2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 9)

Games I saw (some of):

(12) Notre Dame 51-14 (24) Navy

Well, Navy gave the ball away early and often and this game got out of control right away.....and.....

(21) Missouri 0-34 (15) Alabama

Missouri never got any offense going at all, Bama completely took over right before halftime....so....

Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona

....I watched La Liga rather than la college football. This was the more interesting match, though this was a scoreless draw at the half. Then Lewandowski connected, then he connected again right away, then he put a gimme off the post soon after, then put another makeable shot over the bar in a span of, like, 5 minutes and before you knew it, this game was a laugher. The match felt even til Barca went off and left Real behind. This is the kind of result that gets people fired.

(9) Louisiana State 23-38 (14) Texas A&M

Similarly: LSU seemed in control until the 3rd quarter when QB Nussmeier kept trying to pass to receivers that weren't open, which led to A&M seemingly always with the ball in scoring distance. LSU kept giving it away, A&M kept piling up points and this one got out of control right quick, too.....so

(Game Two) Yankees 2-4 Dodgers 

....I mostly watched baseball tonight. Dodgers went for back-to-back jacks off Rodon and the Yanks couldn't counter. My thought was Dodgers in 6, I'm sticking with it: I like them to take one in NYC and then wrap it up back in LA.  

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Oregon, (3) Penn State, (4) Ohio State, (5) Texas, (6) Miami, (11) Brigham Young, (12) Notre Dame, (13) Indiana, (14) Texas A&M, (15) Alabama, (16) Kansas State (17) Boise State, (18) Mississippi, (19) Pittsburgh

Won but did not impress

(22) Southern Methodist. Scrambling in OT to beat....Duke? I dunno, man, I'm already Mustang-ed out.

(I declined to add (4) Ohio State, (16) Kansas State or (17) Boise State because they were playing pesky conference opponents and though none of them blew me away, they each secured conference W's and I can't front on that)

Bad beat

(20) Illinois. The Illini have had a nice season, but no one was expecting them to win at Oregon.

(21) Missouri. Up and down and, well, this week at Tuscaloosa was one of the downs.

(24) Navy. Yeah, this is insult to injury. A ranked squad getting smoked at home by anybody probably ought to be a "Not so good", but I guess I gotta say I never really believed in Navy and getting sliced and diced by the Irish wasn't a shock.  

(25) Vanderbilt. Oh, Vandy, keeping it close to the #1 team in the land...? WTF is going on....?

Not so good

(8) Louisiana State. Things were going fine til LSU started turning the ball over and then....just kept turning the ball over. If they'd just played normal football, I think they would've won.

Next week's intriguing matches:

(13) Indiana @ Michigan State (with the way the Hoosiers are rolling, you'd think this would be a gimme against a so-so Spartan squad, but I dunno, man, Michigan State lives for fucking up other peoples' good seasons; if the Hoosiers are for real, they will pummel the Spartans, we'll see what happens)

(10) Texas A&M @ South Carolina (the Gamecocks are not pushovers and if A&M thinks they turned some corner by beating LSU, they might have another thing coming, this should be a petty good match)

(18) Pittsburgh @ (20) Southern Methodist (I dunno, they're both ranked but I have little interest in either of these teams, so....I reckon I'll be watching baseball or NHL or Bundesliga or something)

(4) Ohio State @ (3) Penn State (okay, here we go, winner gets a major boost)

2024-25 NBA (Pre-Season)

This has been a pretty slack ass year for me as far as writing goes (long story), not sure I'll do as much NBA-ing this year. But I'll be watching, figured I might as well throw out my pre-season picks.

East

(1) Celtics, (2) Knicks, (3) Cavs. (4) Bucks, (5) Pacers, (6) Magic

Play-in:

I'll take Heat over Sixers, Hawks over Raptors, Sixers over Hawks

Celtics over Sixers, Knicks over Heat, Cavs over Magic, Pacers over Bucks

Celtics over Pacers, Knicks over Cavs

Celtics over Knicks in 6

West

(1) Thunder, (2) Nuggets, (3) Wolves, (4) Suns, (5) Mavs. (6) Pelicans

Play-in:

I'll take Grizzlies over Kings, Rockets over Lakers, Kings over Rockets

Thunder over Kings, Grizzlies over Nuggets, Wolves over Pelicans, Suns over Mavs

Thunder over Suns, Wolves over Grizzlies

Thunder over Wolves in 7

Celtics over Thunder in 7

MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)

ROY: Donovan Clingan (Blazers)

DPOY: Giannis Antetokounpo (Bucks)

6th Man: Kristaps Porzingis (Celtics)

Coach of the Year: Rick Carlisle (Pacers)

Exec of the Year: Gerson Rosas (Knicks)

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 8)

Games I watched (some of):

(5) Georgia 30-15 (1) Texas

Wow, UGA was clearly looking ahead to this game because they came out firing and really stunned the Longhorns. Texas kinda pulled it together after halftime but too little too late. Well, Texas just had the toughest match they might have all year long, let's see if they can shake it off and get back to the top. As for UGA, can they keep this up? They've been up and down all year, this is definitely their biggest up.

Nebraska 7-56 (16) Indiana

Wow, this was a drubbing! Indiana has a pile of really great WR's that made plays all game long (they'll all be playing for the Steelers next year, I bet). The Huskers tried and had a nice opening drive but the Hoosiers fustigated them all over the place. The Hoosiers are for real, y'all--could we see Vandy and Indiana in the inaugural 12-team final?

Top 25

Handled their business

(2) Oregon, (6) Miami, (8) Louisiana State, (10) Clemson, (11) Tennessee, (12) Notre Dame, (13) Brigham Young, (14) Texas A&M, (16) Indiana, (17) Kansas State, (21) Southern Methodist, (22) Illinois, (23) Army, (25) Navy

Won but did not impress

(9) Iowa State. Fumbling around with Central Florida at home isn't winning me over.

(19) Missouri. Coming from behind late to steal one from a crappy Auburn squad is not a good look. 

Bad beat

(7) Alabama. The bad beats are piling up in Tuscaloosa, but they're just not as good as Tennessee this year. 

Not so good

(24) Michigan. Going to a ranked Illinois and getting a W was their best/last chance to make a run at the tourney, I'd say that is officially over at this point. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(17) Boise State @ UNLV (UNLV is kinda good, so a nice little test for Boise State)

(12) Notre Dame @ (24) Navy (when was the last time this match mattered? Get your popcorn, the Midshipmen are pretty damn good this year)

Washington @ (13) Indiana (Hoosiers have a chance to beat both of last year's championship finalists--and I expect them to win both matches! Hoosier football!)

(20) Illinois @ (1) Oregon (If Illinois is gonna do anything this year, here's the chance)

(21) Missouri @ (15) Alabama (two fumbling SEC squads, loser leaves town?)

(5) Texas @ (25) Vanderbilt (man, no one in Austin had this game circled on their schedule, but Vandy is no pushover and suddenly this isn't just a trap game--it's a real game!)

(8) Louisiana State @ (14) Texas A&M (LSU is rolling, the Aggies are getting back on track, this should be a good one)

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 7)

Games I watched (some of):

(2) Ohio State 31-32 Oregon

I thought both offenses looked pretty great, Oregon was probably a little better; both defenses had moments, again, Oregon was a little better. Great win for Oregon, tough L--but not a bad one--for the Buckeyes. 

Top 25 

Handled their business

(1) Texas, (3) Oregon, (4) Penn State, (10) Clemson,  (11) Notre Dame, (11) Iowa State, (13) Louisiana State, (14) Brigham Young, (17) Boise State, (18) Kansas State, (21) Missouri,

Won but did not impress

(5) Georgia. Dogs gave up 31 to a pretty sorry Mississippi State? 'Sup wit dat?

(7) Alabama. Really struggled with South Carolina, the Tide is not looking so good right now.

(8) Tennessee. Had to go to OT to beat a so-so Florida squad at home? The Vols' best should look a lot better than this.

(22) Pittsburgh. I dunno, barely squeaking by a mediocre Cal squad at home is not knocking me out. 

(23) Illinois. How do you give 40 points in the 2nd half to Purdue? Had to scramble in OT when this game looked over at halftime, not sure about the Illini.

Bad beat

(2) Ohio State. Played well at top flight Oregon, put up a good fight but came up short, not a bad L.

(9) Mississippi. LSU is rounding into shape and Ole Miss just couldn't hang. 

(18) Oklahoma. The Sooners are clearly rebuilding but a better effort against the Longhorns would've been at least hopeful.

Not so good

(16) Utah. Feels like they were never really in this game at Arizona State, not a good look. 

2024-25 NFL Season (Week 4 & 5)

Games I saw (some of): 

Bucs 30-36 (OT) Falcons

The Falcons rely too much of Kirk Cousins--you've got a for-real running game, why are passing 50 times a game with a guy that makes Drew Bledsoe look like Jackie Joyner-Kersey? Neither of these teams show much interest in defense but they can both move the ball. Pre-season, I liked the Falcons to be a nice surprise kinda team and I still believe that, but they need to balance up that offense and tighten up that defense if they expect to take even this bizarro division. The Bucs are okay, they move the ball, they shouldn't be taken lightly and yet I still never expect them to win. 

Ravens 41-38 (OT) Bengals

I got a hot take: the Ravens defense is not particularly any good. This is not the hard-nosed Ravens D that we've seen for decades, this team is soft in the secondary and not that effective against the run. They can get gashed again and again, so good for them that their offense can put points on the board. As for the Bengals, well....likewise. The offense is coming around and their gonna be tough to stop most weeks but their defense doesn't stop anybody and if the offense turns it over or misses a FG, their D is in serious trouble. The Ravens are good enough to challenge in the AFC but I don't think the Bengals are gonna do much this season. 

The rest of the slate: 

Jets 17-23 Vikings. Yeah, that looks about right. The Jets really just haven't shown anything on either side of the ball yet, but their division is pretty awful, so they're not out of it yet.

Panthers 10-36 Bears. The Panthers are terrible. The Bears are at least moving in the right direction. 

Dolphins 15-10 Patriots. These are two worst teams in the NFL. I'd be shocked if they're not both picking top 4 in the 2025 draft. 

Colts 34-37 Jags. You ever notice that even when the Jags win, they still don't look right?

Bills 20-23 Texans. Feels like the Bills let this one slip away late. Good W for the Texans.

Raiders 18-34 Broncos. I kinda like the Broncos. I kinda the Raiders are terrible. 

Cards 24-23 Niners. The Niners are struggling and I don't understand why. The Cards are sneaky but not great. 

Packers 24-19 Rams. The Rams just aren't good enough in the O-line or D-line to matter much this season, it seems. The Packers should be better, but a nice W on the road. 

Giants 29-20 Seahawks. Why is the Seahawks home field advantage never much of an advantage for them? How did the Giants get better after getting rid of any/all good players? It feels like they're trying to tank and the players just keep accidentally winning. 

Cowboys 20-17 Steelers. The Cowboys are sloppy, should be better. The Steelers work hard and get lucky but I'm not sure how good they actually are. 

Saints 13-26 Chiefs. What happened that offensive explosion the Saints unleashed in the first 2 weeks? Nice steady game plan victory for the Chiefs.

Week 4

Games I saw (some of):

Cowboys 20-15 Giants

The Giants aren't a disaster, not quite good enough to beat good teams but not bad. The Cowboys have moments where that offense is in control and then moments where they look totally befuddled, I don't get this team at all.

Steelers 24-27 Colts

I'm still skeptical of the Steelers, the D is pretty good (but not that great) and the offense has moments but mostly sputters. But when QB Joe Flacco puts the cape on, that's good enough to brush the Steelers aside. So....why doesn't Flacco just play all the time for the Colts? Why do they leave the QB that can get wins on the bench for emergencies only?

Bengals 34-24 Panthers

Okay, so Cincy can beat the Panthers. Not overwhelming but they were the better team. That's good to know because I think the Panthers are probably the worst team in the league. 

Chiefs 17-10 Chargers

Another week, another just enough QB Mahomes performance. The Chargers are the Chargers, man: good when they feel like it, brutally awful the rest of the time. I'm still skeptical of the Chiefs, but they are the same team that won 3 of the last 4 Super Bowls, so.....

Bills 10-35 Ravens

The Bills were down 21-10 in the 3rd quarter, they were driving nicely, when QB Allen got outside the pocket, couldn't get the pass off, fumbled and lost the ball. The Ravens quickly converted the turnover into a TD and that was that. My point is: the Bills were in this game and if a coupla plays had gone different, they may have even won. But this is purely Josh Allen's team and they will go as far he can drag them. The Ravens are looking good, but I still feel like they're not a complete team. 

Seahawks 29-42 Lions

Jared Goff threw a perfect game--no incomplete passes all night. The Lions offense is looking good right now. The Seahawks are....I dunno what they are. 

The rest of the slate:

Saints 24-26 Falcons. Division game, home team wins, sounds right to me. 

Rams 18-24 Bears. The Rams are gonna lose like this week no matter who the play, right? The Bears offense is heating up. 

Vikings 31-29 Packers. Vikings built big lead, almost gave it away. If the Packers figure it out, they can still be pretty good. 

Broncos 10-9 Jets. Yipes! Are the Jets ever gonna get going? The Bronco is real. 

Eagles 16-33 Bucs. What is up with the Eagles? Do they hate their coach? The Bucs are a trick or treat team but their good weeks look pretty good. 

Jags 20-24 Texans. Division game, home team prevails, looks right to me. 

Commanders 42-14 Cards. The Commanders offensive renaissance looks to be for real. The Cards are up and down.

Pats 13-30 Niners. The Pats are working their way to a top 5 pick. The Niners still aren't there yet but a nice biscuit from the Pats is nice. 

Browns 16-20 Raiders. The Browns are stuck with QB Watson and until they get out from under his brutal contract, this team is going nowhere. The Raiders are not good, but they handled the Browns. 

Titans 31-12 Dolphins. The Titans aren't good but the Dolphins are aiming for a top 5 pick.

2024-25 NCAA (Week 6)

Games I watched (some of): 

None. All baseball all weekend...no regrets.

Top 25

Handled their business

(3) Ohio State, (5) Georgia, (6) Oregon, (7) Penn State, (12) Mississippi, (15) Clemson, (16) Iowa State, (21) Boise State, (23) Indiana, (25) Texas A&M

Won but did not impress

(8) Miami. I dunno, I didn't think they'd cover against Cal, but to have to scramble late to steal the victory is not as impressive as it should be. If Miami is truly a top 10 squad they should be able to go on the road in conference (conference? Miami and Berkeley....in the same....conference? Oh right: conferences don't mean anything any more), and get a decisive victory against a team that isn't nearly as good. That said, everyone else in college football lost this weekend, so I presume Miami will be top 6, no?

Bad beat

(9) Missouri. The fact that this is a "bad beat" rather than "not so good" is adding insult to injury: this team was never a top 10 squad and the fact they got de-stroyed at A&M is all you need to know. Missouri is a middle of the pack SEC squad, not top tier.

Not so good (oof! This category is packed this week!)

(1) Alabama. Well well well....well well well...let's just say I'm glad I'm not an emergency room intern in Tuscaloosa because the amount of trauma this weekend would've surely been overwhelming. Look, man, losing at Vandy is enough of a blow, but, dude, Bama was NEVER in this game! They got STOMPED by Vandy! Still top 12 but, man, an L to Vandy is gonna be hard to wipe off.

For those of you that don't get college sports, there are dudes on the Vandy side that will never have to buy their own drinks again in Nashville...like, for life. 

(4) Tennessee. Well, I was all in on UT but they did not look good at any point in this Arkansas game. Not the end of the world to lose on the road in conference but I thought they were better than that (perhaps "parity" is coming to college ball). Still in my top 12 and there's a lot of season left. 

(10) Michigan. Yeah, I was never in on the Wolverines this season, they've got a lot to live up to and a lot of turnover. Not a bad team, but not a top 12 side. 

(11) Southern Cal. Not sure they deserve to get completely bounced from the top 25 (especially in a week when so many ranked schools went down), but flailing in Minnesota does not win over hardened hearts. That said, I still think I like this team and I think they'll be back. 

(22) Louisville. Meh. The Cards are a nice team but not particularly top 25-ish, so I wouldn't be surprised to not see them back for the rest of the season. 

(25) UNLV. Hardly knew ye, Rebels, but when you get handled at home by Syracuse, it suggests to me that you don't belong in the top 25. 

Next week's intriguing matches:

(1) Texas v (18) Oklahoma (@ Dallas) (this isn't a vintage OU squad but sticking it to UT might change that)

(4) Penn State @ Southern Cal (after SC lost at Minnesota this feels like an afterthought, but this is where Southern Cal claws back their season or the Nittany Lions cement their top 5 status)

Arizona @ (14) Brigham Young (BYU has overperformed so far, Arizona has underperformed, is this the week it flips?)

(2) Ohio State @ (3) Oregon (here we go, best non-SEC game of the year?)

(9) Mississippi @ (13) Louisiana State (loser leaves town match in the SEC)

(11) Iowa State @ West Virginia (WVU ain't bad, if the Cyclones fancy themselves a playoff team, they'll need to get a good W here)

(18) Kansas State @ Colorado (the Buffaloes are a mystery to me but everyone'll be watching this one, so the Wildcats need a positive performance)

I tried to do a top 12 last week and I only came up with 8 teams--and 2 of them lost this week! So I'm gonna wait another week before I start forecasting my top 12. 

2024-25 NCAA Football (Week 5)

Games I watched (some of):

(2) Georgia 34-41 (4) Alabama

Okay, hard to imagine there's going to be a better game in NCAA this year. This game had all the thrills, the chills, the ups and downs, backs and forths. Alabama dominated the 1st half, I thought QB Millroe was amazing, truly in control against a defense that has been smothering planet Earth for half a decade, Bama moved the ball with ease and ran up the offense quickly. Too much too soon, it appears, because UGA dominated the 2nd half (and, yes, I thought Bama contributed mightily to the comeback by slacking off), even took the lead, forcing Bama to steal it back, and then the game ended with UGA coming up just short on another comeback. I thought QB Beck was brutal in the 1st half but made some real plays after halftime and the UGA offense in general came alive, too, this Bama offense might be suddenly revitalized by this. I fully expect UGA to still be around by season's end. Millroe is probably the top of the Heisman pool just like that and wouldn't be surprised if Bama was back at #1 on Monday. Still a lot of season left. 

Kentucky 20-17 (6) Mississippi

Ole Miss was lined up for a big season: returning QB everyone loves, a good collection of veterans on both sides and an SEC schedule that dodges Alabama, A&M and Missouri (and catches Oklahoma, LSU and Florida in vulnerable positions). But you cannot--REPEAT: CANNOT!--lose to Kentucky. Especially at home. A sluggish game, which was the first clue that Kentucky was in it, felt like Ole Miss was the better team but also felt like UK might keep them down. Also, UK's offense was not bad, it was consistent and ate up enough clock that Ole Miss's woes were magnified. A coupla plays: a long bomb on 4th down that set up the fumble recovery to the end zone and next thing you know, the Wildcats are stealing it away from the Rebels. Then Ole Miss goes wide left on the tying FG and suddenly, there's no OT, just a big ol' L. Now the Rebels have to go to South Carolina, not gonna be easy, they better get their offense back pronto. I don't know if Ole Miss vanilla-ed their offense or just had a bad day, but they need to pull out all stops from here on (and beating Georgia would be nice, too) and that starts next week. As for UK, they've got a good L (Georgia) and a good W (@Mississippi), I dunno, that's not bad for UK, but I'm not forecasting wins at Knoxville or Austin.

(19) Illinois 7-21 (9) Penn State

This was pure sludge. Each team scored a confident early TD, then not much happened outside of missed FG's all over the place, until Penn State (sorta) blew it open late. Penn State has a serious meatgrinder of a defense but that offense still isn't overpowering (re: the Buckeyes have a real pain in the ass game coming, but they should win), so puncher's chance against the top tier is the best I can give them. The Illini are nice but they're not gonna beat the tippity top teams. 

(21) Oklahoma 27-21 Auburn

Auburn came out hot, but once the Sooners put it together, they flew past the Tigers. This is not a vintage Auburn side. The Sooners aren't great either, but I think they're pretty good and going in the right direction.

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Texas, (3) Ohio State, (4) Alabama, (8) Oregon, (9) Penn State, (13) Southern Cal, (14) Louisiana State, (16) Notre Dame, (17) Clemson, (18) Iowa State, (21) Oklahoma, (22) Brigham Young, (23) Kansas State, (25) Boise State

Won but did not impress

(7) Miami. I always think of Friday night as the show-off spot and if Miami was better than Va.Tech, they really should've come in louder and prouder here. They did well to claw back the W but they had a good shot at a convincing thumping and they did not do that. 

(12) Michigan. Finishing off a conference foe usually impresses me, but Michigan is ranked too high to not dispatch Minnesota decisively. Being the defending nat'l champs is a major burden for this squad, remaining in the playoff chase is not gonna be easy. 

(24) Texas A&M. I dunno, man, grudge match with Arkansas shouldn't faze me but the Aggies just don't look that strong to me. Their schedule is gonna start delivering body blows from here. 

Bad beat

(2) Georgia. I ain't worried about UGA, they are still firmly in the top 12, still in for a shot at top 4. And as weird as this game was, I think there's some good stuff for UGA in there, this could be a real shot in the arm for this squad. 

(15) Louisville. Came up short on the road. Played well, would've been nice to get the W in South Bend. 

(19) Illinois. Penn State just choked this offense out. The Illini are nice but the Nittany Lions got a killer D. 

(20) Oklahoma State. Yikes! The Cowboys still have opportunities on their schedule but they got obliterated in Manhattan, suggesting that K State is the stealth power in this conference. 

Not so good

(6) Mississippi. You don't understand: losing to Kentucky is two losses at once. Bad L, disappointing home conference L, but, man....it was Kentucky!

(10) Utah. Getting trucked by an Arizona team that has not looked good this season is a surprising outcome. At home, they were never in this game. 

Next week's intriguing matches (huh, a whole slate of games that seemed like they would sound great, like, 3 months ago--looking at you, Clemson-Florida State! Instead, this NCAA's helpful reminder to clean out your garage and winterize the lawn mower. I'm cool with it, I need a baseball weekend):

(9) Missouri @ (25) Texas A&M (dang, even this one seems tarnished already but they are both ranked, so it'll make a difference)

(12) Mississippi @ South Carolina (interesting to see how Ole Miss bounces back from a disappointing home loss and whether the Gamecocks can get back on track with a good W)