San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is in the midst of another fantastic season, one he hopes will earn him the NBA’s MVP award. While some players shy away from talking about individual awards, Wembanyama openly campaigned for the MVP on Monday, explaining that his goal was to “make sure there’s no debate” once the regular season ends.
As part of his campaign for the award, Wembanyama listed three reasons why he believes he deserves this season’s honors.
Defense is an important and undervalued part of the award and he believes he’s the “most-impactful player defensively in the league.”
The Spurs have “dominated” against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the regular season, winning four out of five games against them.
Offense involves more than just scoring points.
Wembanyama isn’t wrong about that first point. By defensive win shares and defensive rating, Wembanyama ranks first this season. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ranks in the top-10 in both stats, but Wembanyama has him beat. Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić isn’t considered a strong defender.
Wembanyama’s second point is mostly true, as the Spurs have gone 4-1 against the Thunder this season. Saying San Antonio “dominated” those games might be a stretch, though the team has three double-digit wins over the Thunder. That’s not nothing, though it’s unclear how much that should play into the MVP voting since wins are more of a team stat.
His final point likely has to do with Wembanyama’s offensive rebounding, where he outshines both Gilgeous-Alexander and Dončić. Though Wembanyama may have a point about offense being more than just scoring, it’s his weakest argument. As Gilgeous-Alexander has been a more efficient scorer and doesn’t turn the ball over as much.
Whether any of Wembanyama’s arguments sway voters remains to be seen. By the odds, Wembanyama is currently in third, per BetMGM. Gilgeous-Alexander is the favorite, with Dončić in second.
While the odds aren’t everything, they do provide a good snapshot of the vibes around the league. If Wembanyama wants to change that narrative, he has 10 more regular-season games to accomplish his goal and truly end the MVP debate.
Things looked pretty bleak for the Los Angeles Lakers early in Monday’s game vs. the Detroit Pistons. By halftime, the team trailed 65-52, and star LeBron James had yet to put a single point on the board.
After the team’s slow start, it wound up being an encouraging loss, one that spoke to the Lakers’ resiliency. Still, things might have been different had James been able to put some points on the board early.
The 23-year veteran was asked about his scoreless first half after the game, saying it’s part of “the role that I’m playing.”
“It’s the role that I’m playing for the ballclub. In order for us to win ball games, it’s the role that I’m playing. And that’s just how the game was going” – LeBron James on having a scoreless first half for just the third time of his career and the first time since 2010 pic.twitter.com/W5HK2ThdPH
“It’s the role that I’m playing for the ball club. In order for us to win ball games, it’s the role that I’m playing. And that’s just how the game was going.”
Going scoreless in the first half was a pretty rare occurrence for the 41-year-old James. It’s just the third time in his career he’s been held without a single point at halftime, and the first time he’s found himself in that situation since 2010.
James made those comments pretty matter-of-factly, though that won’t stop people from reading into his words. It’s easy to interpret James’ statements as bitter given his legacy within the game. He was essentially the third option for the Lakers on Monday — behind Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. That’s not a role James has played often in his career.
And yet, it’s worked well for the Lakers. Prior to Monday’s loss, the team was on a nine-game win streak. James is still capable as a scorer — as he put up 30 points in a March 18 win vs. Houston — but he’s excelled as a distributor as well. While he failed to score in the first half Monday, James nearly finished the game with a triple-double, scoring 12 points, dishing out 10 assists and pulling down nine rebounds.
At this point in his career, James likely values winning another championship over anything else. His current play style might be unusual — for him, at least — but it gives the Lakers the best chance at a deep playoff run.
Musique Libre Femmes (Cheryl Pyle, Roberta Piket, Ayumi Ishito) at Tompkins Square Park Library in NYC Image: Alex Lozupone (Wikimedia Commons).
On Thursday, March 12, 2026, the Tompkins Square Library in New York City hosted a concert by Musique Libre Femmes, in its basement performance space. This performance featured Cheryl Pyle on flute, Ayumi Ishito on saxophones, and Roberta Piket on piano. There were approximately fifteen people in attendance. Wikinews attended the event and took several photos for this news report.
The performance started at 6:00 p.m. New York Time (2300 UTC), and was introduced by director of adult services Jeffrey Katz. After explaining that the series was ongoing, and announcing upcoming performance dates as well, he introduced the performers:
((Jeffrey Katz)) So we are celebrating Women’s History Month with Musique Libre Femmes. And this is a group of all women free jazz improvisers who compose, create spontaneous, in-the-moment music. The group consists of some of the most experienced improvisers of the New York Jazz scene. And they have recently played at the Lady Got Chops Festival, the Downtown Music Gallery, and many of the New York City Jazz venues.
After which, the performance began and lasted about forty minutes, after which the audience applauded.
After the event, Pyle had the following comments about the series:
((Cheryl Pyle)) I started the group Musique Libre Femmes, Free Music Women, because I saw a film called Fire Music, and they interviewed Carla Bley and Ingrid Sertso, and they didn’t talk about any of their music. And they didn’t talk about any other women improvisers, Barbara Donald, you know, anybody. So I wanted to do some concerts with all women.
Pyle added:
((CP)) And today we played with Roberta Piket on piano and Ayumi Ishito on tenor sax and soprano sax and myself, Cheryl Pyle on C-flute, piccolo and alto flute. And we’re here at the Tompkins Square Library in the East Village and we just had a wonderful concert.
Golden State’s Moses Moody exited Monday night’s game on a stretcher after suffering a brutal knee injury. (Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images)
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS
Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody was diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee and is out for the season, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday.
Moody had to be stretchered off the floor Monday night after he went down with the gruesome knee injury on what should have been an easy breakaway dunk against the Dallas Mavericks. In overtime of the Warriors’ 137-131 road win, Moody stole the ball and had a dunk ahead of him with about a minute left on the clock. But right after he planted to jump, he bailed on the dunk and reached down for his left knee.
Moses Moody went down with a non-contact knee injury during overtime of Warriors-Mavs.
Moody crashed down to the court under the rim, holding his left knee, as play went the other way. The Warriors’ bench reacted in horror to the injury, and athletic training staff ran over to help Moody and cover up his knee once play ended on the other side of the court.
He finished with 23 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Moody was on crutches with a knee brace moving very slowly in the locker room. He flew back to the Bay Area with the team and got an MRI on Tuesday.
Moody averaged a career-high 12.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game this season, his fifth in the league. The 23-year-old, whom the Warriors selected with the No. 14 overall NBA Draft pick in 2021 out of Arkansas, returned to the court Monday night after missing 10 games with a wrist injury.
The Warriors finished out the six-point win from there, but they were clearly distraught by Moody’s injury the rest of the way. The win snapped their three-game skid and eliminated the Mavericks from playoff contention.
The Warriors now sit at 34-38, which has them in 10th in the Western Conference standings with 10 games left in the regular season.
The Chicago Cubs and All-Star Pete Crow-Armstrong are finalizing a long-term contract extension, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.
Terms of the pending deal were reported Tuesday, with Crow-Armstrong getting a six-year, $115 million extension set to begin in 2027. There are no club options, which will allow Crow-Armstrong to enter free agency after 2032.
Crow-Armstrong earned $771,000 in 2025, so this represents a significant pay bump when his new deal kicks in. He was previously set to hit free agency after 2030, so signing the extensions means deferring free agency two years for a nine-figure guarantee.
Crow-Armstrong, 23, is coming off a breakout campaign in his second full MLB season with the Cubs. He slashed .247/.287/.482 in 2025 with 31 home runs, 35 stolen bases and 95 RBI.
His effort earned him his first All-Star Game selection. He also won his first Gold Glove in center field at the end of the season.
Crow-Armstrong helped the Cubs to their first playoff berth since 2020 as a wild-card team behind the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs defeated the San Diego Padres in the wild-card round before losing to the Brewers in the NLDS.
Crow-Armstrong was selected to USA’s World Baseball Classic roster because of his breakout season.
The Crow-Armstrong extensions continues an active offseason for the Cubs, who allowed All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker to walk in free agency but replaced him in the lineup with All-Star infielder Alex Bregman on a five-year, $175 million contract.
The Cubs also bolstered their bullpen with the additions of Phil Maton, Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner and Hunter Harvey and traded for starter Edward Cabrera.
Chicago projects to compete for a playoff berth in 2025 and will seek to overtake the Brewers for the NL Central crown.
The Milwaukee Bucks are already moving on from Cam Thomas.
The Bucks officially waived Thomas on Monday after he spent just 18 games with the franchise. Instead, the team opted to convert Pete Nance’s two-way contract into a standard one.
In total, Thomas spent about six weeks with the Bucks. The franchise signed him on Feb. 8 after he was waived by the Brooklyn Nets just days prior. The Nets had selected him with the No. 27 overall pick in 2021 out of LSU, but he saw his role steadily decrease this season. He started just eight games with the team in the first half of the season and played just more than 24 minutes per game while averaging 15.6 points and 3.1 assists.
While the split with Milwaukee might seem minor, considering Thomas wasn’t even there two months and has struggled all season, it marks a pretty quick turnaround for a franchise that was so high on him upon his arrival.
Bucks general manager Jon Horst sounded like he wanted Thomas to be a key part of the team’s future upon signing him last month, and head coach Doc Rovers gave Thomas very high praise, comparing him to both Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams just two games in.
“They’re similar, but they’re all different in their own ways,” Rivers said on Feb. 11, via The Athletic. “Cam wants to do right. He wants to play well. You can see that. And we’re going to give him every opportunity. I mean, the guy is a natural scorer, and you can see that. Probably forced one or two today where he overdribbled. You live with that, and you teach that to get that out of him. But overall, he was fantastic.”
The Thomas decision is just the latest telling issue in the Bucks’ front office lately. The organization reportedly doesn’t want star Giannis Antetokounmpo to play anymore this season amid his various injuries. Antetokounmpo, however, wants to keep going and isn’t aligned with the team. The feud comes after months of rumors suggesting the franchise would deal away its star player, though that didn’t come together before the trade deadline.
Antetokounmpo hasn’t formally asked for a trade, but he has said he wants to play for a consistent winner — something the Bucks aren’t. The team enters Monday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers with a 29-41 record, which has the Bucks 11th in the Eastern Conference. They’ve lost 10 of their past 13 and are well on their way to missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
What will happen in Milwaukee this summer is still anyone’s guess. But Thomas, for the second time in a matter of weeks, will get another fresh start.
If readers have been following along with how I typically operate when researching team and player-level data, it usually leads us toward an unexpected path. To peek behind the curtain, often the research leads us toward questions that may or may not have data to support the hypothesis. Though the plan was to examine one stat from every MLB team for fantasy baseball purposes, it turned into a few stats for every team, especially since we examined some player-level information.
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Brewers
The Brewers threw the third-most cutters (11.3%), behind the Rangers (12%) and Red Sox (11.5%). Unfortunately, their cutters allowed the fourth-highest wOBA (.379). Notable Brewers’ pitchers who threw cutters often include Chad Patrick (41.1%), Quinn Priester (20.5%), Tobias Myers (19.5%), Jared Koenig (17.4%), DL Hall (17.3%) and Brandon Woodruff (15.7%) among players with 150 or more cutters thrown in 2025.
Priester is dealing with a wrist injury, so his sleeper appeal might be less exciting. However, Priester’s cutter was successful against right-handed hitters, allowing a .241 wOBA (.234 xwOBA).
Quinn Priester pitch percentage vs. RHB by month. (Photo by Corbin Young/BaseballSavant)
Woodruff ended the 2025 season injured (lat), so there are some concerns about him ramping up in 2026. His cutter was silly, giving up a .126 wOBA (.118 xwOBA) against right-handed hitters in 2025. Myers was sent to the Mets, but Patrick warrants some intrigue as a backend rotation arm. Patrick relies heavily on the cutter (41.1%), specifically 43.5% to right-handed hitters (.332 wOBA, .297 xwOBA) and 38.5% to lefties (.330 wOBA, .352 xwOBA). If a Brewers’ pitcher starts throwing cutters, we’ll want to pay attention.
Mets
The Mets had the second-highest bat speed (72.5 mph) behind the Yankees (73.2 mph). That aligned with the Mets ranking third in barrel rate (10.6%) as one of five teams boasting a double-digit barrel rate, including the Yankees (11.8%), Angels (10.8%), Dodgers (10%) and Cubs (10%). The Mets lost Pete Alonso, who led the team with a 75.3 mph bat speed. However, they had a few under-the-radar hitters who had high bat speeds, including Brett Baty (74.8 mph), Francisco Alvarez (74 mph) and Ronny Mauricio (73.8 mph). Baty and Alvarez might be the most actionable from a draft standpoint since the Mets added Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr. in the offseason to beef up their lineup.
Top-10 Mets hitters in bat speed. (Photo by Corbin Young/Yahoo Sports)
Phillies
The Phillies ranked first in Stuff+ and Location+. They were one of three teams with a 101 Stuff+ and 101 Location+ in 2025, including the Marlins and Tigers. Cristopher Sánchez (114 Stuff+, 101 Location+), Zack Wheeler (112 Stuff+, 107 Location+), Aaron Nola (105 Stuff+, 104 Location+) and Jesús Luzardo (102 Stuff+, 112 Location+) had a 101 Stuff+ and Location+ in 2025 for the Phillies. Sánchez has been drafted like an ace with Wheeler recovering from a significant injury. Meanwhile, Luzardo has been valued as a high-end starting pitcher after throwing the most innings (183.2) in his career, with Nola being undervalued after having a career-worst ERA (6.01). Nola maintained his 11.2% swinging-strike rate while still showing above-average skills with the lowest draft price in a while, going around pick 200.
Pirates
The Pirates’ starting pitchers have been throwing the fifth-most four-seamers (22.9%), trailing the Cubs (26.6%), Nationals (24.9%), Rockies (24.1%) and Twins (23.6%). As starting pitchers, Bailey Falter (45%), Andrew Heaney (40.6%), Paul Skenes (38.9%), Johan Oviedo (37%) and Mike Burrows (35.3%) led the team in four-seam usage. Mitch Keller (34.8%) and Bubba Chandler (34.5%) were close behind in four-seam usage in 2025. We’ve seen Skenes and Keller use a diverse arsenal, so they’ll likely have a lower four-seam usage relative to the other starting pitchers.
Pirates’ pitch percentage four-seam leaders in 2025 to LHH. (Photo by Corbin Young/Yahoo Sports)
Chandler’s four-seam averages over 17 inches of induced vertical break while coming with above-average extension (61st percentile). Since Chandler locates his four-seam up in the zone, we could see improved outcomes and whiffs in 2026. Don’t forget about Braxton Ashcraft, who throws sliders (39.3%), sinkers (24.4%) and four-seamers (24.2%) against right-handed hitters. However, Ashcraft pumps four-seamers (35.9%) to left-handed hitters to lead the arsenal, with curveballs (31.4%) and sliders (21.9%) rounding out the primary offerings. Skenes (45.8%), Keller (41.6%), Chandler (51.4%) and Ashcraft (35.9%) all rely significantly upon their four-seam most often to left-handed hitters. That’s something to monitor in 2026 as a team-level approach.
Padres
The Padres love their four-seam and slider combinations. Their starting pitchers threw the 11th-most four-seamers (34.2%) and the 10th-most sliders (16%). Dylan Cease probably skewed the data because he threw four-seamers 42.1% of the time, with sliders at 41%. Nick Pivetta loved throwing four-seamers 48.5% of the time, with Yu Darvish having a diverse arsenal. JP Sears threw four-seamers 40.2% of the time in 2025, primarily against right-handed hitters (41.6%). With Cease joining the Blue Jays, it’s murky in the Padres rotation with Michael King, Pivetta and Joe Musgrove having injury concerns at the top of their rotation. Be cautious investing in any Padres’ starting pitchers, though Pivetta projects as the best option, with some ratio regression.
Giants
The Giants don’t run. They ranked 29th in stolen bases (68) in 2025, 29th (68) in 2024 and last (57) in 2023. They had managers Gabe Kapler, Kai Correa and Bob Melvin over the past handful of seasons. These low totals of stolen bases may reflect managerial tendencies related to personnel. Willy Adames (12) and Jung Hoo Lee (10) led the team with double-digit stolen bases in 2025. Tyler Fitzgerald (17) and Matt Chapman (15) were the Giants’ stolen base leaders in 2024, with Thairo Estrada (23) stealing the most in 2023.
Teams with the five lowest stolen base totals in 2025. (Photo by Corbin Young/Yahoo Sports)
The Giants hired Tony Vitello, formerly of the University of Tennessee. Vitello eventually led them to a National Championship in 2024 before Buster Posey hired him as the manager. There’s a chance Vitello follows the mold of not having players run often, since Tennessee had few players with double-digit stolen bases, including none reaching that mark in 2025. The only players with 10 or more steals in a season were Blake Burke with 11 (2024) and Christian Moore (16) of the Angels and Christian Scott (12) in 2023. Seth Stephenson (25) and Luc Lipcius (14) in 2022, then Max Ferguson (15) and Drew Gilbert (10) in 2021.
Harrison Bader (13), Adames (11), Lee (9), Chapman (9) and Luis Arráez (8) project to lead the Giants in stolen bases in 2026. Be cautious when expecting high stolen base totals for the Giants’ hitters.
The Cardinals’ starting pitchers ranked fifth in Location+ in 2025, suggesting they tend to rely upon their command and pitch location more than their stuff. That’s further evident by their starting pitchers ranking 29th in swinging-strike rate ahead of the Rockies. Among the pitchers with 75 or more innings, Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante and Miles Mikolas led the way with an above-average Location+ in 2025. They have notable new additions to their pitching staff, including Dustin May, Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins.
Teams with a 102 Location+ or higher in 2025 for SPs. (Photo by Corbin Young/Yahoo Sports)
May had a 105 Stuff+ mark, with Fitts close behind at 103, but Dobbins fit the Cardinals’ starting pitcher mold with a 98 Stuff+ and 106 Location+ with the Red Sox. The whiffs haven’t been there for May with an 8.7% swinging-strike rate, yet the Stuff models love him, given the velocity and pitch movement profiles. Fitts doesn’t project to begin in the Cardinals’ rotation, but he’ll be a name to remember when he earns a chance.
Nationals
Will the Nationals run wild in 2026? They had quite a rollercoaster in stolen bases with 132 in 2023 (No. 12), 223 in 2024 (No. 1) and 127 in 2025 (No. 10). The major difference in 2025 involved the Nationals losing Lane Thomas’ 28 steals in 2024 while seeing Jacob Young’s 33 fall to 15 in 2025 due to injuries and playing time concerns. Meanwhile, CJ Abrams (31), James Wood (15) and Luis García Jr. (14) chipped in, with Dylan Crews struggling at the plate, yet stealing 17 across 322 plate appearances (they optioned him to Triple-A ahead of Opening Day). The Nationals hired Blake Butera, the youngest manager in baseball.
Theoretically, the Nationals have the athletes to run wild again in 2026. That includes the additional stolen bases from Crews (25), Nasim Nuñez (21) and Daylen Lile (14) based on the projections, though there might be concerns with Nuñez’s playing time. If there’s consistent playing time for Nuñez, we could have a José Caballero-type season where there’s utility-value in real-life 30-40 stolen base upside. Crews, Lile and García look like cheaper sources of stolen bases, with Nuñez being a deep sleeper.
Michigan football has made a number of additions to its staff in non-coaching roles.
The Wolverines announced the hire for four new hires across its front office including Alayna Williamson as chief of staff, Natalia Hilton as director of football operations, Ben Redell as executive assistant to the head coach/director of logistics and Evan Roka as assistant director of operations.
Michigan is also reportedly hiring Chris Pettit, formerly the director of college scouting for the NFL’s New York Giants, as assistant general manager.
Williamson spent the past two years (2024-25) in the same role under new Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham when he was at Utah. She spent more than a decade at Utah, serving as director of business scholars (2015-24), which included five years as director of undergraduate admissions and scholarships (2020-24).
Hilton was a student equipment manager at Utah for more than two years beginning in 2020, which overlapped with four years as Whittingham’s assistant. While working as his assistant, she served as the director of on-campus recruiting. She then left ahead of the 2025 season to become an assistant for the NBA’s Utah Jazz and the NHL’s Utah Mammoth.
Redell, likewise, comes from Utah. He began as an undergraduate assistant (2021-24) with the Utes, worked in quality control with the offense (2024-25) and then was an operations graduate assistant (2025-26) before he began his position with U-M last month, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Roka, meanwhile, is the only hire with Michigan ties. He was an undergraduate at U-M (2020-23) then, after leaving for Nike, returned soon after as a membership service executive, according to his LinkedIn profile. Roka has been with U-M athletics since 2022, working as a sports nutrition/operations/communications intern, a nutrition operations coordinator and now assistant director of football operations.
Pettit spent nearly two decades with the Giants (2004-22), winning two Super Bowls. He joins GM Dave Peloquin atop the front office. He graduated from Maryland in 2001 and was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2002-03.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
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