PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles starting linebacker Nakobe Dean is believed to have suffered a serious knee injury in Sunday's wild-card playoff win over the Green Bay Packers and is expected to miss the remainder of the playoffs, a league source confirmed.

Dean was injured in the second quarter after wrangling tight end Tucker Kraft to the ground for a 3-yard loss on a screen play.

After being assisted off the field to the medical tent, Dean was carted inside, offering gestures of encouragement to the fan base on his way to the tunnel.

NFL Network was first to report the seriousness of Dean's injury.

"He's one of the true leaders on this defense," said cornerback Darius Slay. "I know I got the 'C' on my chest but if there is someone I want to give my [captaincy] to, it's him.

"It's hurtful to see him go down like that because he is having an amazing year, playing outstanding, and I'm praying for him for a speedy recovery."

Dean, the former Georgia standout and third-round pick in the 2022 draft, elevated to a starting role for the Eagles last season but was sidelined for all but five games due to multiple foot injuries, including a Lisfranc sprain that landed him on injured reserve in November.

He has been an impact player for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio this season, racking up 128 tackles, three sacks, nine tackles for loss, six quarterback hits and an interception during the regular season. He also was responsible for relaying defensive calls to the group, duties that went to All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun when Dean exited Sunday.

Oren Burks replaced Dean in the lineup and will likely fill in for him moving forward. Burks, who played his first six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and Packers, had five tackles Sunday and forced a fumble on special teams on the opening kickoff, resulting in a turnover and a quick score for Philadelphia that set the tone for the game.

Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury announced his latest retirement from boxing Monday, one month after losing a rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury has called it a career on multiple occasions previously, most recently in April 2022 after his win over Dillian Whyte. However, the Brit returned to action in December that year.

"I'm going to make this short and sweet, I'd like to announce my retirement from boxing," Fury said in a video posted to social media.

"It's been a blast, I've loved every single minute of it and I'm going to end with this. Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, see you on the other side."

It was unclear why Fury made a reference to Turpin, a famed 18th century English highway robber and horse thief. Fury also retired in 2013 and 2017 in social media posts, with both statements proving to be short-lived.

His latest announcement caught his promoter Frank Warren by surprise. But Warren told TNT Sports that no one in the boxing world should influence Fury.

"God bless him. If that's what he wants to do, that's what he should do," said Warren. "He's made a lot of money. He's had a fantastic career. He's the best British heavyweight ... he has been in some magnificent fights. He has shown what he's about. He has been exciting, you know, to be around him. I've loved every minute of it, and I hope all the fans have as well."

The 36-year-old Fury was beaten for a second time by Usyk in December as he looked to regain his heavyweight world championship belts.

A long-touted fight with Anthony Joshua had been rumored for this year with both fighters in the latter stages of their respective careers. British sports promoter Eddie Hearn, who said he reserved Wembley Stadium this summer for a potential Fury-Joshua fight, expressed doubts Fury is calling it quits, hinting that it might be a strategy for the heavyweight to retire to entice a bigger purse for the fight.

"I'm not going to accuse him of it not being genuine, but I think you get a better deal coming out of retirement," said Hearn. "Or maybe he just hasn't got the stomach for it anymore. Beat twice and had enough. [I] doubt it. Who knows?"

Fury was upset with the unanimous decision when he lost the Dec. 21 rematch with Usyk in Saudi Arabia. Usyk landed 179 of 423 punches thrown (42%), while Fury landed 144 of his 509 punches, a 28% clip.

Fury had acknowledged making mistakes, notably by showboating too much, when losing their first fight in Riyadh in May by split decision. His career record is 34-2-1, with 24 KOs.

The losses to Usyk were the only defeats in Fury's career, which began in 2008 and included one draw against American boxer Deontay Wilder in 2018.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A 55-year-old Texas man was arrested on a felony stalking charge in Indianapolis on Sunday after he allegedly sent threats and sexually violent messages to Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark via social media, according to court documents.

Police records show that Michael Lewis, of Denton, Texas, was charged with a Level 5 felony after he was arrested at a hotel in Indianapolis. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning.

Lewis could face up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department first spoke to Lewis on Wednesday about his alleged messages to Clark on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Been driving around your house 3x a day," Lewis messaged to Clark, according to court documents. "But don't call the law just yet."

"I'm getting tickets. I'm sitting behind the bench," read another message.

Other messages were sexually violent, according to court documents.

Clark told police that she feared for her safety -- even before Lewis arrived in Indianapolis -- and had even altered her appearance in public.

Mears said investigators tracked the IP address of Lewis' recent messages and found that he was at a hotel in Indianapolis. Lewis told police that he was in "an imaginary relationship" with Clark and that he came to Indianapolis on vacation.

The messages continued after the initial visit by police.

"It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in these cases, which is why many don't," Mears said. "In doing so, the victim is setting an example for all women who deserve to live and work in Indy without the threat of sexual violence.

"We commend Pacers Sports & Entertainment, and the Marion County Sheriff's Office for the swift and serious action that led to this weekend's arrest."

According to The Indianapolis Star, prosecutors have moved to ban Lewis from Hinkle Fieldhouse and Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Fever play at both arenas.

In December, a 40-year-old man from Oregon received a one-year suspended sentence and three years' probation after he pleaded guilty to a second-degree charge following his arrest for stalking UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers.

FRISCO, Texas -- Mike McCarthy will not return as the Dallas Cowboys' head coach in 2025, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Monday.

McCarthy's contract with the Cowboys expired last Wednesday but the team held an exclusive negotiating window with the coach until Tuesday at midnight. However, the sides have not had any negotiations regarding a new deal, sources told Schefter on Monday.

The Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints are expected to be interested in speaking with him regarding their vacancies, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Last week, the Bears had an official request for permission to speak with McCarthy denied by the Cowboys.

Coming off a disappointing 7-10 finish in 2024, Jerry Jones will look to make the ninth head coaching hire of his tenure as owner and general manager.

McCarthy had a 49-35 record in his five seasons as coach, but he won just one playoff game while suffering devastating home losses in the wild-card round to the San Francisco 49ers (2021) and Green Bay Packers (2023).

Jones had McCarthy and his entire coaching staff work on the last years of their deal after posting three straight 12-5 marks and leading the team to the playoffs in three straight seasons for the first time since the 1990s.

The Cowboys opened this season with a 3-2 record but suffered five straight defeats and saw key players including quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring), right guard Zack Martin (ankle), defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (foot), cornerback Trevon Diggs (knee) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (shoulder) end the year on injured reserve.

After winning 16 straight regular-season games at AT&T Stadium from 2021 to 2023, the Cowboys finished 2-7 at home in 2024 and became the first team in NFL history to trail by at least 20 points in six straight home games, including the 2023 playoff loss to the Packers.

Before injuries took a complete toll on the season, Jones backed McCarthy and said he did not believe in-season coaching changes make a difference. The only in-season change Jones has made came in 2010 when Jason Garrett took over for Wade Phillips after a 1-7 start.

At 3-7 this season, the Cowboys won four of their next five games with Cooper Rush at quarterback after Prescott had surgery to repair an avulsion of his right hamstring suffered Nov. 3. The Cowboys' playoff chances officially ended in Week 16.

McCarthy was hired as Garrett's replacement in 2020 with a clear mandate: deliver postseason success. From 2006 to 2018 with the Green Bay Packers, McCarthy made the playoffs nine times with four NFC Championship Game appearances and a win in Super Bowl XLV at AT&T Stadium in the 2010 season.

Twice McCarthy eliminated the Cowboys in the divisional round of the playoffs (2014, 2016). But he was unable to match the playoff success in Dallas.

The biggest disappointment, however, was a 48-32 loss to the Packers in the wild-card round in 2023. Green Bay had a 27-0 lead with less than two minutes to play in the first half and the Cowboys never threatened.

The Cowboys never truly found their footing in 2024.

McCarthy entered this season in the final year of his contract despite becoming the first Cowboys coach to deliver three straight playoff appearances since Jimmy Johnson (1991-93). Johnson, however, won two Super Bowls.

Despite Jones' all-in proclamation at the start of the offseason, the Cowboys saw key contributors to those three playoff seasons -- left tackle Tyron Smith, running back Tony Pollard, center Tyler Biadasz and defensive end Dorance Armstrong -- leave in free agency and did little to replace them.

The team's reunion with running back Ezekiel Elliott did not pay off, although Rico Dowdle ended up with more than 1,000 yards rushing.

Lamb missed training camp before signing a four-year, $136 million contract that made him the second-highest-paid wide receiver in the game. Prescott agreed to a four-year, $240 million contract extension hours before the season opener at Cleveland.

Three of the Cowboys' top defenders -- pass rusher Micah Parsons (ankle), Lawrence and cornerback DaRon Bland (foot) -- also missed time with injuries, which impacted new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer greatly. The Cowboys lost their first four home games of the season by a total of 94 points.

After finishing first in the NFL in points per game in 2023, McCarthy's first season as the playcaller, they were 20th in 2024.

Though they improved defensively as the year went on, the Cowboys allowed 27.5 points per game, 31st in the NFL, and were 28th in yards.

Jones will now be on the lookout for the ninth head coach of his tenure, dating back to 1989. Since Johnson, he has hired a hot offensive coordinator (Chan Gailey, 1998-99), elevated from within (Garrett, 2010-19 and Dave Campo 2000-02), hired a top defensive coordinator (Wade Phillips, 2007-10) and brought in Super Bowl winners (McCarthy and Bill Parcells, 2003-06).

None has been the answer to end the Cowboys' Super Bowl drought.

Does Jones, who turned 82 in October, look for an NFL veteran, a college head coach or an up-and-coming coordinator on either side of the ball to finally get the Cowboys over the hump?

All options would appear to be on the table.

The NBA fined Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards $50,000 on Monday for "making obscene gestures toward a game official."

It marks the fifth time this season that Edwards has been fined, totaling $285,000.

This latest incident occurred Saturday during the second quarter of Minnesota's 127-125 loss to the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.

Edwards previously cost himself $35,000 when he made an obscene gesture on the court during Minnesota's road win over Sacramento on Nov. 15.

The two-time All-Star and 2023-24 All-NBA selection then was fined three times during December.

He lost $25,000 for using profane language during a postgame interview after the Timberwolves won at Golden State; $75,000 two weeks later when he used profanity while criticizing the officiating from a home loss to the Warriors; and $100,000 for more profanity in an interview Dec. 27 after Minnesota beat Houston.

Edwards, 23, is averaging 25.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season.

FOR THE THIRD time in as many matchups this season, Draymond Green found himself tangled up with Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey. Edey gave Green a nudge to the back to win an offensive rebound during a Jan. 4 game, and Green wanted to make sure the rookie wasn't rewarded with an easy putback.

Green delivered a hard foul to Edey's right arm before wrapping the Memphis big man with both arms, something the 7-foot-4 rookie took exception to, shoving Green off of him.

The referees handed Green his second flagrant foul of the season on Edey -- the first was upgraded to a flagrant following review for locking his arm around Edey's ankle and tripping him in a 123-115 Warriors win Nov. 15.

Barely 30 seconds after getting tangled with Edey in January, Green was tagged with a technical foul for screaming "boom!" in an official's direction as he headed back down the court following a made 3.

Green was incredulous, but didn't lose his temper. He kept his cool even as Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half against the Warriors and their proud defensive leader.

"Draymond did a great job of staying poised when Jackson was scoring," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the 121-113 win. "That's frustrating for Draymond. He takes that very personally, and the fact that he kept his composure; yeah, he picked up the flagrant, [but] I thought it was a questionable call. The tech, he didn't cuss or anything.

"He was emotional. But he kept it on the right side of the line, and that was an important part of the win."

Green crossed that line too many times last season, leading to a five-game suspension for his chokehold on Rudy Gobert and then, perhaps the low point of his career, an indefinite suspension for striking Jusuf Nurkic in the face that ended up costing him 12 games.

Green's career was in the balance, and he wasn't sure how much longer he wanted to keep this fight up with opponents, referees, the league and his emotions.

Green had a newborn daughter, Hunter, and he didn't want his young children to see him losing control like he did with Gobert and Nurkic. He felt as if he was inching closer to retirement when he had one of the most important conversations of his life with NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

"I told him I don't want to do this anymore," Green told ESPN. "This doesn't serve me anymore.

"It wasn't that I was contemplating to do it right then. But I was [thinking] I probably got a year left and I'm done."

But it was during his indefinite suspension that Green began to feel he was making strides. He credits therapy and something Silver and the NBA required him to do -- attend routine NBA-led check-in Zoom sessions with a seven-person panel to ensure he was participating regularly in counseling/therapy sessions -- with helping him grow into a "totally different" player and person. It has helped the Warriors' emotional leader navigate his way through a frustrating Golden State slump the past seven weeks.

"He's always been so passionate," Kerr told ESPN. "And when he goes wrong and his passion gets away from him, it turns into anger. ... He's in a good place family-wise; he's a great dad. He loves his kids. He recognized last year how much his actions impacted his young kids. He doesn't want his kids seeing him in that light. And it's easy for everybody on the outside to say, well then don't do that stuff.

"But he is a force of nature and as competitive as any person I've ever seen. His game lives on the edge of passion and rage, and he has to find that balance. And he's found it this year."

For Green, it was simpler.

"The bulls--- had taken over the love; the drive was gone," Green told ESPN. "And so bulls--- taking over just led me down a bulls--- path. And it just led to more bulls---."

GREEN WAS IN the Footprint Center for a Warriors game against the Suns on Dec. 12, 2023. But mentally, Green was anywhere but downtown Phoenix.

As Brandin Podziemski looked to inbound the ball with 8:23 remaining in the third quarter, Green went to establish position on Nurkic near the Warriors' sideline. Green said Nurkic was pinching his right side and as he tried to free himself from Nurkic, Green spun and flailed his right arm, striking the Suns big man in the face.

Green was ejected for the third time that season for a flagrant foul 2. Nearly a month earlier, Green had been suspended for five games -- but this time, the punishment would be far more severe. The NBA suspended Green indefinitely for his "repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts."

"On that night, I wasn't even at that game," Green told ESPN. "I didn't want to be there. I didn't feel like I was there. My body was there. My mind was not at all. My emotions were not at all. I was not there.

"I was there because I had to be there. I had zero interest in the game, in being on the floor. I was just there."

The indefinite suspension was the sixth career suspension Green had received from the league. There was the five-game ban for his headlock around Gobert's head and neck, a one-game suspension in the 2023 playoffs for stomping on Domantas Sabonis' chest during a first-round game in Sacramento, and the costly suspension during the 2016 Finals for accumulating too many flagrant fouls after he took exception to LeBron James stepping over him and flung his arm up into James' groin during Game 4. Green also has the most ejections (20) of any player over the past 25 seasons, according to ESPN Research.

Then there was the incident he wasn't suspended for. During a preseason practice ahead of the 2022-23 season, Green punched teammate Jordan Poole. He was fined by the team and voluntarily left the team for a stretch but did not miss any games or face any discipline from the league.

While Green called the Poole punch one of his "biggest failures as a vet" on Penny Hardaway's podcast, it wasn't until sometime after the Gobert incident that he began to wonder what he was doing.

"The reality is there's a time for everything," Green said. "So I can still be me and can still mix it up with people, but there's a time to get close to that line. There's even a time to cross the line. But you can't teeter it all the f---ing time. And I was just teetering it all the f---ing time.

"And that just becomes distasteful."

AS GREEN LOGGED into the first NBA Zoom check-in mandated by Silver, he saw seven faces staring back at him.

To ensure that Green was being held accountable and going through with counseling during his suspension, Silver set up a group that was dubbed "The DG check-in calls." The NBA's Kathy Behrens, president of social responsibility and player programs, and David Weiss, executive vice president of operations and administration, represented the league. The Warriors had general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.; Rick Celebrini, VP of player health and performance; and David Kelly, chief legal officer, on the calls. Chrysa Chin, the National Basketball Players Association's executive vice president of strategy relations, also joined Green's agent, Rich Paul, on the Zoom check-ins.

Memphis' Ja Morant was required to participate in similar calls when he was serving a 25-game suspension to start the 2023-24 season because of conduct detrimental to the league. While Green saw familiar and friendly faces, he admitted he went into the first two calls feeling as if he were standing in front of a tribunal with little interest in participating.

"I think he was mad. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and an edge. And I think he came to the calls initially with that chip and that edge," Behrens, who ran the meetings, told ESPN. "I think he was pissed maybe at himself, maybe pissed at us, pissed at the situation."

There were about a dozen calls in total. They initially took place twice a week. If Green tried to do a call while driving in his car, Behrens made him pull over, and his camera always had to be on.

"We were clear with him that there had to be discipline," Behrens said. "But we also made it clear that we didn't just want it to be about punishment and we'll see you in 10 games, 12 games or 14 games. It was, for all of us, let's make sure that you're getting the help you need and that you feel both the accountability and the support from the systems that are around all players."

It all changed for Green on the third call. He started talking more. And when he began sharing experiences or what was on his mind, the others chimed in with their own personal experiences. Green began to see the calls not as a weekly check-in with authority but rather a healthy weekly discussion with seven of the most successful people in their respective fields.

"The last thing you want is to walk in this meeting saying, 'I f---ed up on blah, blah, blah,'" Green said. "You want to walk into this meeting in a sense unscathed. 'Here's what I've been up to.'

"What I end up finding with these meetings is it's like an accountability panel, but it was also a therapy session because you start to talk about some of the things that I went through with my therapist."

Green was back on the court in Memphis on Jan. 15, 2024, just over a month after he was suspended. By All-Star Weekend, Green had played in 14 consecutive games. At that point, the check-ins went from two a week to once a month. The NBA and Green's panel felt as if the check-ins were no longer needed after he went through half a dozen and showed progress.

"We wanted Draymond to address what he identified as underlying issues surrounding his conduct on the court," Silver told ESPN. "He committed wholeheartedly to that work, including counseling and regular check-ins with the league office and the players' association, which continued long after he was reinstated."

Green wouldn't accept the check-ins coming to an end. He told everyone he wanted to continue the sessions. They've met six more times since last All-Star Weekend, the last coming in October before the season started.

"These meetings became so therapeutic for me," Green said. "It's helping me, and I f---ing love it. My plan is to do these meetings for the rest of my career because they're incredible."

Green knows the NBA check-ins, though, were not true therapy sessions. He sees professionals for that.

Green said he started therapy two years ago -- because he "was dealing with something really f---ing heavy" -- and called it one of the hardest things he had to do. He said it took him years to finally sit down with a therapist because he was "f---ing scared s---less."

"Starting therapy was f---ing hard," Green said. "Because I'm from Saginaw, Michigan. I'm from an all-Black neighborhood that you don't go to therapy or you're f---ing weak. So you're retraining a brain that's been thinking a certain way for 30 years.

"The last thing you do growing up on the north side of Saginaw is [something that is perceived as] weak."

He currently has two therapists, as well as a sports psychologist. He wasn't seeing them "actively" before the indefinite suspension, but he tries to see at least one each month even when the schedule is hectic. There are times when Green gets two sessions in a week.

The Warriors star knows what people are envisioning when he talks about seeing a psychologist -- this generation's Bad Boy lying on a stereotypical long leather couch. But Green doesn't care because he sees and feels the benefits.

"I've never had my feet up on a couch," Green said. "Maybe I should do that."

GREEN REALIZED THIS summer that he had been splitting his on- and off-the-court personalities. He says he is a "really, really, really nice guy" who gives a lot off the court. But come tipoff, he "will fight you tooth and nail to the f---ing bitter end."

Green felt he had to "merge" and "marry" both sides if he was going to grow. Green says he has become a nicer Draymond on the court.

"Things are totally different," Green said. "I'm different."

So far this season, Green has handled a variety of tests. He traded taunts with Poole in November, faced Gobert three times in two weeks in December and has gotten physical with Edey each time they've met on the court. And he continues to bark at referees -- his lone ejection this season is the result of two technical fouls he got in 33 seconds near the end of that win over Memphis in November, and he received the latter while he was on the bench.

Travis Walton, a former Michigan State point guard who has been one of Green's best friends since he started recruiting a then-16-year-old Green to the Spartans 18 years ago, says Green's interaction with officials this season is a clear sign of his biggest progression with controlling his short fuse.

"He's more intentional," said Walton, who is also Green's trainer and chief of staff for Green's The New Media company. "He's more softer with things. Maybe when he's ready to erupt [in a training session], he's like, 'Let me look at it from a different perspective,' [where] the old Draymond would've went off. The old Draymond would've had a lot more to say than the Draymond right now.

"That's a nicer Draymond."

When Green and Gobert met three times earlier this season, hardly anything of note happened outside of a Green foul on Gobert where he unintentionally made contact to Gobert's face Dec. 8. Green would finish that 114-106 Warriors win by blowing by the Minnesota big man for an emphatic one-handed driving dunk -- Green's best highlight of the season.

Gobert, for his part, has moved on from last season's incident.

"It's hard to know what's going on in someone else's mind," Gobert told ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "But I just hope for him that he's happy, because he's a father, he's a husband, he's a leader of this community. Regardless of what happened in the past, I have empathy for everyone. I want to see him be happy and be the best version of himself."

Perhaps nothing has tested Green more than a massive Warriors slump that saw them drift from a 12-3 start into a 7-16 dive. He moved to the bench for a stint last month in full support of Jonathan Kuminga -- something he admits he would "absolutely not" have been able to handle when he was younger -- and yelled at Buddy Hield in an attempt to get the guard to focus during a recent loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Green has tried to be a leader.

"I hate losing," Green said. "If I'm losing, you're going to ratchet up everything that you have in order to change that. With that comes high emotion. With that comes an engagement that honestly isn't quite welcome in this league. And so it's a challenge. I just got to understand that [pushing the line] can't be the way, that my teammates need me out there."

After the Miami Heat crushed a listless Warriors team, 114-98, at home on Jan. 7, Green told his teammates in the locker room that they had lost their "soul" and edge, and that it was his fault.

Green was asked how he regains that edge.

"F---ing everybody up!" Green said. "No, I'm just playing. It's just about really being in the mix ... causing havoc, creating turnovers. When things go wrong, who's going to be there to stop the [negative] body language from [becoming contagious]? Having that edge."

It's been a constant process of change for Green since the beginning of the summer. He lost 30 pounds in the offseason to make sure he was as physically prepared for the season as he was mentally, and he feels his game is improving in Year 13.

He's moving better, heavily contesting 3s at the fourth-highest rate in the NBA. The Warriors have also allowed 0.9 points per direct drive when Green is the help defender this season; that ranks fifth among 40 players to help on 250-plus drives, per Second Spectrum tracking. And he is making 1.4 3-pointers per game this season, the most he has averaged in a season in a decade -- he is one of five players with at least 35 steals, 35 blocks and 35 3-pointers this season, according to ESPN Research.

He says he has rediscovered his motivation and no longer contemplates retirement with an assist from therapy and the "DG check-in calls."

"I want people to say, 'Man, right here was a little bleak. But then look where it went from there. And that's due to because he took accountability,'" Green said. "Regardless of how I felt about the Rudy situation, the Nurkic situation ... the Jordan Poole [incident], any situation, I took it on the chin. I took accountability for it, and I moved forward.

"They're my fault. I needed to be better, and I failed. We all fail. But I'm not a failure."

Happy Roki Sasaki Week!

After announcing his intention to come to MLB at the start of the 2024-25 offseason, the 23-year-old Japanese free agent immediately became the most coveted pitcher available this winter thanks to his combination of talent and age, and the parameters of his contract.

With the 2025 international free agent signing period opening Jan. 15 and Sasaki's posting window closing on Jan. 23, we could find out where Sasaki is headed as soon as Wednesday.

Because Sasaki decided to come to the majors before his 25th birthday, he is limited to a minor league deal with a signing bonus coming from a team's international bonus pool (capped at just over $7.5 million). That makes the emerging ace a rare free agent star every team can afford to sign.

As we wait for Sasaki's destination to come into focus, we asked our MLB experts what makes him so good, which major league pitchers he reminds us of, and which teams seem most likely to land him.

What makes Sasaki such a coveted free agent?

Bradford Doolittle: He's young, accomplished and with measurable tools that might make him baseball's top prospect right now. But he's not a prospect in the "maybe he'll be 'X' if he reaches his ceiling" but one that's already been successful in a high-level league and can slide into a big league rotation. A limited workload threshold, for now, is the only thing that's really holding back Sasaki's 2025 projection. With his full collection of team control seasons intact, there is no risk to signing him. And as good as he is now, he has room to grow in terms of his arsenal and how he fills out physically. You just don't get a combination of factors all lining up like this, not the least of which Sasaki was so anxious to make the jump that he was willing to make max earnings a secondary factor.

Buster Olney: As we've seen with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and with Juan Soto -- as we've witnessed all the way back to Alex Rodriguez -- excellence at a young age is everything. Sasaki is expected to be a high-ceiling talent already at 23, and the team that lands him will have years of control while paying him relative pennies.

Kiley McDaniel: In describing his client's upcoming potential nine-figure deal to me this winter, an agent underlined why he was confident that would happen, even if he had a down year, by saying: "age is a hack." Rosters are getting younger, thus teams have more money to spend, but don't want to offer long-term deals to older players, so they are (generally) seeking short-term free agent deals or trades for players with a year or two of control. That means long-term deals are generally acceptable to a large swath of teams only when they can land a standout young star still in his peak years. (like the Red Sox chasing Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Juan Soto, extending Rafael Devers, but not offering huge money to any older players). Sasaki could be under team control for his entire peak of a bona fide ace, at a price every team can afford: a true unicorn of an opportunity for all 30 teams.

David Schoenfield: He is entering his age-23 season and it's not a stretch to say he has the potential to be the best starter in baseball. In four years in Japan, he has a 2.02 ERA, averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine. He has hit 102 mph and is 6-foot-3 and athletic. You can argue that he's right up there on the Stephen Strasburg/Paul Skenes scale as a pitching prospect, except he has already dominated as a professional.

Which current or former MLB pitcher does he remind you of on the mound?

Schoenfield: With his power fastball/splitter combo, I think of two former MLB greats: Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling. There are certainly some similarities as well to Shohei Ohtani, although Ohtani slowly ramped down his splitter usage and didn't use it much in 2022-23, going more often to his sweeper. In Japan in 2024, Sasaki induced a 57% whiff rate on his splitter, which would have ranked second in MLB behind Reds (now Yankees) reliever Fernando Cruz.

Doolittle: I don't know that there is any one guy. The splitter kind of reminds me of the one Logan Gilbert throws, one with a spin rate so low it's kind of freaky to watch in slow motion. The easy, heavy, hard stuff he offers kind of reminds me of Kevin Brown, only with a different fastball. The thing that's most exciting about Sasaki is that it's hard to call him the next so-and-so. He's his own thing, and novelty is a great and too-rare thing in sports these days.

McDaniel: There isn't a perfect comp, and Sasaki is still changing as a pitcher, so I'll point out some players with qualities that are similar. Hunter Greene had a similar combination of arm speed and hype at the same age, along with some questions on his fastball shape and breaking ball quality. Obviously, Sasaki's standout splitter has a number of comps to former NPB pitchers but only a handful of U.S.-born players, such as Clemens and Schilling. The total package (power fastball, slider, and splitter-ish offspeed pitch) is similar to Paul Skenes', though Sasaki's command and fourth and fifth pitch are areas he'll need to address to have a chance to truly stand up to Skenes' MLB debut.

Buster Olney: He reminds me of Yu Darvish, with his build and his rangy athleticism. He looks like he'll have an ability to make adjustments, as needed. Darvish is known for being able to mimic the deliveries of other pitchers, and watching Sasaki move, it would not surprise me if he had the same gift.

Are there any concerns about how his game will translate from Japan to MLB?

McDaniel: Sasaki's fastball shape and velocity regressed last season, his slider velocity also tailed off even more, he likely needs to add a fourth and maybe fifth pitch, and his execution within the strike zone could be a bit better. These are all simple enough on their own to be addressed in the first half of 2025 as long as Sasaki chooses a strong pitching development club, as I suspect he will. Some mechanical adjustments and mental cues could do a lot of the heavy lifting as these things can all be related. I would expect to see glimpses of Sasaki's potential in 2025 while we wait until 2026 for the first dominating string of five or six starts in a row.

Olney: We really need our colleague Eduardo Perez to jump in here, because he'd be the one to tell us if Sasaki has any blatant tells such as pitch-tipping. That's what Yamamoto experienced in his first months with the Dodgers. But Sasaki could have such excellent stuff that it doesn't matter. His splitter seems to be so good that it won't be hit even if the batter knows it's coming.

Doolittle: Well, the different ball means we don't know exactly how the measurements on his pitches will change, but that's not a major concern. He looked great in the World Baseball Classic which offers a nice preview of that adjustment. It's really durability. He has never thrown a lot of innings, his best pitch is a splitter and his velo was down last season. These things would be much more worrisome if he was getting a Yamamoto-like contract, but he's not. I've seen his splitter carry an 80-grade and when you match that with a triple-digit fastball that moves and a track record of plus command, health is the only thing there is to worry about.

Schoenfield: The same as every starter: Health and durability. He has topped out at 20 starts and 129 innings in Japan, back in 2022. His fastball velocity was down a bit in 2024 as he missed time with a torn oblique and shoulder fatigue. He'll also have to adjust to facing more power hitters than he faced in Japan.

Are the Dodgers the team to beat as his decision approaches?

Doolittle: They always are.

McDaniel: They are the most likely landing spot and have been seen that way for a while, but don't underrate how little we truly know about Sasaki's process of eliminating and ultimately choosing a club. We have some clues and potential leans, but don't truly know very much right now.

Aryna Sabalenka dances on court, with actress Rebel Wilson watching on, after beginning her Australian Open title defence win with a straight-set victory over American Sloane Stephens.

READ MORE: 'Feels like home' - Sabalenka starts title defence with win

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Coco Gauff dedicated her Australian Open first-round win to Los Angeles and the firefighters who have been tackling the devastating wildfires.

American third seed Gauff, one of the favourites for the title in Melbourne, beat compatriot and 2020 champion Sofia Kenin 6-3 6-3.

Gauff wrote "stay strong LA, thank you firefighters" on the camera lens after her victory.

She and Taylor Fritz have previously donated to a charity effort to help those affected.

World number two Iga Swiatek also signed the camera lens: "Sending my love to Malibu and LA".

The Pole began her Australian Open campaign with a 6-3 6-4 win over Czech Katarina Siniakova.

The fires, which began on 7 January, are being marked as the most destructive in the city's history.

The LA County medical examiner said on Sunday that 24 people have died in the fires, while at least another 16 remain missing.

Donna Vekic, who is coached by American Pam Shriver, also sent a message to the city after her first-round win on Sunday.

Shriver has stayed behind in LA to help her family.

Stefanos Tsitsipas believes his Australian Open first-round exit was "karma" after he withdrew from playing doubles alongside his brother to focus on singles.

The Greek, runner-up in Melbourne in 2023, lost 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4 to American Alex Michelsen on the second day's play.

The 11th seed had been due to play doubles with his brother, Petros, but withdrew before the tournament began to protect his singles chances.

"It's quite ironic. My whole [idea] was to try to go deep. I knew the first thing I had to consider was not playing doubles," Tsitsipas, 26, said.

"The whole purpose was just to save up on some energy and be fresher hopefully in the deeper draw of the tournament."

"I guess karma hit me. I was not able to deliver or play the way I was hoping to at this year's event.

Tsitsipas has long-been tipped as a future Grand Slam champion, having reached the Melbourne showpiece two years ago and the French Open final in 2021, losing both to Novak Djokovic.

However, he lost in the first round at last year's US Open and in the second round at Wimbledon.

"The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a Grand Slam is that you have way too much time to recover," Tsitsipas added.

"It just sucks that I'll be hanging around for quite a while now before my next tournament comes in."

Elsewhere at Melbourne Park, world number one Jannik Sinner opened up his title defence with a 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 victory over Chile's Nicolas Jarry.

Novak Djokovic begins his bid for a standalone record 25th Grand Slam singles title later on Monday, with Nick Kyrgios also making his return to tennis.