Author: Michael

On First Take, Stephen A.

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Temi Fagbenle, who the Vaklyries selected from the Fever in their December expansion draft, has officially signed a contract.
The Golden State Valkyries have officially signed Temi Fagbenle, who they selected in their expansion draft in December after she was left unprotected by the Indiana Fever.
Fagbenle, a 32-year-old veteran center, averaged 6.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 22 games last season in Indiana.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
There are still other tempting prospects on the board, but the opportunity to add this game-wrecker from Michigan was too good to pass up.
The Raiders won the lottery a year ago when they landed tight end Brock Bowers out of Georgia. He went on to become a First-Team All-Pro in his first year, setting rookie tight end records the whole way through.
This year, the Raiders have a chance to take a very good prospect once again with the sixth-overall pick.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ disappointing year can’t end soon enough. Roughly a month after star center Joel Embiid was ruled out for the rest of the season, the team announced Tyrese Maxey will follow that same path. Maxey is expected to miss the rest of the season due to a finger tendon injury, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday.
Maxey, 24, has been out since March 3 due to the issue. The star guard tried to rehab the injury, but is reportedly still dealing with discomfort.

We’re just days away from the start of the NFL draft, and the next week will feature mock draft projections, expert predictions, and fans clamoring to guess who their favorite teams will select.
ESPN’s Draft Day Predictor tool does a great job of estimating the percent chance prospects will be available at each pick.
Here is a behind-the-scenes peek at how ESPN analytics accomplishes that:
“The underlying model is based on prospect grades from Scouts Inc., expert mock drafts, team needs, and a few other factors.

The 2025 NFL draft is fast approaching, and the Chicago Bears will be welcoming a new crop of rookies to the fold under new head coach Ben Johnson.
Chicago addressed the trenches in a big way during free agency, which included trading for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson and signing center Drew Dalman, as well as signing defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo.
That gives the Bears a lot of flexibility when it comes to the No. 10 pick, where they can go best player available rather than drafting for need.

On First Take, Stephen A.

After a disappointing 2024 season from the wide receiver group overall, the Green Bay Packers are hoping to “clean up” the number of drops in the passing game to help power improvement from the position in 2025.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said the team took a “deep dive” into the drop problem and discovered most of the drops from the receivers were “focus” — and not talent — related.
“That’s an area that we have to clean up,” LaFleur said from the Annual League Meeting in Florida this week, via Jason Wilde of Channel 3000.

You can take a name off of Notre Dame football’s safety recruiting board, as Florida 2026 star Simeon Caldwell committed to Ohio State on Thursday morning.
The 6-foot, 3-inch and 185-pounder was set to make an official visit to see South Bend, but with his commitment that has now been canceled according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett. Caldwell is one of the top prospects in the in country, ranking as the No. 95 overall player in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

It wasn’t just about a polarizing on-field rule. It was a window into the back-channel politics of the rules process.