LeBron Didn't Even Need the 4th Quarter
Good morning, sports fans.
For the first time in 39 years, there’s a new all-time NBA scoring leader.
Today’s Rundown:
Headlines: NFL Defensive Coordinator Carousel & A Darkness Retreat?
LeBron Breaks “The” Record
Super Bowl Preview: The Big Game
Sports to watch this week, Standings, Best Bets & More
Est. Read Time: 7 minutes
This is a juicy edition— make sure you share it with someone you think will find it interesting!
Headlines
Trending
NFL’s Defensive Coordinator Carousel: Three vacant D.C. positions across the league have been filled this week. Steve Wilks (former Panthers interim HC) to the 49ers, Brian Flores (former Steelers assistant) to the Vikings, and Ejiro Evero (former Broncos DC) to the Panthers.
Kyrie Irving Nets/Mavericks Trade Not Officially Finalized: Sources with ESPN have revealed the trade is not yet official because the Nets are exploring the addition of a third team into the deal with the Mavericks.
Formula 1 Extends Las Vegas Grand Prix Before Race Even Happens: The highly anticipated new American circuit is already buzzing 8 months ahead of the event. The massive financial success F1 has already seen led them to extend the contract from 3 years to 8 years.
Tom Brady Not Starting Broadcasting Career Until 2024: The recently retired quarterback told Colin Cowherd that he will take a year off before beginning his 10-year, $375 million mega-announcing deal with Fox.
Conversation Starters
Sean Payton Shuts Down Russ Wilson’s “Personal QB Coach”: Upon taking over as Broncos HC, Payton was clear that Russell Wilson’s personal coach, Jake Heaps, will not be a part of his day-to-day. Wilson finished 2022 with a career-low 16 TDs and career-high 55 sacks, all while Heaps was his personal coach.
Aaron Rodgers Hits “Darkness Retreat” Before Big Decision: Rodgers hopes to gain clarity on his future within the NFL as he announced he will be doing a four-day retreat in complete darkness, an ancient practice that is supposed to provide eye-opening revelations.
Cleveland Guardians Hire First Female On-Field Coach: Amanda Kamekona becomes the Guardians’ first on-field female coach in the franchise’s history. Kamekona is a former Cal State softball star, and joins as a minor league hitting instructor.
LeBron James
The New Scoring King
As we said, it wasn’t a matter of IF, it was just a matter of WHEN. At the age of 38 years old, LeBron James has passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the No. 1 scorer in NBA history. He did it with a vintage step-back fadeaway jumper in the 3rd quarter of last night’s contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It’s a record that has stood since 1984, and it’s one that many thought would be untouchable.
LeBron & the Scoring Record:
Number of points: 38,390
Number of games: 1,410
Crazy Lebron stat while we’re here: His 1410 regular season games are out of 1576 possible— meaning he’s played in about 90% of his career games, over 20 seasons…
Career averages: 27.2 points per game, 7.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists
He’s also 4th all-time in assists (and climbing)
LeBron is the youngest player in NBA history to cross each of the 10k, 20k, and 30k point thresholds (perhaps 40k too?)
No active player is within 10,000 points of him. The closest is KD, who is 34 years old.
As the MVP chants reigned in at Crypto.com arena last night, it provided a reminder that while James has accomplished one of his biggest goals in his career, he’s still playing at an elite level of basketball, even at his age. So, how far will he push this new record out?
Super Bowl Preview
Part 1: The Big Game
The Super Bowl, which was originally called the “AFL-NFL World Championship Game” (harder to put on t-shirts), is on its 57th year. It is one of the most iconic, recognizable, watched & profitable sporting events in the world every year, so to start getting you ready for this Sunday’s action, let’s break down the big game:
First Super Bowl Champions: Green Bay Packers
Last Super Bowl Champions (Defending): Los Angeles Rams
Franchise with most Super Bowls: Steelers (6) & Patriots (6)
Reminder: Tom Brady alone has 7
Number of franchises that have never won a Super Bowl: 12
Biggest Blowout: Super Bowl XXIV, 49ers 55 - Broncos 10
Closest Contest: Super Bowl XXV, Giants 20 - Bills 19
Average ticket cost: $9,000, compared to $12 in 1967
30-second commercial cost: $7 million
Fox sold 80 spots this year, so roughly ~$560 million.
Biggest Advertiser in history: Anheuser-Busch ($587 million)
2023 Viewership: ~100,000 million
2023 Betting: 50 million bettors accounting for $16 billion in bets
Super Bowl LVII: Chiefs vs Eagles
Record when meeting: Chiefs 5 - Eagles 4
Super Bowl Appearances: Chiefs (5th, 2 wins), Eagles (4th, 1 win)
Head Coaches: Andy Reid (64 years old), Nick Sirianni (41 years old)
Quarterbacks: Patrick Mahomes (27 years old), Jalen Hurts (24 years old)
This is the first time in NFL history that the Super Bowl features two black starting quarterbacks.
Location: State Farm Stadium | Glendale, Arizona
Halftime Headliner: Rihanna
Part 2 of our Super Bowl preview will be for the matchup itself, which we’ll be back with on Friday morning. In the meantime, check out some of these below to keep you excited for Sunday:
The Greatest Moments in Super Bowl History
What Goes Into Preparing a City & Stadium for a Super Bowl
The Best Super Bowl Commercials of All Time
A Smarter Bet is a Better Bet
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Standings
📺 What to Watch This Week
🏀 NBA: Despite LeBron’s smashing of the all-time scoring record last night, the Lakers lost to the Thunder by three points. Big matchup tonight between #1 in the East, the Celtics, and #3 in the East, the 76ers.
🏒 NHL: The Boston Bruins remain the best team in the league with 39 wins. The Carolina Hurricanes are in hot pursuit, currently cruising their two-day break on a 7-game win streak and boasting the second-best record in the league.
🏀 NCAAB: Favored unranked teams that host ranked opponents have been covering spreads at an alarming rate this season. The two taking place today where the unranked host is favored include: #11 Iowa State vs WVU and #25 San Diego State vs Utah State.
⚽️ EPL: The one and only match in EPL kicks off today at 3 pm ET. Manchester United hosts Leeds United - Man U is third in the table and has a chance to match the points of Manchester City, who are currently in second.
⛳️ Waste Management Phoenix Open: The PGA Tour heads back to TPC Scottsdale beginning tomorrow. Scottie Scheffler is your reigning champion from 2022. Players will be playing the par 71, 7,261-yard course for a total purse of $20 million.
💰 Best Bets
Current record: 15-20
February 8th & 9th
NCAAM (2/8): WVU -3 (-110) vs #11 ISU
NBA (2/8): DAL +8 (-110) at LAC
*No Huddle is not an online sports gambling book or gambling platform of any kind. We do not advise the placing of bets or wagers on a sportsbook that is not in compliance with your current local & state laws.
Please bet responsibly. Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
🗓 Today in Sports History
1936: The first NFL Draft is held at a Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia. The Eagles had the first pick out of the nine franchises and selected Heisman trophy-winning halfback Jay Berwanger, who decided not to play professional football.
