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John Tavares said he didn’t want to leave Toronto. And that wasn’t lip service.

The Maple Leafs announced a four-year contract extension for Tavares on Friday, carrying an AAV of $4.38 million. Tavares was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 but opted out of exploring his options by taking less to stick with the Leafs.

“Obviously left some money out there,” Tavares admitted on a media conference call Friday. “But I’ve done pretty well. I’m still doing pretty well. And I get to play for an amazing club in a great city, the place where I’m from, and for a team that’s got a real opportunity to win. It’s a real strong hockey team and there’s a tremendous amount of belief.”

The center is coming off one of his most productive regular seasons, collecting 38 goals and 74 points in 75 games. It was the second time in three years Tavares had eclipsed the 30-goal mark, while carrying over 18 minutes TOI per game and contributing to the top power-play unit. He is also just six goals away from 500 in his career, a mark achieved by only 48 NHL players to date. That consistent success is no accident, either. Tavares’ dedication to improvement — whether through on-ice work or off-ice recovery — has allowed him to remain an upper-echelon player worth investing in — by the only team he cared to suit up for.

“It never really got to the point where I had to really look at other [choices] and consider it,” Tavares said. “I look over the last few years and my belief is I can continue to play at a very high level, to play elite hockey and be a difference-maker and contribute to a lot of areas. I felt like my fit and obviously the comfort playing here for so long and where I’m at in my role and with the team, it just made so much sense and was the best fit.”

Tavares, 34, originally signed with the Leafs as a free agent on July 1, 2018. He captained the team from 2019 to 2024 before ceding the role to Auston Matthews. That’s another example of Tavares’ willingness to maintain his relationship with Toronto, which also extends to family life.

A native of the Toronto area, Tavares has put down roots with his three kids over the past several years and security ultimately outweighed any other factors.

“We would all agree there is going to be an opportunity for John to make a lot more money elsewhere,” GM Brad Treliving said. “And [Tavares’] focus was staying here and so his work and his commitment and his desire, it sort of steered the process on this negotiation.”

Treliving noted that given Tavares’ age, the four-year pact that has just dried could appear too long. It was a risk the Leafs were willing to take.

“We all expect aging curves to kick in at some point,” Treliving said. “John’s been able to defy it, and it’s a credit to the way he looks after himself, the commitment he has to his craft, his body. His preparation is second to none. So we expect John to be a really good player moving forward.”

Keeping Tavares in the fold was a key item on the Leafs’ offseason to-do list. Toronto is unlikely to re-sign pending UFA Mitch Marner to a contract extension, which will impact its top-six forward depth. Retaining Tavares as the team’s No. 2 center behind Matthews will help stabilize the Leafs up front.

That’s critical if Toronto expects to make another run at the postseason this year. The Leafs have qualified for the playoffs in every full season since Tavares arrived but have advanced past the first round only twice. This year they got further than ever, falling in Game 7 of a second-round series against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

It was another heartbreaking finish for Tavares and the Leafs. And while they haven’t made that elusive breakthrough yet back to a championship stage — and the disappointment continues to take a toll — Tavares is convinced the Leafs can get there.

“It only gets harder,” he said of falling short in the playoffs. “I think because my runway gets shorter and shorter. My belief in my ability is stronger than ever, but I’m clearly not on the front nine [of my career], but the back nine, and I am aware and realistic of that. The opportunities get fewer and fewer for a player that’s in my situation. It only gets more difficult as every opportunity passes and you’re not the last one standing.”

Tavares credited first-year head coach Craig Berube with establishing a new mentality for the club that served them well last season and provides a foundation to build on moving forward. The “different philosophy” suggests Toronto can head in a new direction that will, in theory, produce fresh results.

Only time will tell if Tavares was right to put his faith in the Leafs’ potential.

“There are really good signs for our team, our club,” Tavares said. “All our guys, just talking to a number of them since the end of the season, [there’s a sense of] just how badly we want to find our way and do something special here in Toronto that hasn’t been done here in a long time.”

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida has offensive help on the way with a freshman receiver who just might make a difference against No. 9 Texas on Saturday.

Dallas Wilson is practicing for the first time since injuring his left foot in training camp and is scheduled to make his collegiate debut against the Longhorns, coach Billy Napier said Monday.

Napier called Wilson’s availability “a big deal.”

“Three good days of work last week, and I thought he handled the load well,” Napier said. “He feels really good. So far, so good.”

Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 213-pound newcomer from Tampa, was the star of Florida’s spring game in April. He caught 10 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and all indications in fall practice pointed to it not being a fluke.

But Wilson injured his foot late in camp, spent weeks in a protective boot and watched from afar as the Gators (1-3, 0-1 SEC) struggled to move the ball and find the end zone. Florida scored 16, 10 and 7 points, respectively, in consecutive losses to South Florida, LSU and Miami, raising speculation about Napier’s future in Gainesville.

Quarterback DJ Lagway has been the focus of the team’s offensive woes. The sophomore who went 6-1 as a starter last season missed most of the year dealing with injuries and looked rusty when the season began.

Although Lagway’s mechanics seemed improved in the team’s 26-7 setback at Miami on Sept. 20, his offensive line got manhandled and allowed way too much pressure for anyone to notice. Lagway completed 12 of 23 passes for 61 yards against the Hurricanes.

Napier used the off week to get Lagway more live-action reps in hopes of getting him “caught up.” But he also reiterated the need to “play better around him.”

“Each position group needs to step up,” Napier said. “More detail, eliminate errors, eliminate penalties, whatever the case may be. I just think more detail and better overall play around him. And, obviously, he needs to continue to get back closer to being himself.”

Adding Wilson to the mix should help.

The Gators haven’t shown much depth at receiver. Freshman Vernell Brown III has been Lagway’s go-to guy, catching 18 passes for 219 yards. But Eugene Wilson III, J. Michael Sturdivant and Aidan Mizell have been mostly underwhelming.

Dallas Wilson has been unable to help — until now. The Gators are confident he will change the narrative against the No. 1 scoring defense in the SEC.

“Just having him out is going to be amazing for us,” Lagway said. “His ability to go deep, his ability to make plays underneath and be able to make miraculous plays with the ball in his hands, it’s going to be great to have him back.”

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum said Monday that he would consider leaving ESPN to run for the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama.

The 70-year-old Finebaum said during a recent interview with Outkick that he’d run as a Republican to fill the seat vacated by former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, who has said he’ll run for Alabama governor in the 2026 elections. Tuberville’s current Senate term ends in 2027.

The qualifying deadline to run for Senate is Jan. 26, 2026. Finebaum said he would likely have to leave his hosting and analyst duties if he decided to run. He told Outkick he’d make a decision within the next 30-45 days.

Finebaum said he hadn’t seriously considered politics, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk was the impetus to give a run at politics further thought. He noted that he had received a “text” from “one or two people in Washington” gauging his interest in politics.

“[It was] something I never thought about before,” Finebaum told Outkick.

Finebaum is currently registered as a Republican in North Carolina, where he works for the SEC Network. He told Outkick he recently moved to Alabama, where he hosted a radio show for years, and would re-register there.

Finebaum hosted radio shows in Alabama for almost 30 years before joining ESPN and the SEC Network. He started his media career as a newspaper writer and columnist.

“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years, and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

Bobby Petrino has fired three defensive assistants just one day after being named interim head coach at Arkansas as part of an overhaul of the Razorbacks’ coaching staff.

Petrino dismissed defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive assistant Marcus Woodson in the latest moves after being appointed interim coach for the rest of the season to replace Sam Pittman, who was fired Sunday following five-plus seasons as Arkansas’ head coach.

“I just felt like how we performed on Saturday gave me an indication that maybe Sam had lost the team a little bit because they generally had played really hard for him throughout his tenure,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said of the move, which came on the heels of a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.

Petrino, 64, returned to Arkansas in 2023 as offensive coordinator after serving in a number of jobs. In four years as the Razorbacks’ head coach, he went 34-17, including consecutive seasons with double-digit victories in 2010 and 2011.

“Coach Petrino, as we met yesterday, he accepted this opportunity with the understanding that he also wanted an opportunity to formally be a candidate for our head coaching position, and he will have that opportunity, but we’ll also subsequently run a search for our next head coach at the same time,” Yurachek said.

Pittman’s dismissal, Petrino’s temporary promotion and the defensive assistant dismissals weren’t the only changes. Chris Wilson was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator.

Petrino had high praise for Wilson, who was in his first year with the Razorbacks as an assistant defensive line coach.

“My experience [with Wilson] goes way back to having to battle against him when he had all the great defensive linemen at Mississippi State,” Petrino said. “Very, very impressed with what he’s done throughout his career. Guy’s got a Super Bowl ring. He brings a lot of credibility into the room.”

Several defensive players posted cryptic messages on social media following the firing of Williams, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2023. Yurachek and Petrino encouraged players to welcome change amid a 2-3 start to the season.

“The No. 1 thing is, you have to get used to change. You know, your whole life there’s going to be change. So how we handle that, our attitude on how we handle that, will determine how quickly we improve,” Petrino said.

Petrino was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in April 2012 that left him with four broken ribs. At first, he said he was riding alone, but a police report revealed a woman was riding with him. The woman turned out to be a former Arkansas athlete who was in a romantic relationship with the married Petrino. The coach had given her a job in the football program and a $20,000 gift.

Petrino was fired by then-athletic director Jeff Long for misleading his bosses about what happened with the accident and his relationship with the football staffer.

Pittman, 63, went 32-34 with the Razorbacks.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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