Month: December 2023

Johnny Mundt scores TD after Najee Thompson recovery

Johnny Mundt scores his first touchdown of the season after a crucial Najee Thompson fumble recovery.

A spark, perhaps?

Johnny Mundt finds his way into the end zone from six yards out for his first touchdown this season, and to get the Minnesota Vikings their first touchdown against the Green Bay Packers tonight.

In a game that has been over since Kirk Cousins blew the Gjallarhorn to start, Minnesota was searching for any kind of spark to work off. They got it with a fumble recovery off a muffed punt from special teams extraordinaire Najee Thompson.

Two plays later, Mundt takes the ball into the end zone to pull the game to 30-10.

The defense has been getting gashed and the offense has been as discombobulated as they have looked since Cousins left in week eight. With all of this turmoil, Thompson is still burning downfield, waiting for an opportunity to give the team a much-needed spark. While it may not mean anything in the result of this game, it is a sign that there is still a bit of fight left in these Vikings, regardless of the score.

Stay tuned to Vikings Wire for more live game updates.

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How difficult has the Lakers’ schedule been so far this season?

The details on how tiring the Lakers’ schedule has been lately.

As 2023 came to a close, the Los Angeles Lakers were run over by the new Orleans Pelicans 129-109 on Sunday, dropping their record to 17-17 and putting them in ninth place in the Western Conference. While they’re a solid 11-4 at home, they’re 6-13 on the road.

Los Angeles has had a number of road games over the last few weeks. It has played 10 games away from Crypto.com Arena since Dec. 7, including the in-season tournament final. In that span, LA has had three games at home.

In fact, it has had the most sets of back-to-back games in the Western Conference so far this season.

Fortunately, the schedule will start getting easier for the Purple and Gold. Eleven of the team’s next 12 games will take place in Los Angeles, and after a subsequent six-game road trip, it will leave the Pacific time zone just twice between early February and late March.

In addition, the Lakers will not play any more back-to-back games until the final days of January.

WATCH: T.J. Edwards comes up with third interception of the season

WATCH: T.J. Edwards comes up with third interception of the season

T.J. Edwards and the Chicago Bears defense put on a show on Sunday as they took down the Atlanta Falcons 37-17. Edwards has been one of the brightest spots for the Bears in a year that has been up and down to say the least in Chicago.

Edwards came up with his third interception of the season, and has thrived all season long in Chicago with 82 solo tackles and 143 total tackles on the year. After four seasons in Philadelphia, Edwards has found a home in Chicago:

Packers WR Bo Melton catches first career touchdown pass

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Bo Melton caught his first career touchdown pass during Sunday night’s showdown with the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Bo Melton caught his first career touchdown pass during Sunday night’s showdown with the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Melton’s 9-yard touchdown catch gave the Packers a 30-3 lead in the third quarter. The score capped off a 91-yard drive after the Packers held on fourth down to open the second half.

The Seattle Seahawks made Melton a seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft. He arrived in Green Bay in December of last year and is appearing in his fourth career NFL game.

Melton came into the contest with five career catches for 51 yards. He was signed to the 53-man roster for the Packers’ Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions and has been elevated from the practice squad three times.

Through three quarters vs. the Vikings, Melton has three catches for 49 yards and the touchdown, with a long catch of 28 yards.

Here’s Melton’s first career touchdown:

Melton will revert back to the practice squad on Monday and would need to be signed to the 53-man roster to play in a game for the Packers again this season. Green Bay hosts the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field next week.

Fueled by memories of 2020 Citrus Bowl, Cornelius Johnson ready for rematch with Alabama

Time to get back at the Tide. #GoBlue

Michigan football is preparing to battle against the biggest name in college football — Nick Saban. For most of the roster, this is the first time they will face the Crimson Tide, but for others, there’s already a ship to right. Cornelius Johnson is one of the older players on the roster who remembers the 2020 Citrus Bowl that finished with Alabama blowing out Michigan by a score of 35-19.

“Round two is going to be a little different because of the stakes at hand, a spot in the national title is on the line,” Johnson said. “I’m just looking forward to that rematch. Getting back at them for last time.”

Of course, the task will not come easy for Michigan. Alabama’s secondary boasts two potential first-round picks in Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold. Despite the mock drafts and media hyper, Johnson won’t let the pre-game chatter get to his head.

“There’s a lot of talk from both sides,” Johnson noted. “All that talk is good, I mean, eventually like you said it’s all gonna come down to when that ball is snapped. We will see what happens.”

To his credit, Johnson isn’t one to shy from bright lights. Michigan fans will fondly remember his 2022 performance against Ohio State which saw Johnson catch four passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. The fifth-year senior credits preparation for his calm demeanor in stressful games.

“It just comes down to being in the moment,” Johnson mused. “Just trusting your preparation this month leading up to the game. Just trying to live and learn by the past two bowl games that didn’t necessarily go Michigan’s way.”

Michigan, and the sports world, will see if Johnson and his teammates have been able to make the right gameplan tweaks on Monday evening in the Rose Bowl. Hopefully the third time is the charm for a Wolverines team yearning for bowl success.

Jonathan Taylor helps pull the Colts closer to the NFL Playoffs

The former Badger helps push the Colts towards the Playoffs

A year that started on the sidelines for Jonathan Taylor may end in the NFL Playoffs, and he is a big reason why the Colts have a chance. If the Colts take down the Texans in the final week of the NFL regular season, they are headed to the playoffs.

Taylor was massive in a must-win game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, as he carried the ball 21 times for 96 yards, had 8 receiving yards, and a score in the 23-20 win that the Colts needed. Taylor saved his best rushing performance of the season for the biggest moment of the season, but Indianapolis has an even bigger moment looming for the former Badger and crew next week.

The latest betting odds as Wisconsin takes on LSU in ReliaQuest Bowl

The latest betting odds as Wisconsin takes on LSU in ReliaQuest Bowl

Wisconsin and LSU do battle on New Year’s Day in Florida as the teams square off in the ReliaQuest bowl. As is customary around bowl season, both squads will be missing key contributors headlined by Wisconsin missing running back Braelon Allen who is headed for the NFL, and the Tigers going without Heisman winner Jayden Daniels who is also preparing for the next level.

The betting odds have slowly moved in Wisconsin’s favor throughout the week, as the line began with LSU seen as double-digit favorites. Currently, across a number of books, the most popular line is sitting at LSU -9, meaning the Tigers are nine-point favorites on Monday.

Lakers player grades: L.A. gets outhustled by the Pelicans

The Lakers’ road woes continued on Sunday, as they closed out 2023 with a 129-109 loss to the Pelicans.

The Los Angeles Lakers endured a roller-coaster ride through 2023, and they’re likely glad the year is over. The burgeoning optimism they felt after a couple of trades early in the calendar year sparked a deep playoff run in May is history, and concern and even pessimism are the predominant emotions for the team.

It came into its New Year’s Eve contest at the New Orleans Pelicans still hurting over Saturday’s close loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Los Angeles was hoping to avoid falling to .500 after losing seven of its previous 10 games.

The Lakers fell behind early as Zion Williamson went to work in the paint and C.J. McCollum went into volcano mode by making five 3-pointers in the first quarter. They trailed by as many as 19, and they were outrebounded 30-19 while giving up 17 second-chance points and a season-high 74 points in the first half.

LeBron James and crew never really made any type of charge afterward, and they were pecked hard by the Pelicans, 129-109.

The bugaboos for L.A. were the same as they had been for many of its losses so far this season: rebounding and 3-point shooting. It was just 10-of-32 from 3-point range, while the Pelicans made half of their 34 attempts. That 21-point disparity in made 3-pointers was the latest episode of what has been a huge problem so far this season.

The good news for the Lakers is they’re heading home and will play 11 of their next 12 games at Crypto.com Arena. The bad news is that they’re 17-17 and in ninth place in the Western Conference, and if they are to have any shot at contending for the NBA championship, they have a big hole to get out of.

Notre Dame Football: 2024 New Year Resolutions

A few resolutions for Notre Dame football in 2024

Notre Dame football is ushering in the new year riding a wave of momentum. They had a very successful early signing day, hired Mike Denbrock away from LSU, and blew out Oregon St. to close out the season. Notre Dame is trending up for 2024.

With the turn of the calendar top of mind and progress for the football program always there as well, let’s have some fun and go over 5 New Year Resolutions for Notre Dame Football to make for 2024. It feels like the program is close to “turning a corner”.

Are they?

What else needs to change before the Irish can be considered “elite”?

WATCH: Melvin Gordon finds the end zone for the first time with new team

Melvin Gordon finds the end zone for the first time with new team

Wisconsin football is still running back university, and the Badgers have a number of studs at the NFL level still going at that position with Braelon Allen expected to join them next season.

Melvin Gordon has a new home in Baltimore, and while playing behind the Ravens leading rushers got an opportunity late in an impressive win over Miami to tack on to the lead. It was his first touchdown as a Raven, but the 56th rushing touchdown of his long NFL career. Here is Gordon finding pay dirt for a third NFL franchise as he started his career with the Chargers and later went onto the Denver Broncos: