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On Dec. 26, in a prime-time game, the Dallas Cowboys beat Washington by 42 points. While the hype after that game was out of control, it was justified. The Cowboys looked Super Bowl-worthy.

A few weeks later, that same team went one-and-done in the playoffs.

The Cowboys are on an improbable streak. They haven't played in a conference championship game since the end of the 1995 season. This failure will linger for a long time. It's a team that had the offensive and defensive stars to make a deep run, but they were outplayed on their home field by a San Francisco 49ers team that barely made the playoffs. The Cowboys' season is over after the 23-17 wild-card round loss.

Dallas made a run, sparked by Jimmy Garoppolo's awful fourth-quarter interception that helped pull the Cowboys to within six points. Dak Prescott had a chance to drive his team for the win in the final three minutes, but on fourth-and-11 the 49ers blitzed and got pressure, and Prescott's desperation pass to Cedrick Wilson fell incomplete.

The 49ers couldn't run out the clock after that and had to punt. Dallas had a small chance to drive 75 yards in the final 32 seconds, but the Cowboys couldn't stop the clock after a Prescott run to the middle of the field. An official bumped Prescott trying to get the ball set, which threw Prescott off as he rushed to spike it. It was a poor decision to run Prescott that late in the game with with no timeouts left. Time ran out and the Cowboys' season was over.

The 49ers have been on a roll and could end up making a Super Bowl run. We thought the same about the Cowboys just a few weeks ago.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) looks on after throwing an incomplete pass, turning the ball over on downs to the San Francisco 49ers during a wild card NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, in Arlington, Texas. San Francisco won 23-17. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

The energy on Sunday for the Cowboys was bad from the start. The 49ers had a dominant drive to start the game and Eli Mitchell scored for a 7-0 lead. The Cowboys lost 13 yards on their first drive and the 49ers responded with a field goal.

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There were moments when the 49ers seemed willing to let Dallas back into the game. They settled for some field goals. They had a brutal roughing the punter penalty to start the second half. But the Cowboys still languished behind. They trailed 16-7 in the third quarter when Prescott threw an interception to K'Wuan Williams. On the next play Deebo Samuel ran 26 yards for a touchdown and the Cowboys were in a big hole.

Dallas had a shot late in the fourth quarter after Garoppolo threw the interception, the Cowboys cashed in and then got the ball back after a great tackle by linebacker Leighton Vander Esch on a third-down Samuel catch. But a well-timed 49ers blitz on fourth down on the ensuing drive led to Prescott throwing incomplete, ending that chance. Dallas had one more opportunity but its desperation drive came up short.

All the potential issues for the Cowboys bit them Sunday. Head coach Mike McCarthy didn't have a lot of answers. Ezekiel Elliott looks like he won't rebound to the running back he once was. Prescott had a quiet day. Dallas thrives off big plays on defense and the Cowboys' playmaking stars didn't generate many. Cornerback Trevon Diggs, who led the NFL in interceptions but gave up a lot of yards as well, didn't have a great day. There were way too many penalties, including an illegal hands to the face with less than five minutes left on a third-and-12 that allowed the 49ers to keep a crucial drive alive. The Cowboys were sloppy and were outplayed by the 49ers, who looked like the better team all afternoon.

One sequence summed up the Cowboys' effort. They ran a nice fake punt in the fourth quarter. Then they made the confusing decision to leave the punt team on the field, presumably in an effort to confuse the 49ers. The Cowboys tried rushing their offense on the field, but the 49ers were allowed to substitute too and Dallas took a delay of game. It was a smart play followed up by a totally needless mistake.

After that win over Washington, it seemed inconceivable Dallas would be done before wild-card weekend was over. It'll be a long offseason.

Eli Mitchell and the 49ers had a big day in a win over the Cowboys. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)

The 49ers are playing as well as anyone. They have won eight of 10, including an overtime win in Week 18 at the Los Angeles Rams just to get in the playoffs.

The things they do well all clicked against Dallas. They ran the ball well. They got big plays from one of their playmakers, this time Samuel. The defense was very good, limiting Dallas' run game and pressuring Prescott often. A team that can run it like the 49ers, get a few big plays a game from their offensive stars and get after the quarterback can be a problem in the playoffs. They were for the Cowboys on Sunday.

There are flaws. On Garoppolo's horrendous fourth-quarter interception, he badly overthrew Trent Sherfield and it was returned deep into Cowboys territory, and Dallas cashed it in with a touchdown. It was a hideous mistake at the exact wrong time for Garoppolo, but that's a reason the 49ers already drafted his successor. He can melt down at the worst time.

That made the 49ers sweat. But San Francisco's defense came up with the stops it needed at the end. It doesn't do the Cowboys much good to know they were close to a win over a hot 49ers team. They were expected to win and start a postseason run. But their offseason begins before the NFC championship game, yet again.

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Cowboys start long offseason after another playoff failure, as they lose to 49ers - Yahoo Sports

Bill Belichick isn't one to mince words, and he stayed true to that philosophy when he spoke to the media following the New England Patriots' demoralizing 47-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

They played well. We didnt. They deserved to win," Belichick said via the Boston Globe.

Belichick went over a handful of plays that didn't go their way, specifically calling out Bills safety Micah Hyde's end zone interception. But he concluded that it would be hard to name every single play that didn't go the Patriots' way, since there were quite a few.

There are a lot of plays that didnt go well tonight, so I guess thats a pretty long list, Belichick said.

Bill Belichick was complimentary toward the Bills after they demoralized the Patriots in a 47-17 wild-card loss. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

Despite getting back to Massachusetts very late following the game, Belichick still had his end-of-season video conference on Sunday morning. He began by thanking the press for their patience and cooperation while covering the team this season, and discussed how much he respect and appreciates not just the players, but the coaches and support staff.

Belichick said that he has no plans to make any decisions about the 2022 squad right away. While Saturday night's game was important, there were 17 others, and Belichick said he wants to take a "longer view" on the season and evaluate everything. Decisions will be made, but not right away.

"Again, the day after the season with the players and the roster is definitely not a time to make those decisions on any level," Belichick said. "The team level or the player level. I think we all need to step back and again, catch our breath, and take a longer view of things, and at some point we'll talk about certain situations players that aren't under contract, players who whatever their future is with the team, or whatever their individual situations are, those will all be dealt with at a later point in time. Certainly not today, tomorrow, or the next day."

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Belichick has made one decision concerning next season: He said plans to return to coach the Patriots for the 2022 season.

As Belichick himself said, he may have a lot of work to do.

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Bill Belichick says Bills 'deserved to win,' will return to coach Patriots in 2022 - Yahoo Sports

Amazons (AMZN) stock has had a rough 12 months. While the S&P 500 has gained as much as 24% and Microsoft (MSFT) has jumped 48%, Amazons stock has risen just 4%. But at least one analyst believes the stock is set for a rebound in the second half of 2022.

This is a company that faced a lot of inflation and supply chain risks in the back half of the last year, Evercore ISIs Mark Mahaney told Yahoo Finance Live.

I think all of those will be absorbed into the business model or [comparisons] against, and thats what allows, in the back half of the year, revenue growth to accelerate, margins to expand, and the stock to take off.

Those include investments in ever faster delivery programs, taking on the competition in grocery delivery, and ramping up sales of business supplies.

I refer to the company as hunting three big whales in the retail business," Mahaney said. "I think they can unlock more revenue growth for Amazon, and I think thats under-appreciated in the stock."

Amazon experienced sharp revenue growth in the early days of the pandemic due to more people shopping online to avoid potential COVID exposure. But the explosive growth in Amazons sales, combined with a need to invest more in its delivery and logistics infrastructure has put a strain on the companys net income.

In Q3 2020, Amazon reported net income, which is the companys income minus taxes and expenses, of $6.3 billion. In Q3 2021, however, net income was just $3.2 billion. This drop came even though Amazon made more in sales in Q3 2021, $54.9 billion, than in 2020, $52.8 billion.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

When the sort of super excess demand related to COVID and online retail started to abate last year, you saw how much they were spending, Mahaney said. Amazon has increased its distribution capacity, all of its fulfillment centers, etc., its increased by I think as much in the last few years as Walmart (WMT) has in its entire history. There is a massive investment cycle going on at Amazon.

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Amazon is expected to announce even more expenditures in its upcoming Q4 earnings report. In a statement released as part of Amazons Q3 report in October, newly minted CEO Andy Jassy said the company will continue to spend heavily.

In the fourth quarter, we expect to incur several billion dollars of additional costs in our Consumer business as we manage through labor supply shortages, increased wage costs, global supply chain issues, and increased freight and shipping costs all while doing whatever it takes to minimize the impact on customers and selling partners this holiday season, Jassy said.

Itll be expensive for us in the short term, but its the right prioritization for our customers and partners.

But Amazon has other levers that it can pull to push its stock price higher, Mahaney told Yahoo Finance. Specifically, it can dive deeper into ultra-fast delivery, grocery, and business supplies.

Faster delivery, Mahaney predicts, will result in more people signing up for Amazons Prime service. And since Prime subscribers tend to spend more on Amazon, that will invariably help increase Amazons bottom line.

Grocery delivery is another major opportunity point for Amazon, as it battles it out with the likes of Walmart and Instacart for control of the space. Finally, Mahaney says Amazon could see a benefit from its business supplies business.

Amazon has yet to announce the date of its Q4 earnings release, though itll likely come sometime in February. Well find out more about the companys latest expenditures, and its strategy moving forward then.

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Amazon is 'hunting three big whales in its retail business': analyst - Yahoo Finance

Detroit Red Wings fans throw an octopus on the ice at the start of the playoffs. Buffalo Bills fans threw a sex toy.

You might have forgotten about the weird tradition, in which Bills fans started throwing a sex toy on the field when they played the New England Patriots. Buffalo fans did not forget about it. So as part of the party Saturday night, when the Bills were blowing out the Patriots, someone who snuck the sex toy into the stadium let it fly into the end zone.

It made CBS' broadcast with Patriots receiver Kendrick Bourne pointing in confusion, and created one of the funniest still shots you'll find from this NFL season.

Yeah, it's what you think it is, Kendrick.

The Bills were destroying the Patriots in an AFC wild-card playoff game. The fans had a unique way of marking the occasion.

Bills fans were ready for the New England Patriots before a wild-card playoff game. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

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It's back! Bills fans rekindle old tradition, throw sex toy on the field during game vs. Patriots - Yahoo Sports

SACRAMENTO Sacramento Kings guard DeAaron Foxs name is circulating throughout the league as a big-time player who can potentially be moved by the Feb. 10 NBA trade deadline.

The Philadelphia 76ers canvassed the prospect of a Fox-Ben Simmons trade package as recently as a few days ago, but dialogue remains exploratory due diligence, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The Kings have received an abundance of interest in Fox and second-year guard Tyrese Haliburton, but the internal plan is to build around those two cornerstones in the backcourt rather than shipping them out, sources said.

However, no player on the Kings roster is deemed untouchable. Sacramento is 17-27 and 11th in the Western Conference standings.

You definitely think about potentially being traded because we are struggling, Fox told Yahoo Sports after leading the Kings with 29 points in a 125-116 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. If you do have a change of scenery, it changes everything. Ive been here for five years. Ive built a life here, a family here. But once Im on the court, all that is out the window. Youre not thinking about anything else that can happen outside of your control.

"But Ive been through some deadlines. Ive seen people get traded at the last second. You try not to think about it, but you know its a business and anything can happen. Im not sure whats going to happen. Obviously, you see reports on Twitter. Am I worried about it? No. Can it happen? Yeah, it can definitely happen.

Sacramento Kings guard DeAaron Fox said he is not focused on the trade deadline despite teams expressing interest in him. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Fox. 24, has yet to reach his full potential and many NBA onlookers attribute that to an inferior supporting cast as well as enduring a rotating coaching carousel throughout his career. His numbers are down this season overall, but in January, Fox is averaging 24.1 points and shooting 48.4% from the field.

Yet, the Kings are 2-5 in that span.

I have to keep being persistent and keep playing, Fox told Yahoo Sports. I go out there and if Im getting 30 points, I get 30. If Im not playing well, I try to get through it. Ive had good stretches, Ive had bad stretches. I dont think Ive had as bad [of] stretches as Ive had this year, for sure. But you just have to keep going. Its a long season. You play a lot of basketball games and you're going to play well and youre going to play bad. Do I think Ive had the greatest season this year? No. I know I havent played too well. But I try to control what I can control and do the best that I can do.

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Part of Foxs developmental hindrance is figuring out a consistent role. Hes been asked to play certain ways depending on the coach and the lineup hes paired with. Fox said he takes "full responsibility for his shortcomings, but with this season marking half a decade in the league for the guard, he said he has an understanding of the best way he can be utilized in order to reach his full potential.

I think Im a scorer, Fox told Yahoo Sports. Just with the work that I continue to put in and knowing what I do when the cameras are off. Just being one of the best scorers in the league, truthfully. I think Ive proven that I can facilitate at times when need be. I was top five in assists before, but my game is more of being a scorer. Just being able to put all of that together and being one of the best scorers.

The Kings, under second-year general manager Monte McNair, are expected to be aggressively active at the trade deadline, sources said. The front office has been given the green light by team owner Vivek Radavine to survey all options with the goal of drastically improving the roster.

With a little under a month before the trade deadline, Fox says his primary focus will be on sustaining consistency and helping turn the team around in an effort to break the NBAs longest playoff drought of 15 years. But hes very much aware of whats around the corner.

Im not going to sit here and say I want to get traded, but anything can happen in this business, Fox told Yahoo Sports. You've seen the best players in the league get traded. You cant think youre safe. But I love being here because for years, the Kings were the only professional team in the city. Kings fans love the Kings. Thats what Ive always loved about it. And me coming from Kentucky, thats how it was. Even when we were good at football, no one cared. It was a basketball school. This is a basketball city and these fans have a genuine love for the Kings and the players, and its something that I love.

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DeAaron Fox addresses Kings trade rumors, his ideal role in the NBA - Yahoo Sports

Bank of America says 5G comes alive in 2022 it sees big upside potential for 3 smaller-name stocks that could give you a piece in a pivotal year

2021 turned out to be a great year for many 5G stocks. But according to Bank of America, 2022 could be even better.

This is the year 5G comes alive, says the banks Global Research team.

Bank of America points out that wireless carriers like Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on 5G deployment in the next few years. And that spending could boost the business at communications infrastructure companies.

This is the literal beginning. 22 will be a very exciting period for Comm. Infrastructure, the team says.

So heres a look at three of Bank of Americas top picks in this sector. They may not be as well known as Verizon or AT&T, but the financial juggernaut sees big upside potential in these stocks as the 5G rollout continues.

Sundry Photography/Shutterstock

Digital Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates, acquires and develops data centers. The companys shares climbed more than 20% over the past year, but Bank of America believes the REIT can go even higher.

Earlier this month, the bank reiterated its Buy rating on DLR and increased its price target from $175 to $190. Considering that the REIT trades at around $160 per share, Bank of America is projecting a potential upside of 18.8%.

Data centers have been in high demand, so unsurprisingly, business is booming at Digital Realty Trust. Since 2005, the companys core funds from operations (FFO) per share have increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%.

Digital Realty Trust also offers a steadily increasing stream of dividends to shareholders: It has raised its payout for 16 consecutive years.

In Q3 of 2021, the company signed total bookings that are expected to boost its annualized rental revenue by $113 million. Core FFO came in at $1.65 per share for the quarter, up 7.1% from a year ago.

DLR currently offers an annual dividend yield of 2.9%.

Companies that own communications towers represent another way to play the 5G boom.

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We expect carrier capex intended to build out 5G networks, C-Band, and other spectrum deployments will remain the key tailwind for demand growth, says Bank of America about this group.

Among tower owners, SBA Communications is Bank of Americas top pick.

Structured as a REIT, SBAC owns and operates a portfolio of wireless communications infrastructure that includes towers, buildings, rooftops, distributed antenna systems and small cells.

The company leases antenna space to a variety of wireless service providers under long-term lease contracts. It also assists wireless services providers and operators in developing their own networks.

SBAC has attracted a lot of investor attention, with shares soaring 223% over the past five years.

As youd expect from that share price performance, the company is pumping out impressive growth rates.

In Q3 of 2021, SBACs total revenue increased 12.7% year-over-year to $589.3 million. It generated adjusted FFO of $2.71 per share for the quarter, up 13.9% from the year-ago period.

The company pays quarterly dividends with an annual yield of just under 0.7%.

Bank of America has a Buy rating on SBAC and recently raised its price target on the company from $365 to $425. That implies a potential upside of around 25%.

Crown Castle International is another communications tower REIT that Bank of America is bullish on.

Headquartered in Houston, Crown Castle has a huge infrastructure portfolio that consists of more than 40,000 cell towers, over 80,000 small cell nodes and about 80,000 route miles of fiber.

The company has a strong appeal to dividend investors. It pays quarterly dividends of $1.47 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.1%. The dividend has increased every year and management is targeting a 7% to 8% dividend per share annual growth rate going forward.

In the latest earnings report, Crown Castle CEO Jay Brown made it very clear that 5G will be a catalyst for the companys business in 2022.

We are focused on supporting our customers as they upgrade their existing cell sites as part of the first phase of the 5G build out in the U.S., which is resulting in record tower application volumes this year and an expected 20% increase in core leasing activity for our Towers segment for full year 2022 when compared to projected 2021 levels, he said.

Bank of America has a Buy rating on Crown Castle and recently raised its price target on the company to $224, suggesting a potential upside of 19%.

Aquila/Shutterstock

At the end of the day, keep in mind that there are many ways to capitalize on the 5G rollout. From wireless carriers and communications infrastructure companies mentioned above, to device makers and semiconductor companies, many businesses are well positioned to benefit in the 5G era.

And since each sector provides a unique risk-return profile, its important to do your research before putting your money in the market.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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Bank of America says 5G comes alive in 2022 it sees big upside potential for 3 smaller-name stocks that could give you a piece in a pivotal year -...

Each week during the 2021-22 NBA season, we will take a deeper dive into some of the leagues biggest storylines in an attempt to determine whether the trends are based more in fact or fiction moving forward.

[ Last week's Fact or Fiction: Karl-Anthony Towns, the forgotten star ]

NBA stars have bounced from team to team in pursuit of happiness both on and off the court, only to find the discontentment that led them from their last stop has followed them to their latest one. Like any of us, they cannot merely rely on outside influences to provide the fulfillment they seek. Peace comes from within.

There is no better example of this than Klay Thompson's 941-day odyssey between basketball games.

I will not pretend to know how difficult the past two-plus years have been on Thompson, whose ACL and Achilles injuries kept him from the game he loves since robbing him of a title shot, but the combination of calmness, joy and appreciation we had witnessed from him in the meantime did not happen by accident.

I cannot imagine anyone embracing the moment more than Thompson. The man and his beloved bulldog take their boat to work, where he wields his craft as one of the greatest shooters in the history of the sport. There is beauty in the simplicity of his approach that makes you wonder why we complicate everything.

Of his dog, Thompson has said, "I like to enjoy nature. So does he. Its just fun to take your dog to the park. Its one of the most simple but most fun things to do." And of his boat, Thompson said, "The ocean and free diving and spear fishing and boating bring me joy, second only to winning basketball games, really.

Now, we can't all have dogs, and we can't all have boats, and we certainly can't all be five-time All-Stars for the three-time champions working on a $38 million salary in one of the country's great seaside cities, but he is living the life we all wish we would if we were NBA stars, and such clarity is easier dreamed than lived.

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The son of an NBA champion, Thompson had a leg up on us from the start, but he worked to get where he is, and you get the sense if he played elsewhere, he would be hiking the Rocky Mountains, smoking some Memphis-style barbecue, fly fishing the Provo River or getting up shots on the backside of an Indiana barn.

You get the sense he would be finding similar joy as a construction worker in New York City, because, well, no NBA player has so calmly talked scaffolding in a man-on-the-street interview for the city's nightly news.

Whether he is reading the newspaper at his locker or sitting transfixed for 35 minutes on the Chase Center court as the arena emptied around him on a late-November win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Thompson is present in a throwback way we can all admire. All of which made his return to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday so special, because an appreciative star had 941 days to appreciate the moment even more.

Thompson spent the eve of his comeback on his boat, the morning of his return at the park with his dog and the afternoon with his family. No phone, no internet. He "slept very well" in between and transferred his tranquility to the court, where he once again basked in the warmth of the crowd and his love for the game.

"Those are very special moments. I'll never forget this night," he told reporters after getting up 18 shots in 20 minutes of a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, including eight 3-pointers and a cathartic dunk through traffic. "I'll never forget the reception the Warriors fans gave us, especially myself. Gosh, it was fun, and it was worth every single day of being away, in that squat rack or on that shuttle board, all the conditioning days, it was worth every single moment, and I'm so grateful to just compete again. It's been a long road.

"I'm also proud of myself for persevering," he added, crediting by name trainers who helped him. "It was a very special moment I'll never forget. I'm not going to say it was equivalent to winning a championship, but, man, it was pretty freaking close, because there were times in the past where you second-guess yourself. You think [whether] you're going to be the same player or have the same explosion or whatever term, and just to be able to go out there, shoot the ball, play defense and compete, I mean, man, it was special."

Everything we want in a basketball player, from the skill and commitment to his craft to the bond he has formed with his city and the gratitude for it all, Thompson earnestly shared with us. Those qualities elicited a collective euphoria from current and former teammates, foes and fans who let his joy of basketball wash over them, too. If only we could have bottled Thompson's inner peace on our journey these past two years.

So, yeah, with respect to headliners Damian Lillard and Devin Booker, veterans Lou Williams and PJ Tucker, and rising stars Ja Morant and Anthony Edwards, among others, Klay Thompson is the coolest player alive.

Determination: Fact

Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach

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NBA Fact or Fiction: Klay Thompson is the coolest basketball player alive - Yahoo Sports

Yahoo Answers shut down on May 4, 2021, closing a major chapter in the history of the internet. The site had been active for 16 years, serving as a destination for people looking to get answers to virtually everything and anything.

Source: Tada Images/Shutterstock

The decision to shut down Yahoo Answers was met with a variety of responses. Some were nostalgic, reminiscing about the role the site had played in their lives during the early days of the internet. Others were glad to see it go, viewing it as long-past any relevant use. Newer internet users were ambivalent, having never really used it.

Whatever a persons thoughts about the demise of Yahoo Answers, the fact remains that the internet lost 16 years of questions and answers, making up a huge cache of archived data. Understanding why can provide valuable insights to other companies looking to avoid the same fate.

Source: Postmodern Studio/Shutterstock

Yahoo itself provided the following explanation for why it shut down Yahoo Answers:

Yahoo Answers has shut down as of May 4, 2021. Yahoo Answers was once a key part of Yahoos products and services, but it has declined in popularity over the years as the needs of our members have changed. We decided to shift our resources away from Yahoo Answers to focus on products that better serve our members and deliver on Yahoos promise of providing premium trusted content.

A decline in popularity is the main, most immediate reason for shutting down Yahoo Answers. If the site had continued the popularity it had in its early days, its a safe bet it would still be around.

Much of that decline was a direct result of the quality (or lack thereof) of the answers the site provided. Compared to sites like Quora and Reddit, Yahoo Answers overall usefulness had been fading for years, with much of the site devolving into conspiracy theories and nonsensical information. Unlike its competitors, Yahoo was never able to rein in those elements and maintain its property as a useful destination.

Source: Benny Marty/Shutterstock

While its easy to focus on the specific plummeting in popularity that ultimately put the nail in Yahoo Answers coffin, its problems began years before and were part of the larger issues Yahoo as a broader company faced. Yahoo was one of the earliest and most successful search engines and portals on the internet. The site was the destination for countless millions of users. Unfortunately, today Yahoo is a case-study in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

The company had the opportunity to buy Google for $1 billion in 2002 but, in what may be the most short-sighted move in business history, reportedly felt the price was too high. It turned down the offer, one of a series of questionable business decisions which seem dire with hindsight.

Next, Yahoo had the opportunity to buy Facebook in 2006. Despite Mark Zuckerberg refusing the $1 billion offer, according to the University of Maryland, Facebooks board would have forced Zuckerberg to sell at $1.1 billion. In what may be the second most short-sighted move in business history, Yahoo did not raise their offer to $1.1 billion.

The list of failures goes on and on. Mismanagement of acquisitions, such as Flickr and Tumblr, a botched partnership with Microsoft after rebuffing its takeover offer, and a failure to properly respond to fundamental changes in how people were using search and the internet doomed the company. Unfortunately or perhaps mercifully Yahoo Answers was a casualty of the companys overall mismanagement, and those who still have questions are told to simply go search for the answers instead.

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The Real Reason Yahoo! Answers Died Off - SlashGear

As the trade deadline approached for the NFL last November, details emerged from trade talks between the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans that had a clear mandate: For any deal involving Deshaun Watson to advance, the Dolphins wanted the quarterbacks legal issues settled. First and foremost, the 22 civil suits that were pending against the Texans QB in the Harris County Court system.

The leaking of an alleged settlement offer from Watson appears to indicate the quarterback was at least open to that possibility.

The Daily Beast reported the offer, presenting a redacted document allegedly from Watsons legal camp that was reportedly advanced to one of his 22 accusers. The document included a settlement of $100,000 to buy peace, as well as a legal withdrawal from the accusers suit, plus confidentiality and non-disparagement agreements. As part of the alleged settlement offer, Watson would also continue to deny all claims, liabilities and facts alleged by the accuser. The redacted document also included a date-of-agreement marker, which suggested it was drawn up in October. The NFLs trade deadline was Nov. 2.

Neither Watsons attorney Rusty Hardin or the attorney for the 22 accusers, Tony Buzbee, responded to requests for comment Friday. However, a source familiar with talks between the two legal camps confirmed that there was an on and off dialogue about potential settlements up to the NFLs trade deadline. Still, the source indicated that a global settlement of all 22 cases was never close to being negotiated. The source added that there has been little communication since the trade deadline passed leaving Watson and his accusers to move forward with potential depositions in the coming weeks and months.

While the alleged settlement document appeared to be a standard version of an oft-used legal tool, it is suggestive of two things if authentic: First, that Watson appears to be open to settlement to move his NFL career forward, including the possibility of individual settlements rather than one global pact; and, second, that the two sides are at such a deadlocked state that someone representing the accuser has felt compelled to leak a settlement document that otherwise would have remained secret.

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Those realties would suggest that Watsons civil cases continue to be on track to see the inside of a courtroom, regardless of the outcome of a grand jury investigation that could wrap up as early as the end of January. It also suggests that Watsons first deposition in the civil cases, which is slated to be taken in late February, is still moving forward as scheduled. In short, all of his legal issues both civil and criminal continue to loom over both the league and NFL teams that continue to monitor the quarterback.

Asked about Watsons status Friday, Texans general manager Nick Caserio indicated little had changed for the team.

There is going to be a number of things that we talk about during the offseason, Caserio told reporters in his season-ending wrap-up. That particular situation, I dont think theres any more clarity today than there was here previously. But were going to work through it. Ultimately, were going to do what we feel is best for the organization.

Caserio also spoke of his reasoning for firing head coach David Culley this week. While Caserio said he and Culley had different philosophical visions on the future, the change isnt expected to impact Watsons trade demands moving forward.

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The leaking of an alleged Deshaun Watson settlement offer suggests his legal cases will continue to loom over the NFL this offseason - Yahoo Sports

The vulnerability of Kazakhstans bitcoin mining industry was put on full display last week, when the country's internet shut down in the midst of anti-government protests, sparked by rising energy prices.

The world's second largest miner saw its hash rate or computing power that secures bitcoin, fall by double digits, in a dramatic pullback from the 18.1% it's estimated to contribute, according to Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance.

The disruption marked a big setback for a market that has looked to capitalize on a mining ban in neighboring China. Its hash rate has increased more than 10% since China's ban last June.

A lot of the older Chinese mining operations shifted to Kazakhstan,John Warren, CEO of GEM Mining, a U.S.-based company reiterated. Before launching GEMs mining operation in the U.S., Warren told Yahoo Finance he was approached about setting up operations in Kazakhstan with promoters touting its cheap power supply.

While cheap, the country's electrical grid hasn't been stable. In October, the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), which operates the national power grid, faced an energy supply crunch, citing both "a higher number of emergencies at power plants" as well as the "sharp increase in consumption of digital miners."

The limited power supply is likely to prompt another mining migration this time, out West.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Xive Mining co-founder Dibar Bekbauov said that many of the countrys mining companies are increasingly looking to the U.S. as "one of the top priorities" for expansion, largely because of the availability of cheaper electricity.

"I believe that U.S. will be the biggest mining hub in the world," he said. "More than 60% of the total hash rate will be in the United States within two years."

Such a move would not come cheap or easy, according to Colin Harper, head of content and research at Luxor, a bitcoin mining pool and software company.

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A worker fills out a form at the Whinstone US Bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas, on October 10, 2021. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) (Photo by MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. is now estimated to account for 35.4% of bitcoins hash rate. Harper told Yahoo Finance that because the country provides both abundant power and a more robust rule of law compared to other mining hotspots, competition for materials to build a mining facility or space to lease has compounded over the last year.

Adding to the hangover are China-based bitcoin miners that relocated to the U.S. and North American companies expanding. As a result, Kazakhstan-based miners thinking of moving to the U.S. could face a sizable hit to their bottom lines.

Sizable enough, especially if they just settled in the country after migrating from China that, according to Harper, some of them might throw in the towel.

'Green' in the U.S.A

The favorable condition the U.S. offers bitcoin miners is higher access to renewable energy sources.

Bitcoin minings energy intensity remains a hotly debated topic between climate activists, academics and miners themselves. Miners arent necessarily incentivized to seek renewable energy but it's become a major focus as the price of bitcoin has skyrocketed in 2020 and 2021.

According to an annual report from Luxor, publicly traded miners (and those seeking to go public) will continue to green" their operations by seeking renewables directly or purchasing carbon credits/offsets for two main reasons. First, companies will choose to do so voluntarily to mollify criticism. Second, ESG mandates from U.S. regulators will demand it.

Alex de Vries, founder of Digiconomist, an economics blog, is a staunch critic of the industrys energy consumption. De Vries told Yahoo Finance in late August that miners need cheap and stable power; and (obsolete) fossil fuels are simply better at delivering both.

On Jan. 20, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the energy impacts of cryptocurrency, and bitcoin mining is expected to take a central focus.

In total Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance, clocks the industry as consuming 126 Terra watts hours (TWh) per year, which is more electricity than the Ukraine consumes and more than the electricity consumed by residential lighting and television in the U.S. However, these comparisons are not 1-to-1.

David Hollerith covers cryptocurrency for Yahoo Finance. Follow him @dshollers.

Akiko Fujita is an anchor and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @AkikoFujita

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Kazakhstan bitcoin miner: US will make up 60% of the worlds computing power in 2 years - Yahoo Finance