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Bar Chat

11/18/2024

Talkin' Football

Add-on posted early Tuesday a.m.

NFL

--In late games Sunday after I posted....

The Bills (9-2) ruined the Chiefs (9-1) perfect season, 30-21, as Patrick Mahomes was once again mediocre, 23/33, 196, 3-2, 90.0, while Josh Allen, 27/40, 262, 1-1, 83.5, had the play of the game, a 26-yard touchdown run with 2:17 to play, that as the great Jim Nantz proclaimed as Allen crossed the goal line was the “play of the year in the NFL,” given the importance of the moment.

So you hope these two are in the Conference Championship game again, but there are a few fans that wouldn’t mind someone else rather than the Chiefs, like maybe the Chargers.  [Let alone Baltimore and Pittsburgh might have something to say about this in the AFC.]

L.A. is 7-3 after a 34-27 win over the Bengals on Sunday night.  The Chargers were up 27-6 with 10:29 to play in the third when Joe Burrow and the Cincy offense got their act together, Burrow throwing three touchdown passes to get the game even at 27-27.

But then L.A. went 84 yards on four plays, the last a super 29-TD scamper by JK Dobbins for the win with just 0:18 to play.

In other late games, the Seahawks stayed relevant at 5-5, 20-17 over the 49ers (5-5), as Geno Smith ran it in from the 13-yard line with just 0:12 to play, capping an 80-yard drive.  Good for Geno.

And my man, Bo Nix, continues to improve rapidly in his rookie season in Denver, leading the Broncos (6-5) to a dominating 38-6 win over the Falcons (6-5) at Mile High, Nix 28/33, 307, 4-0, 145.0.  As Larry David would say, “Pretty, pretty good...”

--Monday night...the Texans (7-4) beat the Cowboys (3-7) 34-10 at Jerry World, as a piece of the roof fell off before the game, no one hurt, and then Joe Mixon rushed for 109 yards and three touchdowns for Houston, Dallas 0-5 at home this season.

--The Giants, coming out of a bye week, did what a lot of folks thought they would do, bench Daniel Jones, Jones probably playing his last game as a Giant.  Tommy DeVito, aka Tommy Cutlets, gets the nod over Drew Lock.  Certainly the fan base will be fired up for at least one week, New York hosting Tampa Bay next Sunday.  DeVito will have the full support of everyone in the stadium.

College Football

Conference Standings

AAC

Tulane 7-0
Army 7-0...these two to battle it out for the title

ACC

SMU 6-0...at Virginia, Cal
Clemson 7-1...conference schedule finished
Miami 5-1...Wake Forest, at Syracuse (which could be a good one)

It’s still complicated...none of the three will have played each other, but Miami beat Louisville, while Clemson lost to the Cardinals.

Big Ten

Oregon 8-0
Indiana 7-0
Ohio State 6-1
Penn State 6-1

All about Indiana at Ohio State this Saturday...period.

Big 12

BYU 6-1...at ASU, Houston
Colorado 6-1...at streaking Kansas, OK State
Arizona State 5-2...BYU, at Arizona
Iowa State 5-2...at Utah, Kansas State

This is a mess...

Mountain West

Boise State 6-0
Colorado State 6-0
UNLV 4-1

Will be Boise-CSU

SEC

Texas 5-1
Texas A&M 5-1...these two play each other 11/30
Georgia 6-2...conf. schedule finished, but losses to Bama and Ole Miss
Tennessee 5-2
Alabama 4-2
Ole Miss 4-2

NBA

--Sunday, the Knicks beat the Nets in their return engagement at the Garden, 114-104.  No stress or drama this time.  Karl-Anthony Towns returned from his one game absence and had 26 points and 15 rebounds in 30 minutes, but he took a vicious fall and there was some doubt he could play Monday night against the Wizards...the 7-6 Knicks’ fifth game in seven days.

The Cavaliers ran their unbeaten streak to 15-0 with a 128-114 win over the Hornets, becoming only the fourth team in NBA history to win 15 straight games to begin a season.

Cleveland joins the 1948-49 Washington Capitols (15-0), 1993-94 Houston Rockets (15-0) and the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (24-0).

Also Sunday, the Wolves beat the Suns 120-117, as former Knick Julius Randle had his best game for Minnesota, 35 points, including the game-winning buzzer-beater three, while Donte DiVincenzo had 15 off the bench.

--Last night, the Knicks (8-6) then whipped the Wizards (2-11) 134-106, KAT playing, 24 points and 12 rebounds in 25 minutes.

But now New York hits the road for five games, a true litmus test.

--Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball was fined $100,000, the maximum allowed by league rule, for what the NBA called “an offensive and derogatory comment.”  Ball made the comment Saturday on FanDuel Sports Network after the Hornets defeated the Bucks, 115-114.

Sideline reporter Shannon Spake asked Ball about the team’s defensive strategy against Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on the game’s final play, and Ball used an anti-gay slur while delivering his answer.

College Basketball

AP Poll (released Monday...records are meaningless at this point)

1. Kansas (49)
2. UConn (7)
3. Gonzaga (2)
4. Auburn (3)
5. Iowa State
6. Purdue
7. Houston
8. Alabama
9. Kentucky
10. North Carolina
12. Duke
22. St. John’s
24. Rutgers

Wake Forest’s loss to Xavier was so devastating, they didn’t get a single vote in the poll.  That sucks.

NHL

--Alex Ovechkin had a hat-trick Sunday night in a 5-2 Capitals win over the Vegas Golden Knights, Nos. 11, 12 and 13 on the season, and at 866 for his career, he is now just 29 shy of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s 894.  Stunning.

Ovechkin, at 39, is tied for the NHL lead in goals with Sam Reinhart (FLA) and Leon Draisaitl (EDM)...as of Sunday’s play.

--The Rangers defeated the Kraken Sunday night, 2-0, as backup goaltender Jonathan Quick pitched his second straight shutout, giving the 38-year-old a 0.91 GA/G average in five contests.  He is now three wins away from becoming the first U.S.-born goalie to reach 400 wins in NHL history.

--Monday, Ovechkin scored another two goals, now 27 shy of Gretzky, in a 6-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club.

But Ovechkin left the game with a leg-on-leg injury and didn’t return.

“He’s being evaluated as we speak and we’ll know more tomorrow,” coach Spencer Carbery told reporters after the game.

We’ll know something later Tuesday...hopefully not that serious.

MLB

--The Dodgers are meeting with Juan Soto today.

--And Paul Skenes and the Yankees’ Luis Gil won their respective Rookie of the Year awards; Skenes beating out San Diego’s Jackson Merrill, while Gil, in a very close race, edged Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser.

NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship

Top 8 seeds

1. Ohio State...2. Pitt...3. Denver...4. Georgetown...5. Dayton...6. Penn...7. Hofstra...8. Wake Forest

First round is Thursday. Wake plays winner of Maryland vs. LIU.

The Deacs are appearing for a 14th consecutive championship, the second-longest streak nationally, as Wake and Indiana are the only schools to have a double-digit NCAA Tournament appearance streak.

Meanwhile, the Wake Forest Lady Deacs have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship, playing Colorado this Friday.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted Sunday p.m., prior to late NFL games]

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Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.

College Football Quiz: The other day I noted the passing of USC coaching great John Robinson.  His 1976 team finished AP final No. 2 to No. 1 Pitt, who had their magical 12-0 season.  USC beat then-No. 2 Michigan 14-6 in the Rose Bowl.  Pitt defeated 5 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to complete the dream campaign.  1) Name the QB, two RBs, and a receiver on the USC team. 2) Name the QB, RB, and any receiver on Pitt.  Answer below.

College Football Review

Comments written prior to release of next AP Poll...I’m using CFP Rankings for the game summaries.

Once again there were few differences between the AP and CFP rankings this week, but Georgia, CFP No. 12 and AP No. 11, would miss out on the playoffs if they started this week because Boise State, No. 13, would get the Group of Five bid in the field of 12.

Making Saturday night’s Georgia vs. 7 Tennessee game all the more critical for the Bulldogs, and the Vols.

But first, in action involving the Top Ten, with 5 Indiana, 9 Miami and 11 Ole Miss idle....

No. 1 Oregon (11-0) barely beat Wisconsin (5-5) in Madison, 16-13, needing 10 fourth-quarter points and a late interception to pull it off.  The Badgers did a great job in keeping OU quarterback, and Heisman contender, Dillon Gabriel, in check, but the Ducks’ Jordan James rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown.

The Ducks also erased fourth-quarter deficits this season in wins over Boise State and Ohio State.

2 Ohio State (9-1) beat Northwestern (4-6) 31-7.

3 Texas (9-1) defeated a solid Arkansas (5-5) team on the road, 20-10.

4 Penn State (9-1) whipped Purdue (1-9) 49-10.

6 BYU (9-1) now must win the Big 12 title game to get in the playoffs, though that was probably always the case, as the Cougars were upset at home by Kansas (4-6).  BYU came away with no touchdowns on all four drives inside the 20.

But this is a Jayhawks team that has had one close loss after another this season, and just beat Iowa State last week.  And next week Kansas plays host to Colorado...more on this later.  BYU has a big test on the road at Arizona State.

12 Georgia (8-2) is back in the playoff picture, 31-17 over 7 Tennessee (8-2), the Bulldogs breaking away in the second half after a 17-17 tie at the intermission.  Carson Beck got his act together, 25/40, 347, 2-0, and he rushed for a touchdown, as five Georgia receivers had 50+ yards.  I was never a believer in the Vols and they are, to me, out of the playoff hunt for good.

8 Notre Dame (9-1) is playing terrific football, 35-14 over Virginia (5-5), Riley Leonard throwing for three touchdowns, while Jeremiyah Love rushed for 137 and two touchdowns, including a 76-yard TD scamper.

10 Alabama (8-2) whipped FCS power Mercer (9-2) 52-7, as Bama played everyone on the roster, and a couple of band members.  I mean, seriously, 11 Bama players got at least one carry, and 13 caught at least one pass.  That’s great.  Good for Coach Kalen DeBoer. 

In other games....

13 Boise State (9-1) was just even at the half with San Jose State (6-4), but Ashton Jeanty took control and finished with 159 yards on 32 carries and three touchdowns, as he solidified his claim on the Heisman Trophy, the Broncos pulling away 42-21..

14 SMU (9-1) will be in the CFP’s Top 12 after a 38-28 win over Boston College (5-5).  The Mustangs are exciting and very playoff worthy.  But they have to win the ACC title game.

In another biggie in the ACC, 20 Clemson (8-2) stayed in the conference title picture with a super exciting 24-20 win at Pittsburgh (7-3), the Panthers losing their third straight in depressing fashion.

After Pitt’s Ben Sauls kicked a 47-yard field goal with 1:38 to play, the Panthers were up 20-17. But as even Sauls warned his teammates, it wasn’t time to celebrate, and then Clemson QB Cade Klubnick took off for 50 yards and the deciding score.

Pitt was totally dysfunctional at times in this game, committing 13 penalties for 100 yards, but the defense held Tigers star running back Phil Mafah to 17 yards on 17 carries, and Nate Yarnell, subbing for the injured Eli Holstein, passed for 350 yards, while Desmond Reid rushed for 68 and caught 10 passes for 108, in a heroic effort.

For Clemson, Antonio Williams had 13 receptions for 149 and two scores.  Poor Pitt fans.  They came out for this one and they were rewarded for 59 minutes.

Aforementioned Arizona State (8-2) took out 16 Kansas State (7-3) in Manhattan, KS.  ASU will certainly be ranked this week in both the AP and CFP.  And they could play kingmaker in the Big 12.  Or be in the title game themselves.

17 Colorado (8-2) beat Utah (4-6) 49-24, as Heisman contenders Shedeur Sanders (30/41, 340, 3-1) and Travis Hunter (five receptions for 55 yards, a touchdown rushing, and three tackles plus an interception, some of the plays in spectacular fashion) starred.  The Buffaloes are officially for real.

Utes fans, on the other hand, can’t believe their boys have lost six in a row.

18 Washington State (8-2) fell to New Mexico (5-6) in Albuquerque, 38-35.   For the Lobos, quarterback Devon Dampier rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns, and engineered the last-minute drive for the winning score.

19 Louisville (6-4) was beaten on the road at Stanford (3-7), with the Cardinal’s Emmet Kenney nailing a game-winning 52-yard field goal to take down the, err, Cardinals.

21 South Carolina (7-3) should get a nice bowl game after a 34-30 win over 23 Missouri (7-3), LaNorris Sellers throwing for 353 yards and five touchdowns for the Gamecocks, including the deciding score with just 15 seconds left on the clock.

22 LSU (6-4) is minor-bowl bound (at least they should be), falling 27-16 to Florida (5-5), a good win for embattled Gators coach Billy Napier.

And then there’s 25 Tulane (9-2), which whipped Navy (7-3) 35-0, outgaining the Midshipmen 358-113, Navy QB Blake Horvath out early with an injury.  So the Green Wave are headed to the AAC title game against Army, and if Boise State stumbles, the winner certainly would deserve to stake their claim to the Group of Five playoff berth.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest (4-6) lost to North Carolina (6-4) in Chapel Hill, 31-24, as the Tar Heels’ Omarion Hampton carried the ball 35 times for 244 yards and a TD.  He is just terrific. Cliché alert...he’ll be playin’ on Sundays, sports fans!

The Deacs had three critical turnovers from backup QB Michael Kern, who had to come in after starter Hank Bachmeier suffered an upper body injury.

Rutgers is bowl bound, 6-4, with a nice 31-17 win at Maryland (4-6), Kyle Monangai, with 25 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns in becoming the fourth RU back to have back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. 

--In case you were wondering how I spent my Saturday, knowing I like to focus on one game at a time...I started out with Wake-Xavier hoops, then the second half of Pitt-Clemson, then BC-SMU, and then Wake-North Carolina...nope, didn’t tune into Georgia-Tennessee.  And now you know...the rest of the story....

And now, the new AP Poll!

1. Oregon 11-0 (62)
2. Ohio State 9-1
3. Texas 9-1
4. Penn State 9-1
5. Indiana 10-0
6. Notre Dame 9-1
7. Alabama 8-2
8. Georgia 8-2
9. Ole Miss 8-2
10. Tennessee 8-2...surprised it wasn’t lower
11. Miami 9-1
12. Boise State 9-1
13. SMU 9-1
14. BYU 9-1...down 7
15. Texas A&M 8-2
16. Colorado 8-2
17. Clemson 8-2
18. Army 9-0
19. South Carolina 7-3
20. Tulane 9-2...up 5
21. Arizona State 8-2
22. Iowa State 8-2
23. UNLV 8-2
24. Illinois 7-3
25. Washington State 8-2

Now we’ll see where the CFP puts the likes of Tennessee, BYU, Colorado and Boise State with their next rankings on Tuesday.

Next week it’s all about Ohio State hosting 5 Indiana. [The Hoosiers handed coach Curt Cignetti a 9-year extension that runs through the 2032 season, $8 million per.]

And BYU-Arizona State, as well as Army-Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium.  It’s the first time both teams are ranked entering their meeting since 1958!

Reminder, while I am just handing the Big 12 winner a CFP bye, it’s about the “top-ranked” four conference champions receiving the first-round byes.  As in Boise State could be ranked higher than the Big 12 champ.  Ditto, the AAC title champ, though I can’t see that being possible.

--USC was fined $50,000 and placed on a one-year probation because of a violation of “on- and off-field coaching activities,” the NCAA announced Tuesday.

After conducting an investigation, the NCAA found that USC exceeded the permissible number of countable coaches by six during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

“As a result of the violations, the parties also agreed that football head coach Lincoln Riley violated head coach responsibility rules.”  Riley is not being suspended.

The Trojans are just 5-5 after beating Nebraska (5-5) 28-20 Saturday.

NFL

--Thursday night we had Philadelphia moving to 8-2, 26-18 over Washington (7-4) in the City of Brotherly Love, as the Commanders had their second straight poor performance on offense, Jayden Daniels underwhelming.

But, boy, Eagles fans love Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns (plus 52 yards receiving), both in the fourth quarter; Barkley already with 1,137 yards on the ground.  Barkley also now has four, 140-yard rushing games his season tied for most in a season in franchise history.

Suddenly, there is lots of MVP talk swirling around the former Giant star.  Good for him. 

--Today, us Jets fans were glued to our seats with excitement as we took on the Colts at MetLife Stadium.  The Colts had announced during the week that Anthony Richardson would be back as the starting quarterback for the rest of the season, after Indy went with Joe Flacco the prior two weeks.  Richardson had been benched as the team had struggled to move the ball with him at the helm.

And then in the second half, the Jets trailing 13-7 at the intermission, an exciting football game broke out...the Jets taking a 17-16 lead on an Anders Carlson 58-yard field goal, Carlson their fourth kicker in four weeks.  The Jets were then up 27-22 with 2:41 to play, only to see Richardson engineer his second 70-yard TD drive in the last 10 minutes of the game, 28-27 with 0:46 left...and Rodgers was pathetic in the final few, futile plays...Jets lose, 3-8, huge win for the Colts, 5-6.

Richardson was a stud in the fourth quarter, the player Indy had drafted, and finished 20/30, 272, 1-0, plus two touchdowns on the ground.

I was preparing to write that this was the kind of win the Jets needed, Rodgers having announced during the week he was looking forward to coming back next season, and it would have validated his decision, but for the umpteenth time in the last decade, the Jets defense came up empty in clutch time.   As Charlie Brown would have said, Charlie having been written out of the script long ago, “Drat!”

--Green Bay moved to 7-3 with a late comeback win over Chicago (4-6), 20-19, despite the Bears’ Caleb Williams having a much better game, 23/31, 231, 0-0, plus 70 yards rushing on nine carries.

--Detroit is 9-1 following a 52-6 pasting of Jacksonville (2-9) as Jared Goff got back on the beam, in rather spectacular fashion, 24/49, 412, 4-0, 158.3...yes, a perfect score. Amon Ra St. Brown had 11 receptions for 161 and two TDs.

--Minnesota is 8-2, 23-13 over the Titans (2-8); the Rams (5-6) stay relevant, 28-22 over the Patriots (3-8); and the Dolphins have hope, now 4-6, 34-19 over the Raiders (2-8).

--And then we had Baltimore at Pittsburgh, and an old-fashioned AFC North (formerly Central) game broke out.

The Steelers took an 18-10 lead with 3:35 to play on a Chris Boswell 50-yard field goal, but Lamar Jackson drove the Ravens 69 yards for a TD, 18-16, but Pittsburgh snuffed out the 2-point attempt to tie it.

Neither Jackson nor Russell Wilson were great, but that’s as much about the defenses as anything.  Pittsburgh is a rather shocking 8-2, Baltimore 7-4.

--In the headline late game, 9-0 Kansas City at 8-2 Buffalo, the Chiefs will be without kicker Harrison Butker, who injured his knee and is out 3-4 weeks.  So K.C. claimed Jets kicker Spencer Shrader off their practice squad.

Shrader, just last week, had been added to the practice squad and then took over for Greg Zuerlein, and in the Jets’ awful 31-6 loss to the Cardinals, Shrader was the only bright spot, nailing two first-half field goals.

--Monday night we have the Texans (6-4) at Dallas (3-6), the Cowboys saying during the week that Dak Prescott had surgery on his torn hamstring, ending his season.  Dallas already knew they were going to be without him for the bulk of the season as it was.

College Basketball

--Going back to Tuesday, 6 Duke lost to 19 Kentucky 77-72, the Blue Devil’s Cooper Flagg with 26 points and 12 rebounds, but Duke only 4 of 23 from three, while Kentucky was 10 of 25.  Former Demon Deacon Andrew Carr had 17 for the Wildcats.  If Carr had opted to play his last season in Winston-Salem, Wake would have been Top 15 or thereabouts.

--Friday night, 13 Purdue defeated 2 Alabama at home, 87-78.

15 Marquette had a good road win at Maryland, 78-74.  I am in no way ever going to be a Terps fan, but they’d be a worth a quid or two to go all the way, with potential star freshman Derik Queen, a local kid, and some other solid players.

And in 24 Rutgers’ 98-81 win over Monmouth, freshman Ace Bailey finally made his debut for the Scarlet Knights. Bailey and fellow 5-star recruit Dylan Harper (20 points) are probable lottery picks next year, and Bailey had 17 points, with some spectacular individual efforts.

--No big upsets Saturday...the best matchup, from a competitive standpoint, was Wake Forest at Xavier, a biggee come March and the Selection Committee.

And the Deacs laid an egg, 75-60, as their shooting woes from downtown continue, plus they committed 18 turnovers, including five by Cam Hildreth, who I am so freakin’ tired of after four years.

The Deacs fall to 4-1, Xavier is 4-0, and it’s going to be a while before Wake can find its way into the Top 25, though it has some good opportunities coming up in the next few weeks.

--Today, 22 St. John’s had a nice 85-71 win over New Mexico.  A resume builder.  At least coach Rick Pitino hopes it’s thought that way.

NBA

--It was a rough week for the Knicks...three games in four days...four in six.

Tuesday, New York beat the Sixers in Philadelphia, 111-99, Josh Hart with a triple-double (14-12-10).  Joel Embiid finally made his debut for Philly, making only two of his 11 shot attempts in 26 minutes. 

Wednesday, the Knicks suffered a brutal loss at the Garden against the Bulls, 124-123, as Josh Hart stupidly fouled Coby White with seconds left from beyond the arc, White converting the three free throws for the 124-123 lead.  Jalen Brunson then saw his potential game-winning jumper go in and out of the basket in heartbreaking fashion.  A brutal loss; the Knicks wasting 46 points from Karl-Anthony Towns.

Friday, the Knicks hosted the surprisingly competitive Nets, who were supposed to be in tank mode for Cooper Flagg, or the aforementioned Ace Bailey, and New York was up 18 points after three quarters...game in the bag.

Only it wasn’t, and the Knicks were about to suffer their second straight godawful loss at home, only to have Brunson bail them out with a big 3-pointer with 6 seconds left, 124-122, and then Mikal Bridges blocked Dennis Schroder’s driving layup attempt at the buzzer.  Phew. 

The Knicks were playing without Towns for the first time this season on Friday, Towns having suffered a contused left knee at the end of the Bulls game.

So after the flurry of action, the Knicks were 6-6, Brooklyn 5-8.  The two play again tonight, also at the Garden.

--In other games Friday night, Cleveland beat Chicago 144-126, the Cavs now 14-0...the best start since the Warriors started 24-0 in 2015.  That Golden State team finished a record 73-9, but lost in the NBA Finals to LeBron James’ Cavaliers.

--Speaking of LeBron, Friday night, in a win over the Spurs, 120-115, James had his career-best fourth straight triple-double, 15-16-12.  Remarkable...he’s 39.  He turns 40 on Dec. 30.

[Saturday, the Lakers (9-4) won again, 104-99 at New Orleans (4-10) and LeBron was held to 21-7-5.]

--San Antonio announced on Wednesday that legendary coach Gregg Popovich had suffered a “mild stroke” this month that will continue to sideline him indefinitely, though he is expected to make a full recovery.

At 75, Popovich is the league’s oldest and longest-tenured coach.  He suffered a stroke on Nov. 2, before a game against Minnesota, and has missed seven games while recovering, with Spurs assistant Mitch Johnson, filling in ably.

There is no timeline for Popovich’s return.

--In games during the week around the league, Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his ninth 50-point game, 59 points and 14 rebounds in struggling Milwaukee’s 127-120 win in overtime against the Pistons on Wednesday.

Nearly 1,200 miles south in San Antonio, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama hit 50 points for the first time in his career in a 139-130 victory against the Wizards.

At 20 years, 314 days old, Wembanyama became the fourth-youngest player to score 50 points in an NBA game – behind Brandon Jennings, LeBron James and Devin Booker.

And back to Friday, De’Aaron Fox of the Kings set a franchise record in scoring 60 points, but Sacramento lost to Minnesota 130-126.

The record had been 59, held by Jack Twyman, way back in 1960 with the Cincinnati Royals.  For you younger folks, Twyman was a fixture as an NBA announcer in his later years, working alongside Chris Schenkel.

Saturday, in a 121-117 win over the Jazz, Fox had 49...his 109 two-game stretch a new franchise mark.  [His average for the season is up to 28.9.  He’s already in his eighth season, turning 27 in December.]

--Klay Thompson made his emotional return to San Francisco on Tuesday, as the Mavericks lost to the Warriors, 120-117, behind Steph Curry’s 37.

Thompson, who received a huge ovation from the Golden State faithful, finished with 22 points.  The Warriors gifted captain hats to fans in a tribute to Thompson’s tradition of taking his boat across the bay to games.

--TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” featuring Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal isn’t fading away as its legions of fans feared.  ESPN is acquiring the rights as part of an agreed upon deal in which Warner Bros. Discovery will license the rights to the program to ESPN.

Discovery will televise Big 12 football and basketball games that previously aired on ESPN as part of the deal.  Other details to follow.

MLB

--Mets fans are keeping their fingers crossed when it comes to the Juan Soto Sweepstakes, as owner Steve Cohen and his brain trust had what was described as an excellent meeting in California with Soto and Scott Boras.  But they aren’t the only ones vying for the superstar.

--The Tampa Bay Rays, for the first time in their history, will actually play their home games in Tampa. The team’s home slate will take place at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the Yankees.

Tropicana Field, the Rays’ home facility, was “significantly damaged” during Hurricane Milton on Oct. 10, with the roof being ripped off.  The Rays selected Steinbrenner Field because it was the “best-prepared facility in the Tampa Bay region,” according to a news release.

While the stadium holds only 11,000, Major League Baseball approved the move because it is up to MLB standards in virtually all facets, including the facilities in and around the clubhouse, that are more suitable to housing a major league team over six months, rather than just, say, six weeks.  Great for the fan base.

--Travis d’Arnaud became the first ‘name’ free agent to sign elsewhere, the former Braves catcher inking a two-year, $12 million deal with the Angels, after Atlanta declined d’Arnaud’s $8 million option, ending his solid five-season run with the Braves.

D’Arnaud will caddie for 24-year-old Logan O’Hoppe, who has a lot of promise.

Golf Balls

--At the penultimate event of the PGA Tour’s Fall Season, the last chance to qualify for full tour privileges, Top 125, for 2025, they held the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on beautiful Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda (an awesome spot...having stayed at the hotel next to the course years ago, and played five rounds there), they finished up early this afternoon and....

What a great winner...36-year-old Rafael Campos, by 3 shots over Andrew Novak.

Campos becomes just the second Puerto Rican to win on the PGA Tour, Chi Chi Rodriguez the other.

And consider that last year, he received the last of the 30 Korn Ferry Tour spots for a PGA Tour card this season and he was 147th on the points list coming in.  He now has full playing privileges for two years!

I watched a lot of it today, including the finish, and understand his wife gave birth to their first child on Monday!  So he was an emotional mess at No. 18.

Meanwhile, Ryan McCormick and Bill Haas failed to make the cut.

--They played the final event of the DP World Tour this week, the conclusion of the season-long Race to Dubai, and after an opening-round 67, tied for the lead, Rory McIlroy appeared to be a lock for his third consecutive Dubai title, Rory needing only to finish 11th or better to wrap it up.

And Rory completed the mission, his sixth Race to Dubai crown (Order-of-Merit) that ties him with Seve Ballesteros, two shy of Colin Montgomerie’s European record, by winning the event outright, a two-shot victory Sunday over Rasmus Hojgaard.  Adam Scott and Shane Lowry tied for third.

An emotional McIlroy choked up after, after winning both trophies, contemplating the wins, losses and everything else in between this year.

“I’ve been through a lot, professionally and personally,” McIlroy said.  “It feels like the fitting end to 2024.  I’ve persevered this year a lot.”

For all the strum and drang of Rory’s season, he won four times, twice on the PGA Tour, and had 12 top-10 finishes overall.

NHL

--Edmonton’s Connor McDavid scored his 1,000th career point on Thursday night, becoming the fourth-fastest NHL player to reach that milestone.

The 2015 No. 1 overall pick did in 659 games.  Wayne Gretzky got it in 424 games, Mario Lemieux took 516 and Mike Bossy needed 656.  Peter Stastny is fifth at 682.

McDavid, 27, is also the fourth-youngest NHL player to reach 1,000 points, which has been achieved by 98 other players.

Premier League

No PL action this weekend as it was all about Nations League play. And there was controversy surrounding England’s squad after captain Harry Kane, the softspoken leader, suddenly ranted about the absent players, claiming injuries, but in one or two cases, no doubt just tired of all the play.

The thing is, as Kane pointed out, there is no squad more important than your national team, of which he has been a fixture for years and years.

But England had to bench him for the remarks and they beat Greece 3-0 nonetheless, Ollie Watkins an able replacement.

Well, Kane was back on the team today for their match against Ireland at Wembley and it was 0-0 at the half.  Then Kane scored the first goal on a penalty kick, and England rolled, 5-0.

Stuff

--In men’s college soccer, two weeks ago I said it was a down year for Wake Forest, as it appeared we wouldn’t make the NCAAs for the first time in ages.

But then out of nowhere, the Deacs, who had a number of key injuries during the season, made it to the ACC championship on Sunday in Cary, North Carolina, against Clemson, knowing they had clinched another NCAA berth through their play.  Awesome!

Beating Clemson then would be key for seeding, and more than one potential home contest.

And let me tell you, I watched most of this one, including extra time and the PK round, and it was a fantastic soccer game...1-1...tons of action, great tackling, on both sides (zero dirty play), and the Deacs win it 7-6 on penalty kicks.  Fourth ACC title for the Boys.

--Out of nowhere, Lindsey Vonn announced she was coming out of retirement, at age 40, to rejoin the U.S. Ski Team, intending to race six years after her most recent Olympics.

Vonn is a three-time Olympic medalist, including a downhill gold and super-G bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games, and a bronze in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.  She is also a four-time overall World Cup champion and owns eight world championship medals.

Her 82 World Cup race victories stood as the record for a woman until it was eclipsed in January 2023 by Mikaela Shiffrin, who is now up to 97* – more than any Alpine ski racer in history.

Vonn had a long series of injuries throughout her career...broken arms and legs, torn knee ligaments, concussions, and more.

Can she make the next Olympics, which are in Italy in February 2026?  Could be a great story.

*Make that 98! The 2024-25 FIS Alpine World Cup season is already underway and on Saturday, Shiffrin won the slalom at Levi, Finland.

--I didn’t stay up late Friday night to watch the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight.  [Plus, I don’t have Netflix, but I had no desire to subscribe for this.]  From everything I’ve read and heard from people, it sucked. 

Actually, when I started working Saturday morning, at like 5:00 a.m., I saw a note from my neighbor, Michael C., “Are you watching this?”  He told me “It was terrible.”

The undercard, with Katie Taylor against Amanda Serrano, sounded thrilling, but I have to admit, I’m not really into watching women pound each other in the face.

I am, however, always interested in a good heavyweight fight, recalling how my buddy and I at the last minute, decades ago, got the Tyson-Buster Douglas fight and we are forever glad we did.    

No reason to say anything more about this dud of an event.  I mean hell, the writeups are treating this like it’s part of the respective records of the fighters, yet it was only eight rounds, and just two minutes a round, not three.  It was bogus from the start.

That said, Netflix announced Saturday that 60 million users watched the fight live, while 50 million watched the first co-main fight between Serrano and Taylor – making that the most-viewed professional women’s sporting event in U.S. history.

--We note the passing of gymnastics coaching legend Bela Karolyi, 82.  The charismatic leader turned young women into champions and transformed the United States into an international power in the sport.

Karolyi and wife Martha trained Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the U.S. and Romania, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton.

Karolyi was pushed out after the 2000 Olympics after several athletes spoke out about his abusive tactics.

The Karolyis defected to the United States in 1981 and over the next 30-plus years became a guiding force in American gymnastics, though not without controversy.

--Researchers this week unveiled what they called the most comprehensive assessment of the status of the two African elephant species – the savanna elephant and forest elephant – using data on population surveys conducted at 475 sites in 37 countries from 1964 through 2016.

The savanna elephant population fell by about 70% on average at the surveyed sites and the forest elephant populations dropped by about 90% on average, with poaching and habitat loss the main drives.  All told, there was a 77% population decrease on average at the various surveyed sites, spanning both species.

The two species combined have a population between 415,000 and 540,000 elephants as of 2016, which remains the most recent study period.

The world’s third extant elephant species, the slightly smaller Asian elephant, faces its own population crisis, with similar factors at play as in Africa.

But there have been successes.  I guess we have to be thankful for the number left.

Top 3 songs for the week 11/17/84: #1 “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (Wham!)  #2 “Purple Rain” (Prince and the Revolution)  #3 “Caribbean Queen” (Billy Ocean)...and...#4 “I Feel For You” (Chaka Khan...Chaka Khan Chaka Khan...)  #5 “I Just Called To Say I Love You” (Stevie Wonder...not his best...)  #6 “Out Of Touch” (Daryl Hall and John Oates)  #7 “Better Be Good To Me” (Tina Turner)  #8 “Strut” (Sheena Easton)  #9 “All Through The Night” (Cyndi Lauper)  #10 “Penny Lover” (Lionel Richie...C+ week...)

College Football Quiz Answer: Key players on the 1976 USC team: Vince Evans was at QB (Rob Hertel played some as well), Ricky Bell (276-1417, 5.1 avg.) and Charles White (122-744-6.0) were the prime running backs, but Mosi Tatupu (49-331-6.8) and Dave Farmer (34-307-9.0) saw some action.  [For the life of me, I don’t remember Farmer.]  The two prime receivers were Shelton Diggs (29-557-19.2) and Randy Simmrin (31-626-20.2).

The Trojans rushed for 273.8 per game.  Dennis Thurman was a stud on defense with eight interceptions.

But USC lost their opener to Missouri 46-25, and that would cost them the national title, which I imagine they would have received over Pitt had they not stumbled.

As for the 12-0 Panthers, it was Matt Cavanaugh at QB, and then all Tony Dorsett, 338 carries for 1948 yards, a 5.8 avg., and 21 rushing touchdowns.  Cavanaugh picked up 351 yards rushing, and Elliott Walker was 74-354-4.8.

The leading receiver was tight end Jim Corbett, 33-528-16.0.  The two wideouts were Gordon Jones (18-306-17.0) and Willie Taylor (14-248-17.7).

Pitt rushed for 319.8 per game, just 117 passing.

Pitt did not have a tough schedule, beating then-No. 11 Notre Dame in the opener, and then-No. 16 Penn State in the regular season finale, 24-7, but this was only a 7-5 PSU squad.

That said, it was one exciting time for my parents, Pitt graduates, and all my relatives back in Western PA.

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

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