Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has talked up the similarities between his coaching journey and that of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, saying he used the Catalan coach's career as a "roadmap."

Both Mazzulla and Guardiola were promoted from relative obscurity into their first senior head coaching role -- Mazzulla at the Celtics after Ime Udoka's suspension ahead of the 2022-23 season, and Guardiola by Barcelona from their reserve team setup after the unsuccessful end to Frank Rijkaard's tenure in 2008 that saw the club finish third in LaLiga, 18 points behind rivals Real Madrid at the summit.

"Obviously, nowhere near the manager that Pep is but we share a similar beginning," Mazzulla said in interview with Men in Blazers. "He was coaching Barcelona's B team, I was in Maine's G League team, and they could have easily gone for a bigger name, but they go to this guy sitting on the back bench with no experience.

"It became really a roadmap to how I wanted to go about building a culture, a team, and you know, taking over greatness. You take a look at his tactical ability, his abilty to manage the best players, which I think is what separates coaches in any sport -- that's something that I thought I could really learn from."

While Guardiola has been an established coach for considerably longer than his American counterpart -- picking up three LaLiga titles with Barça, seven Premier League triumphs in England with City, three Bundesliga wins with Bayern Munich along with three Champions League successes in that time -- Mazzulla has quickly become one of the NBA's most respected coaches after claiming the championship in just his second full season last year.

Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks in June, Mazzulla was seen speaking to the Spaniard on the court at the TD Garden, and the pair also met at City's training ground in February of that year.

"The biggest thing I wanted to take from him was: What's it like before you win? What are the challeneges that come with winning the first one? And what are you like now that you've won," Mazzulla continued.

"He has seen all those steps, and it just gives you great perspective as to: Okay, if you're gonna do this for a long time, here's what to expect, here's how to adapt and here's how to look at it.

"So I just thought it was someone who could really help me and so I appreciate his humility and it has been a fun journey, kind of building a relationship with him."

The Celtics remain the title favourites for the 2025 championship despite sitting 5 games back from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, while City are in the midst of a turbulent season that has seen them almost certainly lose their grip on the Premier League after four straight titles and on the brink of a Champions League exit before the round of 16.

It's a new year in MLS, which means new kits.

All 30 teams got a new jersey, with San Diego FC getting two of them for their expansion season and Inter Miami getting a fresh pair too because, well, that Lionel Messi guy sells lots of shirts.

As has been the case since 2006, Adidas is the supplier for every club in the league and the designs are subject to the manufacturer's template. Adidas' template this year has shades of its look from the late 2000s, and it's not the easiest to work with, as some teams found out.

Who's looking hot, and who's not? Let's rank all 30 clubs' new threads.

1. Seattle Sounders

Look who it is again.

A year after landing in the top spot with a dazzling home kit, the Sounders are back with a secondary kit to match. The deep blue isn't just handsome, it's also novel, as Seattle turns to a dark blue secondary strip for the first time as an MLS team. The design, which comes from three Salish women and the local weaving traditions, gives the kit texture and depth for a classy and distinctive look.

The Sounders have done a spectacular job since refreshing the brand prior to their 50th season last year and it shows up again here. The kit is inspired by the Puget Sound and feels distinctly Seattle, with their revised, minimalist Space Needle crest fitting in well. Even the sleeve sponsor feels right at home.

Between this kit and last season's green offering, the 2025 Sounders may have the best set of kits in MLS history.

2. Portland Timbers

The Timbers are celebrating their 50th season in style. The deep green and gold is always a sight to behold and the restrained design on this kit really lets the colors sing. The only real design element is the rings of the tree, which encircle the crest and act as both a perfect representation of the city and brand, as well as a memorable hallmark of this golden anniversary kit. Hell, even the Tillamook logo fits the vibe of the kit perfectly.

There is only one thing keeping this kit from the top spot: they didn't alter the colors of the crest to match.

3. D.C. United

Cream-colored kits rarely work, but this is absolutely one of the few that do.

Coming off of the long-anticipated and much-lauded cherry-blossoming secondary kit, D.C. had to hit with this one and they did just that, tapping into the city's funk and soul history for a colorful pattern that looks gorgeous. And while you'd often see that all over the shirt, United opted for some restraint and used the Adidas template to their advantage by working the pattern in there. It works to perfection, turning a cream kit into one where the cream exists to put the spotlight on the bright accents.

4. LA Galaxy

After years of tired navy kits, the Galaxy finally turned their secondary look into something worthwhile in recent years. They leaned on green, as an homage to their early kits, and it worked stupendously, and now they're branching out from there with a purple shirt that looks exquisite.

Meant to look like a sunrise, the Galaxy have found a brilliant shade of purple that fades into blue at the top and pink at the bottom. It's striking and the gold accents work perfectly. Call it a nod to the Lakers if you want, just call it lovely, too.

It's difficult when you wear white at home because, as clean as it may be, it can only be so exciting, which means the secondary shirt then has to really pop. The Galaxy are now doing that each time out, with this latest edition another absolute hit.

5. Real Salt Lake

A checkered kit in MLS? It's a brand new day and RSL deserves credit for their bravery. It's a smart look, taking their fairly innocuous secondary colors of blue and white and turning them into a kit that will be remembered for a long time.

While this kit is all about the checks, don't forget the red three stripes and gold sponsor across the chest. Despite using a design that they (and the rest of the league) don't touch, this is a kit that still feels very much like an RSL kit. That's not easy to do, but they did it.

6. Vancouver Whitecaps

There might not be a team in MLS with as identifiable of a kit as the Whitecaps. When you see white with a horizontal navy stripe, you know it's Vancouver, and it's gorgeous for good measure.

This season is one of the Caps' better editions of that beautiful home kit, as they use light blue accents perfectly and the Telus logo fits the entire look as well as any sponsor could. The Whitecaps are going to look great at BC Place, as per usual.

7. Colorado Rapids

In a season short on bold, well-executed kits, the Rapids stand out.

For the first time ever, the Rapids dropped their crest for a C that mimics the state flag, but has a soccer ball in it. It's a clever nod that looks superb and feels right at home on a shirt that evokes the state's snow-covered trees. It could so easily be too much and not work, but it perfectly toes the line of evocative and brash without being overwhelming.

Nail the look and ground it so clearly in your home and you have yourself a winner.

8. LAFC

The last time LAFC had a white kit with gold trim was back in their inaugural season, when it was just a plain white shirt with gold Adidas stripes. Now they're back, but this time it's a much more thoughtful kit that really makes the fabulous white and gold sing.

It's still a simple shirt, but there's enough gold to give it personality and the collar doesn't just fit, it has its own gold flourish that really brings the whole kit together. It's downright regal.

9. Inter Miami CF

Behold MLS' best selling kits of the year.

It doesn't matter what it looks like, as long as it's got "Messi" and the No. 10 on the back, it's going to fly off shelves. That's why Inter got two new kits this season, but they did deliver with a pair of good looks.

The pink, which thankfully continues to be the club's primary kit after their initial mistake of using black, uses stripes that everyone is going to see as a nod to Messi's Barcelona days. The black is nice too, with the split shirt matching the pink stripes as a unique design that is still subtle enough to not dominate the shirt.

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All in all, these are two really smartly designed kits, as most any Inter kit is going to be with such a fabulous color scheme. The only problem is that Royal Caribbean logo, which continues to be an anchor on the Miami shirts.

10. Atlanta United FC

Atlanta have a pretty simple edict with their home shirt: make it red and black stripes. They have a little bonus task of making sure there are five of them, and they nailed that, so this is a good kit.

What separates Montréal from other striped sides is that United have a sharp third color in gold that makes the whole look pop a little better. This kit checks all the boxes and the only critique is they could have thrown a bit more gold into the mix, maybe on the shoulder stripes.

11. CF Montréal

Montréal will always have a good home kit as long as it's got blue and black stripes, so this gets a passing grade off the bat. There's nothing else remarkable or innovative in the design, but it doesn't have to be. Not when you have a look that nobody else in the league does. You see this and you know it's the Impac ... err, CF Montréal.

Still, this one makes sure the little details are done right. The white sponsor logo and three stripes match, while the collar trim is a nice touch. More than anything, the details are about getting out of the way of the stripes on this kit, and it does that.

12. Minnesota United

The Loons are working with a great set of fundamentals. They have a great color combination, plenty of Minnesota imagery at their disposal and one of the best crests in all of MLS, so it's a little disappointing when their kit is anything but a smash hit. This isn't that, but it is still a nice effort.

The blue looks good as ever with the black and the collar is a nice touch, even if it'd be better to have it go all the way around to the bottom of the neck. It'd be nice if MNUFC found a way to incorporate a smidge of red somewhere, as a nod to the red eye of the loon in their crest, which is one of the best details anywhere in the league.

13. Charlotte FC

Charlotte had a black change kit in their expansion season but quickly moved off of it. Now it's back, and it's a really smart design. The black still carries the day, but the subtle pattern gives it a finished look that makes it feel like a Charlotte kit and not just a generic black shirt that so many other clubs wear.

The only criticism is that it could use a little bit more blue. The little bit at the collar just isn't enough and it feels a little out of place with the white accent marks most everywhere else. Black and blue is a great color combo so lean into it a little more.

14. Philadelphia Union

The Union have dubbed this their "Voltage Kit" and it's not hard to see why. The light blue and gold looks good whenever Phill turns to it, and this is no exception, plus the minimalist crest with only the snake is a terrific touch. This is a hit from a design perspective, so why isn't it higher?

For one, the frame of the Thomas' logo really holds the whole shirt back, but also the electricity inspiration is a bit muddy. The club doesn't cite Benjamin Franklin in their thinking, but did have Tesla coils at their unveiling, even though Nikola Tesla doesn't have roots in Philly. It's too bad Thomas Edison wasn't from Philadelphia because an electricity kit with Thomas' across the front would have hit hard.

15. Austin FC

Austin have gone all-in on Verde this season, dropping the black from their stripes and using two shades of green while relegating black to an accent color. It works well and it will be worth watching whether this is the new normal for Austin or an outlier, with the green and black returning down the road.

One thing that Austin have going for them is a really clear and tidy brand. There's not a ton of accent colors or imagery. There's their eye-popping shade or green and black, so they can make any number of kits that feel like Austin FC. This one is no exception.

16. Columbus Crew

This may not be the best-looking kit in a vacuum, but it works because it is inspired by Columbus native R.L. Stein's "Goosebumps" series. It's meant to look like slime seeping through the black of the shirt and slipping down, which it absolutely does.

Now is that a little corny? Sure. And that it activates under ultraviolet lights may make you roll your eyes, but when you can ground your kit in one of the most successful products to come out of your city and so clearly evoke that, you're doing something right.

17. New York City FC

The Pigeons' sky blue and white is always going to look good. The question each time out is how do they make it distinct and feel like an NYCFC kit instead of a generic City Football Group kit?

The easiest way is with splashes of navy and orange, which adorns their crest and gets some love on the collar trim, but it's not enough. The pattern on the shirt does enough to differentiate it and it's a nice look, but the Pigeons' quest for a home shirt that screams "New York" isn't coming to an end with this one.

18. Houston Dynamo

Would you look at that, it's another orange kit for the Dynamo.

As is the case every two years when Houston needs a new primary shirt, they run into a bit of a problem: there's only so much you can do with this orange. The color is what makes the shirt, and consequently bold designs immediately make the kit overwhelming, so they have to stay simple. This does that, and the bit of blue accents offsets the orange nicely.

Plus, the last time the Dynamo were wearing kits with this type of template they were playing in MLS Cup. That has to bode well for this year, right?

19. Chicago Fire

No need to recoil, Fire fans. The club is not reviving their misguided attempt to make blue their primary color. This is their secondary kit, with red remaining the home choice.

Chicago has shifted toward a lighter blue in recent years, aligning itself closer with the city flag than the navy blue of their first 20 years. This is more of that and it works, with the subtle pattern giving the kit a touch of class, but the stacked sponsor, with the Carvana logo above the script instead of next to it like on the home kit, clutters things a bit.

20. Orlando City

As the league's only purple club, Orlando will always stand out, and they have once again. They went with a bold effect in the design and it helps the kit pop compared to some of their previous offerings, which is nice even if it's not a smash hit.

However, it would have been nicer if they used more gold as an accent because it is their secondary color and it works so well with the purple. Unfortunately, this continues a theme of the Lions using white on their kits far more often than the gorgeous gold.

21. New England Revolution

No kit was hurt more by this year's Adidas template than the Revs'. The green is superb and the navy accents hit just right, with the blue and white crest complementing the rest of the shirt excellently.

The problem is the entire design of the kit is awkwardly cut off by the shape of the front panel, undercutting a smart and distinctive pattern of stark lines with a wavy border and not allowing the green to wrap around like it should. If this was a green kit, and not a white kit with a bit of a green front, we'd be talking about one of the league's best, but instead we've got this.

22. Toronto FC

It shouldn't be difficult for Toronto to have a good home kit. Red and black is a great color combo, they have a sharp crest and their sponsor logo works. Simple, right? Apparently not, because the Reds decided that their last home kit should be gray, and now they've gone for an overcomplicated effort that has shades of burgundy and what appears to be orange.

It's not a good kit and it's even worse because TFC are inherently set up for success, but at least it's red(ish). That's an upgrade after two years in the gray wilderness.

23. FC Cincinnati

Cincy used a heavy dose of orange on their blue primary kits when they were in USL, but have mostly eschewed their secondary color since making the leap to MLS. That's not the case anymore, with a gigantic orange diagonal stripe adorning their new kit this season.

It's nice to see FCC utilize more orange and highlight on a color scheme that is unique in the league. They might have been better served by a more traditional sash and the two different shades of blue above and below the orange is a bit strange. They went for it this season, which is appreciated, but maybe rein in it a little bit more next time.

24. Sporting Kansas City

SKC have returned to stripes for a fifth straight season, this time with thicker stripes than last season's kit, but still not quite going full hoops. The template hurts the shirt with the awkward way the hoops cut off toward the bottom, but at least they are sticking with stripes as they try to establish a visual identity for a club whose brand and culture is mostly forgettable at this point.

25. New York Red Bulls

The last time we saw the Red Bulls, they were wearing those excellent red-and-black kits in MLS Cup.

Now, the stakes are lower and that's probably a good thing because their new look isn't worth looking at. It is a splotchy design with an ugly stone color, which is a problem when the ugly stone color and splotchy design are really all that there is notable about the shirt. Fortunately, the red and black kit is still around as the primary kit. Maybe they can wear it 34 times this season.

26. Nashville SC

There's nothing wrong with Nashville's kit, but there's nothing really right about it either. There's almost nothing to it, with the standard navy accented by templated yellow, which is kind of this club's thing. Their colors are yellow and blue, and, well, that's about it.

For a club in a city with so much to draw upon, you'd think they'd be bolder and have more interesting design, but this is their sixth year in MLS and we've yet to see it.

27. St. Louis City SC

City haven't been particularly ambitious with their kits, using unremarkable red and white kits since entering the league, and this is no different. The template at least gives this one a little flair and the collar is new for STL, but that's about all this kit has.

St. Louis have really leaned in on their unique shade of red to make up the entire visual identity to this point, and there is value in a color that pops like that, but at some point they should probably make a kit worth remembering.

28. FC Dallas

This season's template is prone to making kits look like training shirts and that is especially true with Dallas' offering because Adidas' template is the most distinctive thing here. Otherwise it's just gray (which almost never works as a kit color) with some splotches of red and blue. That their kit sponsor is a medical center, a hallmark of training kits, doesn't help things.

It's looking likely to be a rough season on the pitch for Dallas, and it's rough on the runway too.

29. San Jose Earthquakes

You can see what they were going for with this one, integrating imagery from their history, but none of it works. It looks like a wearable, badly designed poster.

This is the latest in a line of disappointing Quakes kits, as they struggle to figure out what they are other than "blue and black." The red of their pre-MLS days makes an appearance on the collar, but even that feels out of place with the rest of the kit. This whole shirt is just a bunch of stuff not talking to each other, but it is definitely red in the face and screaming at you.

30. San Diego FC

It's a good thing that it's impossible not to be excited for an expansion team because of their mere existence, because the design team isn't doing anything to drum up enthusiasm in San Diego.

After a lackluster crest reveal that drew widespread jeers, they've followed it up with a pair of shirts that look like training gear and not match kits. The blue tried to make use of the template with a peripheral splash of color that matches the misguided crest, while the white is so generic you could swap the crest with almost any other club and it would work.

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In the designers' defense, SDFC's overall brand didn't give them much to work with, but it's an expansion year. They've got many more years to get things on the right track, or on the tracks at all.

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia was awash in green on Valentine's Day to celebrate its Super Bowl champion Eagles.

Swooning fans screamed and cheered Friday as MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie took turns hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the start of the team's victory parade through the City of Brotherly Love.

Many fans camped out along the team's parade route overnight, huddling under blankets and inside tents to secure prime spots near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the Eagles took the stage on the "Rocky" steps.

"You know I told myself that when I got drafted, that I wouldn't come to the Rocky steps until I won a championship," Hurts told cheering fans. "And now we're here."

Others decked out in Eagles jerseys climbed trees and light poles, perched themselves atop ladders and clung to a statue of Benjamin Franklin near City Hall to get a glimpse of record-setting running back Saquon Barkley and Cooper DeJean, the rookie defensive back who ran an interception into the end zone on his 22nd birthday.

"This team is special. We can't be great without the greatness of others and that certainly applies to our fans," said head coach Nick Sirianni.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, his forehead seemingly cut from a beer can thrown his way, took the podium with the Lombardi Trophy in hand and proclaimed, "I bleed for this city!"

Barkley, along with many other players, hopped off the open-air buses to walk along the parade route and exchange high-fives with fans who pressed against teetering barricades.

Jordan Jaindl, who couldn't make it to the 2018 parade after the Eagles won their first Super Bowl, wasn't going to miss this one, bringing his wife and three daughters from Binghamton, New York. This team, he said, was the embodiment of the city.

"Their work ethic," he said. "How they have to grind for each win. We have to grind here in Philly."

Fans showed up with grocery carts stocked with food and booze while a few stayed warm in a hotel, sipping champagne. One group roasted a pig with the number "15" carved into the side -- a final shot at Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The Eagles, despite being underdogs, dominated the Chiefs on Sunday, shutting them out in the first half before finishing with a 40-22 victory.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, who made an amusing gaffe when she mangled the spelling of the "Eagles" as she led a chant last month, corrected herself earlier this week by calling them the "N-F-L-C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N-S."

She and other city leaders implored the team's exuberant fans to stay safe and keep the mood festive for the Valentine's Day dinner crowd.

"Do not climb any light poles," the mayor said. "In the midst of all this beauty, all of the sacrifices this team has made to meet this moment, we don't want it to all go by the wayside."

Despite her admonitions, a few fans stood on top of port-a-potties and city trucks downtown.

City schools closed for the parade, along with city courts and other agencies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Miami Dolphins have informed running back Raheem Mostert that he will be released, his agent said on social media Friday afternoon.

Mostert signed with the Dolphins in 2022 and made the Pro Bowl after rushing for a career-high 1,012 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2023. The undrafted running back led the NFL with 21 total touchdowns during his Pro Bowl season.

"Looks like my client Raheem Mostert will be playing elsewhere next season," Mostert's agent, Brett Tessler, wrote on X. "Very thankful for his time with the Miami Dolphins, and this gives them a chance to get younger and gives him a chance to pursue a ring elsewhere."

Mostert, 32, closes his tenure in Miami with 2,181 rushing yards and 28 total touchdowns.

His release leaves the Dolphins with De'Von Achane and 2024 fourth-round pick Jaylen Wright manning their backfield. Achane worked as the team's feature back last season and led all NFL running backs with 78 catches and 592 receiving yards.

Former Carolina star quarterback Cam Newton doubled down on recent comments that the Panthers had "a locker room of losers" before drafting him with the first overall pick in 2011, saying his remarks were "aggressive" but "true."

Newton said during Thursday's "4th and 1 with Cam Newton" podcast that he was referring to the team's performance as a whole and not individual players.

"When did we become so sensitive?" Newton said. "When did we become so sensitive to really speaking what the reality is? A locker room full of losers? Aggressive, but it's true."

Several former teammates, including star wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., took exception to comments Newton made during an appearance on a podcast with Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter leading up to the Super Bowl. He spoke about the pressure Hunter might face if he is drafted with the No. 1 pick.

Newton told Hunter he has "no way of impacting the game the way a quarterback does" and added: "I went into a locker room of losers. Just honest. Guys didn't know how to win; guys didn't know how to prepare. They didn't take themselves serious to realize we was 2-14. There was a lot of 2-14 in the mentality of those guys."

Those comments didn't sit well with Smith, the most productive receiver ever to wear a Panthers uniform and one of 15 finalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame. A member of that 2010 team, he made his feelings clear through several posts on X.

"53 man locker room -- 1 = 52 losers. Wow... breaking news to 89," Smith posted along with an angry-face emoji.

Newton said he has "no quarrel" with Smith and understands why he took exception. But he wasn't backing down.

"I'm not specifically talking about those guys," Newton said on his podcast. "I'm talking about the culture that was there prior to me coming into the locker room -- and it was a losers' mentality."

Newton said the Panthers still had it his first two seasons when they went 6-10 and 7-9. He also said he needed to learn how to win in the NFL.

Things started to come together in 2013, when Carolina went 12-4 before losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round. The 2015 team went 15-1 and made the Super Bowl, with Newton winning league MVP honors that season.

"Is it me saying that, 'Oh when I came, I made everything [better]?'" he said. "No. I never said that. What I said was if you're getting drafted No. 1, you're going to a bad football team. That's facts. And that's the point that I was trying to tell Travis Hunter. You see what I'm saying? For me, everybody is so taken aback, like, 'Oh, Cam said this.' Bro, it's the truth. It's the truth."

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The entire gym froze at the whistle.

"Listen!" screamed Alabama head coach Nate Oats, as he catapulted onto the court from the sideline, refusing to take his foot off the gas at a recent practice. "There should not be any 3-pointers against this defense! None!"

Three hours southeast, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl was in a similar state.

"This doesn't work!" he yelled at his players during a mid-February session, his hands thrown up in the air. "This doesn't work unless our big men step up! Do it again!"

Every time the Tigers and the Crimson Tide meet in a rivalry that dates back to 1893, there are fireworks. Throughout its history, the pinnacle of this in-state conflict has taken place on the football field, in the Iron Bowl. But Saturday's marquee matchup between No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Alabama in Tuscaloosa (4 p.m. ET, ESPN) will place basketball center stage in the first 1 vs. 2 meeting in the history of the SEC -- not just these two teams.

The stakes have elevated the contest to another threshold.

"That's definitely a big game," said Grant Nelson, the Alabama forward who is averaging 12.7 points per game. "That's what everyone talks about. That's what all of my friends want to come out and watch because they want to catch that game."

Saturday's matchup will be the first between the top two teams in college basketball since Gonzaga and UCLA met in Las Vegas during the 2021-22 season, and the first in-conference meeting involving the No. 1 and No. 2 teams since Kansas and Oklahoma battled in a triple-overtime affair in 2016, according to ESPN Research.

The rise of these two teams also represents a shifting hierarchy in college basketball that is challenging the traditional definition of a "blue blood." Pearl and Oats, respectively, have led Auburn (2019) and Alabama (2024) to the first Final Four appearances in each program's history. Despite being known as football schools, Alabama and Auburn enter Saturday as two anchors of an SEC primed to break the men's NCAA tournament record for most conference bids by securing more than a dozen on Selection Sunday.

The programs have reached this moment with distinct approaches.

Mark Sears (17.8 PPG, 4.9 APG) leads the Tide, who play at the fastest pace in America. Under Oats, they launch 3-pointers almost half the time they have the ball -- and they score in barrages (they've reached 100 points in seven games this season).

At Auburn, Johni Broome, a top candidate for national player of the year, is the dominant force guiding a Tigers squad that turns every game into a heavyweight bout. It's the most balanced team in America, ranking No. 1 in adjusted offensive efficiency and inside the top 20 in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom. The Tigers are also one of the nation's most experienced crews (nine seniors) and, arguably, the deepest (10 players average at least 10 minutes per game).

Fans who have lived through past chapters of the Alabama-Auburn rivalry expect an intense battle, but they also caution rankings alone don't mean everything in this matchup.

Backers of the Tide and Tigers tussle over, well, anything -- and, at any time.

"I wish they'd just leave us alone," Michael Floyd, self-proclaimed Auburn superfan and former vice president of The Jungle, the Tigers' basketball student section, told ESPN. "Let us have something for once. We get good [at] basketball and now they want to finally invest in it? Come on.

"I don't want to say this, but you have to give credit where credit is due: What they're doing over there is crazy as well, which makes what we're doing here even more special. Because we want to win it when our rival is good. No one wants to see what we saw last weekend when Duke just blew the brakes off North Carolina. We want to see a good, old-fashioned, neck-and-neck rivalry."

This rivalry featured a version of that kind of energy on the hardwood as early as 2011 -- before either team was this good -- and it nearly caused a fight.

As Cam Newton -- with the Heisman Trophy he had just won in hand -- and his teammates gathered near the court at then-Auburn Arena for their official Iron Bowl victory celebration and pregame reception, then-Alabama point guard Trevor Releford braced for trouble.

The Auburn football players crowded the Alabama men's basketball team at the arena entrance just before the Tide ran onto the floor ahead of tipoff. Releford, an All-SEC first-team guard during his time at Alabama, wouldn't name names. But he also wasn't surprised. That's just the fiery nature of the Alabama-Auburn rivalry, he said.

"Those guys on the football team -- they had a little entryway for us into the gym -- they let us feel that physicality a little bit," Releford said about the game Alabama won 68-58 before later sweeping that season's series when Auburn visited Tuscaloosa. "It's Alabama. It's Auburn. They gave us a little banter. They didn't rough us up because we're [tough]. But it was good to spice that game up."

Recent matchups haven't required any extra hype.

The success of both teams has pushed the "Iron Bowl of basketball" -- a phrase frowned upon by the two schools -- into a different dimension. Yes, bragging rights are always the main prize in this rivalry. But this Saturday's outcome could impact the national profiles of both schools, with the winner primed to earn an easier path to San Antonio and the national championship.

"There are no pro sports in the state of Alabama," Pearl said. "We are it. There was a time when, if you were from this part of the country -- Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi -- you had to go to Kansas or Kentucky or North Carolina or Duke because you couldn't come to these schools, win championships, become a pro and stay home. Now, you can."

That shift in status has coincided with an upgrade in the SEC's overall coaching pedigree. Both Oats and Pearl have turned their programs into appealing hubs for transfers and elite recruits. They have combined to produce nine first-round picks in the NBA draft since 2018; four for Auburn and five for Alabama. They have established themselves as perennial NCAA tournament teams -- and, now, national title contenders.

Since Pearl arrived at Auburn in 2014 and Oats joined Alabama in 2019, they have altered expectations at their schools and kept up with the country's best teams at a transformative stage for the sport. Now, they'll meet to determine the best team in America.

"The good thing is we get to play against the best team in the country, twice here in the last month of the season," Oats said. "So, we'll get to test ourselves."

And it will be a test, for both teams.

Alabama and Auburn will play the most pivotal game in the history of their rivalry -- perhaps in any sport, football included -- in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, then they'll do it again on March 8 in Auburn.

Fans who have been raised in this rivalry know that 24 hours after Valentine's Day, one of these teams will have its heart broken.

"I do know we got up a little more for that game," Releford said. "It's Alabama, Auburn. You don't want to be on the losing side. I don't care if it's football, gymnastics, whatever. It's a pride throughout the university that we want to go and get them. You want to get a win, no matter what it is. It could be a canned goods competition. We want to win. We want to have the most."

PHOENIX -- Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff said he exceeded his expectations Friday when he faced hitters for the first time since late in the 2023 season.

The two-time All-Star, who injured his shoulder Sept. 23, 2023 against the Miami Marlins, threw 20 pitches of batting practice.

"Obviously, I was nervous and jittery," Woodruff said. "It's the first time in a year and a half, but I felt good. I think it went a lot better than I expected it to. I needed this. I needed to face hitters."

Woodruff said his immediate focus was to build on this process, and he didn't know when he might face batters in spring training games.

"Or if I will," Woodruff said. "But it's a good sign I made it through today and it felt good, and that's what's important. I'll take tomorrow for what it is, and we'll build out something. It'll be a little bit slower, but I'm happy with where I'm at right now."

Woodruff was 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA at the time of the injury.

Whether the 32-year-old will be ready by the March 27 opener at the New York Yankees is unclear.

"I miss it," Woodruff said. "I've still got a long ways to go. Today was another hurdle to get over in this process. I think I've done a good job on the front end of taking my time to get to this spot. It's a good day."

Iga Swiatek suffered her worst defeat in two years as Jelena Ostapenko breezed past the world number two in straight sets to reach the Qatar Open final.

Ostapenko needed just and hour and eight minutes to wrap up a 6-3 6-1 victory over the five-time Grand Slam champion in Doha.

The last time Swiatek was on the wrong end of such a one-sided match was a 6-2 6-2 loss to Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells in March 2023.

The 23-year-old Pole was on a 15-match winning streak at the Qatar Open and chasing a fourth successive title.

Ostapenko, ranked 37th in the world, has now won all five of her meetings with Swiatek.

"I feel like this court has a special energy," said the Latvian, 27.

"I was pretty confident that I would beat her because we've played a lot of matches and I kind of know how to play against her.

"I'm really happy with the way I'm handling my emotions this week. I'm just so happy to be in the final."

Ostapenko will play Amanda Anisimova in Saturday's final after the American beat Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 6-3.

Emma Raducanu has taken a wildcard into the Dubai Tennis Championships main draw, where she will seek to end the worst losing run of her career.

The 22-year-old Briton lost a fourth consecutive match for the first time when she was beaten in straight sets by Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Qatar Open last week.

The 2021 US Open champion will be joined by mentor Jane O'Donoghue and fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, as she was for that WTA 1000 event in Doha.

Raducanu accepted wildcard entries into the main draw of the Abu Dhabi Open and Qatar Open in February but lost in the first round on both occasions.

Defeat by Alexandrova followed a straight-set loss to former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in Abu Dhabi.

The world number 60 lost to Spain's Cristina Bucsa in the opening round of the Singapore Open in January, after winning just one game in her Australian Open defeat by Iga Swiatek that marked the start of her winless streak.

As the Dubai tournament is a WTA 1000 event, Raducanu faces the prospect of another tough draw with the world's top 10 players all scheduled to play.

The draw takes place on Saturday, before the main draw begins on Sunday.