Super Farce LI(E): In a quiet Monday, Brian Tuohy and I actually disagree.

Not much on the actual game itself.  It's been another quiet Monday of Super Bowl Week.

So I want to address a point on which Brian and I actually DISagree...

I respect Brian, and he has some very good points and uses a very large portion of what many bettors use (precedent and past records) to back him up.

It appears as if Brian's belief from an article on his website is that we are headed for a New England win, but only by a point or two.

Brian uses the trends of the last ten Super Bowls to indicate that he believes New England won't even cover the 3-point spread that is still, as of this writing, the line in Las Vegas.

In fact, interestingly, the betting appears to be going the OPPOSITE direction that I figured it would.  A Vegasinsider.com article by Micah Roberts today actually appears to indicate that not only is the public betting New England -3 (with the inside action going Atlanta at +3), but the line might actually break -3 toward Atlanta if the inside action allows it -- though the insiders appear to like -3 at even money.

Anyway, to Brian's article:

• Favorites are 4-6 straight up in the last 10 Super Bowls.  Only 1-8-1 against the number.
• Seven of the last ten years, more bets have been taken on the underdog than the favorite.  
• Interestingly, according to the chart provided, almost 80% of the bets last year were on Carolina.  (*CHORTLE!*)
• During the Brady/Belicheat/National Religion run, the Patriots were favored four times to win the Super Bowl.  They covered in none of those cases (two wins, two losses to the Giants).  Two of their four titles (Rams/Seahawks), they were underdogs.
• Atlanta is 6-0 straight-up and 5-1 ATS, scoring 39 points a game in the last six games.

Which is why, AT BEST, Tuohy thinks New England would win by fewer than three points.

EDIT TO ADD Tueday 1/31 8 PM PST:  Nope.  On his season page, Tuohy has actually picked Atlanta to win, basically because he believes the Pats are still in the doghouse.  (He is also staying consistent with his early-season contention that the six teams that were what MSN called the "only teams who could win the Super Bowl" would not win it.)

He may well be right.  He has been more right than I this playoff, especially on his early view on Atlanta with respect to the "space station" stadium which they would like to see open the 2017-18 season on that Thursday night.

The problem, to me, is simple, and is what I see as the main pivot point this season:  Donald Trump.

We all know that Bob Kraft, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are unabashed Trump supporters.

Most of the New England demographic is White, openly in concert with Donald Trump, largely seen as a White Nationalist.

The fact is:  This is the first Super Bowl of this Piece of the Ultimate Shit's era.  As much as I understand that the league would like to see some sort of 38-35 shootout in most cases, people forget that the American government might well have been the catalyst of this entire Brady/Belicheat/National Religion run in the first damned place.

Sorry.  Unless I see a story of similar to the Ezekiel Elliott story from Packers/Cowboys, this still smells like a Patriots rout by as much as the Piece of the Ultimate Shit, his Commissioner Goodell, and his Associate Commissioner Bob Kraft will allow it.

There is, of course, the caveat:  This is the same league which orchestrated a power outage to keep Baltimore-San Francisco close.

So, while you cheer Super Farce LI(E), are you going to think of Mark Gastineau?

Yes, Mark Gastineau, seen as one of the hallmarks of the hard-hitting defense of the NFL during his 10 years in the league.

And now, the same Mark Gastineau...

According to ABC News, football concussions have given Gastineau tested as with Alzheimer's, dementia, and Parkinson's Disease...

He admits leading with his head "all the time".

But you won't care as you scarf down and devote your life to seeing if the Falcons or Patriots will be our next champion....

Well, Brian Tuohy and my friend were right and I was wrong.

I didn't think they'd go Atlanta.

But Brian Tuohy was one of the first to say it, and my bullshit-detector friend was telling me this tonight:  Today was the last game of 25 years of the Georgia Dome.

That, and the new "space station" stadium, were all the league needed on the NFC side.

Too bad both my friend and I believe it will make no difference.

Brady and Belichick are getting #5, and, if they don't retire on the spot, #6 and maybe more.

The Green Bay Packers, Wisconsites, are "jobbers to the stars".  Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews and the rest are NOT winning a Super Bowl in Wisconsin.

There are many players in this league who are names but not relevant.  For all this talk of "running the table", look at the reality of these playoffs (in addition to the very correct theory my friend and Brian have):

• Most-fined team:  New York Giants.
• Most-suspended:  Dallas Cowboys.
• One of the largest unsportsmanlike conduct fine series of the season: Antonio Brown and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• And, at least to my ability to find the fines, the Green Bay Packers were one of the highest-fined teams in the NFL as well.

But still, especially in this year, there is one thing to keep in mind:

Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are two of the biggest Trump-humpers around.  Brady and Belichick made no secret of their love for Donald J. Pussygrabber.

The Patriots, with Spygate, Deflategate, and all the other shit they've been allowed to get away with, are almost certainly the perfect team for the first Super Bowl championship of President "You're Famous, You Can Do Anything To Anyone Without Penalty".

(And, in fact, right now, my friend and I, watching old game shows on BUZZR, saw a commercial for the Air Dragon -- in which a blue-clad #12 has a deflated football, which the announcer says will get him in trouble...  If I can find that commercial on YouTube before Super Farce LI(E), I'm posting it here.)

EDIT TO ADD 1:18 AM 1/23:  And, as if on command, my friend found it:


EDIT TO ADD 8:45 PM 1/31: And in the "AW, COME ON!!" Department: The video has been taken down by the company who made the commercial.

The Patriots, probably because of the belief in Atlanta's offense, are only 3-point favorites.

To me, that's an easy give.  Give the three, and either you get a push on a last-second FG if the league wants to keep 110 or so million people watching, or, more likely at least in my opinion, Atlanta gets blown to pieces by "Make America Cheatriot Again".

Football, fucked up, fandom affair, part 2 for this set.

Caught this one on my Facebook wall, thanks to a fellow gamer who has been a friend for a while...

From 24-7 Sports' Green Bay feed.

A man killed his brother because the Cowboys lost to the Packers on Sunday.

Another "game turns into fight" motif.

Justin Boyer was visiting from North Dakota, but his apparent mental health issues went over the edge when he and his brother Robert got in a fight, and Robert was forced to stab and kill his brother in self-defense of the rage which was going through him after the Cowboys lost.

A roommate of Robert's tried to separate the pair, but the younger Justin decided he'd had more than he could take...

Wow.

Just...  wow.

To those of us wanting to honor Fair Play in the Baseball Hall of Fame, we have lost. It is over.

Today is usually a day of great excitement for my friend, the baseball historian who follows the Hall of Fame quite well.

Today was not fun for my friend.

Why?

My friend brought me into the room to watch the MLB Network airing (kudos to MLB.com for providing the announcement feed freely) of the live announcement of the writers' decision to whom they would add to the two names the Veterans' Committee are going to have placed in Cooperstown, including (what would turn out to be ironic) Bud Selig.

What we found out horrified my anti-Steroid Era friend.

We would like to congratulate Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens for their induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame -- just not this year.

For a long time, however, we have been told that there is at least one roidie in the Hall already.

Last year, Mike Piazza (long-suspected of steroid use) might well have been the trial balloon.

This year, we now have our first KNOWN roidie heading to Cooperstown.

Ivan Rodriguez was one of the many names revealed in Jose Canseco's books regarding steroid abuse in the National Pastime.  Rodriguez becomes the first person (unless he wants to sue Canseco and wins -- or gets a retraction) basically known to be on the steroids and getting into Cooperstown anyway.

This, plus two other things my baseball historian friend found out after I posted this:

• A 2009 interview with Ivan Rodriguez, in which the interviewer asked whether Rodriguez was on the initial list of about 103-104 players testing positive in the initial 2003 testing.  His answer:  "Only God Knows."
• And then, when the teeth got into the plan and a positive test meant a long suspension, Ivan Rodriguez lost about 25-30 pounds the next off-season -- the same 25-30 pounds or so that became the telltale sign the likes of Barry Bonds were on the gas...

He has company, though:  Mr. "Thirty Pounds of Meat A Day", Jeff Bagwell, got the most votes of anybody, and will be inducted this summer into the Hall.  Bagwell probably ends up in the same column as Piazza, but, factually, is at least at the same level of suspicion.  It would take literally hours to eat 30 pounds of meat, not to mention how bad it would screw up your system.

(Also making the 75% amount and getting the call for the Hall, on his FINAL ATTEMPT:  Tim Raines.)

Other scary factoids from today's voting result reveals:

• Roger Clemens:  54.1%  Fourth among non-inductees.
• Barry Bonds:  53.8%  Fifth.
• Both Bonds and Clemens enjoyed increases of 9% in their percentage totals.
• Manny Ramirez, who tested positive TWICE:  23.8%.

It's kind of ironic, as I said:  Two of the three players going in with Selig on the writer's ballot were enabled to their success through drugs allowed, if not encouraged or trafficked, by Selig.

(By the way, only one member of the Veteran's Committee refused to induct Selig.)

So, when will the accursed day be?

Probably not until 2019's class.

2018 looks to be an abjectly stacked ballot.  Trevor Hoffman fell four votes short at 74%.  He should get in next year.  Vladimir Guerrero fell about 13-14 votes short at 71.7%, and should get in.

And then there's the first-timers:  Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, and Jim Thome among them.  Thome and Chipper are almost-certain locks, meaning that should be at least a class of four.

But what happened today makes it, now, inevitable...  Can you imagine a 2019 class headlined by Bonds, Clemens, and first-ballot Mariano Rivera???

Football and being fucked up: A fandom affair...

If you read the Stanley Wilson article, read this title CAREFULLY -- it is NOT the same article.

I want to show you how fucked up people can get in the name of our National Religion, Football...

These fine examples of Football Nation America are why some of us scream at the top of our lungs when our grief and our real life may just interfere with your love for this sick game...

1) Alabama fan, deciding that the birthright of another National Championship was worth destroying his television set!!

2) Or how about this Dallas Cowboys fan, who was all but certain to drop major money to see his team in the Super Bowl in Houston...  until the league narrative changed and...

3) Of course, you could be this viral Cowboys fan from a couple years ago and destroy your entire HOUSE!!!

4) Or how about this Steeler fan who trashed the TV over a loss to the Cowboys?

(Kudos to the kid for realizing what was going on, just too late.)

5) But none of this compares to a story stemming from the December 18, 2016 Buccaneers-Cowboys game.

Vice Sports with the reference here.

Pontrey O'Neal Jones is 20, a thug, and about to go to prison for the rest of his life.

Over football...

You see, O'Neal, believing his stepmother (a Cowboys fan) disrespected his father (a Buccaneers fan) after the Cowboys won.  To the idea of the story, it was good-natured ribbing between the pair.

So, returning from an outing (and, judging by the fact he was naked in the grass 10 minutes later when the police got there, drugs were almost certainly involved!), he grabbed a knife from the couch and killed the stepmom.

Over football...

Now it appears he was about to murder somebody -- KEYE in Austin, TX reports O'Neal told the cops he was going to snap his little sister's neck!!!

Die.

Rot.

Fuck off.

Football and being fucked up: A family affair...

There are times when you start reading stories and you see why people actually are sick and tired of letting the criminal element in this country even exist.

Well, much of it exists under the current color of the sport of football.

Take the case of Stanley Wilson II, formerly of the Detroit Lions.  Played three NFL seasons, last in 2008.

Sports Illustrated reports today that Wilson II was arrested January 10 while outside a stranger's house, in the nude.

That's bad enough.

It's worse when you realize this is the second time in seven months he was arrested while attempting to accost a stranger's house in the buff.

June 27, 2016:  Stanley II was shot in the stomach while attempting to rob another house, pled not guilty, awaiting trial.

Needless to say, the first respondent for a while said that they need to take all of his ilk and lock them up for good.

One can see why, even with the racist slant, when you hear of his father, Stanley Wilson, Sr.

Wilson, Sr. had a MAJOR cocaine problem.  Cost him all of the 1985 and 1987 seasons, and was banned for life after an incident before Super Bowl XXIII where his position coach caught him in a cocaine bender at the hotel of the Cincinnati Bengals, the team for which he played.

In 1999, Wilson, Sr. got 22 years in prison for robbing $130,000 in property.

So, like father...  Like son???

You guys still want to believe the NFL doesn't determine the winners?

Most-fined team in 2016-17?  Giants.
Most-suspended team (especially for drugs) in 2016-17?  Cowboys.

Gone and gone, both in the 4 Eastern slot (the other Sunday game was moved late due to a forecast of ice), both with Green Bay.

Coincidence?  Consider this...

All year, a number of anti-Cowboy fans were wondering when the league was finally going to investigate the claims Ezekiel Elliott committed domestic violence, first surfacing in July.

So what is the top side story on ESPN's site as the Cowboys and Packers are preparing to play?

The NFL, according to many sources, is, in fact, investigating Elliott's July incident, for possible 2017 discipline.

Bang.  Season over.  Right there.

21-3 Green Bay, at one point, was no accident.

Yes, they finally needed to do one "field goal at the gun" situation after only two of the first six playoff games were even fourth-quarter competitive and none finished closer than 12 points.

And they got it, with three field goals in the last four minutes, including Mason Crosby sending Donald Trump home sad because he can't grope the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders in the pussy.

(Yeah, I went THERE!  Live with it.)

Here's the thing:  Green Bay may well be the whitest-meat babyface in this tournament -- and I do also mean CAUCASIAN White as well.

I'm just not convinced they're corporate enough to lift the Lombardi Trophy, though.

But with the four games done, here are the possibilities, and my thoughts on the angle thereto:

The Two Favorites:  New England (-5 - -6 or so) vs. Atlanta (-4.5, was bet as high as -6 for a bit, over/under is over 60 for the Packer game)

What makes this likely:  Better team in each conference, yes.

New England is getting another Robert Kraft push, yes.

Atlanta has the stadium forthcoming, yes.

Not so much:  We know the NFL has determined champions before on merchandising considerations.  Does ANYBODY think Atlanta's fanbase can outbuy Green Bay's?

Most marketable players in the playoffs are White quarterbacks not named Matt Ryan.

Is Atlanta a marketable-enough city?  Super Bowl secondary ticket prices plummeted 18-20% once Dallas lost.

Does the country REALLY want to put up with New England, AGAIN???

Counterpoint to the last one:  Is that the idea, to make New England the hated heel?  If so, there might be another better matchup...

Super Bowl XXXI Rematch:  New England vs. Green Bay

What makes this likely:  Two most marketable names in the playoffs.

Two Whitest organizations still left.

Not so much (Green Bay):  Are they corporate enough to carry the first Super Bowl title of the Oompa-Loompa era?

Green Bay was one of the more-fined teams in the league this year -- maybe not in the NFL doghouse to the extent of the two teams they defeated, but...

Super Bowl XLV Rematch:  Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay

What makes this "likely":  Certainly two rabid and large fanbases, so the money will talk and walk here.

Many reasoned names.

Not so much (Pittsburgh):  Pittsburgh is another of the teams which has been in the league doghouse, especially Antonio Brown and the like.  We know the league is looking out from teams in the doghouse, making Pittsburgh's win tonight a bit surprising - and taking a trial balloon of the Super Bowl I rematch in Super Bowl LI off the table...

Pittsburgh vs. Atlanta

What makes this "likely":  I'll come up with something by the end of the week.  Just not sure how this one would be storylined.

(Yes, if you caught this in the first 15 minutes, I duplicated the one with the two favorites by mistake.)

And NESN and Brian Tuohy caught something today which was very very interesting...

On Saturday night (and here's the NESN article to prove it), the Falcons' official Facebook account put an event on their calendar -- a January 22nd (date is correct) game with...  the Green Bay Packers...

EIGHTEEN HOURS before Mason Crosby kicked the game winner at the gun.

And you, Football Nation America, want to hurt people and make people feel lesser for not being football fans and take this as the most important thing of your lives...

Wow. That was a weekend I wouldn't be surprised went over like a fart in church...

And, to those wondering, I'll keep it to the football in this post...

The four favorites in Wild Card Weekend all won and covered.

The closest game was 12 points.

Only the Seattle-Detroit game was even competitive in the fourth quarter, and Seattle got 16 in the fourth to turn 10-6 into 26-6.

Very UnGoodellesque weekend, and one has to wonder if that's because it was a completely irrelevant one.

But one thought:  Is it any coincidence that Green Bay-Giants (the one possibly interesting game last weekend) was the prime Sunday spot, and Green Bay-Dallas (the one possibly interesting game next weekend) has the same spot this weekend...

OK, Russell Westbrook may need some scrutiny, but this is too much!!!

I know Russell Westbrook has been letting his mouth get ahead of himself a little bit, but this is a little ridiculous...






OK, time out on the floor, Westbrook, seeing no nearby official, throws the ball to the one official he sees (and that was at some distance!), and since the referee was not paying attention, DOINK!!!

Westbrook is T'd up.  If he gets a T for that, he has to leave the floor for the night and face a LONG suspension.  If you're going to T that up, then you have to claim he tried to bean the ref, and that's a long suspension.  (One of the reasons I think, since the NHL erroneously upheld the "violent conduct at referee" Wideman call, 20 games was not enough -- even though it was clear Wideman was concussed!!!!)

Wrong call.  Ref was not paying attention to where the ball was after the timeout was called.  Westbrook, as is his obligation, got the ball to the referee.

Westbrook, one of the most penalized players in the league, has already seen two technicals this season, at least, rescinded, but was suspended one game for accumulated technical fouls two years ago.  He had an ejection after the rescinding, and this one, if not rescinded, is #10.  He's suspended at #16.

Did the Raiders just get injured to Las Vegas?

I think that has to be the real question going forward here, now that the injuries which piled up in the last three weeks have successfully eliminated the Oakland Raiders from the playoffs.

First David Carr, then his backup, a linebacker...  And Houston advances to probably face New England.

The real question which might well now have to be asked in the next couple of months is:  Did Oakland need a Super Bowl or a deep run to keep the team in Oakland -- and, hence, did these injuries just cost Oakland the Raiders?

Stay tuned.  The political chicanery will get real deep now.

Regret that decision yet, Coach K?

Grayson Allen came back to play after a one-game suspension, which I start as ridiculous, and either proved himself or got proven why he has no business on a basketball floor this season, should withdraw from Duke or be thrown out, and be placed under the care of a sports psychologist, with his future in the NBA dependent on the result of such work.

It was believed he tripped someone again today in a game with Boston College.

It's clear:  This team is not good enough without him, and not good enough with him to overcome the distractions.  But, much like Draymond Green, there's a certain style of his play that is dangerous and must be dealt with now.

The ACC has already reviewed the first-half incident and not seen anything conclusive on it.

The only video I've found on it is a two-second long video that I'm not sure shows that much.  And if this is what the ACC saw, then I have to agree...



If he did, then it might be more a nutshot attempt than anything, but that's hard to tell here.

Week 16 and 17 Fine Blotter

I know I got one fine in for Week 16 -- let's see what others I missed (from the Spotrac tracking list):

• Kansas City Chiefs:  Chris Jones:  $18,231 for Roughing the Passer 
• Kansas City Chiefs:  DeMetrius Harris:  $12,154 for another celebration foul.  Simulation of using the ball as a golf swing.
• Seattle Seahawks:  Jeremy Lane:  $27,236 for a defenseless player shot.
• Arizona Cardinals:  Jermaine Gresham:  $12,154 for taunting.
• New York Jets:  Brandon Shell:  $9,115 for a facemask.
• San Diego Chargers:  Denzell Perryman:  $18,231 for Roughing the Passer
• Jacksonville Jaguars:  Sheldon Day:  $18,231 for Roughing the Passer
• Minnesota Vikings:  Stefon Diggs:  $6,076 for Ball Into the Stands.

And now, here are the first of the Week 17 ones, including probably the largest Celebration fine of the year!!

• Miami Dolphins:  And I am surprised he's not suspended for the playoff game for this, and you'll understand why when I state it:  Jarvis Landry was fined TWICE for unsportsmanlike conduct for a large-scale touchdown celebration:  $24,309 for slamming his helmet, and another $24,309 for grabbing his crotch.  He was flagged, but only once.  Under at least one precedent of the NFL, had they ruled he obviously should've been tossed (and by their ruling, he should have), a suspension is not out of line here.
• And that touchdown celebration will cost the Dolphins $50,000 as well, as that puts them precisely at the first league Club Remittance threshold.
• New England Patriots:  LaGarrette Blount got fined $18,231 for having a death wish.  Seriously!!!  He took Ndakomung Suh's helmet right off his head!!!! 
• Denver Broncos:  Aqib Talib NOT FINED for grabbing the chain of an Oakland opponent last week?  W T F??
• Green Bay Packers:  Davante Adams:  $12,154 for a post-touchdown dunk.
• Washington Redskins:  Same WTF for Josh Norman for two incidents vs. the Giants.

More Week 17 to come.

So how bad did I screw up, Part Two. The NFC screwups...

NFC East:

• Washington:  Predicted 8-8, Went 8-7-1.
• Philadelphia:  Predicted 5-11, Went 7-9.

And now two BIG ouches...

• Giants:  Predicted 8-8.  Went 11-5.

What happened:  A Giants defense that can pressure Dak Prescott, and it seems the league at least wants to have Odell Beckham in the public crosshairs.

• Cowboys:  Predicted 5-11.  Went 13-3 for the #1 seed.

I should've almost predicted the Donald Trump presidency off of this alone.  Looking at how white-bread the Cowboys are and all that stuff, they would make the perfect team to cover up all the drug suspensions and the Ezekiel Elliott domestic violence stuff and push them (and their cheerleaders, so Donald Trump can grab them in the pussy when the Cowboys make the trip to the White House) to the Lombardi Trophy.  Barring a large-scale revelation, and I believe Brian Tuohy has said this too, Dallas is winning this Super Bowl.

The Drug Boys are back.

NFC North:

• Green Bay:  Predicted 11-5.  Went 10-6.

But Aaron Rodgers was still nuts to predict running the table at 4-6.

• Minnesota:  Predicted 13-3 (but said if the league wasn't going to push Peterson, 8-8 was more likely -- I did say that, and you can check my post).  Went 8-8.

Same thing skewered both halves of my Super Bowl pick.  One major injury to the one pushed player on the team.

• Detroit:  Predicted 5-11.  Went 9-7.

League is pushing their quarterback a bit, and, with the Peterson injury, looked for a while they would be the team to at least win the division.

• Chicago:  Predicted 4-12.  Went 3-13.

NFC South:

• Atlanta:  Predicted 10-6 and the division.  Went 11-5.
• Tampa Bay:  Predicted 7-9, due to Winston.  Went 9-7

... even more blatantly due to Winston.

• New Orleans:  Predicted 7-9, went 7-9.
• Carolina:  Predicted 8-8 went 6-10.

And I think a lot of that was due to the deliberate attempts to injure Cam Newton over the course of the year.

NFC West:

• Seattle:  Predicted 13-3.  Went 10-5-1.

Real interesting season for the Hawks.  It's clear this was almost all on the defense, and they did get an openly-rigged win over the Pats in Foxboro.  But, still, five losses and a tie...  Enough to win the division and all, but we will have to see when Seattle visits Atlanta.

• Arizona:  Predicted 12-4.  Went 7-8-1.

Regressed back to the mean quite a bit, and a lot of those "bizarre results" out in the desert did not materialize.

• Los Angeles:  Predicted 8-8 with help.  Went 4-12, with a lot of help.

One of the worst teams in recent football memory is what happened with these guys.  It's one thing to basically suck that bad, it's another to know that they're not that good in any respect.

• San Francisco:  I actually predicted as close to 0-16 as one would dare.  They went 2-14.

NFC playoff predictions:

Seattle
Minnesota
Atlanta
Giants
Green Bay
Arizona

Actual:

Dallas
Atlanta
Seattle
Green Bay
Giants
Detroit

AFC Predictions:

Houston
Cincinnati
Denver
New England
Baltimore
Pittsburgh

Actual:

New England
Kansas City
Pittsburgh
Tennessee
Oakland
Miami

So how bad did I screw up my predictions again this year on the NFL? (Very.)

As usual, but part of this is figuring out just what the angle they're going to use is.  But, in the interest of fairness, I do my usual "How bad did I do?" motif...

AFC East:

• New England:  Predicted 10-6, Went 14-2 and one of the losses was a league screwjob.

What happened:  Team went 3-1 during the suspension and the other AFC options (starting with Houston, ending with Oakland) were injuried away.  New England now the runaway favorite for the AFC spot in Super Farce LI(E).

• Jets:  Predicted 8-8 , went 5-11.

What happened:  Same old damn J-E-T-S Just End The Season.  Certain teams just cannot get out of their own way.  Maybe not bad enough YET to ask the team to be folded, but come on.

• Miami:  Predicted 5-11, went 10-6.

What happened:  One of the real positive darkhorses this year came out of Miami, and one has to wonder if this means Miami is the team on the come on the AFC East.

• Buffalo:  Predicted 7-9, and that's where they went.

Got both of the Ryans fired, and good riddance to bad rubbish.

AFC North:

• Cincinnati:  Predicted 12-4.  Went 6-9-1.
• Baltimore:  Predicted 10-6.  Went 8-8.

What happened:  Two teams I thought would be recipients of some help from the league with New England didn't get it.  Thought the league would go another direction.

• Pittsburgh:  Predicted 10-6.  Went 11-5.

What happened:  Someone in that division had to go big, and Pittsburgh has the most complete team in the division.

• Cleveland:  Predicted 4-12.  Went 1-15 for the #1 Draft Pick.

And should've been 0-16.   Seriously, the league has to fold the fucking Browns. I said 4-12 might be a lot to ask and that one has to wonder if NFL football will work in Cleveland -- it won't.  Put the franchise out of it's fucking misery.

AFC South:

• Houston:  Predicted 11-5.  Went 9-7.

What happened:  JJ Watt got hurt, and that was the main reason I thought they'd finally get to a Super Bowl their city would host.  Nope.  They'll beat Oakland this weekend, but that's as far as that goes.

• Tennessee:  Predicted 5-11.  Went 9-7.

What happened:  One of the largest recipients of the push of the defenses to neutralize (at least for some of the season) the passing games and the like.  Might be really in for a good push if this continues.

• Indianapolis:  Predicted 7-9.  Went 8-8.
• Jacksonville:  Predicted 6-10.  Went 3-13.

Jacksonville is another city I just don't think is going to work out for the NFL.  End that farce too.

AFC West:

• Denver:  Predicted 12-4.  Went 9-7.

What happened:  Can't put that much lipstick on a pig and not have people still notice it's a pig.

• Oakland:  Predicted 9-7.  Went 12-4.

What happened:  Don't know whether it's to keep them in Oakland or to give them a big push to Vegas, but the league wanted the Raiders to go big this year, until their #1 and #2 quarterbacks went down.

• Kansas City:  Predicted 7-9.  Went 12-4.

What happened:  The league DIDN'T have work to do elsewhere in the AFC, as I thought they might.  The 12-4 is actually backed up by last year's Pythagorean for the team.

• San Diego:  Predicted and went 5-11.

See you in LA next year.

NFC to come.

The final 2016-17 Score Report

So another NFL season is in the books.

For just Week 17:

• Scoring average:  44.9375 PPG
• Home teams were 10-6, including the first eight games on the Vegas board.
• The Over was 8-8.
• Favorites were only 7-9 against the number, but 12-4 straight up.
• Team with more penalties was 5-9
• Three Cliffhangers, including another "go for two and miss it at the end" motif.  
• 3 Last Chance Misses.
• 7 non-competitive games.  Not surprising when only 7 of the 16 games meant a tinker's damn this week.

So now, the end of year totals:

• Scoring Average:  44.933 points per game.  (Last year:  45.625.  2014:  45.1875  2013:  46.707.)

The biggest argument one can give for someone like a Seattle winning the Super Bowl is the league concentrating on defense.  I also believe (and this is only my personal opinion on this subject, YMMV) that the NFL's misguided efforts to deal with post-touchdown unsportsmanlike conduct were meant to intrinsically aid the defenses as well.

• Home teams were 147-104-1, with four neutral-site foreign games (three London and one Mexico City) this year for a .5853 winning percentage.  (Last year:  .5494, two years ago .589)

Returning to the form of two years ago, home teams winning about 59% of the time.

• The over was a half-game a week above .500 this year (not quite enough to overcome the juice (the 9% the Vegas casinos take off winning bets)).  It was a half to a full game a week under .500 last year.  Two years ago, a full game a week under .500. 

Somewhat surprising, but perhaps a partial overcompensation on some of the games by the bookmakers in Vegas regarding the push of the defenses this season.

• Favorites were 123-115-7 against the spread this year -- again, a half-game above .500 per week.  Perfect for Vegas.  Last year, they were a full game below .500 against the number.
• For the first time, I also kept track of the straight-up numbers:  161-83-1 straight up -- favorites in their games won the game about 2/3 of the time.

Not really much to say here except, again, perfect for Vegas that the spread was just enough above .500 to entice players, but not far enough above .500 to make any money on a blanket basis.

• There were 50 Cliffhangers this year.  Last year:  57.  Two years ago:  40.  Three years ago:  56.)

Especially with the league breaking the record on 4th quarter comebacks this year, I'm more than a little surprised at this.  But, when you take a look at a stat I was looking at for the first time this year...

• 70 games ended with a meaningful Last Chance Miss -- be it an onside kick or a drive that didn't come to fruition.

Yes, there was some overlap, but a good 35-40% of the games were basically decided, one way or the other, at the end.

• The interesting thing I saw is that we actually got to 73 non-competitive games for the season.  Meaning, after a huge start to the year, it got down to 71.1% of the games finished competitively (at least some point in the fourth quarter where the game was within one score).  (Last year:  67.57%. Two years ago:  62.89%.  Three years ago:  68%.)

31 of those 73 games were in the last 5 weeks (just over 6 a week).  Only 42 games in the first 12 weeks were non-competitive (less than 4 a week).  You want an indication of how bad some of the teams were?  Here you go.

ESPN, are we even going to bother hiding this one?

So, the NFL regular season is over.

And, yes, I will freely admit that there is now one Super Bowl far ahead of the rest of the possibilities -- I won't deny that in the least, and I think it's now clear what it is.

But THIS is ESPN's front page -- or at least the first part thereof -- tonight after the games...

ARE WE EVEN TRYING TO HIDE THIS?