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Weekend winners
Ben Johnson. The Bears coach said in his first news conference when he was hired that he looked forward to beating Packers coach Matt LaFleur twice a year. Well, his playoff win over the weekend — that featured a crazy 25-point fourth quarter — was win two over Green Bay.
Josh Allen. Yes, the Bills won the game, but the entire narrative was the importance of Allen and his team making moves in these wide-open playoffs. Allen played through multiple injuries and converted a QB sneak on fourth-and-1 for 9 — yes, NINE yards on a Qb sneak — in a true Playoff Josh moment. I am cheering for the Bills now.
Curt Cignetti. Yeah, this feels like the “Do-run-run-run” refrain, all things considered. But, dang, Indiana is I impressive. Google them. And IU is one win from dropping a 16-0 run and is making a push for the best single team of all-time. Seriously.
Atlanta Hawks. Getting rid of Trae Young — even if Young fleeced in the trade — allows you to start putting pieces together to compete for the team good rather than the Trae good.
Football greatness. Even the Bills-Jags, who tied for the most fourth-quarter lead changes in NFL postseason history. Now remember the hijinks of Rams over Panthers and the Bears’ aforementioned comeback.
Weekend losers
Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert. Wow, after a weekend of playoff football greatness, the weekend finale on Sunday night was a snoozer. And as much as Spy’s enjoying his Patriots embracing the survive-and-advance mentality of the postseason, the Chargers’ HC and QB1 were terrible. Not sure which one of our regulars has been routinely asking, “What has Justin Herbert ever done?” but that question will resonate through the offseason.
Nick Sirianni. The coach of the defending Super Bowl champs turned a title-winner into a Wild Card walkaway. Simply put, the best compliment I can give a coach is his/her team is much better than its parts. Conversely, a team as talented as Sirianni’s Eagles playing that poorly with all those parts is a telling detriment.
The possible future of girls’ sports. This is looming, and we’ll discuss it more after SCOTUS debates the appeals of two transgender athletes legally seeking to play high school sports on female teams.
Everyone involved in this youth hockey brouhaha. Yikes.
Portal machinations
This time last week we were wondering “What the heck is going on with Texas?” Because other than Arch Manning returning, everyone was bolting Austin.
Well, a weekend spending spree landed the Longhorns the top RB1 — Hollywood Smothers from NC State — and the top WR1 — Cam Coleman from AU — and a slew of other big-time difference-makers. Texas could very well be preseason No. 1.
Again.
Texas’ big haul was one of the multitude of college football free agency stories over the weekend.
Let’s dive in.
Former Auburn QB1/2/3 (thanks, Hugh Freeze) Deuce Knight has signed with Ole Miss. It was far from the only QB news out of Oxford, where Trinidad Chambliss announced he is suing the NCAA, which denied his appeal for a sixth year of eligibility.
So the Rebels could have a $7 million QB room if Chambliss wins his lawsuit, no?
AU is rebuilding its QB room through the portal, adding must-have QB1 Byrum Brown and landing Oregon State transfer Tristan Ti’a, who projects as the QB of the future.
Not surprisingly, as the title game is set without an SEC team for the third consecutive year, the SEC is spending vigorously in the portal.
Five of the top seven transfer portal hauls according to 247sports — No. 1 Texas, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 7 Kentucky — are from the league where it just costs more.
Tennessee landed a couple of monster commits in the portal too, as five-star edge rusher Chaz Coleman and four-star DT Xavier Gilliam followed former Penn State DC Jim Knowles to Knoxville.
Former Florida QB1 DJ Lagway landed at Baylor. The university that is, because Baylor School has DGG and the offense is fine. Florida did get some good news by landing WR Eric Singleton, one of the highly regarded former AU stars who have changed locales. (How bad was Hugh Freeze? Four of the top 32 players in the 247sports portal ranking have left Auburn in this cycle, and all of them went to SEC schools. Yikes. Thanks, Hugh.)
And maybe the headline of all this is the dichotomy that is the answer to this question: “Is college football broken or is this the best it’s ever been?”
Yes. To both. (And the lawsuits and the TV numbers will confirm each angle.)
This and that
> The Golden Globes were last night. I watch awards shows about as often as I attend insurance seminars by choice. But it sounds like Nikki Glaser was on her game as the host.
> What a weekend for Chicago sports fans. In addition to the Bears’ dramatic comeback win, the Cubs added star free agent Alex Bregman. Good times.
> It’s Jan. 12, and there are four college basketball teams still without a loss. They are No. 1 Arizona, No. 3 Iowa State, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 11 Vanderbilt. Yeah, no one had that on their Bingo card.
> Atlanta hired Matt Ryan to be the president of football operations. I hope it works. I am not holding my breath.
> While we are here, Vandy’s women’s hoops are unbeaten too. High times for VU athletics, friends.
Today’s questions
Weekend winners and losers, go.
Multiple choice Monday will go this way:
Which SEC basketball team — other than unbeaten Vandy — is the biggest surprise, good or bad?
> Auburn
> UT
> Georgia
> UK
> Other (and specify).
As for today, Jan. 12, let’s review.
On this day in 1966, the iconic TV show “Batman” debuted.
Jeff Bezos is 62 today.
Howard Stern is 72 today, and Rush Limbaugh would have been 75.
Do both of those guys make the Rushmore of radio hosts?
Go.