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Jeopardy! GOAT: James Holzhauer needs to pull it together!

It’s do-or-die time for Jeopardy James.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

I don’t know if you watched the third episode of the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time tournament Thursday night so I’m going to give you a warning – I’m going to provide a spoiler in just a second so turn and run away if that’s something you don’t want to start your Friday with.

I told you to get outta here! What are you still doing here?

OK, here comes the spoiler.

Ken Jennings rolled to victories in both games on Thursday night and is now one episode victory away from winning the whole thing and collecting a million bucks.

To which I say – and I respect the heck out of Jennings – James Holzhauer has to pull things together and not just bow down and let Jennings win this thing in just four shows.

Because that would be brutal.

Holzhauer become a hero last spring when he racked up 32 straight wins. His strategy was incredible. His personality was fun. He was a star.

Now he’s just one loss away from letting a huge opportunity to be the GOAT of Jeopardy slip out of his soft, professional gambler hands. This isn’t what I expected from Jeopardy James. This is not what I wanted to see from him. I wanted to see this great champion put up a fight and win this thing.

Now he’ll have to do just that if he wants to be the GOAT.

Holzhauer has had a lot of fun in the first three episodes and his tribute to Alex Trebek’s during Thursday night’s show was pretty awesome.

But now I need him to focus on the task at hand. And yes, I know these shows were shot back in December so I’m asking a man from the past to focus on the now, but whatever!

It’s clear that we Jeopardy fans want this tournament to go on for as long as possible. It’s never fun when we get to a championship series and one team just runs away from it.

That could very well happen tonight, which would be a shame.

Jennings is a great champ and we all respect the you-know-what out of him. But this is boring old January and we need more of Jennings vs. Holzhauer (and Brad Rutter) in our lives.

Not less!

So come on, Jeopardy James. Buckle down and get the job done for us. Because if you do, next Tuesday night’s fifth episode will be insane.

Thursday’s biggest winners: Russell Westbrook and OKC Thunder fans.

(Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)

Westbrook returned to Oklahoma City on Thursday night for the first time as a member of the Houston Rockets and man was the crowd happy to see their former star. The video tribute was really awesome and the ovation he received upon being introduced was even better.

Quick hits: LSU’s great hype video… A fun “FOOTBALL GUY” quiz… Time for Ben Simmons to step up… And more!

– LSU’s hype video will make you run through a wall.

– You need to take Steven Ruiz’s great/hilarious quiz about Giants coach Joe Judge, who is a big “FOOTBALL GUY.”

– Mike Sykes says it’s time for Ben Simmons to prove that he’s a star, now that Joel Embiid is out with an injury.

– We’re going to see Tiger Woods back on the golf course very soon, which is always good news.

– Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin are about to make the SEC even more fun.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

Jeopardy! GOAT: Brad Rutter is living the Jeopardy dream without even winning

Brad Rutter > People making fun of him on Twitter.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

The second night of the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time tournament wrapped up in dramatic fashion Wednesday night and continued to be the perfect type of distraction TV we need in what is a wild world these days.

I won’t spoil it for you, because that’s just not the type of person I am. I think the word you’re looking for here is “hero”. You can find the results right here with my pal Charles Curtis’ great breakdown of the second, one-hour episode.

But I will spoil it a little – Brad Rutter, much like on the first night, didn’t win. But he still won and will continue to win for as long as this tournament goes on.

Let me explain why.

Rutter made his first appearance on Jeopardy! way back in the year 2000 – when HDTV’s weren’t really a thing and Twitter definitely wasn’t a thing. Champions were only allowed five title defenses before they were sent home with a nice check and whatever prizes they won – Rutter got two cars for being an undefeated 5-day champion. That’s not bad.

But here we are in the year 2020 and this guy is still getting a chance to play Jeopardy! on the biggest stage this game has ever seen, as he has a front-row seat to what should be a classic battle between Ken Jennings (who won 74 straight games) and James Holzhauer (who had 32 straight wins). Chances are if you told Rutter 20 years that he’d be in this position he sign up in a hurry.

Rutter is here because he is the record-holder for money earned on the show with $4,876,036, which he has won through various special games and events over the years. That’s not bad, either.

Think he cares about all the jokes being made about him on Twitter that past two nights by people who will never get a chance to even play this wonderful game?

Yeah, I don’t think so either.

None on this should be embarrassing for Rutter. He’s living the dream of many Jeopardy! fans, getting to play more of the legendary game while competing head-to-head with two incredible legends. Plus, he’s won more money than both players, which is something I’d take over the win streaks.

Chances are things will continue to not go his way in the remaining episodes of this tournament.

And chances are he couldn’t care less.

Because his lengthy and profitable run on this show if proof that he’s a winner, no matter how many Holzhauer beats him to the buzzer.

Wednesday’s biggest winner: Mike McCarthy.

McCarthy waited until he was officially introduced as the new coach of the Dallas Cowboys before admitting that he lied a little bit in his job interview with Jerry Jones. I mean, who hasn’t done that before? (I haven’t and if any of you @ my boss about this I will deny all. Also, if my boss subscribes to this newsletter I’d like to wish you a happy Thursday, Nate.)

Quick hits: Ed Orgeron shotgunning Red Bulls… Rudolph’s gloves go for a ride… Garrett’s awkward meeting with Jones… And more!

– LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry III told a great story about a shirtless Ed Orgeron shotgunning Red Bulls to fire up his team.

– Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph thought a reporter was going to use his game-worn gloves to raise money for charity. Instead, they ended up on Ebay. But then a fan did something awesome.

– Jerry Jones revealed details on what must have been an awkward meeting with Jason Garrett last week.

– The Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell opens up about his obsession with sneakers.

– Here are three reasons why Clemson will win the national title game.

– Here are three reasons why LSU will win the national title game.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

Ken Jennings is the baddest man on the Jeopardy! planet

Don’t mess with Ken Jennings.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings had to sit there in his Seattle home all of last spring and watch as the confident and personable James Holzhauer went on his dominant run and won over large parts of America.

Time and again during that streak Jennings had to hear others, including Holzhauer, speak of how this professional gambler from Las Vegas, this Jeopardy James character, could take out anyone in this game, even the great Ken Jennings.

Imagine how Jennings felt having to listen to these claims. Jennings, as we know, is the GOAT of Jeopardy, having won a record 74 games in a row. Holzhauer only had a 32-game streak but still, in this day-and-age of what have-you-done-for-me-lately attitudes, everyone was wow’d by how much money Holzhauer was winning on each show and how easily he was beating his competition, and how his strategy was game-changing!

On Tuesday night Jennings finally got his shot at Holzhauer (and Brad Rutter), as the first episode of Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time aired. It was a very close night and a perfect way to kick off the tournament. I’m going to give a spoiler here, so if you didn’t watch, go away right now. Dump your phone in your coffee. Turn and sprint out of your office. Throw your computer off the desk.

Do whatever it takes (within reason).

Because here comes a spoiler.

Jennings, the GOAT, let everyone know he’s still the baddest man in the Jeopardy planet as he went all-in on a Daily Double in the Double Jeopardy round and then held on to win the first game of the night with 33,200 points. Holzhauer finished in second with 16,600 and then Rutter was third with 5,200 after missing an all-in Daily Double in the Double Jeopardy round.

What a message sent by Jennings, who is second only to Rutter in most money earned on Jeopardy. What. A. Stud.

Here’s a man who won 74(!) in a row and had to hear doubters weigh in with thoughts that some big personality professional gambler could take down the champ.

Shame on them!

Sure, Holzhauer won the night’s second game but Jennings won the overall night by 200 points over Jeopardy James and takes a 1-0 lead into the rest of the tournament.

This special Jeopardy tournament could go three nights if Jennings wins the next two, or it could go seven nights if it goes the distance. Either way, this seems like a nice little distraction from all that’s going on in the world right now.

And here’s to Ken Jennings, one of the greatest mental athletes of our time looking to prove once and for all that nobody takes down the king.

He’s now just two steps away from history.

I know I wouldn’t bet against him.

Tuesday’s biggest winner: J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai.

AFP PHOTO / ANGELA WEISSANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

The Houston Texans star rightly stuck up for his fiancee, Kealia Ohai, after a local ABC station tweeted a terrible headline about Ohai, a professional soccer player, being traded from the Houston Dash to the Chicago Red Stars. Well done, J.J.

Quick hits: McGregor’s awful UFC shirt… Stephen A. Smith crushes Giants… Kevin Love’s childish outburst… And more!

– There’s no way Conor McGregor can wear this official walkout shirt at UFC 246 next week. It’s just awful.

– Stephen A. Smith rightly destroyed the Giants over the Rooney Rule.

– Kevin Love admitted he acted like a child during an on-court outburst.

– Former Eagles RB Jay Ajayi is now a pro FIFA player for the Philadelphia Union.

– Ravens are now nervous about the Drake Curse.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

Jerry Jones let us all down

Thans for nothing, Jerry Jones.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett spent a week unable to quit each other, two football friends who knew what was best for their relationship but were unable to say the words they each needed to hear.

It was some fun, relatable drama for anyone who has gone through a difficult, drawn-out breakup. So many us saw ourselves in their situation and knew just how things would end up.

Finally on Sunday – during the Eagles’ playoff game, no less – Jones made the news official that he would be carrying Garrett out of the head coach’s office and dropping him just outside the walls of team’s facilities. Or something along those lines. The relationship was over and Garrett was done.

We all awoke Monday looking forward to Jones sticking with the drama and playing out an extensive search for a new coach that would be played up for days… but possibly weeks considering how that breakup went.

But then on Monday afternoon the Cowboys announced that they hired… Mike McCarthy as their new head coach?

How unlike Jerry Jones.

How boring.

How rude.

Seriously, I was selfishly ready for weeks of more Dallas Cowboys offseason pageviews as Jones floated rumors with names like Urban Meyer or Nick Saban (just let me dream, folks) or even Bill Belichick (let me dream even more because OMG the pageviews that would have got).

Dallas drama is fun for all of us. This could have been legendary time to be alive and enjoy juicy NFL news.

But now all of those hopes and dreams are dead because of a coach that seems pretty darn similar to Garrett and might not be the gigantic upgrade that Cowboys fans are hungry for.

So, I guess there’s some fun in that?

McCarthy won a Super Bowl during his lengthy stint with the Green Bay Packers. He also owned a winning record against the Cowboys. But, of course, having Aaron Rodgers sure helped things for the relatively bland head coach.

Jones now has his new guy but there is no real controversy to his hiring, there’s no real sexiness to this hiring, and there’s no real excitement, either. Maybe all of that will play out next season when the Cowboys must make the playoffs or this past season will look like a great year.

I really wanted Jones to go full crazy and name himself the next coach of the Cowboys. That’s a world I’d love to live in. I think deep down that he would, too.

But, nope. Mike McCarthy it is.

What a bummer.

Thanks for nothing, Jerry.

Monday’s biggest winner: ‘Bachelor’ fans.

‘The Bachelor’ returned Monday night and now we all get to follow some fella named Peter Weber as he tries to find the woman he’ll attempt to spend the rest of his life with. Here’s a breakdown of every cast member in the 24th season of a show that knows how to crush souls on national TV. Also, here are eight things we want to see happen this season.

Quick hits: Tua’s winners and losers… Wentz apologizes… Brady’s next team… And more!

– Tua Tagovailoa announced Monday he will be leaving Alabama and entering the NFL draft. Here are the winners and losers of that decision.

– Carson Wentz apologized to all of his teammates after Sunday’s loss, which he didn’t need to do.

– There’s one team that Tom Brady should play for next season… and it’s not the Patriots.

– Joel Embiid suffered a nasty looking finger injury Monday night.

– Are the NFL’s playoff OT rules still broken? Saints fans might think so.

– The winner of the ‘Jeopardy’ GOAT tournament may have already leaked, according to a sportsbook.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

There’s only one thing for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots to do now

The Patriots don’t need to be done.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots suffered a devastating, season-ending playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.

That means New England won’t be going to its fourth straight Super Bowl, a new AFC team will get a shot at a title for the first time since Peyton Manning ended his career with a Super Bowl win over the Panthers, and Brady won’t get a shot at a seventh title.

It also has many people wondering about the future of a franchise that has become the best in all of sports, winning six Super Bowls since 2001, playing in 9 Super Bowls since then, and winning 11 straight AFC East championships.

Are Brady’s days in New England over? What about Bill Belichick’s run with the team? Is this dynasty really over?

Here’s what should happen: Tom Brady and the Patriots agree on a one-year deal that works for both sides. Belichick stays put. The Patriots re-tool in the offseason, and they come back for one last chance to stick it to those who think they are done.

Now that would be so on brand with the “Patriot Way.” Ignore the noise outside of the building, take care of things off the field, then put it all on the line back on the field when the 2020 season starts next September.

The Patriots don’t need to do much to stay in contention next year. It’s obvious they need some weapons on offense, most notably a tight end and some wide receivers. But they will still have Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, who seemed to get better late in his injury-shortened rookie year, and Mohamed Sanu. Add a few more guys, give Brady time work with them in the preseason and regular season and… who knows?

The Patriots could also get back center David Andrews back next year after he missed all of this year with blood clots in his lungs. Shore up that offensive line to protect Brady, much like they did in 2018, and… who knows?

The Patriots’ defense should be strong again next year, which is usually the case when Belichick is overseeing the group.

Would a 43-year-old Brady have much left in the tank to take care of his end of all this? That’s the biggest question mark but he can still make throws that others can’t and you know he’ll have his body in the best shape as possible to attack another year.

Forget about breaking up. Forget about listening to all those who think their run is over.

Re-load and give it one more shot.

The NFL needs its villain, and the Patriots would love nothing more than to continue playing that role.

NFL Wild-Card Weekend Awards

(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Here’s my gif-by-gif look back at the wild things that happened over the weekend, including Kirk Cousins’ awesome celebration in the locker room after Minnesota’s huge win over Saints on Sunday. What a performance by Cousins.

Quick hits: McCown’s heartfelt answer… Brady/Brees jokes… Diggs’ epic photo… And more!

– A teary Josh McCown gave such a great answer about how special it was to play in his first playoff game at the age of 40.

– NFL fans had a lot of jokes about Tom Brady and Drew Brees being eliminated from the playoffs.

– This postgame photo of Stefon Diggs and Sean Payton is so good.

– Marshawn Lynch casually threw an Eagles DB to the ground, which was so Beast Mode.

– Jerry Jones did his best to steal some attention from the Eagles on Sunday.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

We all need to bond together and vote for Tacko Fall for the NBA All-Star Game

Let’s vote for Tacko Fall!

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

The first results of the fan votes for the NBA All-Star Game came out on Thursday, which isn’t usually all that noteworthy. The big names are usually all where they are supposed to be, which is the same this year.

But there is one big person near the top of one of the lists and it was quite a surprise. I’m talking, of course, about Boston Celtics rookie Tacko Fall who is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference frontcourt rankings, which is awesome.

The seven-foot-five center has quickly become a cult hero in Boston, with fans often screaming for Brad Stephens to sub in Tacko late in blowouts. Stephens finally relented to the fans a few weeks ago and it was one of the best moments of the young season.

It was also one of only three times he’s seen the court this season, which makes the 110,269 votes he’s received all the more awesome. Tacko has played a total of 11 minutes in three games this season and has just 13 points. The most playing time he’s seen this year has been with the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s G-League team, where he’s played in 11 games and averaged 23 minutes a contest.

The only names above Tacko in the frontcourt voting rankings are: 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (1,073,358 votes), 2. Joel Embiid (606,534), 3. Pascal Siakam (544,302), 4. Jimmy Butler (431,483), and 5. Jayson Tatum (364,137). Those are all very big names and guys who have played A LOT more than Tacko has this year.

So why should we rally around and vote for Tacko? Because it would fun, duh. So much in sports can be taken so seriously or negatively and lead to vicious arguments that don’t really need to take place. Pounding the voting button for Tacko (VOTE RIGHT HERE) would give us all a feeling of camaraderie no matter what teams we root for. Let’s try to shake up the NBA a bit and get Tacko in the discussion, just for the ridiculousness of it.

The fan voting only accounts for 50 percent of the votes so we probably wouldn’t end up defeating the NBA and getting our guy in the game, but it would be pretty hilarious to see him end up with more votes than players who deserve it.

Tacko has been a blast all season and seems to be a good human, which makes this all the more worth our efforts. A few weeks ago he put on a tuxedo and conducted the famed Boston Pops orchestra, much to the delight of the people in attendance. Come on!

Let’s do whatever we can to get at least his name in the conversation for the All-Star Game.

Let’s get goofy.

Let’s have some innocent fun.

Let’s vote for Tacko Fall!

Thursday’s biggest winner: Tom Brady.

The GOAT was told Thursday by a reporter that he has more playoff wins (30) than the other 11 QBs in this year’s playoffs have combined (26). Brady’s answer to that was pretty great. Can he get No. 31 this week against Ryan Tannehill, who’s playing in just his first playoff game?

Quick hits: Happy Thanksgiving… NFL wild-card picks… And more!

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder apparently thought yesterday was Thanksgiving.

Our Stephen Ruiz and Charles Curtis have their wild-card picks against the spread.

Justin Bieber wants to challenge a NHL goalie in a shootout contest, which we’d love to see.

Jalen Rose thinks Zion Williamson should miss all of January, which would stink.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

There’s only one man who should be the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys

It’s time for Jerry Jones to name Jerry Jones as the next head coach of the Cowboys.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

By the time you are reading this maybe Jason Garrett is no longer the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Or maybe he still is, and Jerry Jones is continuing to draw out a process that seems to have such an obvious ending.

Either way, Garrett is not going to be on the Dallas sidelines next season. After another disappointing season it’s time for everyone involved to move on.

It’s also time for the Dallas Cowboys to find their new coach… and there’s only guy who should be up for that job – Jerry Jones.

Crazy, I know. But hear me out.

Jones can jump in front of the cameras and get on radio shows and try to say he’s all about winning and he wants this franchise to be Super Bowl contenders, but it sure doesn’t seem like that is true.

For Jones, it seems like the Cowboys being a reality show that continues to be talked about ad nauseum on all the morning yelling shows on TV and all the radio shows in Dallas and across the country is the most important thing for him. Could you imagine any other franchise with just three playoff wins in the last 22 years being such a hot topic for various shows?

If you needed more proof of Jones’ need and love of attention look at what he’s doing with this Garrett situation. The decision should have been made Sunday night. Instead, Jones set up a meeting with Garrett on Monday and reportedly has another on the books for Tuesday. He knows this is what everyone is going to be talking about and he has to love being the story despite the NFL playoffs starting this coming weekend.

Jones has loved the circus atmosphere that he seems to create around this team every season. All of those press conferences after games where he sometimes throws gasoline on a lit fire are a lesson in narcissism that easily could have been avoided. Name another GM or team owner that does that just about every week?

Yup, there’s just one – Jerry. Jones.

So now he should go all in on the act and make himself the head coach. He can put on a headset and walk up and down the sideline clapping his hands and smacking players on the behind as they run on and off the field. The amount of attention he would get would be massive and likely overwhelming for just about anybody not named Jerry Jones.

He can hire some coordinators who can handle all the X’s and O’s, which will free him up to be a cheerleader and make him feel like he’s really a part of what’s happening on the field.

Jones has proven time and again that the Cowboys really aren’t about winning. He did that way back in the day when he hired head coaches named Chan Gailey and Dave Campo and he did that recently when he chose to stick with Garrett for 10 mostly underperforming years.

It’s time for Jerry Jones to push all of his chips into the center of the table and give the football world what it needs – total chaos in Dallas.

You know he’d love it.

Monday’s biggest winner: Richard Sherman.

The 49ers CB correctly shot down Tony Dungy’s complaints about that PI no-call at the end of Sunday night’s wild 49ers-Seahawks game. Defenders need to be able to defend and Sherman is right for calling out those who disagree. That was a good no-call, BTW.

Quick hits: Playoff power rankings… Le’Veon Bell’s perfect reply to Adam Gase… Adam more!

– Steven Ruiz ranks the 12 teams still alive in the NFL and says one of these four teams will win it all.

– The Jets are already a mess just one day into the offseason.

– Drew Lock really knows his Jeezy.

– Eli Manning’s mindset about free agency isn’t going to pay off.

– A gambler lost close to $75K on the Patriots on Sunday. Ouch!

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(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

So, who’s going to win the Super Bowl? Probably the Saints.

The Saints deserve this.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

The NFL regular season is over and it’s time to get serious. Super serious.

So, who’s going to win the whole thing this year and parade through their city with the Lombardi Trophy?

Here’s who I think is going to do it – the New Orleans Saints. Granted, I’m often wrong about many things so take this prediction for what you will, but I gotta feeling about this team.

There is no team who deserves this most, considering how the refs robbed them of a trip to the Super Bowl last year with one of the worst no-calls in sports history.

But here’s the thing – they’re also really good at football, too.

Drew Brees and the Saints seem to be peaking at the right time. Alvin Kamara is finally healthy and back to scoring a lot of touchdowns (he has four TDs in the last two weeks after not scoring since Week 3).

Michael Thomas has had a record-breaking season at wide receiver and can make the big plays whenever he feels like it.

Brees has been here before and done that before, too. He’s shown zero signs of slowing down this year and looks ready to return to the Super Bowl, where he led the Saints past the Colts many years ago.

The Saints can put up a ton of points, which they will likely have to do when they face the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl.

The 49ers are the top seed and have a great defense, but the Saints have already put 46 points up on them in a Week 14 loss.

The Saints have a win over the Seahawks under their belts.

The Packers, who almost lost to the Lions on Sunday, don’t seem all that special this year.

The Vikings and Eagles will quickly be forgotten about.

So the Saints will win the NFC.

What about the AFC?

Well, it doesn’t look like the Patriots are going to be able to go to their fourth straight Super Bowl. Sunday’s stunning loss to the Dolphins was not a good look for a team that has struggled offensively for much of the season.

The Texans, Bills and Titans will be the AFC’s version of the Vikings and Eagles.

The Ravens will beat the Chiefs in what will be a great AFC Championship Game. Patrick Mahomes vs Lamar Jackson will be a treat that we’ll hopefully get to see for many years to come.

While Jackson has been incredible this year, I think the Saints have the firepower to keep up him and beat the Ravens in what will be an incredible Super Bowl.

So book it – Saints over the Ravens in the Super Bowl.

Remember, I’m often wrong.

NFL Week 17 Awards: Joe Mixon hilariously takes out ref with helmet celebration fail.

Here’s my gif-by-gif look back at the good, the bad, and the hilarious from Sunday’s NFL action. Joe Mixon taking out a ref after the Bengals’ win over the Browns was too funny.

Quick hits: Jerry Jones’ sad reaction… Cowboys’ fitting ending… Harbaugh’s savage move… And more!

– Jerry Jones watched the Eagles’ late TD that basically ended Dallas’ season and his reaction was perfect.

– Speaking of the Cowboys, the way they ended their season was so fitting.

– John Harbaugh really doesn’t like the Steelers.

– Bill Belichick made things super awkward after Sunday’s loss.

– Philip Rivers was really emotional after Sunday’s finale.

– Jameis Winston made some embarrassing history in style.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

The Raiders deserve to have their crazy season be continued by a crazy Week 17

The Raiders could still incredibly pull of a playoff spot.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

The Oakland Raiders have had quite a season, which can amazingly continue past Week 17 if a bunch of things happen.

First of all, let’s look back to the summer as they dealt with the Antonio Brown madness – from the frostbite feet to the running around his backyard celebrating his “freedom” from being released by a team that traded for him in the offseason and was willing to pay him a lot of money to play football.

Things could have gone downhill after that and we all would have made fun of them for a bit and moved on.

But Jon Gruden and his guys are still fighting and at 7-8 they still have a chance to make the playoffs, which is wild.

The Raiders entered last week needing 10 things to happen in Week 16 and Week 17 for them to claim the AFC’s last playoff spot. Then five of those things happened last Sunday – the Steelers lost, the Colts won, the Browns lost one of their last two games, the Titans lost, and the Raiders won.

Bananas.

Now in Week 17 they need four more things to happen, as one of the 10 results got wiped out – they need the Ravens to beat the Steelers, the Texans to beat the Titans, the Colts to beat the Jaguars, and the Raiders have to beat the Broncos in Denver.

Week 17 games, for a number of reasons, are hard to predict. But those four things could actually happen for Oakland. The Ravens will be starting RGIII at QB and resting a lot of their stars, but the Steelers are dreadful offensively. The Texans apparently aren’t resting any players even though they are locked in to the AFC playoffs. And the Colts should be able to beat the lowly Jaguars.

A win in Denver is attainable, though it can be hard for road teams to be there. The Raiders did beat the Broncos way back in Week 1, but now Drew Lock is the QB in Denver and he has been playing pretty well.

But still, this thing could really happen.

The Raiders have had a rough year but have never quit. They are closing in on their final days of being from Oakland, so it would be pretty cool if they went out on a bang and had nine different things go there way and punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Let’s all root for some AFC chaos!

Thursday’s biggest winner: Eli Manning.

(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Thanks to ESPN’s Ian O’Connor and the in-depth piece he wrote on Eli, we now know that the QB had a beer guy in every NFL stadium who would hook him up with some ice-cold beers for him to bring on the bus and share with teammates while breaking down the game. One teammate called it “unbelievable” and we agree.

Quick hits: Raiders/Roomba jokes… Rodgers on Danica’s podcast… Is Josh Allen the answer?… And more!

– Speaking of the Raiders, NFL fans had a lot of jokes of what the team’s new awesome stadium in Las Vegas looks like.

– Aaron Rodgers went on Danica Patrick’s podcast and here are 11 things we learned from his appearance.

– Steven Ruiz broke down why Bills fans shouldn’t get too excited about Josh Allen.

– Charles Barkley hilariously showed Zion Williamson how to walk and run.

– The Miami Hurricanes got roasted for being shutout in the Independence Bowl.

– Penn State’s kicker spent Christmas booting balls off the Dallas Cowboys’ huge Jumbotron.

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(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers are here to crush the dreams of Lakers fans

Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers are here to crush the dreams of Lakers fans.

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Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers for a second straight time on Christmas Day, winning 111-106 on the Lakers’ floor at Staples Center.

The game had a playoff feel to it (except for that terrible new camera angle ESPN kept using) from the time Patrick Beverley kneed LeBron in the groin in the first few minutes and it came right down to the wire until Beverley sealed things up with a great defensive play on LeBron.

This was the type of stuff NBA fans hoped for when the Clippers landed Leonard and Paul George in the offseason. Here is a team that is more than capable of keeping LeBron, Anthony Davis, and the rest of a very good Lakers roster from getting the team back its championship ways.

That would be a nightmare for the fans of a storied franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since they beat a OKC Thunder team that still had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden on their payroll.

Lakers fans are dying for a championship, something they haven’t won since way back in 2010 when Kobe Bryant and Co. beat the Boston Celtics in 7 games. The addition of AD had everyone thinking the Lakers would be the team to beat. Then the Clippers made their two gigantic moves and here we are – the Clippers are now the best NBA team in the city of Los Angeles.

It’s still early and these games are far from playoff games, but the Clippers showed Wednesday night that nothing about playing LeBron and the Lakers fazes them. Leonard had a monster night, scoring 11 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter. Montrezl Harrell had 18 points, Paul George had 17, and Beverley was his normal big-play self on the defensive end.

The Lakers have lost four in a row, which probably won’t be remembered months from now when they’re trying to get to the Finals. Cold stretches happen during an 82-game season, even for a team as great as the Lakers.

But now it’s very clear that a healthy Clippers team with all of its players in the mix are an extremely difficult team to beat. They have all the makings of being the championship team that we expected coming into the season, which they proved again on Christmas Day.

This rest of their matchups with the Lakers are going to be a lot of fun, as would be a potential playoff series next spring.

Though Lakers fans might not like that all that much.

Wednesday’s biggest winners: Matthew and Kelly Stafford.

The Lions QB and his wife surprised a few young fans who had recently lost their father and man were these kids so stunned to see the Staffords at their doorstep. They came with Christmas gifts and then Matthew Stafford played Madden with them. But you need to see this video of their reactions to seeing the QB. It’s awesome.

Quick hits: The Sixers are fine… Christmas uniforms need to come back… NFL QB gifts to linemen… And more!

– Mike Sykes explains why we need to stop being pessimistic about the Sixers.

– LeBron is right, the NBA needs to bring back the Christmas uniforms.

– Charles Curtis ranked the best gifts given by a NFL QB to his offensive linemen this year. I think the Bucs got the best ones with their new Big Green Eggs because Big Green Eggs are the best things in the world.

– LSU and Oklahoma have their hype videos out for this Saturday’s playoff game… and LSU’s is better.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)