NFL details
We will have our picks tomorrow. Deal? Deal.
And before we get going on today's NFL flavor, we thought this was a very interesting stat: The referees were announced for each championship game, and if you believe in conspiracy theories, well, here's some fuel for that fire. The lead official in the NFC game, Bill Vinocvich, has worked eight Rams games in his career. The Rams are 0-8 in those games, including the week 9 meeting between Los Angeles and New Orleans. In the AFC, the lead official is Clete Blakeman, and according to this, ol' Clete was a prominent part of the DeflateGate mess. (Side question: We're just not making Cletes anymore are we? Do you know anyone under the age of 60 named Clete?)
So, as we look to Sunday's doubleheader that will determine the Super Bowl match-up, we ponder which quarterback and which coach has the most at stake with two more wins.
In each category, we'll eliminate both New England entries. Whether they win out or get blown out Sunday, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have secured legacies among the all-timers.
As for the rest of the QBs, we'll rank them accordingly, from most at stake to least: Drew Brees, Jarod Goff, Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes, the runaway favorite to be the MVP, really has already been anointed as the next face of the league, and the expectations are this will be far from his last chance.
While also very young, Goff has more on the line considering this is his second playoff run and if he wants to silence the "it's the system" talk, win it all.
As for Brees, this one is pretty clear, right? A second ring moves Brees from first-ballot Hall of Famer to the table of all-timers. He will retire with almost every meaningful passing record and two titles puts his name right there in the top-five talk.
As for the coaches, well, this one is just as clear. Andy Reid has been a Hall of Fame coach. In his 20 years, he's 195-124-1 overall. Next year he almost assuredly will become the eighth coach to win 200 regular-season games. Great numbers for sure, but that lingering 12-13 record and the lack of a title is a glaring hole on his resume.
From there, we think not-so-old Sean McVay is next. Everyone talks about his genius. Let a title be the exclamation point on that chatter and look out.
Sure, Sean Payton would become the 14th coach to win more than won Super Bowl and that would be cool.
Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper (34) follows through on a three-run home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Monday, April 2, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)Cash strapped?
Lots of folks are looking around the baseball free agent market and wondering why the biggest names are still available.
It's an interesting trend the last couple of years.
Heck, J.D. Martinez was a free agent until mid-February before signing with Boston before last season. (Side note: That worked out pretty well. Dude only went .330-43-130 for the World Series champs.)
Still, the whispers about Bryce Harper wanting a 10-year deal in the neighborhood of $400 million, and as we all know that is a pretty nice neighborhood.
Is it the market trying to correct itself, because those 10-year deals are monster weights. Ask the Angels who are still paying Albert Pujols like he is 2008 Pujols, not 2018 Pujols. (Pujols' 10-year, $240-million contract in 2012. Did you know Pujols, who is a career .302 hitter has never hit better .285 with the Angels? Wow. He's due $28 million this year.)
According to this report in Forbes, the free agent market is working just fine.
So where Harper and Manny Machado and even a Craig Kimbrel land will be huge deals with huge implications on the season.
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots over Denver Nuggets forward Trey Lyles during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Oakland, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017. The Nuggets won 96-81. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) Just a friendly reminder
The saying goes, if you are coming after the king you best not miss.
The Denver Nuggets have been the best team in the NBA through the first half of the season.
Championship contenders? We'll see, and on Tuesday night, the Nuggets welcome the reigning champs from Golden State.
And the results were not pretty.
Golden State went 10-of-14 from 3. In the first quarter. Yes.
It was an avalanche of offense that consumed the home team. The final: Golden State 143, Denver 111, and that was against a Denver team that was 18-3 at home coming into the game.
The dominant opening quarter - the 10 3s were part of a 19-of-24 shooting effort from the floor that led to an NBA first-quarter record of 51 points - reminded all of us that the Warriors are still the class of the NBA.
Yes, the Warriors have had squabbles. Yes, the Warriors have been erratic and disinterested at times.
Tuesday they reminded us that when they are into it, they are still the best. By a sizable margin.
And that gap will only grow when Boogie Cousins returns Friday.
King, indeed.
This and that
- Tennessee put 106 on the board against Arkansas, and Rick Barnes did not think his team played well. Wow. Side question: Remember when Arkansas was nasty at hoops? I miss those days. Here's more from Gene of Many Hats Henley, the TFP UT beat ace.
- Speaking of college hoops, well, the College Hoops Daily Guess on Ole Miss was an air ball. We're 1-1. We'll take Auburn minus-5 at Texas A&M and Vandy minus-3.5 against South Carolina. Pickers gotta pick friends.
- Awful story here that John Wettleland, a former closer who had 330 career saves and was the 1996 World Series MVP with the Yankees, was arrested on charges of sexually abusing a child. The details - including that this allegedly started in 2004 with an act with a 4-year-old - are horrific, as you would expect.
- Because it's never too early to look to next year. Friend of the show Brian Edwards has the odds to win Super Bowl LIV in 2020. The Rams are the favorite at 6-to-1; the Dolphins are the biggest long-shot at 300-to-1 and are the only team with longer odds than 100-to-1. The Browns are down to 30-to-1, right there with the Falcons and the Seahawks.
- LeBron James' agent said he will miss the next two games - at least - with the groin injury he suffered on Christmas Day. The Lakers won last night to improve to 4-7 without King James.
- Speaking of the Lakers, how about this: Lakers fans get free tacos from an L.A. restaurant when the team holds their opponents under 100 points in home games. Cool right. Well, in Tuesday's win, the Lakers were up 94-76 with 4:17 left in the game. Taco Tuesday, in sight, right? Wrong. The Bulls' frenzied comeback try concluded with two free throws with :01.6 left. Final score, Lakers 107, Bulls 100. No tacos for you.
- Bob Costas and NBC have officially parted ways. He's an all-timer.
Today's questions
Which way Wednesday will start this way.
Which coach or player has the most to gain with a Super Bowl title in the next few weeks?
If he gets a second Super Bowl title, which career would be better, Peyton Manning's or Drew Brees'?
Which team will land Bryce Harper?
As for today, Jan. 16, let's explore.
It's National Nothing Day. It's National Fig Newton Day. It's Appreciate a Dragon Day. So there's that.
A.J. Foyt is 84 today. John Carpenter is 71.
On this day, arguably the biggest happening in the history of sports happened in 1970. Yep this is the 49th anniversary of Curt Flood's lawsuit being filed to challenge baseball's reserve clause. That was the first step toward free agency friends.
Dizzy Dean would have been 108 today. Joe Flacco is 34 today.
Speaking of Albert Pujols, he is 39 today. Rushmore of of MLB players since 2000. Go, and remember the mailbag.