Predicting upsets in College Basketball this week
Last week was one of our best in this column. After hitting Iowa, Kansas State, Missouri, and Wake Forest, we were 4-for-4 in predicting upsets heading into the late window Wednesday night before USC completely laid an egg against Illinois. The goal this week, although unlikely, is to improve on that and go 5-for-5. Here are the predictions for the upsets this week in college basketball.
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Texas over Florida
This is the biggest game of the season for the Longhorns as the defending champs come to town, presenting an incredible opportunity for a much-needed Quad 1A win. If this game were in Gainesville, I wouldn’t pick this way. But I think the home crowd, and maybe the home whistle, can be huge. Texas big man Matas Vokietaitis is 2nd nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes with 9, and if he can get Florida’s massive frontcourt in foul trouble, that would force the Gators to change their rotation and play out of their comfort zone.
Florida State over Miami
The Seminoles are playing their best ball at the right time, winners of 6 of their last 7. They’ve started playing their younger and more promising players, like Thomas Bassong and Martin Sommerville, for more minutes. Crazy how that leads to more wins. They’ve already beaten Miami on the road, and now get the Hurricanes back at home for the rematch.
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Illinois over Michigan
As we saw with the Duke game last Saturday, very few teams are equipped to beat the Wolverines. You have to have not only the requisite size to defend Michigan’s frontcourt, but you also need floor spacing offensively and the ability to limit Michigan’s transition scoring. That profile screams Illinois to me, and add that to the fact that this game is in Champaign, and I don’t think Michigan has a natural matchup to defend Keaton Wagler.
Dayton over St. Louis
It’s easy to forget that the Flyers were a popular preseason pick to win the Atlantic 10 before a slew of injuries derailed a promising start to the season. They’re now fully healthy, winners of three straight, and should have a raucous home crowd to take on their bitter rival (pundits have been comparing this St. Louis team to 2020 Dayton, and Dayton fans will take that personally). French center Amael L’Etang is now back healthy and will be a nightmare matchup for Robbie Avila, and I think the fully healthy Flyers can get this done.
Marquette over Georgetown
It might not be outwardly obvious in the midst of a three-game losing streak, but the Marquette Golden Eagles are playing better basketball as we approach the stretch run of the season. This is largely because they’ve turned the offense over to exciting freshman Nigel James Jr., and he will be the best player on the floor in this game. Meanwhile, Georgetown is coming off an abysmal 51-47 loss to Seton Hall, where they shot under 20% from three.
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Braves extend Chris Sale through 2027/(8) seasons
Mere minutes after announcing their highly-anticipated foray into owning their own TV/streaming network, the Atlanta Braves announced an extension of their ace, Chris Sale.
Sale was in his last year of his prior contract (also an extension) with the Braves, set to make $22 million this season. Now, before he can hit free agency, the Braves will retain him for a modest salary bump to $27 million for the 2027 season, along with a club option worth $30 million for 2028. With the impending labor negotiations, 2028 feels like it’s decades decades away, but no matter when it arrives, the Braves will have the option of bringing back their ace for another year.
Sale is coming off a season that saw him make just 20 starts because of injury, something he’s been no stranger to throughout his career. But those 20 starts were something special as he continued his run of dominance — a 61 ERA-, 67 FIP-, and 73 xFIP-, good for 3.6 fWAR despite just 125 2/3 innings pitched. While Sale is an injury risk in his own right, he’ll be relied upon to anchor a rotation that’s had guys going down left and right. Since coming to the Braves in exchange for Vaughn Grissom ahead of the 2024 season, Sale has put up 10.0 fWAR in 303 1/3 innings with a collective 59 ERA-, 59 FIP-, and 69 xFIP-, while taking home the 2024 NL Cy Young Award.
Stay tuned for more news on what’s already been a day chock full of it, and it isn’t even 9 am on the East Coast yet.
2026 NFL Draft: Top safety prospects for Eagles to watch
Here's all you need to know about the Philadelphia Eagles' safety position. Let's begin with the best of the bunch. He's a former undrafted rookie free agent who worked his arse off to become a team captain.
But, he's also an impending free agent.
Serious question here. What would you do if you were Reed Blankenship? Would you re-sign with the team that gave you a shot, the only NFL team you've ever played for? Or, would you finally take advantage of free agency and see how the rest of the league values you and what you would make on the open market?
As far as Philadelphia is concerned, Reed Blankenship is beloved, but he's also a unique conversation. He didn't have his best season last year, but he's still pretty good.
The Eagles could do a lot worse than having Blankenship as a team captain, manning the backend of their defense. Marcus Epps came home, but he's also staring at free agency.
Andrew Mukuba, a rookie taken during the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, ended his first season on injured reserve. Sydney Brown was a third-rounder in 2023. We're not even sure if he can play.
That leaves Andre' Sam, a 2024 UDFA who does some nice things in practice but may not be ready for prime time. It's safe to say the Eagles would do themselves a solid by drafting a safety.
If they agree, how early they'd do so remains the obvious question. Most of us can agree that it's easy to argue that there's a more pressing need at other positions, but for the sake of argument, let's shine a spotlight on the best guys in the coming draft class.
Caleb Downs, Ohio State Buckeyes
Caleb Downs' stat sheet in 2025 includes 68 tackles and 2 interceptions. He also forced two fumbles, broke up three passes, and registered a quarterback sack.
Some may disagree with this, but for now, we'll place him atop this list of talented prospects. It's easy to argue for him being the first safety taken in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Kamari Ramsey, USC Trojans
This new Big Ten structure still messes with us. It still seems weird naming the USC Trojans as a member, but we've seen some pretty cool conference games as a result.
Games involving the Trojans often prompt discussion of Kamari Ramsey's brilliance. He's a six-foot, 204-pounder. Call us crazy, but he might be this class's Nick Emmanwori depending on how he develops.
Dillon Thieneman, Oregon Ducks
Dillon Thieneman made a nice name for himself with the Purdue Boilermakers (2023-24) before transferring to Oregon. He earned First-team All-Big Ten honors in 2025.
He was also named a First-team All-American last season after posting 64 tackles, four pass breakups, and two interceptions. Look for him to hear his name called relatively early in Round 2. That's our guess.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Toledo Rockets
If Toledo doesn't get anything else right, they know what to look for in defensive backs. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren was a teammate of Eagles star Quinyon Mitchell for two seasons (2022-23).
Seattle Seahawks safety Maxen Hook was on that squad as well. McNeil-Warren is going to make some noise at the next level. It will be interesting to see how he is valued.
A.J. Haulcy, LSU Tigers
First-Team All-SEC and First-Team All-American honors were the result of A.J. Haulcy's 2025 NCAA football season. Count 'em up: 89 tackles, three interceptions, and four passes broken up.
He's one of the bigger guys on this list in terms of height and weight combinations. He stands at six-foot-two. He weighs 219 pounds. Here's a prediction. He'll run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds or less.
Javon Kilgore, South Carolina Gamecocks
We didn't know whether to name Javon Kiglore as our fifth-best safety or give that honor to A.J. Haulcy, so we decided to mention both of them. The former Gamecocks star was named Second-Team All-SEC for the second time last season. He made the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2023. There's a lot to like here.
Worth mentioning:
The Philadelphia Eagles aren't necessarily walking into the offseason with desperation at safety, but that could change. Their best could leave in free agency. The other two are unproven, so some action is needed here.
The uncertainty is real. There are health questions and developmental timelines to consider, so we expect a smart front office to avoid waiting for problems to become emergencies.
This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Top safety prospects for Eagles to watch
Christian Horner says Max Verstappen wasn’t behind his removal at Red Bull
Christian Horner has said he doesn’t believe that Max Verstappen was “in any way” responsible for him being removed as Red Bull team principal.
Horner was abruptly relieved of his duties after 20 years in July, halfway through the Formula 1 season. He formally left the team in September.
In comments featured in the upcoming series of Netflix documentary “Drive To Survive,” his most detailed remarks on his departure to date, Horner says he believed it was the decision of Red Bull company chief executive for corporate projects and investments, Oliver Mintzlaff, and then-Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko, rather than Verstappen and his father Jos.
“His father has never been my biggest fan. He’s been outspoken about me but I don’t believe that the Verstappens were responsible in any way. I think this was a decision that was made by Oliver Mintzlaff with Helmut advising from the sideline,” Horner says.
“I think ultimately things changed within the business, within the group. The founder died (Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who died in 2022 ), and after Dietrich’s death I think probably I was deemed to have maybe too much control.”
At the time, Verstappen had yet to commit to staying with Red Bull for 2026, something he did weeks after Horner was replaced by Laurent Mekies as team principal.
Marko had made public comments of concern over Verstappen’s future and the potential for the four-time world champion to leave Red Bull under a performance-related clause in his contract. Marko announced his own retirement in December.
Mekies oversaw an improvement in Red Bull’s form over the second half of the season, which allowed Verstappen to take his ultimately unsuccessful title defence to the final race of the year before McLaren’s Lando Norris secured the championship.
“I feel a real sense of loss and hurt. It was all rather sudden. I didn’t really get a chance to say a proper goodbye,” Horner says of his departure from the team in the Netflix series. “I’ve had something taken away from me that wasn’t my choice, that was very precious to me.”
The announcement that Horner was no longer team principal came more than a year after Horner was accused of misconduct toward a team employee.
An investigation conducted on behalf of the Red Bull company dismissed the allegation, as did a further investigation conducted after the employee appealed against the initial ruling, Red Bull said at the time.
Horner remained in charge of the F1 team throughout the entire process.
Lions will play in the NFL's 2026 Germany game, which will be somewhat of a homecoming for Amon-Ra St. Brown
Detroit Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown has quite the connection to Germany. St. Brown's mother, Miriam, was born in the country, and St. Brown hosts football camps there. Now, he has another reason to visit, as the Lions were announced as participants in the NFL's 2026 Germany game.
The league announced the news Tuesday, though did not name the Lions' opponent just yet.
Just announced: @Lions will be one of the participants this fall in the NFL game in Munich. It’s one of a record nine international games in 2026 across four continents, seven countries and eight stadiums – and will be played at the FC Bayern Munich Stadium pic.twitter.com/D4m5bVGJcD
— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) February 24, 2026
This story will be updated.