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| Presented By SiriusXM |
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| Axios Sports |
| By Kendall Baker · Dec 08, 2022 |
| 👋 Good morning! It's me again. Today's word count: 1,603 words (6 minutes). Let's sports... |
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| 1 big thing: ⚾️ Judge's bet pays off |
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| Photo Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios. Photo: Texas Rangers/Getty Images |
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| Aaron Judge looks set to be a Yankee for life, agreeing to a nine-year, $360 million contract on Wednesday that will keep him in pinstripes through age 39, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Why it matters: It's the largest free agent contract in MLB history and the third-largest deal ever, trailing only the extensions signed by Mike Trout ($426.5 million) and Mookie Betts ($365 million). - At $40 million per year, it smashes Trout's record ($35.5 million) for the largest average annual value ever among position players.
- Wild stat: 11 MLB players have ever signed $300+ million deals, and three of them are currently in the Bronx: Judge, Giancarlo Stanton ($325 million) and Gerrit Cole ($324 million).
 Data: Spotrac; Chart: Axios Visuals Context: Judge turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million extension just eight months ago, then proceeded to win MVP and set the AL single-season HR record. - The deal features a no-trade clause and came after a bidding war between the Yankees, Giants and Padres.
- San Francisco was a long-rumored destination, while San Diego reportedly swooped in late with a 10-year, $400 million offer.
The backdrop: New York took the six-foot-seven outfielder in the first round of the 2013 draft out of Fresno State. Four years later, Judge won Rookie of the Year and finished second in MVP voting. - His 220 home runs since debuting in 2016 are second only to Nolan Arenado's 229 in that time.
- After a historic 2022 season, it felt like the Yankees had to do whatever it took to keep their guy.
The big picture: This is a huge contract for someone who's on the wrong side of 30, has played 140+ games just three times, and whose enormous frame might not age well. - But Judge is worth so much to the Yankees from both a talent and marketing standpoint that it's tough to see this as anything but a huge win for both sides.
- Judge is expected to be named captain, which would make him the 16th in Yankees history and the first since Derek Jeter, who retired in 2014.
Go deeper: How Hal Steinbrenner closed the deal (NY Post) In related news ... The Padres signed SS Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million deal late last night. |
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| 2. 🥇 IOC weighs rotating Olympics hosts |
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| Photo: Found Image Press/Corbis via Getty Images |
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| Could Salt Lake City host the Winter Olympics on a rotating basis? The International Olympic Committee is open to the idea. Driving the news: The IOC decided this week to hold off on naming a host for the 2030 Winter Olympics, which looked like it would come down to Salt Lake City (hosted in 2002) and Sapporo, Japan (hosted in 1972). - Instead, the committee will seriously consider a rotation of hosts as it examines the impact of climate change on winter sports.
- "If selected, Salt Lake City could be guaranteed to hold the Olympics perhaps every 20–30 years," notes the Salt Lake Tribune.
Between the lines: One proposal to ensure climate reliability would require host cities to have an average temperature at or below zero over a 10-year period. Salt Lake City organizers say they'd meet those requirements through at least 2050. - "The rotation actually is an intriguing opportunity because we have everything in place," Fraser Bullock, the CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, told the Tribune.
- "We have different economics than a new city that doesn't have venues in place. We have the expertise ... we have competitions all the time."
Looking ahead: Two Italian cities — Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo — are still set to co-host the 2026 Winter Games. |
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| 3. 🏒 Have a night, Tage Thompson! |
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| Tage Thompson and his teammates. Photo courtesy of the Buffalo Sabres |
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| Sabres winger Tage Thompson scored five goals in a 9-4 win over the Blue Jackets on Wednesday, the 60th five-goal game in NHL history — and just the fifth this century. - Thompson accomplished the feat with roughly four minutes left in the second period after scoring four goals in the first period alone.
- The 25-year-old has 21 goals this season, trailing only Edmonton's Connor McDavid (24) and Dallas' Jason Robertson (23).
By the numbers: The NHL single-game record for goals is seven, set by Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs in 1920. Seven players have scored six, most recently Darryl Sitter in 1976. |
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| 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |
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| Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios |
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| ⚽️ New women's league: A professional women's soccer league is set to kick off in Canada in 2025. Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Calgary Foothills Soccer Club are confirmed to be the first two of eight clubs. 🎓 Extra year granted: Virginia football players with expiring eligibility will be granted an extra year by the NCAA in the wake of the shooting that killed three teammates and saw the team cancel its final two games. 🏈 Uniform reveals: Here are the uniforms for this weekend's Army-Navy game and this spring's XFL 3.0 season. 🏈 Von has torn ACL: Bills star pass-rusher Von Miller is out for the year after tearing his ACL, a huge blow to a Super Bowl contender. |
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| 5. 🏟 Stadium 974: Designed to disappear |
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| Photo: Maja Hitij/FIFA via Getty Images |
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| The World Cup isn't over for another 10 days, but one of Qatar's eight stadiums is already being torn down, Jeff writes. State of play: Stadium 974 — constructed primarily from 974 recycled shipping containers and named after Qatar's country code — was designed to be dismantled after hosting just seven World Cup matches. - The venue, which first opened for last year's Arab Cup, was initially expected to be moved to Africa. But recent reports suggest it will go to Uruguay to help their 2030 World Cup bid.
- "Designing for disassembly is one of the main principles of sustainable building," urban sustainability expert Karim Elgendy told AP.
The big picture: Stadium 974's reusability was part of Qatar's plan to avoid creating "white elephants" — a fate that befalls many World Cup (and Olympics) hosts wherein venues are abandoned once the event ends. - The country plans to repurpose other stadiums by donating seats overseas, using them for local soccer clubs and transforming them into parks, schools, hotels and a community hub.
- Qatar is also hosting the 2024 Asian Cup and 2030 Asian Games, and hopes to land the 2036 Summer Olympics — all events for which these stadiums could see more use.
Yes, but: The positive headlines generated by Stadium 974 don't erase the ugly reality of how Qatar 2022's venues came to life. Namely, the hundreds — if not thousands — of migrant workers who died constructing them. Go deeper: Stadiums as high art in a World Cup fantasyland (NYT) |
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| 6. 🏈 Fantasy studs (and duds) |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| The final week of the fantasy football regular season is upon us. If you're gearing up for a playoff run, these are probably the guys that brought you there, Jeff writes. Fantasy studs: Here are the top three players at each position, per ESPN PPR scoring. - QB: Jalen Hurts, PHI (304.5 pts); Patrick Mahomes, KC (300.62); Josh Allen, BUF (294.34)
- RB: Austin Ekeler, LAC (268.3); Josh Jacobs, LV (263.4); Christian McCaffrey, SF (239.26)
- WR: Stefon Diggs, BUF (271.2); Davante Adams, LV (268.5); Tyreek Hill, MIA (266.9)
- TE: Travis Kelce, KC (246.3); Mark Andrews, BAL (154.2); T.J. Hockenson, MIN (144)
- D/ST: Cowboys (131), 49ers (118), Eagles (116)
- K: Tyler Bass, BUF (117); Justin Tucker, BAL (115); Jason Myers, SEA (115)
💩 Fantasy duds: Here are the guys at the four primary positions who've underperformed the most relative to expectations. - QB: Russell Wilson was drafted as QB10 but is currently QB21. He still has fewer TD passes (8) than bathrooms in his house (12).
- RB: Jonathan Taylor exploded last year as RB1, and was drafted there this year. But like his Colts, he's struggled mightily and is just RB21.
- WR: Deebo Samuel was drafted as WR6 after his dual-threat, 14 TD campaign. This year, he's WR23 with just 4 TD.
- TE: Kyle Pitts was drafted as TE3 based on breakout potential, but caught just 28 passes and 2 TD before landing on the IR after Week 11, sitting at TE22.
Go deeper: Biggest questions ahead of fantasy playoffs (CBS Sports) |
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| 7. 📸 Pic du jour: Jazz stun Dubs |
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| Photo: Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) |
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| Entering Wednesday, the Jazz were 1-718 over the last 25 seasons when trailing by 4+ points in the final 10 seconds. They're now 2-718 after stunning the Warriors with a last-second steal and dunk. |
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| 8. 📺 Watchlist: LA vs. LV |
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| SoFi Stadium, you're beautiful. Photo: Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images |
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| The reeling Rams (3-9) host the surging Raiders (5-7) tonight (8:15pm ET, Prime) as Vegas looks to win its fourth straight game. - Who to watch: The Raiders duo of Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams lead the league in rushing yards (1,303) and receiving TD (12), respectively; Baker Mayfield could make his Rams debut.
- Lines: Spread: LV -6.5 | O/U: 43.5 | Money: LV -285, LA +228 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
More to watch: |
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| 9. ⚾️ MLB trivia |
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| Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images |
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| The Red Sox have signed outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract, the second-largest free agent deal ever for a player signing out of Japan. - Question: Who's the only player to sign a larger deal?
- Hint: They share an initial.
Answer at the bottom. |
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| 10. ⚽️ Join us: Future of Sports event |
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| Graphic: The Aspen Institute |
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| Our next Future of Sports virtual event in partnership with the Aspen Institute is a week from today. The topic: "The U.S. in the World's Game." Details: Soccer is the world's language. So, what if we spoke it fluently? What if U.S. sports fans followed the game in a deep way? What if the general sports media knew how to talk fútbol like they do football? Register today. |
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| Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Okay, but who signed Arson?" Baker Trivia answer: Masahiro Tanaka (seven-year, $155 million deal with the Yankees) 🙏 Have a great day! Follow us for more (@kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy). Friends can sign up here. Thanks to Bryan McBournie for copy edits. |
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