The Transition Month, College ...

The month of January is for most sports enthusiasts a period of transition. As the NFL season moves into the playoffs and the final spectacle of The Super Bowl we begin to focus on other competitive entertainment. College football has ended in January. A final champion has been crowned. A large part of our Saturday is now free again to finish that Honey-Do list, to shovel snow, to clean the pool and complete all the chores put on the back burner since September. Some of us actually go back to working on Saturdays. I however am not one of those people. Our sights are now focusing on the future, the far horizon of a new day in sports and all the excitement it brings. For many, the NCAA basketball season rivals the football season in importance. The rivals are many, the involvement covers the entire country. It all culminates in a 64 team tournament that captivated millions, March Madness. Wait for it, its coming and its gonna be huge.

First however we need to survive the present, The NFL playoffs and The Super Bowl and of course The College Football Championship. We’ll talk more about that far horizon and March Madness as the months continue.

The College football championship game this year was not much of a contest unfortunately. As a matter of fact it was a serious beat down as The Georgia Bulldogs defeated TCU 65-7. Georgia has now accomplished what few teams are capable of doing which is to repeat as National Champions.

Head Coach Kirby Smart has now established a dynasty at Georgia and they are picked to be a top 5 team again in 2023. Their victory caps a tremendous year in college football that witnessed record game attendance numbers and massive television and streaming ratings. It’s literally come to a point where as many people watch college football as watch The NFL. For me personally college football will always be my first love. It’s been an incredible year writing about it every weekend and I’m already looking forward to next year. Stay tuned in the off season as I’ll chime in on my thoughts for the transfer portal and NIL contracts. There’s always more to come in the College scene!

I’m sure you’ve all seen and heard the story of Dimar Hamlin, the Bill’s football player who made headlines when he collapsed on the field during Monday Might Football. Thankfully the guy is out of critical condition and on his way to recovery. The subsequent cancellation of the game he was involved in between The Bills and The Chiefs threw the AFC playoffs into a quandary. The NFL however has settled however into decision that might involve a coin toss to decide home field advantage for a couple teams in the conference. A coin toss. Okay. What year is it?.

The NFL weekend started off on Saturday with the Chiefs making cannon fodder of the Las Vegas Raiders winning 31-13. Many are speculating that the end of Head Coach Josh Macdaniels’s era is in sight if only after one season. Over in the AFC, the house in Jacksonville was rocking as the Jaguars dispatched the Tennessee Titans 20-13 that will give the Jags an AFC South Title and a spot in the playoffs, their first after some dismal years and the dumpster fire that was Urban Myer last season. Frankly I couldn’t be happier for the Jags and especially Trevor Lawrence. After suffering through a dismal and what must have been painful and confusing rookie season the number 1 draft pick from Clemson is back in his element which is winning games. I could say a lot about this guy, but the bottom line is the guy has a ton of talent. The results of hiring a quality, professional head coach like Doug Peterson to lead Jacksonville and mentor Trevor Lawrence is paying off quick.

By the end of the day on Sunday several teams with outside shots at making the playoffs were able to just squeeze their way in. Other teams sat their starters in an effort to give them some rest before their post season run. The Dolphins at 9-8 won a lackluster game over The Jets 11-6 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2016. I suppose the best one could say about this is that once in the playoffs you are 0-0 again. However, uncertainty about a starting QB has left many questions as to wether or not The Dolphins will advance past the first weekend. The Dolphins play at The Buffalo Bills in their first post season match up. Best of luck.

As usual we are going to be graced with the play of Tom Brady during this postseason play. It’s wouldn’t be the playoffs without him. I’m extremely happy to see it happen. Although Tampa Bay finished with a loosing record of 8 and 9 they actually WON their division and are in. Interestingly enough, The Bucs play The Dallas Cowboys in the first playoff weekend but on Monday night. For me, this will be a true test of The Cowboys. Playing against Tom Terrific on prime time Monday night is not the way I would want to start my post season campaign. Brady has an uncanny ability of rising to the occasion and bringing his teammates around him with him. The Cowboys are coming off a loss to the Washington Comanders in which they looked quite frankly pathetic. For my picks that first weekend I’m going with Tom Brady and The Bucs. Look for this game to be a barn burner.

All in all, there was a ton of good news for The State of Florida. The Dolphins, The Buccaneers and The Jaguars are all in the playoffs. What’s more, all three teams have first year head coaches in Mike McDaniels, Doug Peterson and Todd Bowles. Not a bad record for The Sunshine State!

A West Coast showdown may be brewing between The Seattle Seahawks and The Sam Francisco 49ers. I must admit there’s not alot of love between these teams. Both teams are in with what I grudgingly admit is a surging 49er team having the upper hand. Seattle however has talent and a veteran quarterback in Geno Smith who in my opinion easily out played first year starter and rookie Brock Purdy who looked weak at best this past weekend. Look for one of these two to drive deep in the playoffs. I’m going with Seattle as Sam Francisco has a history of folding in tough games. Several teams in The NFL finished strong but didn’t make the playoff cut unfortunately. The Pittsburgh Steelers won there last 6 games and look terrific under rookie QB Kenny Pickett. Another winning season was not quite enough but look for a strong team in Pittsburgh next year. New England, Tennessee, Green Bay and Washington just missed the postseason after slow starts but looked great at the end of the season. Detroit as everyone knows played lights out football but just didn’t quite get there. The Lions however I feel are a new team however and may have finally broken the code to winning football. An 8-8 season in Detroit is a huge accomplishment in a tough division. I’m pretty certain that The Detroit Lions playing the door matt is a thing of the past.

Sadly for many teams and many, many players the playoffs will be viewed from the comfort of their own couch. The LA Rams, The Denver Broncos and The Cleveland Browns have some soul searching to do. With Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson soaking up 400 million dollars worth of contracts between the two of them I don’t think the off season will be a quiet one. I suppose money can’t by you love or a winning quarterback either. Must be tough sitting on top of all that money a doing basically zero for it.

All in all the playoffs will be an exciting event this year. My picks have gained a slight margin into the 65 % winnings this past week so my confidence is back. After taking a serious beating in December I’m back! I’m not ready to retire yet. I’m looking at this year being my warm up! Now if The Dolphins can just keep it together for 4 more games it will be a great year!

Kev