The annual January camp for the U.S. men's national team has reached its conclusion, and while the full scope of its success or failure won't be known for some time, the initial reaction is positive. The USMNT came away with wins over Venezuela and Costa Rica by 3-1 and 3-0 scores, respectively. The U.S. looked solid on both sides of the ball and was deserving of its victories.

Yet the takeaways from these matches skew more toward individual performances than the result, although the two often go hand in hand. And while those initial assessments usually focus on up-and-comers, there is an opportunity for the revival of some international careers that were thought to be dormant. It is those players who often have a better chance of an immediate recall than some of the newbies. That's as good a spot as any to lead off with in terms of which players were the winners of the camp.

Steffen makes his case to be No. 1

Matt Turner has been solid in his recent USMNT performances, but his lack of playing time with Crystal Palace has left enough of an opening that a goalkeeper hitting top form could make a push to take over. Based on Wednesday's encounter against the Ticos, Zack Steffen could very well be the player to provide that challenge.

The Colorado Rapids No. 1 certainly has plenty of experience. He was the starter for much of the 2022 cycle before losing his spot to Turner, which was followed by Steffen's shocking omission from the World Cup roster. The way back has been difficult.

Desperately in need of playing time, and coming off a knee injury, Steffen had to give up on his European dream to return to MLS. There were certainly some early struggles in Colorado, but Steffen has been on U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino's radar since the Argentine was hired, coming into both of the previous camps, although he didn't see the field. Given that the January matches were played outside of an international window, an opportunity beckoned against Costa Rica, and Steffen took full advantage.

Steffen's appearance on Wednesday was his first in a USMNT uniform since the end of 2022 World Cup qualifying, when the Ticos beat the U.S. His memories of this window's match were far brighter. Steffen delivered three saves on the night, two of which were outstanding efforts to deny Alejandro Bran in the 37th minute and Allan Cruz 11 minutes after halftime.

This is just a first step. As Pochettino put it with regard to all the players in the January camp, "They need to push themselves now, they need to come back to their clubs and be the best."

Steffen appears to be ready.

A tale of two strikers

Over the course of the two games, the U.S. got excellent performances from both of its No. 9s. Patrick Agyemang tallied in both games, while Brian White opened the scoring against Costa Rica.

Of the two, White is the more polished performer. The timing of his runs is better and his movements more subtle. That sense of anticipation explains how he has been able to score 71 goals in 196 league and cup appearances, first with the New York Red Bulls and more recently with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

It makes sense. At age 28, White is entering his eighth professional season compared to Agyemang, who is beginning his third.

Agyemang has the higher upside, though. He's four years younger, and at 6-foot-4, he has the kind of frame -- as well as deceptive mobility -- that is a nightmare for defenders to deal with. It's expected that he'll become more refined as he adds experience.

RSL pair shine in midfield

If there was one enduring image of this January camp, it was the sight of Diego Luna with cotton stuffed up his nostrils after suffering a broken nose thanks to a wayward elbow from Creichel Pérez. Then, just seconds after re-entering the match because of his injury, it was Luna who received the ball in midfield, ran at the Ticos' defense, and laid in a perfect through ball for White to latch onto and finish.

Luna's perseverance personified the competitiveness and spirit that Pochettino has been preaching since he took the job last September.

Afterwards, during a postgame interview with TNT, Pochettino said that Luna had "big balls," which sent the TNT crew into howls of laughter. In his subsequent interview with the rest of the media, Pochettino's comments were more G-rated.

"[Luna] showed great character because he wanted to stay," the U.S. manager said. "He wanted to play."

The only pity was that Luna did have to come off at halftime because of his injury. Yet his 45-minute stint showed enough for Pochettino to at least keep an eye on the Real Salt Lake midfielder going forward. Luna is ready for the next step and remains the most intriguing prospect to come out of the January camp.

He was by no means the only midfielder to shine, though.

Emeka Eneli, Luna's club teammate, was a force in more of a defensive midfield role, providing plenty of steel against a side known for its bite. Eneli also proved adept at connecting his passes and assisted on the second U.S. goal, a very sharp finish from Caden Clark. That said, Eneli looked a bit labored at times in terms of his recovery defense. It is still preseason for all of these players, which explains why there were some uneven displays from the likes of Matko Miljevic, Indiana Vassilev and Benjamin Cremaschi.

Jack McGlynn proved to be arguably the player of the camp, riding his goal and assist against Venezuela into another composed performance in 45 minutes of work against Costa Rica. Not only was his passing sharp, but his eight recoveries led the team.

Fresh faces emerge to challenge familiar backline

The U.S. defense contained more familiar names than any other part of the field, and Shaq Moore, Tim Ream, Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman all acquitted themselves well across two matches. The only goal conceded came from a set piece.

It was a pair of relative newcomers who caught the eye, though. George Campbell looked strong against Venezuela, even when he ventured forward. DeJuan Jones earned his 10th cap and was given license to get forward as much as possible from left-back. He took advantage, and dazzled with a gorgeous, outside-of-the-foot pass that sprung Agyemang for his stoppage-time tally.

Will it be enough to get called up in March for the Nations League semifinals? Jones finds himself battling a numbers game, as do many of his teammates in this camp. There just don't appear to be too many spots open, but Pochettino has accumulated plenty of data. For the likes of Steffen, McGlynn, Agyemang and Luna, there is a greater level of comfort at bringing them into the full team should the situation arise.

BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski will reassume playcalling duties next season after relinquishing them midway through 2024.

Stefanski made the announcement Thursday as he introduced Tommy Rees as the team's new offensive coordinator.

"I'm going to call plays, and I reserve the right to change my mind," Stefanski said.

Stefanski, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, called plays during his first four seasons as the Browns coach. He gave up the playcalling duties to Ken Dorsey amid a 1-6 start to the season and days after quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending right Achilles tendon tear.

Rees, who served as Cleveland's tight ends coach and pass game specialist in 2024, will be tasked with helping rebuild a scheme that was configured to bring Watson back to Pro Bowl form but failed. Cleveland ranked 28th in total offense and 32nd in scoring this season. Watson had the lowest Total QBR in the NFL before he sustained a season-ending injury for the second straight year.

Watson underwent surgery earlier in the month after re-tearing his Achilles and will likely miss a significant portion of the 2025 season. Watson, who has played in 19 games since Cleveland traded three first-round picks for him, has two years remaining on the five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal he signed before the 2022 season. The Browns owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons, and he has cap hits of $72.9 million in 2025 and 2026, the second highest in the NFL.

Cleveland is expected to add multiple quarterbacks this offseason and will look at options in free agency and the draft, where the team holds the No. 2 pick.

Rees declined to comment on former Alabama quarterback and draft prospect Jalen Milroe, whom he coached during the 2023 season as the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Asked what attribute he wants in the Browns' next quarterback, Rees said, "I've always started with the ability to make decisions and make the right decisions. ... I want a decision-maker at the position."

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Brad Holmes is already back to work.

Not even a full week has passed since the top-seeded Lions suffered an upset loss to the Washington Commanders in the NFC divisional round on Saturday, but Detroit's general manager and members of the organization no longer have the energy to waste any more time feeling sorry for themselves.

They've now lost both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson (Chicago Bears) and defensive coordinators Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) to head coaching jobs while former defensive line coach Terrell Williams has also accepted a defensive coordinator position with the New England Patriots.

"There's literally nothing else to do but pick yourself up and get back to work," Holmes said during his end-of-season availability.

Despite all those sudden changes, Holmes isn't expecting a drop-off in veteran quarterback Jared Goff's play after losing Johnson, or anyone for that matter.

"I think the guy's in his prime. He's gotten better and better every year. And when I say prime, I think like just entering it," Holmes said of Goff. "It's because he keeps ascending. I think like every single year we've been here, the next year, it's been 'man, he's playing at a high level.' And the levels keep improving. Again, I just have a lot of faith in [head coach] Dan [Campbell] and I know that he'll make sure that Jared's gonna be in a good position."

With Johnson as the Lions' offensive coordinator the past three seasons, Goff experienced a career revival in Detroit after being traded from the Los Angeles Rams. Johnson and Goff developed a close-knit bond to lead the organization to a franchise-best 15 wins in 2024 as Goff became the first player in NFL history to complete at least 72% of his passes and throw for more than 4,500 yards in a season.

On Thursday, Goff was named an MVP finalist by the Associated Press. He also received Pro Bowl honors for the fourth time of his career after ending with 4,629 passing yards with 37 touchdowns to 12 interceptions this season.

Holmes said he has the ultimate faith in Campbell, who was also named an AP Coach of the Year finalist, to fill those coordinator spots.

"Obviously we were prepared to lose those guys. Those guys were great coaches, and I mean, just call it what it is, we were lucky to have both of them this year," Holmes said. "But I know Dan has been preparing for it and I have the full faith and trust in Dan to make sure we're gonna have the right people in place in those spots and he's had to encounter that before. Not at the coordinator level, but other position coaches and it's always worked out."

During the process, Campbell plans to incorporate Goff's input "a lot" in finding a new offensive coordinator to take over for Johnson.

"To me that's important. That's what Ben did a great job of, is those guys working together, and the system was kind of built from the ground up, and it was to help him and for him to be a part of," Campbell said Monday. "And so, yeah, that's huge, he'll have a lot of input. What he says, says a lot to me, I should say. Now, is it going to be the ultimate decision? No, it's not, but what he says is going to mean a lot to me."

Like Campbell, Holmes doesn't feel as if Detroit's Super Bowl window has closed after losing in their playoff opener. He still feels the team is "very close" to winning a Super Bowl and the process has already started for 2025 to make that happen.

"I just think that we just stay the course and keep building like we've been. I do think that we're very close," Holmes said. "Obviously, I thought we were very close this year, but nothing's gonna kinda alter what our approach has been in terms of trying to continue to improve and keep building.

"Obviously, I do think we're very close and I felt really good about this season but fell short but we're gonna stay committed and stay committed to the process."

The Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be held in Shenzhen, China for the next three years.

China, reigning champions Italy and six qualifiers will contest the week-long Finals in 2025, with a date yet to be confirmed.

Three venues in Shenzhen are being considered - including the 12,000 capacity Shenzhen Bay Sports Arena, which staged the WTA Finals in 2019.

Prague, Glasgow, Seville and Malaga were chosen as hosts for the first four editions, but organisers say a global event of this nature cannot stay in Europe for too long.

"The announcement demonstrates our commitment to bringing the passion and excitement of nation v nation team tennis to markets around the world," Billie Jean King said.

The tournament, formerly called the Fed Cup, sees 18 teams split into six groups of three in qualifying, with the group winners progressing to the Finals.

The draw for April's qualifying competition will take place later on Thursday.

Great Britain are one of the seeded nations but have not been selected to host one of the groups and already know they will be heading to either Japan or the Netherlands in April.

Watch Britain's Henry Patten and Finnish team-mate Harri Heliovaara reach their first Australian Open men's doubles final together against Germany's Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.

READ MORE: GB's Patten & Finn Heliovaara 'ride the wave' to reach Melbourne doubles final

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While Djokovic has not practised at Melbourne Park since beating Alcaraz, there have been plenty of chances over the fortnight to see how the team dynamic works.

During a warm-up hit with Britain's Jacob Fearnley before the quarter-final, Murray watched every movement intently from behind the baseline.

When the session wrapped up, Djokovic embraced Murray before the pair - to the delight of the several hundred watching - had a quick knock on court.

A couple of gentle rallies ended when Djokovic, rather brutally given Murray's fitness issues, brought out a drop-shot which the Scot dutifully chased down.

Then it was back to collecting Djokovic's racquets and taking them to the stringer.

"When I saw Andy walking through the corridors with all Novak's racquets, taking them to the stringer, you could see he is taking this job very seriously," Australian former world number four Sam Stosur told Channel Nine.

Djokovic's pre-tournament practice sessions against Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Arthur Fils offered more insight.

Standing close behind Djokovic and sometimes in the doubles alley, Murray constantly offered feedback, shouted praise after winners and made notes.

He also compared observations with Boris Bosnjakovic, who ran Djokovic's training centre in Belgrade before becoming part of the team last May after long-term coach Goran Ivanisevic left.

"It's about making small changes to things and trying to help him and improve with the whole team," Murray said.

Saracens winger Rotimi Segun has been ruled out for 12 weeks after he sustained a calf injury against Castres Olympique.

Segun, who has scored two tries in 12 appearances this season, left the field in the 59th minute of the 34-24 European Champions Cup defeat on Sunday, on what was his 100th appearance for the club.

Flanker Toby Knight, meanwhile, will have a consultation on a knee injury he picked against the Top 14 club at the StoneX Stadium.

England hooker Jamie George will continue to be monitored for what's now been described as a "minor" hamstring injury, while second row Nick Isiekwe is being assessed for a rib injury.

Both players have been included in England's squad for the upcoming Six Nations.

Argentina international centre Lucio Cinti has been sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring injury he sustained in his side's defeat at Munster.

Saracens visit Exeter Chiefs on Saturday in their last Premiership match before the international break.

The north London club are third in the table, seven points behind leaders Bath, and are through to the last 16 of the Champions Cup.

Andy Onyeama-Christie, who suffered a serious ankle injury in Sarries' Premiership defeat to Harlequins in October, is on course to return before the end of the season, the club said., external