⭐️ NBA All-Star week underway

NHL World Cup, Alex Bregman deal, Jets ditch Aaron Rodgers, and more!

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Sportie Newsletter
February 15, 2025

🏀 Basketball

NBA All-Star 2025: Will the new format work?

The 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend promises several exciting new features, including a major format overhaul for the All-Star Game. Following a disappointing 2024 game, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, inspired by Stephen Curry, introduced a tournament-style structure.

This involves four teams, with each game played to 40 points and no game clock. Teams include the "Young Stars," "Global Stars," and "OGs," with a $125,000 prize for the winners.

The weekend also features events like the Celebrity Game, the Rising Stars tournament, the Skills Challenge, and the 3-Point Contest, where Damian Lillard aims to make history by winning a third consecutive title.

The Dunk Contest will see newcomers try to make an impact, though its appeal has waned.

Ultimately, the weekend’s success will depend on whether players bring intensity and competition to these events.

Basketball Hall of Fame announces finalists

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced today at NBA All-Star Weekend 2025 the selection of 17 Finalists from the following committees: North American, Women’s, Men’s Veterans, Women’s Veterans, International, and Contributors.

The Finalists will then be put forward to the Honors Committee to be considered for election as members of the Class of 2025. The new class will be announced in San Antonio on Saturday, April 5, at the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

🏈 Football

Jets leave Aaron Rodgers

The Jets met with Aaron Rodgers last week and informed him they will be moving forward without him.

"Last week we met with Aaron and shared that our intention was to move in a different direction at quarterback," said HC Aaron Glenn and GM Darren Mougey in a statement released by the team.

Returning from a torn Achilles tendon, Rodgers, who turned 41 in December, started 17 games last season. His 3,897 yards and 28 TDs were the third-best single-season totals in franchise history, respectively.

Steelers release veteran pass rusher in cost-cutting move months

The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun preparations for the 2025 free agency season. That process has included the release of a former second-round pick acquired by the Steelers just before last year's trade deadline. 

Pittsburgh has released veteran outside linebacker Preston Smith, a move that will free up $12 million in cap space (h/t the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). 

Smith spent eight games with the Steelers after Pittsburgh acquired him via trade with the Packers in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick. The deal went down shortly after Smith had requested a trade that was based off his desire to play for a team that employs a 3-4 defense. 

🏒 Hockey

NHL goes international as 4 Nations Face-Off tournament gets underway

The 4 Nations Face-Off follows a round-robin format, features the best players from Canada, the U.S., Sweden and Finland, all of whom are NHL regulars.

Some consider it a warm-up for the 2026 Olympic games in Italy since NHL players haven’t played in the Olympics since 2014.

Team USA’s roster is chock full of guys who played together as kids, and defenseman Adam Fox said it won’t take long to get acclimated.

The two teams with the most points in the standings after playing three games will advance to the final on Thursday, Feb. 20, in Boston.

World Cup of Hockey to Return in 2028

The World Cup of Hockey will return in 2028, the NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced Wednesday.

The tournament, which will be held in February 2028 and is jointly organized by the NHL and the NHLPA, will be part of a calendar of international competition that includes the 4 Nations Face-Off, which began Wednesday, and the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics and 2030 French Alps Olympics.

The 4 Nations Face-Off, which will be played in Montreal and Boston, is the first international best-on-best tournament with NHL players since the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto.

The NHL did not send players to the Winter Olympics in 2018 and 2022 but will send them to Italy next February.

⚾️ Baseball

Alex Bregman lands free agent deal with Red Sox

Free agent Alex Bregman has a new home after agreeing to a three-year, $120 million deal with the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night, sources told ESPN's Jesse Rogers.

The $40 million annual salary is more than $10 million per year than other teams were offering, sources said. The deal includes two opt-outs and deferred money.

The deferrals in the deal are significant, sources told ESPN's Buster Olney, with the present-day value of the contract at around $90 million for the three years.

Bregman, who was the biggest free agent remaining on the market, is expected to play second base for Boston, sources said, after primarily playing third for the Houston Astros since 2020.

He gives the Red Sox another big bat to go with a retooled pitching staff after the team acquired Garrett Crochet via trade and signed Walker Buehler and Aroldis Chapman via free agency this offseason.