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Good morning to everyone but especially to...

CARLOS CORREA AND THE NEW YORK METS

Merry early Christmas, Mets fans. In a wild turn of events overnight, superstar shortstop Carlos Correa and the Mets reached a 12-year, $315 million deal after Correa's previous -- but not yet fully completed -- deal with the San Francisco Giants fell through.

Correa, an All-Star shortstop who played with the Minnesota Twins last season, is expected to move to third base as the Mets already have Francisco Lindor at shortstop.

Now, the other side of the story: how did the Giants mess this up?! 

The canceling of the press conference clearly struck a nerve with Correa, because just hours later, in the middle of the night, Mets team owner Steve Cohen and the shortstop's agent Scott Boras ironed out the blockbuster contract while the billionaire was reportedly in Hawaii.

For the Mets, this is enormous as they now have two of the best shortstops in baseball on their own roster. The monster deal pushes the Mets' payroll to an estimated $384 million, along with $111 million in luxury tax payments.

And for the Giants, well, this is quite an unprecedented offseason they're having. First, there was the erroneous report that Judge was picking them over the Yankees (spoiler alert: he didn't) and now they've lost Correa.

... AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL FANS

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Happy National Signing Day to all who celebrate! Today marks the beginning of the early signing period for 2023 prospects, and we have plenty of top players making their decision throughout the day, including four five-star prospects.

Our experts at 247Sports have more:

  • 12 p.m. -- EDGE Damon Wilson"Georgia and Ohio State will meet on New Year's Eve in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal, but the two are currently going toe-to-toe for the edge rusher from Florida." | 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction: Ohio State
  • 12 p.m. -- DL James Smith"It's a major SEC battle for the defensive lineman from the Yellowhammer State. Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Florida all battling for Smith's signature, but the Crimson Tide had the last official visit." | Crystal Ball: Alabama
  • 12 p.m. -- EDGE Qua Russaw"The Tide also earned the last visit from Russaw, and would love to keep the in-state prospect just like Smith. But also like Smith, however, Auburn, Florida and Georgia are looming." | Crystal Ball: Alabama
  • 2 p.m. -- EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei"Hometown USC has been battling Oregon and Ohio State for his signature, and this one is so close to call -- even for the 247Sports Crystal Ball." | Crystal Ball: N/A

No coach has flipped his program more in the last year than Lincoln Riley, who used the transfer portal and strong high-school recruiting to get the Trojans back on the national scene. He could continue to add today, writes Brandon Huffman.

  • Huffman: "USC is not done swinging for the fences, remaining as serious landing spots for two more five-star prospects: No. 1 tight end Duce Robinson and five-star EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei. Georgia native Tyler Scott visited last weekend, plus the Trojans will wait as long as necessary for tight end Walker Lyons, who decommitted from Stanford last month and pushed back his decision until February. "

Of course not all great National Signing Days guarantee results, as Texas A&M is finding out the hard way, writes Dennis Dodd. Be sure to join us at 9 a.m. for Signing Day Live on the 247Sports YouTube ChannelCBS Sports HQ will pick up the broadcast at 11 a.m.

Not so honorable mentions

Mat Ishbia buys Phoenix Suns, Mercury for $4 billion 🏀

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The Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury have a new owner. Mat Ishbia, the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, is purchasing both franchises for a record $4 billion.

Ishbia, a former walk-on basketball player at Michigan State who was on the Spartans' 2000 national championship team, has been CEO at UWM since 2013, succeeding his father, Jeff.

  • This ends Robert Sarver's ownership of the Suns and Mercury. Sarver was suspended one year in September following an independent investigation into his workplace conduct. He announced that he'd be exploring selling shortly thereafter. He had owned the franchises since 2004.
  • Mat's brother, Justin, is part of the ownership group.
  • The previous record for highest price for an NBA franchise was the $2.35 billion Joe Tsai paid for the Nets in 2019.

Jerry Palm's first bracket projection of the season 🏀

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We're a month-and-a-half into college basketball season, and Jerry Palm has celebrated accordingly with his first Bracketology update of the season.

Obviously it's still very early, with conference play having just begun in most leagues, but the race for the top overall seed should be a fascinating one. It already is: Purdue and UConn are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the latest AP Poll, but Jerry has the Huskies as the top team in his projections.

  • Palm: "The Huskies have laid waste to their opponents so far this season. They have a 15-point win over Alabama and a 21-point victory at Florida that was not as close as the score would indicate. All twelve of their wins have come by double digits. Because of the more dominant performance by UConn against its schedule, I have the Huskies as the overall No. 1, with Purdue at No. 2."

Here are Palm's projected No. 1 and No. 2 seeds:

  • No. 1: UConn, Purdue, Kansas, Houston
  • No. 2: Texas, Arizona, Virginia, Baylor

You can see his full field of 68 here.

NFL Power Rankings: Cowboys fall, Jaguars climb, trying to judge the Vikings 🏈

Trying to figure out NFL Power Rankings is no easy task. This time two weeks ago, the Cowboys had won three straight, including a 40-3 blowout of the Vikings and a 54-19 blowout of the Colts. Since then, Dallas barely avoided an embarrassing loss to the Texans and followed that up by blowing a 17-point lead against the Jaguars.

That has Dallas down from third to seventh in Pete Prisco's latest Power Rankings. Here's the top 10:

Speaking of the Jaguars, they made the biggest jump of any team this week, going from 24th to 17th.

  • Prisco: "At 6-8, they will be a playoff team if they win out. That is simply incredible. Trevor Lawrence has been special the past month."

No team is tougher to figure out than the Vikings, who showed their best and their worst all in one game by pulling off the largest comeback in NFL history Saturday. They're now 11-3 this season but have only outscored their opponents 351-349. The offense can be terrific. The defense is often awful. Pete's not quite sure what to think of them.

For more, here's Pete's entire rankings.

What we're watching Wednesday 📺

🏒 Devils at Panthers, 7 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Warriors at Nets, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
🏒 Oilers at Stars, 9:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Hornets at Clippers, 10:30 p.m. on NBA TV