Good morning to everyone but especially to…
CARLOS CORREA AND THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS…
It took a bit, but Carlos Correa finally has a new home, and the Giants finally have the star they were looking to acquire this offseason.
Correa and the Giants agreed on a massive 13-year, $350-million contract, continuing a terrific offseason for shortstops. Correa, 28, is a two-time All-Star, one-time World Series champ, one-time Gold Glove winner and former Rookie of the Year. He spent 2015-21 with the Astros and last year with the Twins before opting out of his deal with Minnesota. He was our No. 3-ranked free agent in the class.
… AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO LIONEL MESSI AND ARGENTINA
There are a select few times when we should consider ourselves lucky to witness some of sports’ all-time greats. Tuesday was one of them. Sunday will be another.
Lionel Messi scored a goal and had an assist as Argentina thrashed Croatia, 3-0, to reach the World Cup final. Breakout star Julián Álvarez scored the other two goals for Albiceleste.
- Messi opened the scoring in the 34th minute with a perfect penalty kick. It was his fifth goal at this tournament — tying Kylian Mbappe for most — and his 11th career World Cup goal, passing Gabriel Batistuta for the Argentinian record. Five minutes later, Álvarez finished a remarkable counterattack to double Argentina’s lead.
- Messi saved his best for Argentina’s third goal, when he dribbled nearly half the length of the field, wriggled past Croatian standout defender Josko Gvardiol and dished off a perfect pass for Álvarez’s second tally.
- Sunday will be Argentina’s sixth World Cup final and Messi’s second, along with 2014 when Germany won 1-0. Argentina has won the World Cup twice (1978, 1986). It will also be Messi’s last World Cup match.
To watch Messi, 35, and Álvarez, 22, star was emblematic of Argentina’s World Cup as a whole. Yes, it’s been Messi leading the way. But following a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia to open the tournament, plenty of others have stepped up, Álvarez especially. He has four goals in the last four matches; he had two in his entire Argentina career entering the World Cup. He’s turned into a perfect partner for Messi in the attack, writes Roger Gonzalez.
- Gonzalez: “Thirteen years of age separate two players who have now been inseparable on the pitch, whose play has inspired a country and the world. The trip to Qatar did not start as they had expected, but because of them, it could end how they always hoped.”
Honorable mentions
Not so honorable mentions
Alex Ovechkin becomes third player to reach 800 NHL goals
USATSI
Remember that thing I just said about being lucky to witness some of sports’ all-time greats? Alex Ovechkin saw what Messi did and put on an extraordinary show of his own Tuesday night against the Blackhawks, scoring a hat trick to reach 800 career goals. He’s the third player to reach the mark.
- 1. Wayne Gretzky: 894
- 2. Gordie Howe: 801
- 3. Alex Ovechkin: 800 (three Tuesday)
Ovechkin has been on fire lately with seven goals in his last four games. His first chance to tie or pass Howe will come Thursday against the Stars.
Mississippi State head coach and college football icon Mike Leach dies at 61
Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach died Tuesday at the age of 61 following complications from a heart condition. He was initially hospitalized on Sunday.
- Leach had been with Mississippi State since 2020 after stops at Texas Tech and Washington State. In 21 seasons as a head coach, he compiled a 158-107 record and made a bowl game 19 times. He’s Texas Tech’s all-time wins leader with 84.
- Leach’s coaching tree is an impressive one and includes the Arizona Cardinals‘ Kliff Kingsbury, USC‘s Lincoln Riley, TCU‘s Sonny Dykes and Baylor‘s Dave Aranda, among others.
- Here’s how the college football world reacted to Leach’s death.
Leach’s numbers and coaching tree indicate the sort of impact he had by popularizing the Air Raid offense alongside Hal Mumme as Mumme’s offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan (1989-91), Valdosta State (1992-96) and Kentucky (1997-98) before joining Bob Stoops at Oklahoma in 1999. In 2000, he took the Red Raiders’ head-coaching gig, and the rest, as they say, is history.
For all of Leach’s remarkable accomplishments and innovations on the field, he’ll be remembered as one of college football’s truly great, unique characters, writes our Dennis Dodd.
- Dodd: “I visited him in his new home in Key West, Florida, prior to his first year at Washington State. During an eight-hour walking tour of the resort town, we visited Ernest Hemingway’s home and seemingly every bar in the southernmost tip of the United States. … By the end of the trek, it was midnight. I got back to my room filled with trivia, football, more than a few adult beverages and a singular question: “What just happened?!”… Leach was, simply put, a genius — both athletically and culturally. The man could be rough around the edges. He was known for publicly calling out players who didn’t perform to his standards. Sometimes, it was unsightly; for the most part, his players swore by him.”
That sort of “genius” came out again and again in hilarious interviews and legendary stories. We’ve compiled a bunch of them here. As for Mississippi State, the Bulldogs still plan to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Illinois on Jan. 2. Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett was named interim head coach.
Morocco takes on France with World Cup final spot on the line ⚽
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One’s the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal. One’s the reigning champ. It’ll be a tale of David vs. Goliath today when Morocco faces France with a spot in the final against Argentina at stake.
While Les Bleus have a much more storied soccer history, they share plenty of ties with the Atlas Lions, notes Jonathan Johnson. A few include…
- Morocco’s French-born coach, Walid Regragui, was once a teammate with French striker Olivier Giroud.
- Morocco’s captain, Romain Saiss, was born in Bourg-de-Peage and spent his career in the French system until 2016.
- Perhaps the biggest on-field battle will be Achraf Hakimi, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, hoping to limit French superstar, PSG teammate and good friend Kylian Mbappe.
This run has already been a historic one for Morocco. Does it have another surprise left? Here are our experts’ picks.
NFL Power Rankings: Chargers, Jaguars in playoff contention 🏈
Way back in Week 3, the Jaguars demolished the Chargers 38-10 in what was viewed as a sign of things to come. The Jaguars were up-and-coming, and the Chargers simply couldn’t figure things out despite an expensive offseason. Since then, both teams have had major ups and major downs, and nearly three months later, both teams find themselves in playoff contention.
The Chargers were the biggest movers up in Pete Prisco’s latest NFL Power Rankings, jumping from 15th to 12th. The Jaguars, meanwhile, stayed at 24th, but Pete had a strong endorsement for the face of the franchise, writing “Lawrence has been as good as any quarterback in the league the last month of the season, putting to rest any of that dumb talk that he wasn’t a franchise passer.”
Here is Pete’s top 10:
What we’re watching Wednesday 📺
⚽ France vs. Morocco, 2 p.m. on FOX
🏀 Knicks at Bulls, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Red Wings at Wild, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 No. 16 UCLA at No. 20 Maryland, 9 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Timberwolves at Clippers, 10 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Canucks at Flames, 10 p.m. on TNT
