Show notes
NFL – National Football League – Week 16 Last Night Los Angeles Chargers 20, Indianapolis Colts 3 Chargers 20, Colts 3 – Chargers reach playoffs, beat Foles, overmatched Colts 20-3 Austin Ekeler scored on two 1-yard runs and the Los Angeles Chargers clinched their first playoff berth since 2018, intercepting Indianapolis quarterback Nick Foles three times to beat the overmatched Colts 20-3. Justin Herbert threw for 235 yards and Cameron Dicker made two short field goals for the Chargers, who won their third straight after getting the help they needed this weekend from Las Vegas, Miami, New England and the New York Jets. Los Angeles won on the road on a Monday night for the first time in more than a decade. Indianapolis lost its fifth straight under interim coach Jeff Saturday. NFL – Campbell: Lions will learn from loss, be ready for Bears The Detroit Lions could have gained the advantage for an NFC wild-card playoff berth with a victory last weekend. They instead got run over by the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, 37-23. Detroit coach Dan Campbell doesn’t necessarily look at it as a bad thing. He’s trying to spin the outcome into a positive. The good news for the Lions is that most of the other contenders for the final two wild-card spots also lost over the weekend. Detroit plays its final home game against Chicago on Sunday, then heads to Green Bay for the regular-season finale. NFL – Eberflus: Bears won’t consider sitting Fields rest of season Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus insists the team won’t shut down quarterback Justin Fields for the remaining two games. Fields was hobbling at the end of Saturday’s 35-13 loss to the Buffalo Bills after someone stepped on his foot. His nonthrowing, left shoulder also bothered him during the game. That’s the same one he separated last month. But Eberflus said Monday sitting him the rest of the way is “absolutely not” a consideration because the Bears need to improve. The Bears matched the 1978 and 2002 teams for the franchise record with their eighth straight loss. NFL – Another QB change for Colts produces same futile results The Indianapolis Colts tried their third starting quarterback of the season Monday night. It didn’t make a difference. Indy’s struggling offense produced just one field goal and no third-down conversions. Nick Foles threw three interceptions and was sacked seven times. For the Colts, this kind of futility has been the norm regardless of whether Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger or Foles was behind center. And with only two games remaining in this season of futility, the Colts seem to be out of options. NFL – Broncos fire rookie head coach Hackett after 4-11 start The Denver Broncos have fired coach Nathaniel Hackett after 15 games. Hackett never was able to get quarterback Russell Wilson out of a season-long slump. The Broncos are 4-11 and have posted their sixth straight losing season and are missing the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season. Hackett replaced Vic Fangio last January but the Broncos got worse in almost every category under the first-time head coach. Players were told during a team meeting Monday that senior assistant coach Jerry Rosburg will serve as interim head coach. NHL – National Hockey League Tonight Chicago Blackhawks at Carolina Hurricanes, 7:00 p.m. NCAAFB – College Football – Bowls Yesterday Quick Lane Bowl – Ford Field – Detroit New Mexico State 24, Bowling Green 19 New Mexico State 24, Bowling Green 19 – New Mexico State holds off Bowling Green in Quick Lane Bowl Diego Pavia threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and New Mexico State held off a late rally by Bowling Green to win the Quick Lane Bowl 24-19. The Aggies were up 24-7 late in the third quarter, but the Falcons closed the gap in the fourth quarter. It was 24-19 after a field goal, a safety off of a blocked punt and Camden Orth’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Broden with 6:27 left. Bowling Green lost starting quarterback Matt McDonald early in the first quarter when he was hit late by Aggies safety Dylan Early while going out of bounds on a third-down run. NBA – National Basketball Association Last Night Los Angeles Clippers 142, Detroit Pistons 131 – OT Houston Rockets 133, Chicago Bulls 118 New Orleans Pelicans 113, Indiana Pacers 93 Clippers 142, Pistons 131 – OT – George, Clippers rally late, beat Pistons 142-131 in OT Paul George scored 32 points and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a 14-point deficit in the final 3:34 of regulation to beat the Detroit Pistons 142-131 in overtime. Terance Mann hit a tying jumper with 5 seconds left in regulation to cap a closing 16-2 run for the Clippers, who trailed 126-112 with 3:34 remaining. Los Angeles then outscored Detroit 14-3 in the extra period. Ivica Zubac added 12 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has beaten Detroit eight straight times. The Clippers had seven players in double figures. Bojan Bogdanovic led Detroit with 23 points, including the Pistons’ only field goal of the last eight minutes. Rockets 133, Bulls 118 – Porter’s 36 points lead Rockets past Bulls 133-118 Kevin Porter Jr. scored a season-high 36 points and the Houston Rockets pulled away in the second half for a 133-118 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The Rockets sank 50 of 90 shots to help snap a five-game losing streak. DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points to lead Chicago, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Rockets blew an 18-point first-quarter lead but countered with a 17-1 run in the third to erase a 74-67 deficit. Pelicans 113, Pacers 93 – Marshall leads short-handed Pelicans past Pacers, 113-93 Naji Marshall scored a career-high 22 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans extended their winning streak to three games, beating the Indiana Pacers 113-93. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 15 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Myles Turner scored 14 points for Indiana. Tonight Atlanta Hawks at Indiana Pacers, 7:30 p.m. NCAAMBKB – Men’s College Basketball Tonight Jacksonville at Notre Dame, 7:00 p.m. NCAAMBKB – No. 1 Purdue headlines AP Top 25; Miami leaps, UNC returns Purdue remained atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for a third straight week. The week also included preseason No. 1 North Carolina returning to the rankings at No. 25 and New Mexico cracking the poll for the first time in eight years. The Boilermakers earned 40 of 60 first-place votes in Monday’s new poll, while fellow unbeaten Connecticut earned the other 20 to sit at No. 2 in an unchanged top. Houston, Kansas and Arizona rounded out the top five. Miami made the week’s biggest jump by climbing eight spots to No. 14. NCAAWBKB – No. 1 South Carolina women reach milestone in AP Top 25 South Carolina maintained its hold on top of The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. The Gamecocks have held the No. 1 spot for 27 consecutive weeks. That is the fifth longest run all-time. UConn has three of the top four streaks, including the record 51-week run from Feb. 18, 2008 to Dec. 10, 2010. Louisiana Tech has the second longest streak of 36 weeks. The top five teams remained unchanged as Stanford, Ohio State, Indiana and Notre Dame stayed behind the Gamecocks. South Carolina hosts Texas A&M on Thursday. NCAAHKY – College Hockey Tonight 57th Great Lakes Invitational – Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids Western Michigan vs. Michigan Tech, 3:30 p.m. Michigan State vs. Ferris State, 7:00 p.m. MHSAA – High School Sports Tonight Boys Basketball Earl McKee Holiday Classic at Benton Harbor Farnum Gym Ypsilanti Lincoln vs. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills, 5:15 p.m. Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at Benton Harbor, 7:00 p.m. Girls Basketball Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills at Benton Harbor, 3:30 p.m.Los Angeles Chargers’ Austin Ekeler (30) runs in for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)Los Angeles Clippers guard Reggie Jackson (1) looks to pass the ball against Detroit Pistons guard Killian Hayes (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. (3) celebrates with guard Jalen Green (4) after making a 3-point basket against the Chicago Bulls during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Quinn Harris)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.