Hello and welcome to another edition of <\/span>Free Agent<\/span><\/i>! It’s a tough week, but <\/span>try your best<\/span><\/a>, even when the odds aren’t in your favor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let’s talk about golf today, and how the Trump administration got ahead of itself in its plans to take over three golf courses in Washington, D.C. Then we’ll talk about college football bowl season, and why you should thank capitalism for it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Locker Room Links<\/b><\/h1>\n

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• Rory McIlroy seems open to letting <\/span>LIV Golf players back on the PGA Tour<\/span><\/a>: “They’ve already paid their consequences.”<\/span><\/li>\n
• Mark Cuban says the NBA loosened enforcement of the travel rule for “no good reason other than <\/span>they didn’t want to call so many travels<\/span><\/a>.”<\/span><\/li>\n
• A personal example of how the <\/span>new tax law is much, much worse<\/span><\/a> for sports bettors.<\/span><\/li>\n
• The U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team is getting <\/span>its first black player<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n
• Elsewhere in <\/span>Reason<\/span><\/i>: “<\/span>What Does It Mean To ‘Run’ Venezuela<\/span><\/a>“<\/span><\/li>\n
• Everything has a local angle!<\/span><\/span>
  
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  Oh great! #TexasTech<\/a> is screwed! pic.twitter.com\/OnvW4lqlXL<\/a><\/p>\n

  — Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) January 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n