Mickey Togs

Steve Austin has given high praise to Pat McAfee, who has wrestled a few matches in WWE in addition to serving as a color commentator. 

After working a few matches in NXT, McAfee beat Austin Theory at WrestleMania 39. McAfee made a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 40 for a short match with The Miz.

McAfee is currently away from WWE as Wade Barrett started to fill in for McAfee as a color commentator on WWE SmackDown when the former NFL punter joined College Gameday last year. He recently signed a big money deal with ESPN. 

New York Yankee Gerrit Cole had Tommy John surgery.

Cole was experiencing elbow discomfort during a spring training outing and underwent an MRI that ultimately revealed the need for Tommy John surgery.

The news is a devastating blow to the Yankees and Cole, who’s approaching what would be his 13th MLB season at 34 years old. 

Pitchers who undergo the procedure to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament generally face a 12-to-18-month timetable to return. The procedure rules Cole out for the entire 2025 season and places his long-term future as an MLB ace in doubt.

The New York Jets and free agent quarterback Justin Fields reached a contract agreement with Fields getting a two-year, $40 million deal that includes $30 million guaranteed.

Fields, 26, now becomes the favorite to be the Jets starting quarterback in 2025.

The Bears drafted Fields out of Ohio State with the 11th overall pick in 2021, the same draft that the Jets took Zach Wilson with the No. 2 pick. Fields showed flashes of potential but it never clicked for him in Chicago as he played for two different head coaches and two different offensive coordinators in his three years there. He went 10-28 as the starting quarterback and the Bears moved on last year, trading him to the Steelers.

Fields started the first six games of last season in Pittsburgh and did some good things. He threw five passing touchdowns and rushed for five more and had only one interception. The team was 4-2 when Steelers coach Mike Tomlin decided to switch to Russell Wilson as his starter.

Fields played sparingly for the rest of the season and is now moving on from Pittsburgh, which reportedly was interested in re-signing him.

In his career, Fields has thrown 45 touchdowns, run for another 19  and thrown 31 interceptions. He has a career QB rating of 83.9 and a 61.1 completion percentage.

Hardee’s looks to follow up on the success of their recently launched Lunch Wraps with the introduction of new Breakfast Wraps.

Hardee’s new Breakfast Wraps can be enjoyed in four varieties, including the Sausage Egg and Cheese Wrap, Bacon Egg and Cheese Wrap, Egg and Cheese Wrap, and Sausage Egg and Gravy Wrap.

Priced at 2 for $5, Hardee’s is inviting fans to enjoy more goodness for less, by mixing and matching any two breakfast wraps for 5 bucks.

You can find the new breakfast option at participating Hardee’s locations nationwide.

The Raiders have their new quarterback.

Las Vegas has acquired quarterback Geno Smith for a 2025 third-round draft pick to reunite him with former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

Smith is entering the final season of his three-year, $75 million contract, and the quarterback sought a new deal in the $45-million-a-year range. 

The Raiders sought to improve upon their quarterback play after a 4-13 season that saw Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O’Connell share the bulk of snaps. 

As a group, the team’s quarterbacks threw for a combined 3,797 yards and 19 touchdowns with an 82.4 rating, while the team had the  fourth-worst scoring offense in the NFL (18.2 points per game).

They had flirted with Matthew Stafford as a potential option to take over as signal-caller before he decided to remain with the Rams on a  restructured deal.

Now, the Raiders get Smith, who revived his career in Seattle, where  the quarterback played for five seasons, four of which came with Carroll — who was hired as Raiders head coach this offseason — at the helm. 

Circle K and Mountain Dew have teamed up for the debut of new Mountain Dew Purple Thunder.

Mountain Dew Purple Thunder features the flavors of blackberry and plum for the ultimate berry combination.

You can find Mountain Dew Purple Thunder at Circle K locations across the nation in 20-oz bottles and on fountain.

The Mountain Dew Purple Thunder bottle design features its own biker gang of Dew characters, including a plum and blackberry enjoying the sweetest ride of their life.

Kodai Senga spent part of his winter at home in Japan in rehab mode, with the goal of arriving at spring training ready for a normal buildup toward the season. On that count, the Mets right-hander is confident he succeeded.

Senga said he’s been “normal and healthy” since early January after missing almost all of last season with multiple ailments.

“I am not worried at all,” Senga said through his interpreter. “I just need to ramp up slowly and get through spring training healthy and pitching a lot of innings so we can go deep into the postseason.”

“This offseason has been really great in terms of evaluating what types of movements I need and don’t need,” he said. “I have been able to work on that and I feel really good up to this point. I just need to ramp up slowly.”

The Mets plan to employ a six-man rotation, largely to provide extra rest for Senga, who was accustomed to such a schedule in Japan. Senga, in his first season with the Mets, was better with the extra day of rest than on a normal schedule.

“I think what is really important is my health, and if I feel good I will be able to throw, whether it’s a six-man rotation or five-man rotation, regular rest or long rest,” Senga said. “It’s up to the manager to decide when I am going to throw. I just need to be ready to throw whenever they call on me.”

It didn’t seem like Aaron Boone was going anywhere. Now, it’s a sure thing.

The New York Yankees and the 51-year-old manager agreed to a two-year contract extension.

While Boone’s three-year contract expired after last season, the club picked up its team option to keep him for 2025 shortly after the World Series.

Since taking the Yankees’ job before the 2018 season, he’s gone 603-429 (.584), giving him the second-best winning percentage among active managers behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dave Roberts (.627). His 603 wins are the seventh-most in Yankees history.

“There’s no other place I’d rather be and no other team I’d rather be doing this with,” Boone said.

The NFL announced it will return to São Paulo, Brazil, in Week 1 of the 2025 season, with the Los Angeles Chargers as the designated team.

The NFL made its Brazilian debut during a Week 1 matchup at Corinthians Arena last season, which saw the eventual Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Green Bay Packers in Week 1.

“After a successful and memorable first game in Brazil in 2024, we are delighted to confirm the league’s return to São Paulo with the Los Angeles Chargers as the designated team in what will be an incredible next chapter in the market,” said a spokesperson.

Brazil has long been a targeted market for the NFL, which said it had  more than 36 million fans, the second-largest among international fan bases behind only Mexico. The league previously announced it would add Melbourne, Australia, to its international slate in 2026 at a date and time to be determined later.