SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
College football’s National Championship game in Los Angeles was a huge disappointment. The Georgia Bulldogs made it back-to-back title wins, cooking the TCU Horned Frogs 65-7. Georgia QB Stetson Bennett IV tallied six touchdowns in the rout. If only Ohio State and Michigan won their semifinal games. The title game might have been different.
In women’s college basketball, the Lady Pirates of Seton Hall University are 6-1 in the Big East Conference and 13-4 overall. On Jan. 4, they scored a big 72-51 victory over rival St. John’s at Walsh Gym. As usual, Lauren Park Lane led the path to victory, this time with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists. Amari Wright pitched in 17 points and 7 steals, and Sidney Cooks had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Leading St. John’s were Kadaja Bailey with 18 points and 6 rebounds along with Jayla Everett who had 11 points and 2 rebounds. SHU shot 52 percent from the floor.
In men’s college basketball, the Seton Hall had their own dominant win, taming Butler 76-51 on Jan. 7 at the Prudential Center. Tyrese Samuels gave The Hall 19 points while Kadary Richmond finished with 11 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds and Al-Amir Dawes. The Pirates as of Jan. 9 are 9-8 overall and 2-4 in the Big East.
This past weekend, the NFL regular season ended. The Giants lost to the Eagles 22-16 to wrap up with a 9-7-1 mark. However, Big Blue was already locked into the #6 spot, so there was no consequence for the loss. They will head to Minnesota to play the #3 seed Vikings, who beat them in that very same stadium not long ago on a 61-yard field goal.
The Eagles used the win to clinch the top seed in the NFC, with San Francisco locked in at #2, Tampa Bay at #4, Dallas at #5, and Seattle at #7. The Seahawks slipped into the postseason thanks to an overtime win over the Rams, and the Lions’ – who were knocked out by Seattle’s win – stunning upset at the Packers.
Meanwhile, the Jets crashed and burned in the back half of the season, and they ended with a lousy 11-6 to the Dolphins. Miami’s win over Gang Green put them in the playoffs at #7, after the Patriots were knocked out by an emotional Buffalo squad 35-23. Not only are the Bills happy to claim the #2 seed, but Damar Hamlin was released from the hospital after his life threatening cardiac event in their last game against Cincinnati. The Bengals are the #3 seed after beating Baltimore, who dropped to #6 in the AFC. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who stunned the football world by winning the AFC South, clinched the #4 spot and will play the #5 Chargers.
Despite the Bills and Bengals having their game cancelled and unable to catch the #1 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the standings, if two of those three teams advance to the AFC title game, a coin flip will determine home field.
Finally, the Carlos Correa deal with the Mets is off, as the shortstop resigned with Minnesota on a 6-year deal worth $200 million. Like the San Francisco Giants, New York backed away from the deal based on concerns of a bad physical Correa had.
