In today's edition: Philip Rivers is back, MLB free agency update, Weekend Watchlist, the concerning rise of NBA calf injuries, and more.
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🚨 Headlines
🏈 Falcons stun Bucs on TNF: The Falcons stormed back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Buccaneers, 29-28, on a walk-off field goal. At one point, Tampa Bay's win probability was 97.1%.
⚽️ FIFA blasted for pricing: Fans are furious with FIFA's latest World Cup ticket price hike. Get-in prices have risen by hundreds of dollars for some games and the affordable tickets long promised appear to be scarce, if not entirely unattainable.
🏁 MJ and NASCAR settle suit: Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing prevailed in its antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, which was settled "in a way that will benefit the industry going forward."
🏈 SEC schedule release: The SEC's inaugural nine-game conference schedule next season features a real doozy in Week 3, when new LSU coach Lane Kiffin is set to return to Oxford to face his former team.
🎿 Vonn makes history: Lindsey Vonn, 41, has become the oldest skier ever to win a World Cup downhill event, coming out on top at the season opener for the discipline in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
🏈 Philip Rivers' unretirement
Philip Rivers is a grandfather. He hasn't played an NFL snap in almost five years. And on Sunday, he could start for the Colts.
From Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein:
In the heat of the 2023 NFL season, an AFC team with a chance at the playoffs faced a dilemma. The club's starting QB was out for the year with a fractured shoulder. The remaining QB room was shallow and soon to get shallower.
But the Browns' defense ranked first overall that season. And at 7-3, they were just half a game out of the division lead. So on Nov. 20, 2023, Cleveland signed a 38-year-old Joe Flacco off the couch.
He'd been throwing two to three times a week with his brother while without an NFL roster spot all season and running some to keep his fitness up. "I definitely believe," Flacco said two days after the signing, "I can still play."
Four 300-yard passing games in five starts, a Browns playoff berth and a still-now-revived NFL tenure suggest Flacco was right that he could.
Philip Rivers' unretirement this week to join the Colts is far from a clean parallel. And yet, the recent memory of Flacco tempts coaches, executives and players around the NFL to wonder: What if?
To be clear, Rivers is 44 years old, six more senior than Flacco at that signing. Rivers' last NFL action came 59 months ago, a far cry from Flacco's 11-month layoff. And Rivers' omission of any clear throwing routine he's recently followed suggests that his recent readiness probably doesn't resemble that of 2023 Flacco.
And yet, as the Colts took snaps in individual drills Thursday, reporters saw Rivers leading the charge. His chance to start against the Seahawks on Sunday is very real, as is the energy he's bringing to the team after Daniel Jones joined fellow QB Anthony Richardson Sr. on injured reserve.
Will the admittedly not-mobile-in-his-prime-and-certainly-not-now Rivers be able to step back into form against the league's No. 2 defense well enough to produce and stay healthy?
Head coach Shane Steichen said the club will take its decision day by day, as the Colts also assess sixth-round rookie Riley Leonard's knee injury recovery.
But the tone from Rivers, Steichen and teammates did not suggest he was leaving his family and risking his 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist status (for at least five years) to ride the bench as a mentor.
⚾️ MLB free agency: Who's still available?
The MLB Winter Meetings have come and gone, and though a few significant deals came together in Orlando, most of the biggest names are still out there waiting to be signed.
Who's off the board? 16 of our Top 50 free agents have inked new contracts so far this offseason.
Kyle Schwarber, DH (our No. 3 free agent): Staying with the Phillies (5 years, $150M)
Pete Alonso, 1B (5): Going to the Orioles (5 years, $155M)
Dylan Cease, SP (10): Going to the Blue Jays (7 years, $210M)
Edwin Díaz, RP (11): Going to the Dodgers (3 years, $69M)
Josh Naylor, 1B (15): Staying with the Mariners (5 years, $92.5M)
Trent Grisham, OF (16): Accepted Yankees qualifying offer (1 year, $22M)
Gleyber Torres, 2B (17): Accepted Tigers QO (1 year, $22M)
Shōta Imanaga, SP (20): Accepted Cubs QO (1 year, $22M)
Brandon Woodruff, SP (22): Accepted Brewers QO (1 year, $22M)
Devin Williams, RP (27): Going to the Mets (3 years, $51M)
Robert Suárez, RP (28): Going to the Braves (3 years, $45M)
Mike Yastrzemski, OF (31): Going to the Braves (2 years, $23M)
Ryan Helsley, RP (33): Going to the Orioles (2 years, $28M)
Cedric Mullins, OF (34): Going to the Rays (1 year, $7M)
Raisel Iglesias, RP (45): Staying with the Braves (1 year, $16M)
Anthony Kay, SP (50): Going to the White Sox (2 years, $12M)
Who's still available? 34 of our Top 50 are still available, including 12 of our top 20.
Top 20 hitters: Kyle Tucker, OF (1); Alex Bregman, 3B (2); Bo Bichette, SS (4); Munetaka Murakami, IF (6); Cody Bellinger, OF (7); Kazuma Okamoto, 3B (13); Jorge Polanco, 2B (18)
Top 20 pitchers: Framber Valdez, SP (8); Ranger Suárez, SP (9); Zac Gallen, SP (12); Tatsuya Imai, SP (14); Michael King, SP (19)
The rest: Lucas Giolito, SP (21); JT Realmuto, C (23); Eugenio Suárez, 3B (24); Ha-Seong Kim, SS (25); Luis Arraez, IF (26); Ryan O’Hearn, 1B/OF (29); Harrison Bader, OF (30); Luke Weaver, RP (32); Willi Castro, UTIL (35); Merrill Kelly, SP (36); Tyler Mahle, SP (37); Zach Eflin, SP (38); Zack Littell, SP (39); Griffin Canning, SP (40); Max Kepler, OF (41); Miguel Andújar, OF (42); Rob Refsnyder, OF (43); Brad Keller, RP (44); Chris Bassitt, SP (46); José Quintana, SP (47); Justin Verlander, SP (48); Marcell Ozuna, DH (49)
📺 Weekend Watchlist
🏈 Army vs. Navy
Army (6-5) and Navy (9-2) face off on Saturday at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium in the 126th edition of America's Game(3pm ET, CBS). The Midshipmen, who won last year, hold a 63-55-7 advantage in the rivalry over the Black Knights.
What's at stake: The winner will clinch this year's Commander-in-Chief's Trophy as the winner of the annual series among the three service academies. Additionally, if Navy wins, it will mark the first time in program history they've won at least 10 games in back-to-back years.
🏈 NFL Week 15
Sunday is chock-full of critical matchups with playoff implications, headlined by a clash atop the AFC East, a meeting of first-place teams in Denver and the Chiefs' potential 2025 swan song.
Bills at Patriots (1pm, CBS): New England (11-2) can clinch its first division title since 2019 by beating Buffalo (9-4) for the second time this season.
Chargers at Chiefs (1pm, CBS): Kansas City (6-7) could be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose this week. With three games left! Stunning.
Packers at Broncos (4:25pm, CBS): Green Bay (9-3-1) leads Chicago by a half-game in the NFC North, while Denver (11-2) leads the Chargers by two games in the AFC West.
Lions at Rams (4:25pm, Fox): Detroit (7-5), coming off a victory, has alternated wins and losses every week since starting 4-1. The Rams (10-3) remain the Super Bowl betting favorites.
Best of the rest: The surging Seahawks (10-3) host the flailing Colts (8-5) in Seattle (4:25pm, CBS); the Bengals (4-9) host the division rival Ravens (6-7), who are a game behind Pittsburgh (1pm, CBS); the Cowboys (6-6-1) host the Vikings (5-8) on "Sunday Night Football" (8:20pm, NBC).
🏀 NBA Cup Semifinals
The in-season tournament continues in Las Vegas on Saturday night, where the Magic face the Knicks in the East final (5:30pm, Prime) and the Thunder face the Spurs — who may get Victor Wembanyama back from injury — in the West final (9pm, Prime).
Historic start: The Thunder (24-1) are tied with the 2015-16 Warriors for the best 25-game start ever, and their scoring differential (+437) is significantly better than any other team through 25 games in NBA history.
🏈 FCS Playoffs
The quarterfinals kick off tonight, and the Final Four will be set by tomorrow evening.
Schedule: No. 7 Stephen F. Austin at No. 2 Montana State (Fri. 9pm, ESPN); No. 12 Villanova at No. 4 Tarleton State (Sat. 12pm, ESPN); No. 11 South Dakota at No. 3 Montana (Sat. 3:30pm, ABC); Illinois State at No. 8 UC Davis (Sat. 5pm, ESPN+).
⚽️ Men's College Cup
The Final Four kicks off tonight in Cary, North Carolina, where No. 16 Furman takes on Washington in the first semifinal (6pm, ESPNU) and No. 15 NC State takes on Saint Louis in the second (8:30pm, ESPNU).
A long time coming: Furman, Washington and NC State have never won a national championship, and though Saint Louis has a record 10 titles, the last one came all the way back in 1973.
More to watch:
🏐 NCAA Volleyball: Sweet 16, Elite Eight (Fri-Sun, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2) … The Final Four will be determined this weekend.
🏀 NCAAM: No. 16 Texas Tech vs. No. 17 Arkansas (Sat. 12pm, ESPN2); No. 23 Nebraska at No. 13 Illinois (Sat. 4pm, Peacock); No. 1 Arizona at No. 12 Alabama (Sat. 9:30pm, ESPN); No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 25 UCLA (Sat. 11:30pm, ESPN)
🏀 NCAAW: No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 23 Oklahoma State (Sat. 4pm, ESPNU); No. 1 UConn at No. 16 USC (Sat. 5:30pm, Fox); No. 2 Texas vs. No. 13 Baylor (Sun. 1pm, ABC); No. 22 Louisville at No. 12 North Carolina (Sun. 4pm, ACC)
🏒 NHL: Oilers at Canadiens (Sun. 7pm, NHL) … Connor McDavid has recorded 12 points in his last four games to climb into second on the league leaderboard, with 48.
🏈 Celebration Bowl: South Carolina State vs. Prairie View A&M (Sat. 12pm, ABC) … Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosts the de facto HBCU National Championship.
⚽️ Premier League: Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City (Sun. 9am, NBC) … Second place vs. fourth place.
⛳️ Golf: Grant Thornton Invitational (Fri-Sun, Golf/NBC) … Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida, hosts the third annual edition of this co-ed event featuring 16 teams of PGA and LPGA golfers paired together.
🏒 Women's Hockey: USA vs. Canada (Sat. 9pm, NHL) … Edmonton hosts the fourth and final game in this year's Rivalry Series.
🐂 PBR: Unleash The Beast (Fri-Sat, 8pm, Paramount+) … The new Professional Bull Riders season opens in Manchester, New Hampshire.
🏀 Good reads: NBA edition
Tom Haberstroh:The two scariest words in the NBA: Calf strain
This time last season, there were 18 calf injuries at the 20-game mark. This season, it's up to 25 incidents, representing an increase of nearly 40%. More significant, however, is the elongated recovery timeline of these injuries. The number of games lost due to calf injuries, through 20 games played, skyrocketed from 36 to 108. A tripling of last season's total.
Kelly Iko:Gap year? Behind the Celtics' surge in the East with Jaylen Brown playing quarterback
Boston's recent surge with Brown at quarterback (the team owns the league's No. 1 offense over the past two weeks) and its quality of wins (a combined 4-2 against the Pistons, Knicks and Cavaliers) are forcing a recalibration of the Eastern Conference hierarchy in what was supposed to be a gap year.
Kevin O'Connor:Ja Morant's return begs a question: Does he help the Grizzlies?
In the last month, while Morant has been sidelined, something amazing happened: The Grizzlies started winning by running, cutting and sharing the ball. When Morant is on the floor, the Grizzlies make the fewest passes per half-court possession of any team in the NBA. They stop operating as a team and start functioning as an audience for one man. When he sits? They make the third-most passes. From last to third. Just by removing one person.
🇺🇸 Academy trivia
Question: Where are the three service academies (Army, Navy, Air Force) located? Please provide city and state.
Answer at the bottom.
🎓 ICYMI: Charlie Baker interview
In just a few short years, sports betting has gone from an occasional Vegas detour to a constant presence in American life. A tap away on your phone. A fixture in every commercial break. A storyline woven into every game.
As betting has surged, so have the ripple effects: social media abuse, integrity concerns, pressure on athletes, and an entirely new culture forming around wins, losses, and prop bets. College sports sits at the center of that storm. So I spoke with NCAA President Charlie Baker (no relation) about what he's seeing, what worries him and what comes next.
Trivia answer: West Point (New York), Annapolis (Maryland), Colorado Springs (Colorado)
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Category: General Sports
