Yahoo Sports AM: The Freeman legend grows

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🚨 Titles

🏀 Wemby’s monster party: Victor Wembanyama had 25 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks in the Spurs’ 106-88 victory over the Jazz, making him the third player in the NBA with several 5×5 games.

🎙️ Costas withdraws from play-by-play: Bob Costas retires as MLB play-by-play announcer after 44 years, the Hall of Fame broadcaster will continue to work as an analyst and commentator on MLB Network.

🏀 Banchero absent indefinitely: The Magic Star Paolo Banchero is absent indefinitely (torn obliquely), ending what looked like a stellar season for the young striker.

⚾️ World Series standings: The 2024 Fall Classic average 15.8 million viewers per match on Fox, the best number since 2017.

🏀 Million Dollar Offer: Caitlin Clark reportedly offered $1 million to participate in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, the new 3×3 women’s league which will begin in January. The operation also includes an equity participation.

⚾️ “Dad, I will never stop”

We knew Freddie Freeman, World Series MVP was nursing a sprained right ankle throughout the playoffs.

What we didn’t know: A day before the start of the playoffs, Freeman was unable to get up from the ground after performing moves in the batting cage. It turns out he had fractured the costal cartilage in his sixth rib, an injury that can sideline players for months.

From ESPN’s Jeff Passan:

Devastation set in. Walking hurt. Breathing stung. Swinging a bat seemed like an impossibility.

Freeman’s father, Fred, worried about his youngest son, whom he had raised after Freeman’s mother, Rosemary, died of melanoma when Freddie was 10 years old. He saw the anguish in every tiny movement.

Given the injuries to his rib and ankle and the lingering pain from a broken middle finger in August, Freeman was surely too beat up to continue playing. Surely there would be more playoffs, more opportunities.

“I actually told him to stop,” Fred said. “I said, ‘Freddie, it’s not worth it. I know you love baseball. I love baseball. But it’s not worth what you’re going through.’ And he looked at me like I was crazy, and he said, ‘Dad, I’ll never stop.'”

Legendary quote: “It only hurts when I miss,” Freeman told his father during the NLDS. “So I’m going to have to stop missing.”

🏈 Catch of the year

Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson makes the catch of the year Thursday in New York’s 21-13 win over the Texans.

Davante Adams: “I told him he might get fired from Adidas after this one. It looked like he was heading to Jumpman with me. I’m going to talk to some people.”

Looking to the future: Aaron Rodgers and his two stars finally clicked in the second half of Thursday’s victory. But do the Jets have enough time to dig themselves out of a hole?

⚾️ MLB offseason: best free agents

With the World Series behind us, it’s time to turn our attention to a new winter of transactional activity.

Our Top 10 Free Agents, Courtesy of Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman of Yahoo Sports:

1. Juan Soto (RF, 26 years old): Yes, he is only 26 years old. After a career-high 41 HR and five straight seasons with more walks than strikeouts, his contract could at least start with number 5.

2. Corbin Burnes (RHP, 30): The 2021 Cy Young has started at least 32 games in three straight seasons, and his 2.92 ERA with Baltimore this year was fourth-best in the AL.

3. Alex Bregman (3B, 31): His 2019 extension with Houston was a bargain (6 years, $100 million), and his elite bat and glove combo should net him a lot more this time around.

4. Willy Adamès (SS, 29): The Brewers star picked a great year to set career highs in games played (161), doubles (33), home runs (32) and steals (21).

5. Blake Snell (LHP, 32): The two-time Cy Young has another chance to land the mega-contract he missed out on last season after posting a 1.23 ERA in his last 14 starts with the Giants.

6. Max Fried (LHP, 31): There’s just one stat you need to know about longtime Brave: Among the 55 pitchers with 100+ starts since 2020, his 2.81 ERA ranks first.

7. Pete Alonso (1G, 30): Speaking of key stats: Polar Bear’s 226 home runs since his 2019 debut rank second behind Aaron Judge (232).

8. Teoscar Hernández (OF, 32): The veteran proved his worth during a one-year deal with the Dodgers, setting a career-high 33 HRs and winning the World Series.

9. Christian Walker (1B, 34): He could win his third straight Gold Glove this year, which was also his third straight season with at least 50 extra-base hits.

10. Anthony Santander (RF, 30 years old): The Orioles slugger hit a career-high 44 HR, making him just eighth hitter of all time to eclipse 40 (and the first since 2006).

What’s next: Teams have until 5 p.m. ET Monday to make qualifying offers to pending free agents, then it’s off to the races at next week’s general managers meetings in San Antonio. The stove should really start heating up during the Winter Meetings in Dallas (December 8-11).

Discover the entire top 50.

📆 November 1, 1913: The game that changed football

111 years ago today, Notre Dame toppled Army, 35-13, at West Point in a game it changed football forever thanks to a simple concept: the forward pass.

A change was necessary: College football in its earliest form mirrored rugby and was extremely dangerous. In 1905, the Chicago Tribune reported that 19 players died from injuries sustained during matches.

• Fearing that football would be banned if it continued down this path, President Theodore Roosevelt brought together key figures to discuss player safety. A rule from this 1905 meeting? The legalization of the front pass.

• But it wasn’t until 1912 that the passing rules began to resemble those of the modern game (for example, misses counted as turnovers), paving the way for Notre Dame to revolutionize the sport.

“Everyone seemed surprised”: While Notre Dame quarterback Gus Dorais broke up the Army defense with 14 completions, 243 yards and 2 scores, the Irish proved that passing was more than a parlor trick.

• No play was more impressive than when Dorais hit the great Knute Rockne in stride for a 40 yard score this left army players scratching their heads.

• “Everyone seemed astonished,” Rockne later wrote. “There had been no obstacles, no tackles, no dives, no crushing of fibers and tendons. Just a long-distance landing in rapid transport.”

The big picture: This game has become a mixture of history and mythhelped by the film “Knute Rockne, All-American”, with Ronald “Win one for the Gipper“Reagan. And in addition to changing the sport, it was the first meeting between Army and Notre Dame. once historic rivalry.

What to watch: This rivalry, which once featured annual games at Yankee Stadium, has lost steam in recent years as they have only played three times this century. But in three weeks, the Irish and the Cadets will face each other again at Yankee Stadium for their first matchup since 2016, and both teams are currently ranked.

📺 Watchlist: Buckeyes at Nittany Lions

No. 3 Penn State hosts No. 4 Ohio State SATURDAY (12 p.m. ET, Fox) in the weekend college football game.

One-sided rivalry: This is the eighth straight year the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions have met as ranked teams, and Ohio State has won each of the previous seven.

More to watch:

• 🏈 NFL Sunday: Broncos at the Ravens (1 p.m., CBS); Lions at Packers (4:25 p.m., Fox); Rams at Seahawks (4:25 p.m., Fox); Colts at Vikings (8:20 p.m., NBC) … Week 9.

• 🏀 NBA: Magic among the Cavaliers (Friday 7 p.m., ESPN); Nuggets at Timberwolves (Friday 9:30 p.m., ESPN)

• 🏒 NHL: Stars vs. Panthers (Friday 1 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m., NHL) …In Tampere, Finland.

• ⚽️ MLS Playoffs: Vancouver (down 1-0) vs. LAFC (Sun. 8:45 p.m., FS1) … THE seven more first round matches are on Apple.

• ⚽️ NWSL: Portland vs. Angel City (Friday 10 p.m., Prime); Chicago vs. KC (Sun. 3 p.m., ESPN); San Diego vs. Louisville (Sun. 5:30 p.m., ESPN) …Regular season finale.

• ⚽️ First League: Liverpool vs Brighton (Saturday 11 a.m., Peacock); Tottenham Vs. Villa Aston (Sun. 9 a.m., USA); Manchester United vs Chelsea (Sun. 11:30 a.m., USA)

• 👟 Marathon: 53rd New York Marathon (Sun. 8 a.m., ESPN2)

• 🏁 NASCAR Playoffs: Martinsville Motor Speedway (Sun. 2 p.m., NBC)

• 🏁 T1: Brazilian GP (Sun. 12 p.m., ESPN2)

• 🐎 Horse race: Breeders’ Cup* (Friday-Saturday, USA/NBC)

*North America’s richest race: The two-day Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, Calif., features 14 races and a total purse of $30 million.

🏀 College Hoops Quiz

The college basketball season begins Monday.

Question: Can you name the last four national champions for men and women?

Hint: There have been several male and female champions.

Reply below.

🏈 NFL Draft Big Board

Here’s the top of our mid-season NFL Draft Big Board, courtesy of Nate Tice of Yahoo Sports:

1. Will Johnson, CB (Michigan)

2. Travis Hunter, BC (Colorado)

3. Mykel Williams, EDGE (Georgia)

4. Abdul Carter, EDGE (Penn State)

5. Will Campbell, OT (LSU)

6. Mason Graham, DT (Michigan)

7. Jalon Walker, LB (Georgia)

8. Ashton Jeanty, RB (Boise State)

9. Kelvin Banks Jr., OT/OG (Texas)

10. Nic Scourton, EDGE (Texas A&M)

Large complete board.

Trivial answer: UConn (2024 and 2023), Kansas (2022), Baylor (2021) for men; South Carolina (2024), LSU (2023), South Carolina (2022), Stanford (2021) for women

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