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. 

2021-22 NCAA Football (Week 9)

Games I watched (some of):

(1) Georgia 34-7 Florida

(I had family stuff going on this weekend--pleased to report it was all good news in a very enjoyable setting--but some background TV sneaking was all I got this week) Yeah, Georgia is better than Florida. Gators put up a good fight early on, slowed down the Bulldogs, but a flurry of turnovers before halftime made this a rout right quick. In the last few years it felt to me like Florida was coming and would overtake the Bulldogs, but that has yet to materialize and for now UGA is still the team to beat in the SEC East. 

Top 25

Handled their business

(1) Georgia, (2) Cincinnati, (4) Oklahoma, (5) Ohio State, (7) Oregon, (8) Michigan State, (11) Notre Dame, (13) Wake Forest, (15) Oklahoma State, (16) Baylor, (18) Auburn, (24) Coastal Carolina, (25) Brigham Young

Bad beat

(10) Ole Miss. All those SEC West teams are all the same to me: none of them are gonna beat Alabama, so what does it really matter what they do against each other? Is Ole Miss better than Auburn? I dunno, maybe, but they weren't on this Saturday and that's what goes in the books.

(12) Kentucky. UK was able to knock out LSU this season but trying to get two wins from the West is still a tall order. UK is a nice team that is overachieving, so losing to Mississippi State is not a shocker (not even a disappointment, really).  

(19) Southern Methodist. SMU suddenly bubbles up to the top 25 and we're supposed to be shocked they lost a tough conference road game in late game fluke fashion. I'm not shocked, this is not the end of the world, SMU was not going to win the title this year, this is not a result requiring panic. 

(20) Penn State. Ohio State is still better. Those Big-10 schools are in the maelstrom of their own scheduling. The other conferences have front-loaded their games whereas the B-10 is still a November conference, which makes for a fun full season but it also makes it hard to tell who the good teams are. (When all is said and done, it's gonna be Ohio State, right?) Penn State does seem to be getting better (or more dangerous), but they're not there yet, so this is still just a bad beat to me. 

Not so good

(6) Michigan. I've been skeptical of Michigan all year and they couldn't hold off Michigan State in their first real game of the season, so....I'm still skeptical of Michigan (but they can still fuck up Ohio State's season).

(9) Iowa. Yeah, it all finally caught up to Iowa. There were a nice team, Iowa State was a nice W, Penn State was a nice W, they've still got a shot at the B-10 title game. But they're not that deep, they're not that talented, and they drifted way too high up the rankings, the fall was probably inevitable. 

(17) Pittsburgh. I dunno, man, I haven't noticed Pitt all season, then you look up and they're actually really good. Then they lose to Miami. At home. Not so good. 

(21) San Diego State. Look, SDSU, do you wanna be here or not? Finally get ranked and then blow it at home to Fresno State? That's no bueno--there's no bueno in any of that. 

(22) Iowa State. The fact that Iowa State was overrated at the beginning of the year and is able to come back and be overrated again later on just shows how little actual depth there is in college football. Does Iowa State deserved to be in the top 25? Maybe. Even with all the bad losses.

Next week's interesting matches:

(12) Auburn @ (13) Texas A&M (I dunno, the SEC West is at least competitive with itself)

Tennessee @ (18) Kentucky (UK's toughest remaining match, they ought to win but we'll see)

Oh yeah, it's that time of the season to get hardcore on the rankings. Here's my top 6:

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

I've still got my eye on Oklahoma State and Baylor as the last teams that could still sneak in. Personally, I got no need for Oregon (and their 1-loss isn't as good as Notre Dame's, don't see why they'd go higher), the loser of Ohio State/Michigan State (don't need 2-loss Buckeyes or Spartans that couldn't win the B-10), Michigan (they can still be a spoiler, but I don't see how they resurrect their chances), Wake Forest (sorry, Wake, the schedule just isn't there; go undefeated and maybe I can get you to #7), Brigham Young (yawn of a schedule) or Houston (sorry, American Conference, Alabama with 2 losses is still way better than you).