NFL Power Poll
1. New England (7-1). If you were ranking the current NFL teams in tiers, the Patriots are all alone at the top. And that's clear. The only question would be how many steps would you need to go from the Patriots' level of excellence before the next group of above-average-to-good teams?
2. Denver (6-2). The best defense in the league. Yes, there are a few who have allowed fewer points, but not against the schedule the Broncos have played. (Man, the AFC West is the best division in the game.) Do we trust Trevor Siemian in a game where the quarterback has to make a play? Not really, but with a defense like that, he's only going to need to make that play every now and then.
3. Dallas (6-1). What do you say about the rookie tandem that is Zeke Elliott and Dak Prescott? You say wow, that's what. Unless you are Tony Romo, and then you say, "Hello Denver."
4. Atlanta (5-3). If you had an MVP vote right now, Matt Ryan would be right there on everyone's ballot. He has been great - even with teams trying to double- and triple-team Julio Jones - and the Falcons look the part of NFC contender.
5. Oakland (6-2). The Raiders may be the most fun team in the NFL. They have leveraged a river of lofty first-round picks into a collection of stars and have found the second-best second-round quarterback draft pick in the modern era in Derek Carr. (Drew Brees is the best quarterback who was a second-round pick, but Carr's poise and production are dwarfing all of the QBs - Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater - taken ahead of him in 2014. In fact, since the Raiders took Khalil Mack with their first-round pick at No 5 overall and Carr at No. 34 overall, you can make an argument that they got two of the best five players in the '14 draft.)
Powerless
28. Carolina (2-5). The dividing line of the league is very thin. Case in point can be made with the Panthers, who a lot of folks believed would contend. Also of note, the Panthers and the Colts are among the dregs of the NFL, but they are in rare company among that group considering each has what they believe to be their franchise QBs. Each also has one of the worst collection of offensive linemen in the league.
29. New York Jets (3-5). The Jets have won two in a row. (Well, if you count beating the Browns as a full win, it's two.) It will be interesting to see how long the Jets stay with Ryan Fitzpatrick before giving Bryce Petty a shot at quarterback.
30. Jacksonville (2-5). Speaking of interesting dilemmas, the Jags are staring one in the face. We can all agree that head coach Gus Bradley will be looking for work after this disappointing run is concluded. But job No. 1 for the Jags organization has to be to decide whether or not Bortles is their guy longterm. His numbers are not terrible - he has 12 TD passes and is averaging 272 passing yards a game but most of that has come in garbage time. Can he win in the league? No one knows, but the Jags need to find out.
31. San Francisco (1-6). Remember when the 49ers were in the Super Bowl and then one play away the next year? Yep, that was all the way back in January 2014. Crazy right? In less than three years the 49ers went from having arguably the best roster in the league to being the worst team not named after a color in the league.
32. Cleveland (0-8). Want to know the path to pitiful. Try to see what these guys have in common: Phil Taylor, Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Barkevious Mingo, Justin Gilbert, Johnny Football, Danny Shelton, Cam Erving and Corey Coleman. Yes, those are the Browns first-round picks since 2011. They had two picks in 2012, '14 and '15 and still could not land a star. Now, imagine if the Browns scouting department had made the following choices (and all of these players were on the board and taken no later than middle of round two in the respective drafts): Muhammad Wilkerson rather than Taylor; Luke Kuechly rather than Richardson and Harrison Smith rather than Weeden; Sheldon Richardson rather than Mingo; Odell Beckham Jr. rather than Gilbert and Carr rather than Manziel; and well, you get the idea.
Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight throws a pass against Michigan State during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) College football playoff
The College Football Playoff committee releases its first poll tonight, and it a lot of ways, the committee won the weekend.
We have clarity right now.
The committee had the Big 12 unbeatens fall. The committee got a Clemson win over Florida State, and a loss there for the Tigers would have been quite the conundrum since Louisville likely would have passed Clemson even though Clemson beat Louisville.
Boise State and Nebraska also feel from the ranks of the unblemished. So tonight the top four seems pretty easy.
Alabama is far and away No. 1. Michigan, Clemson and Washington will round out the rest of the top four. They likely will be followed by Louisville and then Ohio State.
In fact, the position of the next six-to-10 teams after the top four will be more interesting tonight than the top four. That will provide us with an idea of which one-loss teams can control their own destiny.
Will there be this much clarity from now through the final playoff rankings? It's not likely. But on this night, everything should be pretty simple.
A fan waves a Cleveland Indians flag during a Game 5 watch party fot the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs t Progressive Field, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Game 6
Well here we are.
Cleveland, at home, needing to win one game to win the World Series.
Yes, in a lot of ways, this has been the Series of the Cubs. The nostalgia. The fan base. The connection with an old-school national superstation that drew an entire generation to day baseball and Harry Caray. But, in that hoopla and pageantry, it's really easy to forget that Indians have suffered as much if not more over the last 50 years as any team in the game.
Yes, the Indians made a couple of World Series trips in the 1990s, but each of those was met with heartache. In truth those mid-90s Cleveland teams will be on the short list of the best modern-era baseball teams not to win a World Series.
Lofton, Baerga, Belle, Ramirez, Thome, etc. That's some major league lumber right there. So the Indians have the chance to seal it tonight.
It would be an amazing end to an amazing year in Cleveland, considering their sports teams went almost 150 seasons without a championship and now Cleveland could have two titles in four months.
Good luck.
(But to be honest, man, a Game 7 would be pretty cool, no?)
This and that
- You stay classy Donna Brazile. The longtime democratic mouthpiece and TV talking head was canned by CNN after recovered emails showed she leaked debate questions to Hillary Clinton. So, you stay classy too Madam Secretary.
- This is officially when the NFL brass must realize there is a ratings problem that is not presidential politics or something else not related to the NFL itself. A primetime Sunday night game with the Dallas Cowboys - America's Team with two high-profile and exciting rookies mind you - was whipped in the ratings by baseball. World Series Game 5 drew a 15.3 overnight rating; Cowboys-Eagles drew an 11.6. It's the first time since 2011 that any postseason baseball game - or any other sport for that matter - has topped a Sunday Night Football contest.
- Because, well, because he can, here's one of the decorations at LeBron's Halloween party. Yep, that's a tombstone of the long-since deceased 3-1 lead the Warriors had over James' Cavs in the NBA Finals. (Or maybe he's forecasting the collapse of the Indians in the series?)
- The Patriots dealt linebacker Jamie Collins to Cleveland on Monday. Man, that's going to be a culture shock.
- Maybe the only thing that can stop Ezekiel Elliott is his past. Here are some details of domestic assault allegations the league is investigating in regard to Elliott.
- Duke will start the season as the top-ranked college basketball team. Kentucky is No. 2. That's pretty shocking, right? Or maybe not.
Today's question
It's a true or false Tuesday.
True or false, the Patriots will win the Super Bowl.
True or false, there will be a Game 7 in the Series.
True or false, Tennessee will win out.
If you need a Rushmore, well, today is All Saints day. Rushmore of Saints? Go and enjoy the day.