KSR Today: Christmas Leftovers Sunday

Good morning, Big Blue Nation. It’s the final Sunday of 2025. Finding motivation to move after a few days of frivolity, with the New Year on the horizon, is next to impossible. Today, you can relish in the post-Christmas wasteland for a little longer. The kids can spend the day playing with their new toys, while you polish off the bottom of the cookie container. Let those leftovers fuel you to the final Monday of the year.

Over here at the KSR compound, leftover ham sandwiches on Sweet Hawaiian rolls (what do they put in those that makes them so amazing?) with a side of sweets and black coffee will be getting us through the day. Allow me to share a little bit of what’s happened around the sports world that’s slipped through the cracks, and tell you that it’s not all quiet in the world of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky WBB in Action

For the first time since Dec. 19, the Kentucky women’s basketball team is back in action. The Sunday afternoon bout against Hofstra is the final non-conference game for the Cats. Fans are encouraged to wear white for Junior Wildcat Club Day. Kenny Brooks’ squad will get a chance to knock off the holiday rust at Historic Memorial Coliseum before hitting the road on New Year’s Day to take on fifth-ranked LSU. Kentucky vs. Hofstra tips off at 2 PM ET on SECN+.

NFL Sunday Slate

It took until week 17, but the NFL Playoff picture is finally formalizing with some early-week results. The Lions’ loss to the Vikings on Christmas punched the Packers’ playoff ticket. Their Saturday night loss handed the Bears an NFC North title, while a Houston win over the Chargers put the Texans in and gave the Broncos an AFC West title. It’s going down to the wire in the NFC South and the Panthers have a significant game against the Seahawks.

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Arizona Cardinals – 1:00 PM ET (FOX)
Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – 1:00 PM ET (CBS)
Miami Dolphins vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 1:00 PM ET (FOX)
New England Patriots vs. New York Jets – 1:00 PM ET (FOX)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Carolina Panthers – 1:00 PM ET (CBS)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts – 1:00 PM ET (FOX)
New Orleans Saints vs. Tennessee Titans – 1:00 PM ET (CBS)
Las Vegas Raiders vs. New York Giants – 4:05 PM ET (CBS)
Buffalo Bills vs. Philadelphia Eagles – 4:25 PM ET (FOX)
San Francisco 49ers vs. Chicago Bears – 8:20 PM ET (NBC / Peacock)

Ahead of the busy transfer portal season, take advantage of our KSR+ Introductory Offer to get bonus coverage of the Cats, including game threads, in-depth scouting reports, and the latest recruiting and roster intel. Just $1 gets you in.

Bowl Scores

It’s a sad, sad day. Saturday was filled with shenanigans in bowl games, so much so that they deserve their own post. Hysteria has been fully embraced during this chaotic time of year, and it’s a real shame the NFL is taking it away from us on Sunday. Things crank back up on Tuesday, but our busiest, silliest bowl game day of the year is in the rearview mirror.

Go Bowling Military Bowl: East Carolina 23, Pittsburgh 17
Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State 22, Clemson 10
Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Army 41, UConn 16
Pop-Tarts Bowl: BYU 25, Georgia Tech 21
Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl: Fresno State 18, Miami (OH) 3
New Mexico Bowl: North Texas 49, San Diego State 47
Gator Bowl (TaxSlayer): Virginia 13, Missouri 7
Texas Bowl: Houston 38, LSU 35

Former Stein QB Enters the Portal

We learned that former Oregon QB Austin Novosad will be in the transfer portal when it opens on Jan. 2. There has been widespread speculation, particularly from folks in Eugene, that Novosad will follow Stein to Kentucky. Anything can happen in the portal, but I’d be shocked if Stein wants his backup’s backup in to join him in Lexington.

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Kentucky Hires a 10th Assistant Coach

As I was putting the finishing touches on this Sunday morning post, Pete Thamel shared that Parker Fleming will coach inside receivers and serve as Will Stein’s special teams coordinator at Kentucky. That gives the Cats 10 full-time assistants for the 2026 season, two of which are former Ohio State staffers. Analysts will be added into the mix, but the heavy lifting has been completed prior to the start of transfer portal season.

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A Real Fight in the NBA

I can’t say that I am locked into the New Orleans Pelicans, but I can tell you that this might be our first actual fight in an NBA game in 20 years. Typically, a “fight” doesn’t result in much more than a few pushes, followed by a “hold me back.” In the 80s, dudes just threw haymakers, and that’s exactly what Jose Alvarado did on Saturday night.

It’s not just that a guy threw a punch. Alvarado is 6-feet tall. Mark Williams is 7-foot-1. The big fella caught the little guy with a forearm, then ate a punch. Well done, gentlemen. Well done.

JOSE ALVARADO VS MARK WILLIAMS

FEATHER WEIGHT VS HEAVY WEIGHT BOUT pic.twitter.com/2H80S9mB42
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) December 28, 2025

Salute to this Extraordinary Veteran

Dominick Critelli still has his A-game. At 104 years young, the World War II veteran brought his saxophone to the ice for the Rangers vs. Islanders and led the playing of the National Anthem.