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But then, not everyone is Canadian, or a media nerd, or covers the NHL. What does the NHL's new TV deal mean for hockey fans in the United States? Here's the important stuff: More money for your team. This is a big one. Rogers is paying the league an immense sum of money each year (starting with $150 million down and a $350 million annual fee), and that money is divided between the 30 teams, with some coming off the top for the seven Canadian teams....

One thing is clear: Omicron infections are rapidly increasing in children. More than 580,000 pediatric COVID-19 cases were reported the week ending January 6—a 78% increase over the cases reported the week prior. While there isn’t a lot of extensive research on Omicron in children just yet, there is some early research and anecdotal reports that paint a picture of what it’s like to be infected with this variant....

“Got a letter from home today! ✉️” “Picking out the perfect holiday card is always fun. ✉️” “I turn off my phone for a couple hours and get 20 unread messages?! ✉️🤯” “Are you avoiding my messages? ✉️” “Gotta send this form out today! ✉️” “Check your mailbox! I sent you something. ✉️” “Looks like I got something from you today! ✉️👀” “I waited too long to clean out my e-mail inbox, and now it looks ridiculous!...

The Avalanche were expected to be one of the top teams in the league this season and they certainly delivered. Colorado finished as the top team in the Western Conference and they did so in dominant fashion. Now the question is can they replicate that success in the postseason? Despite being one of the best teams in the league the last couple of seasons, the Avalanche have failed to get beyond the second round....

He also went 2-11 in his final season in Cincinnati as the team finished 2-14, the worst record in the league in 2019, and drafted Joe Burrow with its first overall pick. Dalton was cut, Burrow was named the starter and the franchise has moved on. For the second time since he left the Bengals, Dalton will face his old team when he and the Bears welcome Cincinnati to Soldier Field in Chicago....

Phoenix may be the most recent NBA Finals team in this year’s matchup, last appearing in 1993, but it has never won the ultimate prize despite making this stage twice. The Bucks have an even longer Finals drought, last appearing in 1974, but at least won it all in its only other trip there. The Finals, Game 1 of which starts Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET in Phoenix, is also the best opportunity for two of the NBA’s biggest stars to win their first championship: future Hall of Famer Chris Paul, in his 16th year in the league, and two-time defending NBA MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo....

Chelsea, seeking to make its first appearance in the Champions League final since 2012, will have to go through Real Madrid, which last enjoyed that stage in 2018. It will be the teams’ first meeting since the 1998 Super Cup. The Blues earned their trip to the Champions League semis with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Porto in the semifinals, earning a 2-0 victory in the first leg and holding the Dragons off in the second with a 1-0 loss....

Both Kansas City and Washington are dealing with some uncertainty at running back as the season arrives. For the Chiefs, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but he hasn’t yet lived up to his high-round billing. Veterans Jerick McKinnon and Ronald Jones are jockeying with him for positioning on the depth chart while rookie speedster Isiah Pacheco could earn a bigger-than-expected role in his first NFL season....

It was not intended to be the second race of the season, but the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course will run Saturday on its new date without fans in attendance. The start time for Saturday’s race at Indy is noon ET, and it will broadcast live on cable network NBC. MORE: Watch today’s IndyCar race live with fuboTV (7-day free trial) The GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis was moved back from its traditional May date so it could be part of a historic doubleheader with NASCAR....

MORE: Updated NFL playoff picture for Week 11 While the Jets are in the midst of one of their best seasons in recent memory, that win might not come easily. The Patriots won the first matchup between these two teams in October, forcing three Zach Wilson interceptions. In fact, the Jets haven’t beaten the Patriots since 2015, when Ryan Fitzpatrick put New York on the precipice of a playoff berth....

Manchester City have beaten Manchester United in the past three editions of this fixture, opening the scoring after seven, five and eight minutes in those games. United must once again contend with Erling Haaland, who scored a hat-trick in City’s 6-3 victory last October, but Erik ten Hag’s side are buoyed by an eight-game winning streak across all competitions and will hope to avoid a flying start from their rivals on this occasion....

On Monday night, NASCAR announced a time change for Tuesday’s race. Instead of starting at 8 p.m. ET, the race will be moved two hours earlier to avoid potentially inclement weather in South Carolina. MORE: Watch the Toyota 200 live with fuboTV (7-day free trial) The Toyota 200 is the first Xfinity Series race after a two-month absence due to the coronavirus pandemic. Along with a new race time, Tuesday’s race also includes other changes....

As for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, the first of three road course races on the Cup Series schedule, the channel that will broadcast the race is FS1. The start time for the race at Sonoma is 3 p.m. ET, and the start time for the pre-race show on FS1 is 2:30 p.m. ET. MORE: Watch the Sonoma race live with fuboTV (7-day trial) The 3 p.m. ET start time for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma is only the second such start time this season (Texas was the other)....

Elliott and Bowman, currently on the wrong side of the advancement cut-off line, have two races to better their positioning and reach the championship. A poor showing this week would be crushing given the consistent success of Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin ahead of them. NBCSN will broadcast the Texas race on TV — the final time this year NASCAR won’t be on the main NBC channel. MORE: Watch today’s NASCAR race live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)...

The script is flipped in Week 16. With Christmas falling on a Sunday, almost the entire schedule is being played on Saturday the 24th, Christmas Eve. The Saturday night game between the Raiders and Steelers will be the only contest available on NFL Network. Below, we’ve got more information on how to access NFL Network on your TV, and how it can be streamed if your channel lineup doesn’t include NFL Network....

No. 12 Baylor hosts No. 10 Oklahoma for the biggest game on the 8-0 Bears’ schedule. Despite the Sooners suffering an upset loss to Kansas State last month, they remain ranked ahead of unbeaten Baylor. MORE: Full betting preview for Oklahoma vs. Baylor The Bears entered the year unranked and didn’t crack the top 25 until Week 7, rising as high as No. 11. Their best win is a 23-21 home victory over Iowa State in the Big 12 opener; Oklahoma is by far the toughest opponent on the schedule....

However, there is another tool that the company is using to broadcast live Olympic events. That would be Peacock, which is a free streaming service created by the company. Peacock is just over a year old, as it launched on July 15, 2020, but NBCUniversal has decided to entrust it with a key part of its coverage for the 2021 Summer Games. As a result, events that normally would get top-shelf billing on NBC — including basketball, gymnastics and track & field — are all being broadcast on Peacock instead....

By buns, we mean the ones on hot dogs, of course. If you’re looking for copious amounts of calories and gleeful gluttons shoving frankfurter after frankfurter down their gullets, then Nathan’s has the event for you: in just a few hours, competitive eaters will be taking the stage at a private location for the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. While the coronavirus has closed off the event to the public, contestant’s mouths and stomachs are as open as ever, with Miki Sudo and Joey Chestnut looking to continue their reigns of terror over the women’s and men’s divisions, respectively....

There appears to be a consensus view on which 2021 prospects belong in the top tier. Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green and Evan Mobley have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, and they will likely be the top three picks in some order. However, the possibility of trades looms large as the draft approaches. Multiple teams may be looking to send out picks in order to acquire win-now players, leading to some draft-night chaos....

Titans-Jaguars live scoring updates and highlights The only true winner-take-all matchup this weekend is Saturday’s Jaguars-Titans matchup. While it’s been a largely un-sexy division, a Jaguars arrival could signal the arrival of Trevor Lawrence, the promised prince. MORE: Updated NFL playoff picture for Week 18 Lawrence has turned it on in his sophomore season, making good on the pre-draft hype. Over his last eight games, he’s completed 70 percent of his passes for 2,061 yards, 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions....