🔥 Brunson Burner

Happy Groundhog Dog! The only person more upset than Bill Murray this morning is Bill Belichick. You can’t “Do Your Job” if you don’t have one, and it looks like the greatest NFL coach of all time won’t be working next season, as the Commanders filled the last head-coaching vacancy yesterday by wrangling in a Cowboy. Unlike Belichick, Jalen Brunson is very much employed, but the *now* All-Star is still playing like rent’s due, and the Knicks keep collecting W’s like they’re stimulus checks. Meanwhile, another first-time All-Star celebrated his selection with a casual 50-piece. Did I mention the rest of the NBA All-Star rosters were announced yesterday? Sorry for the late notice. And while we’re at it, here’s another important alert: There’s a storm in Nebraska, and no lead is safe. Happy Friday!

WTF Stat: Thirty-nine AP Top-10 teams have lost to unranked opponents this season in men’s college basketball. That is the most through Feb. 1 in the poll era, which began in 1949 - we sleep in May.

🏈 Commanders plan to hire Cowboys DC Dan Quinn as their next head coach - Quinn, 53, was the Falcons’ head coach from 2015 to 2020 before spending the past three seasons with Dallas

🏀 NBA revealed the 14 reserves for this year’s All-Star Game, headlined by Warriors PG Steph Curry earning his 10th selection, and Knicks PG Jalen Brunson, 76ers PG Tyrese Maxey, and Magic F Paolo Banchero earning their first selections - the reserves will join the 10 starters (five from each conference) whom the NBA announced last week, and the game will be held in Indianapolis on Feb. 18.

🏀 76ers C Joel Embiid suffered a lateral meniscus injury in his left knee during Tuesday night’s loss to the Warriors and will be out for at least two games - Embiid, who was the odds-on favorite to win his second consecutive MVP before the injury, has missed 13 games this season, and if he misses four more he will be ineligible for the award (65-game minimum)

🏀 Rockets acquired C Steven Adams in a trade with the Grizzlies for G Victor Oladipo and three second-round picks - Adams suffered a knee injury in January 2023 and has not played since; he will not return this season

⚾️ Orioles acquired SP Corbin Burnes in a trade with the Brewers for IF Joey Ortiz, RP DL Hall, and the 34th pick in the 2024 draft - Burns, 29, was named to his third consecutive All-Star Game last season and won the NL Cy Young Award in 2021

NBA - All Games

• New York Knicks 109, Indiana Pacers 105: “I’ve got Knicks fever!” Jalen Brunson (40 PTS, 15-30 FG, 5 REB) celebrated his first career All-Star selection with a dazzling scoring display at the Garden, and New York rallied in the 4th quarter to top Tyrese Haliburton (15 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST) and the Pacers in a chippy battle for their ninth straight dub - New York is 15-2 in their last 17 games, and Brunson got emotional after the win when he received “MVP” chants

• Philadelphia 76ers 127, Utah Jazz 124: Another first-time All-Star, Tyrese Maxey (51 PTS, 7-9 3PT), had himself a pretty nifty night as well, as Philadelphia’s prince notched his second 50-piece of the season, capped by a pair of game-sealing free throws with 4.1 seconds left to propel the Sixers past Lauri Markkanen (28 PTS, 10 REB) and the Jazz, despite being without Joel Embiid - Maxey dropped 50 against Indiana on Nov. 12, which was his previous career high

• Los Angeles Lakers 114, Boston Celtics 105: No LeBron James. No Anthony Davis. No problem. Austin Reaves (32 PTS, 7-10 3PT) was unloading from downtown and hit a career-high seven triples as he and D’Angelo Russell (16 PTS, 8 REB, 14 AST) led the shorthanded Lakers to a much-needed win over Jayson Tatum (23 PTS, 8-21 FG, 7 REB) and the East-leading Celtics in Beantown - James sat out because of a left ankle injury and Davis was sidelined by an Achilles tendon issue

• Cleveland Cavaliers 108, Memphis Grizzlies 101: The Knicks are the hottest team in the league right now, but the Cavs are right there with ‘em as Cleveland picked up its 12th win in 13 games on the back of Donovan Mitchell (25 PTS, 7 AST), who has been nothing short of sensational since the New Year and earned his fifth consecutive All-Star selection yesterday

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

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | Nebraska 80, #6 Wisconsin 72 (OT): In an exhilarating comeback, CJ Wilcher (22 PTS, 5-7 3PT) and the Cornhuskers erased a massive 18-point deficit in the second half to force overtime, where they out-willed AJ Storr (28 PTS, 5-11 3PT) and a shaken Wisconsin squad to stun the Badgers in Lincoln - Nebraska (16-6) was 3-4 in their last seven games before yesterday… court-storming warranted!

• NCAAM | #11 Arizona 91, California 65: Oumar Ballo (22 PTS, 13 AST) had his way inside, and Arizona never trailed in a rout against lowly Cal to improve to 11-0 at home this season

• NCAAW | #12 Texas 67, #13 Baylor 55: Longhorns freshman Madison Booker (22 PTS) was the best player on the floor, and Texas held the Bears to a 35.1% (20-57) shooting night to earn back-to-back wins at Waco for the first time since the 2009-10 season - Baylor (16-4) has now lost three of their last four games

• NCAAW | #5 NC State 63, #24 North Carolina 59: The tension of a tight rivalry game got to both teams down the stretch as NC State’s Saniya Rivers (14 PTS, 9 REB) scored the only point in the final 3:45 on a free throw with seven seconds left, and the Wolfpack prevailed against Deja Kelly (21 PTS, 4 REB) and the Heels

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

English Premier League - Top Match

• Manchester United 4, Wolverhampton Wanderers 3: In a stirring match at Molineux that featured five goals in the final 30 minutes, Max Kilman (85’) cut the Wolv’s deficit to one and then Pedro Neto (90’+5’) struck a stunning equalizer late into stoppage time, but in the game’s waning moments, 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo (90’+7’) responded with a brilliant finish to give United an unbelievable win - the victory moved Man U (11-2-9) up to seventh in the table

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

What is the current “get-in” price (the cheapest ticket) for this year’s Super Bowl?

A. $2,000

B. $4,000

C. $6,000

D. $9,000

On February 2, 2020, the Chiefs defeated the 49ers, 31-20, in Super Bowl 54. Yes, the prequel to this year’s Super Bowl. After a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship the year prior, QB Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 12-4 record and their first Super Bowl appearance since 1969. Meanwhile, San Francisco went from picking second in the 2019 draft (where they selected DROY Joey Bosa) to an NFC-best 13-3 record, mainly in part due to a stellar defense and the emergence of QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Both teams won each of their playoff matchups by double-figures, setting up a heavyweight bout in Miami, FL, for the title. Following a 10-10 tie at the half, the Niners took control in the 3rd quarter and held a 20-10 lead midway through the 4th. But Mahomes washed away a lackluster three-plus quarters by rallying the Chiefs with three touchdown drives in the final six minutes, giving Kansas City a 31-20 victory. It was the franchise's first title in over 50 years, and Mahomes (315 YDS, 3 TDs, 2 INT) earned MVP for his late-game heroics. The Chiefs returned to the Super Bowl the following year but lost to Tom Brady's Buccaneers. Last season, Kansas City reunited with the Lombardi Trophy by beating the Eagles in Super Bowl 57. Now, back for the fourth time in five years, Mahomes and company will look to cement their dynasty, while San Francisco seeks revenge.

Friday

• NBA: Sacramento Kings @ Indiana Pacers 7:30pm ET, Local

• NBA: Golden State Warriors @ Memphis Grizzlies 8:00pm ET, NBA TV

• NBA: Portland Trail Blazers @ Denver Nuggets 9:00pm ET, Local

• NCAAM: Ohio State @ Iowa 7:00pm ET, FS1

• NCAAM: Butler @ #13 Creighton 9:00pm ET, FS1

• NCAAW: #15 USC @ #4 Stanford 10:00pm ET, Pac 12

• PGA: Pebble Beach Pro-Am 11:30am-5:00pm ET, ESPN+

Saturday

• EPL: Tottenham Hotspur @ Everton 7:30am ET, USA Net

• NBA: Brooklyn Nets @ Philadelphia 76ers 6:00pm ET, Local

• NBA: Los Angeles Lakers @ New York Knicks 8:30pm ET, ABC

• NCAAM: #1 UConn @ St. John’s 12:00pm ET, FOX

• NCAAM: #4 Houston @ #8 Kansas 4:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: #7 Duke @ #3 North Carolina 6:30pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: #5 Tennessee @ #10 Kentucky 8:30pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Full Schedule

• NCAAW: #3 Iowa @ Maryland 8:00pm ET, FOX

• NCAAW: Full Schedule

• NHL: All-Star Games 3:00-6:00pm ET, ABC

• PGA: Pebble Beach Pro-Am 11:30am-5:00pm ET, ESPN+

Sunday

• EPL: West Ham United @ Manchester United 9:00am ET, Peacock

• EPL: Liverpool @ Arsenal 11:30am ET, ESPN+

• NBA: Phoenix Suns @ Washington Wizards 3:30pm ET, NBA TV

• NBA: Los Angeles Clippers @ Miami Heat 6:00pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: #2 Purdue @ #6 Wisconsin 1:00pm ET, CBS

• NCAAM: Stanford @ #11 Arizona 8:00pm ET, FS1

• NCAAW: #10 Indiana @ #8 Ohio State 12:00pm ET, FS1

• NCAAW: #2 Kansas State @ #12 Texas 2:00pm ET, FS1

• NCAAW: #7 UCLA @ #4 Stanford 4:00pm ET, ESPN2

• NFL: Pro Bowl Games 3:00-7:00pm ET, ABC

• PGA: Pebble Beach Pro-Am 11:30am-5:00pm ET, ESPN+

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

D. $8,000. Prices for this year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas are the most expensive on record, with a get-in price hovering around $8,000, which is 35% more expensive than the $5,997 “get-in” price of the Super Bowl this time last year. The average price for a single ticket on the secondary market is north of $9,000.

Prime Lock of the Day

Subscribe to Blitz Prime to unlock this betting slip. For those already signed up, enjoy the winner!

Men’s College Basketball

• #7 Duke @ #3 North Carolina (Saturday, 6:30pm ET): Duke +4 (-110)

Some notes:

• Ravens TE Mark Andrews helped save a woman having an in-flight medical emergency on Thursday.

• I understand why Belichick wasn’t hired, but how in the world does Mike Vrabel not have a job??

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!