My name is Jackson DeGrood. At OHS Magnet I am a sports writer, sports editor, and a sports enthusiast. Here is my monthly recap of all of the big four sports and major events in the sporting world. Here we also talk about all Minnesota sports and the local Huskies. We also give you our Dawgs of the Month: people who may not get the spotlight, but played spectacular this month.

Christmas is upon us if that is what you celebrate. During this time, we celebrate our religions but we also give and receive during this time. One of the best presents is the gift of football and basketball being on all week. 

Football:

It is commitment time in high school and people are flipping commitments all over the place. With all of these players and coaching transferring in college, do not expect anything to be written in stone until they officially sign with their teams.

In college football, it is playoff time. There are too many bowl games to fit into this so we will just cover the main games. Most importantly, Florida State got nothing short of conned out of the playoffs. Being an FSU fan myself, I am a little biased, but I think that the committee made major flaws this year and is just another reason why 12 team playoffs will be awesome for the sport. Moving on, my predictions for the playoffs. Michigan vs. Alabama will be one for the ages, people say. Alabama was ruled out in week two. Everybody said they stink but they have been proving everyone wrong. This is Coach Saban’s Cinderella story. With this being said, and all of the momentum going towards Alabama, Michigan will blowout Alabama. JJ Mcarthy (hopefully a future Viking) and Blake Corum are too much for ‘Bama. Michigan has some hogs on the line and they will win by multiple scores. On the other side, I believe it will be a good game but ultimately, Michael Penix Jr. will reset a fire that he has missed the past few weeks of football and we will see a Michigan vs. Washington finals in which Michigan will become champions. I do not think it will be particularly close which is why I am more interested in the FCS championship in Montana and South Dakota State. This will be an awesome game and will come down to the last drive. 

The Vikings have been extremely disappointing and Kevin O’connell’s personnel changes all year need to be addressed; Ty Chandler should have been a starter weeks ago and Jaren Hall needs to get his chance. In the NFL as a whole, I think it will be a great postseason as any team has an opportunity to win. It is so balanced and I believe it will be ecstatic. The team to beat is the 49ers and their MVP candidate quarterback Brock Purdy. 

Hockey:

In the NHL, the Wild have gotten slightly better with their new coach but we are by no means contenders. This year, there is a wide gap between the top 5 teams and everyone else and it is not super competitive.

In college, the Gophers are ranked ninth but I think they have enough time to turn it around and make a huge run in the playoffs. They definitely have the talent, they just need to put it all together.

Basketball:

For Minnesota sports fans, this is your sport. The Timberwolves team Chemistry is unmatched and they have beaten most of their top tier opponents. They are currently ranked the number one team in the league. They look like a lock for the finals as all of the starters are having career years. Being a Celtic’s fan, I believe that the Celtics have also looked dominant in the East. I am hoping to see a Celtics v. Timberwolves finals which are looking pretty good so far. I am extremely excited to see what each team can do this year. Outside of these two teams, Ja Morant came back and played insanely well which is exciting to see. In the MVP race, it is the typical five frontrunners. I am hoping to see someone new win such as: Shai Gilgeuos-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Maxy, or Jayson Tatum. Knowing what always happens it will most likely be Jokic or Embiid.

Other:

UFC 296 just happened and the Main Event was disappointing. All I have to say is that Colby Covington had heavy words in the press conference but looked like a filler fight. He has been inactive and it showed as he fought with no fire and looked like he shouldn’t have even been in the top seven for a title shot. Leon Edwards has been smothering his past few opponents. I hope UFC 297 ends up looking a little better and Sean Strickland gets a challenge.

Deggy’s Dawgs of the month:

Montana Grizzlies’ Eli Gillman (Running back), Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards (Shooting Guard), Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant (Point Guard), Minnesota Vikings’ Josh Metullus (Every Position on Defense) and Ivan Pace Jr. (Linebacker).

Special shoutout to Mitch Seykora for going to the MN High School all-star game and being a co-leader in combined tackles for MN South’s defense!

Happy Holidays! Minnesota fans have some things to look forward to as it comes playoff time for college and professional football. They also have the Timberwolves. Stay tuned for January’s edition of Deggy’s Dog Pound as we go in-depth on the big four sports and sporting news.