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- 🏟️ Winter Classic viewership hit all time low
🏟️ Winter Classic viewership hit all time low
Jimmy Butler suspended for conduct, Safety at Super Bowl, Blues defeat Blackhawks on NYE, and more!
Sportie Newsletter
January 04, 2025
In this edition:
🏀 Jimmy Butler suspended 7 games
🏈 Sugar Bowl goes on after attack
🏒 Winter Classic viewership hits all-time low
⚾️ Suns owner emerges as potential Twins bidder
And more!
🏀 Basketball
Jimmy Butler suspended 7 games
The Miami Heat announced on Friday that they have suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games for "multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and particularly the last several weeks."
This is fancy wording meaning that Butler wants to be traded and has started to make things very uncomfortable on and off the court for the Heat.
He is barely participating offensively, and on Thursday he said the situation can't be fixed between him and the Heat in his postgame press conference.
🏈 Football
Sugar Bowl goes on after terrorist attack
All eyes were on the Sugar Bowl after The University of Georgia and Notre Dame went head to head in a highly anticipated matchup.
The game was held one day after New Orleans experienced a terror attack that killed 14 people and injured 35 others in the French Quarter.
The game was postponed for the first time in the bowl game's 91-year history because of the attack.
Fan were seen entering Caesars Superdome around 2 p.m. with extreme security measures in place.
Gov. Jeff Landry touted the extreme lengths city officials went to keep fans safe.
Notre Dame would go to win the game 23-10 over Georgia.
How New Orleans attack will affect the Super Bowl
The NFL and the Saints are attempting to ease anxieties over potential worries of the safety and security of Super Bowl 59.
"The NFL and the local host committee have been working collaboratively with local, state and federal agencies the past two years and have developed comprehensive security plans," the league said in a statement.
"These planning sessions will continue as they do with all major NFL events and we are confident attendees will have a safe and enjoyable Super Bowl experience."
🏒 Hockey
Blues' defense provides offense in rout of Blackhawks at Winter Classic
On a rainy Saturday at Wrigley Field, The St. Louis Blues rolled past the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Winter Classic, 6-2. The Blues lit up the scoreboard, and that outburst of offense came from the defense.
Tyler Bertuzzi and Taylor Hall scored for Chicago, but the home team couldn't muster much more than that. This is now the second time the Blackhawks have lost at Wrigley Field with the first defeat coming against the Detroit Red Wings in 2009.
The Blues didn't give the Blackhawks fans much to cheer about at Wrigley Field as they controlled the game from start to finish. Jordan Kyrou, Alex Texier and Dylan Holloway had the other three tallies for the visiting club.
Winter Classic viewership drops to all time low
The ball was dropped on the NHL's experiment to stage the Winter Classic on New Year's Eve.
Tuesday's game between the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks in the open air at Wrigley Field garnered the worst viewership ratings in the 17-year history of the annual event, averaging 920,000 viewers across TNT and truTV.
The Blues' 6-2 victory, which peaked at 1.2 million viewers during the 6:45 PM ET quarter-hour, marked a 16 percent drop from last year's previous low, which was $1.10 million between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Seattle Kraken.
It was also a 48% decline compared to the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins two years ago, which maxed out at 1.78 million.
⚾️ Baseball
Korean stand out signs 3 year deal with Dodgers
The Dodgers have agreed to a deal with Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim, the team announced on Friday. The deal is for three years and a guaranteed $12.5 million with an option for 2028-29 that could increase the value of the deal to $22 million.
Kim, one of the top hitters in the KBO, was posted by his team, the Kiwoom Heroes, in early December.
That marked the beginning of a 30-day window for the 25-year-old second baseman to sign with an MLB team, with a deadline of 5 p.m. ET Friday to reach an agreement.
Any team willing to pay the Heroes the corresponding release fee and any applicable supplemental fees was able to negotiate with Kim.