1-4-25 roundup: Pro football, soccer and basketball, High school basketball, College football and basketball
By Richard Walker
Here is a preview of Sunday’s Carolina Panthers’ 2024-25 Week 18 game:
Game 17- Jan. 5: Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m.
TV: CBS (Ian Eagle play-by-play, Charles Davis color analyst, Evan Washburn sideline reporter)
RADIO: WRFX-FM 99.7 in Charlotte is flagship station (Anish Shroff play-by-play, Luke Kuechly and Jake Delhomme color analysts, Sharon Thorsland sideline reporter, Jim Szoke host)
THE SERIES: Atlanta leads 37-22 including the last 2 games played in Atlanta.
RANKINGS AMONG NFL (Through Week 17 2024-25): Carolina offense – 31st overall, 20th rushing, 31st passing. Carolina defense – 32nd overall, 32nd rushing, 16th passing. Atlanta offense – 10th overall, 12th rushing, 8th passing. Atlanta defense – 19th overall, 14th rushing, 19th passing.
BY THE NUMBERS: 8-21 – Carolina’s all-time record in Atlanta.
NOTABLE: Carolina is 17-12 all-time in regular season finales, including 14-8 against the NFC South (9-3 vs. the Saints, 3-2 vs. the Falcons and 2-3 vs. the Buccaneers). The Panthers have played a NFC South rival in its regular season finale every year since 2004….
The Panthers have the most losses against Atlanta (37) of any opponent and are seeking to avoid the Falcons’ 11th sweep of the regular season series. Carolina has swept the Falcons 3 times and the series has been split 15 times….
After losing 30-24 in overtime last week at Washington, the Falcons need a victory and a Tampa Bay loss to New Orleans to win their 1st NFC South title since 2016….
Panthers WR Adam Thielen caught 5 passes for 110 yards and 2 TDs in last week’s loss to move into 20th all-time in receiving yards in Panthers franchise history with 1,534….
If Panthers P Johnny Hekker matches the 3 punts he landed inside the opponents’ 20 like last week in Tampa Bay, he move into the top 10 in NFL history for such a feat. Hekker has 376 punts downed inside the opposition 20 in his 13-year career and is 3 behind Donnie James (2004-18). Sean Landeta (1985-2005) is 9th with 381.
Here is the Carolina Panthers’ full 2024 schedule:
(preseason)
Aug. 8 at New England (L 3-17)
Aug. 17 N.Y. Jets (L 12-15)
Aug. 24 at Buffalo (W 31-26)
(regular season)
Sept. 8 at New Orleans (L 10-47)
Sept. 15 L.A. Chargers (L 3-26)
Sept. 22 at Las Vegas (W 36-22)
Sept. 29 Cincinnati (L 24-34)
Oct. 6 at Chicago (L 10-36)
Oct. 13 Atlanta (L 20-38)
Oct. 20 at Washington (L 7-40)
Oct. 27 at Denver (L 14-28)
Nov. 3 New Orleans (W 23-22)
Nov. 10 N.Y. Giants* (W 20-17 in OT)
*-game played in Munich, Germany
Nov. 17 BYE
Nov. 24 Kansas City (L 27-30)
Dec. 1 Tampa Bay (L 23-26 in OT)
Dec. 8 at Philadelphia (L 16-22)
Dec. 15 Dallas (L 14-30)
Dec. 22 Arizona (W 36-30 in OT)
Dec. 29 at Tampa Bay (L 14-48)
Jan. 5 at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
High school basketball
Here are area results and schedule:
(Friday, Jan. 3)
-BOYS
Bessemer City 86, East Gaston 61
Burns 70, Cherryville 33
Thomas Jefferson 51, Highland Tech 35
East Lincoln 99, Statesville 74
Hickory 80, North Lincoln 78
Shelby 58, Kings Mountain 53
South Point 79, Cox Mill 76
Piedmont CC 81, Sugar Creek 74
-GIRLS
Bessemer City 68, East Gaston 28
Burns 75, Cherryville 25
Thomas Jefferson 62, Highland Tech 11
East Lincoln 59, Statesville 13
North Lincoln at Hickory
Shelby 53, Kings Mountain 15
South Point 55, Cox Mill 44
Piedmont Community Charter 66, Sugar Creek 18: Bree Phillips had 19 points, Allasha Houser 13 and Aniya Jones 10 for Piedmont.
(Saturday, Jan. 4)
-BOYS
Asheville at Crest
-Phenom Hoops Ambassador Classic at Ambassador Christian
Gaston Day 57, Carolina International 52: Dylan Bradley (16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists), Braylen Todd (15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) and Griffen Simpson (11 points, 6 rebounds) led Gaston Day.
Gaston Christian 57, Zebulon Heritage Christian 51: Cameron Newman (38 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals) led Gaston Christian.
-GIRLS
Asheville 51, Crest 35
Team Australia at Shelby
(Tuesday, Jan. 7)
Cramer at North Gaston
Crest at Huss
Kings Mountain at Ashbrook
South Point at Forestview
Cherryville at East Gaston
Shelby at Bessemer City
Thomas Jefferson at Burns
North Lincoln at North Iredell
West Iredell at East Lincoln
Bandys at Lincolnton
Bunker Hill at West Lincoln
Lincoln Charter at Langtree Charter
Pine Lake Prep at Mountain Island Charter
Piedmont CC at Valor Prep
Concord Academy at Gaston Christian
(Wednesday, Jan. 8)
Langtree Charter at Highland Tech
South Point at Catawba Ridge, S.C.
(Friday, Jan. 10)
Cramer at South Point
Crest at Ashbrook
Huss at Kings Mountain
North Gaston at Forestview
Bessemer City at Cherryville
East Gaston at Thomas Jefferson
Highland Tech at Shelby
East Lincoln at Foard
North Lincoln at St. Stephens
Polk County at Burns
Lincolnton at West Caldwell
Newton-Conover at West Lincoln
Mountain Island Charter at Langtree Charter
Pine Lake Prep at Lincolnton Charter
Piedmont CC at Carolina International
Gaston Christian at Westminster Catawba
Gaston Day at SouthLake Christian
(Saturday, Jan. 11)
Lincoln Charter at Combine Academy
Pro basketball
Here is the Charlotte Hornets full 2024-25 results and schedule:
-Regular season
(*-Emirates Cup games)
OCTOBER
Wed. 23 at Houston (W 110-105)
Fri. 25 at Atlanta (L 120-125)
Sat. 26 MIAMI (L 106-114)
Wed. 30 TORONTO (W 138-133)
NOVEMBER
Fri. 1 BOSTON (L 109-124)
Sat. 2 BOSTON (L 103-113)
Mon. 4 at Minnesota (L 93-114)
Wed. 6 DETROIT (W 108-107)
Fri. 8 INDIANA (W 103-83)
Sun. 10 at Philadelphia (L 105-107 in OT)
Tue. 12 at Orlando* (L 89-114)
Sat. 16 MILWAUKEE (W 115-114)
Sun. 17 at Cleveland (L 114-128)
Tue. 19 at Brooklyn* (L 115-116)
Thu. 21 DETROIT (W 123-121 in OT)
Sat. 23 at Milwaukee (L 119-125)
Mon. 25 ORLANDO (L 84-95)
Wed. 27 MIAMI (L 94-98)
Fri. 29 NEW YORK* (L 98-99)
Sat. 30 ATLANTA 6:00 (L 104-107)
DECEMBER
Tue. 3 PHILADELPHIA* (L 104-110)
Thu. 5 at New York (L 101-125)
Sat. 7 CLEVELAND (L 102-116)
Sun. 8 at Indiana (W 113-109)
Fri. 13 at Chicago (L 95-109)
Mon. 16 Philadelphia (L 108-121)
Thu. 19 at Washington (L 114-123)
Fri. 20 at Philadelphia (L 98-108)
Mon. 23 HOUSTON (L 101-114)
Thu. 26 at Washington (L 110-113)
Sat. 28 OKLAHOMA CITY (L 94-106)
Mon. 30 CHICAGO (L 108-115 in OT)
JANUARY
Fri. 3 at Detroit (L 94-98 )
Sun. 5 at Cleveland 6:00
Tue. 7 PHOENIX 7:00
Thu. 9 at L.A. Lakers 10:30
Sat. 11 at LA Clippers 10:30
Sun. 12 at Phoenix 9:00
Wed. 15 at Utah 9:00
Fri. 17 at Chicago 9:30
Mon. 20 DALLAS 12:00
Wed. 22 at Memphis 8:00
Fri. 24 PORTLAND 7:00
Sat. 25 NEW ORLEANS 7:00
Mon. 27 L.A. LAKERS 7:00
Wed. 29 BROOKLYN 7:00
Fri. 31 LA CLIPPERS 7:00
FEBRUARY
Sat. 1 DENVER 7:00
Mon. 3 WASHINGTON 7:00
Wed. 5 MILWAUKEE 7:00
Fri. 7 SAN ANTONIO 7:00
Sun. 9 at Detroit 1:00
Mon. 10 at Brooklyn 7:30
Wed. 12 at Orlando 7:00
Thu. 20 at Denver 9:00
Sat. 22 at Portland 10:00
Mon. 24 at Sacramento 10:00
Tue. 25 at Golden State 10:00
Thu. 27 at Dallas 8:30
MARCH
Sat. 1 WASHINGTON 6:00
Mon. 3 GOLDEN STATE 7:00
Wed. 5 MINNESOTA 7:00
Fri. 7 CLEVELAND 7:00
Sat. 8 BROOKLYN 6:00
Mon. 10 at Miami 7:30
Wed. 12 at Atlanta 7:30
Fri. 14 at San Antonio 8:00
Tue. 18 ATLANTA 7:00
Thu. 20 NEW YORK 7:00
Fri. 21 at Oklahoma City 8:00
Sun. 23 at Miami 6:00
Tue. 25 ORLANDO 7:00
Fri. 28 at Toronto 7:30
Sun. 30 at New Orleans 7:00
Mon. 31 UTAH 7:00
APRIL
Wed. 2 at Indiana 7:00
Fri. 4 SACRAMENTO 7:00
Sun. 6 CHICAGO 1:00
Tue. 8 MEMPHIS 7:00
Wed. 9 at Toronto 7:30
Fri. 11 at Boston 7:30
Sun. 13 at Boston 1:00
College basketball
Here are the area men’s results and schedule:
(Tuesday, Dec. 31)
George Mason 69, Davidson 57
Tulane 83, Charlotte 68
(Thursday, Jan. 2)
Charleston Southern 72, Gardner-Webb 63
Stetson 96, Queens 87
(Saturday, Jan. 4)
Barton 74, Belmont Abbey 46
Rice 68, Charlotte 55
Davidson 77, Duquesne 71
Queens 92, Florida Gulf Coast 83
Virginia State 75, J.C. Smith 68
Cleveland CC 83, Pellissippi State 73
Gardner-Webb 63, Presbyterian 61
(Monday, Jan. 6)
J.C. Smith at Bluefield State
(Tuesday, Jan. 7)
Cleveland CC at Catawba Valley CC
Gaston College at Converse JV
(Wednesday, Jan. 8)
Belmont Abbey at Converse
Florida Atlantic at Charlotte
Winthrop at Gardner-Webb
(Thursday, Jan. 9)
J.C. Smith at Elizabeth City State
Queens at Lipscomb
(Saturday, Jan. 11)
Charlotte at Tulsa
Cleveland CC at Bryant & Stratton, Va.
Emmanuel at Belmont Abbey
Fordham at Davidson
Gardner-Webb at High Point
Pitt CC at Gaston College
Queens at Austin Peay
(Sunday, Jan. 12)
Pitt CC at Cleveland CC
College football
2024-25 College football Division I playoff/bowl schedule:
-College Football Playoff
(Friday, Dec. 20)
No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame – ND 27-17
(Saturday Dec. 21)
No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State – PS 38-10
No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas – Texas 38-24
No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State – OS 42-17
(Tuesday, Dec. 31)
-CFP Quarterfinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Boise State – PS 31-14
(Wednesday, Jan. 1)
-CFP Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 Arizona State – Texas 39-31 (2 OT)
-CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Oregon – OS 41-21
(Thursday, Jan. 2)
-CFP Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl
No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia – ND 23-10
(postponed from Jan. 1 due to terrorist attack)
(Thursday, Jan. 9)
-CFP Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl
No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 7 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
(Friday, Jan. 10)
-CFP Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 8 Ohio State, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
(Monday, Jan. 20)
-CFP National Championship Presented at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
7:30 p.m., ESPN
-Bowl schedule
(Saturday, Dec. 14)
-Cricket Celebration Bowl at Atlanta
Jackson State vs. South Carolina State – JS 28-7
-IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl at Montgomery, Ala.
South Alabama vs. Western Michigan – SA 30-23
(Tuesday, Dec. 17)
-Scooter’s Coffee Frisco (Tex.) Bowl
Memphis vs. West Virginia – Memphis 42-37
(Wednesday, Dec. 18)
-Boca Raton (Fla.) Bowl
Western Kentucky vs. James Madison – JM 27-17
-Art of Sport LA Bowl at Inglewood, Cal.
Cal vs. UNLV – UNLV 24-13
(Thursday Dec. 19)
-R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Georgia Southern vs. Sam Houston – SH 31-26
(Friday, Dec. 20)
-StaffDNA Cure Bowl at Orlando, Fla.
Ohio U. vs. Jacksonville State – Ohio 30-27
-Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl at Tampa, Fla.
Tulane vs. Florida – Florida 33-8
(Monday, Dec. 23)
-Myrtle Beach Bowl at Conway, S.C.
Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA – UTSA 44-15
-Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at Boise, Id.
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State – NI 28-20 (2 OT)
(Tuesday, Dec. 24)
-Hawai’i Bowl at Honolulu
South Florida vs. San José State – SF 41-39 (5 OT)
(Thursday, Dec. 26)
-GameAbove Sports Bowl at Detroit
Pittsburgh vs. Toledo – Toledo 48-46 (6 OT)
-Rate Bowl at Phoenix
Rutgers vs. Kansas State – KS 44-41
-68 Ventures Bowl at Mobile, Ala.
Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green – AS 38-31
(Friday, Dec. 27)
-Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, Tex.
Oklahoma vs. Navy – Navy 21-20
-Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl
Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt – Vanderbilt 35-27
-AutoZone Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tenn.
Texas Tech vs. Arkansas – Arkansas 39-26
-DirecTV Holiday Bowl at San Diego
Syracuse vs. Washington State – Syracuse 52-35
-SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Texas A&M vs. USC – USC 35-31
(Saturday, Dec. 28)
-Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Boston
North Carolina vs. UConn – UConn 27-14
-Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Bronx, N.Y.
Boston College vs. Nebraska – Nebraska 20-15
-Isleta New Mexico Bowl at Albuquerque, N.M.
Louisiana vs. TCU – TCU 34-3
-Pop-Tarts Bowl at Orlando, Fla.
Iowa State vs. Miami – Iowa State 42-41
-Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl at Tucson, Ariz.
Miami, Ohio vs. Colorado State – Miami 43-17
-Go Bowling Military Bowl at Annapolis, Md.
East Carolina vs. N.C. State – EC 26-21
-Valero Alamo Bowl at San Antonio
BYU vs. Colorado – BYU 36-14
-Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La.
Louisiana Tech vs. Army – Army 27-6
(Marshall opts out Dec. 14 due to transfer portal departures)
(Monday, Dec. 30)
-TransPerfect Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn.
Iowa vs. Missouri – Missouri 27-24
(Tuesday, Dec. 31)
ReliaQuest Bowl at Tampa, Fla.
Alabama vs. Michigan – Michigan 19-13
-Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl at El Paso, Tex.
Louisville vs. Washington – Louisville 35-34
-Cheez-It Citrus Bowl at Orlando, Fla.
South Carolina vs. Illinois – Illinois 21-17
-Kinder’s Texas Bowl at Houston
Baylor vs. LSU – LSU 44-31
(Thursday, Jan. 2)
-TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at Jacksonville, Fla.
Duke vs. Ole Miss – Ole Miss 52-20
(Friday, Jan. 3)
-SERVPRO First Responder Bowl at Dallas
North Texas vs. Texas State – TS 30-28
-Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Charlotte
Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech – Minnesota 24-10
(Saturday, Jan. 4)
-Bahamas Bowl at Nassau, Bahamas
Buffalo vs. Liberty – Buffalo 26-7
Pro soccer
The Charlotte FC MLS team’s 2025 schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 22 at Seattle 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 1 Atlanta 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 9 at Miami 5 p.m.
Saturday, March 15 Cincinnati 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 22 San Jose 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 29 at Colorado 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 5 Nashville 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 12 at Montreal 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 19 San Diego 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 26 New England 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 3 at Columbus 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 10 at Nashville 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 14 at Orlando 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 17 Chicago 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 24 Columbus 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 28 at NY Red Bulls 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 31 at Toronto 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 14 at Philadelphia 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 25 at Kansas City 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 28 at Chicago 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 5 Orlando 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 12 New York 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 16 DC 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 19 at Atlanta 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 10 at Cincinnati 6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 16 Real Salt Lake 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 24 NY Red Bulls 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 30 at New England 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 13 Miami 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 19 at New York 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 27 Montreal 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 4 at DC 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 18 Philadelphia 6 p.m.