The biggest winner in the Major League Soccer offseason transfer market ended up being the rumor mill. Whether it was the apparent flirtation between Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, or the interest that Los Angeles FC had for Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, neither materialized and the MLS offseason was devoid of a splashy international move. Still, there are numerous players to watch this season, including World Cup winner Thiago Almada in Atlanta and Chicharito at the Galaxy.

Major League Baseball is introducing bigger bases this season as part of a flurry of changes designed to put more action and athleticism back in the game. The bases are expanding from 15-inch squares to 18 inches, which cuts down the distance between them by 4 1/2 inches. 

No. 5 Purdue big man Zach Edey has muscled his way into the national player of the year conversation. His 7-foot-4, 305-pound frame makes him hard to defend. He's leading the Big Ten in scoring with 22.1 points and rebounding with 12.7, and he's fifth in scoring and second in rebounding nationally.

Today is Thursday, Feb. 23, the 54th day of 2023. There are 311 days left in the year.

There are some pretty good uses for an old cellphone, if it is not too beat-up or broken. Here are five things you can do with your old phone, and none of them require an active SIM card.

I made a terrible decision and want you to know about it so you can save yourself.

Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and No. 18 UConn beat No. 20 Providence 87-69 on Wednesday night to split the regular-season series between the New England rivals. Adama Sanogo and Alex Karaban each added 16 points for the Huskies (21-7, 10-7 Big East), who won for the fifth time in their last six games.

Blayre Turnbull scored twice in a 32-second span midway through the second period and Canada overcame a three-game deficit to win the Rivalry Series, beating the United States 5-0 in Game 7 on Wednesday night in the women's hockey showdown.

There are six teams in the NBA that look pretty comfortably in playoff position. There are four other teams that pretty much know they're not going anywhere. That leaves 20 teams for the last 10 playoff spots. The NBA's All-Star break ends Thursday night. And there's only 28% of the season left, which means it's time for teams to start really jostling for playoff position.

Mike Krzyzewski isn't coaching for the first time in 48 years, but that doesn't mean he has retired. Despite being away from the sidelines, the Hall of Fame coach has been busy with speeches and his "Basketball and Beyond with Coach K" show on SiriusXM satellite radio. Krzyzewski watched his first game post-retirement at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 14, when Notre Dame faced Duke. Even though Coach K isn't at the games, he said he has watched every game this season and talks frequently with his successor, Jon Scheyer.

Houston Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. says he will miss opening day for the World Series champions because of a strained muscle in his pitching arm. McCullers, sidelined for the first 4 1/2 months of last season while rehabbing from a right flexor pronator strain, noticed soreness after a bullpen session last week. McCullers missed the 2020 season following Tommy John surgery and went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 2021, then was injured in the postseason. McCullers made eight starts from Aug. 13 on last year and was 0-1 in three postseason outings.

Russia's reintegration into the world of sports one year after the invasion of Ukraine began threatens to create the biggest rift in the Olympic movement since the Cold War. Russia remains excluded from many international sporting events but that could soon change. Next year's Paris Olympics are fast approaching and qualifying events are under way. The International Olympic Committee is working to bring athletes from Russia and ally Belarus back into competition but not everyone agrees. Ukraine and several of its allies say any return for Russia would be unacceptable. The IOC says excluding Russian and Belarusian athletes entirely would be discriminatory.

From Kevin Willard at Maryland to Jerome Tang at Kansas Sate, new coaches are turning programs around quickly. Add Sean Miller at Xavier, Chris Jans at Mississippi State and Dennis Gates at Missouri, and the first-year coach of the year contest is intense.

One of MLB’s most visible rule changes for 2023 is a sizable curtailing of infield shifts. The practice had grown exponentially over the past several years and has been partially blamed for a steady league-wide decline in batting average.