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Auto & Transport Roundup: Market Talk
Expansion draft projections: Top player available on each team
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Michael Voepel
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Michael Voepel
ESPN Senior Writer
- Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
Multiple Authors
The extremely condensed WNBA offseason officially begins Friday with the expansion draft (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), when the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo get their first opportunity to start building their rosters.
Both expansion franchises have been preparing for this draft for months as the league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association navigated contentious and lengthy negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. With no draft rules provided to the teams during the negotiations, sources told ESPN that the front offices at Portland and Toronto were preparing for many different scenarios but used the rules in place for the Golden State Valkyries expansion draft in December 2024 as a baseline.
When a new CBA was verbally agreed upon on March 18, setting up and executing the expansion draft was the top priority.
Toronto won a coin toss held last week and chose to pick sixth in the first round of the April 13 WNBA draft, which means Portland has the first pick in the expansion draft (and will pick seventh overall on April 13). Last Sunday, each of the 13 preexisting franchises had to submit a list of five players they will protect from the expansion draft.
The expansion draft will consist of two rounds. The Fire and the Tempo — the WNBA’s 13th and 14th franchises — will alternate picks and can select up to one unprotected player from every other team. On Wednesday, however, Portland and Toronto completed trades with the Chicago Sky. Neither will select players from Chicago’s unprotected list; the Sky swapped pick No. 17 in the April 13 draft with Portland’s No. 21 pick, and Chicago sent pick No. 26 (via New York) in the April 13 draft to Toronto.
There are a few notable changes to this year’s expansion draft compared with the Valkyries draft:
• Both teams can select only one unrestricted free agent
• Any unrestricted free agent who is no longer eligible to be designated as a core player (five or more years of service) can be selected by either franchise
• Portland and Toronto are the only teams that can offer those players the supermax salary
• As unrestricted free agents, those players still have the freedom to sign elsewhere despite being selected by one of the expansion franchises
Each team’s list of protected players will not be released, but sources told ESPN that these changes have impacted how some front offices chose to protect players, making calculated risks in the players left unprotected.
With all that in mind, ESPN breaks down who the top player left available could be from each team.
Atlanta Dream: Maya Caldwell, 5-foot-11, G
Caldwell has had to battle to earn a roster spot in the WNBA, having been waived or released five times since being drafted in the third round in 2021. But she keeps coming back and had her best full season last year, averaging 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds. Initially chosen No. 33 by Indiana in 2021, Caldwell was waived before that season started. She played nine games for Atlanta in 2022, returned to Indiana for 2023, and then spent the past two seasons with the Dream. At 27, she could handle an expanded role. — Voepel
Chicago Sky: Sevgi Uzun, 5-10, G
A native of Turkey, she started her career in Dallas in 2024, playing 40 games that year. She was part of a multiteam trade in 2025 that sent her to Phoenix, where she played seven games before being waived in June 2025. She was signed in July by the Sky, for whom she played 18 games and averaged 3.7 points and 2.7 assists. At 28, she has extensive experience overseas. — Voepel
Connecticut Sun: Lindsay Allen, 5-8, G
Pretty much the definition of a veteran guard who keeps finding roster spots, Allen has played for six teams in eight seasons. She was a second-round pick in 2017 by New York and spent her first season with the Liberty. Last year, she played 31 games for the Sun, averaging 2.4 points and 2.2 assists. At 31, she’s not going to blow anyone away with her stats, but she’s a dependable, experienced pro. — Andrews
Dallas Wings: Haley Jones, 6-1, F/G
The No. 6 pick in the 2023 draft by Atlanta, Jones never really blossomed with the Dream. She played 83 games with Atlanta but didn’t average more than 4.0 PPG a season. Waived by the Dream at the start of last season, she played four games with Phoenix but was waived again. She then went to Dallas and got more playing time last season in 24 games with the Wings, averaging 8.1 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds. If she can be that type of player this season, she could be a good expansion pickup. — Voepel
Golden State Valkyries: Cecilia Zandalasini, 6-2, F
Golden State is at risk of losing a key player, no matter whom Toronto and Portland pick. It’s a testament to how the Valkyries built their roster for their inaugural season. But among the players who could be available, Zandalasini should be considered a top option. Her length and shooting from the wing have proven value, and she would provide a new team with veteran experience and leadership. — Andrews
Indiana Fever: Makayla Timpson, 6-2, F/C
A second-round pick at No. 19 last year by Indiana, Timpson filled in as a rookie reserve post for the Fever. She played in 31 regular-season games (2.6 PPG, 1.8 RPG) and eight playoff games (2.3, 1.9). She didn’t get a lot of playing time but showed some skill when she did. She could improve a lot with an expanded role this season. — Voepel
Las Vegas Aces: Kierstan Bell, 6-1, G
Bell was inserted into Las Vegas’ starting lineup for the second half of the season as just one adjustment to address an underwhelming start to the season. That move paid off. This role change for Bell proved she can be a solid scorer, and her coach highlights her cutting as her best asset. She should be attractive to the expansion teams because they’ll be picking up a reliable player with championship experience, but on a cheaper contract. — Andrews
Los Angeles Sparks: Rae Burrell, 6-2, F
The Sparks will have a handful of desirable players left unprotected. There’s an argument that Rae Burrell could be protected, with her coming off an incredible stretch of basketball in her second season with Unrivaled. But with the team almost surely keeping Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby, Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, that leaves just one more spot left, which will probably go to Azura Stevens. So, if Burrell is available, Portland or Toronto should take a swing on the athletic, young wing. — Andrews
Minnesota Lynx: Bridget Carleton, 6-2, F
Carleton played just eight games as a rookie in 2019 after being drafted in the second round by Connecticut: four with the Sun and four with Minnesota. But she found a home with the Lynx and has played the past six years with them. Over the past two seasons at Minnesota, she started 80 games, counting the playoffs. Last year, she averaged 6.5 points and 3.2 assists. The Lynx might not want to expose her to the expansion draft, but if they do, she is a dependable veteran who will take on any role. Carleton also is a native of Ontario, which could make her an appealing choice for Toronto. — Voepel
New York Liberty: Emma Meesseman, 6-4, F
A second-round steal by Washington in the 2013 draft, Meesseman was the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP for the Mystics. She spent seven seasons in Washington, with her commitment to the Belgian national team keeping her out the 2018 and 2021 seasons. She played for Chicago in 2022 but didn’t compete in the WNBA in 2023 or 2024. Last season, she joined the Liberty in August, playing 17 games in the regular season and averaging 13.4 points and 5.1 rebounds. In her three playoff games, though, she averaged just 4.3 points with 5.3 rebounds. If Meesseman, who turns 33 in May, is available for the expansion draft, she would be a good pickup provided she plans to play in the WNBA this season. — Voepel
Phoenix Mercury: Lexi Held, 5-10, G
A 25-year-old rookie last season, Held proved she can come up with big shots in big moments, playing a rotational role in the Mercury’s run to the Finals last year. She also played a critical part in keeping Phoenix afloat during the stretches when some of the team’s stars were injured. She’s the kind of young yet steady player who could help kick-start a franchise and who has the potential to become a star. — Andrews
Seattle Storm: Nneka Ogwumike, 6-2, F
Seattle is stacked with unrestricted free agents, so if someone is selected from the Storm, that player could be the one UFA Portland and Toronto are allowed to take. Ogwumike is a 35-year-old veteran but still has good basketball to be played. Her presence on a team building from the ground up could provide the leadership other teams only dream of having. Since Ogwumike is unrestricted and no longer core eligible, she can go anywhere she wants. Portland and Toronto are the only teams that can give her a supermax contract. So, if she is interested in that after fighting so hard for a new CBA, joining one of the expansion franchises could be an attractive destination. — Andrews
Washington Mystics: Jacy Sheldon, 5-10, G
She was originally drafted No. 5 in 2024 by the Dallas Wings, and she has a strong reputation for defense. In February 2025, she was traded to Connecticut and played 28 games for the Sun last season. Then in August, she was traded to Washington, appearing in two games for the Mystics before suffering a right ankle injury that kept her out the rest of the season. For her career, she has averaged 6.3 PPG, and she could probably benefit from a fresh start. — Voepel
Cuba pardons 2,010 people as the U.S. pressures the island's government
Cuba pardons 2,010 people as the U.S. pressures the island’s government
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PHOTOS: Pilgrimage to Santuario de Chimayo 2026
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The faithful were out in droves on Good Friday for the annual pilgrimages to Tomé Hill and Santuario de Chimayo. Sky News 13 captured the scene as people made the journey to Chimayo.
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‘He’s Loved by This Community’
Brandon Lake won a Grammy this year for his collab with Jelly Roll, “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” The Christian artist says that Jelly is “trying to use his entire life to do good” after the country star was criticized for his backstage Grammys speech. In a new interview on Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, Lake says actions outweigh any words.
“I think that’s the problem: People are looking for a statement and not looking at our lives,” Lake says. “Jelly Roll isn’t perfect, just like I’m not perfect. But Jelly Roll is trying to use his entire life to advance the kingdom, to do good, to love people. And I know he’s doing that. He’s loved by this community not just because of the songs he written, but because of the things he’s done.”
Lake, who released the new duet with Lainey Wilson on Good Friday, “The Jesus I Know Now,” says he admires Jelly Roll for publicly admitting that he doesn’t have all the answers. According to Lake, Jelly Roll is more about “trying to let [his] life speak louder than just ‘here’s my statement.’ And that’s what I’m trying to do too. The things that maybe you only find out if you are really, really digging and are looking, of how I love my community and how I’m actually trying to be the answer, not say the answer.”
The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, native is currently on his King of Hearts Tour, which showcases songs off his album of the same name, like “I Know a Name” and “Sevens.”
“I would much rather be known for how I live than what I said on an interview,” Lake says on Nashville Now. Watch the full episode below.
Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone’s weekly country-music podcast, Nashville Now, hosted by senior music editor Joseph Hudak, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). New episodes drop every Wednesday and feature interviews with artists and personalities like Vince Gill, Lainey Wilson, Hardy, Charley Crockett, Kings of Leon, the Black Crowes, Carly Pearce, Breland, Bryan Andrews, Noeline Hofmann, Devon Gilfillian, Gavin Adcock, Amanda Shires, Shooter Jennings, Margo Price, Ink, Rival Sons’ Jay Buchanan, Halestorm, Dusty Slay, Lukas Nelson, Ashley Monroe, Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor, Clever, and authors Marissa R. Moss, Josh Crutchmer, and Jonathan Bernstein.
Opinion | The ‘AI Detector’ as Defamation Machine
Pangram said three of my writers produced ‘AI-generated’ articles. That didn’t hold up. Was Mia Ballard railroaded too?
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Miami football recruiting: 2027’s No. 2 QB Israel Abrams commits to Hurricanes
Israel Abrams, a four-star recruit and the No. 2 quarterback in the 2027 signing class, has committed to Miami, he anounced Friday. Abrams is ranked as the No. 14 overall prospect in his class, per 247Sports, and that makes him the highest-ranked quarterback Mario Cristobal has landed at Miami.
Abrams, a rising senior at Montini Catholic in Arlington Heights, Ill., owns a 24-0 record as a starter in high school. Abrams has led the Broncos to back-to-back state championships — one at the Class 3A level and another at the Class 4A level.
This past season, Abrams completed 68.5% of his passes for 4,072 yards, 40 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He also rushed for 224 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the state title game, Abrams threw for 425 yards while totaling five touchdowns.
247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins compared Abrams to UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava while highlighting his “easy exit velocity with a rapid release.” Ivins also described Abrams as a “potential high-level distributor for a College Football Playoff hopeful.”
While it may not be surprising to see Miami doing well on the recruiting trail, this is a different tact for the program give how it has handled the quarterback position in recent years.
Miami steering away from high-profile transfers?
In each of the last three years, the Hurricanes have spent big on hired guns at the quarterback position. It was Cam Ward in 2024, Carson Beck led the team to the national title game last season, and Miami lured Darian Mensah away from Duke this offseason.
Thus far, it’s been tough to argue with the results. Ward and Beck put together a combined record of 23-6. The former went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, which certainly doesn’t hurt recruiting, and the latter had the Hurricanes within one score of its first national championship since 2001.
The expectation is that the train will keep rolling with Mensah leading the offense. The Hurricanes have the seventh-best national title odds (+1300), per Fan Duel, and Mensah is projected to be a serious Heisman Trophy candidate.
So, does the commitment from Abrams signal a slight change in approach from Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes? If Abrams plays up to his potential, it may be cheaper to keep him around for a few years rather than going big-game hunting in the portal every year, and that would provide more stability at the most important position on the field.
Then again, all it might take is the right player entering the transfer portal for Miami to stick with the plan that has worked so well for the team lately. If the Hurricanes do take another star transfer quarterback in 2027 (or perhaps 2028), they’ll have to weigh the risks of running off Abrams, the most highly-touted high school quarterback they’ve gotten since Cristobal arrived in 2022.
‘The Drama’ courts controversy over major plot twist
Warning: This article contains spoilers.
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A24’s new movie, “The Drama,” is being criticized by some gun safety advocates who say the studio should have done more to warn audiences about the dark plot at the center of the film.
The movie, which is being released in North American theaters on Friday, follows soon-to-be newlyweds Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson), who grapple with how to proceed with their upcoming nuptials after the bride-to-be confesses the “worst thing” she’s ever done: plan a school shooting as a teen.
While she didn’t go through with it — and the film does not show any actual gun violence — some scenes feature flashbacks of a younger Emma who appears fascinated with her father’s rifle and is seen filming a shooter’s confessional video while planning the massacre.
“With a subject this serious, especially in the U.S., that conversation cannot begin and end on screen,” March for Our Lives, a youth-driven organization first created by students who survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday. “It has to carry through in how the film is presented.”
A24 did not respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
Many moviegoers have yet to see “The Drama,” but people began weighing in online after the plot was revealed in a March TMZ article. The publication spoke with Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was killed during the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. Mauser, who hadn’t seen the movie at the time of the interview, said he believes the plot “humanizes” shooters and “normalizes school shootings.”
Some criticism has also focused on the film’s marketing, which has been described as misleading.
In the months leading up to its rollout, A24 went all in on wedding-themed promotion. The studio put an ad in The Boston Globe in December that looked like a fake engagement announcement. It opened a one-day wedding chapel in Las Vegas, where couples were promised a “spontaneous,” “glamorous” and “a little bit dangerous affair.”
The March premiere in Los Angeles had an after-party that featured a Champagne tower, tiered cake, red balloons and roses, and themed cocktails.
“The way this film has been marketed is deeply misaligned with the reality it engages,” March for Our Lives wrote in its post. “We expect better from A24 and the artists behind it.”
Mia Tretta, a gun violence survivor, also rebuked the film’s premise in a statement provided to NBC News through the nonprofit organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
“Hollywood is treating school shootings like ‘edgy twists’ to drive ticket sales, but for me, this isn’t a plot point,” said Tretta, who also serves as an adviser for the group Students Demand Action.
Fifty-nine percent of adults in the U.S., or someone they care about, have experienced gun violence in their lifetime, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. “More than 4,300 children and teens (0-19) are shot and killed every year and over 17,000 more are shot and wounded,” the organization said.
“It’s a reality I lived through when I was shot at my school at 15 years old, and again as a terrified student at Brown this past December,” Tretta said. “Using a planned massacre as a rom-com hook isn’t ‘starting a conversation,’ it’s exploiting a crisis. There are ways to show nuance without using trauma as a gimmick. Studios and stars have massive platforms and they should use them to give dimension to survivors, not perpetrators.”
Pop culture depictions of school shootings have often stoked controversy, with many viewers debating the line between storytelling and sensitivity. Some projects, like 2011’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” drew mostly positive reviews for tackling the subject head-on. Others have struggled to land — a reboot of “Heathers,” for example, was repeatedly postponed amid a string of mass shootings in 2018.
“The Drama” has so far generated a positive response: As of Friday, it had garnered an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, which compiles critics’ reviews.
Online, some Redditors have echoed gun safety advocates’ concerns when discussing whether they want to see the film after learning more about the plot.
“I’m glad the twist is getting leaked so people have an opportunity to avoid it,” one Reddit user wrote. “I don’t think shock-jocking mass shooting survivors is worth preserving a movie’s twist. I get that A24 wants to make money but it shouldn’t be at the expense of people who have experienced something traumatic.”
Others have come to the movie’s defense. “Art is art — it’s meant to be controversial,” another user wrote. “And these events are already kinda normalised aren’t they? That’s the problem?”
Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli appeared to anticipate a polarizing reaction, telling the audience at the L.A. premiere that it’s been “a challenge to put a genre on the movie.”
“You decide what it is for you,” he said before the film was screened. “You can laugh. You can cry. You can leave the theater if you want to.”
In an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Zendaya also touched on the film being tough to describe.
“What’s difficult about even talking about the movie is there are so many different genres. It is a romantic comedy in many ways, but it’s also a drama. … Everybody has their own kind of feelings leaving the theater, especially with the big twist,” she said. “There’s so many conversations that are had after you watch it. … I really hope people don’t spoil it for each other, so they are allowed to go into it unknowing and really experience the drama.”
March for Our Lives said it hopes the film does spark conversation.
“But,” the organization wrote in its Instagram post, “when something like a school shooting is treated lightly or played for irony, it raises a deeper question: what kind of conversation is this meant to start?”
Multiple rescued from rolled charter bus on I-10 near Lordsburg
Multiple people were rescued following a crash involving a charter bus in Hidalgo County early Friday morning. According to Hidalgo County Fire Rescue, crews were dispatched to a crash on Interstate 10. When crews arrived, they found a charter bus had flipped on the roadway. Fire and rescue officials say in a social media post that 30 people were extricated from the bus and transported to the hospital. Two others were airlifted from area. Hidalgo County Fire Rescue officials say no one died in the crash.
HIDALGO COUNTY, N.M. —
Multiple people were rescued following a crash involving a charter bus in Hidalgo County early Friday morning.
According to Hidalgo County Fire Rescue, crews were dispatched to a crash on Interstate 10. When crews arrived, they found a charter bus had flipped on the roadway.
Fire and rescue officials say in a social media post that 30 people were extricated from the bus and transported to the hospital. Two others were airlifted from area.
Hidalgo County Fire Rescue officials say no one died in the crash.
Yellowstone, Marshals Star Luke Grimes Shows Soft Side
There’s plenty of pain on Luke Grimes new Redbird album, but a song he wrote for his 18-month-old son Rigel adds a bit of sweet you might not expect if you only know him as a Yellowstone and Marshals character named Kayce Dutton.
The actor sat down with Taste of Country’s Adison Haager, co-host of the Dutton Rules Podcast. The full interview will drop on YouTube on Tuesday (April 7) but this story was too sweet to hold on to.
- Redbird (released on April 3) dives deep into his personal story, including the 2022 death of his father.
- This is his second album, following his self-titled project (2024).
- Marshals airs on Sunday nights on CBS.
Read More: Marshals: New Theory About Monica’s Death Explains Everything
Luke Grimes’ Wife + Kids
Redbird includes an acoustic song called “Hummingbird” that is clearly inspired by fatherhood. “He loves music, like for real,” Grimes, says of his son, Rigel Randolph Grimes.
“This is not me like wishing, you know, like pushing something on him.”
The actor and his wife Bianca (married 2019) welcomed their first child in 2024 but don’t often share pictures or stories of their life as parents. They live privately in rural Montana, where people know him well enough to not care about his celebrity.
The not-quite-2-year-old has a Yoto Player, which is a music player for kids that comes with physical cards so they have a tangible thing to connect to. Those are customizable.
Luke Grimes’ Song About His Son
“So we put ‘Hummingbird’ on one and he loves it. He’ll just point and say, ‘Da da da da.’ He knows which card it is,” Grimes shares, smiling.
“Hummingbird, oh hummingbird / I want you to fly / High up as you wanna go / In the big blue sky,” he sings as he enters the first chorus.
“It’s very flattering in a way to have my son love the music and not just the song that’s for him. My first album, he just carries the sleeve around and asks to play it all the time. And it’s amazing. Like, it’s not lost on me how cool that is.”
Listen to “Hummingbird” below. Grimes shares that his son’s love for music is unusually strong, but that’s far from his only charming gift.
“Oh, man. He’s really funny. He’s hilarious. This kid is a comedian,” he tells ToC. Like, he’s just constantly trying to make us laugh. And when we do laugh, he just does that thing over and over.”
Like so many new parents, the Marshals star and his real-life wife are amazed by how quick their son changes and taken aback by his strong personality.
“I don’t know. It’s hard to put your finger on like what happens to you when you become a parent, because it’s not one thing. It’s all the things and it’s not all at once,” he shares later in the interview while talking about how fatherhood affects his acting.
“Like I definitely look back to before I had him though, I’m like I’m a very different person.”
In so many ways, Luke Grimes has grown up with Kayce Dutton. The songs on Redbird showcase his maturity and introduce him as much more than the tragic character we’ve watched on television for more than eight years.
‘Yellowstone’ Children: Where Are They Now?
The Yellowstone franchise has often relied on child actors to tell essential parts of the Dutton family story. Here is what’s become of eight of the most popular kid characters from Yellowstone, 1883 and 1923, including one who just popped up in a blockbuster horror movie.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
17 Most Stunning Yellowstone Franchise Deaths
No character is safe in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe. Here are the 17 most stunning deaths from 1883, 1923 and five seasons of Yellowstone.
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