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🚨 Headlines
🎾 Aussie semifinals: No. 1 Jannik Sinner beat No. 21 Ben Shelton in straight sets and No. 2 Alexander Zverev won in a walkover against No. 7 Novak Djokovic, who withdrew with a leg injury after losing the first set.
🏈 MVP finalists: Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Saquon Barkley and Jared Goff are the finalists for NFL MVP, one of eight end-of-season awards whose finalists were revealed on Thursday.
🏒 Bettman’s future: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is preparing to retire in “a couple years,” according to a team owner, and the league is in the process of finding a successor.
🏈 Coen to Jacksonville: Buccaneers OC Liam Coen has reportedly agreed to become the next head coach of the Jaguars, reversing his decision to sign an extension with Tampa Bay.
⚾️ Braves signs Profar: Outfielder Jurickson Profar is headed to Atlanta on a three-year, $42 million deal. He was No. 15 on our Top 50 MLB free agents list.
🏀 Have a night, Nikola
Nikola Jokić went nuclear in Thursday’s win over the Kings, notching his fifth straight triple-double (35 points, 22 rebounds, 17 assists) to join Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players to record a 35/20/15 game.
But wait, there’s more: He also made the sixth-longest shot in NBA history, an 80-foot heave to beat the third-quarter buzzer.
And to cap off his historic evening, Jokić was the leading vote-getter among Western Conference All-Stars, receiving more than 3.7 million votes from fans…
All-Star starters: The starting lineups were announced Thursday ahead of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 16 in San Francisco.
West
East
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Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
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Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
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Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)
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Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)
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Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
Wild stat… LeBron has started every All-Star Game since 2005.
📸 The world in photos
Paris — Victor Wembanyama put on a show in his native France, recording 30 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks in the Spurs’ 140-110 blowout win over the Pacers. The two teams will play again tomorrow.
Cooperstown, New York — The Baseball Hall of Fame’s three newest members gathered Thursday for the new inductee press conference, where Ichiro cheekily invited the lone voter who left him off his ballot to “have a drink together … and a good chat.”
Seattle — Alex Ovechkin scored his 22nd goal of the season in Washington’s 3-0 win over Seattle, putting him 20 shy of passing Wayne Gretzky. At his current pace, he’ll break the record in the final week of the season.
🏈 Stat du jour: 4th down conversions
Just four NFL teams had a 4th-down conversion rate over 70% this season. Perhaps not so coincidentally, all four are still playing.
By the numbers: The Commanders (87%), Bills (72.7%), Chiefs (70.6%) and Eagles (70.4%) were the best in the league at grinding out a couple extra yards when it mattered most. All four converted at least once last week, so expect more aggressive play on Sunday.
💔 Mamba forever
Five years ago this Sunday, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gigi, and seven other souls died in a helicopter crash.
Life’s too short. Hug your loved ones. Give your friend a call. Don’t take today for granted.
Listen: Kobe’s legacy lives on (The Kevin O’Connor Show)
📺 Watchlist: Championship Weekend
The NFL’s final four take the field on Sunday to determine the matchup for Super Bowl LIX.
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Commanders (+6) at Eagles (3pm ET, Fox): For Jayden Daniels to make history and become the first rookie QB to start a Super Bowl, Washington will have to slow down Saquon Barkley, who’s rushed for 324 yards through two playoff games.
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Bills (+2) at Chiefs (6:30pm, CBS): Will Kansas City get a chance to complete the unprecedented three-peat? Or will Buffalo return to The Big Game for the first time since losing four straight in the early ’90s?
More to watch:
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🎾 Australian Open: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 19 Madison Keys* (Sat. 3:30am, ESPN); No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 2 Alexander Zverev (Sun. 3:30am, ESPN) … Finals.
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🏀 NBA: Spurs vs. Pacers in Paris (Sat. 12pm, ESPN); Nuggets at Timberwolves (Sat. 3pm, ABC); Celtics at Mavericks (Sat. 5:30pm, ABC); Lakers at Warriors (Sat. 8:30pm, ABC)
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🏀 NCAAM: No. 21 Michigan at No. 11 Purdue (Fri. 8pm, Fox); No. 7 Houston at No. 12 Kansas (Sat. 6:30pm, ESPN); No. 6 Tennessee at No. 1 Auburn (Sat. 8:30pm, ESPN)
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🏀 NCAAW: No. 5 LSU at No. 2 South Carolina (Fri. 5pm, ESPN); No. 1 UCLA at No. 8 Maryland (Sun. 2pm, NBC); No. 25 Baylor at No. 9 TCU (Sun. 3pm, ESPN2)
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🏒 NHL: Golden Knights at Stars (Fri. 7:30pm, ESPN); Avalanche at Bruins (Sat. 1pm, NHL); Devils at Canadiens (Sat. 7pm, NHL)
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⚽️ Premier League: Manchester City vs. Chelsea (Sat. 12:30pm, Peacock)
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⛳️ PGA: Farmers Insurance Open (Fri-Sat, Golf/CBS/ESPN+)
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🏀 Unrivaled: Week 2 (Fri-Sat, TNT/truTV)
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⛷️ X Games Aspen: Days 2-4 (Fri-Sun, ABC/ESPN)
*Welcome back! This will be Keys’ second Grand Slam final appearance after reaching the 2017 U.S. Open final. That eight-year gap between her first two Slam finals is the longest ever.
🏀 NBA trivia
LeBron James (21) and Kevin Durant (15) are two of the seven players in NBA history to make at least 15 All-Star Games.
Question: Who are the other five?
Hint: Three of their first names start with the same letter.
Answer at the bottom.
✍️ Weekend reads
🏈 Dan Wetzel: Deflategate 10 years later: Was it an actual scandal or an absurd comedy?
It’s been 10 years since Tom Brady was accused of deflating footballs, a controversy that is one of the wilder and weirder stories in NFL lore.
🏀 Tom Haberstroh: The Rookie-Scale hack: Why the Spurs should get Steph Curry
San Antonio has a golden opportunity, thanks to Victor Wembanyama and a CBA quirk.
⚽️ Henry Bushnell: Weston McKennie, Mr. ‘Do Everything,’ is starring once again
The versatile midfielder has become indispensable for both Juventus and the USMNT.
Trivia answer: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19x All-Star), Kobe Bryant (18), Tim Duncan (15), Kevin Garnett (15) and Shaquille O’Neal (15)
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