🏀 Top 5's Tumble

Today is Wednesday. Grab your nitroglycerin pills! It’s the last day of January, but March is already rearing its underdog head. We had a pair of thrilling top-five upsets last night in men’s college hoops as two of the nation’s hottest teams were cooled off by unranked opponents. In the NBA, New York has Knicks fever (side effects: excessive levels of Vitamin W), while Joel Embiid is back on the IL and running out of PTO if he wants to win MVP. Football was also played yesterday — in the Premier League. And the Orioles finally have an ownership group that’s willing to spend some money — if they have any left. According to sources, they do. Let’s play ball!

WTF Stat: No player who finished his collegiate career at Alabama has ever scored a point in the Super Bowl. The streak will continue this season, as the 49ers and Chiefs have no Crimson Tide players on their active rosters - players from 143 other colleges have scored in the Super Bowl, ranging from Coast Guard (1 point) to Miami (84).

⚾️ Orioles owner John Angelos has reportedly agreed to sell the team for $1.725 billion to private equity billionaires David Rubenstein and Mike Arougheti - the deal is still awaiting approval by the MLB and the other 29 team owners

🏈 Lions OC Ben Johnson told the Commanders and Seahawks that he’s no longer available for their vacant head-coaching positions and will stay in Detroit - Johnson, 37, just completed his second season as the Lions’ play-caller and was considered a top head-coaching candidate

🟠 Tennessee is under NCAA investigation for alleged NIL violations in multiple sports that are considered to be “major” - Tennessee is already on probation after the NCAA fined the Volunteers’ football program more than $8 million in July for multiple infractions

🏒 Flyers G Carter Hart, Flames F Dillon Dube, Devils F Michael McLeod, and Devils D Cal Foote were charged with sexual assault in connection to an incident that occurred in 2018 in London, Ont. while they were members of Canada’s world junior hockey team - all four players had previously been granted leaves of absence from their NHL teams

Men’s College Basketball - Top Games

• Georgia Tech 74, #3 North Carolina 73: The Tar Heels were perhaps looking ahead to Friday’s date with No. 7 Duke because they got caught sleeping on a sub-.500 Georgia Tech squad that controlled much of the second half, and although RJ Davis (28 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST) put North Carolina up one with 34 seconds remaining, Naithan George (16 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST) kissed a beautiful layup off the glass for the game-winning bucket with 7.7 ticks left, as the Yellow Jackets snapped the Heels 11-game winning streak - Davis missed a last-second floater on the ensuing possession, and it’s North Carolina’s first loss in ACC play (10-1)

• South Carolina 63, #5 Tennessee 59: The Flamethrower, Dalton Knecht (31 PTS, 7 REB), did everything he could for the Vols, scoring 12 points in the final three minutes, but South Carolina had Tennessee’s number all night, and Ta’Lon Cooper (18 PTS, 4-5 3PT, 5 REB) nailed a dagger three in the final minute to give the Gamecocks their first road win over a top-five team since 1997 - South Carolina (18-3) also beat No. 10 Kentucky on Jan. 23, who will meet the Vols on Saturday

• #9 Marquette 85, Villanova 80: The 2023 Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek (32 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST) scored a career-high, and despite blowing a 20-point lead, Marquette survived a road upset by edging out Eric Dixon (24 PTS, 6 AST) and a struggling Villanova squad - Marquette (16-5) has won five straight games after back-to-back losses to Seton Hall and Butler

See the full men’s scoreboard here and the current rankings here. See the full women’s scoreboard here and the current rankings here.

NBA - Top Games

• Golden State Warriors 119, Philadelphia 76ers 107: Steph Curry (37 PTS, 8-13 3PT, 8 REB, 7 AST) put on a vintage performance, Jonathan Kuminga (26 PTS, 7 REB) wasn’t too shabby either, and the Warriors handed the 76ers their fourth straight loss. But the story of the night was Joel Embiid (14 PTS, 5-18 FG, 7 REB, 8 TO), as the MVP favorite left the game late in the 4th quarter after reaggravating his left knee injury, which kept him out of Philly’s last two outings - Embiid has missed 12 games this season, and if he misses five more, he will be ineligible for individual NBA awards, including the MVP

• New York Knicks 118, Utah Jazz 103: Donte DiVincenzo (33 PTS, 9-15 3PT, 4 AST) drilled a career-high nine triples, and Jalen Brunson (29 PTS, 9 AST) was sensational again as the Knicks breezed by Collin Sexton (22 PTS, 6 AST) and the Jazz at the Mecca for their ninth-straight W - New York (31-17) finishes January with a 14-2 record, their most wins in a month since going 14-0 in March of 1994

• Boston Celtics 129, Indiana Pacers 124: Jayson Tatum (30 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST) and Derrick White (24 PTS, 5 AST) were operating, and Tatum had a big-time block in the closing seconds to seal a late Celtics’ win, spoiling Tyrese Haliburton’s (13 PTS, 5-16 FG, 10 AST) return from a hamstring injury - Boston (37-11) will finish January with the league’s best record

• Atlanta Hawks 138, Los Angeles Lakers 122: After a thrilling double-overtime win against the Warriors on Saturday, LeBron James (20 PTS, 9 REB, 8 AST) and the Lakers have dipped below .500 with back-to-back losses, as Trae Young (26 PTS, 13 AST), Dejounte Murray (24 PTS, 9 AST), and the Hawks hammered Los Angeles in Atlanta - Anthony Davis sat out last night after Monday’s loss to the Rockets

See the full NBA scoreboard here and the current standings here.

NHL - Only Games

• Columbus Blue Jackets 1, St. Louis Blues 0: Columbus’ Elvis Merzlikins (21 SV) and St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington (21 SV) were outstanding, but Dmitri Voronkov (1 G) broke a scoreless tie with 4:11 left in the 3rd period to snap the Blues’ season-high five-game winning streak - St. Louis heads into the All-Star break with a 26-21-2 record

• San Jose Sharks 2, Seattle Kraken 0: The Kraken couldn’t get anything past Mackenzie Blackwood (32 SV), as he, Marc-Edouard Vlasic (1 G), and Jan Rutta (1 G) led the Sharks to a shutout win in San Jose - the Sharks (14-32-4) have won four of their last five games to move two points ahead of the Blackhawks at the bottom of the NHL standings

See the full box scores here and the current standings here.

English Premier League - Top Matches

• Arsenal 2, Nottingham Forest 1: Gabriel Jesus (65’) drew first blood and then set up Bukayo Saka (72’) seven minutes later, and Arsenal held on to top Taiwo Awoniyi (89’) and Forest at the City Ground, moving the Gunners within two points of league-leaders Liverpool

• Newcastle United 3, Aston Villa 1: The Magpies are back! Fabian Schar (32’, 36’) netted a quick brace before an own goal in the 52nd minute gave Newcastle a comfortable 3-0 advantage, as the Magpies picked up a crucial victory against fourth-place Villa - Newcastle (10-2-10) had lost six of its previous seven league games to fall out of the top four

See the full soccer scoreboard here and the current EPL table here.

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The Chiefs’ win over the Ravens on Sunday was the most-watched AFC Championship Game ever. How many viewers did it draw?

A. 55 million

B. 62 million

C. 69 million

D. 74 million

On January 31, 2000, Ravens LB Ray Lewis and his entourage were involved in a fight that resulted in the stabbing deaths of two men. The homicides took place in Atlanta, the site of Super Bowl 34, between the Rams and Titans on January 30. At an afterparty, at 4:00am, a physical altercation broke out between Lewis' camp and another group, where Jacinth Baker and Richard Lollar were ultimately stabbed to death. Lewis and his crew left the scene in his limousine, where authorities later found Baker's blood inside the vehicle. The white suit Lewis wore that night was never found, but a knife (with no traces of DNA) was recovered at the crime scene, which had been purchased by Lewis' friends, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting, the day before. Eleven days later, Lewis, Oakley, and Sweeting were indicted on murder charges. Two weeks into his trial, Lewis' attorneys negotiated a plea agreement in which the murder charges against the linebacker were dismissed in exchange for his testimony against Oakley and Sweeting and his guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice. Lewis admitted he gave a misleading statement to police on the morning after the killings (initially telling them that he was not at the scene), and he was sentenced to 12 months probation. Oakley and Sweeting were later acquitted of the charges in June 2000, and no other suspects have ever been arrested for the incident - Lewis and the Ravens would go on to win the Super Bowl the following year.

NBA

• Dallas Mavericks @ Minnesota Timberwolves 8:00pm ET, Local

• Phoenix Suns @ Brooklyn Nets 8:30pm ET, ABC

• Milwaukee Bucks @ Portland Trail Blazers 10:00pm ET, ESPN

• Full Schedule

NHL

• Ottawa Senators @ Detroit Red Wings 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Los Angeles Kings @ Nashville Predators 7:30pm ET, TNT

• San Jose Sharks @ Anaheim Ducks 10:30pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

College Basketball

• NCAAM: Notre Dame @ Virginia 7:00pm ET, ESPN2

• NCAAM: Florida @ #10 Kentucky 8:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Providence @ #1 UConn 8:30pm ET, FS1

• NCAAM: Full Schedule

• NCAAW: #2 Kansas State @ Oklahoma 7:00pm ET, ESPN+

• NCAAW: #3 Iowa @ Northwestern 8:00pm ET, Peacock

• NCAAW: Full Schedule

English Premier League

• Burnley @ Manchester City 2:30pm ET, Peacock

• Chelsea @ Liverpool 3:15pm ET, Peacock

Grab $20 off tickets to your favorite games, concerts and events using code TORCH20 at Vivid Seats - Promo is for first-time buyers and orders over $200!

Trivia Time Answer

A. 55 million. Despite being in the early window (the first of two conference championships), the Chiefs’ win over the Ravens on Sunday averaged 55.473 million viewers, making it the most-watched AFC Championship Game ever. The game peaked with more than 64 million viewers. The previous record was 54.850 average viewers for the Jets-Steelers AFC title game in 2011, which was held in the late window. Additionally, Sunday’s game was the most-watched non-Super Bowl program on CBS in 30 years since the 1994 Winter Olympics in primetime - as noted yesterday, Sunday’s NFC Championship Game between the 49ers and Lions drew 56.6 million viewers.