| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Feb 02, 2021 | | 👋 Good morning! Happy Groundhog Day. ⚾️ 15 days out: The MLBPA has rejected the owners' proposal to delay the start of the season, so it appears baseball will start on time. - Spring Training: Pitchers and catchers report to camp in 15 days, with exhibition games slated to start on Feb. 27.
- Opening Day: April 1.
Today's word count: 1,634 words (6 minutes). | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🎾 Normalcy down under |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | The 2021 Australian Open, which begins next Monday, will be the most normal sporting event the world has seen in nearly a year. Driving the news: Up to 30,000 spectators a day will be allowed to attend the two-week event, Victoria state sports minister Martin Pakula said this weekend. "Over the 14 days, we will have up to 390,000 people here at Melbourne Park and that's about 50% of the average over the last three years." — Pakula The state of play: This news comes as hundreds of players who traveled from overseas emerge from quarantine. - Most were allowed out of their hotel rooms for five hours a day to train, and stars like Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal are already playing exhibitions in front of thousands of fans.
- But 72 players were forced to endure a strict 14-day lockdown after passengers on their flights tested positive — and those players only just began practicing this weekend.
 Data: CSSE Johns Hopkins University; Chart: Axios Visuals The big picture: Australia has largely contained the pandemic, limiting cases to less than 29,000 and reporting zero community transmissions on 15 of the last 16 days. - Fewer Australians have died in total (909) than the average number of deaths per day currently in the U.S. and Britain.
- Offices and restaurants are open. Masks are recommended, but not required. In some respects, life has returned to near normalcy.
What's working: While the U.S. and Europe seem to prefer "the half-baked lockdown," Australia has subdued the virus through much stricter methods. - A single positive case in Perth on Sunday led to a five-day lockdown for 2 million people. Melbourne residents weren't allowed to leave their homes for more than an hour each day from June to October.
- Australia has benefited from its geographic isolation, but it's also taken decisive steps like mandating hotel quarantine for international arrivals since last March — something the U.S. only just made mandatory last week.
|     | | | | | | Bonus: 📸 Pics du jour | | Photo: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images Thousands watch an exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem. It's ... beautiful. Photo: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images Remember crowds? Seriously, I might cry. Photo: Mark Brake/Getty Images Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka leave the court after their exhibition match. It looks so ... normal. | | | | | | | | 2. 💵 23.2 million Americans to bet on Super Bowl |  Reproduced from American Gaming Association; Cartogram: Axios Visuals 23.2 million Americans plan to bet a total of $4.3 billion on Sunday's Super Bowl, according to new American Gaming Association research. - 7.6 million plan to bet with an online sportsbook, up 63% year-over-year.
- 1.8 million plan to place a bet with a bookie, down 21%.
The state of play: Since last year's game, 35 million Americans have gained the ability to legally bet in their home states with seven new jurisdictions now live: Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C. - Legal: 20 states and Washington, D.C.
- Legal, not yet operational: Five states
- Active bills: 13 states
- No bills: 12 states
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Follow the lead-up to Super Bowl LV with Axios Tampa Bay | | |  | | | | Get a daily digest of the most important stories in your area — including sports — with Axios Tampa Bay. Why it matters: Tampa Bay is gearing up to be the first city to both host and have a team playing the Super Bowl. Subscribe for free | | | | | | 3. 🏈 Study: Concussions more likely at practice |  | | | Photo: Ned Dishman/Getty Images | | | | A majority of concussions in college football occur during practice, not games, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Neurology, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Why it matters: Most rule changes regarding safety come at the game level, but focusing on revisions to training activities "could lead to a substantial reduction in overall concussion incidence," the study asserted. By the numbers: Researchers reviewed 68 concussions over a five-season span (2015–19), finding that 72% came outside of a game. - Preseason training was deemed the most deleterious, comprising just one-fifth of the time studied but nearly half of the concussions.
The big picture: The NFL already regulates practices for safety measures, which has had the intended effect as just 7% of concussions in the 2019 season happened during practice. - The NCAA, however, merely provides suggestions or guidelines for its member schools.
- Past efforts include smaller strides like the 2015 mandate that required Power 5 schools to submit their concussion protocols for review.
The bottom line: "Concussions in games are inevitable, but concussions in practice are preventable," wrote concussion experts Robert Cantu and Christopher Nowinski. - The question is whether — and when — the NCAA will do something substantive with that knowledge.
Share this story. | | | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Photo: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images | | | | 🏒 The Blues will become the fifth NHL team to formally have paid attendance this season when they host 1,400 fans tonight, joining the Coyotes, Stars, Panthers and Predators. ⚾️ Dustin "Laser Show" Pedroia, the first MLB player to ever win Rookie of the Year, a Gold Glove, MVP and a World Series title before turning 26, is retiring. 🏀 Game-winner: Devin Booker nailed a three with 1.5 seconds left to beat the Mavericks. It was Booker's fifth career go-ahead field goal in the final five seconds; only Russell Westbrook has more since Booker entered the league. ⚾️ Mickey Callaway, who managed the Mets for two seasons and is now the Angels' pitching coach, has been accused of making unwanted sexual advances by five women who work in sports media, The Athletic reports (subscription). 🏈 Next chapters: Jason Witten and Philip Rivers have both taken jobs as high school football coaches. Witten will coach Liberty Christian (Argyle, Texas) while Rivers will coach St. Michael Catholic (Fairhope, Alabama). | | | | | | | | 5. 🏀 Men's poll: Sooners make huge leap |  Data: NCAA; Table: Axios Visuals 11 weeks into the season and the gap between Gonzaga, Baylor and everyone else still feels as wide as ever, Jeff writes. - No. 1 Gonzaga has won 14 consecutive games by double digits — the longest streak by an AP No. 1 team since 1990-91 (UNLV). They'll put that streak to the test Saturday in a newly-scheduled game against No. 11 Tennessee.
- No. 9 Oklahoma jumped 15 spots after a historic January that saw them become the third team in the AP era (1948-present) with four regular-season wins over top-10 teams in the same month. Three came last week alone.
- No. 25 Drake is just the third team from the MVC in the last 50 years to start 16-0. The previous two both extended that streak to at least 30-0 and earned No. 1 seeds in March (2013-14 Wichita State and 1978-79 Indiana State).
Wooden watch: Freshmen Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State), Hunter Dickinson (Michigan), Evan Mobley (USC) and Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga) are on the Wooden watchlist. The other 16 players: - Sophomores: James Bouknight (UConn), Justin Champagnie (Pitt), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Villanova), Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
- Juniors: Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky), Jared Butler (Baylor), Marcus Carr (Minnesota), Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois), Quentin Grimes (Houston), Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers)
- Seniors: Luka Garza (Iowa), Collin Gillespie (Villanova), Carlik Jones (Louisville), Corey Kispert (Gonzaga)
Looking ahead: February promises to be hectic, as teams work to reschedule postponed games ahead of the conference and NCAA tournaments. - Complicating things further is the question of whether certain teams will even risk playing in their conference tournaments, when a coronavirus outbreak that week would put their NCAA tournament status in jeopardy.
Go deeper: Should college basketball play its conference tournaments? (The Athletic) | | | | | | | | 6. 🏀 Women's poll: No more undefeated teams |  Data: NCAA; Table: Axios VisualsData: NCAA; Table: Axios VisualsData: NCAA; Table: Axios Visuals Louisville is still No. 1, but they'll cede that spot next week after losing to No. 4 NC State, 74-60, on Monday night, Jeff writes. - NC State is just the third team in the past 20 years to beat the No. 1 team twice in the same season (they beat then-No. 1 South Carolina in December).
- There are now zero undefeated teams in the women's AP Top 25.
Wooden watch: Paige Bueckers, who leads No. 3 UConn in points (18.5), assists (5.7) and steals (2.5), is the lone freshman on the Wooden watchlist. The other 19 players: - Sophomores: Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Zia Cooke (South Carolina), Rickea Jackson (Mississippi State), Haley Jones (Stanford)
- Juniors: Charli Collier (Texas), Elissa Cunane (NC State), Naz Hillmon (Michigan), Rhyne Howard (Kentucky), Olivia Nelson-Ododa (UConn), NaLyssa Smith (Baylor)
- Seniors: Rennia Davis (Tennesseee), Chelsea Dungee (Arkansas), Dana Evans (Louisville), Arella Guirantes (Rutgers), Ashley Joens (Iowa State), Natasha Mack (Oklahoma State), Aari McDonald (Arizona), Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA), Kiana Williams (Stanford)
Go deeper: Five women who've upped their WNBA draft stock (ESPN) | | | | | | | | 7. 📸 Photos 'round the world | | Photo: Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images PHILADELPHIA — The first major winter storm of 2021 hit much of the Eastern U.S. on Monday, with 20 inches of snow falling in some places. - Cheers, Ed: The statue of former Flyers owner Ed Snider outside Wells Fargo Center got a solid snowflake shower.
Photo: David Stockman/Belga/AFP via Getty Images OSTEND, Belgium — One of the best rivalries in sports is the duel between two otherworldly cyclists: Mathieu van der Poel (left) and Wout Van Aert (right). Photo: Richard Langdon/Getty Images PLAYA BLANCA, Spain — Dutch windsurfer Kiran Badloe is in Spain training for the Tokyo Olympics. | | | | | | | | 8. Feb. 2, 1970: 🏀 Pistol Pete scores 3,000 |  | | | Photo: LSU/Getty Images | | | | 51 years ago today, "Pistol" Pete Maravich became the first Division I basketball player to surpass 3,000 career points. - Maravich remains the all-time leading scorer in Division I history with 3,667 points and an average of 44.2 points per game (!!!).
- He achieved this before the adoption of the three-point line and shot clock, and despite not playing varsity as a freshman due to then-NCAA rules.
3,000-point club: Remember, Maravich played just three seasons, while the rest of the guys on this list played four. - Maravich, LSU ('68–70): 3,667 points
- Freeman Williams, Portland St. ('75–78): 3,249
- Chris Clemson, Campbell ('16–19): 3,225
- Lionel Simmons, La Salle ('87–90): 3,217
- Alphonso Ford, MVSU ('90–93): 3,165
- Doug McDermott, Creighton ('11–14): 3,150
- Mike Daum, S. Dakota St. ('16–19): 3,067
- Harry Kelly, Texas Southern ('80–83): 3,066
- Keydren Clark, Saint Peter's ('03–06): 3,058
- Hersey Hawkins, Bradley ('85–88): 3,008
The big picture: After graduating from LSU, where he'd played for his father, Maravich went on to the NBA, where he averaged 24.2 points per game over a 10-year career with the Hawks, Jazz and Celtics. - After injuries forced his retirement, Maravich became a recluse for two years before eventually becoming a born-again Christian.
- In 1988, he died suddenly at age 40 during a pick-up game due to a previously undetected heart defect.
Go deeper: | | | | | | | | 9. 🏈 Super Bowl trivia |  | | | An aerial view of Raymond James Stadium. Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images | | | - Question: Which city has hosted the most Super Bowls?
- Hint: The NFL team from that city missed the playoffs this year.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 👟 Nike's new shoe: Look ma, no hands! | | Giphy Meet the Nike Go FlyEase, the company's first hands-free shoe. - Price: $120
- On sale: Feb. 15 (for select Nike Members)
Details: The core innovation is a so-called "bi-stable hinge" that lets the shoe move between "open" and "closed" positions. - The concept comes from the motion most people make when taking off slip-on shoes (i.e. using one foot to pull down on the heel of the other).
- The FlyEase is effectively two shoes in one, with the inner shoe popping out as needed.
Courtesy: Nike 🎥 Watch: Behind the design (Nike) | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Follow the lead-up to Super Bowl LV with Axios Tampa Bay | | | | | | | | Get a daily digest of the most important stories in your area — including sports — with Axios Tampa Bay. Why it matters: Tampa Bay is gearing up to be the first city to both host and have a team playing the Super Bowl. Subscribe for free | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi" Baker Trivia answer: Miami (11) | | 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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