Happy New Year to the TINK Sports family!
While Star Wars and Jumanji battled for box office supremacy, college and professional football teams are hunting for a championship on the field.
Let’s take a look at what’s happening in the sports world…
TINK Sports Big-3
Here are three things you need to know:
1) The NFL regular season is over, and the playoffs start Saturday.
2) The College Football championship is set and Georgia will take on Alabama for all the marbles on Monday.
3) The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting all-star guard Isaiah Thomas back from injury, improving their chances of returning to a fourth-straight NBA Finals
National Football League (NFL)
After 17 grueling weeks filled with thrills, intrigue and controversy, the NFL regular season is finally over.
12 of the 30 teams made the playoffs and giving their fans something to cheer about during the cold spell hitting the country.
Source: Sporting News
Party like its 1999. The Buffalo Bills are in playoffs for the first time since 1999. Is that unusual? You bet. The Bills become the last team in any of the four major sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) to make the post-season…this century.
Un-happy New Year? While US unemployment is still low, the same can’t be said for NFL coaches. Pink slips were handed out Sunday and Monday, just as the season ended. Teams hunting for a new head coach, read teams that are really bad or underachieved this year, are:
New York Giants
Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Oakland Raiders
Indianapolis Colts
Schedule alert – before you make weekend plans, note that the NFL playoffs begin with four Wildcard Weekend games:
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City – Saturday, Jan 6 @ 4:20pm
Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams – Saturday, Jan 6 @ 8:15pm
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars – Sunday, Jan 7 @ 1:05pm
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints – Sunday, Jan 7 @ 4:40pm
Waiting for the weekend’s outcomes are the Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers who all earned a bye (aka a week off).
College Football
Hunting for a championship…The college football season is winding down and the two National Semifinals were played Monday.
Source: NBC Sports
In the first Semifinal #2 Oklahoma took on #3 Georgia. The two storied programs had never met but delivered a memorable offensive shootout. Georgia overcame a 17-point deficit and won 54-48 in overtime (the highest scoring and first ever Rose Bowl overtime game). UGA is looking for its first National Championship since 1980.
Terrific trilogy? The second semifinal was a matchup of the last two thrilling National Championship games. This game, however, was not as competitive. #1 Clemson fell to #4 Alabama 24-6. Alabama is seeking is 17th national title and fifth in the last nine years.
The college football title will be determined Monday night in Atlanta as Alabama takes on Georgia.
National Basketball Association (NBA)
The Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers are one, two and three in the Eastern Conference. That order may change soon…
Source: Yahoo Sports
Welcome back Isaiah Thomas. The 5’9” dynamo will make his season and Cleveland Cavaliers debut Tuesday night. Thomas, who was traded from the Boston Celtics in the offseason, is recovering from hip injury. In a drama-avoiding move, Thomas will not play Wednesday night against his former Celtics team.
National Hockey League (NHL)
Did you remember your gloves and hat? That’s what New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres fans were asking themselves prior to Monday’s 10th annual Winter Classic hockey game played outdoors (on the New York Mets of baseball’s home field) in 18 degree Fahrenheit weather.
Source: AP
As is if it wasn’t cold enough…the game went to overtime. New York Rangers J.T. Miller scored a power play goal to beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 and earn extra post-game hot chocolate or Irish coffee.
College Basketball
Perfect no longer…On Saturday the three remaining undefeated college basketball teams, Villanova, Arizona State and TCU, all lost. There was a mild shakeup in the college rankings but top teams are beginning to separate from the pack.
The new AP top-5 teams are:
1) Michigan State
2) Duke
3) Villanova
4) Arizona State
5) Xavier
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Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
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