Bill Belichick has been talking to North Carolina about their coaching position. I imagine it's hard for a guy like Bill to step away, but does he really want to coach college kids in 2024? The guy is 72 and even the pro game has changed so much since his glory years. If the transfer portal was too much Nick Sagan, what hope does Belichick have trying to wrangle 19 year-olds who just want to sell jerseys?
There are players going into the portal between the 2024 regular season and their school's bowl game - that seems crazy to me. I never thought bowl games could mean even less than they did a few years ago. Players gaining rights related to their person has just made them more anonymous and interchangeable without a school to hitch it to.
WOW, when was the last time Steeliz & Eagles were a combined 21-5 in their game for state bragging rights
Det-Buff, just as good a matchup
mayb Pats can win one
once a hugely anticipated rivalry game/“sports gala” type of event a la Kentucky Derby/Wimbledon finals etc, ystrdy’s Army-Navy game, the 125th annual, hardly drew flies as far as any pregame info that I saw - Navy won big
Another week in the books. I'm rather worried about my Lions. I just saw that they still have the highest probability to get the #1 seed in the NFC. I totally don't understand that. Even if they do I can see someone knocking them off in Detroit before being the top seed matters anyway.
A gimme bet was to take the over in the Lions/Bills game. 56.5? Wow, the over was easy there.
Take the Bears +7 vs. Detroit this weekend.
I hate to say it but I would probably take Philly to win it all at the moment.
As much as I like the Bills, I have to be concerned about that defense. They have given up 86 points in two weeks.
But hey, we still have a lot of time to go. Hopefully the NetFlix issue will be fixed by Xmas Day.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
My college pool starts tonight, the Memphis / West Virginia game. We pick every game. There are a few tie-breakers with whoever wins it all as the last one. As much as I didn't want to, I picked Notre Dame.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
Saturday is lined up to be one of the best TV football-watching days in a very long time.
All times Central:
11:00 SMU @ Penn St
12:00 Texans @ Chiefs
3:00 Clemson @ Texas
3:30 Steelers @ Ravens
7:00 Tennessee @ Ohio St
Get the pretzels and beer out!
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
Free tip of the week: Bet against the Bears. Guaranteed winner!
yep - good call - in this the centennial year of Soldier Field, da Bears took a nosedive after winning their first 4 at home, incl 3 in a row, thrilling their fans celebrating 100 years of this storied stadium, this ‘iconic’ edifice in the midway
then came their bye week
it proved to be bye-bye week for da Bears
Last home game of a milestone season in Chicago that started out great, then took a 180 the other way…..
….is tmrw nite, Windy City
awesome race in that division w/the other 3 teams🏈
I just looked at the standings and if Scott picks tonight's game right and everyone else picks the opposing team, we will all tie at 8 and 8. Mediocrity at its finest.
Except for DanB, who seemed to forget that the season is still ongoing. 
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
DanB forgets a lot of things ... 
Well, the football pool is very close - like Lee said, we all could have tied with 8 right yesterday if the 49er's would have covered/won. One more week and then the playoffs - the standings so far - only DanB is out of it, since he didn't make picks the last 2 weeks - surprised it took him this long ... 😎 🤣
Fighting Irish (Wharfrat) 138
Sangsters of the Midway (Sang) 135
Cootsinfirstplace (oldcoot*) 133
sk (Nebish) 133
Where's My Mule (Lee) 131
Marco 124
DWB222 (DanB) 112
I thought DanB just refused to participate on Thursdays. 😉 At least, that's been his M.O. Marco is probably close to being mathematically eliminated. Who knows what will happen this week since the majority of games don't matter. I need to gird up my loins to at least catch you and coot.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
I thought DanB just refused to participate on Thursdays. 😉 At least, that's been his M.O. Marco is probably close to being mathematically eliminated. Who knows what will happen this week since the majority of games don't matter. I need to gird up my loins to at least catch you and coot.
I could have gone much longer without any mention of your loins.... 
Or did you just misspell Lions???
Games this weekend are a total crapshoot, few teams have anything to actually play for and a lot of playoff teams will be using backups. Might as well flip a coin.
Haven't been in the pool for a number of years, sounds like it goes all the way through the Super Bowl, right?
"Is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho?"
Yes it does ...
Loins, Lions, they both need to gird up.
Here's a free betting tip for you coot. Take the over on the Lions/Vikings game: 56.5 was the last I saw. The loser will probably score 30.
Oh, and betting against da Bears is always a good idea. 
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
it’s Lions-Vikings, 2 top teams in the toughest division - a treat
watta way to end the season - yep, they’re both 14-2, tied behind KC (15-1)
for the conf title tonite - on paper alone no playoff game will top it
-
brief segue to hoop, in the sense that, like tonite on gridiron, this afternoon on the court in OKC - same thing - the league’s #2 & #3 ranked teams
OKC is 2nd, we’re 3rd
Browns ended season an afterthought, no surprise given the Cavs - at 30-4, on early pace w/Jordan’s Bulls/Curry’s GSW in their prime - playing sick-level hoop
🏀grabbing this road win would help compensate for the end of a woeful Pats season -
SInce I can catch coot* and I have an outside chance of getting to Snag, I have to make some outside-of-the-box chances since we are running out of time.
I am willing to bet that the Lions do not lose this weekend.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
SInce I can catch coot* and I have an outside chance of getting to Snag, I have to make some outside-of-the-box chances since we are running out of time.
I am willing to bet that the Lions do not lose this weekend.
Last week's goofy who's playing who isn't was a hit for me. However the only thing that really matters to me is how my actual wagers are doing. Being in the pool has helped me focus on some team trends and who to go with or against. $$$ 
"Is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho?"
Yes, obviously $$$ are more important. I did well this weekend. I got Notre Dame and OSU right, even though I had Texas in my pool because we had to pick the whole thing before the "tournament" started. Like the NCAA hoops pool.
Lions are 8.5 points over Washington Saturday. Wow!
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
That’s right, & it’s not just the Lions either - briefly, RedWings are W7, Pistons won 9 of 11 going into MSG tonite - Cade Cunningham should be in MVP talk
….point is, MC fans everywhere are adoring 2025 so far
as a general fan (probly most fans), am rooting for a Buff-Det Super Bowl
Wasn't surprised my Packers folded. Defense kept them in it and Jacobs just won't stop, but they just aren't there yet and were pretty beat up by the end of the game.
Vikings have their typical implosion to end the season, no surprise there. But how about those Commies? Nice to have a competitive team in DC again.
Bills-Ravens will be a barn-burner. Probably won't happen but I'm still pulling for a Battle of Hamilton Super Bowl, Buffalo vs Detroit.
Fun fact!
The only other 13-win team to lose in the Wild Card Round is also the Minnesota Vikings. This mark was set in 2022 with Kirk Cousins, when the Vikings lost to the Giants led by Daniel Jones.
Daniel Jones was standing on the Vikings sideline when it happened again on Monday. Maybe they will go after Aaron Rodgers this offseason.
Great game so far, lotta big plays & airouts, tons of offense - Lions watta drive just now, it’s 31-28, great crowd pleaser, see Lions winning
but wtf, in DC at the WFT - who’re suddenly commanding the gridiron like renegade Redskins
At Northwest Stadium - not too generic or anything🥱
no, didn’t happen as envisioned - just a bust everywhere ystrdy, rink, gym, gridiron - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory both at Ottawa & Gahdn, inexcusable - those Ls sting, & linger
same Det - gotta go back to who knows when, mayb the Doug Williams/John Riggins late 80s or so era when Redskins played at RFK Stadium under owner Edward Bennett Williams, coach George Allen etc & so forth….
when Wash last went off in playoffs like that
…..it’s the old sports adage, ‘it was their time to shine’
That Lion's defense...same D that couldn't stop Buffalo or San Fran in December. Injuries happen and it sucks, but as much as I like Dan Campbell and Lions fans so wanting to play for a championship, glad they lost because clearly is not a championship level team in it's current form.
How about the intentional safety by KC. Mattered some! I won 3 bets because of it, a live total and side and a pregame side because of that decision. Of course if Houston would've made the FG and xpt before the blk'd one at the end would've had the same effect. Surely some corner of the internet was melting down because of that decision by Reid taking a 23-12 game to 23-14 in the final seconds.
✌️🏈the emphatic take of Det as clearly not a championship-level team
….i41 thought the exact opposite going into the game - that they were the most title-worthy team in the playoffs - they showed that during the season - still think that despite the upset - it’s sports, all good🏈✌️ - I have a sports-addled brain
Yeah bummer for the Lions but they reminded me of the 15-1 2011 Packers. They scored over 40 pts almost every game but their defense gave up over 30 points. It was only a matter of time until someone just scored more than them, that's all it took. Didn't hurt that the Commies were all over Goff.
Someone once told me if you turn the ball over five times in a football game you probably won't win. Obviously, the Lions didn't get the memo. Not a good time for Goff to play the first game of probably his career. It was worse than the Houston game earlier this season. I don't know why they didn't just keep running the ball (which was working) to keep their damaged defense on the sideline as much as possible.
Houston hung around as long as they could. I think they kind of turned around what was a disappointing season.
Good for Washington. I'm not a fan but they have been bad for so long it is nice to see them where they are.
Yesterday was some awesome January playoff football! Two good games played in the snow. Awesome.
I'm pulling for the Bills. I'm a fan of Josh Allen.
Mark Andrews of the Ravens has to feel just horrible today. He fumbles in the second half and drops that game-tying catch at the end.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
Regarding the Lions comments above (and obviously I am biased), yes injuries happen. But at one point they had NINETEEN guys on IR. That's amazing. Who can recover that? What they have done over the past two years is pretty remarkable. Were it not for the mentality Campbell has infused into the team, I doubt they would have won as many games as they have. On the other hand, I think sometimes they take it too far. They should have gone to The Super Bowl last year if they hadn't gone for it in the fourth quarter and just kicked a field goal if y'all recall that.
I disagree that they are "not a championship level in its current form". I think the way they play is exactly why they ARE a championship-level team. Opinions vary. Time will tell.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
I disagree that they are "not a championship level in its current form". I think the way they play is exactly why they ARE a championship-level team. Opinions vary. Time will tell.
The Lions of the regular season are absolutely championship level. Injuries just piled up, that D became a liability which I think was what nebish was trying to say. They ran out of bodies and the NFL is all about when you peak.
And give credit to the Commies, they were mosquitos in Goff's face all day forcing him into bad throws. And that flee flicker should have been aborted, terrible throw.
Looks like Ben Johnson going to the Bears.
"Is that a real poncho or is that a Sears poncho?"
Looks like I need Wharfy to pull a DanB and get drunk and forget to make his picks this week - I'm now the only one that can catch him ....
