Baseball: CLE Indians no more. New signings.
Basketball-NBA: Harden really wants out of HOU. Returns to the court: KD, Steph Curry and K. Irving
Basketball-NCAA: Keyontae Johnson’s scare. Duke just playing ACC games.
Case of the Monday’s: Wilson threw the shoe…
Football-NCAAF: #6 and #10 lose. Auburn fired Gus. Milton to FSU.
Football-NFL: Steelers lose again. Vikings kicking issues. Hurts gets W. Playoff berth and divisions clinched.
Olympic Sports: Shiffrin wins first WC without Dad. Cater wins first WC. US skating pair break up. Athletics Indoor Champs postponed.
Baseball:
- The Cleveland Indians will officially change their name after 105 years after the 2021 season. The team already gave up their Chief Wahoo logo earlier this year. This move follows others examples (such as the Washington Redskins) in changing their name away from Native Americans. TBD on the new nickname and when they will implement the change – they’re trying to avoid being called the Cleveland Baseball Team (I’m looking at you Washington). The names proposed in recent years: Naps, Spiders, Rocks.
- For the record: Braves (MLB), Chiefs (NFL) and the Blackhawks (NHL) have decided to keep their Native American names so far.
- The NY Mets have hired Diamondbacks’ AGM, Jared Porter, as their new GM with a 4-year contract.
- New signings:
- Red Sox have signed OF Hunter Renfroe in a one-year deal. He was previously with the Rays.
- C James McCann is finalizing a deal with the Mets for 4-year $40MM.
- Trevor May signed a $15.5MM 2-year deal with the Mets.
- Rangers signed OF David Dahl in a one-year agreement for $3MM. The rangers also acquired 1B Nate Lowe in a trade with the Rays for minor league OF & C Heriberto Hernandez.
- Giants signed RHP Matt Wisler for $1.15MM for one-year.
- The Royals agreed to a 2-year contract with 1B Carlos Santana for $17.5MM.
- The White Sox have agreed to a one-year deal worth $8MM for RF Adam Eaton.
Basketball – NBA:
- James Harden wants to go to the Nets even after the Rockets traded Russell Westbrook for John Wall. Although he is at least in the bubble and is awaiting his 6th negative test, which is required to rejoin the team.
- It was a weekend for returns: KD stepped onto the bball court for the first time since his Achilles injury last year and was great in his debut. Irving also returned for the first time since Feb and played 18 minutes. Steph Curry is back for the GS Warriors as well after only playing 5 games for them last season.
- Regular season starts next week!
Basketball – NCAAM:
- Florida player Keyontae Johnson passed out on court during their rivalry game against FSU on Saturday. He is in stable condition but still no word on what happened. One minute he was completing an alley-oop then the next he passed out on his face on the floor. It was quite a scary sight. Florida lost 83-71.
- Duke will not be playing anymore out of conference games for the 2020-2021 season according to Coach K. The school says the decision was made out of caution and to allow their athletes to go home for the holidays. ACC opener is 12/16 against Notre Dame.
- Something to keep in mind Duke has already lost 2 games against Big 10 teams in just the 4 games that they have played… both losses were at home. Not saying this is why Coach K and Duke decided to stop nonconference play but it certainly doesn’t look good.
Case of the Monday’s:
- In this week’s case of the Mondays: I bet this guy wants this play back… #6 Florida was tied with LSU and had just stopped the Tigers on 3rd when Marco Wilson threw a LSU player’s shoe downfield after the play, which of course drew many penalty flags and an automatic first down. 6 plays later LSU hit a 57 yard FG to win.
Football – NCAAF:
- Who’s in?? It’s Championship Week! and the CFP Selection show is this Sunday!
- Oregon has replaced Washington in the Pac 12 championship game due to Washington not having enough players as a result of COVID.
- 2 teams in the Top 10 lost this weekend. #6 Florida fell to LSU after a last-minute 57-yard FG and #10 Miami got their clocks cleaned by #17 UNC 62-26. #21 Colorado was also handed their first loss of the season by Utah, who scored 28 unanswered points and newly ranked #25 Mizzou fell to #9 Georgia 49-14.
- Auburn fired HC Gus Malzahn after 8 years with the Tigers. His overall record was 68-34 and he will be paid out his remaining $21.7MM. That record doesn’t seem firing worthy but when you consider that Auburn is last in the SEC West in post season win percentage at .286, it looks a lot worse.
- UCF QB McKenzie Milton is transferring to Florida St after sitting out for 2 years with a leg injury. So for his final year of eligibility, he will be donning the Seminoles uniform.
- Texas’ AD says Tom Herman will be HC next year….
- Teams are opting out of bowl season. So far: UVA, Pitt, Boston College, Pitt and Stanford.
Football – NFL:
- The Steelers lost again but this time to the Bills 26-15. Despite starting quickly with a TD in just 3 plays and 1:15 off the clock, the team wouldn’t score again until 12:18 to go in the 4th QB Ben Roethlisberger threw 2 interceptions, one of which was a pick 6. They have still secured a spot in the playoffs but not quite secured the division win yet.
- As the Vikings look to make the playoffs, they will need to get a better grasp on their kicking game before that. Dan Bailey missed 4 kicks during their loss to the Bucs 26-14. Last week, Bailey missed 2 PATs and a FG. The Vikings sit tied for 2nd in the NFC North.
- Raiders fired DC Paul Guenther after their 44-27 loss to the Colts on Sunday. This was the team’s 3rd straight loss and now puts their playoff hopes in jeopardy.
- Eagles Rookie QB Jalen Hurts got his first NFL win on Sunday against the Saints in a 24-21 upset. HC Doug Pederson is undecided on who will be the starting QB now, Wentz or Hurts. Hurts rushed for 106 yards, just the 5th player in team history to rush over 100 yards and only turned the ball over once (trust me as a Sooner fan – that’s a good stat for him).
- This also made the Sooners have 3 former QBs starting in the NFL in one weekend: Baker Mayfield (Browns), Kyler Murray (Cardinals) and Jalen Hurts (Eagles) – Boomer!
- Teams that have clinched their division and a playoff berth: Packers (NFC N), Chiefs (AFC W),
- Teams that have already clinched playoff berths: Steelers, Saints,
Olympic Sports:
- Mikaela Shiffrin won her first WC slalom race since her dad’s passing in January 2020. She took the title over ITA rival Brignone. Needless to say she was emotional after the win. This title puts her tied with Marcel Hirscher for 3rd on the All-time WC win list with 67. Lindsey Vonn (82) and Ingemar Stenmark (86) are the only 2 in front.
- Sticking with skiing, #41 SLO Martin Cater won his first downhill WC title by 0.22 seconds. Why is #41 important, because normally (and in this case) most TV showings of the race had moved onto other programming. The winner does not usually come from that far back in the line up. Cater beat AUS Otmar Striedinger, who was also looking for his first WC win. And in the WC Super-G race on Saturday another newbie, SUI Mauro Caviezel won his debut title at age 32. The whole podium for the Super-G race was first timers. Mauro said this one was special because it came at the very place that his childhood idol, Silvano Beltrametti, crashed and was left paralyzed. Beltrametti has been a mentor for Caviezel
- The US skating pair of Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea have announced that they will no longer be partners despite their 2016 national championship history. The couple had been paired up since 2012. Both will continue skating.
- The World Athletics Indoor Championships were supposed to be held in China on March 13-15 of 2020 were postponed until 2021. Now they have been postponed again until 2023. There will be a world championship in 2022 just in Belgrade (as planned originally).
What to watch this week
Basketball-NBA:
- Tues 12/15
- Celtics at 76ers @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Warriors at Kings @ 9pm on TNT
- Thurs 12/17
- Warriors at Kings @ 8pm on ESPN
- Fri 12/18
- Nets at Celtics @ 7pm on ESPN2
- Lakers at Suns @ 9:30pm on ESPN
Basketball – NCAA:
- Mon 12/14
- Rutgers at Maryland @ 5pm on BTN
- Marquette at 8. Creighton @ 8pm on FS1
- Tues 12/15
- Clemson at 15. VTech @ 5:30pm on ACC
- Minnesota at 6. Illinois @ 6pm on ESPN2
- App St at 12. Tennessee @ 6pm on SEC
- Loyola CHI at 13. Wisconsin @ 7pm on BTN
- Georgia Tech at 20. Florida St @ 7:30pm on ACC
- Wed 12/16
- Richmond at Vanderbilt @ 12pm on SEC
- Ohio St at Purdue @ 6pm on BTN
- Sam Houston at 13. Texas @ 7pm on LGHN
- Duke at Notre Dame @ 8pm on ESPN
- UTEP at 23. Arizona St @ 8pm on Pac12
- Thurs 12/17
- Creighton at St. Johns @ 4pm on FS1
- Kansas at 17. Texas Tech @ 6pm on ESPN
- Fri 12/18
- Incarnate Word at 23. Arizona St @ TBD
- BYU at 24. SDSU @ 4pm on CBSSN
- Tennessee Tech at 12. Tennessee @ 7pm on SEC
- Iowa St at 11. West Virginia @ 8pm on ESPNU
- Sat 12/19
- UCF at 20. Florida St @ TBD
- Iowa at 1. Gonzaga @ 11am
- Duquesne at 19. Richmond @ 1pm on ESPN+
- Houston at Alabama @ 2pm
- Baylor at Kansas St @ 3pm
- Ohio St at 16. UNC @ 3:30pm on CBS
- Coppin St at 15. VTech @ 4:30pm on ACCNX
- UVA at 9. Villanova @ 7pm on FOX
- Sun 12/20
- Creighton at UConn @ 11am
- Illinois at 21. Rutgers @ 12pm on ESPN2
- Oklahoma St at 13. Texas @ 1pm on LGHN
- Michigan St at NW @ 6pm on BTN
Football-NCAAF:
- Tues 12/15 – CFP Top 25 Ranking Show @ 6pm on ESPN
- Sun 12/20 – CFP Selection Show @ 12pm on ESPN
|
Top 25 |
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|
Championship Week |
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Championships |
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| Championship | Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV |
Line |
| Conference USA Championship | UAB | Marshall | Fri 12/18 | 6:00 PM | CBSSN | +5.5 |
| MAC Championship | Ball St | Buffalo | Fri 12/18 | 6:30 PM | ESPN | +12.5 |
| Pac 12 Championship | Oregon | 13. USC | Fri 12/18 | 7:00 PM | FOX | +7 |
| Big 12 Championship | 12. Oklahoma | 8. Iowa St | Sat 12/19 | 11:00 AM | ABC | -5.5 |
| Big 10 Championship | 15. Northwestern | 3. Ohio St | Sat 12/19 | 11:00 AM | FOX | +21 |
| Sun Belt Championship | 17. Louisiana | 9. Coastal Carolina | Sat 12/19 | 2:30 PM | ESPN | +4 |
| ACC Championship | 4. Clemson | 2. Notre Dame | Sat 12/19 | 3:00 PM | ABC | -10.5 |
| Mountain West Championship | Boise St | 25. San Jose St | Sat 12/19 | 3:15 PM | FOX | -6.5 |
| American Athletic Championship | 20. Tulsa | 6. Cincinnati | Sat 12/19 | 7:00 PM | ABC | +14 |
| SEC Championship | 1. Alabama | 11. Florida | Sat 12/19 | 7:00 PM | CBS | -17.5 |
| *GameDay is in bold* | ||||||
Football – NFL:
- Mon 12/14
- Ravens at Browns @ 7:15pm on ESPN
- Thurs 12/17
- Chargers at Raiders @ 7:20pm on FOX
- Sat 12/19
- Bills at Broncos @ 3:30pm on NFL
- Panthers at Packers @ 7:15pm on NFL
- Sun 12/20
- 8 games @ 12pm on FOX/CBS depending on your geographical location
- Bucs at Falcons
- 49ers at cowboys
- Lions at Titans
- Texans at Colts
- Patriots at Dolphins
- Bears at Vikings
- Seahawks at Washington
- Jaguars at Ravens
- Jets at Rams – or – Eagles at Cardinals @ 3:05pm on FOX
- Chiefs at Saints @ 3:25 on CBS
- Browns at Giants @ 7:20pm on NBC
- 8 games @ 12pm on FOX/CBS depending on your geographical location
- Mon 12/21
- Steelers at Bengals @ 7:15pm on ESPN
Olympic Sports:
- Thurs 12/17
- Sailing: America’s Cup World Series @ 12am on NBCSN
- Fri 12/18
- Sailing: America’s Cup World Series @ 12am on NBCSN
- Sat 12/19
- Sailing: America’s Cup World Series @ 11:30am on NBCSN
- Biathlon: Women’s 10km Pursuit @ 7:30pm on NBCSN
- Skiing: Women’s Downhill @ 8:30pm on NBCSN
- Skiing: Men’s Downhill @ 9:30pm on NBCSN
- Sun 12/20
- CC Skiing: Men’s and Women’s Sprint Teams @ 6pm on NBCSN
- Track & Field: Marathon Project @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Skiing: Women’s Super-G @ 8:30pm on NBCSN
- Skiing: Men’s Giant Slalom 1st Round @ 10pm on NBCSN
Soccer:
- Tues 12/15
- Premier League: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Chelsea @ 11:55am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Manchester City vs West Brom @ 1:55pm on NBCSN
- Wed 12/16
- Premier League: Arsenal vs Southampton @ 11 :55am on NBCSN
- Italian Serie A: Internazionale at Napoli @ 1:45pm on ESPN2
- Premier League: Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur @ 1:55pm on NBCSN
- Thurs 12/17
- Premier League: Aston Villa vs Burnley @ 11:55am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Sheffield United vs ManU @ 1:55pm on NBCSN
- Sat 12/19
- Premier League: Teams TBA @ 6:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Teams TBA @ 8:55am on NBCSN
- Sun 12/20
- Italian Serie A: Torino at Bologna @ 5:30am on ESPN2
- Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City @ 8am on NBCSN
- Premier League: ManU vs Leeds United @ 10:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: West Brom vs Aston Villa @ 1:15pm on NBCSN
