As the first official weekend of December works its way in, so do the holiday-infested-happenings that seem to swarm our schedules. But before you spend all your time deciding which sweater is ugly enough to sport for this year's office party, know that you still have some valid excuses to delay the holiday-prep list.
After all, for us Floridians, Christmas Day itself will be scheduled entirely around LeBron James' return to the American Airlines Arena and his former Miami Heat.
Nevertheless, here's a closer look at why trimming the tree can wait until Monday...
FRIDAY
NBA -- Heat at Bucks, 8:30 p.m. (Sun Sports)
NBA -- Magic at Jazz, 9 p.m. (FOX Sports Florida)
CBK -- Florida at Kansas, 9 p.m.
Spotlight: The Bucks won the last meeting against the Heat, 91-84, on Nov. 16 in Miami. Dwyane Wade was out with an injury at the time, but recently returned to the lineup. On Sunday night against the Knicks, he scored 27 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter to lead the Heat to an 86-79 victory. Heading into Friday, the Bucks and the Heat are both coming off of Wednesday losses -- the Bucks came up short against the Dallas Mavericks 107-105, while the Heat lost 112-102 against the Atlanta Hawks.
SATURDAY
CBK -- UCF at FSU, 2 p.m. ET
CBK -- UW-Green Bay at Miami, 2 p.m. ET
NHL -- Blue Jackets at Lightning, 7 p.m. ET (Sun Sports)
NHL -- Sabres at Panthers, 7 p.m. ET (FOX Sports Florida)
CFB -- FSU vs. Georgia Tech (ACC title game), 8 p.m.
NBA -- Magic at Kings, 10 p.m. ET (FOX Sports Florida)
Spotlight: Can Georgia Tech end Florida State's 28-game winning streak and knock the Seminoles from playoff contention? Jameis Winston's student code of conduct hearing was held this week, though there is no timetable for a ruling. Punishment could result in his expulsion from the school. Winston is trying to rebound from the worst game of his college career. In a 24-19 victory over Florida last week, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner threw for a meager 125 yards with four interceptions.
SUNDAY
NFL -- Buccaneers at Lions, 1 p.m. ET
NFL -- Texans at Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET
NFL -- Ravens at Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET
NBA -- Heat at Grizzlies, 6 p.m. ET (Sun Sports)
Spotlight: Baltimore Ravens announced Thursday that defensive end Haloti Ngata is suspended for four games due to a substance abuse violation, which is good news for the Miami Dolphins. Both teams are 7-5 and locked in a tight playoff battle in the AFC. The winner would gain the upper hand in any potential tiebreakers at the end of the season.
NEWS OF NOTE
-- Former Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp may be turning his attention to Auburn's defense. ESPN reported that Muschamp and Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn have a "mutual interest" in the opportunity of working together.
-- The Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team moved up to the No. 15 spot in the Associated Press poll and the coaches poll on Monday. The Florida Gators weren't as lucky as they dropped out of the AP poll completely and down to No. 24 in the coaches poll.
-- Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson was named the ACC's Brian Piccolo Award recipient on Thursday. The award has been given every year to the “most courageous” football player since 1970 in memory of Piccolo, a former ACC and NFL player.
-- Free agent Raul Ibanez reportedly withdrew from the running to be the next Tampa Bay Rays manager on Thursday. The Rays narrowed the choices down to Cleveland Indians bullpen coach Kevin Cash and Kansas City Royals bench coach Don Wakamatsu.
-- FSU's quarterback Jameis Winston finished second in the overall and offensive ACC Player of the Year voting announced Wednesday. Running back James Conner of Pittsburgh took the No. 1 spot and was named the ACC player of the year. Duke Johnson of Miami took the No. 5 spot and FSU wide receiver Rashad Greene followed in No. 6.
TWEET(S) OF THE WEEK
The Florida Gators head coach position became twitter-official as the news broke Thursday morning.
#GatorNation, we are pleased to officially announce our new head coach...Jim McElwain #ItsGreatUF pic.twitter.com/i3lGgY7ROl
— GatorZone Football (@GatorZoneFB) December 4, 2014
Next, of course, came the reactions.
Jim McElwain has agreed to become Florida's next head coach. Here's some key facts on the Gators' new leader: pic.twitter.com/iaib6ZcYBN
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 4, 2014
-- News broke that Florida State was ranked No. 4 in the playoff rankings on Tuesday, and Seminole fans took to Twitter to discuss the poll results. Despite their ranking, FSU takes the title for the most talked about school in the nation. According to 120 Sports, a total of 32 states were tweeting about the 'Noles post-announcement.
Surprise: Florida State dropped to 4th in the rankings No Surprise: #FSU was the most talked team (@timelinelabs) pic.twitter.com/waEhcFKbDZ
— 120 Sports (@120Sports) December 3, 2014
You can follow Hana Ostapchuk on Twitter @HanaOstapchuk or email her at HANAMARIE13@AOL.COM.
