The Nets’ first win of the season didn’t spark any momentum. Two nights after breaking through in Indianapolis, they were back in the loss column Friday at Barclays Center, falling to the Detroit Pistons 125-107 to slip to 1-8 and 0-5 at home.

Cade Cunningham (34) and Jalen Duren (30) powered the Pistons with a combined 64 points in a 57.6% team shooting effort, while Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 28 points on 8-for-17 from the field in Brooklyn’s latest home loss. Yet amid another frustrating night, one bright spot continued to shine for Brooklyn: Noah Clowney.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify keeping Clowney out of the starting lineup. Coming off a career-best outing on Wednesday, the third-year forward picked up right where he left off, hitting four of his first five shots from deep and scoring 12 points in the opening four minutes. His hot hand fueled a 5-for-6 start from distance for Brooklyn.

The Nets led by as many as 10 early in the first quarter, but nine turnovers in the period prevented them from pulling away. They settled for a two-point edge entering the second. Clowney’s four 3s were the most he’s ever made in a single quarter. He finished with 19 points on 5-for-13 shooting in 30 minutes.

Brooklyn committed just two turnovers in the second quarter, but as Clowney cooled off, so did the Nets. They shot only 40% in the period while Detroit caught fire, shooting 68.4% behind 10 points from Jalen Duren and nine from Cunningham. The Nets were outscored 33-26 in the frame and went into halftime trailing by five.

Cam Thomas’ absence opened the door for rookies Egor Demin and Drake Powell to see extended minutes, with Demin earning the first start of his career. The 19-year-old looked poised and efficient, scoring eight points on two made threes while adding five assists in his first 13 minutes. Powell didn’t find the same rhythm offensively but impressed with his relentless full-court defense on Cunningham.

Both rookies stayed on the floor late, even as the game slipped away. Detroit opened the third quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 72-57 lead with 9:05 remaining, as Cunningham poured in 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Brooklyn, meanwhile, shot just 4-for-19 in the period, with half of those makes coming from Porter. Another promising start quickly unraveled, and the Nets entered the fourth quarter down by 20.

The deficit never dipped below 18 points the rest of the way and both teams cleared their benches down the stretch. Brooklyn will get its next chance to regroup Sunday against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

A Japanese home run king officially entered the posting system Friday, opening up a 45-day negotiating window for MLB teams to court him. Munetaka Murakami, a 25-year-old slugger who plays both first and third base, is expected to headline a deep class of Asian talent looking to come to North America this winter.

Could he be a fit for the Mets? Well, yes, but also no. Maybe.

A left-handed power hitter, Murakami set the single-season home run record for a Japanese player in Nippon Professional Baseball when he hit 56 for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2022. It broke Sadaharu Oh’s record of 55, which was set in 1964. Over eight seasons in Japan, Murakami has crushed 246 homers, hitting .270 with a .951 OPS.

In August, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns took a trip to Japan to scout him. However, before you go trying to connect any dots, Stearns is not the only MLB executive that went overseas to see his power in person. Though the power is an obvious draw, a Mets pursuit would probably mean that Pete Alonso’s days in Queens are done.

Alonso is a free agent for the second year in a row after opting out of the final year of his contract last week. While he has been vocal about his desire to return to the team that drafted him out of the University of Florida in 2016, he made a pretty good case for a long-term contract and a big pay day with his 2025 production.

The 30-year-old Alonso hit .272 with an .871 OPS, 38 home runs and a league-leading 41 doubles. The first baseman played in all 162 games for the second year in a row, was named an All-Star for the fourth straight season and for the fifth time in his career, and became the Mets’ all-time home run leader in August when he broke Darryl Strawberry’s record of 252. The Polar Bear stands alone at the top with 264.

This came after two down seasons for Alonso, showing that he’s got plenty left in the tank in his 30s. The 2019 Rookie of the Year faced questions about regression after 2023 and 2024, though he assuaged some of those concerns with a monster postseason last fall. A fan favorite, he values the community like few others who have come through Flushing.

But Stearns has never been Alonso’s biggest fan. Last winter, it was owner Steve Cohen who made the decisive call to bring Alonso back on a bridge deal. Cohen also has a strong relationship with Alonso’s agent, Scott Boras. The super agent also represents Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo and Sean Manaea.

The two players have plenty of differences, but they essentially play the same role as a power bat either high up or toward the middle of the order. Both would offer protection behind Soto, but they both strike out a lot as well. Neither one provides Gold Glove-worthy defense.

The tend to strike out at high rates. Prolific power hitters tend to strike out at high clips, so the line of thinking is generally, you can live with them as long as you get the power production. However, you don’t want too many high-strikeout hitters in one lineup. Alonso cut down on his chase rates in 2024, though they went back up a bit in 2025. Murakami, on the other hand, swings and misses on pitches in the zone and out of it.

Murakami would be a great candidate for the Mets if they lose out on Alonso, but the timing complicates the matter. His negotiation window opens Saturday at 8 a.m. ET, and will expire at 5 p.m. on Dec. 22. That leaves only a short window for the Mets to figure out whether they can retain Alonso as well. It’s also not clear whether or not Murakami would want to play first base full time. If the Mets do sign Murakami, they could move Mark Vientos to first base and use Murakami at third or as a DH, but they might have to trade away either Brett Baty or Ronny Mauricio to ensure that everyone has playing time.

Run prevention and fundamental defense will be priorities for the Mets next season. Murakami might only complicate an already-complicated third base situation.

Still, he’s an enticing player for a team who had a wildly inconsistent offense last season. Plus, we know money isn’t a concern with Cohen, and Murakami won’t come cheap. Signing players through posting requires teams to pay a fee to the Asian teams they transferred from. The fees start at 20% for the first $25 million, 17.5% for the next $25 million and an additional 15% on every dollar above $50 million.

Murakami could receive a nine-figure contract with a posting fee of at least $16.9 million.

Alonso is reportedly seeking a seven-year contract. Last year, he sought a multi-year pact for $150 million. He didn’t get it, and it’s unclear if a team is willing to pay that much for a right-handed first baseman who will be 31 next season.

The answer is complicated. The Mets can make Murakami fit, and they can also make Alonso fit. But it’s unlikely they end up with both.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The question floating around Gainesville right now isn’t whether Lane Kiffin is the best candidate for the University of Florida’s head coaching job.

It’s whether the Gators are actually willing to spend $150 million — fully guaranteed, over 10 years — to hire him.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the Gators hiring Lane Kiffin, but — wince! — at what price?

That will likely be the price tag for Kiffin, according to Mike Ginnitti of Spotrac.com, one of the few places on Earth where sports business math is explained without requiring a stiff drink. And like it or not, Kiffin is the name every big-time program is likely circling. Not just Florida, but LSU, perhaps Penn State and maybe even a couple of NFL teams (hello, Miami Dolphins) might want him, too.

Who are you betting on if the Gators and the Dolphins (when they fire Mike McDaniel) get into a bidding war for Kiffin?

I think I’ll take the Gators for one simple reason.

Because no one — NO ONE! — throws money around quite like college football programs hunting for their next savior.

Remember when Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin was asked recently about how to curb these ridiculous coaching buyouts and contracts? His answer: “We could sit here and talk high and mighty about how we’re going to draw the line, and it would probably impact the pool of candidates you have depending how strict you draw that line. We’re going to try to be as smart as we can with our resources and make the best possible decision. But we’re also going to be very competitive.”

Translation: We’re going to keep spending money like a trust-fund kid with Dad’s AmEx platinum card.

Translation of the translation: If Kiffin wants $150 million, we’re probably going to hand him $151 million just to be safe.

And that’s just Lane’s price tag. He’s going to demand elite assistants, analysts, support staffers and probably a small army of quality-control coaches who hold clipboards like sacred artifacts. Add it up, and the total cost of the Lane Train becomes the Lane Plane — a $200 million aviation-grade financial commitment.

Meanwhile, let’s not forget UF just paid Billy Napier $21 million to go away. Before him, Dan Mullen flamed out early. Before him, Jim McElwain. Before him, Will Muschamp. Four consecutive head coaches — none made it longer than four years.

Which leads to the most terrifying math equation in the SEC.

If Florida gives Kiffin a 10-year, $150 million fully guaranteed contract and he flames out like his predecessors, what would it cost to fire him after Year 4?

Answer: $90 million.

Ninety. Million. Dollars.

That’s not a buyout. That’s a ransom note written in gold ink.

And don’t kid yourself, it would somehow be justified with these seven magical words: “You can’t put a price on winning.” As we know all too well after the recent explosion of contract buyouts, universities have shown zero interest in fiscal responsibility. Schools cry poor and beg their boosters when it’s time to pay players, then torch the GDP of a small nation on fired coaches.

And now Florida is staring down the barrel of the next phase of the arms race: the nine-figure coaching contract.

Would Lane Kiffin win big at Florida? Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully. But the bigger question is this:

Are the Gators ready to risk $150 million on a coach in a sport where four years is considered long-term stability?

Don’t kid yourself, if this happens and then Kiffin leaves UF with anything less than championships, the Gators won’t just be rebuilding a roster.

They’ll be rebuilding their entire financial ecosystem.

RALEIGH, N.C. – After a promising start in a tough environment, the Carolina Hurricanes found an answer for everything the Minnesota Wild could throw at them.

Matt Boldy had a pair of goals to snap out of a notable drought, and Minnesota’s special teams continued a strong stretch, only to see the Hurricanes rally for a 4-3 win. Brock Faber got his second goal of the season.

Looking for a third consecutive win, the Wild twice held one-goal leads and also came back to forge a 3-all tie in the second period. But the Hurricanes stormed back at every turn.

Filip Gustavsson, making his 12th start in goal for the Wild, had a shaky start. Carolina scored four times on its first eight shots. After that, the goalie settled in and finished with 23 saves in the loss

Minnesota fell to 5-7-3 with the loss, and are now 0-6-1 when trailing after the first period.

The Wild got the game’s first power play but could not muster a shot on goal. But with the teams back to even strength a short time later, Kirill Kaprizov got loose in the middle of the offensive zone and made a rush to the net that was thwarted. Boldy was able to punch the loose puck in before Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen could cover it.

Boldly had scored just once in the Wild’s previous 10 games.

After the Wild killed their first penalty of the game, fourth line winger Tyler Pitlick leveled Carolina defenseman Jalen Chatfield with an open-ice check. After a brief fight, Chatfield was helped off the ice and Pitlick was ejected from the game for the illegal hit to the head.

Chatfield did not return to the game, officially listed as dealing with an upper body injury.

With the teams skating four-on-four, Carolina’s Jackson Blake made a coast-to-coast rush with the puck and snapped a low shot past Gustavsson to tie the game. But the Wild answered 31 seconds later, reclaiming the lead at 2-1 via a Brock Faber wrist shot after a set up pass from Kaprizov.

The lead was brief, as Andrei Svechnikov fooled Gustavsson with a low shot on the next shift. The trio of goals in 52 seconds was the fastest three-goal span in the NHL this season.

The Wild killed the rest of the extended penalty only to see Carolina take the lead on a long shot through a crowd in front of the Minnesota net five seconds after the teams were back to full strength.

Minnesota had three shots in the first period, and Andersen stopped one of them.

Opening the middle frame on a power play, the Wild needed 37 seconds to tie the game as Vladimir Tarasenko fed Boldy for a tap-in goal. The tie was again brief, as Carolina scored on the ensuing faceoff, nine seconds later, to lead 4-3.

With just over eight minutes left in regulation, Kaprizov looked to have an open net for the tying goal, only to have Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker disrupt the play. Minnesota made a furious final push with Gustavsson on the bench but could not get the equalizer.

Andersen finished with 19 saves for the Hurricanes, who make their only visit to St. Paul this season on Nov. 19.

The Wild’s current two-game Eastern road swing concludes on Friday night when they visit the New York Islanders for the only time this season. Their game at UBS Arena on Long Island faces off at 6 p.m. CT.

Briefly

The Hurricanes lineup featured three veterans of Minnesota prep hockey: K’Andre Miller (Minnetonka), Mike Reilly (Holy Angels) and Blake (Eden Prairie). But the Wild lineup featured the only player from the Carolinas. Ryan Hartman was raised in suburban Chicago, but he was born in 1994 in Hilton Head Island, S.C. and was the first NHL player born in South Carolina.

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Nov. 5—In the latest edition of the "Elliss Bowl," Christian Elliss' New England Patriots edged out Kaden Elliss' Atlanta Falcons 24-23 and the Los Angeles Chargers' Daiyan Henley had a huge game just days after family tragedy to highlight area connections in Week 9 of the NFL.

The two Elliss brothers, both former Idaho Vandals, each had five tackles in the game, but Christian left the Sunday contest with a hip injury designation.

In another game, former Washington State star Henley bested his former Cougar quarterback Cam Ward when his Los Angeles Chargers beat the Tennessee Titans 27-20.

Henley's big nine-tackle, one-sack day came the day after he received some tragic news. Henley's brother, Jabari Henley, was shot and killed Friday night.

Daiyan Henley chose to play Sunday in honor of his brother.

After Henley sacked the Titans' Ward in the second quarter, he dropped to his knees and prayed.

"I just wanted to talk to my brother one more time," Henley said. "It was just an emotional moment for me just to be able to make a play on a day like this, just losing him so soon.

"Like I said, it's been a long year for me, so I had to just send a prayer up and hopefully he heard it."

Here's how all the former Vandals, Cougars and one Moscow Bear fared in NFL Week 9:

Idaho

LB, Christian Elliss, New England Patriots: The former undrafted free agent compiled five tackles (one solo) and a quarterback hit in a 24-23 win over the Falcons and brother Kaden Elliss. Christian Elliss recorded those stats before leaving the game with a hip injury.

LB, Kaden Elliss, Atlanta Falcons: The veteran racked up five tackles (four solo) and a quarterback hit in a 24-23 loss to the Patriots and brother Christian Elliss.

LS, Hogan Hatten, Detroit Lions: Hatten snapped for two field goals (1-for-2), three extra points (3-for-3) and five punts (47.6 average, two inside the 20) during a 27-24 loss to the Vikings.

CB, Marcus Harris (Cal), Tennessee Titans: The rookie tallied one solo tackle and a pass defensed in a 27-20 loss to the Chargers.

WSU

S, Jaden Hicks, Kansas City Chiefs: The hard-hitting, second-year safety recorded two solo tackles in a 28-21 loss to the Bills.

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CB, Jaylen Watson, Kansas City Chiefs: The veteran defensive back had five tackles (four solo) in the 28-21 loss to the Bills.

QB, Gardner Minshew, Kansas City Chiefs: The backup QB did not play in the loss to the Bills.

N, Chau Smith-Wade, Carolina Panthers: Smith-Wade had one solo tackle in a 16-13 victory over the Packers.

DT, Daniel Ekuale, Pittsburgh Steelers: He did not play in a 27-20 win over the Colts.

LB, Frankie Luvu, Washington Commanders: Luvu accumulated seven tackles (four solo), one forced fumble and one pass defensed in a 38-14 loss to the Seahawks.

LB, Brennan Jackson, Las Vegas Raiders: On the injured reserve, he did not play in a 30-29 overtime loss to the Jaguars.

S, Jalen Thompson, Arizona Cardinals: Thompson tallied five tackles (three solo) in a 27-17 win against the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

LB, Daiyan Henley, Los Angeles Chargers: The team captain compiled a team-high nine tackles (four solo), one sack, one tackle for loss, one pass defensed and one QB hit in a 27-20 victory over the Titans.

OL, Abraham Lucas, Seattle Seahawks: The starting tackle helped his team accumulate 418 yards of offense in a 38-14 victory over the Commanders on Sunday Night Football.

WR, Kyle Williams, New England Patriots: The rookie was targeted once but failed to record a catch in a 24-23 win against the Falcons.

CB, Cam Lampkin, Los Angeles Rams: On the practice squad, he did not play in a 34-10 win over the Saints.

OL, Esa Pole, Kansas City Chiefs: On the practice squad, he did not play in a 28-21 loss to the Bills. Pole's addition makes it four former Cougs on the Chiefs' roster.

QB, Cam Ward (Miami), Tennessee Titans: Ward went 12-of-21 passing for 145 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions in a 27-20 loss to the Chargers.

Moscow High School

LB, Jonah Elliss, Denver Broncos: The youngest Elliss brother had one solo tackle in an 18-15 win over the Texans.

Wiebe may be contacted at (208) 848-2260, swiebe@lmtribune.com or on X @StephanSports.