Year in Sports 2023

What a wild year it has been in the sports world in 2023. Lot of good moments, and a few we'd like to forget about. We won't dive into the bad moments at all here, only the good. So let's look back at what was from the sports world in 2023!

Tennis:
Australian Open: Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka
French Open: Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek
Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz, Markéta Vondroušová
U.S. Open: Novak Djokovic, Coco Graff

NASCAR:
Daytona 500: Rickey Stenhouse Jr
Dixie Vodka 400: Christopher Bell
Coca Cola 600: Ryan Blaney
Verizon 200 At The Brickyard: Michael McDowell

Golf:
Masters: Jon Rahm
PGA Championship: Brooks Koepka
U.S. Open: Wyndham Clark
Open Championship: Brian Harman

Football:
College Football National Championship: Georgia defeated TCU 65-7
Super Bowl LVII: Kansas City Chiefs defeated Philadelphia Eagles 38-35

Basketball:
Men's National Championship: UCONN defeated San Diego State 76-59
Women's National Championship: LSU defeated Iowa 102-85
NBA Finals: Denver Nuggets defeated Miami Heat in Five Games

Baseball:
World Series: Texas Rangers defeated Arizona Diamondbacks in five games!

Hockey:
Men's National Champions: Quinnipiac defeated Minnesota 3-2 in OT
Women's National Champions: Wisconsin defeated Ohio State 1-0
Stanley Cup: Vegas Golden Knights defeated Florida Panthers in five games!

In Memorium:
-Eric Montross (NBA 52)
-George McGinnis (NBA 73)
-Steve Junker (NFL 88)
-Frank Wycheck (NFL 52)
-Guillermo "Willie" Hernandez (MLB 69)
-Walter Davis (NBA 69)
-Bobby Knight (NCAAB 83)
-Frank Howard (MLB 87)
-Dick Butkus (NFL 80)
-Tim Wakefield (MLB 57)
-Russ Francis (NFL 70)
-Brooks Robinson (MLB 86)
-Bobby Baun (NHL 86)
-Bob Brown (NFL 81)
-Roger Craig (MLB 93)
-Jim Brown (NFL 87)
-Vida Blue (MLB 73)
-Petr Klima (NHL 57)
-David Wildcox (NFL 80)
-Willis Reed (NBA 80)
-Joe Pepitone (MLB 82)
-Tim McCarver (MLB 81)
-Bobby Hull (NHL 84)

Playoff Clinching Scenarios Week Seventeen

Week Seventeen has arrived in the NFL and here's how teams can clinch playoff spots this weekend.

AFC:
Clinched:
Baltimore Ravens (12-3) Playoff Birth
Miami Dolphins (11-4) Playoff Birth
Cleveland Browns (11-5) Playoff Birth

Baltimore Ravens (12-3) vs Miami Sunday 1PM
-Baltimore can clinch AFC North title with a win
-Baltimore can clinch the top seed and home field advantage with a win as well

Buffalo Bills (9-6) vs New England Sunday 1PM
-Buffalo can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND losses by Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Indy and Houston

Jacksonville Jaguars (8-7) vs Carolina Sunday 1PM
-Jacksonville can clinch a playoff birth and the AFC South title with a win AND losses by Indy and Houston

Kansas City Chiefs (9-6) vs Cincinnati Sunday 4:25PM
-Kansas City can clinch a playoff spot and the AFC West title with a win OR losses by Las Vegas and Denver

Miami Dolphins (11-4) vs Baltimore Sunday 1PM
-Miami can clinch the AFC East title with a win OR a Buffalo loss

NFC:
Clinched:
Detroit Lions (11-4) NFC North
San Francisco 49ers (11-4) NFC West
Dallas Cowboys (10-5) Playoff Birth
Philadelphia Eagles (11-4) Playoff Birth

Los Angeles Rans (8-7) vs New York Giants Sunday 1PM
-Los Angeles can clinch a playoff birth with a win AND a Seattle Loss

Philadelphia Eagles (11-4) vs Arizona Sunday 1PM
-Philadelphia can clinch the NFC East with a win AND a Dallas Loss

San Francisco 49ers (11-4) vs Washington Sunday 1PM
-San Francisco can clinch the first round bye, top seed, and home field throughout with a win AND losses by Detroit and Philadelphia

Seattle Seahawks (8-7) vs Pittsburgh Sunday 1PM
-Seattle can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND a Green Bay-Minnesota Tie

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-7) vs New Orleans Sunday 1PM
-Tampa Bay can clinch a playoff birth with a win and the NFC South title with a win OR a tie and Atlanta loss

Merry Christmas

As is a tradition here from us. Every year, we have done this as our gift to you so sit back and enjoy

Oh but wait there's more

Merry Christmas!

Playoff Clinching Scenarios Week Sixteen

Week Sixteen has arrived around the NFL. We are so close to the start of the playoffs we can almost taste them. So here's how teams can clinch playoff spots in the NFL this week.

AFC:
CLINCHED:
Baltimore Ravens (11-3) A playoff spot

Baltimore Ravens (11-3) (at San Francisco Christmas (Monday)
-Baltimore can wrap up the AFC North with a win AND a Cleveland loss

Cleveland Browns (9-5 @ Houston Sunday 1PM)
-Cleveland can lock up a playoff spot with a win AND losses by Cincinnati, Buffalo, Denver, Miami and Indy

Kansas City Chiefs (9-5 vs Las Vegas Monday 1pm)
-Kansas City can clinch a playoff spot AND the AFC West title with a win OR a tie and a Denver loss

Miami Dolphins (10-4 @ Dallas Sunday 4:25PM)
-Miami can clinch the AFC East with a win AND a tie and Buffalo loss
-Miami clinches a playoff spot with a win OR a tie and losses by Jacksonville, Cleveland Indy Cincinnati and Houston

NFC:
CLINCHED:
San Francisco 49ers -- NFC West division title
Dallas Cowboys -- playoff berth
Philadelphia Eagles -- playoff berth

Detroit Lions (10-4 @ Minnesota Sunday 1PM)
-Detroit can clinch the NFC North title with a win or tie
-Detroit can clinch a playoff spot with a loss by either Seattle or Los Angeles (Rams)

San Francisco 49ers (11-3 vs Baltimore Monday 8:15PM)
-San Francisco can clinch the #1 seed a bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win AND losses by Philadelphia Dallas and Detroit

Best & Worst NFL Week Fourteen

Week fourteen has come and gone in the NFL. We saw a huge shakeup at the top of the NFC East, while the hopes for Kansas City to reach the top in the AFC took a big hit in its own right. We had an elite showdown late, and one of the most boring games ever all in the same weekend. Lets not waste anymore time and jump right into it. Here's the best, and worst, of week fourteen around the NFL.

Best: Jake Browning Quarterback Cincinnati Bengals'
There's still life in Cincinnati for a shot at the playoffs. When Joe Burrow went down with injury in week eleven and was done for the rest of the season, things weren't looking too good for the Bengals. Browning stepped in and took a little time, but he was able to find footing. Sure it started out with a pair of losses, but now Browning looks good in two straight wins, including Sunday in a 34-14 Bengals win over the Colts. Browning went 18 of 24 for 275 yards, a pair of touchdowns and a pick. Yes the Bengals are 7-6 and they are on the outside looking in at the playoffs as of this writing, but they would and could be a lot worse off without Burrow if Browning hasn't been playing as well as he has.

Worst: Kadarius Toney, Wide Receiver Kansas City Chiefs
This is going to be, without a doubt, one of the most talked about plays for quite some time. Buffalo walked into Kansas City and walked out with a 20-17 win. This caused the Chiefs to lose a stranglehold on the AFC West. but that's not the biggest story here. Yes it is a big story, but its not the biggest one. The biggest one is the offsides call on Kadarius Toney on what would have been a go ahead score for KC late in the game. Kelce made a catch, ran out of room and threw the ball backwards to Toney, who ran it the rest of the way for a touchdown. The refs threw a flag on the play, calling it back for offsides. The guilty party? Kadarius Toney. Sure Kansas City coaching staff was upset at the refs for not warning them about Toney being offsides and giving him a chance to reset. Toney has to be paying attention to where he's lined up to begin with so this is on him as well.

Best: Zach Wilson, Quarterback New York Jets
I can't believe I'm even writing this, but after getting benched for a couple of weeks, it looks like Zach Wilson got the message. For at least one week anyway. New York found a way to snap its five game losing streak, with a 30-6 win over the Texans at home. the first half looked bad for both teams. Once the second half got going, Zach showed why he was taken second overall by the Jets. He finished the day going 27 of 36 for 301 yards two touchdowns and no picks. First time we'd seen a Jet do that in almost a year. It's a better than even chance Zach won't be back as a Jet next year. Should he keep up solid performances like this, he might be able to land himself a job somewhere else in the league.

Worst: Scoring In Las Vegas
You would like to think in a league like the NFL, we would see some high scoring games. More entertaining football this late in the season. Well that wasn't the case here. Played in Las Vegas on Sunday, the Raiders played host to the visiting Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota walked away with a 3-0 win. No that isn't a typo, the Vikings actually won by a 3-0 score in a full NFL game. This is how the day went down: Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Missed field goal, Punt, Punt, End of half, Punt, Fumble, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Field goal, interception, punt, fumble. That's the entire game, every drive, right there.

Best: Sean Peyton Head Coach Denver Broncos
Not a clue as to what Sean Peyton has been doing in that locker room in Denver, but whatever it is, it seems to be working. After beating the Chargers 24-7 on Sunday, Denver has won six of their last seven games. This coming after starting the season 1-5. They now sit just a game back in the AFC West. Their showings as of late against the Chiefs, Bills and Packers speaks volumes for what Peyton has been able to get out of his team since that awful start. Now aside going to Detroit to face a tough Lions team, the rest of the way the Broncos schedule looks favorable. Home to New England and the Chargers before ending the year at the Raiders. There's a pretty good chance the Broncos could snap that seven year playoff drought this season

Worst: Kickers
Being a kicker in the NFL isn't easy. They do have a rough go of it on a lot of days around the league. But this past Sunday, in a lot of the early games too, it was a rough go of it for kickers in the league. Here's a look at some of what happened to kickers on Sunday. Matt Gay of the Colts missed a 38-yard field goal and an extra point. Younghoe Koo of the Falcons missed two field goals from 50 and 52 yards. Blake Grupe of the Saints missed a 29-yard field goal. Riley Patterson of the Lions missed an extra point. Matt Ammendola of the Texans missed an extra point. Eddy Pineiro of the Panthers missed a 41-yard field goal. Cairo Santos of the Bears had an extra point blocked. Sure I know there was bad weather in a few of these games but Yikes.

Milestone Moment For JT

Hitting 1,000 Points in the National Hockey League is quite an accomplishment. To date, only 98 men in the history of the game have done that. The 98th person to join that list is Maple Leafs Captain John Tavares, who joined that list last night on Long Island with a two point performances.

Fitting that it happened to come against the team he started his NHL career with.

For the first nine years in the NHL, Tavares played for the New York Islanders, the team that took him with the first overall pick in the 2009 draft. He played 669 games in an Islanders sweater, collecting 621 points. He then moved on to the Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2018 and has collected 379 points  in 385 games and counting. When Tavares got the milestone point, which was an assist on Morgan Riley's tying goal in the final seconds of regulation, the Leafs poured off the bench to congratulate their captain. The Islanders also show a small video tribute/message for Tavares on the big board, which was met with boos from Islanders fans, but more on that shortly.

While he's never been the quickest skater, Tavares has shown an ability to get where he has to and with good agility. He's got great hands and vision and does make the guys that play around him better. He made the Islanders a more respectable franchise during the nine years he was there before heading off to Toronto. While in Canada his production has still been there. The biggest knock against Tavares is that, while wearing the C on his chest, he hasn't been able to really lead a team out of the second round of the playoffs. That still doesn't take away from the credit he deserves for hitting the 1,000 point milestone which is a major accomplishment in this league.

Now then, to address what happened at UBS Arena after Tavares hit his 1,000th point. He still is getting booed six years after he left Long Island.

Look I get it, I do. I know most of my fellow Islanders fans are STILL unhappy with the guy for not only leaving, but the way he left. Listen to me what happened with Tavares isn't even close to what Dale Hunter and Darcy Tucker did. If your an Islander fan you know what I'm talking about. If not, those two guys are know for injuring two Isles players during heated playoff series and have been hated by fans to this day. What Tavares did isn't even the same thing as what Kirk Muller did. Again if you know you know. 

It wasn't Tavares call not to trade him before he left, that came from ownership and upper management. That's why he walked and we got nothing back in return. I don't blame Tavares for leaving the guy did what he had to do and did what he felt was right for him and his career. He didn't hurt the franchise, ownership did at that time. This is just me talking but I've never  had ill will against the guy. The only ones I have are the ones that I listed above and for those reason. But Tavares leaving for Toronto, I've never booed the guy. Why? Because its childish and a stupid thing to do for a guy who gave everything he had to the team and the game.

Congratulations to John Tavares on reaching 1,000 career points!

Best & Worst NFL Week Thirteen

Week thirteen has come and gone in the NFL and what a week it was. Sure it was a light week, given the fact that six teams had a bye week this week. We got five weeks left in the regular season, but after this week the top teams in the conferences have shifted. Miami leaped over KC as tops in the AFC, while the Eagles still hold serve atop the NFC, but have finally dropped their second game of the year. We had individual players make strong claims for MVP, while others took a step back. Lets not waste any time, here's some of the best and worst from week thirteen in the NFL.

Best: Tyreek Hill Wide Receiver Miami Dolphins
There was not much of a doubt that the best receiver in the game is Tyreek Hill. The way he been playing this season he's playing at an MVP level. So too is Tua, but the play of Hill is allowing for Tua to hit his level. That was on display in the Dolphins 45-15 win over Washington last weekend. He finished with 157 yards on five catches, two of those catches went for touchdowns. Those 157 receiving yards from Hill were more than Washington had through the air as a team Sam Howell threw for just 127 yards on the day. Talk about going off Tyreek did that on Sunday.

Worst: Mike Tomlin Head Coach Pittsburgh Steelers
Your going into this weeks matchup facing a Cardinals team that had won just two games during the regular season up to this point. This, in theory, should have been a win for the Steelers. Instead it was a 24-10 win for Arizona. Yes, it does suck that Kenny Pickett got hurt and they had to go to Mitch Trubisky. But that's not on the coach, the rest of it does fall on Mike Tomlin. He couldn't have the rest of the boys ready for this game? Was there no prep for this game for being able to face Arizona? This kind of lack of prep can't happen. Yes I know you can't plan for injury to your quarterback but still.

Best: Gardner Minshew Quarterback Indianapolis Colts
When Anthony Richardson went down with a season ending shoulder injury for the Colts, there was a lot of questions for what might happen with this team and the direction they were going to go in. Enter Gardner Minshew, and Minshew Mania is running wild in Indy right now. They now sit in 2nd place in the AFC south with a 7-5 record. They are also sitting on a four game winning streak, following a 31-28 win over the Titans last weekend. A lot of that has been the influence of Gardner Minshew who threw for 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win. None was bigger than a 55-yard bomb late in overtime to receiver Alec Pierce. It set up the Colts winning score. He has been having a massive impact on this Colts team and they are rolling right now and Gardner has them in a spot for a playoff push right now.

Worst: Brad Allen officiating Crew
The Sunday night game between the Chiefs and Packers was supposed to be a fun game to watch. But it didn't turn out that way in the 4th quarter, thanks in large part to some horrendous calls from the refs. Now, normally I'm never one to bash refs for making, or not making, calls. But what we saw Sunday in the Kansas City 42-19 win was beyond anything I'd seen in quite some time. Brad Allen and his crew missed some pretty blatant calls in the 4th quarter that weren't called. One was the missed call on roughing the passer on Patrick Mahomes who got walloped while in bounds and it wasn't called for roughing the passer. Oh it gets worse. The second was an obvious defensive pass interference that should've been called against Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine. It should've given the Chiefs the ball inside the 10-yard line. Sure mistakes happen, but ones like this can change the course of a game and they can't happen.

Best: San Francisco 49ers
You want to talk about a dominating performance, look no further than what the 49ers did on Sunday. They beat the tar out the Eagles to the tune of a 42-19 win. And doing it in Philadelphia no less. Brock Purdy threw for 314 yards and four touchdowns. He hit Deebo twice (who had 114 yards on four catches). Christian McCaffery had 150 total yards on the day. the offense went off. And so to did the defense, who was up in Jalen Hurts face all day long and sacked him three times. It was one of the most complete performances they've had in a long time. Sure they still have tough divisional games coming up with the Seahawks and Rams, but if they keep up with performances close to this, then the Niners could be in great shape for taking the NFC's top seed come playoff time.

Worst: Philadelphia Eagles

As just mentioned above the Niners put a whopping on the Eagles. Why does this one sting worse than any other loss this week? Well because coming into the day, the Eagles had been the only one loss team in the league still there at this point (Having lost only to the lowly Jets earlier in the year). They not only lost but they got their doors blown off by the 49ers. And its going to be a telling sign for the Eagles the rest of the way. Sure their final three games of the year are against the Giants twice with a game against the Cardinals in between. But the next two games are both on the road, one against Dallas and the other against Seattle. Both very tough tests. IF the Eagles can't rebound from what happened against San Francisco, they lose grip on teh top seed in the conference and who knows what could happen

1K On The Bay

Having a thousand receiving yards or more in an NFL season is an impressive thing to be able to do. Being able to do it multiple times in a career is an even more impressive feet. It's only been done three times in NFL history where a receiver has hit the century mark more than ten times. Jerry Rice did it 14 times. randy Moss did it ten times. And now we can add Mike Evans name to that list as well. Evans and Jerry Rice are the only receivers in the history of the NFL to do it in ten consecutive years.

Rice has the record at 11 years, doing it from 1986 to 1996. But Evans is the only one to do it in the first ten consecutive years in the NFL. He came close a couple times to having the streak stopped. In 2017 he finished with 1,001 yards. Then in 2020 he had 1,006 yards. Last year was 1,012. But he's hit the mark every year.

Since he entered the NFL in 2014, Evans has been one of the most consistent wide outs in the game, as the numbers have shown. And he's done it with different QB's throwing to him. He's had Josh McCown, Mike Glennon, Jameis Winston, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tom Brady, and now Baker Mayfield all throw passes to him. He's been thrown to 1,288 times while hauling in 744 of those passes, and counting. In total, with those 10 straight season it has totaled 11,437 yards. And it doesn't look like he's showing any signs of slowing down now. Evans said to reporters after the game he hopes to be able to keep this streak going for however long his career lasts. Will that still be here in Tampa? Who knows. Now the goal is clear, be a playoff team.

With a record like this, it leads one to wonder. Where does this land Evans among the all time greatest Bucs players? There have been some pretty good offensive players that come to mind when you think of the Bucs. James Wilder, Mike Alstott, Warrick Dunn, Mark Carrier, Keenan McCardell all come to mind. At the end of it all, Mike Evans will go down as by far the greatest offensive player this team has ever had and place him squarely in the top five. The only guys that could ever pass Evans for the Greatest Buccaneer ever would be defensive guys like Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, Lee Roy Selmon and Ronde Barber.

What Mike Evans has done in his career here in Tampa Bay has been incredible and here's hoping it keeps going for a long, long time.

Bowl Season Has Arrived

The time has arrived. Bowl season is here in College Football. In total, between December 16th and January 8th, there are a grand total of 43 bowl games for College Ball. So let's not waste any time and dive right into it.

December 16th
-11:00 a.m. Myrtle Beach Bowl Brooks Stadium Conway, South Carolina ESPN Georgia Southern Eagles (6–6) Ohio Bobcats (9–3)
-2:15 p.m. New Orleans Bowl Caesars Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Jacksonville State Gamecocks (8–4) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (6–6)
-3:30 p.m. Cure Bowl FBC Mortgage Stadium Orlando, Florida ABC Appalachian State Mountaineers (8–5) Miami (OH) RedHawks (11–2)
-5:45 p.m. New Mexico Bowl University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico ESPN New Mexico State Aggies (10–4) Fresno State Bulldogs (8–4)
-7:30 p.m. LA Bowl SoFi Stadium Inglewood, California ABC Boise State Broncos (8–5) UCLA Bruins (7–5)
-9:15 p.m. Independence Bowl Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana ESPN California Golden Bears (6–6) Texas Tech Red Raiders (6–6)

December 18th
-2:30 p.m. Famous Toastery Bowl Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7–5) Old Dominion Monarchs (6–6)

December 19th
-9:00 p.m. Frisco Bowl Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas Marshall Thundering Herd (6–6) UTSA Roadrunners (8–4)

December 21st
8:00 p.m. Boca Raton Bowl FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Florida South Florida Bulls (6–6) Syracuse Orange (6–6)

December 22nd
-6:30 p.m. Gasparilla Bowl Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida UCF Knights (6–6) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6–6)

December 23rd
-12:00 p.m. Birmingham Bowl Protective Stadium Birmingham, Alabama ABC Duke Blue Devils (7–5) Troy Trojans (11–2)
-12:00 p.m. Camellia Bowl Cramton Bowl Montgomery, Alabama ESPN Arkansas State Red Wolves (6–6) Northern Illinois Huskies (6–6)
-3:30 p.m. Armed Forces Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas ABC James Madison Dukes (11–1) Air Force Falcons (8–4)
-3:30 p.m. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Albertsons Stadium Boise, Idaho ESPN Georgia State Panthers (6–6) Utah State Aggies (6–6)
-7:00 p.m. 68 Ventures Bowl Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, Alabama South Alabama Jaguars (6–6) Eastern Michigan Eagles (6–6)
-7:30 p.m. Las Vegas Bowl Allegiant Stadium Paradise, Nevada ABC Northwestern Wildcats (7–5) Utah Utes (8–4)
-10:30 p.m. Hawaii Bowl Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex Honolulu, Hawaii ESPN San Jose State Spartans (7–5) Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (7–5)

December 26th
-2:00 p.m. Quick Lane Bowl Ford Field Detroit, Michigan Bowling Green Falcons (7–5) Minnesota Golden Gophers (5–7)
-5:30 p.m. First Responder Bowl Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, Texas Texas State Bobcats (7–5) Rice Owls (6–6)
-9:00 p.m. Guaranteed Rate Bowl Chase Field Phoenix, Arizona Kansas Jayhawks (8–4) UNLV Rebels (9–4)

December 27th
-2:00 p.m. Military Bowl Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, Maryland Tulane Green Wave (11–2) Virginia Tech Hokies (6–6)
-5:30 p.m. Duke's Mayo Bowl Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina West Virginia Mountaineers (8–4) North Carolina Tar Heels (8–4)
-8:00 p.m. Holiday Bowl Petco Park San Diego, California Fox USC Trojans (7–5) No. 15 Louisville Cardinals (10–3)
-9:00 p.m. Texas Bowl NRG Stadium Houston, Texas ESPN No. 20 Oklahoma State Cowboys (9–4) Texas A&M Aggies (7–5)

December 28th
-11:00 a.m. Fenway Bowl Fenway Park Boston, Massachusetts No. 24 SMU Mustangs (11–2) Boston College Eagles (6–6)
-2:15 p.m. Pinstripe Bowl Yankee Stadium Bronx, New York Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6–6) Miami Hurricanes (7–5)
-5:45 p.m. Pop-Tarts Bowl Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida No. 25 Kansas State Wildcats (8–4) No. 18 NC State Wolfpack (9–3)
-9:15 p.m. Alamo Bowl Alamodome San Antonio, Texas No. 14 Arizona Wildcats (9–3) No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners (10–2)

December 29th
-12:00 p.m. Gator Bowl EverBank Stadium Jacksonville, Florida Kentucky Wildcats (7–5) No. 22 Clemson Tigers (8–4)
-2:00 p.m. Sun Bowl Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas CBS No. 19 Oregon State Beavers (8–4) No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9–3)
-3:30 p.m. Liberty Bowl Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Memphis, Tennessee ESPN Memphis Tigers (9–3) Iowa State Cyclones (7–5)
-8:00 p.m. Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas No. 9 Missouri Tigers (10–2) No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes (11–1)

December 30th
-12:00 p.m. Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels (10–2) No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions (10–2)
-2:00 p.m. Music City Bowl Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tennessee ABC Maryland Terrapins (7–5) Auburn Tigers (6–6)
-4:00 p.m. Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs (12–1) No. 5 Florida State Seminoles (13–0)
-4:30 p.m. Arizona Bowl Arizona Stadium Tucson, Arizona Barstool/The CW Toledo Rockets (11–2) Wyoming Cowboys (8–4)

January 1st
-12:00 p.m. ReliaQuest Bowl Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida ESPN2 No. 13 LSU Tigers (9–3) Wisconsin Badgers (7–5)
-1:00 p.m. Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida ABC No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers (8–4) No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes (10–3)
-1:00 p.m. Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium Glendale, Arizona No. 23 Liberty Flames (13–0) No. 8 Oregon Ducks (11–2)
-5:00 p.m. Rose Bowl (Playoff semifinal game) Rose Bowl Pasadena, California No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1) No. 1 Michigan Wolverines (13–0)
-8:45 p.m. Sugar Bowl (Playoff semifinal game) Caesars Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana No. 3 Texas Longhorns (12–1) No. 2 Washington Huskies (13–0)

January 8th
-7:30 p.m. College Football Playoff National Championship NRG Stadium Houston, Texas (Rose Bowl winner) vs. (Sugar Bowl winner)

Big Night For Big Swede

Playing a game in the National Hockey League is a huge accomplishment. Doing it over a thousand times is an even bigger accomplishment. That's a pretty elite club. 382 in fact have joined that club. The newest member of that club is Victor Hedman. The Lightning blueliner joined that club tonight, in a 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars.

Hedman was the second overall pick of the Lightning in 2009, taken only behind John Tavares who went to the Islanders. Hedman has spent his entire career in a Bolts uniform. He became the 3rd man to play his 1,000th game in a Lightning jersey, joining Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos. Hedman became the seventh Sweden-born defenseman, and 18th Swede overall, to play in 1,000 games. Hedman has had a massive impact on this team. A Norris Trophy in 2018. Two Stanley Cup titles in 2020 and 2021, including a Conn Smyth Trophy win in 2020. Oh, and Hedman is the Lightning all time leader in points (677), goals (148) and assists (529) by a defenseman.

Victor has meant so much to this team and this city. On the ice, he's a true leader on this team and the best defenseman this team has ever had. He can control the play with a big hit, a great pass, a bomb of a shot and a great defensive play. He can pretty much do it all on the Bolts blue line. Off the ice, he has really embraced the Tampa Bay community. He does numerous charity events in and around the Tampa Bay area, both in season and during the off season.

By all accounts, when all is said and done, Hedman could find a place at the Hockey Hall Of Fame in Toronto.

Congrats Heddy on a thousand games played!