Jake's Sports Newsletter

Weekly stat lines, matchup schedules, and storylines

Jan 06, 2023

My name is Jake O'Bannon and I love sports. Namaste.

I've made attempts to be less interested in sports. But, alas, I’ve always come up short (not that my heart was ever really in it, anyway). Whether it's watching sports, playing sports, or tracking sports statistics, I love most everything about what the world of sports can be. I'm a therapist by day and following sports has become one of the grounding practices I have found helpful as I navigate how to avoid taking heavy work content home. I live in Oklahoma City, so I love the OKC Thunder and all things Oklahoma State University sports. My grandpa, Mel O’Bannon, was drafted to the MLB with Willie Mays in 1949, so the game of baseball holds a special place in my heart. I jumped on the New York Yankees bandwagon in 1996 and never jumped off. I jumped on the Denver Broncos bandwagon in 1998 and jump off nearly every year. I actively follow golf and tennis and just last week I decided I'm an avid Leeds United fan.

All of this to say, I enjoy a wide variety of sports. Under that umbrella, I had the idea for this newsletter over the previous holiday break while in Covid quarantine as I was noticing all the different streaming apps I was forced to download to watch the sporting events for which I had a rooting interest. The World Cup was on the Fox Sports App. The NFL was on Amazon or YouTubeTV. The Premier League was on Peacock. The Thunder were on Bally Sports. Oklahoma State Basketball was on ESPN+. It's here that I should note: we have been a cordless home since 2015. I often talk sports with my dad, who has a Cox cable subscription. He's an avid sports fan as well. Many of these events are available to him in one place, but don't even begin to ask him to find Peacock, Amazon, or ESPN+ on his television. Regardless, these are a lot of apps to keep up with!

Back to this newsletter. The goal is this: a weekly blog that lays out the most interesting sporting events across the spectrum of all sports, and where to find them across the spectrum of all streaming apps. I will do short write ups on why I think particular games are interesting (and might even include some betting picks). Maybe even more importantly, I will also include some of the most interesting stat lines from the previous week and a few intriguing storylines for the upcoming week. Using the upcoming weekend and past few days as an example, it’ll look something like this:

MOST INTRIGUING GAMES THIS WEEKEND

Friday, January 6th

NBA: Brooklyn Nets (-4.5) @ New Orleans Pelicans
- 6:30PM CST (ESPN)
  - Number 3 in the East v. number 3 in the West. This matchup will be missing Zion Williamson, but KD is playing efficient basketball right now; I find myself taking his game for granted. CJ McCollum is also playing good ball in Zion and Ingram’s absence.

Saturday, January 7th

NFL: Tennesse Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars (-6.5)
- 7:15 PM CST (ESPN, ABC, ESPN+)
  - Win and you’re in the playoffs. Derrick Henry in cold weather. Trevor Lawrence becoming a real thing? Fun!

Sunday, January 8th

NFL: Detroit Lions @ Green Bay Packers (-4.5)
- 7:20PM CST (NBC, Peacock)
  - Win and the Packers are in the playoffs. Win and the Seahawks lose and the Lions are in the playoffs. More fun!

Monday, January 9th

NCAAFB: TCU v. Georgia (-12.5)
- 6:30PM CST (ESPN)
  - NCAA Football National Championship. The mighty SEC vs. the Big 12 . The defending champs against a team that few, if any, expected to be anywhere close to the playoff. I’d expect a lot of points. And I’ve counted out TCU one too many times this year. I think they cover, if not make this a real game.