FRISCO, Texas -- Jerry Jones' timeframe on whether to keep Mike McCarthy as Dallas Cowboys coach could be impacted by the Chicago Bears.

Multiple sources said the Bears have sought permission to speak with McCarthy regarding their head coaching vacancy. A source told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Cowboys have yet to respond to the request.

McCarthy's contract expires Wednesday, but the Cowboys hold exclusive negotiating rights through Jan. 14. After that McCarthy would become a coaching free agent.

After Sunday's 23-19 season-ending loss to the Washington Commanders, Jones continued to praise McCarthy but was noncommittal regarding the coach's future in Dallas.

McCarthy said he "absolutely" wants to return to Dallas, where he has posted a 49-35 regular-season record but is just 1-3 in the playoffs. The Cowboys finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020, McCarthy's first season.

Jones was asked if he would allow a team to speak to McCarthy if it sought permission, and the owner and general manager said he just did something similar with running back Ezekiel Elliott, releasing him in the final week of the season for the chance to join a playoff team.

"I wouldn't want anybody coaching who didn't want to be here," Jones said.

Jones and McCarthy are set to meet this week on the direction of the franchise. When asked if McCarthy could return as coach but not call plays, which he has done the past two seasons, Jones said, "Anything is possible."

McCarthy met with the team Monday morning and gave no indication of his future. He thanked the players for their hard work and went through the end-of-season checklist, such as meeting with the medical staff and their position coaches.

"I'm in the wind just like you guys," Micah Parsons said.

Though McCarthy's intent Sunday was to remain in Dallas, it's not known if Chicago's interest will change anything.

"I have a lot invested here. And the Cowboys have a lot invested in me," McCarthy said after the game. "And then there's a personal side to all these decisions. They all point the right direction. I think anytime you invest your time, energy, your belief, the connection you have, the relationships that are in place here, the understanding of what the organization can do and is willing to do, those are all positive attributes that you take into account. But, you know, absolutely, I'm a builder. I believe in building programs. I believe in developing young players. So, at the end of day, it is about winning, and you have to have those components in place to get this thing where it needs to be. I think we have a very good foundation here."

McCarthy's 174 wins are 13th in NFL history. He coached the Green Bay Packers from 2006 to 2018 and won six NFC North titles and Super Bowl XLV.

He has a 19-7 record against the Bears in his career.

Coincidentally, Chicago is one of the Cowboys' opponents in 2025.

Besides McCarthy, the Bears also reportedly requested to interview Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson during Detroit's bye week. According to Schefter, the Bears also requested interviews with Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Interim head coach Thomas Brown will also receive a formal interview, according to GM Ryan Poles.

Sheel Seidler, the widow of late San Diego Padres chairman Peter Seidler, sued two of his brothers Monday in an attempt to become the team's control person.

In a complaint filed in Texas probate court, Sheel Seidler claims she and her three children have been "effectively ostracized" from the organization since Peter Seidler's death 14 months ago. The suit names Robert and Matthew Seidler as defendants, accusing the brothers of "fiduciary breaches of trust, fraud, conversion and egregious acts of self-dealing" in their roles as trustees and executors of Peter Seidler's estate.

The Padres announced Dec. 21 that Peter's oldest brother, John Seidler, would become the team's control person, which Sheel opposed and claims went against her late husband's wishes.

In a statement, Sheel called her complaint "a very last resort" to "protect my family and to continue to carry out Peter's legacy."

"[A]s the holder of the largest individual ownership stake in the San Diego Padres, and the sole beneficiary of the Seidler Trusts, which possesses exclusive rights with respect to control of the franchise, I am seeking to be named the control person for the Padres," Sheel Seidler wrote as part of her statement.

A spokesperson for the Padres declined to comment, citing the team's stance regarding pending legal matters. Representatives for Robert and Matthew Seidler could not immediately be reached for comment. A Major League Baseball official also declined comment.

Peter Seidler, a two-time cancer survivor, died from complications of an infection on Nov. 14, 2023, leaving behind Sheel and their children, now ages 4, 9 and 11. Eric Kutsenda, a longtime friend and business partner, was named interim control person before essentially turning responsibilities over to John Seidler 13 months later.

Sheel Seidler's complaint claims assurances from Peter's brothers that they would act for the benefit of Sheel and the children have "shown to be hollow" in the wake of his death.

Matthew and Robert Seidler "not only disregarded the clear terms and purpose of the will and trust instrument that Peter created, but they also have intentionally schemed to take for themselves the estate and Seidler trusts' value rights and assets," the complaint states. "They have done so by misleading Sheel, engaging in conflicted transactions and egregious acts of self-dealing, and when Sheel began expressing concern and questioning their actions, they responded by demeaning and attempting to intimidate her -- including by using trust assets to pay lawyers to threaten her into submission and silence."

"They are trying to erase Peter's vision and legacy," another part of the complaint reads, "as well as falsely cast themselves as Peter's true heirs."

Under Peter Seidler, the Padres became a financial juggernaut, signing and retaining stars and placing themselves alongside big spenders such as the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fans rallied around the team, setting attendance records at Petco Park.

Peter Seidler, grandson of prominent former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, was part of a group that purchased the Padres in 2012 and assumed the role as chairman eight years later, becoming the organization's largest stakeholder. The pinnacle of Peter's ownership tenure arrived in October 2022 when the Padres defeated the rival Dodgers -- once deemed by Peter as "the dragon up the freeway that we're trying to slay" -- in the National League Division Series, before being eliminated the following round.

In the first offseason after Seidler's death, the Padres, who by that point had lost their local media contract through Diamond Sports Group's bankruptcy proceedings, decreased payroll by about one-third.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller nonetheless fielded a competitive team in 2024 that won 93 games, made the playoffs for the third time in five years and almost defeated the Dodgers in the NLDS once again.

Seidler often expressed his hope to bring San Diego, a city that lost its NFL team, its first championship. Sheel Seidler believes she is the person to help bring that dream to fruition.

"While the children and I feel Peter's absence every day, our collective devotion to this team is stronger than ever," Sheel Seidler wrote. "Peter and I always planned, one day, to leave the team to the children. That remains my steadfast commitment. In the meantime, it is my intention to build upon the many recent successes, investing in both the short-term and long-term future of the franchise, and ensuring our dream of multiple championships is fulfilled."

John Seidler's appointment as control person is still pending the approval of three-quarters of MLB's owners. A vote hasn't been scheduled but could take place as early as the upcoming owners meetings in February.

Sheel Seidler's complaint alleges that she and her three children are not welcomed at the ownership suite during games and that Robert and Matthew Seidler have gone as far as to "inform Padres employees that Sheel is not an owner of the team, and that her presence and input are not welcome in interacting with free agents and current players."

Sheel Seidler also claims to have been excluded from charitable events meant to mark Peter Seidler's legacy.

The complaint includes what is said to be a handwritten note from Peter Seidler listing the priorities for control person in the event of his death, with Sheel and the children at the top.

Sheel Seidler and the children own approximately one-quarter of the Padres, fulfilling MLB's requirement of at least a 15% stake to qualify as a control person. But Matthew and Robert Seidler have "frozen Sheel out," according to the complaint, and "deprived her of the benefits of being the largest beneficial owner of the baseball team, while themselves enjoying the benefits."

The New York Rangers claimed winger Arthur Kaliyev off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, giving the struggling team a low-cost, low-risk young player to fill the void left by trading Kaapo Kakko to Seattle last month.

Kaliyev, 23, has yet to play in the NHL this season after breaking a clavicle during training camp in September. The Kings put Kaliyev on waivers Sunday when they activated forwards Trevor Lewis and Trevor Moore off injured reserve.

The Kings posted, "Good luck in the Big Apple, Arty!" on social media after Rangers general manager Chris Drury announced the claim of Kaliyev, who completed a five-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League's Ontario Reign from Dec. 15-27. To send Kaliyev to the AHL again, the Kings needed to expose him to waivers.

The Rangers were seventh in the waiver priority list nearly midway through a disappointing season that has included them losing 16 of their past 22 games to go from solidly in a playoff position to tied with the Islanders for last place in the Metropolitan Division.

Kaliyev, who was born in Uzbekistan and grew up in the U.S. after his family moved to Staten Island when he was 2 and Michigan when he was 13, makes just over the league-minimum salary at $825,000. He is a pending restricted free agent, and the Rangers have his rights for next season and beyond because of his age if they choose to retain him.

A second-round pick in 2019, Kaliyev has 35 goals and 36 assists for 71 points in 197 NHL regular-season and playoff games. He has experience on the power play and figures to play on New York's second, third or fourth line.

To make room for Kaliyev on the roster, enforcer Matt Rempe was sent back to Hartford of the AHL. Rempe still has one game left on his suspension for elbowing Dallas' Miro Heiskanen whenever he is back in the NHL after already serving the first seven.

Mayor of San Pedro Sula Roberto Contreras confirmed on Monday that Inter Miami CF will travel to Honduras to face C.D. Olimpia in a friendly on Feb. 8 at the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano.

"On Saturday, February 8, Olimpia against Leo Messi's Inter Miami confirmed," Contreras said in a social media post. "We are going to have a great sporting spectacle at the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano. Buy your tickets now...The city of San Pedro Sula welcomes Leo Messi and Inter Miami to play against Olimpia."

Contreras said the reason the game will be hosted by San Pedro Sula instead of the country's capital of Tegucigalpa is due to the international airport and security measures put in place at the stadium to properly welcome Inter Miami to Honduras.

"The game cannot be in Tegucigalpa because they do not have an international airport and San Pedro Sula does have one, so we are coordinating everything that is security, the arrival of their plane to have a separate hangar and also the other part is the security in the stadium, where the press conferences are going to be held," the mayor of San Pedro Sula said.

Contreras urged fans to reserve flights to San Pedro Sula and buy tickets quickly, as he expects demand to watch "the world's greatest player" will be high.

Inter Miami will kick off the 2025 preseason on Jan. 18 when facing Liga MX team Club América at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team will then travel to Honduras to face C.D. Olimpia, before confronting Orlando City on Feb. 14 at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

New head coach Javier Mascherano is set to make his managerial debut against Club América.

Though the 2025 Major League Soccer season begins for Inter Miami on Feb. 22 when hosting New York City FC at Chase Stadium, the team will play its first competitive match of the year days prior on Feb. 18 against Sporting Kansas City in the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Inter Miami made history in 2024 when lifting the 2024 Supporters' Shield and setting the league record for most points in a single season before facing elimination in the first round of MLS playoffs against Atlanta United.

HENDERSON, Nev. -- Antonio Pierce is operating as if he will remain the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after a 4-13 season, though he had yet to meet with team owner Mark Davis and general manager Tom Telesco when he addressed the media in his end-of-season news conference Monday.

"I haven't been told anything different," said Pierce, who was wearing a throwback Raiders Starter jacket at the podium.

Asked if he'd like his status "cleared up," Pierce shrugged.

"It's only coming from the outside," he said of swirling speculation. "It's not inside the building. To me there's nothing to clean up until I hear from inside the building."

As such, Pierce said he did not anticipate making any changes to his staff in the wake of the team's fewest wins since 2018. It was also the first time the Raiders were winless against AFC West opponents since 2006.

The Raiders endured a 10-game losing streak, their longest in-season losing skid since they began the 2014 season 0-10 and had the NFL's worst rushing attack. Las Vegas did, however, have the league's No. 10 total defense entering the season finale, a 34-20 loss to the playoff-bound Los Angeles Chargers.

Raiders players credited Pierce for keeping them focused during a trying season.

"Shout out to AP because he kept the guys motivated, even when you're losing so many in a row," said receiver Jakobi Meyers, who had his first career 1,000-yard receiving season.

"That's hard as a professional. That's hard as a competitor, in general. AP just did a great job in keeping us going and understanding what the goal is at the end of the day."

Rookie Brock Bowers, whose 112 catches were the third-most by a tight end in NFL history, echoed Meyers' stance.

"I really liked AP as a coach," said Bowers, who was also selected for the Pro Bowl.

"I know decisions are made and it's up to certain people and not us, so I don't have any control over that. But I really liked playing for him and I thought he was a great coach."

Added quarterback Aidan O'Connell: "He did a great job of [motivating], tried to speak to the guys that wanted to continue to fight.

"Guys continued to show up to work and do the right things and just tried to chip away."

Pierce said he should have gone with his "gut" more this season and intimated he regretted not going with O'Connell at quarterback over Gardner Minshew to start the season.

"We've got to get better players," Pierce said. "We've got to coach better. You've got to do a lot of things better when you only win four games."

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson sustained a season-ending knee injury in Sunday's loss to the Chicago Bears, coach Matt LaFleur said Monday.

LaFleur didn't get into the specific nature of Watson's injury, but a source told ESPN that initial tests showed the receiver has a torn ACL.

The source said that Watson was expected to undergo more tests to determine what other damage, if any, there is to his right knee and that no decision has been made on when or where Watson will have surgery.

NFL Network reported that there was believed to be more damage than just Watson's ACL.

"It's not good," LaFleur said Monday.

Watson was coming off a bruised left knee that forced him to miss the previous week's game at Minnesota. It's unclear whether that had any impact on the injury to his right knee. It was a noncontact play in which the ball went to Dontayvion Wicks across the field. Watson needed help getting off the field and was carted to the locker room.

"That's a tough one," quarterback Jordan Love said Sunday. "Obviously I'm not sure the exact circumstances, but just seeing it on the field, him going down noncontact like that, it's tough. It's really tough, especially Christian trying to bounce back from what he's been dealing with and to be able to go out there and have that happen, it's tough. I feel for Christian."

Watson, a third-year pro who played in all but two games this season, led the Packers with a 21.4-yard average per catch. He caught 29 passes for 620 yards and two touchdowns and was the team's best deep-threat receiver.

The timing of his injury not only wiped him out of the playoffs, which the Packers begin Sunday at the Philadelphia Eagles, but also means he's likely to miss a large portion of next season, when he will be in the final year of his rookie contract.

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving has a bulging disk in his back and is expected to miss at least one to two weeks, sources told ESPN.

There is optimism that treatment over the coming days will provide a return-to-play target date, sources said.

The Mavs announced Sunday that Irving would miss Monday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a lumbar sprain in his back. He did not join the team on the road trip, remaining in Dallas to be reevaluated, sources said.

Irving did not play in Friday's home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, when he was ruled out hours before tipoff with an illness.

Dallas is already down one superstar, as guard Luka Doncic has been out since suffering a strained left calf during the Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Doncic, who was seen using a scooter to move around at the arena Friday night, is expected to be reevaluated in the final week of January.

The Mavs, who also dealt with suspensions to forwards Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington stemming from a Dec. 27 altercation with Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic, have lost four consecutive games entering Monday night. Dallas (20-15), the defending Western Conference champion, is 0-3 when missing both Doncic and Irving this season.

Irving, 32, has performed at an All-Star level in his 14th NBA season, averaging 24.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 49.0% from the floor and a career-best 44.1% from 3-point range.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- After some uncertainty, the Tampa Bay Rays now support a $55.7 million city plan to repair hurricane-shredded Tropicana Field in time for the 2026 season opener, while the team prepares to play this year at the New York Yankees' spring training home in nearby Tampa.

Matt Silverman, the Rays' co-president, said in an email to the St. Petersburg chief administrator that the team wants to "clear up" any questions about its support for the reconstruction. The city must pay for the work under its current contract with the Rays.

"While we had been open to considering a scenario in which the city bought out of its obligation to rebuild the ballpark, the Rays support and expect the city to rebuild Tropicana Field in accordance with the terms of the current use agreement," Silverman wrote.

Hurricane Milton tore the Trop's fabric roof to pieces when it came ashore Oct. 9, causing water and other damage to interior parts of the now-exposed ballpark. Work has been ongoing to ensure no further damage is caused by weather but there had been questions about the full repair in part because it would eventually be torn down to make way for a new, $1.3 billion ballpark under current plans to keep the Rays in St. Petersburg another 30 years.

Time is of the essence, Silverman said in his Dec. 30 email to the city, which released it Monday. Even a partial 2026 season at Tropicana Field "would present massive logistical and revenue challenges for the team," he wrote.

"It is therefore critical that the rebuild start in earnest as soon as possible" with a realistic construction schedule to be ready by Opening Day 2026, he added.

The city had no immediate comment on the email. Its own architect presented the repair proposal initially Dec. 12 but it has not yet been fully approved. Members of the city council have balked at the cost, especially with residents and businesses still recovering from Milton and Hurricane Helene before that.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has said that insurance and Federal Emergency Management Agency funds should cover the bulk of the cost. Silverman said Major League Baseball has told the team it will hire its own adviser to monitor the repair work and timeline.

The planned new downtown Rays ballpark is part of a $6.5 billion project that will include affordable housing, a Black history museum, retail and office space, restaurants and bars. The project is known as the Historic Gas Plant District, which was once a thriving Black community displaced by the construction of the ballpark and an interstate highway.

The Rays are preparing to play 2025 home games at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees' 11,000-seat spring training location in Tampa. Once Tropicana Field is repaired, Silverman acknowledged the Rays are obligated to play there three more seasons under the contract with St. Petersburg.

"We look forward to a grand reopening," Silverman said.

NEW YORK -- David Wright's No. 5 will be retired by the New York Mets before a July 19 game against Cincinnati, the team said Monday.

Wright's number will be the 10th retired by the Mets, the sixth since Steve Cohen bought the team ahead of the 2021 season. Wright also will enter the team's Hall of Fame, joining Tom Seaver as the only Mets players to receive both honors on the same day.

A seven-time All-Star, Wight hit .296 with 242 homers, 970 RBIs and 196 stolen bases from 2004 to 2018, his career cut short by neck, back and shoulder injuries that required surgery.

Wright, who turns 42 on Dec. 20, became the Mets' fourth captain in 2013 after Keith Hernandez (1987-89), Gary Carter (1988-89) and John Franco (2001-04).

"David Wright personified class on and off the field," Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. "David is the definition of a Met."

New York previously retired No. 14 (Gil Hodges, 1973), No. 16 (Dwight Gooden, 2024), No. 17 (Hernandez, 2022), No. 18 (Darryl Strawberry, 2024), No. 24 (Willie Mays, 2022), No. 31 (Mike Piazza, 2016), No. 36 (Jerry Koosman, 2021), No. 37 (Casey Stengel, 1965) and No. 41 (Seaver, 1988). In addition, Jackie Robinson's No. 42 was retired throughout Major League Baseball in 1997.