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Yahoo Sports AM: Tom Brady and the transfer portal
Why have some 1,500 players entered the transfer portal? Because everyone is looking out for their own best interest, the same as it has always been.
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🚨 HEADLINES
⚾️ Soto in pinstripes: The Yankees acquired all-world hitter Juan Soto from the Padres in a blockbuster trade on Wednesday.
🏀 Rutgers lands Harper: No. 2 overall recruit Dylan Harper (son of five-time NBA champion Ron) has committed to Rutgers, joining No. 3 overall recruit Airious Bailey.
🏈 Jags scandal: A former Jaguars employee is accused of stealing $22 million from the franchise by exploiting its virtual credit card program, The Athletic reports.
🏀 Losing streaks: The Pistons lost their 18th straight game on Wednesday, and the Spurs lost their 15th straight game.
🐎 Belmont at Saratoga: The Belmont Stakes, the last leg of the Triple Crown, will be held in Saratoga Springs next year as Belmont Park undergoes major renovations.
🏈 TOM BRADY AND THE TRANSFER PORTAL
Why have some 1,500 players entered the transfer portal? Because everyone is looking out for their own best interest, the same as it has always been.
From Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel:
Tom Brady never saw the field his first year at Michigan. In his second, he attempted a grand total of five passes.
He was so buried on the Wolverines depth chart that he went to head coach Lloyd Carr's office to request a release (which was the rule back then) so he could transfer to another program.
"It'll be the biggest mistake of your life," Carr told Brady. "If you walk away now, you'll always wish you had stayed and tried to compete."
Carr told him to take a night to think it over. The next day, Brady arrived at the coach's office with a new mindset. "I'm staying," he said. "And I'm going to prove to you I am a great quarterback."
It's a great story about perseverance that paid off, as Brady went on to be a Michigan team captain and Orange Bowl champion and then used that "prove them wrong" mindset to become a seven-time Super Bowl champion.
It's also a story that feels like it came from football's leather helmet days, considering that some 1,500 players have entered the transfer portal this week.
The easy, lazy thing to say is that Brady had it right and these kids today have it wrong, but to paint with such a broad brush certainly isn't fair or accurate.
It wasn't long ago that head coaches were able to put restrictions on where players could transfer — nowhere within their conference, for example. The portal was created to redistribute the power. It was a good idea.
Now, when coaches leave for new jobs, players aren't stuck behind hoping the new guy will work out (say, Riley Leonard leaving Duke). When athletic departments stick with failing coaches, players don't have to burn a year of eligibility and go along with it (say, Dante Moore leaving UCLA).
Or, if your coach isn't fully convinced you'll be the guy and is out looking for your replacement, you don't have to stay and see what happens (say, Kyle McCord leaving Ohio State). There is no loyalty. The thing is, was there ever loyalty?
The Brady story is a famous one, and it worked out because whatever made Tom Brady into Tom Brady was worthwhile. However, he didn't start the following year — he was a third-stringer behind Brian Griese. He threw just 15 passes.
When Brady finally got a chance to start as a junior and senior, he had to fend off a star local recruit in Drew Henson. Worried that Henson might switch full-time to baseball, Carr gave him plenty of playing time, including sharing duties in Brady's senior season.
Brady eventually won the job, but Carr's seeming lack of belief in him was enough to scare off most of the NFL and played a big part in Brady's falling to 199th overall in the NFL Draft.
The old way might seem like the best way, but the new way is here to stay. There are no more illusions. Everyone is looking out for their own best interest, the same way they always did.
Editor's note: This story has been condensed for this newsletter. Read and share the full version here.
📸 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: Athletes compete in the 10km men's race during the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup.
Photographer: Octavio Passos
Location: Madeira, Portugal
Date: December 2
Behind the lens: Here's Octavio…
This picture has a curious story. I'm originally from Madeira Island but I live in Porto, mainland of Portugal. I know the site of this swim well as it's been our family beach since I was a baby.
I had planned to use a waterproof case to shoot from the sea, but 10 minutes before the start of the race it broke and started leaking, damaging my camera and the lens.
Completely confused, I left the sea and the first thing that occurred to me was to grab the drone. By the time I assembled it, programmed the flight path, and got the drone into the air, the race had already begun.
I quickly flew to meet the peloton and realized that the leader had isolated himself in front of all the other swimmers, giving this curious composition that I was able to photograph from above.
In the midst of bad luck, sometimes you need good luck. I ended up with a damaged waterproof case, Nikon Z6 and a Nikon Z 24-120mm lens, but I was happy with the images I captured.
🏐 NEBRASKA: THE VOLLEYBALL CAPITAL OF AMERICA
The University of Nebraska made history in August when a record 92,003 fans attended a women's volleyball game. Three months later, the Cornhusker State is still on top of the volleyball world, Jeff writes.
December Madness: The NCAA volleyball tournament resumes today, and No. 1 overall seed Nebraska hosts one of the four regionals alongside the other No. 1 seeds Wisconsin, Stanford and Pittsburgh.
Creighton is also still alive, and the two could face each other in an all-Nebraska Final Four matchup.
This statewide dominance isn't limited to Division I, either: Wayne State is one of the eight remaining teams in the D-II tournament.
The favorite: The Cornhuskers are making their 12th straight appearance in the Sweet 16 and are the team to beat.
They're 30-1 this season, with that lone loss coming on the road to Big Ten rival and fellow 1-seed Wisconsin (28-3).
18 of those 30 wins, including both in the first two rounds of the tournament, have been 3-0 sweeps (matches are best-of-five sets). Overall, they've won 90 sets and dropped 18.
The last word: "Nebraska volleyball is really a manifestation of the love affair between this state, the people in it, and this sport," Cornhuskers announcer John Baylor told The Guardian. "Because of the 'N' on the jersey, they're not just representing the team, they're representing all of us."
⚾️ HOW THE NATS WON (THEN LOST) THE MLB DRAFT LOTTERY
The Nationals technically won the No. 1 pick in Tuesday's MLB draft lottery. Too bad they weren't allowed to keep it, Jeff writes.
What happened: The first set of ping pong balls drawn read 3-9-11-13, which was one of Washington's winning combinations. But a new rule says that big-market teams like the Nats, who picked second* last year, are ineligible to win two straight lottery picks.
The reason for the rule is competitive balance, so the new CBA drew a line in the sand that teams who pay into the revenue-sharing pool (as opposed to small-market teams who receive those payments) can pick no higher than 10th the year after winning a lottery pick.
The rule is in place for small-market teams, too, but is less strict, kicking in after two consecutive lottery picks instead of just one. Washington ultimately landed the 10th pick, their best possible outcome under the rules.
Behind the scenes: MLB considered removing the Nationals' winning combinations, but doing so would have reshaped other teams' odds. So their solution was to nullify any drawings that resulted in a Nationals pick, which happened again on the third drawing!
To recap: The Nationals had 100 of the 1,001 different ping pong ball combinations on Tuesday night, and on the first draw for the No. 1 pick theirs came up.
MLB nullified that and drew again, with the Guardians (18 ping pong ball combinations) winning this time and securing the top pick.
Then MLB drew again for the second pick and the Nationals hit again with a 13-7-5-4 combination.
That was nullified and MLB drew again, with the Reds (eight ping pong ball combinations) winning the second pick.
*No. 2 pick: The Nats took Dylan Crews this past summer, and the former LSU outfielder is MLB's No. 4 overall prospect.
🏀 CLARK JOINS 3,000-POINTS CLUB
Caitlin Clark had another monster game on Wednesday night (35-9-5), and as has often been the case during her four years at Iowa, she made history in the process, Jeff writes.
Clark's 22nd point in the win over Iowa State was the 3,000th of her career, making her the 15th D-I women's basketball player to reach that mark.
She also becomes the first player in D-I history, man or woman, with 3,000 points, 750 rebounds and 750 assists.
Looking ahead: Clark is 514 points shy of Kelsey Plum's all-time record (3,527), and her 29.6 ppg average puts her on pace to pass her in February. Clark also has a fifth year of eligibility and could return next season to blow the scoring record (and many others) out of the water.
📆 DEC. 7, 1937: THE TEDDY BALLGAME TRADE
86 years ago today, the Red Sox traded two major leaguers, two minor leaguers and $35,000 for a 19-year-old kid named Ted Williams, Jeff writes.
Safe to say it worked out: Williams spent one more year in the minors before his 1939 big league debut, when he finished fourth for the MVP and kicked off one of the greatest careers in baseball history.
"It wasn't hard to find Ted Williams. He stood out like a brown cow in a field of white cows." — Red Sox GM Eddie Collins
⚾️ 1939: The Baseball Writers' Association of America elected Lou Gehrig to the Hall of Fame in a special election* 221 days after he played his final game due to ALS.
📺 1963: Instant replay made its television debut during the annual Army-Navy football game.
*First of two: The only other such special election came in 1973, when the BBWAA elected Roberto Clemente a few months after he died in a plane crash.
📺 WATCHLIST: FINAL FOUR IN VEGAS
The In-Season Tournament semifinals are here, with tonight's doubleheader in Las Vegas setting the stage for Saturday's championship, Jeff writes.
Bucks vs. Pacers (5pm ET, ESPN): Milwaukee will try to slow down the red-hot Tyrese Haliburton, who's averaging 33 points and 12 assists on 54% shooting in his last six games.
Lakers vs. Pelicans (9pm, TNT/truTV): LeBron James and Anthony Davis square off against the league's only trio of 20-point scorers (Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum).
More to watch:
🏈 NFL: Patriots* (+6) at Steelers (8:15pm, Prime)
🏒 NHL: Stars at Capitals (8pm, ESPN); Devils at Kraken (10:30pm, ESPN)
🏐 NCAA Volleyball Tournament: Sweet 16 (12-11:30pm, ESPN2/ESPNU) … Eight games.
🏀 NCAAM: Iowa at Iowa State (7:30pm, ESPNU)
🏀 NCAAW: No. 11 Utah at Saint Joseph's (7pm, ESPN+); No. 23 Gonzaga at Cal (10pm, Pac-12)
⚽️ Premier League: Tottenham vs. West Ham (3:15pm, USA)
*What a streak: New England's defense has allowed 10 or fewer points in three straight games. They've lost all three.
🏈 CFP TRIVIA
This year's College Football Playoff features three of the four winningest FBS programs. Michigan ranks first (1,002), Alabama ranks second (965) and Texas ranks fourth (948).
Question: Which of the following programs ranks third?
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Ohio State
Yale
Answer at the bottom.
🏈 FANTASY STUDS
Fantasy football's regular season ends this weekend, and if you're locked into a playoff spot, it's probably thanks to some of the guys below, Jeff writes.
Fantasy studs: Here are the top five performers at each position through Week 13 on Yahoo Fantasy.
QB: Josh Allen, BUF (299.8 fantasy points); Jalen Hurts, PHI (292.8); Dak Prescott, DAL (260.8); Sam Howell, WAS (250.9); C.J. Stroud, HOU (242.9)
RB: Christian McCaffrey, SF (269.6); Raheem Mostert, MIA (203.9); Travis Etienne Jr., JAX (189.7); Derrick Henry, TEN (165.7); Brian Robinson Jr., WAS (161.5)
WR: Tyreek Hill, MIA (266.1); CeeDee Lamb, DAL (219.6); Keenan Allen, LAC (215.1); A.J. Brown, PHI (198.9); Mike Evans, TB (191.7)
TE: T.J. Hockenson, MIN (146.6); Travis Kelce, KC (146.3); Sam LaPorta, DET (139.9); George Kittle, SF (128.7); Mark Andrews, BAL (112.9)
K: Dustin Hopkins, CLE (130); Brandon Aubrey, DAL (125); Brandon McManus, JAX (119); Matt Gay, IND (117); Jason Myers, SEA (116)
D/ST: Cowboys (144); Ravens (125); Colts (111); Bills (110); Steelers (107)
Quick links: Week 14 player rankings | Backup RBs to stash | How to build a playoff roster
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Trivia answer: Ohio State (964 wins)
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