The fans are starting to pepper SU for a Super Bowl prediction.  I have never been a fan of making score predictions but will take one for the team due to popular demand.  A few considerations:

• Clearly the Pats have been there before.  Experience matters and being able to handle the hype of Super Bowl week is a factor.  Tom Brady knows how to make the adjustments and can thrive even in a year with a depleted receiver corps.
• This may be the Pats’ last hurrah.  Several coaching coordinators will be leaving and the amount of noise going around regarding Kraft, Belichick and Brady has been constant.
• Nick Foles can play at a high level but no guarantee he will in this game.  The Eagles were smart to get him going last game with a series of quick slants that got him in rhythm.  You know the Patriots will take that away in this game.
• The game is indoors which should favor Brady.

SU will go with the Eagles.  It’s time for change and just maybe the karma is with Philadelphia.  Feels like it will be high scoring.  SU says 31 – 24 Eagles.

Feel free to make your predictions.  As always, SU will heap major praise on whomever is closest to the actual outcome and score.

Other thoughts for today:

• Trey Burke with a double-double last night in limited minutes (18 points and 11 assists).  SU says just start him for the remainder of the season.  Nothing to lose – team is going nowhere and if you continue to roll Jack out there and keep losing why not make the change?  Ridiculous not to; Burke can provide a spark.  Maybe you catch lightning?
• Federer in yet another Grand Slam final.  But the men keep dropping due to injury – Nadal went down in the quarter finals with a hip injury.  This is a big deal for the men’s game.  Is it the absence of an off season?  Hard courts?  Long rallies where no one comes to net?  Djokovic will surely need arm surgery – he is kidding himself that rest will cure it.  Murray is out until June.  But also a great opportunity for the next Gen guys to show themselves.  The kid from South Korea, Chung, looks really good.
• Watch out for Purdue in the NCAAs.  Michigan State gets all the attention but Purdue has a bunch of seniors and size.  SU says they may be there in the end.
• We need pitchers and catchers to report now.  Pretty incredible how many free agents are still out there.  The owners are collectively looking to get under the revenue sharing cap and there have been few signings.  SU is still terrified that the Yankees will bring back Todd Frazier.
• Barry Bonds and Clemens still only at 56-57% of Hall of Fame ballots.  They only have 4 years left.  SU would be fine keeping them out but suspects they both sneak in at the last minute.  Do they belong?

Finally, after much prodding from SU, the Knicks have signed Trey Burke to an NBA contract and send Ramon Sessions on his way.  SU is not positive but it almost seems like they waited this long to minimize the payment of Sessions’ remaining salary for this year.  The other theory out there is that the Knicks were looking to sign a player from Norway in order to tap into the international market as they have the best people and players but could not find a suitable point guard.

So, the question for Coach Jeff Hornaeck now is do you replace Sessions with Burke as the 12th player on the team and never play him?  Or do you do something bold?  Do you look to spread the court with another shooter?  The Westchester Knicks allegedly play the same offense as the parent team so the transition should be easy.  The bad news is that they have guaranteed Jarrett Jack’s contract for the rest of the season.  The return of Hardaway helps a lot but SU says if you watch Porzingis, he is much better getting the ball in the flow of the offense vs. having to work hard in an isolation setting to get his shot.  Surely, they have stats on where he is more effective but it certainly looks that way to me.  Some say Ntilikina has hit the rookie wall and may need some down time.  SU would put Jack on the bench but that will never happen.  Anyway, let’s see starting today.

Gerrit Cole has been traded to the Astros so the Yankees did not get that 5th starter as of yet.  SU is still fine going into this season with the current roster and giving the rookies a chance to shine.  This is what made last year’s team so much fun to watch.  However, Todd Frazier is still out there which scares me.  The Mets made a smart signing with Jay Bruce (3 years for $39 million is very fair) and are supposedly looking at Adrian Hernandez.  He likely has something left in the tank for a couple of years.  We are only about a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting.

Nice win for Michigan over Michigan State on the road yesterday.  They overcame Tom Izzo’s working the refs and won in a tough gym.  SU asks how much is working the refs really a factor?  It was interesting to see yesterday how many times the refs came over to chat with him throughout the game.  It was almost like they had to justify every call to him.  The game had a ridiculous number of foul shots and took about 2 hours and 40 minutes.  Michigan was in the penalty after 5 minutes in the first half – this from a team that is at the top of the list for fewest foul calls.  Michigan State pounds the ball inside and initiates contact.  SU says just let them play and stop with the touch fouls.  Maybe in the future they can put sensors on uniforms and use AI to make calls?  Don’t laugh – the technology is probably pretty close and they could use the G-League to test it out.

The Patriots in another AFC Championship game.  It’s an impressive run and it’s more than Tom Brady.  Say what you will about the Patriots, they run a great organization with that type of track record in a league with a salary cap.

Let’s be clear: SU is a seasoned fan.  I do not blame referees for losses as games are won and lost much earlier than the last play of the game.  We all know that although in the heat of the moment, it’s easy to just focus on that last play.  This is the case in every sport.  But having watched many Big Ten football and basketball games over the past 10+ years, it’s very clear that for a major college conference, the quality of officiating is truly terrible and consistently bad.  It was actually shocking to learn that the NCAA championship game Monday night had Big Ten officials.  I mean did all of the other conference officials have the day off?  What were they thinking?

Last night, Michigan and Purdue played a spirited game.  Purdue led until just a few minutes were left when Michigan finally took a small lead.  The game was tied when Charles Matthews of Michigan drove to the basket.  He was stripped on the baseline and the ball went out of bounds with 6.5 seconds left.  Time out by Michigan.  The Purdue coach asked the officials to review the play just for the hell of it as he said afterwards.  After a 5-minute review delay, they awarded the ball to Purdue.  The announcers saw nothing for the first 3-4 minutes of the delay but in order to fill the time started a process to review it frame by frame – like the Zapruder film of the Kennedy assassination.  You still couldn’t see anything but as a fan, you knew they would overturn after a while.  It was a clean strip that happens many times in a game at any level of basketball.  Purdue ball and then a touch foul on a pass into the low post that was probably a foul.  Guy makes 1 of 2 foul shots and that’s the game.

SU’s point: let the players decide the game at the end.  Review is only for plays that are clearly hard to tell.  You can look at any strip of the ball with today’s technology and determine that in some freeze frame a finger might have hit the ball.  If that’s the case, then officials should review every strip on every strip play.  The delay broke the flow of the game and what had been a terrific ending.  I don’t know if Michigan would have won but to have the game determined by the refs on a reversal there was a joke.  Ironically, the referee who made the reversal also refs NFL games – Gene Steratore.  He must have had his NFL cap on was looking to see if the ball moved in the receiver’s hands as he completed the catch….

That’s the rant for the morning.  All SU asks is that the referees consider the flow of the game and what they are reviewing.  This was overkill.  Make the change now.

Great NCAA championship game last night.  Of course, SU could not stay awake for the whole game but did wake up in the 4th quarter to see the missed field goal and then overtime.  Georgia was certainly dominant in the 1st half and the 13-0 half-time lead reflected that dominance.  You have to give Nick Saban credit for putting his freshman QB in for the 2nd half and allowing him to open up the offense.  They should have an interesting competition next season for the starting quarterback position – similar to what Ohio State went through with Cardale Jones and JT Barrett after they won the championship a few years ago.  As Georgia played an overtime game to get here, you can’t feel sorry for them – you roll the dice in OT.  The reality is that if Alabama had a better field goal kicker, Georgia would have lost in regulation.

The Georgia running back, Michel, had one run in the first half where he tip-toed down the sideline and stayed in-bounds.  You can see this guy will be special in the NFL – until he is injured after a couple of years of course.  Their quarterback, Fromm, is also the real deal and will have a great NFL career.  He has an athlete’s pedigree having also played in the Little League World Series and is a bit of a gun slinger.

In any event, a great conclusion to the season and you have to say that the NCAA Football Championship committee got it right with the 4 teams selected for the top bowls.

Trey Burke to the Knicks?  Sounds like we are no the verge.  Now it will be up to Jeff Hornacek to use him vs. having him be the 12th player on the roster who just sits.  The Knicks are last in the NBA in 3-point shooting.  He will need to figure out a way to use him to open things up for KP and others.  Or not.  Most G-League players who make the NBA rosters just sit.  The Knicks have guaranteed Jarrett Jack’s contract now for the season.  But there are always injuries and guys have to take advantage of their opportunities.

For those of you who follow men’s tennis, the number of injuries hitting the top players is striking.  Andy Murray just had hip surgery and is out until Wimbledon, Djokovic has a tennis elbow type of condition and may also need surgery very soon.  Stan Wawrinka has still not played for a few months and Nadal seems to be day-to-day with his knees.  SU says the issue is that this group of players tries to win by staying back and grinding out long rallies from the baseline.  This results in 4- and 5-hour matches in the major tournaments on hard courts and we are seeing them wear down physically.  Federer is the exception as he will venture to net or look to end points sooner with riskier shots.  I think the reality of the sport is that the grind it out approach will shorten careers or at least careers where you are at the top of the sport.  It will be interesting to see if Murray and Djokovic change their playing styles now or if they will see the answer as just playing fewer tournaments.  Young and up and coming players should pay attention here and model their games after Federer vs. this style.  The problem is that with the equipment these days, it’s hard to come to net and not get passed.

SU believes 2018 should be the year that refereeing, umpiring and officiating take their game to the next level.  It’s time.  Cases in point:

• If you watched yesterday’s Titans – Chiefs game, there were several instances of replays which were used to overturn fumble calls that were obviously wrong as well as a spotting of the ball that was a good 3 yards off.  And the NFL supposedly uses its top refs for the playoffs.  Not in this game.
• SU watched the Michigan – Illinois game yesterday.  Illinois has a new coach who has his team playing fierce, man-to-man, defense all over the court.  This means grabbing, holding and not allowing teams to run their offense.  It’s an interesting strategy.  Rye High School has employed this approach for years as SU’s subscribers who are familiar with Blind Brook High School hoops can attest to.  The refs can literally call a foul on every possession but rather than do that and slow the game down, they allow it all with no calls.  In this game, they actually did the opposite and started calling touch fouls on Michigan.  The game had no rhythm or flow.  SU says if it’s a foul, then you call it and you call it right from the start.  They will stop at some point playing defense that way.  But once you allow it, then that’s the way the game will be played.  Big Ten refs are challenged to begin with in any sport.  They need to get this right.
• SU says the fault is not all on the refs.  LeBron, for all his greatness, is the biggest whiner on foul calls in the NBA.  He complains on every call and stays down at the other end to make his point.  In the NFL, receivers literally on any incomplete pass make the hand motion for a penalty.  Some are legit, but many are not.  Every play.
• In the NBA, no player ever commits a foul.  They protest, flail their arms but when you watch on replay, they obviously did.

What you have today is players and coaches whining on every play.  SU suggests the following:

• Let’s start penalizing coaches and players more quickly for complaining on calls – especially in the NFL where nothing ever happens.  I am not saying disqualifying stars through technicals but maybe allow 3 technicals for ejection and make each tech 2 foul shots.  Just nip it in the bud.  At the highs school level, there is zero tolerance for this crap.  Apply it at the pro level.
• Get the replay process moving much faster.  There are obvious overturns that take 5-6 minutes.  Just do it.
• The NFL should simplify the catch rule.  If it looks like a catch, it’s a catch.  Move on.
• The call on the field shouldn’t matter in the NFL or in college.  Use the replay to get it right.  Things happen way to quickly on the field and replay today is so precise.  Just use the technology with the goal of making the right call.  Period.

SU has always believed that good teams overcome officiating.  Stop complaining and just play through it.  Of course, you will lose some games in the end but be professional and just play.  I know I am old school.   The games are fast moving and it’s hard to see everything.  Too many players today complain about not being respected by refs who won’t talk to them.  Enough of that.  Just play through it.

Thoughts?

SU just stumbled across some hot stove talk related to Eduardo Nunez, long-time SU fave:

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2018/01/mlb_free_agency_rumors_eduardo_nunez_to_yankees.html

SU says very interesting.  When he’s healthy, which is not all the time unfortunately, Nunez can hit and run.  I would love to see him back in the Bronx.  The article still talks about Todd Frazier being in the mix but he may be asking for more years and dollars than Cashman is willing to give.  SU says hang tough, Brian.

Credit to long-time SU subscriber, D. Stockel, who alerted SU to the rumor that some in the Knicks organization are ready to sign Trey Burke to an NBA contract now:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/knicks-organization-call-trey-burke-article-1.3737212

They would have to cut someone from the roster to do that.  Fortunately, there must be 5 or 6 candidates for that.  Apparently, there is some type of G-League Showcase on January 10th at which time other teams can get in the mix.  Sessions, Baker or Jack can go.  Burke can score and with KP running on fumes, they are badly in need of offense.  It’s a low cost, low risk, high reward move.  But Knick fans know, they often do the opposite.

Check out the Brooklyn Nets.  Play hard every night.  Up tempo game, fun to watch.

Michigan State is now #1 and they are the team to beat this year along with Duke.  This may be their year.  They also have an easy Big Ten schedule which should help them secure the #1 overall seed come March.

A happy and healthy new year to the SU intergalactic subscriber base.  SU is back in action after the holiday break.  Truth be told, there was not enough quality sports action over the past week and a half to entertain SU so I took to Netflix to fill in the void.  I would highly recommend: Ozark; Mindhunter; and season 3 of Narcos (which was better than seasons 1 and 2).

Let’s face the truth: the majority of the college bowl games are just not entertaining.  Who wants to watch 6-6 and 7-5 teams play?  The NCAA needs to limit the number of games and while they are at it, can we take off the corporate sponsorships in the title?  Just annoying.

Yesterday’s Oklahoma – Georgia game was one for the ages and it’s why college football is more entertaining than the NFL right now.  Wide open, big plays, trick plays and wild swings in momentum.  Either team would have been deserving to play next week in the championship game although SU has seen enough of Baker Mayfield.  He is the college version of Odell Beckham Jr.  The dude knows the camera is on him all the time.  Some said he tired in the 2nd half due to flu like symptoms earlier in the week but SU believes he was fatigued by running down the sideline after each touchdown flapping his arms.  It’s Johnny Manziel II and buyer beware in the NFL.  He is not worth the baggage that will come along with him.  Georgia has a great freshman QB and two great running backs.  You had to be impressed by the half-time adjustments of their 2nd year coach which pretty much shut down Oklahoma in the 2nd half.

Michael Kay went off on Twitter saying the game should not be decided by overtime rules for these games but SU was ok with that.  I mean, the World Cup allows a shootout to decide the championship.  At least overtime provides a better format than that.

Meanwhile, Alabama manhandled Clemson although SU could not stay up for the post-midnight conclusion.  It’s ridiculous that the NCAA can’t start these games a bit earlier so the East Coast doesn’t have to stay up until 1 am.  SU watched Ohio State beat USC and let’s just say that Ohio State is no Alabama.  Not even close.  Of course, Alabama’s entire defense will be in the NFL in a couple of years.  It’s funny how Nick Saban never seems interested in having a high quality quarterback on his teams.  He’s very comfortable having a game manager type and win with defense and running.  The NCAA got it right putting Alabama in the championship series.  Having said that, SU believes that Georgia has a great shot at beating them next week given their coach’s familiarity with Alabama having coached there and home field in Atlanta for the game.

The Georgia – Oklahoma game may also have shown what the NFL needs to become in the future.  Fewer concussions, fewer targeting plays and lots of offense.  SU says this is much more entertaining to watch and perhaps a peek ahead of making the game more fun and less of a health risk.  The hits to the head, concussions and rash injuries right now are not entertaining.  It’s time to loosen the rules at the college and NFL levels and find a way for a safer game.

SU endured the Outback Bowl and watched Michigan blow a 19-3 lead late in the 3rd quarter.  The good news is that I did not go down to Tampa to watch.  The bad news is that Jim Harbaugh puts out an offensive scheme that is offensive to watch.  Every other team in college is playing wide open but he is committed to running the ball up the middle and huddling up after every play.  He is a great recruiter but needs to turn over the offensive reins to a more contemporary assistant who gets this.  Teams do not win now playing this way in college.  You need to put points on the board.

Finally, the Yankees have not pulled the trigger on the Gerrit Cole trade (good).  They are making sounds like they’re not interested anymore but of course this is just a diversion by Cashman to get the asking price down.  SU says do not offer more than Clint Frazier and some minor, minor prospects.  Let’s give Chance Adams a chance to compete for a starting slot next year or at a minimum a place in the bullpen.

As always, SU welcomes your comments…

Long-time SU subscriber T. Potter sent SU this baseball trivia quiz from the New York Times:

SU has traditionally steered clear of trivia questions as the intergalactic subscriber base has a tendency to use the internet to assist in answering.  But if you are home from work this week or sitting on some beach, perhaps these challenging questions will provide a welcome diversion for a few minutes.  I think you have to click on the headline to access the questions.  Have at it!

First of all, there is no need for any of you to thank SU for providing the latest and greatest commentary in the sports world for yet another year.  Vice President Mike Pence had contacted SU “to say a few words” but at SU, we don’t need that type of adulation.  We are just here doing our job for the intergalactic subscriber base.

Lots of rumors swirling today in Yankeeland.  For your viewing pleasure and consideration:

• Talks are heating up between the Yankees and Pirates about acquiring pitcher Gerrit Cole for a bunch of prospects.  The Yankees actually drafted Cole when he was in high school but he opted to attend UCLA and turned them down.  They have always coveted him.  The Pirates really want Gleyber Torres but the Yankees are, so far, standing firm.  Clint Frazier has been offered and rumors are it will be Frazier and Chance Adams as the primary pieces moving.  As SU has said many times, I much prefer the prospects to be given a chance – especially the high quality variety that the Yankees have these days.  Cole is not coming off a good year.  Give Adams a chance.  Unhappy about this one.  Many say this one is a done deal – just a matter of who is traded and the date it’s announced.
• Now, how about this one?  Jacoby Ellsbury to the SF Giants for the pitcher Jeff Samardzija.  Bad contract for bad contract.  SU would do this deal just to move Ellsbury.  There is no place to play him now and he still has about 27 years left on his deal.

Thoughts?  The guy to get is on the Tampa Bay Rays – Chris Archer.  Yankee killer, throws in the high 90s.  But they would no doubt demand a boatload of prospects.  The Rays are in full teardown mode.  Have you been following Derek Jeter’s almost daily trashing?  Did he really need to sign up for this?  SU wonders if he already regrets getting into this in Miami.

Sad news about the passing of Dick Enberg.  “Oh my!”  Truly one of the great sportscasters who did so many sports over the years – football, baseball, basketball, US Open tennis.

The Knicks start on the tough part of their schedule now – 16 out of the next 20 on the road.  They do need to get Hardaway back healthy to have a shot here but continue to play a fun, up-temp style.  So refreshing.

Merry Christmas!

As long-time subscriber, S. Goldman, commented in yesterday’s posting, this afternoon is the last show of the Imperious One, Mike Francesa, on WFAN.  For those of us in New York, he has dominated the drive time hours for the last 30 years or so.  He was bigger than life – always opinionated and very knowledgeable about the Yankees and Giants.  He was abusive to the callers who disagreed with him and soaked up the adulation from those who sucked up to him.  For SU, the best was listening to him say everything in triplicate – especially when Mad Dog left for Sirius Radio and he was on by himself for 5 and a half hours a day.  There is an art to saying the same thing 3 times in a row and SU suspects that to this day, he has no idea he is doing it.  No clue.

He became more cranky the last few years and who can blame him after doing this for such a long time?  Last year, during the election, he became totally unlistenable as he is a huge Trump supporter and we listen to him for sports, not his politics.  Anyway, best of luck to Big Mike.  I am sure he will stay active doing something sports related.

Others want to share their thoughts of Mike Francesa?

Melo makes his Garden return tomorrow night as OKC comes to town.  SU says the Knicks will give him a nice video montage of highlights and the fans will give him a warm ovation.  You can picture the montage: setting the Garden scoring record for a Knick, pointing to his head after a made 3-pointer, doing the jab step move from the right side,  jab stepping from the left side, and of course, jab stepping from the top of the key.  Perhaps they will include some video of him jogging down the court on defense?  The Knicks gave up a lot of young players to the Nuggets to acquire him and their style of play during his era was boring.  But he put points on the board, was never afraid to take the last shot, and was a stand up guy in the locker room.  At OKC, he is shooting 40% from the field and there is talk of moving him to the bench to play with the 2nd unit which makes the most sense given the number of individual style players on the Thunder.  It will be interesting to see if he is a team player and makes the move.

He deserves the applause tomorrow night.