Previews and picks for tonight’s Notre Dame-Penn State Orange Bowl. Cavaliers beat Thunder in NBA’s biggest battle

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🏀 Good morning everyone, especially…

cleveland cavaliers

In a battle of the NBA’s best teams, the Cavaliers continued their strong run, defeating the Thunder 129-122 in a back-and-forth game that lived up to the historic hype. Never before in the history of the league had there been a game between teams that entered with 15 straight wins (Thunder) and 10 straight wins (Cavaliers).

Cleveland had seven players score in double figures, led by Jarrett Allen’s 25 points (plus 11 rebounds, six assists, and three steals). Cleveland also had Ty Jerome and Max Strus off the bench who combined for 32 points (12-of-14 shooting). Leading by two with two minutes left, Cleveland scored the final five points of the game with big scores from Evan Mobley and Darius Garland. Cleveland (32-4) is on track to end Oklahoma City (30-6)’s 15-game winning streak and reach 11 straight wins. These teams will meet again in Oklahoma City one week from tonight. (And maybe even the NBA Finals after that.)

I love watching these teams. The Cavaliers are what every team should aspire to offensively, a huge team that features young players working together toward a common goal. They feature great ball movement, leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio, but that’s because they have great off-ball movement, as well as points per possession on cuts. Leading the league. Mobley took a “leap forward” and brought important balance to the backcourt of Garland and Donovan Mitchell.

The Thunder, on the other hand, boast the best defense in the league (the absence of Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso on Wednesday certainly hurt) and a very skilled scorer in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points). Although he is not the most athletic player of all time, he is an outstanding performer. Footwork, pace, body control.

Simply put, this was a great basketball game. They may not have the biggest markets or the biggest stars, but these are two great, great teams that every basketball fan should love. here it is sam quinn points.

👍 Honorable Mention

👎 Not really an honorable mention

🏈 Orange Bowl Preview, Notre Dame-Penn State Contenders

It’s here! The first semifinal of the College Football Playoff will be played tonight, with (7) Notre Dame taking on (6) Penn State. orange bowl. Both programs have storied pasts and are not far apart from each other, but this is their First meeting since 2007.

We’ve already talked about why Either Of these team We can win it all, but we have to win tonight to have that chance. That’s how Cameron Salerno fell apart. All the key matchups and who has the advantage. At quarterback, he prefers Drew Allard over Riley Leonard, and here’s what he has to say about quarterback targets…

Salerno: “The best player in this game, regardless of position, is Abdul Carter. Game status is up in the air After leaving the game against Boise State with an injury, he is a true game-breaker when he plays. With Carter missing most of the game against Boise State, Dani Dennis Sutton stepped up and recorded 2.5 sacks. Notre Dame’s team sack leader (Riley Mills) was injured in last month’s game against Indiana and will miss the rest of the season. Penn State has depth and has the best player in this group, so they have the advantage. Edge: Penn State.”

Do these two key upsides mean Penn State is headed to the title game? Our experts have chosen:the same is true for Tom Fornelli best plan.

Dennis Dodd is We previewed all angles of the semifinalsAnd his choices are:

Dodd: “Marcus Freeman has quietly developed into one of the best coaches in the country. His 12-game winning streak has produced the largest point differential (338 points) in program history. …Penn State is better. “We have a great roster.” Time has passed, but the Irish magic will lead Notre Dame to a chance at a national championship. Notre Dame 26th, Penn State. 24 inches

🏈 NFL Wild Card Weekend: Quarterback matchup rankings, upset likely

Wildcard weekend is upon us, and it’s a dandy weekend indeed. There aren’t any duds in the schedule, which is unusual considering more than a third of NFL teams play this weekend, and Las Vegas agrees. Four of the six games were by five points or less, and the remaining two games were by five points or less. In single digits.

A big part of that is high-level quarterback play all around. cody benjamin Ranking all 14 starting quarterbacks This postseason, in my opinion, 12 of them can absolutely be elite on the right day. The top five are:

Patrick Mahomes Slammar Jackson Josh Allen Jared Goff Matthew Stafford

However, according to Cody, Best quarterback matchups of the weekend Between 2 people outside of the top 5:

Benjamin: 1. Jalen Hurts (Eagles) vs. Jordan Love (Packers) — Hurts and Love faced off in an entertaining Week 1 showdown in Brazil and now face a do-or-die rematch. Myself Questions about physical preparation. not playing Love has been suffering from a concussion since before Christmas. lost feeling in his arm After making a hell of a shot in Week 18. If they’re right, both could have attractive berths in the playoffs. ”

But Love and the Packers aren’t at the top of Jared Dubin’s rankings. Teams most likely to cause an upset. It belongs to…

Dubin: “1. Buccaneers Manager (+141) — Washington has played almost as good as Tampa, if not better, this season. The Buccaneers can score from anyone…but so can the Commies. “Tampa’s defense allows almost everyone to move the ball freely, and as Washington did late in the season (i.e. once with Jaden Daniels hurting his ribs in the rearview mirror), that’s a dangerous way to live.”

How the Los Angeles wildfires are impacting sports

With multiple fires burning across Los Angeles County, it’s clear that sports are not on the minds of many in Southern California. As of late Wednesday, the fire had killed five people, damaged thousands of buildings and left thousands more vulnerable, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. At least 70,000 residents had been ordered to evacuate as of Wednesday morning. There were five separate named fires across the county on Wednesday alone.

Our thoughts are with those affected at this time. For tens of thousands of people in the nation’s most populous county, this is a very sad, scary and worrying time. Lives and livelihoods have been indelibly altered, if not destroyed. Here’s how the fires are impacting sports:

announced by the NFL emergency response plan for the Vikings vs. Rams wild card game scheduled for Monday. If necessary, the game will be moved to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Cardinals. rams players Sent Thoughts for the victims and gratitude for the first responders. The Chargers donated $200,000 to relief efforts. Kawhi Leonard left JJ Reddick says Clippers should be with evacuated families His family was forced to evacuate. The Lakers are scheduled to host the Hornets tonight. NHL postponed Last night’s Los Angeles Kings home game vs. the Flames.

📺 What I’m Watching on Thursday

🏀 No. 15 Oregon, Ohio State (M), BTN 6 p.m.
🏀 Timberwolves vs. Magic, 7pm on NBA TV
🏀 No. 14 Duke at No. 19 North Carolina (W), 7 p.m., on ACC Network
🏈 CFP Semifinals — Capital One Orange Bowl: (7) Notre Dame vs. (6) Penn State, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN