The Sportsletter - 🗣️ Bracket Rackets & The Golden Rule

BY JEFF YODER

DEC. 4, 2024 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

What a terrific Tuesday night in sports. It’s the penultimate CFP Rankings and our first look at the NBA Cup's knockout bracket. A whacky rule change is also floating around MLB circles. Plus, there was a run on upsets in college hoops around Midnight ET (down goes #4 Kentucky!).

Letter Rip!

  PICKS   

NFL Pick 'Em (Week 14)

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Picks Take Approximately 60 Seconds

  CFP  

The CFP Bracket Racket 🗣️

Image via CollegeFootballPlayoff.com 

Alabama Edges Miami for Final Bid in the Penultimate College Football Playoff Rankings

Ah, there it is. The penultimate edition of the CFP Rankings is out, but it’s quite confusing to make sense of it all. The addition of a 12-team College Football Playoff has been entertaining throughout its inaugural season, and we're trying to solve this puzzle in real time. Ohio State’s loss to Michigan last weekend hurt, but the Buckeyes are clearly in the field. It’s Alabama (3 losses), not Miami (2 losses), who has a foothold on the final spot in the projected bracket. Let's cause a racket.

The CFP Explained (Err… Sort Of)

The five highest-ranked conference winners will earn automatic bids to the CFP with the top four earning first-round byes. The CFP committee’s rankings do not directly correlate to the seeding of the bracket. Here's what that means: SMU (8) and Boise State (10) would get first-round byes, making them effectively the 3rd and 4th seeds in the bracket while pushing all other teams down into first-round games. Arizona State (15) is also theoretically in as the Big 12 winner and fifth conference champ, putting the cut line between #11 Alabama (IN) and #12 Miami (OUT). Make sense? Of course not.

🗣️ Making a Racket: If it were up to me, the committee would seed the top 12 teams regardless of conference and play ball. Alas, no one asked me to join the committee... another one of their questionable decisions. Here’s a look at the projected bracket followed by the 1-25 rankings.

Projected Automatic Bids (5): #1 Oregon (Big Ten), #2 Texas (SEC), #8 SMU (ACC), #10 Boise State (Mountain West) & #15 Arizona State (Big 12)

Projected At-Large Bids (7): #3 Penn State, #4 Notre Dame, #5 Georgia, #6 Ohio State, #7 Tennessee, #9 Indiana & #11 Alabama

College Football Playoff Rankings

1. Oregon (12-0) | --

2. Texas (11-1) | ↑1

3. Penn State (11-1) | ↑1

4. Notre Dame (11-1) | ↑1

5. Georgia (10-2) | ↑2

6. Ohio State (10-2) | ↓4

7. Tennessee (10-2) | ↑1

8. SMU (11-1) | ↑1

9. Indiana (11-1) | ↑1

10. Boise State (11-1) | ↑1

11. Alabama (9-3) | ↑2

12. Miami (10-2) | ↓4

Rest of the Top-25: 13. Ole Miss (9-3), 14. South Carolina (9-3), 15. Arizona State (10-2), 16. Iowa State (10-2), 17. Clemson (9-3), 18. BYU (10-2), 19. Missouri (9-3), 20. UNLV (10-2), 21. Illinois (9-3), 22. Syracuse (9-3), 23. Colorado (9-3), 24. Army (10-1), 25. Memphis (10-2)

📊 Poll: Which team do you think was most deserving of the final spot? (click to vote) -- Alabama | Miami | South Carolina | Ole Miss

  NBA  

NBA Cup: Knockouts Incoming 🏆

Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

8 Teams Enter Next Week’s Knockout Bracket as NBA Cup Group Play Ends

Oh, what’s that? You wanted more whacky bracket scenarios? You’re in luck. The second tour of the NBA Cup — formally the NBA In-Season Tournament — reached the conclusion of group play last night. All 30 teams played four group-stage games over the last month to determine an eight-team knockout bracket that will take place next week. More outrageous court designs! Who's dancing?

NBA Cup Rewind: The Bucks shot lights out last night (56%) from 3 to nab the East’s No. 1 seed over the Knicks via point differential. The Rockets actually lost their first Cup game of ‘24 to the Kings, yielding the top spot to the Thunder (who blew the doors off the Jazz). The Mavericks also came back from double digits in the 4th against the Grizzlies to swipe the West’s wild card spot.

🏆 NBA Cup (Knockout Bracket)

Eastern Conference

1. Bucks (4-0)

2. Knicks (4-0)

3. Hawks (3-1)

WC: Magic (3-1)

Western Conference

1. Thunder (3-1)

2. Rockets (3-1)

3. Warriors (3-1)

WC: Mavericks (3-1)

Knockouts Begin Tuesday (Dec. 10)

NBA Cup Group Play Scoreboard

(Tuesday, Dec. 3)

  MLB  

The Golden (At-Bat) Rule 🟡

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Commissioner Rob Manfred & MLB Owners Are ‘Buzzing’ About New Overpowered Rule Change

One at-bat to rule them all! That’s the thought, at least. A new MLB rule has been circulating this week, and it appears to have gained steam among some MLB owners according to commissioner Rob Manfred. Rule changes have become commonplace in baseball’s attempt to re-juice America’s pastime, so why not go crazy?

Introducing the “Golden At-Bat” — a twist that would allow every team a once-per-game, emergency at-bat to substitute their best player in the lineup for crunch-time situations. Sounds… gimmicky. It is gimmicky. I can feel the baseball historians and sports purists growing angry as I type. Truthfully, I can’t see this rule being implemented in the Big Leagues, but it’s fun to think about while we wait on the winner of the Juan Soto sweepstakes.

🟡 Golden Opportunity: Imagine handing the proverbial golden rake to Shohei Ohtani with two outs in the 9th inning, because you can. Special music plays. Dodger Stadium erupts. Joe Buck hits the golden buzzer like Simon Cowell on America’s Got Talent while confetti falls and Vin Scully laughs from the heavens. What a time to be a baseball fan. The reviews are mixed. Let us know what you think.

Other MLB News & Notes

• Red Sox Sign P Aroldis Chapman to 1-Year Deal
• Top KBO Outfielder Hyeseong Kim Becomes MLB-Available Today
• Blue Jays Rumored to be Highest Bidders for Juan Soto

  HIGHLIGHTS   🎥

⚽️ Soccer

USWNT 🇺🇸 Rallies Past Netherlands 🇳🇱 (2-1)

Lynn Williams’ Late Winner (71’) & Goalie Alyssa Naeher (in her final game) Lead Comeback in Friendly

🏒 NHL

Penguins def. Panthers (5-4, OT)

Bryan Rust Wins it in Overtime

Avalanche def. Sabres (5-4)

MacKinnon (2G, 2A), COL Scores 5 Straight

Golden Knights def. Oilers (1-0)

VGK Goalie Adin Hill Notches 28-Save Shutout

Full NHL Scoreboard

🏀 NCAA Upset Alerts (Men’s)

Clemson Upsets #4 Kentucky (70-66)

Michigan Upsets #11 Wisconsin (67-64)

Villanova Upsets #14 Cincinnati (68-60)

SEC/ACC Challenge: SEC Leads ACC (9-1)

  STORYLINES   

🏈 NFL Power Rankings

The Eagles have put the rest of the league on notice. The Vikings have cracked the top five. The Ravens dropped again, and the Jets are in the mix for a top pick. (CBS Sports)

🏀 NCAA Feast Week Flops

Ranking how concerned fans should be for five top teams with disastrous results, including two-time defending champion UConn’s 0–3 trip to Maui. (Sports Illustrated)

🏒 NHL December Rankings

The listless Rangers are in desparate need of a vibe reset. They’re not alone. Here’s a look at all 32 NHL teams' early-season ups and downs as December begins. (Yahoo! Sports)

  NEWS   📰 

🏈 Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair Suspended 3 Games for Dirty Hit on Jags QB Trevor Lawrence (B/R)

⚾️ Bids for MLB Free Agent Juan Soto Reportedly Clear $600 Million (CBS Sports)

🏒 Calgary Flames Honor Johnny Gaudreau & His Family Against Blue Jackets (AP)

🏀 4-Time NBA All-Star Paul Milsap Officially Announces Retirement From NBA (NBC Sports)

🥊 3x Champion Boxer Israel Vazquez Dies at Age 46 After Battle With Cancer (ESPN)

⛳️ Tiger Woods Says He Has No Return Timetable After Back Surgery (Yahoo! Sports)

🏈 Mike Holmgren, Sterling Sharpe Headline Coach & Seniors Hall of Fame Finalists (FOX Sports)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

Tonight's Must-Watch List

🏀 NBA

Lakers at Heat (7:30 pm ET, NBATV)

T-Wolves at Clippers (10:30 pm ET, NBATV)

Full NBA Schedule

🏒 NHL

Bruins at Blackhawks (7:30 pm ET, TNT)

Stars at Kings (10:00 pm ET, TNT)

Full NHL Schedule

⚽️ Premier League

Newcastle vs. Liverpool (2:30 pm ET, Peacock)

Arsenal vs. Man. United (3:15 pm ET, Peacock)

Full EPL Schedule

🏀 College Basketball (Men’s)

M: #15 Baylor at #25 UConn (6:30 pm ET, FS1)

M: #10 Bama at #20 UNC (7:15 pm ET, ESPN)

M: #5 Marquette at #6 ISU (8:00 pm ET, ESPN+)

M: #1 Kansas at Creighton (8:30 pm ET, FS1)

M: #2 Auburn at #9 Duke (9:15 pm ET, ESPN)

SEC/ACC Challenge & Big12-Big East Battle

  POLL RESULTS   📊

NFL MVP Picks

The fans have spoken. Saquon Barkley earned a slight edge with our audience over the odds-on frontrunner, Josh Allen. Don’t count out LJ, though. This could be one of the most exciting MVP races in recent memory down the stretch.

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

Social Media: Aaron Yorke

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