The Sports Report: If Sean McVay has to leave, he should

Hello, this is Houston Mitchell, your host. Let’s go to the news.

From Bill Plaschke: A year ago on a huge national stage, hundreds of members of the media surrounded a triumphant man.

On a Monday afternoon, in a small room in Thousand Oaks, a handful of rain-soaked souls gathered around a man.

A day after the Rams’ historic 5-12 fall from being Super Bowl champions, Sean McVay held the weirdest and saddest postseason press conference in football history.

There was no team talk. There was no further talk. There was no talk of soccer.

Instead, there were stories of personal struggles.

“How can I not allow the challenge, the effort, the competition within me … how can I keep the dynamics of wanting to be that type of leader intact?” McVay said. rice field. “And that’s where I am.”

There was talk of looking for personal updates.

“What’s the best way to keep moving forward in the right way to be the best coach you can be?” he said.

Judging by the intimate 13-minute press conference that felt like a therapy session, the Rams’ ferocious coach is clearly trying to go against his nature.

he’s about to leave

And he should.

go, rest assured.

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Matthew Stafford will be back with the Rams, with or without Sean McVay

charger

From Jeff Miller: The Chargers received good news about Mike Williams’ back on Monday.Tests revealed he had nothing more serious than a bruise.

After providing an update, coach Brandon Staley said the “sign” he was given was that Williams could play Saturday night when the Chargers play Jacksonville in the wildcard playoff round. .

Williams, the team’s biggest threat at wide receivers, was injured in the second quarter of a 31-28 loss in Denver on Sunday.

Staley also showed edge rusher Joey Bosa keeping pace in his return from a core muscle injury that cost him 12 games. After playing, he played 23 snaps against Denver.

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charger vote

How far will the Chargers go in the NFL playoffs? Click here to vote. The results will be published in Friday’s newsletter.

NFL playoff schedule
always the pacific
wild card round
Saturday
Seattle, San Francisco, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes
Jacksonville Chargers, 5:15pm, NBC, Peacock, Universo

Sunday
Miami in Buffalo, 10am, CBS, Paramount +
New York Giants in Minnesota, 1:30pm, FOX, FOX Deportes
Baltimore Cincinnati, 5:15 p.m., NBC, Peacock, Universo

Monday
Dallas, Tampa Bay, 5:15 p.m., ESPN/ABC, ESPN2-Manningcast, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes

Bills’ Damar Hamlin discharged from Cincinnati hospital, continuing recovery in Buffalo

Is it too early to see next season’s top 25 after Georgia defeated TCU 65-7 in the National Championship Game? Not if you’re J. Brady McCollough.

I’ve never tried to top 25 too early. Given the realities of transfer portals, the idea of ​​imposing a handicap on a team he wouldn’t play until eight months from now seemed even crazier.

Well, as George Costanza once said, “Do you want to go crazy? Drive insane!”

To keep my sanity, I tried to keep my criteria very simple. Who’s bringing back proven quarterbacks, who’s got coaches who’ve built a credible winning culture, and who’s using transfer portals to plug holes?

Here’s where I ended up on Day 1 of the offseason. We know that these rankings, like the rosters that make them up, are very likely to change.

1. Georgia

Back-to-back national champions are an easy pick to win three in a row in 2023. How much did Georgia coach Kirby Smart build to last for the Bulldogs?After winning the 2021 title, Smart said he wanted to take him from the transfer portal to build an undefeated team for 2022. did not bring a single player. From the Southeastern Conference. Quarterbacks Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff are expected to race to replace Stetson Bennett. Vandagriff said he is a five-star prospect in his 2021 class and would be a prime candidate to lead the offense.

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Stetson Bennett Becomes Instant Georgia Legend With Historic National Title Win

Analysis: Georgia’s world domination isn’t over yet.Why bulldogs are good for three-peats

Georgia broke through under Kirby Smart. Here’s how USC learns from it

Reggie Bush

Reggie Bush, who won the Heisman Trophy at USC in 2005, sat out for NCAA violations.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the 2007 Heisman Trophy, will also join the National Team, along with Syracuse’s Dwight Freeney, Boston College’s Luke Kuechly, Oregon’s LaMichael James and Kansas’ Michael Bishop. • Selected for the hole by the Football Foundation.

Bush played for two USC national championship teams in 2003 and 2004, and led the Trojans to another title game in 2005. He ran for his 1,740 yards, averaging 8.7 yards per carry, and in the 2005 season he scored 19 touchdowns.

lakers

From Dan Woike: Russell Westbrook’s shot was blocked at the rim for a Denver fast break in the opposite direction. And just after Bruce Brown’s floater glimpsed in from the backboard and sounded the third-quarter buzzer, Wen-Yen Gabriel walked off the court with his hands on his head, completely exhausted.

In the last five games, it didn’t matter who the Lakers faced. In his one of those games, LeBron he James even missed.

With James out again on Monday, Denver claimed a 122-109 win and it couldn’t happen again.

The good vibes from the Lakers’ recent five-game win streak were undone without much drama against the Nuggets, the West’s best team dominating both sides of the court against unattended visitors. .

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NWSLMore

The National Women’s Soccer League on Monday permanently banned four coaches as part of disciplinary action taken against several individuals and teams in response to an investigation into allegations of abuse and misconduct in the league. .

Former North Carolina coach Paul Riley, former Chicago Red Stars coach Rory Dames, former Washington Spirits coach Richie Burke and former Racing Louisville coach Christy Holly have all opted for coaching in the league. Banned. Also, former Utah Royals coach Craig Harrington and former Gotham general manager Alice Lahue have been suspended from working with the NWSL for two years until January 9, 2025. rice field.

kings

Kevin Fiala had two goals and two assists and Adrian Kempe also scored two power play goals as the Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-3. Alex Iafaro and Victor Arvidsson also scored as Los Angeles improved to 9-2-1 since December 15.

Kyler Yamamoto, Ryan McLeod and Conor McDavid scored for the Oilers in the opener of a four-game trip. Stuart Skinner saw him score three goals on 24 shots before being substituted early in the second period. After Kempe gave Los Angeles a 3-1 lead at 3:51 of the second period, former Kings goaltender Jack Campbell came out.

sports on this date

1972 — The longest winning streak in a major professional sport, 33 games, ended when the Bucks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 120-104, by 39 points over Milwaukee’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

1980 — Goaltender Jim Stewart scored three goals in the first four minutes and five goals in the first period in his first and only game against the Boston Bruins. He was replaced and never played in the NHL again.

1982 — With 51 seconds left, Joe Montana hits his third touchdown pass of the game, a 6-yard pass to Dwight Clarke, to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 28–27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC title game. rice field.

1998 — Michelle Kwan wins her second U.S. Figure Skating Championship in three years, scoring a 6.0 out of 8 out of 9 in Free Skating Artistry.

2002 — Todd Eldredge wins his sixth U.S. Figure Skating Championship title. After skipping two competitions in his season, Eldredge defeated defending his champion Tim Goebel.

2004 — Michelle Kwan wins her seventh consecutive U.S. Figure Skating Championships and finishes eighth overall. Maribel Vinson, one of the sport’s greats, is the only one to have won nine national championships.

2006 — Bruce Sutter is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as the fourth relief pitcher and first pitcher.

2008 — Alex Ovechkin signs a $124 million, 13-year contract extension with the Washington Capitals, the NHL’s first $100 million contract.

2009 — Arizona is the only NFC team to miss a conference championship game since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970, playing its first NFC championship game after a 33–13 victory over Carolina. I am going to host.

2010 — In the highest-scoring playoff game in NFL history, the Arizona Cardinals beat the Green Bay Packers 51–45, with a 17-yard fumble return given to Carlos Dansby for a touchdown in overtime.

2011 — Top-ranked Auburn defeats No. 2 Oregon, 22-19, in the BCS title game. His 19-yard field goal (with no time remaining) for Wes Byram—his sixth game-winning field goal of his career—capacitates a 14-0 season.

2015 — North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz runs a 5-yard run for the winning touchdown about a minute after Illinois State took the lead on Tre Roberson’s 58-yard run, and Bison makes a thrilling run. The 29-27 victory made them the first team to win four consecutive FCS championships. .

2015 — Tom Brady sets a career postseason touchdown pass record in a 35–31 win over Baltimore, leading New England from two 14-point deficits. Brady broke Joe Montana’s record with his 46 TD passes after the season and the Patriots reached his fourth consecutive AFC Championship his game.

2016 — Blair Walsh’s 27-yard field goal challenges frigid winds at Minnesota Hook with 22 seconds remaining to give the Seattle Seahawks a 10-9 victory over the Vikings in a wild card round playoff game in freezing weather brought

2016 — Alex Ovechkin scores his 500th and 501st goals, becoming the 43rd NHL player to reach the milestone as the Washington Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 7–1.

Associated PressEdit

And finally

From Joe Montana to Dwight Clarke, “The Catch” and Vin Scully to call. See and hear here.