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Flagg scored 36 points in the rookie No. 1 pick's first meeting with the team he grew up watching because Boston was the closest NBA city to his hometown, about 200 miles south of Newport, Maine.

The 19-year-old became the first teenager with three consecutive 30-point games five nights after setting theNBA scoring record for the under-20 groupwith 49 against Charlotte. Flagg had nine rebounds and six assists.

Payton Pritchard scored 26 points for the Celtics, who were playing without Anfernee Simons.Boston acquired Nikola Vucevic for Simonsin a trade with Chicago earlier in the day, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

Luka Garza scored nine consecutive Boston points on 3-pointers during a 14-4 run that finished the third quarter and gave the Celtics an 86-67 lead. Garza made all four of his attempts from 3 and scored 16 points in 20 minutes.

Pritchard scored 15 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting, and the Celtics didn't trail again after Brown hit a tying 3-pointer and scored again from long range midway through the first quarter. Boston led by 23 points in the second half.

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Daniel Gafford had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks despite aggravating a right ankle injury that has sidelined him for 16 games this season. Gafford exited in the second quarter but returned in the third.

Caleb Martin scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half for Dallas.

Celtics: At Houston on Wednesday to finish a quick two-game road trip in Texas.

Mavericks: San Antonio at home Thursday before visiting the Spurs on Saturday.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Until you've decided you've had enough, and35 seasons of coaching footballand doing everything to chase that championship dream is finally, almost mercifully, out of reach.

Gus Malzahn retired Tuesday, walked away from his job as offensive coordinator atFlorida Stateand officially ended almost four decades of doing the only thing he ever wanted to do.

"I'm excited to spend more time with my family, and focus on the next chapter of my life," Malzahn said in a statement.

But it's that one chapter, the magical season of 2013 as coach atAuburn, that will never, ever be forgotten. The one season, and the onenear-miss at championship glory.

The Prayerat Jordan-Hare.Kick Six. The once in a lifetime trip toThe Grandaddyof Them All.

And finally, The Drive from Jameis Winston andFlorida Statein the waning seconds of the Bowl Championship Series national championship game to end what would've been the most unthinkable national championship run since Auburn pulled off the dang thing three years earlier — with Malzahn as offensive coordinator.

A play away — Winston's 2-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds remaining — from Malzahn joining the exclusive national championship club.

Who knows where Malzahn and Kristi, his bride of 38 years, will finally settle down after his nomadic, Hall of Fame-worthy career. Maybe in Florida or Alabama, maybe back home in Arkansas.

NO EXCUSES:Big Ten took title belt from SEC. TV ratings war might be next

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But that one season at Auburn, when everything that could go right did, won't be far from his mind. A season when he took a defensive back-turned-quarterback (Nick Marshall), an undervalued running back (Tre Mason), and an afterthought wide receiver (Sammie Coates), and turned the SEC sideways with his hurry-up, no-huddle offense.

How Auburn went from 3-9 in 2012, to one play from winning it all in 2013.

How do you forget fourth-and-18, and down one with 36 seconds to play against bitter rival Georgia? Marshall launched the Hail Mary heave into the chilly November night on The Plains, and it was tipped by a Georgia defender and plopped directly into the hands of wide receiver Ricardo Lewis ― who ran it in from the 10.

How do you forget Alabama coach Nick Saban — fresh off back-to-back national championships at Alabama and needing only a win over Auburn to likely play for a third — screaming at officials and demanding that one second be placed back on the clock because Tide running back T.J. Yeldon got out of bounds before regulation expired?

So the officials convened and, of course, did what King Nick said, and the next thing you know, Saban is trotting out his kicker to try a 56-yard field goal. Malzahn called timeout to ice the kicker, and then decided to send defensive back Chris Davis to the end zone.

You know, just in case the kick was short and Davis could take a one in a million shot at the greatest play in the modern era of college football.

Fair or not, that season is what Malzahn will be remembered for. The SEC championship in 2013 that followed the Kick Six, and the near miss in the Rose Bowl.

But his career was so much more than that.

The national title in 2010 as the Auburn offensive coordinator, when he got an uber-talented project of a quarterback ready to play week after week, and Cam Newton put Auburn on his shoulders and won it all.

The hurry-up, no-huddle offense, the scheme that revolutionized the game in the mid-2000s and had everyone trying to replicate it. It got so good, it gave SEC defenses so many problems, Saban actually complained to the league that it was a health risk.

Imagine that. Saban couldn't figure out how to consistently stop it, so he concocted the health excuse. There couldn't have been a bigger tip of the cap.

Especially when Saban later used a similar no-huddle offense to build his greatest championship teams.

Through the years at Tulsa and Arkansas State, at Auburn and Central Florida and finally one season at FSU, Malzahn's career-long calling card never wavered. Run the ball, throw off play action.

He just executed it differently than everyone else.

That's more important than a national title, anyway.

Matt Hayesis the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at@MattHayesCFB.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Gus Malzahn was college football offensive revolutionary game needed

TheNCAAand Republican Sen. Ted Cruz saydefinitely not.

But player advocates say yes, they should. And there's one team they can hold up as the poster case for how players are treated as employees under the control of a pro-style program —Coloradowithfootball coach Deion Sanders.

Sanders, 58, has been unabashed about it, most recently with an NFL-style disciplinary system in which players arefined for team rules violations, including $500 for being late to practice.

"Viewed in a broader context, what Sanders is doing is an extension of longstanding control tactics by NCAA coaches," Illinois law professor Michael LeRoy told USA TODAY Sports. "They set schedules, manage work, expect performance, push out or cut deficient players, recruit better ones. But Sanders' approach strips any remaining veneer from the idea that his players are not employees."

'Train wreck.'Unlimited transfer portal 'sucking life out of college sports.' Ask man who ignited it

Toppmeyer:NCAA lied about NIL. College sports have never been more popular

The way he operates and markets his program takes the debate to a different level, complete with dozens of annual free-agent signings and a de facto waiver wire for players who have fallen out of favor.

"At the end of the day, man, this is an NFL-based program," Colorado receiver Sincere Brownsaid in September. "It's like a mini-NFL program."

What's at stake in this debate about college athletes as employees?

It's about more money and rights for players. Those who oppose college athletes as employees generally say it would be too expensive for colleges that already arestruggling to come up with the moneyto pay players under the revenue-sharing terms of theHouse vs. NCAAlegal settlement.

One pending lawsuit,Johnson vs. the NCAA, wants college athletes classified as employees under theFair Labor Standards Actso they can be entitled to wages for services they provided unrelated to academics. That case is still active in federal court after being filed by plaintiffs attorney Paul McDonald in 2019.

"Certainly, what's going on in Colorado is a big flashing light kind of thing," McDonald told USA TODAY Sports.

But to McDonald and his case, the issue is much simpler: Why can regular college students earn employee wages for selling popcorn at games in a work-study program but not student-athletes for playing in the games? He's pushing for an answer in court.

The political football of college athletes as employees

Separately, under the National Labor Relations Act, players as employees could unionize and reach a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with private schools or conferences for more money and benefits. In exchange, they would make tradeoffs in a CBA, such as a cap on the number of timesa player can transfer to a new school.

In 2021, the then-general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, Jennifer Abruzzo, issued a memo that said sheconsidered college athletes to be employees under the NLRA.

"Under common law, an employee includes a person 'who perform(s) services for another and (is) subject to the other's control or right of control,'" the memo stated. The memo said payment for services "is strongly indicative of employee status."

The Trump Administrationrescinded that memo in 2025. Now the U.S. Congress is in conflict about the issue as it considers legislation to regulate college sports. Democrats don't want to forbid employment status for college athletes while Cruz recently told ESPN it was "absolutely critical" to clarify "that student athletes are not employees."

2003: Deion Sanders and family celebrate Kids Day at the New York Knicks vs. New Orleans Hornets NBA game at Madison Square Garden in New York, on Nov. 29, 2003.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 2000: Washington's Deion Sanders jukes the Detroit Lions' Brock Olivo at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, on Sept. 10, 2000.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 1997: Deion Sanders at the plate for the Cincinnati Reds during the 1997 season. The Reds were among four different MLB teams that Sanders played for during a nine-season career.

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See Deion Sanders' 'Prime Time' career in football, baseball and coaching

The 'mini-NFL program' under Deion Sanders

To be sure, Sanderspromotes classwork and education at Colorado. He has said he wants to develop his players as young men, not just football players.

At the same time, probably no other major college sports program in America is a better example of a college team treating players like employees in a setting that advertises itself as a pro development operation. Here are some examples below.

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Deion Sanders issues fines for rules violations

Colorado players arefined for infractionslike in the NFL — $400 for being late to a meeting and up to $5,000 for "social media misconduct."

This isn't the first time a college program has tried this. In 2015, the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia reported Virginia Tech had asystem for fining players, including $100 for drawing a personal foul penalty. The newspaper said Virginia Tech's athletic director "had no idea" about it and discontinued it immediately.

"The fact that the players are required to follow specific rules and are subject to consequences for violating them is a level of control often seen in the employment context," Abruzzo told USA TODAY Sports. "This conduct seems to be similar to an employer taking action against a worker for a handbook rule infraction. But, rather than suspend the worker, thus making them unavailable for work (games), for example, he assesses fines."

Deion Sanders' pro-style roster control

Sanders pioneered thepractice of signing dozens of free-agent transfersevery year, even more so than NFL teams. This year, he's signing players for money under the national revenue-sharing rules that started last July. He also has used the transfer portal as a pro-style waiver wire as an escape hatch for players who underperform. He's not the only coach who controls roster spots like this, but he's been the most famous example of it. He's said he had to"get rid of" the mess he inherited.

"Those of you we don't run off, we're gonna make you quit," Sanders told his inherited Colorado players at hisfirst team meeting in December 2022.

Deion Sanders 'wanted pros' for pro development

Sanders has advertised his program as a pro-development program filled with former NFL players and coaches. Last year, three Pro Football Hall of Famers were on staff. His offensive coordinator last year, Pat Shurmur, previously was the head coach of the NFL's Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.

"We have two new coordinators that are wonderful, that combined I believe they have over 35 years of NFL experience, because I wanted pros," Sanderssaid in 2024. "It's like a navigational system. You can't tell me where to go unless you've been there (the NFL)."

Online classes and reality TV at Colorado

His players previously signed releases or agreementsto appear in a reality show featuring Sanderson Amazon Prime Video, including for compensation.

Many of his players don't attend classes in-person and do their college classwork online instead. His quarterback sonShedeur Sanderssaid he attendedonly one in-person class in his time at Colorado. This isn't unique to Colorado and isn't unusual for athletes after the pandemic of 2020, but it doesn't exactly contribute to the notion players are living the campus life as "student-athletes." Instead, it adds to the notion these players are separated from the rest of the student body while "working" on a separate revenue-generating mission.

"The rules, the perhaps implied coercion to appear on and promote the reality TV shows for his financial gain, and the lack of taking in-person classes if as a consequence of scheduling conflicts related to games, traveling, practice (and) training where academics is forced to take a second seat to athletics, all together suggest that the player is more akin to an employee than a student," Abruzzo said.

'Pro Day' at Colorado on NFL Network

Sanders hosted amassive "pro day" eventlast April, in which NFL scouts, coaches, executives and media came to campus to measure his players and watch them work out before the NFL draft. Other schools have "pro days," too, but this was televised on the NFL Network — the kind of marketing and publicity that other programs want but few can get.

Sanders called it "a tremendous boost for our program and what we're trying to accomplish here at CU."

'Focused on the NFL' at Colorado

To legal experts, it's a matter of control and compensation in exchange for services provided, not marketing. In theJohnson vs. NCAAcase, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal set up atest to determine whether minimum-wage law applies to college athletes.

The court said they may be considered employees in this context if they "perform services for another party, that are "necessarily and primarily for the (other party's) benefit," under that party's control or right of control and in return for "express" or "implied" compensation or "in-kind benefits."

"My view has long been that the football and basketball players in the Power 5 conferences easily meet the definition of employee," said Marc Edelman, law professor at Baruch College in New York. "So while Deion Sanders adding fines to compensated athletes marks another obvious indicia of employment status,  this decision just seems to be indicative of a far broader scope of control over athletes, extending from control over what they wear to control over their social media."

Sanders has never tried to hide what he's been trying to build. At his introductory news conference in December 2022, he said he wanted his players focused on more than making money from their names, images and likenesses (NIL).

"I'm not crazy about the NILs, but I understand the NILs," Sanders said then. "But I would rather our kids be focused on the NFL, not just the NIL."

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer@Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Why Colorado's Deion Sanders fuels labor debate over college players

Coast Guard watchstanders received an emergency position indicating a radio beacon (EPIRB) alert at about 6:50 a.m. Friday registered to the 72-footcommercial fishingvessel Lily Jean.

USCG crewsattempted to contact the boat, and after getting no response, issued an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB), according to officials.

Multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats searched 1,047 square miles over 24 hours, finding debris near the location where the EPIRB was activated, along with one body and an unoccupied life raft that had been deployed.

Coast Guard Searching For Survivors After Commercial Fishing Boat Sinks Off Massachusetts; 1 Body Recovered

Search and rescue mission coordinators, on-scene commanders and the Coast Guard determined on Saturday all reasonable search efforts for the missing crew members had been exhausted.

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The crew members presumed dead have been identified as: captain Accursio "Gus" Sanfilippo; crew member Paul Beal Sr.; crew member Paul Beal Jr.; crew member John Rousanidis; crew member Freeman Short; crew member Sean Therrien; and NOAA fisheries observer Jada Samitt.

Sanfilippo, a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channelshow"Nor'Easter Men," highlighting a fishing expedition in dangerous weather conditions, The Associated Pressreported.

Coast Guard Searches For Survivors After Us Strikes Suspected Narco-terrorist Vessels In Eastern Pacific

Rear Adm. Michael Platt, commander of the Coast Guard Northeast District, has directed a district-level formal investigation, which is typically launched for incidents of "significant regional importance" or those that may reveal broader issues with a class of vessel or areas of technical concern.

Lt. Cmdr. Brett Igo, Coast GuardNortheast Districtinvestigation oversight coordinator, will serve as the lead investigating officer, receiving evidence and testimony using formal rules and procedures.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will also participate in the investigation.

Based on its findings, the incident may be reviewed by aMarine Board of Investigation(MBI).

"The purpose of a Coast Guard investigation is to identify measures that can improve the safety of life and property at sea, not to assign civil or criminal blame," the Coast Guard wrote in a statement.

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The investigation is expected to take several months to complete.

The Coast Guard declined to answer additional inquiries from Fox News Digital.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Original article source:Coast Guard identifies 7 victims on board Gloucester commercial fishing boat that sank off Massachusetts

Almost 900 previously undisclosedaccounts with potential Nazi linkshave been found at a Swiss bank, a US senator said.

Holders of the 890 wartime accounts included the German foreign ministry, the SS paramilitary organisation and a German arms-manufacturing company, Chuck Grassley told reporters.

The organisations werepart of the Nazi apparatusthat ‍enabled the ‌Holocaust under Adolf Hitler.

The investigation is being conducted by Neil Barofsky, an American lawyer hired as an independent investigator by UBS, the Swiss bank thatacquired Credit Suisse in an emergency takeover in 2023.

The inquiry aims to shine a light on what Mr Grassley said was the bank's hidden role in Second World War crimes. The Republican senator gave no details on how much money might have been held in the accounts or their current status.

On Tuesday, Mr Barofsky told a hearing of the Senate judiciary committee, which Mr Grassley leads, that Credit Suisse was willing during the Nazi erato expropriate money from accounts held by Jewsand transfer it to Nazi clients.

He said he had found thatCredit Suisse's banking relationships with the SS were more extensive than previously known, and the economic arm of the SS maintained an account.

Details also emerged in the investigation of the bank's connection to a ⁠scheme ‌to help Nazis flee to ‍Argentina to escape Allied justice, Mr Barofsky said.

Credit Suisse handled the financing of so-called ratlines, used by prominent Nazis to escape Europe after the war, investigators said.

The Argentine authorities also used an account at the Swiss bank to facilitate bribes and other payments to European officials to keep the ratlines running, that would amount today to about 17m Swiss francs (£16m).

The panel also questioned officials fromUBSover 150 or more important documents that Mr Barofsky said were being withheld from his investigation.

"What we're talking about are documents that are relevant to the question of whether a Nazi had an account or didn't have an account at Credit Suisse," he said.

Mr Barofsky said he suspects the missing papers list German clients, looted art and valuables, and other matters that are "very, very core to the heart of our investigation".

US senators were highly critical of UBS for withholding of the documents. Mr Grassley said the conduct of UBS was "absurd and a historic shame that'll outlive today's hearing".

John Kennedy, a Republican Senator from Louisiana, told Robert Karofsky, the head of UBS Americas: "That's what this is all about, you don't want to pay any more money... If you owe more money, then by God, pay it."

UBS executives denied accusations that they were trying to silence Jewish groups, including the Simon Wiesenthal Centre (SWC), but said they would need assurances the bank would not be subject to lawsuits if it were to release the documents.

In 1999, UBS and Credit Suisse apologised and reached a global settlement on all Nazi-era claims, including any future claims. UBS said the current investigation was a voluntary initiative.

The investigation is set to conclude by early summer, according to Senate judiciary committee aides, and a final report is expected at the end of the year.

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