The CBS Sports HQ crew gets you ready for the 4
Author: Michael
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Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry evaluate the a
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Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) & Joshua Perr
For a fourth straight week, Michigan State men’s basketball is ranked in the top 10 nationally.
After picking up a pair of wins last week, Michigan State remained ranked in the top 10 nationally in the latest Associated Press (AP) top 25 poll. The Spartans came in at No. 9 in this week’s poll, which is the same spot they’ve been for the last three weeks.
Michigan State picked up a pair of non-conference wins last week, throttling Toledo earlier in the week and then handling Oakland on Saturday. The Spartans improved to 11-1 overall on the year with the two wins last week.
Kentucky Basketball just emptied the tank to smother St. John’s in Atlanta, and now comes the game that can sneak up on you if you let it.
A weekday afternoon tip, the last game before the holiday break, and a Bellarmine team that is just dangerous enough to make things uncomfortable if the Cats come out sleepy.
The Knights are 5- 6 and still trying to figure out exactly who they are, but they have a legit scorer that cannot be ignored.
What to watch for in Kentucky vs. Bellarmine
Standout wing Jack Karasinski has been on a heater to start the season.
MONACO (AP) — Japan midfielder Takumi Minamino has torn the ACL in his left knee while playing for Monaco and will almost certainly miss the World Cup.
Minamino was injured in a French Cup game on Sunday against Auxerre and “medical examinations revealed a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament,” Monaco posted on social media on Monday.
Players typically need up to nine months to return from an ACL injury.
Japan opens its World Cup group on June 14 against the Netherlands in the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium at Arlington, Texas.
It’s a holiday week so you’d figure any deals made by teams, notably the Chicago Cubs, would be minor.
And that’s what we have today:
Christian Bethancourt agrees to Cubs deal. $1.6M if in majors.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 22, 2025
Christian Bethancourt is 34 and played in 24 games for the 2024 Cubs. In those games, covering 59 plate appearances, he batted .281/.305/.509 with three home runs and 15 RBI.
Those are good numbers! But it’s also a very, very small sample size.
Salah exit decision made after latest Liverpool news
Liverpool draw firm line on Salah future
Liverpool have moved decisively to shut down any prospect of Mohamed Salah leaving Anfield in January. According to TeamTalk, sources indicate the club have hardened their stance following a turbulent few weeks that have placed Salah’s future firmly under the spotlight. What once felt like an unresolved situation has now been reframed internally as a non negotiable position.