Yahoo Sports Am: Have an evening, Nikola

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Headings

Aussie semi -finals: No. 1 Jannik Sinner beat No. 21 Ben Shelton in straight sets and No. 2 Alexander Zverev won in a walkover against No. 7 Novak Djokovic, who withdrew with a leg injury after losing the first set.

MVP finalists: Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Saquon Barkley and Jared Goff are the finalists of the NFL MVP, one of eight end-of-season awards whose finalists were revealed on Thursday.

Bettman’s future: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is preparing to retire about “a few years”, according to a team owner, and the league is in the process of finding a successor.

Coen to Jacksonville: Buccaneers and Liam Coen has reportedly agreed to become the next head coach of Jaguars, and turn his decision to sign an extension with Tampa Bay.

Braves draws Profar: Outfielder Jurickson Profar is on his way to Atlanta on a three-year deal of $ 42 million. He was No. 15 on our top 50 mlb free agents list.

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Have an evening, Nikola

Nikola Jokić became nuclear weapons In Thursday’s win over Kings, where he reached his fifth triple-double in a row (35 points, 22 rebounds, 17 assists) to join Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players to play a 35/20/15 match .

But wait there’s more: He also made the sixth longest shot in NBA’s story, one 80 foot raising to beat the hum in the third quarter.

And to end his historic night, Jokić was the leading voting prisoner among the Western Conference All-Stars and received more than 3.7 million votes from fans …

All-Star Starters: The starting lineups were published on Thursday ahead of 2025 NBA All-Star Game on February 16 in San Francisco.

West

East

• Giannis Antetokounmpo (bucks)

• Jayson Tatum (Celtics)

• Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks)

• Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers)

• Jalen Brunson (Knicks)

Wild State … LeBron has started all-star games since 2005.

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The world in pictures

Paris – Victor Wembanyama put a show in his homeland France, noting 30 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blockages in Spurs’ 140-110 blowout victory over Pacers. The two teams will play again tomorrow.

Cooperstown, New York – Baseball Hall of Fames Three newest members gathered on Thursday for the new inmate press conference, where Ichiro naughty invited the lone voter who left him from his ballot to “get a drink together … and a good talk.”

Seattle – Alex Ovechkin scored his 22. Target of the season in Washington’s 3-0 win over Seattle, which set him 20 to pass Wayne Gretzky. At his current pace, he will hit the record in the last week of the season.

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State you Jour: 4. Down-conversions

Only four NFL teams had a conversion rate of 4. Down over 70 % this season. Maybe not so random, all four still play.

By the numbers: The Commanders (87%), Bills (72.7%), Chiefs (70.6%) and Eagles (70.4%) were the best in the league by grinding a few extra meters when it meant the most. All four converted at least once last week, so expect more aggressive games on Sunday.

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mamba forever

Five years ago this Sunday, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gigi and seven other souls died in a helicopter crash.

Life is too short. Hug your loved ones. Call your friend. Don’t take today for granted.

Listen: Kobe’s inheritance lives on (The Kevin O’Connor Show)

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Monitoring List: Championship Weekend

NFL’s last four Go on the track on Sunday to decide Matchup for Super Bowl Lix.

• Commanders (+6) at Eagles (15:00 ET, FOX): For Jayden Daniels to write history and become the first rookie qb to start a Super Bowl, Washington has to slow down Saquon Barkley, who has rushed 324 yards through two playoff games.

• Bills (+2) at Chiefs (18:30, CBS): Does Kansas City get a chance to complete the unprecedented three-peat? Or will Buffalo return to The Big Game for the first time since he lost four in a row in the early 90s?

More to see:

• Australian Open: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 19 Madison Keys* (Sat. 03.30, ESPN); No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 2 Alexander Zverev (Son. 03:30, ESPN) … Finals.

• NBA: Spurs vs. Pacers in Paris (Sat at 12, ESPN); Nuggets at Timberwolves (Sat at 15, ABC); Celtics at Mavericks (Sat at 5.30 pm, ABC); Lakers at Warriors (Sat. 20.30, ABC)

• NCAAM: No. 21 Michigan at No. 11 Purdue (Fri. at 20, Fox); No. 7 Houston in No. 12, Kansas (Sat. 18.30, ESPN); No. 6 Tennessee at No. 1 Auburn (Sat. 20.30, ESPN)

• NCAAW: No. 5 LSU on No. 2 South Carolina (Friday at 5 pm, ESPN); No. 1 UCLA at No. 8 Maryland (Son. 14.00, NBC); No. 25 Baylor on No. 9 TCU (Son. 15.00, ESPN2)

• NHL: Golden Knights to Stars (Friday at 7.30 pm, ESPN); Lavine at Bruins (Sat at 13, NHL); Devils in Canadiens (Sat 7 pm, NHL)

• Premier League: Manchester City against Chelsea (Sat. 12.30, Peacock)

• PGA: Farmers Insurance Open (Fri-Lør, Golf/CBS/ESPN+)

• Unmatched: Week 2 (Fri-Lør, TNT/TRUTV)

• X games aspen: Days 2-4 (Fri-Son, ABC/ESPN)

*Welcome back! This will be Keys’ second Grand Slam final performance after reaching the 2017 US Open final. The eight-year distance between her first two slam finals is the longest ever.

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NBA trivia

LeBron James (21) and Kevin Durant (15) are two of the seven players in the NBA story who have made at least 15 All-Star games.

Question: Who are the other five?

Hint: Three of their first names start with the same letter.

Answer at the bottom.

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Weekend reading

Dan Wetzel: Deflategate 10 years later: Was it an actual scandal or an absurd comedy?

It’s been 10 years since Tom Brady was accused of emptying footballs, a controversy that is one of the wilder and wonderful stories in the NFL story.

Tom Haberstroh: The Rookie-Scale Hack: Why Spurs should get Steph Curry

San Antonio has a golden option thanks to Victor Wembanyama and a CBA brand.

Henry Bushnell: Weston McKennie, Mr. ‘Do Everything’, contributing again

The versatile midfielder has become indispensable to both Juventus and USMNT.

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Trivia Answer: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19x All-Star), Kobe Bryant (18), Tim Duncan (15), Kevin Garnett (15) and Shaquille O’Neal (15)

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