Good Morning, Team SQ! Seeing how it’s the holiday season, we’re kicking things off with holiday hoops and Kyrie Irving’s game winner from yesterday:

QUIPS FOR THIS WEEK

NBA

As we said in our intro, Sunday was all about holiday hoops. The big game of the day was between last year’s defending champions, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors… ya know, the champs from the year before. Anyways, the game came down to the wire and as you also know, Kyrie Irving hit the game winner to help the Cavs prevail 109-108 in Cleveland. Surely this won’t be the last we hear from the best in the east vs. the best in the west.

Other Merry Hoopsmas games included the New York Knicks losing to the Boston Celtics 119-114 and the San Antonio Spurs getting the 119-100 win over the Chicago Bulls, while the later games saw the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-100 with the help of another great performance from Russell Westbrook, and the LA Lakers score a 111-102 win over the LA Clippers.

Because it’s a holiday week — and you may have more time — sharing a few articles to check out from NBA land:

• Steve Kerr’s Journey from the NYT
• NBA Unicorns in The Ringer
• Zack Lowe’s 10 Things on ESPN

NFL

So, about football this past weekend… let’s just say week 16 did not let us down. Despite losing on Thursday night to the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants clinched a playoff Wild Card in the NFC spot after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the New Orleans Saints 31-24 on Saturday, while the Cleveland Browns got their first win of the season with a win over the San Diego Chargers 20-17. Other notable games included the Green Bay Packers 38-25 win over the Minnesota Vikings after a strong performance by the Green Bay offense, the Pittsburgh Steelers getting a season saving win over the Baltimore Ravens 31-27 and the Kansas City Chiefs’ 33-10 win over the Denver Broncos.

Monday Night Football features the Detroit Lions versus the Dallas Cowboys at 8:30pm on ESPN.

So, what does this mean for the playoffs? Check out the current standings here.

 College Football

Don’t forget that the college football bowl games really get going next week!

JUST FOR FUN

Since next week, it’ll be 2017…
The best moments in sports, from the year 2016

STORIES FOR INSIGHTS, COOL FACTOR + DEBATE

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Playing smarter, because he’s playing a little slower
As the oldest cornerback in the NFL , Terence Newman puts in the behind-the-scenes work to come up with ways to outsmart the others on the field

Family
Especially around the holidays, it’s important to be grateful for those around you
A look into the life of Stefon Diggs of the Minnesota Vikings — how he got where he is, and what continues to motivate him every day