The Sportsletter - Rams Roll for the City

BY JEFF YODER

JAN. 14, 2025 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

It’s a feel-good edition on this Tuesday morning. The Rams won their Wild Card game with the city of Los Angeles heavy in their hearts. The Lakers and Clippers also returned to their L.A. arenas as the city continues to recover from last week’s devastating fires.

Plus, Mike McCarthy is out in Dallas (Deion, anyone?), and a fresh pair of college basketball AP Polls showcase the top teams with six weeks until March Madness.

Letter Rip!

NFL PLAYOFFS

Extra Fire: Rams Win It For L.A.

Photo: Christian Peterson / Getty Images

L.A. Rams Adopt "For the City" Mentality to Smash Minnesota Vikings (27-9) in NFL Wild Card

Nine sacks. Zero turnovers. 27-9. A near-perfect performance capped an unprecedented week for the Los Angeles Rams (and the city of L.A.) last night in Arizona. In times of crisis, sports have an amazing power to unite, distract, and uplift, and that's exactly what we saw last night. The Rams were forced to play Monday night’s “home” Wild Card game in Arizona due to the fallout from the L.A. fires. The Rams coaching staff wore LAFD shirts on the sideline, and anyone with a pulse could tell that this was L.A.'s night.

Rams def. Vikings (29-7): Despite being narrow underdogs, the Rams came out with extra fire and visible motivation. They notched three quick knockout touchdowns in the first half to lead the Vikings 21-3 at halftime. Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw 2 TDs and rookie LB Jared Verse took a scoop-and-score 57 yards to the house. The second half was much ado about nothing as L.A. cruised to an uncontested 29-7 win. They’ll travel to Philly next weekend to face the Eagles.

“Unlike anything I’ve experienced in my NFL tenure… We know what’s going on back home. We felt really motivated to play for [the people of L.A]. It’s been a hell of a week.” — Matthew Stafford

CBS Sports: Sam Darnold Costs Himself Millions With Dreadful 2-Game Season Finish

🗓️ NFL Divisional Round Matchups

AFC: Texans at Chiefs (Sat. 4:30 pm ET, ESPN)

NFC: Commanders at Lions (Sat. 8:00 pm ET, FOX)

NFC: Rams at Eagles (Sat. 3:00 pm, NBC)

AFC: Ravens at Bills (Sun. 6:30 pm ET, CBS)

NFL

Mike Drop: McCarthy Out in Dallas

Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images

Cowboys Part Ways With Head Coach Mike McCarthy After 5 Seasons

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was mum on the future of Mike McCarthy last week. The Dallas brass sat down to negotiate a new contract on Monday and reached... an impasse?! McCarthy won’t return as the Cowboys head coach after the end of his five-year contract (a semantic alternative to "he got fired"). The Cowboys are sitting at home while two of their division rivals are still playing in the postseason (Eagles and Commanders). QB Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring injury derailed the 2024 season, and the Cowboys finished 7-10.

Mike McCarthy’s Record

Cowboys (5 Years): 49-35 (1-3 Playoffs)

Overall (18 Years): 288-174 (11-11 Playoffs)

Deion Sanders, Anyone? We won’t stray into the land of conjecture, but Deion Sanders' name is swirling in the Dallas rumor winds. McCarthy is expected to be interviewed by the Bears and Saints. And after the Patriots hired Mike Vrabel this weekend, six NFL head coaching vacancies remain.

CBS Sports: Cowboys Working Quickly to Find McCarthy’s Replacement

NBA

L.A. Sports Return to Business

Photo: Wally Skalij / Getty Images

Lakers & Clippers Host Rescheduled Games as Los Angeles Sports Return

Not only did the Rams win, but both Los Angeles NBA teams returned to the court Monday night in L.A. The Lakers and Clippers hosted makeup games that were rescheduled from last week. The stands were packed as both teams paid tribute to the first responders. Basketball itself was overshadowed by the emotions that were evident in both games. Kawhi Leonard (Clippers) and J.J. Redick (Lakers Head Coach) were some of the most notable names to lose their homes in last week’s fires.

“I think a group functions best when you draw strength from each other. Then it’s our job to go give strength, and give hope and give joy.” — J.J. Redick (Lakers Head Coach)

L.A. NBA Teams Return

Spurs def. Lakers (126-102)

Wemby & Stephon Castle (23 Points Each)

Clippers def. Heat (109-98)

James Harden (29 Points) Hits Six 3s

Other NBA Highlights

T-Wolves def. Wizards (120-106)

Anthony Edwards (41 Points)

Pistons def. Knicks (124-119)

Cade Cunningham (36 Points)

Rockets def. Grizzlies (120-118)

Jalen Green (42 Points)

NCAA

College Basketball Polls 📊

Would you believe it if I told you we’re just six weeks away from March (and the Madness!)? Auburn is back on top of the men’s AP Poll after Tennessee’s disaster loss to Florida last week. The top-4 in the women’s game remain unchanged this week.

Men’s AP Poll

1. Auburn (15-1) | ↑1

2. Iowa State (14-1) | ↑1

3. Duke (14-2) | ↑1

4. Alabama (14-2) | ↑1

5. Florida (15-1) | ↑3

6. Tennessee (15-1) | ↓5

7. Marquette (14-2) | —

8. Kentucky (13-3) | ↓2

9. Kansas (12-3) | ↑2

10. Houston (12-3) | ↑2

Women’s AP Poll

1. UCLA (16-0) | —

2. South Carolina (16-1) | —

3. Notre Dame (14-2) | —

4. USC (16-1) | —

5. LSU (18-0) | ↑1

6. UConn (15-2) | ↑1

7. Texas (16-2) | ↓2

8. Maryland (15-1) | —

9. Ohio State (16-0) | —

10. TCU (17-1) | ↑1

HIGHLIGHTS 🎥

🎾 Australian Open

W: #7 J. Pegula def. M. Joint (Straight Sets)

W: N. Osaka def. C. Garcia (3 Sets)

M: #3 C. Alcaraz def. A. Shevchenko (3 Sets)

M: #4 T. Fritz def. J. Brooksby (3 Sets)

M: #7 N. Djokovic def. N. Basavareddy (4 Sets)

🏒 NHL

Flyers def. Panthers (4-3)

Flames def. Blackhawks (5-2)

Oilers def. Kings (1-0)

STORYLINES

🥊 Fury Hangs Up the Gloves

Former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury retired again after a second loss to Oleksandr Usyk. It’s not his first retirement claim, and skeptics wonder if it will stick. (CBS Sports)

📘 A.J. Brown’s Sideline Book

Eagles WR A.J. Brown was caught on camera reading a book on the sideline during Sunday’s Wild Card game. “Inner Excellence” by Jim Murphy is now a No. 1 seller on Amazon. (ESPN)

⚽️ Premier League Transfer Window

The Premier League transfer window for January 2025 opens soon and some deals have already been lined up. Premier League clubs are not messing around. (NBC Sports)

NEWS 📰

🏈 Eagles LB Nakobe Dean Out for Remainder of Playoffs With Knee Injury (ESPN)

🏀 Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards Fined Again, Now $285K This Season (B/R)

🏈 Clemson Hires Penn State’s Tom Allen as New Defensive Coordinator (CBS Sports)

⚾️ Dodgers, Padres & Blue Jays Reportedly Finalists for Japanese RHP Roki Sasaki (FOX Sports)

🏅 IOC to Replace 10 Olympic Medals Lost by Swimmer Gary Hall in Palisades Fire (Yahoo! Sports)

🏀 Texas Man Arrested for Stalking Caitlin Clark in Indianapolis (SI)

SCHEDULE 🗓️

Tonight's Must-Watch List

🎾 Australian Open

Round 2 (Overnight, ESPN/Tennis Channel)

Match Schedule