[Posted Sunday p.m. prior to late NFL games.]
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.
NFL / Philadelphia Eagles Quiz: 1) Name the six to pass for 15,000 yards in an Eagles uniform. 2) Name the four to rush for 5,000 yards. Answers below.
NFL
–Sunday, we had a lot of games with playoff teams against non-playoff teams.
To wit, the Eagles (9-5) whipped the Raiders (2-12) 31-0, Jalen Hurts 15/25, 175, 3-0, 154.9 for Philly.
The Raiders’ Kenny Pickett needed 25 passing attempts to pick up 64 yards. Eegads.
–The Ravens (7-7) remain very relevant, shutting out the Bengals (4-10) 24-0, Baltimore with 189 yards on the ground, Joe Burrow throwing a pick-six.
–My Jets (3-11) lost at the Jags (10-4) 48-20, as Trevor Lawrence threw five touchdown passes for the first time in his career (20/32, 330, 5-0, 136.7, plus a TD on the ground). Jacksonville looks great, much to the pleasure of Steve G.
New York rookie QB Brady Cook threw three interceptions, as the Jets have to be putting Fernando Mendoza under the microscope for the 2026 draft.
–The Chiefs (6-8) will not be in the playoffs for the first time in eleven seasons, falling to the Chargers (10-4) 16-13, as Patrick Mahomes left the game with a knee injury.
–The Texans (9-5) remain very much in the playoff picture, 40-20 over the Cardinals (3-11) for their sixth straight win, C.J. Stroud with three touchdown passes.
–In a game with zero playoff implications, but draft positions on the line, the Commanders (4-10) defeated the Giants (2-12) 29-21. Zero else to say about it.
–The Bears (10-4) beat the Browns (3-11) 31-3, but Cleveland’s Myles Garrett had 1 ½ sacks to get to 21 ½ on the season, one shy of the NFL record. Good for him.
Boy, there are a lot of godawful teams in the NFL this year.
–But in a game that mattered for both squads, the Bills (10-4) beat the Patriots (11-3) in Foxborough, 35-31, after being behind 24-7 at the half. Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes, and James Cook had three TDs himself.
New England’s Drake Maye had a poor game, 14/23, 155, 0-1, 62.8, though he rushed for two touchdowns.
–NFL fans who watched Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. in college at Florida have wondered when he would really bust through in the NFL, Atlanta having taken him with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Yet, frankly, you look at his stats over his five seasons and he’s been a bit of a disappointment (outside of his rookie year)…with one Pro Bowl appearance, and to me the Pro Bowl is like a participation trophy. You want the AP All-Pro designation.
But Thursday, in the Falcons (5-9) stirring 29-28 win over the struggling Buccaneers (7-7, losers of 5 of 6), Pitts had the best game for a tight end since Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe in 1996.
Pitts had 11 receptions, 166 yards, and three touchdowns, the first TE since Sharpe with at least 10 catches, 150 yards and three TDs in a game, which, frankly, kind of surprised me, what with all the stats accumulated by Travis Kelce and George Kittle, to cite a few superior tight ends over their careers.
Pitts is only 25 and he’s now made his mark. The sky is still the limit for him.
Kirk Cousins, by the way, was outstanding at QB for Atlanta, 30/44, 373, 3-0, 117.0.
Tampa Bay’s loss meant the Carolina Panthers (7-6) were the new first-place team in the pathetic NFC South as the Panthers took on the Saints (3-10) in a late game Sunday.
College Fooball
–Navy’s star quarterback Blake Horvath threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to the Midshipmen’s all-time leading receiver, senior Eli Heidenrich, on fourth down, a gutty gamble by coach Brian Newbery for the go-ahead score with 6:32 to play in the fourth quarter and it held up, Navy (10-2) beating Army (6-6) 17-16.
Two snaps before the touchdown, Heidenreich alertly fell on a loose ball after Horvath fumbled on a run from the 1.
The Mids’ defense forced a three-and-out on the Black Knights’ ensuing drive, and Navy ran out the final 4:50 to claim the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy for a second straight year, the first time the team has done so since 2012-13. The outcome also gave Navy double-digit wins in consecutive years for the first time in program history.
Heidenreich caught six of Horvath’s seven completions Saturday. Surprisingly, while it was an obvious passing situation, Army had single-man coverage on the receiver.
—Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza took the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in New York. He is the school’s first Heisman winner and the first full-on Latin American winner since Jim Plunkett of Stanford in 1970.
Back in 2022, Mendoza was ranked No. 140 among quarterbacks in that recruiting class, going to Cal where he had a solid sophomore year and, having earned his business degree, he transferred to IU last Christmas Eve.
Mendoza won by a surprisingly large margin (at least to some of us) over Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, receiving 634 first-place votes and 2,362 points to Pavia’s 189 and 1,435. Mendoza appeared on 95.16 percent of voter ballots, tying Oregon’s Marcus Mariota in 2014 for the second-highest percentage in Heisman history. LSU’s Joe Burrow set the record in 2019, appearing on 95.47 percent of ballots.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love finished third in the voting with 719 points, and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin was fourth among the finalists with 432 points.
–Aside from Army-Navy and the Heisman vote…the college football world was rocked by the goings on in Ann Arbor.
Michigan fired football coach Sherrone Moore for cause Wednesday, citing an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
“Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member,” athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement. “This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.
Moore just completed his second season as head coach, after serving on Jim Harbaugh’s staff, and the Wolverines were 17-8 during his tenure, including a 9-3 finish this season.
Moore was suspended two games earlier this season for deleting text messages he exchanged with Conor Stalions, the central figure in the NCAA’s sign-stealing investigation. Biff Poggi filled in for Moore during his suspension and will be Michigan’s coach in the Citrus Bowl against Texas on Dec. 31.
We were first told the school received an anonymous tip regarding the inappropriate relationship, prompting the investigation. Moore was fired two days after meeting with reporters to discuss Michigan’s 2026 signing class and the bowl matchup. And, according to a team source, most of Michigan’s staff found out the news when Manuel broke it to the team during a meeting.
But notice the timing. We then learned the investigation, according to some reports, had been going on since September and the school slow walked it. There is reporting he was acting erratically around his coaches and team. And then they dump him only after getting the 2026 class to commit?!
Moore was arrested hours after he was relieved of his duties. He was taken into custody and booked on charges of home invasion, stalking and breaking and entering, stemming from an alleged incident Wednesday involving a female Michigan football staffer.
In an email to University of Michigan students and faculty on Thursday, Michigan president Domenico Grasso touted the school’s quick action in firing Moore for violating university policy and pledged that the investigation into Moore’s behavior would continue.
In light of the above-noted reporting, however, this rings hollow.
Former Michigan head coach and current Chargers bench boss, Jim Harbaugh, finally weighed in on the debacle Friday.
“I’m still processing that,” Harbaugh said. “Still processing that like a lot of people, I’m sure.”
But that was it.
Moore worked under Harbaugh for six seasons, rising from a tight ends coach to the Wolverines’ offensive coordinator in Michigan’s 2023 national championship-winning season, Harbaugh’s last at the school.
During that season, Moore filled in for the suspended Harbaugh for four games, going 4-0 with a win over Ohio State enroute to the College Football Playoff and a national title.
—Kyle Whittingham announced he was stepping down after 21 years as Utah’s head coach. Whittingham was instrumental in building the Utes into a perennial conference contender after taking over for Urban Meyer at the conclusion of the program’s undefeated 2004 season. He was the second-longest tenured head coach in college football behind Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz. It is expected that he will be succeeded by longtime defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley, the program’s coach-in-waiting.
Whittingham, 66, is not retiring, according to reports, and may pursue other coaching opportunities.
Utah bounced back from its first losing season since 2013 this year by going 10-2 in its second year in the Big 12 Conference.
Whittingham was an outstanding 177-88 (plus 11-6 in bowl games), including three conference championships and another undefeated season in 2008. Utah went 13-0 that year and beat Nick Saban’s Alabama squad 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl and finished as the only undefeated FBS team in college football that season. [Florida won the national title that year, beating Oklahoma in the BCS championship.]
—With Notre Dame not getting a bid, athletic director Pete Bevacqua went off on ACC commissioner Jim Phillips for Phillips’ promotion of Miami, all totally appropriate. Notre Dame is an ACC member in all sports except football. What do you expect Phillips to do?
Phillips responded in a statement, striking a civil tone, calling Notre Dame an “incredibly valued member” of the conference.
The ACC commish also said that he stood behind the conference’s efforts to “advocate for all 17 of our football-playing member institutions.”
“At no time was it suggested by the ACC that Notre Dame was not a worthy candidate for inclusions in the field,” Phillips said in the statement. “We are thrilled for the University of Miami while also understanding and appreciating the significant disappointment of the Notre Dame players, coaches and program.”
Brett Yormark, commissioner of the Big 12, went to Phillips’ defense, saying Bevacqua was “out of bounds” for how he’s handled things since being left out of the playoffs.
Speaking at a sports forum on Tuesday, Yormark lashed out.
“I don’t like how Notre Dame’s reacted to it,” Yormark said. “I think Pete, his behavior has been egregious. It’s been egregious going after Jim Phllips when they saved Notre Dame during Covid. We all knew, and it was very transparent, [CFP chair] Hunter [Yurachek] was very transparent about it, the chair – that as Notre Dame and Miami got closer together, head-to-head would be a factor. OK? BYU lost. They came closer together, head-to-head made a difference in that decision. So I think he is totally out of bounds in his approach and if he was in the room, I’d tell him the same thing.”
—Bill Belichick fired his offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator Friday, a sign he plans on coming back to Chapel Hill after his disastrous 4-8 initial campaign.
–Lastly, in the Celebration Bowl, the battle between the champions of the MEAC and SWAC conferences (the HBCU title), South Carolina State (10-3) defeated Prairie View A&M (10-4) 40-38 in the fourth overtime, when each team is required to go for two from the 3-yard line.
South Carolina State was then awarded the two on a pass play, but the receiver clearly didn’t cross the goal line, going out with the ball behind the pylon. But after a review, the Bulldogs were given the two points anyway, and they then stopped A&M. Atrocious officiating.
That said, South Carolina State was down in this game 21-0 at the half, before mounting a comeback for the ages.
Ken P. and I noted the cheerleaders for both teams were rather fetching.
College Basketball
–Going back to Tuesday, 2 Michigan (9-0) rolled over Villanova (7-2) 89-61, while 5 UConn (9-1) defeated struggling defending national champion 18 Florida (5-4) 77-73.
But in a remarkable comeback, 10 BYU (8-1) was down 44-22 with 18 ½ remaining in their game against Clemson (7-3) but stormed back for the biggest comeback in school history to win 67-64 on a Robert Wright III 3-pointer at the buzzer. Freshman star, and next year’s No. 1 draft pick, AJ Dybantsa, had 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Cougars.
Thursday, 4 Iowa State (10-0) beat in-state rival Iowa (8-2) 66-62.
Friday, 5 UConn (10-1) defeated Texas (7-4) in Harford, 71-63.
Among the more notable games on Saturday, No. 1 Arizona (9-0) whipped 12 Alabama (7-3) 96-75, while 2 Michigan (10-0) continued to play terrifically, 101-83 over Maryland (6-5).
8 Gonzaga (10-1) defeated 25 UCLA (7-3) 82-72.
23 Nebraska remained undefeated at 11-0, 83-80 at 13 Illinois (8-3) on Jamarques Lawrence’s buzzer-beater.
17 Arkansas (8-2) had a big win, 93-86 over 16 Texas Tech (7-3).
22 St. John’s (6-3) dominated Iona (8-4) 91-64. Zuby Ejiofor had eight blocks for a second consecutive game for the Red Storm.
And in the Battle for New Jersey, Seton Hall improved to 10-1, blasting Rutgers (5-6) 81-59.
NBA
The NBA Cup came down to four teams in Las Vegas on Saturday, Knicks vs. Magic, Thunder vs. Spurs.
Tuesday, the Knicks beat the Raptors in Toronto, 117-101, Jalen Brunson with 35 points on 13-for-19 shooting, Karl-Anthony Towns with 14 points, 16 rebounds.
The Magic beat the Heat, 117-108, to advance to Vegas.
Wednesday, OKC defeated Phoenix 138-89, moving the Thunder’s record to an obscene 24-1, tying the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who won their first 24 games before finally losing.
The Spurs beat the Lakers 132-119.
So Saturday, the Knicks (18-7) beat the Magic (15-11) 132-120, as Brunson had 40, Karl-Anthony Towns 29, and Mitchell Robinson nine rebounds and four blocks in 17 minutes off the bench.
In the second game, the Spurs (18-7) shocked the Thunder (24-2) 111-109, as Victor Wembanyama returned after being out 12 games with a strained left calf, the 7’4” superstar with 22 points and nine rebounds in just 21 minutes.
San Antonio was 9-3 in his absence.
Spurs-Knicks on Tuesday.
MLB
—New York Mets fans had a depressing week that almost leaves us in a state of shock.
First, closer Edwin Diaz signed with the Dodgers, three years, $69 million, or just $3 million more than the Mets had reportedly offered him.
But Diaz had opted out of his existing contract with the Mets and so was a free agent. He then reportedly got pissed at Mets management when they didn’t ‘consult’ him on the earlier signing of closer Devin Williams. Again, he was a free agent and pissed at Mets management. He wasn’t on the team! Diaz then trashed the Mets, saying he wanted to go to a team that could win a championship. And we learned he never gave the Mets a chance to increase their offer!
The next day, the Orioles signed free agent slugger Pete Alonso, five years, $155 million. The Mets were clearly not willing to give Pete more than three years and when they heard he was looking for, and receiving offers for up to five years, the Mets decided not to even make him an offer, which made us fans even more perplexed.
Alonso was extremely popular, Diaz as well, and Mets fans felt betrayed.
The day after Alonso’s exit, closer Robert Suarez, a Mets target with Diaz exiting, signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Braves.
The day after that, former Met Tyler Rogers, a quality late-inning reliever who was a trade deadline acquisition by the Mets last season and did a good job, signed with the Blue Jays, three years, $37 million. I haven’t seen any details but I’m assuming the Mets were offering him something like two and $20 million.
Mets owner Steve Cohen, aka Uncle Stevie, preached calm while expressing sympathy for the fans.
“I totally understand the fans’ reaction,” Cohen texted the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. “There is lots of offseason left to put a playoff team on the field.”
But with Diaz and Alonso headed elsewhere, and the Mets losing out on two other key pieces, plus the Mets having earlier jettisoned the popular outfielder Brandon Nimmo for an aging second baseman (Marcus Semien), us fans were not just thinking WTF, we were wondering what president of baseball operations David Stearns’ plan was?
Oh, and slugger Kyle Schwarber finalized a five-year, $150 million contract to stay in Philadelphia. The Mets were said to be targeting him as a replacement for Alonso once they realized Pete’s demands were beyond their comfort level.
What an awful week.
Alonso (with a franchise-record 264 home runs in his seven years as a Met) posted a heartfelt message to Instagram, thanking the fans for supporting him through his career.
“New York, thank you,” the post read. “These last few years have shaped me in ways I’ll carry for the rest of my life. This city demands your best and I’m proud to look back knowing I gave everything I had into earning the privilege of wearing that jersey.
“I’ve been blessed with incredible teammates, coaches, trainers, staff, and countless people who helped shape me into the player and man I am today,” he continued. “I’m forever grateful for every person who challenged me, supported me and believed in me along the way.
“Thank you for the passion. Thank you for the love. Even the tough love that comes with playing for New York. When it came time for first pitch, thank you for being electric through it all. Thank you for getting rowdy every time I stepped up to the plate and made the building shake when the ball found a seat over the wall. Your energy fueled me more than you’ll ever know. You believed in me, and you made me better.”
Saturday, the Mets then signed 32-year-old infielder/DH Jorge Polanco for two years, $40 million. Polanco hit 26 homers and drove in 78 for Seattle last year with an .821 OPS. The Mets have said they want to play him at first, even though that’s not his position, but it’s expected he’ll DH a lot. A switch-hitter, he bats equally well from both sides of the plate.
So not a replacement for Alonso’s production, but a solid piece.
—Shohei Ohtani won The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth time, tying him with Lance Armstrong, LeBron James and Tiger Woods for most among male honorees.
Premier League
—The heavy Christmas season schedule is in full swing.
Saturday, Chelsea defeated Everton 2-0, while Liverpool beat Brighton by the same score.
And then there was Arsenal vs. Wolverhampton, the Wolves with two points through their first 16 games after losing to Manchester United on Monday, 4-1.
Saturday, however, the Wolves tied the game at 1-1 in the 90th minute.
Fans of the first-place Gunners were despondent, only to have their boys score the game-winner in stoppage time on an own goal, Arsenal prevailing 2-1.
Wolverhampton is a clear threat to beat the record-low points tally of 11 points by Derby County in the 2007-08 campaign.
Sunday, Manchester City whipped Crystal Palace on the road, 3-0, Nottingham shut out Tottenham 3-0 (ugh), Sunderland beat Newcastle 1-0, and Aston Villa defeated West Ham 3-2.
The Table…played (of 38) – points….
Arsenal 16…36
City 16…34
Aston Villa 16…33
Chelsea 16…28
Crystal Palace 16 – 26
Liverpool 16…26
Sunderland 16…26
Manchester United 15…25 [play Monday]
Stuff
–In a stunning performance for the ages, Lindsey Vonn, 41, became the oldest woman to win a World Cup race, taking the downhill in St, Moritz, Switzerland on Friday, the first downhill race of a season that is building toward the 2026 Olympics.
Vonn and her reconstructed knee pulled it off, the superstar crediting her offseason preparation, including hiring new coach Aksel Lund Svindal, a 36-time World Cup winner during his racing career.
Vonn then followed up with a second in another downhill at St. Moritz Saturday! Germany’s Emma Aicher winning it.
—NASCAR reached a settlement Thursday of the bruising antitrust lawsuit filed against the stock car series by two of its race teams, including one co-owned by Michael Jordan. What was deemed the ‘Trial of the Century’ went poof.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell said: “I wish we could’ve done this a few months ago. I believe this is great for NSACAR. Great for the future of NASCAR. Great for the entity of NASCAR. Great for the teams and ultimately great for the fans.”
All teams felt the previous revenue-sharing agreement was unfair and two plus years of bitter negotiations led to NASCAR’s final offer, which was described by the teams as “take-it-or-leave it.”
NASCAR and the parties to the settlement agreed not to reveal the monetary details.
—FIFA is under intense pressure as it blew smoke up everyone’s ass on how they were going to have fair pricing for their World Cup tickets, a cheap, category D, they promised. And instead, you’ve seen the stories on the outrageous cost of a ticket to even attend the USMNT’s opener against Paraguay, June 12 in Los Angeles, which range from $1,120 to $2,735. One game.
The average cost of the lowest category of tickets for the first group-stage matches involving the three hosts (the U.S., Canada and Mexico) is $1,023. One fixture, not the entire group stge.
The final on July 19 starts at $4,185 and tops out at $8,680. FIFA actually expects people to shell out $2,355 for top-grade tickets to Mexico versus South Africa.
What a bunch of a-holes. But they are about to rewarded with some Bar Chat hardware.
–Rumors persist that LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka is preparing to sit out the season in preparation for returning to the PGA Tour in 2027. LIV’s image isn’t helped by the fact there is no final schedule for 2026.
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/12/70: #1 “The Tears Of A Clown” (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) #2 “I Think I Love You” (The Partridge Family) #3 “Gypsy Woman” (Brian Hyland)..and…#4 “One Less Bell To Answer” (The 5th Dimension…a beautiful but very sad tune…) #5 “I’ll Be There” (The Jackson 5) #6 “My Sweet Lord” (George Harrison) #7 “Black Magic Woman” (Santana) #8 “No Matter What” (Badfinger) #9 “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” (Chicago) #10 “Share The Land” (The Guess Who…B+ week…)
NFL/ Eagles Quiz Answers: 1) Six to pass for 15,000 yards….
Donovan McNabb (1999-2009) 32,873
Ron Jaworski (1977-86) 26,963
Randall Cunningham (1985-95) 22,877
Jalen Hurts (2020-25) 17,421
Carson Wentz (2016-20) 16,811
Norm Snead (1964-70) 15,672*
2) Four to rush for 5,000 yards….
LeSean McCoy (2009-14) 6,792
Wilbert Montgomery (1977-84) 6,538
Brian Westbrook (2002-09) 5,995
Steve Van Buren (1944-51) 5,860
*Bazooka Joe says: “Norm went to Wake Forest!” [He had 27 touchdowns and 47 interceptions for the Deacs yet was taken in the first round by Washington in 1961, playing for the Redskins for three seasons before being traded to the Eagles.]
Very brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.
