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WAMC Sports Report 1/23/25: Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to be Jets head coach

FILE - Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn looks on during pregame of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Nov. 6, 2022, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Paul Sancya/AP
/
AP
FILE - Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn looks on during pregame of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Nov. 6, 2022, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

NFL

The New York Jets and Aaron Glenn have agreed to terms on making the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator their head coach. Glenn oversaw the Lions’ defense the past four years and beat out 15 other candidates for the job as the Jets went through an extensive search. And they ended up choosing one of their former players. Glenn was a first-round draft pick in 1994 who was mentored by Bill Parcells, became one of the Jets’ best playmakers and developed into a well-respected and highly sought coach.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes does not believe NFL officials are calling games to help his team win. That has been the national discourse following last week's divisional-round matchup with Houston, in which the Texans were twice penalized for hits on the two-time NFL MVP. Yet most statistical breakdowns show that the opponents of Kansas City have benefited from flags than the Chiefs have over the years, including in games that come down to the wire. Asked whether he believes the Chiefs are getting more than their share of flags, Mahomes replied: “I don't feel that way.”

General manager Trent Baalke is out in Jacksonville after the Jaguars failed to land second interviews with three of their top coaching candidates. Owner Shad Khan fired Baalke hours after Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen withdrew his name for consideration for the Jaguars job and agreed to a new contract with the Buccaneers. Coen had been scheduled to interview with the Jaguars on Wednesday. No one should be surprised to see Khan take another run at Coen with Baalke out of the picture. Ethan Waugh will serve as interim general manager.

Familiar foes are facing off in the conference championship games in the NFL playoffs. Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs take on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills for the fourth time in the past five postseasons. The Chiefs have won all three playoff matchups, including the AFC championship game four years ago. The Bills ended Kansas City’s bid for a perfect season with a 30-21 victory in Week 11. Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders visit Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game. The NFC East rivals split their season series, each winning at home.

Jayden Daniels is getting praised around the league after leading the Washington Commanders to the NFC championship game against the odds and expectations. Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said the rookie quarterback doesn’t play like this is his first season as a pro. Houston’s C.J. Stroud called it the best rookie season in NFL history. Daniels remains the same player he was when he first stepped on the field for spring workouts. He's now one victory away from becoming the first rookie QB to take a team to the Super Bowl.

NBA

Devin Booker scored 32 points in his 200th career 30-point performance, Kevin Durant added 24 against his former team and the Phoenix Suns eased to a 108-84 victory over the short-handed Brooklyn Nets last night. Booker shot 14 for 24 from the field to quickly get back on track after getting held to 15 points Monday in a loss to Cleveland that snapped his five-game streak with 30 or more. Nick Richards grabbed 15 rebounds in his second start for the Suns, who went back above .500 at 22-21 while playing without Bradley Beal. Keon Johnson scored 20 points for the Nets, who lost their fifth straight. Jalen Wilson added 15.

Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Jayson Tatum added 24 and the Boston Celtics rallied past the Los Angeles Clippers 117-113 in overtime when both teams were missing key players. Derrick White added 20 points and Sam Hauser had 15, tying his season high with five 3-pointers. The defending NBA champions played without Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Derrick Jones Jr. scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Clippers. Kevin Porter Jr. added a season-high 26 and Amir Coffey had 24. LA was missing Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac.

Cade Cunningham had 29 points and 11 assists and the Detroit Pistons won for the seventh time it their last eight road games, 114-104 over the Atlanta Hawks. Malik Beasley had 19 points off the bench and Ausar Thompson had 16 points for Detroit. Dyson Daniels led the Hawks with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Trae Young had 13 points and nine assists. Jalen Johnson had 17 points and nine rebounds. The Hawks shot a season-low 16% from 3-point range, hitting only 6 of 38 attempts. The Pistons led 69-51 at the half, their biggest halftime lead of the season.

Jaden McDaniels scored a career-high 27 points, including the clinching free throw with 3 seconds to play, and Anthony Edwards added 21 as the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 115-114. McDaniels hit 1 of 2 free throws to give the Wolves a four-point lead and Kyrie Irving hit a running 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Mavs. Irving scored 36 points and P.J. Washington Jr. added a season-high 30 points for the Mavericks, who are 4-11 since superstar Luka Doncic was sidelined with a calf strain early in their Christmas Day loss to the Wolves.

Desmond Bane scored 24 points, Luke Kennard added 23 on a season-high seven 3-pointers and the Memphis Grizzlies built an early lead and beat the Charlotte Hornets 132-120 on Wednesday night. Jaren Jackson Jr. added 22 points, and Ja Morant had with 16 points and 13 assists to help Memphis win its fourth straight. Bane was 10 of 15 from the field, Kennard 8 of 12 and the Grizzlies shot 50% overall. Mark Williams led the Hornets with a career-high 38 points, connecting on 14 of 18 shots. LaMelo Ball added 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Miles Bridges scored 17 points as the Hornets three-game winning streak came to an end.

Alperen Sengun made two free throws with 4.5 seconds left and Darius Garland missed two of three free throws after that to allow the Houston Rockets to hold on for a 109-108 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Fred VanVleet had 26 points as Houston rallied late after squandering a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter. A flagrant foul by Tari Eason on a 3-point attempt by Garland gave him three free throws with 2.1 seconds left. But he missed the first two before making the third. The Cavaliers had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Donovan Mitchell’s 3-point attempt was off. Garland led the NBA-leading Cavaliers with 26 points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Utah Jazz 123-114. Gilgeous-Alexander made 17 of 35 field goals and 17 of 18 free throws to surpass his previous career best of 45 points. He also had eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jalen Williams added 25 points for the Thunder, who are tied with Cleveland for the league’s best record at 36-7. John Collins had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Collin Sexton had 18 points and nine assists, and Walker Kessler had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost their fourth straight.

DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, Domantas Sabonis had 26 points and 18 rebounds and the Sacramento Kings overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors 123-117 on Wednesday night. Malik Monk added 20 points and nine assists and DeAaron Fox had 14 points for Sacramento, which made 30 of 32 free throws. The Kings have won three in a row overall, seven straight at home and are 10-2 under interim coach Doug Christie. Andrew Wiggins had 25 points and Buddy Hield added 17 points for the Warriors. Steph Curry finished with 14 points and 12 assists.

Jimmy Butler has been suspended by the Miami Heat for the second time in three weeks, this time for two games. The team says it suspended Butler for what it described as a continued pattern of disregard of team rules and conduct detrimental to the team. It came after Butler missed the Heat's flight to Miami on Wednesday. Butler was earlier suspended for seven games for conduct detrimental to the team. He has told the Heat in recent weeks that he wants a trade. The new suspension adds to the possibility Butler has played his last game for Miami.

The NBA and multiple college basketball conferences postponed games in response to winter weather that broke snowfall records in some southern states and coated others with a mix of snow and ice. Wednesday night’s NBA contest between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pelicans was called off a day after the storm dumped about a foot of snow in New Orleans. LSU’s fifth-ranked women’s basketball team was unable to fly on Wednesday to South Carolina. So the Southeastern Conference chose to postpone the Tigers’ game at the No. 2 Gamecocks from Thursday until Friday evening. The Sun Belt conference also changed tip-off times for four men's basketball games.

NHL

Dawson Mercer scored twice during New Jersey’s four-goal second period, and the Devils beat the Boston Bruins 5-1. Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists, Dougie Hamilton had a goal and an assist, and Stefan Noesen also scored, and Timo Meier had two assists to help the Devils snap a four-game skid. Jacob Markstrom had six saves before leaving early in the second period after after a collision, and Jake Allen stopped all 16 shots he faced. Morgan Geekie scored for Boston. Jeremy Swayman had 25 saves through two periods, and Joonas Korpisalo stopped five shots in the third.

Adam Fantilli scored three goals for his first career hat trick, Elvis Merzlikins stopped 28 shots, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1. Luca Del Bel Belluz had a goal and an assist, and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Columbus. The Blue Jackets improved to 7-1-1 in their last nine games and moved into the Eastern Conference’s first wild card spot. Auston Matthews scored for Toronto, and Dennis Hildeby had 14 saves. The Maple Leafs snapped a three-game winning streak.

Neal Pionk scored 17 seconds into overtime, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck started the winning play when he sent the puck to Vladislav Namestnikov, who fed Pionk skating down the right side. Pionk’s slap shot beat Mackenzie Blackwood to end Winnipeg’s two-game skid. Morgan Barron and Gabriel Vilardi also scored for Winnipeg, and Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar scored for Colorado, and Blackwood had 22 saves.

Samuel Helenius and Adrian Kempe scored in the third period, and the Los Angeles Kings rallied to beat the Florida Panthers 2-1. Darcy Kuemper stopped 26 shots for Los Angeles, which was held to two goals or fewer for the seventh time in eight games and snapped a two-game skid. Evan Rodrigues scored a power-play goal and Spencer Knight made 26 saves for the Panthers, who were coming off a 5-2 win at Anaheim on Tuesday night. Helenius got his first NHL goal at 6:41 of the third to tie the score. Kempe then scored for the fourth straight game when he tipped in Kevin Fiala’s shot with 6:48 left to put the Kings ahead.

GOLF

Ludvig Aberg shot a 9-under 63 for a two-shot lead over Danny Walker and Hayden Springer in the opening round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Aberg took a first-round lead on the PGA Tour for the first time after posting the best opening-round score of his short career. The 25-year-old Walker was outstanding in his fourth career PGA Tour start, posting the opening day’s best round on the tougher South Course. Walker and Springer finished one shot in front of Zach Johnson, Zac Blair, Aldrich Potgieter and Lanto Griffin.

MLB

The Dodgers have introduced prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, who agreed to a minor league contract with a $6.5 million signing bonus. The 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph was introduced Wednesday. He joins fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the Dodgers in a signing many baseball executives long expected. Sasaki had until Thursday to finalize a contract. He donned a No. 11 jersey over his shirt and blue tie during a news conference outside the stadium.

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Clemson 86 Syracuse 72

UMass 74 George Washington 61

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

UConn 100 Villanova 57

© 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Alexander began his journalism career as a sports writer for Siena College's student paper The Promethean, and as a host for Siena's school radio station, WVCR-FM "The Saint." A Cubs fan, Alexander hosts the morning Sports Report in addition to producing Morning Edition. You can hear the sports reports over-the-air at 6:19 and 7:19 AM, and online on WAMC.org. He also speaks Spanish as a second language. To reach him, email ababbie@wamc.org, or call (518)-465-5233 x 190. You can also find him on Twitter/X: @ABabbieWAMC.