Carey

What's worse is that Jefferson had to leave the game. Whatever.

If I didn't care about money and betting, then I'd bet on everything that involves Cousins and Minnesota

For the remainder of the Saturday bowl games, I'll go with Fresno State, Southern Mississippi, Southern Methodist, & North Texas. Only people betting on these games truly care about them (over the CBS Sports Classic and the Saturday NFL slate)

Going with Ohio State and Kentucky for the win for the CBS Sports Classic. It's the annual special that features the mentioned teams along with North Carolina and UCLA

Gotcha. Regular season NFC for sure, but in the postseason we'll see. They're stacked, but anything's possible. Can't count out Brady, but despite that, Dallas and San Francisco are the only teams I can see knocking off the Eagles. I have to give Washington a nod since they actually beat them (only to do so this year), but I think Philadelphia is too good to lose to them twice. Whenever someone drops a game, it's usually a gift since they can easily fix the error that was present earlier in the year

Aww no longer perfect on the season in terms of Bowl Games. Haha! Louisville routs Cincinnati 24-7. Rather hilarious storyline between these two programs to be fair & honest! I have Florida beating Oregon State. Just a prediction; I probably ought to go the other way, but it doesn't matter since I suck at picking games involving the Gators

I think Minnesota is definitely winning the division. I don't know about the 2 seed; it might be a struggle for the Vikings down the stretch. However, Detroit has to win each of their final 4 games including one at MetLife. Salah has owned Goff; Detroit isn't great on the road outside, and the Jets are actually very good this year

Oh wow. Louisville & Cincinnati are starting at 11:00. Thought it was 11:30 (though I tried to get my pick in for this game much earlier). I'll still throw out one later. Though most of these games are total wildcards, especially this one. The only ones I'm putting effort into are the NY6 stuff & the one on 01/09/23 ETA: Cincy for the win

Looks like I might not have my picks ready for Sunday, but I do have my Saturday material complete: Colts/Vikings Minnesota favored 3.5 47.5 O/U Vikings and over Ravens/Browns Cleveland favored 2.5 38.5 O/U Browns & over Dolphins/Bills Buffalo favored by 7 43.5 O/U Buffalo covers & under The Vikings probably might want to win this game with a surging Niners team. Though I don't think San Francisco passing them is a big deal (as I don't need to see Vikings get killed at Lincoln Financial Field for...oh I've lost count). Not sure they'd need to win out since I hardly thing Detroit will win out. The Saturday AFC North Matchup is pretty much a toss. I'd have said the same thing with Lamar in the game. I might no longer consider Buffalo in the top tier if they lose at home to a team from South Beach in December

College Bowl season starts today. AM Football! And on a weekday! Woo hoo! Unless it's a New Year's Six game or a game for the championship, it's not as glorified as before. FWIW, the games that are played on New Year's Day (or January 2nd this year) other than the Rose or Sugar are okay. Nevertheless, I'll pick the games. All of them, but not right now. Just UAB and Troy for the win. I hope to address Saturday's slate later. I'll get next week's on here tomorrow, and the rest of the stuff (post X-Mas games) next week. So I have UAB beating Miami of Ohio and Troy over UTSA. Really a legit coinflip. No effort at all. I'll see how many I get right when the season ends. Today's double header starts at 11:30 on ESPN. That's Eastern Time

With San Francisco's win last night to clinch the NFC West, the Titans (if not the Jaguars) have the honor of hosting them in 2023. Meanwhile in the NFC, A Vikings/Niners game should take place next season, along with an NFC South game likely vs Tampa or Carolina. Whether Dallas catches Philadelphia isn't that meaningful, as San Francisco is scheduled to face both the Cowboys and Eagles next year. As for this season, the 49ers could become the first 3 seed to host a divisional round game as I see the Vikings being the first 2 seed to lose right away. I don't think the AFC 2 seed to fall into that category if it's Buffalo, Kansas City, or Cincinnati. On the other hand, the 49ers could pass Minnesota for the 2 spot. I doubt they'll catch Philly, and even if they did, it would or might benefit Dallas before San Francisco

The Real Geno Smith has returned. It just took a little bit longer than expected

Well the Niners are the second team into the postseason but the first of 8 division winners. As for having Mac, whatever their total SB wins turn out to be, it would've been twice as many with Jones on the team. That's too bad they ended up with Lance

If there's ever a game San Francisco can/will drop, it's tonight. However, it just feels like one of those games that they will survive and escape, especially if I pick against them. Deebo got hurt 4 days ago, road game against the division, rookie QB vs Pete Carroll. Everything says pick the Seahawks. However, SF is just rolling, but them losing will not be a surprise. I do think Seattle will cover but they might've come back down to earth. If the 49ers win, it'll have to be close if the above factors play out. The under hits as SF gets closer to their first NFC West title in 3 years

About that (giving up immunity), as mentioned, I would never, ever give up immunity, period. Definitely not at F4. Unless I had an idol (the one Yul had). Reichenbach got ripped for doing it (though not for a Fire maker) and yet it was enough to surpass a blunder that took place the season before. Yeah I might want to take out someone at that tiebreaker, but I'd take my chances by losing the Final IC on purposes. I'd have to hope the winner didn't pick me to go to the final, but that's how I'd handle it. If I was on that jury, I'd still vote for Gabe, but I wouldn't have an issue with Cassidy keeping the necklace. She'd have been on the jury if it didn't work out. Yeah, a real reunion would've been great. Seeing the pre-jury people would've been okay. They still played the game. Can't fault staff for doing things this way right now, but a reunion show right off the bat isn't ideal. You need time to recover, heal, and regroup

Even though I'm okay with the F4 fire making tiebreaker, I do have to respect the fact that the show is based on votes. However, the show is called Survivor. If I'm in the middle nowhere, I would have to think of ways to survive to the next day. I'm pretty certain that being able to start/make a fire is more valuable than a vote from some other human being to me. Going back to what they used to do is stupid, IMO. Unless one of two things play out: the immunity idol is valid at the Final 4 OR they go back to a Final 2 format. Having 2 people who didn't win immunity slide into FTC at the expense of the 4th place finisher is so weak. They pretty much don't even have to compete in the Final IC. The winner of the Final IC should have more power than whatever has been the case since they made the change 16 years ago

To be brief and to be honest, I could not care less about what Gabe said. Same goes for Eliza's reaction/opinion. To be fair, I didn't read any of it, nor do I plan to. From there, I might off to hook toward forming an opinion on the matter one way, the other, or none at all. My focus was on Gabe the character & what he did on the show, specifically on the finale. To a lesser extent, the entire season; whatever Mike does or says off the show & on his time has no bearing on how I saw him as a contestant and his run toward the title. I just do not care. Typically one's behavior factoring in does have bearing on whether you want them to win or not. However, for me, I didn't have a problem with the win since he apparently did whatever it took. The opposite can be said about Natalie in Season 19. I wasn't a big fan of her game at all, yet having learned about her in real life, at the time there was nothing to hate her for. On the other hand, if Mike had mentioned questionable stuff on the show, that may be a different story. The fact is this cast was sorta boring and not something trending toward excitement. So not memorable. I hardly think I'd care enough to comment on whatever Orlins said since the FTC voted on his gameplay (whatever that was overall) and not Twitter commentary. Though I might agree/disagree if Gabler had an opinion on the best pasta in his thread. Never commented on Karla's fall. It was really just unfortunate, that's about it. I thought she was okay, but I think I definitely don't hate her for a character turn. It's Survivor. It's not supposed to be easy to get the job done

Does anyone remember John Carroll? I guess he was a legend in his own right, though most would not agree. To be honest, it's possible I'll forget Noelle was on Survivor, but she does have a great story. She didn't win, but she overcame adversity based on her situation. I don't think I'll remember Owen or Jeanine 4-5 years from now. By then we'd have 50 seasons so that factors in

I actually don't have a problem with the F4 Tie-Breaker. That's a solo take, but part of it is due to the nature of the show where changes occur to the point where they're not reversing it (i.e. HII, twists, tribal swaps). The only way I'd be on board with the show getting rid of the F4 Tie-Breaker is if they went back to a Final 2. Period. Of course, as mentioned, changes to Survivor are usually permanent. Despite what took place for Seasons 16, 18, and 28, I wouldn't bet on a F2 showing up again. Therefore, there is one other thing I'd be okay with if they did away with the automatic fire-making task: The HII has to be valid until FTC. As mentioned, it would've changed nothing in terms of the order, but it might have (I think it definitely would have) in past seasons!

It's more probable than not that the pandemic has impacted both Survivor and TAR to where they flew by. On one hand, things might go back to what it was (but I'm not betting on it). On the other hand, one might be waiting for a long time before they adjust. It's better than nothing, to be honest. Think the budget (especially TAR) has gone down over the years, even before 2020

The 26-Day thing (which I agree with LadyChatts isn't going anywhere right now) sorta puts a damper on the season. Though the length could've been 1.5 times as long & it still wouldn't change much, if at all. The future is for another place to discuss, but TBH I didn't head into the finals with that feeling of "can't wait for the show to start" but maybe that'll change in the future. Wasn't surprised at all with the finale format of pizza and wine and not seeing everyone else...basically like in past years. TBF the season was taped in May so who knows if they'll trend back to the past. Might not happen until S45 if at all; however, it didn't matter due to the gameplay and the cast. They weren't awful but just really never moved the needle or made moves or did anything to where I'd remember them instantly in the future

I guess I can no longer refer to Gabler as Coach 2.0

Three more than me, TBH!

Gabler for me was anything but a shock. Maybe a bit surprising at most, but Gabe probably had a decent chance due to a respective surge and not having to deal with Karla or Jesse. May have been his to lose when the other person was Owen

So there have been 19 teams that I'd say would trade with Tampa Bay in terms of success when you measure things back to 2002. Three teams definitely (in addition to Houston) in the Jets, Browns, and Lions. You probably could throw in Jacksonville there; the Jaguars are great in years ending in a seven. However, they're still one of four teams without a Super Bowl appearance. Unlike some other teams, they've been a one seed & hosted a conference title game. Even Tennessee hasn't done that; ditto Baltimore unless they wanted to boot the Browns from the league again. There are roughly 12 teams that wouldn't. Maybe not all 12, but definitely Pittsburgh, New York, and New England would stay put toward their success instead of Tampa Bay's success. I would say all the other super bowl winners would be okay with their success over the Bucs even though they just won once in the past 20 years. It depends on several things. The Ravens have been okay with a great defense before their offense became a threat long enough to win SB 47. Since then, they have still remained a threat; however, they made the postseason once before a slump pre Jackson. The Colts: Nope. Sure they went 1-1, but they enjoyed the Manning era. Couldn't get it done with Luck, but they were often in the mix. Kansas City: Not that automatic. It's been less than very good pre-Reid. However, they had Vermeil & Edwards & were okay. Then disaster hit before Andy got there. Decent success before the obvious. Probably wouldn't swap with Tampa, but maybe just one game; that's it. Broncos: A coin toss. They were okay with one AFC title game in the mid 2000s before mediocrity for about a half decade. Manning changed things for the better but since then it has been anything but good. No playoff wins, but they did win a couple from 2005-2012. The Eagles switching might be questionable. They didn't win in the 2000s & they sorta took a dive before rebounding later. It's been inconsistent, but not by much The Giants are not switching with the Bucs. Not really a need to for several reasons. New York is actually responsible for the Bucs post SB playoff win drought (not completely though) The Packers have as many superbowl apperances/wins as the team I'm mentioning below. Drew Bledsoe, Carolina, and Jacksonville didn't exist as NFL stuff the last time Green Bay didn't have something headed into Canton the second it's eligible at the most important position. The Saints wouldn't swap with Tampa despite the history from 2002-2022. It's more than just a division thing (if that's even a factor). It wasn't pretty before 2006. While falling short in several painful ways, they've at least won quite a bit. Furthermore, they had the QB. The Rams MIGHT swap with Tampa. They've had recent success, but did okay in St. Louis. Most of the success is post move back to LA. Seattle: They've always were in the mix during the Russ era; probably could've had 2, and prior to Marshawn getting stopped at the one, I figured that they would become the sixth team of a decade instead of someone else especially since the eventual team has clinched that honor in the past. in the 2000s they did reach SB 40 and have had a player that was good enough to win the league MVP. The Holgrem era wasn't that bad but it was something. I meant to post this on Tuesday based on the discussion there. I nearly "switched" from LA to Tampa for my SB pick. Which is cheating sorta. While you can't count out TB12 until it's over, I think within a year we'll see Tom moving on, Bruce retiring, and Todd getting fired. While it'll be a tough journey for the Chargers, they're actually putting stuff together. They just need to get in, and then anything can happen