, even when those ways are not working. This is similar to previous reports, which claimed the Eagles were somewhat disenchanted with Hurts and were accused of catering to his preferences too much. Giving Hurts the reins has created some issues with the rest of the offense, particularly with AJ Brown, who was vocal about his frustration with that unit last season.
Whatever issues exist behind the scenes, Hurts still threw for 3,224 yards last season with 25 touchdowns and was runner-up in MVP voting in 2022. The team is certainly not getting rid of him anytime soon, but it sounds like a better balance needs to be struck between what Hurts wants and what is actually best for the offense’s performance.
Korn had a 2-word reaction to Mason Miller’s entrance song
Judging by the reception from baseball and music fans, Mason Miller’s new entrance music is here to stay.
Miller grabbed everyone’s attention during Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., when he stepped out of the bullpen and made his way to the mound in the top of the ninth inning during his 2026 debut, as Korn’s “Blind” played in the background.
It was an awesome, electric scene, with the nu-metal classic’s riff and the flickering stadium lights perfectly setting a sense of dread for what Tigers hitters were about to face.
ESPN shared a video of Miller’s entrance and immediately garnered a ton of reactions.
Korn even left a comment on the post.
“The Reaper,” Korn wrote, while adding a couple of emojis.
Of course, “The Reaper” is Miller’s nickname, and Korn used it to show their approval of his use of one of the band’s best songs in its discography.
Miller, who signed a 1-year, $4 million contract with San Diego in January, made sure that his performance matched the grand theatrics of his entrance. He allowed zero hits, walked one and struck out two to get his first save as the Padres’ closer in a 3-0 win over the Tigers.
Jrue Holiday embraces his old man status with a hilarious response to Carmelo Anthony
Portland Trail Blazers veteran guard Jrue Holiday had one of his best games in the 2025-26 NBA season on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
That throwback performance served as a reminder that he can still do it at a high level. It also sent a clear message to his much younger teammates, one that the two-time NBA champion expressed in a postgame interview with Carmelo Anthony on NBA Showtime.
Asked by Anthony about what he thinks his value is on the young Trail Blazers team, the 35-year-old Holiday responded with a no-nonsense answer.
“I guess I’m old doing this and if I can do it then they can do it,” Holiday said, via HoopsHype.
Holiday led Portland to a 114-104 win over the Clippers, scoring 30 points on 10/21 shooting with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes.
He did not have to do it all by himself, however. Deni Avidja contributed 28 points, while Toumani Camara and Scoot Henderson produced 17 and 15 points, respectively. But there was no doubt who the Blazers’ MVP in that game, with Holiday leading by example on the court.
The Trail Blazers have won seven of their last 10 games and have secured at least a ticket to the Play-in Tournament in the Western Conference.
They are also still in the running for a ticket for an automatic spot in the NBA Playoffs, with five more games remaining on their schedule.
Fans have ruthless reactions to Augusta National’s announcement on Tiger Woods
The 2026 Masters Tournament will not have the presence of Tiger Woods following his arrest and DUI charge after his rollover crash on March 27 in Jupiter Island, Fla.
In a statement, Woods said that he will be “stepping away for a period of time” from golf “to seek treatment.”
Meanwhile, Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley showed support for Woods on Friday, while confirming that the 15-time major champion will not be participating at the 90th edition of the Masters Tournament.
“Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament fully support Tiger Woods as he focuses on his well-being,” Ridley said, via a social media post on The Masters’ official X account.
“Although Tiger will not be joining us in person next week, his presence will be felt here in Augusta.”
However, many fans online do not appear to share the same sentiment.
— mark teasel💙💙💙 (@Mteasel67) April 1, 2026
He doesn’t have cancer… he drives while high ffs
— 👹⚫️⚪️ (@manutdkev88) April 1, 2026
His presence felt pic.twitter.com/fhrNRjCdjq
— Kris (@5kl) April 1, 2026
Why will his presence be felt there? Odd thing to say. I could not care less whether Tiger is there or not.🙄
— Missouri Dave (@MissouriDave1) April 1, 2026
His presence pic.twitter.com/W3yEzxaolZ
— DeMan (@scentedfartz) April 1, 2026
As it stands, Woods is facing a legal battle instead of preparing for another shot at a sixth Green Jacket. The 50-year-old Woods, winner of The Masters in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2019, pleaded not guilty to DUI charges in relation to his Jupiter Island crash.
In addition, he is also charged with refusal to submit to a lawful test. Both charges are misdemeanors, but that doesn’t take away from how bad this looks on Woods, who pleaded guilty to reckless driving in 2017.
Odd reason keeps Todd Monken out of the NFL’s annual head coach group photo
Todd Monken will have to hope he lasts more than a season in his new job if he wants to be part of the 2027 annual NFL head coaches group photo.
Monken, hired by the Cleveland Browns to be their head coach after parting ways with Kevin Stefanski, missed out on the group snap with other NFL coaches on Monday. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com got to the bottom of it and learned the reason behind Monken’s missed photo session.
Apparently, the 60-year-old Monken was getting a haircut. He initially thought he had the schedule right, only to be informed later by Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen that the photo had already been taken.
A meeting among the coaches that finished early led to the decision to take the photo right afterward, but it was also the same meeting Monken skipped in order to get a haircut.
Perhaps Monken can take a selfie and let someone who knows Photoshop insert himself in the photo.
What’s more important to Monken is getting the Browns ready for the 2026 NFL season and proving to Cleveland that it made the right choice in hiring him.
A first-time head coach, Monken comes over to Cleveland after serving as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator from 2023 to 2025.
Senators’ brutal mistake leads to the fastest goal in Panthers history
Those who blinked right after the opening face-off between the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers on Tuesday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., missed something historic.
It took just eight seconds before the first goal of the contest was scored, with Florida forward Noah Gregor finding the back of the net after a miscommunication between Ottawa defenseman Jordan Spence and goalie Linus Ullmark.
Panthers blueliner Seth Jones sent the puck to the offensive zone during the face-off, and it bounced off the boards. Ullmark was supposed to play the puck, but seemingly thought Spence would control it. Gregor took advantage of the mix-up and scored, giving the Panthers a quick 1-0 lead.
Here’s a look at that play.
Noah Gregor sets Panthers record for the fastest goal to begin a game (:08) pic.twitter.com/4j0xs61Qu7
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 31, 2026
With that goal, Gregor now owns the record for the fastest goal in the history of the Panthers franchise. The previous record was held by Johan Garpenlov, who lit the lamp 10 seconds into a meeting with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.
Gregor’s historic goal was the start of the five-goal barrage by the Panthers in the first period. The Senators never recovered from that, as Florida came away with a 6-3 win.
Ottawa’s loss was a significant blow to its playoff chances, with the Senators dropping to 38-26-10 for 86 points. They are on the outside looking in of the wild-card picture in the Eastern Conference with eight games to go on their schedule.
Meanwhile, the 36-35-3 Panthers are virtually out of the playoff race with 75 points to their name, but at least they made history.
Tony Vitello’s interview takes a wild turn with a Kanye West nod
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello is among the youngest skippers in the big leagues, which makes it less surprising that he sneaked in a Kanye West reference during an interview following his first-ever win as an MLB manager.
Vitello, 47, had a wild celebration with his team after the Giants’ 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. That victory must feel so good for Vitello and the Giants, as it came after getting swept by the New York Yankees in a three-game series at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif.
Following the Padres game, Vitello addressed the team’s mood amid its rough start to the 2026 season, somehow even making Yeezus a topic.
“I really don’t feel like there’s been a tightness, like waiting for bad things to happen, or guys yelling at each other,” Vitello said, via Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
“I just think there’s been an emotional charge of really wanting to do well. If you ask Kanye — I think he’s out with a new album — if you try hard, you die hard. Strange fellow, but he don’t miss much on the music, not that you asked.”
Vitello was right, though. Kanye just released a new album, “Bully,” which came four years after “Donda 2.”
As for the lyrics he referenced, it was from “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” a track from Kanye’s “Graduation” in 2007, when Vitello was still in his late 20s.
Vitello could have all of the lights on him if he successfully leads the Giants to their first playoff appearance since 2021 in his first season on the job.
Notable update emerges about Billy Donovan’s future
Billy Donovan may indeed be in his final days as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.
There is “a growing chance” that the Bulls head coach Donovan will leave the team if executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas stays. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times made that revelation in a report on Tuesday.
The news comes with the Bulls having recently been eliminated from postseason contention. At 29-46 on the year, Chicago is out of the running for even the NBA play-in tournament.
Donovan, 60, is in his sixth season as head coach of the Bulls after taking over in 2020. But he sits at a subpar 224-251 (.472) overall during his time in Chicago and has only gotten the Bulls to the playoffs once (a five-game loss in the first round during the 2021-22 season).
Meanwhile, Karnisovas has also been with the Bulls since 2020 and was one of the decision-makers behind the team’s initial hire of Donovan. Clearly though, the two are no longer seeing eye-to-eye amidst Chicago’s continued losing. Notably, a report earlier this month also claimed that Donovan might be on the outs with the Bulls, and now we know that Karnisovas’ presence may just have something to do with it.
If Donovan does ultimately decide to walk away from Chicago, he might already have a strong job opportunity waiting for him elsewhere. In recent days, the former NCAA national champion head coach Donovan has been linked to a potential return to the college ranks with a prestigious program.
Shohei Ohtani has a funny brain fart during game against Guardians
Even Shohei Ohtani sometimes forgets what Shohei Ohtani can do.
The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Ohtani drew attention online over his hilarious brain fart during Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians. Ohtani is now healthy as a pitcher to begin the season for the first time as a Dodger and drew the start against Cleveland on Tuesday.
In the fifth inning at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., Ohtani got Cleveland’s Steven Kwan to hit into an inning-ending flyout with one runner on to preserve a 1-0 lead for the Dodgers. As he was coming off the mound, Ohtani slowly proceeded in the direction of the dugout to sit down.
But Ohtani suddenly realized that he had to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning as a batter and quickly did an abrupt U-turn towards his awaiting helmet and bat. Here is the funny video.
Shohei forgot he was leading off the inning pic.twitter.com/zTuRChpnVV
— MLB (@MLB) April 1, 2026
The reigning two-time NL MVP Ohtani had a superb night on the mound Tuesday. He fired six shutout innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six before exiting with a 2-0 lead.
Ohtani has been far less effective at the plate thus far though and entered play on Tuesday hitting just .167 with zero RBIs through four games. But after Ohtani had a rough outing as a pitcher in Game 7 of last season’s World Series, it is great to see him get his mojo back on the hill in his first official start since then.
Dillon Brooks picks up a technical foul less than 2 minutes into return from injury
Dillon Brooks wasted absolutely no time going full Dillon Brooks during Tuesday’s game.
The Phoenix Suns swingman Brooks returned to the lineup on Tuesday against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center in Orlando, Fla. It marked Brooks’ first game back after missing over a month due to a fractured left hand.
Roughly a minute-and-a-half into the first quarter, Brooks began talking trash to Magic star Paolo Banchero. Just seconds later, Suns star Devin Booker and Magic guard Desmond Bane also had a heated run-in with each other.
Booker, Bane, and Brooks all ended up getting technical fouls for the two-part disturbance. Here is the video.
Things are getting chippy in Orlando
— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) March 31, 2026
Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane all picked up technicals. pic.twitter.com/eItJuOEJSD
The former All-Defensive selection Brooks would go on to struggle in his return from injury. He managed just nine points on 4/13 shooting as the Magic beat the Suns by a final score of 115-111.
But as for Brooks’ very quick technical foul, that was quite on-brand. He now leads the NBA with 17 technical fouls on the season and also recently had to serve a suspension due to his misbehavior on the court.
CB Bucknor gets laughed at by Brewers, Rays after awful missed call at first base
CB Bucknor does not even need to be behind home plate these days to prove how incompetent he is.
The veteran MLB umpire Bucknor went viral during Tuesday’s game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays for his latest horrific whiff. Bucknor was working first base at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisc. and made a baffling call during the sixth inning.
Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers hit a rocket to the right side that was knocked down by Rays second baseman Ben Williamson. After diving for the ball, Williamson attempted to throw across his body to get Williamson at first base, but the throw sailed wide.
Unbelievably however, Bucknor ruled that Bauers had failed to touch first base and called him out. Instant replay showed that Bucknor could not have been more wrong though and actually appeared to be ball-watching at the time that Bauers touched the bag.
Milwaukee quickly decided to challenge Bucknor’s call, and it was promptly overturned. As a result, Bauers got to return to his rightful spot at first base and eventually came around to score as the Brewers went on to win by a final of 6-2.
A number of figures on both teams were seen laughing at Bucknor after the blown call was overturned, including Bauers, Brewers manager Pat Murphy, and Rays manager Kevin Cash. Here is the video of the full sequence.
The managers and players were laughing at CB Bucknor for missing the easiest call of all-time pic.twitter.com/z5aMCbQmrH
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 1, 2026
Bucknor, 63, has quite the resume of missed calls at this point of his MLB umpiring career and is already adding plenty more entries this season. During a game last weekend, Bucknor drew ridicule for having six completely different calls of his behind the plate get overturned by ABS.
Report: Mavericks are eyeing 4 candidates to replace Nico Harrison
The Dallas Mavericks have their shortlist for Nico Harrison’s successor.
Dallas is eyeing four particular candidates to potentially replace their fired ex-general manager Harrison, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported on Tuesday. Those four candidates are Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti, Minnesota Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens, and Cleveland Cavaliers GM Koby Altman.
The Mavericks are looking for a new full-time GM after firing Harrison last November. Harrison, the former Nike executive, was the architect of the franchise’s disastrous Feb. 2025 trade of superstar Luka Doncic and lasted just nine months in his position after trading away Doncic.
Dallas’ basketball operations are currently being led by a notable duo in the meantime. Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi were appointed as co-interim general managers for the Mavericks after Harrison’s firing.
As for the Mavericks’ four potential full-time GM candidates, Presti and Stevens are by far the biggest names … and would also be the toughest to get. The former is the reigning NBA Executive of the Year and is now widely regarded as the single best executive in the league after bringing the Thunder to the 2025 NBA championship. Meanwhile, the latter is also a former NBA Executive of the Year as well as a recent NBA champion with the Celtics and recently turned down a huge basketball job that just opened up elsewhere.
An executive in the tier of Connelly or Altman would be a far more realistic get for the Mavericks, particularly if their respective current teams suffer early playoff exits. In particular, Connelly was rumored a couple of years ago to be facing an uncertain future in Minnesota (before ultimately signing a contract extension).
Karl-Anthony Towns pulls a curious move during the Knicks’ latest loss
The vibes are not great in New York right now.
The New York Knicks lost again on Tuesday night, falling to the Houston Rockets by a final score of 111-94 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The loss marked the third straight defeat for the Knicks, immediately following a seven-game win streak earlier this month.
Video went viral of a curious moment that Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns had in the middle of the game against the Rockets. During a Houston challenge in the third quarter, the Knicks were huddled together on the sideline as part of the stoppage.
While the other Knicks players were locked into the team huddle, Towns was sitting far away from his teammates on the very end of the bench. You can see the video at the link here.
Towns actually led the Knicks with 22 points and eight rebounds but did so on just 7/17 shooting. Before another recent game, Towns also raised eyebrows with an interview in which he said that he was still trying to figure out his role on the Knicks … some 75 games in the season.
"I'm still trying to figure out where I could impact our team and winning the most."
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) March 29, 2026
KAT speaks with Zora Stephenson ahead of Knicks Thunder on NBC and Peacock. pic.twitter.com/cv4k1hZ2cz
The six-time All-Star Towns, 30, has seen his numbers take a slight hit this season (20.0 points, 11.9 rebounds, and a career-low 0.5 blocks per game). There were rumors a couple months ago that Towns was upset with the Knicks as well as something is clearly not working for Big Purr in New York this year.
