Competitive Chaos?

  I hope you have been watching football in the last month or so. Let me repeat that—I truly hope you have been watching football recently because it has been spell-binding. 

Whether it is the NFL (anyone but the horrible New York Jets) or college (any division), it has been a real treat for the fans. The sheer intensity of the level of play with so much on the line has been thrilling.

In the NFL, the final weekend of the regular season settled two final playoff berths and resulted in a number of coaches being fired (thus far). Playoff seeding and matchups were also determined even as some teams chose to rest starters. And the final order for the NFL Draft in April has been set. 

The madness in the NFL began on Saturday afternoon. Carolina and Tampa Bay were meeting in Florida to decide which team would have an advantage on Sunday to win the NFC South. The Buccaneers had to win to keep alive any chance to get into the playoffs. Carolina could lose but still had a way into the post-season. 

Both teams slogged through the regular season with modest winning steaks but in the end were at or near .500 as the game began. Appropriately, the contest was played in a deluge which drenched the Tampa faithful, while making playing conditions far from optimal. 

This wasn’t an instant classic. Far from it. Yet the game’s outcome would be affected by a game on Sunday pitting NFC South rivals New Orleans and Atlanta in a game which meant nothing to either team except perhaps pride. 

Tampa Bay QB Baker Mayfield, once a heralded prospect when he entered the league with Cleveland, performed well enough in the slog to lead the Bucs to the win by a 16-14 score. Mayfield began the season on fire, leading pundits to believe he was a viable M.V.P. candidate. His fall from his great performances mirrored the Bucs fall in the standings to the point that at 7-9, this was a must win scenario with no promises beyond that. 

As it turned out on Sunday, Atlanta, behind the resurrected Kirk Cousins under center, defeated New Orleans. This created a three-way tie for the NFC South lead, although tie breakers did not permit Atlanta any hope of moving on. The 19-17 margin was just enough for the Panthers to secure the division title and to host a playoff game in the opening round. At 8-9.

Saturday’s second game had all of the hype. Seattle and San Francisco would meet in Santa Clara for the NFC West crown and the overall top seed in the conference. Many thought that the Niners were on a roll and would overtake the Seahawks in the standings. That SF QB Brock Purdy (“Mr Irrelevant” as the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft) would outshine Seattle QB Sam Darnold (3rd pick in the 2018 draft by the aforementioned Jets who screwed him up good before sending the former USC star on an odyssey through Carolina, San Francisco and Minnesota before more than landing on his feet in the Pacific Northwest). 

Those who believed that the Niners, decimated by injuries on offense and defense were any match for the Seattle juggernaut were mistaken. The Seahawks dominated the Niners 13-3 era route to the NFC West title and the top overall seed. 

This is a scary good team—Darnold seems to have matured as a quarterback and the defense is top notch. Do not underestimate Seattle in the playoffs. 

Other games of note involved playoff teams which had been locked into the post-season but didn’t know their destination. And the top seed in the AFC was still up for grabs. 

Jacksonville secured the number three slot in the AFC after Denver won its late game against the playoff-bound Los Angeles Chargers and New England romped over Miami in the Massachusetts cold. LAC would have to travel cross-country to play the # 2-seeded Patriots.

The Jaguars drew Buffalo as their opening round opponent.

A good Houston team had to wait until Sunday night to know if they were traveling to Pittsburgh to face Aaron Rodgers and company or Baltimore for crab cakes and Lamar Jackson. The final game of the season, in the Western Pennsylvania cold night air, would decide which team stays alive. 

In a game which defied logic, Rodgers engineered a 37th game-winning drive to put the Steelers ahead 26-24 with 55 ticks left on the clock. Then reliable place kicker Chris Boswell, who had nailed a 57 year field goal earlier in the game along with one from 25 yards out, did the unthinkable—he missed an extra point for the first time in eons. 

Those last seconds were enough for Jackson to put together a drive which placed the Ravens in position to win the game with a field goal. Kicker Tyler Loop let his right leg swing just a bit “thin” as he called it, and the ball missed the uprights to the right. 

Delirium ruled in the Steel City. Dejection was immediate in the Inner Harbor. The shocking loss may have been the final blow for Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who, after 18 seasons and one Super Bowl win, was fired. 

Don’t feel that things are so secure for Steelers head man Mike Tomlin. Like his fierce rival Harbaugh, Tomlin has a Super Bowl win on his resume. Except that while the Steelers keep having winning records each year, it isn’t translating into much playoff success. A loss to Houston might spell the end of Tomlin’s time with the franchise as it reboots and searches for the next great quarterback. 

Back to the NFC. Besides Seattle, things became clearer as to who faces who on Sunday. With the Niners loss, the Rams went out and pasted the Cardinals, thereby clinching the number five seed and a return trip to Carolina where on November 30th, LAR lost to the Panthers 31-28, ending the Rams’ six game winning streak. LAR QB Matthew Stafford was outplayed by Carolina’s Bryce Young. 

San Francisco lost its home field throughout the Super Bowl possibility with the loss to Seattle. The Niners now travel to meet an up and down Philadelphia squad looking to defend its Super Bowl win. 

Even with a second loss to eliminated division rival Detroit, Chicago managed to cling to the second seed. For their troubles, a third grudge match with NFC North cohort Green Bay looms.

The end of the season brought about coaching mayhem. In addition to Harbaugh’s spot in Baltimore, there are seven other head coaching vacancies in the NFL as I write. The former skipper in Baltimore will have his choice of where to land. As would Tomlin, if he gets axed. 

New York Giants fans hope that a savior coach emerges. Jets fans are left wondering if Aaron Glenn is the right man for season 2, especially when Glenn, a defensive back in the NFL, could not get his team to pick up one interception in 17 games—a record that nobody wants. 

Is the NFL done with the coaching firings? Who knows? I do know that 8 franchises are looking for new guidance towards The Promised Land of being consistently in contention. 

Moving over to the colleges, excitement reigned on Thursday night as the University of Miami came back to stun Mississippi in a thrilling fourth quarter. The Hurricanes have now vanquished two very worthy opponents in #2 Ohio State and #5 Ole Miss. They look formidable. 

The late score by Miami propelling the team to victory was almost handed away. Mississippi QB Trinidad Chambliss benefitted from loose Miami pass coverage and led the Rebels to attempt one more play to win the game. 

The Ferris State transfer, almost an afterthought for Mississippi but who blossomed when summoned to lead the offense, did what he did best under pressure. He’s got the arm and the accuracy; his running skills are good, too. I saw glimpses of Robert Griffith III and Lamar Jackson in this kid who was stuck at the Division II level with definite DI skills. 

Chambliss, to whom on Friday the NCAA refused to give a sixth year of eligibility as a medical redshirt, lofted a pass into the end zone on the final play. There was plenty of jostling and holding between the Rebs’ receiver and the ‘Canes DB’s. No pass interference was called—almost a long overdue reversal of fortune for Miami fans who saw the team lose in the Fiesta Bowl on a last second pass interference call which allowed Ohio State to score on a free play and head to a National Championship in double overtime. 

The other side of the bracket featured the third rematch of the CFP. First, Alabama got revenge over SEC foe Oklahoma. Then Mississippi took down Georgia, another SEC rival. 

Then Big Ten members Indiana and Oregon met for the second time, this time in Atlanta at the Peach Bowl (I saw my only major college bowl game in 1996 at the Peach Bowl when LSU and Clemson tangled; this is a far better and more consequential matchup). Coaching wunderkind Curt Cignetti and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and a heady bunch of Hoosiers had downed Oregon 30-20 on the road on October 11. That was the Ducks’ sole loss in 2025. 

The game was supposed to showcase the top two quarterbacks in a high profile game—Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore. Except nobody told the IU defense. Moore’s first pass was picked off and returned for a touchdown. And the annihilation never stopped. The final score of 56-22 didn’t really reflect how much of a defeat Oregon suffered, nor did it represent how dominant Indiana was. 

Indiana is the real deal. Cignetti can really coach. Mendoza is an elite passer. And one genuinely smart young man (he was headed to Yale before he landed at Cal). The defense is superb. There is very little wrong with this Hoosiers team. Mark Cuban, an IU grad, invested well with his significant donations to the athletic department. The 60,000 fans present inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium were roaring from the get go. 

It’s going to be a fun game on January 19th. Can Miami defend its home turf? Or is Indiana really the team of destiny and one of the best ever? We’ll find out then. 

Speaking of Ferris State, the Bulldogs won their fourth Division II title in the past five seasons with a 42-21 triumph over Harding. Chambliss led the Bulldogs to the 2024 win, combining for five TD’s in the rout of Valdosta State. 

Representing the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the team has been coached by Steve and Tony Annese for the last 14 seasons. Ranked number 1 in the polls for the entire season, Ferris State became the first DII school to go 16-0. 

This team was a true powerhouse. They set NCAA and program records by scoring 844 points (that’s an average of 52.75 per game). Ferris State is the second school to win four DII titles in five years; Grand Valley State was the other one. They are tied for the third most titles in Division II with Grand Valley State and Valdosta State, behind Northwest Missouri State (6) and North Dakota State (5). This win was the 30th consecutive triumph for the men from Big Rapids, Michigan. 

Division III saw Wisconsin—River Falls capitalize on mistakes by perennial power North Central to upset the number one team and walk away with the championship. This was North Central’s sixth straight appearance in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. The Cardinals are now 3-3 in title games. Led by Gagliardi Trophy winner Kalab Blaha (that’s the DIII equivalent of the Heisman Trophy), the Falcons repeatedly stymied a really good North Central in the cold night air of Canton, Ohio. 

The six appearances in the DIII finals puts North Central third all-time. Mount Union has gone to the championship game 23 times, winning 13 times. Wisconsin-Whitewater, River Falls rival in the WIAC, made 10 trips to the finals, coming away with 6 victories. 

In the Football College Subdivision playoffs, upstart Illinois State tangled with favorite Montana State. Nobody told the Redbirds they weren’t supposed to match up well versus the Bobcats. It took a walk off fourth down touchdown and extra point in overtime for MSU to prevail. 

This game was the third most-watched game in FCS history. The #2-ranked Bobcats topped off an impressive season with 14 straight wins after opening the season with a pounding by the aforementioned-Oregon Ducks in Eugene followed by a home loss to South Dakota State.

This was a thrilling game, with the Redbirds trailing 21-7 at the half, only to turn the tides by the same margin in the second half to tie the score. Illinois State dominated the time of possession while Montana State capitalized on big plays. In the end, it was two blocked kicks by Montana State—a field goal attempt and the extra point in OT—which proved to be the difference. 

ISU-MSU may have become an instant classic. People may have a very negative opinion of college football, according to a recent poll in The Athletic. Pro football’s image may be tarnished by the off-the-field actions of a few and the grandiosity of owners who cannot get their acts together. 

I disagree. I found this football season to be uplifting, no matter the controversies. Then again, who doesn’t like competitive chaos? 

The 2026 Sports Year Is Upon Us

  It’s been a big sports week so far. With much more in the offing. For those who chose to celebrate the holidays, I hope you left time for watching some games. I certainly did. 

Not all of them have been scintillating. That’s par for the course. 

Now we have some clarity in college football. We also have some painful injury news in the NBA which will impact the season as we begin the New Year. 

And it’s the final weekend of the NFL regular season. There are games on Saturday and Sunday night that will determine the final playoff slate.

Poor baseball. Not much happening on that front. But with Spring Training on the horizon, expect that baseball news regarding free agents and trades will heat up faster than coming in from the frigid cold weather gripping the Northeast.

So let me begin with last Saturday night. My wife and I went to Newark to see the New Jersey Devils host the Washington Capitals. 

This was the same day that a storm had dumped about 6” of snow in our area. The roadways and sidewalks were fairly clear and we encountered little difficulty getting to the Prudential Center (other than a balky card reader outside of the Union, New Jersey train station which kept rejecting my credit card for paying the $4.00 parking fee until I switched readers and all was fine).

The Raritan Valley Line train was a little late and filled with a vast number of people clad in Devils gear and a few more hardy souls in Caps paraphernalia. Getting a seat wasn’t easy. 

Then again, it was only a 12 minute ride to Newark Penn Station which cost us $10. 20 round trip including parking; the lots near the arena were charging $20-$40 and the traffic was a mess. A good, cost effective choice by us. 

I was amazed how much Devils gear was worn by the attendees. Merchandising to the hockey crowd in terms of loyalty is big. Then again, I had on a Devils t shirt and a red sweater to fit in with the crowd. 

While the preponderance of attendees were under 40 years of age, we didn’t feel out of place although we are in our 70’s. Of course, it is sometimes hard to determine another’s age in winter clothing. 

Waiting outside the arena can be a bit tedious—the line moved slowly. Once my wife cleared the metal detector with her new hips, we snaked our way through the arena to our seats high up in the second tier, positioned by the goal which Washington would first defend. 

The game itself was fairly uneventful. Washington scored a goal with under :05 left in the first period, the result of sloppy play by the Devils on the ice and a poor read by the goalie. 

New Jersey tied the contest in the second period on a power play. Only to have the caps forge ahead later in the second stanza. 

NJD forward Jesper Bratt scored his second goal to tie the score in the third period. Thirty-two seconds later, Cody Glass snapped a shot past the Washington net minder and the Devils were ahead. 

Except that there was this presence on ice—always lurking and very dangerous in crush time. Every person there was watching and waiting for him to do something. 

Who am I talking about? Alex Ovechkin, the Russian super star forward who is the all-time leading goal scorer in NHL history. Number 8 in white if you couldn’t pick out his big, hulking frame awaiting a miscue by the opponent to give him his chance to score. 

And that is exactly what happened. Less than two minutes after Glass shot the puck into the net, Ovechkin tallied off of a miss by a teammate to knot the score at 3. You knew it was going to happen. Just when and how were the missing ingredients. 

There were a number of scoring attempts and the goalies came up big repeatedly. Which led to overtime. 

New Jersey dominated the control of the puck for the majority of the OT period. The players on ice simply could not generate true scoring opportunities to end the contest. 

I remarked to my wife as time in the five minute period began to dwindle and a shoot out might be next, Washington hadn’t had a shot on goal in OT. I said to her that is a dangerous thing. 

Having seen this scenario play out before, the first shot on goal after one team dominates the play and fails to score is ominous. Unfortunately, I was right. 

With under a minute left, Jakob Chycrun’s shot found the back of the net. Game over. A good Washington team picked up two points on the road. NJD came away with a vital point in their chase up the standings. 

It was a fine hockey game. On this night, Washington was the better team—even if the Devils outshot the Caps by a 35-29 margin. 

In filing out of the arena and heading back to the train station, a couple of things stayed with me. First, the Devils fans were into interactive games. No more so than the Mike’s Amazing Mustard Hot Dog toss in the stands. Some handed out, but a few were shot through those t-shirt cannons. Did anybody think this promotion through?

And New Jersey Devils fans have one chip on their shoulder. That would be the New York Rangers. Periodically, vitriolic chants demeaning the Rangers would erupt from the crowd—with more impact than a “Let’s Go Devils” cheer. Even on the train back, I overheard a conversation that the participants were more satisfied that NYR had lost their game to the New York Islanders than with the OT loss and the point their own team had earned. I bet those surly Devils fans are not happy with the Rangers getting international TV exposure, playing in the annual NHL Winter Classic outdoors in Miami’s Loan Depot Park on Friday night. 

We were home in plenty of time to see the end of the Green Bay Packers loss to Baltimore. This win by the Ravens, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Steelers clunker last Sunday in Cleveland, set up a winner-take-all affair on this Sunday night. Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson will return from injury to match skills with aging Aaron Rodgers. NBC has to be thrilled.

Meanwhile, will Tampa Bay recover enough to thwart Carolina and take the NFC South playoff berth? Whatever has happened to Baker Mayfield? He was an early favorite for M.V.P. and now his team is facing elimination in the early Saturday game. 

Saturday night’s prime time matchup features two NFC West teams playing for the top spot in the NFC as well as for the division crown. Sam Darnold and the resilient Seattle Seahawks travel to the Bay Area to meet San Francisco which has played above expectations with the loss of its top defensive stalwarts. A win on Saturday for the Niners paves the way for them to remain home through the Super Bowl, which is being played in their stadium. 

Just some notes in passing—pun intended. The Los Angeles Rams have stumbled mightily the last couple of weeks, going from leading the NFC West to a lower Wild Card seed for the upcoming playoffs. In the process, Matthew Stafford seemingly has damaged his status as the front runner for league M.V.P.  

That accolade seems to have shifted to young Drake Maye of New England, who along with his head coach, Mike Vrabel, should be accumulating a ton of awards this off season. It is just a question of how good the Patriots really are—beating up on the woeful New York Jets last weekend is not exactly a great indicator of how well the Pats will fare in the playoffs. 

Besides, Houston, Jacksonville and Denver all could be better than New England right now. Each team is playing to their potential, which could make for a riveting AFC playoffs. 

And in the category of bad teams, the New York Giants downed the Las Vegas Raiders in the desert. This assures the Raiders the top draft pick if they choose to keep it. 

Do I think they will use it on the Heisman Trophy—winning QB from Indiana, Fernando Mendoza? It would defy logic if they didn’t. Indiana looked impressive in pounding Alabama in the Rose Bowl. They have a rematch with Oregon, a game which could easily provide the winner of the College Football Playoffs. 

Now I never thought much of Texas Tech, which Oregon manhandled. As to Alabama, it was a nice win over Oklahoma the week before. Any expectation that this team was going to be like the powerhouses Nick Saban produced was foolish. It didn’t happen after Bear Bryant left Tuscaloosa and it is not going to turn around that soon. 

Miami defeating Ohio State and Mississippi downing Georgia in the other quarterfinal games comes with some explanation. With an assist to the format causing the outcomes. In the current twelve team format for the past two seasons, the teams with byes have lost 7 of the 8 quarterfinal games; only Indiana has won. 

Tweak the playoffs to 16 teams and this won’t happen. Then again, is the allure of underdogs winning like in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament why so many people watch that event?

Miami was a pre-season favorite which showed true in its early season win over a very good Notre Dame team. Then there were two unexpected stumbles, bringing their legitimacy into question. Question their strength no more. The ‘Canes are legit. 

Meanwhile, ‘Ole Miss has thus far survived the turmoil from Lane Kiffin’s departure to LSU. The contest versus Georgia was outstanding. It was played with passion and intensity. The talent level demonstrated was off the charts—even down to the kickers and punters. Coach by default Pete Golding has managed to get his troops lined up and not be distracted by the Kiffin departure. 

However, no one expected the Rebels to advance this far. The former Mississippi coaches on loan from LSU, who previously worked at Mississippi with Kiffin, may be barred from proceeding further as the process of recruiting heads to the forefront in January.  The LSU administrators have contracts which they can enforce, preventing the temporary coaches from further participation on the Mississippi sidelines. Let’s see how this plays out—it has been bad enough from the get go with Kiffin always looking at greener pastures in Baton Rouge. 

No more exciting a player in the playoffs is one Trinidad Chambliss. A former Division II champion at Ferris State in Michigan, he wowed the staff at Mississippi and eventually took over at quarterback. His exploits against Georgia were legendary and he will have his nane mentioned forever with the Mannings—father Archie and son Eli—the top QB’s ever to play in Oxford. 

I did watch Franklin and Marshall College thrash CCNY then survive neighbor Lancaster Bible’s press with a three pointer at the buzzer to win its own tournament. This is a very good Diplomats team but not necessarily a Centennial Conference champion like last season. Then again, I harbored the same thoughts about the team last year at this time. Which resulted in a CC championship and a trip to the Division III Tournament.

In NBA notes, injuries to key players seem to be mounting up. Denver’s Nikola Jokic hurt his knee. He’s out for a while. Victor Wembanyama hyperextended his knee in a win over the Knicks; he claims to be okay. LA Lakers’ emerging star Austin Reaves has a calf injury—always a concern with the way they progress into Achilles tendon issues—that will sideline him for an extended period. 

What was the most fun was finally seeing Steph Curry return to Charlotte and face the Hornets. Somehow, he seems to miss that game due to injury. This year he didn’t. 

With his father Dell doing color commentary for the home team and mixing up calling him Steph and Curry, Golden State won the New Year’s Eve special afternoon game. Before a record crowd at the Spectrum Center. Steph hit for 26 points. 

He had a great time while back in town—he and wife Ayesha went to his alma mater, Davidson College, to watch the Wildcats. The exit off Interstate 77 was renamed for him. As it should be. It is Exit 30—the number he wore in college and with the Warriors. That’s unreal—his number matched the exit and they named it after him while he’s still playing. Then again, he’s freakin’ Steph Curry—the best shooter of all time. How else do you honor a legend?

I hope that you had a great 2025. The start of the 2026 sports year is upon us and is shaping up to be a doozy. Go to a game if you can or sit by your TV or computer for some can’t miss entertainment.