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️ Rays need temporary home: Tropicana Field sustained $55 million worth of damage from Hurricane Milton last month and won’t be ready to host Rays games until 2026.
Champions Classic: No. 19 Kentucky upset No. 6 Duke, 75-72, in Mark Pope’s third game as head coach; No. 1 Kansas beat Michigan State, 77-69, as Bill Self passed Phog Allen for most wins in KU history (591).
️ Silver Sluggers: Astros 2B Jose Altuve and Dodgers UTIL Mookie Betts won their seventh Silver Slugger awards, headlining a group that included seven first-time winners.
New way to watch: Diamond Sports Group, the nation’s largest owner of regional sports networks, will begin offering single-game pricing ($6.99) for local NBA and NHL games next month.
Mahomes, Kelce burglarized: The houses of Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were reportedly both burglarized last month. The FBI is investigating.
Today is National Signing Day, when high school athletes across the country can formally accept scholarships from their chosen university that is, if they haven’t already been rescinded.
Vanishing spots: The historic House vs. NCAA antitrust settlement has made headlines for the $2.8 billion in backpay to former athletes and landmark revenue-sharing concept. Less publicized are the roster limits that will result in thousands of athletes losing their spots.
How it works: Most NCAA sports currently have a scholarship limit but not a roster cap. Under the terms of the settlement, which will take effect in July if approved, that will flip.
What they’re saying: More than a dozen parents of college athletes or recruits spoke to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger about the current reality playing out across the country. They were granted anonymity for fear of negative impacts to their children.
A beach volleyball recruit, committed to a Big 12 program for months, was recently told the spot no longer exists. A sophomore cross country runner for an SEC team was notified by email that she was cut from the team two days after the semester began.
At one SEC school, eight track and field runners were cut or pushed out over the summer. One power conference program released all of their 2025 men’s swimming commitments. And in football, it is estimated that more than 1,500 walk-on players roughly 20-30 per team will see their spots cut.
The big picture: In all, the 68 power conference schools are expected to eliminate at least 3,000 roster positions as administrators work to adhere to new limitations, reallocate resources to revenue-generating sports and balance opportunities to comply with Title IX.
The last word: “The beginning of change it’s new and fancy. You get to a finish line and you think you’ve accomplished something. In the middle of anything is messy. This is messy,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said last week of the sea change coming to college sports.
The Winnipeg Jets are off to the best start in NHL history. With their 6-3 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday, they’ve now won 15 of their first 16 games.
By the numbers: Connor Hellebuyck has been superb in net (1.92 goals against average, .934 save percentage), and the Jets also boast the league’s best power play (42.2%) and offense (4.56 goals per game). Not a bad combo!
Per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski:
They became the fourth team since 1967-68 to lead the NHL in goals for and against per game through their first 15 games. They’ve scored five or more goals in half their games. Their 73 goals are the third most by a team in its first 16 games over the past 30 years.
Schedule:
The backdrop: Just a few months ago, there was talk about the Jets potentially relocating amid a dramatic season ticket sales drop-off. Could their historic start be the spark for long-term viability in the NHL’s smallest market?
The 2024 Emirates NBA Cup (in-season tournament) tipped off on Tuesday, with 16 teams playing their first of four Group Stage games.
San Francisco Klay Thompson matched his season-high with 22 points and was honored in his return to Golden State, but former Splash Brother Steph Curry (37 points) got the best of him in a 120-117 win over the Mavericks.
Detroit A wild and sloppy finish saw the Heat lose to the Pistons, 123-121 (OT), after Miami gave up a game-tying alley-oop with one second left and then got called for a technical foul when head coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout they didn’t have.
Boston The Celtics have one of the coolest-looking NBA Cup courts, but it didn’t help them avoid falling to the Hawks, 117-116, for just their third loss of the season.
Philadelphia The Knicks beat the 76ers, 111-99, behind a triple-double from Josh Hart (14-12-10). Joel Embiid looked sluggish in his season debut, going 2-for-11 and grabbing just three rebounds.
Elsewhere: Trail Blazers 122, Timberwolves 108* | Suns 120, Jazz 112 | Bucks 99, Raptors 85 | Magic 114, Hornets 89
*Ice cold to red hot: Portland shot 4-of-42 (9.5%) from deep on Sunday, which was the worst 3-point percentage in any NBA game this season. On Tuesday, they shot 18-of-32 (56.3%), which was the best.
Georgia fell out of the provisional playoff field in the second edition of the CFP rankings, which were revealed on Tuesday night.
As a reminder: The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded Nos. 1-4 in the 12-team field. The next seven highest-ranked teams, plus the fifth-highest ranked conference champion, will be seeded Nos. 5-12 in their ranking order.
Projected matchups
First-round byes: No. 1 Oregon (Rose Bowl vs. Tennessee/Notre Dame), No. 2 Texas (Sugar Bowl vs. Indiana/Alabama), No. 3 BYU (Fiesta Bowl vs. Penn State/Ole Miss), No. 4 Miami (Peach Bowl vs. Ohio State/Boise State).
️ Fresh pod: Is the 12-team playoff already broken? (College Football Power Hour)
29 years ago today, Greg Maddux became the first pitcher ever to win four consecutive Cy Young awards. Only Randy Johnson (1999-2002) has matched him since.
By the numbers: This season might have been his best of the four. The Braves righty went 19-2 in the strike-shortened campaign, making him the only pitcher in MLB history to post a .900 winning percentage with more than 20 decisions.
Zoom out: Across the four-season run, which included his final year with the Cubs and first three with the Braves, Maddux won four Gold Gloves* and compiled a microscopic 1.98 ERA nearly a full run better than any other starter who threw at least 200 innings in that time (José Rijo, 2.82).
*Flashing the leather: Given his dominant pitching statistics, it’s easy to forget that Maddux is also the greatest fielding pitcher of all time: His 18 Gold Gloves are the most in MLB history, regardless of position.
Tonight’s NBA doubleheader on ESPN features three of the top seven teams in the West.
More to watch:
*Pregame reading: With Chet Holmgren out, what will the Thunder do now? (Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports)
Chris Webber’s infamous timeout came at the end of the 1993 national title game, which his Michigan Wolverines went on to lose.
Question: Who beat them?
Answer at the bottom.
When the Cowboys finally lose their title as America’s Bandwagon Team, there won’t be an announcement but there will be signs. Like, for instance, the NFL potentially flexing them out of some prime broadcast windows in the coming weeks, writes Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee.
That’s right, folks: The team you couldn’t escape in prime time is close to becoming the team you can’t find there. That’s what losing your marquee quarterback, four straight games, six of nine on the season, and basically the last shreds of your dignity will do to you.
Trivia answer: North Carolina
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