Weekly Update January 8, 2024

Basketball – NBA: Updates from the NBA. Morant out for the season. Green is back.

Basketball – NCAAM: Upsets this week. Not a lot… until Saturday.

Football – NCAAF: National Championship tonight.

Football – NFL: Playoffs are set! Who’s in?

Golf: Kirk wins Sentry. Tiger and Nike part ways.

Olympic Sports: Gymnastics has begun. NCAA and ESPN extend their deal. Skiing WC run by the homers.

Coming up this month:

PGA Tour season begins (Sentry) Jan 4, CFP National Championship Jan 8, NFL Playoffs Jan 13-Feb 11, Australian Open Jan 14-28

Basketball – NBA:

• This week in the NBA: (starting on Tuesday) Embiid got himself a triple-double. The Hornets upset the Kings 111-104. The CLT team still doesn’t have double digit wins this season. After they won for the first time in months last week, the Pistons took the Jazz to OT on Wednesday. They did fall 6 points short, losing 154-148. They would also lose later in the week after Steph Curry would drain back-to-back 3 pointers to win by 4. But that wasn’t the only game to go into OT that night. The Magic were down 55-67 at half but came back to tie it up and go into OT in a lower scoring game compared to the Jazz one. The Kings would get the last laugh as they win by 3 in 2OT. The Magic had a chance at the buzzer but missed. On Thursday, the Bucks and Spurs had a close game that came down to the game. Spurs star Wemby was playing on his birthday but the Geek Freak had a day, putting up 44 points and ultimately getting the win 125-121. The other game that night was also a great one. The Nuggets/Warriors had a tremendous ending. Jokic hits a crazy 3-pointer from almost halfcourt to take the W. Literally the crowd and players looked like they didn’t believe it. The Pacers destroyed the Hawks, scoring 150 on Thursday. They won by 34. The Lakers had a dismal 4Q against the Grizzlies on Friday, only scoring 19 points compared to the Memphis 33. That was enough to lose that game. The Knicks won their game on Saturday after Randle put up 39 points alone. That is the NY team’s 4^th straight win. The Raptors Barrett and Nuggets Murray both scored 37 points a piece in their respective games to give their teams’ wins on Sunday to round out the week.

• The Grizzlies cannot catch a break. Ja Morant seemed to be back on track and staying under the radar off the court and crushing it on the court. However he suffered a season-ending injury to his shoulder and will now undergo surgery on a labrum tear. On the flip side, Warriors Draymond Green’s suspension has ended after 12 games. He will likely take a week to get back to the court but be ready to see him again.

Basketball – NCAAM:

• NCAAM: We had a lot of ranked teams in action at the beginning of the week but no upsets until Wednesday when both teams in action lost. #16 Clemson put up 41 points in both halves which sounds good but it wasn’t enough to fend off the Miami Hurricanes. The Canes scored 60 points in the 2H alone! They win by 13 to hand Clemson their 2^nd loss of the season. #23 Providence was also playing that day and they lost to Big East opponent Seton Hall. This game was much closer with the Friars only losing by 4. Thursday no upset. Friday we had a ranked matchup in the Big 10 and this was was in the Top 10! #1 Purdue vs #9 Illinois. Purdue came out showing why they have the #1 next to their name, scoring 47 in the 1H to Illinois’ 32. Trey Kauffman-Renn had a big night with 23 points. The Fighting Illini managed to comeback in the 2H but not quite enough, losing by 5. Purdue still only had 1 loss. After a relatively boring week, Saturday reeked havoc in the Top 25. Providence lost for the 2^nd time this week! This time to Creighton. Expect the Friars to drop out of the rankings.

• And speaking of them, Seton Hall beat the Friars earlier in the week and then turned around and upset #7 Marquette. Marquette turned the ball over late to solidify that loss. #16 Clemson also lost again but to the superior #8 UNC by 10. Then we had a bunch of surprise upsets. #12 BYU lost by 11 to Cincinnati in the first conference game for the Cougars. #13 Colorado St got beaten by Utah St. #17 FAU’s season is unraveling after a dream start. They lost to a 7-7 Charlotte team. #19 JMU started behind and could never catch up to Southern Miss, losing by 10. Texas Tech had a better two halves than #20 Texas, who might drop from the rankings but we will see. They are winless in the Big 12 (that was game 1). The Red Raiders are 12-2 overall now.

Football – NCAAF:

• The National Championship is tonight: Michigan vs Washington. I will report on this next week as they are still playing.

Football – NFL:

• Playoffs are set! It was the last week of the regular season so we had some do-or-die games and others were meaningless.
• Saturday’s games: The Ravens were already winners of their division so they were not the only ones to sit their starting QB. The Steelers took advantage of that, scoring 10 in the final Q to get their 10^th The other game on Saturday was a playoff or go home game between the Texans and the Colts. The Houston team was putting up TDs and the Indy team was scoring FGs. It was a close one but the Texans make their first playoff appearance since 2019. They won by 4. And to add the cherry on top, the Jags lost which actually gave them the Texans the division title. AFC South champs.

• Costly losses: starting there, the Jags were upset by the already eliminated Titans. The TN teams did all their scoring in the 1^st Titans win by 8. The Cowboys put away their season, making a great claim for the division title after destroying the Commanders 38-10. The Cowboys were already in playoffs but had to wait to see what happened in the Eagles final game to see if they clinched the division. But it was a costly loss for the Commanders who fired their HC afterwards. The Giants upset the Eagles putting up 21 points in the 2Q alone. They won 27-10. That’s exactly what Dallas needed to take the division. with that loss, the Eagles are now in the wild card spot.

• The Saints put on a show against the Falcons. The NOLA team scored 48 points to ATL’s 17. But they needed some help and they didn’t get it. The Bucs needed to beat the 2-win Panthers. The Bucs did not score a TD but they still get the shutout win 9-0. The Packers beat the Bears 17-9 to secure their wild card spot. Jordan Love may have been a new starting QB but he managed to do something that his all-star predecessor could not last year – reach the playoffs.

• The meaningless games: The Browns were already in the playoffs and good thing too because they drop the game to the Bengals on Sunday 31-14. The Lions beat the Vikings 30-20 but that doesn’t change anyone’s fate. The Viks are still out and the Lions are still divisional champs. Same went for the Chiefs barely beat the Chargers. The KC team rested Mahomes. The Rams came back to beat the 49ers by 1 single point after being down 20-7 at half. But both were already in playoffs and sat multiple starters including their QBs.

• The SNF game was a good one. The Bills vs Dolphins and both QBs played and had 2 INT each. But Josh Allen also threw for 359 yards and 2 TDs. The Bills were down by 7 until the 4Q when they put up 14 points to win by 7. Both teams are in playoffs.

•  Playoffs:
  • AFC: Bills took the East, the Chiefs were the West champs and Texans captured the South. The Ravens won the North and the #1 seed in the entire conference. The Browns, Steelers and Dolphins also make the playoffs but in the wild card capacity.
  • NFC: Cowboys won the East, the Lions took the North, the Bucs got the South and the 49ers were the West champs and #1 seed from the NFC. The Packers, Rams and Eagles are in the wild card slot and have to win their way in.

Golf:

• The PGA Tour is back! We start the year with the star-studded Sentry Tournament of Champions which exactly like it sounds, the field is made of all champions from last year to qualify for this tournament. The leaderboard was all over the place all weekend with ~12 golfers within striking distance on the final day. But Chris Kirk, who recovered from alcoholism and depression back in 2019 and winner of the Honda Classic last year takes the first one of the year. This was his 6^th win of his career, winning by 1 stroke over Theegala, who closed the final round with -10.

• Nike has officially ended its partnership with Tiger Woods after 27 years. Truly the end of an era.

Olympic Sports:

• Gymnastics season has officially started and it started with a bang! The Mean Girls Super 16 was this weekend and it was star studded. Oklahoma looks to three-peat and looked the part with the highest total of the weekend (197.85), beating Kentucky, Michigan St and Michigan in Las Vegas. Alabama then won a different Sweet 16 over Cal, Auburn and UCLA. Other dual meets also took place (LSU over Ohio St). Two Perfect 10s have already been awarded: Michigan St’s Sage Kellerman on Vault and Utah’s Maile O’Keefe on Beam. Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles are taking the year off to concentrate on the Olympics.
• NCAA is looking to extend their partnership with ESPN for the next 8 years for 21 women’s sports and 19 men’s. The partnership has been in place since 1979, started carrying all the Women’s NCAA tournament in 2003 and will now air the women’s bball, volleyball and gymnastics championship on network tv (ABC).

• This week in SLO the SLO skier Petra Vlhova won the WC slalom title on Sunday after Mikaela Shiffrin didn’t finish. But another American, AJ Hurt, had the fastest time in the 2^nd run of everyone to finish 3^rd and get her first podium. SUI Marco Odermatt had the lead the entire time in his home WC race. He won the Giant Slalom this week.

What to watch this week

Basketball – NBA:

• Wed 1/10
  • Pelicans at Warriors @ 7:30pm on ABC
  • Nuggets at Jazz @ 9pm on ESPN
• Thurs 1/11
  • Celtics at Bucks @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Suns at Lakers @ 9pm on TNT
• Fri 1/12
  • Kings at 76ers @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Pelicans at Nuggets @ 9pm on ESPN

Basketball – NCAAM:

• Tues 1/9
  • 2. Houston at Iowa St @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Mizzou at 6. Kentucky @ 6pm on ESPN
  • 25. Texas at Cinci @ 6pm on ESPN+
  • 1. Purdue at Nebraska @ 8pm on Peacock
  • 11. Duke ay Pitt @ 8pm on ESPN
  • 18. BYU at 14. Baylor @ 8pm on ESPN+
  • Texas A&M at 16. Auburn @ 8pm on ESPN2
  • 17. Colorado St at Boise St @ 8pm
  • Wyoming at 20. Utah St @ 8pm
  • 22. Creighton at DePaul @ 8pm on CBSSN
  • 19. SD St at San Jose St @ 10pm on CBSSN
• Wed 1/10
  • 3. Kansas at UCF @ 6pm on ESPN+
  • 5. Tennessee at Mississippi St @ 6pm on SEC
  • 21. Clemson at Vtech @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • 7. UNC at NC St @ 7pm on ESPN
  • UTSA at 13. Memphis @ 7pm on ESPN+
  • 4. UConn at Xavier @ 7:30pm on FS1
  • 15. Wisconsin at Ohio St @ 7:30pm on BTN
  • 9. Oklahoma at TCU @ 8pm on ESPN2
  • Butler at 11. Marquette @ 8pm on CBSSN
• Thurs 1/11
  • 24. FAU at Tulane @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Michigan St at 10. Illinois @ 8pm on FS1
  • 23. Gonzaga at Santa Clara @ 8:30pm on ESPN
• Sat 1/13
  • 5. Tennessee at Georgia @ 11am on ESPN2
  • Syracuse at 7. UNC @ 11am on ESPN
  • Northwestern at 15. Wisconsin @ 11am on BTN
  • St. John’s at 22. Creighton @ 12pm on FOX
  • 9. Oklahoma at 3. Kansas @ 1pm on ESPN+
  • 6. Kentucky at Texas A&M @ 1pm on ESPN
  • 19. SD St at New Mexico @ 1pm on CBS
  • Penn St at 1. Purdue @ 1:15pm on BTN
  • 20. Utah St at UNLV @ 2pm on CBSSN
  • Boston College at 21. Clemson @ 2pm on ACC
  • 18. BYU at UCF @ 3pm on ESPN+
  • Georgia Tech at 11. Duke @ 4pm on ACC
  • 2. Houston at TCU @ 5pm on ESPN
  • 8. Arizona at Washington St @ 5pm on PAC12
  • LSU at 16. Auburn @ 5pm on SEC
  • 25. Texas at West Virginia @ 5pm on ESPN+
  • Cincinnati at 14. Baylor @ 7pm on ESPN
• Sun 1/14
  • Georgetown at 4. UConn @ 11am on FOX
  • UAB at 24. FAU @ 11am on ESPN+
  • 13. Memphis at Wichita St @ 12pm on ESPN2
  • Maryland at 10. Illinois @ 1pm

Basketball – NCAAW: (only reporting ranked vs ranked)

• Thurs 1/11
  • 20. UNC at 21. Florida St @ 5pm on ACCX
• Fri 1/12
  • 8. Stanford at 19. Utah @ 7pm on Pac12
• Sat 1/13
  • 10. Texas at 12. Kansas St @ 1pm on ESPNU
  • 14. Indiana at 3. Iowa @ 7pm
• Sun 1/14
  • 11. Vtech at 21. Florida St @ 12pm on ESPN
  • 8. Stanford at 5. Colorado @ 1pm on PAC12
  • 2. UCLA at 9. USC @ 4pm

Football-NCAAF:

• Mon 1/8
  • CFP National Championship: 1. Michigan vs 2. Washington @ 6:30pm on ESPN
    • MICH +4.5 O/U 55.5

Football-NFL:

• Sat 1/13
  • AFC Wild Card: Browns at Texans @ 3:30pm on NBC
  • AFC Wild Card: Dolphins at Chiefs @ 7pm on Peacock
• Sun 1/14
  • AFC Wild Card: Steelers at Bills @ 12pm on CBS
  • NFC Wild Card: Packers at Cowboys @ 3:30pm on FOX
  • NFC Wild Card: Rams at Lions @ 7pm on NBC
• Mon 1/15
  • NFC Wild Card: Eagles at Bucs @ 7:15pm on ESPN & ABC

Golf:

• Thurs 1/11
  • Sony Open – Round 1 @ 6pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 1/12
  • Sony Open – Round 2 @ 6pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 1/13
  • Sony Open – Round 3 @ 6pm on Golf Channel
• Sun 1/14
  • Sony Open – Final Round
    • @ 3pm on NBC
    • @ 5pm on Golf Channel

Hockey:

• Tues 1/9
  • Oilers at Blackhawks @ 7:30pm on hulu
• Wed 1/10
  • Wild at Stars @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Golden Knights at Avalanche @ 9pm on TNT
• Thurs 1/11
  • Maple Leafs at Islanders @ 6pm on ESPN
• Sat 1/13
  • Rangers at Capitals @ 12pm on ABC

Olympic Sports:

• Fri 1/12
  • Gymnastics: Mizzou at Alabama @ 6pm on SEC
  • Gymnastics: Kentucky at Auburn @ 7:30pm on SEC
  • Gymnastics: Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad: Arizona, UNC, Nebraska and Boise St @ 8pm on ACC
• Sat 1/13
  • Gymnastics: Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad: LSU, Oklahoma, UCLA and Utah @ 3pm on ABC
  • Gymnastics: Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad: Cal, Michigan St, BYU and NC St @ 8pm on ACC
• Sun 1/14
  • Figure Skating: European Championships @ 11am on NBC

Soccer:

• Sat 1/13
  • Premier League: Chelsea at Fulham @ 6:30am on USA
  • Premier League: Teams TBA @ 11:30am on NBC
• Sun 1/14
  • Premier League: Everton vs Ashton Villa @ 8am on USA

Tennis:

• Sun 1/14
  • Australian Open: Round 1
    • @ 7am on ESPN2
    • @ 6pm on ESPN
    • @ 10pm on ESPN2