🦌 Did Someone Call a Doctor?

It’s Wednesday! The only thing the NBA does better than bad defense is drama. So after a pair of historic scoring performances on Monday, it was only right for Tuesday to bring “the tea” (that’s what my second wife calls gossip). A stunning firing, a win-now trade, and some suspicious doctor orders. Games were also played. In college ball, the men’s side saw its 16th top-10 upset in the past 14 days, while the TCU women hit the quad to find some players and an improbable victory. Speaking of victories, the Oilers have won quite a bit recently, but their historic winning streak was on the line last night in Columbus. Last but not least, the Australian Open semifinals are nearly set. Nobody panic! The Doc is in.

WTF Stat: If the Bengals need to replace OC Brian Callahan (who is expected to be hired as the Titans’ next head coach), it will mean that all 32 teams in the NFL have changed their offensive coordinator since the 2022 offseason.

🏀 Bucks fired first-year HC Adrian Griffin after 43 games, in which he led the team to a 30-13 record, and are reportedly pursuing former Celtics and 76ers HC Doc Rivers to replace him - Milwaukee assistant Joe Prunty will serve as their interim head coach

🏀 Heat acquired G Terry Rozier in a trade with the Hornets for G Kyle Lowry and a 2027 first-round pick - Rozier is averaging a career-high 23.2 points per game this season and 6.6 assists

⚾️ Former Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre, former Twins C Joe Mauer, and former Rockies 1B Todd Helton were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame - it was Beltre and Mauer’s first appearance on the ballot and Helton’s sixth

⚾️ Brewers plan to sign free-agent 1B Rhys Hoskins to a 2-year, $34M contract with an opt-out after the first season - Hoskins, 30, has spent his entire career with the Phillies but missed all of last season due to a torn ACL

🏈 Raiders hired former Chargers GM Tom Telesco as their next general manager - Telesco had been the Chargers GM since 2013 before being fired in December (one day after Los Angeles lost to Las Vegas 63-21)

College Basketball - Top Games

• NCAAM | South Carolina 79, #6 Kentucky 62: South Carolina lost 21 games last season. Now, they’re 16-3. The building was rocking in Columbia, and apart from freshman Rob Dillingham (16 PTS, 7-14 FG), the Wildcats couldn’t get anything to fall, while Talon Cooper (20 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST) and the Gamecocks were firing on all cylinders offensively to turn an eight-point halftime lead into a 17-point drubbing - it’s Kentucky’s (14-4) second loss in four games and South Carolina’s highest-ranked win since 2010

• NCAAM | Texas 75, #11 Oklahoma 60: Despite a slow start, Jalon Moore (15 PTS, 5 REB) and the Sooners only trailed by one with 11 minutes to play, but Max Abmas (22 PTS, 8-14 FG, 4 REB) and the Longhorns finished the game on a 20-6 run, as Texas pulled away from their rivals in Norman for their second top-11 win in four days - UT beat then-ranked No. 9 Baylor on Saturday

• NCAAM | #2 Purdue 99, Michigan 67: The Boilermakers never trailed and led 49-25 at the half as Zach Edey (16 PTS, 10 REB) and company pummeled Michigan at Mackey Arena to hand the Wolverines their seventh loss in eight games - Purdue (18-2) has now won four in a row after being upset by Nebraska on Jan. 9

• NCAAW | TCU 66, UCF 60: If you haven’t heard about this yet, you need to: TCU started the season 14-0 but then suffered four straight losses and had to forfeit two other games because they only had six players healthy due to injury. So, they held open tryouts and brought on four students in order to field a team. And last night, in their first game since Jan. 13, the Horned Frogs beat 9-8 UCF - one of the walk-ons, Sydney Sylvester (1 MIN, 0-1 3PT), who played four years of high school basketball, saw time last night but her only shot was blocked

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

• Denver Nuggets 114, Indiana Pacers 109: Nikola Jokic (31 PTS, 13 REB, 10 AST) notched his NBA-best 13th triple-double of the season, and Jamal Murray (31 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST) dropped 20 in the first half to propel the Nugs past Myles Turner (22 PTS, 6 REB) and the shorthanded Pacers, giving Denver sole possession of first place in the West with a 31-14 record - the Thunder (30-13) and Timberwolves (30-13) are just a half-game back of the defending champs

• Oklahoma City Thunder 111, Portland Trail Blazers 109: In a frantic final minute, Blazers HC Chauncey Billups got tossed with his team up one with 15 seconds remaining, and then Jalen Williams (19 PTS, 4 REB) knocked down the game-winning jumper with two ticks left to play to lift Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33 PTS, 6 REB, 10 AST) and the Thunder over Portland - OKC is 7-2 in their last nine games

• New Orleans Pelicans 153, Utah Jazz 124: The Pelicans went off last night. New Orleans scored a franchise 153(!) points as CJ McCollum (33 PTS, 9-13 3PT, 5 REB) looked liked he was playing against Duke in the 2012 NCAA tournament and splashed nine triples, while former Blue Devil Zion Williamson (17 PTS, 11 AST) dished out a career-high 11 assists to rout the Jazz in NOLA - the Pelicans (26-18) hold the fifth-seed in the West

• New York Knicks 108, Brooklyn Nets 103: Julius Randle (30 PTS, 9 REB, 7 AST) and Jalen Brunson (30 PTS, 4 AST) each had 30, and the Knicks outscored the Nets 32-18 in the 4th quarter to rally past their crosstown rivals despite Mikal Bridges’ (36 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) big night - New York (27-17) is now 10-2 since acquiring OG Anunoby (10 PTS, 5 REB, 4 STL) from the Raptors

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

NHL - Top Games

• Edmonton Oilers 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 1: Fourteen wins in a row! Connor McDavid (1 G) and Evander Kane (1 G) each scored amid a three-goal 3rd period for Edmonton, and Stuart Skinner (27 SV) was near perfect in net to stretch the Oilers’ franchise-record winning streak to 14 games, just three wins shy of the longest streak in NHL history (17) set by the 1992-93 Penguins - Edmonton is 22-3-0 in their last 25 games

• San Jose Sharks 3, New York Rangers 2 (OT): The Metropolitan-leading Rangers have now dropped seven of their past 10 games, and none were worse than last night as the bottom-feeding Sharks erased a 2-0 deficit in the 3rd period before Tomas Hertl (1 G) completed the comeback in overtime - New York (29-15-3) still holds a five-point lead over Philadelphia (25-17-6) in the division

• Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Philadelphia Flyers 3: Nikita Kucherov (3 G, 1 A) stuffed the stat sheet to move into the NHL lead with 80 points, and the Lightning bombarded the Flyers for their sixth win in seven games - it’s the Flyers’ third straight loss

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

🎾 Aussie Open Update

ATP Australian Open - Quarterfinals

Men’s Singles

• QF | #3 Daniil Medvedev vs. #9 Hubert Hurkacz (7-6, 2-6, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4): In a thrilling five-set marathon featuring some epic rallies, Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz won 164 points to Medvedev’s 156 and rallied in the fourth set to force a match-deciding fifth, but the Russian star secured a decisive break in the final set and overcame hampering fatigue to reach the Australian Open semifinals for the third time in four years - Medvedev will face the winner of Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, who began play at 5:00am ET

• QF | #1 Novak Djokovic vs. #12 Taylor Fritz (7-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3): In a grueling match early Tuesday morning, 26-year-old American Taylor Fritz gave Novak Djokovic everything he had, but after splitting the first two sets, the 10-time Australian Open winner broke the dam to ultimately oust Fritz in three hours and 45 minutes for his 33rd-straight victory in Melbourne - Djokovic will play in his record-extending 48th Grand Slam semifinal on Thursday versus Jannik Sinner

• QF | #4 Jannik Sinner def. #5 Andrey Rublev (6-4, 7-6, 6-3): Seeking his second career Grand Slam semifinal appearance, “the Fox” Jannik Sinner was down 5-1 in a second-set tiebreaker before winning six straight points to seize momentum and push aside Russia’s Andrey Rublev, setting up an intriguing showdown with the Joker - Sinner hasn’t dropped a set all tournament, and since losing to Djokovic in last year’s Wimbledon semifinals, has won two of his three matches against the 24-time major champion

• QF | #2 Carlos Alcaraz vs. #6 Alexander Zverev: Live Score

Women’s Singles

• QF | #2 Aryna Sabalenka def. #9 Barbora Krejcikova (6-2, 6-3): The red-hot Aryna Sabalenka had no problem with Czechia’s Barbora Krejcikova as the defending champion notched her fifth-straight sweep in as many rounds to set up a US Open final rematch against Coco Gauff on Thursday - after winning her first major in Melbourne last year, Sabalenka reached the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon before her run to the final in New York

• QF | Dayana Yastremska def. Linda Noskova (6-3, 6-4): Ranked 93rd in the world, 23-year-old Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska became the first qualifier since 1978 to reach the Australian Open semifinals as she breezed past the Czech teenager Linda Noskova last night to make history - Yastremska is two wins away from emulating Emma Raducanu, who became the only qualifier in women’s singles history to win a major with her 2021 US Open title

• QF | #12 Zheng Qinwen vs. Anna Kalinskaya: Live Score

See the full results here.

Semifinals Schedule

• Men’s | #1 Novak Djokovic vs. #4 Jannik Sinner Thursday (Time TBD)

• Men’s | #3 Daniil Medvedev vs. Alcaraz/Zverev Thursday (Time TBD)

• Women’s | #2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. #4 Coco Gauff Thursday 3:30am ET, ESPN2

• Women’s | Dayana Yastremska vs. Qinwen/Kalinskaya Thursday 5:00am ET, ESPN2

See the men’s singles bracket here and the women’s singles bracket here.

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When was the last time Novak Djokovic lost a match at the Australian Open?

A. 2021

B. 2020

C. 2019

D. 2018

On January 24, 1982, the 49ers defeated the Bengals 26-21 in Super Bowl 16 to win their first title in franchise history. Both teams earned victories in fabled conference championship games to get to the Super Bowl, held at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit. In the AFC Championship, Cincinnati took down the Chargers 27-7 in the infamous Freezer Bowl, the coldest game in NFL history with a "real feel" temperature of minus-59 degrees. In the NFC Championship, 49ers WR Dwight Clark made "The Catch" for a legendary last-second win against the Cowboys. In the Super Bowl, San Francisco jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime thanks to three Cincinnati turnovers. But Bengals QB Ken Anderson, that season's MVP, helped rally his team in the second half, and a late touchdown drive cut the Niners lead to five with 16 seconds remaining. However, Cincy failed to recover the ensuing onside kick, and the 49ers kneeled out the clock to seal the win. Joe Montana was named the game's MVP by throwing for 157 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 18 yards and another score. It was his first of four Super Bowl titles and his first of three Super Bowl MVPs - San Francisco now has five Super Bowls (1982, '85, '89, '90, '95)... will they make it six this February?

NBA

• Minnesota Timberwolves @ Washington Wizards 7:00pm ET, Local

• Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks 8:30pm ET, ABC

• Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs 9:30pm ET, ESPN

• Full Schedule

NHL

• Winnipeg Jets @ Toronto Maple Leafs 7:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Carolina Hurricanes @ Boston Bruins 7:30pm ET, TNT

• Chicago Blackhawks @ Seattle Kraken 10:00pm ET, TNT

• Full Schedule

College Basketball

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

• NCAAM: #8 Auburn @ Alabama 7:30pm ET, ESPN

• NCAAM: Kansas State @ #23 Iowa State 9:00pm ET, ESPN2

• NCAAM: Full Schedule

• NCAAW: Oklahoma @ #10 Texas 7:00pm ET, ESPNU

• NCAAW: Full Schedule

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Trivia Time Answer

D. 2018. The last time Novak Djokovic lost at the Australian Open was in 2018 when unheralded South Hyeon Chung swept him in the fourth round in a stunning upset. Since then, Djokovic has won every Aussie Open he’s been a part of (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023) and 33 straight matches - he did not compete in 2022 because of his COVID-19 vaccination status.

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Regarding the “suspicious doctor orders” in the intro, Doc Rivers was reportedly serving as an informal consultant to Adrian Griffin this season per the Bucks’ request. Now, he’s on the cusp of taking his job.