If you liked obscure college football games, you had one hell of a day yesterday. All three bowl games were absolutely electric. From overtime battles, to big comebacks, to high-scoring shootouts, those games covered it all. In England, it was boxing day, so we highlighted the Premier League and some midseason updates. All of that, and wayyyyy more in today’s edition of The Daily Stump…

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Today’s Trivia🧠

(answer at the bottom of the Stump)

On This Day…

🏀 On this day in 2022, Luka Doncic becomes the first player in NBA history to register a 60-21-10 triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks beat the NY Knicks, 126-121.

This was also the first 60-point game in Mavs franchise history. Don’t forget how much of a baller this guy is while he recovers from a calf injury.

Today’s Stump Story…

⚽️ Boxing Day in the UK

Boxing Day, in English history, is the day after Christmas and refers to lords and aristocrats giving their servants “boxes” filled with leftovers and small gifts from their Christmas parties. This has nothing to do with the Premier League, but it feels like a good opportunity to talk about it.

Fulham wins in Stanford Bridge for first time since 1979: Chelsea took the lead in the 16th minute thanks to Cole Palmer, but it was Fulham who would take the day. The Fulham squad attacked Chelsea all day long, not giving an inch despite being down 1-0. Harry Wilson scored in the 82nd minute to knot it up and Rodrigo Muniz was the big hero with a 95th minute winner. Fulham wins in Chelsea’s house for the first time in 41 years.

Nottingham Forest Just Keeps Climbing the Table: Following yesterdays 1-0 win over Tottenham, Forest has more points today than they did all of last year. They have notched 10 total wins, their third consecutive in Premier League play for the first time in 1995. They currently sit in third place in the table, 11 spots behind first-place Liverpool. They are one of three teams with more than 10 wins. For a team that starred down relegation last year to be battling for a top 4 spot in the EPL is absolutely phenomenal.

Manchester Soccer is in a Dark Place: It’s not a good time to be a Manchester fan, no matter if you root for City or United. City has fell all the way to 7th and United currently sits at 14th. Woof. City drew with Everton 1-1 after Erling Haaland missed a late game penalty to win the ball game. United was embarrassed by the Wolves, 2-0, in an ugly performance on the road. It’s weird to see the EPL table without these two giants at the top, but the drama that’s coming out of the two clubs has been fascinating.

Newcastle Continues to Prove People Wrong: The Magpies are right in the thick of the battle for a top 4 finish as they currently sit in 5th with 29 points on the year. Their star, Alexander Isak, has 10 goals on the season, good enough for 4th in all of the Premier League. This team isn’t full of big name stars and massive contracts, but they just fight and win. The growth of Anthony Gordon, the return from injury of Kieran Trippier, and great form of Jacob Murphy, Fabian Schar, and Harvey Barnes, among others has this team on the right path.

Quick Hitters

🏈 BOWL GAME CENTRAL: GameAbove Sports Bowl: If you watched this game, take a breath. Man it was a rollercoaster. Toledo and Pitt went to 6 overtimes, multiple second half lead changes, and just great quality football. Toledo stormed the field TWICE due to reversed calls and late penalty flags, but the third time was the charm. Toledo 48, Pitt 46. Rate Bowl: Another absolutely electric bowl game as Rutgers and Kansas State gave us a lot to write about. Rutgers was firmly in control of the game halfway through the third quarter with a 17-point lead. Kansas State came STORMING all the way back to score a touchdown to take the lead with about 4 minutes to go into the game. Rutgers had a shot to go down the field and win but couldn’t. Kansas State 44, Rutgers 42. 68 Ventures Bowl: The day probably ended with a low-scoring, less exciting game, right? NOPE! The Red Wolves of Arkansas State completed the rebound year with a BOWL WIN over Bowling Green, 38-31!

🏈 Thursday Night Football: I’m going to keep this one short and sweet so we can all move on from that game and forget it even happened: Seahawks 6, Bears 3.

🤝 Former NFL Pro Bowl WR DeSean Jackson finalizing deal to become the new head coach of Division One HBCU Delaware State. Jackson last played during the 2022 season with the Baltimore Ravens, but spent the most successful part of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Jackson is the latest NFL Alumni to take over a college program in recent weeks, joining Bill Belichick and Mike Vick. Jackson’s only coaching experience came as an assistant coach with Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. Delaware State went 1-11 last season.

👋 Longtime NCAA Men’s Basketball head coach, Jim Larranaga, will step down as the head coach of Miami U, effective immediately. Larranaga, who turned 75 in October, took over the program in 2011. He led the Hurricanes to six NCAA tournaments and four sweet sixteen’s, which included a 2023 final four appearance. He spent 14 years as the head coach of George Mason before taking over at Miami, where he led the Patriots to an epic Final Four appearance in 2006 as a 11-seed, defeating Michigan State, North Carolina, and UConn along the way.

Other News:

• 🔙 Teddy “Two-Glove” Bridgewater is back in the NFL

• 🌴 Jimmy is staying in south beach according to prez

• 🤕 CeeDee shut down for rest of season

Top Performers:

• 🚀 Junior Vandeross III (TOL): 12 receptions, 194 yards, 1 TD, W

• 🏈 Dylan Edwards (KST): 223 total yards, 3 total TDs, W

• 🏀 SGA (OKC): 45 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds

• 🏈 Harold Fannin Jr (BGSU): 17 rec, 213 yards, 1 TD!

Stump Favorites

🏈 That Seahawks - Bears game…

💨 TOLEDO BIG MAN TOUCHDOWN

🔥 Jordan Poole game-winner

🤯 FAKE PUNT TO THE HOUSE

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

Today’s Slate

*All times are ET*

🏈 NCAAF: Lockhead Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Oklahoma vs Navy (12:00 PM on ESPN) ; Birmingham Bowl: GA Tech vs Vanderbilt (3:30 PM on ESPN) ; Autozone Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech vs Arkansas (7:00 PM on ESPN) ; DirecTV Holiday Bowl: Syracuse vs Washington State (8:00 PM on FOX) ; Las Vegas Bowl: Texas A&M vs USC (10:30 PM on ESPN)

🏀 NBA on NBATV: Pacers @ Celtics (7:30 PM), Warriors @ Clippers (10:00 PM), full schedule

⚽️ EPL: Brighton vs Brentford (2:30 PM on Peacock), Arsenal vs Ipswich Town (3:15 PM on USA Network), full schedule

🏀 NCAAM: Arlington Baptist @ (25) Baylor (7:00 PM on ESPN+), full schedule

🏀 NCAAW: No ranked teams in action, full schedule

🏒 NHL ESPN2 Double Header: Blackhawks @ Sabres (7:00 PM), Avs @ Utah Hockey Club (9:30 PM), full schedule

Trivia Answer:

A. Alan Shearer! Shearer scored 260 career goals in the Premier League, which is 47 more than Harry Kane who is second all-time. Shearer spent the first 4 seasons of his career with the Blackburn Rovers football club before moving over to Newcastle United, where he spent the rest of his career and won a EPL championship. He retired in 2006.

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 💪