You can make arguments for both March and April, but we really should acknowledge that the best month on the sports calendar is October, and this year’s was a doozy.
OK, the Dodgers-Yankees World Series fizzled out before Halloween and won’t be remembered as a classic series, apart from Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1. Even so, baseball had a memorable month, feeding our annual appetite for NFL, college football and the start of the NBA season.
November, by contrast, is a bumpy ride. There’s an uneven NBA slate (no games on Election Day or Thanksgiving) and not many marquee NFL matchups.
Thank you, college football, our saving grace taking four of the top 10 spots in this indisputable ranking of the biggest sporting events of November 2024:
10. Penguins at Capitals, NHL, Nov. 8
Oct 31, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) reacts after scoring the game winning goal against Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal (1) in overtime at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The NHL isn’t doing much for me this month. The best team resides in sunny Winnipeg. There’s a Panthers-Stars series in Finland today and tomorrow if you like daytime hockey.
But I can always go for Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin, and they don’t have many rivalry battles left. Ovechkin is fewer than 40 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the all-time record.
9. Notre Dame at USC, women’s basketball, Nov. 23
Nov 15, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) dribbles in the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats at the Purcell Pavilion. credits: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports No, not the Trojans-Irish football game, because Lincoln Riley seems hellbent on giving USC a losing record and blaming anyone but himself.
It’s not quite Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese, but USC’s JuJu Watkins is the next face of women’s hoops, and she’s got a perfect rival in Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo. Trust me, make some time for this game between the preseason No. 3 and 6 teams.
Oct 12, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck (15) passes the ball against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images This November will be different than all those before it for one simple reason: It’s our first build-up to a 12-team College Football Playoff, meaning far more games this time of year will carry postseason seeding implications.
Both Tennessee and Georgia are very much alive in the SEC title race, and each just grabbed a marquee win (over Alabama and Texas, respectively). But the Dawgs have owned the series with the Vols since 2016.
7. Golden State Warriors at Boston Celtics, NBA, Nov. 6
Jun 21, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics player Jayson Tatum on a duck boat during the Boston Celtics championship parade. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports I thought about putting Chiefs-Bills in Week 11 here, but the Chiefs might be the worst 7-0 NFL team in history, and Patrick Mahomes has tossed more picks than TDs (seriously! Look it up!).
Instead, you can’t go wrong with this rivalry and rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals. Unsurprisingly, Golden State and Boston have been two of the best teams in the early going, and they’ll collide less than a week from now.
Aug 31, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) throws during the NCAA football game against the Akron Zips at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won 52-6. New Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is a hell of a lot of fun. And he has the Hoosiers, of all teams, tied with Oregon atop the Big Ten standings.
A few things have to go right in the next few weeks — see my No. 2 item below — but this game in Columbus could have massive implications in the Big Ten and CFP races.
5. Alabama vs. Houston and Kansas vs. Duke, college basketball, Nov. 26
Oct 4, 2024; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Cooper Flagg (2) dribbles the ball against forward Mason Gillis (18) with the ball during Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images Get the remote ready, or set up two screens. Two of the best nonconference games of the college hoops season are slated for the same day, in the same city (Las Vegas), tipping off one hour apart as part of different events.
This is No. 2 vs. No. 4 and No. 1 vs. No. 7 in the preseason poll. And freshman Cooper Flagg might have the Blue Devils higher than seventh when this game rolls around.
4. Dallas Mavericks at Warriors, NBA, Nov. 12
Oct 24, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) and guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrate during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Klay Thompson returns to the Bay with his new buddy Luka Doncic (and Dereck Lively) as the Western Conference champion Mavericks take on Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
This also marks the first day of Emirates NBA Cup action, and I have a sneaking suspicion the league scheduled this game for their nascent in-season tournament on purpose.
3. Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, NFL, Nov. 28
Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) reacts with wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) after catching a 35 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jared Goff (not pictured) against the Minnesota Vikings the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images This will be the best Thanksgiving Day game by a mile; you can let the turkey tryptophan kick in for Giants-Cowboys and Dolphins-Packers.
The Lions and Jared Goff are the top contenders in a stacked NFC North, and the Bears and Caleb Williams should still be in the playoff race by this point.
Oct 26, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Beau Pribula (9) celebrates after earning a first down during the fourth quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images No. 4 visits No. 3 in Happy Valley on Saturday. The Big Ten race gets vastly more interesting if one-loss Ohio State takes down undefeated Penn State here. The stakes of that Hoosiers-Buckeyes matchup would skyrocket.
Penn State, this is your chance to get your first win over Big Ten bully Ohio State since Saquon Barkley was on campus and finally shed the label of conference also-ran.
The resumption of a dormant, extremely bitter rivalry game? At Kyle Field on the last day of the regular season? With two top-10 teams slugging it out for SEC supremacy? Do I need to explain any more?
