Christmas is now officially one week away, and once again, the NBA has scheduled a full slate of games that will fill more than 12 hours of your holiday with basketball goodness. Just like in years past, the league made sure to have some of the best match-ups of the entire season for the day's games. Here is a look at all the games on December 25:
Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics
Barclays Center, 12 p.m. EST
The Christmas Day schedule tips off with a match-up of two teams that have developed some bad blood for each other this season. On November 28, the Nets and Celtics had a what some called a "brawl" — I'll say it was more like a dust-up — that resulted in three players being ejected (including former Mr. Kim Kardashian). I would expect this game to have its fair share of tense moments as well and should be a good start to the day's games.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks
Staples Center, 3 p.m. EST
Before the season began, most experts predicted this would be a game between a true contender for the championship and an underachieving, mediocre team. Those experts just mixed up the two. The Knicks have been the surprise team this year, racing off to the best record in the Eastern Conference, while the Lakers look lost. The Lakers do have one thing to be hopeful for on Christmas; two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash, who has been out since October 31, hopes to be ready to play in this game.
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Count me in as one of the critics who say that there are way too many bowl games in college football. With 35 bowl games on the schedule for 2012-13, there are 70 teams that will be playing in those games. Just due to the sheer amount of teams, you are bound to find some really great match-ups and some really, really poor ones.
The Good
BCS Championship Game: Notre Dame vs. Alabama - I don't know if there could be a more intriguing game than the Fighting Irish vs. Crimson Tide. Both programs have huge fan followings who will be helping to build up the hype for this one.
AT&T Cotton Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma - These two teams have perhaps the biggest gripes with the BCS. Both seemingly earned spots in a BCS bowl game but were not selected. Despite not being a BCS bowl game, the Cotton Bowl may be the best match-up other than the BCS title game.
The Bad
Hyundai Sun Bowl: USC vs. Georgia Tech - Now I could complain about how disappointing USC was this season, but let's look at Georgia Tech instead. They had a losing record! They were 6-7! Could someone explain to me how they are playing a postseason game?
Discover Orange Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Florida State - I am firmly on ESPN Analyst Kirk Herbstreit's side—Northern Illinois does not deserve to be in this game. Florida State will probably blow them out and make what should be a big time BCS game into a laughing stock.
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As the days in November wound down, there was one thing that I kept hearing people say, "I can't believe its almost December already." Well, you can eliminate the "almost" from that statement because December is here with all the cold weather and holiday cheer you can handle.
For a lot of us, December also marks one of the busiest times of the entire year between holiday shopping, visiting family, decorating... well, you get the idea. So, if you are looking for something fun to do in between all the holiday chaos, here are some of the top events that are coming up in this month:
Concerts
The Rolling Stones: The aging rockers celebrate their 50th anniversary with three shows, including December 8 in Brooklyn and December 13 and 15 in Newark.
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Shania Twain in Las Vegas: Shania Twain begins her two year residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on December 1.
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Trans-Siberian Orchestra: TSO will continue its holiday schedule this month before concluding on December 30.
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Other Concerts in December:
- Bands, including Coldplay, Further and the Zac Brown Band, will be playing shows on New Year's Eve.
- Bryan Adams has a few shows in December. They start on December 10 in Tulsa, OK.
- Artist with tours ending in December include Aerosmith and Cheap Trick; Journey; 3 Doors Down and Daughtry; Eric Church; Leonard Cohen; Carrie Underwood; and Dave Matthews Band.
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With nine weeks of the NFL season now officially in the books, teams have begun to distinguish themselves as contenders or pretenders. There have been some surprises and some disappointments, but it has all been entertaining. Now the NFL enters its unofficial second half of the season, and there is plenty of dramatic story-lines for fans to be excited about.
How good are the Atlanta Falcons?
The Falcons are the lone undefeated team in the NFL, but despite their perfect record many doubt that Atlanta is a true Super Bowl contender. They had to come from behind in the 4th quarter for three straight games against mediocre teams; those teams currently have a combined record of 8-17. The question is: can the Falcons step up when they face tougher competition?
Can Andrew Luck lead the Colts to the playoffs?
The Indianapolis Colts were the worst team in the league last year, winning only two games. The prize for all their losing? QB Andrew Luck, who they recruited with the first overall pick in the draft. Many predicted that he would be good, but few thought he would be this good. He has already led the Colts to five wins this season and a real shot at the postseason. This could be the start of a long and successful career for Luck, and it should be great to watch.
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It sure doesn't feel like the end of October, does it? We here in southern New England are getting back into the swing of things after Hurricane Sandy flew through yesterday. Meanwhile, our friends in southern New York and the New Jersey coast are dealing with the aftermath, trying to piece things back together (and get the subways running again).
With that reality, it is possible that some of the productions in the theater section below may change their opening dates or have one or more nights go dark, depending on how fast everything in the city can get fixed. Be sure to check the Broadway Leauge's website for updates.
Concerts
The Who: Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and the band are heading to the stage for their first full-scale tour since 2007, playing their classic album Quadrophenia.
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Trans-Sbierian Orchestra: The rock opera band is back for its annual holiday tour. Two national tours begin on November 15 and run until December 30.
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Paul McCartney: The rocker will visit North America for several dates in November, beginning with a stop in St. Louis on the 11th.
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Other Concerts in October:
- The Dave Matthews Band begins their 2012 Winter Tour on November 30.
- Aerosmith is beginning the second leg of their Global Warming Tour on November 8. Cheap Trick will join up for all shows. The tour will end on December 13.
- 3 Doors Down and Daughtry are going on tour beginning November 18. P.O.D. will also join the two headliners for all but a few select dates.
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