📰🏟️ Tra(d)e Young
Plus: Dolphins fire head coach...
Good afternoon. Today’s edition brings you the top news from around the sports world. Let’s get right to it.
BREAKING: The Miami Dolphins fired head coach Mike McDaniel after four seasons with the team.
—Kyle
1) Hawks star G Trae Young is off to see the Wizards
Atlanta agreed last night to trade Young, a 4x All-Star point guard, to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, officially ending Young's stint as the face of the Hawks after 7+ seasons.
- The move is widely seen as a cap dump, as Young’s trade value has plummeted in recent months largely due to his $49M player option for next season.
- While Young has seen limited action this season due to injury, the Hawks were just 2-8 with him on the floor, and 16-13 without him.
Grading the Trae Young trade on both sides
2) CFP semifinals kick off tonight
The Fiesta Bowl, featuring #6 Ole Miss v. #10 Miami, kicks off at 6:30 pm CT tonight, bringing one of the most unlikely semifinal matchups of the CFP era.
- On Friday night, #1 Indiana will take on #5 Oregon in the Peach Bowl (6:30 pm CT) in a matchup that could feature the top two picks in the 2026 NFL Draft: QBs Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore.
- One interesting thing: all four remaining head coaches worked under Nick Saban at one point in their careers.
Dive into the CFP semifinal matchups
3) Peacock upgrade could mute announcers, control crowd noise
At this week’s CES conference in Las Vegas, the NBC-owned streamer announced plans to integrate new Dolby products into its app over the coming months.
- Along with more vivid and balanced colors, immersive sound, and clearer dialogue, the new upgrade will come with personalization options for viewers.
- In comments to Sports Business Journal, NBCUniversal exec David Bohunek said the new system could lead to features where viewers can control the audio level for a game’s announcers and the ambient crowd noise.
4) It’s Wild Card weekend in the NFL
The NFL playoffs officially kick off on Saturday with a double-header of Rams at Panthers (3:30 pm CT) followed by Packers at Bears (7 pm ET).
- Action continues on Sunday with the Bills at Jaguars (12 pm CT), 49ers at Eagles (3:30 pm CT), and Chargers at Patriots (7 pm CT).
- Wild Card Weekend wraps up Monday with the Texans at Steelers (7 pm CT).
- Crazy coaching stat: 46-year-olds Matt LaFleur (Packers) and Kyle Shanahan (49ers) are the oldest head coaches among the seven NFC playoff teams.
Playoff predictions: Who wins the Super Bowl?
5) WNBA’s latest CBA deadline is fast approaching
The WNBA and its players association remain at odds over a new collective bargaining agreement hours ahead of their third deadline in negotiations, which arrives tomorrow.
The league reportedly wants a deal that would boost players’ salaries across the board by 50+% over six years. But the WNBPA is more focused on revenue-sharing, and reportedly seeks ~30% of gross team/league revenue.
- Both sides previously agreed to a second extension hours before the CBA was set to expire on Nov. 30.
- But the WNBPA authorized a strike in a vote last month, giving the current standoff higher stakes.
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