Category: Morning Win

The Cavaliers and Thunder made the NBA’s regular season matter again

This game was SO much fun!

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Thanks so much for reading the Morning Win today. I hope you’re having a good week so far.

It’s rare for a hyped matchup lives up to the expectations that we, as a sports-viewing public, place on them. Those expectations are usually our enemy. We always want the game we’re watching to be perfect and it rarely is. That’s simply the nature of sports.

That didn’t apply to Thunder-Cavaliers on Wednesday. Nothing in this world is perfect, but this game came so close to it.

THE BIG WINNERS: The Cavaliers had so much to gain with a win in this game,

The Cavs beat the Thunder, 129-122, in an epic battle between the two best teams in the NBA. That third quarter? It was special, man. The two teams combined for a whopping 84 points. There wasn’t a ton of foul-baiting. Nobody shot 50 3-pointers. There wasn’t any controversy. Just a whole lot of bucket-getting across the board.

The Cavs’ front court eked out the win on a night where Donovan Mitchell, the team’s best player, just didn’t have it. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen became the first duo of Cavs players to have at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game since LeBron James and Dwyane Wade (LOL) did it in 2017.

There were special performances on the other side. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 31 points and looked like the MVP despite the loss. Jalen Williams had 25 points, nine assists and this impossible move under his belt.

https://www.instagram.com/sportscenter/p/DEl14rgxeaq/?img_index=2

What. A. Game. I cannot stress this enough, guys. I hope you got a chance to watch it. If you didn’t, you missed an instant classic.

People haven’t cared about regular season NBA basketball in a long, long time. And, look. I get it. The NBA’s regular season is long. These are two (mostly) unproven teams, too. The last 70-win NBA team completely fell apart in the NBA Finals, so it feels like none of this really matters.

But, man. It certainly seemed like it mattered to these two teams. This was No. 1 in the East vs. No. 1 in the West. They treated this one like they might see each other again in June. This game didn’t necessarily “count” for anything, but it carried all the weight of a potential Finals matchup. The only thing that could’ve made it better was overtime.

Luckily for us, they’ll run it back again next Thursday. If you missed this one, I’d encourage you to tap in then.

Bill Belichick might be pulling a Belichick

. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick is the greatest NFL head coach in the league’s history. That should be the first line of his story.

The second one, in my humble opinion, should be about how he resigned from the Jets on a napkin.

First of all, that’s just hilarious. Second, it shows you what type of dude he is. When he’s committed? He might be 20-years committed. When he’s not? Whew, buddy. He’s out of there.

That should worry North Carolina. Christian D’Andrea has more on how Bill Belichick could abandon Chapel Hill for an NFL coaching gig in 2025:

“North Carolina placed a $10 million buyout on Belichick’s contract, but that may not be a significant deterrent in a league where coaching salaries can double that. That buyout also drops to just $1 million after June 1 — probably a moot point, but something that could be worked around for a team intent on bending the rules and hiring a future Hall of Famer.”

Belichick says he doesn’t want an NFL role right now, and I hear him. But it just feels like that post-June 1 buyout number tells us something different.

We’ll see. Tread lightly, UNC.

90s Nostalgia works every time

Watching Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews go head-to-head in a trick shot battle was one of the most enjoyable moments of my day.

This McDonald’s showdown commercial brings back 90s vibes in a major way.

This is a riff off of the Showdown commercials McDonald’s used to do in the 90s. Wayne Gretzky and Mats Sundin did one on the ice. Michael Jordan and Larry Bird did one on the court.

If I’m reading the tea leaves here, this means we’re getting an Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander version of this at some point in the near future.

Make it happen, Mickey D’s.

Quick hits: The LA wildfires … Playoff Power Rankings … and more

— Our heart goes out to everyone in LA impacted by the wildfires today. Here’s how the tragedy has impacted the sports world so far.

— Here are our NFL Playoff Power Rankings from Robert Zeglinski. The Lions are ready, folks.

— Here’s Cory Woodroof with some Super Bowl underdogs for you, including the under-the-radar Commanders.

— Angel Reese haters are not having a good day today. Here’s Meg Hall with more.

— Blake Schuster has you covered with the best bets from the Sony Open.

— Sorry in advance, but please listen to this song. You have to. Just go in blind — it’s the best way to do it.

Thanks so much for reading TMW today. We appreciate you. Have a fantastic Thursday. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

The TGL feels like a golf fever dream in the worst possible ways

Tomorrow’s golf ain’t looking so great.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate your time.

I spent two hours of my life watching TGL on Tuesday night — for those who don’t know, that stands for Tomorrow’s Golf League. The league is a new venture created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED: Here’s everything you need to know about TGL, including the format and how it works.

You hear those names together and immediately think, “There’s no way this can be bad, right?” I mean, guys. At the very least, it’s Tiger Woods. When all else fails? In Tiger, I trust.

I regret to inform you that that was a mistake.

I should not have trusted Tiger. I should not have passed Go. I should not have collected $200.

Maybe it’s because the match wasn’t competitive (Bay’s 9-2 victory was never close). Maybe it’s because the golfers didn’t seem all that into it. Maybe it’s because the crowd shots seemed filled with a bunch of tech bros in fleece vests who looked like they were responding to audience applause prompts whenever the cameras were on them.

Honestly, I hate being this guy. But TGL just didn’t do it for me.

The basic premise here is that two teams of four golfers go head-to-head against one another on virtual golf courses every Tuesday. They drive the ball down a virtual fairway onto the green. They follow up by putting in the actual arena on a surface that changes for every hole. It’s the pinnacle of virtual golf.

Some things worked. The league’s technology is fascinating. That moveable green? Awesome. I’d actually love to play on something like that myself. Look at how cool this thing is.

The interactions between the golfers were cool, too. They weren’t taking the event seriously, but they sure did seem to have a blast playing. Xander Schauffele was the funniest kind of self-deprecating as New York got smoked. Shane Lowry has a legit future in comedy if he wants it. That dude is funny. Matt Fitzpatrick is lowkey a solid trash talker. Getting those interactions was great.

That’s about all that worked. At least, for me, anyway.

The ambient sound here is so weird. There’s music constantly playing in the background. It sounds like what you hear as soon as you walk into an H&M, except you’re supposed to be watching Ludvig Aberg absolutely rip one down the fairway. It’s completely unserious.

Speaking of unserious, how many SoFi ads did we need to see? Obviously, SoFi is a sponsoring partner for the league. The match was played in the SoFi center. That’s fine. Whatever. But every three commercials were also a SoFi ad. Even the trophy, somehow, a SoFi trophy. And, yes, it looks just as soulless as the league playing for it does.

The nail in the coffin was how nonchalant the players were. Again, it was nice to see their up-close interactions. But guys, please compete. There are supposed to be stakes here. This isn’t supposed to feel like something to do to warm up for the season.

I almost forgot that TGL was a sports league and not a one-off. Imagine seeing the malaise that comes with the NBA All-Star game in a regular season matchup. That’s what this felt like. Even with the crowd going the game is hard to get into.

Ultimately, it felt like we were watching the homies play a few rounds of Top Golf with each other. The thing about Top Golf is that you never want to watch — you want to play it yourself. So, if the point of this league is to sell golf simulators, then it seems to be going down the right path.

If it’s to create the next competitive golf league of tomorrow? Well, uh, yikes, guys.

The NBA Finals preview you need to be talking about

Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Cavaliers and Thunder will play on Wednesday night. This should be one of the most hyped regular-season matchups in the NBA in years.

Instead, no one is talking about it that much.

We don’t take these two seriously as Finals contenders. Both teams were fairly disappointing in the playoffs last season, so they’re still in that “prove it” group until we see otherwise.

But, folks. This matchup is historic. The Cavaliers are 31-4. The Thunder are 30-5. These are two potential 70-win teams facing off.

Here are some stats, via NBA PR:

  • This is the first interconference game in NBA history between teams with a winning percentage of .850 or higher at this point in a season or later.
  • The Thunder (12.1) and Cavaliers (11.8) are on pace to have the fourth- and fifth-highest point differentials in NBA history, respectively.
  • The Thunder are 11-0 against the East and the Cavaliers are 10-0 against the West.

Something has got to give. I can’t wait to find out what it is.

Raiders gonna Raider

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Raiders fired Antonio Pierce on Tuesday, which felt pretty ridiculous on its own. Las Vegas wasn’t good last season, but he’s a first-year head coach. He deserved a bit more of a runway than he got.

BLACK MONDAY CONTINUES: Here’s a list of every coach and GM fired for Black Monday in the NFL

What makes this even sillier is that the Raiders are now paying three coaches not to coach for them next season. Prince Grimes has more on that:

“For those keeping count, the next coach will be their fifth in the last five years after they replaced Jon Gruden with Rich Bisaccia in 2021, hired Josh McDaniels in 2022 and replaced him with Pierce in 2023.

Like Bisaccia, Pierce originally got the job on an interim basis, and like Gruden and McDaniels he was eventually hired full-time. He also follows in their footsteps as the third coach the Raiders will have to pay to not coach the team.”

What a chaotic organization.

Quick hits: A word from Paige Bueckers … The 10 best Super Bowl matchups … and more

— Our Bryan Kalbrosky caught up with Paige Bueckers and chatted with her about the explosion of women’s basketball. This is a must-read.

— Here’s Cory Woodroof with the 10 best Super Bowl matchups we want to see, ranked.

— Here’s Charles Curtis on Travis Kelce denying that the Chiefs tanked to keep the Bengals out of the playoffs.

— Here’s Prince on Draft Kings’ new subscription service and how greedy (and desperate!) it is.

— Myles Garrett is the absolute best of us. Wow. What a guy.

— Here are Christian D’Andrea’s quarterback rankings for the playoffs.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Have a fantastic Wednesday. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Netflix is getting the hang of this sports thing with Monday Night Raw

It’s the Netflix era, indeed.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. Appreciate you giving us your time.

It’s been a long time coming, but Netflix seems to be getting the hang of this live sports thing.

The company purchased the rights to Raw for $5 billion last January as a foray into live sports. Raw had its first showing go off without a hitch on Monday, as Triple H introduced what they call the company’s “Netflix Era.”

WWE pulled out all the stops for this one. Travis Scott did the new theme song. The Rock showed up. Roman Reigns got his throne back.  CM Punk fought Seth Rollins. John Cena declared for the Royal Rumble. Hulk Hogan got booed to no end (deservedly so). A whole lot happened on Monday night in the wrestling world.

But this is less about that and more about the fact that it went off without any hitches.

Netflix hosting live sports felt like a pipe dream just a few years ago. The streaming platform used to struggle to broadcast reality show reunions. Now, in the last two months, it’s hosted three major broadcast events: The Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match, the NFL’s Christmas Day games and, now, WWE’s Monday Night Raw.

Has it gone perfectly? No, not at all. The Tyson-Paul fight, in particular, was a fiasco. There was constant buffering. You basically had to watch the fight in 480p. It was a disaster. And, yet, 60 million households tuned in, according to Netflix.

Are those numbers real? Probably not completely. Netflix has a history of fudging numbers to make itself look good. But the numbers were huge. That fight was a Super Bowl-level event for us here at For The Win. So, even if the numbers weren’t exactly what Netflix says they were, the event was still a massive undertaking.

Since then, things have only gotten better. The Beyoncé Christmas Day games were broadcast with no problem. And, obviously, Monday Night Raw went smoothly. We’ll have see if things go well again next week, but regardless of what buffering problems the future may hold, one major thing has become increasingly clear.

Netflix can do this.

The one thing missing from the company’s massive IP portfolio through the years was live sports. It’s the thing its competitors held over its head. Amazon Prime had the NFL. TNT and Max broadcast live NBA games. Hulu had every sport that Disney and ESPN had available.

Live wasn’t Netflix’s thing. Not until now. And, now that it’s doing it, it’s doing it big.

That’s great news for sports leagues and entertainment properties as they venture into the next frontier of broadcast television where streamers are the worldwide leaders. That’s terrible news for cable network providers, who are slowly, but surely, losing every property that means anything to the viewers they covet.

Tweakin’ on Tweaker

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

LiAngelo Ball’s new song “Tweaker” is stuck in my head. My wife is going to kick me out of the house if I enter another room screaming “MIGHT SWERVE AND BEND THAT CORNER, WOAAAAHOOH.”

The funny thing about it is that I don’t even like the song. It’s just a catchy tune. Hit play at your own risk.

WARNING: There’s a whole lot of NSFW language in this video

This song is everywhere in the sports world. Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky with more:

“Already played in NBA locker rooms (including the Bulls and Cavs) as well as NFL locker rooms (including the Lions), this song has garnered more than 2.7 million listens on YouTube since it debuted on WorldStarHipHop.

It is the number one trending song on YouTube music (ahead of artists such as Tyler, The Creator as well as Lil Baby, Bad Bunny, and Drake).”

There’s a late-90’s early 2000’s No Limit Records vibe to this thing. It’s not exactly it. It’s definitely not as good as some of that stuff used to be. But the vibe is there. And I guess that’s kind of fun.

But, please, y’all. Play something else for a sec so I can get this earworm out.

Drama on the Banks

Oct 2, 2024; Rosemont, IL, USA; Rutgers guard Kiyomi McMiller Kiyomi McMiller takes a question at the podium during the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball media day at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Melissa Tamez-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Melissa Tamez-Imagn Images

There’s a lot of drama swirling around Rutgers star freshman Kiyomi McMiller these days.

She was mysteriously benched by head coach Coquese Washington ahead of a marquee matchup against USC and Juju Watkins on Sunday, which prompted her to actually call her coach out on Instagram.

The situation has continued to devolve since. Meg Hall has a quick synopsis of everything here.

The brass tacks:

“The DMV native has quickly made a name for herself, and as her stardom has ascended, so have the number of eyes on her game. More people want in on the McMiller experience, including when the Scarlet Knights play ranked matchups. As expected, fans were excited to see the young guard in action when Rutgers played USC on January 5. But hours before tipoff, McMiller revealed she wouldn’t be suiting up, creating so many questions.”

We don’t know what’s going on here. Washington, herself, has been mum on things.

But, regardless of the details, what a great shame this is. McMiller is a huge talent. Her being benched is a bummer.

Hopefully cooler heads can prevail between McMiller and Washington and we can see her back on the court soon.

Quick hits: Fox Sports drama … Tyreek Hill is out … and more

— Charles Curtis put together every detail we know so far about the Fox Sports lawsuit involving Skip Bayless and Joy Taylor.

— Tyreek Hill is channeling Antonio Brown on social media to let everyone know he’s done with the Dolphins. Andrew Joseph has more.

— There’s a chance the Cotton Bowl might see a weather delay. Here’s Charles with more detail on that.

— Robert Zeglinski and Christian D’Andrea have their latest NFL Power Rankings for you heading into the playoffs.

— Jerry Jones …vcan act???? Tyler Nettuno has more on that.

— Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky on why Blake Griffin is a perfect pick for Peacock’s NBA crew.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

There’s no way this is the last we’re seeing of Aaron Rodgers.

Are you kidding me? We won’t be rid of him that easily.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate your time.

I’ve seen a lot of speculation on the internet about whether Sunday was the last time we’d ever see Aaron Rodgers throw a football.

You can understand why. The Jets stink. The team doesn’t seem to want him back, really. Rodgers is also clearly mulling retirement at this point. He kind of stinks, too. He’s also 41 years old. And, as bad as the Jets stink, the team doesn’t seem to want him back.

Ultimately, whether the future Hall of Fame quarterback returns to play for the Jets will be up to the team’s key decision makers Jack and Brick. But, regardless of whether we see Rodgers in New York again, Sunday’s win certainly won’t be the last we see of him.

Did you honestly think we’d be rid of him that easily? Folks, you’re not escaping Aaron Rodgers. At least not that easily.

This isn’t a declaration that Rodgers will continue playing. This could very well be it for him on the football field. He’s been a shell of himself for most of this NFL season. His last game of the season legitimately may have been his best one. Just good enough to leave that creaky door cracked open!

But even if he does retire, that still won’t be the end. Are you kidding me? This is Aaron “I SWEAR I’m coming back this year, guys!” Rodgers we’re talking about. That is a man who cannot and will not let the spotlight go.

Sure, he might put down the football. But don’t make the mistake of thinking he won’t pick up every microphone somebody puts in front of him. I mean, he’ll have so much time on his hands to do absolutely anything with. Think of all the podcasts, guys!

That Tuesday appearance on Pat McAfee’s show might turn into an everyday appearance. Could he co-host with Joe Rogan? You’d better believe he’ll probably start his own show. I can picture it now: “When Rodgers Shrugged.”

This might be the end of Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback. But, if it is, we should prepare for Aaron Rodgers, the pundit. Because it’s coming.

He’s not going anywhere.

The best worst team ever?

Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The Bengals did everything they could do to get themselves into the playoffs this year. Well, you know, everything except win any of the first four games of the season.

But, you know! When you take that out, this looks like a team that deserved to make the playoffs.

The Bengals had:

  • The NFL’s passing yards and passing touchdowns leader (Joe Burrow, 4,918 yards, 43 touchdowns)
  • The NFL’s receiving yards and touchdowns leader (Ja’Marr Chase, 1,708 yards, 17 touchdowns)
  • The NFL’s sack leader (Trey Hendrickson, 17.5 sacks)

And they still missed the playoffs. They’re the first team in league history to have the league’s passing leader, receiving leader and sack leader and miss the postseason, according to The Athletic.  This isn’t quite 2010 Chargers vibes, but it’s really close.

I’ll never forgive the Chiefs for not playing their hardest in a meaningless game at the end of the season to make sure the Bengals got a shot.

Shame!

An undefeated clash

Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

I don’t know how many people had the Thunder and the Cavaliers as the two best teams in the NBA at the top of the season, but we’re here now. And, boy, are these exciting times.

These two teams have two double-digit win streaks going right now.

The Thunder have won 15 straight after dominating the Celtics (!!!!) on Sunday and holding Boston to a 27-point second half (!!!!!!!!). Coincidentally, that 15-game win streak ties Cleveland for the longest of the season.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers are on a 10-game win streak, and every game has been won by double digits.

Those two teams will play each other on Wednesday. Somebody’s gotta lose.

We’re just over 48 hours away and I already cannot wait to watch this one.

Quick hits: Happy (or sad?) Black Monday … 10 head coaching candidates … and more

— Lots of heads have already rolled in the NFL. Here’s our Black Monday tracker with every NFL coach and GM fired so far.

— On the other end, here’s every head coach and GM who hasn’t been fired so far. Turns out Jerry Jones actually can just keep getting away with this.

— Here’s Charles Curtis with 10 head coaching candidates who can fill the vacancies around the league.

— Prince Grimes says the Pelicans need to trade Zion Williamson and start over in his latest Capture the Flagg column.

— Kim Mulkey wore a basketball hoop to a basketball game. Kind of. Meg Hall has more.

— Here’s Prince again with the biggest overachievers and underachievers of the NFL season.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading. Have a fantastic week. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

The College Football Playoff needs to change its seeding procedures. Here’s a solution.

This needs fixing.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Charles Curtis.

Morning, friends! Happy Friday!

Now, I’m going to be honest with you: I’m a huge pro sports guy. I didn’t go to a big college with a giant football program, and I grew up in New York City, where college sports aren’t a big thing.

So I’m coming at this as a pure casual. You’ll pardon my ignorance. But from where I stand, the 12-team College Football Playoff needs some tinkering. If you were a top-4 team with a bye this year, you lost: Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State are all going home.

While you could argue that a bye is what defeated them, killing any momentum, this is more about WHO got a bye. Five of the highest-ranked teams who won conferences got automatic bids, with the four top-ranked squads getting those byes.

So what’s the solution here? How do you reward teams for winning in the regular season when conferences might be uneven? On paper, SEC schools are supposed to be better than, say, Mountain West programs (er, actually, scratch that. Georgia lost. Tennessee lost. Texas almost lost to Arizona State).

The solution? Get 12 teams in, get the committee to seed them all correctly, and call it a day. If you’re a good team that DIDN’T win your conference (Notre Dame, right?), maybe you get a top seed. If you’re a lesser team that won a weaker conference, you get a lower seed.

Will there be complaints that the committee got something wrong? Well, we’re here complaining about this format! There’s no exact science here.

But what I do know is there should be some adjustments made.

Jimmy Butler trade SZN is here!

Jan 2, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) warms-up before the game against the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Jimmy Butler has one of the wildest transaction pages of any NBA player. There was the trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen. There was the deal involving Dario Saric and Robert Covington to the Philadelphia 76ers. Then he was shipped in a mega-deal to the Heat.

And now? Where to next?

I ranked five possible destinations now that he officially wants out of the Heat, with all that talk that he wants to “get [his] joy back” on the basketball court.

I happen to LOVE transactional NBA stuff, so I can’t wait to see that page get another wild trade on it.

Quick hits: Golden Globe predictions … Black Monday is coming … and more.

— Cory Woodroof has his Golden Globes film predictions for Sunday’s ceremony.

— Here are eight NFL teams that could fire their head coach this Monday.

— Saquon Barkley’s new ad trolls Giants owner John Mara.

— Simone Biles revealed why she’s torn about competing at the 2028 Olympics.

The Giants completely torpedoed their tank but that’s honestly for the best

Tanking is a necessary evil. Just don’t make fun of players for not doing it.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome to the Morning Win. Happy (almost) New Year! Hope you’ve got some amazing plans for New Years Eve and New Years Day. Well, you know, aside from watching the College Football Playoff.

Anyway, the New York Giants are catching a lot of flack today from all sides because of this:

After putting up a whopping 41 points on the Colts on Sunday, the Giants are now firmly out of position for the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft this spring.

You know Darius Slayton’s feelings about that from the tweet above. His teammates agree with him on that — as they should. They’re not here to lose games, folks!

I feel a bit like Captain Obvious saying that, but that doesn’t seem like the conventional wisdom today. You’d be shocked by how many people are clowning the Giants for winning a game.

Some fans would argue that the smart play here would’ve been for the Giants to tank. And you know what? Maybe they’re right. Losing to the Colts (lol) would’ve kept them at the top (or, I guess, the bottom?) of the race for the No. 1 pick in the draft where they’d likely draft either Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward at quarterback.

THE NFL DRAFT ORDER: The Giants seem to be in pretty solid position to take a quarterback anyway

But here’s the thing, man. Tanking sucks! Losing doesn’t feel great.

I won’t act like I’m above cheering for my team to lose. I’m a Washington Wizards fan. That team stinks, but it’s for the best. The organization needed to reset years ago. The last time the Wizards were good, Russell Westbrook was still averaging a triple-double. That’s eons ago at this point. I am fully in Capture the Flagg territory.

SPEAKING OF WHICH: Prince Grimes was right about the Pelicans not-so-stealthy tank job this year

But a basketball tank is different than a football tank.

None of these players are going to go out there to throw the game intentionally. That’s against the rules, first of all.

Second, and most importantly, football is way too grueling of a sport for you to go out there and not put your best foot forward. That’s what differentiates an NFL tank job from another sport.

As ESPN’s Dominique Foxworth pointed out years ago, each time players step on the field, they’re putting themselves at risk for significant injury. Half-stepping it one way or another could get you seriously injured. That injury risk alone makes tanking a risky proposition for any NFL team. You’re putting your talent in jeopardy.

As a fan, if you want to root for your team to lose games, that’s your prerogative. I’m OK with that. As long as there are drafts in professional sports, you’ll have people who will wish for the worst in order to eventually hope for the best.

But it’s silly to think players will ever fall in line with that — especially in this sport.

Happy birthday, LeBron James!

Dec 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in action against the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter at State Farm Arena.
Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

He’s a man! He’s 40!

Folks, LeBron James has officially crossed over into the fourth decade of his life, and somehow, we’ve been watching him play professional NBA basketball for the majority of that time.

Think about that. Most of us met this dude for the first time at 16 years old on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was billed as the next Michael Jordan, which was always a setup for failure back then.

Not for this guy, though. He’s lived up to every bit of the hype. Now we know he was never the next MJ. He was always just going to be LeBron. He’s one of the greatest we’ve ever seen.

Here are some key stats to put that in perspective:

  • 41,131 total points (No. 1 all-time)
  • 11,261 total assists (No. 4 all-time)
  • 2,466 3-pointers (No. 7 all-time)
  • 15,088 total field goals (No. 2 all-time)
  • 57,577 minutes played (No. 1 all-time)

Say what you want about James. Nobody has been this good as basketball for this long. Even if he isn’t your GOAT, you’ve got to appreciate that.

Happy birthday, LeBron. May your [expletive] go on for as long as you want it to.

The Jets are not a real NFL team, part 893

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

I’m not sure what would be considered more ridiculous: Rex Ryan longing to coach the dumpster fire that is the New York Jets or the Jets being open to his return.

It doesn’t matter which is more ridiculous because both things are true.

Here’s our Charles Curtis on the potential reunion, so obviously doomed to fail again if it happens:

“Now, Ryan told ESPN New York “that he expects to speak with the Jets for their head coaching opening after the regular season ends,” per Jake Asman. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added “Actually a possibility, believe it or not, as a candidate who could be interviewed.”

That’s something! That means he might truly be a candidate.”

Well, folks. It seems they actually may be doing this. I’d say it’s surprising, but Woody Johnson takes his organizational cues from teenagers. Nothing is surprising with this team anymore.

Honestly, the fact that Johnson is basically letting Brick and Jack run the organization gives me hope that New York won’t hire Ryan, mostly because I’m not sure they actually know who he is.

Anyway. We’ve talked about New York football way too much today. My apologies.

Quick hits: Week 17 takeaways … The NFL’s QB future is bright … and more

— Here’s Christian D’Andrea with takeaways from Week 17, including why you shouldn’t trust the Packers.

— Jayden Daniels is the real deal, even if the Commanders aren’t exactly up to par just yet. Here’s Prince Grimes with more.

— Speaking of the real deal, Michael Penix Jr. is that guy. He resisted a Falconing in his first start on the road. Christian D’Andrea has more.

— Mary Clarke has photos of the Amen Thompson-Tyler Herro scuffle. Amen really just tossed Herro across the floor. Wow.

— Tony Romo seemed to suggest Josh Allen might win MVP over Lamar Jackson because of voter fatigue. Honestly? I think he’s right. Robert Zeglinski has more here.

— A’ja Wilson popping out and surprising UNC’s women’s hoops team is the best thing on the internet today. Meg Hall has more.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading all year. We appreciate you. Have a fantastic New Year. We’ll see you again on Thursday, in 2025. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

The NBA reclaimed its Christmas Day throne from the NFL

The “NBA is dead” crowd had a rough Christmas.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you.

LeBron James doesn’t usually give us any interesting tidbits in postgame interviews. But he had something to say on Christmas that I’m sure caught the ears of executives across the sports world.

LeBron James declares war: “I love the NFL but Christmas is our day”

[image or embed]

— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) December 25, 2024 at 11:17 PM

“I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day,” he confidently told cameras after pulling out a clutch win against the Warriors.

That ain’t just trash talk, folks. LeBron was sending a message there. And I’m sure the league offices hear it loud and clear.

The Christmas Day sports calendar has been a battleground over these last few years. The NFL has gone out of its way to ensure it has some Christmas Day programming through the years despite it traditionally being the NBA’s tentpole day.

This year, the NFL went all out. It featured its game on Netflix. It got Beyoncé to do an (ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL) halftime show. It brought marquee matchups to the table, headlined by the Chiefs and the Ravens in separate games to buoy each matchup.

Considering all that, the conversation around the 2024 Christmas Day battle between these two leagues has been relatively one-sided.

Most people were opting to watch the NFL because, well, of course, they were. It’s the NFL! We’ve been conditioned to believe that whenever a football game is on, we must watch it. No matter what sort of football game it is.

That will likely be reflected in people’s inevitable ratings conversation about Christmas Day. Netflix’s streaming numbers are probably going to be bonkers.

But, guys, let’s be honest about this. The football sucked.

The most interesting thing from the Chiefs game was Travis Kelce’s Tony Gonzalez tribute. Kansas City whooped the Steelers like they stole something.

Speaking of whoopins, Ravens-Texans wasn’t competitive at all. The only thing I was concerned with by the end of the game was if the 31-2 score was an NFL Scorigami (which it sadly wasn’t).

In a bit of a twist, the NBA had the more compelling action on Wednesday.

Everyone (including myself) complained about how the NBA’s Christmas slate catered too deeply to big names and big markets. Four of the six top seeds in the league weren’t playing on the league’s biggest day.

Today, it’s all clear we need to shut up. Because whoever put that schedule together absolutely did their job.

Competitive matchups were littered throughout the NBA’s Christmas Day slate. We got dueling 40-point performances in Madison Square Garden between Victor Wembanyama and Mikal Bridges. We got another Steph vs. Bron classic. We got the 76ers pulling a tough one out against Jayson Tatum and the Celtics. We got a defining Anthony Edwards Christmas Day performance we’ll be talking about for years to come.

It was perfect and far more interesting than what was happening in its rival league on the same day. The only question is whether people were actually tuning in. Good money says probably not—even if folks wanted to tune out of the NFL’s action, Beyoncé’s presence at halftime was probably more than enough to keep them hooked.

But no matter what picture the streaming numbers paint or what any analyst wants to tell you, the NBA just put out a far more compelling Christmas Day product than the NFL did.

Next time someone wants to tell you that the NBA’s Christmas Day run is over or that the league is broken, remind them of that.

Lamar Jackson, the GOAT

Oct 6, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) celebrates after the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

There was one good thing to come out of the subpar Wednesday football we got on Christmas. Lamar Jackson cemented his status as the best rushing QB ever.

The Ravens quarterback broke Michael Vick’s all-time rushing record for quarterbacks (6,109) after his 87-yard rushing performance against the Texans.

After Jackson broke the record, the Ravens got Derrick Henry (!!!!!) to narrate a tribute to his QB’s awesomeness.

Just a GOAT giving props to a GOAT. Love to see it.

The Jimmy Butler did it

Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

Sort of lost in the Christmas Day mayhem was the fact that Jimmy Butler has reportedly requested a trade from the Heat, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Not only that, but there are also apparently destinations attached to this request. Butler is reportedly interested in being dealt to the Warriors, the Suns, the Rockets or the Mavericks.

Considering Butler’s agent denied incredibly similar reporting from Charania just a few weeks ago, let’s take this with a grain of salt.

With that in mind, though, Charania reports that the Heat have not shown any urgency in getting this done. If it doesn’t happen, will we get another Timberwolves explosion from Butler? Probably not.

It won’t be easy to trade for Butler, considering how close the Heat are to the NBA’s second tax apron and how expensive his contract is. But this is an interesting wrinkle for the NBA season, and it certainly could drastically alter the playoff picture. 

Buckle in, people. We’re in for a wild ride.

Quick hits: Beyoncé did that … The weird Disney Alt-Cast … and more

— Do yourself a favor and watch Beyoncé’s entire performance on Netflix. It was spectacular. Caroline Darney has more.

— Fans roasted the NBA’s Disney-themed Christmas alt-cast. Deservedly so. This was hilariously weird. Mitch Northam has more.

— Andy Reid dressing as Santa Claus gets an auto-link here in the Morning Win. We love this.

— LeBron James and Steph Curry’s best buds era is so fun. Bryan Kalbrosky has more.

— Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance is going to have a tough time measuring up to Beyoncé on Christmas Day.

— Here are the six most watchable non-CFP games coming up from Mitch.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading. Happy Holidays.

-Sykes ✌️

Some Festivus airing of grievances in sports, starting with the awful College Football Playoff

Festivus for the rest of us.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you.

We’ve reached the pinnacle of the holidays, folks. Christmas and Hanukkah are in a couple of days. Then, in just a week’s time, we’ll finally arrive in 2025.

The holiday season is usually a time to be thankful for the things you have in your life. We’ll spend a lot of time doing that over these next couple of weeks. But today? Today is a special day. It is not one of those days.

December 23 is Festivus. The day that you get to air out all of your grievances. Grievances against who? Whoever! Just get it out of your system.

Festivus is a non-secular holiday that stands opposite all the commercialism and pageantry of Christmas. It started as a thing on an episode of Seinfeld and has taken a bit of a hold of the culture in recent years.

So, today, I’m airing my grievances. The first grievance is the most recent one: The College Football Playoff.

This weekend sucked, guys.

The NCAA, ESPN and everyone else (including us!) hyped up the 12-team College Football Playoff like this new format would be the greatest invention known to sports. We’d have four games of interconference intrigue on our plates for the weekend.

Instead, we endured endless Fortnite commercials that we really didn’t care about, just to watch every underdog get absolutely blasted by a better team. Not one game was competitive. Not one! Now, we’ve got to endure silly arguments from the snobbiest Alabama truthers CFB fans about whether Indiana along with SMU were ever valid selections in the first place. 

And they’re talking about extending this thing to 16 teams. TUH. Please. Are y’all sure we don’t need to go back to four? Because this was trash.

I’d rather not debate about the last team in and the first team out if they’re just going to get boat-raced. That’s pointless.

I was rooting for you, SMU. WE WERE ROOTING FOR YOU. Rhett Lashlee, I will never forgive you for resurrecting the ghost of Alabama’s past this weekend.

Never miss a snap with 4th & Monday

What’s the sneaky-good NFL game of the week? Looking to dominate your fantasy league or survivor pool? Get pigskin prognostications, plus the top storylines each week with 4th & Monday, USA TODAY Sports’ expert guide to NFL action, game results and must-see moments.

Sign up here for our NFL newsletter and get that exclusive content delivered to your inbox each Friday and Monday during the season and every Monday in the offseason.

Grievance No. 2: The NFL kind of stinks

Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

I’ve been complaining a lot about the quality of NFL football this year. Rightfully so, I’d say. I know most NFL fans are probably annoyed by this, but the game’s quality is in shambles and deep down you know it.

There are so many awful teams in football this year. How is it possible to have nine teams with four wins or less? How is it possible to have six with three or less? That doesn’t sound right. It doesn’t look right either.

man. just way too many bad teams this year tankathon.com/nfl

[image or embed]

— definitely not charles (@fourverts.bsky.social) December 22, 2024 at 7:38 PM

The Raiders won a game on Sunday and went from potentially drafting No. 1 overall to drafting No. 6. Do you know how insane that is?

The NFL is so bad that I have to agree with Tom Brady. The strawberry-hating ex-QB talked about how much bad NFL football there is these days. I thought (and generally still do think!) he was simply just a hater giving us that classic “back in my day” routine. You know — the quintessential old man yelling at clouds spiel.

But nah, man. Brady was right. I will never ever ever ever forgive this league for making me say that out loud.

Grievance No. 3: Take some initiative, NBA All-Stars

(Photo by Christopher Pike/Getty Images

You know what else sucks these days? The NBA All-Star game. They don’t try anymore. They know it. We know it. Everybody knows it. Now the league is doing some gimmicky tournament this season that will probably only make people hate the game even more.

You know who some of the first people to complain about that were? The NBA’s All-Stars. Not just any All-Stars — the NBA’s premier All-Stars in Kevin Durant and LeBron James. They both talked about how the new format seems, uh, let’s just call it questionable.

LAYUP LINES: LeBron and KD should fix the All-Star game instead of complaining about it

Can somebody do me a quick favor, though? Remind them both how we got here.

This wouldn’t be a thing if the All-Stars decided to just play for realsies for once instead of just mailing it in. Play like y’all play in those offseason pickup games! We’ve seen you do it before.

This ain’t a problem for the WNBA, by the way. That game has been fun for years. They hoop over there — even when it’s not a Team USA vs. the WNBA exhibition.

That just goes to show you it’s not about the state of the game — it’s about the mentality of the players. Love you guys, but please. Try a bit harder. Then maybe we can go back to East vs. West.

Quick hits: Kenny Pickett proves Jalen Hurts’ worth … Jordan Love ain’t beating the Toyotathon allegations … and more

— Here’s Christian D’Andrea with more on what we learned from Week 16, including how essential Jalen Hurts is to the Eagles.

— Jordan Love is a Toyotathon merchant and nothing can convince me otherwise. Charles Curtis has more.

— Here’s Meg Hall with amazing photos of Penn State’s volleyball championship run. This is so awesome.

— Here’s an updated playoff picture for the NFL season. Things are getting tight.

— Charles ranked the best moments from the Seinfield Festivus episode. Please click this.

— Texas is the new favorite to win it all in the CFP. We’ll see about that. Mitch Northam has more for you here.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Have a happy holiday season!

-Sykes ✌️

College Football Playoff might challenge the NFL for its throne this weekend

This is a true clash of the titans.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you being here with us.

We’re getting a bit of football on football crime this Saturday.

Usually, the NCAA and NFL work well together. And why wouldn’t they? More football is good for football. College football is essentially a farm system for the NFL at this point. Undermining it wouldn’t be in the league’s best interest. That’s why most Saturdays during the NFL season have remained untouched by the league for decades despite its sports calendar conquest.

That’s why what’s happening this weekend is so fascinating.

For the first time in a long time, a pivotal college football game will challenge the NFL in garnering the attention of sports fans across the country.

Saturday’s slate includes two NFL games, as is usually be the case in late December. However, this is no longer a typical Saturday in late December. We’ve got a 12-team College Football Playoff to watch now.

SMU and Penn State kicks off at noon ET on Saturday. That’s followed by Clemson and Texas at 4 p.m. ET. The CFB slate finishes with Tennessee and Ohio State at 8 p.m. ET.

On the NFL side, there’s the Texans at the Chiefs at 1 p.m. ET and the Steelers at Ravens at 4:30 p.m. ET.

COLLEGE GAMEDAY IS BACK: And it’s in between two places for the CFP’s opening weekend

Fans are being put in a place where they’ll have to choose which games they want to watch. These are conflicts that are typically avoided by these two leagues (I think we can call the NCAA that at this point).

They tried to stop this before it started, but failed to come up with any solutions. The NFL essentially asked the NCAA to bend the knee and it wouldn’t. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has more:

“Before plans for the College Football Playoff were formalized last year, NFL officials had a series of clandestine meetings with CFP officials and conference commissioners. My understanding is the NFL took the lead in these meetings—but only to suggest ways that college football could work around its desires.”

Now, we’ve got a competition.

This has opened quite a fascinating can of worms. Rarely have we ever seen the NFL beat out in a ratings battle. I don’t know if it happens here, but I certainly think it could. College football fans are tribal. They follow their teams before anything. You’ve got some absolute powerhouses playing on Saturday in Texas, Clemson, Ohio State and Penn State.

Would that be enough to supersede the NFL? I don’t know. But if that does happen, what will the future partnership between the NFL and NCAA mean?

These are two sides competing for the same dollars, after all. Would the NCAA be willing to go back to abiding by its big brother’s will? I doubt it  —especially as it continues to expand.

Chances are this won’t happen. And the NFL and NCAA will probably work to make sure they don’t clash in this way again.

But I won’t lie to y’all. I’m rooting for chaos here.

What the heck is a fair catch kick?

The NFL rule book is so convoluted and confusing. There are so many things in there that we probably don’t even know exist because of something that happened in a game in 1937 or whatever.

Case in point: Thursday night’s fair catch kick. The Chargers kicked the first free-kick field goal the NFL has seen in 50 years.

I can’t quite explain to you how or why it happened. I’m still very confused about that. Luckily, we’ve got Cory Woodroof on the case.

“A free kick is basically where, if a team hauls in a fair catch on a punt as the clock hits zero, it can elect to take a free kick for a field goal.

Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker booted the very rare, 57-yard free kick right through the uprights to make it the first successful attempt in the NFL since 1976.

Chargers kicker Ray Wersching is the last NFL player to succeed on a free kick, giving one of the strangest NFL franchises some really bizarre football history to be proud of.”

Of course, the last kicker to do this was also a Chargers kicker. This is the most Chargers thing ever.

By the way, I still don’t get it.

Charlie Woods is TALL

We’ve enjoyed watching Charlie hit the greens and follow in Tiger Wood’s footsteps as a golfer. But, speaking of following in his dad’s footsteps, it looks like they might be wearing the same size shoe at this point.

Charlie is almost as tall as his dad, guys. Look.

The kid is only 15 years old — he’s literally got a lot more room to grow.

Seeing an athlete you grew up watching have a kid is one thing. It’s another thing to watch that kid grow up. That’s how you know you’re getting old.

SEE MORE CHARLIE: Here are some photos of Charlie and Tiger through the years. They grow up so fast. Literally.

Photo Friday: This is what a check looks like

*** BESTPIX *** NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – DECEMBER 18: Alex Carpenter #25 of New York Sirens its Jocelyne Larocque #3 of Toronto Sceptres during the first period at Prudential Center on December 18, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. The game is the first home game in the Sirens’ second season in the PWHL. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Last week we had puck-vision. This week, we’ve got check-vision. Here’s Alex Carpenter of the New York Sirens completely levels Jocelyne Larocque of the Toronto Scepteres here. Sheesh. Hockey is rough.

Quick hits: Best bets of the NFL weekend … The worst of South Bend’s weather … and more

— Here are our best bets for you heading into the NFL weekend. Going to be a good one, folks.

— We’ve got snow and freezing cold in Indiana for the CFP’s opening game. This is terrible, but it’s so perfect at the same time. Charles Curtis has more.

— Speaking of the CFP, Carson Beck will be sidelined for Georgia’s entire run. Cory Woodroof has more.

— Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s story is so incredibly inspiring. Meg Hall has more here.

— Jim Harbaugh loves the free kick rule because, of course, he does.

— Prince has the best kickers for you to stream this weekend in Fantasy Football. 

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading. Happy Friday! Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

The Jets are not a real NFL team.

I refuse to fall for this anymore.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

The Jets are not a real NFL team.

I don’t mean that in the sense that the Jets are just so incompetent that they don’t compare to a legitimate NFL team. Obviously, that’s true. But that’s not what I’m saying here, Winners.

What I’m saying is there’s no way the New York Jets are an actual football team.

I refuse to believe this anymore. I won’t continue to fall for this trick that everyone is playing on us and you shouldn’t either. There’s got to be something else going on in the background that keeps those doors open every day. How else do you reasonably explain anything that happens around this team?

The “team” — if we’re still calling it that — operates more like an ABC workplace comedy sitcom than an actual football team. A rotating cast of characters comes in each day with new hijinks.

Usually, it’s Aaron Rodgers stepping on a rake and hitting himself in the face with the handle. Not today, though! Today, it’s Woody Johnson, the 77-year-old owner who is only open to the whims of his teenage boys, Brick and Jack, when running his team.

That’s the reported explanation for why Johnson nixed a trade for Jerry Jeudy. His teenage sons didn’t like his Madden rating, according to reporting from The Athletic. 

HIS MADDEN RATING, y’all. Woody Johnson doesn’t even know what Madden is, man.

I need someone to explain to me — like I’m 5 years old — how the Jets aren’t simply a front for something. Has anybody peeked inside at the Jets’ front office lately? Are we sure it exists? What are they selling back there? My guess is jailbroken Firesticks with NFL League Pass included. That’s how unserious this operation is.

The good news for Jets fans — if you *do* actually exist out there — is that Johnson will probably be out of your hair soon if he goes to work for the first-ever president-elect to be a convicted felon.

The bad news is that Aaron Rodgers is inevitable. Sorry.

Jeremiah Fears has no fear

Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Sorry. I’ve been itching to type that headline for the last 12 hours. You’ve probably already seen 16 different variations of it online, but whatever. It’s perfect. And it’s true.

Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears’ game-winning shot against Michigan on Wednesday night is the stuff of legend.

The Sooners need 3-points to tie the game and send it to overtime. Fears did them exactly one point better. He hit the three and got the foul.

Oklahoma is undefeated at 11-0 and looks like one of the best teams in the country. For Fears to be this team’s leader as a freshman is extremely impressive, considering that he reclassified to play for Oklahoma this year.

He should be planning prom-posals and getting ready to graduate. Instead, he’s hitting big buckets and getting ready to cash in at the NBA draft next summer.

The value of an NBA team

Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Mat Ishbia and the Phoenix Suns decided to sell concessions for $2 in the Phoenix Suns arena, which is absolutely reasonable and exactly how it should be.

It was always ridiculous that people were paying more than that for bags of chips that were half filled with air and bottles of water that somehow still leave you thirsty.

Considering how much these teams are worth, those prices are even more absurd. Sportico released its annual NBA valuation data and the numbers are staggering.

A few numbers for you:

  • NBA teams are collectively valued at $138 billion.
  • The average NBA team is worth around $4.6 billion.
  • The Warriors were the highest team valued at $9.14 billion. The Grizzlies were the lowest at $3.06 billion.

You catch my drift here. The cheapest team in the league is worth multiple billions of dollars. You and I could pool together our resources with a few thousand other people like us and we probably still couldn’t buy a sliver of this team.

I’ll never buy another bag of chips from an arena again.

Quick hits: Doug Gottlieb the doofus … Diego Pavia is back … and more

— Doug Gottlieb really put his foot in his mouth with this one. Meg Hall has more on his hilarious blunder.

— Diego Pavia is returning to Vandy. Watch out, Hugh Freeze. Christian D’Andrea has more here.

— Here are our straight-up picks for Week 16 in the NFL. There are some good games on the slate this weekend.

— I love a fake punt-pass but this one takes the cake. Cory Woodroof has more.

— Josh Allen is head over heels, y’all. I love this. Robert Zeglinski has more.

— Mike Penix Jr. was doing the funniest thing when he got the news that he was the Falcons’ starting QB.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. Have a happy Thursday. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️