Weekend winners
Team Greeson, NFL division. Our fantasy team rolled to the league title. (Well, since we lead 121-69, unless Davante Adams has any combination of carries and fumbles or pass attempts and picks that add up to negative-53, we're going to win the championship.) Our NFL picks went 4-1 and we were the Tampa-Texas over - in a game in which the teams combined to score nine points in the second half - from a sweep. NFL picks improved to 55-33-2 (62.5 percent) against the spread. If you want our best guess on tonight, we'd trust Rodgers at home and gladly take the 5.5 with the Packers at Minnesota.
Old school SNL fans. The Eddie Murphy return was must-see TV and it did not disappoint. Like your all-time classic band at a concert, he also made the right decision to play all the hits, including his all-time impression of Bill Cosby. (That of course drew hate from Cosby reps, who called Murphy a "Slave of Hollywood." Uh, Cosby, peeps, considering the crimes ol' Bill's been convicted of, he's a slave to evil, no?) Eddie Murphy is the funniest actor ever. I will die on that hill.
Ryan Tannehill. OK, his amazing finish to the season is clear and Sunday's loss was hardly his fault. Against a dynamite Saints punch, Tannehill kept the Derrick Henry-less Titans in the game with a terrific performance. (AS TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer notes here, the Titans are still in the playoff driver's seat thanks to the Steelers loss.) Tannehill all-but-certainly has tripled his contract in every meaningful way considering he's on a one-year, $7 million deal. If the Titans are not ready to pony up a three-year, $60 million offer, a team building to win now - Hello, Chicago - certainly would be interested in that price.
The Bengals. Play hard. Keep fighting. Lose in OT and wrap up a chance to draft Joe Burrow or Chase Young. Way to finish your job, Bengals. (Although they should have dealt AJ Green at the deadline. Another story for another day.)
Weekend losers
Team Greeson, college division. We missed our first four bowl picks - and our first NFL pick of the weekend - out of the gate. A bagel-and-5 start to the weekend in entertainment hunting had me looking around at which Christmas presents could be exchanged for cash. Thankfully, order returned with a 2-0 showing in Washington-Boise State and four straight NFL wins. Still, the college start was awful - and you'll see in the bowl rankings we are currently third among family members in the standings.
The Cowboys coaching staff. When you have that much talent and you need the hapless Giants to beat the Eagles to get into the playoffs, you have failed.
The NFL in general. Week 17 is now going to be relatively pointless, regardless of the flex scheduling that will move the driver's-seat games for the Eagles and the Titans into the late windows. And it looks like the Cowboys are all but O-U-T. Yes, the NFL playoffs will do monster numbers regardless, but the Cowboys' presence always helps. In fact, here's betting as dreadful as the Eagles-Cowboys game was Sunday afternoon, it will produce a monster number.
UT hoops. Surreal scene Saturday, no, for the Vols Hoops Crew? Yes, the blowout of Jacksonville State was expected, but the announcement afterward from Lamonte Turner, who told media members he was having season-ending shoulder surgery, was a shock. It also was a shock to coach Rick Barnes, which makes it an even bigger shock that the media knew before the Orange Roundball Poobah. Strange times indeed. And without Turner - a senior of whom much was expected and who delivered little this season in large part because of the shoulder - well, things just got tougher for UT.
College Hoops No. 1. Another No. 1 - this time Kansas - took one on the chin this weekend, becoming the fifth different No. 1 team to lose as the nation's top-ranked squad. Crazy. Yeah, good luck with those brackets come March.
Bowl updates, part I
OK, surprisingly, even after driving for like six hours Sunday, across the South and in a steady and at times driving rain, we managed to grade the first weekend of Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success (Bowler Optional). Yay us.
Before we get to the results, as always, if you think your score is not accurate, please email me at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and we'll review it. Thanks for playing.
Before we get to your scores, let's review the latest score for college football's best conference. As TFP college football guru David Paschall informs us here, the days of the SEC on CBS seem doomed. The league's growing popularity has made the price tag to continue broadcasting the most-watched window of the year too high for CBS.
It is not too high for the Mouse, though. And since ESPN is also under the Disney umbrella, they will get them all. I firmly believe there is a hidden wrinkle to this.
How long before we get SEC+ as part of the premium subscription for Disney+ (Hi, Baby Yoda), which already includes ESPN+, because I'm willing to bet it will be up and running if/when the new TV deal moves to ABC in 2024?
Paul Finebaum on your SEC+ mobile device? Yep. Extended pregame features and options on SEC+, which would allow fans at games to experience those options easily, too? Know it.
To the bowl scoreboard (Out of 8 possible points)
The 5-at-10 - 3
Justin S - 8
Brent R - 7
Jason T - 7
Lil 5-at-10 - 7
Mrs. 5-at-10 - 6
VFL (Bill) - 6
Bill H - 6
TideTerry - 6
SportsFan - 6
BackupQB - 5
DC22 - 5
GoodLunch - 5
Gary M. - 5
LionScot67 - 5
Tom P - 5
GoDawgs - 5
BamaMike - 5
Andy M - 5
Richard J - 5
Chris J - 4
Michael J - 4
Kevin C - 4
Mike R - 4
Chris B - 4
Bo C - 4
Todd G - 4
Jason G - 4
BigBlue - 4
WarEagle! - 4
Gardner G - 4
Chas - 4
Mr Spud - 4
Ted T - 4
Mike B - 4
Uch - 4
Gardner G - 4
GBO (Mike) - 3
Kyle O - 3
Mark P - 3
Ellis M - 3
Dawg747 - 3
Commodore Scot18 - 3
Andrew G - 3
Gatorman - 3
Ernie H - 3
Fat Vader - 3
George A - 3
Mark W - 3
Andrew O - 3
GBO (Mike) - 3
Kyle O - 3
Sparky H - 3
Andrew W - 3
Big Brained Hal - 3
Ted P - 2
Mike W - 2
Pat B - 2
Kevin K - 2
IronBowlChamps - 2
Scott B - 2
Bob V - 2
HGLIII - 2
Jim L - 2
Chuck H - 2
Spy - 1
Michael P - 1
Hudson C - 1
Jeff N - 0
This and that
- Speaking of fantasy football, it was no shock that Team Greeson prevailed, we had assembled a dynamite roster. (Winston at QB, and he is way, Way, WAY better as a fantasy QB than a reality QB; Jacobs, Fournette, Sanders, Hunt at RB; Adams, Julio Jones, DeVante Parker at WR, Mark Andrews at TE.) And not to bore the chunk of you who are non-fantasy players - heck, next year we may have a weekly fantasy league right here. Thoughts? - how's this for you regular fantasy players: I drafted three of my core guys. Three - Julio, Adams and Jacobs. We offered 100 trades through the year and these got accepted: Traded Sony Michel and Austin Hooper (before he got hurt) for Le'Veon Bell; Traded Bell and Aaron Rodgers for Winston and Fournette; Traded Devin Singletary for Mark Andrews and was fortunate to stash Parker and Sanders off waivers before they got hot down the stretch. Good times, and thanks to Weston Wamp for hosting the league.
- Speaking of our picks, we had Bowling Green minus-11.5 over Norfolk State on Friday night as well as the Pacers minus-4.5 over the Kings. Well, BGSU lost outright to drop the college picks to 14-12 against the number. Pacers tolled 119-105 to lift the NBA picks to 5-1 against the number. It's clear the professional path has been better for our picks in 2019, no?
- This just in: THE Ohio State is good at sports. The basketball team looked strong against Kentucky over the weekend, and we know what the football team has been doing.
- We mentioned the NFL potentially losing its top draw in the Cowboys for the high-profile playoffs. Well, news that LeBron's status for the Christmas Day showcase is up in the air makes all NBA execs say "Bah Humbug."
Today's questions
Weekend winners and losers. Discuss.
If we ranked the top five hoops-football combos in the country right now, THE Ohio State has to be 1, and Auburn 2, no? (And yes, Chas, your Cats are likely top 5, as well.)
As for this day, two days before Christmas and Dec. 23, let's review.
Happy birthday to Jim Harbaugh. THE Ohio State was going to send a card, but it was lost. (See there, Spy?)
Happy birthday to Eddie Vedder. Lot of talent in that one.
On this day in 1888, Vinnie van Gogh cut off his ear. "The slice not heard around the world?"
On this day in 1951, the NFL championship between Rams and Browns was the first coast-to-coast televised NFL title game. Wonder if this NFL-on-TV thing will ever stick?
The Immaculate Reception happened on this day in 1972.
"As Good as It Gets" was released on this day in 1997.
Jack Ham is 71.
Rushmore of sports stars with food in their name. Go.