The Sportsletter - Lockout Official 🔒

BY JEFF YODER

DEC. 2, 2021  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  BROWSER VIEW

Good Morning,

The meeting between the MLB owners and players’ union last seven minutes before calling it a day. Bring out the padlocks. Baseball’s first work stoppage in 26 years is official.

Letter Rip!

MLB

Baseball's Lockout Becomes Official

Photo: Pouya Dianat / Getty Images

MLB Enters 9th Work Stoppage in League History as CBA Expires

Seven minutes. Less time than a three-up, three-down inning. That’s how long talks between the MLB and players’ union lasted on Wednesday night before ultimately ending in the first lockout since 1994-95, and the ninth in league history. As the MLB’s current CBA (collective bargaining agreement) expired at 11:59 pm ET last night, we look ahead to a tumultuous offseason of baseball headlines. Buckle up.

The Meetings

Leaders of both the league and union met face-to-face at the Four Seasons Dallas at Las Colinas. Seven minutes later, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the executives emerged and called it a day. The players wanted higher salaries at a younger age and a playoff expansion to 12 teams, among other economic requests. The league proposed a 14-team postseason and minor financial increases.

What It Means

In essence, free agency and trades are not allowed during a lockout with all MLB-related work coming to a halt. The news comes after a furious free-agent signing period that saw $1.6 billion allocated to new signings.

What Happens Next

The waiting game. Most sources agree that there will be baseball played next spring, but America’s past time has entered another battle of egos. Expect months before the pressure builds and talks resume.

In the meantime, all unsigned free agents will wait patiently for answers.

Additional Storylines

SI: Our No-Nonsense, Cut-the-Crap Guide to MLB’s Labor War

CBS Sports: Owners Vote to Trigger Baseball’s First Work Stoppage Since 1994-95

B/R: Biggest Winners & Losers of MLB’s 2021 Offseason So Far

NCAA

Big Ten Wins the Challenge

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Big Ten Holds On to Defeat ACC in Big Ten/ACC Challenge (8-6)

The ACC made things interesting, but the Big Ten are the champions of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge for the third consecutive year. Despite winning four of Wednesday’s six games, including an upset blowout and a four-OT thriller, the ACC fell short (8-6). Here are the highlights and scores from last night’s action as the women’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge continues tonight.

Big Ten/ACC Challenge Scores & Highlights

#22 Michigan State def. Louisville (73-64)

NC State def. Nebraska (104-100, 4OT)

Virginia Tech def. Maryland (62-58)

N. Carolina def. #24 Michigan (72-51)

#23 Wisconsin def. Georgia Tech (70-66)

Women’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge Schedule

Additional Storylines

NCAA: Big Ten Downs the ACC in 2021 ACC/Big Ten Challenge

CBS Sports: Dereon Seabron Scores 39 as NC State Tops Nebraska in 4OT

CFB

Coaching Carousel Catch-Up

Photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images

Recapping a Busy Week of Coaching Changes in College Football

After the dust settled this week in college football, two titanic programs have new head coaches. And that leaves two vacancies to speculate. Both Oklahoma and Notre Dame are searching for the next man to captain the ship after Lincoln Riley (OU) left for USC and Brian Kelly (Notre Dame) bolted for LSU. Both Riley and Kelly inked massive contracts and will attempt to revitalize programs that were once recent powers in the college football landscape. And while those new deals are 24-48 hours old, the rumors are swirling about their replacements.

Lincoln Riley → USC

Contract: X Years, $110 Million

Brian Kelly → LSU

Contract: 10 Years, $100 Million

Additional Storylines

Yahoo! Sports: The Perks in Brian Kelly’s LSU Deal Are Incredible

DraftKings: Who Will Oklahoma Hire? A List of Head Coaching Candidates

ESPN: Notre Dame’s Defensive Coordinator Marcus Freeman Leading Candidate for ND Job

MLS

Previewing the MLS Cup Semifinals

Photo: Shaun Clark / Getty Images

Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, Philadelphia Union & New York City FC Enter Final Four

As we continue our mid-week catch-up of the booming sports action, the MLS Cup Playoffs have taken a backseat to our nightly action. After two one-goal differences in the Western Conference, its Portland vs. Salt Lake on Saturday. The East saw both matches go to penalty kicks before Philadelphia and New York City FC advanced. NYCFC made history with their first trip to the conference finals, and Real Salt Lake (7-seed) looks to play spoiler as the lowest-seeded team in the postseason. MLS fans will know the finals matchup by Monday morning.

Western Conference Finals

#4 Portland Timbers vs. #7 Real Salt Lake (Sat. 6:30 pm ET)

Eastern Conference Finals

#2 Philadelphia Union vs. #4 New York City FC (Sun. 3:00 pm ET)

MLS Cup Playoff Final

Saturday, Dec. 11 (3:00 pm ET)

Additional Storylines

MLS: MLS Cup Odds: Portland Timbers Favorites to Win?

ESPN: Without Owner, Manager or Star Player, Real Salt Lake Have Become Playoffs’ Team of Destiny

🎥 OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

🏀 NBA: Giannis & LaMelo Put On A Show

Wednesday’s top NBA highlight was a showdown between the Bucks and Hornets that went down to the wire. LaMelo Ball (36 points) tallied a career-high, but Giannis Antetokounmpo (40 points) was one assist shy of a triple-double. Giannis scored the go-ahead bucket with two seconds left to lift the Bucks (127-125).

🏒 NHL: Matthews Scores 3 in Leafs’ Blowout

Auston Matthews tallied his fourth career hat trick on Wednesday as the Maple Leafs hung eight goals against the Avalanche (8-3). It was the fifth straight win for Toronto who are now atop the NHL standings with 17 wins.

THE STORYLINES

🏈  NFL Hot Seat Rankings

The month of November again proved to be brutal for many NFL teams, but very rewarding for others. There were some unusual suspects falling into the category of the latter, though, and that makes this week's iteration of hot seat rankings as intriguing as it's ever been. (CBS Sports)

🏀  The NBA’s 20-Game Mark

Although there's nothing inherently magical about the 20-game mark, it is conveniently about the point where this season's results have historically become as predictive as our preseason expectations. (ESPN+)

📰 THE HEADLINES

Marcus Stroman Signs 3-Year Deal Worth $71 Million With Chicago Cubs

(Bleacher Report)

QB Taysom Hill to Start for Saints Against Cowboys on Thursday Night

(Yahoo! Sports)

5-Star QB Malachi Nelson Recommits From Oklahoma to USC to Follow Lincoln Riley

(CBS Sports)

European Union Calls for ‘Verifiable Proof’ Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai is Safe

(SI)

UConn Women’s Basketball Player Azzi Fudd Inks NIL With Steph Curry Brand

(ESPN)

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