🏈 Penn State vs Notre Dame Preview, Cavs vs OKC Showdown, + More!

Morning Blitzers,

Hope you’re staying safe from the Los Angeles fires. The LA Kings’ game was postponed last night and we may see the Rams’ home playoff game move down to Arizona if things don’t improve. Stay safe out there!

WTF Stat: It seems like the Cleveland Cavaliers are quietly having a historic season. They're only one game off the pace of the 95-96 Bulls! Yet, they have the 4th-best odds to win it all this year (at +1000), well behind OKC (+245), Boston (+250), and the New York Knicks (+950).

🏈 QB Jalen Hurts returned to practice on Wednesday, taking part in limited activities as the Philadelphia Eagles prepare for their wild-card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. Hurts, who suffered a concussion on December 22, missed the final two regular-season games. QB Jordan Love of the Packers says he is ‘hopeful’ to play after leaving last week’s game with an elbow injury.

⚾️ There are still a few big names remaining on the MLB free agent market. Here is a rundown of the biggest names, and some potential landing spots:

Roki Sasaki, Pitcher - Former Chiba Lotte Marine (Japan), 23 years old

Last Season: 10-5, 2.35 ERA, 111 IP, 129 Ks

Teams in Contention: Padres, Giants, Cubs, Mets, Dodgers, and many more rumored

Alex Bregman, Third Base - Former Houston Astro, 2x All-Star, 30 years old

Last Season: .260/.315/.453 - 26 HRs, 75 RBI

Teams in Contention: Tigers, Mets, Phillies, Red Sox

Pete Alonso, First Base - Former Met, best pure power hitter available

Last Season: .240/.329/.459 - 34 HRs, 88 RBI

Teams in Contention: Mets, Astros, Yankees

Anthony Santander, Right Field - Former Oriole, high-risk, high-reward switch-hitting OF

Last Season: .235/.308/.506 - 44 HRs, 102 RBI

Teams in Contention: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, and Tigers

Thursday Night Playoffs - Orange Bowl - Penn State vs. Notre Dame

Game: #6 Penn State (13-2) vs. Notre Dame (13-1) at 4:30 EST on ESPN

Preview: A matchup between two historic, prestigious programs that haven’t brought home a national title since the '80s. Unlike some of the previous playoff game matchups (that everyone complained about), this one looks to be pretty even. Add in some trash talk (see above), and this is appointment television tonight. For those looking for a run-and-gun, light-up-the-scoreboard type of game, this probably won’t be it. Penn State is 58th in the country in passing yards per game, while Notre Dame sits at 108th. The over/under is only 45.5 points, so set your expectations appropriately.

Key Matchup: Which QB steps up? - I don’t think it’s far-fetched to say that Notre Dame’s QB, Riley Leonard, and Penn State’s QB, Drew Allar, have been game managers this year. Leonard threw for only 90 yards in the win against Georgia, while Allar has been a bit more effective, but he’s still thrown for less than 200 yards in both playoff games, while completing only 55% of his passes. Notre Dame and Penn State are deep at RB, with great rushing attacks and rushing defenses, so that will most likely be the focus for both teams. But which QB can step up and make the few key plays when needed, especially if this game comes down to the wire?

The Pick: Notre Dame -1.5 - ND is 11-2-1 against the spread this year.

Top NBA Scores

• Cavaliers 129, Thunders 122: The Cavaliers have ended the OKC’s 15-game winning streak. Jarrett Allen led the Cavs with 25 points, while Evan Mobley added 21. Despite a subpar performance from Donovan Mitchell (11 points on 3-of-16 shooting), Cleveland extended their own winning streak to 11 and improved their record to 32-4.

• Nuggets 126, Clippers 103: Jamal Murray finished with 21 points and nine assists, while Russell Westbrook contributed 19 points and eight assists. The Clippers were missing their star forward, Kawhi Leonard, who left to address family matters related to wildfires, and the Nuggets played without Nikola Jokic due to illness.

• Bucks 121, Spurs 105: Damian Lillard scored 26 points and dished out eight assists, while Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 25 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assists. Brook Lopez added 22 points, including 17 in the first half, as the Bucks bounced back from a recent slump.

See full NBA scoreboard here, and standings here.

Top NHL Scores

• Capitals 2, Canucks 1: Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice, including the game-winner in overtime, as the Capitals defeated the Canucks 2-1. Dubois' second goal came with 40.3 seconds left in the 3-on-3 overtime

• Blackhawks 3, Avalanche 1: Connor Bedard scored a goal and added an assist to help Chicago win 3-1. Frank Nazar and Ilya Mikheyev also scored for the Blackhawks, who had been struggling with six losses in their last seven games.

• Panthers 4, Utah Hockey Club 1: A strong game for goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who saved 27 shots, helping the Panthers win 4-1. The Panthers got out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Sam Reinhart and Jesper Boqvist, and they never looked back. They scored two empty-net goals in the final two minutes for good measure.

See full NHL scoreboard here, and standings here.

On this day in 1952, Ted Williams' name was called from a list of inactive reserves to serve on active duty in the Korean War. Earlier in Williams’ career he missed three full seasons (1943-1945) because he was serving in World War II. Williams would only play six major league games in the 1952 season, before beginning refresher flight training for the Korean War. He returned at the end of the 1953 season in August, played 37 games hitting .407 with an OPS of 1.410.

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

According to Sportrac, which MLB team is projected to have the highest salary in 2025?

B) Los Angeles Dodgers - Just ahead of the Yankees, see full list here:

Check back tomorrow for the answer to today's trivia question and more info!