CLOSE USA TODAY Sports Columnist Dan Wolken breaks down why SEC teams are improving their schedules.USA TODAY As the Southeastern Conference convenes this week for its annual genuflection convention otherwise known as Media Days, two under-the-radar story lines from this offseason should start getting more attention.  The first is a clear ramping-up of non-conference scheduling…

CLOSE PGA professional Adam Scott previews the 2019 Open Championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club.USA TODAY PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – What will Phil do next? In all the years that question has been asked, not a single person ever thought the answer would be fasting. But that’s what Phil Mickelson has gone and done.…

CLOSE SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg breaks down his college football offseason rankingsUSA TODAY For nearly a decade, every SEC football season has started with a similar feeling. Alabama is going to win the SEC West. There will be a team from the SEC East capable of contending with the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship…

CLOSE Hall of Fame boxer Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker died Sunday after being struck by a vehicle in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He was 55. The Virginia Beach Police Department said in a news release that a man was hit by a vehicle around 10 p.m. ET on Sunday at an intersection west of downtown Virginia…

CLOSE SportsPulse: Houston couldn’t stay idle and watch everyone else improve. USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt breaks down the blockbuster trade that sends Russell Westbrook to the Rockets where he will reunite with former teammate James Harden.USA TODAY Anthony Davis, now officially a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, says he still doesn’t have any regrets about his…