Basketball: NCAAM upsets. NBA injuries.
Football-NCAAF: 5 losses in the Top 25. So many coaching changes. Conference Championship week.
Football-NFL: Packers and Cardinals at 9 wins apiece. Lions winless. Pats win again.
Golf: Brooks wins Match. Elder dies.
Olympic Sports: Shiffrin wins 46th slalom WC. Sapporo goes for 2030.
Tennis: Shuai seen out.
Basketball:
- NCAAM season. #14 Illinois fell 51-71 to an undefeated Cincinnati team – seems to be a thing there lately. The next day, they lost to Arkansas. #1 Gonzaga beat #2 UCLA 83-63 thanks to their 1st half where they outscored the Bruins 45-25. However they then lost to #5 Duke 84-81 on Saturday. #10 Alabama lost to Iona, who became the first MAAC team in history to beat a Top 10 team. #4 Kansas was upset by Dayton due to a buzzer beater 74-73. #9 Memphis got their butts handed to them 78-59 by the Iowa St Cyclones. There were 6 other losses in the Top 25 that I didn’t cover.
- Duke is the new #1 team this week raising 4 spots.
- Bucks are looking to sign C DeMarcus Cousins in what is allegedly a non-guaranteed deal. The 4x all-star spent some of 2020-21 season with the Rockets and Clippers. He played the majority of his 10 year career at the Kings (7 years) before being traded.
- NBA injuries:
- Nets Joe Harris is expected to miss 4-8 weeks due to ankle surgery. He went out on 11/14 against the Thunder 6 games ago.
- Nuggets Michael Porter Jr will also need surgery but in his back. He is expected to make a full recovery but no time table yet. This is his 2nd back surgery. He had one in 2018 as well.
Football-NCAAF:
- There were 5 losses in the Top 25. And oh what a weekend it was! #2 Ohio St, who looked like the only team we thought could rival Georgia, got beaten by Michigan. Harbaugh had never beaten Ohio St in his tenure with the school! It was indeed Bedlam in Oklahoma with the Sooners late mistakes leading to them missing their first conference championship in 7 years. LSU won their last game with Coach O against #15 Texas A&M in a nail biter that came down to the wire. Alabama almost lost but took it to 4OTs to beat a very mediocre Auburn team. #8 Baylor also had a scare especially with Texas Tech’s record of kicking late long FGs.
- Loses: #2 Ohio St, #10 Oklahoma, #14 Wisconsin, #15 Texas A&M, #22 UTSA
- Hirings:
- Lincoln Riley, HC of Oklahoma, has jumped ship to take the opening at USC.
- Florida has hired Napier from Louisiana.
- TCU hired SMU HC Sunny Dykes to replace their beloved Gary Patterson. Not a far move from Dallas to Fort Worth. Dykes was 30-18 at SMU. SMU beat TCU this year.
- SMU hired Miami’s OC Rhett Lashlee as their new HC. Why you may ask? Well he was SMU’s OC in 2018 and 2019 before moving to Miami. He is coming back!
- Open: LSU, Oklahoma, Vtech, Louisiana,
- Oklahoma has lost a lot of recruits in the wake of the news of its HC’s departure. QB Malachi Nelson (#3 in 2023), DE Derrick Moore (#23 in 2022), LB Kobie McKinzie (#95 in 2022), WR Brandon Inniss (#29), RB Treyaun Webb (#152), RB Raleek Brown (#60), OL Demetruis Hunter (#281).
- It’s conference championship week! There was some drama with teams getting in. Even Vegas wouldn’t take the odds of Ohio St, Oklahoma and Clemson all missing their conference games. GameDay will be at the SEC Championship for the long awaited Georgia vs Alabama dhowdown.
- AAC: Houston vs Cincinnati – who now looks like they are in the CFP if they win!
- ACC: Pitt vs Wake Forest
- Big 10: Michigan vs Iowa
- Iowa got in after their W over Nebraska and the Badgers losing
- Big 12: Oklahoma St (with CFP hopes) vs Baylor
- CUSA: W Kentucky vs finally beaten UTSA
- MAC: Ken St vs N IL
- MW: Utah St vs SD St
- Pac 12: Oregon vs Utah rematch
- SEC: Alabama vs Georgia – the one showdown we all want to see
- Sun Belt: App St vs Louisiana
Football-NFL:
- Week 12 recap: man the Lions cannot catch a break losing another game with a late FG by the Bears. They move to 0-10. The Cowboys lost to the Raiders on Thanksgiving 36-33 in a game where there were more penalty yards than rushing yards. Both teams had 14 apiece for a combined 276 yards. The Pats continue to roll their way into the lead in the AFC-East after beating the Titans 36-13. The Giants beat the Eagles 13-7 after the Phili team had 4 turnovers. They also retired Michael Strahan’s number 92 (if you watch GMA). The Packers hold on to a W 36-28 against the Rams to tie the Cardinals with 9 wins, the best in the league. The Texans let another one get away losing to the Jets in a battle of who can get to 3 wins first.
- Christian McCaffrey is out and on the IR again after an ankle injury.
Golf:
- Brooks Koepka won the Match in dominating fashion winning 4&3 which means that he was 4 up with 3 holes to go. DeChambeau did win the longest drive of the competition but he had no birdies. The event was full of quips and smack talk by both and the announcers. Needless to say it was good TV. But did they bury the hatchet? When asked if he wanted to play with Bryson more, Brooks replied “nah, I’m good.”
- Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to play in the Masters, passed away at age 87 today. He was in poor health and used an oxygen tube when he was at the Masters just in April. He made history when he played at Augusta in 1975. He did end up missing the cut but history was still made. Tiger Woods then won the tournament 22 years after Elder played. Elder appeared at the Masters this past April in an effort to salute social justice reform.
Olympic Sports:
- Mikaela Shiffrin won the rescheduled Killington GS. Originally she was the slowest skier down the mountain before the race was canceled on Saturday for bad weather. It was re-run on Sunday and she won her 46th career slalom. She beat Petra Vlhova by 0.75 seconds (after trailing by 0.2 after run 1). This is the first WC race in North America in 2 years and Shiffrin has won all the slalom races competed in Killington. This being her 46th slalom win also ties Ingemar Stenmark’s most wins in a single discipline (his was the GS).
- Sticking with winter games… Sapporo (JPN) is expected to put its name in the hat to potentially host the 2030 Olympic games. It is running on the platform that its cost effective as they have hosted the games before (1972). Other cities to express interest are the Aragon/Catalonia region of SPN, UKZR, Vancouver and maybe Salt Lake City (either 2030 or 2034).
- Case of the Mondays: KAZ played the wrong national anthem for Syria (played Iran) during FIBA qualifier event.
Tennis:
- Chinese tennis star, Peng Shuai, has appeared in public! However all the photos of her smiling that have surfaced on twitter were all posted by government-controlled media. However, Peng did have a video call with the IOC President Thomas Bach on Sunday where she said she is well and living in her home in Beijing. This also does not put to rest the sexual assault allegations she made but at least shes alive.
What to watch this week
Basketball-NBA:
- Tues 11/30
- Knicks at Nets @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Warriors at Suns @ 9pm on TNT
- Fri 12/3
- 76ers at Hawks @ 6:30pm on ESPN
- Clippers at Lakers @ 9pm on ESPN – battle of LA
Basketball – NCAAM: Only Top 25 on TV are listed
- Tues 11/30
- Presbyterian at 13. Tennessee @ 6pm on SEC
- Maryland-Eastern Shore at 17. UConn @ 6pm on CBSSN
- Florida St at 2. Purdue @ 6:30pm on ESPN
- Duke at Ohio St @ 8:30pm on ESPN
- Wed 12/1
- Memphis at Georgia @ 6:15pm on SEC
- Louisville at 22. Michigan St @ 6:15pm on ESPN
- Wisconsin at Georgia Tech @ 8:15pm on ESPN2
- Michigan at UNC @ 8:15pm on ESPN
- Fri 12/3
- Kansas at St. John’s @ 6pm on FS1
- Iowa at 2. Purdue @ 8pm on BTN
- Sat 12/4
- Saint Joseph’s at 6. Villanova @ 11am on FS1
- Memphis at Ole Miss @ 11am on ESPN2
- Marquette at 23. Wisconsin @ 11:30am on FOX
- San Diego St at 24. Michigan @ 12pm on CBS
- Tennessee at Colorado @ 1pm on FS1
- Yale at 21. Auburn @ 1pm on ESPNU
- Little Rock at 10. Arkansas @ 3pm on SEC
- BYU at Missouri St @ 3pm on CBSSN
- Toledo at 22. Michigan St @ 4pm on BTN
- Alabama at 3. Gonzaga @ 7pm on ESPN2
- Iowa St at Creighton @ 8pm on FS1
- Sun 12/5
- Arizona at Oregon State @ 3pm on ESPNU
Football- NCAAF:
Tues 11/30 – CFP Rankings Show @ 7pm on ESPN
| Week 14 – Championship Week | |||||||
| Conference | Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV | Stadium | Line |
| Conference USA Championship | Western Kentucky | UTSA | Fri 12/3 | 6:00 PM | CBSSN | Alamodome (TX) | -1 |
| Pac 12 Championship | Oregon | Utah | Fri 12/3 | 7:00 PM | ABC | Allegiant Stadium (NV) | +3 |
| MAC Championship | Kent St | Northern Illinois | Sat 12/4 | 11:00 AM | ESPN | Ford Field (MI) | -2.5 |
| Big 12 Championship | Baylor | Oklahoma St | Sat 12/4 | 11:00 AM | ABC | AT&T (TX) | +5.5 |
| Mountain West Championship | Utah St | San Diego St | Sat 12/4 | 2:00 PM | FOX | Dignity Health (CA) | +5.5 |
| Sun Belt Championship | App St | Louisiana | Sat 12/4 | 2:30 PM | ESPN | Cajun Field (LA) | -3 |
| SEC Championship | Georgia | Alabama | Sat 12/4 | 2:30 PM | CBS | Mercedes-Benz (GA) | -6.5 |
| American Athletic Championship | Houston | Cincinnati | Sat 12/4 | 3:00 PM | ABC | Nippert (OH) | +10.5 |
| Big 10 Championship | Michigan | Iowa | Sat 12/4 | 7:00 PM | FOX | Lucas Oil (IN) | -10.5 |
| ACC Championship | Pitt | Wake Forest | Sat 12/4 | 7:00 PM | ABC | BoA (NC) | -3 |
Football-NFL:
- Mon 11/29
- Seahawks at Washington @ 7:15pm on ESPN
- Thurs 12/2
- Cowboys at Saints @ 7:20pm on FOX
- Sun 12/5
- 7 games on @ 12pm depending on location on CBS/FOX
- FOX:
- Buccaneers at Falcons
- Cardinals at Bears
- Giants at Dolphins
- CBS:
- Chargers at Bengals
- Vikings at Lions
- Eagles at Jets
- Colts at Texans
- FOX:
- Washington at Raiders – or – Jaguars at Rams @ 3:05pm on FOX
- Ravens at Steelers – or – 49ers at Seahawks @ 3:25pm on CBS
- Broncos at Chiefs @ 7:20pm on NBC
- 7 games on @ 12pm depending on location on CBS/FOX
- Mon 12/6
- Patriots at Bills @ 7:15pm on ESPN
Hockey:
- Wed 12/1
- Penguins at Oilers @ 9pm on TNT
Olympic Sports:
- Fri 12/3
- Skiing: M Super G @ 11:30am on NBCSN
- Swimming: Toyota Open @ 8:30pm on NBCSN
- Sat 12/4
- Skiing: M Downhill @ 12pm on NBCSN
- Snowboarding: Visa Big Air @ 8pm on NBCSN
- Sun 12/5
- Biathlon: W 7.5km Sprint @ 1am on NBCSN
- Biathlon: W 4x6km Relay @ 4:30pm on NBCSN
- Luge: FIL World Cup @ 5:30pm on NBCSN
- Speedskating: World Cup @ 7:30pm on NBCSN
- Bobsled: IBSF Men’s @ 9pm on NBCSN
Soccer:
- Tues 11/30
- Women’s International Friendly: AUS vs USA @ 3:05am on ESPN
- Premier League: LeedsU vs Crystal Palace @ 2:10pm on NBCSN
- Wed 12/1
- Premier League: Everton vs Liverpool @ 2:10pm on NBCSN
- Fri 12/3
- NCAAW: Florida St at Rutgers @ 6pm on ESPNU
- NCAAW: BYU at Santa Clara @ 8:30pm on ESPNU
- Sat 12/4
- Premier League: West Ham U vs Chelsea @ 6:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Newcastle at Burnley @ 8:55am on NBCSN
- Sun 12/5
- Premier League: ManU vs Crystal Palace @ 8am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Aston Villa vs Leicester City @ 10:30am on NBCSN
