February 24, 2022

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UEFA announced that the Champions League final scheduled for May 28 will no longer take place in St. Petersburg following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

How Aaron Rodgers’ $47M Indecision Affects Packers’ Plans

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports/Design: John Regula

While Aaron Rodgers ponders his future, several of his Packers teammates — including All-Pro receiver Davante Adams — are stuck in a holding pattern.

Last summer, Rodgers restructured his contract with a potential out after this season, but on Wednesday, GM Brian Gutekunst denied he’d made any promise to trade him this offseason.

But if Rodgers doesn’t retire and Green Bay doesn’t move him, he’ll carry a massive $46.7 million cap hit — and the team is already $37.4 million over.

This week, the Packers opened $14M in cap space by restructuring the contracts of Kenny Clark ($11M) and Aaron Jones ($3M).Green Bay could also restructure or release All-Pro linebacker Za’Darius Smith, who missed much of the season following back surgery and has a cap hit of $27.7M (2nd on team behind Rodgers).The Packers’ desire to sign UFA Adams to a long-term contract is hamstrung by the cap situation; he can be franchise tagged by March 8 (one year, $20M)

Adams, who is seeking $30 million per season, is the Packers’ most important playmaker and forms one of the league’s most dangerous duos. The five-time Pro Bowler scored 11 TDs and set career highs in receptions (123) and yards (1,553) in 2021.

Several teams have reportedly made offers for Rodgers, per ESPN’s [[link removed]] Dianna Russini, who says the reigning NFL MVP will give them an answer “soon.”

Kemba Walker’s Lost Season Sums Up Knicks’ Failed Offseason

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports/Design: John Regula

The Knicks’ “Bing Bong” era didn’t last long — and neither did Kemba Walker’s first year in New York.

The team announced Wednesday that the four-time All-Star will not play the rest of the season — the latest proof of New York’s failed offseason spending.

They allocated $84.1 million of their 2021-22 cap space to sign — or re-sign — Julius Randle ($21.7M), Evan Fournier ($17.1M), Derrick Rose ($13.4M), Alec Burks ($9.5M), Nerlens Noel ($8.8M), Walker ($8.7M), and Taj Gibson ($4.9M), who have all underwhelmed.

Walker’s numbers have continued to decline since his best year in 2018-19 (career-high 25.6 PPG), and by late November, Walker had already fallen out of the rotation.

Walker averaged a career-low 11.6 PPG on 40.3% FG.He’ll likely be bought out or traded this summer — he has one year remaining with the Knicks worth up to $9.2 million.Kemba gave up $20 million total in his buyout/waiver with the Thunder to sign with the Knicks (OKC still owes him roughly $54 million through 2023).As of now, he’ll earn at least $63 million from both the Knicks and Thunder over the next two seasons.

The acquisition of the hometown hero had sentimental appeal but made little sense for a team with several young guards more deserving of playing time.

At 25-34 (12th in East), it’s safe to say this season has been a giant letdown after last year’s squad finished fourth in the East.

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Lost Games and Paychecks Look More Likely for MLB

Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports/Design: Alex Brooks

The clock is ticking for MLB and its players to strike a deal.

On Wednesday, the league confirmed that if the two sides don’t agree to a new CBA by Feb. 28, games will be canceled without rescheduling — and players won’t be paid for the lost games.

The notion of pulling this off by Monday is highly implausible at best, considering the number of key issues at stake — and Jeff Passan’s [[link removed]] report about just how far apart the league and players association remain.

MLB has proposed [[link removed]] a $214M competitive balance tax threshold for 2022, while the MLBPA is looking for $245M.The two sides are $95M apart on a pre-arbitration bonus pool and $135K per player on minimum salary.They also disagree on how many teams would be in a proposed draft lottery.

Players stand to lose significant sums of money for each lost game. Dodgers pitcher (and union leader) Max Scherzer would lose [[link removed]] the most per game ($232,975), followed by Angels OF Mike Trout ($199,552).

Perhaps this situation could have been avoided if the negotiations had begun sooner.

After MLB locked players out on Dec. 2, the two sides met for the first time on Jan. 13 — and the league didn’t offer the players a counterproposal until mid-February.

Making Headlines

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports/Design: John Regula

Tennis: Novak Djokovic fell from No. 1 in the ATP rankings after a loss to Jiri Vesely in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Championships; Djokovic set a men’s record with 361 weeks as the top seed. Daniil Medvedev will take over the top spot.

Soccer: Poland, Sweden, and Czech Republic have released a joint statement saying they do not intend to play next month’s World Cup playoffs in Moscow.

NCAAF: Grambling State hired former Baylor head coach Art Briles as its next offensive coordinator, per ESPN [[link removed]]; Briles was fired by Baylor in 2016 following an investigation into allegations of sexual assualts on campus.

Running: The New York City Marathon will return to full capacity (50,000) after a cancellation in 2020 and limited capacity this past Fall.

Today's Action

NHL

07:08 PM

Wild (+125) at Maple Leafs (-145)

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NBA

07:30 PM

Celtics (-400) at Nets (+300)

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NHL

07:08 PM

Capitals (+100) at Rangers (-120)

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*All times are EST unless otherwise noted.

*Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See [[link removed]] for details.

Written by Chris Kuc [[link removed]], Anthony Puccio [[link removed]], Doug Greenberg [[link removed]]

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