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Episode 7
43 Plays2 years ago
We are back!! Long hiatus but back with a look at the NFL, MLB Free Agency and College Football Bowl Season! Plus, check out the Holiday themed logo courtesy of Colton! Thanks for listening!
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Transcript
Sports Report Comeback
00:00:01
Speaker
The Ross Sports report back after a little hiatus. Been a few weeks since we spoke with David Noel, former North Carolina Tar Hill basketball player, part of the 2005 national championship team, our first guest. I let that marinate for a little bit and stay on the page for a while, but here we are.
College Sports Update
00:00:26
Speaker
three days before Christmas college basketball season is up and rolling college football bowl season is a hot topic right now with the bowl games really getting going. I think we've got the 14th bowl game playing tonight.
NFL Playoff Picture
00:00:44
Speaker
And of course, leading into the college football playoff next weekend on New Year's Eve. And then of course, the national championship game on the following Monday, January the ninth. Uh, so we'll talk about that. Also the NFL winding down division races are really heating up jockeying for playoff positioning. And of course it's Christmas time. So, uh, going to talk a little bit about Christmas movies.
00:01:12
Speaker
Well, so we'll start off with the NFL a game tonight now at halftime as I'm recording the Jags are Leading the Jets 13 to 3 Jags had one of the bigger wins of the season last week in overtime over the Cowboys Jaguars are controlling their own destiny in the AFC South if they win out in
00:01:38
Speaker
they will win the AFC South Division. Of course, they have the Titans who are on a terrible losing streak, four game losing streak, the longest losing streak among playoff contenders in the NFL, the Bears who have been eliminated, they have a seven game losing streak. But the Titans were sitting pretty a couple of weeks ago, seven and three atop the division, have now lost four in a row.
00:02:09
Speaker
and are seven and seven. So the Jaguars, as I said, they went out, they win the AFC South, which is interesting. Looking at other standings across the divisions,
00:02:25
Speaker
Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are tied atop the AFC at 11-3. Bills pretty much salted their division away. In fact, I think they have clinched the playoff berth, but not quite the division they held a three-game lead.
00:02:41
Speaker
over the Dolphins who are eight and six, New England and the Jets are at seven and seven. The Bengals and the Ravens in a battle for the AFC North. The Bengals at 10 and four, the Ravens at nine and five. Of course, we mentioned the Jaguars. They're six and eight. Titans are seven and seven. They still have a matchup yet to be played coming up down the stretch.
00:03:03
Speaker
Colts hanging on for dear life four and nine, but they are about to be eliminated. They too have lost four games in a row. The Chiefs, as I mentioned, they have clinched their division. They are 11 and three chargers, eight and six Raiders, six and eight Broncos have been eliminated at four and 10. And the NFC, both the Eagles and the Cowboys have clinched a playoff berth.
00:03:25
Speaker
in the NFC East, Eagles with the best record in the NFL 13-1 and the Cowboys at 10-4. Interesting though, they play this weekend, but Jalen Hurts is still questionable as of today. Gardner Menchu is slated to start for the Eagles on Saturday afternoon against the Cowboys. The NFC East still up in the air, but the Eagles can clinch the division.
00:03:54
Speaker
with a win over the Cowboys Saturday afternoon, see what Gardner Minshew can do if Jalen Hurts cannot go. And it looks to be the fact that he will not be able to go, which hurts my fantasy league team. By the way, I'm in the second round of the playoffs. I'm the three seed playing the two seed in the semis. And my quarterback Jalen Hurts is going to be on the bench. So I had to go and pick up.
00:04:20
Speaker
Kirk Cousins as my fantasy quarterback, so We'll see how that goes the Giants at eight five and one the commander seven six and one still in playoff contention There is a scenario where all four NFC East teams could make the playoffs Which would be? pretty pretty fantastic
00:04:41
Speaker
for all of one division to make the playoffs. In the north of the NFC, the Vikings are 11 and three, Lions at seven and seven, Packers hanging on six and eight, and the Bears are done at three and 11. They have the inside track to the number one pick.
00:04:58
Speaker
Uh, in next year's draft, at least, uh, except for the Texans, excuse me, the Texans one 12 and one, they will have that. But the, the, the bears have the worst record of the NFC in the NFC South. Nobody wants to win the division. The Buccaneers are six and eight.
00:05:15
Speaker
The Panthers are five and nine. They control their own destiny. Panthers went out. They win the division. The Saints are five and nine. The Falcons are five and nine. The Falcons have lost three in a row. Just when you thought maybe they were turning the corner at five and six and could make a move, they have lost three games in a row. Of course, Mariota was benched last week in favor of Desmond Ritter. So that seems to be the future projection of the Falcons.
00:05:41
Speaker
with Desmond Ritter at the helm at quarterback in the NFC West. The Niners at 10 and 4 have practically wrapped up that division. They have clinched the playoff berth and the division actually with over Seattle at 7 and 7. The Cardinals and the Rams have been eliminated. So the defending Super Bowl champions will not be in the playoffs if they fall to 4 and 10.
00:06:07
Speaker
So some interesting things starting to shape up. If you look, the one seed is up for grabs in the AFC between the Bills and the Chiefs. The Bengals could also maybe get in there as they seem to be maybe the hottest team in the league right there with the Bills. Bills have won five in a row, Bengals have won six in a row. The Eagles.
00:06:32
Speaker
pretty much have that one spot wrapped up. They'd have to have an epic fall, but with Gardner Minshew as the quarterback and Jalen hurts on the bench, who knows how that will shape out with the Vikings two games back for the one seat at 11 and three Niners and Cowboys both at 10 and four. So a lot of teams still in the mix. The Colts pretty much have to win out and a lot has to happen for them to make the playoffs in the AFC. Uh, the Falcons,
00:07:02
Speaker
They are the next to be eliminated in the NFC. A lot has to happen. They're going to have to win out and a lot of scenarios will have to take place for them to make the playoffs as the Cardinals Rams and Bears have been eliminated.
00:07:16
Speaker
in the NFC. So this week, outside of the game going on tonight with the Jets leading, or the Jets trailing the Jags, 13-3 at halftime. Saturday, a whole slate of games, only three games on Sunday due to Christmas Day. Saturday, Buffalo at Chicago.
00:07:35
Speaker
New Orleans at Cleveland, Houston at Tennessee, Seattle at Kansas City, New York Giants at Minnesota, Cincinnati at New England, Detroit at Carolina, Atlanta at Baltimore, Washington at San Francisco, Philadelphia at Dallas, and Vegas at Pittsburgh is the night game on Saturday night. Three games, as I said, on Sunday, Christmas Day, Green Bay at Miami.
00:07:59
Speaker
Denver at Los Angeles the Rams and Tampa Bay at Arizona is the night game Sunday night and Monday night football The Chargers and the Colts in a snoozer there. So that's your NFL slate Don't really pay much attention to the NBA but always
00:08:22
Speaker
their marquee day, I guess you could say prior to the playoffs is Christmas day running down the Christmas day, uh, slate 12 o'clock, two 35, eight and 10 30 all on
Christmas Day NBA and Traditions
00:08:36
Speaker
ABC. So if you're an NBA nut or a basketball nut, all you have to do is turn on the television at noon on ABC and you are set Philadelphia 76ers at the mix.
00:08:47
Speaker
Lakers at the Mavericks, Milwaukee at Boston, Memphis at Golden State, and Phoenix at Denver. Quick look at the standings as this will be the first time that I have looked at the NBA standings all year long. And here we are.
00:09:05
Speaker
You know, 30-something games into it in the East, the Bucks, the Celtics, the Cavaliers are 1-2-3, the Nets, the Sixers, and the Knicks are 4-5-6, Heat 7, the Pacers 8, Atlanta 9, and Toronto 10. Of course, they have that play-in tournament to get into the playoffs, which I think is really silly.
00:09:24
Speaker
Uh, but the Hawks are 16 and 16 at 500 so far, uh, on the year in the West, the Denver Nuggets, the Memphis Grizzlies. I do know the Grizzlies have John Morant, who is fantastic. The pelicans at 18 and 12, the sons, the Clippers, the Kings, the Trailblazers, the jazz, the Mavericks, the Timberwolves, the warriors are 11, uh, not playing very well. Lakers with LeBron 13 and 18. They are.
00:09:51
Speaker
uh, almost in the cellar of the Western Conference. So there's your NBA update. That's about as good as you're going to get from me, but Christmas day, always a special, special day in the NBA.
College Football Bowl Season
00:10:02
Speaker
always in years past back when I was growing up in the 90s, you had the Knicks and the Bulls, you had the Pacers and the Pistons, you had in the Western Conference, the Lakers with Magic and Portland with Clyde Drexler, Seattle Supersonics with Sean Kemp and the Suns when Barkley was there. So Christmas Day was a lot of fun back in the day when the NBA, in my opinion,
00:10:30
Speaker
was fun to watch and better to watch. So there is your NBA update, Christmas day, a big day for NBA watchers. The college football bowl season well underway as it got started back last weekend.
00:10:47
Speaker
Of course the big news is the college football playoff. The semifinals will be the two seed Michigan taking on the three seed TCU in the Fiesta Bowl out in Tempe Arizona or Glendale Arizona now.
00:11:01
Speaker
used to be in Tempe. That's at four o'clock. And then at eight o'clock on New Year's Eve, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will be the number one team, the Georgia Bulldogs against the number four team, number four seed Ohio State Buckeyes in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which will be a good one. And of course the national championship game will be at SoFi in LA on January 9th. College Bowl season got kicked off last Friday.
00:11:31
Speaker
with the Bahamas Bowl UAB over Miami, Ohio, 24 to 20. Troy in the Cure Bowl defeated Texas, San Antonio, 18 to 12. In the Fenway Bowl, which I saw a picture on Twitter of Fenway Park configured into a football field and it looked pretty cool. I'm not going to lie. It was like the green monster was kind of
00:11:55
Speaker
You know, kind of to the left of one of the sidelines and the big sicko sign out in center field was kind of there was going kind of from foul pole to foul pole that way. It looked pretty neat. Louisville defeated Cincinnati 24 to 7. Both of those teams have new coaches or will have new coaches next year. And those both ball clubs, North Carolina Central, probably the biggest.
00:12:24
Speaker
Upset so far of ball season and the biggest story of college football here in the last couple of weeks was North Carolina Central beating Jackson State 41-34 and overtime of course Jackson State coached by Deon Sanders moving on to the University of Colorado in what has been the biggest probably offseason news so far if you can call this the offseason.
00:12:48
Speaker
Uh, post regular season, I guess, Dion going to university of Colorado, uh, of the big 12. So are they in the Pac 12, uh, one of those they're out West. Um, so we'll see what Dion can do. He's taken a lot of players with him. His son, Shakur Sanders, the quarterback's going with him. The number one overall player in the nation last year in the class of 2022.
00:13:12
Speaker
Travis Hunter announced today, actually, that he is going with him to Colorado. So Dion taking a lot of players with him from Colorado and then also had a pretty good signing day yesterday as well, flipping some teams or flipping some players from some big name teams to head out in the bowl of Colorado. So it'll be very interesting to see what Dion can do at Colorado. The Las Vegas Bowl was Oregon State all over Florida, 30 to three.
00:13:42
Speaker
Really, the only noteworthy piece of news in that one was that Florida kicked a field goal to continue their streak of, I think, 396 games without being shut out, which is by far the active record in college football. 396 games without being shut out. They kicked a field goal at the end.
00:14:03
Speaker
But Florida had a pretty good day yesterday on early national signing day. They brought in a couple of quarterbacks which they need and some other four stars. And I think it's a couple of five stars too. That will help them going forward into year two of the Bill and Napier era. Fresno State 29 to 6 over Washington State. That was in the Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl. Yes, Jimmy Kimmel has his own bowl game.
00:14:32
Speaker
The Lending Tree Bowl, Southern Miss over Rice 38-24. Rice, interestingly enough, will be the fourth school that former Georgia quarterback J.T. Daniels will attend next year as he is transferred again. Of course, he started at USC, went to Georgia, lost the starting job to Stetson Bennett.
00:14:55
Speaker
And then he moved on to West Virginia. It didn't go well there this year. And now he has moved on to Rice University for his fourth school. BYU beat SMU in the all initials game, the New Mexico bowl, 24, 23, and what was a good game I heard. I have not physically watched the first bowl game yet.
00:15:18
Speaker
Which is not really unlike you, unlike me. These early ballgames, unless Georgia Southern's in there and of course they play next week on Wednesday. Yeah, Wednesday, no, Tuesday, 27th, Tuesday.
00:15:33
Speaker
Um, I don't really watch these early bowl games unless Georgia Southern's in there or, or someone else that I'm friends with that might be associated with Boise over North Texas and the Frisco bowl 35 32. Then on Monday, it was at the Myrtle beach bowl on the teal turf. The Marshall thundering hurt over Yukon 28 14 this past Tuesday, the potato Idaho potato bowl. Always a good one. Eastern Michigan over San Jose state roof claim.com Boca Raton bowl.
00:16:03
Speaker
Toledo 21 Liberty 19 Liberty's lost their coach. Of course you freeze going to Auburn Next year taking over there. So we'll see how that goes For you freeze and Auburn the and then Wednesday That was the New Orleans Bowl Western Kentucky defeated South Alabama 44 23 tonight Going on right now Baylor and Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl
00:16:29
Speaker
tomorrow, which is Friday in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, Louisiana, the raging Cajuns against Houston in the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa. Wake Forest in Missouri has the makings to be pretty good ballgame. Then Christmas Eve, we have the Hawaii Bowl, Middle Tennessee State and San Diego State Monday really get ramped up with the Quick Lane Bowl, New Mexico State and Bowling Green. And then Tuesday, Georgia Southern,
00:16:59
Speaker
and Buffalo in the Camellia Bowl. Interesting side notes. You know, you always talk about the NCAA basketball committee putting subplots in when they may have built a bracket. You can't tell me the bowl folks didn't build a subplot here when they were building the bowl schedule. Georgia Southern's six-year all-conference quarterback Kyle Vantreese playing his last college football game against his former team
00:17:25
Speaker
in Buffalo. It'll be interesting to see Georgia Southern a favorite in that one over Buffalo. That is a noon kickoff on ESPN for the Camellia Bowl on Tuesday. Georgia Southern looking to go 7-6 in Clay Helton's first year in Statesboro. Had a pretty good day yesterday too with signing day. I think they inked 15 new players.
00:17:47
Speaker
and caught in a couple of transfers. So Coach Clay Helton doing great things in Statesboro for the Georgia Southern Eagles. The first responder bowl will be Memphis and Utah State. That also on Tuesday from Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. Not to be confused with AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
00:18:06
Speaker
The ticket smarter Birmingham bowl, Coastal Carolina and East Carolina at 6 45. And then the guaranteed rate bowl in Phoenix at Chase field, another baseball stadium hosting a football game. It will be Wisconsin, Oklahoma state, Wednesday, the military bowl central Florida against Duke. That game is in Annapolis, Maryland, as it should be for the military game.
00:18:31
Speaker
the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Kansas versus Arkansas. And in the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl, always an exciting, exciting, high scoring.
00:18:42
Speaker
Don't want to put the remote down, don't want to go to the refrigerator type bowl game. Oregon, high scoring the Oregon duck against high scoring North Carolina will not be a lot of defense in that one, I promise you. The Texas bowl will be Texas Tech against Ole Miss from Houston and then into Thursday.
00:19:02
Speaker
It'll be the Pinstripe Bowl, another stadium, baseball stadium hosting a football game, this time Yankee Stadium hosting the Pinstripe Bowl, Syracuse and Minnesota, the Cheez-It Bowl, Oklahoma and Florida State from Orlando. And then the Alamo Bowl, another good one in the Alamo Dome. What else does the Alamo Dome host? Really, kind of curious. What other events does the Alamo Bowl, you know, respond, drop a response.
00:19:30
Speaker
on Twitter or wherever you may be listening to this podcast. What else does the Alamo Dome host throughout the year other than the Alamo Bowl? Because the Spurs don't play there. They don't have a football team. Maybe UT, University of Texas, San Antonio, they may play there. But a dome stadium that is not used very much, I would imagine, unless they have like trade shows and stuff, probably a lot of concerts, I don't know.
00:19:59
Speaker
in Texas versus Washington in that one. Friday, December 30th, the Mayo Bowl. Duke's Mayo Bowl in Charlotte, Maryland versus NC State. Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. Always a good one. Always on CBS. Always. Pittsburgh and UCLA. The Gator Bowl. The Notre Dame fighting Irish in the South Carolina Game Conks. My wife's alma mater.
00:20:22
Speaker
in Jacksonville, three 30 on ESPN, the Gamecogs had a pretty good day with Beamer ball, uh, yesterday with national signing day as well, Ohio and Wyoming in the Arizona bowl. And then the orange bowl on Friday night, the first of the new year, six bowls, the orange bowl, very aptly named orange bowl this year with Tennessee, their orange will clash with the Clemson orange.
00:20:50
Speaker
at eight o'clock from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens in the Orange Bowl, two very different and distinct color oranges playing each other. Tennessee Orange versus Clemson Orange. You know, Tennessee has that baby blue in there with their ladies basketball uniforms and Clemson always throws that purple in.
00:21:13
Speaker
Be interesting to see what the uniform scheme will be for that one. Um, hopefully somebody's wearing all white. Uh, but I imagine I actually, you know what? I want to see both of them in all orange. Tennessee's black uniforms are awful. They'll probably wear those. Anyway, Dabo Sweeney and Clemson takes on Josh Hypel in Tennessee in the orange bowl. Then New Year's Eve, the two other bowls, not the college football playoff.
00:21:43
Speaker
The music City Bowl in Nashville at noon. Iowa and Kentucky has the makings for a pretty good defensive struggle. And then the all state Sugar Bowl. New Year's Eve night at New Year's Eve at noon. I'm gonna have to lift that up. When was the last time? The Sugar Bowl. The Sugar Bowl was played at noon. That may be the biggest byproduct of the college football playoff right there. The Sugar Bowl.
MLB Free Agency Moves
00:22:13
Speaker
in New Orleans being played at noon, which is 11 o'clock local time. So an 11 o'clock kickoff for Alabama and Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl, local time if you're going to the game live in New Orleans. That's quite silly. That is quite silly. The Monday, January 2nd, of course, no games on New Year's Day because the
00:22:39
Speaker
I think the NFL is going to pretty much take over New Year's Day, but January 2nd, it'll be a little easy for me to say. The Relia Quest Bowl used to be the Car Quest Bowl, used to be the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Mississippi State, of course, suffering a huge loss a couple of weeks ago with Mike Leach passing away. Suddenly and shockingly,
00:23:06
Speaker
All the prayers with those Bulldogs as they play on Illinois, of course, they were 100% in support of playing that game. The players were. And so we hope the, you know, pull for them, not just in the rely request bowl, but as they move forward in their grieving process, the citrus bowl, the cheese at citrus bowl on Monday, January 2nd at one o'clock LSU and Purdue from Orlando, the cotton bowl.
00:23:33
Speaker
USC and Tulane and then the granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl, always a very pageantry filled football game to watch on January the second five o'clock traditional start time for the Rose Bowl, Utah and Penn State, which would should be a good one. And then of course, as we mentioned earlier, college football playoff games with Michigan and TCU and Georgia and Ohio State.
00:24:02
Speaker
College basketball, up and rolling. Still a lot of college basketball to play before things really get interesting. Conference play starting up a little bit early here in the ACC and all that. A couple of news about Major League Baseball and free agency. One that hurts pretty bad for Braves fans
00:24:30
Speaker
is Dansby Swanson moving on from the Atlanta Braves after his six-year career with the Braves at shortstop to the Chicago Cubs. Alex Anthopoulos has a plan, folks. Sometimes we don't really understand it.
00:24:50
Speaker
And it doesn't make a lot of sense, but he does have a plan and Dansby Swanson's salary requests were not part of that plan. The Braves offered six years, $100 million. That was not enough for Dansby. He wanted the, and he's getting seven years for $177 million, I think, from the Cubs. So.
00:25:12
Speaker
We wish Dansby well, and he's one that every time he comes to the truest park, and if I'm there and he's wearing a Cubs uniform, I'm gonna stand up and clap for Dansby Swanson every time he comes to the plate. He is a heck of a ball player and a great, great person, it seems like, from the outside looking in. And someone I think that the Braves are really gonna miss, more so than Freddie Freeman.
00:25:37
Speaker
I think the Dansby Swanson loss in the clubhouse and in the lineup is going to hurt more than the Freddie Freeman loss. Alex Anthoplas did a fantastic job of filling the void that was left by Freddie Freeman with Matt Olsen. We will see if Vaughn Grissom will be able to fill the void.
00:25:59
Speaker
uh, defensively more than anything else. I think offensively, I think he'll be just fine, but defensively is where I worry. Uh, because Dansby Swanson was in my opinion, the number one defensive shortstop in major league baseball. Uh, so we'll see how Von Grissom fills those large shoes at shortstop for the Braves. Braves also added, uh, outfielder Jordan will blow to a one year deal earlier this week. Um,
00:26:29
Speaker
Braves really haven't done much, but yet, uh, except the Dansby Swanson, it was seven years, $177 million. So that extra year, it's I guess that extra year and extra 77 million turned him that way. Carlos Correa switched courses. Everybody thought he was a giant. And then all of a sudden he signed yesterday with the Mets. Uh, that makes the NLEs a little interesting. Um,
00:26:56
Speaker
12 years, $315 million contract from the Mets to Carlos Correa. I read that the Mets are going to pay more in luxury tax penalties than 10 other Major League Baseball teams complete payroll. Let that sink in. The Mets are going to pay more in luxury tax penalties
00:27:26
Speaker
then 10 major league baseball teams are paying their entire payroll. So the Mets are obviously spending money. We'll see if that turns into one or two more wins that they needed to win the division this past year. Um, hopefully not. Uh, Braves also, uh, earlier made a big trade, uh,
00:27:49
Speaker
Retreat receiving Oakland Athletics catcher Sean Murphy in a three-way deal with the Braves send catcher Manny Pena and catcher William Contreras to the brought to the Brewers and Also the Brewers get Kyle Mueller Freddy Tarnock from the Braves So
00:28:13
Speaker
Uh, we'll see about that. Contreras is a big loss too. I mean, it was an All-Star last year. You had two All-Star catchers. Now, uh, Travis Darno still there and you enter Sean Murphy into the mix. You know, it didn't, it didn't work. It didn't, it didn't hurt last year. Bring an Oakland A into the mix when you brought Matt Olson over for Freddie Freeman. So maybe bringing another Oakland A Sean Murphy, uh, into the Braves clubhouse will, will work out as well. I still think.
00:28:40
Speaker
that there is another deal in the making somewhere that Alex Anthopoulos is going to pull off before spring training, whether it be another starting pitcher or maybe something to shore up the outfield more so than signing Ludlow. What's that in his name? Laplo. Laplo. How do you say that? Laplo. Anyway, I think that, I think there is, yeah, Jordan Laplo.
00:29:09
Speaker
I think there is another deal coming. And like I said, it may be a starting pitcher, but also the outfield I think still
State Championships and Celebrations
00:29:18
Speaker
needs to be addressed. You got Michael Harrison center who's not going anywhere. You got Ronald Acuna and Ryan who's not going anywhere, but left field needs to be addressed. Adam Duvall still a free agent.
00:29:29
Speaker
Um, so he needs to be signed. Of course, Rosario gone. Um, oh, Zuna is still there as well, which I'm waiting every day for them to drop the ax on him because even with all his legal troubles, he has, you know, not been good. Uh, defensively he's a liability, uh, in my opinion. Um, but we'll see. So.
00:29:58
Speaker
Hopefully the Braves will be able to make one more move, one or two more moves. Quickly want to congratulate my good friend as a high school football season came to an end a couple of weeks ago, my good friend Jason Strickland in Ware County.
00:30:14
Speaker
the Gators completing their undefeated season at 14 and 0, Ware County, their first ever state championship in the history of that storied program. And it could not have happened to a finer gentleman, Jason Strickland, the head coach at Ware County. He'd been there many times with Fitzgerald and just could not get that ring, but he finally did it and so very happy for him.
00:30:38
Speaker
and the entire Waycross community in Ware County. They have been working so hard for so very long to win a state championship, and they did so. Gainesville High School, my alma mater, played for a state championship and gave Langston Hughes all they wanted in the 6A final.
00:30:53
Speaker
falling short by a touchdown. But Gainesville five and five last year, 14 and one this year. So on the rise up, the Red elephants are as they head into next season. So good high school football games and the biggest news I think that has come since the end of the season is that for the next three years the state championship games are going to be inside.
00:31:18
Speaker
Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Inside away from the elements they have dealt with in the past couple of years. It was snowing one year in Georgia State at Turner Field. It was raining this year at Georgia State at Turner Field while the Mercedes-Benz sat empty. So Arthur Blank finally agreed to let the GHSA come in to play the state championship games starting next year in a three-year cycle.
Holiday Traditions and Upcoming Content
00:31:42
Speaker
So that's good news.
00:31:44
Speaker
With it being Christmas time, of course, today being December 22nd, Christmas is right around the corner, as they like to say. But the biggest day is tomorrow for all you Seinfeld fans and for folks that aren't Seinfeld fans. Festivus for the rest of us is tomorrow. And I challenge each and every one of you hearing my voice tonight on this podcast to watch the Festivus episode of Seinfeld.
00:32:13
Speaker
If you have not seen it ever, shame on you. If it will be the 800th time you've seen it, which will be the case for me. I might watch it tonight when I'm done recording and then watch it again tomorrow. But a Festivus for the rest of us. Happy Festivus. Enjoy your airing of grievances and enjoy your feats of strength. And don't forget the Festivus poll. But speaking of Christmas, I want to talk about Christmas movies.
00:32:43
Speaker
And I have been watching Christmas movies since right after Thanksgiving. Uh, Lifetime Movie Network has had some very, I'm going to say entertaining, maybe Christmas movies. Cheesy. Yes. Silly. Yes. Predictable. Yes.
00:33:02
Speaker
But very entertaining in the least. Freeform, of course, has been playing Home Alone. And I think they do Home Alone one night, one and two, and then National Lampoon's Vacation, Elf, and Four Christmases. There's just five Christmas movies in a rotation on Freeform. But I love them all. Christmas Vacation is a classic in the top three. No doubt about it. You're not going to change my mind.
00:33:27
Speaker
Four Christmases in the top five, easily in the top five, and it gets better every year. It really does. I find it more funny each and every time and each and every year I watch it. Elf. Elf. It's funny. You know, top 10 easy, but I can't quite put it in the top five. Um,
00:33:55
Speaker
Almost Christmas I watched for the first time last year with Danny Glover, a father who lost his wife and it was their first Christmas after losing his wife. All the kids come back and there's family strife and issues and all this. And it's very sweet, sweet Christmas story. If you haven't seen Almost Christmas, I think you should do that. Do yourself a favor and go find that wherever you stream your movies. Very, very good.
00:34:23
Speaker
Um, um, radio Christmas is one I saw on Lifetime Movie Network with Rudy Huxtable. Uh, what's her real name? I don't know. Rudy Huxtable. It's funny. It's cheesy. It's predictable, but it's good. It's a good use of your two hours. If you're, if you're in the house in the next couple of days, it's going to be so cold, so cold. So prepare yourself for the, for the dangerous cold that we're having.
00:34:51
Speaker
Across the country and in the in the southeast which we're not really used to And of course Christmas Eve will will come with 24 hours of a Christmas story with Ralphie I've still not seen the new one yet. I'm not really sure if I want to quite yet before Christmas anyway But that is always
00:35:15
Speaker
You know, I think there have been multiple years, multiple years that I have seen all or parts of every time it's been on in the 24 hour span. So yes, that means I've been up late and watching the rest of Christmas day. It's hard to beat Ralphie. And that is all, number one, all time on my list. Will Christmas vacation a close second?
00:35:44
Speaker
And I'm not really sure what number three would be. Four Christmases is in the top five. Home Alone is in the top five. So my top five is subjective, but I do have five movies in the top five. I just can't really rank them outside of a Christmas story and Christmas vacation one and two. No doubt about it.
00:36:10
Speaker
If there's other Christmas movies I need to watch between now and I'll keep watching them till the end of the year, probably drop a comment. Let me know if I need to watch that. If I need to watch one, the Whitney Houston movie comes out in theaters, not really a Christmas movie, but it comes out on Christmas day. I've read some reviews on that. It looks really good and a long overdue tribute to one of the greatest musical performers of all time in Whitney Houston.
00:36:40
Speaker
So in the end, as I wrap up, probably I'll probably do another one before the new year, as we'll get some more of these bowl games in and I'll get on a better schedule now going forward and get some more guests in. That was fun having David Noel last episode. So get some more guests in and drop some questions, some topics that you want to hear me talk about.
00:37:06
Speaker
And we'll get some more guests in as we get more frequent. But as we wrap up tonight,
00:37:13
Speaker
I hope everyone listening has a very, very, very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Very safe Christmas. I know a lot of people will be traveling between now and Christmas day. And then after Christmas, we'll be on the roads, you know, a couple of days after Christmas, going to see family and friends. And it really is a special, special time of year. Remember the reason.
00:37:42
Speaker
But also remember to spend time with friends and family and loved ones that you don't often see. It is a special, special time of year. The Christmas carols, the Christmas music, the movies and everything else. It's not just about the presents and everything. It's about spending time with friends and families and loved ones. And yes, it can get
00:38:05
Speaker
You can get bogged down in it and you can get run down with having to be here and there and you having to bring this and bring that and and whatnot. But it really is the best time of the year. And the fact that it's going to be bitterly cold in the majority of the country.
00:38:23
Speaker
for the next couple of days as we celebrate Christmas is kind of fitting as well because I have spent some time here in South Georgia with a 75 degree Christmas day and it's just weird. But maybe not as cold as it's going to be. But hug your loved ones, tell your loved ones you love them and enjoy this special time of year with your friends and family. And from the Ross Sports Report,
00:38:49
Speaker
I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and check out, I would be remiss if I logged off without pointing out the Ross Sports Report's new logos for the holidays on Twitter and I'm going to put it on the logo of this episode too, that Colton, my stepson, very talented, we talked about it before,
00:39:12
Speaker
He might be a guest here soon on the Ross Sports Report, talking about all his graphic arts that he does. He's talking about a website in the making, so stay tuned for that. But Colton designed the logo with the Happy Holidays for both the cover page on the Twitter and the profile picture as well.
00:39:34
Speaker
like to thank him for those. He does such great work and I'm blown away every time he sends me something to use and I post it right away too. So I'll put it up here as I post this. Once again, thanks for listening. Thanks for stopping by. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Ross Sports Report.