Serena filed paperwork to return to tennis but denied a comeback. What's going on?

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📺 Most-watched game: The Cowboys’ win over the Chiefs on Thanksgiving drew a staggering 57.2 million viewers on CBS, making it the most-watched regular-season NFL game ever. It shattered the previous record of 42.1 million viewers in 2022.

🏈 National Signing Day: USC ended National Signing Day with the top-ranked recruiting class (per Rivals), snapping the SEC’s 17-year streak of inking the No. 1 class. Rounding out the top 10: Notre Dame, Oregon, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee, Miami, Texas A&M and LSU.

🏀 Giannis trade talks: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s will-they, won’t-they future with the Bucks may finally be nearing a conclusion. The two sides are reportedly discussing a potential exit with a resolution expected “in the coming weeks.”

⚽️ Rodman deal vetoed: The Washington Spirit’s multi-million dollar offer to retain Trinity Rodman has reportedly been vetoed by NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman. The star forward was ready to accept the deal but Berman felt the structure of the contract violated the spirit of the league.

🏈 Coaching carousel: South Florida is hiring Ohio State OC Brian Hartline as their new head coach; Kansas State will hire Texas A&M OC Collin Klein to replace Chris Klieman, who is retiring.

🎾 Is Serena making a comeback? Williams during the 2022 U.S. Open. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Williams during the 2022 U.S. Open. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Serena Williams has filed the necessary paperwork to return to tennis, but the 23-time Grand Slam winner says she isn’t making a comeback. What’s going on?

Catch up quick: News broke Tuesday that Williams had informed the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) that she is pursuing reentry into the anti-doping pool.

“She has notified us that she wants to be reinstated into the testing pool. I do not know if this means she is coming back, or just giving herself the option. All I can say is she’s back in the pool and therefore subject to whereabouts.”

— ITIA spokesperson, via The Athletic

The backdrop: Williams, 44, last played a competitive match during the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open. The day after her defeat, she applied for official retirement with the ITIA, which meant she was exempt from random drug testing. To be eligible to return, she would need to be listed in the testing pool for six months, setting her up for a potential comeback in 2026.

Yes, but: Williams took to social media on Tuesday to deny the rumors. “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy.”

So, what’s going on here? Here’s my take: Williams is planning to return to tennis in some capacity, whether that’s singles or doubles (possibly alongside her sister, who made her own comeback last year). But reporters finding her name on a testing list is such a lame, unexciting way for that news to break that she’s denying it for now.

This is the G.O.A.T. we’re talking about here. If she comes back, that’s a huge story. The kind of story she breaks herself with a fully orchestrated roll out.
We’re talking sit-down interview, announcement video, an official return date, the works. Not a random report on a Tuesday about random drug testing.

Of note: According to tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg, Williams had previously sought a comeback in August, with a likely eye on playing doubles at the U.S. Open alongside Venus. That never materialized.

🏈 Heisman Watch (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports)

(Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports)

The race for the Heisman Trophy is as close — and exciting — as humanly possible, with the winner likely decided this weekend by the two quarterbacks of the nation’s last two undefeated teams… who happen to be facing off in the Big Ten Championship.

Sayin vs. Mendoza: Ohio State sophomore Julian Sayin and Indiana junior Fernando Mendoza are co-favorites to win the award (+165 at BetMGM), and it’s not hard to see why given their similar résumés and the fact that whoever wins on Saturday will enter the CFP as the No. 1 seed.

Sayin: 3,065 yards on a 78.9% completion rate (currently the best mark ever); 30 TDs against 5 INTs; 184.8 passer rating (leads FBS); 27 rush yards
Mendoza: 2,758 yards on a 72% completion rate; 32 TDs (leads FBS) against 5 INTs; 183.7 passer rating (second in FBS); 243 rush yards and 6 TD

The third horse in the race: There remains an outside chance that Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia (+200) could win instead. His stats are comparable (3,192 yards, 71.2% completion rate, 27 TDs, 8 INTs, 171.5 RTG; 826 rush yards, 9 TD), but his Commodores didn’t make the SEC title game, so he won’t get the chance to make a final statement like Sayin and Mendoza will.

What to watch: Heisman voting ends Monday, with the finalists announced that night. The winner will be revealed next Saturday at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center.

🌊 In photos: Riding giants (David Ramos/Getty Images)

(David Ramos/Getty Images)

Big wave surfers rode some giants on Tuesday in Nazaré, Portugal, a once sleepy fishing village that has become a world-renowned destination thanks to the giant waves that crash along its shores.

(David Ramos/Getty Images)

Some have described riding these waves as being more akin to snowboarding. In the photo above, the water even looks like snow!

(David Ramos/Getty Images)

Eight of the 11 biggest waves ever surfed — all at least 70 feet — came at Nazaré. The other three came at Cortes Bank in Southern California and Jaws Beach in Maui.

📚 Good reads (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)

(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)

⚾️ Russell Dorsey: Why MLB front offices have become more risk-averse and what it means for the trade market

There was a time not too long ago when MLB teams seemed more willing to take big swings in the trade market, moving highly touted prospects in order to acquire established big-league talent.

Those days seem to be gone, as front offices have taken a more risk-averse approach in recent years, trying to be more cautious when it comes to making trades.

(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)

🏈 Dan Wolken: Conference championship weekend has lost its appeal, and only one coach seems to care about it anyways

For better or worse, the college football season is a three-month qualifier for the CFP. That is the lens through which fans, players and coaches increasingly see the sport. The upside to that plays out every week, where more than a dozen games — many of which were formerly irrelevant in the old system — have a direct impact on the field.

The downside is that conference championship games, for the most part, exist as filler programming that adds very little to the fabric of the season. If anything, they mostly just get in the way of college football’s ability to offer a more sensible schedule.

(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports)

🏀 Dan Devine: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, is getting better at everything — in case you haven’t noticed

It’s hard to make memorable highlight reels out of below-the-rim finishes, midrange Js and two-hand chest passes back out to a popping Isaiah Joe. But it’s also hard to make those plays again, and again, and again, with the economy of movement of an elite marathon runner, while never messing anything up.

It all contributes to a sense of frictionlessness in Gilgeous-Alexander’s ongoing growth, from lottery pick to trade-haul jewel to starter to All-Star to All-NBA to All-Everything. How do you track the development of a player who made the leap three years ago and then … just hasn’t stopped leaping?

📺 Watchlist: Thursday, Dec. 4 The Lions obliterated the Cowboys, 47-9, in last year's matchup at Jerry World. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

The Lions obliterated the Cowboys, 47-9, in last year’s matchup at Jerry World. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

🏈 Cowboys at Lions

Detroit hosts Dallas (8:15pm ET, Prime) in what could be one of the most entertaining “Thursday Night Football” games of the year as two of the NFL’s four highest-scoring offenses go head-to-head in a game that suddenly has huge playoff implications.

Where it stands: The Cowboys (6-5-1) have won three straight while the Lions (7-5) have lost four of seven. Whoever wins tonight will be the first team outside the NFC playoff picture.

🏀 ACC/SEC Challenge

Three ranked matchups tonight in women’s hoops: No. 11 UNC at No. 2 Texas (7pm, ESPN2), No. 3 South Carolina at No. 22 Louisville (7pm, ESPN) and No. 18 Notre Dame at No. 13 Ole Miss (9pm, ESPN2).

Plus: Duke hosts No. 5 LSU (9pm, ESPN), which seeks its record-extending ninth straight 100-point game. The Tigers (8-0) have won every game so far by 30+ points.

🏐 NCAA Volleyball Championship

The 64-team women’s volleyball tournament tips off with 16 first-round games (3pm-10:30pm, ESPN+). Kentucky is the only No. 1 seed in action today, while the other three (Nebraska, Pitt, Texas) take the court tomorrow.

More to watch:

⛳️ PGA: Hero World Challenge (10:45am, Peacock; 1:30pm, Golf) … Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth headline the exclusive 20-player field in The Bahamas.
🏀 NBA: Warriors at 76ers (7pm, NBA) … Eighth in the West vs. ninth in the East.
🏊 Swimming: U.S. Open Championships (7pm, Peacock) … The world’s best swimmers compete in the final major long-course meet of the year.

Today’s full slate.

🏈 Heisman trivia Heisman contender Julian Sayin celebrates after beating Michigan on Saturday. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Heisman contender Julian Sayin celebrates after beating Michigan on Saturday. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Ohio State is one of three schools (Notre Dame, Oklahoma) with seven Heisman Trophy winners.

Question: Can you name the only school with more?

Answer at the bottom.

🗽 Brunson, Gehrig among write-ins for NYC Mayor New Yorkers cross 42nd Street and 7th Avenue in Times Square on Primary Election Day. (Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images)

New Yorkers cross 42nd Street and 7th Avenue in Times Square on Primary Election Day. (Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images)

The New York mayoral election was settled a month ago, with Zohran Mamdani scoring a win over Andrew Cuomo. What was not settled were the write-in votes.

Off-menu choices: The full list of write-in votes was released Tuesday, and more than a few people opted to cast their votes for a wide array of sports figures.

From Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer:

It’s hard to say what possesses a person to vote for Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson or former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. We have even more questions for the people who voted for Hank Aaron (who died in 2021) or Lou Gehrig (who died in 1941).

Brooklyn native Sandy Koufax, who remains alive and attending World Series games at 89, got a vote after leaving the city with the Dodgers in the 1950s. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart got two votes, or three if you count the vote for “Jackson Dart.” So did his teammate, running back Cam Skattebo, and New York Yankees playoff hero Cam Schlittler.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred also got a vote, as did three NFL players who have been division rivals for New York teams their entire careers: Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and, of course, Tom Brady. On the media side, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith got two votes while pondering a political career.

In terms of volume, Knicks star Jalen Brunson took the win among athletes with 27 votes, well ahead of second place, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s 11. If you count the votes for “Jaylen Brunson” and “Jalen Bronson,” he tied with Hillary Clinton for the 12th-most votes among write-in candidates.

Trivia answer: USC (eight winners)

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Serena filed paperwork to return to tennis but denied a comeback. What’s going on?

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