As the Unrivaled playoffs begin Saturday at Sephora Arena in Miami, the women’s 3-on-3 professional basketball league announced its postseason awards.

Phantom BC forward Aliyah Boston was named Defensive Player of the Year after recording 29 blocks in 14 games. She finished second in total defensive rebounds (111) and had 39 points off turnovers. Boston also averaged 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots a game.

Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers, Rose BC guard Chelsea Gray and Phantom BC guard Kelsey Plum were named to first-team All-Unrivaled. Phantom BC forward Aliyah Boston, Mist BC guard Allisha Gray and Laces BC wing Brittney Sykes were named second team. Phantom BC’s Roneeka Hodges was named Coach of the Year.

Bueckers averaged 22.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 51.5% from the field and 38% from 3-point range in her rookie season. She led Breeze BC to the No. 5 seed in the playoffs.

Chelsea Gray led Unrivaled in total points (339), assists (85), 3-point field goals (49) and assists per game (6.1). She became the first player in league history to surpass 600 career points, 200 career field goals, and 100 career assists. Her Rose team opens the postseason against Breeze on Saturday (9:45 p.m. ET, truTV).

Kelsey Plum, who led Phantom BC to the No. 1 seed, averaged 22.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists. The Phantom have a bye for the first round of the playoffs and will face the lowest-seeded team to advance in the semifinals Monday at the Barclays Center in New York. The Unrivaled championship for Season 2 will take place on Wednesday in Miami.

All players and head coaches received a postseason award vote along with 21 media members. The voting was weighed as such: 35% to players, 35% to coaches and 30% to media.

INDIANAPOLIS – The best running back – and maybe the best player, period – in the 2026 NFL Draft is almost universally regarded to be Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love.

But the second-best RB option for teams not in lofty enough position to select Love might just be his former Fighting Irish backup and roommate, Jadarian Price. And though Price doesn’t question his decision to leave South Bend despite having remaining eligibility, it didn’t quite feel like he’d departed after he and Love wound up being roomies again at this year’s NFL scouting combine.

“Just feels like an away game for us,” Price cracked Feb. 27 while meeting with reporters.

But he also had a message to potential future employers considering him as a major component of NFL away (and home) games in 2026.

“I’m a four-down back, I’m here to do it all,” said Price. “I’m continuing to get better and fix the technique of things. But I can catch, I can pass protect – I’m willing to do it all.”

And that includes being a special teams contributor, a major aspect of Price’s résumé and one that may be boosting his draft stock given the impact the NFL’s dynamic kickoff rule has had on the league in recent years.

“I think when you go to the next level, NFL, the more value you have to stay on the field with other things besides running back, that just makes you more valuable and appreciated as a player,” said Price. “So I think it does help me.”

And his skill as a returner has been a frequent topic during his combine meetings with teams like the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Almost every coach and interview I had the past couple days, they mentioned the special teams ability,” said Price, who only handled 22 kickoffs over the past three seasons for the Irish – yet took three of them to the house.

“I told them all the same, I love special teams – and I attack it like I attack offense. I’m willing to do anything when it comes to special teams.”

Price, who led the country by averaging 37.5 yards on kickoff returns last season, when he scored twice, admits the dynamic kickoff seems “pretty weird” to him right now but he understands its growing importance at the pro level.

“Couple guys took it to the crib, and that gets you excited like, ‘Hey, there is a way to get past that line,’” he said.

“It just takes practice and different experience with it.”

Speaking of practice and experience, Price has also been working hard to address his perceived flaws – specifically a penchant to fumble plus a lack of polish as a receiver.

“I do a lot of hard work in practice, things behind the scenes that you don’t see,” said Price, while admitting Love had a “better knack” for receiving.

Price had just 15 receptions over the past three seasons but was confident he’d show at the combine that it’s an overblown criticism. And he looked especially smooth in the Feb. 28 drills while flashing sub-4.5 speed over 40 yards.

Yet the fumbling issue, including two he lost near the goal line last season, could be the bigger concern.

“In every interview you’re gonna go into, they’re gonna talk about the good stuff, and they’re obviously gonna bring up the bad stuff that you need to work on,” said Price while specifically addressing the turnoves.

“Because, at the end of the day, the ball is the program, so that’s what they want to lead with.”

But let’s not bury the lede, either.

Despite sitting second on the Notre Dame depth chart behind Love, who had 417 touches and 3,014 yards from scrimmage over the past two seasons, Price had more than 750 rushing and receiving yards himself in both 2024 and ’25. His 1,211 all-purpose yards in 2025, which factor in his kickoff returns, left him just 441 shy of Love, who was an All-America and Heisman Trophy finalist.

‘He’s like Love-lite almost,’ former New York Giants vice president of player personnel Marc Ross, now an NFL Network analyst, said of Price. ‘The vision is there, the quick cuts are there, he has explosiveness to the edges.’

Said ESPN’s Louis Riddick, a former NFL safety: ‘This dude is a slasher. And he is tough as heck at the contact point, you rarely get this dude down with your first tackle attempt − great pad level, great acceleration on to the second level.’

If both taken in the first round, Price and Love would become the first Round 1 running back duo from the same school since Arkansas’ Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in 2008. Three years prior to that, Ronnie Brown and Carnell ‘Cadillac’ Williams of Auburn were both top-five selections.

Price, who’s 5-foot-11 and 203 pounds, feels like his experience in Notre Dame’s offense will translate well to NFL schemes, and pro scouts have already praised his north-and-south running style.

A lower usage rate in college – Price had 295 touches from scrimmage at Notre Dame, 201 fewer than Love – is another of his selling points.

“Half of them ask about that. The other half ask, you know, ‘Why didn’t you go somewhere else and want to be a featured back?’ And I just tell them, you know, Notre Dame was the place for me. And they ultimately, at the end … do respect that,” said Price.

“I would love to get the ball 25 times a game. Whatever opportunities I’m given, I’m gonna make the most of those opportunities. Even if I don’t get to touch the ball 25 times a game and only 10 – and I end up averaging 10 yards a carry – that’s awesome, too.”

Price, 22, credits Love for making him better and teaching him to play freely while putting less pressure on himself.

“JD has the opportunity and the potential to be one of the best running backs in the league,” Love said.

“(T)he sky’s the limit for JD. He’s gonna do great things in the league, and he’s gonna play for a long time.”

Despite the opportunity to play for a longer time in South Bend and take over Love’s role in 2026 – plus what he deemed compelling financial incentives to do so – Price felt there was little doubt he needed to go pro and embrace an opportunity to create “generational wealth” for himself and his family in the future.

“During the process, you don’t really realize, like, how special, you know, the situation is and impact you’re having on everyone else. But I realized that when we left Notre Dame, the amount of people who reached out to me (saying), ‘Hey, I wish you could stay. I’m so happy, like, that y’all chose to go to Notre Dame and the things that y’all did the past couple seasons.’ It really made me proud of what I did at Notre Dame,” said Price.

‘But it was time for me to go to the league. And the things that me and Jeremiyah have done have been great, but we’re gonna be great NFL backs.”

INDIANAPOLIS – All honey.

That’s how Jerry Jones described his vision for the flow with George Pickens, now that the Dallas Cowboys have ensured that the All-Pro wide receiver won’t hit the market on March 11 as a free agent. On Friday, the Cowboys officially placed a franchise player tag on Pickens that comes with a $27.298 million payday for 2026 yet also marks the intent for the team to strike a deal for a long-term contract.

In many circles, Pickens, 24, ranked as the NFL’s top projected free agent. What a rise for a once-disgruntled player obtained in a May trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Very clearly, the Cowboys want George Pickens to be a part of our future,” the Cowboys owner said, speaking to a small group of media that included USA TODAY Sports, aboard his luxury bus on Friday night after watching a workout session at the NFL scouting combine. “That says that so clearly. And it has a lot of muscle behind it when it says it.”

Sounds inviting enough. Yet these are the Dallas Cowboys we’re talking about.

History suggests that when it comes to negotiating a fat contract for a star player, there’s bound to be some Texas-sized drama. In recent years, that involved long, drawn-out contract talks with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, DeMarcus Lawrence and of course, last year, a major saga with Micah Parsons that seemed to turn way-too-personal and didn’t end until the All-Pro edge rusher was traded to the Green Bay Packers a week before the start of the regular season.

What’s to say this will play out without becoming a big distraction that hovers above the Cowboys as they ramp up for next season? Jones tap-danced when asked whether he received assurance from Pickens during a Thursday phone conversation that the receiver would fully participate in the team’s offseason program.

“What I did get is how much it meant to George that he’s working with Dak,” Jones said.

More solid, though, was Jones’ contention about his approach to working with Pickens’ agent, David Mulugheta. Early in his hour-long media session – dubbed as a “state of the Cowboys address” – Jones made an undeniable statement that added a substantial layer to the tone set during the phone call with Pickens.

“Regarding his representation, I can clearly work with his agent,” Jones said. “I have no issues.”

After his dismissive remarks about Mulugheta last spring, Jones knew this component of the negotiations would come up during his media session. Rather than wait for a question about it, though, Jones was proactive. He brought it up himself.

Well, that was last year. Jones undoubtedly had a key talking point about Mulugheta (incidentally, a Dallas native who grew up rooting for the Cowboys) that he wanted to express on Friday.

“We haven’t met,” Jones said of Mulugheta, “but to the end that we can have discussions about (Pickens) and other players that he represents, we understand the angst that’s there, how he’s representing, and his goals of maximizing the dollars. And he clearly has accomplished enough to know the alternative to that is our job of managing the club and the salary cap and getting as much mileage out of the cap as we can.”

The NFL’s salary cap, by the way, will top $300 million for the first time in 2026, with the record $301.2 million figure representing an increase of $22 million from last year’s amount. It stands to reason that a long-term deal for Pickens would average at least $30 million per year. Cincinnati Bengals star Ja’Marr Chase has the highest average among receivers at $40.25 million, while Lamb ranks third at $34 million.

For a team that again needs to create cap room – according to Spotrac.com, the Cowboys are currently an NFL-worst $58.454 million over the cap – it would behoove the team to reach an agreement with Pickens sooner rather than later.

The same can be said for star kicker Brandon Aubrey, whom Jones confirmed has been offered a contract that would make him the NFL’s highest-paid kicker. Currently, Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs is the highest-paid kicker, averaging $6.4 million.

“We feel good that what we’re talking about is appreciative of what he can do for us,” Jones said of Aubrey, the only player in NFL history with six field goals of at least 60 yards on his resume. “I’m not trying to negotiate with anything I say here, but we’ve got a good offer on the table for him.”

Still, more drama is always just around the corner for the Cowboys. While Aubrey’s case is interesting enough, the Pickens matter seemingly provides more potential to generate headlines.

Pickens ranked third in the NFL with 1,429 receiving yards on 93 catches. In earning second-team All-Pro honors, he also largely discarded the reputation as a malcontent that was connected to Pittsburgh’s willingness to trade him away.

Jones undoubtedly took a step to reduce drama by calling Pickens on Thursday, a day before the team owner flew here for the combine, to explain the team’s rationale for using a franchise tag – the restrictive move despised by many star players across the league over the years.

“I was rewarded that he expressed himself in the way that he did about how comfortable he was here, how much he liked working with Dak and his teammates and how he was looking forward to his future with the Cowboys,” Jones said of his talk with Pickens.

As for the drama, Jones tried his best to distance himself from the perception that the Cowboys drag these matters out more than most. Two years ago, Lamb’s 4-year, $136 million extension wasn’t done until after he missed all of training camp. And while Prescott became the NFL’s highest-paid player on a 4-year, $260 million contract that averages $60 million, the matter was a constant topic of discussion all offseason and during camp.

“I don’t know what comes first: The substance, the significance of the player’s situation, or the drama of a negotiation,” Jones said. ‘Usually, those happen when you have a more substantive player that is…a difference-maker. I really don’t know how to do it and not have the drama.”

In other words, stay tuned. Even if Jones promises smooth sailing this time around.

“I want our George Pickens relationship to be all honey,” Jones said.

Yeah, honey and money.

– Contact Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell

The family of the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau said it was ‘overwhelmed’ that the USA men’s hockey team celebrated those players after winning the gold medal.

Players carried Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey on the ice and brought out his children, Noa and Johnny, for a team photo. Gaudreau, a seven-time NHL All-Star, frequently suited up for the USA in international tournaments before he and his brother died on Aug. 29, 2024, when hit by a driver while they were bicycling in New Jersey.

The Gaudreau family members said in a statement on Saturday, Feb. 28, that they initially turned down an invitation to go to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan because it would have been hard on them.

‘But we kept thinking about what John and Matty would say if they knew we turned it down. We knew the answer,’ the family said.
’John loved representing his country. From the time he was little, he dreamed of competing at the Olympics. In that final summer, he was working harder than ever, pushing himself with everything he had to earn a spot on that roster. He was going to be there.’

The family members – parents Guy and Jane, plus Johnny’s widow Meredith, went to Milan – said they were comforted by the fact that so many people cared about the brothers.

‘Every person we encountered took the time to ask about the boys — who they were, what they meant to us, the kind of people they were away from the ice,’ the family said.
’What struck us most was realizing that John and Matty’s impact reaches so much further than we sometimes see in our own grief.

They are carried by so many people — in locker rooms, in conversations, in quiet moments we will never even know about. That means everything to us.’

Team USA, which displayed Gaudreau’s jersey in the locker room for the 4 Nations Face-Off and the world championships, did the same at the Olympics. The Americans beat Canada 2-1 in overtime for the country’s first men’s hockey team Olympic gold medal since 1980.

‘When Zach (Werenski), Auston (Matthews) and Matthew (Tkachuk) carried John’s jersey around that ice, we were overwhelmed — they made sure he was there,’ the family said. ‘And then to see Noa and Johnny — on Johnny’s second birthday — carried out onto the ice to be part of that gold medal photo — there are no words for what that felt like.

‘John and Matty should have been there, and in that moment, they were.

Thank you to every member of that team for loving John & Matty – and for making sure they were part of something historic. And thank you to everyone at @NBCOlympics and @usahockey for your kindness, your generosity, and for bringing our family to Milan to witness it.

You gave us a gift we didn’t know we needed.’

Luka Doncic and LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers to an easy 129-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Both of the Lakers’ stars flirted with triple-double performances but sat out the latter part of the second half. Doncic was celebrating his 27th birthday on Saturday.

Austin Reaves contributed to the offense with 18 points.

Los Angeles snapped a three-game losing streak that had it entering this game just 1-3 following the All-Star break.

The Lakers improved to 35-24 on the season. The Warriors fell to 31-29.

LeBron James stats vs. Warriors

• Points: 22
• FG: 7-for-13
• 3PT: 4-for-6
• Free Throws: 4-for-5
• Rebounds: 7
• Assists: 9
• Steals: 1
• Blocks: 0
• Turnovers: 4
• Fouls: 1
• Minutes: 28

Luka Doncic stats vs. Warriors

• Points: 26
• FG: 9-for-17
• 3PT: 4-for-9
• Free Throws: 4-for-4
• Rebounds: 6
• Assists: 8
• Steals: 1
• Blocks: 1
• Turnovers: 2
• Fouls: 2
• Minutes: 29

How did Lakers celebrate Doncic’s birthday?

After the Lakers’ victory over the Warriors, Doncic told ESPN what he received for his birthday from his teammates.

Lakers vs. Warriors highlights