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In the NFL, it was Thursday Night Football between the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams.  The Cardinals needed the win to clinch a playoff spot.  This wasn’t exactly a fun game to watch.  The Rams offense looked awful, and the Cardinals lost yet another starting QB to injury.  Drew Stanton went down and was replaced by Ryan Lindley.  In the end, the Cardinals defense held the Rams from doing anything.  There were no touchdowns scored in this game, and with the win, the Cardinals now sit atop the NFC, while the Rams are officially ousted from the playoffs.  Arizona 12, St. Louis 6.

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And in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers had their first big Western conference test of the season as they took on the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Unfortunately, they were without LeBron Jams, but they held their own.  In the end, Russell Westrook, Kevin Durant and the Thunder took the win, but the Cavs look like they can hang out with some tough Western Conference teams.  OKC 103, Cleveland 94.

Finally, in the NBA, a Los Angeles Lakers practice was caught on tape, featuring Kobe Bryant cursing repeatedly at his teammates — calling them soft like “m______F_____ Charmin”.  Clearly Bryant doesn’t think much of his current squad.  In the video, he says it’s no wonder they lost 20 games.  When questioned about this, Kobe simply said that he likes to push his teammates.  Kobe has never been known for being the most likable teammate, but he is a 5-time champion, so perhaps his team should consider listening.

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In the NBA, the New York Knicks are having a pretty awful season and it’s being reported that the organization is in total chaos.  Apparently, the players are yelling at each other after games, they all hate Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, and they think that Carmelo Anthony is a ball hog. It seems a lot of the fury is between Tim Hardaway Jr. and Carmelo Anthony.  This team is in disarray and will likely need to send some guys out of town if they want to rebuild.

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Speaking of teams in disarray, we also have the Washington Redskins.  Their once lionized franchise quarterback, Robert Griffin III, is likely going to be shipped out of town after the season, and now players are getting into fights after practice.  On Wednesday, wide receiver Andre Roberts threw punches at cornerback teammate Bashaud Breeland.  This was all captured on camera, and made the national media, which is not good for team chemistry.  It will be interesting to see how they try to mend the fence.

Finally, in some shocking college football news, Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen is leaving the school after 2 years to take the head coaching vacancy at Oregon State.  Wisconsin is a larger program than Oregon State, which seems like a step down, so you have to conclude that there was something unsettling for Andersen behind the scenes to leave.  One potential reason was the academic standards of Wisconsin, as Andersen couldn’t target high quality junior college players because they had poor grades.  It seems as if this move will enhance the rivalry between Oregon and a newly re-vamped Oregon State.

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In the NBA, when LeBron James decided to rejoin the Cleveland Cavaliers, expectations for them to make it to the championship and even win it were sky high.  Then they struggled mightily to start the season, and everyone thought it was a failed experiment.  Looks like we spoke to soon.  Tuesday night, the Cavs took on the top seeded Toronto Raptors.  The Raptors made a lot of noise, but LeBron and the Cavs rallied back to beat them and grab their 8th win in a row.  The Cavs are now starting to look like the team to beat again.  Watch out.  Cleveland 105, Toronto 101.

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In the NFL, the 49ers season has spiraled out of control, hitting a huge low as they lost to their crosstown rivals:  the Oakland Raiders, a team that was blown out by more than 40 points the week prior.  Now, the 49ers face their highest point spread in the Jim Harbaugh era, as Vegas bookmakers have them as a 10 point underdog when they travel to Seattle next week.  Vegas even put a $30,000 bet limit on Seattle.  Seattle hates the 49ers, and it’s likely that, if possible, they will try to run up the score as much as possible.  This could get ugly.

In some sad NFL news, Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers’ quarterback, suffered two back fractures after a car accident Tuesday afternoon.  According to his motorcycle accident lawyer, Cam was heading to the stadium to study game film on his day off when the crash happened. The Panthers are unsure when Cam will be back in action. For such cases in which there are injuries due to an accident, car accident lawyer in Austin area is the best who can help with the legal procedures for claiming insurance for paying medical bills, etc. Have a look at how legal experts have dealt with 5 Serious Car Accidents Injuries And The Risks that come with it.

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The Green Bay Packers dominated the Atlanta Falcons for the first half of the Monday Night Football matchup. Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 3 TD’s, one of which went to running back Eddie Lacy (who also ran for a TD). The Falcons came back strong in the second half but it wasn’t enough and the Packers held on for the win, tying them with Arizona for the best record in the NFC. Packers 43, Falcons 37.

In college football, the Heisman Trophy finalists were announced and the honors went to: Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper, Wisconsin’s running back Melvin Gordon, and Oregon’s quarterback Marcus Mariota. The Heisman trophy recognizes the best college football player. The finalists will travel to New York on Saturday evening and one of them will take home the famous prize.

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In the Sunday night game, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots looked relaxed and ready to play the San Diego Chargers after spending the week in San Diego in order to cut down on late season travel. Patriots 23, Chargers 14.

The Indianapolis Colts, the highest scoring team in football because of QB Andrew Luck, had a tough start to the day but held on to beat the Cleveland Browns in an exciting final 2 minutes. With a clutch pass interception call, Luck pulled it together and threw for his 4th career go-ahead passing touchdown in the final minutes of the game to hold on for a 25, 24 win. And, no Johnny Manziel did not play. QB, Brian Hoyer was back in the game.

In one of the most surprising games of the day, the San Francisco 49ers lost to their crosstown rivals, the Oakland Raiders.  This is only the second win for the Raiders this season. As embarrassing as that is for the 49ers, they are also in danger of not making the playoffs for the first time in coach Jim Harbaugh’s tenure with the team. Expect to see even more chatter about Harbaugh not staying with the team for the final year of his contract. There is speculation that Harbaugh might accept a job with as the Oakland Raiders’ head coach. And to add to the gossip, Harbaugh was even seen before the game chatting away with the Raiders’ owner Mark Davis.  Raiders 24, 49ers 13.

Finally, the St. Louis Rams are on a roll. They demolished the Washington Redskins 24-0 for their second consecutive shutout.

In college football news the top four teams in the first ever College Football Playoffs have been announced. And, the final four are: Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon and Florida State.

#2 Oregon will take on #3 Florida State. at the Rose Bowl Jan. 1st 4:30 pm  then immediately following that game at 8:30 pm #1 Alabama will play #4 Ohio State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The winners will face off at the College Football National Championship on January 12th at 8:30 pm.

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After a disastrous Thanksgiving matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys came back strong Thursday night against the Chicago Bears. The Bears haven’t been playing the best football as of late, but in the NFL anything can happen so it was even more important that the Cowboys dominate and dominate they did with a 41-28 win. The Cowboys can thank their running back DeMarco Murray who had a monster night with a season high 179 yards and a touchdown. To make this win even more spectacular, Cowboys’ QB Tony Romo said he’s been playing the last few games with a broken rib…in addition to a back issue.

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Florida State’s 2013 Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston did not answer any questions during a two day student conduct hearing about alleged rape allegations from a former student. The allegations came in 2012 and Winston has refused to address them for the past two years. He did make the following statement:

“I did not rape or sexually assault [the accuser],” Winston said, according to the statement obtained by ESPN. “I did not create a hostile, intimidating or offensive environment in the short period of time that we were together. [The accuser] had the capacity to consent to having sex with me and she repeatedly did so by her conduct and her verbal expressions. I never used physical violence, threats, or other coercive means towards [the accuser]. Finally, I never endangered [the accuser’s] health, safety, or well-being.”

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The Philadelphia 76ers have been on a 17 game losing streak but finally won a game on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They avoided tying the record for the worst start in NBA history. The New Jersey Nets hold that infamous record from their 2009-2010 season with a 0-18 streak.

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In an ugly Monday Night Football matchup between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, the Jets came out strong with a powerful running game but couldn’t hold on. The Dolphins kept the pressure on Jets’ QB Geno Smith trying to force him to throw. He ended the game with 7 of 13 passes for only 65 yards and an interception.  Dolphins didn’t look pretty but pulled off the win. Dolphins 16, Jets 13.

And in some very sad college football news, Ohio State football player, Kosta Karageorge, was found with a gunshot wound in a trash bin in Columbus, Ohio. Neuropathologists are looking for signs of brain damage due to multiple concussions.

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Mo’Ne Davis, the 13 year old with the 70 mph fastball, became Sports Illustrated’s Kid of the Year. Mo’Ne took the sports world by storm this summer becoming the first girl in the history of the Little League World Series to pitch a shutout. And, she’s not just a great baseball player, she’s also on the honor roll at school. Congrats Mo’Ne. You’re an inspiration!

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Johnny Football (Johnny Manziel) grabbed some attention this weekend as the Cleveland Browns’ coach benched quarterback  Brian Hoyer and put Johnny in to salvage the game against the Bills. While he couldn’t manufacture a comeback, we should expect to see a quarterback controversy in Cleveland. Bills 26, Browns 10.

Five of the Rams’ players ran on to the field in the pre-game in a “Hands up don’t shoot pose” as a form of solidarity with the protestors in Ferguson. The St. Louis police were upset with the gesture as they worked all week to keep emotions in check and provide for a safe environment for the game. The game was much less interesting than this pre-game show as the Rams embarrassed the Raiders in a blowout. Rams 52, Raiders 0.

The most anticipated and hyped game of the day between the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots did not disappoint. This was an offensive battle of two quarterbacks destined for the hall of fame. Green Bay’s QB Aaron Rodgers out dueled Tom Brady for a 26-21 win ending the Patriots’ 7 game winning streak. We could certainly see a rematch of these powerhouse in the Super Bowl.