5 Weeks left in the NFL Season; Something in the “Dirty Water” in Boston; World Cup!
World Cup Quarter Final Recap/Preview
Croatia v. Brazil
Against all odds, the Croatians hang on and push #1 ranked Brazil to PKs to snatch a victory and another trip to the World Cup Semifinals. That is to take nothing away from Croatia, who are defending runners-up from 2018. The Brazilian flair simply couldn’t breakdown a stubborn Croatian midfield anchored by Luka Modric. In the end, Brazilian composure, or lack thereof, and a remarkable performance from young Dominik Livakovic in net saw the Vatreni through to the next round.
Argentina v. Netherlands
Argentina took an early lead and practically coasted through 80 minutes of the
match, until Wout Weghorst came on to stun the Albiceleste into a panic with two goals before the end of regulation. In Extra Time both teams had some chances, but Argentina had the best of the period hitting the post and forcing a few saves from Noppert, the Dutch keeper. Ultimately, the Dutch missed their first two penalty takes by Van Dijk and Berguis paving the way for another Semi-Final appearance for Argentina.
England v. France and Morocco v. Portugal are next on the docket with two marquee matchups to cap off the Round of 8. The headlines have been mostly about France & England meeting - two world powers and noisy neighbors geopolitically that should prove to be a highlight of the tournament. Morocco has overperformed, becoming the first African nation to reach the Quarterfinals, and they face off against a dangerous Portuguese team. Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo look to continue their winning ways, but rumblings of turmoil underneath the surface have arisen!
NFL WEEK #14 Preview
Thursday Night Football - Raiders at Rams
The Raiders collapsed, in embarrassing fashion, to the Baker Mayfield led Rams, when he stepped off a plane like 2 hours before kickoff. Pathetic, is an understatement. This is the 4th double-digit, 2nd-half loss for the Raiders this season, which is a record that lasted since the 40s. That’s always fun!
The game was over, multiple times, but pass interference penalties and general grab-assery killed the Raiders late in the game. Derek Carr was absolutely abysmal, and the offense as a whole was anemic. 16 points against the Rams, is just unacceptable. We could rant on this one for quite awhile - the takeaway is that McDaniels is terrible, and the Raiders are horrible. This is the worst loss of the year, for anyone
Ravens at Steelers - Tom’s a homer! Huntley gets the start with Lamar still hurt, so that’s an obvious downgrade. The Steelers are beginning to get healthy and gel, so that’s something to keep an eye on. Both teams are subprime, at the moment. Big game for both teams though. Tom is taking the Steelers, Chris is taking the Ravens
Texans at Cowboys - The Cowboys, and Dak tend to start slow but they slaughtered the Colts last week. The Boys are favored by 17, which is way too much, but the Texans are not good. They’re better than 17 points, so it’s a bit disrespectful, but the Cowboys should take care of this easily. Tom is taking Houston to cover; Chris is taking Dallas.
Buccaneers at 49ers - SF favored by 3.5pts. Bosa is playing at a DPOY level and this line for Tampa is going to have their work cut out for them. San Francisco should take this easily, no matter who they have at QB. Start your 49ers, especially McCaffery. We’re both taking San Fran.
Dolphins at Chargers - Miami is favored by 3.5pts. The Chargers are still in playoff striking distance, but they’re not good. They are wasting Herbert, and it hurts Tom immensely. Start your Dolphins, especially Mostert. We’re both taking Miami here.
Patriots at Cardinals - New England favored by 1.5pts. They both are terrible. Tom is taking the Cardinals because he loves Kyler Murrary. Chris is taking the Patriots, because he doesn’t like Kyler Murray. That is all.
Jets at Bills - Buffalo is favored by 10 in what is expected to be a snowy affair. The Jets are playing better with Mike White instead of Wilson, which isn’t hard, but still a thing. This will be big for Buffalo to hang onto the #1 Seed, which will be HUGE..We’re taking Buffalo
Browns at Bengals - Joe Burrow needs to get the monkey off his back, because they have no chance if they can’t learn to beat the Browns. Cincy is playing all around better football currently, so there is a real chance here. AFC North games are always a toss up, especially when teams are evenly matched. We’re both taking Cincy.
Vikings at Lions - Detroit is favored by 1.5pts. The Vikings have won a bunch of one-score games so the record is maybe misleading. Also Detroit is playing really good football, they give up a ton of points, but they also score a ton of points. We’re both taking Minnesota.
Eagles at Giants - Philly is favored by 7, and we’re both in agreement that the Eagles should take care of this one easily. The Giants are hurting on offense with Saquon a little banged up. We’re both taking the Eagles
Chiefs at Broncos - KC is looking to bounce back from last week’s loss to Cincy. The Broncos are terrible though. Russell Wilson is comically bad.The Chiefs are favored and we’re both taking them to win. This one is pretty simple.
Jags at Titans - Trevor Lawrence is questionable, but last week looked nasty. The Titans look bad and need a win this week against a division rival. The Jags are still hit or miss, they got blown out by Detroit last week. Chris is taking Jacksonville, and Tom is taking Tennessee.
Panthers at Seahawks - No Kenneth Walker for Seattle, so it’s the Lockett and Metcalf show. Seattle’s offense is still solid. Carolina is absolutely terrible so we’re both taking Seattle to win.
Heisman Trophy
Caleb Williams is the frontrunner, who just won the Maxwell, like the last 8 Heisman winners. That’s pretty much an open and shut case. A lot of good players on the candidate list this year, and a few we’ll most likely see again, but this year is pretty well decided.
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox have been puzzling in the offseason, which is becoming a concerning trend for their fans. They won a World Series in 2018, with possible asterisk, but since then have let Mookie Betts and now Xander Bogaerts without getting anything worthwhile in return. Oh, and we could add in Benintendi, too.
The new ownership seems to have tightened the purse strings and it has cost them two generational talents in the last few years. They low-balled Xander and there is some serious concern about the direction of the club, after losing one of the best Shortstops in baseball. They have spent a little over the odds on Yoshida and Jansen. Do they need both? Yes, but the way the money is being spent is a little odd.
Correa would have been a blockbuster move after letting Xander go, but it’s looking like they’re going to be working with Devers, Story, and Downs. We’ll see how it pans out. Interesting times!