The Coles County girls’ holiday basketball tournament gets underway today. We will have coverage of Mattoon vs. Danville at 10am on Victory 103.9. Charleston will play Jacksonville to open things up at the Baker Gym site, also at 10am–you can hear the Lady Trojans on 92.1 The Axe.
The Cowboys kicked off the Christmas slate with a 30-23 win over the Commanders from Landover. Dak Prescott threw for more than 300 yards to go with two touchdowns. Malik Davis rushed for over 100 yards as Dallas snapped a three-game skid. Jacory Croskey-Merritt eclipsed 100 yards and found pay dirt on the ground twice for Washington, which has dropped back-to-back games.
The Minnesota Vikings have knocked the Detroit Lions out of playoff contention. The final was 23-10. Minnesota had six takeaways, and Jordan Addison sealed the win with a 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The Vikings are on a four-game winning streak. Jared Goff threw two interceptions and lost three fumbles in the losing effort. Detroit and Minnesota are tied for third place in the NFC North at 8-and-8.
The Denver Broncos went on the road and picked up a 20-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. Bo Nix completed 26-of-38 passes for 182 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Brashard Smith scored the Chiefs’ only touchdown on a five-yard catch in the second quarter. The Chiefs have lost five in-a-row to fall to 6-and-10.
The Knicks rallied from a pair of 17-point deficits to send their fans home happy on Christmas Day. The team edged the Cavaliers 126-124 from MSG. Jalen Brunson tied for a game-high 34 points as New York outscored Cleveland 42-28 in the final quarter. The Knicks have won two-of-three. Donovan Mitchell also scored 34 points for Cleveland, which has dropped four-of-six.
The San Antonio Spurs knocked off the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder for a third straight time with a 117-102 road victory on Christmas. De’Aaron Fox paced San Antonio with 29 points in the team’s fifth straight win.
The Rockets beat the Lakers 119-96 on Christmas night in Los Angeles. Amen Thompson led Houston with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Kevin Durant added 25 points.
Dallas fell to the Golden State Warriors 126-116 in San Francisco. Cooper Flagg paced the team with 27 points in the setback.
The Nuggets overcame a nine-point overtime deficit to beat the Timberwolves 142-138 at home. Nikola Jokic had the third-highest scoring performance ever on Christmas, pouring in 56 points to go along with 16 rebounds and 15 assists.
The Jaguars are taking a major hit to their secondary. Jourdan Lewis will miss the rest of the season with a foot injury. The cornerback needs surgery after getting hurt during Jacksonville’s big win at Denver last Sunday. Lewis had a pair of picks to go with almost 40 tackles in 12 games this season. The 30-year-old already missed time this year with a neck injury.
The college football bowl season is set to continue today. The triple-header will kick off with the GameAbove Sports Bowl in which Northwestern will face Central Michigan in Detroit. Then, Minnesota and New Mexico will battle in the Rate Bowl in Phoenix. The night will wrap up with UTSA and Florida International playing in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in Dallas.
The Nuggets will be without a key member of their rotation for at least the next month. ESPN is reporting that forward Cameron Johnson will be re-evaluated in four-to-six weeks after suffering a bone bruise and hyperextended right knee earlier this week. Johnson was injured during the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday. An MRI revealed that the 29-year-old avoided structural damage or major injury. Johnson is averaging 11.7 points through 28 games played this season.
The NHL returns from the holiday break on Saturday. More than a dozen games are on the slate starting with an in-state rivalry between the Rangers and Islanders. Other backyard battles take place between the Lightning and Panthers from Sunrise and the Ducks and Kings from LA. The nightcap features the NHL-best Avalanche dueling the Pacific-leading Golden Knights from Vegas. The traditional Winter Classic takes place next Friday between the Rangers and Panthers from Miami.
The Athletics are handing out the richest contract in franchise history. ESPN reports the team extended Tyler Soderstrom on Thursday to a seven-year deal worth 86-million dollars. A club option is included for an eighth year and escalators can push the contract above 130-million in value. Soderstrom hit .276 last season with 25 home runs and almost 100 RBIs in his first full stint with the A’s.
