THE CHAMPIONS!

We are back this week with some UEFA Champions League matches as the first teams can qualify for the round of 16 via the knockout round playoffs.

In our games kicking off simultaneously, Internazionale were looking to turn around a 3-1 deficit as they hosted Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt at the San Siro. However, the side from the Arctic Circle will leave Italy victorious and with a ticket to the next round after their 2-1 win.

Elsewhere, Newcastle United booked their spot into the round of 16 by eliminating Qarabag and finally, Bayer Leverkusen have also booked their spot in the next round after eliminating Olympiacos.

Enjoy all the updates from Tuesday’s matches.

PHILADELPHIA — Coach Nick Sirianni indicated there was mutual interest between receiver A.J. Brown and the team in continuing his career with the Eagles, but neither he nor general manager Howie Roseman committed to Brown suiting up for them next season.

“Yeah, my expectation is he wants to be here. And obviously you want good players like that in your building,” Sirianni said during a session with local media in front of the combine.

“As Howie said, it’s hard to get good players in this league. A.J.’s a great player and A.J. is a good teammate and A.J. is a good person. Does he want to be here? Yes. Do I want him to be here? Yes.”

When asked directly if Brown will be here next season, Sirianni’s response was not as straightforward.

“Will A.J. be here next season? I think we’re still in a spot, like, I can’t guarantee how anything is going to play out into next season. I’m thinking I’m going to be the coach next season but you can’t guarantee anything past tomorrow,” he said.

Brown has been the subject of trade speculation this offseason following a 2025 campaign in which he openly expressed his frustration with the offensive operation.

Brown, though, called Philadelphia “home” and said he was “fortunate” to be one of the leaders on the Eagles offense during an appearance on Micah Parson’s podcast during Super Bowl week, adding that he was excited about some of the coaching staff changes.

Roseman, meanwhile, reiterated his stance that it is “really hard to find great players” like Brown.

“From my perspective, we’re looking to improve in all areas and you don’t do that by subtracting,” he said.

But Roseman indicated they would entertain trade offers for him, speaking to a broader operational philosophy.

“I think you go into the league year listening to offers for everything and anything,” he said. “If someone is going to give you something you didn’t anticipate and you won’t even have the conversation, I don’t think you’re necessarily doing your job or really servicing the team you’re with.

“You never know what someone is willing to do. Certainly, we’ve been in situations where there were guys we didn’t anticipate trading that we got an offer that was too good, and then you balance it with what you can get there.

“Without getting into specifics on any player, we’re always listening and we’re always kind of open. There’s very few things that I would shoot down without even hearing what that means, because how does it hurt to listen?”

Brown, 28, has arguably been the best receiver in Eagles history, posting two 1,400-yard seasons while helping the team to a pair of Super Bowl appearances in four years. He had 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

The Eagles would absorb a dead-cap hit of over $40 million if they deal Brown prior to June 1, compared to less than $20 million in dead cap if a trade is consummated after that date. The team acquiring Brown would be responsible for his $29 million salary in 2026 and around $4 million in guaranteed money in 2027, per the Roster Management System.

A decade ago, during the 2015 postseason, the Kansas City Royals were marching toward a championship when one of their advance scouts noticed a pitcher’s tip from an upcoming playoff opponent. He couldn’t get that information to Royals hitters fast enough.

“A pitcher was using a black glove and our advance scout picked up light reflecting off that glove,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo recalled recently. “The deal was this: If you see the light reflecting off the glove, it’s his breaking ball. If you don’t see any light, it’s his fastball. Because it’s how he turned his glove at the right angle.

“We scored a bunch of runs because of it.”

In the years since, pitch tipping has become even more prominent in the game. It often seemed to be the story of the 2025 MLB playoffs, coming up in series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, and the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.

The issue came to a head in the World Series when Blue Jays and Dodgers base coaches were asked to stop wandering so far out of the box — perhaps to gain better viewing angles on the pitcher’s hands and gloves while looking to help their hitters in any way possible.

That warning in the 2025 World Series carried over to this season as MLB is enforcing a new rule requiring the base coaches to stay in their box before the pitch is thrown. It’s a good indication of how much time and energy teams are devoting to this issue, combining their staffing with advanced technology in an attempt to pick up the slightest patterns — from their opponents and own pitchers alike..

“There is a lot of paranoia about what the base coaches are doing,” Athletics GM David Forst said. “This is one of the instances where reality is perception.”

What front offices care about even more is making sure their own pitchers don’t tip. Tips can come in so many forms, with many involving the position of a pitcher’s glove and what he’s doing with his fingers. But there are countless ways to tip a pitch.

“One guy, you can tell by his mouth, whether it was open or closed,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Open was one kind of pitch. Closed was another. Sometimes it’s pretty obvious. Everyone can see it.”

ESPN set out to find out what teams are saying about pitch tipping — and how big a deal it is in this era of baseball.

“It’s a big part of the game,” Giants GM Zack Minasian said. “It’s not illegal. If you can see the grip, it’s fair game. It’s not policed like it was 20 years ago. Back then, you might get one high and tight to send a message.”

How much does pitch tipping matter?

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer: “We had a pitcher last year whose foot was straight when he was going to the plate and had it turned just that much when he was going to first base. So they could just run whenever they wanted. It’s frustrating. We can’t do that.”

Angels GM Perry Minasian: “I’ve seen teams have pitches and not score any runs. It’s still hard to hit. In Texas, we felt like we had Randy Johnson’s pitches, and we were all excited — then we look up and there’s a lot of zeros on the scoreboard.”

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young: “A former teammate told me I was tipping, but I threw seven shutout [innings] that night. … I got lucky that day, though I can’t remember how I was tipping.”

Perry Minasian: “All 30 of us are worried about all those things. You don’t want to give any opponent an advantage. The margins are so slim, the smallest advantage can tip the scales.”

What are your favorite anecdotes about pitch tipping?

Reds manager Terry Francona: “I wasn’t very good at it, but I knew when they were throwing over to first. I can’t tell you why. … There is so much video now. We want to make it as hard as possible.”

White Sox pitcher Sean Newcomb: “Mine was how fast I was chewing gum. I’d chew aggressively on a fastball then stop on breaking balls. Never knew it was an issue until a teammate told me.”

Padres manager Craig Stammen: “The Dodgers were always on top of that stuff. When they had a runner on second base, I spiked my curveball. I couldn’t hide my glove any better. So every pitch I had, I would try to spike it just to throw them off the scent a little bit. … We are going to spend time on it for sure.”

Zack Minasian: “When I was bat boy, a player would give me a tip to give to the first-base coach to tell the baserunner who then would relay it to the hitter. I was part of the game. That might have happened a couple times. I think I can tell that now.”

Giants manager Tony Vitello: “It was incredibly prevalent in college. SEC is big money. You start trickling down, some teams don’t have the manpower or the video power to dive into as much. The top teams are doing it.

“Guys [in MLB] let runners advance so they’re not on second base. When the game was on in the locker room in college and we saw that, we thought that was pretty wild. That wasn’t happening in college.”

How much of your day is spent on pitch tipping — either preventing your own pitchers’ or finding your opponents’?

Young: “We have a review process independent of outcome. Oftentimes they think they were tipping and we go look and it’s like, ‘No, you were throwing it down the middle.’ It’s a big part of modern-day baseball. It’s as much about prevention than finding out the other team’s tips.”

Forst: “It’s only natural, if the results are bad, you’ll dive more into it.”

Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen: “We spend a lot of time on the defensive pitch tipping with our pitchers. It’s a part of almost all our internal conversations, in one-on-ones with our pitchers. We have staff watching all the time. We’re not sure after a bad game how much is pitch tipping after a bad outing. We try to cross-check that with the other teams sometimes because making changes off of things that aren’t real can also lead you down a bad road.”

Newcomb: “It’s something you bake into your routine. What you do with your glove. What you do with your body. Pitch grips. It starts with playing catch every day so you are worrying about it on start day.

Picollo: “It’s a relentless pursuit. Some teams are better than others at it. We beefed up our efforts after 2023. We have multiple people on our staff, behind the scenes, info from our hitters. It’s an advantage. We can’t turn a blind eye to it.”

Schaeffer: “It needs to be a big part. In the past, it hasn’t been a huge part. This was a high focus in the offseason, bringing people in for this. All it takes is for one team to have a tip on one reliever in one inning and that’s the game. If our guys have a tip, we need to clean it up. It’s going to be a huge focus.”

With less than 45 days until the Final Four, men’s college basketball fans were given a preview of potential national semifinal matchups in Indianapolis.

The top four teams in the latest AP poll headlined a loaded Saturday slate, with No. 3 Duke taking down No. 1 Michigan, and No. 4 Arizona taking down No. 2 Houston. It was the first time the Nos. 1 and 2 teams lost on the same day since Feb. 8, 2025.

What did the results teach us about each contender? And how should all four be ranked coming out of the day? ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf break it down.

How would you rank Michigan, Houston, Duke and Arizona after Saturday’s results?

Jeff Borzello

1. Duke: Can I really put any other team at the top? Duke just beat Michigan on a neutral court, and proved it doesn’t need the most explosive offense in the country to beat an elite team. The Blue Devils have just two losses all season: by one to Texas Tech in a game they led by 17, and by three to North Carolina in a game they led by 13. Saturday showed they can close against a high-level opponent.

2. Arizona: Tommy Lloyd’s team has an incredible set of wins, adding the victory at Houston to a group that already included victories at UConn, over Florida in Las Vegas and over Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It was one of the more gritty, tough-minded wins we’ve seen from any team all season. No Koa Peat, no Dwayne Aristode and a less-than-100% Brayden Burries with Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka in foul trouble. That they were able to get a win shows this team has a certain level of toughness past Arizona teams haven’t quite possessed.

3. Michigan: The Wolverines are still arguably the favorites to win the national championship, despite the loss. The fact they were right in the game in the final minute despite getting dominated in the paint and missing a dozen open 3s is evidence of their ability. But they were certainly knocked off their pedestal, and questions will be raised about where they go for offense late in games.

4. Houston: A two-loss week for the Cougars. What most concerns me after this stretch is how dependent they are on their defense forcing turnovers. When they can’t get easy points or put teams on the backfoot, they rely so heavily on the shotmaking of their guards. Their guards are elite, so it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker, but it’s worth monitoring. Iowa State and Arizona combined to turn the ball over just eight times against Houston, and allowed a combined three points off turnovers; the Cougars entered the week forcing nearly 15 turnovers per game and scoring 19 points off turnovers.

Myron Medcalf

1. Duke: The Blue Devils made the plays they had to make down the stretch of a close, incredible game — one that could set the stage for a rematch in March. They proved that they’re the best team in America right now. They are also led by the best player in the country with Cameron Boozer. Hard to make a case for anything but the top spot for them.

2. Michigan: The Wolverines stayed close throughout the loss to Duke until the 3s stopped falling and they couldn’t outduel the Blue Devils in those precious final minutes.

3. Arizona: Even though they were shorthanded without Koa Peat, the Wildcats were the better team against Houston. Jaden Bradley made big plays down the stretch that helped the Wildcats overcome another outing with limited impact from the 3-point line. But what really stood out was a defensive effort that fueled Houston’s drought of 10-plus minutes without a field goal in the second half.

4. Houston: The Cougars squandered two opportunities this week to prove that they belong with the other national title contenders on this list — if Iowa State was here, I’d put Houston after the Cyclones. The Cougars were up by double digits against Iowa State but fell apart in the final minutes. They also couldn’t find a shot for most of the second half in the loss to Arizona, ruining their second opportunity to make a strong case for a spot on the top line come Selection Sunday.

What we learned from Saturday’s results

What we learned about Duke

Duke is as good as any team in college basketball. While its record and ranking already reflected that, it hadn’t really yet been considered among the top of the national championship contenders this season. Michigan, Arizona, UConn (at times) and Houston (more recently) have all been in that conversation. Now, Duke is too, placing the Blue Devils squarely in the mix to earn the No. 1 overall seed on Selection Sunday.

If there was any doubt, Duke’s Cameron Boozer is the clear National Player of the Year favorite. Michigan senior Yaxel Lendeborg outscored the freshman in the first half, but Boozer put Duke’s offense on his back when it mattered. Boozer finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and he scored seven straight Duke points in the final minutes to give the Blue Devils the edge.

Saturday’s outing was about more than Boozer, though. Blue Devils guard Caleb Foster hit some big shots from the perimeter and took care of the ball. Patrick Ngongba II made an impact at both ends. Nikolas Khamenia gave Duke some really good minutes off the bench. Isaiah Evans didn’t shoot well, but the confidence he has on the offensive end didn’t waver.

Duke’s offense isn’t as explosive as that of other contenders. But when the defense plays like it did on Saturday, the Blue Devils don’t need to score 80 or 90 points. That’s what could separate them come March. — Borzello

What we learned about Michigan

Essentially all the ingredients that have made Michigan the most dominant team in college basketball this season — all the things that allowed the Wolverines to have a comfortable win at Purdue earlier this week — weren’t there on Saturday.

The biggest eyebrow raiser came up front. Michigan’s frontcourt has been unparalleled, with coach Dusty May relying on jumbo lineups to bully and overpower teams. On Saturday, the Wolverines struggled against an opposing frontcourt for maybe the first time all season. They entered the game averaging 41 paint points per game and had an average rebound margin of nearly 10 boards. Duke outscored the Wolverines 34-24 in the paint and outrebounded them 41-28. It was the first time this season Michigan was outrebounded by double digits.

Michigan might have been able to overcome its lack of production on the interior had it shot the way it did against the Boilermakers, against whom it went 13-for-23 from 3. But the Wolverines were just 6-for-25 from beyond the arc versus Duke, making only one 3-pointer from the 9:40 mark of the first half until the 3:50 left in the second. Elliot Cadeau, Trey McKenney, Nimari Burnett and L.J. Cason combined to hit two treys.

It’s not a loss that will truly impact their perception as the favorites to win the national championship — on another day, those open 3s fall, Aday Mara doesn’t get in foul trouble and so on — but what looked like a waltz to a national title has hit a bump in the road. — Borzello

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Arizona Wildcats vs. Houston Cougars: Game Highlights

Arizona Wildcats vs. Houston Cougars: Game Highlights

What we learned about Arizona

The Wildcats can still beat any team in America, and they proved as much in one of college basketball’s most hostile environments against one of its best teams.

Arizona had been nearly flawless until last week, suffering its first losses of the season at Kansas and then to Texas Tech. Despite that two-game slide, the Wildcats have been one of the nation’s most consistent contenders for four months. More importantly, they have excelled in the crucial moments that define a season, and proved that once again Saturday.

Arizona’s defense was excellent after halftime, when Houston struggled to score. The Cougars didn’t score for nearly eight minutes in the second half, their longest scoring drought of the season. Jaden Bradley made big shots down the stretch and finished with 17 points. Anthony Dell’Orso had 22 off the bench, and Ivan Kharchenkov added 16 points. The Wildcats shot 25% from beyond the arc Saturday and failed to extend the lead by more than 10 points. — Medcalf

What we learned about Houston

This was the type of battle Kelvin Sampson’s Houston teams seemed to enjoy, but the Cougars once again suffered a scoring drought that they couldn’t overcome.

Houston went scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the second half against Arizona. And though the Wildcats’ defense played a significant role in that drought, the Cougars can’t expect to cut down the nets in April if they can’t get a much-needed bucket. They were also outscored 21-9 in the last 11 minutes of their 70-67 loss at Iowa State on Monday.

Do they have the offensive output to trade punches with the best teams in America? The NCAA tournament is decided by playmakers and stars, and the Cougars have them, but their inability to overcome a pair of ugly stretches in back-to-back games is concerning. This week’s losses suggest that unless star freshman Kingston Flemings can create shots in clutch moments, they might be vulnerable to more droughts at the most critical juncture of the season. — Medcalf