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December 9th. A smidge off schedule. Control what is possible and react as needed to everything else.

The snow is playing hide and seek here in Utah at the moment and it’s unseasonably warm. Perfect for those that love to explore the mountains by foot but not so great for those seeking the joy of gliding the slopes. It’ll be 60 and sunny this weekend. I’ll take it, but the snow bunnies say differently.

The lights and decorations are evident, and it certainly looks like Christmas, but it does not feel like the Christmas season with these warm afternoons. That said, parties are happening, gifts are being purchased for loved ones, neighbors, and co-workers, and Christmas movies are running nonstop.

This is the Christmas season. A time for giving.

Clearly, college football’s playoff committee was feeling the generous mood of the season and gave several teams a chance that perhaps are not as good as some that missed, but we will get to that.

It’s the season of giving after all. Gifts of monetary value and free gifts of kindness will be given all throughout this month. “Be Kind Sandy” has some great opportunities for both if you are unsure how to give your time away. Simply, being kind is gift enough for plenty of people. Let’s take the pledge today to be kind every day.

Regular readers will know that this has been a motto on this site for a long time. There is no time like the present to contribute to the positive, the lovely, and the kind.

There is also no time like the present to recap the past few days in the world of sports as seen through my lens.

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 (College Basketball new feature)

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GENERAL UPDATE

“It’s not about what they deserve, it’s about what you believe, and I believe in love.”- Diana “Wonder Woman”

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THE ROUND GAME

ARSENAL

• Arsenal 2 – Brentford 0
  • Goals: Saka, Merino
• Aston Villa 2 – Arsenal 1
  • Goal: Trossard
  • Villa scored the game-winner in the literal last second of stoppage time to win.

The Gunners maintain their top of the league status but should not get in the habit of playing as they did this past weekend. COYG!

NEXT:

• @Club Brugge 12/10 1:00 (Champions League)
• vs Wolverhampton 12/13 1:00 (Premier League)

SUNDERLAND

• Sunderland 1 – Liverpool 1
• Man City 3 – Sunderland 0

This is the toughest stretch of games for the Black Cats and with this week’s results, Sunderland drops to 9th in the Premier League standings.

Next:

• vs Newcastle 12/14 7:00

The Stadium of Light will be as lively as it has been all season as the North England rivals come to town.

OTHER SOCCER:

COMO 1907

• Inter Milan 4 – Como 0

Como were manhandled by the superior Italian giant and the loss keeps them in 6th in Serie A.

Next:

• @Roma 12/15 12:45

WREXHAM

• Wrexham 1 – Preston 1

Next:

• @Hull City 12/10 1:00
• vs Watford 12/13 8:00

Wrexham drop to 13th in the Championship Standings, but they do have the advantage of a game in hand over the clubs surrounding them.

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The Round Game continues to be entertaining. I missed most of the action this week, but I’ll be right back in it tomorrow from Brugge.

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THE SATURDAY GAME

“One did survive the Wreck”

• Hometown Tigers

Welcome Coach Charles Huff!

See you in Boise!

GO Tigers, Go!

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Conference Championship Games:

• James Madison beat Troy
• Tulane beat North Texas
• Texas Tech beat BYU by 27
• Georgia beat Alabama by 4 TD’s
• Indiana remains undefeated and beat Ohio St 13-10
• Duke beat Virginia

FCS PLAYOFF UPDATE:

• Montana St beat visiting Yale 21-13
• Montana throttled South Dakota St in Missoula last week.

Montana St host Stephen F. Austin Friday Night and Montana host South Dakota Saturday. With wins by both, it will set up a rematch between the two teams from the “gold and silver” state. Oro y plata.

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With the conference results decided, the committee had all of the data needed to decide the field of twelve playoff teams. They are as follows:

Official 12 Team Playoff:

1. Indiana
2. Ohio St
3. Georgia
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Mississippi
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Alabama
10. Miami
11. Tulane
12. James Madison

–Well as much as I wanted to see Ohio St and Georgia meet in the end somehow, someway, I’ll have to settle for a semi-final matchup between the two best teams in the country. Indiana is very good, but not on the same level as either. That said, the Hoosiers earned the one seed and deservedly so. We could’ve only hope for a Buckeye win, so they could have been the one seed as it should’ve been.

–Notre Dame withdrew from bowl consideration upon receiving the news that the committee excluded them from the playoffs. Well done on a phenomenal season, Irish. 10-2 and missed the playoffs. Leonard Moore, Jadarian Price, and of course, Jeremiyah Love were special to watch this season. Only up Irish. Control what you can.

–Wake me up in the next round of the playoffs. Games like JMU vs Oregon or a Tulane/ Mississippi rematch do not get me excited.

–UGA/ OSU in the final would’ve been the perfect cap to this season, but as I mentioned last week, maybe a perfect cap is not what this season deserves. Maybe this is the season that deserves an ending like Indiana losing to Texas Tech or Oregon beating Miami. I’d much preferred a perfect ending like the Bulldogs and Buckeyes, but things will not be so buttoned up nice and neat.

–Teams that I’m rooting for go as follows: UGA, OSU, and OU. This is the two best teams and the one that is most deserving. Oklahoma deserved better than a rematch with Alabama in the first round.

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It’s like Melville wrote, “one did survive the wreck.” This has been an absolute wreck of a season. Even “Predicting the Unpredictable” couldn’t have predicted this kind of madness at the end. An AAC team and a Sun Belt team making the final 12 is just about as big of a joke as you can have in this sport.

Unpredictability usually means fun, but this sort of unpredictability is just flat annoying. Notre Dame, BYU, Texas, and even 9-3 Arizona would’ve been a better choice than James Madison. I know they made it in on merit due to the automatic bid rule, but it doesn’t make me love the sport.

The Committee had gifts for some and coal for others, but it was the garbage ACC that messed the whole thing up by allowing five-loss Duke into the ACC Championship game. Weird and borderline a joke.

No matter, which one will survive the wreck? This season has been a shipwreck that only a white whale could cause.

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“Keep an eye on everyone, see what they do. Report back when, um, I don’t know. When it makes sense.”- Garder McC. Chubb “Burn After Reading”

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THE SUNDAY GROWN MANS GAME

UPDATE from Nashville:

• Tennessee 31 – Cleveland 29

What a win for the Titans! Former Hometown Tiger Tony Pollard stole the show with 161 yards on the ground and two TD’s!

The Titans are now 2-11 on the season.

–Shedeur Sanders 394 Total Yards, 4 TD’s

OTHER NFL Scores:

• Indianapolis downed by Jacksonville. Daniel Jones and the Colts have lost their magic.
• New England 33 vs NYG 15 MNF
  • Vrabel is 11-2!
  • Jaxson Dart first game back. 1 TD no picks.

The Patriots and Broncos are both 11-2 and leading the NFL at the moment. Other Standout teams include:

• LA Rams 10-3
• Seattle 10-3
• Green Bay 9-3

The final weeks will be competitive as more than half the league has a clean shot at the playoffs right now. Week 15 is approaching with the Bills playing the Patriots and the Broncos facing a tough challenge in Green Bay. Does the top of the pyramid widen after this weekend or do the two at the top remain alone?

Denver vs Green Bay is an all-time favorite matchup going as far back as the 1900’s when Denver beat the Packers in the Super Bowl. Elway vs Favre. That was a good time to be a football fan. Let’s hope Josh Jacobs and RJ Harvey can bring their best and put on a show.

Flashback to my favorite Denver/ Green Bay matchup: October 29, 2007. Tied 13-13 going into overtime, Brett Favre needed just one play to beat the Broncos on an 80 yard pass to Greg Jennings. Game. 19-13 Packers.

There was a group of energetic folks going wild at a local watering hole late on that Monday night. Pretty sure someone made it to the bar top, ripped their shirt off, and danced wildly while being scolded by the manager during the celebration.

That game feels like a lifetime ago. Still remember it like it was last night.

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“Tradition, discipline, and rules must be the tools. Without them, disorder, catastrophe, anarchy, in short, you have a ghastly mess.”- George Banks sung profoundly in “Mary Poppins”

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COLLEGE GAME

MEMPHIS TIGERS

The Hometown Tigers improved to 4-4 after a grrreat home win over visiting Baylor. Zach Davies led the squad with 23 points and 13 rebounds in the 78-71 win.

7-4 by Christmas, 9-4 by New Years. Monster games coming up for the Tigers to prove themselves. None sooner than Louisville on Saturday at 1:30 on Espn.

Let’s go on a run Tigers. December is our month to shine and stack a few quality wins.

OTHER College Action:

-#1 Purdue lost by a thousand at home to #10 Iowa St. Needless to say that I was less than impressed with the proclaimed number one team in the country. Fluke or for real?

-Louisville smashed Indiana 87-78. The game was tight in the final minute, but Louisville was the better team.

NCAA BASKETBALL TOP 5

1. Arizona
2. Michigan
3. Duke
4. Iowa St
5. UConn

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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Sports were far from a priority the past few days, but I’ll be in on the action beginning tomorrow with Arsenal traveling to Belgium in Champions League.

Look for at least a bowl preview or two in the coming days.

Until then,

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.

Thank you for reading.