The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition

Happy New Year!

If you're like us and lacking motivation on this first day back to work in 2016, keep delaying the inevitable and brush up on all of the sports highlights from the holiday weekend. That's right we have the college bowl game updates and everything you're dying to know about the NFL playoffs. (We can read your mind.) 

We also know that one of your resolutions is to learn more about sports and that's where we can help. Here's to checking one of those New Year's resolutions off your list. After coffee of course. 

Where's the coffee creamer? 

The LNG Team

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NFL (National football league)

• Next victim. Today is Black Monday. If you remember Black Monday is the first day after the last regular season game of football when coaches typically get fired. So far we’ve had two casualties in the Browns’ Mike Pettine and 49ers’ Jim Tomsula. (Eagles' coach Chip Kelly was fired last week.) 
• On their way. Carolina Panthers (NFC – National Football Conference) and Denver Broncos (AFC – Atlantic Football Conference) clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs as well as a first round bye. (Click here if you don’t remember what a bye is.)
• I’ll take the #1 with cheese. Tennessee Titans clinch the first draft pick for 2016 draft.
• Let’s go streaking. Kansas City Chiefs finish their season on 10 game winning streak to make playoffs.
• He’s back. Peyton Manning returns in the second half of Broncos - Chargers for the first time since injuring his foot on November 15th. He then led Broncos on four scoring drives (two touchdowns and two field goals) on the way to clinching #1 seed in playoffs.
• In case you're wondering. NFL playoffs begin on January 9th.
• Score alert. For all the weekend’s NFL scores, click here. 

NCAA Football (College)

• Don’t call it a comeback. Despite being without starting quarterback Trevone Boyin (who was suspended Thursday for his involvement in bar fight), TCU came back from 31-0 deficit against Oregon. TCU beat Oregon in the third overtime 47-41. This was the biggest comeback in bowl game history.
• They’re grrreat! Clemson Tigers beat Oklahoma Sooners 37-17 in the first college football semifinal playoff game from the Orange Bowl in Miami.
• Roll Tide. Alabama Crimson Tide beat Michigan State Spartans 38-0 in the second college football semifinal playoff game from the Cotton Bowl.
• And now there are two. Clemson Tigers will face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Championship Game on Monday, January 11th at 8:30 pm (EST) from University of Phoenix in Glendale, AZ. You can catch the game on ESPN.
• Score alert. Notable bowl game scores:
  • New Year’s Eve
    • Houston (#18) 38 vs Florida State (#9) 24
    • Clemson (#1) 37 vs Oklahoma (#4) 17
    • Alabama (#2) 38 vs Michigan State (#3) 0
  •  New Year’s Day
    • Stanford (#6) 45 vs Iowa (#5) 16
    • Notre Dame (#8) 28 vs Ohio State (#7) 44
    • Mississippi, aka OLE MISS (#12) 48 vs Oklahoma State (#16) 20
    • Northwestern (#13) 6 vs Tennessee (#23) 45
    • Michigan (#14) 41 vs Florida (#19) 7
  • January 2nd
    • Oregon (#15) 41 vs TCU (#11) 47
    • West Virginia 43 vs Arizona State 42

nba (National basketball association) 

• Blank Space. San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan was held scoreless for first time in a regular season game in his 19-year career (1,360 games).
• Cash money. A Lakers fan sinks a half court shot during halftime of Suns vs Lakers game on Sunday, winning $95,000.

UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship)

• Give him a left. Saturday night from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Robbie Lawler (champion) beats Carlos Condit by a split decision in an action packed five round fight in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand. With the victory, Lawler retained his title as Welterweight Champ. (Welterweight class in UFC is where a fighter is a minimum 156 lbs with a maximum weight of 170 lbs).

Overtime

• The New York Attorney General has made an amendment to the lawsuit against daily fantasy sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings. This amendment calls for the companies to return all revenue earned from residents of the state of New York, which is estimated to be 600,000 people who spent approximately $200 million on entry fees. These daily fantasy companies were deemed illegal and forced to stop operating in the state of New York because they are considered gambling websites. They have already been deemed illegal in Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington. 

Sideline Stat

• Chicago Bulls’ guard Jimmy Butler scores 40 points in second half of the game vs Toronto Raptors to lead the Bulls to a 115-113 victory. The previous record for points in a half was set by Michael Jordan at 39 points.

Coach’s Corner

• What is a split decision? This is when the judges have not have reached a unanimous decision on who won the fight. In the case of the UFC fight, the judges (there are three judges) were split on who they thought won. The majority ruled in favorite of Lawler. For more on UFC judging, click here. 

The Rundown: See Ya 2015 Edition

As always, there is a lot happening in the world of sports. We’re giving you a college football playoff game preview and other riveting highlights so you have something other than your New Year’s Resolutions to talk about while counting down to 2016.  

3-2-1, Happy New Year,

The LNG Team

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NBA (National Basketball Association)

• Not even close. The starting line ups for the NBA All-Star game are voted by the fans. Kobe Bryant is in the lead since he announced retirement. The player with the second highest number of votes is more than 200,000 votes behind Bryant.

Let your voice be heard. Vote by clicking here.  Voting ends January 18th and the game is on February 14th.

• Bear attack. Memphis Grizzlies’ guard Matt Barnes has been suspended two games for incident in the off-season when he found out via FaceTime with his kids that former teammate and current New York Knicks coach, Derek Fisher, was romantically involved with his ex-wife and physically confronted him. 
• For all the NBA scores, click here. 

NCAA Football (College)  

• The final four. Two of the New Year's Eve football games are the most important games of the season as these are the playoff games which determine the two teams who will play in the National Championship Game. The winners will play for the glory on January 11 in University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ.
  • Orange Bowl  
    • University of Oklahoma Sooners (#4) play University of Clemson Tigers (#1) in Miami in the Orange Bowl at 4 pm (EST) on the 31st on ESPN. Oklahoma is currently favored to win the game by three points according to Las Vegas sports books. 
    • University of Oklahoma Sooners 
      • Oklahoma is the Big 12 Champion after a 12-1 season (wins – loses). Their one loss came to bitter rival University of Texas (5 - 7). 
      • They feature an explosive offense lead by quarterback Baker Mayfield (who finished fourth in Heisman voting).
    • Clemson Tigers
      • Clemson won the ACC championship with an undefeated season. Clemson is known for their strong defense and potent offense. Quarterback Deshaun Watson is a sophomore who finished third in Heisman voting. 
      • Clemson’s defensive coordinator, Brent Venables, won a National Championship while working under current Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops, at Oklahoma from 1999-2011.  
    • The x-factor
      • Clemson suspended three players Tuesday due to failed drug tests. Most notable player Deon Cain who is second leading receiver on the team. 
  • Cotton Bowl
    • Michigan State Spartans (#3) will play University of Alabama Crimson Tide (#2) in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium at 8 pm (EST) on ESPN. Alabama is currently favored to win by 10 points in Las Vegas sports books. 
    • Michigan State Spartans
      • Michigan State finished 12-1 winning the big 10 conference. The team is led by a strong defense and senior quarterback Connor Cook.
    • Alabama Crimson Tide
      • Alabama finished 12-1, winning the SEC conference. They feature a strong defense. The running game is led by Heisman winning running back, Derrick Henry. Alabama’s head coach Nick Saban Is considered by many the best coach in college football. 
    • Notable bowl games (all times are EST)
      • December 31st
        • Houston (#18) vs Florida State (#9) in the Peach Bowl, 12 pm on ESPN
        • Oklahoma (#4) vs Clemson (#1) in the Orange Bowl, 4 pm on ESPN
        • Michigan State (#3) vs Alabama (#2) in the Cotton Bowl, 8 pm on ESPN
      • January 1st
        • Northwestern (#13) vs Tennessee (#23) in the Outback Bowl, 12 pm on ESPN 2
        • Michigan (#14) vs Florida (#19) in the Citrus Bowl, 1 pm on ABC
        • Ohio State (#7) vs Notre Dame (#8) in the Fiesta Bowl, 10 pm on ESPN
        • Stanford (#6) vs Iowa (#5) in the Rose Bowl, 5 pm on ESPN
        • Oklahoma State (#16) vs Ole Miss (#12) in the Sugar Bowl, 8:30 pm on ESPN
    • For all of the college football scores click here.

NFL (National Football League)

• You’re Fired. Typically, NFL head coaches will be fired on what is called "Black Monday," the first Monday after regular season (January 4th).  Start updating those resumes.
• No longer a soaring eagle. Philadelphia Eagles fire head coach Chip Kelly with one game remaining in the season. The Eagles season was a big disappointment as they missed the playoffs this year when they were expected to be Super Bowl contenders. Kelly was not only the head coach but was also in charge of all personal moves on the team which ultimately lead to his demise after three seasons. 

Don't feel bad for Kelly as the Tennessee Titans are in need of a coach and it just so happens their starting quarterback Marcus Mariotta was brought to prominence under Kelly during his time at the University of Oregon. 

• For all of the NFL scores, click here. 

Overtime

• In Men’s College Basketball, University of Iowa (unranked) beats #1 ranked and undefeated Michigan State at home (83-70). While this is big, it’s not an indicator of the season as Michigan State is without their best player Denzel Valentine, who is for a month with a knee injury.  

Sideline Stat

• New York Yankees have traded for the Cincinnati Reds all-star closer Aroldis Chapman. Chapman is known for pitching extremely fast, consistently throwing over 100 mph. Although this is a risky move due to domestic dispute that took place in October. No charges were filed but the disciplinary sentence from MLB has not been determined. 

Coaches' Corner

• The Rose Bowl is played between the champions of the PAC 12 and Big 10, unless the champion is playing in the final four. In this case the Big 10 Champion is Michigan State. Therefore, Iowa is playing in the Rose Bowl.  

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up

We have all of the highlights from the weekend's excitement in the NFL, NCAA Bowl games and more to ease you out of your cookie and eggnog coma. Think of all that you'll learn from reading this weekend's updates while slyly returning all of those gifts from your Mom that you didn't want. 

What do you mean everyone doesn't love an adult in fluffy socks with dancing puppies on them?

Dance on,

The LNG Team 

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NFL

• A seat at the table. Kansas City Chiefs started the season with a 1-5 record (wins - losses). They then won nine straight to finish season and clinch playoff seat.  
• Ram tough. St. Louis Rams' running back Todd Gurley has reached 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in this season. The last Ram to do that was Eric Dickerson in 1980. 
• Disappointment. Besides not getting what you wanted from Santa, there were some other big upsets over the holidays.
  • St. Louis Rams beat Seattle Seahawks in Seattle
  • Baltimore Ravens beat Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Atlanta Falcons ended the Carolina Panthers' undefeated season.
  • Cincinnati Bengals vs Denver Broncos in the last Monday night football game of the year. Both teams are starting back up quarterbacks - AJ McCarron (Bengals) and Brock Osweiler (Broncos).

 Nba

• Man down! Los Angeles Clippers star player and potential MVP candidate, Blake Griffin, is out at least two weeks with a quad injury. 
• Deja Vu. Golden State Warriors continue their dominance by beating Cleveland Cavaliers 89-83 in a 2015 finals rematch on Christmas Day.
• Started at the bottom now we're here. Philadelphia 76ers improve to a 2-30 record with a win over Phoenix Suns on Saturday.

NCAA football (College)

• A good reason to plan a girl's night out. Here's a list of notable upcoming bowl games
  • Monday (December 28) – all times EST
    • Pittsburgh vs Navy, 2:30 pm on ESPN
      • Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds hold the record for career touchdowns at 85. He needs just 81 rushing yards to set the all-time record of 4,497 rushing yards. This game is his last chance at this record.  
    • Minnesota vs Central Michigan, 5 pm on ESPN 2
  • Tuesday (December 29)
    • California vs Air Force, 2 pm on ESPN
    • North Carolina vs Baylor, 5:30 pm on ESPN
    • University of Nevada vs Colorado State, 7:30 pm on Campus Insiders/ASN
    • Louisiana State University vs Texas Tech, 9 pm on ESPN
• For all your bowl game updates and scores click here.

Soccer

• GOOOOOAL. Not. Manchester United has lost four games in a row, landing their coach Louis van Gaal in the hot seat.

Overtime

• New England Patriots’ (NFL) final two games will be played on the road because the stadium is being prepared for the NHL Winter Classic featuring Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens. The field will be converted to an outdoor hockey rink for the game on January 3rd.

Sideline Stat

• Virginia Tech beats Tulsa in the Camping World Independence Bowl by a score of 55-52. The 45-31 score at halftime is the most points scored in a half in history of bowl games.

Coaches' Corner

• In American and Canadian sports, the visiting/away team is always listed first with the home team listed second. Therefore the Dallas Cowboys vs Arizona Cardinals game would be played in the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ where the Cardinals play their home games.