Yahoo Sports AM: The triple-double boom

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🚨 Headlines

💔 Tragedy in Philly: Tyler Sabapathy, an 18-year-old freshman at Temple University, died on Sunday after he fell from a light pole on the streets of Philadelphia celebrating the Eagles’ NFC championship win.

🏀 10-minute quarters? NBA commissioner Adam Silver floated the idea of 10-minute quarters (down from 12) on Wednesday, citing TV presentation and consistency with international basketball (other leagues play 40-minute games, as does college basketball).

⚽️ Moving on: Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa clinched berths in the Champions League knockout stage during the “league phase” finale, while Manchester City survived to earn one of the 16 playoff spots.

🏀 Clark declines invite: Caitlin Clark won’t participate in a special 3-point shootout during NBA All-Star Weekend. She wants her first 3-point contest to be at WNBA All-Star this summer in Indianapolis.

⚾️ Rays sign Kim: Infielder Ha-Seong Kim is headed to Tampa Bay on a two-year, $29 million deal. He was No. 20 on our Top 50 MLB free agents list, which includes 13 players who are still available.

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🏀 The triple-double boom

The once-elusive triple-double is now commonplace in the NBA, writes Yahoo Sports’ Tom Haberstroh.

Nikola Jokić has been the face of the statistical surge. The three-time MVP been on a tear recently, tallying six triple-doubles in his last eight games, including a preposterous 35-point, 22-rebound, 17-assist masterpiece against Sacramento.

But it’s not just Jokić. All told, 27 players have registered a triple-double this season, some seemingly out of nowhere. On Saturday, Houston’s Amen Thompson accomplished the feat after not tallying more than five assists in any previous game this season.

We’re on a historic pace here, folks. We’re not even at the All-Star break and there have been 86 triple-doubles this season, putting the league on track for 155 triple-doubles, which would break the record of 142 triple-doubles set in 2020-21.

To put 86 triple-doubles in perspective, the NBA had not seen that many in a full season until 2016-17 — and we still have about half the season left. Actually, there have been more triple-doubles this month alone than the entire 82-game slate in 2009-10.

So, what’s going on? Explore the rise of a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.

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📸 In photos: Riding giants at Nazaré

When it’s winter in Portugal, all eyes turn to Nazaré, the once sleepy fishing village that has become a world-renowned destination thanks to the giant waves that crash along its shores.

Storm Éowyn delivered huge swells during a surfing session over the weekend, and the drone footage from above is breathtaking.

Spectators watched in awe from a cliff as surfers got towed into the cascading water below and took on Mother Nature.

Some have described riding these waves as being more akin to snowboarding than surfing — as the above photo would attest. The water even looks like snow! Seriously, zoom in on that guy and tell me he isn’t shredding pow on his way to après-ski.

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🏈 Sanders: “I’m the most guaranteed risk you can take”

ARLINGTON, Texas — Shedeur Sanders is among the NFL prospects who will take the field tonight in the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl. Here’s Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald with a dispatch from Jerry World:

Shedeur Sanders’ impact on the East-West Shrine Bowl was felt, even though the University of Colorado QB did not practice or take part in anything outside of meetings with QB-needy teams at the top of the 2025 NFL Draft.

There was an unusual flood of media to the Shrine Bowl this year, cementing Sanders’ status as one of the best and more fascinating players, a likely top-five pick in this year’s draft class.

Long gone are the days of this game being filled with players who would just hope to be considered for a roster spot in the NFL — now there are legitimate prospects, Sanders aside, who want to come and showcase their talents on the field.

While Sanders feels like he has taken a leap on the field recently, there’s also the looming, enormous fact that he has been in the spotlight for a long time largely because of his family.

Stepping into the life of a highly drafted QB is different from where he’s been, but the idea of fame being new doesn’t apply here. Being the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders has given him a clear answer on how he feels the pressures of being an NFL QB.

“I don’t,” Sanders said bluntly to Yahoo Sports. “That’s why the pressure doesn’t faze me. That’s why no situation would ever faze me. That’s why I know I’m the most guaranteed risk you can take.”

Read the full story.

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🏒 Utah Hockey Club, Mammoth or Wasatch?

The Utah Hockey Club wants a permanent name by next NHL season. Standing in their way? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and a cooler company.

How it started: Shortly after relocating from Arizona last spring, the Salt Lake City-based franchise formerly known as the Coyotes asked fans to help them choose a new nickname. The initial list had 20 options, and six finalists emerged after multiple rounds of voting:

1. Utah Yeti

2. Utah Blizzard

3. Utah Mammoth

4. Utah Outlaws

5. Utah Venom

6. Utah Hockey Club

How it’s going: Over the past three months, the USPTO has refused copyrights on all six names, per The Athletic ($).

• “Yeti” or “Yetis” was the preferred choice, but the USPTO cited a “likelihood of confusion” for consumers due to other brands like YETI (or Yeti Coolers LLC).

• These are non-final rulings, meaning the team can try to move the ball forward themselves. But after failing to reach an agreement with the cooler company, Yeti is officially off the table.

Let’s try this again: Utah will now hold another fan vote using iPad stations at upcoming home games. There are three options this time, including two names that the USPTO initially refused, but that the team believes would eventually be approved.

1. Utah Hockey Club

2. Utah Mammoth

3. Utah Wasatch

WTF is a Wasatch? “A new option created to honor the idea of a mythical snow creature with a Utah-centric approach inspired by the Wasatch Mountain range,” per the team (not unlike MLB’s Colorado Rockies). In practice, it appears to be a work-around for the Yeti nickname, using a Yeti mascot without the name, notes Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer.

What’s next: Utah acknowledged that another vote could come after this, which would bring us to four rounds of voting to name a hockey club that might just stick with “Hockey Club.”

My take… I know plenty of Commanders fans who preferred Washington Football Team, so Utah Hockey Club might not be the worst outcome. That said, Mammoth is the clear choice here. Outlaws would have been another good one and it fits the area (Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid!). I guess you probably don’t want your fans dressing up like fugitives or bandits for home games, but I’m surprised it didn’t make the cut.

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📺 Watchlist: Scottie’s back

Scottie Scheffler will look to pick up where he left off when he makes his season debut today at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am (11:45am ET, ESPN+; 3pm, Golf), his first competitive round in eight weeks.

Back from injury: Why the long layoff? Scheffler, who won nine of his 21 starts last year, suffered a “stupid” injury on Christmas Day when a wine glass broke directly into his hand as he was trying to roll out handmade pasta. Stars, they’re just like us!

More to watch:

• ⛳️ LPGA: Tournament of Champions (11:30am, Golf) … The LPGA’s 75th season gets underway in Orlando.

• 🏀 NBA: Hawks* at Cavaliers (7pm, TNT); Rockets at Grizzlies (9:30pm, TNT)

• 🏀 NCAAM: No. 18 Illinois at Nebraska (8:30pm, FS1); No. 16 Oregon at UCLA (10:30pm, FS1)

• 🏀 NCAAW: No. 13 Oklahoma at No. 7. LSU (7pm, ESPN2); No. 22 Alabama at No. 12 Kentucky (7pm, SEC)

• 🏒 NHL: Sharks at Kraken (10:30pm, ESPN) … The Sharks lose a lot, but at least they’re fun.

• 🏈 NFL: Pro Bowl Skills Show (7pm, ESPN) … Passing, relays, dodgeball and more.

• 🏈 NCAAF: East-West Shrine Bowl (8pm, NFL) … 100th edition.

*Huge loss: Hawks forward Jalen Johnson will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, bringing his breakout campaign (18.9 pts, 10.0 reb, 5.0 ast) to a screeching halt.

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🏀 NBA trivia

Without looking, which six NBA teams in each conference are currently in playoff position?

Answer at the bottom.

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🎶 Live tonight: FireAid Benefit Concert

Some of music’s biggest names will come together tonight to raise money for Los Angeles wildfire relief.

Two shows, one night: The Intuit Dome (home of the Clippers) and Kia Forum (former home of the Lakers) will co-host the FireAid Benefit Concert, which will stream on 25+ platforms (including YouTube) beginning at 6pm PT/9pm ET. Steve Ballmer, who owns both venues, has pledged to match all donations.

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Trivia answer: Cavaliers, Celtics, Knicks, Bucks, Pacers and Magic in the East; Thunder, Rockets, Grizzlies, Nuggets, Lakers and Clippers in the West

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