Thursday Things You Might Have Missed
NFL
The Atlanta Falcons will go forward with rookie Desmond Ridder as their quarterback. Head coach Arthur Smith hinted to the possibility of a quarterback change after the team's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13. Smith telling reporters:
"Every job is open."
Baker Mayfield was waived by the Carolina Panthers on Monday, claimed by the Los Angeles Rams on Tuesday, took a cross-country flight, had one short practice with his new team on Wednesday. Thursday night Mayfield managed to lead the Rams to 2 late 4th quarter touchdowns which resulted in an impressive 17-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Mayfield saying post game:
“I don’t know if you could write it any better than that. Obviously, we’d like to be a little bit more stress-free, but it’s a pretty damn good story, I’ll be honest with you.”
NBA
Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray will be out for 2 weeks after suffering a sprained ankle on Wednesday. The 26-year-old was injured early in Atlanta's loss to the New York Knicks when he landed on RJ Barrett's foot, he turned his left ankle in the process. He left the court with just about 9 minutes left in the 1st and did not return.
The Miami Heat are currently 12-14 which leaves them sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Bam Adebayo knows they have some work to do to get where they want to be in the standings. Thursday was a step in the right direction, Adebayo had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Jimmy Butler added 26 points and the Heat edged the Los Angeles Clippers 115-110. Adebayo saying after the game:
“If we worry about ourselves, I feel like we're going to be all right. We gave Jimmy the ball, and let him do his thing down the stretch."
NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-0 on Thursday night. Mitch Marner extended his franchise-record points streak to 21 games with his 2nd period goal. The 25-year-old became the 10th player in the past 35 years to put together a streak of 21 or more games, he has had 10 goals and 16 assists during this streak.
Also in Maple Leafs news, forward Nick Robertson sustained a shoulder injury during that win in Thursday night. He is unfortunately expected to miss a significant amount of time. Head coach Sheldon Keefe saying post game:
"This is not a short-term thing."