LeBron James' injury comes at awful time for Lakers | NFL Combine predictions

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Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hope you're enjoying the last day of February.

Let's get right to it.

Good morning to everyone but especially to...

NFL FANS

Itching to get another look at the NFL stars of the future? Well, you're in luck, because it's NFL Combine week! Things officially kicked off Monday with team interviews -- which are being closely monitored this year -- for defensive linemen and linebackers and will progress throughout the week with on-field work beginning Thursday.

Per usual, the quarterbacks will be the headliners. Bryce Young won't throw.C.J. Stroud and Will Levis will. But perhaps the biggest mystery is Anthony Richardson, who will throw as well. An incredible athlete with an absolute rocket for an arm, Richardson has seen his odds to go first overall skyrocket from 80-1 to 6-1

in anticipation of what should be an impressive series of workouts (who will have that No. 1 pick remains a mystery).

Our Chris Trapasso has Richardson as the No. 3 quarterback in the class. You can see offensive position rankings hereand defensive position rankings

here

. The Combine is often as much about the big names as it is the little-known guys, though, and our Josh Edwards made his sleepers picks, including a player from... Princeton?!

Edwards: "Andrei Iosivas --A year ago, North Dakota State's Christian Watson was a draft darling as a player with great speed and a boundary receiver's frame. Iosivas is making a similar leap in competition level but has had quality production over the past two seasons (107 receptions for 1,646 yards and 12 touchdowns). The buzz has not built in the same manner as it did for Watson but teams will be captivated by his athletic frame and traits. "

We also have bold predictions from Chris here.

Honorable mentions

Lionel Messi won Best FIFA Men's Player.

Gus Bradleywill remain the Colts' defensive coordinator.

March Madness started early with Bellarmine beating North Florida on a last-second shot in the first round of the ASUN Tournament.

And not such a good morning for...

LeBRON JAMES AND THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS

One day after pulling off their biggest comeback in over two decades, the Lakers now fear that their biggest star won't be coming back any time soon. LeBron Jamescould miss an extended period of time with a foot injurythat occurred in Sunday's win over the Mavericks

. The injury happened in the third quarter, though James ended up finishing the game, scoring 26 points.

It's another down in a season that's been a mix of ups and downs. James broke the all-time scoring recordearlier this month, and the Lakers have been much-improved since the trade deadline, winning three straight. But...

Los Angeles is still outside the current playoff picture, meaning James is in danger of missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since his first two years in the NBA.

The Lakers are 36-62 overall when James is out.

This season, they have a +3.6 net efficiency with James on the court this year and a -6.6 net efficiency with him off the court. Essentially, they are similar to the Bucks when LeBron is on the court and worse than the Hornets

when he's not.

The Lakers only have 21 games left in the season, and the next five are crucial: Two games against the Grizzlies sandwiched between contests against current play-in teams Oklahoma City, Minnesota and Golden State. In short, this is a crushing blow, writes our Sam Quinn.

Not so honorable mentions

LaMelo Ball fractured his anklein the Hornets' win over the Pistons.

Jayson Tatum got ejected in the Celtics' loss to the

Knicks.

Dan Snyder's demands as he moves toward potentially selling the Commanders are frustrating other owners, who have reignited removal vote talks.

Jeff Bezos might get shut out of bidding for the Commanders.

MLB injuries:

Gavin Lux was carted off with a knee injury, Tyler Glasnow is dealing with an oblique issue, and Seiya Suzuki will miss the WBC with

his own oblique injury.

Can Oliver Marmol and C.B. Buckner just bury the hatchet about this whole handshake thing already?

What's next for Carson Wentz?

Another year, another new home -- but likely not another starting opportunity -- forCarson Wentz. TheCommandersreleased Wentz after one season with the team.The move saves Washington over $26 million in cap space.

Wentz finished in the bottom five in passer rating, touchdown-to-interception ratio and yards per attempt.

In Wentz's final start for Washington -- a Week 17 must-win game against the Browns -- he threw three interceptions and zero touchdowns in a loss.

Sam Howellthen started the final game and

is the Commanders' projected startermoving forward.

Washington was Wentz's third team in as many years. After starting his career with theEagles, Wentz was traded to theColtsin 2021, but his late-season meltdown led to Indianapolis sending him to Washington after a single season.

As I wrotenearly a year ago when the trade happened,"If Washington doesn't draft a quarterback and Wentz doesn't play at a high level,it's another lost year for a team that has experienced plenty of them."

The Commanders did draft a quarterback, but it wasn't until the fifth round (Howell), and he's no sure thing. So, Wentz indeed ended up being the biggest factor in yet another lost year for the struggling franchise.Who's surprised? Not me. Wentz, 30, is no longer a franchise quarterback, much less a starting-caliber one, buthe'll have a market as a backup/mentor/bridge quarterback, and our Tyler Sullivan hasseveral potential landing spots.

Marquette hits highest Top 25 ranking in 45 years, plus updated men's Bracketology

The Golden Eagles ofMarquetteare flying as high as they have in nearly a half-century.Shaka Smart's team issixth in the latest AP Poll, the program's highest rank since 1977-78.Houstonremained atop the poll, followed byAlabama, Kansas, UCLAandPurdue, the exact same top five as last week.

Marquette's four-spot jump from 10 to six tiedUConn(18 to 14) andSan Diego State(22 to 18) for the biggest jump of the week.

Kentucky-- winners of four straight -- is back in the poll at No. 23.

Here are theCoaches Polland our Gary Parrish's

Top 25 And 1.

As for Bracketology, Houston, Alabama, Kansas and Purdue remain one seeds, but there's little room for error. Looking at the bubble teams, it's a big week -- you can see my top games to watch here.

In some sad news, former Virginia men's basketball head coach Terry Holland-- who took the Cavaliers to two Final Fours --has died at the age of 80.

South Carolina posts perfect regular season, stays No. 1 in AP Poll

On the women's side, there's been very little drama atop the poll, and with good reason:No. 1 South Carolinafinished the regular season 29-0.

The Gamecocks areatop the AP Poll for the 36th consecutive time. That tiesLouisiana Tech(in 1981-82) for the second-longest streak ever.UConnwas No. 1 in 51 consecutive polls between 2008-10.

South Carolina has won 35 straight games dating back to last year.

It's South Carolina's first undefeated regular season.

Up next for Dawn Staley's team is the SEC Tournament, where the Gamecocks will take on the winner of Arkansas-Missouri on Friday. Unlike the national championship, South Carolina isn't the reigning SEC Tournament champion; Kentucky upset the Gamecocks with a late 3-pointer in last year's final.

What we're watching Tuesday

Clemson at No. 13 Virginia, 7 p.m. on ACC Network Iowa at No. 15 Indiana, 7 p.m. on ESPN2 Lakers at Grizzlies, 7:30 p.m. on TNT Arkansas at No. 12 Tennessee, 9 p.m. on ESPN2

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