Axios

Novak Djokovic has been granted a medical exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine requirement at the Australian Open and will be competing in the tournament, Djokovic announced and the Australian Open confirmed on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Djokovic, the world's No. 1 tennis player, had so far not revealed his vaccination status and it was unclear whether he would play in the tournament, per the Washington Post.

Fanatics agreed to buy the trading cards and collectibles business of Topps for around $500 million.

Why it matters: Topps must feel like a baseball card stuck to a bicycle spoke. The industry pioneer last year agreed to go public via SPAC at a $1.3 billion valuation, but the merger was scrapped after Topps lost its exclusive licensing deal with Major League Baseball to Fanatics, which has yet to print a single card.

Kyrie Irving is expected to make his season debut Wednesday night in Indiana as a part-time Nets player, suiting up only for road games where his unvaccinated status doesn't break local mandates.

Why it matters: Irving will be the NBA's first part-time player since 1962, when Chicago Zephyrs rookie Terry Dischinger balanced basketball and books — a far different situation than the one Irving is in.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is perhaps the most powerful figure in college sports, leading a conference that takes center stage Monday night in Indianapolis.

State of play: Sankey has helped solidify the SEC as the cream of the Power Five crop — a league so lucrative it could soon generate more revenue than the NCAA, itself.

Alabama and Georgia will meet in next week's CFP national championship — the second such meeting in four years, and the second game between the SEC rivals in five weeks.

CFP semifinals: While three of the seven CFP title games have been classics, the semifinals have been horrible. That trend continued this year, increasing the average margin of victory in CFP semifinals to 21 points.