Monday Man Cave: Christmas Edition

Welcome to  the holiday edition of the Monday Morning ManCave. The  NFL is wrapping up  the  season and  the NBA takes  center-stage  on Christmas day. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday  season. After countless  shopping and  office parties, it’s time to jump into this week’s  must see events in sports and pop culture.

 

Monday Night Football  –  Detriot Lions  vs  New Orleans Saints : The Lions have already clinched their 13th losing season in the past 15 years. The Saints are one loss away from their third sub-.500 campaign in the last four years. Either way , should make for an entertaining Monday Night.

Thursday Night  –  A Christmas Story Marathon  – TNT : The  Christmas Story  marathon, which has been a tradition for fifteen years now, used to air on TNT but switched to TBS in 2004, where it has aired since. This year, the first airing of the film begins at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 24th and it will run for 24 hours as usual. I usually  watch it at least once, during the 24 hour marathon.

Thursday Night  Football -San Deigo Chargers  vs  Oakland Raiders :The   Chargers  take on the Raiders  on Christmas Eve. This could be a  battle for LA , as both teams will  look  to relocated to  LA  soon. The San Diego Chargers look for back-to-back victories for the first time since November of last year. The Oakland Raiders look to win out and finish .500 for the first time since the 2011 season.

Friday–  NBA  Christmas Day : The unofficial start of  the NBA season is usually on Christmas Day.Christmas is to the NBA what Thanksgiving is to the NFL. An annual tradition since 1947, Christmas basketball has crested in popularity along with the sport itself. Once one of the rare occasions the Association appeared on national television.  The day kicks off with budding superstar Anthony Davis traveling to Miami for a matchup against the Heat, continues with a Finals rematch during the marquee 5 p.m. time slot and then finishes in the evening with five teams that could knock off the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers this spring. Oh, and the Los Angeles Lakers are hanging out there too for some reason.

New Orleans at  Miami Heat – 12pm ESPN                                                          

Chicago Bulls at Oklahoma Thunder –  2:30pm  ABC                                        

Cleveland Cavaliers at  Golden State Warriors  5pm  ABC                                

San Antonio Spurs  at Houston Rockets- 8pm ESPN                                        

LA Clippers  at  LA Lakers- 10:30pm  ESPN

Friday Christmas Night  –  Concussion:

The film “Concussion,” tracing a forensic pathologist’s quest to expose the truth about brain injuries in the NFL, casts a spotlight on an issue that has roiled America’s most popular sports league. The movie also may give parents pause, according to the filmmakers and some former players, about allowing their sons to play the violent sport of football.Ironically ,the movie is being release around the end of the  NFL season.

Saturday Night NFL Football  –  Washington  Redskins  vs  Philladelphia Eagles: Redskins can  clinch the NFC East with a  win,in Philly .They would have swept the season series with the Eagles and they own a tiebreaker vs. New York (it would come down to conference record in the event those two teams tie). If the Redskins lose Saturday, they still can win the division if they win at Dallas and New York beats Philadelphia in the season finale. The Eagles (6-8) can reach the postseason if they win their last two. (They would finish with a better division record than Washington.) Either way, the winner of this game , will win the NFC East.

Sunday NFL  Key Match ups: Week 16 is here but not with much fan fare , as most of the playoff positions are set. A few games to keep an eye on are,   Patriots at New York Jets  and Bengals  vs  Broncos .