⚾️ Silver Sluggers Awarded, Big Games in College BBall, NFL News, + More!

Good Morning Blitzers,

It’s MLB award season once again. Why is it that professions with the most notoriety, fame, and money also need to be given awards? We need awards for the average Joe/Jane. Michael Scott had it right with the Dundie Awards. With that in mind, treat yourself today - buy yourself that cup of coffee, or pick yourself up a donut. You deserve it, because:

WTF Stat: Which college football team has the nation’s longest win streak? Army! That’s right. The Black Knights have won 13 games in a row (and are 9-0 on the season). They matched their record from their last perfect season 75 years ago. The 1949-50 seasons were also the last time Army had a winning streak this long. It was a 17-win run.

🏈 Week 12 college football playoff bracket has been updated. Lot of football left to be played.

• 🔥Take: Why is Penn State ahead of Indiana? Why does SMU’s one loss to the #6 ranked team by 3 points put them at #14? Why is undefeated Army ranked #16, one day after Veterans Day no less? Who knows. Since ultimately these early rankings don’t matter at all, and they have been proven to hold no precedent (see FSU being ranked #4 pretty much all year last year and then being dropped to #5 the last week despite winning out). Why not prop up unheralded teams? Do 2-loss Alabama and Georgia really care about being ranked in the top 12 right now? Boost teams like Indiana, SMU, Boise State, Army, and Kansas State. Give their fan base something to be psyched about. Then you can always screw them over later and put in as many SEC teams as possible, which is the plan all along.

⚾️ Here are your AL & NL Silver Slugger winners:

🏈 Bears have fired their offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, less than 10 months after being hired. The decision comes amid the Bears' offensive struggles, including poor performances from rookie QB Caleb Williams. The team has lost three straight games and ranks near the bottom of the NFL in key offensive categories such as points scored, yards per play, and third-down efficiency. Passing game coordinator Thomas Brown will fill the role of offensive coordinator.

• 🔥Take: Bears fans are out for blood and Matt Eberflus can’t blame himself so he needed someone else to point the finger at. Only problem is, if the offense doesn’t improve after this move then all of the blame will fall on Eberflus, it’s a last ditch effort, but one he had to play.

College Basketball Shootaround

We’ve talked a lot about the impact of name, image, and likeness (NIL) in college football, but it has really shifted the narrative in college basketball. More players are staying in college instead of making the leap to the pros thus shifting the preview narratives from purely talent to experience. The addition of highly talented players opting to jump straight to the G-League has put even more of a focus on keeping a core group in place and the teams at the top of the rankings now all have similar builds in that regard.

Already a week into the season, we’ve already seen some big programs do battle and there are several ranked match-ups on the horizon. This little shootaround on Wednesdays will serve as a brief update of what you may have missed and what’s on the horizon in college hoops.

In Case You Missed It

The State Farm Champions Classic - Tuesday, November 12th

#1 Kansas 77 - Michigan State 69: Senior Center Hunter Dickinson dominated with 28 points and 12 rebounds in the Jayhawks second big win over a blue blood program in the early goings of the season. Kansas edged out North Carolina over the weekend.

#19 Kentucky 77 - #6 Duke 72: The Blue Devils are incredibly talented, but also young, superstar in the making Cooper Flagg had a key turnover and Duke failed an early test against Kentucky. Huge win for new Wildcat head coach Mark Pope.

Games to Watch

Men’s Basketball

Friday, November 15

#2 Alabama at #13 Purdue - 7:00 PM (Peacock)

#9 Arizona at Wisconsin - 9:00 PM (Peacock)

#21 Ohio State at #23 Texas A&M - 9:00 PM (SEC Network)

Women’s Basketball

Friday, November 15

#2 UConn at #14 North Carolina - 6:00 PM (ESPN 2)

Saturday, November 16

#18 Louisville at #20 Kentucky

Men’s Basketball Power-5

1. Kansas (3-0)

2. Gonzaga (2-0)

3. Auburn (2-0)

4. UConn (2-0)

5. Alabama (2-0)

Women’s Basketball Power-5

1. South Carolina (2-0)

2. UConn (2-0)

3. USC (2-0)

4. Notre Dame (2-0)

5. LSU (2-0)

Top NBA Games

Pistons 123, Heat 121: Detroit secured their first NBA Cup win, edging Miami 123-121 in overtime after Miami was assessed a technical foul for calling a timeout when they had none left. Malik Beasley made a tiebreaking free throw with 1.1 seconds remaining, and added another free throw with 0.1 seconds left, sealing the victory.

Hawks 117, Celtics 116: Onyeka Okongwu's tip-in with 6.1 seconds left helped Atlanta overcome a 15-point second-half deficit to beat Boston 117-116 in their NBA Cup opener on Tuesday night. Jaylen Brown's buzzer-beater attempt missed, sealing the win for the Hawks. Dyson Daniels had a career-high 28 points, and Jalen Johnson contributed a triple-double with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Warriors 120, Mavericks 117: Stephen Curry once again took over at the end of the game and carried Golden State to victory. He scored the final 12 points of the game. His 28-foot step-back 3-pointer with 27.5 seconds left gave the Warriors a four-point lead, and his game-sealing free throws capped a 37-point performance. Klay Thompson, making his return to the Bay Area, also had a strong game for the Mavericks, tying his season-high with 22 points and hitting six 3-pointers.

See full NBA scoreboard here, and standings here.

Top NHL Games

Bruins 3, Blues 2: David Pastrnak scored with 1:47 remaining in the game to complete a dramatic comeback, as Boston rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat St. Louis. Pastrnak’s goal, which trickled through goalie Jordan Binnington’s pads, secured the win after the Bruins scored three times in the final period.

Jets 6, Rangers 3: The Jets made history last night by becoming the first team in NHL history to win 15 of their first 16 games, defeating the Rangers 6-3. Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each scored twice, with Gabriel Vilardi and Vladislav Namestnikov also contributing goals. Connor Hellebuyck had a stellar performance in net, making 33 saves to improve his record to 12-1-0.

Oilers 4, Islanders 3: Leon Draisaitl scored twice, including the overtime winner, and Connor McDavid had a goal and three assists to lead Edmonton Oilers to a 4-3 victory. McDavid, who is now one point away from 1,000 career points, assisted on Draisaitl's game-winner just 1:52 into overtime. Evan Bouchard also contributed with a goal and two assists.

See full NHL scoreboard here, and standings here.

On this day in 1979, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Willie Stargell and St Louis Cardinals first baseman Keith Hernandez are both awarded the NL MVP Award. They would share the award for the first time in MLB history (and it has not been shared since).

Yesterday’s Trivia Time Answer

Jalen Hurts rushed for his 50th TD on Sunday, becoming only the 3rd QB to eclipse the 50 TD mark, Cam Newton leads with 75 rushing TDs, who is the third member of this group?

D) Josh Allen - Allen sneakily has put up really impressive rushing stats in his career, he currently sits 7th all-time in QB rushing yards and 2nd all-time in TDs.

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