The Sports Curmudgeon

Even a cursory glance at the calendar is sufficient to tell me it is time for the next installment of Football Friday; so, let me start with a look back at a very successful Six-Pack from last week:

• Spreads & Totals:     5-1-0                Year to date:  6-3-0
• M/L Parlays:   1-1       Profit = $38    YTD: 1-3            Loss = $162

The Linfield University Wildcats had the week off last week; they will venture to Orange, CA to meet Chapman University this Saturday.  That will be the last out-of-conference game for Linfield in 2026; after this, all the rest of their regular season games will be against Northwest Conference opponents.  Go Wildcats!

            My “Sleeper Team” for the year is the Florida Gators, and they won their second out of conference game last week beating Campbell 52-3.  The Gators are 2-0 on the season but have  yet to play a significant opponent.  This week the Gators are on the road at Auburn starting a sequence of SEC opponents.  Only after November 21^st will the Gators see another out-of-conference team – – the Florida State Seminoles in what is always a huge rivalry game.

And this week’s fun name related to college football is:

• Godspower Nwawuihe – – RB – – Army

 

College Football Commentary:

 

Florida State fired its Athletic Director, Michael Alford, earlier this week; it was not “for cause” to the school owes him money.  Alford was the AD who signed Mike Norvell to a contract that ties Norvell to the school through 2031 at a reported $10.3M per year; various sources say the remaining balance on that contract is $84M.

Mike Norvell was on a hot seat even going back to the end of last season and now the guy who hired him has been jettisoned.  The only reason that connecting those two dots might not be as simple as using a pencil and a straight edge is that $84M buyout figure.  One report said it would be due within 90 days of Norvell’s termination meaning some well-heeled alum or three will need to write some hefty checks to make that happen.  The Seminoles are 1-1 so far in 2026; this week they are on the road at Alabama and are significant underdogs in the game.

I have long criticized college football powerhouses for scheduling Division 1-AA opponents and the like in what I call “Cupcake Games”.  Now I have some company on my soapbox who has plenty of football cred.  Marshall Faulk is the head coach at Southern University which plays in the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) against mainly other HBCU schools.  Last week Southern participated in what Faulk calls a “Money Game”; they went to Houston and were humiliated 77-6.  After the game Fauld said this was not a game and there was no way that Southern could compete on an equal footing with a program like Houston because of the different amounts of money available to the teams at the two schools.  He said these sorts of game should not be scheduled and labeled as “football games” because they are put on only for the purpose of distributing some money to the “poor school” as they take an organized butt-kicking from the “richer school”.

According to a report in the Houston Chronicle, Southern got $450K for showing up and playing the game along with 125 pizzas as a post-game meal for the team and staff plus 400 complimentary tickets to the game.  Somehow, I don’t think that the Southern coaches could have “scalped” those tix for very much on game day.

Having pointed out that someone else agrees with me that these scrimmages in disguise are abominable, let me offer some congratulations to the Blue Devils of Duke University for their selection of out-of-conference games.  Duke is 2-0 this year and they have beaten Tulane and Illinois.  That is a whole lot better competition as compared to the selected victims of my personal “Sleeper Team” – the Florida Gators who have annihilated FAU and then Campbell.

Kudos to Duke …

Last week was not a good one for the Big-10; it was embarrassing.  Yes, I know that Michigan pulled off a solid upset of Oklahoma last week and I know that Penn State, Maryland, Washington and UCLA won last week against underwhelming opponents.  The rest of the conference sucked wind including:

• Ohio St. lost to Texas
• Oregon lost to Oklahoma St.  (more on that later)
• Minnesota lost at home to Mississippi St.  (more on that later)
• Illinois lost to Duke
• Rutgers lost to BC

Lots of pundits rushed to report that Ohio St. still had a path to the CFP and of course that is correct since the season is still in mid-September.  However, that “path to the CFP” is not a well-manicured byway; here are some of the interesting contests involving Ohio St. prior to the CFP selections:

• At Iowa
• At Indiana
• At USC
• Vs Oregon
• VS Michigan

This week Ohio St. will have a “Cupcake Game” against in-state “rival”. Kent St.  I suspect this will be a one-sided ass-kicking from kickoff to final whistle…  And while I am at it, Oregon will play Portland St. this week in another game that should never have been scheduled; the Ducks are currently a 57.5-point favorite in the game.  The Vikings are going to take a licking tomorrow.

In terms of embarrassment to the Big-10, which was the unseemlier result:

• Oregon losing to Oklahoma St. – – OR – –
• Rutgers losing to UMass two weeks ago?

Before I get to comments on last week’s college games, let me ask for a show of hands here:

• I am tired of Desmond Howard on College Football Game Day; who is with me on that question?

 

Last Week’s College Games:

 

Michigan 17  Oklahoma 10:  No controversial ending for Michigan this week.  No one should be surprised that a Kyle Whittingham team is strong defensively; maybe Oklahoma was just a bit surprised…

Texas 24  Ohio St. 23:  The Longhorns trailed 23-3 at the start of the fourth quarter; Texas scored 3 TDs in the 4^th quarter while Ohio State missed a field goal there and only had the ball for less than 5 minutes in the quarter.

BC 28  Rutgers 21:  It will be a long season in Piscataway this year…

Indiana 55  Howard 0:  The spread was 56 points …

Mississippi St. 38  Minnesota 13:  This is the first win for Miss St against a Big-10 opponent since 1980.

OK St. 39  Oregon 31:  Oregon was a 23.5-point favorite at kickoff. The Cowboys were coming off a straight up loss to Tulsa last week. That Oregon win over Boise St. not looking nearly as potent for Boise St. now. This was the first win by Ok St. over a Division 1-A opponent since September 2024 and it was no fluke; Oklahoma State outgained Oregon 554 yards to 281.

UCLA 28  San Diego St. 10:  This game was scoreless at halftime – – an unusual occurrence in major college football.

Iowa 16  Iowa St. 13:  A big rivalry game that always takes place early in the season before conference play begins.

UNC 35  ETSU 3:  Not surprised at who won the game but defense allowing no TDs might indicate that the UNC defense is strong.  Bears watching…

Duke 31  Illinois 27:  Duke held the Illini to a field goal in the second half.

K State 34  Washington St.  7:  Washington St has not looked good in either of its losses this year. This game was not close:

• K-State total offense = 487 yards
• Wash St. offense = 166 yards

Alabama 45  Kentucky 17:  Halftime score had Kentucky leading 17-13; then the roof caved in.

BYU 28  Arizona 17:  Talk about the roof caving in, the score here was 17-14 with Arizona ahead at the half.

Ole Miss 41  UNC-Charlotte 9:  Trinidad Chambliss looks like a for-real QB prospect to me; he only threw 3 incomplete passes for the entire game.

UMass 37  Sacred Heart 10:  The Minutemen covered a 3 TD spread in the game which had to be an unfamiliar situation for them.

North Texas 44  UNLV 6:  Forget UNLF as the Group of Six Rep in the CFP.  N. Texas rolled up 444 yards of offense in this game.

North Dakota St 38  Air Force 32:  N. Dak St. is 3-0 in their first season at the Division 1-A level with this win.

Fresno St. 49  Sacramento St. 3:  Fresno St. scored 32 points in the second quarter of this game – – 4 TDs, 1 two-point conversion (not sure why) and a field goal all in 15 minutes of play.  Yowza!

Boise St 38  Memphis 20:  Memphis took a 20-17 lead into the locker room at halftime, but it was all Broncos in the final 30 minutes.  In short, the Broncos ran all over the Tigers.   Boise St. ran for 357 yards and averaged 7.6 yards per carry. It sure looks as if despite their loss to Oregon, the Broncos are a pretty good team.

 

This Week’s College Games:

 

(Fri Nite) Houston at Texas Tech – 8 (53):  These look like two of the better teams in the Big-12; so, this early season game may have significant impact down the line.

Buffalo at Penn State – 41.5 (51):  The parade of Cupcake Games makes an appearance at State College this week …

UNC at Clemson – 3 (43.5):  Two coaches whose seats will get significantly warmer/hotter if they lose this game.  I know it’s a small sample, but I think the Tar Heel’s defense has been very good so far in 2026.  I’ll go with that sentiment and take UNC plus the points here; put it in the Six-Pack.

NC State at Vandy – 3 (50.5):  Good out-of-conference scheduling for these teams too.

SMU at Louisville – 1 (60):  This game could be very important later in the year when tie-breakers come into play in the ACC.

Florida St. at Alabama – 19 (49):  Seminoles’ football is in turmoil (see above)…

Stanford at Duke – 10 (51):  This game has the best SAT total score on the card for the weekend.

 Mississippi St. at S. Carolina – 4 (58):  Was that road win at Minnesota last week a fluke or are the Bulldogs a serious football team in 2026?

Florida – 2 at Auburn (53):  This is the first real test for the Gators in 2026.  Auburn is 2-0 with wins over Baylor and Southern Mississippi.  I think this is how my 2026 “Sleeper Team” announces its presence; give me the Gators to win and cover here; put it in the Six-Pack.

Va Tech – 3 at Maryland (53):  Tech coach James Franklin knows a thing or two about going to Maryland and coming home with a win.

New Mexico at Oklahoma – 21.5 (45.5):  The Sooners were stymied last week by the Michigan defense; they are now facing a defense that bears no resemblance to the one in Ann Arbor.  New Mexico should put some points on the scoreboard, so I think this game is set to go OVER; put that in the Six-Pack.

LSU – 2.5 at Ole Miss (57.5):  This is clearly the College Game of the Week with all the drama surrounding the return of Lane Kiffin to Oxford, MS where he might lose an election for city council to the ghost of Jeffrey Dahmer.  LSU has the better defense; Ole Miss has the better QB.  Sit back and enjoy this one…

James Madison at San Diego St. – 2 (46):  JMU will rack up the frequent flier miles for this one.

Duquesne at Washington St. – 37.5 (54):  Based on its first two games, I would not be comfortable laying that many points with Wash St against any team not called Intensive Care University (ICU).

 

NFL Commentary:

 

Both the Giants and Jets won their opening games last week; both of them are tied for first place in their  respective divisions as of this morning.  The last time both the Giants and Jets won their games in Week 1 was back in 2009.  If you believe in omens:

• In 2009, the NY Jets played in the AFC Conference Championship Game.
• In 2026 the NY Jets …?

Speaking of Week 1 results, three teams lost their starting QBs to injuries:

• Falcons saw both Tua and Michael Penix on the bench in street clothes
• Seahawks lost Sam Darnold at the end of the first offensive series
• Vikes lost Kyler Murray to a concussion in the first quarter

Another injury issue that could have significance this season is the news this week that DE Myles Garrett will have a “surgical procedure” on his sore knee and is on IL for at least 4 weeks.  Garrett has made the Pro Bowl 7 times, has been All-Pro 5 times and Defensive Player of the Year 2 times in his career.

In college football, there are lots of good teams in the South every year.  Not so in the NFL recently and last week the 8 teams in the NFC South and the AFC South combined to post a record of 1-7-0.  Only the Jags came out on top in Week 1.

I want to extend sincere thanks to FOX and CBS and ESPN for presenting NFL football with a “clean screen”.  The days of having a crawl at the bottom of the screen with fantasy stats and/or game summaries were distracting and annoying; They are blessedly gone in 2026; the distractions on the screen are small, inobtrusive and pertinent.  Thank you to the folks at the networks who produce these games.

I want to say something here about post-game pressers; that is not a good time for the losing players or coaches, but they are required to do them by the league.  There is a lot of pro forma in the Q&A there; so, if there is going to be any content emanating from those convocations, the audience needs to up its game.

The losing coach will universally say that he and his staff were outcoached by the other guys this week and he and his staff need to do a better job next week.

Here is a suggestion.  The next question after such a cliché statement should be:

• “Exactly what did those other guys do better than you and how did you figure it out so quickly after the game such that you know what to do differently next week?”

It’s not going to happen, but I suspect the response from Losing Coach would something along the lines of “Hamina … Hamina …  Hamina…”  [Hat Tip to Jackie Gleason/Ralph Kramden]

 

Last Week’s Games:

 

Steelers 20  Falcons 13:  This was not an aesthetic game by any means – – 16 penalties and 10 punts in the game.  Neither team gained 275 yards on offense.  Yawn …

Ravens 41  Colts 23:  Lamar Jackson was en fuego throwing for 324 yards and Derrick Henry gained 144  yards on the ground while scoring 3 TDs.

Bills 36  Texans 31:  There were NINE lead changes in the game; talk about an emotional roller coaster.  This was Josh Allen’s first win ever in Houston.  The Texans averaged only giving up 18 points per game last year; the Bills doubled that in this game.

Bears 59  Panthers 37:  Last week I said the Panthers had a good defense, and the Bears had a good offense.  Clearly the Bears’ offense prevailed.  I also said that the Bears had a porous defense and the Panthers had an anemic offense; the Bears likely gave up more points to the Panthers in this game than the Panthers will score in any future game.

Jags 34  Browns 10:  Deshaun Watson’s return to the starting QB role ended inauspiciously.  The lone Browns’ TD came late in the 4^th quarter; this game was never in doubt.

Lions 31  Saints 30:  This was a “roller coaster game”:

• Lions took a 21-0 lead
• Saints rallied and forced OT at 24-24.
• Lions scored on their possession in the OT to lead 31-24
• Saints scored a TD and went for 2-poiint conversion.  Not happening …

Jets 23  Titans 10:  As noted above, the NY Jets are tied for first place in the AFC East this week.  The Jets outgained the Titans 367 yards to 195 yards; it was a dominating performance by the Jets’ defense.   The Jets did not intercept a  pass in any games last season; they didn’t do that in this game either.

Bengals 33 Bucs 27:  The Bengals dominated the stat sheet, and the Bucs lost 4 fumbles in the game – – so why was this a one-score game?

Cards 26  Chargers 14:  Clearly, the upset of the day; the Chargers were the only team favored by more than a TD in Week 1.  The Chargers invented ways to lose this game:

• Turned the ball over on downs inside the 5  yardline
• Had a punt blocked setting up a 3-yard TD drive for the Cards
• Turned the ball over twice
• Committed 7 penalties
• Failed on all three fourth down tries.
• Possessed the ball for fewer than 23 minutes in the game

Vikes 39  Packers 22:  the Packers led 22-10 in this game and the Vikes then scored 29 unanswered points with Carson Wentz at the helm.  The Packers outgained the Vikes 419 yards to 239 yards and still lost the game.  Twelve penalties and 2 turnovers by the Packers did not help their cause. The  Packers have now lost 9 games in a row since Micah Parsons was hurt last season.

Raiders 27  Dolphins 13:  Kirk Cousins only threw for 168 yards in the game, but he also threw 3 TD passes.  Tell me again why the Falcons released him and then signed Tua?

Eagles 24  Commanders 22:  Last week I said one question for the Eagles was their passing game without AJ Brown.  The answer is it was mediocre.  I said the Commanders had to add speed on defense; they did; but not enough; they gave up too many chunk plays.  [Aside:  Sean Mannion was touted as a boy-genius as an Offensive Coordinator; it is a small sample size but count me as “unconvinced” as of now.  The Eagles managed only 10 first downs in this game.]

Giants 28  Cowboys 20:  Last week, I wondered if the Cowboys additions on defense would allow the secondary to “cover a corpse” this season.  Based on one game of observation, the Cowboys’’ secondary would be challenged to cover the Easter Island statues. New York piled up 394 total yards, rushed for 165 and controlled the football for 36:40.   So much for the revamped Cowboys’ defense.

Chiefs 31  Broncos 10:  Patrick Mahomes looked like Patrick Mahomes here and Kenneth Walkeer III looked like Superman.  All four starting DBs for the Chiefs were out of this game and it did not seem to make much of a difference.

 

This Week’s Games:

 

The Bills just hammered the Lions last night beating them 41-31.  The game was not that close.  The Lions had two starting offensive linemen on the bench and two CBs inactive for the game.  That is no way to face a strong opponent like the Bills.  Give the Lions credit though; they did not quit; they went down swinging.

Packers – 3 at Jets (44):  The Jets’ defense was dominant last week (see above).  The Packers present a much bigger threat to that Jets’ defense than the Titans did last week.  On the flip side, the Packers blew a 10-point lead starting the 4^th quarter and lost the game by 10 points.  I cannot trust either side at this point in the season.  I am also worried about my sanity in thinking the Jets are a “live underdog” against the Packers…

Vikes at Bears – 4.5 (48):  I expect the Vikes’ defense to put up a lot more of a struggle this week than the Bears faced last week. Nevertheless, I think that Total Line is short so give me the game to go OVER; put that in the Six-Pack.

Steelers at Pats – 5 (41.5):  I think the oddsmakers are right here; this game will be low-scoring,  I am tempted to take the points and the Steelers but will resist that temptation.

Panthers – 2.5 at Falcons (44):  The spread opened with the Falcons as a 1-point favorite.  Neither team looked good in Week 1; I considered this one as the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.

Browns at Bucs – 7.5 (41.5):  Both teams played badly last week; the Browns trailed at one point in their game 34-3; meanwhile Bucs’ QB Baker Mayfield lost three fumbles in his game.  I like the Bucs to win the game – – and possibly to win it big.  I have no reason to believe that Deshaun Watson will be competent in this game, and I do have reason to believe that Baker Mayfield would like to “stick it” to his former employer.  I’ll take the Bucs to win and cover; put it in the Six-Pack.

Bengals at Texans – 2.5 (46):  This game got consideration as the Game of the Week.  The Texans’ defense gave up a lot of points to Josh Allen & Co. last week; now, they have to deal with Joe Burrow and his band of merry men.  The real question here relates to the Bengals’ defense; it was opportunistic last week, but will the Texans provide 4 fumbles to be recovered this week?

Saints at Ravens – 9 (46.5):  The Saints showed a ton of professional pride rallying from down 3 TDs against the Lions to force OT.   So, I can buy the idea that they will move the ball and acquit themselves on offense here.  Having said that, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry started the season spectacularly so there are too many question marks associated with the spread.  So, give me the game to go OVER; put that in the Six-Pack.

Eagles – 7 at Titans (39):  These lines opened with the Eagles 4.5-point favorites and the Total Line was at 42 points; that’s a lot of line movement.  The Eagles are clearly the more talented team and could wind up blowing the Titans away by 3 TDs – – or they could  play anemic offense and struggle to win by a field goal.  Not a good betting proposition here,,,

Raiders at Chargers – 6.5 (33):  This spread opened at 8.5 points and dropped below a TD’s worth of points rather quickly.  The Chargers  very much need this win given the schedule ahead of them.  The Raiders looked efficient and effective last week, but those were the Dolphins on the other side of the ball.

Jags at Broncos – 3 (45.5):  The Jags won in a walk last week while the Broncos laid a giant egg last week.  This is a much more important game for the Broncos who do not want to open the season at 0-2.

Commanders at Cowboys – 4 (51.5):  Another important game for two teams that lost their openers.  The loser here will not only be 0-2; they will also have two division losses which could become very important when tie-breakers come into fashion.  I expect a high scoring game because the Commanders’ defense should be overmatched against the Cowboys’ offense and the Cowboys’ defense just ain’t that good.

Seahawks – 4 at Cards (41):  These numbers have shifted a lot; the spread opened at 10 points and the Total Line opened at 44.5.  The Cards “shocked the world” [Hat Tip to Muhammad Ali] beating the Chargers last week; I don’t think they can do the same against the Seahawks even with Sam Darnold on the shelf and Drew Lock under center.

Dolphins at Niners – 13 (45):  Here is my Dog-Breath Game of the Week.  Just avert your eyes …

(Sun Nite) Colts at Chiefs – 6.5 (47):  The Colts’ defense was run over by Derrick Henry last week; now, they need to deal with Kenneth Walker III.

(Mon Nite) Giants at Rams – 7 (48):  This is my Game of the Week for several reasons:

The Giants looked great and dominated the Cowboys last week.  Can they do that again against the Rams?

The Rams looked awful against the Niners last week in Australia.  Was that a one-time event or are the Rams old and ripe for the picking?

So, let me review the Six-Pack:

• UNC +3 against Clemson
• New Mexico/Oklahoma OVER 45.5
• Gators -2 over Auburn
• Bears/Vikes OVER 48
• Ravens/Saints OVER 46.5
• Bucs – 7.5 over Browns

And just for fun, here are 2 Money Line Parlays:

• Commanders @ +170
• Giants @ +270            $50 wager to win $450

And …

• Eagles @ minus-310
• Seahawks @ minus-210         $100 wager to win $95

Finally, this from Hall of Fame coach, Bud Grant:

“If you have time to be with a dog, and the dog is smart, you come to understand the dog, and the dog understands you. They’re not hard to train. But they have to be smart, and you have to spend time with them. It’s like coaching. I was a better coach when I had smart players.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports……..

 

 

It appears that CBS is kicking the can down the road regarding the future of Tony Romo as the lead analyst for NFL football games on the network.  The network announced this week that JJ Watt will continue to be paired with Jim Nantz on CBS’ best game for Week 2 and Week 3.  About two weeks ago, Romo announced that he will plead nolo contendere to the charges of OWI against him opening the door for CBS to declare what if any punishment it might impose in the matter.  CBS said nothing then and has yet to say anything along those lines.

There are reports out there speculating that Romo will not be on the air at all this year, and some reports suggest that the relationship between Romo and CBS is over.  My interpretation of the silence at CBS and the incremental declaration of announcing assignments is that CBS and Romo’s representatives are negotiating a buyout of his contract and the less said about that in the open the better.

Reports say that CBS is on the hook for $72M over the next 4 years on Romo’s contract.  If CBS were to “fire him for cause”, they would owe him nada.  That is a lot of room for negotiating and if the two sides can keep the lid on the negotiations, I could easily see a situation where both sides announce that they are going in different directions and that non-disclosure agreements on both sides preclude any additional commentary.

I am not in the camp that has soured on Romo as an analyst; at the same time, I think JJ Watt and Jim Nantz pair very well in the announcing booth.  So, I am pretty sure that however this drama ends I will be satisfied.

Moving on …  One of the storylines of the NFL offseason and Exhibition Season involved Travis Hunter and his return from injury suffered in mid-season 2025.  Hunter was drafted as a potential two-way player in 2025 and one of the questions in the offseason related to how the Jags would use him in 2026.

Week 1 is an awfully small sample size, but if the choices made by the coaching staff in Jax are indicative, the Jags see Travis Hunter more as a CB than as a player on offense.  Against the Browns last week:

• Travis Hunter was on the field for 29 snaps on defense
• Travis Hunter was on the field for 7 snaps on offense

The Jags won the game by 24 points; the outcome was never in doubt.  So, it is completely possible that the Jags kept him out of the game on offense because there was no need to play him there.  I suggest the question is still an open one and that Travis Hunter can and will be used both ways by the Jags – – but not “both ways” in terms of every play on both sides of the ball.  Hunter has an amazing skill set, but his body does not look to me to be built for that sort of wear and tear.

Switching gears …  Sam Darnold has been ruled out of this week’s Seahawks game against the Cards in Arizona.  His injury is described as “very unique”.  Putting aside my visceral reaction to using modifiers to the word “unique”, let me just call it “really unusual”.  Tests showed there is no bone fracture and that this is an injury to “soft tissue”.  The latest report I read said that the injury was to a tendon attached to the gluteus maximus muscle – – that is your “butt muscle” in the vernacular.

The report that identified this as a tendon injury said that Darnold could be out 4-6 weeks and that makes some sense to me even with my lack of medical training.  I recall from biology classes that tendons have significantly less blood flow to them as compared to the muscles that they are attached to and blood flow is a critical factor in regenerating tissue cells from an injury.  If indeed Darnold had to be sidelined for 6 weeks, here are the Seahawks’ opponents over that stretch:

1. At Cards
2. At Commanders
3. Vs Chargers
4. VS Niners
5. At Broncos
6. Vs Chiefs

Drew Lock will be the starter for the Seahawks until Darnold returns but behind Lock there is only Jalen Milroe on the Seahawks depth chart at QB.  Milroe was a 3^rd round pick in 2025, and he made cameo appearances in regular season games last year.  He attempted no passes; he ran the ball 3 times for 4 yards.  Jalen Milroe had a nice college career at Alabama, but he is still awfully green as an NFL QB.

Finally, considering Sam Darnold’s injured butt, I’ll close with this from Mike Tomlin:

“It’s football. The ball snaps, you kick butt or you get your butt kicked.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Everyone who has read these rants for a while knows that I have long been in favor of a salary cap and salary floor for MLB.  I believe it will make the seasons more interesting as it will force some of the “more penurious owners” to open up those wallets and field more competitive squads.  I do not think the current model for MLB is disastrous or unfair or even harmful to the game of baseball; I just think a “cap-and-floor model” would be an improvement.

Based on reporting this week, here is the offer on the table by the MLB owners:

• Salary cap per team = $245.3M
• Salary floor per team = $171.2M
• Revenue split Players/Owners = 50/50

Let me pretend for a moment that the cap and the floor offered here had been in effect for Opening Day of the 2026 season.  In that case according to Spotrac.com:

• Eight teams would have needed to cut salary to get under the cap – – Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Phillies, Red Sox, Padres and Braves
• Fifteen teams would have needed to add salary to get above the floor – – Mariners, Orioles, Royals, Brewers, Reds, Twins, Rockies, Rays, Pirates, White Sox, Nationals, A’s, Cardinals, Marlin and Guardians
• Half of the teams in MLB would have had to add salary to be in compliance with the terms now on the table.

I certainly do not know all the details associated with this proposal nor have I a clue about the status of all the other points that are still up in the air with these new CBA negotiations.  Nonetheless, if I were one of the union officials who took seriously as part of the union mission to get fair wages for the majority of the union members, I would have to take this proposal very seriously.

Moving on …  Steve Ballmer and the LA Clippers organization announced that they will accept the league’s decision to punish the franchise and its owner personally for whatever happened in the “Kawhi Leonard Salary Saga”.  That means no lawsuits or protests or battling PR campaigns; that means the Clippers will be punished but the NBA regular season can start with a clean slate in just about 1 month from today.  And just as I felt relief from the scandal and the “inside info” and the wondering what an owner worth about $150B might do to “get even” with the league, a new uncertainty presented itself.

NBCSports.com has a report with this headline:

“Justice Department opens federal investigation into Clippers’ dealings with Kawhi Leonard”

Say what?  According to this report, the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the matter involving the Clippers’ attempts to set up “no-show work” deals for Kawhi Leonard.  The matter is being run by the DoJ office in Brooklyn – – about 3000 miles away from where whatever happened happened – – because that is the office that traditionally handles investigations involving sports leagues or teams.

And even though this may seem like piling on, the SEC – – that’s the Securities and Exchange Commission and not the Southeastern Conference – – is also investigating the role that Daktronics may have played in this mess.  Daktronics is a publicly traded corporation and is therefore under SEC jurisdiction.  Evidently, Daktronics had never before had a “celebrity endorser” and although there seems to be evidence that Leonard was paid by Daktronics, he never did any “endorsing” or “promoting” for whatever he was paid.

I understand the SEC investigation/involvement here; their charter is to protect the shareholders and creditors of publicly traded companies.  If Daktronics was spending its money and getting nothing in return for that expenditure, the SEC should be all over that set of events.

I do not, however, understand the DoJ investigation.  Even if Steve Ballmer personally and the LA Clippers as an organization intentionally violated the salary cap rules contained in the NBA’s existing CBA, I don’t see how that is a federal crime.  It may be sleazy; it may be underhanded; it may be worthy of a significant punishment by the league, but how is the American public damaged by the circumvention of those limitations?

Finally, this from George Wendt – – Norman Peterson on Cheers:

“I dream about ‘Cheers.’ Like when you go on a diet and you dream of pizza. I always think of those wonderful years. I loved working on it.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

One of the interesting “traditions” for the culmination of Week 1 in the NFL is for fans and pundits to overreact to happenings in Week 1.  So, let me join the parade and do the same thing here today – – but understand that I know these are overreactions based on a minimal sample size.  So, just for fun:

• The Rams are cooked; they are old and injured already; they won’t win their division let alone the Super Bowl.  I would not write them off just yet; after all, they lost to a pretty good team last week.  Yes, the Rams are old and the injury to Myles Garrett’s knee is not a good omen.  The Rams schedule over the next month is difficult and they could be as low as 1-4-0 in early October, but I still think they have the stuff to be a significant factor in the playoffs.
• Forget Kyler Murray; Carson Wentz should be the Vikes’ QB.  Coming in as a substitute, Wentz put 39 points up on the Packers last week.  Is Carson Wentz going to be another Kevin O’Connell Reclamation Project as was Sam Darnold.  The career arc of Darnold and the career arc of Wentz are very similar as they arrived in Minnesota to experience the magic touch of Coach O’Connell.  This actually makes sense to me; but I am not the coach or BM in Minnesota.
• The Cowboys’ defense has not been repaired.  Over the offseason, the Cowboys got themselves a new Defensive Coordinator, spent 2 first round picks on defenders, extended the contract of Quinnen Williams, traded for Rashan Gary and more.  That unit looked worse than miserable on Sunday night.  Just one stat; the Cowboys defense forced 11 third-down situations and gave up the first down on 9 of those situations.  The Giants pushed the Cowboys’ defense around and far too many pass receivers were running free.  I know it is a small sample size, but I think the statement is correct.
• Deshaun Watson’s career is over.  He was sacked 5 times – – so maybe his miserable showing on the stat sheet and on the scoreboard is mitigated by the fact that the Browns’ OL is not a good one.  Nevertheless, the Browns’ only TD in the game came late in the 4^th quarter with the  Jags up 34-3.
• The Bears’ offense is unstoppable.  The Panthers have a decent defense, and they were steamrollered to the tune of 59 points.  Ben Johnson said he wants the Bears to break the record for most points scored in a season which is held by the Broncos in 2013 at 606 points – – in a 16-game season.  I don’t know about “unstoppable”, but the Bears’ offense will be fearsome in 2026.
• The Bears’ defense is miserable.  The Bears gave up 361 yards passing to Bryce Young – – most of it when the panthers were significantly behind and needed to throw the football.  If indeed the Bears’ offense scores the most points in a season in NFL history, maybe the Bears’ defense can allow the most points in a season in NFL history too.  That record is 534 points allowed by the Panthers in 2024.
• The Jets’ defense is stout.  Yes, the Jets only allowed 195 yards in the opening game – – but those were the Titans trying to move the ball not the Bears.  Pump the brakes there a bit…
• The Bengals are for real.  The Bengals won an opening game in 2026; they have not done that recently.  The Bengals’ defense protected a fourth quarter lead; that was not a common occurrence in Cincy in recent years.  Could be true …
• The Chargers are in even worse shape than the Rams.  Not only did the Chargers lose; they lost to a team that will probably have a Top 3 Draft pick next year.  Moreover, the Chargers face a brutal schedule over the next two months:
  • • Vs Raiders
    • At Bills
    • At Seahawks
    • Vs Broncos
    • At Chiefs
    • BYE WEEK
    • At Rams
    • Vs Texans
    • At Ravens
• The Chargers could be 3-6-0 in mid-November.  That just might be worse than the Rams…
• Baker Mayfield is suffering from “Fat Wallet Syndrome”.   Yes, he got a nice contract extension in the offseason and yes, he lost 3 of his four fumbles on Sunday.  But he was also sacked 4 times and was running for his life on a half-dozen other occasions.  Maybe his OL is at least a co-owner of the poor play last week.
• The Eagles’ offense is no different than the one from last season.  That may be too strong an indictment, but the Eagles hand the ball to Saquon Barkley on first down too often for it to be a surprise for the defense and the Eagles did not throw the ball into the middle of the field very often on Sunday.  The jury is out on this one …

See how much fun this annual NFL “tradition” is?  Shakespeare warned to “Beware the Ides of March” so take that advice and do not get ahead of yourself in proclamations about the full NFL season based on Week 1 showings.

Finally, these words from Julius Caesar himself seem appropriate today:

“Men in general are quick to believe that which they wish to be true.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

In a climate where some folks seek to want to root out and reverse anything that looks like “DEI”, I think there was some “collateral damage” done in the aftermath of the Dianna Russini/Mike Vrabel “scandal”.  Somehow, there was coalescence around the idea that Mina Kimes did not/does not deserve her position at ESPN.  I have wondered about why she specifically derived as much notoriety in this narrative as she has but I have never arrived at an explanation that I find satisfactory.

A standard and self-evident argument regarding her “non-qualification” for her job at ESPN is that she reports specifically on the NFL and she clearly and obviously has never played professional football.   I would need to be a high order imbecile not to concede that point, but I wonder if it is germane here:

• Stephan A. Smith never played in the NFL – – or football at any level as far as I am aware – – and he comments on the NFL.
• Maria Taylor never played in the NFL – – or football at any level as far as I am aware – – and she comments on the NFL.
• Colin Cowherd does not show up in Pro-Football-Reference.com and he comments on NFL football.
• Mike Greenberg seems proud to acknowledge that he never played football, and he comments on the NFL.

So, why is “lack of participation” such a big deal with Mina Kimes and not those others?  My short list here covers men, women and minorities; Mina Kimes is of Korean extraction which to my knowledge is not something that is anathema to many folks.  The only explanation I can come up with is pretty flimsy:

• About a  year ago when the current Administration removed an article from the DoD website that honored/recognized Jackie Robinson’s service, she said on ESPN that was taking “anti-DEI activities” too far.

For the record, if indeed that is the fundamental reason why anyone would call into question her capabilities as a journalist/reporter/analyst, that person needs to take a deep breath and get out in the world just a bit.  I do not tune into ESPN hoping to hear from Mina Kimes nor do I listen to her daily podcast, but on the occasions when I do hear from her, she seems as cogent and competent as the other “talkers” on the programs.  So, what am I missing when it comes to the venom directed at her?

Moving on …  Mina Kimes never played pro football, but Brett Favre did.  And maybe now at an early age, Favre is experiencing some of the aftermaths of his career.  Brett Favre has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and because he is not in the public eye on a daily basis as he was before, it has become clear to observers that his Parkinson’s is progressing very rapidly for someone his age – – 56  years old.

Favre did a  promotional for Cheeseheads in general and for Packers fans in Mexico more specifically.  The message was straight out of “Public Relations 101” but the thing that struck people who saw the video was that Favre looked much older than he is and that his speech was less clear than before and had some stuttering episodes.  Favre does not try to hide his condition or deny its presence; here is what he has said previously about it:

“I have absolutely not given up, and I am fighting till the end. Yes, I have progressed a little faster than I would have hoped at this point, but I’m extremely thankful and blessed.”

There is data correlating Parkinson’s with concussions; some research says that even one concussion can increase the chances of Parkinson’s onset by more than 50 percent.  Brett Favre played in 302 NFL games in his career; he was sacked 525 times and was involved in other collisions with large human beings at least as many times.  So, how many concussions did he suffer in days before there were “protocols” and examinations and removal from games?

Finally, a closing remark from Brett Favre:

“I can’t believe I survived, not only my life, but I am still playing football ’cause half of those eight or nine years I don’t even remember.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

The calendar says that it’s Friday and Friday around here means Football Friday, so let me get right to it.  Last week’s Six-Pack only had one item in it, so here is the status from last week and the results year to date (YTD):

• Spreads & Totals:        1-0-0                YTD:    1-2-0
• Money Line Parlays:   0-0                   YTD:    0-2            Loss = $200

My “Sleeper Team” for 2026 – – the Florida Gators – – had an easy time of it against Florida Atlantic; the Gators prevailed 66-21.  We shall see how that sort of performance carries over into SEC competition.

The Linfield University Wildcats opened their 2026 season with a 41-15 victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh.  The Wildcats have this week off and will resume their pursuit of yet another winning season in football on Sept 19^th when they travel to Orange CA to take on the Panthers of Chapman University.  Chapman’s record this season is 0-1 having lost its opener to Hardin-Simmons 44-24.  Go Wildcats!

One of the things that makes writing these rants even more fun is that readers get in the spirit of frivolity here.  Last week, I said that I would be featuring players I ran across with unusual names; within about 3 hours of posting that I received two emails with contributions; so, this week I have two names to cite just for fun:

• Galamama Mulbah –  RB – Merrimack
• Hollywood Smothers – RB – Texas

 

College Football Commentary:

 

I did not have Greg Schiano (Rutgers) on a hot seat in my College Football Pre-Season analysis, but after losing at home to UMass by 2 TDs as a 29-point favorite …  The win for UMass broke a 16-game losing streak for the Minutemen; it was the longest losing streak in Division 1-A college football until last week.

LSU did not put on its roster last week two players who had tried to make NFL teams but were unsuccessful in that endeavor.  There are still court proceedings in medias res on the matter, and the SEC has “threatened” to expel LSU from the SEC.  Interestingly, we have not yet heard from lawyers representing the two players in this saga; so, I doubt that this is nearly over and done with.

As you watch college football games this season, you will see a proliferation of jersey patches on the front of uniforms just below the shoulder.  The jersey patch for UTEP is sort of interesting; UTEP’s nickname is the Miners:

• The jersey patch is for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
• Why not the United Mine Workers?

Down in Division II football there was a game with some unusual happenings.  Harding University beat Northwestern Oklahoma 76-0.  The game was called off with about 14 minutes to play in the fourth quarter; one of the players had a severe medical emergency and the coaches agreed to end the game at that point.  So, this game was really only three-quarters of a normal football game but check these stats from ”three-quarters of a football game”:

• Harding gained 747 yards on offense
• Harding averaged 12.8 yards per offensive play
• NW Oklahoma had ZERO first downs
• NW Oklahoma had minus-26 yards total offense.

I believe that is the outline of a good old-fashioned beat down …

 

Games Last Week:

            There was a plethora of huge spread games last week; so, I will look for “surprising results” here.

Tarleton St. 20  Bowling Green 13:  Tarleton St. was a 15-point underdog and is a Division 1- AA team pulling an upset over a Division 1- A team – – albeit one in the MAC.

Auburn 17  Baylor 16:  This was one of the few games last week not set up to be a glorified scrimmage by the favored squad.

Oregon 34  Boise St. 27:  Boise St. may have lost this game, but this should be a positive for them at the end of the season if they are indeed under consideration for the CFP: as the Group of 6 entry.  Oregon was ranked #2 in the country at kickoff.

The Citadel 43  UNC-Charlotte 41 (2 OT):  Another upset by a Division 1-AA school …

Tulsa 24  Oklahoma St. 10:  This was supposed to be the start of a “new era” for Oklahoma St., but it looks a lot like a continuation of the old era.  The Cowboys looked like winners on the stat sheet – – until you came across the 4 turnovers in the game.  That is two years in a row where Tulsa has beaten Oklahoma St. and the last time that kind of losing streak against Tulsa for the Cowboys was back in 1952.  Just for perspective, Dwight Eisenhower beat Adlai Stevenson for the first time in 1952.

Michigan 13  W. Michigan 12:  You have read about and probably seen the final seconds of that game; I have nothing new to add here about why the officials put 1 second on the clock to give the Wolverines one last shot at a “Hail Mary” play which worked and changed this from a W. Michigan win to a W. Michigan loss.  Both defenses were stout here.  Michigan gained only 276 yards of offense – – including 47 yards on the final play.  W. Michigan gained only 221 yards in the game.   Just a thought from this game:

• If “football” needs replay to “get it right”, then “football” also needs “transparency into replay” to be confident they “got it right”.

LSU 51  Clemson 10:  I said last week that Lane Kiffin would not take his foot off the gas once he got a lead.  The score was 31-3 at halftime and LSU put another 13 on the board in the third quarter.

UCLA 45  Cal 24:  This game was a 2-point spread at kickoff and the score was tied at 24 as the 4^th quarter started.  Then came the deluge …

Colorado 14  Georgia Tech 13:  The Buffaloes scored the winning TD with 37 seconds left in the game.

Washington 24  Washington St. 10:  The Apple Cup game played in September just feels wrong.

Ole Miss 41  Louisville 38:  The teams combined for 957 yards of offense in the game.  Ole Miss won on a 48-yard field goal as time expired.

SMU 27  Florida St. 24:  Perhaps this is not just a loss for FSU but maybe an omen?  The Seminoles are 1-1 this year with the victory coming over New Mexico St.  Here is the upcoming schedule:

• At Alabama – – Bama is ranked #12 in the nation this morning
• Vs. Central Arkansas – – A loss at home in this game would be apocalyptic
• Vs. UVa – – The Cavaliers are ranked #25 in the nation this morning
• At Louisville – – the Cardinals are ranked #24 in the nation this morning
• At Miami – – The Hurricanes are ranked #7 in the nation this morning

 

Games This Week:

 

(Fri Nite) Rutgers at BC – 3 (54):  Rutgers lost outright at home to UMass last week and BD is only a 3-point favorite at home.  That does not speak well for BC football in 2026.

Oregon – 23 at Oklahoma St (55):  Based on last week’s debacle for the Cowboys, this is a surprisingly low spread in my mind.

Oklahoma – 4.5 at Michigan (44):  After the way Michigan won last week, lots of fans who would be “neutral observers” for this game will be pulling for the Sooners this week.  I think this is going to be a defensive game so give me the UNDER; put it in the Six-Pack

Penn St. – 24 at Temple (50):  Technically this is a home game for Temple, but I suspect there will be more Penn St. fans in attendance in Philly.

Cal at Syracuse – 4 (57):  there has been a lot of line movement in this game.  The spread opened with Cal as a 1-point favorite and the Total Line was only 53.5.

Memphis at Boise St. – 8 (56.5):  Both teams have their eye on an invitation to the CFP in December.  I thought about naming this the college game of the week for a while.  Both teams have quality defenses, so I don’t know where that 57^th point is coming from.  Give me the UNDER in this game; put that in the Six-Pack.

Middle Tennessee St. at Marshall – 12.5 (57):  Another game with a big line movement.  This spread opened with Marshal as 17-point favorites.

Ohio St at Texas – 2 (50):  Ohio St. opened as 2-point favorites here.  Texas has lost to Ohio st. twice in the last two seasons; they will be motivated here.  Nevertheless, I like Ohio St plus the points in this game; put that in the Six-Pack.  Obviously, this is the College Game of the Week.

Howard at Indiana – 56.5 (65):  If you love underdogs, that is a huge helping of points …

Sacred Heart at UMass – 23.5 (53.5):  That is not a typo; UMass is favored by more than 3 TDs against a team not named Comatose State.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

In “breaking news” on Thursday this week that sounds like you have heard it before, Tua Tagovailoa suffered back pain and was listed as “Limited” by the Falcons.  Michael Penix Jr. is also unable to play so what is left for the Falcons if indeed Tua is indeed “Limited”?

• Cooper Rush would be the starter
• Backup QB would be Jack Strand.

You are forgiven if you don’t know Jack Strand from Jack and the Beanstalk.  He was an undrafted rookie free agent in 2026 out of Minnesota State-Moorhead, a Division II school.  His college stats are impressive; I’ll leave it at that.

Netflix carried last night’s Rams/Niners game from Australia.  [Aside: I have no explanation as to why the stadium decided to sing “Sweet Caroline” at one point in the game.]  The Netflix announcers for the game were Noah Eagle and Luke Kuechly, and I thought they did a great job.  Presumably, they will do the rest of the games that will be carried by Netflix throughout this season.  For reference, here are those remaining Netflix games:

• Nov. 25: Packers at Rams
• Dec. 25: Packers at Bears
• Dec. 25: Bills at Broncos
• Jan. 9: TBD – This is a Week 18 game; no TV schedule is available yet.

 

In the two games already played this week, the Seahawks’ defense led the team to a win over the Pats despite Sam Darnold limping to the locker room after only 1 series in the game.  The Pats seemed to have the game in hand until Drake Maye threw 3 INTs in the 4^th quarter.  The Pats also lost WR AJ Brown to an ankle injury in the first half of the game.

The Niners’ defense dominated the Rams last night in Melbourne, Australia and Brock Purdy threw 3 TDs in a surprisingly easy win for the Niners.  The Niners outgained the Rams by 89 yards including 174 yards rushing.  Christian McCaffrey looked more explosive in this game than he did most of last season; perhaps he found the Fountain of Youth?

Deebo Samuel caught 7 passes, ran the ball once and returned kickoffs for the Niners in the game.  Somehow, the Commanders could not find room for him on their roster…

 

Games this Week:

 

Browns at Jags – 9 (40):  Is this Deshaun Watson 2.0 or Deshaun Watson 5.0?  Does that matter?

Bucs at Bengals – 3.5 (50.5):  The Bengals spent money and draft picks on defenders in the last offseason; that is uncharacteristic for the franchise.  Let’s see how it pays off starting here …

Ravens – 3 at Colts (47.5):  I assume that Daniel Jones has recovered from his surgery sufficiently to play the way he did last season.  I also assume that Lamar Jackson is motivated to bounce back from his not-up-to-snuff season in 2025.  So, I see lots of points here and I’ll take the game to go OVER; put it in the Six-Pack

Falcons at Steelers – 4.5 (41.5):  The spread here opened at 2 points before news of a possible back injury to Tua Tagovailoa (see above).  Even if Tua can play, I think this is too much of a stretch for the Falcons to keep up.  Give me the Steelers to win and cover; put it in the Six-Pack.

If you are a trend player, here is a stat for you:

• The Falcons have NEVER won a game in Pittsburgh

Bills – 1 at Texans (45):  This is my runner-up for Game of the Week; both teams expect to win their division and the game pits an excellent defense against an excellent QB.  I don’t know if this game will be picked up by any of my local stations, but if it is, I will be tuning in.

Bears – 3 at Panthers (47):  This will be another interesting game to watch.  The Panthers have a good defense, and the Bears have a good offense.  Obversely, the Panthers have an anemic offense, and the Bears have a porous defense.  Flip a coin …

Jets at Titans – 1.5 (38.5):  Obviously, this is the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.  Unless it ends in a tie, one of these two teams will at the very least share the Division lead on Monday morning.  Seriously…

Saints at Lions – 7 (50):  This is an interesting game; the Saints finished strongly in 2025, and it appeared as if Tyler Shough and coach Kellen Moore had performed a Vulcan mind-meld.  (Hat Tip to Mr. Spock)

Cards at Chargers – 9.5 (47):  Jim Harbaugh’s teams tend to start fast and that is not good news for the Cards who appear to be outmanned here.

Dolphins at Raiders – 3 (40.5):  On paper, the Raiders are significantly improved for 2026.  Kirk Cousins is an upgrade at QB and Tyler Linderbaum should improve the OL all by himself.  Raider fans should keep an eye on Nakobe Dean; if he can avoid injuries that have bugged him so far in his career, he will upgrade that defense too.  I think the Raiders are the better team and will show it clearly here; I’ll take the Raiders to win and cover; put it in the Six-Pack.

Commanders at Eagles – 5 (44):  Both teams have lots of questions to answer in 2026 and this game might be the opening attempt to provide answers to a couple of those questions.

1. What will the Eagles’  passing game be like without AJ Brown?
2. The Commanders’ defense was pitifully slow in 2025; has that been rectified?

Packers at Vikes – 1 (46):  The opening spread had the Packers as 1-point favorites here.  The Packers will be without the services of RB Josh Jacobs and LB Micah Parsons for this game and the Packers’ OL is good but not great.  The Vikes will be blitzing and aggressive on defense all game long; I like the Vikes to win and cover here; put it in the Six-Pack.

(Sun Nite) Cowboys – 3 at Giants (48.5):  There are two important reasons to watch this game:

1. The Cowboys will be strong  on offense.  They have added a few people to the defense, but those folks will have to demonstrate that they have taken a terrible defense from last year to a level that would make Lake Woebegone proud – – just a little above normal.
2. The Giants will be a different team playing a different – – more disciplined – – style of football under John Harbaugh.  I think the Giants are a team on the rise – – but how much have they risen by now?

(Mon Nite) Broncos at Chiefs – 2.5 (43.5):  Patrick Mahomes will start at QB for the Chiefs after knee surgery and not playing in the Exhibition Season.  The Broncos’ defense is likely to harass him for most of the game, and it will be interesting to see how his mobility has been affected by his injury/surgery/rehab.  Given the two games already played this week, this game is probably the Game of the Week.

            So, let me summarize the Six-Pack for the week:

• Oklahoma/Michigan UNDER 44
• Ohio St. +2 against Texas
• Memphis/Boise St. UNDER 56.5
• Vikes – 1 over Packers
• Steelers – 4.5 over Falcons
• Ravens/Colts OVER 47.5

And just for fun, here are two Money Line Parlays:

• Broncos @ +130
• Chargers @ minus-480                      $100 wager to win $178

And …

• Raiders @ minus-165
• Steelers @ minus-225                        $100 wager to win $132

Finally, I hope to get this season off to a good start with this Six-Pack and two Money Line Parlays; so, here is a positive thought by businessman Gil Penchina:

“Momentum begets momentum, and the best way to start is to start.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

The NFL regular season began last night with a game between two teams that have high hopes for the 2026 season.  As is often the case, those high hopes from last night require a look at the other end of the spectrum – – the teams whose hopes must be tempered significantly for reasons of reality.  There are two simultaneous NFL “races” going on in the regular season:

1. The race to the Super Bowl and the Lombardi Trophy
2. The race to the Overall #1 Pick in the NFL Draft next year.

To maintain my “Curmudgeon Cred” let me examine that second race – – the one that does not get much attention until late December.  In my NFL Preseason Analysis, I identified the Arizona Cardinals as the team that will have the worst regular season record; I stand by that prediction but must acknowledge that there are other teams that could sink to the bottom.  Here is my list of six teams that have a realistic chance to be “on the clock” for their Draft pick as most fans are focused on the start of the playoffs.

Interestingly, the Cards are the only NFC team on my list; the other five teams are all in the AFC.  I will list them here alphabetically:

1. Browns:  The trade of Myles Garrett to the Rams back in the Spring leads me to believe the Browns’ braintrust knows this roster is deficient.  The defense is OK and because the defense is OK, I don’t really think the Browns will have the worst record in the league, but the offense has nothing but question marks.  And the biggest question marks are at the most important position – – Quarterback. The Browns only own 5 games in 2025 and have not significantly improved; so, they are on this list because the bottom just might fall out.
2. Cards:  The Cards have a few upper crust players in Budda Baker, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Jeremiyah Love and Trey McBride, but those guys are not nearly enough to carry the Cards against the rest of the NFC West which is stacked with talent and top-notch coaching.  I doubt the Cards will be less than a TD underdog in all 6 of their divisional games; outside the division, the Cards draw the Lions, Chargers, Broncos, Cowboys, Chiefs and Eagles.  Ouch!
3. Dolphins:  The Dolphins have almost $100M in dead cap money this year. The salary cap this year is $301M; so, the Dolphins are playing with only two-thirds of useable salary cap.  That means the team is overloaded with young/rookie players just to fit 63 folks into that collapsed cap space.  The Dolphins have a rookie head coach who did well at the college level; so, if you are looking for a bright spot there, he has had success coaching young football players.  The schedule makes the Dolphins play all the NFC North teams and all the AFC West teams.  I foresee lots of empty seats in Hard Rock Stadium this year.
4. Jets:  No exposition on NFL futility would be complete without a look at the NY Jets.  After winning only 3 games last season, the Jets added some recognizable names to the roster in the offseason – – but they are recognizable because they have all been around for a long time.  Demario Davis, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith have all had periods of quality play, but it is not clear that any of them are still capable of their peak performances of the past.  One factor that could assure the Jets staying out of the race for the worst record in 2026 is the schedule.  The Jets play the Dolphins (twice), Titans, Browns, Raiders and the Cards.  They have 6 games against teams on this list.
5. Raiders:  I doubt the Raiders belong here, but this franchise has a propensity to screw things up ever since they lost the Super Bowl to the Buccaneers in 2002.  The Raiders seem to have their “QB of the Future”, and they are doing something smart with him – – letting him watch and learn about NFL play before throwing him into harm’s way.  Kirk Cousins is an upgrade at QB to the extent that he should cause defenses to provide a bit more running room for Ashton Jeanty in 2026 as compared to 2025.  They say that football games are won in the trenches, and the Raiders’ OL and DL are hardly great, but the Raiders have the best “QB situation” of all the teams listed here by a wide margin.
6. Titans:  Do you believe in Cam Ward?  That is the essential question for the Titans now and in the near future.  The coaching change in Tennessee is a major upgrade; Robert Saleh’s “failure” with the Jets was no more his fault than it was “Fireman Ed’s” fault, and Brain Daboll has had success as an OC in the league as well.  On defense, Jeffrey Simmons is a bellwether on the inside DL, but there is not a lot else to feel excited about.

            So, there are my “Sloppy Six” teams for 2026 and interestingly two games on the Week 1 dance card involves head-to-head games among the “Sloppy Six”:

• Jets at Titans – 1 (38.5)
• Dolphins at Raiders – 3 (40.5)

At least two of the “Sloppy Six” will emerge as “undefeated” at the end of Week 1.  Let the games begin …

Finally, this from Bill Parcells:

“I’ll call somebody ‘dumb’ or ‘stupid’ if they make a dumb or stupid play. I don’t know any other word for it, and if they don’t like the word, that’s too bad.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

I must admit that I thought the Jerry Sandusky case was a done deal.  Based on reports from last week, that is not the situation.  Until now, I was unaware that there is an ongoing appeal of his conviction and his lawyers are trying to get his case removed from Pennsylvania State Courts and into Federal Court.  And just last week, I read that one of Sandusky’s accusers wants to recant his testimony saying he was coached and pressured by prosecutors prior to the original trial.

I don’t understand why the lawyers want this case in Federal Court as opposed to Pennsylvania State Court; but given that they seem to have been working toward that objective for several years, there must be some advantage there.

I am unhappy with the statement of one of the purported victims that he now wants to recant his testimony and that he was pressured into saying whatever he did say in the original trial about 15 years ago.  Lady Justice is portrayed as being blind to symbolize that only the weight of the evidence on the scales will decide guilt or innocence.  However, that also implies that Lady Justice cannot see how the evidence presented by either side has been obtained.

Do not misinterpret here.  I am not suggesting that Jerry Sandusky is as clean as the driven snow.  As I recall, he faced several dozen charges and was found guilty of just about all of them; I don’t know what the basis of his ongoing appeal might be.  What bothers me is a victim saying he was pressured to testify as he did; that is a bad situation no matter how you look at it; the victim lied in the trial and the prosecutor coached him in that lie.  As we learned in algebra class:

• (Not Good) X (Not Good) = (Not Good)²

Moving on …  After the final NFL Exhibition Games were in the books so to speak, the league and the players union agreed to implement a new “suspension rule” for players who are flagged for five specific penalties that are highly injurious.  Those penalties are for:

1. Horse collar tackle
2. Hip drop tackle
3. Blindside block
4. Hit on a defenseless player
5. Launching

Players who commit three such penalties in the course of a season will be suspended for a game meaning they will lose one-seventeenth of their contract value.  Moreover, the system of fines for single occurrences of these penalties remains in place; the league and the union have turned up the volume on the financial risk associated with such play.  All players begin the 2026 season with a clean slate but here is a real kicker:

• The accounting continues over from season to season.

One more NFL note today …  The Jax Jags play their home games in EverBank Stadium.  The stadium is  undergoing “significant renovation” which will necessitate removing some of the seating.  Maximum capacity for EverBank Stadium this year will be 43,500, which is the lowest in attendance in the NFL by a wide margin.  The smallest stadium in the league will be the Bills’ New Highmark Stadium that will open this season; it seats 60,108.

The “significant renovation” will not be completed this season and evidently the construction required to finish the job will render EverBank Stadium inoperable for the 2027 season.  Not to worry, the Jags will not be playing in London for the entire season; rather, the team will play home games in relatively nearby Orlando in Camping World Stadium which hosts several college bowl games every December.  The plan says that all will be ready at EverBank Stadium for the start of the 2028 NFL regular season.

Finally, this from Stephen Leacock:

“It is to be observed that ‘angling’ is the name given to fishing by people who can’t fish.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Today I want to “catch up” with some comments about stories that have been accumulating on my clipboard.  I’ll start with the sale of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to Stan Kroenke for $4B; the deal is set to close in the “first quarter of 2027”.  Kroenke has a full suite of sports enterprises to include:

• LA Rams – NFL
• Arsenal – English Premier League
• Denver Nuggets – NBA
• Colorado Avalanche – NHL
• Colorado Rapids – MLS

In addition, Kroenke owns SoFi Stadium in LA where the next Super Bowl game will be played.

The Angels have been owned by Arte Moreno since 2003 and have not been overly successful in that span of time; the Angels have not been to the playoffs since 2014 and have not won a playoff game since 2009.  Moreover, the team missed the playoffs with Mike Trout on the roster plus Shohei Ohtani for a six-year period.  That record of futility does not apply to the other franchises in Kroenke’s portfolio.

• The Rams won the Super Bowl a few years ago
• Arsenal won the EPL last season
• Nuggets were NBA Champs 2 years ago
• Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022.

I am a little surprised at this franchise sale given the timing; MLB and the players’ union appear to be on a crash course for a new CBA because the current one expires on December 1, 2026.  In fact, I might be able to convince myself that this transaction signals a much more benign interpretation of the impending “labor strife”.  Here is the question I ask myself:

• If the impending labor battle could really cause the loss of a full season of baseball and even signal an apocalyptic collapse of the sport as some have opined, why would someone smart enough to have amassed a net worth of $27.6B buy in now?

I do not doubt that there will be rancor in the negotiations and that there is a real possibility of either a strike or a lockout or both over the winter.  The last time this happened back in 2021, there was a lockout that delayed the start of Spring Training and the MLB regular season – – but all 162 regular season games were contested.  Maybe he senses that both sides have so much to lose by killing off a full season that they will eventually come to their senses and find a settlement that both sides can live with.

Whenever a sport is in the midst of a CBA negotiation, I like to remind everyone here that when you boil the situation down to its essence, the owners and the players are partners in an enterprise that provides entertainment for fans such that the fans spend disposable income and spare time on the entertainment product.  Neither side can possibly generate the kind of total revenue that MLB generates without the other side’s involvement.

Moving on …  I read a report in the LA Times that focused on how the area needs to prepare to host the Olympics in 2028; it is less than two years in the future.  The item in the report that stood out to me is that the city will dedicate one lane of traffic on all the freeways exclusively to “Olympic travel”.  It has been many years since I have been to LA; I used to go there several times a year in my pre-Curmudgeon career.  Traffic on the freeways in LA was horrible then and most surveys of highway systems in US cities today say that LA traffic is still really bad.  So, how will removing one lane of traffic on all the freeways work?

And here is another question:

• How will they enforce this restriction?

Finally, today’s closing remark comes from Stan Kroenke:

“Economics is about creating win-win situations. But in sports, someone loses.

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………