📰🏟️ NFL Thankgsiving action
Plus: Amazon’s Black Friday sports bonanza…
Good afternoon. The top-five sports stories of the day are at your fingertips. Just keep scrolling.
Note: We’ll be back in your inbox next Tuesday. Have a happy Thanksgiving!
1) High-flying NFL offenses projected to shine on Thanksgiving
The NFL’s three-game slate on Thanksgiving carries an average over/under point total of 51.2, the highest such mark going back at least 40 seasons, according to ESPN Research.
Each game has some key storylines:
- The Packers (7-3-1) and Lions (7-4) will meet on Turkey Day for an NFL-record 23rd time, in a game with major NFC North implications.
- The Chiefs (6-5) and Cowboys (5-5-1) are both looking to keep their playoff hopes alive.
- The Ravens (6-5) face a Bengals squad (3-8) that’s expected to have QB Joe Burrow back for the first time since Week 2.
Gobble up a more in-depth preview
2) Gonzaga, Michigan advance to Players Era Championship finals
#7 Michigan was the clear top seed among the 18 men’s teams at the Players Era Championship, with a +70 point differential across the first two games.
- They’ll meet #12 Gonzaga (+49 point diff) in the finals tonight, where $1M in NIL money will be awarded to the winning team, and second place gets $500K.
- #17 Tennessee and Kansas will play for third place, while the other 14 teams are also matched up.
3) Amazon plans Black Friday sports bonanza
Two years after the streaming giant first had the idea to air a live NFL game the day after Thanksgiving, Amazon is diving headfirst into Black Friday sports content.
The company will air 15 hours of live sports content on Prime Video this Friday, highlighted by:
- Two NFL division leaders—the Eagles (8-3) and the Bears (8-3)—facing off at 2 pm ET.
- The revival of golf’s Skins Game, bringing together Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, and Keegan Bradley in a $4M competition.
- An NBA Cup doubleheader featuring the Bucks-Knicks and Lakers-Mavericks.
4) ESPN host Elle Duncan is leaving for Netflix
Duncan, who co-hosts 6pm SportsCenter and serves as the on-air host of the WNBA Finals and women’s Final Four at ESPN, is reportedly parting ways with the four-letter network to become the face of Netflix’s sports programming.
- It’s the latest sign that Netflix is increasingly becoming a competitor to ESPN in the sports media world.
- Last year, the sports network allowed its on-air personalities to work for Netflix—but ESPN recently denied a request to use its broadcasters for Netflix’s NFL games this Christmas.
5) Upstart women’s basketball league receives new major commit
Indiana Fever G Sophie Cunningham is the latest WNBA star to join “Project B,” the informally named new basketball league backed by major tech investors and current/former sports stars (including Novak Djokovic, Steve Young, and Candace Parker).
- Project B plans to host five-on-five men’s and women’s basketball competitions in Asia, Europe, and Latin America starting next fall.
- It will also pay “the highest salaries and equity packages in women’s team sports,” per league officials.
- Other major WNBA commits to Project B include All-Stars Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Mitchell, Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas, and Jewell Loyd.
How Project B is turning to Plan A
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