A Way Too Early Look At The NFL Playoff Picture. Michigan's March To A National Title. An NBA Western Conference Log Jam. Remembering A Maple Leaf Legend. A Cool MLB Hot Stove. World Cup's Second Week
You may be full of Thanksgiving leftovers, but there's plenty of sports talk to feed the casual or passionate sports fan as I'm back on the scene to dissect it all. On deck:
(3:20) It wasn't a sexy Sunday slate in the NFL, but there were some compelling games (i.e. BAL-JAX, ATL-WSH, LAC-ARZ, LV-SEA that came down to the wire to impact the AFC & NFC playoff picture. I'll get into my winner (i.e. Cincinnati) and loser (i.e. Tampa Bay) of the week. I'll get into the early positioning in both conferences as we start to take a look at how the postseason may shape up with six more weeks to go.
(29:13) Michigan showed their rival Ohio State for the second year in a row, who is the boss of the Big Ten as they ran roughshod over the Buckeyes. Throw in a surprising loss to LSU which kicked them out of the running for the college football playoff. The four teams that would make it if the season ended today are Georgia, Michigan, TCU & USC. Does Ohio State still have a shot to sneak in? More importantly, is this the year for the Wolverines to make some noise to upend the defending champs in the Bulldogs?
(40:53) After sharing some brief thoughts on Ben Simmons's return to Philadelphia, the Western Conference in the NBA has become a log jam with the top eleven teams separated by only four games. That's right! Then there are the Lakers, starting to creep up in the West standings as they've won five of six (even with Patrick Beverley's inexplicable cheap shot which led to a three game suspension. And Russell Westbrook taking a shot by the Spurs Zach Collins). I'll go through what's going on in the Association as we're just about a quarter into the season.
(49:07) Hockey mourned the passing of Maple Leaf great, defenseman Borje Salming as he passed away at the age of 71. On the ice, things have been status quo (the Bruins and Devils continue to dominate). Is John Tortorella on the hot seat in Philadelphia? The Kraken have improved in their second year. And the Blues have turned their season around after losing eight in a row a few weeks back.
(53:56) All is quiet on the MLB Hot Stove front. There have been a couple of signings (Carlos Santana to PIT, Mike Clevinger to CWS) a trade (Angels acquire Hunter Renfroe from Milwaukee). As for the top free agents, including Aaron Judge, despite some rumors coming out of San Francisco about their meeting being positive, to me, it's much ado about nothing.
(58:21) There were a few upsets this past week in the World Cup (Argentina, Germany and Belgium lost), but the USA has a huge game vs. Iran to see if they can advance in the tournament as I keep you abreast of what's going on in Qatar as week two commences.
Please subscribe, leave a rating and post a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spreaker, Stitcher, Spotify, Luminary, Amazon Music and iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you'd like to contribute to the production of the podcast, please visit my Patreon page at: www.patreon.com/TheJAYREELZPodcast
Many thanks for all of your love and support.
Intro/outro music by Cyklonus.