Happy Thursday and Happy December everyone! What a month of sports we have ahead: The World Cup continues, the NFL in the regular season, the college football conference championships, bowling games and playoff semifinals, the NBA and the college basketball and more.
Let’s cut to the chase.
Hello everyone, but especially to…
INDIANA WINDSHIELDS
No. 10 Indiana is legitimate. Just ask the reigning National Finalist. The Hoosiers took him to No. 18 North Carolina with a balanced and impressive offensive attack en route to a 77-65 victory.
- Trayce Jackson Davis was exceptional with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, dominating a matchup with other AP All-America preseason selection Armand Bacot (12 points, 10 rebounds).
- Xavier Johnson added 20 points and eight rebounds, and freshman star Jalen Hood Schifino had 14 points.
- Indiana outscored North Carolina 50-24 in the paint and 17-4 on turnovers.
It was some really, really impressive stuff from the Hoosiers, who entered the lane at will on offense and locked in defense; Tar Heels Starter Clog Caleb Love and RD Davis combined for just 24 points on 27 shooting. Indiana also showed depth, with nine different players getting double-digit minutes.
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for…
ARIZONA CARDINALS
The Cardinals‘ turbulent season just hit another bump. Speaking on CBS Sports’ “All Things Covered” Podcast, Current vikings (and former Cardinals) cornerback patrick peterson said “Kyler Murray doesn’t care about anyone but Kyler Murray.“
The comment came after Murray apparently fired a veiled shot at the Cardinals head coach Kingsbury Cliffsaying “Schematically, we were a little f—ed” after throwing an interception on a crucial fourth down in a loss to the Chargers.
- Murray responded to Peterson on Twitter, writing “That’s not true…you’re on some weird stuff —…you have my number, if you really felt like that as a ‘big brother’ or ‘mentor’ you were supposed to call me and tell me, don’t drag me so your podcast can grow…”
- Peterson and Murray were teammates in 2019 and 2020 before Peterson left for Minnesota.
- The Cardinals are 4-8 this season and have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs, by SportsLine. This is Murray’s first season since signing massive contract extension.
Not so honorable mentions
Rose Bowl deal means CFP expansion by 2024 🏈
Getty Images
bowl of roses signed an agreement with the College Football Playoff Wednesday night that sets the stage for the playoffs increase to 12 teams in 2024.
The CFP had given the Rose Bowl until the end of this week to agree to the terms. The ultimatum worked.
- Until finally acquiescing, the Rose Bowl had demanded to keep its traditional Jan. 1 kickoff time of 5 p.m. ET — one of sports television’s most valuable time slots.
- For the past few years, the BCS/CFP had been working around the Rose Bowl time requirements, but with an expanded playoff, the Rose Bowl needed to be more flexible.
- If the Rose Bowl had not been accepted, the expansion would not have been possible until 2026, after the end of the CFP’s current contract with ESPN. And the Rose Bowl would have risked not being part of this expansion.
Early expansion will also lead to huge revenue increasesnotes college football expert Dennis Dodd.
- Dodd: “The main reasons for extending early are to provide teams with more playoff access and to earn an additional $450 million a year from rights holder ESPN so it can air the additional CFP games in 2024 and 2025. A new media rights contract will need to be signed for 2026 and beyond It was unclear what influence the Rose Bowl believed it had in the negotiations This broadcast window is valuable, and CFP stakeholders had it enough to accommodate the Rose Bowl in an arrangement that dates back almost a quarter of a century.
Thursday Night Football preview: A crucial battle for the AFC East 🏈
USATSI
The Invoices and the patriots Week 13 kicks off tonight in a key contest in the highly competitive AFC East, where every team is above .500. Here is the ranking:
- 1. Dolphins (8-3)
- 2. Invoices (8-3)
- 3. Jets (7-4)
- 4. Patriots (6-5)
These four teams have more than 50% chance of making the playoffsaccording to SportsLine’s latest calculations, but this one is especially important for New England, who risk dropping to ninth in the AFC with a loss. So, can the Patriots defend their own turf?
Here’s how our NFL betting expert Tyler Sullivan would bet:
- Sullivan: “The choice: Invoices -3.5. The move in this line suggests it is an unpopular pick as the money has started flowing into New England. At first glance, this makes sense. The Patriots play for their lives in the playoffs and the Bills have stumbled a bit over the past few weeks, going 1-4 ATS in their last five games. The home underdogs are also covering at a historic rate this season… That said, it’s tough for me to face Buffalo here. The Bills are wildly more talented and Josh Allen particularly dominated against Bill Belichick’s team.”
World Cup recap: Poland progress despite loss to Argentina; France, Australia also through ⚽
USATSI
There’s simply nothing quite like the last day of the group stage, when matches kick off simultaneously and teams have one eye on their home turf and one eye on what’s happening elsewhere. On Wednesday, this situation played out in dramatic fashion when Poland lost to Argentina 2-0, but still evolved thanks to Mexico ‘only’ wins 2-1 against Saudi Arabia.
In the end, Argentina topped Group C with six points. Next come Poland and Mexico, both with four points.
Here’s how it all happened.
- Poland qualified through the first tiebreaker: goal difference. Poland had a zero goal differential (two scored, two conceded), while Mexico was at minus one (two scored, three conceded). Saudi Arabia Salem Al-Dawsari scored in the 95th minute to provide that difference. For much of the game, however, it looked like we would need a fifth tiebreaker: the fair play system.
- Before Al-Dawsari’s goal, Poland and Mexico were level on points, goal differential and goals scored and head-to-head result (draw 0-0). Poland would still have gone through the fair play system, as they had accumulated fewer yellow cards than Mexico. You can see the full tiebreaker system here.
- This led to two exciting finishes: Poland is desperately trying to minimize the damage and Mexico launch attack after attack looking for a third goal that would tip the tiebreaker in the direction of El Tri.It’s the first time Mexico have been eliminated in the group stage since 1978 and the first time Poland have gone beyond the group stage since 1986.
- Therefore, Tata Martino is absent as Mexico coach.
And let’s not lose sight of things here: after suffering one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history to open their World Cup, Argentina topped the group with two impressive straight wins.
The Argentinians will face Australia in the round of 16 after the Socceroos beat Denmark 1-0 to finish second in Group D. Poland will face Francewho won Group C despite a 1-0 defeat against Tunisia. Doubts remain for the defending champions.
Here are our picks for today’s game.
Former Nebraska interim coach Mickey Joseph arrested and charged with domestic assault
Mickey-Josephwho took over as interim head coach Nebraska follow soccer Scott Frostdrawn, was arrested on Wednesday. He faces counts of strangulation and third-degree domestic assault, a misdemeanor in the state of Nebraska.
- The arrest comes just days after school hiring Matt Rhule as head coach.
- Joseph – a former Cornhusker quarterback – went 3-6 after replacing Frost after a 1-2 start to the season.
- Joseph’s contract allows him to stay on as an associate head coach and wide receivers coach, although the arrest may impact that.
What we’re watching on Thursday 📺
⚽ We watch the World Cup. Here is the program.
🏀 No. 6 UNC to No. 5 Indiana6 p.m. on BTN
🏀 No. 20 Maryland at No. 7 Notre Dame6:30 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 No. 7 Creighton at No. 2 Texas7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Piston Mavericks7 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Invoices at Patriots8:15 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 No. 12 NC State at No. 10 Iowa8:30 p.m. on ESPN2
