Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels had one of the greatest rookie seasons by a quarterback in recent memory, and his team’s addition of wideout Deebo Samuel might make his 2025 stats look even better.

During an appearance as a speaker at Fanatics Fest over the weekend, Daniels expressed his excitement to join forces with the speedy receiver, whom the Commanders traded for in March. If things work out as the second-year quarterback hopes, he will get the double benefit of more passing yards for less effort.

‘I’m excited to throw him a little screen and hopefully on the stat sheet it says a touchdown for 80 yards and I didn’t have to do any of the work,’ Daniels joked in a video posted by The Sports Place.

There is some truth in Daniels’ joke.

In 2024, Samuel averaged 8.3 yards after catch per reception – the third-highest average of any wide receiver in the NFL. Only Denver Broncos wideout Marvin Mims and the Detroit Lions’ Jameson Williams were better after the catch, according to Pro Football Reference.

That’s a skill set the Commanders will be happy to have in their passing offense to complement that of lead receiver Terry McLaurin.

McLaurin earned his second career Pro Bowl nod in 2024 as he continued to find success over the middle and in deep parts of the field. According to Pro Football Focus, his average depth of target was 13.9 yards – 14th-highest in the NFL – but his yards after catch average was 3.6 – 59th in the league.

Samuel, meanwhile, had an average depth of target of 6.9 yards per PFF (89th) but averaged his aforementioned 8.3 yards after catch per reception to make up for it.

He joins the Commanders with hope on both sides that a change of scenery will help enable him to return to his 2021 levels of production, when he caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards – leading the league with his 18.2 yards per reception. In the three years since, Samuel has not surpassed 900 receiving yards.

In 2024, Daniels threw for 3,568 yards on a 69% completion rate with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He led Washington to a 12-5 record during the regular season and took them to the NFC championship game, where they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, the eventual Super Bowl champions.

Samuel finished the 2024 season with 51 catches for 670 yards and three touchdowns in the air. He also had 42 carries for 136 rushing yards and an additional touchdown on the ground.

All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter. Check out the latest edition: The countdown to training camp is on.

The lawsuit, obtained by USA TODAY Sports, was filed in Harris County, Texas. The plaintiff, Marisa Watley, demands a jury trial and economic, compensatory, and punitive damages.

According to the 18-page filing, Watley says she attended the New Year’s Eve party with two of her friends and that she was sexually assaulted while unconscious by Justice Armani Blackburn, who is Harden’s nephew.

Watley says her friends were later removed by Harden’s security, even though she was still inside the residence. The friends then contacted Watley’s sister, who in turn contacted Harden’s sister, who is the mother of Blackburn. The lawsuit says the sister submitted a photo of Watley to Harden’s security, who said that the woman inside was not Marisa Watley, despite the lawsuit alleging that Watley was indeed in the mansion at that time.

The negligence claim against Harden stems from the complaint alleging the conduct of Harden’s in-home security, which they say failed to act responsibly in response to outside calls for help and could have prevented the sexual assault. The lawsuit also says that Harden is ‘vicariously liable for the actions of his guards and their corporate employer,’ who were also named as defendants in the case.

“Since New Year’s Day, when I reported the rape by Mr. Blackburn to the police, I have remained puzzled by how Mr. Harden’s security behaved that day—it is painful to imagine that this all could have been stopped in time. I hope this complaint pushes security employees generally to act more responsibly when women are in danger,’ Watley said in a statement.

Harden, 35, a 11-time NBA All-Star and six-time first-team All-NBA selection, just completed his second season with the Clippers, averaging 22.8 points, 8.7 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game.

“Ms. Watley has shown great strength and courage in coming forward to hold Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Harden accountable for what happened to her on New Year’s Day 2025 in Mr. Harden’s mansion.  This rape was immediately reported to the police, and we will bring Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Harden to justice through the civil justice system,’ Watley attorneys, Michael J. Willemin, John S. Crain, and Jay Ellwanger and Kaylyn Betts said in a statement.

The FIFA Club World Cup was supposed to be a bright light shining on the most popular sport in the world, giving Americans a chance to see the best footballers on Earth on American soil. Well, the bright light part has been true at least. Unfortunately, it’s also a burning light.

Though the Club World Cup has yet to reach the knockout stages, thunderstorms delayed several group stage matches last week, and now blistering heat is taking its toll on the tournament as well, with extreme temperatures causing major concerns for several clubs involved in the tournament.

On Saturday, June 21, Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac told the media that he was ‘sweating like (he’d) just come out of a sauna’ following his team’s victory on TQL Field in Cincinnati. The temperature reached 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 32 degrees Celsius. It was so hot that Dortmund’s subs weren’t even on the field during the game.

But it’s not just TQL that’s feeling the heat. The American Northeast in general has offered difficult conditions for many teams.

The heat wave is supposed to ramp up throughout this week as well. Clearly, the weather concerns that many fans had at the start of the tournament are starting to come to fruition.

Which venues are experiencing issues?

According to CBS News, the heat wave is strongest in the American northeast with some states recording record-high temperatures. Areas in the mid-Atlantic like Maryland and Virginia are also under extreme heat warnings. Meanwhile, states in the Midwest like Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio are facing blazing heat as well.

While other areas further south like Atlanta and Nashville are also suffering the affects of the heat wave, those cities are more used to temperatures in the 90s during the summer.

Here are the Club World Cup stadiums affected most (with the forecast for Tuesday, June 24 according to The Weather Channel)

• TQL Stadium in Cincinnati – Highs in the mid 90s
• GEODIS Park in Nashville – Highs in the upper 90s
• Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta – Highs in the mid to upper 90s
• MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey – High of 102 degrees
• Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia – High of 101 degrees
• Audi Field in Washington, D.C. – High of 101 degrees

The heat wave is expected to persist until the middle of next week in some areas, meaning the Round of 16 knockout matches will likely suffer from similar heat issues.

Will these same problems occur when the U.S. hosts the World Cup?

These heat issues have raised concerns for next year’s big event as well. The United States will host the 2026 World Cup, with the first games kicking off on June 11. Similar heat issues would create a terrible atmosphere for arguably the world’s biggest sporting event.

The New York Times reports that it is highly likely similar heat waves occur when the World Cup begins. Given that there were already struggles with heat during the 2024 Copa America, officials are right to be concerned with how this will affect players and fans. It will only be heightened by the fact that most of the games are scheduled for afternoon start times.

When do the knockout stages begin for the Club World Cup?

The knockout stage begins on Saturday, June 28, with the winners of Group A and Group C taking on the runner-ups in Groups B and D, respectively. Round of 16 matchups will continue through Tuesday, July 1, which could be around the time that the heat starts dying down.

The worst fears for the Indiana Pacers have come true.

Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the team announced on Monday, June 23. It said surgery was scheduled for later in the day at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

ESPN was first to report the extent of Haliburton ‘s injury.

That means the Pacers must now prepare to be without Haliburton for an extended period of time, possibly even the entire 2025-26 season.

This season, Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 9.2 assists – third-most in the NBA. He also led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.61).

He generated one of the most clutch stretches of play in postseason history, hitting a game-winning or game-tying shot in each of Indiana’s four postseason series.

All of which now complicates Indiana’s quest to return to the NBA Finals.

It became apparent immediately after Haliburton sustained the injury that it could be serious. It was a non-contact injury, and after Haliburton fell to the court, his emotional reaction – Haliburton slapped the floor and appeared to shake his head and repeatedly shout ‘no’ – hinted at its severity.

Haliburton scored nine points in just 7:05 of play prior to his injury.

After getting medical attention for several moments, staffers helped Haliburton off the floor, with him not putting any weight on the injured leg. He went into the locker room with a towel draped over his head.

After the game, as players headed back into the Pacers locker room, Haliburton stood outside the room on crutches, greeting his teammates.

‘That’s who he is as a person, a teammate,’ backup point guard T.J. McConnell said after the game. ‘He put his ego aside constantly. He could have been in the locker room feeling sorry for himself after something like that happened, but he wasn’t. He was up greeting us. A lot of us were hurting from the loss and he was up there consoling us. That’s who Tyrese Haliburton is. He’s just the greatest, man.’

Haliburton had been dealing with a right calf strain that he sustained during Game 5, Monday, June 16. He had been listed as questionable heading into each of Games 6 and 7, but he managed to start each.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

The NASCAR Cup Series is set to debut its inaugural In-Season Challenge, in which 32 drivers are seeded and bracketed into a tournament, like March Madness or a tennis draw.

The In-Season Challenge, which will run for five weeks, is actually a series of individual races within five larger races. The drivers will not only be competing to win the weekly race as they normally would, but they will also be facing off in head-to-head matchups with the goal of finishing better than their opponent in the race and advancing to the next round.

The drivers were seeded based on their finishes at three previous races – at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono – with the bracket placing the top two seeds on opposite halves of the draw. That means if the tournament holds to form, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds would not meet up until the final, presuming they both advanced through each round.

The winner of the inaugural In-Season Challenge will take home $1 million.

The first round begins Saturday, June 28 at Echo Park Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) and features 16 head-to-head matchups among the 32 drivers. Beat your head-to-head opponent and you advance to the second round. Sixteen drivers will be eliminated after the first round.

Does that sound complicated? If so, we have you covered with the list of seeds, how the rounds work, every first-round matchup and where and when each of the five In-Season Challenge races will take place.

NASCAR In-Season Challenge seedings

1. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
4. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
7. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
8. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
9. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
10. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
11. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
12. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
13. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
14. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
15. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
16. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
17. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
18. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
19. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
20. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
21. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
23. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
24. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
25. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
26. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
27. Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
28. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
30. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
31. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
32. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

NASCAR In-Season Challenge matchups, rounds

The NASCAR In-Season Challenge puts the 32 drivers in a bracket, which begins with 16 first-round matchups.

The No. 1 seed faces the No. 32 seed in the first round, the No. 2 seed takes on the No. 31 seed, No. 3 matches up with the. No. 30 seed, etc. The losers of the head-to-head matchups will be eliminated, and the 16 winners will advance to the second round, where the winner of the No. 1 vs. No. 32 matchup will face the winner of the No. 16 vs. No. 17 matchup, the winner of the No. 2 vs. No. 31 matchup takes on the winner of the No. 15 vs. No. 18 matchup, etc.

Like March Madness, the tournament will move from a Round of 32 to a Sweet 16 to an Elite Eight to a Final Four and finally a championship race.

• First round: 32 drivers in 16 head-to-head matchups; 16 drivers eliminated at end of race.
• Second round: 16 drivers in eight head-to-head matchups; eight drivers eliminated at end of race.
• Third round: Eight drivers in four head-to-head matchups; four drivers eliminated at end of race.
• Fourth round: Four drivers in two head-to-head matchups; two drivers eliminated at end of race.
• Fifth round: Two drivers in a head-to-head matchup; winner wins the in-season challenge.

TOURNAMENT: Full visual NASCAR In-Season Challenge bracket

NASCAR In-Season Challenge first-round pairings

Here are the pairings for the first-round race at Echo Park Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway) on Saturday, June 28. The winner of each head-to-head matchup advances to the next round.

Top half of draw

• No. 1 Denny Hamlin vs. No. 32 Ty Dillon
• No. 16 Kyle Busch vs. No. 17 Brad Keselowski
• No. 8 Alex Bowman vs. No. 25 Joey Logano
• No. 9 Bubba Wallace vs. No. 24 Daniel Suarez
• No. 12 John Hunter Nemechek vs. No. 21 Josh Berry
• No. 5 Chase Elliott vs. No. 28 Austin Dillon
• No. 13 Ross Chastain vs. No. 20 Erik Jones
• No. 4 Christopher Bell vs. No. 29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Bottom half of draw

• No. 2 Chase Briscoe vs. No. 31 Noah Gragson
• No. 15 Ryan Preece vs. No. 18 William Byron
• No. 7 Ryan Blaney vs. No. 26 Carson Hocevar
• No. 10 Kyle Larson vs. No. 23 Tyler Reddick
• No. 11 Michael McDowell vs. No. 22 AJ Allmendinger
• No. 6 Ty Gibbs vs. No. 27 Justin Haley
• No. 14 Zane Smith vs. No. 19 Austin Cindric
• No. 3 Chris Buescher vs. No. 30 Todd Gilliland

NASCAR In-Season Challenge races

All times Eastern

Round 1 — 32 drivers

• Echo Park Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway)
• Saturday, June 28 | 7 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast

Round 2 — 16 drivers

• Chicago street race
• Sunday, July 6 | 2 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast

Round 3 — 8 drivers

• Sonoma Raceway
• Sunday, July 13 | 3:30 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast

Round 4 — 4 drivers

• Dover Motor Speedway
• Sunday, July 20 | 2 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast

Round 5 championship — 2 drivers

• Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Sunday, July 27 | 2 p.m. | TNT, truTV altcast

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.