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Sportsbook directors follow the money when it comes to cheering for particular teams. They are solidly behind the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend. Both are sizable underdogs in the NFL playoffs, with the majority of the money from casual bettors going to the favorites. The Packers are 7 1/2-point underdogs at FanDuel Sportsbook in the wild-card round at the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Pittsburgh is an even bigger dog at plus-10 on Sunday at the Buffalo Bills.

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Dmitry Feld, who spent nearly four decades with USA Luge as a coach and executive, died Wednesday because of complications from leukemia. He was 68. His death was announced by USA Luge. Feld died at a hospital in Burlington, Vermont, the organization said. Feld had been the organization’s marketing manager since 2000, a move that followed years as a coach and communications staff member. He began feeling ill around Christmas, USA Luge CEO Jim Leahy said. Feld had been battling leukemia for years, and over the holidays he was dealing with breathing issues that worsened in recent days.

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Matthew Stafford vs. the Lions. Mike McCarthy vs. the Packers. Tyreek Hill vs. the Chiefs. The NFL’s wild-card weekend is all about reunions and some rematches, too. Stafford leads the Los Angeles Rams to Detroit to face his old team where he spent 12 seasons and didn’t win a playoff game. McCarthy’s Dallas Cowboys host Green Bay, the team he led to a Super Bowl title with Aaron Rodgers 13 years ago. Hill and the Miami Dolphins head to Kansas City, which won one Super Bowl with the dynamic wide receiver and one without him last season. The upstart Houston Texans take on the Browns for the second time in three weeks.

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The Sports Network in Canada is reporting Keith Pelley is leaving the European tour as CEO. TSN says Pelley has reached an agreement to lead Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainments. That's one of the largest sports groups in North America with ownership in six major sports leagues. Maple Leaf's primary holdings are the Toronto Maples Leafs of the NHL and the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. Pelley would be leaving at a critical time in golf. He has worked closely with the PGA Tour and was partners in the proposed commercial deal with Saudi backers of LIV Golf.

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Buffalo Bills rookie Dalton Kincaid occasionally wonders what he'd be doing had he not given football a second chance in high school. Kincaid told The Associated Press he thinks he would be selling real estate rather than enjoying a season in which he broke several of the team's receiving records for rookies and tight ends. He quit football following his freshman high school season, before being lured back in his senior season. Kincaid's emergence has provided the Bills with a reliable secondary threat behind Stefon Diggs entering the playoffs. Buffalo is the AFC's second-seeded team and hosts Pittsburgh on Sunday.

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NCAA President Charlie Baker says Michigan won the national championship fair and square. He also defended his decision to inform the school and the Big Ten during the season that the NCAA was investigating a potential scouting and sign-stealing scheme. The second half of Michigan's perfect season was shadowed by the investigation and led to the Big Ten’s three-game suspension of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. Baker says the investigation was prompted by evidence from a third party and the work could take months.

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Luis Severino worried about whether he was tipping batters to his fastball and changeup last season, a flaw the 29-year-old right-hander hopes to correct before he reports to the New York Mets for spring training. Severino says he thinks he needs “to address that now." New center fielder Harrison Bader was also on a Zoom call with reporters Wednesday to discuss his $10.5 million, one-year deal. Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns spoke publicly with media members for the first time since Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto turned down New York for a $325 million, 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Dec. 27.

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Iconic coach Nick Saban is retiring after leading Alabama to six national titles in 17 seasons and winning another at LSU.  The 72-year-old Saban, who restored a program once ruled over by Bear Bryant to the top of the college football world since taking over in 2007. His decision was first reported by ESPN. Saban led the Crimson Tide to eight Southeastern Conference championship and six national titles. Alabama lost to Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

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Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Pete Alonso are among 194 players across Major League Baseball still negotiating salaries for the 2024 season leading into Thursday’s deadline to exchange proposed salaries in arbitration. Four players reached agreements on one-year contracts Wednesday: Colorado right-hander Cal Quantrill for $6.55 million, Kansas City left-hander Kris Bubic for $2.35 million, Pittsburgh righty JT Brubaker for $2,275,000 and Atlanta righty Huascar Ynoa for $825,000. Soto, Guerrero and Alonso headline the list of 194 abitration-eligible players still without a deal. If an agreement isn’t reached before Thursday’s deadline, players and teams swap proposed salaries to be judged by an arbitrator.

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Arizona Snowbowl — Wed 5:43a machine groomed 27 - 27 base 20 of 55 trails 42% open, 8 of 8 lifts, Mon-Fri: 9a-4p; Sat/Sun: 9a-4p.

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Chestnut Mountain — Wed 10:48a 3 new machine groomed 10 - 20 base 17 of 22 trails, 77% open, 5 of 9 lifts, sm Mon/Tue: 9a-4p. Wed/Thu: 9a-6p. Fri: 9a-9p Sat/Sun: 9a-8p.

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EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The arrival of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as Minnesota Vikings general manager two years ago initiated a personnel strategy he branded a “competitive rebuild,” shaped by an organization disinterest in tanking and a dire need for a younger and more financially flexible roster.

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Court records show the owner of the Houston Texans is fighting efforts by one of her sons to have her declared incapacitated and have a guardian appointed for her. Robert Cary McNair Jr. filed his application for appointment of a guardian for Janice McNair in probate court in November. Attorneys for Janice McNair and her son Cal McNair, who is chairman and CEO of the Texans, say the claims she’s incapacitated are “drastic and unwarranted.” An attorney for Cary McNair did not respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday. The news of infighting among the family that runs the NFL franchise comes as the Texans ready for a playoff appearance Saturday, their first since 2019.

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Aaron Rodgers’ Tuesday appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” are over for the rest of this NFL season, possibly longer. McAfee announced at the beginning of his Wednesday show on ESPN that his fourth season of doing a weekly segment with the New York Jets quarterback had concluded. As his staff applauded in the background, McAfee said a lot of people would be happy to hear that news, including himself. Rodgers implied during a Jan. 2 appearance on McAfee’s show that comic Jimmy Kimmel’s name might appear on a list of associates of Jeffrey Epstein, a millionaire accused of sex trafficking involving underage victims before he died by suicide.

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Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and the New York Giants have parted ways after coach Brian Daboll fired two of his most trusted assistant coaches. The Giants announced the separation on Wednesday after more than a day of talks on how to work around the final year of Martindale’s contract. He was supposed to earn in the neighborhood of $3 million in 2024. No details of the split were released. The departure of Martindale means Daboll has to replace two coordinators and four assistants in the wake of a disappointing 6-11 season.

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UConn says forward Aubrey Griffin will miss the remainder of the season after doctors confirmed she suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee last week. The fifth-year senior forward was going up to contest a layup in the third quarter of the Huskies 94-50 win last Wednesday over Creighton when she grabbed her knee and collapsed to the floor. She decided to wait for an official diagnosis until the team returned from its two-game road trip to have the knee examined by UConn doctors, who confirmed the injury.

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The Kentucky Derby purse has been raised to $5 million for the 150th edition in May. The increase of $2 million was announced Wednesday by Churchill Downs. The 1 1/2-mile race will be May 4. Previously, the Derby purse had been $3 million since 2019. It was $2 million from 2005-18 and $1 million from 1996-2004. This year’s winner will receive $3.1 million. The runner-up will earn $1 million; third is worth $500,000; fourth is $250,000; and fifth is $150,000. Churchill says the hikes are possible because of its investment in historical horse racing, which boosts funding for purse money.

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Pete Carroll is out after 14 seasons as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, responsible for two NFC championships and the only Super Bowl title in franchise history during his long tenure. The 72-year old coach is moving into an advisory role with the organization, according to a statement from owner Jody Allen on Wednesday. Seattle closed the regular season with a 21-20 win at Arizona on Sunday. The Seahawks entered the final two weeks of the regular season with the chance at reaching the playoffs for the 11th time with Carroll in charge, but a Week 17 loss to Pittsburgh left Seattle in need of help it didn’t get to close out the season.

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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Martin Slumbers is retiring at the end of the year, ending his nine years as CEO of The R&A in which he orchestrated a merger with the Ladies Golf Union, raised brand awareness of golf's oldest championship and played a big part in trying to reign in distance.

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Police in South Florida say a man fatally shot a 30-year-old Buffalo Bills fan during an altercation outside Hard Rock Stadium after the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins in the final regular season game. Miami Gardens police say Dylan Brody Isaacs and his friends had an altercation with a driver as they were returning to their vehicle after Sunday's game. Police say the driver pulled out a gun and shot Isaacs, who died at the scene. The man then fled in a Honda Accord, which was located in Palm Beach County the next day.  Detectives have identified and interviewed a suspect, but police haven't released the person's name.

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Erik Spoelstra was hosting a clinic in the Philippines this past summer while the Miami Heat coach was there as an assistant with USA Basketball for the World Cup. One of the kids asked about his longevity with the Heat. Over the next few minutes, Spoelstra talked about friendships, loyalty and how fortunate he is that the Heat value stability. The latest reminder of all that came Tuesday with Miami signing Spoelstra to a history-making deal spanning eight years and worth roughly $120 million, the biggest contract in terms of total salary ever given to an NBA coach.

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Troy Lesesne has replaced Wayne Rooney as coach of D.C. United, two months after Lesesne was fired by the New York Red Bulls. The 40-year-old agreed to a three-year contract. Lesesne took over the Red Bulls from Gerhard Struber on May 8 with the team in last place. The Red Bulls made the playoffs by finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference and beat Charlotte in the first round before losing to Cincinnati. Lesesne coached New Mexico United in the second-tier United Soccer League Championship from 2018-21, then was hired as a Red Bulls assistant coach in January 2022.

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Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías won’t be charged with a felony after his arrest in September on suspicion of domestic violence. A charge evaluation worksheet from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office says Urías was arguing with his wife when he “pushed (her) against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders.” However, the document says, “Neither the Victim’s injuries nor the Defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.” The DA is turning the case over to the city attorney to consider filing a misdemeanor. Urías still faces possible punishment from Major League Baseball, which could suspend the 27-year-old pitcher if it finds he violated the league’s domestic abuse policy.