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The temptation to self-recriminate and assume that this Clasico was jinxed by my ESPN FC preview that guaranteed goals and pointed out that there hadn't been a 0-0 draw for 17 beautiful, long years is dispelled by three names: Marc Andre ter Stegen, Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique.

Were it not for excelsior performances from these three Clasico warriors, then we'd have had goals and Madrid would be three points clear at the top of La Liga. However, the match did indeed end in a 0-0 draw for the first time in 50 editions.

Barcelona's German keeper entered the fray here with the contradictory knowledge that he was enjoying the best, most redoubtable and athletic season of his career -- saving his team's neck, and reputation, time after time. Yet his previous two matches had witnessed three fumbles, two of which had cost goals -- at home to Mallorca and away, in another draw, at Real Sociedad.

But the mark of greatness, or should that be of Ter Stegen greatness, is to refuse to acknowledge that a test of cauldron heat, an examination by ancient rivals who are desperate to take Barcelona's Liga crown away, often adds to the likelihood of more mistakes.

Whatever Ter Stegen is being paid, I'd like to believe that his agent has put in an overtime claim after that 90 minutes of mayhem. Perhaps something along the lines of: "Dear President Bartomeu, my client did the work of two or three goalkeepers against Madrid, please can he have double-pay for the night of December 18?"

Bartomeu would have little option but to sign the document, in triplicate, and say: "cheap at the price."

There was a stage when the German, and Joachim Low please hang your head in shame that you can't find it in your conscience to usurp Manuel Neuer and give this phenomenon the No. 1 jersey in your Mannschaft, was the only thing between Madrid and a minor cricket score.

In front of an originally volatile audience, which was gradually bewitched into total stupefaction at the chasing their heroes were receiving, Ter Stegen performed little penalty box miracle after penalty box miracle until you'd have sworn that it must have been an imposter against Mallorca and Sociedad.

The best, for my taste, was when Karim Benzema rampaged into the left side of Barcelona's penalty area, raised his right boot and took aim.

The Frenchman, enjoying his personal creme-de-la-creme season too, slid an achingly delicious ball into what is commonly known as the corridor of uncertainty. Nominally, that's a stretch of green land just outside the reach of the goalkeeper if he dives down at it, and just behind the retreating defenders who are petrified of touching it in case they score an own goal.

The uncertainty on this occasion was between the tide of Madrid players who were lining up and having a committee meeting about which of them should score first from this tantalising, unmissable opportunity.

Meanwhile, Ter Stegen took executive action. The direction and location of Benzema's "pre-assist" was very similar to that of Nacho Monreal's wicked ball across the six yard area at Anoeta on Saturday.

On that occasion, even with a tiny deflection off Ivan Rakitic's toe, Ter Stegen had fluffed both decision and execution. Lunging outwards he could only get a touch which deflected the ball to La Real's young Swedish striker, Alexander Isak, who promptly scored.

This time Ter Stegen ripped up that template. He did what in gym-bunny terms is called: "A lunge."

Left knee bent downwards under your hips, right knee extended forward so that your planted right foot is not only stretched out in front but, ahem, your gluteus maximus, or backside, muscles are stretched to screaming point.

Using this technique, like a noble Knight bowing to his Royal Liege, Ter Stegen not only intercepted Benzema's maleficent centre, he kind of passed it straight back out toward the edge of the box.

Brilliant, daring, successful, improvisation. Just a minor part of a major repertoire.

Of course on the one occasion when Ter Stegen was beaten by Madrid, there was the only other real Barcelona hero on this night when their points total wasn't left in smithereens but their self belief and right to be called a "positional-possession" team were.

The amount of rubbish written about Pique needs to be seen to be believed. In fact most of it simply need to be disbelieved.

Viz: "He's more interested in his business pursuits" or "he cares more about tennis and his Davis Cup idea than about training and focussing on Barcelona."

On it goes: "He's in decline." "He's not serious enough." Blah blah.

Not only was he Barcelona's man of the match last weekend when he single-handedly kept a rampant Real Sociedad at bay, he gave a towering performance to keep his infernal rivals from scoring.

His was the header off the goal line which stopped Madrid from taking the lead at a time when not only did they merit it, they were preparing a case for the European Court of Justice.

How it was still 0-0 even at that midway stage of the first half was something for the advocates and jurists who fight for what's just and proper to decide.

There were other Pique moments, and boy did Clement Lenglet chip in with some blocks, tackles and one almighty clash with Gareth Bale. Late in the second half when Benzema went haring after a pass into the corner, Pique just extended his stride and pulled away from the Frenchman as if he were at the seat of a Maserati.

Pique was mighty.

The third of the names which save me from full culpability for there not being goals to decorate a thrilling, end-to-end and intense battle, is Ramos.

Thibaut Courtois must have had some moments in the first half when he worried about not having brought a paper and pencil so that he could keep score while his teammates bulged the Barcelona net at will. He must have had moments when he imagined he might as well have used that paper and pencil, had he brought them, for some gentle sketch work to commemorate a great Real Madrid win -- you know, the kind of thing you see street artists dashing off for money in the tourist traps of big cities.

This is to say that the Belgian had next to no real work to do. Barcelona had a couple of minor opportunities, one major one when Lionel Messi's floated lob met Jordi Alba's run into the box and the Catalan cushioned a volley wide of Madrid's far post.

Except for the moment when Courtois punched a through ball away, it fell between the boots of Casemiro and Messi and, somehow, the football was returned past the Belgian and towards the Madrid net. But there was Ramos, all tumble and thunder, to bowl the ball away just before it could unleash a disbelieving but joyous Catalan roar.

This was a pulsating match -- it never really relented. But, with calm, there are some conclusions to take. For whatever complex bundle of reasons Barcelona were not only outplayed, they were actively poor.

Several players tried their little hearts out, there wasn't a shirker or a coward aboard the "Good Ship" Ernesto Valverde. But they were outworked, out-run, out-thought, and out-everythinged.

In the midst of this mish-mash of a performance there was the increasingly mystifying sight of Leo Messi doing what Leo Messi's been doing for a few weeks now. The fact that he'll occasionally do something utterly other-worldly cannot disguise that for a handful of matches he's either looked disinterested, tired, slower than usual to take decisions, missing a little bit of that delightful "I can do ANYTHING I like to you at any time!" chutzpah.

Or else he's simply hacked off with the feeling of "here we are again, mid-season, utterly reliant on me to win matches, no Neymar and a team which some of the new 'rock and roll' European sides will simply blow away." I'm not stating that as a fact, but it's how he looks.

Oh, by the way, if Barcelona think that by having a "training-light" approach in the first two thirds of the season so that, this time, they aren't exhausted by the time April and May come then they aren't just playing with fire, they are already being singed.

Finally: you'll very easily find the Smart Alecs who still say that Zinedine Zidane, the man Johan Cruyff had agreed to sign in 1996 from Bordeaux before the idiot Camp Nou board sacked him, isn't an elite coach. They say he's lucky. They say that he's unsophisticated. They say that he's only got the gift of inspiring a player one on one because "It's Zizou!"

Well, this display should put that trash to bed. Zidane may have rough edges to erase while he goes on gaining experience at what is still an early stage in his career as a stand-alone manager and coach.

But this was a performance which not only proved that he'd read precisely what Barcelona weren't going to be able to cope with, he'd picked the correct starting XI to inflict it and he'd thoroughly convinced his squad about the accuracy of how he'd deconstructed Valverde's side in the pre-match planning.

In football there are no points for a technical knockout, or for "clever strategic plans which nearly come off." But despite the fact that there were no goals here it certainly does not mean that Zidane didn't score a direct hit on his most important rival and, I'd say, take one small step towards regaining the Spanish title for Real Madrid.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin on Wednesday, two days after the NFL Players Association warned players of potentially signing with the franchise because of excessive fines and player grievances.

Khan said he initially decided to make the move once the season ended, but the letter the NFLPA sent to its players clearly accelerated his timetable.

"I determined earlier this fall that making this move at the conclusion of the 2019 season would be in everyone's best interests but, in recent days, I reconsidered and decided to make this change immediately," Khan said in a statement. "I thank Tom for his efforts, not only over the past three years but for all he did from our very first season, 25 years ago, to put the Jacksonville Jaguars on the map.

"My expectations, and those of our fans, for our final two games and the 2020 season are high."

In a statement to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Coughlin said he was thankful of his time in Jacksonville.

"As head of football operations for the Jaguars for the last three years I was responsible for all things related to football," he said. "I take great pride in our accomplishments, especially in 2017. I'd like to thank Shad Khan for the opportunity to come back to Jacksonville, all the players and staff for their efforts, and the great fans here for their support. I was the first coach of this franchise and I will always be supportive of the Jaguars."

When asked if this is the end football-wise for the 73-year-old Coughlin, agent Sandy Montag told Mortensen: "The only thing I would say is there is plenty of football left in Tom Coughlin."

The Jaguars (5-9) close the season at Atlanta and at home against Indianapolis. Khan did not offer any insight into the status of general manager Dave Caldwell and coach Doug Marrone, only saying each will report directly to him in the interim.

"My expectations, and those of our fans, for our final two games and the 2020 season are high," the owner said.

Khan hired Coughlin in January 2017, after the team he purchased in November 2011 won just 17 games in five seasons. Coughlin, who had been fired by the New York Giants after the 2015 season, was the link to the Jaguars' only period of sustained success, building it from the ground up as its GM/coach and taking it to playoffs four straight years and reaching two AFC championship games.

Khan gave Coughlin the final say over all football matters, though he kept Caldwell in the GM role. It was an unusual structure but it worked at first: The Jaguars hit big in free agency with defensive end Calais Campbell, cornerback A.J. Bouye, and safety Barry Church, and they landed two starters (running back Leonard Fournette and left tackle Cam Robinson) and a late-season impact player (receiver Dede Westbrook) with three of their first four draft picks in 2017.

The Jaguars led the league in rushing, quarterback Blake Bortles significantly cut down his turnovers, and the defense was one of the league's best. They went 10-6 and won the AFC South (the franchise's first division title since 1999), hosted a playoff game for the first time since January 2000, and reached the AFC Championship Game.

Two years later, however, the franchise has fallen apart, and Coughlin played a major role. He bungled the quarterback situation with Bortles (signing him to an extension in 2018, then cutting him and eating $16.5 million in dead money against the salary cap this season) and the lucrative free-agent signing of Nick Foles.

Foles got hurt in the season opener, then lasted just 10 quarters after he returned before getting benched for rookie Gardner Minshew. Foles has three TD passes and two interceptions this season after signing a four-year, $88 million deal.

Coughlin also took Fournette fourth overall in his first draft over quarterback Deshaun Watson. While Fournette is having the best season of his career, Watson has become a franchise quarterback for the division rival Houston Texans. Coughlin also drafted defensive tackle Taven Bryan in 2018 instead of quarterback Lamar Jackson. Bryan has been a disappointment and the Ravens' Jackson is the favorite to be the league's MVP this season.

The Jaguars' past two free-agent classes have been major busts, too. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey, the best player the Jaguars have drafted since Tony Boselli, got so fed up with management and Coughlin that he asked for, and forced, a trade, ultimately landing with the Rams in October.

There's also internal strife between Coughlin and the coaching staff, including Marrone.

Coughlin held a news conference on Nov. 27 -- his first time speaking with the media since the final day of the 2019 draft -- but refused to answer questions about his job status, Marrone's status, whether he tried to repair the team's relationship with Ramsey, and the contract situation of defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. The Jaguars have won just 10 games in the past two seasons and only three have come against teams that finished the season with a winning record or currently have a winning record.

The apparent last straw for Khan was the letter the NFLPA sent to every player in the league that announced it won a grievance filed against the Jaguars for requiring former player Dante Fowler to attend rehab and doctor appointments in Jacksonville during the offseason and fining him more than $700,000 when he didn't.

The letter also warned players about potentially signing with the Jaguars in the future because it said more than 25 percent of the grievances filed by NFL players have been against the club and that players "continue to be at odds with Jaguars management over their rights under the CBA far more than players on other clubs."

This is the second time the Jaguars have fired Coughlin. He was the coach and GM from 1995-2002, and though he drafted very good players early in his tenure (Boselli, Fred Taylor, Kevin Hardy, Tony Brackens) and a couple late (Marcus Stroud and John Henderson, his final two first-round picks), he had some busts, too, particularly receiver R. Jay Soward, who played only one season before being suspended by the league for violating its substance-abuse policy.

He also hit on some gems in free agency (offensive tackle Leon Searcy, receiver Keenan McCardell, defensive tackle Gary Walker, and tight end Kyle Brady) and signed the franchise's leading receiver (Jimmy Smith) after a tryout in February 1995. But there also was linebacker Bryce Paup, who signed for six years and $22 million but had just 7.5 sacks in 31 games. He was regarded as the biggest free agent bust in team history - until the past few seasons, anyway.

Coughlin also badly mishandled the salary cap when making push to win it all in 1999.

The Jaguars were $23 million over the cap in 2002, and needed to make five players available for the expansion draft for the Texans. One of them was Boselli, the best player in franchise history and a Hall of Fame finalist in 2019. The Jaguars also exposed Walker, cut Hardy, and had to let McCardell walk because they couldn't afford to re-sign him.

Then-owner Wayne Weaver fired Coughlin after the 2002 sason.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Initially, the last time Steven Adams could remember wearing proper pants -- non-sweatpant division -- he was about to be drafted into the NBA.

That was in 2013. But though Adams later remembered putting a suit on in 2016 for Russell Westbrook's Oklahoma Hall of Fame event -- "That was probably the last time I wore like shoes and stuff," he said -- he shocked the world Wednesday, strolling through the back hallways of Chesapeake Energy Arena to the Oklahoma City Thunder locker room dressed in a blue three-piece suit, topped with a brown cabbie hat.

What got Adams to break his traditional style of sweatpants, camo jacket and flip flops? Chris Paul bought him a suit and told him to wear it.

"He was like, 'Wear it to the game, it's a team thing,'" Adams said. "I was like, 'Ah s---, I have to wear it.' I was just gonna hang it up."

Every player on the Thunder roster arrived to Wednesday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies wearing a custom tailored suit, set up and paid for by Paul. He had the idea in the preseason, then brought in a tailor to fit the team a couple of games into the season. The suits finally arrived Wednesday.

Suit up. It's game day. pic.twitter.com/WEJsHhDNXG

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 19, 2019

NBA games are a de facto red carpet event now, with players showing up wearing designer clothes, strutting across cold concrete floors in the bowels of arenas as if it's a modeling runway. For Adams, though, it was a significant adjustment, with it leaving him confused how players do that sort of thing for every game.

"I didn't realize how much time it takes to put on all that s---," he said. "It's a lot longer that I take normally. I didn't account for it. I was just like, 'Eh, f--- this, mate.'"

"A lot of buttons, a lot of weird little things," he said. "It's a three-piece suit, which means more buttons in this region. But it's all pre-made Italian stuff."

"Suit Night" for the Thunder is somewhat similar to what LeBron James did with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2018 playoffs. It's a show of appreciation and leadership from Paul, who has been committed to showing his investment in the Thunder this season after being traded by the Houston Rockets to OKC over the summer.

Though Paul paid for the suit, the hat was all Adams. He wanted to make sure he gets the credit for that. He has been watching "Peaky Blinders" on Netflix and went to get his beard trimmed, and the barber was selling hats. So he bought one, not knowing if or when he'd actually ever wear it.

"So I bought one and I was just like, 'Oh, I'll wear this one day.' Happened to get a suit and I was like 'Hey! I get to use it!'" he said.

The next time Adams sees himself wearing a suit?

"Probably my funeral, mate."

MINNEAPOLIS -- Center Karl-Anthony Towns missed the Minnesota Timberwolves' game Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans because of a left knee sprain.

Coach Ryan Saunders called Towns "day-to-day" with the injury.

Minnesota hasn't played since Friday's 124-117 home loss to the LA Clippers. Towns had 39 points and 12 rebounds in more than 35 minutes of playing time during that contest; in the fourth quarter, he went down hard after a missed dunk attempt while being guarded by Montrezl Harrell.

Towns leads the Timberwolves at 26.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per game this season. He missed two games after being suspended for a confrontation with the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid.

MILWAUKEE -- Sitting among a group of incarcerated individuals, Bucks guard Sterling Brown shared his personal testimony about the events that led to his ongoing civil rights lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee on Tuesday.

He said his decision to reject the city's $400,000 settlement offer after alleging police officers used excessive force when they tased him after being cited for a parking violation in January 2018 wasn't about the money.

"Right now it's a long process, it's still ongoing," Brown said during a roundtable discussion at Racine Correctional Institution, where the Bucks hosted a game in collaboration with the Represent Justice Campaign.

"They tried to throw a few dollar amounts at me just to get me to shut up, and I really couldn't take it because I'm not doing it for myself anymore, I'm doing it for everybody else around," he said.

"I've got plenty of people going through the same thing in Chicago and back at home. So I know it's happening in Milwaukee, so I'm pretty much being that voice for those who don't have the platform that I have to make this national news, to make this [discussed] around the country," he continued. "So, that's pretty much my current situation."

Brown alleges, in the Jan. 26, 2018, incident outside a Walgreens store, that Milwaukee officers targeted him because he is black when they used a stun gun because he didn't immediately remove his hands from his pockets, as ordered, while waiting for a parking citation. He first filed the lawsuit in June 2018 after body-camera footage was released showing a Milwaukee police officer stepping on his ankle during the arrest while others mocked his potential civil rights complaint.

In October, his attorneys asked a federal judge to reject the $400,000 settlement offer.

Following Wednesday's practice, Brown reiterated his stance that this move is about more than a financial gain to him.

"They tried to get me to settle for it. I feel like it was just a slap in the face, and I can't go into too many details, but there's other things that we're trying to push," Brown told ESPN. "The money is not the biggest concern. It's not a priority for me. It's the other things involved, so we're going to keep fighting."

His father, Chris Brown, was a veteran Chicago-area police officer with 30 years of experience in Maywood, Illinois, so the 24-year-old says he has no disdain for law enforcement as a whole. However, the Bucks' Play for Justice at the correctional facility event did align with his views stemming from the lawsuit, he said.

"I'm kind of split in the decision, because I grew up around some of them. My dad was one of them, so I've got respect for the guys behind the badge because of what they're trying to do," said Brown, who is averaging 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Bucks. "I saw how they've helped a lot of people in the neighborhood, so I've got a lot of respect for those individuals, but as far as the badge, it's kind of hard to find that respect because I know the history behind it.

"I know what it was started for, I know what it came up on and I know what they do," he added. "It's kind of split for me, but I don't have no problem or I don't feel uncomfortable being around them or no other man.

"So, it's just figuring out how we can continue to make strides."

NEW YORK -- Boston will pay a Red Sox record $13.4 million luxury tax after failing to make the playoffs and the New York Yankees finished with a $6.7 million bill, likely a fraction of what they will pay next year.

Three teams owe tax, according to end of year figures sent to clubs Wednesday and obtained by the Associated Press. The Chicago Cubs must pay $7.6 million following a season that ended with September fade and no postseason berth.

New York has run up a total of $348 million in tax since the payroll restraint system began in 2003, owing money in each year except 2018. The Los Angeles Dodgers are second at $150 million, followed by the Red Sox at $50 million and the Cubs at $11 million.

This year's initial tax threshold was $206 million, counting payrolls by average annual values and including earned bonuses, adjustments for cash transactions, option buyouts and just over $14 million per team in benefits.

Among regular payrolls, which include salaries, prorated shares of signing bonuses and earned bonuses, the Red Sox topped the major leagues for the second straight season at $228 million. The Yankees were next at $226 million, followed by the Cubs ($220 million), World Series champion Washington ($205 million) and the Los Angeles Dodgers ($205 million).

Five of the top 10 spenders missed the playoffs, with the Red Sox and Cubs joined by San Francisco ($183 million), the Los Angeles Angels ($166 million) and Philadelphia ($161 million).

Just two teams from the dozen lowest payrolls reached the postseason. Tampa Bay (last at $67 million) defeated Oakland (26th at $96 million) in the American League wild card game, then lost to Houston in a five-game Division Series.

Overall spending on regular payrolls dropped for the third straight year, an aberration caused by large signing bonuses for Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, Jacob deGrom, Paul Goldschmidt, Clayton Kershaw, Manny Machado and A.J. Pollock. Those bonuses are prorated over the length of each contract, and payrolls totaled $4.219 billion, down from $4.227 million in 2018 and $4.245 million in 2017.

But teams set a record at $4.7 billion in the computation by average annual values, an increase of $157 million that shows the longer-term trend. That followed an offseason when the clubs committed $3.88 billion in guaranteed money, their biggest spending spree ever. Atlanta, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Milwaukee, Oakland, San Diego and St. Louis had their highest AAV payrolls.

Among regular payrolls, which better display year-to-year shifts, Detroit dropped from $191 million in 2017 to $133 million in 2018 to $117 million this year. Baltimore cut from $167 million in 2017 to $137 million in 2018 to $83 million this year.

Toronto fell from $165 million in 2017 to $157 million in 2018 to $120 million this year, and Kansas City from $154 million in 2017 to $127 million in 2018 to $102 million this season. Under new CEO Derek Jeter, Miami shaved from $117 million in 2017 to $90 million in 2018 to $76 million this year.

Big one-season drops this year included San Francisco ($27 million), and Arizona, Cleveland and Seattle ($23 million each).

Large rises were headed by Philadelphia, up $54 million to $161 million, and the Yankees, who rose by $43 million. New York dropped to sixth in 2018, rose to second this year and figures to lead the major leagues next year after reaching a record $324 million, nine-year contract with pitcher Gerrit Cole.

Other teams with significant hikes included Cincinnati ($34 million), the Chicago White Sox ($26 million), Milwaukee ($25 million), the Chicago Cubs ($22 million) and World Series champion Washington ($21 million).

Showing a wide disparity, the top 50 players averaged $24.1 million while the listed major league salary of the roughly other 1,500 players who spent at least one day on a big league roster this year averaged $2.4 million.

Next year's tax starts at $208 million, and New York's rate will rise from 20% to 30% on the first $20 million over, 32% to 42% on the next $20 million and 62.5% to 75% on any amount above $248 million. If the Yankees exceed $248 million, which now appears likely, their top selection in the June 2021 amateur draft would be dropped 10 places.

Checks for the competitive balance tax, as it is normally known, go to the commissioner's office and are due by Jan. 21. The first $13 million of tax money is used to fund player benefits and 50% of the remainder will be used to fund player Individual Retirement Accounts. The other 50% of the remainder will be given to teams not over the tax threshold -- $272,979 per club.

Calgary Flames assistant general manager Chris Snow, who famously made the transition from beat writer to data-driven NHL front office executive, has been diagnosed with ALS.

In a letter posted to the Flames' website, Kelsie Snow wrote that her husband has been enrolled in "a clinical trial for the most encouraging ALS gene therapy treatment to come along," a treatment at the University of Miami that researchers hoped could stop the progression of the neurodegenerative disease. She said that Snow has been in the trial for several months, and that his right hand and forearm remain the only affected areas.

"We are leaning into that possibility, as hard as we can, working to stay positive and living with intention every single day. And now we believe we have results to lean into as well," she wrote.

Dear hockey family: a letter from the Snow family regarding Chris' ALS diagnosis. https://t.co/S0uRmCk8Ka

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) December 18, 2019

Snow, 38, was elevated to assistant general manager of the Flames this year, his 13th season in the NHL. He came to Calgary as director of hockey analysis in 2011, using a data-driven approach that helped build out the team's hockey research and development department. Snow was also involved in player contract negotiation.

"Chris is highly, highly intelligent. Obviously, he comes with sort of an analytical approach, but he's able to speak it in terms and he's very relatable to not just talking about numbers behind the data but being able to really articulate that to how it impacts the team," GM Brad Treliving told the Calgary Sun in September.

Snow spent four years as director of hockey operations with the Minnesota Wild from 2006-10, as one of the pioneers of using analytics in an NHL front office.

"There's a lot of people today working in hockey in positions that didn't exist five or 10 years ago. I think the reason is you look at the standings and with the exception of very few teams, everyone is packed together," Snow said in 2016. "The mere idea of getting a little bit better, and it doesn't matter what it is...it could be in player development or psychology...there's so many areas where teams are evolving because there's the need to try to find a way to separate yourself."

Before that, Snow worked as an NHL and MLB beat writer, covering the Minnesota Wild for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Boston Red Sox for the Boston Globe.

In the letter to the public, Kelsie Snow said that "just over one year ago Chris' dad passed away from ALS. We have also lost both of Chris' paternal uncles and his 28-year-old cousin to this disease."

But she said there's hope among her, Chris Snow and their two children that he could "make history" in battling this disease.

"Of all the devastation this diagnosis brought, the idea of telling the two of them they were going to lose their dad was the most crushing. But now we have hope and, we believe a different story," she said.

Tiger Woods received all sorts of criticism on Saturday of the Presidents Cup when he decided to sit himself out of both the fourballs and foursomes sessions with his team well behind.

Woods looked like a lock to play four, possibly even all five sessions after going 2-0-0 while partnered with Justin Thomas over the first two days of play.

Then came the peculiar decision to bench himself, offering only this explanation at the time, "You have to do what is best for the team, and I'm getting ready for singles tomorrow.''

But speaking on his Sirius XM Radio show, Fred Couples offered some clarification on the situation, saying Woods told his assistant captains over their headsets early on Saturday that his body wasn't physically ready to go at all that day, and Woods didn't waiver despite the best attempts by Couples, Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson to sway him.

"At about 10 o'clock, (Woods) said, 'Guys, my body is not going to let me go. I'm not going to play this afternoon,'" Couples said on the radio. "Of course, Stricker hopped on and said, 'Tiger please, can you go in right now and get loose and warm.' He said, 'Strick, I can't do it.' Zach said, "Tiger, are you sure, you sure?' (Woods) said, 'I believe in the team,' and I'm like, 'Yeah, so do I, but I believe that you need to be playing.'''

Couples said it was "maybe the first time I ever wanted to throw up'' when he heard the news. At the time, the Americans were down 9-5 to the Internationals, but even without Woods, the U.S. closed the gap to 10-8 by the end of play Saturday.

"There was like a 10-minute gasp and then we got over it,'' Couples said. "We regrouped and made a new team and they went out and won.''

It still took a 8-4 singles rally for the the U.S. to win their eighth straight Presidents Cup, with Woods setting the tone early by winning the first point on Sunday over Abraham Ancer.

Woods has been bothered all year by physical ailments stemming from his surgically fused back. He also had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in August.

Manchester United will host crosstown rivals City in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup, while Leicester are home to Aston Villa in the other semifinal.

- Watch Carabao Cup matches and replays on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

The last-four ties will be played on Jan. 6 and Jan. 27.

United made the semifinals after beating Colchester 3-0, while holders went through with an easy win over Oxford United. United and City last met in the League Cup semifinals in 2010, when a late Wayne Rooney header gave Sir Alex Ferguson's side a memorable win.

Leicester and Everton provided the most drama of the three Wednesday matches, with the visitors blowing a two-goal lead before winning on penalties.

Leicester are in the League Cup semifinals for the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign, when they won the trophy.

Aston Villa were the first to qualify for the last four after beating the youngest Liverpool side in history 5-0 as the Reds senior team was away on Club World Cup duty in Qatar where they beat Monterrey to set up a finals showdown with Flamengo.