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Good morning and happy Thursday, sports fans! It’s Austin Nivison greeting you as we begin the College Football Playoff semifinals tonight. Before Miami and Ole Miss kick things off, we have a big trade in the NBA (and the MLB), a big NFL Draft decision and much more.
Let’s jump right into all the biggest stories from around the sports world.
🏀 Five things to know Thursday
- The Hawks dealt Trae Young to the Wizards. Young and the Hawks have been moving toward a split for some time now, and that finally materialized when Atlanta sent him to Washington in exchange for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. A four-time NBA All-Star, Young gives the Wizards a star at a relatively low acquisition cost. It also frees up Atlanta to take a take a massive swing on the trade market, but we’ll get to that later.
- The Cubs acquire starting pitcher Edward Cabrera from the Marlins. The Cubs bolstered their rotation by adding the right-handed Cabrera from the Marlins in exchange for outfielder Owen Caissie, and infielders Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon. Cabrera comes off a solid 2025, in which he turned in a 3.53 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP and 150 strikeouts. Chicago came out looking great in this deal, but the return for Miami feels a little light.
- Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson declared for the 2026 NFL Draft. One of the most intriguing draft decisions of this cycle belonged to Simpson, and he is officially headed to the NFL. After tapering off a bit down the stretch in 2025, Simpson projects to be the third quarterback off the board. In his latest NFL mock draft, Mike Renner has Simpson going to the Rams at No. 29 overall. As for Alabama, picking the right quarterback to replace Simpson will be pivotal for Kalen DeBoer.
- Todd Bowles will be back with the Buccaneers in 2026. Bowles is expected to return next season, despite a second-half collapse resulting in Tampa Bay missing the playoffs with an 8-9 record. In four years with the Bucs, Bowles is 35-33 with one playoff win.
- Akshay Bhatia turned down offer from LIV Golf. As LIV Golf’s recruiting efforts start to wane, they took another hit. That’s because Bhatia, a rising star in the sport, reportedly turned down a rather substantial offer from LIV. In a move that’s been more common this offseason, Bhatia is sticking with the PGA Tour, and this comes on the heels of Brooks Koepka parting ways with LIV Golf in December.
🏆 Do not miss this: CFP semifinals preview
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The College Football Playoff semifinals begin tonight as Miami and Ole Miss face off in the Fiesta Bowl. That will be followed by the in-season rematch between Oregon and Indiana on Friday night. It should be a great couple nights of college football, so be sure to enjoy two of the three games we have left this season.
Our team of college football experts have put their minds together for predictions and picks (straight up and against the spread) for each game. As for tonight’s matchup, our nine experts were very split. Five picked the Rebels while four picked the Hurricanes. According to Brandon Marcello, this game will be determined by whether Ole Miss can protect Trinidad Chambliss.
- Marcello: “If Miami struggles to affect Trinidad Chambliss in the pocket, the Rebels win. If the Rebels can’t protect their quarterback against defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, the Hurricanes win. Chambliss has escaped pressure most of the season, but so had Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed before Miami sacked him seven times in the first round.”
Before kickoff, here is a fascinating story from each side of the field.
🏀 Trae Young trade grades
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The Trae Young deal represents the first real blockbuster of the NBA season, and that means it’s time for Sam Quinn to get out his red pen and hand out grades for the Hawks and Wizards.
This trade makes some sense for both teams, but Quinn gives a very slight edge to the Hawks (B+). Yes, Young is very talented. No, the Hawks didn’t get any draft compensation in return. All that said, Atlanta gave itself a lot of financial flexibility by creating more than $40 million in cap space. Now it’s about using that freedom to make a splashy trade for Anthony Davis.
- Quinn: “So what is that next step? The obvious answer is an Anthony Davis trade. They’ve been linked to the Dallas big man for weeks, and if the price is right, they could very easily pull the trigger. Moving Young first allows the Hawks to add Davis without worrying about the luxury tax or finding proper depth next season. While he doesn’t exactly fit the timeline of the younger remaining Hawks, he certainly checks the defense and athleticism boxes they’ve leaned into this season.”
Washington, on the other hand, doesn’t have any cap concerns. What is at least a little concerning is that Washington might be in jeopardy of losing its top-eight protected to the Knicks. If Young helps the Wizards win a little too much, that pick is out the door.
🏈 NFL upsets on tap for Wild Card Weekend?
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With a few of the usual suspects sitting at home, this NFL postseason seems very wide open. That means Wild Card Weekend could be ripe for some upsets with five of the six matchups featuring a point spread inside a touchdown. Four of those are within 3.5 points.
Our own Jared Dubin ranked each underdog by likelihood of an upset, and No. 2 on the list might surprise me. Most people seem to have written off the Steelers as they face a Texans defense capable of shutting down even the best offenses in the league. But throw in some “Renegade” playoff magic — and a middling Texans offense — and Pittsburgh has a real shot to advance.
- Dubin: “Pittsburgh is playing this game at home, on Monday night, and the Steelers have traditionally been excellent in night-time island games during the Mike Tomlin era. The Texans have a ferocious defense that should be able to hold Pittsburgh in check even with DK Metcalf back in the lineup, but it’s not like their offense is a machine that will be able to put up points with ease against the Steelers.”
Pete Prisco logged his picks for Wild Card Weekend, and while he is calling one notable upset, he doesn’t see too much chaos developing.
And, finally, with the Super Bowl 60 taking place one month from today, we thought this would be a fine time to update my favorite Super Bowl commercials of all time. We’ve got a ranked list of the top 25. Enjoy!
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
📺 What we’re watching Thursday
⚽ Atlético Madrid vs. Real Madrid, 2 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Northwestern at No. 12 Michigan State (M), 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
🏈 CFP semifinal — Fiesta Bowl: No. 10 Miami vs. No. 6 Ole Miss, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Islanders at Predators, 8 p.m. on Hulu
🏀 Heat at Bulls, 8 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 Rutgers at No. 16 Illinois (M), Big Ten Network
🏀 Santa Clara at No. 8 Gonzaga (M), 11:30 p.m. on ESPN2