📰🏟️ Workout warriors

Good afternoon. The top-five sports stories of the day are at your fingertips. Just keep scrolling.

• But first, a bonus highlight: one of the craziest hockey goals you’ll see.

—Kyle

1) NFL Combine workouts begin today

The 319 players invited to this year’s NFL Scouting Combine begin their on-field workouts—including the 40-yard dash—in Indianapolis today, with various position groups scheduled through Sunday.

• Defensive linemen, linebackers, and kickers/punters will participate in today’s workouts starting at 2 pm CT. 
• Defensive backs and tight ends work out at 2 pm CT tomorrow, followed by the quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs at noon CT on Saturday.
• The offensive linemen finish things up at noon CT on Sunday.

Who are the top names to watch?

2) Suns owner offers $1M prize for NBA All-Star events

Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, whose team is hosting next year’s NBA All-Star Weekend, wants more star players participating in side events outside of the big game.

• To that end, Ishbia is offering a $1M prize to the winners of the Slam Dunk and 3-Point Contests next year, with another $1M going to a charity of each winners’ choice.
• The 3-Point Contest hasn’t had any trouble attracting the NBA’s top stars in recent years—but the dunk contest is a different story.
• The last player to earn the title of best dunker who was also an All-Star that year was Blake Griffin in 2011.

Will the Suns’ offer get fellow stars to shine?

3) Yankees to retire CC Sabathia’s #52 jersey

Sabathia, a first-ballot Hall of Fame SP who spent 11 of his 19 seasons with the Yankees, will have his #52 jersey retired in a ceremony this September. He’ll also receive a plaque in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park.

• Sabathia’s new honor means the Yankees have now retired 23 numbers for 24 players, with #8 retired for catchers Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra.
• It’s the second-highest total in professional sports, behind the Boston Celtics’ 24 retired numbers.

How Sabathia secured his legaCCy

4) NFL closely observing new UFL rule changes

This week, the United Football League announced a series of new rule changes which NFL executives will be studying for potential innovations.

• Changes include: eliminating the “Tush Push,” making field goals of 60+ yards worth four points, and banning most punts inside the opponent’s 50-yard line.
• The UFL will also adopt the NCAA’s catch rule requiring just one foot inbounds, instead of two.
• UFL players reported to training camp last weekend, while the league's 10-week season kicks off March 27.

The football lab rethinking the rules

5) NBA MVP race could come down to eligibility

The odds to win NBA MVP have narrowed in recent weeks as the top two favorites—OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokić—face increased risk of not qualifying due to new eligibility rules.

• Starting this year, players can only miss a maximum of 17/82 games in order to qualify for postseason awards like MVP or All-NBA.
• SGA, who’s currently sidelined with an abdominal strain, can only miss 6/22 remaining games before becoming ineligible, while Jokić can only sit out one more.
• Other contenders in danger of becoming ineligible are Victor Wembanyama and Luka Dončić, who can miss a max of four and five more games, respectively.

Could we have an MVP by elimination?

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