ON THE SCHEDULE TODAY AT FCHS:
Lady Mules vs. North Clay at the Mule Barn (Varsity Only) 5pm
Mules Basketball vs. North Clay at the Mule Barn (JV & Varsity Only) 6:30pm
OTHER AREA SPORTS FOR TODAY:
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS BASKETBALL:
MIDLAND TRAIL CONFERENCE GIRLS TOURNAMENT:
Wayne City-Cisne vs. Webber
JR HIGH BOYS BASKETBALL:
WEAA BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT:
Clay City at Grayville
St. Joe (Olney) at West Salem
Allendale-St. Mary’s at New Hope
Geff at Cisne
JR HIGH GIRLS BASKETBALL:
Fairfield at Hamilton County
AREA SPORTS RESULTS FROM THE WEEKEND:
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS WRESTLING:
The Fairfield Lady Mules Wrestling squad was in action once again on Saturday at the Benton Invitational. The Lady Mules picked up 11 wins on the day and had one wrestler finish as medalist. Remi Taylor earned 3 pinfall victories, Macy McCulley had 2 wins, Maliya Rush had 1 pinfall win, Kami Sager had 1 pinfall win, Addison Churchill had 2 pinfall wins, Ashley Blevins had 1 pinfall win, and Destiny Cox had 1 pinfall win and finished in 3rd Place in her weight class. The Lady Mules will be back in action again next Friday and Saturday at the Murdale Tournament at Carbondale.
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL:
RICHLAND COUNTY FRESH/SOPH TOURNAMENT:
The Fairfield Mules Fresh/Soph Basketball team participated in the Richland County Fresh/Soph Tournament on Saturday at Olney. In their first game of the day, Fairfield defeated Salem 38-29 to move on to a semi-final matchup with Effingham. The Mules fell to Effingham by a score of 53-33. Effingham would go on to win the tournament with a victory over Olney in the Championship Game.
OTHER AREA HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL SCORES:
Cisne 56, Martinsville 37
Carterville 61, DuQuoin 50
Cobden 67, Zeigler-Royalton 48
Galatia 72, Paducah CCA 50
Mt Vernon 58, Cahokia 45
Nashville 57, Okawville 47
Newton 53, Charleston 36
Pinckneyville 71, Gibault 42
SEB 76, Grayville 58
Tuscola 65, Casey-Westfield 55
Webber 67, Sesser-Valier 37
JUNIOR HIGH BOYS BASKETBALL:
EWING SHOOT-OUT:
Jasper 52, Benton 33
Johnston City 53, Waltonville 30
Meridian 50, Opdyke-Bell Rive 40
Ewing (Varsity) 46, Unity Point 26
Ewing JV 29, Meridian JV 18
***NATIONAL SPORTS***
SUNDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NFL
——-
Detroit Lions 19, Chicago Bears 16
The Chicago Bears are heading into the postseason on a sour note. The Bears lost to the Detroit Lions 19-16 at Soldier Field yesterday. Chicago trailed by 16 in the fourth quarter before rallying back to tie the game, but the Lions kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired. Caleb Williams passed for 212 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the losing effort. The Bears finished the season in first place in the NFC North at 11-and-6, and they have the number-two seed in the NFC. They host the Packers in the Wild Card round this Saturday.
Atlanta Falcons 19, New Orleans Saints 17
Cleveland Browns 20, Cincinnati Bengals 18
Minnesota Vikings 16, Green Bay Packers 3
New York Giants 34, Dallas Cowboys 17
Jacksonville Jaguars 41, Tennessee Titans 7
Houston Texans 38, Indianapolis Colts 30
Buffalo Bills 35, New York Jets 8
Denver Broncos 19, Los Angeles Chargers 3
Las Vegas Raiders 14, Kansas City Chiefs 12
Los Angeles Rams 37, Arizona Cardinals 20
New England Patriots 38, Miami Dolphins 10
Washington Commanders 24, Philadelphia Eagles 17
Pittsburgh Steelers 26, Baltimore Ravens 24
NBA
——-
Detroit Pistons 114, Cleveland Cavaliers 110
Orlando Magic 135, Indiana Pacers 127
Brooklyn Nets 127, Denver Nuggets 115
Miami Heat 125, New Orleans Pelicans 106
Minnesota Timberwolves 141, Washington Wizards 115
Phoenix Suns 108, Oklahoma City Thunder 105
Milwaukee Bucks 115, Sacramento Kings 98
Los Angeles Lakers 120, Memphis Grizzlies 114
NHL
——-
Chicago Blackhawks 3, Vegas Golden Knights 2 (F/OT)
Tyler Bertuzzi came through in crunch time as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime from the United Center. Bertuzzi scored the game-tying goal with under nine minutes left in regulation, and he knocked in the game-winner in the second minute of OT. He finished with a hat trick in the victory. The Hawks are tied for sixth place in the Central Division with 41 points. They host the Blues on Wednesday.
Montreal Canadiens 4, Dallas Stars 3 (F/OT)
Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Columbus Blue Jackets 4 (F/OT)
Florida Panthers 2, Colorado Avalanche 1
Carolina Hurricanes 3, New Jersey Devils 1
Jordan Binnington stood on his head as the St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-0 at Enterprise Center on Saturday. Binnington stopped all 25 shots that he faced in the victory. Jonatan Berggren and Robert Thomas both scored for St. Louis. The Blues are tied for fourth place in the Central Division with 42 points. They visit the Blackhawks on Wednesday.
College Football Bowl Games (CFP Rankings)
——-
No Games Scheduled
Men’s College Basketball (Top-25 Coaches’ Poll)
——-
#4 UConn 73, Marquette 57
#7 Gonzaga 82, Loyola Marymount 47
***Top Sports Headlines***
Illini Defeat Penn State
(Philadelphia, PA) — The number-19 Illinois Fighting Illini are on a three-game winning streak following a 73-65 win over Penn State at The Palestra on Saturday. The Illini raced out to a 40-26 halftime lead and kept the Nittany Lions down by double digits throughout most of the second half. Kylan Boswell had 18 points in the victory, while Keaton Wagler finished with 16. Illinois improved to 2-and-1 in Big Ten play and 11-and-3 overall. The Illini host Rutgers on Thursday.
>>Katin Houser Transferring To Illinois
(Champaign, IL) — Illinois football may have found their replacement for quarterback Luke Altmyer. The Illini announced that Katin Houser is transferring to the program. The senior has played for Michigan State and East Carolina. He has thrown for more than 64-hundred yards and 43 touchdowns in his career.
>>NFL Playoff Field Set After Week 18 Finale
(Undated) — The NFL playoff field is set. The regular season wrapped up on Sunday with the top AFC teams holding their seeds. The Broncos, Patriots and Jaguars all won their games to claim spots one-through-three. The Steelers edged the Ravens on Sunday Night Football to win the AFC North and earn the fourth position. Meanwhile in the NFC, the Bears and Eagles secured the second-and-third seeds despite losses to the Lions and Commanders. The Panthers backed-in to the NFC South title and the fourth spot after the Falcons took down the Saints. The Seahawks are the top-seed and earned a first-round bye along with the AFC-leading Broncos. The Wild Card round begins on Saturday.
>>Report: Falcons Fire Raheem Morris
(Atlanta, GA) — The Falcons are moving on from their head coach. ESPN reports the team fired Raheem Morris on Sunday. The news comes hours after Atlanta secured a 19-17 win over New Orleans, which knocked Tampa out of the playoffs and allowed Carolina to back-into the NFC South title. Morris went 8-and-9 in back-to-back seasons with the Dirty Birds and failed to make the postseason.
>>Report: Colts Sticking With GM And Head Coach
(Undated) — The Colts are keeping the status quo. According to ESPN, CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon is choosing to retain general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen following the Colts’ 38-30 loss to the Houston Texans. Quarterback Daniel Jones is also expected to return after suffering a torn Achilles. Jones is slated to become a free agent in March. Indianapolis finished the season 8-and-9 after starting the year 8-and-2.
>>Browns’ Myles Garrett Sets New NFL Single Season Sacks Record
(Cincinnati, OH) — The NFL has a new sack king. Browns’ superstar Myles Garrett set the single-season record with his 23rd takedown on Sunday. The edge rusher dragged down Bengals’ gunslinger Joe Burrow late in the fourth quarter of a 20-18 victory from Cincy. Garrett broke the previous record of 22-and-a-half sacks held by Steelers speed rusher TJ Watt and Giants legend Michael Strahan.
>>Raiders Land First Pick In 2026 NFL Draft
(Undated) — The Las Vegas Raiders are on the clock. The Silver and Black secured the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft despite beating the Chiefs in their final game of the regular season on Sunday. The Raiders have the top pick for the first time since 2007 when they selected JaMarcus Russell. The New York Jets landed the second pick in the draft while the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and New York Giants round out the top-five. The 2026 NFL Draft is set for April 23rd through 25th in Pittsburgh.
>>FCS Championship Preview
(Nashville, TN) — A college football national champion will be crowned on Monday. Number two seed Montana State and unseeded Illinois State will face off in Nashville for the FCS championship. The Bobcats are seeking their first title since 1984, while the Redbirds are vying for their first ever. MSU beat rival Montana 48-23 in the semifinals, while ISU advanced with a 30-14 victory over Villanova.
>>Magic Take Down Pacers
(Orlando, FL) — The Magic took down the Pacers 135-127 from Orlando. Desmond Bane led the team in scoring with 31 points. Paolo Banchero [[ ban-CARE-oh ]] added 28 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double as Orlando has alternated wins and losses over its last nine games. Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 34 points for Indy, which has lost a dozen in-a-row.
>>Sharks Sign Wennberg To Three-Year Extension
(Undated) — The Sharks are rewarding a key member of their roster with a new contract. San Jose is signing forward Alexander Wennberg to a three-year, 18-million-dollar contract extension. The 31-year-old is in his second season with the team and was set to become an unrestricted free agent following this summer. He has totaled seven goals and 19 assists through 41 games this season. Wennberg was selected to be part of Sweden’s team at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
>>Royals Extend Manager Matt Quatraro Through 2029
(Kansas City, MO) — The Royals are locking up their skipper with a long-term deal. Kansas City is signing manager Matt Quatraro [[ kwuh-TRAH-roe ]] to a three-year contract extension through the 2029 season. The deal includes a team option for 2030. The 52-year-old replaced former manager Mike Matheny following the 2022 season and has led the franchise to a 224-and-262 in his three years in the dugout. The team won 56 games during his first season before recording back-to-back winning seasons.