Per usual, SU’s Super Bowl prediction went up in flames although I did get the Kansas City Chiefs part correct. You have to feel for the 49ers as their quarterback suffered a freak elbow injury on their first drive of the game. And once the back-up was injured, well, it was pretty unwatchable (it was actually unwatchable while 4th string QB Josh Johnson was in the game).

Much is being made of the personal foul call late in the Chiefs-Niners game but you have to call that one. Mahomes was clearly out of bounds. However, SU says games are not won and lost on those plays at the very end but rather on all of the other plays in the games. You cannot lay the blame on any one player there. Yes, it was a huge call and put them in field goal range but plenty of blame to go around for the Bengals – especially their offensive line which was manhandled all game long. Chiefs vs. Eagles is a good match-up for this year – both #1 seeds advance.

You have admire the grit of Patrick Mahomes who played with a high ankle sprain. That is a serious injury and no doubt, he played through tremendous pain. You have to hope he can recuperate over the next 2 weeks and be a bit more mobile. He will need it against the Eagles’ fierce pass rush. SU believes that Jalen Hurts has a monster game left in him and we may see that in the Super Bowl. He didn’t need to do much against the Giants and the Eagles played it conservatively yesterday once the Niners ran out of quarterbacks. They will turn him loose in the Super Bowl to do a lot more running.

In case you missed it, Novak Djokovic won his 22nd Grand Slam major tournament in the Australian Open. SU knows he is a polarizing figure for many and I certainly do not like his stance on vaccines. But at 35 years old, he is still a dominant player and overcame a lot over the past 2 weeks to win this tournament. He lost 1 set in 7 rounds. He had a hamstring injury that some questioned but it was clear in the early rounds that he was struggling. His father created controversy posing for a picture with Russian fans and of course, there was the memory of the deportation from Australia just a year ago. You could see the release of emotion after he won. I don’t think he will ever get the level of respect and love that Roger Federer and Nadal receive, but he is every bit as good as those two guys. SU has said it before that you have to appreciate this era of men’s tennis – you won’t see it again.

Obviously, not a good morning for NY Giant fans but you have to be pleased with the season. Making the playoffs and even winning a Wild Card game is an accomplishment and major progress. They have finally landed on a high quality head coach who has control of the locker room. Remember back in the mid-1980s, the Giants were blown out by the Bears in a playoff game in frigid weather (shutout I believe) and then a Super Bowl followed shortly after that. For SU, it’s about making progress and moving in the right direction. It gives fans hope vs. always entering into a new rebuild. The previous regime accumulated some bad free agents and draft picks. This team is now set up for bigger and better things.

SU would sign both Jones and Barkley to new contracts. They won’t come cheap but they want to be here and are solid players. Quarterbacks are hard to find (see NY Jets) and while Jones is not a superstar, he is mobile and will continue to get better. Barkley is still in his prime and actually doesn’t have the usual miles a running back has at this point of his career due to injury. Given him a better offensive line and he can be dominant for a few years.

If Mahomes has a high ankle sprain, you have to wonder how he can perform next round. It’s an interesting dilemma for Andy Reid. Do you sit him with the hope of having a healthier Mahomes for the Super Bowl? Or do you let him limp around next Sunday? In football, it doesn’t take much for someone to fall on your ankle again or to sack you and grab your foot. Clearly, he is a gamer and a competitor. But sprained ankles in football for someone who has to throw off of it seems like a major problem.

The Australian Open rolls on with major upsets on both the men’s and women’s sides. Congrats to ESPN for limiting viewership unless you pay for ESPN+. I mean you already pay for ESPN. You don’t charge to watch NCAA football and basketball games. Annoying. The men will surely have a first-time Grand Slam champion as Djokovic is playing with a strained hamstring and in a best of 5 sets format, hard to see him beating the better youngsters now. The American men are having their best tournament in about 40 years as several young guys have emerged, i.e., Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, J.J. Wolf. Finally.

Pitchers and catchers report in just a few weeks now. SU wants the Yankees to give the youngsters a chance to fill the open spots this year as in shortstop and left field. I will be very curious to see if Aaron Hicks comes in 20 pounds lighter with real determination. If he does, then good luck to him. If he doesn’t and figures hitting into a non-shift alignment is his ticket to success, then let’s just move him along. Same with Gleyber Torres. Stop muscling up and go back to hitting to all fields. Enough of the all or nothing swings. SU wants to see a new attitude. And cannot wait to start hearing the “Frankie Montas has started to throw off flat ground” reports in late April. Ugh. It’s never too early for Yankee fans to get pissed off.

Finally, the SU Super Bowl prediction of Niners – Chiefs is still intact. Of course, that will change in about 12 hours but hey, if you don’t put your predictions out there, no chance for glory.

SU caught the end of the Ravens – Bengals game last night, and you have to wonder what John Harbaugh was thinking in holding onto his timeouts on that final drive. Now, it must be said that his brother, Jim, head coach at Michigan, is apparently equally unskilled in clock management. Could be a family issue. But it definitely cost the undermanned Ravens in the final seconds.

Great, great win for the Giants in Minnesota as Daniel Jones showed us his full array of skills. His running ability is a game changer for a team with less than stellar receivers but in the NFL, you are asking for trouble if you run your QB too much. He is a concussion waiting to happen, and against the Eagles this coming weekend, you have to watch for that.

Was the Dolphins – Bills game the longest regulation game in NFL history? Almost 4 hours. And that meant so many more minutes listening to Tony Romo. SU liked him when he first went to the booth but he is a lot to take in for that many hours. He wants to get credit for every play prediction but truth be told, he is no better than the rest of us. CBS needs to have less caffeine available in the booth. Buffalo advances but Josh Allen’s turnovers are an issue. It was incredible that Miami was that close in the final minutes with a back-up quarterback. It took a bungled delay of game penalty on a 4th down and 1 play to help get the Bills into the next round. Now, the goal is to just advance, and you don’t get style points in the NFL but they will need to up their game vs. the Bengals for sure.

SU caught the new Netflix release Break Point on the ATP and WTA tennis tours. They used an NFL Hard Knocks format to take viewers behind the scenes at some of the major tournaments. SU says it’s worth a look. It was interesting that only the younger players are allowing the access as the veterans no doubt are too protective of every mental and physical edge and are not looking to give anything away. It was fun to see how the players interact right before a big match when they are waiting to be introduced. For example, Nadal is running short sprints right past his opponent – it’s great. Also, you can clearly hear coaching from the stands for the players as they go to towel off between points and their “team” is sitting right there. Now, I believe that coaching is now allowed in some of the majors but not sure in all tournaments – at least the ones covered in the show.

The Yankee pitcher, Frankie Montas, beat the rush and is already out the first month of the season with shoulder issues – same ones as he had in Oakland and NY last season. We all know this will not end well. Now, he is only slated to be the 5th starter this season but the Yankees gave up JP Sears in that trade who showed he can pitch in NY and would have been great. I guess the Yankees’ plan for 2023 is to be healthier and for Josh Donaldson to bounce back. Oh, OK.

For NBA fans, LeBron just passed 38,000 points and is now in Kareem territory. Amazing. He entered the NBA as a pass first player and at 38, is still at the top of the League in terms of his quality of play.

SU has been monitoring the Jim Harbaugh NFL talks for a head coaching position. I still have to believe that it’s his agent putting out the rumors and scheduling the interviews to get a longer and bigger contract at Michigan as his offensive style is just not cut out for today’s game. I could be wrong but do not understand the interest from so many NFL Clubs. The young, offensive masterminds seem to be the best approach these days. Plus, why would anyone want to be an NFL coach? You are lucky to get 2 years before being fired. Gone are the days of patience and “this is a process.”

Finally, the NILs in college sports are certainly having an impact. It’s keeping kids in school a bit longer so I guess that is a good thing – assuming they are going to class and getting passing grades. And the dollars being paid for the bigger stars are significant – in the millions of dollars. SU understands “paying” student athletes but I wonder if this is what was intended?

Next week will feature the first year of expanded NFL playoff teams coming on top of the 17-game schedule. After watching what was a less than compelling final regular season week for the NFL yesterday, one wonders if more is better in the NFL.

We will have Miami and Seattle in the playoffs this year, and both limped into the post-season. Now, they may pull off major upsets next weekend, but hard to see that. You also have some other teams with barely .500 records like Jacksonville and then Tampa Bay was actually 8 – 9. SU believes that the change was made to enable those teams that had 10-win seasons and which would have previously been shut out the chance to get into the post-season. Perhaps this season is an anomaly and we will see a better competitive picture next year. On the other hand, the field is wide open this year which is better for the fans, and you can see some team with a mediocre record making a run. Parity is good and fun for sure.

A few thoughts from yesterday:

1. Houston played hard to win which cost them the 1st pick in the NFL draft as now Chicago gets that. The reward for Lovy Smith was getting fired although I am sure that was predetermined. On the one hand, you love the competitive fire (“You play to win the game” as Herm Edwards once said) but a little tanking there gets you the overall #1 pick. The Texans need a quarterback and this is a good draft for that. The Bears don’t but could trade the pick and thus cost the Texans in getting their guy.
2. It’s not fun watching games where teams rest their starters. We see this all season long in the NBA with load management on the back-to-back games. And you can understand it in the NFL where so many players are injured each week, and if you are playoff eligible, you don’t want to risk injury in a meaningless game. But for the fan, just hard to watch. The League already lacks good quarterbacks in about half the teams, and watching 3rd stringers is painful.
3. Why did the LA Chargers play most of their starters 3 quarters yesterday? They are playoff bound. SU has to guess that the head coach firmly believes in momentum and wanted the team firing on all cylinders and not take a week off. Mike Williams came up with a back injury and if he is out next week, that is a big loss for them at wide receiver.
4. The Lions’ win over the Packers last night was entertaining unless you were rooting for Green Bay. Coach Dan Campbell ran some plays in the last couple of minutes that were great (high risk, high reward) as they tried to avoid giving the Packers the ball back late. Now, if they were still in the hunt for the playoffs, would they have done that? SU says yes as Campbell has been doing that all year. Detroit should be good next year although in the NFL, you really never know with free agency and injuries. But they are entertaining and missed out on the playoffs this year due to some blown late leads earlier in the season.
5. The Cowboys looked terrible but SU says no carryover heading into next week.

Super Bowl predictions? SU’s track record is less than stellar but SU will go with Kansas City over San Francisco. The Eagles should be right there but I have a feeling that Hurts’s shoulder injury is worse and more painful than he is letting on, and he is one hard hit away from being back on the IL. The Niners have the best defense and of course, a rookie quarterback. I also think Dallas will be a very tough out.

In the AFC, the Bills will be the sentimental choice but Allen has had so many red zone interceptions this year. The Bengals have a great offense and Burrow was there last season but as we know, hard to repeat in the NFL. KC has Mahomes and he is a difference maker – even without Tyreek Hill.

Feel free to offer up your thoughts on this year’s post-season. Do you like the expanded playoff format? Is this Buffalo’s year?

First of all, a happy New Year to the SU intergalactic subscriber base. 2023 is upon us.

SU took in most of the Michigan – TCU game and bits and pieces of the Ohio State – Georgia slugfest. While one might question why college football games need to be a full 4 hours (looking at you ESPN and certainly FOX when they are doing the broadcasts), fans were treated to some wild action from start to finish in both games. I know there is not a lot of love going out to the referees this morning on social media, and clearly there were some missed calls. Michigan had a touchdown overturned on a video review where the receiver’s knee hit at the half yard line although he bobbled the catch and did not “complete” the catch until he was in the end zone. I mean that is the rule right?

SU says the good teams overcome the refs. I cannot stand the receivers who call for pass interference on every play or NBA players who are constantly yelling at the refs from start to finish. Or coaches who “work the refs.” The reality is that sports moves quickly and it’s hard to get the calls right in real time. Now, the video replays guys are another story. The targeting call at the end of the Michigan game seemed obvious but it was not to be. SU says live with it. There are so many plays in games and it should not come down to relying on a referee’s call for you to win.

For Michigan, it was easy to see what happened yesterday:

1. Jim Harbaugh teams do not prepare well for bowl games. The record is clear – they never win. They do not seem to know how to navigate the 4-week break after playing weekly for 3 months. SU is not a fan of the long breaks for the bowl games but…. you have to love these games on New Year’s Eve. So that is a trade-off.
2. Play calling at the goal line was head scratching. The double reverse on 4th down and 3 in the 1st quarter? Michigan teams do not run gadget plays and they are as conservative as any team out there. All season long they kick the field goal there. SU understands if you want to be aggressive but to run that play with only one receiver to throw to (the quarterback)? Nope. And then after the overturn on the touchdown to Wilson on the half yard line, the quick hand off on 1st down to the converted linebacker to fullback? Every other team (as in every other team) runs the quarterback sneak with 7 blockers pushing the QB from behind. Btw, that rule needs to change. It’s stupid.
3. Michigan had so many chances to regain control of the game if their defense could have made a stop. So much blitzing on 3rd down where the TCU QB, to his credit, bought time and found a receiver for a long touchdown or a long completion. Play straight up defense as you did ALL season. Why change your whole approach? Head scratching.
4. Run JJ McCarthy. Your best athlete on offense and a playmaker. Yet in the 1st half, no zone read runs for him while the TCU quarterback had several for solid gains. Frustrating.
5. How are you supposed to attack the 3-3-5 defense? SU does not know but it did seem hard to run against it last night.

Bottom line for Michigan: credit to TCU but Michigan beat themselves. Two pick 6’s are hard to overcome at any level (although on that second one, no way that defender catches that more than once every 10 times. Hit him right on his hands. Great play). The coaches did not put the players in the best position to win with the play calling and approach. The rumors are already out there that Harbaugh is going back to the NFL (Denver Broncos) but SU says he is not an NFL coach. He is built for college – not for the more creative offensive schemes of today’s NFL game. SU hopes he stays at Michigan.

What SU saw of the Ohio State – Georgia game was wild. Certainly, for a Michigan fan, seeing Ohio State get to the championship game next week and likely win over TCU would have been hard to swallow so I was happy with the outcome. But the Buckeyes put up a lot of points against the best defense in the country, and it took a furious Georgia rally to pull this one out. Ohio State was down a few playmakers at the end but their QB is the real deal. Of course, Georgia scored too early at the end to take the lead. 52 seconds and 2 timeouts in college football is an eternity. Crazy ending – and right at midnight!

Does TCU have a shot vs. Georgia? I suppose they do but seems unlikely. Their defense was exposed by Michigan.

SU is ready for the 12-team college football championship playoffs in 2024. Having games that are played closer to the end of the regular schedule is a good start and having games at the schools’ stadiums is also great. True, the “student athletes” (as the NCAA likes to say) will be distracted from studying for their final exams but hey, we need to be entertained and college football delivers. Bring it on.

Finally, for the Michigan fans out there, you can agonize over the odd play calls, missed tackles, ref calls, etc. but you have to move on. SU is still a JJ McCarthy fan and I believe you will see him at the next level in a couple of years. Some coach will turn him loose to run along the lines of a Jalen Hurts or Justin Fields, and he has a future. You lick your wounds and move on to the next gut wrenching fan experience – like fantasy football! Conference college basketball is just beginning and the NBA and NHL seasons are in full swing now (at least when players are not being rested for load management). And in 2 weeks you have the NFL playoffs.

Thoughts about yesterday’s games? The floor is open.