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When Carlos Correa agreed to terms with the New York Mets, his agent called it Correamas Day, but for those who have been following the saga leading up to the shortstop agreeing to a six-year deal with a vesting option with the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, it has felt more like Correahog Day.

ESPN MLB reporters Jeff Passan, Jesse Rogers and Kiley McDaniel break down how a month-long free agency saga led Correa from San Francisco to New York and then finally back to Minnesota.

Dec. 13, 2022: Correa becomes the $350 million face of the Giants — or so it seems

After the Giants finished second in the Aaron Judge sweepstakes, they pivoted to the 28-year-old Correa, the best player remaining on the free agent market, and overwhelmed him with the fourth-largest deal in baseball history. At $350 million, Correa was set to earn more than Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson, the other three star shortstops available via free agency this winter, and become the face of the franchise in an ever-competitive NL West. In doing so, Correa spurned Minnesota — where he played in 2022 — and the New York Mets, who made an 11th-hour run. The Twins publicly acknowledged they couldn’t compete with a big-market team if it came in and swooped up Correa. Minnesota’s offer of 10 years, $285 million simply wasn’t enough.

Dec. 20, 2022: Giants delay Correa’s introduction — and the saga truly begins

A routine physical — part of the process when a free agent signs a new contract — was anything but routine. A news conference scheduled to introduce Correa was abruptly called off in the morning. Later, Giants president Farhan Zaidi admitted to a “difference of opinion” regarding the review of Correa’s medicals. The issue, according to sources, involved the lower part of his right leg, which required surgery in 2014 when Correa was in the minors. Doctors feared his leg would degrade over the length of the contract. The Giants proposed stepping away and reevaluating the deal with the potential for a restructuring. Correa and his agent, Scott Boras, chose another path.

Dec. 21, 2022: Carlos Correa pivots to Mets in a late-night stunner

While the Giants hesitated, Boras called Mets owner Steve Cohen, who already had committed nearly $500 million to free agents this winter, and asked if he wanted back in on Correa. Cohen did, and within 12 hours of Correa’s deal with the Giants falling apart, the shortstop had a brand-new megadeal with the Mets: 12 years, $315 million — still for more years and money than his free agent peers. Cohen, who negotiated the deal while on vacation in Hawai’i, told the New York Post in the wee hours of the morning: “This puts us over the top.” Correa would move to third base and slot in the middle of the lineup for a team with a payroll that would approach half a billion dollars. All that was necessary to codify the deal: a passed physical.

Dec. 24, 2022: Mets have their own concerns about Correa’s physical

Like the Giants, the Mets saw issues with Correa’s right leg, according to sources. But the incentive was strong for Correa and the Mets to work through the concerns and work out a deal. Two failed physicals would put a damper on Correa’s market outside New York. Losing their key offseason acquisition would leave Mets fans wondering whether the 2023 team really is all that much better than the 2022 version that bombed out in the wild-card round.

Discussions focused on guarantee language. The Mets were fine keeping the 12-year, $315 million terms — but wanted only half of it guaranteed. Over the final six years of the deal, according to sources, the Mets proposed their medical staff would conduct a physical on Correa at the end of each season — regardless of his health during the season. The results of the physical would then determine whether the next year of the contract was picked up.

Boras wanted a deal closer to that of ones he’d negotiated in the past — for J.D. Martinez and J.D. Drew with the Red Sox, Magglio Ordonez and Pudge Rodriguez with the Tigers — containing provisions for specific injuries. With Martinez, for example, if he spent 60 days on the injured list with an injury related to the foot about which the Red Sox were concerned, they could convert the final two guaranteed years of his deal to mutual options.

The Mets stuck to their six-year, $157.5 million offer, and last week, with the sides making little progress, Boras ramped up his engagement with the Twins. Minnesota, more comfortable with Correa’s medicals after seeing him up close for a year, cognizant that the guarantee for him had taken a hit on account of the injury, pounced.

Even as momentum toward a deal with the Twins began to grow, the impact of the past month could still be felt.

“The optimism is real,” One team source told ESPN before the deal was agreed upon. “But I’ll believe it when the ink is actually dry.”

Jan. 10, 2023: Correa saga finally ends with six-year deal with Twins

On Tuesday, the Twins and Correa came to terms on a deal that would guarantee $200 million over six years. Included are vesting options that pay $25 million for a seventh year, $20 million for an eighth, $15 million for a ninth and $10 million for a 10th. It also includes a full no-trade clause and annual salaries of $36 million for the first three years, followed by $31.5 million, $30.5 million and $30 million.

The maximum value is $270 million — about $7.5 million more than the Mets would have paid him through 10 years but $15 million less than the Twins were set to guarantee him the first time. The average annual value of Correa’s guaranteed deal is $33.3 million, the second-highest figure for a shortstop behind only Francisco Lindor’s 10-year, $341 million deal with the Mets, and while the total dollars pale to Correa’s Giants deal, ending up at $200 million, following a pair of failed physicals, is far from worst-case.

The Correa saga is laden with what-ifs. What if they had paused and negotiated with the Giants? What if Cohen hadn’t gone on the record? What if Correa or the Mets had caved? What if the Twins didn’t swoop in? For now, as the proceedings seem to march toward the finish line, there is only one question to be answered: Did he pass his physical?

And if he does, the most tortuous, whiplash-inducing free agency in baseball history finally will see its end.

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Rose Bowl agrees to earlier kick for CFP quarters

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Rose Bowl agrees to earlier kick for CFP quarters

LAS COLINAS, Texas — The Rose Bowl Game will start an hour earlier than its traditional window and kick off at 4 p.m. ET as part of a New Year’s Day tripleheader of College Football Playoff quarterfinals on ESPN, the CFP and ESPN announced on Tuesday.

The rest of the New Year’s Day quarterfinals on ESPN include the Capital One Orange Bowl (noon ET) and the Allstate Sugar Bowl (8 p.m.), which will also start earlier than usual.

“The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is confident that the one-hour time shift to the traditional kickoff time of the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential will help to improve the overall timing for all playoff games on January 1,” said David Eads, Chief Executive Office of the Tournament of Roses. “A mid-afternoon game has always been important to the tradition of The Grandaddy of Them All, but this small timing adjustment will not impact the Rose Bowl Game experience for our participants or attendees.

“Over the past five years, the Rose Bowl Game has run long on several occasions, resulting in a delayed start for the following bowl game,” Eads said, “and ultimately it was important for us to be good partners with ESPN and the College Football Playoff and remain flexible for the betterment of college football and its postseason.”

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, a CFP quarterfinal this year, will be played at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) on New Year’s Eve. The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, a CFP semifinal, will be at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) on Thursday, Jan. 8, and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will host the other CFP semifinal at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) on Jan. 9.

ESPN is in the second year of its current expanded package, which also includes all four games of the CFP first round and a sublicense of two games to TNT Sports/WBD. The network, which has been the sole rights holder of the playoff since its inception in 2015, will present each of the four playoff quarterfinals, the two playoff semifinals and the 2026 CFP National Championship at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN) on Jan. 19, at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.

The CFP national championship will return to Miami for the first time since 2021, marking the second straight season the game will return to a city for a second time. Atlanta hosted the title games in 2018 and 2025.

Last season’s quarterfinals had multiyear viewership highs with the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (17.3 million viewers) becoming the most-watched pre-3 p.m. ET bowl game ever. The CFP semifinals produced the most-watched Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (20.6 million viewers) and the second-most-watched Capital One Orange Bowl in nearly 20 years (17.8 million viewers).

The 2025 CFP national championship between Ohio State and Notre Dame had 22.1 million viewers, the most-watched non-NFL sporting event over the past year. The showdown peaked with 26.1 million viewers.

Further scheduling details, including playoff first round dates, times and networks, as well as full MegaCast information, will be announced later this year.

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Mike Patrick, longtime ESPN broadcaster, dies

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Mike Patrick, longtime ESPN broadcaster, dies

Mike Patrick, who spent 36 years as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN and was the network’s NFL voice for “Sunday Night Football” for 18 seasons, has died at the age of 80.

Patrick died of natural causes on Sunday in Fairfax, Virginia. Patrick’s doctor and the City of Clarksburg, West Virginia, where Patrick originally was from, confirmed the death Tuesday.

Patrick began his play-by-play role with ESPN in 1982. He called his last event — the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Dec. 30, 2017.

Patrick was the voice of ESPN’s “Sunday Night Football” from 1987 to 2005 and played a major role in broadcasts of college football and basketball. He called more than 30 ACC basketball championships and was the voice of ESPN’s Women’s Final Four coverage from 1996 to 2009.

He called ESPN’s first-ever regular-season NFL game in 1987, and he was joined in the booth by former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann and later Paul Maguire.

For college football, Patrick was the play-by-play voice for ESPN’s “Thursday Night Football” and also “Saturday Night Football.” He also served as play-by-play announcer for ESPN’s coverage of the College World Series.

“It’s wonderful to reflect on how I’ve done exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” Patrick said when he left ESPN in 2018. “At the same time, I’ve had the great pleasure of working with some of the very best people I’ve ever known, both on the air and behind the scenes.”

Patrick began his broadcasting career in 1966 at WVSC-Radio in Somerset, Pennsylvania. In 1970, he was named sports director at WJXT-TV in Jacksonville, Florida, where he provided play-by-play for Jacksonville Sharks’ World Football League telecasts (1973-74). He also called Jacksonville University basketball games on both radio and television and is a member of their Hall of Fame.

In 1975, Patrick moved to WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., as sports reporter and weekend anchor. In addition to those duties, Patrick called play-by-play for Maryland football and basketball (1975-78) and NFL preseason games for Washington from 1975 to 1982.

Patrick graduated from George Washington University where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

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NASCAR’s Legge: Fans making death threats

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NASCAR's Legge: Fans making death threats

NASCAR driver Katherine Legge said she has been receiving “hate mail” and “death threats” from auto racing fans after she was involved in a crash that collected veteran driver Kasey Kahne during the Xfinity Series race last weekend at Rockingham.

Legge, who has started four Indy 500s but is a relative novice in stock cars, added during Tuesday’s episode of her “Throttle Therapy” podcast that “the inappropriate social media comments I’ve received aren’t just disturbing, they are unacceptable.”

“Let me be very clear,” the British driver said, “I’m here to race and I’m here to compete, and I won’t tolerate any of these threats to my safety or to my dignity, whether that’s on track or off of it.”

Legge became the first woman in seven years to start a Cup Series race earlier this year at Phoenix. But her debut in NASCAR’s top series ended when Legge, who had already spun once, was involved in another spin and collected Daniel Suarez.

Her next start was the lower-level Xfinity race in Rockingham, North Carolina, last Saturday. Legge was good enough to make the field on speed but was bumped off the starting grid because of ownership points. Ultimately, she was able to take J.J. Yeley’s seat in the No. 53 car for Joey Gase Motorsports, which had to scramble at the last minute to prepare the car for her.

Legge was well off the pace as the leaders were lapping her, and when she entered Turn 1, William Sawalich got into the back of her car. That sent Legge spinning, and Kahne had nowhere to go, running into her along the bottom of the track.

“I gave [Sawalich] a lane and the reason the closing pace looks so high isn’t because I braked midcorner. I didn’t. I stayed on my line, stayed doing my speed, which obviously isn’t the speed of the leaders because they’re passing me,” Legge said. “He charged in a bit too hard, which is the speed difference you see. He understeered up a lane and into me, which spun me around.”

The 44-year-old Legge has experience in a variety of cars across numerous series. She made seven IndyCar starts for Dale Coyne Racing last year, and she has raced for several teams over more than a decade in the IMSA SportsCar series.

She has dabbled in NASCAR in the past, too, starting four Xfinity races during the 2018 season and another two years ago.

“I have earned my seat on that race track,” Legge said. “I’ve worked just as hard as any of the other drivers out there, and I’ve been racing professionally for the last 20 years. I’m 100 percent sure that … the teams that employed me — without me bringing any sponsorship money for the majority of those 20 years — did not do so as a DEI hire, or a gimmick, or anything else. It’s because I can drive a race car.”

Legge believes the vitriol she has received on social media is indicative of a larger issue with women in motorsports.

“Luckily,” she said, “I have been in tougher battles than you guys in the comment sections.”

Legge has received plenty of support from those in the racing community. IndyCar driver Marco Andretti clapped back at one critic on social media who called Legge “unproven” in response to a post about her history at the Indy 500.

“It’s wild to me how many grown men talk badly about badass girls like this,” Andretti wrote on X. “Does it make them feel more manly from the couch or something?”

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