Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Monday, January 13.

NFL

The Los Angeles Rams absolutely walloped the Minnesota Vikings last night. While Matthew Stafford and the offense moved the ball efficiently, the star of the show was the Rams defense, a group that harassed Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold all evening. By the time Jared Verse returned this fumble for a touchdown late in the second quarter, the game was over. The final score was LA 27, Minnesota 9– and now the Vikings have a very interesting QB conundrum: re-sign Darnold, who was excellent until about two weeks ago, or hand the reigns over to rookie JJ McCarthy. They’ll have a bit of time to decide, even though it’s all anyone can talk about it. Meanwhile, the Rams will travel to Philadelphia this weekend to take on the Eagles.

Also, a quick note on the Commanders, because I don’t think I gave their win yesterday enough attention. This was Washington’s first playoff win since 2005, ending the third-longest streak in the NFL. And Jayden Daniels is just the fourth rookie QB in NFL history to win a road playoff game. Whatever happens next, congrats to the Commanders on a fantastic season.

NBA

Basketball time!

• Anthony Edwards dropped 41 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Washington Wizards 120-106.

• Cade Cunningham is a stud. The Pistons point guard was masterful with 36 points in Detroit’s 124-119 victory over the New York Knicks.

• The matchup of the night was in Los Angeles, as Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs took on LeBron James and the Lakers. Both stars had their highlight moments, but it was the visiting team that got the win 126-102. Three different Spurs scored 23 points, including Wemby:

NHL

Three games, three recaps. To the ice we go:

• The Philadelphia Flyers took down the Florida Panthers 4-3. Noah Cates scores two goals in the victory, including the game-winner.

• Calgary beat Chicago 5-2, but the story of this one is Connor Bedard. The young Blackhawks forward recorded his 100th career point with this power-play goal.

• And Edmonton squeaked by the LA Kings 1-0. Oilers superstar Connor McDavid celebrated his birthday by scoring the only goal of the night.

TENNIS

The Australian Open is going strong, and we’ve already seen some incredible tennis:

• Nick Kyrgios made his grand return to professional tennis yesterday. The mercurial entertainer was promptly eliminated in straight sets, and claimed afterwards that he was considering retirement.

• As I’m writing this, (5) Daniil Medvedev is in a fifth set against the 418th ranked player in the world, Kasidit Samrej… it looks like Medvedev is about to win, but he also just destroyed a camera with his racquet, so who knows.

• Sometimes you have to travel halfway around the world just to play your neighbor… or at least, that’s what happened in the two best matches I’ve seen so far. Emma Navarro won an incredible three-hour duel against fellow American Peyton Stearns, while frenchman Gael Monfils pulled off the upset against a player 18 years younger than him, his countryman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Just watch these two show off the best that tennis can offer:

COLLEGE HOOPS

Just one result of note today– Rutgers beat UCLA 75-68. It’s the fourth loss in a row for the Bruins, who were ranked in the top 25 just a week ago.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys have agreed not to negotiate a new contract, letting the head coach hit the open market this offseason. Dallas has already been connected to every name in football, including Deion Sanders. McCarthy is a likely candidate for the head coaching role in New Orleans or Chicago.

Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki has narrowed his list of potential teams down to the final three: Toronto, San Diego, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. A 23-year old flamethrower, the potential superstar is expected to make a final decision within the next 10 days.

Remember Lavar Ball? The crazy guy who was convinced his sons were all destined for basketball greatness? Well, Lamelo is on track to start in the all-star game, Lonzo just made his first start after a lengthy injury recovery, and now LiAngelo has signed a $13 million deal with DefJam records as a rapper. Good for the Ball brothers. And also a fun excuse to link this video:

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

• (15) Mississippi State @ (1) Auburn, 7 PM on SEC Network

• (21) Ole Miss @ (4) Alabama, 7 PM on ESPNU

• (11) Texas A&M @ (8) Kentucky, 7 PM on ESPN2

NBA:

• Cavaliers @ Pacers, 7 PM on TNT/Max

• Nuggets @ Mavericks, 9:30 PM on TNT/Max

AUSTRALIAN OPEN (on ESPN2 and ESPN+):

• (20) Karolina Muchova vs Naomi Osaka, 8:30 PM

• Kei Nishikori vs (12) Tommy Paul, 10:30 PM

• (3) Coco Gauff vs Jodi Burrage, 3 AM tomorrow morning!

“Sports are a lot of things, and sports can certainly provide an escape and a distraction, and hopefully sports, and tonight, can provide some joy as well" –Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick