You can also make arguments for each March and April, however we actually ought to acknowledge that the very best month on the sports activities calendar is October, and this yr’s was a doozy.
OK, the Dodgers-Yankees World Sequence fizzled out earlier than Halloween and received’t be remembered as a basic collection, apart from Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 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 journey. There’s an uneven NBA slate (no video games on Election Day or Thanksgiving) and never many marquee NFL matchups.
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 middle Sidney Crosby (87) reacts after scoring the sport profitable aim towards Anaheim Geese goaltender Lukas Dostal (1) in time beyond regulation at PPG Paints Area. Necessary Credit score: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Photos The NHL isn’t doing a lot for me this month. The perfect group resides in sunny Winnipeg. There’s a Panthers-Stars collection in Finland in the present day and tomorrow for those who like daytime hockey.
However I can at all times go for Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin, and so they don’t have many rivalry battles left. Ovechkin is fewer than 40 objectives away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the all-time file.
9. Notre Dame at USC, ladies’s basketball, Nov. 23
Nov 15, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Preventing Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) dribbles within the second half towards 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.
It’s not fairly Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese, however USC’s JuJu Watkins is the following face of ladies’s hoops, and she or he’s received 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 towards the Mississippi State Bulldogs throughout the second half at Sanford Stadium. Necessary Credit score: Dale Zanine-Imagn Photos This November will probably be completely different than all these earlier than it for one easy purpose: It’s our first build-up to a 12-team Faculty Soccer Playoff, which means much 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 throughout the Boston Celtics championship parade. Necessary Credit score: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports activities I considered placing Chiefs-Payments in Week 11 right here, however the Chiefs is perhaps the worst 7-0 NFL group in historical past, and Patrick Mahomes has tossed extra picks than TDs (severely! Look it up!).
As a substitute, you possibly can’t go incorrect with this rivalry and rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals. Unsurprisingly, Golden State and Boston have been two of the very best groups within the early going, and so they’ll collide lower than every week from now.
Aug 31, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) throws throughout the NCAA soccer sport towards the Akron Zips at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State received 52-6. New Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is a hell of a whole lot of enjoyable. And he has the Hoosiers, of all groups, tied with Oregon atop the Large Ten standings.
Just a few issues must go proper within the subsequent few weeks — see my No. 2 merchandise beneath — however this sport in Columbus might 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 towards ahead Mason Gillis (18) with the ball throughout Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Necessary Credit score: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Photos Get the distant prepared, or arrange two screens. Two of the very best 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 completely different occasions.
That is No. 2 vs. No. 4 and No. 1 vs. No. 7 within the preseason ballot. And freshman Cooper Flagg might 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) rejoice throughout the second half towards the San Antonio Spurs on the American Airways Heart. Necessary Credit score: Jerome Miron-Imagn Photos Klay Thompson returns to the Bay along with his new buddy Luka Doncic (and Dereck Lively) 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 match on goal.
3. Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, NFL, Nov. 28
Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions huge receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) reacts with huge receiver Jameson Williams (9) after catching a 35 yard landing go from quarterback Jared Goff (not pictured) towards the Minnesota Vikings the second quarter at U.S. Financial institution Stadium. Necessary Credit score: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Photos This would be the greatest Thanksgiving Day sport by a mile; you possibly can 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 throughout the fourth quarter towards the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Necessary Credit score: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Photos No. 4 visits No. 3 in Pleased Valley on Saturday. The Large Ten race will get vastly extra fascinating 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 probability 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 Discipline on the final day of the common season? With two top-10 groups slugging it out for SEC supremacy? Do I want to clarify any extra?
