Basketball – NBA: NBA Cup final! Otehr week headlines.
Basketball – NCAAM: Not a lot of upsets this week and not a lot of games this week – take a break friends!
Football – NCAAF: CFP first round.
Football – NFL: This weeks games. 6 close games. 2 games on Sat.
Golf: Scheffler POY. PNC.
Olympic Sports: Skiing. Luge.
Quick Headlines: NCAAF. NCAA Volleyball.
No podcast episode this week-sorry forgot my gear!
No podcast episode this week-sorry forgot my gear!
Basketball-NBA:
- This week’s games: Cooper Flag put up 42 in the the Mavs OT loss to the Jazz who had both won 10 games this season.
- The NBA Cup final was on Tuesday. It was a good game between the Spurs and the Knicks. Both teams had a lead of 11 or 12 points at one point in this game. The Spurs got hot early and were leading til 10:36 to go in the game when the game got tied at 94 apeice. After that, NY took over and it was all them the rest of the way. They would win 124-113.
- Wed only had 2 games but both were upsets. The Bulls were at home but only had 11 wins on the season. they beat the Cavs 127-111. The Grizzlies pulled off the win away against the TWolves by 6.
- From the rest of the week: The Thunder lost their 3rd game of the season against the TWolves by 5 after a 18 point 2Q. The Lakers had a bad game on Sat. They started with 15 points in the 1Q and then 24, 22, before ending with 27. The Clippers would win that battle of LA. The Wizards got their 5th win of the season on Sat beating the Grizzilies 130-122.
- The Raptors had 2 Qs in the teens with an 18 and 16 to lose to the Nets who only had 8 wins on the season and they lost by 15! In contrast the Bulls vs the Hawks game both teams scored 150 or more. The Bulls would take this close one by 2. The Knicks had a nice follow up to their NBA Cup win with a 132-125 win over the Heat. Brunson was the high scorer of the week with 47 points.
Basketball – NCAA:
- Not a lot of upsets this week:
- #11 Louisville had a weak game against #20 Tennessee. The Cards only put up 62 points in the entire game compared to the Vols 83. They are now 0-2 away! #13 Vandy went to OT with Memphis and although they did NOT lose, it was worth mentioning as Memphis is not up to its usual standards (4-6 on the season). UGA showed out, scoring 112 on Thursday.
- Saturday had some good ones! We had 3 ranked matchups. The most lopsided was #6 Purdue who put the beat down on #21 Auburn winning by 28. #8 Houston won in both halves to beat #14 Arkansas to win by 9. #3 Duke played well in the 1H, scoring 46 points compared to #19 Texas Tech’s 36. But then the tables flipped with TT coming back from down 17 in the 2H. They didn’t tie it up til 2:20 to go in the game. The Red Raiders scored 46 and the Blue devils only scored 35. With just 18 seconds left, there was a foul on Cameron Boozer who missed 1 of 2 to give them only the tie instead of the win. Duke would take it by 1!
Football – NCAAF:
- Round 1 for CFP:
- #8 Oklahoma was dominating in their rematch with #9 Alabama but this time the game was in Norman. The college town showed out with a light show, 50 Cent, etc. But then with 6:56 to go in the 2Q, Alabama scored 17 straight points off of a short field after a dropped punt, and a pick 6. Alabama scored 27 straight points to take the lead and make it in hand for the Tide. OU did score a TD in the 4Q to bring the game back to 27-24 but Alabama would score again and win by 10. OU’s FG kicker who was so good all year missed 2 kicks but it was a long one and windy night.
- The #10 Miami vs #7 Texas A&M game was a weird one. Everything went Miami’s way early with Texas A&M mistakes like a fumble but the Canes couldn’t do anything. Their drives were 5 plays, 4, 3, 4, 4 and finally ended with 7 plays. They would miss 2 FGs to still have the game 0-0 at half. Miami would score on their 1st drive but only a FG. Then the Aggies threw an INT and another missed FG. The Aggies would drive all the way down to 17 but would have to settle for a FG so were tied 3-3. 2 plays later, MIA fumbled the ball and the Aggies had life again. But they couldn’t capitalize and that’s when the Canes’ line started to make a huge difference and eating up Texas A&M. they would score a TD on the next drive in just 6 plays to go 86 yards. That would put them up 7 with 1:44 to go. But then miraculously, the Aggies drove down the field for 1st and goal from the 5. They would get 3 stabs at it before Reed threw an INT in the endzone. Mia wins and advances to play Ohio St.
- The next two games were boring. #11 Tulane lost to #6 Ole Miss with a very similar score as last time. This one was 41-10. It was 45-10 back in Sept. It was a little scary with both QB Chambliss went out for a while and RB Lacy was banged up but they didn’t need everyone at full strength.
- #12 JMU was up against the juggernaut #5 Oregon. Oregon went to work early scoring 34-6 by half time. The scores were in 4, 5, 3, 4, 5 plays to score TDs. But then JMU would come back to score 28 in the 2H to cover the spread but obviously lose the game. Oregon rolls 51-34.
Football – NFL:
- MNF: The Steelers handled the Dolphins. They were winning 28-3 with just 7:36 to go. no problem even after MIA scored 12 points in the 4Q.
- TNF: The Rams vs Seahawks game was a good one. It didn’t seem like it at first with the Rams leading 13-7 and then another big lead 30-14 in the 4Q. But then the Seahawks came back to tie it up in the final 8:03 of the game. The Rams got the first TD but when the Seahawks got the ball, they would also get a TD in 9 plays but they would go for the 2-point conversion and GET IT! so Seahawks win.
- There were 2 games on Saturday and both were closer than the college football games. In the first one, the Eagles were trailing at halftime against the Commanders. But they came back in the 4Q scoring 15 points to take the W and win their 2nd NFC East title. The 2nd game was the Packers/Bears. And in similar fashion the Bears scored 13 points to tie it up and take the game to OT. The Bears only needed 4 plays to score a TD and take the win.
- There were 6 close games:
- The Bills scored 13 points in the 2Q to take the lead in their game over the Browns, who put up a good fight but would fall 3 points short. The Vikings scored a FG in the 1Q then the two teams went back and forth and turns out that first FG was the difference! MN wins over the Vikings by 3. The Panthers are over .500 with their win over the Bucs on Sunday. The Falcons won the battle of the birds despite the Cardinals being tied at halftime at 16 apiece. Kyler Murray has been injured so Brisset has taken over. The Texans drew first blood in their game over the 2-12 Raiders but after that the game got really close. The Texans were able to hang on to win by 2. The Pats canceled out a 11-point deficit to beat the Ravens and now they are in the playoffs which is impressed after last year.
- The craziest ending I had seen in a while was the Steelers/Lions game. The game was tied 10-10 at halftime. But then DET couldn’t seem to do anything. Raiders got a safety in the 3Q as the only points. but the 4Q was a scoring bonanza. Every drive in the 4Q ended in points except 2 (1 was the lions who went 3& out and another was the Steelers who missed a FG with 2:09 to go). So the score was 29-24 Raiders but the Lions had the ball. A couple of penalties and long passes later and DET was 1st & goal form the 16. Then final play of the game in the final 8 seconds, Goff threw the ball, complete to one yard line but short of the TD who then lateraled it to Goff who runs it in! However flags flew and there was an offensive PI (not sure I saw it) and game is over! Not reviewable.
- Some not so close games: the Chargers beat the Cowboys 34-17, doing all the scoring in the 2H. The Titans crushed the Chiefs who are Mahomes-less 26-9. The Bengals got Joe Burrow back and it showed, they beat the Dolphins 45-21. The Saints won their 3rd game in a row keeping the Jets out of the endzone with only 3 FGs, 29-6.
- Checking in on the standings as we now have some eliminated form playoff teams.
- In the AFC: New this week the Pats and Jags have also secured their spot joining the Broncos.
- Eliminated: The Dolphins got added to the eliminated teams: Bengals, Chiefs Jets, Browns, Raiders and the Titans (2-11).
- In the NFC: The Seahawks*, Bears*, 49ers* have been added to the playoffs with the Rams.
- Eliminated: Cowboys*, Vikings, Falcons, Cardinals, Saints, Commanders and the Giants (2-11).
- In the AFC: New this week the Pats and Jags have also secured their spot joining the Broncos.
Golf:
- Scottie Scheffler won the Jack Nicklaus award for the 4th year in a row.
- Mito Pereiera, Chile, has announced that he will be retiring from pro golf. He played 3 seasons on the LIV tour and was 1 shot away from a Major title but he hasn’t played well lately and would be relegated off the LIV.
- Matt Kuchar and his son won the PNC Championship. They won by 7-shots with a -18 score on the final round. This was especially meaningful to Matt Kuchar who lost his day this year as well.
Olympic Sports:
- Skiing: US born but NOR skier Atle Lie McGrath beat Clement Noel in the slalom on Monday. Noel was winning after round 1 and how fitting as it was the last race before Christmas. However McGrath finished .39 ahead. Lindsay Vonn is hitting her stride after back to back podium finishes. These last two were in the Downhill then the Super G, both of which she got 3rd. Sofia Goggia went 8th but then claimed her first win in a while in the Super G on Sunday. Splitting the two women was Alica Robinson. Those are 3 names to know going into Milan Cortina!
- Luge: Kaillie Humphries Armbruster won her first race since turning 40 and since becoming a mom. This is great news for Team USA just 2 months from the Milan Cortina games.
- NCAA Volleyball: Texas A&M was seeded 3rd but defeated 3 #1 seeds on the way to their championship. They swept #1 Kentucky in the final to capture their first championship!
Quick Highlights:
- Iowa St and K St both opted out of bowl games and were charged by their conference. Notre Dame opted out of theirs after they didn’t make the CFP and nothing happened. Lame!
What to watch this week
Basketball-NBA:
- Tues 12/23
- Nuggets at Mavericks @ 7pm on NBC
- Rockets at Clippers @ 9:30pm on NBC
- Thurs 12/25
- Cavaliers at Knicks @ 11am on ESPN and ABC
- Spurs at Thunder @ 1:30pm on ESPN and ABC
- Mavericks at warriors @ 4pm on ESPN and ABC
- Rockets at Lakers @ 7pm on ESPN and ABC
- Timberwolves at Nuggets @ 9:30pm on ESPN and ABC
- Fri 12/26
- 76ers at Bulls @ 6:30pm on Prime
- Clippers at Trail Blazers @ 9pm on Prime
Basketball-NCAA:
- No ranked games
Football – NCAAF:
Football – NFL:
- Mon 12/22
- 49ers at Colts @ 7:15pm on ESPN & ABC
- Thurs 12/25
- Cowboys at Commanders @ 12pm on Netflix
- Lions at Vikings @ 3:30pm o Netflix
- Broncos at Chiefs @ 7:15pm on Prime
- Sat 12/27
- Texans at Chargers @ 3:30pm on NFL
- Ravens at Packers @ 7pm on Peacock
- Sun 12/28
- 7 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
- CBS:
- Steelers at browns
- Saints at Titans
- Seahawks at Panthers
- FOX:
- Cardinals at Bengals
- Jags at Colts
- Bucs at Dolphins
- Pats at Jets
- CBS:
- Giants at Raiders @ 3:05pm on CBS
- Eagles at Bills @ 3:25pm on FOX
- Bears at 49ers @ 7:20pm on NBC
- 7 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
- Mon 12/29
- Rams at Falcons @ 7:15pm on ESPN
Golf:
- none
Hockey:
- Tues 12/23
- Penguins at Maple Leafs @ 3pm on TNT
- Stars at Red Wings @ 5:30pm on TNT
- Predators at Wild @ 7pm on hulu
- Flyers at Blackhawks @ 8pm on TNT
- No games til Sat
Olympic Sports:
- None
Soccer:
- Fri 12/26
- Premier League: ManU vs Newcastle @ 2pm on USA
- Sat 12/27
- Premier League: Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City @ 6:30am on USA
- Premier League: Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove @ 9am on USA
- Sun 12/28
- Premier League: Sunderland at LeedsU @ 8am on USA
- Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur @ 10:30am on USA
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