Lady Raiders hold off Warren, advance to Area Championship Game

Auburn kick returner and running back Brian Battie remains in critical condition after a shooting early Saturday morning in Florida that claimed the life of his brother, Tommie Battie IV. Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze said Monday that Brian Battie had a "setback" Sunday night and that he remains on a ventilator. The shooting occurred in Sarasota. Police said there were multiple shooting victims when they arrived at a plaza. Tommie Battie IV was pronounced dead at the scene. Four others were transported to area hospitals. Brian Battie averaged 23.0 yards on 28 kickoff returns in 2023, his first season at Auburn. He was also fourth on the team in rushing yards (227), scoring a touchdown. He played his first three seasons at South Florida, rushing for 1,185 yards during the 2022 season. --Field Level Media

Kansas City Chiefs second-year wide receiver Rashee Rice, embroiled in legal issues stemming from two separate offseason incidents, will be a participant in all of the team's voluntary offseason activities, ESPN reported Monday. Monday is the start of the Chiefs' Phase 3 of OTAs, bringing together rookies and veterans. Rice, 24, is accused of assaulting a photographer at a Dallas nightclub earlier this month. The photog was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The wide receiver, who grew up in the Dallas area and played for SMU, was already in trouble in the city for his connection to a six-car crash on March 30. Rice turned himself in to police several days later and faces one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury. Seven people were left with injuries, including at least one woman who sustained "serious bodily injury" and another who was stranded on the highway with her 4-year-old son for about five hours after the crash. The Chiefs are bracing for a multi-game suspension for Rice, ESPN previously reported. The team and the league are waiting for the legal process to play out on both incidents. Rice was second only to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in catches (79) and receiving yards (938) as a rookie in 2023. He led the Super Bowl champions with seven receiving touchdowns. --Field Level Media

Report: Chiefs WR Rashee Rice participating in OTAs

Mississippi State and head coach Chris Jans are in agreement on a contract extension through the 2027-28 season, multiple outlets reported Monday. Jans, 55, gets a bump in salary to $4.2 million for 2024-25, up from $3.2 million last season, per the reports. Jans, who has led Mississippi State to the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons, will enter his third season coaching the Bulldogs. He is 42-27 since arriving in Starkville, Miss. Overall, Jans is 185-71 at Bowling Green State (2014-15), New Mexico State (2017-22) and Mississippi State. He has five NCAA Tournament appearances and was poised for a sixth in 2019-20 at New Mexico State. He led the Aggies to a 25-6 mark and the WAC regular-season title, but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. --Field Level Media

LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey added Tigers legend Seimone Augustus to her coaching staff on Monday. Augustus, who helped LSU reach three straight Final Fours from 2004-06, replaces the retired Johnny Derrick. "Life always guides you to where you belong," said Augustus, 40, a Baton Rouge native. "Thus, my path has led me home, gracing me with an opportunity to further my coaching career within a program that I hold dearly." Augustus was a two-time Naismith Player of the Year, two-time Wooden Award winner and two-time SEC Player of the Year while starring at LSU from 2002-06. The school unveiled a statue of Augustus outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in January 2023. In November, Augustus will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She also joined the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this year. "As a player at LSU, Seimone helped transform the program as the best player in the nation," Mulkey said. "She brought LSU to national prominence. She will be a tremendous member on our staff as someone with great experience who has excelled at every level of the game from high school in Baton Rouge to college to the WNBA to the Olympics." Augustus helped the United States win three Olympic gold medals at Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016). Augustus, a 6-foot guard/forward, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. She became an eight-time All-Star and four-time WNBA champion during her 15-year career with the Lynx (2006-19) and Los Angeles Sparks (2020). Augustus was an assistant coach with the Sparks in 2021 and 2022. --Field Level Media

Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said Monday that talks on a long-term contract extension for franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence are ongoing, adding "hopefully it gets done" sooner rather than later. Lawrence is set to play this season for $5.6 million and the Jags picked up his fifth-year option for 2025, which would pay him $25.6 million, barring an extension. Lawrence is expected to join the $50 million club, whenever the deal gets done. "I think it's part of the business," Pederson told reporters Monday. "Obviously the sooner you get it done, right, it's behind everybody, and now we focus on football, and so that's not lingering and that's not out there." Joe Burrow, Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts all make north of $50 million per season, with Dak Prescott poised to join the club, too. Prescott is entering the final year of his contract in Dallas. "I know (Jaguars GM) Trent (Baalke) and (Lawrence's) agent, they've continued to talk and will talk, and they're working hard and tirelessly. I've just got to coach Trevor and coach football, and hopefully it gets done, and it will," Pederson added. Lawrence, 24, made the Pro Bowl in 2022 and is 20-30 as a starter, passing for 11,770 yards with 58 touchdowns and 39 interceptions through three seasons since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2021. He has rushed for 964 yards and 11 scores. --Field Level Media

Illinois State transfer Myles Foster announced his commitment to Clemson on Monday. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 12.4 points and 8.1 rebounds in 32 games (31 starts) in his lone season with the Redbirds in 2023-24. "Last Stop," Foster posted on Instagram with a photo of himself in a Clemson uniform alongside Tigers coach Brad Brownell. Clemson will indeed be the last stop for Foster, who played three seasons at Monmouth (2020-23) before transferring to Illinois State. Foster has career averages of 8.9 points on 49.9 percent shooting with 5.1 rebounds in 118 games (65 starts). --Field Level Media

Legendary Oakland Raiders center Jim Otto, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, has died at the age of 86, the team announced Sunday. The Raiders did not disclose a cause of death. Otto spent his entire 15-year career with the Raiders, who moved to Las Vegas ahead of the 2020 season. Oakland was playing as a member of the AFL for Otto's first 10 seasons (1960-69). "The Raiders Family is in deep mourning following the passing of Jim Otto ... The Original Raider," the team said in a statement on Sunday. "The personification of consistency, Jim's influence on the American Football League and professional football as a whole cannot be overstated." One of three players to play in all 140 AFL regular-season games, Otto started 210 games for the Raiders in all. No one else started at center from his first game in 1960 to his last in 1974. Despite the remarkable consistency from season to season, Otto did deal with his fair share of injuries, and he had to have over 70 surgeries, most of which related to his knees. Because of two serious infections, Otto had to have his right leg amputated in 2007, and he also fought prostate cancer. Otto landed in the Hall of Fame in 1980 -- the first year he was eligible. He was named to the NFL 100 All-Time team in 2019. Even when his playing days were over, Otto stayed involved with the Raiders organization, serving as the director of special projects. During his time in that role, Otto set up reunions for former players and made public appearances as a representative for the team. Otto was also known for wearing No. 00, an ode to the two O's in his last name. However, NFL players nowadays cannot select that number. "‘00' was the foundational piece of a transcendent offensive line that not only propelled the Raiders to success on the field but resonated with fans and helped build the Raiders persona and mystique," the team said in its statement. Otto is survived by his wife, a son, his daughter-in-law and 14 grandchildren. --Field Level Media

Legendary Raiders C Jim Otto dies at 86

Kyle Larson qualified fifth for his Indianapolis 500 debut on Sunday, then caught a quick flight to North Carolina, where he was due to compete in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. It's a similar agenda to what Larson will face on May 26, when he tries to become the second drive to complete “The Double” by running every lap of the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. Larson will start behind an all-Team Penske front row headed by Scott McLaughlin, who broke the four-lap qualifying record set by Alex Palou last year. But he will have Arrow McLaren teammate Alexander Rossi starting right alongside him.