CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The family of former North Carolina and NBA big man Eric Montross says he has begun treatment for cancer.

Montross' family issued a statement through the school on Saturday announcing the 51-year-old's diagnosis, though it didn't specify the nature of the cancer.

"We are all touched by the responses our entire family has received since the news became public," the family stated. "Your support is more than appreciated; it is welcomed as a necessary part of beating cancer one day at a time. Our family is dealing with Eric's diagnosis head-on - the only way we know how. And we are all in this fight together."

Montross is a radio analyst for UNC game broadcasts and works for the Rams Club, the fundraising arm of UNC's athletic department.

Montross was a two-time Associated Press second-team All-American with the Tar Heels. He was the starting center on the late Dean Smith's second NCAA championship squad in 1993.

Montross was selected ninth overall in the 1994 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. He also played for the Dallas Mavericks, the then-New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors during his eight-year NBA career.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

LOS ANGELES -- Lakers star LeBron James has been upgraded from out to doubtful for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bulls, the team announced Saturday.

James, sidelined the past 13 games since suffering a tendon injury in his right foot on Feb. 26, tweeted earlier this week that he was working out three times a day to prepare himself for a comeback.

L.A. has gone 8-5 in his absence, reaching .500 for the first time all season with a 116-111 win over Oklahoma City on Friday and climbing to No. 8 in the Western Conference standings.

James, 38, has been sidelined for 27 games this season -- tied for the most games he's missed in a season in his career because of injury.

"Progressing as normal," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said Friday when asked about James' rehabilitation process. "Just doing the work that needs to be done for him to get his foot all the way together."

Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young was ejected from Saturday's 143-130 win over the Indiana Pacers for heaving the ball at a referee in the middle of the third quarter.

Young had just been called for an offensive foul that led to a game-tying 3-pointer from Tyrese Haliburton, resulting in a timeout by Atlanta. A visibly frustrated Young first bounced the ball and then threw a two-handed hard pass at referee Scott Wall, who caught the ball.

Young was assessed his 15th technical foul of the season and ejected. One more technical foul would have Young facing an automatic one-game suspension.

"It's just a play he can't make," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said after the game. "I told him that. He knows it."

Snyder said Young acknowledged his mistake.

"There wasn't a single part of him that tried to rationalize what happened," Snyder said.

The Hawks managed to rally in Young's absence, and the win improves Atlanta to 37-37 on the season to keep hold of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

"We didn't allow it to turn into a negative," Hawks guard Dejounte Murray said of Young's ejection. "We turned it into a positive and got the win."

Young finished the game with 14 points and five assists in 21 minutes.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Collaboration with SportsShoes has paid dividends with events becoming more popular, regular and crucially engaging

An athletics event at a go-kart track, four levels underground below the main shopping centre at Canary Wharf, shouldn’t theoretically work.

Given the Epic Karting circuit in Docklands had an abundance of tight turns, the surface was designed for rubber tyres rather than shoes and the venue contained no natural light, the setting, was peculiar to say the least.

If you, however, add a swathe of marketing – from a myriad of photos to slick social media cutdowns – to create hype, invite one of London’s most prominent DJs and crucially award prize money – £1000 for first, £500 for second and £300 for third – for podium spots, it can definitely work.

At tonight’s @podium5k Underground event in Canary Wharf, there is live music all night ?

Making running really cool ? pic.twitter.com/EXBbWIRQBz

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 17, 2023

After covering the event last week (March 17), I got back home thinking it had.

The average age of those who attended almost certainly didn’t exceed 30. That wasn’t just the runners but those who flocked down to watch. Some might have not even known who was racing but with live music bouncing off the walls around the venue and a bar in the background, it didn’t matter.

People enjoyed themselves because the behind the scenes side of the event was as good as the action they watched.

That wasn’t to say the standard was bad. European Indoor 1500m silver medallist from 2021, Holly Archer, was the leading contender in the women’s race. She lost out to a superb Megan Davies in a close-run finish to the line.

Double British 3000m steeplechase champion Zak Seddon, coached by Geoff Wightman, claimed the plaudits in the men’s event.

“It was really cool. It sounded really loud with the music. There was so much noise and it was a really great atmosphere and it wasn’t like anything else I’ve seen,” Davies told AW.

“The event is completely different and I really enjoyed it. I hope so [if there are more events] and it’s changing the way the sport looks. It can be really easy to focus on times all the time so it’s really cool to come to an event where that’s not the importance.”

Seddon’s reflection of the spectacle was along the same lines.

“The atmosphere was unreal. Everyone I spoke to was just enjoying themselves and the sport,” he added. “That’s what’s so good about these events. You’re just running hard.

“It’s the time in the season where you’re not going after fast track times and just putting out a base. So to come out here and just really enjoy yourself, it’s perfect.”

“It’s really cool to do something where times are just not important.”

Megan Davies won the women’s final at last night’s @podium5k Underground event in Canary Wharf ?

She is full of praise for the innovative idea ?

?️ @TimAdams76 pic.twitter.com/wqtFsnrHPX

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 18, 2023

Other athletes I chatted to echoed the same message. This was different. In a good way.

The fact that it was an event where times were insignificant and the primary focus was to claim the highest prize money was a refreshing change, in a sport where the stopwatch can get far more attention than rivalries and storytelling.

Those who watched from the sidelines were allowed to move around different sections of the circuit and although the racing environment was surreal, the view by the start/finish line was excellent and you could see athletes meander their way through the course.

The distance of approximately 2.5km didn’t seem to be too strenuous while the format of heats to finals worked, although the quality of athletes in the heats differed drastically at times.

Above all though, the reaction on social media was mightily impressive.

Podium 5k focused on drawing in a raft of photographers, videographers and cinematographers to encapsulate not just the action but the wider event itself.

That kind of marketing, where buzz centred around the behind the scenes aspect, as well as athletes, is crucial for athletics to not just survive but thrive.

In their own unique way, Podium 5k have so far achieved that.

It wasn’t a surprise that the videos I took on our AW social media channels exceeded 170k views. To put that into perceptive, 250k people watched our videos on social media over three days at the European Indoor Championships.

“It was great fun, course had more grip than expected and the racing line became a key part of the race,” commented Ben Short, who competed in the event, on AW’s Instagram. “Brilliant spectator sport as can see the racers multiple times per lap and Podium 5k always know how to put on a show. Bring on the next one!”

Other messages varied from “this is awesome, some fantastic ideas coming through” to “would be even better if they had bananas, speed boosters like Mario Kart”.

The main thought people had from Podium 5k’s Underground event, whatever their view on whether it was a success or not, was that it was innovative.

It created conversation around the sport, when on occasions athletics can feel stale and too repetitive.

Podium 5k’s events in the past few months have included a 5km race at Battersea Park and the Breaking 10 event in Barrowford, the latter seeing Emile Cairess break Richard Nerurkar‘s 30-year-old European 10 mile record.

The crowds are not anywhere near that of a Diamond League or a Continental Tour Gold event but by hammering home social media content, Podium 5k have reached hundreds of thousands of young people who will be inspired by their ability to make running look attractable and worthwhile.

Night of the 10k PBs is another example. The event, set-up by Ben Pochee in 2013 was initially created for faster running in the 10,000m but it has grown rapidly and is one of the most much loved events on the athletics calendar in the UK.

This year's @NightOf10kPBs will feature four 800m races for under-20 and under-17 women and men ?‍♀️?‍♂️

They will get to experience an electric atmosphere in Highgate + target qualifying times for junior major champs ?https://t.co/ty0AnUtxa5

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 25, 2023

A combination of free entry and entertainment – including pyrotechnics and beer scales – plus athlete interaction with spectators you don’t find at an elite level, gives a feel of inclusivity for all those attending.

The athletes also get the opportunity to record fast qualifying times over a variety of distances. This year’s meet once again features British Championships and World Championships trials for the 10,000m with a total of £30,000 in prize money up for grabs.

No surprise then that On Running have incorporated it into their Track Night series which includes similar meets in Los Angeles, Paris, Vienna and Melbourne.

The financial aspect to making athletics desirable is obvious. By providing prize money at events for runners, who sometimes just run as a hobby and work in other jobs, it creates a clear incentive to race in the event. Win it and there’s even the prospect of a sponsorship deal.

By amplifying all of this messaging on social media makes a difference. With Gen Z – people born between 1997-2012 – consuming their content so vividly on Twitter, Youtube, Instagram and TikTok, you have to take what you’ve produced to them. They shouldn’t be expected to look for it themselves.

Days after the Podium 5k Underground event had finished, pictures and videos from the event were still being pumped out on social media. You would’ve struggled to miss it.

Alone, Podium 5k cannot change the perception of the sport. That’s the job of a global behind the scenes series on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Yet, they are making an impact. The market for athletics in the UK, from just the level of engagement on our social channels, is huge. Young people will compete and watch if something is marketed well.

Change and innovation should be applauded and not frowned upon. Athletics needs to catch up with other sports. And fast.

England captain Sarah Hunter's career came to an emotional end as the Red Roses secured a 10-try Six Nations win against Scotland in Newcastle.

The hosts rarely looked threatened as they began their bid for a fifth successive Women's Six Nations title.

The crowd in Hunter's home city was in full voice as she left the field.

The 37-year-old retires as English rugby's most-capped international - male or female - and the world's most-capped women's player with 141 appearances.

Hunter left the field in the 57th minute to a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd of 10,053, hugging Marlie Packer before waving and beaming to her adoring fans.

Packer will now take on the England captaincy and fittingly completed a hat-trick after Hunter went off.

England show gulf in class

The fact that every team in the tournament has some form of professional contract for the first time has been rightly celebrated, but there is still a long way to go before every Women's Six Nations match is competitive.

Still, playing a song entitled Panic Room as Scotland emerged from the tunnel felt a little harsh.

Hunter was met with ear-piercing screams as she emerged with nine-year-old niece Isabella holding her hand.

England's dominance was blatant from the first scrum and Holly Aitchison conducted the backs with aplomb as she took the 10 shirt from the injured Zoe Harrison.

Aitchison was at the centre of England's opening try, sending Packer through a gap before starting a move that put Claudia McDonald over.

In their first match since World Cup final heartbreak against New Zealand in November, the absence of key England leaders Abbie Ward and Emily Scarratt showed in a hesitancy both sides of the ball.

There were sloppy handling errors too but England have plenty of time to warm-up before a likely title decider against France in the final round of the tournament.

Still, the hosts punched so many holes in Scotland's defence that tries were inevitable.

Hooker Amy Cokayne went over on the right wing and as a bleak and cold Newcastle night descended, so did Scotland's hopes of staying in the game.

MacDonald exposed the gulf in class as she powered through five Scotland defenders for a try, before Tatyana Heard and Cokayne went over to complete the first-half scoring.

Poppy Cleall and Sadia Kabeya kicked off the second-half try spree, with Packer claiming her first in a maul before celebrating Hunter as she left the field, then adding two more scores for a hat-trick.

Scotland show attacking endeavour

Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm had promised something new in attack after the arrival of attack coach Chris Laidlaw and, when they could, her side delivered.

The visitors recycled the ball quickly and their endeavour was rewarded as they occasionally threatened England's defence.

Centre Emma Orr made a break and a few phases later was close to scoring a first-half try.

Inside centre Meryl Smith's kicks gained important ground and wing Francesca McGhie almost scored a try on debut too.

There were errors that showed Scotland have a way to go on their journey to professionalism, but a late show of spirit paid off.

Debutant Beth Blacklock made a break that helped Chloe Rollie ensure her side did not leave empty handed as she ran through a hole in England's defence to score.

Rollie threatened to repeat the feat moments later, but was brought down 5m short of the tryline. Scotland did eventually get over again and the ball was held up.

Their tournament will truly begin when they face Wales in round two in what could be a crucial match to decide third place.

Player of the match - Marlie Packer

Line-ups

England: Dow; Breach, Tuima, Reed, MacDonald; Aitchison, Packer; Carson, Cokayne, Bern, Aldcroft, P Cleall, Kabeya, Packer (co-capt), Hunter (co-capt).

Replacements: Davies, Crake, Clifford, O'Donnell, Beckett, Wyrwas, Heard, Sing.

Scotland: Rollie; Grant, Orr, Smith, McGhie; Nelson, Caity Mattinson; Bartlett, Skeldon, Belisle, O'Donnell, McMillan, Malcolm, McLachlan, Gallagher.

Replacements: Rettie, Young, Clarke, Donaldson, Sinclair, McDonald, Blacklock, Musgrove.

As Sarah Hunter left the Kingston Park pitch with a tearful smile, an era of English rugby ended.

The North Shields-born number eight fell in love with it, but was forced to switch codes because of a lack of other girls playing at her age.

Hunter then fell into the sport in which she would become an England legend.

At one time, she sold programmes at Kingston Park to watch her beloved Newcastle Falcons play.

On Saturday, the 37-year-old was front and centre on those programmes and the most frequent recipient of the home crowd's adoring screams in the 58-7 win over Scotland in the Women's Six Nations.

Having made her 141st appearance, Hunter finished as England's most-capped player - male or female - and the most-capped women's international in the world.

The journey took her from amateur to professional, via one World Cup win and 10 Six Nations titles.

The titles matter, but it is her part in the exponential growth of women's rugby that makes Hunter particularly proud.

"We want to win tournaments but sport is more than that, especially with where women's sport is now," she said.

"It's about the legacy we want to leave and how, as individuals, we can drive that to inspire that next generation.

"We've just scratched the surface of the women's game. I'll hand the baton on to this group of Red Roses, then they'll have a responsibility to move the game forward."

England head coach Simon Middleton described Hunter as "the face of the Red Roses for the last 10 years".

"Because she's been such an incredible leader and diplomat for the game, we shouldn't forget what an unbelievable player she's been," he added.

"She never trains or plays poorly. She gives everything she's got to every session and everything she does.

"She is England's greatest player, without a shadow of a doubt. Men's, women's, I can't see how anyone can say there has been a better player."

For the most part, Hunter has done it all with a smile on her face and kindness for anyone she encounters.

That kindness was repaid in Newcastle. Hunter was able to finish her career in her home city - the stands packed with family members and nine-year-old niece Isabella escorting her onto the pitch.

There were tears before the match, then when she left the field, and during the many post-match interviews that followed.

Not just from Hunter, but all those in the game that have grown to love and respect her.

There were ear-piercing screams when she took to the field and a standing ovation when she left.

As ever, Hunter remained her authentic, thoughtful self.

There was a laugh shared with Loughborough team-mate Rachel Malcolm after the Scotland captain put in a particularly heavy tackle on her England counterpart.

There was a reassuring hand on the shoulder of scrum-half Lucy Packer - 14 years her junior and making her first foray into a game that looks so different to when Hunter started.

Her first cap, also won against Scotland, came in front of a few hundred people, mostly family and friends, she said.

Fittingly, this last one was at a sold-out Kingston Park as England - professional for four years now - showed just how far investment can take you as they battered newly-contracted Scotland in search of a fifth successive Women's Six Nations title.

When she did leave the field, Hunter refused to be in the spotlight alone.

Hugging Marlie Packer, who will now take on the captaincy, Hunter showed her appreciation for the crowd as mum Janet watched on in tears.

"I wanted to make sure I thanked people for coming," she said of the moment on BBC Two.

"I just wanted to bottle it, savour the moment you'll never get again. This crowd was insane tonight. It was just to show that I've seen them and I recognise them."

Looking around the ground, it seemed there were enough tears to fill the River Tyne - and Middleton admitted one or two escaped his eyes too.

"Anyone who has been in here today is quite privileged to have been at one of the iconic moments in sport," he said of Hunter's pitch exit.

Team-mate and fellow World Cup-winner Emily Scarratt said the crowd's response "will stay with me for a very long time".

"I'm feeling emotional," Scarratt added on BBC Two.

"She played so well too. She got a turnover before she came off and carried the ball well. It is an amazing way to go out still being that good at your craft. She is an absolute professional how she goes about her work."

Although Hunter missed out on a second World Cup win with England after narrowly losing the final to New Zealand in November, the result against Scotland meant she finished at the top of her game.

She returned to the pitch after the final whistle and was presented with roses, before being hoisted onto the shoulders of front row players Sarah Bern and Amy Cokayne and carried across the field.

Reflecting on her record-breaking career, Hunter joked she "just wanted to get a second cap" and not be "a one-cap wonder".

"To finish on your terms, not many people get to do it and I've done it the best way I could have imagined," Hunter added.

"I've played in a brilliant game with a brilliant team in my home city where it all began. It is the perfect ending to the career that I've had."

AUSTIN, Texas – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler rallied to keep his title defense alive at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and third-ranked Rory McIlroy held off a late charge by Lucas Herbert to advance to the quarterfinals.

Scheffler defeated J.T. Poston, 1 up, in what was the morning’s most contested match that included just four holes halved and a best-ball score of 11 under par.

“Too many mental errors is what I would say,” said Scheffler, who will play Jason Day in his quarterfinal match. “I've done a great job over the years in this tournament of staying patient and not trying to force things. I got down, and J.T. is such a fantastic player and putter that he put the pressure on me today and I let it get the best of me, but I was able to finish strong and come out on top.”

The McIlroy-Herbert match was equally eventful with just a single bogey made by either player. The Northern Irishman took a 1-up lead with a birdie at the first and led the entire way for a 2-up victory.

“If you look at the stats over the last three days, Lucas probably played some of the best golf of everyone, so I knew I was in for a tough game,” said McIlroy, who will face Xander Schauffele in the afternoon. “I got off to a really good start, but every time I hit it in close, he'd answer me with a birdie. It was one of those games where it was really back and forth.”

Schauffele beat J.J. Spaun, 3 and 2, to advance but that wasn’t even the morning’s biggest blowout. Kurt Kitayama trounced Andrew Putnam, 6 and 5, and has not played the 18th hole in a match this week. Cameron Young was almost as dominant with his 5-and-4 victory over Billy Horschel and he will play Kitayama in the quarterfinals.

Patrick Cantlay, the fourth-seeded player at the Match Play, lost to Sam Burns, 2 and 1, who will play Mackenzie Hughes, the highest seeded player remaining (50th) who beat Max Homa, 3 and 2, in the Sweet 16.

Day ended Matt Kuchar’s pursuit of history with a 1-up victory. Kuchar tied Tiger Woods on Friday for the all-time victories record in this event (36) but will have to share that mark with this being the final WGC-Match Play.

New Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel acknowledged Saturday he faces a challenging start to his new job after his surprise hiring Friday to replace Julian Nagelsmann.

Tuchel goes straight into crucial games, starting with German title rivals -- and Tuchel's former club -- Borussia Dortmund on April 1 (stream live on ESPN+ at 12:30 p.m. ET).

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

"The challenge can't be any greater," Tuchel said.

Ten days later, Bayern play Manchester City in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

There will be little time to rest or practice new tactics, with many Bayern players currently away with their national teams and then seven games in the first 22 days of April.

"I was relatively naive in the first conversation [with Bayern]. In the first 30 seconds I didn't know what we were discussing or what it was about," Tuchel said.

Once it became clear Bayern wanted him to take charge immediately, "it occurred to me that it actually begins right away with Dortmund with an international break beforehand."

Bayern against Dortmund is "the" game in German soccer, he added.

Tuchel said the move came as a surprise and that as recently as Tuesday he had no contact with Bayern. He imagined his next job would be outside of Germany, he added, but that he had been following Bayern's season with interest.

Tuchel hasn't worked in Germany since 2017. When he left, the only major trophy he'd won was the German Cup with Dortmund. He returns having won two French titles at Paris Saint-Germain and the Champions League and Club World Cup with Chelsea.

Bayern can still win three titles this season -- the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League.

Consistency is a concern after Bayern chief executive Oliver Kahn highlighted that as a reason for getting rid of Nagelsmann.

Bayern are likely to be looking for Tuchel to get the best out of players like Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry, whose form has dropped off this season, and Sadio Mane, who has rarely been at his best in an injury-disrupted season since joining from Liverpool.

Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said the club backed Nagelsmann as concerns grew over the team's performance but decided on a change at a meeting Monday, a day after a loss to Bayer Leverkusen cost Bayern the Bundesliga lead.

"When you see that this curve of performance is going down, you're forced to react," he said, when asked if Bayern had reacted to the possibility Tuchel might take a job elsewhere. "Fortunately, there was a top option on the market and it happened quickly."

It's been almost two months since the U.S. Soccer Federation announced that Earnie Stewart and Brian McBride were resigning their positions as sporting director and men's team general manager, respectively. The consulting firm Sportsology was brought in to lead the search and analyze the structure of the USSF's sporting department.

And since then? Barely a peep. A sense of urgency has been difficult to spot, though that is due to the close-to-the-vest approach of USSF president Cindy Parlow Cone and CEO JT Batson. Following last weekend's USSF Annual General Meeting, Cone and Batson said the Federation remains "on track" to hire the sporting director -- a role that oversees both the men and women's teams -- by the start of the Women's World Cup, which kicks off on July 20.

Interviews are ongoing, though neither Batson nor Cone provided details on the number of people interviewed or the particulars of the process. Multiple sources told ESPN that the interview process has reached "the second stage" with in-person interviews about to be scheduled.

"We've been very pleased with the people who've raised their hand, and the conversations we've had to date," Batson told reporters last weekend. "Some of the feedback is we're a very unique organization. We have more national teams than anyone else in the world. And so it's an awesome opportunity, but it's, it's one that requires a level of sophistication...it's exciting, but also a lot of work. So it's been great conversations. We've learned a lot so far from the process. It's been a global search. We've been interviewing people from all around the world. We're excited about the traction we've made thus far."

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

The difficulty in filling the sporting director vacancy lies with the wide range of constituencies that must be dealt with. There's a need for familiarity with the U.S. soccer landscape, especially given the demands of overseeing the various youth national teams. There's also a need for interacting with international contacts, the better to finagle the release of players during international windows. Then there's MLS and the NWSL, entities whose goals aren't always in alignment with the respective senior national teams.

But arguably the top reason for the USSF to wrap up the search before the self-imposed deadline of late July would be to hire a new permanent coach for the men's team. Anthony Hudson has served as interim coach after Gregg Berhalter's contract expired on Dec. 31, 2022. Berhalter remains eligible as a candidate after an independent investigation found that both he and his wife, Rosalind, accurately portrayed the nature of a 1992 domestic incident.

Summer is when most of the high-profile managerial candidates will be available, but Cone said earlier this year that given the July deadline for a sporting director, it might not be until September until a new USMNT manager is hired. Waiting that long would be a mistake. One would expect that the top candidates will have long been snapped up by then.

About the most notable aspect of the sporting director search thus far is the list of people who have turned it down. It almost reads like a Who's Who of MLS sporting directors, albeit an incomplete one. The list includes Sporting Kansas City's Peter Vermes (who is also the team's coach), the Philadelphia Union's Ernst Tanner and Nashville SC's Mike Jacobs. The reason? It wasn't considered an upgrade from where they are now.

"The reality is that the job that most appeals to me, intrigues me, and most excites me is the one that I have," Jacobs told The Tennessean.

Fox Sports reported that another candidate is former U.S. international (and current USSF Board member) Oguchi Onyewu, who has also worked as a sporting director for Orlando City's reserve side and as Secretary General of Belgian second-tier side Royal Excelsior Virton. Onyewu checks some of the boxes for the vacant role, but it's unclear how he stacks up against whoever the remaining candidates.

One aspect that Batson and Cone did elaborate on was that the remit of the sporting director is being streamlined. Gone are responsibilities involving coaching education, referee development, and overseeing grassroots and amateur adult programs. Those aspects will be handled by a new position that will report directly to Batson. The sporting director will remain in charge of the USSF's national teams -- all 27 of them, including youth -- and will set out the technical vision and still oversee talent identification.

There is also a question of how much money the USSF is willing to pay in order to attract a top coaching candidate. According to documents published by the USSF, Gregg Berhalter's income for the 2022 fiscal year was $1.6 million. A top candidate is expected to require multiples of that number. While Batson stopped short of saying money was no object, the Board of Directors does appear to be giving him some wiggle room.

- O'Hanlon: Why it doesn't matter who coaches the USMNT

"We have very clear support from our board around having it be a global market and understanding that anything's on the table with regards to who the right person is to lead our men's national team program," he said. "Obviously, you want to be smart with regards to how you spend money, but there's costs and there's also opportunities for revenue. So as we think about our men's national team program, we want to make sure we have the best person leading our men's national team going forward. It'll be a global market. We're not starting with any restrictions in that regard."

It also remains to be seen if the GM position, previously held by McBride, will be kept. Batson said discussions about this shift started in Qatar when Stewart was in charge. They continued with the help of consultants Sportsology.

And what of Sportsology? It's an organization that has had a hand in shaping the technical side of several MLS teams, including LAFC, FC Cincinnati and the Chicago Fire. Opinions as to their effectiveness vary as wildly as the fortunes of the abovementioned teams. One source spoke positively as to Sportsology's impact with LAFC, though what was described sounded like the consultancy's contribution was on a more ad hoc basis. Inter Miami CF sporting director Chris Henderson has raved about the help Sportsology provided in building out the organization's sporting department. Another industry insider referred to the company as peddling "snake oil."

As for Sportsology's impact on the USSF, sources told ESPN that the company's work is pretty much done. Sportsology did make recommendations to changes in terms of the management structure on the sporting side. As for the sporting director search, the firm did some work with initial outreach, supplied a list of candidates, but has now stepped away from that process, with the USSF taking over all of the interview responsibilities. Multiple sources indicated that Batson and Cone are leading the interview process but that people outside of both USSF and Sportsology are also participating.

Sportsology also provided a list of managerial candidates, even though it's clear the sporting director will be hired first and have considerable say in that hiring. Sportsology's presence seems incongruent with some of Batson's and Cone's public statements. Both Batson and Cone have lauded the existing structure and staff on the sporting side.

"Over the prior 'x' years, by virtue of building out an actual sporting department, we have a real department, we have a bench, we have leadership, we have a team that's really impressive," Batson said. "One of the big things is that reduces our key person risk."

If that's the case, why bring in Sportsology in the first place? It provides cover for the USSF on multiple fronts. Searches on the executive side in the past have been rife with allegations of conflict of interest. Former CCO Jay Berhalter's involvement in the hiring of Stewart as GM, when his brother Gregg was a candidate for the USMNT manager's job -- and eventually landed it -- is but one example.

Another is that Sportsology's overseas contacts would help cast a wider net in terms of potential candidates. But with the Federation mum on the list of interviewees, it's impossible to know if that actually came to pass.

It wouldn't be the first time that Sportsology's suggestions weren't taken on. The firm was used by the San Jose Earthquakes after the firing of Jesse Fioranelli as sporting director in 2021, but the organization ultimately elected to hire from within.

But at this stage, it's the Federation's show. The coming months will determine if it receives positive reviews.