success

Has there been a year this decade when we’ve been sad to see it go?

I thought about that while reading our “25 ways to banish this no good, very bad year” list, which contains some terrific ideas, and I’d be very happy to watch you jump into the Pacific on New Year’s Day, if you feel so inclined. But they’re all predicated on the idea that this year has given off a stench that needs to be smothered, the same way you’d cleanse your dog in tomato juice after an encounter with a skunk.

And this is true. Even Game 7 of the World Series can’t erase the heartache that 2025 has inflicted upon us, though props to Kiké Hernández for doing his best to distract from the headlines.

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope newsletter, wishing you and yours a better new year. It’s a low bar. I’m optimistic we can jump it.

Predicting ‘Avatar’s’ Oscar chances

Did anyone really want to see a third “Avatar” movie?

Sure, someone must have. It sold $89 million in tickets last weekend, though that number fell short of analysts’ forecast for James Cameron’s three-hour movie. For comparison, 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” brought in $134 million in its opening weekend. That movie, like the series’ 2009 first film, built its $2-billion-plus box office over time.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” may well do the same.

Still, doesn’t it feel like there should be more excitement to go see a movie that might gross $2 billion worldwide? Maybe you were among the first in line to see it last Friday. No judgment. I’ve seen every Cameron movie in a theater, a streak I suspect will continue as long as he’s making films.

The thing is, Cameron himself is giving the distinct impression that he’s ready to move on from “Avatar,” even though he has already written scripts for the fourth and fifth entries in the franchise. He has other projects in the works, adapting “Ghosts of Hiroshima,” which revolves around the true story of the only survivor of both atomic bombs dropped on Japan. And he has teased a “Terminator” reboot.

Cameron is 71, a kid compared to Ridley Scott (88) and Martin Scorsese (83), but still … the clock is ticking.

Do you want him devote another three years (or more) to the lush, gorgeous world of Pandora?

Maybe if “Avatar: Fire and Ash” had spent less time repeating the same themes — and, sometimes, the same scenes — almost beat for beat from the “The Way of Water,” I’d feel differently. The new movie is, of course, a visual feast, though with just three years between the second and third films, the technological advances don’t feel as awe-inspiring this time around. Cameron remains adept at world-building and creating tense action set pieces. He’s also unrivaled at serving up lumpy dialogue, and the new film has serious pacing issues. “Fire and Ash” feels every bit like a 197-minute movie.

When I did my last set of Oscar best picture power rankings on Nov. 3, I put “Fire and Ash” at No. 10, sight unseen. This was in part because Cameron is Cameron and deserves respect and also because would-be contenders like “A House of Dynamite,” “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” “The Smashing Machine” and “After the Hunt” weren’t connecting with voters.

But the franchise fatigue with “Avatar” feels real. It’ll still probably win the visual effects Oscar and pick up a nomination for sound. But I suspect it’s going to fall just outside the 10 movies nominated for best picture.

If that happens, will anyone cry “snub”? Likely not. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” can still inspire wonder, but for the first time in his career, Cameron is spinning his wheels. It feels like he’s ready to return to Earth.

More coverage of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

Liverpool and Egypt star forward Mohamed Salah is centred on winning his first Africa Cup of Nations title.

Egypt captain Mohamed Salah ‌has put aside his travails at Liverpool and is focused on Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) ‍success with his national ‍team, coach Hossam Hassan said on Sunday.

Egypt’s talisman is at the tournament in Morocco on the back of a fiery outburst after being dropped by the Premier League champions, but his comments and subsequent apology to teammates have had no impact on his form, Hassan ⁠said ahead of Egypt’s opening Group B match against Zimbabwe in Agadir on Monday.

“Salah’s morale in training is ​very high, as if he were just starting out with the national team, and ‍I believe he will have a great tournament with his country,” said the coach.

At 33, it is arguably Salah’s last chance to win an elusive trophy with Egypt and add international honours to an impressive collection of medals at club ‍level.

“I believe Salah ⁠will be among the best players at the tournament, and he will remain an icon and one of the best players in the world.

“I support him technically and morally, because we cannot forget that Salah needs to win the Africa Cup of Nations,” Hassan added.

Liverpool struggles on the backburner

Salah goes into Monday’s match having last started for Liverpool in their 4-1 home loss to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League at the end of November.

He was dropped for the next game against West ​Ham United, and after a draw with Leeds United on December 6, lashed ‌out at the club and Liverpool coach Arne Slot, telling journalists he felt he had been made a scapegoat for their poor start to the season and suggested that he may not have long left at Anfield.

Hassan said he had kept in ‌touch with his captain throughout the controversy.

“There was constant communication with Mohamed Salah during what I don’t want to call a crisis because any player ‌can have a difference of opinion with his coach at his ⁠club.”

Salah has not scored since Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa at the start of November, including an outing with Egypt in a friendly against Uzbekistan last month.

“The same situation happened with Salah when he went through a period of not scoring goals with ‌Liverpool,” Hassan told reporters.

“Then he returned to the right path through the national team, and as a result, he came back at a level even better than before. I believe he will deliver a strong ‍tournament alongside his teammates.”

Salah has twice been a Cup of Nations runner-up, in 2017 and 2021. Egypt have won a record seven AFCON titles, but their last success was in 2010.

In a national address, US President Donald Trump claimed the Gaza truce he helped broker brought peace to the Middle East “for the first time in 3,000 years.” Trump’s statement comes despite ongoing Israeli ceasefire violations and near-daily attacks on Gaza.

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia finished second in Heisman Trophy voting to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

That, of course, is quite an accomplishment.

But Pavia apparently felt otherwise. After the results were announced Saturday in New York, the 23-year-old senior posted a photo of himself with his offensive linemen on his Instagram Stories and gave it a profane caption.

“F-ALL THE VOTERS,” Pavia wrote, followed by a thumbs-down emoji, “BUT ….. FAMILY FOR LIFE”

On Sunday night, Pavia posted a lengthy apology on X.

“Being a part of the Heisman ceremony last night as a finalist was such an honor,” he wrote. “As a competitor, just like in everything I do I wanted to win. To be so close to my dream and come up short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to.

“I have much love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process, and I apologize for being disrespectful. It was a mistake, and I am sorry.”

Heisman Trophy finalists, from left to right, Notre Dame‘s Jeremiah Love, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin pose with the trophy before the award ceremony Dec. 13 in New York.

(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Associated Press)

Mendoza received 643 first-place votes and 2,362 overall points to Pavia’s 189 first-place votes and 1,435 points. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love finished third in voting (46 first place, 719 points), and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin was fourth (eight first place, 432 points).

Indiana (13-0) is the top team in the College Football Playoff rankings and will play the Oklahoma-Alabama winner in the Rose Bowl. Mendoza has played a large role in the Hoosiers’ success. He completed 71.5% of his passes for 2,980 yards with a national-best 33 touchdown passes and six interceptions. In addition, Mendoza rushed for 240 yards and six touchdowns.

“Fernando Mendoza is an elite competitor and a deserving winner of the award,” Pavia wrote. “I have nothing but respect for his accomplishments as well as the success that Jeremiyah and Julian had this season.”

Pavia also put up huge numbers for Vanderbilt (10-2), which was No. 14 in the final CFP ranking and will play Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 1. He completed 71.2% of his passes for 3,192 yards with 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions and rushed for 826 yards and nine touchdowns.

A former walk-on at New Mexico Military Institute, Pavia played two years at New Mexico State before transferring to Vanderbilt in 2024. Leading up to the Heisman ceremony, Pavia declared himself the best college football player of all time. He recently told Sports Illustrated, however, that his self-confidence should not be mistaken for arrogance.

“As an underdog paying to walk on to JUCO, you kind of have to be your own cheerleader,” Pavia said. “And it just never left my head, to be like ‘Oh I arrived, I don’t need to do that anymore.’”

Pavia reflected on his past in his apology post.

“I’ve been doubted my whole life. Every step of my journey I’ve had to break down doors and fight for myself, because Ive learned that nothing would be handed to me,” he wrote. “My family has always been in my corner, and my teammates, coaches and staff have my six. I love them — I am grateful for them. — and I wouldn’t want anything to distract from that. I look forward to competing in front of my family and with my team one more time in the ReliaQuest Bowl.”