Gang, hope you are ready for Christmas. We are taking some time off this week.
Does that mean a stop in the 5-at-10? Well, of course not. It may mean a little bit shorter versions, but we do no stop the 5-at-10 train from rolling - we're at 1,346 consecutive Monday-through-Fridays as of this morning.
From the "Talks too much" studios, then he smiled at me - pa rum pum pum pum - me and my drum.
Weekend Winners
Cam Newton. Any questions? And you can send that MVP award to Newton, Cam, care of the Carolina Panthers. In case there was any doubt, Newton became the only player in NFL history to throw for more than 300 yards and five TDs and rush for at least 100 yards in the same game. He did it as he helped the Panthers stay perfect at 14-0 with a game-winning drive in the final minute of a 38-35 win over the Giants. (Side note: In case you are curious, because we were, the only players to win a Heisman and an NFL MVP are running backs Paul Hornung, O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, Marcus Allen and Barry Sanders. Newton would be the first QB to pull it off.)
Kirk Cousins. Yes, another 300-plus-yard passing day and five more total TDs for the postseason-surging Washington Redskins. Face it folks, Kirk Cousins is going to get a six-year, $96 million deal. Kirk Cousins.
Chris Geer poses for a photo in front of the Star Wars movie poster with his son Ethan during opening night of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at Century Theatre in Boulder, Colo., Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015. (Jeremy Papasso/Daily Camera via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT Star Wars. A record-setting opening that drew almost a quarter-of-a-billion dollars, and that was with a huge market of folks not wanting to fight the crowds but still waiting to see the movie. By all measures, the reviews have been excellent, and one viewer we know calls it a "love letter" to the first three Star Wars movies. (That's the first three released, not the first three in numeric order.) Man, what an epic.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) makes a catch during drills in an NFL football organized team activity, OTA, Tuesday, May 26, 2015 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Antonio Brown. The Steelers wide out may be the best player in the league who does not take snaps or throw passes. Dude went nuts Sunday - he had 16 catches on 18 targets for 186 yards and two scores - against one of the five best cornerbacks in the league in Denver's Chris Harris Jr. Brown's season totals - 116 catches for 1,586 yards and nine TDs - are even more impressive when you consider that he had a couple of there-catch games in October when Ben Roethlisberger was injured. And, after the Steelers' 34-27 win over Denver, yes, no one wants to face the Steelers offense, which has scored 30-or-more in six straight games, come January.
Russell Wilson-Doug Baldwin. Wow, who knew Seattle had the Montana-to-Rice 2.0 connection working? How hot are these two? Try these stats: Wilson is the first player in NFL history to have three-plus TD passes and no picks in five consecutive games; Baldwin joined Rice as the only players in league history to have 10 or more TD catches in a four-game stretch. Welcome to the playoffs Seattle. No one wants to see you come calling.
Steve Harvey holds up the card showing the winners after he incorrectly announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner at the Miss Universe pageant on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015, in Las Vegas. Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was named Miss Universe. (AP Photo/John Locher)Weekend Losers
Steve Harvey. Wow, there are only a few high-profile gigs with one can't-make mistake and Harvey did it this weekend at the Miss Universe pageant. Yep, Steve called the wrong winner only at the end. Here's the clip. It looked like a professional wrestling match. Wow. And because the interweb is filled with creative people ready to mock the mistakes of others, well, then this happens.
Hillary Clinton. "We now finally are where we need to be" in our fight against ISIS was the Democratic frontrunner's quote Saturday night. Here's betting the folks in Paris and in San Bernardino, Calif., would disagree, ma'am.
NFL wildcard intrigue. Unlike recent years when there were multiple teams alive in the wildcard race until the final hour of the regular season, there really is very little drama this year. Know this: If Minnesota wins either of its final two games or the Falcons lose either of their final two, the NFC wildcard teams will be the Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks, who have already clinched a wildcard spot. In the AFC, the Steelers, Chiefs and Jets are each 9-5 and the only three teams fighting for two wildcard spots. Yes, there is some drama in the awful AFC South and the even more awful NFC East, but that's multiple teams fighting to be this year's worst postseason qualifier.
Odell Beckham Jr. OBJ is amazing talented and makes more amazing catches than anyone since Willie Mays. Dude is a great dancer and super smooth. On Sunday, he acted like a chump, and Panthers corner Josh Norman punked him and got in OBJ's head. Beckham deserved every bit of Norman's postage rant in which he called ODJ a little kid, because frankly, that's how he acted. In truth, Beckham should have been ejected - and potentially suspended - for launching himself helmet first at Norman in the third quarter. We'll see how the league handles Beckham, one of its bright young stars in its biggest media market for a team in the postseason chase, after the malicious and dangerous act and whether that coincides with its safer-measures statements in recent years.
Indianapolis Colts. Yes, Andrew Luck is hurt. But the Houston Texans, who beat the Colts 16-10 Sunday to take control of the AFC South, don't want to hear. Houston lost starter Brian Hoyer earlier in the year and then lost back-up T.J. Yates on Sunday with a torn ACL. Enter Brandon Weeden - yes, that Brandon Weeden - and the Texans persevered. This feels like the end of the Chuck Pagano era in Indy, right? And yes, with a decade or more of Luck in the fold, there will be plenty of folks lined up tot replace Pagano.
Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) celebrates the game winning touchdown during overtime of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015, in Denver. The Broncos defeated the Patriots 30-24. (AP Photo/Joe Mahoney) Denver Dilemma
Man, Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler could have gone a long way to making this a much more relaxing Christmas season for head coach Gary Kubiak on Sunday.
OK, we all know the quarterback scenario in Denver. Future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and his Nationwide jingles and "Omaha! Omaha!" is on the sideline recovering from myriad injuries that coupled with his age caused Manning to be awful through the first half of the season.
The news around Manning - sing along in the Nationwide tune, "Man, I want to win one more" - has circled from done forever to wanting to play next year to being unhappy being a back-up. It's natural for a star the stature of Manning - "Don't count this old dog out" - at the end of a career.
So Osweiler, the heir apparent, entered and started quickly. He even played great in Denver's win over New England. (To which Manning smiles and hums "Boy, I hate that Brady guy.") But back-to-back losses have left the Broncos holding but a game lead over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sure, Denver is in the driver's seat for a playoff spot, but Osweiler's inconsistency (as Manning jams with "More to job than a big arm") now leaves Kubiak and the Broncos in a pickle.
And to be fair, the second half in Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh was way worse than inconsistent. Osweiler, who looks a ton like the lead vampire from those Twilight movies, was 7-of-26 for 82 yards in the second half, including four incompletions on the final drive as the Broncos tried to rally.
So do you, a) stick with Osweiler, who does have a much stronger arm and looks like he could be the guy for the next decade in Denver; or b) give the ball back to Manning ("That sounds like a real good plan") and hope that the rest has restored some zip on his throws.
In truth, either way could be wrong on right, and only a serious run at a Super Bowl appearance will determine the grading scale of said decision.
Good luck with that, Gary. ("Coach, my arm's feeling real strong.)
This and that
- A truly excellent college basketball column from TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer over the weekend. We could not agree more with his premise and his supporting quotes - from coaches to a commentator to a certain super-fan who sounded mighty familiar - were excellent. (Pssstttt, MT, five games? Five. Man, that's awesome in its awesomeness. UTC needs to bronze your seat (or make it super fancy like one of the those front-row jobs) or make some sort of commemoration for that type of dedication. Well-played indeed sir.
FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2015, file photo, Mississippi defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche stretches before an NCAA college football game against Arkansas in Oxford, Miss. Police say Nkemdiche was hospitalized after falling from a wall at an Atlanta hotel. Department spokeswoman Kim Jones says it appears that 21-year-old Nkemdiche broke a hotel room window, walked about 15 feet, climbed over a wall and fell roughly 15 feet late Saturday night, Dec. 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Thomas Graning, File) - The biggest non-shocker of the college football bowl season: Ole Miss defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche declaring for the draft.
- Want to make sure you saw this about Knoxville-Fulton sophomore football player Zae Dobson, who died from gun shot wounds he suffered while using his body to shield three girls during the shooting. Amazing sacrifice. Forget the stupid jihadists and their dozens of virgins and palaces of gold for dying for their evil cause. Dobson and those that die protecting others, those are the people who get a reserved spot at our Lord's table. God's speed Zae.
- We had a record number of entries in the Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success (Bowler optional)with more than 50. Way to go gang. We'll post the complete list and scores after the one-point games. Deal? Deal.
Today's question
Who won and who lost the weekend?
Are you ready for Christmas?
In fact, shouldn't we have a Christmas Rushmore everyday for the rest of the week?
As for today, well, it's December 21, which is almost always the shortest day of the year. Let's do a Rushmore of 'short' and feel free to be creative.
Whatcha' got?