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🚨Heads
🏀 BYU graduates No. 1 recruit: AJ Dybantsa, the top college basketball recruit in the Class of 2025, has committed to BYU. His rumored NIL package: $7 million.
⚾️ MLB moves: The Yankees signed LHP Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal; RHP Nathan Eovaldi returns to the Rangers on a three-year deal worth $75 million; the Blue Jays landed a three-time Gold Glove, acquiring 2B Andrés Giménez in a trade with the Guardians.
🏈 Another burglary: Joe Burrow’s home was burglarized while he was playing on “Monday Night Football,” the latest in a series of high-profile burglaries targeting professional athletes.
⛳️ Scottie matches Tiger: Scottie Scheffler won his third consecutive PGA Tour Player of the Year award, joining Tiger Woods as the only golfers to do so.
⚾️ Nats win draft lottery: The No. 1 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft went to the Nationals, who had a 10.2% chance of securing the top spot. The Angels, Mariners, Rockies and Cardinals round out the top five.
🏈 Can anyone catch Allen as MVP?
Josh Allen’s Bills may have lost on Sunday, but his hold on the MVP award only grew stronger along the way.
Heavy favorite: Allen’s odds to win his first MVP rose from -225 to -400 at BetMGM after a historic performance in which he became the first player in NFL history to throw and rush for 3 scores in the same game.
Top four candidates:
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All (-400): While Buffalo (10-3) is unlikely to catch the Chiefs (12-1) for the No. 1 seed — and 13 of the past 15 MVPs have been QBs from a No. 1 seed — Allen’s statistical case should be strong enough to overcome that trend (3,033 yards, 23 TD, 5 INT; 416 rush yards, 9 TD).
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Saquon Barkley (+400): He is on pace for 2,122 rushing yards, which would break Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old record of 2,105 in a season. If he gets there and the Eagles get the No. 1 seed, he could become just the fifth RB to win MVP this century (and the first since 2012).
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Lamar Jackson (+1200): The reigning MVP is one of two QBs (along with Joe Burrow) statistically on par with Allen (3,290 yards, 29 TD, 3 INT; 678 rush yards, 3 TD). But his Ravens are just 8-5 and don’t even lead their own division.
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Jared Goff (+1400): If Detroit finishes with a record like 16-1, there could be some default votes for Goff, whose numbers are solid (3,265 yards, 25 TD, 10 INT). He also has a chance to beat Allen on Sunday when the Lions host the Bills.
In short: There’s almost a quarter of the season left, plenty of time to shake up the MVP race. But right now, it’s Allen’s price to lose.
🏀 Caitlin Clark is Time’s Athlete of the Year
Caitlin Clark has been named Time’s Athlete of the Year for 2024, adding another honor to her ever-growing resume.
From Time’s Sean Gregory:
There are few jobs that require less physical exertion than recovery for Caitlin Clark. Early on an early November morning in downtown Indianapolis, Clark sprints to different spots along the three-point line at the Fever practice gym, trying to make as many shots as possible in a six-minute span.
A Fever coach assigned me to stand under the basket to pick up her misses. But while Clark runs all over the field launching long-range bombs, I barely have to move. Swish, swish, swish. She hits 14 shots in a row. A dozen in a row. 11 in a row. Swish, swish, swish. Nine in a row. Nine more.
Certainly, she puts up this screen in practice. But her talent is still fascinating. Clark, 22, shoots with a level of difficulty never before seen in the women’s game; her signature 30 feet. launches from nearly half the field resemble home run balls, hanging high in the air.
After her training, I fill Clark in with the stats from her shooting session: 93 three-pointers in six minutes, good for an 85% success rate. “Wow,” she responds from the driver’s seat of her gray Lexus GX. “That’s pretty good.”
Nice to know that after wowing so many people around the world in her record year, Clark can still impress herself.
Keep reading.
📸 Photo gallery
Milwaukee— The Bucks defeated the Magic 114-109 to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals after another big game from NBA scoring leader Giannis Antetokounmpo (37 points).
Oklahoma City — The Thunder took advantage of a rare off night from Luka Dončić (16 points) and another masterclass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (39-8-5) to beat the Mavericks 118-104 and reach the NBA Cup semifinals .
Bergamo, Italy — Kylian Mbappé became the ninth player ever to score 50 goals in the Champions League in Real Madrid’s 3-2 win over Atalanta.
Budapest, Hungary — Gretchen Walsh broke the 50m short course world record at the World Championships, one of seven world records set on the first day of competition.
⚽️ Another World Cup full of scandals is coming
Qatar 2022 World Cup was tarnished by human rights violations and ‘show trials’. The 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, which will be sanctioned today, is plagued by similar problems.
From Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports:
Today, at an extraordinary virtual congress, FIFA will approve a Saudi bid rejected by human rights groups, through processes that human rights defenders call “a comprehensive solution” and “a sham from start to finish.”
Last fall, behind closed doors, FIFA officials struck a logic-defying deal to spread the 2030 World Cup across six countries and three continents; They then accelerated the race for 2034, for which Saudi Arabia was suddenly the only eligible and realistic bidder.
FIFA then spent 14 months conducting its once-democratic selection process for host nations – even though FIFA president Gianni Infantino had already celebrated Saudi Arabia’s selection.
Saudi officials submitted extensive plans, including for the construction of eleven new stadiums. Among the documents they submitted were a ‘human rights strategy’ and an ‘independent context assessment’ – which Amnesty International described as a ‘whitewash’.
📆 December 11, 1951: DiMaggio walks away
73 years ago today, Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement after thirteen seasons with the Yankees, nine of which resulted in championships.
Famous quote: “When baseball stops being fun, it stops being a game,” DiMaggio said (listen here). “And so I played my last ball game.”
📺 Watchlist: NBA Cup Knockouts
The NBA Cup quarterfinals concluding tonight with matches in New York and Houston, where the winners will advance to Saturday’s semifinals in Las Vegas.
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Hawks at Knicks (7 p.m. ET, ESPN): The winner will face the Bucks in the Eastern Semifinals.
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Warriors at Rockets (9:30 p.m., TNT): The winner will face the Thunder the West semi-finals.
More to watch:
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🏒 NHL: Rangers at Sabres (7 p.m., TNT)
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🏀 NCAAW: No. 18 Iowa State at No. 21 Iowa (9 p.m., FS1)
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⚽️ Champions League: Match day 6* (12:45-3:00 p.m., Paramount+)
*Headliner: Juventus vs. Man City (3pm) is today’s headline nine-game slate.
🏈 NFL trivia
If the season were to end today, the Raiders would have the first overall pick for the second time in franchise history.
Ask: Who was their only No. 1 overall pick in 2007?
Answer below.
🏈The chase has begun
With four weeks left in the season, Ja’Marr Chase leads all receivers in catches (93), yards (1,319) and TD (15), putting him on pace to become just the fifth Triple Crown winner* since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
The chase has begun: The Bengals wideout has six more catches (Brock Bowers), 149 more yards (Justin Jefferson) and six more TD (Terry McLaurin, Amon-Ra St. Brown) than anyone else.
Wild stat: Chase has three games in the last nine weeks with at least 10 catches, 175 yards and 2 TD. No other player in NFL history has played more than one such game in a season.
*Triple Crown winners since 1970: Jerry Rice (1990), Sterling Sharpe (1992), Steve Smith (2005), Cooper Kupp (2021)
Trivia answer: Yes Marcus Russell
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