Your Five Things For December 24th: Red Wings End Skid

1. Pat Narduzzi, Reportedly, Going To Pittsburgh

According to Sports Illustrated and other media outlets, defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi is in talks to become the head coach for the University of Pittsburgh.  Former Pittsburgh head coach, Paul Chryst, took the job opening at Wisconsin after Gary Anderson left to go to Oregon State.  While no announcement has been set for the hire and no contract details have been released, it is all but certain that the hire will be finalized after the Christmas Holiday.  For updates on the situation, click here.

2. Red Wings End Skid, Top Sabres At Home

Last night, the Red Wings welcomed the Buffalo Sabres into Joe Louis Arena looking to get on track right before the holiday break.  The Red Wings fell behind early down 3-1 halfway through the 2nd period.  But, the Wings scored 5 unanswered goals, 4 in the 3rd period, to top the Sabres 6-3.  This is the most goals scored in a Red Wings game this year and the most power play goals this season, 4, as well.  The Red Wings got 39 shots on goal throughout the game while they limited the Sabres to 16 shots.  The Red Wings next game will be in Ottawa on Saturday.

3. Marshall Rolls To Boca Raton Bowl Win

Northern Illinois squared off against the Marshal Thundering Herd in the Boca Raton Bowl.  Northern Illinois jumped out to an early 7-0 lead but Marshall bounced back and rolled to an easy 52-23 victory.  Marshall, who was 12-1 entering the game, lost before the conference championship game to Western Kentucky which all but ended a big bowl game appearance.  Marhsall quarterback, Rakeem Cato, played well going 25/37 for 281 and 3 touchdowns through the air and 2 rushing touchdowns.  Running back Devon Johnson got 131 yards while scoring 1 touchdown.  This is the last game for both schools this season.

4. NFL Pro Bowl Players Announced

Last night, the NFL announced which players made the Pro Bowl about a month before the Pro Bowl draft.  The Detroit Lions have 3 players on the list as WR Calvin Johnson, DT Ndamukong Suh and S Glover Quinn.  Former Spartan and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'veon Bell was selected as a running back for the game.  The Bronco's lead the league with 9 pro bowl selections while the Giants, Jaguars, Titans and Vikings have no representation.  Check out the full list of pro bowlers here.

5. Cardinals Say Stanton Could Be Back For Playoffs

According to head coach Bruce Arians, "there is an 85% chance" that quarterback and former Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton will play in the playoffs.  This was on SiriusXM NFL Radio in an interview done with the coach.  Stanton hurt his knee back in week 15 and has not played since.  He is expected to be out unless there are some extenuating circumstances.  Check out the full article here.