ATLANTA — Anthony Edwards left the Minnesota bench and the court during a timeout late in the Timberwolves’ 126-102 loss at the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

The unplanned and unapproved exit of the Minnesota star came during a timeout with 7 minutes, 52 seconds remaining. Edwards apparently disagreed with coach Chris Finch pulling his starters with the Hawks leading 109-80. Edwards tossed his towel and left the bench.

Edwards did not speak with reporters after the game. Finch told reporters that he should have remained on the bench.

“Obviously frustrated with the performance and rightfully so, but he needs to stay out on the floor and root for his team,” Finch said.

Edwards led the team with 30 points while making 10 of 18 shots, including three 3-pointers, in 33 minutes.

The high-scoring guard began the night eighth in the NBA with his average of 29.1 points.

He also was ejected in overtime of the Timberwolves’ 142-138 loss at Denver on Thursday. He scored 44 points before an ejection for arguing foul calls.

Edwards, an Atlanta native and former University of Georgia star, had friends and family, including his grandfather, at Wednesday’s game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Steve Sarkisian took a not-so-subtle shot at the College Football Playoff selection process earlier this week when he proclaimed Texas‘ Citrus Bowl win over Michigan might outrate some playoff games with TV viewership.

He’s right. Brands like the Longhorns and Wolverines are like catnip on New Year’s Eve afternoon. The ratings probably will beat several of the games from the playoff’s opening round, especially those that featured Tulane and James Madison.

By making that statement, Sarkisian is digging at the selection process that left a 9-3 Texas out of the field.

The reality is Texas missed the playoff despite earning the preseason No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history following back-to-back semifinal appearances.

There are schedule-based excuses to be made for Texas’ absence in the 12-team field. But the Longhorns finished behind four other teams in the SEC standings and came up short during a year the playoff was the expectation.

This leads to the question: What’s next?

Portal season has already been chaotic for Texas with most of the running back room choosing to exit en masse in addition to starting linebacker Liona Lefau and wide receiver DeAndre Moore.

NFL decisions will soon stress Texas, too. Those like star left tackle Trevor Goosby and defensive tackle Hero Kanu could choose to leave and open gaping holes on Texas’ depth chart. Those like All-American safety Michael Taaffe are also set to graduate.

Still, if I were a betting man, I’d put money on Texas being next season’s preseason No. 1.

There are only five seniors who were part of Texas’ regular starting 22 this season. 

Arch Manning, who torched Michigan for 376 yards of offense and four touchdowns on Wednesday, is back. So is superstar edge rusher Colin Simmons. With a title window open in Austin, expect the Longhorns to go all-in with the transfer portal to build a legitimate contender for what projects to be Manning’s last season.

Ahead of a critical offseason on the Forty Acres, this is a look back at what went wrong and what worked in 2025 and what that means for the Longhorns’ offseason.

Expect Manning to be a preseason Heisman favorite

Yes, we did this already. Yes, Manning had some real stinkers during the 2025 season. But what you may have missed down the stretch of the season was Manning emerging as an elite college quarterback.

After being called the “first college football flop” by The Athletic, Manning threw for 13 touchdowns against just two interceptions in the regular season while completing 62% of his passes. Despite the slow start, he finished the year as a top 20 QB for PFF in terms of his season-long grade.

Given the strides Manning made in Year 1 as a starter and the overwhelming optimism of sources in the building about his future, you should expect a leap by Manning in 2026.

And given his last name and the attention around him … expect that to generate plenty of Heisman chatter this summer.

Changes around Manning are coming

Steve Sarkisian produced a 1,000-yard rusher in every stop he made between 2008 and 2024 as a play-caller or a head coach. That came to a hault this year when no Texas back cleared the 600-yard barrier.

Part of that was due to injury. But a lot of it had to do with a struggling offensive line and disappointing backfield production outside of Quintrevion Wisner, who is now the No. 3 running back in the 247Sports Portal rankings.

The running back room will need to undergo a complete overhaul in the portal. The only remaining scholarship players in the room are freshmen Christian Clark and James Simon, a pair that will soon be joined by four-star freshman Derrek Cooper.

Given the youth of the room, expect Texas to grab at least one high-profile back out of the portal, maybe even two. The Longhorns are expected to be active at the top of that market.

The same could be said for the offensive line, where the only real guarantee to return is right tackle Brandon Baker and potentially center Connor Robertson. Texas will be aggressive adding offensive line pieces in the portal to help bolster a unit that finished 112th nationally in pressure rate allowed in the regular season.

Oh yeah, don’t be shocked if Texas goes after a high-level wide receiver in the portal. A player like Auburn transfer Cam Coleman could change the tenor of the Longhorns’ offense. Texas will also likely at least grab a blocking-focused tight end.

A surprising defensive change

Defense wasn’t the issue for Texas this year. The Longhorns ranked 26th nationally in yards allowed per play, 25th in scoring defense and allowed only 26 points per game in Texas’ three losses.

Despite that, Sarkisian made the surprising change to move on from defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski — who authored the nation’s No. 3 defense in 2024 — and hire Georgia analyst Will Muschamp.

It’s a reunion for Muschamp in Austin. A former head-coach-in-waiting for the Longhorns, Muschamp returns after 15 years away and stints as Florida and South Carolina‘s head coach.

Does Muschamp still have his fastball as a defensive play-caller? We’ll see. But Sarkisian is clearly banking on Muschamp to be the CEO of that unit and make it an annual top 10 group.

As for what returns for Texas, the Longhorns will have arguably the best defensive player in the country next year in EDGE Colin Simmons, who posted 13.5 TFLs and 11 sacks in the regular season. There are also building blocks with players like Kanu (if he returns), freshman safety Graceson Littleton and sophomore DT Alex January.

Expect Texas to add to a couple of spots on defense via the portal. The Longhorns are aggressively pursuing linebackers and cornerbacks in the portal thus far, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them take a defensive lineman or an edge rusher as well.

Looking ahead

In retrospect the No. 1 ranking for Texas in the preseason was shortsighted. The Longhorns had holes across their offense and lacked the elite secondary play to be a truly dominant defense. Manning also struggled for stretches of his debut, and a suspect O-line and run game didn’t help matters.

Still, Texas finished with 10 wins, including over playoff teams — and arch rivals — Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

Ahead of next year with Manning and Simmons returning and an expected push in the portal, the Longhorns should once again be in the mix for preseason No. 1.

The title window is open in Austin. There’s an awareness of that for the staff. Expect them to make a push this offseason to reach that goal. 

Utah Mammoth captain Clayton Keller, Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson and Florida Panthers Stanley Cup-winning defenseman Seth Jones have been named to the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, sources told ESPN.

Federations had to submit their 25-player rosters by Wednesday. Team Canada announced its team in a news conference Wednesday. Team USA plans to announce its men’s, women’s and paralympic hockey teams in a Friday morning appearance on “The Today Show.”

Team USA GM Bill Guerin, who is also GM of the Minnesota Wild, called players Wednesday morning to let them know they made the team. The United States also called players who just missed the cut and might still be needed as injury replacements. Teams can replace players until the tournament in Milan-Cortina begins Feb. 11.

Six players have already been named to the U.S. team: Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, Charlie McAvoy, Quinn Hughes and Jack Eichel. Keller, Thompson and Jones are additions from the 4 Nations Face-Off team that lost to Canada in the championship game in February.

NHL players are participating in the Olympics for the first time in 12 years, and it’s an opportunity to showcase how much hockey has grown in the United States. America has not won an Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team, and the U.S. is not shying away from what’s at stake.

“The expectation is to go to Milan and win the gold medal,” Eichel said at the U.S. Olympic orientation camp in September. “I think anything short of that, it would be disappointing.”

Keller, a St. Louis area native, was the No. 7 pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2016. The veteran is coming off a career-high 90-point season and is tied for the Utah team lead with 33 points through 40 games this season. It has already been an emotional season for Keller, whose father, Bryan, unexpectedly died in November.

Keller, 27, captained Team USA at the world championship in May in which the U.S. men won its first gold medal at the event in 92 years. Thompson, 28, scored the overtime goal for Team USA in its 1-0 win over Switzerland for gold. Guerin and the U.S. management group have stressed the importance of attending the event as a commitment to the program.

“We’re doing things differently now, and the world championships are absolutely connected to this. If you’re saying no and you don’t have a legit excuse, it will hurt you,” Guerin said at Team USA Olympic orientation camp in September. “I am not afraid to say that we don’t look at that with the Olympics coming up. That’s the biggest stage.”

Thompson, a versatile 6-foot-6 forward, has 18 goals and 34 points in 38 games for the Buffalo Sabres, who are on a nine-game winning streak.

Jones, 31, the No. 4 pick of the 2013 draft, has played 899 NHL games. He played for Nashville, Columbus and Chicago before he was traded to the Panthers last season — then helped Florida to its second straight Stanley Cup. The defenseman led Panthers skaters in ice time (25:30) in the 23-game postseason run. Jones was raised in the Dallas area while his dad, Popeye Jones, played for the NBA’s Mavericks.

The United States management group includes Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito, New York Rangers GM Chris Drury, New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald, Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman and Wild assistant GM Chris Kelleher. The New York Rangers’ Mike Sullivan will coach the team and also had input in the selection process. Longtime NHL coach and current ESPN analyst John Tortorella is on the coaching staff and scouted for the group this fall.