Hello sports fans, and welcome to The Epoch Times Sports Brief for Friday, Dec. 13. 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we’ve got some electrifying stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening in the thrilling world of sports.
The stakes are enormous when a pair of NFL goliaths collide in the Motor City, a couple of brawling behemoths bash heads in the City of Brotherly Love, and one of college football’s greatest rivalries kicks off in the nation’s capital.
Also, college football’s elite head to Manhattan for a chance to snag a highly coveted prize, a coaching legend returns to the sidelines in a very surprising place, and two stumbling, bumbling programs try to claw their way back to the top in a primetime college hoops showdown.
Battling Bills Roll Into the Motor City to Tangle With the Lions
The Detroit Lions have rolled off 11 wins in a row and on Sunday they’ll try to make it an even dozen when they take on Josh Allen and the rugged Buffalo Bills, and there’s an enormous amount at stake for both squads.The Bills are looking to bounce back after getting smacked around last week by the Rams. Buffalo’s big-time quarterback threw and ran for a record half dozen touchdowns in that game, and he’s now officially—according to the Sports Brief team—the leading candidate for league MVP.
SPORTS BRIEF TEAM COMMENTARY: The Sports Brief team is 100 percent accurate nearly 12 percent of the time. Now, back to the program.
Unfortunately, Allen can’t play defense for the Bills, who are giving up way too many big plays and they’ll have to shore it up soon if they hope to stick around—and a good time to start would be this weekend in Detroit, where they’ll get a firsthand look at the best offense in the entire league.
Meanwhile, the hungry Lions have only lost once, and that was so long ago I can’t even remember it. (I’ve actually got a great memory, it’s just short.) They’re one of the toughest all-around teams in football. They can smell home-field advantage, and gritty head coach Dan Campbell has these guys believing this is their year to take home the big enchilada, the Lombardi Trophy.
There’s only one problem: their defense is more banged up than my ‘85 Chevy Nova, and they seem to be losing key players each and every week. If they can hold it together with masking tape, glue, and baling wire, they’re the team to beat in the NFC and after this weekend, we’ll all know a whole lot more about each of these Super Bowl favorites.
Ruffled Feathers Threaten to Ground Soaring Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are flying high, they’re in first place, and they’ve got the best running game in the league, but in a city that’s known for booing Santa Claus, that’s simply just not good enough.Sports Brief Host commentary: Philadelphia fans are now officially on Santa’s naughty list. Enjoy that lump of coal in your stockings, cause that’s all you’re getting. Now, back to the program.
After last week’s squeaker against Carolina, the Eagles’ wide receivers began complaining about their bottom-ranked passing game—and after last year’s epic collapse, that’s the last thing embattled head coach Nick Siriani needs to deal with right now.
In case you missed it, earlier this week injured defensive lineman Brandon Graham said that quarterback Jalen Hurts and star receiver A.J. Brown aren’t pals anymore, setting off a tiff, a spat, a brouhaha, that the team has been trying to squelch for the past several days.
Try a cup of herbal tea and some cheetos, lads. Let’s work this out and get back to tossin’ the rock.
Meanwhile, some folks say they’re already pals again and everything’s hunky dory, but don’t look now, it won’t get any easier, because on Sunday, the smokin’ hot Pittsburgh Steelers come to town, and they’re looking to devour more than just greasy cheesesteaks.
The Steelers and their rejuvenated quarterback Russell Wilson arrive with a winning streak of their own, an enormous chip on their shoulder, and a good chance to cement their AFC North division lead.
They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and this weekend, we’re all going to see what these teams are made of in this good old-fashioned Pennsylvania slobberknocker.
Military Rivals Charge Into Annual Gridiron Battle
Off the field, Army and Navy fight side by side, but on the gridiron they’ll be mortal enemies when they line up against each other outside of our nation’s capital for a chance to win the coveted Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy.It’s only the eighth time since the award began back in 1972 that the winner of this all-or-nothing game walks away with that big prize, raising the stakes for this year’s match even higher.
So you know, both teams have great records, they each feature good quarterbacks and solid running games, and both are gonna be heading to a bowl game later this month.
However, none of that’s really important, because once a year, when Army and Navy play in this great American tradition, you can toss the records out the window—nothing matters in the classic rivalry except who scores the most points.
Hunter Poised to Snag Coveted Heisman Trophy
When they dole out the famous Heisman Trophy, Colorado’s two-way superstar Travis Hunter is the man to beat, and the three other candidates who will be sitting right beside him are likely just hanging out and hoping to get his autograph.For the record, the other three are Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Miami quarterback Cam Ward, and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who by the way is having a phenomenal season and in any other year would run away with the big prize.
However, right now, Hunter is simply both the best receiver and the best cover corner in the game, and he’s looking to be the first two-way player to take home the award since Michigan’s Charles Woodson did it back in 1997.
Yesterday, he won a handful of trophies, including one for being the Associated Press “Player of the Year,” and a couple more for being both the best receiver in college football and the best defensive player in the sport.
Tomorrow night, look for Hunter to strike that famous Heisman pose while his grinning coach, Neon Deion Sanders, stands nearby and watches proudly.
Sports Brief official statistic: The head writer of this program, Davey Ross, is also a Heisman Trophy winner—not really, but he’s happy to strike that goofy pose.
Legendary Coach Says He’s Going Back to College
Eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick says that next season, he’ll take charge of the University of North Carolina’s football program, and Tarheel fans are already giddy at the prospect.Belichick says he made his shocking decision because he loves coaching, he looks forward to every game, and he feels like he’s coming home. He also calls the Carolina gig a dream come true.
Belichick went on to say that he plans on sticking around, and that he’s going to bring a pro-style mentality to every part of the Tarheel program.
As a reminder, until the normally tight-lipped Belichick was let go by the Patriots last year, he’d been coaching in the NFL ranks for nearly half a century, and right now, he needs only 27 wins in the pro ranks to pass Don Shula and become the winningest regular season coach of all time.
However, looks like that goal’s gonna have to wait for a while, as the proven winner now turns his championship efforts to the topsy-turvy turmoil of college football.
Huskies Look to Bounce Back Against Zags
The two-time defending champion Connecticut Huskies square off against Gonzaga in a significant non-conference matchup, with both teams hoping to shore up their resumes before heading into the thick of their conference schedules.The Huskies got off to a slow start this season, but they’re rebounding nicely, they’ve picked up a couple of nice wins in a row against Baylor and Texas, and now, they seem to be playing like they mean it.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are as efficient as ever, they’re versatile across the board, and they remain one of the best programs, but so you know, they’ve never won a championship.
The midtown crowd will be raucous, it will be like a home game for the Huskies, and a huge win in this early-season dustup would be a big boost for each of these legitimate championship contenders.
That’s all we have time for today, but as the Sports Brief program comes to a close, we dole out semi-congratulations to baseball player Juan Soto, who just signed a 15-year, $765 million dollar deal with the New York Mets.
That may sound like a lot of money, but let’s break it down. In Major League Baseball, players work on average 26 weeks per year—every year!
According to our math, that means he’ll have to work 390 weeks to make all that dough and at the end of the contract, it turns out he’ll actually be making less than $2 million per week.
SPORTS BRIEF HOST COMMENTARY: I also make less than $2 million per week.
Life is expensive and the Sports Brief crew hopes Mr. Soto will somehow find a way to get by on what we think is nothing more than a meager stipend. Pro sports … It’s a tough racket.
It really is time for us to mosey along now, but please don’t pout, we’ll be back again next week with another edition of the almost award-winning Epoch Times Sports Brief. If you can’t wait til then, you can always listen to this episode over and over—as often as you like—and we promise, there’ll be no additional charge. There will be a great deal of whining … but no additional charge.
If you have any thoughts or comments about this program, we’d love to hear from you, and you can find us at [email protected]—but only if you have generous, gushing, complimentary kudos for the extraordinary, multi-talented Sports Brief crew—all both of us.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times Sports Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times Sports Brief program is written each week by Dr. Davey, Ross—PhD in Sports Briefology.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, almost-accurate, and engaging rundown of all the sports stories you absolutely need to know about.
Enjoy another great weekend of sports, stay safe, have a superb day today, and don’t forget to keep your eyes on the game. Bye for now.
