Eagles’ cornerback, James Bradberry, is SU’s new favorite player. After the game, in front of his locker, he answered questions for 20 minutes about the holding call on him in the game’s last 2 minutes that basically determined the final outcome. Did not make excuses, did not rant about the refs, admitted it was a penalty. How refreshing. In this era of it’s always someone else’s fault and “not true” (not to worry – not going there here), here is a professional athlete who stood tall and said what he did was in fact a penalty. Good for him. Be a man, be accountable.

Now, for the fan, you hate to have the game come down to that call but consider the following:

1. The Eagles burned a timeout earlier in the 2nd half as Hurts was letting the play clock run down to zero on almost every play. It finally cost him and having that timeout in the end might have given the Eagles another 40 seconds or changed how the Chiefs went about trying to score at the end of the game.
2. SU says games are won and lost much earlier in the game – in every sport. Yes, the focus is always on the end and that is when heroes are made – and goats. But Hurts had a fumble that was returned for a touchdown, and the Chiefs had a huge punt return that was almost like a turnover. Those were actually bigger plays in this game and really cost the Eagles.
3. The grass field was a disaster. SU was not surprised. We had Kyler Murray on our fantasy team this year and I watched many a game in that stadium on the Red Zone channel. Players were slipping and sliding on that field all year. Now, I am sure that the NFL put a new field in for this game but no doubt grass fields that are not actually growing into the field are not as good. It was not a good look for the NFL for the cameras to show the piles of cleats on the sidelines as players tried to figure out the best approach. There were so many plays with running backs falling down in the hole or defenders slipping just as the ball was reaching the receiver. It must be something with the humidity (or lack thereof) in Phoenix and having a stadium that is often enclosed.
4. Andy Reid always has some great new plays with 2 weeks to prepare. His goal line plays with the man in motion who changes direction right at the snap resulted in 2 easy touchdowns. He probably did not know the grass would be so bad but the defenders had no chance to regain their footing on that field on those plays.
5. Good news for the NFL: in a few years with global climate change, stadiums up north will become viable destinations for Super Bowls. No doubt Chicago and Green Bay will be in the mix in another few years.
6. Jalen Hurts is not a complainer but his last Hail Mary pass at the end of the game showed just how much his shoulder must be hurting and hampering his throwing. It didn’t go anywhere. His touch was good all game but he was not throwing with any velocity. Credit to him for gutting it out and continuing to run the ball where his shoulder was exposed for more hits.

And now, the winner for guessing the score for this year’s Super Bowl is… no one! No one had the Chiefs winning so the backpack and water bottle go back into inventory for another year.

You can say the Eagles were oh so close, and that they will be back but we all know how hard it is to get to, and win a Super Bowl. The Bengals fell just short this year and Buffalo continues to come up short. On the other hand, Hurts is an elite QB and that certainly helps. They have to be the favorite to win the NFC this coming season.

Huge win for Northwestern over Purdue yesterday in Evanston in a great game. The Wildcats are having an excellent season (despite 2 losses to a disappointing Michigan team) and are positioned for a reasonably high seeding in the NCAAs. SU says Purdue is overrated and will not be in the Final Four this year. Edey is a freak but he does not have enough of a supporting cast to go far in the Tournament. The Big Ten is so mediocre, and having a great record in this Conference is just not what it was in other years. Northwestern plays with a lot of energy and is fundamentally sound. A great win for that program.

Super Bowl thoughts and comments? Were the Eagles robbed? The floor is open for your comments.

The white flag is up in Brooklyn. First, it was Kyrie Irving and now Kevin Durant. While you were sleeping, the Nets traded Durant to the Suns for some front line players and a lot of draft picks. This follows on the heels of Kyrie moving to the Mavericks.

Just a week ago, Brooklyn was looking forward to a deep playoff run in the Eastern Conference with a hopefully healthy Durant teaming up with Irving. They had a legitimate shot at getting to the NBA Finals. And now, it’s a total tear down and rebuild with a boatful of draft picks.

SU says the NBA has a problem. Apparently, the only way to win a championship is to have 2 – 3 superstars surrounded by effective role players. Now, Milwaukee is a bit of the exception as they won a championship with one true superstar and then a few just below that level players. But if you look today at Boston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Golden State, etc., it sure seems like that is the formula. The reality is that there aren’t enough superstars to go around. It’s a bit of a turn-off. One can hope that a young team with a star and other really good players can make a deep playoff run like Memphis or Cleveland.

For SU, I think the fun in any sport is rooting for a young team and watching them grow and progress each year. That can be in baseball, basketball or even football. That is why I always prefer to see the Yankees go with the young guys vs. signing the free agents. The Knicks are developing that type of team in the post-Carmelo era (one of the truly glorious eras in pro sports by the way which followed the Isiah Thomas era at MSG. Good times).

LeBron’s Lakers team upgraded with the trade for D’Angelo Russell who will definitely help them along with some solid younger players. The Utah Jazz ended up with Russell Westbrook but he will be moved immediately somewhere and Danny Ainge has a lot of draft picks now to build an interesting team in Utah.

It’s hard to feel badly for Brooklyn but they are a case study in how not to do this.

It is that time. The Super Bowl is only days away and SU has had the time to study the latest analytics, do the modeling and develop the predictive outcome with a statistical probability of .23 (hey, we need to be realistic here). Consider the following:

1. These are 2 evenly matched teams. We have the #1 seeds in each Conference.
2. Patrick Mahomes high ankle sprain is a major factor. SU says even if he comes into the game relatively healthy, it only takes one play for him to tweak it or have some 350-pound lineman fall on it. For SU, it tilts my predictive outcome away from the Chiefs to the Eagles.
3. Philadelphia’s defense is better. Fierce pass rush. Mahomes makes a living buying himself an extra second in the pocket. Will he have that time on Sunday?
4. Tyreek Hill will be missed in this game. Yes, Mahomes’ greatness enables him to still lead the team to the #1 seed and a great season. He is back in the Super Bowl but he won’t have a receiver of this quality available. And yes, Kelce will be the primary target but the Eagles will surely have a plan ready to limit that.
5. Jalen Hurts is not 100%. He has not been great in the playoffs even though the Eagles won easily in both games. However, the extra week off has to help.
6. Points will be scored. Both offenses can move up and down the field, and Andy Reid always introduces some creative wrinkles on offense.

SU predicts a Philadelphia victory: 28 – 24. Long-time subscriber and Eagles’ fan, J. Winston, will be happy come late Sunday night. As always, SU opens the floor for others to weigh in and post their predicted outcome. The winner receives the SU logoed backpack and water bottle. Be bold and have the chance to be celebrated by thousands of intergalactic SU subscribers.

In other news, what about Kyrie Irving? How does any NBA team build around him? Never happy – never. Always looking to blow it up. He was going to be a free agent come July of this year. SU says why not let Kevin Durant get healthy and see if they can make a run for the championship this year? Now, Irving can say that he was never going to re-sign with Brooklyn and he is doing them a favor by opting out now and letting them get something in return. Dallas jumped at the chance and there were several other suitors. Kyrie is a great talent – best 1-on-1 player in the NBA in my estimation. But not a good guy in the locker room or the media, and not someone you can control for what he will say next and who he will offend. Dallas is rolling the dice and you have to give Mark Cuban credit for being a risk taker. And perhaps Jason Kidd can get through to him more than other coaches. Something to watch for sure.

Tom Brady taking the year off in 2023. Nice if you can do it – and he certainly can. FOX is taking a chance that he will be compelling to listen to in the booth. SU says he doesn’t have to be a star – just avoid becoming annoying like Tony Romo this season. Do your homework and be a little insightful.

Great story at the University of Iowa, Kirk Ferentz, head coach, has had his son, Brian, work as the offensive coordinator. Their offense is always terrible – as in always. Last year, the defense scored 24% of the touchdowns, and the team averaged 17.7 points a game which in college football is pretty awful. His contract for this year requires the team to win 7 games, and average 25 points a game or else he is gone. Can you picture this? Running up the score in the early season games against the lesser teams on the schedule. Going for touchdowns at the end of blowout wins. I mean, this is pretty amazing – especially considering he is the coach’s son. Must see TV in 2023. Btw, former Michigan quarterback, Cade McNamara is their new QB for this season. SU never thought we would see something like this in college football.