The Kansas City Chiefs will hope for good news about their depleted secondary during their first-round playoff bye week. Safety Juan Thornhill suffered a knee injury in Kansas City’s victory Sunday over the Los Angeles Chargers, which coupled with New England’s loss to Miami gave the Chiefs the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. Thornhill’s injury appeared serious — he needed the help of two trainers to limp off the field, never putting any weight on his knee.
The matchup is set for a tantalizing College Football Playoff national championship game. On one side, defending champ Clemson, with its 29-game winning streak. On the other, unbeaten and No. 1 LSU, with its record-setting offense and Heisman Trophy winner. But first, we interrupt this playoff for a 15-day break that is far from ideal. LSU and Clemson will play the final game of the 2019 college football season on Jan. 13 in New Orleans after winning semifinals Saturday night. Heisman winner Joe Burrow and his Tigers routed No. 4 Oklahoma 63-28 at the Peach Bowl. Clemson’s No. 3 Tigers beat No. 2 Ohio State 29-23 in a Fiesta Bowl thriller.
New England’s fall into a wild-card game for the NFL playoffs has landed the defending champions in prime time. The Patriots will host the Tennessee Titans next Saturday night on CBS in the second of the four weekend games. New England lost at home to Miami on Sunday and, combined with Kansas City’s victory over the Chargers, slipped to the third AFC seed.
If you predicted when December began that the Patriots would be playing in the wild-card round, take a bow. If you said back then the Eagles would win the NFC East, particularly after a loss at Miami and a string of injuries that would send most teams spiraling to the bottom of the league, raise your hand.
The Battle Mountain High School JV boys basketball team opened league play on its home floor during the weekend of Dec. 20-21. The Longhorns lost to Incline and beat North Tahoe. Battle Mountain is back home Friday to play Pershing County at 4:30 p.m. and Silver Stage on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Longhorns are home on Tuesday, Jan. 7, to play Wells at 4:30 p.m.
The Battle Mountain High School JV girls basketball team opened league play on its home floor during the weekend of Dec. 20-21 and picked up wins over Incline and North Tahoe. Battle Mountain is back home Friday to play Pershing County at 3 p.m. and Silver Stage on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Lady Longhorns are home on Tuesday, Jan. 7, to play Wells at 3 p.m.
Kindergarten and first grade students at Battle Mountain Elementary School performed a Christmas program on Thursday in the elementary gymnasium under the direction of Mrs. Cheri Staton. There are 90 kindergarten students between Mrs. Lisa Burkhart, Ms. MacKenzie Clark, Miss Katie Good and Mrs. Teresa Whitten’s classes. In first grade, there are 84 students between Mrs. Kate Becker, Mrs. Sarah Byerley, Mrs. Sandra Eslick and Mrs. Linda Watterson’s classes. Two kindergarten classes were combined to perform four songs each. First to take the stage was Burkhart and Clark’s kindergarten classes. They began the concert by singing “Snow is Falling Today.” The students then performed “A Christmas Greeting,” “Reindeer Shouldn’t Waltz,” and “Snowpants.” Next to take the stage were kindergartners from Good’s and Whitten’s classes. They performed “Gingerbread Cookies,” “Snowman Choir,” “Don’t Eat a Poinsettia,” and “Hip Hop Reindeer.”
Teams from throughout the Northwestern part of the country converged on Twin Falls, Idaho, this past weekend for the annual Wiley Dobbs Invitational Tournament. In a crowded field of 40 teams the Battle Mountain High School wrestling team finished in 18th place.
The Battle Mountain High School boys basketball team was on its home floor this past weekend for the first time to open up Northern 2A action against a pair of Lake Tahoe teams. Incline made its way to Battle Mountain on Friday night and seemed like it could not miss a shot. The Highlanders were hot from the field and took home a 76-31 win. Incline made 10 3-pointers in the first half. “Our team played really well,” said BMHS coach Toby Melver. We had great defensive movement and contesting every shot. We just ran into a super hot shooting team in Incline.”
After spending the first two weeks on the road with preseason tournaments, the Battle Mountain High School girls basketball team made its home debut this past weekend, opening Northern 2A play as well. It was a mixed bag of results for the Lady Longhorns, who lost 46-21 to Incline and beating North Tahoe 29-24 on Saturday afternoon. With the split, Battle Mountain is 1-1 in the Northern 2A and 7-4 overall.
The San Francisco 49ers didn’t have much time to dwell on a lackluster loss to Atlanta with an abbreviated week ahead. So when the 49ers (11-3) returned to begin preparations for Saturday night’s home game against the Los Angeles Rams, coach Kyle Shanahan delivered the message that despite that loss to the Falcons, the Niners are in complete control in the ultra-tight NFC playoff race.
Longtime Giants ace Madison Bumgarner has reached agreement with the Arizona Diamondbacks on an $85 million, five-year contract that ends his run of success in San Francisco, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Sunday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the 2014 World Series MVP still needed to pass a physical to complete the contract. Bumgarner pitched 11 seasons for the Giants but knew his time likely had ended. He bid farewell along with retiring manager Bruce Bochy on the final day of the season.
The Battle Mountain High School girls basketball team wrapped up its preseason scheduled with a split of four games at the Comstock Classic in Virginia City this past weekend. Battle Mountain opened the tournament with an easy 50-17 win over Round Mountain. The Knights play in the Central 1A. Zarina Ceja paced the Lady Longhorns with 13 points, four steals and four assists. Kaybrie Nield notched a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds and Kira Smith had 10 points.
This past weekend the Battle Mountain High School JV girls basketball team hosted its annual tournament. Head coach Michael Speers was very impressed as the Lady Longhorns were able to collect wins against Pershing County, Eureka and Tonopah and Carlin.
The Battle Mountain High School boys basketball team concluded its preseason schedule this past weekend with three wins at the Comstock Classic in Virginia City. Battle Mountain opened with a 52-51 win over Round Mountain on Thursday afternoon. The Longhorns led 33-27 at halftime and held off a Knights rally in the second half for the one-point win.