[Posted prior to two late NFL playoff games.]
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.
NFL Quiz: Name the top 10 for touchdown passes in the playoffs…No. 10 with 31. All of them played from 1979 on. Answer below.
College Football
It’s 10 Miami vs. No 1 Indiana (15-0) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Monday, Jan. 19…ticket prices are soaring.
Thursday in the Fiesta Bowl, Miami (13-2) had a thrilling 31-27 win over Ole Miss (13-2). The Hurricanes, in the same bowl game where they lost the 2002 national title, withstood an incredible final quarter of football that saw 25 combined points, Miami quarterback Carson Beck running untouched into the end zone for the go-ahead TD with just 18 seconds left. And then the Miami defense withstood a final desperation heave in the end zone by Rebel quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Beck won two national titles at Georgia while riding the bench, but failed to make it close in his two years as a Bulldog starter and now is here while his former team – the No. 3 seed in this Playoff – sits at home.
But what a season for Ole Miss after Lane Kiffin left for LSU and hired away multiple assistants…who then stayed on through the Playoff.
As for Miami, the controversial final pick for the CFP that didn’t even play in the ACC title game, they certainly have proved they belong.
Freshman receiver Malachi Toney turned a screen pass into a 36-yard touchdown that put the Hurricanes up 24-19, plus he had more key blocks as he did in the win over Texas A&M, and Mark Fletcher Jr., perhaps my favorite college player because he just makes the big plays, rushed for 133 yards on 22 carries.
But were the Rebels robbed on the final play of the game, what many said was pass interference? Certainly, looking at all the replays, it could have been called.
And then Friday night in the Peach Bowl, Indiana got off to a fast start, D’Angelo Ponds picking off Oregon QB Dante Moore and taking the first play from scrimmage to the house, 25 yards for a pick six.
Oregon (13-2) answered with a two-play, 75-yard drive, but then it was all Fernando Mendoza and IU, 35-7 at the half as the Hoosiers went on to dismantle the Ducks, 56-22.
Mendoza was once again awesome, surgically carving up the defense, 17 of 20, 177 yards and five touchdowns. The Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, has eight touchdown passes and five incompletions in his last two games, including the Rose Bowl.
As for Dante Moore, Jets fans and management, holding the No. 2 pick in the draft, couldn’t have liked what they saw, Moore with some poor passes and two lost fumbles, Dante the presumed second best QB, assuming he decides to go out and not stay with the Ducks another season.
At the national championship game, Indiana will attempt to give the Big Ten its third straight title, following Ohio State and Michigan the last two seasons.
–Back to Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss, the NCAA on Friday denied his request for a sixth year of college eligibility.
Chambliss became the improbable star of the team’s playoff run. After winning a Division II national championship at Ferris State, he transferred to Ole Miss last offseason, took over as starting quarterback three games into the season and led the Rebels (13-2) on one of the greatest runs in program history.
The NCAA said the request to extend Chambliss’ eligibility beyond five years cited “an incapacitating illness or injury” that prevented him from playing during the 2022-23 season, his second at Ferris State. He also did not play in any games as a freshman.
“Approval (of the waiver request) requires schools to submit medical documentation provided by a treating physician at the time of a student’s incapacitating injury or illness, which was not provided,” the NCAA said in its statement.
Ole Miss plans to appeal the ruling.
Chambliss had agreed to an NIL deal with Ole Miss, intended to keep him at the school in 2026. There was some speculation he would transfer to LSU to reunite with Lane Kiffin.
But should his appeal fail, Chambliss is definitely an NFL prospect.
—Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is entering the NFL Draft, he announced Wednesday. He is expected to be a first-round selection.
Simpson finished his junior season with 3,567 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions.
But he’s made only 15 starts.
—Wake Forest signed former North Carolina QB Gio Lopez, which was critical as Wake’s Deshawn Purdie went into the portal, Purdie the presumed starter next fall.
Lopez, who started 11 games for the Tar Heels, completed 65% of his passes for 1,747 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, playing on one of the worst offenses in the ACC under coach Bill Belichick.
But now Lopez is reunited with offensive coordinator Rob Ezell, the two having been together at South Alabama.
NFL
–It was a crazy first Saturday in the wild card playoffs. In the first game, 37-year-old Matthew Stafford (soon to be 38), probable NFL MVP this season, engineered a 71-yard drive with 0:38 to play to give the Rams (12-5) a 34-31 win over the Panthers (8-9) in Charlotte.
It was back and forth the entire second half, both teams with two touchdowns apiece in the fourth quarter, but Stafford and the Rams get to move on, the quarterback 24/42, 304, 3-1, while his opponent, Bryce Young of the Panthers was 21/40, 264, 1-1.
Los Angeles survived an awful dropped touchdown pass from Stafford to first-team AP All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua at the end of the first half, Nacua going on to catch 10 for 111 yards and a score.
I have to admit, this one was ending as Wake Forest-North Carolina was also finishing and I kept flipping back and forth but was more focused on the Deacs.
Late in the game, Stafford injured a finger on his throwing hand, and we are awaiting further information.
In the nightcap, the Bears trailed the Packers 21-3 at the half in Chicago, Green Bay seemingly in total control, but for the seventh time this season the Bears staged a mighty fourth-quarter rally to win it 31-27; Chicago and quarterback Caleb Williams putting up 25 points after trailing 21-6 after three.
The Bears still trailed 27-16 with 6:36 left, but Williams led two touchdown drives of 66 and 76 yards, culminating in a 25-yard TD pass to DJ Moore at the 1:43 mark, a 31-27 final.
It’s Chicago’s first playoff win in 15 years.
“True belief,” said Williams (24/48, 361, 2-2). “Belief. That’s all you need. You got belief in the coaches that they’re gonna call the right play at the right time. You got belief in the players on the field that you’re gonna make the right play at the right time.”
The Bears thus get to host another game next weekend and, whether it is Saturday or Sunday, it’s going to be bitterly cold.
Meanwhile, Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur’s future with the team would seem to be in doubt.
—Sunday, the Bills were at Jacksonville to face the Jaguars, and it was 10-7 Bills at the half, 13-10 after the third quarter, with not a lot of action and the kickers playing a major role.
Buffalo’s Matt Prater had field goals from 50 and 47 yards, while the Jags’ Cam Little, who this year hit an NFL-record 68-yarder, as well as from 67 last week, missed from 54 at the end of the half which would have tied it. He then hit from 43 in the third.
But Jacksonville was driving to start the fourth and completed it for a touchdown, the final six yards on a gorgeous pass, and catch, from Trevor Lawrence to Parker Washington…17-13 Jags.
Josh Allen then drove the Bills 65 yards for a TD, the final 15 to Dalton Kincaid…20-17 Buffalo, befitting the recent trend for fourth-quarter magic in the NFL, 8:56 to play.
Jacksonville comes right back, 77 yards on 10 plays, the big one a 31-yard connection from Lawrence to Washington, culminating in a 14-yard pass to Travis Etienne Jr. …24-20 Jags.
Allen then takes the Bills 66 yards, the big play a 36-yard pass to Brandin Cooks, Allen taking it in from the one with 1:04 to play, 27-24, the Jags with no timeouts…but they have Cam Little.
And on the first play, Lawrence throws a pass that is deflected into the arms of Buffalo’s Cole Bishop, game over.
Buffalo had lost its last eight postseason road games.
Just a terrific contest…the best of playoff football.
—As for the coaching carousel, Tuesday, after I posted, the Ravens fired John Harbaugh after 18 seasons, following the Ravens’ loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale that kept Baltimore out of the playoffs.
Harbaugh, 63, ranks 12th for most wins by a head coach in NFL history with 193 (including the playoffs) and guided the Ravens to a Super Bowl title in 2012.
But since that triumph, the Ravens were only 4-7 in the playoffs.
Nonetheless, he’s the big name in the coaching market today.
–The Miami Dolphins fired coach Mike McDaniel on Thursday, cutting ties after a second straight season of missing the playoffs. So this made the eighth NFL team with a head coaching opening.
The 42-year-old McDaniel finished with a 35-33 record. The quirky dude never really recovered from a 1-6 start this season, the team finishing 7-10.
—Travis Kelce acted like he wants to return, saying he would do so “in a heartbeat” if his body heals well this offseason, which means we’ll now have months full of speculation about the future Hall of Famer.
—AP All-Pro First Team
Offense
QB: Matthew Stafford, Rams
RB: Bijan Robinson, Falcons
FB: Kyle Juszczyk, 49ers
WRs: Puka Nacua, Rams; Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seahawks; Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals
TE: Trey McBride, Cardinals
All-Purpose: Christian McCaffrey, 49ers
LT: Garrett Bolles, Broncos
LG: Joe Thuney, Bears
C: Creed Humphrey, Chiefs
RG: Quinn Meinerz, Broncos
RT: Penei Sewell, Lions
Defense
Edge Rushers: Myles Garrett, Browns; Will Anderson Jr., Texans; Micah Parsons, Packers
Interior Linemen: Jeffery Simmons, Titans; Zach Allen, Broncos
LBs: Jack Campbell, Lions; Jordyn Brooks, Dolphins
CBs: Derek Stingley Jr., Texans; Quinyon Mitchell, Eagles
Slot Cornerback: Cooper DeJean, Eagles
Safeties: Kyle Hamilton, Ravens; Kevin Byard, Bears
Special Teams
PK: Will Reichard, Vikings
P: Jordan Stout, Ravens
Kick returner: Ray Davis, Bills
Punt returner: Chimere Dike, Titans
Special Teamer: Devon Key, Broncos
Long Snapper: Ross Matiscik, Jaguars
Second Team Offense
QB: Drake Maye, Patriots
RB: James Cook, Bills
FB: Patrick Ricard, Ravens
WRs: George Pickens, Cowboys; Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions; Chris Olave, Saints
TE: Kyle Pitts, Falcons
All-Purpose: Bijan Robinson, Falcons
College Basketball
–In big games during the week, Wednesday, 13 Alabama (11-4) lost at 11 Vanderbilt (15-0) 96-90.
—Saturday, 24 SMU (12-4, 1-2) had a tough assignment playing 6 Duke (15-1, 4-0) at Cameron Indoor without star point guard Boopie Miller, out with the flu. But the Mustangs hung tough, falling 82-75. SMU is a sleeper.
10 Nebraska stayed undefeated at 16-0, 5-0, with an 83-77 win at Indiana (12-4, 3-2).
But the big upset of the week was Wisconsin (11-5, 3-2) beating 2 Michigan 91-88, as the Wolverines (14-1, 4-1) suffered their first defeat.
So, No. 1 Arizona (16-0, 3-0), 86-73 winners at TCU (11-5, 1-2), will widen its lead in the next AP Poll.
3 Iowa State (16-0, 3-0) will move up to No. 2 after an 83-71 win against Oklahoma State (13-3, 1-2).
–And then there’s Wake Forest, which fell to 10-7, 1-3, after a tough 87-84 loss at 17 North Carolina (14-2, 2-1).
The Deacs were down 15 in the second half and came roaring back behind Juke Harris and Nate Calmese, each with 28 points, but our lack of rebounding has killed us all season.
Cooper Schwieger played 29 minutes and the 6’10” big man had zero rebounds! This comes after he had zero in 16 minutes on Wednesday in another heartbreaking loss, 81-77 against solid Miami, though in that one, Harris missed two critical free throws down the stretch.
I am so freakin’ jealous watching every other college basketball team have at least one big man who can command the boards.
—Rutgers basketball fans are in the midst of another tough season, falling to 16 Illinois on Thursday night, 81-55. It marked their fourth defeat in as many games against teams ranked in the Top 25, with an average margin of defeat of 27 points in those games. Six of its losses have been by double digits.
NBA
–It’s been a frustrating time for us Knicks fans, post-NBA Cup when we looked like legitimate title contenders. Not today having lost five of six, including Friday night’s 112-107 loss at Phoenix (23-15), New York (24-14) with 17 turnovers!
—Saturday, the Spurs (27-11) had a nice 100-95 win over the Celtics (24-14) in Boston.
But I can’t help but note a game between the Hornets (14-25) and Jazz (13-25) won by Charlotte 150-95.
The Hornets had nine players in double figures, led by Tre Mann with 20 points in just 12 minutes. The score was 77-38 at the half.
–The Atlanta Hawks traded four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young to Washington, veteran combo guard CJ McCollum and wing Corey Kispert going to Atlanta.
Young, 27, and his agents have been working with Hawks officials in recent days to find him a new home. Washington has some young talent, and Young wanted to go here to resurrect his career and get physically ‘right.’
He missed 22 games because of a knee sprain from Oct. 31 to Dec. 14 and the Hawks posted a 13-9 record without him.
Young returned from the injury and Atlanta promptly lost all five games he played in before suffering a right quadriceps confusion. The sprain, though, is not fully healed, and Washington will give him as much time as he needs to get completely healthy. He has a $49 million player option for the 2026-27 season.
–The Memphis Grizzlies are open to trade offers for two-time NBA All-Star guard Ja Morant ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
But who would want this jerk?!
MLB
–The Cubs reached agreement on a five-year, $175 million contract Saturday with 3-time All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman.
Bregman, who turns 32 in late March and received interest from multiple teams, including the Mets and Yankees, is a clutch hitter with power, .846 career OPS, and he’s a Gold Glove winner. Just a great piece, if you can afford to shell out $175 million.
—Max Kepler was suspended for 80 games after the veteran outfielder tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug Epitrenbolone, MLB announced on Friday.
Kepler, 32, is a free agent. In 2025, he played 127 games in his lone season with the Phillies in which he hit just .216 with 18 homers.
–The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has for now denied the A’s request to trademark the names “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics.”
The club, which intends to move to Nevada in 2028, has three months from when the refusals were issued Dec. 29 to ask for an extension to file a new application within a six-month period.
The A’s were told the nickname “Athletics” was too generic and could be confused with other activities even if associated with Las Vegas.
That, however, has been the club’s nickname since the Philadelphia Athletics began playing in 1901. The A’s kept the nickname when they moved to Kansas City in 1955 and Oakland in 1968.
Golf
—Brooks Koepka applied for reinstatement on the PGA Tour, according to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach. Schlabach’s sources say that “once Koepka reapplies for membership, the Tour will start its reinstatement and disciplinary process, which will include ‘thoughtful input from the board, including player directors.’”
Tiger Woods is going to be critical in this process. He knows what’s best for the game and it will be his job to convince others, especially the real rank-and-file who are on the fringe of making Signature Event fields, or looking to keep their Tour cards.
Personally, I’d let Koepka return for the Fall Season, which would mean there was some penalty paid. He’s already in the four majors. And he could play the DP World Tour to keep his game sharp.
—Adam Schupak of Golfweek had a series of stories on the issues involving Kapalua’s Plantation Course and the story behind the PGA Tour having to cancel the season-opening Tournament of Champions on this gorgeous venue.
No need to get into all the water issues again, but the facts are the Tour had to cancel the event on Sept. 16 because the course wasn’t playable.
The owners of the resort, however, put all their resources (including closing another course) to focus on rehabbing Plantation and it reopened for public play on Nov. 10.
The week the Tour should have been playing on it, conditions were pristine and 150 golfers a day are playing $475 to play the course.
It wasn’t the Tour’s fault. They had no choice. But it might have helped cement the Tour’s new view that Hawaii could be excluded from the official season in the future.
The Sony Open in Honolulu is this coming weekend. Finally, real golf….
Premier League
–We had third-round FA Cup action this weekend, and in perhaps the biggest upset in history, Macclesfield eliminated last year’s Cup winner, Crystal Palace, 2-1.
Macclesfield, who play in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football (think lowest rung in baseball’s minors, to give a comparable example), are the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition.
Managed by John Rooney – the brother of former Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney – Macclesfield began the day 117 places below Palace in the football pyramid.
The victory means they become the first non-league side to knock out the defending Cup holders in 117 years.
It marks just the third time this century that a non-league side has knocked out Premier League opposition.
–In other action, Manchester City beat League One’s (Double-A) Exeter 10-1, the other side of the coin.
Stuff
–The amazing Lindsey Vonn, 41 and with a knee rebuilt with titanium implants, won her second downhill of the World Cup season at Zauchensee, Austria on Saturday. Incredible.
But American Jacqueline Wiles, 33, took third, just the fourth podium finish of her career (zero wins). That’s cool. The Olympics are going to be fun.
—Amber Glenn won the women’s title at the 2026 U.S. figure skating championships in St. Louis Friday night, topping reigning world champion Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito to secure her third consecutive national title. All three are locks to make the Olympic roster. Milano Cortina will be Glenn’s Olympic debut.
Saturday, Ilia Malinin won his fourth straight U.S. title, blowing away the men’s field, and leaving the other two spots on the Olympic team up in the air.
Malinin, Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin are the three faces of Team USA overall.
—The New York Rangers lost to the Bruins 10-2 on Saturday. Pavel Zacha and Marat Khusnutdinov had hat tricks (Khusnutdinov with four goals), giving the Bruins their first pair with hat tricks in the same home game in club history.
This better be rock bottom for my Rangers. It sure can’t get worse.
—Hall of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall died. He was 94.
Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961 and was named the most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal.
But Hall’s run of 502 consecutive starts in net (1955-56 to 1962-63) is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row! Good Lord.
Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league’s top goalie with Chicago in 1963 and ’67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six to 12 teams, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence.
Hall was in net when Boston’s Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that’s among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed.
–We note the passing of Bob Weir, the guitarist who co-founded the Grateful Dead. He was 78.
Weir, a cornerstone of the California psychedelic rock group and many of its offshoots, passed away after a battle with cancer and lung issues, according to a post on his Instagram.
“There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again,” the post says, noting his hopes that his legacy and lengthy catalogue will live on.
The post says he “transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.”
“He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him,” the post continues. “May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads.”
With a career spanning more than 60 years, Weir’s big break was in 1965 with the founding of the Grateful Dead. Within a few years, they became a force within San Francisco’s characteristic counterculture, becoming a pioneer of ‘jam bands.’
The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Grammy’s in 2007.
Top 3 songs for the week 1/11/75: #1 “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” (Elton John) #2 “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything” (Barry White) #3 “Junior’s Farm / Sally G” (Paul McCartney & Wings)…and…#4 “Laughter In The Rain” (Neil Sedaka…great tune…) #5 “Mandy” (Barry Manilow) #6 “Only You” (Ringo Starr) #7 “Boogie On Reggae Woman” (Stevie Wonder) #8 “Please Mr. Postman” (Carpenters) #9 “Kung Fu Fighting” (Carl Douglas) #10 “One Man Woman/One Woman Man” (Paul Anka with Odia Coates…B week…)
NFL Quiz Answer: Top 10 in touchdown passes in the playoffs.
Tom Brady 88 (2000-2022)
Patrick Mahomes 46 (2017-2025)
Aaron Rodgers 45 (2005-2025)
Joe Montana 45 (1979-1994)
Brett Favre 44 (1991-2010)
Peyton Manning 40 (1998-2015)
Drew Brees 37 (2001-2020)
Ben Roethlisberger 36 (2004-2021)
Dan Marino 32 (1983-1999)
Kurt Warner 31 (1998-2009)
- Terry Bradshaw 30 (1970-83)
John Elway and Russell Wilson are next at 27.
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.
