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QB carousel sends Russell Wilson to Steelers; Benches clear in South Carolina-LSU SEC tournament title game

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QB carousel sends Russell Wilson to Steelers; Benches clear in South Carolina-LSU SEC tournament title game


This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.


🏈 Good morning to everyone but especially …

NFL FREE AGENCY

Russell Wilson is getting a new fresh start. Both he and the Steelers hope it goes better than the last one. The former Seahawks star — and more recently embattled Broncos signal caller — announced late Sunday he is heading to Pittsburgh just days after Denver said it would release him. The Broncos allowed him to talk to other teams, and things apparently went well enough in the Steel City. It’s a one-year deal around the league minimum of $1.2 million; the Steelers can pay him that little because the Broncos are paying him so much.

I went over this last week, when Denver announced it would release Wilson despite $85 million in dead cap: In his first year in Denver, he was awful, the coaching was awful, and that was that. Then the Broncos hired Sean Payton, whose fit with Wilson was a curious one, and though Wilson was better, he wasn’t great. Then came an ugly benching, and now comes what will be Wilson’s third team in four years.

It’s an intriguing landing spot. Kenny Pickett, a first-round pick two years ago, hasn’t exactly impressed, but his offensive coordinator didn’t either, which is why he was fired. So in comes Wilson on an extremely cheap deal, playing alongside several promising playmakers, a win-now defense and a very good coach. It’s a low-downside, high-upside move in theory.

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The deal technically won’t be official until Wednesday afternoon, when the new league year begins. But it provides a thrilling precursor to what will be a busy few days. NFL free agency starts today at noon — kind of — with the legal tampering period, meaning any player on an expiring contract can speak with teams through their representation, and deals can be agreed upon. I’ve always thought the phrase “legal tampering” — two antonyms — is ridiculous, but that’s a discussion for another day because this is a busy newsletter.

Elsewhere at quarterback, the Buccaneers kept Baker Mayfield on a three-year, $100-million extension that includes
$50 million guaranteed. It’s an incredible career resurgence for Mayfield, who signed a one-year, $8.5-million deal last year and was viewed as a bridge quarterback. Here’s who else stayed put over the weekend:

We also had notable moves ahead over the weekend …

Then we have the group everyone is watching: the free agents looking for homes. It’s a group Kirk Cousins joined after he informed the Vikings he will test the market while remaining in touch. Even at 35 and coming off an Achilles tear, Cousins is the No. 1 free agent in both Pete Prisco’s top 100 and Cody Benjamin’s top 50.

Jared played free agent matchmaker for every AFC team and every NFC team, and he says Cousins fits perfectly with …

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  • Dubin: Falcons — There’s been a lot of talk about how the Falcons are close to contending because they are only a quarterback away from being good. If you’re a quarterback away, you’re not actually that close; because it’s the only thing you can’t win without, as we saw in Atlanta last year. But if the Falcons land Cousins, things become much more interesting.”

Here’s our free agency live blog, and here’s our top 100 free agent signings, so keep those open all day … every day … for the next few weeks. Here’s more to get you ready:

And if you’re looking for anything else, here’s our full primer.

🔥 Honorable mentions

😬 Not so honorable mentions

🏀 High drama in women’s college basketball conference tournament championships


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South Carolina will enter the NCAA Tournament undefeated, but certainly not without drama — drama that cost the Gamecocks one of their stars. The nation’s top team defeated LSU, 79-72, to win the SEC Tournament and improve to 32-0, but the victory was marred by a benches-clearing brawl in the fourth quarter.

  • South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley stole the ball from LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, who then intentionally fouled Fulwiley.
  • Johnson then shoved Ashlyn Watkins before 6’7″ Gamecocks center Kamilla Cardoso shoved Johnson to the ground.
  • Benches cleared, and Johnson’s brother even left the stands and came onto the court, making contact with Cardoso before leaving in handcuffs, per the broadcast.
  • Six players were ejected: five who left the benches and Cardoso, whose fighting disqualification means she’ll miss the first game of the NCAA Tournament.

The incident happened a day after Cardoso banked in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Tennessee, making it quite the weekend of ups and downs.

In Big Ten country, Caitlin Clark‘s Sunday started very down and ended very up as Iowa rallied past Nebraska, 94-89, in overtime, for the program’s third straight Big Ten Tournament title. Clark scored 30 of her 34 points after halftime and scored or assisted on the Hawkeyes’ final 28 points of regulation.

Elsewhere, Hannah Hidalgo led Notre Dame over NC State, 55-51, for the ACC Tournament crown, and McKenzie Forbes led USC over Stanford, 74-61, for the Pac-12 Tournament crown. Here’s our conference tournament tracker.

🏀 Men’s college basketball: North Carolina sweeps Duke, four bids clinched


USATSI

No. 7 North Carolina will enter this week’s ACC Tournament riding high, and with good reason. The Tar Heels finished their regular-season sweep of No. 9 Duke with an impressive 84-79 win in Durham. Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 31 points and made six 3-pointers. Making matters worse for Duke, Kyle Filipowski appeared to trip Ingram, putting the star Blue Devil in the unfavorable section of our weekend winners and losers.

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Also winning on the road was No. 15 Kentucky, which held off No. 4 Tennessee, 85-81, in Knoxville. Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves scored 27 each, helping the Wildcats survive a 40-point onslaught by Dalton Knecht. Kentucky earned an “A” in Kyle Boone’s weekly grades. He even called the week “splendiferous.” Yes, it’s a real word.

No. 14 Kansas earned a (perhaps generous) “C-“ after a 76-46 shellacking at the hands of No. 1 Houston, the Jayhawks’ fewest points in a conference game since 2000. This Kansas team just doesn’t have the firepower, and potential injuries to Hunter Dickinson and/or Kevin McCullar Jr. certainly won’t help.

We’ll see the teams above in their conference tournaments this week. As for completed conference tournaments, four champions earned a ticket to dance:

  • ASUN: Stetson
  • Big South: Longwood
  • Missouri Valley: Drake
  • Ohio Valley: Morehead State

Here’s our conference tournament tracker, and here’s more from the weekend:

🏆 USWNT wins inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup


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It may not have been pretty, but the USWNT is back to lifting trophies. The Star and Stripes topped Brazil, 1-0, to win the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup.

Lindsey Horan provided the game-winner with a wonderful header off Emily Fox‘s cross just before halftime, and a strong defensive effort followed. After World Cup disappointment — and ahead of Emma Hayes‘ arrival as coach and the 2024 Olympics — give credit to interim coach Twila Kilgore, Sandra Herrera writes.

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📺 What we’re watching Monday

🏀 Iowa State vs. No. 19 Oklahoma (W), 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 No. 16 Kansas State vs. No. 6 Texas (W), 5 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Big East Championship Game: vs. No. 9 UConn, 7 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Warriors at Spurs, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 Santa Clara vs. No. 23 Saint Mary’s (M), 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Celtics at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m. on NBA TV
🏀 San Francisco vs. No. 19 Gonzaga (M), 11:30 p.m. on ESPN2





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Nancy Mace’s foul-mouthed airport tirades roil race for South Carolina governorship as rival slams ‘spoiled brat’

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Nancy Mace’s foul-mouthed airport tirades roil race for South Carolina governorship as rival slams ‘spoiled brat’


New disclosures of a foul-mouthed tirade by Rep. Nancy Mace in the Charleston airport have roiled the South Carolina governor’s race and ignited angry accusations between the lawmaker and one of her competitors in the Republican primary.

Her rival, state AG Alan Wilson, called Mace a “spoiled brat” who treats cops like “servants,” at a time when the two of them are furiously competing for support from voters – and President Trump.

Mace back in August called herself “Trump in high heels” and acknowledged “I would really like his support for governor.” So far, Trump hasn’t given it – to anybody.

An investigative report by the Charleston Airport Authority quotes police officers and TSA agents who say Rep. Nancy Mace used foul language while trying to get expedited security processing FOIA via Charleston Regional Aviation Authority

Mace this week slammed an internal Charleston Airport Authority investigation that probed her profanity-laced “spectacle” Oct. 30, when Mace chewed out police officers and TSA agents over expedited security for her outbound flight, after a planned VIP escort fell through.

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New details are still coming to light – including an earlier incident in April where Mace allegedly blew up at agents who wouldn’t let her bring a family member through expedited security, according to the investigation report. 

“This is the only airport that gives me s–t,” she complained, according to one of the numerous law enforcement officers interviewed as part of the probe.

The investigative report was obtained by The Post through a public documents request.

One interviewed TSA agent quotes Mace as telling a cop following the botched Oct. 30 escort for her arrival at an airport gate, “I’m sick of your s–t, I’m tired of having to wait.”

Another officer, an explosives tech, described Mace as being “very nasty, very rude.” She said she could hear Mace calling police officers “f–king idiots” and “f–king incompetent” and stating that she was a “f–king representative.”

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“This is the only airport that gives me s–t”, Mace said, according to testimony in the report AP

Yet the airport was “not busy at all” at the time of the incident, the officer said.

A TSA agent said during the interaction Mace “literally was on that phone talking and texting her life away” as well as “saying rude things,” according to the investigative report.

One TSA officer who had been at the airport 23 years told investigators “every VIP or whomever, dignitary, that we’ve been across and had to deal with, we never, never had this problem.”

Mace hired an attorney and threatened weeks ago to sue the airport over the October incident, but has yet to do so.

One officer noted that the airport was not crowded the morning of Oct. 30 when Mace had her meltdown FOIA via Charleston Regional Aviation Authority

The report revealed the April confrontation when agents wouldn’t let Mace bring a family member through expedited security. TSA later let her take family members with her when she got screened.

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“I thought that the way she acted showed a sense of entitlement – [that] she is entitled to special protection, she is entitled to special treatment. When she doesn’t get special treatment, she throws a tantrum. To me that harkens back to a child not getting their way,” Wilson told The Post in an interview.

“These are public servants, not personal servants,” he said of law enforcement at the airport.

State AG Alan Wilson said Mace was behaving like a “spoiled brat,” and is challenging Mace in a fierce race for governor of South Carolina. AP

Mace told CNN in an interview this week the report had been “falsified,” without providing evidence. In response to Wilson’s “brat” comment, she wrote: “Imagine being ‘Attorney General’ and flying 500 miles for the sole purpose of dismissing death threats against a single mom.”

She told The Post she has received numerous credible death threats, and said on Friday a judge denied bond to a man accused of making online threats against her. She said during the April incident TSA had violated its own policy allowing federal officials to bring a guest and separated her from her child.

Mace has been taking her case to the airwaves in a week where she trashed the House Republican leadership in a Washington Post op-ed.

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A consultant to Mace’s campaign, Austin McCubbin, resigned Dec. 1, accusing her of turning her back on MAGA and trying to “hug the political cactus that is the [Sen.] Rand Paul [and Rep.] Thomas Massie wing of the Party.”



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A Stronger Rail Network Is a Win for South Carolina’s Economy – FITSNews

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A Stronger Rail Network Is a Win for South Carolina’s Economy – FITSNews


“The combined rail system would offer the reliability our business community has been asking for…”


by NATHAN BALLENTINE

***

For as long as I’ve served in the South Carolina House, I’ve believed that strong infrastructure is the backbone of a strong economy. Whether talking about roads, bridges, broadband, or freight mobility, our ability to efficiently move people and goods determines how competitive our state will be in the decades ahead. South Carolina continues to grow at one of the fastest rates in the country, and with that growth comes a responsibility to ensure our logistics network can meet the demands of modern commerce.

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That is why the proposed merger between Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) deserves thoughtful consideration, not just at the national level, but here at home. South Carolina’s economic success is directly tied to reliable freight transportation. From advanced manufacturing in the Upstate, to the distribution and warehousing centers in the Midlands, to the countless businesses that depend on steady supply chains, every region of our state relies on a freight system that works smoothly and predictably.

When freight rail is fragmented across multiple networks, bottlenecks and delays become far more common. Businesses, especially those operating with tight production schedules and narrow delivery windows, feel the impacts immediately. A delayed railcar can throw off inventory planning, disrupt operations, and create ripple effects that stretch across an entire supply chain. These unpredictable slowdowns can be enormously costly for the companies that keep South Carolina’s economy moving.

***

The Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger aims to address many of these longstanding challenges. By creating a unified network connecting more than 50,000 miles of track and linking 43 states with over 100 ports nationwide, the combined rail system would offer something our business community has been asking for: reliability. Studies indicate the merger could generate approximately $1 billion in annual cost savings and improve freight-car velocity by around 10 percent. These aren’t abstract figures, they reflect tangible improvements that would strengthen operations for employers, distributors, retailers, and consumers alike.

***

“Economic development teams would also have an even stronger pitch when attracting new employers to South Carolina…”

***

A more dependable rail network means companies can plan with greater precision, suppliers can manage logistics with fewer surprises, and transportation partners can commit to schedules with increased confidence. Economic development teams would also have an even stronger pitch when attracting new employers to South Carolina: not just a skilled workforce and business-friendly climate, but a transportation network capable of supporting long-term growth.

Improved rail performance also benefits South Carolina’s infrastructure more broadly. Rail is one of the most efficient ways to move goods long distances. Every shipment that travels by rail instead of truck reduces congestion on our highways, lowers fuel costs, and decreases wear and tear on roads that taxpayers ultimately fund. Better rail capacity complements, rather than replaces, our ongoing efforts to invest in roads and bridges across the state. It allows us to stretch transportation dollars further and focus on the improvements most needed in fast-growing communities.

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Another important factor is competitiveness. States across the Southeast are aggressively investing in logistics infrastructure to position themselves as national leaders in manufacturing and distribution. If South Carolina wants to stay ahead, and continue attracting companies that create stable, high-quality jobs, we must support improvements that strengthen the reliability and efficiency of our freight network. The Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger presents an opportunity to do just that.

***

RELATED | SOURCES: S.C. LAWMAKERS THREATEN SUPREME COURT

***

As someone who has spent nearly two decades advocating for responsible, forward-looking growth in our state, I believe that modernizing our freight system is not just a transportation issue, it is an economic necessity. Ensuring that goods can move quickly, safely, and predictably is fundamental to the success of our businesses and the financial well-being of South Carolina families.

Federal regulators will ultimately determine the path forward, and their review should be thorough and transparent. But from where I sit, the potential benefits to our state are clear. A more integrated, efficient rail system will help South Carolina businesses compete, help consumers by keeping costs lower, and help our state maintain the strong economic momentum we’ve built over the past decade.

A stronger rail network means a stronger South Carolina, and that is a future we should fully support.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Nathan Ballentine (Provided)

Nathan Ballentine represents the citizens of House District 71 in the S.C. General Assembly.

***

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LIVE: SC AG Alan Wilson, state, national leaders hold press conference on statewide drug busts

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LIVE: SC AG Alan Wilson, state, national leaders hold press conference on statewide drug busts


Statehouse Reporter Mary Green will have more on this tonight.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – South Carolina Attorney General and other officials will be holding a press conference Friday at 9:30 a.m. to talk about statewide drug busts.

Wilson is set to be joined by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel, representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security, as well as several local sheriffs and other law enforcement partners.

Watch the full press conference in the video above.

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