2023 Champions League (Round of 16) (1st leg)

Paris St. Germain 0-1 Bayern Munich

I was kinda surprised how easily Bayern pushed PSG around on their home field--and why on earth did Mbappe not start? For the first 20 mins or so, Bayern absolutely dominated possession, though PSG's counter attack seemed kinda dangerous. Bayern took the lead early in the 2nd half (easy-as-you-please finish by Coman off a long cross into the box), felt like PSG was gonna ramp up the intensity, they brought Mbappe off the bench (I do not understand European 'load management': dude, these are the games you want your stars to play--this is WHY you signed them to begin with!), and in the last 10 mins or so, PSG did dominate the possession but outside of one nice run that led to a goal called back for offside (dude, arguably the closest offside call I've ever seen!), they never really did much to control the attack. I didn't think Bayern was the better team--that PSG roster is stacked! But they played the smarter game plan and they brought the intensity that PSG didn't. 2nd leg will be fun, PSG still has a killer lineup and they'll need to bring it in Munich, but I gotta think Bayern won't squander this lead (they are not sqaunderers). 

AC Milan 1-0 Tottenham

Milan got the early goal (keeper just got bum rushed, nothing he could do) and made it stand up. Thought the rest of the match was fairly even, Tottenham may have even had slightly better chances. The 2nd leg of this game is wide open, Milan did well to get the goal advantage. 

Dortmund 1-0 Chelsea

Wow, I thought Chelsea was in every way the better side in this match, better offense, better defense, better chances, better possession, etc. If Dortmund had come out with a scoreless draw, they would've been lucky. So to come up with the one moment of brilliance and stealing the W is a phenomenomal result for Dortmund. And, oh yeah, it was brilliant: dude, absolutely everything he does on this run is perfect--perfect timing to separate from the defender, perfect spacing to elude the keeper, just a fuckin' perfect play. Dortmund did well to steal this first leg, but, man, Chelsea was better and I would expect them to get it done back home in the 2nd leg (perhaps in PKs).  

Bruges 0-2 Benfica

Benfica was the better side, the better attack. I wasn't a huge fan of that penalty call (yeah, yeah, there was contact but I thought it was more even than ya think) but it wasn't a terrible call. The second goal late was a brilliant steal and lovely finish (keeper was cooked, defense let him down) to pile it on. Bruges played hard but they were never dangerous around the goal and it was really only a matter of time before Benfica found the goal. I'd say this one is done, I'd be pretty amazed if Bruges came back in this one. 

Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid

Ha! The first coupla minutes of the game featured intense on-ball defense that suggested the speed of the game would overwhelm the players on the pitch; then, outta nowhere, Liverpool sneaks a pass behind Real's back line for a cheeky backheel that caught the keeper (and all viewers of the match!) completely off guard. A coupla minutes later GK Coutois made one of the worst goofy mistakes I've ever seen (well, until a little later in the match!) and suddenly Liverpool was up 2-0 at home before anybody had even warmed up. But, then that was about it for Liverpool. Real got on the board before halftime on a really lovely Vini rip from the top corner of the box and then soon after followed with the NEWEST goofy goalie mistake I've ever seen--dude, Vini wasn't even looking at the ball when he scored! And it was a draw at halftime when it felt like the game could've/should've been long over. Real scored early in the 2nd half on the maybe the most clinical pass to header plays I've ever seen. From there Benzema (MIA in the World Cup, nice to see him back on the pitch), took over, piling on and then piling on some more. Early on, I was thinking Real might be past their prime, felt like maybe the talent wasn't going to mesh and maybe it was time for a Utah Jazz-style blowup....but, uh....yeah, I don't think that any more. Benzema and Vini are back to looking like a killer 1-2 combo up front and suddenly they look like the team to beat. Can Liverpool go on the road and get a big W? Uh....I mean....I guess it's possible, but....no. 

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Napoli

I wasn't blown away by Napoli but they were the better team throughout and even though they missed a PK (weird play but the right call, nice save), they didn't lose their cool. Then when Eintracht got a red card (yeah, brutal play but I think it was yellow), Napoli just dominated possession and were able to poke in a pile-on goal late to seal it. Gotta figure this one is over, Napoli looks to be the better side and heading back home with 2 goal lead is probably an insurmountable climb for Frankfurt. 

Inter Milan 1-0 FC Porto

Fun game! Back and forth, both teams had good possession, good opportunities, felt like Inter took the upper hand down the stretch but it still took quite some time before Lukaku was finally able to get on the end of one. Felt like it was gonna be a scoreless draw but Inter pulled it out at home. Wouldn't be shocked if Porto was able to take it back home, there's still some action left in this match.

Leipzig 1-1 Manchester City

Man City felt like the better side throughout. They got the early lead, felt like they were gonna make it hold up but Leipzig was able to connect on a corner (keeper in no man's land, huge pile of goal to shoot at) and that earned the draw. Man City is not unbeatable or anything, but I felt like they only got stung when they lost their focus. Leipzig has a puncher's chance, but I think Man City will finish this off back home. 

2023 NFL Super Bowl

Chiefs 38-35 Eagles

I don't want to say it all came down to a bizarre penalty call, but that call--the first defensive holding penalty of the whole game and it came with less then 2 minutes to go--clearly cut into the Eagles' chances of getting the tying FG.  There were only 9 penalties in the entire and 6 were pre-snap penalties, so there were only 3 flags thrown during the run of play in the entire game! I cannot believe that the first holding penalty of the match occurred with under two minutes to go. Hated the call at the time, kinda hating it even more thinking back on it. 

The Eagles dominated the 1st half--indeed, without the fluky scoop-and-score on a weird Herts fumble, the Chiefs would not have been close at halftime. And, while I can understand the Chiefs made some adjustments (counterintuitively went to the running game to get yards and chew up the Eagle D), I don't really understand what happened to the Eagles offense in the 2nd half. They still moved the ball okay but they didn't convert on 3rd down as easily and that was the ball game. 

Mahomes was good (not great) but in the 2nd half he did what needed to be done and clearly the Eagles' defense got discombobulated--the last two TDs were because they didn't cover the receiver in motion (WTF?). The deft mix of running early and Mahomes' playmaking (the 20 yard scamper on a bad ankle will be the centerpiece of his Hall of Fame induction highlight reel), gave the Chiefs the momentum and, thanks to a lame late call, were able to ride that into the final minute. 

The Eagles D was great in the 1st half but the pass rush lost the script after halftime. The Eagles offense was great in the 1st half but not quite adequate after halftime. Somehow getting dominated in the 1st half was exactly what the Chiefs needed. The Eagles were good, the Chiefs were gooder.

Insanely early predictions for next year: I think the Bengals are the best team in the AFC and as for the NFC, well, we have to see what the QB situations (Rodgers, Brady, the various Niner cast offs) are going to yield. It wouldn't shock me if the Rams re-emerge or if the Commanders find the right QB and actually look kinda good and I can't really rule out the Panthers or Saints making big moves. With all the potential turnover, it could be that the Eagles cruise back to the Super Bowl or that a new team comes out of nowhere. 

2022-23 NFL Conference Championships

Niners 7-31 Eagles

Well, this was shaping up to be a good match but when QB Brock Purdy was knocked out early on and the Niners had to go to their 4th (!) string QB, well, that was the ball game. The Niners put up a game effort, as lopsided as the score looks, the Eagles didn't exactly dominate. The killer: right before halftime, the Niners tried to be aggressive (not a bad idea: the 2-minute drill is the one thing the backup QB probably practiced most), but when QB fumbled, it set the Eagles up for a quick TD before the half. That was bad. Up til then the Niners had at least been in striking distance but that giveaway pretty much finished them off. The Eagles didn't really do much after that, they didn't have to. 

Bengals 20-23 Chiefs

I thought the Bengals started slow, didn't make the most of their chances and still could've won this game (or at least get it to OT). Some blamed the refs but I don't see it that way at all, I think the Bengals played their worst game since September--and still could've pulled this out! To me the lesson was that the Bengals were the best team in the AFC this season and only Patrick Mahomes kept them from the glory. Mahomes was pretty great, even on a shredded ankle. The Bengals were the better team but you still gotta beat the Chiefs.

Chiefs @ Eagles (-1.5) (o/u 51)

I expect a good game, fun game, but I don't think it goes down to the wire. My initial thought was to go with the Chiefs as the underdog, but I've come around to thinking that the Eagle pass rush will be tough to beat. Much has been made of the Eagles' weak competition all season long, especially two playoff games where they were barely tested at all. Fine. But it got them to this point and I think that D is gonna be too much for Mahomes to overcome. I love Mahomes but I kinda feel like he's all the Chiefs have and I don't think he can elude the Eagles D for long enough to make this a game. I can see either team winning a close match, but I can't see the Chiefs laying a beatdown on the Eagles--but I can see the Eagles laying a beatdown on the Chiefs. If Mahomes gets knocked out, I'd say the game is over; but even if not, I'd say the Eagles can still shut him down and move the ball well enough to dominate. I don't really care that the Eagle schedule was soft, that don't matter at all. All that matters in this game is Mahomes' ankle and its not 100%, so I gotta go Eagles. I'll say Eagles 27-17 (Eagles and the under). 

2023 MLB Hall of Fame Voting

Scott Rolen was the only one voted in this year. 

*sigh*

Look, I like Scott Rolen as much as the next guy, I'm sure he's quick witted and fun to be around and can probably take down a pitcher of beer like nobody's business. But I (in the Bob Ryan parlance) just never thought of Rolen as a Hall of Famer and I still don't. 

Dude, compare his numbers to Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Carlos Beltran--or, fuck, even Jeff Kent!--and you'll see he's not nearly as good as these guys that are way behind him in the voting.

We blame the decline in baseball over the last 20-ish years on football, kids today, social media, short attention span, rap music, political correctness--blame whatever you want. But when the baseball writers give up on their own game to reward guys solely for not getting busted for drugs, then what are we doing here? We've turned an appreciation of the game itself into a system of navigating the socio-political nonsense of the day. It is the baseball writers that brought us to this state with their stupid selfish faux outrage. They're the ones who gave up on baseball, not the kids.

A baseball Hall of Fame without Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, ARod, Manny, Clemens, etc., is a hall of mediocrity. Welcome to the Hall, Scott Rolen. The baseball writers paved this road with their good intentions.

2023 Australian Open

#4 Djokovic over #3 Tsitsipas in 5 

Djokovic is still the man. Last year he was booted out of the tournament for not bowing down to Covid nonsense (hold on to your history books, kids, the greatest irrational panic of the last century or so was in full effect in the sports world back then), so this year he seemed extra incentivized to whomp the shit out of everyone and that's what he did. He only dropped 1 set in the entire tourney (a 2nd set tiebreak to a qualifier!) and even though it feels like the next crop of talent is ready to step up (hmmm., seems like Americans are playing tennis again though the future seems to be Russian (*)), Djokovic is still the best in the biz.

My favorite match that I saw was in the round of 16 where Rublev defeated Rune in 5 sets.  Man, keep an eye on Rune: he's definitely not completely in control of his powers (yanked a lot of balls into the 5th row), but when he gets around on a ball--holy shit! That kid hits rockets! If you've got ESPN+ and wanna see some top quality tennis, the 5th set of this one was NCAA tournament-quality nail biting entertainment. (https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/19fdbaf5-b5cf-4dc0-be0d-486999e0b601)

#5 Sabalenka over #22 Rybakina in 3

I only caught random Ladies' matches, but I saw Sabalenka a few times: big hitter, good game but like most Russians (**), when she gets down on herself, she gets doooooowwwwwnnnn, which is precisely what keeps her from dominating like she could. Didn't see the Final but I was impressed with Rybakina's performance over Azarenka in the semis. Nice run from Pliskova and Azarenka to remind us that they're still capable of getting big wins. 

Saw a random smattering of the Aussie this year, wish I'd seen more. 

(*) Or at least I think they're Russian. Now that we don't have Covid to panic about any more, we've moved to pretending like ignoring the Russian flag is how wars get won. I'd like to think that level headed objectivity will return to civilization but it might take a while. 

(**) It's okay to root for Sabalenka, she at least has the good taste to pretend like she's not from Moscow, which I guess that makes her acceptable....but is she vaccinated....? Has she jumped through all possible pointless hoops for acceptance?