Arizona
Cardinals Make Roster Moves After Rams Loss
ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals announced the following roster moves just two days after their Week 17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams:
More on Jones from the team’s official press release:
“Jones (6-2, 225) is the brother of Cardinals wide receiver Zay Jones. He played seven games with the Buccaneers this season and had six tackles and one forced fumble on defense and three tackles on special teams. The 26-year old Jones entered the league with Seattle as an undrafted rookie free agent from North Carolina State in 2022 and played three games with the Seahawks as a rookie. He has also spent time on the practice squads of the Seahawks and Buccaneers.”
Blount was injured in the loss against Carolina and was one of three Cardinals ruled out ahead of Saturday night’s game at SoFi Stadium. Arizona again will not have their core special teams player.
Bailey was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy and now rejoins the team.
The Cardinals will look for win number eight on the season in their finale at State Farm Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers, which will be Sunday, Jan. 5 at 2:25 PM local time.
Arizona
Powerball ticket from Arizona wins $1M in Jan. 1 drawing
PHOENIX — Somebody who bought a Powerball ticket in Arizona has one million extra reasons to celebrate the new year.
A $2 ticket purchased somewhere in the state matched all five white numbers drawn Wednesday night — 6, 12, 28, 35 and 66 — to win a cool $1 million.
Arizona Lottery officials haven’t yet announced where the seven-figure entry was purchased.
Was there a jackpot-winning Powerball ticket on Wednesday?
Nobody matched all white numbers plus the red Powerball of 26 to win the estimated jackpot of $181 million in the New Year’s Day drawing. The Arizona ticket was one of two to win $1 million, with the other being sold in North Carolina.
The odds of winning $1 million in Powerball are about 1 in 11.7 million.
Drawings in the multistate game of chance are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The estimated jackpot for the next drawing on Saturday is $200 million.
Arizona doubles up on $1 million wins
Wednesday’s big payout was Arizona’s second $1 million lottery prize in a span of six days.
A Mega Millions ticket sold at the Fry’s Fuel Center at 8260 S. Houghton Road in Tucson won $1 million in Friday’s drawing.
Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesday and Friday nights.
Arizona
LeBron James’ younger son commits to Arizona Wildcats
The LeBron James shows is coming to Tucson.
Bryce James, LeBron’s younger son, committed to the Arizona Wildcats on New Year’s Day, making the announcement on social media.
In an interesting twist, James made the announcement as Arizona’s rival, Arizona State, was getting ready to kick off vs. Texas in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. Savvy timing by the young James.
A four-star prospect out of Sierra Canyon High School in Southern California, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard had offers from Ohio State and Duquesne. The 17-year-old James recently took an unofficial visit to Arizona.
Bryce’s older brother, Bronny, is a rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was taken with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft after playing one season at USC.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd has a track record of developing players — especially guards — both at Arizona and previously at Gonzaga. James will need time to develop, according to 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein.
“Bryce needs to be given time and space to run his own race,” Finkelstein wrote. “He may not be the dynamic athlete or playmaker some expect at first, but he is a fundamentally sound player with solid perimeter size and a good early skill-set.”
James is the second commitment for Lloyd in the class of 2025, joining Dwayne Aristode, a 5-star wing who signed with Arizona in November. The Wildcats are also recruiting 5-star guard Brayden Burries and 5-star forward Koa Peat. Burries plays with James at Sierra Canyon and Peat plays at Perry High School in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert.
Here are some recent highlights of James:
Arizona
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo forces OT despite ‘vomiting profusely’ in loss to Texas
College Football Playoff second-round picks | Before The Snap
Before The Snap takes a close look at the four second-round CFP games and makes straight-up picks.
Cam Skattebo put Arizona State football on his back in the Peach Bowl, but his heroic efforts were not enough.
The Texas Longhorns defeated the Sun Devils 39-31 in double overtime on Wednesday in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal in Atlanta. Things looked dire for Arizona State in the fourth quarter as the Sun Devils trailed by as many as 16 points and their star running back appeared to be struggling on the sidelines.
The ESPN broadcast showed Skattebo battling fatigue on the bench. The network reported that Skattebo was trying to get in more fluids and catch his breath after he was “vomiting profusely” on the sidelines, leaving his health status for the remainder of the game up in the air.
Skattebo not only reentered the game, but he led a comeback to force overtime.
TEXAS VS. ARIZONA STATE: Live score updates, highlights, how to watch CFP quarterfinal game
Despite looking visibly exhausted, Skattebo checked back into the game and helped the Sun Devils score 16 unanswered points. Skattebo connected with WR Malik McClain for a 42-yard touchdown pass to cut the Longhorns’ lead to 24-16 with 6:31 remaining in the game. Following Arizona State’s interception of Texas QB Quinn Ewers the next possession, Skattebo rushed for a two-yard touchdown and then successfully converted a two-point conversion to tie the game 24-24 with 5:00 minutes remaining in the game. The Peach Bowl eventually went to overtime following Texas’ missed field goal that would have won the game.
In overtime, Skattebo gave the Sun Devils the lead on a three-yard touchdown run, but Texas answered back with two straight touchdowns to take the lead 39-31. Arizona State was unable to score on their next OT possession to give Texas the win.
Skattebo finished the game with 30 carries for 143 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to one 42-yard passing touchdown for a touchdown and eight receptions for 99 receiving yards.
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