Good morning, Stumpers!

Let’s address the ELEPHANT in the room! Yes, yes, we’ve done it again! We’ve chosen an absolutely LEGENDARY trio of a Quote, Song, and Glue Guy of the day! Other than that, can’t think of anything else to talk about. There was a lot from the sports world yesterday! The Raiders and Cowboys each hired their HC, there was a South Carolina-LSU showdown in Women’s Hoops, and a massive slate of Men’s Hoops on deck today! Let’s STUMP!

Today’s Rundown

Everything you’ll get from today’s edition, and more:

• 🤝 There’s a familiar face as the new head coach of the Raiders

• 🎙️ Not sure if you would know our Song of the Day, but you’ll never forget it after today

• 🎾 Australian Open has reached a boiling point, who’s taking home the crown for the men? Don’t forget to check the women’s final score.

• 🏈 NFL Playoffs are down to the final four, who advances, who goes home?

On This Day

⛷️ The First Winter Olympic Games!

On this day in 1924, the first Winter Olympics took place in Chamonix, France, in the shadows of Mont Blanc in the French Alps!

There were only six sports included in the competition—ski jump, bobsled, curling, ice hockey, skiing, and skating.

Trivia Time

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: The average 30-second commercial during the 2024 Super Bowl cost (A) $7 million. 

Before We Dive In…

👀 Here’s Yesterday’s MUST-See’s

• 🏒 A UConn Hockey GAME WINNER with less than a second left on the clock

• 🏀 Umm…The Grizzlies are officially…on fire???% 5 in a row for Memphis! They are the 3 SEED IN THE WEST!

• 🏒 “THE SAVE OF HIS LIFE!“ ROBBERY in Dallas!

The Hot Stove

NFL Coaching Carousel

🏴‍☠️ The Raiders Get Their Guy! Cowboys Get A Guy!

What to know: The Raiders moved on from former head coach Antonio Pierce after just one season. They entered this year’s offseason with one goal in mind: change the culture. They found that yesterday when they hired former Seattle Seahawks long-time head man Pete Carroll. One of the few coaches to win both a college national championship and a Super Bowl, Carroll was the head coach in Seattle for 14 years.

Since 2001, Carroll has spent all of his time coaching on the West Coast. He went from USC, to Seattle, and now Las Vegas. With a strong feel for what it takes to win in the NFL, he’ll bring some much-needed experience to Vegas. Carroll is known for being a teacher and a motivator, a guy who players WANT to play for. Who knows what the future holds in Vegas, but as far as how it looks on paper, this is a slam-dunk hire.

In non-Raiders related news: The Dallas Cowboys reached an agreement with their offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, to be their next head coach. Schottenheimer brings a wealth of offensive knowledge as he has been the playcaller for 12 years, mostly coming with the Seahawks. His father, Marty, was the head coach of the Browns, Chiefs, Redskins, and Chargers. In total, Marty was a head man for 21 years, making the playoffs in 18.

Schottenheimer surely has the heritage to become a very successful head guy in the NFL, but will the big, bad wolf named Jerry Jones come knocking down his house in 2-3 years? Only time will tell..

Women’s College Basketball

🏀 Powerhouse’s Faceoff in Columbia

What to know: Beating South Carolina in their own building is always tough, even when you’re the 5th ranked team in the nation. This year’s South Carolina team may not be as dominant as the teams of the past, but man, do they know how to win.

South Carolina’s starters struggled, only one was able to reach double digits scoring with 12 points. It was their bench that made all the difference in the world. LSU was only able to scrape together 2 bench points, while SC had 31 bench points in total. For those of us not good at math, that’s a 29-point difference. Undoubtedly the difference in the game and what cost LSU their first loss of the season. SC 66 - LSU 56.

Men’s College Basketball

🏀 Saturday Full of Showdowns

What to know: The college basketball world always seems to come alive on Saturdays, and this week is no exception. From SEC showdowns, to the top two in the Big 12, today has a little bit of everything.

(13) Texas A&M @ Texas (2:30 PM on ESPN2): The historic rivalry between two of Texas’s most famous universities takes it to the hardwood. The Longhorns have had a pretty up-and-down season, but currently sit at 13-6. They’ve struggled in SEC play with a record of 2-4, including an embarrassing 80-60 loss in College Station against A&M three weeks ago.

A&M will have to stop Texas freshman Tre Johnson if they want to take this one. Coming off of two big wins versus Ole Miss and LSU, the Aggies take their 15-4 record on the road to Austin.

(16) Ole Miss vs (22) Missouri (6:00 PM on SEC Network): When this game was scheduled before the season started, who knew both of these programs would be ranked?? The SEC surely didn’t, that’s why this game isn’t on national television.

Missouri is coming off of a bad loss to Texas, but it was on the road in Austin. Ole Miss is coming off a bad loss to Texas A&M in their home stadium, so it’s safe to say that both these teams need a bounce-back win. Both currently sit at 15-4 and are desperate to prove they belong on the big stage, it’ll be a cage fight.

(7) Houston vs (12) Kansas (6:30 PM on ESPN): Talk about a MASSIVE matchup… Kansas. Houston. In one of the most historic venues in all of college basketball. This will be their first meeting of the season and Houston brings an 11-game win streak into the game and Kansas has won 5 of their last 6.

The two programs have been mainstays atop the Big 12 in recent memory, and this one should surely be a fun one. Houston’s stars LJ Cryer and Kansas’s dudes Zeke Mayo and Hunter Dickinson will bring the highlights, you just gotta prop yourself up in front of the TV.

(6) Auburn @ (1) Auburn (8:30 PM on ESPN): The second part of the ESPN double headers comes in the form of two of the best programs in the country. Both programs have donned the (1) team in the country at some point this year and will be looking to prove who really is the best in the land.

Auburn star Johni Broome is up for National Player of the Year, averaging just under 18 points and 11 rebounds, he’ll be a game-time decision. Both teams lean on their defense, with Tennessee allowing less that 60 points per game over their last 10 games. If you’re looking for something to watch now that college football is over and the NFL is limited, tune into this one.

Quick Hitters

• 🏈 Texans fire OC Bobby Slowik after two seasons

• 👮 Patriots Jabrill Peppers acquitted in assault and battery trial

• 🃏 Vegas to host College Football championship in 2027

• 🚫 11-year old rejects Pirates offer for rare Paul Skenes baseball card

• 🏒 BLOCKBUSTER deal goes down in the NHL

What We’re Watching

🏀🇫🇷 Pacers vs Spurs — 12:00 PM ET in Paris, France — ESPN

• This will be the second of two games between the two in Paris, here’s the highlights from the other day. It was a Spurs blowout in Wemby’s return to France, as he dropped a 30-point double-double. The Pacers look for revenge in game two.

🎓️🏀 Read our little preview of the big college ball matchups today (🔼), you can’t go wrong with any of those…

🎾 Australian Open — If you’re reading this, the women’s final is OVER! Click here for the results…

⚽️ Man City vs Chelsea — 12:30 PM ET — Peacock

• Both teams have been pretty up and down this year, which is uncharacteristic for clubs with this much talent. Who can get back on the right track in this battle of two historic clubs?

🏒 (9) Boston University vs (1) Boston College — 7:00 PM ET — ESPN+

• Two absolute powerhouse programs who love to fight for bragging rights? Yeah, I’m in. Who’s the best in Boston…?

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

Can’t thank you enough for sticking to the end of this thing we call The Daily Stump. If you know anybody who might want this bit of daily juice in their life, send them this link, it would go a long way. Appreciate the hell out of you all!

Trees may get chopped. Stumps hold strong 🌴