A weekend of chaos

Good Morning! Today is Monday, November 18. Here’s what happened over the weekend in the world of sports.

NFL

You ready for some football? Let’s get to some games:

NCAA FOOTBALL

As we prepare for the latest College Football Playoff rankings to be released tomorrow, here’s your chance to catch up on the chaos from Saturday:

  • Four ranked teams were upset in big ways: (18) Washington State removed themselves from the playoff race with a 38-35 loss at New Mexico, (22) LSU lost 27-16 to the struggling Florida Gators and got dissed big-time by the UF social media team, (16) Kansas State fell 24-14 at home to Arizona State, and (19) Louisville quite literally gave the game away to Stanford, gift-wrapping the Cardinal a chance for a game-winning field goal.

  • The shock loss of the weekend, however, was in Provo, Utah, as undefeated BYU was upset by the surging Kansas Jayhawks. Not only will BYU drop in the rankings, but they are suddenly at risk of losing their spot in the Big 12 title game…

  • …and their Big 12 rival (17) Colorado is taking advantage. The Buffaloes crushed Utah and moved to 8-2 on the season. Heisman candidate Travis Hunter continues to make astonishing plays on both offense and defense:

NBA

We had a weekend full of great performances and historic milestones in the NBA:

NHL

A lot of hockey was played over the weekend, and we’re due for a standings check-in (later this week? Probably?). But today, this will be a space focused on celebrating the greatness of Alexander Ovechkin.

The Washington Capitals legend is just 29 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record of 894. Ovechkin’s latest moment on the path to history was a hat trick in last night’s Washington 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. We’ll keep tracking Ovi on his quest this season, but if you get a chance to watch the 39-year old play live, you should take it.

NCAA BASKETBALL

Three important results from the men’s college hoops this weekend:

  • On Wisconsin! The Badgers welcomed (9) Arizona to Madison and shocked the Wildcats with an 103-88 victory. Transfer John Tonje became the fourth Wisconsin player to score 40 points in a game, and the new-look Badgers improved to 4-0 on the year.

  • (13) Purdue also won a big home game, taking down (2) Alabama 87-78. Trey Kaufman-Renn paced the Boilermakers with 26 points.

  • It wasn’t a perfect weekend for the Big Ten… (21) Ohio State lost a close one at (23) Texas A&M 78-64.

And three big results from the women’s game, too:

  • (2) UConn defeated (14) North Carolina 69-58. The Huskies were led by superstar Paige Bueckers, who scored 29 points. It was a milestone win for UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who tied the division one record for career wins.

  • (20) Kentucky won a big rivalry game against (18) Louisville, taking down the Cardinals 71-61 in overtime.

  • We’ve got our first big upset of the season! Unranked Indiana defeated (24) Stanford 79-66. The Hooisers had lost two games in a row before the surprise win against their new Big Ten rival.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Jannik Sinner finished his superb season with an exclamation point, winning the ATP Finals over the weekend in Turin. The young Italian defeated American Taylor Fritz in the finals, and in my humble opinion, has clearly earned the title of best tennis player in the world.

Charles Barkley fans, rejoice! Following the resolution of the legal battle between Warner Brothers (TNT) and the NBA, the league has reached a deal to license the popular Inside the NBA show starring Barkley to ESPN for select basketball games next season. Here’s to even more of Chuck, Shaq, Kenny, and Ernie on our TV screens!

The Dallas Wings have won the WNBA Draft Lottery, jumping up a spot and bumping the Los Angeles Sparks down to pick number two. It’s widely expected that Dallas will select UConn guard Paige Bueckers, a transformational talent and one of the best college basketball players in recent memory.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: the Pittsburgh Pirates have offered a slew of prizes, including season tickets for 30 years, in exchange for a rare Paul Skenes baseball card that has yet to be found. So if anyone has a new pack of Topps lying around, it may be time to open it.

Finally, Netflix and the NFL have announced that Beyonce will be performing the halftime show at the Ravens vs Texans game on Christmas. No word on their plans to fix the streaming issues that plagued viewers of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight from last Friday.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

NBA: Just going to highlight two games on today’s NBA schedule:

  • Magic @ Suns, 9 PM

  • Warriors @ Clippers, 10:30 PM on NBA TV

NHL: And two more from the world of hockey:

  • Avalanche @ Flyers, 7 PM on NHL Network

  • Capitals @ Utah Hockey Club, 9 PM

NFL: Monday Night Football takes us deep into the heart of Texas…

  • Texans @ Cowboys, 8:15 PM on ESPN

“Being nervous isn’t bad. It just means something important is happening.” –Michael Jordan

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