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Patriots lose to Jets in Belichick's potential last game

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Patriots lose to Jets in Belichick's potential last game

Coach Bill Belichick’s potential final game with the New England Patriots was one for the record books — in a way he won’t want to remember.

The Patriots lost to the Jets 17-3 at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, ending New York’s 15-game losing skid to New England. The Patriots recorded 119 yards of offense, marking the fewest of the Belichick era. The team’s previous low was 149 against the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 7, 2001.

Rumors abound — as they have for much of the fall — that Belichick and the Patriots may part ways at the end of the season. Answers about the franchise’s future are expected to come following a sit-down with owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft and Belichick shortly after Sunday’s game.

Asked about his future postgame, Belichick said he’d only talk about Sunday’s contest.

“Disappointed in the way the game finished,” Belichick said when asked whether he thinks he’ll be back with the Patriots. Belichick added that he “still enjoys coaching.”

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The team’s struggling offense traded off between quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe this fall before settling on Zappe as the starter in late November. He went 12-of-30 with 88 yards, no touchdowns and two fourth-quarter interceptions against a Jets team that’s had a dramatic season of quarterback issues.

The Jets’ Trevor Siemian — starting for Zach Wilson who was moved to injured reserve with a concussion Saturday — also failed to throw a touchdown. He finished 8-of-20 with 70 throwing yards.

With Sunday’s loss, the Patriots finished the season at 4-13 and are last in the AFC East for the first time since 2000, Belichick’s first year on the job.

Belichick is one of the most successful coaches in NFL history, building a dynasty with quarterback Tom Brady and winning nine AFC championships and six Super Bowls (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018). Under Belichick, the franchise has had a winning record in 20 of his 24 seasons.

However, the relationship between Brady and Belichick was fractured by the end of the 2019 season, and Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. The following season, Brady led the Bucs to a Super Bowl title, the seventh of his storied career.

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Over the last four years, the Patriots, meanwhile, tried quarterbacks Cam Newton, Jones and Zappe as their offense slowly became one of the league’s worst.

After arguably the best 20-year run in league history, the Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since the 2018 Super Bowl and have gone 30-37 since Brady left.

NFL coaching changes live updates: Coaches fired, on the hot seat, latest Belichick news, rumors and job candidates

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What’s next for Belichick?

All eyes turn to Belichick. He brought more success to one franchise than any coach ever. But the Patriots just finished their worst season since 1992.

They’ve had a losing record in three of the four years since Brady left, leaving Belichick’s future very much up in the air. He’s expected to meet with the Krafts on Monday to discuss their path forward, but at this point, a “mutual parting” of ways is very much possible — if not likely. Belichick and Robert Kraft have had their differences for years, but now the success that smoothed over those rough patches has dried up.

The Patriots run their franchise far differently from any other, a siloed organization where collaboration is often discouraged in favor of whatever avenue Belichick seems fit. What he’s chosen in recent years hasn’t worked. That could lead to the Krafts desiring change and a more modern approach to the organizational structure. News of Belichick’s future could come as early as Monday. — Chad Graff, Patriots staff writer

GO DEEPER

Why the Patriots’ Bill Belichick-Robert Kraft partnership is on the verge of a breakup

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What’s next for the Patriots?

It was a fitting end to the season for the Patriots offense, which closes with the fewest points scored of any team. No matter who the coach is, the Patriots need a major overhaul on that side of the ball, including (but not limited to) a new quarterback, multiple new wide receivers and at least one new offensive tackle. — Graff

The Jets, finally, ended the skid of 15 straight games lost to the Patriots and Belichick. The game was meaningless in the grand scheme of things — these were two bad teams playing a game that didn’t matter at the end of disappointing seasons for both of them — but at least the Jets finally got this monkey off their back. They did it on the back of running back Breece Hall.

The Jets star set a career-high with 37 carries for 178 yards and he surpassed 1,500 total yards for the season with his performance, the first Jets running back to do that since Thomas Jones in 2008. The most impressive part is that Hall did it in his first year post-ACL surgery. Hall clinched the win with a 50-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Now the Jets go into the offseason with a lot of questions — but Hall is not one of them. Expect the Jets to build their offense around his talents both as a runner and pass-catcher, and — if he stays healthy — should have a shot at 2,000 yards with Aaron Rodgers next year. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets staff writer

NFL playoff bracket, scenarios, projected matchups and seeding live updates: Full Sunday schedule

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(Photo: Winslow Townson / Getty Images)

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2026 World Cup Odds: Teams Favored to Advance to Knockout Stage

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2026 World Cup Odds: Teams Favored to Advance to Knockout Stage

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With the largest World Cup field in the history of the tournament, 32 of the 48 teams will be fighting for a spot in the knockout stage. 

66.6% of nations will advance out of the group stage this summer, which is a massive upgrade from 50% in past World Cups. Because of this, sportsbooks have adjusted with less favorable odds.

Prior to the start of the tournament, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, England, and Germany entered with the strongest odds to advance from the group stage, supported by recent major-tournament success and talent-rich rosters.

All five nations are heavily favored at -10000 to advance to the knockout round.

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The Spaniards are the defending European Champions while the Argentinians are looking to win back-to-back titles. Germany has not made it out of the group stage in the last two World Cups, but has always been a perennial contender— having won four titles in its history. And then of course there’s Brazil, which has more titles than any country with five. 

Now, after the conclusion of the first day of the World Cup, Mexico has joined the group at the top. El Tri has surged to -10000 to advance to the knockout stage after initially being just -1400. Mexico’s huge leap up the oddsboard is a direct result of its dominating 2-0 win over South Africa. 

With that in mind, let’s dive into the odds for each team to advance to the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as of June 12.

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

Odds to Advance to Knockout Stage

Spain: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Argentina: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Brazil: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
England: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Mexico: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Germany: -10000 (bet $10 to win $10.10 total)
Portugal: -5000 (bet $10 to win $10.20 total)
France: -5000 (bet $10 to win $10.20 total)
Belgium:-3500 (bet $10 to win $10.29 total)
South Korea: -2500 (bet $10 to win $10.40 total)
Switzerland: -1800 (bet $10 to win $10.56 total)
Netherlands: -1400 (bet $10 to win $10.71 total)
Morocco: -1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)
Colombia: -1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)
Uruguay: -1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)
Canada: -1000 (bet $10 to win $11 total)
Ecuador: -900 (bet $10 to win $11.11 total)
Norway: -900 (bet $10 to win $11.11 total)
United States: -750 (bet $10 to win $11.33 total)

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The U.S. men’s national team is currently -750 to advance from Group D (Photo by Omar Vega/USSF/Getty Images).

Croatia: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Austria: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Türkiye: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Ivory Coast: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Japan: -500 (bet $10 to win $12 total)
Egypt: -340 (bet $10 to win $12.94 total)
Algeria: -310 (bet $10 to win $13.23 total)
Scotland: -310 (bet $10 to win $13.23 total)
Senegal: -230 (bet $10 to win $14.35 total)
Sweden: -230 (bet $10 to win $1435 total)
Bosnia and Herzegovina: -220 (bet $10 to win $14.55 total)
Paraguay: -205 (bet $10 to win $14.88 total)
Iran: -200 (bet $10 to win $15 total)
Czechia: -165 (bet $10 to win $16.06 total)
Ghana: -140 (bet $10 to win $17.14 total)
Australia: -110 (bet $10 to win $19.09 total)
DR Congo: +100 (bet $10 to win $20 total)
 

Raúl Jiménez helped propel Mexico to a 2-0 win over South Africa in the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup (Photo by Yair Gonzalez/Jam Media/Getty Images).

Saudi Arabia: +105 (bet $10 to win $20.50 total)
Tunisia: +140 (bet $10 to win $24 total)
New Zealand: +150 (bet $10 to win $25 total)
Uzbekistan: +180 (bet $10 to win $28 total)
Cape Verde: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)
Panama: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)
Qatar: +275 (bet $10 to win $37.50 total)
South Africa: +320 (bet $10 to win $42 total)
Jordan +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Iraq: +450 (bet $10 to win $55 total)
Haiti: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Curaçao: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)

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Commentary: Cameron Brink is trying to navigate a fouled-up situation

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Commentary: Cameron Brink is trying to navigate a fouled-up situation

Cameron Brink said she’d appreciate some grace. She really would.

Sparks fans should give her some, because where else is she going to get it?

Certainly not from WNBA refs. Not from opponents with more to play for than ever. Certainly not from the game itself; basketball moves fast, and a bummer can become a bust in a blink.

But Brink, 24, is not on the brink of bust territory, no. Block that thought. Technically, it’s Year 3, but after a torn ACL derailed her as a rookie two summers ago, it’s practically like Year 2 for the former Stanford star. And by design, the WNBA is testing her confidence, her decision-making and her patience as she tries to reestablish herself as one of the WNBA’s best young players.

So, grace.

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The recognizable 6-foot-4 forward — she’s the long-blond-haired hooper in the New Balance ads — was the No. 2 overall pick in 2024.

Now she’s her team’s No. 3 option in the post. She’s coming off the bench behind Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby for the Sparks, who are a modest 6-6 after wins this week over the expansion Portland Fire and the struggling Seattle Storm.

Against the Fire, Brink scored two points and picked up four fouls in nine minutes. Then she went to Seattle and had 15 points in 18 minutes but was pulled with more than five minutes left in the fourth quarter after getting her third, fourth and fifth fouls in 86 seconds. (WNBA players get six fouls before being disqualified.)

For the season, Brink has been called for 49 fouls in 208 minutes. A foul about every four minutes!

They’re silly fouls and they’re phantom calls. Egregious and ticky-tack. Costly and common. A real fouled-up buffet. She sets screens that get scrutinized as if by the most vigilant TSA agent. And sometimes, yes, she’s doing the accidental tripping. Other times, the officials are.

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Her reputation precedes her, so everyone gets a superstar’s whistle when being defended by Brink. Opponents bake it into their game plans.

That can’t continue.

All that fouling is hindering Brink’s development because it’s robbing her of important in-game reps — which she needs, foremost, to figure out how to stop fouling.

Sparks forward Cameron Brink, left, blocks the shot of the Tempo’s Laura Juskaite during a game last month.

(Jeff Lewis / Associated Press)

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“At the pro level,” said Tara VanDerveer, Brink’s coach at Stanford, “every young player always has a lot of work to do. And I saw her make a three. I see her block shots. She rebounds, she can handle the ball, she’s unselfish, she’s a terrific talent. But there’s always things players need to work on.”

We know what Brink’s thing is.

“She has to be disciplined,” VanDerveer said. “And if you want something so badly, if you want to be an All-Star someday or make the Olympic team, you’ve got to be dependable … and I think anyone can change, if it’s behavior they recognize is not in their best interests or not in their team’s best interests. It’s hard, but it’s something I think people can do.

“That’s what Cam is working on.”

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And, VanDerveer added, “I’m really so excited that Nneka is there, because she will give her such great guidance and mentorship.”

And grace. Brink is getting that from Ogwumike — also a former Stanford star, the Sparks legend returned to L.A. this season after two seasons in Seattle — and her other teammates.

“I just do my best to lead by example,” Ogwumike, 35, said. “But then also let [Brink] know that she’s very capable, that she’s more than capable, which is exactly why she’s here with us and it’s exactly why we need her on this team.”

Sparks forward Cameron Brink, wearing a facemask, controls the ball while defended by Sun forward Raegan Beers.

Sparks forward Cameron Brink, wearing a facemask, controls the ball while defended by Sun forward Raegan Beers.

(Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)

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But how long will Brink get grace from the Sparks in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business of basketball?

The foul trouble tells us why a win-now team wouldn’t trust her, why the Sparks would give meaningful minutes to two veteran post players ahead of her. Why they wouldn’t prioritize Brink’s development alongside winning as they strive to snap a previously unthinkable five-year playoff drought.

And what about fans? How patient will you all be with a player who was drafted immediately after Caitlin Clark and five spots in front of Angel Reese?

These days, that might depend on what the parlay calls for.

Or, preferably, whether you remember Brink’s first 15 WNBA games. All starts, all signs pointing to stardom. She showed up in 2024 throwing lavish block parties. Her 2.3 blocks per game were message-sending spikes, like what Lisa Leslie used to enthrall Sparks crowds with.

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From the jump, she had guys coming to games at Crypto.com Arena wearing her No. 22 jersey and little girls arriving in groups with No. 22 painted on their cheeks and “I love Cam Brink” signs in hand.

And then the torn ACL cost her 25 games of her rookie season and another 25 last season, plus her spot on the United States’ Olympic 3×3 women’s basketball team in Paris in 2024.

She had to start over. Lost a lot of ground. But you see that masked woman stuck on the Sparks’ bench for all but 17 minutes per game?

You can’t miss her. She’s looking uncomfortable in protective facial gear that either hinders her breathing or her peripheral vision, her only options to protect the torn septum she suffered in a victory over the Las Vegas Aces last month.

She’s the one with the 6-8 wingspan who’s averaging 9.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 52.1% from the field in her limited minutes.

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She’s still Cameron Brink. Between fouls, she’s fluid and fast and covers more of the court than almost anyone in the WNBA, able to leap from defending guards to centers in a single bound.

“It’s just looking at every day as a new opportunity to learn and grow and not getting too bogged down when things don’t go exactly as you planned,” Brink told me. “Because more times than not, things are not going to go how you want them to. And that’s life. So I just want to be able to put my best effort out there every single night.

She knows what the Sparks need from her: “To perform, just come on the floor and compete.”

To prove she can stay on the floor to compete.

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2026 World Cup Odds: How Far Will Team USA Go?

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2026 World Cup Odds: How Far Will Team USA Go?

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When will Team USA lose in the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Or, will it not lose at all? 

Let’s check out the odds for the Americans’ stage of elimination at FanDuel Sportsbook, as of June 11.

Team USA — Stage of elimination odds

Last 32: +170 (bet $10 to win $27 total)
Last 16: +220 (bet $10 to win $32 total)
Group stage: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Quarterfinals: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Semifinals: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Runner-up: +2800 (bet $10 to win $290 total)
Outright winner: +6000 (bet $10 to win $610 total)

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This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

The outlook appears to be … ho-hum?

If the odds ring true, the Americans are expected to make it out of the group stage but fall in the first knockout stage game. 

How would that result stack up against previous results? Well, at the 2022 World Cup, Team USA made it to the Round of 16, which was viewed as a stellar accomplishment. 

The U.S. men’s national team currently has 60-1 odds to lift the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy this summer (Photo by Omar Vega/USSF/Getty Images).

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In 2018, the USA did not qualify for the World Cup, and in 2014 and 2010, the Americans also made it to the Round of 16. Their best result this century occurred in 2002, when the Americans made it all the way to the quarterfinals before being eliminated. 

In 1998, Team USA lost in the group stage, in 1994, it fell in the Round of 16, and in 1990, it also fell in the group stage.

With the expanded World Cup format, 32 teams will advance to the knockout stage (out of 48), giving teams a much better chance of getting out of the group stage than in previous tournaments. In past years, only 50% of the field advanced to the knockout round, but now 66.6% of teams will move on.

With that being said, anything less than a knockout round appearance on home soil would be viewed as a major failure this summer for Team USA.

The second result on the oddsboard is the “Last 16,” meaning the USA would make it out of the group stage and win one knockout stage game, before falling in the second knockout stage game. The third result is that the Americans failed to make it out of the group stage, and the fourth is that they made it to the quarterfinals, meaning they won two knockout stage games. 

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Making the semis, losing in the championship game and winning the championship are the three results with the longest odds. 

The U.S. begins its World Cup journey on Friday as the Stars and Stripes face Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium. Getting off to a fast start in the group is crucial for the team’s World Cup dreams of making a deep run this summer. 

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