Congratulations! You’ve had another year – one with a Leap Day, Summer Olympics and a good old-fashioned US presidential election. 2024 was a long year.

December rewards us with Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve and a number of meaningful sporting events. Without wasting any time, let’s get to our ranking of the 10 biggest events of the month. Football – NFL plus college – makes up half of this list, but there’s still room for basketball and a few other new additions.

10. “The Showdown” LIV vs. PGA Match, December 17th

This can’t be higher than 10th because it’s an exhibition and you have to care about golf’s ongoing civil war to realize its significance. Personally, I’m here for it. We can see former rivals and current LIV golfers Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau take on Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy as PGA Tour representatives. You will play an 18-hole match on Shadow Creek, a quite challenging course. That’s nothing compared to the hit-and-giggle shows in cozy settings that The Match series has become.

9. Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers, December 16

December is so jam-packed with football that hockey matters, and the New Year’s Eve “Winter Classic” between the Blues and Blackhawks just missed making this list. But if you get NHL Network, they will be playing this Stanley Cup Final second leg nationally. The Panthers are once again very good and the Oilers…well, the Oilers still have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

8. Game Army vs. Navy, December 14th

This game is an institution. It’s on my personal bucket list. That doesn’t mean there’s always good football. Some years neither offense can move the ball. This is not one of those years. The quarterback matchup of Navy’s Blake Horvath against Army’s Bryson Daily (who have a combined 36 rushing touchdowns) is the culmination of a great year for the military academies.

7. Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors, December 25

This year’s Christmas schedule looked much better on paper last season than it does now. (Philadelphia vs. Boston? The Sixers are basted like a holiday turkey.) But the Warriors and Lakers are both playing well to start the month, and you never know — this could be the last Christmas game that LeBron James plays.

6. Auburn at Duke Basketball, December 4

There isn’t much room for college games on this list, but make time for them on Wednesday. Auburn has a claim to being the best team in college basketball – ranked No. 1 by KenPom, with wins over Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina and Memphis, the last three coming when the Tigers won the Maui Invitational. Next they go to Cameron Indoor and take on Cooper Flagg and the Dukies. Definitely worth seeing.

5. NBA Cup Championship Game, December 17th

The point of the NBA Cup is for basketball to try to stand out in the soccer-heavy December landscape, and last year’s inaugural tournament saw the Lakers reach the Finals in a draw. Group play is ongoing, but some teams that could make it to Vegas include the Knicks, Bucks and Warriors. Still, everyone has their own opinion about whether the NBA Cup is important or not, so I can’t rank this point higher than fifth.

It just means more in the SEC, except this year where every interesting team they have has three league losses. This has been the year of the Big Ten, from Oregon’s dominance to Indiana’s fairytale run.

3. Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers, December 25

The NFL has overrun the NBA holidays – I’ll never quite be able to keep up with football on a Wednesday. But I can’t pretend I don’t watch this game. Kansas City and Pittsburgh will fight for a spot in the AFC playoffs, and could there be a white Christmas in Western Pennsylvania? Additionally, we’ll all have to tune in to see if Netflix can handle a busy livestream after the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fiasco.

2. Buffalo Bills at Detroit Lions, December 15

Super Bowl preview? It definitely feels that way. December seems to offer far more interesting NFL matchups than November, and Week 15 alone will also give us Steelers-Eagles and Packers-Seahawks. They can’t hold a candle to these two red-hot, diverse teams. I just wish the game was in freezing Buffalo instead of indoors in the Motor City.

I don’t have enough space here to discuss the intricacies of the new 12-team playoff format.

What I do know is that history will be made in a few Fridays when the first playoff game at the FBS level takes place on a college campus, probably in a cold place like Columbus, Ohio, or State College, Pennsylvania. A tripleheader follows on Saturday. There is no promise that this particular game will be Goodbut you will be watching, and our brave new world of college football will feel more real than ever.