Month: January 2026

— Dodgers have apparently signed free agent OF Kyle Tucker, who has hit 134 home runs the last five years. He was hampered by a hand injury last year, batting .218 in July, .244 in August after hitting .280 with 17 homers before the All-Star break.

— When I was a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was The Rockford Files, starring the great actor James Garner. It was about a private detective who lived in a trailer on a beach outside Los Angeles. He drove a gold Pontiac Firebird, the show is still on TV, I think on Peacock, but it ran from 1974-80, my high school/college years.

NBC is re-booting the series, but James Garner as Rockford is going to be a tough act to follow, harder than Tom Selleck as Magnum PI, and that hasn’t gone well. Curious to see who they cast as Rockford.

— ACC is adding a conference game to each team’s schedule next year, so teams have to pare down their non-conference schedules. Virginia Tech is paying James Madison $800,000 not to play them next fall.

— The minimum salary in major league baseball this season: $780,000.

— Back in the day, when Al Davis owned the Oakland Raiders, he would interview some coaches he had no intention of hiring; he just wanted to pick their brain.

This week, Raiders interviewed 30-year old Davis Webb, who is the passing game coordinator for the Raiders’ division rival Denver Broncos. Hmmm……

— Famous birthdays, January 16th
Dave Stapleton, 72
Gerald Henderson, 70
Steve Balboni, 69
Mark Collins, 62

Jack McDowell, 60
Don MacLean, 56
Joe Horn, 54
Jack Cust, 47

Albert Pujols, 46
Joe Flacco, 41
Mark Trumbo, 40
Brendan Donovan, 29

— Rules changes for the college basketball transfer portal; players will not be able to enter the portal until the day after the NCAA Tournament, and the portal will be open for only 15 days.

This is a drastic switch (and improvement) from 2024, when the portal was open for 45 days and the process began the day after Selection Sunday.

— North Carolina’s basketball roster is earning a total of $14M this season; they’re 14-3 so far, 2-2 in the ACC, giving up 97-95 points in road losses to SMU, Stanford.

— Gonzaga F Braden Huff is out 4-8 weeks with a left knee injury; massive loss for the Zags. Huff is averaging 17.8 points and 5.6 rebounds/game.

— Virginia Tech is 2-3 in ACC games, with losses by 1-1-3 points; their last six games were all decided by 3 or fewer points. This season, Hokies are 4-0 in overtime games.

— Movie of the Day: Let It Ride (1989)- A cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can’t stop gambling. If you enjoy going to the racetrack, chances are you’ll like this movie.

Richard Dreyfuss is the cab driver, Terri Garr is his wife, Jennifer Tilly is one of the patron’s in the track’s clubhouse, David Johanssen is another cab driver, Robbie Coltrane is great as the teller who takes the gambler’s bets.

Funny movie. 

— South Alabama 91, Arkansas State 87, OT
Ark State led by 4 with 0:50 left in regulation.
Jaguars were 21-30 on foul line, Ark State 12-15.
Ark State shot 13-44 on the arc, 18-28 inside the arc.

— Southern Utah 106, Tarleton State 105 OT
Thunderbirds snap a seven-game losing streak.
Southern Utah shot 58% inside arc, 31-42 on the foul line.
6-3 junior Dior Johnson scored 40 points for Tarleton; he didn’t start.

— IU Indy 96, Robert Morris 93, OT
Robert Morris led by 10 with 10:04 left in the game.
IU Indy was 26-35 on the foul line, Robert Morris 21-27.
Jaguars end nine-game losing skid vs D-I teams.
IU Indy is playing fastest-paced games in the country.

— Georgia Southern 87, Old Dominion 84
Monarchs led 48-39 at halftime.
Georgia Southern shot 10-23 on arc, scored 1.22 ppp.
Eagles were 19-28 on foul line, ODU was 10-15

— Cal-Davis 74, Cal-Fullerton 69
Cal-Davis had 20 turnovers, but shot 61.3% inside arc.
Cal-Davis out-rebounded the Titans, 43-32
Cal-Fullerton has #337 eFG% defense in the country. 

— Three years ago, 10 NFL teams changed coaches after the season; eight of those ten coaches have already been fired.

— Red Sox signed P Ranger Suarez to a five-year, $130M contract; last two years, Suarez was 24-16 in 53 starts for the Phillies. He pitched for Philadelphia for eight years.

— Tuesday, Cardinals continued their house cleaning, dealing 3B Nolan Arenado to Arizona for a minor leaguer; not only that, but St Louis is paying $31M of the $42M Arenado is owed over the next two years. 

Arenado will be 35 in April; his OPS the last two years: .719, .666.

— College/minor league sports are off the rails; few days ago, Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola transferred to Oregon. Wednesday, Ducks’ QB Dante Moore announced he’s coming back to school next year, instead of going to the NFL.

Wednesday night, Raiola’s name went back into the transfer portal.

Oy.

— Alabama QB Ty Simpson is going into the NFL Draft; he had NIL offers:
$4M- Ole Miss, Tennessee
$6.5M- Miami…….he turned those offers down.

Jimmy Garoppolo is the Rams’ backup QB; he made $3M this year.

— NBA has games from Europe this week; Thursday, Grizzlies-Magic are playing in Berlin, Sunday, they’re playing in London.

— Wednesday in beautiful upstate New York, it was rainy and in the low 40’s; I go to the grocery store, and as I’m leaving, a 50-ish guy is walking in, wearing a sweatshirt and shorts. I had a parka on over a sweatshirt, and I wasn’t warm. Wearing shorts outside in January in upstate New York is almost never a good idea.

— Famous birthdays, January 15th
Karen Carlson, 81
Andrea Martin, 79
Bobby Grich, 77
Ernie DiGregorio, 75

Randy White, 73
Ricky Sobers, 73
Marty Lyons, 69
Delino DeShields, 57

Eddie Cahill, 48
Drew Brees, 47
Matt Holliday, 46
Mitch Garver, 35

— Kentucky 75, LSU 74
LSU led by 18 early in second half.
Kentucky hit mid-range jumper at the buzzer for a walk-off win.
LSU slips to 0-4 in SEC after a 12-1 pre-conference mark.

— Texas 80, Vanderbilt 64
First loss in 17 games this year for Vandy.
Longhorns shot 58.8% inside the arc.
Texas out-rebounded the Commodores, 42-24.

— Stanford 95, North Carolina 90
6-2 frosh Okorie scored 36 points, dished out nine assists.
Stanford shot 16-28 on the arc, scored 1.30 ppp.
UNC lost first two ACC road games, giving up 97-95 points. 

— SMU 77, Virginia Tech 76
Kid on SMU hit a half-court shot at the buzzer for the win.
Hokies led by 8 with 11:11 left in the game.
Boogie Miller was 11-16 on foul line; Tech’s whole team was 11-18.

— Louisiana Tech 59, Middle Tennessee 58
Blue Raiders led 34-14 late in the first half.
Bulldogs outscored MTSU 38-18 in second half.
Tech won despite shooting 1-12 on the arc.
MTSU was only 9-18 on the foul line.

— Arizona 89, Arizona State 82
Arizona was 21-26 on foul line, ASU was 7-11
Wildcats shot 58.3% inside arc, scored 1.26 ppp
Arizona out-rebounded the Sun Devils, 39-28

— Ole Miss 97, Georgia 95 OT
Georgia led by 4 with 0:48 left in regulation.
Ole Miss scored on an offensive rebound with 0:01 left for the win.
AJ Storr scored 27 points for Ole Miss; he didn’t start. 

“Welcome to the most competitive business in the world.”
Bill O’Brien

Fine line between winning and losing in the NFL, and when teams stop winning, heads will roll, whether it is justified or not.

— Mike Tomlin coached the Steelers for 19 years; he went 201-126-2, 8-12 in playoff games. He won the Super Bowl in his second year in Pittsburgh, 17 years ago. He lost the Super Bowl two years after that. Tomlin never had a losing season (he was 8-8 three times) but he also lost his last seven playoff games, and is now out as head coach of the Steelers.

Steelers are first NFL team ever to lose five playoff games in a row by 10+ points.

— Much like John Harbaugh, who got dumped by the Ravens last week; Harbaugh coached the Ravens for 18 years, went 193-124, 13-11 in playoff games, winning the 2012 Super Bowl. Not sure what happened this season; Ravens made the playoffs six of the last eight years, but now Harbaugh is highly-sought after by other teams.

— Los Angeles Chargers fired their offensive coordinator and offensive line coach after they lost 16-3 at New England Sunday night.

— Philadelphia Eagles demoted their offensive coordinator after they lost 23-19 to the 49ers Sunday; they didn’t fire him, he can stay on the staff in a lesser role, but they’ll have a new guy as offensive coordinator next year.

— Denver Broncos are only the third #1-seed since 1970 to be an underdog in this round of the playoffs:

1971 Vikings were +1 against Dallas
2017 Eagles were +2.5 against the Falcons

— Last six years, #1-seeds went 4-8 ATS in the divisional round of the playoffs.

— Weird stat of the Day: Rams coach Sean McVay is 9-5 in playoff games; those 14 games have been against 14 different teams, and this week it’ll be 15 games against 15 different teams, when the Rams visit Chicago Sunday night.

— Famous birthdays, January 14th
Faye Dunaway, 85
Swen Nater, 76
Wayne Gross, 74
Terry Forster, 74
James Todd Smith, 58 (LL Cool J)

Jason Bateman, 57
Byron Leftwich, 46
Mike Pelfrey, 42
Aaron Brooks, 41
Stephen Piscotty, 35

— Movie of the Day: Absence of Malice (1981)- A Miami prosecutor leaks info to a naive, but well-meaning newspaper reporter that a liquor wholesaler is suspected in the murder of the local longshoreman union president, the wholesaler’s life begins to unravel.

Paul Newman is the wholesaler, Sally Field is the reporter, Wilford Brimley has a small but important role, as does Melinda Dillon.

Very good movie; anything that Paul Newman was in is worth watching, obviously, plus Sally Field was very good in this, too. 

— Tennessee 87, Texas A&M 82, 2OTs
Aggies led by 11 points in the first half.
A&M shot 13-43 on the arc, 11-23 inside the arc.
Vols were 31-42 on foul line, A&M was 21-32

— Kansas 84, Iowa State 63
Cyclones’ first loss of the year, after a 16-0 start.
Kansas shot 12-24 on arc; they led 44-23 at halftime.
Jayhawks are 12-5 against the #2 schedule in country.

— Villanova 88, Providence 82
Villanova led 46-34 at halftime.
Providence shot 74.2% inside the arc; they’re 1-5 in Big East.
Villanova is 5-1 in Big East, tied for 2nd with St John’s behind UConn.

— UConn 69, Seton Hall 64
UConn led 35-22 at halftime.
Brickfest: teams combined to shoot 4-33 on the arc.
Huskies have won 13 in a row; they lost by 4 to Arizona in November.

— Creighton 86, Georgetown 83 OT
Georgetown scored at end of regulation; after LONG review, hoop was waved off.
Hoyas led by 7 with 1:56 left in regulation.
Georgetown scored 1.29 ppp and lost; that doesn’t happen much.

— UNLV 89, Boise State 85 OT
Gibbs-Lawhorn scored 33 points, had six assists.
Rebels are 2-5 in games decided by 9 or fewer points.
Boise State lost last four games, two of them in overtime.

— Wisconsin 78, Minnesota 75
Both teams hit a 3-pointer in last 0:05; Badgers hit buzzer beater.
Minnesota led by 11 early in second half.
Wisconsin made 14 of 33 shots behind the arc.

— Virginia 79, Louisville 70
Cavaliers never trailed; they shot 14-34 on the arc.
Virginia has won four in a row, 10 of last 11 games.
Louisville star Mikel Brown missed his 7th consecutive game. 

— Texans 30, Steelers 6
Houston gets their first-ever road playoff win.
Texans led 7-6 after the third quarter.
Houston scored two defensive TD’s in 4th quarter.

Houston outgained the Steelers, 408-175.
Texans were 10-15 on third down, Pittsburgh 2-14
Steelers lost their 7th consecutive playoff game.

— This weekend’s NFL schedule:
Saturday:
Bills @ Denver
49ers @ Seattle

Sunday:
Texans @ New England
Rams @ Chicago

College basketball conference trends:
(thru Monday’s games)

— SEC
Home favorites 16-14 ATS
Home underdogs 10-6 ATS

Home team 3-0 ATS in Florida games
Home team 3-0 ATS in Oklahoma games
Home team 3-0 ATS in Tennessee games
Road team 3-0 ATS in LSU games
Favorites 3-0 ATS in Ole Miss games

— Big 18
Home favorites 16-14 ATS
Home underdogs 10-6 ATS

Maryland 0-5 SU/1-4 ATS
Michigan 4-1 SU/2-3 ATS
Underdogs 4-1 ATS in Minnesota games.
Nebraska 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS

Northwestern 0-5 SU/1-4 ATS
Oregon 1-4 SU/ATS
Penn State 0-5 SU/4-1 ATS
Home team 5-0 ATS in UCLA games.

— Big X
Home favorites 8-6 ATS
Home underdogs 5-5 ATS

Arizona 3-0 SU/ATS
Baylor 0-3 SU/ATS
Colorado 2-1 SU/3-0 ATS
Kansas 1-2 SU/0-3 ATS (lost both road games)
Kansas State 0-3 SU/ATS

— ACC
Home favorites 5-16 ATS
Home underdogs 5-6 ATS

Clemson 4-0 SU/ATS
Duke 4-0 SU/1-3 ATS
North Carolina 1-2 SU/0-3 ATS
Virginia won last three games, by 15-24-15 points.
Underdogs 4-0 ATS in Virginia Tech’s games.

— Big East
Home favorites 4-17 ATS
Home underdogs 3-6 ATS (road teams 23-7 ATS)

Butler 1-4 SU/ATS
Road team 5-1 ATS in Creighton games.
DePaul 2-4 SU/5-1 ATS
Georgetown 1-4 SU/ATS

Road team 5-0 ATS in St John’s games.
Road team 5-0 ATS in Seton Hall games.
Underdog 5-0 ATS in Villanova games.

— Famous birthdays, January 13th
Bob Forsch, 76
Russell Erxleben, 69
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 65
Kevin Mitchell, 64

Patrick Dempsey, 60
Curtis Conway, 55
James Posey, 49
Emmanuel Forbes, 25

— Mountain West
Home favorites 8-8 ATS
Home underdogs 3-6 ATS

Fresno State 1-4 SU/3-2 ATS
Favorites 5-0 ATS in New Mexico games.
Road team 4-0 ATS in Grand Canyon games.

Road team 4-1 ATS in San Jose State games.
Road team 4-1 ATS in San Diego State games.
Underdogs 4-1 ATS in Nevada games.
Home team 4-0 ATS in UNLV games.

— West Coast
Home favorites 12-10 ATS
Home underdogs 7-5 ATS

Gonzaga 5-0 SU/2-3 ATS
Saint Mary’s 5-0 SU/3-2 ATS
LMU 4-2 ATS (home side 5-1 ATS)
Oregon State 2-4 ATS (home side 5-1 ATS), 0-3 AU

Pacific 3-3 SU/1-5 ATS
Pepperdine 0-6 SU/2-4 ATS (0-3 HU)
Portland covered four of last five games.
San Diego 2-4 SU/5-1 ATS

— Atlantic 14
Home favorites 4-12 ATS
Home underdogs 5-5 ATS

Road team 4-0 ATS in Davidson games.
Road team 4-0 ATS in Fordham games.
Road team 4-0 ATS in Richmond games.

George Mason 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS
Favorites 4-0 ATS in George Washington games.
Underdogs 3-0 ATS in St Bonaventure games.

— Missouri Valley
Home underdogs 7-7 ATS
Home favorites 10-11 ATS

Murray State 7-0 SU/5-2 ATS
Belmont 5-2 SU/2-5 ATS
Drake 2-4 SU/1-5 ATS
Evansville 1-6 SU/4-3 ATS

— American
Home underdogs 7-3 ATS
Home favorites 5-8 ATS

Underdogs 4-0 ATS in UAB’s games
Memphis 2-1 SU/0-3 ATS
North Texas 3-1 ATS
Rice 3-1 ATS
Tex-San Antonio 0-4 SU/ATS
Tulane 3-0 ATS
Underdogs 3-0 ATS in Wichita State’s games

— Big West
Home favorites 8-13 ATS
Home underdogs 7-2 ATS (underdogs 20-10 ATS)

Underdogs 4-1 ATS in Cal-Davis games
Hawai’i 4-1 SU/1-4 ATS (0-3 home favorite)
Long Beach State 2-3 SU/5-0 ATS

Home team 5-1 ATS in Northridge games.
Underdogs 5-1 ATS in Cal Poly games
Riverside 1-4 SU/4-1 ATS
Cal-Santa Barbara 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS

— MAAC
Home favorites 15-9-1 ATS
Home underdogs 9-12 ATS (favorites 27-18-1 ATS)

Merrimack 6-0 SU/5-1 ATS
Home team 4-1 ATS in Canisius games.
Home team 4-1 ATS in Siena games.

Home team 5-0-1 ATS in Marist games.
Fairfield 2-4 SU/1-5 ATS
Niagara 1-4 SU/ATS

Rider 0-5 SU/3-2 ATS
Underdogs 5-1 ATS in Sacred Heart games.
St Peter’s 4-1 SU/ATS

— Bills 27, Jaguars 24
Buffalo drove 66 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:04 left.
Jaguars had taken 24-20 lead on a TD with 4:03 left.
Bills get their first road playoff win since 1992.
Buffalo is 13-0 this year when they score 23+ points.

QB Allen threw for 273 yards and a TD.
Allen also ran ball 11 times for 33 yards, two TD’s.
Jaguars WR Washington caught 7 passes for 107 yards and a TD.
Buffalo will play the #1-seed Broncos in Denver next weekend.

— 49ers 23, Eagles 19
49ers drove 66 yards, scored game-winning TD with 2:54 left.
49ers grabbed 17-16 lead on a trick play; WR Jennings threw 29-yard TD pass.
Last 7 times they were in playoffs, 49ers won their first game.
49ers visit division rival Seattle next weekend.

WR Robinson caught six passes for 111 yards and a TD.
San Francisco was 6-11 on third down, Eagles 5-16.
Eagles were 4-7 this year when they scored less than 21 points.
Last nine years, underdog is 8-1 SU/9-0 ATS in #3-6 seed NFC game.

— Patriots 16, Chargers 3
New England gets its first playoff win since 2018.
QB Maye threw for 268 yards and a TD.
Patriots are 9-3 ATS as a favorite this year.
Opponents’ team total: under 14-2 last 16 games

New England outgained Chargers 381-207; Bolts were 1-10 on 3rd down.
Patriots ran ball 29 times for 146 yards (5.0 yards/carry)
Last six years, #2-seeds are 11-1 SU/9-3 ATS vs #2-seeds in this round.
New England hosts Texans-Steelers winner next weekend. 

— Chicago Cubs signed 3B Alex Bregman for five years, $175M; he got a no-trade clause, and $70M of the money is deferred. Bregman hit 18 homers, had 62 RBI in 114 games for Boston; he had his best OPS since 2019, but Wrigley Field isn’t as good a hitters’ park as Fenway, so we’ll have to wait and see what 2026 brings.

— Detroit Tigers/P Tarik Skubal are going to arbitration; unless the two sides agree before the arbitrator decides, one side will win, one will lose. 

Tigers are offering Skubal $19M; Skubal is asking for $32M, a huge difference. Arbitration hearings start January 26th. Skubal has won the Cy Young award the last two years, going 31-10 in 62 starts, with 469 strikeouts in 387.1 IP.

Skubal can be a free agent next winter; if he wins the arbitration and gets paid $32M this year, will Detroit trade him before he hits the open market?

Famous birthdays, January 12th:
Bob Dishy, 92
Drew Pearson, 75
Campy Russell, 74

Dominique Wilkins, 66
Oliver Platt, 66
Cade McNown, 49

— UCF 73, Cincinnati 72
Golden Knights shot 63.2% inside arc; they’re 13-2.
UCF is #27 experience team, #345 in continuity- they start three seniors.
Cincinnati lost six of last eight games; they’re 0-3 in the Big X.

— Florida Atlantic 89, Memphis 78
Owls shot 65.9% inside arc, improved to 11-6, 3-1 in AAC.
FAU out-rebounded Memphis, 46-29.
Memphis is #347 in continuity; they’re 1-7 vs top 100 teams.

— Illinois 75, Iowa 69
Illinois led by 18 midway thru first half.
Illinois shot 62.1% inside the arc.
Illinois is 13-3 vs schedule #18; all three losses are to top 20 teams.

— Green Bay 80, Northern Kentucky 78
Doug Gottlieb’s Green Bay team has won 6 of 7, is 5-2 in Horizon League.
Green Bay led by 19 with 13:43 left, hung on for dear life.
Green Bay shot 10-19 on the arc, scored 1.33 ppp.

— Washington 81, Ohio State 74
Buckeyes led by 7 early in the second half.
Washington shot 57.9% inside the arc.
Ohio State split its last 10 games, after a 6-0 start.

Why are Ohio State, Washington in the same freakin’ league??? It makes zero sense.

— Hawai’i 67, Cal-Irvine 66
Hawai’i hit a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer for a dramatic win late Saturday night.
Irvine is 5-1 in the Big West, Hawaii is 4-1.
Rainbows have the #2 eFG% defense in the country. 

— USC 70, Minnesota 69 OT
Eric Musselman coaches USC; his father Bill Musselman was a really good coach at Minnesota a long time ago (1971-75), before his NBA days.

USC led 53-40 with 9:48 left in regulation; the game went to overtime.
Gophers only played seven guys; two of them played the whole 45:00
Chad Baker-Mazara scored 29 points, had 8 assists for USC.

— Nebraska is 16-0, its best start ever, under coach Fred Hoiberg; their point guard is Sam Hoiberg, the coach’s son, who is spending some of his free time preparing for his next job- he’s doing color commentary on some Nebraska’s women’s basketball games.

— Former NFL QB Matt Ryan is the Atlanta Falcons’ new president of football; he will lead the searches for both the open head coach and GM jobs and will have oversight of who gets hired.

Ryan had been working as an NFL analyst for CBS; he played 15 years in the NFL, going 128-115-1 as a starter. 

— Rams 34, Panthers 31
Future Hall of Fame QB Stafford threw 19-yard TD pass with 0:38 left for the win
Rams led 14-0 early, after TD drives of 45-48 yards.
Stafford threw for 304 yards, three TD’s.
WR Nacua caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a TD.

Carolina converted 27-40 4th down plays this year, but they were 0-3 this game. 
Panthers led 31-27 after a 30-yard TD drive set up by a blocked punt.
WR Coker caught nine passes for 134 yards and a TD.
Rams outgained Carolina 411-333, but were only 3-13 on third down.

This was Rams’ 50th playoff game in the Super Bowl era; they’re 25-25.

— Bears 31, Packers 27
Green Bay led 21-6 after the third quarter.
Chicago’s first six drives: 50 plays, 245 yards, 6 points.
Chicago’s last four drives: 30 plays, 210 yards, 25 points.
This was Chicago’s first playoff win since 2011.

Packers’ first three drives: 27 plays, 204 yards, 21 points.
Packers’ last eight drives: 45 plays, 177 yards, 6 points.
Green Bay missed PAT, a 44-yard FG, lost a fumble in last 6:36.
Green Bay ends season losing its last five games, giving up 28.8 ppg

— Nebraska 83, Indiana 77
Hoosiers led by 16 with 16:54 left in the game.
Nebraska shot 14-34 on the arc, shot 57.7% inside arc.
Cornhuskers are 16-0, 5-0 in conference games.

— Wisconsin 91, Michigan 88
Badgers shot 15-33 on the arc, hand Michigan their first loss.
Wolverines led by 14 midway thru first half.
Wisconsin is 11-5, 3-2 in Big 18; they’ve played schedule #24.

— Texas 92, Alabama 88
Texas shot 10-24 on the arc, scored 1.29 ppp
Longhorns out-rebounded Alabama, 48-38
Crimson Tide is 11-5; they allowed 87+ points in all five losses. 

— College basketball Upsets of the Day
Wisconsin (+19) 91, Michigan 88
Texas (+12.5) 92, Alabama 88
Ill-Chicgo (+11.5) 63, Illinois State 59 OT
Central Michigan (+9.5) 87, Kent State 85
Dartmouth (+8.5) 102, Cornell 91
Princeton (+8.5) 76, Yale 60
Evansville (+7.5) 72, Indiana State 69

— Belmont 78, Drake 76
Drake led 50-25 early in the second half.
Belmont is 15-3, 5-2 in conference games.
Belmont has the best eFG% in the country (60.5%)

— NC-Wilmington 75, Stony Brook 71
Stony Brook led by 24 early in the second half.
UNCW shot 12-25 on the arc, only 7-15 on foul line.
UNCW is 16-2, has won its first five CAA games.

— Idaho 92, Montana State 89
Bobcats led by 21 late in the first half.
Vandals outscored Montana State 62-41 in the second half.
Idaho shot 13-29 on the arc, scored 1.35 ppp.

— James Madison 70, Old Dominion 69
ODU led by 19 in first half, by 9 with 1:59 left in the game.
6-7 junior McBride scored 29 points in 29:00 for JMU.
10th loss in last 12 games for Old Dominion.

— Famous birthdays, January 11th
George Mira, 84
Lloyd McClendon, 67
Ali Haji-Sheikh, 65
Chris Jent, 56
Rey Ordóñez, 55

Marc Blucas, 54
Amanda Peet, 54
Damien Wilkins, 46
JP Crawford, 31
Elly De La Cruz, 24

If today is your 15th birthday, you were born on 1/11/11 (January 11, 2011)

— Auburn 95, Arkansas 73
Auburn shot 63.2% inside arc, scored 1.33 ppp
Just third win in last seven games for Auburn.
Only second loss in last seven games for Arkansas.

— George Mason 86, VCU 80
George Mason shot 68.3% inside the arc.
George Mason has won seven in a row, is 16-1, 4-0 in A-14.
VCU is 1-6 against top 100 teams.

— Texas A&M 83, Oklahoma 76
Aggies shot 55.2% inside arc, improve to 13-3, 3-0 in SEC
Texas A&M scored 82.8 ppg in its three SEC wins.
Oklahoma out-rebounded A&M, 43-32.

— Florida 91, Tennessee 67
Gators shot 64.7% inside arc, led 41-28 at halftime.
6-10 junior Chinyelu had 17 points, 16 rebounds for Florida.
Tennessee is 4-5 in its last five games, after a 7-0 start.

— West Virginia 86, Kansas 75
Mountaineers outscored Kansas 47-32 in second half.
Jayhawks are in bottom 20 in country at forcing turnovers.
Kansas is only 6-5 against top 100 teams; they’re 1-3 in true road tilts. 

— Indiana 56, Oregon 22
Indiana scored on a pick-6 on the first play of the game.
Hoosiers were +3 in turnovers, ran ball 40 times for 185 yards.
Indiana’s first six TD’s were scored by six different players.
Hoosiers move on to play Miami, in Miami for the national title.

— Concession prices for this game in Atlanta were pretty good:
$5 beer
$5 cheeseburger
$3 slice of pizza
$2 hot dog
$2 popcorn

— Last time there was a bowl game with a pick-6 on the very first play was the 2013 Sugar Bowl, when Louisville scored against Florida, and went on to win, 33-23.

— Miami has banked $20M from its run to the national title game; they don’t have to split it with their ACC rivals. Miami also collects $3M in travel expenses for the title game, even though the game is on their home field. Go figure

— Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss applied for a 6th year of eligibility from the NCAA, but that application was denied, which will make some NFL team very happy in April.

— SEC teams went 4-10 in bowl games this year, but two of those games were SEC vs SEC, so SEC teams were 2-8 in bowls, against non-SEC teams. This was third year in a row the national title game didn’t have an SEC team playing in it.

— March 21, 2022, this trade was made:
Cleveland Browns got:
QB Deshaun Watson
5th round draft pick

Houston Texans got:
three 1st round picks
3rd round draft pick
5th round pick

Since then…….
Cleveland is 26-42, 0-1 in playoffs
Houston is 35-32-1, 2-2 in playoffs

— Famous birthdays, January 10th
Richard Dotson, 67
Janet Jones, 65
Glenn Robinson, 53

Jake Delhomme, 51
Deshaun Foster, 46
Ryon Healy, 34

— Last year, Eagles’ RB Saquon Barkley had 1,763 rushing yards, just in the SECOND HALF of games. This year, Barkley has only has 508 rushing yards in second half of games.

— Miami Dolphins hired Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager; he had been working for Green Bay, as VP of Player Personnel.

— Las Vegas Raiders are now paying five guys who used to coach for them, a total of $50M:

$16M- Pete Carroll
$10M- Jon Gruden
$10M- Josh McDaniels
$8M- Antonio Pierce
$6M- Chip Kelly

— Oklahoma Sooners hired former Cowboys’ star Jason Witten as their tight ends coach; since 2021, he has been the head coach at Dallas’ Liberty Christian School, where his son plays.

— Fairfield 68, Rider 62
Stags led 34-22 at halftime.
Brickfest: teams combined to shoot 12-42 on the arc.
Rider is 1-13, 0-5 in MAAC games.

— Miami OH 87, Toledo 73
Redhawks shot 12-31, improved to 17-0 this season (vs schedule #349)
Miami led 56-36 at halftime.
First loss for Toledo in four MAC games.

— Playoff teams’ records against playoff teams this year:
6-2- Seattle
5-3- Jacksonville
4-2- Denver

4-4- Rams, Houston, San Francisco
3-3- Buffalo, Philadelphia, LA Chargers
2-2- New England

2-4- Green Bay
2-5- Carolina
1-5- Pittsburgh

— Miami 31, Ole Miss 27
Miami drove 75 yards, scored game-winning TD with 0:18 left.
Hurricanes ran 88 plays from scrimmage, Ole Miss 60.
Miami converted 11-19 third down plays, Rebels 2-10.
Miami will play the Indiana-Oregon winner for the national title January 19.

— All four semi-final teams in the College Football Playoff have Australian punters. 

— Miami Dolphins fired coach Mike McDaniel, who was 35-35 in four years coaching the Dolphins- he went 20-16 the first two years, 15-19 the last two, missing playoffs the last two seasons. Curious to see who they hire as their next coach; that person will be Miami’s ninth head coach since the last time they won a playoff game, in 2000.

QB Tua Tagovailoa is a $$$ problem; Miami can’t cut him this year, or he would be a $99.2 dead cap hit, a huge number, so they’ll have to keep him, at least for another year.

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept head coach Todd Bowles, but they fired seven assistant coaches, which means that next year, Baker Mayfield will have his sixth different offensive coordinator in the last six years.

— Miami Marlins traded P Edward Cabrera to the Cubs, for OF prospect Owen Caissie and two lesser outfield prospects. Cabrera was 8-7, 3.53 in 26 starts for the Marlins last year.

— In the NBA, Atlanta Hawks traded G Trae Young to Washington Wizards, for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. Young is averaging 19.3 ppg this year, first time in the last seven years he is scoring less than 20 points/game.

— Random trivia; Jets were the only NFL team this season to start the same five offensive linemen in every game.

— Famous birthdays, January 9th
ML Carr, 75
JK Simmons, 71
Otis Nixon, 67
Stan Javier, 62
Joely Richardson, 61

David Costabile, 59
Chad Johnson, 48
Michael Beasley, 37
Marcus Peters, 33
Kerris Dorsey, 29

— Cal-Davis 93, UCSB 86
Gauchos led 33-15 midway thru the first half.
Cal-Davis shot 65.4% inside arc, scored 1.31 ppp
6 of the 8 guys who played for Cal-Davis scored in double figures.

— Gonzaga 89, Santa Clara 77
Game was tied 37-37 at halftime.
Graham Ike scored 34 points, had 11 rebounds.
Gonzaga shot 65.1% inside the arc.
Zags won 52 of their last 56 games against Santa Clara.

— Northridge 95, Cal Poly 90
Cal Poly led by 14 with 12:49 left in the game.
Matadors’ PG Davis scored 23 points, had 15 assists.
Cal Poly shot 16-44 on arc, 13-26 inside arc.

— Portland 90, Pacific 89 OT
Portland outscored Pacific 9-3 in last 0:22 of overtime.
Pilots shot 13-23 outside the arc.
First win in five WCC games for Portland.

— LMU 84, San Francisco 82, 2OT
McBride had 18 points in 38:00 for LMU; he didn’t start.
LMU had 50 points in paint, San Francisco had 26.
Ryan Beasley scored 32 points for USF.

— Tennessee-Martin 76, Morehead State 68
Morehead led by 16 late in the first half.
Tennessee-Martin shot 58.6% inside the arc.
Skyhawks are 12-4, with wins at Bradley, at UNLV

— Ohio State 72, Oregon 62
All five OSU starters scored between 10-14 points.
Buckeyes are shooting 61% inside the arc (#9) this year.
Ducks are struggling, off to an 8-8 start, 1-4 in the league. 

— In the NBA, Bulls-Heat game was postponed because of condensation on the floor; it will be made up down the road. During the delay before they postponed the game, the Bulls’ mascot stood at half court, flung the ball over his head with his back to the basket and swished it. Pretty impressive. 

— Vanderbilt 96, Alabama 90
Vandy was 35-50 on foul line, Alabama 29-38; lot of fouls.
Crimson Tide was 9-40 on the arc, 17-30 inside arc.
Commodores are 15-0, one of six unbeaten teams in the country.

— UConn 103, Providence 98 OT
Providence led by 11 with 3:12 left in regulation.
UConn shot 18-32 on the arc; Friars were 14-24.
Silas Demery had 23 points, 15 assists for UConn

— Saint Louis 71, VCU 62
Saint Louis outscored VCU 10-0 over last 2:30 of the game.
VCU only shot 28.6% from the floor, at home.
Billikens are 14-1; they lost by a point to Stanford.

— Creighton 76, Villanova 72
Bluejays shot 62.9% inside the arc.
Villanova led by 10 points in the first half.
Creighton is 4-1 in Big East; they’re 6-5 in non-league games.

— Marquette 66, Xavier 65
Golden Eagles snapped a six-game losing skid.
Marquette out-rebounded Xavier, 47-34
Xavier shot 31.4% inside arc, 11-24 on the arc.

— Clemson 74, SMU 70
Clemson never trailed; they’re 13-3, 3-0 in ACC games.
Tigers have #25 eFG% defense in country.
SMU is 12-3, 1-3 on road, with only win at Mississippi State

— Arkansas 94, Ole Miss 87
Arkansas shot 14-30 on arc, scored 1.30 ppp.
Arkansas won its last three games, scoring 97.7 ppg
Razorbacks are 12-3; all three losses are to teams in top 12 in country.

— BYU 104, Arizona State 76
Cougars shot 70% inside arc, 14-31 on the arc, scored 1.34 ppp.
BYU scored 59 points in the second half.
Arizona State lost its last four games, giving up 91.8 ppg. 

— Famous birthdays, January 8th:
Calvin Natt, 69
Mark Herrmann, 67
Jason Giambi, 55

Billy Joe Hobert, 55
Mike Cameron, 53
Jeff Francouer, 42

Jeff Hoffman, 33
Chris Paddack, 30
Jhoan Duran, 28

— More and more, college basketball teams prefer that all their shots either be layups or 3-pointers; 15-foot jumpers are pretty much frowned upon.

These are the teams whose 2-point shots are the shortest in the country:
Saint Louis
Texas A&M
Marquette
George Washington
South Florida
St Thomas

— One thing about college basketball the next few weeks; this is Gonzaga’s last year to beat the tar out of WCC opponents- they’re moving up to the new/improved Pac-12 next year.

— In-game interviews with coaches are useless; none of them ever say anything, they’re mainly spouting cliches and trying to get back to their bench.

— Colorado Rockies signed P Michael Lorenzen for one year, $8M; Lorenzen was 7-11, 4.64 in 26 starts for the Royals last year. Colorado will be his 7th big league team.

— Three of 14 teams in the Atlantic 14 are nicknamed the Rams; VCU, Rhode Island, Fordham all have Ram mascots.

— Random observation: NFL kickers are way better than they used to be. Jaguars’ Cam Little has made field goals of 67, 68 yards this year; he made a 70-yarder in an exhibition game.

— Indianapolis Colts ran a successful fake punt last week, then on the very next play, they kept the punt team on the field and ran another fake punt. Other team was so confused they got a penalty for having too many men on the field.

— Matt Campbell is the new football coach at Penn State; he’s already poached 19 players from Iowa State, his old team. 

— Baltimore Ravens fired coach John Harbaugh after 18 years; Harbaugh was 190-124 as Ravens’ coach, 13-11 in playoff games- they won the Super Bowl in 2012. 

Ravens made the playoffs six of the last eight years, would have gotten there again this year had their rookie kicker made a 44-yard field goal at the end of Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh.

Something to tuck away: Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers play at Baltimore next fall.

— There were 63 Venezuelan-born ballplayers in the major leagues last year; five of them are on my fantasy team. The chaos in Venezuela could screw up this spring’s World Baseball Classic; there is still enough time for all the major leaguers to get back here in time for spring training and the WBC.

— Philadelphia Phillies hired Don Mattingly as bench coach; his son Preston is the Phiilies’ general manager. Mattingly was bench coach with the Blue Jays the last three years.

— Texas Tech poached QB Brendan Sorsby from the Cincinnati Bearcats, are apparently paying him $5M next year.

— One wish for next football season; Pete Carroll in a TV booth somewhere, think he would provide good energy and a lot of knowledge.

— Famous birthdays, January 7th:
Erin Gray, 76
David Caruso, 70
Brian Baldinger, 65
Ron Rivera, 63

Nicolas Cage, 62
Todd Day, 56
Frank Menechino, 55
Francisco Rodriguez, 44

Jhoulys Chacin, 38
Dean Kremer, 30
Ozzie Albies, 29
Lamar Jackson, 29

— Detroit Lions fired offensive coordinator John Morton after only one season; Detroit went 9-8 this year, missed the playoffs for first time in three years.Lions scored 28.3 ppg; they scored 33.2 ppg last year, when Ben Johnson was the OC.

— Washington Commanders let both their coordinators go, a year after they played in the NFC title game. OC Kliff Kingsbury should’t be unemployed very long. Washington’s defense finished last in yards allowed, 27th in points given up, so firing the DC was expected.

QB Jayden Daniels played four full games; Washington was 5-12 this year, after going 12-5 LY.

— New Jersey Jets had only four takeaways all season, are the first NFL team EVER not to intercept a pass all season. Jets wound up minus-19 in turnovers.

— Dallas Cowboys fired DC Matt Eberflus; next season Dallas will have their fourth different DC in four years. Cowboys traded their best defensive player to Green Bay before the season, then went 7-9-1, 1-8 when they scored less than 30 points. Dallas allowed the most points in the league, were 30th in yards allowed.

— Movie of the Day: Tequila Sunrise (1988)- A retired drug dealer in Los Angeles tries to go straight but his past and his underworld connections bring him into the focus of the DEA, the Mexican feds and the Mexican drug cartels.

Mel Gibson is the dealer, Michelle Pfeiffer runs the restaurant where he eats, Kurt Russell and JT Walsh are cops trying to bust drug dealers. Raul Julia is an old friend of the dealer.

Good movie; I found it the other day on YouTube.

— Nebraska’s basketball team is 15-0; they’re ranked in top 10 for the first time since 1966. 

— Texas A&M 90, Auburn 88
Auburn hit 3-pointer at buzzer that was waved off after a replay review.
Auburn led by 16 points with 13:29 left in the game.
Texas A&M shot 61.3% inside the arc.
Aggies have won won five in row, 10 of last 11 games.

— Kansas 104, TCU 100, OT
TCU led by 9 with 1:14 left in the game.
Kansas was 30-40 on foul line, Horned Frogs 15-24.
Jayhawks avoided their first 0-2 start in league play since 1991.

— Wisconsin 80, UCLA 72
Badgers led 33-13 midway thru first half.
UCLA shot 1-17 on the arc, 15-23 on foul line.
Bruins are 1-4 on the road, with only win at Washington.

— Duke 84, Louisville 73
Louisville led by 12 late in the first half.
Duke outscored Cardinals 46-26 in second half.
Blue Devils shot 64.7% inside the arc. 

— South Carolina 78, LSU 68
Gamecocks led this game 43-15 in the first half.
Carolina shot 12-21 from the arc.
6-4 junior Strong scored 30 points in 25:00

Postseason trends for all 14 teams in the playoffs:
AFC
— Denver Broncos
Lost Wild Card game last year, their first playoff game since 2015.

Sean Payton is 9-9 in playoff games, won Super Bowl 16 years ago.
QB Nix lost his one playoff game, 31-7 to Buffalo.

Denver is 9-3 in last 12 home playoff games.
Overall, Broncos are 3-5 in Super Bowls.

— New England Patriots
Patriots are in playoffs for first time in four years.
New England’s last win in a playoff game: 2018.

Mike Vrabel is 2-3 in playoff games (0-2 in home games)
QB Maye will be playing in his first NFL playoff game.

New England is 6-5 in Super Bowls.

— Jacksonville Jaguars
Jaguars are in playoffs for first time since 2022, third time in last 18 years.

Liam Coen will be coaching in his first NFL playoff game.
QB Lawrence is 1-1 in playoff games.

Overall, Jacksonville is 8-8 in playoff games, 4-1 at home.
Jaguars have never made it to the Super Bowl.

— Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers are in playoffs for third year in row, fifth time in last six years.
Pittsburgh lost its last five playoff games; their last playoff win? 2017

Mike Tomlin is 8-11 in playoff games; he won Super Bowl in 2008
QB Rodgers is 11-10 in playoff games; he won Super Bowl in 2010.

Steelers lost three of last four home playoff games.
Pittsburgh is 6-2 in Super Bowls.

— Houston Texans
Texans are in playoffs for the third year in a row.
Houston has been in playoffs eight times:
6-2 in their first playoff game of a season, 0-6 in second one. 

DeMeco Ryans is 2-2 in playoff games.
QB Stroud is 2-2 in playoff games.

Houston is 6-2 in home playoff games, 0-6 on the road.
Texans haven’t made it to a Super Bowl.

— Buffalo Bills
Bills are in the playoffs for the seventh year in a row.
Buffalo lost its last eight road playoff games; last road playoff win? 1992

Sean McDermott is 7-7 in playoff games.
QB Allen is 7-6 in playoff games.
Buffalo is 0-4 in Super Bowls.

Since 2020, Bills are 0-4 vs Chiefs in playoffs, 7-1 vs everyone else.

— Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers are in playoffs for third time in four years. 

Jim Harbaugh is 5-4 in playoff games, 0-1 in Super Bowl.
QB Herbert is 0-2 in playoff games.
Chargers lost their only Super Bowl, in 1994.

Since 2008, Chargers are 3-6 in playoff games.
Chargers’ last home playoff game was in 2009.

Famous birthdays, January 6th:
Harold Jackson, 80
Howie Long, 66
Sean Landeta, 64

Norm Charlton, 63
Kate McKinnon, 42
AJ Hawk, 42

Ndamukong Suh, 39
Kevin Gausman, 35
Jameis Winston, 32

NFC
— Seattle Seahawks
Seahawks are in playoffs for first time in three years.

Macdonald is coaching in his first playoff game.
QB Darnold lost his only playoff game, 27-9 to the Rams

Seahawks are 1-2 in Super Bowls.
Seahawks won 10 of their last 11 home playoff games.
Since losing Super Bowl to New England in 2014, Seattle is 3-6 in playoff games.

— Chicago Bears
Bears are in playoffs for first time since 2020.
Chicago’s last playoff win? 2010

Ben Johnson is coaching in his first playoff game.
QB Williams is playing in his first playoff game.

Chicago split its two Super Bowls, winning in 1985.

In Super Bowl era, Bears are 2-6 in road playoff games.
Chicago is 3-5 in last eight home playoff games.

— Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles are in playoffs for fifth year in row, 8th time in nine years.
Philadelphia has won two Super Bowls, including last year’s. 

Nick Sirianni is 6-3 in playoff games, 1-1 in Super Bowls.
QB Hurts is 6-3 in playoff games.

Eagles are 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS in last five home playoff games.
Eagles lost five of their last six road playoff games.
Overall, Eagles are 2-3 in the Super Bowl.

— Carolina Panthers
Carolina is in playoffs for first time since 2017.

Dave Canales is coaching in his first playoff game.
QB Young is playing in his first playoff game.

Panthers are 4-3 in road playoff games.
Panthers are 5-2 in home playoff games.
Carolina lost both its Super Bowls.

— Los Angeles Rams
Rams are in playoffs for 7th time in McVay’s nine years as coach.

Sean McVay is 8-5 in playoff games, 1-1 in Super Bowl.
QB Stafford is 5-5 in playoff games.

Rams won their last four home playoff games.
Rams are 6-3 ATS in their last nine playoff games.
Rams are 4-4 SU in last eight road playoff games, 2-3 in Super Bowls.

— San Francisco 49ers
49ers are in playoffs for fifth time in last seven years.

Kyle Shanahan is 6-4 in playoff games, 0-2 in Super Bowls
QB Purdy is 4-2 in playoff games.

Last six times 49ers were in playoffs, they went WWL

San Francisco won its last seven home playoff games.
49ers are 5-3 in last eight road playoff games

San Francisco is 5-3 in Super Bowls; their last win? 1994.

— Green Bay Packers
Green Bay is in playoffs for sixth time in last seven years.
Packers are the #7-seed for third year in a row.

Matt LaFleur is 3-5 in playoff games
QB Love is 1-2 in playoff games. 

Since 2014, Packers are 3-6 in road playoff games.
Packers lost their last three home playoff games.
Green Bay is 4-1 in Super Bowls (last win, 2010)

Steelers 26, Ravens 24
Ravens missed a 44-yard FG at the gun; Steelers win AFC North.
Steelers drove 65 yards, took lead for good on 26-yard TD pass with 0:55 left.
Baltimore lost four of its last six games, after a 5-0 streak. 
Ravens miss playoffs for only second time in last eight years.

Baltimore led this game 1o-3 at halftime.
Steelers in second half: 40 plays, 237 yards, 23 points.
Pittsburgh won three of its last four games.
Steelers host Houston in first round of playoffs next Monday. 

Falcons 19, Saints 17
Atlanta’s win made Carolina Panthers NFC South champs.
Panthers host the Rams Saturday in first round of the playoffs.
After the game, Falcons fired both their coach and GM.
Raheem Morris went 8-9/8-9 in his two years coaching Atlanta.

Last 2 years. Falcons were 12-10 when QB Cousins plays, 4-8 when didn’t
Atlanta’s first TD in this game came on a 5-yard drive, after a blocked punt.
New Orleans outgained the Falcons, 340-208.
Saints wound up 5-4 this year when rookie QB Shough started. 

Jaguars 41, Titans 7
Jacksonville clinches AFC South, their third playoff spot in last 18 years.
Jaguars won their last eight games, scoring 33.6 ppg 
Tennessee QB Ward hurt his shoulder early on, threw only three passes.
Jaguars host Buffalo in first round of the playoffs Sunday.

Titans are 9-19 ATS in last 28 games as an underdog.
Up 14-7, Jaguars broke game open with a 58-yard pick-6.
Jacksonville K Little booted a 67-yard FG at the halftime gun.
Liam Coen has an impressive 13-4 in his first year as Jaguars’ coach.

Broncos 19, Chargers 3
Denver clinches #1-seed in AFC and a bye next week.
Broncos won 13 of their last 14 games.
Chargers sat out #1 QB Herbert, who has broken left hand.
Chargers’ first five drives: 19 plays, 51 yards, 4 punts, one INT

Denver is in playoffs for second year in row, after an 8-year absence.
Broncos’ only TD of the day came on a 45-yard pick-6 in first quarter.
Chargers travel to Foxboro to play the Patriots Sunday night.
Jim Harbaugh is 72-34-1 as an NFL coach, 23-12 with the Bolts. 

Patriots 38, Dolphins 10
RB Stevenson had 9 touches for 153 yards, three TD’s
Patriots swept Miami for the first time since 2016.
New England hosts the Chargers Sunday night in Foxboro.
Patriots outgained Miami, 457-180.

Miami allowed 27+ points in all 10 of its losses this year.
Dolphins went 15-19 last two years; they were 20-16 McDaniel’s first two years.
Miami hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000.
Rookie QB Ewers was 16-23/137 in his first road start; he left late with an injury.

Rams 37, Cardinals 20
Arizona led this game 20-16 with 3:51 left in third quarter.
From that point on, Rams ran 24 plays for 217 yards, three TD’s.
QB Stafford threw for 259 yards, four TD’s.
Rams go to Carolina for a playoff game late Saturday afternoon.

Rams are 9-0 when they allow less than 26 points.
This was Sean McVay’s 100th win (100-62) as a head coach.
Rams have made the playoffs in seven of his nine years as coach.
Before McVay came to the Rams, they missed playoffs 12 years in a row. 

Raiders 14, Chiefs 12
Daniel Carlson kicked a 60-yard FG with 0:08 left for the win.
Chiefs had kicked FG’s with 3:33/1:01 left to grab a 21-11 lead.
Despite the win, Raiders own the first pick in April’s NFL Draft.
There were no TD’s in this game; both teams kicked four FG’s.

Chiefs ended a dismal season 6-11, losing their last six games.
#4 QB Buechele averaged 6.3 yards/pass attempt, was an improvement.
This was the Raiders’ first win since October 12 vs Tennessee.
Total yardage: Raiders 204, KC 168. Teams were combined 7-33 on 3rd down.

— Famous birthdays, January 5th:
Robert Duvall, 95
Rick Mount, 79
Jim Gantner, 73
Alex English, 72

Bob Dernier, 69
Steve Fuller, 69
Joe Cribbs, 68
Clancy Brown, 67

Danny Jackson, 63
Bradley Cooper, 51
Warrick Dunn, 51
Nori Aoki, 44

Texans 38, Colts 30
Houston kicked a 43-yard FG with 0:12 left for the win.
Texans scored TD on a fumble return on ensuing kickoff for final margin.
QB Stroud, other Houston starters, didn’t play most of second half.
Texans visit Pittsburgh in the playoffs next Monday night.

Rookie QB Leonard threw for 270 yards, two TD’s in his first NFL start.
WR Pierce caught four passes for 132 yards, two TD’s.
Colts are 8-3 ATS last 11 games as a road underdog.
Houston goes into the playoffs on a nine-game win streak. 

Commanders 24, Eagles 17
Washington outscored Philly 14-0 in fourth quarter.
Eagles rested QB Hurts, RB Barkley, several other starters.
Commanders led 10-7 at halftime after Moody kicked a 56-yard FG.
This was only second win in last 12 games for Washington.

Commanders led 10-7 at halftime after Moody kicked a 56-yard FG.
Washington was 6-for-11 on 3rd down behind 39-year old backup QB Johnson.
Philly was penalized nine times for 123 yards in this game.
Eagles host San Francisco in playoffs next week at 4:30 Sunday

Lions 19, Bears 16
Detroit kicked 42-yard FG at the gun to end their season 9-8.
Lions led 16-0 after the third quarter.
Detroit’s first three drives: 36 plays, 197 yards, 13 points.
Lions scored only one touchdown, were 4-5 kicking field goals.

Chicago kept the #2-seed, hosts Green Bay in playoffs Saturday night.
Bears lost 28-21 at Lambeau in Week 14, beat Packers 22-16 in Week 16.
Bears’ first five drives: 30 plays, 107 yards, no points.
Bears in fourth quarter: 22 plays, 158 yards, 16 points.

Giants 34, Cowboys 17
Giants win clinched the Raiders having the #1-pick in draft.
Giants won last two games, after a nine-game losing skid.
Giants were 8-14 on third down, Dallas 2-8.
Rookie QB Dart threw for 230 yards, finished his rookie season 4-8. 

Giants beat Cowboys for first time in last 10 meetings.
Giants led this game 16-10 at halftime. 
Dallas used backup QB Milton in second half.
Cowboys had consecutive losing seasons for first time since 2000-02.

Browns 20, Bengals 18
Cleveland kicked a 49-yard FG at the gun for the win.
Browns scored two defensive TD’s in first 16:00 of this game.
Bengals missed the PAT after their first two touchdowns.
Cincinnati outgained the Browns 364-200; turnovers were a killer.

Bengals were 1-8 when they scored less than 31 points.
QB Burrow threw for 236 yards, three TD’s.
Browns were 8-26 the last two years; will Watson play QB next year?
Bengals missed playoffs last three years, going 24-26.

Vikings 16, Packers 3
Green Bay kicked FG on last play to avoid being shut out.
#3 QB Tune is 0-2 as an NFL starter, losing 27-0/16-3.
Packers get QB Love back Saturday for a playoff game in Chicago.
Green Bay lost its last four games, after a 9-3-1 start.

Minnesota won its last five games to finish season 9-8
QB McCarthy got hurt (again), didn’t finish the game.
Vikings outgained Green Bay 363-121 in this game.
WR Jefferson caught eight passes for 101 yards. 

Bills 35, Jets 8
Game was 21-0 at half; not a spunky effort by the Jets.
Jets are 0-6 SU/1-5 ATS last five visits to Buffalo.
Buffalo won five of six, eight of their last eleven games overall.
Bills visit Jacksonville for a playoff game Sunday afternoon.

Jets are first team EVER not to intercept a pass all season.
Jets lost their last five games, giving up 34-48-29-42-35 points.
Jets were 0-12 when they score less than 27 points.  
Jets are 5-11-1 ATS last 17 games as a road underdog

— Buccaneers 16, Panthers 14
This game was played in a rainy quagmire in Tampa.
Both teams are now 8-9, tied for first in NFC South.
If Atlanta wins Sunday, it creates a 3-way tie; Carolina would advance
If New Orleans wins Sunday, Tampa Bay would advance.

Tampa Bay was 8-15 on third down, Carolina 1-8 (2-2 on 4th down)
Panthers ran the ball 14 times for only 19 yards.
Chase McLaughlin kicked field goals of 29-36-48 yards.
Just second win in last nine games for the Buccaneers.

— Seahawks 13, 49ers 3
Seattle wins NFC West, gets a first round bye in the playoffs.
Seahawks outgained San Francisco 361-173.
Seattle ran for 180 yards, didn’t score TD in three trips to red zone.
K Myers was only 2-4 on field goals; he had made 18 in a row coming in.

49ers will be #6-seed if Rams win Sunday, #5-seed if Arizona wins.
49ers’ first three drives: 12 plays, 39 yards, no points.
Seattle’s first four drives: 34 plays, 187 yards, 10 points.
Seahawks were 6-13 on third down, San Francisco 2-9.

— College Basketball Upsets of the Day:
Providence (+12) 77, St John’s 71
Mississippi State (+9.5) 101, Texas 98
Cal-Bakersfield (+9.5) 81, Cal-Davis 79
Georgia State (+8.5) 89, Coastal Carolina 71
James Madison (+8.5) 78, Arkansas State 74
Monmouth (+8.5) 62, Towson 48
Western Carolina (+8.5) 80, Furman 77 OT

There were 18 teams that won Saturday, after trailing by 10+ points. Lot of comebacks. 

— SEC basketball
Alabama 89, Kentucky 74
Crimson Tide led 50-34 at halftime.
Alabama shot 15-38 on the arc; Kentucky was 4-19.
Alabama is 11-3; they’ve played the toughest schedule in country so far.

Arkansas 86, Tennessee 75
Vols led by 5 with 12:29 left in the game.
Arkansas was 29-33 on foul line, Tennessee 12-23
Acuff had 29 points, 4 assists for the Razorbacks.

Georgia 104, Auburn 100 OT
Georgia shot 63.9% inside the arc.
Dawgs have won seven games in a row, are 13-1, vs schedule #321.
Georgia’s only loss was in OT to Clemson, on a neutral floor.

KenPom has four SEC teams ranked in the country’s top 30.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had SEC getting 9 teams in NCAA’s.

— Big X 
BYU 83, Kansas State 73
Freshman AJ Dybansas had 24 points, 8 rebounds, 7 turnovers.
K-State shot 3-21 on the arc.
BYU has won 10 in a row, is 13-1 against schedule #51.

Central Florida 81, Kansas 75
Knights have won 11 in a row, are a very quiet 12-1 team.
UCF is #5 team in country on the offensive boards.
Kansas star Peterson had 26 points in 23:00; only third game he’s played since November 11th.

Houston 67, Cincinnati 60
Bearcats led by 10 early in the second half.
Freshman G Flemings had 19 points, 6 assists, 5 steals.
Cougars have won seven in a row, are 13-1 vs schedule #106.

KenPom has five Big X teams ranked in the country’s top 20.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had Big X getting 8 teams in NCAA’s.

— Big East
Providence 77, St John’s 71
Red Storm led 15-2 early on, 39-32 at halftime.
6-9 senior Ejiofor was 14-23 on foul line. One guy; 23 foul shots.
First win for Providence in seven games vs top 100 teams.

Villanova 85, Butler 67
Villanova shot 67.6% inside the arc.
Butler is 1-3 in Big East games, giving up 90.8 ppg.
Villanova has won five in a row, is 12-2 vs schedule #49.

KenPom has only three Big East teams ranked in the country’s top 40.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had Big East getting 5 teams in NCAA’s.

— Big 18
Iowa 74, UCLA 61
Hawkeyes led 38-14 early in the game.
6-4 senior Stirtz scored 27 points, had 5 assists.
Iowa shot 66.7% inside the arc, scored 1.19 ppp.

KenPom has six Big 18 teams ranked in the country’s top 25.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had Big 18 getting 10 teams in NCAA’s.

— ACC
SMU 97, North Carolina 83
Game was 39-39 at halftime; SMU scored 58 points in 2nd half.
SMU shot 14-27 on the arc, scored 1.40 ppp.
Mustangs are 12-2 (5-2 vs top 100 teams) vs schedule #88.

Duke 91, Florida State 87
Duke was 23-25 on foul line, Seminoles 11-16.
Florida State shot 61% inside arc; they led by 4 points early in second half.
Duke is 13-1; their only loss was 82-81 to #20 Texas Tech.

KenPom has four ACC teams ranked in the country’s top 30.
Going into Saturday, Bracketology had ACC getting 8 teams in NCAA’s.

— Famous birthdays, January 4th:
Dyan Cannon, 89
Charlie Manuel, 82
Dave Foley, 63
Ted Lilly, 50

Eric Weddle, 41
Scott Sizemore, 41
Kevin Pillar, 37
Kris Bryant, 34

Michael Lorenzen, 32
Reynaldo Lopez, 32
Derrick Henry, 32
Victor Wembanyama, 32

— Charlotte 104, Wichita State 100, 2OTs
Wichita led by 18 in 2nd half, by 5 with 0:19 left in regulation.
Charlotte was 29-38 on foul line, scored 1.39 ppp.
Charlotte is 7-8; their last two wins were in overtime.

— Ohio U 68, Eastern Michigan 67
Eagles led 35-15 early on, 32-15 at halftime.
Ohio U outscored them 53-35 in second half.
Bobcats have won 7 of last 8 games, after a 1-6 start.

— Bowling Green 101, UMass 100 OT
Falcons trailed by 7 with 0:54 left in regulation.
6-2 senior Campbell was 20-27 on the foul line, scored 47 points.
Bowling Green is 8-4 vs D-I teams (schedule #283).

— Toronto Blue Jays signed 3B Kazuma Okamoto to a 4-year, $60M contract; down the road, he is seen as more of a 1B than 3B, but with Vladimir Guerrero entrenched at 1B, seems like he’ll be a 3B or DH for now. 

 

— Word of the Day: Polarizing- Something/someone who divides people into sharply opposing factions. I bring this up now that Ole Miss is in the semi-finals of the college football playoff, after Lane Kiffin built a good program, then bolting on his team before the playoff, to go to SEC rival and make more money.

By the way, the two wins by Ole Miss in the playoffs have earned Kiffin another $500,000 in bonus money, which LSU is paying him.

— Here is Kiffin’s career timeline:
1994-96- was a backup QB at Fresno State.
1997-98- student assistant coach at Fresno State (his father wouldn’t let him quit playing, unless he became a student assistant coach).

1999- grad assistant at Colorado State
2000- defensive quality control coach, Jacksonville Jaguars

2001- tight ends coach, USC
2002-03- wide receivers coach, USC
2004- pass game coordinator, USC
2005-06- offensive coordinator, USC

2007-08- head coach, Oakland Raiders
2009- head coach, Tennessee Vols
2010-13- head coach, USC

2014-16- offensive coordinator, Alabama
2017-19- head coach, Florida Atlantic
2020-25- head coach, Ole Miss

Going to be very interesting to see how he does with LSU.

— Wake Forest 43, Mississippi State 29
Down 3-0 in first quarter, Wake ran kickoff back 100 yards for a TD.
Deacons scored on TD passes of 64-62 yards.
Wake Forest won four in row, seven of last eight games.
Miss State lost eight of its last nine games, after a 4-0 start.

— SMU 24, Arizona 19
Mustangs led 24-0 at halftime.
SMU survived three turnovers (minus-2), being outgained 441-392.
SMU won seven of its last nine games.

— Navy 35, Cincinnati 13
Navy ran the ball 51 times for 241 yards.
Navy won five of last six bowl games.
Cincinnati lost its last five games overall, giving up 37.8 ppg

— Texas State 41, Rice 10
Bobcats QB Jackson threw for 173 yards, 3 TDs, also ran for a TD.
Texas State’s lead was only 10-7 at halftime.
Bobcats outgained Rice, 436-195.

— Famous birthdays, January 3rd:
Victoria Principal, 76
Mel Gibson, 70
Jim Everett, 63
AJ Burnett, 48

David Tyree, 45
Eli Manning, 44
Doug McDermott, 33
Dallas Goedert, 30

— College conferences’ bowl records SU/ATS:
AAC- 5-4/4-5
ACC- 8-4/6-6
Big X- 5-3/5-3

Big 18- 9-4/8-5
Conference USA- 4-3/4-3
MAC- 2-3/3-2

Mountain West- 2-5/3-4
SEC- 4-9/4-9
Sun Belt 4-6/5-5

— The four head coaches whose teams are all alive in the college football playoff? At one time or another, they were all an assistant coach under Nick Saban.

— Tennessee Vols’ punter Jackson Ross is a 26-year old Australian who used to play tennis, and then got paid to play Australian Rules Football.

— Friday, 3,753 college/minor league football players entered the transfer portal, roughly 27 players for every I-A team in the country.

— Last two years, Cincinnati Bengals have lost six games when they scored 34+ points; in the history of the NFL, only two other teams have ever lost three games like that in the same year- 1985 Chargers, 2002 Chiefs.

— Biggest upset in bowl game history? Back in 1998, Idaho (+17) upset Southern Mississippi 42-38 in the Humanitarian Bowl.

— Gonzaga 80, Seattle 72 OT
Seattle led by 13 with 12:30 left in the game.
Redhawks are 12-4, but 1-2 in their first year in the WCC.
Gonzaga is 15-1; their only loss was against Michigan, by 40. 

This is Gonzaga’s last year in the WCC; they’ll be in the Pac-12 next year.

— Nebraska 58, Michigan State 56
Cornhuskers are 14-0 for the first time ever, vs schedule #140.
Nebraska shot 13-37 on the arc, only 5-20 inside the arc.
Spartans shot 34% from the floor.

— Washington State 78, LMU 76
Lions led by 14 midway thru the first half.
Wazzu shot 56.2% inside the arc, 10-23 outside the arc.

— Manhattan 80, Quinnipiac 79
Jaspers trailed by 18 with 16:37 left in the game.
Manhattan is in bottom 5 in country on the defensive boards.
Both teams are 3-1 in the MAAC. 

— Handicapping Week 18 of the NFL is tougher than normal; some teams aren’t playing their starters because they’re in playoffs next week. Eagles are sitting Jalen Hurts and some of their other starters, Chargers are sitting Justin Herbert, Jordan Love is sitting out for Green Bay.

— Houston Astros made a splash in free agency Thursday, signing P Tatsuya Imai to a three-year contract worth $54M, plus some other incentives. He replaces free agent Framber Valdez, who won 57 games for the Astros the last four years.

— Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34
Georgia led this game 21-12 at halftime.
Ole Miss QB Chambliss threw for 362 yards, two TD’s.
Total yardage: Ole Miss 473, Georgia 343
Rebels move on to play Miami in the next round of the playoff.

Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss played for D-II Ferris State last year, leading them to a national title. How was somebody this good playing Division II ball?

— Indiana 38, Alabama 3
Hoosiers win their first bowl game since 1991.
Indiana outgained Alabama, 407-193.
Alabama ran the ball 17 times for only 23 yards.
Indiana moves on to play Oregon next; they beat the Ducks 30-20 in October.

Alabama was a 7,5-point underdog, the biggest underdog they’ve been since 2008. 

— Oregon 23, Texas Tech 0
Tech came into this game scoring 42.5 ppg.
Oregon led this game 6-0 at halftime.
Tech gained only 215 yards, had four turnovers.
Ducks move on to play Indiana in the next round.

— Miami Dolphins hired Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman as a consultant in their search for a new general manager, which is a little odd, seeing how Dan Marino already works for the team. He is an advisor; this isn’t a permanent job. 

Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000; ownership wanted a voice from the outside to provide a different perspective.

— Famous birthdays, January 2nd:
Calvin Hill, 79
Mike Newlin, 77
Jim Essian, 74
Edgar Martinez, 62

David Cone, 62
Christy Turlington, 57
Dax Shepard, 51
Kirk Hinrich, 46

Kate Bosworth, 43
Kyle Stowers, 27
Aaron Wiggins, 27
Fernando Tatis Jr, 26

— College conferences’ bowl records SU/ATS:
AAC- 4-3/3-4
ACC- 6-4/4-6
Big X- 5-1/5-1

Big 18- 9-4/8-5
Conference USA- 4-3/4-3
MAC- 2-3/3-2

Mountain West- 2-5/3-4
SEC- 4-8/4-8
Sun Belt 3-6/4-5

— NCAA Tournament is still a couple months away, but ESPN’s Bracketology has these teams as the #1-4 seeds, if the tournament were this week:
#1-seeds: Michigan, UConn, Arizona, Iowa State
#2-seeds: Vanderbilt, Duke, Gonzaga, Purdue
#3-seeds: Houston, Michigan State, Alabama, BYU
#4-seeds: Louisville, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska

— Vanderbilt guard Frankie Collins torn a meniscus in his knee and is out indefinitely; he is a senior who is scoring 7.8 ppg and 4.7 assists/game.

— ESPN’s fantasy football posted the players who were on the highest %age of teams that won their league’s championship this year:

29.1%- Puka Nucua
25.2%- Jaxon Smith-Njigba
23.8%- Bijan Robinson
22.4%- Trey McBride
20.1%- Christian McCaffrey

— Before the Cotton Bowl, Ohio State practiced in an indoor practice facility at Highland Park High School, where Matthew Stafford/Clayton Kershaw went to school.

You read that right; a high school in Texas has an indoor practice facility for its football team.

— Last five years, number of pitchers who started 30+ games:
2021- 41
2022- 43
2023- 44
2024- 51
2025- 53

— New Orleans Saints have won four games in a row, for the first time since 2020.