Another unsurprising update...

Would usually combine these, but saw the Kneeland one and this one several hours apart:

Mark Sanchez has now formally been fired by FOX, replaced with Drew Brees. 

Kneeland Update -- appears we have a CTE case here...

The Cowboys are on their bye week, so, Wednesday night, Marshawn Kneeland was at home -- and about two hours before his body was found after a police chase, police were summoned to the house for a welfare check for suicidal ideations...

sigh

Fucking CTE from high school and college is probably now the front-runner.  Hopefully someone can donate his brain to science so we can find out.

24...  Was in the NFL and contributing...  I know it's easy to pile on the Cowboys as a lesser team, but he was on there and trying...  

NOW we have grounds for a Federal investigation (NCAA)...

The NCAA has banned six players, at least five players from two schools for open-faced match-fixing.

Three players from New Orleans and two from Mississippi Valley State have been banned for throwing games.  The New Orleans players allegedly threw or attempted to throw no less than SEVEN contests, while the NCAA has found the Mississippi Valley State players openly offered money to throw one game and at least one discussing throwing a second.

And again, what I say often has to apply here:  It is completely legal for the NCAA and the conferences and the like to fix games.  It is a Federal crime to do what has been found here.

A sixth player, from Arizona State, was found to have simply shared inside information.

Another side effect of the rise of gambling and of college sports going professional:  If the players aren't paid enough to keep the games honest, they won't. 

Source:  ESPN. 

Discipline Blotter Update

Frankie Luvu won his appeal, but it's $150,000 in fines -- $100,000 for him, $50,000 for the team.

Wrong decision. 

I expect this story to end exactly how I think it will end...

Antonio Brown is now in prison, after being extradited from Dubai, where he fled after an attempted murder rap in Florida.

Yeah...

This is going to end exactly as you think it's going to end.

Maybe they'll search his brain for CTE when this is all over. 

Probably the highest-profile sacrifice to football yet...

On Monday night, 2024 second-round draft pick of the Cowboys Marshawn Kneeland scored a blocked-punt touchdown for the team on Monday Night Football.

By Thursday morning, he was dead.  He was 24.  Traffic incident, sped off to avoid the police, shot and killed himself.

24, in the NFL second season...  Wow... 

So now the only question left, in my mind:  College and HS-based CTE?  Or was he on the run from something and somehow hid it from even the NFL? 

2025 Week Nine Political Rankings

Doing this one early, because of how this week went...

AFC:

1) New England

It does seem to be lining up nicely for the Patriots, isn't it?  Six in a row for 7-2, but now a test as they go to Tampa Bay in what, shockingly, may well represent a Super Bowl preview if Herr Fatfuck has his way.

12-5 now appears to be their floor.  They beat a couple teams they might be going against in the playoffs, and the road to San Francisco might go through Foxboro again. 

2) Denver

a hair over

3) Indianapolis

because of the results this week, but Indianapolis lost and Denver barely got out of Houston.  Neither team looked that impressive.

4) Buffalo

A quiet 6-2, but they lost the first meeting to New England and the second one is in Foxboro Week 15.

Kayfabe:

The three 7-2 can't settle it HTH, so it's conference records at least the first step:

1) Indianapolis, 6-1 over the other two's 4-2. (7-2)

2) The two teams have only one common opponent, so it goes Strength of Victory, and that goes to New England, .333 to Denver's .325 (7-2)

3) Denver (7-2)

4) Pittsburgh (5-3) -- the bullshit IS real.

5) Buffalo (6-2)

6) LA Chargers (6-3)

7) Jacksonville (5-3)

Kansas City is a half-game and the tiebreaker out of the playoffs.  They lose HTH tiebreaks with all three current wild-card teams.

NFC:

Buenos Suerte now.  Your guess is as good as mine.  So I'll go through it in Kayfabe order and show why I'm not exactly 100% convinced on anybody right now.

We have 4 6-2 teams.  The Eagles, Seahawks, Rams, and Bucs.  First break the divisional tiebreaker, Seahawks/Rams.  They have not played yet.  Seahawks are 1-1 in the division, Rams 0-1 -- so the Seahawks go in with the Eagles and Bucs.

No HTH sweep, so...

1) Philadelphia, 5-1 in the conference.  (6-2) Philadelphia may end up being the NFC's choice after all, but there is ZERO CHANCE, barring some replay of last year or the one year KC beat San Francisco after a Super Bowl Week incident left the league with no choice. 

2) Tampa Bay (6-2), head to head over Seattle.  I still think Tampa is a far more palatable MAGA choice than most anyone else on this list, especially the current 6-2s.  That said, they have New England, in a game which will probably say a lot as to where both teams are when we do Week Ten.

3) Seattle (6-2), liberal West Coast, etc.  Can't see that as a palatable.

4) Green Bay (5-2-1)  Yes, Carolina is now shockingly 5-4, but YOU CAN'T LOSE TO THEM if you want anyone to take you seriously, and now you've lost your tight end to an ACL and possibly your WR as well.  A semi-palatable choice due to demographics and fanbase, but too many other factors will probably have Detroit in their place soon enough.  They get Philly next Monday Night in a massive NFC showdown.

5) LA Rams (6-2)  See Seattle.

6) San Francisco (6-3)  Goes double here!

7) Detroit (5-3 with a win over Chicago).  NFC North is lining up to be a juggernaut again, but I still don't see where Detroit gets chosen as a MAGA champion.  In anything!