Weekly Update February 3, 2025

Coming up this month: February

Basketball – NBA: Butler suspended. This week’s games. SGA highest scorer. Blockbuster trades! All Star roster announced.

Basketball – NCAAM: Saturday tied the #1 upset day in the Top 25. NCAAW updates and upsets. #22s retired.

Football: NFC wins Pro Bowl. Chip Kelly from Ohio St to NFL. SB this week. Senior Bowl.

Golf: Tiger wins TGL. Rory wins Pebble.

Olympic Sports: US Figure Skating loses 14 team members, coaches and family in plane crash. *Updated to 28!

Quick Headlines: MLB, NHL, VBall,

Coming up this month:

Feb: Skiing World Championships Feb 4 – 16, Super Bowl Feb 9, Daytona 500 Feb 16, NBA All Star Game Feb 16, Nordic World Skiing Championship Feb 26 – March 9, NFL Combine Feb 27 – March 2

Basketball-NBA:

• Monday last week, the Heat suspended Jimmy Butler indefinitely after walking out of team shoot around. He walked out after he got the news that he would not be in the starting line up. Butler requested a trade on Jan 2 and then all the troubles started with 3 different suspensions in the month. The trade deadline is Feb 6^th.

• This week’s games:
  • On Monday, the Rockets/Celtics was a back-and-forth game but ultimately the Rockets beat Boston with a buzzer beater. The Heat beat the Magic in 2OT. The Lakers won their 4th straight with ADavis having a 40-20 game (the 5 of his career).
  • LA’s win streak would end the next day with a loss to the 76ers. The Trail Blazers upset the Bucks by 13 despite Giannis putting up 39 points.

• • The Pacers put up 40 in the 1Q to take the lead and grew that lead going into the locker room. They ultimately get the win over the Pistons but not before Isiah Stewart got a shot in on Thomas Bryant during a rebound. Needless to say Stewart was ejected for that hit. The Warriors upset the Thunder despite SGA putting up 52 points.

• • The Grizzlies won on Thursday over Rockets, despite the refs mistakenly giving the Grizzlies a timeout that almost cost them the game but Memphis wins by 1.

• • On Friday, Pistons Cunningham put up 40 points in their win over the Mavs. 76ers Maxey also put up 40+ but Phili would lose to the Nuggets by 3. The Spurs upset the Bucks by 26 in San Antonio.
  • 7 Pacer players put up double digit points in their win over the Hawks on Saturday but they still only win by 5. The Jazz got their 11^th win after beating the Magic – they have not had a great week. The Nets upset the Rockets 110-98. The Nuggets barely beat the Hornets but that’s not what was noteworthy. Jokic got his 7^th game of the season with 20 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. This ties him with the 3^rd most in NBA history.
  • The Cavs crushed the Mavs who might’ve been a little distracted by the news that I will get to in a second. Cleveland scored 91 points in the 1H! They would win by 43.

• The internet almost broke here in Dallas after the announcement of the blockbuster trade. The Dallas Mavericks traded their star player Luka Doncic to the Lakers. The Mavs in exchange get Lakers Anthony Davis, Max Christie and LA’s 2029 1^st round pick. LA gets Luka, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris. The deal was kept very close to the vest so fans in DFW have been letting their disappointment show with a funeral type tribute by the Mavs stadium. That traded overshadowed the Kings trade of De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs but that also got finalized Sunday.

• All star list out. Mavs had no one on it. No team has ever won without an all star on their team.
  • West:
    • Stephen Curry, G, Golden State Warriors
      Kevin Durant, F, Phoenix Suns
      Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G, Oklahoma City Thunder
      LeBron James, F, Los Angeles Lakers
      Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets
    • Anthony Davis, C, Los Angeles Lakers
      Anthony Edwards, G, Minnesota Timberwolves
      James Harden, G, LA Clippers
      Jaren Jackson Jr., F, Memphis Grizzlies
      Alperen Sengun, F, Houston Rockets
      Victor Wembanyama, C, San Antonio Spurs
      Jalen Williams, F, Oklahoma City Thunder
  • East:
    • Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Milwaukee Bucks
      Jalen Brunson, G, New York Knicks
      Donovan Mitchell, G, Cleveland Cavaliers
      Jayson Tatum, F, Boston Celtics
      Karl-Anthony Towns, C, New York Knicks
    • Jaylen Brown, G, Boston Celtics
      Cade Cunningham, G, Detroit Pistons
      Darius Garland, G, Cleveland Cavaliers
      Tyler Herro, G, Miami Heat
      Damian Lillard, G, Milwaukee Bucks
      Evan Mobley, F, Cleveland Cavaliers
      Pascal Siakam, F, Indiana Pacers

• Warriors will retire #9 in honor of Andre Iguodala. This is the 7^th player to have his number retired by the franchise.
• Dwyane Wade announced that he had surgery to remove cancerous cells in 2023.

Basketball – NCAAM:

• Get ready because this is going to get crazy. Saturday tied the NCAAM record for the most upsets in a single day with 11 in the top 25 including 3 top 10 teams that lost at home! Upsets this week:

• • Arizona had a miracle buzzer beater to get to OT with #3 Iowa St. That momentum would carry into OT as the Wildcats outscored the Cyclones 15-4. Arizona moved to 8-1 in conference play!

• • #8 Tennessee got handed their first home loss of the season after #12 Kentucky came back to beat them in the 2H and win by 5.
  • #14 Miss St missed a layup and turns the ball over to give the win to #4 Alabama, despite Hubbard (for the Bulldogs) scoring 38 points. Miss St woud lose again to another SEC ranked opponent on Sat (#20 Mizzou) by 27 – yikes! Maryland scored 44 points in the 2H to comeback to upset #17 Wisconsin by 8.
  • Thursday only had 3 ranked teams in action and only #19 Memphis won their game. #16 Oregon got annihilated by UCLA losing in both halves by double digits. UCLA is on a roll for their 5^th consecutive win and their 4^th ranked upset. #18 Illinois and Nebraska went to OT before the Cornhuskers would outscored the Illini by 6 in OT and their Big Ten record is 3-7 but this is a big one. Nebraska would get another ranked upset on Sunday by beating #16 Oregon. Not a good week for the Ducks.

• Saturday was nuts. #1 Auburn beat #23 Ole Miss by 10. K St handed #3 Iowa St their 2^nd loss of the week (by 19) impressive considering they have only lost 4 all season. #5 Florida did not play well against #8 Tennessee in a big Top 10 matchup. It was a low scoring game with the Vols winning 64-44! 44 points is usually like a halftime score! #22 Texas Tech got a big OT win over #6 Houston only by 1. Man what a great game! Houston had the ball last and thought they got a foul to go to the free throw line to win but no, they got called for traveling! Game over. #9 Marquette lost to their Big East ranked opponent #25 UConn after the Huskies easily won 1H. Baylor upset #11 Kansas by 11, scoring 60 in the 2H!  Georgia Tech snapped #21 Louisville’s 10 game win streak coming back in the 2H to outscore the Cardinals 50-32. #24 Vandy got creamed by unranked Oklahoma, losing by 30!

• • The #12 Kentucky Wildcats would get upset on Saturday at home by Arkansas. That loss is particularly upsetting as their former HC now coaches the Razorbacks. Calipari 1, KY 0.

 NCAAW:

• UCLA remains undefeated.
• Vandy Mikaela Blakes freshmen scored 50+. That breaks the SEC single game scoring record, the Freshman record this season with 53 points over Florida.

• There were 2 #22s retired on Feb 2^nd. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and South Carolina Aja Wilson both got honored on 2/2. Wilson was holding back tears at her home arena. Both teams won that night but that was a bigger deal for Clark’s team got a huge upset over #4 USC. That breaks the Trojan’s 15 game winning streak.

• Nashville puts in a bid for WNBA team.

Football:

• NFC wins again for the 3^rd time in a row.

• Chip Kelly leaving Ohio State for Raiders OC.
• SB commercials costing $8MM for 30 seconds. Rematch of SB LVII in 2023. Cheifs won last time 38-35 with a 4Q comeback (17-8 in 4Q).
• Senior Bowl, TCU WR Bech caught the game winning TD and gave a tribute to his brother who was on the of the 14 people killed by the terrorist attack in NOLA a month ago.

Golf:

• Rory McIlroy was not in the lead going into the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am but he didn’t have a bad start to the tournament. He got his 2^nd hole-in-one of his PGA Tour career during the opening round. He didn’t take the lead until he was on the 10^th hole, passing the other 6 different leaders during Sunday’s round. This is Rory’s 27^th PGA Tour win.

• The TGL was a great matchup on Monday with Jupiter and Boston facing off. Neither team lead by more than a point all match and they ended regulation tied. So we headed to OT for the first time in TGL history. Jupiter made up of Tiger Woods, Kevin Kisner and Tom Kim took the first OT win by 2.

Olympic Sports:

• 14 members of US Figure Skating team, athletes or family died in plane crash in Washington. The American Airlines flight was hit by a army helicopter at Reagan international airport at around 8pm. Among the victims were Jinna Han and Spencer Lee who were both teenage skaters as well as 12 year old skater Olivia Ter. 1994 World Champions and 2xs pairs Olympians Evgenia Shiskova and Vadum Naumov were also killed. They were coaches in the Boston area. Worlds will be held in Boston in March and there will be a tribute to those victims. 66 people died on the American flight and no one has survived.
• **Reports are still coming in. Correction to the number of victims is 28 now!

Some quick highlights:

• MLB: Rangers P Max Scherzer is now headed to Blue Jays for a 1-year deal for $15.5MM.
• NHL: Utah hockey to vote on name.

• NHL: Fleury is first NHL goalie to record a shutout in his teens and over 40 years old.
• VBall: Nebraska volleyball HC retiring after 25 seasons.

What to watch this week

Basketball – NBA:

• Tues 2/4
  • Celtics at Cavaliers @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Lakers at Clippers @ 9pm on TNT
• Wed 2/5
  • Spurs at Hawks @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Suns at Thunder @ 8:30pm on ESPN
• Thurs 2/6
  • Mavericks at Celtics @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Warriors at Lakers @ 9pm on TNT
• Fri 2/7
  • 76ers at Pistons @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Jazz at Suns @ 9pm on ESPN
• Sat 2/8
  • Celtics at Knicks @ 7:30pm on ABC
• Sun 2/9
  • 76ers at Bucks @ 1pm on ABC

NCAAM: (only ranked teams and on normal TV)

• Mon 2/3
  • 3. Iowa St at 11. Kansas @ 8pm on ESPN
• Tues 2/4
  • 9. Marquette at 15. St. John’s @ 5:30pm on FS1
  • 24. Vanderbilt at 5. Florida @ 6pm on SEC
  • 10. Purdue at Iowa @ 6pm on Peacock
  • 12. Kentucky at 23. Ole Miss @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Oklahoma at 1. Auburn @ 8pm on SEC
  • Indiana at 17. Wisconsin @ 8pm on Peacock
  • Baylor at 22. Texas Tech @ 8pm on ESPN2
  • 7. Michigan St at UCLA @ 9pm on Peacock
• Wed 2/5
  • 16. Oregon at Michigan @ 5:30pm on BTN
  • 2. Duke at Syracuse @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • 20. Mizzou at 8. Tennessee @ 6pm on SEC
  • 21. Louisville at Boston College @ 6pm on ACC
  • 18. Illinois at Rutgers @ 7:30pm on BTN
• Fri 2/7
  • USC at 10. Purdue @ 6pm on FS1
  • 15. St. John’s at 25. UConn @ 7pm on FOX
• Sat 2/8 – 158 games played!
  • 16. Oregon at 7. Michigan ST @ 11am on FOX
  • 17. Wisconsin at Iowa @ 12pm on NBC
  • Texas at 24. Vanderbilt @ 12pm on SEC
  • 9. Marquette at Creighton @ 1pm on FOX
  • 11. Kansas at K St @ 1pm on ESPN
  • Miami at 21. Louisville @ 1pm on ESPN2
  • 13. Texas A&M at 20. Mizzou @ 2:30pm on SEC
  • 5. Florida at 1. Auburn @ 3pm on ESPN
  • 2. Duke at Clemson @ 5pm on ESPN
  • 14. Mississippi St at Georgia @ 5pm on SEC
  • 18. Illinois at Minnesota @ 5pm on BTN
  • 4. Alabama at Arkansas @ 7pm on ESPN
  • 23. Ole Miss at LSU @ 7:30pm on SEC
  • 22. Texas Tech at Arizona @ 9pm on ESPN
• Sun 2/9
  • Temple at 19. Memphis @ 1pm on ESPN2

NCAAW:

• Mon 2/3
  • 10. Duke at 17. NC St @ 6pm on ESPN2
• Tues 2/4
• Wed 2/5
  • 4. USC at Wisconsin @ 6:30pm on Peacock
  • 9. TCU at 11. K St @ 6:30pm on ESPN+
  • 8. Ohio ST at 1. UCLA @ 8:30pm on Peacock
• Thurs 2/6
  • 6. UConn at 18. Tennessee @ 5:30pm on ESPN
  • 22. Alabama at Florida @ 6pm on SEC
  • 19. Cal at Louisville @ 7pm on ACC
  • Stanford at 3. Notre Dame @ 7:30pm on ESPN
  • 23. Vanderbilt at 5. Texas @ 8pm on SEC
  • 14. Maryland at Oregon @ 8pm on FS1
• Sat 2/8
  • 11. K St at 24. Oklahoma St @ 2pm on ESPN+
  • 8. Ohio St at 4. USC @ 8pm on FOX
• Sun 2/9
  • 6. UConn at Providence @ 11am on CBSSN
  • 2. South Carolina at 5. Texas @ 1pm on ESPN
  • 19. Cal at 3. Notre Dame @ 1pm on ACC
  • Michigan at 16. Michigan St @ 1pm on FS1
  • 17. NC St at 25. Florida St @ 1pm on CW
  • 22. Alabama at Mississippi St @ 1pm on SEC
  • 18. Tennessee at 7. LSU @ 3pm on ESPN

Football – NFL:

• Sun 2/9
  • Super Bowl LIX: Chiefs vs Eagles (in NOLA) @ 5:30pm on FOX

Golf:

• Tues 2/4
  • TGL: BOS vs LA @ 8pm on ESPN
• Thurs 2/6
  • WM Phoenix Open: Round 1 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 2/7
  • WM Phoenix Open: Round 2 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 2/8
  • WM Phoenix Open: Round 3
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS
• Sun 2/9
  • LIV Golf – Riyadh: Final Round @ 9am on FS1
  • WM Phoenix Open: Final Round
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on CBS

Hockey:

• Tues 2/4
  • Oilers at Blues @ 7pm on hulu
  • Stars at Ducks @ 9:30pm on hulu
• Wed 2/5
  • Bruins at Rangers @ 6pm on TNT
  • Oilers at Blackhawks @ 8:30pm on TNT
• Thurs 2/6
  • Hurricanes at Wild @ 6:30pm on hulu
  • Maple Leafs at Kraken @ 9pm on hulu
• Sat 2/8
  • Lightning at Red Wings @ 12pm on ABC
  • Golden Knights at Bruins @ 2:30pm on ABC

Olympic Sports:

• Fri 2/7
  • NCAAW Gym: 4. Florida vs 7. Arkansas @ 6pm on SEC
  • NCAAW Gym: 9. Kentucky at 6. Oklahoma @ 7:30pm on SEC
  • NCAAW Gym: LSU vs Alabama @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Sun 2/9
  • NCAAW Gym: Clemson vs UNC @ 3pm on ACC

Soccer:

• Mon 2/3
  • Premier League: Chelsea vs West Ham @ 2pm on USA