The Sports Curmudgeon

I have lived in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington DC for almost 55 years.  I grew up reading newspapers – – morning and evening editions – – and that tradition continues to this day except that there do not seem to be any evening newspapers any more.  Obviously, I have been a reader of the Washington Post for a long time now.   Back in the 1980s, the Post hired Thomas Boswell as a sports columnist and he plied his trade with the paper until his retirement in 2021.  Let me give you a synoptic view of Thomas Boswell:

• When he writes about any sport or any subject related to sports, he is merely “Very Good”.
• When he writes about baseball, you need to sit down, put your phone on silent, and block out any distractions while you read.  One does not merely read a Boswell on baseball piece, one experiences it.

I learned this morning – – by reading the Washington Post naturally – – that Thomas Boswell will be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer for his writings over the years.  It is an honor well-deserved.  Every once in a while, Boswell “comes out of retirement” for a cameo appearance in the Sports Section and coincidentally, he has a column in today’s Post concurrent with the announcement of his election to the Hall of Fame.  Here is a link to Boswell’s column today; I commend it to your reading.

Moving on …  When the NY Jets lost to the Miami Dolphins last weekend, it did two things:

1. It kept the Dolphins’ playoff hopes alive – – and on life support in the “NFL’s ICU”
2. It dropped the Jets’ record to 3-10 and eliminated them from the playoffs.

This year marks the 14^th consecutive season where the Jets will be watching the playoffs from the comfort of their living rooms, and it opened up speculation that the Jets might – – or even should – – tank the rest of the season to get the best possible draft position.   As of this morning, the Jets would draft 7^th next April.  If you roam around the sports websites this morning, you can find more than a few headlines with variants on the Jets saying “No tank you” to any such suggestions.

While it is easy to conclude that tanking a current season guaranteed to be a bad one at best is a good idea, I do not think tanking makes much sense and I do not think tanking as an intentional act can be done effectively.  For a team to tank a season – – lose on purpose to get a better draft slot – – requires several conscious choices:

• The losing must be done with a patina of effort on the surface.  If defenses use matador-like techniques instead of tackling, it will diminish the product itself and could bring down the “Wrath of the Commish” as the guardian of the “Integrity of the Game”.
• Players need to look like they are trying – – but not to play as well as they possibly can.
• Coaches must create game plans that are doomed as soon as the ink dries on the play sheets.
• GMs would need to appear to be laser-focused on drafting and scouting and nothing else.
• Owners need to be on board too.
• Team shills must be willing and able tools in the plan going forth on local sports radio programs and feeding positive notes to local writers to keep fans from turning away permanently.

Other than all that, tanking should be a piece of cake.  Except … what is in it for the various actors there to do what needs to be done?

Most contracts in the NFL are not guaranteed so players who do not play as well as they can will put “on film” a few games of diminished performance.  If/when they get cut from the team that is now “tanking” as the team “goes in a different direction”, those “bad games” will not make them valuable commodities to other teams.  Participating in a “tanking scheme” does not enhance individual player value; for them, it is a bad economic choice.

Coaches on a team that is bad enough even to consider tanking are surely on a hot seat if not odds-on favorites to be fired at the end of the “tanking season”.  Unless those coaches have decided that this miserable season is the end of their coaching careers – – hanging up the whistle so to speak – – they too have an economic motivation to stay away from a tanking endeavor.

GMs for a team bad enough to think about tanking will be asked about how such a roster came to be and with such questioning will come some jeopardy for their jobs.

The owner of a tanking team would need to have sufficient ego-strength to withstand the scorn and the invectives that would come his/her way.  In general, NFL owners have large egos but not necessarily ones that are robust in times of derision.

It seems to me that the only individuals who would take to their task(s) enthusiastically and effectively are the team shills.  Putting lipstick on a pig is the ultimate challenge for a group of folks in the PR and Communications Departments; so, making a “tanking team” seem like loveable losers and valiant warriors struggling against all odds would be an ultimate opportunity.

Clearly teams that look at the calendar in early December and see their record at 3-10 – – or even worse if you are on the Raiders or the Giants this year – – will approach each game with a diminished sense of urgency as compared to teams “on the bubble” for the playoffs.  But tanking is much more than diminished urgency; tanking involves intent to fail.  And I don’t see where many of the participants in such an action have a motivation to take part.

Finally, apropos of nothing, I will close with this thought from Hunter S. Thompson:

“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.”

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

 

 

Let me take you back in time to about 2021.  The KC Chiefs were dominating the AFC standings averaging more than 28 points per game.  The Offensive Coordinator was Eric Bienemy and when he was interviewed for some head coaching vacancies and did not get any of them, lots of sports pundits suggested racism was at play.  Bienemy returned to the Chiefs for the 2022 season for another dominant season where the team averaged over 29 points per game.  Once again, no head coaching offers came his way and he left the Chiefs – – ostensibly to get out from under the shadow of Andy Reid there – – and became the Commanders’ Offensive Coordinator in 2023.

Once again, columnists and TV talking heads danced around the “racism flagpole” asserting that such a lateral move to prove oneself would not happen to a white Offensive Coordinator.  Let me insert here for the sake of clarity:

• Racism exists in the United States in 2024.  Notwithstanding the twice-elected Barrack Obama as President of the United States, this is not a “post-racial society” that we live in today.  Eric Bienemy may indeed have been given higher hurdles to cross than white coaching candidates were given.  And, until we know the inner workings of the minds of the people conducting the interviews and making the hiring decisions, that can only be a conjecture.

Picking up the story … Eric Bienemy came to the Washington Commanders with great fanfare; all through the offseason and in training camp he was portrayed as a tough-love coach who held everyone accountable for every assignment – – whatever that means specifically.  And then the 2023 season began.

• In 2022, the Commanders were 8-8-1 and scored a total of 321 points (18.9 points per game).  It was the Commanders’ stingy defense in 2022 that produced that even record not the offense.
• In 2023 with Eric Bienemy directing the offense – – basically the same personnel as in 2022 – – the Commanders were 4-13-0 and scored a total of 329 points (19.4 points per game).  The Commanders’ defense fell apart and the defense was mainly responsible for the collapse in the record.

However, look at the offensive production.  The addition of Eric Bienemy and his “coach ‘em up” abilities increased point production by all of 8 points in 17 games.  The existence of racism in the United States has no bearing on those numbers.  The sports pundit class was silent at the end of the Commanders’ 2023 season on the subject of the mediocre team offense; the pundits were far more focused on the new team ownership group needing to clean house and get a new coach to create a new culture for the team – – and I do not recall any of them beating a drum for Eric Bienemy to be that new coach.

They say that a new broom sweeps clean, and Eric Bienemy lost his job in Washington with the arrival of new owners.  But he landed the job as the Offensive Coordinator at UCLA which was moving into the Big-10 Conference for 2024.  So how did that work out?

• In 2023 – – while Eric Bienemy toiled with the Commanders – – the UCLA Bruins averaged 26.5 points per game.  They ranked 70^th in the country in scoring in 2023; that is certainly not impressive.
• In 2024 – – with Eric Bienemy in charge – – the UCLA Bruins averaged 18.4 points per game.  They ranked 126^th in the country in scoring in 2024; that is certainly even less impressive than the 2023 performance.

Once again, the existence of racism in the United States has no bearing on those numbers.  And late last week, Eric Bienemy was fired by UCLA as their Offensive Coordinator.  His agent said that this was the plan all along and that Eric Bienemy had always expected to return to the NFL for the 2025 season.  We shall see; my guess is that he will do so and will likely do so as an Offensive Coordinator once again.

I have no quarrel with Eric Bienemy; my “issues” are with the sports punditry class which is now dead silent about how he has been held back by obvious racial motivations.  Might they not even suggest that perhaps – – just maybe – – they were wrong in alleging racism over the past several years?  Is there no room to suggest that perhaps Eric Bienemy’s laudable performances in KC with the Chiefs had a to do with the presence of Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce – – not to mention Andy Reid.

Like sports columnists and TV talking heads, I too am in the business of offering opinions on things related to sports.   And one of the guarantees that comes with being in the business of offering opinions is this:

• If you have not yet been wrong in any of your opinions, you soon will be.

For example, I offered my opinion that Tom Brady would not be a good color analyst because I did not think he ever looked comfortable behind a microphone.  I believe I was wrong in that assessment; Tom Brady has obviously worked on “learning the ropes” of sports broadcasting; he is significantly better now than he was back in September.  He is not John Madden as a color analyst – – and may never become that good – – but he has improved well beyond what I would have expected.  I was wrong.

Prior to the start of NFL seasons, I predict – – offer my opinion – – on how the regular season will turn out.  And then, in January or February, I go back and point out where I was right and where I was wrong.  It is usually slightly embarrassing to do so, but the fact that I continue to do so proves conclusively that it is not fatal to offer a wrong opinion.

I do not know why Eric Bienemy never got the call to be a head coach.  If indeed any hiring official denied him a chance as a head coach based even in a small part by his skin color, I would need to consult a Thesaurus to come up with a list of unflattering adjectives to describe that hiring official.  But I can never know that to be the case, and it is exactly that inability to know that to be the case which makes it improper to assert that it is or has been the case.

Sports organizations in the US have shown that they have a way of dealing with racism when it is known and proven to exist.  Marge Schott was forced to sell the Cincinnati Reds; Donald Sterling was forced to sell the Los Angeles Clippers; George Preston Marshall was forced to integrate his team and organization.  Obvious racism existed in those cases and the sports world reacted to correct those situations.  If similarly obvious racism comes to exist related to Eric Bienemy’s coaching career, precedent says that the sports world will not allow it to continue to exist.  There is no benefit to be derived from sports pundits emulating “The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf”.

Finally, let me close today with these words from Professor Alan Dershowitz:

“I think that lawyers are terrible at admitting that they’re wrong. And not just admitting it; also realizing it. Most lawyers are very successful, and they think that because they’re making money and people think well of them, they must be doing everything right.”

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

 

 

Where to start today …?  Contrary to normal behavior, Scott Boras had his premier free agent sign before Christmas this year making a big news splash but keeping the “drama” to a minimum length.  Juan Soto will be a Met for 15 years and a reported $765M.  There is an opt out clause in there and there are supposedly incentives that could kick up the total value so take that $765M figure with a grain of salt.  Soto is only 26 years old; he has been in the major leagues since he was 19 and his batting stats have been prodigious.

• At the age of 21, he led the National League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging.
• At the age of 21 he led MLB in OPS posting a figure of 1.185.
• Normalized to a 162-game schedule, he projects to have an OPS of .953 with 32 HRs and 102 RBIs.

Two things about this signing stand out for me:

1. Soto was a Yankee last year and will be a Met next year – – and the year after that and …  I have trouble imagining that sort of situation obtaining during the George Steinbrenner Era; I doubt he would have been outbid for someone like Soto and I doubly doubt that he would have been outbid by the Mets.
2. This signing is another indicator that MLB would be well served by a salary cap and salary floor.  By that I do not mean that the Mets are now prohibitive favorites to win the World Series a half-dozen times in the next decade; what I mean is that this signing demonstrates why a bunch of teams either in “smaller markets” or with owners whose pockets are not nearly as deep as the Mets’ owner’s are have little to no chance to win even one World Series.

The NFL’s mantra about “On any given Sunday …” is more than a marketing slogan.  The NFL system allows for well-managed teams to win championships even if they are not in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago.  In fact, only two of the last sixteen Super Bowl winners came from those three population centers.

Moving on – – but staying with baseball …  The Baseball Hall of Fame Eras Committee voted to induct Dick Allen and Dave Parker into the Hall of Fame righting a wrong that has existed for about 30 years.  Allen and Parker were hitters that demanded attention every time they came to the plate because both players hit more than a couple of moonshots than may have taken a day or two to come down out of the sky.  Allen died in 2020 so he never got to see his plaque in the Hall of Fame; Parker is still alive and will experience that joy.

Next up …  The field for the first of the expanded CFPs has been set; the Selection Committee has spoken.  Remember, I said that the Committee was not charged with identifying the 12 best teams in the country; they were given parameters regarding conference champions and seeding rules that they had to follow.  And, in fact, I do not believe that they came up with the 12 best teams for the CFP field.

I do NOT think any team was “snubbed” nor do I think that there were any backroom shenanigans that shaped the field.  In my opinion, the Committee had to minimize the problems created by those constraints, but they also made a mistake or two.

• Looking at the four teams receiving BYEs for the first round of the tournament, I have no problem with either Oregon or Georgia on that list.  I do have a problem with both Boise St. and Arizona St. when I try to square “best teams” with “first-round BYEs”.
• I do not think that both Clemson and SMU belong in the field.  Clemson is the conference champ – – having beaten SMU in the Championship Game – – so they must be in the field by rule.
• Now, even if the Committee wants to have both Clemson and SMU in the field, how can they rank SMU ahead of Clemson when Clemson beat SMU about 24 hours before the CFP field was announced?

My opinions here have nothing to do with stats; I am applying strength of schedule and “the eyeball test” to form my rankings and using those two metrics, I believe:

• Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina are more worthy of being in the CFP than SMU or Indiana.
• Based on my “eyeball test”, I do not think either SMU or Indiana could have posted the records that they did had they played the same rigorous schedule that the three SEC teams did.

This expanded CFP will play its first game on December 20^th when Notre Dame and Indiana square off.  The final game will be on January 20, 2025.  The good news is that the National Champion will be decided on the field.

Finally, since today was about mistakes (by the CFP Selection Committee) and correcting a longstanding mistake (Dick Allen and Dave Parker getting into the Hall of Fame), let me close with these words from Cicero:

“Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.”

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

 

 

I have officially recovered from my food-induced coma from last week and I am ready to try a good old-fashioned Football Friday for this week.  This one will present the Brothel Defense Award for 2024, and it will set up the imaginary SHOE Tournament that would identify this year’s worst college football team.  So, buckle up while I get a couple of standard items out of the way.

Last weekend, the Linfield University Wildcats won their first game in the Division III college football tournament beating Texas Lutheran 65-3.  This week, the Wildcats stay home and play host to Mary Hardin-Baylor who will be making a trek of about 2000 miles from Belton, TX for the game.  The Crusaders bring an 8-3 record to the kickoff.  Go Wildcats!

My pre-season selection as a “sleeper team” for 2024 was Nebraska.  The Cornhuskers managed to make themselves bowl eligible by winning 6 games which is an improvement over the last 5 seasons – – but in truth, I thought they might win as many as 8 games.  No matter: Nebraska fans will get to travel to wherever their team gets to play one more game this year.  Go Huskers!

 

College Football Commentary:

 

As we come down to the weekend that will determine conference champions in college football, I want to start by identifying teams with laudatory records:

• Undefeated in 2024:
  • Oregon.  That’s the list
• One Loss in 2024:
  • Army
  • Boise St.
  • Indiana
  • Notre Dame
  • Penn St.
  • SMU
  • Texas

Barring something really weird going down this weekend, I cannot see any scenario where both Boise St. and Army make the CFP.  I can envision ways that neither one makes the playoffs, but not any way for them both to get in.  Here is a link to an ESPN.com article that will give you the latest CFP Rankings by the Selection Committee so you can see how the committee sees the college football landscape prior to this championship weekend.

Two teams ranked very highly – – Penn St. at #3 and Notre Dame at #4 – – are question marks in my mind.  Neither team played a difficult schedule and both teams looked good-but-not-more-than-that too often for me to think they are as good as those rankings indicate.  But I need not worry about that now because the CFP will determine the national champion – – and sort of give us a better perspective on the rankings via the eyeball test – – on the field and on TV.

For me, the much more interesting aspect of the CFP is down at the cut line for invitations.  Based on the rankings alone Miami would be in the playoffs while Ole Miss and South Carolina would be out.  Having seen all three of those teams this year, I think Miami is the weakest of the bunch – – but that is just me and I don’t have a vote.

Let me look at a few of the key game results from last weekend.

Michigan 13  Ohio St. 10:  The Buckeyes were 21-point favorites in this game and – to use a horseracing term – – spit the bit.  Michigan will go to a minor bowl game with the win; Ohio St. will sit out the Big-10 Championship Game as a result of the loss.  There are some in Columbus who want Ryan Day to leave town and for the Buckeyes to get a new coach.  Day’s overall record at Ohio St is 66-10 which is fine – – except – – his record against Michigan is only 1-4.

S Carolina 17  Clemson 14:  Both teams are now 9-3.  That loss would certainly have left Clemson out of consideration for the CFP – – except Miami lost as well last weekend and that puts Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.  A win there gives them a guaranteed slot; a loss will send them to a minor bowl game.  Do not sleep on South Carolina:  they have three losses in 2024 but two of the losses were to Alabama (by 2 points) and to LSU (by 3 points).  The Gamecocks played a difficult schedule and played it well.

Syracuse 42  Miami 38:  Speaking of the ACC Championship Game, this loss to Syracuse took Miami out of that picture.  Two weeks ago, Miami was ranked as the #6 team by the CFP Committee; this week they dropped to #12 which is the lowest slot admissible.  Miami led 21-0 at one point in this game and still managed to lose in the end.

Notre Dame 49  USC 35:  Note the margin of victory here is 2 TDs.  The Irish got two Pick-Six scores in the 4^th quarter of the game. One was for 100 yards and the other was for 99 yards – – in the same quarter of the same game.  USC is not a great team despite its history in college football and that is what it took for Notre Dame to win the game.  As I said, the Irish are good this year; but I am not ready to label them as dominant or fearsome or anything like that.  Here are the “best teams” Notre Dame has beaten this season:

• Texas A&M – – above average team
• Georgia Tech – – above average team
• USC – – average team.

Texas 17, Texas A&M 7: The Longhorns are now 11-1 and will take on Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.   That one loss for Texas came at the hands of Georgia back in mid-October; the game was in Austin and Georgia won by 15 points.  It should be a great rematch.  In the game against Texas A&M, the Longhorns dominated the stat sheet outgaining the Aggies by just over 200 yards for the day.  Normally, such a disparity in offense leads to a much bigger margin of victory than 10 points.  Texas took a 17-0 lead with about 6 minutes to play in the second quarter.  After that score, here are the Texas possessions for the rest of the game:

• 6 plays 28 yards Missed Field Goal
• 5 plays 32 yards PUNT
• 11 plays 78 yards INT
• 12 plays 64 yards LOST FUMBLE
• 5 plays 27 yards BLOCKED PUNT
• 6 plays 21 yards PUNT
• 3 plays minus-3 yards End of Game

Indiana 66 Purdue 0:  Indiana made sure that they did not disappear from the sight of the CFP Committee with this dominant performance.  Make no mistake, Purdue is a bad football team [Foreshadowing here: you will see them in the SHOE Tournament field.] but what Indiana did to them last week is embarrassing.

• Purdue Total Offense = 67 yards
• Indiana Total Offense = 582 yards
• Purdue was 0 for 11 in third-down situations
• Purdue averaged only 1.5 yards per offensive play.

BC 34  Pitt 23:  I put this here because Pitt started out the season winning its first 7 games.  This loss was the fifth loss in a row for the Panthers.  Odd …

Colorado 52  Oklahoma St. 0:  In preseason polls, Oklahoma St. was projected to be at the top of the Big-12 standings and a participant in the conference championship game.  Not quite … The Cowboys’ overall record for 2024 was 3-9 and their conference record was 0-9.

Georgia 44  Georgia Tech 42:  It took 8 overtime periods to settle this one.  Tech dominated the stat sheet outgaining the Bulldogs by149 yards, but Georgia came out on top in this big rivalry game.

FAU 63  Tulsa 16:  Both teams are 3-9 for the season; this was not a game of importance.  The score at halftime was 42-9.  Tulsa’s “defense” gave up 362 yards rushing (13.4 yards per carry) and 656 yards of Total Offense – – to a team that had only won 2 games at kickoff time and was on the SHOE Watchlist.

And now the time has come to identify the college football Brothel Defense Award for 2024.  This “Award” celebrates the team defense that allowed the most scoring for the season; it was easy to score on just as it is easy to score in a brothel.  And the “winner” of this “award” is:

• Kent State University which gave up 44.1 points per game.

Before getting to the college games this weekend, let me identify the 8 teams that I would put in the SHOE Tournament for this year should such a tournament actually exist.

• Seed #1 Kent State:  They are the only winless team in Division 1- A college football this year and they are the winner of the Brothel Defense Award.  ‘Nuff said.
• Seed #2 Purdue:  Their record is 1-11; that win was back in August over Division 1-AA Indiana St.
• Seed #3 Southern Mississippi:  Their record is 1-11; that win was in September over Division 1-AA SE Louisiana.  And … all eleven losses were by double-digits.
• Seed #4 UMass:  Their record is 2-10 which sounds better than 1-11 except that both of those wins were over Division 1-AA schools.
• Seed #5 Tulsa:  Their record is 3-9 but just take a look at the egg they laid last weekend against FAU (see above) for why they belong here.
• Seed #6 Florida St.:  Their record is 2-10 but the Seminoles may not have been that good.  One win was over Division 1-AA Charleston Southern which finished 1-11 against Division 1-AA competition.  Yikes!
• Seed #7 Temple:  Their record is 3-9 but they have been outplayed too often to be considered clear of this potential ignominy.
• Seed #8 Oklahoma St.: Their record is 3-9 but their underperformance of expectations needs to be recognized by their placement here.

[Aside:  If you expected to see Kennesaw St. on this list with their 2-10 record, I left them out because this is their first year in Division 1-A and so they get a pass … just once.]

 

This Week’s Games:

 

(Fri Nite) Tulane – 4.5 vs, Army (45.5):  This is the American Conference Championship Game.  Army’s only loss was to Notre Dame; Tulane has lost 3 times – – to Kansas St., Oklahoma and Memphis.  When Tulane played Navy, the Green Wave won 35-0.

(Fri Nite) UNLV vs. Boise St. (58.5):  This is the Mountain West Championship Game.  If Boise St. wins here they are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the CFP; if they lose, things could get exciting.  This is a rematch from late October; back then, Boise St, went to Las Vegas and beat the Rebels 29-24.  UNLV has not lost since that game.  This game will be on the “Smurf Turf” in Boise and fortunately the weather will merely be “cold” and not “unfit for human habitation” as could be the case in early December.  Nevertheless, I think the weather will not be conducive to explosive offensive football, so I’ll take the game to stay UNDER; put that in the Betting Bundle.

Iowa St. vs. Arizona St. – 2 (50):  This is the Big-12 Championship Game.  Both teams are 10-2 for the season; they did not meet earlier in this season.  I have exactly no sense how this game will unfold; neither team has grabbed my attention so far in 2024.

Ohio vs Miami (OH) – 2 (43):  This is the MAC Championship Game.  In terms of timing, this game is on at the same time as the Iowa St./Arizona St. game.  Not exactly a compelling reason to be in front of my TV early in the afternoon on Saturday…

Georgia vs Texas – 3 (50):  This is the SEC Championship Game, and it is my College Football Game of the Week.  Texas lost once this year – – at home by 15 points to Georgia.  This is a big-time rematch.  I don’t know why the oddsmakers have Texas favored here because I think this is a “pick ’em game” so I’ll take those 3 points along with the Bulldogs; put that in the Betting Bundle.

Marshall vs. La-Lafayette – 5.5 (58):  This is the Sun Belt Championship Game.  Marshall is 9-3 this year and has won 6 games in a row; La-Lafayette is 10-2 this year.  I have now exhausted my insight into this contest…

Clemson vs, SMU – 3 (55.5):  This is the ACC Championship Game.  The winner gets into the CFP and the loser does not.  Clemson lost a close game to bitter rival South Carolina last week by a field goal; SMU is 11-1 on the season but they never played a team nearly as good as South Carolina.  Again, I think this is a “pick ‘em game”; and so once again, I will take the Tigers plus the points; put that in the Betting Bundle.

Penn St. vs. Oregon – 3.5 (50.5):  This is the Big-10 Championship Game; I thought about labeling this as the College Game of the Week for more than a couple of minutes.  I can see this game going down to the final possession and being decided by a play or two in the final three or four minutes.  I can also see this game as an Oregon blow-out.  What I cannot see is Penn St. running Oregon out of the building.  I’ll just sit back and watch this one and look for players who might be interesting draft picks for the NFL next Spring.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

The NFL regular season race has hit the quarter pole and teams in the running for playoff slots need to kick it up a notch [Hat Tip to Emeril Lagasse] in the final month of the regular season.  So let me look at the playoff picture as it stands now.  In the American Conference:

• The Bills have clinched the AFC East, and the Chiefs have clinched a playoff spot – – but not their division title as of now.
• The “last team in” for the AFC playoffs might get in with a 9-8 record but a 10-7 record is much more likely to work for a team.  So, the Steelers, Texans, Chargers and Ravens all appear to be in good position.  The Steelers are 9-3 today; the other three teams have 8 wins apiece.
• If that situation continues to hold, that means there is one playoff slot left for the rest of the conference.  AND according to NFL.com, only the Raiders, the Pats and the Jags have been mathematically eliminated.
• My pick as of today for that last playoff spot would be the Broncos with the Colts being the team chasing the Broncos.

Meanwhile, over in the National Conference:

• Lots of stuff is up in the air this morning; four teams are in a grouping that stands out from the rest of the conference.  The Lions have 12 wins; the Eagles and Vikes each have 10 wins, and the Packers have 9 wins as of today.  The Lions have not clinched their division as of today, but last night’s win over the Packers guarantees that the Lions will take part in the NFC playoffs.  The Eagles showed us last year that a December Melt-Down is a real thing; nonetheless, it would take some sort of cataclysmic collapse on the part of those 4 teams to miss the playoffs this year.  Count all three of the other teams here in …
• In the NFC West, two games separate the top team – – Seahawks – – from the last place team – – Niners.  The division winner gets in of course but it might be difficult to find a way to get more than one team from the NFC West into the playoffs.  I doubt the Niners can rally to win the division this year; (see below) having said that, I really have no idea which of the other three teams will come out on top in this division.
• In the NFC South, the Bucs and the Falcons are tied at the top of the division with 6-6 records.  Again, the division winner will get in, but it is not clear how another team sneaks in from that division.  The remaining schedule for the Bucs is awfully soft so I guess I like the Bucs to win that division again this year.
• So, with the four teams identified at the top here plus the two division winners in those tight divisional races, that leaves one playoff slot in the NFC up for grabs.  Only the Giants in the NFC have been mathematically eliminated and so the race is on.  My pick is the Commanders to fill that slot.

Here are some comments on games from last weekend:

Broncos 41  Browns 32:  This game was a perfect example of what I call:

• The Jameis Winston Experience

Winston threw for 475 yards and the Browns racked up 552 yards on offense.  Winston threw for 4 TDs and racked up fantasy points galore.  How great is that?  Winston also threw 3 INTs in the game including 2 Pick-Sixes – – one of them coming with 2 minutes left in the game and the Browns trailing by only 2 points.

Eagles 24  Ravens 19:  It would be simplistic to try to pin this loss on Ravens’ kicker Justin Tucker who missed two field goas and an extra point in the game decided by only 5 points.  Rather, the game was won by the Eagles’ defense which held Derrick Henry to only 82 yards rushing and which sacked Lamar Jackson 3 times.  Oh, by the way, having Saquon Barkley rush for 107 yards and a TD did not hurt either.

Commanders 42  Titans 18:  Forget the stats; this game was as lopsided as the score indicates.  The Titans were outplayed at all positions and for the entirety of the game.  In addition, the Titans committed 11 penalties in the first half of the game – – in the first half!  That may have been the best showing by the Commanders so far in 2024.

Vikes 23  Cards 22:  The Vikes pulled another rabbit out of a hat and scored with about a minute and a half left in the game to beat a Cards’ team that outgained the Vikes by more than 130 yards for the game.

Steelers 44  Bengals 38:  When you think of AFC North games, you usually picture a game where defense and field position are key strategic elements and getting the total score up around 50 points is not commonplace.  And then there is this game …Russell Wilson continued his march toward “Comeback Player of the Year” throwing for 414 yards and 3 TDs.  The Steelers‘ defense does not give up 30+ points very often, but the Bengals made the Steelers sweat a bit on the way to this win.  Here is a stat I ran across:

• Joe Burrow has thrown for 300+ yards and 3 TDs in each of his last 3 games.
• The Bengals have lost all three of those games.

Seahawks 26  Jets 21:  It did not happen at the end of the game, but the margin of victory here was provided by Seahawks’ DT Leonard Williams – – late of the Jets – – who intercepted an Aaron Rodgers pass and went “rumblin’ and stumblin’ all the way” for a Pick Six event.  [Hat tip to Chris Berman there.]

Bucs 26  Panthers 23 (OT):  It took some last-minute heroics from Baker Mayfield to send the game to OT allowing the Bucs to win their 6^th game of the year which ties them with the Falcons atop the NFC South.

Chargers 17  Falcons 13:  The Falcons sacked Justin Herbert 5 times in the game and lost; that usually does not happen.  However, Falcons’ QB, Kirk Cousins threw 4 INTs in the game; usually when that happens the team loses – – as it did here.

Bills 38  Niners 10:  December in Buffalo in an outdoor stadium; the weather made the game fun in the sense that you don’t get to see many games like that in a season.  My takeaway from the game is that the Niners are a team in trouble; they have too many injuries to too many of their best players.

• Brandon Aiyuk
• Nick Bosa
• Dre Greenlaw
• Jordan Mason
• Christian McCaffrey
• Trent Williams

Everyone will remember this game for the “hook and ladder play” with Amari Cooper and Josh Allen, but I think the status of the Niners’ roster revealing itself so vividly is the most important thing to take away from the game.

 

Games This Week:

 

Six teams will get to rest this weekend as NFL BYE Weeks come to a close:

1. Broncos:  I doubt that Bo Nix will win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but I do think he is the biggest surprise of the 2024 Draft Class.  I think he is definitely a keeper.
2. Colts:  If my guess is correct that it will take 10 wins to make the playoffs in the AFC, then the Colts need to win out from here.
3. Commanders:  They are in a good place; they are a young team; they need to avoid reading the kudos being sent their way and especially to avoid believing that they are as good as their fanboys make them out to be.
4. Pats:  They are 3-10; they are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs; there is a lot of rebuilding left to be done with that squad
5. Ravens:  As this team does some self-analysis, they really need to figure out how a team as talented as they are can have lost 5 games this season.
6. Texans:  CJ Stroud is suffering a mild sophomore slump; nonetheless, the Texans have a two-game lead in the AFC South division, and they need to maintain their focus down the stretch.

The Lions took care of business last night beating the Packers 34-31 on a last-second field goal.  There was an unusual stat produced in the game; the Lions converted 4 of 5 fourth-down situations.  That is unusual in two ways:

• It is unusual for a team to try for a first down on 4^th down 5 times in a game.
• It is unusual for the team doing so to win the game.  Normally, that sort of stat would indicate the team was grasping at straws to stay in a game.

Do not misinterpret; the Lions did not win this game by a fluke.  The Lions outgained the Packers by about 100 yards and held the ball for 36 minutes in the game.

Falcons at Vikes – 5.5 (45.5):  I guess you can call this a “Homecoming Game” for Kirk Cousins after all his time wearing purple jerseys.  He must play better than he did last week; four INTs this week against the Vikes would be a disaster.

Saints – 4.5 at Giants (41):  At first glance, I thought this would be the Dog-Breath Game of the Week but not quite.  The Giants are awful no matter who they trot out at QB and the Saints are only a little better.  The Giants do have one distinctive feature about them as of today:

• They are the only team in the NFL to be winless at home.
• They are 0-6-0 in front of their home fans.

Do your best to ignore this game.

Jags at Titans – 3.5 (39.5):  This is the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.  These are two miserable teams where the game will likely come down to which team makes the last bad play.  Speaking of making bad plays, the Jags are the only team in the league that allows 400+ yards per game to the opponent.  Ugh!  The acronym for this game is “AYE” – – Avert Your Eyes.

Raiders at Bucs – 7 (46):  This is the second road game in a row for the Raiders; that is never an easy thing for a team and especially not for a less-than-mediocre team.  Nevertheless, the Bucs tend to play to the level of their opponent and this game could be closer than you might expect.  I admit I was tempted to take the Raiders with the points here, but I just don’t trust Aiden O’ Connell against a blitz-happy Bucs’ defense.

Browns at Steelers – 7 (43.5):  Both teams played high-scoring games last week (see above).  I doubt that is going to happen again. However, a final score of 24-20 would put this game OVER and I do not think that is an outrageous expectation; I like the OVER here; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Panthers at Eagles – 13 (46):  This is a Sandwich Game for the Eagles.  Be very afraid…  The Eagles had a big win over the Ravens last week; next week they have the Steelers coming to pay a visit; between those tough games come the “lowly Panthers”.  Bryce Young has been playing well and the Panthers have not been the patsies they had been for the first half of the year.

Jets at Dolphins – 5.5 (44.5):  Neither team is “eliminated” from the playoffs yet, but neither one is likely to be playing beyond the first weekend in January.  The Dolphins have looked a lot better since Tua came back to the lineup, but even that is not enough to make it a fearsome opponent.  The Jets need to find a latter-day Moses to lead them out of the desert.  Here is my simple-minded assessment of this game:

• The Dolphins play poorly in cold-weather games; this game is in Miami; it will not be cold.
• The Jets play poorly in cold-weather, hot-weather or lovely-weather games.

Based on that meteorological analysis, I like the Dolphins at home to win and cover; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Seahawks at Cards – 2.5 (44):  This is an important NFC West division game so that makes it the Game of the Week.  The Seahawks beat the Cards in Seattle putting them atop the division standings; the Cards need this one to avoid falling two games behind the Seahawks – – and losing the tiebreaker there – – with only four games to go after this week.

Bills – 3 at Rams (49):  You might expect a small letdown by the Bills after clinching the AFC East last weekend.  However, they are a game behind the Chiefs in the race for the BYE Week and homefield throughout the playoffs.  That should keep the team motivated.

Bears at Niners – 4 (44):  The Niners are a M*A*S*H unit (see above); the Bears’ most common trait is to invent a way to lose a game at the very end.  Who knows which malady will prevail here?

(Sun Nite) Chargers at Chiefs – 4 (43):  This is my runner-up for Game of the Week because it will be interesting to see if the Chiefs can continue to win games by a razor thin margin with miraculous endings.  The Chargers need this game more than the Chiefs need it – – although the Chiefs do want to stay ahead of the Bills for that BYE Week in the playoffs.

(Mon Nite) Bengals – 5.5 at Cowboys (49):  Here we have two bad defenses [I am trying to be ever so polite here] and two competent offenses.  So, why is the Total Line at 49 and not at 55?  Another point: I think that line is fat.  So, give me the Cowboys plus the points AND give me the game to go OVER; put both in the “Betting Bundle”.

Let me review this week’s “Betting Bundle”:

1. UNLV/Boise St. UNDER 58.5
2. Georgia +3 against Texas
3. Clemson +3 against SMU
4. Browns/Steelers OVER 43.5
5. Dolphins – 5.5 over Jets
6. Cowboys +5.5 against Bengals
7. Cowboys/Bengals OVER 49

[Aside: With seven entries, this is more like a “Speculative Sack” than a mere “Betting Bundle”.]

But wait; there’s more.  Here are four Money Line Parlays just for fun:

• Boise St. @ minus-200
• Oregon @ minus-170     $100 wager to win $139

And …

• Boise St @ minus-200
• Oregon @ minus-170
• Georgia @ +125     $100 wager to win $436

And …

• Cowboys @ +205
• Dolphins @ – 240     $100 wager to win $332

And …

• Saints @ minus-200
• Bills @ minus-180
• Bears @ +165   $100 wager to win $518

Finally, today’s “last words” come from Vince Lombardi:

“If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.”

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

 

 

Today shapes up to be a potpourri of topics across a variety of sports.  Actually, it is a situation that allows me to use a word that I will never forget from studying vocabulary lists to prep for the SATs back in my high school days – – right before the time of the cave paintings.  That word is “salmagundi”, and it is a mixture of random ingredients.  Yup, that is what today looks to be …

It was only about a month ago that the Baltimore Ravens pulled off what appeared at the time to be a “player heist”.  They acquired Diontae Johnson from the Panthers plus a 6^th round pick from the Panthers in exchange for a 5^th round pick from the Ravens.  Given where the teams stood – – and stand – – in the standings, that is almost a pick swap, and the Ravens got a starting WR as the payment for a pick swap.  I said at the time that this had to be a great deal for the Ravens unless the trade indicated that Johnson was such a pain in the ass in the locker room that the Panthers would be glad to have gotten anything in return for him.

Well, maybe the Panthers were onto something …  The Ravens have suspended Johnson as of yesterday for conduct detrimental to the team and at least part of that detrimental conduct involved Johnson’s refusal to go into the game against the Eagles last weekend.  In that game, Ravens’ wideout, Rashod Bateman, suffered an injury and Johnson allegedly refused to take his place on the offense.  Before his days in Carolina, Johnson spent five years with the Steelers where he was described variously as “mercurial” and “temperamental.“ Johnson’s contract is up at the end of the 2024 regular season; this suspension based on the team’s assertion that he refused to enter a game is not something that will make GMs around the league fight to see who can sign him first.

Moving on …  Mack Brown is out as the head football coach at UNC; at age 73, he will probably have a tough time getting another Division 1-A college job should he even want one.  This is his second stint as the coach in Chapel Hill.  From 1988 through 1997, Brown coached the Tar Heels and led the team to 5 bowl games.  He returned to Chapel Hill in 2019 and has had the Tar Heels bowl eligible in every season of his regime.

A lot of folks say that the college football game has passed Brown by.  I am not smart enough to say such a thing with conviction but here is something I am willing to say:

• UNC knows what it takes in order to be a powerhouse basketball team on the national level.  So, why is UNC not similarly a top-shelf football school that is dominating in a middling football conference?

Switching gears …  Do you realize that the NBA regular season is about 25% in the books?  Have you gotten into following the NBA on something more than a weekly basis yet?  From my perspective, just about everything that has happened since the start of the regular season on 22 October as “Glorified Spring Training” where the games count in the standings, but the fan interest is absent.

OK, maybe you can accuse me of my deficient NBA interest to the fact that my “local team” – – the Washington Wizards – – is sporting a record of 2-17 and are being outscored by an average of just under 16 points per game.  Actually, the Wizards are interesting to watch if you are willing to watch a team that you know from the outset is always outmanned and will only win by accident.

The Wizards have two young players from France on the roster who make plenty of mistakes and who also show flashes of potential competency.  Watching those two guys – – and paying only passing attention to everyone else – – can be entertaining.

1. Bilal Coulibaly is in his second year in the NBA; he is 20 years old.  He plays perimeter defense very well and some nights he exhibits an offensive game while on other nights he is encouraged to shoot by his defending opponent.  His progress from last year is noticeable; he should become a good-not-great NBA player with a long career ahead of him.
2. Alex Sarr was the #2 overall pick in the Draft this year.  He is 19 years old and is 7 feet tall.  His offensive game is more than rough around the edges; his defensive game is often well better than “merely good”.

Let me be clear.  The Wizards are a bad basketball team, and they are going to have a miserable record in this regular season.  However, those two young players could become valuable component pieces to a pretty good team if a proper blend of offensive talent were blended with their skills.  The entertainment value for these two “prodigies” is going to wear thin without some added help; that is the burden borne by the Wizards’ front office today.

Next up …  Manchester City has been a powerhouse in the EPL over the last 7 seasons finishing first 6 times and second the other time.  Yes, there are charges that the team has run roughshod over the financial rules there which function sort of like a salary cap and which I am not remotely qualified to interpret here.  Nevertheless, fans of Man City have had a heady run since the 2017/1018 season.  Not quite so in this season.

Man City has played 14 games this season and its record is 8 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses.  That gives them 26 points and puts them 5^th in the Table, a full 9 points behind Liverpool, which leads the league having won 11 of its 14 matches.  With the EPL season less than half over, it is far too early to write off the defending champs – – but maybe this is a “consolidation year” for the team and not another dominant one?

Staying with the subject of English soccer, the husband of a dear friend of mine lives and dies with the fortunes of the Sunderland Association Football Club.  Sunderland is in the English Championship – – one step down from the Premier League – – and as of this morning Sunderland is in 4^th place in the Table for the Championship.  Sunderland is 2 points behind third-place Leeds United and 3 points ahead of Middlesbrough and Watford who are chasing them.  The Championship schedule involves 46 games and only 18 have been played – – so it is too early to think that Sunderland might just have a shot at promotion back to the Premier League.  But for my friend’s husband, hope springs eternal…

Finally, since today was like a sports stew in terms of elements, let me close with the observation by the essayist Edward Abbey:

“Society is like a stew. If you don’t stir it up every once in a while, then a layer of scum floats to the top.”

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

 

 

The latest report from Las Vegas is that the new stadium to be constructed there as the home of the MLB A’s will cost more than previously estimated.  The deal was that the public funding was fixed at $380M and A’s ownership was responsible for the rest – – including any overruns.  Well, you can call what just happened an “overrun” or a “change in scope” or whatever contractual phraseology suits your fancy, but the total cost is now estimated at $1.75B as opposed to the previous estimate of $1.5B.   Written that way, the change seems to be not such a big deal; however, the change in costs is $250M and that is a whole lot of cheese.

In explaining the new cost basis, the team said that they changed the “audio and video components” of the new stadium to upgrade them to a level whereby concerts can take place in the new facility.  Increasing construction costs were also part of the revamped estimate.  The message here is that the cost of the new facility has risen from the original figure of $1.4B to $1.5B and now to $1.75B which is a 25% increase over the original estimate – – and they have not put a shovel in the ground yet.

The stadium being planned will have a roof and it will seat 33,000 folks for baseball.  Reports say that the A’s have already spent $40M on the planning process for the building and that there may be another $60M in planning and pre-construction costs to come.  The plans call for the stadium to be ready for opening day in the 2028 MLB season.  Remember, no shovels have hit the dirt as of this morning …

Moving on …  One of the standard happenings in the baseball off season is the consideration given to the annual Hall of Fame voting event.  Just to review:

• Players first get on the ballot five years after retirement providing, they played 10 seasons in MLB.
• Players stay on the ballot for ten years providing they have not either been elected to the Hall of Fame or they receive a minimum of 5% of the votes by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
• Players are elected to the Hall of Fame if they receive 75% or more of the votes cast by the baseball writers in any given year.

There are fourteen players who will be up for election to the Hall of Fame for the first time this year:

1. Carlos González
2. Curtis Granderson
3. Félix Hernández
4. Adam Jones
5. Ian Kinsler
6. Russell Martin
7. Brian McCann
8. Dustin Pedroia
9. Hanley Ramírez
10. Fernando Rodney
11. CC Sabathia
12. Ichiro Suzuki
13. Troy Tulowitzki
14. Ben Zobrist.

Obviously from comments I have made over the years in these rants, I think Ichiro should be a shoo-in as a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee.  He did not arrive in MLB until he was 27 years old, and he still managed to get 3,089 hits at the MLB level.

When I look at the list of newly eligible players for other first-ballot possibilities, I do not see anyone else who I would consider a shoo-in for first ballot induction, but I would not be surprised if CC Sabathia and Felix Hernandez got significant support.

In addition to the voting by writers, there are Era Committees who vote on players, managers, umpires from the past.  Last year Jim Leyland entered the Hall of Fame via one of the Era Committees.  This year, Dick Allen is on one of those ballots.  Allen should have been elected by the writers based on his performance in MLB, but he was overlooked.  I think the pertinent Era Committee considering his candidacy should correct that oversight.

Switching gears – – but staying with baseball …  One other feature of MLB’s off season is that the baseball rules mavens get to contemplate new rules for the game.  In recent times, those folks have been successful with the installation of the pitch clock (games are faster and more interesting on TV to be sure) and with the encouragement of stolen bases (larger bases and limitations on holding runners).  The rules mavens have also instituted a negative element into the game with the “ghost runners” on second base at the start of extra innings, but failure is to be expected as part of baseball.

There are reports/rumors out there that the rules mavens may be considering a really bad rule change.  Commissioner Rob Manfred supposedly said there is a lot of “buzz” around a new rule labeled as the “Golden Hitter Rule”.  This rule change would allow a team at any point in a game a one-time chance to send its best hitter to the plate no matter where the team is in the standard batting order.  I am unaware of any version of that rule having been “tested/evaluated” in a lower level of baseball, so I have no data to use to draw conclusions.  However, absent data, I think that might be detrimental to the game and not a step forward.

Finally, since today has been about MLB’s off season, let me close with these words from Hall of Famer, Rogers Hornsby:

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”

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

 

 

Back in the very early days of network television, there was an evening news telecast sponsored by Camel cigarettes.  The host – – now called the anchor – – was John Cameron Swayze and the program was The Camel News Caravan.  After dealing with the “big news of the day”, Swayze would proclaim that he would be “hopscotching the world for headlines”.  Looking at my compendium of items for today, I think I will be hopscotching the sports world for topics.  Nevertheless, I shall not be sponsored by Camel cigarettes…

Also in the early days of network television, the afternoon soap operas were mainline programming.  From 1956 through 2010, CBS aired a “soap” called As the World Turns; in its TV run, the show put on 13,858 episodes.  Here in 2024, the sports world has an informal program that might be called As the Jets and Aaron Rodgers Turn.  It does not deliver daily episodes, but it does make the wire copy more than on game days.  In the latest episode, the Jets’ interim head coach, Jeff Ulbrich, “squelched” rumors that the Jets might bench Rodgers this season because of the disappointing showing of the team; the coach affirmed that he still believes that Rodgers gives the Jets (now 3-9-0) the “best chance to win.”

Here is the Jets’ QB depth chart:

• Aaron Rodgers:  41 years old and having his worst season ever
• Tyrod Taylor:  A career backup
• Jordan Travis:  A rookie who is out for the year due to injury
• Adrian Martinez:  On the practice squad for the second year

So, I agree with Coach Ulbrich; Rodgers gives the team the best chance of winning – – and according to a report I read yesterday, the Jets are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs even with their 3-9 record.  Stay tuned.  You never know if the next installment of As the Jets and Aaron Rodgers Turn will come before next weekend’s game against the Dolphins in Miami (Jets are currently a 6.5-point underdog) or maybe in the press conference following that game…

Sticking with items related to television, the suits at ESPN have announced that Around the Horn will go dark sometime in 2025.  The show began in 2002; so, it has had a good run.  It ran 5 days a week as the lead-in program to Pardon the Interruption and in its “glory days”, Around the Horn could command audiences more than 750,000 viewers which was a sizeable audience for daytime sports on cable TV back in the “aughts”.  Max Kellerman was the original host/facilitator for the program but left during one of his multiple divorces with ESPN and Tony Reali took over that slot on a permanent basis.

The audience for Around the Horn has eroded significantly; these days, an audience of 400,000 is a pleasant surprise.  I was a regular viewer of the program for years – – probably averaging 4 days a week; now, I catch a show about every 10 days.  I don’t know what happened to cause the audience for the show to collapse but I know why I am no longer a regular viewer.

When the show began, the panel that “debated” the sports topics offered up by Kellerman/Reali were notable sports columnists from around the country whose observations and assertions were such that I wanted to hear them and to evaluate them against my personal position on the topics at hand.  Back in the day, I heard from people like:

1. JA. Adande – – Washington Post
2. Jim Armstrong – – Denver Post
3. Tim Cowlishaw – – Dallas Morning News
4. Frank Isola – – NY Daily News
5. Jackie MacMullan – – Boston Globe
6. Jay Mariotti – – Chicago Sun Times
7. Woody Paige – – Denver Post
8. Bill Plaschke – – LA Times
9. Bob Ryan – – Boston Globe
10.  TJ Simers – – LA Times

Folks, those were ten “heavy hitters”; their stature was such that you puffed up your chest when they agreed with your thoughts on the matter, and you furled your brow and started to rethink your position when they disagreed with your opinion.  And in recent years, most of that is gone – – and I don’t mean those specific individuals.

The panels today are mostly made up of ESPN and ESPN Radio personalities.  They lack gravitas and when I realized that it made no difference to me what Joe Flabeetz and/or Suzie Glotz thought about a subject, Around the Horn was no longer worth my time and attention.  The show had a great run, but its time has come – – and gone…

There is a superstition that bad things happen in threes; I don’t know the origin of that belief but for those folks in New Jersey who might believe in it:

• The Tampa Bay Bucs just waived Trenton Gill – – punter
• The Cincinnati Bengals just waived Trenton Irwin – – WR
• If you are a first responder in Trenton, NJ, I would stay close to the phones…

Finally, let me close today with three random quotes from Will Rogers:

“Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘Nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.”

And …

“If you ever injected truth into politics, you have no politics.”

And …

“This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.”

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

 

 

Lou Carnesecca died over the weekend at the ripe old age of 99.  He was the basketball coach at St. John’s from 1965 to 1992 save for a three-year gap when he coached the Nets in the NBA.  His college record at St. John’s was 526-200 earning him a spot in the Naismith Hall of Fame.  Back in the 1980s. the Big East was dominant in college basketball and populated with excellent – – and colorful – – coaches including:

• Jim Boeheim – – Syracuse
• Jim Calhoun – – UConn
• PJ Carlesimo – – Seton Hall
• Rollie Massimino – – Villanova
• John Thompson – – Georgetown

“Looie”, as he came to be known, was an equal in that coaching fraternity.

Rest in peace, Lou Carnesecca …

Remember about a month ago that the Chicago Bears lost to the Washington Commanders on a last second Hail Mary pass and there was video of one of the Bears’ defenders waving to the crowd as the play was unfolding.  Well, that act of “disrespect to the game” must have significantly angered the football gods to the point that the gods have chosen to frustrate the Bears in the intervening weeks.  Consider:

• First week later:  Bears lost to a middling Cardinals’ team by 20 points.
• Second week later:  Bears lost – – at home – – to a not-very-good Pats’ team by a score of 19-3.  [Aside:  That offensive somnambulance got the Offensive Coordinator fired.]
• Third week later:  Bears lost to the Packers 20-19 when the Packers blocked a chip shot field goal in the final seconds of the game.
• Fourth week later:  Bears rallied from 11 points down in the final two minutes to force overtime – – and then lost to the Vikes in OT.
• Fifth week later:  Bears lost to the Lions by a field goal on Thanksgiving in a situation where they failed to snap the ball – – or call a timeout – – in the final 32 seconds of the game.  [Aside:  That time management blunder got the Head Coach fired.]

The Chicago Bears have been a team in the NFL since 1920; Matt Eberflus is the first head coach to be fired in mid-season in the history of the Chicago Bears.  If you did not see the timing blunder or have not read about it, let that historical fact give you an idea of how bad it was.  Also, let that five week stretch of football misfortune be a case study for players and/or teams that might be tempted to “disrespect the game”; the football gods are watching, and they can exact serious punishment for such offenses.

Moving on …  Over the past several years, NFL teams have tended to devalue the position of running back to a degree; the common wisdom was that one did not need to pay running backs big bucks nor spend high draft picks on that position.  So, in last year’s free agency period, three running backs moved on from the team that drafted them to another team.  Those three RBs were:

• Saquon Barkley – – leading the NFL in rushing
• Derrick Henry – – second in the NFL in rushing
• Josh Jacobs – – third in the NFL in rushing.

However, there is a much more interesting statistic concerning those three players.  Let us look at the team records for the teams that jettisoned those backs:

• Giants had Barkley; Giants are 2-10 this year.
• Titans had Henry; Titans are 3-9 this year.
• Raiders had Jacobs; Raiders are 2-10 this year.
• Combined, the teams that tossed these running backs aside are 7-29.

Now, just for giggles, I want to show you the team records for the teams that acquired these running backs on the free agent market:

• Eagles signed Barkley; Eagles are 10-2 this year
• Ravens signed Henry; Ravens are 8-5 this year
• Packers signed Jacobs; Packers are 9-3 this year.
• Combined, the teams that signed these running backs are 27-10.

Finally, since the Bears “disrespected the game” and plenty of teams “disrespected running backs”, let me close today with this quote from P. J. O’Rourke:

“The First Amendment only says, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.’ It can disrespect all it wants.”

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

 

 

Picking up from yesterday, the football gods must have enjoyed creating the havoc they did in college football last weekend because they turned around and gave us an extra helping of strangeness in the NFL action as well.  The Goddess of Special Teams must have royally pissed off the Big Boss Football God because it was a weekend of failure for special teams around the league.  Nowhere was that more in evidence than in the Cowboys upset of the Commanders.  Here is what happened:

• Commanders missed 2 PATs in the same game.
• Commanders missed a FG in the game
• Commanders allowed 2 kickoffs to be returned for TDs
• Cowboys missed a FG in the game.
• Cowboys had a FG blocked AND a punt blocked in the game.

That is a season’s worth of FAIL all in one game…

The Cowboys and Commanders combined to produce 263 yards in the return game.  By comparison:

• Pats/Dolphins combined for 53 return yards
• Ravens/Chargers combined for 65 return yards
• Colts/Lions combined for 74 return yards
• Chiefs/Panthers combined for 138 return yards.

You get the idea; special teams tackling was not a hallmark of the Commanders and Cowboys last Sunday.

What else went wrong with Special Teams last weekend?  Well, the Texans lost to the Titans last week when kicker Ka’imi Fairburn missed a 28-yard field goal try in the final two minutes that would have tied the game.

The Vikes led the Bears by 11 points with less than 2 minutes left in the game after making a field goal.  After that:

• Bears return the kickoff to Vikes’ territory.  Then the Bears score a TD and convert a 2-point try.
• Bears recover the onside kick.  Then the Bears get a field goal to send the game to OT.
• There is no fairytale ending here; the Vikes won the game in OT by a score of 30-27.
• But the Goddess of Special Teams was embarrassed again.

The Seahawks beat the Cards to force a tie atop the NFC West.  And the Seahawks missed a PAT in the game in keeping with the Special Teams strangeness theme for the weekend.

The Rams missed a perfectly makeable field goal against the Eagles on Sunday night.  It had no bearing on the game outcome because the Rams lost by 17 points.

On a positive note for the Goddess of Special Teams, the Raiders/Broncos game saw nine field goal attempts – – and all nine were good including three tries from 50+ yards out.

Moving on from special teams’ oddities, the other place where the football gods shone their “Light of Goofiness” was on the NY Giants.  The team has not merely benched Daniel Jones; they released him and started Tommy DeVito at QB.  The Giants were pushed around by the Bucs and lost the game 30-7 in a rout.  The Giants produced only 245 yards on offense and did not score until the 4^th quarter of the game.  Here is DeVito’s plain vanilla stat line for the game:

• 21 of 31 for 189 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs

The Giants have now lost 6 games in a row and their record stands at 2-9-0 with a home field record of 0-6-0.  Only the Raiders have a longer losing streak today (Raiders have lost 7 in a row) and only the Cowboys join the Giants on a list of teams that have not won a home game to date in 2024.

The Giant’s decision to release Daniel Jones – – making him an instant free agent – – gives him an interesting choice to make.  He is going to be paid his guaranteed money by the Giants; he is under the most minimal economic pressure imaginable because according to Spotrac.com, he will have earned $108.1M in salary from the Giants over his time with the team.  So, there should be three avenues open to him now:

1. First Avenue:  Sit back, relax, hit the gym to stay in shape, get healthy.
2. Second Avenue:  Seek to sign with a bottom-dweller team and get some more time on the field in 2024 with the idea of putting some solid performances on film for teams to evaluate in the upcoming free agency period.
3. Third Avenue:  Offer his services to teams that are playoff-bound in 2024 as a way for the teams to upgrade their backup QB position.  This option probably would not allow Jones to add much of anything to whatever performances he has already put on film prior to next season’s free agency period.

My guess is that he will choose “First Avenue”.  It is the possibility of “Third Avenue” that I find intriguing not because I think Daniel Jones is high quality QB but because I really think he would be a significant upgrade for at least nine potential playoff teams at backup QB.  For example:

1. Bills:  Currently have Mitchel Trubisky as backup
2. Broncos:  Currently have Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson as backups
3. Cards:  Currently have Clayton Tune as backup
4. Chargers:  Currently have Taylor Heinicke and Easton Stick as backups
5. Eagles:  Currently have Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee as backups
6. Lions:  Currently have Herndon Hooker as backup
7. Niners: Currentlly have Brandon Allen and Joshua Dobbs as backups
8. Texans:  Currently have Davis Mills as backup
9. Vikes:  Currently have Nick Mullens and Brett Rypien as backups

Finally, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, and I will be taking the day off to relax with an old friend from out of town who has agreed to spend the holiday with me and my long-suffering wife.  Food, wine and football are at the top of the agenda for the next several days.  So let me close here by wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a gentle start to the Holiday Season ahead.

Stay safe and stay well, everyone …

 

 

 

The gods of Greek mythology lived on Mount Olympus.  I don’t know upon which mountain the “football gods” reside, but they were active last weekend.  It seems to me that in every football season, there is one weekend where lots of “surprising stuff” goes down in college football and then about a month later, the focus of football craziness is on the NFL.  Well, unless those football gods have some sort of “grand crescendo” in store for us in December, we got our quota of craziness last week.

Let me focus today on college football from last weekend.  Alabama lost its third game of the year to Oklahoma 24-3.  That is unusual in itself, but the way the Tide lost was more unusual.  Alabama kicked a field goal to lead 3-0 at the end of the first quarter; they were shut out by the Sooners – – a 14-point underdog by the way – – from there on out.  So, is there still room in the expanded CFP for an Alabama team with 3 losses including this embarrassing one?

Penn St. was playing a decidedly inferior opponent in Minnesota, a team that brought 4 losses with them to the kickoff and was a 12.5-point underdog.  The Nittany Lions used a fake punt to convert a fourth-down situation allowing them to hold on and beat Minnesota 26-25.  The question in the air now is simple:

• Is Penn St. really a Top 10 team that belongs in the CFP or is it the single most overrated team in the country and belongs in the Poulan Weedeater Bowl?

SMU locked in their participation in the ACC Championship Game last weekend.  There had to be a round of chortling amongst the football gods as they penciled the Mustangs into that game slot since SMU is in Dallas TX which is nowhere near the “Atlantic coast”.

Ohio St. embarrassed Indiana last weekend giving the Hoosiers their first loss of the year.  Usually, losing to the team ranked #2 in the country is to be expected but this loss shines a light on the Indiana schedule for 2024 and let’s just be polite here and say it was not the toughest schedule in its time zone.  Next week, Indiana – – is it really a Top Ten team? – – plays Purdue – – it really is a SHOE Team – – and Indiana will finish 11-1 against its patty-cake schedule.  Let the CFP debate begin…

Notre Dame beat previously unbeaten Army handily last weekend.

• Was Army overrated as an unbeaten team?
• Has Notre Dame beaten anyone noteworthy since the opening game of the year against Texas A&M?
• [Aside:  Yes, Army was overrated; and no, Notre Dame’s schedule has been unimpressive.]

Speaking obliquely of Texas A&M, the Aggies began the weekend as a solid SEC candidate for the CFP with a good shot at being in the SEC Championship Game.  Yes, they were on the road against Auburn but the Tigers had already lost 5 games in 2024.  The game went to 4 OT periods and Auburn won the game outright.  Now, the Aggies have 3 losses …

Florida was a 13.5-point underdog at home against Ole Miss who was on the periphery of a CFP invitation.  Florida won the game outright gaining bowl-eligibility for the Gators and ending any real hopes that folks in Jackson, MI might have had for the Rebels’ participation in the CFP.

BYU lost for the second week in a row falling to Arizona St. and seemingly taking itself out of the picture for the Big-12 title game – – except Kansas also upset Colorado meaning that there are 4 teams in the Big-12 at the moment with 2 conference losses.  Here is the headline from a report at CBSSports.com regarding the current Big-12 standings with one week left to play in the regular season:

In zaniest tiebreaker case we’ve seen yet, Big 12 says 256 different scenarios in play to decide title game

And last weekend might just have been setting the table for the upcoming final weekend of the season with more than a dozen big-time rivalry games on the schedule such as:

1. Indiana Purdue
2. Notre Dame/USC
3. Texas/Texas A&M
4. Alabama/Auburn
5. Ole Miss/Mississippi St.
6. Ohio St./ Michigan
7. Georgia/Georgia Tech
8. Clemson/South Carolina
9. Florida/Florida St.
10. Tennessee/Vandy
11. Va Tech/Virginia
12. Arizona/Arizona St.
13. Louisville/Kentucky – – a carryover from the basketball rivalry
14. Washington/Oregon – – AND – –
15. UTEP/New Mexico St.

That was just the craziness associated with college football last weekend; tomorrow I shall take a look at NFL oddities from the same time frame.  So, I’ll close today with an observation by the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius:

“Begin – to begin is half the work, let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished.”

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