You can also make arguments for each March and April, however we actually ought to acknowledge that the perfect month on the sports activities calendar is October, and this yr’s was a doozy.
OK, the Dodgers-Yankees World Collection fizzled out earlier than Halloween and received’t be remembered as a traditional collection, aside from Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Recreation 1. Even so, baseball had a memorable month, feeding our annual urge for food for NFL, faculty soccer and the beginning of the NBA season.
November, against this, is a bumpy trip. There’s an uneven NBA slate (no video games on Election Day or Thanksgiving) and never many marquee NFL matchups.Â
Thanks, faculty soccer, our saving grace taking 4 of the highest 10 spots on this indeniable rating of the largest sporting occasions of November 2024:
10. Penguins at Capitals, NHL, Nov. 8
Oct 31, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins heart Sidney Crosby (87) reacts after scoring the sport successful objective in opposition to Anaheim Geese goaltender Lukas Dostal (1) in additional time at PPG Paints Area. Obligatory Credit score: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Photographs The NHL isn’t doing a lot for me this month. The perfect crew resides in sunny Winnipeg. There’s a Panthers-Stars collection in Finland at the moment and tomorrow if you happen to like daytime hockey.
However I can all the time go for Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin, they usually don’t have many rivalry battles left. Ovechkin is fewer than 40 targets away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the all-time file.
9. Notre Dame at USC, girls’s basketball, Nov. 23
Nov 15, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Preventing Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) dribbles within the second half in opposition to the Northwestern Wildcats on the Purcell Pavilion. credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports activities No, not the Trojans-Irish soccer sport, as a result of Lincoln Riley appears hellbent on giving USC a shedding file and blaming anybody however himself.Â
It’s not fairly Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese, however USC’s JuJu Watkins is the following face of girls’s hoops, and he or she’s bought an ideal rival in Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo. Belief me, make a while for this sport between the preseason No. 3 and 6 groups.
Oct 12, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck (15) passes the ball in opposition to the Mississippi State Bulldogs through the second half at Sanford Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Dale Zanine-Imagn Photographs This November will probably be totally different than all these earlier than it for one easy motive: It’s our first build-up to a 12-team Faculty Soccer Playoff, which means way more video games this time of yr will carry postseason seeding implications.
Each Tennessee and Georgia are very a lot alive within the SEC title race, and every simply grabbed a marquee win (over Alabama and Texas, respectively). However the Dawgs have owned the collection with the Vols since 2016.
7. Golden State Warriors at Boston Celtics, NBA, Nov. 6
Jun 21, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics participant Jayson Tatum on a duck boat through the Boston Celtics championship parade. Obligatory Credit score: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports activities I considered placing Chiefs-Payments in Week 11 right here, however the Chiefs could be the worst 7-0 NFL crew in historical past, and Patrick Mahomes has tossed extra picks than TDs (severely! Look it up!).
As a substitute, you may’t go flawed with this rivalry and rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals. Unsurprisingly, Golden State and Boston have been two of the perfect groups within the early going, they usually’ll collide lower than per week from now.
Aug 31, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) throws through the NCAA soccer sport in opposition to the Akron Zips at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State received 52-6. New Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is a hell of loads of enjoyable. And he has the Hoosiers, of all groups, tied with Oregon atop the Large Ten standings.
Just a few issues should go proper within the subsequent few weeks — see my No. 2 merchandise beneath — however this sport in Columbus may have huge implications within the Large Ten and CFP races.
5. Alabama vs. Houston and Kansas vs. Duke, faculty basketball, Nov. 26
Oct 4, 2024; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg (2) dribbles the ball in opposition to ahead Mason Gillis (18) with the ball throughout Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Photographs Get the distant prepared, or arrange two screens. Two of the perfect nonconference video games of the school hoops season are slated for a similar day, in the identical metropolis (Las Vegas), tipping off one hour aside as a part of totally different occasions.
That is No. 2 vs. No. 4 and No. 1 vs. No. 7 within the preseason ballot. And freshman Cooper Flagg may need the Blue Devils increased than seventh when this sport rolls round.
4. Dallas Mavericks at Warriors, NBA, Nov. 12
Oct 24, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) and guard Luka Doncic (77) have fun through the second half in opposition to the San Antonio Spurs on the American Airways Heart. Obligatory Credit score: Jerome Miron-Imagn Photographs Klay Thompson returns to the Bay along with his new buddy Luka Doncic (and Dereck Full of life) because the Western Convention champion Mavericks tackle Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
This additionally marks the primary day of Emirates NBA Cup motion, and I’ve a sneaking suspicion the league scheduled this sport for his or her nascent in-season event on goal.
3. Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, NFL, Nov. 28
Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions extensive receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) reacts with extensive receiver Jameson Williams (9) after catching a 35 yard landing go from quarterback Jared Goff (not pictured) in opposition to the Minnesota Vikings the second quarter at U.S. Financial institution Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Photographs This would be the greatest Thanksgiving Day sport by a mile; you may let the turkey tryptophan kick in for Giants-Cowboys and Dolphins-Packers.
The Lions and Jared Goff are the highest contenders in a stacked NFC North, and the Bears and Caleb Williams ought to nonetheless be within the playoff race by this level.
Oct 26, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Beau Pribula (9) celebrates after incomes a primary down through the fourth quarter in opposition to the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Photographs No. 4 visits No. 3 in Comfortable Valley on Saturday. The Large Ten race will get vastly extra attention-grabbing if one-loss Ohio State takes down undefeated Penn State right here. The stakes of that Hoosiers-Buckeyes matchup would skyrocket.
Penn State, that is your likelihood to get your first win over Large Ten bully Ohio State since Saquon Barkley was on campus and eventually shed the label of convention also-ran.
The resumption of a dormant, extraordinarily bitter rivalry sport? At Kyle Area on the final day of the common season? With two top-10 groups slugging it out for SEC supremacy? Do I want to elucidate any extra?
