This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Charles Curtis is filling in for Andy Nesbitt.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all! In our last newsletter before the holiday, I thought it would be a good idea to step back and be grateful for some stuff in sports. No negativity! No snark! (OK, maybe some snark.)
Let’s dive right in:
1. NFL parity is great. Who’s winning it all? We have NO idea right now. Every contender has a flaw, and there are a bunch of also-rans who could play spoiler. Isn’t that better than the usual?
2. Cincinnati could be a college football playoff team! Again, isn’t that better than the same old teams being ranked in the same place year after year?
3. The Monday Night Football Manning megacast. Always entertaining, no matter the game or the guest list.
4. Holy cow, Chet Holmgren. All of 7-foot-1, can hit from distance, ball-handle, run the floor, swat shots … ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
5. Simone Biles. Always but especially this year in general.
6. Connor McDavid. Dude just had a point streak end at 17 GAMES! He’s scoring wild goals! WOW.
7. Steph Curry and the Warriors, dominating everyone again.
8. MLB free agency, still fun even if there’s labor strife on the horizon.
Finally: I’m thankful for all of you out there. Thank you for reading. A happy, healthy holiday to you and your families.
Quick hits: NBA mock draft! … Aaron Judge with a beard … JJ Redick calls out Stephen A. Smith … and more.
— Here’s the latest NBA mock draft from Bryan Kalbrosky, but Chet Holmgren isn’t first off the board.
— Aaron Judge really should challenge the Yankees’ facial hair policy, writes Andrew Joseph.
— JJ Redick called out Stephen A. Smith on First Take.
— The latest Four Verts from Charles McDonald, with four unsung NFL players he’s thankful for.