Year In Sports 2021

The time has come. We sit here on the final day of the calendar year 2021 and we've had plenty to look back on over the past year. We've had some stuff go on in the sports world that we wish didn't happen. John Gruden and his emails, Henry Ruggs and his accident come to mind. We've also had some great things happen to. Return of fans to the arenas, the Summer Olympics (better late then never). So here's a look back at the year that was in sports in 2021.

Tennis:
Australian Open: Novak Djokovic, Naomi Osaka
French Open: Novak Djokovic, Barbora Krejčíková
Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic, Ashleigh Barty
US Open: Daniil Medvedev, Emma Raducanu

NASCAR:
Daytona 500: Michael McDowell
GEICO 500: Brad Keselowski 
Coca-Cola 600: Kyle Larson
Southern 500: Denny Hamlin
Brickyard 400: A. J. Allmendinger

Golf:
Masters: Hideki Matsuyama
PGA Championship: Phil Mickelson
US Open: Jon Rahm
Open Championship: Collin Morikawa

Football:
2021 College Football Playoff National Championship Game: Alabama def Ohio State 52-24
Super Bowl: Tampa Bay def Kansas City 31-9

Basketball:
Men's National Champions: Baylor def Gonzaga 86-70
Women's National Champions: Stamford def Arizona 54-53
NBA Finals: Milwaukee Bucks def Phoenix Suns in six games!

Baseball:
Little League World Series: Michigan def Hawaii 2-1
World Series: Atlanta def Houston in six games!

Hockey:
National Champions: Massachusetts def St. Cloud State 5-0
Stanley Cup: Tampa Bay def Montreal in five games!

In Memorium:
-John Madden (85)
-Demaryus Thomas (33)
-Vincent Jackson (38)
-Bobby Bowden (91)
-Hank Aaron (86)
-Elgin Baylor (86)
-Al Unser Sr (82)
-Sam Huff (87)
-Greg Clark (49)
-Marvin Hagler (66)
-Julio Lugo (46)
-Terry Donahue (66)
-Steve Smith (57)
-Pedro Gomes (58)
-Sam Cunningham (71)
-Curley Culp (79)
-Irv Cross (81)
-LaMarr Holy (79)
-Ray Snell (63)
-Leon Spinks (67)
-JR Richard (67)
-Jim Fassel (71)
-Don Sutton (75)
-Marty Schottenheimer (77)
-Tommy Lasorda (93)

Passing Of A Legend

The NFL, sports and broadcasting world, lost a true legend yesterday. Former Raiders head coach, NFL broadcaster and the man behind the most popular football video game franchise out there, John Madden, passed away at the age of 85. Cause of death, as of this writing, has not been announced. There's so much to the man and his legacy that we can try and do it just a little bit of justice here.

First off, there's the hall of fame coach. He spent a decade coaching the Oakland Raiders, leading them to seven AFC title games and a Super Bowl win following the 1976 season. He finished his coaching career with a record of 103-32-7, good for a .759 win percentage. That's the best in the history of the sport among coaches who have coached over 100 games in the league. When he hung it up from his fantastic coaching career at the age of 42, that's when his second career really took off. Thanks to his use of a telestrator, his work in the broadcast booth helped a new generation of football fans really understand the game they were watching on TV. For over three decades in the booth, Madden was winning an unprecedented 16 Emmy Awards for outstanding sports analyst/personality and covering 11 Super Bowls for four networks from 1979 to 2009.

Oh and there's even more than that. Anybody who's ever played video games at some point in there lives has played the game that bares his name. He had become attached to the franchise from the beginning when he was approached about the idea way back in 1984 when EA Sports founders wanted to come up with a new and different way to play football other than the old Strat O Matic games if your old enough to remember those.

Whether it was through his coaching of the raiders, his broadcasting of the games, or the videogame, everybody who has ever watched football in any way shape or form has been influenced by John Madden.

Best & Worst NFL Week Sixteen

Week sixteen is in the books in the NFL and we had some big things coming down around the league. We saw division titles get clinched in Green Bay, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Kansas City. We also saw Los Angeles (Rams) and Arizona lock up playoff spots as well. We had big performances coming out of Cincinnati, Houst5on and Philly. We also had bonehead stuff coming from New York too. All in all, a well balanced week in the NFL. So lets get going, here's the best and worst of week sixteen around the NFL.

Best: Joe Burrow, Quarterback Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow was good, we all knew that. This year he healthy again too. Sunday, he went off. Bengals put a 41-21 hurting on the Ravens and Burrow had the game of his career so far. He went 37 of 46 for an eye popping 525 yards and four touchdowns. It was a dominating performance against the Ravens who were down guys but it didn't matter to the Bengals, who kept the pressure on all day and moved into the 3rd seed in the AFC. Burrow had hit a mark that has now only been done four times in a game in league history. And this was a guy coming off major knee issues in the past. Didn't look that way Sunday.

Worst: Ben Roethlisberger, Quarterback Pittsburgh Steelers
Yes I know your going against the defending AFC champions this week, but come on, you have to give me a little more then that in a performance like this. This was a 36-10 drubbing by KC, which pretty much put the Steelers almost out of reach for a playoff spot. The Steelers offense was anemic at best, with Ben throwing for 159 yards and seeing Mason Rudolph, who wasn't much better, getting snaps in this game. Just a bad day all around and looks like it could be the signal of nearing the end of the road for Ben in Pittsburgh

Best: Big Men Touchdowns
Seeing those big lineman score in the NFL brings a joy to fans anywhere you see it. Well we had not one, not two, but three of them this weekend. Conor McDermitt of the Jets, Terrence Steele of the Cowboys and Lane Johnson of the Eagles, all scored touchdowns Sunday in their respective wins. It feels good to see the big linemen score in this league, and it gets made even better when they all have receiving touchdowns to boot.

Worst: Washington Defense
This was a bad night in Dallas for Washington. You were supposed to have one of the top five defenses in all of football, yet Dallas came in and beat the tar out of you. Dallas won 56-14 and at no point was this game ever even remotely close. Dallas had a defensive touchdown, a blocked punt for a touchdown, a rushing touchdown by Ezekiel Elliott. Oh and there were five passing touchdowns on the day, four for Dak Prescott and one for Cooper Rush. Whatever hopes or dreams Washington had at the playoffs are now slipping.

Beast: T.J. Edwards, Linebacker Philadelphia Eagles
This was a dominating win by the Eagles on Sunday. Yes it came at the expense of the lowly Giants, but still its a dominating win never the less. Philadelphia came away with a 34-10 win over a hapless Giants team. One of the big stories from this day was the play of linebacker TJ Edwards, who was a force on the defensive side of the football. He had 16 tackles on the day, six of which were solo hits. He was basically hitting anything and everything in a Giants Jersey that moved. Oh and with this loss, its making stock in draft picks for the Giants fall just a tad in the first round

Worst: Trevor Lawrence Quarterback Jacksonville Jaguars
It was a battle of #1 vs #2 on Sunday as Lawrence and the Jags took on Zach Wilson and the Jets in Jersey It turned out to a 26-21 win for the Jets, and Trevor Lawrence had a moment where he forgot where he was and what he was doing. Sure throwing for 280 yards was nice on paper. But not throwing a touchdown pass seems to like its turning into a bad habit for Lawrence. Oh and his brain fart at the end of the game didn't help matters. He tried spiking the ball  on the goal line to stop the clock. The issue is that the clock didn't need to be stopped, and his decision left the Jags with just one play to score at the end of the game. The Jags then failed from the one-yard line, giving the Jets the win. Can't blame the coaching staff on this one, this all falls right on Tevor

Merry Christmas

It's a tradition  for us here on the show we do this every year. So here we present our Christmas gift to you. Enjoy 

Playoff Clinching Scenarios Week 16

Week Sixteen has arrived in the NFL and we are getting closer to playoff time. Here's how teams can clinch playoff spots this week.

AFC
Kansas City Chiefs
-Kansas City can clinch the AFC West with a win AND a Chargers loss
-Kansas City can clinch a playoff spot with a win OR a tie and losses by the Colts and Bills

New England Patriots
-New England clinches AFC East with a win AND Miami loss
-New England clinches a playoff spot with a win AND losses by Vegas and Chargers

Tennessee Titans
-Tennessee clinches AFC South with a win AND Colts loss
-Tennessee clinches playoff spot with win AND losses by Miami, Buffalo, Denver, Cleveland and Pittsburgh

NFC
Clinched: Green Bay Packers (NFC North)
Arizona Cardinals
- Arizona clinches a playoff birth with a win OR losses by Philadelphia, San Francisco and Minnesota

Dallas Cowboys
-Dallas clinches NFC East with a win OR Philadelphia loss
-Dallas clinches a playoff spot a Saints Loss, San Francisco loss OR a Tampa Bay win

Los Angeles Rams
-Los Angeles clinches a playoff spot with either a win OR losses by the Eagles and Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-Tampa Bay clinches NFC South with a win OR a Saints loss
-Tampa Bay clinches a playoff spot with losses by Minnesota, Philadelphia or Dallas

Pro Bowl Rosters Announced

Pro Bowl time is here. The week between Championship weekend and the Super Bowl is always the gathering of the best of the best in the NFL. The rosters have been announced for this year's game and here's what we're looking at.

AFC
Offense: 
Quarterback: Justin Herbert, LA Chargers Patrick Mahomes Kansas City, Lamar Jackson, Baltimore
Running back: Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Nick Chubb Cleveland, Joe Mixon, Cincinnati
Fullback: Patrick Ricard, Baltimore
Wide Receiver: Tyreek Hill, Kansas City, Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati, Stefon Diggs, Buffalo, Keenan Allen, LA Chargers
Tight End: Mark Andrews, Baltimore, Travis Kelce, Kansas City
Offensive Tackle: Rashawn Slater, LA Chargers, Orlando Brown Jr., Kansas City Dion Dawkins, Buffalo
Offensive Guard: Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis, Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Wyatt Teller, Cleveland
Center: Corey Linsley, LA Chargers, Ryan Kelly, Indianapolis

Defense:
Defensive End: Myles Garrett, Cleveland, Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas,Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati
Defensive Tackle: DeForest Buckner, Indianapolis, Chris Jones, Kansas City, Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh
Outside Linebacker: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh, Joey Bosa, LA Chargers, Matt Judon, New England
Inside Linebacker: Darius Leonard, Indianapolis, Denzel Perryman, Las Vegas
Cornerback: J.C. Jackson, New England, Xavien Howard, Miami, Denzel Ward, Cleveland, Kenny Moore II, Indianapolis
Free Safety: Kevin Byard, Tennessee, 
Strong Safety: Derwin James, LA Chargers, Tyrann Mathieu, Kansas City

Special Teams:
Punter: A.J. Cole, Las Vegas
Placekicker: Justin Tucker, Baltimore
Return Specialist: Devin Duvernay, Baltimore
Special Teams: Matthew Slater, New England
Long Snapper: Luke Rhodes, Indianapolis

NFC
Offense:
Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay, Tom Brady, Tampa Bay, Kyler Murray, Arizona
Running Back: Dalvin Cook, Minnesota, James Conner, Arizona, Alvin Kamara, New Orleans
Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco
Wide Receiver: Cooper Kupp, LA Rams, Davante Adams, Green Bay, Justin Jefferson, Minnesota, Deebo Samuel, San Francisco
Tight End: George Kittle, San Francisco, Kyle Pitts, Atlanta
Offensive Tackle: Trent Williams, San Francisco,Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay, Tyron Smith, Dallas
Offensive Guard: Zack Martin, Dallas, Brandon Scherff, Washington, Ali Marpet, Tampa Bay
Center: Jason Kelce, Philadelphia, Ryan Jensen, Tampa Bay

Defense:
Defensive End: Nick Bosa, San Francisco, Brian Burns, Carolina. Cameron Jordan, New Orleans
Defensive Tackle: Aaron Donald, LA Rams, Jonathan Allen, Washington, Kenny Clark, Green Bay
Outside Linebacker: Chandler Jones, Arizona, Robert Quinn, Chicago, Shaquil Barrett, Tampa Bay
Inside Linebacker: Micah Parsons, Dallas, Bobby Wagner, Seattle
Cornerback: Trevon Diggs, Dallas, Jalen Ramsey, LA Rams, Darius Slay, Philadelphia, Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans
Free Safety: Quandre Diggs, Seattle
Strong Safety: Budda Baker, Arizona, Harrison Smith, Minnesota

Special Teams:
Punter: Bryan Anger, Dallas
Placekicker: Matt Gay, LA Rams
Return Specialist: Jakeem Grant, Chicago
Special Teams: J. T. Gray, New Orleans
Long Snapper: Josh Harris, Atlanta

NHL Out Of Beijing

It came sooner than expected, but it was bound to happen at some point. The National hockey League announced on Tuesday that the NHL players will not be participating in the upcoming Winter Olympic games in Beijing in February. The League hasn't sent players to the game since 2014 and fans will have have to wait again until the 2026 Olympics before we see NHL level talent go to the games.

The announcement came down amid the recent postponement of games due to the virus outbreak around the league. The NHL had originally factored in a two week pause from February 6th to the 22nd for the games to send the players. now, with the rise in concerns around the world about the new variant hitting, players were worried about going. Throw that in with the recent decisions around the league about postponing games, this decision makes sense. It stings a little but it does make sense.

Would seeing the best players in the best league in the world playing on the biggest international stage have been an amazing sight to see? Yes it would. Would have loved to see the NHL players playing on the world stage with a gold medal on the line. But given the current climate around the league and around the world with health concerns, it does make a lot of sense.

Following is the statement made by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman:

"We have waited as long as possible to make this decision while exploring every available option to enable our Players to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Unfortunately, given the profound disruption to the NHL's regular-season schedule caused by recent COVID-related events -- 50 games already have been postponed through Dec. 23 -- Olympic participation is no longer feasible."

I'm sure I can speak for a fair number of my fellow hockey fans when I say that it really would have been amazing to see NHL players playing in the Olympics this February. It really is a showcase of the best players on the planet playing on a global stage. That can't happen now but it makes total sense given everything going on right now. Fear not, the players will be back at the Olympics. They can play again the next time the Winter games roll around in 2026!

Stammer Joins Elite Company

Playing in the National Hockey League means your one of the best players in the world. Collecting a point in said league is a big deal. Doing it 900 times is huge. Steven Stamkos has joined that company. Last week, in a win over Ottawa, Stamkos picked up point #900 in his career, becoming only the 2nd player in Tampa Bay Lightning history (Martin St. Louis 953) to have 900 or more poi9nts in a Bolts sweater.

Stamkos, who was taken 1st overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, has had himself quite a career. Sitting at 900 points even at the time of this writing, he's had himself a fantastic career. He was a major goal scoring threat at the start of his career before injuries started taking hold of his career. If the injury bug hadn't hit Stamkos, who know where he would be at in his career point total. He probably would be close to or have already passed the 1,000 career point total by now.

The guy can do it all when he's on his game. Outstanding passer with a fantastic shot, especially from his "office" at the left wing faceoff dot on the powerplay. He has become the face of the franchise for the back to back Stanley Cup Champions. There's no doubt that he's going to pass St Louis on the all time scoring list and hit the 1,000 point mark before all is said and done with his career. Even after 14 years in the league, and counting, the guy can still produce points in the worlds bevst league. And there's no signs of slowing down or stopping anytime soon.

Congrats to Stamkos for hitting 900 career points

Buck Back In New York

After an extensive search, the New York Mets have finally found there man. Managers haven't come easy for the Mets the last two tries, so maybe as the old saying goes third time will be the charm. Buck Showalter has been named the 24th (23rd really since Beltran never coached a game) Manager of the New York Mets. Reports are the deal is for three years.

For me this brings about two questions. One how long is he going to last? Two can he bring the results?

Both can easily be answered over time. Given his past track record as a Major League manager, part of me says both will be a while and breed success. He's won at least 250 games at his previous stops with the Yankees (313 wins), Arizona (250 wins), Texas (319 wins) and Baltimore (669 wins). It hasn't really lead to a lot of post season success, but the numbers are there to be a success never the less. Buck is a players manager and knows how to be able to get the best out of the talent that he has around him. He's got to be better then the last two options in Mickey Calloway and Louis Rojas.

Its been a big last moth or so for the Mets as well. New manager in Showalter, new GM in Billy Eppler, new players in Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar. All of these moves are expected to better this baseball team that has had losing records in four of the last five seasons and ten of the last thirteen. They've made the playoffs once in the last decade, that coming with there division title win in 2015.

Things have got to start changing for the Mets in a positive. They had a first place lead in the East for most of last year and missed the playoffs. Something had to change in New York and that started going in motion. On, paper it looks like things are going that way. New moves, new team. Now lets just see if the results pan out on the field.

Playoff Clinching Week 15

Week Fifteen is here in the NFL and lets get right into it. Here's how teams can clinch playoff spots this weekend.

AFC
New England Patriots
-New England can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND losses by Miami, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Kansas City and other complex results

Tennessee Titans
-Tennessee can clinch the AFC South title with a win AND a Colts loss

NFC
Arizona Cardinals
- Arizona can clinch a playoff spot with a win OR losses by New Orleans, Minnesota and Atlanta

Dallas Cowboys
-Dallas can clinch the NFC East title with a win AND either an Eagles tie or a win and Washington loss
-Dallas can clinch a playoff birth with a win AND loss by San Francisco or a win AND New Orleans loss

Green Bay Packers
-Green Bay can clinch the NFC North with a win OR a Minnesota loss
-Green Bay can clinch a playoff spot with losses by New Orleans and San Francisco

Los Angeles Rams
-Los Angeles can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND losses by New Orleans and Minnesota

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-Tampa Bay can clinch the NFC South with a win
-Tampa Bay can clinch a playoff spot with losses by Minnesota and San Francisco

Best & Worst NFL Week Fourteen

Week fourteen has come and gone in the NFL and boy is there plenty to dive into. Arizona mailed it in against the Rams, falling to the three seed in the NFC. Brady adds another record to his list in thrilling Bucs OT win, while Jacksonville seems to be getting more and more dysfunctional by the week. We got all that and more in a fun filled weekend. With that being said, here's some of the best and worst from the week that was in the NFL.

Best: Micah Parsons, Linebacker Dallas Cowboys
This was a game that the Cowboys needed to have. They got it in the form of a 27-20 win over the Washington Football team and a big reason for that was rookie linebacker Micah Parsons. Three tackles, two of which were sacks and a forced fumble in a big win over Washington. He was such a dominating force on that side of the ball it made Washington nervous. Mike McCarthy had guaranteed a win, and Parsons had done everything he could to back up his coaches words. At the same time, he had pretty much locked up the defensive rookie of the year at the same time, with a month to go in the regular season. That's not just good, that's dominating.

Worst: Urban Meyer, Head Coach Jacksonville Jaguars
Going from college to the pros didn't work out so well for Urban Meyer. Following a 20-0 loss to Tennessee on Sunday, Jacksonville now sits at 2-11 and it has now cost Meyer his job. Jacksonville cut ties this morning with there coach, reliving him of his duties this morning. He seemed to have lost control of his locker room and wasn't able to get the best out of Trevor Lawrence. It didn't help that Lawrence threw four picks, which may have made things even worse for his coach. The antics and stories that were going on off the field too weren't helping his case either and this last loss to the Titans was like the nail in the coffin for Meyer

Best: Dalvin Cook, Running Back Minnesota Vikings
Been a while since we've seen this name on this list, but Cook is back here. Minnesota pulled out a 36-28 win over the Steelers on Thursday night and a big reason for that was the outstanding play of Cook. He finished with 27 carries for a league best 205 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Cook had been putting up good numbers over the past couple of seasons, but this was really his first statement game of 2021. He still has moments where he shows that he can be the most dangerous threat out of the backfield in the game. Keep an eye out for Cook to play a big factor if Minnesota is to get on a roll heading for a playoff spot.

Best: Tom Brady, Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This one is easy to pick. Thrilling overtime game against Buffalo, big win in prime time in Overtime, Tampa came away with a 33-27 win. Brady once again was a big factor in that. 31 of 46 for 363 yards and two touchdowns. The second one was the big one. It was a 58 yard strike to  Brashad Perriman in Overtime to snatch the win. Not only was it the winning touchdown, it was the 700th of Brady's hall of fame career. Not only did the pass cement a Bucs win, and move them one step closer to the top seed in the NFC, but it further locked Brady into his hall status. The guy has driven me nuts over the years, but you have to give credit where it is due and tip your hat to one of the very best to ever play the game

Worst: Buffalo Bills Running Backs
We talked about it above what happened on Sunday, but we need to talk about it from the other side. Give credit where it is due to the Bills for being able to hang around with the champs, but the running game wasn't where it needed to be. What I mean by that is the actual running backs in Buffalo were MIA. Its a sad day for the Bills run game if Josh Allen lead the way with 115 yards on the ground. That's not by any means taking away from what Allen did, it was an amazing performance and one made even better by the fact that he did it on an injured foot no less. But the other backs on the team, Devin Singletary and Matt Braida combined for seven carries for 64 yards. Not good if Buffalo wants to get back to another AFC title game this year.

Best & Worst NFL Week Thirteen

Week thirteen has come and gone in the NFL and boy is there a lot to dive into. There will be no winless teams in the NFL this season. We had a quarterback get a win that nobody saw coming, a running back have himself a day yet again and a tight end show he's still one of the best in the business. We also saw a coaching blunder that made you scratch your head and the announcement that Big Ben's career was coming to an end. So lets dive right into it. Here's the best, and worst, from week thirteen.

Best: Detroit Lions
THIS IS NOT A DRILL, REPEAT THIS IS NOT A DRILL THE DETROIT LIONS HAVE WON A FOOTBALL GAME. The Lions had gone 0-10-1 to start the season heading into this matchup against Minnesota. Detroit walked away with a 29-27 win on an eleven yard TD catch by Amon-Ra St Brown as time expired. And this was against a decent Minnesota team who had a big day from Justin Jefferson. He couldn't play defense too and stop that final drive by the Lions. Detroit getting the win was huge for the moral of the Lions, who had been on a fifteen game winless streak up to that point.

Worst: John Harbaugh, Head Coach Baltimore Ravens
Coach Harbaugh has been known for taking chances in his game plan. He did that in the division matchup between the Ravens and Steelers on Sunday. Pittsburgh walked away with a 20-19 win after one of Harbaugh's ideas kind of backfired on him. He made a good play call, as Mark Andrews the tight end was open and could have walked into the endzone to give the Ravens a one point lead. But the line let TJ Watt run right through and put pressure on Lamar Jackson who rushed his throw and it went off the fingertips of Andrews. Look I give all the credit in the world to Harbaugh for giving this a shot, he's been known to do that in the past. This time it just didn't quite pay off.

Best: Gardner Minshew, Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles
Minshew Mania is running wild once again! Gardner took over under center in Philly this week for an injured Jalen Hurts and lead the Eagles to a 33-18 win. It was over the Jets, who we all know are a bad team, but still. It was a balanced attack from the Eagles against the Jets, but the story will be Minshew,  who was pretty effective on Sunday. He went 20 of 25 for 242 yards, two touchdowns and no picks. He was sacked twice, but that was the only downside to his game. He showed that he still has some magic left in that arm of his and he can be a very effective passer in this league. With the Eagles now headed for their bye week it gives more time for Hurts to rest and come back healthy, but at least this lets the Eagles know that they can trust Gardner under center in a game that Hurts can't go.

Worst: Teddy Bridgewater, Quarterback Denver Broncos
So we talked about this a couple weeks ago with Bridgewater making a horrible attempt at a tackle after getting picked off. This week wasn't much better. Not only did Denver get smacked around by Kansas City, falling to the defending AFC Champions 22-9, but Bridgewater had a bad day. 22 of 40 for 242 a touchdown and a couple of picks. The reason he's back on this list again was for another horrible tackle attempt. Daniel Sorenson had picked him off, which lead to a 75 yard pick six. It was worse that Bridgewater tried to make a tackle but kid of just fell and to make it worse, he tripped up Tim Patrick, who was the only other Broncos player who could have made a play on him. Ouch.

Best: Jonathan Taylor, Running Back Indianapolis Colts
Another week, another huge day from Taylor. The Colts running back now leads the league in rushing yards with 1,348 on the year. He added 143 to that total in the Colts 31-0 win over Houston Sunday afternoon. Indy now sits at 7-6 and are a game back of the division leading Titans in the AFC South. Taylor has been dominating games this season, having now rushed for over 100 yards in six of his last eight games. If the Colts make a deep run in this years playoffs, the play of Taylor is going to be a big reason for that.

Worst: New England Patriots Passing Game
Yes the Patriots got a win on Sunday, beating the Buffalo Bills 14-10 in a huge swing for the lead in the AFC East on Monday Night. A big game that gave the Patriots sole possession of first place in the East. But what really stood out in this game was the Patriots passing attack. or should we say lack there of. Mac Jones stat line for the night: 2 of 3 for 19 yards, not touchdowns picks or sacks. Do not adjust your settings you are in fact seeing that correctly, Jones threw just three passes the entire night. It was the run game that was the big difference for the Patriots with 222 yards on 46 carries. We know Mac can throw the ball, its just the run game was more effective on this night.

Best: George Kittle Tight End San Francisco 49ers
Yes I know this didn't end well for the 49ers as a unit, falling 30-23 to Seattle. But with no Deboo Samuel in the lineup for the 49ers they needed to come up with something in the passing game. Enter George Kittle, who has proven over the last couple of seasons he can be one of the very best pass catching tight ends in all of football. He finished the day with nine catches for 181 yards and a couple of touchdowns. There's still some explosive playmaking ability in there for Kittle and he's healthy. This game was a bit of a revival of sorts for Kittle as a pass catcher in this league.

Worst: New York Jets Kickers
We already dove into this game a little earlier with Minshew. But now here's how it looks from the other side. Sure the Jets sucked in the second half as a whole, but the entire game, the kickers were beyond horrible. A few days before the game the Jets had cut Matt Ammendola, who  struggled badly with kicks over 40 yards. He was replaced by Alex Kessman. What does he do? Goes out and misses two point afters early on, which put the Jets in a spot where they gave up kicking the rest of the day. Yikes.

2021 Bowl Season

It's going down. We are two weeks away from the start of Bowl season. College football bowl games have arrived, and there's something for everybody. Games start on December 17th and go right through till we crown a National Champion on January 10th. So with that being said, here's the full list of every bowl game this season.

December 17th 
Bahamas Bowl Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo 12 p.m. ESPN Thomas Robinson Stadium
Cure Bowl Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina 6 p.m. ESPN2 Camping World Stadium

December 18th
Boca Raton Bowl Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky 11 a.m. ESPN FAU Stadium
Celebration Bowl Jackson State vs. Prairie View A&M 12 p.m. ABC Mercedes-Benz
New Mexico Bowl Fresno State vs. UTEP 2:15 p.m. ESPN Dreamstyle Stadium
Independence Bowl No. 13 BYU vs. UAB 3:30 p.m. ABC Independence Stadium
LendingTree Bowl Eastern Michigan vs. Liberty 5:45 p.m. ESPN Ladd-Peebles Stadium
LA Bowl Oregon State vs. Utah State 7:30 p.m. ABC SoFi Stadium
New Orleans Bowl No. 23 Louisiana vs. Marshall 9:15 p.m. ESPN Caesars Superdome

December 20th
Myrtle Beach Bowl Tulsa vs. Old Dominion 2:30 p.m. ESPN Brooks Stadium

December 21st
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Kent State vs. Wyoming 3:30 p.m. ESPN Albertsons Stadium
Frisco Bowl No. 24 San Diego State vs. UTSA 7:30 p.m. ESPN Toyota Stadium

December 22nd
Armed Forces Bowl Missouri vs. Army 8 p.m. | ESPN Amon G. Carter Stadium

December 23rd
Gasparilla Bowl Florida vs. UCF 7 p.m. | ESPN Raymond James Stadium
Frisco Football Classic Miami (Ohio) vs. North Texas TBD TBD Toyota Stadium

December 24th
Hawai'i Bowl Memphis vs. Hawai'i 8 p.m. ESPN Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex

December 25th
Camellia Bowl Ball State vs. Georgia State 2:30 p.m. | ESPN Cramton Bowl

December 27th
Quick Lane Bowl Western Michigan vs. Nevada 11 a.m. ESPN Ford Field
Military Bowl East Carolina vs. Boston College 2:30 p.m. ESPN Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

December 28
Birmingham Bowl No. 20 Houston vs. Auburn 12 p.m. ESPN Protective Stadium
First Responder Bowl Air Force vs. Louisville 3:15 p.m. ESPN Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Liberty Bowl Texas Tech vs. Mississippi State 6:45 p.m. ESPN Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Holiday Bowl No. 18 North Carolina State vs. UCLA 8 p.m. FOX Petco Park 
Guaranteed Rate Bowl Minnesota vs. West Virginia 10:15 p.m. ESPN Chase Field

December 29th
Fenway Bowl Virginia vs. SMU 11 a.m. | ESPN Fenway Park
Pinstripe Bowl Virginia Tech vs. Maryland 2:15 p.m. ESPN Yankee Stadium
Cheez-It Bowl No. 19 Clemson vs. Iowa State 5:45 p.m. ESPN Camping World Stadium
Alamo Bowl No. 14 Oregon vs. No. 16 Oklahoma 9:15 p.m. ESPN Alamodome

December 30th
Duke's Mayo Bowl North Carolina vs. South Carolina 11:30 a.m. ESPN Bank of America Stadium
Music City Bowl Tennessee vs. Purdue 3 p.m. ESPN Nissan Stadium
Peach Bowl No. 10 Michigan State vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh 7 p.m. ESPN Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Las Vegas Bowl Wisconsin vs. Arizona State 10:30 p.m. ESPN Allegiant Stadium

December 31st
Cotton Bowl Classic (College Football Playoff semifinal) No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Cincinnati 3:30 p.m. ESPN AT&T Stadium
Orange Bowl (College Football Playoff semifinal) No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Georgia 7:30 p.m. ESPN Hard Rock Stadium
Gator Bowl No. 17 Wake Forest vs. No. 25 Texas A&M 11 a.m. ESPN TIAA Bank Stadium
Sun Bowl Washington State vs. Miami (FL) 12 p.m. CBS Sun Bowl
Arizona Bowl Central Michigan vs. Boise State 2 p.m. Barstool Sports Arizona Stadium

January 1st
Outback Bowl No. 21 Arkansas vs. Penn State 12 p.m. ESPN2 Raymond James Stadium
Citrus Bowl No. 15 Iowa vs. No. 22 Kentucky 1 p.m. ABC Camping World Stadium in Orlando
Fiesta Bowl No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State 1 p.m. ESPN State Farm Stadium
Rose Bowl No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Utah 5 p.m. ESPN Rose Bowl
Sugar Bowl No. 7 Baylor vs. No. 8 Ole Miss 8:45 p.m. ESPN Caesars Superdome

January 4th
Texas Bowl Kansas State vs. LSU 9 p.m. ESPN NRG Stadium

January 10th
College Football Playoff National Championship Game 8 p.m. ESPN Lucas Oil Stadium

It Has Begun

The writing has been on the wall for some time now, but it has finally happened. For the first time since 1990 we have a lockout between the Major League Baseball Owners and Players Association. Its the 4th time in the history of the game we have had something like this happen, and the first work stoppage since the 1994 season. Still a lot of time to make sure we don't lose games, but between now and then, there's still a lot to be worked out.

This is the 9th work stoppage, 4th lockout (first since 1990) that baseball has had. And guess what? A lot of it was over money. The players wanted a higher salary tax threshold, among other things. Owners want expanded playoffs, which I don't think the players are in favor of. Oh there's more. The Owners want a universal DH (which I'm actually in favor of). Owners have also been noted of looking for a hard salary cap floor of $100 million

Players wanted to rid of the concept of "Tanking", which is what they view as owners choosing not to sign good talented players in hopes of having a bad year and getting higher draft picks in the future. Players union has also gone on record of disapproving of a salary cap.

So to nobody's surprise, we have ourselves a lockout. And this is only the scratching of the surface of the issues between the players union and the owners. I'm sure there's a lot deeper issues here between the two sides then we are seeing.

Now the big question is what does this all mean for next season?

Well it means that we have about 70 or so days to figure this out. Spring training games were set to start at the end of February when camp us supposed to open. Opening day is still slated on March 31st. That all means nothing if a new deal can't be reached by early February. Why then? Because there's still a  lot of players sitting on the free agent market. No player movement can be made during lockout. Players can still be in discussions, but nobody can be signed or moved via trade till this lockout ends.

As far as games go, Baseball doesn't want to have another short year. Yes I know it was out of their hands in 2020, but this one is in their control and they need to get it figured out. After the 1994 strike, it took till the 1998 home run race to get fans back to the ballparks because it left a sour taste in fans mouths. Baseball seems to be trending that same way now with this lockout unless they get it figured out soon.