The world of sports never comes to a halt, and this week has a full slate of great matchups.
The National Basketball Association has a pair of premium contests on ESPN Wednesday evening.
The defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers head to the ‘big apple’ to face the New York Knicks with a 9 p.m. start time. The second part of the doubleheader has Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors facing Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Many critics picked the Warriors to have a slow start, but they have only two losses in their first 18 games and they continue to improve.
Canada’s team, the Toronto Raptors, have a pair of games leading into the weekend.
On Thursday evening, former first-overall pick Andrew Wiggins and the Minnesota Timberwolves come to town to do battle at an 8 p.m. start time. Then Friday evening, the Raptors visit their Atlantic Division rivals, the Boston Celtics.
The Raptors only have a one-game lead on the Celtics, and every victory is crucial.
Thursday Night Football games have been under scrutiny over the past couple weeks with ratings and the games being lopsided, but they continue for the 2016-17 season.
An American Football Conference West showdown this week has the division-leading Oakland Raiders heading to Arrowhead Stadium and visiting the second-place Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs won over Oakland on the road in October, and the Raiders need the victory to make sure they hold the division lead and have the head-to-head matchups in their favour as a tiebreaker.
Sunday afternoon has a pair of interesting matchups with the AFC South leaders, the Houston Texans, taking on the Indianapolis Colts.
The Texans have a one-game lead in the division, and Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano may need the victory to maintain his job security where the Colts were 5-6 as of last week.
Also on Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Seahawks visit Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers with major playoff implications on the line.
The Packers sit two games back of the Detroit Lions and may need some assistance to make the post-season.
Sunday Night Football has the best team in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys visiting the second-place New York Giants. If the Cowboys can get the victory, they will clinch the National Football Conference title.
On the hockey side, Wednesday has a pair of Canadian teams in action. The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Minnesota Wild in an 8:30 p.m. puck drop. Following this game, the San Jose Sharks host the Ottawa Senators as the Sens spend a week in California to face some Western Conference teams.
Saturday night has Hockey Night in Canada with a pair of early evening matchups. The Colorado Avalanche head to Montreal to face Alexander Radulov and the Canadiens.
Montreal currently holds the best record in the National Hockey League and have pretty much been dominating since puck drop on opening night, largely due to goalie Carey Price’s heroics in net.
The other 8 p.m. start time Saturday night has the Leafs facing the Boston Bruins. Toronto won 4-1 in their only previous meeting this season, and the Leafs will look to improve to 2-0 in the season series against their divisional rivals.
The finale has two Canadian teams squaring off with second-overall pick Patrik Laine and the Winnipeg Jets visiting sixth-overall selection Matthew Tkachuk and the Calgary Flames.
Dec. 26 is the start of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Hockey Championships. The training camp begins Dec. 20 and the final roster will be announced Christmas Day.
