The Sports Curmudgeon

Back in August, I did a College Football Pre-Season “analysis” rant and put there six coaches at major college football programs who might be on a hot seat for this season.  James Franklin at Penn State was not on that list; and truth be told, his name never entered my mind as being even slightly in danger of being canned.

There was a “negative narrative” out there about Franklin and his teams.  They were always good enough to set up a late season “big game” that might lead to a championship game or something like that; they were normally not good enough to win that “big game” so the season ended on a downer even if the overall record was something like 12-2.  The Penn State fan base is an avid one but they never crossed the line into being delusional to the point where they thought playing for the national championship 3 years out of every 5 years was a birthright – – as is the case with some other schools I won’t mention here.  That “negative narrative” did not appear threatening to me.

However, after losing to Oregon at home on “White-Out Night” (not desirable but acceptable since Oregon seemed to be a rival contender for Big-10 Championship Game participation) and then losing at UCLA despite being a 24-point favorite, there was unrest among the common folk in Happy Valley.  Not to worry, Northwestern was coming to State College the next weekend and that would make things right with the Nittany Lions’ universe.

Not so.  Northwestern kicked off as a 21-point underdog and won the game outright in State College in front of more than 100,000 eye witnesses.  And in the paroxysms anger, frustration and rage, Penn State fired James Franklin.

If I understand the reports I have read about his contract, it cost the university $48M to fire Franklin for something other than “cause” as outlined in the contract.  His deal was for $8M per year with a “retention bonus” for each season that he was the head coach there through the end of the 2031 season.  So, before I go even one word further, do not worry for James Franklin’s family and their ability to keep food on the table.

In case you do not recall how Franklin wound up at Penn State in the first place, here is the Cliff Notes version:

• Vandy hired Franklin after the 2010 season.  At that time, Vandy had had one winning season and one bowl appearance between 1983 and 2010.  Vandy was an SEC punching bag.
• Franklin was at Vandy for 3 seasons; his Vandy teams went to bowl games in each of those three seasons and won two of those bowl games.  At the end of the 2013 season, James Franklin was a hot commodity and was seen as someone who could “turn things around” in a football program.
• At the end of the 2013 season, Penn State football was in tatters.  Bill O’Brien had been the head coach there for two seasons after the Jerry Sandusky scandal that unseated Joe Paterno as the eternal coach at the school.  Football fortunes were stagnant in Happy Valley, and the school signed Franklin to put the team back on a course of “national relevance”.
• From 2014 through 2024, Penn State had gone 102-42; it had been in bowl games every season except for the foreshortened one in 2020.

And here we are in 2025 …  The Nittany Lions began the season beating up on three cupcakes by a combined margin of 121 points.  Then came that “White Out” night encounter with Oregon and here we are two weeks after that “big game loss”.  And the schedule does not look good from here on out.

The Lions’ offense had been powered by Drew Allar at QB; he suffered an injury in the Northwestern game that will have him out for the rest of the season.  And here is the upcoming schedule:

• At Iowa:  The Hawkeyes just pitched a shut-out against Wisconsin
• At Ohio St.:  The Buckeyes would have been favored even if Allar was playing.
• Vs. Indiana:  The Hoosiers just beat Oregon last weekend.
• At Michigan St.:  That game still looks winnable.
• Vs. Nebraska:  My “sleeper team” from last year is ranked in the Top 25 this year.
• At Rutgers:  Losing to Rutgers would be full-scale ignominy for the Penn State faithful.

            Terry Smith will be the interim head coach for the Nittany Lions.  He is a former Penn State player and has been an assistant coach there for more than 10 years.  The program is in disarray, but the program is a prestigious one; so, the Athletic Director has time to sift through the possibilities to find someone who has shown the ability to “turn things around” for a football program.  Someone like James Franklin was back in 2014 …

Finally, since today has been about a beginning and an end, let me close with this observation by comedian George Burns:

“The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible.”

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

 

 

My long-suffering wife said this morning that I am a creature of habit.  I told her that I did not have time to discuss that with her because it was Friday morning and I needed to get busy writing this week’s Football Friday.  So, I will begin – as usual – with a review of last week’s wagering predictions.

• Spreads and Totals:  2-3-0    Not good.
• Season To Date:        6-14-0  Yuck!

And …

• Money Line Parlays: 0-2       Loss = $200
• Season To Date:        4-8       Loss = $86

The Linfield University Wildcats opened the conference portion of their season with a 35-17 win over Geroge Fox University; that puts the Wildcats at 2-1-0 for the season as they try to keep alive their streak of winning football seasons that goes all the way back to 1956.  This week is Homecoming in McMinnville, OR and Linfield will host Pacific University who will arrive with a record of 1-3-0 for the season.  Go Wildcats!

My sleeper team for 2025 – – Georgia Tech – – had last week off and will put their undefeated season on the line tomorrow against Virginia Tech.

 

College Football Commentary:

 

With the college season nearing the halfway mark and since I mentioned Georgia Tech’s undefeated status above, let me note here that there is a total of 15 Division 1-A college football teams that are unbeaten as of this morning.  Of course, here in Curmudgeon Central, we always need to look at the other end of the spectrum so let me also note that as of this morning, here are the schools who are winless in 2025:

1. Oregon St.      0-6-0    PAC-12 “remnants”
2. Sam Houston  0-6-0    C-USA
3. UMass             0-5-0    MAC

That’s it; that’s the list …

I have often pointed out the folly of putting any significant measure of credence in pre-season polls for football or basketball but the results this year are stunningly bad.  Most polls had Texas at #1 and Penn State at #2 in the pre-season polling.  We are still 3 weeks shy of Halloween and both Texas and Penn State have lost two games.

In the case of Penn State, lots of the “blame” has been heaped on Coach James Franklin using the narrative that his teams can never win a big game.  That is what the record says, but I think that is a tad more simplistic than it needs to be.  Nonetheless, fans of the Lions have called for heads to roll in “Happy Valley” which is an interesting contradiction.

Looking at Texas, lots of people are happy to point the finger at Arch Manning saying that he is not nearly as good as the reputation that he has simply by dint of his surname.  Trust me; I am not about to try to argue that he has been wonderful and that his team has lost despite his greatness.  I read a report that said Manning averaged 3.5 seconds to throw the ball against Florida last week; that is way too long and that needs to be corrected.  However, consider also the following data:

• Florida recorded 5 sacks against Texas last week.  That is on the OL.
• Florida pressured Manning on 58% of pass plays.  That is on the OL.
• Texas RBs gained a total of 15 yards on 11 carries against Florida; Manning gained 37 yards on his scrambles.  [Aside: It was not just last week against Florida; Arch Manning is Texas’ leading rusher for the season.]

If the preseason teams ranked #1 and #2 are to have a shot at the CFP in December, they will both need to win out from here.  It could happen – – but not if Texas and Penn State play the way they did last week.

I mentioned about a week ago that the NCAA had proposed changes to “The Portal” and that the proposed changes needed the blessing of the NCAA Division 1 Administrative Committee.  Well, that august body has convened and has announced changes to the ways that players may transfer from school to school.  Here is the Cliff Notes version.

• One transfer portal window from Jan 2-Jan 16, 2026, for football players.
• Players with CFP games after Jan 16 can choose to enter “the Portal” within 5 days after their final CFP game.
• Also, a portal window will open for players on teams with fired coaches or newly hired coaches.  They can enter “the Portal” within a 15-day period beginning five days after a coach was fired or a new coach was hired.

It looks as if sanity prevailed on that issue.  Let us all give thanks for that…

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

Navy 34  Air Force 31:  I said last week that a double-digit spread on a game between two of the service academies was very unusual.

Clemson 38  UNC 10:  I got a note from #2 son earlier this week with the following comment about Bill Belichick and his foray into college coaching:

• “He’s finding out it is more difficult to coach college age kids than it is to date them.”

Arizona 41  Oklahoma St. 13:  The Cowboys are 0-2 and have been outscored 86-50 in the “post-Mike Gundy Era”.  Maybe he was not the entirety of the problem there?

UVa 30  Louisville 27 (OT):  The Cavaliers are 5-1 on the season; I did not see that coming…

Alabama 30  Vandy 14:  Vandy is 5-1 on the season.

Texas Tech 35  Houston 11:  The Red Raiders are 5-0 in 2025 and they have a good defense for once.  They rank 9^th in the country in Total Defense giving up only 244.4 yards per game.

UNLV 31  Wyoming 17:  UNLV is 5-0 in 2025.

Memphis 45  Tulsa 7:  Memphis is 6-0 so far in 2025.

Texas A&M 31  Mississippi St. 9:  The Aggies are 5-0 for the season.

BYU 38  West Virginia 24:  BYU is 5-0 this year.

Washington 24  Maryland 20:  Maryland led 20-3 at the start of the fourth quarter at home and coughed up a hairball here.

Miami 28  Florida St. 22:  Miami led 28-3 at the start of the fourth quarter and held on to win this one.

Ohio St. 42  Minnesota 3:  This was total domination by the Buckeyes:

• Ohio St. Total Offense = 474 yards
• Minnesota Total Offense = 162 yards
• Ohio St. Third Down Conversions = 7 of 10
• Minnesota Third Down Conversions = 1 of 11

 

NCAA Games of Interest This Week:

 

Looking at the sportsbooks around the world, here is the only outrageous spread – – defined as 5 TDs or more – – for the week:

• Cornell at Harvard – 37.5 (58.5)

[Aside:  Betting on Ivy League football?  Who does that?  Really?]

UMass at Kent St. – 3 (51):  This could well be a preview game for the SHOE Tournament in December.  UMass is winless.  Kent St. has one win over a Division 1-AA team by 4 points.  Against Division 1-A opponents Kent St. has been outscored 203-52.  And Kent St. is the favorite in the game …

Navy – 10 at Temple (52):  Interesting matchup here …  Navy leads the nation in rushing offense.  Temple ranks 99^th in the nation in rushing defense.

Northwestern at Penn St. – 21.5 (48):  Two weeks ago, Northwestern beat UCLA; last week, UCLA beat Penn State; now Northwestern comes State College, PA to play Penn State.  If the Lions lose this game at home …

Va Tech at Ga Tech – 15 (54.5):  Georgia Tech seeks to maintain its unbeaten status for the season.  The Hokies have been playing much better with their interim coach recently.

Iowa – 3 at Wisconsin (38):  I think there will be a lot of punting in this game…  Iowa ranks 115^th in the nation in Total Offense; Wisconsin ranks 126^th in Total Offense.  Wisconsin has lost 3 games in a row and has only scored a total of 34 points in those three losses.  Iowa has a tough defense.  I know Wisconsin is a tough environment for visitors, but I think this game sets up for Iowa; I’ll take the Hawkeyes to win and cover on the road; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Alabama – 3 at Missouri (51):  Mizzou is undefeated for the season; both teams are undefeated in SEC games.  This is an important matchup.

Michigan at USC – 2.5 (56):  Both teams are 4-1 on the season and both teams are football blue bloods.  So, why is there no energy around this game?  Michigan’s schedule from here on out looks soft to me; they could easily be in the top echelon of the Big-10 in December.

Oklahoma vs. Texas “pick ‘em” (44.5):  This is a huge rivalry game; this is a conference game; the Sooners are undefeated, and the Longhorns need to win out if they want to be in the CFP conversation.  And yet, this is not my Game of the Week …

Indiana at Oregon – 7 (54):  This is my College Game of the Week.  Both teams are undefeated.  Both teams have blown the doors off opponents.  Both teams aspire to the Big 10 Championship Game.  Both teams aspire to the CFP.  Oregon QB, Dante Moore, is completing 75% of his passes and has thrown 14 TDs so far this season.  Indiana’s defense looks good statistically, but I don’t think any of their opponents so far has the firepower of Oregon.  I like Oregon at home to win and cover; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Florida at Texas A&M – 7.5 (47):  Apparently, the Gators’ win over Texas last week was not impressive to the oddsmakers.

Georgia – 3.5 at Auburn (47):  Auburn at home is a different team from Auburn on the road.

Air Force at UNLV – 6.5 (64.5):  I think this is a letdown game for Air Force after losing to Navy last week.  UNLV is an undefeated team that has been under the radar so far in 2025.  I like UNLV here to win and cover; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

The NY Jets are 0-5-0; they are the only winless team in the NFL today.  The anticipated revitalization of the Jets under new head coach Aaron Glenn is going to be a long-term process and not instant gratification for Jets’ fans.  With Glenn starting out his head coaching stint with the Jets at 0-5, he joins three other Jets’ coaches who began seasons with 0-5 records:

• Walt Michaels (1980) – – The Jets wound up 4-12-0 that season
• Rich Kotite (1996) – – The Jets wound up 1-15-0 that season
• Adam Gase (2020) – – The Jets wound up 2-14-0 that season.
• Aaron Glenn (2025) – – The Jets wound up …???

Aaron Glenn may turn out to be an outstanding head coach in the NFL when his career is over.  Having said that, this is not a list that he would want his name to be on.  The Jets are in London this week against the Broncos and that looks like another “L” in the standings.  However, when the Jets get back home their schedule hits a soft spot:

• Vs. Panthers
• At Bengals
• BYE Week
• Vs. Browns

Yes, I know that the Ravens’ defense has had injuries and should improve once those players are back in the game.  Nonetheless, the fall off in defensive performance for the Ravens has been outrageous.  In their 4 losses so far in 2025, the Ravens have given up 160 points; you do not need a calculator to see that is 40 points per game!  The Ravens are last in the NFL in Points Allowed and they lead the next worst defense by more than 20 points.  Not that this is likely to be meaningful, but here is an OVER/UNDER proposition to consider:

• Date when Ravens’ Defensive Coordinator is fired
  • • OVER/UNDER – – Halloween

Why do I think a firing is coming?  Last week, the Ravens lost 44-10 against the Texans.  The Texans had scored a total of 6 TDs in their first four games in 2025 and then came into Baltimore and scored 5 TDs on that defense.  I don’t know that a firing of a Defensive Coordinator will right the ship, but something needs to be done to get that unit back to some semblance of a recognizable Ravens’ defense.

Let me take a moment here to point out a statistical anomaly.  The Atlanta Falcons currently lead the NFL in Total Defense; the Falcons only allow 244 yards per game.  The median NFL defense – – Seahawks – – gives up 322.8 yards per game.  Nonetheless, the Falcons record so far is only 2-2-0 and they have been outscored by 10 points in those games.

The Total Defense stats here are misleading.  In 4 games, the Falcons have faced JJ McCarthy who has been underwhelming at best, Marcus Mariota and Bryce Young.  That is not a QB list that will keep Defensive Coordinators up at night.

When the Raiders signed Pete Carroll as the coach and then traded to acquire Geno Smith who had played respectably under Carroll in Seattle, it looked as if the Raiders were finally going to have some adult supervision in 2025.  Not yet this season…  The Raiders are 1-4-0 and the Carroll/Smith tandem has not produced much in the way of consistency.  One of the sports radio guys here in DC called Geno Smith “The Turnover Machine” and that is not exactly slanderous if you focus only on 2025; he has thrown 9 INTs in 5 games.  On the plus side, he has not lost a fumble this season – – but those 9 INTs are awful.

I assert that the Raiders needed to make that trade for Smith because they had to get an upgrade at the position from 2024 when the starters were:

• Gardner Minshew – – 9 games
• Aidan O’Connell – – 7 games
• Desmond Ridder – – 1 game

However, I think the Raiders showed “irrational exuberance” [Hat Tip to Alan Greenspan here.] lavishing a 2-year and $75M contract extension on Smith meaning he is under contract with them until after the 2027 season.  The backup in Las Vegas is Kenny Pickett, which is not a comforting thought for Raiders’ fans – – but he will become inevitable if Smith continues on the performance trajectory to date this year.

Here are some brief comments from some of last week’s games:

Jags 31  Chiefs 28:  The Jags’ defense is for real.

Vikes 21  Browns 17:  Carson Wentz led a come-from-behind game winning drive against the Browns’ defense.  Surprise …!

Broncos 21  Eagles 17:  Broncos scored 18 unanswered points in the 4^th quarter for the win.

Cowboys 37  Jets 22:  This game was never really in doubt.  It was 23-3 at halftime and 30-6 after three quarters …

Texans 44  Ravens 10:  The Texans’ offense had been anemic for the first 4 games and then they racked up 44 points and 417 yards of offense here.

Colts 40  Raiders 6:  It may not have been as close as that…

Panthers 27  Dolphins 24:  Rico Dowdle gained 206 yards rushing and on 23 carries to lead the Panthers to this win.  The Dolphins led 17-0 at one point in this game.

Saints 26  Giants 14:  The Giants turned the ball over on 5 consecutive possessions here.

Bucs 38  Seahawks 35:  The Bucs reached into their pockets for a pinch of pixie dust once again in this win.  They were down 7 points with 3 minutes to play and pulled out another nailbiter.

Titans 22  Cards 21:  This game was a gift given to the Titans for the Holidays – – except it came early.

Lions 37  Bengals 24:  This game looks closer than it really was; the Lions led 28-3 at the start of the 4^th quarter.  Those Bengals’ scores were not meaningful.

Commanders 27  Chargers 10:  The Commanders looked very good in this one and the Chargers just gave up the ghost going scoreless after the first quarter.

Pats 23  Bills 20:  This was one of the most entertaining games I’ve seen this year.

Niners 26  Rams 23 (OT):  The Rams outgained the Niners by 50 yards – – and lost.

 

NFL Games This Week:

 

We have 2 teams on their BYE Week:

1. Texans:  This is introspection week in Houston.  If the offense really came to life last week, the team can reasonably expect to make a run in the AFC South even though the Colts and the Jags look better this year than in recent years.
2. Vikes:  They have been in Europe for two weeks; they need to reintroduce themselves to their kids.

In last night’s Giants win over the Eagles there was an important question posed for NFL fans:

• Are Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo as good as they showed last night such that the Giants are resurgent – – OR – –
• Are the Eagles not nearly as good as they were last season?

Broncos – 7 vs. Jets (43.5) Game is in London:  Not only are the Jets bad (see above) it is their defense that has been surprisingly bad.  This could well be a jump-start game for Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense.

Browns at Steelers – 5 (38):  The Browns played “on the road” last week in London and now they go on the road again to Pittsburgh.  That could be tough for a good team and the Browns are not a good team.

Cards at Colts – 7 (47):  The spread opened at 3.5 points and ballooned when Kyler Murray did not practice Wednesday.  Cards’ coach, Jonathan Gannon, is a defense guy but his pass defense this year has been miserable ranking 28^th in passing yards allowed per game.  Why is that miserable?  Here are the QBs that have tested the Cards pass defense so far in 2025:

• Sam Darnold
• Mac Jones
• Spencer Rattler
• Cam Ward
• Bryce Young

I don’t see lots of All-Pro contenders there…  I don’t want to imply that Daniel Jones is an All-Pro contender this week, but he is better than many of the ones listed above.  I’ll take the Colts to win and cover at home; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Rams – 7.5 at Ravens (44.5):  The Rams’ defense played poorly last week, and the Ravens’ defense has played poorly for the entire season.

Seahawks at Jags – 1 (45):  Two sportsbooks have this game as “pick ‘em”.  The Jags’ defense has been most opportunistic.

• Jags have 10 INTs in 5 games
• Jags have recovered 4 fumbles in 5 games
• Jags have given up only 20 points per game

Cowboys – 3 at Panthers (49.5):  The Cowboys’ offense is hitting on all cylinders and that ought to continue to be the case this week.  The question has to do with the Cowboys’ defense, which is not very good and its matchup with the Panthers’ offense which is also not very good.

Chargers – 3.5 at Dolphins (43.5):  The Chargers started the season 3-0 and have now lost two games in a row.  The Dolphins just stink; their win was against the winless Jets.  I am tempted to take the Chargers but not with a transcontinental trip to make.  One of these two fanbases will be in full panic mode come Sunday night.

Niners at Bucs – 2 (47):  Both teams are 4-1; both teams lead their divisions; both teams need a win to maintain control there.  Therefore, this is the Game of the Week.  Who has the advantage here?  The Bucs are at home and the Niners cross 3 time zones to play the game.  The Niners had a mini-BYE week since they played on Thursday night last week.  You make the call.

Titans at Raiders – 5 (41.5):  This is the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.  Both teams are already irrelevant in 2025 and the only potentially interesting thing for this game has to do with Ashton Jeanty.  The Titans’ run defense is awful; they give up 147 yards per game.  Running Jeanty as the feature back and not asking Geno Smith to throw the ball too often looks like an interesting gambit.  Will Pete Carroll do that?

Pats – 4 at Saints (46):  Both teams are coming off a win last week.  The Saints should not count on getting 5 turnovers on consecutive possessions again this week.  I lean toward the Pats here, but I am not yet to the point where I trust them…

Bengals at Packers – 15.5 (45):  Hard to imagine how the Bengals might win this game – – but a 15.5 point spread in an NFL game is not anything I want to deal with.  FYI, if you like the Bengals to win outright, the Money Line on the Bengals is +835.

(Sun Nite) Lions at Chiefs – 2.5 (52.5):  Last year, the Chiefs won 11 one-score games; this year the Chiefs are 0-3 in one-score games.  These are both good teams and the Chiefs certainly need the game much more than the Lions do – – but I like the Lions here to win outright.  So, give me those points and put it in the “Betting Bundle.”

(Mon Nite 7:15 PM ET) Bills – 4 at Falcons (50):  I think Josh Allen and the Bills will want to get the taste of defeat out of their mouths here and as noted above, the Falcons’ defensive stats for this season are as much a mirage as substance.  I think both teams will move the ball and score points, so I like the game to go OVER; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

(Mon Nite 8 :15 PM ET) Bears at Commanders – 4.5 (50):  It was about this point in the 2024 season where the Commanders beat the Bears on a Hail Mary pass as time expired.  That sent the Commanders on a run to the playoffs; that sent the Bears into a tailspin and a last place finish in their division.  Can history repeat itself?

Let me review the “Betting Bundle”:

1. Oregon – 7 over Indiana
2. Iowa – 3 over Wisconsin
3. UNLV – 6.5 over Air Force
4. Lions + 2.5 against Chiefs
5. Colts – 7 over Cards
6. Bills/Falcons OVER 50

And here are three Money Line Parlays for your reading pleasure:

• Georgia @ minus-170
• Iowa @ minus-160                 $100 wager to win $158

And …

• Lions @ +115
• Cowboys @ minus-160        $100 wager to win $249

And …

• Niners @ +140
• Commanders @ minus-220 $100 Wager to win $249.

Finally, let’s hear from Mike Ditka:

“If God had wanted man to play soccer, he wouldn’t have given us arms.”

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

 

 

My long-suffering wife and I are at our weekend home in Central Pennsylvania and when we arose this morning the temperature was 38 degrees Fahrenheit; summer is over around here and as I looked at the MLB Playoff results from yesterday it once again struck me that baseball is intended to be a “summer sport” and not one played in frigid conditions.  Nonetheless, the teams still alive in the playoffs continue to soldier on…

And there is a mirror image situation to the “baseball-in-October/November” condition, and it should become very apparent next summer.  In the summer of 2026, the FIFA World Cup will be hosted in North America by Canada, Mexico and the US.  A report by an independent body found that 10 of the 16 venues for that World Cup tournament “are at very high risk of experiencing extreme heat stress conditions.”

I have no interest in launching into a discussion of “global warming” nor “climate change” other than to say that NASA data taken from space proves conclusively that the planet is getting warmer and that the cause(s) for that warming trend are not nearly as conclusively proven.  But the planet is getting hotter and that means the weather in summertime is also getting hotter on average.

Back in 2022, the World Cup was assigned to Qatar where summer temperatures were so extreme that FIFA moved the entire tournament from the traditional May/June/July timeframe to November/December 2022.  The 2026 games should not need such a drastic measure, but FIFA has already awarded the 2030 and 2034 tournaments to:

• Morocco/Spain/Portugal in 2030
• Saudi Arabia in 2034.

FIFA has an established rule that determines when game conditions require a stoppage for player hydration breaks; based on last summer’s experience with the Club World Cup events held in North America, there is a high likelihood that such hydration breaks will be needed in most of the venues for next year’s World Cup games.  And given the warming trend for the planet, the games in 2030 and again in 2034 will be no better.

In Qatar the weather was hot and humid; in North America in the summer, the weather can also be hot and humid PLUS in some areas there can be violent thunderstorms and windy conditions.  Even if you ignore the potential effects on games by wind and rain in the summer, look to the mandatory hydration break threshold as a warning sign.

• According to the independent report, “Temperatures in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Miami and Monterrey exceeded that mark for two months or more.”
• Should a major heat event hit Mexico City on a game day, there would be the added stress on players of heat plus playing at elevation exceeding 7,000 feet.

It may be time for FIFA and the various major soccer leagues around the world to figure out how to play the FIFA World Cup tournaments in the cooler months of the year depending on where the games are assigned.

• If Finland were the host nation, summer games would probably be OK.
• If Nigeria were the host nation, summer games would not be a good idea.

Moving on …  The timing of some events just cannot be established with certainty; the chicken/egg conundrum immediately comes to mind.  However, some are sufficiently independent of each other, leading to the case where either one could come first or last.  Now consider the situation where Mark Sanchez is recovering from his stabbing and facing felony charges for the fight leading to the stabbing while Sanchez was reportedly “intoxicated”.  So, which comes first:

• FOX fires Sanchez as a color analyst – – OR – –
• Sanchez announces that he is going into alcohol rehab?

And then you can add an OVER/ UNDER element to that question and determine when the first of those two actions takes place.

• I’ll set the OVER/UNDER date at Halloween …

Finally, having spent time on the World Cup today, let me close with this from Pele:

“When you play against dirty players or very tough players, it’s easy to escape because you know what they’re going to do. But when the player is tough but intelligent, it’s much more difficult.”

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

 

 

The 2025 NFL season is out of its infancy and is now undergoing puberty and its teenage years.  Meanwhile, up in Canada, the CFL regular season is drawing to a close.  CFL teams play 18 games in a season; as of today, teams there have played either 15 or 16 games already.  There are an odd number of teams in the CFL so there is a team on a BYE Week in every week of the season and teams get 3 BYE Weeks apiece in the CFL.

I think the CFL has an excellent structural element in its playoff selection process.  Six teams are going to make the playoffs and ideally that would be three teams from the East and three teams from the West based on regular season records and established tiebreakers.  However, the CFL puts a twist in the selection process that makes a ton of sense.  It is called the “Crossover”.  It is simple and it makes sense:

• If the fourth-place team in either the East or the West Division has a better regular season record than the third-place team in the other division, then that fourth-place team “crosses over” and becomes a playoff participant in the other division’s bracket.

If the CFL regular season were over as of last weekend, there would be a “Crossover team”.

• The third-place team in the East as of this morning is the Toronto Argonauts with a 5-11-0 record.
• The fourth-place team in the East as of this morning is the Ottawa Redblacks with a 4-11-0 record.
• In the West both the Calgary Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have an 8-7-0 record.
• If the season were over today, tie breakers would put either Calgary or Winnipeg in third place in the West – – and the West Division playoffs – – , and the fourth-place team would “cross over” and take a spot in the East Division playoff bracket.
• How sensible is that …!

To save you from the trouble of web searching, four CFL teams have guaranteed themselves a playoff slot, but no team has clinched the Division championship which is important in the CFL playoff structure because the Division Champs each get a bye in the six-team bracket.  Here are the two Division races as of this morning; these teams will be in the playoffs somewhere:

• In the East:
  • • Hamilton                      10-6-0
    • Montreal                      8-7-0
• In the West:
  • • Saskatchewan:           11-4-0
    • BC:                              9-7-0

No “Crossover Team” has ever made it to the Grey Cup Game.  I believe the last time there was a Crossover Team that won a playoff game and made it to the Division Final game was in 2009 when the BC Lions crossed over to the East, won its first-round playoff game and then lost in the East Finals to Montreal.  The ”Crossover Rule” does not happen every year and it has never produced a CFL Champion, but the rule provides for competitive balance and makes more late season games relevant than if it did not exist.

Moving on … Since I was looking at Canadian Football above, let me turn my attention to another league outside the US – – the English Premier League.  Their season is still young with plenty of time for dramatic changes, but a few things look as if they need to be followed.  As usual, I focus on the bottom of the league table at this point in the season to look at the possible races to avoid relegation.  The three teams in the relegation zone today all look pretty weak:

• Burnley            1 win    1 draw             5 losses
• West Ham       1 win    1 draw             5 losses
• Wolves            0 wins  2 draws           5 losses

Three teams were promoted from the Championship to the EPL this year.  One of those teams is Burnley and you can see from above that Burnley is not doing well so far at the EPL level.  However, the other two recently promoted teams seem to be competitive:

1. Sunderland      3 wins  2 draws           2 losses            Ninth place (out of 20)
2. Leeds United   2 wins  2 draws           3 losses            Fifteenth place

Finally, I said above that the CFL Crossover rule was a good idea.  Not all “crossover ideas” make sense however as Chirstopher Lloyd points out here:

“On ‘Frasier,’ a network executive once suggested that one week we have John Lithgow play Frasier and Kelsey Grammar play Lithgow’s role on ‘3rd Rock from the Sun;’ I’ve been deeply afraid of the idea of a crossover ever since.”

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

 

 

The NCAA and MLB were two hidebound organizations that were losing relevance quickly.  MLB reacted positively with pitch clocks and shift restrictions to improve its entertainment product significantly.  It took a significant loss in a courtroom for the NCAA to rouse itself from its slumber but – – contrary to previous behavior – – the NCAA saw a cumbersome and chaotic situation and acted to try to make it more orderly instead of adding more restrictions/regulations on top of the chaos.

The “Transfer Portal” is a necessary evil.  It completely changes the college football environment, and not all the changes are for the better.  Nonetheless, the NCAA is powerless to close the portal and go back to its previous hyper-restrictive ways.  The way it was working was a mess and the powers-that-be have tried to make it better.  Obviously, we will have to wait to see if it works as intended, but there is a glimmer of hope.

Instead of having the Transfer Portal open and operating almost universally, the NCAA will allow a single  transfer time for college football players.  The original idea was to have a 10-day open portal between January 2^nd and January 11^th; that would establish the universe of players available for transfer and signings could proceed from there.  Critics said that it was too short a period of time and that it would disadvantage players who were on teams in the CFP where those current teams might have a game or games after the January 11^th deadline.

Twenty years ago – – maybe even ten years ago – – the NCAA would have told the critics to quit their whining and follow the rules.  But the kinder and gentler – – and seemingly smarter – – NCAA of 2025 decided to keep the single portal period concept and adapt to the criticisms.  The latest Transfer Portal rules are:

• January 2^nd to January 16^th:  There is an extra five days of open portal allowing athletes more time to make their decision(s) about transferring or staying put.  Five days may not sound like much at first, but it represents about a 50% increase in decision making time for athletes.
• Special portal opening for players on CFP teams:  If a player is on a team that has a CFP game scheduled for January 12^th or later and that player wants to transfer for the next season, there will be a 5-day open portal period for such players starting the day after their final CFP game.

The modification has a hurdle to cross; it needs the approval of the “Division 1 Administrative Committee” which next meets in mid-October.  Let us hope that the members of that committee have shaken off the scales from their eyes and approve of something as simple as this.

Moving on …  The MLB regular season is over, and the playoffs are set.  So, let me do a small postmortem on my season predictions from back in March.

• AL East:  I took the Red Sox to win the division; they finished third but made the playoffs.  I had the Orioles finishing second and said the Blue Jays would not “contend for long”.  Grade that set of prognostications as an F.
• AL Central:  I had it as Tigers, Twins, Guardians; it finished as Guardians, Tigers, Royals.  I had the White Sox finishing last – – big deal.  Grade these predictions as another F.
• AL West:  I had this one as the Rangers, Mariners, Astros.  It wound up Mariners, Astros, Rangers.  Grade that one as C.
• NL East:  I had this as Phillies/Braves.  Indeed, the Phillies won the division handily, but the Braves suffered a ton of injuries and limped home fourth.  I thought the Nationals would finish ahead of the Marlins, but they finished 13 games behind the Marlins.  Grade this one as a D.
• NL Central:  I had the Cubs eking out the division title here over the Brewers; it finished in the reverse order.  Grade this one as a C.
• NL West:  I had the Dodgers winning the division and the Rockies finishing last.  That was perfect; the rest of the division prediction was far less than perfect.  Grade this one as a C.

That does not yield much of a Grade Point Average, but at least I avoided a “Blutarsky” – – zero-point-zero-zero.

I also suggested 5 win total bets for the regular season:

1. Red Sox OVER 86.5 wins.     Winner!
2. Yankees UNDER 90 wins.      Loser!
3. Mariners OVER 84.5 wins.     Winner!
4. Cubs OVER 85.5 wins.           Winner!
5. Rangers OVER 85.5 wins.     Loser!

At least those predictions showed a “profit” …

Finally, these words from Henry Ford:

“We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s dam is the history we make today.”

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