[Posted Sunday evening prior to Rams-Seahawks]
Brief Add-on up top Tues.
–NFL / L.A. Rams Quiz: 1) Name the six to rush for 5,000 yards in a Rams uniform. 2) Name the only three to pass for 20,000 yards. [Not Stafford or Goff.] Answers below.
NFL
—New England traveled to chilly and what ended up being snowy Denver for the AFC Conference Championship; Jarrett Stidham starting in place of the injured Bo Nix, after not throwing a single pass during a game the last two seasons. In fact, it is 749 days since his last pass attempt in the regular season or playoffs in Week 18 of the 2022 season against Las Vegas.
But after both teams went 3-and-out on their first possessions, Stidham connected with Marvin Mims Jr. for a 52-yard pass that led to a 6-yard pass conversion from Stidham to Courtland Sutton for an early 7-0 Broncos lead.
Denver coach Sean Payton, ever the gambler, then perhaps went one step too far, going for it on fourth-and-1 when a field goal would have made it 10-0.
Stidham fumbled later on deep in Broncos territory, and New England’s Drake Maye quickly converted it into a TD, running it in from six. 7-7.
Both teams then missed field goals in the difficult wind conditions and that’s where the first half, a rather boring one, save for the human interest story of Stidham, ended.
Denver outgained New England 149-72.
And now for the first time ever, I have to criticize CBS’ Jim Nantz, who early in the first quarter said there was a “chance of flurries” in the second half. I immediately went to weather.com and saw two hours of “snow,” not snow showers or flurries.
Well, we got the “snow” …and it impacted play.
But Drake Maye had a huge run for the Pats on 3rd-and-3 to the Denver 17, before the worst weather came in, and they converted it into a field goal at 5:29 in the third, 10-7 New England, the field conditions worsening severely after.
Stidham then threw an interception with 2:11 to play and that’s how it ended…10-7…Patriots go on to the Super Bowl; Drake Maye sealing it with a run on 3rd-and-six.
Those betting on DraftKings et al, who knew enough to closely follow the weather, had a field day on the over/under.
And I’m moving on before Rams-Seahawks…I’ll comment in my Add-on.
–In the latest coaching changes around the league since I last posted.
Jesse Minter, 42, the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive coordinator, was named the new head coach in Baltimore, replacing John Harbaugh. He began his career nine years ago as a Ravens defensive assistant.
Minter had a good two-year run as DC in Los Angeles under Jim Harbaugh. For good reason he was viewed as a favorite for the job once brother John was fired. Minter had interviewed for the Falcons’ and Titans’ head-coaching vacancies, which were then filled. [Atlanta hired Kevin Stefanski and Tennessee Robert Saleh.]
Separately, only one coach hired since the start of the Super Bowl era in 1966 won his first championship with a team later than his eighth season with Bill Cowher winning it all for Pittsburgh after the end of his 14th season in 2005.
I bring this up because Matt LaFleur, who just re-upped in Green Bay after year seven, Kyle Shanahan just finished his ninth season with San Francisco and Zac Taylor his seventh in Cincinnati.
Which is another reason why you see so many coaching changes. The Bills fired Sean McDermott after seven seasons, six straight where he had a playoff win, but no Super Bowl appearances.
But then we learned the Steelers are hiring Mike McCarthy to be their next head coach, replacing Mike Tomlin. The move makes sense, at least to me.
McCarthy, 62, is a Pittsburgh native who grew up enamored with the Chuck Noll dynasty of the 1970s, and he captured a Super Bowl with Green Bay in the 2010 season, ironically with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, and against the Steelers.
He is 174-112-2 lifetime in the regular season, 11-11 in the playoffs.
He will be the second-oldest head coach in the league, behind only 67-year-old Andy Reid. [Todd Bowles, Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton are also 62, but they were born later in 1963 than McCarthy.]
—How important is the NFL to the networks and advertising revenue? The Houston Texans-Patriots playoff game last weekend was the most-watched event on ESPN…EVER!
ESPN started covering sports on Sept. 7, 1979. All of the major sports they have covered, college football, basketball, baseball….and this is the most-watched game. Kind of stunning.
–We note the passing of former NFL quarterback John Brodie, 90. Brodie had a 17-year career, all with the San Francisco 49ers.
“The 49ers family is saddened to learn of the passing of one of the franchise’s all-time great players, John Brodie,” 49ers co-chairman Dr. John York said. “As a kid, my 49ers fandom began by watching John play quarterback on television. He displayed an incredible commitment toward his teammates and his support of the organization never wavered after his playing days.”
Brodie played for the 49ers from 1957-73 after breaking every major passing record at Stanford. He was also a standout golfer and later played on what is now the PGA Tour Champions and won the 1991 Security Pacific Senior Classic.
Brodie served as a football and golf analyst for NBC. He called the Super Bowl in January 1979.
Brodie passed for 31,548 yards…214 touchdowns, 224 interceptions. He led the league in passing three times, touchdowns twice, and was AP All-Pro in 1970. His teams had a 74-76-8 record in games he started.
Like Dr. York, I remember watching Brodie on television in my youth, the west coast games on CBS with announcer Ray Scott, as I recall. He was good.
College Football
–The College Football Playoff will remain at 12 teams after the commissioners of the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten couldn’t come up with a compromise for expansion.
The CFP Management Committee announced Friday the 12-team format would stay the same for the 2026-27 season. The decision provides additional time for evaluation and discussion on the current format and potential changes in the future.
The CFP went from four teams to 12 teams for the 2024 season, and the two most powerful conferences favored further expansion but could not agree on a number.
The SEC pushed for 16 teams, with an emphasis on at-large bids – a format favored by the Power Four leagues other than the Big Ten and most of the smaller conferences that are hoping for access into whatever comes next.
But the Big Ten has pushed for a bracket of up to 24 teams with multiple automatic qualifiers from each conference. It could do away with the need for conference title games and replace them with seeding games to determine, say, two or three of the automatic spots.
Yes, it’s all about the money. I’m glad we are staying at 12 for one more season.
College Basketball
–Going back to Tuesday, UCLA (13-6, 5-3) had a huge win for the resume, 69-67 over 4 Purdue (17-2, 7-1).
20 Arkansas (14-5, 4-2) handed 15 Vanderbilt (16-3, 3-3) its third straight defeat, 93-68.
And North Carolina State (13-6, 4-2) got a terrific win at 18 Clemson (16-4, 6-1), 80-76.
—Saturday, No. 1 Arizona is a unanimous selection at the top of the AP poll for a reason, the Wildcats (20-0, 7-0) blitzing West Virginia (13-7, 4-3) 88-53, Arizona shooting 53% from the field, 43% from three, and just five turnovers.
In a terrific game in Hartford, Ct., 2 UConn (19-1, 9-0) beat Villanova (15-8, 6-3) 75-67 in overtime, Alex Karaban with all 17 of his points in the second half for the Huskies, whose only loss was by four points to Arizona.
11 Illinois (17-3, 8-1) will be moving into the Top Ten, 88-82 at 4 Purdue (17-3, 7-2) as freshman guard Keaton Wagler had 46 points on 13 of 17 shooting, 9 of 11 from beyond the arc. His previous high was 23 and in his last game against Maryland, he was 1 of 9 from downtown.
6 Houston (17-2, 5-1) lost at 12 Texas Tech (16-4, 6-1) 90-86 despite freshman Kingston Flemings 42 points. The Red Raiders were led by All-American JT Toppin’s 31 points and 12 rebounds.
7 Nebraska is now 20-0, 9-0, whipping Minnesota (10-10, 3-6) 76-57.
22 North Carolina (16-4, 4-3) picked up a badly needed signature win at 14 Virginia (16-3, 5-2), 85-80.
And then we have struggling Wake Forest, falling at 5 Duke (18-1, 7-0) 90-69, after the Deacs (11-9, 2-5) had lost earlier in the week at home against SMU, 91-79.
Aside from Juke Harris (27 points against SMU, 23 against the Blue Devils), Wake has no offense, and simply little talent.
And once again on Saturday we were mauled on the boards, 43-22.
As fellow alum Gregg D. and I know, and every other Demon Deacon fan can see, Coach Steve Forbes whiffed badly on the portal this year.
We also need more money. Gregg points out that Tim Duncan’s falling out of sorts with Wake after coach Dave Odom left isn’t helping.
Lastly, St. John’s coach Rick Pitino picked up career win No. 900 over his son’s team, Xavier (11-9, 3-6), the Johnnies no doubt moving into the top 25 this week, now 15-5, 8-1.
Pitino is the fourth Division I coach to reach 900, the others Mike Krzyzzewski (1,202), Jim Boeheim (1,116) and Roy Williams (903).
–Entering play this weekend, the conference records for games vs. Top 25 non-conference opponents, with only a few such games left on the schedule now that conference play has begun….
SEC…9-26
Big 12…13-13
Big Ten…10-16
ACC…10-19
Big East…5-11
NBA
–The struggling Knicks (26-18) snapped their four-game losing streak Wednesday night at the Garden, blowing out their neighbors, the Nets (12-30), 120-66, the 54-point margin of victory the largest in franchise history! The previous high was 48, accomplished three times.
Landry Shamet was 6-for-6 on three-pointers for the Knicks, who beat Brooklyn for a 13th consecutive time.
The Knicks (27-18) then picked up a solid road win Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, 112-109, a highly entertaining game. Jalen Brunson had 31 for New York, Joel Embiid 38 for the Sixers (24-20).
—Giannis Antetokounmpo is hurt again, his calf, and the Bucks expect him to be out 4-6 weeks. He missed 14 of Milwaukee’s first 44 games, continuing a pattern for four of the last five years.
–And the Warriors season could be over, even with a 25-21 record, after losing Jimmy Butler to a torn ACL. Yes, they could make the playoffs, but that’s it.
MLB
–After signing Bo Bichette in free agency, the Mets then acquired center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the White Sox, giving up solid infielder Luisangel Acuna and a minor league pitcher who wasn’t a top Mets prospect.
I was fired up by this move. Robert, 28, is a Gold Glover in center and while he has suffered at the plate the last two seasons, if we can just get somewhere in between his 2024-25 performance and 2023, when he slammed 38 home runs, it’s a great trade. The Mets have a club option for 2027 (if we have a season).
But then the Mets traded for All-Star pitcher Freddy Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers from Milwaukee, sending two prized prospects to the Brewers in return – starter Brandon Sproat and infield/outfield prospect Jett Williams.
It was a big price to pay, but the Mets get the ace they badly needed, Peralta 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts last season, striking out 204 in 176 2/3 and earning his second All-Star selection.
And Tobias Myers is no throw-in. The 26-year-old starter/reliever has a 3.15 ERA in his first two seasons in the big leagues, and he’s under team control for years.
Peralta is potentially a one-year rental, but the Mets can re-sign him and it’s about going for it in 2026, with all the uncertainty over 2027.
But wait…there’s more! The Mets signed future Hall of Fame reliever Craig Kimbrel to a minor-league contract. He turns 38 in May, but we don’t need him to be great. If he can be a solid 7th-inning guy, and occasionally spell new closer Devin Williams, that would be awesome.
In 14 appearances last season with two teams he was good.
–The Yankees were finally able to re-sign Cody Bellinger, a badly needed move. It’s for five years, $162.5 million with opt-outs after the second and third seasons.
Bellinger thrived in the Big Apple last season with 29 home runs and a .272/.334/.480 slash line. He had a .909 OPS in 80 games at Yankee Stadium.
–The Washington Nationals traded left-hander MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers for five prospects, though none are in the Top 100 Prospects list released Wednesday by Baseball America. [By contrast the two prospects the Mets sent to the White Sox for Peralta are Top 100.]
Gore, 26, was just 5-15, 4.17 for the Nationals last year but he struck out 185 in 159 2/3, and had a solid 2024 (10-12, 3.90, 181 Ks in 166 1/3).
Yes, it’s wait and see a few years as to what kind of trade both Texas and Washington made.
–Back to the uncertainty over the 2027 season and the big labor issue that looms over this coming season, the Dodgers signing of Kyle Tucker for $240 million and just four years makes it all but certain the owners will be calling for a salary cap, which the players obviously don’t want and thus the impasse.
The Athletic quoted one ownership source that portrayed the Tucker signing as a tipping point that made it “a 100 percent certainty” owners would push for the cap when the collective bargaining agreement expires this fall.
—Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones are joining Jeff Kent this summer in Cooperstown, Jones and Beltran getting the news from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America; Beltran getting in on his fourth try, Jones in year nine. [Kent was voted in by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee last month.]
For Beltran it was a referendum on the 2017 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal: His 2,725 hits, 565 doubles, 435 homes and 1,587 RBI made him a strong statistical candidate. His reputation as one of the ringleaders of the Astros’ sign-stealing operation meant he was no sure thing.
But Tuesday he appeared on 84.2% of the ballots, comfortably above the 75% threshold. He is one of just four switch hitters in history to accumulate 1,500 runs and 1,500 RBI. The others are Eddie Murray, Chipper Jones and Mickey Mantle – all enshrined in Cooperstown. But Beltran also had 312 stolen bases.
Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove centerfielder, only hit .254, second lowest among Hall of Famers, but had 434 home runs, even as he was in decline by age 30. At age 19, however, he homered twice in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series against the Yankees.
Jones picked up 78.4% of the votes.
Meanwhile, Chase Utley received 59.1% in just his third year on the ballot, so he’s on a clear path to Cooperstown, and Andy Pettitte is up to 48.5%, but with just two years of eligibility left. Pettitte is an admitted HGH user.
Alex Rodribuez received 40% in his fifth appearance, up from 37.1%, while Manny Ramirez got only 38.8% in his 10th and final appearance.
–The most expensive Topps MLB Debut Patch outside of Paul Skenes’ sold Friday. The Nick Kurtz 2025 Topps Chrome Update MLB Debut Patch rookie one-of-a-kind autographed card (ungraded) stands as the second-highest price for a card within the unique insert set, selling for $516,000 through Fanatics Collect’s January Premier auction.
When he signed the card, Kurtz jokingly estimated it would be worth “a couple hundred bucks.”
Skenes’ card sold for $1.11 million one year ago Dick’s Sporting Goods, which has the card on display in one of its Pittsburgh area stores.
Golf Balls
–At The American Express tournament in beautiful La Quinta, Calif., after two rounds golf fans were excited to see Scottie Scheffler at the top of the leaderboard with Blades Brown at -17.
Wait a second…Blades Brown? Who the heck is Blades Brown, who shot a second-round 60?!
He’s an 18-year-old prodigy who made his PGA Tour debut last year at this event, and is a Korn Ferry Tour member.
This past Wednesday, he was playing the KFT’s Bahamas Great Abaco Classic when he finished his round* and had 22 hours to get from the Bahamas to Palm Springs for his tee time, Brown having received a sponsor’s exemption.
*Brown finished T17.
After a fine 67, Friday, he fired the 12-under 60, tying him with World No. 1 Scheffler.
Rickie Fowler, who had a second-round 63 to move to within three of the lead, said of Brown afterward:
“I’ve been around [Brown] a little bit. Haven’t spent much time, haven’t played with him yet. Obviously he’s a great player,” Fowler said. “Soak it up, have fun. It goes by pretty quickly. This is my 17th year on Tour. It’s good to see him playing well. That’s really what it’s all about.”
By the way, Brown parred the last three holes including a 7-foot putt on his final hole that rolled agonizingly wide right or it’s a 59.
And then Brown more than hung in there in Round Three….
Si Woo Kim -22
Scheffler -21
Brown -21
[Fowler lost ground at -15]
Si Woo has won four times on Tour, including the 2017 Players Championship.
But, as I go to post, Scheffler is on his way to win No. 20…six up with two holes to play. Blades Brown fell off the pace, ditto Si Woo.
—LIV Golf signed Michael La Sasso, the 2025 NCAA Division I Individual Men’s Golf champion, the 21-year-old forfeiting his final year of eligibility at Ole Miss, and also forfeiting his spot in the Masters that he had earned by winning the NCAA title.
In 2025, La Sasso made five PGA Tour starts, including the U.S. Open, missing four cuts and finishing T44 at the 3M Open in Minnesota. In his last start, the Sanderson Farms Championship, he received a two-stroke penalty for “improving the conditions affecting his stroke.”
So, he’s of questionable character. Bye-bye. Enjoy the LIV tour, Michael.
But then this afternoon we got word that Patrick Reed, winner of this weekend’s DP World Tour Hero Dubai Desert Classic, hadn’t signed a contract with LIV for 2026.
“It’s just one of those things with contracts and stuff,” Reed said in his press conference after winning the tournament.
Is he leaving LIV? Possibly. But he’s not eligible to return to the PGA Tour under the provisions that allowed Brooks Koepka to return because, along with Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, Koepka was eligible for having won a major or Players title since 2022, the other three having until Feb. 2 to accept the PGA Tour’s terms.
Reed, though, won his Masters in 2018, making him ineligible.
If he doesn’t re-sign with LIV, however, Reed said he could play the DP World Tour and attempt to finish in the top 10 on the season-long Order of Merit and earn a PGA Tour card through that pathway available to DP World Tour members.
Premier League
Crazy weekend in the PL, as Arsenal lost today to Manchester United, 3-2, and Aston Villa defeated Newcastle 2-0.
Yesterday, Manchester City beat the Wolves 2-0, Bournemouth edged Liverpool 3-2, and Chelsea got a win over Crystal Palace 3-1.
So, after 23 of 38 matches played, the race has tightened again, and look who is in fourth!
Arsenal...23 – 50 points
Man City…23 – 46
Aston Villa…23 – 46
Man U…23 – 38
Chelsea…23 – 37
Liverpool…23 – 36
Huh.
Meanwhile, the following three are pretty well locked in for relegation.
- West Ham…23 – 20
19. Burnley…23 – 15
20. Wolves…23 – 8
And in the running to be promoted from the Championship League is none other than Wrexham, the team co-owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny. There’s a long way to go before this occurs, but it’s possible. That would be great.
[Coventry City and Middlesbrough are the two leaders in the league destined for promotion.]
Stuff
–It was a great weekend at Spindleruv Miyn (Czech Republic) for Mikaela Shiffrin and Team USA. Shiffrin picked up her first giant slalom podium in two years, finishing third to Sweden’s Sara Hector and American Paula Moltzan.
And then today, Shiffrin won another slalom race, career win No. 108, the last slalom race until the Olympics. Oh baby. The pressure on her will be unreal to win gold. As opposed to
–In the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are into the quarterfinals, while Jannik Sinner attempts to join them tomorrow.
Coco Gauff advanced to the women’s quarters.
—Nearly two dozen people were killed and 15 were injured by a large wild bull elephant that went on a 10-day rampage through several towns in eastern India, terrorizing locals who reportedly climbed trees and slept on rooftops to stay out of its reach.
The single-tusked male struck first on New Year’s Day when it killed a 35-year-old man in the village of Bandijari in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district.
Four days later, the animal killed five members of the same family in the nearby town of Sowan. The next day, it killed five more people in Babaria, including a married couple and their two children, the Times of India reported.
The elephant moved mostly at night and covered as much as 25 miles a day, thwarting repeated attempts to tranquilize it, according to forest officials. [New York Post]
I’ve been looking for an update and haven’t seen one as yet.
–Last week, Australia’s east coast saw four shark attacks in two days, three of them in Sydney, and sadly, one of the victims, a 12-year-old, succumbed to his injuries.
The boy was jumping off a rock ledge with friends on Jan. 18 when he was attacked by what authorities suspected was a bull shark.
A 27-year-old man suffered “life-changing” injuries in a shark attack on Monday. A day later a 39-year-old man sustained a chest wound and was hospitalized.
A fourth man, a surfer, escaped a lurking shark without physical injury, but no doubt some trauma.
The attacks followed several days of heavy rain, which experts say created a “perfect storm” of conditions for bull sharks who prefer murky water.
They also say rain flushes nutrients into the water, which can draw sharks closer to the shore.
Beaches across Sydney were closed to the public until the weather improved. [BBC News]
–Lastly, American climber Alex Honnold successfully scaled a Taiwan skyscraper without a rope, harness or safety equipment.
The building, named Taipei 101 for the number of its floors, is 508m (1,667 feet) tall, made of steel, glass and concrete and is designed to resemble a stick of bamboo.
Honnold is renowned for being the first person to climb El Capitan without ropes or safety gear. The 3,000-foot granite cliff is in Yosemite national park.
The climb was originally set to take place on Saturday but was delayed by wet weather.
His ascent in Taiwan’s capital was streamed live on Netflix, which said there would be a delay on the live feed should the worst happen.
I watched a brief video on the BBC this morning, where you see him get to the top. It is so freakin’ scary, and unsettling. If you are scared of heights, don’t watch it.
Top 3 songs for the week 1/22/77: #1 “I Wish” (Stevie Wonder) #2 “Car Wash” (Rose Royce) #3 “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” (Leo Sayer)…and…#4 “Dazz” (Brick) #5 “You Don’t Have To Be A Star” (Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.) #6 “Hot Line” (The Sylvers…ughh…) #7 “New Kid In Town” (Eagles) #8 “After The Lovin’” (Engelbert Humperdinck) #9 “Blinded By The Light” (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) #10 “Torn Between Two Lovers” (Mary MacGregor… ‘rock’ music was beginning to enter a dark period…C- week…)
NFL / L.A. Rams Quiz Answers: 1) Only six to rush for 5,000 yards….
Steven Jackson 10,138 (2004-2012)
Eric Dickerson 7,245 (1983-1987)
Marshall Faulk 6,959 (1999-2005)
Lawrence McCutcheon 6,186 (1972-1979)
Dick Bass 5,417 (1960-1969)…starred in my electric football games….bzzzzzzzz
Todd Gurley 5,404 (2015-2019)
2) Three to pass for 20,000 yards….
Jim Everitt 23,758 (1986-1993)
Marc Bulger 22,814 (2002-2009)
Roman Gabriel 22,223 (1962-1972)…didn’t star in my electric football games because as aficionados remember, it was impossible to pass that little white piece of fuzz…bzzzzzz*
Matthew Stafford 19,407
Jared Goff 18,171
*I had the Jets, Packers and Rams.
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.
