Naithan George, the top available point guard in the NCAA transfer portal, has committed to Syracuse, he told ESPN on Friday.

"They told me I'm the main target, the only target," George said. "They were the main ones calling me every day, the head coach, assistants, players. I love Syracuse, the history they have. It's a winning program. We're going to bring them back to the NCAA tournament and go on a run there."

George, who led the ACC in assists at Georgia Tech this season, says he picked the Orange from a long list of schools that included North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Stanford. He averaged 12.3 points, 6.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Born and raised in Toronto, the 6-foot-3 point guard said the proximity to home played a role in his decision, as his family will be able to drive to watch him play.

The Orange have a significant need at his position, with starting point guard Jaquan Carlos graduating.

"They need someone to come in and run the show," George said. "They are returning some great pieces and bringing in new ones. We're going to have shooters everywhere."

This is the third portal commitment coach Red Autry has reeled in this cycle, along with UCLA center William Kyle and Oregon State wing Nate Kingz. Autry also retained his top two scorers in wing J.J. Starling and power forward Donnie Freeman.

Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.

SAN ANTONIO -- Duke reserve forward Maliq Brown said he's ready for a bigger role in the Final Four this weekend after a shoulder injury significantly cut his playing time him in the Blue Devils' games last weekend.

Brown missed four games -- two in the NCAA tournament after two in the ACC tournament -- in the wake of his second left shoulder dislocation. That injury occurred in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament against Georgia Tech. His earlier shoulder injury came Feb. 17 against Virginia.

Duke's plan heading into the Sweet 16 against Arizona was to use Brown only if the game necessitated it. When Duke's front line got into foul trouble, he played four minutes against Arizona and then three minutes in the Blue Devils' dominant win in the Elite Eight against Alabama.

Brown said Friday that he's faring better after a full week of practice and a focus on more live reps from the medical staff. He's said he's ready to return to close to his old role, in which he averaged more than 15 minutes per game.

"So I would definitely say it's a different perspective [from last week]," Brown told ESPN. "I'm not sure of my percentage, but to be honest, I feel good, compared to last week I feel better."

Brown acknowledged that he's not 100 percent. He admitted to being inhibited and thinking about contact last weekend.

"It was definitely a thought -- just a thought," Brown said. "Obviously just going back from a second injury like that so quick. Definitely a thought that was going on my head the first couple days, but I feel like once the first day I got up there, I think it was deflection or something and then I was just locked in.

"Not trying to think about my injury or anything, just trying to keep the team on the same page and just go out there and get that win."

Brown is a 6-foot-9, 222-pound forward whose value to the team belies his modest stats -- 2.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He's a key defensive chess piece for Duke, as his ability to switch, guard multiple positions and deflect passes makes him a disruptive force and a pivotal role player.

He plays an average of 15.8 minutes per game, a number that's watered down because of a handful of injury-shortened performances. He played 29 minutes against Louisville, 25 minutes in Duke's win against Auburn in December and 24 minutes at Arizona.

Brown transferred to Duke this year from Syracuse, sacrificing more minutes and touches for more wins. That includes a chance to play a key role in the Final Four.

"I've been enjoying moment ever since I got here in the summer," Brown said. "Everything that I pretty much thought was going to happen, other than the injuries, [has happened].

"I've been enjoying the moment since I've been here. It's definitely a dream come true from high school, just wanting to obviously put on a Duke uniform."

BOULDER, Colo. -- A horde of NFL talent evaluators headed to the mountains Friday for the Colorado Showcase, where Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter was one of the big draws.

However, it was a limited look as Hunter took part only to run routes as a receiver for quarterback Shedeur Sanders' throwing session.

Hunter, who is expected to be a top-five selection in this year's draft and is the No. 1 player on Mel Kiper Jr.'s Big Board, was not seen when players' heights and weights were taken or for the jumps and 40-yard dash. He was initially not expected to participate in any on-field work before joining the throwing session.

Hunter did not work out at the NFL scouting combine or Big 12 pro day but did meet with teams in Indianapolis. Sanders, one of the top quarterbacks on the board and Kiper's No. 5 player overall, also did not work out at the combine.

Sanders' brother, Colorado safety Shilo Sanders, measured in at 5-foot-11, 196 pounds Friday, but he did not participate in the jumps or bench press that opened the workout, citing a right shoulder injury.

The highly attended event -- by scouts, coaches and personnel executives as well as fans packing small bleachers -- had a festive atmosphere. Colorado coach Deion Sanders named it the "We Ain't Hard 2 Find Showcase," complete with a large lighted "Showcase" sign next to the drills.

Hunter, who has said he wants to play offense and defense in the NFL, won the Chuck Bednarik (top defensive player) and Fred Biletnikoff (top receiver) awards in addition to the Heisman. He said whether he will primarily be a wide receiver or cornerback in the NFL depends "on the team that picks me."

He had 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns as a receiver last season to go with 35 tackles, 11 pass breakups and 4 interceptions at cornerback. In the Buffaloes' regular-season finale against Oklahoma State, he became the only FBS player in the past 25 years with three scrimmage touchdowns on offense and an interception in the same game, according to ESPN Research.

Hunter played 1,380 total snaps in Colorado's 12 regular-season games: 670 on offense, 686 on defense and 24 on special teams. He played 1,007 total snaps in 2023.

With all NFL eyes on the Colorado campus to see Sanders throw, one player who made the most of it was wide receiver Will Sheppard, who was not invited to the combine. Sheppard, who measured in at 6-2, 196 pounds, ran his 40s in 4.56 and 4.54 to go with a 40-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-11 broad jump.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -= It looks like Dale Earnhardt Jr. has waved the red flag in a short-lived trademark dispute with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

The NASCAR legend announced Friday on social media that he has secured the right to use a stylized version of No. 8 and will abandon the original No. 8 logo used by Earnhardt's JR Motorsports. This decision came two days after Jackson filed an opposition claim with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to stop Earnhardt from putting that JR Motorsports version of No. 8 on merchandising.

"We are looking forward to the remainder of an already successful season," Earnhardt wrote on social media.

pic.twitter.com/uZWk8kPlcW

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) April 4, 2025

Jackson, who has worn No. 8 since his college days at Louisville, previously registered the trademark "ERA 8 by Lamar Jackson." His filing had argued Earnhardt's attempt to trademark that particular version of No. 8 would create confusion among consumers.

The trademark review for a challenge can take more than a year. If the U.S. Patent and Trademark appeal board would have denied Earnhardt, Jackson could have sued him if Earnhardt had used it for merchandising.

This isn't the first time that Jackson has tried to stop another athlete from filing a trademark on this number. In July, Jackson challenged Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman's attempt to use "EIGHT" on apparel and bags.

When asked about this dispute last summer, Jackson said, "We're going to keep this about football. That's outside noise. We're sticking with [talking about training] camp, football, and that's it."

At 1:54 ET on Saturday afternoon, New York Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay lit the fuse on what will be remembered as either one of the most metamorphic conversations in baseball history or one of its strangest.

During spring training, someone in the organization had mentioned to Kay that the team's analytics department had counseled players on where pitches tended to strike their bats, and with subsequent buy-in from some of the players, bats had been designed around that information. In the hours before the Yankees' home game against the Brewers that day, Kay told the YES Network production staff about this, alerting them so they could look for an opportunity to highlight the equipment.

After the Yankees clubbed four homers in the first inning, a camera zoomed in on Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s bat in the second inning. "You see the shape of Chisholm's bat..." Kay said on air. "It's got a big barrel on it," Paul O'Neill responded, before Kay went on to describe the analysis behind the bat shaped like a torpedo.

Chisholm singled to left field, and after Anthony Volpe worked the count against former teammate Nestor Cortes to a full count, Volpe belted a home run to right field using the same kind of bat. A reporter watching the game texted Kay: Didn't he hit the meat part of the bat you were talking about -- just inside where the label normally is?

Yep, Kay responded. Within an hour of Kay's commentary, the video of Chisholm's bat and Kay's exchange with O'Neill was posted on multiple platforms of social media, amplified over and over. What happened over the next 48 hours was what you get when you mix the power of social media and the desperation of a generation of beleaguered hitters. Batting averages are at a historic low, strikeout rates at a historic high, and on a sunny spring day in the Bronx, here were the Yankees blasting baseballs into the seats with what seemed to be a strangely shaped magic bat.

An oasis of offense had formed on the horizon, and hitters -- from big leaguers to Little Leaguers, including at least one member of Congress -- paddled toward it furiously. Acres of trees will be felled and shaped to feed the thirst for this new style of bats. Last weekend, one bat salesman asked his boss, "What the heck have we done?"

Jared Smith, CEO of bat-maker Victus, said, "I've been making bats for 15, 16 years. ... This is the most talked-about thing in the industry since I started. And I hope we can make better-performing bats that work for players."

According to Bobby Hillerich, the vice president of production at Hillerich & Bradsby, his company -- which is based in Louisville, Kentucky, and makes Louisville Slugger bats -- had produced 20 versions of the torpedo bat as of this past Saturday, and in less than a week, that number has tripled as players and teams continually call in their orders.

Said Yankees manager Aaron Boone: "It's taken on a life of its own."

MIAMI -- Ja Morant showed off an imaginary gun. The NBA hit back with a real fine.

A day after Morant again used his aiming-a-gun gesture to celebrate making 3-pointers, the Grizzlies' star was fined $75,000 by the league Friday. It's the second time this week that Morant -- who was suspended twice in 2023 for incidents with actual weapons -- heard from the league about mimicking the act of using a gun during a game.

The league called the gesture "inappropriate," adding that "Morant was previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light."

The first interaction with the league office resulted in that warning, after Morant and Golden State's Buddy Hield made the gesture at one another during a Grizzlies-Warriors game on Tuesday. The warning from the league office was evidently ignored, since Morant made similar gestures in Thursday's game.

The NBA said it happened twice, though it appeared to have happened after all three of his made 3-pointers. The third instance was not shown on the TNT broadcast of the game.

Morant and other members of the Grizzlies have used the gun gesture numerous times this season, including during Thursday night's game at Miami. Morant made a 3-pointer in the first quarter and then turned toward the Memphis bench with his left arm fully extended, his right thumb pointed in the air and his index and middle fingers pressed together.

The other gestures were similar, again directed toward Memphis teammates.

The two suspensions in 2023 cost Morant 33 games and about $8.3 million in salary. The first was an eight-game ban for the live streaming of a video in which he displayed a firearm while in an intoxicated state at a Denver-area nightclub.

The other was a 25-game ban after posing with a firearm in a car during another live-streamed video, when the league said Morant "wielded the firearm while knowing that he was being recorded and that the recording was being live streamed on Instagram Live, despite having made commitments to the NBA and public statements that he would not repeat the conduct for which he was previously disciplined."

Asked Thursday -- after he made a game-winning shot at the buzzer to lift Memphis over Miami -- about the criticism, Morant said he is "well aware" of what gets said about him.

"I'm kind of used to it," Morant said. "I was pretty much a villain for two years now. Every little thing, if somebody can say something negative about me, it's going to be out there. So, yeah. I don't care no more."

The Grizzlies next play Saturday at Detroit.

WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals right-hander Michael Soroka went on the 15-day injured list Friday with a strained biceps in his pitching arm after hurting himself in his first start with the club.

The 27-year-old Soroka left his start against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday with what he called "a feeling that shouldn't be there" after spiking a slider in the sixth inning.

Soroka gave up four runs and took the loss in Washington's 5-2 setback that day, part of a 1-5 start to the season for the Nationals entering Friday night's home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This is the latest in a long string of health issues for the pitcher, who finished second behind New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso in NL Rookie of the Year voting and sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting in 2019 with the Atlanta Braves.

Soroka tore his right Achilles tendon in 2020, then later injured the same tendon while walking into Atlanta's ballpark. He missed the entire regular season in 2021 and 2022.

After going 0-10 with a 4.74 ERA in 79 2/3 innings across 25 appearances for the Chicago White Sox last season, including nine starts, Soroka signed a one-year contract for $9 million with Washington.

To take Soroka's spot on the roster, Washington recalled right-hander Jackson Rutledge from Triple-A Rochester. Rutledge was a first-round pick in the 2019 amateur draft and began this season in Rochester's bullpen.

He made three appearances for the Nationals in 2024, including one start.

Baltimore Orioles All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson was activated from the 10-day injured list and will make his season debut on Friday night against the Kansas City Royals.

Henderson has been sidelined with a right intercostal strain and missed the first seven games of the big-league campaign.

The 23-year-old Henderson will lead off and play shortstop against the host Royals.

Henderson was injured during a spring training game on Feb. 27. He was fourth in American League MVP voting last season when he batted .281 and racked up career bests of 37 homers and 92 RBIs.

Henderson completed a five-game rehab stint at Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday. He batted .263 (5-for-19) with two homers and four RBIs and played four games at shortstop and one as the designated hitter. He did commit three errors.

"I think everybody's looking forward to having Gunnar back on the team," Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said on Thursday. "The rehab went really, really well. I talked to him a couple days ago, he feels great swinging the bat. The timing came, especially the last few days. He just had to get out there and get some reps defensively and get some games in, and it all went well."

Baltimore optioned outfielder Dylan Carlson to Triple-A Norfolk to open up a roster spot. The 26-year-old was 0-for-4 with a run and RBI in two games this season.

When New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns attempted to assemble the best possible roster for the 2025 season this winter, the top priority was signing outfielder Juan Soto. Next was the need to replenish the starting rotation and bolster the bullpen. Then, days before pitchers and catchers reported for spring training, the lineup received one final significant reinforcement when first baseman Pete Alonso re-signed.

Acquiring a player with a singing career on the side didn't make the cut.

"No, that is not on the list," Stearns said with a smile.

Stearns' decision not to re-sign Jose Iglesias, the infielder behind the mic for the viral 2024 Mets anthem "OMG," was attributed to creating more roster flexibility. But it also hammered home a reality: The scrappy 2024 Mets, authors of a magical summer in Queens, are a thing of the past. The 2025 Mets, who will report to Citi Field for their home opener Friday, have much of the same core but also some prominent new faces -- and the new, outsized expectations that come with falling two wins short of the World Series, then signing Soto to the richest contract in professional sports history.

But there's a question surrounding this year's team that you can't put a price tag on: Can these Mets rekindle the magic -- the vibes, the memes, the feel-good underdog story -- that seemed to come out of nowhere to help carry them to Game 6 of the National League Championship Series last season?

"Last year the culture was created," Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. "It's a matter of continuing it."

For all the success Stearns has engineered -- his small-market Milwaukee Brewers teams reached the postseason five times in eight seasons after he became the youngest general manager in history in 2015 -- the 40-year-old Harvard grad, like the rest of his front office peers knows there's no precise recipe for clubhouse chemistry. There is no culture projection system. No Vibes Above Replacement.

"Culture is very important," Stearns said last weekend in the visiting dugout at Daikin Park before his club completed an opening-weekend series against the Houston Astros. "Culture is also very difficult to predict."

Still, it seems the Mets' 2024 season will be all but impossible to recreate.

There was Grimace, the purple McDonald's blob who spontaneously became the franchise's unofficial mascot after throwing out a first pitch in June. "OMG," performed under Iglesias' stage name, Candelita, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin Digital Songs chart, before a remix featuring Pitbull was released in October. Citi Field became a karaoke bar whenever Lindor stepped into the batter's box with The Temptations' "My Girl" as his walk-up song. Alonso unveiled a lucky pumpkin in October. They were gimmicks that might have felt forced if they hadn't felt so right.

"I don't know if what we did last year could be replicated because it was such a chaos-filled group," Mets reliever Ryne Stanek said. "I don't know if that's replicable because there's just too many things going on. I don't know if that's a sustainable model. But I think the expectation of winning is really important. I think establishing what we did last year and coming into this year where people are like, 'Oh, no, that's what we're expecting to do,' makes it different. It's always a different vibe whenever you feel like you're the hunter versus being the hunted."

For the first two months last season, the Mets were terrible hunters. Lindor was relentlessly booed at Citi Field during another slow start. The bullpen got crushed. The losses piled up. The Mets began the season 0-5 and sunk to rock bottom on May 29 when reliever Jorge Lopez threw his glove into the stands during a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers that dropped the team to 22-33.

That night, the Mets held a players-only meeting. From there, perhaps coincidentally, everything changed. The Mets won the next day, and 67 of their final 107 games.

This year, to avoid an early malaise and to better incorporate new faces like Soto and Opening Day starter Clay Holmes, players made it a point to hold meetings during spring training to lay a strong foundation.

"At the end of the day, we know who we are and that's the beauty of our club," Alonso said. "Not just who we are talent-wise, but who each individual is as a man and a personality. For us, our major, major strength is our collective identity as a unit."

Organizationally, the Mets are attempting a dual-track makeover: Becoming perennial World Series contenders while not taking themselves too seriously.

The commemorative purple Grimace seat installed at Citi Field in September -- Section 302, Row 6, Seat 12 in right field -- remains there as part of a two-year contract. Last week, the franchise announced it will feature a New York-city themed "Five Borough" race at every home game -- with a different mascot competing to represent each borough. For a third straight season, USA Today readers voted Citi Field -- home of the rainbow cookie egg roll, among many other innovative treats -- as having the best ballpark food in baseball.

In the clubhouse, their identity is evolving.

"I'm very much in the camp that you can't force things," Mets starter Sean Manaea said. "I mean, you can, but you don't really end up with good results. And if you wait for things to happen organically, then sometimes it can take too long. So, there's like a nudging of sorts. It's like, 'Let's kind of come up with something, but not force it.' So there's a fine balance there and you just got to wait and see what happens."

Stearns believes it starts with what the Mets can control: bringing positive energy every day and fostering a family atmosphere. It's hard to quantify, but vibes undoubtedly helped fuel the Mets' 2024 success. It'll be a tough act to follow.

"It's fluid," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "I like where guys are at as far as the team chemistry goes and things like that and the connections and the relationships. But it'll continue to take some time. And winning helps, clearly."

Leinster have recalled a host of Ireland internationals for Saturday's Investec Champions Cup last-16 game against Harlequins, who welcome back captain Alex Dombrandt.

While a neck issue has prevented hooker Ronan Kelleher from making the Croke Park contest, Leinster boss Leo Cullen is able to call upon Dan Sheehan with Gus McCarthy on the bench.

Leinster's returning Ireland players are led by captain Caelan Doris, with Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park, Andrew Porter and Josh van der Flier also among those set to feature for the first time since the Six Nations.

The Irish province's bench contains prop Tadhg Furlong, who returned from injury for Ireland against Italy last month, and New Zealand international Jordie Barrett.

Dombrandt's return at number eight is one of six changes Harlequins boss Danny Wilson has made following last weekend's Premiership loss to Bath.

Joining the England international in the back row is Will Evans, while Dombrandt's inclusion means Chandler Cunningham-South switches to the second row alongside Joe Launchbury.

Leigh Halfpenny starts at full-back for the injured Rodrigo Isgro and Ben Waghorn returns to partner Oscar Beard in midfield.

Leinster: Keenan; Osborne, Ringrose, Henshaw, James Lowe; Prendergast, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Slimani; McCarthy, RG Snyman; Conan, Van der Flier, Doris (capt)

Replacements: McCarthy, Boyle, Furlong, Baird, Deegan McGrath, Byrne, Barrett.

Harlequins: Halfpenny; Green, Beard, Waghorn, David; Smith, Porter; Baxter, Walker, Lamositele; Launchbury, Cunningham-South; Kenningham, Evans, Dombrandt (capt).

Replacements: Riley, Jones, Kerrod, Herbst, Hammond, Care, Benson, Northmore.