The final rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off are in, and the international tournament is full of All-Stars, award winners and role players.

The nature of the tournament and the depth of talent, particularly on the United States and Canada, means numerous players had to be left off the 23-player rosters (20 skaters, three goaltenders).

The United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden will take part in the Feb. 12-20 tournament. Each team will play three games in a round robin, with the top two advancing to the championship game.

Here are the winners and losers from the 4 Nations Face-Off roster announcement on Wednesday:

WINNERS

The Tkachuk and Hughes families

The meeting of the Tkachuk brothers is always a big deal for dad/former NHL star Keith Tkachuk and family. Instead of being opponents, Florida’s Matthew and Ottawa’s Brady will be U.S. teammates on a bigger stage than the 2023 NHL All-Star Game. New Jersey’s Jack Hughes will also join his brother, Vancouver’s Quinn, on Team USA.

Strong goaltending

Goaltending will be important in a short tournament and the four national teams have strong representatives in net. Team USA’s Connor Hellebuyck is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and Sweden’s Linus Ullmark won once. Hellebuyck leads the NHL with 15 wins and Team USA’s Jake Oettinger has 13; Sweden’s Filip Gustavsson and Jacob Markstrom, plus Finland’s Kevin Lankinen have 12 each. Canada is considered to have the weakest goaltending in the tournament, but St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington and Vegas’ Adin Hill have won Stanley Cup titles.

Montreal Canadiens’ Patrik Laine

He’s had a rough go the past two seasons with a broken clavicle, a stint in the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program and a preseason knee injury. He returned Tuesday and scored a goal in his season debut. Wednesday, he made Team Finland.

Well-represented NHL teams

The defending champion Florida Panthers and 2023 champion Vegas Golden Knights, who played in the 2023 final, have the most representatives at eight and seven, respectively. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers have five each. The Rangers didn’t get hurt by their recent struggles. Vincent Trocheck and power-play specialist Chris Kreider made Team USA. Florida has four players on Finland and Tampa Bay has three on Canada. Avalanche defensive partners Cale Makar and Devon Toews will play for Canada and linemates Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen will skate for Finland.

LOSERS

Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard

Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson, the 2023 No. 2 overall pick, made Sweden’s roster, but No. 1 pick Bedard will have to wait. That’s a product of Canada’s depth, especially down the middle. But Bedard, the 2023-24 rookie of the year, also has had a little bit of a sophomore slump, going through a 12-game goal drought that ended before Thanksgiving. He told TNT he hasn’t been happy with his production this season. But the 19-year-old has the skill to bounce back and push for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Seattle Kraken and Washington Capitals

Of the 32 NHL teams, every one has a representative except for the Kraken and Capitals. The Kraken are a middling team, but the Capitals were leading the Metropolitan Division when rosters were finalized. No Dylan Strome, John Carlson or Logan Thompson.

Capitals’ Logan Thompson

He’s 10-1-2 with among the best numbers (2.52 goals-against average, .913 save percentage) among Canadian goalies. But Canada went with Binnington, Hill and Sam Montembeault in net.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, but have only three players at the tournament after an inconsistent start this season. Connor McDavid was part of Canada’s initial roster and only defenseman Mattias Ekholm and injured forward Viktor Arvidsson (both Sweden) were named on Wednesday. Defenseman Evan Bouchard was on some early lists to make Team Canada, but defensive mistakes and a drop in points likely cost him. Same with Zach Hyman, a former 50-goal scorer who has three goals this season and is out with an injury.

For the first time in five NFL seasons, an on-field incident will lead to multi-game suspension for player.

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair will miss three games after the NFL denied his appeal to the suspension, sources have confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. Al-Shaair was handed a three-game suspension for a hit on Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence during the second quarter of the Texans’ Week 13 game against the Jaguars.

Ramon Foster, one of four hearing officers jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA, heard the appeal and upheld the suspension.

With this decision, Al-Shaair will be the first player to serve a suspension for on-field conduct since Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi and Maurkice Pouncey were suspended for a fight during a Browns-Steelers game on Nov. 15, 2019.

Al-Shaair was upset by the NFL’s ruling and took to social media to voice his displeasure.

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‘If you want me to be your villain, I’ll be your villain,’ he wrote in a post that included a photo of the Batman villain Joker.

Here’s a recap of how we got here.

Azeez Al-Shaair hit on Trevor Lawrence

Al-Shaair hit Lawrence as the quarterback was sliding to the ground on a scramble in the second quarter.

That hit started a brawl that led to two ejections, one for Al-Shaair and the other for Jaguars defensive back Jarrion Jones.

Lawrence was carted off the field and did not return to the game.

 Al-Shaair apologized to Lawrence in a post on social media the next day.

‘I would never want to see any player hurt because of a hit I put on them especially one that’s deemed ‘late’ or ‘unnecessary,” Al-Shaair wrote. ‘To the rest of his teammates I can definitely understand you having his back and defending him in a situation like that.’

On Tuesday, the NFL announced a three-game suspension for the Texans linebacker.

Response to Azeez Al-Shaair hit

NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote in the suspension announcement that Al-Shaair’s hit was a ‘play that the League considers unacceptable’ and is a violation of playing rules.

“Your lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it, is troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL,’ Runyan wrote. ‘Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules puts the health and safety of both you and your opponents in jeopardy and will not be tolerated.”

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said after the game the hit was ‘unfortunate’ and ‘not what we’re coaching’ but that it does not represent Al-Shaair as a player. Houston general manager Nick Caserio took issue with how the league portrayed Al-Shaair in its letter as well as lack of consistency.

‘Let’s look at this season. We have multiple situations, multiple examples,’ Caserio said. ‘(Brian) Branch ejected against Green Bay, plays the next week against us. Derwin (James) ejected, got suspended for one game.’

Caserio pointed out that Al-Shaair has never been ejected or suspended before this and that other players, including former Texans safety Kareem Jackson, were ejected multiple times before earning a suspension.

‘For the league to make some of the commentary that they made about lack of sportsmanship, lack of coachability, lack of paying attention to the rules,’ Caserio said. ‘Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing.’

Azeez Al-Shaair social media post responds to suspension

Al-Shaair took to social media shortly after news broke that the NFL was upholding his three-game suspension.

Below is a look at his post, which was uploaded to Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), among other social platforms.

NFL suspensions in 2024

Al-Shaair is the latest notable NFL player to receive a suspension this season. Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams was suspended for two games for violating the NFL’s Performance-Enhancing Substances (PES) policy. Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James was suspended for one game for repeated violations of playing rules.

When will Azeez Al-Shaair return from suspension?

The Texans linebacker will be available again for Houston’s Week 18 game on the road against the Tennessee Titans.

Major League Soccer’s title will be decided when the Los Angeles Galaxy host the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup final on Saturday.

The Galaxy hopes to hoist its sixth MLS Cup – 10 years after their last championship in 2014. They lead all MLS franchises with five MLS Cup titles.

Meanwhile, the Red Bulls are still in search for their first MLS Cup title. This is their second appearance in the final, falling to the Columbus Crew in 2008.

MLS CUP: Ranking every Major League Soccer championship game

Here are some details about the MLS Cup final, and five things to know before the big game:

When is the 2024 MLS Cup final?

The L.A. Galaxy and New York Red Bulls will play in the MLS Cup final on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) inside Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Where to watch MLS Cup final: LA Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls

The game will be available to live stream for free via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

The game will be also available on TV on FOX and FOX Deportes in the U.S., and on TSN and RDS in Canada.

Jake Zivin (play-by-play), Taylor Twellman (analyst) and Jillian Sakovits (sideline reporter) will be the commentary team for the English-language broadcast. Sammy Sadovnik (play-by-play), Diego Valeri (analyst) and Antonella Gonzalez (sideline reporter) will be the commentary team for the Spanish-language broadcast.

Wach MLS Cup final on Apple TV

LA Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls betting odds

According to BetMGM, here are the odds after regulation: LA Galaxy (-125), New York Red Bulls (+300), tie (+275). The over/under is set at 2.5 goals.

1. LA Galaxy must overcome loss of Riqui Puig

At least one former FC Barcelona star reached the MLS Cup final. But he won’t be able to play in it. Galaxy standout Riqui Puig suffered a torn ACL during the Western Conference final – before he delivered the game-winning assist to Dejan Jovelić last week.

Puig had 13 goals and 15 assists this season for the Galaxy, along with four goals and three assists this postseason. His playmaking in the middle of the pitch will be missed by the Galaxy.

2. LA Galaxy should still be fine without Puig

As much as Puig has been a catalyst for the Galaxy’s run to MLS Cup, the club features some of the league’s best players.

The MLS Newcomer of the Year Gabriel Pec is a Brazilian standout with 19 goals and 16 assists during the regular season and playoffs. Jovelić is a Serbian standout who leads the Galaxy with five goals in the postseason, and has scored 20 in all competitions. Joseph Paintsil, from Ghana, has three goals during the postseason and posted 10 goals with 10 assists during the regular season.

3. Red Bulls began postseason taking down defending champs

If the Red Bulls’ run to the MLS Cup final feels improbable, it’s because it was. They are the lowest playoff seed to reach the final in league history, starting as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Red Bulls began the playoffs by eliminating defending champions Columbus Crew in two games during their first-round series. They also didn’t have to face either of the last two Supporters’ Shield winners in FC Cincinnati (2023) and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami (2024), beating New York City FC in the semifinals and Orlando City in the conference finals.

4. Home-field advantage could favor Galaxy over visiting Red Bulls

Could location play a role in the MLS Cup final? It might.

The Galaxy is unbeaten in 20 matches (16 wins, zero losses, four draws) at Dignity Health Sports Park this season.

New York won just four of 17 road games (with six losses and seven draws) during the regular season. However, the Red Bulls have won three of four games this postseason on the road.

5. MLS Cup final could be a test of wills

The Galaxy have scored 16 goals in four postseason games, needing just one goal to tie to MLS record for goals by a club in the playoffs.

New York, on the other hand, allowed just two goals to Columbus Crew in Game 2 of their first-round series. They’ve held their opponents scoreless in their other three playoff games.

Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel has been instrumental, accounting for 19 saves and the club’s three clean sheets this postseason.

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NFL draft season won’t truly arrive until next calendar year at the earliest. For some fans and franchises, however, the event is already top of mind.

December is the time when playoff hopes are officially extinguished, with four teams – the New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars – already having been eliminated from postseason contention this year. For those groups, the remaining five weeks of action offer little reason to tune in. It’s only natural, then, for some to shift their focus to the draft and all the possibilities that could be ahead.

Here’s our latest look at how the first round could pan out, with the current order and strength of schedule tiebreakers from Tankathon.com.

2025 NFL mock draft

1. Jacksonville Jaguars – Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado

As others continue to debate which position Hunter should focus on for his professional career, the do-everything star had an intriguing answer when announcing his intent to enter this year’s draft: both. Playing on each side at a truly full-time rate as he does at Colorado seems unsustainable, but the Heisman Trophy front-runner has already proven to be a singular talent in racking up 1,152 receiving yards and 14 touchdown catches while grabbing four interceptions. A Jacksonville defense giving up a league-worst 6.1 yards per play would no doubt love to team him with Tyson Campbell to lock down opposing receivers, but his playmaking prowess might point him toward a dynamic partnership with Trevor Lawrence.

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2. Las Vegas Raiders – Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado

The upside to an NFL-worst eight-game losing streak? Las Vegas now looks to be in prime position to land one of the draft’s top two quarterbacks. Though Sanders seemingly lacks the upper-echelon physical tools that the top three quarterbacks in last year’s class boasted, an experienced and highly accurate passer who can overcome subpar surroundings could do a lot for a Raiders attack that has only been kept afloat by standout rookie tight end Brock Bowers.

3. New York Giants – Cam Ward, QB, Miami (Fla.)

Assuming John Mara stays true to his word and keeps Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen, the duo’s top priority has to be zeroing in on a quarterback capable of reviving the NFL’s lowest-scoring offense. Ward has been the embodiment of a spark behind center, flinging passes both within and outside of structure for a Football Bowl Subdivision-best 36 touchdown strikes. His daredevil tendencies might need to be dialed back, but perhaps New York could sign a veteran to mentor Ward and serve as a bridge starter until the young signal-caller is ready to take over.

4. New England Patriots – Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona

Though New England has every right to be encouraged by what Drake Maye has shown in his debut campaign, the rookie passer’s eight interceptions in as many starts serve as a reminder of his tendency to force plays. The best way to tackle that habit as well as the lackluster receiving corps could be picking McMillan, who is equally comfortable boxing out smaller defensive backs with his 6-5, 212-pound frame as he is turning upfield to outrace defenders after the catch.

5. Carolina Panthers – Abdul Carter, DE/OLB, Penn State

Bryce Young’s resurgence should put to bed – at least for now – any suggestion that the Panthers start over at quarterback. Instead, a pass rush that has sorely missed two-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns gets a chance to reload with Carter, who is tied for second in the Big Ten with 10 sacks and has plenty of room to grow as a pass rusher after spending his previous two years at linebacker.

6. New York Jets – Will Johnson, CB, Michigan

Gang Green has lacked an identity all season, and the void is likely to persist until a new regime is installed. In the meantime, Johnson is a proven product in coverage who should be alluring to any organization. With a sizable extension for Sauce Gardner likely in order once the cornerback becomes eligible for one this offseason, Johnson could step in as the unit’s second potential lockdown presence if D.J. Reed isn’t re-signed.

7. Tennessee Titans – Mykel Williams, DE, Georgia

Even with Will Levis exhibiting more composure in the last four weeks, betting on his continued growth is a dicey proposition for a Titans staff needing to find a way forward in Year 2. Yet with the top quarterbacks likely to be accounted for by the time the team is on the clock, Tennessee should instead look to maximize value elsewhere. Williams packs a punch with every snap and can easily discard would-be blockers, though he’s still filling out his toolkit as a pass rusher.

8. Cleveland Browns – Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas

This roster could be stuck in limbo for some time thanks to the contractual obligations to Deshaun Watson, so reloading along the lines seems like a solid approach in the interim. A three-year starter at left tackle, Banks is smooth and efficient as a pass protector.

9. Cincinnati Bengals – Mason Graham, DT, Michigan

How bad has Cincinnati’s defensive disintegration been this year? The Bengals are now tied with the 2002 Chiefs for the most losses (four) in games in which they scored 30 or more points – with five contests left. No matter how expansive the defensive reset is this offseason, Graham makes plenty of sense as a target given his penchant for making his way into the backfield, either by force or through his agility.

10. New Orleans Saints – Malaki Starks, S, Georgia

On the list of New Orleans’ most glaring shortcomings in a season that necessitated the firing of coach Dennis Allen, safety might not particularly stand out. Starks, however, could quiet some of the conversation surrounding positional value at this slot given the far-reaching effects the consensus All-American could have for any defense.

11. Chicago Bears – Will Campbell, OT, LSU

Maybe this is a little high for an offensive guard, especially one who will be flipping over to the position after a three-year career at left tackle. But a move inside could bring out the best of Campbell as a blocker, and all options along the front have to be considered in a season in which Caleb Williams has been sacked a league-high 49 times.

12. Miami Dolphins – Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon

Instability has been a way of life for the Dolphins’ pass rush in recent years, with Jaelan Phillips’ torn ACL and Bradley Chubb’s continued absence during his ongoing recovery from the same injury last year complicating Miami’s outlook. Harmon has put himself squarely in the first-round conversation with a breakout season after transferring from Michigan State, and the 6-5, 310-pounder could team with Zach Sieler and 2024 first-round pick Chop Robinson to help usher in a new day for the defense.

13. Dallas Cowboys – Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

Expect college football’s leading rusher to be linked to his hometown team throughout the pre-draft process. Jeanty, who has a legit chance to join Bijan Robinson as only the second back selected in the top 10 picks since 2019, recently boosted the idea of the potential link-up, saying on the ‘Kickin’ it with Dee’ podcast, ‘I feel like that would just be the perfect city to play in.’ While the Cowboys have myriad other issues to consider, Jeanty is the kind of figure who could recalibrate not only the league’s 31st-ranked rushing attack but also the offense at large.

14. San Francisco 49ers – James Pearce, DE, Tennessee

Seemingly everything that could go wrong for San Francisco did in an injury-ravaged campaign that looks headed toward the franchise’s first instance of missing the playoffs since 2020. While fortifying the middle of the defensive line might be a preferable move, securing one of the draft’s most natural edge rushers in Pearce should be an attractive option.

15. Indianapolis Colts – Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan

If Indianapolis doesn’t pivot from Anthony Richardson, it needs to take several significant steps to better support the former No. 4 overall pick. One measure that would help would be finding a standout tight end, as the Colts rank 31st in receiving yards from all players at the position with 343. In addition to threatening defenses down the seam with his speed, Loveland could be a major asset as someone who can create mismatches and rack up yards after the catch.

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri

Can the Buccaneers afford to double down on their sixth-ranked offense at the expense of a defense that’s seemingly liable to spring a leak on any play? If Burden is available, the choice might not be as simple as focusing on one side of the ball over the other. Losing Chris Godwin for the season to a dislocated ankle has thrown Baker Mayfield for a loop, and Burden could take over as a trusted slot target capable of taking quick hits for long gains.

17. Los Angeles Rams – Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina

The short-lived Tre’Davious White experiment and this week’s waiver claim of former Commanders first-round cornerback Emmanuel Forbes reaffirmed that the Rams are scrounging for solutions in the secondary. Revel is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in September, but the 6-3, 193-pounder would give Los Angeles the smothering playmaker it has lacked on the back end since trading away Jalen Ramsey.

18. Arizona Cardinals – Cameron Williams, OT, Texas

While Arizona has scraped along with its subpar pass protection this season, the struggles up front are no doubt a long-term limiting factor for the offense. Williams is still raw in his first full season as a starter, but he has rare physical tools and could combine with Paris Johnson Jr. to provide the Cardinals with bookend blockers for years.

19. Atlanta Falcons – Jalon Walker, OLB, Georgia

Don’t be fooled by the season-high four sacks tallied against the Chargers. Atlanta’s pass rush is still in dire straits, and repairing the problem likely entails at least one more splashy move. At 6-2 and 245 pounds, Walker is hardly the prototype at the position, but his explosiveness and tenacity have been evident on a weekly basis as he wrecks Southeastern Conference opponents’ passing attacks.

20. Seattle Seahawks – Jonah Savaiinaea, OT/G, Arizona

The surprise NFC West leaders still haven’t been able to get their running game going, with Kenneth Walker III averaging just 3.7 yards per carry and not having eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a contest since the opener. At either right tackle or guard, the 6-5, 330-pound Savaiinaea could help stabilize a lingering problem area for Seattle.

21. Washington Commanders – Nic Scourton, DE, Texas A&M

The 6-4, 280-pound Scourton’s hard-charging style won’t be a fit for every defense, but he might find a fan in Dan Quinn, who likely would relish a versatile and physical threat capable of creating havoc for opposing offenses. While his consistency is still an issue, the splash plays might be enough to earn a strong look from a team needing difference-makers off the edge.

22. Houston Texans – Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan

The inability to properly safeguard C.J. Stroud has almost reached emergency status, to the point that Houston might need to bring aboard a veteran or two up front rather than counting on rookies to mature quickly. But the Texans also are iffy on the interior on the other side of the ball, and the sturdy Grant can help control the line of scrimmage while Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. continue to attack off the edge.

23. Denver Broncos – Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State

With Bo Nix having earned three straight Offensive Rookie of the Week awards and Denver averaging 36 points per game during its three-game win streak, both the first-year signal-caller and the Broncos’ offense are outpacing expectations. Equipping Nix with another downfield target would surely help accelerate the ongoing growth. With Sean Payton having shown he knows how to incorporate a dynamic, field-stretching tight end into an aerial attack given his work with Jimmy Graham, Warren is a natural candidate to further weaponize the receiving corps.

24. Baltimore Ravens – Shemar Stewart, DE/DT, Texas A&M

Their 41 sacks belie a pass-rush problem for the Ravens, who rank 19th in pressure rate at 21.2%, according to Pro Football Reference. The 6-6, 290-pound Stewart could follow in Nnamdi Madubuike’s lead to become the next hyperathletic Texas A&M product to tap into his immense potential once he reaches Baltimore.

25. Los Angeles Chargers – Walter Nolen, DT, Mississippi

John Harbaugh and Jesse Minter still claim the league’s stingiest defense in terms of scoring, though the unit wobbled in allowing a combined 57 points to the Bengals and Ravens. Infusing a disruptive and high-upside interior presence like Nolen, the former No. 1-ranked recruit who has posted a career-high 6 ½ sacks after transferring from Texas A&M, could help take the unit to the next level and allow it to reduce its dependence on Poona Ford up front.

26. Pittsburgh Steelers – Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas

Pittsburgh’s defense has gotten sterling play from all over – except at cornerback, where Joey Porter Jr. has floundered with 14 penalties this season. A heady defender and sure tackler who can be utilized almost anywhere, Barron fits the bill of what the Steelers are searching for on the back end, even though his physical traits aren’t his strong suit.

27. Green Bay Packers – Tyleik Williams, DT, Ohio State

While landing a cornerback to man the spot opposite Jaire Alexander might be the ideal outcome for this pick, a potential drop after the top four options at the position leaves Green Bay looking elsewhere. Williams is ultra-reliable against the run and would afford the Packers some added depth and flexibility along its defensive front.

28. Minnesota Vikings – Deone Walker, DT, Kentucky

Think Brian Flores might be interested in a 6-6, 345-pound man in the middle who can move far better than his size would indicate? If Walker can learn to stay low and work himself into becoming a consistent every-down fixture along the line, he could be exactly the kind of hammer that Minnesota’s front needs.

29. Philadelphia Eagles – J.T. Tuimoloau, DE, Ohio State

A once-dormant pass rush has awakened in Philadelphia, with a deep unit helping keep Lamar Jackson in check thanks to consistent pressure. Still, the rotation likely will need to rounded out next season, and Tuimoloau can push the pocket while also making his mark against the run.

30. Buffalo Bills – Landon Jackson, DE, Arkansas

Reloading the pass rush is never a bad idea for a team chasing Patrick Mahomes. In picking up the 6-7, 280-pound Jackson to put opposite 6-6, 266-pound Greg Rousseau, the Bills might have the rangiest pair of edge rushers in the league.

31. Kansas City Chiefs – Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State

Amid Patrick Mahomes being sacked five times by the Raiders on Black Friday, the Chiefs’ left tackle woes became so pervasive that Andy Reid swapped in left guard Joe Thuney at the position to relieve the struggling Wanya Morris. With Kansas City already paying top dollar to Thuney and center Creed Humphrey while right guard Trey Smith seems bound to earn a hefty contract this spring, the problem might need to be again addressed in the draft after the team took Kingsley Suamataia in the second round this year. Simmons is coming off a season-ending knee injury suffered in October, but he was firmly on a first-round track prior to the setback.

32. Detroit Lions – Jack Sawyer, DE, Ohio State

After watching its edge rush be wiped out by a rash of injuries, Detroit surely won’t want to be caught shorthanded again next season. Relying on hustle and physicality rather than speed and flexibility, Sawyer sizes up as a true Dan Campbell defender.

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This is the Rob Manfred era in Major League Baseball. And as such, you’re never totally sure whether to treat an oh-by-the-way comment on a forgotten podcast appearance as a throwaway line, a trial balloon or something the commissioner has already decided will be gospel and soon rubber-stamped by his competition committee.

So it is with the GAB.

That’s the “Golden At-Bat,” a colloquialism that seems to have taken hold even if the rule change bearing that label never does. In short, it would be the most extreme alteration to the game in an era that’s already seen a pitch clock, mandatory minimums for relief pitchers and extra-inning ghost runners.

An overstatement? Maybe. Degrees of change are subjective, of course. Yet the basics of the Golden At-Bat – that a team could, once a game or so, send its best player to the plate regardless of who was due to hit, guaranteeing the stars are up in a clutch situation – rip aggressively at the threads of the sport.

The commissioner: Just kinda tossing it out there

You’d think if Manfred wanted maximum exposure for this idea, he wouldn’t drop it on a podcast that first aired on an NFL Sunday and right as Game 6 of the NL Championship Series got underway. In fact, his Golden At-Bat references on Puck’s The Varsity podcast did not inspire any follow-up from a gaggle of reporters who cornered him a few days later at Game 2 of the World Series.

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The current discourse has been charged by a worthy follow-up from The Athletic, spotlighting Manfred’s assertion that “there was a little buzz around it” at a recent owners’ meeting.

Naturally, the 31 men who hold almost all the power in Major League Baseball are the owners and their designated cudgel in the commissioner’s office. That alone gives the concept at least a little credence, even though items like “contraction” and “St. Petersburg White Sox” generated a little to a lot of buzz in decades past, and didn’t come to fruition.

Yet Manfred chooses his words carefully, and wouldn’t have made reference to the GAB unless it was either a legitimate possibility or a “flood the zone” diversion to potentially pave the way for something else.

Get the guinea pigs ready?

If Manfred takes his cues from Silicon Valley’s most insufferable actors – to move fast and break things, if you will – he at least goes to great lengths to workshop major changes to the game.

The pitch clock, most notably, underwent rigorous testing in the independent Atlantic League, the Arizona Fall League and then the highest level of the minor leagues before it was rolled out at the big league level. The automated ball-strike system is undergoing similar scrutiny and will be deployed in major league spring training for the first time in 2025; the system still needs to vault some technical hurdles before potentially becoming reality.

Yet there’s no easy way to simulate the GAB at the lower levels.

It is a star-based system, one not easily simulated at Class AAA, where the No. 2 or 3 hitter could be a 30-year-old organizational player. Lower levels deemphasize strategy in favor of development even more extremely.

Certainly, the gameplay element of it can be stress tested – such as the weirdness of a Golden At-Bat guy stepping in for the No. 9 hitter, and then batting once again in their next, assigned spot in the order.

But this would be a massive leap with little logistical assurance from trial and error.

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‘And look who’s comin’ up!’

Meanwhile, the Golden At-Bat would lay waste to two of the game’s most endearing and serendipitous qualities:

The wonderful timing of your team’s greatest player (or one of them) coming up in the spot you need him most – not unlike pennant-winning or World Series walk-off turns from Juan Soto and Freddie Freeman just a few weeks ago. Let alone the Joe Carters and Bill Mazeroskis whose home runs literally won a championship. Those moments were meant to be rare – that there’s barely a 10% chance Your Guy will be up in the biggest spot. So much for fate when we can just force-feed the stars at will.

And then there’s the unlikely heroes, that last man on the bench or the virtually forgotten cog who end up folk heroes because their managers had no other choice than to throw them up there in a huge spot.

Francisco Cabrera. Travis Ishikawa. David Freese. Geoff Blum.

Sure, maybe those folks can still have their magical moments if the manager already burned his GAB before their turn at the plate. Yet the possibility that the manager would have kicked them to the curb if he still had the option leaves a gross aftertaste to the whole thing.

What do we tell the kids?

Seriously.

Thousands of players of all ages take their cues from how the game is played at the highest level. At its best, baseball teaches patience, selflessness, teamwork and, on a more basic level, the notion that you need to wait your turn.

Yet what would a 10-year-old think if they learned these virtues from the time they could swing the bat, yet suddenly they see Johan Rojas sent back to the dugout so Bryce Harper can take the most important at-bat of the game?

How many overzealous youth coaches would salivate at the notion of Timmy getting another AB in the bottom of the sixth instead of the proverbial kid picking dandelions in right field? And isn’t Timmy a little coddled, already?

(We digress).

Major League Baseball is not baseball, and baseball is not MLB, though the league and its “One Baseball” pursuits has aimed to seize control of the game at the minor league and developmental levels. The GAB would seem to put the game, as it’s played in the majors, at odds with how it’s played everywhere else in the world.

That doesn’t seem like a good thing.

When does it end?

In a sport desperate to position itself not too far behind the NFL’s exhaust fumes, the GAB feels like a panic move, at best.

Sure, baseball is not dying. Yet many of its 30 owners might make a few first team All-Capitalist squads, what with the manner in which they accumulate wealth and their inherent expectations for growth.

While a solid dozen-plus owners are sitting on billions of dollars in franchise equity, others got into the game a little later. The regional sports bubble did not burst so much as explode, leaving all but about a half-dozen clubs scrambling to reassemble their golden goose.

Manfred has in many ways been their effective change agent, making the game younger and faster while aiming to retain as much of the old media model – and its passive, guaranteed billions of dollars in revenue – while finessing MLB toward a direct-to-consumer playbook.

In October, the league bagged its white whale: A Dodgers-Yankees World Series. Ratings were great. Cultural currency was high, thanks to bicoastal buzz, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge and some fan-interfering louts.

Yet one of these years, the playoff machine will spit out a less forgiving, Brewers-Guardians kind of Fall Classic. Ratings will sag and the station breaks will seemingly feature Patrick Mahomes or Matthew Stafford in every other commercial.

All this as baseball still searches for the clearest path to make its stars truly shine, to get them on the tip of folks’ tongues like Johnny Bench or Willie Mays once were. It’s a noble desire, and the frustration to reach that point understandable.

At some point, though, the game has to stand on its own merits. Everyone gets their turn at bat.

And sometimes the outcome produces somebody else’s new hero, even if they’re not named Shohei or Bryce.

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As expected, Mikaela Shiffrin will miss the second U.S. stop on the World Cup circuit.

Shiffrin said Wednesday that she’s ‘starting to feel a little bit more human’ after suffering a puncture wound in her abdomen in a crash in a giant slalom race in Killington, Vermont. But whatever caused the puncture wound also dug ‘a cavern’ in her oblique muscles, making it impossible for her to race at Beaver Creek, Colorado, next weekend.

There’s a downhill race Dec. 14 and a super-G the following day at Birds of Prey.

‘This is another fairly ambiguous injury and really hard to put a timeline of when I’ll be either back on snow or back to racing. But I do know that I will not be starting in Beaver Creek,’ Shiffrin said in a video posted to her social media accounts.

‘This is a really big bummer, not to be able to race Birds of Prey,’ the Colorado native said. ‘But on the other hand, I was really lucky and I’m really looking forward to cheering my teammates on racing Beaver Creek.’

Shiffrin was lucky to escape more serious injuries in the crash at Killington, her first chance at getting her 100th World Cup victory.

She had a comfortable lead after the first run of the giant slalom Saturday, but less than 15 seconds from the finish line in the second run, Shiffrin lost an edge. She slammed into one gate and somersaulted into another before coming to a stop in the safety netting. She spent about 20 minutes on the hill before being taken down on a sled.

Though the puncture wound and abdominal trauma appeared to be the worst of her injuries, Shiffrin said she did go to a hospital after she returned to Colorado on Tuesday to make sure her colon wasn’t damaged.

‘There were some air bubbles where the puncture came pretty close to the colon. Last night’s check confirmed that my colon is, indeed, intact. We would have seen symptoms sooner but it’s just good to have that confirmation,’ Shiffrin said.

‘As far as the muscle trauma goes, there’s a puncture and then basically whatever stabbed in there did a little dancey dance inside of my obliques and basically tore a cavern into my oblique muscles. That’s what’s causing bleeding and inflammation and just pain, in general.’

World Cup races this weekend in Canada were canceled because of snow conditions. After Beaver Creek, the circuit returns to Europe, with a pair of super-G races in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 21-22. There are slalom and giant slaloms the two weeks after that, first in Semmering, Austria, on Dec. 28-29, and then Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Jan. 4-5.

Whenever Shiffrin does return, her next victory will be the 100th of her career, a jaw-dropping milestone. Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 World Cup wins was once considered untouchable, standing for 30-plus years despite the best efforts of Lindsey Vonn, Marcel Hirscher, Hermann Maier and Alberto Tomba. But Shiffrin not only broke Stenmark’s mark, getting her 87th win in March 2023, she has blown past it.

She has not said how much longer she’ll ski but, at 29, she’s still in the prime of her career. If she keeps winning at this rate — at least five races a season for the last 11 years, with the exception of the injury- and COVID-shortened 2020-21 season — Shiffrin will join Michael Phelps, LeBron James and Simone Biles on that rare list of athletes whose records truly are unbeatable.

Hirscher, who ended a five-year retirement this season, is the closest active skier to Shiffrin and he has 67 wins. Vonn, who has 82 wins, is trying to make a comeback but has yet to race.  

Christian McCaffrey suffered a torn PCL in the San Francisco 49ers’ 35-10 Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The injury is expected to sideline him for about six weeks and will likely knock him out for the rest of the 2024 NFL season.

McCaffrey addressed his most recent injury for the first time Wednesday in a statement posted on social media. He dove into the ‘humbling’ nature of playing football and acknowledged that 2024 simply wasn’t his year.

‘Football is the greatest game on the planet to me,’ the 28-year-old wrote on Instagram. ‘I love that you can find out exactly who you are without ever saying a word. It lifts you up and breaks you down and it can happen fast. It’s humbling in the best ways. You can do everything right and still fail. (That’s) life and that’s football. It’s a constant test of wills and those who just keep going tend to reap the benefits of their perseverance. This wasn’t my year, and sometimes when it rains, it pours.’

Indeed, 2024 wasn’t McCaffrey’s year. His campaign got off to a rough start, as he dealt with Achilles tendinitis in both of his legs. That caused him to miss San Francisco’s first eight games.

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McCaffrey finally was able to return to the lineup in Week 10, but he wasn’t his typical explosive self. He failed to record more than 79 rushing yards in a single game and didn’t find the end zone at all in his four starts.

In Week 13, it finally seemed like McCaffrey was hitting his stride. He got off to a hot start against the Bills, racking up 58 yards on his first six carries, but hit his right knee hard on the ground in the second quarter after being tackled by the shoestrings. A couple of plays later, McCaffrey slid down on a simple handoff. He limped off the field and didn’t return to the game and was diagnosed with the potential season-ending injury.

Assuming his year is done, McCaffrey will finish 2024 having run for 202 yards on 50 carries with no touchdowns. He also added 15 catches and 146 yards through the air, but his 348 scrimmage yards and four games played both mark career lows for the eight-year veteran.

Nonetheless, McCaffrey isn’t letting his down season impact him. Instead, he’s using it as motivation to come back stronger in 2025.

‘You can feel sorry for yourself and listen to the birds, or you can hold the line,’ McCaffrey wrote in his post. ‘I’m grateful for the support of everyone in my corner and promise I’ll work smarter and harder than ever to come back better from this. I love my teammates, I love the (49ers), and I love football. God doesn’t miss. Onward.’