Add-on posted early Tuesday a.m.
College Football…It’s Indiana!!!
In the three seasons before Curt Cignetti took over as head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers, IU was 2-10, 4-8 and 3-9.
In his first two seasons at the helm, Cignetti is 11-2 and 16-0, the Hoosiers completing their miracle run in stirring fashion Monday night, 27-21 over the Miami Hurricanes in a terrific title contest that gives Indiana its first national title.
Players performed as advertised, including Miami’s Carson Beck, who played nobly until a last-gasp interception ended up being the only turnover of the game which sealed the deal for IU.
Miami running back Mark Fletcher had 112 yards and two touchdowns, including a 57-yard TD run, while freshman sensation Malachi Toney had 10 receptions for 122 yards and a score.
But Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza ran it in from the 12-yard line on a fourth-and-four call for the ages from Cignetti to make it 24-14 with 9:18 to play and that single play defined the game and the Hoosiers’ season.
How improbable was this season and this turnaround? Indiana had eight 4- and 5-star players while Miami had 45.
Yet it was coaching, and Cignetti, that took the 3-star guys and molded them into a unit, and it was recognizing the talent in Mendoza, who transferred in from Cal to Bloomington. He was the perfect field general for this bunch.
IU’s 16-0 season comes 50 years after Bob Knight’s basketball team went 32-0 to win it all in that state’s favorite sport, perhaps until now.
Just a great college football season.
NFL
—After I posted Sunday, like the rest of you I watched Bears-Rams in snowy, bitterly cold Chicago, and it was the Caleb Williams show…both good and bad. But in the end veteran Matthew Stafford made the clutch throws to win the game for L.A., 20-17 in overtime on a 42-yard Harrison Mevis field goal after Williams was picked off.
Most fans, though, will remember Williams’ insane, unbelievable, All-World pass to Cole Kmet from 14 yards (officially), though more like 40 after Williams was forced to scramble for his life and somehow knew, and was able to get off the throw, across his body, that Kmet would be wide open in the end zone. 17-17. It will be replayed at playoff time for years and years to come.
But Williams then threw a bad interception in OT (one of threw INTs overall) that led to the Rams’ win, though football fans will remember the other play.
Stafford was just 20/42, 258, 0-0, 67.4, but he made the clutch throws on the game-deciding drive.
—Buffalo fired coach Sean McDermott Monday after nine seasons, the final of which ended Saturday in heartbreaking fashion in OT in Denver.
McDermott ends up 98-50, 8-8 in the postseason.
Yes, if the Josh Allen pass to Brandin Crooks pass on the Bills’ first overtime possession was ruled a catch (Crooks ‘down’), and not an interception by Denver cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian, and Buffalo goes on to win, maybe McDermott keeps his job.
But life isn’t always fair.
And I shed no tears for McDermott, who is just fine. But the Bills organization, moving into a new stadium next fall, felt it was time for a change and I have to agree. Mike Tomlin, despite all his success in Pittsburgh, understands. [He stepped down, wasn’t fired, but no doubt both Tomlin and ownership agreed. Time for a change.]
So, after the Falcons hired former Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski, and the Giants’ John Harbaugh, we still have eight coaching vacancies, and not all of them are real attractive.
Make that seven…the Dolphins agreeing to a deal to hire Jeff Hafley as the team’s next head coach. He had served as the Packers’ defensive coordinator for the past two seasons after spending the previous four years as the head coach at Boston College.
This is kind of out of nowhere…Hafley was a whopping 22-26 at B.C., and had the 11th ranked defense over the past two seasons in Green Bay. [As in it’s not like it was top five or seven.]
And then it was six vacancies…as former Jets head coach Robert Saleh, defensive coordinator for the 49ers, was hired by the Titans. Saleh was 20-36 in 3 ½ seasons with the Jets.
College Basketball
—New AP Top 25 Poll (records a/o Sunday)
- Arizona (61…unanimous) 18-0
2. UConn 18-1
3. Michigan 16-1
4. Purdue 17-1
5. Duke 17-1
6. Houston 17-1
7. Nebraska 18-0…story of the year thus far….
8. Gonzaga 19-1
9. Iowa State 16-2…down 7
10. Michigan State 16-2…you have to love Tom Izzo; year after year….
11. Illinois 15-3
12. Texas Tech 14-4
13. BYU 16-2
14. Virginia 16-2
15. Vanderbilt 16-2
16. Florida 13-5
17. Alabama 13-5
18. Clemson 16-3
19. Kansas 13-5
20. Arkansas 13-5
21. Georgia 15-3
22. North Carolina 14-4…down 8
23. Louisville 13-5
24. Saint Louis 17-1
25. Miami (OH) 19-0…ranked for first time since 1998-99….
St. John’s is No. 26 if you carry out the votes.
NBA
–The Knicks have always hosted an MLK Day game at the Garden and Monday, the Mavericks (18-26) beat a suddenly lowly New York team, 114-97, despite the return of Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart from ankle issues.
The Garden faithful were surly and rightfully so. It is now nine losses in the last eleven, the Knicks only 25-18. They had all the good chemistry going in winning the NBA Cup and a few games after, and now it’s all gone. Mystifying. For good reason, they didn’t hoist the Cup banner at MSG. The fans would have been ripping it down.
MLB
–Teams have no control over what happens to players in the offseason…too much partying, DUIs, alleged assaults….and freak injuries…and the Braves suffered the last one when starting shortstop Ha-Seong Kim fell on some ice at home in Korea and suffered an injury to his hand requiring surgery on his ring finger that will likely cost him 4-5 months.
Kim, 30, was acquired by the Braves from the Rays at last season’s trade deadline. He hit .253 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 24 games for Atlanta, and was re-signed to a one-year, $20 million contract this offseason.
–We note the passing of all-time knuckleballer Wilbur Wood, 84.
Wood pitched 17 seasons in the big leagues, finishing with a career mark of 164-156, 3.24 ERA, 57 saves, his last 12 seasons with the White Sox.
All three of his All-Star selections came in an amazing four-year stretch, 1971-74, which you could extend to 1975. As I’ve written many times in this space over the 27 years of Bar Chat, Wood in that five-year time frame made a minimum of 42 starts each season, 290+innings, including 334.0, 376.2, 359.1, and 320.1 1971-74 (291.1 in ’75). Wood won 22, 24, 24, 20 and 16 games over 1971-75.
Wood was a true journeyman when he found himself on the White Sox at a time Hoyt Wilhelm was still with the team – Hall of Famer Wilhelm was perhaps the greatest knuckleballer of all time (along with Phil Niekro). Wilhelm told Wood, who was throwing the knuckleball at the time but also his other pitches, that if he was going to throw the pitch, “I should junk the rest of my pitches,” Wood recalled. “I wasn’t doing any good with them anyway, so I took his advice. I had nothing to lose.”
And then in 1971, the White Sox made Wood a starter and the rest is history. He went 22-13, led the league in ERA (1.91) and threw 334 innings.
In 1972, Wood started on only two days’ rest 25 times.
Wood’s success and durability made him a star, but “you’d never know it either by his actions or the way he looks,” his manager at the time, Chuck Tanner, told the Chicago Tribune in 1973.
Tanner described Wood’s appearance in the early ‘70s.
“He never shaves and he wears that baggy long underwear that’s cut off at the knees and one of those oversized sweatshirts that hangs over his belly, and his hair is getting thin and he always has a big cigar in his mouth,” Tanner said. “Well, one day he was tromping around like that and it happened to be the day his front tooth fell out.
“I had two friends from New Castle, Pa., my hometown, visiting me. They were walking through the clubhouse and I was introducing them to everybody and Wilbur came by. I said, ‘And this is Wilbur Wood.’ Well, they shook hands and just kept on walking like it was nothing. I stopped and asked, ‘What did it feel like to shake hands with the best left-handed pitcher in baseball?’’
“ ‘You mean that was Wilbur Wood?’ they asked. ‘We thought he was the janitor or the clubhouse man.’” [Joe Knowles / Chicago Tribune]
Wood, 1972, and Mickey Lolich (376 innings in 1971), are the last to throw that many innings. The last pitcher in baseball to throw 300 was Steve Carloton (304 in 1980).
Golf Balls
After I posted Sunday, New Jersey’s Chris Gotterup won his third PGA Tour title in three seasons, taking the Sony Open by two over Ryan Gerard.
Jordan Spieth finished T24 at -7, and Vijay Singh was T40 at -5.
Gotterup, as everyone said after, could be the next star…a big, strapping dude, highly likeable.
Next Bar Chat Sunday p.m.
—–
[Posted Sunday p.m. prior to Rams-Bears]
Brief Add-on up top by Tues. noon.
NHL Quiz: Name the only six players in NHL history to score 150 points in a single season. Answer below.
NFL Playoffs
—In the first division round game on Saturday, the Bills suffered a crushing loss to the Broncos in Denver, 33-30 in overtime.
Buffalo had been 8-0 in the postseason against any team without Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow, but every time Denver has started a season 10-2, they’ve made the Super Bowl, winning twice.
Only now, the Broncos will have to get there without quarterback Bo Nix (26/46, 279, 3-1, 87.1), who suffered an ankle fracture near the end of the game.
Buffalo fans, however, can only shake their heads as superstar Josh Allen, choking back tears after, coughed it up four times…two interceptions and two lost fumbles.
“Extremely difficult,” Allen said. “I felt like I let my teammates down.”
Denver turned the turnovers, which also included a fumble by running back James Cook III, into 16 points, including the game-ending 23-yard field goal by Will Lutz in OT, this after the Bills’ Matt Prater had hit a clutch 50-yarder at the end of regulation to tie it.
This was Buffalo, and Allen’s, best chance to finally get to the Super Bowl. He has eight playoff wins, the most for any QB in the Super Bowl era who hasn’t played in the Big One.
He also became the second player in the last 20 postseasons with two or more interceptions and at least two lost fumbles.
As for Denver, the team is now in the hands of Jarrett Stidham, a 29-year-old veteran with just four career starts and not one pass attempt for the Broncos this season.
Yes, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Bills fans are not happy today after the refs failed to call pass interference on a play late in the regulation, where it appeared cornerback Riley Moss got a hold of receiver Brandin Cooks’ arm in the end zone.
If the call had been made, Denver would have likely had the ball at the 1-yard line with just 19 seconds left in regulation while being down by three points. Instead, they had to kick the field goal sending the game into overtime.
And there was the disputed interception in OT that led to Denver’s winning field goal. But as Tony Soprano would have said, ‘whaddya gonna do….’
—In the nightcap Saturday, the Seahawks dominated the injury-depleted 49ers 41-6. Prior to the contest, Seahawks fans were worried about the availability of quarterback Sam Darnold, who suffered an oblique injury in practice, but he was fine, 12/17, 124, 1-0, 110.9. He was also hardly needed as Kenneth Walker III rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns, and the San Francisco offense didn’t have a chance, Christian McCaffrey held to just 74 total yards.
There’s a reason why Seattle is the Super Bowl favorite. They’re good.
–In the first game Sunday, in miserable weather conditions in Foxborough, cold and wet snow, New England had a 21-10 lead at the half as Houston’s C.J. Stroud threw four interceptions (a week after his three turnovers against the Steelers), while Drake Maye (two turnovers) was hardly great but did have a very sweet touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs.
Total yards in the first half…New England 134, Houston 132; the Texans with eight yards rushing.
And in the third quarter, Stroud got off to a solid start, but the Texans only got two field goals from Ka’imi Fairbarn, one from 51 yards, as the conditions worsened, and it was 21-16.
It could have been 21-20, but Woody Marks fumbled inside the New England 15 as the Texans were driving and had to settle for the short FG.
For their part, the Patriots only had 155 yards of offense through three quarters.
But to begin the fourth quarter, New England’s Kayshon Boutte made a spectacular catch on a pass from Maye, 32 yards, touchdown, 28-16. And that’s where it ended…the Patriots heading to Denver. A remarkable story, 4-13 to 14-3 and a chance at the Super Bowl.
I’ll comment on Rams-Bears in my Add-on, Tuesday.
–As for the coaching carousel, the Giants are getting their man, John Harbaugh, with stories circulating late Wednesday night that a “deal is expected.” Harbaugh expected to bring a few members of his Ravens staff along with him.
Having young QB stud Jaxson Dart helped the Giants’ case immensely, plus they have some other good pieces.
It did then take three days of negotiations to dot all the i’s and cross the t’s, but Saturday, it was complete…five years, $100 million.
It remains unclear how the Giants have laid out their reporting structure, but it would not be surprising if they changed things and had Harbaugh reporting to ownership, and it’s assumed he has significant personnel say.
NFL Network then reported Harbaugh will “have more control than any coach in Giants history.”
Those of us who live in the area were curious to see where the Giants took Harbaugh to dinner on Wednesday, a go-to restaurant used by ownership to close deals…Elia Mediterranean in Rutherford. The menu is mouth-watering.
—Mike Tomlin, unsurprisingly, stepped down after 19 years with Pittsburgh, with many expecting him to take a year off and hit the television booth, before returning to the sidelines.
From 2007-2016, Tomlin went 55-25, leading the Steelers to two Super Bowl appearances and a title in 2008; at 36, the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl.
But from 2017-2026, the Steelers have the league’s sixth-best regular-season record (90-57-2) but the worst playoff mark (0-6). [They’ve lost their last seven, including an AFC Conference final in 2016.]
Incredibly, though, Tomlin is also remembered for the team never having a losing record in his 19 years.
The Steelers maintain his coaching rights until the end of 2027, since they didn’t fire him.
Overall, Tomlin was 193-114-2 in the regular season and 8-12 in the playoffs.
–The Falcons named Kevin Stefanski, the 43-yard-old former Browns head coach, their new head guy, Stefanski signing a five-year deal.
He’s the first hire for new Atlanta president of football operations Matt Ryan, the franchise’s all-time leading passer, who was hired last week to jumpstart the organization.
–And the Packers and head coach Matt LaFleur agreed to a multi-year contract extension, according to The Athletic.
LaFleur, who just finished his seventh season, had one year remaining on his contract. Green Bay is coming off a crushing 31-27 loss to the Bears in the wild-card round.
LaFleur has made the playoffs six times in seven seasons, but failed to reach the Super Bowl.
College Football
–All about Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens…10 Miami vs. 1 Indiana, the Hoosiers 8 ½ point favorites…over/under 47.5. It should be great fun, and close…I’ll go IU 24-20, Fernando Mendoza and Curt Cignetti sealing the deal.
—Duke quarterback Darian Mensah entered the transfer portal on Friday (the last day it was open), after throwing for 3,973 yards (second-most in FBS), 34 touchdowns and six interceptions with the Blue Devils. He had transferred to Duke from Tulane.
This is a huge blow for Duke, which today has a North Alabama QB transfer and an incoming freshman who was a 3-start prospect on the depth chart.
The Blue Devils, as I noted after their win in the Sun Bowl, had all kinds of weapons returning and Mensah was on a two-year contract.
But the contract is complicated and Duke has to release him from it. Developing….
—Oregon quarterback Dante Moore decided to return to school for the 2026 season, even though he was tabbed as the second quarterback to be selected in the NFL Draft, likely by the Jets, who have the No. 2 overall pick, the Raiders no doubt selecting Fernando Mendoza.
Moore’s return thus makes Oregon one of the favorites for the national title in 2026. They had already picked up former Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola, so Raiola will likely observe Oregon’s system for a season, with two years of eligibility, and then take the reins in 2027.
But Moore as a No. 2 selection in the draft is giving up nearly $50 million in guaranteed money, last year’s No. 2, Travis Hunter, making $46.65 million fully guaranteed, and that number projects to go up this year.
–LSU’s Lane Kiffin was expected to land former Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt.
College Basketball
–We had a few upsets during the week.
Tuesday, 2 Iowa State (16-1, 3-1) suffered its first loss of the season at unranked Kansas (12-5, 2-2), 84-63.
And Wednesday, 10 Vanderbilt (16-1, 3-1) lost its first at unranked Texas (11-6, 2-2), 80-64.
14 North Carolina (14-3, 2-2) fell at unranked Stanford (14-4, 3-2), 95-90, as Cardinal freshman guard Ebuka Okorie had 36 points and 9 assists, plus just one turnover, in 36 minutes. The kid is averaging 22.9 points per game.
–Lots of action on Saturday, and yours truly started the super sports day watching 16 Virginia (16-2, 5-1) at SMU (13-5, 2-3), and this, boys and girls, isn’t your father’s Cavaliers team. Under first-year coach Ryan Odom, UVA has a decidedly foreign flavor, a roster filled with players with European top-level experience, and the Cavs prevailed over the Mustangs 72-68, holding SMU star Boopie Miller to just 12 points.
Then it was defending champion, 19 Florida (13-5, 4-1) at 10 Vanderbilt (16-2, 3-2) and the Gators won another super game, 98-94, Florida rounding into Elite Eight form, while the Commodores lost their second straight, with an important road game at Arkansas on Tuesday.
In other games of note….
2 Iowa State (16-2, 3-2) lost its second straight and could fall out of the top ten, 79-70 at Cincinnati (10-8, 3-3).
6 Duke (17-1, 6-0) blew out Stanford (14-5, 3-3) on the road, 80-50, as Cam Boozer had 30 points and 14 points, while the Blue Devils held Cardinal star Okorie to just 9 points after his big effort earlier in the week against North Carolina.
Speaking of the No. 14 Tar Heels (14-4, 2-3), their West Coast, ACC road trip proved to be an unmitigated disaster, losing at Cal (14-5, 2-4) 84-78.
8 Nebraska (18-0, 7-0) continued its dream season, 77-58 winners at Northwestern (8-10, 0-7).
In a huge Big 12 contest, 15 Texas Tech (14-4, 4-1) beat 11 BYU (16-2, 4-1), as JT Toppin had 27 points and 12 rebounds, while the Cougars’ freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa was held to 13 points on 6 of 17 shooting.
And….
25 Seton Hall (14-4, 4-3) will fall out of the rankings after a bad 77-66 loss at home to Butler (11-7, 2-5).
St. John’s (13-5, 6-1), for all of the distress it has caused its fans, and Coach Rick Pitino, is nonetheless 6-1 in the Big East after a solid 86-79 road win at Villanova (14-4, 5-2).
Rutgers (9-9, 2-5) fell at Wisconsin (13-5, 5-2) 96-87 as the Badgers’ Nick Boyd had 32 points.
And Wake Forest (11-7, 2-3) got a badly needed win at Florida State (7-11, 0-5) 69-68 on a Nate Calmese jumper with 6.8 seconds to play, FSU’s Robert McCray V missing a game-winning shot that hit the rim.
McCray, the former Demon Deacon, had a staggering 11 turnovers! Eegads.
But Wake fans are resigned to the fact that this year’s edition will not be in the NCAA conversation, as we have to be the worst rebounding team in the nation. Very depressing. Coach Steve Forbes really blew it in the portal this year in not getting a banger to hit the glass.
So, lots of movement in the next AP Top 25 poll, released Monday.
—The college basketball betting scandal exploded anew.
This week federal prosecutors announced charges Thursday for 20 men for what they said were their roles in an alleged conspiracy to bribe and manipulate college basketball games involving then-active college athletes. The scheme involved two men who were also indicted this fall for their alleged role in an NBA sports gambling scheme as well as former LSU and NBA player Antonio Blakeney.
Prosecutors said that the scheme ultimately included 39 college basketball players on more than 17 teams who shaved points in more than 29 Division-I games.
Two men, Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley, were indicted in October, working with Blakeney and a number of others to manipulate college basketball games during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, according to the indictment.
The scheme was alleged to be far-ranging, including players on DePaul, Nicholls State, Tulane, La Salle, Fordham, Northwestern State, Saint Louis, Buffalo, Robert Morris, Southern Miss, North Carolina A&T, Coppin State, University of New Orleans, Abilene Christian, Alabama State, and Kennesaw State. Four of the players charged Thursday were active college basketball players…that is until the announcement: Kennesaw State’s Simeon Cottle, Eastern Michigan’s Carlos Hart, Delaware State’s Camian Shell and Texas Southern’s Oumar Koureissi.
The scheme began in 2022, with bets on Chinese Basketball Association games, where Blakeney, who had played two seasons in the NBA, was asked to manipulate his performance in some Jiangsu contests so that Fairley and Hennen could wager and win on them in the United States.
“Protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance for the NCAA,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement on Thursday. “We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports.”
The NCAA has been pushing for a ban on prop bets on college sports. Four states have thus far removed prop betting on college players, but that leaves others who still allow it.
Just ban it!
The four players that were still playing (or on rosters) until the indictment included Kennesaw State’s Cottle, who is averaging 20.2 points and had 21 points in Wednesday’s win against Florida International. By Thursday, however, the school released a statement saying he had been suspended.
None of the four were alleged to have done anything wrong during the 2025-26 season.
It was disappointing seeing DePaul’s name, as they are part of a power conference (the Big East), while us locals didn’t like seeing Fordham’s name on the list, this being a very fine Jesuit institution where I had some connections involving my church in Micronesia.
NBA
–Awful week for my Knicks as they completed a West Coast swing in dismal fashion, losing to the pathetic Kings (11-30) Wednesday, 112-101, with Jalen Brunson going out with a sprained ankle after just five minutes.
The next night, the Knicks (25-16) fell to the Warriors (23-19) 126-113, Brunson sitting out.
New York, losers of 7 of 9, then came home to face the 24-17 Suns at the Garden Saturday night and it was another dismal defeat for the Knickerbockers, 106-99, the team playing without Brunson and Josh Hart.
Eight of ten…the Knicks are in freefall! Make it stop!
–One more from Saturday, the Spurs (29-13) beat the T’Wolves (27-16) in San Antonio, 126-123, despite the “Ant Man,” Anthony Edwards, going off for 55 points (9 of 16 from three). Wemby had 39 for the Spurs. That would have been a fun game to be at.
MLB
–What a 15 hours or so for Mets, Dodgers and Phillies fans we had late Thursday into Friday, as Kyle Tucker, the consensus No. 1 free agent in this year’s class, signed a four-year, $240 million contract with the Evil Empire, the Dodgers.
I love Tucker’s game…power, can hit for average, speed, solid fielder, .865 career OPS…but he’s suffered some injuries the last two years. That said, the 29-year-old (as of Saturday) is in his prime and I was hoping the Mets would get him. [Yes, the money is absurd given he’s not exactly a true superstar, but such is the way of the world these days.]
In fact, the Mets offered Tucker four years at $220 million, including a $75 million signing bonus and $60 million his first season…as in it was very front-end loaded.
But the Dodgers are the Dodgers and Tucker joins a lineup including Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith, with supporting pieces like Teoscar Hernandez, Max Muncy, Andy Pages and Tommy Edman.
Since 2020, the Dodgers have added Betts, Freeman, Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamato, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and, this fall, Edwin Diaz. And now Tucker.
Tucker can opt out after years 2 and 3 (which the Mets also offered him).
—Mets fans were thus distraught Friday morning, but then around noon, we learned New York and Uncle Stevie (owner Steve Cohen), and team president David Stearns, pivoted to sign Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million deal.
A great move. Bichette is a professional hitter with pop, and he now gives the Mets a formidable top three in the lineup with Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto.
Bichette, who turns 28 in March, has a .294 career batting average, .806 OPS, and he’s good for 20-25 home runs and 90 RBIs if he plays 140 games or thereabouts.
But Phillies fans thought they were about to sign Bichette!
–The Red Sox made a big splash, signing All-Star left-hander Ranger Suarez for five years at $130 million.
Suarez was 12-8, 3.20 ERA, over 26 starts for Philadelphia last season. He was an identical 12-8, 3.46 in 2024 with the Phils.
–The Angels acquired outfielder Josh Lowe in a three-team trade Thursday, with infielder Gavin Lux and right-hander Chris Clark going to Tampa Bay and left-handed reliever Brock Burke to Cincinnati.
Lowe has suffered through injuries like Kyle Tucker the last two seasons, but he had a terrific 2023 for the Rays with 20 home runs and an .835 OPS.
Lux was solid for the Reds last season, hitting .269 with 53 RBIs, and Burke went 7-1 with a 3.36 ERA in relief for the Angels.
–The Diamondbacks acquired third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Cardinals. Arizona also received $31 million in cash while sending pitcher Jack Martinez to St. Louis.
Arenado has provided diminishing returns in recent years (12 homers, 52 RBIs, .237 BA, .666 OPS in 2025), but he can still pick it at third, and he’s a good veteran presence.
–The Marlins traded starter Ryan Weathers to the Yankees for a package featuring four hitting prospects.
But Weathers, 26, has made just 24 starts the last two seasons, 12-23, 4.93 ERA for his career.
That said, the Yankees like his stuff and believe they can turn him into a No. 3 or 4 rotation piece.
Golf
–At the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, the first event of the 2026 PGA Tour season, after three rounds 2-time tour winner Davis Riley, -12, was two shots ahead of Harry Hall, Chris Gotterup and Kevin Roy, -10. Jordan Spieth was playing solidly, T13 at -6.
But this one is wrapping up after I post today.
Actually, the big story was 62-year-old Vijay Singh, who surprised many when he decided to use a career money exemption in 2026, making him eligible for Full-Field Events on the PGA Tour this season. He has not played full-time on tour since 2017.
And he made the cut! After three rounds, he sat at T32, -4.
–At the DP World Tour’s opening Dubai Invitational, Spain’s Nacho Elvira picked up his third DP Tour win by one stroke over New Zealand’s Daniel Hiller.
But Shane Lowry was on the tee at 18 tied for the lead and proceeded to card a miserable double-bogey, finishing T3 with his buddy, Rory McIlroy.
“That was a disaster, wasn’t it?” a visibly shaken Lowry said after. “What can you do? You have to learn from it and move on, lads. This game is… I don’t know. It’s the start of my 18th season on tour and I’ll never figure it out.”
—LIV Golf ‘s Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith announced Tuesday that they’d be staying, a day after the PGA Tour announced Brooks Koepka can start playing on tour immediately after leaving LIV.
DeChambeau, during a press conference, said he is contracted to play with LIV through 2026, but he didn’t commit to remaining with the tour beyond this season.
Cam Smith isn’t going anywhere. He’s very comfortable where he is.
And Jon Rahm said he’s not leaving, plus it’s believed he has two years left on his deal.
The three can return to the PGA Tour under the rules set forth for Koepka as past major champions (plus the Players Championship) since 2022, but as PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp laid out, only until Feb. 2.
“Once the door closes, there is no promise that this path will be available again,” he wrote in a memo to PGA Tour members Monday.
LIV announced it added Byeong Hun An (better known as Ben An), the South Korean, and Belgian Thomas Detry…the two having one win combined on the PGA Tour. As in while Ben An was popular on tour, he didn’t sell tickets and no one gives a s—.
—Tiger Woods told ESPN this week that no one should expect him playing on tour anytime soon, after his latest back surgery. He said he’s just been cleared to hit short and mid irons.
Woods said he has realistic expectations whenever he is able to return to action.
“Whenever that time comes, when I start hitting drivers, and I start playing at home, and start doing all the different things, I will have been away from the game for a year and a half, so I’m gonna be pretty rusty….
“I’ve had to stay a lot more patient with myself. I get sore faster, I guess, because I’m 50. And that happens.”
Premier League
Saturday, we had a shocking result at Old Trafford as caretaker manager Michael Carrick and his Manchester United team beat Manchester City, 2-0, a huge blow for City’s title hopes, though Arsenal only managed a 0-0 draw at Nottingham.
Chelsea beat Brentford 2-0, Liverpool drew with Burnley 1-1, Sunderland defeated Crystal Palace 2-1, and Tottenham lost at home to lowly West Ham 2-1. Spurs fans must have been fuming. I wouldn’t want to be in the pubs after…it was likely to get a bit ugly.
Today, Aston Villa, with a chance to be solo second, lost at home to Everton 1-0.
The table…22 of 38 played – points
Arsenal 50 points
Man City* 43
Aston Villa 43
Liverpool 36
Man U 35
Chelsea 34
*Totally different race if City is sitting at 46.
Stuff
–In World Cup Alpine action this week, Mikaela Shiffrin picked up her sixth slalom win of the season (in seven races), winning under the lights Tuesday in Flachau, Austria, with American teammate, and close friend, Paula Moltzan finishing second. A cool moment for both.
Career win No. 107 for Shiffrin as the Milano Cortina Olympics approach.
This weekend in Tarvisio, Italy, Lindsey Vonn picked up a third in the downhill and a second in the Super G!
—Venus Williams became the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open singles main draw today, at the age of 45.
Ranked No. 576 and playing on a wild-card entry, the seven-time major led 4-0 in the third set before Olga Danilovic rallied to win six straight games for a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Venus left the stadium with a smile and a wave. She vows to learn and get better. Rather remarkable.
—NASCAR is changing the way it awards its champion, a return to the 10-race “Chase” and only allowing the top drivers in points to participate. It’s a compromise. No longer is it “win and in” to reach the playoffs. Now it’s season-long points to get in the final 16 and there will be no elimination rounds.
—California hit a terrifying milestone last year – the highest recorded annual number of shark-related “incidents” along its iconic coastline.
There were 10 attacks, as reported by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2025, with three people injured, the highest since seven were injured in 1974.
One of last year’s encounters was fatal, when a 55-year-old triathlete disappeared off the coast of Monterey while swimming with her husband last month.
Last week a 28-year-old surfer survived a shark attack off California’s northern coast.
—Eight skiers died in three separate avalanches across the Austrian Alps on Saturday, days after heavy snowfall raised the avalanche risk for the mountain range, local authorities said.
On average, 19 people die year in Austria because of avalanches, according to Austria’s Road Safety Board. There have been 10 thus far this year, the other two earlier in the week.
Last weekend, six skiers died after being caught in avalanches in various Alpine resorts in France, and another skier was killed in Switzerland.
Top 3 songs for the week 1/17/76: #1 “I Write The Songs” (Barry Manilow) #2 “Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” (Diana Ross) #3 “Convoy” (C.W. McCall)…and…#4 “Love Rollercoaster” (Ohio Players) #5 “Fox On The Run” (Sweet) #6 “I Love Music (Part 1)” (O’Jays) #7 “Love To Love You Baby” (Donna Summer) #8 “You Sexy Thing” (Hot Chocolate) #9 “Times Of Your Life” (Paul Anka…great tune…albeit a tearjerker…) #10 “Walk Away From Love” (David Ruffin…another great song…B/B+ week….)
NHL Quiz Answer: Only six to score 150 points in a single season.
Wayne Gretzky, nine times…215 the most in 1985-86.
Mario Lemieux, four times…199 his top season, 1988-89.
Steve Yzerman…155, Detroit (1988-89)
Connor McDavid…153, Edmonton (2022-23)
Phil Esposito…152, Boston (1970-71)
Bernie Nicholls…150, Los Angeles (1988-89)
It’s astounding only six players have accomplished the feat and Gretzky topped 200 four times!
I got the idea for this quiz when I saw an item on hockey-reference.com that Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov had nine consecutive multiple-point games (snapped in Game 10).
The record is 16 straight by Gretzky in the 1985-86 season. He had 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) in those 16 contests. Totally unfathomable. Adam Oates of St. Louis (1990-91) is next at 15, 44 points, with 36 of them being assists.
One more on Gretzky…he had 252 points in 120 playoff games for Edmonton, winning four Stanley Cup titles.
And that, kids, is why we call him “The Great One.”
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.
