General
Floyd Mayweather says he spent New Year’s Eve earning $9 million for a 139-second win
Des Bieler, The Washington Post
Befitting his “Money” nickname, Floyd Mayweather spent his New Year’s Eve earning a quick paycheck. How quick? 139 seconds, in a Tokyo-area exhibition match Monday against Tenshin Nasukawa.
Verizon TV customers suffer blackout of key channels days before the NFL playoffs
Brian Fung, The Washington Post
Verizon Fios subscribers across the country are suffering a sudden television blackout of key broadcast channels this week after the company’s content negotiations with a major media company, Tegna, fell through. Affected channels include WUSA, the CBS station in the nation’s capital; WVEC, the local ABC station in Norfolk; and WGRZ, Buffalo’s NBC station.
New promise and old problems due in 2019 for Atlantic City
Wayne Parry, The Associated Press
The new year holds promise and peril for Atlantic City, with new benefits facing off against old problems. The East Coast gambling resort is on something of a roll, having regained its balance as a smaller market following years of casino closings and job losses.
What Does Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling Do? Crazy Things
Scott Cacciola, The New York Times
The night he won gold at the Winter Olympics in February, Tyler George slept with the medal next to his pillow. He wanted to make sure it would still be there in the morning. Nearly a year later, he still has barely let the medal out of sight, in large part because he has not been allowed to let it out of sight.
NFL
A Harsh ‘Black Monday’ Is the Latest Sign of the Changing NFL
Andrew Beaton, The Wall Street Journal
There isn’t usually anything too momentous about the NFL’s “Black Monday,” the day after the final games of the regular season when coaches are traditionally fired. It happens every year and so there isn’t typically a broader takeaway that reverberates through the league other than the fundamental notion that some number of teams decided they needed to make a change.
Firing of Several Black Coaches Puts N.F.L. Hiring Under Scrutiny
Bill Pennington and Ken Belson, The New York Times
The N.F.L.’s 32 owners made an unexpected announcement after meeting a few weeks ago: The league was strengthening rules that obligate teams to consider minority candidates when hiring coaches and executives in their front offices. At the time, the league said it was just trying to beef up existing regulations, not reacting to criticism that teams had been skirting the rules for years.
Antonio Brown has requested trade, has issues with Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin
Ryan Wilson, CBS Sports
It wasn’t a surprise that Antonio Brown didn’t play in the regular-season finale against the Bengals. What was surprising, however, was the real reason he wasn’t active.
A once-proud franchise, the Redskins are showing signs of foundational cracks
Liz Clarke et al., The Washington Post
Daniel Snyder was regarded as a business savant when he bought the Washington Redskins in 1999 at age 34. A self-made millionaire, he promised to restore the storied National Football League franchise to greatness, driven by his childhood passion for the team and fueled by free-spending zeal in pursuit of a Super Bowl championship.
NBA
Kristi Toliver, an N.B.A. Assistant Who’s Paid Like an Intern
Howard Megdal, The New York Times
For Kristi Toliver, walking onto the court at the Staples Center in Los Angeles earlier this season was both a familiar and entirely new experience. Certainly, Toliver knew the terrain well.
By opting for surgery, John Wall hopes to avoid tearing Achilles’ tendon
Candace Buckner, The Washington Post
John Wall does not look forward to having yet another surgery. Wall insisted he’s not ducking a season in which the Washington Wizards will have to claw for a playoff spot nor is he tapping out because he might not make the Eastern Conference all-star team for the sixth consecutive year, as a television nemesis suggested.
No one is starting 2019 on more of a hot streak than James Harden
Des Bieler, The Washington Post
With apologies to Amanda Nunes, who recently authored a stunningly dominant performance, no athlete is starting 2019 on more of a hot streak than James Harden. The Rockets star has put the team on his back of late, while racking up points and assists at historic pace.
MLB
Here’s the Catch on Yasmani Grandal
Ben Berkon, The Wall Street Journal
Catcher is one of the thinnest positions in baseball, so a catcher like Yasmani Grandal, who hit 24 home runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018, was expected to land a lucrative free-agent deal. He declined the Dodgers’ $17.9 million qualifying offer to test the open market, and then rejected a four-year, $60 million offer from the Mets, according to the Los Angeles Times.
NHL
Q&A: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on 2020 Winter Classic, state of the Stars, and Lites comments
Sean Shapiro, The Athletic
The Dallas Stars were named as hosts of the next Winter Classic on Tuesday. They will host a yet-to-be-named opponent on Jan. 1, 2020 at the Cotton Bowl.
In the U.S., Young Hockey Goalies Are Coming In From the Cold
Pat Borzi, The New York Times
Want to make some American hockey goaltenders laugh? Ask how much instruction they received while growing up. For those whose careers finished by the year 2000, the most common answer is little to none.
Soccer
Browns owners agree to buy Columbus Crew, keep team in Ohio
Tom Withers, The Associated Press
With their NFL franchise in better shape, Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam are tackling soccer. The Haslams have agreed to take over the Columbus Crew, guaranteeing the Major League Soccer team will not relocate.
Premier League Is Left Flat-Footed as New Leader Suddenly Backs Out
Tariq Panja, The New York Times
The English Premier League, soccer’s leading domestic competition, has been forced to reopen its search for a new leader after announcing that Susanna Dinnage, who was picked to replace the longtime executive chairman Richard Scudamore, had a change of heart. Dinnage, a senior executive at Discovery Communications, would have instantly become one of the most powerful women in sports had she taken charge of the Premier League.
Racing
Formula 1 in 2019: Lewis Hamilton’s sixth title and will Leclerc be better than Vettel?
Andrew Benson, BBC
As the sun sets on 2018, and Lewis Hamilton’s glorious march to a fifth world title fades into history, thoughts turn to the new Formula 1 season. What can be expected of a year in which Hamilton is looking for more success, Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel seek atonement, and a number of new names and faces – and one famous old one – look to make their mark?
Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas to lead Team Sky’s tilt at Tour de France
Press Association
Team Sky are set to go into what could be their final Tour de France with two leaders as the four-times winner, Chris Froome, and defending champion, Geraint Thomas, both confirmed they will target the race in 2019. Froome will not defend his Giro d’Italia title as he seeks a record-equalling fifth Tour crown, but will face a challenge from within as Thomas also plans to be in France having won the race for the first time in July.
Golf and Tennis
PGA Tour to experiment with interviews during the round
Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
The PGA Tour might be taking another step toward connecting players with television viewers. Several years ago, it asked players in contention on the weekend to allow for TV interviews before their rounds, usually as they were arriving or leaving the practice range.
Roger Federer Struggles With Serena Williams’s Serve. And Vice Versa.
Ben Rothenberg, The New York Times
After nearly two decades of appearing alongside one another on billboards and in record books, Serena Williams and Roger Federer faced one another across a tennis court for the first time on Tuesday. The incandescent stars, now both 37, finally aligned for the first time in a mixed doubles match between the United States and Switzerland at the Hopman Cup team event.
College Sports
Oklahoma, coach Lincoln Riley agree to contract extension
The Associated Press
Oklahoma and Lincoln Riley have agreed to a contract extension, which should quell speculation about the second-year coach being lured away by an NFL team. Oklahoma announced Tuesday that contract terms were being finalized and would be subject to approval by the board of regents late this month.
To Compete With Alabama, Clemson Became Alabama
Brian Costa and Jim Chairusmi, The Wall Street Journal
Justyn Ross was the quintessential Alabama football player. As a high school senior one year ago, he was widely regarded as the best player in the state.
Another Season Comes and Goes While Pac-12 Struggles to Keep Up
Marc Tracy and Kevin Draper, The New York Times
By several important measurements, the Pacific-12 Conference, the college sports league that calls itself “the conference of champions,” did not have a very good year. For the third time in five seasons, no Pac-12 team made the College Football Playoff.
UNLV’s much-criticized new logo is on the way out
Mark Anderson, Las Vegas Review-Journal
The UNLV logo that bore a striking resemblance to Western character actor Sam Elliott now is going the way of Khalil Mack Raiders jerseys. “We are exclusively using the iconic UNLV arch logo, and no new items with the ‘new’ mark are being approved through the licensing process,” athletic department spokesman Andy Grossman said in an email Monday.
Esports
TSM Myth hints at unionization for pro Fortnite players
Alan Bernal, Dexerto
Epic Games famously committed millions of dollars for pro competitions around Fortnite but deteriorated conditions around the esport has gotten to the point where one player feels it might be time to coordinate a union for the talent. Fortnite has thus far enjoyed a prolific audience for its first year of tournaments but the pros associated with the esport have repeatedly shared concerns with how the competitions have been handled, leading to a purposed guild to protect players’ interests.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
Gifting Daniel Snyder any money or land for a new Redskins stadium would be absolute madness
Sally Jenkins, The Washington Post
You’ve got to be either a drunk, a gambler or Daniel Snyder to tank your business in the NFL. The Washington Redskins owner has firmly established just what a bad investment risk he is.
Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number: Why the NFL should change its draft eligibility rules
Ross Tucker, The Athletic
Do you believe in freedom of choice? That’s ultimately what it comes down to regarding the NFL’s longstanding rule that states a player is not eligible for the NFL Draft until he is at least three years removed from his high school graduating class.
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