Justin Jefferson’s much-anticipated return to the field was cut short on Sunday.

The Minnesota Vikings All-Pro wide receiver missed time while dealing with a hamstring injury, and made his return in Week 14 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. His return didn’t last long, however, as he was ruled out with a chest injury in the second quarter of his team’s 3-0 win.

What’s worse: Jefferson was sent to the hospital for ‘precautionary reasons,’ according to the team. It’s unclear how severe the injury is, but Jefferson was seen walking off the field in wake of the injury.

Jefferson’s ailment is latest injury in a string of brutal injuries for Minnesota. Aside from Jefferson’s hamstring injury that forced him to miss seven games, the team also dealt multiple blows on offense, with quarterback Kirk Cousins and RB Cam Akers both landing on IR with Achilles injuries.

Now, they may be without their superstar wide receiver once again. Here’s the latest on Jefferson:

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Justin Jefferson injury update

The Vikings wide receiver exited Sunday’s game with a chest injury, after he took a hard hit from Raiders safety Marcus Epps. Jefferson was evaluated on the sideline before being transported to a local hospital.

Following the game, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said Jefferson was released from the hospital and would travel home with the team.

Jefferson made an attempt on a pass from quarterback Joshua Dobbs, but was unprotected and took a nasty hit from Epps in the process.

He would exit the game and head for the blue medical tent, and later the locker room. The Vikings would initially list Jefferson as questionable before ruling him out later.

The CBS broadcast was first to mention that Jefferson was hospital bound.

Jefferson missed seven games this season while dealing with a hamstring injury. Despite his most recent injury, Jefferson still made history on Sunday, as he surpassed Randy Moss for the most receiving yards in the first four seasons with the franchise (5,408 to Moss’ 5,396).

This story will be updated.

LOS ANGELES — It was a memorable college basketball debut for Bronny James on Sunday, 4½ months after he suffered a cardiac arrest.

James, now a freshman guard for Southern California, triggered raucous cheers with a pull-up 3-pointer for the first basket of his career, a chasedown block and inspired play during critical minutes.

His famous father, NBA superstar LeBron James, was there to watch it all at the Galen Center. But Bronny’s debut was not enough to save USC from an overtime loss to Long Beach State.

But after the game, when Bronny sat before a horde of media, he said nothing about the game – or basketball.

“I just want to say I’m thankful for everything,” Bronny said after the game. ‘The Mayo Clinic, everything they helped me with. My parents, siblings for supporting me through this hard time in my life. I just want to give appreciation to everyone who’s helped me through this.’’

He did not take any questions from the media. But his play spoke for him — beyond the four points on 1-for-3 shooting, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 16 minutes. One of those steals came with 26 seconds left in regulation, and he subsequently missed the first of two free throws with 21 seconds to play in regulation.

‘I thought he was very solid,’ USC coach Andy Enfield said, later adding, ‘Bronny handles the spotlight extremely well. He’s a passionate young man about playing basketball.’

There was electric moments.

The crowd roared with 13:08 left to play when Bronny, a freshman guard for USC, made a pullup 3-pointer for the first basket for his college career. He gave the crowd more to cheer for during a debut that featured a chase down block, a steal with 26 seconds in regulation and a nifty assist.

Among the cheering crowd of 9,806 was his famous father, who watched the game courtside at the Galen Center.

His pull-up 3-pointer with 13:08 left in the second half triggered wild cheers. More came during chasedown block reminiscent of the ones on his father’s highlight reels. Though the numbers were modest, he showed off his athleticism and unselfishness.

Shortly before the national anthem, LeBron created a stir when he entered the arena. He held hands with his 9-year-old daughter Zhuri and walked to a courtside seat. Along the way he greeted Rob Pelinka, general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Winners and losers of first NBA In-Season Tournament: Lakers down Pacers to win NBA Cup

A small army of cameramen crowded around LeBron. But it was Bronny’s day.

The crowd cheered loudly when Bronny entered the game with 12:58 left in the first half. In less than a minute, he almost forced a turnover with his tough man-to-man defense

He played six minutes in the first half and attempted only one shot ― a 3-pointer that bounced off the back of the rim. He wouldn’t attempt another shot until the second half ― and he made one of two. More than once he made the extra pass rather than shoot.

Bronny appears to have earned the coaches’ trust, too. They put him back in the game with 3:32 left and the score tied at 69-69, and he snagged another rebound as USC battled with Long Beach State. After a rousing steal, he went to the free throw line and made one of two.

He also stayed on the floor for the opening minutes of overtime before coming out of the game.

‘Can’t even tell y’all how EMOTIONAL today was for me! I’m literally drained and all I can say is @bronny you’re simply INCREDIBLE!!’ LeBron wrote on Instagram.

This season Bronny will be wearing jersey No. 6, the same number his father wore for 16 seasons. (LeBron now wears No. 23 because the NBA has retired No. 6 in honor of Bill Russell.)

Bronny, whose real name is LeBron James Jr., suffered a cardiac arrest on July 24 during a team practice and collapsed on the court at the Galen Center. He was hospitalized for three days, and after being discharged and undergoing a battery of medical tests.

On Aug. 25, a family friend of the James family said Bronny had suffered the cardiac arrest because a congenital heart defect and was optimistic he would play again. He was cleared to rejoin the team on Nov. 30 and got the green light to make his debut on Sunday.

Bronny, a four-star prospect out of high school, committed to USC in May. He was projected by some analysts as as first-round NBA pick before he suffered cardiac arrest.

Mike McCarthy returned to Dallas Cowboys headquarters on Friday with his sense of humor intact.

Yes, while away for two days after having an emergency appendectomy, the Cowboys coach got wind of the memo the NFL sent teams with a stern reminder about sideline conduct after the Philadelphia Eagles’ security chief involved himself in a skirmish with a San Francisco 49ers player last weekend.

“They won’t have to worry about me personally this week for sure,” McCarthy cracked during a media conference call on Friday. “I won’t be misbehaving at all.”

McCarthy was still sore and experiencing an expected level of pain two days after the operation yet planned to work the Sunday night showdown against the Eagles as usual, while roaming the sideline. Given the chaos and collisions that can occur as plays flow to the sideline, it’s fair to wonder how well the big fella can get out of the way. It would have been understandable if McCarthy opted to coach from a booth upstairs.

He has another idea about how to be protected from sideline collisions.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

“I’m definitely aware of that,” he said. “I’ll probably need to get bigger assistants standing next to me than I currently have, but I’ll definitely be in touch with that.”

McCarthy’s health care and surgery provided another storyline for a much-anticipated divisional matchup hardly lacking in angles. The Eagles (10-2) have the NFL’s best record but come off their worst game of the season. The Cowboys (9-3), with McCarthy calling the plays for one of the hottest offenses in the NFL, share the league’s longest winning streak at four games and with a victory can vault them into first place in the NFC East.

Of course, McCarthy was “frustrated” to not only miss two days of practices – Dak Prescott said his coach was “probably pissed” to be absent as preparations ramped up for the big game – but also to command attention because of a personal situation. As was the case during the 2021 season when McCarthy missed a game due to COVID-19, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn ran practice as the fill-in coach.

After his release from the hospital, McCarthy quickly following pandemic-like procedures as he worked from his home office, reviewing film and participating in virtual meetings as the coaching staff tweaked game plan details. He was “ecstatic” to return to practice on Friday and maintained that doctors cleared him to the point that he won’t need any follow-up visits before Sunday night.

His acute appendicitis was discovered early Wednesday. McCarthy said he couldn’t sleep on Monday and Tuesday nights, and initially thought he contracted a stomach virus when he checked in with Cowboys athletic trainer Jim Maurer. Tests at a hospital confirmed his condition and the need for immediate surgery. McCarthy said that according to his surgeon, “I had this a little longer than I thought.”

Coaches often talk of eliminating distractions for their teams that could relate to a variety of situations. It was striking to hear McCarthy speak of his ordeal in a similar vein. It was not surprising, though, that in the macho culture of the NFL that includes coaches who notoriously grind away with long hours, there wasn’t even a hint that McCarthy might miss the game as he recovers.

Distraction? What distraction?

“It’s why clearly I thought it was so important for me to get back in here,” McCarthy said. “Trust me, anybody that knows me or who has ever worked with me, know I’m the last guy who wants to take anything away from the players.

“This is a player’s game…I’ve built my program around that premise. Anything that touches the locker room was important. That’s why it is imperative for me to get back in here and get going and make sure the normalcy is back in place.”

Assuming that he’s on point physically, there’s another reason why McCarthy’s presence will loom large on Sunday night. He took over the play-calling duties this season and lately the Cowboys offense has been on fire. Dallas leads the NFL in averaging 32.5 points per game, as Prescott has emerged as an MVP candidate.

The Eagles defense, meanwhile, has allowed over 400 yards in four of its last five games.

It’s easy to imagine just what form of normalcy it would take for McCarthy to get well soon.

Unfair dissing on Jalen Hurts

As if the hits from opposing defenses aren’t enough, the target practice directed at Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is absurd. And it sank to another level this week when NFL Network analyst David Carr maintained Hurts should be benched in favor of journeyman backup Marcus Mariota.

Carr, a former NFL quarterback who bombed after being drafted No. 1 overall in 2002, said he believed that Mariota is a better choice until Hurts gets healthier. Hurts has played through a knee injury that has challenged him for much of the season. On the surface, that wasn’t a terrible take.

Yet Carr made his argument stink with the dog-whistle suggestion that Hurts can’t effectively read NFL defenses – which smacks of the stereotypes that have dogged Black quarterbacks for decades.

While it’s true that Hurts and the Eagles suffered their most embarrassing setback of the season last weekend in getting trounced by the 49ers, Carr ripping on the quarterback’s mental acuity ignores some other truths. Including:

The Eagles (10-2) have the NFL’s best record.Hurts is an MVP candidate, who is 27-3 in 30 starts, dating to last season.Since Week 7, Hurts has a 104.1 passer rating, with a 12-3 TD-to-INT ratio.Until Sunday, Hurts led the Eagles to 14 consecutive victories against teams with winning records.Hurts, a multi-dimensional threat, ranks second in the NFL this season with 31 total TDs.

No, Hurts could not accomplish all of that if he was so deficient assessing the X’s and O’s in real time.

Carr’s comments just added another layer of disrespect that somehow follows Hurts.

A Philadelphia Inquirer columnist wrote before the Eagles-49ers matchup, comparing the quarterbacks, that if San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy played in the City of Brotherly Love, he was be a “god” among Philly fans because he entered the league as such an underdog. The inference was that somehow the fans didn’t relate as much with Hurts, who entered the league in 2021 as a second-round pick.

Given the shots fired in his direction, Hurts sure looks like an “underdog” to me.

Jordan Love on fire

No need for the Green Bay Packers to second-guess anything about the decision to move on from Aaron Rodgers. While the 40-year-old Rodgers rehabs the torn Achilles tendon that ripped apart the Super Bowl aspirations for the New York Jets, his successor is getting better by the week.

Of course, this was the plan when the Packers invested a first-round pick in Jordan Love in 2020 and wisely didn’t rush his transition to the NFL as he sat behind Rodgers for three years. Yet considering the 50-50 track record with young quarterbacks, nothing is a given.

Well, as A-Rod might say it, the Cheese heads – and Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur — can R-E-L-A-X.

Love, 25, heads to the Big Apple for a Monday night clash against the New York Giants as one of the NFL’s hottest quarterbacks. During the three-game winning streak that has catapulted the Packers (6-6) into the NFC’s final playoff slot, Love has fired eight touchdown passes without throwing a pick.

Giants coach Brian Daboll was asked about the opposing quarterback this week. He raved about Love’s footwork, vision and ability to extend plays – elements that for so many years have been part of Rodgers’ package. Daboll also suggested that the time spent behind Rodgers has paid off with Love’s game management.

“You can see he’s in full control of the system with the different signals and the checks that he makes,” Daboll said.

It’s also impressive that two of the victories during the current streak came against the playoff-bound Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs. And Love has ignited the offense without the presence of its most established weapon, multi-tasking running back Aaron Jones, believed to be close to returning from a knee injury.

The Packers thrived for decades with Rodgers preceded by Brett Favre. Now it appears that the franchise’s good fortune at the game’s most important position is poised to continue for another extended run.

Quick slants

Look who’s got the AFC’s longest winning streak? The Indianapolis Colts (7-5), with four consecutive victories as they head into a tilt at Cincinnati on Sunday. It matches the streaks held by the Cowboys and 49ers as longest in the NFL. If that’s not enough of a surprise, consider this: Indianapolis, quarterbacked by fill-in vet Gardner Minshew II, joins the Lions as the only teams in the NFL to score at least 20 points in 11 games this season…The surge by the Los Angeles Rams (6-6) has come with some balance. Sure, Rams coach Sean McVay is a certified whiz when it comes to creating a lethal passing attack. Yet it’s notable that Matthew Stafford hasn’t passed for 300 yards since Week 4. And next is a matchup on Sunday at Baltimore, which fields a defense ranked No. 1 in scoring and No. 2 in yards allowed.

Come on, you didn’t really think the Los Angeles Dodgers were going to let Shohei Ohtani get away, did you? 

The Dodgers have been talking about Ohtani for years, waiting for the day he’d become a free agent, and on a team already filled with stars, they’ve now got the biggest in the baseball world. 

Ohtani is officially a Dodger, signing a staggering 10-year, $700 million contract Saturday, making Dodger Stadium the happiest place on earth and Ohtani the richest athlete in North American sports history. 

“I pledge to always do what’s best for the team and always continue to give it my all to be the best version of myself,’ said Ohtani, who broke the news of his own signing on Instagram. “Until the last day of my playing career, I want to continue to strive forward not only for the Dodgers, but for the baseball world.’

Ohtani’s deal, paying him an average of $70 million a year, shatters every baseball contract ever given. It’s worth nearly twice as much as New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s nine-year, $360 million contract a year ago, the previous record for a free agent deal. 

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

The Dodgers privately have spent years talking about Ohtani brand, and just what it would mean for their glorious franchise. 

Ohtani is basically Taylor Swift in baseball spikes. 

Every Dodgers game will now be broadcast live in Japan. They will have billboards touting Ohtani all over Southern California. There will be lucrative Japanese advertising in the rotating signs behind home plate at Dodger Stadium. There will be sponsorships. Merchandise. Jerseys. Caps. Licensing. You name it, Ohtani will be on it. 

Sure, $700 million is a lot of money, but you know what, Ohtani is going to be worth nearly $50 million a year to the Dodgers in marketing and licensing. Ohtani brought in $25 million a year to the Angels, and with the Dodgers, that should be doubled.

Ohtani already is making friends by letting everyone know that he’s deferring an “unprecedented’ portion of his contract to provide the Dodgers enough flexibility to be competitive as possible and add even more stars, with the team still pursuing Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto. 

‘Shohei is thrilled to be a part of the Dodgers organization,’ agent Nez Balelo said in a statement. “He is excited to begin this partnership, and he structured his contract to reflect a true commitment from both sides to long-term success.’’ 

Ohtani’s decision not only has Dodgers’ fans running out to renew their season tickets, but thrills MLB, with the biggest star in the game playing in the second-largest market in America. Nothing against Toronto, perhaps the most beautiful city in North America, but this is where Ohtani belongs. 

The Dodgers are the best-run organization in baseball. They’ve dominated the National League West for 11 years, and should continue to do for at least another decade. 

They now have three of the biggest stars in all of baseball with Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Ohtani, winners of five MVP awards. 

They will be must-watch TV, the greatest traveling show in the game, with fans flocking wherever they go. 

And sure, the critics already are out there. 

Who in their right mind would spend $700 million on a DH with no guarantee that Ohtani will pitch again? 

Ohtani plans to be back in 2025, but he missed nearly two full seasons after his first Tommy John surgery, and now he’s five years older. 

No matter. 

The guy can still hit, and he’s the easily the greatest attraction in the game, where he’ll generate more money than any player who ever put on a baseball uniform. He earned $40 million in endorsements playing for the Los Angeles Angels a year ago. The next highest? Mike Trout at just $5 million. 

Yep, he has that kind of appeal, and Ohtani realized that it made no sense leaving the comfortable confines of Los Angeles to go anywhere else. 

Sure, maybe traffic will be a bit tougher if he continues to live in Newport Beach. 

He’s got to get used to a lot more media filling that clubhouse than in Anaheim. 

He’s going to have to talk to reporters more than once or twice a month. 

But, finally, for the first time since coming to the United States, he will be on a winner. 

Yes, an honest-to-god winning franchise that’s in the playoffs every year. 

Welcome back home, Shohei. 

You’re going to love life on the other side of town. 

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale 

The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy is headed to West Point for the first time since 2020.

Army dominated most of the game and had a 17-3 lead with less than five minutes remaining, but Navy staged a fourth quarter comeback that came up 1 yard short. The matchup came down to a red-zone stop by Army as Navy QB Tai Lavatai attempted a sneak at fourth and goal with only three seconds remaining.

‘Nothing is easy, welcome to the Army-Navy game,’ Army head coach Jeff Monken said afterward. ‘We’ve got a 17-3 lead, we’re on the 1 yard line with a second to go and we made a play. Thank goodness. I’m really proud of our team.’ 

Here’s the best moments and highlights from“America’s Game’ on Saturday:

Army-Navy flyover will give you ‘chills’

One of the best highlights of the day happened before the game began. Flyovers are normally a beloved pregame tradition, but the flyovers ahead of the Navy-Army matchup on Saturday gave viewers across the country chills.

The Navy first ran onto Gillette Stadium as they were surrounded by Navy members on the field and four U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets, known as “The Red Rippers,” flew overhead. Then, the Army took the field and ran out of a tunnel lined with Army members. Black Hawk helicopters flew overhead and an incredible close-up shot on the CBS broadcast showed service members waving from the aircrafts.

‘Army-Navy will never fail to give me chills every year,’ one user wrote on X.

Army tight end Josh Lingenfelter honors fallen solider

Josh Lingenfelter took the field with Dwyer written on his right arm.

It was a tribute to Chief Warrant Officer Stephen R. Dwyer Jr., one of five Army aviation special operations forces killed when their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the Mediterranean Sea over Veterans Day weekend last month. The five soldiers were all part of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Navy red zone interception leads to Army score

Navy got the ball at Army’s 47-yard-line after Army failed to pick up a fourth-and-2. Navy marched down to the red zone and looked poised to put up the first points of the game, but QB Xavier Arline’s pass intended for WR Cody Howard was picked off by Army DB Max DiDomenico, who returned the ball 30 yards to Army’s 35-yard-line.

Army capitalized on the first turnover of the game and QB Bryson Daily connected with TE Tyson Riley for a 4-yard touchdown to cap a 12-play, 65-yard drive. Daily found Riley wide open following a busted assignment from Navy for the first score of the game, 7-0.

Army extends lead heading into halftime

The Black Knights added to their lead heading into the locker room with a 47-yard field goal from Army kicker Quinn Maretzki with only one second on the clock. Army dominated Navy in the first half and possessed the ball 17:35, compared with Navy’s 12:25. Daily had 54 yards and one touchdown. The Black Knights had 153 total yards of offense.

Navy had 0 passing yards in the first half. Navy quarterbacks Xavier Arline (one interception) and Eli Heidenreich were 0-for-3 passing, but the Midshipmen picked up 81 yards on the ground. Navy was 1-for-5 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth down.

Army scoop and score

Navy was in pursuit of a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. Instead, a 44-yard fumble recovery put the Black Knights up 17-3.

On Army’s 48-yard line on third and 8, Lavatai was desperately looking to convert when Army brought the pressure. Army linebacker Kalib Fortner forced Lavatai to fumble, grabbed the ball and ran it back 44 yards for a touchdown.

Navy comeback stopped on fourth and goal

Navy wasn’t done yet. The Midshipmen quickly marched down the field and put together a seven-play, 59-yard drive in 2:02 to cut Army’s lead to 17-9. 

After forcing Army to punt, Navy got great field position after kicker Cooper Allan’s punt only traveled 11 yards. Lavatai took the Midshipmen 72 yards down the field in 10 plays, but they came up just short of the end zone. On fourth and goal, Lavatai attempted a quarterback sneak but Army’s defense held him just short. The play was reviewed and upheld, meaning the Navy turned the ball over on downs to cement the win for Army. 

Army took a safety to make the final score 17-11.

Daily finished with 54 yards and one touchdown. Lavatai finished with 179 yards and one touchdown.

Bill Belichick makes his pick in style

New England Patriots head coach ‘took a page out of Coach (Lee Corso’s) playbook’ and brought a prop to ESPN’s ‘College GameDay,’ where he served as the guest picker ahead of the Army-Navy Game. Belichick, whose father served as an assistant football coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, put on a throwback Navy helmet from 1962 to cement his pick.

It’s over, and now everyone – Shohei Ohtani, his agent, Nez Balelo, befuddled reporters and the lucky winners, the Los Angeles Dodgers – can breathe a big sigh of relief.

The game’s greatest player and perhaps its most dynamic performer in history will be playing in its second-biggest market, for one of its most storied franchises, with an opportunity for the league and its broadcast partners to maximize Ohtani’s exposure.

In this atomized sports and pop culture landscape, we will stop short of saying Ohtani can and will elevate baseball to its bygone status as America’s pastime. Yet calling Dodger Stadium home means MLB will have no limits showcasing its unicorn.

A look at why Ohtani in L.A. matters so much:

HOT STOVE UPDATES: MLB free agency: Ranking and tracking the top players available.

American exceptionalism

Let’s pause for a moment and send our condolences to the Toronto Blue Jays, who made a strong push for Ohtani and seemed positioned as the best upset pick in the event Ohtani did not choose the Dodgers. Ohtani would have been even more a global star, with a country to himself and a pair of MVP-caliber players – Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – sandwiching him.

Now, let’s ponder the mild disaster having the game’s greatest player in Canada might have meant for the league.

Just consider this: The Blue Jays have not appeared on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball – the game’s marquee broadcast – since 1999. Not even their runs of relevance since 2015 have prompted ESPN to place them in that time slot.

It’s nothing against the Jays. The Sunday night game is simulcast in Canada on TSN and the home market generally makes up 10 to 20% of ESPN’s overall audience; since Nielsen does not count international viewership in its ratings, the network would start off at a huge disadvantage to achieve its typical audience numbers.

While one would think it’d behoove ESPN, Fox and Turner to spotlight the Blue Jays when they’re playing well for the greater overall growth of the game, the fact is that MLB’s broadcast partners have made multi-billion dollar commitments. And they need to recoup those dollars – which is why you see the Yankees and Red Sox seemingly every other week.

Teams can appear a maximum of six times on Sunday Night Baseball. When the Dodgers hit that max, they’ll have the game’s must-see player in tow.

Autumn man

If you heard it once, you heard it 162 times: Shohei Ohtani never made the playoffs as a Los Angeles Angel. Despite being paired with Mike Trout, the Angels’ general organizational dysfunction and their perpetually understaffed pitching corps kept the Angels out of October baseball – and out of contention long before then, typically.

Say this for the Dodgers: They always make the postseason.

In 2024, they’ll aim for their 12th consecutive playoff appearance, 10 of those coming via an NL West championship. They’ve appeared in the World Series three times in that span and Ohtani’s inclusion gives them three former MVPs – along with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman – still in their prime.

As of now, the pitching situation looks a little iffy, in part because Ohtani’s second Tommy John surgery will keep him off the mound in 2024. Yet their passel of young starters were key to their 100-win season this past year, and Walker Buehler will himself return from a second elbow reconstruction early in the coming season.

The club also will look to the trade market to augment the rotation; Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow, a free agent after 2024, would make a great fit as a one-year stopgap before Ohtani returns.

And the Dodgers remain perhaps the gold standard in player development, and feature relatively limitless resources.

In short: Ohtani best not book any vacations for late October.

The jackpot: A bicoastal World Series

Mirroring trends in the TV industry, World Series ratings have been nosediving since, roughly, the early 1980s. And while both MLB and its broadcast partners can accept sagging ratings so long as the live sports broadcast remains a network’s largest lure, there’s only so many Diamondbacks-Rangers battles they want to endure.

Now imagine a Dodgers-Yankees World Series featuring a global superstar.

It is MLB’s ratings white whale, a matchup that has not occurred since 1981, even as those franchises have both reached the postseason in six of the past seven seasons, and 10 of the past 20. The Yankees’ acquisition of Juan Soto earlier this week spells an all-in mentality, and adding Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto will only add to the clamor.

Ohtani and Betts and Freeman and Soto and Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole and Yamamoto? That’s a matchup worth rigging the results.

Oh, MLB doesn’t need to do that. It already got a significant boost, thanks to the biggest contract ever in the perfect place for its greatest star.

Add two more lines to LeBron James’ Basketball Hall of Fame resume.

NBA Cup championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar scored 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, delivered four assists and had two steals as the Lakers defeated Indiana 123-109 Saturday in the championship game of the NBA’s first In-Season Tournament.

Lakers forward-center Anthony Davis delivered an exceptional and necessary performance: 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocks, and reserve guard Austin Reaves scored 28 points, including 22 points in 12 minutes, 36 seconds in the first half.

The Lakers were 7-0 in the In-Season Tournament.

The upstart Pacers, who have the league’s best offense and a star-in-the-making in Tyrese Haliburton, were impressive, winning their first six games of the IST. But they struggled offensively against the Lakers. Haliburton had 20 points and 11 assists but was 2-for-8 on 3-pointers and the Pacers shot 36.8% from the field and 24.4% on 3s.

Let’s take a look at the winners and losers of the NBA In-Season Tournament:

Winners

NBA

The idea of an in-season tournament was met with apprehension, if not skepticism, from a wide range of people inside and outside of the league. But there was also intrigue, and by the time the IST reached the final night of group play, there was sufficient interest.

And that interest showed up in increased TV ratings and record attendance in November, which is important for the league as it negotiates a new TV deal after the current one expires after 2024-25.

Top players were on the court for IST games, which in general were competitive and stars performed.

“I want to thank all of the players in the league and the coaches, of course, the teams, for embracing this new concept. I know it doesn’t come without challenges,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “There’s no doubt there’s some things that we are learning this time through. I mean, overall, we are thrilled with the interest we’ve seen so far this season. But again, probably people are tired of hearing the word ‘tweak.’ So we’ll come up with another synonym for that.’

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James

James wanted to win this, and if you thought earning an extra $500,000 per player for winning the NBA Cup didn’t matter to him, you haven’t paid attention to his approach. James averaged 26.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.6 assists, 1.6 steals and shot 56.8% from the field and 60.6% on 3-pointers.

James’ MVP days are behind him, but he remains – just shy of his 39th birthday on Dec. 30 – one of the game’s best and most impactful players.

Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers

Beyond winning the NBA Cup, each Lakers player earned $500,00 for capturing the title. Los Angeles is 14-9 and in a virtual three-way tie for third place in the Western Conference.

Each Pacers player earned $250,000 for reaching the final, and this run was an important step in the development of the Pacers, who have the potential to be a significant factor in the Eastern Conference this season and beyond.

The major question for both teams: How can they use this experience to maximize success moving forward?

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton

Haliburton began emerging as a franchise-caliber player last season and has solidified that status this season, especially during the IST when he averaged 26-plus points and 10-plus assists and shot better than 50% from the field and better than 44% on 3-pointers, leading the Pacers to the final.

Los Angeles Lakers forward-center Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis started the game 6-for-6 and had 13 points and eight rebounds in the first quarter. The Pacers, who struggle defensively, had no answer for Davis, who averaged 23.2 points (52.5% shooting from the field), 14.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.9 blocks in the IST.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo-Damian Lillard combo

The Bucks are still trying to figure out the game as a team (see below), but stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard provide the dynamic expected when the Bucks made the trade for Lillard. The Bucks scored 127 points per 100 possessions when they were on the court in the IST. Antetokounmpo averaged 29 points and 5.8 assists and shot 64.6% from the field and 71.4% on limited 3-point attempts, and Lillard averaged 28.7 points, 7.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds and shot 50% from the field and 51.1% on 3s.

Stars came to play

Of the players who played in at least four IST games, these averaged at least 25 points and shot at least 50% from the field: Antetokounmpo, Lillard, Haliburton, James, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Dallas’ Luka Doncic, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, New York’s Jalen Brunson, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, Utah’s Jordan Clarkson.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a popular NBA destination – namely for the Summer League, which draws more than 100,000 fans. The NBA capped its IST with the semifinals and final in Vegas, and as expansion is a real possibility after a new TV deal is in place, the Nevada city will be at the top of the list for expansion, along with Seattle, if and when the NBA decides to go in that direction.

Las Vegas has a WNBA team (Aces), NFL team (Raiders), NHL team (Golden Knights) and will get an MLB team (Oakland A’s).

T-Mobile Arena, where the IST semis and final were played, is an NBA-ready facility, and an expansion fee will net the league billions of dollars.

LeBron James has expressed an interest in being part of an ownership group for a Vegas franchise, and double-downed on that desire after the game.

“My enthusiasm about being here post-career, bringing a team here has not changed,” James said. “The fans are amazing here. They have everything already – WNBA team, they have a baseball team coming in soon, NFL team, hockey team, F1 was just here over the Thanksgiving week. Everything is here. This is a place that loves great attractions and I think the NBA will be another great addition to this city.”

When Silver presented James with the MVP award, the commissioner joked with the star, ‘Sorry, this doesn’t come with a franchise.’

Losers

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks lost in the IST semifinals, and the report from Chris Haynes detailing Bobby Portis’ postgame challenge to first-year coach Adrian Griffin and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s comment that the Bucks are sometimes “not organized at all” signify not all is right with the 15-7 squad.   

0-4 In-Season Tournament teams

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons were 0-4 in group play – all losses part of a 19-game losing streak that could reach 20 games when they play the Pacers Monday.

San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs have lost 16 consecutive games – and are thankful for the Pistons.

Memphis Grizzlies: It has been a problematic season for the Grizzlies, who are 6-15 overall and still two weeks from Ja Morant’s return from a 25-game suspension.

Chicago Bulls: The Bulls attempted a quick turnaround, but it’s not working – time for the Bulls to see what they can get in trades for their key players.

Washington Wizards: The Wizards allowed at least 120 points in each group play game.

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum

The Celtics star shot just 43.3% from the field and 22% on 3-pointers in Boston’s five IST games, including 1-for-11 against Toronto, 0-for-3 against Orlando and 2-for-8 against Indiana.

Southeast and Northwest divisions

None of the 10 teams from the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference and Northwest Division from the Western Conference made it out of group play, including Orlando, Miami, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Denver – all teams with winning records (and the Timberwolves with a league-best 17 victories).

Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard

The Clippers were 1-3 in the IST, Paul George shot 32.5% on 3s, Russell Westbrook shot 30% from the field, and of George, Westbrook, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, only Harden had a positive plus-minus in those games. Now, overall, they have won three consecutive games, are 11-10 and have room to improve.

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Lakers vs Pacers highlights

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was motionless on the ice and left Saturday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators after being hit in the back of the head by forward Mathieu Joseph during a net-front battle.

Red Wings teammate David Perron faces a possible lengthy suspension for how he reacted to the hit.

Larkin fell into Ottawa’s Parker Kelly then went face down on the ice after the Joseph hit at 13:50 of the first period. Red Wings medical personnel called for a stretcher, but Larkin got up and looked unsteady as he was helped to the dressing room by teammates. He didn’t return to the game.

‘A really scary situation with him being knocked out, obviously, and leaving on his own feet,’ coach Derek Lalonde said after the game. ‘No further update. He’s still being evaluated.’

The play was concerning because Larkin had suffered a neck injury when he was cross-checked by the Dallas Stars’ Jamie Benn in April 2021.

Joseph and Kelly were called for roughing on Saturday’s play, but Perron got a harsher penalty as he cross-checked Senators defenseman Artem Zub, who had fallen on Larkin.

Perron received a match penalty, and the NHL’s player safety department announced Sunday that he was being offered an in-person hearing. That means he faces a potential suspension of more than five games. No hearing date has been set.

Detroit’s Christian Fischer fought with Joseph early in the third period of the 5-1 Ottawa win.

‘It was a tough sight to see,’ Fischer told reporters. ‘You never want to see anyone down, especially the leader of your team. It was tough to regroup from. I think we did an OK job of it.’

NEW YORK — LSU senior quarterback Jayden Daniels won the Heisman Memorial Trophy as college football’s most outstanding player on Saturday night, capping off a sensational season where he led the nation’s best offense.

It is the 20th time this century a quarterback has won the Heisman and Daniels is LSU’s third Heisman winner, following quarterback Joe Burrow in 2019 and the 1959 winner, halfback Billy Cannon. Alabama running backs Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015) and Crimson Tide wide receiver DeVonta Smith (2020) are the only non-quarterback winners since 2000.

Daniels received 503 first-place votes and 2,029 total points. Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was second in the voting (292, 1,701), Oregon quarterback Bo Nix was third (51, 885), and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. came in fourth (20, 352). Daniels was on 90.46% of the total ballots and won four of the six voting regions.

He is the fifth quarterback in the last seven seasons to win the Heisman after transferring schools and the first since 2016 to not play in his conference’s championship game.

The Heisman Trophy added to Daniels’ award haul this season after he was named the Associated Press college football player of the year and the Walter Camp Player of the Year. He also won the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the nation’s top quarterback.

Daniels, who turns 23 on Dec. 18, led the nation in total offense, passing efficiency, points responsible for, and rushing yards per carry, and tied the lead in touchdown passes (40) with Nix. He completed 72.2% of his passes for 3,812 yards and had 1,134 rushing yards and 10 more scores on the ground.

The game that perhaps won him the award came on Nov. 11 against Florida, when he became the first player in FBS history to throw for 350 yards and rush for over 200 yards in a single game. He finished with 606 of LSU’s 701 total yards in a 52-35 victory.

The focal point of LSU’s offense, Daniels’ steady hand and calm demeanor under pressure guided the Tigers as they led the FBS in scoring offense (46.4 points per game), total offense (547.8 yards per game), and third down conversions, averaging an absurd 8.53 yards per play.

‘Being a college athlete and winning this award has been a dream come true. I want to dedicate this award to every boy and girl who has a dream or faith, with hard work you never know what’s possible,’ Daniels said in his acceptance speech. ‘They said I was too skinny, so I had to wait. Then they said I relied on my legs a little bit too much, so I went to work, completed all those passes, had the season I had. They said I was too quiet, so I became more vocal. I stepped out of my comfort zone and now I’m here today.

‘So what did I learn from all this? I learned how to block out the noise, that you can overcome any obstacle, and just be humble, be legendary and most importantly, you know be joyful about what you do. And when you get knocked down, get back up, keep smiling and never give up on your dreams.’

A decorated four-star recruit out of Cajon High School in San Bernardino, California, after throwing 170 touchdowns with 41 rushing scores, Daniels began his college career at Arizona State in 2019.

He arrived in Tempe after enrolling in school early under head coach Herman Edwards. The 6-foot-4 Daniels weighed just 175 pounds, raising questions about if he could physically hold up playing college football. But he became the first freshman quarterback to be named Arizona State’s starter for a season opener.

He showed flashes of the player he would become as a freshman, throwing for 2,943 yards with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions as the Sun Devils finished 8-5. Arizona State only played in four games during the shortened 2020 season.

His time with the Sun Devils was anything but smooth. Still, Daniels started 29 games in three seasons, his final year in 2021 played amid the backdrop of the NCAA investigating the school for its recruiting practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daniels said he was staying at Arizona State at season’s end but jumped in the transfer portal months later after five coaches on the staff either left or were fired amid the NCAA investigation.

His teammates were clearly upset with that decision and posted a video of players cleaning out his locker, with someone in the background commenting that Daniels ‘sucked anyways.’

Upon his arrival at LSU, he beat out two other quarterbacks who were top recruits and ended 2022 with 2,913 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, adding another 885 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.

Follow sports reporter Scooby Axson on Twitter @ScoobAxson

Jayden Daniels Heisman Trophy acceptance speech