By JOHN MARSHALL TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Snoop Dogg has nearly as many ties to football as he does to rap music. The entertainer coached youth football for years and created the Snoop League, an after-school program for inner city Los Angeles youths. Snoop has been a guest analyst on football broadcasts and his son, Cordell Broadus, played Division I football. When Snoop took his latest step, becoming the sponsor of a bowl game, he had a demand: Find a way for all players in the game to receive name, image and likeness (NIL) money. “This was Snoop’s idea,” said Kym Adair, executive director of the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice. “He was having conversations with people he knows in the college football world and I got a call that said he wants us to be the first bowl to make this commitment and that’s what we did.” The beneficiaries are Colorado State and Miami (Ohio), who will conclude their seasons Saturday at Arizona Stadium in the Arizona Bowl. The bowl is classified as a 501(c)(3), so all revenue goes to charity. And, being one of the few bowls not tied to ESPN, it opens the door for unique sponsorship opportunities. The bowl was previously sponsored by Barstool Sports and the digital media company used its own cast of characters on the broadcast, which was streamed on its digital platforms. Snoop Dogg takes over this year. The rapper/entertainer is the latest celebrity to sponsor a bowl, following the footsteps of Jimmy Kimmel and Rob Gronkowski at the LA Bowl. And, Snoop being Snoop, he wanted to put his own spin on his own bowl. “College football fans are exhausted by the constant talk around NIL, conference realignment, coach movement, transfer portal and super conferences,” “So it’s time that we get back to the roots of college football — when it was focused on the colleges, the players and the competition, the community, the fan experience and the pageantry.” With that will be an NIL component. The bowl can’t pay players just for playing in the bowl, but both teams participated in football clinics on Friday and will get paid for their services. Other bowls have given single players NIL opportunities, but this is believed to be the first to offer it to every player on both teams. “I love the fact that the Arizona Bowl is unique and tries new things, and obviously having Snoop here is unique,” Colorado State coach Jay Norvell said. “The NIL component, it’s the future. It’s what football has become now. We think it’s fantastic for our kids and then the interaction with the kids is the hidden gem of the whole thing.” The NIL component of the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl comes a month after a similar effort in The Players Era Festival basketball tournament in Las Vegas. The eight-team tournament said it paid out $9 million in NIL money to participating players for activities outside the competition. It also offered $50 million in NIL opportunities over the next three years for services and activities compliant with NCAA regulations. Are the Players Era Festival and Arizona Bowl the start of a new future? It is not out of the question in big-time college athletics, where schools are already preparing for with players next year. “Revenue sharing between the players and the athletic departments is already on the horizon, so whether that takes the place of these types of arrangements or they’re completely separate has yet to be determined,” Adair said. “We’re just trying to be flexible, ahead of the curve and make an impact any way we can.” Just the way Snoop wants it. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college football: and
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The measure must clear the full Senate in the first week of January to reach Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk, otherwise it must go through the entire legislative process again after a new General Assembly convenes Jan. 8. The bill, House Bill 5164, would eliminate an existing requirement to publish name changes with a local newspaper. It would also reduce the state residency requirement of people wanting to change their name from six months to three months. “There are residents in our state who do not feel safe when they are an adoptee; they’re transgender; they’re an immigrant; they’re a survivor of domestic violence, survivor of sexual exploitation and human trafficking,” Sen. Ram Villivalam, the bill’s sponsor and a Chicago Democrat, said in an interview. “So they would like to change their name, and in doing so, we need to remove as many barriers as we can to ensure their health and safety.” The goal of the bill is to decrease threats to people who have endured domestic abuse, discrimination and other threats to their safety. Villivalam said 24 states have already eased this requirement. Planned Parenthood, Equality Illinois and Brave Space Alliance are pushing for the change. But the Senate’s top Republican, Sen. John Curran, R-Downers Grove, pushed back against the bill. He argued that impounding the records, meaning restricting access to them, should have a higher threshold. Individuals are allowed to petition the court to impound records if they believe public disclosure would put them in harm’s way. That process allows individuals to self-attest to hardships and says they may — but are not required to — submit documentation. “Why make it permissive, rather than a requirement, to attach relevant documents to the petition,” Curran said during a November committee meeting. But Mike Ziri, the director of public policy at Equality Illinois, said impounded records don’t disappear from court records and are not sealed, but rather are selectively available to the involved parties. “So it's not a complete sealing. There will still be access to parties and by the clerk, as well,” Ziri said. “In my experience, working with communities, folks who say they've experiencing hardship and heartache, they're not making that up, and they want protection for very good reasons.” The Republicans who hold a minority in the state senate questioned whether noncitizens with a criminal record could change their names to evade legal consequences as a result of the lowered requirements for a name change. “Is this creating a loophole for people who are here, who are criminals and part of things involved in the trafficking, involved in all of these nefarious activities that we've been reading about?” Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said. Ziri said that the self-attestation was for impounding the court records of name changes, not to get the name change itself. Illinois law states that people on the sex offender registry, arsonists and people on the murderer and violent offender against youth list are barred from seeking name changes. The exceptions are marriage, religious reasons, human trafficking or gender identity. He also said a name change still requires the signature of a judge, and the process can take months. “Changing your name does not allow you to escape the criminal record. That was legislation that was passed two years ago,” Ziri said. “That's on top of the other requirement state police already have to check the criminal records with the name change granted months later.” Villivalam said this bill takes Illinois “another step forward” in ensuring the health and safety of residents. “Now, more than ever — given the rise in hate and discrimination across the board — people you know feel targeted. So the legislative work that we can do to reassure them on their safety and health is part of our job,” Villivalam said in an interview. “As people continue to feel the hate, feel the discrimination, get targeted, we need to continue to take these steps to make sure they feel healthy and safe.”Visitors Borussia Dortmund will be looking to build on the positive aspects of their 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich last weekend when they travel to Borussia-Park where they will face Borussia Monchengladbach in their 13th Bundesliga game of the season on Saturday. The home team are 10th with 17 points and lost 3-1 against Freiburg on November 30, while BVB are fifth with 20 points and Nuri Sahin 's side appear to have finally found some consistency. © Imago Though the hosts managed to produce just two fewer shots than Freiburg's 17, the victors were able to create four big chances and only faced one themselves. Boss Gerardo Seoane was scathing of his players for conceding just one minute after they had halved the deficit in the 61st minute, saying: "Especially the [third] goal conceded after the 2-1 was scored at the stupidest moment. You score the goal, have a good feeling, have a few minutes with more possession, then get the 3-1 - that was groundbreaking for the final phase." Seoane's side have scored 18 goals and conceded on 17 occasions in the top flight, records which make them the league's 10th best offensive and eighth best defensive team. Die Fohlen are in mixed overall form having won two, drawn two and lost two of their six most recent games, though they have only lost once in their last six Bundesliga matches, achieving victory three times and drawing twice. It should be noted that the hosts have won their past four home outings, scoring 10 and conceding three in that period. © Imago As for BVB, they had to settle for a point against Bayern on Saturday, a match in which they limited the Bavarians to just one shot on target in the first half but faced four attempts on target in the second. Sahin said that his side deserved the draw, telling reporters: "I saw a very good Dortmund team today and I'm proud of the lads. We did a good job. Bayern has lots of quality. They changed the system at half-time and were able to push us back deep a few times. However, we had some good counter-attacking opportunities too." The Dortmund boss had come under scrutiny in previous weeks for his team's performances during October – a month in which they were defeated four times – but since the start of November, the visitors have won four, drawn one and lost just one. In fact, their 3-1 loss against Mainz 05 on November 9 can be explained in part by the fact they were reduced to 10 men in the 27th minute when the scoreline was 0-0. BVB's form away from home has been poor this term, as while they beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 on November 27, they lost the prior six away fixtures. © Imago Borussia Monchengladbach could be without centre-back Luca Netz for a few days, so perhaps the hosts will field Marvin Friedrich and Ko Itakura in the heart of defence. Midfielder Yvandro Borges Sanches is likely to miss out until January, though Florian Neuhaus may only miss a few more days, and this could mean Seoane starts Rocco Reitz and Julian Weigl together in the middle of the pitch in their absence. In the forward line, Alassane Plea , Franck Honorat and Robin Hack can be expected to start behind striker Tim Kleindienst . Borussia Dortmund will be without forward Karim Adeyemi due to a hamstring injury, as well as defender Waldemar Anton as a result of a groin issue. Sahin could station a back four consisting of Julian Ryerson , Niklas Sule , Nico Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini in front of goalkeeper Gregor Kobel . Striker Serhou Guirassy is certain to start, and he could be supported by Maximilian Beier , Julian Brandt and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens . Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup: Nicolas; Scally, Friedrich, Itakura, Ullrich; Reitz, Weigl; Honorat, Plea, Hack; Kleindienst Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup: Kobel; Ryerson, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Sabitzer, Nmecha; Beier, Brandt, Bynoe-Gittens; Guirassy Borussia Monchengladbach have been strong at home this term, and though their overall form is mixed, it would not be surprising if they opened the scoring. However, Dortmund's performances have significantly improved in recent weeks and they will hope to translate their good home form into better showings on the road. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here .
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Giants release quarterback Daniel Jones just days after benching him EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The Daniel Jones era in New York is over. The Giants quarterback was granted his release by the team just days after the franchise said it was benching him in favor of third-stringer Tommy DeVito. New York president John Mara said Jones approached the team about releasing him and the club obliged. Mara added he was “disappointed” at the quick dissolution of a once-promising relationship between Jones and the team. Giants coach Brian Daboll benched Jones in favor of DeVito following a loss to the Panthers in Germany that dropped New York's record to 2-8. Conor McGregor must pay woman $250K in sexual assault case, civil jury rules LONDON (AP) — A civil jury in Ireland has found that mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. The Dublin jury on Friday awarded Nikita Hand more than $250,000 in her lawsuit that claimed McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her on Dec. 9, 2018. The lawsuit says the assault left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced her to do anything and that Hand fabricated her allegations after the two had consensual sex. McGregor posted on X that he will appeal the verdict. Week 16 game between Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers flexed to Thursday night spot The Los Angeles Chargers have played their way into another prime time appearance. Justin Herbert and company have had their Dec. 22 game against the Denver Broncos flexed to Thursday night, Dec. 19. Friday’s announcement makes this the first time a game has been flexed to the Thursday night spot. The league amended its policy last season where Thursday night games in Weeks 13 through 17 could be flexed with at least 28 days notice prior to the game. The matchup of AFC West division rivals bumps the game between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals to Sunday afternoon. NBA memo to players urges increased vigilance regarding home security following break-ins MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo sent to team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Red Bull brings wrong rear wing to Las Vegas in mistake that could stall Verstappen's title chances LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Verstappen is suddenly in jeopardy of being denied a fourth consecutive Formula 1 title Saturday night. Red Bull apparently brought the wrong rear wing to Las Vegas and GPS data showed its two cars to be significantly slower on the straights than both McLaren and Mercedes, which led both practice sessions. Red Bull says it doesn’t have a replacement rear wing in Las Vegas to fix the issue and little chance of getting two flown in from England ahead of the race. Caitlin Clark to join Cincinnati bid for 16th National Women's Soccer League team WNBA star Caitlin Clark has joined Cincinnati’s bid for an expansion National Women’s Soccer League team. Major League Soccer franchise FC Cincinnati is heading the group vying to bring a women’s pro team to the city. The club issued a statement confirming Clark had joined the bid group. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman has said the league plans to announce the league’s 16th team by the end of the year. The league's 15th team will begin play in 2026 in Boston. In a 'Final Four-type weekend,' two top-6 clashes put women's college basketball focus on West Coast LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two games featuring four powerhouse teams has put the focus in women's college basketball on the West Coast this weekend. JuJu Watkins and No. 3 Southern California host Hannah Hidalgo and No. 6 Notre Dame on Saturday. Top-ranked South Carolina visits Lauren Betts and fifth-ranked UCLA on Sunday. Both games are nationally televised and the arenas are expected to be packed. WNBA scouts will be on hand to check out some of the nation's top talent. Two teams will come away with their first losses of the season. USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb calls it “a Final Four-type weekend.” A documentary featuring Watkins will air on NBC ahead of USC's game, which leads into the Army-Notre Dame football game. Noodles and wine are the secret ingredients for a strange new twist in China's doping saga Blame it on the noodles. That's what one Chinese official suggested when anti-doping leaders were looking for answers for the doping scandal that cast a shadow over this year's Olympic swim meet. Earlier this year, reports that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication emerged. None were sanctioned because Chinese authorities determined the swimmers were contaminated by traces of the drug spread about a hotel kitchen. In a strange twist, the leader of China's anti-doping agency suggested this case could have been similar to one in which criminals were responsible for tainting noodles that were later eaten by another Chinese athlete who also tested positive for the drug. Athletes see climate change as threatening their sports and their health. Some are speaking up BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Pragnya Mohan has been a professional triathlete for nearly a decade, but summers in her native India are now so hot that she can’t train there anymore. And she worries about a day when heat around the world kills her sport entirely. She was among athletes who spoke at the United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan about the threat global warming poses to them, to fans and to sport itself. They described how extreme weather is making training and competing difficult or impossible. With billions of fans worldwide, some athletes and leagues are trying to get more people to care, and act, on climate change. Alyssa Nakken, first full-time female coach in MLB history, leaving Giants to join Guardians CLEVELAND (AP) — Alyssa Nakken, the first woman to coach in an MLB game, is leaving the San Francisco Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians. Nakken made history in 2022 when she took over as first-base coach following an ejection. A former college softball star at Sacramento State, Nakken joined the Giants in 2014 and was promoted to a spot on manager Gabe Kapler’s staff in 2020, becoming the majors’ first full-time female coach. It’s not immediately known what role she’ll have with the Guardians, who won the AL Central last season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt. In Cleveland, Nakken, 34, will work with former Giants coaches Craig Albernaz and Kai Correa.
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Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who was aggressive in his oversight of cryptocurrencies and other financial markets, will step down from his post on Jan. 20. Gensler pushed changes that he said protected investors, but the industry and many Republicans bristled at what they saw as overreach. President-elect Donald Trump had promised during his campaign that he would remove Gensler. But Gensler on Thursday announced that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated. Bitcoin has jumped 40% since Trump’s victory. It hit new highs Thursday and was nearing $100,000. Bitcoin moved notably higher still after Gensler's resignation was announced. Gensler's stance on the rise of cryptocurrencies was captured during a speech he gave during the first year of his chairmanship in 2021 where he described the market as “the Wild West.” “This asset class is rife with fraud, scams, and abuse in certain applications,” he said in a speech at the Aspen Security Forum. “There’s a great deal of hype and spin about how crypto assets work. In many cases, investors aren’t able to get rigorous, balanced, and complete information.” Under Gensler, the SEC brought actions against players in the crypto industry for fraud , wash trading and other violations, including as recently as last month when the commission brought fraud charges against three companies purporting to be market makers, along with nine individuals for trying to manipulate various crypto markets. Yet access to cryptocurrencies became more widespread under Gensler. In January, the SEC approved exchange-traded funds that track the spot price of bitcoin. With such ETFs, investors could get easier access to bitcoin without the huge overlays required to buy it directly. Gensler, however, acknowledged the SEC had denied earlier, similar applications for such ETFs, including Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, among the first to eventually be approved by the SEC. “Circumstances, however, have changed,” Gensler said, pointing to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that said the SEC failed to adequately explain its reasoning in rejecting Grayscale’s proposal. Even there, Gensler made sure not to endorse the merits of bitcoin. He pointed to how ETFs that hold precious metals are tracking prices of things that have “consumer and industrial users, while in contrast bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset that’s also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing.” Gensler was tested early in his tenure with the rise of the meme stock phenomenon that shocked the financial system in early 2021. Earlier this year, the SEC under Gensler pushed Wall Street to speed up how long it takes for trades of stocks to settle, one of the areas where the commission’s staff recommended changes following the reckoning created by GameStop , one of the first meme stocks. In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, hordes of smaller-pocketed and novice investors suddenly piled into the stock of the struggling video-game retailer. During the height of the frenzy, several brokerages barred customers from buying GameStop after the clearinghouse that settles their trades demanded more cash to cover the increased risk created by its highly volatile price. In May 2024, new rules meant broker-dealers have to fully settle their trades within one business day of the trade date, down from the previous two. Critics of the SEC under Gensler have called many of the agency's proposals overly burdensome. The investment industry, for example, is pushing against a proposal to force some advisers and companies disclose more about their environmental, social and governance practices, otherwise known as ESG. Critics say the proposal is overly complex and increases the risk of investor confusion, while imposing unnecessary burdens and costs on funds. On Thursday, Gensler stood by the SEC's track record under his direction. “The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike," Gensler said in prepared remarks. “The staff comprises true public servants." Gensler previously served as Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, leading the Obama Administration’s reform of the $400 trillion swaps market. He also was senior advisor to U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes in writing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) and was undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance and assistant secretary of the Treasury from 1997-2001.
It’s critical to understand what to anticipate from a personal finance standpoint as the new year dawns as 2025 draws near. Additionally, even if Social Security policy has not changed significantly, there are still some significant developments that both workers and retirees should be aware of. Here are some ways that current and future Social Security payments, taxes deducted from your paycheck, and other factors may be affected by the various inflation-based and wage growth-based adjustments that are made each year. Social Security has announced that retirees’ paychecks will change in 2025 The most notable change to Social Security in 2025 is probably going to be the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA). The COLA that takes effect in 2025 won’t be nearly as large as those in recent years because inflation has undoubtedly slowed significantly. However, Social Security recipients will still get a 2.5% increase in their monthly paychecks to keep pace with inflation. Although Social Security is paid a month in arrears, this will initially appear in your January 2025 payment even though it takes effect with the December 2024 payment. For comparison, this means that if your monthly benefit is $1,900, which is about the average for a retired worker, you will receive an increase of about $48 per month in 2025. The maximum Social Security paycheck will increase In 2024, the highest monthly paycheck that a person who is retiring at full retirement age could receive is $3,822. Due to various inflation-related adjustments to the formula for calculating paychecks and the inflation-indexed wages from previous years, the maximum in 2025 will be $4,018 per month, or over $48,000 annually. Social Security benefits can increase for those who wait to claim them. A person who retires at age 70 in 2025 will get a maximum benefit of $5,108 per month, or over $61,300 annually, in inflation-protected retirement income. Americans will have a new taxable earnings limit This is a reform to Social Security that affects existing employees. The maximum amount of earned income that is liable to Social Security tax is set annually . It’s also based on pay growth rather than inflation, unlike the COLA and other adjustments. The maximum taxable earnings, known officially as the contribution and benefit base, will rise to $176,100 in 2025. Social Security tax, which is 6.2% for both employers and employees, will be applied to any income up to this threshold. The earnings test limits will increase for all Americans in the US If your earnings exceed a certain threshold, you may have some or all of your monthly benefits withheld if you are a beneficiary and have not yet reached full retirement age . The earnings test limitations for people who become fully retired after the year ends will rise from $1,860 per month in 2024 to $1,950 per month in 2025. The monthly cap will increase from $4,960 to $5,180 in 2025, with only months leading up to your birth month counted toward the cap. Every $3 in excess earnings over this threshold will result in $1 in benefits being withheld. Will there be further significant changes beyond 2025? As you can see, the 2025 adjustments to Social Security are all related to wage growth and inflation rather than any modifications to the rules or programs themselves. But there’s a good likelihood that some significant changes will occur beyond 2025. For starters, unless something is done, Social Security is predicted to run out of funds in 2034. Additionally, remember that the president-elect’s views on Social Security differ from those of his predecessor. Therefore, there’s a good chance that Social Security may undergo significant changes in the years to come.