by John Walters

Starting Five

1. Can You Diggs It?*

*The judges will also accept “Feeling Minnesota” but not “Minnesota Miracle”

You saw it. Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs for 61 yards and the win as New Orleans rookie safety Marcus Williams almost inexplicably whiffs on the play. As Fox announcer Troy Aikman aptly put it, “I’m not sure what he was thinking,” and our only guess is he was afraid that he’d arrived too early and get a DPI. Weirdly, Williams made an interception on pretty much the same route in the third quarter.

(Minnesotans know what it’s like to be on the other end of this)

Minnesota Miracle? Fine. For those of us who were kids and remember the pandemonium of Terry Bradshaw to Franco Harris in Pittsburgh or Roger Staubach to Drew Pearson in Minnesota, this moment joins them. Unlike those two, though, this was the last play of the game. So it’s almost more like Tua Tagovailoa to DaVonte Smith.

Good for you, Minnesota. When it’s 0 degrees outside, you deserve at least this much. Will you be back in this stadium in three weeks? We’ll see.

2. Huddle Up!

At the Houston 1/2 Marathon, Notre Dame alum Molly Huddle runs a 1:07:25 to break the American record for women. Great job!

In related news, this Notre Dame alum, a few years Huddle’s senior, ran a 1:41 in the 1/2 at the Phoenix Rock n Roll 1/2 Marathon yesterday. And earned a free Michelob Ultra. So wins all around.

3. Project Runway

In Turkey, all 162 passengers plus the crew survive when a Pegasus Airlines flight slides off an icy runway and over a cliff, nearly plunging into the Black Seas. Was this the weekend’s more inconceivable crash or was the one in the next item?

4. Vin Diesel Was Nowhere To Be Found

In Santa Ana, California, a vehicle carrying two people and probably going at an unsafe rate of speed crashes into the second floor of a dentist’s office and creates its own Farmers Insurance commercial (“We know a few things because we’ve seen a few things”). No one was injured because the crash occurred at 5:30 a.m., but you’re going to have to postpone that root canal. This reminds me, Bullitt was on over the weekend if you’ve never seen it.

5. Goodnight, Keith Jackson

On Friday night, The Voice of College Football, Keith Jackson, passed away at the age of 89. Here’s my tribute to him in The Athletic. 

Reserves

The New York Times has a special tribute waiting for Donald Trump on the occasion of his first Martin Luther King Day in office.

Music 101

Shiny Happy People

For many, this REM tune off 1991’s Out Of Time is when the Athens-based band jumped the shark. Not me. I love it. Just the sequence of vocals from Mike Mills to the B-52’s Kate Pierson to Michael Stipe makes it perfect. Even if comedian Denis Leary famously ranted, “I want the shiny people over here, and the happy people over here, okay, I represent the angry, gun-toting, meat-eating people.”

Remote Patrol

Warriors vs. Cavs

8 p.m. TNT

The second and final regular-season matchup between the two franchises who’ve embargoed the NBA Finals since 2015. Every Hot Take Artiste you know will be watching and taking notes.