RALEIGH, N.C. -- There's conformity among many NHL players. And then there's Brent Burns.

Breaking up the parade of monotone business suits and well-groomed exteriors while entering the arena is a 6-foot-5, 230-pound defenseman wearing loud patterns, lugging a comically enormous camouflage backpack and sporting a chaotic scraggle of beard around a toothless hockey grin.

That's the Brent Burns you see. The Brent Burns you hear about is one of the most unique star athletes in all of professional sports, let alone the NHL.

He's the "big kid" in a 38-year-old body. There's the menagerie of animals he owns. There's his hyperintelligence, learning facts and skills so quickly that it's like his brain was plugged into "The Matrix" and downloaded them. And of course, there's that mysterious bag.

We spoke with several people who have known Brent Burns in the NHL to hear some tales of the Norris Trophy-winning defenseman who has helped the Carolina Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference finals in his first season with the club.

Here are Hurricanes teammates Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho; former San Jose Sharks teammates Logan Couture, Brenden Dillon and Colin White; former Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks teammate Dominic Moore; and Mike Potenza, director of performance for the Golden State Warriors and former director of strength and conditioning of the Sharks (2006-2022), talking all things Brent Burns.

The first time I met him

Burns debuted in the NHL in 2003-04, having been selected 20th overall in the 2003 draft by the Minnesota Wild. He played for the Wild until 2011, when he was traded to the San Jose Sharks. He played 11 seasons for the Sharks, winning the Norris Trophy in 2017. In 2022, he was traded to the Hurricanes.

Moore: We were in Minnesota together. Jacques Lemaire was the coach. We were doing a battle drill, all below the goal line, and Burnzie just basically beasted three forwards in a row. It was like watching a Jason Bourne movie where he takes out three guys with one fell swoop. All three guys were still flat on the ice, and Lemaire just chuckled. I knew right away that this kid was special.

Couture: He's intimidating when you first see him. He's got all the tattoos and he's just big. I can't remember if he had teeth or not back then. I don't think he did. But then you talked to him and he was just a fun-loving, easygoing guy, joking all the time. He's kind of like a larger than life character.

Slavin: The first time I interacted with him after the trade [to Carolina], I sent him a text message asking him to come to something. He didn't text back. He didn't send a voice memo. He took a video of himself explaining what the situation was. He's outside at his camper. Hat on, no teeth, in a camo cutoff shirt. Just enjoying the Raleigh humidity. And so that was my first interaction with him. I was like, "Oh, this guy's hilarious."

Potenza: I remembered him from Minnesota because he beat [the Sharks] up for four points in one game. He wore No. 8. He had short hair. He was big and he could skate. He was a pest against us. And then we get him and it's like, "Holy s---, this is great!"

Dillon: I met him in 2014 when I was traded to San Jose. He didn't have a beard yet. He had played the previous season at forward, but I ended up playing the rest of that season with him on defense. I mean, you're a little intimidated. It's Brent Burns. It's an NHL All-Star. I had to get past the 6-foot-5 mammoth that had been running me the previous two years at forward. Burnzie is one of those bull-in-a-china-shop guys.

Couture: It's absolutely insane he made the move from forward to defense so well. He played both in San Jose. I played a few games with him as my right wing and with Jumbo [Joe Thornton]. Then you see him winning the Norris Trophy as a defenseman. I couldn't picture myself going back there to do that.

Potenza: When he showed up in San Jose, I realized he's got a ton of tattoos -- and got even more during his time with the Sharks. I don't know if I was as surprised at the tattoos as much as I was the snake collection.

The animals

Burns is famous for having a collection of pets, mostly reptiles. It's a passion for exotic animals he has shared with teammates -- for better or worse.

Dillon: You would hear all of these things. Like he's got a gorilla in his basement or an alligator in his garage.

Moore: In Minnesota, he had all the pets. Fish tanks and snakes and everything at his house.

Couture: When we first traded for him, there was all the stories about the snakes. I think there was a video online that I saw about them. And I was like, "Holy s---." Because I'm afraid of snakes, so I'm never going over to his place.

Potenza: He had a monitor lizard. Why would anyone have a monitor lizard? You're better off having a pit bull with a toothache than you are having a monitor lizard. Actually, I would take two pitbulls with toothaches, that were also hungry, over a friggin' monitor lizard.

Dillon: He invited me over for dinner when I was traded. I didn't know if had to be worried. I'm not the biggest bird guy. Would there be birds? I've never had, like, an iguana or anything. I got over there and he had some smaller animals. I think he actually had to leave most of his animals in Minnesota because his house there was pretty accustomed to hold all of them.

Couture: He told us some wild stories about them. Two of the snakes escaped at his place in Minnesota. They were lost in his house for while a certain amount of time. I was like, "Oh my God, how do you sleep at night? You've got two massive snakes roaming around the house and two small kids at that point!"

Moore: I remember he had gone to the zoo on an off day before a game in Columbus with some teammates and got clawed by a bobcat or something.

Couture: I think it was a cheetah.

White: It was an off day. It was me and Burnzie and Jumbo Joe. Burnzie's into all these animals, right? He had a bunch of snakes and stuff then. I think he has pretty much a zoo now in Texas. Whatever city we were in, he would take us different places where there were animals. Like in Detroit, he took us to a snake farm.

And then we went to the zoo in Columbus. I'm not a real animal guy. I was terrified. He had it all set up where we would take a picture with a cheetah. And that's when he got bit by one. Right in the ribs. [Laughs]

Moore: I remember thinking, "Oh my God." Any general manager would cringe hearing that.

White: I was shocked. I was already nervous of this thing. They brought it out and they had treats and stuff, but then they told us to get around it for a picture. And this thing had its eyes on Burnzie the whole time. We got in close. Burnzie got closer to it and it reached over and grabbed him by the ribs. It didn't get, like, a full bite. But it left these two fang marks.

Jumbo was going crazy laughing. I was laughing. Burnzie didn't care. He wasn't mad. He was laughing. We went back inside and they brought out a bunch of different animals. Burnzie knew I was scared of them and stuff. It was all funny as heck.

Couture: The next day we saw them after the cheetah had clawed at them. I was like, "Jesus guys, this is wild."

What's in the bag?

Burns carries a large, camouflage backpack around the arena and on road trips. Those who have looked inside were surprised by what they found.

Potenza: Did you ever see "Mary Poppins"? When Mary Poppins has that bag and she pulls out a giant lamp? Brent Burns is like Mary Poppins.

Couture: The bag is full. There's probably 20 pounds of stuff in there. Like, he's sweating carrying it. In New York, when we play the Rangers, you have to walk up this hill [from the buses] and he's got to carry that bag. And he's just leakin', because he's got so much extra weight on him.

Moore: He had the bag in Minnesota, but I think there's been an evolution with it along with how the game has evolved. There's more and more recovery and pregame things that players do. So he's got things in there that he needs to have before or after the game.

Potenza: He's got some essential oils in there, whether it be to help him be relaxed and calm during sleep or if he's got soreness in his shoulder or what have you. Some muscle-rub type things.

Couture: In the last few years [in San Jose], he and I sat next to each other on the plane. So I finally really got to see what's inside the bag. First, he's got a blender in there. He brings his own coffee on the road -- Black Rifle Coffee Company. Three or four bags of it.

Skjei: I've gone over to his room for coffee, so I know there's a coffee machine in there. All that stuff requires a big bag. There's a lot of moving parts, but the coffee's good and it works for him.

Couture: He's got supplements. He has these little things that he rolls on [his body]. He's got all of his vitamins. He's got bottles of water he takes from the rink -- if a team has Smart Water or Fiji, he packs his bag full of these water bottles because he thinks they're nicer waters. I think that's it. Oh, and some knives. He had an axe one time, too.

Dillon: Let's just say a couple times when he's gone through security, he's had to answer a couple questions.

Couture: One of his passions is knives. He always gets his knives from Grizzly Forge. He just loves the finishes on them. I mean, I'm not a knife person, but they're beautiful knives. He uses one to take the tape off his stick between periods. It's different.

Potenza: I've had to go in the bag to get stuff out for him. If you've seen the bag up close, there are probably 30 pockets in that bag. He's asked me to find something. I'd have to go back to him three or four times. "Like, what pocket is it in?" And he's like, "The front one with the double zipper, but not the back zipper." And I'm like, "I don't know what you you're talking about." Then I'd go to pick up the bag -- and it weighs pretty much how much I weigh -- and I lug it over to him and I'm like, "You find it."

Slavin: It's a couple bags now. He's got his suitcase. He's got his personal bag. Then he's got his backpack. He's just got a lot of stuff. For a one-day road trip, he's packing over 200 pounds of stuff I think.

The beard

Though he was a baby-faced player for the Minnesota Wild, Burns grew out a bushy beard while with the San Jose Sharks, matching the face foliage of teammate Joe Thornton.

Potenza: Burnzie got going with it and I think he was like, "How long can I go with this thing?" It kind of made him more distinguished. If you see him saw him without the beard, or just a small beard, it's like, "Man, you look super young."

Dillon: The playoff beard-turned-lifestyle beard has definitely played a role in making him so recognizable. I remember around 2017, him and Connor McDavid were big Adidas guys. I remember being on the couch with Burnzie when [NBA star] James Harden tweeted at him:

Shout out to the best beard in hockey lol Welcome to #Teamadidas, @Burnzie88.

— James Harden (@JHarden13) October 7, 2017

I remember Burnzie kind of being like, "James Harden, why do I know that name?" I was like, "Dude, he's one of the legends of the NBA right now. You're one of the legends of the NHL right now." And he's like, "Do you think I should ask for an autographed jersey or something?"

I think sometimes when you talk about him being like a big kid, I sometimes think as good of a player as he is and confident in a player as he is, sometimes he maybe just doesn't see himself in that way. Which is a big positive, because he continues to work hard at his game. But when you think about Brent Burns, I think you could ask a lot of Americans who maybe aren't the biggest hockey fans and he'd be one of the most recognizable faces in the game.

Moore: On a personal note, he and his wife thought of shaving his beard with the proceeds going to my foundation. Super character guy. And he does a lot for other causes as well.

White: He's a big military guy. He's a huge supporter of them. He's got Burnzie's Battalion, his foundation that supports veterans.

Couture: He idolizes those guys, for sure. His brother was in special forces. His grandfather was in World War II with the Canadian military. It's in the family, and that's something that's very important to him.

Potenza: He's a big family man. It's funny: In San Jose, all the kids seemed to be the same age at one point. [Joe] Pavelski's kids and Burns's kids and [Patrick] Marleau's kids. I remember blinking one day and I was like, "There's like 10 boys running around this rink right now during practice. Who's watching these kids?" And then they all got on the ice after practice.

He also loves being a dad and you can see that when he interacts with other kids. He may see me and my kids at the rink and he would engage with them: "How you doing? How's your skating?"

White: He looks look like "Duck Dynasty," but he's a smart man.

"The most interesting man in the world"

From having a 420-acre Texas ranch where he raises free-range animals and hunts, to a variety of ever-changing off-ice interests, life is always fascinating for Burns and his teammates.

Dillon: He's like the Dos Equis man. The most interesting man in the world. You love him as a teammate because you can't stop laughing with some of the stuff he knows.

Skjei: It's random stuff that you have no clue about. He's very, very intellectual. Fun guy to go to dinner with. He just can talk about anything.

Moore: I can't think of anyone else who has any of these kinds of passions or hobbies. If he has an idea, a creative idea, he pursues it. A lot of people, they have quirky, funny passions or ideas, but they don't have the boldness or the follow through on it. I think that speaks volumes about him in general.

Dillon: You can talk to him for basically 24 hours straight and hockey might not ever come up once. You might talk about animals or the weather or UFC or boxing or football. Literally anything Burnzie does or knows, he's super, super knowledgeable about it.

Couture: Him and I have very similar interests, whether it was wine or coffee or bourbon or food, our books, podcasts. He's introduced me to a lot of authors that I read now. He'd sit on a plane and would just talk about anything for an hour. I would sit back and learn from him. He finds something he's interested in and just digs right in.

Dillon: I remember we had a paintballing event with the Sharks. All of us show up in jeans and a sweater or something. He comes with a head-to-toe custom professional paintball outfit. His gun is basically the machine gun of paintball. We're just all renting the ones from the place.

Moore: All of a sudden, he got an interest in cycling. He would go out and get all the gear and a brand new bike and he would go to the nth degree with it -- just go completely all-in. But then he wasn't like short-lived with those things. He sticks with them and kind of continues those passions that he picks up along the way. Just a bright, thoughtful guy.

Couture: We went to Tahoe at the start of one year and we were going to go on a two-mile hike. Burnzie shows up in full hiking equipment. He was head to toe in all this hiking stuff. Like, he brought walking sticks. His backpack was full. Probably 30 pounds of s--- in there. He fell behind the guys so much because he was just dragging along so much extra weight. It was actually quite a hilarious day.

Potenza: He dives into researching or studying up on something in particular that he's passionate about. He's dove into collecting wine and collecting special whiskeys. He got into surfing a little bit early in his career. He's always impressed me on how he's read so much. I think that's how he become so well-rounded.

Dillon: He's got at least 10 to 15 guitars. He's an unbelievable guitarist. I forget how he learned how to play, but a lot of it is self-taught. Some people don't know that about him. They just know him as Brent Burns from the ranch.

Couture: He would always talk about how great elk meat is. I know he cooks quite a bit of that. He's great on the barbecue. That's one of his other passions is cooking meat. And he's very good at it. He studies it and talks to a lot of people about how to properly cook it.

Aho: He has his meats, right? I've been over for dinner a few times. He's a pretty great cook.

Dillon: Master grill man. I mean, he had everything. He had the Traeger [smoker] before the Traeger was a thing. He had the [Big] Green Egg. He had all those different smokers. And he has all his fresh meat from his ranch. So he's a big, big red meat guy, naturally. But being all organic, he knows where it's from and all that. He grills pizza and brisket and steak. Never had a bad meal at the Burns house.

Couture: If you ask 20 guys in the locker room, they'll tell you they feel like they're one of Burnzie's good friends just because he's into so much and so knowledgeable.

Fun-loving guy ... to a point

While Burns is one of the NHL's great characters, when it comes to on-ice action and keeping himself in shape, few compare to Brent Burns.

Aho: He's unreal. A great guy. He just brings his own personality in the locker room and is a really, really easy guy to get along with. But on the ice, you don't have to talk about that too much. He's been doing this for, I don't know, a lot of years.

Moore: I played with him in Minnesota and then again in San Jose about four years later. I didn't see any difference really from a young Burnzie to the more veteran Burnzie. I think that speaks to the same kind of thing that [Carolina coach] Rod Brind'Amour has commented on: That he has a youthful presence and personality. I believe he's unchanged about who he is. It's the juxtaposition between that adaptability in terms of evolving as a player over the course of a long career to stay in the league, with the reality of being the same person throughout all of that.

White: He's an amazing athlete. Anybody who's played with him, I mean, you see what he is doing at 38 years old and he's on one of the fittest teams in the league, especially when your coach is "Rod the Bod." So yeah, I mean, I read an article the other day. He finished second in the [Hurricanes'] physical testing at the beginning of the year at 38. He's a machine.

Potenza: He didn't love training, but he respected it and he knows how important it is for the longevity and the performance of his career. So that's where we hit it off. We had some bumpy periods with injuries for him, but we navigated through it and he's come out obviously as a tremendous player -- even though he is a few years removed now from his Norris Trophy, he's just still dominant.

Moore: He's not thick. He's just strong. It's not the farmer's strength like we talk about with those guys out West. He's wiry. It's just the way he moves, and his natural athleticism gives him his power.

Potenza: He pushed himself. He always wanted to look for things that he could improve, look for new strategies. I think when you've been in the league for that long, you do need new stimulus. You do need new training or modes of exercise that can actually keep you developing and adapting.

Moore: If you remember, he had gotten injured one season. Missed a lot of time. If you look at it, he's been barely hurt since then. It's like a switch flipped where he was like, "OK, I've got to take care of my body and stay on the ice." You learn from things.

Potenza: I'm always impressed that he keeps such detailed notes. There's been a few athletes -- and Pavelski was another one -- who keep notes on all the workouts they've done. Like, he has workouts that he did as a rookie in Minnesota in a binder, stored away. Performance coaching culture has gone away from the paper training to more digital apps to track workouts. And Burnzie doesn't want to use the app because he's got all these notes. He's a collector. Maybe he'll share it with his son one day.

Dillon: That's the thing that's so impressive about Burnzie, and what I really took from him. He's 38 now, but he's still always asking questions. Like asking the forwards where they want the shot to go. Or asking a teammate what their read is on a play. For a lot of those guys that have had as much success as him, it'd be pretty easy to say, "I know everything." And that's not the mentality at all.

Couture: He knows when to buckle it down and be serious, but he is also always there for a good time and he can keep things light. He's a tremendous leader. He works so hard. He picked some of that up from Jumbo and Pavelski and Marleau, and guys like that. But that's also one thing that I'm sure he's always had in him. His work ethic is incredible. That's why he is still playing, and he is still incredible.

Slavin: I think he's the biggest kid in this locker room and just loves the game. He's just one of a kind.

Will it be Ludvig Aberg, Gordon Sargent or someone else?

While the player-of-the-year race in NCAA Division I women's golf figures to be a boat race as Stanford's Rose Zhang seems almost a lock to win the Annika Award presented by Stifel on Monday, the men's race is very much up for grabs.

Aberg, a senior at Texas Tech, is the slight favorite as he's won four times, including Big 12 and NCAA regional titles. Sargent, the Vandy sophomore, has three wins, though one of them is an 18-hole sprint at the East Lake Cup. Neither player has finished outside the top 10 this season.

Virginia's Ben James, with five wins, is also in the conversation, though he's a longshot considering he's played a much weaker schedule.

The Haskins Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding men’s college golfer, as voted on by players, coaches and media members. Past winners of the Haskins Award include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ben Crenshaw and last season's winner, Chris Gotterup.

Here are the 10 Haskins Award finalists, listed in alphabetical order:

Ludvig Aberg, Sr., Texas Tech

Ranking: Golfstat – 2; Golfweek – 2
Top-10s (wins): 9 (4)
Adjusted scoring average: 68.63
Strength of schedule: 29

Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Sr., Illinois

Ranking: Golfstat – 4; Golfweek – 6
Top-10s (wins): 8 (1)
Adjusted scoring average: 69.39
Strength of schedule: 231

David Ford, Soph., North Carolina

Ranking: Golfstat – 10; Golfweek – 7
Top-10s (wins): 8 (1)
Adjusted scoring average: 69.96
Strength of schedule: 24

Ben James, Fr., Virginia

Ranking: Golfstat – 7; Golfweek – 4
Top-10s (wins): 10 (5)
Adjusted scoring average: 69.15
Strength of schedule: 202

Tommy Kuhl, Sr., Illinois

Ranking: Golfstat – 8; Golfweek – 11
Top-10s (wins): 9 (0)
Adjusted scoring average: 70.02
Strength of schedule: 229

Christo Lamprecht, Jr., Georgia Tech

Ranking: Golfstat – 6; Golfweek – 5
Top-10s (wins): 8 (1)
Adjusted scoring average: 69.49
Strength of schedule: 40

Maxwell Moldovan, Sr., Ohio State

Ranking: Golfstat – 9; Golfweek – 15
Top-10s (wins): 10 (1)
Adjusted scoring average: 70.19
Strength of schedule: 158

Gordon Sargent, Soph., Vanderbilt

Ranking: Golfstat – 1; Golfweek – 1
Top-10s (wins): 11 (3)
Adjusted scoring average: 68.28
Strength of schedule: 22

Preston Summerhays, Soph., Arizona State

Ranking: Golfstat – 5; Golfweek – 9
Top-10s (wins): 7 (1)
Adjusted scoring average: 70.34
Strength of schedule: 6

Michael Thorbjorsen, Jr., Stanford

Ranking: Golfstat – 3; Golfweek – 3
Top-10s (wins): 8 (2)
Adjusted scoring average: 69.4
Strength of schedule: 14

Brooks Koepka answered a lot of questions this past week at Oak Hill. Will he bounce back from the Masters? Is he really back? Will he ever win another major?

In this Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav, senior writers Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner answer some new questions, now that Koepka is a five-time major champion.

Where does his legacy lie?

What does this triumph mean for LIV, the PGA Tour and the Ryder Cup?

What is Koepka's ceiling?

And what about the other storylines from the week: Hovland, Scheffler, McIlroy and Block?

Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts

Listen above and check out the timecodes below:

• (0:00) Intro
• (0:45) Initial takeaways from Brooks Koepka’s victory
• (6:55) What does this mean for Koepka’s legacy and LIV Golf?
• (15:30) Victor Hovland finished T-2; will he win a major soon?
• (19:02) Breaking down Rory McIlroy's and Scottie Scheffler’s week.
• (23:20) Is this a new Brooks Koepka?
• (30:00) What is the ceiling for Brooks?
• (33:52) Final thoughts from the PGA Championship at Oak Hill

It’s been a minute since there’s been G.O.A.T. talk in college golf, but get ready for the conversation to begin anew as Stanford sophomore Rose Zhang looks to write a new entry into the history books this week at the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship.

The 19-year-old Zhang will aim to defend her individual title at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as the Cardinal’s 2022 national team title. But title defenses aside, the Southern California native is chasing a 21-year-old NCAA record: A win at Grayhawk would tie former Arizona standout and LPGA Hall of Famer Lorena Ochoa’s record for college tournament wins in a season (eight) and career (12).

In fact, Zhang has already found herself tied with another golf great – none other than Stanford alum Tiger Woods – after her record-setting win at the NCAA Pullman Regional earlier in May. Her victory tied Woods’ 11-win record, but she notably has reached the mark in just 19 starts while it took Tiger 26 events.

What’s more, Zhang heads into nationals with a 68.70 scoring average through 27 rounds this season, nearly one stroke better than her NCAA record of 69.68 from her freshman season. That brings us to another Ochoa comparison, as Zhang’s career scoring average currently sits at 69.22 through 58 rounds. That puts her on track to best another record set by Ochoa, whose 70.85 career scoring average in 60 rounds still stands.

“There are no words left to describe what Rose Zhang has accomplished in college golf,” Stanford golf head coach Anne Walker said after regionals. “It’s mesmerizing to watch and learn from her.”

“It’s very impressive,” said Ochoa regarding Zhang’s career to date during a recent appearance on Golf Channel. “I think you can tell that it’s just hard work. Starting in junior golf and then just dream about going to college and the experience that you get in college playing against the best players.

“I think getting that confidence that you’re able to win tournaments. You learn so much, not only as a player but also outside -- you mature a lot inside and outside the golf course. And I think what Rose Zhang is doing is outstanding. I want to say congratulations to her. It's been fun following her career and I wish her the best for sure.”

Ochoa knows firsthand the pressure Zhang might be facing as she contemplates moving to the professional ranks. Ahead of the 2002 NCAA Championship, expectations were high for Ochoa in her final college tournament. But the college coaches on hand to witness Ochoa’s record-breaking collegiate career were clear they were witnessing something special.

“It’s remarkable to do what she’s done,” said longtime ASU coach Linda Vollstedt in 2002, referring to Ochoa’s remarkable record: In 20 career college stroke-play events, Ochoa finished worse than second only twice – placing T-9 in her college debut and T-3 later that same season.

“To individually win events like that is incredible.”

“When players are that good and win that much, it’s usually a sense of entitlement,” Blue Devils coach Dan Brooks told Golfweek in 2002. “She feels like she should win every time.”

Perhaps some of the highest praise came from legendary coach Dale McNamara, who coached none other than LPGA great Nancy Lopez during her two seasons at Tulsa: “Lorena is just fabulous,” McNamara said. “She has such personality and reminds me so much of Nancy in that aspect. She’s so friendly, likes people and understands that golf is people.

“But you can’t compare the two,” she continued. “It’s like comparing one mountain peak to another. They are both marvelous in their own way, in their own time. They’re individuals -- and aren’t we lucky to be exposed to both of them?!”

Ochoa never did win an NCAA title, losing to Duke’s Candy Hannemann in a playoff her freshman year and finishing T-2 behind Duke’s Jenny Chuasiriporn in 2002. But her success began almost immediately freshman year, when she won four events including the 2001 Pac-10 Championships. Then came the record-setting sophomore campaign, that included the seven-win streak. Her list of accolades included the National Golf Coach Association (NCGA) Player of the Year honors twice, 2001 Freshman of the Year honors, and two First-Team All-American honors. She also won two Golfstat Cups for nation's lowest scoring average (71.33 during 2000-01, 70.13 in 2001-02).

The Guadalajara native left the Arizona Wildcats program as the most decorated golfer in the school history, male or female. Her 12 titles place her third on an unofficial list of most individual college tournament wins by an NCAA female golfer, surpassing Lopez, who won 11 events while at Tulsa from 1975-77.

“As good as Lorena Ochoa is at golf, she is 10 times as good a person off the golf course,” former Arizona women’s golf head coach Greg Allen said at the time. “Everyone who has ever encountered Lorena loves her."

Perhaps most impressive during her time as a Wildcat was Ochoa’s NCAA record seven-tournament win streak during the 2001-02 season. The accomplishment ranks second among all recognized winning streaks in golf, with only the legendary Byron Nelson recording a longer streak (11). Ochoa won eight tournaments during that sophomore season, eclipsing the mark of six previously set by Brandie Burton (Arizona State) in 1989-90. Along with her 12 wins, Ochoa finished second five times including at the 2001 NCAA championships where she fell to Duke’s Candy Hannemann in a playoff for the individual title.

Ochoa finished her college career on a high note, leading Arizona to a second-place finish at the 2002 NCAAs. She competed in five LPGA events as an amateur while at Arizona and finished in the top 10 three times, including a T-5 at the 2002 Welch’s/Circle K Championship in Tucson.

For comparison, Zhang has made six professional starts to date, with her best finish being a T-28 at the AIG women’s Open last August.

Ochoa turned pro shortly after the 2002 NCAAs and captured her first two LPGA wins during her second year on tour in 2004. But her real breakthrough season came in 2006, when she won six times and posted 20 top-10 finishes in 25 starts. She captured the Rolex Player of the Year award, the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average and the season earnings title with $2,592,872. When she ascended to No. 1 in the world ranking the following year, she unseated former Arizona Wildcat Annika Sorenstam.

Ochoa retired from the LGPA Tour in 2010 at just 34 years old. She held the No. 1 ranking from 2007-2010, winning 25 LGPA events and earning $14.9 million. She currently lives in Mexico, where she operates a charitable foundation, is married and the mother of two children.

As for how (or when) Zhang will fare on the LPGA remains to be seen, but Walker shared some insights into Zhang’s preparedness for tour life while with her star player last month at Augusta National.

“She’s patient,” she said per GolfChannel.com. “She kind of felt like the LPGA would always be there. I think it was clear her golf game was ready to a point where she could go play, and we’d seen that, she knew that, but it goes back to being a professional golfer. She was a complete golfer, but she felt like there was more she could gain in the area of being a better professional, and she’s done that.

“She’s evolved. She’s had to do a lot of things on her own that allows her now, at this point in her career, to me, she appears twice as confident, twice as mature.”

Brooks Koepka might be on his way to representing Team USA in this year's Ryder Cup. 

With a T-2 at the Masters and a victory in the PGA Championship, he currently sits second in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, with 1,537 points more than third-place Xander Schauffele. After the Tour Championship, the top six players on the points list automatically qualify. 

Though the five-time major champion can't play in PGA Tour events due to his defection to LIV Golf last year, he's still eligible for the four majors. Two points are rewarded for every $1,000 earned in each major. A Tour event hands out 1 point per $1000. 

After U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson finished his final round at Oak Hill, he was asked to assess Koepka's game, with the possibility Koepka, 33, could find his way on the team with a victory Sunday. 

"He’s a rare breed mentally where he just is able to bring out his best in the most difficult and trying of circumstances," Johnson said. 

Johnson, who also has six captain's picks, then said he hasn't thought about the possibility of LIV players making his U.S. squad. 

"I think it's too premature, frankly irresponsible, to even have any sort of opinion about that," Johnson said. 

Koepka, a three-time Ryder Cupper, said ahead of the PGA that he would be happy to represent the U.S. in September at Marco Simone GC if he's eligible — but it's not his primary objective. 

"It would be awesome to represent the United States," Koepka said. "Anytime we do it, it's always fun. But I'm not focused on it. It's not, like, my first thought when I go play well this week. If I handle my business out here, everything will take care of itself."

Aside from Koepka, multiple LIVers increased their positions in the U.S. standings. Bryson DeChambeau moved up 64 spots to 35th after placing T-4, and Patrick Reed went from 41st to 34th with a T-18. 

The current top six are, in order, Scottie Scheffler, Koepka, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa and Patrick Cantlay.

With two more majors left this year, a lot can happen. But whoever the 12 U.S. team members in Rome are, the goal will be the same — notching Team USA's first win on foreign soil in 30 years. 

"I don't care about tours or anything like that. I want to win the Ryder Cup," Scheffler said on Sunday. "We want to beat those guys in Europe. It has been a long time. We want a team of guys that are going over there together to bring the Cup back home and that's all I really care about."

INDIANAPOLIS -- The tampering inquiry into the Washington Commanders' attempts to seek information on the availability of former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has been resolved to the Colts' satisfaction, according to an NFL source.

The Colts earlier this month raised questions about the situation after ESPN reported that the Commanders had looked into Luck as a possible option as part of their quarterback due diligence in the spring of 2022. The Colts still own the rights to Luck, who retired in 2019, because he walked away with three seasons remaining on his contract.

But after further clarification, it has been determined that the Commanders never spoke to Luck or anyone in his immediate circle and, therefore, did not violate the NFL's anti-tampering policy, the source told ESPN.

Colts owner Jim Irsay was initially miffed by the possibility of Washington reaching out to Luck, even phoning NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about the matter, according to a league source. Irsay also posted on Twitter about the issue, writing, "If any NFL team attempted to contact Andrew Luck (or any associate of him) ... to play for their Franchise -- it would be a clear violation of the League's Tampering Policy."

Tampering can be met with serious punishment when the NFL can establish that a violation occurred. In one example from last year, the Miami Dolphins were heavily sanctioned after an investigation concluded the team committed violations by illegally engaging with quarterback Tom Brady and Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton (who was still under contract with the New Orleans Saints at the time). Miami was stripped of first- and third-round draft picks, and owner Stephen Ross was fined and suspended.

Luck, who retired a few weeks shy of his 30th birthday, has never expressed any desire to return to the NFL and has repeatedly told associates he is finished playing for good.

Glenn "Shemy" Schembechler, son of longtime Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, issued an apology Sunday night for offensive actions on social media that led to his resignation from the football program Saturday evening.

Schembechler, 53, stepped down just three days after he was hired as Michigan's assistant director of football recruiting. His statement conceded that he engaged in "flippant behavior on Twitter," which included numerous offensive and insensitive posts, including several suggesting slavery and Jim Crow had the positive effect of strengthening Black individuals and families.

"Any words or philosophies that in any way seek to underplay the immeasurable suffering and long-term economic and social inequities that hundreds of years of slavery and the 'Jim Crow' era caused for Black Americans is wrong," Schembechler said in the statement, which was issued through a public relations firm based in Arizona. "I was wrong. We must never sanitize morally unsanitary, historical behaviors that have hindered the Black community, or any other community. There are no historical silver linings for the experience of our brothers and sisters."

His Twitter account, @shemyscout, was deactivated Saturday. Schembechler had been a longtime NFL scout, most recently with the Las Vegas Raiders until February. He also scouted for Washington, Chicago and Kansas City. Schembechler spent more than a decade working for Washington's organization.

On May 17, Schembechler tweeted: "I'm beyond honored to return home to @UMichFootball! #GoBlue always and forever!"

On May 20, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel and coach Jim Harbaugh issued a shared statement announcing Schembechler's resignation.

"We are aware of some comments and likes on social media that have caused concern and pain for individuals in our community," it read. "Michigan Athletics is fully committed to a place where our coaches, staff and student-athletes feel welcome and where we fully support the University's and Athletic Department's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion."

The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are the No. 1 team in ESPN's Football Power Index rankings for the 2023 NFL season. But interestingly, the model actually views the Philadelphia Eagles -- who lost to the Chiefs in the title game last season -- as the Super Bowl favorite. It's a result of the vast difference in quality between the NFL's two conferences: The AFC is loaded with talent, while the NFC appears to have only a few contenders, paving the way for Philly.

For the uninitiated, the Football Power Index -- commonly referred to as the FPI -- is our rating and projection model for NFL teams. In the preseason, the model's predictive ratings are based substantially on win totals from Caesars Sportsbook and strength of schedule, along with factors such as past team performance and returning starters. We use team ratings to simulate the season thousands of times, creating our projections, which update every day during the season. Game predictions are also informed by factors such as travel, rest differential and changes at starting quarterback.

Let's take a closer look at the initial 2023 ratings, including storylines emerging from these numbers.

Jump to:
Ratings | Super Bowl | Tight divisions
Schedule strength | Surprises | Draft order

Chiefs at No. 1 overall

Who else, really, could be No. 1? Offense is more stable year-to-year than defense, and the Chiefs led the league in expected points added per play last season by a wide margin. They are also returning their two most important ingredients in Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. Offensively, they are just too good, and that alone is enough to put the Super Bowl champs back atop the league to begin this coming season.

After Kansas City, the pattern holds -- the Buffalo Bills and Eagles were the two next-best teams in offensive EPA per play last season, and they rank Nos. 2 and 3 here, respectively. (The Detroit Lions, who ranked fourth in the category, are 11th in FPI because of a much weaker defense and perhaps less confidence in Jared Goff repeating his excellent 2022 campaign.)

The Cincinnati Bengals are fourth in FPI rating, as they return their key offensive triumvirate of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Cincy has also added Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle to shore up its biggest weakness. Rounding out the top five are the San Francisco 49ers. Despite a lack of clarity at quarterback with Brock Purdy recovering from elbow surgery, their roster and Kyle Shanahan's offensive playcalling are strong enough to justify a high rating.

Eagles to the Super Bowl?

The median AFC playoff team in our simulations is roughly 2.4 points per game better than the median NFC playoff team. That's a big reason Philadelphia leads Kansas City in Super Bowl chances, 14% to 13%. The Chiefs also face quite the gauntlet of a schedule in the regular season -- second toughest in the league, according to FPI -- which dampens their projections despite being the best team in football by almost a full point. The 49ers, Bills and Bengals round out the top five, while the Dallas Cowboys are the only other team above 5% (7%).

That the Eagles are the favorites at just 14% is an indication that this season is a little more wide open than most. FPI has made preseason predictions going back to 2015, and 14% is the second lowest for a favorite we've had in that time period. The 2016 Packers were just 12% favorites (lowest), while the 2017 Patriots were at 32%, the strongest by a massive margin. (We've altered the model a few times in that period, so it's not a direct apples-to-apples comparison.)

Tight races in NFC South, NFC North and AFC East

Three divisions emerged from the projections as especially close. The woebegone NFC South might not have a ton going for it in 2023 -- every team ranks 22nd or worse in the FPI -- but it is very much up for grabs. The New Orleans Saints, with new quarterback Derek Carr at the helm, are the projected winners but at just 42% -- the shortest favorites in any division. The Atlanta Falcons (29%), Carolina Panthers (22%) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9%) follow, each with at least a feasible path to the division title. But every NFC South team has a mean projected win total under nine.

Over in the NFC North, the Lions are 43% favorites. Although the Minnesota Vikings won the division last season with 13 wins, and the Lions missed the playoffs with nine, there's evidence that Detroit was -- and is -- the better team. It had a higher points differential (plus-26) than Minnesota (minus-3) a year ago, and the Lions ranked fourth in EPA per play on offense (Minnesota was 15th). The Vikings have a 29% shot at the division, with the Chicago Bears (16%) and Green Bay Packers (12%) lurking behind.

The AFC East is also tight, but for a more compelling reason. The entire division ranks in the top half of the FPI's rankings. Buffalo, which boasts the second-highest FPI rating in the league, has only a 44% shot to win the division because the New York Jets (25%) and Miami Dolphins (22%) pose legitimate threats. Because of the strength of the division, the New England Patriots have just an 8% chance to win despite being the 16th-best team in the league in the model's view.

Here come the Jets!

It's amazing what Aaron Rodgers (and a strong defense) can do for a team. The Jets are sixth in the ratings and have a win total of 9.5 (but it is shaded toward the over and comes despite a difficult schedule). They ranked fifth in EPA per play on defense last season but 29th on offense. Obviously, the expectation is that things will change substantially with a Hall of Fame quarterback.

Now, the high rating doesn't mean the Jets' projections are all that strong. We're talking about a team with a 25% chance to win the division and a 4% shot at winning the Super Bowl. That's the schedule, strength of the division and conference talking. The Jets can simultaneously be a good team and have a tough road to success, which is what the FPI is suggesting. Still, I didn't think New York was a lock to be ahead of the Dolphins, and it's a good sign for the Jets that the numbers fell that way.

This is the FPI's ninth season making preseason projections, and it is the first time the Jets have even a 1% chance to win the Super Bowl -- let alone 4% -- entering the season.

Patriots face the NFL's toughest schedule

Everyone knows measuring strength of schedule by the previous season's win percentage is deeply flawed. The Bengals are certainly a more formidable opponent than the Vikings, for example, even though Minnesota won more games last year. Using the FPI, we can get much closer to a true measure of schedule strength because it's looking at opponents based on their forecasted strength. And when it runs the numbers, there's one team that sticks out with the toughest schedule: the Patriots.

It probably shouldn't be much of a surprise, as the other three teams in the AFC East all sit in the top nine of the FPI and the Patriots must face them all twice. Plus, New England squares off against both participants in last year's Super Bowl.

At the other end of the spectrum are the Saints, who have the easiest slate in the NFL. New Orleans gets the benefit of playing in the weak NFC South and doesn't face a single team in the FPI's top 10 the entire season.

Is Sean Payton the Broncos' savior?

Fresh off an utterly disappointing 2022 campaign that resulted in a not-even-one-and-done for Nathaniel Hackett, the Denver Broncos' FPI rating looks ... surprisingly optimistic? Russell Wilson is still at quarterback, but Payton is in as the new coach, and according to the model, the Broncos could be quite respectable in 2023. Denver ranks 13th in FPI, is projected for 8.4 wins and, despite playing in the AFC, is getting a 34% chance to reach the playoffs.

But it's not just Payton. There's a lot of talent on the Broncos. The defense ranked eighth in EPA per play last season, and Wilson was top-10 in QBR just two years ago. Plus, the team has an awfully strong receiving group -- Jerry Jeudy's receiver tracking metrics suggest he broke out more than his 972 receiving yards last season might indicate -- and added to an already strong offensive line this offseason. The big concern remains Wilson, but if he can figure it out, there's quite a bit to like in Denver.

FPI buying new eras for Lions, Jaguars

On the heels of strong 2022 campaigns, the FPI is in on the hype around the Lions (No. 11) and Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 12). For the Lions, the news is even better. As the fourth-best team in the weak NFC, Detroit has a 65% chance to reach the playoffs and a 4% shot to win the Super Bowl -- seventh highest among all teams. The Jaguars' projections aren't much worse because they play in a weak division, which actually gives them a slightly higher chance to reach the playoffs (67%) and still a 3% shot to win the Super Bowl.

Both teams have shown proven success on offense with their current quarterbacks, as both ranked in the top 10 in EPA per play last season. Goff ranked fifth in QBR last season for Detroit, while Trevor Lawrence ranked 15th (but was burdened with a poor offensive line and a weak wide receiver room that has since added Calvin Ridley).

Cardinals' inside track to No. 1 draft pick

Even without the trade with the Texans, who selected Will Anderson Jr., the Arizona Cardinals would have been the favorites to land the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, according to the FPI. The Cardinals' own selection has an 18% chance to be the No. 1 pick. But right behind them are the Houston Texans at 13%. The Cardinals own Houston's pick, thanks to the Texans' draft-day move up to No. 3 to draft Anderson. In other words, before playing a down this year, the Cardinals have a 31% shot at the No. 1 selection in 2024. Those two picks have a 57% and 46% chance to be in the top five, respectively, as well.

It's not a shock to see Arizona as the team most likely to have the fewest wins. With Kyler Murray's health status up in the air, the team seems likely to start Colt McCoy at quarterback and has holes on the roster.

The Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams -- yes, the Rams actually control their own first-round pick next year -- are the three next most likely teams to earn that No. 1 selection.

Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in his lone college season and went on to spend 19 years in the NBA, announced his retirement on Monday.

Anthony, who was not in the NBA this season, retires as the No. 9 scorer in league history.

Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal scored more than Anthony -- who finishes his career with 28,289 points.

"Now the time has come for me to say good-bye ... to the game that gave me purpose and pride," Anthony said in a videotaped message announcing his decision -- one he called "bittersweet."

Thank you #STAYME7O pic.twitter.com/4au8cOd13s

— Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony) May 22, 2023

Anthony's legacy has long been secure: He ends his playing days after being selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, a 10-time All-Star, a past scoring champion and a six-time All-NBA selection.

And while he never got to the NBA Finals -- he only played in the conference finals once, with Denver against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 -- Anthony also knew what it was like to be a champion.

He was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Final Four when he led Syracuse to the title, and he helped USA Basketball win Olympic gold three times -- at Beijing in 2008, at London in 2012 and at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Anthony has played in 31 games in four appearances at the Olympics, the most of any U.S. men's player ever. Anthony's 37 points against Nigeria in the 2012 games is a USA Basketball men's record at an Olympics, as are his 10 3-pointers from that game and his 13-for-13 effort from the foul line against Argentina in 2008.

He will remain part of international basketball for at least a few more months; Anthony is one of the ambassadors to the Basketball World Cup, FIBA's biggest event, which will be held this summer in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

"I remember the days when I had nothing, just a ball on the court and a dream of something more," Anthony said. "But basketball was my outlet. My purpose was strong, my communities, the cities I represented with pride and the fans that supported me along the way. I am forever grateful for those people and places because they made me Carmelo Anthony."

Anthony was drafted No. 3 overall by Denver in 2003, part of the star-studded class that included James at No. 1, Hall of Famer Chris Bosh at No. 4, and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade -- he gets officially enshrined this summer -- at No. 5.

Anthony will join them at the Hall of Fame before long. He averaged 22.5 points in his 19 seasons, spending the bulk of those years with Denver and the New York Knicks. Anthony has long raved about his time with the Knicks, and what it was like playing at Madison Square Garden, especially as a kid who was born in Brooklyn.

"The Garden," Anthony said in 2014. "They call it The Mecca for a reason."

Anthony also played for Portland, Oklahoma City and Houston, and he wrapped up his career with the Lakers last season. He went unsigned this year, and now his retirement is official.

He said in his retirement address that he's looking forward to watching the development of his son, Kiyan, a highly rated high school shooting guard.

"People ask what I believe my legacy is," Anthony said. "It's not my feats on the court that come to mind, all the awards or praise. Because my story has always been more than basketball. My legacy, my son ... I will forever continue through you. The time has come for you to carry this torch."