As expected, the Dallas Cowboys and All-Pro wide receiver George Pickens remain without a contract extension as a deadline to get one done passed Wednesday.

Pickens is now slated to play next season on the one-year, $27.3 million franchise tag that he signed in April, leaving his long-term outlook with the franchise uncertain.

Pickens signed his franchise tag tender on April 29. Doing so left the door open for Pickens and the Cowboys to negotiate a long-term deal ahead of a July 15 deadline to get one done. That deadline has now passed.

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Cowboys brass said this was coming

The lack of a deal is not unexpected. Executive vice president Stephen Jones told reporters on April 22 that the Cowboys would not engage in negotiations for a contract extension with Pickens.

"We've made a decision that we're going to have George play under the franchise tag, which won't be a first for us," Jones said at the team's pre-draft news conference. "So there won't be negotiations on a long-term deal. But that's certainly not a first for this organization and certainly won't be a first for the league in terms of this decision as we move forward."

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Pickens appears content to play on franchise tag

Pickens has participated in mandatory offseason workouts since signing the franchise tag, signaling that he intends to play on the $27.3 million deal next season. He's given no indication that he plans to hold out from training camp.

"The tag and all that, it's football first," Pickens told reporters upon his arrival to mandatory minicamp in June. "So, definitely play football first, kind of like I did last year and then worry about. Well, let my agent worry about it, really."

Pickens, 25, joined the Cowboys last offseason via trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since joining Pittsburgh as a second-round draft pick in 2022, Pickens has been one of the league's most talented young receivers. But a series of on-field incidents in Pittsburgh appeared to add up to a breaking point for the Steelers, who traded him to the Cowboys for a relative pittance that featured third- and fifth-round draft picks ahead of the conclusion of his rookie contract.

Pickens delivered: Why aren't Cowboys extending him?

There were largely no such issues in Pickens' first season in Dallas as he lived up to his potential en route to being named a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro for the first time. With All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb hampered most of the season by injuries, Pickens emerged as the No. 1 option for quarterback Dak Prescott en route to tallying 93 catches for 1,429 yards and 9 touchdowns on the final year of his rookie contract.

It wasn't enough for the Cowboys to invest in Pickens long-term. They may want to see another year of on-field stability from him before considering a long-term deal. They also have a history of waiting until the last moment to sign stars such as Lamb and Prescott, decisions that have ultimately cost them more money and salary cap space.

Or they simply may not prioritize signing a second wide receiver to a premium contract that Pickens commands on top of Lamb's four-year, $136 million deal.

And Pickens, for now, appears content to earn this season more than four times the total value of his four-year, $6.75 million rookie contract while awaiting his long-term payday, whether it's with the Cowboys or another team.

Alvin Kamara is reportedly staying with the New Orleans Saints.

Per Saints reporter Nick Underhill, Kamara and the Saints are finalizing an agreement to restructure his contract to keep him in New Orleans.

The five-time Pro Bowl running back has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the offseason, but will instead remain with the team that he’s played with for his entire nine-season NFL career.

Details of the planned restructure weren’t initially reported. Kamara was slated to play on the second year of a two-year, $24.5 million contract with a $10.5 million salary cap hit for next season.

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This story will be updated.

Amid cries that the second apron is acting as a hard salary cap, NBA commissioner Adam Sliver is standing firm on the mechanism that he reiterates was collectively bargained.

Silver addressed the subject at a news conference from the Summer League in Las Vegas Tuesday night, days after Victor Wembanyama’s new contract raised the temperature around the topic.

Wemby’s deal raised alarms

Wembanyama agreed to a five-year, $252.2 million max extension to remain with the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. He was eligible for a five-year, $302.8 million supermax extension, meaning that he left $50-plus million on the table.

He presumably did so to allow the Spurs to operate under the NBA’s punitive separate apron in an effort to maintain competitive for NBA championships.

"Spurs family, I'm here to stay,” Wembanyama wrote on social media. “Whatever it takes."

This has raised outcry that Wembnayama is taking on the financial burden of running a competitive team rather than the Spurs as teams are reluctant to go into the second apron. The Cleveland Cavaliers were the only team to do so last season.

Silver: The system is ‘working’

On Tuesday, Silver was asked if the second apron acting as a hard cap was an unintended consequence of the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement with players. His response was blunt:

“It's certainly not an unintended consequence,” Silver said. “I mean, when you have a salary system in place as we do, every general manager is going to need to make mixed basketball and business decisions.”

Silver touted the effectiveness of the current CBA that he argued was on display in the NBA Finals between the big-market New York Knicks and small-market Spurs.

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“We just saw the Finals between essentially the largest market in the league in New York and one of the smallest markets in San Antonio. And you all can tell me, in terms of the media, but it seemed that there was not much of a storyline around market size, something I've been used to in all my years in the league.

“And during the competition, it was focused on the composition of the teams, the particular players, the style of play. To me, the storyline wasn’t big market vs. small market. And so, that’s one of the things that we set out to accomplish with the system. And from that standpoint, it’s working.”

NBPA: Second apron is bad for fans, players, basketball

Silver’s comments stood in juxtaposition to those of NBPA executive director David Kelly, who led the charge Friday against the second apron in the aftermath of the Wembanyama deal. Kelly argued that the apron is effectively breaking up championship teams.

He pointed out the Celtics’ recent decision to break up their championship core by trading Jaylen Brown and his five-year, $285 million contract two seasons removed from winning a title. He also cited owner James Dolan’s statement in June that the New York Knicks won’t go into the second apron to retain their championship core.

“I don't know that fans in Boston would say that everyone's making out fine, or that fans in New York would say that everyone is making out fine," Kelly said at a news conference, per ESPN. "You have a [Celtics] team that just came off of a championship that will not have those guys together. We see that as a problem for our members, but also for the fans and for the game.”

This was collectively bargained

Kelly, who wasn’t in his role when the CBA was ratified in 2023, expressed regret that the union “should have done a better job of fighting back against the second apron” in negotiations.

Silver, to that point, isn’t interested in relitigating what’s already been ratified.

“As I said earlier, again, the current system is one that was a product of months of negotiations with this players association,” Silver said Tuesday. “I think it's difficult to take one aspect of it and say, ‘If we just changed this one piece’ — I think I heard the word tweak. Would you will be willing to engage on that?

“I would just say, one person's tweak is another person's overhaul to the system.”

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Charles Snowden has been suspended by the NFL for the first three games of the season following his plea deal to settle a DUI charge.

The league announced Snowden’s suspension on Tuesday.

Snowden was arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge in 2024 while he was a member of the Las Vegas Raiders. Police in Las Vegas say they found Snowden “passed out” behind the wheel of his Jeep Cherokee as it was running and that he “had almost rolled off a four-foot retaining wall.”

Per police, results of two blood tests returned BACs of .18 and .19, more than twice the legal limit of .08. Snowden initially pleaded not guilty but reached a deal with prosecutors in January by entering a no-contest plea, per KLAS.

Per the plea deal, Snowden was required to pay a $1,000 fine and attend coroner's and DUI classes, and his charge was conditionally reduced to reckless driving pending the completion of his side of the deal.

Snowden is a three-season NFL veteran who played for the Chicago Bears in 2021 and the Raiders from 2024-25. He joined the Cowboys in June as a free agent via a one-year, $1.1 million contract.

Per the league office, Snowden “is eligible to participate in all preseason activities, including games; his suspension will take effect as of the roster reduction to 53 players.”

Snowden played in 31 games for the Raiders over the course of the last two seasons, including 18 starts. He tallied 4.5 sacks, 67 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits in those games. He projects to add depth on the defensive line for a Cowboys team seeking to return to the playoffs after missing the postseason in 2024 and 2025.

Police in Davie, Florida have closed an investigation into an accusation that New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith assaulted a woman at his home. Smith will not face charges.

Per a police report reported by multiple outlets, police cited the absence of witnesses and surveillance footage to corroborate the allegation and carry on with the investigation.

From the police report, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini:

"Due to the inability to review surveillance footage, conflicting stories, and lack of independent witnesses, (the officer) was unable to determine the primary aggressor in the physical altercation."

Per the report, Smith provided police with Ring camera footage that “did not show any physical altercation occur between the two." It’s not clear if there was further surveillance footage that police could not access.

Per the report, neither Smith nor his accuser provided police with requested follow-up statements after a 911 call by the woman prompted the initial investigation. Per the original incident report obtained by ESPN, Smith had two scratches on his face and a knot on the back of his head and the woman had a small cut along the webbing of her right hand and a bruise on her left arm.

Smith was never arrested. The woman was trespassed from his property.

"No further investigative steps can be reasonably taken with the information presently available," the police report states. Per the report, re-opening the investigation is contingent on further evidence being provided.

What Smith was accused of

The investigation stemmed from a June 21 incident in which a woman who said she was Smith’s ex-girlfriend posted social media video and made a 911 call accusing Smith of assaulting her.

Smith’s accuser told a 911 dispatcher that “my ex-boyfriend just beat me up” and that there were video cameras inside and outside of the house in which he allegedly attacked her.

She also posted social media video with her camera focused on Smith at the home captioned: “Geno Smith beat my ass cause he hates taking care of his special needs kid and can’t be left alone with him.”

In the video, the woman follows Smith around his property yelling at him that he “beat my ass” while he’s on the phone. The video does not include evidence of an assault.

Per ESPN, the mother of Smith’s child, a different woman, later took to his defense on an Instagram story stating that Smith "is and always has been more than capable of taking care of his son."

Neither Smith nor the Jets made public comments about the investigation. The NFL has released a statement that “We are aware of the matter and the club has been in contact with the league."

Smith, 35, is a 12-season NFL veteran. He rejoined the Jets team that drafted him in March via a trade from the Las Vegas Raiders and is projected to start for New York in the fall.

Olivia Miles was a no-brainer selection as All-Star starter after the sizzling start to her WNBA career.

Her Minnesota Lynx teammate, Kayla McBride, topped the lists of All-Star snubs after missing the cut following two straight selections to the game.

Both looked very much the All-Star part as they combined for 70 points Monday night to lead the Lynx in a 104-100 rally past the Phoenix Mercury. McBride dropped a season-high 37 points for her fourth consecutive effort with 23 or more. Miles added 33 points for the highest tally of her All-Star rookie campaign.

Miles, McBride hit big buckets down the stretch

An Alyssa Thomas bucket extended a Mercury lead to 77-69 to start the fourth quarter. But Miles caught fire from deep with three 3-pointers in four Minnesota possessions. Her third of the run gave the Lynx and 80-79 lead.

Then, with the game tied at 89, it was McBride's turn to take over with a little help from Miles. McBride hit a catch-and-shoot 3 off a behind-the-back pass from Miles to give the Lynx a 92-89 advantage.

Then with 43.4 seconds remaining, McBride hit another 3 to break a 98-98 tie and give the Lynx the lead for good. This one, from the corner, also arrived courtesy of an assist from Miles.

McBride filled up the box score on a red-hot shooting night, adding 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks and 1 assist to her 37 points. She shot 11 of 17 from the field, 6 of 11 from 3 and 9 of 9 from the line.

Miles was also scorching hot while adding 8 assists and 3 rebounds to her 33 points. She shot 10 of 16 from the field, 5 of 8 from 3 and 8 of 9 from the stripe.

With the win, the Lynx improved their WNBA-best record to 18-6. This is a team that's yet to play this season with last season's MVP runner-up, Napheesa Collier.

Collier's been sidelined after undergoing offseason surgery on both of her ankles. But she's returned to practice and is expected to return to game action soon. She'll do so for a team that so far been the best in the WNBA, even without her.

Philly fans are gonna Philly fan.

With home-team heroes Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper participating in Monday's MLB Home Run Derby, fans at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park turned one of baseball's biggest celebrations into a boo-fest.

The jeers, of course, were aimed at players not named Schwarber or Harper. They started early, as evidenced during pre-Derby introductions by legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer.

Here's Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero, for example.

Harper didn't advance out of the first round. But Schwarber did. And he found himself in a battle with Boston Red Sox slugger Willson Contreras to advance out of the second round to the finals.

Schwarber put up a nine-spot as the number for Contreras to beat as the final batter of the second round. As Contreras caught fire with a string of deep bombs to threaten Schwarber's spot in the final, Philadelphia had no interest in cheering him on.

The boos poured down from the stands.

Conteras ultimately fell one home run short of tying Schwarber, ensuring Schwarber's spot in the final. Contreras, to his credit, brushed off the boos like a champ while putting on a show that came up just short.

Boos don't deter Derby champ Jordan Walker

Schwarber then went first in the final round and set the number to beat at 11. That set up St. Louis Cardinals slugger Jordan Walker to face the boos. And face the boos, he did.

Walker, a first-time All-Star at 24 years old, showed no signs at the plate of being impacted by the jeers, which reached a crescendo after Walker tied Schwarber with five straight home runs.

He silenced them with his sixth straight blast on his final at-bat to secure the Home Run Derby crown in dramatic, walk-off fashion.

At that point, the boos subsided to a few reluctant cheers and quickly to silence. The upset win spoiled the celebration in Philadelphia and sent Phillies fans home disappointed.

The NCAA announced on Tuesday a significant shakeup to how the women’s basketball tournament will be seeded moving forward.

Starting next season, the selection committee will no longer consider conference affiliation when placing the top 16 teams in the bracket. The top 16 teams will instead be distributed across the four regions based strictly on how the committee ranks them.

What does this mean?

In previous years, the committee would place conference rivals from the top 16 seeds in different regions, ensuring that they wouldn’t face each other prior to the Final Four. This would result in some teams being placed higher or lower in seeding from where the committee actually had them ranked.

For example, as the Associated Press reported, SEC Rivals Texas (No. 3 overall), South Carolina (No. 4), LSU (No. 5) and Vanderbilt (No. 7) were among the top seven overall teams last season as top-two seeds. But to avoid pre-Final Four matchups among them, the committee moved LSU from No. 5 to No. 7 and moved Vanderbilt from No. 7 to No. 8, keeping the four SEC teams in different regions.

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Now, theoretically, the top four teams in any given region could come from the same conference if that’s how the rankings play out. The selection committee touted this change as the fairest method.

"We put a lot of time into establishing those top 16 teams in the order they go in," NCAA women's basketball committee chair Amanda Braun told the Associated Press. "You're splitting hairs to decide who has the edge and some of that is undone by those principles. To all of us, the work we did and the work those teams did justifies keeping them where they are in that group of 16."

The NCAA is making the changes ahead of the tournament’s expansion from 68 teams to 76 starting next season.

The change won’t, however, be applied to the men’s bracket, which will continue to separate top 16 teams from the same conferences into different regions.

Caleb Wilson shot 7 of 27 from 3 over the course of his entire freshman season at North Carolina.

In his debut with the Chicago Bulls on Friday, Wilson shot 7 of 11 from beyond the arc en route to 35 points, the second-most ever by a player in his first NBA Summer League game.

Wilson repeatedly pulled up off the dribble and stepped back for contested jumpers over Memphis Grizzlies defenders while making shots that he didn't attempt across the course of his All-American campaign at UNC.

It added up to a remarkable and unexpected effort from the Chicago rookie, even if it arrived in an exhibition against Summer League competition.

Where was this in college?

The knock against Wilson's draft stock compared to that of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer — each of whom was selected ahead of him — was that his 3-point shot isn't reliable. It's a criticism that stats bore out at UNC in his 25.9% success rate on limited attempts.

Wilson told reporters Sunday that he's always been able to shoot — he just wasn't allowed to in former UNC head coach Hubert Davis' offense.

"I could shoot in college, it just wasn't my role," Wilson said in a media scrum. "I'm sure you guys have watched college basketball. We ran the Carolina break, rim runner, get to the top of the key.

"Nothing wrong with it. I appreciate my coach for allowing me to do what I did in college. It's no hard feelings. I'm glad I didn't shoot 3s in college, because if I did, I wouldn't be here. I don't know what I'd be, but I wouldn't be a Bull."

The commentary — whether intentional or not — is further indictment of Davis, whom Carolina fired in March after his fifth season of coaching his alma mater in favor of former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. Even the whiff of limiting a talent like Wilson in favor of a system is not a good look for a head coach.

That isn't the full story for what appears to be a dramatically improved jump shot from what Wilson demonstrated at UNC. Wilson told reporters that he's focused on improving his shot since recovering from a broken thumb that ended his college career early.

Wilson says he's been grinding at the gym

Per Wilson, he's been getting up 2,000-2,500 shots per day in the gym over the last 10 weeks. He says he hasn't changed his mechanics, but that he's building confidence through his reps.

"It's not any change or anything like that," Wilson said. "You get more confidence because you know you're putting in the work. But it's nothing that I'm changing."

Wilson also noted that being a pro offers time to work on his game that he didn't have in college.

"I didn't really have the time, I had to go to class," Wilson continued. "It was different. I actually had to be a student-athlete. I didn't have the time to do that. That's what's good about the NBA. It's just your job."

Is Wilson's Summer League 3-point shooting real?

Wilson's shooting was easily the biggest knock against his game as an NBA prospect. A 6-9 forward with a 7-foot wing span, Wilson is arguably the best athlete in his draft class. He's a thunderous downhill scorer who attacks the rim and has All-Defensive upside. He rebounds on both sides of the floor and is an effective passer.

Wilson has a relentless basketball motor and ruthless competitive streak to match his talents. It added up to averages of 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game at North Carolina.

And again, this was just one game in a Summer League exhibition. Wilson has a long way to go to demonstrate that he's a legitimate 3-point threat in the NBA.

But if he is? Watch out.