SportsDay Insider: CFP hopes for Texas and SMU, Rangers pitching and curtains for the Cowboys

Mostly cloudy in the Dallas area today. The sun will peek through on occasion with a high temp of 62. The clouds will stick around this evening with a low of 51. Saturday will be cloudy as well with a chance for an afternoon thunderstorm. The high and low will not differ more than a few degrees in the low 60s. Sunday will be a bit of a transition day. Mostly sunny skies with a high of 64 and then as the day progresses into the evening and early morning hours of Monday, the temperature will plummet into the low 20s, setting up a chilly start for a cold week ahead. Investigators are probing why Shamsud-Din Jabbar who bragged about his Beaumont roots and militant work ethic went from working in real estate to praising ISIS just before he launched a deadly attack in New Orleans. In other news, the suspects at the center of the New Year’s terror attack in New Orleans, and another in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, both got their vehicles through an app-based car rental service called Turo. Also, November home sales in Dallas-Fort Worth showed the strongest year-over-year improvement since mid-2021 — but those who watch the market closely have some concerns. And, the Texas Longhorns are gearing up for their Jan. 10 showdown with Ohio State in the semifinals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tiger Bech, the brother of Texas Christian University wide receiver Jack Bech, has been identified as one of the victims of the deadly truck attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day. He was 27. In other news, four people were killed in a vehicle crash in Mesquite early Wednesday and a man faces charges. Four people were standing outside the car when another vehicle headed east “drifted onto the shoulder” and hit all four people and the disabled car; one person was killed and three others were wounded Wednesday afternoon during a shooting in Red Bird. Officers were dispatched about 2:40 p.m. to the 2900 block of St. George Drive, near Chaucer Place, where they found four people had been shot; And the Texas Longhorns have punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff semifinals for a second straight year. Andrew Mukuba intercepted Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt in the second overtime of yesterday’s Peach Bowl to give Texas a 39-31 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Longhorns will advance to the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington and will face Ohio State who beat Oregon last night in the Rose Bowl. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah Jane Ramos, the fiancée of Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, had items worth thousands of dollars stolen from her vehicle the day after Christmas, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Dallas Morning News. According to a Dallas Police Department report, “several pieces of property” worth close to $40,000 were stolen Sunday night. In other news, this year’s New Year’s Eve entertainment at Reunion Tower will no longer include a drone display as the show’s North Texas-based drone provider contends with a Florida crash. Dallas Love Field travelers won’t have to journey as far to catch an Uber or Lyft at the airport starting Friday. Airport officials say they’re moving the rideshare pickup area closer to the terminal, which is expected to cut the walk from baggage claim roughly in half. And a Colleyville man is accused of assaulting law enforcement officers during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced earlier this month that the FBI arrested Daniel Dustin Deneui on Dec. 18 in Fort Worth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jimmy Carter, the one-term president of the post-Watergate era whose unparalleled peace-making during a remarkable 40-year post-presidential period earned him the Nobel Peace Prize, died Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia. He was 100. In other news, the Dallas Cowboys lost 41-7 at Philadelphia on Sunday but it won’t necessarily determine Mike McCarthy’s fate. Five years of results as the Cowboys head coach tilts the scales more than anything that happens in the final eight days of the regular season. But what the Eagles did to a Dallas team that had won four of its last five games on an unseasonably warm afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field didn’t help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dallas Animal Services is set to host “Calming the Canines” on Dec. 31, designed to alleviate the stress experienced by shelter pets during the New Year’s Eve fireworks. The event will begin at 10:30 p.m. and finish up around 12:30 a.m., and DAS is calling on the community to participate in the initiative; In other news, venture into the great outdoors on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with Texas Parks and Wildlife. The state agency will once again host First Day Hikes, a way to start the new year (and those resolutions for better health) on the right foot. Ray Roberts Lake State Park, an hour north of Dallas is hosting its second Tri-Park-A-Thon. Attendees can choose to join for nearly a full day of activity or just for a leg of the journey. The first hike is at 9 a.m., second is at 11, and then again at 1:30 p.m. Each hike is between two and five miles. Hikers who complete all three hikes receive a prize; what makes Plano one of the best cities in the country to raise kids? For many it comes down to affordability, education, child care, family fun and socioeconomics. This year, personal finance company WalletHub ranked Plano the fourth best city in the country to raise a family; And if 2024 was the year inflation altered how often we dined in Dallas-Fort Worth, 2025 will be the year we take back our seat at the table. Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association said, “Cautious optimism” is the catchphrase in the new year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Kristine J. Guleserian is the director of the congenital heart surgery program at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas. The 56-year old surgeon treats tiny patients on a daily basis, operating on babies who are born with improperly functioning hearts. Guleserian has a lot of professional experience with pediatric heart defects; In other news, ScholarShot offers scholarships and mentors low-income and first-generation college students with individualized plans and support through graduation. The organization takes 50 students every year from a pool of about 1,200 applicants. The program aims to solve a statewide problem: Many low-income students who enroll in college don’t ever graduate; first responders in Sherman are searching for a missing 8-year-old girl who was swept into a drainage ditch on Christmas Eve after a car crashed off US Highway 75. Crews searched for the girl much of the night and picked up again Christmas morning. ; And the Dallas Mavericks nearly pulled off a Christmas Day miracle but lost 105-99 to Minnesota. The Mavs’ Luka Doncic injured his left calf in the first quarter and will undergo an MRI on Thursday, a person with knowledge of the injury confirmed Wednesday to The Dallas Morning News. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Retiring U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, has missed votes in Congress since the summer and her son said she has been “having some dementia issues late in the year.” The last time the 81-year-old congresswoman cast a vote on the House floor was the morning of July 24. In other news, Mark Burnett, the power producer who helped reintroduce Donald Trump to a national television audience with The Apprentice, is being tapped by the president-elect as special envoy to the United Kingdom in his upcoming administration; Despite beating the Tampa Bay Bucs Sunday night, the Cowboys have been eliminated from the playoff race; And the Texas Rangers sent first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to Washington in exchange for lefty reliever Robert Garcia, the second lefty offspeed savant acquired by the club in a week. The 28-year old Garcia pitched 59 2/3 innings for Washington last year with a 4.22 ERA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clear skies and an abundance of sunshine today in Dallas with a high of 56. Clear tonight as well with a low of 34. Sunny and a little cooler tomorrow. Saturday’s high will be 53 with a low of 39. Some clouds will move in on Sunday with not much fluctuation between the high of 56 and the low of 50. President-elect Donald Trump lambasted U.S. Rep. Chip Roy after the Texas Republican pushed back on Trump’s call to suspend or abolish the debt ceiling. Trump posted criticism on social media Thursday that included an implicit political threat to the Austin congressman as he invoked the example of U.S. Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., who lost in the primary this year after getting crosswise with Trump. In other news, two ministries that broadcast TV shows on Daystar Television Network have announced they are parting ways with the Bedford-based company, which has been rocked by a family rift over child abuse allegations. LoveIsrael, a Bible teaching ministry led by Baruch Korman, announced in a YouTube video Tuesday that the organization is taking its shows off Daystar’s network; imagine a second arena in downtown Dallas. Imagine a second convention center and tourist hub, except this one would include an opulent arena, multiple luxury hotels and abundant fine dining. And casino gambling. While pondering realistic, foreseeable-future scenarios for downtown Dallas, it’s hard to imagine one that would be more transformative. But would it be for the better? That is the deeply layered, multibillion-dollar question that must be answered — likely within the next five years — as the Mavericks and Stars weigh arena possibilities; Earlier this year, Housing Forward counted fewer people experiencing homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties compared to the year before in January. In September, city officials and Housing Forward partnered with a coalition of nonprofits to embark on operation Street to Home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Through the medium of a White Elephant party, The Dallas Morning News food team shares ideas for favorite foods to take to a holiday gathering. The team also discusses a new restaurant in Dallas' Bishop Arts neighborhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Texas Legislature is facing pressure to find creative ways to reform the state’s toll road system amid a growing chorus of vocal critics, including some Republican state lawmakers. From 2001 to 2021, Texas built more toll road miles than nearly all other states combined, according to the Dallas Morning News ongoing investigation, “Toll Trap.” In other news, Texas Republicans are demanding the Biden administration stop selling unused parts of the border wall that runs along the U.S.-Mexico divide; two malls in Dallas-Fort Worth are ready to help shoppers with a growing technology service: drone deliveries. Stonebriar Centre in Frisco and Hulen Mall in Fort Worth are rolling out deliveries through Wing drone service and DoorDash, the popular app for getting items to your door. Both malls are part of Brookfield Properties, which has shopping centers across the country. Over 50 merchants are available to folks within roughly 4 miles of the malls for deliveries from Wing, which is part of Google’s parent company, Alphabet; And more people today may care about the future of downtown Dallas — but sometimes it feels like many of them have a different take on where the heart of the city is. With over 1 million people joining North Texas since 2010, many ideas are in flux about what sidewalks, buildings and parks are within downtown borders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices