Georgia Finally Beats Alabama For National Title
 | The Georgia Bulldogs got a couple of monkeys off their back on Monday night as they finally overcame the Alabama Crimson Tide and claimed their first National Championship in 41 years with a 33-18 victory in the CFP National Title Game. Stetson Bennett came through in the second half, connecting with Adonai Mitchell with the go-ahead 40-yard touchdown with 8:09 to play, giving his team the lead for good, 19-18, at the time. He then moved on to secure the victory with a 15-yard score to Brock Bowers with 3:33 left on the clock, and then the defense put the final nail in the coffin when Kelee Ringo took a Bryce Young interception back for a score in the final minute. The title win for the Bulldogs is their first since Herschel Walker led them to the same prize in 1980, as they snapped their seven-game losing streak against the Tide, defeating their rivals for the first time since 2007. They also avenged the SEC Championship loss that knocked them out of the top spot in the CFP Polls and handed them their only loss in what was a 14-1 season. Bennett was as solid as could be on this night, with 224 yards, those two touchdowns, and no interceptions, as he played a huge role in ending the run of Heisman winners bringing home the title. |
Dolphins Fire Head Coach Brian Flores Despite Hot Finish
 | The Miami Dolphins' rough start to the season got the best of their chances to return to the NFL Playoffs this season, and I guess a red hot finish to the year wasn't enough to save Brian Flores' job. The team announced Monday morning that they have fired the head coach after three seasons together, this just 12 hours after a 33-24 win over the New England Patriots to end the regular season on Sunday. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was reportedly the one to make the decision, but GM Chris Grier will remain with the team, as he enters his seventh season with them. Ross also added that there are "no plans" to pursue Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, while also confirming that they are not targeting Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh. Flores could be a big candidate to fill a different job after leading his team to a 10-6 season last year and just missing the playoffs. They were expected to compete for the AFC East Title this season, but a 1-7 start, including a seven-game losing streak, put that out of reach. They ended up going on a seven-game winning streak to get back in the playoff hunt, but that was not enough following a loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 17. Flores became the fourth coach in franchise history with two winning seasons in his first three years, but he went 24-25 overall with them, and that just was not enough to keep him around somehow. |
Vikings Move on From Head Coach Mike Zimmer
 | Another team that ended the regular season with a win on Sunday and were in the playoff hunt late in the year moved on from their head coach as well on Monday, as the Minnesota Vikings fired Mike Zimmer. This comes after he spent eight seasons with the team, and general manager Rick Spielman went out the door with him. The Vikings went 8-9 this season after a 31-17 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, but the 65-year-old Zimmer has gone backwards by missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Before that, the coach led Minnesota to postseason appearances in 2015, 2017, and 2019, and compiled a 72-56-1 record during his time with the team. That record includes two playoff wins, as he led the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game in 2017, but his team ranked 31st defensively this season, which offset the talent they have on the offensive side of the ball. Although, they were oh so close to getting in to the tournament this season, with 14 of their 17 games being decided by one score, including eight losses. Their defense faltering down the stretch played a role in that, breaking their own record from 2020 with 128 points allowed in the final two minutes of a half. Expect Minnesota to go for a more defensive minded head coach to support the explosiveness that the offense provides. |
Bears Part Ways With Head Coach Matt Nagy
 | The Chicago Bears made the expected move on Monday by firing head coach Matt Nagy along with general manager Ryan Pace, this after the team went 6-11 this season, capped off with a 31-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. This move comes after Nagy was named NFL Coach of The Year in 2018, his first season with the team, when he led the Bears to a 12-4 record and a playoff berth for the first time in eight years. Since then, it has gone downhill, including an 8-8 record in 2019 and 2020. There were two playoff appearances during his tenure thanks to the extended playoff format in 2020, but his inability to mold second overall pick Mitchell Trubisky and their recent top pick Justin Fields in to quality QBs early on has haunted him. The team has not given up on Fields, who went 2-8 over 10 starts with a 26.0 QBR this past season. Over four seasons with the Bears, Nagy went 34-31, but they were 0-2 when it came to the playoffs. This was the first head coaching gig for the 43-year-old, who worked under Andy Reid with both the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, but clearly still has more to learn. |
Seahawks' Geno Smith Arrested on DUI Suspicion
 | Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Geno Smith did not start his off-season on a good note, as he was arrested on suspicion of DUI on Monday Morning. The Washington State Patrol reported that Smith was arrested at 2:10am and released after posting bail at 9:27am. The team returned to Seattle after their 38-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the regular season finale on Sunday, and head coach Pete Carroll confirmed that Smith participated in the season ending meeting on Monday. The 31-year-old backed up Russell Wilson this past season and appeared in four games in October after Wilson broke his finger. He ended up throwing for 702 yards on 65-of-95 throwing with five touchdowns and one interception. The team went 1-2 over his three starts, and he is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this off-season, holding a 13-21 career record over nine NFL seasons with four teams. |
Hornets Top Bucks Again; Embiid, Sixers Win Seventh Straight
  | The Charlotte Hornets basically did a repeat of what we saw over the weekend on their home floor Monday night, taking care of the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, 103-99. Terry Rozier had 27 points and LaMelo Ball added 23 points, including 18 in the second half. The Hornets moved to 12-5 on their home floor and have now won six of their past eight games, thanks in part to Miles Bridges' double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. For a second straight game, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris MIddleton were the only ones to get anything going offensively for the Bucks, with Giannis at 26 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists, and Middleton leading the Bucks with 27 points and 11 assists. Charlotte got the best of Milwaukee, 114-106, on Saturday night, and then led for most of the night on Monday, including once holding a 15-point advantage. And Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers remained as one of the hottest teams in the league, winning their seventh straight game on Monday, 111-91, on the road against the Houston Rockets. Embiid posted 31 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, making it his seventh straight 30-point game. He shot 9-of-16 from the floor and a perfect 13-for-13 at the free throw line, becoming the second player in NBA history to score exactly 31 points in four straight games. Andre Drummond added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Tobias Harris also added 13 points as the Sixers had six players in double figures in the win. They now have the longest winning streak in the Eastern Conference this season and are right back in the conversation for the top four seeds in the standings. Other key scores saw the Detroit Pistons rally from a 22-point deficit to rally past the Utah Jazz, 126-116, at home. Jaylen Brown had 26 points, while Jayson Tatum added 24, in the Boston Celtics 101-98 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers. The Portland Trail Blazers took advantage of the Brooklyn Nets not having James Harden for a 114-108 victory. Jarrett Allen had 18 points and 17 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers sent the Sacramento Kings to their fifth straight loss with a close 109-108 win. And R.J. Barrett's 31 points helped the New York Knicks pull away from the San Antonio Spurs, 111-96. |
Bloodied Marchand Powers Bruins; Kings Stay Hot Against Rangers
  | It doesn't get much tougher in sports than a hockey player, and Brad Marchand proved that on Monday night, scoring twice despite getting a busted nose in the Boston Bruins' 7-3 rout of the Washington Capitals. Marchand took a rough high stick to the face early on in the game, but then helped his team rally from a two-goal deficit by outscoring the Capitals, 7-1, the rest of the way. He added an assist on the night, as the Bruins scored six unanswered goals, sending the Capitals to their fourth straight loss, which is their longest losing streak of the season. Conor Sheary scored twice early on to give the Capitals the 2-0 lead, but a taped up Marchand returned and fired up his team. They also got two goals from David Pastrnak, while Craig Smith, Erik Haula, and Matt Grzelcyk all found the back of the net in the win. And the Los Angeles Kings moved in to the top three in the Pacific Division with a 3-1 home win over the New York Rangers. Cal Petersen made 22 saves, while Trevor Moore led the way with two assists, as the Kings moved to 4-1-0 over their past five games. Phillip Danault, Blake Lizotte, and Adrian Kempe all found the back of the net, as their 41 points and 18-13-5 record has them in third place behind the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks. The Rangers fell short of moving in to first place in the NHL despite Alexandar Georgiev making 38 saves. They have now kicked off this five-game road trip at 1-2-0. The only other game on the NHL schedule Monday saw Nazem Kadri's late goal send the Colorado Avalanche to their fifth straight win, 4-3, over the Seattle Kraken. |
