Hello everyone, but especially to…
AARON JUDGE AND THE NEW YORK YANKEES
The Criminal fire Judge Aaron the draw is over and, despite confusing drama that briefly tied him to the Bay Area on Tuesday afternoon, he stays in the Big Apple. The slugger accepted a massive nine-year deal worth $360 million Wednesday morning, confirmed Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ.
Let’s break it down:
- The An average annual value of $40 million is a record for a position playerto beat Mike Trout’s $35.54 million annual contract with the angels.
- Judge, 30, joined Dishes pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander ($43.3 million per year each) as the only more than 40 million players per year in baseball history.
- After turn down Yankees’ $213.5 million seven-year extension offer in spring training, Judge hit 62 home runs to break the American League single-season record and nearly won the Triple Crown. In doing so, he earned himself two more years and $146.5 million in total.
- Of course, the Yankees still have a ton of work to do after being swept away by the Astros in the ALCS. “The Yankees didn’t get better today. They just didn’t get worse,” said our baseball expert David Samson on CBS Sports HQ.
It was a decision the Yankees simply had to make. Judge was by far the best player in our free agent rankingshe’s a homegrown, record-setting talent and he kept the Yankees afloat when so many players struggled last year.
Could there be a big drop by the end of his contract? Sure. But for now, it’s a star in his prime who stays at Pinstripes. It’s a huge win for the Yankees.
AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING AT ILLINOIS COMBAT ILLINI
Illinois lost a lot of players from a very good team last year. The new faces could make this year’s Fighting Illini even better. No. 17 Illinois beat No. 2 Texas, 85-78 in overtime at Madison Square Garden.
- Texas technology to transfer Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 12 of his 16 points in overtime, and Baylor to transfer Matthew Mayer had a team-high 21 points. He was a perfect 5-5 out of three.
- It was in the first year, Jayden Eppshowever, who came to the rescue with a personal 5-0 run in the final minute of regulation time to force overtime.
- Illinois now has two top-10 wins this season: this one and this one. 8 UCLA in November.
Our Matt Norlander was present at Madison Square Garden for the game and has takeaway.
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for…
JOHN ROBINSON
In a somewhat surprising move given the timing and circumstances, the Titans fired GM Jon Robinson tuesday. Vice President of Player Personnel Ryan Cowden was named interim CEO.
The Titans have lost two in a row but i still have one three games clear in the AFC South and one 96% chance of making the playoffsaccording to SportsLine projections.
- It certainly didn’t help that the last game – a 35-10 loss to the Eagles — Featured A.J. Brown catch eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns in his first game against his former team. Brown has more receiving touchdowns (five) than all Tennessee wide receivers combined (four).
- Robinson became Tennessee general manager in 2016. Since then, the Titans have the ninth-best record in the league and have made four trips to the playoffs. Only the Chiefs and patriots have done more.
- Robinson oversaw key moves such as the acquisition Ryan Tannehill and Brown’s writing, Derrick Henry and Jeffrey Simmons.
It’s normal to be conflicted about this dismissal. Robinson walked into a dire spot — Tennessee went 2-14 in 2014 and 3-13 in 2015 — and turned it all around: the Titans had a winning record in each of their seven seasons and were the No. No. 1 in the AFC last year. With the Titans gearing up for another likely playoff appearance, this decision is a bit odd. Why now?
On the other hand, it is worth wondering whether Robinson’s approach had run its course. After winning the 2019 AFC Championship, the Titans lost their playoff opener in 2020 and 2021. This year’s Titans are 0-5 against teams from the current playoff field. Another early playoff exit looks likely, and with a veteran core, the Titans are in the tight spot of having a winning roster now without enough enough to win it all. Robinson’s shot shows Tennessee is going to try a new path. Time will tell what that path is.
Not so honorable mentions
NFL Power Rankings: A new No. 1, and don’t count the 49ers 🏈
The Eagles’ win over the Titans didn’t just lead to Jon Robinson being fired. He also sent Philadelphia to the top of Pete Prisco’s Latest NFL Power Rankings. Here are the top five:
- 1. Eagles (formerly: 2)
- 2. Invoices (prev: 4)
- 3. Cowboys (formerly: 5)
- 4. Heads (prev: 1)
- 5. Vikings (formerly: 6)
The 49ersmeanwhile, received positive news on Tuesday: Jimmy Garoppolo could return if San Francisco makes a playoff run. Of course, said race should come with Brock Purdy at the bar. Even with the rookie now in a key role, Pete has kept the 49ers in seventh place overall.
- Price: “Purdy displayed a confidence on Sunday that allowed him to play winning football. It helps that he has a wealth of talent around him, especially talent as a player. It also helps that he has a defense of the other side that can dominate games. . . 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is one of the best offensive minds in the game, and he made it easy for Purdy, which he will do as long as he will be the starter.
The team that Purdy beat — the dolphins — were the biggest fallers this week, dropping from third to eighth.
CBS Sports All-America team: Who gets a QB nod? 🏈
Graphic by Keytron Jordan
There are four quarterbacks head to New York as Heisman finalistsbut only one could win the prestigious place on CBS Sports All-America First Team revealed on Tuesday, and this quarterback was Caleb Williams. The USC star is responsible for FBS’s 47 best touchdowns (37 assists, 10 carries) this season.
Here are some other notes:
- Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. and ohio state wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. were the only unanimous selections.
- Ohio State had the most selections of the two teams with five: Harrison and OL Dawand Jones (first) and QB C.J. StroudOL Paris Johnson Jr. and LB Tommy Eichenberg (second).
- Tennesseeit is Hendon Hooker also made the second team as a quarterback alongside Stroud.
You can see all the picks from our CBS Sports and 247Sports experts – which include players from 32 different schools – here.
World Cup recap: Morocco stuns Spain; Portugal beats Switzerland ⚽
Getty Images
For the fourth time, an African nation is in the quarter-finals of the World Cup: Morocco held on for 0-0 for 120 minutes and then shocked Spain, winning on penalties 3-0.
- Yassin Bounou penalties saved from Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets after Pablo Sarabia hit the post.
- Abdelhamid Sabiri and hakim ziyech converted for Morocco before Badr Benoun had his effort spared. Born in Madrid Ashraf Hakimi chipped home the game winner.
- Spain had more than 75% possession and beat Morocco 13-6 but couldn’t find the net due to passive playnotes football expert Jonathan Jones.
- Morocco joins 1990 Cameroon, 2002 Senegal and 2010 Ghana as the only African nations in the last eight.
As if that wasn’t dramatic enough, Portugal made headlines by not including Cristiano Ronaldo in his starting line-up following his conduct against South Korea. After the initial clash, Portugal dominated, with Ronaldo replacing Goncalo Ramosscoring a hat trick in a 6-1 rout of Switzerland.
Given the quality of Portugal with Ramos in place of Ronaldo, Ramos officially stole the show – and maybe Ronaldo’s place, period – writes football scribe James Benge.
Who will be part of the USA team for the 2026 World Cup? 🇺🇸
Getty Images
Even with the sting of defeat still fresh, the United States Men’s National Team is looking to move on and focus on the future. We discussed it a bit in The Monday newsletterand now we have a projection of the 2026 list from our football guru Chuck Booth.
Obviously a lot can and will happen by then, but Chuck has 10 list locks. None of them play striker, however, and USMNT’s answer could come from two guys who didn’t make the 2022 team.
- Stand: “Folarin Balogun (Forward): The United States’ search for an attacker is not a foreign topic, but dual citizenship could be the answer. With eight Ligue 1 goals at Reims, Balogun shows what he is capable of at just 21 years old. Born in New York, Balogun is capable of representing the United States or England and has played youth matches for both nations… Ricardo Pepi (Striker): Pepi’s next move after Groningen will be important as his time at FC Augsburg is likely over. With the right decision, not only will he be setting himself up for success, but he will also be in a good position to become the starter for the national team.”
It was a great overview of the large and ever-growing pool of potential players for four years from now.
What we’re watching on Wednesday 📺
🏀 Iowa State No. 10 to No. 16 Iowa7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Hawks at Knicks7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Sabers at Blue Jackets7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Celtics at Suns10 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Rangers at Golden Knights10 p.m. on TNT
