2021-22 NBA Bric-a-Brac (Week 9)

Signings

Terry Taylor (Pacers) to a 2-way contract

Don't know him but obviously the Pacers like him better than the average no-name youngster (or else this is just a roster shuffling move before a flurry of trades....?). 

Garrison Mathews (Rockets) re-jiggered contract to a 4-year deal 

Yeah! The Rockets have been strangely awesome for the last few weeks and Mathews has been a big part of that. The whole point of youth movement squads is to find keepers like Mathews and elevate them beyond the fringes of G-League-ness. Good move by the Rockets.

10-day contracts

Langston Galloway (Nets), Justin Robinson (Kings), Isaiah Thomas (Lakers), Admiral Schofield (Magic), Aleem Ford (Magic), BJ Johnson (Magic), Hassani Gravett (Magic), Justin Jackson (Celtics), Tyler Hall (Knicks), James Ennis (Nets), Shaq Harrison (Nets), Myles Powell (Sixers), Luke Kornet (Cavs), Freddie Gillespie (Magic), Tyler Johnson (Sixers), CJ Miles (Celtics), Theo Pinson (Mavs), Brandon Goodwin (Raptors), Juwan Morgan (Raptors), Nik Stauskus (Raptors); and Davon Reed (Nuggets) and Alfonzo McKinnie (Bulls) each re-signed to a second 10-day contract

A mix of vets just recently out of the league (McKinnie, Harrison, Johnson Kornet, Ennis, Galloway, for example), guys that never quite found their place in the league (Schofield, Morgan, Pinson, etc.), even a lottery pick that didn't pan out (Stauskus--wasn't your fault, Nik, it was Sacramento) and a lot of dudes I never heard of. 

But, obviously, Isaiah Thomas is the name that stands out. With the rather abysmal collection of grumpy old vets on that roster, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see Thomas do well, get regular playing time and still be on that roster in April, after most of the rest of the dudes are long gone (*cough* Rondo, Jordan, Ariza *cough*). 

Waivings

DeJon Jarreau (Pacers), Danuel House (Rockets), Grant Riller (Sixers) waived; and Stanley Johnson (Bulls) 10-day contract expired

Don't know Jarreau. Hardly knew ye. 

House was let go (to make room for Mathews?), so that he could find a spot on another team--which you gotta figure won't be hard to do as Covid lays the league low (so why hasn't he hooked on somewhere else yet?). 

Riller had injury problems early on, this is probably a roster move to facilitate 10-day contracts and/or trades. 

Everyone on earth is getting 10-day contracts and former lottery pick Johnson couldn't score a re-up? 

Injuries

Anthony Davis (Lakers) out indefinitely (sprained left knee)

No one got hurt this week because they're all in Covid....except for Anthony Davis. Clearly AD is the one guy whose career would be saved by getting Covid. 

Derrick Rose (Knicks) out indefinitely (or 6-8 weeks) after right ankle surgery

Everybody is hurting on depth right now, but this is a real blow to the Knicks, who relied on a lot of minutes from Rose. 

Health & Safety Protocols

Clint Capela (Hawks), Jabari Parker (Celtics), Al Horford (Celtics), Brodric Thomas (Celtics), Grant Williams (Celtics), Juan Hernangomez (Celtics), Kevin Durant (Nets), Day'Ron Sharpe (Nets), Kyrie Irving (Nets), Matt Thomas (Bulls), Devon Dotson (Bulls), Alize Johnson (Bulls), Ed Davis (Cavs), Denzel Valentine (Cavs), Dylan Windler (Cavs), RJ Nembhard Jr (Cavs), Lamar Stevens (Cavs), Jarrett Allen (Cavs), Evan Mobley (Cavs), Isaac Okoro (Cavs), Maxi Kleber (Mavs), Josh Green (Mavs), Andrew Wiggins (Warriors), Jordan Poole (Warriors), Marcus Morris (Clippers), Austin Reaves (Lakers), Avery Bradley (Lakers), Kent Bazemore (Lakers), Kendrick Nunn (Lakers), Ziaire Williams (Grizzlies), Patrick Beverley (Wolves), Jarred Vanderbilt (Wolves), Josh Okogie (Wolves), Anthony Edwards (Wolves), Taurean Prince (Wolves), Miles McBride (Knicks), Immanuel Quickley (Knicks), Quentin Grimes (Knicks), Ignas Brazdekis (Magic), Terrence Ross (Magic), Mo Bamba (Magic), Michael Carter-Williams (Magic), Mychal Mulder (Magic), Andre Drummond (Sixers), Davion Mitchell (Kings), Alex Len (Kings), De'Aaron Fox (Kings), Louis King (Kings), Scottie Barnes (Raptors), Malchi Flynn (Raptors), Fred VanVleet (Raptors), Gary Trent Jr (Raptors), Dalano Banton (Raptors), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Wizards), Marvin Bagley (Kings), Bobby Portis (Bucks), Kevin Knox (Knicks), Mo Wagner (Magic), RJ Hampton (Magic), Bol Bol (Nuggets), Reggie Bullock (Mavs), Pascal Siakam (Raptors), Shake Milton (Sixers), Trae Young (Hawks), Cody Martin (Hornets), Josh Green (Mavs), Danny Green (Sixers), Reggie Jackson (Clippers), Kevin Huerter (Hawks), Lou Williams (Hawks), Timothe Luwawu-Caborrot (Hawks), Nerlens Noel (Knicks), Luka Doncic (Mavs), Trey Burke (Mavs), Cade Cunningham (Pistons), OG Anunoby (Raptors), Damion Lee (Warriors)

Okay....I'll say it: Andrew Wiggins should sue the NBA. They forced him to get medication against his will or they wouldn't let him play. He got the medication....and now they won't let him play anyway. Fuck, man, he could've gotten Covid and missed games without getting the vaccine! If your response is 'think how much worse it would've been for him if he hadn't got the vaccine', then you're a fucking moron. Do you honestly believe Wiggins would be on ventilator right now if not for the vaccine? Andrew Wiggins is arguably one of the healthiest humans on planet earth and the idea that only gov't medicine can save him is pure fucking nonsense and frankly an insult to how well a guy like Wiggins takes care of himself. If you think the gov't forcing medicine on him is the only thing keeping him alive.....then you have lost your fucking mind.

Trey Burke is the only guy in the league that we KNOW isn't vaccinated. So, obviously, this is ALL his fault! Only Burke can be responsible for the other 150 guys that have missed games so far! I mean...right? This is America and we know how to do proper justice: dunk Burke underwater and if he drowns then we'll know he's innocent. 

If the whole point of getting NBA players vaccinated was to keep them from getting the virus and cancelling games (I mean if you get the vaccine you can't get the virus, right?), then obviously the vaccine has been a failure. So what kind of level of delirious Orwellian group think does it take to think that more vaccinations is the answer? Are you seriously trying to tell me that gov't vaccines (that are clearly shown to wear off after 4-6 months) are better than a lifetime of diet and exercise? Really? So the first 15 years of Lebron's career are....what....some kind of fluke? Or has he been in some kind of secret Pfizer program his whole life?

It isn't the virus that kills. It's the co-morbidities. And I dare say not a one of these NBA players has a dangerous body mass index or high blood pressure. These guys don't need a vaccine, they never needed a vaccine, and taking the vaccine hasn't kept any of them from getting the virus or missing games. The vaccine is necessary for some people but NBA ballers have the healthiest hearts and lungs in the Western Hemisphere, there's nothing a vaccine is even gonna do for these guys. 

Instead of holding Andrew Wiggins up as the model of how diet and exercise and hygiene will help us all live a healthy live, we held him down and forced him to get medicine he doesn't need and then showed the world that the medicine doesn't do what we were told it would do. But, yeah, it's Trey Burke's fault, he's the only one that will get fined for missing games. 

Live healthy. If you need the vaccine, go get the vaccine. But if you're a professional athlete, what is a vaccine even gonna do for you? It ain't gonna keep you from missing games, so what does it do? And if you think it's the only thing keeping you alive...*smh*

2021-22 NFL (Week 15)

Surprising results:

Pats 17-27 Colts. Seems like the Pats kinda bungled every second of this game. When the Colts run the ball, they're pretty damn good (and when they don't run the ball, you just sit there wondering why they're not running more). 

Titans 13-19 Steelers. How do the Steelers win games? I've watched them way more than I want to this year and I am convinced they actually suck pretty bad...so how did they win this game? (Still trying to figure out how they beat the Bills way back in Week One). The Titans can be good or they can suck, they're as Jekyll/Hyde as any team in the league. 

Saints 9-0 Bucs. Wow, the Saints D stuffed everything the Bucs tried to do (did you realize that Tom Brady is 0-4 against the Saints since getting to Tampa Bay?) and even injured most of the Bucs' best offensive weapons. Dang, man, if the Saints played like this all the time...oh yeah, their QB is Taysom Hill...okay, forget all that. 

Unsurprising results:

Chiefs 34-28 Chargers. Fun game, back and forth crazy action, a good ol' fashioned shootout game. The Chiefs are still (and always have been) the team to beat in the AFC. The Chargers are ferocious when they put it all together, but they don't do that nearly enough. Also, going for it on 4th down EVERY TIME is not really a winning strategy. 

Panthers 14-31 Bills. The Bills desperately needed a get-right game and Carolina gave it to them. 

Cards 12-30 Lions. No, I was not surprised by this. Remember: the Lions play well against good teams (re: teams that take them lightly) and get destroyed by mediocre teams (re: teams that desperately need to win games). Take heart, Cards fans, this is the best possible reminder that you've got a good team. 

Jets 24-31 Dolphins. Yeah, that's about right. 

Cowboys 21-6 Giants. Oh, man, the Giants are painful to watch. The Cowboys did not play particularly well in this match and still cruised easily to victory. 

Texans 30-16 Jags. The Jags are the worst team in the league. The Texans saw their last best chance at getting a W and they took it (good for them). 

Bengals 15-10 Broncos. Awkward game for the most part, two so-so teams struggling to get some kind of advantage. The Bengals are the slightly better team and this score was pretty accurate. 

Falcons 13-31 Niners. The Niners have been getting into a groove and this was a tasty W for them. The Falcons actually play really well on the road, thought they might put up more of a fight. 

Packers 31-30 Ravens. The Ravens went for a 2-point conversion on the last play of the game (for the second week in a row) and (for the second in a row) it didn't work. Hey, I get it: you can play ten more minutes of football or you can win it on one play, I'd take the one play every time, too. Clearly, though, they need to get better at 2-point conversions--don't be shocked if they have at least one more of these this season! The Packers still have yet to play a complete game but they're still winning, so I guess it doesn't matter. 

Raiders 16-14 Browns. Tough L for the Browns, nice W for the Raiders. 

Vikings 17-9 Bears. The Bears are hard to watch, I'm still in on Justin Fields--he's got skills and he'll be better next year--but for now, yeah, they're hard to watch. The Vikings, man....the Vikings...they're just...*phew*....the Vikings. 

Seahawks 10-20 Rams. NFC West is always a rock fight, underdog didn't come through in this one, though. 

WTF 17-27 Eagles. Meh.

2021-22 NFL (Week 14)

Results:

Steelers 28-36 Vikings. The Steelers suck, the Vikings suck a little bit less.

Ravens 22-24 Browns. The Browns jumped out to a big lead, then the Ravens chipped away at it but couldn't quite get there. Both of these teams should be better than they are (Bengals, too), so this division is gonna be a struggle all the way through. 

Jags 0-20 Titans. Titans rolling along. The Jags suck and have now fired Urban Meyer (just before midnight on a Wednesday--how do you get fired at midnight in the middle of the week?). I never understood why Meyer even wanted the Jags job and considering all the NCAA jobs that were open this season (Southern Cal, Oklahoma, LSU, Notre Dame, Florida, just to name a few), seems like if he really wanted to work, then the Jags were always just in his way. Well, all those NCAA jobs are no longer available and Meyer's reputation as a no-nonsense winner is in tatters, so...yeah, why did Meyer want this job again...?

Raiders 9-48 Chiefs. Raiders usually play well against the Chiefs, but KC was ready for a bust out,

Saints 30-9 Jets. Meh. Jets suck, Saints suck a little bit less. 

Cowboys 27-20 WTF. This is about right. The Cowboys are good but scuffling right now, WTF is not awful but not good either. 

Falcons 29-21 Panthers. Somebody had to win this game, I suppose. 

Seahawks 33-13 Texans. The Texans are a get-right team and the Seahawks needed to get right. 

Lions 10-38 Broncos. The Lions cover against good teams, but get destroyed by mediocre teams. Yeah, this result checks out. 

Giants 21-37 Chargers. The Giants are a get-right team and the Chargers needed to get right. 

Niners 26-23 (OT) Bengals. Fun (if sloppy) game. Niners got a big lead, Bengals came back, but couldn't finish it. The Niners at their best are a sneaky good team, still time for them to make a playoff run.

Bills 27-33 (OT) Bucs. The Bills need every W and the fact that they came so far back just to lose anyway...yeesh, that sucks. The Bucs are rolling. 

Bears 30-45 Packers. The Packers own the Bears. Still true.

Rams 30-23 Cards. The Cards had a bad turnover early in the 2nd half that swung this game. NFC West is always a struggle (bet on the road team). 

2021-22 NBA Bric-a-Brac (Week 8)

Signings

Bulls sign Stanley Johnson and Alfonzo McKinnie to 10-day contracts

Johnson is already in H&S Protocols, welcome back to the league. I always liked McKinnie, a little surprised he never hooked on as a reliable bottom of the roster guy. Seems like Covid-19 is gonna be a boon to guys that aren't quite ready to be done with the game (or at least the paychecks). Both of these dudes may well be playing every ten days for a new team all season long.

Injuries

Kira Lewis Jr (Pelicans) out for the season (torn ACL)

Too bad, Lewis was really becoming a steady part of that rotation. He may well have had a breakout season. Perhaps in this Covid-saturated season, he's better off getting away from everybody else and working to get back by next Xmas. 

Jerami Grant (Pistons) out indefinitely (right thumb)

"At least six weeks" according to one report. I think Grant is a for-real trade candidate, we'll see if nagging injuries interfere with that. 

JaMychel Green (Nuggets) expected to miss extended time (ankle)

The Nuggets need all warm bodies at this point and losing Green is gonna be a bit of a hit for them. 

Zion Williamson (Pelicans) still rehabbing foot, not likely to make his season debut soon

Zion is a helluva player but I was skeptical of his long term career opportunities because of his body type. Reports suggest that he is not exactly a workout monster, doesn't take team activities seriously and is probably already looking to get out of New Orleans. So is this all a smokescreen to get him traded or is he actually having injury concerns? Or both? Can't really tell (but if I were New Orleans, I'd be gauging interest around the league). 

Cody Zeller (Blazers) will be evaluated in one week (fractured hand)

The Blazers are a mess these days, missing a regular rotation guy is not gonna make anything better. 

Health and Safety Protocols

Derrick Jones Jr (Bulls), Josh Richardson (Celtics), Wesley Matthews (Bucks), Ayo Dosunmo (Bulls), Stanley Johnson (Bulls), Caleb Martin (Heat), Obi Toppin (Knicks), Kyle Kuzma (Wizards), Troy Brown Jr (Bulls), Zach LaVine (Bulls), RJ Barrett (Knicks), Precious Achiuwa (Raptors), Bruce Brown (Nets), James Harden (Nets), James Johnson (Nets), Jevon Carter (Nets), Deandre Bembry (Nets), LaMarcus Aldrige (Nets), Paul Millsap (Nets), Ish Smith (Hornets), Talen Horton-Tucker (Lakers), Quentin Grimes (Knicks), Donte DiVincenzo (Bucks), Giannis Antetokounpo (Bucks), Serge Ibaka (Clippers), Dwight Howard (Lakers), Malik Monk (Lakers), George Niang (Sixers), 

I have yet to see a single fine or announcement of lack of pay for players being unvaccinated, as the NBA announced it would do before the season started.  So...all these guys are vaccinated, yes? Just checking...

Postponed

Bulls-Pistons (12.13.21) and Bulls-Raptors (12.15.21)

Beginning of a pattern...?

2021-22 Champions League (Round of 16)

They had to re-do the draw but here's the official matchups when Champions League returns in February. I'm ready to go now, but 6 more weeks of NFL action will be a nice way to kill time til the real soccer comes back. 

FC Salzburg v Bayern Munich

Sporting CP v Manchester City

Benfica v Ajax

Chelsea v Lille

Atletico Madrid v Manchester United

Villareal v Juventus

Inter Milan v Liverpool

Paris-St. Germain v Real Madrid

2021 MLS Final

Fun game! Not a lot of scoring but plenty of back and forth action. NYCFC struck me as the more aggressive side throughout (and the deserving winner). Though Portland's defense was sturdy, I was little surprised how uninspiring their counterattack was. I mean, if you're living on defense, then the quick counter is your best choice to score, right? But in that final flurry of regulation, you just knew Portland was gonna score to keep it alive. 

But Portland couldn't get anything going in OT and missed their fist two shots in the shootout and, well, tough to win when you don't score. Great win for NYCFC, better luck next year for Portland.

2021-22 NBA Bric-a-Brac (Week 7)

Front office moves

Blazers fire Neil Olshey (GM & President of Basketball Operations); name Joe Cronin interim GM

Perhaps I should be more doubtful, but the charges against Olshey make him seem insensitive and clumsy, but if that's the problem, then why is an investigation needed? I dunno, if you want the guy gone because he's an annoying asshole then just say that and fire him. Just the way we do things now, I guess. As for Cronin, I don't know the guy and have no sense of whether he'll matriculate to the full position (but if you think this guy is gonna trade Damian Lillard, I'd say you're crazy). 

Injuries

Bam Adebayo (Heat) out indefinitely after thumb surgery

The Heat need Adebayo if they've got any hopes of getting back to the championship this year. 

Brook Lopez (Bucks) out indefinitely after back surgery

Seems like now that the Bucks have gotten back into playing shape, they're taking the chance to give Lopez some extended time off to keep him fresh for later. 

TJ McConnell (Pacers) out indefinitely after wrist surgery

I love McConnell, the Pacers miss him. 

Solomon Hill (Hawks) out for the season with right hamstring tear

I was dubious at best on Hill last season and I'm a little surprised they brought him back, which is my way of saying, I don't think they're gonna miss Hill at all. The Hawks have a deep bench already and two rookies that have yet to get any playing time. 

Khem Birch (Raptors) still out "for the foreseeable future" with knee injury

The Raptors have a deep rotation that can withstand injuries. On the other hand, they use such a deep rotation because they're trying to suck up every ounce of what every player can give them. So, though, they are deep, every injury chips away at their strength.

CJ McCollum (Blazers) out indefinitely with collapsed lung

Yipes! This started as a rib contusion that then became a collapsed lung. And in these days of scary respiratory viruses and such, let's hope this doesn't become something more serious. (Also, how does this interfere with potential trades? And is it Lillard or McCollum that gets traded?)

Health & Safety Protocols

Austin Rivers (Nuggets), Bones Hyland (Nuggets), Bol Bol (Nuggets), Javonte Green (Bulls), Jalen McDaniels (Hornets), LaMelo Ball (Hornets), Mason Plumlee (Hornets), Terry Rozier (Hornets), DeMar DeRozan (Bulls), Ish Smith (Hornets), Ja Morant (Grizzlies), Matt Thomas (Bulls), 

If only we had a vaccine that could prevent people from getting this virus....Oh wait, we do! Oh wait....we don't.

Signings

Wesley Matthews (Bucks) signs 1-year contract

Uh, I dunno, man, Matthews was washed a few years back, not sure he's really giving much of anything to the Bucks right now. But he is a solid standup veteran dude and you need to fill out your roster with guys like that, but I'd be pretty shocked if Matthews had even a meaningful moment all season long. 

Gary Clark Jr (Pelicans) signs 1-year contract 

Not exactly what you'd call a wily veteran, but he has played 130 career games in the NBA (with the Rockets, Sixers, Nuggets and Magic), so while he may not make the difference for the Pelicans this season, at least he's reliable enough to be at practice and show up on time and such. 

Davon Reed (Nuggets) signs 10-day contract 

With all their Covid troubles--on top of injury troubles!--I'm kinda surprised Reed is the only 10-day guy they've picked up lately. 

Waivings

Georgios Kalaitzakis (Bucks)

The 60th pick in the 2021 draft, he played in 9 NBA games before being moved aside for a wily veteran. The buzz at the time was that picking the Greek national was some kind of favor to Giannis and he was never really in the Bucks' plans, which seems to have turned out to be the case. Georgios,  we hardly knew ye. 

2021-22 NFL (Week 12 & 13)

Surprising results:

Chargers 41-22 Bengals

Weird game. Looks like the Chargers blew them out--and they kinda did--but really it was the Chargers dominating the 1st, 2nd and 4th quarters while the Bengals dominated the 3rd quarter. My point is these two teams are closer than this score suggests. If the Bengals had held their momentum (so many dumb turnovers in this game!), they easily could've won by a lopsided scoreline or this game could've been much closer. At any rate, the Chargers got the W (and the tiebreaker that could come in real handy) and the Bengals did not. I think the Chargers are probably the better team but it isn't as clear as it might look. 

Ravens 19-20 Steelers

The Ravens are flaky and the Steelers play with veteran moxie, so this result shouldn't be shocking in a classic rivalry like this. But I was surprised because the Steelers still sucked! It's not like they played particularly well in this game, the Ravens (re: Lamar Jackson) just didn't take the easy W that was in front of them. I'll say it again: when Lamar plays heads-up football, he's really good and his team wins; but when he's playing loose (re: 'making plays'), then he makes weird mistakes and his team loses. The Ravens can still be really good--don't be shocked if they make a run in the playoffs--but they lose games they shouldn't lose and that's troubling at this point in the season. 

Unsurprising results:

Cowboys 27-21 Saints. The Cowboys win when their offense shows up. The Saints play hard but without a QB, they just aren't gonna win games.

Bucs 30-17 Falcons. Yeah, division games, man, they can be tricky or they can be a tonic. 

Cards 33-22 Bears. The Bears are just not much of a team right now, the D is incomplete, Dalton is not the QB of the future, he may as well not be the QB of the present, the special teams is so-so at best. They're just not much of a team right now. The Cards, on the other hand, are in that phase where they're getting big W's with so-so efforts and its weird. Kyler Murray ran well (coming back from injury) but I thought his throwing was rusty and sloppier than I would've expected. But, he's still really good and the offense gets contributions from all over the place, they're really good but still seem kinda flaky to me (love Kyler but not sure he's ready to win big games).

Vikings 27-29 Lions. The Vikings should've won--which is precisely why the Lions stole this. If the Vikings played like underdogs, they would've housed this godawful Lions squad, but they play with too much confidence, not enough surrender, which is why they lose more games than they win, even though they actually look pretty good for the most part. The Lions play hard, they'll win a few more games. 

Giants 9-20 Dolphins. The Dolphins are still easing into the dead stretch of their schedule, they're scoring points, moving the ball, getting W's, but still don't seem scary at all. The Giants are contractually obligated to play games. 

Eagles 33-18 Jets. Yeah, the Eagles are pretty good and the Jets are not.

Colts 31-0 Texans. The Texans just got nothing at all at this point. The Colts win when they run the ball. 

WTF 17-15 Raiders. Two scrappy weirdo teams. Yeah, this sounds about right. (Wait....did WTF just win back to back 17-15 games? When was the last time that happened?)

Jags 7-37 Rams. The Jags are really pretty terrible, kinda have been for a while now (remember that one weird year when Blake Bortles made the Conference Finals...wtf was that?). Seems like the #1 pick QB and high profile (and potentially scandalous) NCAA legend coach would get more pub, but instead they're the most invisible guys in the league. Weird. Rams can put up 37 and still look rusty, their peak might be better than everyone else's peak but their average is still kinda average. 

Niners 23-30 Seahawks. NFC West, man.

Broncos 9-22 Chiefs. Broncos could not move the ball at all, Chiefs offense is not bad but still not vintage.

Pats 14-10 Bills. The final play was emblematic of this rivalry now: Pats CB strays off his man to knock down a pass to another receiver, that was on the goal line ready to haul in the game-winning TD. The Pats got this one, but perhaps he's a step late, pass gets caught, Bills cover the spread on the final play. They Pats and Bills are wearing each other's DNA at this point, they're real close. (They play again in a coupla weeks, don't be shocked if the Bills make the big play at the end to steal the road W or that its during a blizzard)

Week 13 slate:

Surprising results: 

Raiders 36-33 (OT) Cowboys

Man, I thought the Raiders were done and that the Cowboys had turned a corner and were ready to lock up W's. Well...I guess not. 

Eagles 7-13 Giants

The Eagles were rolling, that offense had been piling up points and then they flailed at NYG? Division games, man, always a roll of the dice. 

Chargers 13-28 Broncos

Division games. The Broncos have an anemic offense but they play hard and they can eke out a W every now and again. But the Chargers really missed an opportunity to get a good road win in the division.

Unsurprising results:

Bears 16-14 Lions

Bills 31-6 Saints

Steelers 10-41 Bengals

Bucs 38-31 Colts

Rams 28-36 Packers

Browns 10-16 Ravens

Panthers 10-33 Dolphins

Titans 13-36 Patriots

Falcons 21-14 Jags

Jets 21-14 Texans

Vikings 26-34 Niners

Seahawks 15-17 WTF

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 14)

Championship Week

PAC-12: (10) Oregon 10-38 (14) Utah

Look, I only saw Oregon three times this year and they lost all three times, so I saw nothing that would suggest they could even come close to Ohio State and I have no idea how they won that game. But make no mistake: beating the Buckeyes was the only thing they did all year and it kept them in the top 10 into December even though this team was never very good. Watching them get housed by Utah (for the second time in a month) was not interesting, not surprising and only confirmed all my darkest thoughts about Oregon. Utah, on the other hand, looks like a tough squad, man, I don't know who they'll be bowling up with, but I wouldn't wanna play them. 

Big-12: (9) Baylor- 21-16 (5) Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State gifted Baylor two 1st quarter interceptions that both went for TD's. If not for the Cowboys' QB making a coupla sloppy passes, I think OSU wins this game by three TD's! Oklahoma State was the better team in every way--save those two bad throws--and should've dominated the shit out of this game. But somehow they didn't. Instead, they dug themselves a hole and couldn't wriggle back out of it even though they were the better team throughout. (Maybe just me: but I would've replayed that lunge at the goal line early in the 4th quarter that eventually led to an OSU FG, I think it was a TD and it was worth a replay, even if 1st down and goal inside the 1 feels like easy money) Great W for Baylor, really disappointing loss for Oklahoma State.

Mountain West: Utah State 46-13 (19) San Diego State

Apparently SDSU (I didn't see them at all this year) had serious injuries all over their roster and were basically playing a skeleton crew. Well, whatever transpired, Utah State got to kick some fuckin' ass on this Saturday and go home champions (good for them). 

Sun Belt: Appalachian State 16-24 (20) Louisiana

I saw none of this game or any Sun Belt games all season long. Louisiana got their coach poached by the SEC, so must've been a good year for the Cajuns. 

SEC: (1) Georgia 24-41 (4) Alabama

We wondered what would happen if UGA's QB had to make plays against a good squad...then we wondered if Alabama was actually a good enough squad to make him work. Well, Bama was good enough and UGA's QB was not up to it. Nor was UGA's vaunted defensive line and LB's, who mostly got routed. This year I saw Bama lose to A&M, pull out lucky wins against Auburn and Florida and stomp Ole Miss; they clearly were not particularly consistent this year, weren't really sure if they were good enough (but all the time we knew deep down that they were). UGA struggled with Clemson and then breezed through the rest of their schedule (toughest game was Kentucky...no, I'm serious--they really didn't play anyone better than Kentucky all year!), so while they looked dominant, they weren't really much tested. Okay. Georgia has been tested and Alabama has shown that they really do belong at the top of the table. So can Alabama do it again? Will Georgia get smacked around like that again? We're gonna find out...

Conference USA: (16) Houston 20-35 (3) Cincinnati

Cincy is for real, man, this team is good, they play tough defense, they've got a stand up QB and a solid attack. They haven't played any SEC-ish opponents and they may well get dusted off in a bowl game, but I don't think they will. I think they're really good and are gonna hang just fine in the playoff. As for Houston, well, they had a good season, made a game effort of it, good run. 

ACC: (17) Pittsburgh 45-21 (18) Wake Forest

Wake was up 21-14 at the end of the 1st quarter and it felt like we were gonna get the shootout we'd been promised. But, no, Pitt kinda flexed a much better than expected defense and smooshed Wake for the rest of the match. You knew both of these teams had offense, but Pitt had more than that. Really a hell of a good W for the Panthers. Still a great season for Wake Forest.

Big-10: (2) Michigan 42-3 (15) Iowa

Yeah, Iowa has a nice defense but that offense was never gonna compete with Michigan. Michigan busted open the playbook, really wanted to scorch this championship and they did. Good run for the Wolverines, they deserved the B-10 championship and they got it. So...do they get Georgia or Alabama next? 

My final rankings:

(1) Alabama, (2) Georgia, (3) Cincinnati, (4) Michigan, (5) Notre Dame, (6) Ohio State

Bama dropped 41 on the #1 team (and #1 defense) and only had 1 loss, they deserve to be #1.

UGA is still better than most everyone else, took a tough L to a tough team, not a bad loss. 

I've been impressed with Cincy all season long, they handled their business at every stage and deserve the #3 spot (and I wanna see a rematch with Georgia--they just played last year, let's see what that match looks like now).  

Michigan did what they needed to do to get to this point (and I wanna see them against Bama--I can't recall Alabama and Michigan ever playing each other, I wanna see it!)

Notre Dame started slow (and lost their coach along the way) but they were really ballin' by the end of the season. 

Ohio State also started slow but had that offense humming by season's end. 

...And for what it's worth:

(7) Ole Miss, (8) Baylor, (9) Michigan State, (10) Utah, (11) Pittsburgh, (12) Oklahoma State, (13) Brigham Young, (14) Oklahoma, (15) Louisiana, (16) Iowa, (17) Wake Forest, (18) Houston, (19) Oregon, (20) North Carolina State, (21) Clemson, (22) Texas A&M, (23) Kentucky, (24) Penn State, (25) San Diego State

2021-22 NBA Bric-a-Brac (Weeks 5 & 6)

Front office moves

Wizards GM Tommy Shepherd signs multi-year extension and named team president

Shepherd has been with the Wizards for quite some time now, seems like a Wizards lifer and this is probably the right move for him an the team.

Kings fire coach Luke Walton; name Alvin Gentry interim coach

Luke Walton is officially out of the Coach of the Year race--still time, though, for Gentry to get in! I don't know what's wrong the Kings--outside of just being an inept organization for a coupla decades in a row now. This is a weird roster with weird goals and as much as I like Gentry, until they figure out what's up with Marvin Bagley and/or De'Aaron Fox, this team isn't going anywhere. 

Signings

Demarcus Cousins signs 1yr deal with the Bucks

The Bucks are probably the one team in the league that aren't afraid of Cousins: if he's good, they'll all love him and if he sucks, they'll all ignore him. His tantrums will likely make no difference in this locker room and that's why this is a great signing. If Cousins can play (big if!) then he'll give them an another scoring element off the bench that should be kinda nice for this squad. Cousins isn't here to be a difference-maker, he's here to make a good team even better.

Waivings

Lakers waive Sekou Doumbouya; sign Chaundee Brown Jr to 2-way contract

Doumbouya in a span of just a few weeks went from cornerstone of the future for the Pistons to nice young bench pickup for the Nets to trade asset dump for the Rockets to one last chance with the Lakers. How bad does this kid not want to play in the NBA? I have no idea who Chaundee Brown is but Doumbouya was a top-10 pick not that long ago and yet it doesn't feel like Brown has big shoes to fill. 

Injuries

Michael Porter Jr (Nuggets) could 'miss significant time' after surgery (back nerve issue)

Okay, getting scary now for the Nuggets. They really needed a bust out season from Porter to cover for missing Jamal Murray, but not only is he not busting out but it kinda looks like he's falling apart (right after signing a giant extension!). This is not good for the Nuggets. 

Frank Kaminsky (Suns) is out indefinitely (knee)

I've never been a Frank the Tank guy myself, but with Dario Saric probably missing the entire season, the Suns kinda need Kaminsky for minutes. Not a major loss but definitely a dip in the Suns' depth. 

Collin Sexton (Cavs) out for season (left knee meniscus surgery)

Well, the Garland-or-Sexton question has been put on hold for now. Sexton seeing that his days were numbered in Cleveland opted for the season-ending surgery just to throw a wrench in the situation. I hope Sexton gets healthy and bounces back next year (though probably not in Cleveland). 

OG Anunoby (Raptors) out indefinitely (hip pointer)

Anunoby was off to a nice start and the Raptors will likely be scuffling in his absence. (I'm still so intrigued by the Anunoby-Siakam-Barnes three headed monster that the Raptors can roll with; I really think Toronto can be crazy good when this settles into place)

Evan Mobley (Cavs) with 'no timetable for return' (elbow)

He only missed a few games, already back in the lineup. The Cavs need him badly which begs the question: do they rush him back (short term need) or do they let him properly convalesce (long term need)? Tough call: the Cavs can be pretty good right away pushing Mobley to his limits or they can have a cornerstone to build around for a decade or so if they take it easy on him.

PJ Dozier (Nuggets) possibly out for season (torn ACL)

Added to missing Murray and Porter and this is another serious hit to Denver's depth. 

Semi Ojeleye (Bucks) has a 'significant injury and is "going to miss some time"' (?)

You're probably thinking 'no big loss' and, well, the Bucks probably won't miss him much. But considering what a disaster he was on the court with the Celtics for the last few years, I was blown away by his scoring instincts since he put on a Buck uniform. He has looked like a for-real baller this season and if he can come back and get that going again, he can be a nice piece for this team.  

Goran Dragic (Raptors) out indefinitely for 'personal reasons'

Since the Rockets have re-activated John Wall (and the Spurs are finally getting playing time for Thaddeus Young), seems like Dragic has made it clear he'd rather not play than shine out for suitors. Look, he thought he was getting bought out or waived or whatever and then he'd just move on to free agency, but the salary caps around the league are kina tight at the moment and I guess the Raptors want something for him. Seems clear Dragic is not gonna play for the Raptors and if he can't get to his team of choice (*cough* Dallas!), then we might not see Dragic in the NBA again. Always one of my favorites--and I think he's a good fit in Toronto!--he and the team clearly do not see eye to eye on his future. 

Joe Harris (Nets) out indefinitely after left ankle surgery

The Nets need Joe Harris, even if he has been rather underwhelming this season. They need all the depth they can get, but perhaps it is best to get his injuries out of the way in time for April. 

Ja Morant (Grizzlies) "no timetable" for return from knee injury

Yipes! The Grizzlies need every minute of basketball than Ja has in him! I hope he gets back soon.

Jalen Suggs (Magic) to be reevaluated in 2 weeks after thumb injury

Well, the Magic aren't going anywhere this season, they can afford to take their time with Suggs, but I suspect Suggs wants to be out on the floor. Hopefully this doesn't develop into a nagging injury.  

Health & Safety Protocols

Nicolas Batum (Clippers), DJ Augustine (Rockets), Lebron James (Lakers), Coby White (Bulls), Bones Hyland (Nuggets), Austin Rivers (Nuggets), Justin Holiday (Pacers)

Have any un-vaccinated players missed game for Covid this season? 

Suspensions

Dida Louzada (Pelicans) 25 games (for testing positive for testosterone)

On the one hand I'm surprised that a world class athlete (for that's what Louzada--though I don't know the dude from Adam--must be to be on an NBA roster) needs this kind of stuff. But on the other hand, I supposed he doesn't....meaning I'm surprised he thinks he needs this stuff. World class athlete or not, he's surrounded by even better world class athletes all day long, I guess, and he must feel like he needs an edge. (I suspect he doesn't and taking the juice is a sign of self-doubt more than anything)

Lebron James (Lakers) 1 game (for punching Isaiah Stewart); Isaiah Stewart (Pistons) 2 games (for trying to punch Lebron)

You know in watching this video, Stewart looks pretty dazed here, like he really has no idea what he's doing. Chump move from Lebron and I don't blame Stewart for going ape shit (though undoubtedly that led to numerous rounds of embarrassing apologies to his teammates more than anything else). Lebron is trying to get back in villain mode--which seems the exact opposite of why he went to the Lakers in the first place!--but he needs to act his age and be more respectful of his fellow players. As for Stewart, I wouldn't mess with that dude and I think he's right to have beef--look at that blood, man!

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 13)

Games I saw (some of):

(2) Ohio State 27-42 (5) Michigan

I was skeptical of the Wolverines, thought they'd been kinda overrated all year long and with the Buckeyes really stepping into their offensive dominance lately, felt like this was gonna be just another crushing Michigan loss. But Michigan was the better team on offense, defense and special teams on this day, they made plays all over and kept the Buckeye attack from taking shape. The Buckeyes probably still should've pulled this out but they just couldn't keep drives alive. Michigan made a number of critical 3rd down stops and just all-round came to play on this Saturday. Michigan is now set to face Iowa in the B-10 championship and then on to bigger and better playoff-related things for the first time in the Harbaugh era. As for the Buckeyes, I wouldn't want to face them in a high profile bowl game because that offense is still pretty damn good (hmmm....a rematch with Oregon?). 

(3) Alabama 24-22 (4OT) Auburn

Weird game. Alabama's offense just couldn't get going, I like that QB, seems like a nice guy, but he's a manager not a playmaker, so when Alabama struggles it feels like they've got nowhere to go (and, good god, how many holding penalties can one O-line have?). That said, even though Auburn was up 10-0 late in the 4th, somehow it never felt to me like they were going to win the game. Even though usually dominant Alabama has been vulnerable all season and even though they never could get their offense going, I still felt like they were going to pull it out in the end. And they did. Basically tying the game on the final play, after a long march in the 2-minute offense, Alabama was able to match Auburn for 3 OT's then steal it in the 4th. Oh, Auburn, just never had it this year. And even though my gut says Alabama is still Alabama, this team is not as dynamic as years past (how many amazing RB's have they had in the last decade and yet now they seem incapable of running at all), and they've got an uphill climb to take out UGA. 

(10) Oklahoma 33-37 (7) Oklahoma State

State felt like the better team throughout, but OU made plays, moved the ball and were on the doorstep right at the end--probably the best game they've played all season! If the Sooners had displayed half this much offense throughout the season, this game would not have been so important--or so close! I like Oklahoma State, a sturdy squad that has done (pretty much) everything they need to be in the mix this late in the season, but they really white-knuckled it down the stretch of this game. Also, on Sunday Lincoln Riley announced he'll be taking over at Southern Cal (the big rock candy mountain for college football coaches), but I suspect OU will be back in the playoff before USC gets there. I do believe the Cowboys are gonna get to the playoff this year (nice to get a new face). 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (4) Cincinnati, (5) Michigan, (6) Notre Dame, (7) Oklahoma State, (8) Baylor, (9) Ole Miss, (11) Oregon, (12) Michigan State, (13) Brigham Young, (16) Iowa, (17) Pittsburgh, (18) Wake Forest, (19) Utah, (20) North Carolina State, (21) San Diego State, (23) Clemson, (24) Houston, (25) Arkansas

Won but did not impress

(3) Alabama. I dunno, man, I like the QB but I don't love the QB.  Are we sure a 2-loss Bama side gets an invite to the playoff?

Bad beat

(10) Oklahoma. Well, they probably should've been the better team but they weren't. The Cowboys had a better season, making this a bad beat rather than a disappointment. 

Not so good

(2) Ohio State. Had to win this game but could not keep drives alive, could not keep up the scoring. First loss Ohio State has had to Michigan in a while. 

(14) Wisconsin. Ah, man, could've finished the season with a W over very-beatable Minnesota but came up short. 

(15) Texas A&M. Well, they beat Alabama, so....successful season. But, man, losing to a crappy LSU side to finish off the season does kinda suck, right?

(22) UT-San Antonio. Undefeated no more! That team that's been hanging around the top-20 all year long finally succumbed to the rigors of a tough college football season. UTSA, we hardly knew ye. 

  

Championship Week!

Conference USA -- Western Kentucky v UT-San Antonio (UTSA losing its undefeated season is a bummer but rallying to seal the conference championship will be a tasty finish to a good season)

Pac-12 -- (10) Oregon v (17) Utah (Utah stomped Oregon two weeks ago, I bet they do it again)

Big-12 -- (9) Baylor v (5) Oklahoma State (Baylor is nice but I think OSU is nicer; this could be a major high scoring shootout of a game)

Mountain West -- Utah State v (19) San Diego State (I mean, SDS, right?)

SEC -- (1) Georgia v (3) Alabama (I'll take UGA, they're not unbeatable but I think they're a more complete team than Alabama)

American Athletic Conference -- (21) Houston v (4) Cincinnati (should be a fun one, Houston's got nothing better to do than steal Cincy's soul; I'll take Cincinnati but that's an 11-game win streak against a 10-game win streak, so expect fireworks)

Big-10 -- (2) Michigan v (13) Iowa (Iowa has been too big for their britches all season, I thought the same of Michigan til last Saturday and now I'm all in on the Wolverines here)

ACC -- (15) Pittsburgh v (16) Wake Forest (two surprisingly good squads, this is gonna be a fun offensive contest and they seem very evenly matched to me, I have no idea who wins this)

My rankings

(1) Georgia, (2) Cincinnati, (3) Michigan, (4) Alabama, (5) Oklahoma State, (6) Notre Dame

Actually, I (mostly) agree with the powers-that-be at the moment. 

I think Georgia is still in the top 4 with an L to Alabama. 

But Cincinnati gets banished to the netherworld if they can't beat Houston. Cincy has been good all year but they haven't had a pressure cooker like this yet, are they up for it? 

Surely Iowa won't beat Michigan (right?). But if Michigan loses, Oklahoma State is ready to pounce on that playoff spot. 

I'd be inclined to slide Oklahoma State and Notre Dame ahead of Alabama if they lose to Georgia. (And do #5 and #6 automatically play each other? I kinda think Notre Dame can handle Alabama this year) 

Baylor could replace Oklahoma State in the top 6 with a win in the Big-12 Championship, but I don't see them jumping ahead of Notre Dame. 

And Notre Dame is done, so they can slide up (Michigan, Cincinnati, Alabama and Oklahoma State all have to keep winning), but I don't see them sliding down. 

I don't see how Ohio State finishes higher than #7 or Baylor higher than #6....unless there's a slew of major upsets this week.

2021-22 NFL (Week 11)

Games I saw (some of):

Packers 31-34 Vikings

Fun game, felt like the Packers were gonna steal it but the Vikings were able to steal it back. The Vikings can hang with anyone and while they tend to lose, against a division opponent, they know what they're dealing with--even if its the best team in the NFC. The Packers are probably the best team but they're not unbeatable, as the Vikings just showed. Back and forth action, good stuff.

Bengals 32-13 Raiders

The Raiders are done, man. Nothing has gone their way for the last month or so and the off-field turmoil has crushed this team. They play hard but nothing about this team looks good right now. The Bengals are still a rambling wreck of a team but when they get it going, they can definitely score points. I think the Bengals are legit and are seriously in the playoff hunt.

Cowboys 9-19 Chiefs

Weird sludgefest of a game rather than the offensive fireworks show we thought we'd get. Instead both defensive lines kinda dominated the action, neither QB could get much going. The Chiefs had a few more big plays and that made the difference. The Cowboys are good, they just had a bad day. The Chiefs are still good, just not as obviously wildly better than everyone else the way they have been lately.

Steelers 37-41 Chargers

Weird game. The Chargers pounded the Steeler defense like Rocky working a hunk of meat for the first 3 quarters, then just stopped playing, started making dumb mistakes (penalty on the punt leads to a block punt followed almost immediately by a tip drill interception) that kept the Steelers in the game--though there was never a single second when they felt like the better team. I'm still out on the Steelers, still in on the Chargers (but they need to stay vigilant about closing out games).

The rest of the slate:

Patriots 25-0 Falcons. Yup. Pats are rolling, Falcons are not.

Colts 41-15 Bills. Bills are falling asleep right as they're heading into the tough part of their schedule and they're not good enough to win that way. The Colts seem like a solid team that's gonna play their game and sometimes that'll win (and they can run the ball like nobody's business). 

Ravens 16-13 Bears. The Bears are scrappy but not any good. The Ravens are good but sloppy, they're eking by but that's not gonna be good enough in the long run. 

Lions 10-13 Browns. The Browns are spinning their wheels lately but still good enough to get by the Lions. The Lions...have helmets and cool shoes. 

Texans 22-13 Titans. The Titans let an easy one get away, they'll regret this. The Texans just took a step away from the #1 pick...so...bad day. 

Dolphins 24-17 Jets. The Dolphins are getting better but I'm still dubious. The Jets are the Jets. 

Saints 29-40 Eagles. I like the Eagles, man, they've been getting better throughout and they're still to win some games, they can be dangerous for the next 6 weeks or so. The Saints are just kinda limping along, still time to get it going (but I don't see it).

WTF 27-21 Panthers. I dunno, the WTF Marons play hard and when the Panthers can't put together a complete game, they lose. 

Niners 30-10 Jags. The Niners have their moments, this was one of them (they're running the ball really well right now). The Jags are the Jags: they're no better or worse than they were in Week 1, right?

Cards 23-13 Seahawks. NFC West is all about the road team. The Seahawks are falling apart.

Giants 10-30 Bucs. The Giants kinda suck. The Bucs showed up on Monday night and had fun. 

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 12)

Games I saw (some of):

(3) Oregon 7-38 (23) Utah

Yeah, I saw that coming. Well, I didn't see that beatdown coming--dude, when Utah stuck the punt return as the clock expired to make it 28-0 at halftime, gah, the shit was over! Utah effortlessly moved down the field, just as effortlessly swatted away everything Oregon was bringing (just could not convert on 3rd or 4th down and missed 2 FGs), then piled on right at the end, nothing went right for Oregon this evening. Utah looked kinda nice, just hammered a top-5 team, they might end on a winning streak. 

(7) Michigan State 7-56 (4) Ohio State

Yipes! Once I realized, 'Oh Buckeyes are gonna score every time they touch the ball', and that was early on, it was pretty much over. Somehow it didn't matter what Sparty did, they just didn't matter at all. The outcome was merely to decide how bad the beating would be. I got a weird feeling that Michigan State will shrug this off and get back to business (*gulp* I already feel bad for Penn State's QB and that defense is gonna get run on). The Buckeyes are rolling right now, (I'd be Claude Rains-level shocked if Michigan pulled off the upset, but we'll see, gonna be fun), the playoff is taking shape and they look to be an interesting piece. 

Nebraska 28-35 (15) Wisconsin

Two fat bullies all bullying up on each other, it was a funner game than it probably should've been, felt like Wisconsin was always just a moment away from finishing off the game. Went right to the end, though, the Badgers never could quite put them away. A lot of tough defense followed by big plays, gritty but stylin', too. I'm still not impressed with Nebraska. Wisconsin should've/could've put this game away a lot sooner, but Wisconsin had a tough opening to the season and this is all garbage time play, they're a fun team, they're loose and look to make plays, but even when they win, those 3 L's are gonna weigh them down for a while. 

Iowa State 21-28 (13) Oklahoma

OU's vanilla offense is so weird: it feels like they should be magically putting points on the board without effort and yet they're not like that at all. Buckeyes, Wolverines and the Irish have found their offenses, the Sooners still have not, even going to super-Frosh (I like Williams) hasn't really made that much difference. I don't know what their deal is, that offense just is not dangerous when it seems like it ought to be. Iowa State is a nice team, a thorny team for good squads and while they had a nice entrenched defense, they didn't move the ball that well or seem like much of a threat and yet OU let them hang around. I can't help feel like there's more talent on this OU side than is getting into the game somehow, there's a plan that could make them perfect, did they think they could just walk to the playoffs? 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Alabama, (4) Ohio State, (5) Cincinnati, (6) Michigan, (8) Notre Dame, (9) Oklahoma State, (11) Baylor, (12) Ole Miss, (14) Brigham Young, (15) Wisconsin, (16) Texas A&M, (17) Iowa, (18) Pittsbrugh, (19) San Diego State, (20) North Carolina State, (22) UT-San Antonio, (23) Utah, (24) Houston, (25) Mississippi State

Won but did not impress

(13) Oklahoma. Yeah, I've complained about OU enough today. 

Bad beat

(7) Michigan State. They were so out of this game so quick, that they should wipe their memories that this even happened. 

(10) Wake Forest. Yeah, honestly: unranked, 3-loss Clemson is still better than Wake Forest. You know it, I know it, the American people know it. So even though Wake Forest still (I suppose) could've believed themselves still in the hunt for the Championship, they're not even as good as Clemson's worst team in years. Clemson is balling right now, too, not in playoff mode but they might could kick the shit out of some poor unsuspecting...(ah crap, it's gonna be Kentucky, isn't it?)...you know Clemson is surely the best 3-loss team: Georgia, NC State, Pitt were all good/ranked this season, Clemson lost to teams they usually beat but not to bad teams

Not so good

(3) Oregon. I can't say as I ever believed in Oregon (man, that Stanford game is hanging with me like an overcooked brisket) and the thrashing they got from Utah was quick and thorough. That W over Ohio State looks better and better but, man, Utah was the only other good team they played all year and they got smoked. I just don't see anything in this Oregon side, they're not a playoff team and I suspect they get smoked in a high profile bowl. 

Next week's intriguing matches

(9) Ole Miss @ Mississippi State (SEC West slug fest, doesn't really matter but could be a fun game)

North Carolina @ (20) North Carolina State (upset alert; State should finish this off but we'll see)

(18) Wake Forest @ Boston College (BC can be spoiler, Clemson sneaks back into the ACC championship with an L from Wake Forest)

(2) Ohio State @ (5) Michigan (game o' the week! I've never really warmed up to this Michigan squad but they'll be hosting the red hot Buckeyes; should be fun into the 4th quarter, right?)

(3) Alabama @ Auburn (doubt this will be a game but you never know)

(10) Oklahoma @ (7) Oklahoma State (this is your Big-12 Championship game really)

My top 6-ish:

(1) Georgia, (2) Ohio State, (3) Cincinnati, (4) Alabama, (5) Notre Dame, (6) Oklahoma/Oklahoma State

And I'd say....If Michigan beats Ohio State, then Cincinnati and Alabama each move up a spot, Michigan goes to #4. Either way, the loser of this game will likely finish #7.

And also....winner of OU/OSU jumps to #5 and Notre Dame probably doesn't get higher than #6 (unless UGA beats Bama).

And looking even further ahead...the outcome of UGA-Bama is just for seeding: Georgia still finishes top-4 either way (I think Bama and Georgia would switch places), Alabama drops to #6 with a loss (won't fall past the losers of Buckeyes/Wolverines or Sooners/Cowboys). 

2021-22 NBA Bric-a-Brac (Week 4)

Office Moves

Blazers President & CEO Chris McGowan resigned

Hmmm....I totally missed this story. A quick look at McGowan shows that he also (right?) seems to have positions with the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders, too, so is this just an NBA story or is it an NFL and/or MLS story, too? No word on what happened, feels like a Robert Sarver-ish investigation is coming, right?

Health & Safety Protocols

Jock Lonsdale (Spurs), Nikola Vucevic (Bulls); (Last week I forgot Khris Middleton (Bucks))

How long before a positive test doesn't mean anything any more? How long before every American would test "positive"? 

Injuries

DeAndre Hunter (Hawks) out indefinitely after wrist surgery

Hunter is expected to miss 8 weeks (some time after New Year's); Hawks are deep and though Hunter was looking pretty good, he may have to work his way back into the rotation around the trade deadline. 

Evan Mobley (Cavs) out 2-4 weeks with sprained elbow

The rook is important to the Cavs but giving the kid a coupla weeks off is probably worth it in the long run. 

Collin Sexton (Cavs) out indefinitely with a torn meniscus in his knee

Sexton was probably falling out of favor in Cleveland, giving him time out of the lineup might be best for team and player (they're going to need him healthy later on whether for trade or for production). 

Michael Porter Jr (Nuggets) out for "foreseeable future" with back problems

Not sure if this is serious or they're just pacing his minutes. Porter has missed entire seasons to "back problems", so this isn't nothing. 

Kelly Olynyk (Pistons) out 6 weeks with MCL sprain

Hmmm....this feels like an OKC kinda move considering how good Olynyk has been for the Pistons (wins = bad, so Olynyk might be sitting to keep from being accumulating pesky victories).

Steals + Blocks update

59 Myles Turner (Pacers), 49 Anthony Davis (Lakers), 46 Mo Bamba (Magic), 43 Gary Trent Jr (Raptors), 41 Rudy Gobert (Jazz), 40 Jaren Jackson Jr (Grizzlies), 40 Chris Paul (Suns), 40 Alex Caruso (Bulls)

Myles Turner putting up numbers. That's how you get a contract extension (though for Turner, it'll probably have to come from somewhere else).

AD having a nice year, feels like its going to waste with the no-fun Lakers. 

Dude, I've watched Mo Bamba a few times this season and I like him, definitely a more dynamic player (at both ends) than I've ever seen from him before, they should keep him (and I didn't think that before the season began). 

That Gary Trent-Norman Powell is the purest most perfect-est trade of all time, the mythical win-win trade. Trent fits in with the Raptors because anyone/everyone fits in on the Raptors. 

Gobert is just always there in the DPOY stats. 

Jackson is rather maligned as a sub-par defender, these numbers suggest otherwise. 

Chris Paul is as Chris Paul-y as ever.

Alex Caruso...wasn't even the Bulls' best free agent signing of the summer...dang, man, Bulls look good and getting gooder.

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 11)

Games I saw (some of):

(8) Oklahoma 14-27 (13) Baylor

Another week of waiting for OU's offense to get going and it just never did. It feels like the receivers just don't get open downfield and the OU staff just hasn't adjusted. They even brought back Rattler for a while but for no real reason, they didn't adjust anything for him, he just went in and did nothing instead of Williams. Baylor got better as the game went on, blew 'em out in the 4th quarter. Good W for Baylor (after a disappointing L last week). Not sure where Oklahoma goes from here. 

TCU 17-63 (10) Oklahoma State

Yeah, this was as over quick as it looks. Oklahoma State is pretty good, if they get a W over OU, then they're in the hunt, right?

Maryland 21-40 (7) Michigan State

For Michigan State this was a 'yeah, we took a tough loss but '*pfft* we're better than Maryland!' game. Maryland isn't bad but Sparty needed a big win an they took it. Still hanging around the top ten, still in it if they can take down Ohio State.

(1) Georgia 41-17 Tennessee

UGA was ready for a blowout and UT was ready for a smackdown. That's what this game was.

(6) Michigan 21-17 Penn State

Penn State almost stole it late but there was just too much time left on the clock and the Wolverines were able to steal it back. Man, every time I watch Penn State, their QB gets the shit kicked out of him! (Is it like that every week or is it just me? I kinda feel the bad for the guy, I should stop watching) Penn State is a nice team but just not good enough and they can't keep their QB upright in a big game. I've been soft on Michigan all year and, frankly, I still am. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Alabama, (3) Oregon, (4) Ohio State, (5) Cincinnati, (6) Michigan, (7) Michigan State, (9) Notre Dame, (10) Oklahoma State, (12) Wake Forest, (13) Baylor, (15) Ole Miss, (18) Wisconsin,(21) Pittsburgh, (22) San Diego State, (23) UT-San Antonio, (24) Utah, (25) Arkansas

Won but did not impress

(20) Iowa. Eking it out over Minnesota is a tough one. 

Bad beat

(19) Purdue. Really came to notch another upset but Buckeyes weren't having it. Purdue has made the most of a weird season.

Not so good

(8) Oklahoma. Eleven weeks in and OU still doesn't have an offense.

(11) Texas A&M. Meh, A&M beat Bama, they'll be living off that for another decade or so.

(16) North Carolina State. Wake was weak, really thought the Wolf Pack had a real shot at scoring a good W.

(17) Auburn. Up/down all year long. Weird year for Auburn.

Next week's intriguing matchups:

(7) Michigan State @ (4) Ohio State (game o' the week; I got the Buckeyes but Sparty's still got a shot)

(10) Wake Forest @ Clemson (Wake is still weak, sill bobbing in the water waiting for a hungry shark; Clemson's season is lost but their defense is still top quality, it would be fascinating if they drop a big fat beatdown on the Demon Deacons)

Iowa State @ (13) Oklahoma (in a good year this is the kinda game that gets away from OU, but what happens in a season like this?)

Illinois @ (17) Iowa (Iowa is looking at another tough conference match; Illinois is not good but don't be surprised if this game is close in the 4th quarter)

(21) Arkansas @ (2) Alabama (I expect the Tide to handle their business)

SMU @ (5) Cincinnati (the Bearcats have been playing dangerous lately, SMU might be good enough to stick 'em)

(3) Oregon @ (23) Utah (upset watch! The Utes can totally steal this game)

2021-22 NFL (Week 10)

Games I saw (some of): 

Browns 7-45 Pats

The Browns had a nice drive early on, scored a TD, and...then...never did any of that again. The Pats looked good, Mac is settling into a right nice QB, Belicheck seems to have the defense in a good place, this team is humming right now (isn't this about the time last season that Brady got hot with the Bucs and rode them all the way to a ring?). Mac is good, man, a more low key Joe Burrow (which is probably exactly what Belicheck would design in the lab if getting a QB were that easy). The Browns are an up/down team, they've got talent and when they show up, they can still beat anybody, but when they don't show up, they can be smacked around by a good QB and/or a really intense pass rush (Pats got both right now), they need Chubb and/or Hunt, but I still think they can win games, there's time. 

Saints 21-23 Titans

All I caught was the final drive when the Saints almost tied it up. Nice drive, found a lot of different ways to move the ball, cruised down with time to spare, that penalty on the 2-pt conversion....ouch, man...felt bad for that dude. The Saints: better than the Seahawks, not as good as the Vikings? The Titans just keep winning games, that's two straight wins without Derrick Henry, and I think they're actually a pretty good squad (might be peaking too early, though, could run out of gas in December). 

Lions 16-16 Steelers

Ooof! I caught the end of the 4th quarter and all of OT. Man, it was not a pleasant watch. Neither team did anything well in any phase of the game. The kind of game where you just sorta felt sorry for everyone out there. The Lions didn't lose and that's kinda cool, the Steelers didn't look any better than the Lions (and, yeah, they're not). 

Bucs 19-29 WTF

I caught the final WTF drive to ice the game and I gotta say, it was a fuckin' thing of a beauty. Really, Heinecke did everything right, WTF was passing, running, converting on 3rd down again and again, it was a soul crushing kinda drive that Tom Brady was forced to watch from the sidelines and then just like the game was over. Big thumbs up, man, that was amazing, this team may completely suck for the rest of the year, but this drive will still be hanging on the refrigerator when they all come back next summer. The Bucs D just has yet to impress me and though Brady is kinda always awesome, sometime the Bucs offense dries up. Oh well, they're just slumping, I'm only mildly impressed with the Bucs but I'd say they'll be back.  

Seahawks 0-17 Packers

Kinda dull game. Neither team got any offense going at all until the Packers finally tacked on a coupla TD's late in the 4th. The Seahawks need Russell Wilson to be godlike to get anywhere near the post-season and he looks like he'll be playing his way into shape (in other words: I'm not seeing the Seahawks making the playoffs this year).

Chiefs 41-14 Raiders

There we go. The Chiefs needed a get-right game and though the Raiders have long bedeviled them, a division opponent is sometimes just the right thing to get your game back in gear. I'm not sure the Chiefs are quite ready to go on a killing spree but they might, we'll see. The Raiders just don't look like a team right now, been a tumultuous season so far, this ain't gonna help, they're sitting at 5-4 right now but I don't see how they're a .500 team this year. 

The rest of the slate: 

Ravens 10-22 Dolphins. Ravens fell asleep, Dolphins have been playing better lately. 

Falcons 3-43 Cowboys. Yawn! Over quick. Cowboys weren't even trying very hard, when Falcons go bad, they go all the way. 

Jags 17-23 Colts. Colts jumped out to a nice lead then lazy-river-ed their way to a W, Jags occasionally have offense, occasionally have some defense, but don't seem to be able to do both at the same time.

Bills 45-17 Jets. Yeah, Jets, man. The Bills seem like they're ready to get back to work. 

Panthers 34-10 Cards. Had a feeling the Cards were ready for a letdown game, Panthers just needed something other Sam Darnold, he had moments early in the year (is he hurt?). 

Vikings 27-20 Chargers. The two most schizoid teams in the whole league: both are good enough to be really good teams but both find ways to lose games. This week it was the Chargers that out-Viking-ed the Vikings. Nice W for the Vikes, hey sometimes they're really good, I don't really understand why they don't win more. 

Eagles 30-13 Broncos. The Eagles are the good-bad team: they've been in just about every game this year, they just got no closing power and they fritter games away; but against a so-so opponent, they can be the better team and that's what happened in Denver. The Broncos are okay, they don't suck, but they're not good either. 

Power ranking 

(AFC)

(IN) Bills, Pats, Chiefs, Ravens, Titans, Chargers, Browns; (OUT) Steelers, Colts, Broncos, Bengals, Dolphins, Raiders, Jags, Jets, Texans

(NFC)

(IN) Packers, Cowboys, Bucs, Cards, Rams, Vikings, Niners; (OUT) Saints, Eagles, Panthers, Seahawks, Bears, WFT, Giants, Falcons, Lions

2021-22 NBA Bric-a-Brac (Week 3)

Waivings

Raptors waive Sam Dekker

I always liked Dekker, his athleticism is potent, I'm surprised he never could find a place in the NBA. The Raptors were either the best shot he ever had or the worst: the deep rotation seems like it would give him playing time but also might swallow up his contribution. This was probably the last go-round for Dekker because the struggling teams have too much youth to give him playing time, so from here I think he has to catch on with the Lakers or Nets (re: teams that just need cheap bodies to fill time). 

Injuries

Currently in "health & safety protocols": 

Joel Embiid (Sixers), Lauri Markannen (Cavs), Matisse Thybulle (Sixers), Isaiah Joe (Sixers), Jakob Poeltl (Spurs), Trey Burke (Mavs), Tobias Harris (Sixers), Kevin Love (Cavs); (Al Horford (Celtics), Jaylen Brown (Celtics), Khem Birch (Raptors) have all missed games in "health & safety protocols" this season, as well)

Okay, I'll be that guy....from the list above who is the one that stands out? Did you say 'Trey Burke'? Congratulations! You got it: Burke is the one dude that doesn't actually have Covid. Meaning he's the only one from this list to be getting docked pay for missing these games. 

Listen: the way to avoid the virus is to socially distance and wear a mask in social circumstances. Even the CDC will tell you social distancing is the only thing that truly keeps you from getting the virus.  Vaccinating is fine but it doesn't keep people--even NBA players--from getting and passing the virus. Are they passing the virus? Well, there's a lot of teammates listed above. I don't feel like I'm going way out on a limb to speculate that they're either getting the virus in the same place (re: a team function) or literally giving it to each other. The only way to avoid the virus is to socially distance and wear the mask. The vaccine doesn't change that and to mandate the vaccine is to ignore best practices (social distancing and masking) to reach for a medication that these world class athletes probably don't need. So is this about health and safety or is it simply about following rules--specifically forcing celebrities to kowtow to conventional wisdom? 

And since following the rules in this case (re: getting vaxxed) is not the best practice for avoiding the virus (even the CDC will tell you social distancing and masking come before getting the vaccine), why would we be legislating less than optimal practice if the point of it all is health?

The NBA created these protocols and demanded all players get vaccinated for the purpose of minimizing outbreaks. But we still have outbreaks--more than last year when we didn't have the vaccine! Because the players are vaccinated the fact that they relieved themselves the basic practice of avoiding the virus (re: social distancing and masking) gets ignored and they are not punished. Meanwhile, Burke is getting fined and punished and isn't allowed to play and has not contracted the virus or nor has infected a teammate. The lesson is: if you're vaccinated, then you don't have to follow best practices (...and that strikes me as an incredibly unhealthy policy). 

The vaccinated are abrogating their responsibilities because they believe the vaccine alone solves all problems. It does not. You need to socially distance and wear a mask. The vaccine has nothing to do with it. And for the NBA to pretend otherwise makes them morally bankrupt--and just completely full of shit.

Do we care about health or just rules? Is the mission to keep yourself safe or is it to do what the NBA tells you to do? And what do you do when the NBA directives don't keep your team safe? And why are we punishing Trey Burke again? What did he do? Oh right: he's the only one I know that is actually socially distanced (re: the only one actually taking the health of his teammates seriously).

MVP watch

I thought I'd focus on two stats I've never really paid much attention to: PER and Win Shares. I don't really know how they work, merely that they produce a list of guys that seem eligible for an MVP. 

38 players with a PER above 20.00 (#38 Carmelo Anthony (Lakers)). The top nine:

35.0 Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), 31.5 Giannis Antetokounpo (Bucks), 29.2 Jimmy Butler (Heat), 29.1 Kevin Durant (Nets), 26.8 Steph Curry (Warriors), 26.3 Rudy Gobert (Jazz), 25.8 Montrezl Harrell (Wizards), 25.6 Anthony Davis (Lakers), 25.6 DeMar DeRozan (Bulls)

Okay, I like 'Trez as much as the next guy, but I kinda feel like he's the one that's not gonna be around by the end of the season (hey, I might be wrong). And similarly, I just can't wrap my head around Gobert as an actual MVP. 

The other 7, though, oh yeah, those guys are balling at a supremely high level and I would not be shocked at all if that's your top 7 in MVP voting in May.

The top 12 in Win Shares:

2.4 Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), 2.4 Jimmy Butler (Heat), 2.0 Kevin Durant (Nets), 1.9 Rudy Gobert (Jazz), 1.9 Harrison Barnes (Kings), 1.9 Steph Curry (Warriors), 1.8 Montrezl Harrell (Wizards), 1.8 Giannis Antetokounpo (Bucks), 1.7 Jarrett Allen (Cavs), 1.7 DeMar DeRozan (Bulls), 1.5 Richaun Holmes (Kings), 1.5 John Collins (Hawks)

(How do the Kings have two guys in the top 12?)

Jokic is the man, he's balling out hard and is the clear leader of that team in every way. (Missing a game for crushing on Marcus Morris, who cheap shotted him...is anyone on the Morris side of this debate?)

Butler is balling but more he's presiding over the team rather than doing it all (like Jokic), a different kind of MVP; Butler and Jokic are totally capable of keeping it up for 82 games, this could be good from wire to wire.

KD is still amazing. He just scores whenever he feels like scoring, effortlessly gets every shot he wants (even Kobe had to work for it), he's like Dirk but still way more athletic than Dirk ever was and still a solid defender. (I'm starting to worry that a full year of an absent Kyrie and fat Vegas Harden might not be great for KD, I'm suddenly rooting for the Nets just for KD)

Gobert's defensive metrics are just reliably awesome year after year. 

Barnes and Holmes in the top 12? That feels like a flaw in the metric, it's overcounting something that is less significant then it seems. 

Steph is good as ever, man. He feels like he's added some Kyrie to his game. He's always had the feints and the stepovers and but he's looking to really get defenders off balance rather than just get to his spot, I'm not saying he's trying to embarrass dudes but he's upped his flair and when he's rolling, man, he's still as awesome to watch as anyone I've ever seen (prime Jordan or Magic or Bird or Iverson or Duncan or Lebron or Shaq...Steph hangs with all those dudes). This Warriors team has the vibe, perfect environment for adding Wiseman, then Klay, these guys could be really fuckin' good come playoff time.

Montrzel Harrell, off to the good start in Washington. I can see him maintaining his value (I see him as a more athletic version of Ben Wallace) but, that said, its moments like these that I remember that I don't really know what Win Shares is, not sure I even understand the fundamental concept that is being measured here. It just seems to capture a bunch of dudes that seem like they could truly be the best players in the league (and then a bunch of Kings for some reason). The Wizards have had a very good start to the season, probably their best in years. If the Wizards make the playoffs (especially if they're top 6), then Trez will get MVP votes, right? For now, looks like he deserves 'em. 

Giannis is just getting warmed up. The Bucks have only been so-so early on but they're playing hard and they'll still be playing well hard everyone else starts getting tired. And Giannis is awesome. 

Allen has really blossomed as a shot blocker, rebounder and all-round defensive havoc-maker and that's a good thing. The DPOY talent has emerged with the addition of Evan Mobley (I'm calling ROY right now). The Cavs might not have staying power but I think they will, I use to see that roster as chaotic and redundant, but Mobley is so awesome that now the roster seems perfectly constructed for depth. I think the Cavs are for real, I think they're gonna hang around and legit be in the running for 4th or 5th.  

DeRozan is hooping. The key to the Bulls is the Lonzo-Vucevic connection, which allows to DeRozan and LaVine (#15 in Win Shares) to freelance and devastate at will. I think they can keep it up, I think the hot start is the sign of a good veteran team that's ready to win (though none of the main dudes ever really have before). 

Back to the Kings...I like Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes, both of those dudes are great to watch, great vets to build around, both have attractive contracts, and I love all the young talent Sactown always has. But I still don't see the Kings being very good. 1) DeAron Fox looks out of it, man, he's ready to be traded (to Philly for Ben Simmons?). 2) Not playing Marvin Bagley is just weird, considering that the perfect version of Bagley is a stretch-5, runs the floor, could defend on the wing, finish on the break, finish in traffic--all of which would be perfect on this Kings team! If he can play, then play him. And if he can't play, then you're just lowering his trade value by sitting him; I don't get it, I don't get what they're doing. 3) I still don't buy Walton as a coach. Seems like a nice cheerleader but I don't see what he's bringing to the sideline every day. 4) Feels like the team wants to coalesce around Halliburton-Mitchell-Barnes-Holmes. This team needs to be pruned.

John Collins has a higher Win Shares than Trae Young? Again, what exactly does this metric actually measure? I see little numbers, what do they mean? What is Win Shares trying to tell us? Because if you're trying to make me believe that Collins contributes more to team wins than  Young, I would say I don't believe you and I don't care about your math if it give you this result. I like Collins, a helluva player. But he's not more valuable than Young, I don't believe it, I don't buy it, I ain't with it. 

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 10)

Games I watched (some of):

(9) Wake Forest 55-58 North Carolina

For three quarters, Wake Forest was the better team. Yeah, they were allowing the Tarheels to move the ball and even score points, but Wake was moving even better and scoring even more reliably. But they just sorta stopped playing in the 4th quarter. Thought UNC's pass rush picked up the energy but otherwise Wake just fell down on the job. Apparently they do this every year and, well, it was only a matter of time before Wake ran out of gas and turns out it was in Chapel Hill. UNC gets to salvage a disappointing season by playing spoiler. Wake Forest was really never likely to get a spot in the playoff but they were still in the mix til this weekend.  

(3) Michigan State 29-40 Purdue

Purdue came to play, Sparty did not. Purdue enjoyed this game, Michigan State dreaded it; Purdue played with abandon, they had fun, Michigan State played uptight and couldn't wait to get back to the bus. This is the beauty of college football: Purdue was not particularly good at anything this season but they got beat #2 Iowa and #3 Michigan State, so they still had a fuckin' great year! And Michigan State just shot to the top 5 for no particular reason and bubbled up some excitement in an otherwise non-descript year. 

(12) Baylor 28-30 TCU

Last week in the intriguing matchups, I meant to add Oklahoma State going to West Virginia, but that game turned out to be a bit of snooze, since OSU took control early and easily won that game. But I should've also added this game, except that I thought Baylor would handle a depleted TCU, but I was mistaken. Again, like the Purdue match (or even A&M thrashing Auburn over on the other channel at this same time), TCU really relished the chance to go out on the field and give the what-for to a hated foe, whereas Baylor saw this game as precious and squandered away their natural love of the game to worry instead. Baylor was coming back, really felt like they should've finished off this game but they didn't get it done, great W for TCU. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Alabama, (4) Oregon, (5) Ohio State, (6) Cincinnati, (7) Michigan, (10) Notre Dame, (11) Oklahoma State, (14) Texas A&M, (15) Brigham Young, (16) Ole Miss, (19) North Carolina State, (21) Wisconsin, (22) Iowa, (24) San Diego State, (25) Pittsburgh

Won but did not impress

(Well, honestly....Alabama, Oregon, Cincinnati, Ole Miss, San Diego State and Iowa can all go over here...lot of non-descript conference matches...but its late in the season and getting the W is what is important.)

Bad beat

(13) Auburn, (17) Mississippi State. Meh, all those SEC West teams are pretty much the same, going back and forth on each other is to be expected. 

Not so good

(3) Michigan State. Don't handle your business, don't get to be in the running any more. 

(9) Wake Forest. If they had just finished that UNC game, they'd be firmly anchored in the top ten, but oh well. 

(12) Baylor. Baylor rose up the ranks simply because the rest of their schedule can be meaningful, but they've got to win the games they gotta win to get the chance to at the real opportunities. 

(18) Kentucky. UK has advanced nicely over the last decade or so, but Mississippi State and Tennessee are the next stepping stones to overcome if the Wildcats are going to continue to rise.  

(20) Minnesota. Fresh to the top 20 and getting smacked at home by Illinois. Not so good. 

Next week's intriguing matches: 

(6) Michigan @ Penn State (two fading giants, kinda like watching not King Kong and Godzilla, but maybe like the warm up action scenes, maybe a giant gekko going at an overgrown gila monster or something; should be fun)

(8) Oklahoma @ (13) Baylor (If OU is for real, they'll handle Baylor; we'll see)

(19) Purdue @ (4) Ohio State (Purdue is mediocre but they've already beaten two top-5 squads this season, they got one more crazy upset in them?)

Minnesota @ Iowa (who ya got? The Big-10 West all comes down to this)

(11) Texas A&M @ (15) Ole Miss (meh, SEC West is annoying but there is a lot of talent over there, so this should be a fun contest)

(16) North Carolina State @ (12) Wake Forest (I think State is the better, more reliable squad and Wake has overachieved and is ready to completely flail; we'll see)

(9) Notre Dame @ Virginia (upset alert! The Irish should finish off the Cavs, but Notre Dame has been nice but not great this year and they need to run through the finish line; UVA isn't great but they don't suck and they'll get it up for Notre Dame in a way that Notre Dame might not do for UVA)

TCU @ (10) Oklahoma State (I think the Cowboys got this, but we'll see)

2021-22 NFL (Week 9)

Games I watched (some of ):

Browns 41-16 Bengals

I know this looks like the Browns dominated and they kinda did, but really this was all about absolutely nothing going right for the Bengals. I call this a Sideshow Bob game: the Bengals were just stepping on rakes all day long. The Browns probably are the better team, the Bengals have probably grown a little too fast. But this game doesn't seem like the perfect example of what these two squads are like and when they play again, it could be a totally different outcome. The Bengals just had a bad day (that's two bad Sundays in a row), while the Browns just had a good day (in the NFL every good day is a good day). 

Vikings 31-34 (OT) Ravens

The Vikings dominated the 1st half and then went up 24-10 by running back the opening kickoff of the 2nd half. But once the Ravens put their minds to it, they were the better team and they ground their way back into the game. The Vikings got off to a good start but the Ravens were the better finishers. 

Packers 7-13 Chiefs

Wow, what a strangely dull game. The Packs came with the starting debut of Jordan Love and he was, well, underwhelming. For three quarters, he looked lost, he certainly didn't have the command Aaron Rodgers would've brought, but his movement was okay and he didn't look completely lost and by the 4th quarter he was moving the ball. He's got to learn how to handle the blitz, then he'll be ready for a phase change (though it doesn't feel like he's replacing Rodgers any time soon). The Chiefs had a nice long methodical drive to open the game...then they went right back to slinging the ball around with no success. The Chiefs are like a guy that knows he needs to stop drinking so much and eat healthier and really enjoys when he does, but can't help himself and keeps getting drunk and eating bad food. The Chiefs are in a dangerous place: if they get it together, they can still win the Super Bowl, but if they don't, they might completely fade from view. 

Titans 28-16 Rams

Another one of those games where nothing the Rams did worked. Not sure who was at fault, but nothing worked, no one played well. The Titans played hard and got lucky and that's how you win by double digits in the NFL. (Are the Titans #1 in the AFC right now? Are the Rams #1 in the NFC?)

The rest of the slate:

Jets 30-45 Colts

Good W for the Colts. Might want to try play some defense, but hey, you got the W, so good work. 

Broncos 30-16 Cowboys

The Cowboys really fell asleep here--this game was 30-0 deep into the 4th quarter! Not sure what happened but the Cowboys clearly didn't come to play. 

Texans 9-17 Dolphins

The Texans are the get-right team. Even for the Dolphins.

Falcons 27-25 Saints

Two division foes going at it. For two so-so teams this looks like it was a fun game. 

Raiders 16-23 Giants

The Raiders just keep enduring tragedies, some of them drive them forward, some drive them back. They just don't look like they feel like playing football right now. The Giants, on the other hand, have settled into the phase of having nothing better to do than go forth and play ball. The Giants are having fun and that's a dangerous team to play. The Raiders are not having fun, feels like they're listing. 

Patriots 24-6 Panthers

The Pats are going to punish bad teams and though Sam Darnold started off well, he's lost his grip on this squad and the Panthers are flailing badly. The Pats are girding their loins, man, that's all they do over there (they got some seriously girded loins). 

Bills 6-9 Jaguars

*sigh* Come on, Bills, one TD would've won this game. One TD. Nice win for the Jags.

Chargers 27-24 Eagles

Probably the correct outcome: the Chargers are the better team but the Eagles play good teams close. I think this is the kind of game the Chargers would've lost in previous years and the kinda game the Eagles would've lost by two TDs in previous years, so both teams are on the upswing (even if Philly isn't getting the W's).  

Cards 31-17 Niners

I don't understand the Niners at all, they can look great or terrible for no reason at all. The Cards just keep winning, man, they don't seem to have bad days. 

Bears 27-29 Steelers

I saw none of this game but the highlights were eye-opening: dude, there was a 15 yard flag on the Bears on a play where Ben was knocked down one blocker into the legs of another blocker--the Bears never actually touched him! Meanwhile, Justin Fields got hit late 3 plays straight without a flag. Then there was the whole weirdness with the ref, felt like the refs were eager to keep kicking the Bears in the shins. Fun last coupla minutes, back and forth action, ended on a missed FG. 

2021-22 NBA Bric-a-Brac (Week 2)

Rookie Extensions

Sixers pick up rookie options on Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey

Big thumbs up. Thybulle is really having a nice start to the season, I think he's the new PJ Brown: steady reliable defender that should become a legend as he matriculates into his hired gun phase. Maxey is probably working a little too hard right now, I don't think he's a proper PG, more of a combo guard, once they find his natural position, he'll be a really good playmaker, scorer and defender. The Sixers would be crazy not to extend these guys. 

Hornets pick up rookie options on LaMelo Ball and PJ Washington

I love PJ, tough start to this season but he's gonna get going and I think he's the real leader of the Hornets. I like LaMelo, shooting really well right now, as this team finds its form, he'll put up good numbers. These are the building blocks of the future, the core of the Hornets for a while to come, gotta keep these guys.

Jazz pick up rookie option on Udoka Azubuike

I don't know Azubuike. Utah has trouble luring free agents, so they have to hit on every draft pick and max every rookie deal. In short, I have no idea if Azubuike is gonna be good and it doesn't matter anyway because the Jazz were going to keep him pretty much no matter what. Good move? I have no idea.

Warriors pick up rookie options on James Wiseman and Jordan Poole

I think Wiseman can be great and I'm glad to see Poole getting some love. I think Poole had arguably the toughest rookie season I've ever seen: the Warriors went from one of the great teams of all time to the worst team in the league in the blink of an eye, with rookie Poole trying to tread water while everything goes to shit around him. Sheesh! Welcome to the NBA! The Warriors put a lot of trouble in this guy's way already, they owe him another contract out of appreciation for the grit he's shown already. Great moves.  

Cavs pick up rookie options on Darius Garland, Dylan Windler and Isaac Okoro

All nice prospects. Still not sure about the future of the Cavs, definite moves to make, solidifying these guys makes them more valuable as trade options or as players, either way these guys are all worth re-upping. 

Pacers pick up rookie option Goga Bitadze

I have no idea. The Pacers are not exactly as desperate for bodies as Utah or OKC, but they're kinda close, so I'm not sure if this is a basketball move or a business move. 

Celtics pick up rookie options on Aaron Nesmith, Grant Williams, Romeo Langford and Peyton Pritchard

Like all things Celtics lately, these moves are a mixed bag. Williams and Nesmith seem like guys that could be really useful in an NBA rotation, Pritchard seems like a solid career backup PG, still not sure what Langford does; on the other hand, all four of these guys could be bagging groceries at Ralph's by the time these contracts are complete, so... I think these are good moves but I could be totally wrong. We'll see. 

Rockets pick up rookie option on Kevin Porter Jr

I haven't been blown away by what I've seen of Porter, but he's definitely got upside, so keeping him around is the right move for the Rockets. 

Suns pick up rookie options on Jalen Smith and Cam Johnson

Wait, I thought the Suns did NOT pick up Smith...? Haven't seen Smith play so I don't know anything about him, but I thought the Suns were already looking to move on from him (#10 pick in 2020 draft), sounds like they're giving him another look. As for Johnson, I'm all in! I was blown away by Cam in the playoffs last year, re-upping him is the obvious thing to do.  

Steals + Blocks (as of Nov. 2)

27 Myles Turner (Pacers), 27 Matisse Thybulle (Sixers); 26 Anthony Davis (Lakers)

I feel certain Thybulle is going to keep up this pace, Turner has a good chance, too. Is Davis gonna be top 3 at year's end? He could if he wanted but I just can't imagine that's how it'll work out. 

+4:1 Assist : Turnover 

71:16 Chris Paul (Suns); 59:13 Dejounte Murray (Spurs); 44:11 Derrick White (Spurs); 44:12 TJ McConnell (Pacers); 32:4 Ish Smith (Hornets); 38:8 Spencer Dinwiddie (Wizards); 22:1 Tyus Jones (Grizzlies); 20:4 Patrick Beverley (Wolves); 18:3 Patty Mills (Nets); 12:3 Kelly Oubre (Hornets); 12:3 Andre Iguodala (Warriors)

If Murray and White can both keep up this pace (and keep shooting around 50% from the floor), then can't the Spurs be efficient enough to win some games?

Rookie of the Year Update

The top 14 Rookies in MP: Chris Duarte (Pacers), Evan Mobley (Cavs), Franz Wagner (Magic), Scottie Barnes (Raptors), Jalen Suggs (Magic), Jalen Green (Rockets), Josh Giddey (Thunder), Herb Jones (Pelicans), Davion Mitchell (Kings), Trey Murphy (Pelicans), Austin Reaves (Lakers), Alperen Sengun (Rockets), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Thunder), Ziaire Williams (Grizzlies)

The top 15 in MPG is the same (though not the same order), along with Cade Cunningham (Pistons) who has played only 2 games but averaging 24 mins so far. FWIW: I haven't given up on Cunningham yet. He's played 2 games with no minicamp, no pre-season, just thrown into the middle of the Association on a bad team, and while he hasn't looked particularly good at anything, I say we give the guy a minute. 

A nice crop, I like all these guys. Early, but for now the ROY is Evan Mobley: he's already the driver of that team. Too bold? I thought the Cavs had too many guys that overlapped, but suddenly they seem like a deep and thorough team and the reason why is because Mobley is so effective all over the floor. Lauri Markannen fits when I thought he wouldn't, Kevin Love has decided he's tired of being a grumpy douche and wants to play ball again, Jarrett Allen is stretching into a defensive monster and Ricky Rubio is the sneaky great pickup of the off-season--all because of Mobley! The Cavs are looking at the post-season solely because of Mobley's versatility. I think ROY is already wrapped up. (Yup, I said it: there are only four dudes (Suggs, Cunningham, Green, Giddey) even capable of being as impactful as Mobley this season)  

2021-22 NFL (Week 8)

Games I saw (some of):

Packers 24-21 Cards

The Packers finally played a complete game against a for-real opponent, gotta give 'em props. But that interception that sealed the game was wacky: dude, what was the WR doing? He wasn't even looking for the ball. You're a Wide Receiver...what do you do for a living? I had the Cards winning the NFC West this season, I think they're still well on their way to getting that done, still arguably the best team in the NFC. The Packers are definitely near the top, too. Rodgers is rolling. 

Niners 33-22 Bears

I was impressed with the Niners here. I thought the Bears D looked pretty good and Justin Fields finally looked like a for-real pro QB and the Niners barreled past them anyway. Not sure what the Niners do well but they got 1st downs and moved the ball against a good defense. The Bears are a weird team but I think they might be pretty good by the end of the season. 

Bengals 31-34 Jets

The Bengals were up 31-20 late in the 4th quarter and somehow managed to lose to a Jets backup QB....that's a bad look, man. NYJ played their hearts out and good for them, but the Bengals really should've wrapped this up (this L may haunt them). 

Bucs 27-36 Saints

Felt like the Bucs were the better team when they wanted to be, but just didn't want to win that bad, I guess. We under estimate the backup QB (Trevor Simien, oh he plays for the Saints?) but when one team has prepared for one thing all week and then a new thing comes in, that can be jarring. Factor in that the Bucs' D is nice but pretty overrated and that this is a division game and this result isn't such a shock. Good W for the Saints (I had them winning this division, which occasionally seems like a crazy prediction, but other times looks pretty smart....I'm looking pretty smart right now). 

Cowboys 20-16 Vikings

Mostly watched baseball, but from what I saw, the Cowboys rallied nicely around the backup QB (week of the backup QB!) and the Vikings just couldn't get going. The Vikings are built to be competitive but not to win games (does that make sense?) and that's what they did here, they were in the game, they just didn't win the game. The Cowboys picking up a W without Dak is a freebie, a lovely pad for down the line. The Vikings...uh, I dunno, man...they can win games, they just don't.

Giants 17-20 Chiefs

I finally saw the disappointing element of the Chiefs: dumb penalties. OMG! That O-line and that defense made so many dumb mistakes, it's just hard to watch. I still feel like the Chiefs position guys are still great--and they're even playing well--but the rest of the team is not holding up and its forcing Mahomes, in particular, to do too much. (I still think they need to re-design how Tyreke Hill fits into the offense, but I'm confident they will) If/when the Chiefs stop making dumb mistakes, I think they'll go right back to crushing everybody. NYG is not very good. That 2-minute drill at the end of the game was just brutal to watch. A nice showing against a sloppy Chiefs team, though. 

The rest of the slate:

Panthers 19-13 Falcons. Division game between two mediocre teams.

Dolphins 11-26 Bills. Took the Bills a while to get going but they're way better than the Dolphins. 

Steelers 15-10 Browns. Man, the Browns offense really sputters at time and the Steelers are built to catch the sputterers. I still think the Browns are a good team (better than the Steelers) and will get going again when Mayfield and Chubb are back to full strength. The Steelers are wily vets, man, they're not very good but they'll steal games if you let them. 

Eagles 44-6 Lions. The Eagles are better than their record, they've been in most all of their games, they're just not good enough to close them. But against the Lions, they're good enough to close and they did. Hard. The Lions play hard but they're not good. When they play an opponent that can destroy them, the Lions can keep it close because the other team takes their foot off the gas; but they get pounded by teams that can't afford to let off the gas. Do you see how this works? The Lions against a good team will cover the spread but against a mediocre team they will get destroyed; likewise, against a good team the Eagles will sputter but against a bad team, they will look like champions because they're actually not bad.  

Titans 34-31 Colts. Good W for the Titans, but they lost Derrick Henry, so...their season is probably over right as they're peaking. The Colts are up/down but if Henry is out for the season, they suddenly look like the team to beat in that division even with the L. 

Rams 38-22 Texans. (See the Eagles-Lions notes above)

Pats 27-24 Chargers. The Chargers are a puzzle: they've had good wins and bad losses, they are good but inconsistent. The Pats have moments where they look pretty good and other moments where they seem utterly inept. 

Jags 7-31 Seahawks. The Jags suck, the Seahawks needed a soft opponent to get right. The Jags are a get-right team.

WTF 10-17 Broncos. Meh. Two so-so sides tangled, the less so-so home team squeezed out the victory against the more so-so road team. No mystery here.