Axios Sports: NFL playoffs — Horse racing law and order — NBA snapshot

1 big thing: 🏈 256 games down, 13 more to go | Monday, January 04, 2021

Open in app View in browser     Axios Sports By Kendall Baker ·Jan 04, 2021 👋 Happy New Year! Vacation was nice, but it's good to be back. Let's sports. Today's word count: 1,778 words words (7 minutes).     1 big thing: 🏈 256 games down, 13 more to go Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images AFC: The Browns beat the Steelers, 24-22, to snap an 18-year playoff drought. Their reward is a rematch with Pittsburgh, who eliminated them in their only other playoff game this century (2002 Wild Card). Seeds: Chiefs (Bye) Bills Steelers Titans Ravens Browns Colts Wild Card weekend: Saturday: Colts at Bills (-6.5) Sunday: Browns at Steelers (-3.5) Sunday: Ravens (-3.5) at Titans Giphy NFC: The NFC East race ended just how you'd expect: with ineptitude and a practice squad QB. In the end, Alex Smith (let's go!!!) and the seven-win Washington Football Team emerged from the rubble. Packers (Bye) Saints Seahawks Washington Buccaneers Rams Bears Wild Card weekend: Saturday: Rams at Seahawks (-4.5) Saturday: Buccaneers (-7.5) at Washington Sunday: Bears at Saints (-9.5) Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images Mr. 2000: Derrick Henry became the eighth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season — and the first to accomplish the feat at all three levels. NFL: 2,027 yards in 2020 NCAA: 2,219 yards in 2015 High school: Did it every year (look at these stats!!!) More records: Tom Brady made his 299th career start, passing Brett Favre for most by a QB. Philip Rivers threw his 421st career TD pass, moving ahead of Dan Marino for fifth on the all-time list. Lamar Jackson is the first QB with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Justin Jefferson broke Anquan Boldin's record for the most receiving yards by a rookie in the Super Bowl era. Final numbers: 88 rec, 1,400 yards, 7 TD. The big picture: Sunday was perhaps the last Week 17 finale we'll ever see. Starting next season, teams will play 17 games and add "Week 18" to the slate. No more 8-8, 9-7, 13-3 or any of the other records we've grown so accustomed to seeing ever since the NFL expanded to 16 games in 1978. So here's a toast to the 2008 Lions and 2017 Browns, the only teams that have ever finished 0-16 — and maybe the only teams that ever will. Go deeper: Full scoreboard Winners and losers     Bonus: 🤯 Wild stat Deshaun Watson and the Texans finished the year 4-12. Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images The NFL's passing yards leader has never won the Super Bowl. Including this season (Deshaun Watson), they're now 0-for-55.     2. 🏀 NBA snapshot: Stat leaders entering Week 3 Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images   Two weeks into the NBA's 72-game season, things have shaped up rather unexpectedly, Jeff Tracy writes. In the East, the Cavaliers, Magic, Hawks and Knicks all currently occupy playoff spots. In the West, the Suns are tied for the conference's best record while the Nuggets are tied for the worst. "Sheesh, Steph:" Stephen Curry dropped a career-high 62 points to get the Warriors back to .500 last night ... so maybe some things aren't that unexpected. 📊 Stats: 18-31 FG (8-16 3PT, 18-19 FT) 🎥 Watch: All 62 points Stat leaders: Points: James Harden, HOU (37.0); Curry, GSW (32.3); Bradley Beal, WAS (30.6); Kevin Durant, BKN (28.2); Trae Young, ATL (28.2) Rebounds: Andre Drummond, CLE (14.2); Rudy Gobert, UTA (13.7); Joel Embiid, PHI (12.6); Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL (11.7); Jonas Valančiūnas, MEM (11.7) Assists: Nikola Jokić, DEN (12.8); Russell Westbrook, WAS (11.8); Harden (11.0); Chris Paul, PHX (8.3); Young (8.3) Blocks: Myles Turner, IND (3.7); Christian Wood, HOU (2.3); Chris Boucher, TOR (2.2); Gobert (2.2); Drummond (2.0) Steals: Larry Nance Jr., CLE (2.7); OG Anunoby, TOR (2.2); Drummond (2.0); Jrue Holiday, MIL (2.0); Kawhi Leonard, LAC (2.0) Points scored: Bucks (124.5); Hawks (120.0); Wizards (118.6); Nets (118.0); Lakers (117.0) Points allowed: Suns (100.6); Sixers (101.8); Pelicans (102.0); Mavericks (103.6); Knicks (104.7) Giphy 🦄 Unicorn watch: Jokić is averaging 22.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 12.8 assists per game. Never seen anything like him. Good read: A timeout for the NBA's halftime performers is costing them big (NYT)     A message from Axios Coming soon: Axios Local     This year, Axios will deliver free daily newsletters in U.S. cities. Sign up to be one of the first subscribers — and to read about the most consequential stories happening in your own backyard.     3. 🏈 Bowl season: Winners and losers Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images   The strangest bowl season ever has come to an end, with 25 played and 16 canceled due to the pandemic. Now, just one game remains, Jeff writes. What's next: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 3 Ohio State next Monday (8pm ET, ESPN). Odds: ALA -8.0 | O/U: 75 Venue: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami) Winners: Justin Fields: There are no words for Fields' myth-making performance against Clemson. 22/28 with 385 yards, six TD and a pick, all while playing over half the game in what appeared to be agonizing pain. The Big 12: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Texas and West Virginia went 5-0 in bowl games against teams with a combined 33-10 record. ESPN: All 25 games aired on the ESPN family of networks. It's good to be king. Losers: The ACC: The conference's 0-6 record tied the 2016 MAC and 2020 C-USA for the worst mark in history. Notre Dame: The Irish are 0-7 in BCS and New Year's Six games since 1998, losing by an average of 23 points and never fewer than 14. Fans of close games: 11 of the 14 CFP semifinal games have been decided by double-digit points, and six have been blowouts (20+ points). Not ideal. Go deeper: How Alabama and Ohio State match up (ESPN)     4. 🐎 Horse racing gets some law and order Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios   Deep within the 5,593-page coronavirus stimulus package that President Trump signed on Dec. 27 is a provision to help clean up horse racing. Why it matters: The measure, dubbed the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, comes after a series of doping scandals and a rash of horse fatalities in recent years. Drew Fleming, president and CEO of the Breeders' Cup, called it "the single most significant safety and integrity development in the history of Thoroughbred racing." Details: The bill, which takes effect in July 2022, puts the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in charge of regulating the sport with uniform rules and penalties. That's a major upgrade over the patchwork of state regulations that currently exist and often go unenforced. The backdrop: In March, 27 horse racing trainers, veterinarians and others were charged in a "widespread scheme" to drug horses to make them run faster. The horses were "force-fed all manner of illegal and experimental drugs" that allowed them to run unnaturally fast and mask pain, often leading to injuries or death due to overexertion. The state of play: Bob Baffert, horse racing's most decorated trainer, has had 29 tests failed by horses over the past four decades, including four in the past six months. Most of those cases were met with small fines or short suspensions, and though he recently issued a statement and promised to run "a tighter ship," he never admitted to any wrongdoing. The bottom line: Something tells me the FTC and USADA will be more thorough with their investigations, and more harsh with their punishments, than the state racing commissions. "Our tip line is already receiving tips," USADA CEO Travis Tygart told NYT. "It's the sport of kings, and with the gambling and the lack of uniformity and tremendous loopholes that many states have in their anti-doping programs, it's been devastating for the animals, who have no choice."     5. ⚾️ The Padres are going for it Data: FanGraphs; Chart: Axios Visuals The MLB offseason has moved at a glacial pace, marked mostly by inaction and relatively minor moves ... then there are the Padres, Jeff writes. In a 24-hour span, San Diego spent some of its formidable prospect depth to acquire two aces: Blake Snell from the Rays and Yu Darvish from the Cubs. Two days later, the Padres struck again, signing KBO star infielder Ha-seong Kim to fit neatly between Eric Hosmer at first and the superstar duo of Fernando Tatís Jr. and Manny Machado on the left side. The backdrop: Padres GM A.J. Preller has built a juggernaut in San Diego, and he's managed to do so without mortgaging his team's future. The Padres held on to six of their top seven prospects in the Snell and Darvish trades. If you include the Mike Clevinger deal in August, they surrendered just one top-100 prospect to land three aces. The big picture: After a half-decade of sub-mediocrity (.431 winning percentage from 2015-19), the Padres exploded with the third best record in 2020. Now, they rival the Dodgers as baseball's most talented team. Regardless of postseason format, Padres-Dodgers games will be must-see TV for the foreseeable future. But if MLB permanently expands the playoffs and makes division titles less important, the NL West pennant race won't be as dramatic as it should be. The bottom line: In the 2010s, just one team had fewer wins than the Padres. In the 2020s, they might just be the team to beat. What to watch: The Padres' coup didn't even touch the free agent market, which still comprises almost 300 players. The top four targets: C J.T. Realmuto, SP Trevor Bauer, RF George Springer and 2B D.J. LeMahieu. Good read: Baseball lost a team of legends this year (FiveThirtyEight)     6. 💬 Charted: The relentless 2020 news cycle Data: Google Trends; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios If you're feeling extra tired heading into the new year, blame the non-stop news cycle of 2020, Axios' Stef Kight writes. By the numbers: Excluding "coronavirus" and "elections," Kobe Bryant's death generated the largest spike in searches of any other single event. "Tiger Woods" and "The Last Dance" were two other sports-related terms that generated huge search volume and spikes.     7. ⚡️ Lightning round Lake Tahoe in February 2020. Photo: George Rose/Getty Images 🏒 Hockey in Tahoe: The NHL is planning two outdoor games in February at Lake Tahoe (Avalanche vs. Golden Knights, Feb. 20; Bruins vs. Flyers, Feb. 21). The league will build its own rink on the Edgewood Tahoe Resort golf course. 🏈 Football coaching carousel: Texas replaced Tom Herman with Steve Sarkisian; Urban Meyer could be headed to Jacksonville; the Jets fired Adam Gase; Anthony Lynn's future with the Chargers will be decided today. Kirk Herbstreit's remote studio. Courtesy: ESPN 🏡 Home studios: Kirk Herbstreit called the Sugar Bowl from his Nashville home after testing positive for COVID-19, and Kevin Harlan is calling NBA games from the basement of his century-old home in Kansas. 🏀 Best thing I saw: I can't stop watching this highlight reel of comedian Soufiane Bernoukh dominating mini hoop. Please enjoy. Photo: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy Promotions via Getty Images 🥊 Brutal body shot: Out to prove he's a legitimate superstar and not just a flashy prospect, 22-year-old Ryan Garcia — "King Ryan" to his 8.1 million Instagram followers — finished Luke Campbell with a brutal body shot on Saturday night. ⚾️ Best thing I read: The Forrest Gump of baseball? How Clyde Sukeforth played a pivotal role in baseball's biggest moments (Steve Wulf, ESPN)     8. Jan. 4, 1999: 🏈 The first BCS title game Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Allsport via Getty Images   22 years ago today, Tennessee beat Florida State, 23-16, in the first BCS National Championship Game. In their first season without Peyton Manning, the Volunteers — led by Tee Martin and Peerless Price — capped a 13-0 season with their first title since 1951. Florida State was missing injured sophomore QB Chris Weinke, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy two years later — as a 28-year-old senior. The big picture: The Seminoles played in the next two national championship games, winning one (over Virginia Tech) and losing the other (to Oklahoma). They also won in 2013, beating Auburn in the final title game of the BCS era. 🎥 Watch: Game highlights (YouTube)     9. 🏀 NBA trivia Photo: Abbie Parr/Getty Images   Carmelo Anthony on Friday passed Tim Duncan for 14th on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Question: Anthony is one of three players in the top 14 without an NBA title. Who are the other two? Hint: Both spent over 10 seasons with the team that drafted them. Answer at the bottom.     10. 🎥 Weekend's top plays Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images 🏈 "The Hurdle" ⚽️ Bicycle kick 🏒 Spicy goal ⚽️ Brilliant finish 🏈 What a grab 🏀 Tobias Harris! 🏀 John Collins! 🏈 Toe-drag INT 🏈 Full extension 🏀 Jerami Grant! Watch all 10.     A message from Axios Coming soon: Axios Local     This year, Axios will deliver free daily newsletters in U.S. cities. Sign up to be one of the first subscribers — and to read about the most consequential stories happening in your own backyard.   Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Ohio won the weekend" Baker Trivia answer: Karl Malone and Dominique Wilkins 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 or use your personal referral link https://www.axios.com/referral/sports?code=BbTjEdwGLRoN 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. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. 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