“THE SCOREBOARD”
INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL
HOMESTEAD.COM
| ADAMS CENTRAL | 59 | WHITKO | 53 | |
| AVON | 81 | TERRE HAUTE SOUTH | 37 | |
| BARR-REEVE | 70 | NORTH KNOX | 42 | |
| BETHESDA CHRISTIAN | 52 | HIGHLANDS LATIN (KY.) | 6 | |
| BOONVILLE | 65 | PIKE CENTRAL | 39 | |
| CENTER GROVE | 57 | MARTINSVILLE | 39 | |
| CLINTON CENTRAL | 92 | NORTH VERMILLION | 65 | |
| CLOVERDALE | 67 | SOUTH PUTNAM | 60 | |
| CULVER ACADEMY | 69 | ANDREAN | 53 | |
| DAVIESS COUNTY (KY.) | 55 | EVANSVILLE CENTRAL | 45 | |
| DEKALB | 55 | FORT WAYNE DWENGER | 40 | |
| DECATUR CENTRAL | 61 | INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN | 42 | |
| EAST CHICAGO CENTRAL | 72 | CHESTERTON | 56 | |
| EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL | 76 | EVANSVILLE BOSSE | 65 | |
| EVANSVILLE REITZ | 67 | EVANSVILLE NORTH | 50 | |
| FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK | 64 | HERITAGE | 46 | |
| FORT WAYNE SOUTH | 74 | PERU | 66 | |
| GARY 21ST CENTURY | 75 | VALPARAISO | 57 | |
| GARY WEST | 77 | MARQUETTE CATHOLIC | 57 | |
| GREENWOOD | 63 | SHELBYVILLE | 61 | |
| GUERIN CATHOLIC | 62 | PENDLETON HEIGHTS | 59 | |
| HANOVER CENTRAL | 69 | RENSSELAER CENTRAL | 29 | |
| HERITAGE HILLS | 62 | MOUNT VERNON (POSEY) | 57 | OT |
| INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN | 91 | IRVINGTON PREP | 47 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS RIVERSIDE | 84 | EMINENCE | 25 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS RONCALLI | 57 | PERRY MERIDIAN | 51 | |
| JENNINGS COUNTY | 78 | GREENSBURG | 60 | |
| LAKELAND | 52 | WESTVIEW | 48 | |
| LAKEWOOD PARK | 46 | EASTSIDE | 32 | |
| LAWRENCE CENTRAL | 60 | INDIANAPOLIS ATTUCKS | 57 | |
| LAWRENCE NORTH | 80 | INDIANAPOLIS TECH | 41 | |
| LEO | 73 | FORT WAYNE NORTHROP | 43 | |
| LOOGOOTEE | 53 | EASTERN GREENE | 42 | |
| LOWELL | 54 | BOONE GROVE | 21 | |
| MADISON | 68 | NORTH DECATUR | 36 | |
| MANCHESTER | 62 | LAVILLE | 47 | |
| MERRILLVILLE | 62 | HAMMOND NOLL | 57 | |
| MICHIGAN CITY | 59 | MISHAWAKA | 54 | |
| MILAN | 67 | WALDRON | 60 | |
| MONROE CENTRAL | 75 | MUNCIE BURRIS | 37 | |
| MOUNT VERNON (FORTVILLE) | 56 | ANDERSON | 52 | |
| MUNSTER | 60 | LAKE CENTRAL | 49 | |
| NEW PRAIRIE | 51 | OREGON-DAVIS | 45 | |
| NORTH JUDSON | 44 | MORGAN TWP. | 38 | |
| NORTHWOOD | 61 | JIMTOWN | 26 | |
| NORTHFIELD | 91 | SOUTHERN WELLS | 61 | |
| PARK TUDOR | 77 | INDIANAPOLIS SHORTRIDGE | 32 | |
| PLYMOUTH | 43 | WABASH | 32 | |
| PORTAGE | 73 | CALUMET | 55 | |
| PURDUE POLY ENGLEWOOD | 73 | INDIANAPOLIS TINDLEY | 54 | |
| SALEM | 76 | NEW WASHINGTON | 46 | |
| SETON CATHOLIC | 48 | KNIGHTSTOWN | 47 | 2OT |
| SOUTH CENTRAL (UNION MILLS) | 59 | LAKELAND CHRISTIAN | 53 | |
| TAYLOR (OHIO) | 60 | LAWRENCEBURG | 21 | |
| TERRE HAUTE NORTH | 62 | WEST VIGO | 46 | |
| TIPTON | 59 | MUNCIE CENTRAL | 50 | |
| TRADERS POINT CHRISTIAN | 53 | HORIZON CHRISTIAN | 42 | |
| TRITON | 53 | BETHANY CHRISTIAN | 42 | |
| WINAMAC | 54 | CULVER | 26 |
INDIANA GIRLS BASKETBALL
HOMESTEAD.COM
| AUSTIN | 60 | PROVIDENCE | 44 | |
| BEECH GROVE | 44 | RUSHVILLE | 36 | |
| BELLMONT | 52 | CARROLL (FORT WAYNE) | 41 | |
| BENTON CENTRAL | 53 | TWIN LAKES | 37 | |
| BLUFFTON | 69 | SOUTHWOOD | 31 | |
| CARROLL (FLORA) | 62 | MACONAQUAH | 53 | OT |
| CASTLE | 64 | EVANSVILLE HARRISON | 31 | |
| CENTER GROVE | 54 | MARTINSVILLE | 29 | |
| CHARLESTOWN | 58 | JEFFERSONVILLE | 51 | |
| CHESTERTON | 62 | KANKAKEE VALLEY | 23 | |
| CHRISTIAN ACADEMY | 56 | ROCK CREEK ACADEMY | 29 | |
| CLARKSVILLE | 47 | PAOLI | 38 | |
| COLUMBUS NORTH | 62 | SEYMOUR | 59 | |
| CORYDON CENTRAL | 52 | BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL | 36 | |
| COVINGTON | 75 | SOUTH VERMILLION | 18 | |
| CULVER ACADEMY | 56 | BREMEN | 45 | |
| CULVER | 25 | TRI-TOWNSHIP | 23 | |
| DALEVILLE | 52 | BLUE RIVER | 18 | |
| DANVILLE | 52 | INDIANAPOLIS RONCALLI | 43 | |
| DEKALB | 62 | PRAIRIE HEIGHTS | 22 | |
| DECATUR CENTRAL | 39 | EAST CENTRAL | 32 | |
| DELTA | 59 | EASTBROOK | 26 | |
| EASTERN (PEKIN) | 53 | SOUTHWESTERN (HANOVER) | 34 | |
| EASTSIDE | 78 | LAKEWOOD PARK | 51 | |
| EDINBURGH | 41 | NEW WASHINGTON | 37 | |
| ELKHART | 52 | GOSHEN | 24 | |
| EMINENCE | 48 | INDIANAPOLIS RIVERSIDE | 10 | |
| EVANSVILLE CHRISTIAN | 35 | NORTHEAST DUBOIS | 32 | |
| FAIRFIELD | 37 | FREMONT | 31 | |
| FOREST PARK | 49 | BOONVILLE | 43 | |
| FORT WAYNE BLACKHAWK | 70 | HERITAGE | 28 | |
| FORT WAYNE SNIDER | 54 | FORT WAYNE LUERS | 26 | |
| FRANKLIN CENTRAL | 79 | FRANKLIN | 62 | |
| GARRETT | 45 | CHURUBUSCO | 29 | |
| GIBSON SOUTHERN | 55 | SOUTH SPENCER | 47 | |
| GREENSBURG | 75 | CONNERSVILLE | 39 | |
| HENDERSON COUNTY (KY.) | 57 | EVANSVILLE MATER DEI | 31 | |
| HIGHLAND | 53 | HAMMOND NOLL | 23 | |
| INDIAN CREEK | 59 | WHITELAND | 37 | |
| INDIANAPOLIS SHORTRIDGE | 47 | LEBANON | 44 | |
| IRVINGTON PREP | 48 | INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN | 2 | |
| JAY COUNTY | 57 | BLACKFORD | 21 | |
| JOHN GLENN | 35 | PLYMOUTH | 33 | |
| KIPP INDY LEGACY | 46 | PURDUE POLY NORTH | 23 | |
| KOKOMO | 58 | HAMILTON HEIGHTS | 37 | |
| KOUTS | 50 | LOWELL | 44 | |
| LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC | 76 | FAITH CHRISTIAN | 45 | |
| LAPEL | 60 | EASTERN HANCOCK | 56 | |
| LEWIS CASS | 55 | DELPHI | 21 | |
| LINTON | 52 | OWEN VALLEY | 43 | |
| MADISON-GRANT | 45 | EASTERN (GREENTOWN) | 43 | |
| MARION | 49 | NEW HAVEN | 41 | |
| MCCUTCHEON | 60 | LAFAYETTE JEFF | 50 | |
| MITCHELL | 40 | SHOALS | 32 | |
| MONROVIA | 60 | CASCADE | 54 | |
| MOORESVILLE | 64 | GREENWOOD | 32 | |
| MORRISTOWN | 63 | SOUTHWESTERN (SHELBYVILLE) | 6 | |
| MUNCIE CENTRAL | 46 | CLINTON CENTRAL | 41 | |
| NORTH DECATUR | 61 | JAC-CEN-DEL | 39 | |
| NORTH JUDSON | 67 | NORTH WHITE | 41 | |
| NORTH MONTGOMERY | 41 | WEST LAFAYETTE | 27 | |
| NORTHEASTERN | 69 | HAGERSTOWN | 17 | |
| NORTHFIELD | 53 | LOGANSPORT | 24 | |
| NORTHVIEW | 51 | TERRE HAUTE NORTH | 36 | |
| NORWELL | 62 | WOODLAN | 51 | |
| ORLEANS | 64 | WEST WASHINGTON | 40 | |
| PARKE HERITAGE | 57 | SEEGER | 43 | |
| PENN | 54 | CONCORD | 25 | |
| PERRY CENTRAL | 53 | PIKE CENTRAL | 22 | |
| PERU | 48 | NORTHWESTERN | 39 | |
| PIONEER | 40 | CASTON | 32 | |
| RENSSELAER CENTRAL | 44 | ANDREAN | 31 | |
| ROBINSON (ILL.) | 53 | TERRE HAUTE SOUTH | 40 | |
| SHAWE MEMORIAL | 66 | TRINITY LUTHERAN | 49 | |
| SHELBYVILLE | 48 | GREENFIELD-CENTRAL | 43 | |
| SHERIDAN | 68 | TRI-WEST | 49 | |
| SILVER CREEK | 63 | SCOTTSBURG | 42 | |
| SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON | 64 | NORTHRIDGE | 48 | |
| SOUTH RIPLEY | 58 | SWITZERLAND COUNTY | 34 | |
| SOUTHRIDGE | 40 | HERITAGE HILLS | 34 | |
| SPEEDWAY | 58 | INDIANAPOLIS HERRON | 24 | |
| SULLIVAN | 56 | SHAKAMAK | 34 | |
| TRADERS POINT CHRISTIAN | 48 | HORIZON CHRISTIAN | 19 | |
| TRI-CENTRAL | 50 | FRANKFORT | 12 | |
| TRITON CENTRAL | 72 | INDIANAPOLIS RITTER | 14 | |
| TRITON | 56 | JIMTOWN | 24 | |
| VINCENNES LINCOLN | 59 | EVANSVILLE MEMORIAL | 49 | |
| WAPAHANI | 57 | FRANKTON | 37 | |
| WARSAW | 65 | COLUMBIA CITY | 50 | |
| WASHINGTON TWP. | 51 | HEBRON | 12 | |
| WASHINGTON | 59 | JASPER | 57 | |
| WAWASEE | 57 | BETHANY CHRISTIAN | 21 | |
| WESTFIELD | 56 | AVON | 48 | |
| WESTVIEW | 52 | LAKELAND | 51 | |
| WHITE RIVER VALLEY | 57 | BLOOMFIELD | 14 | |
| WHITKO | 60 | WEST NOBLE | 36 | |
| WINCHESTER | 59 | UNION CITY | 37 |
INDIANA HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING RESULTS
DUAL RESULTS: HTTPS://INDIANAMAT.COM/INDEX.PHP?/DUALRESULTS.HTML/BOYS-DUAL-RESULTS/
TOURNAMENT RESULTS: HTTPS://INDIANAMAT.COM/INDEX.PHP?/CURTOURNAMENTRESULTS.HTML/
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
TOP 25:
#1 TENNESSEE 84 WESTERN CAROLINA 36
#17 OLE MISS 74 SOUTHERN 61
#7 FLORIDA 90 NORTH CAROLINA 84
#20 MICHIGAN STATE 77 OAKLAND 58
SOUTH CAROLINA 91 #25 CLEMSON 88 OT
#5 DUKE 68 GEORGE MASON 47
#22 DAYTON 66 UNLV 65
#2 AUBURN 100 GEORGIA STATE 59
#18 UCLA 111 PRAIRIE VIEW 75
ELSEWHERE:
MARYLAND 111 ST. FRANCIS 57
OHIO STATE 95 VALPARAISO 73
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
TOP 25:
#11 OHIO STATE 82 GRAND VALLEY STATE 57
#5 LSU 91 SETON HALL 64
#12 TCU 103 SAMFORD 64
#6 TEXAS 111 LASALLE 49
#4 CONNECTICUT 101 IOWA STATE 68
#10 OKLAHOMA 72 #20 MICHIGAN 62
ELSEWHERE:
PURDUE 67 MIAMI OHIO 51
USA TODAY WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOP 25 POLL
THE USA TODAY SPORTS TOP 25 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POLL, WITH TEAM’S RECORDS THROUGH MONDAY IN PARENTHESES, TOTAL POINTS BASED ON 25 FOR FIRST PLACE THROUGH ONE POINT FOR 25TH, RANKING IN LAST WEEK’S POLL AND FIRST-PLACE VOTES RECEIVED.
| RANK | SCHOOL (RECORD) | POINTS | LAST WEEK’S RANKING | FIRST-PLACE VOTES |
| 1 | UCLA (11-0) | 775 | 1 | 31 |
| 2 | SOUTH CAROLINA (10-1) | 740 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | LSU (12-0) | 681 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | NOTRE DAME (9-2) | 648 | 9 | 0 |
| 5 | CONNECTICUT (9-1) | 641 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | TEXAS (10-1) | 610 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | SOUTHERN CAL (10-1) | 605 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | MARYLAND (10-0) | 552 | 7 | 0 |
| 9 | OHIO ST. (10-0) | 525 | 8 | 0 |
| 10 | DUKE (9-2) | 491 | 10 | 0 |
| 11 | OKLAHOMA (9-1) | 472 | 11 | 0 |
| 12 | KANSAS ST. (11-1) | 419 | 12 | 0 |
| 13 | TCU (10-1) | 386 | 15 | 0 |
| 14 | WEST VIRGINIA (10-1) | 380 | 13 | 0 |
| 15 | KENTUCKY (9-1) | 305 | 16 | 0 |
| 16 | TENNESSEE (8-0) | 295 | 18 | 0 |
| 17 | MICHIGAN ST. (10-0) | 285 | 19 | 0 |
| 18 | NORTH CAROLINA (10-2) | 224 | 14 | 0 |
| 19 | NC STATE (8-3) | 179 | 20 | 0 |
| 20 | GEORGIA TECH (11-0) | 169 | NR | 0 |
| 21 | BAYLOR (9-2) | 107 | 21 | 0 |
| 22 | IOWA (9-2) | 92 | 24 | 0 |
| 23 | IOWA ST. (9-3) | 86 | 17 | 0 |
| 24 | ALABAMA (10-1) | 82 | 22 | 0 |
| 25 | MICHIGAN (9-1) | 67 | NR | 0 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: MISSISSIPPI (7-3) 61; CALIFORNIA (11-1) 46; NEBRASKA (10-1) 43; ILLINOIS (9-2) 30; MISSISSIPPI ST. (10-1) 18; WISCONSIN (9-2) 15; FLORIDA ST. (10-2) 14; UTAH (9-2) 12; VANDERBILT (10-1) 11; S. DAKOTA ST. (9-2) 8; GEORGE MASON (10-1) 1.
NFL
NFL WEEK 16 SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, DEC. 19
DENVER BRONCOS AT LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (8:15P PRIME VIDEO)
SATURDAY, DEC. 21
HOUSTON TEXANS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (1:00P NBC)
PITTSBURGH STEELERS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS (4:30P FOX)
SUNDAY, DEC. 22
CLEVELAND BROWNS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS 1:00P FOX)
NEW YORK GIANTS AT ATLANTA FALCONS (1:00P FOX)
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT BUFFALO BILLS (1:00P CBS)
ARIZONA CARDINALS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (1:00P FOX)
DETROIT LIONS AT CHICAGO BEARS (1:00P FOX)
TENNESSEE TITANS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (1:00P CBS)
LOS ANGELES RAMS AT NEW YORK JETS (1:00P CBS)
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (1:00P FOX)
MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (4:05P FOX)
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (4:25P CBS)
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS (4:25P CBS)
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS AT DALLAS COWBOYS (8:20P NBC)
MONDAY, DEC. 23
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS (8:15P ESPN)
NFL WEEK 17 SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 25 (CHRISTMAS)
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (1:00P NETFLIX)
BALTIMORE RAVENS AT HOUSTON TEXANS (4:30P NETFLIX)
THURSDAY, DEC. 26
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT CHICAGO BEARS (8:15P PRIME VIDEO)
SATURDAY, DEC. 28
TBD TBD (1:00P NFL NETWORK)
TBD TBD (4:30P NFL NETWORK)
TBD TBD (8:00P NFL NETWORK)
SATURDAY GAME POOL:
DENVER BRONCOS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS
ARIZONA CARDINALS AT LOS ANGELES RAMS
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AT NEW YORK GIANTS
ATLANTA FALCONS AT WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
SUNDAY, DEC. 29
NEW YORK JETS AT BUFFALO BILLS (1:00P CBS)
TENNESSEE TITANS AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1:00P CBS)
GREEN BAY PACKERS AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS (1:00P FOX)
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (1:00P FOX)
CAROLINA PANTHERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (1:00P CBS)
DALLAS COWBOYS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (4:25P FOX)
MIAMI DOLPHINS AT CLEVELAND BROWNS (8:20P NBC)
MONDAY, DEC. 30
DETROIT LIONS AT SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (8:15P ESPN/ABC)
NFL WEEK 18 SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, JAN. 4 OR SUNDAY, JAN. 5
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS
CAROLINA PANTHERS AT ATLANTA FALCONS
CLEVELAND BROWNS AT BALTIMORE RAVENS
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS AT DALLAS COWBOYS
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT DENVER BRONCOS
MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT DETROIT LIONS
CHICAGO BEARS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT LOS ANGELES RAMS
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
BUFFALO BILLS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
MIAMI DOLPHINS AT NEW YORK JETS
NEW YORK GIANTS AT PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
CINCINNATI BENGALS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
HOUSTON TEXANS AT TENNESSEE TITANS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
#25 MEMPHIS 42 WEST VIRGINIA 37
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18
JAMES MADISON VS. WESTERN KENTUCKY (BOCA RATON BOWL) | 5:30 P.M. | ESPN
NO. 24 UNLV VS. CAL (LA BOWL) | 9 P.M. | ESPN
THURSDAY, DEC. 19
SAM HOUSTON VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN (NEW ORLEANS BOWL) | 7 P.M. | ESPN2
FRIDAY, DEC. 20
OHIO VS. JACKSONVILLE STATE (CURE BOWL) | 12 P.M. | ESPN
FLORIDA VS. TULANE (GASPARILLA BOWL) | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN
NO. 8 INDIANA AT NO. 5 NOTRE DAME (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FIRST ROUND) | 8 P.M. | ABC/ESPN
SATURDAY, DEC. 21
NO. 10 SMU AT NO. 4 PENN STATE (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FIRST ROUND) | 12 P.M. | TNT/MAX
NORTH DAKOTA STATE VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (FCS SEMIFINALS) | 12 P.M. | ABC
VALDOSTA STATE VS. FERRIS STATE (DII CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN MCKINNEY, TEXAS) | 2 P.M. | ESPN2
MONTANA STATE VS. SOUTH DAKOTA (FCS SEMIFINALS) | 3:30 P.M. | ABC
NO. 16 CLEMSON AT NO. 3 TEXAS (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FIRST ROUND) | 4 P.M. | TNT/MAX
NO. 7 TENNESSEE AT NO. 6 OHIO STATE (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FIRST ROUND) | 8 P.M. | ABC/ESPN
NORTH CENTRAL (IL) VS. SUSQUEHANNA (DIII SEMIFINALS) | TBA | ESPN+
MOUNT UNION VS. JOHNS HOPKINS (DIII SEMIFINALS) | TBA | ESPN+
MONDAY, DEC. 23
COASTAL CAROLINA VS. UTSA (MYRTLE BEACH BOWL) | 11 A.M. | ESPN
NORTHERN ILLINOIS VS. FRESNO STATE (FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL) | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN
TUESDAY, DEC. 24
SOUTH FLORIDA VS. SAN JOSE STATE (HAWAI’I BOWL) | 8 P.M. | ESPN
THURSDAY, DEC. 26
PITT VS. TOLEDO (GAMEABOVE SPORTS BOWL) | 2 P.M. | ESPN
RUTGERS VS. KANSAS STATE (RATE BOWL) | 5:30 P.M. | ESPN
ARKANSAS STATE VS. BOWLING GREEN (68 VENTURES BOWL) | 9 P.M. | ESPN
FRIDAY, DEC. 27
NAVY VS. OKLAHOMA (ARMED FORCES BOWL) | 12 P.M. | ESPN
GEORGIA TECH VS. VANDERBILT (BIRMINGHAM BOWL) | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN
ARKANSAS VS. TEXAS TECH (LIBERTY BOWL) | 7 P.M. | ESPN
NO. 21 SYRACUSE VS. WASHINGTON STATE (HOLIDAY BOWL) | 8 P.M. | FOX
USC VS. TEXAS A&M (LAS VEGAS BOWL) | 10:30 P.M. | ESPN
SATURDAY, DEC. 28
UCONN VS. NORTH CAROLINA (FENWAY BOWL) | 11 A.M. | ESPN
BOSTON COLLEGE VS. NEBRASKA (PINSTRIPE BOWL) | 12 P.M. | ABC
TCU VS. LOUISIANA (NEW MEXICO BOWL) | 2:15 P.M. | ESPN
NO. 13 MIAMI (FLA.) VS. NO. 18 IOWA STATE (POP-TARTS BOWL) | 3:30 P.M. | ABC
COLORADO STATE VS. MIAMI (OHIO) (ARIZONA BOWL) | 4:30 P.M. | CW NETWORK
NC STATE VS. EAST CAROLINA (MILITARY BOWL) | 5:45 P.M. | ESPN
NO. 17 BYU VS. NO. 23 COLORADO (ALAMO BOWL) | 7:30 P.M. | ABC
NO. 22 ARMY VS. LOUISIANA TECH (INDEPENDENCE BOWL) | 9:15 P.M. | ESPN
MONDAY, DEC. 30
NO. 19 MISSOURI VS. IOWA (MUSIC CITY BOWL) | 2:30 P.M. | ESPN
TUESDAY, DEC. 31
NO. 11 ALABAMA VS. MICHIGAN (RELIAQUEST BOWL) | 12 P.M. | ESPN
LOUISVILLE VS. WASHINGTON (SUN BOWL) | 2 P.M. | CBS
NO. 15 SOUTH CAROLINA VS. NO. 20 ILLINOIS (CITRUS BOWL) | 3 P.M. | ABC
LSU VS. BAYLOR (TEXAS BOWL) | 3:30 P.M. | ESPN
NO. 9 BOISE STATE VS. TBD (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF QUARTERFINALS — FIESTA BOWL) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 1
NO. 12 ARIZONA STATE VS. TBD (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF QUARTERFINALS — PEACH BOWL) | 1 P.M. | ESPN
NO. 1 OREGON VS. TBD (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF QUARTERFINALS — ROSE BOWL) | 5 P.M. | ESPN
NO. 2 GEORGIA VS. TBD (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF QUARTERFINALS — SUGAR BOWL) | 8:45 P.M. | ESPN
THURSDAY, JAN. 2
NO. 14 OLE MISS VS. DUKE (GATOR BOWL) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
FRIDAY, JAN. 3
NORTH TEXAS VS. TEXAS STATE (FIRST RESPONDER BOWL) | 4 P.M. | ESPN
MINNESOTA VS. VIRGINIA TECH (DUKE’S MAYO BOWL) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
SATURDAY, JAN. 4
LIBERTY VS. BUFFALO (BAHAMAS BOWL) | 11 A.M. | ESPN2
SUNDAY, JAN. 5
TBD VS. TBD (DIII STAGG BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN HOUSTON, TEXAS) | TBA | ESPN
MONDAY, JAN. 6
TBD VS. TBD (FCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN FRISCO, TEXAS) | 7 P.M. | ESPN
THURSDAY, JAN. 9
TBD VS. TBD (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL GAME — ORANGE BOWL) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
FRIDAY, JAN. 10
TBD VS. TBD (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL GAME — COTTON BOWL) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
MONDAY, JAN. 20
TBD VS. TBD (COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME — IN ATLANTA) | 7:30 P.M. | ESPN
NBA
MILWAUKEE 97 OKLAHOMA CITY 81
NHL
MONTRÉAL 6 BUFFALO 1
TAMPA BAY 5 COLUMBUS 3
PITTSBURGH 3 LOS ANGELES 2 OT
CAROLINA 4 NY ISLANDERS 0
NASHVILLE 2 NY RANGERS 0
NEW JERSEY 4 ST. LOUIS 1
CHICAGO 3 WASHINGTON 2
BOSTON 4 CALGARY 3 OT
OTTAWA 3 SEATTLE 0
WINNIPEG 4 SAN JOSE 3
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINALS
DECEMBER 19
PITTSBURGH VS. LOUISVILLE 6:30ET
PENN STATE VS. NEBRASKA 9:00ET
TOP NATIONAL HEADLINES/RELEASES
NFL NEWS
CHIEFS QB PATRICK MAHOMES PLANS TO PLAY AGAINST TEXANS ON SATURDAY DESPITE HIS HIGH-ANKLE SPRAIN
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is preparing to play against Houston on Saturday, unless his ailing ankle puts the two-time MVP in such a precarious position that he can’t protect himself or he “puts the football team in a bad position.”
Mahomes sustained a mild high-ankle sprain late in a 21-7 win in Cleveland on Sunday. He began to receive treatment on the plane ride home — “I wasn’t do high-knees or anything like that,” he quipped — and spent more than 12 hours getting additional work on it at the practice facility Monday, even though most of the team was given the day off.
Mahomes was back on the practice field Tuesday with Carson Wentz there to back him up.
“You don’t want to go out there and put yourself in harm’s way. It’s football. You’re going to take hits. But you want to be able to protect yourself,” Mahomes said. “And I don’t want to limit the game plan. I want to be able to move around the pocket.”
Mahomes has plenty of experience with ankle injuries to draw from. He sustained a similar one against Jacksonville in Week 1 of the 2019 season, then a more serious one against the Jaguars in the 2022 playoffs. In that case, he was unable to end the game but got enough treatment to play against Cincinnati for the AFC title and Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.
“Jacksonville was worse. That one was pretty significant,” Mahomes said. “Obviously it’s responded better, quicker. That would be the best thing to say. But I want to be in a better spot than I was that next game going up against the Bengals.”
Mahomes has the luxury of time that he didn’t have two years ago. The Chiefs already have clinched the AFC West title and a spot in the playoffs, and he could conceivably miss a game or two if it meant being fully healthy for the postseason.
Yet there is much riding on this three-game stretch against Houston on Saturday, the Steelers on Christmas Day and the Broncos the final weekend of the regular season. The Chiefs (13-1) are clinging to a two-game lead over the Bills for the No. 1 seed and the lone playoff bye, but Buffalo holds the tiebreaker over them by virtue of their victory earlier this season.
“Every game counts,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “If your guys can play, they play, as long as medically they’re fine to go.”
While Mahomes has a reputation for playing through pain, and even arguing with Reid on the sideline to stay in games in which he’s been hurt, Reid believes his quarterback will be honest with how his ankle feels throughout the week.
“He’s going to go through some stuff and we’ll see how that works out for him. And if he can’t work, then Carson will take those reps that Pat doesn’t,” Reid said. “We have full confidence in Carson if he has to step in and play. I think everybody — coaches and players — have full confidence he can go in and do a nice job.”
Wentz, who signed a $3.325 million contract with Kansas City to replace Blaine Gabbert as Mahomes’ backup, has appeared in nearly 100 games during his NFL career. He completed both of his pass attempts for 20 yards in the closing minutes against the Browns, allowing the Chiefs to run out the clock on their victory.
“Got my feet wet a little bit at the end of last game and felt good out there,” Wentz said. “Nothing is going to change this week. Patrick has had some nicks and bruises all year and I’ve prepared myself the same way.”
NOTES: DB Chamarri Conner (concussion) and LT D.J. Humphries (hamstring) did not practice Tuesday. … WR Marquise Brown (shoulder surgery) could make his regular-season debut against Houston after looking good in practice last week. “The doctors say it’s healed up nice. We’ll just see,” Reid said. … CB Steven Nelson is less likely than Brown to play this week, Reid said. He came out of retirement by signing with the Kansas City practice squad last week.
ANTONIO PIERCE ON FUTURE WITH RAIDERS: ‘I’M UNDER CONTRACT’
Hours removed from the Raiders’ 12th loss in 14 games, head coach Antonio Pierce described conversations about the franchise’s future with owner Mark Davis as positive.
Las Vegas (2-12) is tied with the New York Giants for the worst record in the NFL with three games remaining. The Raiders have lost 10 consecutive games since beating the Cleveland Browns 20-16 on Sept. 29.
Asked if he thought he would be back next season, Pierce said Tuesday, “I’m under contract.”
Davis said in Dallas at the NFL owners meetings last week he wanted to see progress from the Raiders, but would withhold any evaluation of the organization and Pierce until the season ends. Behind closed doors, Pierce said chats with Davis are frequent and upbeat.
“Me and Mark Davis talk often, and the conversations have been the same as they always are — very positive,” Pierce said.
The Raiders could find their way into the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. The organization last held the No. 1 pick in 2007 and selected LSU’s JaMarcus Russell.
Quarterback remains a week-to-week variable for the franchise. Desmond Ridder started in the 15-9 loss to the Falcons on Monday, but Pierce said Aidan O’Connell (knee) is “trending upward” toward being available to play when the Raiders face the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11) on Sunday.
Ridder was intercepted in the end zone on the final play of the game Monday. He completed 23 of 39 passes for 208 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
FALCONS-COMMANDERS FLEXED TO SNF, WEEK 17 SATURDAY TRIPLEHEADER SET
The Week 17 game featuring rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders against the visiting Atlanta Falcons has been flexed by the NFL to “Sunday Night Football.”
The Commanders (9-5) have won two games in a row and are close to clinching the first playoff appearance in franchise history since the Washington Football Team lost in the wild-card round in 2020.
The Falcons (7-7) trail the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) by one game for the division lead.
That game, which will be broadcast on NBC, replaces the previously scheduled contest between the visiting Miami Dolphins (6-8) and Cleveland Browns (3-11). The Dolphins and Browns will now play at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday on CBS.
Also on Tuesday, the NFL announced the schedule for the Week 17 games to be contested on Saturday, Dec. 28.
The Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) will kick off the festivities with a visit the New England Patriots (3-11) at 1 p.m. ET in Foxborough, Mass.
The Denver Broncos (9-5) will visit the Cincinnati Bengals (6-8) at 4:30 p.m. ET, and the Arizona Cardinals (7-7) will challenge the host Los Angeles Rams (8-6) in a key NFC West clash at 8 p.m. ET in Inglewood, Calif.
FALCONS BENCH KIRK COUSINS, NAME MICHAEL PENIX JR. STARTING QB
After a trip to the Strip did not instill confidence in their quarterback play, the Atlanta Falcons benched Kirk Cousins and named Michael Penix Jr. their starting QB “moving forward” late Tuesday night.
Pressed by reporters earlier in the day, head coach Raheem Morris initially insisted the staff still had to “go through all that process like we always do” without committing to a starter for Atlanta’s Week 16 game Sunday against the New York Giants.
Then the Falcons released a statement after 8:30 p.m. local time.
“After review we have made the decision Michael Penix Jr. will be the Atlanta Falcons’ starting quarterback moving forward,” the statement said. “This was a football decision, and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.”
Penix, 24, was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year at Washington, when he threw for 4,903 yards and 36 touchdowns to guide the Huskies to the national title game.
Atlanta selected him eighth overall in April’s draft shortly after Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons. Penix has taken 20 snaps this season over two games.
Atlanta (7-7) beat the Las Vegas Raiders 15-9 on Monday night despite a weak showing from Cousins. The veteran quarterback threw his first touchdown since Nov. 3 but was 11-for-17 for a season-low 112 yards, with one interception and three sacks.
In his previous four games, Cousins tossed eight picks without a touchdown over four straight losses. Monday’s win kept Atlanta’s playoff hopes alive, for now.
“There’s no secret. We didn’t play well at the quarterback position,” Morris said earlier Tuesday. “We got to find ways to play better. So, you know, all those things we go over the course of the week. We got to do whatever’s best to win against the Giants.”
Morris went as far as to say that there would not be a downside to playing Penix, even amid a playoff chase.
“You could never say there’s a (downside) to turn it over to somebody that you put a lot of investment into, somebody that you brought in here, somebody you’ve done some things with, somebody that (has) said nothing but the right things since they’ve been here,” Morris said of Penix.
After the Falcons’ narrow win, Cousins said it was no mystery that he needed to play better.
“Raheem says it, but it’s stating the obvious, and every week you kind of go through your process and you plan to go out there and play the very best you can,” Cousins said late Monday night. “And so, this week will be no different.”
Both 2-12, the Raiders and Giants are tied for the worst record in the NFL, and the Falcons catch them on back-to-back weeks with time running out on the season. They trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by one game in the NFC South and the Washington Commanders by two games for the third and final wild-card spot in the conference.
On Monday, the NFL flexed the Falcons’ Dec. 29 visit to the Commanders into the Week 17 “Sunday Night Football” broadcast.
In injury news, Morris said kicker Younghoe Koo is dealing with an unspecified injury. Koo recently was listed on the injury report with a right hip ailment.
“We’ll kind of get a feel for what’s going on and everything that’s happening,” Morris said. “Get a better feel for him (Tuesday).”
Atlanta signed kicker Tanner Brown to the practice squad Sunday, the day before the Raiders game. Koo went 2-for-3 on field goals and made his only point-after try on Monday.
REPORTS: BUDDA BAKER, CARDS AGREE TO 3-YEAR, $54M EXTENSION
Six-time Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker, who ranks second in the NFL in tackles this season, agreed to a three-year, $54 million contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday night.
The 28-year-old veteran, who is in his eighth season with Arizona, could have been a free agent this coming offseason, sparking speculation that the Cardinals might trade him.
The deal would include $30 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network and ESPN. The two-time All-Pro reportedly will be the NFL’s third- or fourth-highest paid safety in terms of average annual salary.
Arizona enters the weekend at 7-7, one game behind the NFC West co-leaders, the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks. The Cardinals are also ninth in the NFC but mathematically alive for a wild-card berth.
The Cardinals travel to face the 3-11 Carolina Panthers on Sunday, and Baker, who has 142 tackles this season, is just five shy of his career high with three games left in the regular season. Only Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin (144) has more tackles this season.
Baker, known as a strong locker room figure, has two sacks and three passes defensed this year. In 119 career games (109 starts), he has compiled 879 tackles, 9.5 sacks, seven interceptions, 37 passes defensed, six forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
In 2020, Baker signed a four-year, $59 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid safety at the time.
REPORT: TITANS’ WILL LEVIS OUT AS QB1, MASON RUDOLPH TO START
The Tennessee Titans are not planning to stick with Will Levis as their starter, ESPN reported Tuesday.
The move was expected after head coach Brian Callahan was noncommittal about the pecking order at the position on Monday.
The Titans are likely to name Mason Rudolph the QB1 for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Titans did not practice or meet with the media on Tuesday, a scheduled day off.
Callahan yanked Levis in the third quarter of Sunday’s 37-27 loss to the visiting Cincinnati Bengals, dropping the Titans to 3-11. Levis threw for just 89 yards and three interceptions, including an interception returned for a touchdown. He also lost a fumble.
“Today wasn’t his day,” Callahan said of Levis. “He had a couple of bad picks, put us in some tough spots. So, I made the decision to sit him down and try to give us a little bit of a spark.”
Rudolph came on to complete 21 of 26 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns — one on the final play of the game — and an interception.
Levis has thrown for 1,916 yards with 12 TDs and 12 INTs this season. He is 5-15 as a starter in his first two seasons in the NFL.
Rudolph is in his first season in Tennessee after spending his first four in Pittsburgh. He is 9-6-1 as the starter in his career, including 1-2 in 2024.
REPORT: SAINTS QB DEREK CARR ‘VERY UNLIKELY’ TO RETURN THIS SEASON
New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is considered very unlikely to return this season because of multiple fractures in his left hand, NFL Network reported on Tuesday.
The report comes one day after New Orleans interim coach Darren Rizzi said Carr wouldn’t be ruled out for Week 16, which is a trip to play the Green Bay Packers on Monday night. Carr also is not yet cleared from concussion protocol and didn’t play Sunday in a 20-19 loss to the Washington Commanders in which Spencer Rattler relieved Jake Haener and led four scoring drives in a near come-from-behind win.
The Saints (5-9) play Carr’s former team, the Las Vegas Raiders, on Dec. 29 in a Week 17 game in New Orleans and the 33-year-old quarterback is likely to be motivated to be on the field to face his previous employer.
Carr injured his non-throwing hand on Dec. 8 in a 14-11 win over the New York Giants. He was hurt attempting a head-first dive as a ballcarrier and used his left hand to brace his fall. Typical non-displaced fractures require at least four weeks to completely heal, but Carr could return with a soft cast if he gets the green light from team physicians. From the date of injury to kickoff in Green Bay is a span of 15 days.
Rizzi openly disagreed with a previous NFL Network report that Carr had suffered a “significant fracture” of his left hand. He said the day after the game in New York that “reports out there were a little bit false” on the extent of Carr’s injury.
Rizzi said Monday “it wouldn’t be a reach” for Carr to return to the field before the end of the season.
Carr suffered an oblique strain Oct. 7 in a Monday night loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and didn’t return until Nov. 3 at Carolina.
NFL WEEK 16 PREVIEW
The Buffalo Bills (11-3) – who defeated Detroit, 48-42, last week – became the fifth team all-time to score 30 points in eight consecutive games within a single season, joining the 2013 Denver Broncos, the 2007 and 2010 New England Patriots, and the 2000 St. Louis Rams.
Only four previous teams – the 1999-2000 St. Louis Rams (14 consecutive games), 2010-11 New England Patriots (13), 2012-13 Denver Broncos (11) and 2006-07 New England Patriots (nine) – have scored at least 30 points in nine consecutive games. No previous team has done so in nine consecutive games in a season.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen has 25 touchdown passes and 11 rushing touchdowns this season and is the first quarterback in NFL history with at least 25 touchdown passes and five rushing touchdowns in five consecutive seasons and five career seasons. Over the past two weeks, he became the first player in NFL history with at least two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns in consecutive games and the first player all-time with three such games in a season.
This week against New England (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS), Allen can tie Russell Wilson (75 wins) for the most regular season wins by a quarterback in his first seven seasons in NFL history.
Here’s a look at a few interesting storylines entering Week 16:
Denver (9-5) at Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video): The Broncos and Chargers are two of four teams (along with Minnesota and Washington) that missed the postseason in 2023 and enter Week 16 in playoff position. Since 1990 – a streak of 34 consecutive seasons – at least four teams every season have qualified for the playoffs after failing to make the postseason the year before.
Denver and the Los Angeles Chargers are tied with Philadelphia for the best scoring defense in the NFL this season, each allowing 17.6 points per game. The Broncos lead the NFL with 49 sacks this season.
Denver linebacker Nik Bonitto had a 50-yard fumble-return touchdown in Week 15 and along with his 71-yard interception-return for a touchdown in Week 13 prior to the team’s Week 14 bye, became the first linebacker in NFL history with a 50-yard defensive touchdown in consecutive games.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix leads all rookies with 20 touchdown passes, including three games with at least three touchdown passes. With three touchdown passes on Thursday, Nix can become the seventh rookie quarterback ever with four such games.
hargers quarterback Justin Herbert has 20,182 passing yards since entering the NFL in 2020 and joined Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (20,618 passing yards) as the only players with at least 20,000 passing yards in their first five seasons in NFL history. From Weeks 2-14, he recorded 357 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, the fifth-longest such streak in NFL history, trailing only Aaron Rodgers (402 consecutive pass attempts in 2018), Tom Brady (399 in 2022 and 358 from 2010-11) and Jared Goff (383 from 2022-23).
Holiday preparations: Four AFC playoff contenders – the Baltimore Ravens (entering Week 16 as the No. 5 seed in the AFC), Houston Texans (clinched AFC South), Kansas City Chiefs (clinched AFC West) and Pittsburgh Steelers (clinched playoff berth) are set to play on Saturday in Week 16 and participate in a Christmas doubleheader next Wednesday on Netflix.
Houston (9-5) at Kansas City (13-1) (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, NBC): Last week, the Texans clinched the AFC South division title for the second consecutive season as head coach DeMeco Ryans became the sixth head coach since 2000 to win a division in each of his first two seasons, joining Jim Caldwell, Jim Harbaugh, Matt LaFleur, Sean McVay and Mike Tomlin.
In Week 15, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes registered his 87th career regular-season win and surpassed Tom Brady (86 wins) and Russell Wilson (86) for the most wins by a starting quarterback in his first eight seasons in NFL history.
Pittsburgh (10-4) at Baltimore (9-5) (Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX): In Week 15, the Steelers clinched a playoff berth for the fourth time in the past five seasons. The Ravens are coming off a 35-14 win at the New York Giants, their league-leading sixth game with at least 35 points scored this season. In Week 11, Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore, 18-16, as kicker Chris Boswell converted all six of his field goal attempts.
Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt recorded his 25th career game with at least two sacks last week and became the fifth player with at least 25 such games in his first eight seasons since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Reggie White (33 games) and Richard Dent (25) as well as Jared Allen (28) and Simeon Rice (27).
Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson completed 21 of 25 pass attempts (84 percent) for 290 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions for a 154.6 passer rating and rushed for 65 yards in the Ravens’ Week 15 win and became the first player in NFL history with five touchdown passes, 50-or-more rushing yards and a completion percentage of 80-or-higher in a regular-season game (Josh Allen reached these marks on Jan. 15, 2022, in the AFC Wild Card round).
Jackson ranks second in the NFL with 34 touchdown passes this season and became the first player in NFL history with at least 30 touchdown passes and three-or-fewer interceptions (three) in his team’s first 14 games of a season.
Vying for the NFC No. 1 seed: Three NFC teams – the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles – have clinched a playoff berth this season and each enter Week 16 with a 12-2 record. The NFC in 2024 marks the second conference since 1970 with three teams having 12-or-more wins entering Week 16, joining the 1984 AFC.
Detroit (12-2) at Chicago (4-10) (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): The Lions are the NFL’s only undefeated team on the road this season (6-0) and enter Week 16 with the top scoring offense at 32.8 points per game. In Week 13 on Thanksgiving, the Lions defeated the Bears, 23-20, as Jared Goff connected with Sam LaPorta for two touchdowns.
Last week, Goff passed for 494 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions and became the first player in NFL history with four career games with at least 400 passing yards, four touchdown passes and no interceptions. Goff is one of five quarterbacks in NFL history with at least 300 passing yards in 40-or-more games (40) in his first nine career seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Peyton Manning (40 games) and Dan Marino (41) as well as Patrick Mahomes (47, in first eight seasons) and Matt Ryan (41).
Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams has an active streak of 286 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, the longest active streak in the NFL and the longest streak of pass attempts without an interception by a rookie in NFL history.
Philadelphia (12-2) at Washington (9-5) (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX): The Eagles have won a franchise-record 10 consecutive games as quarterback Jalen Hurts, who also recorded two separate winning streaks of 11 games from 2021-22 and 2022-23, is the fifth quarterback since 1950 with at least three career winning streaks of 10-or-more games, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers John Elway and Peyton Manning as well as Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
Hurts has 14 rushing touchdowns this season and can tie the single-season record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, a mark he and Josh Allen set last season (15 rushing touchdowns each). He can become the first player with 15 rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons since Derrick Henry (with Tennessee) in 2019-20.
Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley leads the NFL with a franchise-record 1,688 rushing yards and 1,964 scrimmage yards this season. This week, he can become the fourth non-rookie in NFL history to record 2,000 scrimmage yards in his first season with a team, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk (2,429 scrimmage yards in 1999 with the St. Louis Rams), Priest Holmes (2,169 in 2001 with Kansas City) and Ricky Williams (2,216 in 2002 with Miami).
Barkley, who had 198 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns in the Eagles’ Week 11 win against the Commanders, has 1,362 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns (six rushing, four receiving), in 10 career games against Washington. His 136.2 scrimmage yards per game ranks as the third-most by a player against a single opponent (minimum 10 games played) in NFL history, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown (147.9 scrimmage yards per game vs. Philadelphia) and Jamal Lewis (136.7 vs. Cleveland).
Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 25 of 31 pass attempts (80.6 percent) for 226 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions for a 118.5 passer rating and added 66 rushing yards in the Commanders’ Week 15 win against New Orleans and became the first rookie and the fifth player overall in NFL history with four games with a completion percentage of 80-or-higher (minimum 20 attempts in each game) in a season, joining Drew Brees (2018), Kirk Cousins (2019), Trevor Lawrence (2022) and Dak Prescott (2023).
Daniels has 3,045 passing yards and 656 rushing yards and is the fourth rookie quarterback in NFL history with at least 3,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards, joining Robert Griffin III (2012), Kyler Murray (2019) and Cam Newton (2011). In Week 16, he can join Griffin III (815 rushing yards in 2012) and Newton (706 in 2011) as the only rookie quarterbacks all-time with 700 rushing yards.
Minnesota (12-2) at Seattle (8-6) (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET, FOX): The Vikings, who have won seven consecutive games entering Week 16, clinched a playoff berth for the second time in three seasons under head coach Kevin O’Connell, who can become the third head coach to win 13 games in two of his first three seasons, joining Matt LaFleur and George Seifert.
The Vikings and Seahawks both enter Week 16 tied for first place in their divisions after missing the playoffs last year. In each of the past 46 seasons (1977-2023, excluding 1982 when divisional play did not occur), at least one team has won its division the season after missing the playoffs.
Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson ranks second in the NFL with 1,243 receiving yards this season and can join Torry Holt and Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss as the only players all-time with at least 1,300 receiving yards in four of their first five career seasons.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
MISSISSIPPI STATE LANDS FLORIDA STATE TRANSFER QB LUKE KROMENHOEK
Florida State transfer quarterback Luke Kromenhoek announced Tuesday that he has committed to Mississippi State.
Kromenhoek appeared in six games, including two starts, as a true freshman for the Seminoles following an injury to starter DJ Uiagalelei and ineffectiveness by primary backup Brock Glenn. He threw for 502 yards with three touchdowns against two interceptions, while adding 113 yards on 63 carries.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback was a four-star recruit out of Benedictine Military in Savannah, Ga., and will have three years of eligibility remaining.
The Bulldogs having been seeking to add competition for the starting quarterback job next season with Michael Van Buren Jr. transferring to LSU and third-stringer Chris Parson also entering the transfer portal.
Kromenhoek joins a quarterback depth chart that includes Blake Shapen, who began this season as the starter before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4. Mississippi State also signed four-star quarterback KaMario Taylor to its 2025 recruiting class.
The Bulldogs failed to qualify for a bowl game following a 5-7 finish this season.
NO. 25 MEMPHIS UNSTOPPABLE IN 42-37 WIN OVER WEST VIRGINIA
Seth Henigan passed for 294 yards and two touchdowns and No. 25 Memphis never trailed while notching a 42-37 victory over West Virginia on Tuesday night in the Frisco Bowl in Texas.
DeMeer Blankumsee had four catches for 120 yards and one touchdown and Roc Taylor added five receptions for 116 yards for the Tigers (11-2), who finished with the second most victories in school history.
Mario Anderson Jr. scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) and Greg Desrosiers Jr. and Brandon Thomas each rushed for one for Memphis.
Garrett Greene completed 29 of 40 passes for 328 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and also rushed for 95 yards and a score on seven attempts for West Virginia (6-7).
Hudson Clement caught 11 passes for 166 yards and two scores and CJ Donaldson rushed for 83 yards and two TDs on 22 carries for the Mountaineers.
Henigan, who hit 18 of 26 passes, finished his career with 104 touchdown passes to tie Houston’s Clayton Tune (2018-22) for the American Athletic Conference record.
Donaldson scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard run to pull the Mountaineers within five with 4:17 left in the game.
West Virginia got the ball back at its 31-yard line with 51 seconds left after Memphis’ Tristian Vandenberg was wide right on a 50-yard field goal.
However, Greene’s pass was intercepted by Elijah Herring with eight seconds left.
Memphis scored on its final five possessions of the first half and opened the second half in similar style, with Anderson’s 3-yard scoring run for a 35-17 lead.
The Mountaineers moved within 12 on Greene’s 10-yard scoring pass to Clement. West Virginia holder Leighton Bechdel dropped the snap for an unsuccessful extra point.
When the Mountaineers next had possession, they traveled 90 yards in 16 plays to move within 35-30. Donaldson rushed for the touchdown on fourth down from the 1-yard line with 12:02 remaining.
Memphis responded as Henigan hit a wide open Blankumsee for 89 yards to the 1. Thomas scored on the next play, with 10:49 left.
The Tigers scored the first 17 points — behind Henigan’s 4-yard scoring pass to Anderson, Vandenberg’s 34-yard field goal and Desrosiers’ 46-yard scamper.
West Virginia got on the board on Greene’s 33-yard pass to Clement. After Vandenburg’s 42-yard field goal, Greene scrambled 56 yards for a touchdown to bring the Mountaineers within 20-14 with 1:44 remaining in the half.
Memphis quickly drove 75 yards in 47 seconds, and Henigan tossed an 18-yard scoring pass to Blankumsee with 55 seconds to go. The duo then teamed up on a two-point conversion.
West Virginia’s Michael Hayes II kicked a 46-yard field goal to bring his team within 28-17 as time expired in the half.
NBA NEWS
NBA ANNOUNCES ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT PLAN FOR THIS SEASON: 4 TEAMS, 3 GAMES, 1 NIGHT
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The NBA ‘s All-Star Game is going to be an All-Star tournament this season, with the league announcing on Tuesday that it has finalized plans to use a different format for the upcoming midseason showcase in San Francisco.
And scoring is sure to be down — way, way, way down.
This season’s format is a four-team, three-game, one-night tournament, three teams of eight All-Stars apiece and the fourth team being the winner of the Rising Stars challenge for first- and second-year players. The winning team in all games will be the first to score 40 points.
It’ll happen Feb. 16 at the home of the Golden State Warriors. The Rising Stars event is there Feb. 14, headlining All-Star Friday.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has wanted a more competitive All-Star event for some time, and this change comes after the teams combined to score a record 397 points — 211-186 was the final — in last season’s game at Indianapolis.
The teams combined to take 289 shot attempts in last year’s game, 94% of those being either inside the paint or beyond the 3-point line.
“Obviously, with the elephant in the room being us competing, them trying to shake things up is expected and makes sense,” said Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a likely All-Star selection this season for the third time. “At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to whether the players want to go at it, and I would love to see that. Love to be a part of that for sure, and hopefully it happens.”
There have been other All-Star format shakeups in recent years. After the first 66 All-Star Games were basically played like a normal game — Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference, four quarters, 12 minutes apiece — the league switched to a format where the leading vote-getters from each conference served as captains who got to draft their teams.
LeBron James served as one of the captains all six times, with Giannis Antetokounmpo the other captain three times, Kevin Durant twice and Stephen Curry once.
In four of the captain’s-pick years, All-Star Games used a target score at the end of games, ensuring that the winner was decided on a made shot. Fourth quarters were untimed and the winner was the first team to reach whatever the leading team’s score was after three quarters, plus 24 points — the 24 being a nod to Kobe Bryant’s last jersey number.
It went back to the East vs. West format last year and saw a record point total along with Luka Doncic trying a 70-foot jumper, Donovan Mitchell throwing a 50-foot underhand inbounds pass, Bam Adebayo inbounding the ball to himself by tossing it off Nikola Jokic’s backside, Tyrese Haliburton trying and making five 3-pointers in a 92-second span, and Damian Lillard capping the night with a 44-foot jumper — which wasn’t even his longest shot of the game.
“I think something could be done about it,” Lillard said after his MVP-winning performance in last year’s game. “I’m not sure what, but I think there’s a way to make it a more competitive game.”
The league hopes it has found the answer.
Voting format
All-Star voting begins Thursday and the format is unchanged.
Fans — who can vote through Jan. 20 — can cast ballots daily for three frontcourt and two backcourt players from both conferences.
That’ll be part of a weighted formula — 50% fan vote, 25% media panel vote, 25% current player vote — to determine the 10 players that will be designated as “starters.”
NBA head coaches will pick the 14 players designated as “reserves.”
But the starter and reserve columns won’t mean much on game night, since there will be 15 different players starting — five from each of the three teams, obviously — and only nine players coming off the bench in those semifinal games.
How the teams will be picked
TNT analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will draft teams from the 24-player All-Star pool on Feb. 6. The teams will bear their names — Team Shaq, Team Charles and Team Kenny.
The Rising Stars winner that’ll go to the All-Star tournament will be called Team Candace, for Candace Parker.
Coaching staffs
The coaching staffs from the teams with the best records in the Eastern and Western Conferences will go to the All-Star Game. (It cannot be the Milwaukee or Minnesota coaching staffs this year, since they coached last year.)
The East and West head coaches will each coach a team in the tournament; one assistant coach from each staff will serve as head coach for the other two teams in the All-Star tournament.
Prize money
There is a prize pool of $1.8 million for the All-Star Game.
Each player on the All-Star champion team gets $125,000, each player on the runner-up team will get $50,000 and the players on the teams eliminated in the semifinals will each get $25,000.
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO CARRIES BUCKS PAST THUNDER IN NBA CUP FINAL
LAS VEGAS — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and dished 10 assists and to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Cup title with a 97-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
Milwaukee becomes the second winner of the Cup, following the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship in the inaugural tournament last season.
Damian Lillard added 23 points for the Bucks.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points but shot just 8-for-24 from the field, including 2 of 9 from 3-point range. Jalen Williams added 18 points on 8-of-20 shooting, while Isaiah Hartenstein added 16.
Lillard gave the Bucks an 11-point lead by draining one of his signature long range 3-pointers with 9:08 remaining in the third quarter. The bucket came directly following back-to-back technical fouls on Thunder forward Luguentz Dort and coach Mike Daigneault, leading to two free throws that Lillard sank.
Milwaukee carried a 77-64 lead to the fourth period.
Antetokounmpo scored 14 points in the first half and Lillard chipped in 12 as Milwaukee led 51-50 at the break. Hartenstein paced the Thunder with 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the half, despite earning a technical foul after a dust-up with Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. Neither team was able to extend the lead to more than five points in the second quarter as the Bucks outscored the Thunder 24-22.
The Thunder opened the game on a 16-9 run, forcing the Bucks to call timeout after 4 1/2 minutes. Lillard promptly answered, scoring seven of Milwaukee’s point Bucks as they went on a 13-4 run to take their first lead with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter.
Oklahoma City held a 28-27 advantage going into the second, in part because of a go-ahead 3-pointer by Gilgeous-Alexander with 1:22 left in the quarter.
Milwaukee made 34 of its 81 attempts (42 percent) from the field for the game, shooting 17 of 40 (42.5 percent) from 3-point range. The Bucks outrebounded Oklahoma City 52-43 and led by as many 20 points in the second half.
The Thunder shot 29 of 86 (33.7 percent) from the field, making only 5 of 32 attempts (15.6 percent) from long distance.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
TOP 25 ROUNDUP: NO. 25 SOUTH CAROLINA HOLDS OFF CLEMSON IN OT
Chase Hunter had one magical 3-pointer for No. 25 Clemson, but not a second, as Collin Murray-Boyles and South Carolina prevailed 91-88 in an overtime thriller over the visiting Tigers on Tuesday in Columbia, S.C.
Hunter, who went scoreless in the first half, finished with a game-high 27 points, including a running off-balance three with 0.3 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. With Clemson down three again at the end of overtime, Hunter got the ball near half-court, dribbled toward the top of the key and launched another high-arching shot, but it was off target.
Murray-Boyles made two free throws to start a 6-0 run that helped the Gamecocks (8-3) pull away in the extra period. He finished with 22 points and nine rebounds to lead South Carolina, while Myles Stute netted 19 points and Nick Pringle scored 18.
Ian Schieffelin paired 23 points with 12 rebounds for Clemson (9-3) before fouling out with 3:17 left in overtime.
No. 1 Tennessee 84, Western Carolina 36
Zakai Zeigler had 10 points, nine assists and a career-high 10 rebounds Tuesday night as the Volunteers remained perfect with a shellacking of the Catamounts in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee (11-0) went up by 23 at halftime with a stout defense that clamped down on Vermont (3-7) and held the Catamounts without a 2-point field goal in the first half. Chaz Lanier totaled a game-high 19 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Bernard Pelote totaled 10 points and seven rebounds for Vermont.
No. 2 Auburn 100, Georgia State 59
Chaney Johnson took over for an injured Johni Broome and scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Tigers to a dominant win over the visiting Panthers.
Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones contributed season highs of 19 and 17 points, respectively, for the Tigers (10-1). Broome exited the game less than 2 1/2 minutes into the contest due to shoulder injury. Coach Bruce Pearl said postgame that Broome is doubtful for the next game, Saturday against No. 16 Purdue in Birmingham, Ala.
Nick McMullen led Georgia State with 16 boards and 15 points, while Cesare Edwards added 15 points and seven rebounds.
No. 5 Duke 68, George Mason 47
Cooper Flagg scored 24 points to lead the Blue Devils to their fifth straight victory, a victory over the Patriots in Durham, N.C.
Flagg hit 7 of 20 shots and tallied nine rebounds, four assists and three steals to power Duke (9-2), which improved to 7-0 at home. Isaiah Evans was second in scoring for the Blue Devils with nine points.
Jalen Hayes paced George Mason (7-4) with 18 points on 9-of-19 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Darius Maddox added 12 points.
No. 7 Florida 90, North Carolina 84
Will Richard scored four of his 22 points in the final minute of the game to help the Gators remain undefeated with a victory over North Carolina in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, N.C.
Alijah Martin totaled 19 points, five rebounds and four assists for Florida (11-0) while Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Denzel Aberdeen also scored 12 points, and Alex Condon put up nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
RJ Davis led the Tar Heels (6-5), who lost to a Top 10 team for the fourth time this season, with a game-high 29 points and eight rebounds. Elliot Cadeau (seven assists), Seth Trimble (seven rebounds) and Ian Jackson each had 11 points for North Carolina.
No. 17 Ole Miss 74, Southern 61
Jaylen Murray scored 18 points as the Rebels held off the Jaguars in Oxford, Miss.
Jaemyn Brakefield added 15 points and Dre Davis scored 14 for the Rebels (10-1), who earned their fourth consecutive win.
Southern (5-5) used 13 players and 11 of them scored, but only Derrick Tezeno and Michael Jacobs reached double figures, finishing with 11 each. Tezeno grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
No. 18 UCLA 111, Prairie View A&M 75
Dylan Andrews scored a season-high 21 points to lead five Bruins in double figures, and UCLA remained perfect at home in Los Angeles with a rout of Prairie View A&M.
UCLA (10-1) ran out to a 12-2 start in the first 3:22 and never trailed while sending Prairie View (1-10) to its 10th straight loss. Each of the Bruins’ starting five scored at least eight points, including Tyler Bilodeau with 18 points.
The Panthers’ Jordan Tillmon led all scorers with 24 points. His 6-of-7 3-point shooting off the bench helped Prairie View to a 10-of-21 night from long range. Teammate Nick Anderson added 19 points and eight rebounds before fouling out.
No. 20 Michigan State 77, Oakland 58
Sophomore Xavier Booker scored a career-high 18 points to lift the Spartans over the Golden Grizzlies in Detroit.
Booker shot 5 of 9 overall and hit 3 of 5 from 3-point range while eclipsing his previous high of 12 points. Jaden Akins scored 16 points and Jaxon Kohler had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan State (9-2), which won its fourth game in a row.
DQ Cole scored 17 points and Malcolm Christie put up 15 for the Golden Grizzlies (3-6), who are 0-23 all-time against Michigan State.
No. 22 Dayton 66, UNLV 65
Malachi Smith’s three-point play with eight seconds remaining rescued the Flyers in a victory against the visiting Runnin’ Rebels.
Nate Santos scored 14 points, Zed Key had 13, Smith finished with 11 and five assists and reserve Amael L’Etang added 10 in the Flyers’ first game of the season as a ranked team. Dayton (10-2) overcame a four-point deficit in the final 1 1/2 minutes to increase its homecourt winning streak to 25 games.
Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 16 points and Jaden Henley had 15 for UNLV (5-5). Julian Rishwain’s fourth 3-point basket of the night with 23 seconds left gave him 12 points.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
WOMEN’S TOP 25 ROUNDUP: NO. 5 LSU STOMPS SETON HALL TO REMAIN UNBEATEN
Aneesah Morrow finished with 24 points, 19 rebounds and three steals and Mikaylah Williams added 22 points as No. 5 LSU buried Seton Hall 91-64 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn., on Tuesday.
Morrow scored six points as the Tigers (13-0) closed the first quarter on a 10-2 run to erase a one-point deficit. Williams, who finished 6-of-11 on 3-point attempts, nailed three straight treys early in the second quarter to power a 17-4 burst that gave LSU a 39-19 lead.
The Tigers entered as the third-best scoring team in the nation, averaging 93.7 points per game. Flau’Jae Johnson added 17 points and Kailyn Gilbert scored 14.
Faith Masonius netted a career-high 29 points to go with five rebounds and three steals for Seton Hall (8-3), which shot only 31 percent from the floor, including 23.5 percent from deep. LSU hit 53.7 percent overall and 45 percent on 3-pointers.
No. 11 Ohio State 82, Grand Valley State 57
Cotie McMahon scored nine of her 21 points in the first five-plus minutes and the unbeaten Buckeyes had no problem defeating the Lakers in a matinee in Columbus, Ohio.
Chance Gray led Ohio State with 23 points and went 5-of-8 on 3-point shots, including nailing her first three attempts as the Buckeyes jumped to a 22-4 lead with 4:39 left in the first quarter.
McMahon and Gray combined to go 17 of 28 from the floor to carry the Buckeyes (11-0), who hit 78.6 of their shots in the first quarter and 52.5 percent for the game.
Abrie Cabana led the Division II power Lakers (11-1) with 14 points. She went 4-of-8 from the floor, but the rest of the team was just 16-of-49 to finish at 35.1 percent.
NHL NEWS
NHL ROUNDUP: PATRIK LAINE (HAT TRICK), CANADIENS ROUT SABRES
Patrik Laine scored three power-play goals to record his 11th career hat trick on Tuesday, lifting the host Montreal Canadiens to a 6-1 victory over the spiraling Buffalo Sabres.
Laine converted a one-timer off a cross-slot feed from captain Nick Suzuki in the first period to become the second player in Canadiens history (since 1933-34) to score each of his first four goals with the franchise on the power play. Mark Recchi previously accomplished the feat in 1994-95.
Laine also beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with a pair of one-timers just 70 seconds apart midway into the second period. Laine’s 11 career hat tricks are third most by a Finnish-born player in NHL history, trailing only Hall of Famers Jari Kurri (23) and Teemu Selanne (22).
Juraj Slafkovsky collected a goal and an assist and Joel Armia and Josh Anderson also scored to help Montreal snap a modest two-game skid. Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson each had two assists, and Sam Montembeault made 20 saves in the win. Buffalo’s Dylan Cozens scored a goal and Luukkonen yielded six goals on 21 shots before being relieved by James Reimer (six saves).
Senators 3, Kraken 0
Linus Ullmark made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season and the second in the past three games as Ottawa opened what amounts to a nine-game trip with a victory in Seattle.
Ullmark, the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goaltender while with Boston, has won his past six starts, allowing five goals over that span. Shane Pinto, Noah Gregor and Tim Stutzle scored for Ottawa, which won its season-high fourth consecutive game. The Senators will play four straight away games before returning home for the NHL’s holiday break, then hit the road again for five in a row because the International Ice Hockey Federation’s world junior championships are being held in Ottawa.
Kraken goalie Joey Daccord, selected from Ottawa in the 2021 expansion draft, stopped 23 of 26 shots. Seattle went 1-2-1 on its four-game homestand.
Lightning 5, Blue Jackets 3
Jake Guentzel scored in his NHL-best seventh straight game as host Tampa Bay fended off a strong comeback by Columbus.
Nick Paul (goal, two assists) tied a career high with three points and Brayden Point netted his team-leading 21st goal for the Lightning. Luke Glendening and Mitchell Chaffee also scored to help Tampa Bay carry a 4-0 lead into the third period.
Mikael Pyyhtia, Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger scored to pull the Blue Jackets within 4-3, but Point’s empty-netter with 2:09 left sealed Columbus’ fifth straight loss (0-3-2).
Penguins 3, Kings 2 (OT)
Rickard Rakell scored on a wrist shot from the right point at 1:44 of overtime to lift Pittsburgh over visiting Los Angeles.
Rakell also had an assist, Evgeni Malkin and Matt Grzelcyk added goals and Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves for the Penguins, who trailed by a goal with six minutes left.
Adrian Kempe and Alex Turcotte scored, Vladislav Gavrikov contributed two assists and Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves for the Kings, who have dropped two of three following a six-game winning streak.
Bruins 4, Flames 3 (OT)
David Pastrnak scored at the 4:22 mark of overtime as Boston erased a pair of two-goal deficits to defeat host Calgary.
Elias Lindholm netted the Bruins’ opening goal and added an assist against his former team, while Morgan Geekie and Marc McLaughlin each scored in the third period to pull Boston even at 3-3. Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves for the Bruins.
All three of the Flames’ goals came in the second period, with Matt Coronato and Nazem Kadri tallying in a 27-second span to open the scoring. Ryan Lomberg’s first goal with Calgary made it 3-1 entering the second intermission. Dustin Wolf stopped 31 shots.
Blackhawks 3, Capitals 2
Ryan Donato scored the go-ahead goal with 2:18 remaining as host Chicago rallied for a win against Washington.
Ilya Mikheyev had a goal and assist and Teuvo Teravainen tallied an assist on every goal for Chicago. TJ Brodie also scored for the Blackhawks, who entered the final period with a 2-0 deficit. Blackhawks goalie Arvid Soderblom made 20 saves.
Washington lost on the road for the second time in as many nights after a franchise-record 10-game road winning streak. Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Mangiapane scored for the Capitals, and Logan Thompson stopped 20 shots.
Devils 4, Blues 1
Jacob Markstrom made 19 saves to backstop visiting New Jersey over St. Louis.
Ondrej Palat, Stefan Noesen, Brenden Dillon and Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils, who are 5-1-1 in their last seven games. Jack Hughes earned two assists.
Jordan Kyrou scored and Jordan Binnington made 24 saves for the Blues, who suffered just their third regulation loss in 11 games (6-3-2) since Jim Montgomery replaced Drew Bannister as head coach.
Predators 2, Rangers 0
Juuse Saros made 25 saves to snap a personal eight-game losing streak, Jonathan Marchessault and Adam Wilsby each scored and host Nashville posted a victory over reeling New York.
Steven Stamkos and Filip Forsberg assisted on both goals while Saros stood tall in helping the Predators win for the second time in three games following an eight-game skid (0-5-3).
New York took its third straight defeat and fell for the 11th time in 14 games after starting 12-4-1. Igor Shesterkin, who allowed five goals in his previous start Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings, stopped 30 of 32 shots in Nashville.
Hurricanes 4, Islanders 0
Pyotr Kochetkov turned in a 32-save performance for his first shutout of the season as Carolina coasted past New York in Raleigh, N.C.
Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist, while Andrei Svechnikov, Jordan Martinook and Tyson Jost also scored as the Hurricanes won back-to-back games for the first time this month. Shayne Gostisbehere provided two assists, helping Carolina avenge a 4-3 road loss from Dec. 7.
Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves on 23 shots through two periods for the Islanders before Marcus Hogberg, making just his second appearance of the season, stopped six shots in the third. New York failed to convert on its only power-play opportunity and lost its second straight game.
Jets 4, Sharks 3
Adam Lowry’s fourth game-winning goal of the season with 73 seconds left in regulation gave visiting Winnipeg a comeback win over San Jose.
The Sharks held a 3-2 lead until Kyle Connor’s power-play equalizer at 11:56 of the third period. Lowry then put Winnipeg ahead for good. Connor had two goals in another huge performance for the Jets’ top line, which totaled eight points. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32 of 35 shots to earn his league-leading 20th win of the season.
Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli each had a goal and an assist for the Sharks. Fabian Zetterlund scored San Jose’s other goal, and Jake Walman contributed two assists. The hard-luck loss dropped San Jose to 1-5-0 in its past six games.
BASEBALL
YANKEES, LHP MAX FRIED FINALIZE 8-YEAR, $218M CONTRACT
Left-hander Max Fried signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
It’s the largest guarantee in MLB history for a left-handed pitcher, edging David Price’s seven-year, $217 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in 2016.
New York officially will introduce Fried on Wednesday at noon ET in the press conference room at Yankee Stadium.
“He’s one of the game’s really, really good pitchers and has a really good track record now of success,” New York manager Aaron Boone said last week of Fried. “He’s a special talent.”
A two-time All-Star, Fried joins right-handed ace Gerrit Cole to form a one-two punch at the front of the Yankees’ rotation. Cole, 34, signed the largest contract ever for a pitcher with the Yankees in 2020 as a free agent and opted to return to finish out the nine-year, $324 million deal at the end of the World Series.
Fried, 30, spent his first eight MLB seasons with the Atlanta Braves and went 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA across 29 starts last season. He had 166 strikeouts and a career-high 57 walks over 174 1/3 innings. He also pitched a major league-high two complete games (one shutout).
Fried was an All-Star in 2022 and 2024, and he received votes for the National League Cy Young Award in 2020 (placing fifth) and 2022 (second).
In 168 career games (151 starts), Fried has gone 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA and 863 strikeouts against 246 walks in 884 1/3 innings. He has tossed six complete games, including four shutouts.
Cole’s historic deal was exceeded last winter when the Dodgers won the bidding for Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a $325 million contract.
GOLF NEWS
PGA TOUR ANNOUNCES FALL SCHEDULE WITHOUT STOP IN LAS VEGAS
The PGA Tour announced its 2025 FedEx Cup Fall schedule on Tuesday, and a trip to Las Vegas is not on the slate for the first time since 1982.
The seven-tournament stretch begins two weeks after the Tour Championship with a date at the Procore Championship on Sept. 11-14 in Napa, Calif. The schedule takes a two-week break that includes the Ryder Cup and resumes on Oct. 2-5 at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss.
The PGA Tour’s event in Japan with a new title sponsor and home begins with the Baycurrent Classic on Oct. 9-12 in Yokohama.
The FedEx Cup Fall schedule is used to determine PGA Tour eligibility for the following season.
“Building on an incredibly compelling FedExCup Fall, the upcoming eligibility changes further heighten the drama and excitement for fans, with more at stake for players than ever before,” said Tyler Dennis, PGA Tour chief competitions officer.
“With events in four U.S. states, Japan, Mexico and Bermuda, the conclusion to the 2025 golf calendar promises to be exciting for our fans worldwide, while also providing a lasting impact in the communities where we will play.”
The Black Desert Championship in Southern Utah will be contested from Oct. 23-26, however the Shriners Children’s Open — a PGA Tour staple since 1983 — is no longer on the schedule. Shriners withdrew as title sponsor in October.
The tournament began in 1983 as a five-round event known as the Panasonic Las Vegas Pro-Celebrity Classic, and Fuzzy Zoeller was the winner at Las Vegas Country Club. The next year, with the name changed to the Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational, Zimbabwe’s Denis Watson was the champion as the event became the first in PGA Tour history to offer a $1 million prize pool.
The event was cut to 72 holes starting in 2004.
The final three official events will be the World Wide Technology Championship (Nov. 6-9) in Los Cabos, Mexico, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship (Nov. 13-16) and the RSM Classic (Nov. 20-23) at Sea Island (Ga.) Golf Club.
TOP INDIANA RELEASES
COLTS FOOTBALL
COLTS’ WEEK 17 GAME VS. NEW YORK GIANTS TO KICK OFF AT 1 P.M. ET ON SUNDAY, DEC. 29
The NFL on Tuesday announced the Colts’ Week 17 game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 29. The game will be televised by FOX.
The game date and kickoff time had previously been listed as TBD, as the NFL this spring selected it to be in a group of games that could be played on Saturday or Sunday in Week 17.
The Giants currently are 2-12, tied with the Las Vegas Raiders for the worst record in the NFL.
The Colts’ Week 18 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars has a TBD kickoff date and time. Kickoff information will be announced at the conclusion of Week 17’s games.
COLTS RELEASE UNOFFICIAL DEPTH CHART FOR WEEK 16 GAME VS. TENNESSEE TITANS
OFFENSE
- WR: Michael Pittman Jr., Ashton Dulin
- LT: Bernhard Raimann, Blake Freeland
- LG: Quenton Nelson, Danny Pinter OR Tanor Bortolini
- C: Tanor Bortolini, Danny Pinter
- RG: Dalton Tucker, Atonio Mafi
- RT: Matt Goncalves
- TE: Mo Alie-Cox, Drew Ogletree
- TE: Kylen Granson, Will Mallory
- WR: Josh Downs, Anthony Gould
- WR: Alec Pierce OR Adonai Mitchell
- QB: Anthony Richardson, Joe Flacco, Sam Ehlinger
- RB: Jonathan Taylor, Trey Sermon, Tyler Goodson
- In the Colts’ Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos, Anthony Richardson completed 17 of 38 passes for 172 yards and had seven carries for 46 yards and a touchdown.
- Kylen Granson recorded single-game season highs in receptions (three) and receiving yards (47) against the Broncos.
DEFENSE
- DE: Kwity Paye, Laiatu Latu
- DT: DeForest Buckner, Taven Bryan, Adetomiwa Adebawore
- NT: Grover Stewart, Raekwon Davis
- DE: Dayo Odeyingbo, Tyquan Lewis, Isaiah Land
- WLB: E.J. Speed
- MLB: Zaire Franklin, Segun Olubi
- SAM: Grant Stuard, Cameron McGrone
- CB: Samuel Womack III, David Long Jr.
- FS: Julian Blackmon, Rodney Thomas II, Darren Hall
- SS: Nick Cross, Ronnie Harrison Jr.
- N: Kenny Moore II, Chris Lammons
- CB: Jaylon Jones
- Zaire Franklin recorded nine tackles (six solo), two tackles for loss and his second interception of the season (third of his career).
- Nick Cross and Samuel Womack III joined Franklin as the two other Colts players to record interceptions against the Broncos. Cross also tallied four tackles (two solo) and Womack had two solo tackles in the loss.
SPECIALISTS
- P: Rigoberto Sanchez
- PK: Matt Gay
- H: Rigoberto Sanchez
- LS: Luke Rhodes
- KR: Tyler Goodson, Anthony Gould, Ashton Dulin
- PR: Josh Downs, Anthony Gould
COLTS SIGN TE ALBERT OKWUEGBUNAM JR. TO PRACTICE SQUAD
The Indianapolis Colts today signed tight end Albert Okwuegbunam Jr. to the practice squad.
Okwuegbunam Jr., 6-5, 258 pounds, has played in 30 career games (seven starts) in his time with the Philadelphia Eagles (2023-24) and Denver Broncos (2020-23) and has compiled 54 receptions for 546 yards (10.1 avg.) and four touchdowns. He was originally selected by the Broncos in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Missouri. In 2024, Okwuegbunam Jr. spent Weeks 1-9 on the Eagles’ Injured Reserve list. His last name is pronounced OH-kwoo-AY-boo-nahm.
INDY FUEL
FUEL HOST BLOOMINGTON FOR FIRST TIME AT HOME
INDIANAPOLIS – On Wednesday, the Fuel will host the Bloomington Bison in the Fishers Event Center for the first time.
LAST TIME OUT
The Fuel have seen the Bison once this season at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. It was a quiet affair through the first two periods before the Fuel scored a pair of goals in the final frame to win their first-ever matchup against the Bison 2-0. Ben Gaudreau, currently in Rockford, was in net for the shutout.
SEPARATING FROM THE HERD
The herd of the Bison have been anything but scary recently. Bloomington is riding a five-game losing streak coming into Wednesday’s game, while the Fuel are on a four-game point streak, the longest current streak in the division. It’s looking like these two teams will have it come down to the wire as the season continues on and these head-to-head matchups are crucial for both sides.
INDIANA FOOTBALL
CURT CIGNETTI NAMED AP COACH OF THE YEAR AFTER LEADING A REMARKABLE TURNAROUND AT INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When Curt Cignetti took the Indiana job last fall, he promised immediate success.
It wasn’t boastful bluster.
After daring the doubters to Google his winning pedigree, the son of a Hall of Fame football coach delivered on his word by leading the Hoosiers to a school-record 11 wins, a top 10 ranking and an improbable first playoff berth that set up a Friday night game at No. 3 Notre Dame.
Cignetti was named The Associated Press Coach of the Year on Tuesday, collecting 30 of 45 votes from AP Top 25 voters. Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham finished second with eight votes, Oregon coach Dan Lanning received five and SMU coach Rhett Lashlee got two.
“Thank you to The Associated Press for this tremendous team honor,” Cignetti said. “Our program has had a great season and we look forward to opening the College Football Playoff against Notre Dame on Friday.”
Few thought such a season was possible at Indiana, much less in his first season. Cignetti authored an eight-win turnaround that captivated the nation at a school with the most losses in Football Bowl Subdivision history.
Then again, all the 60-year-old Cignetti does is win.
He’s never had a losing record in 14 seasons as a head coach and has a reputation for making quick turnarounds everywhere he goes — Alabama, where he served as Nick Saban’s first recruiting coordinator and won a national title, following his father to Indiana University of Pennsylvania or at FCS school Elon and James Madison, where he presided over the most successful transition from the FCS to FBS in NCAA history.
Cignetti won conference coach of the year awards at IUP, Elon, James Madison and now in the Big Ten with Indiana. Cignetti brought most of his coaching staff and 13 players from the Dukes to Indiana and the results were as surprising as they were at any of his previous stops.
Even Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman took note.
“I didn’t know much about him, so I took a minute and Googled him and looked at some of the things he’s done in the past at his other places,” Freeman said Sunday, a week after the playoff pairings were announced. “He’s won everywhere he’s been. He’s done a great job.”
The winner of seventh-seeded Notre Dame (11-1) and 10th-seeded Indiana advances to the quarterfinal round against second-seeded Georgia (11-2, No. 2 AP).
Cignetti is the first Indiana coach to win the award since its inception in 1998. His predecessor, Tom Allen, finished second in 2020 after leading the Hoosiers to a 6-2 mark, a second straight January bowl game and a final ranking of No. 12.
But this has been a historic season for the Hoosiers (11-1) and Cignetti. who became the first Indiana coach to start 10-0 — or even post double-digit wins in season.
Indiana produced its largest margin of victory in school history, 77-3 over Western Illinois, in September and two of its three largest victory margins in Big Ten play, 56-7 over Nebraska in October and 66-0 over rival Purdue in its regular-season finale.
Ten of the 11 wins were by margins of 14 or more points and they only trailed in the second half of one game, a loss at then-No. 2 Ohio State. And Indiana isn’t just the highest scoring team in the playoffs at 43.3 points per game, it also has the No. 6 scoring defense (14.67 points) and the No. 1 run defense (70.8 yards per game) in the FBS.
It’s not a surprise to anyone in the program, least of all Cignetti.
“This team’s accomplished a lot, I’m proud of what they’ve accomplished,” Cignetti said. “I think the coaches have done a great job, players have done a great job. But in saying that, no one’s satisfied. The players are hungry for more, the coaches are hungry for more.”
PURDUE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PURDUE SURGES IN FOURTH TO BEAT MIAMI
OXFORD, Ohio – Using dominant fourth quarter, the Purdue women’s basketball team pulled away to a 67-51 win on the road at Miami on Tuesday night. The Boilermakers (6-5) shot an even 50% from the field and went 8-of-11 from distance to pick up their first true road win of the season.
Purdue’s four newcomer seniors stepped up in the win. Reagan Bass, Destini Lombard, Ella Collier and Mahri Petree combined for 46 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, five steals and five blocks.
Bass notched her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The senior also matched her career high with five assists and turned away a trio of shots. Lombard tallied 16 points with a trio of 3-pointers on the offensive end, while recording three steals and two blocks on defense.
Collier was 5-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from distance for 12 points with two assists. Petree came off the bench to score eight points and grab three rebounds.
Rashunda Jones turned in a solid all-around night with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Purdue held Miami (5-3) to 31% shooting and 29% (9-of-31) from behind the arc. The RedHawks committed 21 turnovers that the Boilermakers flipped into 17 points.
TOP STAT
Carrying a 39-35 lead through three periods, the Boilermakers closed out the game with a 28-point fourth quarter, going 8-of-12 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc. Lombard scored 10 points in the frame on 3-of-4 shooting with a pair of threes. Bass scored all four of her points at the line, as Purdue went 8-of-8 on free throws to close out the game. Collier and Petree both had five points and made a triple.
KEY MOMENTS
• The Boilermakers started strong on defense, holding the RedHawks 0-for-5 to start the game.
• Collier and Jones sparked the offense after a slow start with back-to-back 3-pointers.
• The Boilermakers held Miami 1-of-9 from behind the arc in the first quarter, as both teams ended the first tied 11-11.
• Mahri Petree put the Boilermakers back in the lead with an early three in the second.
• Collier hit a mid-range jumper with 6:34 to play in the half, before Kendall Puryear fought through contact for a layup on the next possession to open a five-point gap at 19-14.
• Purdue closed the second on an 11-3 run to carry a 26-17 lead at the break.
• A quick 4-0 run from Jones and Lana McCarthy opened up a 13-point advantage in the first two minutes of the third.
• Miami made five 3-pointers to chip the gap down to four points, finishing the third on a 9-2 run.
• After the RedHawks cut the gap down to one with 6:53 to play, Collier and Lombard connected on back-to-back triples to extend the lead to 50-43.
• Just under three minutes to play, Purdue sealed the game with a 9-0 run with a pair of free throws from Bass, five points from Lombard and a jumper from Petree.
• Purdue held Miami to just four points over the final three minutes of the game.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series 8-2. The Boilermakers have won the last four meetings dating back to 1982.
• Freshman Jordyn Poole made her collegiate debut against the RedHawks with one rebound and one steal.
• Purdue forced 21 turnovers and recorded 10 steals, its fifth game with double-digit swipes this season.
• Bass now has 24 double-doubles in her career. She is now 64 points away from 1,500 for her career.
• Lombard reached double figures for the ninth time this season and marked her seventh game with three or more steals.
• Purdue outscored Miami 20-8 in the paint.
• The Boilermakers are now 31-4 under head coach Katie Gearlds when holding a team to 60 or fewer points and 50-18 when keeping teams to 70 or less.
• The eight 3-pointers matched the season high for Purdue. It was the Boilermakers’ 58th game under Gearlds with seven or more threes.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will close out the non-conference slate at home on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. against Indiana State. The game will be streamed on B1G+.
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
FREEMAN GARNERS FINALIST HONORS FOR DODD TROPHY
Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman has been named a finalist for the 2024 Dodd Trophy. The Dodd Trophy was established in 1976 to honor the FBS football coach whose program represents three pillars of success: Scholarship, Leadership and Integrity.
The award honors the coach of a team with a successful season on the field and equally as important, stresses the importance of academic excellence and desire to give back to the community.
Freeman, also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, is in his third season at Notre Dame and has led the Irish to an 11-1 record in 2024, with a No. 3 ranking in the Associated Press (AP) and Coaches Polls, and the No. 7 seed in the 2024 College Football Playoff.
Freeman led Notre Dame to four victories over opponents ranked in the AP Poll at the time of the game this season: No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 15 Louisville, No. 24 Navy and No. 18 Army. The victory over Army was the 11th ranked win of the Freeman era at Notre Dame, more than any other Irish head coach in the first three years of his tenure.
Notre Dame finished out the regular season ranking among the top teams in the nation in multiple statistical categories, including: first in team passing efficiency defense (94.10), first in turnovers gained (28), first in defensive touchdowns (6), second in turnover margin (1.33), third in scoring defense (13.6), fourth in scoring offense (39.8), fourth in passing yards allowed (157.9), fourth in interceptions (17), fourth in fourth-down success rate (0.760), sixth in passes had intercepted (5), seventh in fumbles recovered (11), ninth in red zone defense (0.733), 10th in total defense (296.8), 10th in rushing offense (224.8) and 10th in first downs defense (197).
WATTS, CROSS III NAMED TO FWAA ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
Graduate defensive lineman Howard Cross III and graduate safety Xavier Watts have both been named to the FWAA All-America Second Team.
Cross III was also named to the FWAA Second Team in 2023. Watts was a first-team honoree in 2023.
The Irish defense is one of the most complete defenses in the country, ranking among the FBS’ top teams. At the end of the regular season, Notre Dame was first in team passing efficiency defense (94.10), first in turnovers gained (28), first in defensive touchdowns (6), third in scoring defense (13.6), fourth in passing yards allowed (157.9), fourth in interceptions (17), seventh in fumbles recovered (11), ninth in red zone defense (0.733), 10th in total defense (296.8) and 10th in first downs defense (197).
Cross III owns four sacks in 2024, already a single-season career-high. This season in nine games, he has posted 23 tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-loss and three quarterback hurries.
He was named the Outland Trophy Player of the Week for his performance vs. Louisville in which he was the nation’s top-graded interior lineman that weekend. He and the Irish defense limited Louisville to well below their offensive averages entering the game. Louisville rushed for just 131 rushing yards on the day; the Cardinals entered the game averaging 194.3 rushing yards per game. Notre Dame allowed 264 passing yards (Cardinals entered the matchup averaging 308.0) and 395 yards of total offense (Louisville averaged 502.3 prior).
Cross III also shone in the 49-7 win over Stanford, in which he posted two sacks (loss of 15 yards), a quarterback hurry and four tackles (all solo).
Watts, a Notre Dame team captain, has been named an Associated Press, AFCA and Walter Camp First-Team All-American, all three for the second-consecutive season.
Watts has also been named a First-Team All-American by The Athletic, USA TODAY, Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Focus. Watts was named a First-Team Midseason All-American by Associated Press, The Sporting News, PFF, Athlon Sports, The Athletic and CBS Sports.
Watts earned Notre Dame’s program Defensive Player of the Year award in 2024, and he was named a semifinalist for the 2024 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award and the 2024 Lott IMPACT Trophy.
Watts has totaled 12-career interceptions, the most by a Notre Dame player since 1996. He is the 19th Notre Dame player to intercept 10 or more passes and is tied for eighth on the all-time list for career interceptions in program history.
Watts ranks third in the nation in total interceptions (5), fourth in the nation in interceptions per game (0.4), and 12th in the country in passes defended (1.2 per game).
Notre Dame has gained 28 turnovers this season (tied for first in the nation). Watts is responsible for six of them (five interceptions, one fumble recovery).
NOTRE DAME WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
HIDALGO EARNS AP, USBWA HONORS FOR SECOND TIME THIS SEASON
After bringing home ACC Player of the Week honors on Monday, Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo has been named the Associated Press National Player of the Week and one of five U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Players of the Week. She earned both awards earlier this season following Notre Dame’s victory at then-No. 3 USC.
Last week, Hidalgo averaged 28 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4.5 steals in wins over No. 2 UConn and Eastern Michigan and helped propel Notre Dame back to No. 3 in the AP Poll. She shot 58.1 percent from the floor, 53.3 percent from deep and a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line in the two games as well.
Hidalgo was the leading scorer in both contests and posted a near triple-double over the Huskies with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. She had a career-high six triples in Notre Dame’s third victory of the season over top-five competition.
Notre Dame returns to the court on Sunday, as the Irish host Loyola (MD) for a final game before the holiday break. The game tips off on ACCNX at 2 p.m.
NOTRE DAME HOCKEY
IRISH TO COMPETE IN 2025 ICE BREAKER TOURNAMENT
TEMPE, Ariz. – The University of Notre Dame hockey team is set to start the 2025-26 season in the desert as one of four participants in the 2025 Ice Breaker Tournament, hosted by Arizona State University and College Hockey Inc on behalf of the Hockey Commissioners Association. The Irish will join host ASU, as well as Quinnipiac and Alaska next season for the two-day tournament at Mullett Arena. The Ice Breaker Tournament first began in 1997 and traditionally serves as the beginning of the NCAA Division I men’s hockey season.
The 2025 edition will mark Notre Dame’s seventh appearance in the tournament, the most of any program. Notre Dame won the tournament in 2012 (Kansas City) and 2018 ( Erie, Pa.) and hosted the event in 2014. The Irish last took part in the annual tournament to open the 2022-23 season, with a trip to Colorado to face Denver and Air Force.
BUTLER MEN’S BASKETBALL
BIG EAST PLAY BEGINS FOR THE BULLDOGS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT NO. 9 MARQUETTE
Butler opens BIG EAST play Wednesday night, traveling to No. 9 Milwaukee for a tip against Marquette.
Butler (7-4, 0-0 BIG EAST) at #9/9 Marquette (9-2, 0-0)
Wednesday, Dec. 18 • 8PM CT
Fiserv Forum • Milwaukee, Wis.
TV: FS1 • Jeff Levering & LaPhonso Ellis
Audio: Varsity Network App, SiriusXM 390, XM App 980 & TuneIn • @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
The Series with the Golden Eagles
• The Bulldogs and Marquette first met in 1922, which is Butler’s earliest match-up against any of the current BIG EAST opponents.
• Twenty-two of the 51 match-ups in the series have come since the Bulldogs joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season.
• The two teams met in the Round of 32 of the 2013 NCAA Tournament with Marquette pulling out a 74-72 victory.
• Butler won in Milwaukee a season ago (Jan. 10, 2024), knocking off the then-ranked No. 11/12 Golden Eagles, 69-62.
Series: Marquette Leads, 26-25
Streak: Marquette, W1
In Milwaukee: Marquette Leads, 16-11
First Meeting: Dec. 12, 1922; Marquette, 18-17 (at MU)
Last Meeting: Feb. 13, 2024; Marquette, 78-72 (at Hinkle)
• The Bulldogs enter the contest on a three-game losing streak, most recently falling to No. 20 Wisconsin, 83-74, Saturday in the Indy Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
• The Bulldogs are in the midst of a five-game stretch that includes four Top 25 opponents (having played Houston and Wisconsin with Marquette and Connecticut upcoming).
• Pierre Brooks II averaged 24.5 points in Butler’s two games last week; he matched his career-high with 26 points against North Dakota State Tuesday (making four three-pointers for the third time this season). He followed that with 23 points against Wisconsin Saturday.
• Brooks has five 20-point games through Butler’s first 11 contests this season; he had seven such games during the entire 2023-24 season when he led the Bulldogs in scoring.
• Butler has committed only 10 total turnovers over the last two games. The Bulldogs entered last week ranked 302nd nationally in turnovers committed (14.0 per game); at the end of the week, Butler is now 195th in the NCAA as their rate has dropped to 12.4 miscues per game.
• The Bulldogs got to the free throw line a season-high 32 times in Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin, but hit a season-worst 68.8 percent of those attempts. Butler ranks 14th nationally in free throws made per game (19.2) and 23rd nationally in attempts per game (25.4).
• Saturday was only the second time in Butler’s last 51 games that the team shot less than 70 percent from the free throw line (joining Dec. 23, 2023 at Providence).
• Patrick McCaffery made three of his five attempts from behind the arc Saturday vs. Wisconsin; his 47.0-percent accuracy from three-point range is 25th nationally. He has hit multiple three-pointers in nine of the team’s 11 games, including five twice.
• The Bulldogs rank 22nd nationally in three-point percentage, making 39.3 percent of their attempts on the season.
• Brooks set career-highs in both free throws made (7) and attempted (8) in Saturday’s game vs. Wisconsin.
• Augusto Cassiá will be sidelined indefinitely with a ligament injury in his right knee, sustained in the team’s game against NDSU Dec. 10. Surgery is not required and the injury is not season-ending.
• Jahmyl Telfort has scored 20 or more points in four of the last six games; he leads the BIG EAST in both free throws made (55) and attempted (68), while his 80.9-percent accuracy is sixth in the conference.
• Butler’s Big 3 of Telfort, Brooks and McCaffery have scored 491 of the team’s 806 points this season (60.9 percent of the team’s output).
• Telfort, McCaffery, and Brooks rank 1-3-5 in the BIG EAST in minutes played per game.
• Beginning with the Arizona Tip-Off (the team’s most recent six games), 6-2 guard Kolby King leads the team with an average of 6.3 rebounds per game.
• The Bulldogs used a 45-point second half to fully erase a 23-point second half deficit (taking a five-point lead) before falling in the final minutes to North Dakota State Dec. 10.
• Telfort’s scoring average of 16.2 points per game is eighth in the BIG EAST.
• Andre Screen is seventh in the BIG EAST at 1.3 blocks per game, while his 6.0 rebounds per game rank 11th.
• The Bulldogs defeated Northwestern and No. 25 Mississippi State in taking the Arizona Tip-Off title over Thanksgiving.
More About Marquette
• Marquette is ranked No. 9 this week in both of the national polls.
• The Golden Eagles are 9-2 on the season, featuring wins over Wisconsin, Georgia, Purdue, and Maryland; the team’s two losses have come in their last three games: at Iowa State and at Dayton.
• Kam Jones leads Marquette, averaging 20.1 points and 6.4 assists per game.
• Marquette forces a BIG EAST-best 16.3 turnovers per game (thanks in large part to 10.4 steals per game).
BALL STATE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
BSU PICKED TO WIN MIVA AND THREE CARDINALS EARN A SPOT ON THE PRESEASON ALL-MIVA TEAM
MUNCIE, Ind. — The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association announced the 2025 Preseason All-MIVA and MIVA Preseason Poll on Tuesday morning.
Ball State, the repeating three-time regular season MIVA Champions, have been picked to win the conference in the preseason poll. The Cardinals also have three players named to the preseason All-MIVA team including Rajé Alleyne, Tinaishe Ndacazocheva and Patrick Rogers.
Alleyne, the powerhouse transfer from Quincy University, had a memorable 2024 season where he led the MIVA in points scored with 421.5 on the season. He also led the conference in kills, recording 366 kills with an average of 4.41 kills per set. Remaining among the conference leaders, Alleyne had the ninth highest average for service aces per set (.33) and the 11th highest hitting percentage (.307). He concluded the season earning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Honorable Mention and First Team All-MIVA Honors.
Ndavazocheva has earned his spot on the preseason All-MIVA team for the second time. Last year, Ndavazocheva ranked third in the MIVA for kills (327) and points scored (374.5). He was also a conference leader in hitting percentage (.325), aces (81), digs per set (1.27/103 total) and blocks per set (.51/41 total). Ndavazocheva ended the season being named Second Team AVCA All-American, earned All-MIVA Tournament Team and All-MIVA First Team honors.
In his rookie season for the Cardinals, Rogers was a necessary playmaker on the court. He tallied 269 kills, averaging 3.84 kills per set and hit at a .361 clip. He also averaged .53 blocks per set with a total of 33 block assists and 4 block solos. Rogers ended the season with a total of 310.5 points, received honorable mention on the AVCA All-American Team and earned All-MIVA First Team honors.
This season, the Cardinals will open at home against Wabash College (Jan. 3), followed by another home match hosting Trine University (Jan. 5).
They will begin MIVA action at home on Feb. 6 against Purdue Fort Wayne.
2025 MIVA Preseason Poll
1. Ball State – 81 (9)
2. Loyola Chicago – 66
3. Ohio State – 60
4. Lewis – 58
5. McKendree – 47
6. Lindenwood – 38
7. Purdue Fort Wayne – 25
8. Queens – 20
9. Quincy – 9
2025 Preseason All-MIVA
Patrick Rogers – Ball State
Tinaishe Ndavazocheva – Ball State
Raje Alleyne – Ball State
Max Roquet – Lewis
Nico Paula – Lewis
Ian Schuller – Lindenwood
Daniel Fabikovic – Loyola Chicago
Nicodemus Meyer – Loyola Chicago
*Parker Van Buren – Loyola Chicago
Kevin Schuele – McKendree
Shane Wetzel – Ohio State
Cole Young – Ohio State
*Preseason Player of the Year
BALL STATE FOOTBALL
UREMOVICH NAMES NINE COACHES TO BALL STATE FOOTBALL COACHING STAFF
MUNCIE, Ind. – Mike Uremovich has announced the addition of nine coaches to the Ball State football coaching staff.
Among the nine, two are holdovers from the previous coaching staff. Jeff Knowles remains as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Cardinals, and Shaq Vann stays as the wide receivers coach. Both completed their first season at Ball State in 2024. Knowles is a former teammate and coaching colleague of Uremovich, all the way back to their playing days together at Providence Catholic High School in Illinois.
Like Knowles, each of the remaining seven hires steps into the Ball State program with previous ties to Uremovich. Six coached under Uremovich recently at Butler University, and the seventh, Ray Smith, coached the defense while Uremovich was head coach at St. Francis University in Joliet, Illinois.
Knowles and Smith, in fact, both were with Uremovich at St. Francis. With Knowles leading the defense at Ball State, Smith arrives as the defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach. Smith is a former all-league defensive back at Northern Illinois and brings 18 seasons of coaching experience to the Cardinals. He spent the 2024 season at Kennesaw State, following seven years at Southeast Missouri State.
Coordinating the Cardinals’ run defense is Adam Siwicki who will also serve as the defensive line coach. Siwicki served in the same capacity the past three years at Butler, in addition to being named defensive coordinator for a Bulldogs’ team last season that ranked fourth in the country with just 16.3 points allowed per game. Like Uremovich, Knowles and Smith, he also has ties to both St. Francis and Northern Illinois.
Rounding out the defensive staff additions is Rory Mannering, a Central Indiana native who was the assistant head coach and linebackers coach at Butler last year. He starred locally at Hanover College where he was a Division III all-region pick at free safety. He will coach safeties for the Cardinals.
Offensively, Alex Barr comes to Ball State after three years as the offensive line coach at Butler. He was the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator the past two seasons. An offensive lineman as a player under Uremovich’s tutelage at NC State, Barr began his coaching career as an intern and grad assistant under his former coach at Northern Illinois. He will be the Cardinals’ offensive line coach in 2025.
Ball State’s new tight ends coach is Sean Chase, who coached tight ends and running backs during a two-year stay at Butler. Like Barr, he began his coaching career while a student and graduate assistant at NIU – with Uremovich the assistant head coach.
Ray Holmes is the Cardinals’ inside receivers coach, following a three-year stint directing the receiving unit at Butler. Counting student positions at Northern Illinois and Temple, Ball State is the fourth program in which Holmes has coached under Uremovich.
Also announced is strength and conditioning coach T.J. Greenstone, who spent seven years at Butler guiding programs for the Bulldogs’ football and men’s soccer teams. A former defensive tackle at Vanderbilt, Greenstone is a U.S. champion weightlifter whose coaching resume includes stops at Southern Mississippi, Tennessee State and Evansville.
INDIANA STATE SWIMMING
SYCAMORES CLOSE OUT 2024 CALENDAR YEAR AT EAGLES HOLIDAY SPLASH
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State swimming and diving closes out the 2024 calendar year on the road as the Sycamores head to Fort Myers, Fla. for the Eagles Holiday Splash hosted by Florida Gulf Coast at the FGCU Aquatics Complex on Thursday, December 19. Events are set to start at 10 a.m. with live results available through Meet Mobile.
The Sycamores are one of four teams in competition over the weekend at FGCU as Indiana State will take on host Florida Gulf Coast, Tulane, and UNC Asheville over the one-day event at the outdoor facility.
Indiana State is back in the pool for the first time since the Miami (Ohio) Invite over December 5-7 when the Sycamores got their first taste of what the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Championships would look like with events spread over the three days in Oxford, Ohio.
The Sycamores excelled posting 14 new school records (several broken multiple times), as well as six event wins over the weekend meet at the Corwin M. Nixon Aquatic Center. New marks in the 50, 200, 500, 1000, and 1650-yard Freestyle, 100-yard Back, 200-yard Fly, 200-yard IM, and the 400-yard Freestyle and Medley Relays all went down, while Claire Parsons became just the second Sycamore swimmer to earn an NCAA B-Cut time in program history in the 1650 over the weekend.
Erin Cummins took home Indiana State’s first win over the weekend setting a school-record in the 500-yard Freestyle on the opening day of the meet. Alexandria Cotter followed up taking the win in the 400-yard IM, while Sahara Visscher, Parsons, Peyton Heagy, and Cummins took the victory in the 800-yard Freestyle Relay. Saturday’s finale featured Ali Pearson (200 Breast), Parsons (1650 Free), and the 400-yard Freestyle Relay of Chloe Farro, Visscher, Cummins, and Kaleigh Kelley taking the win in the final event of the weekend.
The Sycamores swept the Valley’s weekly award winners with Parsons (Swimmer), Gemma Dilks (Freshman), and Daniela Orta Castaneda (Diver) claiming the awards. It marked Parsons and Orta Castaneda’s first honors of the week, while Dilks took Freshman honors for the second time in the season.
Indiana State boasts a number of athletes that sit among the conference Top 10 leaders in multiple events through their first two meets of the regular season including conference leaders Erin Cummins (500 Free), Claire Parsons (1000 & 1650 Free) and Gemma Dilks (200 Fly). The Sycamores also boast the fastest time in the 800-yard Freestyle Relay.
50-yard Free: Kaleigh Kelley (22.82, 3rd), Raine Boles (23.14, 8th)
100-yard Free: Chloe Farro (50.00, 4th)
200-yard Free: Erin Cummins (1:47.98, 2nd), Claire Parsons (1:49.30, 6th), Sahara Visscher (1:50.12, 8th), Chloe Farro (1:50.29, 10th)
500-yard Free: Erin Cummins (4:47.51, 1st), Claire Parsons (4:47.59, 2nd), Maria Saldana Riebeling (4:52.09, 4th), Haley Halsall (4:57.90, 10th)
1000-yard Free: Claire Parsons (9:57.49, 1st), Erin Cummins (10:08.71, 2nd), Maria Saldana Riebeling (10:14.70, 7th), Gemma Dilks (10:19.45, 10th)
1650-yard Free: Claire Parsons (16:31.28, 1st), Erin Cummins (16:56.25, 3rd), Maria Saldana Riebeling (16:57.98, 5th), Gemma Dilks (17:09.05, 9th)
100-yard Back: Sahara Visscher (54.65, 4th)
200-yard Back: Claire Parsons (2:01.64, 7th)
100-yard Breast: Ali Pearson (1:02.11, 4th), Kaleigh Kelley (1:03.18, 9th)
200-yard Breast: Ali Pearson (2:15.41, 3rd), Dorotea Bukvic (2:15.52, 4th), Kaleigh Kelley (2:17.23, 9th), Alexandria Cotter (2:17.92, 10th)
100-yard Fly: Raine Boles (54.64, 5th), Kaleigh Kelley (54.94, 7th)
200-yard Fly: Gemma Dilks (2:00.21, 1st), Sophia Diaz (2:02.02, 4th), Haley Halsall (2:02.91, 6th)
200-yard IM: Alexandria Cotter (2:01.40, 3rd), Gemma Dilks (2:02.60, 8th)
400-yard IM: Alexandria Cotter (4:19.49, 3rd), Gemma Dilks (4:20.01, 4th), Dorotea Bukvic (4:26.73, 9th)
800-yard Freestyle Relay: 7:20.22, 1st
Thursday Event Schedule
200 Medley Relay, 500 Free, 200 IM, 75 Back, 75 Breast, 75 Fly, 75 Free, 200 Back, 50 Free, 50 Breast, 50 Fly, 50 Back, 200 Fly, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 25 Fly, 25 Free, 200 Breast, 4×25 Free relay, 3-Meter diving, 1-Meter diving.
INDIANA STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
INDIANA STATE READY FOR RACERS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State men’s basketball returns to the Hulman Center to face Murray State for the first time since November 22 in the second of two early Missouri Valley matchups. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend. Wednesday night’s game will also be simulcast on WTWO.
The series was renewed in 2023 when Murray State joined the league. Previously, the two teams met in eight different seasons spanning from 1945 to 2008. Since joining the league, the Sycamores and Racers have meet four times, where Indiana State leads 3-1 and have won the last three.
In the last outing, Indiana State downed the Bears of Missouri State in Springfield to win its league opener, 80-77. Samage Teel stayed hot, pacing the Sycamores with 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting and 3-for-6 from three. He was close to a triple-double, pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out nine assists. Jaden Daughtry scored 20 points going 9-for-14 from the field. K’mani Doughty recorded seven points and five rebounds, and Josiah LeGree dished out five assists.
Murray State fell in its last time on the floor in nonconference action, 81-76 at Bowling Green. JaCobi Wood led the Racers with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Nick Ellington added 15 points and seven rebounds to the MSU attack. AJ Ferguson added 13 points and became a third MSU player to have a team-high seven rebounds.
In recent outings, two Sycamores have elevated their games to help Indiana State build a three-game win streak. Jaden Daughtry in his last four games (three in the Bahamas plus Missouri State) is 29-for-39 (74.4%). He’s averaging 10.9 points per game this season while shooting 59.3% from the field in 18.1 minutes per game. But in his last five games, his shooting numbers have elevated while playing less than a minute more per game (18.9). The sophomore is has scored 13.9 points per game in the span, shooting 72.1% from the field.
Senior Samage Teel is leading the Sycamores in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and minutes played in the last five games. Teel’s numbers are 17.6 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, 4.8 assists per game, 2.0 steals per game, and 33.7 minutes per game. He earned Newcomer of the Week in the MVC following his performance in the Missouri State game, his second of the season.
Game Promotions
Santa will be on campus! Santa will be on the concourse during pregame for photo ops.
When fans purchase an upper bowl ticket for Wednesday’s game, they will receive an upper bowl ticket to Saturday’s home game versus the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Tickets are also available for fans to sit in The Forest during Saturday’s game for $15.
Wednesday is Indiana State’s Autism Awareness Game. During Wednesday’s halftime, the Terre Haute Boys and Girls Club will be playing on the court. On Saturday, there will be a halftime performance by Mutts Gone Nuts.
EVANSVILLE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
UE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL EARNS WIN OVER IU COLUMBUS ON EDUCATION DAY
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s basketball team bounced back with a 84-52 win over IU Columbus for its Education Day game at the Ford Center.
After a tough loss on Saturday the Purple Aces recovered quickly on Tuesday against the IU Columbus Crimson Pride for their annual Education Day. UE particularly shined on defense with a season-high 17 steals and only allowing three IUC offensive rebounds. Sophomore forward Maggie Hartwig (Sauk City, Wis. / Sauk Prairie HS) led Evansville on both sides of the ball for her third double-double of the season.
“What a fun game to be out here with all the local students. They were so loud and created a great atmosphere,” said Head Coach Robyn Scherr following the victory. “These games are always really fun and it was exciting to be apart of it. This game was really good for us as we’ve got a lot of games in a short stretch.
“It was a chance for us to get some players a little more comfortable on the floor. We had some players coming off of injury that were able to get on the floor. That part was really really valuable for us. I was happy with how our kids played overall, especially in the third quarter.”
In front of over 1,400 Tri-State area students the Aces kept it close early as the lead was traded seven times. UE’s first run of the game started with freshman Avery Kelley’s (Evansville, Ind. / Memorial HS) first collegiate three four minutes into the first. Evansville then rattled off a seven-point run to take the lead for the rest of the game. Kelley added another triple to end the quarter for the Aces as they headed into the second up by three.
Both teams struggled to score early in the second quarter as only three field goals were made in the first five minutes. But UE soon found its offensive rhythm with a six-point run to take a double-digit lead. Adding four points in the final minute of the first half Evansville led by 13 at the half break.
The game fully turned the Aces way in the third quarter as UE’s defense didn’t allow a made basket from the Crimson Pride for almost five minutes. In that first four minutes and 53 seconds of the second half Evansville scored eight straight points growing its lead to 21. After the Aces run was broken by a free throw they quickly responded with a seven point run. UE’s lead grew to 32 with a minute and a half left in the third as freshman guard Kaiden Kreinhagen (Indianapolis, North Central HS) hit her second triple of the quarter. The teams traded free throws to end the third as Evansville held a commanding 63-32 lead.
In the final 10 minutes of the game the Aces removed their more experienced players to have all 11 of their healthy players get time on the floor. Ten of UE’s players scored at least two points as junior forward Mira Hanna (Palm Harbor, Fla. / Little Rock) had her first and-1 opportunity two and a half minutes into the fourth. Evansville had two brief four-point runs in the final seven minutes of the game as the team cruised to an 84-52 win over IU Columbus.
Three Aces set new career scoring highs on Tuesday including Kreinhagen, Kelley, and sophomore forward Claudia Clement (Barcelona, Spain). Hartwig was UE’s leader on the floor with 21 points and 10 rebounds while tying a career-high of three steals. Two other Evansville players ended the game in double-digits as Kreinhagen poured in 15 while guard Camryn Runner (Cicero, Ind. / Hamilton Heights HS) had 12.
On the defensive side of the ball forwards Tamesha Dozier (Louisville, Ky. / Wabash Valley) and freshman Elle Snyder (Latrobe, Penn. / Greater Latrobe HS) had eight rebounds each. Snyder also contributed a game-high six steals for two defensive career records. Despite being the Aces shortest player on the floor, Kelley recorded the only block of the game for UE.
Evansville will end its non-conference schedule on the road this weekend. The Aces head up to the Windy City to face the Loyola Ramblers for the first time since they left the Missouri Valley Conference in 2022. Tip-off from Gentile Arena on Saturday, December 21st is set for 2 p.m. CT.
SOUTHERN INDIANA TENNIS
MEN’S TENNIS REVEALS ITS 2025 SCHEDULE WITH FOUR POWER CONFERENCE TESTS
EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Men’s Tennis has announced its 2025 spring schedule that includes six matches in Evansville split between the Evansville Community Tennis Center and the USI Tennis Courts. The Screaming Eagles compete in 11 road contests, highlighted by four matches against power conference squads. USI competes in the Horizon League with four regular season conference matches, looking to reach the Horizon League Championships as the top six teams advance among the conferences ten schools.
USI opens the 2025 campaign in Evansville against Butler University (January 24) at the Evansville Tennis Center. The Eagles also host non-conference opponents, University of Missouri-St. Louis (February 15) at the ETCA and Eastern Kentucky University (March 7) at the USI Tennis Courts.
The Eagles late January and February non-conference schedule consists of road contests against Lipscomb University (January 31), Vanderbilt University (February 1), Northern Kentucky University (February 8), Indiana University Indianapolis (February 22), and University of Dayton (February 28). The squads March away non-conference season is strenuous, taking on Austin Peay State University (March 1), University of Louisville (March 9), Indiana University (March 16), and University of Notre Dame (March 30). The Eagles also make a short late trip to Kentucky Wesleyan College (April 10).
USI’s four Horizon league matches are stacked at the end of the season with the lone road matches at Tennessee Tech University (April 5). The squads Horizon League home slate features matches with Belmont University (March 22), Eastern Illinois University (March 26), and Tennessee State University (April 12). USI looks to advance to the Horizon League Championships (April 25-27) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Horizon League features a north and south division with five teams in each. The top three teams in each division advance to the tournament with the division winners receiving a first round bye.
The Eagles look to improve after a 5-14 overall record, along with a 0-5 conference season. Junior standout Mathys Bove returns to the squad after posting a team best singles record of 12-5.
For more information and the full schedule, visit our website at USIScreamingEagles.com or find us on social media at USIAthletics.
USI WOMEN’S TENNIS ANNOUNCES 2025 SPRING SCHEDULE
EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Women’s Tennis has revealed its 2025 spring schedule that includes six matches in Evansville split between the Evansville Community Tennis Center and the USI Tennis Courts, ten road contests, culminated with a return to the OVC Championships on April 17-19.
USI Women’s Tennis opens their season with multiple tough regional non-conference road tests. The Screaming Eagles non-conference road schedule includes Indiana University (January 26), Northern Kentucky University (February 8), Butler University (February 21), Indiana University Indianapolis (February 22), University of Dayton (February 28), Austin Peay State University (March 1), Western Kentucky (March 2), and Kentucky Wesleyan College (April 10).
The Eagles home opener against University of Missouri-St. Louis (February 15) will take place at the Evansville Community Tennis Courts due projected cold weather. The next match in town is against Eastern Kentucky University (March 7) also at the ECTA.
The Ohio Valley Conference features eight schools in the 2025 season with the addition of Bryant University, allowing for a new conference tournament layout this year. All eight teams will compete in six conference regular season matches to be seeded one through eight in the OVC Tennis Championships, hosted by the conference at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis Missouri for the second straight year.
USI’s conference schedule features home matches against Western Illinois University (March 15), Eastern Illinois University (March 26), Southeast Missouri State University (March 29), and Lindenwood University (April 12), all at the USI Tennis Courts on campus with clear weather. The road conference slate features two matches at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (March 23) and at Tennessee State University (April 4). All eight teams will be re-seeded into a single elimination format tournament at the OVC Tennis Championships (April 17-19) in St. Louis.
The Eagles are coming off a historic 2024 campaign, earning its first NCAA Division I conference tournament win against EIU in the quarterfinals. USI made a seven-game win improvement at 11-11 overall and 4-2 in the conference regular season after being picked to finish dead last in the preseason OVC coaches’ poll. The Eagles return a bulk of their 2024 roster, including two All-OVC Second Team honorees from last year in sophomores Anais Negrail and Antonia Ferrarini
For more information and the full schedule, visit our website at USIScreamingEagles.com or find us on social media at USIAthletics.
VALPO MEN’S BASKETBALL
VALPO DROPS ROAD TILT TO OHIO STATE
The Valparaiso University men’s basketball team received a major second-half lift from freshman All Wright (Durango, Mexico / Link Year), who scored 20 of his team-high 22 points after halftime in a 95-73 loss to Ohio State at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday. Sophomore Cooper Schwieger (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley Southwest [Link Year]) and junior Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro (LaSalle, Quebec, Canada / Orangeville Prep [Western Michigan]) scored 16 points apiece for the Beacons.
Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler is a Valpo alum and former player and assistant coach for the Brown & Gold. He and Valpo head coach Roger Powell Jr. worked on the same staff as assistants under Bryce Drew at both Valpo and Vanderbilt.
How It Happened
Valpo got off to a good start, including early triples by Tyler Schmidt (Valparaiso, Ind. / Victory Christian Academy), Schwieger and De La Cruz Monegro, who also tallied three the old-fashioned way in the early going. Valpo led 12-8 after the Schwieger 3 with 15:42 left in the first half.
The Beacons were in front 16-14 with 12:08 left in the half, but then went on a scoring drought that lasted until the 5:01 mark. During that stretch of over seven minutes, the Buckeyes went on a 12-0 run to go up 26-16.
Valpo fought back to within five on a Devon Ellis (Schaumburg, Ill. / Conant [Maryland Eastern Shore]) putback with 3:24 to play in the half, but Ohio State scored five points in a three-second span thanks to a basket, turnover and 3-point play in the closing seconds of the half, sending the Buckeyes into the locker room with their largest lead of the game at 41-30.
Wright started his big second half right away with five points in the first three minutes including a traditional 3-point play to cut the deficit to eight. After that, Ohio State scored seven straight to open up a 15-point lead at 52-37 with 15:24 on the clock.
The lead was double figures the rest of the way, reached 21 midway through the half and climbed over 30 with 5:33 remaining. Valpo scored the game’s final five points.
Inside the Game
Ohio State’s Devin Royal was the key player in the game, as he finished with career highs in both points (31) and rebounds (15). He had the highest scoring output by a Valpo opponent since Tucker DeVries on Feb. 4, 2023 (32 in 2OT) and the highest by a Valpo opponent in a regulation game since Isiaih Mosley of Missouri State had 32 on Jan. 15, 2022.
While Royal shined for the Buckeyes, Wright did the same for the Beacons. He tallied 22 points, his second straight game with 20 or more, while going 8-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Schwieger has scored 16 or more in four of his last seven and went 5-of-9 from the floor, 4-of-4 from the line and 2-of-3 from 3 on Tuesday. The Valpo sophomore squeezed a team-high eight rebounds including five on the offensive glass.
De La Cruz Monegro has scored at least nine points in all 10 games this season including a season-best 16 in each of his last two outings. He is a combined 15-for-15 at the free-throw line in those two games against Central Michigan and Ohio State including a perfect 7-for-7 on Tuesday.
Ellis had his highest scoring output in the last four games, going 3-of-5 from the floor and turning in eight points.
Both teams were stellar at the free-throw line, as Valpo went 20-of-23 (87 percent) and Ohio State went 23-of-27 (85.2 percent). The Beacons, who already ranked sixth nationally in free-throw percentage entering Tuesday, are now hitting at an 82.5 percent clip for the season and have shot 79 percent or better in eight out of 10 games including back-to-back games shooting at least 87 percent.
This was only the seventh game nationally in the NCAA this season where each team shot better than 85 percent from the free-throw line with a minimum of 20 attempts. This was the first such Valpo game since Nov. 29, 2013 vs. Mercer.
While both teams shot it well from the stripe, neither side had good success from 3, where Valpo was 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) and Ohio State was 6-of-19 (31.6 percent). Three of Valpo’s five 3s came in the first five minutes of the game.
Each team had 10 turnovers, making this the ninth straight game that Valpo has either won or tied the turnover battle. The Beacons have given it away 10 times or fewer in seven of the squad’s 10 games.
Up Next
The Beacons (5-5) will play a second straight road game on Friday at Western Michigan with a noon CT / 1 p.m. ET tip in Kalamazoo. The game will air on ESPN+.
MARIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER
LAYLA BROWN AND KATIE KOGER NAMED UNITED SOCCER COACHES COLLEGE ALL-AMERICANS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The United Soccer Coaches announced the association’s 2024 NAIA All-America teams on Wednesday, December 11, with the Marian women’s soccer team being honored with a two All-American honors in the 2024 season.
Marian’s honorees by the United Soccer Coaches Association in the 2024 season were Katie Koger and Layla Brown, who were both named Second Team All-Americans. The honor is the first for both players, as the two former Crossroads League Newcomer of the Year winners earn the recognition for the first time.
Layla Brown’s All-American honor by the United Soccer Coaches Association is her third of the season, as she was previously named an All-American Second Team honoree by the College Sports Communicators (Academic) and the NAIA. In her lone season at Marian, the fifth-year student-athlete thrived, scoring 19 goals and assisting on 13. Brown’s 13 assists tied the single-season program record. Brown was named the Crossroads League Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, while earning First Team All-Crossroads League honors. Brown had three multi-goal games on the season which included two hat tricks, and scored or assisted on a goal in 20 of the team’s 23 games. The Fishers, Indiana, native contributed to a Marian goal in each of the team’s final 11 matches.
Katie Koger was named to the United Soccer Coaches Association Second Team, highlighting a successful season as she was named the Crossroads League Midfielder of the Year and as a member of the Crossroads League First Team. Koger was the Knights’ second-leading goal scorer year, putting away 11 goals while assisting on another eight. The junior had two games with multiple assists including three in a win over St. Francis (Illinois), and had a streak of five games with a goal during the CL season.
Players on this year’s United Soccer Coaches NAIA All-America Teams will be recognized for their accomplishments at the United Soccer Coaches All-America Ceremony & Reception on Saturday, Jan, 11, 2025 in Chicago, Ill., in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention.
Marian finished with a 17-4-2 overall record, reaching the NAIA Tournament Round of 16 this season.
TAYLOR ATHLETICS | TU DEFENSE COMES THROUGH TO SNAP SKID, PICK UP 900TH ALL-TIME WIN
UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor women’s basketball team (5-7, 0-4 CL) opened the Trojan Classic Tuesday afternoon and came away with a 66-56 win over IU Kokomo (4-7, 1-0 RSC) to snap a six-game losing skid and pick up the program’s 900th all-time victory.
Taylor’s fifth win of the season was highlighted by a stellar defensive effort that included no three-pointers allowed, and it improved the program’s record to 900-680 (.570).
The Trojans started slowly on the offensive end as the Cougars got out to a 14-7 lead nearly eight minutes in. A Kendall Wayne and-one layup and a put-back from Whitney Warfel on consecutive possessions cut into the deficit at 14-12, where the score would stay through one quarter of play.
Taylor’s defensive effort continued throughout the entire second period in which it limited IUK to just eight points while forcing another five turnovers – making for 11 total Cougar turnovers in the first half, three of which were credited as steals for Emma Fohl.
Meanwhile, TU’s offense picked up with a 24-point quarter highlighted by nine points from Ava Henson and eight from McKayah Musselman off the bench. The offensive production helped the hosts open up a 36-22 halftime advantage.
Neither team could hit their stride in the third frame, as the sides went a combined 10-for-34 from the field.
The defensive struggle helped maintain Taylor’s 14-point edge heading into the fourth, when the Cougars immediately threatened a comeback with an 8-0 burst that tightened the game to 48-42.
IUK trimmed the lead down to five on multiple occasions, but Kacey Ott and a host of Trojans were able to get good looks as part of a 10-2 run over the final three minutes that sealed the win.
Henson led TU with 15 points on 6-of-10 accuracy and a team-high two made triples. Warfel, Ott and Musselman joined the senior in double figures.
Fohl finished her night recording team highs of four assists and three steals while also chipping in seven points on just four shot attempts.
Taylor returns to the hardwood Wednesday for the Trojan Classic finale with a matchup versus Ohio Christian (5-7) beginning at 6 p.m.
VINCENNES WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
LADY BLAZERS DROP FINAL GAME BEFORE HOLIDAY BREAK TO D-II NO. 23 JEFFERSON COLLEGE
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Lady Trailblazers closed out the 2024 portion of their schedule Tuesday night inside the Physical Education Complex.
The Blazers faced another tough game, this time against NJCAA Division II No. 23 ranked Jefferson College from Hillsboro, Mo.
The Lady Blazers fought hard all night but came out on the wrong end of a 71-60 final score to the Lady Vikings.
VU got off to a good start Tuesday night, opening the game quickly offensively and taking an early 12-6 lead.
Jefferson College would respond back strong with an 11-2 scoring run to take their first lead of the night at 17-14.
The two teams traded baskets the rest of the first quarter with the Lady Vikings holding a narrow 22-20 lead over VU after the first 10 minutes of play.
Jefferson would add on to this early momentum in the second quarter, opening the second period with seven straight points before VU answered back with six straight to cut the deficit to 29-26.
Vincennes would get back within two of the Lady Vikings at 36-34 before Jefferson College scored the final basket of the first half to head into the locker room break leading Vincennes 38-34.
The game remained tight early in the third quarter with VU still playing from behind 50-46 before the Lady Vikings caught fire from three-point range to expand the lead to 63-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Blazers stepped up their game defensively in the fourth quarter but were unable to capitalize on the offensive end as Jefferson College closed out the victory over VU 71-60.
VU was led offensively by freshman Emani Washington (Indianapolis, Ind.) who finished with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Freshman Jazmyn Robey (Sellersburg, Ind.) was the next leading scorer for the Lady Blazers, finishing her night with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Freshman Delora Pricop (Satu Mare, Romania) just missed out on another double-double, finishing the game with 10 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Yanni Huggins was the fourth VU scorer in double figures with 10 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Freshman Ahmya Thomas (Phoenix, Ariz) finished her night with nine points and a team-high five steals, while sophomore Marta Gutierrez (Alicante, Spain) came off the bench to grab seven rebounds and dish out a team-high five assists.
The Lady Blazers head into the Holiday break with a record of 6-8 on the season, with a 2-0 record in Region 24 play.
Vincennes will return to the floor in 2025 with the Lady Blazers playing host to Volunteer State Community College from Gallatin, Tenn. Saturday, Jan. 4 inside the P.E. Complex. Tip-off time for that game is set for 5 p.m. eastern.
INDIANA SMALL COLLEGE WEB SITES
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOLY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
“SPORTS EXTRA”
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
7 – 9 – 12 – 3 – 77 – 6 – 8 – 42 – 10 – 1
December 18, 1956 – Ballon d’Or: Blackpool & England winger Number 7, Stanley Matthews won the inaugural award for best football player in Europe; beats Real Madrid pair Number 9, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Number 7, Raymond Kopa
December 18, 1932 – The NFL decided that a final game to determine a Champ would be played in a special Chicago at Wrigley field on December 18, 1932. The NFL Title was supposed to be given to the team with the best record. This had been the case for over a decade in the young NFL. The 1932 season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans in a virtual tie for the top record in the League.
Rumor is that George Halas challenged the Spartans to play a game to settle the tie. They wanted no part of any type of Co-Champion bologna. Thus we had the first NFL Championship! This first postseason game in NFL history had some massive twists and turns to make it a remarkable story, even though a game was going to be played to determine an NFL Champion. The first odd occurrence was that Spartans star Earl Dutch Clark, Number 12 could not play in the game because he had to work. Clark, who worked as the Head Basketball Coach at Colorado College, and his hoops team had a game on that December 18, and Dutch couldn’t get off work to make the football game in Chicago. The second crazy thing that happened was that due to a freak late-fall blizzard in Chicago, the game had to be moved inside the Chicago Stadium because Wrigley was covered with deep snow and frozen with dangerous sub-zero temperatures. The playing field had to be modified to play inside, so the game was played on a field only 80 yards long and some 30 yards narrower than the normal width the teams played on all season. The last item surrounding the game happened on the contest’s only touchdown. Bears Number 3, Bronko Nagurski threw a scoring jump pass to Number 77, Red Grange, but the Spartans argued that Nagurski did not meet the requirement of legal forward passes in those days of being 5 yards or more behind the line. The play stood, and the Bears won the NFL title by 9-0. The Spartans franchise would become the Lions in 1933 when they moved from Portsmouth, Ohio, to Detroit.
December 18, 1962 – Ballon d’Or: Dukler Prague midfielder Number 6, Josef Masopust won the award for best European football player; beats Benfica striker Eusébio, Number 8 and FC Köln defender Number 6, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
December 18, 1977 – NBA Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey Number 42, Nate Thurmond
December 18, 2001 – Ballon d’Or: Liverpool forward Number 10, Michael Owen was named best football player in Europe ahead of Real Madrid striker Number 7, Raúl and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Number 1, Oliver Kahn
FOOTBALL HISTORY
December 18, 1932 – Chicago, Illinois – The NFL decided that a final game to determine a Champ would be played in a special Chicago at Wrigley field on December 18, 1932. The Title was supposed to be given to the team with the best record as it had been for over a decade in the young NFL. The season though ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans in a virtual tie for the top record in the League.
It is believed that George Halas challenged the Spartans to play a game to settle the tie, they wanted no part of any type of Co-Champion bolonga. Thus we in essence had the first NFL Championship! This first postseason game in NFL history had some huge twists and turns to make it quite a remarkable story, even besides the fact that a game was going to be played to determine an NFL Champion. The first odd occurrence was that Spartans star Earl “Dutch” Clark was unable to play in the game because he had to work. While that may sound crazy to us today but the fact was that professional players of that era did not make enough to make a living all year long. Most had to take off season jobs to make ends meet, even the super stars like Dutch Clark, who worked as the Head Basketball Coach at Colorado College and his hoops team had a game on that December 18 and Dutch couldn’t get off work to make the football game in Chicago. The second crazy thing that happened was that due to a freak late-fall blizzard in Chicago, the game had to be moved inside the Chicago Stadium because Wrigley was covered with deep snow and frozen with dangerous sub-zero temperatures. The playing field had to be modified to play inside, so the game was played on a field only 80 yards long, and some 30 yards narrower than the normal width the teams played on all season. The last item that took place surrounding the game happened on the contest’s only touchdown. Bronko Nagurski threw a scoring jump pass to Red Grange but the Spartans argued that Nagurski did not meet the requirement of legal forward passes in those days of being 5 yards or more behind the line. The play stood and the Bears ended up winning the NFL title by the score of 9-0. The Spartans franchise would become the Lions in 1933 when they moved from Portsmouth, Ohio to Detroit, Michigan after a Detroit radio businessman George A. Richards purchased the rights to the team for $8000. This was a hefty sum at the time but Portsmouth had after all just recently played for a somewhat impromptu first NFL Championship game against the Chicago Bears, shorthanded of their star player. The Motor City was a risky place to put the team at this point as three previous franchises had failed there but Richards knew the city needed a winner and took the chance. It was well worth his risk as the newly named Lions team won the NFL Title in 1935 and later in the 1952, 1953 and 1957 seasons. Richards took another chance with his football franchise in 1934 when he scheduled a game on Thanksgiving Day. Though it failed when other cities (save Dallas a few decades later) the Turkey Day game in the Motor City was a huge success. Unfortunately in 1940 Mr. Richards had to sell the franchise due to a declining health issue and a fine from the NFL for draft tampering but his $8000 initial investment turned into a $225,000 sale of the Lions to retail magnet Fred Mandel. The Lions eventually were purchased by the descendants of Henry Ford and are owned by the family to this day.
December 18, 1949 – LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA -The LA Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles met for the National Football League Championship Title. Weather conditions were dreadful as driving rain caused the grass field to become quite a quagmire. A 1988 Pro Football Researchers Association article on the game in the Coffin Corner Volume 10 shares the story. Over an inch of rain fell in the LA area and many wanted the game postponed until Christmas Day. NFL Commissioner Bert Bell was having nothing to do with any sort of postponement and ordered the game to go on as scheduled. The Eagles with their solid defense were a 7 point betting odds favorite in the contest. What they did was double that win margin as their stifling defense shut the Rams down in a 14-0 victory. The Eagles offense put one touchdown on the board but the rest was all defense as the Rams were held to a record 21 total rushing yards, and special teams blocked a punt in the second half for the other Philly score.
December 18, 1959 – Former Washington Redskins Quarterback ,Sammy Baugh was named as the first coach of AFL’s New York Titans. Baugh was a collegiate head coach from 1955 through 1959 at Hardin-Simmons University after his playing days were over. He spent two seasons as the Titans head man achieving a record of 14-14. He later went on to coach at the University of Tulsa and even became the Houston Oilers fourth ever coach in 1964 per the missyablue.com website.
December 18, 1988 – Seattle Seahawks win their 1st ever division title per the Washington Post. The division AFC West title came down to a pivotal game with the LA Raiders. Yes I did just say AFC West and the LA Raiders. Seattle was in the AFC West Division from their inception in the 1970’s until realignment in 2002 when they then were moved into the NFC West. Also the Raiders franchise spent some time calling Los Angeles home in between stints in Oakland and before they moved to Las Vegas in 2020. Now that that is cleared up the Seahawks won the AFC West with a 9-7 record and they dashed the Raiders hopes who came into the game at 7-8. It was a close on though as the final score was Seahawks 43, Raiders 37. QB Dave Krieg threw four TDs and wideout Steve Largent extended his catching a pass streak to 167 games in the victory. The Seahawks would end up losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 21-13 in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
Dec. 18
1930 — Adolph Rupp coaches his first game at Kentucky, a 67-19 win over Georgetown College in Kentucky. Rupp retires in 1972 after winning 879 games and four national titles.
1949 — The Philadelphia Eagles win the NFL championship with a 14-0 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
1954 — Montreal’s Maurice Richard becomes the first player in NHL history to score 400 goals during the Canadiens’ 4-2 road victory against the Chicago Black Hawks.
1961 — Olympic track star Wilma Rudolph wins The Associated Press’ female athlete of year award for the second consecutive year.
1962 — Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors scores 61 points in a 130-110 over the St. Louis Hawks.
1964 — Oscar Robertson of the Cincinnati Royals scores 56 points, including 18 in the final quarter, in a 111-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
1976 — Oakland quarterback Kenny Stabler scores with 14 seconds left to give the Raiders a 24-21 comeback victory over the New England Patriots in the in the AFC divisional playoffs.
1983 — Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores his 100th point of the season the Edmonton Oilers’ 34th game, a 7-5 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Gretzky scores two goals and has two assists to get to 100 points faster than any player in NHL history. He finishes the season with 205 points.
1995 — Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers records the fifth-highest yardage total by a receiver in NFL history with 289 yards, and catches three touchdown passes in a 37-30 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
1997 — Germany’s Katja Seizinger wins her sixth straight race to tie former French star Jean-Claude Killy’s World Cup record for consecutive victories.
2005 — Indianapolis, which won its first 13 games, the fourth team in NFL history to do so, loses 26-17 at home to San Diego.
2006 — Tenth-ranked Arizona State beats Texas Tech 61-45 when the second outdoor game in women’s college basketball history is called on account of rain with 4:18 to play at Chase Field, home of baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks.
2007 — Edmonton sets an NHL record by competing in its fourth straight shootout, but loses to Dallas 2-1. The Oilers, who had won the first three, lose for the second time in their 12 shootout appearances.
2008 — Steve Asmussen is the first North American trainer to win 600 Thoroughbred races in a single year as Storm Trust captures the fifth race at Delta Downs.
2011 — The Green Bay Packers’ 19-game winning streak, second-longest in NFL history, is snapped with a 19-14 loss at Kansas City.
2011 — Brittney Griner scores 12 of her 25 points in the closing run that pushes the top-ranked Baylor Lady Bears past No. 2 UConn 66-61.
2016 — New England defeats Denver 16-3 to clinch the AFC East and earn a first-round bye. It marks the eighth consecutive division title for the Patriots, the longest streak in NFL history, breaking a tie with the 1973-79 Los Angeles Rams (seven). New England is the only team in NFL history to win 13 division titles in a 14-year span.
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Dec. 19
1913 — Heavyweight champion Jack Johnson fights to a 10-round draw with Battling Jim Johnson in Paris.
1917 — The NHL begins play. Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens scores five goals in a 9-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Harry Hyland of the Montreal Wanderers scores five goals in a 10-9 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
1943 — Harry Lumley, at 17 years and 38 days old, becomes the youngest goaltender in NHL history when he plays for the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
1948 — The Cleveland Browns complete an undefeated season beating the Buffalo Bills 49-7 in AAFC championship game.
1948 — The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Chicago Cardinals 7-0 in a major snowstorm for the NFL title. Philadelphia’s Bucko Kilroy recovers a fumble on the 17-yard line in the fourth period, and Steve Van Buren later scores from the 5.
1976 — The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Colts 40-14 in an AFC playoff game. Ten minutes after the game, Donald Kroner, a former charter pilot, crashes a rented, low-wing, Piper Cherokee into the upper deck of Memorial Stadium. No one is seriously hurt as most of the capacity crowd of 60,020 left the one-sided contest early or were heading down the exit ramps.
1987 — Boston and St. Louis combine for the fastest two goals in NHL history. Ken Linseman puts the Bruins ahead 6-5 with 10 seconds left in the third period. Doug Gilmour of Boston wins the faceoff and shoots the puck into an empty net two seconds later to wrap up a 7-5 win over the Blues at Boston Garden.
1990 — Los Angeles Raiders running back Bo Jackson is named to the AFC team, as a reserve, becoming the first athlete chosen for All-Star games in two sports.
2001 — Marshall, led by Byron Leftwich, comes back from a 38-8 halftime deficit to beat East Carolina 64-61 in double-overtime in the GMAC Bowl for the highest scoring bowl game in history.
2007 — New York Islanders forward Chris Simon is banned for 30 games, drawing the longest suspension in NHL history again. Simon’s latest infraction was stepping on Pittsburgh’s Jarkko Ruutu with his skate during a Dec. 15 game. This is the seventh suspension of Simon’s career.
2009 — Michael Phelps helps his American team trounce a group of European all-stars in the Duel in the Pool, anchoring a relay to one of the eight world records the U.S. sets over the two-day meet in Manchester, England.
2010 — Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson returns a punt 65 yards for a touchdown as time expires in the Eagles’ 38-31 comeback win at the New York Giants. It’s the only game-winning punt-return touchdown in NFL history as the Eagles come back from a 31-10 fourth-quarter deficit. It marks the ninth time in NFL history in which a team trailed by at least 21 points in the fourth quarter and wins the game.
2010 — The Detroit Lions stop their record road skid at 26 games with a 23-20 overtime win at Tampa Bay. It’s the first road win since Oct. 28, 2007, when they beat the Bears 16-7 at Chicago.
2017 — Freshman Trae Young has 26 points and ties an NCAA Division I record with 22 assists as No. 17 Oklahoma rolls past Northwestern State 105-68.
2017 — North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell becomes the third women’s Division I coach to register her 1,000th career victory after the Tar Heels beat Grambling State 79-63.
2017 — Geno Auriemma wins his 1000th game as top-ranked UConn beat Oklahoma 88-64 in the Hall of Fame women’s Holiday Showcase. Auriemma becomes the fourth women’s coach to reach the 1,000-win mark, joining Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer and Sylvia Hatchell, who earned her milestone victory earlier in the day.2018 – Houston Rockets set NBA single-game record with 26 three-pointers in 136-118 victory over Washington Wizards