The Rundown: Return With Receipt

As we sleep off our Christmas hangover many of our friends around the world are celebrating the third day of Hanukkah and Boxing Day. While our Commonwealth buddies are watching soccer and horse racing, here in the U.S.A. we’re sale shopping and returning unwanted gifts.

Store credit? We’ll take the cold hard cash,

The Last Night’s Game Team

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NFL (NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE)

• Coal in their stockings. For the first time since 2003, neither of the two teams that played in the previous year’s Super Bowl will make the playoffs (Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers). 
• Show me your muscles. The Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions game has been flexed into the Sunday Night game next week as the NFC North title hangs in the balance. This game is dubbed “game 256” because it’s the last of the 256 regular season games.
• Put your back into it. Dontari Poe, a 346-pound player for the Kansas City Chiefs, became the heaviest player in NFL history to throw a touchdown pass. Seriously? Who keeps these stats? 

NBA (NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION)

• I'd like to report a crime. The new collective bargaining agreement has a clause where players can call a designated hotline to voice their displeasure to the league about individual referees. Do you have a quarter? 

OVERTIME

• New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony gifted a new car to the family of Jarrell Lara before yesterday's Christmas Day game. Lara, who Anthony previously met on a Make-A-Wish visit, suffers from a rare form of cancer.

SIDELINE STAT

• There was a Christmas miracle in Cleveland. The Cleveland Browns (NFL) won their first game in 377 days, ending their quest for a winless season. 

COACHES’ CORNER

• What does it mean to be a “flexed” game like the Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions?  This has nothing to do with the “gun show.” It means NBC has the ability to pick the most important game of the Sunday football schedule and move it into the primetime TV spot.