Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Monday, January 20.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

The conclusion to a wonderful season– let’s get to the recap:

• It was a dream start for Notre Dame. After receiving the opening kick, the Irish went on a punishing 10-minute drive that ended in a touchdown. Quarterback Riley Leonard ran the ball nine times, including this carry for the score. Could they keep up the physical play for an entire game? Could Leonard take that many hits?

• Apparently the answer was no. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard marched his team down the field and connected with star wideout Jeremiah Smith on a very familiar-looking touchdown pass, and from there, the Buckeyes took over. Ohio State went into halftime with a 21-7 lead and complete control of the football game. Running back Quinshon Judkins was dominant throughout this one, finishing with 100 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries, plus another touchdown catch.

• Oddly enough, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love had just four carries on the night. Part of that was the score forcing his team to throw the ball, but you have to think Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame coaching staff would have liked to get their dynamic playmaker more involved.

• To their credit, the Fighting Irish fought back. Ohio State took their foot off the gas and their offense stalled, while Leonard connected with Jayden Greathouse on two impressive touchdowns. With the ensuing two-point conversions, Notre Dame had cut the lead to 31-23.

• Alas, it was too little, too late. A confusing decision to attempt a field goal backfired (down 31-15 on fourth and goal with less than 10 minutes left), as did an all-out blitz with the game on the line– isolated out wide, Jeremiah Smith caught a deep ball to put the Buckeyes in a winning position. A field goal sealed the deal, and Ohio State triumphed over Notre Dame 34-23.

TENNIS

Paula Badosa upset Coco Gauff in the first quarterfinal match of the Australian Open. Badosa played on the front foot for the entirety of her 7-5, 6-3 win over the American, who made too many errors to overcome her opponent.

The second quarterfinal of the night (or the day, I guess, in Australia) was a hard-fought match between Alexander Zverev and Tommy Paul. Zverev captured the first two sets in tiebreakers, staking a lead by the slimmest of margins. Although the American battled back and won the third set, the deficit was too large to overcome. Paul will rue a missed opportunity, as Zverev advances to yet another semifinal with a 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 victory.

There are two more matches scheduled for tonight– first is Aryna Sabalenka, who I’m predicting will beat her opponent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-2. Then we have the biggest match of the tournament so far, as Novak Djokovic takes on Carlos Alcaraz. Here’s what I see happening:

NBA

We start with a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals, as Boston was in Golden State to take on the Warriors. Unlike that championship meeting, Steph Curry’s team did not win this battle. Behind a balanced scoring attack and stifling defense, the Celtics crushed the Warriors 125-85.

The rest of yesterday’s action was defined by guards who scored 30 points:

• CJ McCollum (Pelicans), Cade Cunningham (Pistons), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Zach LaVine (Bulls), and Jalen Brunson (Knicks) all reached the 30-point milestone and led their teams to victory.

• Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves) and Kyrie Irving (Mavericks) scored 30 points and lost. Mavericks center Daniel Gafford was the only other player in the league last night to have 30.

NHL

Two contests last night needed an extra period to decide a winner:

• The St. Louis Blues gave up a 4-2 third period lead against the Vegas Golden Knights, including the game-tying goal with just 30 seconds left in regulation. But the Blues recovered in time to win the game, stealing a 5-4 win on the road in a shootout.

• Carolina trailed Chicago 3-2 on the road before Jordan Staal tied the game in the third period. That set up Hurricanes star Sebastian Aho for this game-winner just one minute into overtime:

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

While the majority of the college sports world had their eyes on the national championship in Atlanta, two big women’s basketball games took place in New Jersey. First, number one UCLA maintained their undefeated season with a 72-57 victory over Baylor. Then, (7) Texas walloped (8) Maryland 89-51. March is getting closer, you may want to remember that score…

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The Chicago Bears have hired Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head coach. Arguably the top name on the head coaching market, the innovative Johnson will be tasked with rebuilding the Bears and growing the young career of quarterback Caleb Williams.

After falling short with Juan Soto and Roki Sasaki, the Toronto Blue Jays have made their big offseason move, signing outfielder Anthony Santander to a five-year deal. While maybe not their first choice, the former Baltimore Oriole will bring legit power to Toronto’s lineup. A good move for the Blue Jays.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

NBA:

• Knicks @ Nets, 7:30 PM on TNT/Max

• 76ers @ Nuggets, 10 PM on TNT/Max

COLLEGE BASKETBALL:

• Vanderbilt @ (4) Alabama, 7 PM on SEC Network

• (14) Mississippi State @ (6) Tennessee, 7 PM on ESPN2

• North Carolina @ Wake Forest, 9 PM on ESPN

• (18) Wisconsin @ UCLA, 9:30 PM on Peacock

AUSTRALIAN OPEN (ESPN2):

• Madison Keys vs Elina Svitolina, 7:30 PM

• Emma Navarro vs Iga Swaitek, 9 PM

• Ben Shelton vs Lorenzo Sonego, 10:30 PM

• Jannik Sinner vs Alex de Minaur, 3:30 AM

“There's nothing I want to do more than play well here in Australia. I'm glad I finally made it to a quarterfinal here, but let's go for bigger and better things." –Alex de Minaur, the number eight seed and top Australian player in the world