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Pete Alonso, fresh off another standout season with the Mets, will be getting a sizable raise this year, as the first baseman and the team avoided arbitration and settled on a contract worth $14.5 million.

Alonso made $7.4 million a year ago in his first year of arbitration and isn’t due to hit free agency until after the 2024 season.

He led the team in most offensive categories, including homers (40), RBIs (131) and OPS (.869).

Luis Guillorme and Tomas Nido also agreed to deals to avoid arbitration, as did right-handers Drew Smith, Elieser Hernandez and Jeff Brigham.

Jeff McNeil did not agree to a deal, though the team and McNeil can continue to negotiate before a hearing.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is unlikely to do WrestleMania this year. He has told friends that he does not feel like he can get in ring shape by that time.

But a pitch has been made to Stone Cold Steve Austin to wrestle Roman Reigns in the main event. The offer made to Austin was reportedly for “enormous” money. 

The money that is being offered to Austin is apparently more than what was offered to him last year. Last Summer, Austin was approached with a deal that was “not as appealing from a financial standpoint.” There’s no word on if Austin has or plans to accept the new offer.

The plans for the top WrestleMania matches were for Roman Reigns to wrestle against The Rock in the second night. The first night would have featured Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre or Cody Rhodes. There’s no word on if those matches are still planned. 

So much for the Jalen Hurts shoulder injury affecting the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs. 

Hurts became just the second Eagles player with two pass touchdowns and one rush touchdown in a playoff game, joining Donovan McNabb on that exclusive list as the Eagles cruised to a 38-7 victory over the New York Giants in a playoff matchup that was never close.

The Eagles are heading to their seventh NFC Championship Game since the start of the 2001 season, and their second in five years. Hurts finished 16 of 24 for 254 yards with two touchdowns (112.2 rating) and had nine carries for 34 yards and a touchdown — all in a first half in which the Eagles took a 28-0 lead and cruised to victory.

The Giants will go home for the offseason on a bittersweet note: they weren’t even supposed to make it to the playoffs, so they can take pride in that; yet lots of improvements await, with Daniel Jones still unsigned at  QB and both sides of the ball requiring multiple upgrades. The Eagles, meanwhile, will advance to their second NFC Championship Game in five years.

WWE is looking towards the future with its biggest event of the year, WrestleMania 39, on April 1 and 2, 2023, in Los Angeles, CA, with the tagline, ‘WrestleMania Goes Hollywood.’

Without a single match announced, WWE has sold nearly 100,000 tickets for the show. SoFi Stadium has a maximum capacity of over 100,000 seats, but the stage set and other production areas will take up some of those seats. 

The venue is currently configured for 51,146 fans for each night of Mania. According to WrestleTix, which tracks ticket data, the show is nearly sold out. 

WWE is looking to load up WrestleMania 39. They want to bring in celebrities and several top names. Steve Austin is reportedly open to listening to offers for WrestleMania 39 following his successful return at WrestleMania 38. WWE is still hoping to have The Rock come in for a match with Roman Reigns.

The Rangers needed a goal. They got one with less than a moment to spare — and then added another.

K’Andre Miller’s snap shot from the top of the circle beat Stars goalie Jake Oettinger with just 0.9 seconds left in regulation to send the Rangers to overtime. Just 1:16 of game time later, in the 3-on-3 extra session, Adam Fox deftly potted a backhander past Oettinger amid chaos in front of the Dallas goal, sealing a stunning 2-1 victory for the Blueshirts at The Garden on Thursday night.

Oettinger held the Rangers at bay for 59 minutes and 59 seconds, turning away 29 shots, almost making Tyler Seguin’s power play tally at 17:53 of the first period stand.

Instead, blueliners Miller and Fox played the heroes, adding a win to Igor Shesterkin’s ledger as the goalie made 24 saves.

The New York Giants upset the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 in the Wild Card round of the 2023 NFL playoffs and will advance to play the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional round.

This was the Giants’ first playoff victory since they won the 2011 Super Bowl, ending a drought of more than 10 years.

The Vikings were 11-0 in one-score games during the regular season. The Giants were 8-3-1 in such games. Thus, no surprise  that the teams were tied 24-24 with 12:34 to play.

The Giants got a 2-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley to take a 31-24 lead with 7:47 to play. They sealed the victory when Xavier McKinney tackled Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson short of the first down on a desperation fourth-and-8 with 1:44 to play and the Vikings out of timeouts.

QB Daniel Jones was nothing short of brilliant in his first career playoff game, finishing 24 of 35 for 301 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also was the Giants’ leading rusher with 78 yards on 17 carries. Saquon Barkley was explosive, racking up 109 total yards and two touchdowns despite getting just nine carries.

Jacob deGrom has signed a five year, $185 million contract with the Texas Rangers. The deal has no deferments, a full no-trade clause, and a ‘conditional’ sixth year option. Due to Texas having no state income tax, the actual payout deGrom will receive is substantially higher. 

The Rangers had been a rumored home for deGrom since the talk of his opting out became a more frequent topic earlier this season. The Mets were rumored to be offering a three year deal initially, for a higher average annual value, but this deal is clearly everything that deGrom was looking for: guaranteed years, big money, and a control over his destiny, vis a vis trades.

deGrom, who will turn 35 in the middle of next season, has has an injury riddled recent past, missing half the season in both 2021 and 2022. When he’s been healthy, deGrom has been as dominant as ever, having an absolutely incredible first half in 2021, posting a 1.05 ERA in 15 starts. On a team that has historically had great pitching, deGrom established himself on a very, very short list among folks like Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden. 

The Zach Wilson era with the New York Jets may be coming to an end after this season.

Many believe the Jets will move on from Wilson, the 2021 No. 2 overall pick, after just two seasons.

Wilson has shown almost no improvement in his two years as the Jets’ starter, and has been benched on two different occasions this season for undrafted quarterbacks Mike White and Chris Streveler on Thursday night. 

The Jets’ offense has moved the ball significantly better with the two replacements than it has with Wilson. That is not a good sign for a player that was selected with the No. 2 pick in the draft and expected to be a franchise player.

In 22 career games he has completed just 55 percent of his passes with only 15 touchdowns to 18 interceptions. He has failed to reach the 160-yard mark in six of his appearances this season, including two of his past three starts. 

Bianca Belair had an awesome year. The Raw women’s champion for 262-plus days matured into a true superstar this year. 

Her feuds with Becky Lynch and Bayley were both high-level programs. Belair’s match with Lynch at WrestleMania was one of the best of 2022, period. 

Add to that winning the Elimination Chamber, delivering in the first WWE women’s singles ladder match with Bayley and taking part in the first women’s WarGames on the main roster.

Honorable Mention: Becky Lynch, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Jade Cargill, Jordyn Grace.

What was expected to be a low-scoring affair was exactly that in a battle of third-string quarterbacks. A 50-yard field goal by Miami’s Jason Sanders with 18 seconds left was the difference before a safety on the final play solidified an 11-6 Jets loss as the Dolphins clinched a playoff berth. Miami got in thanks to the Patriots’ loss to the Bills.

The Jets finished a once-promising season at 7-10, losing their final six consecutive games.

Joe Flacco got the start at quarterback for the Jets with Mike White injured and Zach Wilson benched. The 37-year-old was 18-for-33 with 149 yards.

Skylar Thompson started for the Dolphins with both Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater out injured. Thompson went 20-for-31 with 152 yards. There were zero touchdowns scored in the game.

For the Jets, the attention will now turn to what they do at the quarterback position after an ugly sophomore season for Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick from the 2021 draft. 

Asked after the game if offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur would return for the 2023 season, Jets head coach Robert Saleh said he has to go through his process now that the season has ended.