It was a PROPER NFL game last night: lead changes, in division rivalry, and second-half SNOW! From the indoor sports section of the night: a second-year NBA player scored his career-high in points last night, on his birthday! We’ll talk about the weird world of St. Petersburg, Florida, a #1 recruit staying home to play college football, and the MVPs from the MLB. It’s a great day to read the Daily Stump…

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Today’s Trivia🧠

(answer at the bottom of the Stump!)

On This Day…

♟️On this day in 2013, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen defeats Viswanathan Anand to win the 2013 World Chess Championship, and the first of his career.

Magnus is still one of the best, if not the best, chess grandmaster in the world. He is only 33 years old, and won his first when he was just 22, the second youngest person to ever hold the title.

Today’s Stump Story…

🏀 The Quiet Comeback of Ty Jerome

The Cavs have been the story of the season so far in the NBA, but could a backup point guard be the fuel behind it?

If you at all are familiar with Ty Jerome, it’s probably from his time at the University of Virginia under legendary head coach Tony Bennett. Jerome started every game for UVA in his sophomore and junior years before entering the NBA draft. Jerome won the national championship in his final year before being taken with the 24th overall pick in the NBA draft.

Jerome played his first season with the Suns, but didn’t really start playing significant minutes until his second year in the NBA with the Thunder. His fourth season is where he really caught some eyes, as he stepped into a massive role for the 2022-23 Golden State Warriors. Going into last season he signed with the Cavs. 2 games into the year, Jerome broke his ankle. Boom, out for the year.

The Cavs were strikingly quiet this past offseason, many questioned their plan. The rise of Ty Jerome into a significant player for this team has answered a lot of the questions the Cavs didn’t answer over the summer. It was obvious the Cavs needed more bench scoring, especially from the point guard position, after last season’s exit in the second round of the playoffs.

Jerome has scored more than 20 points three times this year and has been extremely efficient on the offensive side of the ball. He’s shot 55% from three and 59% from two while adding a couple of rebounds and four assists off the bench. He’s twice now set a new career high in points, which now sits at 29.

The Cavs didn’t really know what they had in Jerome, as he only played two games, but they stuck to their guns. He’s quietly putting together one of the best comeback stories in the whole NBA, and he’s doing it by playing significant minutes for the team currently in first place in the Eastern Conference. If Cleveland wants to continue to their early-season dominance, they’ll need Jerome to keep stepping up.

Quick Hitters

🏈 It was a WINTER WONDERLAND last night in Cleveland, and boy did the game not disappoint, either! The 2-8 Cleveland Browns take down the AFC North 1st-place Pittsburgh Steelers! An epic back and forth battle took place, but it was the Browns who were knocking down the Steelers hail marry to win the game when it came down to it. Led by Jameis Winston and Nick Chubb, the Browns offense did just enough as the defense really stepped up. The Steelers look to bounce back next week against the Bengals, but will hold onto their 1st place division spot no matter the outcomes of the rest of the weekend.

⚾️ Something weird is going on in St. Petersburg, Florida, concerning the Tampa Bay Rays. The City Council initially approved $23 million to repair the hurricane-shredded roof of the Rays’ ballpark, Tropicana Field. Hours later, the council reversed course and changed their mind. This is days after the city voted to delay decision on a newly-proposed $1.3 billion stadium in the city. I don’t think anyone really knows what is going on, even the Rays co-president came out and said he’s not confident about what the future holds. Are the Rays the next team to be pushed out of their city?

🏈 The number one recruit in all of college football decided where he’s going to play ball yesterday. Bryce Underwood, a 6’4”, 210lbs QB from Belleville, Michigan, is the number one rated recruit in the entire 2025 class. Underwood, who was initially committed to LSU, shocked the football world when he flipped his commitment and announced he’ll be attending the University of Michigan. Underwood, a Michigan native, becomes the highest-rated recruit in Michigan history. The QB was committed to LSU for more than 10 months, but Michigan stayed in touch. Underwood’s high school is less than 30-minutes from Michigan Stadium, and he becomes the crown jewel of head coach Sherrone Moore’s inaugural recruiting class.

⚾️ MVP is in! The MLB announced their MVP’s for the season yesterday, with the New York Yankees star outfielder, Aaron Judge, and the Dodgers star, Shohei Ohtani taking home the award in their respective leagues. The two were both voted unanimous MVPs, and Shohei became the first ever designated hitter to ever win MVP honors. This is Ohtani’s third MVP in the last four seasons, and this is Judge’s second career MVP. The two both put up some of the most unreal offensive numbers in the history of MLB.

💯Top Performers:

• 🏀 Brandon Miller (CHA): 38 points, career-high on his b-day!

• 🏈 Nick Chubb (CLE): 20 carries, 59 yards, 2 TDs

• 🏀 RJ Barrett (TOR): 31 points, 7 rebounds

• 🏀 Hayleigh Breland (CHA-W): 30 points! Walking bucket!

Stump Top Plays❗️❗️ 

🏈 Football is art

🏀 The Hornets announcer is not afraid to get loud

🏒 He ruptured his WHAT?

🏈 Jameis gonna Jameis, SPEEEEEEECCCCCHHHHHHH

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

Today’s Slate

*All times are ET*

🏈 NCAAF: Temple @ UTSA (7:00 PM on ESPN2), Purdue @ Michigan State (8:00 on FOX), (24) UNLV @ San Jose St (10:00 PM on FS1)

🏀 NBA: Boston @ Wizards (7:00 PM), Warriors @ Pelicans (7:30 PM on ESPN), Pacers @ Bucks (8:00 PM), Mavs @ Denver (10:00 PM on ESPN), full schedule

🏀 CBB (M): (19) Wisconsin vs UCF (5:00 PM on CBSSN), Jackson St @ (9) Kentucky (7:00 PM), Southern Illinois @ (21) Florida (7:00 PM), Hofstra @ (7) Houston (8:00 PM), Nebraska @ (14) Creighton (8:00 PM on FS1), (12) Duke @ (17) Arizona (10:30 PM on ESPN2), full schedule

🏀 CBB (W): (21) Nebraska @ Creighton (5:00 PM), Lafayette @ (13) West Virginia (7:00 PM), Oregon St @ (22) Illinois (8:00 PM), (9) Oklahoma @ UNLV (9:30 PM), full schedule

🏒 NHL: Jets @ Penguins (7:00 PM), Sabres @ Ducks (10:00 PM), full schedule

⚽️ Soccer: Bundesliga: Bayern Munich @ FC Augsburg (2:30 PM) ; Ligue 1: AS Monaco vs Brest (1:00 PM), PSG vs Toulouse (3:00 PM)

Trivia Answer:

A. Philadelphia Warriors! The Warriors won the series, 4-1, over the Chicago Bulls in the inaugural NBA season of 1946-47!

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