lined Jones up all over the field and he got open wherever he

Its a little over two weeks until Christmas Day -- just let that feeling sink in for a moment. Usually the final weekends leading up to the big holiday are spent shoulder to shoulder with thousands of others, trying to purchase gifts for loved ones.How can a sports fan be expected to go shopping when the action is reaching boiling point?With only four rounds remaining in the NFL season, teams are trying to lock up their playoff spots and nail down their game plans before the action really gets going. The leagues top sides are hoping to lock down their spots in Week 14.In the NBA, every team has played effectively a quarter of their schedule and a gap is beginning to show between the genuine contenders and those just making up the numbers.With so many incredible games on this weekend, which ones can you not afford to miss?Oakland Raiders v Kansas City Chiefs - Friday @ 12.15pm live on ESPN The AFC West is on track to be the best division in NFL history. With a current win/loss record of 32-16 and a win percentage of 66.7, it would beat the previous best of 65 percent held by the 2013 NFC West and the 2007 AFC South.For the second time this season the Raiders and Chiefs will square off. They met during Week 6 in Oakland when what began as a tantalizing game in the first half, turned into a one-sided affair with the Chiefs running away 26-10 winners.Derek Carr has led the Raiders to six come-from-behind victories in the fourth quarter and he will need all of that composure against a rampant Chiefs defense. Starting a three-game home stand, the Chiefs will be looking to take top spot in the AFC West from the Raiders.ESPN Pick: Chiefs defense to suffocate Raiders at home. 23-13Odds: Chiefs $1.57 vs Raiders $2.40Pittsburgh Steelers v Buffalo Bills - Monday @ 5am on ESPN RedZone The playoffs hopes remain within reach of both sides and as the end draws nearer, things are heating up. Buffalo run the ball more than any team in the league, leading all with 23 touchdowns and 1,943 yards. But big Ben Rothelesberger prefers to go the aerial route; his connection with Antonio Brown is something to behold. Brown leads all receivers with 11 touchdowns, one ahead of Jordy Nelson and Mike Evans.The Steelers are on a three-game winning streak which has been fuelled by their pass rush defense. Through the opening 10 weeks, the Steelers had a combined 13 sacks. During their win streak, theyve compiled 13 sacks. Watch out, Tyrod Taylor. The Steelers have you in their sights.Can the Bills slow down the Steelers and halt their push towards the playoffs or will Big Ben pick them apart?ESPN Pick: Steelers to get it down and go top of AFC North. 28-14Odds: Steelers $1.77 vs Bills $2.05?Dallas Cowboys v New York Giants - Monday @ 12.15pm live on ESPN The Cowboys are 11-1 so far this season and are as close to perfection as it gets. The only blip on their radar? A Round 1 loss to, you guessed it, New York Giants.The NFC East rivals meet for the second time this season and you best believe the Cowboys will be seeking redemption. League-leading running back Ezekiel Elliott will take on the competitions fifth best rushing defense owned by the Giants. Elliot hasnt been able to get over the 100 rush yards for the last three weeks; can the Giants keep a lid on him?Eli Manning threw three TDs in that opening round matchup and with Odell Beckham Jr taking on the Cowboys secondary, we could see another repeat of that effort.ESPN Pick: Giants to upset the rolling Cowboys. 24-21Odds: Cowboys $1.53 vs Giants $2.50Minnesota Timberwolves v Toronto Raptors - Friday @ 11am live on ESPN2 The young Wolves travel north of the border for a showdown with the Raptors. Currently sitting second in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors own the third best offense in the league scoring at an average of 110.9 points per game.This will mark the sixth straight home game for the Raptors who have gone 4-1 throughout their home stand. They have been led by their dynamic backcourt in Kyle Lowry (23.6 points per game) and DeMar DeRozan (21.2 points per game) during this run.The Wolves, on the other hand, have only won one of their last six contests and will look to bounce back after losing at home to the Spurs. With their three young stars all averaging 20+ points a game, the Wolves know theyre on the cusp of greatness.ESPN Pick: Wolves are good, just not good enough. 114-101Odds: Raptors $1.30 vs Wolves $3.55San Antonio Spurs v Chicago Bulls - Friday @ 1.30pm live on ESPN2 Chicago will welcome the Spurs into the United Centre for their first matchup of the season. The Spurs are undefeated on the road, amassing a perfect 13-0 record. Since November 12th, the Spurs have only lost one game and theyll go into Chicago full of confidence behind their enigmatic leader Kawhi Leonard.The Bulls are riding a three-game losing streak and have averaged 94.3 points a game, which would rank second last in the league. Jimmy Butler currently ranks as the ninth highest scorer in the league and after a slow start is finally getting into the groove.Can the Bulls get their things together or will the Spurs road dominance continue?ESPN Pick: Bulls offense simply not good enough against this Spurs defense. 104-87Odds: Spurs $1.62 vs Bulls $2.30Houston Rockets v Oklahoma City Thunder - Saturday @ 12pm live on ESPN James Harden travels back to his old stomping ground for an MVP showdown against triple-double machine, Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has been on an absolute tear of late, recording a triple-double in the last six Thunder games, which makes it no surprise then that the Thunder have a perfect 6-0 record during that time.Hardens numbers might not be as staggering as Westbrooks, but theyre not to be sneezed at either.Both teams have 14 wins and have proved a lot of early season doubters wrong. Can Harden and Westbrook continue their early season form or will they come back down to earth?ESPN Pick: Rockets to edge out Thunder behind 3 point barrage. 117-112Odds: Rockets $1.97 vs Thunder $1.82 Drew Bledsoe Youth Jersey . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. Drew Bledsoe Patriots Jersey . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.patriotsjerseysauthentic.com/Tedy-Bruschi-Super-Bowl-Jersey/ . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. Irving Fryar Jersey .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Sony Michel Youth Jersey . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina `s defense accepted coach Will Muschamps challenge and his freshman quarterback made his coachs decision to start him look good as the Gamecocks beat East Carolina 20-15 on Saturday.After last weeks loss, Muschamp said he had to find players who could tackle. His defense did him even better, picking off a pass and recovering a fumble in its own end zone and had another interception at the Gamecocks 1. The Pirates only scored on two of six trips into the red zone and didnt have a play longer than 28 yards.All that was enough to take the pressure off Brandon McIlwain in his first start. It wont be his last. Muschamp is turning the Gamecocks (2-1) over to the freshman.Hes got a lot of poise about him, said Muschamp, who decided it was McIlwains time after the Gamecocks offense looked listless in a 27-14 loss to Mississippi State last week. Hes got a lot of the `it factor you look for at that position.McIlwain ran for 34 yards and two touchdowns and was 16-for-28 for 195 yards passing.And dont go telling Muschamp how East Carolina (2-1) gained 519 yards to South Carolinas 312 yards or how Zay Jones caught 22 passes for the Pirates, setting a school record and finishing just one reception away from the Football Bowl Subdivision record.I dont look at the stat sheet and see how many yards they have. I only care about the score, said Muschamp, emphasizing what he thought were even more important statistics for Jones -- the senior had 190 yards receiving and his longest catch was for 15 yards.The Pirates turned the ball over four times and, after committing just seven penalties in their first two games, committed eight penalties Saturday.What I saw in this game is too many penalties. What I saw was too many turnovers. I saw a team that outgained another and a defense that outplayed the other defense. We didnt pull it through at the end, East Carolina coach Scottie Montgomery said.THE TAKEAWAYEAST CAROLINA: The Pirates have no one to blame but themselves. They allowed a South Carolina team that hadnt scored a point in the first half in its first two games to jump too a 17-0 lead after an 80-yard kickoff return by A.ddddddddddddJ. Turner to set up the game-opening score and an 84-yard drive on the Gamecocks second possession. Philip Nelson was 44-for-58 for 400 yards, but South Carolina had four sacks as he sometimes stayed in the pocket too long.We dont look at moral victories. Were going back to work, said Montgomery, hired at the end of last season.SOUTH CAROLINA: McIlwain looked like a freshman at times with several underthrows and overthrows. But he put two passes in just the right spots on a key fourth-quarter drive that ended with a 39-yard field goal from Elliot Fry -- South Carolinas only points in the final 52 minutes of the game. The freshman also made a key choice, pitching to David Williams on a fourth-and-1 option that sealed the win.Muschamp isnt letting his freshman quarterback talk to the media, so we dont know what he thought about his big day.ZAYS BIG DAYEast Carolina lined Jones up all over the field and he got open wherever he was. But after the game, he said he had no idea how many catches he had or how close to the record he was. Instead, he couldnt believe all the chances his team blew.It hurts to put great drives together and you get to where the money is and you cant cash it in, Jones said.Jones came into the game needing 130 catches to break East Carolinas career record held by Justin Hardy. That seems more likely to be obtainable after Saturdays performance.UP NEXTEAST CAROLINA: The Pirates finish a run of three straight games against Power 5 opponents by traveling to Virginia Tech. East Carolina has beaten the Hokies the past two years and Montgomery expects his team to shake off this loss quickly.We dont look at moral victories. Were going back to work, said Montgomery, hired at the end of last season.SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks play at Kentucky. Its likely the loser ends up near the bottom of the Southeastern Conferences Eastern Division.---AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '