Mickey Togs

The final Associated Press Top 25 College Football Poll for the 2024 season was released hours after the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 34-23, in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Four Big Ten teams — No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 5 Penn State and No. 10 Indiana — finished in the top 10 while three SEC teams — No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Georgia and No. 9 Tennessee — were included. 

1.  Ohio State (Big Ten)- 14-2
2. Notre Dame (IA Independents)- 14-2
3. Oregon (Big Ten)- 13-1
4. Texas (SEC)- 13-3
5. Penn State (Big Ten)- 13-3
6. Georgia (SEC)- 11-3
7. Arizona State (Big 12)- 11-3
8. Boise State (Mountain West)- 12-2
9. Tennessee (SEC)- 10-3
10. Indiana (Big Ten)- 11-2
11. Ole Miss (SEC)- 10-3
12. SMU (ACC)- 11-3
13. BYU (Big 12)- 11-2
14. Clemson (ACC)- 10-4
15. Iowa State (Big 12)- 11-3
16. Illinois (Big Ten)- 10-3
17. Alabama (SEC)- 9-4
18. Miami (FL)- (ACC)- 10-3
19. South Carolina (SEC)- 9-4
20. Syracuse (ACC)- 10-3
21. Army (AAC)- 12-2
22. Missouri (SEC)- 10-3
23. UNLV (Mountain West)- 11-3
24. Memphis (AAC)- 11-2
25. Colorado (Big 12)- 9-4

Following a 6-year hiatus, Popeyes is welcoming back Hushpuppy Butterfly Shrimp alongside a new Surf & Turf meal with a new configuration.

The Hushpuppy Butterfly Shrimp Combo features 8 pieces of butterfly shrimp coated in a light, crispy Hushpuppy cornmeal crust, served with creole cocktail sauce and paired with your choice of a signature side and a hot, buttery biscuit all starting at $6.

Popeyes is also launching the new Hushpuppy Butterfly Shrimp Surf & Turf Sandwich Combo featuring the brand’s signature Chicken Sandwich – for the first time – paired with 4 pieces of Hushpuppy Butterfly Shrimp and creole cocktail dipping sauce, all for a suggested price of $7.

You can also enjoy the classic Hushpuppy Butterfly Shrimp Surf & Turf Tender Combo, which includes four pieces of Hushpuppy Butterfly Shrimp, two Tenders and two dipping sauces.

The Detroit Lions’ greatest season ever is over. The Washington Commanders had every answer Saturday night.

The Lions turned the ball four times, including a fumble and pick-six from Jared Goff and a trick play that ended with a season-crushing Jameson Williams interception, as Jayden Daniels and the Commanders silenced the Ford Field crowd in a shocking 45-31 upset.

Washington (14-5) moves onto the NFC championship game next Sunday for the first time since 1991, at either the Philadelphia Eagles or Los Angeles Rams.

The Lions (15-3) go home after a best-ever 15-2 regular season and their first-ever No. 1 seed. A win would have given them their first chance to host an NFC title game. They are only NFC team never to reach the Super Bowl.

The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a massive contract extension for star quarterback Jalen Hurts, giving him a new deal for five years and a whopping $255 million, according to multiple reports, making him the highest-paid player in NFL history at an average of $51 million per year.

The contract includes $179.3 million in guarantees and a no-trade clause.

Hurts, 24, had a dominant season for the Eagles in 2022, helping lead Philadelphia to the Super Bowl.

The NFC Pro Bowler passed for 3,701 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in the regular season, while also adding 760 yards rushing and 13 TDs on the ground.

The Alabama and Oklahoma product also had a sensational Super Bowl, completing 71 percent of his passes for 301 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers in the game – which the Eagles barely lost to the Chiefs, 38-35.

WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan hinted at possibly serving a role in President-elect Donald Trump‘s cabinet during an appearance on FOX News.

“You know something, you’d be great to run the President’s Council on Physical Fitness,” Trump told Hogan backstage at Madison Square Garden during Trump’s sold out rally.

“I was talking about nutrition and how many foreign countries won’t even let their people eat the food that we eat here in America,” Hogan said.

“It’s so bad and it’s poisoned a generation of kids,’ he added. “And at the end of the day, we started talking about physical fitness.”

Hogan claimed Trump suggested he’d be a great fit for the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.

“And it would be great if you got all the kids in America in shape,” Hogan said.

After losing the Juan Soto sweepstakes, the New York Yankees began the unfurling of Plan B. Step one of The Great Bronx Pivot is an eight-year, $218 million contract with former Atlanta Braves southpaw Max Fried. The deal is the fourth-largest ever for a starting pitcher and the largest in MLB history for a left-hander.

Fried, who turns 31 in January, boasts the single lowest ERA in baseball since the start of 2020. Less reliant on strikeouts than other frontline hurlers, the two-time All-Star is elite at two other very valuable skills: avoiding hard contact and conjuring a parade of groundouts. That, alongside a track record of pinpoint control, means Fried carries a uniquely high floor.

Originally drafted seventh overall by the San Diego Padres out of an L.A.-area high school in 2012, Fried was dealt to Atlanta in 2014 as part of the prospect return for Justin Upton. Across parts of eight  seasons with the Braves, the left-hander established himself as one of the sport’s more dependable starting pitchers. He finishes his Atlanta tenure with a sparkling 3.07 ERA in 884 1/3 innings.

For the Yankees, signing Fried will not single-handedly erase the shattering disappointment of losing Soto, but it’s a strong start.

Sunday’s regular season finale looked a lot like the games the Jets were imagining when they traded for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Jets to a 32-20 win over the Dolphins at MetLife Stadium. Unfortunately, the win only moved the Jets’ record to 5-12 so they will not be playing any postseason games with the veteran quarterback.

The Dolphins won’t be playing any either. They came into Sunday with hopes of advancing to the playoffs, but the Broncos crushed the Chiefs second-string to sew up a playoff berth and eliminate the Dolphins before they officially eliminated themselves with the loss.

Rodgers hit tight end Tyler Conklin with his first touchdown and that made him the fourth player in NFL history to reach 500 career passing touchdowns. He ends the season with 503, which is five behind his former teammate Brett Favre for fourth place in league history. The questions of whether Rodgers will keep playing and, if he does, where he’ll be playing will be storylines to watch as the offseason gets rolling.

In addition to figuring out Rodgers’s situation, the Jets have big questions to answer about their next head coach and General Manager. Those decisions will chart a new course for a team that has now gone 14 seasons without making the playoffs.

The New York Giants closed out their 2024 regular season schedule with a trip down the New Jersey Turnpike to face the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

The Eagles began the week locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC and sat many of their key players, including former Giant running back Saquon Barkley, who was on pace to set a new NFL single-season mark for rushing yards.

The Giants were playing out the string and had most of their healthy starters on the field but played without inside linebacker Micah McFadden, center John Michael Schmitz, and right tackle Evan Neal again.

• The Giants could not muster much offense against an Eagles defense comprised of mainly backups. They had just 238 yards of total offense.
• The Eagles went 2-for-4 in the red zone, scoring two pass plays while the Giants only had one trip into the red zone and ended up kicking a field goal.
• The game was largely even statistically with the exception of penalties. The Giants had six for 40 yards while the Eagles had just one accepted penalty for zero yards.

Drew Lock’s pass deep left intended for Jalin Hyatt was intercepted  by Eagles defensive back Sydney Brown at the Philadelphia 33-yard line and returned to the Giants’ 46 with 36 seconds remaining in regulation.

That killed any hope the Giants had of a comeback victory and sealed the 20-13 win for Philadelphia.

The Bills (13-3) routed the Jets (4-12) in a 40-14 final. New York only put up points once both teams pulled their starters from the contest in the fourth quarter, only further displaying Buffalo’s dominance on Sunday. 

With the victory, the Bills have locked up the No. 2 overall seed in the AFC ahead of the 2024 NFL postseason. That means Buffalo earned a “defacto bye” in Week 18, which will give their starters some well-deserved rest.

The battle for the 2024 NFL MVP Award continues to go back and forth between Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. Allen staked another claim against the Jets. 

Allen was 16-for-27 passing for 182 yards with two touchdowns. Allen rushed in another score and did not turn the ball over.

The Jets only put points on the board when they took quarterback Aaron Rodgers out and put former Bill Tyrod Taylor under center. Buffalo’s defense essentially shutout New York. Both sides of the ball were fantastic for the Bills.

The top highlight for Buffalo was AJ Epenesa’s safety. Rodgers had a few backup offensive linemen in front of him due to injury. The Bills had four sacks, hit Rodgers six more times, and had two interceptions, even defensive tackle Jordan Phillips hauled one in. Over his past eight games, Rodgers only had one pick.

The New York Mets wanted Juan Soto to know his future with them could be set in stone.

When the free agent outfielder traveled to owner Steve Cohen’s house in Beverly Hills, California, for a presentation last month, the team unveiled a video that included an image of a future Soto statue outside Citi Field, next to the one erected of franchise great Tom Seaver.

“Everything that they showed me, what they have, what they want to do, it was incredible,” Soto said. “But my favorite part was the video.”

Juan Soto was introduced at Citi Field after his record $765 million, 15-year contract was finalized. He was flanked by Mets owner Steve Cohen, president of baseball operations David Stearns and agent Scott Boras. 

Cohen purchased the Mets ahead of the 2021 season and has boosted them to baseball’s highest payroll in search of the team’s first title since 1986.

The value of Soto’s contract eclipsed Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. The 26-year-old Soto batted .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks this year and has a .285 career average with 201 homers, 592 RBIs and 769 walks over seven seasons with Washington, San Diego and the Yankees.

Soto’s success will be determined by World Series titles. The Yankees have 27, the Mets two.