Yahoo Sports AM: Championship weekend
We hope you enjoy this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏈 Cowboys 41, Seahawks 35: Dallas (9-3) held on for its fourth straight win in a back-and-forth thriller against Seattle as the superstar duo of Dak Prescott (299 yards, 3 TD) and CeeDee Lamb (12 catches, 146 total yards, TD) continued their torrid play.
🏈 Domestic violence charge: Bills linebacker Von Miller turned himself in to police on Thursday. He's facing a third-degree felony charge for assaulting his longtime girlfriend, who is pregnant.
🏒 Goalie goal: Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry scored the 17th goal ever by an NHL goalie in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Lightning.
🏀 Reese's return: Angel Reese (19 pts, 9 reb) returned from her mysterious four-game absence to lead No. 7 LSU to an 82-64 win over No. 9 Virginia Tech in a Final Four rematch.
🏊 Streak snapped: Katie Ledecky's 11-year winning streak in the 400m freestyle on American soil was broken Thursday at the U.S. Open by Canada's Summer McIntosh. The 17-year-old phenom beat Ledecky, 26, by nearly three seconds.
🏀 Bronny's back: LeBron James' son, Bronny, has been cleared to fully return to basketball at USC four months after he went into cardiac arrest during a routine workout.
🏈 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND HAS ARRIVED
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to college football's championship weekend, which should be a doozy.
A crowded field: For the first time in the CFP's four-team era, eight Power 5 teams enter championship weekend with one loss or fewer, notes Yahoo Sports' Nick Bromberg.
12-0: Georgia, Michigan, Washington, Florida State
11-1: Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama
Power 5 title games:
Pac-12:Washington vs. Oregon (-10) in Las Vegas: The Pac-12's farewell season concludes tonight with a tantalizing matchup. The Huskies won the first meeting, 36-33, but Heisman frontrunner Bo Nix and the Ducks are the favorites as they seek revenge.
Big 12:Texas (-15.5) vs. Oklahoma State in Arlington: Will the Longhorns' final season in the Big 12 end with their first conference title in 14 years? Or will the Cowboys pull off the upset?
SEC:Alabama vs. Georgia (-5.5) in Atlanta: Since 2010, the Crimson Tide have been favored in 190 of 194 games. All four times they've been an underdog have come against the Bulldogs, who are vying to win their 30th straight game.
Big 10:Iowa vs. Michigan (-22.5) in Indianapolis: The total is just 33.5 as oddsmakers don't give Iowa's putrid offense (18 points per game) much chance of scoring against Jim Harbaugh (who is back on the sideline) and Michigan's top-ranked scoring defense.
ACC:Louisville vs. FSU (-1.5) in Charlotte: Will the Seminoles stay perfect and make their first CFP appearance since 2014? Or will the Cardinals pull off the upset and win their first ever ACC title since joining the conference a decade ago?
Group of 5: Tulane can make its second straight New Year's Six Bowl with a win over SMU (AAC) … Liberty can get to 13-0 with a win over NMSU (C-USA) … UNLV vs. Boise State (MWC) … Toledo vs. Miami-Ohio (MAC) … Troy vs. App State (Sun Belt).
Nightmare scenario: If Alabama beats Georgia and all the other favorites win, the CFP Committee will have a tough decision. Michigan would be in, then it's five teams (Oregon, Texas, FSU, Alabama, Georgia) for the other three spots. Who ya got?
Further reading:
Looking ahead: Enjoy conference championship weekend while you still can. Some of the sport's most powerful leaders are mulling whether title games will be necessary in the expanded playoff era.
📸 BEHIND THE LENS
Each week, we go "Behind the Lens" with Getty Images to get the backstory on the best photographs in sports.
This week's photo: Tiger Woods during a practice round prior to the Hero World Challenge, his first PGA Tour event since withdrawing from the Masters in April.
Photographer: Mike Ehrmann
Location: Nassau, Bahamas
Date: November 29
Behind the lens: Here's Mike…
This is probably my fourth Tiger comeback and every one is exciting. He creates a buzz around the game like no one else can. Whenever I see him after a break, I always miss the intensity he carries with him. It was a simple moment that I knew would look good in black and white, as the midday light in the Bahamas can get a little harsh. Doing that allows me to add a lot of contrast which makes his stare that much more intense.
Round 1: Woods had an up-and-down round at Albany Golf Club on Thursday. Walking with a slight limp, he shot a three-over 75 to put him 18th in the field of 20.
🤫 PICKLEBALL IS GETTING QUIETER
Pickleball is as loud as it is popular, but the cacophonous sport may finally be quieting down, Jeff writes.
A noisy sport: Not long after pickleball's pandemic-era boom began, people in the vicinity of courts began filing complaints and lawsuits over the noisy thwacks of a plastic ball hitting a fiberglass paddle.
They have a point: Pickleball registers a decibel level of 70 dBA, nearly twice that of tennis (40) and just shy of the 75 caused by the oh-so pleasant sound of a vacuum cleaner.
Pickleball hits also have an extremely high-pitched frequency of about 1.2k Hz, meaning the paddle vibrates more than 1,000 times per second on every hit. That's roughly the same as the awful beeps emitted by a garbage truck backing up.
What they're saying: "The most annoying of all frequencies," retired sound engineer and founder of Pickleball Sound Mitigation LLC Bob Unetich told The Hustle. "It catches your attention."
Finding a solution: A new pickleball paddle from OWL Sport was released earlier this month that promises a 50% noise reduction without negatively impacting performance.
It's the first piece of equipment certified under USA Pickleball's "Quiet Category," which was announced in September after the governing body spent more than a year researching the sport's acoustic footprint.
While OWL's paddle is the only Quiet Category-certified product to date, USA Pickleball says they've reviewed roughly a dozen designs from brands hoping to get certified soon. Several products have already been submitted for performance testing.
What's next? "The largest global brands are looking at development of quiet balls," Carl Schmits, managing director of equipment standards for USA Pickleball, told Axios. "If the ball component can be addressed satisfactorily, that is the greatest common denominator."
💬 SHEILA JOHNSON'S MESSAGE TO WOMEN: PLAY TEAM SPORTS
BET co-founder Sheila Johnson delivered a strong message to women at Sports Business Journal's Dealmakers conference on Thursday: Play team sports.
I try to tell all women — it's important that they learn team sports. Because men have always had this their whole lives. It takes them to corporate board rooms. They're able to negotiate. They're able to fight and then also walk out of the same doors and then become friends: "Hey, let's go play golf somewhere."
These are lessons that women do not have. We were not taught that. And I think it's really, really important. And I really try to emphasize to as many parents as possible: get your kids into team sports. I don't care whether it's soccer, basketball, volleyball, whatever it is.
There are lessons that are learned there, out on those courts, that they could never, ever learn anywhere else. You can't even learn them in a classroom. That's why sports are so important. It's the foundation of life.
⚾️ MLB OFFSEASON: TOP FREE AGENTS
MLB free agency is moving slowly as it often does this time of year. But the stove has been known to heat up unexpectedly, so it's always wise to keep abreast of the biggest names still out there, Jeff writes.
Top free agents: Just two of Yahoo's top 10 free agents have been signed, with Aaron Nola returning to Philly and former Twin Sonny Gray heading to St. Louis. The other eight are still available.
Shohei Ohtani: The two-way superstar won't pitch next year as he recovers from Tommy John, but he'll still command a record-breaking deal. Everybody wants him, but the real question is: who can afford him?
Yoshinobu Yamamoto: The best pitcher in Japan has won three straight MVPs and Sawamura Awards (Japan's Cy Young). At just 25 years old, his deal is expected to be over $200 million.
Blake Snell: The lefty just became the seventh pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young in both leagues, and the Seattle native reportedly wants to pitch for his hometown Mariners.
Cody Bellinger: The 2019 NL MVP picked a great time to break out of a three-year slump, batting .307 with 26 homers in his walk year. He's the top non-Ohtani bat on the market.
Jordan Montgomery: The 30-year-old played a critical role in the Rangers' first World Series title, which should earn the steady lefty a nine-figure deal.
Matt Chapman: His bat has fallen off a bit in recent years, but he just won his fourth Glove Glove and remains perhaps the best defensive third baseman not named Nolan Arenado.
Josh Hader: Think any teams could use a five-time All-Star lefty closer who had a 1.28 ERA last season and leads all of baseball with 153 saves since 2019?
Jung-hoo Lee: The speedy center fielder is a lifetime .340 hitter across seven seasons in the KBO (South Korea), where he won MVP last year.
Full list:Top 25 free agents
📆 DEC. 1, 2015: PHILLY FINALLY WINS
Eight years ago today, the 76ers beat the Lakers* to snap a 28-game skid that dated back to the previous season, ending the longest losing streak in NBA history, Jeff writes.
Longest losing streaks: The Sixers just barely escaped setting the record for the longest losing streak across all major North American sports.
🏈 NFL: 29 straight losses (Cardinals, 1942-45)
🏀 NBA: 28 (76ers, 2015)
⚾️ MLB: 23 (Phillies, 1961)
🏒 NHL: 18 (Penguins, 2004; Sabres, 2021)
🏒 1924: The Bruins beat the Montreal Maroons at home in their inaugural game, marking the first NHL game ever played in the United States.
🏀 1997: Warriors star Latrell Sprewell choked his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, during a heated exchange at practice. He was suspended one year and never played for Golden State again.
*Farewell, Kobe: The Sixers' win against the Lakers came just two days after Kobe Bryant announced he'd be retiring at the end of the season. The Philly native was honored by his high school, Lower Merion, before the game.
📺 WATCHLIST: GAME OF THE YEAR
Conference championship weekend is Friday and Saturday (see preview above). Then comes NFL Sunday*, headlined by the game of the year: 49ers at Eagles(4:25pm ET, Fox).
Betting odds: San Francisco (8-3) is a road favorite against Philadelphia (10-1), marking just the fourth time since 2004 that a team with a record of 10-1 or better has been a home underdog.
More to watch:
🏀 NCAAM: No. 4 UConn at No. 5 Kansas (9pm, ESPN2) … The Huskies have won 24 straight non-conference games by double digits (NCAA record). Will their streak end tonight?
🏀 NCAAW: No. 1 South Carolina at Duke (Sun. 1pm, ABC); No. 11 UConn at No. 10 Texas (Sun. 3pm, ABC); No. 16 Ohio State at No. 20 Tennessee (Sun. 5pm, ESPN)
⚽️ MLS Conference Finals: Cincinnati vs. Columbus (Sat. 6pm, Apple); LAFC vs. Houston (Sat. 9:30pm, Apple)
⚽️ Women's College Cup: No. 1 FSU vs. No. 1 Clemson (Fri. 6pm, ESPNU); No. 1 BYU vs. No. 2 Stanford (Fri. 8:30pm, ESPNU)
⚽️ Men's Elite Eight: No. 5 WVU vs. Loyola Marymount (Sat. 2pm, ESPN+); No. 2 Notre Dame vs. Indiana (Sat. 5pm, ESPN+); No. 3 UNC vs. Oregon State (Sat. 5pm, ESPN+); No. 9 Clemson vs. No. 16 Stanford (Sat. 6pm, ESPN+)
⛳️ PGA: Hero World Challenge (Fri-Sun, Golf/Peacock)
🏀 NBA: 76ers at Celtics (Fri. 7pm, ESPN); Nuggets at Suns (Fri. 10pm, ESPN)
🏒 NHL: Lightning at Stars (Sat. 2pm, NHL); Maple Leafs at Bruins (Sat. 7pm, NHL)
⚽️ EPL: Newcastle vs. Man United (Sat. 3pm, USA); Brighton vs. Chelsea (Sun. 9am, USA); Man City vs. Tottenham (Sun. 11:30am, Peacock)
⚽️ Friendly: USWNT vs. China (Sat. 3pm, TNT/Max/Peacock) … In Fort Lauderdale.
⚽️ U17 World Cup Final: France vs. Germany (Sat. 7am, FS1) … In Indonesia.
🏐 NCAA Volleyball Tournament: 16 games (Fri-Sat, ESPN+) … Second round.
*An otherwise weak slate: Eagles-49ers is one of just two games on Sunday between teams that are above .500. In the other, C.J. Stroud and the 6-5 Texans host Russell Wilson and the 6-5 Broncos.
🏀 NBA TRIVIA
The Mavericks have the second-best winning percentage in the NBA (59.6%) since Mark Cuban bought the team in 2000.
Question: Which team do they trail?
Hint: Also in the West.
Answer at the bottom.
🎶 END OF AN ERA: SEC ON CBS
With the SEC moving to ESPN in 2024, Saturday will be the last time you hear this iconic CBS theme song during an SEC football game for at least 10 years.
___
Trivia: Spurs (64.6%)
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
