Jordan headlines first Bulls’ Ring of Honor class
Sources: Giants land OF Lee on 6-yr., $113M deal
Free-agent outfielder Jung Hoo Lee has agreed to a six year, $113 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, sources confirmed to ESPN’S Jeff Passan on Tuesday. The deal contains an opt-out after four seasons.
San Francisco’s deal with Lee comes after the team missed out on prized free agent Shohei Ohtani, who signed a record $700 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The New York Post was first to report the news of Lee’s deal with the Giants.
Lee, 25, has been one of the top hitters in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) since he debuted in 2017 at age 18 for the Nexen/kiwoom Heroes, going straight from high school to hit .318 and winning the league’s rookie of the year award.
The left-handed-hitting outfielder has topped .300 every season in the KBO and owns a lifetime batting average of .340, including a high of .360 in 2021. His father, Jong-beom Lee, was a longtime star in the KBO and regarded as the best all-around player in Korea in the 1990s. He was nicknamed “Son of the Wind,” so Lee’s nickname is “Grandson of the Wind.”
Vikings to start Mullens at QB against Bengals
The Minnesota Vikings have named quarterback Nick Mullens their starter for Saturday’s game at the Cincinnati Bengals, coach Kevin O’connell said Tuesday.
Mullens, who entered the season as the Vikings’ No. 2 quarterback, will become the fourth different starter in a seven-game stretch for a team that is in strong position for an NFC wild-card playoff spot.
He was on injured reserve because of a back injury when Kirk Cousins ruptured his right Achilles tendon in Week 8, forcing rookie Jaren Hall to make one start and newcomer Joshua
Dobbs to make four others. But Mullens had recovered enough for the Vikings to activate him in Week 11, and he led their only scoring drive Sunday after replacing Dobbs in the fourth quarter of a 3-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
“There’s a reason we went out and got Nick when we did: to really solidify that position,” O’connell said. “Anytime you’re going out to try to find a quarterback that ... when he’s one snap away can win you some football games, you look for certain traits. Nick has them all. I love everything about his preparation. He allows us to go prepare with a plan and doesn’t need a whole lot of reps to then go in and execute that plan.”
Florida AG probing CFP over Florida St. exclusion
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced Tuesday that she is launching an investigation into the College Football Playoff selection committee over the decision to leave Florida State out of the Top 4.
Moody said the state’s antitrust division is sending a civil investigative demand to the committee for “more information about the nature of possible contracts, conspiracies in restraint of trade or monopolization of trade and commerce relating to anticompetitive effects of the College
Football Playoff.”
“I’m a lifelong Gator, but I’m also the Florida attorney general, and I know injustice when I see it,” Moody said in a video announcement in front of Doak Campbell Stadium, Florida State’s home field. “No rational person or college football fan can look at this situation and not question the result. The NCAA, conferences, and the College Football Playoff committee are subject to antitrust laws.
Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman are the headliners for the inaugural class for the Chicago Bulls’ Ring of Honor.
The Bulls unveiled their plans for the Ring of Honor on Tuesday. The first class includes 13 men and the 1995-96 team, which went 72-10 and won the NBA title. The franchise plans to honor the group with a couple of events in January.
The inaugural class also includes Phil Jackson, Jerry Krause, Artis Gilmore, Jerry Sloan, Toni Kukoc, Bob Love, Chet Walker, Johnny “Red” Kerr, Tex Winter and Dick Klein. Jackson coached the 1995-96 team, which had Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Kukoc, with Krause leading the front office and Winter serving as an assistant coach.
“The Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor will be a first-of-its-kind celebration honoring many of the legends who have helped shape our organization over the past 57 years,” Bulls President Michael Reinsdorf said in a release. “They have deep connections to our fans and community and represent a spirit of competition, hard work and toughness.”
The Ring of Honor festivities include a private gala at the United Center on Jan. 11 and a halftime presentation during a Jan. 12 game against Golden State. Warriors coach Steve Kerr also played on the 199596 Bulls team.