Posted on December 23, 2019

Weekly Update – Week of December 23rd, 2019

Basketball – NBA: Former commish in serious condition. Thomas suspended 2 games. Curry on the mend. Thunder at mall shooting – all ok.

Football – College: Boone passed. Emmitt Smith loves his son. Peach Bowl updates. Herman apologizes. Bowl season!

Football – NFL: Brees all-time leader in TD passes. NFL adjusts week 17 schedule. Ertz plays with broken rib.

Olympic Sports: Women’s World Cup going every 2 years. Chavez Jr overweight.

Basketball – NBA:

Former NBA commissioner David Stern in serious condition after a brain hemorrhage. His condition has not been updated. Stern added 7 franchises during his tenure.
Wizards G Isiah Thomas was suspended for 2 games after going into the stands to confront a 76ers fans. Any player that enters the stands is automatically ejected and will be suspended but each case is different on length of suspension. The fan has been banned from the Wells Fargo Center for a year.
Steph Curry is back in CA with his team although still expected to return 3 months after his first surgery (Nov 1). He is currently getting rehab on his hand.
LeBron is still questionable for the LA game showdown.
The Thunder team was at the OKC Penn Square mall watching a movie when a shooter shot a man over an argument at the Foot Locker. Ultimately the person who was shot is in stable condition. The team was evacuated safely.

Herman Boone, the real life coach behind the ‘Remember the Titans’ story died at age 84. #ICYMI Boone was the HC of TC Williams High School when the team won a state championship in the first year of being desegregated (1971). He has forever been immortalized by Denzel Washington in the Disney film and was an inspiration to all of us. He lost his battle with cancer on Wednesday surrounded by friends and family. The other coach at the school, Bill Yoast, who coached the all-white school before being integrated and then coached TC Williams defense, died earlier this year in May at age 94.
Emmitt Smith stated his case for his son on signing day after his son chose to sign with Stanford over Smith’s Florida. Watch – it’s a cute father / son moment.
The Peach bowl has had some developments
- 3 Sooners have been suspended for the Peach Bowl, DE Perkins, RB Stevenson and WR Bridges
- LSU’s RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire has had a hamstring injury and looks like he won’t play in the CFP Semi.
Tom Herman has issued an apology for his double bird gesture on camera on National Signing Day. He claims it was in a discussion of the 2017 Red River Showdown. UT is currently #10 on ESPN’s national rankings for their signing class.
Bowl season finally started and continues this week with the CFP Semifinals being played on Saturday! #1 LSU plays #4 Oklahoma starts at 3pm and #3 Clemson vs #2 Ohio St ends the night.

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Drew Brees becomes the all-time leader in TD passes after MNF, passing Payton Mannings’ record. Brees has thrown 540 TDs in his 19 year career. Oh and the Saints won 34-7 over the Colts.
The NFL has adjusted game schedules for week 17 to coordinate teams that are competing for the division or playoffs play at the same time. For example the Cowboys and the Eagles are still in the running for the NFC-East division and they will both play at 3:30pm time slots. Whoever doesn’t win the division doesn’t make playoffs either. Talk about adding insult to injury.
Zach Ertz, TE for the Eagles, played with a broken rib on Sunday’s game versus the Cowboys. He suffered the injury in the 1st quarter, went into the locker room for a while and then came out to finish the game.
Here is how the divisions stand so far.
- AFC-East: Patriots (clinched playoff berth and division)
  - Bills made playoffs
- AFC-North: Ravens (clinched playoff berth)
- AFC-South: Texans (clinched playoff berth)
- AFC-West: Chiefs (clinched division)
- NFC- East: Eagles
- NFC-North: Packers (clinched playoff berth)
- NFC-South: Saints (clinched division & playoff berth)
- NFC-West: 49ers (clinched division & playoff berth)
  - Seahawks made playoffs

FIFA is kicking around the idea of holding the Women’s World Cup every 2 years. The Women’s World Cup has already been expanded to 32 teams from 24 for the 2023 World Cup. This decision will be made in June.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr weighed in 5 pounds over the 168 contracted weight after being cleared on Tuesday. So his paycheck will be $1MM short of the $3MM it was.

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Wed 12/25
- Celtics at Raptors @ 11am on ESPN
- Bucks at 76ers @ 1:30pm on ABC
- Rockets at Warriors @ 4pm on ABC
- Clippers at Lakers @ 7pm on ABC
- Pelicans at Nuggets @ 9:30pm on ESPN
Thurs 12/26
- Spurs at Mavericks @ 7pm on TNT
- Trail Blazers at Jazz @ 9:30pm on TNT
Sun 12/29 – Mavericks at Lakers @ 8:30pm on ESPN

Mon 12/23 – #21 Washington at Hawaii @ 10pm on ESPN2
Wed 12/25
- Hawaii Tournament – Team TBA
  - 12:30pm on ESPNU
  - 2:30pm on ESPNU
  - 5:30pm on ESPN2
  - 7:30pm on ESPN2
Sat 12/28
- Brown at 4. Duke @ 10:30am on ESPN2
- New Orleans at 9. Memphis @ 12:30pm on ESPN2
- 3. Louisville at 19. Kentucky @ 2:45pm on CBS
- UL Monroe at 12. Butler @ 3pm on FS1
Sun 12/29
- 22. West Virginia at 2. Ohio St @ 11am on FS1
- Bryant at 13. Maryland @ 11am on BTN
- Cornell at 20. Penn St @ 11am on ESPNU
- UMass Lowell at 11. Michigan @ 1pm on FS1
- 5. Kansas at Stanford @ 2pm on ABC
- Alabama St at 6. Oregon @ 3pm on PAC12
- Lipscomb at 8. Auburn at 3pm on SEC
- Navy at 16. UVA @ 3pm on ESPN2
- Kennesaw St at 25. Iowa @ 3pm on ESPNU
- Western Michigan at 14. Michigan St @ 7pm on BTN

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Mon 12/16 – Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Brighton & Hove Albion @ 2:40pm on NBCSN
Thurs 12/26
- Premier League: Bright & Hove vs Tottenham Hotspur @ 6:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Southampton vs Chelsea @ 8:55am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Newcastle vs ManU @ 11:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Liverpool vs Leicester City @ 1:55pm on NBCSN
Fri 12/27 – Premier League: Manchester City vs Wolverhampton @ 1:55pm on NBCSN
Sat 12/28
- Premier League: AFC Bournemoth vs Bright & Hove @ 6:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Teams TBA @ 8:55am on NBCSN
Sun 12/29
- Premier League: Chelsea vs Arsenal @ 7:55am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Wolverhampton vs Liverpool @ 10:25am on NBCSN