From Scott
What was your favorite sports moment of 2017?
Thanks and I enjoy your work.
Scott -
Personally, the Iron Bowl ranks pretty high. What can we say.
The love affair between the greater Nashville-area and the Preds was cool. (And the dude who took the catfish to Pittsburgh deserves an ice-cold Co-Cola.)
The first six games of the World Series, especially the epic Game 2 and the equally historic Game 5. LeBron's staggering numbers in a loss in the NBA Finals. The post-30 rejuvenation of the Nadal-Federer rivalry. Deshaun Watson securing the fact that he'll never have to pay for a drink in Clemson, S.C. was also aces. Northwestern making the NCAA tournament was cool too, but man there are too many national media folks from Northwestern and the overkill became a bit much. (That said, the Julia Louis-Dreyfus stuff was cool.)
The lasting sports image from 2017 likely is Julian Edelman's catch during the Pats historic Super Bowl rally. (Certainly not our favorite, though.)
We'd go with Aaron Rodgers' playoff sideline throw to beat Dallas as the single best sports play of 2017, edging Watson's last-second title winning pass on an obvious pick play.
Morgan William and Mississippi State beating UConn is the upset of the year. Although Sergio Garcia actually winning a major is also pretty high on that list too.
Mayweather-McGregor was clearly the spectacle of 2017.
In a year of crazy stats, we're partial to Louisiana Tech facing third-and-goal from its own 7. (Yes you read that.)
Sergio Dipp going full blown middle-school anchor on the Monday night football season opener was the most notorious media moment of the year.
The dusty moment of 2017 from the sports year likely is the story of the fans and players at Iowa waving to the kids on the 12th floor of the children's hospital at the end of the first quarter. That wins the national category. The local category belongs to this story which is Sepp Shirey scoring a TD in a high school football game. He ran 80 yards - with a tip of the helmet to his team's opponent for playing along in the 63-21 win - to the end zone. Shirey has cerebral palsy, and after that Friday night in October, a lifelong memory.
The generosity of athletes, be it Cole Hamels giving away his mansion, athletes providing for their parents, J.J. Watt helping raise almost $40 million in hurricane relief or Deshaun Watson giving his first game check to three works in the cafeteria, it was a year marked as much by gifts as it was anything else.
The underreported stories of the year have to include the Supreme Court hearing the sports gambling case that could redefine betting on sports. Individually, other than hearing Dan LeBatard talk about it, the fact that a Central Florida linebacker has only one hand still feels underreported some to this guy.
Rushmore of Denzel movies: Glory, Training Day, Philadelphia, Malcolm X
Rushmore of 2017 athletes: Brady, Altuve, Durant, Baker Mayfield
Rushmore of people with a color in their name: Sports: Reggie White, Mean Joe Greene, Jim Brown, Red Grange; non-Sports: James Brown, Betty White, Redd Fox and Scarlett Johansson. (Fictional: Could include Red from Shawshank, Charlie Brown and Rachel Green.)
Rushmore of top folks in sports to interview: Leach, Conor McGregor, Geno Aurriema, Joe Maddon.
On this day - Dec. 29 - Mary Tyler Moore was born in 1936. Jon Voight is 79. Voight has a better catalog than most know. Jude Law is 45. Eric Berry is 29. Ted Danson is 70.
On this day in 1852, Emma Snodgrass was arrested in Boston for wearing pants. So there's that.
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NFL picks
Well, this is the final weekend of the regular season, and there are teams resting players and teams with zero motivation and teams who are highly motivated in each direction.
We have gone two straight months straight down the middle - a staggering run of 16-16. last week we made sure to pick one Monday night game, so that if our blinding run of 2-2 continued, the wise player would know which way to go depending if we were 1-2 or 2-1 after Sunday.
And yes, it held true and the Steelers thumped the Texans so we finished you betcha 2-2.
We are 31-32-1 on the season, a far cry from our rate of almost 70 percent against the number down the stretch in 2016. Alas.
San Francisco minus-3 over L.A. Rams. This line flipped 10 points this week when news circulated that the Rams were resting Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Aaron Donald and others. We'll buy the half and continue to ride the Jimmy G Express.
Houston plus-5.5 over Indianapolis. OK, someone explain this line to me. Know this: For teams that have been eliminated, losing and improving draft positioning is actually the smart play, especially for the Colts, who if they win could fall from holding the No. 3 pick in each round of the draft to the No. 5 pick in each round. Yes, the same applies to the Texans, who would jump ahead of the Colts in the draft order with a loss. But, Houston traded away its first- and second-round picks of the 2018 draft. The Colts need to lose. (Of course, in a season in which the Colts have three wins over teams that are a combined 9-36, that means the Colts likely will roll.)
Carolina plus-4 over Atlanta. Not sure the Falcons have the guts to win a game like this, and even if they do, boy this feels like a field goal game either way, right? We'll take the four points and ride the quarterback who has played better and the better defense.
Buffalo minus-2.5 over Miami. Bills have to win to have a shot at the playoffs, and since all the games that matter to Buffalo are happening at the same time, well, game on. Miami is out and it still has Jay Cutler behind center.
New Orleans minus-7 over Tampa Bay. Buy this down to 6.5 and enjoy. Yes, we picked five games this week - something we should have done a long time ago - in an effort to end the 2-2 run. A home playoff game is at stake for the Saints, something that certainly carries motivation. The banged-up Bucs are done and have lost five straight.
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From Randy -
In a world of unicorns and fairies ..... suppose Jeremy Pruitt builds tennessee into a national power and wins a natty. Do you think he leaves for Bama when Saban retires?
Randy -
We love the world of unicorns and fairies. It's peaceful.
Dabo Swinney will get first crack to take over the keys of the racing machine that Saban will leave behind. (The way Saban has stocked and will continue to stock-pile talent means that I could take over that bunch and have the most talented team in the country for at least the first two years.)
If Dabo keeps rolling in Clemson he could very easily decide to stay there. Let's face it, he's one of three or four dudes on the fast-track to a statue in his current locale. That's nothing to sneeze at.
So if Dabo says no, and Pruitt rides a unicorn to Natty-ville, then yes, he will be high on the list to replace Saban.
But UT fans should beg for that scenario if for no other reason than you would have a natty and we could all be done with those 1998 license plates once and for all.
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Fab 4 picks
OK, that's a little more like it, right?
After hitting 62.5 percent of our picks against the spread in the college season, we started the bowl season like the Cleveland Browns. L-L-L-L.
Since that bagel-for-4 start we are 10-4, bringing us back to a respectable 10-8 (55.5 percent) against the number.
But we can do better. Let's do better. Let's be the ball, Danny. (It's kind of hard with you talking like that.)
With that, and we'll update the contest heading into the weekend sometime today, let's find some entertainment.
USC plus-7.5 over THE Ohio State. OK, in its two losses early in the year, the Trojans were beleaguered with offensive line injuries. That group is healthy up front and this is a more balanced offense than the Penn State bunch that put 38 on THE Buckeyes in Columbus and more explosive than the Iowa group that put the double-nickel on THE OSU in November. Yes, THE Ohio State explosive potential can be a little scary, and yes, the fact that J.T. Barrett has 17 years of college football experience to fall back on is a plus for THE Buckeyes. Still, the USC team is talented and has the better quarterback.
Northwestern minus-7.5 over Kentucky. Buy the half to feel a little better, but let's review what we believe here. Northwestern is more complete. Northwestern is playing for a very are 10-win season (hello motivation). Kentucky limped to the finish line and got blitzed by Louisville in the regular-season finale. UK is 3-9 against the spread this year and what would you rank as the Wildcats' best win? A September W over South Carolina maybe? Northwestern has won seven in a row, straight-up and and against the spread.
Iowa State plus-4 over Memphis and under 66. Yes, this violates the group of five against power five trends. But simply put Memphis is overvalued here. Iowa State is completely comfortable against the vertical spread offense Memphis has used to throttle foes. Heck, in the last six games, the Cyclones have faced Texas Tech, TCU, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Kansas State. Each of those run a similar look to the Memphis attack, and each likely has better athletes doing it. Iowa State has been battle tested - it's 7-5 overall and 10-2 against the spread in a schedule that featured nine opponents that went to bowl games. The wrong team is favored here.
Louisville minus-6.5 over Mississippi State. Some times you can over think these things. You see this number and wonder why is not bigger. MSU lost its quarterback and its coach. Louisville has Lamar Jackson, who could be looking to put on a show before sprinting into the draft.
Miami plus-5.5 over Wisconsin and over 46. We are playing the hunch here that Wisconsin, which lost a spot in the college football playoff by six in the Big Ten title game, will have a little bit of a hangover. Yes, they are solid. They also are slow. Miami lost its place in the playoff in the regular-season finale and the Hurricanes are a different team at home, going 7-0 at their new digs. (Did we mention that this game is in the Orange Bowl?)
Wake Forest minus-3 over Texas A&M. Game in Charlotte. Edge Wake. Experienced quarterback in a system he knows. Edge Wake. No coaching changes. Edge Wake. Buy the half to avoid the stress, but man we can see the Aggies showing up flat as can be.
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From Andrew B.
Speaking of Nick Chubb, where do you think he ranks in the all-time SEC running backs? Also, is he the best running back on UGA right now? Swift is an absolute dude.
Andrew B. -
Great question, and good luck to your boys in Pasadena. Should be a lot of fun, and sweet buckets of tough tickets, if Georgia wins in the Rose on Monday, the Georgia-(either Clemson or Bama) title game in the A-T-L will be the most expensive ticket in North American sports history. Can you imagine?
Chubb's numbers will age like a fine wine, and the next two weeks could certainly refine his place among the all-time SEC running backs. A natty certainly would not hurt his stature, you know?
Here's the top 10 in career rushing yards in SEC history:
1. Herschel Walker - 5,259
2. Chubb - 4,599
3. Darren McFadden - 4,590
4. Kevin Faulk - 4,557
5. Bo Jackson - 4,303
6. Ralph Webb - 4,178
7. Errict Rhett - 4,163
8. Dalton Hillard - 4,050
9. Charles Alexander - 4,035
10. Anthony Dixon - 3,994
We think Herschel is a no-doubt, no-debate needed No. 1 atop the list of SEC running backs.
We believe Bo is No. 2 and McFadden is third. Chubb's legacy could easily be third, or right there among those guys after Herschel and Bo.
Not sure the numbers tell the whole story. (Case in point: Ben Tate rushed for more yards than Todd Gurley and Mark Ingram. Ben Tate is not better than Todd Gurley and Mark Ingram.)
Chubb will be remembered fondly and this extra season has certainly transformed his place in UGA lore like few other seniors who ever returned for a last ride.
And to your last point, in all honesty when AU played Georgia this year, we were no where near as nervous when Chubb was on the field as when No. 7 was out there. D'Andre Swift is a bona fide hoss.
