Let’s start with the…

NBA 🏀

What if I told you there’s a way to know whether a team can win the NBA Finals… before the regular season is even over?

🎥 Check this out!

Quick note: After this was made, the Celtics did win two in a row to get to 40-20. But like the video said, you have to win 40 before you lose 20 for the rule to work! And they did get CRUSHED by the Hornets on Wednesday night, 118-89.

🧠 What do you think?

Now, I didn’t make you pick between the Spurs or Pistons…

But they did play last night!

🎥 Want to see who won?

Wow, Wemby, we see you! 38 points and 16 rebounds. Maybe it is the Spurs’ year…

We’ll have to wait three months to find out.

But earlier this week we did crown a champion in…

Unrivaled 🏀

Quick reminder:

• Unrivaled is where some of the best WNBA players compete in the W’s offseason.

• Games are 3v3 (instead of the regular 5v5).

• There’s no clock in the fourth quarter. After the end of the third, the leading team’s score plus 11 points becomes the “winning score,” and the first team to reach it wins.

The playoffs started one week ago, with six of the eight teams qualifying.

Since then, they’ve played a single-elimination tournament: one game, winner advances, loser goes home.

And Wednesday night? The last two teams standing battled for the championship.

The matchup? Kelsey Plum’s Phantom vs. Breanna Stewart’s Mist.

The winner?

🎥 See for yourself!

Wow!

Mist win…

On a Breanna Stewart free throw…

After the original call of an offensive foul was overturned.

And yes, if you were paying close attention, that free throw was worth two points!

In Unrivaled, shooting fouls result in a single free throw that matches the point value of the attempt.

So, a free throw is worth two or three points depending on what the player was shooting!

Some fans think the NBA should adopt a similar rule to speed things up! 🤔

Now, we wait for May when the WNBA season will hopefully start.

Why hopefully? Well, the league’s players and owners can’t agree on how to divide up the money from TV commercials and ticket sales…

It’s a reminder that professional sports isn’t always just for fun... it’s also a big business.

Let’s just hope they agree so we get to see Caitlin Clark drop bombs from the logo. 💣

And speaking of bombs, let’s finish with the…

World Baseball Classic ⚾️

🎥 Should we start with a grand slam?

That was Korea’s Boh Gyung Moon (BOH-gyuhng MOON) giving his team the lead in an 11-4 win over the Czech Republic.

Korea vs. Czech Republic… in Tokyo, Japan.

Wait, how does this tournament actually work?

🎥 Here’s everything you need to know!

Today (Friday), the US plays Brazil. By the time we’re back on Tuesday, they’ll be done with three of their four pool games.

And, hopefully, we’ll also have some Shohei Ohtani highlights to watch.

We’ll see you then, Smallballers!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

But today we’re going all NBA.

Ready for best game, wildest play, and biggest news?

Best Game 🙌

The word “tanking” can mean a few different things in the NBA.

For example, as we read last week, the Utah Jazz are tanking: trying to lose (or at least not trying very hard to win) so they get a better draft pick.

The Denver Nuggets are doing a different kind of tanking: they’re 5-5 in their last 10 games.

And they’ve dropped to fifth in the Western Conference standings.

Last night, these two very different tankers battled in Salt Lake City.

🎥 Want to see who won?

An ugly win!

But Denver will tank it. Oops, I mean take it. (Sorry! 😬)

Now, grab the time machine. Because we’re going back to Sunday for the…

Wildest Play 🤯

76ers at Celtics.

No Joel Embiid for Philly (he’s out for a few games with a strained oblique).

No Jayson Tatum for Boston (he’s been out all season with a torn achilles tendon).

Celtics up by six with less than three minutes left.

🎥 Watch what happened!

Yes, that was Philly’s star rookie, VJ Edgecombe, diving for a loose ball and… accidentally kicking a fan in the face.

You have questions. We have answers:

Was everyone okay?

Yes, both VJ and the fan stayed in (or at) the game.

Who got the ball?

After replay review, Philly got the ball.

Who won the game?

Boston went on an 11-1 run after this and won, 114-98.

Did VJ call the fan after the game?

Wow, that is a very specific question.

🎥 But, yes, he did!

Here’s what else VJ said after the game:

Just making a hustle play... I’m trying to win, doing whatever it takes to win.

I see the rebound. I tried to take it out of his hand and tapped it out, and then I just dove.

To be honest, I don’t care. Like, if there’s a loose ball and I have to go dive for the ball, I’m gonna dive for the ball. I don’t care.

I mean, I’m gonna put my body on the line every time.

That’s how much I love the game.

Love that!

And speaking of games…

Imagine you’re playing in an NBA game. You dive for a loose ball. You crash into the seats.

Hungry? Good.

Let’s move on to…

Biggest News 📰

You know Jayson Tatum got hurt in the playoffs last year.

You know he hasn’t played yet this season.

But did you know he might be coming back very soon?

Some experts are saying he could play as soon as Friday, when the Celtics play the Mavericks.

It’ll be a huge accomplishment when he returns. The result of months of hard work to get his body ready to play again.

The neat part for us is that he filmed his recovery journey.

🎥 And we get to watch these behind-the-scenes videos!

Very impressive. Very interesting.

And it got us thinking…

What do NBA players actually do all day?

We watch the games. We know the 48 minutes.

But what about the part we can’t see?

When do they wake up? What do they eat? Do they really all take naps? (Spoiler: most of them do.)

And why does every player do something completely different in pregame warmups?

I started reading everything I could find. And honestly? It’s really fun.

Now, I’m taking notes for a story. 👀

In the meantime… got questions? Things you wonder about when the cameras aren’t on?

Drop them in the comments so we can find answers! 🧠💭

See you Friday, Smallballers!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

But Smallball’s back, and we’ve got a ton to cover today! So let’s get right to the…

NBA 🏀

The All-Star Game was a fun distraction.

But the REAL action starts now.

Take a look at the standings:

Here’s a reminder of what happens after 82 regular season games:

• The top 6 teams in each conference make the playoffs automatically.

• Teams that finish 7th through 10th go to the Play-In Tournament where they battle it out for the last two playoff spots.

• Once all 8 teams per conference are set, the best-of-7 series begin.

• It’s a bracket, and in the first round #1 plays #8, #2 plays #7, #3 plays #6, #4 plays #5.

• That means finishing higher in the standings gets you an easier first-round matchup.

And that means every single game from here on out matters!

So, with under 30 games left, here’s one big question for each team chasing a playoff spot.

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder — When will Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams return from injury? The defending champs need their stars healthy to hold the #1 seed.

2. San Antonio Spurs — Can they catch OKC for the #1 seed? They’re only 2.5 games back and riding the league’s longest win streak (nine).

3. Denver Nuggets — Can they get everyone healthy in time for the playoffs? Denver’s starting five has only played a few games together this season… and Aaron Gordon’s still out.

4. Houston Rockets — Can they get back to their early-season form? They opened the year 10-3, their best start since 1993, but have cooled off recently.

5. LA Lakers — Is this Luka’s team… or does it only work when the Big Three (Luka, LeBron, Austin Reaves) play together?

6. Minnesota Timberwolves — Is a third straight Western Conference Finals run realistic? You’d better believe Anthony Edwards thinks so.

7. Phoenix Suns — Dillon Brooks broke his hand and is out 4-6 weeks. Devin Booker’s hurt too. Can Jalen Green step up and carry the offense until they’re back?

8. Golden State Warriors — When is Steph coming back… and how far can he carry this team without Jimmy Butler?

9. Portland Trail Blazers — Will Deni Avdija lead the rebuilding Blazers all the way to the playoffs? He’s averaging over 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists per game and has Portland playing better than anyone expected.

10. LA Clippers — They traded James Harden to Cleveland and Ivica Zubac to Indiana, but they still have Kawhi Leonard. Are the Clippers going for the playoffs or giving up on the year?

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons — What will it take for Cade Cunningham to win MVP? Detroit has the best record in the East… and all the West’s biggest stars have missed games due to injury.

2. Boston Celtics — Will Jayson Tatum return from his Achilles injury before the playoffs? He’s been practicing recently, but the Celtics are humming without him thanks to Jaylen Brown.

3. New York Knicks — Can the Knicks finally find consistency? They went 7-8 in January but are 7-3 so far in February.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers — Does adding James Harden give the Cavs enough firepower to challenge Detroit down the stretch? Harden’s 5-1 with the team so far.

5. Toronto Raptors — Can the young core of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley keep this surprising run going? They’re one of the youngest teams in the league and have exceeded every preseason expectation.

6. Philadelphia 76ers — Can Joel Embiid stay healthy enough to play alongside the epic Tyrese Maxey–VJ Edgecombe backcourt? When all three are on the court, this team is scary. The question is how often that actually happens.

7. Orlando Magic — Can the Magic live up to the hype? They went all-in this offseason trading for Desmond Bane, and the talent is there with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Seventh isn’t good enough.

8. Miami Heat — Can the Heat avoid the Play-In Tournament? They’re right on the bubble. Tyler Herro has dealt with ankle, toe, and rib injuries this season, and his health the rest of the way could be the difference.

9. Atlanta Hawks — How much higher is Jalen Johnson’s ceiling? He’s averaging over 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists… and he’s only 24.

10. Charlotte Hornets — Can this young team actually make the playoffs? They just ripped off a 9-game win streak (their longest since 1999).

The teams we DIDN’T list above?

No question at all. They’re tanking.

So what is tanking? And why do teams do it?

Tanking is when a team loses on purpose (or at least doesn’t try very hard to win). The goal is simple: finish with a worse record and get a higher draft pick.

Experts say the next draft class is loaded with college stars who could become NBA superstars.

When the prize at the end is that good, some teams would rather lose more now in order to win later.

The problem? Boring games!

So the NBA isn’t happy about it.

The Utah Jazz were fined $500,000 for pulling their best players out of games they were winning. The Indiana Pacers were fined $100,000 for sitting their stars unnecessarily.

Commissioner Adam Silver said tanking is “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory,” and new anti-tanking rules are coming next season.

What do you think?

Oh, and we almost forgot…

Last night two of the top three teams in the NBA played: Spurs at Pistons.

San Antonio led at the half, 57-55.

🎥 Want to see who won?

Now, let’s move on to the…

Winter Olympics ⛷️🏔️

Everything just finished in Italy!

Here’s the final medal count:

🥇 Norway — 41 medals (18 gold)

🥈 USA — 33 medals (12 gold)

🥉 Italy — 30 medals (10 gold)

By the way, athletes from Colorado won five medals for Team USA including three golds!

Finished singing?

Great, let’s talk highlights…

Team USA won both men’s and women’s hockey golds. And both games went to overtime against Canada.

🎥 On the women’s side, Megan Keller buried the golden goal.

🎥 Then, Jack Hughes scored the winner for the men’s team, giving the US its first men’s hockey gold since 1980.

The US is only the second country ever to sweep both hockey golds at the same Olympics.

Staying on the ice…

🎥 Want to see Alysa Liu win the gold in figure skating and end a 24-year drought for American women in the event?

And on the snow…

Lucas Pinheiro Braathen (LOO-kahs pin-YAIR-oh BRAHT-en) became the first Brazilian and South American EVER to win a Winter Olympic medal.

And it wasn’t a bronze. It wasn’t a silver. It was gold in giant slalom.

🎥 And Breezy Johnson won gold in the women’s downhill.

Oh, and her boyfriend proposed to her a few days later race and they’re getting married! Not a bad trip to Italy.

One last thing before we leave the Olympics…

Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (say it with me: Yo-HAH-nes HURSE-flot KLAH-boh).

Yeah, he won SIX gold medals.

He swept every single men’s cross-country skiing event: the 10km, the skiathlon, the sprint, the team sprint, the relay, and the 50km marathon.

That’s the most golds ever by one athlete at a single Winter Olympics. He now has 11 career Olympic golds.

The only person with more? Retired swimmer Michael Phelps with 23.

The next big global competition starts in less than two weeks. And this time, it’s on a diamond.

Baseball ⚾️

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is basically the World Cup of baseball.

The best players in the world, including many MLB stars, go back and represent their home countries.

Twenty countries are competing this year, with games in Miami, Houston, San Juan, and Tokyo.

If you didn’t watch the last one in 2023…

It came down to Japan vs. Team USA in the final.

Bottom of the 9th.

Japan’s Shohei Ohtani pitching against Team USA’s Mike Trout. At the time, they were TEAMMATES on the Angels.

🎥 Want to see what happened?

Yep, Ohtani struck him out to win it all.

Expect more 🎆🎇🧨 this year, because the teams are absolutely stacked.

Aaron Judge is captaining Team USA and is joined by Bryce Harper, Paul Skenes, and Cal Raleigh.

Japan has Ohtani back.

The Dominican Republic is rolling out a great lineup including Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

It’s going to be awesome when it starts on March 5!

And right after the WBC championship on March 17? MLB Opening Day is March 26.

Baseball season is (almost) here.

Have a great week and we’ll see you Friday!

P.S. Can you figure out the current NBA player whose dad is #20 shown at the top of the story?

Pay attention to this clue, Warriors fans!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

This post!

😬😬😬

Yesterday was the NBA trade deadline. Today, the Winter Olympics is beginning in Italy. And on Sunday, the NFL season is ending with the Super Bowl.

Let’s get into it!

NBA Trade Deadline 🏀

So… yesterday was WILD.

But first: what even is the trade deadline?

During the NBA season, teams are allowed to trade players with each other. Maybe your team needs a better shooter. Or wants to get younger. Teams can swap players (and future draft picks) to try to make their rosters better.

But they can’t do it forever. The league sets a deadline at a specific day and time. And once that clock hits zero, that’s it.

No more trades until after the playoffs.

And this year a LOT happened before that clock ran out.

The biggest moves:

• James Harden → Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are trying to win it all this season, and they just added one of the best scorers in NBA history. In return, the Clippers got younger with Darius Garland. He’s awesome… but also injured.

• Ivica Zubac → Indiana Pacers. The Pacers landed the Clippers’ starting center in exchange for two young players and a couple of future draft picks. Indiana’s reloading for next year when Tyrese Haliburton returns from injury.

• Kristaps Porzingis → Golden State Warriors. The Warriors sent Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks to get the 7-foot-2 big man. Steph Curry has a new teammate!

• Jaren Jackson Jr. → Utah Jazz. The Grizzlies traded one of their stars to Utah for future first-round picks (and a few role players).

• Anthony Davis → Washington Wizards. This was the wildest one: a massive, nine-player deal between the Mavericks and Wizards and Hornets as Dallas rebuilds around Cooper Flagg.

But the trade everyone was waiting for? It didn’t happen.

Giannis Antetokounmpo. Two-time MVP. One of the best players on the planet. Stayed right where he is in Milwaukee.

The Bucks had been getting calls from teams like the Heat, the Timberwolves, the Warriors, and the Knicks. Milwaukee said no. For now.

But this story isn’t over. Giannis is injured and might sit out the rest of the season. So while the Bucks held onto him at the deadline, most experts expect he will be traded this summer.

Rosters are locked, the playoff push is on, and every game matters. 🍿

Speaking of which…

🎥 Want to see the best game from last night? No Steph for the Warriors. No Devin Booker for the Suns. Yes DRAMA!

Let’s move on to the…

Winter Olympics ⛷️🏔️

TODAY IS THE DAY! (Well, if you’re reading this on Friday…)

The 2026 Winter Olympics are officially here. The opening ceremony is happening today at San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy.

Now, we like to be precise, so we should tell you that some events have actually already started.

Curling began on Wednesday, and a few other sports got going early too.

That’s normal for the Olympics. Some events need a head start because there are so many to fit in.

Yep, 16 different sports.

Want to know them all?

1. Alpine Skiing — racing down mountains at insane speeds

2. Biathlon — cross-country skiing + rifle shooting. Yes, really

3. Bobsled — rocket down an icy track in a sled at up to 90+ mph

4. Cross-Country Skiing — long-distance skiing across flat and hilly terrain

5. Curling — sliding stones on ice toward a target (it’s way more intense than it sounds!)

6. Figure Skating — spins, jumps, and sparkly outfits

7. Freestyle Skiing — basically skiing’s wildest tricks

8. Ice Hockey — you know this one 🏒

9. Luge — lying flat on your back on a tiny sled, flying feet-first down an icy track

10. Nordic Combined — ski jumping + cross-country skiing, back to back

11. Short Track Speed Skating — speed skating on a shorter loop with tight turns and big crashes

12. Skeleton — like luge, but face-first and headfirst. Seriously

13. Ski Jumping — launching off a giant ramp and soaring through the air. Also seriously

14. Ski Mountaineering — 🆕 You saw the video earlier this week… athletes race uphill and downhill on skis through mountain terrain

15. Snowboarding — halfpipe, slopestyle, big air, cross

16. Speed Skating — racing around an oval track at incredible speeds

💭 Which sport are you most excited to watch over the next few weeks? Drop your answer and tell us why in the comments!

🧠 Now, trivia: Which US state is sending the most athletes to the Winter Olympics? Think about it for a second...

The answer: Colorado! With over 30 athletes.

That’s out of 232 total Olympians on the US team from 32 different states. 🇺🇸

One last thing: the first medals will be awarded tomorrow (Saturday)!

Right before the…

Super Bowl 🏈🏟️

Sunday. Super Bowl LX. (That’s 60 in Roman numerals.)

Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots.

Ask your parents if this matchup sounds familiar… It should! Because these two teams played in Super Bowl XLIX (49) in 2015.

That game ended with one of the most famous plays in NFL history.

Patriots leading 28-24 with 26 seconds left. Seahawks with the ball near the Patriots’ end zone. Touchdown wins the game.

🎥 Watch what happened next!

Let’s just say… Seahawks fans have not forgotten.

So what are the big storylines this time around? Here are a few to watch:

• Sam Darnold’s moment. The Seahawks’ quarterback has had one of those careers where people kept counting him out. Now he’s got a chance to win it all.

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba (aka JSN). The Seahawks’ star wide receiver led the entire NFL in receiving yards this season. He’ll be the toughest matchup on the field.

• Drake Maye on the big stage. The Patriots’ young QB is only in his second year… and he’s already playing for a championship. No pressure, right?

• A new dynasty? The Patriots are going for their SEVENTH Super Bowl title. No franchise has ever won that many. Pats and Steelers both have six.

Experts think the Seahawks should win by 4-5 points.

Before we get your prediction…

There are two traditions that might be even bigger than the game itself.

#1: The Commercials 📺

Super Bowl commercials are a whole event of their own. Companies spend up to $10 million for 30 seconds of airtime. Some of the funniest and weirdest commercials of the year show up during the Super Bowl.

And some people watch just to see the ads!

#2: The Guessing Games 🎲

Every year, people try to predict things about the Super Bowl… not just who wins. Things like:

• The coin toss. Will it be heads or tails? Tails has won two of the last three!

• The national anthem. People try to guess exactly how long it’ll take!

• The Gatorade bath. You know the tradition: when a team wins, the players dump a giant cooler of Gatorade on their coach’s head. The question is: what color will it be?

Ready to make some predictions?

Remember your predictions and see how many you get right!

That’s all for today! What a weekend we’ve got ahead of us.

And you know we’ll be back next week to break it all down!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

And today, we’ve got a post packed with basketball, football, and the Winter Olympics.

So, what’s with the title?

Guess you’ll have to keep reading! Starting with the…

NBA 🏀⛹️‍♂️

Best game: You’d expect the 31-17 Rockets to easily handle the 13-37 Pacers, right?

And with a 63-56 halftime lead, it seemed like Houston was pulling away.

🎥 But check out these second half highlights!

Alperen Şengün: not a point guard! (Also not an All Star! More on that in a moment…)

But he had 39 points and 16 rebounds, and led Houston to a close win!

Wildest play: Since they’re from the same game, let’s pick two!

Timberwolves vs. Grizzlies.

🎥 For Minnesota, here’s Ant somehow getting it to go!

🎥 And for Memphis, two of GG Jackson’s 16 points off the bench!

The better play? You decide.

The winning team? Memphis with the upset, 137-128.

Biggest news: A few weeks ago, we learned the 10 players who were voted All-Star Game starters.

Now, we know the 14 other All Stars. Here’s the rest of the West:

And the East:

🧠 Want to play a quick game?

Of the 30 NBA teams, how many have multiple players on the All Star roster? Drop your answer in the comments! 💭

Now, let’s move on to…

Unrivaled 🏀⛹️‍♀️

Remember Unrivaled?

We learned about the new, player-led 3-on-3 league in a post last year:

Unrivaled was born from a simple idea:

What if WNBA players didn’t have to fly far from home just to keep playing and take care of their families?

For years, most WNBA players couldn’t rely on their WNBA jobs alone to support themselves or their families. So after the W season ended, many had to go play overseas in places like Turkey, Russia, or Australia.

Co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Unrivaled was built by players, for players… with better pay, better support, and more say in how things work.

The league features fast-paced, full-court action with star-studded teams, vibrant visuals, and a family-first setup that includes things like on-site childcare. The vibe? Part playground, part pro league, and 100% thrilling.

And now, the 2026 season is underway!

Over the next month, 48 players on 8 teams will compete for a championship.

Last Friday, the Breeze played the Phantom in Philadelphia.

And the 21,490 fans who attended made it the largest crowd for a women’s regular season basketball game…ever.

Also amazing: the fourth quarter drama!

Here’s how it works:

• The first three quarters are seven minutes each.

• After the end of the third quarter, the leading team’s score plus 11 points becomes the “winning score.”

• There’s no clock in the fourth quarter, and the first team to reach the winning score wins.

Want to see what it looks like?

🎥 Here’s Breeze vs. Phantom in front of the record crowd!

That game-winning bucket?

Phantom’s Kelsey Plum.

Point guard. 👉💂

But how will we talk about point guards in the…

NFL 🏈👔

Good question!

The Super Bowl is on Sunday, and we’ll have a preview on Friday.

You know it’s Patriots vs. Seahawks. Drake Maye vs. Sam Darnold.

But did you know one of Darnold’s secrets to success?

Thinking like a point guard. 👉💂

Here’s part of an article in The Athletic:

When Sam Darnold arrived in San Francisco before the 2023 season, his NFL career was at a crossroads. The third pick in 2018, he had washed out [with] the New York Jets and spent two unsatisfying seasons with the Carolina Panthers. His career opportunities drying up, he signed with the 49ers to back up Brock Purdy, a quarterback whose path resembled his polar opposite.

The last pick of the 2022 draft, Purdy’s career had unfolded like a fairy tale — an unlikely trip to the NFC Championship in Year 1, a Super Bowl appearance in Year 2. Listed at a generous 6 feet 1 and athletically nondescript, Purdy was perpetually overlooked and consistently successful, and at some point during the 2023 season, he shared a piece of advice that lodged itself in Darnold’s brain.

One secret to playing quarterback in the NFL was to think like a point guard, to put the ball in the hands of your playmakers and set up others to have success.

“Like, my job is just to play point and get the ball in their hands and let them go do great things with the rock,” Darnold told reporters in March, relaying the message. “When I changed my thought process as a quarterback to kind of just getting the ball in my guys’ hands, that’s really where it unlocked for me.”

It might sound like Purdy was arguing for a change in style. But rather he was outlining a shift in mindset, a mental trick to simplify the position, an idea that can be expanded beyond the sports realm — the power of the point-guard mentality.

The argument: When people stop thinking of themselves as the hero in their personal narrative — and instead focus on how they can set up others — their own performance can benefit.

For Darnold, the change in mentality was a catalyst for a breakout season in Minnesota in 2024 — where he threw for 35 touchdowns and won 14 games — and another excellent season for the Seattle Seahawks, where he again won 14 games...

Think like a point guard.

It’s an easy metaphor. The point guard requires vision, selflessness and tactical awareness. They are, by positional requirement, facilitators and distributors, often asked to see the whole floor and initiate the action. But they don’t have to do it all; they just have to put others in a place to succeed.

So, the next time you’ve got a basketball or football in your hands or soccer ball at your feet…

Try thinking: how can I help my teammates score?

Now, let’s pass the mic over to the…

Winter Olympics ⛷️⛸️

🎥 This should tell you everything you need to know!

Wait…

That didn’t tell me anything!

Okay, here goes…

Ready to watch the best snow and ice athletes on the planet? The 2026 Winter Olympics are here! ❄️🏅

Where and When? 📍

Location: Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy (plus a few other locations in betewen)

This is the first time ever that two cities are co-hosting the Olympics together. Milan is a huge city famous for fashion and soccer. Cortina is a small mountain town in the Alps that’s perfect for skiing.

Dates: February 6–22, 2026

Opening ceremony: San Siro Stadium in Milan. That’s the home stadium for two famous Italian soccer clubs: AC Milan and Inter Milan.

Closing ceremony: The Verona Arena. It’s an ancient Roman amphitheater that’s almost 2,000 years old.

By the Numbers 🔢

• 116 medal events (the most ever at a Winter Olympics!)

• 16 different sports

• Nearly 3,000 athletes

• 93 countries

• 15 venues spread across four main areas

• 47% of athletes are women (the most balanced Winter Olympics in history)

What Sports Can You Watch? 🎿⛸️

The 16 sports include classics like figure skating, ice hockey, skiing, and snowboarding.

But also…

Ski mountaineering is making its Olympic debut! What’s that?

Oh, just athletes race up and down mountains, switching between skiing and running on foot.

🎥 It looks exhausting. (And awesome.)

Other new events this year include women’s large hill ski jumping, women’s doubles luge, and mixed team skeleton.

What About the Point Guard? 👉💂

Meet Brittany Bowe.

She’s a two-time Olympic bronze medalist in speed skating.

But here’s the twist: she didn’t grow up on the ice!

In college, Bowe was a point guard at Florida Atlantic University.

After watching the 2010 Winter Olympics on TV, she decided to try speed skating. She moved to Utah, learned from scratch, and just a few years later? Olympic medalist.

So… yeah… When people say, “Work hard and you can do anything,” she proves it!

Now 37, Bowe’s heading to her fourth and final Olympics in Milan.

Meet the Mascots! 🦦

Tina and Milo, who you saw earlier?

They’re stoats, which are small furry animals related to weasels. Tina is the Olympic mascot (named after Cortina), and Milo is the Paralympic mascot (named after Milano... the Italian way of saying Milan).

One More Thing 🇮🇹

This is the third time Italy has hosted the Winter Olympics. The first was in Cortina way back in 1956 (check out these cool pictures!). The second was in Turin in 2006.

Now it’s 2026, and Italy is ready to show off again.

Let the Games begin!

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So, get your finger or mouse (or however you click) ready…

It’s time to make your picks!

First up: trivia!

Earlier this week, we read about the 10 starters for the upcoming NBA All-Star Game.

But let’s look at another way to measure who fans think is the best player: jersey sales!

Got your guess in? Good.

Because there were a bunch of great games in the NBA last night…

So, we’re moving from trivia to choose your own adventure!

You decide! Would you rather watch the highlights from:

The game with the player with the best-selling jersey (say that five times fast!).

Did you guess right?

P.S. Here’s the rest of the top 15!

The game with the closest score.

The game that went to overtime.

The battle for LA between the Clippers and Lakers.

Please tell me you’re not trying to choose “All of the above” again because we’ve got to move on to…

Prediction time!

The NFL’s conference championship games are on Sunday.

In the AFC, it’s the #1-seed Broncos hosting the #2-seed Patriots.

Here’s the case for each team, courtesy of ESPN:

• For the Broncos:

“In the wake of the news that [QB Bo] Nix is out for the season… But there’s always a chance, and for the Broncos, it’s based on their defense countering what the Patriots do best. Denver’s defense will have to deliver an AFC Championship Game win and a trip to the Super Bowl. But it can.

The Broncos’ secondary boasts a superstar cornerback in Pat Surtain II, a strong nickel back in [Ja'Quan] McMillian and a hard-hitting safety in Talanoa Hufanga. The Broncos’ pass rush also has an advantage over New England’s offensive line, powered by players such as edge rusher Nik Bonitto and defensive tackle Zach Allen...

As for the Broncos’ biggest question, [backup QB Jarrett] Stidham will be protected by arguably the league’s best offensive line. While Stidham is clearly a massive downgrade from Nix, the rest of Denver’s roster is loaded.

That gives the Broncos a shot (albeit a long shot) to advance.”

• For the Patriots:

“Jarrett Stidham is starting for Denver. There are many reasons the Patriots could and should win against the Broncos, but there’s nothing quite as impactful as Denver starting a backup quarterback. And it means that in the most important phase of any football game -- passing offense -- the Broncos are severely outmatched.

That’s not only because of Stidham. The Patriots have, in my view, the MVP from this regular season [in QB Drake Maye]… And though the Broncos’ pass rush and secondary will make life more difficult for Maye, he also led all quarterbacks in scramble rate (10.3%). Plus, Denver’s defense isn’t quite in the same league as the Texans, whom the Patriots just beat.

Maye will hardly have to be perfect because of who is on the other side. The Broncos will be diminished with Stidham at quarterback, and that should be enough for the best passing offense in the NFL. New England’s defense isn’t elite, but it’s a heck of a lot better with defensive tackle Milton Williams on the field and cornerback Christian Gonzalez’s recent improvement in the postseason.

Unless things go unexpectedly awry, the Patriots should be Super Bowl-bound.”

In the NFC, it’s the #1-seed Seahawks hosting the #5-seed Rams.

ESPN’s reasons why each team should win?

• For the Seahawks:

“Because they’re the hottest team in football. Seattle is coming off back-to-back games against San Francisco in which… San Francisco scored nine points combined. So while the Seahawks split with the Rams in the regular season, Seattle’s defense looks better now than at any point this season.

Seattle can serve as the perfect counter to Los Angeles’ potent offense. The Rams had the highest success rate on designed runs in the regular season, but the Seahawks ranked first in defensive success rate on designed runs. And the Seahawks can get after the quarterback if they get the Rams behind the sticks.

Offensively, [QB Sam] Darnold played well Saturday, quieting some fears about his performance in the second half of the regular season. Seattle’s running game has been better, too.

Add in home-field advantage and an extra day of rest, and the Seahawks should be strong favorites.”

• For the Rams:

“They have the advantage at the game’s most important position. Sometimes, the most obvious reason is the right one. Matthew Stafford might be the league’s MVP…

[T]hanks to Stafford and wide receiver Puka Nacua through the air, as well as a running game with the highest success rate in the NFL (50%), the Rams’ offense has been incredible this season.

And though their defense has had shaky moments, it still ranked 10th in EPA per play entering Sunday. So while the Rams have the advantage at quarterback, that’s not the only reason they’ll win.”

🧠 EPA stands for Expected Points Added and is an advanced way of measuring how much each play changes a team’s chance of scoring.

Now that you know all that…

Since we spent a bunch of time looking ahead… want to take eight minutes to look back?

2016 AFC Championship Game. Broncos vs. Patriots.

But instead of Stidham vs. Maye it was two of the greatest QBs of all time: Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

🎥Watch what happened!

And yes, the Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl.

Thanks for making your picks!

Want to hear my favorite pick-related joke?

What’s the difference between boogers and broccoli?

Kids don’t eat broccoli. 😂

Have a great weekend!

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If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

1. Know whether Indiana or Miami won the college football national championship?

2. See the top 15 plays from the second round of the NFL playoffs? Or

3. Learn which 10 NBA players were named starters in the upcoming All Star Game?

What’s that? You’re asking whether you can choose “All of the above?”

GREAT QUESTION.

Yes, you sure can.

But, before we dive in…

If you watched any sports on TV this weekend, you probably saw special messages honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

🎥 Here’s one I loved featuring some of the best players in the NBA!

👏👏👏

It’s good to remember that sports are just for fun. We play and watch because we love the game.

Thankfully, famous athletes also have the ability to use their platforms to support important things like equality, freedom, hope, and peace.

And to help all of us remember and find our own ways to fight for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.

💖💖💖

Now, let’s check out…

College Football 🎓🏈

The experts predicted Indiana. YOU predicted Indiana. What actually happened?

🎥 See for yourself!

Nailed it!

How unlikely was Indiana’s success this season?

Well, before Curt Cignetti became Indiana’s coach in 2023, the school had never won 10 games in a single season. Now, they’ve done it two years in a row.

And this year, they joined the Yale Bulldogs from… 1894… as the only teams in college football history to go 16-0.

Soon, we’ll know who’s joining Indiana as champions of the…

NFL 💼🏈

Remember when you guessed which of the four games would be closest?

Well, here’s the final tally:

• Broncos by 3 over the Bills, 33-30

• Seahawks by 35 over the 49ers, 41-6 (what if they’d beaten them by 49?)

• Patriots by 12 over the Texans, 28-16

• Rams by 3 over the Bears, 20-17

Ding, ding, ding! Take a bow if you said Broncos-Bills or Rams-Bears!

🎥 And when you’re done, why not watch the top 15 plays from a great NFL weekend?

Yes, Bears fans are sad right now. But they should get excited for next season every time they watch that epic, game-tying touchdown!

Did someone say excited?

That brings us to the…

NBA 🏀

Every year, the best players in the NBA are chosen by a combination of fan, media, and player voting to participate in the All Star Game.

It’s a huge honor!

And this year’s game is coming soon: February 15.

Yesterday, we learned the 10 players who got the most votes and will be starters!

All YOU have to do is…

Click here to read all about it on ESPN!

Another fun part of All Star Weekend?

The Slam Dunk Contest!

It’s a competition where some of the best dunkers in the NBA try the coolest and hardest dunks imaginable.

Hardest dunks imaginable… That reminds me…

🎥 Did you see the new Dude Perfect video?

All of the above. Good call!

Now, have a great week, and we’ll see you on Friday!

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If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

Let’s start with…

1️⃣ The NBA regular season is halfway through!

OKC is dominating the Western Conference with a 35-7 record.

While they’re not likely to challenge the 2015 Warriors for best regular season record ever (73-9)…

They’re still six-and-a-half games ahead of the Nuggets and Spurs, who are tied at #2.

And last night, the Thunder were in Houston to take on the Rockets.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Thunder led, 77-75.

🎥 Want to see what happened?

Sorry, Rockets! You’re not going to win many games when you go five-plus minutes without scoring.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons are 29-10, four-and-a-half games ahead of the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.

The Knicks played Steph Curry and the Warriors last night.

🎥 Think they kept it close without their star, Jalen Brunson, who is out with a sprained ankle?

Hard to beat the Warriors when Jimmy Butler scores 32 and Steph adds 27.

Looking beyond the scoreboard, here are a few other stories to watch in the second half of the season:

1. The LA Clippers, led by Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, have recovered from a terrible start. They’re now tied for 10th in the West and look like they’re ready to make a run for a playoff spot.

2. Right behind them are the Dallas Mavericks who look like they’re absolutely NOT ready to make a playoff run. Anthony Davis is hurt and may miss the rest of the season. And Cooper Flagg sprained his ankle Wednesday night in a loss to Denver. Yikes!

3. Teams have a few more weeks to make changes before the February 5 trade deadline. Will Golden State trade Jonathan Kuminga (who hasn’t played in a month) for a player who can score alongside Steph and Jimmy? Will Brooklyn send Michael Porter Jr. to a playoff contender? Is Ja Morant’s time in Memphis done?

Stay tuned!

And in the meantime…

2️⃣ The final four NFL playoff teams will be determined this weekend!

Here’s a quick preview:

• The AFC has the afternoon games, with Denver vs. Buffalo on Saturday and New England vs. Houston on Sunday.

• In the NFC, it’s Seattle vs. San Francisco on Saturday night and Chicago vs. the LA Rams on Sunday night.

Experts think the Broncos will win by 1-2 points, the Patriots by 3, the Rams by 4, and the Seahawks by 7.

What do you think?

We’ll have to wait and see!

But we already know which game should be COLDEST!

Chicago. Sunday evening. Under 20 degrees. And snowing.

Why not grab a mug of hot cocoa and dive into this ESPN article about how NFL players prepare for the coldest games of the year?

3️⃣ College football’s last two teams will play for the national championship on Monday!

Remember the two teams left?

• Miami, who snuck into the last spot in the playoff and upset Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Ole Miss to reach the championship.

• And Indiana, who secured the #1 seed with an undefeated season and beat Alabama and Oregon by a combined score of 94-25 to reach the final.

If Indiana wins, they’ll finish one of the most surprising and incredible seasons in college football history.

And experts think they will! 70% chance Indiana wins, 30% Miami pulls off the upset.

One twist? The game is being played in Miami. It’s a decision that’s made years in advance.

But it could be a huge advantage for the Hurricanes!

🎥 Check out this analysis from former CU Buffaloes QB Joel Klatt!

Prediction time!

We can’t wait to watch!

And we can’t wait to see you again on Tuesday to see how we did! Have a great weekend!

P.S. Leave a comment if you figured out why this post was called Half of Four Is Two. 🤔💬

P.P.S. In 2005, the Texas Longhorns beat Joel Klatt and the Colorado Buffaloes 70-3 on the way to a national championship!

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Presenting: The 12 Days of Christmas Smallball.

Here’s everything you need to know across college football, the NBA, and the NFL in 2026.

Bonus points if you sing out loud to your family. 🎶

On the first day of Smallball the sports world gave to me…

The quarterfinals of the CFP!

The winners?

Miami over Ohio State, so the defending champs are out.

Oregon over Texas Tech in a blowout, 23-0.

Indiana over Alabama in an even bigger blowout, 38-3.

🎥 And in the best game of the quarterfinals…

Ole Miss over Georgia.

On the second day of Smallball the sports world gave to me…

Alright, alright. I was kidding. We’re not doing the whole song. But we do have one update per day!

And on January 2nd…

🎥 Watch what Giannis did in the final seconds against Charlotte!

On January 3rd, the spotlight was on LA, where the Clippers hosted the Boston Celtics.

But it wasn’t Kawhi Leonard or James Harden who stole the show…

🎥 Because Boston’s Jaylen Brown dropped 50!

On the 4th, the Suns played the Thunder.

Nobody scored 50… or 40… or even 30. Devin Booker led both teams with 24 points.

🎥 But you’ve got to see his last three!

On day five, all five of the Nuggets’ regular starters were out due to injury.

Surely the 76ers blew them out, right? Right?

🎥 Not so fast!

How about a game-winner on a goal-tending?!?

On the 6th, the best highlight wasn’t a play that happened during a game…

🎥 Watch this all the way to the end!

Yes, that was Victor Wembanyama KICKING. A. BALL. OUT. OF. THE. NET.

An NBA rim is 10 feet tall. And the bottom of the net is just below that. So, he had his foot higher off the ground than most of us can reach with our hands on our highest jump!

We made it to January 7th without talking about Steph Curry?

Let’s fix that.

🎥 Check out Giannis and the Bucks vs. Steph and the Warriors!

Giannis scored 34 and Steph scored 31.

But more importantly: Warriors 120, Bucks 113.

Need a quick basketball break?

Thursday, January 8: the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Miami vs. Ole Miss. Final five minutes. Ole Miss leading by two.

🎥 Watch what happened!

On the 9th, Indiana and Oregon played in the second semifinal.

It was a rematch from October 2025, when Indiana won 30-20.

This time…

BLOWOUT!

So, while we wait for the championship game this coming Monday, should we watch the Bucks vs. Lakers ending instead?

On to January 10th and our first NFL update!

It’s playoff time, and on Saturday…

🎥 The Rams beat the Seahawks thanks to this epic catch by tight end Colby Parkinson!

Later that night, the Bears trailed the Packers, 21-3, at halftime. But they came back to win, 31-27.

🎥 This 4th-down conversion from Caleb Williams to Rome Odunze was key!

Then, on Sunday (the 11th)…

The Patriots stomped the Chargers, 16-3.

The 49ers outlasted the Eagles, 23-19, so the defending champs are out in the NFL, too.

And the Bills and Jaguars…

🎥 Well, see for yourself! (Jump ahead to 9:33.)

That means next week, the Bills go to Denver to play the Broncos!

Almost there!

Monday Night Football. January 12th. The last NFL playoff game from round 1.

Texans vs. Steelers. Winner plays the Patriots next week.

And the winner is…

WAIT! Let’s play a quick game!

Here’s what happened:

• Texans QB CJ Stroud fumbled 5 times (the Steelers recovered 2 of them) and he threw an interception.

• Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers fumbled 2 times (the Texans recovered one) and he threw an interception.

• But the Texans still won, 30-6.

It sure helped that Houston’s defense scored two touchdowns!

Here’s a fumble return for a touchdown!

And here’s a pick-six!

Oh, and Stroud?

He became just the second quarterback in the last 35 years to win a game after fumbling at least five times.

Not the best kind of history to make… but a win’s a win.

That’s it! You’re all caught up.

Now good luck trying to get The Twelve Days of Christmas back out of your head.

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

Let’s start with the…

NBA 🏀

The NBA Cup is over!

On Tuesday, the only game on the schedule was the Final between the Knicks and Spurs.

Who won?

🎥 See for yourself!

The game was tight for three quarters… until New York won the fourth, 35-19, to take the Cup.

🧠 But remember! While the Knicks get bragging rights and a bonus payment, the game doesn’t count in the standings!

And already the regular season is back in action. Just last night:

• The Knicks beat the Pacers, 114-113, to reach a six-game winning streak.

• The Pelicans upset the Rockets, 133-128, after Houston led by 25 points in the third quarter.

• The Nuggets beat the Magic, 126-115, and Nikola Jokić had a triple-double and became the center with the most assists in NBA history.

• The Suns snuck away with a win against the Warriors, 99-98, on this controversial foul call with 0.4 seconds left.

• Luka had 45 points, 14 assists, and 11 rebounds in the Lakers win over the Jazz, 143-135.

• And this is how a tight Pistons-Mavericks game ended!

Whew! You got all that?

Then you’re ready for…

College Football 🎓🏈

The playoff starts today!

🧠 Here’s a quick reminder on the format:

• There are 12 teams and four rounds.

• The #1-4 seeds have a bye.

• This week, the #5-12 teams play and the winner of each of the four games advances.

Those first four games?

First, #8 Oklahoma vs. #9 Alabama in a rematch on Friday.

OU won the first game, 23-21, but experts say this one’s a 50/50 toss-up.

Then, on Saturday:

• #7 Texas A&M vs. #10 Miami (experts say 54% chance Texas A&M wins).

• #6 Ole Miss vs. #11 Tulane in another rematch (Ole Miss won the first time, 45-10, and experts say there’s an 84% chance they win again).

• #5 Oregon vs. #12 James Madison (experts say 88% chance Oregon wins).

If you’re excited and want to read more, check out this preview on ESPN!

And let us know what you think…

While we wait to find out, let’s finish with the…

NFL 👔🏈

Thursday Night Football was a MASSIVE game in the NFC West between the Rams and Seahawks.

Both teams entered the game at 11-3, tied for first in the NFC.

After the game?

🎥 You’ll know once you watch this!

We’ve got to talk about those two-point conversions!

With just over six minutes left, the Seahawks failed on a two-point try to tie the game. At least that was the call on the field…

But did you hear the announcer say, “That was clearly backward!”

Because Seahawks QB Sam Darnold threw the ball backward, it’s a fumble and not an incomplete pass.

The ball hit off a Rams player and landed in the end zone…

Where the Seahawks picked it up.

Two-point conversion good. Game tied!

Then, a few minutes later in overtime, the Seahawks scored a touchdown to make it 37-36.

They could have kicked the extra point and played for a tie. But they went for two and the win.

And they got it!

Now, the Seahawks have won five games in a row and are in first in the NFC.

How about the other games this weekend with big playoff consequences?

• The 9-4-1 Packers at 10-4 Bears in an NFC North showdown.

• The 7-7 Buccaneers at 7-7 Panthers for first place in the NFC South.

• The 10-4 Jaguars at 12-2 Broncos in a game between two of the top three teams in the AFC.

• The 8-6 Steelers at 8-6 Lions as both fight for playoff spots.

• The 11-3 Patriots at 7-7 Ravens in a matchup between star QBs Drake Maye and Lamar Jackson.

• And on Monday Night Football, the 10-4 49ers at 8-6 Colts, as grandpa Philip Rivers looks to put Indianapolis back in the playoff picture.

Happy watching, happy holidays, and we’ll see you in 2026!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

We hit “post” on today’s Smallball.

There were a few NBA games still going.

🎥 Then this happened!

Epic!

Nuggets win, 128-125. And Rockets coach Ime Udoka wasn’t happy, calling it “the most poorly officiated game I’ve seen in a long time.”

In other news…

The most well-played game the NBA has ever seen by an 18-year old?

🎥 Check out Cooper Flagg in the Mavericks loss to the Jazz!

He turns 19 on Sunday. And now he’s just the third teenager in NBA history to score at least 40 points in a game.

🧠 Can you name at least one of the others? Drop your answer in the comments!

🧩 Need a hint? Both are still playing (one on the Lakers and one on the Rockets).

Okay, back to the normal post…

And we’ve only got two more dates before Smallball takes a break for the holidays…

So today is stuffed with stories and highlights!

Let’s start with the…

NBA 🏀

The NBA Cup Final is tonight!

While the game doesn’t count in the regular season standings, players on the winning team get bragging rights.

Oh, and over half a million dollars each!

So, who’s playing?

On one side… the San Antonio Spurs!

They beat the Thunder 111-109 in the Western Conference semifinal.

It was a big upset since OKC entered the game on a 16-game winning streak.

San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama (aka Wemby) had missed the last 12 games. But he came up huge against the Thunder and is looking to build on the momentum against…

The New York Knicks!

In the East, Jalen Brunson scored 40 points as New York beat Orlando, 132-120.

🎯 Experts say there’s a 60% chance the Knicks win.

But we want to know…

They’re not in the Cup Final, but the Los Angeles Lakers are actually tied with the Spurs for fourth-best record in the West this season.

And on Sunday night, they played an INTENSE game against the Phoenix Suns.

🎥 Check out this ending!

Whoa! Let’s break it down.

First, Dillon Brooks made a go-ahead three with 12 seconds left. And while it looked like LeBron James fouled him the refs didn’t call it.

So, what did Brooks do? He got in LeBron’s face, got called for a technical foul, and was ejected from the game.

LeBron missed the free throw… but got fouled again, and he ultimately made the game-winning free throws.

🧠 Bad calls happen… but you can’t lose your cool on the court!

And since we’re talking about cool…

🎥 Want to watch Steph Curry score 48 points against Portland?

Yes, the Warriors lost, 136-131. But that was some sweet shooting!

That all happened on Sunday while you were probably watching the…

NFL 👔🏈

Week 15 is done, and there are only three weeks left in the regular season.

Here are the biggest wins from this weekend:

First, the Chargers beat the Chiefs, 16-13.

For the first time since Patrick Mahomes joined the team, Kansas City will miss the playoffs.

And Mahomes? He tore his ACL and is out for the rest of the year.

🧠 Your ACL is a ligament in your knee that connects your thigh and shin bones.

Second, the Broncos beat the Packers, 34-26.

Now, the Broncos are in first place in the AFC. And they’ll get a bye in the first round of the playoffs if they can hold onto this spot.

🎥 Hit play on Denver’s best plays!

The worst part for the Packers?

Micah Parsons, one of the best defensive players in the NFL, also tore his ACL.

Third, the Rams beat the Lions, 41-34.

Now, they’re sitting at #1 in the NFC.

Rams QB Matthew Stafford threw for 368 yards and two touchdowns against his old team.

With that performance, experts think his chances of winning NFL MVP are up to 75%.

Fourth, and speaking of potential MVPs, Josh Allen and the Bills played Drake Maye and the Patriots in an AFC East showdown.

🎥 Want to see what happened with the Bills trailing by 21? (Jump ahead to start at 3:57.)

Bills win, 35-31.

They’re just one game behind the Patriots in the standings. And Allen’s right there with Maye in case Stafford stumbles in the MVP race.

Finally, the Seahawks beat the Colts, 18-16.

Not winning MVP?

Indianapolis QB Philip Rivers.

He had just 120 yards passing, plus one touchdown and one interception in the game.

But here’s why it’s still an incredible story…

Rivers actually retired from the NFL in January 2021! He’s 44 years old… and is even a grandfather!

But with a bunch of injured QBs, the Colts were desperate.

So, Rivers joined the team on Monday, practiced for the first time on Wednesday, and started against Seattle on Sunday.

Here’s what he said after the game:

“I’m grateful that I was out there, and it was a blast. But, obviously, the emotions now are disappointment.

This isn’t about me. We’ve got a team that was scrapping like crazy to try to stay alive and get in the postseason, so obviously, we’re all disappointed.”

Talk about putting the team first!

But hey…

🎥 It’s okay to celebrate your first touchdown pass in five years!

While we’re talking about celebrations, here’s a quick update on…

College Football 🎓🏈

The playoff starts on Friday.

But off the field…

We just found out who won the Heisman Trophy. That’s the award given to the best player in college football each year!

It’s named after John W. Heisman, a famous player and coach from the early 1900s.

His biggest legacy (besides the award)?

Popularizing things that are important to how football is played today, like passing the ball and starting every play with a snap from the center!

This year’s Heisman winner does a lot of both of those things…

It’s Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza!

He threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 33 touchdowns this season. And more importantly, his Hoosiers are undefeated and the #1 team in the College Football Playoff.

🎥 Want to hear the speech he gave when he won the award?

🎥 Now, want to see him in action?

Like Fernando said, “Chasing your dreams is always worth it. No matter how big or impossible they seem!”

Have a great week, Smallballers!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

The Golden State Warriors set the record for most NBA regular season wins in 2015-2016.

What do those events have in common?

Well, we’re talking about both of them in today’s post!

That… plus a bunch of highlights from the last few days are coming your way!

Let’s get rolling with the…

NBA 🏀

Best game: On Friday night, the Houston Rockets played the Phoenix Suns.

For Rockets star Kevin Durant, it was a chance for his new team to beat the team that traded him earlier this year.

And that’s exactly what the Rockets did, winning 117-98.

Oh, and KD?

🎥 Nailed this shot to become the eighth player in NBA history with 31,000 points!

Durant’s been scoring for so long… he used to play against the guy who’s now his coach on the Rockets, Ime Udoka!

🧠 Think you can name one of the other seven players with at least 31,000 career points? Drop your guess in the comments! 💬

Pretty cool, but not our best game.

No, that was last night’s Suns-Timberwolves game in Minnesota.

🎥 Want to see how Phoenix did without Durant against Anthony Edwards?

Despite Edwards’ 40 points, the Suns won, 108-105. It was a true team effort, with the five Phoenix starters scoring 11, 12, 18, 19, and 22 points.

And that brings us to…

Biggest news: On Sunday, Oklahoma City beat Utah, 131-101.

Want to hear something impressive? The Thunder won without their best player, SGA, who sat out with a minor elbow injury.

Now want to hear something really impressive? OKC has won 15 games in a row and is 23-1 so far this season.

Check this out:

Yep, the Thunder are just the second team ever to win 23 of their first 24 games.

And only the 2015-2016 Warriors won all 24.

That team, led by Steph Curry, finished the season with 73 wins and only 9 losses. The best regular season ever.

But guess what? The Warriors lost in the 2016 NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers and… LeBron James.

🎥 Want to see the best plays from the epic Steph vs. LeBron Game 7?

Oh, and after the Game 7 loss? Kevin Durant joined the Warriors. And they won the Finals against LeBron and Cleveland the next year!

It’s all connected!

Which brings us to…

Wildest play: LeBron’s now on the Lakers. His streak of 1,297 straight games with 10+ points just ended.

So what do you think he did on Sunday against Philadelphia?

🎥 See for yourself!

After the game, Luka Dončić said, “That was amazing. That was vintage Bron. We’re happy he was there to save us.”

And we’re happy we get to watch all of this magic (especially with the NBA Cup quarterfinals tonight and tomorrow)!

Now, on to…

College Football 🎓🏈

Best game: Let’s congratulate…

• Indiana for beating Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship, 13-10.

• Georgia for beating Alabama in the SEC Championship, 28-7.

• Texas Tech for beating BYU in the Big 12 Championship, 34-7.

Oh, and… You! For correctly predicting the Indiana-Ohio State game would be the closest of those three games.

🎥 Want to see how Indiana did it?

Ouch! Rough for the Buckeyes to miss a 27-yard field goal that would have tied the game and likely sent it to overtime.

That brings us to…

Biggest news: The good news for Ohio State?

They only dropped one spot in the final College Football Playoff rankings.

Most fans expected Georgia at #2 and Ohio State at #3. But that’s not too crazy.

The GIANT controversy?

Look what happened with Notre Dame and Miami! Neither team played last week, but Miami jumped up two spots to pass Notre Dame and finish at #10.

That’s a HUGE deal!

Because Miami’s in the final spot and Notre Dame missed the playoff. (Remember, the 12 playoff spots go to the five highest-ranked conference champions, which includes #20 Tulane and #24 James Madison, plus the seven other highest-ranked teams.)

So, what’s the big deal? Both Miami and Notre Dame are 10-2. And they happened to play earlier this year: Miami won, 27-24.

I like how ESPN writer David Hale described it:

So while both sat home on their couches on championship weekend, Miami somehow did enough to push its way into the playoff instead of Notre Dame.

Is it a reasonable conclusion? Yes!

Is it a ridiculous process that got us here? A thousand yeses!

While no result will make everyone happy, the least this sport owes [the players, coaches, and fans] is a process they can understand.

But now, it is what it is.

At least there are some great matchups coming:

And at least we still have our…

Wildest play: Neither team made the playoff.

🎥 But check out this wild ending in the ACC Championship!

Duke, known more for its basketball team, just won its first conference championship since 1962!

Hey, didn’t you say something about Monsters, Inc.?

We better move on to…

NFL Week 14 👔🏈

Best game: Two of the best quarterbacks in the world faced off in the snow on Sunday.

So, how could we not choose Joe Burrow and the Bengals vs. Josh Allen and the Bills?

Click here to watch the highlights on NFL.com!

Buffalo trailed 28–18 in the fourth quarter before coming back to win, 39–34.

What does it mean for the playoff picture?

Let’s go to…

Biggest news: There are only four more weeks in the regular season.

Here’s who would be in if the playoffs started today:

• NFC: Rams, Packers, Eagles, Buccaneers, Seahawks, 49ers, and Bears

• AFC: Broncos, Patriots, Jaguars, Steelers, Chargers, Bills, and Texans

Still fighting for a spot? (Left is AFC, right is NFC)

The first team out in the AFC is Indianapolis. And while on paper they have a 32% chance… they just lost QB Daniel Jones to a season-ending Achilles injury.

A few spots down?

The 6-7 Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. They lost to the Texans on Sunday night, 20-10. And now, they might miss the playoffs for the first time in Mahomes’ career.

What’s the mindset in Kansas City? Here’s what coach Andy Reid said:

Listen, it’s never over. You keep battling. I’ve been doing this a long time and seen some things, so you keep going.

Speaking of that…

Wildest play: The Ravens are also outside of the playoff picture because they lost to the Steelers, 27-22.

But some fans think they should have beaten the Steelers.

🎥 Check out this “touchdown” with just over two minutes left!

NFL rules say three things have to be true for a successful catch:

1. The receiver has to secure the ball in his hands or arms.

2. He has to get both feet (or another body part besides his hands) in bounds.

3. After 1 and 2, he must “perform any act common to the game,” like taking another step or tucking the ball.

After review, the referees said #3 wasn’t true for Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely. No catch. No touchdown. No win for Baltimore.

You can’t win ‘em all.

Sometimes when you lose, it’s a mistake you or your teammates make.

Other times, it’s a decision you don’t think is fair by the referees (or the College Football Playoff Committee).

But no matter what happens, you keep playing, and you never give up!

Don’t take it from me.

🎥 Take it from the GOAT, Michael Jordan!

Oh, and remember: sports are supposed to be fun!

That’s why ESPN turned last night’s Monday Night Football game between the Eagles and Chargers (which the Chargers won, 22-19) into a Monsters, Inc. party!

Hope you had fun reading this…

Have a great week, Smallballers!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

First up, the…

NBA 🏀

Because the NBA Cup is in the quarterfinal stage, and those games don’t start until Tuesday, this is the first Friday in a while without Cup games!

But don’t worry! There’s still a ton of action to cover.

Best game: There’s been a lot of talk this week about whether Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to request a trade.

He’s spent his entire 13-year NBA career with the Bucks.

His two brothers, Alex and Thanasis, are also on the team.

And, he led the Bucks to their second NBA championship (the first in 50 years!) in 2021.

But this season? The Bucks have a losing record and don’t look like a team that can compete for a title.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens.

But in the meantime, we can watch what happened Wednesday night, when the 9-13 Bucks played the 17-4 Pistons.

🎥 Hit play on these highlights!

What a clutch finish for the Bucks to win, 113-109!

But what a terrible start, with Giannis going down with a right calf injury. Now, he’s expected to miss a few weeks.

Maybe it’s a preview of the Bucks’ future without him?

That brings us to…

Biggest news: Heading into last night’s Lakers vs. Raptors game, LeBron James had scored double digits (that’s 10+ points) in 1,297 straight regular season games.

The streak started on January 6, 2007, when LeBron still played for Cleveland. (And Giannis was only 12 years old!)

That’s nearly 16-straight seasons of double-digit scoring in every single game! 🤯

But last night, he finished with only 8 points, missing 13 of his 17 shots.

No way the Lakers won, right?

🎥 Check out this ending!

That was Rui Hachimura on the game-winning three.

The assist? LeBron James.

And I bet he’d take a team win over an individual record every single time.

Let’s see if we can top that ending with our…

Wildest play: I like watching an epic alley-oop or impossible blocked shot. But I love watching a great player catch fire and score over and over and over and over.

And that’s exactly what Denver star Jamal Murray did on Wednesday night against Indiana: scoring 52 points and making 19 of his 25 shots, including 10 of 11 threes.

🎥 Want to see what it looked like?

🔥🔥🔥

🎥 But should we also see an alley-oop and block?

Okay, fine. It was an accidental alley-oop on an air ball…

But did you see how Philly star Tyrese Maxey sprinted back on defense after his air ball to block what would have been the game-winning layup?

Never give up on a play!

And now, time for…

College Football 🎓🏈

We’re done with the regular season and ready for conference championship games.

Here are the best ones to watch:

• #1 Ohio State vs. #2 Indiana in the Big Ten Championship (both teams are 12-0, but only one will enter the playoff still undefeated)

• #3 Georgia vs. #9 Alabama in the SEC Championship (a potential revenge game for Georgia after they lost to Bama in September, 24-21)

• #4 Texas Tech vs. #11 BYU in the Big 12 Championship (a potential revenge game for BYU after they lost to Tech last month, 29-7)

Prediction time…

Now, here’s the twist.

While those are three great matchups… most of those teams are going to make the playoff even if they lose.

Check out the latest College Football Playoff rankings:

Remember: 12 teams make the playoff. But it’s not necessarily the 12 highest-ranked teams.

That’s because the rules say five spots must go to the five highest-ranked conference champions. And the remaining seven spots go to the next highest-ranked teams.

So, here’s what the bracket would look like based on the current rankings:

See spots #11 and #12? They’re not going to #11-ranked BYU and #12-ranked Miami, but are being held for the fourth- and fifth-highest ranked conference champions.

Here’s who that could be:

• #17 Virginia, if they beat unranked Duke in the ACC Championship

• Whichever team wins the American Championship game between #20 Tulane and #24 North Texas

• #25 James Madison, if they beat unranked Troy in the Sun Belt Championship, and Virginia loses to Duke

Whew! It’s a lot to take in. But don’t worry, we’ll know on Sunday after the games are played and break it all down for you next week!

👀 In the meantime… want to play a game?

Write down the first letter of every team we listed that’s playing in a conference championship game.

🧠 Now, can you rearrange the letters you wrote down to spell at least three different real words (they can be as long or as short as you want)?

🏅 Want extra credit? Rearrange exactly five letters to spell what you shout when you win a certain game that’s played with numbers and letters!

💬 Drop your answers in the comments!

Finally, let’s finish with…

NFL Week 14 👔🏈

Back to a regular Thursday night with just one game (after three on Thanksgiving).

But it was a great matchup… at least on paper.

The 6-5-1 Dallas Cowboys just beat the Chiefs and need to keep winning to catch the Eagles in the NFC East.

And the 7-5 Detroit Lions just lost to the Packers and fell to third in the NFC North, behind the Bears and Packers.

Did the actual game live up to the hype? And which team helped their playoff chances?

🎥 Click here to watch the highlights on NFL.com!

That’s a big win for the Lions, who now have a better than 50% chance of making the playoffs.

The Cowboys? Now less than 10%.

Looking ahead to the rest of the Week 14 games, here are more worth watching:

• Bengals (4-8) at Bills (8-4): Will a healthy Joe Burrow keep Cincinnati in the playoff hunt against Josh Allen, who is 5-1 at home this year?

• Colts (8-4) at Jaguars (8-4): With both teams tied in the AFC South, who takes the lead?

• Steelers (6-6) at Ravens (6-6): Same question… but for the AFC North?

• Bears (9-3) at Packers (8-3-1): These teams play two times in the next three weeks… who wins game one?

• Texans (7-5) at Chiefs (6-6): Winner stays in the playoff hunt, loser is likely out… does Patrick Mahomes have any magic left this year?

• Eagles (8-4) at Chargers (8-4): Will Chargers QB Justin Herbert be able to play on Monday Night Football just a week after having surgery to fix a broken bone in his hand?

Get your popcorn ready, because it’s a great slate of games! 🍿

And when it’s all done, we’ll be back to share the highlights.

Have a great weekend!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

Pumpkin pie? ✅

Smallball stuffed with double the highlights to make up for Thanksgiving break? ⬇️

Let’s start with the…

NBA 🏀

Last Wednesday, the Pistons had won 13-straight games and were ready to crush the Celtics for #14.

The only problem?

🎥 Boston turned their green court into a lucky charm!

But not every winning streak ended that night! Because the Thunder extended theirs to 10-straight wins…

🎥 Thanks to these 40 points from SGA!

But the team with the worst Wednesday night? The Warriors. They fell to the Rockets, 104-100.

🎥 But the bigger loss was this injury to Steph Curry.

The good news? Doctors tested Steph’s right quad, and said it’s just a strain.

Coach Steve Kerr thinks he could be back in as little as one week. And the Warriors already beat the Pelicans on Saturday without him! (Jimmy Butler had 24 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds.)

But wait!

We forgot Friday! On the last day of the group stage of the NBA Cup:

• The Magic beat the Pistons, 112-109, to advance from East B.

• The Thunder beat the Suns, 123-119, to take West A. (Make it 11-straight wins.)

• And the Spurs beat the Nuggets, 139-136, to win West C.

So, the bracket is set. And the eight-team, single-elimination tournament begins next Tuesday.

Here are the matchups:

Prediction time!

Thankfully, we don’t have to wait a whole week, because there’s drama every night in the NBA.

Example: last night’s Dallas vs. Denver game.

🎥 Winner: see for yourself. (Seems like a good sign the Nuggets won the first quarter, 41-27, right?)

Ouch! After Denver’s hot start, Dallas stormed back to win, 131-121, behind Anthony Davis (32 points and 13 rebounds) and Ryan Nembhard (28 points on 12-of-14 shooting).

Nikola Jokić’s 29-point, 20-rebound, and 13-assist triple-double wasn’t quite enough.

Double ouch! Jamal Murray left the game with a right ankle injury. It didn’t seem serious, but you never know.

At least now we can move on to…

NFL Week 13 👔🏈

Most weeks, we only get one football game on Thursday night.

But one of the best parts of Thanksgiving? Three games!

Here’s what happened:

First, the Packers beat the Lions, 31-24, to stay in great position for a playoff spot.

🎥 This 51-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Christian Watson was a big reason why.

Then, the Cowboys beat the Chiefs, 31-28, to drop Kansas City to 6-6 on the season.

Now, unless Patrick Mahomes goes 5-0 the rest of the way, he may miss the playoffs for the first time in his career.

Finally, the Bengals got quarterback Joe Burrow back from injury and crushed the Ravens, 32-14.

That means the Ravens and Steelers are tied at the top of the AFC North, and the Bengals are only two games behind.

It was an epic Thursday. But the best game was actually Sunday night, when the 9-2 Broncos played 3-8 Washington.

🎥 Want to see who won? Click here to watch the highlights on NFL.com!

Alright, we’ve got to break down that last play!

Because of the NFL’s overtime rules, the Commanders had a choice:

• Kick the extra point to tie the game, then try to stop Denver from scoring and winning in the final three minutes of OT.

• OR go for the two-point conversion and the win.

They went for two and the win. But ended up with a loss when Denver linebacker Nik Bonitto swatted the pass away.

Now, we better check on…

College Football Week 14 🎓🏈

It was Rivalry Week!

That’s the slot most teams save on the schedule to play their biggest rivals! (Unless you’re Army and Navy, who wait until after next week’s conference championship games and get a whole weekend to themselves!)

And rivalries usually mean chaos…

But this year, 13 of the top 14 teams in the College Football Playoff rankings won!

🎥 The only upset? Poor Aggies.

The good news for A&M fans?

Even though the loss knocked them out of the SEC Championship game this coming weekend, they’re still a lock to make the playoff.

On Friday, we’ll look at this week’s rankings and see who’s likely to get in and who might miss out.

Then, on Sunday, the final rankings will tell us for sure.

🎥 If you’ve got more time before then, want to watch the plays of the week? (At least watch the first play again!)

We’ll see you Friday, Smallballers!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

Starting with the…

NBA 🏀

Best game: On Friday, in the best NBA cup game of the night, the Nuggets beat the Rockets, 112–109.

It was a great game, but that was a whole weekend ago!

Any drama last night? Check.

Thanks to the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers.

🎥 Want to see who won?

That’s 13 wins in a row for the Pistons, tied for the longest winning streak in team history.

In 1989, they won 13 in a row and the championship. In 2003, same. In 2025… we’ll have to wait and see!

Even more impressive? Just two years ago Detroit lost 28 games in a row, the worst streak in any NBA season ever.

Talk about a comeback!

Now…

Biggest news: Let’s zoom in on the NBA Cup standings!

Remember: the 30 NBA teams are divided into six groups. Each team plays the others in its group. Then, the team with the best record in each group, plus two wild cards from the East and two from the West advance to a single-elimination tournament.

Here’s the West:

And here’s the East:

🧠 “Diff” stands for point differential, or the total difference between the points each team has scored and given up in their NBA Cup games. It will be important if teams have the same record at the top of their group!

By the end of the night on Friday, every team will have played four games, and we’ll know who’s moving on!

Wildest play: Luka. Lakers. Sunday night against the Jazz. It’s #1 in this video… but we’ve got a bonus for you!

🎥 Here are the ten best plays from Sunday night!

I’ve never seen anything quite like that!

While we get ready for Friday, let’s check on…

NFL Week 12 👔🏈

Best game: We could choose the biggest comeback: Cowboys vs. Eagles!

Dallas trailed 21–0 before coming back to win, 24–21.

Or, we could choose the biggest blowout: Rams vs. Buccaneers.

LA crushed Tampa Bay 34–7 and knocked Bucs QB Baker Mayfield out of the game with a shoulder injury. (Thankfully, it looks like he’ll be okay and might even play this week.)

But no, the best game was Patrick Mahomes and the 5–5 Chiefs trying to stay in the playoff race against the 8–2 Colts.

🎥 Hit play on these highlights!

Make it 352 yards for Mahomes, five field goals for the Chiefs, and now a 6–5 record.

Moving on to…

Biggest news: There are six more weeks in the regular season.

And in addition to watching the playoff race, we’re going to be watching Cleveland Browns edge Myles Garrett.

Why?

Well, the Browns are 3–8, so they’re not making the playoffs.

But Garrett has a good chance to make history.

The NFL record for most sacks by an individual player in a season is 22.5. It’s a tie between former New York Giant Michael Strahan and current Pittsburgh Steeler TJ Watt.

So far this year, Garrett has 18 sacks.

If he keeps up this pace through the rest of the season, he’ll finish with 28!

Prediction time!

That’s a good transition to…

Wildest play: In his most recent game against the Raiders, Myles Garrett had three sacks, six QB hits, four tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.

🎥 Want to see what the final sack and forced fumble looked like?

But we’ve got to show a QB looking good, too!

How about the New York Giants? They’re already eliminated from the playoff race with a 2–10 record. And their starting QB, Jaxson Dart, is hurt.

🎥 But check out this trick play from backup Jameis Winston!

What a catch. What a run. What a celebration!

Now, let’s finish with…

College Football Week 13 🎓🏈

You know the drill: the playoff rankings come out on Tuesday, so we’ll play spot the difference on Friday.

🎥 Until then, want to watch the best plays from last week?

Have a great Thanksgiving and we’ll see you Friday!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

Ready to dive in?

First up, the…

NBA 🏀

We’ve got Cup games tonight!

The best one? Nuggets vs. Rockets in West Group C.

But if you love Steph Curry, keep an eye on another game in that same group: Trail Blazers vs. Warriors.

And those Trail Blazers? They played Wednesday night in our…

Best game: Chicago vs. Portland. Bulls up five with four minutes to go.

🎥 Ready to see who won?

His name may sound like Nikola Jokić…

But that was Chicago’s Nikola Vučević (nickname: Vooch) on the buzzer-beater. He finished with 27 points and 8 rebounds.

Can we have more close games tonight, please?

While we wait, here’s the…

Biggest news: There are injured stars all around the NBA!

Dallas big man Anthony Davis has been out for a few weeks with a calf injury. And now, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama and Grizzlies star Ja Morant hurt their calves, too!

Both Christian Braun on the Nuggets and Kawhi Leonard on the Clippers are out with ankle injuries.

Your groin muscle is near your inner thigh. And a strain there is what’s keeping Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero out for a while.

Unfortunately, injuries are just part of sports.

But we’re hoping these guys get healthy and stay that way before the playoffs!

Wildest play: Know a superstar who’s not injured… anymore?

LeBron James! He’s back after missing the first few weeks.

🎥 And this is what his season debut looked like against the Jazz!

It’s his 23rd NBA season. 40 years old. And he dropped 11 points and 12 assists.

It’s like we said last week:

Now, let’s go to…

College Football Week 13 🎓🏈

👀 Ready for spot the difference with the College Football Playoff rankings?

Let’s change the rules a little. This time, instead of counting…

Write down the first letter of every team that’s in a new spot in Week 13.

Now, can you rearrange four of the letters you wrote down to spell something you study at school?

💬 Drop your answer in the comments!

🏅 Want extra credit? Rearrange four more letters to spell what some people think LeBron James is! (🧠 It’s also an animal that says “baa”, but not a sheep.)

Oh, and on the field? Of the top 25 teams, 21 are playing this week.

But there are only two matchups between ranked teams:

#22 Missouri plays #8 Oklahoma, and the Sooners can probably secure a playoff spot with a win.

And #15 USC plays #7 Oregon, with the winner also in pretty good playoff position.

🎥 Hit play on the best moments from last week to get ready!

And now we can finish with…

NFL Week 12 👔🏈

All this talk about the playoffs? It’s got us ready for Thursday Night Football highlights.

Because the 7–3 Buffalo Bills and 5–5 Houston Texans are both trying to get in position for good playoff spots.

🎥 Click here to watch the highlights on NFL.com!

How about the Texans defense? Only 12 points allowed. Eight sacks. Game-winning interception.

Looking ahead to the rest of the games, here are four more worth watching:

• Steelers (6–4) at Bears (7–3): Can the Bears keep winning close games at the end?

• Colts (8–2) at Chiefs (5–5): Will Kansas City bounce back from a loss at Denver to get back in the playoff hunt?

• Eagles (8–2) at Cowboys (4–5–1): Can the Eagles avoid an upset and knock their NFC East rivals out of the mix?

• Buccaneers (6–4) at Rams (8–2): Can Tampa QB Baker Mayfield beat the team he used to play for, now led by MVP candidate Matthew Stafford?

We’ll know the answers soon! And we’ll have all the important stories for you on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

NBA 🏀

Best game: On Friday, in an NBA cup game, Steph and the Warriors trailed Wemby and the Spurs by three points with two minutes left.

🎥 Want to watch the ending?

How about 49 points for Steph as his Warriors beat the Spurs, 109–108!

On Saturday, Luka scored 41 as the Lakers beat Giannis and the Bucks, 119–95.

🎥 Hit play on these Luka highlights!

On Sunday, the Bulls and the Jazz went to double overtime. Combined, the teams scored more points than any other game this season.

🎥 Ready to see who won?

That was Keyonte George with the game-winning three for the Jazz. Just as importantly, he hit all 10 of his free-throw attempts in the game!

And finally, on Monday, Jokić had a triple-double against the Bulls: 36 points, 18 rebounds, and 13 assists.

🎥 The Nuggets had to win, right?!

Alright, that’s four games in four nights. And now it’s your time to decide…

Vote and tell us why in the comments! 💬

Biggest news: Ready to check on the standings?

Remember: the top eight teams in each conference make the playoffs after the 7, 8, 9, and 10 seeds have a mini “play-in tournament” for the last two spots.

Click here to see the latest on ESPN.com.

Most experts expected the Thunder to be this good. But Pistons fans are thrilled with this start!

And see how close the Knicks and Heat are in the standings? Remember that for…

Wildest play: You guessed it: New York and Miami played last night.

🎥 And it came down to this last possession!

That’s a lot of great basketball, but it’s time for…

NFL Week 11 👔🏈

Best game: I’m bored with game-winning field goals! So, that rules out:

• Dolphins over Commanders in Spain, 16–13

• Texans over Titans, also 16–13

• Panthers over Falcons, 30–27

• Broncos over Chiefs, 22–19

• And Bears over Vikings, 19–17 (although at least Chicago kicker Cairo Santos had the pressure of his team losing if he missed)

Technically, we could pick Seahawks vs. Rams.

🎥 Click ‘Watch on YouTube’ and zoom ahead to 11:55 to see this ending!

But we’re not going with a game-losing, missed field goal either.

🎥 So, click here to watch Baker Mayfield and the Bucs against Josh Allen and the Bills!

Bills 44, Buccaneers 32.

After struggling with two first-half interceptions, Allen finished with six total touchdowns: three rushing and three passing.

Which brings us to…

Biggest news: Do you hear that? I think it’s Bills fans still chanting, “MVP! MVP! MVP!”

But, according to experts, Allen has the third-best chance of winning the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award this year, about 15%.

Ahead of him?

Rams QB Matthew Stafford at 40%.

And Patriots QB Drake Maye at 30%.

There are seven more weeks in the regular season, so lots of things could still change.

But we want to know…

Now, let’s move on to…

Wildest play: A team with a bird mascot lined up for the tush push on fourth down. Yawn!

But surprisingly for us, it wasn’t the Eagles.

And surprisingly for the Browns, the Ravens weren’t actually running the tush push.

🎥 Check out this fake!

That turned out to be the game-winning score for the Ravens!

Now, let’s finish with…

College Football Week 12 🎓🏈

Remember, the playoff rankings now come out on Tuesdays.

So, we’re saving spot the difference for Friday.

But let’s just say Texas won’t be moving in the right direction. That’s because the Longhorns got smoked by Georgia on Saturday night.

Just as bad for Texas fans?

#11 Oklahoma beat #4 Alabama, 23–21.

At least the Longhorns’ other rival, #3 Texas A&M, was getting blown out by South Carolina.

🎥 Enjoy these highlights with A&M down 30–3 after halftime!

I’m all for big comebacks, but I didn’t enjoy that at all.

So, let’s finish with a wild play to cheer me up.

🎥 Watch what Jacksonville State did right before halftime!

Hope you kept watching, because that hurdle in the Sam Houston game was pretty epic, too!

Now, have a great week Smallballers and we’ll see you Friday!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

Let’s start with the…

NBA 🏀

We’ve got NBA Cup games on the schedule tonight!

The best matchups? Probably Heat vs. Knicks (East C), 76ers vs. Pistons (East B), and Warriors vs. Spurs (West C).

And we can’t wait to watch that last matchup, because Golden State and San Antonio also played earlier this week.

And it was our…

Best game: Steph Curry vs. Victor Wembanyama.

🎥 Ready to see who won on Wednesday night?

Steph had 46 points, and Wemby added a triple-double with 31 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Let’s hope tonight’s game is just as special!

And speaking of special, how about our…

Biggest news: Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets played the LA Clippers on Wednesday.

🎥 Want to see what a dominant performance looks like?

That’s a 130–116 win for Denver, their sixth in a row.

And Jokić’s 55 points tied OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for most in a game so far this season.

The wildest part? It’s the fifth time in his career Jokić has scored at least 50 points, and this was the first time they won!

Which brings us to our…

Wildest play: Also on Wednesday night, OKC beat the Lakers, 121–92.

🎥 Check out this incredible assist as the Thunder were pulling away!

I’m so glad the NBA is back!

But now it’s time to check on…

College Football Week 12 🎓🏈

👀 Ready for spot the difference with our second round of CFP rankings?

💬 Drop your answer in the comments!

🏅 Want extra credit? What’s the sum of 1 + 2 + 3… and so on, all the way through 25? (🧠 That’s called a triangular number, or T25.)

Of the top 25 teams, 24 are playing this week. The only bye: #14 Vanderbilt.

And that includes four matchups between ranked teams:

• #4 Alabama vs. #11 Oklahoma

• #5 Georgia vs. #10 Texas (P.S. Don’t text me any spoilers because I’m recording and watching after dinner)

• #9 Notre Dame vs. #22 Pittsburgh

• #17 USC vs. #21 Iowa

We should have some incredible games.

🎥 Let’s watch the best moments from last week to get ready!

And now we can finish with…

NFL Week 11 👔🏈

Thursday Night Football was a battle between the first-place and last-place teams in the AFC East. (Remember: that’s one of the NFL’s eight divisions).

Last? The 2–7 New York Jets.

First? The 8–2 New England Patriots, trying to extend a seven-game winning streak.

🎥 Click “Watch on YouTube” to see the highlights!

Make it eight straight for New England. Pretty impressive after they finished 4–13 in each of the last two seasons.

And as we get ready for Sunday, here are the five games we’ll be watching:

• Buccaneers (6–3) at Bills (6–3): Which QB, Baker Mayfield or Josh Allen, can get their team back on track after a tough loss last week?

• Chargers (7–3) at Jaguars (5–4): Can Jacksonville bounce back from a tough loss to Houston and stay in the hunt for a playoff spot?

• Seahawks (7–2) at Rams (7–2): Who wins and takes a one-game lead in the NFC West standings?

• Chiefs (5–4) at Broncos (8–2): Will Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs stop Denver’s seven-game winning streak?

• Lions (6–3) at Eagles (7–2): Could this be a preview of the NFC Championship game in a few months?

Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you Tuesday!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.

And thankfully for the rest of us, the military is also responsible for two amazing sports traditions…

🎥 Skydiving into a stadium to deliver the game ball.

🎥 And finishing the national anthem with the perfect flyover.

Now, let’s fly to our first update on the…

NBA 🏀

Best game: Friday’s NBA cup games were… kind of boring! All 11 games that night were won by at least 10 points.

So we’re going with a ‘regular’ regular-season game from Sunday night: Houston Rockets at Milwaukee Bucks.

🎥 Hit play to see who won Durant vs. Giannis!

Giannis 37, Durant 31.

But more importantly: Durant’s Rockets 122, Giannis’ Bucks 115.

Biggest news: We’re a few weeks into the season, so let’s zoom out and look at the standings.

Remember:

• There are 30 teams in the NBA.

• 15 are in the Western Conference, and 15 are in the Eastern Conference.

• Eight teams from each conference make the playoffs (although the 7, 8, 9, and 10 seeds play a mini “play-in” tournament at the end of the regular season for the last two spots).

See the Warriors down at seventh in the West?

It’s a good-news, bad-news situation for them.

The good news? Steph Curry was sick and missed the team’s last three games. But he’s expected back tonight.

The bad news? They’re playing the Thunder in Oklahoma City. So they definitely need him!

Experts say there’s about an 80% chance the Thunder win. 🎯

Wildest play: Speaking of the Warriors…

🎥 Want to see what Aaron Gordon did to them in the Nuggets win on Friday night?

We could watch dunks like that all day. But we should probably move on to…

NFL Week 10 👔🏈

Best game: If this category was called ‘Biggest upset’ we’d go with the Dolphins. They beat the Bills, 30–13.

Miami running back De’Von Achane led the way with two long touchdown runs (35 and 59 yards).

🎥 Here’s the 59-yarder.

If the category was called ‘Biggest comeback’ we’d go with the Texans. They trailed the Jaguars 29–10 in the fourth quarter… then scored 26-straight points to win.

🎥 The last six points came on this big man defensive touchdown.

But the category is ‘Best game.’ So, we’re going with the 7–2 Patriots vs. 6–2 Buccaneers.

🧠 Can you figure out why the Pats have played one more game than the Bucs? Drop your answer in the comments! 💬

🎥 Then, click here to watch the highlights on NFL.com!

Make it 8–2 for New England. Which leads us to…

Biggest news: With that record, the Patriots are tied with the Broncos and Colts at the top of the NFL standings.

Here are the teams who’ve won at least 66% of their games:

There are eight more weeks in the regular season, so lots of things could still change.

But we want to know…

Now, let’s move on to…

Wildest play: Okay, we probably should have picked that big man touchdown by Texans defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins.

Because he made history!

Have you ever heard of Scorigami?

That’s what fans call it when an NFL game finishes with a score that’s never happened before.

And Rankins’ touchdown made the Texans’ win a Scorigami, 36–29.

Here’s more from Yahoo Sports:

“This is the 1094th unique score in NFL history and the third Scorigami this season. The Buffalo Bills’ thrilling 41-40 Week 1 game and the 40-40 tie between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers were also Scorigami.

Often, the Scorigami is a result of a weird scoring play. In this game, the Jaguars started the weirdness going for two in the third quarter and failing. Not a lot of easy ways to get to 29 points. The Texans had their own failed two-point conversions and then decided not to attempt a PAT.

Incidentally, a 37-29 final score has happened four times. That would not have been a Scorigami if the Texans kicked the extra point.”

But, as cool and impressive and fun as that play was…

🎥 We’re going with this interception from Rankins’ teammate, Derek Stingley Jr. (Remember to click ‘Watch on YouTube’)

And speaking of epic catches, let’s finish with…

College Football Week 11 🎓🏈

The College Football Playoff top 25 rankings don’t come out until tonight (Tuesday). So, we’re saving spot the difference for Friday.

But don’t worry!

We’ve still got…

Best game: Remember, there were three games between top 25 teams.

In the first, #3 Texas A&M crushed #22 Missouri, 38–17.

In the second, #8 Texas Tech crushed #7 BYU, 29–7.

In the third, there was no crushing between #9 Oregon and #20 Iowa.

🎥 Ready to see who won?

Now, let’s finish with…

Wildest play: Remember that comment about epic catches?

🎥 Watch this one by Indiana receiver Omar Cooper Jr.

That was the game-winning play for #2 Indiana, who barely avoided the upset against Penn State.

It’s a good thing college football only requires a receiver to get one foot in bounds for a catch.

Because in the NFL, you’ve got to get both feet down. And that would have been incomplete!

Now, we’re complete too. Have a great week Smallballers and we’ll see you Friday!

Smallball is just for fun.

All trademarks, images, and videos are used for educational and fair use purposes only.

If you have any questions or concerns, please just email us.