With the Christmas weekend behind us, I have one last gift for your stocking as I share all of my thoughts on the entire sports landscape. On deck:
(3:21) We're down to the final two weeks of the NFL regular season. Week 16 didn't disappoint as they were teams trending up (i.e. Panthers, Jaguars, Packers) and some heading south (i.e. Titans, Dolphins, Commanders) as the above, among others, are jockeying for position to get into the postseason. I'll break down all that took place over the weekend and where we're at to date as the AFC & NFC playoff picture becomes clearer.
(33:46) The NBA had their annual Christmas Day slate of five games, which didn't live up to the hype. Sixers-Knicks was competitive until the fourth quarter, before Philly took over and won. And what's this about James Harden possibly making a return to Houston at the end of the season? (CORRECTION: I made a mention of Tyrese Maxey returning soon to the Sixers lineup. I accidentally called him Tyrone. My apologies for the faux pas.) The Mavericks put up 51 third quarter points on LeBron & company as they take care of the Lakers. The Celtics pull away with a big win vs. the Bucks. Memphis was no match for Golden State as they try to become rivals with some trash talk. And Nikola Jokic shows why he's a two time, back to back MVP as he records another triple double in a win vs. the Suns.
(41:50) On the ice, things have been super quiet. As in, no games have been played since late last week. I don't recall the NHL taking a few days off over the Christmas holiday in years past. Maybe the NBA & NFL had something to do with it. The two big recent developments have been Alexander Ovechkin surpassing Gordie Howe for number two all time on the career goal scoring list. And the Hurricanes have blown by the Devils in the Metropolitan Division as Carolina has won eight in a row, while New Jersey has dropped eight of their last 11. The Winter Classic is on deck next Monday as the Flyers visit Boston to play the Bruins in Fenway Park.
(45:44) This Mets/Carlos Correa soap opera is starting to irritate me. The two parties are "working through" the medical issues that hung up the original deal between Correa and the Giants. Well, I have an excellent idea to solve this once and for all. Then you have former Cy Young Award winner, Trevor Bauer (remember him?) reinstated back into the MLB. Will the Dodgers release him? Or bring him back for his final year of his contract? There were a couple of minor signings that transpired. Craig Kimbrel signs a one year deal with Philadelphia. Former Mets OF Michael Conforto inks a two year deal with San Francisco. Same for relief pitcher, Taylor Rogers as he joins his twin brother Tyler in the bullpen on the Giants as well.
(55:01) Stephan Bonnar, who was part of The Ultimate Fighter reality show which put the UFC on the map and grew the sport exponentially because of it, dies at the age of 45 a few days ago due to heart complications.
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Intro/outro music by Cyklonus.