The Sportsletter - Gobble Gobble Rankings 🦃

BY JEFF YODER

NOV. 27, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Happy Thanksgiving Week 🦃

Phew… What a night. This morning’s "Thanksgiving Sports Primer" looks a little different than the norm (nothing like Midnight college basketball in Maui to upend the sleep schedule). It’s a lightning round to catch up on yesterday’s top moments before we turn the page to a holiday week full of football and sports rankings. Let’s feast!

🗓️ Scheduling: The Sportsletter Team will be off for Thanksgiving. The newsletter will not be published on Thursday or Friday (Nov. 28-29). We’ll return to our normal schedule on Monday (Dec. 2).

TOP STORIES

Lightning Round ⚡️

🏀 NCAA Basketball (Holiday Tourneys)

M: #1 Kansas def. #11 Duke (75-72)

Duke’s Buzzer-Beater 3 Rims Out

M: Colorado Upsets #2 UConn (73-72)

Huskies Lose 2nd Game in 2 Days in Maui

M: #4 Auburn def. #12 North Carolina (85-72)

Johni Broome Shines (23 pts, 19 rebs)

M: #9 Alabama def. #6 Houston (85-80, OT)

Marcus Sears (24 pts) Spearheads OT Win

⚽️ Lewandowski Scores 100th UCL Goal

Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski made history on Tuesday with his 100th career goal in Champions League play. He joins Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the only players with 100-plus UCL goals.

⚾️ Dodgers Land Snell on $182M Deal

The defending champs just got better. The Dodgers landed two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell with a five-year, $182 million deal on Tuesday. The first major domino in the MLB offseason has fallen.

⚽️ Messi Gets a New Coach

Inter Miami announced the hiring of new head coach Javier Mascherano on Tuesday. He’s another Barcelona and Argentina legend, as well as a familiar face and former teammate of Lionel Messi.

⚾️ Juan Soto Has 5 Contract Offers

Five MLB teams have (reportedly) offered mega-deals to the biggest catch in free agency, four-time All-Star Juan Soto. The Yankees, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox and Blue Jays are in play.

PICKS

Week 13 NFL Pick 'Em

🏈 Play The Sportsletter’s NFL Pick ‘Em

Picks Take Approximately 60 Seconds

NFL

Gobble Gobble Power Rankings 📊

Photo: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images

Playoff Contenders Set for Holiday Challenges in Week 13 — Lions (W9), Eagles (W7) & Bills (W6) Ride Lengthy Win Streaks Into Thanksgiving Tests

It seemed only fitting that on the eve of Thanksgiving — the holiday most notably associated with football — we reveal the next set of NFL power rankings. As the playoff picture continues to shake out, three teams have reeled off win streaks that date back almost two months. The Bills (W6), Eagles (W7) and Lions (W9) have looked like the best on-field products. The NFC North is still a dogfight with the Packers and Vikings waiting for the Lions to stumble. And don’t count out the Dolphins and Bucs down in Florida, both 5-6 but reviving hope after battling through injuries. Here’s how we see ‘em before the Thanksgiving showdowns.

NFL Power Rankings

1. Lions (10-1) | —

2. Bills (9-2) | —

3. Eagles (9-2) | ↑1

4. Chiefs (10-1) | ↓1

5. Packers (8-3) | ↑2

6. Vikings (9-2) | —

7. Ravens (7-4) | ↑1

8. Steelers (8-3) | ↓3

9. Broncos (7-5) | ↑4

10. Chargers (7-4) | —

Teams 11-20

11. Seahawks (6-5) | ↑2

12. Commanders (7-5) | ↓3

13. Texans (7-5) | ↓2

14. Dolphins (5-6) | ↑4

15. Buccaneers (5-6) | ↑2

16. Falcons (6-5) | —

17. Cardinals (6-5) | ↓5

18. 49ers (5-6) | ↓3

19. Rams (5-6) | —

20. Bengals (4-7) | —

Teams 21-32

21. Cowboys (4-7) | ↑3

22. Colts (5-7) | ↓1

23. Saints (4-7) | —

24. Bears (4-7) | ↓2

25. Browns (3-8) | ↑3

26. Jets (3-8) | —

27. Panthers (3-8) | —

28. Titans (3-8) | ↑4

29. Patriots (3-9) | ↓4

30. Raiders (2-9) | ↓1

31. Jaguars (2-9) | ↓1

32. Giants (2-9) | ↓1

SI: NFL Power Rankings: Eagles Soar Behind Saquon, Chiefs Drop Out of Top 3

Sporting News: NFL Power Rankings: 49ers, Steelers & Commanders Fading

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The CFP Bracket Takes Shape

Image via @ESPN / X.com

New 12-Team CFP Bracket Sees Indiana Fall, SMU Rise & Arizona State Sneaks In

The fifth rendition of the College Football Playoff Rankings dropped last night, and there’s plenty of fodder for your Thanksgiving conversations. Up until now, we’ve shared the top 12 teams each week, but the bracket looks intriguing with only one reveal left. The top four conference winners will get a first-round bye with a fifth conference leader grabbing an automatic bid.

CFP Bracket, As It Stands: Right now, those four conference leaders are Oregon (Big Ten), Texas (SEC), Miami (SEC) and Boise State (Mountain West). Arizona State is also in — despite being 16th in the CFP Rankings — because they hold the best record in the Big 12. Clemson is currently ranked 12th, but they’re the first team out if the season ended today. Both three-loss SEC teams in Alabama and Ole Miss look like they’re out for good.

🏈 CFP Rankings (5 of 6)

Sporting News: The 12-Team CFP Has Made the 2024 Season More Compelling Than Any Before

NBA / NHL

Holiday Standings Clipboard 📋

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson & Mark LoMoglio / Getty Images

Standings Check-In for the NBA & NHL at the 1/4 Season Mark

Holiday breaks are always a good time to pause, reflect, and give thanks (for sports). It’s an even better time to check in on where things stand in the NBA and NHL — two parallel 82-game seasons that have a long way to go. Here are the conference/division leaders (you know, in case you’ve failed to stay up-to-date). Now you can sound super smart around the holidays when you tell your uncle he’s wrong, and that the Detroit Pistons are, in fact, a playoff contender!

NBA Standings 🏀

Eastern Conference: 1. Cavaliers (17-1), 2. Celtics (15-3), 3. Magic (12-7), 4. Knicks (10-7), 5. Bucks (9-9), 6. Heat (7-8), 7. Pacers (8-10), 8. Nets (8-10), 9. Bulls (8-11), 10. Pistons (8-11), 11. Hawks (7-11), 12. Hornets (6-11), 13. Raptors (4-14), 14. 76ers (3-13), 15. Wizards (2-14)
Western Conference: 1. Thunder (13-4), 2. Warriors (12-5), 3. Rockets (13-6), 4. Grizzlies (11-7), 5. Suns (10-7), 6. Lakers (10-7), 7. Clippers (11-8), 8. Nuggets (9-7), 9. Mavericks (10-8), 10. Spurs (10-8), 11. Timberwolves (8-9), 12. Kings (8-10), 13. Blazers (7-11), 14. Jazz (4-13), 15. Pelicans (4-14)

NHL Standings 🏒

Atlantic: 1. Maple Leafs (28 pts), 2. Panthers (25 pts), 3. Lightning (24 pts), 4. Sabres (23 pts), 5. Bruins (23 pts), 6. Red Wings (20 pts), 7. Senators (19 pts), 8. Canadiens (17 pts)
Metropolitan: 1. Devils (32 pts), 2. Hurricanes (31 pts), 3. Capitals (29 pts), 4. Rangers (25 pts), 5. Islanders (21 pts), 6. Flyers (21 pts), 7. Blue Jackets (20 pts), 8. Penguins (18 pts)
Central: 1. Jets (36 pts), 2. Wild (30 pts), 3. Stars (26 pts), 4. Avalanche (24 pts), 5. Utah HC (21 pts), 6. Blues (21 pts), 7. Predators (17 pts), 8. Blackhawks (16 pts)
Pacific: 1. Golden Knights (30 pts), 2. Flames (27 pts), 3. Canucks (25 pts), 4. Kings (25 pts), 5. Oilers (24 pts), 6. Kraken (23 pts), 7. Ducks (19 pts), 8. Sharks (19 pts)

OTHER NEWS 📰

🏈 North Carolina Fires Head Coach Mack Brown After 6 Seasons (CBS Sports)

⚽️ New York City FC Fires Head Coach Nick Cushing After Playoff Loss (Yahoo! Sports)

🏈 Bucs QB Baker Mayfield Sues Father’s Company After Allegedly Having $12 Million Stolen (B/R)

🏀 No. 1 Center in 2025 Class, Cris Cenac, Commits to Houston Over Kentucky & LSU (B/R)

🌨️ Severe Weather Expected for Week 13 Sunday Night Showdown Between Bills & 49ers (CBS Sports)

🏈 Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill Has Traffic Tickets Dismissed After Police Officers No-Show in Court (NBC Sports)

SCHEDULE 🗓️

Thanksgiving Must-Watch List 🦃

Nothing says holidays like a feast of football. It’s a three-pack on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday) before NFL and College Football take over sports on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Plenty of soccer, basketball and hockey are also in store. Gobble up some sports and enjoy the long weekend! We’ll catch ya on Monday.

🦃 NFL Thanksgiving Day

Bears at Lions (12:30 pm, CBS)

Giants at Cowboys (4:30 pm, FOX)

Dolphins at Packers (8:20 pm, NBC)

🏈 NFL Black Friday

Raiders at Chiefs (3:00 pm, PRIME)

🏈 College Football (Week 14)

Oregon State at #11 Boise State (Fri. Noon, FOX)

Miss. State at #14 Ole Miss (Fri. 3:30 pm, ABC)

Georgia Tech at #7 Georgia (Fri. 7:30 pm, ABC)

Michigan at #2 Ohio State (Sat. Noon, FOX)

#15 SCAR at #12 Clemson (Sat. Noon, ESPN)