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Creighton basketball secured a significant win in the transfer portal, adding a former MEAC Player of the Year. The Blue Jays are undergoing significant changes this offseason as Greg McDermott tries to continue his successful run in Omaha. Creighton has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in five consecutive years. This past season’s team dominated its first-round clash against Louisville before falling to No. 1 overall seed Auburn. Now, key contributors such as program legend Ryan Kalkbrenner, Jamiya Neal, and Steven Ashworth have exhausted their eligibility.
While next season seemed to be a rebuilding one for Gregg McDermott and company, the program’s phenomenal transfer portal class has it thinking it can contend for a Big East Championship again. And the longtime Blue Jays’ head coach picked up some more great news in the transfer portal on Sunday. According to On3 National Basketball Reporter Joe Tipton, Howard transfer guard Blake Harper, the MEAC Player of the Year, has committed to Creighton. The DC native averaged 19.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game during his freshman season with the Bisons.
Creighton basketball trying to keep up with a constantly evolving Big East Conference
Many teams within the Big East Conference are performing exceptionally well in the transfer portal this offseason. The headliner is St. John’s, which already looks primed to be a top 10 team once again next year. UConn will also return and be at a higher level in 2025-26, as the conference aims to have a better season than last year’s uneven one. NIL and the transfer portal have helped Big East schools, which primarily focus their athletic budgets on basketball programs, compared to other major conferences that play football.
Harper joins a Creighton transfer portal class that is currently ranked eighth overall. Joining the 6’8 forward includes Iowa standouts Owen Freeman and Josh Dix, former Charlotte point guard Nik Graves, and Miami shooting guard Austin Schwartz. All of those players are capable of starting on Day 1 for the Blue Jays and, no matter what, will be instant contributors.
Creighton basketball will be returning a few players from this past season. This includes freshman standout Jackson McAndrew and key bench players from last year, such as Fedor Zugic and Isaac Traudt.
Overall, expectations are still a little tempered in Omaha for now, as a whole new host of players will be brought in. But don’t be surprised if Creighton slowly starts to creep into the preseason top 25, especially with this latest addition. McDermott has a track record with this program where he doesn’t rebuild his rosters; he reloads them.
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Wisconsin Badgers losing ground in ESPN's way-too-early 2025-26 bracketology
The Wisconsin Badgers exceeded expectations last season when John Tonje led the team to the Big Ten Championship Game and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi doesn't see them repeating quite the same success. He updated his way-too-early predictions for March Madness in 2026, and he dropped the Badgers down to a No. 7 seed in the Midwest region. They would play No. 10 seed Ole Miss in the first round, and if they advance, they would play the winner of No. 2 seed UConn against No. 15 Siena of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. In the same region, Lunardi has rival Illinois as a No. 4 seed. Wisconsin's postseason push will fall on the shoulders of John Blackwell taking over the lead scoring role, along with a group of key transfers with a lot of potential to open up the offense. Greg Gard has had a knack for maximizing the talent on his roster and over-performing based on preseason expectations. His roster will be a little overlooked again this season, and he is in a good position to surprise some people again in 2026. More Wisconsin Badgers News: Greg Gard pitting John Blackwell and Nick Boyd against each other to ramp up Badgers practice intensity How every former Wisconsin Badger performed in this year's NBA Summer League Hidden reason revealed for Wisconsin Badgers playing more neutral site basketball games in Milwaukee Incoming Wisconsin Badgers freshman stars as leading scorer in EuroBasket 2025 Final
Brewers issue update on Jackson Chourio rehab timeline
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio was tearing it up in July before he strained his hamstring legging out a triple. He was placed on the injured list, and it only got worse from there. Less than 24 hours later, manager Pat Murphy said Chourio would be out beyond the 10-day minimum and possibly at least a month. On Saturday, beat reporter Curt Hogg shed another tidbit of light on the slugger’s timetable. It’s not necessarily worse news, but Hogg’s update probably does not illuminate much. Fans already knew Chourio was going to be out a while after Friday’s report, so this latest info isn’t surprising. It isn’t all that encouraging, either. It certainly suggests no expedited return schedule. Not to make assumptions, but the emphasis on the location of the damage versus evaluating its severity seems to indicate the Brewers are just hoping Chourio avoided a worse-case scenario. In that case, caution would indeed be first in the order of operations. Only after ascertaining clarity would it make sense to seriously estimate a recovery timetable. That he won’t be ready to immediately resume baseball workouts further points to a slow, methodical recovery process. For however long he remains out, the lineup will miss him badly. Chourio’s 17 home runs rank second on the team behind Christian Yelich, as do his 67 RBI. His .786 OPS leads the offense among qualified hitters. In 90 at-bats in July, he hit .367/.408/.600. The Brewers are resilient everywhere, but without one of their few genuine power threats and hottest bats, plus an everyday outfielder, they are courting a potential offensive slump. The most fans can hope for from Chourio is that he returns fully healthy by the first week of September. Until then, Blake Perkins and trade pickup Brandon Lockridge should see plenty of playing time while Yelich takes more reps in the outfield after getting most of his at-bats this season as the designated hitter.
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25-time Grammy winner's sports agency blasts Jerry Jones for 'comical' comment
The Dallas Cowboys may have 99 problems, and the way owner Jerry Jones handles contract negotiations could be considered a big one. Jones spoke with the media Saturday regarding Micah Parsons' contract situation. The EDGE, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal, has requested a trade. The 82-year-old owner clarified the Cowboys have no plans to trade Parsons. While discussing negotiations, Jones took an unprovoked jab at former Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant and his agent, rapper Jay-Z. "When we have a problem within the team and a player, I don't ever find the agent. He's nowhere to be found," Jones said. "...Jay-Z and I negotiated [Bryant's contract in 2015], spent hours. He said, 'Anybody in my organization is on time.' He said, 'My office used to be on the street corner, and I've always been early. So, they will be on time.' And I said, 'Where do I sign? But I'm going to call you.' Finally, he quit taking my call." The 25-time Grammy winner's sports agency, Roc Nation, took issue with Jones' comment. In a statement released on X Sunday, it denied his claim, calling it "comical." This is yet another example of Jones prioritizing attention when he should be focused on extending two-time first-team All-Pro Parsons. The Cowboys often delay deals for their stars. The team signed Bryant to a five-year, $70M deal in July 2015, just before the deadline to extend players with a franchise tag. Last season, Dallas signed quarterback Dak Prescott to a four-year, $240M contract ahead of its season opener against the Cleveland Browns. The team's procrastination often leaves it paying even more for star players and wastes valuable time. Parsons is still with the team at training camp in Oxnard, Calif., but isn't participating. He likely wants a contract that's similar to that of Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt (three years, $123M). The pass-rusher is the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. Jones' methods are one reason the Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl since the 1995 season. Jay-Z should mention that if he wants to write a single that includes a lyric about the owner.
Troubling update emerges about Joel Embiid’s health
Joel Embiid’s trust in the healing process may not be paying off. A concerning update emerged over the weekend about the health of the Philadelphia 76ers star center. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reports that there is “genuine concern” around the league about the health of Embiid’s knee. Siegel adds that Philadelphia’s camp is attempting to downplay the concerns but notes that “word is bad” about Embiid’s health around the rest of the NBA. Now 31, the former MVP Embiid is still dealing with the ill effects of a torn left meniscus suffered during a 76ers game in February 2024. Embiid, who previously tore the same left meniscus back in 2017, quickly underwent surgery on the knee and missed two months. It appeared that everything was peaches and cream for Embiid after he returned to finish out the 2023-24 NBA season and even played at the 2024 Paris Olympics last summer as the starting center for Team USA. But Embiid missed significant time while managing his left knee throughout the 2024-25 season and even suggested at one point that he would need to have another surgery. In the end, Embiid appeared in just 19 total games for the 76ers last season and was shut down in February with the team nowhere close to contention. There was some talk a few months ago that Embiid might be undergoing the Kobe Bryant treatment to address the troublesome knee, but it looks like Embiid still hasn’t found a course of treatment that his knee is responding to. We know that the 76ers were already growing frustrated with Embiid’s lack of availability going back to last season. Now they may have to prepare for the potential of Embiid missing more time in 2025-26, a disastrous possibility given that they still owe the seven-footer an absurd $187.6M over the next three seasons.
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