HOLIDAY TOURNAMENTS START UP AND HERE’S TODAY’S LOCAL SLATE OF TEAMS PLAYING…..

THE WAYNESVILLE LADY TIGERS ARE IN THE PINK AND WHITE TOURNAMENT IN SPRINGFIELD TAKING ON REPUBLIC IN THE FIRST ROUND IN THE PINK DIVISION……
ALSO IN THE PINK AND WHITE FROM THE O.C…

KICKAPOO HAS THE 1 SEED IN THE PINK DIVISION AND WILL MEET THAYER AT 6 THIS EVENING AT THE WEISER GYM.
3RD SEED LEBANON HAD BUFFALO THIS AFTERNOON..
PARKVIEW SQUARES OFF AGAINST CABOT ARKANSAS AT 9 TONIGHT.

AT THE O’REILLEY EVENTS CENTER, THE WHITE DIVISION….
BOLIVAR FACES NIXA….
CAMDENTON TAKES ON CENTRAL IN A LATE AFTERNOON TIP..
GLENDALE GETS NO. 1 SEED GEORGETOWN TEXAS AT 6PM.
WEST PLAINS FACES HILLCREST AT 7:30 TONIGHT….

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THE LICKING WILDCATS AND PLATO EAGLES ARE AT THE CABOOL BOYS HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT….
BOTH PLAY TODAY…
PLATO HAS THE 12TH SEED AND TAKE ON 5TH SEED MTN. VIEW LIBERTY IN AN EARLY AFTERNOON TIP TIME…….
LICKING HAS A 7TH SEED AND FACE 10TH SEED EMINENCE IN A LATE AFTERNOON TIP OFF…….
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THE PLATO LADY EAGLES ARE IN THE MTN. GROVE HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT…
THE HAVE THE 13TH SEED AND TAKE ON 4TH SEED HOUSTON THIS AFTERNOON..

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BOTH CROCKER LADY LIONS TEAMS ARE IN TEH WEAUBLEAU, DOUG LOER HOLIDAY CLASSIC TOURNAMENT….
CROCKER DREW THE 2 SEED AND MEET 7TH SEED HUMANSVILLE THIS AFTERNOON… 1:00 PM.
THE JV LADY LIONS ARE ALSO PLAYING IN THE TOURNAMENT AND THEY GET TOP SEED WEAUBLEAU TO START THE TOURNAMENT THIS MORNING..

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IBERIA IS IN THE OTTERVILLE TOURNAMENTS..BOTH TEAMS PLAY MONDAY AND BOTH FACE THE SAME SCHOOL…
THE LADY RANGERS HAVE THE 3 SEED AND TAKE ON SMITHTON AT 5:30…
THE RANGERS HAVE THE 8TH SEED AND GET NO. 1 SEED SMITHTON AT 7PM….

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THE ANNUAL BLUE AND GOLD TOURNAMENT STARTS TODAY IN SPRINGFIELD AT THE HAMMONS STUDENT CENTER AND JQH ARENA’S…6 OZARK CONFERENCE TEAMS ARE PARTICIPATING WITH BOLIVAR HAVING THE TOP SEED IN THE GOLD DIVISION, KICKAPOO THE 2 SEED IN THE BLUE DIVISION.
WEST PLAINS, CENTRAL, CAMDENTON AND LEBANON ARE IN…ALL PLAY TODAY.

AT THE JQH:
CENTRAL MEETS WILLOW SPRINGS TO GET THINGS GOING AT 9:30 THIS MORNING….
BOLIVAR FACES AURORA AT 11.
CAMDENTON HAS A 2PM TIP TIME AGAINST 4TH SEED STRAFFORD..
LEBANON GETS 2ND SEED OZARK AT 6:30 THIS EVENING…..

AT HAMMONS:
KICKAPOO HAS A 6:30 TIP THIS EVENING AS THEY FACE HOUSTON.
WEST PLAINS DOES NOT TIP UNTIL 9:30 TONIGHT AS THEY GET 3RD SEED WILLARD….

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THOSE ARE THE TEAMS AND TOURNAMENT TIPPING TODAY……
THERE’S MORE LOCAL TEAMS TIPPING TOMORROW IN OTHER HOLIDAY TOURNAMENTS……..
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THE WAYNESVILLE TIGERS ARE IN THE ROLLA HOLIDAY BOYS TOURNAMENT AND THEY TIP ON TUESDAY AT 4PM AT ROLLA HIGH SCHOOL..THAT’S ON 97.9 FM…THEY FACE HAZELWOOD CENTRAL OUT OF ST. LOUIS….

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THE LADY WILDCATS OF LICKING ARE IN THE ROLLA GIRLS HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT AND THEY PLAY TUESDAY AT 7PM AT THE BULLMAN BUILDING ON TEH MISSOURI S&T CAMPUS….THEY FACE TRUMAN…THE SAME TEAM THAT BEAT THEM LAST YEAR SO THEY GET A RE-MATCH..THE LADY CATS GO IN UNDEFEATED AND WEARING A NO. 4 RANKING IN CLASS 3….

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THE STOUTLAND LADY TIGERS PLAY IN THE NEOSHO HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT…THEY TIP ON TUESDAY THE 28TH AGAINST NORTHSIDE OUT OF FT. SMITH ARKANSAS AT 1PM…..

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DIXON HAS BOTH THEIR BOYS AND GIRLS TEAMS AT THE STOVER TOURNAMENT THAT STARTS ON DEC. 29TH AND RUNS INTO THE FIRST WEEK OF THE NEW YEAR…
NEXT WEDNESDAY THE 29TH, THE LADY BULLDOGS TAKE THE 8TH SEED INTO THE TOURNAMENT AND GET TOP SEED STOVER AT 7PM THAT EVENING….
FOR THE BULLDOGS, THEY HAVE THE 3RD SEED AND PLAY THEIR FIRST GAME ON THURSDAY THE 30TH AT 7PM AS THEY GET JAMESTOWN…..

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THE WAYNESVILLE LADY TIGER WRESTLERS ARE IN THE WONDER WOMAN HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT ON DEC. 29TH AND 30TH….
THE TOURNAMENT WILL TAKE PLACE ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AT BATTLE HIGH SCHOOL IN COLUMBIA….. WEIGH-INS ON DEC. 29 WILL BE AT 9:30 A.M., WITH WRESTLING TO FOLLOW AT 11. WEIGH-INS ARE SCHEDULED FOR 8 A.M. DEC. 30, WITH ACTION STARTING AT 9:30 A.M.
CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS WILL BE AWARDED TO WINNER OF EACH WEIGHT CLASS…..
PLAQUES WILL BE AWARDED FOR SECOND THROUGH EIGHTH PLACE. THE TEAM CHAMPION ALSO WILL RECEIVE A TRAVELING CUP AND TROPHY.

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NFL

The Kansas City Chiefs have played in the past two Super Bowls and have their sights set on participating in another one this season.

That doesn’t mean quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his teammates and coaches won’t take a few moments to appreciate their sixth straight AFC West title, which they clinched on Sunday via a 36-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I do 100%, this year as much as ever,” Mahomes said of appreciating another division championship.

Mahomes said the greater appreciation for this season’s title stems from the way the Chiefs started the campaign. They were 3-4 at the end of October, and merely making the playoffs as a wild-card entry looked iffy, much less securing a bid to the tournament by way of a division championship.

“You look at the AFC West (and) every team is still battling for a playoff spot,” Mahomes said. “It’s a tough division. We have more goals we want to go after, but this was the first one.”

THE CHIEFS WERE WITHOUT STAR TIGHT END TRAVIS KELCE, KICKER HARRISON BUTKER, AND PUNTER TOMMY TOWNSEND WHO IS ALSO THE HOLDER ON PAT’S AND FIELD GOALS…THE CHIEFS NOT ONLY MADE DO, THEY PUT A STAMP ON THE TEAM TO BEAT IN THE AFC…

No team had ever won six straight AFC West titles before Sunday. The Raiders won five straight in the 1970s, as did the Denver Broncos from 2011 to 2015. The Chiefs, meanwhile, had never won so much as back-to back division championships until their current streak.

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the Kansas City Chiefs would spend Sunday night celebrating their record sixth straight AFC West title that seemed slim last week when Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce headlined an outbreak of COVID-19 within the team that also had their 1st string punter, and kicker sidelined, and others….hill returned to the team, but many more were still on protocol…new kicker and new punter, new holder for field goals………
Turns out the NFL’s hottest team was just fine.

Patrick Mahomes was masterful in throwing for 258 yards and three touchdowns, Byron Pringle and a cast of fill-ins rose to the occasion, and the defense dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 36-10 drubbing at Arrowhead Stadium.
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NFL PLAYOFFS

BEFORE THE SLATE OF WEEKEND GAMES IN THE NFL, ONE DIVISION WAS CLINCHED, AND 5 TEAMS HAD BEEN ELIMINATED..
3 IN THE AFC IN THE JETS, TEXANS AND JACKSONSVILLE..
THERE WAS ONE CHANGE IN THE AFC AND THAT WAS THE CHIEFS CLINCHING THE ACE WEST…
ALL THE OTHER 6 PLAYOFF SPOTS ARE STILL UP FOR GRABS WITH 2 WEEKS LEFT..

IN THE NFC, THE BEARS AND LIONS WERE THE ONLY 2 ELIMINATED…AFTER YESTERDAY, THE PANTHERS AND SEAHAWKS JOINED THE ELIMINATED TEAMS…
THE PACKERS WERE THE ONLY TEAM THAT HAD CLINCHED A DIVISION TITLE..
THEY’RE NOW JOINED BY THE DEFENDING CHAMP TAMPA BAY BUCKANEERS WHO CLINCHED THE NFC SOUTH AND DALLAS WHO CLINCHED THE NFC EAST..
THE RAMS AND ARIZONA ARE BOTH IN HTE PLAYOFFS BUT NOT DIVISION WINNERS….
ONLY 2 SPOTS REMAIN IN THE NFC…..
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NBA

In 1971, Norm Van Lier made NBA history with one of the strangest stat lines in the league history: zero points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. No player before or since had posted a double-double without scoring a single point. That makes sense intuitively. The sort of player that handles the ball enough to rack up 10 assists is almost always going to be good enough to stumble into a single point. If he’s big enough to pull in 10 rebounds, he’s probably going to at least draw a foul at some point. Yet for more than 50 years, no player in league history managed to match Van Lier.

Until now. On Sunday, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Josh Giddey posted a similar, but slightly cleaner, line: zero points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. That made him the second player in league history to post a scoreless double-double, and just as Van Lier did five decades ago, Giddey’s Thunder managed to win their game against the New Orleans Pelicans, 117-112.

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NHL

The NHL remains on track to hold the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis on Jan. 1, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Thursday.

The Minnesota Wild will host the St. Louis Blues in the annual New Year’s Day outdoor game at the home of baseball’s Minnesota Twins.

“Knock on wood … full speed ahead,” Daly said.

Daly said he spoke to Wild general manager Bill Guerin and Blues general manager Doug Armstrong to gauge their preparations for the game amid the spike in COVID-19 cases around the NHL and North America.

The NHL postponed 32 games last week and moved its holiday break to begin Wednesday instead of Friday.
“We’re relatively healthy when it comes to COVID vis a vis those two teams,” Daly said of the Wild and Blues. “I obviously hope it stays that way. But I see nothing at this point that gets in the way of us having a fantastic Winter Classic.