Fab 4 bowl picks round II
OK, how bad was that start? We went 0-4 out of the gate on our college bowl picks before rebounding. (Well, sort of rebounding; we're 3-5 against the number in these bowl games.)
North Carolina minus-4 over Temple. I feel like this is a spot that Mack Brown will have his team motivated to play anyone - remember the Heels won their final two games of the regular season in blowout fashion to get to 6-6 and bowl eligibility - in this turnaround year. Heck, here's hoping the Heels win so we can watch ol' Mack do his locker room cha-cha-cha.
La Tech plus the 7 over Miami. Skip Holtz > Manny Diaz, who used to be a DC under Holtz at one point. Now know that three of the 'Canes' best defenders are sitting this out and Holtz is 5-0 overall and 4-1 against the number in bowl games. Yes please.
Texas A&M minus-6 over Oklahoma State. Another game that seems bigger for Jimbo than Coach Mullet. And believe it or not the Aggies were sneaky great against the number in the second half of the season before the trip to Red Stick for the Bloody Burreaux Beatdown.
Louisville plus-4 over Mississippi State. Maybe this is a loyalty pick, but I have been entertained by the Cardinals all season, and we like the idea of first-year coaches putting a little more into just about every bowl experience.
Penn State minus-7 over Memphis. Ride with talent here. And James Franklin, especially since with the turnover on the Memphis staff.
Air Force-Washington State over 67.5. Multiple big-play scores? Yeah, we see that, too. Leach calling some crazy formations with linemen spread out wide? Yeah, we can see that, too. Side note: Not unlike realizing the nonsensical nature of "control their own destiny," we are also trying to eliminate "dial up" in terms of calling plays on offense or defense. It is tired.
LSU minus-13.5 over Oklahoma. Let's see what Joe Brady can dial up against a getable Oklahoma defense. (See, it just sounds old and nonsensical. Is there a control board up there with knobs and such? Is it like an old-school TV?) If you can get the first-half line, I like that,, too. Georgia > Oklahoma. LSU hammered Georgia. Sometimes it's just simply math.
Clemson minus-2 over THE Ohio State. This is going to be fun, right? Here's the dividing line in my metrics: Trevor Lawrence has done this exact thing before. Justin Fields is at 80 percent on a balky knee.
This season: 63-51-3 (55.3 percent) against the spread
Bowl season: 3-5 (37.5 percent) against the spread
NBA results
Well, Joel Embiid, Merry Christmas.
Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers are good.
LeBron, please do not let that groin get going. Let it heal - completely - this year.
And we have a mailbag question on this that we'll expand on, but man, Christmas should be the opening day of the NBA.
(That said, because we are the family we are, in between the family Ping-Pong tournament - Ping-Pong ace cousin Andrew prevailed - as well as trips to the fire pit (and the cooler) the TV was set on the SEC Network and the seven straight episodes looking back at the history of the league. We caught the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Good stuff.)
NFL primer
I was wrong earlier in the week, there are playoff details hanging in the balance of almost every game this weekend.
And the seeding has arguably never been more important.
The home field is set in the AFC, and the fact that it does not go through Foxboro gives everyone a chance.
The home field in the NFC is wide open with a slew of scenarios.
But a sneaky crucial position in this whole race is the difference between No. 2 and 3 and eventually 5 and 6.
The positioning revolves around the NFC East champ, meaning it almost assuredly is easier to advance as the 5 than the 3 or the 6.
This and that
- Our NBA picks went 1-1 as the Warriors erupted in the second half to win by 12 as an 11-point underdog. Our NBA picks are now 6-2. We can make that entertaining.
- How is this for a stat: After missing 21 shots in Wednesday's loss, if Russell Westbrook makes his next 2,000 NBA shots, he'd still be below 50 percent as a career shooter in the NBA. Ouch-standing.
- Lamar Jackson ponied up some coin for his O-Line with some Rolexes for Christmas. The gifts are even more eye-popping considering that Jackson is still on that rookie deal that pays him $9.4 million over four years with a team option for year five.
- Cool story here. Riley Howell, the UNC student who sacrificed his life tackling a gunman to save others, was a lifelong Star Wars fan. When they heard of his act of bravery, the Star Wars story team included Jedi Ri-Lee Howell in the storybook of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
- Speaking of cool stories, here's Matt Stafford and his wife picking up the check for Christmas for three boys who recently lost their father, as well as Stafford swinging by and playing Madden with the kids. Side question: Think Stafford is good at Madden? He'd be hampered by the fact that he reportedly plays as himself and with the Lions, so there's that.
Today's questions
Why yes, Virginia, there will be a Press Row today. Back at it at 3 p.m. on ESPN 105.1 the Zone and espnchattanooga.com.
As for today, Dec. 26, let's explore.
Reggie White died on this day in 2004. I remember it quite well.
Wow, "The Exorcist" premiered on this day in 1973. Who does that the day after Christmas? Egad.
Rushmore of all-time scary movies. Go.