FOOTBALL

Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson won the Heisman trophy on Saturday, bringing Louisville its first ever Heisman. Lamar became the frontrunner for this prestigious award and finished the season with 51 touchdowns. Accepting his reward, Jackson said, “I’m extremely proud to represent this class and Louisville as their first Heisman Trophy winner. For my teammates, it’s an award for all of us. I can’t wait to cherish it with all of you.” As the youngest player to ever win the Heisman, Jackson credited his single mother. He said, “Everything I do is for my mother,”

After 11 straight victories, the Dallas Cowboys lost to the New York Giants on Sunday thanks to a Giants defense who stepped up even though defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul underwent surgery and is likely out for the season. The Giants also got some big plays from wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr to cement their 10-7 victory. Dallas rookie QB Dak Prescott didn’t perform up to expectations, but is still expected to remain at the helm over veteran Tony Romo.

The Green Bay Packers stunned the Seattle Seahawks in a 38-10 rout. The Packers defense intercepted Seahawks QB Russell Wilson five times, and an injured QB Aaron Rodgers put the game away by the end of the 3rd quarter. If the Packers continue to play with this dominance, they will be a major threat in the NFC.

The New York Jets win over the sinking San Francisco 49ers in overtime didn’t look pretty, but Jets QB Bryce Petty (who took the reigns from Ryan Fitzpatrick) showed mental toughness and kept his cool to lead his team to a 23-17 win. Maybe he’ll be the answer going forward for the 4-9 Jets.

FOOTFALL

With a big win over the Oakland Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs are now tied with the Raiders in the AFC West. The most exciting part of the game came in the 2nd quarter when the Chiefs‘ Tyreek Hill lined up for a punt return, and the fans in the stadium started chanting his name. Hill responded dramatically with a 78 yard punt return. After the game, Hill said, “It was crazy, man. I didn’t know what to do, for real, except for give them what they want, I guess.” Chiefs 21, Raiders 13.

In college football, Alabama’s offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin looks like he’ll be the University of Houston’s next head coach. Kiffin was head coach at USC then offensive coordinator at Alabama since 2014. Houston’s President still needs to sign off on hiring, but all signs point to Kiffin taking the job.

BASEBALL

Aroldis Chapman signed an $86 million over 5 years contract with the NewYork Yankees, the largest reliever contract in the history of the game. Chapman was traded to the Yankees in December of last year, but in July the Yankees traded Chapman to the Cubs where he helped them secure their World Series Title.   At 28 years old, Chapman should have a lot of baseball left in him, but he’s had some off the field issues including violating the domestic violence agreement and suspended license for speeding.  Chapman told ESPN he’s excited to go back to the Yankees, “Every player dreams of being a Yankee, and if they don’t it’s because they never got the chance.”

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On Wednesday night, #1 UConn defeated their rival,  #2 Notre Dame 72-61.  With the win, the University of Connecticut women’s basketball won its 83rd straight game. Their win streak is one of the most dominant in all of sports.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had some fun on the bench during their routed of the New York Knicks Wednesday night. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving sat on the bench doing the now infamous water-bottle challenge.  After a 126-94 win, LeBron said, “I always have fun. The game of basketball is always fun for me.”  My son’s opponents last weekend in 12 year old travel basketball were also trying to have “fun” with the water-bottle challenge, but the refs wouldn’t have it as they found it distracting and annoying, so they awarded our team an extra free throw. Wonder if there’s anything in the rule book about this.

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The New York Giants Jason Pierre-Paul will likely be out for the rest of the season due to surgery on a sports hernia. The defensive end rallied back from a freak accident last year during 4th of July festivities. He lost his right index finger and partial injuries to other fingers after the fireworks accident, but was having a successful resurgence this year. The Giants take on the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday.

Former Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam, was found dead in a park in Colorado. There are no reports of foul play. Salaam played for the University of Colorado and won the coveted Heisman in 1994. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1995 draft, but didn’t last long in the NFL (according to Salaam after he retired) because he partied too much off the field. Salaam was 42 years old.

BASKETBALL

A night after the Warriors Klay Thompson scored 60 points in 3 quarters, the Washington Wizards John Wall shot an impressive 52 points against the Orlando Magic. Unfortunately his effort wasn’t enough to win the game. Magic 124, Wizards 116.

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Klay Thompson was on fire Monday night against the Indiana Pacers. Klay scored 40 points in just the first half, then scored 20 more in the 3rd quarter. At 60 points in 3 quarters and only 29 minutes of play, who knew how many points he would have scored if he stayed in the game. Steph Curry went crazy on the sidelines cheering his teammate on. After the game he said, “That’s a feat that I’d put money on to probably never be touched ever again in the history of basketball. It’s unbelievable.” Warriors 142, Pacers 106.

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook continues to shine with his sixth straight triple-double in a win over the Atlanta Hawks Monday night. Wilt Chamberlain still holds the record for 9 straight triple-doubles back in 1967. Thunder 102, Hawks 99.

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Even a die-hard football fan probably turned off the Indianapolis Colts vs New York Jets on Monday Night Football. With QB Andrew Luck’s 4 touchdowns carrying his team to a devastating 41-10 win over the Jets, the Colts are now in a first place tie in the AFC South.

The ceremony for the most prestigious award in college football, the Heisman trophy, will take place Saturday December 10th. The five finalists, announced Monday night, will travel to New York City to attend the ceremony. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson is considered the favorite, but Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield and WR Dede Westbrook, Michigan linebacker Jabril Peppers, Clemson QB Deshaun Watson are all in the running.

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The College Football Playoffs are now set and the top 4 teams are Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Washington. On December 31st, Alabama will play Washington in the Peach Bowl and Ohio State will matchup against Clemson. The winning teams will face each other in the National Championship game on January 9th in Tampa.

In the NFL, Brady fans just keep celebrating. This weekend, New England Patriots QB Tom Brady reached yet another milestone. In a 26-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams, Brady became the all-time leader for wins by a quarterback (201) surpassing Peyton Manning’s 200 wins. According to Patriots coach Bill Belichick, “Tom breaking the record, that’s what it is all about — winning games.”

Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton, who always looks dapper, was benched for the first series of the Sunday night matchup against the Seattle Seahawks for violating the team dress code. According to Newton, he wasn’t wearing a tie, so coach Rivera benched him for the start of the game. He went on to say, “When you’re 6-5, trying to get a shirt — I was away from home for a week — I didn’t pack a shirt. There was a lot of ties that were given, but I can’t wear a tie with this. Meaning I have a tank top on under this — we discussed it internally. … I thought we were on the same page; I felt as if I wore a similar outfit like this before, and nothing was done. But he has rules in place and we have to abide by them. No person is greater than the next person — it is what it is.” Backup QB, Derek Anderson started the game and was intercepted on the first play. The Panthers finished the game with a devastating 40-7 loss.

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The Dallas Cowboys win streak is still alive. In Thursday night’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, the Cowboys capitalized on Vikings mistakes and turned the game in their favor. Even though it wasn’t a great night for the Cowboys, they managed to win their 11th straight game. Cowboys 17, Vikings 15.

New England Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski’s season is likely over. He is scheduled to have back surgery for a herniated disk on Friday. The Patriots will miss Gronk for his play and his leadership. They stated: “Rob has always been one of our hardest workers and was voted captain for the leadership he provides on our team.” This will be Gronk’s 8th surgery of his career.

For the second time this year, a former professional player was a victim of road rage. Joe McKnight, former New York Jets running back and star at USC, was shot Thursday afternoon. The police are investigating the incident and potential motives.

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The Golden State Warriors Draymond Green can’t seem to keep his limbs in check. After Draymond was fouled by Houston’s James Harden, he kicked him in the head. The NBA League office called Draymond’s flagrant foul  an “Unnatural leg extension, foot made contact with head.” The Warriors lost the game in the second overtime period, ending their 12 game winning streak. Rockets 132, Warriors 127.

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Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer underwent emergency eye surgery Wednesday night, and may not be on sidelines when the Vikings play the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night football. The team said they have plans in place to take over coaching if Zimmer is unable to make it. Thursday night’s game features the Cowboys explosive offense, led by rookies QB Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott, matching up against a tough Minnesota defense.

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Russell Westbrook posted his 4th straight triple double (46th of his career) Wednesday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder fought back to beat the Washington Wizards in overtime. Thunder 126, Wizards 115.

Kevin Durant, who famously left the Thunder  to play for the Golden State Warriors, is fitting in seamlessly with the Warriors crop of veteran superstars (Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green). With a current record of 16 wins, 2 losses, Durant said, “I try to think about so much when I’m playing, but sometimes you’ve just got to say ‘Forget it’ and just go. Who cares who shoots? Our offense is so freeflowing that the ball is going to find the open guys. If you move, you get open, you’re going to get shots. Some nights I might have it, some nights Steph might have it or Klay might have it, but I don’t think any one of us really cares if someone shoots more shots than us.”

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Clippers’ Coach Doc Rivers flew out of control during Tuesday night’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. After a technical foul call at the end of the first overtime,  Rivers had to be held back from running at the refs and was ejected from the game shortly after his outburst. The Clippers ended up losing in double overtime. Nets 127, Clippers 122.

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night, but the talk was J.R. Smith wearing a black ski mask during the press conference after the game.  Smith said the ski mask was a gift from his trip to Ohio State last weekend, and it represents his alter ego. He said his “alter ego” has a name but wouldn’t mention what it is.

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After a disappointing season, the Oregon Ducks fired head coach Mark Helfrich. According to reports, it was a tough decision as Helfrich was well liked and is sitting on a $11.6 million buyout. No replacement has been named yet.

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The Green Bay Packers came to play Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles.  QB Aaron Rodgers stepped up his game with two touchdowns on the first two series of the game helping his team end their 4 game losing streak. The team is still way behind in the NFC North, but according to their coach, Mike McCarthy, “We look at this as a launching pad. Definitely a game we can build off of.” Packers 27, Eagles 13.

GOLF

Tiger Woods is set to play on Thursday in his first tournament over a year. He will play at the Albany Club in Nassau in a tournament that benefits his charitable foundation. Woods who used to be almost unbeatable at the height of his golf career has slipped to number 879th in the world. When speaking to reporters about his return, he joked “I’m not dead”.