Men's college basketball is almost upon us.

In less than two weeks, another season will tip off and we will start to get answers to the game's most pressing questions. Can UConn win a third consecutive national title? Can Duke's latest freshman phenom take the Blue Devils all the way? Is Kansas ready to bounce back? Can Nate Oats and Alabama take the final step?

If you haven't been paying attention since the Huskies cut down the nets in April, we're here to catch you up. And there's no better place to start than with my All-America teams.

By the spring, these players will be competing for Final Four appearances, national player of the year honors and NBA riches. For now, they get the next best thing: the Jay Bilas seal of approval.

First Team

Guard: RJ Davis, North Carolina
Year: Senior
The only returning first-team All-American, Davis has a real shot to become UNC's all-time leading scorer and guide the Tar Heels back to the Final Four. Nobody covers more ground or plays harder.

Guard: Mark Sears, Alabama
Year: Senior
The left-handed guard averaged over 21 points and lived at the foul line for the Crimson Tide's Final Four team last season, and he will match -- or exceed -- those numbers in Oats' high-octane offense. And he will have more scorers around him.

Guard/Forward: Cooper Flagg, Duke
Year: Freshman
He is the best thing to come out of Maine since lobster. Skilled, competitive and talented, Flagg will not only be Duke's best player, but its best shot blocker.

Center: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Year: Senior
Kalkbrenner is the most efficient big man in the nation, one who affects the game at both ends of the court. The three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year is one of the game's top shot blockers, and he will set records this season.

Center: Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Year: Senior
The lefty big man was the only player to average a double-double in the Big 12 last season. This season, the goal should be to average a triple-double ... with free throw attempts. Dickinson wants to shoot 3-pointers -- and should. But he should dominate the paint more.

Second Team

Guard: Caleb Love, Arizona
Year: Senior

The Pac-12 Player of the Year (the very last one, too), Love is in attack mode all game long. His efficiency improved last season and should continue to do so in 2024-25.

Guard: Tyon Grant-Foster, Grand Canyon
Year: Senior
The Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year who started his career at Kansas, Grant-Foster is a natural scorer who hung 29 points on Alabama in the NCAA tournament. Don't be surprised if he leads the nation in scoring.

Guard: Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Year: Senior
A three-time first-team All-SEC performer, Taylor is among the league leaders in almost every important category. Nobody gets hotter faster, and nobody is more likely to give you 40 points in a game.

Forward: Alex Karaban, UConn
Year: Junior
Perhaps the nation's most underrated impact player last season, Karaban is a winner and a great cutter who just knows how to play. UConn needs him to be a star, and he will be.

Forward: Johni Broome, Auburn
Year: Senior
An immovable object in the paint, the lefty from Morehead State has now terrorized the SEC for two years. Whether scoring, rebounding or blocking shots, he is the best big man in the SEC.

Third Team

Guard: Kam Jones, Marquette
Year: Senior
The role will change, as Jones takes over primary ballhandling duties with Tyler Kolek off to the NBA. But Jones will remain a dynamic impact player. He might not score as many points this season, but he will be responsible for more.

Guard: Braden Smith, Purdue
Year: Junior
The world will look different for Smith without Zach Edey in the post, but he is one of the toughest competitors to ever wear a Purdue uniform.

Guard: Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Year: Junior
Coming off injury, Lipsey remains one of the most respected players in the Big 12. A leader and a great defender, he might very well lead Iowa State to the Final Four.

Guard: Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Year: Senior
The engine that has made the Vols go, Ziegler returned from a knee injury to lead the SEC in assists again. Nobody puts better pressure on the ball.

Forward: Great Osobor, Washington
Year: Senior
Strong, physical, skilled and long armed, Osobor was outstanding at Montana State and Utah State. He will make the jump to the Big Ten as the Huskies' lead dog. He is an NBA talent.

Fourth Team

Guard: A.J. Storr, Kansas
Year: Junior
Maybe it's a flyer to put Storr in this position, but Bill Self will get the most out of him. Storr is a phenomenal athlete and outstanding scorer. Expect him to catch all the lobs that KJ Adams Jr. does not.

Guard: LJ Cryer, Houston
Year: Senior
The Cougars' leading scorer last season after transferring from Baylor, Cryer is returning from a foot injury. Still, he should be even better after a year in Kelvin Sampson's program.

Guard/Forward: Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Year: Freshman
The 6-10 freshman is as talented as any player in the country, and he will give Flagg a real fight in the race for freshman of the year honors and for the top pick in the NBA draft. Bailey can do it all.

Forward: Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Year: Senior
The lefty big man was a focal point of Gonzaga's offense last season and will be even better in his final season. An outstanding finisher with the ability to stretch the court, Ike is a difference-maker for Mark Few.

Forward: Tyson Degenhart, Boise State
Year: Senior
Poised to become the Broncos' all-time leading scorer, Degenhart is among the more versatile players in the country.

Player of the Year: Mark Sears, Alabama

Freshman of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Duke

The NBA oddsmaking team at Caesars Sportsbook wanted to keep it simple -- Bronny James over/under 0.5 points in Tuesday's opener between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

It would become not only the most popular NBA player prop of the night, but also one of the most popular ever for the sportsbook.

"We had two-way action all day on it," David Lieberman, who oversees NBA odds for Caesars, told ESPN. "This reminded me a bit of how popular the Caitlin Clark props were this year in the WNBA."

FanDuel said Bronny James prop bets attracted more betting interest than props on Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Bronny's father. The action on Bronny was mostly small bets, but bookmakers said there were wagers in the four- and five-figure range on his props.

"We opened it 0.5 just to keep it simple, will he score, basically," Lieberman said. "The betting was actually pretty evenly split between the over and under; probably more tickets on the over, but the money was close."

Jake Bensimon, a sports bettor in Maryland, said he placed a $2,500 bet on Bronny to score over 1.5 points with FanDuel at -135 odds. He shared a screenshot of his bet with ESPN and said it was the first NBA prop bet he'd ever made.

"[It's] strictly a bet on Lebron creating a bucket for his son," Bensimon wrote in a direct message on X. "I figured it was something LeBron will prioritize and the line seemed fair."

Bronny went 0-2 from the field, missing an open 3-pointer and a putback off an offensive rebound in three minutes of playing time.

Some major sportsbooks waited until just hours before Tuesday's game to put up prop bets on Bronny and didn't attract much action. ESPN BET elected not to put up any Bronny props. Caesars Sportsbook, however, said it will continue to post prop bets on Bronny this season.

"It will be an interesting storyline and year, and it's a market that bettors clearly want," Lieberman said.

The Lakers host the Phoenix Suns on Friday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN). ESPN BET is offering +175 odds on both Bronny and LeBron making a 3-pointer against the Suns, among other "Like Father, Like Son" props.

WHEN RESERVE GUARD Frank Ntilikina checked in with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter of the Dallas Mavericks' 2021-22 season opener, he represented the completion of one of Jason Kidd's primary goals in his first home game as the team's head coach.

Ntilikina was the last of the Mavericks' 15 active players to step on the court that night.

Kidd had managed his personnel that night against the Houston Rockets in a manner typically reserved for youth leagues, which subjected him to some ridicule. He explained in his postgame news conference that he had appointed a three-man leadership council, and that group had suggested full participation in the home opener as a means of promoting team unity.

"We're not doing that against San Antonio, but it was a great idea at the time," Kidd told ESPN recently, referring to the Mavs' 2024-25 season opener against the Spurs on Thursday night (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

Kidd's willingness to grant the request was meant as a message to the entire team, but it was especially intended for one player: Luka Doncic, who three years later is one of only three roster holdovers in Dallas and the lone remaining member of that leadership council that also originally included Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr.

Kidd formed the three-man council, scheduling occasional meetings with it, to open the lines of communication that were frequently cluttered or disconnected altogether under previous Mavs coach Rick Carlisle.

"The more you talk, the better," Doncic said that night. "Talking solves things, so I think it's a good idea."

The Mavs' leadership council, at least as an official group, is no more. Kidd never officially dismantled it, but it had served its purpose.

Three years later, ideas flow freely among Kidd's coaching staff and the Mavs' stars, a group that is led by Doncic and added Kyrie Irving at the 2023 trade deadline. Now, coming off the team's first Finals appearance since 2011, Kidd enters opening night with a new goal: integrating another future Hall of Famer in Klay Thompson. He signed with Dallas over the summer and arrives with four championship rings of his own, with hopes to add a fifth -- which would be Doncic's first.

"The only way it works is if there's communication," Kidd said recently, recalling the leadership council. "All the side chatter, all the silos, individual silos, those don't win. Those just self-destruct or destroy an organization."

Many within the Dallas organization believe that Kidd is uniquely suited to bring out the best in the superstar duo of Doncic and Irving, who have both butted heads with their head coaches at times, as Kidd did on occasion throughout the course of his two-decade playing career. Kidd has been intentional and deliberate about building bonds that help him know when to pat them on the back and when to push their buttons. Now he has the added challenge of acclimating Thompson, whose 13-year run with the Golden State Warriors soured last season.

"Outside of him being a Hall of Famer and being like a well trusted, high-level-IQ thinker?" Irving told ESPN. "He's also being human enough to get to know what irks a player and what makes a player go in a positive manner."

Added Mavs assistant coach Jared Dudley: "I'm going to be honest with you, there's only two or three coaches in the league that have the cachet and personality to be able to coach Luka and Kyrie at the same time and have no problems."

IRVING BOARDED A plane to Phoenix in search of knowledge. As a rising star with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he wanted the chance to go to dinner with one of his favorite players from his childhood.

He grew up in New Jersey when Kidd starred for the Nets from 2001 to '07, leading the franchise to its only two NBA Finals appearances. So he asked Robin Pound, the former Phoenix Suns strength and conditioning coach who both had employed as a personal trainer, to make the introduction.

Irving peppered Kidd with questions throughout the meal, picking his brain about the nuances of leadership in an NBA locker room.

"Kai is a special dude," Kidd said. "He wants to understand the game at the highest level, wants to be pushed to the highest level. And I don't think he's afraid of failing. When I say failing, losing or missing a shot, but we'll come back and learn from that. Kai wants to be coached. Kai wants to be helped to win a championship."

A kinship quickly developed between Irving and Kidd, and they maintained contact over the years, with Irving making a point to attend Kidd's Hall of Fame induction in 2018.

Their relationship fueled Kidd's confidence that he could help Irving thrive in Dallas, despite the eight-time All-Star's reputation at that point as one of the league's most mercurial players, which was the primary reason the Mavs were able to acquire Irving without the assets typically required in a trade for that sort of talent.

"You heard all about Kyrie in the last couple places he's been," said Dudley, who played for Kidd in Milwaukee and with the Los Angeles Lakers when Kidd was an assistant before joining his coaching staff.

"You haven't heard one thing since he's been in Dallas. Do you think that's just Dallas, or do you think 80% has to do with Jason Kidd?"

In Dallas, Irving's value has been felt far beyond his offensive brilliance as half of the league's highest-scoring tandem last season, when the Mavs made a run to the NBA Finals as the Western Conference's fifth seed. Irving has emerged as a vocal and emotional leader for the Mavs, empowered to succeed in the role he quizzed Kidd about years ago.

"Of the guys I've been around, he's on par with the all-time great teammates, man," Mavs assistant coach Sean Sweeney told ESPN. "He's an unreal teammate. For a truly great player to be such a truly great teammate, I think that impacts everybody -- coaches, players. You want to do your best when you're around that guy because of how purposeful he is and just the way he goes about his day and how he treats people. It's pretty incredible, man. He's off the charts when it comes to that stuff."

Irving has become an extension of Kidd in the locker room, along with veteran forward Markieff Morris, who rarely plays but is highly respected throughout the organization and developed a strong relationship with Kidd while winning a championship ring together with the Lakers in 2020.

Kidd frequently engages Irving in philosophical discussions, often about basketball but occasionally about broader topics. Kidd and Irving typically loop in Doncic when the basketball talks could influence the team's strategy or approach.

He encourages dissenting opinions.

"If you have the ability to give him something to think about, something to digest, something to see, he goes, 'Oh, I see what you're doing,'" Kidd said, speaking specifically about Irving, although the statement also applies to Doncic.

"And sometimes he might say he likes it, sometimes he might not like it, but that's all right to have those kind of confrontations ... It's all right to agree, but I think when you disagree, it's, how do we figure out how can we be better?"

"HEY, CAN WE play faster?" Kidd texted Doncic in the summer of 2023.

Kidd had been stewing for months in the wake of the Mavs' disappointing season, when Dallas had plummeted into the draft lottery despite the midseason deal to acquire Irving. He hoped to start a dialogue with Doncic about why the Mavs should speed up the tempo after they finished 28th in pace the previous season.

Kidd was prepared to make a case, supported with video clips, about how picking up the pace could help the Mavs. He figured Doncic might take a little time to digest the idea before replying.

But it took all of two seconds for Doncic to shift into solutions mode, as he answered immediately by stating that the Mavs would need to inbound the ball faster after giving up a basket.

Dallas rocketed to seventh in pace last season, in part due to Doncic prioritizing the look-ahead pass, which Kidd made an art form during his days as a floor general. According to Second Spectrum tracking data, a league-leading 53 of Doncic's assists traveled at least 40 feet in the air.

Problem solved.

But Kidd took time to establish that easy rapport with his superstar. He acknowledges now that he was "careful" in their first season together, aware that he took over a potentially "fragile situation." It was no secret that Doncic had friction with the previous head coach, and it was understood that Doncic might have preferred his favorite former Mavs assistant Jamahl Mosley to get the nod as Carlisle's successor.

But Kidd eventually decided that Doncic's subpar defense was a battle worth picking. He publicly challenged Doncic to "participate" on that end of the floor midway through the season -- and notably did so again after the Mavs fell into an 0-2 hole in the West finals against the Suns.

"That could have gone either way," Kidd said recently. "That could have gone the other way. But he responded. He fought. He started to make a stand."

The Mavs finished that season ranked seventh in the league in defensive efficiency, a leap of 14 spots from the previous year. Doncic, while carrying as big of an offensive burden as any player in the league, did his part in a defensive scheme designed to protect him as much as possible. And the Mavs snapped a playoff series win drought that dated to 2011, when Kidd started at point guard for Dallas' lone title team, advancing to the West finals.

Kidd has repeated the "participate" prodding of Doncic on several occasions over the past few years. He's also made a theme of publicly rebuking Doncic from time to time when Kidd determines that the star's temperamental complaining to referees becomes especially counterproductive. (Doncic's two primary weaknesses sometimes overlap, as Kidd has noted that it's tough to play transition defense while ranting at the refs.)

"The thing that Jason's really, really good at is he's able to help guys who have greatness in them live up to that standard and listen to and speak the truth -- and sometimes hard truths," said Sweeney, who has been on Kidd's coaching staffs in Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Dallas. "Luka's a really tough kid, tough person.

"The big thing to me with Jason is it comes from a place of wanting you to succeed, and he has a willingness to listen. That helps you build a relationship with the guy."

Kidd remains selective of when to use tough love on Doncic, sensitive about "nitpicking" a player who puts up historic numbers (a league-leading 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game last season) while often playing through nicks and pains.

"Then sometimes you have to do it, because it's not about him, it's about the others," Kidd said of criticizing Doncic, whether it's public or in a film session. "But you have to use him as the example."

As Kidd puts it, if he can't hold his best player accountable, "then everything else goes sideways."

Kidd proudly points out that Doncic has made significant strides over the last few years with his conditioning, his rapport with referees and his defense.

"I think Luka's tied in, and we're at a really good place of being honest with one another. He wants to be great, has goals -- individual and team -- and we want to help him get there."

THOMPSON'S ARRIVAL PROVIDES a new challenge for Kidd: figuring out the best mesh of the preferred styles of two of the NBA's best off-dribble creators and a historically elite shooter accustomed to constant movement without the ball. But it's one he welcomes.

The process has been delayed by a calf contusion that sidelined Doncic for the entire preseason. He's had only a handful of practices to work with Thompson, and Kidd has preached patience when it comes to the Mavs' most high-profile newcomer's production.

"It's going to take a journey of 82 games to get used to one another," Kidd said before Thompson's preseason debut. "We're going to look good some nights and some nights we're going to struggle. But it's the journey. It's the full picture, the big picture, and hopefully we get it right by March and April."

The future Hall of Fame trio's lack of practice time together entering the season isn't ideal, but it's not a major concern for Kidd. The Mavs managed to implement two new starters -- center Daniel Gafford and power forward P.J. Washington -- into the lineup after the trade deadline last season and morphed into legitimate contenders in the last 20 games of the regular season.

The calm Kidd, who sometimes stands on the sideline with his hands in his pockets while he silently challenges his players to problem-solve on the court, is the product of his previous, checkered coaching experience.

"Didn't know how to coach," Kidd admitted, evaluating his messy, one-season stint in Brooklyn immediately after he retired as a player. "That's the big thing ... You have to try to help everyone who wants to achieve something -- and that's minutes, score and get paid. And hopefully they mix in winning."

Those Nets won some, digging out of a 10-21 hole to finish 44-38 before advancing to the second round of the playoffs, but a year filled with reports of dysfunction between Kidd and the Brooklyn front office ended when the Nets accepted a pair of second-round picks to allow Kidd to bolt for the Milwaukee Bucks, who were coming off a 15-win season in Giannis Antetokounmpo's rookie year.

Kidd's priorities with the Bucks were to "change the tone" and develop young talent, such as Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, who were unproven projects when Kidd arrived. The Bucks made a massive immediate leap under Kidd -- finishing .500 in his first season, a 26-win improvement -- but he left Milwaukee with a pair of first-round playoff exits and a reputation as a relentless taskmaster who conducted long, grueling practices.

"Then he was the fun coach in LA," Dudley said, reminiscing about the lighthearted vibe that Kidd had with the Lakers' stars, including Kidd's 2008 Olympics teammate LeBron James.

Kidd has credited that two-season stint as an assistant under Frank Vogel -- whom Kidd convinced to consult for the Mavs this season after the Suns fired him after one year -- for providing him a different perspective on coaching.

Kidd says he's working on meshing the best qualities of his tenures with the Bucks and Lakers in Dallas. He's still a teacher, as evidenced by Kidd and his right-hand man Sweeney constructing defenses that far exceed the sum of their parts in Dallas' two seasons that resulted in deep playoff runs.

But he's also created a culture.

"He's learned from past head coaching jobs that he's had and being with different players and seeing them improve," Irving said. "Now, he's just mastering his own coaching philosophy and being an originator."

Kidd's coaching tenure in Dallas has featured some turbulence, most notably the 2022-23 campaign that was so disappointing that Dallas tanked the last week to keep its top-10-protected pick. But a Dallas franchise that hadn't advanced out of the first round since that 2011 title run has won five playoff series in Kidd's three seasons on the sideline, matching Carlisle for the most in team history.

Now, he opens the season as the defending Western Conference champion with another star on his roster.

"I don't think this man just gets enough credit," Dudley said. "When you think about the top coaches, you can count 'em on one hand that can be able to relate to these star players. And that's what this league is, a star-driven league."

The Los Angeles Dodgers will honor franchise great Fernando Valenzuela with a jersey patch in the World Series and during the 2025 season.

The team unveiled the patch on Thursday -- a circular design with a black background, his name in white and a large No. 34 in Dodger Blue.

Valenzuela, who sparked a fan phenomenon known as "Fernandomania" as a rookie and became a Dodgers legend, died Tuesday evening at age 63.

In memory of our hero Fernando Valenzuela, the Dodgers will wear this uniform patch during the World Series and throughout the 2025 season. pic.twitter.com/7HozGMf2Tr

Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 24, 2024

No cause of death was given.

Valenzuela pitched for the Dodgers from 1980 to 1990, then had stints with the Angels (1991), Orioles (1993), Phillies (1994), Padres (1995-97) and Cardinals (1997). He finished with a 173-153 record, a 3.54 ERA and 2,074 strikeouts in 2,930 innings over 453 games (424 starts).

He riveted Southern California in 1981, when as a 20-year-old from Mexico he went 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 25 starts, throwing 11 complete games -- eight of them shutouts -- to win both Rookie of the Year and the National League Cy Young Award.

The Dodgers won the World Series against the New York Yankees that season -- their opponent in this year's World Series -- and Valenzuela was 3-1 with a 2.21 ERA in five starts in that postseason.

After pitching in the majors for 17 seasons, Valenzuela served as a Spanish-language broadcaster for the Dodgers, starting in 2003. He had stepped away from his broadcasting duties before the start of these playoffs to "focus on his health," the team said.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

Sanitary products will be provided at more than 500 rugby clubs across England in an effort to boost female participation in the sport.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced the initiative on Thursday as part of its legacy programme for the women's World Cup in England next year.

A women's health toolkit has also been introduced under the 'Every Rose' strategy, which aims to have more than 100,000 women and girls playing the sport by 2027.

After research by the charity Women in Sport found that seven in 10 teenage girls avoid activity when theyre on their period, the RFU says it wants to raise sanitary care levels at clubs as well as break the taboo around periods in women's sport.

"As part of the initiative, more than 300 packages have already been delivered to clubs nationwide, with circa 1,000 sanitary products being installed at clubs up and down the country," the RFU said in a statement.

"All thanks to funding from Impact '25's 7 million facility investment fund that aims to enhance the rugby club experience for females by improving toilets, upgrading changing rooms, and developing social spaces."

England captain Marlie Packer said: "I think clubs offering these facilities makes rugby more inclusive. Just the simple things of sanitary bins, I know that sounds a bit stupid, but we never used to see them in the clubs toilets and changing rooms.

"And now to see sanitary bins and products, whether that's a sanitary towel or tampon that you can grab and use when you need, when you've been caught off guard, it's a really fantastic scheme."

The Women's Rugby World Cup begins on 22 August 2025, with the final to take place at Twickenham Stadium on 27 September.

The Emma Hayes era of the U.S. women's national team got off to a fairy-tale start this summer, when the Americans returned to the top of the podium in Paris for the program's fifth Olympic gold medal. Now comes Hayes' primary assignment.

She was hired as head coach to win the 2027 World Cup. That is why U.S. Soccer agreed to let her finish the European season with Chelsea before joining the USWNT less than two months before the Olympics.

With an Olympic gold medal in hand, Hayes is now empowered to make drastic changes as she sees fit for the program's future. Although winning gold suggests the USWNT is in a good place, three years is a lot of time, and Hayes can't rest on her laurels -- every decision she makes will be about the 2027 World Cup.

As the USWNT embarks on its first games since the Olympics, including a friendly against Iceland on Thursday, it is Hayes' first chance to find answers to the questions plaguing the team ahead of the World Cup in three years' time. So, what are those questions? We dig into the biggest ones as the USWNT shifts from celebrating its gold medal to long-term rebuilding.

Striking balance of youth vs. veterans

There is a clear core of players who will make up the 2027 World Cup squad, including the dynamic front three of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, who will be 25, 26, and 29, respectively, when that tournament starts. Defender Naomi Girma will be 27 -- Hayes has already called Girma "the best defender I've ever seen" and has appointed the center-back as captain at various points of matches.

Those players were already cornerstones of the USWNT's Olympic gold-medal run -- but what about the dozens of young, inexperienced players who could be major contributors come 2027?

This is a macro question that will guide every small decision Hayes makes. Hayes has already shown how liberal she plans to be with trialing new players in the USWNT environment. She requested to expand the team's current training roster by three, to 26 players, and used the additional slots to name three first-time call-ups -- two of whom were objectively off the national team radar to most of the public, as they have yet to fully establish themselves in the NWSL.

Hayes strongly suggested that she would have called up even more new players if she wasn't bound by the restrictions of the USWNT's collective bargaining agreement, which defines this window as a victory tour and requires all available players from the Olympic roster to be recalled.

"I say it privately more than I do publicly: The U.S. could quite easily put two teams out," Hayes said. "There's always, always going to be players that are missing. And there are players that are outside of this roster that equally deserve to be in."

A futures camp in January will allow a couple of dozen more players to compare themselves to the senior team players and impress Hayes. That camp will be a mix of players mostly 23 and under, possibly with an older player whose NWSL form warrants evaluation.

The U20 USWNT that just finished third at the World Cup featured eight NWSL players, including Kansas City Current midfielder Claire Hutton and Utah Royals forward Ally Sentnor, arguably the readiest for the senior team right now. U20 players were left out of this senior-team camp to allow them to rest.

The catch-22 of giving younger players more looks is that incumbent players will be bumped out. Hayes has long been a coach unabashed by bold or controversial roster decisions. She dropped forward Alex Morgan from the Olympic roster in June after coaching only two USWNT games. (Since then, Morgan has retired and last month announced she is pregnant.)

Hayes repeatedly said over the past week that more of her plan will become clear in January, when she rolls out her 2027-28 road map to the entire staff. That document will include playing styles and ideology that she expects to trickle down to the youth national teams, too.

Developing the USWNT's goalkeeper succession plan

What happens in goal will serve as a microcosm of Hayes' remit across the program.

Alyssa Naeher proved again at the Olympics why she is the USWNT's No. 1 goalkeeper. Naeher made several sensational saves, from the star-jump toe save from point-blank range to deny Germany a 119th-minute equalizer in the semifinal, to sensational saves in stoppage time of each half of the gold medal victory over Brazil. She conceded only two goals in six games at the Olympics.

Naeher, however, will be 39 years old at the next World Cup. Even putting aside age, which arguably factors less for goalkeepers than field players, there is the question of experience for any potential change in net. The USWNT also has a proven track record of both producing sensational goalkeepers and struggling with how to transition to the next one.

Naeher was on the other side of this equation when she took over the starting job following the 2016 Olympics and the suspension of Hope Solo.

Solo had been the USWNT's starting goalkeeper for the better part of the decade, winning a pair of Olympic gold medals and shining at the 2015 World Cup. She was the best goalkeeper in the world. But that became a problem because so few other goalkeepers saw the field during Solo's tenure -- even in low-stakes friendlies -- which left the next generation with limited playing experience at the international level.

Naeher earned her first cap on Dec. 18, 2014. Her only start of 2015 came almost exactly a year later, and then she started two more games ahead of the 2016 Olympics. By the end of the year, she was suddenly thrust into a competition for the starting spot with Ashlyn Harris after Solo was abruptly suspended and effectively kicked off the team permanently.

Naeher had three years to prepare herself for the 2019 World Cup. She faced constant questions about her readiness -- partly because her reserved demeanor was the opposite of Solo's assertiveness, but also because she hadn't played under the spotlight of a big tournament. The U.S. promptly won the 2019 World Cup -- with Naeher in goal every minute of the way.

Now comes a similar dilemma, but with Naeher as the incumbent and a handful of goalkeepers, led by Casey Murphy, as the apprentices. Naeher is older than Solo was at the time of Solo's removal (which had nothing to do with Solo's performance, to be fair).

Murphy is only 28 years old and has shown promise for years in the NWSL. She already has 19 caps, which is more than Naeher had when she assumed the No. 1 role. Murphy looked like she might take hold of the No. 1 job in 2022 when she started the World Cup qualifying quarterfinal, but Naeher held onto the role and hasn't looked back. Naeher is also a rare breed of goalkeeper who confidently buries penalties, too.

None of this is to say that Naeher should be removed as the starting goalkeeper. Her Olympic heroics were less than three months ago, and she hasn't dipped in form. What Hayes must figure out is how to get multiple goalkeepers ready for 2027 while eventually identifying the starter.

Murphy has the foundation to challenge Naeher for the spot. Jane Campbell, who is one year older, leads the NWSL in saves by a wide margin (for a last-place Houston Dash team) and was the alternate goalkeeper at the Olympics.

There will be plenty of competition at goalkeeper. Will Hayes try to identify who she thinks the 2027 starter is, as of now, and give that goalkeeper the longest possible extensive look? Or is the USWNT slated for a years-long competition in net?

Finding the World Cup-winning midfield combination

The forward line's "Triple Espresso" combination of Rodman, Smith and Swanson provided the goals, and Girma helped anchor a strong defensive unit in front of Naeher at the Olympics. The performances from the midfield at the Olympics, however, were hit and miss.

That unit was largely anchored by Sam Coffey as the defensive midfielder, with Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle in front of her. A suspension for Coffey forced Korbin Albert into the role in the quarterfinal, but it was the gold-medal match where Hayes made the bold call to deploy Albert alongside Coffey, with Horan in a more advanced role -- leaving Lavelle on the bench. The plan worked.

Albert had scored a sensational game winner off the bench against Australia in group play, then replaced Horan at the start of extra time against Germany in the quarterfinal. Horan struggled through parts of that game with errant passes, and Germany's more aggressive disposition from the week prior in the teams' group-stage meeting stretched out the U.S. midfield. It wasn't the first time in that tournament that the midfield was stretched defensively or bypassed in possession.

Given that midfield struggles were a key factor in the USWNT's many problems at the 2023 World Cup under then-coach Vlatko Andonovski, Hayes must figure out the best path forward. She has plenty of choices, making her decisions that much harder -- there is abundant skill among the incumbent players and plenty of rising talent waiting in the wings.

Croix Bethune, who was part of the gold-medal-winning team, could be one answer at the No. 10 role once she returns from injury. Bethune tied an NWSL record for assists in a season (10) as a rookie this year despite missing the final two months of the season.

Ashley Sanchez could be the answer, too. She is back in camp for the first time in nearly a year thanks to superlative play with the North Carolina Courage this season.

Albert and Hal Hershfelt are clearly well-regarded by Hayes, Olivia Moultrie is back in camp, and that's not even to mention whether Hayes will consider Jaedyn Shaw (listed as a forward) as a No. 10, which is her best role. Then add Catarina Macario (not in camp) to the mix if she can get healthy, and she could play as a second striker behind one of the Triple Espresso.

That entire group is age 25 or younger, and there's a rising generation coming up behind it, with Hutton and the North Carolina Courage's Riley Jackson among the midfielders leading the way.

Hayes' calculus won't just be about age, however. Nor is it solely about individual talent. What is going to be the ideal midfield unit? That is the piece that matters, and what will solidify the spine of the USWNT.

Coffey as a lone holding midfielder might eventually work, and maybe it must if Hayes wants to get her surplus of attacking midfielders on the field. But a double pivot has worked well for the USWNT when it has implemented it in recent years, and there are ways around that being too defensive, like having more of a No. 8 profile (think: Sam Mewis) who drops slightly deeper to provide cover.

Hayes and former interim coach Twila Kilgore have already experimented with a three-back in the past year, which could suit the USWNT by getting more natural midfielders on the pitch. How that midfield unit fits together could be make-or-break to a 2027 World Cup triumph.

NEW YORK -- Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and their New York teammates were showered in ticker tape as the Liberty celebrated winning the WNBA title in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined the thousands who lined the streets on Thursday.

The Liberty won the franchise's first championship, beating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime in a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Some veteran Liberty players from the early teams, including Teresa Weatherspoon, Vickie Johnson and Kym Hampton, attended the parade.

There have been over 200 ticker-tape parades in New York. The most recent to honor a women's sports team came in 2019 when the U.S. soccer team won the World Cup. Two years later, there was a parade to honor essential workers and first responders for their service during the coronavirus pandemic.

Not all New York sports champions have gotten the honor of a ticker-tape parade. New York City FC won their first Major League Soccer championship in 2021 but only received a celebration at City Hall. Last year, NJ/NY Gotham FC won the championship of the National Women's Soccer League but also didn't get a ticker-tape parade.

Penn State coach James Franklin declined to answer questions from reporters Wednesday after two of his former players were accused by police of raping a 17-year-old girl in their apartment on July 7.

Former Nittany Lions defensive end Jameial Lyons, 19, is facing felony charges of rape, aggravated assault without consent, voluntary deviate sexual intercourse and misdemeanor charges of indecent assault without consent and invasion of privacy without consent.

Former Penn State linebacker Kaveion Keys, 19, is charged with felony rape, aggravated assault without consent and sexual assault and misdemeanor indecent assault without consent.

Lyons was released on $500,000 bond by Centre County Magisterial District Judge Donald M. Hahn during an arraignment Wednesday; Keys was released on $400,000 bond.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled on Oct. 30.

Following Wednesday's practice, a reporter started to ask Frankin about the criminal case. Franklin walked away from the microphone, and a university spokesperson read a prepared statement that said: "Regarding the two former Penn State football players, we released a statement yesterday and our program and athletics department will have no further comment."

When another reporter attempted to ask Franklin about dismissing the players, he walked away again.

"Again, guys, the university already released a statement," the spokesperson said.

The Centre Daily Times posted to its social media accounts a video of the exchange between Franklin and reporters.

James Franklin refused to comment on rape charges against former players. My story, with video (from @JacksonRanger1) of when Franklin was asked:https://t.co/9pbLokyZag pic.twitter.com/JUMZWhMbOR

Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 24, 2024

According to a police criminal complaint and affidavit of probable cause obtained by ESPN, the 17-year-old student told police she met Keys and Lyons at an off-campus apartment on July 6 and went to their apartment early the next morning.

The girl told police that Keys and Lyons provided her and two other girls with alcohol. While she watched TV with the players in Keys' bedroom, according to the affidavit, the players smoked marijuana.

The woman told police that while she was trying to fall asleep, the players approached her from both sides and touched her without consent. She told police that both men forced her to have oral sex with them.

She said the players raped her and she was unable to stop them because of their size. The victim told police that her arms were restrained and that the players grabbed her by the neck and choked her on several occasions. The victim said she couldn't breathe.

The woman told police that she saw a camera flash, which she believed was from one of the players recording a video of the incident.

According to the affidavit, the victim "physically resisted and managed to get away. She screamed and swore at Keys and Lyons." The victim tried to wake up two other women in the apartment.

Lyons "grabbed the victim, carried her outside, and dropped her on the ground," according to police.

Police alleged that Lyons told the woman, "B---h, you're not coming back here ever and stay the f--- out of our life."

Another woman told police that after waking up in the apartment to vomit, Lyons led her to his bedroom. She told police that she woke up without her pants on, while Lyons was sexually assaulting her.

On July 8, Penn State University Police served a search warrant at the apartment and interviewed Lyons and Keys. Initially, Keys told police that there were women in their apartment on July 7, but denied knowing the 17-year-old victim or having sex with any of the women.

Lyons told police that he had sex with the 17-year-old woman and that Keys participated in the sexual encounter. The affidavit said Lyons "demonstrated the manner in which he held the victim's arms and grabbed her by the neck."

"Lyons expressed the belief the contact was consensual; however, Lyons reported having an awareness the victim would likely report the situation to the police," the affidavit said.

Police reported that a "short video documenting indecent contact" with the 17-year-old victim was located on the camera roll of Keys' cell phone.

Penn State suspended Lyons and Keys from the football team in August.

"We are aware of the serious charges against Mr. Keys and Mr. Lyons, who are no longer enrolled at the University," a university spokesperson said in a statement. "The safety of our community is our top priority, and Penn State takes any report of sexual assault or misconduct very seriously and investigates any and all reports."

Lyons, from Philadelphia, played in eight games as a freshman at Penn State in 2023. Keys, from Varina, Virginia, did not play and redshirted last season.