As the Rose Bowl Arrives, the Pac-12 Struggles to Keep Up

By MARC TRACY and KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Underperforming media deals have left the conference falling behind its peers off the field. That might be the root of its problems on it.https://nyti.ms/2QYSOHG

Firing of Several Black Coaches Puts N.F.L. Hiring Under Scrutiny

By BILL PENNINGTON and KEN BELSON from NYT Sports There are now only two African-American head coaches, after five others were fired. Newly revised rules compel owners to more seriously consider minority candidates.https://nyti.ms/2F0k7eA

Wanted: A Jets Coach that Suits Sam Darnold

By ZACH SCHONBRUN from NYT Sports The quarterback won’t have a say in who will be his next coach, but the team is looking for a coach that can complement their future star.https://nyti.ms/2GMewKg

Kristi Toliver, an N.B.A. Assistant Who’s Paid Like an Intern

By HOWARD MEGDAL from NYT Sports A rule limiting how much W.N.B.A. teams can pay their players in the off-season has the Mystics star making just $10,000 to be an assistant coach for the Wizards.https://nyti.ms/2Aq55KY

Russia Misses Deadline to Provide Doping Data

By TARIQ PANJA from NYT Sports The failure to comply with the request from the global antidoping regulator could mean renewing penalties that kept Russia out of international sport for cheating.https://nyti.ms/2VmgpRp

Serena Williams and Roger Federer to Face Off for First Time Ever

By BEN ROTHENBERG from NYT Sports The 37-year-olds have never played against each other before, but a New Year’s Day doubles exhibition in Australia changes that Tuesday in what Williams calls a “dream come true.”https://nyti.ms/2SuPJvN

What Does Winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Curling Do? Crazy Things

By SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports “It is the world’s greatest coaster,’’ and other insights from the United States men’s curling team’s monthslong, wacky tour after the Pyeongchang Games in February.https://nyti.ms/2LHdcY5

Four More N.F.L. Coaches Get the Axe, Including Marvin Lewis

By VICTOR MATHER from NYT Sports Vance Joseph was fired by the Broncos, Steve Wilks by the Cardinals, Lewis by the Bengals, and Adam Gase by the Dolphins.https://nyti.ms/2F1JfRS

12 Teams, One Goal: A First Look at the N.F.L. Playoffs

By BILL PENNINGTON from NYT Sports Recent history suggests the playoffs are stacked in favor of just a few teams.https://nyti.ms/2Vl0mTP

Ravens and the Eagles Squeeze Through the Door to the Playoffs

By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN from NYT Sports In final week of the regular season, there was also good news for the Chiefs (home-field advantage in the A.F.C.) and the Patriots and Rams (first-round byes).https://nyti.ms/2LMLTvH

Alabama and Clemson Are Putting a Trademark on the Title Game

By MARC TRACY from NYT Sports For the third time in four seasons, the two schools will meet in college football’s championship game. And the one time they didn’t, they met in the semifinal.https://nyti.ms/2AmPRqh

Cowboys Send Giants to Another Late Loss

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports The Cowboys scored with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter to earn a win that gave them some momentum ahead of their wild-card game next weekend.https://nyti.ms/2EW2qwB

Premier League Is Left Flat-Footed as New Leader Suddenly Backs Out

By TARIQ PANJA from NYT Sports Susanna Dinnage was named to the league’s top post just last month but has now reversed course and will not take the highly influential job.https://nyti.ms/2Tmu60T

Jets’ Season Ends With a Rout and Questions About Todd Bowles’s Future

By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN from NYT Sports Multiple reports indicated that Bowles would be on his way out regardless of the result on Sunday after an underwhelming fourth season.https://nyti.ms/2QaTq7V

Aaron Rodgers Is Hurt and the Packers Are Humiliated in Loss to Lions

By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN from NYT Sports Rodgers left the game with a concussion to end what has been a trying season for the quarterback, and franchise, since Week 1.https://nyti.ms/2SnYUOI

How Long Can Oklahoma Be College Football Playoff’s Bridesmaid?

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD from NYT Sports The sooners played Alabama close, but that was in the second half. Now it has made three appearances in the past four playoffs without making it to the title game.https://nyti.ms/2GO6AIN

Alabama Defeats Oklahoma to Advance to 4th Consecutive Title Game

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD from NYT Sports The Crimson Tide fulfilled expectations in getting past Oklahoma and will face Clemson in the championship game for the third time in the last four seasons.https://nyti.ms/2Q8cUdm

Devils’ Young Goalie Records First Shutout

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports It was the second straight victory for Mackenzie Blackwood, giving the Devils their first two-game winning streak since mid-November.https://nyti.ms/2Alxvpk

Clemson Crushes Notre Dame to Reach Its 3rd National Title Game in 4 Seasons

By MARC TRACY from NYT Sports The rout of the Fighting Irish solidified the Tigers’ status as an elite college football program.https://nyti.ms/2RiJE8v

Clemson Crushes Notre Dame to Reach Its 3rd National Title Game in 4 Seasons

By MARC TRACY from NYT Sports The rout of the Fighting Irish solidified the Tigers’ status as an elite college football program.https://nyti.ms/2VcALfP

College Bowl Games: Florida Trounces Michigan, Virginia Shuts Out South Carolina

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports The Gators’ Peach Bowl victory crowned a turnaround season under first-year coach Dan Mullen, while the Cavaliers won their first bowl since 2005.https://nyti.ms/2CFK40q

What Pressure? Liverpool Allows Itself to Smile and Its Fans to Believe

By RORY SMITH from NYT Sports Liverpool has tossed away titles before, but its confidence is building. On Saturday, it beat Arsenal, remaining undefeated in the Premier League and increasing its lead over second-place Tottenham.https://nyti.ms/2An8Ktf

Women’s Nordic Combined Struggles to Take Off

By JOEL REICHENBERGER from NYT Sports Competitors were supposed to have their shot at Olympic glory in 2022. Now 2026 looks more likely as the sport tries to reach a critical mass of quality. https://nyti.ms/2BPg14T

Can Cuba Baseball Still Be Great When Many of Its Stars Have Left?

By ED AUGUSTIN from NYT Sports An exodus to Major League Baseball and other countries’ leagues has depleted the ranks of strong players, as Cuba and M.L.B. strike a deal to regulate trades.https://nyti.ms/2EU56d6

Hornets, Never Trailing, Avenge Overtime Loss

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Charlotte lost in double-overtime to the Nets earlier this week.https://nyti.ms/2EX5G9Y

From Tree to Ski at the Fischer Family Factory

By JAMES HILL from NYT Sports Many of the 480 workers have spent their entire careers at the factory. https://nyti.ms/2Amv9H4

Louis Rudd Completes His Antarctica Trek 2 Days Behind Colin O’Brady

By ADAM SKOLNICK from NYT Sports O’Brady and Rudd, a captain in the British Army, are the first people to cross Antarctica from coast to coast solo and unassisted.https://nyti.ms/2Qaa3k0

M.L.S. Reaches Agreement to Keep Crew in Columbus

By ANDREW DAS from NYT Sports An agreement in principle has been reached to transfer ownership of the Columbus Crew to new local owners who have pledged to keep the team in Ohio.https://nyti.ms/2CELrMX

6 Athletes Who Changed Their Sport in 2018

By THE NEW YORK TIMES SPORTS STAFF from NYT Sports Beyond spectacular achievement, these athletes managed to change how others viewed or played the game.https://nyti.ms/2QU0hrC

Nick Saban’s Side Job: Rehabbing Careers

By MARC TRACY from NYT Sports Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian and now Mike Locksley have all found a way to get their careers back on track with a stint on Saban’s Alabama coaching staff.https://nyti.ms/2CDL6u4

At Notre Dame, Football Tradition Makes Room for Financial Reality

By JOE DRAPE from NYT Sports Facing an economic landscape that threatened to leave it behind, Notre Dame has begun to leverage one of its most valuable assets: its century-old mystique.https://nyti.ms/2ETsMyf

The Self-Described Jets Owner-in-Waiting Will Tailgate for Now

By ZACH SCHONBRUN from NYT Sports The entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, a fan for now, would love to own the Jets someday. There are just two problems: The team isn’t for sale, and he isn’t rich enough. So here’s the plan. …https://nyti.ms/2ESGfaH

Another Springsteen, Starring Way Off Broadway

By BRIAN PINELLI from NYT Sports Jessica Springsteen, 26, daughter of Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, is the seventh-ranked show jumper in the United States and has Olympic aspirations.https://nyti.ms/2Q6EXtM

Kanter Is Ejected as Knicks Lose Their 6th Straight Game

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports The Knicks will now head west for five games that include teams with four of the six best records in the Western Conference.https://nyti.ms/2Spv8sX

College Bowl Games: Wisconsin Routs Miami, and Duke Defeats Temple

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports The Badgers won a chilly Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, while Duke recovered from a slow start in the Independence Bowl.https://nyti.ms/2EPX0TX

Devils’ Rookie Goalie Gets His First Win

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Beating the Bruins in Boston for the first time in five years, the Devils also won on the road for just the fourth time this season.https://nyti.ms/2AkbkQt

N.F.L. Week 17 Predictions: Our Picks Against the Spread

By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN from NYT Sports The Steelers can reclaim a playoff spot (with help from the Browns), while the Colts and the Titans face off with a wild-card berth on the line.https://nyti.ms/2CDiGQJ

Let Us Tell You What Else Clemson’s Christian Wilkins Does

By MARC TRACY from NYT Sports The Tigers’ defensive lineman has a master’s degree, experience as a substitute teacher and the William V. Campbell Trophy, given to the college football player considered the ideal scholar-athlete.https://nyti.ms/2Ahtti0

Sacking the Quarterback Has Become an Inside Job

By PHIL BARBER from NYT Sports Outside linebackers used to get to the quarterback more often. But as play changes, interior linemen are taking down passers in growing numbers.https://nyti.ms/2Ajw3nv

In the U.S., Young Hockey Goalies Are Coming In From the Cold

By PAT BORZI from NYT Sports For years, there was wasn’t much instruction available for youngsters who wanted to guard the net. Gradually, that has changed.https://nyti.ms/2SormQn

The Redskins Aren’t Very Good on the Field. Off It, They’re Even Worse.

By KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Poor play, muddled stadium plans and off-field controversies are distancing a once-proud fan base from the team. It shows in poor attendance numbers.https://nyti.ms/2rX4tYF

Late Steal Gives Nets Thrilling Double-Overtime Win Over Hornets

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Joe Harris had a season-high 27 points and the winning shot as the Nets survived a hectic ending for their ninth win in 10 games.https://nyti.ms/2Q6ClMq

First Responder Bowl Is Canceled Amid Severe Storms

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports The game between Boise State and Boston College is believed to be the first bowl to be called off because of weather.https://nyti.ms/2CzAnAu

There Are Lakers Not Named LeBron James — and They Are Not So Bad

By SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports When James went down against the Warriors Tuesday night, the Lakers were in trouble. But the team showed a resolve that suggests its biggest star is not its only one.https://nyti.ms/2EQuCRl

Liverpool Extends Lead in Premier League as Manchester City Falls Again

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Liverpool opened a six-point edge atop the Premier League table and Tottenham leapfrogged Manchester City to move into second place.https://nyti.ms/2Q1tb3H

Colin O’Brady Completes Antarctica Traverse With Final 32-Hour Push

By ADAM SKOLNICK from NYT Sports O’Brady, 33, covered the final 77.5 miles of his 921-mile journey without sleeping to become the first person to ever traverse Antarctica from coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided by wind.https://nyti.ms/2rVXaAr

The Town Where the Shots Go Up, and the Records Fall

By KEVIN ARMSTRONG from NYT Sports Joe Girard III is smashing scoring records at Glens Falls High School, recalling another favorite son of upstate New York who preceded him there. https://nyti.ms/2rUFLbh

LeBron James Leaves Lakers’ Win Over the Warriors With an Injury

By SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports James sustained a strained left groin and left during the third quarter of the Los Angeles’s blowout of the Warriors on Tuesday.https://nyti.ms/2ELZgdO

Kyrie Irving Forces Overtime and Then Decides It as Celtics Top 76ers

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Irving scored 40, putting in back-to-back 3-pointers that sent Boston ahead to stay in the extra period.https://nyti.ms/2AijTeH

James Harden and Rockets Keep Rolling With Win Over Thunder

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Harden scored 41, his seventh consecutive game with at least 30 points, to lead Houston to its seventh victory in eight games.https://nyti.ms/2RnQr0N