Basketball-NBA: LeBron out with knee injury. Hawks win that game. Warriors>Nets, Mavericks honored Pacers HC.
Basketball-NCAAM: Big 12 showdowns and SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Texas Andrew Jones donates NIL to cancer research. Auburn locked up HC.
Football-NFL: Super Bowl set! Rams vs 49ers & Chiefs vs Bengals game recaps.
Golf: Luke List wins first PGA Tour title.
Olympic Sports: Beijing 2022 opens Friday! Sports start Wednesday and first medals on Feb 5th.
Tennis: AUS Open was a success! AUS Barty wins taking it home. Nadal becomes and GOAT so far with most GS titles ever – alone.
Basketball-NCAAM:
- NCAAM season. Monday’s Big 12 showdown lived up to expectations with #13 Texas Tech taking the #5 Jayhawks into 2OT before KU won 94-91. #3 Arizona went down to #7 UCLA on Tuesday 59-75. And #24 Illinois took down #10 Michigan St by 1 point. #21 Xavier couldn’t get it done against #17 Providence. Newly ranked #25 Davison, Steph Curry’s alma mater, lost their first ranked game to VCU 70-68. #15 USC lost to Stanford by 3. Heading into the SEC/Big 12 Challenge weekend #1 Auburn put the beatdown on Oklahoma 86-68. Alabama pulled off the upset of the week beating #4 Baylor 87-78. Continuing the SEC wins, #12 Kentucky beat #5 Kansas in the game of the winningest bball programs in history. Texas and TCU were the only Big 12 teams to pull off upsets of their SEC rivals beating #18 Tennessee by 1 and #18 LSU by 9 respectively. Wrapping up the weekend, #6 Purdue beat #16 Ohio St and #17 Providence beat #22 Marquette by 2.
- Texas Andrew Jones had said he will donate a portion of his NIL deals to cancer research after he underwent treatment for Leukemia when he was younger in college. He has partnered with the V Foundation to donate 10%. Jones was diagnosed in 2018, when he was the leading scorer for the Longhorns. He then went through chemo and missed a good portion of 2 seasons but is back now and averaging 10 points/game.
- Auburn has locked up their HC until 2030 for $50MM (or $5.4MM/year). Bruce Pearl is 61 so needless to say he will likely retire working for the Tigers. Auburn is ranked #1 for the first time ever and Pearl led them to their first Final Four in 2019. Auburn is 113-39 over the last 4 seasons. The school served a self-imposed post season ban last year (not super meaningful seeing as their record was 13-14).
Basketball – NBA:
- LeBron missed the second half of the road games to get treatment on his left knee. Last night was the 3rd straight game without LeBron and the Lakers lost to the Hawks 129-121. They were beating the Hawks and had the best shooting percentage in the NBA in the first half at 71.4% before the Hawks and more specifically Trae Young went off in the 4th Q to win. The Hawks have won 7 games in a row now. The Lakers are 5-10 without LeBron.
- The Warriors got the better of the Nets on Saturday night 110-106. But the Nets were without Harden due to a hand strain. That wasn’t the only injury issue for the Nets in that game. The Brooklyn team also lost LaMarcus Alderidge in the 4th Q to an ankle sprain.
- All the feels on a Monday: the Mavericks honored Pacers HC Rick Carlisle, who spent 13 years in Dallas, with a video before the game on Saturday. It was the first time Carlisle had faced Dallas since he left and he was moved to tears. He also won the only team’s championship in 2011. The Mavericks won 132-105.
- 76ers Joel Embiid is now the betting favorite for the MVP award for this season. After starting 50-1, Embiid has been on a tear recently having 16 games with an average of 34 points and 10 rebounds. How much does this mean though? That’s a big TBD as he is the 5th person to the odds favorite in the last 3 months.
Football-NFL:
- The Super Bowl is set! The CIN Bengals vs LA Rams at SoFi Stadium on Feb 13th. Happy Vday ladies 🙂
- The Rams vs 49ers game was scoreless until 9 min left in the first half and the Rams drew first blood. The 49ers then scored 17 points to take the lead 17-7 into the 4th But QB Matthew Stafford was not be denied. The Rams came back to win 20-17 with a FG in the final 2 minutes. Matthew Stafford was drafted in 2009 to the Lions but was traded to the Rams for the 2021 season and now he has made his first Super Bowl!
- The Bengals are AFC Champions for the first time since 1989 (before I was born) as they beat the Chiefs in OT 27-24 with a walk off FG. This time it wasn’t even because of the bogus NFL OT rules either. Mahomes and the Chiefs won the toss but threw an interception on 3rd down to give Cincinnati the chance. The team marched down the field and kicked a 31 yarder to punch their ticket to Super Bowl LVI. At one point (2 min left in the half) the Bengals were trailing by 18 points. Then began 21 unanswered points for the Cincinnati team. The Chiefs only managed a FG in the 2nd
- To retire or not retire… that’s the question everyone is wondering about Tom Brady. ESPN released that the GOAT of the NFL was retiring HOWEVER that apparently is not the case and no decision has been made.
Golf:
- Luke List won his first PGA Tour title in a playoff at the Farmers Insurance Will Zalatoris and Jason Day were leading going into the final round and List was 5 strokes back. He recorded a 66 (6 under) and then had to wait around 2 hours before getting to finish out the playoff. List turned pro in 2007 and made the PGA Tour in 2013. It also would’ve been Zalatoris’ first PGA Tour win if he had taken it.
Olympic Sports:
- The Olympic Games start Friday!!!
- Curling and Luge actually begin on Wed 2/2. But the first day of medals will be 2/5 in Biathlon, CC skiing, Freestyle skiing, Short Track Speed Skating, Ski Jumping and Speed Skating. For the full schedule…
- More to come on the Olympics this week!
Soccer:
- The USA beat El Salvador earlier in the week to be in a great spot to qualify for the World Cup. But they played #1 CAN on Sunday. It did not go well. CAN won 0-2 with a goal being scored in just the 7th minute of that game. So where does that leave the US for World Cup Qualification? Well if Mexico beats Costa Rica, they wil overtake the US fro the 2nd The top 3 make the World Cup, which begins in Aug. But if the USA falls to 4th in the region, they would play a winner takes all match against the Oceania team for the spot.
Tennis:
- The Australian Open had some very notable and familiar faces on top of the podium.
- Rafael Nadal has won another GS title which makes him the singularly most successful tennis player of all time. In what has been the era of Djokovic, Nadal comes back to win another. Nadal had an incredible comeback on Medvedev who won the first 2 sets (2-6 and 6-7 (5)). The match lasted 5hr 24m, the 2nd longest GS finals match in history (longest was Nadal Djokovic 2012AUS Open at 5:53). The match was delayed in the 84th minute after a protestor (human rights activist) jumped onto the court. (god people suck). Bc of this the match ended at 1:3am. The AUS Open is the weaker of Nadal’s GS; he had only won in 2009. This is his 2nd AUS Open title (now the same as Wimbledon titles for him).
- AUS Ashleigh Barty won the women’s title to retain her world #1 ranking. She beat USA Danielle Collins in straight sets for her 3rd GS title. Barty took the first set in just 32 minutes , in direct contrast to the men’s match. However Barty was down 1-5 in the second set but dug herself out of that hole to win in straight sets. Danielle Collins was ranked #27 coming into the AUS open. The hometown girl gets the title.
What to watch this week
Basketball-NBA:
- Tues 2/1
- Wizards at Bucks @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Nets at Suns @ 9pm on TNT
- Wed 2/2
- Grizzlies at Knicks@ 6:30pm on ESPN
- Nuggets at Jazz @ 9pm on ESPN
- Thurs 2/3
- Suns at Hawks @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Lakers at Clippers @ 9pm on TNT – battle of LA
- Fri 2/4
- 76ers at Mavericks @ 9pm on ESPN
- Sat 2/5
- Knicks at Lakers @ 7:30pm on ABC
- Sun 2/6
- Hawks at Mavericks @ 5pm on ESPN
Basketball – NCAAM: Only Top 25 on TV are listed
- Mon 1/31
- 9. Duke at Notre Dame @ 6pm on ESPN
- West Virginia at 4. Baylor @ 8pm on ESPN
- Tues 2/1
- Creighton at 20. UConn @ 5:30pm on FS1
- 5. Kansas at 23. Iowa St @ 6pmon ESPN
- 10. Michigan St at Maryland @ 6pm on ESPN2
- Texas A&M at 18. Tennessee @ 6pm on SEC
- 25. Davidson at St. Bonaventure @ 6pm on CBSSN
- Alabama at 1. Auburn @ 8pm on ESPN
- Texas at 13. Texas Tech @ 8pm on ESPN2
- 17. Providence at St. John’s @ 8pm on CBSSN
- Ole Miss at 19. LSU @ 8pm on SEC
- Wed 2/2
- 6. Purdue at Minnesota @ 6pm on BTN
- Vanderbilt at 12. Kentucky @ 6pm on SEC
- Butler at 21. Xavier @ 6pm
- Tulane at 7. Houston @ 7pm
- 11. Wisconsin at 24. Illinois @ 8pm on BTN
- 14. Villanova at 22. Marquette @ 9pm on FS1
- Thurs 2/3
- 7. UCLA at 3. Arizona @ 7pm on ESPN
- Iowa at 16. Ohio St @ 7pm on FS1
- 2. Gonzaga @ San Diego @ 8pm on ESPN2
- 15. USC at Arizona St @ 10pm on ESPN2
- Sat 2/5
- 20. UConn at 14. Villanova @ 11am
- 24. Illinois at Indiana @ 11am
- 1. Auburn at Georgia @ 12pm on SEC
- 18. Tennessee at South Carolina @ 12pm
- 13. Texas Tech at West Virginia @ 1pm
- DePaul at 21. Xavier @ 1pm
- 23. Iowa St at Texas @ 1pm on LHN
- 25. Davidson at George Washington @ 1pm
- Michigan at 6. Purdue @ 1:30pm
- 4. Baylor at 5. Kansas @ 3pm on ESPN
- 10. Michigan St at Rutgers @ 3pm
- 15. USC at 3. Arizona @ 4pm
- 9. Duke at UNC @ 5pm on ESPN
- Penn St at 11. Wisconsin @ 5pm
- 19. LSU at Vanderbilt @ 5pm on SEC
- 12. Kentucky at Alabama @ 7pm on ESPN
- 2. Gonzaga at BYU @ 9pm
- 7. UCLA at Arizona St @ 9pm
- Sun 2/6
- 17. Providence at Georgetown @ 11am
- Maryland at 16. Ohio St @ 12pm
- 7. Houston at Cincinnati @ 5pm on ESPN2
Golf:
- Thurs 2/3
- AT&T Pebble Beach – Round 1 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 2/4
- AT&T Pebble Beach – Round 2 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 2/5
- AT&T Pebble Beach – Round 3
- @ 12pm on Golf Channel
- @ 2pm on CBS
- AT&T Pebble Beach – Round 3
- Sun 2/6
- AT&T Pebble Beach – Final Round
- @ 12pm on Golf Channel
- @ 2pm on CBS
- AT&T Pebble Beach – Final Round
Hockey:
- Wed 2/2
- Oilers at Nationals @ 6pm on TNT
- Wild at Blackhawks @ 8:30pm on TNT
- Sat 2/5
- 3 games will be featured on ABC but teams and times are TBA
Olympics – Beijing 2022
- Wed 2/2
- Curling: Mixed Doubles: AUS vs USA @ 6:05am on NBCSN
- And again @ 5pm on USA
- Curling: Mixed Doubles: USA vs ITA @ 7:05pm on USA
- Curling: Mixed Doubles: AUS vs USA @ 6:05am on NBCSN
- Thurs 2/3
- Curling: Mixed Doubles USA vs NOR @ 12:05am on NBCSN
- And again @ 12:30am & 4:45am on USA
- Freestyle Skiing: W Moguls Qualifying @ 4am on USA
- Freestyle Skiing: M Moguls Qualifying @ 5:45am on USA and NBC
- Hockey: W FIN vs USA @ 6:30am on USA
- Highlights @ 11am on NBC
- Primetime: Figure Skating & Moguls & Freestyle Skiing @ 7pm on NBC
- Again @ 11pm on NBC
- Curling: Mixed Doubles USA vs NOR @ 12:05am on NBCSN
- Fri 2/4
- Curling: SWE vs USA @ 12:30am on USA
- Opening Ceremony @ 5:30am on NBCSN
- Again @ 8am on NBC
- Figure Skating: M Short Program, Team Competition, Rhythm Dance, Pairs short @ 3pm on USA
- Primetime @ 7pm on NBC
- Snowboarding: W Slopestyle Qualifying @ 9pm on USA
- Ski Jumping: M Normal Hill Qualification @ 11:15pm on NBC
- Sat 2/5 *medal event
- Curling: Mixed Doubles CHN vs USA @ 12:05am on NBCSN
- *Cross Country Skiing: W Skiathlon @ 1:45am on NBCSN & USA
- Speed Skating: W 3000m @ 2:30am on NBCSN & USA
- Biathlon: Mixed Relay 4x6km @ 3am on NBCSN
- Ski Jumping: W Normal Final @ 3:45am on NBCSN
- *Freestyle Skiing: M Moguls @ 4am on NBCSN
- *Short Track: M 1000m, W 500 Relay Final @ 5am on NBCSN
- Mixed Team Relay @ 7:18am
- Luge: M Singles @ 5:10am on NBCSN
- *Freestyle Skiing: M Moguls @ 5:30am on USA& 9:30am on USA
- Curling: Mixed Doubles USA vs CAN @ 6:05am on NBCSN
- Again @ 3pm on CNBC & 5pm
- Hockey: W USA vs ROC @ 7:10am on NBCSN & USA
- Again @ 4pm on USA
- *Biathlon: Mixed Relay 4x6km @ 11am on USA
- Again @ 6:30pm on USA
- *Ski Jumping: W Normal @ 12:30pm on USA
- *Short Track: W 500m & M 1000m @ 1:30pm on USA
- *Primetime @ 7pm on NBC
- Curling: Mixed Doubles USA vs CZE @ 7:05pm on NBCSN
- Figure Skating: Team Event, W Short Program, M Free, Pairs @ 7:30pm on NBCSN
- Snowboarding: W Slopestyle Final @ 7:30pm on USA
- *Alpine Skiing: M Downhill @ 9pm on NBCSN & USA
- Snowboarding: M Slopestyle Qualifying @ 10:30pm on NBCSN
- Primetime Plus @ 11pm on NBC
- Sun 2/6
- Primetime: Figure Skating & M Downhill @ 12:30am on NBC
- *Cross Country Skiing: M Skiathlon Classic @ 1am on NBCSN
- *Speed Skating: M 5000m @ 2:30am on NBCSN & USA
- Again @ 1pm on NBC
- *Ski Jumping: M Normal Hill @ 4am on NBCSN
- Again @ 1pm on USA
- *Freestyle Skiing: W Moguls @ 5:30am on USA
- *Luge: M Singles @ 5:30am on NBCSN
- Again @ 9:30am on USA
- Curling: Mixed Doubles SUI vs USA @ 6:05am on NBCSN
- Again @ 2pm on USA
- Hockey: W SUI vs USA @ 7:10am on NBCSN
- Again @ 4pm on USA
- *Figure Skating: Pairs Free & *Alpine Skiing: W GS & Big Air @ 6pm on NBC
- *Cross Country Skiing: M Skiathlon @ 6:30pm on USA
- Curling: Mixed Doubles: USA vs GBR @ 7:05pm on NBCSN
- *Figure Skating: Team Event, M/W Free & Free Dance @ 7:15pm on NBCSN
- *Alpine Skiing: W Giant Slalom @ 8:15pm on USA
- Ski Jumping: W Big Air @ 9:15pm on USA
- *Snowboarding: M Slopestyle @ 10pm on NBCSN
- Recap @ 11pm on NBCSN & NBC
Soccer:
- Wed 2/2 – USMNT vs HON @ 6:30pm on FS1
