Author: Jack

It’s been said that the only proper synonym for Friday is:

• Boom-Shack-A-Laka!

Not so in Curmudgeon Central; Friday is a workday; Friday calls out for a Football Friday rant.  So, let me get started …

As usual I shall begin by reviewing last week’s “Betting Bundle” – – and it was a disastrous peek into a crystal ball:

• Spreads and Totals:  0-5-1                Yeah, I know; it could be worse.
• Season to Date:         14-28-2            Shameful!

And …

• Money Line Parlays: 0-2                   Loss = $200
• Season to Date:         8-15                 Loss = $36

The Linfield University Wildcats assured that their streak of winning records in football will stay intact for yet one more season.  Linfield beat Lewis and Clark last week 29-21; that was the fifth win of the season for Linfield against two losses; the regular season schedule is 9 games long, so Linfield’s streak that began in 1956 goes on.  This week, Linfield is on the road to Tacoma WA to play at the university of Puget Sound.  Go Wildcats!

My “sleeper team” for 2025 has been Georgia Tech and they have been roaring instead of snoring in 2025.  That season hit a speed bump last week; Tech lost its first game of the year to NC State 48-36.  That outcome makes the ACC standings almost inscrutable.

• Virginia has no conference losses – – even though they lost to NC State in September.  It’s a long and bizarre story …
• Five teams have only one conference loss.
• I started to try to figure out who had the inside track to make the ACC Championship Game and got lost in a maze of possible outcomes.  That is a job for AI …

 

College Football Commentary:

 

Another coach at a major college program was sent packing last week.  Auburn and coach Hugh Freeze mutually decided to go in different directions – – or something like that.  Last week, Auburn lost to Kentucky by the score of 10-3.  That was embarrassing for several reasons:

• It was Kentucky’s first SEC victory of the year.
• Auburn ranks 104^th in the nation in scoring offense; Hugh Freeze made his bones as a coach on the offensive side of the ball.
• Kentucky ranks 86^th in the nation in scoring defense; Auburn only managed a field goal in the game.
• This was a slog of a game; the two teams combined to create a total of 478 yards on offense, and they combined to punt the ball 13 times.
• Freeze leaves Auburn with a record of 15-19.

We have arrived at the portion of the college football season where it is beginning to be possible to envision the participants in the CFP starting in December.  It looks as if perennial entrants like Ohio St, and Alabama will be involved again this year.  It also appears as if there will be some first-time entrants into the festivities.  I am sure that others can find other newbies who have a shot at the CFP this year, but here is my top-of the head list:

• BYU is 8-0 and leading the Big-12.
• Iowa has 2 losses – – and some impressive on-field credentials
• Ole Miss is 8-1 and the remaining schedule is not nearly a killer
• Texas A&M has been dominant this year and even if they lose a game this month, they would seem to be shoo-ins for the CFP.
• Texas Tech is 7-1 and should be in the Big-12 Championship Game

            I am not saying all those teams will make the CFP but none of them have been there before and all have a real chance.  In addition:

• It is virtually certain that the ACC representative(s) to the CFP will be first timers.  The previous ACC teams have been Clemson and Florida St.; neither of them will be under consideration this year.
• It looks pretty clear that the “non-Power 4 team” will be a rookie too.  Liberty and Boise St. have been there in the past, and neither will be there this year.  There are five or six possible teams from this category that could get the invitation, and I can’t possibly sort that out here.

There are four unbeaten teams remaining in 2025:

1. BYU
2. Indiana
3. Ohio St.
4. Texas A&M

Here are some comments on games from last week in the ACC:

Duke 46 Clemson 45:  Clemson has lost 5 games this year and 4 of them are conference games.  In the ACC only BC and Syracuse have more conference losses than Clemson.  Duke is 4-1 in conference games; the ACC race will be very interesting from here on out.

Virginia 31  Cal 21:  The Cavaliers remain “unbeaten” in ACC games (see above).

UNC 27  Syracuse 10:  This was the first win for Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels over a Power 4 opponent …

SMU 26  Miami 20 (OT):  That is the second loss in a row for the Hurricanes, and they are pretty much out of the ACC Championship picture.  SMU has 3 overall losses, but the Mustangs are 4-1 in conference games.  They have a much better shot at getting into the ACC Championship Game after this result.

And in Big-10 action:

Ohio St. 38  Penn St. 14:  The Nittany Lions have now lost 5 in a row; maybe James Franklin wasn’t “the problem”…?  Oh, by the way, Indiana is coming to “Happy Valley” this week…

Indiana 55  Maryland 10:  The Hoosiers ran up 588 yards on offense in this game and held Maryland to only 37 yards rushing on 17 tries.

Next up is the SEC:

Texas 34  Vandy 31:  Both teams are now 7-2.  Texas has only one SEC loss while Vandy has two conference losses.  The Commodores scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to make the score respectable.

Georgia 24  Florida 20:  Georgia improved to 7-1 for the season but that loss was in conference.  The Bulldogs are “lurkers” in the SEC now with that conference loss.  Alabama and Texas A&M are both undefeated in conference play and Ole Miss joins Georgia with a single conference loss.

Mississippi St. 38  Arkansas 35:  The Bulldogs are 5-4 for the season; they have already passed their projected win-total for the year according to the oddsmakers back in August.  Arkansas has lost 7 games this year, but three losses were by a field goal, and a fourth loss was by a single point.

Oklahoma 33  Tennessee 27:  That is the 3^rd conference loss for Tennessee; they will not be in the SEC Championship Game.  Oklahoma has two conference losses but also must deal with the fact that there are 5 SEC teams with fewer conference losses.

And over in the Big-12:

West Virginia 45  Houston 35:  This was a shocker.  Houston was at home and was a 13.5-point favorite and managed to lose by 10 points.  It was the second conference loss for Houston, and it was also the first conference victory for West Virginia.

Texas Tech 43  K-State 20:  The Red Raiders improved to 8-1 for the season.  However, that loss was in conference leaving them behind BYU in the Big-12 standings.

Kansas 38  Oklahoma St. 21:  The Cowboys’ season continues to circle the drain; they are now 1-8 for the season and have not won a conference game since 2023.

Arizona 52  Colorado 17:  If you think that score looks bad consider these:

• Colorado lost to Utah two weeks ago 53-7
• The score at halftime last week was 38-7

And in some random games of interest to me:

Army 20  Air Force 17:  I said last week that games between the service academies are usually close encounters …

North Texas 31  Navy 17:  This is the first loss of the year for Navy; North Texas improved its record to 8-1.

Fresno St.  30  Boise St. 7:  That was the first conference loss – – and third loss overall – – for Boise St.  Nevertheless, they are still alone in second place in the Mountain West Conference.  Fresno St. and five other teams have 2 conference losses so far; that race could get interesting too.

San Diego St. 24  Wyoming 7:  San Diego St. is 7-1 for the season and is the only undefeated team in the Mountain West.

Oregon St. 10  Washington St. 7:  The two offenses in this game were indeed “offensive”.

• Total Offense:              Oregon St. = 184 yards            Wash St. = 271 yards
• 3^rd down tries              Oregon St. = 1 of 12               Wash St. = 2 of 12
• Punts                           Oregon St. = 10                      Wash St. = 7

La Tech 55  Sam Houston 14:  Sam Houston is 0-8 for the season.  The SHOE Tournament Committee – – namely me – – has taken notice…

Here is an update on the race to receive the Brothel Defense Award for 2025:

• UAB gives up 38.8 points per game
• Oklahoma St. gives up 38.8 points per game
• Georgia St. gives up 40.8 points per game
• Sam Houston gives up 40.9 points per game.

Delaware St. 27  Norfolk St. 20:  DeSean Jackson’s team beat Michael Vick’s team.  The game was played in Philly at Lincoln Financial Field and drew a crowd of 47,266.

            Just as a point of reference for you, the stingiest scoring defense in 2025 is Ohio St.; the Buckeyes yield 6.9 points per game.  Quite the difference …

Here are the 12 teams on my radar this week for the SHOE Tournament:

1. Boston College           1-8
2. East Michigan             2-7
3. Georgia St.                  1-7
4. Middle Tenn St.           1-7
5. Nevada                        1-7
6. Oklahoma St.              1-8
7. Oregon St.                  2-7
8. South Alabama           2-7
9. Sam Houston              0-8
10. UMass                         0-9
11. UNC-Charlotte            1-7
12. UTEP                          2-6

 

Games of Interest This Week:

 

Colorado at W. Virginia – 6 (53):  Both teams are 1-5 in the conference.  Is the bloom off the rose in Colorado for Coach Pirme?  Can Rich Rodriguez’ return to W. Virginia start to look like something other than a disaster?  Neither defense is playing well here so I like the game to go OVER; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Florida St. at Clemson – 1.5 (56):  The subtitle for this game has to be, “How the Mighty Have Fallen”.  The Seminoles are 4-4 in 2025, and the Tigers are 3-5…

Indiana – 14 at Penn St. (50):  I suspect that there will not be a lot of happiness in evidence in “Happy Valley” come Saturday night…  Penn St. has not thrown the ball well since Drew Allar has been injured so if they fall behind here, they will have difficulty catching up.  The Indiana defense is tough yielding only 10.8 points per game.  I think this will be a rout; I’ll take Indiana and lay the points even on the road; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Wake Forest at Virginia – 6.5 (48.5):  The Cavaliers seek to stay unbeaten in ACC games which would guarantee them entry into the ACC Championship Game.

Georgia – 9 at Mississippi St. (56):  Georgia is ranked #5 this week in the CFP rankings – – the only ones that matter.  It looks like they are in the CFP unless they stumble on their own.

Texas A&M – 7 at Mizzou (48):  This is an important game for the Aggies, and the Tigers are no pushover.

BYU at Texas Tech – 10.5 (52):  BYU is 8-0 for the 2025 season and they are double-digit underdogs here in a conference game.  You do not see that very often.  I think this is the College Game of the Week.

Auburn at Vandy – 6.5 (45):  Auburn will have an interim coach which often gives a team a burst of enthusiasm; Vandy still has an outside shot at the CFP but those hopes will vanish with a poor performance in games like this.

LSU at Alabama – 10 (50):  The Tigers are 5-3 for the season and have lost 2 in a row.  This looks like a hard spot for them.

Oregon – 7 at Iowa (42):  The CFP rankings have Oregon at #9 and Iowa at #20; this is a big game for both teams, and it got plenty of consideration here for College Game of the Week.

Florida International – 1 at Middle Tennessee St. (52):  The SHOE Committee is watching …

Navy at Notre Dame – 28 (56):  Navy likes to run the ball; if they have even a little success doing that, it might be difficult for Notre Dame to have enough time to cover 4 TDs.

Sam Houston at Oregon St. – 20 (53.5):  Here are two bad teams with a combined record of 2-15 and one of them is a 3-score underdog.  Wow!

San Diego St. – 7 at Hawaii (48.5):  The Aztecs are the only team in the Mountain West without a loss this year – – but Hawaii is 4-1 at home this year…

 

NFL Commentary:

 

            With the NY Jets starting a tear-down effort by trading away two of their best defensive players earlier this week, I want to pose a simple question:

• Are the 2025 NY Jets looking at an even worse season than the team endured under Richie Kotite in 1996 when the team went 1-15-0?

Here are some numbers related to the 2025 NY Jets that are not gaudy by any means”

• The Jets rank 32^nd in the NFL in passing offense at 156.5 yards per game
• The Jets rank 25^th in the NFL in scoring at 21 points per game
• The Jets rank 24^th in the NFL in first downs achieved.

Look at those offensive stats in light of the fact that the team just traded off two Pro Bowl level players on the defense and it makes you wonder if 1-16-0 is possible…

The Dolphins did something unusual; the team stinks and instead of firing the coach, the owner fired the GM.  [Aside: That is not to say that the coach will not be out the door in the near future.]  Usually, it is the coach that goes first and if the GM is let go as well, those firings occur as a tandem.  The GM, Chris Grier, is Black; Stephen A. Smith suggested that there might be a racial component to that unusual circumstance; I don’t agree.

First of all, Chris Grier has been the GM of the team since 2016 and last time I checked, the Dolphins have not been in a lot of Super Bowls or Championship Games since then.  If the owner is a “closet racist”, I think he would have found an excuse to fire Chris Grier sometime short of 9 seasons.

I think the frustration of the owner there is that the team had a cumulative record of 77-80-0 since Grier took the job – – and things are not looking up for the 2025 season.  Over the course of his tenure in Miami, I think Grier made two big decisions that just never worked out for the team:

• He hired Adam Gase as the head coach in Miami right after getting the job.  That marriage lasted 3 years and was not an unmitigated success.
• He drafted Tua with the #5 pick in 2020 and that left the Chargers the opportunity to draft Justin Herbert with the #6 pick in that draft.

Yesterday, the NY Times reported that Antonio Brown had been arrested by US Marshalls in Dubai and he has been extradited to the US on second-degree attempted murder charges.  Brown has had some unusual behavioral incidents in the past and was indeed a diva as a WR, but I never saw a “murder charge” coming down the pike.  The events in question go back to May 17 when Brown claimed that he was “jumped” by people who sought to steal his jewelry but that he fended them off.  He was questioned by the police then but not arrested or charged with anything.  After that the police got a warrant for his arrest and he has been evading the authorities ever since then.  Hence – – I guess – – why the arrest happened in Dubai.

I just know that this story is not over …

I want to offer up a prognostication here even though the NFL season is only half over:

• The New England Patriots will be in the AFC Playoffs this year.

The Pats are 7-2-0 as of this morning.  They have 8 games left on the schedule and they will be favored in at least 5 of them:

• Vs. Jets
• At Bengals
• Vs. Giants
• At Jets
• Vs. Dolphins

If the Pats win four of those five very winnable games, they will have 11 wins for the season, and I don’t see how an 11-win team misses the AFC playoffs this season.  And by the way, they have a win over the Bills in their pocket so even if they lose to the Bills in the rematch on Dec 14^th, they still could win the AFC East on tiebreakers.

The Panthers are starting to look like a good football team.  They can – – and do – – run the football and they defend the run well too.  Now if they can keep Bryce Young upright and mobile …

Here is an unusual stat taken from the NFL standings today:

• The Texans are 3-5-0 for the season; nevertheless, their point differential is +47.
• The Texans beat the Titans by 26, the Ravens by 34 and the Niners by 11.
• The Texans’ biggest loss is by 8 points to the Seahawks.

Here are comments on last week’s games:

Steelers 27  Colts 20:  The Colts outgained the Steelers by 143 yards in the game but 6 turnovers negated that offensive advantage.  The Colts also converted 5 of 5 fourth-down tries in the game, but that was not enough to overcome 6 turnovers.  Daniel Jones was responsible for 5 of the 6 turnovers (3 INTs and 2 lost fumbles).  Both teams lead their divisions by 2 full games this morning but there are lots of naysayers who think both teams are Cinderellas with the clock at 11:55 PM.  We shall see …

Pats 24  Falcons23:    The Pats have won 6 games in a row; along with the Broncos, that is the longest extant winning streak in the league.  Interestingly, the Pats are 4-0 on the road and only 3-2 at home.  The Pats held the ball for 34 minutes and ran 14 more offensive plays than the Falcons.  The Falcons record dropped to 3-5-0 here and only the miserable Saints are keeping them out of the bottom of the NFC South.  The Falcons missed a PAT in the game that proved to be the margin of victory for the Pats.

Panthers 16  Packers 13:  The Packers outgained the Panthers by 104 yards – – and lost.  The Packers converted 7 of 13 third-down attempts – – and lost.  The Packers never punted in the game – – and lost.  The NFC North race really tightened up last week; the Packers now lead both the Lions and the Bears by half a game and the Vikes by 1.5 games. The Packers are an enigma; they look like world beaters one week but realize that they have lost to the Panthers and to the Browns and tied the Cowboys this year; those are not 3 great teams.  Panthers RB, Rico Dowdle ran the ball 25 times for 130 yards and two TDs.  Packers were inside the Red Zone 5 times and scored only 1 TD.

Broncos 18  Texans 15:  This was the fourth time this season that the Broncos were behind when the fourth quarter started and the team came back to win the game.  Someone in Denver must have found a cache of pixie dust.  Here are the results of the Texans’ second half possessions – – after CJ Stroud left the game with a concussion:

• 6 plays             24 yards          Field Goal
• 4 plays             8 yards            PUNT
• 3 plays             7 yards            PUNT
• 5 plays             14 yards          PUNT
• 4 plays             8 yards            PUNT
• 3 plays             7 yards            PUNT
• 3 plays             4 yards            PUNT

Bears 47  Bengals 42:  The teams combined to score 31 points in the 4^th quarter alone.  In fact, they scored 23 points in the final 5 minutes of the game.  Some beaches in the world are listed as “Clothing Optional”.  This game should be labeled as “Tackling Optional”.  The Bengals are toast; that defensive showing should have been a full-fledged embarrassment for the entire Bengals’ defense and defensive staff; the Bears posted 575 yards of offense.  But don’t lose sight of the fact that the Bears’ defense allowed 42 points to Joe Flacco in this game; that level of performance by Chicago is not sustainable.    Consider this circumstance:

• The Bengals offense has scored 39 and 42 points in the past two weeks and lost both games because of their defense’s inability to force stops. 

Chargers 27  Titans 20:  The Titans got a TD on a Pick Six and another one on a punt return; this game was not as close as the score would lead you to believe.  Justin Hebert was “The Man” in the game throwing for 250 yards and being the leading rusher with 57 yards.

Vikes 27  Lions 24:  JJ McCarthy was the star of this game by a mile.  He threw 2 TD passes and ran for another score.  The Vikes’ defense held the Lions to only 65 yards rushing on 20 carries and the longest run was only 11 yards.  The Lions are 0-3 this year when held to fewer than 100 yards rushing.

Niners 34  Giants 24:  The Niners ran for 159 yards in the game on 39 attempts; that allowed the Niners to control the pace of the game and time of possession.

Jags 30  Raiders 29 (OT):  You can’t fault Geno Smith for this loss; here is his stat line:

• 29 of 39 for 284 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT

The difference in the game came down to the Raiders’ choice to go for two instead of playing for a tie with less than a minute left in OT.  That and the fact that the Raiders missed another PAT in the first quarter which played a role in sending the game to OT in the first place.  Another memorable event from the game, Jags’ placekicker, Cam Little set an NFL record with a successful 68-yard field goal.  The Raiders led 6-3 at the half and had the Jags’ offense bottled up.  Then in the second half, the Raiders’ defense went AWOL; here are the Jags’ possessions after halftime:

• 7 plays             17 yards          Field Goal
• 13 plays           69 yards          TD
• 9 plays             74 yards          TD
• 8 plays             42 yards          Field Goal
• 10 plays           44 yards          TD

Rams 34  Saints 10:  This was total domination by the Rams; they outgained the Saints 438 yards to 224 yards.  YOWZA!  The Saints got a look at Tyler Shough at QB for the game; here is his stat line from his first NFL start:

• 15 of 24 for 176 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT

Bills 28  Chiefs 21:  This was a great game to watch; the Bills won the game by winning the game not by the Chiefs losing the game.  The Bills controlled the ball for almost 35 minutes and James Cook’s rushing for 114 yards on 27 carries had lots to do with that.  I suspect we could see these teams face each other again in the playoffs…

Seahawks 38  Commanders 14:  Another game of total domination; the score was 31-7 at halftime; the Seahawks outgained the Commanders by 128 yards and played Drew Lock at QB for a significant part of the 4^th quarter.  Sam Darnold had a perfect first half against the Commanders, going 16 of 16 for 284 yards and four touchdowns in the first half.  Here is a stat that I ran across this week:

• Sam Darnold is the only QB over the past 35 years to complete 100% of his passes for at least 250 passing yards and four passing touchdowns in a single half.

Jayden Daniels suffered a gruesome injury late in the game; the score at the time was 38-7 and one might ask why he was in the game in the first place.

Ravens 34  Dolphins 6:  Seriously, I don’t think the game was this close …

Cards 27  Cowboys 17:  Jacoby Brisset and Marvin Harrison, Jr. had their way with the Cowboys’ secondary and Emari Demercado gained 79 yards on 14 carries.  The Cards’ victory broke a 5-game losing streak where the total margin of victory in the five games was 13 points.  The Cards’ defense also recorded 5 sacks in the game.

Before looking at this week’s games, I should note that last week was a positive one for the Eagles.  They were on their BYE Week; so, they were sitting at home watching instead of playing and they saw all three of their division rivals lose last weekend.

 

NFL Games This Week:

 

Teams on the BYE Week will be:

• Bengals:  I wonder if their defense can pitch a shutout on the BYE Week.  That is not a guarantee …
• Chiefs:  They trail the Broncos by 2.5 games as of today and they are only 1-3-0 on the road.  The Chiefs need to find a way to kickstart their season here.
• Cowboys:  Quinnen Williams will help the Cowboys’ run defense; can they use this BYE Week to teach the secondary how to cover people and to tackle people?
• Titans:  Can they out stink the Jets and get the overall #1 pick again in 2026?

            Last night the Broncos beat the Raiders 10-7 in an unentertaining game.  The Raiders scored a TD in the middle of the first quarter.  Here are their possessions after that:

• 8 plays             23  yards         PUNT
• 6 plays             30 yards          PUNT
• 5 plays             2 yards            FUMBLE
• 6 plays             30 yards          PUNT
• 4 plays             -4  yards          SACK
• 3 plays            -2 yards           PUNT
• 3 plays             -2 yards           HALFTIME
• 3 plays             8 yards            PUNT
• 1 play              0 yards            INT
• 4 plays             -6 yards           PUNT
• 3 plays             – 1 yard            PUNT
• 6 plays            42 yards          PUNT
• 6 plays            15 yards          MISSED FIELD GOAL

Falcons vs Colts – 6.5 (48.5) Game is in Berlin:  The Colts laid an egg last week; so, does that get it out of their system or is that harbinger of a decline?  This game could give a good indication because the Falcons defense against the run is only the 23^rd best in the league.  Which version of the Falcons will show up?

Browns – 2 at Jets (38): Clearly, the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.  The only positive thing about the game is that both teams had a BYE last week and should be ready to play as well as they can – – which is not all that great.

Saints at Panthers – 5.5 (40):  The Saints are a bad team, and this is a second road game in a row.  Usually that is not a good situation …

Bills – 9.5 at Dolphins (50):  Unless the Bills totally disrespect this opponent and look forward to the game after this one, they should win in a walk.  I know that is a big number, but I’ll take the Bills to win and cover on the road; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Jags at Texans “pick ‘em” (39):  The total Line opened at 41 points but dropped to this level when it was announced that CJ Stroud will not play here because of a concussion sustained last week; Davis Mills will be the QB for the Texans.  The Jags have been up and down this season and the Texans’ defense has a way of making offenses uncomfortable.  I like this game to stay UNDER; put it in the ”Betting Bundle”.

Ravens – 4 at Vikes (49):  Key question here is simple:

• Can JJ McCarthy play the way he did last week reliably?

Lamar Jackson is back for the Ravens; the Vikes will offer resistance, but the team will need offensive production and McCarthy showed that he can provide that.  Now can he do that again here and again next week …?

Pats at Bucs – 2.5 (48):  They are calling this the “Tom Brady Bowl”.  The oddsmakers are showing respect to the Pats here; the Bucs are a good team with a 6-2-0 record to lead the NFC South; the Bucs are at home and are less than a field goal favorite against the Pats who lost 13 games last season.  I thought about this one as the Game of the Week.  I said above that the Pats would be in the playoffs this year; so, will the Bucs.

Giants at Bears – 5 (46):  The Giants defense was touted to be really good; that has not manifested itself.  The Bears’ hopes were similarly pinned on the defense doing its part while the offense blossomed under the guidance of Ben Johnson; that has not happened either.  This game could either be won by the team that scores 20 points, or it could be a game where both teams score 30+ points.

Cards at Seahawks – 7 (45):  Listen up!  The Seattle Seahawks are a very good NFL team this year.  The Cards have played much better than their record would indicate but I don’t think they are up to traveling to Seattle on a short week to play a second straight road game.

Lions – 8 at Commanders (49.5):  Yes, Marcus Mariota will be the Commanders’ QB but that is not the problem for the Commanders in this game.  The problem is that the Commanders do not cover receivers well and they do not defend the run very well.  Overall, the Commanders rank 28^th in the NFL in Total Defense giving up 377.8 yards per game and 23^rd in the NFL in Scoring defense giving up 26.2 points per game.  The Lions do not play as well on the road as they do at home, but they are the better team here; give me the Lions to win and cover; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Rams – 5 at Niners (49):  The Niners beat the Rams earlier this year so a win here for the Niners would give them the definitive tiebreaker in the case of a tie between the two teams.  The Rams’ have a potent offense and the Niners’ defense is missing some very good players.  I thought about this one as the Game of the Week.

(Sun Nite) Steelers at Chargers – 3 (45):  Given the injury status of the Chargers’ OL, I suspect that Justin Herbert will be under severe duress for much of the evening.  The Chargers’ hopes in the game rely on passing success; the Steelers’ defense ranks dead last in the NFL in pass defense allowing 278.3 yards per game.

(Mon Nite) Eagles at Packers – 2 (45):  This is the Game of the Week.  I think the question here is straightforward:

• Did the Eagles’ offense come to life two weeks ago scoring 38 points on the Giants – – or was that just a defensive collapse by the Giants?

The Eagles made trades to help their defense at the deadline but nothing for the offense.  Is that a signal?  The Packers looked great in some games and then they laid an egg last week losing to the Panthers in Green Bay.

So, let me review the “Betting Bundle”:

• Colorado/West Virginia OVER 53
• Indiana – 14 over Penn St.
• Jags/Texans UNDER 39
• Bills – 9 over Dolphins
• Lions – 8 over Commanders

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

• Colts @ minus-290
• Panthers @ minus-250
• Bills @ minus-540                             $100 wager to win $123

And …

• San Diego St. @ minus-230
• SMU @ minus-420
• Washington @ minus-410                $100 wager to win $121

Finally, this from Dick Vermeil:

“No one ever drowned in his own sweat.”

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

The NFL trade deadline came and went on Tuesday afternoon and this one was hectic.  Unlike some seasons where the top report emerging from the trade deadline is that Washington Commanders acquired offensive guard Joe Flabeetz from the Carolina Panthers for a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft, this year saw lots of deals and lots of good players changing uniforms.  The standout story of the deadline has to involve the NY Jets.

Lots of folks have wondered how the Jets could possibly trade two All-Pro defenders; I think the answer to that is rather simple:

• The Jets are a miserable 1-7-0 team with those two excellent players on the field; they can probably be a 1-7-0 team with other players on the field.  If not, how much worse can they be?
• The Jets harvested first and second round picks which – – if used constructively – – could add four young quality players to the roster.
• The Jets removed about $50M per year from their salary cap by trading those players; they will be “replaced” by guys on rookie deals; that should allow for some Jets’ activity in next Spring’s free agent feeding frenzy.

So, if my thinking aligns at all with the thinking of the Jets’ braintrust, the idea in NY is a complete teardown and rebuild.  And that would require a couple of things if the team is to pull it off successfully:

1. The owner has to be patient and in the specific case of the Jets, the owner has to get out of the way of the “football people” and to go radio silent.
2. If the Jets nail the draft in 2026 and are at .500 when next year’s trade deadline rolls around, the “football people” need to avoid “microwaving the rebuild”.  It will take time to rebuild and teams that think they are on the verge of success early on usually live to regret it.  See Washington Commanders trading for Marshon Lattimore…

So, what about the rest of the teams that made deals:

• The Colts sent two first round picks and a decent WR to the Jets for Sauce Gardner.  That move tells me the Colts think they can do some damage in the playoffs this year and that they will go forth with Daniel Jones as their QB down the line.
• The Cowboys acquired Queenan Williams from the Jets for a first round pick and a young DT.  As I understand it, the pick involved here is the one the Cowboys got from the Packers in the Micah Parsons trade.  That move will help the Cowboys’ defense against the run, but I doubt it will make the 31^st ranked defense into anything resembling a Top 10 unit.
• The Eagles’ defense has not been nearly as dominant this year as it was last year.  So, the Eagles added 4 defensive players over the last two weeks; they had a large inventory of draft picks in hand and used some of them to get two DBs and an edge rusher.  They also brought Brandon Graham back out of retirement with the intention of having him mentor young players.
• The Seahawks added another WR to go with Jaxon Smith-Ngigba.  The Seahawks are for real; that addition says they too think they can do damage in this year’s playoffs.

What surprised me a bit was that the Falcons were not able to trade Kirk Cousins and that the Giants were not able to trade Russell Wilson.  Neither veteran has a future with their current club and there are certainly teams in the league that might benefit from veteran leadership if not on-field performance.  Is this a sign that the Falcons and Giants asked too much for those backup QBs or is this an indication that no one in the NFL wants either player at any price?

I am also surprised that the Bengals kept Trey Hendrickson at the deadline.  The Bengals are going nowhere this year, and their defense is disastrously bad.  Nonetheless, Hendrickson – – who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason – – and the team were locked into a contract stalemate for the entire Summer of 2025 meaning that he can likely leave Cincy and the team will get a compensatory pick and nothing else.

One last player who was not traded is Alvin Kamara.  The Saints need a total rebuild and Kamara is 30 years old.  He is unlikely to be in the NFL at all by the time the Saints are any good.  I thought for sure that Kamara would be moving on this week.  C’est la vie…

Finally, here is an interesting perspective on being a football player by Jack Kemp:

“Pro football gave me a good sense of perspective to enter politics: I’d already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded and hung in effigy.”

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

 

 

The WNBA players and owners are negotiating a new CBA; the old one expired on Halloween but the two sides agreed to live under the old one for 30 more days meaning they have kicked the can down the road until November 30^th which is 3 days after Thanksgiving.  Back in 2020, the league and the players union reached a deal to put the current deal into effect and it was supposed to last through the 2027 season; however, both sides had an “opt-out clause” after the 2024 season and the players chose to “opt out” in order to get a better deal.

The WNBA is at its highest level of popularity/recognition/economic viability now.  The current deal shortchanges the players based on that increased level of revenue; that statement is not open to contradiction.  At the same time, the increased level of revenues flowing into the league are not equivalent to the revenues flowing into the NBA; there are issues of scale involved there.

So, what is likely to happen here:

• If there is no deal by November 30^th, there could be another extension of the existing CBA allowing for more negotiations.  Or, there could be a work stoppage.

That sounds simple, but nothing is ever simple.  It turns out that most of the top WNBA players maneuvered their contracts to expire this winter; the majority of players will be free agents once the new deal is in place.  The players clearly outflanked the owners on that move because many teams reportedly have no guaranteed money on their books because they don’t have any players signed beyond the year that just ended.

And if that is not chaotic enough for you to enjoy, remember that the WNBA is going to add 2 new franchises this winter (Portland and Toronto) which means there will need to be a “dispersal draft” to populate those teams – – unless the new CBA just makes the new teams fend for themselves in the upcoming free agent feeding frenzy.

And remember that a “work stoppage” comes in two flavors:

1. The league can lock out the players – – OR – –
2. The players can go on strike.

A lockout requires “all league business ceases” – – which is something I have never understood since continued negotiations on a new CBA seems like “league business” to me and that is obviously permitted and even encouraged.  Whatever …  Lockouts do not have an expiration date as do CBA extensions and deadlines tend to spark activities that lead to deals; so a lockout is probably not good news for WNBA fans who probably just want this matter to be settled so they can get back to watching their teams play.

As is always the case, there are myriad issues that need settlement in these negotiations, but the core issue is both simple and basic:

• The revenue sharing and the pay scale that was agreed to in 2020 was proper for a league that was not so popular and needed money from the NBA to stay solvent.  Such is not the case today; the WNBA is probably poised to be self-sustaining and even profitable across the board as of today; so, the players want a bigger share of the new and improved revenue streams.

Neither side has specified the details of their proposals and the counter-proposals on that issue, so let me make up a negotiating scenario here:

• Owners offer revenue sharing – – 30% of revenues go to player salaries that define a salary cap and a salary floor for all teams.
• Players offer revenue sharing – – 50% of revenues go to player salaries that define a salary cap and a salary floor for all teams.

In my admittedly simplistic formulation here, the final answer is either a percentage somewhere between 30% and 50% or there is a work stoppage that erases games from the WNBA schedule in 2026.  And, erased games means a reduction in revenues which will certainly not improve the desire of either the players or the owners to sit in a circle, join hands and sing kumbaya.

At some point, both sides will conclude that there is enough revenue coming into the WNBA that compromises to get some of what is most desirable is better than nothing.  It will probably take another extension of the CBA to make that happen, but it is the most likely outcome.  The worst outcome is intransigence and both sides of this faceoff need to take the time to contemplate history here:

• MLB lost a World Series to intransigence
• The NHL lost an entire season to intransigence.

The owners and the players need to realize that the reason they are at the table negotiating now is because of the increased popularity of the product they put on the court and on the air.  The way to kill the goose that is laying all those golden eggs is to make the product – – and/or the players – – less popular tomorrow than they are today.  A work stoppage might do exactly that.

Finally, since the league and players are in a standoff for now, let me close with this:

“I have concocted a new cocktail; I call it the Mexican Standoff; it is equal parts tequila, Kaopectate and prune juice.”

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

 

 

After the Cowboys/Cards game was over last night, I went to gather up a couple of game stats and/or something interesting about the game to use as commentary for the upcoming Football Friday.  One thing I noticed was that the official attendance figure for that game was 92,211.  That made me go and check to see the seating capacity of Jerry-World and according to both Wikipedia and Google/AI mode the place seats 80,000.  Before anyone jumps down my throat, I know about the concept of “standing room only” and I am sure that the Dallas Cowboys do significant business in the “standing room marketplace”.

And yet …  I remember seeing lots – – and I do mean lots – – of empty blue seats in that facility early on in last night’s game.  I am not talking about late in the 4^th quarter when the outcome was no longer in doubt and the Cowboys’ faithful had kissed goodbye their bets handing the Cards an additional 3 points.  I am talking about the first half when the Cowboys trailed but were still very much “in the game”.  Then I realized what had happened.

• It was only three days after Halloween and all those folks in Texas who dressed up as Claude Rains for that holiday decided to wear their costumes one more time for the Cardinals’ game on Monday Night Football.
• Yeah, that’s it …

One other snarky comment about last night’s telecast …  When Marvin Harrison caught his short TD pass in the first half, the Cowboys’ DB got his feet tangled up and fell down making the play a trivial completion for NFL caliber players.  Troy Aikman referred to that incident as a “blown coverage”.  Yes, it gave up a TD, but that is not the worst occurrence of a “blown coverage”; the worst occurrence would be a burst condom.

Moving on …  Injuries are part of football; someone said that football is not a contact sport; it is a collision sport.  Every team has to deal with injuries but the kind of injuries that are significantly more difficult to deal with are the ones that hit a certain position on a team with multiple players going down in that position.  That situation seems to obtain in the Los Angeles Chargers’ locker room.

• Rashawn Slater was named to the Pro Bowl twice in his career as an offensive tackle for the Chargers.  He ruptured his patellar tendon back in training camp and is out for the season.
• Joe Alt moved from RT to LT to replace Slater in training camp; he was playing well in that new position.  Alt suffered an ankle injury last weekend that will require surgery and will render hm hors du combat for the rest of the year.
• Trey Pipkins assumed the RT position that Alt vacated back in August.  He is now hurt.
• Bobby Hart was signed to back up Pipkins; he got hurt last weekend with a “groin injury”.

So, who is left on the Chargers’ depth chart to play offensive tackle?

• Austin Deculus is a rookie sixth-round pick from LSU.
• Jamaree Salyer was a sixth-round pick from Georgia in 2022.  He is also listed as the back-up right guard at the moment.
• Foster Sarrell was an undrafted free agent from Stanford in 2021.  He is also listed as the back-up left guard at the moment.

The NFL trade deadline is later this afternoon.  I suspect the Chargers are in the market for an offensive lineman or maybe even two.

And speaking of the NFL trade deadline …  The Dallas Cowboys’ defense is awful it ranks 31^st in a 32-team league.  That defense does not play the run very well, the DBs are suspect at best, and the entire unit misses a lot of tackles.   Yesterday, owner Jerry Jones let it be known that he had a trade in the works but that he could not yet reveal it because he had not pulled the trigger on the deal.  Jones loves the limelight and that sort of “mysterious” foreshadowing is right in his wheelhouse.  Well, today there are reports that indeed he will make a deal that will add a player to his defensive unit.  Except …

• He has acquired a linebacker from the Bengals – – the only defense in the league worse than the Cowboys.
• That linebacker had been demoted by the Bengals from “defensive starter” to “special teams’ player”.

Moreover, even if Jerry Jones found a way to reincarnate a 27-year-old Reggie White, the Cowboys’ defense is incapable of achieving mediocrity with the addition of one player.

Finally, here is an entry from The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm:

“Injury:  A trauma or wound inflicted upon one’s body or one’s psyche.  While the former can lead to some debilitating medical expenses, there is unfortunately no coverage in place for the damage done by somebody calling you a worthless sack of crap.”

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

 

 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are repeat World Series champions – – a feat that has only been accomplished twice before in the last 30 years.  The seventh game of any World Series is “compelling”; this one went above and beyond that description; it was riveting.  My long-suffering wife is not a baseball fan, but she sat down with me to watch at the beginning and was there to see the final out and was fully focused on the game, the score and the situation.  She was not alone …

According to Hollywoodreporter/com, the TV audience for the game “peaked” between 11:30 and 11:45 PM EDT at 31.54 million viewers and “averaged” 25.98 million viewers for the entire telecast.  That is the largest TV audience for any MLB game since Game 7 of the 2017 World Series.  [No need to Google; in 2017, the Astros beat the Dodgers for the World Championship in seven games.]  The last time there was a Game 7 on the air was in 2019 and last Friday’s audience was 10% bigger than that one.

The Dodgers’ repeat is certain to spark fan reaction and debate.  The Dodgers’ payroll on opening day of the 2025 season was approximately $320M; three teams started the season with payrolls less than 25% of what the Dodgers were paying out.  Moreover, half of the teams in MLB spent less than half of what the Dodgers spent on player payroll as of opening day.  Frustrated fans around the league will use those figures to put a figurative asterisk on the Dodgers’ accomplishments.  In one sense, those fans are right; the playing field is tilted in favor of the “big-spenders” and it has been ever since the formation of leagues of professional baseball teams.

The Dodgers played by the rules that exist, and those rules did not guarantee them success; the Dodgers earned their success.  Consider that back on opening day, the NY Mets spent even more than the Dodgers did on player payroll.  [Yes, the difference was a paltry $2M but recognize that the Mets spent $323M on player salaries and did not make the playoffs let alone the World Series.]  The field is certainly tilted, but the outcome is not pre-ordained.  I think Dodgers’ manager, Dave Roberts, summed it all up very well:

“We’re in a big market. We’re expected to win. Our fans expect us to win. I can’t speak to what revenue we’re bringing in, but our ownership puts it back into players, a big chunk of it. That’s the way it should be with all ownership groups.”

The alternative to Roberts’ assessment of the status quo is a salary cap/salary floor situation that would only be acceptable if it were enshrined in a new CBA – – and the current CBA will expire on December 1, 2026 – – soon after next year’s World Series champion is crowned.  Personally, I think a cap-and-floor structure has worked very well for the NFL and the NBA and on that basis, I would prefer that MLB try for something similar in a new agreement.  I doubt that will happen for two reasons:

1. The players’ union is dead set against anything that smells like a salary cap.  They have their reasons for such a position; I happen not to agree with them on that point.
2. The “deep-pocketed owners” are not nearly as motivated to fight for such a concession as are the “small market guys”.  I can envision the “owners’ solidarity” eroding quickly should a lockout dry up their tidy revenue streams.

The Dodgers won the World Series; no one anointed them as the champions outside the rules and norms of the game.  Put aside the “economic inequality lamentations”; they are what they are, and they will be back again next season.  And if next year’s World Series goes 7 games and produces a final game of similar drama and excitement, no one will care about the economics associated with the winners.

Moving on …  The Bible says that when God shuts one door, He opens another.  Well, as the MLB season closes out, the college basketball season opens.  The first real games are tonight and if I have read the schedule properly, the first game will tip-off at 11:00 AM EST with Bradley visiting St. Bonaventure.  There will be thousands of games among the 350+ teams that play men’s college basketball at the Division 1 level between now and when the NCAA crowns its champion in early April 2026.  One season ends and the next one begins …

Finally, consider this from Will Rogers:

“About all I can say for the United States Senate is that it opens with a prayer and closes with an investigation.”

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

 

 

Most folks will consider today Halloween and think of “Trick-of-Treaters”.  Here is Curmudgeon Central we consider the possibility of going out with martini glasses in hand and venture forth as “Trick-or-Drinkers” – – and then we just forget about it.  The main focus around these parts today is Football Friday so let me get right on it.  Here is last week’s “Betting Bundle” result:

• Spreads and Totals:  2-4-0
• Season to Date:         14-23-1            Yuck!

And …

• Money Line Parlays: 1-2                   Profit/Loss = $0
• Season to Date:         8-13                 Profit = $164

The Linfield University Wildcats got back on the winning path last weekend defeating Pacific Lutheran by a score of 31-15.  The season record stands at 4-2 meaning the Wildcats are one win away from another winning season in football.  As a Division III school, Linfield plays a 9-game regular season schedule meaning that five wins is a winning season.  This week, Linfield plays host to the Pioneers of Lewis and Clark College; the Pioneers have a season record of 5-2 but have lost their last two games.  Go Wildcats!

My “sleeper team” for 2026 is Georgia Tech; the Yellowjackets extended their season record to 8-0 (5-0 in ACC conference games) with a 41-16 win over Syracuse.  As you might conclude from the score, Tech was in control of the game from start to finish.

 

College Football Commentary:

 

Brian Kelly was fired as the head coach at LSU after losing at home by 24 points to Texas A&M last weekend.  That was the third loss in 4 games for LSU, and it was more than the alums and boosters could take.  Kelly’s buyout is reported to be $53M but not paid out in a lump sum; nonetheless, $53M is a nice parting gift for a defrocked coach.

Kelly is not exactly a beloved figure in the world of college football; his departure from Notre Dame where he claimed he was leaving to go to a place where he could win a national championship had a hollow ring to it from the start.  His departure opens another major coaching job for the offseason in college football and one that would seem on the surface to be highly desirable.

Here is the good news:

• LSU is in the SEC and is one of the highly regarded teams in the SEC.
• There is a winning tradition at LSU.
• There must be some very rich alums because several outlets have reported that the entirety of Kelly’s $53M buyout will be funded by a single private donor.

Here is the bad news:

• The AD that hired Kelly also hired Kelly’s predecessor (Ed Orgeron) and had to fire Orgeron with buyout money due on Orgeron’s contract.
• The Governor of Louisiana has inserted himself into the coaching search – and by extension into the football program – announcing that the current AD will not be hiring the next football coach because the governor is not happy with how things are going in Baton Rouge.  He is specifically not happy about the contracts given to coaches that have such large buyout clauses in there.
• The fanbase has high expectations and gets very upset when those high expectations are not met.

Just this morning, I read that LSU has also fired the AD involved in all of this, Scott Woodward.  Interestingly, he too leaves LSU with a buyout owed to him except his is a paltry $6.3M.  Hiring a coach at a “top-shelf school” is never a simple process, but I think the LSU search process is going to prove to be interesting to watch – – from afar.  When politicians get involved, things never get simpler…

Those elements alone would make it interesting to follow the trajectory of the LSU coaching search starting in December.  But there is a bigger picture here as well; even before the coaching bloodletting that happens every year in late November/early December, there are a lot of quality openings available and there may not be as many highly desirable candidates for all those openings.  That tells me the Law of Supply and Demand might just make it extremely expensive to get a quality candidate to sign on the dotted line both at LSU and at some other schools.

Off the top of my head, here are some of the jobs that are sure to be available in another month, and a few others inserted that might also be vacated:

• Arkansas
• Auburn – maybe
• Florida
• Florida St. – – maybe
• LSU
• Oklahoma St.
• Penn St.
• Stanford
• UCLA
• Va Tech
• Wisconsin – maybe

There you have eleven potential openings at recognizable schools; if one of them “poaches” a head coach from another school – – say the rumor of Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss to go take the job at Florida comes true – – that does not reduce the list from eleven to ten because that would just substitute Ole Miss on the list above and take Florida off the list above.  My point is that I don’t think there are eleven top-shelf coaches who are either out of work or are laboring well beneath their coaching potential for those schools to sign up.

Let me compact the list above for a moment and consider only Florida, Penn St. and LSU – – the three schools on the list that have either won national championships recently or have been serious contenders for that honor.  Are there three names that leap to your mind to fill those jobs?

• Jimbo Fisher remains at loose ends drawing down his $75+M buyout from Texas A&M.  He has been in the arena – so to speak – of top-shelf college football before but has never delivered the goods.
• Jon Gruden says he is itching to get back on the sidelines.  He is 62 years old and his last interaction with college kids as a coach was in the 1980s as a position coach at a small college.  Also, the Bill Belichick Experience at UNC might make an AD nervous about hiring an “old NFL guy”.
• Urban Meyer is employed as a talking head on football programs and has not seemed all that excited about returning to the coaching ranks in the past couple of years.

            I think observing the college football game of Musical Chairs this year will be more interesting than it has been in recent years.  Get your popcorn ready…

How many unbeaten teams are left in college football this year?  There were 15 back on October 10^th; there were 6 as of last week; none of those 6 lost last week so the list remains:

1. BYU
2. Georgia Tech
3. Indiana
4. Navy
5. Ohio St.
6. Texas A&M

Here are some comments on a few of last week’s games; I’ll start with the SEC:

Ole Miss 34  Oklahoma 26:  This was the second loss of the season for the Sooners and both losses were to SEC opponents.  Ole Miss improved to 7-1 here and the Rebels are going to be favored in all the remaining games.  That win just might assure Ole Miss of a CFP slot.

Auburn 33  Arkansas 24:  That is two close losses in a row for Bobby Petrino in his audition for the head coaching job at Arkansas.  Meanwhile, maybe this win saved Hugh Freeze’s job at Auburn?

Alabama 29  S. Carolina 22:  The Gamecocks led 15-14 at the start of the 4^th quarter; Alabama needed to rally to stay unbeaten in SEC games here; the Tide’s only loss this year was in Week 1 to Florida St.

Vandy 17  Mizzou 10:  Both teams were 6-1 to start the game and both had a conference loss; Vandy is now one of 4 SEC teams with only one loss in conference.  Vandy will take on Texas – – another of the one conference loss teams – – this week in a game that might see Vandy getting serious attention from the CFP selectors.

Texas 45  Mississippi St. 38 (OT):  The Bulldogs are 4-4, but Texas had to score 24 points in the 4^th quarter to force OT here.  Mississippi St. has been in one-score games with Texas and with Tennessee and lost both.   Here is a stat I ran across when reading about this game:

• Division 1-A teams had lost 429 consecutive games when they trailed by 17 or more with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter until this game.

Texas A&M 49  LSU 27: The Aggies remain undefeated for 2025 …  LSU led 18-14 at the half but collapsed in the 3^rd quarter giving up 21 points.  The Aggies’ defense held LSU to 60 yards rushing in the game.  That embarrassing loss led to the end of the Brian Kelly Era in Baton Rouge.

Tennessee 56  Kentucky 34:  The Vols have two losses in conference games.  There is a total of 6 teams in the SEC with one loss or no losses as of today; that will change as head-to-head games take place so Tennessee is not out of the picture entirely, but they will need help to get near the top of the heap.  A win this week over Oklahoma is essential.  Meanwhile, Kentucky is 2-5 for the season with all five losses coming in conference games.

Moving on to the Big-10:

Rutgers 27  Purdue 24:  Losing a Big-10 game at home against Rutgers should be embarrassing.

Indiana 56  UCLA 6:  This was a rout from the beginning; it was 35-3 at halftime.  The Hoosiers’ defense did the job here holding UCLA to 201 yards of offense and 1 for 11 on third-down conversions.

Oregon 21  Wisconsin 7:   After two shutouts in a row, the Badgers finally scored with 7:57 left in the 4^th quarter of this game.  The Wisconsin offense was miserable, gaining only 196 yards on offense for the day.

Iowa 41  Minnesota 3:  The Hawkeyes are 4-1 in Big-10 games and that one loss was to Indiana by only 5 points.  Iowa has this week off and will face Oregon a week after this.  Both Iowa and Oregon have one loss in Big-10 games; if Iowa were to win that game, the Hawkeyes could well be 10-2 at the end of the season and be seriously considered for the CFP.

And in Big-12 action:

BYU 41  Iowa St. 27:  The Cougars remain unbeaten in 2025.  They were road underdogs in this game but won convincingly.

Texas Tech 42  Oklahoma St. 0:  Tech is 7-1 this season.  Oklahoma St. continues on a miserable season arc.  The Cowboys are 1-7 for the year and have lost all 5 conference games on their schedule to date.  One of those losses came against Tulsa who lost last week to Temple (see below).

Cincy 41  Baylor 20:  Cincy is 7-1 for the season and 5-0 in conference games; the Bearcats are tied with BYU atop the Big-12 standings here.  The only loss on their record was in the opening week to Nebraska.   With last week’s win over Baylor, Cincy is now averaging 38.3 points per game.   Looking ahead, the Cincy/BYU game on November 22^nd should be a big one and it is in Cincy.

Houston 24  Arizona St. 16:  Houston is 7-1 this year.  That loss was a Big-12 game, but the rest of the Cougars’ schedule is not outrageously difficult.  Keep an eye on Houston …

Utah 53  Colorado 7:  This game got out of hand almost immediately.  The score at halftime was 43-0.

Now for two ACC games:

Wake Forest 13  SMU 12:  This was SMU’s first conference loss for 2025; the Mustangs have a total of 3 losses so the only way they get any interest from the CFP folks is for them to win the ACC Championship outright.  That will not be an easy task; two of their final four games are against teams ranked in the top 25.

Virginia 17  UNC 16 (OT):   Virginia is 7-1 and undefeated in ACC games and they should be favored in all four remaining games.  If they take care of business, they will play for the ACC Championship.  Meanwhile the Tar Heels’ record dropped to 2-5 (0-3 in conference) with this loss.

And now a few random games of interest to me:

Memphis 34  USF 31:  Memphis scored 17 points in the 4^th quarter to pull this one out.  Both teams were 6-1 at the start of the game and both aspired to be in the CFP as the “best team not in a Power-4 conference”.

Navy 42  FAU 32:  Navy remains unbeaten in 2025 and may need to be considered by the CFP selectors as the best team outside the Power 4…

Temple 38  Tulsa 37 (OT):  Remember Tulsa beat Oklahoma St. leading to the firing of Mike Gundy there.  That loss by the Cowboys looks even worse now than it did back on 19 September.  Tulsa is now 2-6 with losses to Temple, East Carolina and New Mexico St.  Tulsa’s only other win was over Abilene Christian – – a Division 1-AA team.

North Texas 54  UNC-Charlotte 20:  UNT is 7-1 this year and could be part of the CFP selection committee deliberations in December …

Central Michigan 38  UMass 13:  The Minutemen have yet to win a game in 2025.

South Alabama 38  Georgia St. 31:  Both teams were 1-6 at the kickoff.  Georgia St. is in the running for the Brothel Defense Award and a slot in the SHOE Tournament.

Delaware 31  Middle Tennessee St. 28:  This is Delaware’s first year in Division 1-A and their record so far is 4-3.  Congrats to the Fightin’ Blue Hens.  Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee St. is slogging through 2025 with a record of 1-7.

Here are the main contenders for the Brothel Defense Award in 2025:

• Sam Houston gives up 38.9 points per game
• UAB gives up 38.9 points per game
• Oklahoma St. gives up 38.9 points per game
• Georgia St. gives up 40.8 points per game.

              And here are the 12 teams I am starting to follow a bit more closely as they begin to show signs of sufficient ineptitude as to garner consideration for the SHOE Tournament:

• Boston College           1-7
• Colorado St.                2-6
• Georgia St.                  1-7
• Middle Tenn St.           1-7
• Nevada                        1-7
• Oklahoma St.              1-7
• Oregon St.                  1-7
• Sam Houston              0-7
• South Alabama           2-6
• UMass                         0-8
• UNC-Charlotte            1-7
• UTEP                          2-6

 

NCAA Games of Interest This Week:

 

I cannot find any games this week with outrageous spreads – – 5 TDs or more.  At least for the moment, the cupcake games are on the shelf.

I do note however that there are three really big games on the slate for this weekend between teams ranked in the Top 25.  Those games will be magnified in their importance because as of next week, the CFP mavens will start with their own Top 25 rankings and – – like it or not – – those are the only rankings that matter at all.  Here are the three big games that I will have some comment about below:

1. Vandy at Texas
2. Oklahoma at Tennessee
3. Cincy at Utah

Oklahoma at Tennessee – 2.5 (55.5):  This spread opened at minus-4.5 points and has been eroding all week long.  Both teams must have this game; a loss puts the Sooners to bed in terms of the SEC race and/or the CFP; the Vols are not in quite the same dire straits, but if they lose, they too will need divine intervention to contend for anything meaningful in the college football post season.

• Last week the Sooners faced a ranked Ole Miss team and lost.
• This week they face the Vols ranked at #14
• Next week, they visit #4 ranked Alabama
• Two weeks from now the Sooners are at home to face #19 Mizzou
• Three weeks from now Oklahoma hosts an unranked but talented LSU squad.

The Sooners have zero room for error. I think the Vols find a way to deal with the Oklahoma defensive line and if they do that, I think the Vols will win the game comfortably.  Give me Tennessee to win and cover; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Wake Forest at Florida St. – 10 (51):  If Mike Norvell wants to keep his job, he will not have his Seminoles lose at home as a double-digit favorite.

Ga Tech – 5 at NC State (59):  My “sleeper team” takes another step toward the ACC Championship Game …

Penn St. at Ohio St. – 20.5 (44.5):  No one – – and I mean NO ONE – – back in August had this game as a 3 TD spread.  For the record, Ohio St. is minus-1500 on the Money Line.

Army at Air Force – 1 (49):  Service academy games tend to go down to the wire …

Vandy at Texas – 3 (47):  This is my College Game of the Week.  Vandy has this game and a game against ranked Tennessee in front of them.  Like Vandy, Texas has only one loss in conference so this game will elevate the winner in the SEC cadre and demote the loser.  Texas was thought to be one of the top two or three teams in the country back in August; that has not panned out in the least – – but a win here for the Longhorns would set up their upcoming games against Georgia (Nov. 15) and Texas A&M (Nov 28) as Games of the Week.  Here, give me Vandy plus those points; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Cincy at Utah – 10 (54.5):  The Bearcats need this game to say unbeaten in Big-12 action.  The oddsmakers seem unimpressed with that need …

Washington St. – 3.5 at Oregon St. (47):  This is the only possible game this week for the PAC-2 – – which is actually the two least desirable football programs that used to be in the PAC-12.

Virginia – 6 at Cal (53):  That is a long trip for the Cavaliers, but they need the game to remain unbeaten and on track for the ACC Championship Game.

Texas Tech – 7 at K-St. (51):  Tech is still in the mix for a potential shot at the Big-12 Championship which confers status in the CFP; K-State is not mathematically out of it, but they need some miraculous interventions over the final few weeks of the season.

Miami – 11 at SMU (50.5):  SMU must have this game to remain relevant in 2025; Miami needs this game to get the losing taste out of its mouth.  This has lots of potential impacts on ACC standings.

West Virginia at Houston – 13 (48.5):  Rich Rodriguez “came home” to West Virginia this year and so far, the Mountaineers are 2-6 overall and 0-5 in Big-12 conference games.  That return home is about a meaningful as Welcome Back Kotter was.  I think the Mountaineers’ pain will continue here; I think Houston will dominate this week; I like Houston to win and cover at home; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Kentucky at Auburn – 11 (45):  One of these teams will notch their first SEC victory of the season.  Hoo-Ray…

Mississippi St. at Arkansas – 4 (66):  Are the Bulldogs yet ready to win a close game instead of losing one? (See above)

Navy at North Texas – 7 (66): Navy has yet to lose in 2025 and they are a full touchdown underdog on the road here.

Oklahoma St. at Kansas – 24 (55.5):  Kansas being a 24-point favorite over any team other than the Alabama Asthmatic Institute is difficult for me to process.

USC – 6 at Nebraska (59):  Here are two teams lurking outside the Top 25.  They should produce an entertaining game this week.

Georgia – 7 vs Florida (50):  This game is in Jax and is billed as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party”.  The administration of “breathalyzers” to permit or deny admission to the stadium would make for some very strange TV shots of the “crowd” at the game.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

The Vikings’ backup QB, Carson Wentz, is out for the rest of the season because he needs surgery to repair his non-throwing shoulder, but the rehab time is somewhere between 6 and 8 months depending on which report you choose to accept.  That puts the Vikes in a delicate situation.  Look, I am not going to try to argue that Carson Wentz is a misunderstood and misevaluated talent at QB; he is not.  However, his surgical need puts the Vikes in a delicate situation:

• Starting QB, JJ McCarthy missed all 17 games last season with an injury.
• He has also missed all but 2 games this year.
• In the 2 games he has started, he has played one great quarter and seven mediocre-to-miserable quarters of football.

So, what might the Vikes do if McCarthy starts over the next week or two and drops a colossal stinker or two on the record?  Well, with Wentz hors du combat, the backup for JJ McCarthy would be Max Brosmer and you would be excused if you might not know his full set of credentials.  He is a rookie who has appeared in two games this year when the outcome was well beyond doubt.  Brosmer is sort of a “local kid” having played in college at Minnesota.  McCarthy is slated to start the game with Brosmer as the #2 guy on the sidelines; will the Vikes seek to acquire more QB talent now or will they play wait-and-see with McCarthy before deciding how to deal with their QB issues over the offseason?

The Arizona Cards won their first two games right out of the box.  Since then, they have lost 5 games in a row and the total margin of loss for those 5 games has been 13 points.  If that trend continues through the end of the 2025 regular season, there will likely be stories of Cards; fans cutting themselves to bleed out when the season is over.  Should the Cards season involve a regression of the team to the mean, they could be poised to rise up and claim a playoff slot.  You make the call …

Last Monday night saw the Chiefs disembowel the Commanders.  So, here is how the Washington Post handled things on Tuesday morning.  Above the masthead on the Front Page, the Post declared:

“Commanders can’t keep up with Chiefs”

Folks, that is a great example of putting lipstick on a pig.  Yes, the score was 7-7 at halftime, but the reason for that was that Patrick Mahomes threw 2 INTs in the first half which stopped Chiefs’ offensive drives.  [Aside: One INT was a great play by Marshawn Lattimore; the other was purely a lucky deflection off Travis Kelce’s hands into Bobby Wagner’s hands.]  The Commanders’ offense was not doing much and the Commanders’ defense outside of those two plays was playing at a mediocre level.  In his mandatory halftime sideline interview, Andy Reid correctly noted that all the Chiefs needed to do was to clean up a couple of plays and things would be all right.  And was he ever right …

In the second half, the Chiefs did not give the ball away and the Commanders’ defense never stopped the Chiefs’ offense until it didn’t matter.  Here are the second half possessions by the Chiefs:

• 8 plays             80 yards          4:42     TD
• 8 plays             75 yards          4:45     TD
• 13 plays           109 yards        7:02     TD
• 8 plays            23 yards          4:30     PUNT
• 1 play              minus-2 yard   0:12   END OF GAME

At one point in the game, ESPN had a screen graphic that said the Chiefs had outgained the Commanders by more than 200 yards to that point.  At the end of the game the final tally was:

• Chiefs’ Total Offense = 432 yards
• Commanders Total Offense = 260 yards

This has nothing to do with “keeping up with the Chiefs”; this has everything to do with a porous Commanders’ defense and an offense that is not good enough to camouflage that weakness.

Last night, the Ravens exposed the Dolphins for the sub-standard team that they are.  In the first half, the Dolphins moved the ball seemingly at will between the 20 yardlines and then squandered scoring opportunities with uncanny certainty.  In the first half, the Dolphins outgained the Ravens 225 yards to 109 yards – – and the Dolphins trailed in the game 14-6.  I think the Dolphins team needs a reset desperately.  It will not be enough to replace the coaches and/or the GM; this team needs to figure out which members of this roster are worth taking into future battles because it seems clear to me that the entire Dolphins’ roster is deficient in talent and also in focused desire to win.  How did they win so convincingly last week?

And with that segue, let me turn to last week’s NFL games and some brief comments on those games.

Bills 40  Panthers 9:  There was total domination here; the score was 40-3 when the 4^th quarter began.  To put an exclamation point on the futility of the Panthers here, they scored a meaningless TD in that 4^th quarter and then proceeded to miss the PAT.  The Bills’ much-maligned defense showed up loud and proud in this game registering 7 QB sacks.

Ravens 30  Bears 16:  So much for the Bears’ 4-game winning streak …  It was a great week for the Ravens; they won, and all the other AFC North teams lost.  Tyler Huntley – – not Cooper Rush – – led the Ravens to the win and Lamar Jackson is rumored to be able to return in the next week or two.  [Aside: He returned against the Dolphins four days after last week’s win over the Bears.]  Do not count the Ravens out in the AFC North race.  I will not be shocked if the AFC North champ this year is 9-8-0 and that final record is well within reach of the Ravens if they get healthy and stay that way for the balance of the regular season.

Eagles 38  Giants 20: It was a good week for Eagles; they won and all the other NFC East teams lost.   Jalen Hurts threw 4 TD passes in the game and the Eagles had two running backs each gain over 100 yards in the contest.  Consider these stats:

• Eagles averaged 8.4 yards per rushing attempt in the game
• Jalen Hurts’ 4 TD passes came on 15 completions for only 179 yards
• Eagles outgained the Giants by 201 yards in the game.

Jaxson Dart is fun to watch, but he was over-matched in this game.

Chiefs 28  Commanders 7:  See commentary above …

Pats 32  Browns 13:  Myles Garrett must be asking himself, “WTF?”  Garrett recorded 5 sacks in the game, and the Browns were still blown out.  I am not surprised that the Pats’ defense held the Browns’ scoring down; I am surprised that the Pats were able to put 32 points up on that excellent Browns’ defense.

Dolphins 34  Falcons 10:  The Falcons should be ashamed of themselves.  As of today, the Falcons are playoff pretenders.  The Dolphins’ defense has not been stellar this season, but somehow, they held the Falcons to 31 yards rushing in the game.

Jets 39  Bengals 38:  The Bengals are another team that should be ashamed of themselves, and they too are now playoff pretenders.  They gave up 39 points and 502 yards of Total Offense to the 2025 version of the NY Jets; that should be grounds for a lawsuit where the club claws back the paychecks from all the defenders.   The Jets were trailing by 14 points with eight minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, but they pulled off the shocker after Breece Hall threw a game-winning touchdown pass [That is not a typo, Breece Hall threw a TD pass to put the Jets ahead with 1:54 left to play)].   Here is a stat I ran across at CBSSports.com:

• Bengals have scored 38+ points in four games in the last two years.
• Bengals’ record in those four games is 1-3-0.

Texans 26  Niners 15:  I guess the injury list finally became more of a burden than the Niners could bear.  The Texans’ defense was excellent – – as usual – – and the Texans’ offense was efficient and effective in the game – – as is not usual at all.

Bucs 23  Saints 3:  It was just another day at the office for the Bucs’ defense; it created 4 turnovers and sacked the QB 4 times and produced this win despite seeing the Bucs’ offense outgained by the lowly Saints.  This was a defense dominated game on both sides; the two teams combined to produce only 479 yards of Total Offense.  Saints’ rookie, Tyler Shough, got to see live NFL action for the first time here.  Here is Shough’s stat line:

• 17 of 30 for 128 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT

By the way, the Saints attempted 51 passes in the game and scored one field goal.  Perhaps that is because they tried to run the ball 15 times and only managed 48 yards rushing.

Broncos 44  Cowboys 24:  The Cowboys’ defense was sliced and diced from start to finish.  The Broncos averaged 6.4 yards per rush attempt.  Dak Prescott did not help the situation in this one; his passing total was 188 yards, and he threw 2 INTs.

Colts 38  Titans 14:  This game was never in doubt.  In case you had not noticed, this is the third loss in a row for the Titans by double digits and the Titans have had two ignominious streaks of that kind already this season.

Packers 35  Steelers 25:   The Steelers led 16-7 at the half but the Packers dominated the second half – – particularly the 4^th quarter where they scored 21 points.  Jordan Love led the way for the Packers throwing for 360 yards and 4 TDs.  It is now time to question the Steelers’ defense a bit.  Yes, they still lead their division, but they have given up 30+ points in 4 games this year before Halloween has arrived.  The adage holds that defense wins championships; the Packers’ defense needs to be more central to the team’s success than it has been so far in 2025.

 

Games This Week:

 

There are four teams enjoying a BYE Week this week:

• Browns:  Have they seen enough of Dillon Gabriel yet?  Could Shedeur Sanders be significantly worse?  The 2025 season is over for the Browns, and it is time for them to start thinking about the 26 and 27 and 28 seasons ahead…
• Bucs:  They appear to be on track for their fifth consecutive NFC South Division championship.  They have been hit hard by the injury bug but if they get well, they could be a tough out in the playoffs.
• Eagles:  They have a nice lead in their division, but they also have a brutal schedule ahead of them.  The Eagles do not dominate opponents; their record is 6-2-0 but their point differential is only +23.
• Jets:  Hey, they won a game last weekend and they cannot possibly lose a game this weekend.  As my grandfather was wont to say, “Thank God for small favors.”

            Before I get to the games specifically, there are three games this week with double-digit spreads and another one where the spread is 8.5 points – – sort of the moral equivalent of a double-digit spread.  In the NFL’s unceasing quest for parity, that is not something that the league wants to see out there in the open.  Just under 30% of this week’s slate of games have been deemed as blowouts by the oddsmakers.  The suits on Mahogany Row do not like that …

Bears – 2 at Bengals (51):  The Bears’ defense is battered; the Bengals’ defense is just brutal.  The question here is simple:

• Which defensive unit will be more noxious than the other?

Looking at the Total Line, the oddsmakers think that both defenses will be ineffective to put it politely.  The Bengals should be hugely embarrassed having lost at home to the Jets last week; how might that manifest itself?

Niners – 3 at Giants (49):  The Niners are beat up; someone somewhere has voodoo dolls of the Niners’ players and also has an abundance of needles to stick into those dolls.  I think this is going to be a defensive game, so I’ll take the game to stay UNDER the Total Line; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Falcons at Pats – 5 (45):  The Falcons are one of those teams that is not very good but has the capacity to play excellently every once in a while.  Is this one of their excellent weeks?  Will they find a way to get the ball into Bijan Robinson’s hands more than 9 times?

Colts – 3 at Steelers (49.5):  No one has figured out how to stop the Colts this year; the Steelers’ defense is trying to live off the reputation in Pittsburgh of great defensive teams; that is not working.  The Steelers have lost two games in a row; the Colts have only lost once this year, but that loss was on the road.  I like this game to go OVER; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Panthers at Packers – 13 (44):  The good news for the Panthers is that Bryce Young will play this week.  The bad news is that this game is in Green Bay and the Packers’ defense is always loaded and locked to play there.  I never pick NFL games with double-digit spreads even though this one is tempting.  I think the Packers win this one comfortably.

Vikes at Lions – 8 (48):  The Lions are coming off their BYE Week; the Vikes are still looking for competent play at the QB position.  That is a fat number, but I think the Lions’ rested defense is going to make life miserable for JJ McCarthy.  I like the Lions to win and cover at home; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Broncos at Texans – 2 (40):  I thought for a moment about this being the Game of the Week.  The Texans’ defense won the game for them last week; that unit can hold the Broncos’ offense down in this game.  The problem is that the Texans tepid offense will have plenty of difficulty dealing with the Broncos’ defense.  The Broncos lead the NFL with 35 sacks registered so far; the Texans’ OL is not their strongest unit; CJ Stroud may be running for his life here.  The game is important to both teams as they try for position in their divisions; the game is more important for the Texans who trail the Colts by 3.5 games this morning.

Chargers – 10.5 at Titans (43.5):  The Chargers have a history of blowing up as huge favorites.  Disgruntled fans have even invented a word for that behavior; they call it “Chargering”.  If the Chargers were to lose this game as double-digit favorites, I think Jim Harbaugh’s head would explode like one of those “bunker-buster bombs”.

Jags – 3 at Raiders (45):  The Jags have lost two games in a row and trail the Colts by 2.5 games; they cannot afford to lose to the lowly Raiders.  However, the Raiders are coming back off their BYE Week and could get both Jakobi Meyers and Brock Bowers back from injury here.  In addition, the week off was probably worthwhile respite time for Maxx Crosby who is clearly the best defender on the Raiders’ roster.  Neither of these QBs has delivered on pre-season expectations.  Here are some stats about the Jags if you are tempted to bet the favorite in this game:

• The Jags are 2-12-0 in their last 14 road games
• This might be a trap game for the Jags; they may be peeking ahead in the schedule to see the Texans next week.

In a week with lots of mediocre games, this one probably deserves to be the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.

Saints at Rams – 14 (44):  The Rams are tied for the lead in their division, so they need a win here.  The Saints need to see more of Tyler Shough at QB to determine if they have an asset on their hands or not.  This game should give both teams what they need…

Chiefs – 1 at Bills (52):  This is obviously the Game of the Week. It could well be an advance peek at teams that will meet in the AFC Playoffs down the road.  The Chiefs have won 3 games in a row; the Bills came off their BYE last week and demolished the Panthers.  Just sit back and enjoy this one…

(Sun Nite) Seahawks – 3 at Commanders (48):  Jayden Daniels is in; Terry McLauren is out.  If the Seahawks’ defense made the trip with the rest of the team, it could be a long night for the Commanders.  On the flip side, the Seahawks offense has been clicking this year, and the Commanders’ defense has shown to be “exploitable”.  Here is an interesting morsel:

• In 2025, the Seahawks are 3-0-0 on the road AND 3-0-0 against the spread in road games.

(Mon Nite) Cards at Cowboys – 2.5 (54):  The Cards had last week off and if that offense is rested and ready, it should score on the Cowboys’ pathetic defense.  And the Cowboys will score too.  Jerry-World might run out of fireworks by the third quarter in this one.  The Cards’ defense is decent; it gives up 79 yards per game less than the miserable Cowboys’ defense.  Is that enough to give the Cards an edge?

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

• Tennessee – 2.5 over Oklahoma
• Vandy +3 against Texas
• Houston – 13 over West Virginia
• Lions – 8 over Vikes
• Steelers/Colts OVER 49.5
• Niners Giants UNDER 49

And here are two Money Line Parlays just for fun:

• Ga Tech @ minus-210
• Minnesota @ minus-170
• Virginia @ minus-200           $100  wager to win $252

And …

• Broncos at +115
• Lions @ minus-470
• Chargers @ minus-500         $100 wager to win $213

Finally, let’s hear from Bill Walsh:

“Good talent with bad attitude equals bad talent.”

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

 

 

I mentioned earlier this week the FBI arrested various people related to the NBA for illegal  gambling activities.  This is the sort of story that produces drips of evidence – – the story du jour if you will.  Here is the latest “dripping”:

• According to ESPN.com and CBSSports.com, Terry Rozier owes the IRS about $8.2M.
• Terry Rozier’s contract for the 2025/2026 NBA season pays him $26.6M fully guaranteed unless he does something truly stupid like getting convicted of gambling on NBA games.
• Over the course of his basketball career, his contractual earnings amount to $160.5M – – according to Spotrac.com.

I understand how some athletes get into financial straits due to bad investment decisions and how other athletes get into financial straits due to being fleeced by unscrupulous agents and representatives.  But getting in debt to the IRS to the extent of more than $8M indicates to me either a failure to file a tax return or filing one that was outrageously inaccurate.  And the avenue to avoid any of those possibilities is wide open.

Unless the NBPA is completely asleep at the switch, the union provides its members with a vetted list of agents and accountants and others who can provide assistance to players on matters financial.  The union “certifies” certain folks of that stripe and I must assume that part of that “certification” is that the financial advisor/assistant does not do things like fail to file tax returns.  The current President of the NBPA is Fred Van Vleet who is also an active NBA player – – who happens to be injured at the moment.  My point is that Terry Rozier has easy access to the means by which he passes muster with the IRS – – and he managed not to avail himself of said means.

• Unfathomable!

Moving on …  I know that World Series is tied at two games apiece as of this morning meaning that the Series will return to Toronto for at least one game on Friday this week.  The winner will be decided either Friday or Saturday meaning that the baseball offseason is about to start and it could be the most interesting one in decades.  There are some intriguing names on the “free agent list” this winter; teams need to be focused on potential means to improve their position and standing in their divisions.  That will mean committing significant dollars to specific players.

At the same time, the extant CBA expires on December 1^st, 2025.  That means that teams will be considering putting a lot of future expenditure on their books without knowing the structure of the new CBA.  And that new CBA might be

1. Very different from the current CBA structure – – AND/OR – –
2. May only come into existence only after a work stoppage of unknown duration.

Notwithstanding the uncertainty that will overhang this MLB offseason, there are several free agents that ought to garner attention from multiple teams.  Here are seven players that I know will be free agents and who I suspect will be sought after commodities once order is restored on the CBA front:

1. Pete Alonzo:  He signed a 1-year deal for $30M last year; I suspect he will want a long-term deal this time around.
2. Shane Bieber:  Seems to be fully recovered from his Tommy John surgery in 2024.
3. Alex Bregman:  Even without the CBA uncertainty, he would probably be a late signer because he is represented by Scott Boras.
4. JT Realmuto:  His career has peaked – – but he is still a valuable commodity as a reliable defensive catcher.
5. Kyle Schwarber:  Never hurts to become a free agent after hitting 56 home runs in the previous season.
6. Eugenio Suarez:  Hitting 49 home runs and driving in 118 runs last year will certainly make a few GMs sit up and take notice.
7. Kyle Tucker:  Had some injury issues in the last two seasons but he is not yet 30 and is solid in the field as well as productive at the plate.

Switching gears …  One of the entrants in the Breeders’ Cup Classic that will happen this Saturday is named “Nevada Beach”.  For the record, he is trained by Bob Baffert, and he will be ridden by Mike Smith; his morning line odds were 20-1.  I think the name of the horse is a bit strange.

• Nevada is a landlocked state.
• There is lots of sand in Nevada but not a lot of “beach”.

Finally, please heed the conclusion here by Dorothy Parker:

“Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.”

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

 

 

For a while last night, folks watching the Dodgers/Blue Jays Game 3 of the World Series might have thought that someone had figured out how to stop time.  Only once in the history of baseball has a World Series game taken 18 innings to declare a winner – – and in that one other time in 2018, the Dodgers were involved as well.  In the bottom of the 18^th inning Freddie Freeman sent everyone to bed with a walk-off home run giving the Dodgers a 6-5 win in Game 3 and a Series lead of two games to one.

While Freeman is the “hero of the game” for his game winning shot, Shohei Ohtani more quietly achieved another exalted status in the game.  Ohtani had 4 hits in the game – – two doubles and two home runs; only once in the history of baseball has a player had 4 extra base hits in a World Series game and that happened in 1906.  It’s been a while …  Oh, by the way, Ohtani also drew 5 walks in the game.

The Blue Jays used 9 pitchers in the game; the Dodgers trotted out 10 hurlers.  Jays’ pitchers threw 298 pitches; the Dodgers’ pitchers served up 312. The Series schedule calls for Games 4 and 5 to be played in LA with no rest days inserted.  Both pitching staffs will be earning their keep in this Series.  Iin case you are wondering, neither of the pitchers listed as starters in Game 4 tonight (Shane Bieber for the Jays and Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers) threw any of those myriad pitches last night.  Both bullpens are hoping that both starters can log at least 7 innings tonight.

Moving on … The UFL will look very different in 2026; three of the 8 teams in the league have been disbanded and there will be three new cities added.  The teams that are no more were:

• Memphis Showboats
• Michigan Panthers
• San Antonio Brahmas

The Showboats’ demise was almost a foregone conclusion with or without a major overhaul of the league structure.  At the end of the last UFL season the Showboats’ average home attendance was less than 4000 fans per game; I don’t care how the league structures its player salary ladder, 4000 fans per game will not feed the bulldog.

In place of teams representing those parts of the country, the new teams will be:

• Columbus Aviators
• Louisville Kings
• Orlando Storm

And in addition to relocating 37.5% of the teams in the league, the UFL will “rebrand” two Texas-based teams:

• The Arlington Renegades will become the Dallas Renegades
• The Houston Roughnecks will become the Houston Gamblers

One can look at these changes as normal evolutionary steps that new leagues need to experience in order to take root and flourish; alternatively, one can look at these changes as desperation moves attempting to keep the UFL out of bankruptcy court.  The league says that the rebrandings here seek to exploit areas with “stronger sports infrastructure and fan engagement”.  That sounds like a well-crafted announcement of league strategy, but maybe there is something about the new locales that makes sense.  All three new cities have smaller stadiums that are modern and have “fan amenities”.

The smaller size will avoid the “bad optics” of a UFL game taking place in a 50,000-seat facility with an attendance of 10,000.  Even though that attendance figure is significantly above what the Showboats played in front of, that crowd would rattle around in a “major stadium” like a BB in a boxcar.  For example:

• Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus seats 27,000
• Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville seats 15,304
• Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando seats 25,000

All three of these facilities are also home to soccer teams so the sightlines for football will be natural ones.

There is one other UFL change for 2026.  No longer will the eight teams be broken up into conferences of 4 teams each.  Rather the league will determine its playoff teams simply by “best record”.  The UFL playoffs have 4 teams that play in semi-final games and a single final game slated for 13 June 2026.  Frankly, that modification makes a lot of sense to me in a league with only 8 teams.

Finally, consider this from Oscar Wilde:

“I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”

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

 

 

The big sports news over the weekend – – bigger than the World Series and bigger than any football game or performance – – was the FBI announcement of the arrests of a couple dozen individuals including NBA players and coaches related to illegal gambling activities with alleged participation by Organized Crime.  This is a big deal for the NBA in addition to it being a big deal for those people facing indictment and prosecution in the matter.

This sort of thing can no longer be waved aside as an “isolated incident” as the NBA tried to do last year when it banned Jontay Porter for life because he engaged in making sure that his stats for a specific game/specific games stayed UNDER the available prop bet for that evening.  In announcing these arrests, the authorities allege that is exactly what Terry Rozier did.  Remember, Rozier is innocent at this point in the world of jurisprudence – – but the public reaction to any and all of this is far less than positive.

• [Aside: I know in this world of 24-hour news cycles that the “Tim Donaghy matter” is considered pre-history, but that matter is also a blot on the image of the NBA as an up-and-up proposition.]

I have said here on multiple occasions that I prefer college basketball to NBA basketball as an entertainment vehicle because college players don’t “dog it” nearly as much as NBA players do.  If I turn on any random NBA game this week, I will be certain to see two things:

1. Players jacking up three-point shots at least every other possession – – AND – –
2. Players loafing on the court when the ball is not destined to come their way during the current possession.

In that past, I just chalked up the second situation as a form of “on-court load management” where the player was simply saving his energy and waiting his turn to have the ball and to have everyone’s attention focused on him.  Not necessarily so anymore, now that on-court loafer might just be making sure his stat totals for the evening stay UNDER the given number.  If you think I am being cynical here let me remind you of two observations:

“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.”  [George Bernard Shaw]

And …

“Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth.”  [Lillian Hellman]

This is a big deal for the NBA because the NBA is a big revenue entity for one simple reason; it is entertainment that appeals to a sufficiently large audience to attract fans and sponsors.  That is why it exists; if that element erodes, the NBA will dry up and blow away.

But there is a key element in the form of entertainment that the NBA provides; it is – – or is presumed to be – – unscripted.  That is what separates sports like the NBA, the NFL and MLB from sports entertainment entities such as WWE and Roller Derby.  Point shaving or stat shaving begins to erode that key element that separates sports from sports entertainment.

Naturally, this circumstance has generated passionate comments from folks who view spots gambling as a bad thing.  According to them, the fact that all the major sporting enterprises in the world are in bed with the sports gambling enterprises of the world is the cause of all this.  Even if I were to try to agree with that, I must ask how it might be cured such that the sports can continue to exist.  And I reject the idea that somehow and someway there needs to be a ban on gambling.  That is simply not going to happen any more than Prohibition served to remove alcohol from US society.  People bet on things; some may not like that, but it happens to be the case.

What might come next in this matter?

• Adam Silver might have to be awakened from his slumber.  The league has already investigated some of the activities that are part of these arrests but it “found nothing unusual”.
• Perhaps there needs to be leverage exerted on sportsbooks to limit player prop bets.  That will be a heavy lift because player props are popular wagers for now.
• The NBA itself and NBA fans everywhere need to light candles in church praying that this contagion does not spread to involve other active players.

And I do have one other practical question, specifically for Terry Rozier who is alleged to be the player who assured an UNDER bet in a specific game:

• What motivated you to think about doing something like that in the first place – – if indeed you did so?

According to Spotrac.com, Terry Rozier will make $26.6M for this NBA regular season and for prior years he made a total of $160.5M.  The statement by the FBI said that in one circumstance about $200K was wagered on Rozier’s prop bets.  That is a drop in the bucket as compared to earnings; so, why jeopardize the earnings for drippings?

Finally, Newt Gingrich moved in different circles than the NBA and NBA fans, but his comment here might resonate with NBA folks as of this morning:

“Until someone is prepared to lay out the systemic problem, we will simply go through cycles of finding corruption, finding a scapegoat, eliminating the scapegoat, and relaxing until we find the next scandal.”

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