Why did the Stump reader cross the road??? To get to the other side! Never fully understood that one but for some reason that just feels right today! Big day today, and a big day yesterday! Travis Hunter won the Heisman, UConn is officially BACK, and the NBA Cup Finals matchup is set as well! Buckle up for a great Stump and a great NFL slate today!

We keep the feedback form active, so don’t be afraid to let us know what you think

Today’s Trivia🧠

(answer at the bottom of the Stump)

On This Day…

🏈 Before there was a Super Bowl, there was a National Football League Championship! On this day in 1935, the Detroit Lions beat the New York Giants, 26-7, to capture their first championship!

The Lions are currently the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl this year! Today they face off against the Buffalo Bills in a matchup of the year!

Today’s Stump Story…

🏀 Maui Was a Hiccup, UCONN is ROLLING!

Even the back-to-back champs needed time to gel! After a 3 day period with 3 straight losses just a few weeks ago, the fellas are cooking!

Yesterday, there was a loaded College Basketball slate that included buzzer beaters, stumpsets, and a SHOWDOWN in Madison Square Garden! It was basically a home game for (18) Uconn as (8) Gonzaga had to travel coast to coast to take on the champs.

Two years ago the Huskies had Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sonogo. Last year they had Cling Kong, Newton, Castle, and Spencer, and this year it seems like it’s a different approach. It’s a true committee! If you wanted to circle one guy who established himself yesterday, it was true Freshman Liam McNeeley. He had his season high of 26 points last night and showed that the moment was not too big for him.

Every couple of minutes when Gonzaga would cut into the Huskies lead, and UConn needed a bucket, out of everybody; they went to their freshman star. This was officially his coming out party to the rest of the country. People may talk about Hurley’s antics or talk about how the Huskies lack the star power to really go the distance this year, but they are a team playing together right now!

We are now on to conference play! And anything can happen in the Big East!

Quick Hitters

🏀 NBA Cup Semifinals! In the first semifinal matchup, we had the Milwaukee Bucks up against the Atlanta Hawks! It was close throughout but it ended up being the Bucks who got the win behind 32 points from Giannis and 25 from Dame! The Bucks seem to be getting back to full form! Trae Young and 35 and 10 of his own but it wasn’t enough. The Bucks advance to the Finals! The second matchup was between the Thunder and the surprising Rockets. The Rockets showed some fight but it was SGA and the Thunder who got the win, 111-96! SGA had 32 in the victory!

🏈 Travis Hunter narrowly wins Heisman Trophy over Ashton Jeanty! Travis Hunter did something we haven’t seen done in a very long time this season: he played both sides of the ball at the highest of levels! Yesterday he was rewarded for his stellar play with the Heisman Trophy. It was the closest vote in recent memory!

🏈 NAVY! ARMY! For all the marbles! In the highly anticipated Army-Navy faceoff, it was a surprising clinic from the Midshipmen from Navy who put their foot on the gas all game long! Navy Quarterback Blake Horvath was responsible for all 4 TDs for Navy, 3 of which were on the ground! A disappointing end to a great season for Army, but still a great 11-win season!

⚽️ We’d be remiss if we didn’t shout out the Newcastle MAGPIES! They hosted Leicester City yesterday and got the 4-0 convincing victory! It hasn’t been the best start for the pies, but they move to 11th in the table behind two goals from Jacob Murphy!

Other News:

• 🏀 NBA Cup Finalsl Preview

• 🏈 Could this be a potential Super Bowl Preview?

• 🏈 The Fake punt that sealed the deal!

Top Performers:

• 🏀 Liam McNeeley (UCONN): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists

• 🏈 Blake Horvath (NAVY): 4 TDs, W

• 🏀 SGA (OKC): 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists

• ⚽️ Jacob Murphy (Newcastle): 2 goals

Stump Favorites

🏈 Stat comparison for the two Heisman candidates!

🏀 The stage is set!

🏀 ACCESS DENIED!!!!

💯 Full Scoreboards: MLB, Soccer, PGA, NFL, WNBA, NCAAF, NHL

Today’s Slate

*All times are ET*

🏈 NFL: Chiefs @ Browns (1:00 PM ET), Ravens @ Giants (1:00 PM ET), Steelers @ Eagles (4:25 PM ET), Bills @ Lions (4:25 PM ET), full schedule

🏀 NBA: Pels @ Pacers (5:00 PM ET), Knicks @ Magic (6:00 PM ET), Mavs @ Warriors (8:30 PM ET), Grizzlies @ Lakers (9:30 PM ET), full schedule

🏀 NCAAM: Omaha @ (3) Iowa State (1:00 PM ET), SFA @ (12) Oregon (6:00 PM ET), full schedule

🏀 NCAAW: (21) Iowa @ (17) Michigan St. (12:00 PM ET), Georgetown @ (2) UConn (1:30 PM ET), (25) Georgia Tech @ (14) UNC (2:00 PM ET), full schedule

🏒 NHL: Sabres @ Maple Leafs (5:00 PM ET), Rangers @ Blues (6:00 PM ET), full schedule

⚽️ EPL: Brighton vs Crystal Palace (9:00 AM ET), Man City vs Man United (11:30 PM ET)

Trivia Answer:

The best game is whatever you think it is! It’s a bit of a slow 1pm slate, but still expect fireworks all day!

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 sports news in their life, send them this link, it would go a long way. Appreciate the hell out of you all…

Trees get chopped. Stumps hold strong 💪