GREEN MAG

Micah Parsons to the Philadelphia Eagles? Jalen Carter with the Dallas Cowboys? It almost happened, according to Parsons.

Duringa live taping of his podcastfrom San Francisco, the All-Pro linebacker revealed to Eagles receiver A.J. Brown that they were nearly teammates this past season.

"So, to be honest with you, bro, it was very close," Parsons said to Brown and Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. "It was very close. Eagles before the Jaelan Phillips, before all of them, it was me. And I was really about to come."

"But there was one person I had to play with and if he was gone, I didn't want to be there and that was Jalen Carter," he added. "They wanted a D-tackle. And they wanted to trade me, plus some picks. I don't really care about the picks, but I'm going to play next to JC, you feel me? Yeah. Sorry Cowboys fans, it really almost happened. I feel like the trajectory would've changed."

The full podcastcan be seen here. Parsons' remarks about the Eagles begin at the 6:15 mark.

Parsons' story certainly checks out. The Eagles were reportedly aggressive in pursuing the edge rusher beforethe Cowboys traded him to the Green Bay Packersin August. And Parsons, who grew up near Philadelphia and played college football at Penn State, wanted to play for the Eagles someday. But not without playing next to one of the team's best players in Carter.

Yet Dallas was unlikely to deal its defensive star to an NFC East rival. The Cowboys also wanted to ensure the Packers wouldn't somehow flip him to Philadelphia, as unlikely as that seemed, byincluding a provisionin the terms of the trade. A condition of the deal was that Green Bay would have to trade its 2028 first-round pick to Dallas if Parsons was traded to an NFC East team before the end of the 2026 NFL season,according to ESPN.

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The Cowboys showed they coveted a defensive tackle by acquiring Kenny Clark from the Packers in exchange for Parsons, along with first-round selections in 2026 and 2027. Dallas further tried to strengthen its interior defensive line at the trade deadlineby adding Quinnen Williamsfrom the New York Jets.

Parsons referencing what could have been compels "what if" dreaming for Eagles fans and Cowboys fans.

With Parsons on its defense, would Philadelphia have surged toward a second consecutive Super Bowl title? (The Eagles finished 13th among NFL teams in total defense.) Could he have made the difference inthe Eagles' 23-19 playoff lossto the San Francisco 49ers? Philadelphia ended uptrading for edge rusher Jaelan Phillipsat the deadline.

The three-time All-Pro suffereda torn ACL in his left kneeduring a Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos. In 14 games, he tallied 12.5 sacks, 27 quarterback hits, 12 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and 41 tackles in his first season with the Packers.

And as Parsons acknowledged, the Cowboys would have benefited by adding Carter, named to his second Pro Bowl after compiling 33 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 12 QB hits and seven passes defended. Perhaps he could have helped Dallas reach the playoffs instead of finishing 7-9-1 and out of the postseason.

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Turkey midfielder Kenan Yildiz has extended his contract with Juventus through June 2030, the Italian club announced Saturday.

The 20-year-old Yildiz scored on his debut against Frosinone in December 2023. He has since inherited the club's No. 10 jersey and last year became the youngest player to captain the team.

Altogether Yildiz has scored 25 goals and also set up 19 in 115 appearances over two and half seasons with Juventus. This season he has eight goals and five assists in Serie A.

"Kenan embodies leadership, sacrifice and the constant pursuit of improvement. He is the personification of Juventus' values, and he carries them onto the pitch in every game he plays," the club said.

Media reports suggested the new deal made Yildiz the best-paid player in the squad.

The German-born Yildiz switched to Juventus Under-19s from Bayern Munich's youth setup in 2022.

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

Kansas big man Flory Bidunga had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks, and the No. 11 Jayhawks recorded their seventh straight win by upending Utah 71-59 on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence, Kan.

Bidunga made 7 of 8 field goals and 3 of 4 from the line, while Trey White notched 16 points and six boards for the Jayhawks (18-5, 8-2 Big 12).

Darryn Peterson scored 14 points, and Melvin Council Jr. had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds as Kansas was 28 of 56 (50%) from the field.

With the victory, the Jayhawks remained in a tie for third place in the conference with No. 7 Iowa State, a 72-69 winner over Baylor.

In losing it fifth consecutive contest, Utah (9-14, 1-9) received a strong performance from Keanu Dawes, who posted a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Terrence Brown had 16 points and four steals, and Don McHenry scored 12 with five boards as the visitors hit 40% (22 of 55) from the floor.

During the first four minutes, Dawes sank a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points as Utah led 12-8 on 5 of 7 shooting from the floor, while the home side missed 4 of 7 tries.

Kansas went back ahead for the second time on a 10-2 run highlighted by an alley-oop dunk tossed up by Council and slammed down by Bidunga at 13:05. The Utes aided the run by missing eight consecutive shots.

After being fouled on a long ball, McHenry canned all three free throws to make it 28-23 at 5:37, and Seydou Traore made three of four freebies to bring the deficit to 30-28.

Despite committing seven turnovers and seeing Utah coming up with six steals, Kansas used an 8-3 run to lead 38-31 at the break behind Council's nine points and four assists.

Utah opened the second half on a 5-0 run to put it at 38-36 and force a timeout by Kansas coach Bill Self, and an alley-oop slam by White and Council's floating jumper at 10:17 gave the home side its first double-digit lead at 54-44.

Peterson's steal and breakaway slam for a three-point play at 8:26 lifted it to 59-44, a margin Utah could never reduce to single digits.

--Field Level Media

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Washington ​Post ‌publisher and CEO ‌Will Lewis announced in a ⁠message ‌to staff that ‍he is stepping down, the ​newspaper's ‌White House bureau chief Matt Viser posted ⁠online on ​Saturday, ​after the newspaper carried ‍out ⁠widespread layoffs this week.

(Reporting ⁠by Jasper ‌Ward in ‌Washington)

A month after Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer in Minneapolis, her partner spoke out on Saturday, condemning the federal government's immigration crackdown that took Good's life and urging the city to remember those whose names are never known.

In a rare statement issued through her attorney, Becca Good thanked the city and said she was "so proud to call Minneapolis my home."

She also criticized the federal government's immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities, during which federal law enforcementkilled her partnerand ICU nurseAlex Pretti, 37.

"Renee was not the first person killed, and she was not the last," she said. "You know my wife's name and you know Alex's name, but there are many others in this city being harmed that you don't know — their families are hurting just like mine, even if they don't look like mine."

"They are neighbors, friends, coworkers, classmates. And we must also know their names," she added. "Because this shouldn't happen to anyone."

Becca Good has seldom spoken publicly since her partner's killing on Jan. 7.

The killing occurred about a month after the Trump administration surged 3,000 immigration agents to the Twin Cities in what officials have dubbed Operation Metro Surge. Agents descended on Minnesota after right-wing influencers renewed scrutiny in a state fraud scandal involving Somali nationals.

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More than 4,000 undocumented immigrants have been apprehended since the operation began in December,according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The operation, which has led to the apprehensions of some children, has sparked near-daily protests in the Twin Cities. It has alsotransformed the daily livesof many who live there, with people volunteering to deliver groceries to undocumented immigrants and safeguard their neighborhoods from immigration authorities.

A representative for DHS did not immediately return a request for comment.

Weeks after Good's killing, Alex Pretti was shot and killed by Customs and Border Protection agents. Trump administration officials initially defended the agents, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem calling Pretti a "domestic terrorist." However, days after his killing, the administration said it would be drawing down its operation in the state. This week, officials said they wouldsend home 700 agents.

The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights probe into Pretti's death but has not done so for Good.

"Renee and I chose kindness. We believed that every life deserves the same care, treatment, and dignity, no matter who they are or what they look like," Becca Good said in her statement. "That shouldn't be radical. If it is, then I want Renee and our family to be known for how we practiced radical kindness every day."

The killings have prompted calls toreform DHS and forNoem to resign. Two of Renee Good's brothers addressed lawmakers this week at a public forum to raise concerns about the violent tactics used by DHS.

"The deep distress our family feels because of Nee's loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change," Luke Ganger, one of the brothers, testified.