After last week’s newsletter referencing the classic hip hop group, Public Enemy, we thought we’d take it even further back with the classic musical group, the Beatles. We love you yeah, yeah yeah…
National Basketball Association (NBA)
The big NBA news is that Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, a five-time champion, announced Sunday that he will retire after the season. Kobe has punched his “Ticket to Ride” straight to the NBA Hall of Fame and will go down as one of the top 10 greatest players of all time.
On the court, the most intriguing story centers around the league’s best and worst teams. Can the winless Philadelphia 76ers (0-18) “Get By With a Little Help” from their fans and win before the defending champion Golden State Warriors (19-0) suffer their first loss?
Under the radar but playing great basketball are the 2013 and 2014 NBA Champions. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 13-4 and sit atop the Eastern Conference while the San Antonio Spurs are 14-4 and sport the second best record in the league behind only the Warriors.
College Football
Friday and Saturday saw the College Football Playoff picture “Come Together” as many of the favorites won. Next Saturday’s conference championship games will determine the final rankings, but as of now there are five teams vying for four spots (with #4 Iowa facing #5 Michigan State).
The National Championship contenders are:
#1 Clemson
#2 Alabama
#3 Oklahoma
#4 Iowa
#5 Michigan State
Next Saturday’s Championship Games
| Time (ET) | Conference | Team | Team |
| 4:00 PM | SEC | #12 Florida | #2 Alabama |
| 7:45 PM | PAC-12 | #9 Stanford | USC |
| 8:00 PM | BIG 10 | #5 Michigan State | #4 Iowa |
| 8:00 PM | ACC | #14 North Carolina | #1 Clemson |
Notably on the outside of the playoffs and crying for “Help!” are the defending champions #8 Ohio State (11-1) who obliterated #10 Michigan 42-13 at The Big House in Ann Arbor. Two other excellent but outsider teams met Saturday when #9 Stanford beat #6 Notre Dame 38-36 on a game winning field goal as time expired. These teams would all need minor miracles to break into the four-team playoff.
On the verge of being fired despite being the winningest coach in LSU history, Les Miles led his team to a 19-7 victory against Texas A&M on Saturday. After outcries of support from players and fans, LSU’s board decided to keep Miles, proving that “All You Need is Love.”
National Football League (NFL)
Thanksgiving day came and went leaving us a few pounds heavier and giving us three NFL games. The Detroit Lions took down the Philadelphia Eagles, 45-14. The 11-0 Carolina Panthers continued their NFL dominance, beating the Dallas Cowboys who lost their quarterback Tony Romo for the season during the game. At the end of the night, the Chicago Bears defeated the heavily favored Green Bay Packers 17-13 in Green Bay, where the Packers rarely lose.
Playoff contenders kept marching on…The Cincinnati Bengals (9-2) and Minnesota Vikings (8-3) had easy victories Sunday, while the Arizona Cardinals (9-2) struggled down the “Long and Winding Road” with the San Francisco 49ers, finally winning 19-13.
In a high scoring back and forth game, the Seattle Seahawks beat the explosive Pittsburgh Steelers, 39-30. Putting up a good fight was Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 456 yards, the most ever against Seattle. Sadly for the Steelers, it wasn’t enough as Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw five TD passes, leading the Seahawks back into the playoff race.
In a Sunday night thriller, the defending champion New England Patriots (10-1) lost their first game of the season, falling in overtime to the Denver Broncos, 30-24. The Broncos won despite injured starting quarterback Payton Manning missing the game. It is unconfirmed whether Manning was sneaking in a few Papa John’s slices on the sidelines.
The NFL week wrapped up Monday night with what was expected to be a terrible game but instead delivered an unbelievable finish. The Baltimore Ravens blocked a would-be game winning field goal by the Cleveland Browns and returned it 64 yards to win the game 33-27 as time expired.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
I Loves You , Yah Yah Yah……..Sgt Pepper may have his band, but You guys are Fly !!
Thanks for the recap so I can sound like I know what I’m talking about when the conversation turns to sports and I’m clueless.
Thanks and Great Job, Little L