LOCAL SPORTS SCORES FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 29th
ON THE SCHEDULE TODAY AT FCHS:
Fairfield Mules Basketball vs. #1 Seed Carterville at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament at 12:00 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL:
ELDORADO HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT:
Edwards County vs. Hamilton County
Herrin vs. Massac County
Vienna vs. Anna Jonesboro
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP:
NCOE vs. Hardin County
5TH PLACE GAME:
Winner of Edwards County vs. Hamilton County vs. Winner of Herrin vs. Massac County
3RD PLACE GAME:
Loser of Carterville vs. Fairfield vs. Loser of Vienna vs. Anna Jonesboro
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Winner of Carterville vs. Fairfield vs. Winner of Vienna vs. Anna Jonesboro
AREA SPORTS RESULTS FROM THE WEEKEND:
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL:
ELDORADO HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT:
Fairfield 46, Hamilton County 37
Fairfield was led in scoring by Owen Gruen with 13 points and Lane Robson with 12
Gallatin County 54, West Frankfort 41
Hardin County 86, Harrisburg 56
Eldorado 76, Carrier Mills 27
Carterville 64, Edwards County 61
NCOE 56, Gallatin County 43
Vienna 60, Herrin 46
Anna Jonesboro 76, Massac County 52
Hardin County 56, Eldorado 48
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL:
MERRY MULE TOURNAMENT:
The Fairfield Lady Mules Basketball team came away with Championship Gold on Saturday at the Merry Mule Tournament defeating Newton in the Championship Game 48-44. Earlier in the day, FCHS Coach Tonya Conrad picked up her 300th Career Victory. Fairfield’s Mabrey Foster was named the MVP of the All-Tournament Team.
Webber 62, Woodlawn 56
Murphysboro 40, Flora 29
Fairfield 67, Lawrenceville 31
FCHS Coach Tonya Conrad picked up her 300th Career win in the victory
North Clay 61, Wayne City 36
West Frankfort 36, Mt. Vernon, IN 26
Newton 57, Edwards County 55
Edwards County’s Grace Bishop recorded her 2000th Career point
Webber 52, North Clay 51
Woodlawn 75, Wayne City 22
West Frankfort 53, Murphysboro 18
Mt. Vernon, IN 43, Flora 26
3RD PLACE GAME:
Edwards County 61, Lawrenceville 29
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Fairfield 48, Newton 44
MERRY MULE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
Mabrey Foster – Fairfield – MVP
Riley Jolly – Fairfield
Lola Nussmeyer – Edwards County
Grace Bishop – Edwards County
Evyn Lemmon – West Frankfort
Andrea Kibler – Woodlawn
Edyn Knight – Webber
Addelin Sanders – Lawrenceville
Shameria Joshua Ayers – Murphysboro
Stella Hall – Mt. Vernon, IN
Izzy Meinhart – Newton
Grace Schumacher – Newton
***NATIONAL SPORTS***
SUNDAY’S SCOREBOARD
NFL
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Cincinnati Bengals 37, Arizona Cardinals 14
Cleveland Browns 13, Pittsburgh Steelers 6
New Orleans Saints 34, Tennessee Titans 26
Jacksonville Jaguars 23, Indianapolis Colts 17
Miami Dolphins 20, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17
New England Patriots 42, New York Jets 10
Seattle Seahawks 27, Carolina Panthers 10
New York Giants 34, Las Vegas Raiders 10
Philadelphia Eagles 13, Buffalo Bills 12
San Francisco 49ers 42, Chicago Bears 38
The Chicago Bears came up short during a 42-38 shootout loss to the San Francisco 49ers from Levi’s Stadium on Sunday Night Football. Caleb Williams threw an incomplete pass into the endzone as time expired to give San Francisco the win. Williams passed for 330 yards and two touchdowns in the losing effort, while Luther Burden-the-third caught eight passes for 138 yards and a score. The 11-and-5 Bears have already clinched the NFC North crown, but they’re now out of the running for the top seed in the conference. Chicago ends the regular season with a game against the Lions in Week 18.
NBA
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Toronto Raptors 141, Golden State Warriors 127 (OT)
Oklahoma City Thunder 129, Philadelphia 76ers 104
Washington Wizards 116, Memphis Grizzlies 112
Portland Trail Blazers 114, Boston Celtics 108
LA Clippers 112, Detroit Pistons 99
Los Angeles Lakers 125, Sacramento Kings 101
The Chicago Bulls had their five-game winning streak snapped with a 112-103 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center on Saturday. The Bulls got within one with five-and-a-half minutes left in regulation before Milwaukee pulled away. Coby White and Nikola Vucevic both scored 16 points in the losing effort. Chicago is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 15-and-16 record. The Bulls host Minnesota tonight.
NHL
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Pittsburgh Penguins 7, Chicago Blackhawks 3
The Chicago Blackhawks got off to a miserable start during a 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at United Center. The Blackhawks gave up four goals in the first 12 minutes of the game and trailed the rest of the way. Nick Foligno, Wyatt Kaiser, and Tyler Bertuzzi all scored in the losing effort. Chicago is in last place in the Central Division with 34 points. The Hawks host the Islanders tomorrow night.
Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Montreal Canadiens 4 (SO)
Columbus Blue Jackets 4, New York Islanders 2
Detroit Red Wings 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 2 (OT)
Seattle Kraken 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1
The St. Louis Blues got back in the win column with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators at Enterprise Center on Saturday. The game was tied at one late in the second period before Pavel Buchnevich scored a pair of goals to put St. Louis up for good. Brayden Schenn also scored in the victory. The Blues are in fifth place in the Central Division with 38 points. They host the Buffalo Sabres tonight.
College Football Bowl Games (CFP Rankings)
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No Games Scheduled
Men’s College Basketball (Top-25 Coaches’ Poll)
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#16 Texas Tech 87, Winthrop 57
#7 Gonzaga 96, Pepperdine 56
***Top Sports Headlines***
Illini Basketball Hosts Southern
(Champaign, IL) — The number-19 Illinois Fighting Illini will try to get on a winning streak when they host Southern at State Farm Center this afternoon. Illinois is coming off a 91-48 win over Mizzou last Monday. The Illini are 1-and-1 in Big Ten play and 9-and-3 overall. Today’s game tips off at 2:00PM and can be heard on WFIW-AM 1390 and 103.3 FM on the Illini Sports Radio Network powered by Learfield. Pregame show starts at 1:00PM.
>>FIghting Illini Basketball Legend Dave Downey Has Passed
(Canton, IL) — Illini basketball legend and Canton, Illinois native Dave Downey has died. Downey played for the Fighting Illini from 1960 to 1963 when he left the team as the all-time leader in both scoring and rebounding. He still owns the school record for points scored in a single game with 53. Despite being drafted by the San Francisco Warriors, Downey opted out of an NBA career and worked in insurance in Champaign. He passed away Saturday at the age of 84.
>>NFL Week 17 Roundup
(Undated) — Another Sunday of NFL action is in the rearview. The San Francisco 49ers capped off the Week 17 Sunday slate with a thrilling 42-38 win over the Chicago Bears in Santa Clara. Brock Purdy threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns to help the Niners improve to 12-and-4. They will now take on the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC’s top-seed in Week 18. The NFC North champion Bears are now locked-in to a Wild Card weekend game. In Sunday’s other top matchups the Seahawks downed the Carolina Panthers 27-10, the Philadelphia Eagles knocked off the Buffalo Bills 13-12, and the Cleveland Browns upset the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-6. Week 17 wraps up with the Atlanta Falcons hosting the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.
>>Steelers’ Darnell Washington Suffers Broken Arm
(Pittsburgh, PA) — A big piece on the Steelers’ offense is unlikely to suit up again this season. Darnell Washington broke his arm in Sunday’s 13-6 loss to the Browns from Cleveland. Head coach Mike Tomlin said the tight end was ruled out after leaving late in the first quarter. Washington has about 350 receiving yards to go with a touchdown this season and was expected to take on a bigger role following DK Metcalf’s suspension.
>>Cardinals TE McBride Sets Receptions Record
(Cincinnati, OH) — Cardinals tight end Trey McBride set the record for most receptions in a single season at the position. McBride caught 10 passes in Arizona’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, upping his total to 119 on the season. He breaks the mark set by his former teammate Zach Ertz, who snagged 116 passes as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. He also set the team record, surpassing DeAndre Hopkins’ 115 catches in 2020.
>>CFB Bowl Recap
(Undated) — The college football bowl season continued over the weekend. Eight games were played on Saturday. Penn State topped Clemson 22-10 in the Pinstripe Bowl. Number 12 BYU beat number 22 Georgia Tech 25-21 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Number 25 North Texas took down San Diego State 49-47 in the New Mexico Bowl. Number 19 Virginia topped Missouri 13-7 in the Gator Bowl. Number 21 Houston beat LSU 38-35 in the Texas Bowl. The action continues Monday, with the Birmingham Bowl between Georgia Southern and Appalachian State.
>>Indiana Football Faces Alabama In Rose Bowl
(Pasadena, CA) — The next round of the College Football Playoff is right around the corner. Number one Indiana is getting ready to face number nine Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Thursday. The Hoosiers are the top team in the CFP after going 13-and-0 to go along with a Big Ten championship.
>>North Texas RB Hawkins Entering Transfer Portal
(Undated) — The FBS leader in touchdowns this season is planning to continue his college playing career elsewhere. North Texas running back Caleb Hawkins has announced that he plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal when it officially opens Friday. The true freshman scored 29 touchdowns and produced 1,804 yards from scrimmage during his first collegiate season with the Mean Green. The American Conference Rookie of the Year joins wide receiver Wyatt Young and a slew of other North Texas players that have announced plans to enter the portal after a record-setting 12-win season for the program.
>>Blue Jackets Place Zach Werenski On IR
(Columbus, OH) — The Blue Jackets are shutting down their best player for a little while. The team placed Zach Werenski on injured reserve on Sunday. The defenseman is day-to-day after suffering a lower-body injury during a game against the Ducks on December 20th. Werenski has 14 goals and 40 points this season, which both rank second among blueliners. He also sits second among all skaters with an average time on ice of almost 27 minutes per game.
>>Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk Returns To Practice
(Sunrise, FL) — The Panthers are on the verge of getting a key player back. Matthew Tkachuk [[ kuh-CHUCK ]] returned to practice on Sunday. The winger hasn’t played since Florida clinched its second straight Stanley Cup last year. He needed surgery for a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle suffered during the Four Nations Face-Off last February. The Panthers were forced to shut down Tkachuk until the playoffs.
>>Lightning Extend JJ Moser
(Tampa, FL) — The Lightning are rewarding a key member of their defense. The team extended JJ Moser on Saturday to an eight-year contract worth almost seven-million dollars annually. The 25-year-old leads Tampa in ice time this season at nearly 22 minutes per game. Moser has three goals and nine assists this year and was part of the blockbuster trade that sent Mikhail Sergachev [[ sair-ga-CHEHV ]] to the Mammoth back in 2024.
>>Cubs Sign RP Harvey
(Chicago, IL) — The Chicago Cubs are continuing the build their bullpen for the 2026 season. The Northsiders signed reliever Hunter Harvey to a one-year deal yesterday. Hunter spent last season with the Royals. He went 1-and-0 in 12 scoreless appearances out of the pen last season.