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December already?!

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The GIST: Three months of thrilling, controversy-laden, down-to-the-wire college football later, this weekend’s regular-season finale slate will decide which four teams make the reason for the season: the College Football Playoff (CFP). Chaos, potentially loading.

The context: Unlike other college sports with sprawling championship brackets, a 13-member committee selects the four CFP teams based on metrics including strength of schedule and conference championships won.

• The four lucky bachelors squads will square off in the CFP semis later this month, hoping to advance to the CFP National Championship on January 8th.

As it stands: Heading into Conference Championship weekend, eight teams are still in playoff contention, though the path is considerably easier for the current top four: defending champs No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Washington, and No. 4 Florida State.

• All undefeated, they’ll likely ink a spot with a win. And if they lose? Well, then the selection committee is in for a real headache come the 12 p.m. ET Selection Show on Sunday.

Games to watch: All of them, but if you have to choose, tonight’s 8 p.m. ET Pac-12 championship between No. 5 Oregon and Washington has major implications. The Huskies’ path is clear, but if the Ducks can pull off the road dub, they’ll almost certainly leapfrog into the top four. Quack, quack.

• The other can’t-miss showdown is tomorrow’s 4 p.m. ET SEC title game between Georgia and No. 8 Alabama. If the Tide can, ahem, roll to an upset of the two-time champs, it’ll cause a drama-filled tsunami in the final CFP rankings.

🤯 NY Jets quarterback (QB) Aaron Rodgers returned to practice on Wednesday, a gobsmacking 11 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn Achilles. The Jets now have 21 days to decide whether or not they’ll activate the QB from the injured reserve.

🏒 Former Chicago Blackhawk Corey Perry broke his silence yesterday after the team terminated his contract earlier this week, apologizing for his “unacceptable conduct.”

🏀 After suffering a cardiac arrest during a summer workout, USC freshman Bronny James has been cleared to return to basketball and will resume practice next week. Fight on.

⚽ The Kansas City Current honored late soccer journalist Grant Wahl — who passed away suddenly during the 2022 FIFA men’s World Cup — by naming their press box after him. A beautiful tribute.

🎿 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has named France and Salt Lake City as their preferred hosts for the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympics, respectively.

🏈 Per his request, USWNT legend Julie Ertz’s husband and Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz was waived and released by the team yesterday. A little birdie claims that the three-time Pro Bowler plans to sign with a Super Bowl contender.

🏌️ Americans Brian Harman and Tony Finau sit atop the Hero World Challenge leaderboard after yesterday’s first round, while rusty tournament host Tiger Woods sits in 18th.

If your team’s equipment manager, aka you, has been eyeing new gadgets for the whole squad, Verizon has the holiday hookup. They’re launching amazing deals on tech essentials, making every December Friday a Black Friday. TGIF, indeed.

• Channel Vegas Golden Knight and top goalie Adin Hill by nabbing huge saves savings. No celly like a “new phone” celly.

🎓🏐 NCAA volleyball: National championship — Today through Sunday — ESPN+

• The first and second rounds of the bump, set, spike spectacular continue, highlighted by oh so golden No. 1 Nebraska taking on Long Island University tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

🎓⚽ NCAA women’s soccer: College Cup semis — Tonight at 6 and 8:30 p.m. ET — ESPNU

• Tonight’s star-powered semis are sure to thrill with a trip to Monday’s championship game on the line.

• First, it’s a battle of the top seeds, with Florida State taking on Clemson, followed by a fierce fight between comeback kids No. 1 BYU and No. 2 Stanford. Flipping foot-tastic.

⚽ USWNT: Friendly vs. China — Tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET — TNT

• Fresh off their first meeting with new head coach Emma Hayes, the USWNT returns to the pitch armed with a new roster for the first of their final two international friendlies of the year. LFG, girls.

⚽ MLS Cup Playoffs: Conference Finals — Tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. ET — Apple TV MLS Season Pass

• First up, Ohio will be soccer central with intrastate rivals No. 1 FC Cincinnati and the No. 3 Columbus Crew fighting to represent the East in next week’s final, before defending champs No. 3 LAFC look to repeat as West winners vs. the No. 4 Houston Dynamo.

Our mission? Leveling the playing field in sports. That’s why we built a job board for women and non-binary folks to find careers in the industry. Open roles include everything from tech and media companies to leagues and teams, just to name a few. Shoot your shot by applying to GIST-approved roles in the sports industry. Good luck!

Happy December! What better way to get into the holiday spirit than with a good festive flick? So, we want to know: What’s your favorite holiday film? Choose from the options below, or reply to this email with your top pick. ’Tis the season.