No. 9 Kansas (24-7) already wrapped up its 11th consecutive regular season title, and was without Perry Ellis and Cliff Alexander. But the game didn’t lack for intensity. Oklahoma led by 3 points with 5.4 seconds to play when Isiaiah Cousins fouled Frank Mason III as he attempted a 3-pointer. Mason made all three free throws to tie the game. The Sooners quickly went down the court and missed a layup, but Hield glided in and finished the putback....

DeGeneres tweeted in June 2009, seemingly as a joke, that she’d made someone working on her show cry. “I made one of my employees cry like a baby on today’s show. Honestly, it felt good,” she wrote. The tweet was referring to a segment on an episode where DeGeneres gave on-air correspondent Jeannie Klisiewicz a trip on a cruise after hiring her in 2008. Klisiewicz began crying after the host showed a montage of her work on the show up to that point....

So much the better for their emerging market rivals. Hundreds of Chinese and Russian companies are working in Iran; few are expected to leave soon. In fact, the latest round of U.S. sanctions may have the opposite of their intended effect, driving Iranian business further into the hands of aggressively mercantilist Chinese and Russian firms in search of lucrative contracts once dominated by the West. In sectors like oil production, telecommunications, aerospace and automotives, the absence of Western mainstays is creating new opportunities for these emerging powers in one of the world’s fastest-growing (half of Iran’s population is under the age of 20) and most strategic markets....

Thankfully, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze drew up this tackle-eligible play for potential No. 1 overall pick Laremy Tunsil to close out a dominant half against the Cowboys. MORE: Bowl roundup | Christian McCaffrey, Stanford demoralize Iowa in Rose Bowl The thrown flag wasn’t for the play itself — the play worked to perfection — it was for excessive celebration. And why wouldn’t their be excessive celebration? The score put Ole Miss up 34-6....

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Murat Gassiev Date: July 21, 2018 Location: Olimpiyskiy, Moscow, Russia Result: Usyk won via unanimous decision In the final of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) Cruiserweight division. Usyk controlled the fight from the opening bell, using his jab to break up any momentum Gassiev tried to build. Usyk’s movement and hand speed caused Gassiev all sorts of trouble throughout this contest giving Usyk an impressive 120-108, 119-109, 119-109 unanimous points decision victory to claim the Muhammad Ali Trophy as well as the IBF, WBA Super belts to add to his WBC and WBO World Cruiserweight titles....

One of those people is ESPN writer Rob Demovsky, who listed Munn’s relationship with Rodgers in his column “Five reasons why Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is struggling.” Munn couldn’t believe Demovsky wrote that and sent him a message on Twitter. MORE: Week 11 Power Rankings | Aaron Rodgers lands on injured list with sore throwing shoulder But it’s not just Demovsky who Munn has a problem with. She sent another tweet directed at the Washington Post, Fox Sports and others for running with a specific fan’s comment in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s comments section....

The 18-year-old skyrocketed to fame earlier this year with her hit single “Drivers License”—a teenage heartbreak anthem that had real-life subjects, adding an element of gravity to the poignant lyrics. For context, Rodrigo starred in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series with actor Joshua Basset and the two were rumored to be dating and the scathing lyrics to “Drivers License” detail a devastating break-up, with Rodrigo seemingly dumped for a “blonde girl” who is widely reported to be fellow Disney star, Sabrina Carpenter....

White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz confirmed Rodrigo’s planned visit in a tweet Tuesday morning. “Tomorrow, @OliviaRodrigo is coming to the White House to meet with @POTUS and talk about the importance of young people getting vaccinated,” Munoz’s tweet said. “I am very, very excited.” Munoz included with his tweet a screenshot of a recent photo of Biden as a young man that was posted to the president’s Instagram account....

There will be no fans allowed at this year’s Tokyo Games—foreign or domestic—because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Another is the ongoing social justice protests that could be carried out by athletes. The International Olympic Committee still doesn’t want demonstrations like the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists for Black power while standing upon the medal podium after the 200-meter dash....

The Associated Press reported that while the International Olympic Committee said athletes are free to say what they want to journalists and on their social media accounts, political protests are not allowed at medal ceremonies under an Olympic Charter rule. This rule also requires athletes follow “applicable public law,” which has left some confused on which aspects of Chinese law will be enforced at the games. At a briefing the Human Rights Watch hosted, activists said the IOC has not yet said how it would protect athletes who might speak out against China....

There were more tweets to that effect. Lots more. Here are two photos: In any case, the players like them. From The Canadian Press: “Yeah, I don’t remember wearing black too often but they’re nice,” Crosby said after Canada’s 6-0 win at the Olympic hockey tournament. “I didn’t really expect to wear black today when we came into the room. It’s a nice jersey. “I think it’s my favorite, actually,” added defenseman Drew Doughty....

So yes, it was a busy morning/afternoon of hockey. Here are some takeaways. Team USA is good — with an asterisk. Jonathan Willis did a great job of laying this out at Bleacher Report, but it bears repeating: the United States’ 7-1 win, while impressive, was as much an indictment of the Slovaks as anything else. From Willis: Zdeno Chara had 20 shifts. Rene Vydareny had 17. One of those guys is in the running as the best defenceman in the world, the other one returned to Europe after four seasons of middling play in the AHL....

It comes following several days of headlines surrounding the Omicron variant that was recently classified as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization after first being discovered on November 9. Before that, a cryptocurrency project also named after the Greek letter Omicron (OMIC) was launched around November 2, according to its tweets. Cryptocurrency price tracking sites such as CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko display trading data on OMIC as far back as around November 8, when it was worth around $200 and a few tens of thousands of dollars’ worth were being traded per day....

Erik ten Hag’s side found themselves on the end of a 6-3 derby hammering at rivals Manchester City in their return to Premier League duty following the international break. The Dutch boss will be determined to get a reaction from his players as they face successive games against Omonia in the next ten days. Omonia secured a place in the Europa League playoffs after winning the Cypriot Cup last season but Neil Lennon’s side have made a mixed start to their domestic campaign in 2022-23....

Javier Baez, SS/2B, Chicago Cubs (Previous rank – NR) – After a torrid spring, Baez has struggled this season at Triple-A. Injuries and an overly-aggressive approach have hampered his development and he’s batting a meager .225 through 54 games. Baez has the tools to be a middle-of-the-order force in the majors and, if he can calm down and improve his plate discipline, he could quickly find himself in Chicago. Long-term, he could pair with Kris Bryant to form dual 40-HR threats in the middle of the North Siders’ lineup....

POTUS: President of the United States. Also VPOTUS (Vice President), FLOTUS (First Lady). Clutch: Folks who should know better but latch onto the POTUS and won’t let go. “The mayor is such a clutch.” Blood: When the advance team angers the locals. “There was some blood when we canceled the coffee klatsch.” Chum: Buttons, pins, keychains andother trinkets handed out by the staff. RON: Remain overnight. Blue Goose: Podium for speeches by the POTUS and the VPOTUS (complete with gooseneck mikes and presidential seals)....

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is currently located around 100 million miles away from Earth and will make a close approach to our planet in early February 2023. Comets are “cosmic snowballs” made up of frozen gases, dust and rock that orbit the sun. As they approach our star, these objects are blasted with increasing amounts of radiation, releasing gases and debris. This process forms a glowing atmosphere around the comet (known as a coma) and two vast tails of gas and dust....

Sources say Bush has discussed options with U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf region and is likely to issue an ultimatum to Saddam, perhaps as early as this week. If he refuses to allow the United Nations to use its helicopters by the stated deadline (something like 48 hours), Bush is leaning toward using military force–again, with U.N backing. Sources say Bush is contemplating very limited action. “[Enough] to enforce United Nations inspection rights,” said a source....

Dysfunctional? The word isn’t big enough for this California family. “As soon as you’re eighteen, you’re out of here,” her mother told See, who quickly married. Not surprisingly, her husband was a drunk; later she remarried, and the third time she got it right. Though loved and reasonably well cared for, her two daughters learned early on to fend for themselves while the grownups were embroiled in trauma. See could have drenched this story in self-pity and psychobabble; instead, she brings a deadpan wit to it....

The Irish singer was invited to spend time at the Premier League club by then-manager Jose Mourinho. Horan explained he trained at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground as part of his recovery from a knee injury, in order to prepare for a One Direction world tour. “Jose - great man,” Horan told talkSPORT. “I really enjoyed his company. “I got to know him when I had my knee reconstructed about three or four seasons ago....