MORNING SPORTS BRIEFS 12/3/21

College Football

The Virginia Cavaliers have a new coach in 2022. Bronco Mendenhall announced Thursday that he will step down as the Cavaliers head coach after the team’s bowl game. The 55-year-old Mendenhall said it was his choice to leave. Virginia went 36-and-38 in Mendenhall’s six seasons and won the ACC Coastal Division championship in 2019, leading to an Orange Bowl appearance. The Cavaliers went 6-and-6 in 2021.

NFL

The Tennessee Titans are in a much needed bye week this week. The Titans are 8-4 but have lost their last two games. Tennessee welcomes Jacksonville to Nissan Stadium a week from Sunday.

The Dallas Cowboys snapped their two game losing streak with a 27-17 win over the New Orleans Saints last night. The Saints have now lost five games in a row.

NHL

It was not a great night for the Nashville Predators on home ice. The Preds lost to the Boston Bruins 2-0. Juuse Saros had a solid game with 31 saves and two goals allowed. Nashville hosts the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow night.

NBA

The Memphis Grizzlies have set a new NBA record, outscoring Oklahoma City by 73 points in a 152-79 win at the FedEx Forum, setting the largest margin of victory in the history of the league. Nine different players had double-digit point totals for Memphis, which shot 62-and-a-half percent from the field. The previous margin-of-victory record of 68 was set on December 17th, 1991, when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 148-80.

The Phoenix Suns are rewriting the record book. Cam Johnson and Cam Payne scored 19 points apiece off the bench as the Suns rolled past the Detroit Pistons 114-103, earning their franchise-record 18th straight win. They go for number 19 tonight at Golden State.

Golf

Rory McIlroy, Daniel Berger, and Abraham Ancer lead the field by one stroke after shooting a 66 in round one of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, and Webb Simpson are in a three-way tie for fourth-place at five-under par. Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, and Patrick Reed are tied for seventh at four-under.