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December 22. Only a few short days from one of the most special days of the year. A special one indeed for many reasons, a few of which I’m sure I’ll share before this update has concluded.

For now, it’s a warm 60 degrees with a western sun doing its best to bend underneath the cloud bank. A last glimmer of day before the long winter dark night consumes the light. Christmas lights are beacons in the dark of this desert night. Glimmers of hope until the next sunrise over the Wasatch.

Ushering in this warm weather has been the stiff southern breeze. There’s no salt on this warm air, but it feels like one felt near a coast. Vicious like one that means to do harm. One that rattles a sleeping house awake in the dead of night. The trash cans becoming the next victims of this southern breeze’s teeth and tipping over into the street.

It’s a warm winter, but Christmas is still the same. The tradition of joyful giving does not require any certain weather conditions.

Whether it’s tomato farmers in West TN enjoying near sub-tropical temps or the Fighting Scots in Edinboro braving the single digit cold, the joy of Christmas can be celebrated with the ones you love most.

Sure, I’d rather have snow, but I’ll settle for whatever is given. Like the sports this past week, I’ll settle for whatever is given.

College Ball had some good games, the College Football Playoff kicked off, and the Round Game had drama. This is sports as seen through my lens with a special message along the way.

With that–It’s time for this Week’s “General Update.” General Update.

What to Expect:

The Round Game
The Saturday Game
The Grown Man’s Sunday Game
The College Game

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GENERAL UPDATE

“Christmas is about receiving presents.”- Tim Keller HIDDEN CHRISTMAS

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THE ROUND GAME

ARSENAL

Arsenal 1 – Everton 0
- Goal: Gyokeres Penalty

It was about as easy of a 1-nil as you’d like. The Gunners played stalwart defense and midfield and gave Everton very few real looks at goal. One of those beautiful games to watch.

The Gunners maintain their top of the league status. COYG!

vs Crystal Palace 12/23 1:00 EFL Cup
vs Brighton 12/27 8:00 Premier League

SUNDERLAND

Sunderland 0 – Brighton 0

The Black Cats are in 6th place. Two points behind Chelsea and Liverpool.

vs Leeds 7:00 12/28

–Newly promoted teams from the championship: Sunderland (6th), Leeds (16th), and Burnley (19th). Two of the three are safe from relegation with two games to play until the true halfway point of the season. Leeds United is currently six points off relegation.

This is massive improvement over the past several years of promoted teams getting instantly relegated back to the Championship after only one season in the Prem. Sunderland seemingly are secure to return to the Premier League next season and Leeds are doing just enough at the moment to survive. Burnley requires massive, massive help to avoid relegation.

OTHER SOCCER:

COMO 1907

Como find themselves dropping to 7th in Serie A after back-to-back losses with the most recent being a 1-0 loss to Roma.

vs Lecce 7:00 12/27

WREXHAM

Wrexham 1 – Swansea City 2

vs Sheffield United 12/26 10:30
vs Preston 12/29 12:45

Wrexham drop to 15th in the Championship Standings. Two wins this week would do them well.

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Big Tournament game tomorrow for the Gunners. I’ll be tuned into this one for sure. Paramount+ is the only place you can watch it, I think.

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“Consider how challenging it is to receive certain kinds of gifts. Some gifts by their very nature make you swallow your pride. Imagine opening a present on Christmas morning–and it’s a dieting book. –If you say to them, ‘thank you so much,’ you are in a sense admitting, ‘for indeed I am fat.’ In other words, some gifts are hard to receive, because to do so is to admit you have flaws and weaknesses and you need help.”- Tim Keller HIDDEN CHRISTMAS

THE SATURDAY GAME

Big News! Not necessarily breaking news, but massive news in the world of new coaches in the College Football.

Coach Eric Kjar is moving on from the “Dynasty Forged in Fire” to become the new head coach of the Weber State football team. After an amazing, borderline unprecedented run at the high school level, Coach Kjar is making the jump up the “Saturday Game” and leaving his Corner Canyon days in the review mirror.

I expect the same fire, persistence, and passion to be shown by him on the sidelines and for his team to reflect their new leader. He is exactly that–a leader and more than deserves this chance. His journey is far from complete and I’m grateful to have watched his final high school season so closely.

Congrats, Coach Kjar! Only Up!

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In other news, this “wreck” of a season is drawing to a close. Only one will survive. Who will it be?

Well, I know who it won’t be. Texas A&M. I may have written a word or two about them this season. Their result seems about exactly what it should’ve been.

College Football Playoff Scores:

James Madison lost to Oregon by three scores
Tulane lost to Mississippi by 31
Alabama sent Oklahoma home 34-24
Miami 10 – Texas A&M 3

FCS PLAYOFF UPDATE:

Montana St beat Montana for a second time this season and sent the Grizzlies home in the semifinals.

The Bobcats 21-0 fourth quarter sealed the game and earned them a spot in the championship game in Nashville where Illinois State will meet them January 5th.

Illinois State knocked off Villanova 30-14 behind Taco Dowler’s 87 yard touchdown reception and Adam Jones’ 131 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.

Montana St vs Illinois State 5:30 1/5/26

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With the first round completed in the CFP, it sets up the following matchups.

Miami vs Ohio State 5:30 on New Years Eve in Dallas
Oregon vs Texas Tech Noon on New Years Day
Alabama vs Indiana 2:00 in the Rose Bowl
Mississippi vs Georgia 6:00 in the Sugar Bowl

8 Teams remain:

Indiana
Ohio St
Georgia
Texas Tech
Oregon
Mississippi
Miami
Alabama

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So, who survives the next round and makes the final four?

I’ll take Georgia, Miami, Oregon, and Alabama.

Notable Bowl Game this week:

California vs Hawaii 6PM on ESPN on Christmas Eve.

Sitting in a circle with family in North Mississippi on Christmas Eve in years past, we would’ve have had the Hawaii bowl on as a backdrop. The Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve is just about as traditional as the Rose Bowl these days. Enjoy it.

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“There has never been a gift offered that makes you swallow your pride to the depths that the gift of Jesus Christ requires us to do. –You are not somebody who can pull yourself together and live a moral and good life.”- Tim Keller HIDDEN CHRISTMAS

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THE SUNDAY GROWN MANS GAME

UPDATE from Nashville:

Tennessee 26 – Kansas City 9

What a win for the Titans! A late season surge from the team that seemed destined for the number one overall pick in back to back seasons.

The Titans are now 3-12 on the season.

OTHER NFL Score:

New England 28 – Baltimore 24
- Vrabel is 12-3!

The Patriots and Broncos have both clinched playoff spots in the AFC while in the NFC the following teams have clinched:

LA Rams
Seattle
San Francisco
Chicago
Philadelphia

The NFC South is still very much wide-open. Carolina and Tampa Bay have the best shot to win the division, but Atlanta still has a mathematical chance.

New England seemed destined for the Super Bowl. I have no idea which NFC might join them.

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“To accept the true Christmas gift, you have to admit you’re a sinner. You need to be saved by grace. You need to give up control of your life. That is descending lower than any of us really wants to go. –it’s only through repentance that you come into his light.”- Tim Keller HIDDEN CHRISTMAS

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COLLEGE GAME

MEMPHIS TIGERS

The Hometown Tigers are on the struggle bus. (4-7) and fighting for their lives at the moment. Most recently, Mississippi State beat the Hometown team 71-66 in the Tigers final game with a quality opponent.

It’s time to go unbeaten in the AAC and do something from the 11 seed in the NCAA Tourney. That’s about the best we can hope for. Well, that and hope that we don’t fall to Alabama State who the Tigers play in about twenty-five minutes. Please do not lay this egg.

OTHER College Action:

Louisville 94 – Montana 54
Kentucky 78 – St Johns 66
North Carolina 71 – Ohio State 70
Houston 94 – Arkansas 85
- Hogs missed 14 free throws.
  - 21 out of 35 for the game.
Purdue 88 – Auburn 60
Texas Tech 82 – Duke 81

NCAA BASKETBALL TOP 5

Arizona
Michigan
Iowa St
UConn
Purdue

Let’s just see where this season goes. There is a boatload of ball between now and March.

Go Tigers, GO!

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Sometimes there is a message that is greater than any sports news or funny blurb from a quippy author. Sometimes, there is a real message that needs to be shared. That moment is now.

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“When Jesus died on the cross, darkness fell over the land. The Light of the world descended into darkness in order to bring us into God’s beautiful light. The promises of Christmas cannot be discerned unless you first admit you can’t save yourself or even know yourself without the light of his unmerited grace in your life. This is the foundational truth from which we can proceed to learn the hidden meanings of Christmas.”- Tim Keller HIDDEN CHRISTMAS

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I’m imperfect. The fact is that we all are. Admitted or not, we are all wayfaring strangers travelling through this world of woe in need of the ultimate gift, Grace. It is a gift. Meaning, it cannot be earned. It can only be humbly accepted, and bucko, I need to accept it every day.

“Remember the Grace, not the Gross” was in a past “General Update,” and it highlights the actions of Sarah Rogers in the shadows of her husband’s death. The way she raised money to support the widow of her husband’s murderer spoke volumes to me in how we can administer such grace to one another every day. Friends and neighbors, family and co-workers, we can show each other grace every day the way that Sarah Rogers did. And by showing grace, we can in turn, be kind to each other, but not without the ultimate grace being humbly accepted first.

During this Christmas season, when gifts are being given and accepted all around the globe, accept this “hidden gift,” one that can’t be wrapped with a ribbon and bow. It’s free to all, especially those who need it the most. My hand is raised. Who else needs it the most?

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If you feel ambushed by church talk on a “Daily Dose Sports Blog,” I hope you can forgive me. “Predicting the Unpredictable” couldn’t have predicted this, but like the “Unpredictable” college football preview back in June, the pen writes what it writes.

When I’m called upon to speak my truth, I will.

As we go “over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house” for a Christmas meal–as we go through the peaks and valleys, and storms and deserts of life, may we all administer grace to one another.

If nothing else,

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.

Sing with the Angels Tim Keller. Your words still carry your spirit. (9/23/1950- 5/19/2023)

Thank you for reading.

General Update 12/22