It's Your Move, Roger Goodell

  Did you miss me? After a two week hiatus, I’m back. 

Not a minute too soon, might I add. The sports world is aglow with the NFL Playoffs; some interesting NBA games; college basketball is in the midst of conference play; and a whole lot more.

Let’s open with pro football. Since I last wrote, the field has been pared down to the NFL’s version of the Final Four. Gone are the pretenders—Miami, Cleveland and Dallas, vanquished early on. Philadelphia continued its slide into oblivion. The Rams and Bucs gave a scare to the Lions, whose playoff-starved fans packed Ford Field and set noise decibel records. Houston made the second round—a pretty fine run with a rookie QB—and they might be heard from more often in the coming seasons. Ditto Green Bay, winners at Dallas, a team which was not scared of the top-seeded 49’ers.

There seems to be a fair amount of pity for the Buffalo Bills. Another “wide right” kick, reminiscent of an earlier failure by another kicker named Scott Norwood, which cost the Bills dearly. Previously, the phrase “wide right” referred to Al Michaels’ description of Norwood’s missed field goal in Super Bowl XXV which gave Bill Parcells and his New York Giants the win. 

Now it is part of football jargon and used in other sports. But in Buffalo that kick was named “The Miss.” I can’t imagine what the fans will call the miss by Tyler Bass on Sunday—the usably reliable Bass had to deactivate his social media accounts after the deluge of displeasure with his effort. 

The game itself was won by Kansas City at the coin toss. How can that be? There was a fair amount of wind in Orchard park on Sunday night. In one direction. The kickers and certainly the coaches noticed it. Even the announcers were aware that Harrison Butker, the Chiefs kicker with a strong leg, was unable to make practice kicks from about 52 yards away into the wind. And punts were sailing and dying, affected by the breeze. 

So when KC elected to defer its choice until the second half, giving Buffalo the ball to begin the game, that meant that the Bills would have the wind at their back to begin the second half, and the Chiefs kickers would have it at their back for the fourth quarter. A wise move which paid dividends when it counted the most. 

Watching Bass kick the ball, he was dead center on a normal day. Except that in frigid, snow-laden Erie County, and especially when the Chiefs and Bills get together, there is no normal day. And the ball flew right, not inexplicably if one had noticed the conditions. 

Buffalo QB Josh Allen is one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. He was magnificent in his duel with Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, perhaps the one QB who might be compared to the current G.O.A.T., Tom Brady. However, too many times did Allen seek to hit the long pass, which was risky on a windy day, which cost the Bills. A botched fake punt also almost cost the team, too. 

Mahomes and Travis Kelce hooked up for two touchdowns, making them the all-time leading duo in NFL playoff history. Mahomes is 13-3 in the post-season for good reason. And he is a Bills killer in the playoffs; Allen still smarts from losing the overtime coin toss in January 2022 when the Chiefs went straight down the field to win 42-36. 

When it counts, Mahomes is among the best. Kelce, too. (His heart hand for his girlfriend Taylor Swift was adorable, but not as spectacular as his All-Pro brother Jason, seemingly retiring from the Philadelphia Eagles, who ripped off his shirt, entered the crowd and howled in beer-fueled happiness). The Chiefs defense rose to the occasion when necessary, but in the end, it was luck which boosted KC to the next round. 

A really good Baltimore team awaits the Chiefs, having routed Houston in the second half on Saturday. Lamar Jackson is on a roll, determined to shed the image of not being a champion. KC will be on the road for a second consecutive game, with one day less of rest and a couple of hours worth of plane flights. However, if any team can put the travel rigors aside, it is Kansas City. Too bad it is the opener on Sunday, not the night cap.

Detroit and San Francisco meet in the NFC Championship. SF won in the rain, without their excellent wide receiver, Deebo Samuel, who left the game with an injury and whose status for Sunday hasn’t been announced. Brock Purdy had difficulty in the elements, yet on the final, game-winning drive, completed six of his seven attempts. 

The Lions are the absolute underdog. Yes, they won their division. Yes, they are a tough team. But c’mon, people, these are the Lions, laughable losers year after year. Except no one has informed the team and its mercurial head coach Dan Campbell that they aren’t Super Bowl material. QB Jared Goff, a salary dump casualty to allow former Lions QB Matthew Stafford to join the Rams and win the Super Bowl, has been playing like he is unfazed by the pressure. The personnel on the team is scarily good—fast, strong and tough. 

I’m not saying that Detroit will win. I do dispute the oddsmakers making SF a 7 point favorite. The line should be at 3.5, like it is for KC and the Ravens. Both contests should be fun. Have your popcorn ready. 

I have been studying college basketball from afar. I took a look at the AP Top 25 poll for this week. Defending champion UConn is rightfully number one—for now. You can choose any of the next six teams—Purdue, North Carolina, Houston, Tennessee, Kentucky and Kansas—and they might ascend to top dog status when the smoke clears with the NCAA Tournament in March and April.

I do see a lot of unfamiliar names getting ranked this week. Illinois is at #10. Dayton is #16, with Utah State #18, Florida Atlantic, last year’s Cinderella, moving up to #22 and Mountain West squads Colorado State and New Mexico now ranked. Seton Hall, a leader in the Big East, is the 26th team, and Princeton is getting votes, coming in at #32, which would translate to an eighth seed if rankings were the rule for the Selection Committee.

Maybe this will be the year that the Mountain West, which had San Diego State barrel through to the Final Four last year, get as many as six teams into the tournament. The aforementioned schools plus a 15-4 Nevada team are all worthy of a bid. 

There is still much to happen in the college basketball world. At least the other guys are getting noticed. 

For the record, F&M is 14-3 and tied with Johns Hopkins and Gettysburg for the Centennial Conference lead. The Bullets, who earlier lost to the Diplomats, come to Lancaster on Thursday for an important clash. Hopkins seems to be the one real NCAA team in the CC; everyone else is playing for conference tournament seedings. 

My wife and I went to Drew to see the Rangers take on Elizabethtown. Drew had only lost twice while winning its first 13 games. That didn’t matter to the Blue Jays, as E-town shot 59% in the second half and converted repeatedly at the foul line to secure the win. It didn’t help that Drew was shooting three point shots and making very few, nor that E-town dominated the boards. 

I watched Caitlin Clark try to carry the Iowa Hawkeyes over a determined Ohio State team. Her 45 points weren’t enough, with the Buckeyes prevailing in OT. Clark then was run over by a celebratory OSU fan, hurt but able to recover. Imagine if the sport’s greatest draw was injured and no longer able to play? OSU and all teams playing Iowa need to be much more vigilant in protecting the players. 

In the NBA, Denver ended the Celtics unbeaten streak at TD Garden; the Nuggets are on mission to win a second title. Oklahoma City made a case for itself with a win over Minnesota, the team with the best record in the league. Plus keep watching Phoenix; the Suns may have gotten their act together. Unlike the Lakers continuing to lose and Golden State now reeling even more dealing with the sudden death of a beloved assistant coach. 

And M.V.P. candidate Joel Embiid set a franchise record scoring 70 points in Philly’s win over the Spurs, while Karl Anthony-Towns hit for 62, a Minnesota franchise record, in a loss to Charlotte which stung because the T-Wolves blew a big lead. Ironically, these two big scoring games came on the same date that Kobe Bryant hit for 81 points in 2006.

One last thing. Watching the absolutely frigid conditions in Kansas City and the repeated snow and cold in Buffalo made me think how the NFL needs to mandate that all new stadiums have roofs—retractable or permanent. I don’t need to see uneven playing conditions affecting warm weather teams. I don’t need to see snowballs repeatedly targeting visiting players. Open stadiums are for colleges, an anachronism from an era when the schools ended the season early in November. 

I hate hot weather and how uncomfortable it makes me when I am at a Jets game. That emotion also applies to freezing and exposure to the elements—frostbite and hypothermia should never be in play for the fans, media, stadium personnel or the athletes. 

Pictures of a snow-covered Detroit were in contrast to the warmth inside of Ford Field. Had they game been played outside, the Lions might not have been so fortunate, as the team was built for indoors. Did the NFL think of the safety of KC Head Coach Andy Reid, a man in his upper 60’s, his mustache caked in ice? Or the helmet of Mahomes actually cracking after a hit in such bitter cold conditions? The questions may be rhetorical but they demand answers. 

Met Life Stadium is a travesty because there is no dome. I think playing in the cold is more a hindrance to the teams than a help. Scoring based on increased speed would be greater. 

The optics of fans in a warm setting, comfortable for over three hours, is a beautiful sight. I should know. I wanted that retractable roof stadium on Manhattan’s West Side, even if the shared building in the Meadowlands is closer to home. A warm train ride and a short walk from Penn Station would have made me happy. 

We can hope that the weather moderates in the Inner Harbor and Santa Clara. C’mom NFL. Get it right. You’ve got the money. Not everyone can be insulated in a suite like Taylor Swift and the Kelces. It’s your move, Roger Goodell.