Here's what you need to know to watch this year's Heisman Trophy ceremony live.
Blackhawks Made Genius Move Trading For Skilled Winger
The Chicago Blackhawks had a quiet 2025 NHL off-season, but they did make a few moves. Among them was acquiring forward Andre Burakovsky from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for Joe Veleno.
Yet, in the end, the Kraken's main purpose for this trade was to rid of Burakovsky's $5.5 million cap hit until the end of the 2026-27 season. This is because the Kraken immediately bought out Veleno, and the former Blackhawk ended up signing with the Montreal Canadiens.
Now, as we are approaching holiday break, it is abundantly clear that the Blackhawks are benefiting very nicely from bringing in Burakovsky from the Kraken.
Burakovsky is having a strong season for the Blackhawks so far, as he has recorded eight goals, 13 assists, 21 points, and a plus-3 rating in 26 games. This is certainly solid offensive production from the veteran forward, but especially when noting that the Blackhawks did not need to give up much to land him in the first place.
Burakovsky is continuing to make an impact as the season rolls on for the Blackhaws, too. In his last two games, the 6-foot-3 forward has recorded three points. This included him posting a goal and an assist in the Blackhawks' most recent game against the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12.
Shaikin: What the Dodgers are doing isn't normal in pro sports. Be sure to appreciate it
Step into the Dodgers’ team store, turn to the right, and you’ll be staring at Shohei Ohtani.
Not in person, of course. But amid all the jerseys and caps and T-shirts, there is a commercial playing on a loop, with Ohtani waving his fingers through his hair and winking as he displays the product he is endorsing: the top-selling skin serum in Japan.
“Take care of your skin,” the narrator says. “Live life to the fullest.”
Life is good at Dodger Stadium. In the store at the top of the park, you can buy a bottle of skin serum that retails for $118, or World Series championship gear including T-shirts and caps for $54 and up, hoodies for $110 and up, and cool jackets for as much as $382.
If you’re a fan of any team besides the Dodgers, you might despise all the money they spend on players. On Friday after the Dodgers introduced their latest All-Star, closer Edwin Díaz, I asked general manager Brandon Gomes if they really could buy whatever player they wanted.
Read more:How the Dodgers landed Edwin Díaz — and finally found a bona fide closer
“Our ownership group has been incredibly supportive, so if we feel like it’s something that meaningfully impacts our World Series chances, we’ve had that support all the time,” he said. “We’re fortunate to be in that position.”
The Dodgers’ owners spend money to make money, and they wisely hired Andrew Friedman a decade ago to tell them where to spend their money. Sounds simple, but some owners do not spend money wisely, and some do not spend money, period.
And sometimes you do both, and it just does not work out.
In the last decade the Dodgers have made the playoffs every year. Take a guess: What other Los Angeles pro team has made the playoffs the most during the last decade?
It’s the Clippers — eight playoff appearances, no championships and now a disaster.
The Dodgers have won three championships over the last decade. You might not remember that the Dodgers’ owners were ridiculed within the industry for spending $2 billion to buy the team in 2012.
At the time I asked co-owner Todd Boehly how he would define successful ownership of the Dodgers.
“You’re not really asking me that, are you?” he said then. “The more World Series we win, the more valuable a franchise it is, right?”
The Dodgers were valued at $8 billion last year by Sportico.
They signed Díaz for three years and $69 million. I asked Gomes what winter signing he recalled as the biggest during the five years he pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays.
In 2014, he said, the Rays signed closer Grant Balfour: two years and $12 million — after the Baltimore Orioles withdrew a two-year, $15-million deal following a physical examination.
It’s not just the Rays, or even the small markets. The New York Mets’ spending rivaled the Dodgers last season, but the Mets missed the playoffs and lost free agents Díaz, Pete Alonso and Tyler Rogers this week alone. The New York Yankees sound oddly supportive of a salary cap. The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs talk like big-market teams but do not spend like them.
At the Angels’ team store Friday morning, five customers looked around the team store, where all jerseys sold for 50% off. The attraction at the store Saturday: photos with Santa.
The Angels have not made a postseason appearance since 2014, and their acquisitions so far this offseason: a formerly touted infield prospect once traded for Chris Sale, a talented young pitcher who missed this past season because of injury and another pitcher who finished third in Cy Young voting in 2022 but has not pitched in the majors in more than 18 months. They’ll likely pay those three players less than $4 million combined.
In March, Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken invited Angels owner Arte Moreno to join her in “an open and honest conversation about the future of baseball in Anaheim.”
This week when the future of the Angel Stadium site came up during an Anaheim City Council meeting, Aitken mused about asking city residents “how much of a priority is it to have the land tied up with a baseball franchise,” Voice of OC reported. (The Angels’ stadium lease extends through 2032, and the Angels have the right to extend it through 2038.)
So consider this a timely holiday reminder for Dodgers fans to give thanks for this ownership group, for what the Dodgers are doing now is exceptional and extremely rare.
Read more:Free tickets vs. 34% raise: Dodger Stadium tour guides contentious divide colors union vote
It would be nice if the Dodgers made more of a commitment to family affordability — and also if the Dodgers did not charge $102.25 for “an iconic photo op with the 2024 and 2025 World Series trophies" — but their attendance nonetheless hit 4 million for the first time.
This is a Dodger town, and the team is the toast of the town. The Dodgers are the biggest winner in American pro sports right now.
The owners are winners too. On Thursday, Boehly’s company staged its holiday party, and the musicians included Eddie Vedder, Bruno Mars, Anthony Kiedis, Brandi Carlile and Slash. Live life to the fullest, indeed.
Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Sunderland and Newcastle steeled for resumption of football’s ‘most intense derby’
Eddie Howe says revitalised derby rivals will be a tougher mental test for his side than the Champions League
Midnight was fast approaching when Eddie Howe faced a curve-ball question: if he could be offered a draw at the Stadium of Light on Sunday would he accept it?
If the typically straight-bat answer – “no chance, we prepare to win every game” – was expected, Howe’s subsequent reaction spoke volumes about Sunderland’s recent metamorphosis.
Continue reading...Canadiens: The Goalies Dilemma Is Far From Over
To say that goaltender management has been a headache for the Montreal Canadiens this season would be an understatement. Samuel Montembeault has been shaky from the start, and instead of riding the hot hand, which was Jakub Dobes, Martin St-Louis tried to help his number one get back on track at the expense of the Czech masked man. The rookie goaltender couldn’t build on his momentum and ended up struggling himself, leaving the Canadiens with two struggling options.
After yet another defeat on Thursday night, the organization called up Jacob Fowler and insisted that the plan had always been to call him up sometime this season to “see where he was at, that it had nothing to do with Dobes and Montembeault’s play. Even going as far as saying that they weren’t sure if he would be playing on the road trip, while the rookie netminder told RDS that he knew he would get the start in Pittsburgh, and therefore asked his family to make the trip for his first start.
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Now that the youngster has passed the first test with flying colours, St-Louis finds himself with a rare chance at a do-over. The Habs have a back-to-back coming up, facing the New York Rangers on Saturday night on the road and then taking on the Edmonton Oilers and newly acquired goaltender Tristan Jarry at the Bell Centre on Sunday night.
Given how well Fowler has done in his debut, posting a .947 save percentage, the coach has to ride the hot hand regardless of how his other two goalies are doing. This is a professional league, and there’s no need to hold Montembeault’s hand. Saturday’s match is against an Eastern Conference team involved in the playoff race, and you have to put the goaltender who gives you the better chance of winning in the net.
The Canadiens are currently out of a wildcard spot on a tiebreaker, and the Rangers are only trailing the Habs by one point. Montreal does have two games in hand, but Saturday’s game remains a must-win.
Sunday night’s game, being the tail-end of a back-to-back, will be the perfect opportunity to put another goalie in the net. It should be Montembeault, who has not started a game since December 2 against the Ottawa Senators. Dobes began the four games before Fowler came into the fold. While the Bell Centre crowd can at times be hostile when things reach boiling point, it hasn’t turned on the Quebecer, at least not yet, so a home game for him would make sense.
As for the rest of the week, the decision should be based on the weekend’s performance. Everyone should have a clean slate; there’s no number one, backup, or recent call-up; three goaltenders are vying for ice time. Internal competition is beneficial and can push goaltenders to outdo themselves.
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How Did The Chicago Blackhawks Do In The Patrick Kane Trade?
The Chicago Blackhawks were defeated on Friday by the St. Louis Blues. It was a tough game on the road, but it's a quick turnaround for this young team.
Next up for the Blackhawks is a game against the Detroit Red Wings at home. That means another return to the United Center for Chicago sports legend Patrick Kane.
Kane and the Red Wings are 17-12-3, which is good enough to occupy a playoff spot for the time being. Finally breaking through and making it would end a long drought for Detroit, which was previously known for making it every single year, no matter what.
Patrick Kane has become an important piece to what they are doing in Detroit. He isn't a young buck that they are building around, but he is a legendary veteran who has plenty of hockey wisdom to pass down to young players. All of that experience came as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, where he became one of the greatest to ever live.
Before becoming a member of the Red Wings, the Blackhawks traded Kane to the New York Rangers. This was a three-team transaction on February 28th, 2023, that sent Kane to the Rangers ahead of their run to the playoffs. New York's efforts failed, as they were eliminated in the first round by the New Jersey Devils, and Kane left for the Red Wings in free agency that summer.
In the deal, the Blackhawks also sent Cooper Zech to the Rangers. The third team in the deal, the Arizona Coyotes, sent Vili Saarijarvi to the Blackhawks. Arizona got a 2025 3rd-round pick from New York for being the facilitator of the deal.
From the Rangers, the Blackhawks received a 2nd round pick in 2023, a 4th round pick in 2025, and Andy Welinski. It was an okay haul at the time for Kane, being a highly-paid unrestricted free agent on a losing team.
Kane didn't help the Rangers get over the hump. Zech never played for them and won't. The same goes for Welinski and Saarijarvi for the Blackhawks. So it comes down to the draft picks when evaluating the winner of the deal.
With the picks that New York gave Chicago, they drafted Martin Misiak and Parker Holmes. Those are good prospects, but they are likely not going to be guys that move the needle.
As for that third-round pick that went to the Coyotes, who later became the Utah Mammoth, it was traded to the Detroit Red Wings so that the Mammoth could land Olli Maatta.
You can argue that the Utah Mammoth were actually the winners of the Patrick Kane trade. Maatta always left more to be desired in his time as an NHL player, but he is a serviceable NHL defenseman when he's healthy.
At this point, that is more than the Blackhawks or Rangers received in this deal over the long term. If Kane had stuck around with New York, this conversation would be very different.
The Misiak and Holmes picks made by Chicago could change the narrative in the coming years, but for now, it's fair to say the Hawks didn't get what they were hoping for when they traded the greatest player who ever played for them.
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When is Army-Navy? Previewing the matchup in the college football rivalry showdown
Army and Navy will renew their football rivalry Saturday in Baltimore, with the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy on the line. A preview of the matchup.
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Army and Navy are paying homage to the 250th anniversary of their respective branches for the 126th Army vs. Navy Game.
Bowl game schedule today: Previewing the college football LA Bowl matchup on Dec. 13
The first college football bowl game of the postseason will feature one former Pac-12 team and a future Pac-12 team in the LA Bowl.
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‘Heisman moments’ for 2025 finalists, including Fernando Mendoza, Diego Pavia
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3 Flyers Defense Targets With Quinn Hughes Off The Board
The Philadelphia Flyers were viewed as a potential fit for superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes, but that thought can now be forgotten.
The Minnesota Wild have won the Hughes sweepstakes, as they acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren, and a 2026 first-round pick.
With Hughes officially no longer a potential option for the Flyers, let's look at three defensemen Philadelphia should consider targeting to improve its blueline.
Bowen Byram, Buffalo Sabres
With the Sabres once again struggling this season, Byram's name has been floating around the rumor mill. At 24 years old, he would have the potential to be a nice fit on a Flyers club that is on the rise. In 31 games this season with Buffalo, he has recorded six goals and 13 points. With this, he would be a nice addition to the Flyers' top four if brought in.
Pavel Mintyukov, Anaheim Ducks
Mintyukov is a very intriguing defenseman in the rumor mill right now. The 2022 tenth-overall pick has had trouble finding his fit with the Ducks and could benefit from a change of scenery. With the 22-year-old blueliner having good upside, he could be a nice player for the Flyers to take a chance on. In 28 games so far this season, he has recorded two goals and seven points.
Mario Ferraro, San Jose Sharks
If the Flyers remain in the playoff hunt near the deadline, Ferraro would be a solid pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) for them to bring in to strengthen their top four. The 27-year-old is more of a defensive defenseman, but he does his job well. In 32 games so far this season with the Sharks, he has recorded one goal, seven points, 60 hits, 70 blocks, and a plus-8 rating.
Michigan State basketball gets new test with first true road game
After losing its first game of the season, No. 9 Michigan State basketball hits the road for the first time to face Penn State on Saturday, Dec. 13.
As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity
As paramilitary fighters from the brutal Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the largest city in western Sudan – carrying out mass executions, rapes and ethnic cleansing with weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates – the NBA’s annual in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup, tipped off on Halloween night, proudly sponsored by the very same Gulf state.
The tournament is the most visible example of the NBA’s expanding partnership with the UAE – a partnership that includes annual preseason games in Abu Dhabi, a lucrative sponsorship deal with Emirates airlines, and plans for a new NBA Global Academy at NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus.
Larger deals are expected to follow. The NBA is reportedly seeking Abu Dhabi’s investment in a new NBA-branded European league, which could launch as early as 2027.
This blossoming partnership has already paid dividends for both sides: the NBA has gained a deep-pocketed investor, while the UAE has found a willing partner to help further normalize its autocratic regime, especially now that it is facing accusations of inflaming genocide in Sudan.
For its part, the NBA says it is following advice from the US government on its relationship with the UAE.
“Basketball has a century-long history in the Middle East, and our activities in the UAE – which include bringing live NBA games to fans in the region and teaching the fundamentals and values of the game to thousands of boys and girls annually – are consistent with our efforts to engage fans and aspiring players in more than 200 countries and territories around the world,” a league spokesperson told the Guardian. “We will continue to rely on US state department guidance everywhere we operate.”
Beneath its image of opulence and modernity, the UAE enforces silence with an iron fist. Dissidents and human rights advocates languish in prisons on arbitrary charges, punished for daring to oppose the state. The nation’s economic prosperity rests on the backs of migrant laborers, who make up 88% of the workforce and who toil with few rights and little recourse against abuse.
The UAE’s influence extends into bloodier terrain beyond its borders. A growing body of evidence links the Emirati government to Sudan’s RSF, the paramilitary faction behind many of the atrocities and crimes against humanity being committed in Sudan.
Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023, when tensions between the Sudanese military (SAF), under army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF paramilitary group, led by his former deputy chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, plunged the country into a state of all out war. Urban centers such as the capital Khartoum were transformed into battlefields, destroying critical infrastructure and creating the world’s largest displacement crisis.
As the civil war approaches its third year, death toll estimates vary widely. The United Nations and other aid agencies have recorded 20,000 confirmed deaths. A more recent report by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group claimed that more than 61,000 people have died in Khartoum state,26,000 as a direct result of the violence. Meanwhile, former US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello claimed last year that up to 150,000 people had been killed.
The civil war has also been marked by horrific atrocities such as sexual violence, torture, mutilation and ethnic cleansing. This was further underscored when the Sudanese military’s last remaining stronghold in Darfur fell to the RSF recently. The militia embarked on a mass killing spree so severe that images of the blood saturating the ground could be seen from space.
Since the start of the conflict, the Emirates have helped fund and arm the paramilitary group, effectively sponsoring the group’s war crimes and atrocities. Sudan’s military government even brought a case to the International Court of Justice accusing the UAE of genocidal complicity in West Darfur. Despite substantial evidence to the contrary, the UAE continues to deny any role in the conflict, carrying on as though business were proceeding as usual.
In the past few months, the UAE has staged the Asia Cup in cricket, NBA preseason matchups, a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event, and Formula 1’s year-end race, which featured a performance by Katy Perry. Next come the Abu Dhabi HSBC golf championship and a major padel tournament. Outside of Grammy-award winning rapper Macklemore, who canceled his Dubai concert in protest last year, no other entity attempted to distance itself from the controversial Gulf state.
The UAE has reaped enormous benefits from the sports world’s apathy. Abu Dhabi’s investment in Manchester City FC was a masterstroke, recasting the Al Nahyan ruling family as savvy investors rather than ruthless autocrats. Its stake in cricket carries a diplomatic edge, given the sport’s popularity across South and Southeast Asia, the same regions that supply much of the UAE’s migrant labor force. Meanwhile, investments in artificial wave pools, tennis and motorsports have broadened its growing sports tourism strategy.
And yet, the ongoing massacre in Darfur seems to have garnered some rare bad publicity for the UAE. Some Manchester City fans have even condemned their owner for “his country’s role in the Sudan conflict, where civilians continue to suffer.”
The silence around the NBA’s new partnership with the UAE is concerning. One of the few to call out the NBA for normalizing the UAE’s role in Sudan is Refugees International, an NGO that advocates for the rights of displaced people. “The Emirates NBA Cup COULD bring out the best in everyone. Instead, it’s being used to sportswash atrocities fueled + funded by the UAE in Sudan,” read the tweet. “The NBA shouldn’t let itself be a pawn in the UAE’s normalization of famine + genocide.”
Nevertheless, sports teams and organizations rarely sever lucrative partnerships without resistance. At FC Bayern Munich’s annual general assembly last week, lawyer and activist Michael Ott, who previously led a successful campaign to end Bayern’s sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways, was heckled by attendees after raising concerns about the club’s new agreement with the UAE’s Emirates Airlines.
Ott accused Bayern of “buttressing the image of sketchy political regimes that contradict our values” and warned that the deal with Emirates risked causing “lasting damage to the reputation of our club”. For his remarks, he was openly mocked by board chairman and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen.
Despite ending previous sponsorship agreements with Qatar and Rwanda, the fact that Bayern Munich’s leadership refused to budge on its ties to the UAE further emphasizes how effective the Gulf state’s brand management and public relations strategies have been.
Don’t expect the NBA, which also maintains partnership with other autocrats like Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, is unlikely to speak out about the UAE’s human rights record … but imagine if they did. Imagine if genocide, war crimes and entrenched authoritarianism were red lines for global sports.
Karim Zidan writes a regular newsletter on the intersection of sports and authoritarian politics. He is also the Sports & Dictators fellow at the Human Rights Foundation.