By JOSH HELLER
Staff Writer
1. Winter Meetings Bring Multitude of Moves
As the Winter Meetings in Nashville took place last weekend, the hot stove was really cooking, as plenty of big-name signings and some trades took place.
Some of the biggest names flew off the market, with the Cubs being in the middle of it all. Theo Epstein kicked things off by, within a half hour of each other, signed free agent Ben Zobrist, and traded middle-infielder Starlin Castro. Zobrist was a coveted free agent, as he is able to play a multitude of positions, Zobrist, 34, was signed to a four-year, $56 million deal. 30 minutes later, Epstein traded Castro (their second basemen for the final stretch last season) to the Yankees for reliever Adam Warren and a player-to-be-named later (reportedly Brendan Ryan). This deal solidifies the Yankees new philosophy of getting younger, as they get a 25-year-old with a lot of promise. However, the biggest deal came on Friday, when the Cubs signed 26-year-old Jason Heyward, one of the top free agent hitters, to an eight-year deal worth $184 million. Heyward sures up an already-strong lineup, with virtually no weak spots. The Cubs, a team which reached the NLCS last season, got even stronger this December, adding Zobrist, Heyward, and John Lackey within the last two weeks.
There were three notable trades from last week, involving the Red Sox and Mariners, the Diamondbacks and Braves, and the Mets and Pirates. First, the Red Sox sent a pitcher to Seattle after bringing in big-name David Price. The Red Sox sent Wade Miley and Jonathan Aro to Seattle for Carson Smith, a good bullpen prospect, and Roenis Elias, a starter who bounced between the MLB and the minors. The next day, the Diamondbacks and Braves made arguably the most shocking move, as Atlanta sent Shelby Miller and Gabe Speier to the Diamondbacks for MLB-outfielder Ender Inciarte, prospect pitcher Aaron Blair, and last year’s number-one overall pick, Dansby Swanson. Miller joins newly-signed Zack Greinke atop the D-Backs’ rotation. Lastly, the Mets and Pirates did a straight swap of Neil Walker for Jon Niese. Walker joins newly-signed Asdrubal Cabrera in the middle-infield, while the Pirates sure up their rotation with Niese. The MLB offseason is young, and some top free agents have yet to be signed, so buckle up.
2. Henry Wins the Heisman
This past Saturday, Alabama running back Derrick Henry was announced as the top college football player this year, winning the Heisman trophy.
Henry, a junior who backed up T.J. Yeldon last season, led the NCAA this season with 1,986 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns. Henry was a finalist for the award along with Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson. McCaffrey, a sophomore running back, had 2,387 yards from scrimmage, good enough for seventh all-time, but it still wasn’t enough to top Henry for the Heisman. Meanwhile, Watson was the best quarterback in all of college football this year, tossing 3,517 yards with 30 touchdowns and only 11 eleven interceptions.
Many analysts have thought that there were plenty of deserving candidates who were snubbed, and if not for a bad stretch of games, LSU running back Leonard Fournette looked to be the far-and-away favorite, and some had thought Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Florida State running back Dalvin Cook were deserving candidates. No matter what argument you make, one thing is a fact: Derrick Henry is your new Heisman winner, and one of two Crimson Tide to win the award, alongside Mark Ingram.
3. Johnston Second NHL Coach to be Fired This Year
It started with Todd Richards and the Blue Jackets just seven games in. Now, after 28 games, Mike Johnston has been ousted from Pittsburgh.
Following a 15-10-3 start with the Penguins this year, GM Jim Rutherford had to put the team’s recent struggles. As of the firing, the Penguins have the third-worst power play in the league, which is very surprising considering the offensive firepower, including guys like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel. The Penguins have also struggled with their defensive play, but they don’t exactly have a top defensive core. When healthy, Kris Letang and Olli Maatta lead the way, but the supporting cast behind them aren’t very good at all. Luckily, Marc-Andre Fleury helps to mask some mistakes.
The coach of the Penguins’ minor league affiliate in Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Mike Sullivan, will take over for Johnston. Sullivan led the baby Penguins to a 18-5-0-0 record in the AHL. Sullivan was known for his assistant work in Philadelphia and New York, and, once thought of as an up-and-coming head coach, he will finally get his shot.
4. McGregor Tops Aldo in UFC 194
It took just 13 seconds, but Conor McGregor is the new UFC Featherweight champion.
The fight began, and McGregor landed a huge left hand on Jose Aldo (before landing some hammerfists) before Aldo went down hard. Following the fight, Aldo said that he wanted a rematch, because this just wasn’t a fight.
This matchup was built up for quite some time, and it ended like many of Ronda Rousey’s initial fights. This fight was supposed to happen in July, but an injury to Aldo prohibited this. McGregor said after the fight that Aldo deserved to go a bit longer, but added that if Aldo was able to go longer, Aldo would have been finished at some point. McGregor has been the center of plenty of media attention, with his fiery attitude and personality. Even if many don’t like him, it’s impossible to admit that he’s not a good fighter, and now he’s a champion.
5. Fury Stripped of IFB Title
Less than two weeks after winning it, Tyson Fury has been stripped of his International Boxing Federation (IBF) title.
According to reports, in order to have a rematch against Wladimir Klitschko (whom he defeated to earn the title), Fury had to fight Vyacheslav Glazkov as an IBF-mandated opponent, but instead signed his rematch clause against Klitschko. Along with this ordeal, Fury has also been the center of controversy following his anti-women and anti-gay comments he made recently. Fury is also being investigated for a hate crime following other comments he made.
Glazkov will fight Charles Martin for the vacant IBF belt. While Fury lost this belt, his WBA and WBO belts will not be stripped from him. Overall, the past few weeks have not been kind to Fury, and there’s still many things that are unsolved.
