Day 280

• The head of the American Athletic Conference, Michael Aresco, has finally thrown in the towel.  After years of promoting his conference as the "P6" (the sixth Power Conference), getting screwed and seeing undefeated teams from his conference screwed out of the CFP (including what almost certainly will be Cincinnati this year), he has officially called for the end of the CFP and the return of the BCS.

First, how did it take so long?  It is clear that EVERY CHAMPIONSHIP MECHANISM FOR THREE DECADES has been meant to deny the small schools (and even lesser schools from greater conferences) even the opportunity for a National Championship.

Second, unless Cincinnati loses to Tulsa on Saturday in the AAC Championship Game, they will be the ninth undefeated team denied even a CHANCE at the title because they are not in a power conference (1998 Tulane, 1999 Marshall, 2004 Utah (the first team actually allowed a place at the table at all in a lesser "slough-off" bowl of the top tier of bowls), 2006 Boise State, 2008 Utah, 2009 Boise State, 2010 TCU, 2017 Central Florida).

And that's the ones that finished the job with a bowl win.  You can add 2018 Central Florida and 2016 Western Michigan and 2009 TCU (who was sloughed off to face Boise to denigrate both!!) to that list -- both lost their bowl game.

(The Mountain West six times (TCU, Boise, and Utah twice each), the American Athletic the last two times (and, if Cincy wins, make it three), Conference USA once, the Mid-American twice.)

Third, especially with the realities the pandemic is exposing, I would think it more likely you will end up in a formal "second division", if you exist at all, if you aren't of the Power Five + Notre Dame.  In fact, I'm not keen on the Rutgers' and the Vanderbilts surviving this as football programs.  It may not happen next year, but I do believe the final abolishment down to about 20-30 national-wide teams for college football (and a formal alignment with the NFL as a minor league) is coming if the sport survives at all.

In short, it's far too late.  You might as well not even exist.  In fact, should Cincinnati win, you should let the Committee vote them in, and then refuse the bid.

Keep in mind:   In the six years of the BCS, only 11 schools have been in the tournament.  Only 6 have won games in the tournament (Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, and Oregon).  Either Clemson or Alabama has been in the last five CFP National Championship Games. 

• Possible COVID violation in Houston -- not dissimilar to the charity event which got the Raiders in trouble in Las Vegas earlier this year. 
• Lorenzo Taliaferro, three years with the Ravens -- passed away at 28 years old. 
• Emmanuel Macron, the President of France -- tested positive for the coronavirus. 
• The Council for the Arbitration of Sport has banned Russia, to an extent, from the Tokyo and Lusanne Olympics.  They will be the "Russia Neutral Athletes", and, at the least, the burden of proof will go to WADA this time to keep them out, rather than the assumption of guilt which was used in the last Olympics. 
  

Does anyone else still not want to believe these football games are rigged??

Had a chance to watch UrinatingTree's "Week in SportsBall", and just got struck by two of the most obvious rig-jobs I've seen -- neither involves the officials, though, so that's why I just glossed over them.

First, the Monday Night Shitfest.

No, seriously...

I'm speaking literally here.  Lamar Jackson has to go take a dump in the middle of the third quarter -- with the cameras near the locker room to see him make that sprint we've ALL had to make from time to time...

It takes until the TWO-MINUTE WARNING OF THE FOURTH QUARTER for him to come back?

Look, I've seen homeless people use the bathroom as a place of residence for shorter than that!

If that isn't "Doing It For The Narrative", I don't know what is!!  Lamar Jackson is the second-biggest thing in the NFL right now, but so far behind Pat Mahomes, I don't know if he ever sniffs the Super Bowl...

But that was just too scripted.

Of course, you could be Marco Wilson, and I had anything to say about it, he'd not only be formerly of the Florida Gators, he'd be under investigation for expulsion from the University of Florida this week!

#6 Florida playing LSU in a trap game before they play Alabama in the SEC Championship Game this week.

If Florida gets past LSU and then upsets Alabama, they're in the College Football Playoff, and who knows from there?

One problem...

Wilson, on a key third-down stop in the final two minutes, then removes the shoe of the player he downed and CHUCKS IT TWENTY YARDS...

Unsportsmanlike Conduct, drive continues, LSU WINS on a 51-yard field goal at the gun.

I don't care who you are.  I don't care how good you are.

You ever do that on a team I coach at any level, you're off the team before we even get to the locker room.

And then there's the University of Florida Orange Book, the Student Code of Ethics and Conduct:

First off, the scope of the Code, as it relates to off-campus events on Page 4:

"The University may apply the Student Conduct Code and Student Honor Code to Students whose conduct may have an adverse impact on the health, safety, or welfare of people, property, the University Community, or the pursuit of its objectives, regardless of where such conduct occurs, even if off campus."

Check.

And now here's the Smoking Gun as to why Wilson should be in front of the Dean of Students any day now...

Disruptive Conduct, Page 15 and 16:

"Conduct that is materially or substantially disruptive to the normal operations of the University, or that incites others to do so, in any of the following activities: teaching, research, administrative functions, disciplinary proceedings, other University Activities whether on or off campus, and other authorized activities that take place on campus. In evaluating whether conduct is materially or substantially disruptive, the University may consider the totality of factors, including but not limited to whether there was an intent to prevent the activity or event from continuing to completion and whether the conduct was a sustained and continuous disruption. Disruptive conduct does not include any conduct protected by the First Amendment. Examples of Disruptive Conduct include but are not limited to:

1.Disruption of University Officials in the performance of their work.

2.Disruption of a University Activity or event.[...]"

Marco Wilson should be suspended from the University of Florida for his actions.  He is actionable for this flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct under the Orange Book of the University of Florida.

Now, we all know this will never happen.  I agree with this.

But, then, it does leave you asking one material question:  

What, short of a suspicious act, possesses you to do THAT in that situation?

Same question I asked about the guy from Ole Miss who literally dog-pissed his team out of a bowl bid and a loss in the Egg Bowl...

If football is THAT IMPORTANT, then should he not be actionable, both as a function of Student Conduct policies, but a real question of the man's character, integrity, and whether he was actually part of fixing a game??

Just asking for a friend...

Day 279

• In a landmark move will see under the radar (if at all -- and surprising given the political leanings of MLB), Major League Baseball, today, officially recognizes the Negro Leagues as major leagues, on equal footing with the current leagues and the former White-only leagues of their day.
• The PLL and MLL, the two professional lacrosse leagues, have formally agreed to merge, for what it's worth.
• Omar Vizquel is now under a domestic violence investigation.
• Virginia Tech has opted out of the bowl season -- it will be the first time in 27 years Tech has not gone to a bowl game.
• The NHL is still trying to figure out what it's going to do -- and now Gary Bettman IS actually thinking of playing at least part of the 2021 season in a bubble.  Probably now, instead of January 1, looking at a February 1 start.  My year-end predictions may not be so kind to the NHL's future as a going concern.     
• The NFL admitted they fucked up on the Dez Bryant COVID positive release just before kickoff.  In the future, if a team has a player who has a positive test after the 90 minute lockout for inactive players, they can designate another player to play.
  

Day 278

• USC basketball has called off three games due to the virus.
• Vanderbilt football is done -- their game with Georgia has been called off.
  

Three Weeks To Go: The Kayfabe and the Power Rankings

Gonna combine the two, try to keep it quick:

AFC Kayfabe:

1. Kansas City 12-1 Clinched AFC West
2. Pittsburgh 11-2  Clinched playoff berth
3. Buffalo 10-3
4. Tennessee 9-4 See first tiebreaker below
5. Cleveland 9-4 See second tiebreaker below 
6. Indianapolis 9-4 See both the first two tiebreakers
7. Miami 8-5 See third tiebreaker below
   

Tennessee-Indianapolis (AFC South):  Split season series, TEN 4-1 vs. AFC South, IND 2-2. 

Cleveland-Indianapolis (WC #1 and #2):  Cleveland beat Indianapolis Week 5.

Miami-Baltimore (WC #3 -- last playoff spot):  Don't and won't play.  MIA 5-4 vs. AFC, BAL 5-5.

ELIMINATED:  Jets, Bengals, Texans, Jaguars, Chargers

NEXT TO GO:  Denver

FIRST OUT:  Baltimore on losing the above tiebreaker.

Wildcard round:

MIA at PIT, IND at BUF, CLE at TEN

NFC Kayfabe:

1. Green Bay 10-3 See first tiebreaker below  Clinched NFC North
   
2. New Orleans 10-3 See first tiebreaker below  Clinched playoff berth
3. LA Rams 9-4 See second tiebreaker below 
4. Washington 6-7
5. Seattle 9-4  See second tiebreaker below
6. Tampa Bay 8-5
7. Arizona 7-6
   

Green Bay-New Orleans (#1 seed):  Packers beat the Saints Week 3 

LA Rams-Seattle (NFC West):  Rams beat Seattle in first meeting.  Play again week after this one.

ELIMINATED:  Just Atlanta.

NEXT TO GO:  Carolina, has the same record as Atlanta, but probably head to head considerations have not eliminated them yet.

FIRST OUT:  Minnesota at 6-7 and a first win over the Bears -- they play again this week.

Wildcard round:

ARI at NO, TB at LAR, SEA at WSH

-------------

Now for the Power Rankings, how I see the rig-job unfolding:

The AFC will be little to no surprise:

1) Kansas City (12-1, best record in the NFL, AFC West Champions)

Anyone who doesn't, at this point, believe the next 3-5 years of the NFL don't go through Patrick Mahomes on some level has not been paying attention the last 18 months.  Pittsburgh is fully getting out of the way and Roethlesberger may have a knee issue too.

BUT:  There is one, and only one thing which could stop it other than a huge Mahomes injury:  If the NFL bows and understands that they cannot accept a Super Bowl which would be the lowest-watched since either 1992 or 1995.  (I'm basing that off a 20% drop of the 100ish million who saw this year's game.)  

It is clear that White America is sick of Black Athletes.  It's that damn simple.  And for the NFL to throw behind a Black quarterback in the post-Kaepernick era could be quite damaging to a league which has lost at least a third of it's audience -- and, though right-wing claptrap Breitbart is talking about NBC having to do "make-goods" for Sunday Night Football sponsors, it is clear those make-goods are taking place.

2) Pittsburgh (11-2)

On a thread, and basically because there is no other choice in the AFC right now.  It really does appear that if Mahomes is upright by the end of the AFC title game, they're going to the Super Bowl -- AND Roethlesberger has some knee issues cropping up.

3) Buffalo (10-3)

BUT:  I just can't see, even on a Mahomes injury or that the NFL just CAN"T... putting Buffalo in the Super Bowl.

The NFC, on the other hand, will probably cause a jaw or two to drop:

1) Tampa Bay (8-5)

Hear me out!

Draw this scenario together:  They have Detroit and Atlanta twice.  That's almost a sure 11-5.

Tampa wins it's wild card game and is the lowest seed to do so -- they go to Green Bay and stomp them again (GB's three losses -- overtime to IND, unexpected to MIN, and stompie-stomp to the Bucs).  They then go to New Orleans and win through screwjob to make the Super Bowl.

BUT:  This all-but-depends on the White Right forcing the NFL's hand -- AND probably that Brady will retire after this season.

2) Green Bay (10-3, NFC North champions)

They have to beat somebody other than New Orleans.  They have Tennessee and two very winnable games left.  The odds are quite good that the Packers could be the #1 seed.

BUT:  This all-but-depends on the White Right forcing the NFL's hand and Brady NOT doing so as well.  However, the league may need Packer Nation in the Super Bowl to take 80 million and make it 90 or so and make it somewhat respectable.

3) Seattle (9-4)

12th Man.

BUT:  First off, they probably have to beat the Rams and win the NFC West.  Then probably beat the Packers or somebody again in the playoffs.  They're 9-4 and a bit shaky at that.

4) New Orleans (10-3)

New Orleans now has the same situation Tampa Bay had -- a dry-run Super Bowl test against the Chiefs this week.

BUT:  It's clearer by the week that the Taysom Hill Experiment was White Right motivated.  But can the NFL actually put that through to the Super Bowl if Drew Brees has, effectively, no ribcages left?

2020 NFL Week 14 Scoring Report

• Well, they're advertising the Monday nighter as the "Game of the Year"...
• Singlehandedly responsible for a 2 1/2 point rise in the average this week.  Saved this week from being the first week below the 46.727 record for a 16-game season or the 47.2 for any season.
• 47.4375 for the week -- was in the high 44's before the Monday nighter.
• Season average is now 49.337 -- 10,262 points in 208 games.
• 48 games left in the season, and only 1,700 points from the 11,962 record.  Only 35.417 needed per game to get that!
• The 47.2 record average for per-game in any season is 12,083 points, and that's only 1,821 away.  Not even a 38 average needed for that.
• Home teams were 7-9 for the week, 103-104-1 for the year.  Yep, that's one game below .500 for the entire season, only three weeks left!  As I said, what, last week?  "You see what FANS do for their teams???"
  
• Over was 5-11 for the week and is now 5 games under .500 for the year at 99-104-5.
• Good week for the favorites, rarity in the current NFL:  10-6 against the spread, 12-4 against the number.
• Season:  89-113-3 against the number, 136-69-1 straight up.
• Including one of the worst "beats" for dog bettors in a long time:  Baltimore was a 3-point favorite in the Monday nighter with Cleveland.  Baltimore's kicker, as the THIRD Cliffhanger of the game (BAL TD+2 to lead by 7 1:51, CLE TD to tie 1:04) kicked a 53 yard FG to take a 45-42 lead.  Had the game written down as a push....
• ... that is, until Cleveland's efforts to lateral their way into a miracle win ended up out the side of the end zone for a SAFETY -- making Baltimore COVER the -3!!!!
• Team with more penalties was 7-4 (with FIVE even).  84-93-1 for the year.
• 180 penalties (11.25 per game) this week.  Season:  2,397 (11.52 per game)
• Two Cliffhangers this week (the triple Monday night, and the Chargers escaping the Falcons).  38 for the year.
• Seven of the 16 games finished within one score.  111 for the year.
  
• Also seven of the 16 games were non-competitive.  64 of those for the year.
• Five Last Chance Misses for 66 for the year.
  

Day 277

• Penalties have come down for the Duron incident in Texas:

1. Duron banned from all further interscholastic competition.  Technically for the rest of the school year, but because he's a senior, he's done.
2. Duron was only suspended from school for three days...
3. ... but he has also been banned from all extracurricular activities for the rest of his school career.
4. The football coach has been placed on probation for one year...
5. ... and the school's athletic program for two. 

Not enough.  Duron should be EXPELLED.

I'd start the bidding at disqualification from all playoffs until a full investigation can clear the school of promoting a culture of this.  Minimum rest of the school year.  (That's for a ticky-tack three-day suspension.  When John Jay's incident happened, the two students involved were expelled for 15 weeks!)

I wouldn't even oppose a full decertification of the school out of the UIL.  

• Cuckoo clocks in Cleveland tonight.  42-all and at least one Cliffhanger already.
• Make that two.  TD+2 for Baltimore for 42-35 at 1:51.  TD for Cleveland at 1:04 for 42-42.  And now Baltimore driving to win it in the time left.
• Ballgame from 55 for 45-42 final.
• Whoops -- make that a safety on the final play madness for 47-42 -- and that COVERS Baltimore -3!!!  Ouch!!!    
• Uh oh...  Oh no...  Keyontae Jackson of the Florida Gators has been placed in a medically-induced coma.