Weekly Sports Update

NFL playoffs

The 2021-2022 NFL regular season has officially come to a close, setting the playoff seedings in stone. 

The AFC rankings are: 

1. Tennessee Titans 
2. Kansas City Chiefs 
3. Buffalo Bills 
4. Cincinnati Bengals
5. Las Vegas Raiders 
6. New England Patriots 
7. Pittsburgh Steelers

The NFC rankings are: 

1. Green Bay Packers
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
3. Dallas Cowboys 
4. Los Angeles Rams
5. Arizona Cardinals
6. San Francisco 49’ers
7. Philadelphia Eagles

The NFL playoffs will begin on Saturday, Jan. 15, with two games. The Las Vegas Raiders will play the Cincinnati Bengals at 3:30 p.m., with  the Bengals looking for their first playoff win since 1990. At 7:15 p.m., the New England Patriots, with rookie quarterback Mac Jones, will play the Buffalo Bills. 

On Sunday, Jan. 16, the first round will continue with three games: the Philadelphia Eagles versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; the Dallas Cowboys against the San Francisco 49’ers; and the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Los Angeles Rams square off against division foe Arizona Cardinals on Monday, Jan. 16, to cap off the first round of the NFL playoffs. 

NFL coaches fired

Following the conclusion of the 2021 season, several teams made the decision to fire head coaches.

Joe Judge, Vic Fangio, Brian Flores, Mike Zimmer and Matt Nagy were all fired from their respective head coaching positions. Reports are expecting more firing down the line.

MLB lockout and work stoppage

The MLB is officially locked out and has begun a full work stoppage. Until the owners and the players union come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement, no contracts can be signed and players cannot contact coaches and front office executives. 

Meetings to agree to a new CBA were suspended for weeks, but reports have said new discussions began on Thursday, Jan 13.  

NBA season update

The NBA season continues on as the all-star break inches closer. The Chicago Bulls sit at No. 1 in the Eastern Conference with a 27-11 record. The Phoenix Suns are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference at 31-9. 

Kyrie Irving

The Kyrie Irving saga continues as the Brooklyn Nets point guard and perennial all-star began the season away from the team due to his unvaccinated status. A state of New York mandate stated athletes must be vaccinated to play in New York arenas. Despite being able to play in away games, the team made the decision to prohibit Irving from being a part-time player.

The Nets announced on Dec. 13 that Irving would be reinstated to the team only playing in games away from New York. Irving played his first game on Wednesday, Jan 5 against the Indiana Pacers. 

Irving will continue to play in away games only for the foreseeable future. 

Steph Curry

Golden State Warriors point guard, Stephen Curry, broke the all-time record for 3-pointers on Dec. 14, surpassing Ray Allen’s number of 3,273 career 3-pointers. Curry set the record in 511 fewer games than Allen. 

Latest on Novak Djokovic in Australia

Current tennis No. 1, Novak Djokovic, is awaiting a ruling on whether or not he can remain in Australia for the Australian Open beginning on Sunday, Jan. 16. 

Djokovic was detained and his visa was cancelled for entering the Australian border unvaccinated. Djokovic said he thought he had a medical exemption for having had COVID-19 a month prior. 

A judge ruled in Djokovic’s favor, reinstating his visa on Monday, Jan. 10. Australian Immigration Minister, Alex Hawke, could still revoke his visa and force him out of the country in spite of this. It is unclear if or when this decision will be made. 

Despite uncertainty, Djokovic was drawn into the tournament matching up against Miomir Kecmanovic.