General
Former NFL Pro Bowl Players try curling with Olympic goal
Jimmy Golen, The Associated Press
Defensive lineman Jared Allen retired from the NFL in 2015 and wasn’t ready to give up on the competition he’d come to enjoy as a five-time All-Pro. His solution: The Olympics.
NFL
The first instance of #FireBruceAllen was tweeted in jest. Now it’s a movement.
Scott Allen, The Washington Post
The silence from Redskins owner Daniel Snyder regarding the job status of Jay Gruden, his coaching staff and what remains of the front office after last month’s shake-up to the business operations department has been deafening. In the meantime, the cries from disgruntled Redskins fans advocating for one specific change to the team’s leadership structure have only grown louder.
The vacant NFL head coaching jobs ranked, and the candidates rumored to be in the mix for them
Tyler Lauletta, Business Insider
The 2018 NFL regular season is in the books, with 12 teams left to compete for their spot in Super Bowl LII and the rest of the league preparing for next year. For many teams whose season is over, that means cleaning shop, and on this week’s proverbial “Black Monday,” a whopping six teams chose to let go of their head coaches in favor of searching for another candidate for the job.
Domestic violence charge against Reuben Foster is dropped
ESPN
The State Attorney’s Office in Florida has dropped a misdemeanor domestic violence charge against Washington Redskins linebacker Reuben Foster, according to Hillsborough County court records. The charge stemmed from a Nov. 24 incident between Foster and his ex-girlfriend, Elissa Ennis, the night before his former team, the San Francisco 49ers, played the Buccaneers in Tampa.
Giving big-money to quarterbacks guarantees nothing
Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press
Giving quarterbacks big money doesn’t guarantee success or even playoff appearances. The NFL’s six highest-paid quarterbacks in 2018 will be spectators this postseason. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers ($33.5 million), Atlanta’s Matt Ryan ($30 million), Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins ($28 million), San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo ($27.5 million), Detroit’s Matthew Stafford ($27 million) and Oakland’s Derek Carr ($25 million) couldn’t lead their teams to the playoffs.
The Most Important Quarterback in the NFL Playoffs: Brett Favre
Andrew Beaton and Jonathan Clegg, The Wall Street Journal
Andy Reid was combing through college football tape two years ago when he saw something that once astounded him three decades earlier and that he hadn’t seen again since. Back then, Reid wasn’t the Chiefs’ coach.
NBA
Why Toronto believes it can convince Kawhi Leonard to stay
Tim Bontemps, ESPN
The first meeting Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse had with Kawhi Leonard came with trepidation. As Nurse walked down the hall from his office inside the team’s practice facility to the coach’s meeting room last July, just weeks after being named Toronto’s head coach, uncertainty loomed large.
Grizzlies acquire Justin Holiday from Bulls
Andrew Seligman, The Associated Press
The struggling Memphis Grizzlies have acquired guard Justin Holiday from the Chicago Bulls for guards MarShon Brooks and Wayne Selden Jr. Memphis also sent second-round picks in 2019 and 2020 to Chicago in the deal Thursday.
MLB
Manny Machado gets formal offer from White Sox; talks heat up with Bryce Harper
Bob Nightengale, USA Today
Maybe, just maybe, Bryce Harper won’t get a dime more than the contract he turned down three-and-a-half months ago from the Washington Nationals. Perhaps that $300 million won’t be deposited into Manny Machado’s bank account, either.
Robertson, Phillies agree to $23 million, 2-year contract
Rob Maaddi, The Associated Press
David Robertson got himself a new deal in a new pair of pinstripes. The 33-year-old right-handed reliever and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a $23 million, two-year contact on Thursday.
NHL
Devils give coach John Hynes a multi-year contract extension
Steve Politi and Chris Ryan, NJ.com
The most tenured coach in New York/New Jersey professional sports is going to be sticking around with his team much longer. The Devils have given John Hynes, who had been under contract through the 2018-19 season, a multi-year extension, according to a team source.
Soccer
The Premier League’s Latest Bet on America is Named Christian Pulisic
Joshua Robinson, The Wall Street Journal
The news hit most U.S.-based Chelsea supporters in their sleep. They only saw the headline out of London when they rolled over and checked their phones: their club had agreed to pay $73 million for the most talented American soccer player of his generation, Christian Pulisic.
Saudi Arabia may need extra time to privatize soccer clubs
Tom Arnold, Reuters
Saudi Arabia’s plan to privatize its soccer clubs could be delayed beyond the targeted 2020, the head of the country’s soccer federation told Reuters, in what would be the latest setback to economic reforms. Sport is one of the pillars of the government’s Vision 2030 goal to raise living standards and diversify the economy beyond oil exports, while the privatization of soccer clubs has been earmarked as an early candidate in a drive to privatize state-linked assets.
Top Qatari Soccer Official Barred From Tournament in U.A.E.
Tariq Panja, The New York Times
The diplomatic standoff between Qatar and its Arab neighbors spilled into the sports world once again Thursday as a Qatari vice president of Asia’s soccer confederation was barred from traveling to the United Arab Emirates ahead of the region’s top tournament. Saoud al-Mohannadi, vice president of the Asian Football Confederation, was denied permission to travel from Oman to the U.A.E. after airport officials said he wouldn’t be let into the country.
Toronto FC hires Ali Curtis as general manager
The Associated Press
Toronto FC hired Ali Curtis as the new general manager, succeeding Tim Bezbatchenko. The 40-year-old Curtis most recently served as sporting director for the New York Red Bulls. He left the Red Bulls in June 2017.
Racing
Chinese drivers take baby steps towards F1 dream
Martin Quin Pollard and Xihao Jiang, Reuters
The tires of the Aston Martin Racing team car screech and the engine roars as it leaves the pits on its way back into the race at the Shanghai international circuit, one of China’s premier motor racing venues. This sound is something of a metaphor for the growth of the sport in China, where young and old drivers alike are increasingly itching to make an impression on the track.
Golf and Tennis
Bumble Will Debut a New Campaign Starring Serena Williams During the Super Bowl
Kristina Monllos, Adweek
Bumble has announced plans to release a new campaign starring the company’s latest global advisor, Serena Williams, during the Super Bowl. Though, it’s unclear if the brand will actually advertise during the Big Game. A representative for Bumble declined to confirm whether the ad will air on CBS, what quarter the ad would appear, or whether it’s a national or regional buy if it is in fact a Super Bowl ad.
College Sports
Will the Rose Bowl Stand in the Way of a Bigger College Football Playoff?
Marc Tracy, The New York Times
Last month, the Big Ten’s influential commissioner, Jim Delany, endorsed discussions to expand the College Football Playoff, just five seasons into the format’s 12-year contract. Expanding the four-team playoff to six or eight teams is likely to be a hot topic at the meetings many conferences will hold Monday, before that evening’s national championship game between Alabama and Clemson in Santa Clara, Calif.
Pac-12, the ‘Conference of Champions,’ turns to giant PR firm to help solve its many woes
Jacob Bogage, The Washington Post
The Pac-12 has a problem: In the country’s marquee sports, it isn’t very good. The conference has been left out of the College Football Playoff each of the past two seasons.
Top-5 NBA prospect Bol Bol out for season at Oregon, will enter draft
Jeff Borzello, ESPN
Oregon star freshman Bol Bol’s college career is over, he announced Thursday. Bol has been sidelined for the last four games with a left foot injury and is unlikely to fully recover before the end of the season.
Judge upholds charges against ex-Auburn Coach Chuck Person
Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press
A New York judge gave the go ahead Thursday to a trial next month over charges that former Auburn basketball assistant coach Chuck Person accepted bribes from a financial adviser working for the FBI to steer athletes his way. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska said there was enough evidence to let the case against Person and Atlanta clothier Rashan Michel proceed.
Esports
Women navigate toxicity, other barriers in esports
Jake Seiner, The Associated Press
Susie Kim thinks the women gamers are out there. As general manager for a championship esports team, she would know. She’s not surprised none of them are on her roster.
Activision Loses Second Finance Executive in Bad Start to Year
Christopher Palmeri, Bloomberg
Activision Blizzard Inc. is losing another top financial executive, its second this week. Amrita Ahuja is leaving her job as chief financial officer of the company’s Blizzard Entertainment unit to be CFO of Square Inc., the San Francisco-based payment processor with a market value of almost $22 billion.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
The NFL’s push for more black coaches is hurt by nepotism and white boardrooms
Oliver Connolly, The Guardian
The NFL’s annual Black Monday, when teams routinely fire coaches as the regular season ends, left the league with a dwindling number of minority coaches. Of the eight coaches who left their position this season, five were minorities: Steve Wilks, Marvin Lewis, Vance Joseph, Hue Jackson and Todd Bowles. One, Wilks, was fired after only one year on the job.
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