On Friday night, the St. Peters Peacocks became the first ever 15th seed to advance to the elite 8 in the Men’s NCAA March Madness Tournament. Out of all the tournaments that have been played throughout the years and turn of the century, it took a 15th seed this long to get this far. In 2018 we saw UMBC, a number 16 seed, win their first tournament game in the history of the March Madness Tournament versus University of Virginia. Many thought a 16th seed would never be able to win as the odds were so much stacked against them. I had never even heard of UMBC, which stands for University of Maryland Baltimore County. It sounds like the local DMV or local government offices. Have you ever heard of St. Peter’s until this year? Maybe a local grammar school. Every year this tournament has schools I have to look up. St. Peter’s is the definition of a Cinderella team in this tournament. The underdog Peacocks have taken out bigger Universities as they started with the University of Kentucky, a number two seed, in the very first round. Beating that slime-bag head coach, John Calipari, who would be a used car salesmen or selling snake oil out the trunk of his car if not coaching hoops. Then the Peacocks took out number 7, Murray State, to move into the Sweet 16. Friday night Daryl Banks III led all Peacocks in scoring as St. Peter’s would knock off the final big ten team in the tournament beating Purdue, a number 3 seed, with a score of 67-64 in a classic game.

St. Peters is located in the state of New Jersey. Across the Hudson River from the University is lower Manhattan, New York. St. Peter’s is a commuter college with religious aspects of the Jesuits. St. Peter’s is a school that has been on the fringes of Division 1 sports for years. Last time St. Peter’s made the NCAA tournament in March, was in 2011. This is the Peacocks’ 4th tournament appearance. Their first was in 1991, then 1995, 2011, and this year. The Peacocks have played in the consolation tournament, the NIT, 12 times. This season the Peacocks went 22-11 which was good enough to earn the 15th seed in the tournament. It’s been a great year as you go back to the Peacocks home opener that only had 434 fans show up in their own building, which they call Run Baby Run Arena, to see them play LIU. It did not look like that in Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia where many Peacocks fans made the trip to see history unveil by the thousands.

Last night, Duke advanced to the final four for the millionth time as we’ve been there done that. Before that, another powerhouse school, Villanova, would prevail over Houston. Can St. Peter’s knock off another god of the basketball hardwood floors in North Carolina who’s standing in their way for the final four? Then the other game features University of Miami and University of Kansas. You suddenly sense how this will all play out as North Carolina will end St. Peter’s magnificent run. Then the Jayhawks led by Billy Selfish will once again find a way to the final 4. The networks will want North Carolina versus Duke, an instant hard on for them. Since it is Mike Krzyzewski’s last season coaching the Tar Heels, it spoiled his last home game earlier this month. The story lines are just too much too pass up with old rivalries meeting in the final 4. Then Villanova versus Kansas, the other match up, would set everything back to the norm in these March Madness tournaments that had a bracket-buster team like St. Peter’s disrupt everything except at the very end.

If St. Peter’s Peacocks do prevail over North Carolina, this will be one of the best stories in sports history. Even though they have not won the entire thing, the final 4 would be even a greater story line. It would have that feel like USA beating the Russians in the early 1980’s Olympics in Ice Hockey. Perhaps you could compare St. Peter’s to Ukraine hanging in there versus one of the world’s greatest militaries in Russia in that horrific conflict. Imagine the school budgets St. Peter’s has in their basketball program over all these other schools. St. Peter’s has some volunteers on their coaching staff. The leaky roofs that can’t be fixed immediately that have flooded the gymnasium or the coaches’ offices. The gym is used for bake sales and other things beside the basketball team having full reign. St. Peter’s visiting locker room is a joke. I remember playing basketball in grammar school in an old old bomb shelter, and that is what I picture. Schools like St. Peter’s getting to the Elite 8 is a magic season. Head Coach for St. Peter’s, Shaheen Holloway, building a nice team with an inspired defense and playing with the eye of the tiger. You like to see Coach Holloway and the Peacocks advance now because there is no tomorrow as all the other schools in the nation are watching. They want to poach Holloway away from the Peacocks like the vultures they are when this story book ends. Then it would be like thieves leaving a stolen car in the middle of nowhere on blocks. They’d be just skeletons of their former self. Look at Loyola of Chicago. They are a smaller school, Oklahoma, and they pried Porter Moser from the Ramblers last season. Moser coached Loyola to the final 4 in 2018 and his team knocked out number one seed University of Illinois last season. Despite Moser taking his coaching talents to a new level in the basketball world, Loyola did make the tournament this year without him. What about guys like Richard Rinaldi? The former St. Peter’s alum and player for the Peacocks went on to the NBA to play for the Baltimore Bullets and New Jersey Nets. He is watching & hoping to see his ole stomping grounds prevail against all the odds. It’s now or never for St. Peter’s. You would think a small school if they could just ride it out playing red hot sizzling basketball, would win the entire thing at some point. I hope the Peacocks do it. The ending could be it was a great try and great season just falling short. Then we will all wait until that next magical ride from yet another small school we never heard of. If the Cubs can win the World Series in 2016, why not St. Peters? It is in the back of my mind. Cross your fingers and toes. I’ve had enough of these big monopoly schools winning the entire thing every single year. It’s the Peacocks turn. I believe in miracles.

The Indianapolis Colts’ search for their Spock behind center has them turning over every stone in the entire league. Their horrible ending of a regular season taking a loss to the bottom of the barrel of a team called the Jacksonville Jaguars, have set things in motion for Indianapolis. The Colts should have been in the playoffs, but they lost their final two games of the season. One more win & they would have been in. The Colts scapegoat was Carson Wentz as they dealt him to the Washington Commanders. The Colts brass had balls to call up division rival Houston Texans to see what the asking price on Deshaun Watson was. I think we know what Houston said as the phone disconnected without saying goodbye. The Colts found a stone to overturn with another team that was going hot and heavy in their pursuit of Deshaun Watson, the Atlanta Falcons. The Colts get Matt Ryan an upgrade at the quarterback position while the Falcons are left scratching their heads over what happened.

Matt Ryan will be 37 years old in the month of May, but is still a bonafide starter in the NFL. Last year Matt Ryan went 7-10 as the starter of the Falcons while completing 67 % of his passes for 3,968 yards with 20 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. It was a season when Ryan saw the Falcons trade his favorite guy, Julio Jones, to Tennessee and then his other favorite receiver, Calvin Ridley, had personal issues. Ridley had to step away from the game and then turned to gambling as he bet on football. Ryan, nicknamed Matty Ice, plays the game of football cool, calm, and collected in all situations, & was former MVP of the league and 4 time Pro-bowler. Ryan led the Falcons to a Superbowl only to see the 28-3 lead at halftime evaporate quickly as Tom Brady and the Patriots had a historical comeback win in that one. Ryan was the 3rd overall pick in 2008. He played 14 seasons in Hot Atlanta & had a regular season record of 120-102 while in post-season he had a 4-6 record. Ryan in a Falcon uniform passed for 59,735 yards with 367 touchdowns and 120 interceptions. In the end, the Falcons only get a 2022 3rd round pick from the Colts for Matt Ryan and end up paying 40.5 in dead money from his contract that will be on the team’s salary cap.

The Falcons have been in salary cap hell the last few seasons. Most of the money the Falcons had invested was on the offensive side of the ball. The defense was like a turnstile as opposing offenses had their way with those units like whores in a whorehouse giving out free stuff. Not sure what the Falcons had planned if they did get a trade done with the Houston Texans to bring Deshaun Watson to Atlanta. Paying Watson 230 guaranteed money would mean every player on the Falcons roster would have had to rework their contracts. I think when the Falcons could not get the deal done to go back to their old reliable gal as was not in the cards, Matt Ryan had to go. Seattle Seahawks show some interest in Matt Ryan, but their offer was not revealed. Now the Falcons brought in veteran Marcus Mariota, the former Titan who been running some wild cat formations the last few seasons in Vegas. Mariota probably just bridges the gap behind center for now as the Falcons might find their next Matty Ice in the upcoming NFL draft. The Falcons should have hit the reset button years ago. They would have gotten more than a 3rd round pick for the face of their franchise.

Meanwhile the Colts have been trying to find the solution for years at the quarterback position. Things unraveled when Andrew Luck called it a career early and stepped away from the game years ago. The Colts had tried Jacoby Brissett which started off good but fizzled quickly. Then the Colts turned to Phillip Rivers in free agency. Rivers would only play one season as he guided the Colts to the playoffs and loss in first round to Buffalo. Rivers was needed at home to drive the Partridge family bus with all the kids he has assembled over the years. Last season the Colts thought they had their answer at quarterback, trading for Carson Wentz from the Eagles as that experiment went bad at the end of regular season. Colts would have Matt Ryan for two seasons at 54 million total. About the same type of money they would have paid Wentz. Colts have a solid team in place. Jonathan Taylor emerged as one of the best running backs in the league last year. The Colts defense is one of the top ten units in the game. I think this is a great trade for the Colts. The Colts can’t suddenly go Falcon like. The Colts lost some offensive linemen to retirement and free agency. Colts need to solidify the line even though Ryan has been mainly healthy his entire career, but to keep him protected while making holes for Taylor. Colts need to add some more play-makers in the receiving cores for Ryan. Maybe Julio Jones, they may get him on the cheap side as the Titans cut ties with one of the best receivers in the league until last season. . The AFC is a loaded conference of power houses and this move by the Colts bringing in Ryan, I have them at the top of the AFC South. Ryan is better than the Ryan in Tennessee. Ryan Tannehill relies heavily on the play action pass in Tennessee. Matt Ryan can win games with his arm alone if needed. Even with Ryan in the middle of his 30’s, he still has plenty in the gasoline tank to take the Colts, an established team, to the playoffs. This is a move that gives the Colts two years with their team’s window open to do something in the playoffs. Let’s not forget the tough schedule the Colts started off with last season. They lost some close games to very good teams and dug themselves a hole early on in the standings. The Colts had a streak towards the end of the season when they looked like one of the scariest teams to play if they made it to the post-season. Then the bottom of the car fell out for the Colts as their roll came to a sudden halt.

The city of Cleveland just added another questionable character to their sports landscape. If you don’t like your mother, girlfriend, or your wife, you may be excited about what the Dawg pond added behind center. The Cleveland Browns make a block-buster deal with the Houston Texans acquiring Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans. The Browns will give up up three number one draft picks to get a guy who has 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault misconduct. The Browns are giving up on one of their own guys they drafted, Baker Mayfield who is the face of Cleveland football. Mayfield turned around a very bad Browns franchise that had a parade for a perfect season after not winning one game in the 2018 season. Mayfield guided the Browns to a playoff win over the archrival Steelers in 2021. This is the same town that welcomed King Lebron James back with open arms after the DECISION when he left the Cavaliers to take his talents to South Beach. Let’s not forget the rise of the dirt bag from Indians baseball, Trevor Bauer. Bauer who has criminal minds types of ideas in the bedroom.

Cleveland is a great sports town. It’s a deprived sports town. Many years of losing teams. Cleveland is a hard working town that deserves better. When your team in one of the 4 major sports in your town wins a championship, you would love to be proud of the collection of teammates that came together to work like a well-oiled machine to get the job done. When one of your owners sneaks your football team out of town in the wee hours of the night like a cat burglar fleeing the Police with the loot. Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore, who then became the Ravens. Ravens would go on, not very long after the move, to win a Superbowl. Cleveland would get the Browns back as an expansion team would play meaningless football for decades with deadbeat quarterbacks in and out behind center. Then Lebron James wins his first championship of his career with the Miami Heat in a plot that would blacken the NBA. The sinister ways of assembling the big three in the starting 5 by fleecing other teams. Then Indians at the Cubs in the World Series in 2016, a championship involving two teams with the longest drought of not winning it all. Indians would blow a 3 games to 1 lead in the best of seven series.

Cavalier fans would burn their Lebron James jerseys after his hour long special when he made his decision to head to the Miami Heat. King James would then come back to the Cavaliers after his run in Miami. The Cavaliers would win their first ever NBA Championship versus the Golden State Warriors in 2016. Then King James would once again bolt Cleveland for greener pastures. James would go one and win a championship in LA for the Lakers. Was it worth winning one championship with having to deal with Lebron James?. Do you forgive and forget because the King helped your city capture a championship in something after all the Browns and the Indians have not done anything good for the city of Cleveland when it comes to championships. Indians did lose in a few World Series chances.The Indians are not even called the Indians any more. At least those Indians had good guys like Jim Thome, Corey Kluber, Sandy Alomar Jr., and Jose Ramirez. These guys offset bad personality guys like the Indians had in Trevor Bauer, Alert Belle, Manny Ramirez and Roberto Alomar. The Indians did deal Trevor Bauer at the right time which could be a dark cloud right now as they are changing the team name to Guardians.

Baker Mayfield was drafted by the Browns in 2018. Cleveland developed Mayfield as a player and he became the face of the franchise. Mayfield is a well-liked guy in the locker room and has a face with a winning personality that can sell you insurance with his awesome advertisements. Mayfield played last season with many nagging injuries as he tried his best to win games and get back to the playoffs. Deshaun Watson is plain & simple the better quarterback as the Browns will be upgrading. The Browns will be paying a dear price for this devil in draft capital that could hurt putting talent around Watson. Then paying Watson 5 years of guaranteed money worth 230 million as an extension. I guess someone has to pay off all the girls he has fondled into going away. Free agents could be tricky for the Browns to add since you have to pay Watson all this money to come to Cleveland, a team he turned down once before this deal even came back to the Browns brass to get done. This will not be the first time the Browns have signed a dog. Odell Beckham Jr. comes to mind. Kareem Hunt is on the roster after knocking out a woman in a hotel hallway a few years back after getting cut by the Chiefs. Watson may be the ultimate DAWG the team signed. This trade has mixed feelings in Cleveland. Many women fans in Cleveland are upset bringing this kind of guy to their city. Some Browns fans are jumping ship and switching their allegiances to the Bills Mafia. The league is still investigating Watson. Watson will not face Criminal charges which is why teams were suddenly interested in his services. Once again Cleveland’s landscape of sports will be rooting for a bad dude. If Watson does the unthinkable, get the Browns to the Superbowl and wins it, is everything OK then? Everything is forgiven. Browns have never even made it to the Superbowl. I know every team has some questionable personalities but the main guy on the squad? It’s just sickening. What do you say to the women in your life supporting a toxic cat like Deshaun Watson? If your closet has a James jersey, a Bauer Jersey, & now a Watson jersey… what does that say about your thought process?

The Buffalo Bills land a premiere pass rusher in free agency. It’s Miller time for the Bills Mafia as in Von Miller. I know Von Miller did not invent the strip sack, but he sure has mastered it. Miller, 32 years old, signs a six year deal to come to Buffalo at a hefty price of 120 million. Miller has plenty of tread left on the tires as the lifetime Bronco was traded during the last season to the LA Rams. Miller responded with 31 tackles and 5 sacks in 8 games of regular season in LA. In the playoffs, Miller played at an even higher level as he had 4 sacks in 4 games & one of them was Bills old nemesis Tom Brady. Last time the Bills had this kind of presence, a one man wrecking machine, you’d have to go back to the 1990’s with Buffalo legend Bruce Smith.

The last time the Buffalo Bills had a guy on their defense that had double digits in sacks in one season, was in 2016 with Lorenzo Alexander. Sean McDermott’s defenses over the last few years have been stout and last season was one of the top units in the league. Bills were also able to get pressure on the quarterbacks but bringing them down was a different story. In the playoffs during the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, how many times did Patrick Mahomes look like a magician in the pocket collapsing from all directions and just vanish? Then you see Mahomes running down the field getting chunks of yards. When the Bills were able to be the King of the AFC in the 1990’s, they had Bruce Smith who destroyed quarterbacks. Those great 1990 Bills teams that went to 4 straight Superbowls. Smith had 19 sacks in the 1990 season. In 1992 and ’93 Smith had racked up 14 sacks each of those seasons. We all know Bruce Smith is the sack king with 200 quarterback heads in 279 NFL games. Smith had 171 in a Buffalo uniform.

Von Miller has played in 150 games in ten regular seasons in the NFL mostly with the Broncos until last season after he was traded to the Rams. In 15 games last season Miller had 9.5 sacks and has 115.5 to his credit during regular season play. In 2016 Miller was MVP of Superbowl 50 where he exposed Cam Newton for how soft he was when Broncos beat the Panthers. Miller now has two Superbowl rings with two different teams, his second being a rental for the Rams. Can Miller get the Bills one? Last two seasons Bills playoffs hopes have fallen to the Kansas City Chiefs. Look at how the Bengals were able to when they brought Patrick Mahomes down to the turf in the AFC Championship game. Advance to the Superbowl. This is a move by the Bills not only to get through the AFC but to win it. The Bills have a talented roster up and down on both sides of the ball. Offense has Josh Allen & now the defense has its name… Miller. The Bills failed to win four straight Superbowls with Jim Kelly, a Hall of Fame quarterback and the King of sacks, another Hall of Famer in Bruce Smith. Josh Allen is a different animal than Jim Kelly and has not gotten the team there yet. It took Kelly a few seasons to get the Bills to their first Superbowl. Bruce Smith obviously went 0-4 in all those Superbowls. Von Miller is two for two in the Superbowls when he is on the field. If the Bills can bring back Jerry Hughes somehow, I would feel even that much better. Bills mafia I bet this St. Patrick’s day are going to enjoying Miller Time in more ways than one.

Who is the scapegoat of the last Bears regime collapse? Head coach Matt Nagy, General Manager Ryan Pace, quarterback Mitch Trubisky, or kicker Cody Parky? If the Chicago Bears had a do-over in the 2017 NFL draft and knew what they know now, how do you think they’d rank the top three quarterbacks in the war room? Pretty easy to put Patrick Mahomes at number 1. He has been to two Superbowls and won one. Deshaun Watson is number two even though he is hands on when it comes to massage therapists. Then the Bears selection from back then, Mitch Trubisky. Back then not knowing what you were getting yourself into you have to go Watson, Mahomes, & then Trubisky from just college experience. After one season in Buffalo backing up Josh Allen, the Bills coaching staff had nothing but great things to say about Trubisky. Trubisky showed you what he learned in pre-season when he came back to Chicago in a Bills uniform. Rumors had it that Trubisky would be sought out by a few teams this off-season. On day one of the free agency period in the NFL, the Steelers signed Trubisky to a two year deal. Former Bears head coach Matt Nagy has crawled back to Andy Reid’s staff of the Chiefs. The Bears have started their own tear down of the former Matt Nagy/Ryan Pace stench. If Trubisky is the starting quarterback in Pittsburgh, who will suddenly have egg on their face? Trubisky, former General Manager Ryan Pace or Matt Nagy?

Mitch Trubisky will make 14.2 Million dollars and he also can earn incentives that totals up to 26.2 Million over two years. Steelers could draft a quarterback; that is not out of the question. With Big Ben Roethlisberger calling it a career and hanging up the spike,s the Steelers have assembled a group of hodgepodge guys behind center. Not sure if you cut off limbs, removed brain cells, and tried to make one superior work of art behind center with these guys, it might not improve the quarterback room. Mason Rudolf is the guy that got his helmet ripped off his head years ago as Browns defensive line-man Myles Garret used it as a weapon to hit the Steelers Quarterback in the head. Rudolf gives the Steelers the most experience before they signed Trubisky. Rudolf in 17 games in the NFL has a record of 5-4-1at the age of 26 years old. He has completed 61.5 % of his passes for 2,366 yards while throwing 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. At the age of 27, Joshua Dobbs has only played in six games & completed 58.8 % of his passes for a whopping 45 yards with 1 interception and no starts. Then at 24 years old, Dwayne Haskins should be playing in the XFL or the USFL because in 16 games he has 3-10 record as he completed 60.1% of his passes for 12 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions. Haskins has broken Covid protocols with teams and has taken selfies with fans when the game is not quite over. We know Big Ben Roethlisberger’s arm looked like it was falling off and just a statue behind center waiting to crumble on any given Sunday. Trubisky with these guys assembled around him should win the starting job in Pittsburgh.

When players leave Chicago, in all sports, they seem to get better outside the Windy City. Ryan Pace has not drafted well in the first two rounds. When the draft picks go bad, then the Bears cut ties with them and other teams somehow find the best out of these guys. Defensive lineman Leonard Floyd now has a Superbowl ring playing for the Rams with a contract extension. Mitch Trubisky made the pro bowl in Matt Nagy’s first year in Chicago. Trubisky in 2018 threw 24 touchdown passes with 12 interceptions and led the Bears to the playoffs where the Eagles would prevail as the double doink off the goal post off Cody Parky’s leg sent Chicago home. The next season Matt Nagy wants to open up his play book. This is when Mitch Trubisky struggled. Trubisky would end up being benched by Nick Foles. Foles was the quarterback for the Eagles that beat the Bears in 2018 in that first round of the playoffs. Then came Andy Dalton as it seemed Nagy’s playbook after the first page was hot garbage. It seemed like Matt Nagy never wanted Trubisky and every replacement did not work out. When Nagy eventually then went back to Trubisky’s strengths, the Bears went on a roll and found the back door of the playoffs in the 2020 season. The league expanded the post-season that year. You can say Trubisky saved Nagy’s job and gave him another year of life only to ultimately fail and finally be shown the door of Halas Hall.

Mitch Trubisky has the most experience right now on the Steelers roster. Trubisky is 29-21 as a starter as he has completed 64.1% of his passes and has passed for 10,652 yards while tossing 64 touchdown passes with 38 interceptions. I guarantee the Steelers organization has been ten times smarter than the Bears organization, which they run worse than a lemonade stand. Trubisky will have a better offensive line than he had in Chicago. In preseason versus the Bears, for Trubisky the Bills had him set up not to fail with that line. Plus the Steelers have something called playmakers on their team. Bears had a lack of them. Still do. In the grand scheme of everything, watch the Steelers run an offense tailored to Trubisky strengths. Watch how Trubisky will show his improvement from watching Josh Allen for one season in Buffalo. Then Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daball last season, who worked with Trubisky and helped Josh Allen take the next step in his career now with the Giants as their head coach. That relationship with Daboll has to help. Steelers had a great defense the last two seasons. All these things in play mean the ultimate revenge of the Biscuit will go down in Steel City. Trubisky will never be better than Patrick Mahomes or even the Bill Cosby of the NFL, Deshaun Watson. Trubisky got a raw deal in Chicago. Ryan Pace’s, the GM, downfall might be meeting Matt Nagy in the first place. The scapegoat as in this part of Chicago Bear history who we blame, will be that weasel Matt Nagy. Nagy will hide behind the wide load in Kansas City and “fetch the man another cheeseburger” will be his present playbook. Where is the closest place to get the hottest burger. The man the Bills called a marry your daughter type of guy & a good dude should get the last laugh, as in Mr. Trubisky. Maybe Trubisky can knock off the Chiefs in post-season while Nagy is looking through his coupons’ playbook for the mega free fry with the number two. If Trubisky suddenly takes off in Pittsburgh, Matt Nagy will never get a head coaching job in this league. Where are the torches and pitchforks Bears fans?

Remember back in 2018 when the Bears landed Khalil Mack from the then Oakland Raiders. The Bears defense in 2018 resembled some of those great defenses they had in the past like in 2006 and I will dare to say even the ’85 Bears with the addition of Mack. The move by then General Manager Ryan Pace looked like a golden move at the time, a game changer. The Raiders at the time welcomed back Jon Gruden as their head coach on a ten year deal. Khalil Mack wanted a contract extension. Gruden’s name would be dragged through the mud by agreeing to deal Mack to Chicago. Gruden wanted draft capital as he knew his roster had too many holes. Bears gave Mack a six year 141 Million dollar extension and 90 of that was guaranteed. Bears would have a magic year but lose to the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs by the double doink of the field goal kicked by Cody Parky trying to end the game to put Chicago into the second round of the playoffs. The Bears had a very good defense that post-season which could have carried them to the Superbowl if they did win that game. We never will know as the doink is still ringing in the ears of many Bears fans. After that the Bears would completely fall apart as they did make the playoffs in 2020 by sneaking in the back door. Gruden’s Raiders team would make the playoffs without him in Vegas. Now the Bears are the one unloading Mack, and the Chargers have that Ryan Pace feeling like Mack is the piece they need to get them over the hump.

The Bears have a new Sheriff in town at the General Manager position. From the Kansas City Chiefs organization, Ryan Poles is guy who’s not messing around. The Bears roster is riddled with holes like a Russian tank shot up by the Ukrainian Army. The fired Ryan Pace who used his draft picks like Monopoly money, or maybe toilet paper is a better comparison. Pace at the time gave the Raiders a 2019 first and 6th round draft pick for Khalil Mack. As well as another 1st round pick in 2020 with a 3rd rounder. Bears would get a 2nd round pick back with a conditional 7th rounder. That is quite the large draft capital on one guy who lasted 4 seasons in Chicago. Bears do not have a first round draft pick in 2022 because they used that to get Justin Fields last year. The new Ryan, Ryan Poles has his work cut out for him. Poles will get two draft picks back from the LA Chargers for Mack’s services. Bears will get the Chargers second round pick this season’s draft and a sixth round pick in 2023. The best part of the deal is the Bears will clear the rest of Mack’s contract off the books which is 84.9 Million over the next three seasons. Bears can add a lot of pieces with that kind of money now available. It shows you how the Bears do Math. The team gave up a boat load to bring Mack to Chicago. Then they sell off the cow for a can of baked beans.

Khalil Mack was 27 years old when he arrived in Chicago. Mack played in 53 games over his 4 seasons as a Midway Monster racking up 36 sacks. Mack is one of the best in the league at the strip sack of the quarterback as he forced 14 fumbles in a Bears uniform. Mack, one of the best edge rushers in the league, had 52 hits with 35 tackles for loss in 53 games in Chicago. Add two interceptions as well to the mix. Last year Mack only played in seven games for the Bears as he had a season-ending injury. In those 7 games, Mack had six sacks with 15 solo tackles. In 8 seasons Mack has played in 117 games in the NFL playing four years with both the Raiders and Bears out of Buffalo University. He has registered 76.5 sacks so far in his career.

At the age of 31 years old, pairing Khalil Mack up with Joey Bosa another star edge rusher in the league, gives LA a scary tandem at the bookends of the defensive line. In the AFC West with all the great quarterbacks in place, Chargers could have a scary front seven along with their star quarterback Justin Herbert and a talented offense. Can they be the team to peak at the right time like the 2018 Bears? Mack would reunite with his former coach Brandon Staley, who is the Chargers head coach. Chargers would not give up a lot for Mack’s services, but they will have to pay him. Both Mack and Bosa are very talented edge rushers but can they stay on the field together for the long haul? Both pass rushers have missed games in their careers. Will Mack be the same player when he returns from last season’s foot injury that required surgery? Chargers can cut Mack in 2023 if this trade does not work out and save 16.9 Million off the cap. If Chargers wait until 2024, they save 20.3 Million off the cap if they cut him. Bosa is probably due for an extension soon as well. Chargers may be eyeballing next season only with this move landing Mack from Chicago as it only costed them a two picks.

For the Chicago Bears, this is typical stuff we see happen all the time. I remember drinking the Kool-Aid when the Bears made the big trade that year to land Khalil Mack. After seeing Mack play in the first game of the 2018 season versus the Packers going after Aaron Rodgers even though the team lost, I did not think about those first round picks being given up. I did not see that offensive guru, the Bears new head coach Matt Nagy, would screw up Mitch Trubisky. Then Ryan Pace throwing away picks. Then any of Ryan Pace’s first or second round picks turning into busts for the Bears, but other teams found the diamond in the ruff with some of these guys. It was a collection of dumb moves, bad deals, and horrible coaching that put the Bears into this position today. Maybe Khalil Mack is just a great player that plays for bad teams. We will see if the Chargers do well and for how long? The new GM for the Bears, Ryan Poles, should not stop dealing. I would get rid of all these big money guys, collect draft capital to use them wisely, and construct a nice team around some of the core younger guys on the roster. Watching Mack play four seasons with Chicago was awesome. Maybe Roquan Smith will be that next Bears stud. At the end, the Mack ran out of diesel & so did the Bears.

When the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Carson Wentz in the first round in 2016, I thought for sure they had acquired a stud quarterback that would be the team’s franchise leader for at least ten seasons. Loved that Wentz was from a smaller university out there in the sticks. One from states where the university and local high school football team are the entire weekend for the local folks. Look at Josh Allen out of University of Wyoming, who checks all the boxes for a quarterback coming from a smaller university. Wentz has shown flashes of an elite quarterback in the NFL. Wentz after six seasons now in the NFL still has shown a lot of erratic play. Everyone will remember his last game. Colts needed a win versus the Jaguars to make it into the post-season in the final week of the season. Wentz had his worst game of the season with a costly interception taking on so many sacks and his accuracy was totally off. The Jaguars game will be Wentz’s last game in a Colts uniform as he has been dealt to the Washington Commanders after only lasting one season in Indianapolis.

When it comes to the Washington Football team, it is not an ideal place to play quarterback. They are the team that took a few seasons to decide on a new name after being forced to abandon the Redskins, and now are the Commanders under which they will debut this 2022 season. The Washington franchise is in disarray due to just a bad ownership, and a soap opera going down in the front office and behind the scenes which even the league has been investigating.

The Commanders had a deal in place with Seattle for Russell Wilson. Wilson declined the trade and accepted the one with him going to Denver. Carson Wentz coming to Washington is definitely not the Commanders’ first choice. The Commanders want an upgrade on the quarterback position over Taylor Heinicke who went 7-8 last season passing for 3,419 yards while throwing 20 touchdown passes with 15 interceptions. Washington has had 32 different starting quarterbacks since winning that Superbowl in 1991. In the past three seasons, Washington has marched 8 of those 32 quarterbacks behind center. Wentz, at 29 years old, is an upgrade over Heinicke. Can Wentz be the guy for Washington for years to come?

In February of 2021, the Eagles sent Carson Wentz to Indianapolis for a 3rd round pick in 2021 and a second round pick that converts into a first rounder this upcoming draft. Colts unloading Wentz to Washington means they will receive in 2022 a 3rd round draft pick. Both Indianapolis and Washington will switch second round picks so the Colts will be now picking 5 spots ahead of the Commanders. Then the Colts get the Commanders’ 2023 third round pick that can turn into a second rounder if Wentz takes 70% of the snaps in 2022. Colts will need a quarterback once again for this season as they will have Wentz off the pay roll so they could swing a deal for another guy that’s available in free agency or in a trade. Head Coach of the Colts, Frank Reich, apologized for backing up the idea of getting Wentz in the first place. Reich coached Wentz in Philadelphia. It leaves you scratching your eyeballs out as the quarterback position has been a revolving door in Indianapolis since Andrew Luck retired. Jacoby Brissett showed why he can’t be a full time starter. Phillip Rivers lasted only one season as he got the Colts into the playoffs, but age caught up to him. Colts have a nice roster set up, but can’t get the most important position figured out on the field.

In 2017 in year two of Carson Wentz for the Eagles, he was in cruise control as he was 11-2 as the starter and threw 33 touchdown passes with only 7 interceptions. Then Wentz went down with a season-ending injury. We all know what back-up Nick Foles did for the Eagles after that. Let’s throw Foles in the mix for the Colts starter this season as Frank Reich has coached him to. Wentz would never be the same after the injury as he was up and down the next few seasons. Wentz would never again get to the 30 plateau in TD passes. Eventually Eagles would select Jalen Hurts in the draft and he would be the guy replacing Wentz. Eagles might replace Hurts this off-season. Last season, Wentz was 9-8 as a starter for the Colts as he threw for 3,563 yards with 27 touchdown passes and once again lucky seven in interceptions. It’s the last two games for Wentz that would doom him from returning to Indianapolis. Colts needed one win to make the post-season and losing to the Jaguars is a kick in the head. Colts beat teams like the Bills, Patriots, and the 49ers all by double digit points, and those were playoff teams. At one point towards the end of the season, Colts looked like a scary team if they made the post-season. Nobody wanted to see them as Jonathan Taylor was gashing teams for yards. For both teams I’m curious to see if the Commanders or the Colts will solve their quarterback issues this season. The Commanders have at least Taylor Heinicke who they can use once again if things don’t work out. Colts have two inexperienced guys on their roster right now behind center. Wentz will have plenty of motivation in his play this season, especially after being dealt again. Playing the Eagles twice may elevate Wentz’s quarterback play. For Wentz, was losing to the Jaguars last season in the season finale worse than now being the starter in Washington? Talk about being at the level of bottom bottom of the barrel and perhaps lower in life on your craft.

The Denver Broncos shot the starting pistol to get the off-season games started at the musical chair quarterback competition. Last off-season in a Mega-deal between the Lions and the Rams, we saw Matthew Stafford go to LA while Jared Goff headed to Detroit. We all know what Stafford did for the Rams a few weeks back. Russell Wilson gets his wish as he is out of the Emerald City and will be headed to Denver. Talk about circling the wagons as Wilson was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the MLB draft. Did John Elway finally find his answer at the quarterback position that goes all the way back to when Peyton Manning walked away from the game after he helped the Broncos win the Superbowl in 2016? The Seahawks get a boat load from Denver in return for Wilson. The question is whether the Seahawks are rebuilding or retooling?

How long will Head Coach Pete Carol stay in Seattle? Will Carol once again lead the Seahawks back to the playoffs and Superbowl like he did when he arrived in the Pacific Northwest? Seahawks could quickly turn things around if their plan is not to blow up everything. Seattle gets a slew of top draft picks from Denver that include the 2022 1st rounder 9th overall selection. Possible quarterback? Seahawks also get Denver’s 2022 second round pick, the 40th overall along with a fifth rounder in the up and coming draft in April. Then Seattle will get another first rounder from Denver in 2023 along with another second round pick. Plus Seattle gets a starting Defensive lineman in Shelby Harris who was a locker room leader for the Broncos and had six sacks last season. Seattle also get a pretty good tight end in Noah Fant who caught 68 balls for 670 yards with 4 touchdown grabs. Can Pete Carol and his staff fix 25 year old Drew Lock? Lock is coming to Seattle as well. Lock has played in 3 seasons in the NFL has an 8-13 record as a starter throwing 25 touch down passes in 24 games. Lock’s interceptions are a problem as he has thrown 20 of those. If Seattle can address their offensive line and either draft a young guy or fix Lock, remember the Seahawks have a pair of top notch Receivers on their team in Tyler Lockett and a beast in DK Metcalf. Adding Fant to the mix at the tight end position, they have an aerial game that just needs a launcher to hit their targets.

Russell Wilson should have two Superbowls to his credit. Many would say if the Seahawks in 2015 would have ran Marshawn Lynch at the goal line with under a minute left versus the Patriots, they would have won that Superbowl. Wilson in ten seasons with Seattle has top of the line quarterback numbers. Wilson in 158 games behind center for the Seahawks has a record of 104-53-1 which is 51 games over the 500 mark. Wilson completes 65.5% of his passes and has thrown for 37,059 yards with 292 touchdown passes with only 87 interceptions. Wilson has engineered 24 career comebacks with 32 game winning drives. Broncos want to be involved post-season, and Wilson is the key master. In ten seasons, Wilson has gotten the Seahawks into the post-season 8 times. Wilson has a 9-7 record as a starter in the playoffs during which he has thrown another 25 touchdown passes and only 12 interceptions.

In the AFC West, the division is loaded with star-studded quarterbacks: the Raiders’ Derek Carr, Justin Herbert of the Chargers and Super Chief Patrick Mahomes. If the Broncos are going to make the playoffs, they had to move on from guys like Teddy Bridgewater, Drew Lock and the rest of the castaways that John Elway thought were a good idea at the time. With Russell Wilson, Broncos get a top tier quarterback in the league at 33 years old. Wilson, a duel threat quarterback, can run if needed. Broncos going down the same slippery road the Rams did last season in Superbowl or bust after giving up the future to land Wilson. If the Broncos can survive the AFC West, they still will have their work cut out for them in the post season with many top teams in the conference like the Bills, Titans, Ravens, Colts and Joe Burrow’s Bengals. Former Bronco head coach Vic Fangio leaves the Broncos with a pretty good defense intact. Wilson will have weapons he can throw to. Broncos have talented receivers in Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick. How will Broncos new head coach, Nathaniel Hackett, do? Hackett, former Packers Offensive Coordinator, was part of Aaron Rodgers’ successful MVP season. How will Hackett fare as the man?

This is a risky move by the Broncos giving up what they did to get Wilson. If Broncos win at least one Superbowl, it will be worth it. In a big game or big moment, most people would like Wilson’s odds. Wanting out of Seattle and for what Elway gave up to bring him to Denver, it is a big amount of pressure on the 33 year old’s shoulders. How many years left does Wilson have in the NFL as a starter? Wilson has taken a lot of sacks over the years in a Seattle uniform, especially last season. Wilson missed three games last season which was the first time in his career he missed any game action. I like the move. It does not feel like the final piece like Stafford was for the Rams. Not saying the Broncos will not strengthen their weaknesses through draft or free agents. The road to the Superbowl for the Broncos is a long dark highway drive with bumps in the road, full of pot holes, while traveling with no lights on.

With Tom Brady set to retire from the NFL, finally for the ageless wonder, it leaves a question. What will Rob Gronkowski do? Nicknamed the Gronk at the age of 32, standing at 6’6″ & weighing in at 265, he’s just a monstrosity at the tight end position. Will Gronkowski retire? If so, it would be the second time as he came out of retirement and followed Tom Brady to Tampa Bay. This which we all know resulted in another Superbowl ring for the both of them. Does the Gronk have unfinished business on the gridiron? Would winning another Superbowl suited up for someone else, be something the Gronk would be interested in? Without Tom Brady, is that sac religious on the Gronk’s part? What about going home to play in front all your family and friends? Gronkowski hales from upper state New York and he grew up watching the Buffalo Bills. What a coincidence that the Bills are interested in bringing the tight end that haunted them all these years home. Could Gronk be that one extra piece to put this Buffalo Bills team over the hump into the Superbowl and beyond?

This is really not such a far-fetched idea. Last season, Rob Gronkowski was still very productive as he played 12 games catching 55 balls for 802 yards with six touchdown grabs. The Bills starting tight end last year, the young Dawson Knox in his 3rd season, at 25 years old has improved every season he played. Knox played in 15 games & caught 49 balls for 587 yards with 9 touchdown grabs. Not saying for the Bills to get rid of Dawson Knox. If the BIlls offense next season had both Knox and the Gronk on the field at the same time, imagine with the rest of the arsenal of weapons Josh Allen has it disposal. Bills had one of the best offenses in the league last season, so adding Gronk to the mix could make defenses shit their pants. Gronk alone is very hard to cover as he’s so big with great hands. Sometimes he takes on double teams. How many times did you see Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski play pitch and catch out there on like a Summer day, but in crunch time. Look at what Travis Kelce does for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. These guys make problems for defenses. You can’t cover them with a linebacker in a one-on-one match-up. Gronk and Kelce win these match-ups all day long. Eventually these guys just demoralize the opposing defenses.

The old saying is, “keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.” In the War on Terror for the United States Military, soldiers had decks of playing cards with them with pictures of all the terrorists. Gronkowski would not be the ACE of Spades in the deck if the Bills Mafia had such a thing. That Bin Laden card would be Tom Brady himself. Gronkowski definitely would be in the deck as the Bills passed him up in the draft, as New England picked him. Bills settled for a defensive line man who was an bust that year. Gronkowski has destroyed his childhood team over his entire career playing 16 games against the Bills catching 74 balls for 1,132 yards while scoring 12 touchdowns. That is like having Bo Jackson in the first ever Tecmo Bowl video game for Nintendo at your disposal. Can Bills players welcome a guy like Rob Gronkowski to their locker room? Remember in 2017, Tre’Davious White’s interception off Tom Brady? Gronk went haywire and speared him in the back when he was on the ground. If the Bills players can let bygones be bygones, this signing could work. Remember when the Chicago Bulls traded for Dennis Rodman? Rodman when he was with the Pistons was not riding a tandem bike with Scottie Pippen, singing my buddy. That Rodman trade resulted in three more NBA championships for the Bulls.

My biggest concern is, is Rob Gronkowski on his last legs in his football life? The Gronk took on collision in a game versus the Rams that sidelined him for the rest of that game and for weeks after, early in the 2021 season. I like the idea of the Gronk slicing and dicing his former team, the New England Patriots, twice a year, especially wearing a Bills uniform. I like the playoff experience that Gronk could provide for this Bills team. Gronk’s playoff stats alone would make you smile like the Joker if he was on your team and healthy as he caught 98 balls for 1,389 yards with 15 touchdown grabs in 22 playoff games. Gronk’s regular season stats are so productive with all the games he has missed over his career catching 621 balls for 9,286 yards and 92 touchdowns. Could the Gronk get 8 more regular season grabs in one more season to walk off with 100 in that department? With Josh Allen as your quarterback, that is very possible. Buffalo has a nice roster intact right now for another run. You definitely want to see the Bills go after their own free agents and bring them back. After that, Bills need some players on the outside of the organization that can help them hurdle the Chiefs in the AFC. These free agents are like mercenaries. Gronk’s move to help Tampa Tom the last two years makes him one of the biggest mercenaries in the galaxy in many ways.

The Klitschko brothers want to fight one more round. Both brothers are former heavyweight boxers and are not looking to step back in the ring. Their fight involves the invasion of the Ukraine by the new Hitler of modern times, Vladimir Putin and his Russian Army. The Klitschko brothers both were born in territories once upon a time ago occupied by the Soviet Union. The Klitschko brothers’ father, Wladimir Rodionovich Klitschko, was a Colonel in the Soviet Union Air force. The Klitschko brothers want nothing to do with Russia as they were able to live elsewhere to escape the tyranny of the USSR. Nicknamed Dr. Fist, the older Klitschko brother, Vitali, could throw a devastating punch in the ring. He is 50 years old and mayor of the Capital City of Ukraine, Kyiv. The younger brother, 5 years younger, is 45. Wladimir, who had the longest reign as heavyweight champion at 9 years, has enlisted in the Ukrainian Reserve Army. One more round is defending their country they call home from one of the world’s superpowers. In this fight they find themselves in that underdog role.

According to the Guinness Book of World’s Records, the Klitschko brothers have the most boxing titles held by a pair of brothers. Both brothers started their boxing careers in 1996. Vitali’s career ended in 2012. The youngest brother, Wladimir, had a career that lasted until 2017. Both were great boxers, but Wladimir was better as he held multiple belts from 2006-2015. That’s nine years. Wladimir won a gold metal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta that year. Wladimir finally lost to current heavy weight champion of the World right now, Tyson Fury. Wladimir would finish his career in the ring with an impressive 64-5 record. Remember the WWF wrestler Jesse “the Body” Ventura? He went into politics after the ring and became the 38th governor in Minnesota. Vitali retired from boxing, went into politics, and served in the Ukraine’s parliament for a few years before getting the mayor spot in 2014. Besides politics and boxing, both brothers can speak multiple languages and hold Doctorates.

You wonder why the Klitschko brothers are not big fans of Russia when they have roots in the old Soviet Union? Their father, Wladimir Rodionovich, died in 2011 from cancer. Doctors said his cancer was linked to radiation exposure due to responding to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. Vitali helped lead the 2013 Euromaiden demonstrations when Ukraine was being operated by Russian puppets of Vladimir Putin. Those Russian leaders did not want to sign to bring Ukraine into the European Union. Both former boxers, have come out and said this is a senseless war. The Klitschko brothers are not afraid to take up arms and fight the invaders. Most athletes would not give it all up to take up arms and fight the invaders. Most athletes off the field are rich cry babies. NBA’s King Lebron James would not fight for his home no matter which team is paying him at the time that he might call home. I give both these former boxers credit as they have never lost their marbles in the ring. Smart guys. I’m sure both of these guys could have left the country filled with violence and lived happily ever after. You have to think both are great boxers, and all those years paid them well. Protecting your home for anyone is the fight of your life. I would love to hear a story coming down to a Russian soldier losing his weapon and his last thing he sees is a fist from one of these brothers knocking him into tomorrow.