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Champ Week Charts the Course |
Image via ABC / ESPN Social Media |
Champ Week Winners Set the Bracket as Clemson Relegates Alabama From the College Football Playoff
After months of deliberation and conjecture, the ongoing story arc of the college football season has a concrete path. The first-ever 12-team CFP bracket is finally complete. Last weekend’s conference championships laid the groundwork for what you see above, and the foreshadowed chaos found us via the ACC title game. Clemson beat SMU to steal the automatic bid for the ACC. That means the previous “last team in” (Alabama) gets the boot, and the Tide rolls out of the playoff in the first year of the post-Nick Saban era. Arizona State also popped off for a huge Big 12 championship win that earned them a first-round bye. Georgia thwarted Texas in an SEC overtime thriller to swipe a bye while Boise State locked in the Mountain West. The Ducks retained No. 1 overall in a Big ten shootout with Penn State. Here’s a look at the conference championship highlights and some of the best storylines ahead in the CFP.
Champ Week Highlights 🏆 Mountain West Championship #10 Boise State def. #20 UNLV (21-7) Big 12 Championship #15 Arizona State def. #16 Iowa State (49-15) SEC Championship #5 Georgia def. #2 Texas (22-19, OT) ACC Championship #17 Clemson def. #8 SMU (34-31) Big Ten Championship #1 Oregon def. #3 Penn State (45-37) |
Klubnik’s Homecoming: Clemson’s late addition to the CFP earns the Tigers a trip to Texas in the first round, and that’s a fun homecoming game for Clemson QB Cade Klubnik. He’s from Austin, and he actually competed against Texas QB Quinn Ewers in the 2021 Texas high school state championship game. Here's a video of a giddy Klubnik after the reveal.
The Battle of Indiana: Indiana and Notre Dame ended up with a first-round matchup that has the Hoosier state buzzing. Despite less than 200 miles between Bloomington and South Bend, the two programs (both 11-1) haven’t played each other since 1991. What a time for a renewed rivalry. The Hoosiers (2nd) and Irish (3rd) boast two of the top-3 scoring offenses in the nation. Curt Cignetti thinks IU should have host duties.
Twins in the Ohio Valley: Ohio State and Tennessee have all sorts of weird similarities in the 8-9 matchup. Just 350 miles of hill country separate Columbus and Knoxville, but the two programs have only played once before — the 1996 Citrus Bowl. They’re both 10-2 with eerily similar resumes, including one loss to each of the top two teams (Oregon & UGA), one ugly loss to an unranked team, and they rank 28th and 29th in SOS.
Penn State’s Path: If you want to find the team with the most favorable path to semifinals, look no further than Penn State. No disrespect to SMU or Boise State (they earned their spots), but the Nittany Lions will have the 9th- and 10th-ranked teams standing in their way. I have thoughts, and I’m sure you do, too. ✉️ What do you think of the CFP Bracket? Read More B/R: CFP Committee Chair Explains Alabama’s Snub, SMU’s Seeding CBS Sports: Oregon, Georgia, Boise State & Arizona State Earn Byes; SMU Over Alabama |
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Mets Win the Soto Sweeps 💰 |
Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
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New York Mets (Not Yankees) & Juan Soto Agree to Record-Setting 15-Year, $765 Million Contract
Move over, Shohei Ohtani. There’s a new world record in the book of sports contracts! The New York Mets are the winners of the Juan Soto sweepstakes. The news broke late last night with an eye-popping figure that shatters both records and the minds of sports fans — 15 years, $765 million. That total value surpasses Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million deal with the Dodgers last offseason, although it’s significantly less, annually. The superstar outfielder spent last season with the Yankees, but he'll spurn the Bronx for Queens through 2040. Unlike Ohtani's deal, which included almost exclusively "deferred" money, Soto's contract has no deferred money and includes escalators that could breach $800 million. Wow.
Juan Soto’s 2024 Stats .288 Avg. / .419 OBP / .988 OPS
41 HRs | 109 RBIs | 128 Runs Scored The Soto Sweeps (As It Happened)
We can’t confirm all the rumors that swirled over the past few weeks, but we can confirm that both the Yankees and Dodgers presented competitive offers in the neighborhood of $700 million. The Blue Jays and Red Sox were also in the mix with mega deals. Ultimately, the Mets saw an opportunity to poach the best young player from their crosstown rivals and go all-in on the most coveted free agent of the year. Soto and Francisco Lindor will form a fierce 1-2 punch, and the Mets just won the offseason.
Read More
ESPN: With Juan Soto’s Record Deal, Mets are New Kings of New York
CBS Sports: Winners & Losers of Juan Soto Contract: Mets, Scott Boras Get Their Groove Back & Yankees Blow It |
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Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images
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Chiefs Win the West With More Late-Game Magic, Vikings Spoil Kirk Cousins’ Return, Eagles Clinch Playoffs & Rams Top Bills in Shootout
Week 14 was full of fireworks across the NFL. Time and space limitations in today’s edition won’t allow us to go too deep, so we’ll rewind the playoff picture tomorrow. What we can tell you is the shorthand of Sunday’s events: The Chiefs found late-game magic AGAIN, this time with a walk-off field goal doink (off the upright) to beat the Chargers on Sunday Night Football (19-17). They won the AFC West for the ninth year in a row. *They can’t keep getting away with it!* We also saw a career day for Sam Darnold (5 TDs) as the Vikings welcomed Kirk Cousins back to Minnesota (42-21). The Eagles survived a test from the Panthers (22-16) to clinch a playoff spot. There was a wild shootout in L.A. where the Rams held off the Bills (44-42) despite a Buffalo comeback attempt and 6 TDs from Josh Allen. What a Sunday. Six teams were on a bye week, but a true playoff elimination game takes center stage tonight on Monday Night Football (Bengals at Cowboys). Speaking of eliminations…
Eliminated Teams: ’Tis the season for dashed playoff hopes. The Dolphins officially eliminated Aaron Rodgers and the Jets from playoff contention in an overtime thriller (32-26, OT). The Titans and Browns were also officially eliminated from the postseason. Here’s the Week 14 scoreboard: NFL Week 14 Scores & Highlights Lions def. Packers (34-31) 49ers def. Bears (38-13)
Rams def. Bills (44-42)
Seahawks def. Cardinals (30-18)
Buccaneers def. Raiders (28-13)
Steelers def. Browns (27-14)
Eagles def. Panthers (22-16)
Saints def. Giants (14-11)
Vikings def. Falcons (42-21)
Dolphins def. Jets (32-26, OT)
Jaguars def. Titans (10-6)
Chiefs def. Chargers (19-17)
Tonight (Monday Night Football) Bengals at Cowboys (8:15 pm ET, ESPN)
Read More AP: Chiefs Win 9th Straight AFC West Title on Bank-Shot Field Goal Sporting News: Kirk Cousins Sounds Off on Sam Darnold, Loss to Vikings in Return to Minnesota
Yahoo! Sports: Aaron Rodgers, Jets Eliminated From Postseason After Loss to Dolphins |
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Photo: Shaun Clark / Getty Images
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LA Galaxy Notch 2-1 Win Over NY Red Bulls to Claim 6th MLS Cup Title
A Saturday of trophy celebrations wouldn’t be complete without the MLS Cup finals in Los Angeles. The LA Galaxy secured a 2-1 win over the underdog New York Red Bulls in L.A. thanks to two quick strikes and a lockdown defensive effort. Joseph Paintsil put LA on the board just nine minutes in after a magnificent through-ball setup from Dejan Joveljic. Joveljic took one himself four minutes later for a nifty finish. Once New York finally woke up, Sean Nealis (28’) scored on a whacky corner kick moment. Neither team found the net in a frantic final hour of play. The Galaxy claimed their sixth MLS crown since the league’s inception in 1996 (28 years). No other club has more than four titles.
Watch: LA Galaxy def. NY Red Bulls (2-1)
LAG: Joseph Paintsil (9’) LAG: Dejan Joveljic (13’) NYRB: Sean Nealis (28’) Congrats to the Galaxy on MLS Cup number six! Read More
NBC: LA Galaxy Win Record 6th MLS Cup After Beating NY Red Bulls 2-1 in Final
ESPN: Tasked With Replacing Riqui Puig, Galaxy’s Midfield Trio Won MLS Cup |
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Tonight's Must-Watch List |
🏈 NFL (Monday Night Football) Bengals at Cowboys (8:15 pm ET, ESPN) 🏀 NBA Knicks at Raptors (7:30 pm ET, NBATV) 🏒 NHL
Red Wings at Sabres (7:00 pm ET, ESPN+) Blackhawks at Rangers (7:00 pm ET, NHLN) |
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