SU is back from some badly needed down time in Aruba but has been keeping tabs on the NCAAs and other developments in the sports world. The SU NCAA bracket was especially lame this year, and I have no teams making it to the Final Four. Now, all was not lost here. I was correct about the Big Ten as only Michigan State even made it to the Sweet Sixteen. A mediocre conference was exposed.

There have been some great games and SU is trying to process if having so many upsets and lesser name teams advancing to the Final Four is a good thing. I would have to say it’s a good thing and a net positive but are you going to be glued to your TV on Saturday night to watch San Diego State play FAU? Not sure about that one. UConn has been the most impressive team in the tournament winning all of their games by double digits. Texas was right there but got into the bonus so early in the 2nd half and that seemed to stop their momentum vs. Miami. The Miami vs. UConn game is a good match-up.

What is interesting in college basketball is how the transfer portal can make a team competitive overnight. Kansas State had a team with players who all started their careers somewhere else. It’s like having unlimited free agency. Somewhere out there getting a college degree is important but it is hard to see at this point in college hoops. Bottom line: college basketball is still tremendous fun and this tournament is a hoot to watch.

For SU, the key takeaway from this NCAA Tournament is that you have to have players that can shoot. I know that is an obvious statement but there are so many teams that are firing up 3-pointers and when you watch the shooter’s form and the rotation of the ball in the air, well… that is not how you do it.

Our thoughts now turn to the start of the baseball season, and SU was impressed and quite frankly surprised that the Yankees are taking Anthony Volpe with them to NY and making him the starting shortstop. He clearly earned it but most teams want to have the extra year of control and would wait until June or so to bring up a future star like Volpe. He earned the job and belongs in the lead-off spot in front of Judge. Now, that will not happen as they will want DJ LeMahieu at the top of the order, and it’s likely Volpe will hit 9th to take some of the pressure off for the start of the season. However, assuming he hits, it’s just a matter of time before he becomes a fixture at the top of the order.

The Yankees are badly in need of starting pitchers and if any of you have a son out there who can throw, well Brian Cashman is likely interested. Severino is the latest casualty. The Frankie Montas trade last season is the killer as the Yankees gave up a couple of their top starters in the minor leagues. The thinking is that they will have to trade a couple of the youngsters in the minor leagues or even Gleyber Torres for a starting pitcher early in the season. SU says that will not happen. Cashman will look to piece it together and wait to see if Severino and even Rodon can get healthy over the next few months.

Josh Donaldson looks fitter and thinner – at least on TV. SU will wait until mid-April before calling for one of the youngsters to replace him at 3rd base. Got to give him a shot. Aaron Hicks does not look thinner but we will give him until the end of the month before we get frustrated. The hope here is for all of the youngsters (Cabrera and Peraza) to get regular time in the lineup before too long. No doubt injuries will allow that to happen as it does every season.

For 2023, the Mets are the team to beat in NY. More to come later in the week with our annual, fearless MLB predictions, but this is the year of the Met.

The brackets are out and the SU data analytics team has been hard at work. As always, for SU, the hardest part of picking the NCAA Tournament games is creating new passwords that are considered strong enough for the various sports sites, and then somehow remembering them after 12 minutes.

There was a great article in the New York Times sports section yesterday about how to pick the games – or better said how to not pick the games. (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/13/sports/ncaabasketball/ncaa-bracket-pool-advice.html) I must say that many of the things not to do are things that I historically do. SU has decided to put less thought into this vs. other years and fearlessly move forward. Things I have considered:

1. The Big Ten is terrible. SU has watched many a Big Ten game this year. I know they have 8 – 9 teams in the tournament but that must say something about the rest of the field. I do have Northwestern winning in the first round (great story this year) and Purdue advancing a couple of rounds but that is it. Of course, 2 of the Big Ten teams will now make the Final Four but this is a mediocre conference.
2. Rick Pitino at Iona is always one to watch. SU is going with the first round upset over UConn.
3. According to the New York Times article, you don’t go with the hot team. You don’t go with the conference tournament winners. I get that, and in fact, I think it’s better for teams to lose early in their conference tournaments so they don’t get tired. But… SU is high on Duke and Texas this year. I like the fire of the Texas coach and Duke has been on a sustained role.
4. UCLA is good but they are banged up. A lot to overcome.
5. SU is feeling love for Gonzaga – always in the mix. They are not as good as prior years but neither is the field quite frankly.
6. I am no fan of Bill Self at Kansas – his teams always seem to have the most talent but fall short (except last year of course). I think he is worth -3 points every game he coaches. And yet…. despite that, I am predicting Kansas to repeat and win it all. They have great talent but just don’t play well every game.

OK, the official SU Final Four picks: Arizona; Duke; Kansas; and Texas. I have Kansas winning it all but am still very high on Texas this year and would not be surprised to see them emerge on top. I acknowledge that my track record on NCAA picks is historically awful but at least SU is brave enough to put its picks out there. Feel free to weigh in with yours and we will see who is the smartest this year.

SU is watching the Yankee starting pitching injuries pile up. It’s not a good sign. Their Spring Training play has been pretty lackluster but you don’t put any stock in these games. It’s a mostly veteran team – which is also concerning. The youngsters light the fire under the veterans, and competition for starting positions is a good thing. Now that Harrison Bader has the oblique injury (those last forever), no doubt Aaron Hicks is feeling much more comfortable. Also not a good thing. SU would put the youngsters on the roster (let Volpe play right out of the gate) but it will never happen. Things have been very quiet in Mets Land. SU says they are will be the main story in New York this summer. Great things will happen at CitiField.

You have to love going from the NCAAs right into baseball season and the new rules. The OCD players better be coming up with new OCD things to do in between pitches or they are going to have automatic strikes called on them.

OK, NCAA gurus. What you got?

SU has watched a ton of Big Ten basketball this year. Each week, I subject myself to 2 Michigan games which are basically unenjoyable. Juwan Howard is a great recruiter and no doubt, an excellent motivator. But when it comes to X’s and O’s, especially on offense, he employs the Mike Woodson NY Knicks offensive playbook which was really a pamphlet. Get the ball to Carmelo Anthony on the wing and everyone else stand on the 3-point line. It’s not quite that simple at Michigan but a similar NBA-style isolation offensive style of play. In-game decision-making around line-ups and end-of-game play calls are both sub-standard, and the proof is in the pudding as Michigan has lost most close games down the stretch.

SU checks the box scores after each game, and it is rare to see the total assists break into double figures. As a test, I checked the UCLA box score last night and I believe they had 9 assists in their win. The NBA is actually the opposite this year with high scoring games, up and down the court action and scores regularly in the 120s and higher with 25+ asssits. College games seem to resort to walking the ball up the court which burns 10 seconds, then attempt one offensive set for 10 seconds and if that doesn’t work, use the last 10 seconds for someone to do a high pick and roll and go one on one. SU says ineffective and unwatchable. I am sure there are teams out there doing it differently but not in the Big Ten from what I have seen. Is it coaching? I miss John Beilein.

Speaking of the Big Ten, SU says no team will make it to the Sweet Sixteen this year although many will make it into the tournament. Great for Northwestern to make it this year although they are stumbling down the stretch. SU will come out with its courageous NCAA Final Four predictions in another week or so.

OK, time to show some love for YOUR NEW YORK KNICKS! SU has been watching them a bit more of late and they are a solid team this year. The key will be whether their rotation players can stay healthy down the stretch. Mitchell Robinson is a key guy who is injury prone and he needs to be on the court as a rim protector. This team plays hard on defense and they will be a tough out in the playoffs. They are the kind of team that the Milwaukees, Bostons and Philadelphias do not want to play. It has been such a long time for the Knicks to have a team like this. The NBA playoffs will be great as there is no dominant team out there this year, and probably 8-9 teams can legitimately claim to make a run to the championship.

It’s time to check out MLB exhibition games with the new rules. The pitch clock is a thing and umpires are enforcing it. Pace of play is important and the days of Derek Jeter stepping out after every pitch to retighten his batting gloves in true OCD style or Bernie Williams pretending he has something in his eye are over. Just stand in the box and hit. Same for the pitchers. Stop walking around the mound and squinting in for the signs. Of course, if you ever watch a black and white replay of a game in the 1960s baseball used to be played that way – and in 2 hours or so.

The Yankees are playing the young guys in their spring training games and Cashman has to be tempted to put some of them on the roster. Surely, Aaron Hicks can find a new home and the Josh Donaldson experiment can be declared a failure. Yankee fans want flags over the stadium but they also want to see the young players grow and improve. Enough of the Donaldsons and the Frankie Montas type trades.

OK, I know many of you watch college hoops and not just Big Ten games. I know there is no dominant team out there this year but do you see a change?

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.

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?