Basketball-NBA: Standings.
Basketball-NCAAM: Top 25 Losses in week 5. Texas NCAAM HC suspended for assault.
Football-NCAAF: Army Navy. Heisman. Mike Leach dies.
Football-NFL: 6 close games but plenty of headlines.
Golf: Match. QBE Shootout.
Olympic Sports: Skiing and Figure Skating upsets.
Soccer: World Cup updates. Quarterfinal PKs.
Basketball-NCAA:
- NCAAM Week 5: #17 Illinois upset the #2 Longhorns in OT winning 85-78 to lead off the week. That was the Longhorns first loss of the season. #13 Maryland got edged out by Wisconsin on Tuesday and then to #7 Tennessee on Sunday. #20 Iowa St lost their rivalry game to Iowa 75-56 after a shameful 20 point 1H. #8 Alabama came back to beat #1 Houston in the 2H outscoring the Cougs by 10. #10 Arizona had a strong game scoring over 40 points in both halves against a talented #14 Indiana team. After a big W over Texas, #17 Illinois had a let down game against Penn St losing by 15. BYU upset the #21 Creighton Blue Jays which put them out of the Top 25. #22 San Diego St was newly ranked before losing to Saint Mary’s on Saturday. #11 Auburn got their first loss to Memphis in Holiday Hoopsgiving tournament in Atlanta.
- Texas NCAAM coach has been suspended after being arrested on assault charges. The assault in question was on a family member or member of his household (his fiancée) that impeded their breathing. That 3rd degree felony is subject to 2 to 10 years in jail. The two have been in a relationship for 6 years when this fight broke out. She broke his glasses and he choked her and bit her. He is now suspended without pay.
- In contrast, a feel good story of Northwestern St Hansel Emmanuel, a one-armed freshman basketball player, scored his first points.
Basketball – NBA:
- NBA Standings:
- East: The Celtics lead the way in the league with 21 wins. Bucks are in 2nd.
- As of right now, the Heat are the last in and the Bulls are first out in the East.
- West: The Pelicans and Grizzlies are tie at the top with 18 wins a piece (Pelicans have the tie breaker)
- The Jazz are last in and the Timberwolves are first out. Also out, LeBron and the Lakers.
- East: The Celtics lead the way in the league with 21 wins. Bucks are in 2nd.
- Brittany Griner is back on US soil. After swapping the RUS for the Merchant of Death arms dealer, Griner was returned to America after traveling to the country with hashish oil, which is illegal. She was sentenced to 9 years in prison and was over in RUS for 10 months.
Football-NCAA:
- The Army Navy game went into 2OT for the first time ever and Army came out on top 20-17. Immediately after the loss, Navy fired their HC.
- The Heisman was given out on Saturday and it went to the nail painting QB, USC Caleb Williams.
- Mississippi St HC Mike Leach was hospitalized on Sunday. He is 61 years old and his team is set to play Illinois on Jan 2nd. Thoughts and prayers go out to the leach family.
- Update: Mike Leach has passed away. Check out this video to see why he means so much to the college football world. Also this is my favorite story.
Football – NFL:
- Week 14: We only had 6 close games but a lot of headlines from the weekend.
- QB Baker Mayfield made his Rams debut on Thursday night’s game against the Raiders and led the LA team to a comeback win, looking like his old Oklahoma self. The Texans gave the 9-3 Cowboys a scare. The Dallas team trailed 20-17 at half but they pulled out the win by scoring 10 points in the 4th.
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- The 49ers are having trouble keeping a QB on the field. They had to turn to recent Iowa St grad, Brock Purdy who became the first rookie QB to beat Brady in debut. The 49ers destroyed the Bucs 35-7. Broncos QB Russell Wilson left the game against the Chiefs with a concussion with 12 minutes to go. The damage had been done though with the Chiefs winning 34-28. The Eagles put up some college football point totals against the Giants winning 48-22.
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- In a huge upset, the 5-7 Lions beat the 10-2 Vikings 34-23. The Vikings were leading the division. Also an upset, the Jags beat the Titans by a similar score. The Lamar-less Ravens put up 10 points in the 1Q then didn’t score another TD but it as enough to hold off the also-back-up-QB Steelers – better thank your D, Baltimore. The Panthers had not won an away game all season until the Seahawks game this weekend, beating them in Seattle 30-24. The Dolphins also fell to the Chargers by 6 to make things more interesting in the division race. The Cardinals have had a bad season this year and it continues to get worse for Arizona fans after QB Kyler Murray went out of the game during the first offensive drive with a torn ACL. He is now out for the season.
Golf:
- The Match was this past weekend and it was very forgettable. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas destroyed Rory McIlroy and tiger Woods in just 10 holes.
- Sahith Theegala and Tome Hoge became the first rookie pair to win the QBE Shootout in 11 years. Good thing for the rookie pair, Ryan Palmer and Charley Hoffman missed their birdie putts that would’ve taken it to a playoff. Also Harris English and Matt Kuchar who have won the shootout 3xs previously finished 2 shots behind.
Olympic Sports:
- SUI Wendy Holdener upset Mikalea Shiffrin in the WC slalom race this weekend. This was her first win after a record 30xs on the podium, the most ever without a win. She can no longer say that!
- In another upset for the Americans, JPN Shoma Uno won the gold at the Grand Prix Final in Turin ITA. Uno had taken 2nd 2xs previously and finally got the coveted gold. USA Ilia Malinin had a bad start in the short program but rebounded well to take bronze.
- FINA is rebranding! The Federation Internationale de Natation which is french for the International Swimming Federation will be changing its name before the 2023 World Championships in July in JPN. The new name will be more inclusive of diving, water polo and artistic swimming.
- US Figure Skating has been announced that Tracey Marek will be the new CEO, first woman in its over 100 year history.
Soccer:
- World Cup Quarterfinals were amazing! After Friday, we were 2/2 of going into PKs to advance. The last time that happened was in 1986.
- CRO vs BRA was 0-0 after regulation. In ET, BRA Neymar scored his 77th goal in international play, putting him even with Pele for the most ever for the nation. CRO scored the evening goal in the 117th minute, just 3 minutes from the end of ET. Just like that, we were headed to PKs. CRO executed those almost to perfection, sending the BRA home in the Quarterfinals for the 2nd World Cup in a row. CRO wins in PKs 4-2. Neymar didn’t even get to take his.
- The 2nd game on Friday also lived up to expectations. ARG was winning 2-0, an almost insurmountable score, in the 73rd. But NED fought back soring their first goal 10 minutes later. Then we had 11 minutes of stoppage time and good thing too because NED scored in the final minute to bring the game to 2-2. ET ended tied so we headed to PKs. But that’s where the NED luck ran out. ARG holds on to the win beating CRO 4-3 in PKs.
- Morocco is the first African nation to make it to the World Cup Quarterfinal and Semifinal after beating Portugal 1-0 on Saturday.
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- Defending champ, FRA put up the first goal against powerhouse ENG in the 17th minute but ENG Kane scored off another great Penalty kick in the 54th. FRA pulled back into the elad with an amazing header in the 78th Again, it fell to Kane on a PK in the 84th but he missed over the bar and that was it for the ENG team. FRA advances.
- Semifinals are ARG vs CRO and FRA vs MOR
What to watch this week
Basketball – NBA:
- Tues 12/13
- Warriors at Bucks @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Celtics at Lakers @ 9pm on TNT
- Wed 12/14
- Knicks at Bulls @ 6:30pm on ESPN
- Timberwolves at Clippers @ 9pm on ESPN
- Fri 12/16
- Warriors at 76ers @ 6:30pm on ESPN
- Nuggets at Lakers @ 9pm on ESPN
Basketball – NCAA:
- Mon 12/12
- Rice at 2. Texas @ 7pm on LGHN
- Arizona St at 21. Creighton @ 8pm on FS1
- Tues 12/13
- Memphis at 8. Alabama @ 8pm on ESPN2
- Wed 12/14
- Jackson St at 23. Mississippi St @ 6:30pm on SEC
- Georgia St at 11. Auburn @ 7pm on SEC
- UCLA at 13. Maryland @ 8pm on FS1
- Fri 12/16
- Creighton at Marquette @ 7:30pm on FS1
- Sat 12/17
- Indiana at 6. Kansas @ 11am on ESPN2
- Alabama at 18. Gonzaga @ 12pm on CBS
- Houston at 3. UVA @ 1pm on ESPN2
- Nicholls at 23. Mississippi St @ 2pm on SEC
- Alabama A&M at 17. Illinois @ 3pm on BTN
- UCLA at 16. Kentucky @ 4:15pm on CBS
- Davidson ay 4. Purdue @ 5:15pm on BTN
- UConn at Butler @ 6pm on FS1
- Tennessee at 10. Arizona @ 9:30pm on ESPN2
- Sun 12/18
- Stanford at 2. Texas @ 12pm on ESPN2
- Auburn at USC @ 4:30pm on ESPN
- Washington St at 12. Baylor @ 9pm on ESPN2
Football-NCAAF:
| Bowl Game Schedule | |||||||||
| Bowl | Home | Visitor | Day | Time (CT) | TV | Stadium (State) | Line | ||
| HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl | Miami (OH) | UAB | Fri 12/16 | 10:30 AM | ESPN | Robinson National (Bahamas) | +11 | ||
| Duluth Trading Cure Bowl | 25. UTSA | 24. Troy | Fri 12/16 | 2:00 PM | ESPN | Exploria (FL) | +1 | ||
| Wasabi Fenway Bowl | Cincinnati | Louisville | Sat 12/17 | 10:00 AM | ESPN | Fenway (MA) | Tie | ||
| SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl | Florida | 14. Oregon St | Sat 12/17 | 1:30 PM | ESPN | Allegiant (NV) | +10 | ||
| Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl by Stifel | Washington St | Fresno St | Sat 12/17 | 2:30 PM | ABC | SoFi Stadium (CA) | +3 | ||
| LendingTree Bowl | Rice | Southern Mississippi | Sat 12/17 | 4:45 PM | ESPN | Ladd-Peebles (AL) | +6.5 | ||
| New Mexico Bowl | SMU | BYU | Sat 12/17 | 6:30 PM | ABC | University Stadium (NM) | -1.5 | ||
| Frisco Bowl | UNT | Boise St | Sat 12/17 | 8:15 PM | ESPN | Toyota (TX) | +10 | ||
Football – NFL:
- Mon 12/12
- Patriots at Cardinals @ 7:15pm on ESPN
- Thurs 12/15
- 49ers at Seahawks @ 7:15pm on Prime
- Sat 12/17
- Colts at Vikings @ 12pm on NFL
- Ravens at Browns @ 3:30pm on NFL
- Dolphins at Bills @ 7:15pm on NFL
- Sun 12/18
- 6 games at 12pm on FOX/CBS
- FOX:
- Eagles at Bears
- Falcons at Saints
- Cowboys at Jaguars
- CBS:
- Loins at Jets
- Steelers at Panthers
- Chiefs at Texans
- FOX:
- Cardinals at Broncos – or – Patriots at Raiders @ 3:05pm on FOX
- Titans at Chargers – or – Bengals at Bucs @ 3:25pm on CBS
- Giants at Commanders @ 7:20pm on NBC
- 6 games at 12pm on FOX/CBS
- Mon 12/19
- Rams at Packers @ 7:15pm on ESPN
Golf:
- Sat 12/17
- PNC Championship @ 1pm on NBC
- Sun 12/18
- PNC Championship @ 12:30pm on NBC
Hockey:
- Tues 12/13
- Blue Jackets at Panthers @ 6pm on hulu
- Capitals at Blackhawks @ 8pm on ESPN
- Wed 12/14
- Red Wings at Wild @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Canucks at Flames @ 9pm on TNT
- Fri 12/16
- Blackhawks at Wild @ 7pm on hulu
- Sun 12/18
- Rangers at Blackhawks @ 6:30pm on ESPN
Olympic Sports:
- Sun 12/18
- Ski & Snowboarding: Colorado WC @ 11:30am on NBC
- Ski & Snowboarding: Colorado WC @ 3:30pm on NBC
Soccer – World Cup:
- Tues 12/13
- Semifinal: ARG vs CRO @ 1pm on FOX
- Wed 12/4
- Semifinal: FRA vs MOR @ 1pm on FOX
- Sat 12/17
- Third Place Match @ 9am on FOX
- Sun 12/18
- World Cup Final @ 9am on FOX
