Category: Uncategorized

The NFL coaching game of musical chairs has come to an end.  No Black candidates filled any of the ten openings; so, now we will go through a short cycle of racial analysis of the entire NFL’s owners’ thinking.   According to the reports I have read, there are no allegations that any of the ten teams seeking new leadership on the sidelines violated the Rooney Rule meaning that all ten hiring teams interviewed at least two Black head coaching candidates.  So, how can that be?

First, as you read or hear from any of the commentators who will cite this situation as prima facie evidence of systemic racism, please note that one of the coaches hired in this cycle is an Arab-American of the Muslim faith.  Robert Saleh is now the coach of the Tennessee Titans and that biographical data does not fit squarely with the portrait of bigoted white owners assuring the purity of the photo that might be taken of all their head coaches.  I mention it here because it will not be a prominent part of the mind-reading exercise that will be forthcoming.

There is a Black head coaching candidate out there who can easily be held up as a victim in this hiring cycle.  However, the Brian Flores situation has extenuating circumstances.  One can easily make the case that Flores should not have been fired by Miami in 2022; he had been on the job for 3 seasons and had posted a winning record in the two seasons prior to his being fired.  Nonetheless, he was fired and in the hiring cycle of 2022, Flores alleges he was the victim of racial discrimination and has sued the NFL and three specific teams for redress of that grievance.

Two of the teams as defendants in Flores’ lawsuit are the Giants and the Dolphins.  Those two teams – – both seeking new coaches in this cycle – – specifically have more than sufficient reason not to hire Flores as of this date and the other eight teams looking for new sideline leadership might have a basis for seeing him as an antagonist at the moment.  I believe that Brian Flores would be a good head coach for an NFL team, but I understand how he might be starting at a disadvantage in his interview processes based on his legal allegations just as easily as that disadvantage might be due to his skin color.

I think this situation is set up to be an annual occurrence.  There is no reasonable mechanism one could impose on the NFL owners to maintain a specified level of minority coaching representation around the league; hiring and firing decisions are going to reside with each team.  And in that case, analyzing individual hirings requires knowing what is in the minds and hearts of the individual owners.  At this point, what springs to mind is the introduction to a radio program from the 1940s, The Shadow.  Each mystery episode began with:

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?  The Shadow knows…”

Unfortunately, “The Shadow” is a fictional character, and we cannot avail ourselves of his fictional insights and abilities.  When you hear or read declarative statements about how this hiring cycle proves that race is the key factor in NFL hiring decisions, please remember that “The Shadow” is a fictional character.

Moving on … The “scoop-du-jour” this morning is that – – like Bill Belichick – – Robert Kraft will also not be revealed tomorrow night as an entrant into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  As with the coaching debate from above, this report will conjure up some natural discussion points.

• Is this a “league sanction” levied because of Kraft’s alleged dalliance in that “massage parlor” incident?
• If Belichick was being “punished” for the scandals that occurred in his time with the Pats, is Kraft being similarly “punished”?
• Is this all being orchestrated by the NFL to assure that Belichick, Kraft and Tom Brady all go into the Hall of Fame in the same class since they were together atop the NFL for more than a decade?
• You get the point …

Here is another area where too much analysis and assertion depend on abilities reserved for “The Shadow”.  And in my mind, it obscures another topic that might be interesting on its own:

• Other than the owners who founded the NFL and persisted with the league long before it became an economic behemoth, why are modern owners even in the Hall of Fame?
• Other than raise a lot of money to buy a franchise with the intent of making a ton of money once installed as the new owners, what do current owners do that is “Fame-worthy”?

I think the gatekeepers for the Hall of Fame – – in all sports not just in pro football – – have two equally important mandates:

1. Enshrine worthy candidates as soon as possible – – AND – –
2. Keep unworthy/marginally worthy candidates out forever.

Only when those two mandates are enforced together will the Hall of Fame in question be a tribute to “greatness”.  There may be years when no one is considered worthy of induction and there may be years when the floodgates swing open.  That’s OK if it preserves the Hall of Fame as a bastion of “greatness”.  The very fact that there is a predetermined number of potential candidates in any given year means that “greatness” – – at best – – is on an equal footing with other criteria for induction.  Moreover, allowing a decade or so of eligibility for induction also speaks to the downgrading of “greatness”.  Think about it; after a player retires for 5 years and then is on a Hall of Fame ballot for 10 more years, he has done nothing to enhance or detract from his worthiness for enshrinement.  All that has been known for what seems like “forever”.

Finally, a closing thought today comes from author, Nelson Boswell:

“The difference between greatness and mediocrity is often how an individual views a mistake.”

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

 

 

I need to start today with an apology.  Last week, I said that the Bucs/Panthers game was “winner take all” and that the winner of the game would be the NFC South champion; clearly, I overlooked something.  Once the Falcons had been eliminated from the playoffs about a month ago, I stopped thinking about them in terms of that division.  However, the Falcons won their last four games in a row giving them the same won/loss record as the Bucs and Panthers meaning there was a three way tie atop the division thereby invoking the standard tie-breaker sequence; and with the tie-breaker of “record in games involving the three teams”, the Panthers made the playoffs despite losing to the Bucs yesterday.  Sorry about that…

As of this moment, three NFL coaches have been fired on “Bloody Monday”.  The aforementioned Atlanta Falcons fired Raheem Morris yesterday and the Cleveland Browns fired Kevin Staefanski today.  In some sense, you might think the Browns took mercy on Stefanski; his time with the Browns had way too much overlap with the nightmarish contract given to Deshaun Watson and the subsequent injuries to Watson that made him as useful as cement life preserver.

Stefanski had been with the Browns for six seasons; his teams made the playoffs twice and he was named Coach of the Year twice.  Since the Browns were reincarnated in 1999, the team had eleven coaches before Stefanski signed on for the 2020 season; the franchise has not exactly been a model of stability or sanity over the last 25 seasons.  One thing Stefanski provided for the franchise was adult supervision; the Browns posted a winning record twice between 1999 and Stefanski’s arrival in 2020; the franchise seemed to be unable to avoid inventing negative situations.

The Falcons’ decision to fire Raheem Morris may have been a bit easier; Morris had been with the team for 2 seasons, and the Falcons were 8-9-0 in both seasons.  There was no evidence of a “turnaround” for the franchise nor any Coach of the Year trophies to make the decision dicey.  However, Falcons’ fans need to keep something in mind as the team goes about its search for a new head coach.  Raheem Morris was hired in 2024 by the Falcons’ principal owner, Arthur Blank; here is a list of other coaching candidates those folks interviewed for the Falcons’ job in 2024 but decided on Morris instead:

• Bill Belichick
• Jim Harbaugh
• Mike Vrabel

Raheem Morris is certainly not a bad coach; he is not over his head in that sort of job.  Having said that, look at the list above again and ponder how he might have prevailed in that coaching sweepstakes.

The Raiders fired Pete Carroll today.  In one sense, that is surprising given that he was hired less than 12 months ago; in another sense, that is what the Raiders seem wont to do these days:

• In 2021, the Raiders parted company with Jon Gruden in the midst of some highly inappropriate emails Gruden sent to Washington GM, Bruce Allen and that situation spawned Gruden’s lawsuit against the NFL.
• In 2022, the Raiders hired Josh McDaniels as the head coach; he survived until 2023.
• In 2024, the Raiders hired Antonio Pieerce as the head coach; he survived until 2025.
• In 2025, the Raiders hired Pete Carroll as the head coach; he survived until 2026.
• See any pattern’s there … ?

I mentioned above that Jon Gruden’s departure from the Raiders led to a hotly contested lawsuit against the NFL which has still not gone to trial and could stretch on for years.  The Raiders could position themselves as the nexus for legal action against the league in the next month or so if they choose to hire Brian Flores as their head coach.  Flores also has a lawsuit pending against the league alleging racial discrimination in hiring.

That sort of litigious focus would be well within keeping up the Raiders’ tradition.  Recall that it was Al Davis who sued the league on antitrust grounds almost 50 years ago because the league tried to prevent him from moving the Raiders from Oakland to LA.

Finally, let me close with this from Al Davis:

“History will dictate what my legacy is. And ‘maverick’ is fine, because I am.”

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

 

 

I shall be “off the air” until early in 2026.  My long-suffering wife and I are off on a short road trip.

Meanwhile, please stay safe and stay well.

See you next year…

 

The WNBA and the WNBPA continue their negotiations as they try to forge a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.  The two sides are supposedly far apart in the talks which have been a tad acrimonious at times; back at last year’s All-Star Game, the players all wore tee shirts saying “Pay Us What You Owe Us”.  Last week, the union announced that it had taken a vote of the players testing the willingness of the players to call a strike.  According to the union:

• 93% of the players registered a vote – – AND – –
• 98% of the players voted to authorize the union to call a strike.

Naturally, both sides issued statements in the wake of that announcement by the union; I need not tell you that the two statements have nothing to do with each other.  The existing CBA should have expired on Halloween, but the two sides have agreed to “extensions” pushing the date back to January 9, 2026.  If the two statements that were issued last week are even half true – – not necessarily close to correct – – what the two sides did was to kick the can down the road with those extensions.  Now the players have upped the ante.

Is that a good idea?  Well, if you believe that the league/owners “owe” the players something significantly more than they are currently paying the players, then this is not only a good idea; it is a necessary action.  If you believe the players are asking for more than league revenues support, this is a bad idea.

The WNBA is increasing in popularity but that increase comes against a markedly small base.  The bedrock for revenue foundation in sports today is broadcast rights.  When you compare TV audience size for the NBA and WNBA regular season telecasts, the reported numbers say that NBA audiences are 3 times larger than WNBA audiences.

Before I present numbers from the cited source above, let me say that it makes no sense to compare the WNBA to leagues like the NFL or MLB; the only comparison that is even close to realistic is the WNBA to the NBA; so, here are some numbers for you to consider:

• Revenue:        NBA = $10.6B             WNBA = $0.2B
• TV audience   NBA = 1.6M                 WNBA = 0.5M             (Regular season)
• TV audience   NBA = 5.5M                 WNBA = 0.4M             (Playoffs)
• TV audience   NBA = 11.6M               WNBA = 0.73M            (Finals)
• Attendance     NBA = 18,324              WNBA = 9,195            (Average)
• Ticket Price    NBA = $94                   WNBA = $87               (Average)

            Based on revenue, the NBA is about 53 times larger than the WNBA.  The average NBA salary is reported at $11.9M and the average WNBA salary is reported at $0.120M.  The multiplier there says the average NBA player makes 99 times what the average WNBA player makes.  If that is what the union wants to bring into balance, they have numbers to back up their proposals; but that will still leave the WNBA players in a situation making a lot less than their NBA counterparts.

Having nothing to do with the righteousness or the outrageousness of the union’s position, there is an interesting unknown here.  The WNBA has never had “labor strife”; it has never had a work stoppage.  So, there is no empirical evidence of how such a situation might affect the fanbase for the WNBA.  Yes, the league is significantly more popular than it used to be; yes, some of the WNBA stars are easily recognized figures.  However, do they have “staying power” as public figures if they are not going to play basketball for those new fans that are showing up?  There are “lifelong NBA fans” who were there in the days of Magic and Bird and in the days of Dr. J and in the days of Wilt and Russell.  There are no lifelong fans of the WNBA that come close to that sort of heritage.  A strike by the players is a risky option; the voting reported by the union suggests that most of the players are willing to take that risk.

The owners also have risk in taking a position that encourages a strike by the players.  The recent average attendance at WNBA games (more than 9,000 per game as cited above) has grown significantly.  Ten years ago, the only way the WNBA would have come close to that figure would be to hand out free tickets with the promise that anyone who came to the arena and sat through the game would get a $20 bill on leaving the premises.  Owners do not want to go back to the days of arenas filled to 15% of capacity.

As is the case with every CBA negotiation, what is set aside as the proposals go back and forth and the statements are issued is a simple fact:

• The owners and the players are actually partners in this endeavor; they both seek to present to the public an entertainment experience that the public is willing to support financially.
• Moreover, neither side of the partnership can do that on its own.

Personally, I think a strike would be a bad idea for both sides.  I wonder how many of those fans will maintain their interest to the point of being willing to pay to see the WNBA product if there is a protracted time period with no games and no publicity related to games.  During a strike, all other aspects of the affected league are stifled; the strike news sucks all the oxygen out of the room.  If the two sides get to the point that a strike – – or a lockout by the way – – comes into existence, the two sides have just placed a bet on the degree of robustness that exists in the WNBA fanbase.

Finally, these words from Charles E. Wilson – – former Secretary of Defense under President Eisenhower:

“Unfortunately, in collective bargaining one party or the other too often tries to gain an advantage – a bargain, like buying something in a store for less than it is worth.”

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

 

 

The FIFA World Cup will come to North America in 2026.  The first major event arising from that circumstance will happen next month when the FIFA masters draw lots to see which country teams will be in which groups.  Next year’s tournament will be the first one with an expanded field of 48 teams – – up from 32 teams in the recent past – – and that event will command the attention of as many as a billion folks around the world.

I ran across a report that many of the US venues for World Cup games have announced their parking fees for those who will drive to the events.  For Group Level games at Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), Jerry-World (Dallas) and Arrowhead Stadium (KC), parking will cost $75.  Round of 16 games will cost $100; Quarterfinals will cost between $125 and 145; and for the Semifinals at Jerry-World, parking will be $175.

One venue was a bit out of step on this front.  Lincoln Financial Field (Philly) will host 6 matches – – or “fixtures” as the EPL prefers to call them – – at the Group level and then in the Round of 16.  Parking for those games will be $145 for “preferred parking” and $125 for “parking”.  Let me do some back of the envelope math here:

• The Linc seats almost 70,000 people.  There is relatively convenient public transit to The Linc and people will likely come to the game in pairs or groups; so, let me assume that there will be 25,000 vehicles seeking parking for each game.
• Also, let me assume that the average tariff for parking is $130 – – regular parking outnumbers “preferred parking” significantly.
• 25,000 cars X $130 per car X 6 games = $19.5M

That Round of 16 game in Philly will happen on July 4^th which happens to be the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  If the US Men’s National Team were to make it through the Group stage and into the Round of 16, I suspect their game would find its way to Lincoln Financial Field by some fortuitous circumstance.

Having thought about the World Cup, I decided to go and look to see what countries had already qualified for the field.  To no surprise, teams like Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France, England and Spain are in the field.  There were a few competitors that I would not have thought would be included:

• Algeria – – first time in the field since 2014
• Cabo Verde – – first time ever in the World Cup Tournament
• Curacao – – first time ever in the World Cup Tournament
• Haiti – – first time in the field since 1974
• Jordan – – first time ever in the World Cup Tournament
• New Zealand – – first time in the field since 2010
• Norway – – first time in the field since 1998
• Scotland – – first time in the field since 1998
• South Africa – – first time in the field since 2010

            No peeking at Google Maps, how confident are you that you could walk up to a world map and locate all 9 of those countries in 30 seconds?  I found 8 of them easily but had to scan very carefully to locate Cabo Verde; it is not very large.

One other point about that list.  I am old enough to remember – – and enjoy – – Monty Python’s Flying Circus.  One of their more outrageous sketches – – and that is saying a whole lot – – was about alien beings called “Blancmanges” attacking and devouring tennis players at Wimbledon simply to assure that a Scotsman named Angus Podgorny would be the Wimbledon champion.  I know nothing about the Scottish futbol team other than it has qualified for the World Cup in 2026 for the first time in almost 30 years.  Nonetheless, I suspect it will take the intervention of alien “Blancmanges” for the Scots to hoist the FIFA World Cup Trophy in July 2026.

Finally, the mention of Monty Python led me to go and reread the script of one of my favorite sketches; it is known as “Crunchy Frog”.  Here is a link to the script; go and enjoy Inspector Praline as he investigates the products offered by the Whizzo Chocolate Company.

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

 

 

Kenny Easley died over the weekend; he was 66 years old.  Easley had a brief but illustrious NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks as a safety who made the All-Pro team 4 times in 7 years and was the Defensive Player of the Year in 1984.  He was traded to the Cards after the 1987 season but never played there because the routine physical associated with any trade revealed a severe kidney disease that forced his retirement at age 28.  Kenny Easley was selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Rest in peace, Kenny Easley.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are the CFL champions for 2025; they defeated the Montreal Alouettes yesterday in the Grey Cup game by a score of 25-17.  The stat sheet for this game was about as even as possible with one exception:

• The Alouettes turned the ball over 4 times (3 INTs and a lost fumble) while the Roughriders did not turn the ball over at all.

This win produced the first championship for the Roughriders since 2013.  The Alouettes were last CFL champs in 2023.

Moving on …  The Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders played in the first NFL regular season game in Spain yesterday.  The game went to overtime which might lead one to conclude that it was an exciting/nail-biting spectacle; actually, the team that made the last mistake lost the game.  The result is of minimal importance as compared to some data related to the game itself.

The NFL – like several other sporting enterprises globally – seeks to extend its reach outside the borders of the US.  And there does seem to be a large and enthusiastic audience out there for NFL football.  Consider:

• The NFL staged its first game in Dublin Ireland in Week 1 of this season.  An AP report said that “…600,000 digital devices were logged on to try to buy tickets for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game against the Minnesota Vikings at Dublin’s famed Croke Park.”
• For the game yesterday in Madrid, it seems that “…nearly 700,000 people trying to get a seat to watch the Miami Dolphins play the Washington Commanders on Sunday at Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.”

With fan reactions at that level, the NFL continues to place games in new spots around the world.  Next year, the NFL will schedule a game in Melbourne, Australia; the LA Rams have been designated as the host team for that game, and you can sign up to get on the list to buy tickets to that game already.  Tickets are not on sale, but this activity is a registration for the opportunity to buy tickets at some future date.  And the website says explicitly:

“Registering your interest does not guarantee you can purchase a ticket”

The good news for aspiring ticket buyers is that the venue in Melbourne seats 100,000 folks; so, there will be tickets up for grabs when the time comes.

According to Gerrit Meier – – the Managing Director and Head of NFL International – – the league has its eye on staging at least one game in Asia down the line.  Other countries/cities are expressing interest in hosting regular season games including a request by Saudi Arabia.  Here is what we know about the NFL’s  international plans for 2026:

• There will be games in Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro and Mexico City.
• The NFL will have games in the UK – – the number is unannounced.
• The NFL is likely to play in venues on the European mainland.
• Specifics are not yet announced but it would seem that seven or eight international games will happen in 2026.

Switching gears …  Deadlines drive action; it happens in politics, and it happens in sports.  And there is a deadline approaching in college football.  On December 1^st, the folks in charge of the CFP must inform ESPN of any changes in format that will happen in subsequent CFP Tournaments.

• Translation: Will the CFP expand to 16 teams next year or not?

Why is that a big deal?  Well, many of the other bowl games have contracts with various conferences that define what team in the conference standings will go to play in which bowl game.  Most if not all those contracts will expire at the end of the next college football season and will need renegotiation and possible realignment.  And none of that can happen until the CFP – – the 800-pound gorilla of college football – – decides what it chooses to do.  Bowl committees and conference representatives are probably involved in contingency planning as I type these sentences.

The SEC and the Big-10 will determine if there are to be changes to the CFP and the two conferences cannot – yet – agree on how to do this.

• The Big-10 wants a structured allocation model.  SEC and Big-10 get 4 slots each; the Big-12 and the ACC each get two slots; the best “Group of Six” team gets one slot, and a committee chooses the final three teams to make a field of sixteen.
• The SEC wants the system in place now to continue.  Conference Champions get automatic invitations, and a committee picks all the other participants.

            I prefer the SEC model simply because there are going to be years when the guaranteed positions for a conference or two don’t make sense.  I am not sure there are four Big-10 teams this year that belong in an expanded CFP and I can easily be convinced that the ACC should only get one team in the field for 2025.  I presume that if the two major conferences cannot come to a compromise, the 12-team field with current rules will prevail into the future.

Time’s a-wastin’ gentlemen …

Finally, here is an observation from Warren Buffet:

“When you combine ignorance and leverage, you get some pretty interesting results.”

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

 

 

Tonight, in Philly, the Norfolk St. Spartans will play the Delaware St. Hornets in a football game.  I guess you could call this a “home game” for Delaware St. which is located in Wilmington, DE, but the attraction of this game has much more to do with the coaches on the two sidelines than anything else.

• Norfolk St. is coached by Michael Vick
• Delaware St. is coached by DeSean Jackson.

Not only did both men have long and successful careers in the NFL, but they were also teammates for a while.  So that provides a natural storyline for the contest – – but it is really an element of a much larger story about former NFL players taking college coaching jobs – – many in smaller football programs.

Let me do a reset here.  In 2021, Deion Sanders took the head coaching job at Jackson St. – – an HBCU in the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC).  He was successful there for two seasons to the tune of 23-3 and parlayed that success into the head coaching job at Colorado where he had initial success in 2023.  It almost seems as if Sanders’ foray into coaching triggered other former NFL stars to try their hand at coaching at the collegiate level.  I am sure I have left out examples of this trend due to faulty research but let me present at least a partial list of former players in these sorts of coaching roles:

• Michael Vick is at Norfolk St. as head coach.  The Spartans are 1-7 coming into tonight’s game.  The Spartans program started in 2005 and has had only 2 winning seasons ever.  Vick played in college at Va Tech.
• DeSean Jackson is at Delaware St. as head coach.  The Hornets are 5-3 entering tonight’s game and lead the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).  The Hornets’ program began in the 1920s and had some sustained success in the 1990s but recently they were 2-21 over the last two seasons.  Jackson played in college at Cal.
• Eddie George is at Bowling Green as head coach.  George is in his first year there coming off a 24-22 record as the head coach at Tennessee St.  George played in college at Ohio St.
• Brian Hartline is at Ohio St. as the Offensive Coordinator.  Hartline played in college at Ohio St.
• C.J. Spiller is at Clemson as Running Backs coach.  Spiller played in college at Clemson.
• Marshall Faulk is at Colorado as Running Backs coach.  Faulk joined Deion Sanders’ staff in Boulder; Faulk played in college at San Diego St.
• Warren Sapp is at Colorado as a Defensive Analyst.  Sapp also joined Deion Sanders’ staff in Boulder.  Sapp played in college at Miami.
• Demarco Murray is at Oklahoma as Running Backs coach.  Murray played in college at Oklahoma.
• Hines Ward is at Arizona St. as the Wide Receivers coach.  Ward played in college at Georgia.
• Jason Taylor is at Miami as the Defensive Ends coach.  Taylor played in college at Miami.

The presence of these notable football names on the sidelines for the smaller schools adds to the attention those schools get.  Norfolk St. gets whatever public presence it does largely due to Coach Vick’s recognizable name and not because of its rich football history.  That is important because schools today are in “revenue-sharing mode” and revenue is attached closely to public attention.

It is also interesting to note that many of the former players on this list have returned to coaching positions at the schools where they played.  That aspect of this listing is different from the Deion Sanders’ model; he played at Florida St and started his coaching activities at Jackson St.  Florida St. and Jackson St. are not close to each other on the college football spectrum …

Finally, since today has been about players taking on new jobs/careers in coaching, let me close with this observation by Oscar Wilde:

“The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.”

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

 

 

The Baltimore Ravens had their BYE Week last weekend and there had to have been a fervent hope among Ravens’ fans and Ravens’ coaches that Lamar Jackson’s hamstring injury would be the prime beneficiary of that weekend’s rest.  The indications are that those hopes and dreams will not come to pass because Jackson did not participate in the Ravens’ practice session yesterday.  But the focus of attention in Baltimore remains on that hamstring muscle because the moment that it is deemed to be sufficiently healed, the Ravens will have Lamar Jackson back on the field playing QB.

Nothing that I have said above should be misinterpreted as a slam on the substitute QB in Baltimore.  Cooper Rush is a capable backup QB, and he is not the reason that the Ravens’ record is 1-5-0 having lost their last four games in a row.  What I mean to say here is that when Jackon is healthy again, there is no doubt whatsoever that he will be inserted into the lineup; that is not because he is the highest paid player on the team; that is because he is unequivocally the best QB on the roster.

I wonder if that situation similarly obtains in Palo Alto.  The Niners lead their division for now based on their undefeated status in division games and the Niners’ starting QB, Brock Purdy, is on the shelf with a toe injury.  Mac Jones has been the fill-in for the Niners at QB; he has started 5 games for the Niners, and the team has gone 4-1-0 in those five games.

Like Lamar Jackson, Brock Purdy is the highest paid player on the team and has been identified as the “leader of the offense”.  However, when his toe is healed, will he immediately and unequivocally be put on the field as the starting QB?  I don’t know the answer to that question, and I wonder if Niners’ coach, Kyle Shanahan, knows the answer.  The external trappings surrounding the two injured QBs are similar/parallel but there is a qualitative difference in the way the two QBs are perceived:

• Jackson is seen as an “All-World Talent” who is capable of dominating any game that he participates in.  If he returns to health, the Ravens’ season may still be pulled back from the abyss.
• Purdy is seen as the beneficiary of an offensive system created by and employed by Coach Shanahan.  Purdy orchestrates the offense – – and other QBs have shown an ability to orchestrate that offense as well.  Mac Jones specifically is orchestrating it rather successfully for now.

So, imagine for a moment that Brock Purdy’s toe is completely healed as of this morning.  [Aside: I wonder if importing some water from Lourdes would be subject to tariffs?  Whatever …]  Would that mean it is a slam-dunk decision on the part of Kyle Shanahan to put him back in the lineup at QB?

I obviously don’t know the answer to that question, but I do think that it would be an easier choice for Shanahan to come off a Niners’ loss as opposed to a Niners’ victory last weekend.

Moving on …  The Canadian Football League will end its regular season this weekend and the CFL playoffs which start next weekend will have a useful wrinkle called the “Crossover”.  Here is the deal:

• Six CFL teams will make the playoffs – – three from the East and three from the West.
• However, when the fourth-place team in one division has a better record than the third-place team in the other division, that “fourth place team” crosses over and competes as the third-place team in the other division.
• This allows for better teams in the playoffs and presumably better/more entertaining games.

There will be a “crossover” this season.

• In the East, the third-place team will finish with a record of 5-13-0.
• In the West, the fourth-place team will finish with a record of 9-9-0 at worst.
• Ergo, that fourth place finisher in the West will play in the East bracket of the CFL playoffs.

One way to look at this is to think of it as a way to do a reseeding of the playoff teams.  The last playoff slot is not guaranteed based on geography; it is earned based on a season-long record.  I have no reason to like or dislike any of the East teams who might be dislodged from the playoffs this year, but from a fans’ standpoint, the games will likely be more interesting without the participation of a team whose record is 5-13-0.

It would take a cataclysmic event to get the NFL to think of implementing such a selection process for its playoffs.  Here is such a cataclysm; let me pick the AFC South as my example.

• Imagine if all four teams lose every game outside the division.
• In the division games,
  • • Houston goes 4-2-0
    • Indy goes 3-3-0
    • Jax goes 3-3-0
    • Tennessee goes 2-4-0
• Houston would be the Division Champion and would host a playoff game with a season record of 4-14-0.
• Really?

Finally, ponder this comment from Doug Larson:

“A pun is the lowest form of humor, unless you thought of it yourself.”

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

 

 

An adage reads:

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Applying that adage to an NFL transaction, the object under analysis would be Joe Flacco.  After earning the starting QB job for the Browns during Training Camp, Flacco was less than sterling in the opening games for the Browns.  In 4 starts, the Browns’ record was 1-3-0 and Flacco’s stat line was an unimpressive one:

• 93 of 160 for 815 yards with 2 TDs and 6 INTs

Let me save you the trouble of getting your calculator revved up.  He completed 58.1% of his throws; he averaged 5.1 yards per attempt; if you are into “Passer Ratings”, his rating was 60.6 and that is not a good rating at all.  Last weekend, the Browns sat Flacco down and played rookie Dillon Gabriel at QB.  The Browns lost that game but must have seen enough from Gabriel to go forward with him; so, they traded Joe Flacco to the in-state rival, Cincy Bengals.

The Bengals are smack dab in the middle of dealing with a struggling QB.  When Joe Burrow had to undergo toe surgery that will keep him out of action until at least December 2025, the Bengals turned to Jake Browning who had been a capable fill-in for them back in 2023.  However, Browning has not been as effective this year and here is his stat line for 4 game appearances in 2025:

• 80 of 124 for 757 yards with 6 TDs and 8 INTs

I think we can agree that neither stat line is impressive.  But the Bengals determined that it was worth it to them to acquire Flacco in a trade.  Here is the exchange:

• Browns get a fifth-round pick in 2026
• Bengals get Flacco plus a sixth-round pick in 2026.

Lots of commentators have labeled this trade as “unusual” because it is “inter-divisional”; I agree with that assessment.  However, I think it is unusual on another axis.  When the Browns “demoted” Flacco to backup status, it seemed clear to me that they were not going to play him any more in 2025 unless Gabriel was injured.  Although the coaches and team execs would never admit this, I honestly believe that the Browns know that they are not going to make the playoffs in 2025 and need to know if they have a QB asset in Gabriel and/or Shedeur Sanders who now becomes the backup QB in Cleveland.  Moreover, Flacco was on a one-year deal in Cleveland; and at age 40, he was clearly not part of the long-range plan for the club.

Joe Flacco is the “trash” in the adage above and the Browns managed to get a pick-swap for him in this trade.  Congratulations to the Browns for pulling that off.  Now here is what I do not understand:

• Why did the Bengals make this trade?
• Why do they see him as the “treasure” now?

When Joe Burrow is back and healthy, he will be the QB in Cincy; neither Flacco nor Browning is going to change that situation in the least.  And when you compare the two stat lines for 2025, Browning’s performance is slightly better than Flacco’s notwithstanding the fact that both stat lines are bad ones.

According to the Bengals website, they had Brett Rypien as the backup QB on the depth chart behind Browning until they acquired Flacco.  But does it make a lot of sense to give up a pick-swap for a 40-year-old backup?  Here is a possible motivation for the Bengals in the deal:

• They need someone who can start at QB for a while as the coaches work with Browning to get him back to the performance level he showed in 2023.  Joe Flacco can fill that role.
• If that interpretation is valid, then Joe Flacco might just be the best available option.  I know this is not the full list, but scanning the late Training Camp cuts for QBs who have not signed elsewhere and practice squad members, here are some of the other free-agent options or practice squad members who might be available to the Bengals:
  • • CJ Beathard
    • Tim Boyle
    • Taylor Heinicke
    • Nate Sudfeld
    • Dorian Thompson-Robinson
    • Kyle Trask

Joe Flacco is at the head of the class there …

If I were assigning academic grades to the Browns and Bengals for this trade, I would give the Browns an “A” because they got a small asset in exchange for something that was not of much value to them.  I would simultaneously give the Bengals a grade of “Incomplete” because it is not clear to me what the Bengals will do with their new acquisition nor is it clear to me that Joe Flacco is necessarily an upgrade over Jake Browning.  Just as with draft picks, it is going to take some time to assess what the Bengals received in this transaction.

Finally, I started today with an adage about trash and treasure.  So, I’ll close with a simple observation:

“Some people are such treasures that you just want to bury them.”

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

 

 

The initial report last week said that Mark Sanchez had been stabbed in Indianapolis and was taken to a hospital.  Later, there was a report that Sanchez had been arrested; that was a tad strange; the victims of a stabbing are usually not the ones getting arrested.  This morning the report is that Sanchez is being charged with three misdemeanors – – battery, public intoxication and unlawful entry of a motor vehicle.  The “stabber” in this case is 69 years old and said that he feared for his life in the altercation and used pepper spray on Sanchez in addition to a knife.  The hospital has upgraded Sanchez’ condition to “stable”.

The report this morning said that it appears as if the altercation began over a “parking situation”; Sanchez was in Indy intending to call the Colts/Raiders game on Sunday for FOX.  Maybe he can take some solace in the fact that he did not have to watch his former college coach, Pete Carrol, take a severe drubbing on Sunday.  The Raiders lost 40-6 kicking field goals on their first possession and again on their final possession in the game.  Between those field goals, here are the results of the Raiders’ offensive possessions:

• Punt
• INT
• Missed Field Goal
• Punt
• INT
• Turnover on DOWNS

Geno Smith now leads the NFL in interceptions thrown with 9.  That is a particularly ominous statistic when you consider that the Raiders’ defense allowed the Colts yesterday to score 6 TDs on 6 Red Zone possessions.

The 2025 season is about one-third finished; I have not yet seen all the teams in the league but of the one’s that I have seen for at least a half of a game let me categorize them into 3 groups – – teams that look very good; teams that look very bad and teams that look as if they could be a serious contender later this year.

• Very Good Teams: Bills, Broncos, Bucs, Chiefs, Lions, Rams
• Very Bad Teams: Browns, Dolphins, Giants, Jets, Raiders, Ravens
• Improving Teams: Commanders, Jags, Pats

Note that I do not have the Eagles anywhere on those lists because I do not think they have played well at all; and at the same time, they are not a very bad team either.

Last week, Giants’ coach Brian Daboll looked to be in desperation mode starting Jaxon Dart against the Chargers and it looked as if his longshot had paid off.  The Giants came away with a major upset victory and Dart was the toast of the town.  Against the Chargers, Dart produced 111 passing yards and one TD, and he added 54 yards rushing on 10 carries.  Yesterday was a different story …

Against a middling Saints’ defense, Dart led the Giants to touchdowns on the team’s first two possessions.  Things were looking up in NYC until the worm turned.  Here are the Giants; possessions after those two early touchdowns:

• Punt    
• Punt    
• Fumble
• Strip Sack
• Fumble
• Fumble
• INT
• Turnover on DOWNS

The Giants did indeed turn the ball over on five possessions in a row.  At that point the joy in NYC was probably equal to the joy in Mudville when Casey struck out.

Another source of agita in NYC is the current state of the Yankees/Blue Jays series in the AL playoffs.  The Jays lead the series 2-0 and have outscored the Yankees 23-8 in those two games.  No joy there either …

Finally, having mentioned the lack of joy in NYC, let me close with this observation about riding the subway in NY by Dorothy Parker:

“Not just plain terrible. This was fancy terrible; this was terrible with raisins in it.”

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