Welcome to Thursday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.
FRIDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
NHL: Jets at Bruins, 7 p.m. (NESN)
NHL: Rangers at Flyers, 1 p.m. (NBC)
NHL: Blackhawks at Ducks, 4 p.m. (NHL Network)
College hockey: Minnesota at Boston College, 6 p.m. (WEEI-AM)
NBA: Bulls at Celtics, 1 p.m. (CSNNE)
NBA: Clippers at Rockets, 8 p.m. (NBA TV)
College basketball: Tennessee vs. Kansas, noon (ESPN)
College basketball: Butler vs. Georgetown, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Santa Clara vs. Rhode Island, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: UTEP vs. Xavier, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Yale at Providence, 4 p.m. (FS1)
College basketball: James Madison at Ohio State, 4 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
College basketball: Missouri State at Alaska-Anchorage, 4 p.m. (CBSSN)
College basketball: Minnesota vs. Georgia, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: Oklahoma vs. Wisconsin, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)
College basketball: Rider vs. Georgia Tech, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
College basketball: St. John’s vs. Gonzaga, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: Monmouth at Maryland, 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
College basketball: Vanderbilt vs. Rutgers, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
College basketball: Bradley vs. TCU, 7 p.m. (CBSSN)
College basketball: Memphis vs. Indiana State, 8 p.m. (FS1)
College basketball: Michigan State vs. Marquette, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
College basketball: UNC-Greensboro at Indiana, 9 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
College basketball: Baylor vs. Illinois, 1:30 p.m. (FS1)
College basketball: Long Beach State vs. Washington, 11:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
College football: Northern Illinois at Western Michigan, 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
College football: Nebraska at Iowa, noon (ABC)
College football: Central Florida at South Florida, noon (ESPN2)
College football: Western Kentucky at Marshall, noon (FS1)
College football: Houston at SMU, noon (CBSSN)
College football: Arkansas at Missouri, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
College football: Stanford at UCLA, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
College football: Arizona State at Arizona, 3:30 p.m. (Fox)
College football: Colorado State at Air Force, 3:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
College football: Virginia at Virginia Tech, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
College football: East Carolina at Tulsa, 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
AROUND THE WEB:
— Ohio State is preparing for Saturday’s rivalry game against Michigan, but the Buckeyes have something else on their mind: One of their players is missing.
The family of senior defensive tackle Kosta Karageorge reported him missing after he left his apartment shortly after midnight Tuesday night and has not been heard from since.
Karageorge, a walk-on who wrestled at Ohio State his first three years, told his roommates he was going to take a walk.
“He did not take his motorcycle, and he does not have his car on campus,” his sister, Sophia, told The Columbus Dispatch. “So he was either picked up, went on foot or took public transportation. He does not have his wallet or any identification on him that we know of because his girlfriend has his wallet.”
Added Sophia: “He had some extenuating circumstances that night that lead us to believe he was upset.”
Karageorge, who stands 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, missed Wednesday’s practice. He was slated to be recognized on Saturday at Ohio Stadium along with the team’s other seniors before their final home game.
“He never misses practice,” Sophia said. “I’ve seen him go to wrestling practice with a broken foot. I’ve seen him sick as a dog go to practice. He’s always on schedule. He always has somewhere where he checks in.”
His sister said that Karageorge has a history of concussions, including one from a month ago, and sometimes the effects are delayed.
“We’re very concerned that he’s not himself and that he maybe doesn’t know what’s going on,” she said.
— The 49ers laid an egg in Thursday night’s showdown against the Seahawks, and the team isn’t shy about admitting it.
CEO Jed York tweeted an apology after the game, writing: Thank you #49ersfaithful for coming out strong tonight. This performance wasn’t acceptable. I apologize for that.
Tight end Vernon Davis concurred with his boss’ evaluation.
“If he said that, then I guess it was, I guess it was unacceptable,” Davis said. “We all hold ourselves accountable around here. We’re all in it together — the owners, the coaches, the players. We’re all in it together. We can play better than that — we know it. Everyone knows it. But we didn’t go out there and do it today.
“It was unacceptable, by all of us. So we have to get back and put it all together, stay together as a team, as one, and just stay positive.”
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick had a season-low 36.7 passer rating, second worst of his career.
“It’s not acceptable,” he agreed, adding: “We didn’t play well, we didn’t perform well. We have a much higher standard for ourselves.”
Asked for his reaction to the tweet, coach Jim Harbaugh said, “I don’t know about tweets,” but added: “We will do what what we have to do as a football team. Set our jaw to doing that.”
— Former Bills linebacker Darryl Talley said he lives in constant pain due to injuries sustained during his playing days and that he has contemplated suicide.
In an interview with The Buffalo News, Talley said he can’t estimate the number of concussions he had during his 14-year NFL career, saying it was “too many to count” and estimating there were at least 75 times he saw flashes of light after being hit. He said he now suffers from occasional memory loss and has trouble sleeping.
Talley, 54, also had 14 operations during his playing days, which included 12 seasons in Buffalo and then brief stops in Atlanta and Minnesota before his retirement after the 1996 season. He was part of a defense that helped the Bills win four straight AFC titles from 1991-94.
A two-time Pro Bowler and a member of the Bills’ Wall of Fame, Talley has struggles financially since the company he owned was forced to close in 2008. Former teammates have helped Talley with living expenses and his daughter’s college tuition.
Although Talley said, when referring to suicide, that it would be “easy to call it a day,” he added that he is not a coward and he wants to be around to see his grandchildren.
“I’m not convinced that I’m dead yet,” he said. “But the future doesn’t look bright.”
ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On Nov. 28, 1938, the Bruins traded legendary but aging goaltender Cecil “Tiny” Thompson to the Red Wings and called up which rookie (and future star) to replace him?
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It is like my favorite holiday, so that’s not cool. It was a bummer. The game plan was to try not to do that. And we accomplished that.” — Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez, referring to the butt-fumble against the Patriots on Thanksgiving Day two years ago with the Jets, after leading Philadelphia past the Cowboys on Thursday
STAT OF THE DAY: 115 — Games it took Lions star Calvin Johnson to surpass 10,000 receiving yards, which he accomplished in Thursday’s win over the Bears, making him the fastest ever to accomplish that feat
‘NET RESULTS (mobile users, check the website to see the videos): LSU freshman running back Leonard Fournette destroys a Texas A&M defender en route to the end zone in Thursday’s game.
TRIVIA ANSWER: Frankie Brimsek, who would go on to a Hall of Fame career as well
SOOTHING SOUNDS: R.B. Greaves, who died in 2012, was born on this day in 1944.