The Week 6 AP men's basketball poll can tell the future
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🚨 Headlines
🏈 Chargers 22, Eagles 19 (OT): The Chargers (9-4) intercepted Jalen Hurts four times, including on the final play of the night, to win for the fifth time in six games and hand the Eagles (8-5) their third straight loss.
⚽️ Seminoles crowned champs: Florida State beat Stanford, 1-0, to win its fifth women's soccer national title (2014, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2025). Wrianna Hudson scored the game-winner in the 87th minute.
🏈 Heisman finalists: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State QB Julian Sayin were named finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Mendoza is the heavy betting favorite to win the award.
⚾️ MLB Draft Lottery: The White Sox (27.7%), Twins (22.2%), Pirates (16.8%), Orioles (9.2%) and Athletics (6.6%) have the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick in tonight's MLB Draft Lottery, which airs at 5:30pm ET on MLB Network.
🏈 Rivers eyes return: The Colts are hosting Philip Rivers for a workout today after Daniel Jones' season-ending injury. Rivers, 44, hasn't played since the 2020 season, when he led Indianapolis to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth.
🏀 The magical Week 6 AP poll
It's only December, but history tells us we already know who will be cutting down the nets in April: one of the top 12 teams above.
The streak: The past 21 men's basketball national champions (and 35 of the past 36) were all ranked in the top 12 of the Week 6 AP poll during their title-winning seasons.
2024-25: Florida (Week 6 rank: 9)
2023-24: UConn (5)
2022-23: UConn (3)
2021-22: Kansas (7)
2020-21: Baylor (2)
2019-20: COVID
2018-19: Virginia (6)
2017-18: Villanova (1)
2016-17: UNC (7)
2015-16: Villanova (12)
2014-15: Duke (2)
2013-14: UConn (9)
2012-13: Louisville (6)
2011-12: Kentucky (3)
2010-11: UConn (4)
2009-10: Duke (7)
2008-09: UNC (1)
2007-08: Kansas (3)
2006-07: Florida (5)
2005-06: Florida (7)
2004-05: UNC (5)
2003-04: UConn (1)
By the numbers: During the streak, the average Week 6 ranking of the eventual national champion has been 4.9. No other week has been a better barometer; not even the final AP poll before the NCAA tournament, where the soon-to-be champs had an average ranking of 5.5.
From Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg:
It's easy to explain why the Week 6 poll is more predictive than the Week 1-5 iterations. By early December, most high-majors have played at least a few games against fellow power-conference programs. There is more data available to help separate contenders and pretenders than there previously was in November.
The more vexing question is why the Week 6 poll has proven more reliable than AP voters' late-season evaluations. In theory, three more months of games should provide a richer understanding of which teams are truly elite. In reality, many of the teams that prove themselves national-championship caliber in November and December never drop out of the AP top 10 the rest of the season.
The most recent outliers: The last national champion that didn't crack the top 12 in Week 6 was Carmelo Anthony's 2002-03 Syracuse squad, which wasn't even ranked until mid-January. Before that, you have to go all the way back to Danny Manning's 1987-88 Kansas team (aka. "Danny and the Miracles"), which entered the tournament with 11 losses and unexpectedly won the title as a No. 6 seed.
Looking ahead: Who's the most likely team to defy 20-plus years of history? BetMGM lists No. 18 Florida and No. 19 Kansas among its dozen national title favorites, and No. 13 Illinois, No. 14 UNC, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 22 St. John's aren’t far behind.
🏈 Every bowl game, ranked
Bowl season ain't what it used to be, to put it kindly. The increased emphasis on the CFP has made these games feel like glorified exhibitions, and numerous teams (including Notre Dame, Iowa State and Auburn) have opted out. But that didn't stop us from ranking them all anyway.
Every bowl game, ranked: Below are the 35 bowls being played from Dec. 13 to Jan. 2 (not including first-round playoff games), ranked from best to worst.
Citrus Bowl: No. 13 Texas vs. No. 18 Michigan (Dec. 31)
ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 14 Vanderbilt vs. No. 23 Iowa (Dec. 31)
Pop-Tarts Bowl: No. 12 BYU vs. No. 22 Georgia Tech (Dec. 27)
Gator Bowl: No. 19 Virginia vs. Missouri (Dec. 27)
Music City Bowl: Illinois vs. Tennessee (Dec. 30)
Alamo Bowl: No. 16 USC vs. TCU (Dec. 30)
Sun Bowl: Arizona State vs. Duke (Dec. 31)
LA Bowl: Boise State vs. Washington (Dec. 13)
Holiday Bowl: No. 17 Arizona vs. SMU (Jan. 2)
New Mexico Bowl: No. 25 North Texas vs. San Diego State (Dec. 27)
11-20: Liberty Bowl (Navy vs. Cincinnati); Texas Bowl (No. 21 Houston vs. LSU); Rate Bowl (New Mexico vs. Minnesota); Cure Bowl (ODU vs. South Florida); Frisco Bowl (UNLV vs. Ohio); Myrtle Beach Bowl (Kennesaw State vs. Western Michigan); Hawaii Bowl (Cal vs. Hawaii); IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl (Troy vs. Jacksonville State); Fenway Bowl (Army vs. UConn); Pinstripe Bowl (Penn State vs. Clemson)
21-30: Military Bowl (Pitt vs. ECU); Boca Raton Bowl (Louisville vs. Toledo); Gasparilla Bowl (NC State vs. Memphis); Las Vegas Bowl (No. 15 Utah vs. Nebraska); Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl (Miami-Ohio vs. Fresno State); Potato Bowl (Washington State vs. Utah State); GameAbove Sports Bowl (Central Michigan vs. Northwestern); New Orleans Bowl (Southern Miss vs. WKU); Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State); Xbox Bowl (Missouri State vs. Arkansas State)
31-35: 68 Ventures Bowl (Louisiana vs. Delaware); First Responder Bowl (FIU vs. UTSA); Independence Bowl (Coastal Carolina vs. Louisiana Tech); Birmingham Bowl (App State vs. Georgia Southern); Armed Forces Bowl (Rice vs. Texas State)
⚽️ Water breaks are coming to the World Cup
To combat the heat of a North American summer, the 2026 World Cup will feature something new: water breaks.
Stay hydrated: Every game will include three-minute "hydration breaks" at the 22-minute mark of each half, effectively breaking games into quarters. The clock will still run during these breaks, with three additional minutes added to each half's stoppage time.
Last summer's Club World Cup, also held in the U.S., featured similar breaks during matches played on exceptionally hot days. But at next summer's World Cup, the breaks will be included in every game, regardless of temperature, "to ensure equal conditions for all teams."
The schedule itself was also crafted with heat-related player safety in mind, with afternoon games earmarked for indoor stadiums or cities with temperate climates, while hotter locales will host most of their games in the evening.
Between the lines: Player safety is the primary objective, but that's not the only impact these breaks will have. For starters, broadcasters can sell six extra minutes of commercials per game. But they also provide coaches with two additional opportunities to speak with players, giving the best in-game tacticians a tangible advantage.
Looking ahead: The World Cup kicks off in Mexico in 184 days (June 11), when the first of three opening ceremonies will be held at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The following day, two more will be staged ahead of the openers in Canada (BMO Field, Toronto) and the U.S. (SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles).
🥊 Meet boxing's "professional loser"
In 101 pro fights across seven years, England's Jake Pollard has lost 100 of them. Yet he not only survives, but thrives in a sport that quietly depends on men just like him. How?
From Uncrowned's Lewis Watson:
"People can call me what they like. B-side fighter, professional loser, scumbag, piece of s*** — I've had it all. And honestly? I couldn't care less."
Jake Pollard says the words with conviction. The 33-year-old leans back and takes a slow sip of his lager. He smiles, revealing a gap where a tooth once sat on the right side of his mouth, and never once breaks eye contact.
It's a grey Thursday afternoon in West Yorkshire, and we've met in an uncomplicated pub in the heart of Bradford's city center. Jake (1-100, 0 KOs) speaks to Uncrowned just a fortnight after his 101st professional fight and 100th professional defeat.
On October's Joseph Parker vs. Fabio Wardley undercard at London's O2 Arena, he was stopped for only the sixth time in his career — this time by rising prospect Hassan Ishaq (2-0, 2 KOs). The defeat itself didn't surprise him; the attention that followed did.
Broadcast live on DAZN, Jake's performance — and the story behind it — struck a chord far beyond the usual diehards of the sport.
"I guess it's a weird concept for people to understand if they're not in the game," he concedes. "I try to explain my role as best I can. I'm there to turn up, test these prospects and see if they are any good or not. I'm that first rung on their ladder — but if they aren't up to it, they will be quick to find out once I hit them!"
"The away corner dressing room is like a community," he says. "You know you're all there expecting to lose, but you look out for each other and share stories."
"Everyone in the hall or arena wants you to lose — they want to see you laid out on your back covered in blood. They're sickos, really. So you feel a bit like a caged dog going into a dog fight. It's only you and your coach that want the opposite."
📺 Watchlist: Tuesday, Dec. 9
🏀 NBA Cup Quarterfinals
The knockout round of the in-season tournament tips off with two Eastern Conference matchups. First up, the Magic host the Heat in a Sunshine State battle (6pm ET, Prime); then the Raptors, who've lost three straight, host the Knicks, who've won three straight (8:30pm).
🏀 Jimmy V Classic
ESPN's annual men's basketball doubleheader honoring legendary coach Jim Valvano is tonight at Madison Square Garden. No. 10 BYU and Clemson square off in the first leg (6:30pm), followed by No. 5 UConn vs. No. 18 Florida (9pm) in a meeting of the last two national champions.
More to watch:
🏒 NHL: Golden Knights at Islanders (7pm, TNT); Avalanche at Predators (9:30pm, TNT) … Colorado (48 pts) is the best team in the league. Nashville (24 pts) is the worst.
⚽️ Champions League: Inter Milan vs. Liverpool (3pm, Paramount+) … One of nine games to kick off Matchday 6.
⚽️ Women's Champions League: Real Madrid vs. Wolfsburg (3pm, Paramount+) … One of four games to kick off Matchday 5.
🏈 CFP trivia
Question: Do you know the nicknames of all 12 teams in this year's College Football Playoff?
The teams: Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Miami, Tulane, James Madison
Answer at the bottom.
📸 Photo finish
🇿🇦 Cape Town, South Africa — Ahead of this week's Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour Finals, grandmasters competed in an underwater competition, where American Hans Niemann emerged victorious.
Underwater chess: The competition was held in the Silo Hotel's rooftop pool, where a chess set was placed at a depth of 3.5 feet. Each time a player surfaced after making a move, their opponent had to immediately dive down to make their own move.
Trivia answer: Indiana Hoosiers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Georgia Bulldogs, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Oregon Ducks, Ole Miss Rebels, Texas A&M Aggies, Oklahoma Sooners, Alabama Crimson Tide, Miami Hurricanes, Tulane Green Wave, James Madison Dukes
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