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⚔️ Five things to know Friday
- The Raiders are set to sign Kirk Cousins. Presumptive No. 1 draft pick Fernando Mendoza will have a mentor in Las Vegas, and he may now be afforded some time to develop before making his starting debut. Coach Klint Kubiak said this week he would prefer not to start a rookie quarterback out of the gate, which bodes well for Cousins’ prospects of opening the year in the lineup. Cousins will pocket $20 million over the course of a one-year deal with Las Vegas, with about half of that pay coming from the Raiders and the rest coming from the Falcons, who cut him earlier this offseason.
- Cameron Boozer is the 2025-26 CBS Sports National Player of the Year. Boozer was the headliner of this week’s CBS Sports All-America teams, and yesterday we announced that he also won the Player and Freshman of the Year awards. Our college basketball writers unveiled the full list of individual honors and named Tommy Lloyd the Coach of the Year and Yaxel Lendeborg the Transfer of the Year.
- Phil Mickelson will not participate in the 2026 Masters. For just the second time since 1995, Mickelson will not tee off at Augusta National. The southpaw said he will be out for “an extended period of time” as his family navigates a personal health matter, which also caused him to sit out of LIV Golf’s first four events this season. Given that Tiger Woods is on indefinite leave from golf, this marks the first Masters since 1994 in which neither he nor Mickelson will compete.
- Konnor Griffin will make his MLB debut today. As the Pirates and their top prospect continue to work toward a long-term extension, Griffin will step foot on a major-league diamond for the first time this afternoon against the Orioles. The Pirates called up Griffin in advance of their home opener and will make the 19-year-old shortstop the first teenager to play in an MLB game since 2019.
- Audi Crooks intends to enter the transfer portal. One of the best players in women’s college basketball will be on the move this offseason. Crooks, who ranked second nationally in scoring at 25.8 points per game in her All-American campaign, is the 10th player to depart from Iowa State amid a mass exodus and figures to command interest from premier programs.
🏆 Do not miss this: Final Four preview, picks
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There are six games left in the Division I basketball season — three on the men’s side and three for the women — and all but one of them will be completed by Sunday night. The Women’s NCAA Tournament picks back up tonight at the Final Four in Phoenix, where all of the No. 1 seeds remain in contention for the national championship.
Here are a couple of storylines to note heading into the action:
Our women’s basketball writers made their picks for UConn vs. South Carolina (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) and for UCLA vs. Texas (9:30 p.m., ESPN). They reached a consensus in picking the Huskies to head back to the title game, but are split on the Longhorns and Bruins. The winners of those showdowns meet Sunday for a chance to cut nets.
The men’s tournament resumes Saturday when No. 3 Illinois squares off against No. 2 UConn at 6:09 p.m. in Indianapolis. No. 1 seeds Michigan and Arizona will clash following that first game.
We’ll have more on the Men’s Final Four between now and tip-off, but first, here’s what you need to know about the opening game between the Fighting Illini and Huskies.
🏀 WNBA Expansion Mock Draft
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The Fire and Tempo will begin construction of their inaugural rosters today at the WNBA double expansion draft. Both first-year franchises can select up to 12 players over the course of two rounds, but only one of them can be an unrestricted free agent. Some of the players who come off the board may already be under contract with other teams. Each of the existing 13 teams submitted lists of up to five protected players who are not up for grabs.
Because the protected player lists are not revealed publicly, predicting who the Fire and Tempo pick is in some ways a shot in the dark. A significant number of players are no-doubters to be protected, though, which makes it a bit easier to build a mock draft.
That’s precisely what Jack Maloney did as he hypothesized every protected player list and projected the results of the expansion draft.
The Fire are on the clock with pick No. 1, and Maloney projected Jordin Canada to become the first player on Portland’s roster.
- Maloney: “She’s not core eligible, so there is some risk here, but she’s previously played in the Pacific Northwest and they can give her the supermax and make her their starting point guard. Injuries have been an issue for Canada in recent years, but when she’s healthy, she’s one of the best backcourt defenders in the league and a very solid playmaker.”
And with the second pick in the mock draft, Jack projected Toronto will make Bridget Carleton the first player in franchise history.
- Maloney: “Carleton has represented Canada at the Olympics and would be a perfect player to make the face of the country’s first WNBA franchise. She’s a versatile wing who can really shoot the ball, defends multiple positions and has extensive playoff experience from her time in Minnesota.”
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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📺 What we’re watching this weekend
Friday
⚾ Marlins at Yankees, 1:35 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 WNBA Expansion Draft, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
⛳ Texas Open, second round, 4 p.m. on Golf Channel
⚾ Reds at Rangers, 4:30 p.m. on MLB Network
🏒 Flyers at Islanders, 7 p.m. on NHL Network
🏀 Women’s Final Four: South Carolina vs. UConn, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Bulls at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Brewers at Royals, 7:40 p.m. on Apple TV
⚽ Angel City FC at Orlando Pride, 8 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 Women’s Final Four: Texas vs. UCLA, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Mariners at Angels, 9:38 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Braves at Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. on Apple TV
🏀 Pelicans at Kings, 10 p.m. on NBA TV
⚾ Mets at Giants, 10:15 p.m. on Peacock
Saturday
⚽ FA Cup, quarterfinal: Liverpool at Manchester City, 7:45 a.m. on ESPN
⚽ FA Cup, quarterfinal: Port Vale at Chelsea, 12:15 p.m. on ESPN+
🏒 Red Wings at Rangers, 12:30 p.m. on ABC
⚽ Toronto FC at Colorado Rapids, 1 p.m. on Apple TV
⚾ Blue Jays at White Sox, 2:10 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Spurs at Nuggets, 3 p.m. on Prime Video
🏒 Avalanche at Stars, 3 p.m. on ABC
⚽ FA Cup, quarterfinal: Arsenal at Southampton, 3 p.m. on ESPN+
⛳ Texas Open, third round, 3:30 p.m. on NBC
⚽ Gotham FC at Kansas City Current, 4 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
⚾ Brewers at Royals, 4:10 p.m. on FS1
⚽ Real Salt Lake at Sporting Kansas City, 4:30 p.m. on Apple TV
🥊 Derek Chisora vs. Deontay Wilder, 5:30 p.m. on DAZN
🏀 Men’s Final Four: Illinois vs. UConn, 6:09 p.m. on TBS/TNT/truTV
⚽ Portland Thorns FC at North Carolina Courage, 6:30 p.m. on Ion
🏀 Pistons at 76ers, 7 p.m. on NBA TV
🏒 Canadiens at Devils, 7 p.m. on NHL Network
🏒 Maple Leafs at Kings, 7 p.m. on NHL Network Alternate
⚾ Braves at Diamondbacks or Cubs at Guardians, 7:15 p.m. on Fox
⚽ D.C. United at FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV
🤼 UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Duncan, 8 p.m. on Paramount+
⚽ Chicago Fire FC at Nashville SC, 8:30 p.m. on Apple TV
⚽ Denver Summit FC at Seattle Reign, 8:45 p.m. on Ion
🏀 Men’s Final Four: Michigan vs. Arizona, TBD on TBS/TNT/truTV
⚽ Los Angeles Football Club at Orlando City, 9:30 p.m. on Apple TV
⚾ Mariners at Angels, 9:38 p.m. on Peacock
⚽ San Jose Earthquakes at San Diego FC, 10:30 p.m. on Apple TV
Sunday
⚽ Bologna at Cremonese, 9 a.m. on CBS Sports Golazo Network/Paramount+
⚽ FA Cup, quarterfinal: Leeds United at West Ham United, 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2
🥊 Caroline Dubois vs. Terri Harper, Noon on ESPN+
🏒 Wild at Red Wings, 1 p.m. on TNT
🏀 DII Men’s National Championship: Lander vs. Gannon, 1 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
⚾ Cubs at Guardians, 1:40 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Brewers at Royals, 2:10 p.m. on Peacock
⛳ Texas Open, final round, 2:30 p.m. on NBC
⚽ Roma at Inter Milan, 2:45 p.m. on Paramount+
🏀 Women’s NCAA championship: TBD vs. TBD, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
🏀 Raptors at Celtics, 3:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏒 Bruins at Flyers, 3:30 p.m. on TNT
⚽ Washington Spirit at Bay FC, 5 p.m. on ESPN2
🏒 Capitals at Rangers, 7 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Cardinals at Tigers, 7:20 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
🏀 Lakers at Mavericks, 7:30 p.m. on NBC
🏒 Blues at Avalanche, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Rockets at Warriors, 10 p.m. on NBC