🏀 Hal You Like Me Now?

Hello, Friends. After opting out of bowl season, I’m back. Luckily for you, our co-founder and fill-in writer Danny Healey is far better at his job than Florida State’s backups, so if you notice a dip in quality today, don’t blame me, blame the system. But seriously, thanks for covering Danny — unlike Ohio State HC Ryan Day, it’s good to see one New England native perform well late in the season. Enough about us, though; let’s talk sports. After hanging 66 on the Pacers and then throwing a fit for not getting his game ball, Giannis bumped into Indiana on the playground for a highly-anticipated grudge match, but it was another star who shined at recess. Meanwhile, Zion Williamson was eating (in a good way), and the OG Knicks had MSG rocking. On the gridiron, the NFL Pro Bowl rosters were announced, including several big names who have also deemed Week 18 an exhibition. Last but not least, we had a big night of college hoops and a pair of NHL games. Happy Thursday!

WTF Stat: Georgia did not allow a single punt return during the entire 2023 season - we don’t mean a punt return touchdown, we mean a punt return!

🏈 Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, 49ers QB Brock Purdy, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Browns QB Joe Flacco, and Rams QB Matthew Stafford will not play in their respective Week 18 games this weekend - all of the aforementioned teams have already clinched a playoff berth

🏈 NFL revealed its 2024 Pro Bowl Games rosters, with Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and 49ers QB Brock Purdy selected as the starting quarterbacks for their respective conferences - San Francisco boasts a league-high nine selections, followed by Baltimore (seven), Dallas (seven), and Miami (six)

🏈 Washington RB Dillon Johnson is expected to play in Monday’s national championship against Michigan despite reaggravating a foot injury with under a minute to play during the CFP semifinal against Texas - Johnson has rushed for 1,162 yards and 16 touchdowns this season

NBA - Top Games

• Indiana Pacers 142, Milwaukee Bucks 130: Remember the last time these two met? Things weren’t quite as chippy this time around, but the NBA’s newest rivalry produced another high-scoring affair, and it was the Pacers who got the win, holding Giannis Antetokounmpo (26 PTS, 11 REB, 8 AST) and Damian Lillard (23 PTS, 5 AST) relatively in check while Tyrese Haliburton (31 PTS, 12 AST, 3 BLK, 0 TO) had himself an incredible night to lead his team to their fifth straight win - Milwaukee (24-10) has lost to Indiana four times this season, and Haliburton has 66 assists and four turnovers in the past four games

• New Orleans Pelicans 117, Minnesota Timberwolves 106: The Pels are rolling and picked up their fourth consecutive dub as Zion Williamson (27 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST) was a bully inside while CJ McCollum (24 PTS, 5 AST) was feeling it from outside to cruise past Anthony Edwards (35 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST) and the West-leading Wolves - Zion emphatically swatted Edwards at the rim, and New Orleans is 9-3 in their last 12 games

• New York Knicks 116, Chicago Bulls 100: Bing Bong! The Knicks are now 2-0(!) since trading RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Raptors for OG Anunoby (11 PTS, 8 REB, 2 STL), who was a game-best plus-35, while Julius Randle (35 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST) and Jalen Brunson (31 PTS, 13 AST) each dropped 30-pieces to top DeMar DeRozan (28 PTS, 4 AST) and the Raptors at the Garden

• Miami Heat 110, Los Angeles Lakers 96: The Lakers are moving in the wrong direction. Anthony Davis (29 PTS, 18 REB, 6 AST) did all he could, but LeBron James (12 PTS, 0-6 3PT, 6 REB, 9 AST) struggled, and Los Angeles fell to 2-8 in their past 10 games as Tyler Herro (21 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST) and seven other Heat players scored in double-figures for a road win, despite being without Jimmy Butler (illness) - the Lakers are now under .500 with a 17-18 record

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

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | Miami 95, #16 Clemson 82: PJ Hall (17 PTS, 6 REB) and the Tigers held a five-point lead at the break, but the Canes quickly took the lead after intermission and didn’t look back as Nijel Pack (25 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST) scored 20 points in the second half to storm past Clemson in Miami - The U went 12 of 14 in an 11-minute stretch during the second half and wound up shooting 21 for 28 (75%) in the final 20 minutes

• NCAAM | Seton Hall 61, #23 Providence 57: After five straight wins, including a 72-57 beatdown of Marquette, the Friars’ month-long heater came to an end at the hands of Seton Hall, who rode Kadary Richmond (16 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST) and Dre Davis (17 PTS) to pull away in the second half for another Big East upset - the Pirates beat No. 4 UConn on Dec. 20

• NCAAW | #6 Baylor 71, #23 TCU 50: In a battle between two unbeatens, Sedona Prince (20 PTS, 10 REB) and TCU led by five at the half, but the Bears are still king in the Big 12 and erupted in the final two quarters thanks to a brilliant shooting display from Bella Frontleroy (21 PTS, 5-6 3PT) to blowout the Toads in Waco, improving to 13-0 on the season

• NCAAW | #12 UConn 94, #21 Crieghton 50: The Huskies are red-hot! Following a 4-3 start, Geno Auriemma’s squad has now rattled off seven straight dubs, and the 2021 Player of the Year, Paige Bueckers (24 PTS, 5 REB, 7 AST, 4 STL), put on a show last night to rout Creighton in Omaha - UConn has taken down four ranked teams by an average margin of 30.3 points amid their winning streak

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

NHL - All Games

• New Jersey Devils 6, Washington Capitals 3: John Carlson (1 G) tied the game in the 2nd period to help Alex Ovechkin (2 A) and the Caps climb out of a 3-1 hole, but the Devs finished the game with three unanswered goals, including two from Michael McLeod (1 G), to snap their three-game skid - Nico Hischier (2 G, 1 A) and Dawson Mercer (2 G) also had a pair of goals for New Jersey

• Toronto Maple Leafs 2, Anaheim Ducks 1: Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal (55 SV), who is tied for 42nd in the NHL with a .893 save percentage, morphed into 1980 Jimmy Craig, and the Ducks held a 1-0 lead with six minutes remaining in the 3rd period. However, John Tavares (1 G) scored late to force overtime, where Auston Matthews (1 G) buried the winner, as the Leafs escaped with a hairy win - surprisingly, this was the Ducks’ first overtime loss of the season

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

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How many NFL teams did not have a single player named to the Pro Bowl this season?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 4

D. 5

On January 4, 1983, legendary Alabama HC Paul "Bear" Bryant officially retired after 46 years of coaching. Bryant began his collegiate football career as a player, serving as an end for Alabama from 1933-35. He then worked as an assistant for the Crimson Tide until 1940 before becoming the head coach at multiple schools (Maryland, Kentucky, and Texas A&M). However, Bryant's dream job was always to be the head coach at his alma mater. In 1958, after four years at Texas A&M, his dream came true. Bryant spent the rest of his coaching career at the helm in Tuscaloosa, where he amassed six national titles and 13 conference championships in 25 seasons. Upon his retirement, he held the record for the most wins (323) as a head coach in college football history. After his final game, Bryant was asked what he planned to do. He replied, "Probably croak in a week." The legendary ball coach passed away four weeks later at age 69 - who’s the better coach, Bear Bryant or Nick Saban?

NBA

• Milwaukee Bucks @ San Antonio Spurs 7:30pm ET, TNT

• Denver Nuggets @ Golden State Warriors 10:00pm ET, TNT

NHL

• Pittsburgh Penguins @ Boston Bruins 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• Colorado Avalanche @ Dallas Stars 8:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Florida Panthers @ Vegas Golden Knights 10:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Full Schedule

College Basketball

• NCAAM: Penn State @ Michigan State 7:00pm ET, Peacock

• NCAAM: Colorado @ #10 Arizona 9:30pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Full Schedule

• NCAAW: #1 South Carolina @ Florida 7:00pm ET, SECN

• NCAAW: #22 Florida State @ #3 NC State 7:00pm ET, ACCNX

• NCAAW: Duke @ #17 Louisville 8:00pm ET, ACCN

• NCAAW: Full Schedule

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Trivia Time Answer

C. 4. The Commanders, Packers, Panthers, and Patriots are the only teams without a Pro Bowler this season. However, Carolina and Green Bay both had multiple alternates named - it's the first time no Patriots player has been selected to the Pro Bowl since 2000.

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Tyreek Hill’s house caught on fire yesterday while he was at practice, but luckily, his family is safe, and nobody was harmed.