Happy holidays to everyone out there, hope you had a Merry Christmas and your New Year is safe and joyous. Today, as usual, Gabe Goldfield calls up on the Roundup Hotline to go over the NFL WK 17 slate, but because of the holidays, today’s will be an abbreviated episode. We’ll be back full speed in the New Year though, with more NBA coverage and our NFL Playoffs previews and picks, but in the meantime, we’ve got to close out the NFL’s regular season and wrap up another year in the pod business. So sit back, the NFL winter is here but the end is near, the NBA season is in full swing and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

The NFL and NBA on Christmas Day; is there a better gift for a sports fan? While Week 16 on the NFL docket lacks some of the more intriguing matchups we saw in Week 15, like the Chargers at the Chiefs, the Rams at the Seahawks and the Patriots at the Steelers, the impact of this week’s games will be significant. A lot of the matchups appear mediocre, but late in the season the stakes are high, and Tuesday morning the standings will look a lot different, as teams flip flop in the seedings in close races in both conferences. And all around the world, kids of all ages wake up on the morning of December 25th, eager and excited for that most special of holiday traditions, the NBA on Christmas Day! So sit back, the NFL winter is here, the NBA season is upon us and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

Week 15 in the NFL season presents us with the game of the year, in the form of a Patriots/Steelers tilt at Heinz Field that may very well decide the AFC’s top seed. The NFC is a bit more muddled; with the Eagles’ loss of Carson Wentz for the year and a Vikings stumble at Carolina, the Rams could take control of the NFC West this week against the Seahawks and get in the mix for a first round bye. As far as playoff relevance goes, almost every game this week will have some impact. Meanwhile, in MLB news, it’s Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees, Shohei Ohtani to the Angels and a bunch of other disappointed MLB teams, while in the NBA, the Spurs welcome back perennial MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard, much to the chagrin of the rest of the Western Conference. So sit back, the NFL winter is here, the NBA season is upon us and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

You didn’t think the NFL was coming like this, as we enter Week 14 and we’re looking at Rams, Eagles, Jags and Saints on top of the league, with many of these top teams matching up head to head to dance this week. Sure, old standbys like the Pats, the Steelers and the Seahawks are in play, but Vegas odds say we might get some new blood in the championship mix. And in the NBA, it’s a long slow dance until June, and injuries are starting to come into play, keeping some big name stars off the floor. It’s ok though, Steph could use a few weeks off early in the season so he can save his steps for the big dance in June. So sit back, the NFL winter is here, the NBA season is upon us and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

To kick it off, a quick op-ed on Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani and their prospective landing spots (3:05), then Gabe Goldfield joins to talk NBA Western Conference a quarter way into the season (6:46), starting with the Utah Jazz (12:26); then into our Warriors and Steph's ankle (14:11); the Rockets 3 and D perfected (21:00); the Spurs hanging w/out Kawhi and how Pop does it (26:47); the changing of the guard as the Clippers, Thunder and Grizzlies trade places with new contenders, TWolves, Nuggets and Pelicans w/ the Nuggets resemblance to the early 2000's Pistons, a star-less playoff contender; the Blazers improved D; and what the TWolves are missing (31:15). then we get into the NFL WK 14 schedule, reviewing WK 13 in the process of making ur picks vs the spread and straight up for WK 14 ( 43:34) (Gaber and I both 101-90 vs spread for the season, Gaber went 9-7 vs spread WK 13, I went 10-6); with intro bump The Dance by El-P off the album Collecting the Kid, so check it out!

The NFL schedule has already claimed some of the biggest names in football by way of season ending injuries; Odell Beckham, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson and JJ Watt just to name a few. The cost of such a loss is often a team’s season, and in the cases of the Packers and the Texans in particular, without their stars, they’re just playing out the string. As the NBA season hits the quarter mark, the attrition of injury starts to set in, as Blake Griffin suffers a serious knee injury that could cost him a month, while Ben Simmons and NBA fans around the world hope his ankle tweak was just a scare. As much as they suck, injuries are just a fact of life in sports, and a huge wild card in any team’s championship hopes, knock on wood for KD and Steph. So sit back, the NFL winter is here, the NBA season is upon us and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

Football, food, family and friends. . . Thanksgiving is obviously a football fan’s dream come true, and this year, we even get some decent matchups. The Vikings have been riding the unlikely hot hand of Case Keenum to an 8-2 record, but on Turkey Day, I’m feeling giving, so I’m laying the points on the Lions and their hopes for a playoff berth. The Cowboys and Chargers both face uphill battles if they want to sniff the postseason, and with the return of LT Tyron Smith for the ‘Boys, we should get a good game. Fortunately, by the time the Washington/Giants game is on, most of America will be asleep in their armchairs, well-sated, content and spared from having to endure this matchup. But not me; I’ll be working on my third plate while devouring my third game of the day, and I’ll be savoring every last bite. So sit back, the NFL winter is here, the NBA season is upon us and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

Just to remind everybody out there, we’re living in a world where Boogie Cousins is actually realizing his prodigious talents, the New York Knicks are once again relevant behind one 22 year-old 7’3” Lativian gangbanger, and the Rams, Saints and Eagles boast some of the best records in the NFL more than halfway through the season. Of course, we can always count on the Patriots, the Warriors, James Harden and Lebron to be in the headlines, but the art of storytellin’ comes from the unexpected twists and turns, the storylines you might not have seen coming. So sit back, the NFL winter is here, the NBA season is upon us and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

On, MLB’s Cy Young awards (3:20); Giancarlo Stanton on the market (5:52); then Gaber joins us to talk Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons and he makes an on-point, albeit early, Wilt/Magic comparison (8:13); Warriors/Celtics Thursday night (13:01); the Cavaliers and my completely out of left field gut feeling/premonition that they add Boogie Cousins to the mix (22:55); more on Boogie’s incredible early season numbers (27:35); James Harden’s 2018 MVP campaign (29:54); KP and the resurgence of the Knicks (34:41); then we get into NFL, with a look at fantasy football and how the top draft picks in our Buffalo FF league have busted, while the majority of actual top 12 players were late picks or even undrafted (37:30); and review WK 10 in the NFL and make our picks vs the spread and straight up for WK 11 (41:20); with intro bump Da Art of Storytellin’ PT 2, by Outkast off their seminal album, Aquemini, so check it out!

The upstart Bills out-upstarted by the lowly Jets? The Legion of Boom giving up a game winning drive to Kirk Cousins in Seattle? The Chiefs manhandled by the Cowboys? You think you have a read on the NFL and then you get that “any given Sunday” bad break and boom, there goes that ill-advised teaser. It’s hard to believe I’m saying this, but thank god for the Rams and the Eagles, sure things in an unsure NFL . . . at least for now. And early season in the NBA finds things settling down and getting back to what we expected, except maybe in Cleveland. But don’t write off the Land just yet. After all, the King is still a Cavalier, just relax and bear witness. So sit back, the NFL winter is here, the NBA season is upon us and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

 Gabe Goldfield joins us to discuss, (6:35) Boogie Cousins remarkable numbers early on in the season; (12:55) Kyrie Irving's development into legit top 3 PG; (16:25) the Cavs' struggles despite Lebron's early season brilliance; (23:07) Ben Simmons and the All-Under 22 team in the NBA; (30:20) then we make our WK 10 NFL picks vs the spread (Gaber is 67-64 on the year, I'm 70-61). 

Carson Wentz, Alex Bregman, Cody Bellinger, Ju Ju Smith-Schuster, Deshaun Watson. A year ago none of these guys were on our radar as game changers on Sundays or World Series heroes. Yet is was these five fellas who made my Sunday last week, with a full Red Zone slate leading into Sunday Night Football and Game 5 of the World Series. And speaking of the Fall Classic, have I mentioned that Jose Altuve is the best hitter in the game? Ad nauseam, but he is, right now, so recognize. The future is here my friends, and it seems to be precocious QBs, home runs, and a certain diminutive #hitgod carrying the city of Houston on his back. Oh, and if you haven’t heard, the NBA is underway. So sit back, the NFL winter is here, it’s been an amazing World Series, the NBA season is upon us and we're breaking down how it's all unfolding, next on the Roundup Podcast, so let's get rolling. . .

On, World Series 2017, as the Astros come back behind WS MVP George Springer and should be AL MVP Jose Altuve, and win one for H-Town; then Gabe Goldfield joins to talk about the NBA's ascension to the top of sports coverage; why NBA action is so unpredictable early in the season; NFL WK 9 action and WK 8 results with picks vs the spread (Gaber is 62-56, I'm 63-55 vs spread as documented in each episode!), with intro bump, 745 by Vince Staples so check it out!