OAKLAND, CA – JANUARY 14: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers stands on the court during their game against the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena on January 14, 2016 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Tuesday in sports was headlined by the performance of a 37-year-old in his final season, and the performance of a 19-year-old in his rookie season. We’ll cover that and much more here at Wednesday’s Cheat Sheet…

Kobe scores season-high 38 points in 33 minutes to snap Lakers’ 10-game losing streak

The 2015-2016 Los Angeles Lakers are a train wreck, but they were able to snap a 10-game losing streak with a 119-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, thanks to a vintage performance from Kobe Bryant. Kobe scored a season-high 38 points in very efficient fashion — including 7-of-11 from behind the arc — over just 33 minutes.

Highlights of Kobe’s best performance in the final season of his Hall of Fame career:

Sam Mitchell is the Minnesota head coach, and 10 years ago, Kobe dropped 81 on the Toronto Raptors while Mitchell was a member of that team. Here’s what Mitchell had to say after the game Tuesday night:

19-year-old phenom Connor McDavid returns from 37-game absence with one of the goals of the year

Connor McDavid

Edmonton Oilers rookie Connor McDavid returned to action on Tuesday night, after missing 37 games due to a broken collarbone. And it didn’t take the 19-year-old long to remind us that he’s a franchise-changing talent.

Watch McDavid split the Columbus Blue Jackets defense to score an incredible goal:

McDavid also added two assists on the night, and has 15 points so far in his 14 career NHL games. He definitely looks like the real deal.

The Browns sound very done with Johnny Manziel (to the surprise of no one)

2014 NFL Draft

It’s been widely assumed that the Cleveland Browns would be moving on from the mess that is Johnny Manziel this offseason, and on Tuesday the Browns released a statement in which they more or less admitted that:

ESPN’s Pat McManamon (I’m glad I don’t have to read that out loud… one hell of a tongue twister) is also hearing from a league source that the Browns are indeed cutting ties with Manziel.

And here’s something I rarely hear brought up when it comes to Johnny: is he even a top backup quarterback in this league if you eliminate his off-the-field shenanigans? I’m not so sure. Then add in the baggage? If I’m running an NFL organization, I want nothing to do with Manziel right now, even if he’s free.

Related: A historical look at the Browns’ first-round quarterback selections.

We’re 4 days away from Super Bowl 50

rose_pants

– The prop bets for this year’s Super Bowl appear to be more ridiculous than ever, and Dan Levy takes a look at the top 50 SB50 prop bets.

A few examples of what’s included in there (Note: these are lines for real prop bets you can make):

WHO WILL HAVE MORE:

76ERS 1ST QUARTER POINTS -5.5 -110
BRONCOS FIRST DOWNS -5.5 -110

WHO WILL HAVE MORE:

NEYMAR (BARCELONA) GOALS PK -150
CAM NEWTON (CAR) TOUCHDOWNS PK +130

HOW MANY TIMES WILL THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE BE SHOWN DURING THE BROADCAST?

Over 0.5 -300
Under 0.5 +200

Broncos send home safety Ryan Murphy after prostitution sting. Certainly not a good look for someone ever, and especially during Super Bowl week if you’re a player on one of those two teams. Murphy was a practice squad player, so the Broncos aren’t going to lose someone that would even play in the game, but it’s still an unwanted distraction for the team. And with that thinking, smart move by Gary Kubiak to send the dude home.

– This is incredibly lame: Broncos punter Britton Colquitt was forced to purchase an $1800 SB50 ticket for his daughter… who is a 1-week-old baby.

Wade Phillips would like you to stop “Twittering” him for a job.

SB50 security will be most comprehensive for any sporting event in U.S. history.

Key and Peele to provide alternate Super Bowl commentary. This is going to be interesting… and they probably can’t be worse than Phil Simms anyway.

Lady Gaga is going to sing the national anthem.

Charlie Rose loses bet, wears Cam Newton pants on CBS This Morning.

– We’ve shared the Tecmo Bowl SB50 simulation with you, and now it’s Madden’s turn.

Sony’s setup for SB50 is insane.

Today is National Signing Day

NCAA Football: Ohio State at Wisconsin

Just a friendly heads up that today is National Signing Day in college football.

ESPN’s recruiting nation writes about their top 10 most important things to watch on Signing Day, and Sports Illustrated/Scout have their signing day predictions. Rivals continues to update their team recruiting rankings, and they currently have Ohio State first with 23 commits at an average star rating of 3.78.

So, if you’re a fan of a certain school or just a college football junkie, there will be recruiting coverage all over Twitter and ESPNU today. Enjoy.

Quick Hits

Screen Shot 2016-02-02 at 8.09.18 PM

– In perhaps the most terrifying  sports news in quite some time, the Golden State Warriors are reportedly frontrunners to sign Kevin Durant. Dear god. Might as well just shut down the league if that happens.

Obviously, there is the natural question of ball distribution and all of these star scorers making it work together, etc, etc. (this sounds familiar, right?). But The Comeback’s Alex Putterman sums it up well:

Of course, when you’re worried that adding one of the five best players in the league will hurt your team, you’re probably in pretty great shape as a franchise.

– Joseph Randle was cut by the Cowboys in November, and reports are that Dallas being aware of his sports gambling habits played into the release. This could obviously turn into a much, much bigger story.

Colin Kaepernick reportedly wants to leave the 49ers… to join the Jets. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a free agent, but the assumption has been that the Jets wouldn’t let him get away after a damn good 2015 season. Kaepernick, meanwhile, significantly regressed over the last two years. This is just a really weird story.

Ricky Williams says weed will save football. And his thinking may not be as crazy as you’d think.

Pro golfer Stewart Cink sinks 94-foot putt on basketball court to win college student $25,000.

Duke fell out of the AP top 25, causing the Internet to rejoice. North Carolina fans shouldn’t be laughing too hard right now though, as the Tar Heels can’t shoot “worth a frankity-frank”.

NFL bad lip-reading is back and better than ever.

Watch Jerry Rice go undercover as a Lyft driver in San Francisco. I understand not everyone watches football, and there are a lot of out-of-towners in the Bay Area right now, but this is JERRY FREAKING RICE, PEOPLE. The guy was only named the top NFL player ever on that NFL Network series a few years ago. Regardless, that undercover Lyft video is funny so I recommended checking it out.

Tony Stewart hospitalized after ATV injury.

– Stan Van Gundy has a very bad idea, and that’s to get rid of instant replay in all sports.

Clemson names itself “Defensive Line U” with new hype video.

Angry customers are now suing McDonald’s for $5 million over cheeseless mozzarella sticks. This one was easy to see coming.

–  Via Collider:

Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, and Zach Galifianakis are set to star in The Something, a “space-set comedy” written by 22 Jump Street co-writer Rodney Rothman, who will make his directorial debut on the project. The film will follow a crew of astronauts who, after being stuck in space for years, eventually come across another space ship.

One last breath of gratuitous procrastination

Peak #FirstWorldProblems right here:

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About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.