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Good morning and Happy Thursday, sports fans! Welcome to Week 12 of the NFL season as the Houston Texans host the Buffalo Bills tonight. Before that game kicks off — and some good matchups on the hardwood tip off — let’s look at some of the biggest stories of the day. Shedeur Sanders was named this week’s starter for the Browns, Arizona and UConn squared off in an epic battle and the Bengals got positive news on Joe Burrow.
Let’s get right to it, shall we?
🏈 Five things to know Thursday
- Shedeur Sanders will make his first career start on Sunday. With Dillon Gabriel still in the concussion protocol, Sanders has been elevated to QB1 and gets the starting nod for the Browns in their Week 12 matchup against the Raiders. The hope for Sanders is that his first start goes a little more smoothly than his NFL debut last week, in which he posted some historically bad numbers. Can he shake that off and regroup in time for Sunday? He doesn’t have any other choice.
- No. 4 Arizona notched a massive 71-67 win over No. 3 UConn in Storrs. The Wildcats went on the road and earned a top-five win over the Huskies. That one will look pretty good on the resume in March, huh? Jaden Bradley continued his rise to superstardom with a game-high 21 points while adding three rebounds and two assists. With their third win over a top-flight program our Matt Norlander says the Wildcats deserve to be No. 1 next week.
- Joe Burrow practiced in full as the Bengals prepare to take on the Patriots. Now 3-7 on the season, the Bengals’ playoff hopes are on life support, but there might be a glimmer of hope. Burrow wasn’t expected to return from toe surgery for another week or two, but he might just be ahead of schedule. After logging a full practice on Wednesday, the door is cracked open for a return this week. Even if Burrow can return, Cincinnati might want to keep the long-term plan in mind.
- The Orioles dealt gifted young pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels. The 26-year-old Rodriguez was once seen as the future of Baltimore’s pitching staff, but he just got swapped for outfielder Taylor Ward. One reason why the Orioles chose to move on from a young player with so much potential was Rodriguez’s already lengthy injury history. As for how each side made out in this deal, it might prove to be a pretty even swap.
- Five-star forward Baba Oladotun has committed to Maryland. In his first year with the Terrapins, Buzz Williams has already made a splashy move on the recruiting trail. Oladotun, the No. 10 player in the 2026 signing class, announced his commitment to Maryland last night. The Terps now have the No. 3 class in the 247Sports Team Rankings, so Williams has hit the ground running in College Park.
🤘 Do not miss this: Sarkisian is just spitting nonsense
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After entering the season at No. 1, Texas is 7-3 and its College Football Playoff chances are toast. Factor in a lackluster season from Arch Manning — which includes an anemic performance from the offense as a whole — and the Longhorns have underachieved by almost any metric.
Just don’t tell that to Steve Sarkisian. He rebuffed the idea that Texas has underachieved, but he’s not fooling anyone. As Shehan Jeyarajah pointed out, Sarkisian is getting paid good money to face the Horns’ issues head on, so there’s no need to ignore the obvious.
That wasn’t the only reason Sarkisian was in the news. There’s been speculation that Sark has been looking for an escape hatch in Austin, either via the NFL or another college program, but he blasted those rumors as “false and untrue.”
📈 NBA Power Rankings: Hawks soar toward top 10
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Are the Hawks better without Trae Young? Since Young exited the lineup due to a knee injury, Atlanta has become one of the hottest teams in the NBA. That has the Hawks at No. 11 in our newest NBA Power Rankings as they just keep piling up wins in Young’s absence.
Atlanta made the biggest jump in this week’s rankings as they flew up nine spots from No. 20. As Brad Botkin writes, the Hawks’ offense has been much more balanced without Young in the mix.
- Botkin: “The Hawks are 8-3 since Trae Young went down (counting the win over Brooklyn in which he played seven minutes) by way of a top-five defense and a suddenly equitable offense that is leading the league in assists.”
One of the reasons the Hawks have gone on this run in November has been the play of former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher. Jack Maloney recently handed out grades for every 2024 first-round pick, and he gave the second-year player high marks for his two-way game.
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
📺 What we’re watching Thursday
⚽ The UEFA Women’s Champions League will be on Paramount+ all day.
🏀 Memphis vs. No. 1 Purdue (M), 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Bucknell at No. 14 St. John’s (M), 7 p.m. on TNT
🏈 Louisiana at Arkansas State, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Oilers at Lightning, 7:30 p.m. on Hulu
🏀 Hawks at Spurs, 8 p.m. on NBA TV
🏈 Bills at Texans, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video
🏀 Wake Forest vs. No. 15 Texas Tech (M), 8:30 on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Rider at No. 2 Houston (M), 9 p.m. on TNT
🏀 No. 19 Iowa vs. No. 7 Baylor (W), 9 p.m. on
🏒 Kings at Sharks, 10 p.m. on Hulu
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