So many sports topics going on in my head

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The thoughts I have on this Monday night are varied…  NHL Finals…  NBA Finals…  MLB season…  and yes of course, the NFL.

I am excited for The Stanley Cup Finals as The Tampa Bay Lightning go for the three-peat against The Colorado Avalanche starting on Wednesday night in Denver.  I look at this series and am filled with caution.  The Avalanche are probably the most formidable opponent the Lightning have faced of both of the last two Stanley Cup Finals in which they won.  As a fan, I am excited for the challenge and despite my previous habit of not watching the Lightning play on TV (long story) I will be watching the Finals religiously and rooting the Bolts on to victory for a three-peat and the establishment of an NHL dynasty.  GoBolts

Short and sweet…  The Boston Celtics have no chance of winning the NBA Finals.  The Warriors are back and they will win the NBA Championship.  don’t @ me…  this will be shown as the truth after game 6.

MLB…  The AL East is loaded and has the best 4 teams in MLB, LA Dodgers not withstanding.  The 4th place team in the division (Boston – shout out to @scubatexan) would be the second place team in any other AL division in MLB.  The Cleveland Guardians, the team I root for, are in second place in the Central Division, possibly the worst division in baseball, have a way outside chance of a wildcard, and as we discussed on last night’s show (link here) most, if not all, of the teams that will make the Wild Card will probably come from the AL East, the strongest division in the AL.  As for the NL… Well… The NL West is loaded, but the NL East may have a say in that when it is all said and done with the Mets leading the NL in wins and the Brave surging…  it will be a tight race as we approach the All Star break.

Now my favorite…  NFL…  So much going on in an offseason of drama.  Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, Tua, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, I have a lot of thoughts going on in my head with what is happening in the NFL right now.  the old saying is true, there is really no offseason in the NFL.  Shit happens on a daily basis and I love it.  The drama that is building in the offseason is heating up, and while the NFL goes quiet in July, the drama will continue until training camps open in late July and go in full force in August.  Will Deshaun get suspended (please God yes)?  Will Tom go out on top?  Can the Rams repeat?  Who will win the AFC West?  Russell Wilson and his impact on the Broncos.  Will Seattle or Carolina trade for Baker Mayfield?  Can the Rams repeat with Aaron Donald coming back?  Are the Packers for real and can Aaron Rodgers lead them to the promised land?  So many questions, no answers to come soon.  So much drama…

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  90 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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What is a (former?) Browns fan to do?

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More disturbing information coming out of the Civil lawsuits on Deshaun Watson.  Accusations of Watson seeing 66 women over the course of two years for massages, the Houston Texans organization contracting a massage therapy company to facilitate the conduct of the Browns QB, they provided the opportunity for Watson’s conduct and being well aware of what Watson was doing.  As more details come out about this case, the more disturbed I become and the more I want to distance myself from fandom of The Cleveland Browns.  I have a proverbial horrible taste in my mouth from all of this and it has caused me to re-think my decision to root for them and eat the shit burger that could be a potential Super Bowl Championship for the Browns.

I know I am going to get roasted on the show this week…  I’m gonna be the brunt of every insult, take, and hilarity that will ensue after I announce my decision regarding my loyalty to a franchise I have been in love with my whole life.  I’ve come to the decision that for as long as this sexual predator is the QB of the Browns, I will not root for them.  as more details and accusations come out, the more disgusted I am that ownership, front office (Andrew Berry), and coaching staff (Kevin Stefanski) allowed this to happen.  I am making a stand (Hush @jongolson) on principle, and I will not waiver on this.  As long as this degenerate is behind center I refuse to root for the Browns.  I’m done…  for now.

The other side to this is, and I know the guys will want to know so they can trash talk to their hearts desire, I will not root for a specific team during this hiatus.  I love the NFL and it is my favorite sport to watch but despite my history as a Bucs fan, I am going to be a neutral fan for the foreseeable future.  I will watch the games with enthusiasm and I will enjoy every play, quarter, half, game and exciting plays that will happen.  But my interest will be neutral, like the true Sports Nerd I am.  I will play no favorites, I will have no rooting interest and for the first time in yeas, I will not have to stress over the Browns failing miserably week after week.  If they win a championship, I wont swallow the pill and I will treat it the same as I treated the Cavs winning in 2016…  meh…

The Browns need to VOID his contract and walk away.  Unfortunately the Browns have burned their bridge with Baker, so he isn’t an option.  If they do in fact void his contract they are once again starting from scratch, which I am ok with so long as they separate themselves from this cancer of a human being…  stay tuned…  the drama has only just begun.

Join me and my cohosts @jongolson, @scubatexan, and Eliot “Big E” Lomba each and every Sunday night at 7:30 PM Eastern time for The Sports Nerds!  90 minutes of sports talk, trash talk, and laughs as we discuss the week in sports.

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NHL, NFL, and PGA

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The Tampa Bay Lightning experienced something last night that they had not experienced since 2019.  They lost their second consecutive playoff loss coming at the hands of the NY Rangers.  After losing Wednesday night 6-2 in game one, they lose last night 3-2 and fall behind 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals.  I must be honest, I expected this…  I have been saying since the playoffs began that the Lightning are not the same team they were the last two years.  They are not as good as the last two Stanley Cup Championship teams, plus I have been arguing that this team is tired because of the amount of games they have played in the last three seasons.  there comes a time when that all catches up with you, and it appears that it is finally catching up with the Lighting.  I still have hope that they will pull this off and win three in a row, but it all depends on how they respond to this and play tomorrow in game three at “The Ice Palace” or as it is currently known as Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa.  I will not stop rooting for them in this series, I know they can do it, and until it is over, I will continue to cheer them on.

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Now on to the Cleveland Browns…  Another civil suit has been brought against Browns QB Deshaun Watson, bringing the number of lawsuits to 23 in total.  His lawyer Rusty Hardin made a statement this week saying that “”happy endings” to massages are not necessarily illegal.” ok because of this I am off the “Watson Bandwagon”  this guy is a predator, he is a sexual deviant and he put these women in a position they should never have been.  I will root for the Browns, but another side of me is wishing that Watson gets hurt so he is not the starting QB for this team.  Harsh, I know but it doesn’t change his behavior that is coming to light.  I really don’t want this guy as QB1 for a franchise that I have loved since I was a kid.  Get this guy out of here…

Augusta National

In the world of the PGA there is great controversy regarding the LIV tour…  Kevin Na resigned from the PGA tour today over his involvement with the LIV Golf league, which is sponsored by the financial arm of the Saudi Arabia government, which has been accused of numerous human-rights violations.  I respect Kevin Na, he is a great golfer and has provided plenty of memorable moments on the PGA Tour, but his loyalties in this situation is suspect.  He is chasing the money, nothing more, and because of this, I have lost some respect for him in that regard.  Saudi Arabia is a US ally, despite being one of the greatest violators of human rights in the world.  They are in the  middle of a genocide of the Yemeni people.  Mr. Na needs to re-think his loyalties and decide if the money is worth playing on a tour that supports the atrocities that the Saudi government supports.  This issue surpasses monetary gain, and instead, feeds to the morality of all that support this new tour.  I for one will not watch any of the tournaments and will not support any player that competes on this tour, to include not just Kevin Na, but Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, and others.

It is time for the carnage to STOP

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Time after time I have posted on this blog about political issues.  I have gone so far as to say “I don’t normally do this”  but those of you that read my posts know better.  I wear my political affiliation on my sleeve, I don’t hide it, and I don’t pretend to gloss over it with funny metaphors or innuendo.  I am a liberal, I am a progressive, and I lean toward voting for the Democratic Party platform.  I am not ashamed nor am I shy about bellowing it from the rafters of the proverbial rooftop.  The majority of my immediate family, to include my mother, my step-father, step-sister, all three of my half sisters, uncle, cousins, and close friends both in my work family and friendship circle are ALL conservatives…  I am on an island, a lone wolf if you will.  But I will not move away from what I believe, no matter the consequences because I am a person that cares deeply about fairness, logic, common sense, and yes, compassion.

This country has a problem, and it is the unfettered access to weapons of mass destruction.  No, not nukes, but assault weapons.  The fact that an 18-year old kid can buy an AR-15 style weapon without any checks and balances in the form of background checks is appalling to me.  Why do we allow KIDS to have access to weapons that can fire 40-100 rounds per minute is beyond me.  I don’t understand the need for the general public to have access to these weapons because they feel that the Second Amendment to the US Constitution grants them the right to have them.  The Amendment states word for word the following:

  • “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Gun nuts like to focus their attention to the last part of that amendment that says the right of the people to keep and bear arms etc… etc… but as a Progressive “communist Nazi Socialist” as the Conservatives like to call me prefer to focus on the “We regulated Militia” portion of the Amendment, because I feel that is the most important statement of the meaning behind the amendment itself.  Well regulated, at least in my mind allows the federal government to regulate the TYPE of “Arms” can be held and owned by the public.  the AR-Type weapon, to include AR-15 and AK-47 type of weapons should be regulated by the federal government tot he extent of denying the general public access to these type of weapons.  BAN ASSAULT WEAPONS.  There is NO rational explanation anyone can give me or anyone else as to why private citizens should have the right to own these weapons.

You want o own a handgun, shotgun, or a single-shot rifle, that’s fine…  but the only reason to own a weapon that can fire 40-100 rounds a minute, to include large capacity magazines that have 30 –50 round capacity is to shoot humans.  They aren’t hunting rifles, they aren’t for “defense” , they are simply what they were designed for, to kill people, and that is not acceptable in my eyes, or any other progressive, Liberal, “Commie” “Socialist” yada yada yada, whatever label you want to plant on me.

the US needs to ban these weapons access to the general public.  Too many kids have been killed by these weapons in the last 30 years.  Too many malls, churches, offices, and public spaces have been shot up by these weapons.  it needs to stop.  It isn’t mental health, it isn’t broken families, it isn’t upbringing, and it most definitely NOT the lack of GOD in our hearts…  it’s the weapons, and ONLY the weapons and the free access to them that are at fault.  No argument will change my mind on that, and nothing anyone can say will change how I feel.   Well regulated means just that… well regulated.  The Federal Government has the right to regulate these weapons and they need to exercise that right and BAN these assau8lt weapons in the US.

When people believe that the right to own these weapons OUTWEIGH the right of children’s lives, there is a problem, and I for one refuse to accept that.

Get rid of the access to the general public of these weapons of war…

Thanks for coming to MY Ted Talk…

The sports world continues to rotate…

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Despite my previous post I know that the sun rose today and it will set tonight, meanwhile the NHL playoffs, NBA playoffs, MLB season and NFL offseason continue to move forward despite all of the ugliness that has occurred in the last 36 hours.

In addition to those sports, there is a little tournament going on in Paris, France where Rafael Nadal just won his 300th career Grand Slam match.  I have watched this guy for over a decade and he reminds me of the dominance that Ivan Lendl had back in the day.  I compare the two because they are both left handed and are/were so much fun to watch.

My following observations are on the sports I am following (Least favorite to favorite)

In the NBA, game five of the Eastern Conference Finals are tonight pitting the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.  The series is tied 2-2 and if patterns ring true, it will probably go 7 games.  They have traded wins back to back and if the pattern ring true, the heat should win tonight sending game 6 back to Boston, where the Celtics blew out the Heat Monday night.  This is the more competitive series when comparing the East and West Finals, and the more intriguing matchup.  The Western Conference finals are less competitive, despite the fact Dallas won game four last night in convincing fashion, it appears to only be a matter of time before Golden State finishes them off.

In MLB, the Yankees still have the best record in baseball (puke) and lead the AL East by 4.5 games over the Rays.  The Cleveland Guardians (still hard to call them that) are wallowing in mediocrity in the AL Central, 6.5 games behind the division leading Twins.  Meanwhile in the NL, the Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball, winning nine of their last 10 games and lead the west by 1.5 games over the Padres (the Padres??)  while the METS!! are dominating the NL East with a 7.5 game lead in that division.  It’s still early in the season so I am not getting too excited yet, but I have seen a lot of great plays and highlights (wont watch full games this early) and its been fun to watch.

NHL Playoffs…  GO BOLTS!!!  The Tampa Bay Lightning sweep the President’s Trophy winner The Florida Panthers in four games, getting a much needed rest before taking on the winner of the Rangers-Hurricanes series.  That series is all tied up at 2-2 after the Rangers won game four last night 4-1 as the series now goes back to Carolina for game 5.  As a Lightning fan for over a decade, I really don’t care which team the Bolts face in the finals, just that they are getting some rest before the next series.  in the West, we have the battle of Alberta with the Calgary Flames now down 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers.  The Oilers have impressed me with their play, specifically Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and especially Evander Kane, who had a hat trick in game 3.  The Oilers are running on all cylinders and I really don’t think the Flames (Or as @jongolson calls them – “FRAUDS) have what it takes to come back from a 3-1 deficit.  The other west matchup is Colorado and St Louis, with the Avalanche leading 3-1.  the Avs and Oilers seemed destined to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals when it is all said and done.

Now we move on to the NFL…

  • The Las Vegas Raiders will be hosting Colin Kaepernick for a workout
  • A Federal Judge has denied the NFL’s motion to dismiss Jon Gruden’s lawsuit against the NFL
  • Kyler Murray, Deebo Samuel skip “voluntary” OTA’s with respective clubs.
  • Deshaun Watson saga takes a new turn with NFL meetings and victim accusations
  • Steelers Omar Khan promoted to GM
  • Is the Punt the most dangerous play in the NFL?

These are but a few headlines dominating the NFL Offseason, which in my opinion, doesn’t really have an offseason.  I love the NFL!!!

I love sports…

Here we go again

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I was gonna make a post tonight about the NHL playoffs and how proud I am of the Lightning sweeping the Panthers last night in the NHL playoffs, but events that occurred today in Texas changed my thought process and have instead decided to change directions…

The United States is the ONLY country in the world where mass shootings occur on a regular basis.  Today, 18 CHILDREN were killed in a school in Uvalde Texas..  EIGHTTEEN!!!  imagine that…  This was an elementary school in which children ranging from 6 – 12 years old go on a daily basis to learn, to be educated, to be engaged, and to look forward to their future.  These kids had no chance… These kids woke up this morning, had their favorite cereal for breakfast, hugged their parents before going to school, neither of which realized that it would be the last time they would embraced each other.  My heart is deeply hurting tonight as I watch the coverage of this tragedy and I do not know what we are doing as a country.

I do not own a firearm, have never wanted a firearm and never even considered purchasing a firearm.  I never felt that I lived in an area where I felt I needed a firearm.  My family is historically conservative, to include my parents, uncles, cousins, etc.… and they DO own firearms, I have seen them, I have held them and yet, I still have never felt that I had the need for one.  I do not begrudge my family members for owning these weapons, and I honor and respect their right to own them, as the constitution protects their right to own them.  I do, however have an issue with ownership of AR-style weapons that have no place in the general public.  There is no logical reason whatsoever to own these weapons other than the act of killing people.  They are not for hunting, they are not for protection (a handgun can provide that protection) nor do they have any practical use in our society.  They are purchased simply because people LIKE them and get a certain “high” from owning them.

I am in favor of a BAN on these weapons and the prevention of the general public from owning these weapons of war.  These weapons have no use other than on a battlefield by military personnel and not by the general public.  The individual responsible for today’s horrific tragedy purchased these weapons as soon as he turned 18 and was legally eligible, per Texas law, to purchase it.  nothing prevented him from getting access, but one has to wonder why an 18-year old would NEED to own such a weapon of mass-destruction.  It boggles the mind.  I don’t get it, I don’t understand it and I am disgusted knowing that it was so freely available to a young man without any checks and balances to look at who he is and if he has a history of mental illness or actions that may have raised a red flag.

My heart is breaking tonight for the families of the dead…

The gun laws in this country are weak… they have failed our children and no matter how many times it happens, our elected officials have refused to change any of it.  They have the power to make change, but the gun lobby of the NRA and other guns-rights groups have put so much money in their pockets they refuse to act.  All of the “thoughts and prayers” in the world wil not bring these children back to their parents.  The time to act has long passed, it is time finally for the Congress and the President to act, and make changes to the law that allows these military grade weapons available to the general public.

Thanks for reading…

I promise to return to sports on my next post…  I have a lot to say.

 

 

NFL Division Round Preview–The Road to the AFC/NFC Championships

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Hello friends…

No I’m not Jim Nantz, but I play him on VIMM/Facebook/Twitch…  The following are my predictions for the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs.  In the AFC (American Football Conference) we have The Cincinnati Bengals vs The Tennessee Titans Tomorrow at 4:30 Eastern and @jongolson’s Buffalo Bills vs The Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night at 6:30pm Eastern.  In the NFC (National Football conference) we have The San Francisco 49ers vs The Green Bay Packers Saturday at 8:15pm and the Los Angeles Rams vs The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday at 3:00 pm Eastern.  All four of these matchups are close on paper, but what is REALLY gonna happen this weekend?… The following are my predictions for all four games:

Saturday, January 22, 2022:

4:30 pm Eastern –  Cincinnati Bengals @ Tennessee Titans – Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN

Derrick Henry returns!!!  The Titans #1 running back has been cleared to play this weekend after going down to a foot injury in week eight, and although he may be rusty, I expect him to get most of the carries against the Bengals.  This will be a welcome relief for Tennessee as they need him for the most important game of the season.  Ryan Tannehill is, in my opinion, the worst QB of all the remaining QB’s left in the playoffs and he does not have the arm as good as the other seven QB’s that are left.  He is a game manager at best, and the stars have to be aligned in the right formation in order for him to have a great game.  The Bengals have struggled all season against the run, so I expect a heavy dose of Henry to the point of up to 25-30 carries.  I can’t say enough about the Bengals offense, led by Joe Burrow at QB, he is the favorite pick for comeback player of the year.  his Chemistry with Rookie of the year candidate Ja’marr Chase is ungodly, going back to their days at LSU (College) and I feel that Joe Mixon can run against the Titan defense.  I’m taking the Bengals…  31-21

8:15 pm Eastern – San Francisco 49ers @ Green Bay Packers – Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI

Aaron Rogers is my back-to-back pick for MVP this year, as he led the #1 seed Packers to a 13-4 record and was 8-0 at historic Lambeau field this year in the regular season.  the Packers are the healthiest team going into the playoffs, which is a great accomplishment considering the NFL had a 17 game season for the first time in its history.  The best receiver on the roster, Devante Adams has had one of the best seasons in his NFL career with 1553 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, while the Packers running game has a two headed monster in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, both combining for 1,602 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns.  The 2021 defense is much improved over the 2020 version and has shown they can stop both the run and pass, frustrating offenses this season.  The 49ers are coming off an emotional win in Dallas, and if not for a bungled last drive and Mike McCarthy’s bad clock management, they would be at home this week watching the Cowboys still in the playoffs.  A lot of pundits are saying that the 49ers actually have a decent chance to win this game, with all of their weapons, but I am not of that opinion.  The wild card in this matchup is 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo…  he has a tendency to make mistakes and is the SECOND worst QB remaining in the playoffs.  I truly believe this game will come down to a mistake by Garoppolo in the second half that will lead to Packers points and will be the difference at the end of the day.  Green Bay 34 San Francisco 28

Sunday, January 23, 2022:

3:00 pm Eastern – Los Angeles Rams @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa FL

Two words…  Tom… Brady… There has not been a player in the history of the NFL that has achieved more in his career ass Tom Brady has.  7 Super Bowl wins, numerous NFL passing records, and now considered the GOAT (Greatest of all time) to play his position.  As a kid growing up the greatest QB to ever play the game was Johnny Unitis…  The Roger Staubach, then Joe Montana.  Brady has eclipsed them all and at 45 years old he still shows no signs of slowing down.  I have hated him for most of his career because of the team he played for and his head coach, arguably the greatest Head Coach of all time, Bill Belichick, but the last couple of seasons it has been fun to watch him because he is no longer playing for the hated Patriots and said head coach, but instead playing for the Buccaneers, of whom I was a big fan in the early 2000’s when they won their first championship, and Bruce Arians, a head coach that anyone could like because of his knowledge of the game and his willingness to be aggressive when he needs to be and not aggressive when the situation calls for it.  The Bucs roster is LOADED on both sides of the ball, and they are definitely the better team.  the problem here is, their defense was decimated last week against the Eagles and may be without their starting right tackle, Tristian Wirfs and their starting center Ryan Jensen.  Brady will have to get the ball out quick with Aaron Donald and Vonn Miller looking to take him out.  Both teams have excellent defenses, but I think the Bucs have the better overall defense and that will be the difference.  As much as I like Matthew Stafford, he is prone to mistakes, and I believe he will make one or two mistakes the Rams won’t be able to overcome.  Cooper Cupp is the 2nd best WR in the NFL behind Devante Adams (my opinion) but he wil be swarmed with double teams and will not have a good game.  Odell Beckham Jr has had a resurgence in LA since being traded from the Browns but it wont be enough, The Bucs are too good, and they have a date with destiny in Green Bay for a rematch with the Packers…  Tampa Bay 31 – Los Angeles 27

6:30 pm Eastern – Buffalo Bills @ Kansas City Chiefs – GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium – Kansas City, MO

This is the game of the week…  The two best teams in the AFC, in my opinion, face off for a trip to the AFC Championship, and if my prediction is correct, the winner will host that game.  This game is gonna be a shootout to see who can put up the most points, defense is not a factor in this game, despite Buffalo having the #1 defense in the NFL, Kansas City has come into its own on offense the last couple of weeks and has proven they can run or pass against some of the best defenses in the NFL.  Buffalo is coming off a perfect game…  8 drives, 7 touchdowns, no punts, no FG attempts, no turnovers, and the only reason they didn’t score on the 8th drive is because it was three kneel-downs to end the game against New England at the end of the game.  The Chiefs are coming off a dominating performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers who had no business being in the playoffs in the first place.  I love the way Josh Allen is playing going into this game, but questions remain as to if he can get over the hump and beat The Chiefs in the playoffs.  The bills did beat KC at Arrowhead during the regular season, but this is the playoffs, so do they have what it takes to get over that next step.  I think they do…  I know I said defense wont matter in this game, but I feel the Bills will make enough plays on defense to win the game.  I think their pass rush can get to Mahomes, and with Micah Parsons in the defensive secondary all bets are off.  GO BILLS!!  Buffalo 42 – Kansas City 35

Well there ya have it friends, my predictions for this weekend…  hope you enjoy the games, we will revisit my predictions come Monday…  good or bad… and don’t forget to join me, @jongolson, Eliot “Big E” Lomba, and Ken Costlow for “The Sports Nerds” Sunday night during the last game at 7:30 pm Eastern (@jongolson attendance yet to be determined) for play-by-play reaction and commentary on all the games that happen this weekend.  The best 90 minutes of sports smack talk on the web today!!!

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Super Wildcard Weekend Part Deux

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ok so I am late by one day in posting this…  either way here we go…

Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay – This wasn’t even a contest.  The Bucs jumped out to a 31-0 lead by the end of the third quarter and Philly had no hope of catching up as the Buccaneers defeated Philly 31-15 in a game that wasn’t even as close as the score reflects.  Jalen Hurts showed his inexperience by throwing 2 interceptions and showed his inexperience as the Bucs defense harassed him the entire game.  The Bucs finally showed who they are, and that is the defending champs.  the defense seems to have finally come together for the playoff run and they will be facing the Rams, who beat them earlier in the season in LA.  Tom Brady is the GOAT, there is no dispute, and he showed it on Sunday, throwing for 271 yards and two scores, while not turning the ball over.  Despite not having Leonard Fournette or Ronald Jones, the Bucs running game was effective against the Eagles.  Racking up 106 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.  No surprises here, and really no excitement, as the Bucs dominated right out of the gate and never looked back.

San Francisco @ Dallas – Wow, I have so many thoughts on this game that this short paragraph may not have enough room for.  The cowboys, once again had been predicted all season long as the team to beat in the NFC, despite the dominance of the Packers against all of their opponents this season.  Dak was hailed as the comeback player of the year, Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard the “best one-two punch” in the NFL, while also touting the skills of defensive stars Trevon Diggs and Micah Parsons.  The Cowboys fell flat, Dak was harassed all game long by the aggressive Niners defense and believe it or not, Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo really only made one big mistake in the game, a late interception by Anthony Brown when Jimmy overthrew his intended receiver.  Outside the fact that the Cowboys gave up 341 yards, allowed two rushing touchdowns to Deebo Samuel and Elijah Mitchell, despite the fact that Dak threw for 254 yards and a TD (along with an INT) and STILL lost,  the most BONE-HEADED sequence happened at the end of the game.  With 14 seconds left and no timeouts from the San Fran 41 yard line the ‘Boys called a QB DRAW where Dak ran for 17 yards, but failed to understand the rules in that after he slid at the 24 yard line, he did not hand the ball to an official, which is REQUIRED, and instead handed the ball to his center to place the ball in order to prepare for a clock-stopping spike to allow for one more play.  The official ran into the line and did what he was supposed to do, place the ball where the line of scrimmage is supposed to be, but by the time the ball was snapped the clock had already run out and the game was over.  This sequence is a result of Head Coach Mike McCarthy having bad game-management skills (something he showed time after time in Green Bay) and the fact that the starting QB of “America’s Team” did not understand the rules.  As a footnote…  Dallas did not beat any team all season with a double digit win total…  can you say that they had been overrated all season?  I think so…  Sorry Ken… in the words of Denny Green…  The Cowboys were who we thought they were…

Pittsburgh @ Kansas City –  I’m gonna make this short and sweet… Big Ben’s last game will go down as one of the most lackluster performances of his entire career.  He showed his age, he showed that he needs to retire and he showed that he was unable to draw from his HOF (puke) career and be competitive against a clearly superior team in the Chiefs.  Ben threw for 215 yards and two TD’s and the Steelers managed just 56 yards rushing between 3 different ball carriers.  After a punt-fest in the first quarter, the Chiefs woke up in the second and rattled off 21 unanswered points to take a 21-7 lead at halftime.  they never looked back and now they will welcome in the Buffalo bills next Sunday night in prime time…  The only question that remains is…  Will @jongolson show up to do our Show?  or will he decline and decide to focus on the game. 

Arizona @ LA Rams – Another game that wasn’t even close.  Matthew Stafford gets his first postseason win of his career and the Rams roll the Cardinals in the last game of the “weekend” on Monday night.  The Rams took a 21-0 lead into halftime and held Kyler Murray to 137 yards passing, just 6 yards rushing, and intercepted him twice in a dominating 34-11 win.  Kyler could never get going and his inexperience showed heavily against a veteran Rams defense.  The Rams now have to face the Bucs, in Tampa, and this promises to be a dogfight, both teams are pretty even on both sides of the ball.  the Rams did manage to win their last meeting earlier in the season, but this is a different Bucs team and they are not only playing at home this time but they seemed destined to once again make it to the NFC Championship. 

Hope you enjoyed my “recaps” this week.  Please remember to Join me, @jongolson, Ken Costlow, and Eliot “Big E Lomba each and every Sunday night for The Sports Nerds, where we cover mostly the NFL, but we also cover all major sports in the USA, including MLB, NHL, and the NBA.  WE are Live at 7:30 pm Eastern time on Facebook, Vimm.tv, Twitter, and Twitch.  see below for links:

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Super Wild Card Weekend

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So after an exciting weekend of NFL Football…  the following is my review, thoughts, and opinions on “Super Wildcard Weekend”

Saturday:

Las Vegas Raiders @ Cincinnati Bengals – This game was a lot closer than I thought it would be.  The Bengals should have won this game by two touchdowns in my  opinion, but only managed to squeak out a 7 point lead, due to a last minute interception by LB Germaine Pratt with 17 seconds left to play I the game.  The Bengals were the obvious better team, but the Raiders have been known as the team that “just wont go away” for most of the season.  They have overcome a lot of adversity throughout the season, including the firing of HC Jon Gruden and the DUI resulting in death arrest of  Henry Ruggs III.  The Raiders won their last four games of the season to make the playoffs, but Saturday night was just not their night.  Joe Burrow threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bengals to their first playoff win in over 30 years, moving on to face the #1 seed Tennessee Titans next weekend.  The most memorable play that will be discussed regarding this game is the “inadvertent whistle” at the end of the first half.  Burrow, under pressure rolled right and just as he was about to step out of bounds, threw across his body and hit Tyler Boyd in the end zone for a touchdown.  The problem here is that while the ball was in the air, an official blew his whistle, causing a controversy that still echoes two days later.  per NFL Rules, if an inadvertent whistle is blown while the ball is in play, the play does not count and must be played over.  That did not happen in this case and the touchdown stood.  After the game the NFL put out a statement saying that the officials on the field concluded that the whistle was blown after Boyd had caught the touchdown.  Audio of the play clearly shows that the whistle was blown while the ball was in the air, thus per NFL rules, the down should have been played over.  It wasn’t and the Bengals were given a touchdown.  The final score difference was seven points, thus the “bogus touchdown” was the difference in the game giving even more traction to the controversy surrounding the “inadvertent whistle” and the allowed touchdown at the end of the half.  I don’t know whether or not if the call had been made correctly it would have changed the outcome, but the Raiders do have a significant right to protest that play and after a season-long full of bad officiating, the NFL has a lot to look at in the offseason (not that they will look at it).  Anyway, despite the wrong call, the Bengals move on to Tennessee next week and face the Titans at 4:30 pm Eastern on Saturday.

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills – This game was supposed to be the marquis matchup of the day on Saturday, but it turned into what would be the biggest blowout of the weekend.  Buffalo dominated from the start, taking the opening kickoff 70 yards in 11 plays to open the scoring…  The Bills never looked back and dominated the Patriots to move on to the Divisional round next Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.  The key takeaway from this game is that the Bills scored a touchdown on EVERY drive they took possession, except for the last drive, which was only 3 kneel-downs to end the game.  7 drives… 7 touchdowns…  to put this in perspective, and to add to the impressive dominance they showed against the Patriots, the Bills did not punt the ball the entire game, they did not turn the ball over the entire game, and lastly Josh Allen was perfect on third down conversions.  This was a complete domination from start to finish and the Patriots did not even come close to threatening the lead put up by the Bills.  Josh Allen threw for 305 yards and 5 touchdowns (including a “Thicc-Six to an offensive lineman), he also ran the ball 6 times for 66 yards with an 11-yard per run average.  The surprising stat in this game was the Bills running game.  mediocre for most of the year, the Bills racked up a total of 176 yards on the ground, including 81 yards and 2 touchdowns by Devin Singletary.  Josh was on point the entire night and the Bills finally slayed the demons of New England dominance over them for the last 20+ years (Maybe its because a certain 44-year old QB is no longer in New England?).  My good friend and Sports Nerds Show co-host @jongolson called it the Bills’ Super Bowl for 2021-22 and I have to agree.  The Bills have overcome one hurdle and exorcised one demon, with another one waiting in the wings in Kansas City.  The defending AFC Champion is waiting and Buffalo has to travel to Kansas City to face the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year in the AFC Championship.  This Bills team is better than last year, and this game promises to be a must-watch affair that no one should miss

I will follow up this post later with my review and thoughts on the Sunday games – Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay, San Francisco @ Dallas & Pittsburgh @ Kansas City. 

 

Out of My Comfort Zone

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I haven’t posted in a while, so I’m due…

This may or may not be a sports-specific post, as there are a lot of things going on in my head these days.  I have gotten away form what I love, creating content, and although creating content is hard  for me, I get an emotional rush every time I make a post or video.  I am trying to get that back again as I pull my thoughts together and get my fingers moving…

First, let me be honest, despite the rush I get from creating content I am out of my comfort zone here, so shoutout to my good pal Jon Olson for staring at me on my desktop:

Jonnugget

So this may not be an in-depth thought provoking post, its purpose is to get me out of my comfort zone and start posting again, even if it is short and to the point. 

As I mentioned above, I get an emotional rush by creating content…  nothing is more evident than on Sunday nights with 3 of my best friends.  See…  I host a weekly LIVE broadcast with these guys, and I have hosted this show for the last 11 years, but no-one seems to have noticed because we only manage single digit attendance on a weekly basis despite being widely available on Facebook Live, Twitter, Twitch,  the blockchain (yes, crypto), along with the audio version saved as a podcast on Spotify and Apple podcasts, among others.  The show has evolved over the years, specifically the platforms that we have used to broadcast.  I finally feel we have harnessed the RIGHT platforms and is in the perfect position to draw more viewers. 

Our topic is sports…  mostly NFL, but we talk about all of the major sports – NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL.  we occasionally drop in some NCAA, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, and other sports.  Yes, it is NFL heavy, but that is a good thing because we love the sport. We don’t have an agenda, we aren’t scripted, and we usually shoot from the hip and have no filter.  I encourage you to check us out each and every Sunday night at 7:30pm Eastern on Facebook Live and other platforms:

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Twitter

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Join Scott “The Sports Nerd” Wright, and “The Rant Pack” – Eliot “Big E” Lomba, Jon Olson and Ken Costlow as we go on RANTS and all out SMACK TALK each and every Sunday at 7pm ET, live on Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and VIMM. Come join the fun as we shoot from the hip, and not a damn script. Fun times await you all!!!

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