Carlos Correa latest shortstop to sign mega-deal, plus Lionel Messi, Alex Ovechkin add to legendary legacies

Good morning to everyone but especially to…

CARLOS CORREA AND THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS…

It took a bit, but Carlos Correa finally has a new home, and the Giants finally have the star they were looking to acquire this offseason.

Correa and the Giants agreed on a massive 13-year, $350-million contract, continuing a terrific offseason for shortstops. Correa, 28, is a two-time All-Star, one-time World Series champ, one-time Gold Glove winner and former Rookie of the Year. He spent 2015-21 with the Astros and last year with the Twins before opting out of his deal with Minnesota. He was our No. 3-ranked free agent in the class.

… AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO LIONEL MESSI AND ARGENTINA

There are a select few times when we should consider ourselves lucky to witness some of sports’ all-time greats. Tuesday was one of them. Sunday will be another.

Lionel Messi scored a goal and had an assist as Argentina thrashed Croatia, 3-0, to reach the World Cup final. Breakout star Julián Álvarez scored the other two goals for Albiceleste.

To watch Messi, 35, and Álvarez, 22, star was emblematic of Argentina’s World Cup as a whole. Yes, it’s been Messi leading the way. But following a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia to open the tournament, plenty of others have stepped up, Álvarez especially. He has four goals in the last four matches; he had two in his entire Argentina career entering the World Cup. He’s turned into a perfect partner for Messi in the attack, writes Roger Gonzalez.

Honorable mentions Not so honorable mentions Alex Ovechkin becomes third player to reach 800 NHL goals USATSI

Remember that thing I just said about being lucky to witness some of sports’ all-time greats? Alex Ovechkin saw what Messi did and put on an extraordinary show of his own Tuesday night against the Blackhawks, scoring a hat trick to reach 800 career goals. He’s the third player to reach the mark.

Ovechkin has been on fire lately with seven goals in his last four games. His first chance to tie or pass Howe will come Thursday against the Stars.

Mississippi State head coach and college football icon Mike Leach dies at 61

Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach died Tuesday at the age of 61 following complications from a heart condition. He was initially hospitalized on Sunday.

Leach’s numbers and coaching tree indicate the sort of impact he had by popularizing the Air Raid offense alongside Hal Mumme as Mumme’s offensive coordinator at Iowa Wesleyan (1989-91), Valdosta State (1992-96) and Kentucky (1997-98) before joining Bob Stoops at Oklahoma in 1999. In 2000, he took the Red Raiders’ head-coaching gig, and the rest, as they say, is history.

For all of Leach’s remarkable accomplishments and innovations on the field, he’ll be remembered as one of college football’s truly great, unique characters, writes our Dennis Dodd.

That sort of “genius” came out again and again in hilarious interviews and legendary stories. We’ve compiled a bunch of them here. As for Mississippi State, the Bulldogs still plan to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Illinois on Jan. 2. Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett was named interim head coach.

Morocco takes on France with World Cup final spot on the line ⚽ USATSI

One’s the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal. One’s the reigning champ. It’ll be a tale of David vs. Goliath today when Morocco faces France with a spot in the final against Argentina at stake.

While Les Bleus have a much more storied soccer history, they share plenty of ties with the Atlas Lions, notes Jonathan Johnson. A few include…

This run has already been a historic one for Morocco. Does it have another surprise left? Here are our experts’ picks.

NFL Power Rankings: Chargers, Jaguars in playoff contention 🏈

Way back in Week 3, the Jaguars demolished the Chargers 38-10 in what was viewed as a sign of things to come. The Jaguars were up-and-coming, and the Chargers simply couldn’t figure things out despite an expensive offseason. Since then, both teams have had major ups and major downs, and nearly three months later, both teams find themselves in playoff contention.

The Chargers were the biggest movers up in Pete Prisco’s latest NFL Power Rankings, jumping from 15th to 12th. The Jaguars, meanwhile, stayed at 24th, but Pete had a strong endorsement for the face of the franchise, writing “Lawrence has been as good as any quarterback in the league the last month of the season, putting to rest any of that dumb talk that he wasn’t a franchise passer.”

Here is Pete’s top 10:

What we’re watching Wednesday 📺

⚽ France vs. Morocco, 2 p.m. on FOX🏀 Knicks at Bulls, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN🏒 Red Wings at Wild, 7:30 p.m. on TNT🏀 No. 16 UCLA at No. 20 Maryland, 9 p.m. on FS1🏀 Timberwolves at Clippers, 10 p.m. on ESPN🏒 Canucks at Flames, 10 p.m. on TNT