Morning friends.
From the "Talks too much" studios, we got a little wordy so let's buckle up.
NFL Power Poll
The story line du jour (mmmmm, that sounds good, think I'll have that) in today's NFL is two-fold.
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) warms up prior to an NFL preseason football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey) First, what is the next - and potentially final - chapter for the Peyton Manning show. Here's an interesting story with Archie Manning saying plainly that he hates football.
And with the news that Peyton Manning has a partially torn plantar fascia, we all have to wonder how much he'll play the remainder of the season. We also know this is certainly not the way an all-time great like Manning wants to exit. (Although, there are plenty of examples of all-time greats limping into the shadows. Manning has nine TD passes and 17 picks this year. Look at some of the other all-time great QBs and in their final season, the TD-to-INT ratio was staggering. Favre's was 11-to-19; Tarkenton's was 25-32; Marino's was 12-17 and his last game was a 62-7 loss to Jacksonville.)
We know Peyton will sit this week. But the Broncos face the Patriots in 12 days, and if Peyton can't go in that one, that will be quite telling.
Secondly, the league needs to get its hands around game-changing officiating mistakes and clearly define the 'catch' rule so casual fans can be clear. The NFL is a monolith right now - and that's not going to change anytime soon - and part of the league's explosion in popularity is linked to gambling. When calls and rulings start to affect Vegas and the like, the league is tempting the hand that helps feed it into an eight-figure entity.
---
1. Patriots. All they do is win, and that's highly commendable. That said, we'll see how the Patriots handle the loss of Julian Edelman, their play-making wide out who broke his foot Sunday. Man, at some point - no matter how great Tom Brady is playing - the talent divide has to take a toll, right?
2. Panthers. All they do is win, part II. The Panthers have maximized a manageable schedule with a controlling defense and the greatness that is Cam Newton. Newton simply makes big plays in big moments.
Arizona Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham holds the football behind his back as a television camera records his celebration after his touchdown reception against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) 3. Cardinals. Arizona grabbed a three-game lead in the NFC West with an impressive win over Seattle on Sunday night. And scoring 39 at Seattle is cause for celebration. And the Cardinals quarterback crew must spend time during meetings working on their celebration.
4. Bengals. Wow, that was kind of surprising, right? The Bengals laid an orange egg Monday night as the Texans dropped a 10-6 loss on Cincinnati, its first of the season. And if that's not enough, it appears Andy Dalton - despite a great start that has him among the leaders in passer rating - has already developed rabbit ears. After J.J. Watt said they wanted to turn the Red Rifle (regular-season Dalton) into the Red Rider B.B. gun ("The Christmas Story" holy grail gift and a fair description of postseason Dalton), Dalton used the passive-aggressive guilt trip. Oh, the humanity.
5. Minnesota. Surprise, surprise. Couple of things here: One, Teddy Bridgewater is playing well and is really close to making us go back and redo the 2014 Draft. Second, man, it's amazing how much we will forgive if you keep your head down and play and at least seem apologetic, right? Think of the hubbub that Greg Hardy has created and in a lot of ways brought on himself. Now think about the relatively quiet background noise around Adrian Peterson, who had his share of issues of domestic abuse.
Powerless Poll
28. Cowboys. If we had an NFL MVP vote, and let's say you list the top five, we'd put Tony Romo fifth. With Romo, the Cowboys are 2-0; without Romo, the Cowboys are 0-7. Is there a bigger testament to your value than that?
29. Lions. Yes, the Lions moved out of the basement with a shocking win over the Packers. It was the first time since 1991 that Detroit won at Green Bay - so long ago it was before Brett Favre arrived in Green Bay and Barry Sanders was still running wild for the Lions - but Detroit tried everything to give that game away. That included missing two extra-point attempts and losing an onside kick that gave the Packers a final try.
30. Ravens. The NFL apologized for blowing the ending of the Ravens' loss to Jacksonville last Sunday. Is there anything more hollow in sports than a league saying after the fact, "Yeah, we kind of blew that call. Sorry about that." It's happening far too often in today's NFL - we are a month removed from the Seahawks winning a game on a blown call - and it must be addressed by the league.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton slaps hands with fans after the Panthers beat the Tennessee Titans 27-10 in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski) 31. Browns. Right now, the Browns at 2-8 have the spot atop the draft order. That point - and the lack of a prominent, high-profile quarterback prospect in college right now - makes the next six games crucial for Mr. John Manziel, Esq. Want to be the starter in Cleveland, Mr. Football, well, grab the job by the horns.
32. Titans. Gross. Just gross. And you know what? If you don't want players celebrating in your end zone, don't let them in your end zone. (That said, there have been Soul Train dance lines that were not as drawn out and choreographed as Cam Newton's Dab Dance on Sunday. We're a Cam fan - that's no secret - but there's a line between celebrating and showboating.) Still, the Titans are the worst team in the worst division - the Colts and Texans are tied for first at 4-5 - in the game.
---
College football playoff
Ah, Tuesdays in November. When the forgettable four is announced.
Yes, the college football playoff committee will announce their current view of the best teams in the country. This list and $4 will get you a Starbucks coffee in one of those Devil-worshipping cups (kidding, kidding - mostly).
That said, it will be interesting to see who the committee has at No. 4 - Oklahoma or Notre Dame.
We can all agree that Clemson will be 1, Alabama likely will be 2 and THE Ohio State will be 3. From there, the positions and pieces become cluttered. (We think Alabama is the best team in the country led by an outstanding defensive front, but we also believe that your resume should matter and Clemson has the best resume.)
From there, it will likely be the Sooners or the Irish, and the outcome will be interesting in this regard. If it's the Sooners - and OU coach Bob Stoops is already campaigning - it means the committee values a team's biggest win, since the Sooners have what appears to be the best win with a victory at Baylor last week. If the committee goes with the Irish, that means they value the best loss among the one-loss teams since Notre Dame's two-point loss at top-ranked Clemson is the 'best' loss among the one-loss teams.
There are a few other questions out there too.
Does an unbeaten Iowa have a beef? Maybe, but if they run the table the Hawkeyes will be there since they will have a chance to beat Ohio State, Michigan or Michigan State in the Big Ten.
Where does unbeaten Houston land? We wondered about Memphis in an earlier rankings, but the Tigers have floundered. Now, it's the Cougars carrying the banner of the non-power five leagues. (Side question, and this can't be answered tonight, but still: What happens if Houston is the only unbeaten team come the first week in December?)
Who is the top-ranked two-loss team? This could be crazy important if the craziness that college football in November continues, and there's no reason not to expect that it will.
Giddy-up.
---
Baseball hurdle
We touched on this briefly Monday, but the fact that the Braves are shopping Freddie Freeman is puzzling.
Having first baseman Freddie Freeman sidelined by a hand injury in recent games hasn't helped the Atlanta Braves, who rebuilt their roster in the offseason and need the veteran slugger to help keep their defense strong and lineup potent.But with this report, maybe it's predictable. And a possible precursor to a real predicament in baseball and beyond in professional sports.
That story quotes a story in the Atlanta Business Journal in which Braves CEO Terry McGuirk says baseball is not a highly profitable business.
It's an interesting theory. And the race to rebuild billion-dollar stadiums every 20 years gives his claim some extra validity.
As for the report on Freeman, here's the connection. If you have star-quality players who are not star-level draws for fans, they become very expendable. It also magnifies the difference between ownership groups who are focused on the bottom line rather than the win column.
The scenario of profitably makes this next story even more interesting.
A Chicago Cubs executive said the team will start its own network and it will be up and running by 2020 and the team can opt out of its current deal with Comcast. This is a back to the future-type of deal - remember when WGN and TBS ran the Braves and Cubs and realized the monetary value of TV programming - and will be followed by teams with large fan bases.
Take a team like the Cubs who have a list of marketable young players - like NL rookie of the year Kris Bryant - and if the team has its own TV network rather than a broadcast-deal, and the team makes money by keeping high-profile talent, well, that changes the narrative.
And if you think small-market vs. big-market created a competitive divide in the last generation, wait until a handful of teams have their own network and the rest of the league is trying to drink from the MLB trough.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes yells from the bench in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Georgia Tech on Monday, Nov. 16, 2015, in Atlanta. Georgia Tech won 69-67. ---
This and that
- There's a college hoops showdown of heavyweights tonight when Duke faces Kentucky. Good times. That said, it's hard not to think back to a time, say 20 years ago, and imagine the talent that could have been on the floor. Wow. Yes, these are two of the top five teams in the country right now - and two of the frontrunners to be at the Final Four - and now remember that seven underclassmen from those two teams were taken in the first 24 picks of the first round last June.
Macaulay Culkin- Speaking of underclassmen in the first round, enjoy LSU freshman Ben Simmons when you can this year. For next year, he'll be in Philly or whichever NBA laughingstock gets the top overall pick.
- Tough loss from the Vols and Rick Barnes last night against Georgia Tech in the A-T-L. Here's UT ace Downtown Patrick Brown report.
- Side note, and this is not sports: Here's our A2 column on the FBI, feelings and fighting terror.
- What to feel a little old? Monday, "Home Alone" turned 25. Here's an interesting look at the career twists of Macaulay Culkin
- This happened late Monday afternoon, but we thought it had a spot here. Yes, Donald Sterling's appeal to overturn the sale of the Clippers was denied. Want to see a dude with a ton of coin and nothing to do, check out Sterling. The Clippers were valued at roughly $600 million and were sold for $2 billion - and that's without an arena in the deal - and he still wanted to overturn the sale.
- Presidential medal of freedom will go to 17 people next week - it's the highest honor our country bestows on citizens - and two baseball players, Yogi Berra and Willie Mays, will be honored. That's a cool deal.
- Cool deal for NASCAR fans this week: NBC has the final race that will determine the champ between a final four of Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch. It will also show the race on MSNBC, with that network showing split-screen coverage of just the four championship contenders. Nice idea.
- Also from the files of the different: The Jacksonville Jaguars are partnering with Uber, the social media ride-sharing service, on a ticket deal. It starts this week when the Jags host the Titans on Thursday night. (Ugh, Jags-Titans. here's saying there will be an uber-selection of tickets available.)
FILE - In this April 11, 2013 file photo, Charlie Sheen, a cast member in "Scary Movie V," poses at the Los Angeles premiere of the film at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles. Sheen is set to “make a revealing personal announcement” on NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015, NBC announced on Monday. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, file) ---
Today's question
It's a true or fall Tuesday, and we'll have a bunch of them on Press Row today starting at 3 p.m. on ESPN 105.1 The Zone.
As for the news of the day, Hollywood party boy/scumbag/nutbag Charlie Sheen announced on The Today Show that he is HIV positive. This apparently is well-known 'secret' around L.A. - and the oxymoronic term 'well-known secret' fits this craziness - and it should surprise no one. You do a bunch of drugs and spend a reported $50,000 a year with a Hollywood madam and a bunch of hookers, well, you are rolling the dice.
Still, no one would wish anyone to catch an incurable disease.
So good luck Charlie, and we'll take nominations for the Rushmore of acting families (minimum of three members)? Charlie, dad Martin and brother Emilio Estevez certainly make a strong case.