Theres more parity than ever across the NFL plus the NHL made the right decision about the Olympics

Good morning sports fans, it's Wajih AlBaroudi here again with your need-to-know info on this fine Thursday. Today we are going to take a look at the growing parity within the NFL, which I think is making these late-season games more fun to watch than usual every week. We'll also cover how the NHL came to the conclusion to back out of the Olympics, as well as much more. CBS Sports HQ Newsletter Your Ultimate Guide to Every Day in Sports We bring sports news that matters to your inbox, to help you stay informed and get a winning edge. I agree to receive the "CBS Sports HQ Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your Miami Marlins Custom Jersey inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. But first, some quick housekeeping. This will be last HQ AM newsletter sent out until Monday, as we are taking a brief break for the holiday.OK, now let's wrap up the short week! Good morning to everyone but especially to... THE EVER-GROWING LIST OF SUPER BOWL CONTENDERSFrom the lowly stomping the to the blanking the defending Super Bowl champion , the 2021 NFL season has been unpredictable, to say the least. That's especially true at the so-called top of the league.The are the , and even they were a two-point conversion away from losing to the Tyler Huntley-led . The Cardinals, Buccaneers and all tumbled out of the top four after losing by two-plus scores over the weekend. This late into the season, it's pretty fun to see this much movement happening at the very top of the league.Prisco's biggest riser of the week is the . They smothered the on Tuesday, limiting Seattle to a mere 214 yards -- its lowest total since 2017 -- in a 20-10 home victory. Martin Prado Jersey Los Angeles' roster is top heavy, but its stars played up to their pedigree against Seattle.Here's why Prisco moved the Rams to No. 4 in this week's power rankings, which is a five-spot improvement for them. Prisco: An NFC West rival of the Rams had a decidedly worse weekend. The Cardinals put together an inexplicably horrible performance against the Lions, losing 30-12 to fall to 10-4., an MVP favorite during Arizona's 7-0 start to the season, posted a season-low 6.27 yards per attempt. , meanwhile, to sed three touchdowns and recorded a season-high 139.7 quarterback rating.Prisco dropped Arizona from No. 4 to No. 8 in his power rankings, and here's whyrisco: Here are some other big risers and fallers on Prisco's power rankings:No. 3 , +4 from last weekNo. 16 , +4 from last weekNo. 23 , -4 from last weekHonorable mention: and are among four rookies on the The NHL's all-time leading goal scorer, Wayne Gretzky, said he Rutgers will reportedly And not such a good morning for...THE 2022 BEIJING OLYMPICSThe NHL has postponed 50 games and paused their season over COVID-19 concerns, and for that reason it . Citing a material disruption to its schedule, the NHL executed its Olympic opt-out clause to avoid February's Games with no financial penalties. Instead of sending players to the Olympics, the NHL will use its planned Feb. 6-22 break to reschedule postponed games. The opt-out wasn't an easy decision for NHL commi sioner Gary Bettman:Bettman: With the NHL players skipping the 2022 Olympics, they're now mi sing two consecutive Games. The NHL didn't send players to the 2018 Olympics in South Korea over a scheduling disagreement.The Olympic opt-out is the latest of many moves the NHL has made to combat its COVID-19 crisis. Within the past week, the league has: Introduced stricter COVID protocols (Dec. 18)Paused its season through Christmas Day (Dec. 20)Opted out of the Olympics (Dec. 22)Over 65 players remain in the NHL's COVID protocols even though all but one of the league's players - Jose Fernandez Jersey the Detroit Red Wings' Tyler Bertuzzi - are vaccinated.Not so honorable mention: , joining Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and over 80 other players.How COVID-19 could affect the College Football Playoff After a relatively quiet regular season, COVID-19 could drastically impact college football's postseason. The virus has begun spreading rapidly acro s the sport, forcing Texas A&M to back out of the Gator Bowl and sending the entire Miami (Fla.) team to protocols ahead of the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, among other cases.In response to the virus' spread, the : Semifinal games-- both of which are scheduled for New Years Eve -- will not be rescheduled if a team doesn't have enough available players, allowing the other team to advance to the College Football Playoff National ChampionshipIf both teams in a semifinal cannot play, the other semifinal winner will be awarded the national titleIf only one semifinal team has enough available players, it will be declared the national championThe national championship is currently slated for Monday, Jan. 10, but it can be rescheduled to as late as Friday, Jan. 14If the championship isn't played before that Jan. 14 deadline, it will Giancarlo Stanton Jersey be declared vacantThe same day the CFB Management Committee announced the contingencies, Alabama -- one of four CFP semifinalists -- announced offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien and offensive line coach Doug Marrone tested positive for COVID-19. Alabama's semifinal opponent, Cincinnati, has no known COVID cases.Michigan, which is slated to play Georgia in the semifinal, also has no known COVID cases and will get a team-wide booster shot Wednesday. Georgia quarterback JT Daniels and receiver George Pickens are reportedly in COVID protocol.Here's CFP executive director Bill Hancock's reasoning for the contingencies:Hancock:Here's to hoping all teams are healthy and ready to play on schedule. A look at college basketball's top five teams Fresh off a 37-point victory over Alcorn State, the . The defending national champions have won their first 11 games and done so by double digits in all but two contests. Here are the teams rounding out Parrish's top five, starting with Duke and star freshman Paolo Banchero:No. 2 DukeNo. 3 UCLANo. 4 PurdueNo. 5 GonzagaThe four teams behind Baylor have one lo s, but the Bruins have played only nine games because COVID-19 forced them to pause their season. Duke (86.1) and Purdue (85.8) have the best offenses of the bunch, averaging the fifth and ninth most points per game among Division 1 teams, respectively.Villanova is Parrish's biggest riser, climbing four spots to No. 20 after Tuesday's 71-58 win over Xavier. The Wildcats are allowing 62.7 points per game, their best scoring defense since 2016-17 Starlin Castro Jersey . Alabama dropped a whopping 15 spots on Parrish's list, from ninth to 24th, after Tuesday's one-point lo s to Davidson. Memphis served Alabama a 14-point lo s a week prior.Here are some of Parrish's other notable rankings:No. 7 Kansas, no changeNo. 10 USC, +1No. 11 Iowa State +1Keep an eye on out for a coming off of No. 19 Tenne see's upset win over No. 6 Arizona last night. What we're watching Thursday : UCF vs. Florida (-7), 7 p.m. on ESPN , 8:20 p.m. on NFL Network
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