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🚨 Headlines
🏀 3-point barrage: The Lady Vols set the NCAA record for most threes in a game (30), while the Warriors and Mavericks set the NBA record for most combined threes (48).
⚾️ MLB moves: The Astros traded All-Star RF Kyle Tucker to the Cubs; the Yankees acquired closer Devin Williams from the Brewers; the Cardinals intend to trade Nolan Arenado.
🏈 Bowl season begins: Jackson State beat South Carolina State, 28-7, to win the Celebration Bowl; South Alabama beat Western Michigan, 30-23, to win the Salute to Veterans Bowl.
🏀 Dubs add Dennis: The Warriors acquired guard Dennis Schröder from the Nets in exchange for a package headlined by De’Anthony Melton (out for season) and three future second-round picks.
🏐 Final Four: All four No. 1 seeds advanced to the NCAA Volleyball Final Four, where Penn State will play Nebraska and Pitt will play Louisville.
🏈 NFL playoff picture: Half the field is set
For the first time in NFL history, half the playoff field is set with three weeks left to play in the regular season.
Playoff picture: 7 of 14 spots have been secured entering the final night of Week 15.
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AFC: The Chiefs (13-1), Bills (11-3), and Texans (9-5) have clinched division titles, while the Steelers (10-4) have clinched a playoff berth.
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NFC: The Lions (12-2), Eagles (12-2) and Vikings (11-2) have all clinched playoff berths.
Headlines from Sunday: Josh Allen starred in Buffalo’s 48-42 win over Detroit, Philly topped Pittsburgh in the battle of Pennsylvania, Patrick Mahomes injured his ankle, Lamar Jackson torched the Giants, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams finally clicked, Jonathan Taylor made a brutal mistake, and more.
Quick links: Scoreboard | Winners and losers | Fantasy wrap
🇺🇸 Photos across America
New York, New York — Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter narrowly beat out Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy. He joins Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry and DeVonta Smith as the only non-QBs to win this century.
Landover, Maryland — Navy upset Army, 31-13, to take home the Commander in Chief’s Trophy for the first time in three seasons. QB Blake Horvath had himself a day, accounting for 311 yards and four TDs (two passing, two rushing) for the Midshipmen.
Las Vegas — Oklahoma City and Milwaukee will meet in tomorrow night’s NBA Cup Final after the Thunder beat the Rockets and the Bucks got past the Hawks in Saturday’s semifinals. Should be a great matchup between two small-market teams led by MVP candidates.
Naples, Florida — Patty Tavatanakit and Jake Knapp won the second annual Grant Thornton Invitational by a stroke over Jeeno Thitikul and Tom Kim, earning $500,000 each from the $4 million purse in the mixed PGA/LPGA event.
🌎 Photos around the world
Manchester, England — Manchester United scored two goals in the final three minutes of regulation to stun Manchester City, 2-1, in the 195th Manchester Derby. City have now lost five of their last seven matches.
Giza, Egypt — 6,500 runners from nearly 100 countries participated in the sixth edition of the Pyramids Half Marathon on Saturday, racing through history beneath the Great Pyramids.
Val d’Isere, France — Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt beat the field — and the weather — to claim his first Giant Slalom victory of the Alpine Ski World Cup season. “I really love this place,” said the Olympic champion, who’s won four times at Val d’Isere. “Here you really feel you’re in winter.”
Herentals, Belgium — Imagine if you combined road cycling, mountain biking and steeplechase. The end result would look something like cyclocross, a unique take on cycling that requires riders to frequently dismount and carry their bikes up hills and over obstacles.
🏊♀️ Gretchen Walsh: One meet, 11 world records
American swimmer Gretchen Walsh just had one of the best weeks in her sport’s history, setting 11 world records (nine individual) and winning seven gold medals (five individual) at the Short Course World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Her final stat sheet:
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50m freestyle: Gold (two WRs)
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100m freestyle: Gold
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50m butterfly: Gold (two WRs)
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100m butterfly: Gold (three WRs)
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100m IM: Gold (two WRs)
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4x100m freestyle relay: Gold (one WR)
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4x100m medley relay: Gold (one WR)
Best meet ever? Mark Spitz set seven world records at the 1972 Olympics and Michael Phelps set eight at the 2008 Olympics. Those are widely considered the two greatest performances in major international swimming history — and Walsh bested them both.
Yes, but: It’s not exactly apples to apples. Short Course Worlds, which debuted in 1993, are held in 25-meter pools rather than the 50-meter pools used for the Olympics and Worlds, and there’s usually less talent in the field (Katie Ledecky, for example, has never competed).
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Two of Walsh’s individual titles came in events that aren’t on the Olympic program (50m butterfly, 100m IM), and she won the 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly in the absence of the Paris gold medalists.
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Walsh, 21, may have also benefitted from a “fast” pool: More than 25 world records fell in Budapest, the most ever at Short Course Worlds, and Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands became the first swimmer to break 20 seconds in the 50m freestyle.
American royalty: Short course or not, Walsh was simply incredible, joining Phelps and Ryan Lochte as the only Americans to win five individual golds at a single championship meet. “I am in a little bit of disbelief of myself honestly,” said the Nashville native, who’s in the middle of her senior season at Virginia.
The next big thing? Walsh made her Olympics debut in Paris, where she took home four medals (100m butterfly silver, plus three relay medals) while competing alongside her older sister, Alex. All signs point to her being one of Team USA’s brightest stars at LA 2028.
📆 Dec. 16, 2014: The NHL’s longest shootout
10 years ago today, Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad beat Capitals goalie Braden Holtby in the 20th round to win the longest shootout in NHL history.
How it happened: The Capitals scored five times to put the Panthers in a do-or-die situation, and Florida answered the bell each time in front of their home fans. Bjugstad had missed in the second round, but redeemed himself on the 40th and final attempt of the night.
Watch the full shootout.
📺 Watchlist: MNF doubleheader
Double the football, double the fun! We’ve got two “Monday Night Football” games on tap for tonight, with Bears at Vikings (8pm ET, ABC) and Falcons at Raiders (8:30pm, ESPN) airing simultaneously.
Winter Warriors: The Vikings will debut their new “Winter Warrior” alternate uniforms, which feature white-on-white jerseys and pants paired with the first white helmet in franchise history.
More to watch:
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⚽️ College Cup Final: No. 13 Marshall vs. Vermont (8pm, ESPN2)
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🏒 NHL: Panthers at Oilers* (8:30pm, NHL)
*The rematch: The Panthers (18-11-2) and Oilers (18-10-2) meet for the first time since facing off in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final (Florida won 4-3).
🏈 Heisman trivia
17 of the last 19 Heisman winners were first-round NFL draft picks, and Travis Hunter (No. 2 in our latest mock) will soon make it 18 of the last 20.
Question: Who were the two exceptions?
Hint: QB in 2007, RB in 2016.
Answer at the bottom.
🍿 Baker’s Dozen: Top 13 plays of the weekend
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⚽️ Save of the century!
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🏀 Hook and ladder!
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🏈 Trick play! Kamara!
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🏀 Harper calls game
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🏀 She’s got moves
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🏀 The Greek Freak
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🏈 A+ body control
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🏒 Filthy finish
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🏀 Gainey at the buzzer!
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🏐 Incredible point
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🏀 Ja to Jay
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🏒 Fleury saves it!
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🏀 Defense to offense
Watch all 13.
Trivia answer: Troy Smith (5th round) and Derrick Henry (2nd round)
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