Sarni's Scrolls: It was REAL Sports are real good

It's been real.
The final episode of HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" is set to air on Tuesday, closing the book on a remarkable 29 seasons and 314 shows that date back to 1995.
The investigative sports series is one of the most awarded shows on television: 37 Emmys, duPonts and Peabodys.
It deserved every one.
"Since Day 1 at 'Real Sports,' we've consistently tried to look beyond the scoreboard and focus instead on the many societal issues inherent in the world of sports," host Gumbel, 75, said on Deadline.com.
"In the process we’ve had the opportunity to tell complex stories about race, gender, class, opportunity and so much more. Being able to do so at HBO for almost 3 decades has been very gratifying... I've decided that now's the time to move on."
Memorable pieces have included the corruption at the International Olympic Committee, labor abuses as Qatar prepared for the World Cup, concussions in sports, children forced to be jockeys for camel racing in the Middle East.
"Real Sports' " absence will leave a void. The question: What is the future for long-form, intensive sports journalism?
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"UnSportsmanLike's" Evan Cohen posed this question on Monday morning's ESPN radio show:
"Finish the sentence: I'd rather play any team except _______."
The top-seeded (at the moment) Ravens (11-3) are getting the most votes, but Cohen made a case for the Bills (7-6), who dominated the Cowboys, 31-10 on Sunday.
"The Bills, the ninth seed, are playing better football than any team outside of San Francisco... And I'm not a Bills guy."
Buffalo's remaining games: at Chargers, Patriots, at Dolphins.
"UnSportsmanLike" is airing this week from ESPN West Palm’s new location. It's a homecoming for Cohen, who spent nearly 20 years as the preeminent on-air host for ESPN West Palm.
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Looking ahead to the 2024-25 college football post-season, when the CFP expands to 12 teams:
First Round (campus sites)■ Friday, Dec. 20: 1 game■ Saturday, Dec. 21: 3 games
Quarterfinals ■ Tuesday, Dec 31: Fiesta■ Wednesday, Jan. 1: Peach, Rose, Sugar
Semifinals ■ Thursday, Jan. 9: Orange■ Friday, Jan. 10: Cotton
Final■ Monday, Jan. 20: Atlanta
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What does this mean for the at-large bowls who will need to find their place in college football’s new landscape?
Broadcasts will likely have to be strategically placed around those playoff games rather than go head-to-head.

“It’s more of a PR challenge than anything,” Nick Carparelli, executive director of Bowl Season, told Front Office Sports.

“I think people need to understand the role that bowl games play. Not every bowl game needs to factor into the national championship equation to be meaningful.”

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After Saturday's bowl feast, there are four games over the next five days:

Monday

■ Famous Toastery: Western Kentucky (7-5) vs. Old Dominion (6-6) , 2:30, ESPN. Ranked No. 35 bowl by "USA Today."

Tuesday

■ Frisco: UTSA (8-4) vs. Marshall (6-6), 9, ESPN. No. 33.

Thursday

■ Boca Raton: South Florida (6-6) vs. Syracuse (6-6), 8, ESPN. No. 40.

Friday

■ Gasparilla: Georgia Tech (6-6) vs. UCF (6-6), 6:30, ESPN. No. 34

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Justin Williams of The Athletic ranked the Most Delicious Bowls

■ 1. Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes)

■ 2. Chick-fil-A

■ 3. Cheez-It

■ 4. Duke's Mayo

■ 5. Pop-Tarts

■ 6. Famous Idaho Potato

■ 7. Scooter's Coffee

■ 8. Avocados From Mexico

■ 9. Famous Toastery

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ETC.

■ Texas stamped itself as the best volleyball program in the nation after beating Stanford, Wisconsin and Nebraska to repeat as national champion. The Longhorns dropped just one match after losing three of their first eight in September.

■ DIvision II men's basketball defending champion and No. 1 Nova Southeastern entered the Christmas break at 9-0. The Sharks extended their Div. II record for consecutive regular-season wins to 61, their current streak to 45, and their home streak to 50. NSU has scored 100 or more points seven times this season.

■ Steph Curry's record 268-game regular season 3-point streak came to an end on Sunday.

■ Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence got his offensive line golf carts for the holidays.

■ Former Dolphin and "Inside The NFL" member Channing Crowder drew raves for his recent stand-up at Miami Improv.

■ Rob Gronkowski sang the National Anthem accompanied by the New Directions Veterans Choir at the L.A. Bowl. With gusto.

■ Hall of Fame Goalkeeper Roberto Luongo was added to the Vancouver Canucks' Ring of Honor last week.

■ Get-in prices for the Carolina Panthers game Sunday: 45 cents to $5, which is the cost of Wendy's Biggie Box.

■ MLS will not send first teams to the 2024 U.S. Open Cup, opting to enter MLS Next Pro, the two-year development league to participate.

■ Inter Miami has sold out its 2024 season tickets.

■ The NHL is on pace to set attendance records.

■ Tua Tagovailoa loves Michael Buble music.

■ Pickleball: Dallas has the world's highest courts, on the 48th floor of the Tower Court... Elon Musk's Boring Co.'s in Bastrop County, Texas, charges $1 a court.

■ The Atlantic-10 signed new basketball deals with CBS, NBC and ESPN.

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■ "Magnum P.I." will end with a two-hour episode on Jan. 3 on NBC. Fans have not given up their campaign to save the show.

■ "Curb The Enthusiasm" will end in 2024 with Season 12.

■ Mayim Bialik is out as "Jeopardy!" host, leaving Ken Jennings as sole answer-asker.

■ Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner have broken up.

■ What was Taylor Swift wearing Sunday? A red and black '90s Kansas Chiefs sweatshirt with a themed beanie with Travis Kelce's number on it.

■ "New York Times" headline on "Wonka": "Willy When He Was Young And Oh So Sweet."

■ Ikea is selling turkey-sized meatballs during the holidays.

■ In-N-Out burgers opened its first Idaho location last week. Wait time: up to eight hours.

■ China now has the most branded coffee shops of any country in the world, bumping the U.S. to second place for the first time in 20 years.

■ Searches for the word "granny" on PornHub are up 152% this year.

■ Costco's hottest item: gold bars. One oz. for $2,000.

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THEY SAID IT

■ "Who could have wrote this story? Not even Dr. Seuss." -- Cleveland DE Myles Garnett after the Browns advanced to 9-5, using their fourth quarterback of the season, Joe Flacco.

■ "Way to go, Maria! No better practice for raising a kid than dealing with our crew every week." -- Chris Simms tweeting to "Football Night In America" host Maria Taylor, who went on maternity leave after Sunday's show.

■ "I play pickleball, I'm the best pickleball player in the world. I'm a better pickleball player than basketball player." -- Heat guard Tyler Herro.

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Jim Sarni, BC Class of '69, is a former sportswriter for The Boston Globe and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He resides in Fort Lauderdale and watches a lot of television. If you have a comment or an opinion, we'd love to hear from you Jksarni@aol.com

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone