Wakeup Call: It'll be 48 games, starting soon

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Here's your wakeup call -- a combination of newsworthy andor interesting tidbits -- for Monday, January 7:

BASEBALL
First the Yankees make a qualifying offer to Rafael Soriano, forcing any team that signs him in free agency to forfeit a draft choice . . . which, effectively, eliminates any interest in him. And now that he has nowhere else to go, they say they don't want him. (NBC's Hardball Talk)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The only question I have about this is: Why in the world was Florida playing at Yale?? (AP)

Undefeated Michigan is a win away from tying the school record for best start to a season. (AP)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
If Alabama comes through, as expected, against Notre Dame tonight, it'll be three BCS titles in four years for the Crimson Tide. (nbcsports.com)

What better way to get ready for the Tide and the Irish than by watching Arkansas State beat Kent State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl? (AP)

Surprise of the weekend: Chip Kelly's staying put. (CSN Philly)

Second-biggest surprise of the weekend: So's Aaron Murray. (NBC's College Football Talk)

Meanwhile, Nick Saban and Brian Kelly continue to insist they're going nowhere. (AP)

GOLF
Are they ever going to get the PGA Tour season underway? (AP)

Whenever they do get to play, J.J. Henry will be honoring the victims of the Connecticut school shooting. (AP)

Since Rory McIlroy can't decide whether to play for Britain or Ireland in the 2016 Olympics, he may just skip it altogether. (AP)

HOCKEY
Looks like it's going to be a 48-game schedule that starts on Jan. 19. (CSN Philly)

And the players are thrilled. (AP)

You may never have heard of Scot Beckenbaugh, but he's probably the reason there'll be a hockey season. (AP)

PRO BASKETBALL
How bad is it for the Lakers? The Nuggets beat them -- in L.A., no less -- and then say, well, what's the big deal? (AP)

You knew this was coming in the sad Royce WhiteRockets saga. (CSN Houston)

PRO FOOTBALL
Russell Wilson wins the Battle of the Rookie Quarterbacks as the Seahawks eliminate the Redskins. (AP)

After Robert Griffin III reinjured his knee in the first quarter, he completed 4 of 10 pass attempts for 16 yards with no touchdowns and an interception -- a quarterback rating of 8.3 -- and the Redskins went from a 14-0 lead to a 24-14 loss. But he insists he was "fine" and would have refused to come out of the game if coach Mike Shanahan had tried to lift him. (CSN Washington)

Ah, those classy Seahawks. (CSN Washington)

Sometimes, though, their yappy defensive backs pay the price for that incessant preening and trash talking. (CSN Washington)

It wasn't all preening and trash talking for Pete Carroll's boys. They may have lost sack leader Chris Clemons for the rest of the playoffs. (NBC's Pro Football Talk)

And speaking of preening . . . (CSN Baltimore)

What was he dancing and screaming about? A Ravens victory over Indianapolis that earns them a trip to Denver. (AP)

Sunday's loss ended an emotional season for Chuck Pagano and the Colts. (CSN Baltimore)

Gruden to Arizona? Before you get excited, though, it's Jay, not Jon. And it's not a done deal. (AP)

More coaching news: The Bears interview Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. (AP)

So do the Eagles. (CSN Philly)

The Browns are telling folks they turned down Chip Kelly, not the other way around. (AP)

TENNIS
Andy Murray wins the Brisbane International, makes a point during his post-match press conference to publicly dedicate the victory to "one of my best friends . . . who is going to get through" something, then refuses to identify either the friend or what he's going through. (AP)

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