All 14 teams have been confirmed for the NFL playoffs after the final week of regular season games concluded on Sunday.The Pittsburgh Steelers secured a berth after their tough win over the Baltimore Ravens, but they also should thank the Las Vegas Raiders for not pulling punches against the Los Angeles Chargers.The San Francisco 49ers also pushed their way into the postseason by upsetting the Los Angeles Rams on the road while their quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, battled a torn thumb ligament.They will join the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals to challenge the heavyweights: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs.Meanwhile, do the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys have what it takes to make more surprises?

When the No. 41 jersey of Dirk Nowitzki flew above the floor at American Airlines Center on Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks were giving one of the top honors for an NBA player to the biggest legend in their franchise history.Nowitzki deserves every part of it after playing 21 seasons, the longest in league history, scoring 31,560 points, the sixth-most in NBA history, and winning the only Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy for the Mavericks.Usually, people would use the word "loyalty" to describe the relationship between Nowitzki and the Mavericks, but what they have is way more special than that.

The Los Angeles Lakers won their second consecutive game on Sunday after 37-year-old LeBron James played center for 68 minutes in two games.With DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard on the roster, few would have expected to see James playing the center position. Sadly, even fewer would expect James score 30+ points in seven consecutive games, resulting in five losses.Trying to figure out one or several game-changing trades would be the first thought for teams trapped in a similar situation. The Lakers have already put the wheels in motion, sending Rajon Rondo to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Denzel Valentine, who will most likely be waived to free up a roster spot.The bigger problem is, can the Lakers make more and bigger trades to fix their problem?

European football clubs can start calling the players that will become free agents in summer after the winter transfer window opened on Saturday.That means Real Madrid can reach out to Kylian Mbappe, negotiate about his contract and share details of the grand plan they have for him.Teams that are kind enough to do Manchester United a favor by signing Paul Pogba can talk to the world champion midfielder about his ego problem.Chelsea may want to pay some attention to the players in their lineup that may become free agents in summer and leave a costly vacancy.

Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in the first leg of the Bundesliga's Der Klassiker fixture this season at Westfalenstadion on Saturday night.Robert Lewandowski scored two goals for Bayern, leading the German top league's history of scoring goals in away games (118).Mats Hummels, who played for both sides in his career, was involved in all three goals of Bayern, but unfortunately, he was wearing Dortmund's jersey in the game.The home team's 18-year-old genius Jude Bellingham assisted both goals for Dortmund but, post-match, fired at referee Felix Zwayer for some of his decisions: "You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game; you give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?"When the two best teams in Germany meet, things are always complicated.

This season, the Phoenix Suns have become one of the most unstoppable teams in the NBA after beating the Western Conference leader Golden State Warriors to achieve a 17-game winning streak, matching franchise record.Considering they are hosting Eastern Conference bottom ranking Detroit Pistons on Thursday, setting a new record seems to be only a matter of time.The Suns have made the NBA Finals three times so far but lost every series in 1976, 1993 and 2021.Can they make a difference this time?

Manchester United surprisingly finished the Premier League game against Chelsea with a lucky 1-1 draw on Sunday, but that did not change the fact that the Red Devils still have a lot to operate in the winter transfer window which is one month away from launching.Bayern Munich edged Bielefeld 1-0 at home. Not only the win was not impressive enough for a powerhouse like Bayern, it also exposed some of the long-lasting problems they have: the need to enhance their midfield and find a backup plan for Robert Lewandowski, for starters.Juventus lost to Atalanta 1-0 but the process was much worse than the result could show. The Old Ladies are still a talented franchise but they lack a core that can unite the club. It's not easy to find someone like that in the middle of the season, but that doesn't mean Juventus front office shouldn't at least try.

In less than 100 days, athletes from all over the world will be competing in the five events of curling and ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China.Unlike most winter sports, curling is not about speed nor physical strength. It seems easy to do, but not that easy to understand. In fact, curling involves coordination, calculation and strategy.Compared with curling, ice hockey is extremely fast, sometimes even too fast for spectators to catch with their eyes. It's also a very physical sport but it must be pointed out that fighting is not tolerated for ice hockey in Winter Games.

More teams have made the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 after another two days of competition. Manchester City had their revenge on Paris Saint-Germain but both teams made it through. Sporting CP joined them, walking over the bodies of Borussia Dortmund. Manchester United were fortunate to beat Villarreal and reach the next stage after Cristiano Ronaldo saved them again.Compared with the above powerhouses of European leagues, Barcelona are in a very dangerous situation because they failed to beat Benfica on Tuesday. Not only does that mean Benfica are still hopeful of making it to Round of 16, Barcelona must defeat Bayern Munich on the road, which is almost mission impossible.

Multiple players have shown potential for the 2021-22 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award after one month of the regular season. They include Stephen Curry of the league's No. 1 team Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant of the Eastern Conference leader Brooklyn Nets, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks franchise player Luka Doncic and the defending MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.Who is your choice from the five, or do you have anyone else on your mind?