Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I knew I’d be writing about Alex Ovechkin’s milestone goal soon, but I didn’t expect him to net a hat trick last night.
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Congratulations to Morocco on a great run, but I think France-Argentina was the World Cup final a lot of fans wanted to see.
In today’s SI:AM:
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Sorry, Washington fans
The biggest story at this week’s NFL owner meetings is the potential sale of the Commanders. But it doesn’t sound like Dan Snyder is any closer to striking a deal.
The Washington Post reported yesterday that Snyder is “likely” to sell the team as Bank of America moves forward with the process of facilitating a sale. But Albert Breer is pumping the brakes a bit, reporting that Snyder could end up going through the motions of a sale before deciding, nah, never mind:
[O]ne experienced league executive floated to me the possibility that Snyder eventually plays the role of Lucy in pulling the football away from Commanders fans at the very end. This exec was suspicious that Snyder could set his price exorbitantly high and refuse to sell the team if that price wasn’t met, then keep the Commanders when bidders fail to get there.
As Breer explains, it’s possible that Snyder could set an unreasonable goal for a sale price and then back out when he’s unable to find a buyer willing to pay that price. If Snyder wants to sell for between $6 billion and $7 billion, as has been speculated, finding someone willing to pay that price could be a challenge. The Broncos sold for $4.65 billion six months ago, and Snyder’s franchise has additional concerns that Denver didn’t, like relatively low revenues and the looming prospect of the new owner having to shell out additional billions for a new stadium immediately after purchasing the team. That isn’t a recipe for a high sale price.
But what about the nuclear option: voting Snyder out? Colts owner Jim Irsay broke ranks in October by declaring that “there is merit to removing him as owner.” Now, though, Irsay is backpedaling a bit. Asked yesterday whether his position on removing the scandal-plagued owner had changed, Irsay said no but preached patience. (As Breer writes, Roger Goodell told the owners to keep their issues in house after Irsay’s initial comments.)
“It hasn’t changed,” Irsay said. “But I need more information. Again, guys, this is a big decision. And I’ve said from the beginning I was only interested in finding out more because there’s a lot of concern there, and there’s merit to look at that possibility [of forcing a sale]. But I only said to give it consideration and look at it. I never said vote him out. It’s something that’s a big deal. We’ll see what the new year brings.”
The sale of an NFL franchise is always complicated, and the process promises to be even more convoluted with an owner as stubborn and ego-driven as Snyder. There are too many factors working against Snyder—like his standing in the way of a new stadium in Washington—for him to remain in charge of the team in the long term. The most likely outcome still appears to be a sale, but don’t expect Snyder to go quietly.
The best of Sports Illustrated
Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
Today’s Daily Cover is a doozy. Pat Forde has picks and previews of all 42 college football bowl games.
- Forde also wrote about the NCAA Independent Review Panel’s findings on Arizona, in which Sean Miller skated and his assistants took the fall.
- Ross Dellenger explains why Mississippi State promoted 36-year-old Zach Arnett to take over for the late Mike Leach.
- Brian Straus recaps the second World Cup semifinal, in which France was just too much for Morocco to handle as its storybook run came to an end.
- Noah Syndergaard’s decision to sign with Los Angeles is a classic Dodgers move, Nick Selbe writes, and they could be the right team to solve his velocity woes.
- Stephen Curry left last night’s game with a shoulder injury and will have an MRI today.
- Week 15 in the NFL will get started tonight. Here are the odds, matchups and spreads, including SI Sportsbook’s Perfect 10 contest.
- Fans think the Panthers could be the real deal, with playoff ticket prices jumping 128% after the team’s Week 14 win over the Seahawks.
The top five...
… things I saw yesterday:
5. Jawad El Yamiq’s near miss on a bicycle kick against France.
4. Jalen Brunson’s overtime dagger for the Knicks after dropping Alex Caruso with a crossover. (On the other end of the spectrum, the possession the Knicks had at the end of regulation was some of the worst basketball I’ve seen all year.)
3. Mats Zuccarello’s goal from his knees (in the Wild’s awesome throwback North Stars uniforms).
2. Tyler Herro’s game-winner for the Heat.
1. Bol Bol’s coast-to-coast trip for a dunk.
SIQ
Billy Hoy, who died on this day in 1961, is sometimes credited with being the reason baseball umpires began using hand signals. Which college named its baseball field after him?
- Princeton
- Middlebury
- Gallaudet
- Bucknell
Yesterday’s SIQ: Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 14, 2019, receiving a record-setting 90.7% of first-place votes. Who held the record before him?
- Cam Newton
- Lamar Jackson
- Marcus Mariota
- Troy Smith
Answer: Troy Smith. The Ohio State quarterback earned 86.7% of first-place votes when he won in 2006.
Smith beat out Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and West Virginia running back Steve Slaton. (McFadden also finished second in Heisman voting the next year, losing to Tim Tebow in a closer race.)
Like Burrow, who passed for four touchdowns in LSU’s convincing win over Georgia in the SEC title game the week before the award was handed out, Smith also had an impressive finale. In a 1-vs.-2 showdown against Michigan, Smith completed 29 of 41 passes for 316 yards, with four touchdowns and an interception as the Buckeyes won a 42–39 shootout.
“Some years the Heisman ceremony packs drama and suspense,” SI’s Austin Murphy wrote after the game. “This is not one of those years. Smith had the trophy wrapped up by halftime, at which point he’d completed 21 of 26 passes for 241 yards and three scores.”
The win ensured Ohio State’s spot in the BCS national championship game. But the Buckeyes got crushed by Florida in that game, 41–14. Smith completed just four of 14 passes for 35 yards and OSU managed a mere 82 yards of total offense.
