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The 2025 NCAA Tournament is here, with conference tournaments in the books and the official bracket released on Sunday. With the Round of 64 tipping off on Thursday, fans and analysts are busy filling out their brackets and trying to predict how the tournament will unfold. ESPN's Jay Bilas was among the first to lock in his picks. Bilas already shared his Final Four on Sunday, which featured all the No. 1 seeds and the Florida Gators' defeat of the Houston Cougars in the National Championship Game. Meanwhile, on Monday, he shared his picks for the Round of 64, and there were three major upsets. The first one is the No. 10 seed Vanderbilt Commodores over the No. 7 seed Saint Mary's Gaels in the East Region. "This is a coin-flip," Bilas said. "Saint Mary's is very physical and outrebounds opponents by 10.7 per game (best in Division I), but Vanderbilt has played a killer schedule and is used to being challenged. Regardless, I don't see either team beating Alabama in the second round." Bilas' second upset is the No. 11 seed Texas Longhorns defeating the No. 6 Illinois Fighting Illini in the Midwest Region. Texas will have to knock off the No. 11 seed Xavier Musketeers in the First Four to even get a crack at Illinois in the Round of 64. "I like Texas to slip past Xavier -- Tre Johnson is one of the best scorers in the tournament, and often a First Four team advances," Bilas stated. "It won't be easy; Xavier could easily advance behind Ryan Conwell's shooting. There is a risk to advance Texas, but it's one worth taking. All three teams have been inconsistent, but Texas has won more big games." The final upset Bilas predicts is the No. 10 seed Utah State Aggies taking down the No. 7 UCLA Bruins. This is also in the Midwest Region. "UCLA should win, because its defense is better," Bilas added. "But if there is an upset to pick, this one works. The Aggies are very good offensively and have beaten Saint Mary's and San Diego State this season. Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev can really shoot it." Here's when those games are scheduled for: Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET - No. 11 Xavier vs. No. 11 Texas (First Four) Thursday, 9:25 p.m. ET - No. 10 Utah State vs. No. 7 UCLA (Round of 64) Friday, 3:15 p.m. ET - No. 10 Vanderbilt vs. Saint Mary's (Round of 64) Friday, 9:45 p.m. ET - No. 11 Xavier/Texas winner vs. No. 6 Illinois (Round of 64)
One of the biggest questions heading into the 2025 NFL draft set to take place from April 24-26 is which teams will be taking a chance on trying to find a new franchise quarterback. This year's draft class is considered a weak at the position, with Matt Miller of ESPN giving zero quarterbacks a first-round grade. However, Mel Kiper Jr., who started annual draft coverage back in 1984, is much higher on a few players than most and in a recent update of his top 25 prospects, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart moved up to No. 18 after previously being unranked. "Dart can throw accurate strikes to every level, and he posted some big numbers in Ole Miss' run-pass option-based offense this past season," Kiper wrote. "I saw a few really amazing throws across his body when rolling to his left on the tape, too. And Dart can destroy opponent defenses with his legs, rushing for 655 yards this past season." That now places him as the third-highest quarterback on Kiper's rankings behind Colorado's Shedeur Sanders (No. 5) and Miami's Cam Ward (No. 6). Dart is certainly coming off a solid season for the Rebels, completing 276 of 398 passes for 4,279 yards (led SEC), 29 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 180.7 passing efficiency rating (led FBS). It will now remain to be seen which team takes a chance on the Ole Miss product because even in Kiper's most recent mock draft, he has Dart falling out of the first round.
Aaron Rodgers isn’t going to come cheap, but reports are that Pittsburgh is in on him, and he’s deciding what he wants to do. On Saturday, one very connected NFL insider, Benjamin Allbright, dropped some surprising insight regarding Rodgers and his chances of going to the Minnesota Vikings. Allbright revealed that despite speculation about Minnesota being a potential landing spot, he doesn’t believe the Vikings are truly in the mix. Instead, he suggested that Pittsburgh remains one of the strongest suitors, making it clear that Rodgers knows how much the Steelers want him. With Minnesota seemingly out of the picture, Rodgers’ options could be narrowing, which might increase the chances of him ending up in Pittsburgh. For the Steelers, adding Rodgers would finally give them a proven veteran quarterback after years of instability at the position. At least in the minds of the Steelers' front office. While Rodgers' 2023 season was cut short by injury, his 2024 season showed flashes of the four-time MVP quarterback he once was. The New York Jets won just five games with Rodgers at the helm but he completed 63% of his passes, threw for 3,897 passing yards and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 28/11. There’s no doubt he can still play at a high level if healthy. The biggest question is whether Pittsburgh is willing to make the financial commitment necessary to bring Rodgers in, but with Minnesota reportedly fading as an option, the Steelers could emerge as the most realistic destination for the former Super Bowl champion. According to Steelers insiders closest to the team, Pittsburgh views Rodgers as a very real option, and the price isn’t the issue. The real holdup is Rodgers himself, as the polarizing quarterback is taking his sweet time making a decision. Some have accused him of seeking attention, but in reality, this is a major career choice, and he’s in no rush to finalize his plans. Steelers' chances to get Aaron Rodgers increase big time For the Steelers, the only real threat seemed to be the Vikings. They boast a high-powered offense, and Head Coach Kevin O’Connell is widely regarded as one of the brightest offensive minds in the league. Minnesota was the only truly attractive alternative to Pittsburgh, but if Allbright’s report is accurate, the Vikings are no longer in the mix. That would leave the Steelers as the frontrunners to land Rodgers if he chooses to play in the 2025 season. The Steelers are reaching a point of desperation. They seem determined to bring Rodgers to the Steel City, and if it happens, the reactions from Steelers fans will be fascinating to watch. Yes, Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, but his age and injury history are legitimate concerns. Now, all eyes are on Rodgers as the football world awaits his decision, which could come at any moment.
Thatcher Demko hasn't suited up for the Vancouver Canucks in over a month and we now know what type of injury the netminder is dealing with. In early February, the Vancouver Canucks were taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs for their final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off and unfortunately Thatcher Demko suffered an injury halfway through the first period. A few days after the 4 Nations Face-Off wrapped up, the Canucks made the decision to place Demko on injured reserve with what they called a lower-body injury. Injury to Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko revealed During an appearance on Halford and Brough on Sportsnet 650 radio on Friday, Rick Dhaliwal shared that Thatcher Demko is dealing with a groin injury, something he knows quite about from the 2022-23 season which caused the netminder to miss close to three months. Dhaliwal added that it's been tough for Thatcher Demko to get into practices with how the Canucks' schedule has played out including two sets of back-to-backs this week - Tuesday/Wednesday and Saturday/Sunday. 'The Canucks schedule is not helping. Demko needs full team practices before he plays games. When you have back-to-backs, you've got to take the third day off, so there's not much time for practices.' Dhaliwal said on Halford and Brough. The Canucks did get some good news on Friday when they hit the ice at UBC for practice as Thatcher Demko participated for about 20 minutes before departing to the locker room, which was the plan. 'per team plan, Thatcher Demko's first #Canucks practice in 5 weeks comes to a prescribed early ending. Skated with group for about 35 minutes. Was actively involved. Expected to ramp things up in days ahead.' Jeff Paterson of Rink Wide: Vancouver said. Demko, 28, has had a rough 12 months on the injury front which includes two knee ailments which delayed his 2024-25 season debut until early December against the St. Louis Blues. In 17 games this season, Demko has a 6-6-3 record along with a 2.87 goals against average, an .891 save percentage and one shutout. Source: Rick Dhaliwal/Halford and Brough Dhali With A Canucks Update + What We Learned