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🚨 Headlines
🏀 Morant out for the year: Ja Morant will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery after tearing his labrum at practice. He played just nine games following his 25-game suspension.
⛳️ Just undo it: Tiger Woods and Nike are breaking up after 27 years, ending one of the most iconic partnerships in sports history. Truly the end of an era.
📺 Kimmel blasts Rodgers: Jimmy Kimmel used his first monologue of 2024 to fire back at Aaron Rodgers, calling him “Karen Rodgers” and “hamster-brained.”
🏈 Rivera out in DC: The Commanders fired head coach Ron Rivera, who went 26-40-1 in four seasons at the helm.
🏒 $92 million man: The Maple Leafs signed winger William Nylander to an eight-year, $92 million extension, the richest contract in franchise history and the fifth-richest active contract in the NHL.
🏆 Hail to the Victors: Michigan wins it all
Michigan beat Washington, 34-13, on Monday night in Houston to win its first national championship since 1997.
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The Wolverines ran 38 times for 303 yards, the most by any team in a BCS or CFP title game (1998-present).
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Their top-ranked defense stifled Michael Penix Jr. (27/51, 255 yards, TD, 2 INT) and the nation’s best passing attack.
The perfect season: The Wolverines are the fifth team in college football history to finish 15-0, joining 2022 Georgia, 2019 LSU, 2018 Clemson and 1897 Penn.
Most championships: This is Michigan’s 10th officially recognized national title (they claim two more), moving them past USC for fifth-most in NCAA history.
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Yale: 18 (1874, 1876, 1877, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1891, 1892, 1894, 1900, 1907, 1909, 1927)
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Alabama: 16 (1925, 1926, 1930, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020)
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Princeton: 15 (1869, 1870, 1872, 1873, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1885, 1889, 1893, 1896, 1903, 1906, 1911, 1922)
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Notre Dame: 13 (1919, 1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988)
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Michigan: 10 (1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1933, 1948, 1997, 2023)
Rounding out the top 10: USC (9 titles), Ohio State (8), Harvard (8), Oklahoma (7), Minnesota (6).
Michigan vs Everybody: Michigan’s season was rocked by a sign-stealing scandal. Their championship is proof, players and coaches say, that stealing signs isn’t why they won games, writes Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
Since the sign-stealer — Connor Stalions — was exposed and resigned from the staff, Michigan went 8-0.
The Wolverines beat their in-state rival, Michigan State, by 49 points, quite literally ran over No. 9 Penn State in Happy Valley (without their head coach), beat No. 2 Ohio State (without their head coach), clobbered No. 18 Iowa, won a Rose Bowl semifinal over No. 4 Alabama and trounced the second-ranked Huskies.
“We’re legends,” said Braiden McGregor, a senior edge rusher. “Everybody said we couldn’t do it. ‘Oh, we’re going to put an asterisk if they win the national championship!’ Nobody can say anything now.”
The man of the hour: Most coaches never win a national title, let alone at their alma mater. Love him or hate him, Jim Harbaugh is on top of the world. From Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel:
Nine years ago, Jim Harbaugh left the NFL and returned to college football with a single focus — to restore a then-struggling Michigan program.
He immediately began throwing elbows and inviting controversies. He set up satellite recruiting camps. He accused the SEC of cheating. He held sleepovers at prospects’ houses. He walked around asking, “Who’s got it better than us?” even when he was losing three games a year, including to Ohio State.
He was odd and unorthodox and unusual. It made a lot more sense when he could only manage to get Michigan back to respectable, but far from the scene that played out here late on Monday.
There was Harbaugh, standing on a makeshift stage under falling national championship confetti. A man who almost never appears comfortable was suddenly perfectly content, silently scanning all that was in front of him — hugging players and beaming parents, proud alums and dancing fans. And an entire sport beneath him.
Quick links: Top 5 plays | Full highlights | Way-too-early top 25 for next season
⚾️ History coming for Cooperstown?
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America has been stingy with Hall of Fame votes recently, electing just four players since 2020. But that trend could reverse this year in historic fashion, Jeff writes.
Where it stands: With one-third of ballots made public thanks to ballot tracker Ryan Thibodaux*, five players have the requisite 75% of the vote for election. If that number holds, it would match the inaugural 1936 class for the most ever elected.
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Adrián Beltré (1st year, 98.4%): The third baseman is a shoo-in, but he won’t join Mariano Rivera as the second unanimous selection. Two Boston-based voters, Bill Ballou and Tony Massarotti, left him off their ballot and only voted for Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramírez.
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Todd Helton (6th, 82.2%): The Rockies lifer nearly made the cut last year with 72.2% of the vote after earning 52% in 2022. With five years left, he’s a virtual lock to get in at some point.
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Joe Mauer (1st, 82.2%): Minnesota’s native son ranks ninth among primary catchers with 55.2 wins above replacement. All eight players ahead of him on that list are in Cooperstown.
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Billy Wagner (9th, 79.8%): He’s running out of time, but like Helton his vote has steadily increased, reaching 68% last year. And for good reason: His 422 saves are sixth all-time and his 2.31 ERA ranks 20th among the 1,453 pitchers who’ve thrown at least 900 innings.
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Gary Sheffield (10th, 76.7%): The lone player in his final year on the ballot would already be in Cooperstown if he hadn’t been named in the infamous Mitchell Report for steroid use. Because the stats are there: His 509 HR and 1,676 RBI both rank in the top 30.
Cooperstown’s biggest classes: The 1936 group of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson remains the only class with five inductees. Five other classes have had four:
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1947: Carl Hubbell, Frankie Frisch, Mickey Cochrane, Lefty Grove
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1955: Joe DiMaggio, Ted Lyons, Dazzy Vance, Gabby Hartnett
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2015: Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, John Smoltz, Craig Biggio
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2018: Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, Trevor Hoffman
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2019: Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martínez, Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina
Looking ahead: The voting results will be announced two weeks from today (Jan. 23). Until then, Thibodaux’s tracker will continue to be updated with public ballots.
*The man behind the tracker: Since 2014, Thibodaux and a few acquaintances have compiled all publicly shared ballots in a handy spreadsheet. Every year, the Oakland native fears the BBWAA will shut him down for spoiling the surprise, but it hasn’t happened yet.
🎾 Djokovic’s superpower: Staying healthy
The three-way rivalry between Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer has defined men’s tennis this century. As the 2024 season gets underway, it’s clear who came out on top — and why, Jeff writes.
State of play: Djokovic, 36, enters next week’s Australian Open as the No. 1 player in the world while Nadal, 37, was forced to withdraw after re-injuring the hip that kept him out of three Grand Slams last year.
Majors missed: Injuries have robbed Nadal and Federer of countless opportunities to add to their Grand Slam total. But four times a year for two decades, Djokovic has been out there with a chance to win.
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Nadal (22 major titles) has missed four consecutive Grand Slams due to injury, and 13 overall dating back to 2004.
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Federer (20) missed seven either due to injury or in an effort to avoid injury, all from 2016-21. He retired at age 41 due to ongoing knee problems.
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Djokovic (24) has missed just one Grand Slam due to injury, the 2017 US Open. That’s also the only year since 2010 that he’s failed to win at least one major.
His body is a temple: Djokovic’s incredible run of good health is due at least in part to luck and genetics, but he’s also obsessive about how he treats his body. Most notably, he follows a stretching and fitness routine that has made him mind-bogglingly flexible.
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That obsession has at times led him into questionable territory, “with a weakness for what some regard as quackery,” notes NYT’s Michael Steinberger.
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He once worked with a spiritual guru who believes in the power of prolonged hugging. In 2020, he claimed he could clean polluted water with prayer.
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And of course there was his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine, which caused him to miss more Grand Slam tournaments (two) than any injury has.
The bottom line: Djokovic isn’t the only all-time great whose fitness fixation has fueled a long prime (see: Tom Brady, LeBron James). It calls to mind an adage that’s as accurate as it is clichéd: the greatest ability is availability.
⚽️ Rest in peace, Mario and Franz
Only three people have won the World Cup as both a player and a manager: Mário Zagallo (Brazil), Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) and Didier Deschamps (France).
What they’re saying: “My pain, today, is equal to the happiness I felt to be invited to the table of these two giants,” said the 55-year-old Deschamps, who has perhaps never been more aware of his own mortality.
The end of an era: Beckenbauer’s passing means the world has now lost the five best soccer players of the 20th century, as ranked by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.
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🇧🇷 Pelé (1940-2022)
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🇳🇱 Johan Cruyff (1947-2016)
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🇩🇪 Beckenbauer (1945-2024)
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🇦🇷 Alfredo Di Stéfano (1926-2014)
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🇦🇷 Diego Maradona (1960-2020)
Good read: Farewell Franz Beckenbauer, the last of football’s immortals
📆 Jan. 9, 1972: The streak ends
52 years ago today, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Bucks snapped Wilt Chamberlain and the Lakers’ 33-game winning streak, the longest in major North American sports history, Jeff writes.
Longest regular-season winning streaks by league:
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🏀 NBA: 33 games (1971-72 Lakers)
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⚾️ MLB: 26 games (1916 Giants)
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🏈 NFL: 23 games (2008-09 Colts)
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🏒 NHL: 17 games (1992-93 Penguins)
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⚾️ 1903: The rival American League and National League brokered a “peace agreement,” setting the stage for the inaugural World Series* played nine months later.
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🏀 1996: The Raptors went 0-for-3 from the charity stripe in a 92-91 loss to the Hornets, becoming the first and only team in NBA history to make zero free throws in a game.
*The first Fall Classic: The AL’s Boston Americans, led by Cy Young, beat the NL’s Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3, in the best-of-nine series.
📺 Watchlist: The last of the unbeatens
No. 2 Houston (14-0), the only undefeated team left in men’s college basketball, visits Iowa State tonight (7pm ET, ESPN2) as the Cougars look to stay perfect, Jeff writes.
By the numbers: Houston’s offense ranks just 133rd nationally (76.9 points per game), but its defense is the best in the country (49.8 points per game) by a wide margin*.
More to watch:
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🏀 NBA: Grizzlies at Mavericks (8:30pm, NBA)
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🏀 NCAAM: No. 11 Duke at Pitt (9pm, ESPN); No. 1 Purdue at Nebraska (9pm, Peacock); No. 18 BYU at No. 14 Baylor (9pm, ESPN+)
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🏀 NCAAW: No. 23 Marquette at Seton Hall (8:30pm, FS1)
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🏒 NHL: 10 games (7-9pm, ESPN+) … The Panthers (seven straight), Oilers (seven), Jets (six) and Kraken (six) put long winning streaks to the test tonight.
*Best by a mile: The difference between No. 1 Houston (49.8 ppg allowed) and No. 2 Virginia (57.1 ppg) is the same as between No. 2 Virginia and No. 35 Illinois-Chicago (64.4 ppg).
🏀 NBA trivia
Six NBA players have won back-to-back scoring titles this century. Can you name them?
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Hint: Three are still active, two were drafted out of high school, and one is the shortest player to ever win MVP.
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Submitted by: Caleb Mezzy (Cherry Hill, New Jersey)
Answer at the bottom.
🏈 What’s next for Harbaugh?
Jim Harbaugh has a decision to make: Stay at Michigan or return to the NFL, where multiple teams are interested in his services.
So, what do you think? Is he joining his brother in the NFL or returning to Ann Arbor to defend his title?
Trivia answer: Allen Iverson (2000-02), Tracy McGrady (2002-04), Kobe Bryant (2005-07), Kevin Durant (2009-12), James Harden (2017-20), Joel Embiid (2021-23)
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