🏈California dreamin’: The Pats are going on a road trip to sunny LA, taking on the Chargers on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. Quarterback (QB) Cam Newton will be in for a tough competition against Charger defensive end and “one-man wrecking crew” Joey Bosa, who’s coming off a tremendous showing against Buffalo.

• Meanwhile, the Pats’ pass defense needs to contend with another dynamic QB, this time Charger rookie sensation Justin Herbert, who’s been showing off his incredible arm. Although the Chargers are better than their 3-8 record suggests, we can probably bank on their cursed Charger energy to gift the Pats a win.

🏀⚾️Health is wealth: When the Celts host former Celtic Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets on Christmas Day, the C’s will be without Kemba Walker. Welp. He won’t be available until at least January after receiving a stem cell injection to his balky left knee. We’re sore just thinking about it.

• While Kemba’s undergoing a minor setback, Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez — whose 2020 season was cut short after developing COVID-19 related myocarditis — is primed for a major comeback. Rodríguez avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $8.3 million deal on Tuesday. A heartwarming payday.

⚽️Two wins away: Before Sunday’s Pats game, enjoy a playoff footy appetizer. The Revolution will take on Columbus Crew SC in the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. It’s showtime.

🏈The final countdown: Sunday’s matchup against the Packers feels like a clash of two teams headed in opposite directions. The Eagles are coming off a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, while the Packers are riding high after a massive win over the Chicago Bears. And while Green Bay recently climbed to the top of the NFC North, the Eagles have seen the NFC East slowly slip away. Sigh.

• Although we’re not feeling too hopeful about the Eagles snagging this win, we are curious to see if they make any short-term changes (like, ahem, more Jalen Hurts please). With only five remaining regular-season games, all of Philly is dying to know, what’s next?

🏀Finals? We don’t know her: As if we’re not still grieving the loss of March Madness earlier this year, college basketball is back, and the Villanova Wildcats are full speed ahead. No. 12 ’Nova is 3-1 after now-No. 16 Virginia Tech upset them last weekend.

• Fans are excited about this year’s squad, especially stud veterans Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Collin Gillespie. The Wildcats will have another chance to beat a top 25-ranked team this weekend when they skip exams to take on the No. 17 Texas Longhorns. ’Nova Nation, please stand up!

Tell me about the postponements: Men’s basketball seems to be following the lead of college football, which just surpassed over 100 postponed or canceled games because of COVID-19. Most recently, fresh off an upset victory over then No. 10 Kentucky, No. 19 Richmond has paused all activities, adding its Wednesday contest to a growing list of disrupted games. Yeesh.

Now give me the good news: Happy to! Back in October, Baylor guard DiDi Richards inadvertently collided with her teammate during a preseason practice. The freak collision temporarily paralyzed Richards just weeks before the season was set to tip off.

• One doctor wasn’t sure that Richards would ever play again...but the reigning Defensive Player of the Year was determined. Just 38 days (!!!) after the accident, she made her season debut in No. 4 Baylor’s 67–62 victory over South Florida. Talk about grit!
   
• There’s a great slate of ranked matchups in the next few days, but you already know we’re most excited to watch Richards take the floor again when the undefeated Bears battle No. 16 Arkansas on Sunday. Bring that energy, DiDi.

Remind me about the lawsuit?: Sure thing. In March 2019, the USWNT filed a gender discrimination suit against the USSF, seeking two things: equal pay and equal working conditions. On Tuesday, the two sides settled on the working conditions.

• The USSF will now “implement revised policies on four working conditions: charter flights, venue selection, professional support and hotel accommodations” to equalize the treatment of the men’s and women’s teams. Seems like a major win to us.

Awesome! Now what?: Now the harder part. A judge already ruled against the equal pay part of the suit earlier this year, on the reasoning that the USWNT actually earned more than the men’s team overall, which is true.

• But let’s not forget: the USWNT is the best team in the world, while the men are ranked 22nd, so more earnings doesn’t mean equal earnings when you account for merit. The good news? The players filed a motion on Tuesday to accelerate their appeal of that BS ruling. Equality, here we come!

🎾Tennis: First it was the wildfires in 2020, now the pandemic in 2021...who’s taking a murder hornet infestation to threaten the 2022 Australian Open? The first tennis major of the year, usually set to start at the end of January, will likely be pushed back by three weeks to February 8th to better accommodate a mandatory two-week quarantine. We can wait.

• Speaking of next season, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) is adopting a new naming system for their 2021 tournaments to better align with the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Just one more step towards the WTA-ATP merger we’ve all been waiting for.

🏈NFL: This one’s a head scratcher. Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the NFL probably won’t proceed with bubble environments for the playoffs after all, saying, “We feel strongly our protocols are working.”

• Goodell said this yesterday, the same day that the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens finally played their Thanksgiving game after it was postponed three times due to COVID-19 outbreaks. The league also announced that there were 156 positive cases among players and personnel in the last two weeks of November. The irony.

🏀NBA: Christmas came early for LeBron James. The almost 36-year-old superstar signed a two-year, $85 million extension with the NBA champion LA Lakers yesterday. The new contract will take him into 2023, which is the same year his son Bronny could enter the league.

• Russell Westbrook got his Christmas wish already, too. After asking for a trade from the Houston Rockets, where he spent one season, Russ is heading to the Washington Wizards in exchange for John Wall and a first-round pick. He must’ve been on Santa’s nice list.
• For the rest of us, the NBA gave us something to look forward to...five somethings, actually. The tentative Christmas Day schedule was released this week with five games scheduled over 12 hours. Deck the halls balls!