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Chad Baker-Mazara out at USC in final week of season as Trojans try to snap losing skid, make NCAA tournament push

Chad Baker-Mazara's time with USC is over.

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 31: USC Trojans head coach Eric Musselman reacts after a play as USC Trojans guard Chad Baker-Mazara (4) looks on during the college basketball game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the USC Trojans on January 31, 2026 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Trojans announced Sunday afternoon that Baker-Mazara was no longer with the program, marking a stunning development for the team as it enters the final stretch of the regular season and the Big Ten tournament.

According toThe Los Angeles Times' Ryan Kartje, there wasn't one specific incident but "an accumulation of issues" that led to his dismissal. Further specifics on his departure are not yet known.

Baker-Mazara, 26, transferred into USC this season. The former Auburn star has averaged 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this season with the Trojans, all of which have been career highs. He's USC's leading scorer and was the Maui Invitational MVP in November.

Baker-Mazara played just 19 minutes in the team's 82-67 loss to No. 12 Nebraska on Saturday. He went down with an apparent leg injury early in the second half after blocking a shot and did not return.

Can USC make the NCAA tournament without Baker-Mazara?

Baker-Mazara's departure is coming at an awful time for the Trojans and head coach Eric Musselman.

USC has just two games left in the regular season, first at Washington on Wednesday and then at home against UCLA on Saturday. Both of those are games the Trojans will have to win if they want any shot at making it into the NCAA tournament.

Saturday's loss to Nebraska marked the Trojans' fifth straight. They've not beaten a ranked opponent all season and sit at just 18-11. They have significant work to do in order to make it to the tournament, a place the program hasn't been since 2023.

But it isn't out of the question. If the Trojans can end the regular season on a two-game win streak and then make a decent run in the Big Ten tournament in Chicago, an at-large bid certainly isn't out of the question.

But now, without Baker-Mazara around, pulling off that feat is going to be much more difficult for the Trojans.

byAdministrator

in

March 01, 2026

Chad Baker-Mazara out at USC in final week of season as Trojans try to snap losing skid, make NCAA tournament push

Chad Baker-Mazara's time with USC is over. The Trojans announced Sunday afternoon that Baker-Mazara was ...

Michael J. Fox Says Meeting Wife Tracy Pollan on

Michael J. Fox made a special presentation at the 2026 Actor Awards when he stepped out for the show's opening moments on Sunday, March

Michael J. Fox at the Actor Awards on March 1, 2026Credit: Netflix

NEED TO KNOW

The legendary actor spoke to his experience meeting wife Tracy Pollan, on the set of his breakout television role on Family Ties during the show's "I Am an Actor" segment
Fox is currently performing in a guest role on the third season of Apple TV's Shrinking

Michael J. Foxstepped out for the 2026Actor Awards.

Fox, 64, spoke to the audience assembled in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 1, as the Actor Awards kicked off with the show's annual "I Am an Actor" segment.

"When I left school,I moved from Canada to LA to try to make it as an actor," Fox said, after receiving significant applause from the audience when he appeared on camera. "A teacher of mine told me, 'Fox, you're not going to be cute forever.' I didn't know what to say to that, so I said, 'Maybe just long enough, sir.' "

Michael J. Fox on March 1, 2026Credit: Netflix

"After three years of dumpster diving in LA, I ended up onFamily Ties, where I received the greatest gift of my career. I met my wife, the actorTracy Pollan, who played Ellen, my girlfriend, and she gave me four gifts:our kidsSchuyler, Aquinnah, Esmé and Sam. Sometimes I like to remind them, if it weren't for acting, they wouldn't be here."

"By the way, he's not an actor, he's just my date," Fox said, gesturing to son Sam, 36, seated at his side, which drew more laughter from the audience. "I'm Michael J. Fox. I'm a dad, and I'm an actor."

Fox appeared at the awards show in recognition of his recent appearances on the Apple TV seriesShrinking; he is making aguest appearancein the show's currently-airing third season whileHarrison Ford's therapist character, Dr. Paul Rhoades, continues his journey with Parkinson's, the neurodegenerative disease Fox was diagnosed with in 1991. (Ford, 83, is receiving the Actor Awards' Life Achievement Award statue on March 1.)

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Back in 2020, Fox wrote in his bookNo Time Like the Futurethat he intended to stop working on screen amid health struggles related to Parkinson's, but he toldShrinkingcreator andSpin Citycolleague Bill Lawrence he wanted to appear on the show after learning it centered Parkinson's.

See PEOPLE's full coverageof the 32nd annual Actor Awards Sunday, March 1 as they air live on Netflix.

Read the original article onPeople

byAdministrator

in

March 01, 2026

Michael J. Fox Says Meeting Wife Tracy Pollan on “Family Ties” Was His 'Greatest Gift' at Actor Awards 2026

Michael J. Fox made a special presentation at the 2026 Actor Awards when he stepped out for the show's opening momen...

'Scream 7' rules the box office with record opening weekend

You can't keep Ghostface down.

"Scream 7" has sliced its way to No. 1 at the domestic box office, scoring the biggest opening weekend in the horror franchise's 30-year history.

The latest slasher sequel starringNeve Campbelldebuted with $64.1 million in North American theaters, according to estimates from Comscore released on Sunday. This surpasses the franchise's previous biggest opening weekend of $44.4 million for 2023's "Scream VI." It's also the biggest opening weekend of 2026 so far, topping the$32.8 million launch of "Wuthering Heights."

Prior to "Scream VI," the fifth "Scream" movie, which was the series' first new entry in over a decade, opened to $30 million in January 2022 amid continued COVID-19 concerns. 2011's "Scream 4," the series' lowest-grossing installment, started with $18.7 million in 2011.

Campbell stars as five-time Ghostface survivor Sidney Prescott in "Scream 7," in which a mysterious new killer emerges to target her and her teenage daughter, played by series newcomerIsabel May. Courteney Cox, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Joel McHale also star.

Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in "Scream 7."

The success of "Scream 7" is a win for Paramount after the sequel's production was plagued by controversy, starting with thefiring of Melissa Barrera.

'Scream 7'star Isabel May reveals Neve Campbell's touching 'maternal act'

In 2023, Barrera, who played lead character Sam Carpenter in the most recent two "Scream" films, was removed from "Scream 7" over her social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war, which production company Spyglass alleged constituted hate speech. Barrera, who has been supportive of Palestine and critical of Israel, said at the time that she condemns "hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people."

On Wednesday, Feb. 25,pro-Palestine protesters demonstratedoutside the "Scream 7" Los Angeles premiere. Barrera seemed to address the demonstrations by writing on Instagram, "I see you."

Jenna Ortega, who played the sister of Barrera's character in the previous two "Scream" movies, also declined to return for "Scream 7." Shelater tied her decisionto Barrera's firing and the exit of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed both of the "Scream" movies she starred in. "It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling," Ortegatold The Cut. "The Melissa [Barrera] stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart."

Director Christopher Landon also announced his exit from "Scream 7" in 2023, describing the project as a "dream job that turned into a nightmare." He has said the decision to fire Barrera was out of his hands but that it caused him toreceive death threats.

Beware of Ghostface!All 7 'Scream' movies ranked, including new one

After these exits, "Scream 7" hit the reset button and turned focus back to Campbell. Her character, Sidney Prescott, was the protagonist of the first four "Scream" movies from 1996 to 2011. But Sidney transitioned into a supporting role in the fifth installment, released in 2022, as Barrera's Sam Carpenter took center stage as the new lead. Sidney was then absent entirely from 2023's "Scream VI" afterCampbell declined to return due to a pay dispute.

The "Scream 7" cast showed out for the global premiere at Paramount Pictures Studios on Feb. 25, 2026, in Los Angeles.

See the stars on the black carpet, beginning here, from left, with Joel McHale, Skeet Ulrich, Celeste O'Connor, Ethan Embry, Jimmy Tatro, Mckenna Grace, Scott Foley, Anna Camp, Matthew Lillard, Sam Rechner, Timothy Simons, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Isabel May, Victor Turpin, Neve Campbell, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding.