New digests will go out each Thursday and Monday and will be repeated on other weekdays. Please note that story plans may change depending on news and other issues. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues Oshane Ximines Jersey , contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport(at)ap.org or 877-836-9477. For reruns, call the Service Desk 800-838-4616 or your local AP bureau. As with all our operations, we welcome and want your feedback. If you have thoughts or questions about the Sports Showcase Digest or the material listed, please reach out to Oskar Garcia, assistant sports editor for the U.S. east region, at 215-446-6632 or at ogarcia(at)ap.org. All times are Eastern. — NOTE: The story that was slugged SOC–Brazil-Del Nero Survives and promised on the Showcase Digest for Dec. 21 will not move because the material was used for spot news on Friday, Dec. 15. — WEDNESDAY, Dec. 20 FBN–GOING VEGETARIAN NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee linebacker Wesley Woodyard went vegetarian after finally getting a taste of the delicious burgers his teammates ate in the locker room. He has plenty of company on defense too with 11 Titans jumping on the plant-based diet with lunches delivered by the Cordon Bleu-trained wife of linebacker Derrick Morgan. The stereotype is NFL players chow down on platters of meat to survive and thrive, but the veggie-fueled Titans rank among the league’s best defenses. By Pro Football Writer Teresa M. Walker. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 3 a.m. Wednesday. THURSDAY, Dec. 21 SKOREA-OLYMPICS-COLD GAMES PYEONGCHANG – The cold is back for the Winter Games. After two straight balmy Olympics where some might have wondered if it was even winter, let alone the world’s pre-eminent freeze-dependent sporting event, athletes and visitors alike will finally experience a no-joke chill in their bones during the games. How cold? So cold that locals say windows sometimes break. So cold that tears well in the eyes within seconds. So cold that men have been known to flashback to being posted for hours in frozen silence on the frontline during mandatory military service in their youths. So cold the ink in a pen grows sluggish and dies as it scribbles over a page. ”We all hope it will be better in February, but if it’s like it is now, there will be big trouble. It’s just too cold for outsiders,” says Choi Jong Sik, 64, who smirks as a visiting reporter sheds layers of clothing like a snake sheds skins. By Foster Klug. UPCOMING: 900 words, photos, video by 1 a.m. FRIDAY Julian Love Jersey , Dec. 22 US HOCKEY RISING In the first 20 years of the IIHF World Junior Championship tournament, Team USA managed two podium finishes – bronze medals in 1986 and 1992.The state of USA hockey has improved, and the results of the Junior Championship – the annual tournament for the world’s best players 20 and under – reflects the development work and higher profile of the sport in a nation where hockey is only the sixth most popular sport. The US has won gold medals three times since 2010, including last year when they beat Canada in a shootout in the riveting final game. But the Americans haven’t been able to successfully defend a title, nor have they been able to win a junior tournament on their own soil. That could change when the 10-nation tournament begins the day after Christmas in Buffalo, New York. By Mitch Stacy. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 3 a.m. Friday. SUNDAY, Dec. 24 OLY–HKW-FAMILY BRANDT VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. – Marissa Brandt believed her hockey career was over, until the call came inquiring about her interest in playing for South Korea’s upstart team in the upcoming Winter Olympics. As a native Korean, adopted as an infant by parents in Minnesota, she’s eligible to play for the host country. The experience has given her a life-changing chance to discover her roots, but there’s yet another twist. Her sister, Hannah Brandt, will also be going for the gold in Pyeongchang as a member of the U.S. women’s team. They’re in opposite pools in the tournament, but the Koreans and Americans could meet in the quarterfinals. By Dave Campbell. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos, video by 10 a.m. Sunday. MONDAY, Dec. 25 FBC–T25-OHIO STATE FUTURE COLUMBUS, Ohio – Reloading is going to be a little more challenging than usual for Ohio State coach Urban Meyer next fall. Seven fifth-year seniors who were key contributors are departing, including quarterback J.T. Barrett Darius Slayton Jersey , a four-year starter who holds nearly every Ohio State passing and scoring record.Another handful of this season’s starters could depart early to enter the NFL draft. First, though, Meyer will focus on beating Southern California in the Cotton Bowl Dec. 29. By Mitch Stacy. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos by 3 a.m. Monday, Dec. 25. THURSDAY, Dec. 28 OLY–SKI-THE SNOW MAN PINEDALE, Wyo. – The cattle rancher and hay farmer from western Wyoming will have a big influence on who wins the speed events at the Winter Olympics in South Korea. Tom Johnston’s other job just so happens to be as one of the world’s foremost experts on shaping a race course, most notably the downhill and super-G courses that Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin, Aksel Lund Svindal and the rest will zoom down come February. By Pat Graham. UPCOMING: 1,000 words, photos, video by 3 a.m. Thursday. — Again, if you have questions about the Sports Showcase Digest or the material listed, please reach out to Oskar Garcia, assistant sports editor for the U.S. east region, at 215-446-6632 or at ogarcia(at)ap.org. Thanks, AP Sports The NFL entered a partnership with Caesars Entertainment on Thursday, the league’s first official casino sponsor. The multiyear deal, however, does not include sports betting or fantasy football.The arrangement begins with this weekend’s playoffs and is worth $30 million annually for three years T.J. Hockenson Jersey , a person with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not announced specific terms.This latest development is part of a dizzying turnabout for the league. For years, the league insisted gambling was one of the biggest threats to its existence.Caesars will draw on its properties, celebrity chefs, music artists and other entertainment platforms to provide NFL fans with “unique experiences.”Caesars will have exclusive rights to NFL trademarks in the U.S. and United Kingdom, including the Super Bowl and draft. Caesars will host parts of the 2020 draft.The Cowboys, Ravens, Saints, Falcons, Eagles, Bears, Raiders, Jets, Lions and Seahawks already have advertising agreements with casinos. Caesars Entertainment is heavily into sports books operations and has locations in New Jersey and Mississippi, along with Nevada. It has planned one in Pennsylvania.With the expansion of sports betting to other states made possible by last year’s Supreme Court ruling, other gambling companies have reached partnerships with leagues. Last year, MGM Resorts became the official gambling partner of the NBA, the NHL and Major League Baseball.Attempts by Las Vegas to advertise on the Super Bowl were rebuffed repeatedly in the past because the city has casino gambling and sports betting. Three years ago, the NFL canceled a fantasy sports convention that then-Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was helping organize because it was going to be held in a convention area adjacent to a Las Vegas casino.Things began changing in 2017 when the NHL put a team in Las Vegas, the first major sports franchise for the city. They changed even more when the city lured the Raiders beginning in 2020 with a $1.9 billion stadium built across the freeway from the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell attended the groundbreaking for the new stadium and later awarded Las Vegas the 2020 NFL draft.