It's conference championship weekend in college football, the final set of games before bowl season. Usually, this is a time to celebrate the great traditions of the college game and in the more immediate past to help completely sort out the College Football Playoff's final four.
This year, however, it seems to be only half as important as usual. Why is that? Well, we have everything you need to know for championship week: "This is an interesting time for the fairly new Playoff system as all eight of the previous playoff teams were conference champions. However, Ohio State could get a playoff spot despite not only not winning their conference championship but not even winning their division. If for some reason Alabama loses to Florida, the Tide would still most likely be in the playoff."
A team that doesn't exactly have playoff hopes dancing in its head is the Los Angeles Rams, a team that was in the news fodder all week for all the wrong reasons. You know what I'm talking about: the bizarre dispute between head coach Jeff Fisher and NFL Hall of Fame running back and L.A. Rams legend Eric Dickerson. Choosing a side in this war of words seems like a simple choice: one of the most accomplished and well-liked players in franchise history or a coach who is on the verge of becoming the losingest coach in NFL history. However, Jeff Fisher is the unkillable cockroach of NFL head coaches: "Even for a franchise like the Rams it seemed too easy for Jeff Fisher to collect his annual nine or more losses and get a contract extension without encountering any resistance."
Another franchise searching for relevance is the New York Knicks, and whether or not they can get back to the postseason with all their new parts, Kristaps Porzingis has already reshaped the Knicks by elevating his game in year two: "For all of the hopes that he becomes the second coming of Nowitzki or more importantly, a new centerpiece for a franchise long starving for its third championship, Kristaps Porzingis has all the opportunity in the world to be his own man."
Of course, in the offseason, every team tries to improve and become a contender. Four MLB teams in particular are of interest this winter: "The Winter Meetings are normally a time for a team to make a big splash, and this could be Houston's moment to be this offseason's splashy team."
Going back to college football to cap off the week, we have your Championship Week playlist set so you can enjoy the weekend to the fullest:
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