Members phkrause Posted November 3, 2025 Author Members Posted November 3, 2025 ? 1 for the road: Closest finish ever Benson Kipruto (left) and Alexander Mutiso cross the finish line to finish first and second in the New York City Marathon yesterday. Photo: Angelina Katsanis/AP New York City Marathon history: Kenya's Benson Kipruto won the men's race by three-hundredths of a second (pictured above) — the closest finish ever — and Hellen Obiri, also from Kenya, broke the women's record. Photo: Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images Above: Runners pull over to take selfies with mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani — who ran the marathon last year — near the halfway point in Brooklyn. Runners make their way across the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn, at the start of the course. Photo: Heather Khalifa/AP More pics. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 3, 2025 Author Members Posted November 3, 2025 ? Good morning! College basketball is back. In today's edition: Dodgers repeat, NFL playoff picture, don't mess with Texas, college hoops tip-off, photo finish, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? Last one standing: After the Spurs and Bulls both lost on Sunday, the defending champion Thunder are now the only undefeated team in the NBA. They're also just the third team to start 7-0 in back-to-back seasons, joining the 1963-65 Celtics and 1993-95 Rockets. ⚾️ Gold Glove winners: The Cubs had an MLB-best three Gold Gloves (CF Pete Crow-Armstrong, LF Ian Happ, 2B Nico Hoerner) among the 20 winners announced Sunday. The Royals, Red Sox and Giants were the only other teams with more than one. ? Auburn fires Freeze: Auburn fired head coach Hugh Freeze after a loss to Kentucky dropped them to 1-5 in conference play. The Tigers went 15-19 under Freeze, and just 6-16 in the SEC. ⚽️ NWSL Decision Day: The playoff field was finalized on the last day of the regular season. Kansas City earned the No. 1 seed, followed by No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Portland, No. 4 Orlando, No. 5 Seattle, No. 6 San Diego, No. 7 Louisville and No. 8 Gotham. ? Disney dispute: YouTube TV's 10 million subscribers were left scrambling for alternate ways to watch college football this weekend amid a carriage dispute with Disney, which remains unresolved. ⚾️ WORLD SERIES THE DODGERS GO BACK-TO-BACK (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) The Dodgers won the 2025 World Series on Saturday night in Toronto, and they needed one of the most dramatic games in the history of baseball to get there. ICYMI: Once down to their last two outs, the Dodgers rode a game-tying home run from Miguel Rojas in the ninth inning and a game-winning home run from Will Smith in the 11th to beat the Blue Jays, 6-5, and become MLB's first back-to-back champions since the Yankees in 2000. From Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz: Baseball is but a game, glitter on dirt. It is three outs and four bases and nine innings (sometimes 18) and a bunch of millionaires grunting on your TV screen. It is a nice summer day, a hot dog and a few cold ones. It's an expensive jersey that you didn't need but bought anyway. And it is all, compared to the realities of life, completely trivial. It's a beautiful distraction. Neither the actions nor the outcomes actually matter. In other words: It's all only as important and as meaningful as it makes us feel. And on Saturday, this heavenly, cruel, perfectly imperfect sport sent any and all who interacted with World Series Game 7 through every emotion the human experience has to offer. Fans from Saskatchewan to Southern California, from Toronto to Tokyo, were held captive by the game's wondrous, tortuous, addictive power. It was, in every way, the best baseball has to offer. Will Smith gets the force out at home in the bottom of the ninth. (Mark Blinch/Getty Images) Heartbreak for Toronto: The Blue Jays outscored the Dodgers, 34-26, in the World Series and were inches away from winning their first championship in 32 years. But in the end, their joyride of a season came to a devastating end. This Jays club reinvigorated the sport for a nation — no small feat. With a magical postseason run, they turned this franchise into a destination and an institution. Nobody wearing white on Saturday will take much solace in that, at least not in the immediate afterglow. But in time, the pain will subside, and the good will endure. World Series MVP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, pitching on zero days' rest after his 96-pitch start in Game 6, threw 2.2 scoreless innings to close out the victory and earn MVP honors. He's just the 14th pitcher to notch three wins in a single Fall Classic, and the first since Randy Johnson in 2001. ? WEEK 9 NFL SUNDAY: PLAYOFF PICTURE (Jason Miller/Getty Images) AFC: The Bills beat the Chiefs to knock Kansas City out of the playoff picture, Jacksonville's Cam Little set an NFL record with a 68-yard field goal, the Steelers defense halted the Colts, the Broncos eked out their sixth straight win and the Chargers survived the Titans. Playoff picture: Colts (7-2) Patriots (7-2) Broncos (7-2) Steelers (5-3) Bills (6-2) Chargers (6-3) Jaguars (5-3) In the hunt: Chiefs (5-4), Texans (3-5), Ravens (3-5) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images) NFC: The Bears avoided an epic collapse in Cincinnati, the Panthers beat the Packers as 13-point underdogs, Jayden Daniels disclosed his elbow in a blowout loss to Seattle, J.J. McCarthy lifted Minnesota past Detroit in his return, the Patriots survived the Falcons, the 49ers held off the Giants and the Rams smoked the Saints. Playoff picture: Eagles (6-2) Buccaneers (6-2) Rams (6-2) Packers (5-2-1) Seahawks (6-2) 49ers (6-3) Lions (5-3) In the hunt: Bears (5-3), Panthers (5-4), Vikings (4-4), Cowboys (3-4-1), Falcons (3-5) ? SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS (Chris Graythen/Getty Images) ?? Avondale, Arizona — Kyle Larson won his second NASCAR Cup Series championship on Sunday when a late caution flag allowed him to overtake Denny Hamlin, who was yet again unable to shed the label of "best driver without a title." Always a bridesmaid: Sunday was Hamlin's 10th career top-five finish for the Cup Series title. He's the only driver in the top 10 of the all-time wins leaderboard without a championship to his name. (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) ?? Mexico City, Mexico — The Pistons beat the Mavericks, 122-110, in the 15th NBA regular-season game held in Mexico, the most of any country outside the U.S. and Canada. Japan (12 games), England (9) and France (5) have also hosted games. Looking ahead: The Grizzlies and Magic will play the only other international games this season when they head to Berlin (Jan. 15) and London (Jan. 18) in early 2026. (Julian Finney/Getty Images) ?? Paris, France — Jannik Sinner beat Félix Auger-Aliassime to win the Paris Masters and reclaim the No. 1 ranking from Carlos Alcaraz ahead of next week's season-ending ATP Finals. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia: The WTA Finals are underway in Riyadh, where Aryna Sabalenka (over Jasmine Paolini), Jessica Pegula (over Coco Gauff), Iga Świątek (over Madison Keys) and Elena Rybakina (over Amanda Anisimova) won their first round-robin matches. ? WEEK 10 SATURDAY REWIND: DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) The top seven teams remained the same in this week's AP poll (Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Ole Miss), but the rest of the top 10 (Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Miami) tumbled out after losing on Saturday. From Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger: Texas is normally a very hospitable place. They are most welcoming to visitors. The barbecue is great. The Tex-Mex food too. And don't forget about Buc-ees! However, on Saturday, the Texans very rudely welcomed in top-10 ranked teams Miami (SMU) and Vanderbilt (Texas). The Canes went down in Dallas (as well as SMU's goal posts) for a second loss in the last three games, and the Commodores, just when you think they're bound for the playoff, fell behind big and couldn't catch up in a banner day for Longhorns QB Arch Manning. Elsewhere: Oklahoma moved up seven spots after beating Tennessee on the road … USC survived Nebraska's "Blackout" game … North Texas handed Navy its first loss … Clemson found a way to lose a fifth game (the first such occurrence under Dabo Swinney in 15 years) … Louisville survived a scare in Blacksburg … and more. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, NOV. 3 (Jonathan Castro/Yahoo Sports) ? NCAA Men's Basketball Welcome back! Seven months after Florida cut down the nets, college basketball returns to the hardwood with more than 100 games across the nation. And what better way to tip off the season than with those defending champion Gators, ranked No. 3, taking on No. 13 Arizona in the day's only ranked matchup (7pm ET, TNT). ? NCAA Women's Basketball The similarly full slate on the women's side is headlined by a season-opening doubleheader in Paris. First up is No. 7 Duke vs. No. 16 Baylor for the day's only ranked matchup (12pm, ESPN), followed by No. 19 Vanderbilt vs. Cal in the second leg (2:30pm, ESPNU). ? Cardinals at Cowboys | 8:15pm, ABC/ESPN Arizona (2-5) will look to snap its five-game losing streak, while Dallas (3-4-1) will look to rebound from a blowout loss to Denver. The "ManningCast" is also available on ESPN2. More to watch: ⚽️ MLS Playoffs: No. 5 Seattle vs. No. 4 Minnesota (10:45pm, FS1/Apple) … The Sounders must win at home to force a decisive Game 3 back in Minnesota. ? NBA: Timberwolves at Nets (7pm, Peacock); Lakers at Trail Blazers (10pm, NBA) … The Nets (0-6) are one of two remaining winless teams (Pelicans). ? NHL: Penguins at Maple Leafs (7:30pm, NHL) … The Pens (8-3-2) are off to one of their best starts ever behind 39-year-old Evgeni Malkin (18 points) and 38-year-old Sidney Crosby (16). ? Tennis: WTA Finals (10am, Tennis) … Round-robin play continues in Riyadh. ? TROPHY CASE CHAMPIONSHIP TRIVIA (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) UConn women's basketball won its 12th championship last year, which is more than all but six teams in the "Big Four" North American leagues have won. Question: Can you name the six teams with more titles than UConn? Hint: NHL (2), NBA (2), MLB, NFL. Answer at the bottom. ? NYC MARATHON PHOTO FINISH (Ishika Samant/Getty Images) Kenya's Benson Kipruto won the 54th New York City Marathon on Sunday in 2:08:09, beating out fellow Kenyan Alexander Mutiso Munyao by 0.16 seconds for the closest finish in race history. Trivia answer: Yankees (27 World Series), Canadiens (24 Stanley Cups), Celtics (18 NBA titles), Lakers (17 NBA titles), Maple Leafs (13 Stanley Cups), Packers (13 Super Bowls and NFL championships) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 4, 2025 Author Members Posted November 4, 2025 ⚾ MLB's ratings resurgence Data: Axios research, Nielsen. (Viewership numbers for this year's Game 7 are preliminary.) Chart: Axios Visuals At least 25 million people tuned into the final game of the World Series on Saturday — raising the average rating for the entire seven-game series to more than 14 million viewers, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer writes. Why it matters: It was the highest-rated World Series finale since 2017. This year's World Series ratings shine especially when compared to the NBA Finals. The NBA Finals, despite a strong showing for Game 7, averaged just 10.3 million viewers this year. Keep reading. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 4, 2025 Author Members Posted November 4, 2025 ? Good morning! The NFL trade deadline is today at 4pm ET. In today's edition: UFC scandal, college basketball tips off, Dodgers parade, the biggest trade deadline deals, the curious case of AJ Dybantsa, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Huge viewership: Game 7 of the World Series drew an average of 25.5 million viewers on Fox, making it the most-watched MLB game since Game 7 of the 2017 World Series between the Dodgers and Astros. ? Aspiration sues Ballmer: Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been sued by 11 Aspiration investors for allegedly doing exactly what's been reported these last few months: using their company "to secretly funnel millions of dollars to" Kawhi Leonard to circumvent the salary cap. ⚾️ Awards finalists: MLB announced the finalists for its major awards, headlined by Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh and José Ramírez for AL MVP and Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber and Juan Soto for NL MVP. ? Tank vs. Paul canceled: The Jake Paul vs. Gervonta "Tank" Davis boxing match scheduled for next week on Netflix has been canceled after new domestic violence allegations were brought against Davis. ⚾️ Atlanta's new skipper: The Braves have hired Walt Weiss as their new manager, promoting their bench coach to the main gig after Brian Snitker stepped down last month. Weiss previously spent four years as the Rockies manager (2013-16). ? FIGHT NIGHT ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER BETTING SCANDAL Isaac Dulgarian after a victory last year. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Another week, another betting scandal. This time, in the UFC. The latest: Isaac Dulgarian has been released from the UFC following a suspicious first-round submission loss to Yadier del Valle at Saturday's Fight Night event in Las Vegas. From Uncrowned's Ben Fowlkes: Dulgarian came in as the heavy betting favorite, but his odds fell sharply just before the fight, indicating that a rush of money had come in on his opponent to win. After Dulgarian tapped out to a choke he made minimal efforts to defend against, some online sportsbooks said they would refund users' losing bets on Dulgarian. Almost as if they, too, had begun to suspect that a fix was in, and preferred to get out ahead of it just so they could not be accused of profiting from it. Not an isolated incident? "I've spoken to multiple people who have either experienced or know of others who have been approached about their willingness to do something like this," says Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani. "Essentially: 'Are you interested in throwing a fight for X amount of dollars?'" Between the lines: The UFC is uniquely vulnerable to this. Fighters are independent contractors who aren't closely monitored outside of fight week and many of them are among the lowest-paid athletes in pro sports. They're also often surrounded by people who help them in highly unofficial capacities. "If you were a nefarious gambler looking for a way in, you'd have your pick of paths to the waterfall," Ben writes. ? SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS Koa Peat and the Wildcats put the nation on notice on opening night. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Las Vegas — No. 3 Florida opened its title defense with a loss, falling 93-87 to No. 13 Arizona thanks to a once-in-a-generation debut from true freshman Koa Peat, who dropped 30 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and a block in his first college game. Elsewhere on opening night: Houston's Kelvin Sampson became the 17th D-I coach to win 800 games; top freshman AJ Dybantsa scored 21 points to lead No. 8 BYU past Villanova; Boise State suffered a baffling loss to D-II Hawaii Pacific. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images) Arlington, Texas — The Cardinals beat the Cowboys, 27-17, to snap their five-game losing streak. Jacoby Brissett shined again in Kyler Murray's absence (261 yards, 3 total TD) and Arizona's defense had five sacks, two forced fumbles and a pick. Deadline deal: Despite falling to 3-5-1 with their third loss in four games, the Cowboys are still buyers, trading for Bengals LB Logan Wilson hours after the loss in an effort to shore up their anemic defense. The parade passes by the Walt Disney Concert Hall. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) Los Angeles — Hundreds of thousands of fans came out to celebrate the Dodgers' second consecutive World Series title at Monday's championship parade, which traveled through downtown L.A. before ending at Dodger Stadium. Quote of the day: "My teammates have been humble, but I think it's time to talk that s***," outfielder Kiké Hernández told The Athletic. "Everybody's been asking questions about a dynasty. How about three in six years? How about back-to-back? We're a motherf***ing dynasty, baby." (Dylan Buell/Getty Images) Indianapolis — Giannis Antetokounmpo's MVP-caliber start continued on Monday when he walked off the Pacers with a fadeaway buzzer-beater from the elbow for a 117-115 Bucks win. He ended with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists, which are somehow all under his season averages. Speaking of MVPs: The Nuggets beat the Kings, 130-124, behind a season-high 34 points from Nikola Jokić, who also added 14 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. ? STATS DU JOUR BY THE NUMBERS Schaefer waves to the crowd after being named first star of Sunday's game. (Dennis DaSilva/NHLI via Getty Images) ? 18 years, 58 days No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer scored twice in the Islanders' comeback win on Sunday, making him the youngest defenseman in NHL history with a multi-goal game (18 years, 58 days). The record he broke belonged to none other than Hall of Famer Bobby Orr (18 years, 248 days). ? 60+ yards Cam Little's record-breaking 68-yard field goal on Sunday was the seventh made field goal of at least 60 yards this season, already the most in a single season in NFL history. The 60-yarders: Little (68 yards), Chase McLaughlin (65), Brandon Aubrey (64, 61), Will Reichard (62), Lucas Havrisik (61), Chris Boswell (60). ? 79 straight games Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in 79 consecutive games, tied with Oscar Robertson for the third-longest streak ever. Only Wilt Chamberlain has recorded a longer such streak (126, 92). ? 2:19.51 Kenya's Hellen Obiri won Sunday's New York City Marathon with a time of 2:19.51, obliterating the 22-year-old course record (2:22.31). Slow course: The NYC Marathon is a notoriously slow race due to the numerous climbs and bridge crossings. Thus, Obiri's course record is just the 88th-fastest women's marathon ever. ? MAKING MOVES DEADLINE DAY: MOST NOTABLE TRADES Herschel Walker holds up his No. 34 Vikings jersey after he was traded by the Cowboys. (Sporting News via Getty Images) The NFL trade deadline is today at 4pm ET. To prepare you for any blockbusters, here are the most notable in-season trades ever, according to Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab. Herschel Walker to the Vikings (1989) … 18 players and draft picks were ultimately involved, making it the largest trade in NFL history.* Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers (2022) … Carolina received second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks, which was fine for a rebuilding team. But the Niners haven't had any remorse. Eric Dickerson to the Colts (1987) … This three-team swap (Colts, Rams, Bills) involved 10 players, making it the second-largest in-season trade ever. Jalen Ramsey to the Rams (2019) … The star cornerback made a Pro Bowl in all four Rams seasons and was a key part of their Super Bowl LVI win before they flipped him to the Dolphins. Marshawn Lynch to the Seahawks (2010) … Beast Mode set the tone for one of the toughest teams of the 2010s. If only Pete Carroll had handed him the ball in Super Bowl XLIX… Live updates: Trade deadline tracker *The Herschel Walker trade: Not only was this the largest trade in NFL history, it was also arguably the most lopsided. Walker played three seasons in Minnesota and never topped 1,000 yards, while Dallas used the picks they acquired to build a dynasty that won three Super Bowls. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, NOV. 4 (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports) ? NBA on NBC The Magic visit the Hawks in the opener (8pm ET), then it's Thunder at Clippers in the nightcap (11pm). Still perfect: With another win tonight, the undefeated Thunder (7-0) will officially be off to the best start in franchise history. ? NHL on TNT The Rangers host the Hurricanes in a Metropolitan Division clash (7pm). Then the league-leading Avalanche (7-1-5) host the Lightning (9:30pm), whose five-game winning streak is the longest in the league. ? NCAA Basketball The men's and women's No. 1 teams begin their seasons tonight. The top-ranked and defending champion UConn women face No. 20 Louisville at the Naval Academy (5:30pm, ESPN), while top-ranked Purdue hosts Evansville (6:30pm, BTN). More to watch: ⚽️ Champions League: Liverpool vs. Real Madrid (3pm, Paramount+); PSG vs. Bayern (3pm, Paramount+) … Two of nine games to kick off Matchday 4. ? NCAAF: UMass at Akron (7pm, CBSSN); Miami-Ohio at Ohio (7pm, ESPN2) … UMass (0-8) is one of just two winless FBS teams (Sam Houston). ? Tennis: WTA Finals (9am, Tennis) … Round-robin play continues in Riyadh. ? AMERICAN DUO TENNIS TRIVIA Shelton and Fritz after facing each other in the Canadian Open semifinals. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton have both clinched a spot in the ATP Finals, marking the first time since 2006 that two Americans reached the season-ending event. Question: Which two Americans reached the 2006 ATP Finals? Hint: They both have a "K" in their last name. Answer at the bottom. ? GOOD READ THE CURIOUS CASE OF AJ DYBANTSA (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) How did an elite NBA prospect from Massachusetts end up at BYU? There's a lot more to this story than just money, writes Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg. Trivia answer: Andy Roddick and James Blake Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 5, 2025 Author Members Posted November 5, 2025 ? Good morning! Happy Hump Day. In today's edition: The inaugural CFP Top 25, Jets hold a fire sale, Red Panda returns, top MLB free agents, Tom Brady cloned his dog, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? Deadline Day: 10 players were traded before the buzzer, with the Jets (CB Sauce Gardner to Indy; DL Quinnen Williams to Dallas) and Saints (WR Rashid Shaheed to Seattle; OL Trevor Penning to Chargers) accounting for four of them. ? Battle of the Sexes: Women's No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will play men's No. 652 Nick Kyrgios in a "Battle of the Sexes" exhibition match next month in Dubai. This is the latest in a series of similar matches, none more famous than when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in 1973. ⛳️ LIV changes format: LIV Golf, which was named after its shortened 54-hole tournament style, will switch to standard 72-hole events next season. This is part of the tour's push to be recognized by the Official World Golf Rankings, which are used to build out the fields for majors and other marquee events. ? Tempo hire Brondello: The Toronto Tempo have hired Sandy Brondello as their first head coach, bringing in the two-time WNBA champion (2014 Mercury, 2024 Liberty) to lead the 2026 expansion team. ⚽️ Sir David: David Beckham was knighted for his service to sport and charity, receiving the honor from King Charles III in a ceremony at Windsor Castle. Beckham, 50, called it his "proudest moment." ? COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF THE INAUGURAL TOP 25 (Yahoo Sports) The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were unveiled on Tuesday night, and the top five teams were the same as Sunday's AP poll: Ohio State Indiana Texas A&M Alabama Georgia After that, there were some differences. Oregon was No. 6 in the AP poll but No. 9 in the CFP rankings, which meant No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 BYU and No. 8 Texas Tech all slid up a spot. Teams like No. 11 Texas (+2) and No. 13 Utah (+4) are higher in the CFP rankings than the AP poll, while teams like No. 12 Oklahoma (-1) and No. 14 Virginia (-2) are lower. No. 20 Iowa and No. 24 Pitt are in the CFP rankings despite being unranked in the AP poll, while the opposite is true for unranked Memphis (AP No. 22) and Cincinnati (AP No. 25). (Yahoo Sports) The bracket: The top five conference champions are guaranteed playoff spots, which is why No. 14 Virginia (highest-ranked ACC team) and unranked Memphis (best Group of 5 team) are in the projected field. If this holds (which it won't), we'd get first-round home games in Lubbock (Texas Tech), Athens (Georgia), Provo (BYU) and Oxford (Ole Miss). Good read: What did we learn from the inaugural Top 25? (Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports) ? SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS Isaiah Evans scored a game-high 23 points. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) Charlotte, North Carolina — No. 6 Duke opened its season with a 75-60 victory over Texas in the inaugural Dick Vitale Invitational, held in honor of the broadcasting legend who's battled cancer on and off for four years but is back calling games this season. Other scores: Elsewhere in college hoops, the No. 1 men's and women's teams both got off to strong starts. Top-ranked and defending women's champion UConn held off No. 20 Louisville in a 79-66 win, and Purdue rolled over Evansville, 81-52. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images) Chicago — Iconic halftime performer Rong Niu, better known as Red Panda, returned to an NBA court on Tuesday for the first time since breaking her wrist in July. If you've never seen her dazzle the crowd with her patented unicycle-riding, bowl-flipping routine… please enjoy. The game didn't disappoint either: The Bulls stormed back from 24 down to beat the 76ers, 113-111, on Nikola Vučević's game-winning three and take sole possession of first place in the East. Josh Giddey (29-15-12) recorded his second straight triple-double, the first Bulls player to do that since some dude named Michael Jordan. Luis Díaz celebrates his first of two goals. (Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images) Paris — Bayern Munich beat defending champion PSG, 2-1, in Champions League action for their 16th straight win across all competitions. How good is that? Well, it's the longest season-opening winning streak in the history of Europe's "Big Five" leagues. So yeah, pretty good. Elsewhere: Liverpool beat Real Madrid in Trent Alexander-Arnold's return to Anfield, and 15-year-old Max Dowman became the youngest player in Champions League history when he took the field for Arsenal. (Robert Prange/Getty Images) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Defending champion Coco Gauff kept her season alive on Tuesday at the WTA Finals, where she knocked out Jasmine Paolini to set up a critical group stage finale against top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday. Where it stands: Two of Gauff, Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula will advance to the semifinals from their group. In the other group, Elena Rybakina already clinched and Madison Keys was eliminated, leaving Iga Świątek and Amanda Anisimova fighting for the final spot. ⚾️ HOT STOVE TOP MLB FREE AGENTS (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) With the World Series in the rearview, it's time to turn our attention to another offseason of hot stove activity. So without further ado, here are our top 10 free agents, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman: Kyle Tucker (OF, 29 years old): The lefty slugger is one of just six players with an OPS over .800 in every season since 2020 (Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, José Ramírez) and should command north of $350 million. Alex Bregman (3B, 32): The three-time All-Star opted out after his first year in Boston, where he missed two months due to injury but otherwise had his best offensive season since finishing second for MVP in 2019. Kyle Schwarber (DH, 33): Here's a list of people who've hit more home runs than Schwarber in the last four seasons: Aaron Judge. End of list. Teams know what they're getting with the strikeout-prone slugger: the best DH in the league not named Ohtani. Bo Bichette (SS, 28): His Game 7 homer capped off an excellent bounce-back campaign for a guy whose defense is bad enough that it might warrant a move to second or third, but whose bat is good enough that it might not matter. Pete Alonso (1B, 31): Here we go again. Last year, the Polar Bear settled for a two-year deal with an opt out after the Mets didn't give him the extension he wanted. After another prolific season, the five-time All-Star will try his luck on the open market again. Munetaka Murakami (1B/3B, 26): After seven years in the NPB, the young lefty who mashed 142 homers in 480 games across his last four seasons is ready to bring his prodigious power stateside, where a significant bidding war is expected. Cody Bellinger (OF, 30): The 2019 MVP has been a mixed bag since taking the league by storm in his first few years. But he was the second-best position player on the Yankees this season, his defense is superb and he'd be a boon to any title contender. Framber Valdez (SP, 32): At last, a pitcher makes the list! And a darn good one, too, with three top-10 Cy Young finishes and the second-most innings pitched since 2022. Ranger Suárez (SP, 30): Speaking of talented southpaws, the longtime Phillie and 2024 All-Star had a career year with a 3.20 ERA across 26 starts. He may not light up the radar gun, but the guy gets outs. Dylan Cease (SP, 30): Teams less interested in the groundball-inducing lefties above may instead turn to the right-handed Cease, who has the most strikeouts in the majors dating back to 2021. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, NOV. 5 KAT erupted in last year's game against Minnesota. (David Berding/Getty Images) ? Timberwolves at Knicks | 7:30pm ET, ESPN New York (4-3) hosts Minnesota (4-3) in the second annual Karl-Anthony Towns bowl. The Knicks superstar went off against his former team in last year's matchup, tallying 32 points, 20 rebounds and 6 assists. ? Spurs at Lakers | 10pm, ESPN Early MVP contenders Luka Dončić and Victor Wembanyama meet in a clash of Western Conference frontrunners. The Lakers (6-2) have won four straight to climb into a virtual tie for second in the West with the Spurs (5-1), who are coming off their first loss of the season. More to watch: ? NHL: Blues at Capitals (7:30pm, TNT) … St. Louis (last place in the Central) and Washington (4 straight losses) could both use a win. ⚽️ Champions League: Man City vs. Dortmund (3pm, Paramount+); Brugge vs. Barcelona (3pm, Paramount+) … Two of nine games to close out Matchday 4. ? Tennis: WTA Finals (9am, Tennis) … Round-robin action continues. ? NCAAF: Kent State at Ball State (7pm, ESPNU); Northern Illinois at Toledo (7pm, ESPN2) … Midweek MACtion. ⚾ 9X CHAMPS WORLD SERIES TRIVIA What a photo! (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) The Dodgers have now won nine World Series titles, tied with two other franchises for the third-most ever. Question: Which other two franchises have won exactly nine World Series? Answer at the bottom. ? WOOF WOOF TOM BRADY CLONED HIS DOG (Jason Miller/Getty Images) Anyone who's lost a pet can sympathize with the desire to spend just one more day together, but Tom Brady went one step further: His current dog, Junie, is apparently a clone of his old dog Lua, who died in 2023. Wait, what? You heard right. Lua was reportedly cloned by Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company in which Brady is an investor. And for the low low price of $50,000, you can clone your pet, too. Bottom line: Brady did this with slot receivers for decades. Dogs were just the logical next step. Trivia answer: Athletics and Red Sox Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 6, 2025 Author Members Posted November 6, 2025 ? Good morning! Happy Thursday. In today's edition: Texas Tech's oil-funded rise, Beasts of the East in the NHL, NFL midseason grades, a second shot at Cooperstown, Mr. 900, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? Brees returns to the booth: Drew Brees is joining Fox as an NFL analyst, returning to the booth for the first time since his one-year stint with NBC in 2021. This suggests he'll replace Mark Sanchez following his felony battery charge. ? First loss, first win: The Thunder (8-1) suffered their first defeat of the season on Wednesday, and the Nets (1-7) got their first victory. Every NBA team now has at least one loss and one win. ⚽️ Suárez suspended: Inter Miami will be without star striker Luis Suárez for Saturday's decisive Game 3 in the first round of the MLS playoffs after he was suspended for kicking Nashville's Andy Najar in Game 2. ? Anisimova ousts Świątek: Amanda Anisimova's career year leveled up again with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 win over Iga Świątek that sent her to the knockout stage of the WTA Finals. For Świątek, it marks the first time in her career she's lost consecutive matches after winning the first set. ? New Spurs arena: Voters in Texas passed a measure enabling the Spurs to develop and build a new $1.3 billion arena, more than half of which will be paid for by Bexar County and the city of San Antonio. ? WRECK 'EM RED TEXAS, OIL AND FOOTBALL (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) Texas Tech is 8-1, ranked No. 8 in the nation and is about to play its biggest game in two decades. How? A $49 million influx from oil barons, a gregarious Texan leader, and a No. 1 transfer class delivering on the field. From Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger: In February, during the grand opening of Texas Tech's 300,000-square foot, $242 million football facility, athletic director Kirby Hocutt, delivering a speech from behind a pulpit within this goliath of a structure, gestures into the audience before him. He identifies those responsible for not only this lavish building but the talented new roster that trains within it. In the room of dignitaries and donors, there is gobs of money: at least a half-dozen billionaires and 30 more families worth at least nine figures. "We couldn't have done it without you," Hocutt says to them. But, in a way, the responsible party lies well below this facility, deep within the Earth's rock: a well of oil the size of the state of Florida. The Permian Basin, the largest oil field in the United States, produces more than 6 million barrels of oil per day and generates 40% of the country's oil supply. It fuels something else: the Texas Tech football team. "It's why we are so well funded. So many alumni have gone to work around this oil field," says booster Cody Campbell, a former Tech player who sold his last three oil businesses for a combined $13 billion. The Red Raiders run onto the field in Lubbock. (John E. Moore III/Getty Images) Eight months after the unveiling of that new facility, in the wake of arguably the most lucrative and aggressive recruiting effort from any program in the country, the Texas Tech football team is 8-1, ranked as the eighth-best team in the land and poised for its most momentous game in nearly two decades this Saturday when No. 7 BYU visits in a Big 12 showdown in West Texas. The Red Raiders are scoring in bunches and stuffing opponents. After all, they are one of only three teams that rank inside the top 10 in both total offense and total defense (the others: Indiana and Oregon). Issues that have plagued this program for years — defensive lapses and physicality up front — are no longer problems. They are led by a genuinely gregarious Texan as coach, Joey McGuire, who fits here like a wide-brimmed hat atop the head of a cowboy. And they are funded by some of the richest oil barons in the world, a group that pooled their resources this spring in an effort to elevate this place into a different stratosphere. They took advantage of the circumstances. This year, the old NIL era and the new revenue-share concept overlapped to create the final uncapped market for college players — a last gasp of booster-funded deals before a new enforcement entity arrived July 1. In all, Tech donors raised a jaw-dropping $49 million from July 2024 to July 2025, much of that front-loaded cash paid to players (of all sports) before this academic year began. And they aren't afraid to talk about it, either. ? NHL STANDINGS BEASTS OF THE EAST Jack Hughes' Devils are near the top of the parity-filled East. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) One month into the NHL season, the Eastern Conference has set itself apart from the West thanks to a historic level of parity. No losing records: For the first time since conferences were established in 1974, all 16 teams in the East are at or above .500 (by points percentage) at the one-month mark. Canadiens: 9-3-1 (19 points) Devils: 9-4-0 (18) Penguins: 8-4-2 (18) Red Wings: 9-5-0 (18) Maple Leafs: 8-5-1 (17) Hurricanes: 8-4-0 (16) Bruins: 8-7-0 (16) Capitals: 7-5-1 (15) Flyers: 7-5-1 (15) Islanders: 6-5-2 (14) Blue Jackets: 7-6-0 (14) Lightning: 6-5-2 (14) Senators: 6-5-2 (14) Sabres: 5-4-4 (14) Rangers: 6-6-2 (14) Panthers: 6-6-1 (13) Beasts of the East: The East's intra-conference parity is thanks in large part to their dominance over the West. Eastern Conference teams are 54-32-5 against Western Conference teams so far. Consider this: The last-place team in the East at the moment (Florida) has the fourth-best odds to win the Stanley Cup (+850 at BetMGM). The last-place team! ? REPORT CARD NFL MIDSEASON GRADES (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) With nine weeks down and nine weeks to go, how does your favorite team grade out? ⚾️ HALL OF FAME A SECOND SHOT AT COOPERSTOWN (Ezra O. Shaw/Allsport via Getty Images) Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were shut out of the Hall of Fame on their first go-round due to their alleged steroid use. Next month, they'll get another shot at Cooperstown. Class of 2026: Bonds and Clemens are among the eight players on the 2026 Contemporary Baseball Era ballot, which will be voted on next month just before the winter meetings. To be elected, players must receive at least 75% of the vote (12 of 16 voters). Bonds (1986-2007): 762 HR, 162.8 WAR, 7x MVP, 14x All-Star, 8x Gold Glove Clemens (1984-2007): 354-184, 3.12 ERA, 4,672 K, 139.2 WAR, 7x Cy Young, MVP, 11x All-Star Carlos Delgado (1993-2009): 473 HR, 2,038 H, 44.4 WAR, 2x All-Star Jeff Kent (1992-2008): 377 HR, 2,461 H, 55.4 WAR, MVP, 5x All-Star Don Mattingly (1982-95): 222 HR, 2,153 H, 42.4 WAR, MVP, 6x All-Star, 9x Gold Glove Dale Murphy (1976-93): 398 HR, 2,111 H, 46.5 WAR, 2x MVP, 7x All-Star, 5x Gold Glove Gary Sheffield (1988-2009): 509 HR, 2,689 H, 60.5 WAR, 9x All-Star Fernando Valenzuela (1980-97): 173-153, 3.54 ERA, 2,074 K, 41.4 WAR, Cy Young, 6x All-Star, Gold Glove How it works: The Eras Committees vote on players, managers, executives and umpires whose contributions came either before 1980 (Classic Era) or since 1980 (Contemporary). It's essentially a second chance for those who failed to make it into Cooperstown via the more traditional method of being voted in by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, NOV. 6 Bo Nix and the Broncos are looking dangerous. (Tim Warner/Getty Images) ? Raiders at Broncos | 8:15pm ET, Prime The Broncos (7-2) have won six straight for their best start since 2015, when they won the Super Bowl in Peyton Manning's final season. The Raiders (2-6) find themselves in the league's basement, and after selling at the deadline could be in the hunt for the No. 1 pick in next year's draft. ? WTA Finals | 9am, Tennis Three players are fighting for the last two semifinal spots on the final day of the group stage in Riyadh, where Jessica Pegula faces Jasmine Paolini (9am) and Aryna Sabalenka faces Coco Gauff (10:30am). If Pegula and Sabalenka both win, they're in. Any other combination of results opens the door for Gauff to make it through via tiebreaker. More to watch: ? NBA: Clippers at Suns (9pm, NBA) … The only NBA game of the night. ? NHL: Ducks at Stars (8pm, ESPN+) … Anaheim (8-3-1) is off to its best start since 2014. ⛳️ PGA: World Wide Technology Championship (3pm, Golf) … At El Cardonal in Cabo San Lucas, the Tour's only course designed by Tiger Woods. ? Women's Hockey: USA vs. Canada (7pm, NHL) … The sixth annual Rivalry Series begins Cleveland. ?? NFL IN BERLIN GERMANY TRIVIA (Jordan Raza/Picture Alliance via Getty Images) Berlin, which will host its first NFL regular season game on Sunday, is the most populous city in Germany (3.6 million). Question: What's the second-most populous city? Hint: It's not Munich. Answer at the bottom. ? THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) Alex Ovechkin made history on Wednesday when he became the first player in NHL history to reach 900 career goals. Trivia answer: Hamburg (1.8 million) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 7, 2025 Author Members Posted November 7, 2025 ? 1 for the road Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin celebrates after scoring the 900th goal of his NHL career during the St. Louis Blues vs. Washington Capitals game last night at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Photo: Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Alex Ovechkin last night became the first NHL player to ever score 900 career goals. The Washington Capitals star and three-time MVP passed Wayne Gretzky's career scoring record in April, and rounded out No. 900 yesterday in a victory over the St. Louis Blues. ⛸️ His milestones have been pretty evenly spaced over the course of his storied career: Goal No. 100 happened Oct. 12, 2007. 200: Feb. 5, 2009. 300: April 5, 2011. 400: Dec. 20, 2013. 500: Jan. 10, 2016. 600: March 12, 2018. 700: Feb. 22, 2020. 800: Dec. 13, 2022. 900: Nov. 5, 2025. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 8, 2025 Author Members Posted November 8, 2025 ? Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: Action-packed weekend of sports, Broncos win ugly on "Thursday Night Football," NFL midseason awards, Heisman watch, NBA reads, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? Tragedy in Dallas: Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died on Thursday of an apparent suicide. The 24-year-old was a second-round pick last year and played in seven games this season, scoring his first career TD last week after recovering a blocked punt against Arizona. ⚾️ Padres hire skipper: Former Padres reliever Craig Stammen has been hired as the team's new manager. Stammen, 41, retired in 2022 after a 13-year big league career and joined the Padres as an assistant last season. He will now manage many of his former teammates. ? Antonio Brown extradited: Former NFL player Antonio Brown was extradited from Dubai on an attempted murder charge, per multiple reports. Brown was booked in the Essex County jail in New Jersey on Thursday and will be transported to Miami, where he's set to face trial in connection to an incident in May at influencer Adin Ross's boxing event. ? LeBron nears return: LeBron James, who has been sidelined with sciatica, has been cleared for contact basketball activities and will be re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks. He'll now begin ramping up to 5-on-5 action while eyeing a mid-November return. ⚽️ Pochettino names November roster: The USMNT's 25-player roster for upcoming friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay features the return of Gio Reyna and Ricardo Pepi. Notable absences include Christian Pulisic (injury), Tim Weah (injury), and Weston McKennie. ? VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST After the 49ers beat the Rams on the road in Week 5, the Rams will try to return the favor on Sunday. (Harry How/Getty Images) ? NFL, Week 10 Sunday's slate begins with the Colts and Falcons playing the NFL's first game in Berlin (9:30am ET, NFL). The rest of the day is headlined by three games between teams with winning records: Patriots at Buccaneers (1pm, CBS); Rams at 49ers (4:25pm, Fox); Steelers at Chargers (8:20pm, NBC). Best of the rest: The Ravens and Vikings, both looking to put early struggles behind them, meet in Minnesota (1pm, Fox); the red-hot Seahawks host the Cardinals (4pm, CBS), who'll start Jacoby Brissett for the fourth straight game after Kyler Murray (foot) was placed on IR. ? NCAAF, Week 11 Saturday's marquee matchup is the top-10 clash in Lubbock between No. 8 Texas Tech and undefeated No. 7 BYU (12pm, ABC). The other ranked matchups: No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 22 Missouri (3:30pm, ABC) and No. 9 Oregon at No. 20 Iowa (3:30pm, CBS). Best of the rest: No. 5 Georgia at Mississippi State (12pm, ESPN); No. 2 Indiana at Penn State (12pm, Fox); Navy at No. 10 Notre Dame (7:30pm, NBC); LSU at No. 4 Alabama (7:30pm, ABC). ⚽️ MLS Playoffs The first round concludes with five winner-take-all Game 3s streaming on Apple TV: No. 4 Charlotte vs. No. 5 NYC FC (Fri. 7pm); No. 4 Minnesota vs. No. 5 Seattle (Sat. 4pm); No. 2 Cincinnati vs. No. 7 Columbus (Sat. 6pm); No. 3 Miami vs. No. 6 Nashville (Sat. 8pm); No. 1 San Diego vs. No. 8 Portland (Sun. 9pm). Looking ahead: No. 1 Philadelphia, No. 2 Vancouver and No. 3 LAFC have already qualified for the single-elimination conference semifinals, which begin in two weeks. ⚽️ NWSL Playoffs The postseason kicks off with four single-elimination quarterfinal matches: No. 4 Orlando vs. No. 5 Seattle (Fri. 8pm, Prime); No. 2 Washington vs. No. 7 Louisville (Sat. 12pm, CBS); No. 1 Kansas City vs. No. 8 Gotham (Sun. 12:30pm, ABC); No. 3 Portland vs. No. 6 San Diego (Sun. 3pm, ABC). Beware the juggernaut: KC just completed the best regular season in league history, setting records for wins (21), points (65), shutouts (16) and goals conceded (13). Their biggest star is Temwa Chaŵinga, who should capture her second straight league MVP after securing her second straight Golden Boot (15 goals). ? WTA Finals We're down to the final four in Riyadh, with Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina facing off in today's first semifinal (10am, Tennis), and Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova facing off in the second (11:10am, Tennis). The winners will face off in the season-ending championship on Saturday at 11am. Prize money: All of these women are going home much wealthier than they arrived thanks to a record $15.5 million purse. Round-robin wins were already worth $355,000 each, semifinal wins are worth $1.3 million and the champion will take home an additional $2.5 million. ⚽️ Premier League The top four teams on the table all play each other this weekend, with fourth-place Sunderland hosting first-place Arsenal on Saturday (12:30pm, NBC) and second-place Manchester City hosting third-place Liverpool on Sunday (11:30am, USA). Club on the rise: Three years ago, Sunderland was in the third tier. Last year, they were in the second tier. This year? They've won 18 points from their first 10 games back in the top flight (5-3-2) and bring an undefeated home record into Saturday's match against the league leaders. More to watch: ? NBA: Rockets at Spurs (Fri. 7:30pm, Prime); Warriors at Nuggets (Fri. 10pm, Prime) … Day 2 of the in-season tournament. ? NCAAM: No. 19 Kansas at No. 25 UNC (Fri. 7pm, ESPN); No. 15 Alabama at No. 5 St. John's (Sat. 12pm, FS1); No. 14 Arkansas at No. 22 Michigan State (Sat. 7pm, Fox) … Potential No. 1 pick Darryn Peterson (Kansas) scored 21 points in 22 minutes in his debut. ? NCAAW: No. 24 Richmond at No. 4 Texas (Fri. 8pm, SEC+); No. 18 USC at No. 9 NC State (Sun. 3pm, ESPN) … Longhorns junior Madison Booker was a first-team All-American last season and a preseason All-American this fall. ? Tennis: ATP Finals (Sun. 8am, Tennis) … Group stage begins for the season-ending tournament in Turin, Italy, featuring the world's top eight men. ? NHL: Rangers at Red Wings (Fri. 7pm, NHL); Avalanche at Oilers (Sat. 10pm, ESPN+) … Perennial MVP candidates Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon square off in Edmonton. ?️ F1: Brazilian Grand Prix (Sun. 12pm, ESPN2) … McLaren's Lando Norris (357 points) and Oscar Piastri (356) are virtually tied with four races left, while Red Bull's Max Verstappen (321) isn't far behind. ⛳️ DP World Tour: Abu Dhabi Championship (Fri-Sun, Golf) … 70 golfers including Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood battle for 50 spots in next week's Tour Championship. ? Women’s Hockey: USA vs. Canada (Sat. 6pm, NHL) … Buffalo hosts the second of four games in the annual Rivalry Series. ? THROUGH THE LENS SPORTS ON EARTH Bo Nix celebrates with Troy Franklin after scoring their only touchdown. (Tyler Schank/Getty Images) ?? Denver — The Broncos' defense smothered Geno Smith and the Raiders, while their offense did just enough to escape with their seventh straight win, a 10-7 victory that was one of the uglier games you'll see all year. By the numbers: The teams combined for 15 punts (one of which was blocked), three interceptions, two missed field goals and one turnover on downs. Guess how many drives went fewer than three yards? 12! 12 drives went fewer than three yards! (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images for WTA) ?? Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Aryna Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff, 7-6, 6-2, to become the first player to reach four straight semis at the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova (2004-07). Up next: Sabalenka will meet a familiar foe in today's semifinal when she faces Amanda Anisimova for the fourth time this year, all in huge matches. Sabalenka won the US Open final and French Open fourth round, while Anisimova won the Wimbledon semifinals. The second hole at El Cardonal. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images) ?? Cabo San Lucas, Mexico — The World Wide Technology Championship teed off on Thursday at El Cardonal at Diamante, a Tiger Woods-designed course whose wide fairways helped a pair of struggling golfers shoot the lights out in the first round. Course records: Nick Dunlap and Sami Välimäki both matched the course record with an 11-under 61, hitting all 14 fairways despite coming into the day ranked 153rd (Välimäki) and 175th (Dunlap) this season in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. ? CREAM OF THE CROP NFL MIDSEASON AWARDS (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Patriots QB Drake Maye is the midseason NFL MVP, according to Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice. The second-year signal-caller ranks first in dropback success rate, "has shown the ability to push the ball to all areas of the field," and is explosive as both a passer and as a runner. More Midseason Awards: OPOY: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR (Seahawks) DPOY: Myles Garrett, Edge (Browns) OROY: Grey Zabel, G* (Seahawks) DROY: Abdul Carter, Edge (Giants) Protector Of The Year: Creed Humphrey, C (Chiefs) Coach Of The Year: Shane Steichen (Colts) Asst. Coach Of The Year: Chris Shula, DC (Rams) *A lineman as top rookie?! "In a wide open OROY race, I went with a player that deserves as much recognition as possible despite playing a position that will likely never give him the award (but we should, dang it!)," writes Nate. "Grey Zabel was a polished player entering the NFL, but it's still a tough transition from college to the NFL, especially from the FCS level. The North Dakota State product has already played like a good starter, and I would say even at a Pro Bowl level, over the first two months of his career." ? THREE-MAN RACE HEISMAN WATCH: SAYIN, MENDOZA, SIMPSON Ohio State QB Julian Sayin. (John Fisher/Getty Images) It's a three-man race for the Heisman Trophy with about a month to go in the 2025 college football season. Unsurprisingly, all three frontrunners are QBs. And if the College Football Playoff began today, they'd be leading the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 teams in the field. Ohio State QB Julian Sayin (+150 bat BetMGM) Passing stats: 176-218, 2,188 yds, 23 TD, 6 INT; rushing stats Schedule: at Purdue, vs. UCLA, vs. Rutgers, at No. 21 Michigan Sayin has emerged as the Heisman favorite in his first full season as a starter thanks to his historic accuracy. The California native's completion percentage (80.7%) is on pace to shatter the single-season record (77.44%) set by Oregon's Bo Nix in 2023. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza (+250) Passing stats: 162-225, 2,124 yds, 25 TD, 4 INT Schedule: at Penn State, vs. Wisconsin, at Purdue The Cal transfer has consistently showed why he's the top QB on our NFL Draft board in his first season with the Hoosiers. He's thrown for multiple TDs in six of nine games so far and has also rushed for 220 yards and four scores. Alabama QB Ty Simpson (+350) Passing stats: 177-261, 2,184 yds, 20 TD, 1 INT Schedule: vs. LSU, vs. No. 11 Oklahoma, vs. Eastern Illinois, at Auburn Will marquee games over the next two weeks help Simpson's case? Being the top QB on the top team in the SEC can be an advantage in the Heisman race, and there's a chance Alabama could have a spot in the SEC title game locked up with wins over the Tigers and Sooners. Other Heisman contenders: Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed (+750); Georgia QB Gunner Stockton (+2000); Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia (+2500); Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss (+3500); Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith (+4000); Oregon QB Dante Moore (+4000); Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love (+400); Georgia Tech QB Haynes King (+5000); Notre Dame QB CJ Carr (+6000). ? GO DEEPER GOOD READS: NBA EDITION (Kelsey Grant/Getty Images) Dan Devine: Is this the best Luka Dončić we've ever seen? The Lakers star is on a historic season-opening heater Dončić is averaging 40 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists per game after another monster performance on Wednesday. Asked to describe what he's seen from Dončić so far, Marcus Smart found himself forced past grammar, diction and sense. "Fantasticness," he said. (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) Tom Haberstroh: The Victor Wembanyama takeover isn't being televised nearly enough The Spurs were originally slated to be on national TV only 22 times, which wasn't even among the top 10 teams. It's time to correct that and treat Wemby like the global phenomenon he is. Put him in front of American audiences as much as possible. The future of the NBA's popularity depends on it. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) Steve Jones: NBA rookie ranking: Top 10 players VJ Edgecombe (76ers) scored 34 points in his NBA debut, the third most ever by a rookie, and has not looked back since. He tops our list, followed by Cedric Coward (Grizzlies), Cooper Flagg (Mavericks), Dylan Harper (Spurs) and Kon Knueppel (Hornets). (Justin Ford/Getty Images) Kelly Iko: The only thing seemingly pointing up for the Grizzlies? Bad vibes Ja Morant is distant. The spacing is poor. The shooting is off. Add it all up, and little is going right for the Grizzlies, who have lost four straight games and look like a shell of the fun-loving, energetic brand they've worn proudly for years. ? JUST WIN, BABY COLLEGE HOOPS TRIVIA Kansas and UNC players during the 2022 National Championship. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Kansas (2,415 wins) plays UNC (2,396) on Saturday in a matchup of the second- and third-winningest programs in men's D-I history. Question: Can you name the other three programs that fill out the top five? Hint: Three different conferences. Answer at the bottom. ?? NFL IN BERLIN NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T (Giphy) Berlin's Olympic Stadium, which will host Sunday's Colts vs. Falcons game, has one of the coolest features you'll ever see: the retractable roof folds into the scoreboard. Trivia answer: Kentucky (2,423 wins), Duke (2,336), UCLA (2,026) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 9, 2025 Author Members Posted November 9, 2025 NCAA revokes eligibility of 6 more college basketball players as it continues sports betting probe The NCAA revoked the eligibility of six men’s college basketball players on Friday as a result of three separate sports-betting cases that involved a power-conference school and allegations of players throwing games to lose by more points than the spread. https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-sports-betting-college-players-415d6d8987237fd1393819460986db47? Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 10, 2025 Author Members Posted November 10, 2025 ? Good morning! Welcome back. The dark gambling cloud hanging over MLB is worse than we thought. We'll go deeper later this week. Programming note: We'll be off tomorrow for Veterans Day. See you back here on Wednesday. In today's edition: NFL Sunday, Indiana stays perfect, KC Current stunned in playoff opener, Norris wins in Brazil, great "Monday Night Football" matchup, Baker's Dozen, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? WEEK 10 NFL SUNDAY SCOREBOARD (Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images) Jonathan Taylor's MVP campaign picked up more steam on Sunday in Berlin, where the Colts running back put on a spectacular performance against the Falcons (286 total yards, 3 TD) to lift Indianapolis to a 31-25 victory and an 8-2 record. Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee, reporting from Berlin: The game represented the culmination of a week's worth of NFL branding and activation efforts that ranged from pub takeovers to concerts to a mini-field constructed in front of legendary Brandenburg Gate. Judging from the number and variety of jerseys on the streets of Berlin — all 32 teams were observed at one point or another — the NFL has taken root overseas. Credit the NFL for managing to blend two separate sporting cultures — football (American) and football (everywhere else) — into a stew that featured highlights of the best of both. There were the requisite Van Halen and "Seven Nation Army" needle drops leading into plays, and glorious arm-in-arm soccer chanting during them. There was "Sweet Caroline" for the American fans, and "99 Luftbaloons" for the German ones, and everyone had themselves a fine, if slightly chilly, time singing along to it all. Scoreboard: Texans 36, Jaguars 29 … Houston scored 26 fourth-quarter points to stun the Jags, erasing a 19-point deficit to hand Jacksonville its biggest collapse in franchise history. Patriots 28, Buccaneers 23 … Rookie TreVeyon Henderson (147 yards, 2 TD) led the Pats to their seventh straight win to tie the Colts and Broncos for the league's best record (8-2). Saints 17, Panthers 7 … Tyler Shough (282 yards, 2 TD) impressed in his second start, becoming the first Saints rookie QB to start and win a game since 1981. Jets 27, Browns 20 … The Jets won their second straight game thanks to a punt return and a kick return touchdown — both in the first quarter! Ravens 27, Vikings 19 … That's three straight wins for Baltimore, which is firmly back in the playoff picture after a disastrous 1-5 start. Dolphins 30, Bills 13 … Well, that was unexpected. The lowly Dolphins (3-7) routed the once-mighty Bills (6-3), who've now gone 2-3 since their 4-0 start. Bears 24, Giants 20 … Caleb Williams came alive to lead Chicago to another fourth-quarter win after Jaxson Dart exited with a concussion. Rams 42, 49ers 26 … Matthew Stafford became the first QB in NFL history to throw four TDs with zero INTs in three consecutive games. Seahawks 44, Cardinals 22 … The Seahawks (7-2) and Rams (7-2) are tied atop the NFC West ahead of their blockbuster matchup next Sunday in Los Angeles. Lions 44, Commanders 22 … Dan Campbell took over play-calling duties and led Detroit to a blowout win in front of President Trump. Chargers 25, Steelers 10 … Keenan Allen passed Antonio Gates for most catches in Chargers history (956) on a play he drew up himself. ?? SNAPSHOTS PHOTOS ACROSS AMERICA (Barry Reeger/AP Photo) State College, Pennsylvania — Fernando Mendoza's Heisman heroics and Omar Cooper Jr.'s toe-tap catch in the final seconds rescued No. 2 Indiana on Saturday in Happy Valley. The Hoosiers escaped with a 27-24 win and their perfect record intact (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten). AP Top 25: The top five stayed the same in the AP rankings (Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia) for the third straight week, but there was lots of movement elsewhere. (North Carolina Athletics) Chapel Hill, North Carolina — Freshman Caleb Wilson had 24 points and No. 25 UNC dominated the second half to pull away from No. 19 Kansas, 87-74, on Friday night in the first-ever meeting in Chapel Hill between the two historic programs. Rivalry history: The Tar Heels and Jayhawks have now played in 10 different cities, which happen to be in seven different states, dating back to 1957. This was only the fourth early-season meeting and the seventh non-neutral site matchup in their 14-game series. (David Berding/Getty Images) St. Paul, Minnesota — Minnesota United advanced to the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday after beating the Seattle Sounders, 3(7)-3(6), in one of the wildest games in MLS history. Dayne St. Clair, the recently crowned MLS Keeper of the Year, played the hero in a penalty-kick shootout that was decided in the 11th round. Last eight standing: No. 1 San Diego, No. 2 Vancouver, No. 3 LAFC and No. 4 Minnesota advanced in the West; No. 1 Philadelphia, No. 2 Cincinnati, No. 3 Miami and No. 5 NYC FC advanced in the East. (Ed Zurga/NWSL via Getty Images) Kansas City, Missouri — After a historically dominant regular season, the KC Current looked unbeatable heading into the NWSL playoffs. Nobody told Gotham FC, which stunned the top-seeded Current, 2-1, on Sunday to send them home and shake up the bracket. The Final Four: Eighth-seeded Gotham will play No. 4 Orlando in one semifinal, while No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Portland meet in the other. ? SNAPSHOTS PHOTOS AROUND THE WORLD Pep Guardiola, managing his 1,000th game, celebrates City's first goal. (Michael Regan/Getty Images) ??????? Manchester, England — Manchester City beat Liverpool, 3-0, on Sunday to send the defending champs tumbling further down the table (eighth place) and hand Arne Slot his worst league loss as the Reds' manager. Elsewhere: Sunderland played league-leading Arsenal to a 2-2 draw thanks to Brian Brobbey's stoppage-time equalizer; Tottenham and Manchester United also finished 2-2 after they combined for three goals in the final 12 minutes. (Mark Sutton/Formula 1 via Getty Images) ?? São Paulo, Brazil — McLaren's Lando Norris won Sunday's São Paulo Grand Prix to open up a 24-point lead over teammate Oscar Piastri with three races left in the season. Remaining races: The Las Vegas Grand Prix is in two weeks (Nov. 22), followed by the Qatar Grand Prix (Nov. 30) and the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Dec. 7). (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images for WTA) ?? Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Elena Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka, 6-3, 7-6, to win the WTA Finals and claim the biggest prize in the history of women's sports. The Russian-born Kazakhstani took home just under $5.3 million after going a perfect 5-0 in Riyadh. The other side: Sabalenka's bittersweet season ended with yet another loss. The wire-to-wire world No. 1 reached four of the five biggest finals this year but went just 1-3 in those matches, winning the US Open but losing in Melbourne, Paris and Riyadh. The third hole at El Cardonal. (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) ?? Cabo San Lucas, Mexico — The field scored well all weekend at the Tiger Woods-designed El Cardonal at Diamante, where 16 golfers finished at 20-under or better and three matched the course record with a 61. Griffin wins again: Ben Griffin (-29) finished atop the leaderboard to join Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy as the only golfers to win at least three times this season. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, NOV. 10 Jalen Hurts runs against the Packers in last season's playoff game. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images) ? Eagles at Packers | 8:15pm ET, ABC/ESPN Green Bay's 2024 season started and ended with losses to Philadelphia — first in Brazil and then in January's wild card round. The Packers will look to get revenge tonight at Lambeau Field in a matchup between first-place teams. More to watch: ? NBA: Wizards at Pistons (7pm, Peacock); Hawks at Clippers (10pm, NBA) … The Pistons (8-2) have won six straight to climb to the top of the East. ? NCAAW: No. 6 Oklahoma at No. 3 UCLA (10:30pm, FS1) … Bruins center Lauren Betts was a first-team All-American last season. ? NCAAM: Columbia at No. 4 UConn (6:30pm, FS1); Mississippi State at No. 16 Iowa State (8pm, ESPNU) ? Tennis: ATP Finals (8am, Tennis) … Group stage continues in Turin. ? RIP, LENNY NBA TRIVIA Wilkens coaching in 1997. (Bongarts/Getty Images) Longtime NBA great Lenny Wilkens passed away on Sunday at 88. The Hall of Famer won 1,332 regular-season games as a coach, third-most all-time. Question: Can you name all six NBA teams he coached? Hint: One no longer exists. Answer at the bottom. ? BAKER'S DOZEN TOP PLAYS OF THE WEEKEND (Yahoo Sports) ? COOPER SAVES INDIANA ⚽️ Bicycle in a blizzard ? No words can describe this ? Dunk of the year? ⚽️ Are you kidding, Luis? ? One-handed TD ? Love finds a way ⚽️ Sunderland in extra time! ? HUNTER DROPS GIDDEY ? Insane body control ? One-handed INT ? Incredible chemistry ? Caleb Wilson!! Watch all 13. Trivia answer: SuperSonics (1969-72, 1977-85); Trail Blazers (1974-76); Cavaliers (1986-93); Hawks (1993-2000); Raptors (2000-03); Knicks (2004-05) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 13, 2025 Author Members Posted November 13, 2025 ? Good morning! Happy Hump Day. In today's edition: Freshmen lead the way, Mavs fire Nico, CFP rankings, NBA power rankings, photo finish, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? Mavs fire Nico: The Mavericks pulled the plug on Nico Harrison's tenure in Dallas, firing their general manager less than a year after his baffling decision to trade away Luka Dončić. It doesn't help that they've begun this season an abysmal 3-8. ⚾️ MLB Awards: A's first baseman Nick Kurtz was the unanimous AL ROY, while Braves catcher Drake Baldwin won NL ROY with 21 of 30 first-place votes. As for the Managers of the Year, Stephen Vogt (Guardians) and Pat Murphy (Brewers) both won for the second straight season. ? New ASG format: This year's NBA All-Star Game will feature three teams, two made up of players from the U.S. and a third with international players. They'll play a round-robin tournament with 12-minute games, then the top two teams will advance to the championship game. ? Kelly sues LSU: Brian Kelly is suing LSU in hopes of receiving his full $54 million buyout. He claims the school is now attempting to fire him "for cause" to avoid having to make the payment. ⚾️ Back in the Bay: Bruce Bochy, who led the Giants to three World Series as manager (2010, 2012, 2014), is returning to the organization as a special advisor. The future Hall of Famer spent the last three years managing the Rangers. ? DIAPER DANDIES THE BEST FRESHMAN CLASS IN YEARS Darryn Peterson is one of a handful of freshmen who could be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. (Ryan Hunt/Getty Images) Freshmen are off to a red-hot start this college basketball season, chipping away at the widely held notion that high school recruiting is no longer as important as it once was and that proven 22- and 23-year-old transfers are the key to winning. The Big Five: Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer and BYU wing AJ Dybantsa have lived up to their preseason hype, while UNC forward Caleb Wilson and Arizona forward Koa Peat have joined them at the top of most mock drafts after making instant impacts. Ebuka Okorie has been lights out for the Cardinal. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images) Other standouts include: Mikel Brown Jr. spearheaded Louisville's upset win over Kentucky on Tuesday, finishing with 29 points and five assists while committing just one turnover. Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie is averaging the second-most points in the nation (27.5) and looks like one of the steals of the 2025 recruiting class. Virginia Tech's Neoklis Avdalas, a 6-foot-9 guard from Greece, went off for 33-6-5 in an overtime win over Providence. Tennessee's Nate Ament, a 6-foot-10 shot maker, is averaging 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. Arkansas has a pair of freshman guards (Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas) who have combined for 113 points in three games. Washington forward Hannes Steinbach has been as dominant for the Huskies as he was for Germany's U-19 World Cup team this past summer. Neoklis Avdalas plays like a combo of Kevin Durant and Luka Dončic. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) From Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg: The torrid start from this year's freshman class comes at a time when the get-old, stay-old ethos has become popular across college basketball … the thinking being that transfers might not have the same long-term NBA potential as elite freshmen but they possess the physical maturity and guile to win right away. Will the success of this year's freshmen alter that thought process? Perhaps, but it's important to remember this is an exceptional class. Coaches are always going to try to figure out where they can get the most value for their NIL money. This year, it might be the freshman class. Next year, it might not be. ? 12-TEAM PLAYOFF CFP RANKINGS (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) The top five teams stayed the same in the second set of College Football Playoff rankings as Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia kept their places. Fun fact: Seven of the 12 projected playoff teams hail from just three states. Texas (3): No. 3 Texas A&M remained in first-round bye position, Texas Tech moved up to No. 6 after a statement win over BYU and Texas jumped to No. 10. Florida (2): No. 15 Miami reclaimed its spot as the top ACC team, while No. 24 South Florida became the first Group of 5 team to make the CFP Top 25 this year. Indiana (2): No. 2 Indiana is on pace for a second consecutive playoff berth, as is No. 9 Notre Dame, which moved up a spot after demolishing Navy. Games of the week: No. 5 Georgia hosts No. 10 Texas this weekend, and No. 4 Alabama hosts No. 11 Oklahoma. ? WEEK 4 NBA POWER RANKINGS (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports) Believe it or not, we have reached the eighth-way point (the one-eighth point?) of the NBA season. Where does your team fall in our power rankings? ? STATS DU JOUR BY THE NUMBERS The newest Hall of Famers, minus Alexander Mogilny, on Saturday. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) ? 8 new members The Hockey Hall of Fame welcomed eight new members on Monday night in Toronto, bringing the total membership to 445. The Class of 2025 featured six players (Jennifer Botterill, Zdeno Chára, Brianna Decker, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Joe Thornton) and two "builders" (Jack Parker, Danièle Sauvageau). Looking ahead: Candidates for the Class of 2026 include Patrice Bergeron, Phil Kessel, Rod Brind'Amour, Patrick Marleau and Meghan Duggan. ? 40+ TDs Jahmyr Gibbs joined an elite group over the weekend, becoming just the fifth player in NFL history to score at least 40 scrimmage touchdowns before age 24. The other four? Hall of Famers Barry Sanders (47), Randy Moss (43), Emmitt Smith (43) and Jim Brown (42). Gibbs (41) could top that list by season's end with eight games left. ⚽️ 143 goals Cristiano Ronaldo says the upcoming 2026 World Cup will "definitely" be his last. The 41-year-old is the all-time leading scorer in men's international soccer, having scored 143 goals for Portugal in his career. ⚾️ 1.000+ OPS Newly-minted unanimous AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz had a 1.002 OPS this past season, making him the eighth rookie since 1901 to post a 1.000+ OPS (min. 400 PA). The other seven: Aaron Judge (2017), Ryan Braun (2007), Albert Pujols (2001), Bernie Carbo (1970), Ted Williams (1939), Rudy York (1937) and George Watkins (1930). ? 42,000 shots If practice makes perfect, then Celtics center Luka Garza must be getting close. Last year, when he was playing just 5.6 minutes per game for the Timberwolves, the big man took over 42,000 shots at practices and shootarounds, according to Noah Basketball, a data service that tracks such things. That's about 12,000 more shots than anyone else in the league. Good read: Luka Garza (and his father) have been working towards this moment forever (Noa Dalzell, Celtics Blog) ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12 Luka and Austin have the Lakers at 8-3. (Grant Burke/NBAE via Getty Images) ? NBA on ESPN The second-place Knicks host the Magic (7pm ET) as they seek their sixth straight win, then the first-place Thunder host the Lakers (9:30pm) in a battle of Western Conference powers. Dynamic duo: Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are the first teammates in NBA history to each have 200+ points and 50+ assists through their first seven games of a season. ? NHL on TNT The Lightning host the Rangers in the early game (7pm), then it's Connor Bedard and the surging Blackhawks against Jack Hughes and the first-place Devils in the nightcap (9:30pm). Bedard's breakout: The 20-year-old, picked first overall in 2023, had 61 points as a rookie and 67 as a sophomore. This season? He already has 25 points through 16 games, which ranks fourth in the league and puts him on pace for 128. More to watch: ? NCAAF: Buffalo at Central Michigan (7pm, CBSSN); Northern Illinois at UMass (7pm, ESPNU); Toledo at Miami-Ohio (7pm, ESPN2) … With Sam Houston's win over the weekend, UMass (0-9) is the only winless FBS team. ? Tennis: ATP Finals (8am, Tennis) … The group stage continues in Turin with Ben Shelton vs. Félix Auger-Aliassime (8am) and Jannik Sinner vs. Alexander Zverev (2:30pm). ⚽️ Women's Champions League: Bayern vs. Arsenal (12:45pm, CBSSN); Man United vs. PSG (3pm, Paramount+) … Two of five games to close out Matchday 3. ? BEST RECORDS NFL TRIVIA (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) The Patriots, who will look to improve to 9-2 tomorrow night against the Jets, are one of six NFL teams with only two losses. Question: Can you name the other five? Hint: Three NFC, two AFC. Answer at the bottom. ? THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH Kraken forward Tye Kartye warms up before a game at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images) A blur of brilliance. Trivia answer: Colts (8-2), Broncos (8-2), Eagles (7-2), Seahawks (7-2), Rams (7-2) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 15, 2025 Author Members Posted November 15, 2025 ? Good morning! Has your best friend signed up for Yahoo Sports AM yet? Stat of the day: Less than five years ago, it cost $2 million to buy an NWSL expansion team. Arthur Blank just paid $165 million to bring the latest franchise to Atlanta. In today's edition: Curry and Jokić go off, NHL points leaders, superstitious attire, NFL power rankings, new job alert, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Cy Young winners: Pirates righty Paul Skenes was a unanimous winner for the NL, while Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal got 26 of 30 first-place votes to become the AL's first back-to-back winner since Pedro Martínez (1999-2000). ⚽️ NWSL expansion: Atlanta has been awarded the NWSL's 17th franchise, with new owner Arthur Blank (Falcons, Atlanta United) set to pay a league-record $165 million expansion fee. They'll debut in 2028 after the 15th and 16th teams (Boston, Denver) begin play next year. ? LA28 schedule: The official schedule for the 2028 Summer Olympics has been announced. The Games will run from July 14-30, and in one big change they'll flip the normal order of swimming and track & field, starting with the latter instead of the former. ? Gronk retires as a Patriot: Rob Gronkowski signed a one-day contract with New England on Wednesday, allowing the future Hall of Famer to retire as a member of the organization with whom he won three Super Bowls and cemented his status as arguably the greatest tight end of all time. ? Michigan State sanctioned: Michigan State's football program received three years of probation from the NCAA and former coach Mel Tucker was given a show-cause penalty due to recruiting violations from 2021-23. The Spartans were also forced to vacate 14 wins. ? SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS (Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) San Antonio — Steph Curry (46-5-5), Jimmy Butler (28-6-8) and the Warriors handed the Spurs their first home loss of the season, winning 125-120 even as Victor Wembanyama (31-15-10) and Stephon Castle (23-10-10) became the first Spurs duo with a triple-double in the same game. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles: Nikola Jokić erupted for 55 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists on 78% shooting in the Nuggets' 130-116 win over the Clippers. The Joker during Denver's six-game winning streak: 35.8 pts, 12.0 reb, 11.0 ast, 73.9% FG, 55.6% 3PT. Is that good? (Notre Dame Athletics) South Bend, Indiana — Hannah Hidalgo, already a two-time first-team All-American, had the best game of her career on Wednesday, scoring a program-record 44 points and notching an NCAA-record 16 steals in No. 18 Notre Dame's blowout 85-58 win over Akron. 16 steals!!! Speaking of big statlines: Audi Crooks led No. 16 Iowa State's 97-50 rout of Valparaiso with a program-record 43 points in just 20 minutes. The junior is averaging 28.3 points on a blistering 73% shooting through four games. (Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) Turin, Italy — Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev, 6-4, 6-3, to clinch a semifinal spot in the ATP Finals as he looks to defend his title in the season-ending event. Total domination: Since losing to Novak Djokovic in the finals here in 2023, Sinner has won 28 consecutive matches on indoor hard courts. That includes seven in a row at this event, all in straight sets, without so much as being pushed to a tiebreak. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) Belleair, Florida — Caitlin Clark participated in the LPGA's Annika Pro-Am for the second consecutive year, flanked by Fever teammates Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull as her caddies. From long range! Clark showed that no matter the sport, she's bound to provide a highlight, nailing a long putt from just off the green during Wednesday's round. ? LEAGUE LEADERS A SCOUTING DEPARTMENT FEVER DREAM Bedard and McDavid. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images) The top five point-scorers in the NHL right now are all former No. 1 or No. 2 overall picks — a scouting department fever dream that almost never materializes this cleanly. Cream of the crop: Nathan MacKinnon (No. 1 in 2013) leads the way with 32 points, followed by Macklin Celebrini (No. 1 in 2024), Connor Bedard (No. 1 in 2023) and Leo Carlsson (No. 2 in 2023) with 26 each. Connor McDavid (No. 1 in 2015) is right behind them with 25. Bottom line: It's one thing for elite talent to live up to the hype. It's another to see four No. 1 picks and one No. 2 pick deliver on their promise — all at once, at the very top of the league leaderboard. ? ROLL TIDE THE "BLACK HOODIE OF DEATH" The Tide look like one of the best teams in college football, and their coach is showing more emotion than ever before while rocking the black hoodie. (Jeffrey Vest/Getty Images) Call it a superstition. Call it silly. Call it what you will. When Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer wears his signature black hoodie, the Tide are unstoppable. From Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger: Deep within the Mal Moore Athletic Complex, perhaps in some locked box or barred closet, the University of Alabama football team's not-so-secret weapon of viral superstition resides. There, somewhere, hidden and kept secret, are seven crisp and clean Nike Dri-FIT black hoodies. Better known to the college football world as coach Kalen DeBoer's black hoodie of death. "They're in safe keeping where only I know about them," says Kyle Smith. Smith holds an important role within the Alabama football program. He's the director of equipment, a thankless and often overshadowed job but one of great importance. In this job, Smith's most visible responsibility is clothing the team's head football coach on gameday. That means acting as the caretaker of what's become one of this season's quirky oddities: DeBoer's black hoodie. As coach at Alabama, he's 16-0 in regular season games while wearing the outfit — the short or the long-sleeve version. This bizarre statline is no longer just some fan-driven internet sensation. Bama players are well aware. So is the coaching staff, administrators and DeBoer's own children. From his office this Monday, DeBoer cracks a smile. He's getting a kick out of all the hubbub. "It got brought up this year with our players. They were like, 'Coach, you got to wear it, man,'" DeBoer says laughing. DeBoer wore a two-toned hoodie during last year's loss to Oklahoma. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images) Things are good here right now. People are smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves — a product of their beloved Crimson Tide, now ranked fourth in the country, having won eight straight games. Alabama meets No. 11 Oklahoma here on Saturday with a chance to likely secure a playoff berth and remain in pole position to play in the SEC championship game. It also provides an opportunity for DeBoer's team to avenge last year's costly and ugly 24-3 loss in Norman — a playoff hope-dashing debacle that sticks with the coach nearly one calendar year later. "It is probably one of the things that baffled me the most about last season," he says. "It's how it happened. It's how it felt. You're not always going to be at your best, but we just didn't bring it that night." For one, he wasn't wearing that traditional black hoodie. On that night, for whatever reason, he chose to wear a two-toned hoodie: black but with red sleeves. It was one of the last times he veered away from his traditional gameday attire. Will the 2024 Nike version of the black hoodie make its ninth straight appearance on the Alabama sideline this weekend? DeBoer smiles. Of course it will. "At some point," he says, smiling, "I'll have to change to the newer version." ? WEEK 11 NFL POWER RANKINGS (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) The Eagles sit atop our NFL power rankings for the second straight week, followed by the Colts (+2), Seahawks (+2), Rams (+5) and Chiefs (-2). Playoff projection: The Chiefs' streak of AFC West titles may be on the line at Denver ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, NOV. 13 Drake Maye is top three in yards (2,555), completion percentage (71.7%) and passing TDs (19). (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) ? Jets at Patriots | 8:15pm ET, Prime The first-place Patriots, who've won seven straight, are 13-point favorites at home against the last-place Jets. It will take a massive upset for Gang Green to flip the script on one of the NFL's most one-sided rivalries (New England leads the series 25-6 since 2010). Good read: As Drake Maye's MVP case grows, expect Patriots QB to downplay it: 'He doesn't realize he’s a superstar' (Jori Epstein, Yahoo Sports) ? NCAA Basketball No. 2 Purdue visits No. 8 Alabama in a blockbuster matchup between two of the top men's programs in the country (7pm, ESPN2). The women get the nightcap, with No. 3 UCLA and No. 11 North Carolina facing off in Las Vegas (9pm). More to watch: ? NBA: Raptors at Cavaliers (7pm, NBA) … Third in the Atlantic vs. second in the Central. ? NHL: Stars at Canadiens (7pm, ESPN+) … Second in the Central vs. first in the Atlantic. ? Tennis: ATP Finals (Tennis) … The group stage continues with Taylor Fritz vs. Alex de Minaur (8am) and Carlos Alcaraz vs. Lorenzo Musetti (2:30pm). ? NCAAF: Troy at Old Dominion (7:30pm, ESPN) … These two Sun Belt teams are both 6-3, having already surpassed their win totals from last season. ⛳️ LPGA: The Annika (10am, Golf) … Defending champion Nelly Korda headlines the field at Florida's Pelican Golf Club in the season's penultimate event. ? GRONK SUPER BOWL TRIVIA A Gronk spike during a 2015 game at Foxboro. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) Rob Gronkowski, back in the news after signing a one-day contract to retire as a Patriot, has the third-most career receptions in the Super Bowl (29). Question: Which two players have more? Hint: Their last names end in the same two letters. Answer at the bottom. ⚾️ SPEED DEMON JOB ALERT: "THE FREEZE" The Freeze races a fan during a game in 2023. (Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) Any world-class sprinters out there looking for a side gig? The Braves are seeking a new mascot to serve as "The Freeze" for their between-innings promotion that features a race around the warning track against some lucky (or unlucky) fan. Tough act to follow: The original "Freeze" was former college sprinter Nigel Talton, a member of the Braves' grounds crew who once clocked a blazing 4.28-second 40-yard dash. Think you can beat that? Trivia answer: Travis Kelce (35 Super Bowl receptions) and Jerry Rice (33) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 16, 2025 Author Members Posted November 16, 2025 ? Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: Weekend watchlist, Ohtani and Judge win MVP, gambling headlines, MLS 3.0, NBA All-Breakout Team, Padres could be for sale, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? Gambling headlines: The NFL is restricting prop bets in the wake of scandals in the NBA and MLB; Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was arrested and pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces in the aforementioned MLB scandal; 14 people were charged in New Jersey for their roles in a Mafia-backed betting ring involving college athletes. ? Curry splits from Under Armour: After more than a decade, Stephen Curry and Under Armour are parting ways. The Warriors guard's Curry Brand, which was launched in 2020, will continue independently of the company. ? CFP committee shake-up: Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek is replacing Baylor AD Mack Rhoades as the College Football Playoff selection committee chair after Rhoades took a leave of absence amid an investigation into a potential violation of school policies. ⚾️ Coming home: The Tampa Bay Rays are set to return to Tropicana Field next year after being displaced this past season due to damages caused by Hurricane Milton. ? Pac-12's new home: The rebuilt Pac-12 has finalized its TV contract for the near future, inking a deal with USA Sports to televise 22 football games a year through the 2030 season. ? VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST Will MVP frontrunner Matthew Stafford continue his torrid pace in a huge divisional matchup against Seattle? (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) ? NFL, Week 11 The Commanders and Dolphins meet in Madrid on Sunday morning (9:30am ET, NFL) for the seventh and final international game of the season. Back home, the Week 11 slate is headlined by four tantalizing heavyweight matchups: Buccaneers at Bills (1pm, CBS): Both are 6-3. Both are led by MVP candidates. Both are coming off losses. Seahawks at Rams (4pm, Fox): The game of the weekend. These NFC West foes are tied atop the division at 7-2 and have both won four straight games. Los Angeles has the second-best title odds (+700 at BetMGM) and Seattle has the fifth-best (+1100). Chiefs at Broncos (4:25pm, CBS): With an eighth straight win, Denver (8-2) would make it very tough for KC (5-4) to challenge for their 10th consecutive AFC West crown. Lions at Eagles (8:20pm, NBC): Not a bad way to end the day, with first-place Philly (7-2) and first-place Detroit (6-3) playing on "Sunday Night Football." Best of the rest: Bears at Vikings (1pm, Fox); Bengals at Steelers (1pm, CBS); Chargers at Jaguars (1pm, CBS); Panthers at Falcons (1pm, Fox) ? NCAAF, Week 12 Saturday's slate features four matchups between ranked teams, including two SEC showdowns inside the top 11. No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 22 Pitt (12pm, ABC) No. 11 Oklahoma at No. 4 Alabama (3:30pm, ABC) No. 21 Iowa at No. 17 USC (3:30pm, BTN) No. 10 Texas at No. 5 Georgia (7:30pm, ABC) Best of the rest: NC State at No. 15 Miami (3:30pm, ESPN); No. 13 Utah at Baylor (7pm, ESPN2); UCLA at No. 1 Ohio State (7:30pm, NBC); TCU at No. 12 BYU (10:15pm, ESPN). ? ATP Finals Today's group stage finale pits Jannik Sinner against Ben Shelton (8am, Tennis) and Alexander Zverev against Félix Auger-Aliassime (2:30pm, Tennis). Sinner is already through to the semis, where he'll play Alex de Minaur tomorrow, while the winner of the Zverev-FAA match will face Carlos Alcaraz in tomorrow's other semifinal. The championship is on Sunday (12pm). ⚽️ NWSL Semifinals The second-seeded Washington Spirit host the third-seeded Portland Thorns on Saturday (12pm, CBS). The fourth-seeded Orlando Pride host eighth-seeded Gotham FC on Sunday (3pm, ABC). Fun fact: It would have been nearly impossible to hand-pick a more appropriate final four. The league's last four champions? Washington (2021), Portland (2022), Gotham (2023) and Orlando (2024). More to watch: ? NBA: Heat at Knicks (Fri. 7pm, Prime); Warriors at Spurs (Fri. 9:30pm, Prime) … Day 3 of the in-season tournament. ? NHL: Bruins at Canadiens (Sat. 7pm, NHL) … Montreal and Boston are part of a three-way tie with Ottawa atop the Atlantic ? NCAAM: No. 5 Arizona at No. 15 UCLA (Fri. 10pm, Peacock); No. 3 UConn vs. No. 7 BYU (Sat. 7pm, Fox); No. 1 Houston vs. No. 22 Auburn (Sun. 3pm, ESPN) ? NCAAW: No. 18 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Michigan (Sat. 4pm, NBC); No. 2 South Carolina at No. 8 USC (Sat. 9pm, Fox); No. 17 TCU at No. 10 NC State (Sun. 1pm, ESPN) ⚽️ Friendly: USMNT vs. Paraguay (Sat. 5pm, TNT) … At Subaru Park outside Philadelphia. ⛳️ DP World Tour: Tour Championship (Fri-Sun, Golf) … Season-ending tournament in Dubai. ⛳️ LPGA: The Annika (Fri-Sun, Golf) … Haeran Ryu (-6) leads by one stroke after Round 1. ? MMA: UFC 322 (Sat. 10pm, ESPN+ PPV) … Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev (welterweight) and Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili (flyweight) are the headliners at MSG. ? Boxing: Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn (Sat. 4:30pm, DAZN PPV) … Family rivals meet in a rematch at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. ⚾️ MLB AWARDS OHTANI, JUDGE WIN MVP (AGAIN) (Yahoo Sports) For the first time in MLB history, the same two players won National League and American League MVP in back-to-back years. NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani won his fourth MVP award (all unanimous) to join Barry Bonds (7) as the only players with more than three. From Yahoo Sports' Jack Baer: When Ohtani signed his 10-year, $700 million with the Dodgers in 2023, the price shocked a baseball world that had never seen a contract larger than Trout's $426 million deal. And two years later, that contract, and its deferrals, could not look like a bigger bargain. Ohtani has been the most valuable player in the NL in back-to-back years, and a World Series champion in back-to-back years. He has transformed the business of the Dodgers, turning them into an advertising powerhouse in his native Japan, one of the richest countries in the world and a nation that worships him at a level of celebrity beyond anything in the U.S. It's quite possible Ohtani has already paid for himself as far as the Dodgers are concerned. The team had an enormous set of advantages, such as its enormous TV contract and the largest stadium in MLB, but Ohtani's success has sent them to a higher plane, and there's no telling if they come down as long as he's on the field. (Yahoo Sports) AL MVP: Aaron Judge beat out Cal Raleigh in a close race to win his third MVP award, joining Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees to do so. From Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz: This third MVP all but secures Judge a place in Cooperstown. All the other three-time winners are either in the Hall of Fame (Berra, Roy Campanella, DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Mike Schmidt), not yet eligible (Ohtani, Albert Pujols, Mike Trout) or would be first-ballot shoo-ins if not for alleged PED use (Bonds, Alex Rodriguez). There is a strong case to be made that Judge is the single greatest right-handed hitter in the sport's history. His 179 OPS+ is the highest career mark for a righty since integration. Only 10 other hitters (Mike Trout, Mark McGwire, Dick Allen, Frank Thomas, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Manny Ramírez, Frank Robinson, Ralph Kiner and DiMaggio) are even above 150. Put differently, Judge is the type of hitter so unavoidably good that he supersedes seasons like the one Raleigh just put up. It's yet another data point on Judge's résumé as one of the best sluggers to ever play the game. There remains a gaping void in his trophy case; that ever-elusive first World Series title. But as this October showed us, one locked-in dynamo cannot carry a franchise alone. Judge dominated this postseason and it made little difference. ⚽️ FALL-TO-SPRING MLS 3.0: NEW CALENDAR, NO PAYWALL (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) Major League Soccer made two sweeping changes on Thursday, voting to (1) overhaul its schedule and (2) ditch its paywall. Owners voted to flip to a fall-to-spring season starting in 2027, aligning with top leagues around the world. MLS will do away with the "Season Pass" paywall next season, meaning all games will be available to Apple TV subscribers at no additional cost. From Yahoo Sports' Steven Goff: For decades, MLS rowed against the current, starting the season early in the calendar year, playing through soccer-busy summers and ending as Christmas lights went up. Starting in 2027, however, the 30-team circuit will align itself with most European leagues by conducting the season from mid-to-late July until late May. It's a seismic move, one that MLS executives and team owners weighed for years before finally finding consensus Thursday at the Board of Governors meeting in South Florida. The last time they took such pronounced action was 2007 by instituting the Designated Player rule, a mechanism for teams to get around the salary cap and sign global superstars, such as David Beckham and Lionel Messi. For a league with big ambitions but a history of puzzling decisions, the schedule change needed to happen. Ideally, it would have been enacted before the World Cup in North America casts an enormous shadow over the league next summer. But it will finally happen. Good for MLS. ? SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS Henderson after scoring his third touchdown. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images) ?? Foxborough, Massachusetts — The Patriots (9-2) cruised past the Jets, 27-14, for their eighth straight win behind a monster game from rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson (93 total yards, 3 TD), clinching their first winning season since 2021. MVP? Drake Maye's MVP-caliber campaign continued (281 yards, TD) and put him in rarefied air as the first QB in NFL history with at least 2,500 passing yards, 250 rushing yards, 20 passing TDs, a 70% completion rate and an .800 win percentage in a single-season span of 11 starts. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) ?? Turin, Italy — Carlos Alcaraz defeated Lorenzo Musetti to finish the group stage of the ATP Finals undefeated and clinch his spot as the year-end world No. 1 for the first time since 2022. His record this season? 70-8. Not bad. De Minaur finally breaks through: In the day's other match, Alex de Minaur took down Taylor Fritz to secure his spot in the semifinals alongside Alcaraz, snapping an 0-5 lifetime record in the ATP Finals and an 0-16 streak against top-10 players. Ronaldo sarcastically acknowledges Ireland's fans after being sent off. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) ?? Dublin, Ireland — Well, there's a first time for everything, and in Cristiano Ronaldo's 226th career international match, the 40-year-old was shown his first red card with Portugal, which fell 2-0 to Ireland in World Cup qualifying. Elsewhere: Norway beat Estonia, 4-1, behind a brace from Erling Haaland to put them on the verge of qualifying for their first World Cup this century. Haaland has now scored 30 goals for club and country in just 19 games this season. An absolute machine. Rory McIlroy lines up a putt on the 16th green. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) ?? Dubai, UAE — While the PGA Tour continues its fall swing, the European Tour is holding its season-ending tournament, where Rory McIlroy seeks his second straight title, and record fourth overall. Opening round recap: McIlroy (-6) is two strokes off leader Michael Kim (-8), who hit 11 of 18 greens inside 10 feet (!) on Thursday. Tommy Fleetwood (-7) is in second, continuing his torrid pace. He's made just one bogey in his last 98 holes. ? ON THE RISE NBA ALL-BREAKOUT TEAM (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) First Team Jalen Duren, C (Pistons) Deni Avdija, F (Trail Blazers) Jaime Jaquez Jr., F (Heat) Austin Reaves, G (Lakers) Stephon Castle, G (Spurs) Second Team Alexandre Sarr, C (Wizards) Trendon Watford, F (76ers) Matas Buzelis, F (Bulls) Ajay Mitchell, G (Thunder) Reed Sheppard, G (Rockets) ⚾ FOR SALE? MLB TRIVIA (Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) The Padres could be up for sale soon, according to a statement from the Seidler family on Thursday. Question: Four MLB teams have been sold so far this decade. Can you name them? Hint: Three AL, one NL. Answer at the bottom. ? PLAYER SURVEY NO MORE REPORT CARDS? (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) The NFL has filed a grievance against the NFLPA over its annual practice of surveying players and handing out "Report Cards" for every team. The league's grievance stems from CBA Article 51, Section 6, that requires the NFLPA and league management council to "use reasonable efforts to curtail public comments by Club personnel or players which express criticism of any club…" Above: How all 32 teams fared on their most recent report card (February 2025). Trivia answer: Rays (2025), Orioles (2024), Royals (2020), Mets (2020) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 18, 2025 Author Members Posted November 18, 2025 ? Good morning! Welcome back. In today's edition: NFL Sunday, College Football Playoff picture, the "Big Two" meet again, Gotham and Washington advance, Reyna's return to form, first major MLB free-agent signing, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? WEEK 11 NFL SUNDAY SCOREBOARD (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) Broncos 22, Chiefs 19 … Denver rallied in front of their home fans to seize command of the AFC West and put Kansas City's playoff hopes in further peril. Playoff picture: The Broncos (9-2) are on track to secure their first division title since 2015. The Chiefs (5-5) remain one of the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl, but if the season ended today, they wouldn't even make the playoffs. Rams 21, Seahawks 19 … Sam Darnold (4 INT) picked a terrible time to have his worst game of the season. Los Angeles (8-2) now sits atop the division. Eagles 16, Lions 9 … Philly's red-hot defense stifled Jared Goff and stopped all five of Detroit's fourth-down conversion attempts. The defending champs (8-2) are far from a complete product, but they keep winning games. (Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) Bills 44, Buccaneers 32 … Josh Allen (3 passing scores, 3 rushing scores) played the hero in a game that featured an astounding 10 lead changes. Jay Busbee: "What exactly is the identity of the 2025 Buffalo Bills? Who knows? How can you call this team a legitimate Super Bowl contender when it gets blown out by the Falcons and Dolphins … but then again, with Allen in command, how can you not?" Bears 19, Vikings 17 … The vibes are high in Chicago, where Da Bears are 7-3 for the first time since 2018 and have sole possession of first place in the NFC North. Ravens 23, Browns 16 … Baltimore (5-5) got back to .500; Shedeur Sanders made his regular-season debut. Ryan Fitzgerald celebrates the game-winning field goal. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) Panthers 30, Falcons 27 (OT) … Bryce Young (career-high 448 passing yards, 3 TD) returned after an early ankle injury to lead Carolina to a comeback win. Who's winning the AFC South? The Buccaneers (6-4) have lost three of four, while the Panthers (6-5) have won two of three. This could come down to the wire… and they play each other twice in the season's final three weeks. Dolphins 16, Commanders 13 (OT) … Miami won an ugly game in Madrid. That's six straight losses for Washington. Packers 27, Giants 20 … Facing a New York team in head coach limbo, Jordan Love and the Packers quieted questions about Matt LaFleur for now. (Mike Christy/Getty Images) 49ers 41, Cardinals 22 … Brock Purdy (19/26, 3 TD) was dominant in his return from a toe injury; Jacoby Brissett had an NFL-record 47 completions in a loss. Steelers 34, Bengals 12 … Things tend to get heated between these two teams. The latest incident: Jalen Ramsey was ejected for punching Ja'Marr Chase after he spat on him. Jaguars 35, Chargers 6 … Jim Harbaugh's squad was a complete no-show in Jacksonville, finishing with 135 yards and just eight first downs. Texans 16, Titans 13 … Houston is finally a .500 team (5-5) thanks to the NFL's best-scoring defense, which has now given up 20 or fewer points in eight of their 10 games. ? COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF WHO'S STILL ALIVE FOR A PLAYOFF BID? A&M played the game of the weekend. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images) There are 30 teams that can harbor legitimate hopes for the College Football Playoff after the first 12 weeks of the 2025 regular season. As a reminder: The five highest-ranked conference champions all earn automatic bids, which means at least one Group of Five team will make the 12-team field. American Navy (8-2, 6-1 American) Tulane (8-2, 5-1) North Texas (9-1, 5-1) East Carolina (7-3, 5-1) South Florida (7-3, 4-2) Navy has the inside track for the G5 auto bid after beating USF on Saturday. But depending on how the next few weeks play out, the tiebreaker scenario for who makes the title game could get pretty convoluted. ACC Georgia Tech (9-1, 6-1) Virginia (9-2, 6-1) Pitt (7-3, 5-1) SMU (7-3, 5-1) Miami (8-2, 4-2) Duke (5-5, 4-2) Could Duke crash the party at 8-5? It's possible, but much less likely after the Blue Devils' home loss to Virginia over the weekend. Our best guess for the ACC title game? UVA vs. Georgia Tech. Big Ten Indiana (11-0, 8-0) Ohio State (10-0, 7-0) Oregon (9-1, 6-1) USC (8-2, 6-1) Michigan (8-2, 6-1) Conference champion or not, Ohio State and Indiana are already playoff locks, and the Big Ten is looking like a three-bid league. Big 12 Texas Tech (10-1, 7-1) BYU (8-1, 5-1) Houston (8-2, 5-2) Arizona State (7-3, 5-2) Cincinnati (7-3, 5-2) Utah (8-2, 5-2) If Cincinnati beats BYU on Saturday, there's a chance the Big 12 could have a five-way tie at 7-2. Bring on the mess. SEC Texas A&M (10-0, 7-0 SEC) Alabama (8-2, 6-1) Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1) Georgia (9-1, 6-1) Texas (7-3, 4-2) Oklahoma (8-2, 4-2) Vanderbilt (8-2, 4-2) The Aggies erased a 27-point halftime deficit on Saturday to keep their perfect season alive and make the SEC playoff picture even more crowded in the process. A&M, Bama, Georgia and Ole Miss can probably be penciled in, and there's a chance the league gets five bids. Independents Notre Dame (8-2) The Fighting Irish will be heavily favored in their remaining two games (vs. Syracuse, at Stanford) as they seek their fourth trip to the playoff. ? ATP FINALS SINNER TOPS ALCARAZ IN LATEST "BIG TWO" CLASH (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) Jannik Sinner defended his ATP Finals crown* on Sunday with a straight sets victory over — who else — Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian took home $5.1 million for his undefeated performance in Turin, ending his season with a sterling 58-6 record. Perfect symmetry: Sinner and Alcaraz have played 3,302 points over the course of their rivalry, and they've split them perfectly. Sinner has won 1,651 points. Alcaraz has won 1,651 points. Sunday's win also gave Sinner 24 career titles, the same exact number as Alcaraz. *Back-to-back: From 1987 to 2023, no player won the ATP Finals without losing a set. Sinner just did it two years in a row. ? SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Megan Briggs/NWSL via Getty Images) ?? Orlando, Florida — NJ/NY Gotham FC followed their shocking upset over Kansas City with another stunner, beating defending champion Orlando, 1-0, on Jaedyn Shaw's stoppage-time goal to book a spot in the NWSL Championship. Meanwhile, in DC: Washington beat Portland, 2-0, in the other semifinal to reach their second straight title game, and third in five years. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) ?? Dubai, UAE — Matt Fitzpatrick outlasted Rory McIlroy in a playoff to win his record-tying third DP World Tour Championship and earn his first victory on either tour in over two years. Rory climbs the ladder: McIlroy's heroics (he eagled the last to force the playoff) weren't enough on Sunday, but he still clinched his seventh Race to Dubai title (season-long points), putting him one shy of matching Colin Montgomerie for the most ever. (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) ??????? London, England — Conor Benn destroyed Chris Eubank Jr. on Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, winning by unanimous decision to give the Benns their first-ever victory over the Eubanks in the 35-year boxing rivalry started by their fathers. By the numbers: Benn landed 70 body punches compared to just 15 for Eubank, who could never find the rhythm that fueled his victory over Benn in their first bout earlier this year. (Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images) ?? Budapest, Hungary — Ireland still has a chance to reach its first World Cup since 2002 thanks to Troy Parrott's last-second goal against Hungary. The 23-year-old's hat trick powered a 3-2 victory that will send the Irish to March's World Cup play-off. Elsewhere: Speaking of long droughts, Norway beat Italy on Sunday to clinch their first trip to the World Cup since 1998. France, Croatia and Portugal also qualified from Europe over the weekend, while England did so last month. ? STATS DU JOUR BY THE NUMBERS (Mark Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images) ⚽️ 16 months Gio Reyna led the USMNT to a 2-1 victory over Paraguay on Saturday outside Philadelphia in his first start for the national team in over 16 months. The central midfielder scored on a header four minutes into the friendly and set up the game-winner in the second half. Ending on a strong note: After an uneven year that included four straight losses from March through June, the U.S. is unbeaten in its last four — all against teams ranked in the top 40 — heading into Tuesday's 2025 finale against Uruguay. ⚾️ 1 of 4 athletes Shohei Ohtani is the fourth player in the history of the "Big Four" leagues to win at least four MVPs in his first eight seasons. The other three: Wayne Gretzky, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell. ? 9 straight wins The Pistons beat the 76ers on Friday for their ninth straight victory — the franchise's longest winning streak in 17 years. Detroit (11-2) sits atop the East through the first ~month of the season, 2.5 games clear of New York (8-4), Cleveland (9-5) and Atlanta (9-5). ? 11th UFC fighter Islam Makhachev moved up a weight class and still dominated Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday at UFC 322 to capture the welterweight title and become just the 11th UFC fighter to win belts in two divisions. He also matched Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history (16). ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, NOV. 17 (Ethan Miller/Getty Images) ? Cowboys at Raiders | 8:15pm ET, ABC/ESPN Dallas and Vegas square off in Sin City tonight in a battle of teams starving for a win. The Cowboys (3-5-1) have lost two straight and the Raiders (2-7) have lost three in a row. Pricey tix: This is the second-most expensive game of the season, with tickets averaging $687. Only the Eagles vs. Cowboys season-opener in Philadelphia cost more ($712). More to watch: ? NBA: Bucks at Cavaliers (7pm, Peacock) … Third-place Cleveland (9-5) hosts seventh-place Milwaukee (8-6). ? NHL: Kings at Capitals (7pm, ESPN+); Mammoth at Ducks (10pm, ESPN+) ?? GLOBAL GAME NFL TRIVIA (Oscar del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images) The NFL's global slate concluded on Sunday, with Madrid hosting the seventh and final international game of the season. Question: In addition to Madrid, can you name the other four non-U.S. cities that hosted NFL games this season? Answer at the bottom. ⚾️ MLB OFFSEASON AND WE'RE OFF... (Alika Jenner/Getty Images) Josh Naylor is reportedly returning to the Mariners on a five-year deal in the first major free-agent signing of the MLB offseason. Top 50 free agents: Naylor was the 15th-best player on the market, according to our rankings. Trivia answer: São Paulo (Brazil), Dublin (Ireland), Berlin (Germany), London (England) for three games Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 18, 2025 Author Members Posted November 18, 2025 ? Good morning! Happy Tuesday. In today's edition: NBA one-month All-Stars, Virginia Tech hires Franklin, MLB's salary cap debate, Roughriders win Grey Cup, AP polls, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? Franklin to Blacksburg: Virginia Tech has hired James Franklin as its next football coach just over a month after he was fired by Penn State. The Hokies are 3-7 this year and have had just one winning season since 2021. ? Joshua vs. Paul: YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will take on former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Dec. 19 in Miami. The eight-round bout will stream on Netflix and be a professional boxing match, rather than an exhibition. ? Cowboys 33, Raiders 16: Dallas lit up Vegas behind a stellar performance by Dak Prescott (25/33, 268 yds, 4 TD) to improve to 4-5-1 on the season. ? Big Ten plan paused: The conference's quest to strike a $2.4 billion deal with a California pension fund in exchange for a 10% stake in Big Ten Enterprises was officially paused on Monday while it waits for "unity" among its members. Michigan and USC have both opposed the deal. ? Turkey Day performers: Artists Jack White, Post Malone and Lil Jon will headline halftime performances for the NFL's Thanksgiving Day slate of games in Detroit, Dallas and Cincinnati, respectively. ? BEST OF THE BEST THE NBA'S ONE-MONTH ALL-STARS (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) We're roughly one month into the NBA season, so it's high time we took a look at who, thus far, has separated themselves from the pack as potential All-Stars. As a reminder: The league is yet again switching up its All-Star Game format. 12 players will be selected from each conference regardless of position, and they'll then be split into three teams of eight — two comprising players from the U.S. and one with players from the rest of the world. Here are our picks, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Nekias Duncan. Players representing Team World are indicated with an asterisk. Eastern Conference Giannis Antetokounmpo* (Bucks): 31.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.2 blocks, 0.9 steals Tyrese Maxey (76ers): 32.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.8 blocks Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers): 30.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.5 blocks Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks): 21.8 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 blocks, 0.9 steals Jalen Brunson (Knicks): 28 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.8 steals Jaylen Brown (Celtics): 27.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.4 blocks Cade Cunningham (Pistons): 27.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.8 blocks Scottie Barnes (Raptors): 19.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.8 blocks, 1.4 steals Jalen Duren (Pistons): 20.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 blocks, 1.0 steals Josh Giddey* (Bulls): 21.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.5 blocks Jalen Johnson (Hawks): 21.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.3 blocks Norman Powell (Heat): 25.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.2 blocks Honorable mentions: Franz Wagner* (Magic), Paolo Banchero (Magic), Evan Mobley (Cavaliers), Pascal Siakam* (Pacers), Alex Sarr* (Wizards) Western Conference Nikola Jokić* (Nuggets): 29.2 points, 13.4 rebounds, 11.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.8 blocks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander* (Thunder): 31.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.9 blocks Luka Dončić* (Lakers): 34.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.6 blocks Stephen Curry (Warriors): 27.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.4 blocks Kevin Durant (Rockets): 25.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks Victor Wembanyama* (Spurs): 26.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3.6 blocks, 1.1 steals Devin Booker (Suns): 28.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.3 blocks James Harden (Clippers): 26.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.5 blocks Lauri Markkanen* (Jazz): 30.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.5 blocks Julius Randle (Timberwolves): 24.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.2 blocks Austin Reaves (Lakers): 28.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.1 blocks Alperen Şengün* (Rockets): 23 points, 10.3 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.0 blocks Honorable mentions: Deni Avdija* (Trail Blazers), Jimmy Butler (Warriors), Stephon Castle (Spurs), Aaron Gordon (Nuggets), Chet Holmgren (Thunder), Jaden McDaniels (Timberwolves), Jamal Murray* (Nuggets) ⚾️ BACK-TO-BACK DOES BASEBALL NEED A SALARY CAP? (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) The Dodgers' dynasty — three titles in six years and the first repeat champion since 2000 — paired with the upcoming CBA negotiations has unleashed a contentious debate around the game: Does baseball need a salary cap? From Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz: Major League Baseball remains the only prominent professional American sports league without a salary cap. The luxury tax system, implemented in 1997, was designed to encourage competitive balance and restrict big-market teams — at that time, it was the Yankees — from using their pocket books as a cudgel. Clubs that surpass the competitive balance threshold (the exact number grows slightly each year) are forced to pay a tax on the overage. The structure prevents some teams from going buckwild, but deep-pocketed behemoths such as the Dodgers view the tax as a worthwhile expenditure. According to FanGraphs, Los Angeles ran a payroll just under $400 million in 2025. As such, the Dodgers blasted past the CBT line, necessitating a tax payment of more than $100 million. That means the total expenditure, on players alone, for the 2025 World Series champs was more than half a billion dollars. Compared to the league's small-market penny-pinchers, that's a preposterous figure. The Marlins finished 30th in payroll this year, at an embarrassingly paltry $67.8 million, which was, coincidentally, about the amount the Dodgers spent on their players who didn't make their playoff roster. Consider this: A whopping $87 million just came off the Dodgers' books. That's more than four teams' entire payrolls last season, and most of it went to players who made little or no impact in their latest title run. That includes three journeymen who made $17 million each but were either left off the postseason roster (OF Michael Conforto), on the season-ending IL (RHP Kirby Yates) or released in May (OF Chris Taylor). And, of course, the retiring Clayton Kershaw, who made $16 million in his final season. Dave Roberts holds the World Series trophy during the Dodgers' latest World Series parade. (Luke Hales/Getty Images) Who's to blame? Many assume that when the CBA expires next winter, MLB will lock the players out for the second time in five years. Games could be missed, too, if negotiations drag on long enough. If that happens, it would be far too easy to point a finger at the Dodgers when there are 29 other teams who share at least some responsibility for the spending chasm, Jake noted on Baseball Bar-B-Cast: So what should be done? I don't know. I am still hesitant about the concept of a salary cap. I don't like the idea. I think that artificially capping what players can make is problematic and antithetical to the country we live in. However, I think that the hopelessness that other fan bases feel is a problem. I think that the enormous gap between what the Dodgers are spending and what the Pirates are spending is a problem. I just keep going back to the idea that the frustration that other fan bases feel is legitimate, but that that frustration should be directed more towards their own team's lack of action than at the Dodgers' overwhelming course of action. The way that the Dodgers are operating is reasonable and rational within the framework that exists. … [But] does that mean we need to change the framework that exists? ? TOP 25 AP POLLS: PURDUE, UCONN ON TOP (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) Purdue moved back to No. 1 in this week's AP men's basketball poll, while Houston, UConn, Arizona and Duke also got No. 1 votes from the 61-member media panel. Conference call: The Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC lead the way with six teams apiece in the Top 25. The ACC is next with four ranked teams, the Big East has two and the West Coast Conference has one. (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) Michigan and TCU jumped into the Top 10 of this week's women's basketball poll. For the Wolverines, it's the first time their men and women have both been ranked in the Top 10 at the same time. Schools in both polls: UConn (combined ranking: 4), Michigan (13), UCLA (22), Louisville (27), Iowa State (28), North Carolina (32), Kentucky (32), Tennessee (35), Michigan State (39) and NC State (41). ? RIDER NATION SNAPSHOTS: THE 112TH GREY CUP (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press via AP Photos) The Saskatchewan Roughriders captured their first Grey Cup since 2013 on Sunday, beating the Montreal Alouettes, 25-17, in the 112th edition of the Canadian Football League's championship. Harris soaks in the moment. (Brent Just/Getty Images) MVP: QB Trevor Harris, a 39-year-old Ohio native, was named MVP after throwing for 302 yards on 23-of-27 passing (85%) — the best completion percentage in Grey Cup history. It was his third title but long-awaited first as a starter at the tail end of a 14-year career in the CFL. Top Canadian: WR Samuel Emilus, born in Montreal, was named the game's Most Outstanding Canadian, catching all 10 of his targets for 108 yards. Head coach Corey Mace gets his Gatorade bath. (Saskatchewan Roughriders) Fifth championship: This was the Riders' fifth Grey Cup title, which is the fewest among the CFL's nine active teams. The Toronto Argonauts (19), Edmonton Elks (14), Winnipeg Blue Bombers (12), Ottawa Redblacks (10), Calgary Stampeders (8), Montreal Alouettes (8), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8) and BC Lions (6) all have more. Rider Nation boasts some of the best fans in the league. (Heywood Yu/Canadian Press via AP Photos) Small-town champs: The Roughriders' hometown of Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan, has a population of just 250,000, making it the smallest market in the CFL and second-smallest in all of North American major sports (Green Bay). Community ownership: Size isn't the only thing it has in common with Green Bay. Like the Packers — the only publicly-owned team in the "Big Four" leagues — the Riders have a community ownership structure, with roughly 12,000 shareholders. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are the only other publicly-owned CFL team. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, NOV. 18 The 2016 Champions Classic. (Lance King/Getty Images) ? Champions Classic Four Blue Bloods take the floor at Madison Square Garden in an epic men's hoops doubleheader on ESPN, with No. 12 Kentucky vs. No. 17 Michigan State in the early game (6:30pm ET) and No. 24 Kansas vs. No. 5 Duke in primetime (9pm). All-time series: These same four teams have competed in this event every year since 2011, with the matchups rotating annually. Duke (8-6) and Kansas (9-5) have winning records, while Kentucky (6-8) and Michigan State (5-9) are both under .500. ⚽️ USMNT vs. Uruguay | 7pm, TNT The Americans will look to extend their unbeaten run to five straight games as they take the field one last time in 2025. Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers, hosts this clash between the world's No. 15 (Uruguay) and No. 16-ranked teams (USA). More to watch: ? NBA: Grizzlies at Spurs (8pm, NBC); Suns at Trail Blazers (11pm, NBC) … San Antonio will be without Victor Wembanyama (calf strain) for "a few weeks." ? Davis Cup Finals: Belgium vs. France (10am, Tennis) … The quarterfinals of the "World Cup of Tennis" begin in Bologna, Italy. ? NHL: Devils at Lightning (7pm, NHL) … How will the first-place Devils fare without superstar Jack Hughes? He'll miss eight weeks with a hand injury after a "freak accident" at a team dinner. ? NCAAF: Akron at Bowling Green (7pm, ESPNU); UMass at Ohio (7pm, CBSSN); Western Michigan at Northern Illinois (7pm, ESPN2) … Midweek MACtion. ? SACK MACHINE NFL TRIVIA (Jason Miller/Getty Images) Myles Garrett has 15 sacks through 10 games, putting him well on pace to break the NFL record for most in a season (22.5). Question: Which two players jointly hold that record? Answer at the bottom. ? THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH The Rangers and Red Wings broke into a benches-clearing brawl on Sunday. (Andrew Mordzynski) The beautiful game. Trivia answer: Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 20, 2025 Author Members Posted November 20, 2025 ? Good morning! Happy Hump Day. In today's edition: USMNT year in review, Curaçao shocks the world, LeBron makes season debut, CFP rankings, NFL power rankings, Denver's historic start, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ?? STARS AND STRIPES USMNT YEAR IN REVIEW (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images) The USMNT routed Uruguay, 5-1, on Tuesday night in Tampa to cap off a promising conclusion to an uneven year. From Yahoo Sports' Steven Goff: A year that began with acute growing pains, with questions about the coach's acuity for international soccer and with doubts about a trumpeted generation of U.S. national team players ended in emphatic fashion with a masterful, goal-filled performance against a celebrated opponent. Sebastian Berhalter, who has been with the national team for all of five months, scored a terrific opening goal. Alex Freeman, a defender who's been with the national team for all of five months, scored the next two, the first assisted by Berhalter. Diego Luna, a midfielder who's excelled under Pochettino this year, added the fourth before halftime. Substitute Tanner Tessmann added a goal midway through the second half in the program's highest-scoring outing against a team from the South American confederation. Ending on a high note: The U.S., ranked 16th in the world, went unbeaten in their final five matches of 2025, all against opponents inside FIFA's top 40 (No. 15 Uruguay, No. 19 Japan, No. 23 Ecuador, No. 25 Australia, No. 39 Paraguay). After a disappointing start to his tenure, this is exactly the form head coach Mauricio Pochettino was hoping for entering 2026, when the World Cup comes stateside. Year in review: The USMNT went 11-6-1 in 18 games this year, with nearly identical records in friendlies (6-3-1) and official matches (5-3). They were also a team of runs, with five separate streaks of at least two consecutive wins or losses. Jan. 18: USA 3, Venezuela 1 Jan. 22: USA 3, Costa Rica 0 March 20: Panama 1, USA 0 (Nations League Semifinal) March 23: Canada 2, USA 1 (Nations League 3rd Place Game) June 7: Turkey 2, USA 1 June 10: Switzerland 4, USA 0 June 15: USA 5, Trinidad & Tobago 0 (Gold Cup Group Stage) June 19: USA 1, Saudi Arabia 0 (Gold Cup Group Stage) June 22: USA 2, Haiti 1 (Gold Cup Group Stage) June 29: USA 2, Costa Rica 2; USA wins on penalties (Gold Cup Quarterfinal) July 2: USA 2, Guatemala 1 (Gold Cup Semifinal) July 6: Mexico 2, USA 1 (Gold Cup Final) Sept. 6: South Korea 2, USA 0 Sept. 9: USA 2, Japan 0 Oct. 10: USA 1, Ecuador 1 Oct. 14: USA 2, Australia 1 Nov. 15: USA 2, Paraguay 1 Nov. 18: USA 5, Uruguay 1 Looking ahead: The Americans will not regroup again until March for reported high-end tests against Portugal and Belgium. Pochettino will name his 26-man World Cup roster in May. ? 12-TEAM PLAYOFF CFP RANKINGS: WHERE IT STANDS (Yahoo Sports) Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M remained the top three teams in the latest CFP rankings, while Alabama dropped six spots to No. 10 after losing to Oklahoma on Saturday. The big question: Notre Dame or Miami? The committee is setting itself up for the biggest controversy — and arguably injustice — in the history of the playoff. From Yahoo Sports' Dan Wolken: Let's do a little thought exercise using everything we have learned through the first 11 years of the College Football Playoff. Team A is 10-2, didn’t win a conference championship, has played the 29th-toughest schedule in the country, and owns one win over a team on the low-end of the top 25. Team B is also 10-2, didn’t win a conference championship, has played the 43rd-toughest schedule in the country, and owns one win over a team ranked in the top 10. Based on the blind résumé, you’d probably assume Team B would be ranked slightly above Team A. You'd especially be convinced of that if you learned that when they played head-to-head, Team B defeated Team A. But in this case, you'd be wrong: Team A is Notre Dame and Team B is Miami. In the latest CFP rankings on Tuesday night, Notre Dame is ranked No. 9, and Miami is ranked No. 13 with no plausible path to leapfrog the Irish. And at least right now, it looks like there may be room for only one of the two in this year's field. ? STATS DU JOUR BY THE NUMBERS (Ricardo Makyn/AFP via Getty Images) ⚽️ 156,000 people Curaçao, an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people within the Netherlands kingdom, qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with a 0-0 draw against Jamaica. The tiny Caribbean island becomes the smallest nation ever to qualify, taking the record previously held by Iceland (population: 350,000). ? 23rd season LeBron James made his season debut on Tuesday, becoming the first player in NBA history to suit up for 23 seasons. James finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 12 assists, 3 rebounds and a turnover in the Lakers' 140-126 win over the Jazz. ? 9 of 16 teams The NFC playoff picture is chaos at the moment, with nine of 16 teams currently over .500. Consider this: The third-place Bears (7-3) are just three games up on the 11th-place Vikings (4-6). ? 6th signature shoe Pistons star Cade Cunningham has re-signed with Nike on a deal that will make him the sixth active NBA player with a signature Nike shoe. The other five: LeBron, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker and Ja Morant. Seventh coming soon? Stephen Curry warmed up in Nikes on Friday in his first game since ending his 12-year partnership with Under Armour. Could Steph make a move back to the Swoosh, with whom he had a deal from 2009-13? ? WEEK 12 NFL POWER RANKINGS (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) The defending champion Eagles (8-2) remain atop our power rankings behind an elite defense that's rounding into form for the stretch run. The Birds are allowing just 14.5 points per game during their current four-game win streak. Rounding out the top five: The Rams (8-2) climbed two spots after beating Seattle, the Colts (8-2) fell one spot during their bye week, the Seahawks (7-3) fell one spot after their narrow loss to the Rams and the Broncos (9-2) jumped two spots after winning their eighth straight game. ? END OF AN ERA A CHANGING OF THE GUARD IN AMERICAN CURLING Shuster at the 2018 Winter Olympics. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) All dynasties must come to an end eventually, and on Sunday at the U.S. Olympic curling trials, it was John Shuster's turn to cede his spot at the top. Changing of the guard: Team Shuster lost in the finals to 24-year-old Danny Casper's team, ending Shuster's run of five consecutive Olympic appearances and halting his bid to become the first curler ever to appear in six Games. The 43-year-old Minnesota native had represented Team USA at every Winter Games since 2006, and his bronze medal that year and gold in 2018 are the only curling medals the U.S. has ever won at the Olympics (men's, women's or mixed doubles). While his streak may end at five straight Games, that record sixth appearance could still come in 2030 or beyond. "I'm not counting me out, necessarily, because I got nothing else to do," he quipped after the loss. "I got no job." What's next: Casper and his team still have some work to do. They'll represent the U.S. at next month's last-chance qualifier in Kelowna, Canada, where eight teams will vie for the final two spots at Milan-Cortina 2026, which kicks off in just 79 days. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, NOV. 19 (Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images) ? NBA on ESPN The second-place Cavaliers host the red-hot Rockets (7pm ET), who've won nine of their last 10 behind one of the league's best duos in Kevin Durant (25.9 ppg) and Alperen Şengün (23.0). Then the Knicks visit the cellar-dwelling Mavericks in the nightcap (9:30pm). ? NHL on TNT First up is Oilers at Capitals (7pm) in a matchup of the greatest scorer of all time and the best player alive. The Wild host the Hurricanes in the second leg (9:30pm). ? NCAA Men's Basketball on FS1 Two top-11 matchups on a Wednesday in November? Yes please. First up is No. 4 Arizona at No. 3 UConn (7pm), followed by No. 11 Alabama at No. 8 Illinois (9pm). More to watch: ? Davis Cup Finals: Italy vs. Austria (10am, Tennis) … Two-time defending champion (and tournament host) Italy plays in the quarterfinals. ? NCAAF: Miami-Ohio at Buffalo (7pm, ESPN2); Central Michigan at Kent State (7pm, ESPNU) … Midweek MACtion. ⚽️ Women's Champions League: Arsenal vs. Real Madrid (3pm, CBSSN) … One of five games to kick off Matchday 4. ? WAY BACK WHEN NHL TRIVIA The Stanley Cup, photographed in the early 1900s. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 101 years ago this month, the NHL officially welcomed its first American franchise. Question: Can you name that team? (A) Detroit Red Wings (B) New York Rangers (C) Boston Bruins (D) Chicago Blackhawks Answer at the bottom. ?️ ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH DENVER'S HISTORIC START (Found Image Holdings/Corbis via Getty Images) Denver sports fans are enjoying a historic start to the fall/winter sports season, with the Broncos (9-2), Avalanche (13-1-5) and Nuggets (10-3) all off to hot starts. Exclusive club: Denver in 2025 joins Philadelphia in 1980 as the only cities to have the following in the same calendar year: NFL team won 9+ of first 11 games NBA team won 10+ of first 12 games NHL team won 13+ of first 19 games Flashback… 1980 was quite the time to be a Philadelphia sports fan. All four teams made their respective league championships (Super Bowl in January, NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final in May, World Series in October), the Phillies won their first title, and then the Eagles, 76ers and Flyers all got off to strong starts in the latter months to cap off a banner calendar year. Trivia answer: (C) Boston Bruins Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 21, 2025 Author Members Posted November 21, 2025 ? Good morning! Here's a crazy stat: There are currently 82 players on NBA rosters that were born after LeBron James made his NBA debut (Oct. 29, 2003). In today's edition: Lane Kiffin's decision, Thunder keep rolling, World Cup field, NFL supersonic flight, top 100 most valuable sports teams, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ MLB media deals: MLB has struck new three-year media deals with ESPN, NBC and Netflix that will run through 2028. Highlights include NBC getting "Sunday Night Baseball," ESPN landing MLB.TV and Netflix streaming the Home Run Derby. ?? Football in France: The Saints will reportedly play a regular-season game in Paris in the next couple years, which will mark the league's first-ever game in France. ? Fed makes the Hall: Roger Federer was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Truly shocking news, I know. ⚽️ NWSL awards: Kansas City Current striker Temwa Chaŵinga became the first player to win back-to-back MVPs, Racing Louisville's Bev Yanez was named Coach of the Year, Gotham FC defender Lilly Reale won Rookie of the Year, and more. ? NFL QB headlines: Cincinnati's Joe Burrow (toe) was a full practice participant for the first time since Week 2; Atlanta's Michael Penix Jr. (knee) is out for the year with his fifth season-ending injury since 2018; Cleveland's Shedeur Sanders will make his first career start on Sunday. ? COACHING CAROUSEL OLE MISS, LSU OR FLORIDA? (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) Lane Kiffin's decision looms over all of college football, and it could come sooner than expected as the Ole Miss head coach very publicly flirts with both LSU and Florida. From Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger: Kiffin and Ole Miss seem mired in a staredown, playing out publicly enough to make it wholly unprecedented in the sport. After all, how often has the family of a sitting SEC coach, in the middle of one of the greatest seasons in his school's history, visited not one, but two towns of conference rivals as he debates whether to accept their open head coaching jobs? That's what transpired on Sunday and Monday this week, when Kiffin's ex-wife and other extended relatives made trips to Gainesville and then Baton Rouge on planes that Florida and LSU sent to Oxford as part of their courtship of the coach. Just a week ago, during a visit with him in his office, Kiffin sounded like a man genuinely torn, internally struggling with a difficult decision: Remain at a place that's brought you so much happiness and success (54 wins, a more healthy lifestyle, reuniting with his kids), or leave for a historic powerhouse you dreamed of coaching as a child (Florida and/or LSU). On one side, there's this: "I'm happy every morning I wake up," he said. "I have two of the kids and their mom living here." And then there's the other side: Kiffin acknowledges that he never grew up believing this place — Ole Miss, tucked in a tiny town in north Mississippi — would be the "final chapter" of his career, that he'd pass on big gigs to remain at a program that hasn't historically competed for championships (zero trips to the SEC title game since its inception in 1992). Everyone's wondering. Everyone's asking. What Will Lane Do? WWLD? But no one truly knows, possibly not even Lane himself — known historically for his indecision about such moves. "He's as unpredictable as his play calls," says one industry insider, a nod to Kiffin's mastery as one of the sport's best in-game play-calling wizards. "That's what makes him so good at calling plays," says another. "You don't know what he's going to do next." Where it stands: Different reports this week have characterized the situation in slightly different ways, but the bottom line is the same: Ole Miss wants (perhaps needs) an answer from Kiffin as soon as possible, and preferably before next Friday's Egg Bowl, so it can figure out what's next if he leaves. ⚽️ 42 DOWN, 6 TO GO 2026 WORLD CUP: WHO'S IN? (Pau Barrena/UEFA via Getty Images) The biggest World Cup ever kicks off in 203 days, and 42 of the record 48 participating countries have already clinched their spots. Who's in? Those 42 countries represent FIFA's six regional confederations in Europe (UEFA), Africa (CAF), Asia (AFC), South America (CONMEBOL), North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) and Oceania (OFC). UEFA (12): England, France, Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland CAF (9): Algeria, Cabo Verde (debut), Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia AFC (8): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan (debut), South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan (debut) CONMEBOL (6): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay CONCACAF (6): United States, Mexico, Canada, Curaçao (debut), Haiti, Panama OFC (1): New Zealand What's next: The final six spots will be determined via two playoffs in March. In one playoff, 16 European teams will compete for four spots. In the other, six teams from the other confederations will battle for two. UEFA: Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland, Wales, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ireland, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland Intercontinental: Jamaica, Suriname, Iraq, DR Congo, Bolivia, New Caledonia World Cup power rankings: Spain and Argentina lead the pack ✈️ GLOBAL AMBITIONS NFL KEEPING TABS ON SUPERSONIC FLIGHT The Concorde in flight. (Serge de Sazo/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) With dreams of permanent franchises in Europe, the NFL has quietly been monitoring the return of supersonic flight, WSJ's Andrew Beaton reports ($). The Concorde, reborn: The Concorde (1976-2003) revolutionized transatlantic travel by cutting flight times between the U.S. and Europe in half. Nearly 25 years after its final flight, commercial supersonic travel is nearing a return thanks to companies like Boom Supersonic. The NFL staged seven international games this season, and the goal is to eventually get to 16 per year. But if the league is serious about going global, the surest path is to make its teams global. London is the most obvious choice to land an international team, and commissioner Roger Goodell has even floated the idea of a four-team European division. (Maybe London, Paris, Madrid and Berlin?) One potential hang-up? Aircraft capacity. Boom's Overture plane is projected to carry 60 to 80 passengers, while NFL teams travel with close to 200 people. Speaking of global expansion… Bidding for NBA Europe franchises is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026 as the overseas league prepares for a 2027 launch. NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum shared more details on Wednesday at SBJ's Dealmakers conference. ? SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS (Kyle Phillips/AP Photo) Oklahoma City — The Thunder rolled to another win on Wednesday, beating the Kings, 113-99, to improve to 15-1. That matches last year's Cavaliers for the best 16-game start of the decade. Wild stat: The Thunder are just the second team in NBA history to start 15-1 or better while winning at least 10 games by 14+ points. The first? The 1996-97 Bulls, who went on to win 69 games and a title. Matteo Berrettini celebrates during his win. (Tullio Puglia/Getty Images) Bologna, Italy — The host nation overpowered Austria in Wednesday's Davis Cup quarterfinal to move one step closer to a historic three-peat, which no country has accomplished since the U.S. won five straight over 50 years ago (1968-72). Italian domination: It's been quite a run for the Azzurri, whose women won their second straight Billie Jean King Cup earlier this year. Freshman standout Koa Peat had his first career double-double. (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images) Storrs, Connecticut — No. 4 Arizona took down No. 3 UConn, 71-67, to improve to 5-0 with three wins over ranked teams. Freshman Koa Peat (16-12-3) and senior Jaden Bradley (21-3-2) led the way for the Wildcats. Meanwhile, in Chicago: No. 11 Alabama handed No. 8 Illinois its first loss of the season, winning 90-86 in the United Center (home of the Bulls) in the night's other ranked matchup. Ryan Leonard celebrates after scoring his second goal. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) Washington, D.C. — The Capitals erupted for seven goals on just 21 shots in a 7-4 win over the Oilers. 20-year-old Ryan Leonard tallied his first career multi-goal game and veteran Tom Wilson moved into the top 10 of Washington's all-time goals leaderboard. Ovi's heating up: After scoring just three goals in his first 15 games, Alex Ovechkin has scored four in his last five, including this beautiful redirect in Wednesday's win. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, NOV. 20 (Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) ? Bills at Texans Buffalo travels to Houston tonight (8:15pm ET, Prime) for a matchup that pits MVP candidate Josh Allen against the league's best defense. Allen, coming off a masterful six-TD performance, faces a Texans team that is allowing the fewest yards (258.1) and points per game (16.3). ⛳️ LPGA Tour Championship The season finale tees off today (8am, ESPN+; 3pm, Golf) at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida, where the top 60 golfers will be competing for a $4 million grand prize — the biggest in women's golf. Who to watch: World No. 1 and defending champion Jeeno Thitikul has won twice this year and finished inside the top seven in each of her last five starts. No. 2 Nelly Korda, who won seven times last year, has eight top-10 finishes but no victories this season. More to watch: ? NBA: Hawks at Spurs (8pm, NBA) … Atlanta has won eight of its last 11 games. ? NCAAM: Memphis at No. 1 Purdue (6pm, CBSSN); Bucknell at No. 14 St. John’s (7pm, TNT); Wake Forest at No. 15 Texas Tech (8:30pm, CBSSN); Rider at No. 2 Houston (9pm, TNT) ? Davis Cup Finals: Czechia vs. Spain (4am, Tennis); Germany vs. Argentina (11am, Tennis) … The winners join Belgium and Italy in the semifinals. ⛳️ PGA: RSM Classic (8:30am, ESPN+; 12pm, Golf) … Georgia's Sea Island Golf Club hosts the season finale, where golfers are battling to get into the top 100 of the fall rankings to earn their full PGA Tour cards for 2026. ⚽️ Women's Champions League: PSG vs. Bayern Munich (3pm, CBSSN); Chelsea vs. Barcelona (3pm, Paramount+) … Two of four games to close out Matchday 4. ? LONG RANGE NBA TRIVIA (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) LeBron James (2,561) passed Reggie Miller (2,560) on Tuesday for the sixth-most made three-pointers in NBA history. Question: Can you name the top five? Hint: Four are still active. Answer at the bottom. ? $554 BILLION CHART OF THE DAY (Lev Akabas/Sportico) The top 100 most valuable sports teams in the world are collectively worth $554 billion, according to Sportico's latest valuations. Included in the top 100: 32 NFL teams, 30 NBA teams, 14 MLB teams, 10 soccer clubs, 9 NHL teams and 5 F1 franchises. Trivia answer: Stephen Curry (4,116 three-pointers), James Harden (3,222), Ray Allen (2,973), Damian Lillard (2,804), Klay Thompson (2,732) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 23, 2025 Author Members Posted November 23, 2025 ? Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: MLB free agency tiers, Weekend Watchlist, Texans upset Bills, Women's Pro Baseball League draft, two stars are born in Donora, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? Maxey drops 54: Tyrese Maxey erupted for a career-high 54 points in the 76ers' 123-114 (OT) win over the Bucks, adding 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks in one of the best games of the young season. ? Rhoades resigns: Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades has resigned from the role he'd held since 2016. This comes just over a week after he took a leave of absence in the midst of an investigation into a possible violation of university policies. ? WNBA union rebuffs offer: The WNBA players union was unmoved by the league's latest CBA proposal, which would include a $1.1 million max salary and $220,000 minimum. The CBA is set to expire in just nine days. ? Field of Dreams game returns: The Phillies and Twins will play next season in MLB's first Field of Dreams game since 2022. The Aug. 13 game, held in Dyersville, Iowa, on the site made famous by the classic 1989 film, will air on Netflix. ? Coming soon: "Boo-Yah: A Portrait of Stuart Scott," a new documentary chronicling the life and legacy of the late, great, ESPN anchor, premieres Wednesday, Dec. 10 on ESPN. ⚾️ HOT STOVE MLB FREE AGENCY TIERS (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) With the MLB offseason underway, Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman split all 30 teams into free-agency tiers, from the biggest of spenders to the most frugal of franchises. Tier 1: Funny Money Dodgers, Mets There is simply no limit to what these teams will spend, competitive balance tax be damned. That strategy has paid off in spades for the two-time defending champs, and slightly less so for the Amazin's, who missed the postseason this year with the 13th-best record in baseball. Tier 2: Rich Men North of Richmond Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays Pushed to the second tier only due to the outlandish spending of the teams above, none of these clubs are afraid to open up their wallets. "Let's not pretend like the Yankees are not still capable of spending more than everybody [up to and including] the Dodgers and Mets," says Jordan. Tier 3: Have Employed or Do Employ Rafael Devers Giants, Red Sox "The Red Sox, from a roster and a free agency standpoint, I think is more compelling because the guys they need to try and keep," Jordan said of the team that traded away its three-time All-Star midseason. "And the Giants, it's just like, what are you going to do to move this forward?" Tier 4: You Have Spent but Where Are You? Padres, Rangers, Astros, Braves, Cubs, Angels These teams have all handed out mega-contracts with varying levels of success, but one feels like it should be a notch higher. "[The Cubs] should be a real behemoth with the amount of money they bring in," says Jake. "And until they start acting that way, they will be here grouped together with [the other five teams]." Tier 5: Why Don't You Just Meet Me in the Middle Mariners, Diamondbacks, Tigers, Royals, Orioles, Rockies These clubs are all firmly in MLB's middle class, at least as far as spending is concerned. But while five of them are trying to contend, the Rockies remain an enigma whose last winning season came all the way back in 2018. Tier 6: Too Smart to Spend Brewers, Rays, Guardians Three teams with a reputation for drafting well, developing well, and getting the most out of inexpensive rosters. And three teams that could probably benefit from spending just a little bit more money to get over the hump and start succeeding in the playoffs. Tier 7: The Reds Reds There's some real talent here, and in case you forgot they did in fact sneak into the playoffs this past season, courtesy of the Mets' collapse. But something needs to change as they seek their first 90-win season since 2013 and first postseason victory since 2012. Tier 8: Wrong Place, Wrong Time Twins, Cardinals, Nationals They've spent in the past and they'll spend in the future, but all three will embrace some degree of rebuilding this offseason. "Anything beyond a one-year deal would surprise me," says Jake. Tier 9: Broke Boys Marlins, White Sox, Pirates, Athletics History says they aren't going to spend much money. Unless the A's surprising $67 million deal for Luis Severino last year was a sign of things to come rather than an anomaly. Only time will tell. ? VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST Gotham celebrates their stoppage-time game-winner in the semifinals. (Megan Briggs/NWSL via Getty Images) ⚽️ NWSL Championship Gotham FC was the last team in the playoff field, but after upsetting this year's top seed (Kansas City) and last year's champion (Orlando), they find themselves one win from the title. All that stands in their way is a date with the No. 2-seed Washington Spirit in Saturday's final (8pm ET, CBS). What's at stake: The winner will become the third active NWSL franchise with multiple titles, joining the Portland Thorns (3x) and North Carolina Courage (2x). ? NFL, Week 12 Sunday's slate is headlined by two games between first-place teams and a high-stakes clash in Kansas City. Colts at Chiefs (1pm, CBS): Kansas City (5-5) needs a win over Indy (8-2) to stay in playoff contention and avoid losing three straight regular-season games for the first time in Patrick Mahomes' career. Steelers at Bears (1pm, CBS): Pittsburgh (6-4) leads the AFC North by a game over the Ravens and Chicago (7-3) leads the NFC North by a half-game over the Packers. Buccaneers at Rams (8:20pm, NBC): Tampa Bay (6-4) leads the NFC South by a half-game over the Panthers and LA (8-2) leads the NFC West by a game over the Seahawks. Best of the rest: Vikings at Packers (1pm, Fox); Jaguars at Cardinals (4pm, CBS); Eagles at Cowboys (4:25pm, Fox) ? NCAAF, Week 13 There are just two games between ranked teams on Saturday, with No. 8 Oklahoma hosting No. 22 Missouri (12pm, ABC) and No. 7 Oregon hosting No. 15 USC (3:30pm, CBS) in a matchup of former Pac-12 foes. Best of the rest: Rutgers at No. 1 Ohio State (12pm, Fox); No. 13 Miami at Virginia Tech (12pm, ESPN); Pitt at No. 16 Georgia Tech (7pm, ESPN); No. 11 BYU at Cincinnati (8pm, Fox) ?️ Las Vegas Grand Prix 20 drivers will speed around the Strip's 3.8-mile circuit on Saturday night (11pm, ESPN) in the antepenultimate (third-to-last) race of the season. Where it stands: McLaren has already clinched its second consecutive Constructors' Championship, while their duo of Lando Norris (390 points) and Oscar Piastri (366) battle for the individual title. Red Bull's Max Verstappen (341) is also still in the hunt for his fifth straight title, at least mathematically. ⚽️ MLS Cup Playoffs The Conference Semifinals kick off on Saturday with No. 2 Vancouver hosting No. 3 LAFC (9:30pm, Apple). Then on Sunday it's an Eastern Conference doubleheader, with No. 2 Cincinnati vs. No. 3 Miami (5pm, Apple) and No. 1 Philadelphia vs. No. 5 NYC FC (7:45pm, Apple). The fourth quarterfinal (No. 1 San Diego vs. No. 4 Minnesota) is on Monday night. ⛳️ LPGA Tour Championship The season finale continues at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Florida (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/NBC), where Korea's Somi Lee (-8) takes a two-stroke lead into the weekend. More to watch: ? Davis Cup Finals: Italy vs. Belgium (Fri. 10am, Tennis); Spain vs. Germany (Sat. 6am, Tennis) … The winners meet in Sunday's final (9am). ? NBA: Pacers at Cavaliers (Fri. 7pm, Prime); Nuggets at Rockets (Fri. 9:30pm, Prime) … Day 4 of the in-season tournament features a heavyweight matchup in Houston. ? NHL: Oilers at Panthers (Sat. 7pm, NHL) … Rematch of the last two Stanley Cup Finals, both won by Florida. ? NCAAM: No. 23 Wisconsin at No. 9 BYU (Fri. 4pm, Peacock); No. 6 Louisville at Cincinnati (Fri. 6:30pm, ESPN2); No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 15 Texas Tech (Fri. 9:30pm, CBSSN) ? NCAAW: No. 11 USC at No. 24 Notre Dame (Fri. 6pm, ESPN); No. 6 Michigan at No. 1 UConn (Fri. 8pm, Fox); No. 20 Kentucky at No. 21 Louisville (Sat. 2pm, CW) ⚽️ Premier League: Arsenal vs. Tottenham (Sun. 11:30am, Peacock) … The first-place Gunners host the fifth-place Spurs. ⚽️ Serie A: Inter Milan vs. AC Milan (Sun. 2:45pm, Paramount+) … The 245th Derby della Madonnina. ⛳️ PGA: RSM Classic (Fri-Sun, ESPN+, Golf) … Three players are tied atop the leaderboard at 10-under after the first round of the FedExCup Fall finale. ? PWHL: Opening weekend (Fri-Sun, YouTube) … The league's third season begins with all eight franchises taking the ice. That includes expansion teams in Seattle and Vancouver. ? SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. combined for 4.5 sacks. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images) Houston — The Texans held off a late comeback to beat the Bills, 23-19, on "Thursday Night Football" behind a punishing defense that sacked Josh Allen eight times (the most he's ever been taken down in his career), picked him off twice and recovered a fumble. Different directions: Houston (6-5) has won three straight to climb over .500 for the first time this season, while Buffalo (7-4) has lost two of three with nine turnovers in that span. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) Montreal, Canada — Alex Ovechkin scored his 33rd career hat trick in the Capitals' 8-4 rout of the Canadiens on Thursday, giving Washington 15 goals in the past two nights and giving Ovechkin — who is 40, by the way — six goals in his last four games. More history for Ovi: The Great 8 has now passed Joe Sakic for 10th on the NHL's all-time points leaderboard (1,643) and he's just the sixth player in NHL history with a hat trick after turning 40. Captains Steve Smith (Australia) and Ben Stokes (England) toss the coin ahead of Friday’s opener. (Gareth Copley/Getty Images) Perth, Australia — The 74th edition of the Ashes got underway last night, as Australia (the world's No. 1 ranked team) and England (No. 2) began their biennial Test cricket series. England have an early edge after taking 19 wickets, the most on the first day of an Ashes Test since 1909. How it works: Test cricket is the sport's traditional and longest format, with matches lasting up to five days. The Ashes is a five-match series, with the remaining four Tests in this edition being held in Brisbane (Dec. 4-8), Adelaide (Dec. 16-20), Melbourne (Dec. 25-29) and Sydney (Jan. 3-7). Australia are the current trophy-holders and lead the all-time series, 34-32, with seven draws. A rainbow formed above the paddock on Wednesday night. (Clive Mason/Getty Images) Las Vegas — The third annual Las Vegas Grand Prix is on Saturday night, marking the third and final U.S. stop on the F1 schedule. Flashback: While the Vegas GP is just three years old, it's not the first F1 race hosted by Sin City. Back in 1981 and 1982, the Caesars Palace Grand Prix was held in the parking lot of the iconic hotel and casino. ⚾️ WPBL DRAFT A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN Draft-eligible players pose for a photo at the end of tryouts in August. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) The Women's Pro Baseball League held its inaugural draft on Thursday, as 120 women were selected to the four-team league with franchises based in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston that begins play next summer. Draft recap: San Francisco picked first in the six-round snake draft and selected 27-year-old Kelsie Whitmore, the trailblazing pitcher and outfielder who in 2022 became the first woman to play in a league with ties to MLB. Most recently, she played for the Savannah Bananas. Rounding out the top five were players from four different countries: Japanese pitching legend Ayami Sato (Los Angeles), American infielder Kylee Lahners (New York), Korean catcher Hyeonah Kim (Boston) and Canadian pitcher Alli Schroder (Boston). Mo'Ne Davis, the breakout star of the 2014 Little League World Series, was taken a few picks later by Los Angeles at No. 10. No longer the "first" or "only": For decades, women who wanted to play baseball — not softball — have been forced to wear the label of being the first woman to accomplish something or the only girl on the boys' team. But that can be "a lonely exercise," and one these women are excited to put in the rearview, writes SI's Emma Baccellieri in a profile on Davis and the league. Davis and Whitmore each had given so many interviews over the years as the first or the only. They were always positioned as singular figures, anomalies, unconnected from any other girl who might have ever played the game. But after the last day of tryouts, they sat before the cameras and microphones together, right next to [WPBL co-founder Justine] Siegal. Whitmore discussed her pitch mix and then shared one moment that she kept turning over in her mind. A group of players had grabbed dinner together after the first day of tryouts, and when they piled into the car, Whitmore had joked, "Girls' night out." But heart cracked open as soon as the words left her mouth. She thought of all her other first days on new teams in new leagues—always known as the girl, the only one, in a way that she could not out-run or out-hit or out-throw. "The isolation has always been real," Whitmore says. And here she was making a joke, girls, plural. She could hardly believe the freedom. There were no big contracts or long-term plans or even any team names yet. But the league had already given them something they had scarcely been able to dream of before. Looking ahead: The WPBL's inaugural seven-week season begins in August, with all four teams playing their games at Robin Roberts Stadium, a 5,200-seat venue in Springfield, Illinois, chosen for being roughly in the middle of the four big-city franchises. Each club will operate with a total salary of $95,000, and there are already plans to expand to six teams in 2027. ? GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) ? Kelly Iko: 'He's the ultimate vet:' How Kevin Durant is embracing his role as a leader of the Rockets Houston is embarking on a brave, two-timeline expedition, one born from a heartbreaking first-round exit six months ago — and one few teams have emerged from successfully. Blending young talent with experience and striking a balance between the two requires an outside-the-box approach. Something that appears to suit Durant well. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) ? Jeff Eisenberg: How Odell Beckham Jr.'s iconic catch and a lab in Pakistan changed football Spectacular one-handed catches have become a staple of the modern game thanks to the advent of grip-enhancing receiver gloves, the influence of Beckham's iconic catch and the desire of young receivers to master a technique once dismissed as needlessly flashy. (Bruno Rouby, Yahoo Sports) ? Elliot Worsell: Don't talk to Anthony Yarde about losing Though Britain's Anthony Yarde — who on Saturday faces David Benavidez for the light heavyweight title — has lost three times as a professional boxer, he carries his imperfect record (27-3) with pride. Because he knows that losing three fights in four years is nothing compared to losing four family members in the space of just 12 months … and that losing yourself is not the same as losing all hope. ⚾ BIG UNIT MLB TRIVIA (Focus on Sport/Getty Images) Randy Johnson, whose No. 51 will be retired by the Mariners in May, is one of seven pitchers to win the Cy Young in both leagues. Question: Can you name the other six? Hint: Two are still active, and three of the other four won at least once this century. Answer at the bottom. ? NOV. 21 ON THIS DAY: TWO STARS ARE BORN (Yahoo Sports) 105 years ago today, Stan Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania. Exactly 49 years later, Ken Griffey Jr. was born in the same tiny town. What are the odds? One of my (Jeff) favorite bits of trivia is that Ken Griffey Jr. — one of the best to ever play the game — somehow has the second-most hits, runs, RBIs and MVPs among left-handed outfielders born on Nov. 21 in Donora (current population: 4,500). Consider this: Donora has produced the same number of Hall of Famers as Philadelphia (Roy Campanella) and Pittsburgh (Bobby Wallace) combined. Trivia answer: Roger Clemens, Pedro Martínez, Gaylord Perry, Roy Halladay, Max Scherzer, Blake Snell Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 25, 2025 Author Members Posted November 25, 2025 ? Good morning! Happy Monday. In today's edition: Big Numbers, Cowboys stun Eagles (and more from Week 12), Mets-Rangers player swap, the NWSL's surprise champion, Mad Max wins in Vegas, Baker's Dozen, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Mets, Rangers swap players: The Mets and Rangers are reportedly finalizing a trade that would send 2B Marcus Semien to New York in exchange for OF Brandon Nimmo. Both players are represented by Scott Boras and both are currently in the middle of long-term contracts. ? CP3's "Last Dance": Future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul plans to retire at the end of the season, his 21st in the NBA. Paul, 40, was selected to 12 All-Star teams during his illustrious career and ranks second all-time in assists and steals. ? Coaching carousel: LSU is finalizing a massive offer to lure Lane Kiffin away from Ole Miss; Cal fired Justin Wilcox, who went 48-55 in nine seasons; Mike Norvell will return to Florida State next season, sources tell Yahoo Sports; Eastern New Mexico is set to hire Art Briles, the ex-Baylor coach who was fired amid a sexual assault scandal. ? Italy three-peats: Top-seeded Italy defeated Spain to win their third straight Davis Cup title, becoming the first nation to three-peat at the "World Cup of Tennis" since the U.S. won five straight titles half a century ago (1968-72). ? Wings win the lottery: The Dallas Wings won the 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery on Sunday night to earn the No. 1 pick for the second straight year. While Paige Bueckers was the obvious choice last year, there's no clear-cut candidate to go first overall in 2026 (not yet, at least). ? STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS: WEEKEND EDITION (Chris Unger/Getty Images) This is a new section I'm trying out called "Big Numbers," where I recap the weekend using… BIG NUMBERS! "Big" as in they are literally written in a larger font. But also "big" in the sense of being noteworthy and important, or at the very least, interesting and/or absurd. In a sea full of digits and statistics, these are the numbers worth knowing about. ? 18.0 sacks Are we witnessing the greatest individual defensive season in NFL history? Browns defensive end Myles Garrett had three sacks in Sunday's win over the Raiders, giving him 18 on the year. He needs five more sacks in Cleveland's final six games to break the NFL single-season record of 22.5, jointly held by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021). Blowing up the backfield: Garrett is also on pace to set the single-season NFL record for most tackles for loss. He has 26 TFLs in 11 games, which is already tied for the seventh-most ever. The only players with more? DeMarcus Ware in 2008 (27), Von Miller in 2012 (28), Chandler Jones in 2017 (28), J.J. Watt in 2014 (29), J.J. Watt in 2015 (29) and J.J. Watt in 2012 (39). ⚽️ 12 goal contributions Lionel Messi produced a vintage performance in Sunday's Eastern Conference semifinal, recording a goal and three assists to fuel Inter Miami's 4-0 victory over FC Cincinnati. That gave Messi 12 goal contributions this postseason (6 goals, 6 assists), which is a new league record… and he still has at least one match (and potentially two) left to play. MLS Cup Playoffs: NYC FC will face Miami in the Eastern Conference Final after knocking off top-seeded Philadelphia; Vancouver beat LAFC in a penalty shootout to advance to their first Western Conference Final, where they'll play the winner of San Diego vs. Minnesota. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images) ⛳️ 68.681 scoring average Jeeno Thitikul won the LPGA Tour Championship on Sunday to cap a historic, record-setting campaign. The world No. 1 tallied one last birdie on the final hole to end the season with a 68.681 scoring average, breaking Annika Sorenstam's record of 68.697 set in 2002. Money list: Despite being just 22 years old, Thitikul is already seventh on the LPGA's all-time money list with $17.4 million in earnings. Nearly half of that has come from her winning the past two season-ending Tour Championships ($4 million each). ? 95 wins, 0 losses Ranked men's college basketball teams are 95-0 against unranked teams so far this season. That's the longest such winning streak at any point in a season in the history of the AP poll. Will the streak end tonight? The Players Era Festival kicks off in Las Vegas with plenty of intriguing ranked vs. unranked matchups. Three teams on upset alert: No. 20 Tennessee vs. Rutgers, No. 24 Kansas vs. Notre Dame and No. 25 NC State vs. Seton Hall. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) ? 6 teams, 2 spots Pittsburgh's 42-28 upset win over Georgia Tech on Saturday blew up the ACC championship race. Entering the final weekend, no team is ensured a spot in the conference title game, and six teams are still mathematically alive: Virginia (6-1 in the ACC), Pittsburgh (6-1), SMU (6-1), Georgia Tech (6-2), Miami (5-2) and Duke (5-2). More from Saturday: Oregon beat USC to solidify its playoff case; Oklahoma eked out a win over Missouri; Arch Manning had 6 TDs in a rout of the Razorbacks; Duke used a trick play to stun UNC; Michigan kept its playoff hopes alive with a win at Maryland; and more. ? 55 points James Harden set the Clippers single-game scoring record on Saturday with his 25th career 50-point game, tying Kobe Bryant for the third-most such games in NBA history. The only players with more? Wilt Chamberlain (118) and Michael Jordan (31). Scoring machine: Harden has more 50-point games (25) than Steph Curry (15) and Kevin Durant (9) combined, which is pretty remarkable. He also owns the single-game scoring record for the Rockets (61 points), making him the only player to hold that record for two franchises. (Rawlings) ⚾️ 35,000 pounds Rawlings installed a 35,000-pound, 30-foot tall Gold Glove atop their golden headquarters in St. Louis, which absolutely rules. The shiny, possibly record-breaking sculpture will serve as the centerpiece of the "Rawlings Experience," a new two-story retail store and museum. What they're saying: "We've suffered a little bit of an identity crisis in that a lot of people don't necessarily know Rawlings is here in St. Louis," said CMO Mike Thompson earlier this month. "But that's going to change pretty quick. Everybody's going to know." ? 70-7 Notre Dame demolished Syracuse by 63 points on Saturday, handing the Orange their worst loss in over a century. To sum this game up: The Irish had 21 points… before their offense took the field. They led 35-0… in the first quarter. Jeremiyah Love had 171 rushing yards… on eight carries. Flashback: While this was one of Notre Dame's most lopsided wins ever, it's not even close to their largest margin of victory. That came back in 1905, when they beat the American College of Medicine & Surgery, 142-0. The star of the game that day? Bill Downs, who left Notre Dame months later for a railroad job that paid him $100 a month. Good money back then! ? WEEK 12 SCOREBOARD: NFL SUNDAY (Stacy Revere/Getty Images) Cowboys 24, Eagles 21 … Dallas came back from 21-0 down to stun Philadelphia and tie the record for the largest comeback in franchise history. Dak Prescott passed Tony Romo for most passing yards with the team. Chiefs 23, Colts 20 (OT) … Kansas City overcame a late 20-9 deficit to topple Indianapolis and avoid a home loss that would have knocked them below .500 and been a massive blow to their postseason hopes. Bears 31, Steelers 28 … The vibes are high in Chicago! The first-place Bears and first-place Eagles will have the same record (8-3) when they meet four days from now in the third annual Black Friday game. Patriots 26, Bengals 20 … Drake Maye and the Pats (10-2) have won nine straight games for the first time since 2015 and are currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Lions 34, Giants 27 (OT) … Jahmyr Gibbs was unstoppable at home, putting up numbers not seen since Barry Sanders. His final line: 15 carries, 219 yards, 2 TD; 11 receptions, 45 yards, TD. Jaguars 27, Cardinals 24 (OT) … NFL teams had won their past 50 games with a +4 turnover margin. Arizona managed to break that streak. Seahawks 30, Titans 24 … Jaxon Smith-Njigba broke Seattle's single-season receiving yards record (1,313 yards)… and it's only Week 12. Rams 34, Buccaneers 7 … Matthew Stafford has 27 TD passes since his last INT (tied for the longest regular-season streak in NFL history); Baker Mayfield exited with a left shoulder injury. Browns 24, Raiders 10 … Shedeur Sanders got the win in his first career start; the Raiders fired Chip Kelly (NFL's highest-paid OC) after the game. Ravens 23, Jets 10 … After starting the season 1-5, Baltimore (6-5) now sits atop the AFC North and controls its own destiny. Quite the turnaround in Charm City. Packers 23, Vikings 6 … How bad has J.J. McCarthy been for Minnesota? We're talking JaMarcus Russell-level bad. Falcons 24, Saints 10 … Atlanta and New Orleans have played 113 times dating back to 1967. The Falcons now lead the all-time series, 57-56. ⚽️ SURVIVE AND ADVANCE GOTHAM COMPLETES EPIC RUN TO NWSL TITLE (Elsa/NWSL via Getty Images) We're in the thick of playoff soccer in North America, which is a foreign concept across the pond where they call it football. European leagues (and many others around the world) crown their regular season champions and end things there. On this continent, we tack on a postseason and embrace the unpredictable, illogical mayhem that tends to follow. Upsets. Cinderellas. Survive and Advance. Exhibit A: Gotham FC beat the Washington Spirit, 1-0, on Saturday night in San Jose to win their second NWSL title in three years and complete the unlikeliest of playoff runs — going from the eighth seed (in an eight-team field) to champions, dispatching three of the league's four best teams (Kansas City, Orlando, Washington) along the way. Highlight: Rose Lavelle's left-footed strike from the top of the box in the 80th minute proved to be the game-winner. Déjà vu: The Spirit lost 1-0 to Orlando in last year's final. New opponent, same exact result this time around. The looming question: Was this Trinity Rodman's final game in the NWSL? Her contract with the Spirit is set to expire and the star forward is drawing interest from clubs in competing leagues, where she could potentially earn a lot more money than what NWSL teams can realistically offer her due to salary cap constraints. More playoffs: MLS: Miami, Vancouver and NYC FC have advanced to the Final Four, which will be finalized tonight when top-seeded San Diego hosts fourth-seeded Minnesota (10pm ET, Apple). USL Championship: The Pittsburgh Riverhounds beat FC Tulsa in a penalty shootout to win the club's first league title (one tier below MLS). NCAA Tournament: 16 teams are still alive in the men's tournament* (bracket), while 11 teams are still alive in the women's tournament (bracket). ?️ Podcast: NWSL Finals, Rodman's Future, Awards Recap (The Cooligans) *Cinderella in the snow! Hofstra upset defending national champion and No. 1 seed Vermont with a 3-2 overtime victory on a snowy field in Burlington. ? SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS "Vegas Baby, Vegas." (Mark Sutton/Formula 1 via Getty Images) ?? Las Vegas, Nevada — Max Verstappen came away from the Las Vegas Grand Prix with the best possible outcome for his once-slim title chances: he won the race while McLaren's duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were both disqualified for unintentional rules violations. Where it stands: With two races (and one sprint) left, Red Bull's four-time defending champion is now tied with Piastri and 24 points behind Norris. If Verstappen wins all three, he'll earn 58 points and force Norris to at least finish third in all three to maintain his lead. The Goldeneyes take the ice. (Rich Lam/Getty Images) ?? Vancouver, Canada — The Vancouver Goldeneyes beat the Seattle Torrent, 4-3, in Friday's overtime thriller between the PWHL's two new expansion teams. The sellout crowd of 14,958 was the largest in league history at a team's primary home venue (i.e. not a neutral site). What they're saying: "I've played a lot of really big hockey games, and I've never felt the emotion like I have in that first 20 minutes of the game," said Goldeneyes star Sarah Nurse. "It felt like something different was in the air, like I've never experienced it." One of the best to ever do it. (Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images) ?? Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Cristiano Ronaldo scored on a gravity-defying bicycle kick in Al-Nassr's 4-1 win on Sunday. And this is where I remind you that he's 40 years old. Elsewhere: Christian Pulisic scored the lone goal in AC Milan's 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in the 245th Derby della Madonnina; First-place Arsenal crushed Tottenham, 4-1, in a top-five Premier League clash behind a hat trick from Eberechi Eze. Shiffrin celebrates in the snow. (Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images) ?? Gurgl, Austria — Mikaela Shiffrin won her second straight World Cup slalom on Sunday and record-extending 103rd overall. Next up: Two races this weekend at Copper Mountain in Colorado, just 20 miles from her hometown of Vail. Queen of the Slalom: For as good as Shiffrin is in every discipline, she truly has no match in the slalom, which has accounted for 66 of her 103 career wins. No one else has more than 35, so it's no surprise she's the gold medal favorite at the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, NOV. 24 Former Panthers star Christian McCaffrey is having another standout season in the Bay Area. (Mike Christy/Getty Images) ? Panthers at 49ers Three years after being traded in the middle of the season, Christian McCaffrey finally gets a chance to take on his former team as the 49ers (7-4) host the Panthers (6-5) in a matchup of NFC playoff hopefuls (8:15pm ET, ESPN). Surprise of the season? With a victory tonight, Carolina would match its win total from the past two seasons combined (7) and take over first place in the NFC South. ⚽️ San Diego FC vs. Minnesota United Top-seeded San Diego, which already completed the best regular season by a first-year expansion team in MLS history, hosts No. 4 Minnesota (10pm, Apple) for a spot in the Western Conference Finals. The Final Four: Tonight's winner will join No. 2 Vancouver, No. 3 Miami and No. 5 NYC FC in the MLS Conference Finals. ? Players Era Festival A stacked field of 18 men's college basketball teams descends on Las Vegas for the second edition of this unique tournament that pays $1 million in NIL money to each participating program. Today's headliners: No. 14 St. John's vs. No. 16 Iowa State (4:30pm, truTV); No. 2 Houston vs. Syracuse (6pm, TNT); No. 11 Alabama vs. No. 13 Gonzaga (9:30pm, TNT); No. 7 Michigan vs. San Diego State (10:30pm, truTV). More to watch: ? NBA: Cavaliers at Raptors (7pm, Peacock); Rockets at Suns (9:30pm, Peacock) … Toronto (12-5) has won seven straight to surge into second in the East, just ahead of Cleveland (12-6). ⚽️ Premier League: Manchester United vs. Everton (3pm, USA) … United (5-3-3) are unbeaten in their last five league matches. ⚽️ NCAA Women's Soccer: No. 2 TCU vs. UNC (2pm, ESPN+); No. 1 Vanderbilt vs. No. 4 LSU (3pm, ESPN+); No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 5 BYU (4pm, ESPN+) … The quarterfinals will be set after today. ? NHL: Red Wings at Devils (7pm, ESPN+) … The only Eastern Conference teams with a better record than Detroit and New Jersey are the Hurricanes and Islanders. ? CP3 NBA TRIVIA Chris Paul in action for Wake Forest during the 2004-05 season. (Manny Millan/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) Chris Paul has played for seven different NBA franchises during his 21-season career, which will come to an end in a matter of months. Question: Can you name all seven teams? Answer at the bottom. ? BAKER'S DOZEN TOP PLAYS OF THE WEEKEND Head coach Ron Dickerson Jr. celebrates his team's unlikely victory. (Benedict College) In one of the most dramatic finishes of the year, Benedict College (D-II) erased a 24-0 deficit and executed a miraculous 86-yard backward pass play as time expired to beat Wingate University, 25-24, and win the first playoff game in school history. Top 13 Plays: ? "Benedict has scored!" ⚽️ Cristiano Ronaldo!!! ? No-look buzzer beater?! ? Double-pump buzzer beater ⚽️ Bend it like Sonny ? Absurd Jokić pass ? Famous Jameis ? Never give up on the play ? George Pickens! ? One-handed INT ? The filthiest of goals ? Northwestern for the Natty! ? Luka nutmegs Love Watch all 13. Trivia answer: New Orleans Hornets (2005-11); Clippers (2011-17, 2025-26); Rockets (2017-19), Thunder (2019-20); Suns (2020-23); Warriors (2023-24); Spurs (2024-25) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 26, 2025 Author Members Posted November 26, 2025 ? Good morning! Happy Taco Tuesday. Is that still a thing? In today's edition: The NBA's missing stars crisis, #KingsTeamUSA, saying goodbye (maybe) to the Rose Bowl, Hall of Fame ballot, photo finish, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ? 49ers 20, Panthers 9: The Niners struggled early but ultimately got all the offense they needed from Christian McCaffrey, who had a big night (31 touches, 142 yards, TD) in his first game against his former team. ⚽️ San Diego advances: Top-seeded San Diego beat Minnesota, 1-0, to advance to the MLS Western Conference Finals, where Vancouver awaits. Heck of a season for the first-year expansion team. ? Billups pleads not guilty: Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty to the various charges stemming from his FBI arrest for illegal gambling. The Hall of Famer remains on unpaid, indefinite leave amid the ongoing investigation. ? Burrow's back: Bengals QB Joe Burrow is expected to return on Thanksgiving night against the Ravens for his first game back since suffering a turf toe injury in Week 2. ? AP polls: Purdue remains the top-ranked men's team in the latest AP poll ahead of Arizona and Houston. UConn was a near unanimous pick atop the women's poll ahead of South Carolina and UCLA. ? DNP (INJURY) THE NBA'S MISSING STARS CRISIS (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) NBA stars have missed an alarming number of games in recent years, but nothing compares to the carnage we've witnessed so far this season. Wild stat: Entering play last Friday, 21 of the league's 45 "star players" were injured. That group — defined as those who've been named to either an All-Star or All-NBA team in the last three seasons — has already missed over 200 games, doubling the total we saw at the same point two years ago, notes Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh. (Tom Haberstroh/Yahoo Sports) Who's missing? The self-explanatory yet nebulous term "star player" undersells just how much talent has been stuck on the bench through the season's first month. LeBron James (sciatica) missed the first 14 games before his debut last week, Anthony Davis (calf) has missed the last 14 games, Kawhi Leonard (ankle) just returned after missing 10 games, Joel Embiid (knee) has missed the last 10 games, Giannis Antetokounmpo (abductor) has missed the last four games, Victor Wembanyama (calf) has missed the last three. Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton (all Achilles) are expected to miss most if not all of this season, Kyrie Irving (ACL) is out until at least January, Jalen Williams (wrist) has yet to make his season debut for the Thunder… and the list goes on and on. What's causing this? While not definitive, two factors appear to be fueling this surge in injuries: (1) increased specialization in youth sports and (2) a league obsessed with playing at a breakneck pace. Specialization: Young players hoping to get a leg up on the competition begin focusing solely on basketball too early, putting undue wear and tear on their underdeveloped bodies. Kids who play year-round between the ages of 7 and 19 could participate in more than 1,000 games, according to estimates. For reference, that's roughly the same number of games that 37-year-old Kevin Love has played in his NBA career. Pace: NBA teams are averaging 100.4 possessions per 48 minutes this season, which is the fastest pace since the 1980s. Players are literally running faster (4.43 mph on average) and farther (34.2 miles per game, combined for both teams) than has ever been tracked, and the condensed schedule from the NBA Cup isn't helping with recovery. What they're saying: "The most important point of all of this is the pace and space and how much more mileage players are covering," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who added that he doesn't think players get enough rest anymore. So should the NBA cut back the number of games? "I mean, the tricky part is everyone would have to agree to take less revenue," says Kerr. "Come on, that's not happening. We know that." What to watch: In response to this "missing stars" epidemic, the NBA has launched a biomechanics assessment program with the goal of reducing injuries moving forward. 500 players have already undergone some level of testing, with more to come as the season progresses. ⚽️ KINGS LEAGUE EXCLUSIVE: AMERICA'S GOT (SOCCER) TALENT (Mairo Cinquetti/Quality Sport Images/Kings World Cup Nations) Kings League, the seven-a-side soccer competition created by FC Barcelona legend Gerard Piqué, is giving three Americans the opportunity of a lifetime. America's Got (Soccer) Talent: Launching today, the #KingsTeamUSA campaign is a nationwide talent search open to anyone. To enter, simply post a video of your best skills on Instagram or TikTok using the hashtag by Dec. 3. The top 20 clips will be reviewed on a livestream the next day, where three winners will be selected. The prize? Those winners will join Team USA at the 2026 Kings World Cup Nations this January in São Paulo, Brazil, playing alongside USMNT star Weston McKennie and popular Twitch streamers, Jynxzi and Castro1021. Teams in the creator-fueled tournament are led by global soccer icons like Neymar (Brazil), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands) and James Rodríguez (Colombia). Last year's debut event in Turin, Italy, drew over 100 million live viewers. Team USA, led by Castro1021, reached the quarterfinals before losing to Morocco in a penalty shootout. How to enter: The submission window opens today. Post your video using #KingsTeamUSA for a shot at representing your country. ? WAR OF THE ROSES END OF AN ERA? UCLA PLOTS ROSE BOWL EXIT UCLA signage outside the Rose Bowl ahead of Saturday's game. (Luke Hales/Getty Images) UCLA played its final home game of the season on Saturday — a blowout loss to Washington that may have also been the Bruins' Rose Bowl swan song. An aerial shot of the Rose Bowl before Saturday's game. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) End of an era? UCLA has played their home games at Pasadena's iconic cathedral since 1982, and according to their lease they're supposed to stay there until at least 2044. But school leaders have been secretly plotting an early exit, with plans to shift to SoFi Stadium next year — the modern, NFL-grade venue that's much closer to campus (12 miles vs. 26) and offers better financial upside with its volume of luxury suites and premium seating. Not going down without a fight: The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl sued UCLA last month for the potential move, arguing it could cost the city and its residents more than $1 billion in damages. But a Los Angeles County judge denied the bid to block the move. UCLA fan Ross Niederhaus sets up his tailgate. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) What they're saying: "I wish we knew whether or not this was the last time," Bruins fan Ross Niederhaus told the LA Times on Saturday as he set up the tailgate he's hosted since getting his driver's license in 2012. "Because if this was the last time for sure I could at least be saying my goodbyes. This is my favorite thing to do. My ashes are willed to be spread at the Rose Bowl." UCLA and Illinois play in the 1984 Rose Bowl. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Losing its heart and soul: While the Rose Bowl would still have plenty of other events like concerts and soccer games, without UCLA its football schedule could shrink to just the New Year's Day game and the "Turkey Tussle," an annual matchup between rival high school teams. What's next: UCLA is seeking arbitration to challenge the Rose Bowl's contractual claim that the school is wrongfully exploring options for a new home football venue. A hearing is scheduled for January 22. ⚾️ CLASS OF 2026 HALL OF FAME: WHO'S ON THE BALLOT? (Baseball Hall of Fame) The ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 is here, featuring 27 players who'll find out early next year if they did enough to earn membership to the hallowed grounds of Cooperstown. Who's back? There are 15 holdovers from last year's Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, which saw three players get inducted (Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner) and 10 players fall off the ballot for failing to secure the requisite 5% of the vote. Of those 15 holdovers, Carlos Beltrán (70.3%) and Andruw Jones (66.2%) were the closest to earning the 75% needed for election. No one else topped 40%. Manny Ramírez is the only player entering his 10th and final year on the ballot. After getting just 34.3% of the vote last year, the PED-tainted slugger's chances of making it to Cooperstown are looking slim. Speaking of PED-tainted sluggers, Alex Rodriguez remains the biggest name on the ballot. Entering his fifth year, he has more time than Manny to drum up voter support, but he got just 37.1% last year after opening with 34.3% in 2021. The newcomers: A dozen players are debuting on the ballot. All 12 ended their careers playing in empty ballparks during 2020's COVID-shortened campaign, as The Athletic's Tyler Kepner reminds us in his annual salute to the newcomers ($). This year's group, to put it kindly, isn't the strongest crop we've ever seen. Cole Hamels is the best of the three pitchers, with 59 WAR, a 3.43 ERA and a World Series MVP to his name. Rick Porcello won a Cy Young, but also had a 4.40 ERA; Gio González had a 3.70 ERA and under 30 WAR. Lifelong Brewer Ryan Braun was the best of the nine position players, but his use of PEDs all but disqualifies him. Shin-Soo Choo is the most accomplished Korean player in MLB history, Daniel Murphy will always have his record six-game postseason HR streak and Howie Kendrick will forever be a Nationals legend for his World Series-winning HR off the foul pole. Edwin Encarnación's 424 home runs rank 54th all-time, Alex Gordon won eight Gold Gloves, Nick Markakis had the second-most hits of the 2010s, Matt Kemp won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers and Hunter Pence was a four-time All-Star with two World Series rings. What's next: BBWAA voters (there are usually around 400 of them) have until Dec. 31 to cast their vote, and the results will be announced on Jan. 20. In the meantime, unofficial but renowned Hall of Fame tracker Ryan Thibodaux will be keeping tabs on all publicly-shared ballots. ? VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, NOV. 25 The Sixers' NBA Cup court during their group stage opener. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) ? NBA Cup, Group Stage The final week of group stage play in the in-season tournament kicks off with a doubleheader on NBC. First up is Magic at 76ers (8pm ET), followed by Clippers at Lakers (11pm) in the first of four games this season between the Hollywood neighbors. Where it stands: The 23 remaining group stage games will be played this week before the knockouts begin in December. The Raptors already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, while the other seven spots (five group winners and two wild cards) are still up for grabs. ? Players Era Festival Day 2 of the stacked 18-team tournament features nine more games, headlined by No. 15 Iowa State vs. Creighton (2pm, truTV), No. 14 St. John's vs. Baylor (5pm, truTV), No. 3 Houston vs. No. 17 Tennessee (6pm, TNT), No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 21 Auburn (8:30pm, TNT) and No. 12 Gonzaga vs. Maryland (9:30pm, truTV). More to watch: ? NHL: Stars at Oilers (9pm, ESPN+) … Dallas (second in the Central) and Edmonton (sixth in the Pacific) face off in the only NHL game of the night. ? NCAAF: Bowling Green at UMass (4:30pm, ESPNU) … Since moving to FBS in 2012, UMass has been by far the worst team in the country. Tonight is their last chance to avoid a winless season (0-11). ⚽️ Champions League: Ajax vs. Benfica (12:45pm, CBSSN); Chelsea vs. Barcelona (3pm, Paramount+); Man City vs. Leverkusen (3pm, Paramount+) … Three of nine games to kick off Matchday 5. ? REBRAND WNBA TRIVIA Evolution of the Mercury's logo. (Phoenix Mercury) The Phoenix Mercury, one of the four original WNBA franchises still playing in the league, unveiled a rebrand ahead of their 30th season. Question: Can you name the other three original WNBA teams that are still active? Hint: One has relocated (twice). Answer at the bottom. ? THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH Zheng Yin of China during a Skeleton practice session ahead of the IBSF World Cup in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, which will also host the 2026 Winter Olympics. (Alex Pantling/Getty Images) Words cannot possibly describe how peaceful this photo makes me feel. Trivia answer: New York Liberty, Los Angeles Sparks, Las Vegas Aces (formerly the Utah Starzz and San Antonio Stars/Silver Stars) Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 27, 2025 Author Members Posted November 27, 2025 ? Charted: Biggest Broadway movie Data: Comscore. Chart: Axios Visuals "Wicked: For Good" set a new record over the weekend as the highest-opening stage musical adaptation at the global box office, Axios' Sara Fischer writes. ? What's next: A few year-end releases are expected to do well this holiday season. Disney's "Zootopia 2" hits theaters today. Netflix's "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery," the latest installment from the "Knives Out" franchise, will be released this week in theaters before heading to streaming in December. Disney's "Avatar: Fire and Ash" debuts Dec. 19. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 27, 2025 Author Members Posted November 27, 2025 ? Good morning! Happy almost Thanksgiving, everybody. There are hundreds of thousands of you reading this right now (which blows my mind). Thankful for each and every one of you! Programming note: We'll be off the rest of the week. See you back here bright and early Monday morning! In today's edition: Thanksgiving Weekend Watchlist, why the 12-team CFP feels broken, NBA power rankings, the Patriots are very much back, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... ? ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Boston lands Gray: The Red Sox have acquired three-time All-Star Sonny Gray in a trade with the Cardinals, sending two young pitchers to St. Louis for the 36-year-old right-hander with a career 3.58 ERA. ? OK State hires Morris: Oklahoma State is hiring North Texas' Eric Morris as its next head coach. Morris, who's led the Mean Green (10-1) to a potential CFP berth, will be tasked with reviving a program that has gone 4-19 over the past two seasons. ⚽️ Final sets viewership record: The NWSL Championship between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit drew 1.184 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched match in league history. ? Canton semifinalists: Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald and Frank Gore are among the first-year eligible players moving on to the semifinal round of voting for the NFL Hall of Fame's Class of 2026. That group of 26 will next be cut to 15 finalists. ⚽️ Estêvão joins elite club: Chelsea's Estêvão, 18, scored in the Blues' 3-0 win over Barcelona, making him the third teenager ever to score in each of his first three Champions League starts. The other two? Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. ? VIEWING GUIDE THANKSGIVING WEEKEND WATCHLIST (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) ? NFL, Week 13 The action begins with tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day tripleheader, followed by the third annual Black Friday game ahead of Sunday's slate. Thanksgiving: The Lions host the Packers (1pm ET, Fox) in an NFC North clash, the Cowboys host the Chiefs (4:30pm, CBS) in a matchup of playoff hopefuls, and the Ravens host the Bengals (8:20pm, NBC) in Joe Burrow's return. Black Friday: The 8-3 Eagles, who should probably reexamine how they're using Saquon Barkley, host the 8-3 Bears (3pm, Prime), who have already matched their best win total since 2018. Sunday: 49ers at Browns (1pm, CBS); Jaguars at Titans (1pm, CBS); Texans at Colts (1pm, CBS); Saints at Dolphins (1pm, Fox); Falcons at Jets (1pm, Fox); Cardinals at Buccaneers (1pm, Fox); Rams at Panthers (1pm, Fox); Vikings at Seahawks (4pm, Fox); Bills at Steelers (4:25pm, CBS); Raiders at Chargers (4:25pm, CBS); Broncos at Commanders (8:20pm, NBC) ? Rivalry Week Some of the best college football games of the year are, appropriately, saved for the final week of the regular season as bitter rivals take the field with conference championship and playoff spots on the line. Ranked matchups: No. 4 Georgia at No. 23 Georgia Tech* (Fri. 3:30pm, ABC); No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 16 Texas (Fri. 7:30pm, ABC); No. 25 Arizona at No. 20 Arizona State (Fri. 9pm, Fox); No. 1 Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan* (Sat. 12pm, Fox); No. 12 Miami at No. 22 Pitt (Sat. 12pm, ABC); No. 14 Vanderbilt at No. 19 Tennessee (Sat. 3:30pm, ESPN) Best of the rest: No. 7 Ole Miss at Mississippi State (Fri. 12pm, ABC); No. 10 Alabama at Auburn* (Sat. 7:30pm, ABC); No. 6 Oregon at Washington (Sat. 3:30pm, CBS); LSU at No. 8 Oklahoma (Sat. 3:30pm, ABC) *Going streaking: Georgia has won seven straight against Georgia Tech in their "Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate" rivalry; Michigan has beaten Ohio State in four straight editions of "The Game"; Alabama has beaten Auburn in five straight Iron Bowls. ⚽️ MLS Conference Finals The Final Four kicks off on Saturday evening, with third-seeded Inter Miami hosting fifth-seeded NYC FC (6pm, Apple) and top-seeded San Diego hosting second-seeded Vancouver (9pm, Apple). ? Feast Week College basketball's answer to Rivalry Week is loaded with neutral-site tournaments in Las Vegas, Maui, the Bahamas and other locations. Here are the week's best games: Men: No. 14 St. John's vs. No. 21 Auburn (Wed. 8pm, truTV); No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 12 Gonzaga (Wed. 9:30pm, TNT); No. 10 Florida vs. TCU (Thu. 3pm, FS1); No. 11 Michigan State vs. No. 16 UNC (Thu. 4:30pm, Fox); No. 9 BYU vs. Miami (Thu. 5pm, ESPN); No. 4 Duke vs. No. 22 Arkansas (Thu. 8pm, CBS); No. 5 UConn vs. No. 13 Illinois (Fri. 12:30pm, Fox) Women: No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 4 Texas (Wed. 2pm, truTV); No. 2 South Carolina vs. Duke (Wed. 4pm, truTV); No. 7 Maryland vs. No. 16 Kentucky (Wed. 5:30pm, FloHoops); No. 1 UConn at Xavier (Sun. 2:30pm, FS1); No. 14 Tennessee at No. 3 UCLA (Sun. 4:30pm, FS1) ⚽️ NCAA Championships The NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament has reached the Sweet 16 and the women's tourney has reached the Elite Eight, with all games streaming on ESPN+. Men: No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 UConn (Sat. 1pm); No. 7 Georgetown vs. No. 10 High Point (Sat. 5pm); No. 8 Portland vs. Grand Canyon (Sat. 10pm); No. 16 Furman vs. Hofstra (Sun. 1pm); No. 14 Akron vs. Duke (Sun. 4pm); No. 11 Bryant vs. Saint Louis (Sun. 6pm); No. 15 NC State vs. UNCG (Sun. 6pm); No. 12 Stanford vs. Washington (Sun. 8pm) Women: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 4 Washington (Fri. 4pm); No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 2 Michigan State (Fri. 5pm); No. 3 FSU vs. Ohio State (Fri. 5pm); No. 1 Vanderbilt vs. No. 2 TCU (Sat. 7:30pm) ? NBA Cup The in-season tournament's group stage action concludes this week, with nine games today and 11 on Friday. That includes a tripleheader tonight on ESPN: Pistons at Celtics (5pm), Timberwolves at Thunder (7:30pm) and Rockets at Warriors (10pm). More to watch: ⚽️ Premier League: Chelsea vs. Arsenal (Sun. 11:30am, USA) … The first-place Gunners visit the second-place Blues. ? NHL: Lightning at Rangers (Sat. 2pm, NHL); Capitals at Islanders (Sun. 1pm, NHL) … Tampa Bay has won four straight games to climb to the top of the Atlantic. ?️ F1: Qatar Grand Prix (Sun. 11am, ESPN2) … The penultimate race of the season. ⚽️ Friendly: USWNT vs. Italy (Fri. 7pm, TNT) … In Orlando. ⚽️ Champions League: PSG vs. Tottenham (Wed. 3pm, Paramount+); Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich (Wed. 3pm, Paramount+) … Two of nine games to close out Matchday 5. ? PWHL: Minnesota at Seattle (Fri. 4pm, YouTube); Vancouver at New York (Sat. 12pm, YouTube); Boston at Toronto (Sat. 2pm, YouTube) ? 12-TEAM PLAYOFF WHY THE CFP FORMAT FEELS BROKEN The latest CFP rankings, released Tuesday. (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) The current College Football Playoff model was designed before the last round of realignment, which has created some problems in the new "Power 4" world. One big one to emerge this season? The 12-team playoff is really a 10-team playoff. From Yahoo Sports' Dan Wolken: When this format was first publicized as a concept in the spring of 2021, there were still five somewhat balanced power conferences. Texas and Oklahoma hadn't announced their departure for the SEC. The Pac-12 still existed (in a respectable form). UCF, Houston, SMU and Cincinnati were in the American. The ACC had won three of the previous eight national championships. It was a completely different world. As a result, it made sense to incentivize conference championships. But the original idea of giving automatic bids to the six highest-ranked conference champions (five now, after the Pac-12 exodus) has revealed an unintended consequence. This year, the Group of Five representative will probably be a team ranked in the 20s — whether it's Tulane, North Texas, Navy or perhaps James Madison out of the Sun Belt. Meanwhile, the ACC champion is likely to emerge from Virginia, Pittsburgh or SMU — none of which are going to finish in the top 12 of the rankings. That means two spots out of 12 will go to teams that wouldn't qualify if the playoff was simply chosen by ranking. That's too many. It weakens the first-round matchups and inherently excludes teams ranked Nos. 11 and 12 whose résumés look nearly identical to Nos. 8, 9 and 10. Again, just consider that 6-5 Duke is still technically alive for the ACC title. Imagine a world where the 8-5 ACC champion Blue Devils get into the playoff while 10-2 Miami — the highest-ranked ACC team — gets left out. Not to mention bubble teams like BYU, Utah and Vanderbilt, all of which had much better seasons and would be more likely to compete in a playoff game. Yes, in that scenario Duke would be the champion of a power conference, but only because unbalanced schedules and quirky tiebreakers got it to the ACC title game in the first place. Keep reading: The CFP has several problems (especially this season), but there's no quick fix ? 1-30 NBA POWER RANKINGS (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports) The Thunder sit atop our NBA power rankings one month into the season, which is hardly a surprising place for the red-hot defending champs to land. But the rest of the top 10, courtesy of Ben Rohrbach, is peppered with unexpected entrants. Top 10: Thunder (17-1): Last year, OKC broke the single-season record for point differential (+12.87) en route to the title. This year, they're at +16.94. Pistons (15-2): Detroit has won a franchise record-tying 13 straight games and already eclipsed their win total from just two seasons ago (14-68). Nuggets (13-4): Another year, another masterpiece from three-time MVP Nikola Jokić, who is again averaging a 30-point triple-double on a league-high 72.9% true shooting percentage. Rockets (11-4): Their +11.2 scoring differential trails only the Thunder as Alperen Şengün continues his ascent to stardom and Kevin Durant continues being, well, Kevin Durant. Lakers (13-4): The good: They started 10-4 with Luka Dončić playing like an MVP and Austin Reaves leveling up in a big way. The better: They've since added literally LeBron James to the mix and are 3-0 since his return. Cavaliers (12-7): Donovan Mitchell leads the way, but it may be time to learn the name Nae'Qwan Tomlin. "I can't take him off the floor," head coach Kenny Atkinson said of the undrafted sparkplug who's playing on a two-way contract. Suns (11-7): How has Phoenix moved past its misbegotten "Big Three" era? By embracing a new identity fueled by full-court pressure and a roster that's better than the sum of its parts, rather than vice versa. Spurs (11-5): Victor Wembanyama's supernova start was halted due to injury, but San Antonio is holding down the Alamo in his absence, jelling quickly despite "playing lineups that we hadn't even gone through training camp with." Raptors (13-5): Something special is happening in the Six, where Toronto has won eight straight games and 12 of 13 after finishing well under .500 in each of the last two seasons. Heat (12-6): In a season where teams are playing at their fastest pace since the 1980's, no team is playing faster than the Heat. ? DYNASTY REBORN THE PATRIOTS ARE VERY MUCH BACK Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel. (Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) Be afraid, America. After a brief hiatus, the Patriots are right back in the Super Bowl conversation. From Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: In "The Usual Suspects," the stone-cold-classic 1995 crime thriller, the bad guys seem pretty obvious — blindingly so, really, loud and in your face and claiming all of your attention every time they're onscreen. But the real villain is lurking right there in plain sight, an apparently broken wretch who's been pulling the strings all along without anyone noticing. Why do I lead an NFL column with a reference to a 30-year-old movie about a villain hiding in plain sight? Oh, I don't know … have you checked the AFC East standings lately? The New England Patriots are back, friends. Winners of nine straight, led by an old-school lead-with-the-forehead head coach, quarterbacked by the best signal-caller to join the NFL since the pandemic, held together by one of the top scoring defenses in the league, the Patriots are now officially a legitimate capital-P Problem for the rest of the league. Again. You can understand why the NFL universe might be troubled by this development. After Tom Brady left the Greater Boston area for Florida and Bill Belichick decided to go re-enact the plot of Old School, the NFL thought it was done with the Pats for a decade or so. The Chiefs took up the "new dynasty" mantle, and everyone safely relegated the Pats to the six-win bin along with the Jets and Titans. Nightmares are never as scary in the daylight, and the Patriots' two-decade run through the NFL faded into memory. Until this season. ? ON THIS DAY NHL TRIVIA NHL picture day circa 1920. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) 108 years ago today (Nov. 26, 1917), the NHL was officially formed in Montreal and began play later that year with four teams. Question: Which of the following teams was NOT among those four? Montreal Canadiens Montreal Wanderers Ottawa Senators Toronto Hockey Club Vancouver Maroons Answer at the bottom. ⚽️ FIFA WORLD CUP WHO WILL U.S. FACE IN '26 OPENER? (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images) The USMNT will not learn its 2026 World Cup opponents until next Friday's draw in Washington, D.C. But on Tuesday, the Americans (No. 14 in the world) found out their June 12 opener at SoFi Stadium will be against one of the following countries: ?? Norway (29) ?? Egypt (34) ?? Algeria (35) ??????? Scotland (36) ?? Paraguay (39) ?? Tunisia (40) ?? Ivory Coast (42) ?? Uzbekistan (50) ?? Qatar (51) ?? Saudi Arabia (60) ?? South Africa (61) That opening match is just 198 days away. Start the countdown clock! Trivia answer: Vancouver Maroons Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted November 28, 2025 Author Members Posted November 28, 2025 ? Pro women's Olympic moment Fans cheer on players at the PWHL's first-ever game between the Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes. Photo: Rich Lam/Getty Images Two new pro women's hockey teams — the Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes — are debuting with star power, sellout crowds and lots of pre-Olympic buzz, Axios Local's Christine Clarridge and Kyle Stokes report. ? A strong women's hockey showing at February's Winter Olympics could drive interest in the upstart Professional Women's Hockey League. ?? PWHL stars make up most of the U.S. women's hockey roster, and all of the Canadian team. ? That sets the stage for an Olympic showdown putting a global spotlight on the league's top talent. "If you look at the history of women's sports post-Olympics ... there's always a wonderful tailwind that you get to ride for a bit," PWHL executive vice president Amy Scheer recently told reporters. ? "We're setting ourselves up to make sure we take advantage of that tailwind." Go deeper .. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted December 1, 2025 Author Members Posted December 1, 2025 ? Dumping college coaches Data: Axios research. Chart: Axios Visuals Major college football programs have dumped coaches at a stunning pace this season and are shelling out more than $150 million in buyouts to start fresh, Axios' Donica Phifer reports. Why it matters: A playoffs-or-bust mentality is pushing schools to cut ties with coaches faster than ever — regardless of the cost. ⚡ Stunning stat: Four of the top 10 biggest buyouts in college football history have been triggered by firings this season. So far, at least 13 coaches have been axed. Four of them — LSU's Brian Kelly, Auburn's Hugh Freeze, Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy and Florida's Billy Napier — netted buyouts worth at least $15 million. ? What to watch: The historic coaching carousel isn't over yet. Firings will heat up as the regular season ends after this weekend. Keep reading. Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
Members phkrause Posted December 3, 2025 Author Members Posted December 3, 2025 ? "Zootopia 2" shatters records Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman, and Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, in "Zootopia 2." Image: Disney via AP Disney's "Zootopia 2" brought in roughly half a billion dollars over the weekend, making it the highest global animated box office opening of all time and the biggest global debut of the year, Axios' Sara Fischer writes. Why it matters: Huge openings for "Zootopia 2" and "Wicked: For Good" have helped the domestic box office recover from what has otherwise been a slow year for big hits. "Zootopia 2" brought in $96.8 million over the weekend domestically and $400.4 million internationally, for a $497.2 million global total, Comscore estimates. Across the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the film earned $156 million domestically and $556.4 million globally. ? Stunning stat: Those numbers make it the fourth-highest global movie opening of all time — after "Avengers: Endgame," "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Quote phkrause Read Isaiah 10:1-13
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