The Pacers drew up a football play for Tyrese Haliburton, and he sank a wild 4-point play to stun the Bucks If the NBA season ended today, the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers would face-off in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. If Tuesday night’s appetizer was any indication, basketball fans would be in for an amazing series if it happens. The Pacers stunned the Bucks, 114-113, in the Central Division showdown. There’s so much recent history between these two teams, and this game added another memorable chapter. The teams traded the lead back and forth in the fourth quarter. Milwaukee took the lead with just over a minute left on an amazing pass from Giannis Antetokounmpo to teammate Gary Trent Jr. for a corner three. The Bucks held the lead into the final seconds until the Pacers called timeout and drew up a play on their final possession. The timeout advanced the ball to center court, but Pacers still lined up near the opposite three-point line. Indiana looked liked they were in a shotgun formation with four wide receivers, and they ran a brilliant play to spring Tyrese Haliburton free. All Haliburton did was catch the ball in the corner and drain a three-pointer while getting fouled. He made the free throw for the game-winning four-point play. You won’t see many better game-winners in the NBA this season. Watch the play here: pic.twitter.com/HAGJupxCnD— Gonzalo Vázquez (@GVazquezNY) March 12, 2025 I’ve played enough Madden in my day to know that’s Four Verts. My football writing colleague JP Acosta said it’s actually Shallow Sting. Either way, that’s an incredible play by Indiana to win a game over a rival in an impossible situation. Old friend of the program Caitlin Cooper covers the Pacers better than anyone at Basketball, She Wrote. Of course, Cooper is all over this play. Cooper interviewed Pacers assistant coach Jenny Boucek over the summer, and she broke down the exact play Indiana used to win the game. Watch Cooper’s interview clip here: They ran Jenny’s “four verticals” need a three play, let’s go!!!!!!! https://t.co/2cUhBpBG1z— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) March 12, 2025 March might be the doldrums of pro basketball, but moments like this remind us that the NBA Playoffs are going to be incredible. We need a Pacers-Bucks series.

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images With Cadillac confirmed for the 2026 F1 season, what does the driver lineup look like for next year? The 2024 Formula 1 driver transfer season kicked into gear with a stunning decision: Lewis Hamilton’s announcement that he was going to leave Mercedes and drive for Ferrari starting in 2025. Over the following weeks, intrigue followed the sport as the driver silly season spun into motion. Ultimately several drivers found new teams, other drivers found themselves on the outside looking in, and a handful of rookies joined the grid for 2025. Now, thanks to another decision, the driver transfer market is about to kick off for the 2026 campaign. That decision? The news that F1 has formally approved an 11th team, the partnership between TWG Motorsports and General Motors to compete as a Cadillac team starting in 2026. That means two more seats to be filled, and months of breathless speculation as well. So let’s take stock of how the 2026 driver lineup looks ahead of the 2025 season. What F1 teams have two drivers signed for 2026? As things stand, six of the teams that will be on the grid in 2026 have a complete driver lineup. Including the defending Constructors’ Champions. McLaren Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are signed for McLaren for the 2026 season. Norris signed a new “multi-year” deal with the team ahead of the 2024 season, which will keep him in Woking through 2027. As for Piastri, he signed a “multi-year” extension with McLaren during his 2023 rookie season, which will see 2026 as the final year of his deal. Update: Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix McLaren announced a “multi-year” extension for Piastri, that will keep him in Woking beyond the 2026 season. Ferrari Ferrari’s driver pairing is set for the 2026 campaign. Charles Leclerc put pen to paper on a new contract in January of 2024 that will keep him with Ferrari for “several” seasons. As for Lewis Hamilton, the contract he signed with Ferrari is reportedly for two years, with an option for a third. That means he will be in place for at least 2025 and 2026. Aston Martin Both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are signed through the 2026 season. Alonso signed a contract extension in April of 2024 to remain with the team through at least 2026, while Stroll announced a new deal with the team last summer that will keep him with the team for “2025 and beyond.” Haas Haas is one of the F1 teams with a completely new driver lineup for the 2025 season. Esteban Ocon joins the team after driving for Alpine the past few seasons, while Oliver Bearman is one of the rookies joining the grid for the 2025 campaign. Both drivers are on a deal with Haas that runs through the 2026 F1 season. Williams When Hamilton decided to leave for Ferrari starting in 2025 — and Leclerc having already redone his deal with the Scuderia — it made Carlos Sainz Jr. the biggest free agent on the driver transfer market. Speculation followed Sainz from track to track, but ultimately Sainz cast his lot with James Vowles and Williams on a multi-year deal with “options to extend” beyond the 2026 season. That is also the last year of the deal his new teammate, Alexander Albon, signed in the spring of 2024. Audi Lost in the news over Cadillac joining the grid for the 2026 season is the fact that the American team will not be the only “new” team on the grid. The 2025 season marks the final campaign for Sauber, ahead of Audi taking over that operation as a works team in 2026. But ahead of the 2025 season, Audi lined up their driver pairing on long-term deals. Nico Hülkenberg was confirmed as Audi’s first F1 driver ahead of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix and is signed with the team through 2026. As is incoming rookie, and 2024 F2 Drivers’ Champion, Gabriel Bortoleto. What F1 teams have one open seat for 2026? There are two teams with one open seat in 2026, each representing a fascinating story. Alpine Let’s start with Alpine. Esteban Ocon’s move to Haas opened up a seat alongside Pierre Gasly, who signed a two-year deal with the team last summer to keep him at Alpine through 2026. Alpine was one of the teams pursuing Carlos Sainz Jr., but ultimately the team promoted reserve driver Jack Doohan to a full-time spot on the grid for the 2025 season. But Doohan is driving on a one-year deal, and with the move by Alpine to add Franco Colapinto, last year’s Williams “super-sub” as a reserve driver there is speculation around the paddock that Doohan is on the shortest of leashes. Speculation only increased with the release of Season 7 of the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive, which features Alpine senior executive Flavio Briatore telling the young Doohan “I control you. Every millimeter.” From Doohan’s perspective, if he performs on the track, that seat might be his for 2026. F1 is, after all, a results-based business. It is named Drive to Survive for a reason. But if Doohan does not deliver the results Alpine wants, we could see Colapinto — or someone else — in that seat for 2026. If not sooner. Red Bull Here we go. Max Verstappen signed a long-term deal with Red Bull back in the 2022 season that can keep him with the team through 2028. However, as we learned early last season, there are clauses in that contract that allow Verstappen to depart the team. Those clauses were put to the test during the early-year controversy surrounding Team Principal Christian Horner, and allegations of misconduct levied against the Red Bull boss. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, finding himself with a vacant spot thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave the team for Ferrari, confirmed he met with Verstappen’s management during the 2024 campaign. Verstappen has also been linked with Aston Martin, due to Adrian Newey’s move to the team for this year. That being said, Verstappen continues to brush aside any rumors of a move away from Red Bull, and there is every expectation he will be with them for the foreseeable future. As for who his teammate will be, Red Bull believed they put that matter to rest with a new deal for Sergio Pérez last summer, but as the results failed to follow, they moved in a different direction for 2025. The team parted ways with Pérez and signed Liam Lawson to a one-year deal for this season. If Lawson performs, that spot might remain his for 2026. But if not — and as Red Bull has shown in the past — they are more than willing to give another driver a shot. What F1 teams have two open seats for 2026? That leaves us with the three teams that do not have a driver lined up for next year. Mercedes Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari opened up a seat at Mercedes for the 2025 season, one Toto Wolff ultimately filled with young phenom Andrea Kimi Antonelli, one of the rookies joining the grid for the 2025 season. But Antonelli is on a one-year deal. His teammate George Russell is also not confirmed for 2026, as he is in the final year of the contract he signed with Mercedes back in 2023. According to Wolff, the team has options to extend both drivers, so Mercedes will likely have the same pairing for 2026 that they do this season. Russell just celebrated his 27th birthday in February, and Antonelli turned 18 last August, giving Mercedes a young and talented driver pairing. However, if the performance is not up to par for Wolff, the team does have a window to look elsewhere for one — or both — seats. Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team Now we turn to Red Bull’s sister team. VCARB begins this year with a pairing of Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar, with Hadjar making the leap from F2 and Tsunoda being passed over for the spot at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen. Both drivers are on one-year deals. A promotion to Red Bull could be on the table for one of these drivers if Liam Lawson falters alongside Verstappen. But if Lawson does enough to keep his spot, then what will VCARB do with this lineup for 2026? Hadjar likely earns a second season, given his inexperience, but there are already rumblings about Tsunoda’s long-term future in the Red Bull family. Speaking back in December following the announcement of Hadjar’s move to VCARB, Horner brought Tsunoda’s future into question. “We’re acutely aware that if we’re not able to provide an opportunity for Yuki [at Red Bull] in all honesty this year, does it [keeping him on] make sense?”, asked Horner. “You can’t have a driver in the support team for five years. You can’t always be the bridesmaid. You’ve either got to let them go at that point or look at something different.” Cadillac That brings us to Cadillac. With the news that they have been formally approved for a spot on the grid, speculation is kicking into high gear over what drivers they will sign for 2026. And the team can begin speaking with drivers. “There’s some very talented drivers still out there,” said Team Principal Graeme Lowdon on Friday. “We hadn’t been able to be in the driver market until the entry was confirmed. Now it has, we can move forward with that.” Who might they try and move forward with? When the proposed Cadillac-Andretti team first announced their intentions to join the F1 grid, Michael Andretti stressed that it was going to be an All-American operation. And he had a driver in mind: Current IndyCar driver Colton Herta. Herta has been linked with a move to F1 in the past. Back in 2021 he was linked with a move to Sauber to drive alongside Valtteri Bottas, but talks broke down and the team signed Zhou Guanyu for the 2022 season. Herta was signed as a development driver for McLaren for the 2022 campaign, and then was linked with a move to AlphaTauri. Lacking the requisite points for an F1 Super License Red Bull sought an exemption for Herta, but ultimately the sport’s governing body denied the request. But Herta is coming off his best IndyCar season, where he finished second in the Drivers’ Championship to Alex Palou. He scored a pair of wins last year, first in Toronto and then in the season finale in Nashville, his first win on an oval. He finished 16th in the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg last weekend. Herta spoke with the media, including SB Nation about a potential move to F1 ahead of the 2025 IndyCar campaign. But the driver brushed the rumors aside, nothing that he did not even know what results he needed to finally secure that F1 Super License. “I guess the answer to that is I didn’t even know what the math was to get a Super License, so if it happens, great, and then I’ll have a decision to make,” said Herta to the media, including SB Nation, in January. “If I’m still wanted. “I’ll be all right either way.” Herta is likely under strong consideration by Cadillac, but there have been other names linked with the team for 2026. Valtteri Bottas, who found himself without a seat for the 2025 season and is spending this year as a reserve at Mercedes, is an option. So too is his former teammate Zhou Guanyu, who might have an inside track given the fact that Lowdon is part of his management team. If Yuki Tsunoda indeed sees his time run out at VCARB in the Red Bull family, he could be an option as well. Then there are some of Herta’s current rivals in IndyCar. Both Pato O’Ward and three-time IndyCar Champion Alex Palou have been linked with a future move to F1. A wildcard? What about Sergio Pérez? Regardless of who Cadillac ultimately signs, having two more spots on the grid to fill for 2026 is going to make for some incredible speculation over the next few months. If not longer.

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images McLaren’s driver duo will remain intact for the foreseeable future Near the end of the 2023 Formula 1 season, McLaren CEO Zak Brown told me the team had the best driver pairing on the grid. That duo is going to be together for the foreseeable future. On Tuesday McLaren announced a new “multi-year” contract extension for Oscar Piastri, whose current contract was set to expire at the end of the 2026 F1 season. The Australian driver, who signed an extension during his rookie campaign, now gets to open the season in his home race with a new contract in hand. “It’s a great feeling knowing that I’m part of McLaren’s long-term vision. The team had the belief in me when we signed in 2022, and the journey we’ve gone on over the past two seasons to help return McLaren to the very top of the sport has been incredible,” said Piastri in the announcement. “There are so many talented and special people working at the MTC who have helped me to become a Formula 1 race winner very early in my career. Therefore, I’m very proud to be continuing to represent this legendary team for many years to come,” added the driver. “I’m excited to fight for the big prizes as a McLaren driver and after last year’s fantastic achievements, it has made me even hungrier to stay at the sharp end.” Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, has a deal through the 2027 F1 season. “It’s fantastic to confirm Oscar’s extension with McLaren. Not only is he an incredibly talented driver, but his work ethic and cultural fit within the team made it a no-brainer to extend his time in papaya,” said Brown. “We’ve got the best driver line-up on the grid, and in the past two seasons, we’ve seen how much of an asset to the team Oscar is both on and off track. He was absolutely fundamental in adding to our legacy with the 2024 Constructors’ Championship last season, so we’re all excited to see what we can do in the years to come as we continue to fight for World Championships together.” Team Principal Andrea Stella hailed Piastri’s work ethic and development as a driver. “Further extending our partnership with Oscar is a symbol of our belief and trust in him as a driver, as well as a reflection of our shared ambition to continue in our fight for Championships together,” said Stella. “It has been a pleasure working with Oscar throughout the past two seasons and he has continued to prove how impressive he is in terms of his talent, determination and work ethic as a driver and his contribution to our team and culture as a person. “Alongside Lando, we have what we need locked in for the long term to keep pushing forward. I look forward to continuing to watch Oscar grow and develop as a driver and know that many successes lie ahead for him.” Piastri, along with Norris and the rest of McLaren, begin their defense of the Constructors’ title they won a year ago this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix.

Photo by Christopher Hook/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek has already spoken to Grand Canyon’s Molly Miller, sources confirmed to SB Nation. The Razorbacks are in the market for a women’s basketball coach after Mike Neighbors resigned. After eight years coaching at his alma mater, Mike Neighbors is out at Arkansas. Multiple sources confirmed to SB Nation that Neighbors and Arkansas were parting ways, and the Razorbacks officially framed his dismissal as a resignation on Tuesday afternoon. The Razorbacks will owe Neighbors a buyout of north of $1 million. He came back to Fayetteville a year after taking Washington – then led on the court by WNBA All-Star Kelsey Plum – to the Final Four for the first time ever. But Neighbors was never able to reach that level of success with the Razorbacks. He had three strong campaigns between 2019 and 2022, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled in 2020 and the Hogs were bounced in the first round of 2021 and 2022. Arkansas was left on the wrong side of the March Madness bubble in 2023, and Neighbors had a 9-23 record in SEC play over the past two seasons. Overall, Neighbors went 148-114 at Arkansas, got the Hogs ranked as high as No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Poll, produced two WNBA Draft picks, and went to two NCAA Tournaments. But this season – where Arkansas had a 10-22 record, a winning percentage of .313 – was its worst since 1981. Neighbors was not hired by current Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek in 2017 – back then, Jeff Long was still in charge of Hogs’ athletics – but Yurachek did hand him an extension through 2028 in 2021. Yurachek has been mulling over firing Neighbors for the past week, since Arkansas fell 79-74 to Georgia last Wednesday in the SEC Tournament. Multiple sources confirmed to SB Nation that Yurachek has already spoken to one potential candidate in Grand Canyon’s Molly Miller, who is also expected to be in the mix for openings at Arizona State and Missouri. While Miller is a Missouri native and currently coaches just a stone’s throw away from Arizona State, Arkansas has the money. Neighbors’ annual salary made him the eighth-highest paid coach in the SEC and he made more than both Robin Pingeton and Natasha Adair – the previous coaches at Missouri and Arizona State. Miller, 38, is set to coach Grand Canyon on Wednesday in the WAC Tournament at 3 p.m. ET in Las Vegas, Nevada. She guided the Lopes to a 29-2 overall record in the regular season – with two Power 4 wins – and a perfect 16-0 mark in conference play. She’s 114-37 in five seasons at Grand Canyon and went 180-17 during her time as a Division II head coach. If Arkansas is unable to land Miller, here’s who might be next in line: Elena Lovato A longtime assistant for Vic Schaefer, at Mississippi State and now at Texas, Lovato is widely respected in coaching circles and has a lot of experience as a head coach and assistant at different levels. In addition to helping Schaefer’s teams reach high levels of success, Lovato was the head coach at Division II Arkansas-Fort Smith and led her team to the Division II NCAA Tournament in her second season. She also has a record of 113-8 as a junior college head coach and won two NJCAA National Championships. Lovato knows the SEC, knows how to win and knows the recruiting terrain around Arkansas. Kellie Harper It doesn’t seem like Harper is going to get the Missouri gig, but she could be the right fit for Arkansas. Between four stops as a head coach – Western Carolina, N.C. State, Missouri State and Tennessee – Harper has a 60.2 winning percentage, nine NCAA Tournament appearances and five conference championships under her belt in 20 seasons on the sidelines. She took Missouri State to the Sweet 16 and helped turn it into a mid-major power, and led the Lady Vols to the second weekend of March Madness twice. Arkansas hasn’t been to the Sweet 16 since 1998. While Harper didn’t meet expectations at Tennessee, she’s shown the ability to win consistently at a high level. Ayla Guzzardo While this seems like a longshot on paper – and indeed, the jump from the Southland to the SEC is a big one – there is a connection between Guzzardo and Yurachek: when she was finishing her playing career at Akron, he was there as the executive senior associate athletics director. There’s at least a small chance that they know each other. After the SE Louisiana Lions had losing records in 22 of their last 24 seasons, Guzzardo has guided them to five straight winning campaigns. Additionally, SE Louisiana’s lone NCAA Tournament berth came under her watch in 2023, and she’s eyeing a second bid to the Big Dance this week as the Southland Tournament begins. The Lions are the top seed in it after winning the regular season title.

Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images Tiger Woods will not be teeing it up anytime soon. Tiger Woods’ body continues to fail him. On Tuesday, Woods announced on social media that he had ruptured his Achilles tendon while training at home. He has since undergone surgery to repair the tendon. “I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured,” Woods said on social media. “Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon. ‘The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery,’ added Dr. Stucken. I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support.” Woods has had an eventful 2025 but for all the wrong reasons. He lost his mother, Kultida, on Feb. 4, and then withdrew from the Genesis Invitational the following week, saying that he was not in the right frame of mind to compete. He flew out to San Diego for the final round, appearing on the CBS broadcast and presenting the trophy to Ludvig Åberg, but he gave no inclination as to when he would play next. On top of that, Woods has been heavily involved in the PGA Tour’s ongoing negotiations with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Some hoped he would play at this week’s Players Championship, while others guessed that Woods would next tee it up at Augusta National. But now with a ruptured Achilles, Woods will likely miss the 2025 season altogether. It’s the second major operation that the 15-time major winner has undergone in the past six months, as Woods had back surgery in September. This injury seems like a significant setback for Woods, who has been away from the game for a while outside of TGL. His last PGA Tour start came last July at The Open Championship at Royal Troon, where he missed the cut. Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.