Welcome back to this week in sports.

With the first week of December comes the late stages of both professional and college football seasons, and basketball is finally hitting its stride, especially with the new additions to the schedule.

So let’s get into it. 

First, the college football playoff committee just finished its final rankings, including the top four that will be included in the playoffs. This year came down to one of the committee’s hardest decisions in its nine-year existence. After Alabama’s upset of Georgia in the SEC Championship, there were three undefeated conference champions, and four other one-loss teams all in competition for four spots.

While it seems like the three undefeated teams would be automatic entries into the playoffs, after losing starting QB Jordan Travis, Florida State did not look like a playoff-caliber team despite finishing the season undefeated. The playoff committee made the controversial decision to leave the undefeated Seminoles out and replace them with Alabama and Texas, joining the other two undefeated teams Michigan and Washington. 

We are through 13 weeks of play in the NFL, leaving only five left. However, almost every division is still in question with close competition all over the board. Currently, the Dolphins have a one-game lead in the AFC and the Eagles have a one-game lead in the NFC.

Also, many different records are either supposed to be broken or are close to being broken within the next couple of weeks. The most prominent example of this is Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who has already obtained 92 catches for 1,481 yards through 12 games this year, which puts him on pace for 2,098 yards, breaking the all-time record held by Calvin Johnson at 1,964.  

In the NBA, we have reached the championship round of the newly added In-Season Tournament. This is a tournament every team competes in during the regular season, and the best teams during those set tournament games advance to the semifinals in Vegas.

In the Eastern Conference, the two qualifying teams were the Pacers and the Bucks, and in the Western Conference, it was the Lakers and the Pelicans. With both the Lakers and Pacers advancing, they will play in the championship with the chance to become the first In-Season NBA Champions ever Saturday, Dec. 9.