| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Jan 26, 2021 | | 👋 Good morning! Let's sports. Today's word count: 1,847 words (7 minutes). | | | | | | 1 big thing: ⚾️ Character counts in Cooperstown |  Table: Axios Visuals When Baseball's Hall of Fame voting results are announced tonight, it's likely that the Baseball Writers' Association of America will not elect any new entrants for just the fourth time since 1960, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. The state of play: This is partly due to a weak crop of newcomers, but the bigger story is that Hall of Fame voters have become increasingly disenchanted with the once-revered responsibility of selecting Cooperstown's newest residents. The backdrop: Last year, just four players earned even 50% of the vote (besides Larry Walker and Derek Jeter, who got above the requisite 75% for election), and they all carry significant red flags. - Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are in their penultimate year on the ballot, but their careers have been tainted by steroids.
- Curt Schilling is also running out of time, but his history of offensive remarks (he recently supported the insurrection) has barred him thus far.
- Omar Vizquel looked like an eventual shoo-in until domestic abuse allegations surfaced in December.
Between the lines: Hall of Fame voting comprises nine rules, but none loom as large No. 5's character clause, stipulating that players must display "integrity, sportsmanship [and] character." - The clause has been around since the 1940s, but only recently began dominating the conversation in the wake of the steroid era.
- Interestingly, then-commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis (ironically, a noted racist) introduced the clause to give less-accomplished players a chance to gain entry on the strength of superior character.
The big picture: The BBWAA has repeatedly asked for rule changes and guidance on how to treat steroid users, but the Hall seems intent on letting the writers do their dirty work. - "You're supposed to be doing a fun thing, voting for the Hall of Fame," vote-tracker Ryan Thibodaux told WSJ (subscription). "Instead you're trying to weigh various transgressions and indiscretions."
- The situation gets murkier still when you consider the players from baseball's golden era who made the Hall when the character clause was ignored.
What they're saying: ESPN's Jeff Passan stopped voting in 2017 for this very reason, spurred by a letter from Hall of Famer Joe Morgan asking voters not to elect steroid users to "the most sacred place in baseball." "If, by sacred place, the Hall means one in which racists, wife beaters, drunks, gamblers and purveyors of manifold moral turpitude otherwise are celebrated, well, Cooperstown is a shining beacon of divinity set upon a hill of hypocrisy." The bottom line: Voters and the Hall seem to agree that times have changed, but they can't seem to agree on how best to change with the times. Looking ahead ... Things won't get any easier in 2022, when a certain superstar named Alex Rodriguez debuts on the ballot. Go deeper: Hall of Fame voting has become a hassle (NYT) |     | | | | | | 2. 🏈 Coming soon: QB musical chairs |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | NFL quarterback is the single most important job in sports, and this offseason could feature an unprecedented reshuffling at the position. - What they're saying: "There are roughly 10 QBs locked into starting jobs for [2021]," tweeted ESPN's Adam Schefter. "My over/under of teams changing QBs this offseason is 18. I'll go with the over."
My take ... I think Schefty went a little overboard; I have 15 QBs locked into starting jobs. Still, that's less than half the league. The locks (15):- Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
- Buccaneers: Tom Brady
- Seahawks: Russell Wilson
- Ravens: Lamar Jackson
- Bills: Josh Allen
- Browns: Baker Mayfield
- Titans: Ryan Tannehill
- Cardinals: Kyler Murray
- Chargers: Justin Herbert
- Bengals: Joe Burrow
- Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa
- Vikings: Kirk Cousins
- Raiders: Derek Carr
- Broncos: Drew Lock
- Giants: Daniel Jones
New QB needed (6):- Colts: Philip Rivers retired
- Saints: Drew Brees is expected to retire
- Lions: Matthew Stafford will be traded
- Jaguars: Hello, Trevor Lawrence
- Patriots: Cam Newton won't be back
- Texans: Deshaun Watson reportedly wants out regardless of who Houston hires as head coach
Could upgrade (5):TBD (6): P.S. ... Notable free agent QBs include Jameis Winston, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andy Dalton, Jacoby Brissett and Tyrod Taylor. Go deeper: Which Matthew Stafford landing spot makes the most sense? (The Ringer) | | | | | | | | 3. 🎓 Pandemic costs NCAA $600 million |  Data: NCAA; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios The pandemic fueled a roughly $600 million plunge in NCAA revenue this past fiscal year (Aug. 31, 2019–Aug. 31, 2020), according to financial statements. By the numbers: In 2019, the NCAA generated $1.12 billion, mostly from media payments from its men's basketball tournament. - In 2020, when March Madness was canceled for the first time ever, that number fell to $519 million — even with a $270 million insurance payment offsetting some of the losses.
Between the lines: The strength of the market during the pandemic helped the NCAA avoid a deeper financial hole, with net investment income up nearly $26 million year-over-year. The big picture: Most of the NCAA's revenue is distributed to its members, so these losses are felt by individual schools and their athletic departments. - The NCAA planned to distribute $600 million to its members post-March Madness, but ended up giving out just $225 million when it was canceled.
- This is why it's crucial that this year's tournament takes place. If it does, the NCAA is set to receive $850 million from its media partners and will distribute $613 million of that to schools.
Go deeper: How NCAA conferences earn money from March Madness (Axios) | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Keep up with Minneapolis-St. Paul sports | | |  | | | | Get a daily digest of what's new in your hometown with Axios Twin Cities. Why it matters: It's more important than ever to stay up to date on the events unfolding around you. Subscribe for free | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | 💵 Scoop: Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of the Red Sox and Liverpool, is no longer in talks to go public via a SPAC formed by Billy "Moneyball" Beane and investor Gerry Cardinale, Axios' Dan Primack reports. 🏈 Budweiser is giving up its iconic in-game Super Bowl airtime for the first time in 37 years, and will instead donate $1 million to vaccine awareness efforts. 🏀 The NBA and NBPA are discussing holding an All-Star Game in early March, ESPN reports. The traditional All-Star Weekend — previously scheduled for February — was canceled due to the pandemic. ⛳️ The 2022 PGA Championship, which was withdrawn from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, will now be held at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 🥊 UFC 257 generated roughly 1.6 million global buys, making it one of the best-selling UFC PPV's ever, SBJ's John Ourand reports. ⚽️ MLS will begin its regular season on April 3 and conclude with the MLS Cup title game on Dec. 11. Teams can start preseason camps on Feb. 22. | | | | | | | | 5. 🏈 CDC: Lessons learned from NFL season |  | | | Signage prior to the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Photo: Adam Bettcher/Getty Images | | | | The NFL found that transmission of COVID-19 occurred in less than 15 minutes of cumulative interaction between individuals, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Axios' Marisa Fernandez writes. What they're saying: The league, along with the NFL Players Association, identified four factors when players and staff came in contact with each other: - Whether masks were in use
- How well the room was ventilated
- How long the interaction was
- Physical distance between them
By the numbers: About 623,000 COVID-19 tests were performed on approximately 11,400 players and staff members and nearly 3% tested positive between Aug. 9 and Nov. 21. - Between Sept. 27 and Oct. 10, a total of 41 cases were identified among players and staff. Of those, 21 showed transmission within a single team, requiring closure of that team's facilities.
- When infection rates climbed in November, the league intensified protocols, mandating high-risk interaction tracing and negative daily PCR testing, among other social rules.
Reality check: The CDC says intensive testing and contact tracing helps prevent the spread of COVID-19. But the model set by the NFL, which was reportedly willing to spend $75 million on testing alone, could be too costly for others to copy. | | | | | | | | 6. 🏀 Men's poll: Four Texas teams in top 10 |  Data: NCAA; Table: Axios Visuals Baylor, Texas, Houston and Texas Tech are the first quartet of schools from a single state ever to be ranked in the top 10 of the same AP men's college basketball poll. - Yes, but: It might not last. No. 10 Texas Tech fell to No. 11 West Virginia in an 88-87 thriller on Monday and could fall out of the top 10 next week.
Blue Bloods watch: The last time an NCAA tournament was played without Duke, UNC and Kentucky was 1974. - With seven weeks until Selection Sunday, all three are unranked, UNC is barely projected to make the field, Duke's on the bubble and Kentucky's toast.
- Meanwhile, Kansas suffered its first three-game losing streak since 2013, and Michigan State — which has never ended a season with a sub-.500 conference record under Tom Izzo — is 2-4 in Big Ten play. What is going on?!
Notes: - No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor have topped the poll every week this season.
- No. 4 Michigan cracked the top five for the second straight year under Juwan Howard, but just entered a 14-day, school-wide pause (athletes are protesting).
- No. 9 Alabama is in the top 10 for the first time since 2007, as they've ridden the same three-point obsession sweeping the NBA to a nine-game win streak.
📆 Coming up ... No. 5 Texas hosts No. 24 Oklahoma tonight (7pm ET, ESPN2), but they'll be without coach Shaka Smart (positive test). | | | | | | | | 7. 🏀 Women's poll: Top teams (barely) stay put |  Data: NCAA; Table: Axios Visuals The top 10 remains unchanged save for No. 5 UCLA switching spots with No. 6 Stanford after the former beat the latter, 70-66, in a thriller on Friday, Jeff writes. The big picture: The relative stasis of this poll belies how close a majority of the teams near the top have come to falling off their perches. - No. 1 Louisville beat unranked Wake Forest, but only after hitting the go-ahead shot with nine seconds left.
- No. 2 NC State beat unranked Virginia Tech by two thanks to a furious, fourth-quarter comeback.
- No. 3 UConn and No. 4 South Carolina narrowly defeated then-No. 25 Tennessee and unranked LSU, respectively.
- No. 5 UCLA needed OT to beat then-No. 25 Washington State last Sunday.
- No. 8 Texas A&M and unranked Mizzou were tied with three minutes left before the Aggies pulled out a four-point win.
📆 Coming up ... Thursday night is loaded with ranked-on-ranked action: - 5pm ET: No. 3 UConn at No. 19 Arkansas (ESPN2)
- 7pm: No. 4 South Carolina at No. 21 Mississippi State (ESPN)
- 8pm: No. 14 Ohio State at No. 16 Indiana (BTN)
| | | | | | | | 8. Jan. 26, 2020: 💔 A day we'll never forget | | Kobe and Gianna Bryant at the 2016 NBA All-Star Game. Photo: Elsa/Getty Images One year ago today, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash on their way to a youth girls basketball game. Fans built makeshift memorials outside Staples Center in the hours after the crash. Photo: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images It didn't feel real then. It still doesn't feel real now. A mural of Kobe and Gianna Bryant in Los Angeles. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images Go deeper: Here's the tribute I wrote last year. ✍️ Share your thoughts: Sports are often viewed as an escape from the "real world," but this tragedy — and the global mourning that transpired in the days, weeks and months that followed — is as real as life gets. - How do you feel a year later? Reply to this email with your thoughts.
- I'll share some of your words in tomorrow's newsletter. Thank you.
| | | | | | | | 9. 🏀 NBA trivia |  | | | Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images | | | | LeBron James (46 pts, 19/26 FG, 7-11 3PT) went off against the Cavaliers on Monday, scoring 40+ points for the 66th time in his career. - Question: Only 11 players have scored 40+ points more times than James, and just three of them played this century. Can you name them?
- Hint: All three have an "E" in their first name. Only one is active.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎥 Monday's top plays | | Anthony Edwards (No. 1 pick) takes flight over James Wiseman (No. 2 pick). Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images - 🏀 Anthony Edwards!
- ⚽️ Incredible header
- 🏀 Wild buzzer-beater
- 🏒 Sutter flicks it in
- 🏀 Bam on both ends
Ryan Sutter with one of his three goals on the night. Source: Giphy Watch all 5. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Keep up with Minneapolis-St. Paul sports | | | | | | | | Get a daily digest of what's new in your hometown with Axios Twin Cities. Why it matters: It's more important than ever to stay up to date on the events unfolding around you. Subscribe for free | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Prayers to all the families" Baker Trivia answer: Kobe Bryant (122 times), James Harden (99), Allen Iverson (79) | | Invite friends to follow Axios Sports Use your personal link to track how many readers you bring into the community  You currently have 00 referrals. Share with a friend For questions email referralsupport@axios.com. Participation in the Axios Sports Referral Program constitutes your acceptance of the Axios Terms and Conditions of Use, which can be viewed here. | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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