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⛷️ Shiffrin makes history: Mikaela Shiffrin (alongside teammate Breezy Johnson) won the new team combined event on Tuesday at the World Championships for her eighth gold and 15th medal overall at worlds — both modern-era records (since WWII).
⚽️ Madrid stuns City: Real Madrid stunned Manchester City on Tuesday, scoring twice in the final minutes for a 3-2 victory in the first leg of their Champions League playoff. Full scoreboard.
⚾️ MLB offseason: Kenley Jansen, MLB’s active saves leader, is heading to the Angels (1 year, $10M); Clayton Kershaw, MLB’s active ERA leader, is reportedly nearing a deal to return to the Dodgers for an 18th season.
🏀 Raptors extend Ingram: Brandon Ingram, traded from the Pelicans to the Raptors at the deadline, signed a three-year, $120 million extension with Toronto on Tuesday.
Instead of an All-Star Game this season, the NHL is staging the 4 Nations Face-Off, a week-long tournament beginning today that features national teams made up entirely of NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States.
NHL back on the world stage: This is the first best-on-best international hockey tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and the timing is no mistake: The 4 Nations serves as a “bit of an appetizer,” says NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, for the NHL’s return to the Olympics next year — the first Winter Games featuring NHL players since Sochi 2014.
Notes:
Schedule and format: The four-team round-robin runs from today through Monday. Whichever two teams have the best record will play in the championship on Feb. 20.
Venues: This week’s games are at Montreal’s Bell Centre (Canadiens); next week’s, including the championship, are at Boston’s TD Garden (Bruins).
Two teams left out: The first-place Capitals and last-place Sharks are the only teams without a player in the 4 Nations.
Stars take the ice: 25 of the league’s top 50 current scoring leaders — including seven of the top 10 — are playing in the tournament.
Betting odds: Canada is a slight favorite to win (+145 at BetMGM) ahead of the U.S. (+150), while Sweden (+425) and Finland (+1000) are the underdogs.
What they’re saying: 82% of the NHL players surveyed by The Athletic ($) are excited for the 4 Nations. “I think it’s sick. Best-on-best. That’s what everybody wants to see,” said one player. Not everyone agrees, though. “I’d rather go back home to [my home country],” said another player who’s actually competing in the tournament. “I’d rather a two-week break.”
The rosters: Each 23-player team has 13 forwards, seven defenseman and three goalies.
🇨🇦 Canada: Lightning head coach Jon Cooper leads a squad headlined by captain Sidney Crosby and assistant captains Connor McDavid and Cale Makar.
Forwards: McDavid (Oilers), Crosby (Penguins), Sam Bennett (Panthers), Anthony Cirelli (Lightning), Brandon Hagel (Lightning), Seth Jarvis (Hurricanes), Travis Konecny (Flyers), Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche), Brad Marchand (Bruins), Mitch Marner (Maple Leafs), Brayden Point (Lightning), Sam Reinhart (Panthers), Mark Stone (Golden Knights)
Defenseman: Makar (Avalanche), Drew Doughty (Kings), Josh Morrissey (Jets), Colton Parayko (Blues), Travis Sanheim (Flyers), Shea Theodore (Golden Knights), Devon Toews (Avalanche)
Goalies: Jordan Binnington (Blues), Adin Hill (Golden Knights), Sam Montembeault (Canadiens)
🇺🇸 USA: Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan leads a squad headlined by captain Auston Matthews and assistant captains Charlie McAvoy and Matthew Tkachuk.
Forwards: Matthews (Maple Leafs), Tkachuk (Panthers), Brady Tkachuk (Senators), Matt Boldy (Wild), Kyle Connor (Jets), Jack Eichel (Golden Knights), Jake Guentzel (Lightning), Jack Hughes (Devils), Chris Kreider (Rangers), Dylan Larkin (Red Wings), J.T. Miller (Rangers), Brock Nelson (Islanders), Vincent Trocheck (Rangers)
Defenseman: McAvoy (Bruins), Brock Faber (Wild), Adam Fox (Rangers), Noan Hanifin (Golden Knights), Jake Sanderson (Senators), Jaccob Slavin (Hurricanes), Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets)
Goalies: Connor Hellebuyck (Jets), Jake Oettinger (Stars), Jeremy Swayman (Bruins)
🇸🇪 Sweden: Former national team head coach Sam Hallam leads a squad headlined by captain Victor Hedman and assistant captains Mattias Ekholm, Erik Karlsson and William Nylander.
Forwards: Nylander (Maple Leafs), Viktor Arvidsson (Oilers), Jesper Bratt (Devils), Leo Carlsson (Ducks), Joel Eriksson Ek (Wild), Filip Forsberg (Predators), Adrian Kempe (Kings), Elias Lindholm (Bruins), Gustav Nyquist (Predators), Elias Pettersson (Canucks), Rickard Rakell (Penguins), Lucas Raymond (Red Wings), Mika Zibanejad (Rangers)
Defenseman: Hedman (Lightning), Ekholm (Oilers), Karlsson (Penguins), Rasmus Andersson (Flames), Jonas Brodin (Wild), Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres), Gustav Forsling (Panthers)
Goalies: Samuel Ersson (Flyers), Filip Gustavsson (Wild), Linus Ullmark (Senators)
🇫🇮 Finland: Antti Pennanen, a head coach in the Finnish Liiga, leads a squad headlined by captain Aleksander Barkov and assistant captains Sebastian Aho, Mikael Granlund and Mikko Rantanen.
Forwards: Barkov (Panthers), Aho (Hurricanes), Rantanen (Hurricanes), Granlund (Stars), Joel Armia (Canadiens), Erik Haula (Devils), Roope Hintz (Stars), Kaapo Kakko (Kraken), Patrik Laine (Canadiens), Artturi Lehkonen (Avalanche), Anton Lundell (Panthers), Eetu Luostarinen (Panthers), Teuvo Teräväinen (Blackhawks)
Defenseman: Henri Jokiharju (Sabres), Esa Lindell (Stars), Olli Määttä (Utah), Nikolas Matinpalo (Senators), Niko Mikkola (Panthers), Urho Vaakanainen (Rangers), Juuso Välimäki (Utah)
Goalies: Kevin Lankinen (Canucks), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Sabres), Juuse Saros (Predators)
Roster analysis: 4 Nations Face-Off lines look thrilling (The Hockey News)
Kevin Durant on Tuesday became the eighth player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points, dropping 34 in the Suns’ loss to the Grizzlies.
The 30K points club:
LeBron James: 41,623
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 38,387
Karl Malone: 36,928
Kobe Bryant: 33,643
Michael Jordan: 32,292
Dirk Nowitzki: 31,560
Wilt Chamberlain: 31,419
Kevin Durant: 30,008
What’s next: Durant will make his 15th All-Star Game appearance this weekend in San Francisco. Only LeBron (21), Kareem (19) and Kobe (18) have more selections.
Ever since she returned from Paris, where the USWNT won Olympic gold in her 11th week on the job, head coach Emma Hayes has been constructing a plan to dismantle the men’s soccer blueprint on the women’s game, writes Yahoo Sports’ Henry Bushnell.
She wants to use her power, as the highest-paid coach of the sport’s most popular team, to fundamentally rejigger how everyone — from coaches to performance scientists to data analysts to U.S. Soccer Federation marketing execs — approaches the women’s game.
Countless customs, rules, tactics, systems and so on have been copied or adapted from men’s soccer. Hayes has been asking provocative questions that boil down to one: If they weren’t copied, and were instead designed principally for women, how would they be different?
She has been “challenging everybody across the federation, internally,” to reflect on “how they’ve been viewing the women’s game through that male lens.” Hayes wants to replace it with a “female lens” that, she believes, could reshape the sport — and keep the USWNT atop it.
That is the vision and “mission” she’s presented, powerpoint and all, to youth national team staff and U.S. Soccer leadership: “Architect a ‘Female blueprint’ to win and set the bar for the global game.”
The last word: “I’ve worked my entire career to get to a place where I’ve got the ability to influence, and the power to influence something much broader and much bigger than me,” Hayes told a small group of reporters via Zoom. And she intends to use it.
🏀 Down go the favorites: Three unranked men’s hoops teams took down ranked opponents last night: Indiana beat No. 11 Michigan State, 71-67; Kansas State beat No. 13 Arizona, 73-70; UConn beat No. 24 Creighton, 70-66.
🏈 There was a three-peat after all: Eagles offensive lineman Darian Kinnard just became the second player in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls after the third-year pro out of Kentucky spent his first two seasons with the Chiefs.
🥍 And they’re off: The New York Charging beat the Maryland Charm, 14-13, in the inaugural game of the Women’s Lacrosse League, which kicked off its Championship Series on Tuesday. The other two teams, the Boston Guard and California Palms, debut tonight.
⚽️ USA 22, U.S. Virgin Islands 0: Team USA’s U-17 national team destroyed the U.S. Virgin Islands, 22-0, in Monday’s World Cup qualifier — the most goals ever scored by a U.S. team in World Cup qualifying at any level.
Tonight’s NBA doubleheader on ESPN features a surging contender in the East and a team in the West having one of the most nightmarish weeks in recent memory.
More to watch:
⚽️ Champions League: Playoffs (12:45-3pm, Paramount+) … Celtic vs. Bayern Munich (3pm) headlines the slate of four first-leg matches.
🏒 4 Nations Face-Off: Canada vs. Sweden (8pm, TNT) … The tournament-opener in Montreal.
🏀 NCAAM: No. 9 St. John’s at Villanova (6pm, FS1) … The Red Storm (21-3) have their highest ranking in 25 years.
⚽️ Premier League: Everton vs. Liverpool (2:30pm, USA) … The 245th Merseyside derby*.
*End of an era: This will be Everton’s final derby at Goodison Park, where they’ve played since 1892. They’re moving into a much larger stadium next season at the nearby Bramley-Moore Dock.
Eagles OC Kellen Moore has been hired as the Saints’ next head coach, filling the NFL’s seventh and final vacancy.
Question: Can you name the six other head coaches hired this offseason?
Hint: Patriots, Bears, Jets, Raiders, Jaguars, Cowboys.
Answer at the bottom.
Now that football is over, it can mean only one thing: It’s almost fantasy baseball season! To help you prepare, our experts have you covered with a first-round mock draft.
Shohei Ohtani (UTIL/SP, Dodgers)
Bobby Witt Jr. (SS, Royals)
Aaron Judge (OF, Yankees)
Gunnar Henderson (SS, Orioles)
Elly De La Cruz (SS, Reds)
José Ramírez (3B, Guardians)
Kyle Tucker (OF, Cubs)
Mookie Betts (2B/SS/OF, Dodgers)
Corbin Carroll (OF, Diamondbacks)
Juan Soto (OF, Mets)
Julio Rodríguez (OF, Mariners)
Fernando Tatis Jr. (OF, Padres)
Trivia answer: Mike Vrabel (Patriots), Ben Johnson (Bears), Aaron Glenn (Jets), Pete Carroll (Raiders), Liam Coen (Jaguars), Brian Schottenheimer (Cowboys)
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