With winter break soon approaching, you might be wondering what you want to spend your time doing, and if you want a chill, relaxing, and entertaining winter break, then watching sports may be one of your best options. This time of the year is packed full with sports, so If you’re wondering, Where can I watch these games? When can I watch these games? What teams are playing? Look no further than this guide to winter break sports.
NFL
Heading into some of the final weeks of the NFL season, the league will be playing weeks 16, 17, and 18 over winter break. This will also include an annual switch into Saturday games, following the end of the CFB regular season. While pretty much all NFL games are televised on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, or ESPN, for the first time this year, the NFL will be streaming their Christmas day games on Netflix, which include the Pittsburgh Steelers v. the Kansas City Chiefs at 1:00 pm and the Houston Texans v. the Baltimore Ravens at 4:30 pm. Over week 16, while the Thursday night football game isn’t necessarily on winter break, two Saturday, 12 Sunday, and one Monday night football game will be played over week 16. For week 17, there will be two games on Wednesday, one on Thursday, seven on Sunday, and five games that will be flexed into Saturday or Sunday football will be played. This means that the NFL has five games that they will decide what day and time they want to have them play. Finally, for week 18, two games will be played on Saturday and 14 will be on Sunday. I hope you enjoy watching the end of the 2024-2025 NFL season this winter break.
CFB
College football has had a big tradition of games around New Year. This year, though, will look different as for the first time ever, 12 teams will be in the College Football Playoffs. As the playoffs expanded from four to 12 teams, there are now four extra games in the playoffs. On the nights of Friday, Dec. 21, and Saturday, Dec. 22, the first round of the playoffs will be played. Following that, over the next weeks, many bowl games will be played, but these bowls have no bearing on the playoffs, as only 12 teams make the playoffs.To qualify for a bowl game, the team needs to have six wins. To then qualify for the playoffs, the team needs to be ranked in the top 12. Then on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the next round of playoffs will be played. With the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve and the Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl being played on New Year’s Day, all of which are college football playoff games. The college football playoffs are surely going to be exciting and unpredictable, as the 12 teams competing have brought new excitement to the New Year’s sports schedule. Make sure not to miss the University of Michigan’s upcoming bowl game on Dec. 31, against Alabama. As the Wolverines will hope to build off their shocking upset victory over The Ohio State University.
NHL
While playoffs are still a long way off in the NHL, the middle of the regular season consists pleasantly of games over the duration of winter break. Dec. 21st through Dec. 27th will host 38 games, all being played on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Friday. While hockey can generally be thought of as a winter sport, the NHL plays no games on Christmas Eve or day, and the NHL has a three-day break during this period, which has been in place since 1971. Dec. 28th through Jan. 3 is jam-packed with a total of 54 games on every single day of the week. This week also includes the Winter Classic, which is an annual tradition of the NHL where two teams face off outdoors on New Year’s Eve. This year, the Chicago Blackhawks will face off against the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field at 5:00 pm. You can also stream this game on TNT, truTV, and MAX. To finish off winter break, Jan. 4 and 5 will host 17 games.
NBA
Similar to the NHL, the NBA playoffs are nowhere near, but the regular season is still in full swing, and there is plenty of action this winter break. Dec. 21st through Dec. 27th will have a total of 51 games. These games will be spread out every day of the week except Tuesday the 24th. This week will also include the NBA Christmas Day games, which has been the NBA’s annual tradition since 1947, just the league’s second season. This does not include Christmas Eve games, as the NBA decides not to schedule games that night. This year, the NBA Christmas games will include the San Antonio Spurs v. the New York Knicks at 12:00 pm, the Minnesota Timberwolves v. the Dallas Mavericks at 2:30 pm, the Philadelphia 76ers v. the Boston Celtics at 5:00 pm, the Los Angeles Lakers v. the Golden State Warriors at 8:00 pm, and finally the Denver Nuggets v. the Phoenix Suns at 10:30 pm. All of these games will be nationally televised on ABC and will be able to stream on ESPN and ESPN+. For the remainder of winter break, the week of Dec. 28th through Jan. 3 will have another 50 games packed through every day of the week. Jan. 4 and 5 will have another 15 games to end the final Saturday and Sunday of break.
While you spend time off work or school, if you decide to watch sports, I hope you enjoy all of the many options of games you can watch.
