After several years and an estimated $200 million production cost, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” finally opened this weekend. We thought we’d have some fun with the movie and the sports world.
National Football League (NFL)
We are 14 games through the 16-game NFL season, and all eyes are on the playoffs.
This week gave us two nail-biters with playoff implications: The Carolina Panthers remained undefeated (14-0) beating the New York Giants 38-35. The Panthers scored a game winning field goal after blowing a 35-7 fourth quarter lead. Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. and Panthers CB Josh Norman were fighting like the “Resistance” and “First Order,” and Beckham was suspended by the NFL for his excessive contact.
Unlike the Giants, the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-5) completed an impressive comeback Sunday scoring 24 unanswered points to defeat the Denver Broncos, 34-27. In related games, the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs (who have now won eight straight) both won and improved to 9-5. If the season were to end today, by virtue of a tie-breaker, the Steelers and Chiefs would be in and the Jets out of the AFC playoffs.
When the Seattle Seahawks stumbled to a 4-5 start their fans were calling for a breakup of star QB Russell Wilson and girlfriend Ciara. Now that Wilson has thrown 19 TDs and zero interceptions leading the Seahawks to five straight wins and a playoff berth, all is well again in the Emerald City.
In the NFC East race, aka the battle of disappointing teams, the Washington Redskins (7-7) won big Sunday and lead the Philadelphia Eagles (6-8) and New York Giants (6-8), who both lost Sunday.
Current NFL playoff picture:
AFC
#1 Seed – New England Patriots (some call them the “Dark Side” franchise) – Bye
#2 Seed – Cincinnati Bengals (waiting for injured QB Andy Dalton to return) – Bye
#3 vs. #6 – Denver Broncos (hoping to get their “Han Solo” QB Peyton Manning back from injury) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
#4 vs. #5 –Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs
NFC
#1 Seed – Carolina Panthers (led by MVP front-runner Cam Newton) – Bye
#2 Seed – Arizona Cardinals – Bye
#3 vs. #6 – Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings
#4 vs. #5 – Washington Redskins vs. Seattle Seahawks
National Basketball Association (NBA)
Roughly one-third through the NBA season the talk of the league remains how good the defending champion Golden State Warriors (26-1) are, how bad the Philadelphia 76ers (1-28) are, and the farewell tour of Los Angeles Lakers’ retiring star Kobe Bryant (a 6’ 6” version of Jedi Master “Yoda,” playing in his 20th season).
The NBA’s leading scorers (and where you might recognize them off the court) are:
| Rank | Player | Team | Avg | Pitching |
| 1 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | 31.8 | Under Armor, State Farm |
| 2 | James Harden | Houston Rockets | 28.8 | Adidas, Taco Bell |
| 3 | Kevin Durant | Oklahoma City Thunder | 26.8 | Sprint, Gatorade |
| 4 | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | 26.5 | Nike, McDonald’s, Kia |
| 5 | Paul George | Indian Pacers | 25.5 | Papa John’s, AT&T |
College Basketball
“The Force” was not with several top-10 ranked college basketball teams as #4 Kentucky, #5 Iowa State, #7 Duke, and #9 Purdue all lost Saturday. A December loss is not a big deal but this is likely a prelude to the upcoming March Madness. Stay tuned.
The new AP top-5 men’s college basketball teams are:
#1 Michigan State
#2 Kansas
#3 Oklahoma
#4 Maryland
#5 Virginia
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…Happy Holidays!!!
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