Month: December 2025

In last Sunday’s game between the Steelers and the Lions, cameras caught an interaction between a fan and Steelers’ WR, DK Metcalf.  There was no audio, but there is “clear and obvious video evidence” that Metcalf took a swipe at the fan; it is not clear if Metcalf actually made contact there, but he clearly intended to do so.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the NFL has a policy in place to deal with an incident of this type and again unsurprisingly, the policy leans 180 degrees away from the player in such a situation.  The league in no way wants its games to turn into riots involving fans.  Citing that policy, the league has suspended Metcalf for the last two games of the season; he will be eligible to return to the field in the playoffs if the Steelers make there.

The lack of audio is confounding here.  There is an allegation that the fan called Metcalf’s mother a slur and referred to Metcalf with a different slur.  The fan denied that in an interview with the Detroit Free Press saying he referred to Metcalf by his full legal name.  [Aside:  According to Wikipedia, Metcalf’s full legal name is “DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf”.  From my perspective, it is difficult to imagine that name and the possible slurs to be misunderstood one for the other.]

From the NFL position, the action here is understandable.  Here is part of the statement issued by the league as it announced the suspension:

 “Metcalf’s actions violate league policy, which specifies that ‘players may not enter the stands or otherwise confront fans at any time on game day.’

“‘If a player makes unnecessary physical contact with a fan in any way that constitutes unsportsmanlike conduct or presents crowd-control issues, he will be held accountable.'”

Even the most rabid Steelers’ fan must agree with the intent of that policy and should grudgingly agree that Metcalf’s swipe at the fan makes him a malefactor in the situation.  He may indeed have been goaded into the confrontation, but the “punch” caught on camera cannot be justified.

Metcalf will appeal the suspension through the channels specified in the exiting CBA between the league and the players’ union.  Perhaps that appeal might reduce the suspension from two games to one game, but I would be surprised if it erased the entire punishment.

Another angle to this comes from reporting by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network who says that Metcalf and the fan in question have a history dating back to Metcalf’s time with the Seattle Seahawks.  At what point might this matter morph into some sort of “stalking situation”?

And of course, there is a financial dimension to all this.  CBSSports.com says that Metcalf’s loss of two game checks will cost him “more than $555K” – – and it gets worse.   According to the source his contract guarantees $45M over the next two seasons BUT:

“His four-year, $132 million contract from March, reviewed by CBS Sports, notes that if he ‘fails… to practice or play with the Club for any reason,’ which includes ‘Player’s suspension by the NFL or Club for Conduct Detrimental,’ his guarantees ‘will be NULL AND VOID.’”

Metcalf can still earn that salary level over the next seasons, but the guarantee would seem to be off the table unless the entire suspension is overturned on appeal.

The Steelers’ playoff picture is very simple; if they win either of their last two games, they are in the playoffs.  Or, if the Ravens lose one of their two last games, the Steelers are in the playoffs.  There are no other possibilities.  Metcalf is an important cog in the Steelers’ offense; so, his absence will be felt by the rest of the organization.

Moving on …  It appears as if the Kansas City Chiefs will be moving out of Kansas City on the Missouri side and into Kansas City on the Kansas side as of 2031.  The Kansas Legislature has passed an authorization to issue bonds to pay a portion of the cost for a new stadium on the Kansas side and the voters in Missouri voted down a bond issue that would have renovated Arrowhead Stadium and built a new home for the KC Royals.

I never like the idea of taxpayers funding stadiums for owners, and I have reconciled the fact that such concessions by legislators are necessary either to attract teams to an area or to keep them from leaving one city to go to another one.

Finally, this comment from the Chinese military leader, Sun Tzu seems appropriate for today:

“If your opponent is of choleric temper, irritate him.”

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

 

 

Time to dive into another Football Friday.  As always, I begin with a review of last week’s “Betting Bundle”:

• Spreads and Totals:              2-0-0
• Season to Date:                     31-40-2

And …

• Money Line Parlays:             2-1                   Profit = $291
• Season to Date:                     16-20               Profit = $825

[Aside: I mentioned last week that it was our annual football weekend with Philly being the “venue substitution” for Las Vegas.  After two days of watching and wagering on English soccer, college basketball, Army/Navy, the NFL and probably something else, I came out ahead by a total of $6.86.  It will be difficult to pay attention to the advice in the adage, “Don’t spend it all in one place.”]

 

College Football Commentary:

 

            Michigan will conduct an internal “rigorous investigation” of the Athletic Department and pledges to “act swiftly” should there be any additional instances of impropriety there.  The university hired an outside law firm to do a complete audit/investigation of the Athletic Department in the wake of the Sherrone Moore embarrassment.  I can understand the university’s motivation to be sure there is no other shoe about to drop, but the “Moore Miasma” looks to me to be a contained problem now that Moore has been fired and faces three criminal charges including a felony.  At first glance, the only outstanding question for that situation is the continued employment status of the person with whom Moore was dallying.

So, why such an open-ended audit/investigation?  Stay tuned …

Just to the south of Ann Arbor in Athens County Ohio, there seems to be a problem akin to the one at Michigan.  Head football coach, Brian Smith, was placed on leave a couple of weeks ago and has now been “fired for cause” citing “serious professional misconduct”.  According to reports, the university presented Smith with an “intent to terminate letter” that included instances of extramarital affairs including one with a grad student and consuming alcohol while on the job.

Coach Smith has been at Ohio for only one year and the Bobcats did well in 2025 posting a record of 8-4.  Ohio will play UNLV next week in the Cure Bowl but without Coach Smith.

They say that bad things happen in threes.  If that adage is in play here, we may expect one more exposé of salacious behavior in the college football world sometime soon.

 

Games of Interest This Week:

 

The first round of the CFP kicks off this weekend, so there are some interesting games on tap.

(Fri Nite)  Alabama at Oklahoma – 1 (41):  These two teams met a month ago in Tuscaloosa and the Sooners came away with a 2-point win.  The Oklahoma defense shut down the Alabama running game that day and should be able to repeat that accomplishment here; ‘Bama could only muster minus-3 yards rushing against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game in the intervening weeks of the season.  What surprises me a bit here is how low the Total Line is; I don’t expect a lot of fireworks in the game, but the Total Line here implies that one team is unlikely to score 20 points and that line has been rising during the week having been as low as 39.5 points on Wednesday.  Interesting …

(Sat Noon)  Miami at Texas A&M – 3 (48):  Both teams are solid; however, if Miami loses, there will be a hue and cry led by Notre Dame alums that Miami should not have been invited to the CFP in place of the Fighting Irish.  Statistically, these teams are balanced; the spread in the game seems to reflect the home field advantage for the Aggies in College Station, TX.

(Sat PM)  Tulane at Ole Miss – 17.5 (57.5):  Here is another “rematch” this weekend; Ole Miss trounced Tulane 45-10 back in September and here they are again.  Ole Miss has a different coach this time around, but I think the talent disparity here will prevail.  Is the coaching turmoil sufficient to have the spread this time equal to half of the margin of victory back in September?  I think not; give me the Rebels to win and cover; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

(Sat Nite)  James Madison at Oregon – 21 (45.5):  This game is “The Dukes” versus “The Ducks”.  Look at these statistical comparisons:

• Scoring Offense: JMU = 37.3 points per game            Oregon = 38.3
• Scoring Defense: JMU = 15.8 points per game            Oregon = 14.8

If you look at those numbers and the spread at 21 points, you would have to scratch your head.  Clearly, the difference here is the Oregon performance against clearly superior competition as compared to James Madison.  The Dukes only played one game against a team from a Power 4 conference and that game provided JMU with its only loss of the season; it was back in September and Louisville beat JMU by 14 points.  Oregon is a better team than Louisville; just saying…  I like this game to go OVER; put that in the ‘Betting Bundle”.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

            The Arizona Cardinals are 3-11-0 this year and buried in that record is the fact that the Cards have lost 7 games by a total of 19 points.  Not only is that difficult to do; those games represent a swing between a record of 10-4-0 and the current 3-11-0.  There are three interesting questions involving the Cards:

1. Will Coach Gannon survive this season?  Gannon’s contract runs through the end of the 2027 season with a team option for 2028.
2. Given that it seems as if the Cards have given up on Kyler Murray, does he have any trade value around the league?
3. If indeed the Cards “move on” from Kyler Murray, would they try to draft a QB or look into the free agent market place for a backup to Jacoby Brissett?

The Cards are not the only team that may be having second thoughts about their starting QB.  It was announced earlier this week that the Dolphins will bench Tua Tagovailoa as a healthy scratch this week – – and presumably for the rest of the season.  The Dolphins are eliminated from playoff possibilities and will turn their attention to Quinn Ewers as the QB to see what if anything they have in his presence.  I guess the frustration with Tua as the Dolphins’ QB is the fact that he leads the NFL in INTs for 2025 having thrown 15 of them in 14 games.

• How about Kyler Murray for Tua Tagovailoa even up …???

The Denver Broncos are 12-2-0 this year which is a gaudy record indeed.  However, it may be even more spectacular than it would appear:

• The Broncos have won 11 games in a row.
• Here are the two losses on their tab this year:
  • • September 14 the Broncos lost to the Colts by 1 point.
    • September 21 the Broncos lost to the Chargers by 3 points.
• The Broncos are “4-points shy” of holding a 14-0-0 record in 2025.

Here is a “fun fact” I ran across:

• The NFL Playoffs in 2025 will be the first NFL Playoffs since 1998 without either Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and/or Patrick Mahomes taking part.

Having mentioned Tom Brady, it reminded me to check out the pre-season futures bet for wins by the New England Pats this season.  The Futures Market was set at 7.5 wins by the Pats in 2025 which was significantly above the 4 wins posted by the Pats in 2024.  As of this morning the Pats’ record is 11-3-0 meaning they blew the doors off that estimated 7.5 wins.  Moreover, the Pats have done this in an unusual way:

• Pats’ record at home = 5-3-0
• Pats’ record on the road = 6-0-0

The Tampa Bay Bucs need to right the ship; they managed to lose two consecutive division games to the Saints and then to the Falcons even though the Falcons committed 19 penalties in that game.  The Bucs are still on top of the NFC South thanks to the largesse of the Panthers last weekend losing to the Saints (see below).  Nonetheless, the pirate ship is taking on water…

Here are comments on games from last weekend:

Texans 40  Cards 20:  The Texans continued their dominant play on defense and this week, the Texans’ offense showed up too.  CJ Stroud put up this stat line:

• 22 of 29 for 260 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs

The Cards’ rushing game was limited to 72 yards on 21 carries.

Ravens 24  Bengals 0:  Shutting out the Bengals is impressive given the offensive players on the Bengals’ roster.  The Bengals managed to gain 298 yards on offense but only got to the Red Zone once in the game.

Eagles 31  Raiders 0:  Shutouts are uncommon in the NFL, and this week produced two of them.  The Raiders were simply overmatched here.  Compare these stats from the game:

• Total Offense:            Eagles = 387 yards     Raiders = 75 yards
• Possession:               Eagles = 39:25            Raiders = 20:35
• Offensive plays :       Eagles = 66                 Raiders = 42
• Red Zone Visits :       Eagles = 5                   Raiders = 0

Bills 35  Pats 31:  The Pats led this game 21-0 early in the second quarter and then the Bills scored TDs on their next 5 possessions.  The two teams combined to produce 414 yards rushing in the game.   The Bills have won their last two games (over the Bengals and the Pats) despite giving up 65 points in those two victories.  Is that sustainable…?

Bears 31  Browns 3:  This was a total domination by the Bears as shown by these pairs of stats:

• Total Offense:            Bears = 361 yards      Browns = 192 yards
• QB Stat Lines:           Williams:17 of 28 for 242 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs
•                                     Sanders: 18 of 35 for 177 yards with 0 TDs and 3 INTs

Chargers 16  Chiefs 13:  And with this loss, the Chiefs are eliminated from the AFC playoffs in 2025.  If that is not bad enough, Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL late in the game; the first report was that he was “exploring his surgical options”.  Various reports cite the recovery period from ACL surgery between 8 and 11 months meaning that Mahomes will likely miss much if not all of Training Camp next season.  The Chiefs just could not run the ball in this game, gaining only 49 yards on 21 carries.

Jags 48  Jets 20:  The Jags have a strong defense which has carried the team to the top of the AFC South and the Jags’ offense made its presence felt in this game gaining 438 yards on offense.  The Jags control their path to the playoffs with 3 games to play.   There were six touchdowns for Trevor Lawrence today, 5 passing and another running.

Commanders 29  Giants 21:  The Giants outgained the Commanders 384 yards to 340 yards, but the Commanders returned a punt for a TD which was pretty much the scoreboard difference in the game.

Saints 20  Panthers 17:  The Panthers had this game in hand leading 17-7 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter.  Then in the 4^th quarter, the Panthers could not get out of their own way and lost the game in a fashion that made you think they deserved to lose.  The Saints are not a good team, but they outgained the Panthers by 57 yards here.

Rams 41  Lions 34:  The Lions’ offense was strong here; the Lions’ defense was AWOL giving up 519 yards of offense to the Rams.  The Rams had the Overall #1 seed in the NFC until their loss to the Seahawks last night.

Broncos 34  Packers 26:  Unlike the Chiefs, this loss does not mathematically eliminate the Packers from the playoffs.  Like the Chiefs, the Packers lost an All-Pro level player to an ACL tear in the 4^th quarter when Micah Parsons injured his knee in a non-contact movement.  The Broncos are now the overall #1 seed in the AFC with upcoming opponents”

• Jags at home
• At the Chiefs
• Chargers at home

Seahawks 18  Colts 16:  Philip Rivers did not embarrass himself or the Colts in this game.  The Seahawks won on a last second field goal (their 6^th of the day) despite scoring zero TDs and while outgaining the Colts by 99 yards in the game.

Niners 37  Titans 24:  This was a comfortable win of the Niners, but the Titans’ offense seems to be maturing week by week.  The Titans had 306 yards on offense here against a decent – – not great – – Niners’ defensive team.

Vikes 34  Cowboys 26:  The Cowboys’ defense turned in a bed-wetting performance here – – particularly in the second half.  With 5 minutes to play in the 3^rd quarter, the Cowboys led 23-17; here are the Vikes drives from that point on:

• 8 plays            73 yards          TD
• 5 plays             51 yards          TD
• 10 plays           26 yards          Field Goal
• Total time consumed = 11:02

The Cowboys are not eliminated from the playoffs, but they must win out and the Eagles must lose out for the Cowboys to win the NFC East and get into the playoffs; they are eliminated from any wildcard participation.

 

 

Games This Week:

 

The Seahawks rallied in OT to beat the Rams last night putting the Seahawks atop the NFC West and putting the possibility of the overall #1 seed in the NFC Playoffs totally in control of the Seahawks.  Matthew Stafford threw for 457 yards and 3 TDs in the game – – and it was not quite enough.

There is a polarization of importance in the games this week.  Some have the potential to secure a playoff slot for the winner; one will have the winner in sole possession of first place in their division.  At the other end of the spectrum, there are games where both teams stink and others where the “bad team” looks to be seriously over-matched.

(Sat 5:00 PM)  Eagles – 7 at Commanders (44.5):  The Eagles’ defense pitched a shutout last week against an anemic Raiders’ offense.  The Commanders will sit Jayden Daniels here and go with Marcus Mariota at QB, but still the Commanders’ offense will be more of a challenge than the Raiders were last week.  The Eagles have a simple task at hand:

• Win and they are in – – the playoffs that is.

If the Eagles win here, they are the NFC East champions and will be in the playoffs.  It will also be the first time in the last 21 seasons that an NFC East champion has gone back-to-back for division titles.

(Sat 8:20 PM)  Packers at Bears – 2 (46.5):  Is this the Game of the Week?  I thought long and hard about that.  The Packers beat the Bears two weeks ago in Green Bay; the winner here will be in sole possession of first place in the NFC North.  If the Packers are to prevail, they will need to figure out how to play without Micah Parsons on the fly against a good offensive team; the Bears average 26.1 points per game.  I am tempted to take the Bears here because of Parson’ absence, but I will resist that temptation and wait to see how the Packers’ defense adjusts to his not being there.

Bills – 10.5 at Browns (41.5):  The Bills’ defense has not been good the last two weeks despite winning both games (see above).  The Browns’ offense should not pose nearly so great a threat.  However, the Browns’ defense should make Josh Allen work for his yards and points here.

Jets at Saints – 5.5 (40):  Notwithstanding the Saints’ two-game winning streak, this is the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.  The Jets are going with Brady Cook over Justin Fields at QB and that choice seems to me to be akin to choosing to be hung as opposed to being shot.  The Jets and the Saints are bad teams with nothing to play for over the rest of 2025.

Vikes – 2.5 at Giants (43.5): The Giants own next year’s overall #1 draft pick which they could screw up here with a victory.  Do not put that sort of failure past the Giants.  I have noted here before the wildly different potential performance levels from the Vikes’ JJ McCarthy.  Imagine if Jaxson Dart comes down with an ailment that keeps him on the sidelines and the Giants put Jameis Winston in at QB.  Talk about uncertainty …

(Sun Nite)  Pats at Ravens – 3 (48):  This is my Game of the Week by a whisker over the Bears/Packers game above.  The Pats need a win to ensure that they will stay ahead of the Bills who are heavy favorites this week.  The Ravens trail the Steelers by a game in the AFC North and it would appear that only the division champion will make the AFC Playoffs; ergo, this is a big game for the Ravens as well.

Bucs – 3 at Panthers (46):  Even though this game will determine the leader in the NFC South, this never got serious attention as the Game of the Week because neither of these teams is playing well at the moment and because both teams have .500 records so far in 2025.  The Bucs have lost 5 of their last 6 games – – and the Panthers have not been able to capture the lead in the division.

Chiefs – 3 at Titans (48):  With Patrick Mahomes on the shelf, the Chiefs will start Gardner Minshew at QB.  Behind Minshew, the Chiefs have a QB on their practice squad named Chris Oladokun who is a second-year player from South Dakota St.

Chargers at Cowboys – 2 (49.5):  This is a must-win for the Cowboys if they are to keep their faint playoff hopes afloat.  The Chargers are two games behind the Broncos in the AFC West with three to play; if they harbor any thoughts of catching the Broncos, they cannot lose here.

Falcons – 3 at Cards (48):  This game drew some attention as the Dog-Breath Game of the week; these two teams are either the unluckiest teams in the NFL, or they are two of the worst teams in the NFL.  You make the call …

Jags at Broncos – 3.5 (47):  This game drew some thought as the Game of the Week because it is between two division leaders.  The Jags hold a one game lead over the Texans and that race looks as if it will go down to the wire.  The Broncos do not need the win nearly as much as the Jags do, but they are at home where they are 7-0-0 in 2025.  Both teams bring good defenses to the field which got me thinking about taking the game to stay UNDER, but both Trevor Lawrence and Bo Nix have been very productive recently; so, I put that notion to rest.

Steelers at Lions – 7 (52):  The Steelers lead their division by a game over the Ravens, and those two teams will meet in Week 18 in Pittsburgh in what could be the Game of the Week then.  Meanwhile the Lions are hanging on by a thread and not being able to afford a loss here.  Injuries to the Lions’ defense have been disastrous this year.

Raiders at Texans – 14 (38):  The reason the Jags need to win at the Broncos is that the Texans should cruise to a win here and that victory coupled with a Jags’ loss would create a tie in the AFC South.   The Raiders were shut out last week by the Eagles (see above) and the Texans’ defense is perfectly capable of doing the same thing this week.  This game should be a blowout by the Texans – – but I am not going to play with a 2 TD spread in an NFL game.

Bengals – 4 at Dolphins (47):  This is a meaningless game; neither team is any good; the Bengals’ cannot stop anyone; the Dolphins will be starting Quinn Ewers as their QB.  I think Joe Burrow will have his way with the Dolphins’ defense and that Quinn Ewers will exploit the poverty of the Bengals’ defense.  Give me the OVER in this game; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

(Mon Nite)  Niners – 6 at Colts (46.5):  In the NFC West, the race between the Rams and the Seahawks has gotten lots of attention.  That seems to have rendered the Niners’ season as an afterthought.  Actually, the Niners are 10-4-0 in 2025 and could tie the Rams for second place in the NFC West with a win here.  In fact, if the Niners win this game, they will be assured of a playoff berth.  Meanwhile, the Colts have lost 4 in a row, and their promising season is on the verge of collapse as they trail the Jags by two games and the Texans by one game in the AFC South; a loss here could be disastrous.  I just don’t think Philip Rivers showed enough in last week’s comeback game to scare the Niners’ defensive mavens, and I think the Niners can score on the Colts’ defense.  I like the Niners to win and cover here; put it in the ‘Betting Bundle”.

So, let me review this week’s “Betting Bundle”:

• Ole Miss – 17.5 over Tulane
• JMU/Oregon OVER 45.5
• Bengals/Dolphins OVER 47
• Niners – 6 over Colts

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

• Vikes @ minus-145
• Niners @ minus-270             $100 wager to win $132

And …

• Broncos @ minus-180
• Eagles @ minus-320
• Bills @ minus-550                 $100 wager to win 141

Finally, a word from Norm Van Brocklin:

“If I ever needed a brain transplant, I’d choose a sports-writer because I’d want a brain that had never been used.”

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

 

 

The college football bowl season is about to kick into second gear; we have a week to go until Christmas Day and there have been five bowl games contested so far.  Only one game was a blowout; Washington put a major beat-down on Boise St. by 4 TDs; the other four games have been closely contested.  That fact makes them “entertaining content” for college football fans even if there is no “rivalry element” contained in the matchups.

• [Aside: A special tip of the hat goes to Delaware today.  This is Delaware’s first year stepping up to Division 1-A in football.  Not only did they achieve bowl eligibility, but they won the 68Ventures Bowl Game over Louisiana-Lafayette last night.  Tonight, Missouri St. will be another “first year in Division 1-A” team in a bowl game when they take on Arkansas St. in the XBOX Bowl.]

So far, all the bowl games have been played in “warmer weather venues” with Atlanta being the local furthest north on the map; such is the case for the majority of the bowl games because these are supposed to be exhibition games where fans and alums follow the team to see one last game in the season.  However, there are a few exceptions:

• Dec 22:  The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl will happen in Boise ID.  The combatants will be Washington St. and Utah St.  Dress warmly …
• Dec 27:  The Go Bowling Military Bowl will happen in Annapolis MD.  Pitt will take on East Carolina in the game.  It will be cold.
• Dec 27:  The Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl will happen in NYC.  Penn St. and Clemson is the matchup.  It will be cold.
• Dec 27:  The Wasabi Fenway Bowl will happen in Boston MA.  UConn versus Army is the attraction here.  Climatologically, it should be colder than in NYC.

            Obviously, the weather gods can choose to smile on those northerly cities in late December just as they might frown on some of the southward venues for other bowl games – – such as Albuquerque or Nashville or Dallas.  But the odds are stacked in favor of those southern/sunny climes.  Which makes me wonder how or why those four specific bowl games listed above justify the economics of staging those games.  Are there really enough traveling fans who go to those games to justify the costs of staging the events?

I can understand fans enduring significant levels of discomfort if their favorite team(s) are going to be engaged in an important – or even a meaningful – game.  None – – as in not a single one – – of the games described above approaches the level of “meaningful”; in fact, other than giving coaches and players another couple of weeks of practice time, those games are meaningless.  So, why endure the likely discomfort of sitting on a cold seat with play interrupted by two-minute intervals for TV commercials and extended halftimes so the bands can perform?  They are going to televise these contests; why not sit home and be comfortable and still watch the game live and in color?  I do not get it…

At the other end of the bowl game schedule is the CFP.  These games are meaningful to the teams involved and to their fans/supporters.  Yes, I know that just as in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, some teams are “more equal than others”; nonetheless, for every team in the CFP, there is fan excitement and interest in the games to the point that even if they were scheduled in a “bad weather venue”, fans would follow the team there.

I think I have this right; there are five teams in this year’s field that have never been a participant in the CFP or the old BCS competitions in the past.  They are – – in alphabetical order – –

1. Indiana
2. James Madison
3. Ole Miss
4. Texas Tech
5. Tulane

For the supporters of those teams, this year’s performance has been emotionally fulfilling and will likely entice a goodly number of supporters to travel with the team no matter where they schedule the games.  The presence of those five “newbies” to the CFP in 2025 might lead some folks to think that college football is in the throes of an upheaval; there are some traditional heavy hitters in college football that have been consigned to very minor bowl games in 2025 such as Penn St., Clemson, LSU, Tennessee, Michigan and Texas.

The sample size is far too small to declare “an upheaval”, but it is interesting to me that two of the five “first-timers” this year are seeded in the Top 4 and have a BYE Week in the CFP structure.

Finally, an interesting perspective from Muhammad Ali:

“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”

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

 

 

Kyle Whittingham is leaving Utah as its head football coach.  In an era of coaching movement, Whittingham was a foundation piece; he has been the Utes’ head football coach for 21 years.  Given his accomplishments at Utah, he coached in relative obscurity; consider:

• In 21 seasons, his teams had 18 seasons with winning records
• His Utah teams went to the Rose Bowl twice
• His overall record was 177-88 – – winning percentage = .668
• His teams finished in the Top 25 nationally 10 times.

Kyle Whittingham seems like college football coaching’s version of “Where’s Waldo”.  All he did was to put competitive teams on the field year after year without much fanfare or histrionics.  He is 66 years old and Utah was his only college head coaching job; it seems to me that he has earned his retirement.

I am also impressed by the way Utah seems to have handled this retirement; if they did not know about it ahead of time, their announcement of Whittingham’s replacement demonstrates a good degree of succession planning.  Taking over for Kyle Whittingham will be Morgan Scalley who has been on the Utah coaching staff since 2008 and who has been the Utah defensive coordinator for the last 10 seasons.  As best I can tell, Scalley’s entire coaching career has been at Utah under Kyle Whittingham so there is continuity in the “turnover”.  Morgan Scalley is currently 46 years old, so the Utes have the potential for continued coaching stability over the next couple of decades.

Moving on – – but staying with college football …  Arch Manning announced that he will not declare for the NFL Draft this year but will return to Texas in 2026.  Some folks have reacted to that announcement with surprise even though statements attributed to Manning family members all during the season have indicated that he would return to college in 2026.  Let’s be real for a moment:

• Even in the days of NIL, top shelf college football players can look to the NFL Draft as a life-changing economic opportunity.
• Arch Manning is included in that category, but he comes to it from a level of family wealth/comfort that is not necessarily equivalent to many other top NFL prospects.
• I make of all this that Arch Manning is a young man who says what he means and means what he says.  Good for him.

Switching gears …  The NY Mets are turning over their roster in this MLB offseason.  They let Pete Alonso sign on with the Orioles; they lost closer Edwin Diaz to free agency; they traded away Bandon Nimmo.  In return for Nimmo, the Mets got Marcus Simien who is a good player but is also 35 years old; in return for Alonso and Diaz, the Mets got diddley-squat.  Given the financial position of Mets’ owner Steve Cohen, economics and “affordability” do not make a whole lot of sense to me, so I was wondering what the thinking might be here.

This morning there is a report that Mike Francesa – – the sports radio legend on WFAN in New York – – said that there was friction in the Mets’ clubhouse last season and that the reason was that some of the players were for President Trump and some others were against President Trump.

On one hand:

• Mike Francesa is closer to the Mets organization than I and he has a track record of sports reporting.
• Politics in the US today is completely polarized and can cause ruptures in families so it is not impossible to imagine that it might create problems for a team.

On the other hand:

• If you take a random sample of 30 people (same number as the 25 players and 4 coaches on an MLB team), it would be next to impossible to imagine that you would come up with political unanimity of thought in the group.
• So, how come this caused turmoil with the Mets but not with any of the other 29 teams?

Finally, the Kyle Whittingham announcement reminded me of Brad Rock – – the now retired sports columnist from the Deseret News.  Here is one of Brad Rock’s great lines from his column there, Rock On:

“OK, so the NBA champ is from Canada and the NHL champ from the U.S. What everyone really wants to know is who gets to claim curling?”

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

 

 

In case you missed it.  The finals of the NBA Cup will happen tonight in Las Vegas.  The NBA Cup was born as the “In-Season Tournament” as a way for the league to drive interest in the first half of the NBA regular season.  They have gussied up a bunch of regular season encounters with unique floor decorations and flashing lights; there is no way to mistake any games identified as “NBA Cup Games” with any run-of-the-mill NBA regular season game.  But therein lies a fundamental problem:

• The games to determine the winner of this year’s NBA Cup will do so as an adjunct to the NBA regular season – – which most people do not care about – – meaning that it is only a big attraction to diehard NBA fans who would be watching the early season games anyhow.

The stand-apart tournament idea works very well in European soccer where the Champions League and the Europa League are important competitions on their own.  However, there is a major difference between those championships and the NBA Cup:

• In European soccer, the “tournament games” are totally separated from the regular season games scheduled for all the tournament entrants.  A loss or a win in the tournament has no effect on the table of the main league for each club.
• In the NBA, the qualifying games for the NBA Cup Finals count in the standings in exactly the same way that other games do.

Tonight’s final game in Las Vegas is the only NBA action scheduled for today and it will match the San Antonio Spurs against the NY Knicks.  Both teams arrive with a record of 18-7 and according to various sportsbooks the Knicks are 2-point favorites with the Total Line set at 234 points.  Both the Spurs and the Knicks will have tomorrow off and then the Spurs will get back in the regular season groove at home against the Woeful Washington Wizards while the Knicks will stop off in Indy on their way back from Sin City to play the Pacers.  Tonight may indeed be the NBA Cup Finals but there is no real “finality” involved there at all.

Moving on … Georgia Tech was my “sleeper team” for college football this year and they won 9 of their 12 regular season games under the leadership of their senior QB, Haynes King.  Quite frankly, it was the fact that King was returning to Georgia Tech as a senior to play QB there that tipped the balance and led me to pick Tech as my “sleeper team”; Haynes King is a good QB and a good football player.

However, I read a report which said that two Heisman Trophy voters had Haynes King as #1 on their Heisman ballots.  I have not seen the ballots but as much as I admire Haynes King as a QB and as a football player, he is not the best college football player that I saw in 2025 – – and I admit that I did not see all of them.  I can only conclude that those two voters do not take their franchise as Heisman voters as seriously as I would prefer that they would.

Maybe – – I don’t read minds so this is merely conjecture – – those two voters saw the reality of the Heisman voting and decided that putting King’s name at the top of their ballot would not damage the integrity of the election process.

• There are more than 900 voters for the Heisman Trophy.
• Media voters comprise 870 votes spread out across the US
• Previous Heisman winners get a vote so long as they are vertical and taking nourishment
• The fans get one – – as in singular – – composite vote.
• Each voter lists three players in rank order.  A first-place vote counts as 3 points; a second-place vote counts as 2 points; a third-place vote counts as 1 point.
• Obviously, the player with the most “points” from all those ballots is the Heisman Trophy winner.

So, if two voters chose to name Haynes King as their #1 player on their ballots, the odds are that no significant harm would come to identifying the ultimate trophy winner.  Trying to put this in the only positive light I can imagine, Haynes King probably was very helpful to a couple of the voters, and they decided to show their appreciation in their voting.

Finally, here is an interesting perspective from Edgar Allan Poe:

“I have great faith in fools; self-confidence my friends call it.”

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

 

 

This will be an abbreviated Football Friday for two reasons.  There is only one college football game left in the regular season and because I need to be “on the road” by one o’clock today to join my “Las Vegas Comrades” in an annual weekend of football immersion in a place other than Las Vegas.  In recent years, we have avoided the 4.5-hour flights each way to Sin City, but we still do the Full Football Experience.

Let me get on it with a review of last week’s “Betting Bundle”:

• Spreads and Totals:              5-3-0
• Season to Date:                     29-40-2

And …

• Money Line Parlays:             1-1                   Profit = $131
• Season to Date:                     14-19               Profit = $533

            My “sleeper team’ for 2025 was Georgia Tech.  They finished the regular season with a record of 9-3 and they were 6-2 in ACC games.  That was not sufficient to get into the ACC Championship Game or to get an at-large invitation to the CFP, but for a team that was not nearly in the spotlight back in July/August, that is a more than respectable showing.

 

College Football Commentary:

 

I wrote yesterday about the abrupt and decisive firing of Sherrone Moore.  According to reports at CBSSports.com, this firing was not a surprise to the college sports world.  Here is some of that CBSSports.com report:

“’This was the worst-kept secret,’ one industry source told CBS Sports, echoing the sentiment of several others who said rumors of Moore’s misconduct with a staff member had been rampant well before the termination became official.”

And …

“A high-level Michigan booster told CBS Sports that Moore’s conduct had been widely known inside the building. ‘Everybody in the program has known this the last two seasons,’ the booster said, adding that Schembechler Hall was ‘swarming with lawyers’ earlier this month. The booster also expressed concern for those affected. ‘This is a sad day to see it come to this. I feel horrible for all the players, coaches and families who are going to be disrupted. And I don’t know what becomes of Sherrone.’”

Now, that puts a new wrinkle on the matter.  If this was known within Michigan athletics and even known outside the university, a question that was not pertinent yesterday has just become important:

• Why was this “inappropriate relationship” hunky-dory a couple of weeks/months ago but not OK as of yesterday?

This story has legs…

Penn St. found its football coach after a search that took longer than expected; Matt Campbell will leave Iowa St where he had been the coach for the last 10 seasons.  His overall record there was 72-55 with a Big-12 Conference record of 50-40.  He took over a team that had gone 8-28 over the three previous seasons and made the Cyclones a respectable team in their conference year in and year out.  Prior to Iowa St., Matt Campbell was at Toledo where his teams went 35-15 overall and 24-8 in the MAC.  Matt Campbell has a solid coaching curriculum vitae.

As I noted in a previous rant, the schedule facing Penn St. next season is not a tough one; the baseline expectation for the Nittany Lions should be 9-3 which brings up a point I would like to make before the fact:

• At schools like Toledo or Iowa St., coaches who win 8 or 9 games every season with maybe one glorious season with double-digit wins will get enshrined in the school’s athletic “hall of fame”.  They won’t build a statue of the coach, but they just might name the field after him if he can deliver that sort of performance.
• A routine record of 9-3 at Penn St. will get the coach fired.  Fan expectations at Penn St. are well beyond 9-3 year after year.
• Matt Campbell had himself a secure and comfortable situation in Ames, IA.  He left that for a very different environment in State College, PA.
• Bonne chance, Matt Campbell…

Speaking of coaching moves, there are 6 SEC schools that went looking for coaches this year:

1. Auburn
2. Arkansas
3. Florida
4. Kentucky
5. LSU
6. Mississippi

That just feels like a big number to me for a conference that is as deep in quality teams as the SEC usually is.  Maybe one could argue that LSU is a “plum job” if you do not look too closely at recent coaching relationships there.  However, I find it difficult to look at the other five jobs on that list and point to any one of them as a “coaching destination”.  Then again, this is the SEC where coaching contracts tend to be fatter than Sally Struthers and the benefits in one’s personal exchequer can make up for ego bruises along the way.

Much ado has been made about Notre Dame opting not to play in a minor bowl game this year after they were not selected for the CFP.  Lost in that kerfuffle are a couple of points:

• Kansas St. and Iowa St. also were bowl-eligible and announced that they were opting out of participating in a minor bowl game.  Neither of those schools had been the recipient of nearly the amount or the level of scorn directed at Notre Dame.
• With these defections, there were not enough Division 1-A teams with 6 wins on the books to fill out the field of bowl games.  The NCAA had to go searching through the teams with 5-7 records to make it all work.  Mississippi St. and Appalachian St. accepted bowl bids and will play despite their 5-7 records.
• Appalachian St. will play Georgia Southern on Dec 29 in the JLab Birmingham Bowl.
• Mississippi St. will play Wake Forest on Jan 2 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

Earlier this week, I suggested that the defections by bowl-eligible teams might have a deleterious effect on the minor bowl games.  Well, this morning there is news that the LA Bowl – – the one being played tomorrow between Washington and Boise St. – – will be the last LA Bowl; it will cease to exist starting in 2026.  The future of many minor bowl games trying to exist outside the umbrella of the CFP is seriously in doubt; there are too many of those games and that has been noted for years – – even without the CFP taking all the oxygen out of the month of December for college football teams and fans.

One other minor bowl match-up is interesting from a curmudgeonly standpoint:

• In the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl on Dec 27, the combatants will be Clemson and Penn St.
• Both Clemson and Penn St. were ranked in the Top 5 preseason polls – – if you ever feel the need to ponder the importance and the validity of those preseason polls.

Here are comments about the games from last week:

Texas Tech 34  BYU 7:  This was another convincing win for Tech, especially the defense; BYU only gained 200 yards on offense in the game.  Tech’s one loss for the season was to Baylor when the Tech defense seemingly got lost; Baylor scored 59 points in that game back in October.  If you are looking for a “dark horse” in the CFP, check out Texas Tech’s defensive stats.

Georgia 28  Alabama 7:  Here is the stat of the game:

• Alabama rushing offense = minus-3 yards

Georgia QB, Gunnar Stockton was efficient here posting this stat line:

• 20 of 26 for 156 yards with 3 TDs and 0 INTs

After that showing, I am a bit surprised that Alabama is going to be in the CFP; that was a bed-wetting by ‘Bama.

Indiana 13  Ohio St. 10:  And then, there was only one undefeated team in the country …  When I picked Ohio St. last week in the “Betting Bundle”, I wondered if Indiana could score 20 on the Buckeyes’ defense.  Well, they could not – – and did not need to.  Ohio St. missed a chip shot field goal in the 4^th quarter that would have tied the game.

Boise St. 38  UNLV 21:  The Broncos finish the season at 9-4 with their third consecutive MWC Championship – – but no CFP invitation.  Boise St. is going to be part of the resurrected PAC-12 starting in 2026.  Boise St. will play Washington in the Bucked Up LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk tomorrow; UNLV will play Ohio in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl on Dec. 23.

 

Games This Week:

 

Boise St. vs Washington – 9 (52.5):  Washington lost its season finale against arch-rival Oregon; the Huskies finished the season at 8-4 with all four losses coming against Big-10 opponents.  With its win last week, Boise St. finished the season at 9-4 – – but their schedule was not nearly as formidable as Washington’s.  I think there are two big questions associated with this bowl game:

• This is the Bucked Up LA Bowl Presented by Gronk.  What is “Bucked Up”?  Is it just a euphemism?
• Will the Washington players show up with an enthusiasm level that matches whatever Boise St. brings to the kickoff?

So, here are my answers:

• Bucked Up is an energy drink – – who knew?  A can of Bucked Up is 16 ounces and contains 300 mg of “natural caffeine”.  [Aside:  What is unnatural caffeine?]  Sixteen ounces of coffee would have about 200 mg of caffeine – – natural or unnatural? – – so Bucked Up is half again as stimulating as coffee.
• There is no way to know how highly motivated the Huskies or the Broncos will be for this game.  But if the Huskies match the intensity of the Broncos, they should win the game comfortably because they have been playing a much higher level of opponent for the last two months or so.

Army vs Navy – 6 (38):  Before you look at that Total Line and say it is ridiculously low, let me present some data:

• Since 2015, the Army/Navy game total has been 1-7-3 against 38 as the Total Line.
• The intensity of this rivalry along with the fact that both teams prefer to run the football thereby keeping the clock running more regularly favors low scores.
• Navy leads the nation in rushing (298.4 yards per game).
• Army is fifth in the nation in rushing (256.9 yards per game).
• Navy averages 49.2 rushing attempts per game
• Army averages 59.8 rushing attempts per game.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

Philip Rivers is back in the NFL for the first time since 2021.  He will start for the Colts this week against the Seahawks in Seattle.  The decision to go in that direction by the Colts is sort of interesting.  The team looked like a shoo-in for the playoffs and maybe even the overall #1 seed in the AFC Playoffs about a month ago.  Since then, they have stumbled badly and are now without their starting QB (Daniel Jones) and his backup (Anthony Richardson). So, what to do?

There are plenty of young QBs who are out of work because they have not shown the consistent ability to play the position at a winning level.  Rather than taking that avenue for quarterbacking expertise, the Colts decided to go “old school” – – literally.  Rivers is 44 years old and has been out of the league for almost 5 seasons; the Colts decided that without much of any practice time with the team, Rivers was a better option for the team.  Rivers spent most of his career with the Chargers but his final season in the NFL was with the Colts.

You can look at that decision in a couple of ways:

• Those younger out-of-work QBs may have suffered significant ego-bruising by that decision.  Their talents were seen as less than those of someone who is in the “geezer category” when it comes to NFL QBs.
• Just suppose for a moment that Rivers had not taken the phone call from the Colts or that his “workout” with the team had been awful, what would the Colts have done in that circumstance?  Call Peyton Manning?  Call 74-year-old Bert Jones?  You can forget trying to contact John Unitas here since he is on the other side of the grass.

Last week, the NY Giants had their BYE Week – – and they came out winners.

• All the other NFC East teams played last week – – and lost.  The Giants did not lose.
• The Titans and the Saints both won their games last week (see below) and by so doing it gives the Giants the inside track to the overall #1 pick in the NFL Draft next April.

Here are comments on some of last week’s games:

Bills 39  Bengals 34:  The game turned on two interceptions on two successive pass attempts by Joe Burrow in the 4^th quarter of the game.  The Bengals really must focus on their defense; it gave up 416 yards on offense including a 43-yard TD run by Josh Allen where no defender came within 2 yards of him.

Jags 36  Colts 19:  Daniel Jones is gone for the year with an Achilles injury; the Colts are toast.  Riley Leonard took over the QB position and the only QB on the Colts’ practice squad was Bret Rypien until the Colts went out and resurrected Philip Rivers in the middle of the week.  The Jags now lead the AFC South by a full game over the Colts and the Texans.

Dolphins 34  Jets 10:  That is a 4-game winning streak for the Dolphins who are not yet eliminated from the playoffs.  Tyrod Taylor left the game early and Brady Cook put up underwhelming stats for the Jets:

• 14 of 30 for 163 yards with 0 TDs and 2 INTs.

What’s next for the Jets?  A return to Justin Fields as the starting QB?

Steelers 27  Ravens 22:  The Ravens lost a TD on a very controversial call in the second half of the game but the real reason the Ravens lost was Red Zone inefficiency; they were in the Red Zone 6 times and only got 2 TDs to show for it.  That victory puts the Steelers up a game over the Ravens in the AFC North race.

Seahawks 37  Falcons 9:  The Falcons turned the ball over 3 times in the game and in four visits to the Red Zone the Falcons managed zero TDs.  This was the 10^th win for the Seahawks this season; their defense is excellent.

Saints 24  Bucs 20:  This was not a game for impressive QB stats:

• Baker Mayfield  14 of 30 for 122  yards with 1 TD and 1 INT
• Tyler Shough      13 of 20 for 144 yards with 0 TD and 1 INT

The Bucs and the Panthers are now tied for the lead in the NFC South with records of 7-6-0.  Those two teams will play twice in the next month – – in Carolina on 12/21/25 and in Tampa on 1/4/26.

Vikes 31  Commanders 0:  This was simply an embarrassment; the Commanders’ defense made JJ McCarthy look like Johnny Unitas [He’s dead, you know.] and even when Jayden Daniels was in the game – – he left after reinjuring his elbow – – this was no contest.  The Vikes were 6 of 11 on third down conversions and 2 of 2 on 4^th down conversions.

Broncos 24  Raiders 17:  This game was not nearly as close as the score looks.  With 4 minutes left in the game, the Broncos led 24-7.  The Raiders got a TD to make it 24-14 and then with 5 seconds left, the Raiders kicked a field goal to make it 24-17.  The Broncos were not sweating it out …

• Interesting note:   The spread for the game closed as Broncos – 7.5 points.  The Total Line was 40.5 points.  That field goal with 5 seconds on the clock flipped a ton of bets.  Conspiracy Theory coming in … 3 … 2 … 1 …
• Maybe the Raiders now have an updated version of Al Davis’s mantra:
  • • Just cover, baby!

Packers 28  Bears 21:  The Packers are now in sole possession of first place in the NFC North but these two teams will meet again in Chicago on 12/20/25 in a Saturday prime time game.  This game was dead even with 8 minutes left in the game; the Packers got a late TD and held on to win this time.

Rams 45  Cards 17:  This game was ugly from the start.  The Rams posted 530 yards on offense including 249 yards on the ground.  After the score was tied at 10 apiece in the second quarter, the Rams proceeded to post 35 unanswered points until the Cards hit the board again early in the fourth quarter.

Titans 31  Browns 29:  The Total Line for this game closed at 34.5 points; these teams had 31 points on the board at halftime.  Shedeur Sanders had himself a day:

• 23 of 42 for 364 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT – – and he was the losing QB

This win “cost” the Titans the rail position in the race for the overall #1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Texans 20  Chiefs 10:  The Texans are not a pretty team, and they do not play an artistic brand of football, but that defense is absolutely outstanding.  The Texans intercepted Patrick Mahomes 3 times and held him to 148 yards net passing.  The Chiefs now need something near Divine intervention if they are to make the playoffs.

 

Games This Week:

 

We have reached the end of BYE Weeks for the 2025 season.

Last night, the Falcons beat the Bucs 29-28 on a field goal as time expired.  The game was a mess; the only reason I kept watching was because it was close.  The Falcons won despite having 19 penalties assessed and at least four more penalties that were declined; that is almost high school JV level execution.  That win makes the Sunday game between the Panthers and the Saints a lot more interesting than it was 24 hours ago (see below).

I hate double-digit spreads in NFL games and this week there are 5 of them on the card.  I do not recall a week this year with 5 games of that sort – – but here we are…

Cards at Texans – 10 (42):  This spread opened at 7 points and jumped immediately to 9.5 points and hovered between 9.5 and 10.5 points all week.  With the Cards’ defensive debacle last week (see above), the thinking here is probably that the Texans will score more than usual this week and that the Texans’ defense will hold the Cards severely in check.  I don’t have a lot of difficulty trusting the Texans’ defense in this game; I do have a problem trusting that offense to cover double digits.

Raiders at Eagles – 11.5 (38):  This is a litmus test for the Eagles.  The Raiders rank 31^st in the NFL in Total Offense; the Raiders rank 26^th in the NFL in Passing Offense; the Raiders rank dead last in the NFL in rushing offense, and the Raiders only score a league worst, 15.1 points per game.  If this is not a get-well game for an Eagles’ team that has lost 3 games in a row, I don’t know what is.  Even if the Raiders cover with a last-minute TD to cut the lead to 10 points, that should be registered as a loss for the Eagles.

Jets at Jags – 13 (42):  This is a classic “look ahead game” for the Jags.  After playing the “lowly Jets” at home, they have the Broncos and the division-rival Colts in the next two weeks.  If the Jags needed this game instead of being in a position to underestimate their opponent, I would take them to win and cover.  Given the ambiguity of who plays hard in the game, I’ll pass …

Browns at Bears – 7.5 (49):  The Bears fell from first place in the NFC North with their loss last week; it will be interesting to see how the team reacts to that loss which broke a long winning streak.  The Browns’ defense is top notch, but the Browns offense is pedestrian at best.  Shedeur Sanders will be the Browns’ QB again this week and this week’s opposing defense will be at least as good as last week’s and possibly significantly better.

Bills – 1 at Pats (49):  The spread opened with the Pats favored by one point, but the favorite flipped early in the week; you can find this spread as a pick ‘em game at two sportsbooks today.  The Pats lead the Bills by 2 games, and they beat the Bills in Buffalo earlier this season.  So, a win by the Pats would give them a 3.5 game lead in the division – – they would own the tiebreaker with the Bills – – with only 3 games to play.  For that reason, this is my Game of the Week.  As Chris Berman was wont to say, “No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.”  Well, it’s wagon-circling time for the 2025 NFL season in the AFC East; Josh Allen is going to will his team to a win here; give me the Bills to win and cover; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Ravens – 3 at Bengals (51.5):  Both teams are struggling; the Ravens do not seem to be able to get out of their own way; the Bengals’ defense is simply a nightmare.  These two teams met just a couple of weeks ago and the Bengals came out of Baltimore with a win.  I am not confident that the Ravens can neutralize Joe Burrow, but I have to think that the Ravens’ offense – – and Lamar Jackson specifically – – will be more productive than it was in the previous game.  The Ravens need the game more than the Bengals; I think coach Harbaugh will get that message through to the team and the Ravens will win and cover here; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Chargers at Chiefs – 6 (41.5):  I believe the Chiefs must win-out – – and get help from other teams – – to make the playoffs this year. The Chargers are dealing with a ton of injuries here and the Chiefs have their backs to the wall.  I won’t play this game here, but look below at the Money Line Parlays…

Commanders at Giants – 2.5 (47):  The spread opened here with the Commanders as 2-point favorites.  That means the spread has moved 4.5 points as the favorite flipped.  Jayden Daniels is out for the game this week after a “setback” on his injured elbow because of a significant hit he took trying to run down an opponent that had intercepted one of his passes.  The Giants are rested from their BYE Week and traditionally, the Commanders do not play well in the Meadowlands.  Just look at the combined record for these two opponents (5-21-0) and you will appreciate why this is the Dog-Breath Game of the Week. The Giants now own the first draft pick next year (see above) and I think they will screw that up by winning here because the Commanders’ defense couldn’t stop Sleeping Beauty from getting a first down on third-and-five.  Nonetheless, the game will only be “borderline watchable”.

Colts at Seahawks – 14 (43):  Philip Rivers will get a baptism of fire against a Seahawks’ defense that ranks fifth in the NFL in Total Defense.  Jonathan Taylor might have difficulty in the run game too, the Seahawks only give up 91 yards per game on the ground.  I really think the Seahawks could win this one BIG, but I have learned my lesson about NFL games with double-digit spreads …

Packers – 2 at Broncos (43):  This game got a lot of attention as the Game of the Week; both teams lead their respective divisions; both teams are the second seed in their conference, and the Broncos have won 10 games in a row.  In terms of “need” for this game, that edge goes to the Packers whose lead in the NFC North is only half a game as compared to the Broncos who lead the AFC West by 2 games.

Panthers – 3 at Saints (40.5): The Panthers entered this week tied for first place in the NFC South with the Bucs and the Panthers are coming back off their BYE Week.  The team also knows that the Bucs lost last night and that a win over the lowly Saints will put the Panthers in first place in the NFC South.  If that doesn’t motivate the squad, there needs to be wholesale changes made.  Last week, the Saints shackled the Bucs on offense and won the game; can they do that two weeks in a row against another division opponent?  When these two teams met several weeks ago, the Saints prevailed in Carolina.  This game is a toss-up between two teams that can run the spectrum of effectiveness; it probably is not worth close attention, but it has become a game with real playoff implications.

Lions at Rams – 6 (55):  The Rams are tied with the Seahawks for the lead in the NFC West.  It would appear that the Seahawks have a very winnable game this week; so that means the Rams need to be on top of their game here.  Same applies to the Lions because a loss here would make a division title in the NFC North a very dicey proposition.  Basically, the motivation comes down to this:

• The Lions cannot afford another loss; the Rams ’objective is a division title and maybe even the top seed in the NFC playoffs and they cannot afford a loss here.
• That Total Line is awfully high – – but if both of these two teams get their offenses in gear, they might blow by that number at the end of the third quarter.  This is a late Sunday afternoon game; if you get it in your viewing area, be sure to have appetizers at the ready to tide you over until dinner because you may not want to leave this game before it is fully over.

Titans at Niners – 12 (44.5):  Let me break this game down to elementary issues:

• Can the Titans win two games in a row?  They won last week on the road in Cleveland; now they are on the road again in Santa Clara…
• The Niners had last week off; the Niners are in a serious playoff race where seeding options are reasonable targets for the team.
• The Titans’ QB was the overall #1 pick in his Draft.
• The Niners’ QB was the overall last pick in his Draft.

(Sun Nite) Vikes at Cowboys – 5.5 (47.5):  The oddsmakers and the betting public are not buying JJ McCarthy’s performance against the porous Commanders’ defense last week as transformative.  The Cowboys’ offense is clearly the stronger offense; the Vikes’ defense is clearly the tougher defense.  This will be an interesting game to watch

(Mon Nite) Dolphins at Steelers – 3.5 (41.5):  TJ Watt spent a night in a hospital earlier this week for an evaluation related to some “lung discomfort”; not good news for the Steelers.  The weather forecast for Pittsburgh around game time is for temps in the mid-teens with a wind chill factor making it feel like five-degrees.  This is not a meteorology blog; I mention it only because the Dolphins are notoriously less effective when the kickoff temperature is below 40 degrees.

So, let me review this week’s meager “Betting Bundle”:

• Ravens – 3 over Bengals
• Bills – 1 over Pats

That’s it; that’s the list!

So, how about three Money Line parlays:

• Navy @ minus-240
• Texans @ minus-450
• Eagles @ minus-600                         $100 wager to win $102

And …

• Chargers @ +240
• Niners @ minus-700                         $100 wager to win $289

And …

• Broncos at +110
• Jags @ minus-800
• Panthers @ minus-150                     $100 wager to win $294

Finally, this important element of football coaching from Mike Holmgren:

“It doesn’t matter what you know if you can’t teach it.”

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

 

 

After Lane Kiffin ended all the speculation about where he would be the head football coach in 2026, the college football coaching shuffle appeared to be ready to come to a halt.  But the football gods decided to throw everyone a curve; and, yesterday, we learned that Michigan fired its head coach, Sherrone Moore, for cause.  Here is part of the statement issued by the Michigan Athletic director on the matter:

“Sherrone Moore has been terminated with cause effectively immediately.  Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.  This conduct constitutes a clear violation of university policy and UM maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”

The first thing that stood out to me about that statement is the directness and the specificity of the reason for the termination.  Usually, such statements are much more carefully worded there is always some reference to “moving forward” and/or “institutional integrity” near the conclusion of the statement.  Not so here.  The university did an investigation; they found inappropriate conduct; they fired the person engaged in the inappropriate conduct.  Next …

There is another wrinkle here that is out of the ordinary.  Reports this morning say that Coach Moore was arrested by local law enforcement.  And that throws a different light on the “inappropriate relationship” mentioned by the AD.  When I read the statement for the first time, my interpretation was that Moore was doing the horizontal rhumba with a staffer.  Well, if the two of them are “consenting adults”, that would not seem to involve the local gendarmes very much.

Naturally, I wanted to know how much money was left on Coach Moore’s contract that he would seem to have “left on the table” there as a result of being fired for cause.  According to various Internet sources, that number is $13.9M.  Obviously, Sherrone Moore will retain counsel who will try to pry some of that money loose for their client; so, this story is not over yet.  The only thing that is certain now is that Michigan is in the market for a new head football coach and it jumped into that messy business very late in the cycle.  This story is still in medias res.

Moving on …  The MLB offseason – – the so-called Hot Stove League – – seems to have spun into action recently.  The Phillies re-signed slugger Kyle Schwarber to a contract worth $150M over the next 5 years.  Schwarber is about to turn 33 years old and his only real position on an MLB team is “DH”, so this is a lot of money spent on a position that normally commands half of that amount or less.

Schwarber hit 56 home runs in 2025 including one game where he launched 4 moon shots.  That too is a special level of performance for a DH but the bump in salary still seems over the top a bit given that Schwarber is a career .231 hitter.  However, it is also reported that the Orioles also offered Schwarber $150M to sign on in Baltimore, meaning the economic gurus in MLB seem to have placed a significant value on an intangible asset that Schwarber has.

And another power hitter made Hot Stove League news recently …  Pete Alonso is no longer a Met; he will take his talents on a four-hour car ride south on Interstate-95 to be part of the Baltimore Orioles.  Alonso turned 31 earlier this week; his deal is worth $155M over the next 5 years; he will average $1M per year more than Schwarber.  This deal is a bit surprising to me:

• On one hand, the O’s are not known as a big-spending club.
• On the other, they are under new ownership.
• The O’s are in a tough division and finished 12 games under .500 in 2025.  They do not seem to be “one piece away” from a meaningful playoff appearance.
• Is there more “spending” to come from the O’s to bolster the roster even further?

One thing Alonso brings to the table is reliability.  He has been in the major leagues since 2019 and if you ignore the COVID-shortened season in 2020, Alonso has appeared in 152 or more games in every other season, and he has been an All-Star for the past four straight seasons.

The NY Post reports that the Mets did not make an offer to Alonso despite his performance in 2025 where he hit .272 with 38 home runs and 126 RBIs.  It would be surprising to me to learn that the O’s outbid the Mets for a player; it is even more surprising that the Mets never entered the market to keep one of their own players.  Very strange …

Finaly, these ironic words from former NY Governor, Eliot Spitzer:

“Don’t reward bad behavior. It is one of the first rules of parenting. During the financial cataclysm of 2008, we said it differently. When we bailed out banks that had created their own misfortune, we called it a ‘moral hazard,’ because the bailout absolved the bank’s bad acts and created an incentive for it to make the same bad loans again.”

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

 

A riff on the adage, “Nothing succeeds like success” might well be:

“Nothing exceeds like excess.”

We are coming upon a spot in the sports calendar where exceeding and excess are front-and-center so that no one can miss their presence.  I refer of course to the season chock full of college football bowl games that have no connection to the College Football Playoff.  Seriously, unless you are an alum of one of the participating schools, do you really and truly give a fig who will win the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Game this year?

There was a time when college bowl games were worthy entertainment events because there were not 41 of them (that is the number for 2025) meaning that only good teams would be on display.  This year, just to fill out the sidelines in all those games, the NCAA had to allow teams with a 5-7 regular season record to participate.  Think about it; if Whatsamatta U (with a 5-7 record) took on Mediocrity A&M (with a 6-6 record), one outcome could be that both teams might leave the stadium with losing records for 2025.  Set an alarm so I don’t miss that game …

Several teams eligible for bowl games have chosen not to participate.  Notre Dame has its nose out of joint asserting that it was snubbed by the Selection Committee for the CFP, and it is not worth Notre Dame’s time and energy to go and play a meaningless game somewhere against a meaningless opponent.  Call that arrogance if you prefer – – OR – – maybe Notre Dame and those other schools have figured something out:

• Maybe the existence of the CFP will bring on the demise of the weaklings in the minor bowl games universe?

There is historical precedence here.  In college basketball, the premier post-season event used to be the NIT; it existed before there was an NCAA College Basketball Tournament; it was more prestigious than the NCAA tournament in the early days of their co-existence.  However, as the NCAA Tournament grew in popularity and garnered more attention, the NIT had to take a back seat.  That period of co-existence still had the NIT in a position where enough people cared about the outcomes that people paid attention.  Now, with a 68-team NCAA Tournament field, the NIT is less than an afterthought.  Not to pick on the NIT, how many of you recall that in the Spring of 2025, there was a third postseason college basketball tournament in existence:

• Q:  What was the name of the tournament?  A:  The College Basketball Crown
• Q:  How many teams?  A:  Sixteen
• Q:  Who won the Crown?  A:  Nebraska
• Q:  How many teams in the field had double-digit losses?   A:  All of them

            I knew the answers to the first two questions and was pretty sure of the answer to the fourth question above, but I had to go and look up who won the tournament.  It is quite possible that the same thing will befall the minor college football bowl games down the line.  Here is how it might go:

• Interest is focused on the CFP – – maybe expanded to 16 teams soon?
• Interest in minor games wanes and TV ratings drop
• Sponsors do not pony up big money for naming rights
• Sponsors do not buy ad time for the games except at rock-bottom rates
• The networks – – who own many of the minor bowl games – – look to “consolidate”.
  • • Translation: They are trying to cut their losses.
• More schools choose not to accept invites and games go out of existence.

That scenario is not good news for networks nor for that segment of the TV audience that would choose to watch any football game between any two teams at any level of competence.  But it could happen …

And, as usual, I have an off-the-wall idea for the networks and for college football fans to feed their habit:

• In the Spring – – after March Madness concludes – – pick 8 college football teams from around the country.  Do it by a lottery if you want to; just be sure that all 8 teams had a winning record the year before.
• Put them in brackets and play it down as a “Spring Football Tournament”

Teams are going to have “Spring Practice” anyway; teams will play an intra-squad game anyway; why not have 8 of them play a Spring Practice Game against another school instead of against itself?

You know who would absolutely HATE that idea?  That would be the owners of the UFL because I am confident that given a choice of watching a football game in April between two college teams or a game between two UFL teams, more people would watch the college games.

Finally, I’ll close with these words of wisdom from P.J. O’Rourke:

“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.”

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

 

 

Yesterday, I recalled the “good old days” of Big East college basketball and after posting my rant on that subject, it occurred to me that the Big East seems to be on an ascendant track while ACC basketball seems to be on a downward arc.  Back when the Big East was prominent – – 30 years ago or more – – the ACC was equally prominent.  The Big East declined significantly and is now “coming back” while the ACC seems still to be less than it used to be.

In the past, you could start to think about the upcoming college basketball season, and you could count on Duke, UNC, NC State and Maryland to offer strong teams.  Often other schools would have serious teams on display like Wake Forest (the Tim Duncan years) and Georgia Tech (the Bobby Cremins years) and Virginia (the Ralph Samson years).  That seems not to be the case today – – and in recent years.

I went back and looked at last year’s March Madness bracket; there were only 4 teams from the ACC included in the field of 68 teams.  Getting four teams in the tournament field would have been laudable when the ACC had 8 members; today, the ACC has 18 members.  I think part of the ACC decline can be explained by the exodus of a lot of top-shelf coaches in a short period of time.  Since the COVID cancellation year in 2020, here are some – – probably not all – – of the iconic coaches who retired from ACC schools:

• Tony Bennett – Virginia
• Jim Boeheim – Syracuse
• Mike Brey – Notre Dame
• Mike Krzyzewski – Duke
• Jim Larranega – Miami
• Roy Williams – UNC

That coaching array attracted a lot of talent to the ACC simply because “everyone knew those names”; if a kid or a parent got a call or a letter or an email from one of those coaches, it probably did not go directly into the recycling pile or the great bit-box in the sky.  Those coaches probably have some involvement with those school athletic programs, but they are not the ones active in “closing the deal” with a prized prospect.  It will take time for the current crop of coaches to earn their stripes; ACC basketball will return to prominence just as Big East basketball is in the process of doing; it will just take a bit of time.

Moving on …  It seems that the trial date has been set in the gambling cases brought against two Cleveland Guardians’ pitchers, Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz; reports say that jury selection will begin on May 4^th, 2026.  Clase and Ortiz are accused of being involved with an illegal sports betting ring and that they intentionally threw specific pitches in specific circumstances so that other members of the betting ring could cash in game bets; Clase and Ortiz have entered pleas of “Not Guilty”.

In addition, Clase is alleged to have been involved with the illegal betting ring and then “expanded its reach” by recruiting Ortiz into the operation.  A report at The Athletic said that as part of discovery, the prosecutors have already turned over a terabyte of information about their case to the defense teams.  Just to give you an idea of how much data that is:

• One of these rants is about 20 kilobytes in storage size.
• One terabyte therefore is approximately 50 million of these rants.
• If I were to write 200 rants a year, it would take 250,000 years to finish the assignment.

Switching gears …  The Colts lost QB, Daniel Jones, to an Achilles injury on Sunday.  Anthony Richardson is also out for the year with an injury and the Colts’ fast start to the 2025 season seems to be derailed.  However, this morning the story is that the Colts worked out Philip Rivers to see if he might come out of retirement for the stretch run in 2025.  In case Rivers has been flushed from your memory banks:

• He is 44 years old and retired after the 2020 season. (His birthday was yesterday).
• He is a borderline Hall of Fame QB.
• He was in the NFL for 17 seasons and threw 421 TDs and 209 INTs.

During his retirement years, Philip Rivers had been the head football coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama.  Rivers was particularly good throwing the “deep ball” during his active NFL days; it would be interesting to see video of his workout with the Colts to see if that part of his skill set remained intact.

Finally, here is a comment that may have haunted Philip Rivers for the last several years:

• The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.

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