⚾️ Yanks Land the Chosen Juan

It’s Thursday! And the stove is scorching hot in the MLB! After 10-plus years of postseason failures, Yankees GM Brian Cashman came to a shocking revelation: 314 feet to right field wall + lefty power hitter = good. In the first major offseason splash, the Bronx Bombers landed one of baseball’s brightest stars — for a year. But, c’mon, a 25-year-old wunderkind getting paid millions to play in front of a fanbase with reasonable expectations… what could go wrong? And while last night’s blockbuster trade stole the headlines, “Headband Luka” stole the Jazz’s dignity, and only needed 20 minutes to do it. Plus, Joel Embiid also went ballistic (50-piece alert!), Caitlin Clark joined historic company, and the Oilers are good again, allegedly. Let’s go!

WTF Stat: Last night, Mavericks G Luka Doncic became the first player to record a 25-point triple-double in a half since play-by-play statistics began being tracked in 1996-97 - Doncic went 29-10-10 in one half of an NBA game.

⚾️ Yankees acquired three-time All-Star OF Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade with the Padres for pitchers Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, and Drew Thrope, and C Kyle Higashioka - Soto, 25, is on the final year of his contract, and New York also received OF Trent Grisham in the deal

⚾️ Orioles and former Phillies RP Craig Kimbrel agreed to a 1-year, $13M deal with a team option for the 2025 season - Kimbrel, 35, made his seventh All-Star Game last season, finishing with 23 saves and a 3.26 ERA

⚾️ Diamondbacks and former Tigers SP Eduardo Rodriguez agreed to a 4-year, $80M deal - Rodriguez, 30, opted out of the final three years of his contract with Detroit after going 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA last season

🏈 A former Jaguars financial employee has been accused of stealing over $22M from the franchise from 2019 to 2023 by exploiting the organization’s virtual credit card program

NBA - Top Games

• Dallas Mavericks 147, Utah Jazz 97: Luka Legend! Luka Doncic (40 PTS, 6-12 3PT, 11 REB, 10 AST) broke out the headband last night but barely had time to break a sweat, racking up an unprecedented 29-point triple-double in the first half before sitting the entire 4th quarter with a cool 40-piece, as the Mavs drubbed the Jazz in Dallas - it was Doncic’s 60th career triple-double, moving past Larry Bird for the ninth-most in NBA history

• Philadelphia 76ers 131, Washington Wizards 126: “Mama, there goes that man!” Joel Embiid (50 PTS, 19-29 FG, 13 REB, 7 AST) ordered up a healthy 50-burger, and the Sixers needed all of it to trump Jordan Poole (23 PTS, 10-16 FG) and the three-win Wizards, who pushed Philly to the brink but ran out of gas late - it’s Embiid’s sixth 50-point game of his career, and his first this season

• Los Angeles Clippers 111, Denver Nuggets 102: Nikola Jokic (22 PTS, 15 REB, 10 AST) posted his third triple-double in Denver’s past four games, but the defending champs were handed their second straight L thanks to efficient nights from Paul George (25 PTS, 5-9 3PT, 8 REB) and James Harden (20 PTS, 6-10 FG, 11 AST), who powered the Clips past the Nugs in Los Angeles - Jokic now has a league-leading seven triple-doubles this season, and the loss snapped Denver’s eight-game win streak against the Clippers

See the full NBA scoreboard here and the current standings here.

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | #8 Marquette 86, #12 Texas 65: After spending six years at Texas before leaving in March of 2021, head coach Shaka Smart faced his former team for the first time Wednesday night, and his Golden Eagles found themselves in an early hole. But Tyler Kolek (28 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST) led Marquette on a blistering 37-17 run to close out the half, and Smart’s squad didn’t look back to rout Max Abmas (25 PTS, 3 REB) and the Longhorns in the Big East-Big 12 Battle for a statement victory at home - it was also a much-needed win for the Eagles after losing to Purdue and Wisconsin in two of their past three games

• NCAAM | #23 Clemson 72, South Carolina 67: In a battle between two unbeaten instate rivals, Meechie Johnson (26 PTS, 6-10 3PT, 4 AST) and the Gamecocks took an 11-point lead shortly after the break, but Chauncey Wiggins (15 PTS, 3-5 3PT) scored 13 of his career-high 15 points in the second half to help the Tigers rally past South Carolina at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum

• NCAAW | #4 Iowa 67, Iowa State 58: In another heated in-state rivalry, Addy Brown (14 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST) and the Cyclones gave the Hawkeyes all they could handle and held a one-point lead midway through the 4th quarter. But Caitlin Clark (35 PTS, 12-31 FG, 9 REB, 5 AST) refused to be denied and dropped a pair of crafty dimes in crunch time before adding a layup to extend Iowa’s lead to six with two minutes remaining, and the 2023 Big Ten champs pulled away to avoid the upset - Clark became the 15th DI women’s player to eclipse 3,000 career points in the win

See the full men’s scoreboard here and the full women’s scoreboard here.

NHL - All Games

• Edmonton Oilers 6, Carolina Hurricanes 1: Make that five in a row for Edmonton! Ryan McLeod (1 G) and Mattias Ekholm (1 G, 3 A) gave the Oils a 2-0 lead 41 seconds into the game, Zach Hyman (3 G) made hats fly, and Connor McDavid (3 A) was doing Connor McDavid things as the Blue and Orange blasted Carolina in Alberta - the Oilers are now 7-3-0 under Kris Knoblauch since firing HC Jay Woodcroft in early November

• Vegas Golden Knights 6, St. Louis Blues 3: Jordan Binnington (43 SV) was outstanding in net, and the Blues held a 3-1 lead at the first intermission, but it was all Vegas from there, as Jack Eichel (1 G, 1 A) and the reigning champs rattled off five unanswered goals, including four in the 2nd period, to avenge their Sunday loss in St. Louis with a home-and-home split - Vegas leads the Western Conference with a 17-5-5 record

• Florida Panthers 5, Dallas Stars 4: Evan Rodrigues (2 G, 2 A) tied a career-high with four points, Aleksander Barkov (1 G, 1 A) was gifted an easy goal after a wild rebound off the boards, and the Cats improved to 15-8-2 with a win in Florida against Mason Marchment (1 G, 1 A) and the slumping Stars - Dallas (14-7-3) has now dropped five of their past seven games

• Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 1: Nikita Kucherov (1 G, 1 A) increased his league-leading points total to 42 with an apple and a bingo, and Andrei Vasilevskiy (24 SV) was perfect through 59 minutes to cruise past the Pens in Tampa, giving the Bolts their fourth straight win after a four-game skid - Vasilevskiy was 53 seconds away from back-to-back shutouts but misplayed an exchange behind the night, giving Pittsburgh an undeserving garbage goal

See the full box scores here and the current NHL standings here.

English Premier League - Top Matches

• Aston Villa 1, Manchester City 0: The holders are reeling! The three-time defending champs are now 0-3-1 in their last four Premier League outings and were thoroughly outplayed yesterday in Birmingham, where Aston Villa had countless chances before finally capitalizing thanks to a deflected shot from Leon Bailey (74’), leaving City in the fourth position and six points from the top of the table - Villa (10-2-3) jumped City (9-3-3) with the win

• Manchester United 2, Chelsea 1: Meanwhile, at Old Trafford, the Red Lions put together perhaps their best performance of the season behind Scott McTominay’s (19’, 69’) brace and dominant defensive display to ink a well-deserved win over Cole Palmer (45’) and Chelsea - Man U recorded 28 shots and moved into sixth in the table at 9-0-6

See the full international scoreboard here and the current EPL table here.

In partnership with Friday Beers

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We've taste-tested the product and can assure you that it's the perfect brew for sports-watchin', tailgate rippin', and couch chillin'. Find the nearest liquor store carrying Friday Beers and have a day – just remember to be 21 years old, please!

So, don't just survive the week – celebrate the end of it with Friday Beers! It's not just a drink; it's a lifestyle. Of all the light beers we’ve guzzled, these things just hit different.

With 3,013 career points, Caitlin Clark has the 15th-most points in NCAA DI women’s basketball history. Who leads the all-time scoring list?

A. Kelsey Plum (Washington)

B. Maya Moore (UConn)

C. Brittney Griner (Baylor)

D. Cheryl Miller (USC)

On December 7, 1996, Texas upset #3 Nebraska 37-27 in the first-ever Big 12 Championship Game. Quarterback James Brown (353 YDS) and fifth-year RB Priest Holmes (120 YDS, 3 TDs) led the Longhorns to a program-boosting win over the two-time defending national champion Huskers. The game was held at the Trans World Dome in St. Louis to cap the first year of Big 12 play, which formed in the merger of the Big Eight Conference and four teams from the Southwest Conference. Nebraska would ultimately recover and win the Big 12 in two of the next three seasons, but their 1999 conference title was the program's last before leaving for the Big Ten in 2012.

NFL - Thursday Night Football

• New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers 8:15pm ET, Prime Video

NBA In-Season Tournament - Semifinals

• Milwaukee Bucks vs. Indiana Pacers 5:00pm ET, ESPN

• New Orleans Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Lakers 9:00pm ET, TNT

NHL - Top Games

• Dallas Stars @ Washington Capitals 8:00pm ET, ESPN

• Winnipeg Jets @ Colorado Avalanche 9:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• New Jersey Devils @ Seattle Kraken 10:30pm ET, ESPN

• Full Schedule

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM: Iowa @ Iowa State 7:30pm ET, ESPNU

• NCAAW: #11 Utah @ Saint Joseph’s 7:00pm ET, ESPN+

• NCAAW: #23 Gonzaga @ California 10:00pm ET, Pac-12

• Men’s Full Schedule

• Women’s Full Schedule

Grab $20 off tickets to your favorite games, concerts and events using code TORCH20 at Vivid Seats - Promo is for first-time buyers and orders over $200!

Trivia Time Answer

A. Kelsey Plum. The former Washington Husky has the most career points in NCAA DI women’s history, with 3,527 from 2013 to 2017. Plum won the Naismith Player of the Year her senior season and is now a two-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces. Her collegiate record is followed by Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchel (3,402), Missouri’s Jackie Stiles (3,393), and Baylor’s Brittney Griner (3,283).

MEGA "Lock" of the Day

In partnership with FanDuel

NFL - Thursday Night Football

• Patriots @ Steelers: Mitch Trubisky Over 12.5 Rushing Yards (-110)

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NFL Week 14 preview coming tomorrow (plus Army-Navy preview, which was delayed for technical reasons as we’re switching over to a new template).