Weekly Update December 8, 2025

Coming up this month: December

Basketball – NBA: this week’s games. Standings update.

Basketball – NCAAM: Lots of games as we heat up and have had more ranked vs ranked games than any other year!

Football – NCAAF: Championship Week. Coaching Carousel.

Football – NFL: This week’s games. Standings update.

Golf: Hero Challenge.

Olympic Sports: Figure Skating JPN Finals. Skiing.

Quick Headlines: F1 Championship is done! FIFA World Cup groups have been announced.

Apologies for missing two weeks – I was on vacation!

Basketball-NBA:

• This week’s games: Monday was a day of upsets. The Wizards got a huge upset, beating the Bucks in Washington by 3. The Mavs beat the Nuggets by 10 after a poor 4Q of only 17 points. The Jazz showed consistency throughout the game beating the Rockets by 8 and the Suns crushed the Lakers at home by 17.
• Nuggets Jamal Murray was the top scorer of the week with 52 points. he helped his team to a 135-120 win over the Pacers on Wed. The Hawks played poorly on Wed, scoring 21, 20 32 (normal) and 19 points in their Qs. They got beat by the Clippers of all teams. The Mavs then won their 2^nd game of the week, beating the Heat by 10. They would get their 3^rd on Sat, handing the Rockets the 122-109 loss. The only game they lost this week was to the Thunder.
• After scoring just 18 in the 1Q, the Hornets got their 7^th win of the season, beating the Raptors handily 111-86. The Knicks was the highest scoring team of the week with 146 in regulation, beating the Jazz. This was tied with the Celtics who crushed the Wizards by 45 with that same score. And yes I know the Timberwolves scored 149 but that included OT on Monday. The Kings got their 6^th win of the season, beating the Heat on Sat who did not have a good week.
• Standings: In the East, the Pistons are at the top with 19-5 record for the season. The Wizards is the bottom with only 3 wins on the season. Other nuggets from the conference is that the Knicks are 13-1 at home. The Hawks seems to be really good on the road with a 10-5 record in away games. In the West, the Thunder are first with a crazy record of 23-1. They are just the fourth team in history to start that well through 23 games. The Pelicans are in last also just 3 wins on the season.

Basketball – NCAA:

• This week was the ACC/SEC Challenge.
  • #4 Duke and Defending Champs #15 Florida squared off on a busy Tuesday. Duke started out hot, taking the 12 point lead and at one point that lead was 15. Florida came back big time and looked to have the game winner but got the opportunity taken away from them. Sound familiar? Maybe bc its kinda did what Florida did to Houston in the title game. Also on Tues,  Syracuse upset #13 Tennessee by 2. #5 UConn took the win over #21 Kansas. Both teams were short players but KU was without their star. The Huskies held Kansas to fewest points at home under HC Self. #18 Kentucky lost at home to #16 UNC. This game was a great one with 14 lead changes but UNC managed to get it done. $22m for a team that shoots 22% from 3 – Yike for KT.
  • Day two of the challenge faired better for the SEC, the conference went 6-1 that day. #25 Arkansas got a big win over #6 Louisville. Despite putting up 51 in the 2H, that wasn’t enough when the Razorbacks scored 40+ in both halves. Ultimately the SEC still won 9-7 but that was better than last year for the ACC who lost 2-14 in 2024.

• There were 185 games this weekend alone!
  • #11 Gonzaga crushed #18 Kentucky 94-59! That is one of the worst losses pre-conference play for the Wildcats in a long time. Speaking of beat downs #10 Iowa St scored 81 points on #1 Purdue who only managed 58! #2 Arizona crushed #20 Auburn by 29.
  • Then we had some close games. #4 Duke got beat the 1H to #7 Michigan St, trailing by 3 but then would rally to come back to win by 6. #6 Louisville bounded back nicely to beat #22 Indiana (who lost earlier in the week to an unranked MN). #14 Illinois beat #13 Tennessee by 13, coming back in the 2H to do so. Washington also had a strong 2H, scoring 54 to beat #24 USC.

Football – NCAAF:

• There were 5 losses in the Top 25:
  • The closest game of the day was a surprising one, the Big Ten Championship game. #1 Ohio St vs #2 Indiana. The Buckeyes scored 10 points early and IU QB Fernando Mendoza laid on the ground after a hard hit on the first play. That didn’t look good for IU. It was a highly defensive game with only 23 points scored combined – hope you took the under in this one. But Indiana came back from the half and drove 88 yards down the field to take the lead 13-10. We would then trade drives and Ohio St looked to have the game tied up with a 27-yard FG but they MISSED and that was the game! Indiana wins its first Big ten Championship outright since 1945.
  • SEC Championship was a rematch between #3 Georgia and #9 Alabama. Last time the Tide got the best of the Dawgs. And Alabama hadn’t lost in an SEC Champ game since 2008. That streak came to an end. Georgia scored a TD in every Q while Bama only managed to score 1 in the 4^th. It was UGA all the way and they dominate 28-7.
  • The Big 12 Champ game was also a rematch of #4 Texas Tech and #11 BYU. Last time TT put the beat down on BYU and this time was no different. The Red Raiders got after the QB all day and it showed with 4 turnovers. They made a statement with this one winning 34-7 and win their first conference championship since 1954.
  • ACC: The night games were awesome! Duke made things interesting by taking the lead over #17 UVA, leading by 10 with just over 5 min to go in the game. But UVA wouldn’t give up, they would get a FG and then go 96 yards for a TD to tie up the game with 22 seconds left. So we headed to OT. Duke would have the first turn and they would have to go for it on 4^th & goal from the 1. They would get it! Then it was UVA’s turn and first play, they would throw an INT to seal it. Now Duke made the CFP very very interesting.
  • American: #20 Tulane clinched their spot as the G5 rep in the CFP with an easy win over #24 North Texas. Tulane scored 17 points in the 2Q and even with a TD and 2-pt conversion in the 4Q by the mean green, it was too little too late. Green wave wins 34-21.
  • Boise St is Mountain West Champs, Kenneaw St is the CUSA champs and Western Michigan won the MAC.
  • #25 JMU was playing a close game with Troy, only winning by 3 at halftime. But then JMU came back in the 4Q to win the Sun Belt 31-14.

• CFP bracket is set! You will notice that Notre Dame is no longer in the playoff. This was the huge controversy as they were previoulsy ranked ahead of Miami despite the head to head on field win. But on Selection Sunday, they switched the two and left ND out. They also left out the ACC Champs, Duke which isnt too surprisign given that they had 5 losses. This year is also a first with 2 Group of 5 schools in with both Tulane and JMU making an appearance.
• National signing day. This year there were 22 schools that signed a 5-star, more than any other year. In previous years, 85 points was the difference between 1-16 teams. This year itcwas the difference between 1-32. USC is 1.

• Coaching Carousel:
  • VT hired James Franklin (remember he was fired from Penn St). Oklahoma St is hiring UNT HC Eric Morris. Billy Napier will be the next HC of JMU after JMU’s coach is now going to Bob Chesny is going to UCLA. Tulane’s HC Summerall will be the next HC of Florida (great get IMO). And USF’s HC left for Auburn. Memphis coach Silverfield to Arkansas. Pat Fitzgerald (Previously NW) to Michigan St who fired their coach Jonathan Smith after just 2 seasons. It was a quick turn. Speaking of quick turns. Kentucky fired their HC stoops and hired Oregon OC Will Stein. Oh and K St Chris Klineman is set to retire and former K St player and Texas A&M OC Collin Klein is taking that job! 

• • But the best drama that happened while I was gone was Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin had a public announcement by the AD saying he would make his decision after the Egg Bowl, then it got delayed. Poor Marty from the SECN probably slept in the Ole Miss ADept. But finally it was released that he was leaving to take the job at LSU who reportedly gave him a $100M contract. And then in true break up in 2025 fashion, things got messy. All these stories started coming out about how crazy and selfish Lane is (stories from the hot yoga studio) and that Ole Miss left his clothes out in the parking lot. Kiffin says he wanted to stay to coach the team through the CFP but Ole Miss did not allow that and lane called out the AD directly in his comments afterwards. 

Football – NFL:

• MNF: This one was boring. The Pats put up 30 points in the 1H, leading the Giants who only managed 1 TD. And then they sat on that for the 2H. Oddly enough that means the Patriots are the first team to 11 wins this season! However I bet you have seen many photos/videos from this game. The Giants kicker hit the ground in such big fashion that it went viral!
• TNF: If I told Dallas they would score 30 points, I bet they would take that and think they got the W. But not when you play the Lions. DET scored 44 including 17 in the 4Q. I frankly cant believe the Cowboys had that many points considering they also had 3 turnovers, 2 of which ended in DET TDs.
• There were 6 close games:
  • The Bills were trailing the 4-8 Bengals 21-11 at half. Yes that’s an odd score but the Bills got a TD and a 2-point conversion. After trailing 28-18 in the final 8:44 of the game, Josh Allen and the Bills went to work. They would score 3 TDs in 4:30 of game clock to take the lead and they would get the W. Quite a comeback. Browns QB Shaddeur Sanders had a great game throwing 3 TDs for 364 yards. But that Good thing because CLE had no run game. The Titans were winning this one 31-17 but the Browns scored 14 points in garbage time to make this closer than it was. Aaron Rodgers still has something left as he led the Steelers to win by 5 over the Ravens and that was with Lamar Jackson.

• Some not so close games:
  • The Falcons and Seahawks were tied at 2 FGs a piece at halftime but then Seattle looked like they decided to stop playing with their food. They would go off in the 2H, scoring 32 to win 37-9. The Broncos won their 10^th straight game, beating the Raiders by a TD. The Packers would do the same to the Bears.
  • You don’t hear this very often in the NFL, the Vikings shut out the Commanders. Like 0 points scored by Washington. MN wins this easily 31-0. Speaking of 34, that’s the same points the Dolphins scored (21 in the 1Q) to crush the jets by 24. The Jags took an early lead 28-10 at half and never gave up the lead. Doesn’t help when Colts QB Jones goes out injured as well. The Rams manhandled the Cardinals 45-17.

• SNF: The Texans scored 10 points in the 4Q to comeback to beat the Chiefs. Mahomes was picked off 3xs in this game although Houston would only get 3 points out of them. Tough game for KC.
• Checking in on the standings as we now have some eliminated form playoff teams.
  • In the AFC: The Broncos and the Patriots are tied at the top at 11-2.
    • Eliminated: Jets, Browns, Raiders and the Titans (2-11).
  • In the NFC: The Rams claim the top spot at 10-3. Although the Seahawks have the same record, they currently sit at 5^th place in the conference. Both are in the NFC West so that looks like its going to be a tight division.
    • Eliminated: Falcons, Cardinals, Saints, Commanders and the Giants (2-11).

Golf:

• Hero Challenge: Scheffler had uncharacteristic mistakes at the end of the rounds and the field took advantage. But it was still crowded at the top. Hideki Matsuyama shot an -8 final round and Alex Noren tied to send the event to a playoff. Matsuyama only needed one playoff hole to clinch the title with a birdie to beat Noren. Although this is not a PGA Tour event, the 20 golfers get OWGR points so it brings in the stars.

Olympic Sports:

• Figure Skating: Ilia Malinin did 7 quads in an ISU free skate to take him from 3rd to 1st. Most ever. Alysa Liu had a SB in her combined score to beat JPN Ami by only 1.6 points! USA also took gold in the dance with who else by the 3x ISU finals champs Chock and Bates.
• Skiing: SUI Marco Odermatt won 2 races this weekend. he took the downhill on Thurs and then the giant slalom on Sunday. That was a nice bouce back win for him after losing his podium streak of 8 last time in CO by falling on the first run. Shiffrin only managed 6^th while NZ Alice Robinson captured her 2^nd GS World Cup victory.

Quick Highlights:

• F1: Max Verstappen may have won the Abu Dhabi GP by 12 seconds but it wasn’t enough to hold off McLaren’s Lando Norris from taking the F1 World Championship. See you next season (March 2026 in AUS).
• Soccer: the FIFA World Cup groups have been established and some of the group play has been announced where those teams will compete. Team USA is in Group D with Paraguay, Australia and another team TBD.

What to watch this week

Basketball-NBA:

• Mon 12/8
  • Suns at Timberwolves @ 6:30pm on Peacock
• Tues 12/9
  • Heat at Magic @ 5pm on Prime
  • Knicks at Raptors @ 7:30pm on Prime
• Wed 12/10
  • Suns at Thunder @ 6:30pm on Prime
  • Spurs at Lakers @ 9pm on Prime
• Sat 12/13
  • NBA Cup Semifinals: TBD at TBD @ 4:30pm on Prime
  • NBA Cup Semifinals: TBD at TBD @ 8pm on Prime

Basketball-NCAA:

• Tues 12/9
  • Villanova at 2. Michigan @ 5:30pm on FS1
  • Clemson at 10. BYU @ 5:30pm on ESPN
  • Illinois at Ohio St @ 6:30pm on Peacock
  • 18. Florida at 5. UConn @ 8pm on ESPN
• Wed 12/10
  • Minnesota at 6. Purdue @ 6pm on BTN
  • Wisconsin at 23. Nebraska @ 8pm on BTN
• Thurs 12/11
  • Iowa at 4. Iowa St @ 7pm on FS1
• Fri 12/12
  • Texas at 5. UConn @ 7pm on FOX
• Sat 12/13
  • 9. Michigan St at Penn St @ 11am on BTN
  • 17. Arkansas at 16. Texas Tech @ 11am on ESPN2
  • Iona at 22. St. John’s @ 11am on TNT
  • Marquette at 6. Purdue @ 1pm on Peacock
  • SC Upstate at 14. UNC @ 1pm on CW
  • George Washington at 18. Florida @ 1:30pm on ESPN2
  • Memphis at 11. Louisville @ 2pm on ESPN
  • 23. Nebraska at 13. Illinois @ 3pm on Peacock
  • Chattanooga at 21. Auburn @ 3:30pm on SEC
  • Central Arkansas at 15. Vanderbilt @ 5:30pm on SEC
  • 2. Michigan at Maryland @ 7pm on FOX
  • 1. Arizona at 12. Alabama @ 8:30pm on ESPN
  • 25. UCLA at 8. Gonzaga @ 10:30pm on ESPN

Football – NCAAF:

• Sat 12/13
  • Cricket Celebration Bowl: South Carolina St vs Prairie View A&M @ 11am on ABC
  • Army vs Navy @ 2pm on CBS
    • Navy -6
  • Bucked Up LA Bowl: Boise St vs Washington @ 7pm on ABC
  • Heisman Trophy @ 7pm on ABC

Football – NFL:

• Mon 12/8
  • Eagles at Chargers @ 7:15pm on ABC and ESPN
• Thurs 12/11
  • Falcons at Bucs @ 7:15pm on Prime
• Sun 12/14
  • 8 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
    • CBS:
      • Ravens at Bengals
      • Chargers at Chiefs
      • Bills at Pats
      • Jets at Jags
    • FOX:
      • Browns at Bears
      • Commanders at Giants
      • Raiders at Eagles
      • Cardinals at Texans
  • Packers at Broncos – or – Colts at Seahawks @ 3:25pm on CBS
  • 3 games @ 3:25pm on FOX
    • Lions at Rams
    • Panthers at Saints
    • Titans at 49ers
  • Vikings at Cowboys @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 12/15
  • Dolphins at Steelers @ 7:15pm on ESPN

Golf:

• Fri 12/12
  • PGA Tour: Grant Thornton Invitational – Round 1 @ 12pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 12/13
  • PGA Tour: Grant Thornton Invitational – Round 2
    • @ 1pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 2pm on NBC
  • PGA Tour Q-School @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Sun 12/14
  • PGA Tour: Grant Thornton Invitational – Round 3
    • @ 12pm on Golf Channel
    • @ 1pm on NBC
  • PGA Tour Q-School @ 1pm on Golf Channel

Hockey:

• Tues 12/9
  • Golden Knights at Islanders @ 6pm on TNT
  • Blue Jackets at Hurricanes @ 6:30pm on hulu
  • Avalanche at Predators @ 8:30pm on TNT
• Wed 12/10
  • Rangers at Blackhawks @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Kings at Kraken @ 9pm on TNT
• Thurs 12/11
  • Golden Knights at Flyers @ 6pm om ESPN
  • Panthers at Avalanche @ 8:30pm on ESPN
• Fri 12/12
  • Blackhawks at Blues @ 7pm om hulu

Olympic Sports:

• Thurs 12/11
  • Volleyball: NCAAW Quarterfinals: 2. Arizona St vs 3. Creighton @ 12pm
  • Volleyball: NCAAW Quarterfinals: Cal Poly at 1. Kentucky @ 2:30pm
  • Volleyball: NCAAW Quarterfinals: 4. Minnesota vs 1. Pitt @ 6pm
  • Volleyball: NCAAW Quarterfinals: 2. SMU vs 3. Purdue @ 8:30pm
• Fri 12/12
  • Volleyball: NCAAW Quarterfinals: 1. Texas vs 4. Indiana @ 11am
  • Volleyball: NCAAW Quarterfinals: 3. Wisconsin vs 2. Stanford @ 1:30pm
  • Volleyball: NCAAW Quarterfinals: 3. Texas A&M vs 2. Louisville @ 6pm
  • Volleyball: NCAAW Quarterfinals: 1. Nebraska vs 4. Kansas @ 8:30pm

Soccer:

• Mon 12/8
  • Premier League: Wolverhampton vs ManU @ 2pm on USA
  • NCAAW – Final: 3. Florida St vs 1. Stanford @ 6pm
• Sat 12/13
  • Premier League: Chelsea vs Everton @ 9am on USA
  • Serie A: Parma vs Lazio @ 11am on CBS
  • Premier League: Arsenal vs Wolverhampton @ 2pm on USA
• Sun 12/14
  • Premier League: Sunderland vs Newcastle @ 8am on USA
  • Premier League: Brentford vs LeedsU @ 10:30am on USA