Happy Thanksgiving yall!
Basketball – NBA: LeBron’s record triple-doubles. Ball likely #1 2020 NBA draft pick. All Luka wants for Christmas is a playoff berth.
Football – College: 3 upsets in the Top 25 but 2 in the Top 10. Yale vs Harvard shenanigans. 5 ranked matchups this weekend.
Football – NFL: Packers lost big. Mason Rudolph gets benched. Panther’s kicker misses 5 points. DeWayne misses the last play.
Golf: Duncan claims 1st PGA title. Rahm wins Race to Dubai. Kim wins LPGA title.
Olympic Sports: NCAA in CC. UK Athletics CEO dismissed before she gets there. Kristoffersen back on top. Shiffrin’s record setting win. Swimming and Track awards. FIS head stepping down.
Basketball – NBA:
- LeBron has now made a triple-double against every team in the NBA (of which there are 30) when he collected 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Thunder on Tuesday. He is the first player to do this but ranks 5th on the all-time triple-double leader board with 86. He is behind Kidd 107, Magic 138, Westbrook 141 and Oscar Robertson with 181. Westbrook is only missing 1 team.
- LaMelo Ball is the youngest player in NBL (National Basketball League played in Oceania) history to get a triple-double which just ups his chances of being NBA draft pick #1 for 2020. Ball was originally going to attend UCLA to play ball but opted out due to NCAA regulations. He went to the NBL instead and seems to be thriving.
- Dallas Mav’s star Luka Doncic kept his cool after he left the Dallas arena to chants of ‘MVP’ after a big win. He just cares about the Mavs making playoffs and seems to be sticking to that mantra. Way to keep your eye on the ball Luka.
Football – College:
- Only 3 upsets in the Top 25 this week but #8 Penn St lost to #2 Ohio St, although it was a closer game than it looked early on when the Buckeyes looked dominant 0-21. The big story of the weekend was Arizona St’s upset of #6 Oregon, dashing the Pac 12 hopes of making the CFP. Utah can still do it but they need to have an impressive win in the Pac 12 Championship game to make their case. I know this isn’t a Top 25 loss but its still notable – Miami lost to Florida International this weekend 30-24. Let that sink in…
| Losses in the Top 25 | ||||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV | Line | Score |
| 6. Oregon | Arizona St | Sat 11/23 | 6:30 PM | ABC | -14.5 | 28-31 |
| 8. Penn St | 2. Ohio St | Sat 11/23 | 11:00 AM | FOX | +18.5 | 17-28 |
| 25. SMU | Navy | Sat 11/23 | 2:30 PM | CBSSN | +3 | 28-35 |
- In other news in college football, the Yale vs Harvard game was delayed 40+ minutes due to climate change (along with 2 other political issues) protesters from both schools sitting on the field. 42 people have since been charged. My 2 cents on this: take your protests elsewhere! Sports is supposed to be a place to get away from the politics of normal life. *gets off soap box* Yale went on to win 50-43.
- The top games are currently using AP Poll rankings. This will get updated on Wed when the CFP rankings have come out. Gameday is at Minnesota for the first time for their matchup against Wisconsin. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
| Top Games of the Week | |||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV | Line |
| 19. Cincinnati | 17. Memphis | Fri 11/29 | 2:30 PM | ABC | +10 |
| 2. Ohio St | 10. Michigan | Sat 11/30 | 11:00 AM | FOX | -8.5 |
| 5. Alabama | 16. Auburn | Sat 11/30 | 2:30 PM | CBS | -4 |
| 13. Wisconsin | 9. Minnesota | Sat 11/30 | 2:30 PM | ABC | -2.5 |
| 7. Oklahoma | 21. Oklahoma St | Sat 11/30 | 7:00 PM | FOX | -12 |
| *GameDay indicated in bold* | |||||
Football – NFL:
- Packers lost big last night to the 49ers 37-8. This doesn’t happen very often to Aaron Rodgers. That was with the 49ers TE George Kittle returned to the game after a broken ankle and banged up knee. He ran for 129 yards and earned fantasy footballers about 18.9 points (depending on what scoring system is used).
- Steelers QB Mason Rudolph was benched after he did not play well against the Bengals. They still won but Mason was obviously distracted as Myles Garrett claimed Rudolph used a racial slur during the brawl that resulted in Garrett’s indefinite suspension. Rudolph denies the claim vehemently.
- In the Saints vs Panthers game, the Panther’s rookie kicker missed 5 points (2 EPA and 1 FG). Not a great day for him.
- In other rookie news, Redskins rookie QB DeWayne Haskins missed last play of the game to take a selfie with a fan. He thought the game was over and back up QB Case Keenum had to come in to the take the snap in victory formation. Oops. To be fair, Haskins did lead the team to a Q after they were down 19-13.
- Brandon Brooks, RG for the Eagles left the game against the Seahawks due to an anxiety related illness. Total Brooks has missed 5 games in his career due to this illness which his teammate, Lane Johnson also suffers from. Johnson missed the game on Sunday due to a concussion.
- Now that we are into week 9, its time for the standings in each division
- AFC-East: Patriots
- AFC-North: Ravens
- AFC-South: Texans
- AFC-West: Chiefs
- NFC- East: Cowboys
- NFC-North: Packers and Vikings are now tied
- NFC-South: Saints
- NFC-West: 49ers
Golf:
- Tyler Duncan won the RSM Classic in Sea Island, GA this weekend as the last PGA Tour tournament before a winter break. This is his first PGA Tour title, edging out Webb Simpson in a playoff on Sunday. Brendan Todd looked like he was going to make it 3 PGA Tour title in a row as he was leading by 2 strokes going into Sunday but then shot a 72 to take 4th.
- Jon Rahm won the Race to Dubai title on Sunday after holding off Tommy Fleetwood at the DP World Tour Championship. Fleetwood shot a 65 to card an 18 under going into the clubhouse. Rahm needed a birdie to win on the final hole and got it after a stellar bunker shot. Rahm is just the 2nd Spaniard to win the Race to Dubai after Seve Ballesteros.
- Sei Young Kim made a clutch 25 foot putt for birdie to win the final event of the LPGA season and secure the biggest prize in women’s golf history ($1.5MM). Charley Hull made Kim earn it after a late charge birding 5 of the last 7 holes to score within 1 of the leader.
Olympic Sports:
- This past weekend was NCAAs for cross country, where Weini Kelati won the women’s individual title for New Mexico with a time of 19 minutes and 47.5 seconds. She came from a tiny village in Eritrea and never came back home – she didn’t even tell her mom or brothers that she wouldn’t be returning. You can read more about her amazing story here.
- Arkansas women took the team title. BYU won the men’s team title with Iowa State’s Edwin Kurgat winning the individual title.
- The UK Athletics CEO was set to start her new role next month but was dismissed before she even stepped foot in her office. Zara Hyde Peters was dismissed after it was discovered that she allowed her husband to keep coaching even though he was banned after an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a 15 year old schoolgirl.
- Henrik Kristoffersen took home his first men’s World Cup slalom title in 22 months after his nemesis, Marcel Hirscher retired after last season. No other skier has won the season title except those 2 (Hirscher and Kristoffersen) in the last 7 years…
- Still in skiing news, what’s been a long time coming: Mikaela Shffrin won her 41st World Cup title in the slalom this weekend. This makes her the winning-est skier ever, male or female. The previous record was held by skiing great, Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden who won his 40 slalom titles from 1974-1987. Shiffrin won her 41 titles in just 7 years and she’s still going.
- Gian Franco Kasper, the president of the FIS (International Ski Federation) will step down after 22 years in the role. He has worked for the organization for 45 years in many capacities.
- Caeleb Dressel and Simone Manuel took home top honors at the Golden Googles on Sunday night for top male and female athlete respectively. Dressel also took home top male race of the year for his 100m fly win at Worlds. Regan Smith won breakout athlete of the year and best female race of the year for her 200m back. Nathan Adrian received the perseverance award after his battle with testicular cancer.
- Track and Field also had awards over the weekend with American hurdler Dalilah Muhammad winning the world best female athlete of the year and Eliud Kipchoge winning the male world’s best athlete of the year after his sub-2 hour marathon. Muhammad won the 400m hurdle world title with a new WR, that she previously set at US Championships in July.
What to Watch This Week
Basketball – NBA:
- Wed 11/27
- Nets at Celtics @ 6pm on ESPN
- Lakers at Pelicans @ 8:30pm on ESPN
Basketball – NCAA:
- Mon 11/25
- Kent St at 10. Ohio St @ 5:30pm on BTN
- Chattanooga at 20. Tennessee @ 6pm on SEC
- 4. Kansas at Chaminade @ 8pm on ESPNU
- 19. Auburn @ New Mexico @ 8:30pm on ESPNNEWS
- Wed 11/27
- Maine at 7. UVA @ 3pm on ACC
- 11. Oregon vs 13. Seton Hall @ 8:30pm on ESPN2
- Thurs 11/28
- 6. Maryland at Temple @ 10am on ESPN2
- NC St at 16. Memphis @ 3pm on ESPN2
- 12. Texas Tech at Iowa @ 7pm on FS1
- Pepperdine at 14 Arizona @ 10pm on ESPN2
- Fri 11/29
- Winthrop at 1. Duke @ 6pm on ACC
- UAB at 9. Kentucky @ 6pm on SEC
- 20. Tennessee at Florida St @ 6pm on CBSSN
- Morgan St at 10. Ohio St @ 8pm on BTN
- 21. VCU at Purdue @ 8:30pm on CBSSN
- 15. Utah St at Saint Mary’s @ 10:30pm on ESPNU
- Sat 11/30 – Sacramento St at 23. Colorado @ 8pm on PAC12
Football – NCAA:
| Top 25 | |||||
| Week 14 | |||||
| Top Games of the Week | |||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV | Line |
| 19. Cincinnati | 17. Memphis | Fri 11/29 | 2:30 PM | ABC | +10 |
| 2. Ohio St | 10. Michigan | Sat 11/30 | 11:00 AM | FOX | -8.5 |
| 5. Alabama | 16. Auburn | Sat 11/30 | 2:30 PM | CBS | -4 |
| 13. Wisconsin | 9. Minnesota | Sat 11/30 | 2:30 PM | ABC | -2.5 |
| 7. Oklahoma | 21. Oklahoma St | Sat 11/30 | 7:00 PM | FOX | -12 |
| *GameDay indicated in bold* | |||||
Football – NFL:
- Mon 11/25 – Ravens at Rams @ 7:15pm on ESPN
- Thurs 11/28
- Bears at Lions @ 11:30am on Fox
- Bills at Cowboys @ 3:30pm pn CBS
- Saints at Falcons @ 7:20pm on NBC
- Sun 12/1
- 8 games at 12pm on CBS and Fox
- Jets at Bengals
- Titans at Colts
- Eagles at Dolphins
- Packers at Giants
- Browns at Steelers
- Redskins at Panthers
- Buccaneers at Jaguars
- 49ers at Ravens
- Rams at Cardinals @ 3:05pm on FOX
- Chargers at Broncos – or – Raiders at Chiefs @ 3:25pm on CBS
- Patriots at Texans @ 7:20pm on NBC
- 8 games at 12pm on CBS and Fox
- Mon 12/2 – Vikings at Seahawks @ 7:15pm on ESPN
Hockey:
- Mon 11/25 – Sharks at Kings @ 9:30pm on RSN
- Tues 11/26 – Stars at Blackhawks @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Wed 11/27
- Canucks at Penguins @ 6pm on RSN
- Flyers at Blue Jackets @ 6pm on NBCSN
- Thurs 11/28 – Devils at Canadiens @ 6:30pm on RSN
- Fri 11/29
- Rangers at Bruins @ 12pm on NBC
- Penguins at Blue Jackets @ 6pm on RSNE
- Sat 11/30 – Flyers ay Canadiens @ 2pm on RSN
- Sun 12/1 – Canadiens at Canucks @ 6pm on RSN
Olympic Sports:
- Wed 11/27 – Ironman: Quest for Kona @ 11:30pm on NBCSN
- Thurs 11/28 – Ironman: Quest for Kona @ 12am on NBCSN
- Sat 11/30
- Skiing: FIS World Cup: Women’s Giant Slalom: 2nd run @ 12:30pm on NBCSN
- Skiing: FIS World Cup: Men’s Downhill @ 9pm on NBCSN
- Skiing: Cross-Country World Cup: Women’s 10km @ 10pm on NBCSN
- Sun 12/1
- Luge: FIL World Cup @ 5:30pm on NBCSN
- Skiing: FIS World Cup: Women’s Slalom @ 7:30pm on NBCSN
Soccer:
- Sat 11/30
- Premier League: Newcastle United vs ManU @ 7:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur vs AFC Bournemouth @ 9:55am on NBCSN
- Sun 12/1
- Premier League: Norwich City at Arsenal @ 8:55am on NBCSN
- Italian Serie A: Napoli vs Bologna @ 11am on ESPNNEWS
- Premier League: ManU vs Aston Villa @ 11:25am on NBCSN
