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One-Sided Holy War in Chestnut Hill

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A One-Sided Holy War Today in Chestnut Hill

No. 12 Notre Dame Faces Desperate Boston College

CHESTNUT HILL – (STAFF REPORT) – One used to look at a battle between the Jesuits of Boston College and the priests of Blessed Basil Moreau’s Congregation of Holy Cross as being an even fight. Not anymore.

A college football contest will take center stage today at Alumni Stadium, where No. 12 Notre Dame (5-2) invades Boston College (1-7) in a lopsided ACC-Independent clash kicking off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Fighting Irish, fresh off a bye week and riding a two-game win streak, enter as 28.5-point favorites desperate to keep their College Football Playoff dreams alive. Meanwhile, Bill O’Brien‘s Eagles limp in on a five-game skid, winless in ACC play (0-5), searching for any spark in a nightmare 2025 campaign. Their only victory came against their fellow Jesuits of Fordham on the first weekend of the season.

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Irish on the Hunt: Playoff Push Meets Perfect Storm

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman‘s squad has rebounded masterfully from an uneven start, blistering NC State 36-7 before gutting out a gritty 34-24 road win at USC – where RB Jeremiyah Love erupted for 228 yards and a score. The Irish offense hums at 462 yards per game (19th nationally), fueled by a 191.7 rushing average (32nd) and explosive 39.1 points per contest (10th). Sophomore QB CJ Carr has settled in as the triggerman, posting 1,758 yards, 14 TDs, and just 4 INTs (65.8% completion) – a bold preseason gamble by Freeman paying massive dividends.

Defensively, Notre Dame stuffs the run (100 yards allowed per game, 17th) and boasts a +8 turnover margin (9th), primed to feast on BC’s turnover-prone attack (-5 margin). Challenges loom with injuries sidelining LG Billy Schrauth (knee) and WR Jaden Greathouse (hamstring), but the depth chart – headlined by Love (758 rush yards, 9 TDs) and Jadarian Price (509 yards, 8 TDs) – should overwhelm.

Eagles’ Desperation: Can O’Brien Conjure a Miracle?

Boston College’s 371 yards per game (83rd) and 26.8 points (76th) pale against a defense hemorrhaging 34.4 points (126th) and 410 total yards (111th) nightly. QB Dylan Lonergan (1,394 yards, 9 TDs) leans on WR Lewis Bond (547 yards), but a woeful 102.1 rushing average (130th) screams vulnerability. RB Turbo Richard (431 yards, 5 TDs) offers hope, but injuries have decimated the secondary – leaving O’Brien’s squad ripe for exploitation.

Key Matchups

  • ND Run Game vs. BC Front Seven: Love and Price could eclipse 300 yards combined against a run defense yielding 163 yards per game.
  • Carr’s Air Raid vs. BC Secondary: With Bond as the lone threat, Irish LBs like Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (27 tackles) feast.
  • Turnover Battle: ND’s ballhawks (+8) vs. BC’s fumblers (-5) – expect multiple Irish picks.

Holy War History: Irish Domination

Notre Dame owns the series (leads ~10-4 overall, 9 straight wins), including a 44-0 demolition in 2022. BC’s last triumph? 1994. This isn’t a rivalry – it’s a rout in waiting.

Prediction: Irish Roll, 45-10

Expect Notre Dame’s rested legs and ground-and-pound to bury BC early, piling up 500+ yards en route to a 35-point blowout. Love notches 150+ yards and 2 TDs; Carr throws for 250+. The Eagles hang tough for a quarter, then fold – handing Freeman a statement win to vault back into playoff contention.

Louisville Runs All Over BC

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LOUISVILLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Louisville ran for a season-high 317 yards and the No. 19 Cardinals used their big-play capabilities to hold off upset-minded Boston College 38-24 on Saturday. Isaac Brown needed just 14 carries to amass a career-high 205 yards, and Keyjuan Brown added 95 on 10 rushes. Both scored on big plays and also set up Miller Moss’ two scoring runs for Louisville (6-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).

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Moss threw for 187 yards on 15-of-27 passing with an interception and a touchdown. His second run gave Louisville the lead for good, 14-10, with 1:42 left in the first half.

Isaac Brown, who ran for 151 yards on five carries in the first half, added a 62-yard touchdown 40 seconds later to make it an 11-point game. However, the Eagles (1-7, 0-5) refused to go away, and Brown’s fumble to start the second half led to Grayson James finding a wide-open Kaelan Chudzinski for a 23-yard touchdown pass. That cut the BC deficit to 21-17 just 52 seconds into the second half.

The Eagles entered the weekend next-to-last in the ACC in average time of possession (27:33). However, they held the ball for 23:53 in the first half alone. They led 10-7 after James threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Lewis Bond on the first play of the second quarter.

James completed 23 of his 46 passes for 244 yards. He threw three touchdown passes but was also intercepted twice.

Louisville’s defense, which stopped BC on downs in Cardinal territory twice in the first half, came up with three turnovers in the second half to keep the Eagles from completing a comeback. An Antonio Watts fumble recovery led to a 22-yard touchdown pass from Moss to Caullin Lacy midway through the third quarter.

A Kalib Perry interception set up a Cooper Ranvier 41-yard field goal to make 31-17 with 8:13 remaining in the game.

Jeremiah Franklin caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from James less than two minutes later to make it 31-24.

The Eagles had the ball at their 44 with three minutes remaining, but they chose to punt. Keyjuan Brown ended any thought of an Eagles comeback with a 67-yard TD run with 1:49 remaining.

–Field Level Media

Stanford Defeats Boston College

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PALO ALTO – (Wire Service Report) – Stanford’s Micah Ford rushed for a career-high 157 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown to lead his school to a 30-20 win over Boston College on Saturday night in California.

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The game was the home opener for Stanford (1-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) after the Cardinal opened the season losing at Hawaii and BYU. The win was their first under interim coach Frank Reich.

Boston College (1-2, 0-1) lost despite former Alabama quarterback Dylan Lonergan passing for 333 yards while completing 30 of 44 passes with a touchdown and an interception.

Stanford gained 213 yards on the ground on 37 carries.

The Cardinal’s final possession, consisting of 12 rushing plays, took the last 7:36 off the clock. They achieved four first downs in the drive.

Toward the end of the third quarter, a 75-yard run by Ford was followed by his 5-yard scoring run.

The touchdown with 1:35 left in the third quarter put Stanford ahead 27-20.

After a three-and-out for Boston College, Ford started Stanford’s following possession with a 31-yard run.

Emmet Kenney finished the possession with a 26-yard field goal with 11:26 left.

The teams each scored two touchdowns in the second quarter and converted two field goals in the first half for a 20-20 tie at halftime.

Kenney accounted for the scoring in the first quarter with field goals of 23 and 35 yards.

Boston College scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter, beginning with a 51-yard field goal by Luca Lombardo.

Lonergan’s 49-yard scoring strike to Turbo Richard was followed in the next possession with a 46-yard pass from Lonergan to Jordan McDonald that set up another touchdown.

McDonald scored on a 2-yard run following the connection with Lonergan, giving Boston College a 17-6 lead with 8:04 left in the second quarter.

Stanford scored two touchdowns in the last 1:47 of the half to take a 20-17 lead.

After Ben Gulbranson completed a 69-yard touchdown pass to Sam Roush with 1:47 remaining in the second quarter, Collin Wright returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown on Boston College’s second play of the next possession.

Boston College, starting at its 25, managed to get a last-second 31-yard field goal by Lombardo heading into halftime.

–Field Level Media

Will Howard Shines for Ohio State

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ATLANTA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – All Ohio State quarterback Will Howard ever wanted was a chance to show off his talents.

The spotlight was all his on Monday night.

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Howard built off a record-breaking first half to complete 17 of 21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, lifting the Buckeyes to a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff title game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It was after a 56-yard completion to Jeremiah Smith with 2:38 left in the game that reality seemed to set in for Howard, who took some time to showboat a bit by throwing his arms up while running downfield while Ohio State coach Ryan Day jumped for joy on the sideline and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James celebrated from box seats.

Such a moment was always the goal for Howard, a Kansas State transfer who had always dreamed of performing on college football’s biggest stage.

“If you were to ask a 19-year-old or 18-year-old Will Howard if he’d be at Ohio State playing in the national championship, I think he’d probably say, ‘You’re crazy, man,’” Howard said earlier this week.

Now, Howard is a champion, and teammates think that this is just the beginning for the 23-year-old.

“Just the type of quarterback he is, in my eyes he’s a first-round draft pick,” Smith said. “Will’s just a great leader — on and off the field.”

Howard made CFP championship game history by completing his first 13 passes on Monday, and he was 14-for-15 passing for 144 yards and two TDs before the break. Ohio State scored a touchdown on all three of its drives in the first 30 minutes of action to build a commanding 21-7 lead by intermission.

The Fighting Irish rallied but couldn’t find a way to get past Howard and the Buckeyes, with the Ohio State signal-caller being named Offensive MVP following the game.

“They’ve changed my life in more ways than I can say, man,” Howard told ESPN, referring to the impact that Day and his new teammates have had on him. “Coach Day and these guys here have completely, completely changed my life. … I can’t believe God gave me the chance to be a Buckeye.”

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 19

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Way back in 2008, then-President Barack Obama – half-kidding – told a 60 Minutes TV audience, “I’m gonna throw my weight around a little bit. I think it’s the right thing to do,” he said, speaking about the collegiate football season. “I think any sensible person would say that if you’ve got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses, there’s no clear decisive winner that we should be creating a playoff system.”

By the time the 2015 College Football championship game rolled around, the Ohio State Buckeyes made a trip to The White House as national champions after defeating Oregon in the first full-scale playoff victory. “I will say, it was about time,” the president joked. “I cannot claim full credit. I will point out that I pushed for a playoff system in 2008.

“You’re welcome, America,” he added. “It was a great playoffs.”

The BCS had fiddled with the system, the rankings (AP, New York Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and others but never really got the job done. This year? It was a 12-team playoff with the first round on campuses spread across the nation. Then, on New Year’s eve and New Year’s day, the quarterfinal teams played off – super-charging the annual Fiesta Bowl (Arizona), Peach Bowl (Georgia), Rose Bowl (Pasadena) and Sugar Bowl (New Orleans).

The semifinals were even better games as Notre Dame defeated Penn State (27-24) at the Orange Bowl (Miami) and Ohio State beat Texas (28-14) in Arlington (Dallas area).

Tomorrow night, at 7:30pm (ET), it’ll be Notre Dame against Ohio State at the Mercedes-Benz Dome in Atlanta for the national championship to define all national championships.

But, it’s been a lot of football since the week before Labor Day and a long postseason.

“To lead the country in plays snapped wasn’t our goal,” said Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, the former Oregon head coach. “Our goal was to get to the national championship game.

“The fact that we have two running backs that can rotate all the time, We’ve rotated our receivers and, we have a bunch of receivers that can play. We have a bunch of tight ends that can play.

“A part of it was the length of the season has changed. Before, back when I was at Oregon, you were in the regular season and then you go to a bowl game. We had 37 days off between the final regular season game against Oregon State and then our bowl game against Auburn.

“That’s an entirely different thing. You play your last game in the regular season. Two weeks later you’re playing Tennessee. If you beat Tennessee you go to the Rose Bowl. If you win the Rose Bowl, you go to the Cotton Bowl. If you win the Cotton Bowl, you go to the national championship. The whole landscape of the schedule has really impacted what we did on both sides of the ball,” said Kelly in a Thursday media day session.

Kelly notes that OSU head coach Ryan Day talked to our entire staff about the marathon season Ohio State was planning for all the way back to the summer.

“That’s been on the forefront of our strength and conditioning program, our nutrition program, how our offense plays, how our defense plays, how our special teams play.

That was an overall program decision from the head coach down of how do you handle this length of a season, because it hadn’t been done before. It wasn’t, like, hey, let’s go call this guy because he did it. At this level it hadn’t been done.”

Day recognized the challenge of the season and the opportunity ahead: “I think in life — that’s why they call them “growing pains,” because in life you only grow when you go through difficult times,” said Day.

“I say all the time to our players, ‘the first time you got on a bike you didn’t just ride the bike, you fell down, and how quickly did you learn from falling down to get back on the bike to learn to ride a bike? Well, it’s like that in life.’

“You learn from going through difficult times like that. I think our team has done that, but now we have to go finish what we started. There are great stories on this team individually. There’s great stories on this team collectively. But I’ve said this before, the only way those stories get told is if we win, and we have an opportunity to become the ninth team in Ohio State history to win a national championship and the third team in over 50 years, and there’s been a lot of really good football teams in Ohio State history.

“We talked about that, looking up at the banners of those years, and to see just a couple of them over 50 years of great teams. We have an opportunity to separate ourselves, so that’s it. That’s the only thing right now that matters, and how do we do that? By being in the moment, preparing ourselves.”

On the Notre Dame side of the field (which is the opposite side than when ND defeated Georgia Tach back on October 19), there are no secrets to be shared from head coach Marcus Freeman.

“Yeah, I think more than anything, each team has a plan to do what they do well,” said Freeman on Saturday. “Again, we know we’ve got to be able to run the ball and we’ve got to be able to stop the run, or it’s going to be a long day.

“That’s the reality of when you talk about playing in this game, you have to do what you do well and do the things that have given your program a chance to be in this situation. That’s we’re going to do.

“You have to be able to make adjustments. If your plan going into the game isn’t having success, then you’re insane not to make adjustments to try to give your program a better chance to succeed. This game will be about, hey, who has the best plan going in, but how you make adjustments in terms of having success on offense and being able to stop them defensively.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: “For more than 50 years, George (Kalinsky) was synonymous with Madison Square Garden,” the MSG family of companies said in a statement announcing the death of The Garden’s official photographer. “There wasn’t a single important moment at The World’s Most Famous Arena that George didn’t capture. From Willis Reed‘s inspiring walk onto the court for Game 7 of 1970 NBA Finals to ‘The Fight of the Century’ between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, George and his lens were there.”

MSG Networks announcer Mike Breen told Newsday, “First off, he just was so kind, and whenever you ran into him, he made you feel that he was so happy to see you. There’s nobody that’s that happy to see me. But George was like that. He did really make you feel good.”

Other tributes came in after news of Kalinsky’s death spread throughout the Garden’s longtime dwellers. “The kindest guy,” said Walt “Clyde” Frazier during Friday night’s Knicks telecast on MSG Net. “He took my first ‘Clyde’ pictures. [It was] his ingenuity, folks. The Garden has been able to find a facsimile for Clyde, for Reed, for Ewing. No one has come close to replacing George Kalinsky.”

In 1979, Pope John Paul II visited the Garden, and Kalinsky spoke to him briefly backstage. Later, Kalinsky captured the Pope singling out 6-year-old Geralyn Smith in the crowd and lifting her up by her lower legs onto his “popemobile.”

Pope John Paul II at The Garden, quite possibly George Kalinsky’s greatest photo

The Pope liked the image so much he asked for a copy and put it on his desk at the Vatican.

Kalinsky was awarded numerous high honors during his career, including the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2021, the highest tribute for writers, broadcasters and photographers in the world of basketball.

Kalinsky is survived by his daughter Rachelle Kalinsky, his son Lee Kalinsky and grandchildren Emily Birnbaum, Jason Birnbaum, Josh Kalinsky and Jackie Clarke, his sister Marilyn Kalinsky and brother Howard Kalinsky, according to Newsday.

TIDBITS: The International Basketball Federation announced its 2025 Hall of Fame Class. The group is headlined by Spain’s Pau Gasol, South Carolina and USA Women’s national team head coach Dawn Staley and former Duke and USA Basketball senior national team coach Mike Krzyzewski. Staley was named as a player.

Pau Gasol was a “colossus on the floor for Spain,” said the FIBA statement, “inspiring unprecedented success with his towering performances and leadership. He achieved superstardom status at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2006 in Japan when he earned MVP honors alongside winning Spain’s first-ever major trophy.” A five-time Olympian, the center was Spain’s flag bearer at London 2012 and led his nation to three medals at the Olympic Games. These accomplishments also came alongside three titles at the FIBA EuroBasket, as well as two NBA Championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Said the statement of Staley: “Dawn Staley, a floor general for the USA during her playing days, lifted the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup titles in 1998, in Germany, and in 2002 in China. The point guard played at three Olympic Games and conquered the gold medal on each occasion. She stepped out in 1996, 2000, and in Athens in 2004, when she was the flagbearer for her country. Staley won a total of 10 gold medals as an athlete, before transitioning to the sidelines. As the head coach, Staley steered the USA to gold at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2018 and at the 2020 Olympic Games.”

Mike Krzyzewski masterminded USA’s effort to return to the summit following a blistering defeat in the Semi-Finals of the 2006 World Cup. He was at the helm of the star-laden Team USA that was nicknamed Redeem Team and conquered the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics and followed up by steering a Kevin Durant-led USA to World Cup glory in 2010, in Turkey. … ‘Coach K’, as he is affectionately known, led USA to one World Cup title and two more Olympic gold medals before stepping down as his nation’s head coach in 2016 to focus exclusively on his illustrious NCAA career, where he has no fewer than five championships.

Here is the full list of inductees that make up the 2025 Class of the FIBA Hall of Fame:

Players

– Alphonse Bilé (Côte d’Ivoire)

– Andrew Bogut (Australia)

– Leonor Borrell (Cuba)

– Pau Gasol (Spain)

– El Khatib (Lebanon)

– Ticha Penicheiro (Portugal)

– Ratko Radovanovic (Serbia)

– Dawn Staley (USA)

Coach

– Mike Krzyzewski (USA)

The members of the Class of 2025 will be honored at an enshrinement ceremony on May 17 that will take place alongside the FIBA Mid-Term Congress in Bahrain. A total of eight players and one coach are being recognized for their stellar individual contributions to the sport.

On Friday, the University of South Carolina’s board of trustees approved a contract extension for women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley that will make her the highest-paid coach in women’s college basketball. … The extension keeps Staley in Columbia through the 2029-30 season with an annual base salary of $4 million per year. Previously, she was the third-highest-paid coach in the country — behind LSU’s Kim Mulkey and UConn’s Geno Auriemma — at $3.1 million per year in base. With a signing bonus and annual increases, the total contract is worth more than $25 million

THIS JEST IN: The January 5th WWYI prediction, among many for the calendar year 2025, was as follows:

  • Free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Check ✅ marks the spot.

On Friday night, news broke that the San Diego Padres, one of three MLB team finalists in the Sasaki-Derby, had folded the tent and offered their international free agent pool money to other prospects based in the Dominican Republic. Team 2, the Toronto Blue Jays, tried to sweeten their pot of signing bonus gold but to no avail. That left the door open for the Los Angeles Dodgers to sign Sasaki, pay the international player signing bonus, but then recoup the benefits, equivalent to securing a rookie and having him sign a minor league contract. The reigning MLB champion Dodgers secured the best 23-year old free agent starting pitcher for the duration.

SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE: Again, stealing a title from Sports Illustrated in its glory years, Bill McCartney, a football coach who in the 1980s took the University of Colorado from perennial losers to national champions, but who later left behind his $350,000 annual salary to refashion his locker-room message about prayer and sacrifice into a sprawling men’s evangelical movement, died on Friday in Boulder. He was 84 and the cause of death was complications of dementia, his family announced in a statement released by the university. … According to The New York Times, “As the founder of the Promise Keepers, a men-only Christian group based in Denver, Mr. McCartney reached his greatest influence in 1997, when an event he staged in Washington drew an estimated half-million men to the National Mall. … Historians described the movement as “one of the fastest-growing religious revivals in American history,” The New York Times reported afterward on its front page. The group then lost momentum — but regained it in recent years, when new leaders relaunched it as a vehicle for support of Donald J. Trump to express a newly assertive Christian masculinity, wrote the Times. … The Promise Keepers are not to be confused with the Oath Keepers who played a major role in the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol. More than 500 Oath Keepers either pleaded guilty or were convicted for their role in the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. More than 1,000 cases stemmed from January 6, with sentences of 18 years for seditious conspiracy. The Promise Keepers have distanced themselves from those of the Oath Keepers, but with little to no comment.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: A gold medal awarded at the 1904 Olympics, the first Olympic Games hosted by the United States, was sold at auction for over half a million dollars, part of hundreds of lots of memorabilia from the Games gone by.

The 1904 St. Louis Olympics medal sold for $545,371. It bears the inscription “Olympiad, 1904” and shows a victorious athlete holding a wreath on the front. On the other side, Nike, the goddess of victory in ancient Greek mythology, is shown alongside Zeus, the pantheon’s king of gods, and the words for the 110-meter hurdles. The medal, awarded to American Fred Schule, included the original ribbon and leather case.

Similarly, an “extraordinarily rare gold winner’s medal from the St. Louis 1904 Olympics, issued by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to American gymnast George Eyser for placing first in the rope climbing competition,” was auctioned for a cool but more affordable $80,163.

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly (every weekend) collection of Sports Notes and News written by Terry Lyons. The posting of each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city newsstand on Saturday night around 10pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a sports-filled compilation of interesting notes, quotes and quips in a column that always sold a few newspapers.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes is brought to you by Digital Sports Desk.

Late Field Goal Lifts Irish

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MIAMI GARDENS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Notre Dame’s PK Mitch Jeter’s 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left lifted Notre Dame to a 27-24 comeback win over Penn State in the Orange Bowl — one of the College Football Playoff semifinals — on Thursday.

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The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish (14-1) won their 13th game in a row and advanced to the CFP national championship game, which will be played January 20 in Atlanta. Their opponent will be the winner of tonight’s Cotton Bowl matchup between fifth-seeded Texas and eighth-seeded Ohio State.

It will be the first time Notre Dame has played for a national title since 2013 when it lost to Alabama in a game played in Miami Gardens.

Christian Gray’s diving interception of a pass from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar with 33 seconds left set up the Fighting Irish’s winning score.

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard completed 15 of 23 passes for 223 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions and converted a key first down on the Fighting Irish’s final drive to set up Jeter’s game-winner.

On third-and-3, Leonard found Jaden Greathouse for 10 yards to the Penn State 25, and Leonard subsequently ran for 2 yards to make the attempt closer. Jeter, who is 7-for-8 on field-goal attempts in the playoffs, snuck the ball just inside the right upright.

Greathouse, who finished with a career-high 105 receiving yards, made his biggest catch when he hauled in a 54-yard touchdown pass from Leonard to level the score at 24 with 4:38 to go.

The Fighting Irish regained possession after forcing a Penn State punt. However, Notre Dame’s own ensuing drive fizzled at midfield when Leonard was sacked by Coziah Izzard, forcing a punt with 47 seconds left.

The sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (13-3) were looking for a shot at their first national title since 1986. They fell despite a stellar game from Nicholas Singleton, who tied an Orange Bowl record with three rushing touchdowns.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 5

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BOSTON – Let’s start the Year 2025 with some bold predictions for the sports world in the year to come.

  • Ohio State will win the College Football National Championship.
  • Free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
  • Canada will win the 4 Nations Face-Off.
  • The Detroit Lions will win the Super Bowl. Jared Goff will be MVP.
  • Kansas will win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship with Tennessee, Duke and Florida falling short in the 2025 Final Four.
  • Citizen Bull will win the Kentucky Derby but not the Triple Crown.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights will win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Washington Capitals.
  • The Oklahoma City Thunder will win the NBA title, defeating the Boston Celtics with OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander winning a double MVP for the regular season and NBA Finals.
  • Scottie Scheffler will repeat as the winner of the TOUR Championship, the FedEx Cup and the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year. He will not get arrested this season.
  • The Los Angeles Dodgers will be World Series champions once again.

Admittedly, there are no wild and crazy predictions included in the bunch. Every team, player and horse has a legitimate chance if you were to poll the oddsmakers of Las Vegas.

It’ll be evident in the results of MLB that the rich will continue to get richer (Dodgers, Yankees, Mets), largely because the rules of baseball allow for it without much regard to league-wide parity.

For instance, the Dodgers agreed to a deal with star Korean infielder Hyeseong Kim, the team announced this weekend. The deal is for three years and a guaranteed $12.5 million with an option for 2028-29 that could increase the value of the deal to $22 million. … Kim batted .304 and logged a .364 on-base percentage over eight seasons with the Kiwoom Heroes. He also stole at least 20 bases in each of the past seven seasons, reaching as high as 46 in 2021. A left-handed hitter, Kim slashed .326/.383/.458 with 11 home runs and 30 steals for Kiwoom in ’24.

In the NBA and NHL, where teams play from the same proverbial deck of cards with various salary cap restrictions, repeating as champion is a difficult task.

closeup photo of lighted tealight candles on rackPhoto by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Many of us fell asleep after midnight as December 31st turned to January 1st and the year 2025 began in the quiet peace of the night. In New Orleans, it wasn’t quiet nor peaceful in the French Quarter and by 3:15am, horror brought 2025 in with death and destruction. If you’ve been paying attention to the news, they (terrorists) ruined the celebratory atmosphere of fun and revelry in one of America’s great cities. In doing so, they put a damper over the Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal of the CFP) and the Bowl season, in general. More importantly, 15 souls were lost in a random, senseless attack which injured 36 others and left the entire city of New Orleans on edge, fearful of what might be next.

We’ve seen it before, right here in Boston, when two morons decided to place deadly homemade bombs in two backpacks and dropped the bags along the sidewalks of the finish line route of the Boston Marathon in 2013. The initial bombing caused the deaths of three and injured more than 260 others, not counting the emotional scars of friends and families of the victims and casualties. In addition, in the ensuing police action, a police officer was shot and killed.

The terrorism didn’t start in Boston, as there’s been countless strikes, including the 9/11 attacks, an open shooter at a Las Vegas outdoor concert, bombings at clubs in cities dotting the USA, Europe and throughout the world.

The unbelievable thing is the fact film producers turn the acts of terrorism into motion pictures and documentaries. Director and screenwriter Peter Berg, along with co-writers Matt Cook, and Joshua Zetumer, made a the film based on the book – “Boston Strong” – by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge. Boston-based actor Mark Wahlberg became the face of the film, “Patriots’” Day, all with good intention but still glorifying the act.

In theaters now is director Tim Fehlbaum‘s Golden Globe-nominated film “September 5.” The film is set almost entirely in the ABC Sports control room and focuses on the real-time challenges faced by the broadcasters in covering the terrorist plot at the 1972 Munich Olympics. September 5 wasn’t the first to chronicle that horrendous attack, as “Munich” and “One Day in September” predate the current film.

ABC Sports anchor Jim McCay summed it up that bleak September day, stating: “Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said that there were 11 hostages. Two were killed in their rooms, yesterday morning. Nine were killed at the airport, tonight. They’re all gone.”

Yes, the victims of the ‘72 Olympics are all gone, but the terrorists – and the motion pictures – keep coming back.

TIDBITS: The things I think about include the fact that 8 o’clock coffee is just as good at 6:30 or 7 o’clock. … When I ordered my coffee, the counterperson seemed quite confused when I asked for No Sugar but Half and 1/4 … Wind breakers don’t really break the wind, and, in fact, the wind breaks the jacket more often than not. … Aside from their size, there’s not much difference between softballs and hardballs in baseball. If you get hit with either one, they’re both pretty hard. … You’ve heard of Manute Bol’s son Bol Bol, right? Pretty good player. Maybe he should sponsor a bowl game and it could be the Bol Bol Bowl.

Random Notes: In case anyone hasn’t noticed, UConn has reeled off seven straight “Ws” since the shakedown start in Maui. … the Big Ten basketball matchup of the week was UCLA at Nebraska. … Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama thinks the object of the game of golf is to shoot 65 or better … BC’s Zay Flowers, now known as Lamar Jackson’s favorite Baltimore Ravens wide receivers left Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Browns with an injured right knee. He walked off the field under his own power but further examination(s) will be necessary. Some might criticize Ravens head coach John Harbaugh for playing his starters, but Baltimore needed the win to earn the AFC North title, a game ahead of Pittsburgh. … TGL Golf will tee-off Tuesday, January 7 at 9:00pm ET on ESPN. The inaugural match will pit the New York Golf Club taking on The Bay Golf Club. Three players from each team will go head-to-head in a 15-hole match featuring two different formats – nine holes of Triples and six holes of Singles.

The column is happy to note a new indoor record for “Open Rate,” the key indicator of growth and acceptance for this publication each weekend. The new high mark is 78%. By comparison, a good open rate ranges from 17-28% and 21.33% is the industry average. With subscription offerings, the rate gets higher, of course.

“Hello Old Friend” – Need a new Spotify classic rock playlist? How about 4 hours and 57 minutes of serious rock, all compiled in one place for WWYI readers – right HERE. Eric Clapton and Yvonne Elliman are a reason to tune in right away.

LEGENDS OF SPORT: Here’s one of Andrew D. Bernstein’s tremendous podcasts, recorded at the Basketball Hall of Fame.

KEY DATES IN 2025: Everyone needs to circle these dates on their sports calendar:

January 2025:

9 – Orange Bowl (CFP Semis)

10 – Cotton Bowl (CFP Semis)

11-12 – NFL Wild Card Weekend

18-19 – NFL Divisional Playoffs

20 – College Football Championship (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta)

NBA – King Holiday Full NBA Schedule

26 – AFC/NFC Championship Sunday

February 2025:

2 – NFL Pro Bowl (Orlando)

6 – NBA Trade Deadline

9 – Super Bowl (New Orleans)

12 – MLB Pitchers & Catchers Report to Spring Training

12-15 – 4 Nations Face-Off (NHL) (Montreal)

14-16 – NBA All-Star Weekend (San Fran)

17 – 4 Nations Face-Off – Semis (Boston)

20 – 4 Nations Face-Off – Championship (Boston)

March 2025

8 – Final Regular Season Games in College Basketball

12-15 – BIG EAST Championship (The Garden, NYC)

16 – NCAA Men’s Selection Sunday

18-19 – MLB Tokyo Series (Cubs v. Dodgers) – Tokyo, Japan

18-19 – NCAA Men’s First Four (Dayton)

20-23 – NCAA First and Second Rounds

27 – MLB Opening Day

27-30 – Sweet 16/Elite 8 – NCAA Basketball – (ATL, NJ, INDY, SF)

April 2025:

4 – Boston Red Sox home opener (vs St. Louis)

5-7 – NCAA Men’s Final Four (San Antonio)

21 – Patriots’ Day/Boston Marathon

DIGITAL SPORTS DESK’S ALL NFL FANTASY TEAM: Here are the best players in NFL Fantasy Football for the 2024-25 season:

  • QB – Josh Allen
  • QB – Lamar Jackson
  • QB – Joe Burrow
  • RB – Saquon Barkley
  • RB – Derrick Henry
  • WR – Ja’Marr Chase
  • WR – Justin Jefferson
  • WR – Amon-Ra St. Brown
  • TE – Brock Bowers
  • TE – George Kittle
  • PK – Chris Boswell
  • PK – Brandon Aubrey
  • DT – Broncos
  • DT – Vikings

CFP: Vegas Favors Ohio St and ND

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LAS VEGAS – (Wire Service Report) – If the semifinals unfold the way Las Vegas sees it happening, Ohio State and Notre Dame will play for the College Football Playoff national title.

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No. 7 seed Notre Dame was installed as a 1.5-point favorite over No. 6 seed Penn State at various major sportsbooks on Thursday night, shortly after the Fighting Irish took down No. 2 seed Georgia 23-10 in their quarterfinal game at the Sugar Bowl.

No. 8 seed Ohio State, which trounced top-seeded Oregon 41-21 on New Year’s Day, is a slightly bigger favorite against No. 5 Texas in the other semifinal. The Buckeyes were 4.5-point favorites at DraftKings on Wednesday night and that grew to a six-point spread by Thursday, while it stood at 5.5 points at Fanduel Sportsbook and elsewhere.

This is the first season of the 12-team playoff, and the top four seeds all lost their quarterfinal games at neutral sites after receiving first-round byes. Penn State defeated Boise State, the top Group of Five champion, 31-14. Texas outlasted Big 12 champion Arizona State 39-31 in double overtime.

Fanduel also lists Ohio State as the +110 favorite to win the national championship, a significant edge over Notre Dame at +340.

The Buckeyes (12-2) had lost to Oregon by one point in the regular season and turned the tables in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, storming out to a 34-0 lead shortly before halftime. Will Howard finished the game with 319 passing yards and three touchdowns, with Jeremiah Smith going for seven catches, 187 yards and two TDs.

–Field Level Media

Ohio St Favorited Over Oregon

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PASADENA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – One of Ohio State’s two losses this season came against No. 1 Oregon, but that didn’t dissuade oddsmakers from installing the eighth-seeded Buckeyes as favorites to beat the Ducks in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

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Shortly after Ohio State finished off it’s 42-17 rout of No. 9 Tennessee on Saturday night, the Buckeyes opened as 1.0-point favorites at DraftKings and 1.5-point favorites at BetRivers to beat Oregon on New Year’s Day.

The teams met earlier this season in one of the most memorable games of the 2024 regular season. The Buckeyes visited Autzen Stadium on Oct. 12 and walked away with a dramatic 32-31 defeat. A rematch in the Big Ten title game appeared likely until Ohio State was upset at home by unranked Michigan to close the regular season.

Oddsmakers are clearly placing more weight on Saturday’s convincing win over Tennessee in the final game of the opening round of the CFP.

Oregon will enter the quarterfinal clash with a perfect 13-0 record, but it will be nearly a month since the Ducks beat Penn State in the Big Ten title game.

Many believe the CFP committee essentially rewarded the Nittany Lions despite that loss. While Oregon faces a potential CFP gauntlet of Ohio State, No. 5 Texas and No. 2 Georgia, Penn State opened with a 38-10 blowout win over No. 11 SMU on Saturday.

Up next is Boise State, which is seeded third but hails from the Mountain West Conference. Penn State opened as a 10.5-point favorite at both sportsbooks. Only Texas, which faces No. 4 Arizona State, is a bigger favorite among the quarterfinal matchups at 13.5 points.

Georgia and No. 7 Notre Dame will be the final CFP game on New Year’s Day. The Bulldogs opened as 1.5-point favorites at DraftKings, while BetRivers installed Georgia as a 3.0-point favorite.

The road to a national title will require one of the remaining teams to reel off three consecutive victories. For Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State, that will mean winning four playoff games — although each of them won their first-round matchups handily.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
Texas (+340)
Ohio State (+380)
Oregon (+400)
Penn State (+475)
Georgia (+550)
Notre Dame (+550)
Arizona State (+7000)

–Field Level Media

Nebraska Defeats BC, 20-15

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – A trio of running backs recorded touchdowns to help Nebraska hold off Boston College’s late rally for a 20-15 win in the Pinstripe Bowl on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium in New York.

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New York native Rahmir Johnson scored the Cornhuskers’ opening touchdown to highlight his 60-yard performance on 10 carries. His 11-yard run on fourth-and-1 before the two-minute timeout iced the game, lifting Nebraska (7-6) to its first winning season since 2016.

Kwinten Ives also ran for a score and Emmett Johnson (team-high 68 rushing yards on 14 carries) caught one from freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who was 23 of 31 for 228 yards, one touchdown and one interception on the day.

Nebraska had a 20-2 lead before allowing its first touchdown with 6:11 left in regulation.

Boston College (7-6) forced two first-half turnovers and finished five of its first seven drives inside the opposing 35-yard line, but the Eagles went 0-for-4 on fourth downs until Turbo Richard’s 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska’s first two punts turned into touchdowns for the Eagles, with the second being blocked and returned to the 2-yard line ahead of a Jordan McDonald score with 4:18 remaining.

Grayson James quarterbacked the Eagles, going 25 of 40 for a season-high 296 yards. He also rushed for 22. Lewis Bond made six catches for 94 yards.

Jahmal Banks was Raiola’s leading target, making four catches for 79 yards.

After big plays went by the boards for both teams on their opening series, Raiola sent Nebraska on a 15-play, 75-yard drive to the opening touchdown four seconds into the second quarter. Following a third-down conversion in the red zone, Rahmir Johnson scored on a 4-yard run before John Hohl’s PAT made it 7-0.

After Boston College was unable to convert on Josiah Griffin’s recovery of an Emmett Johnson fumble, an ensuing fourth-down penalty gave Nebraska new life and the Cornhuskers turned it into Ives’ 2-yard score with 3:39 before halftime.

Ashton McShane’s 88-yard blocked PAT return got the Eagles on the board at 13-2, though.

Nebraska’s first drive out of halftime included two fakes from punter/holder Brian Buschini, including a successful fake field goal. On the following series, Raiola’s 13-yard pass to Emmett Johnson out of the backfield resulted in a 20-2 lead with 3:02 left in the third.

Richard punched in the first Boston College touchdown. James’ two-point conversion pass attempt failed.

Buschini’s second punt was blocked by Victor Nelson Jr. and returned to the 2-yard line by Omar Thornton, setting up McDonald’s run and a Liam Connor PAT.

–Field Level Media