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For the 12th time in his career, Geno Auriemma will end his season as a national champion.
On Sunday afternoon, the UConn Huskies became the first women's college basketball program to win 12 national titles, blasting defending champion South Carolina 82-59. All of those championships have come under Auriemma, 71, who took over the UConn program in 1985.
Strange as it may seem considering the stranglehold the Huskies had on the sport for so long, this year's championship was the program's first since 2016.
After the victory, a tearful Auriemma admitted to ESPN's Holly Rowe that this was the most emotional he's ever been watching his players come off the floor.
Throughout the afternoon, there has been speculation on social media that perhaps this is the end of the line for the legendary head coach.
"Will Geno retire? One more natty and call it a coaching career," high school sports reporter Andy Villamarzo said as the Huskies were blowing out the Gamecocks Sunday.
"I wonder if Geno’s gonna retire after this year," a second person tweeted.
"Geno should retire after they win this. Go out a champ!" a third person said.
"Geno is like 71. Does he retire after this?" a fourth person wondered.
"Geno can’t retire cause he gotta make sure Sarah Strong ends up the greatest player to ever play," a fifth person said.
That last point is an interesting one. Strong, a multi-talented 6-foot-2 post player, scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in today's championship game and was a revelation in the NCAA Tournament, producing four double-doubles.
Even with superstar Paige Bueckers and some other key contributors graduating, Strong and guard Azzi Fudd (24 points today as well) provide a fantastic base for the Huskies to build on in 2025-26.
Does Geno have one more run in him with this new core? Or will he ride into the sunset as a 12-time champion?
Time will tell.
More must-reads:
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- The '2024-25 NFL passing-yard leaders' quiz
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Chargers star's brutal injury shows why players should hold out with new contracts on line
Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater was carted off the practice field on Thursday afternoon with what turned out to be a significant injury. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the two-time Pro Bowler suffered a season-ending knee injury. It's a massive blow to the team's offensive line and offense as a whole. It also serves as a harsh reminder as to why players will always — and should always — act on the side of caution when it comes to participating in training camp when they are seeking a new contract. In Slater's case, he's a lucky one because he just agreed to a new four-year, $114 million contract extension with $92 million in guarantees days before the injury happened. That contract was signed after he did not participate in some of the team's early training-camp practice sessions. If Slater had participated early on and had this injury happen before he was able to get his new deal signed, it would have been a devastating blow in his quest to get that pay day. Not only would the Chargers have had no incentive to pay him this season, but there is no guarantee he would have ever received that sort of contract in the future. Fans might not like the idea of a hold-out or hold-in, but you have to look at it from the perspective of the player. They have a very limited time to earn top dollar in the NFL, and there are never any guarantees. The hold-out/hold-in approach is not only a way to put pressure on the team to pay them, but it's also a matter of self-preservation. Football is a violent game. It's a physical game. It's a collision game. Injuries are always going to be a part of that. But injuries happen with much greater frequency early in the season, and especially in training camp, due to the fact that players are still working their way back into game shape and going through more intense and physical practices than they do at any point during the season. It's a dangerous time for them in terms of injuries, and that should not be overlooked when it comes to contract talks. Players have short careers and even less time to set themselves up financially. They should not be willing to take unnecessary risks when it comes to their earning power. The Slater situation shows just how delicate all of it is.
Cardinals All-Star Addresses Future; Hints Time In St. Louis Is Ending
The St. Louis Cardinals made changes this summer but the winter is going to be even more transformational. Trading away guys like Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton certainly hurt. But, these were necessary moves with the Cardinals' chances at a playoff spot just barely hanging on for dear life. The Cardinals are one game below .500 at 57-58 right now through 115 games played as of writing ahead of their showdown with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon. Sure, the Cardinals could go on some long winning streak and change the perception around the club once again. That would be great, but right now, the odds of the club making the playoffs are slim and that's why the Cardinals traded the three relievers before they could hit the open market in free agency. Once the season ends, bigger changes are coming, though. Cardinals at crossroads that will start to be answered this winter The Cardinals used the trade deadline to move on from some of the team's players heading to free agency that didn't have no-trade clauses. The Cardinals opted against trading players under team control beyond this season and guys with no-traded clauses made it clear that they wanted to stick around, including Miles Mikolas, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras. Nolan Arenado also reportedly didn't expand his list of approved teams from this past offseason. Of the no-trade clause guys specifically, Gray, Contreras, and Arenado still control their destiny beyond the season. Mikolas will be a free agent and spoke about his future and noted he wants to continue pitching, but made it sound like he won't be back with Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I want to finish strong," Mikolas said. "And I want to do my best to be a good example for the young guys. There are some young guys in here who I’ve seen from their rookie years, seen them mature and get better. Hopefully, I’ve left a little bit of an imprint on them. Show the younger guys what it’s like to go about your work – day in, day out, rain or shine. I’ll be in here tomorrow working out, busting my tail in the gym, getting my work done with the trainers, watching video, trying to get better. Bottom line: I want to finish strong and show teams that I’ve still got a lot of good baseball left in me... "I know teams look beyond that. They’ll look at everything. Teams are going to sign you after they go back and look at all of your starts and go, ‘What was the difference? Can we fix him? Can we help him? Can we do this? Can we do that?’ If my stuff is good – and the ball is coming out of my hand good – and I’m available wire to wire, that’s something. That’s something I take a lot of pride in...I’ll play as long as I can. The ball is still coming out of my hand pretty good for being almost 37. I’ll play as long as they let me." Mikolas has been with the Cardinals since 2018 and has earned two All-Star nods with the team, but his future is in question now.
Raiders Open Preseason in Seattle With An Unlikely Ending
On Thursday night, the Pete Carroll era for the Las Vegas Raiders officially kicked off as Carroll's new team traveled to the place Carroll once had roaring in the 2010s, the Seattle Seahawks. Geno Smith took to the field with the starting offense as they attempted to put the learned concepts of Chip Kelly into practice. The results: not great. Smith and the offense were in the game for one series, and they looked sharp to start with Smith hitting Tre Tucker for a first down on the very first play from scrimmage. Then the Raiders went three and out, leading to the first two issues of the night. Preseason Flow The Raiders could not stop the run all night and struggled to deal with fullback Robbie Ouzts. Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was slicing and dicing the Raiders' defense all night with near uninterupted success on the ground paired with moderate success in the air. At least the Raiders were able to intercept Drew Lock on the Seahawks' first drive with Isaiah Pola-Mao hauling in the pick. Kyu Blu Kelly almost added a second pick but dropped the ball. Aiden O'Connell would come into the game and was under pressure all night. The backup tackles are not on the same page as the offense, with Charles Grant struggling to hold up against the Seattle attack. O'Connell went on to throw two inexcusable interceptions in the first half. Seattle's George Holani took over in the first half, running for 61 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Alex Bachman was O'Connell's most reliable target, making two catches for 36 yards on four total targets. Collin Johnson kept getting targeted but they could not link up with Johnson catching two passes for 17 yards off five targets. The Raiders trailed 16-3 at halftime. That's when we started to see the Pete Carroll effect. Coming out of halftime, O'Connell looked confident while fittingly, it was New Hampshire's Dylan Laube that opened up Kelly's offense. After forcing a Seattle punt, the Raiders scored a touchdown when O'Connell hit Laube for a six-yard touchdown. On the drive, O'Connell went 5/5 passing. The Raiders defense started to lock in, forcing a three-and-out, with the offense scoring a field goal off a 15-play drive. 16-13 Seahawks. However, the Raiders defense started to break, allowing the Seahawks to run the football seven times on a nine play, 65 yard drive for a touchdown. At this point, we were in the fourth quarter and rookie QB Cam Miller got his shot and he came out hot. Making it clear he can make platform throws, he hit Shedrick Jackson for a 41-yard score, placing the ball perfectly in between the corner and safety. 23-20 Seahawks. A heroic effort from a tired defense on 4th and one on the Seattle 45, with the defense staying disciplined against Jalen Milroe, forced a turnover on downs, resulting in Miller leading the Raiders to a game-tying field goal with 1:12 left in the game. Milroe had his shot to lead the Seahawks downfield, but after throwing for first down on the first play of the drive, Milroe threw two incompletions before being sacked by Treven Ma'ae. Cam Miller would get his shot to lead the Raiders downfield for the win. Ball at the Las Vegas' 32-yard line. 25 seconds left. The world was on his shoulders and yet, Miller was firing the Raiders towards victory. A 20-yard pass to Jackson put the Raiders into Seattle's territory. Miller would hit Jackson again for four more yards to set up a 55-yard field goal attempt for Daniel Carlson with five seconds left. This was the Raiders' moment. Despite all the mistakes, all the errors, all the issues, somehow the Raiders were in position to win. This was Carroll's moment. To once again snatch win from the jaws of defeat, this time against the team that thought they didn't need him anymore. This was the Raiders' moment, and then the kick was blocked. The game ends in a tie. 23-23. There were ups, there were downs. Now the Raiders fly home with a feeling of what just happened? If there's three lessons the Raiders need to learn, it's these. They need to stop the run. The Seahawks had 170 rushing yards on the night. We all need to see more of Cam Miller. The Raiders have no idea who should fill out their wide receiver room but Bachman and Jackson made strong cases. Such an odd evening. Welcome to the Pete Carroll era. Let's see how the Raiders respond. Join us on X (formerly Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and Instagram @HondoSr so you never miss another story on the Raiders in 2025! We invite you to interact with us when you check out our Facebook page, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE right this second!
Rory McIlroy's controversial decision leaves PGA Tour 'very concerned'
Seventy players qualified for the first round of the playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, but only 69 will tee it up at TPC Southwind this week. That's because Rory McIlroy, who ranks second in the FedEx Cup standings behind only Scottie Scheffler, is skipping the first playoff event to prepare for the BMW Championship and Tour Championship. The PGA Tour isn't thrilled with his contentious decision. Peter Malnati, a PGA Tour pro and player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board, told Golfweek he's "very concerned" the new playoff format allows top players in the standings to skip playoff events. "I think there is stuff in the works, and I'll leave it at that," he said. The PGA Tour must make changes because McIlroy won't face any repercussions for skipping the FedEx St. Jude Championship. As the No. 2 player in the FedEx Cup standings entering the postseason, McIlroy is guaranteed to qualify for the Tour Championship. Before this year, he would've been incentivized to improve his spot in the standings because of the advantage the starting strokes format gave the No. 1 player. That's no longer the case. This year, the Tour Championship will operate like every other tournament on the PGA Tour schedule. There will be no starting strokes advantage for the top players, so every player from No. 1 to No. 30 will have an equal chance to win the $10 million prize. It doesn't matter where McIlroy resides in the standings. It just matters that he makes it to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, and he's already locked up his spot in the season finale. Why spend a week in scorching-hot Memphis when you could stay home and prepare for the tournament that actually matters, right? The new playoff format will make the Tour Championship more entertaining for fans, but it renders the other two playoff events irrelevant for the PGA Tour's top players. The Tour must make playoff events mandatory to prevent other stars from following McIlroy's lead.
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