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Good morning! I hope we all get to play on the same team.
While You Were Sleeping: What’s beyond a superteam? Megasuperteam?
Days ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers inked Shohei Ohtani to a $700 million pact. (Let’s squeeze in some accounting.)
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Well, now let’s make it a billion dollars in fresh commitments. Late last night, the Dodgers agreed to a 12-year, $325 million contract with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the 25-year-old ace of the Nippon Professional Baseball league and Ohtani’s World Baseball Classic teammate.
Quick takeaways, for now:
We’ll have much more later. Here’s Ken Rosenthal’s column, posted at 2 a.m. ET(!), with nine thoughts on the move.
Also While You Were Sleeping: Rams alive, Saints … technically alive
If you missed it, you might assume the Rams’ 30-22 victory over New Orleans was a tight battle. It wasn’t. L.A. led 30-7 before a too-little-too-late comeback.
Massive implications for both teams:
8-7 Rams: Winners of five of their last six — with their only loss in overtime against the AFC-leading Ravens — the Rams sport a 72 percent chance of a playoff berth, per The New York Times’ simulator. Next up:
- Week 17: @ Giants (5-9).
- Week 18: @ 49ers (11-3), who could have a first-round bye clinched by then, but don’t count on Kyle Shanahan resting starters.
Adding to the good vibes, Rookie of the Year contender Puka Nacua’s 164 receiving yards brought him just 146 yards shy of the NFL’s rookie record of 1,473.
7-8 Saints: The Saints’ playoff odds were slashed from 39 percent to just 15 percent. A possible silver lining for frustrated fans? That might be higher than head coach Dennis Allen’s odds of retaining his job …
- Week 17: @ Buccaneers (7-7).
- Week 18: vs Falcons (6-8). Even if the Saints win out against two division rivals, their playoff chances are now outside their control.
News to Know
Zion’s complex deal
Zion Williamson’s Pelicans contract is no longer guaranteed for the final three years after he was limited to just 29 games last season, Mike Vorkunov reports. He also stands to lose part of his guaranteed salary for 2024-25 if he misses significant time this season, but he can earn back the future guarantees by playing in enough games, among other stipulations. John Hollinger says it might be the most complex guarantee structure he’s ever seen. Sheesh.
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FSU looking to ditch ACC?
Florida State continues to mull its options for leaving the ACC and has an emergency Board of Trustees meeting this morning, restarting realignment speculation around college sports. The Seminoles are the most vocal of a group of ACC schools that have raised concerns about the growing revenue gap between the Big Ten/SEC and everyone else.
Where could Florida State go, how would the conference react and what does the CFP snub have to do with all this? Let us explain.
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Three Questions: Jalen Brunson, superstar?
The New York Knicks are just about the league’s most valuable and historic brand, sitting alongside the Celtics and Lakers. The fans are rabid, even when the team is bad. So why aren’t we talking about them more?
This Knicks team is good. Not perfect, or even excellent, but they’re 16-11, a solid playoff team with a lot to like on the roster. They don’t have the superstar, however, to bind them to the spotlight night in and night out. No Carmelo Anthony here.
I find them so intriguing, especially since they’re much less hyped than you’d think a competent New York team would be. I dug in with Fred Katz, our Knicks writer, to find out more:
This team came into the season largely unchanged, and they’re playing at a similar level than last year. We’re almost 30 games in. How are they playing compared to preseason expectations?
Fred: The Knicks are playing to expectations. They finished fifth in the Eastern Conference last season; they’re fifth again at the moment. Even without their starting center, Mitchell Robinson, undergoing ankle surgery, they continue to tough out wins.
The massive difference, from here, is Jalen Brunson, who’s gone from pretty good guard to All-Star. Do you think this is his peak?
Fred: It may not be, considering Brunson has improved every year of his career, dating all the way back to his amateur days. He took a massive leap in the second part of last season and then another in the playoffs. Now, he’s draining 3-pointers like never before. I wouldn’t be shocked if he showed up next year a better player than he is today.
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I keep thinking about this team’s ceiling. Any shot they go superstar-hunting before the trade deadline?
Fred: I doubt one will be available — though it’s the NBA, so you never know. The Knicks, at least, don’t think a superstar hits the trade market until next summer. For now, this is a good team playing good ball and feeling good about itself. Maybe the group makes a modification somewhere else on the roster, but as of today, I don’t anticipate a trade for a star occurring in-season.
The Knicks play two big games against the 21-7 Bucks, tomorrow and on Christmas. Time to see where that ceiling really is.
Watch This Game
NHL: Oilers at Rangers
7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+/Hulu
The Oilers are steadying after a rocky start, but the Rangers are elite. Watch for the New York team that could really win the Stanley Cup.
NFL: Bengals at Steelers
Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC
Pittsburgh is still technically in the playoff hunt, but they’re likely toast. Cincinnati, behind wunderkind backup Jake Browning, is very much not toast. Watch to see if the Bengals put more juice behind an unexpected postseason push.
Pulse Picks
Todd Monken had a pretty exciting 2023, coordinating Georgia’s offense that scored about one million points in the national championship and then getting to coach Lamar Jackson. Jeff Zrebiec profiles the NFL’s new standout OC.
It’s weird to think we are talking about a broken Eagles offense, but that’s basically the vibe right now in Philly. Good news, Eagles fans! It’s not broken, merely stale and in need of a refresh. Good read here.
Remember the Super League drama in Europe? A landmark ruling means a fresh discussion around European football. Check it out.
If you ever wanted a great look at what referees do behind the scenes, read this. Really interesting perspective.
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You’ll enjoy this: How a golf course dared to be completely different.
Welp, Jordan Poole and the Golden State Warriors are going to share a basketball court again. As expected, people on both sides have thoughts.
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(Photo: Rob Tringali/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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