NFL Power Poll
Of course the Chiefs are the talk of football.
They are the defending Super Bowl champs, are 7-2 and their second-best player is dating the most famous woman this side of Oprah.
(Side question: True or false — it is Tuesday — Oprah is more famous than Taylor Swift.)
(Side question on the side question: True or false — again, Tuesday — Travis Kelce will be named People magazine's sexiest man alive tonight.)
But are the Chiefs better than Baltimore, which is crushing people and coached by the good Harbaugh?
Heck, the lesser-known Kelce — Travis' brother Jason — is on the Eagles, who have the best record in the league at 8-1.
But are they better than the Ravens, who are 7-2 but have a league-leading point differential of plus-115?
We are at the halfway point of this NFL season, and it's hard not to think a) Lamar Jackson is the MVP front-runner and b) the AFC looks like it's going through Baltimore.
With that, let's make like a fireman and get to the poll.
Powerful
1. Philadelphia (8-1). Yes the margin is bigger for the Ravens, but the Eagles are stacked, too. And right now, if Jackson is the MVP leader, AJ Brown is a front-runner for offensive player of the year. Brown, who the Titans gave away, has an eye-popping 18 receptions of 20-plus yards and has more than 1,000 receiving yards already.
2. Baltimore (7-2). When was the last time you watched the Ravens play and be the less physical football team? That's a fundamental recipe for success.
3. Kansas City (7-2). The Chiefs are methodical. Big picture, is Andy Reid a top-10 NFL coach of all time? Is he top five?
4. Jacksonville (6-2). Yes, the Jags — winners of five straight — are the hottest team in the NFL. Who could have guessed that?
5. Miami (6-3). The Dolphins can really score — their 285 points are more than 30 more than any other team — but the defense is shaky. Miami has allowed 100 more points this year than the Ravens.
Powerless
28. Los Angeles Rams (3-6). As a reminder, no fan of any squad can truly complain about the state of their favorite team with a five-year window of winning it all. And the Rams grabbed a Super Bowl not that long ago. But they are paying for it now.
29. Chicago (2-7). So the NFC has some truly stinky teams. And the Bears are right there with them. Man, does anyone need a fresh start in a new locale more than Justin Fields?
30. New York Giants (2-7). Man, the Giants are terrible on offense, scoring just 11.2 points per game. Egad.
31. Arizona (1-8). Kyler Murray is scheduled to return to the field this week after tearing his ACL late last season. He gets the pleasure being on the opposite side of the field of the Falcons. Side question: Is Arthur Smith coaching for his job in Atlanta this week after gift-wrapping last week's loss to Vikings? Could be.
32. Carolina (1-7). Yikes. Who is the all-time best Carolina Panthers player? Steve Smith maybe? Cam Newton?
As for the other Harbaugh
Yeah, Yahoo is reporting the Big Ten is mulling another suspension for Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
Man, two suspensions in one season would have to be some kind of record, right?
And as we have said multiple times before, there is a very real cockroach aspect — when you see a roach it likely means you got at least a dozen somewhere — in terms of the depth and what we don't know to date.
The other hard-to-deny point here is the amount cooperation other coaches are giving to the NCAA in an effort to get back at Coach Khaki, right?
There is normally a kind of honor among thieves in the coaching fraternity. Sure Lane Kiffin is an island to himself, but for the most part, coaches very rarely take shots publicly, but the avalanche of folks swinging at Michigan — and working with the NCAA apparently — is telling.
Award time
The finalists for all the MLB awards have been announced.
The three finalists for NL MVP are Ronald Acuña Jr., Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
First, I am surprised Matt Olson was not a finalist. Dude led all of MLB in homers (54) and RBIs (139) and set Braves single-season records in each category.
Second, if Acuña Jr. doesn't win, well, they should fire some voters.
The AL list is just as intriguing, and it's led by Shohei Ohtani, who will be the most coveted free agent the game has seen in goodness knows how long.
Ohtani, who officially hit the market Monday afternoon, could get $500 million, and considering his skill set and value — he averaged 9.5 WAR over the last three years — that may be low.
This CBSsports.com story has the Braves among one of the serious suitors.
How awesome would that be?
That same article has the Dodgers as the favorite to lure arguably the biggest unicorn in team sports, and friends, a top-three of Betts, Ohtani and Freeman would be hard to handle.
This and that
— Rule 1 of Fight Club is we don't talk about Fight Club.
— America's favorite middle school girls' hoops team — the Signal Mountain Lady Eagles — improved to 2-0 last night with a stout defensive showing in a 30-0 win over Brown. Ten SM players scored at least one basket. Thursday, your Lady Eagles head to Loftis.
— Craig Counsell is now the manager of the Chicago Cubs, who look to be a big player in the free agent market this off season.
— You know the rules. Here's Paschall on Ole Miss heading to Athens with nothing to lose.
Today's questions
We got some T or Fs sprinkled throughout today's 5-at-10. Morning, Ern.
Here are a few more.
True or false, Jim Harbaugh is the most hated coach among the power five conferences.
True or false, Andy Reid is a top-10 all-time NFL coach.
True or false, you watched some college hoops last night.
True or false, you have a lucky number.
As for today, Nov. 7 — 11/7, which is why we asked the lucky number question — let's review.
On this day 32 years ago, Magic Johnson announced he had HIV.
Joe Neikro would have been 79 today.
Would Joe and Phil make the Rushmore of MLB brothers? Discuss.