The Kansas City Chiefs head into Week 15 with one of the best records in the NFL, but they’ll be entering a tough stretch of games over a short time.

Kansas City will play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, host the Houston Texans next Saturday and then play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, a Wednesday. In total, the Chiefs will play three games in an 11-day span, with each game coming on shorter rest than a typical NFL schedule.

‘It is not a good feeling,’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes said on Wednesday. ‘I’m excited to play on Christmas to hopefully get back from what we did last year (when the Chiefs lost on Christmas 2023 to the Las Vegas Raiders), but you never want to play this many games in this short of time. It’s just not great for your body. But at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.’

Mahomes said all the team can do is focus on the practice and next game it faces, but admitted he tried to prepare his body ‘all year long for this stretch.’

‘The coaches do a great job of taking care of us on the practice field. We practice hard as anybody, but they know how to kind of dial it back when we need it,’ he added.

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The Chiefs aren’t the only team that will have the unique stretch; the Christmas Day teams of the Texans, Steelers and Baltimore Ravens also will play three games in 11 days, on the same exact days that Kansas City plays.

However, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said two weeks ago his squad has gotten the short end of the stick because of when their bye weeks were. Pittsburgh had its bye week in Week 9, while Houston and Baltimore had theirs last week. Kansas City’s lone week off came in Week 6 in early October.

‘One thing I’m doing this offseason is I’m going to the NFLPA, especially with us having three games in a (11-day) span, that we’re mandatory to have a late bye week,’ Jones said. ‘With our schedule, it’s kind of awkward, to say the least. That’s a conversation to have this offseason. If a team has somewhat of a schedule like that, they have a mandatory late-season bye.’

With Christmas in the middle of the week, the two games will be a rare Wednesday NFL game. Before this year, the last Wednesday game occurred in 2020 when the Ravens faced the Steelers. The game was moved to a Wednesday because of a COVID-19 outbreak within the Ravens.

Before that, the 2012 opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants was moved to a Wednesday because then-president Barack Obama was set to deliver his speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention that Thursday. Prior to that, the last Wednesday game occurred in 1948 in a contest between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions.

‘That’s a unique situation. You just have to manage it,’ Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. ‘It is what it is. You make the best of it. One thing is you’ve got to get guys ready for a game, give them the chance to do whatever you present to them. So, I help them out now. We’ve got a normal week right here, so we’ve got to take care of business.’

The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the team’s plans for the rookie guard.

It had been reported earlier this season that James, the son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, didn’t plan to play in G League road games. However, the Lakers and Bronny kept options open and have since decided that he will play in select G League road games.

Bronny has played in three G League games this season, averaging 8.7 points on 29.4% shooting, 3.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks for South Bay. He scored 16 points in his most recent G League game Saturday. He has also appeared in seven games for the Lakers as he shuttles back and forth between the NBA and G League and develops.

Bronny was the No. 55 pick in the second round of the 2024 draft. He was moving up draft boards before he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest just before the start of his freshman season at Southern California in July 2023.

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Earlier this season, LeBron and Bronny became the first father-son combo to play in the NBA at the same time.

ESPN was the first to report that Bronny will play in a G League road game.

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Bill Belichick’s return to coaching won’t be on a NFL sideline.

The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach was officially named the University of North Carolina’s next head football coach pending approval by the board of trustees and board of governors, the school announced Wednesday night.

‘I am excited for the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill,’ Belichick said in a statement released by the program on social media. ‘I grew up around college football with my dad and treasured those times. I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill.’

Belichick’s 333 career victories (including the postseason) are 14 shy of Don Shula’s record for victories by an NFL head coach. The former New England Patriots head coach was not brought back for the 2024 season after 23 years with the team, and he did not land any other coaching positions during the offseason after being a finalist for the Atlanta Falcons job.

The Athletic reported Belichick’s deal with the Tar Heels was five years and $50 million. But the school’s official announcement said the agreement was for five years. The full contract and terms will eventually be available through public records requests as part of USA TODAY Sports’ college football coaches’ salary database.

The mutual interest between UNC and Belichick was first reported last week. During his weekly appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Monday, Belichick – in his classically terse fashion – said he has had ‘a couple of good conversations’ with Chancellor Lee H. Roberts while adding he didn’t want to give away too much information about the specific nature of the talks.

Belichick did elaborate on his vision for a college program and said it would be a professional outfit in terms of nutrition, strength and conditioning and player development.

‘I think there are a lot of (college) football programs being structured similar to pro programs,’ Belichick said.

After parting with the Patriots, Belichick became active in the NFL media space this season. In addition to his weekly spots with McAfee, he’s also a guest on every ‘ManningCast’ for ‘Monday Night Football.’ He co-hosts a preview show with Peyton Manning for ESPN and is a cast member of ‘Inside the NFL’ every week.

Belichick has never coached in college. His coaching career started as a special assistant with the Baltimore Colts in 1974 and he spent time with the Denver Broncos before landing with the New York Giants in 1980. The first of his eight career Super Bowl victories came as defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells with the Giants, and his first head-coaching gig came with the Cleveland Browns before his 40th birthday in 1991.

Belichick’s father, Steve Belichick, was a longtime coach at the United States Naval Academy during Bill Belichick’s youth. Prior to that, however, Steve Belichick coached at UNC, and the McAfee Show displayed a photo of Bill Belichick as a child sitting in the bleachers at Kenan Stadium.

Belichick’s son, also named Steve Belichick, is currently the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington, and would re-join his father’s staff (he and his brother Brian worked for Belichick with the Patriots). Multiple reports last week indicated Steve Belichick would likely be named coach-in-waiting, but the school did not make an announcement about any arrangement.

At 72, Belichick is the oldest coach in college football. The previous oldest coach is the man Belichick is replacing at UNC, Mack Brown, who coached the Tar Heels in two separate stints and won the 2006 national title at Texas. Brown was fired by the school on Nov. 26.

Over the weekend, a trio of Belichick’s former players in New England – Brady, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski – shot down the idea of Belichick wanting to coach in college. But with name, image and likeness funding and the transfer portal, college programs are operating more like NFL organizations.

As part of the negotiations with Belichick, the school agreed to increase its NIL funding from $4 million to $20 million, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY’s Matt Hayes. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet official.

Belichick’s sixth Super Bowl victory came after the 2018 season. After Tom Brady’s departure in 2020, the Patriots made the postseason once. Following a 4-13 season in 2023, the Patriots replaced Belichick with Jerod Mayo; New England is 3-10 this year.

‘He is a great coach,’ Mayo said Monday on Boston radio station WEEI. ‘And to me, it doesn’t matter if you’re a young man or a 10-year vet in the league, like he’s a great teacher. And I wish him nothing but the best. It doesn’t really matter what level, I think he’ll be successful.’

This story was updated with new information.

Major League Baseball’s annual Winter Meetings wrapped up in Dallas, with the Boston Red Sox pulling off a blockbuster trade to acquire an ace from the Chicago White Sox.

Boston had to part ways with four of its top prospects to land the 25-year-old Crochet.

“We feel like we got a legitimate No. 1 starter in Garrett,’ Red Sox GM Craig Breslow told reporters. “Left-handed, ton of swing and miss, massive strikeouts and feel like the best is still in front of him. So we’re excited about what he brings. And obviously, we needed to trade really good players in order to be able to do this.’

Elsewhere, Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets become official and a press conference is set for Thursday at Citi Field.

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With a few of the top players signed at the Winter Meetings, all eyes will be on Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso and Rōki Sasaki in the days and weeks to come.

What are Mets’ pitching plans with Crochet off the board?

DALLAS — As Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings wound down on Wednesday afternoon, the Red Sox completed a trade with the White Sox to acquire left-handed ace Garrett Crochet. It took a massive haul to land the 25-year-old southpaw, with the Red Sox shipping out a pair of top 100 prospects in catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery, who were the team’s last two first-round picks.

Why does any of that matter for the Mets? David Stearns said on Wednesday afternoon that the Mets were engaged in talks with White Sox general manager Chris Getz about potentially adding Crochet to the top of their rotation.

‘That’s the balancing act in all of this is how much future value and how much prospect value to give up for the near term, and that’s always going to be a lot of judgment as part of that,’ Stearns said. ‘Certainly there have been times when we have done it and we’ll continue to do it, and there are times when the price just gets too steep for us and we choose to keep our prospect value.’

– Andrew Tredennick, NorthJersey.com

Diamondbacks not looking to trade pieces

DALLAS — A year ago, the Milwaukee Brewers were fresh off their fifth postseason appearance in six seasons when they decided to trade their best pitcher. Right-hander Corbin Burnes had one year to go before free agency, but the Brewers opted to take what they could get in young talent and forge ahead without him.

Though they are in a similar situation with their two best pitchers, the Diamondbacks, as they mull their options on Day 2 at the winter meetings, do not seem to be considering trading right-handers Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly. They want to keep them.

They will worry about 2026 and beyond later. The chance to win, as general manager Mike Hazen sees it, is too precious to put in jeopardy.

“My priority is to put the best 2025 team out there as possible,” Hazen said. “I’ve always wanted to push — not all of our chips into the middle of the table, but to go for it. (I’ll take) any chance we have to go for it without sacrificing long-term (or giving us) some chance of having the bottom fall out on us again.”

– Nick Piecoro, Arizona Republic

Juan Soto contract is official

Juan Soto is officially a New York Met, with the club announcing the 15-year deal on Wednesday night.

“This is a seminal moment in franchise history,” Mets Owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a release. “Juan Soto is a generational talent. He is not only bringing staggering historical statistics with him but also a championship pedigree.’

Said Mets president of baseball operations Davis Stearns: “Today’s signing further solidifies our organizational commitment to consistent championship competitiveness. Not only does Juan provide historic levels of on field production, but his joy, intensity, and passion for the game mirror our budding culture. We are thrilled to add him to our team and look forward to watching his excellence for years to come.”

Rule 5 draft: Reds take speedy outfielder

DALLAS – The Cincinnati Reds didn’t leave the winter meetings Wednesday looking any closer to making a trade or signing a free agent than they did when they got to town Sunday.

But just before they left the Hilton Anatole at the conclusion of the meetings, they did nab a speedy Triple-A player with a good glove and defensive versatility who might contribute to Terry Francona’s playoff-minded team in 2025 as a utility player.

Cooper Bowman, 24, who played at the University of Louisville before the Yankees drafted him in the fourth round in 2021, was acquired by the Reds from the Oakland Athletics’ system in the major-league phase of Wednesday’s Rule 5 draft.

“He’s someone we’ve liked since he was an amateur,” said Rob Coughlin, the Reds’ director of pro scouting. “We’ve consistently had quality scouting reports on him from his amateur days all the way through the minor leagues.“He’s got tremendous intangibles, baseball instincts. We think he can handle a lot of different positions.”

– Gordon Wittenmyer, Cincinnati Enquirer

Red Sox acquire Garrett Crochet in trade

DALLAS − It was eight years ago nearly to the day when the Chicago White Sox traded away their ace and future Cy Young award winner to the Boston Red Sox for four of their top prospects.

Well, history just repeated itself Wednesday when the White Sox sent ace Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox for four of their top-ranked 15 prospects, including two of the top 60-ranked prospects in baseball.

The Red Sox sent catcher Kyle Teel (the Red Sox’s 4^th-best prospect), outfielder Braden Montgomery (5^th-best), infielder Chase Meidroth (11^th) and Wikelman Gonzalez (14^th) to the White Sox in the five-player deal. Teel was ranked as baseball’s 25^th-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, while Montgomery is ranked 54^th.

It was on Dec. 6, 2016, when the White Sox traded Chris Sale to the Red Sox for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz. It turned out to be a colossal bust for the White Sox, with Sale helping the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series and none of the prospects ever becoming a star for the White Sox. − Bob Nightengale

Cubs, Yankees interested in trading for Kyle Tucker

The buzz surrounding Kyle Tucker about a possible trade has increased since Juan Soto agreed to a 15-year, $765 million deal. Earlier this week, Houston Astros GM Dana Brown acknowledged that the club is listening to offers for their All-Star outfielder, who becomes a free agent next winter. The Chicago Cubs have joined the New York Yankees as possible trade candidates for Tucker.

Tigers ‘interested’ in Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki

DALLAS — The San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers are believed to be the favorites to sign Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, one of the most talented pitchers in the world.

But the Detroit Tigers are throwing their hat into the ring.

And they have a chance.

‘Every team in baseball wants Sasaki,’ Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Tuesday at MLB’s Winter Meetings, located at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. ‘We do, too. We’re hard at work on a presentation to position this organization as appealing to Roki and his agent. It’s going to be pretty fierce competition, and we’re hard at work to make our case, and we’ll see how it goes.’

Expect Sasaki to sign around Jan. 15.

‘My understanding is they haven’t gotten to the stage where they’re arranging meetings,’ Harris said. ‘They have a process whereby we submit our case, so to speak. After we submit, we’re going to wait to hear what the next steps are.’ − Evan Petzold

Yankees showing interest in Christian Walker

With Juan Soto out of the picture, the New York Yankees have shown interest in free agent first baseman Christian Walker. Walker, who turns 34 in March, is an elite defenseman − winner of the past three Gold Gloves in the NL − with a plus bat. Over the past three seasons, Walker has 95 homers and a 123 OPS-plus compared to New York Mets 1B Pete Alonso, who has 120 homers and 131 OPS-plus. Walker has spent the last eight seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rangers land slugger in late-night trade with Marlins

In a late move Tuesday night, the Texas Rangers acquired 1B/3B Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins. In exchange, the Marlins received infield prospects Echedry Vargas, Max Acosta and pitching prospect Brayan Mendoza. Burger, who is under control for the next four years, will give the Rangers a slugger in the lineup, either as a corner infielder or, perhaps as the designated hitter. Burger last year hit 29 homers and drove in 76 runs, following up a breakout 2023 season in which he knocked 34 homers.

Top MLB free agents remaining

Max Fried and Nathan Eovaldi, two of baseball’s top starting pitchers in USA TODAY Sports’ 2024-25 free agent rankings, are now off the board but there’s elite talent remaining on the market expected to fetch big deals.

Here are the top 10 players still on the market:

1. SP Corbin Burnes
2. 3B Alex Bregman
3. 1B Pete Alonso
4. OF Teoscar Hernández
5. OF Anthony Santander
6. INF Gleyber Torres
7. SP Jack Flaherty
8. RP Tanner Scott
9. 1B Christian Walker
10. RHP Walker Buehler

MLB draft lottery results

The Washington Nationals won the MLB draft lottery on Tuesday in Dallas and will have the first overall pick in the July 2025 draft.

It’s the first time Washington will have the No. 1 pick since they took Bryce Harper in 2010, a year after selecting Stephen Strasburg first overall in 2009.

The Rockies and Marlins entered the lottery tied for the highest odds of getting the No. 1 pick (22.45%), but were disappointed to end up with the fourth and seventh selections, respectively. The Nationals had a 10.2% chance, the fourth-best of any team.

MLB draft lottery results:

1. Washington Nationals

2. Los Angeles Angels

3. Seattle Mariners

4. Colorado Rockies

5. St. Louis Cardinals

6. Pittsburgh Pirates

7. Miami Marlins

8. Toronto Blue Jays

9. Cincinnati Reds

10. Chicago White Sox

11. Athletics

12. Texas Rangers

13. San Francisco Giants

14. Tampa Bay Rays

15. Boston Red Sox

16. Minnesota Twins

17. Chicago Cubs

18. Arizona Diamondbacks

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed sexual assault allegations brought against rapper Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation produces the Super Bowl halftime show.

Goodell said Wednesday the league’s partnership with the rapper and Roc Nation is ‘not changing,’ three days after Jay-Z was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl alongside Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in 2000.

‘We’re aware of the civil allegation, and Jay-Z’s really strong response to that,’ Goodell said during a press conference on Wednesday. ‘We know that obviously litigation is happening now. But from our standpoint, our relationship is not changing with them, including our preparation for the next Super Bowl.’

In an amended lawsuit filed Sunday by Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee, an Alabama woman — identified anonymously as Jane Doe — claims the billionaire music mogul, born Shawn Carter, and Combs drugged and raped her at an after-party following the MTV Video Music Awards in September 2000. The woman brought a lawsuit against Combs in October for the alleged assault.

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Jay-Z, who was 30 at the time of the alleged assault and is now 55, vehemently denied the allegations brought against him and called the lawsuit a ‘blackmail attempt’ in a statement Sunday.

Some social media users called on the NFL to cut ties with Jay-Z and Roc Nation following the allegations, but Goodell said Roc Nation has ‘provided a lot of value’ for the league.

‘They’re getting incredibly comfortable with not just the Super Bowl but other events that they’ve helped us on and helped us with,’ Goodell said. ‘They’ve been helpful in the social justice area to us on many occasions.’

The NFL tapped Roc Nation as the league’s live music entertainment strategist in 2019, as part of the NFL’s ‘Inspire Change’ initiative. The social justice initiative aims at ‘reducing barriers to opportunity, particularly in communities of color, and showcasing how the NFL family is working together to create positive change,’ the league says. The NFL and Roc Nation extended its partnership in October.

In September, Kendrick Lamar was announced as the Super Bowl halftime show headliner. Super Bowl 59 is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Jay-Z’s wife Beyonce will perform during halftime of the Christmas Day matchup between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens, which will broadcast exclusively on Netflix.

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