Is hunting a sport?

Hunting started off as a food source back when the Cavemen hunted dinosaurs, I’m guessing. It’s hard to consider hunting as a sport when a fat beer guzzler blows the head off Bambi taking a drink of water out of the stream, while wearing an orange vest. That same fat beer guzzling S.O.B. can roll a ball down the lanes at bowling alley and that is a sport. Fishing derbies can give fishermen a challenge based on the size of the catch or quantity. What about a snake wrangler? Guys that hunt Pythons in the everglades. Some catch these pythons that can average 6-9 ft long with their bare hands. I would have to classify the annual Everglades Python Hunt as a sport as they award prize money and it does the swampy land of Florida good to prevent it being decimated by this invasive species.

Burmese Pythons were originally brought to the United States as pets during the 1970’s. When little Johnny’s pet got bigger than the dog, parents probably thought they should release the snake into the wild. Seem like a great idea at the time to release these foreign snakes into the Everglades. Suddenly these snakes multiply in their new habitat, causing problems to the Everglades Ecosystem. Burmese Pythons have no predators. These snakes feed on reptiles, birds, even mammals such as raccoons and white tail deer. As part of the state of Florida eradication program, they invite professional and even amateur hunters to come to the Everglades and remove Pythons for cash prizes. Since the year 2000 the State of Florida has estimated they have eliminated 17,000 Pythons. Perhaps St. Patrick would of been the way to go as the legendary saint removed all the snakes from the old sod of Ireland centuries ago.

Imagine some of these snake wranglers look like Crocodile Dundee. The Everglades Python Hunt has 850 people across the country including Canada that compete for prize money. The grand prize is $10,000 for whatever snake wrangler can remove the most pythons in ten days. Other prizes include size of the beast , and remember some of these Pythons can be Anaconda sizes. That’s a lot of Everglades for these snakes to be munching on to get that big.

Trying to track these Burmese Pythons in the dark swamps where some of these snake wranglers have their hunt down to a science. Some of these wranglers snatch the Python behind the head to avoid getting bitten. Then put it in cloth bag from which I’m sure it fights to get out as you tie the knot. Some wranglers will wait later on to kill the snake with a BB gun. Some might whack the snake right in the bag on the head with some kind of rock, bat, mallet, whatever soothes the hunters fatality of the slithery species. Every one has a talent of some kind and some use this gift to earn money. Snake wranglers compete against each other with the eye of the tiger and like in any sport try to find the edge to do their hunt the best way. They work on their skills and fine tune them to get better as I can see the Everglades Python hunt being a intense competition. All these Pythons don’t go to waste. You think they could make some kind of wallet or shoes out of the snake skin. Some of these Pythons appear on the cooking menus in Florida and probably in other states as well. Snake tacos anyone?

Deshaun Watson will be the villain at every stadium he visits when he is allowed to participate. Watson, in his season debut in his new Browns uniform, was heavily booed by his existence on the field in Jacksonville, Florida. This in a pre-season game, you would think that the city of Jacksonville which has a team that does not have the following to even start their own choir on a church, on Sunday. The Jaguar fans made their presence known how much Watson will not be well received in each visiting stadium. Watson will be like the Houston Astros when he visits other stadiums. The Houston Astros already know their judge, jury and the executioner. The fans have made their decision about them cheating in the game of baseball. The sexual predator quarterback will be a very easy target. Watson will be suspended this season for at least 6 games after which an independent arbiter Sue L Robinson looked at all the cases against Deshaun and gave her ruling to the NFL. The NFL thought the ruling was weak and now have turned the Watson drama over to a former New Jersey attorney general. The commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, is looking for a full season suspension for Watson. The Watson camp wants to pay a fine, make it a maximum 8 games, brush the rest of this sexual rampage under the rug, and call it a day. Now Deshaun Watson fate lies in the hands of Peter C Harvey. I do know it is not Harvey Dent out of Gotham City, but Peter could possibly be like Dent looking for full justice in the situation.

Deshaun Watson escaped the Houston courtroom without any charges criminally. Watson has voiced his innocence throughout most of this. Watson was not out of the woods yet just because he is not facing jail time for his role in his sexual escapades. Many civil suits followed him to Cleveland after the Texans traded their quarterback. Watson has paid 23-24 of those civil suits with women he gets to go away as one is still looming in the air. On Friday, Watson apologized to the Cleveland organization about the baggage he has brought with him to Ohio. Then just like out of the handbook following step by step, Watson apologized to the women he impacted throughout all of this.

“Look. I want to say that I’m truly sorry to all the woman that I impacted in this situation. The decisions that I made in my life that put me in this situation, I would definitely like to have back, but I want to continue to move forward and grow and learn and show that I am a true person of character and I am going to keep pushing forward.”

Sue L Robinson, in her report as the former Federal judge, concluded that Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policy. Robinson used words to describe Deshaun Watson such as egregious and predatory. She said Watson hardly showed any remorse. The Browns read her conclusion and Watson suddenly apologized to all the women he hurt. Not buying what Watson is selling or the Cleveland Browns organization, who look like sly Dawgs only paying Deshaun a million dollars this season, as they knew like everyone else a suspension of some kind was looming from the league. Many of the other teams in the league are foaming at the mouth like a crazed dog over how the Browns orchestrated this trade with Houston. Will the Browns get the last laugh?

Deshaun Watson did not play the entire year last season. Watson was paid and was on the Texans roster but was told to stay away. Even though Watson wanted to stay away and be traded away from the Texans before all the shit hit the fan with his pervie ways with these women massage therapists. Watson wanted the Texans to ask him what they should do about the current state of the team at the time. Watson wanted to say who the Texans hire as head coach and General manager. Obviously that blew up in both the Texans franchise and Watson’s face. Houston was fined by the NFL for letting Watson prey on his victims with the company card. Houston would pay off the fine and say they had nothing to do with Watson’s actions. In the end, Watson gets traded out of Houston. Texans get some draft capital and now can wash their hands of this Watson saga for good.

Browns wanted to get Deshaun Watson some live game action in the pre-season. Watson did not have all his weapons in his arsenal in his first game back since the end of the 2020 season that went into 2021. Some of his play makers were not suited up for the Browns’ first pre-season clash versus the Jaguars. Watson’s performance was horrible. Watson would fumble a snap and ended up 1-5 for 7 passing yards versus the Jaguars. Watson looked like the Tin Man trying to knock off the rust from the Wizard of Oz. Fans yelling all kinds of obscenities at him. He’s a guy not used to the jeers but the cheers. The girls giving him a massage doing their job did not think their day would end with something like being jerked at and getting sprayed at by the dirty lizard at the end of the session. The Dawg pound might not get what they thought they would from this trade, an actual quarterback. The Browns are a good team and can be a playoff team. If Watson gets the full suspension this year, Browns will need another plan. If Watson does have to sit out a second year, I think the Browns will regret this move. Especially a guy missing two years of his prime not playing the game. The draft capital always will hurt a team, especially if they can’t hit on picks in other rounds due to not being the first. Then the guarantee of 230 million dollars. The future salary cap to keep players to help surround your overpriced quarterback. Plus the side show Watson will have to deal with when the rest of his career, teammates will be asked questions about the guy that can’t keep it in his pants. Do I have to say the track record the Browns have had at the quarterback position? I think this trade the Browns made has alienated some of their fan base already. Cleveland is the city that welcomed Lebron James back to town after taking his talents to South Beach.

The Browns will have to tranquilize their new Dawg with the city of Cleveland hosting the National Massage Therapist convention. Anything that comes out of Houston, look for clever signs at a stadium near you when the Cleveland DAWG show comes to your town. Just make sure the goose does not get loose.

The Chicago Blackhawks franchise continues to sink into the old tar pits of the dinosaur age. Once a dynasty not that long ago, the Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups from 2010-15. It was a dynasty created after the old man died. Bill Wirtz had his hockey franchise playing in the dark ages. One of the worst franchises in sports. Bill’s son, Rocky Wirtz, took over and brought the Indian head back to life with a franchise makeover. Solid draft picks. Getting in touch again with the fan base. Most importantly, showing the new generation of fans that hockey was played in Chicago. Since hoisting that last Stanley Cup, the Blackhawks have been free falling. Some of the core of the dynasty is still playing and has not been traded away. The off the ice scandal. The wicked town hall meeting at which the owner had foot in the mouth disease. The latest in this soap opera that continues at the Mad House on Madison is the Seattle Kraken getting their tentacles on long time announcer, a home town guy, Eddie Olczyk. You’ve got to be Kraken me… an expansion team swooped in and gave our guy the money and the years to broadcast games in the state of Washington as the brass of the Blackhawks are scratching their behinds in disbelief.

In Chicago we love our sports announcers who paint the picture of the product every night and give us the insight on the state of the franchise. Eddie Olczyk was on our TV sets for 16 seasons which had three Stanley Cup winners. Last season, Eddie’s partner in crime, Pat Foley retired from the announcer booth and he was a Chicago fixture. Some say the Blackhawks forced Foley out of the booth, who was replaced by Chris Vosters. Foley once was fired by the Blackhawks when Bill Wirtz ran the show as his liquor distributor company was more important than the team on the ice. Rocky Wirtz would bring back Pat Foley after his father had passed away. Foley and Olczyk would form one of the best announcing duos in Chicago sports history. In bad seasons, which the Blackhawks better get used to, good announcers keep your fans watching more. Last few years have been miserable. Foley and Olczyk would make the pain ease off. When things were going great for the Blackhawks, those two were the guys that painted the picture that made you get off the edge of your seats to high five your friend with the excitement from calling the play by play.

The Blackhawks said they had a verbal agreement with Eddie Olczyk. Eddie’s people and the Blackhawks were in negotiations to hammer out an extension. Why did it take so long? Why would you have a hometown guy, a former player and one of your faces of your franchise, sit home and stew. Olczyk went to Brother Rice High School, the same school I did on the southside of Chicago. Olczyk is a guy from the South suburbs in the Chicago land area. Blackhawks drafted him in 1984. Olczyk played 16 years in the NHL with the first three seasons wearing the Indian head sweater. Olczyk’s second stint with the Blackhawks was the last two years of his playing career. Olczyk scored 77 goals while dishing out 122 assists playing in 322 games for the Blackhawks. In between the bookends of his Chicago hockey career, Olczyk would play in over 1,000 NHL games as he also suited up for the Maple Leafs, Jets, Kings, Penguins, Kings, and helped the Rangers win a cup in 1994.

In Chicago, we can still see Eddie Olczyk do National hockey broadcasts on TNT this upcoming season. We can also see Olczyk tell his opinion on what sweaty animal will win the Kentucky Derby as he does horse racing coverage on NBC. If we feel like it, we could just get the NHL package and watch Eddie Olczyk cover the Seattle Kraken games with John Forslund, a guy he teamed up with on NBC games. Blackhawks will be very bad for the next few seasons as we will watch the end of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews skating their games at the United Center in the Indian head sweater. Blackhawks seem like they either fly high and soar with eagles or hit rock bottom. Nothing seems ever to be in the middle. It always takes this franchise a very long time to get out of the bottom of the barrel where they are sinking past the fossils of the Ice age. It’s because they do stupid stuff like chase away things that are not broken like their TV coverage. I will not buy the Blackhawks saying “We thought we had an oral agreement in place.” The Blackhawks dropped the ball on something that should have taken five minutes to hammer out a deal. You watch Seattle. They are still an expansion team, but they are making solid moves to bring a guy like Eddie Olczyk to make their broadcasts stronger. Eventually Seattle Kraken will have the product on ice to win games. The Blackhawks, in the meantime, will still be trying to figure things out.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, it’s time to close the doors on your superstars, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. “This is the end, beautiful friend, this is the the end, my only friend the end,” are lyrics from Jim Morrison’s song “The End” that should be played at the United Center to open up next season. The writing is all over the wall as the Blackhawks have gone into another rebuild by trading some of their younger talented players away to land first round draft picks. Blackhawks let some of their key free agents walk off into the sunset as Kyle Davidson sliced and diced their roster to make more room in the salary cap. Kane and Toews have one year left on their long contracts they earned helping the city win three Stanley Cups. Kane and Toews both had contracts that came with a no-trade clause so they get the final say in where they will be playing next season. What would be better for both superstars? It would be hard to see either one wearing another team’s sweater rather than the Blackhawks logo we are accustomed to seeing. Do the Blackhawks give them a circus tour & go town to town like the traveling Ringling Brothers? Maybe waving good bye while they do a high wire act on the ice? Should the Blackhawks find them a new home where they find a team and help them win a Stanley Cup? What is best for the current roster?

It’s a shame the Blackhawks could not find the right personnel to put alongside Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to pursue Lord Stanley’s cup once more. Blackhawks gave many of the core members from the dynasty long-term contracts with no trade clauses that handcuffed the team from making moves to keep the well-oiled machine on the ice longer. I loved Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, but their long-term contracts took up space without the production for the money they were paid. I understand about keeping the core together. Rewarding guys that helped the team hoist the cup three times. The years of the contract, not the money, bother me as Seabrook missed more games with injuries for the last several years before finally retiring from the game for good. Then when the Blackhawks had money, they made some stupid moves like when General Manager Stan Bowman signed Seth Jones, a high priced defenseman, who did nothing last season, his only season so far in a Blackhawks uniform. Blackhawks even went out to get Seth’s brother in a smaller move that has not panned out. The Jones brothers could go down with the current ship because no other team will be calling on those guys.

The Blackhawks came into the 2022 draft night without a first round pick. Kyle Davidson took over the General Manager duties when Stan Bowman was axed for his part of the Kyle Beach cover up. Davidson’s interim tag was removed and he has been a very busy man. Davidson hired a new head coach, Luke Richardson, as he checked that box. Then on draft night, Davidson unloaded up and coming superstar Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators. Then Davidson traded away a young defenseman in 23 year old Kirby Dach to Montreal in part of a three-team deal. Kyle Davidson elected not to re-sign Dylan Strome or Dominik Kubalik. Strome lands in Washington while Kubalik lands in Detroit. All four guys are in their 20’s so you would think you would rebuild around them and discard the older veterans. So is this rebuild or retool? When it comes to Chicago sports, in general it’s not cut and dry. Many retools have been putting perfume on a pig.

Would the Blackhawks have been better off dealing Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews a long time ago? Trade them away at their highest value. Even if they traded one of their superstars away and were not in salary cap hell all these years, like the front office dug the franchise into one gigantic hole. The Blackhawks could have been on the verge of a second dynasty with all the talent they gave up. Let’s start this off-season, Alex DeBrincat is only 24 years old and scored 41 goals with 37 assists for 78 points. Dylan Strome, only 25 years old, has 22 goals last season with 26 assists for 48 points. Kirby Dach is only 21 years old coming off injury the season before last but had 9 goals & 17 assists for 26 points. He’s a guy with all the tools for a defenseman. Blackhawks traded away Brandon Hagel at the trade deadline. Hagel is only 23 years old and had 25 goals 19 assists for 44 points. Let’s back up and take the time machine back a few years to some of the guys we could still have today. Artemi Panarin, 30 years old, last year with the Rangers had 22 goals and 74 assists for 96 points. Ryan Hartman for the Wild has 34 goals and 31 assists for 65 points at the age of 27. Teuvo Teravainen is another 27 year old who had 22 goals 43 assists for 65 points playing for the Hurricanes. Then the Saademeiser. Brandon Sadd in St. Louis at 29 years old had 24 goals & 25 assists for 49 points. May be impossible to have all these guys playing for your team at the same time for many reasons. That is lots of talent that walked into the Blackhawks locker room and walked out of the city to be playing meaningful games with other teams in the post-season.

Welcome to hockey hell 101. What will the final tour look like for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane? Looks to be a full rebuild acquiring 3 first round picks while unloading players that could have been the core around a rebuild. Kyle Davidson acquired a goalie from the Maple Leafs in Petr Mrazek, an 11 year veteran who played in 20 games last season and has a 3.8 million dollar salary cap hit. It’s a trade that helps Leafs dump salary, so they could address other things on their roster. Then the Blackhawks sign a questionable player in Max Domi, a guy that would sucker punch his own grandmother if she was on the ice with him. Domi has pissed off his coaches and fans since he came into the league. Then the Blackhawks added Andreas Athanasiou, a former Red Wing and LA King. I know younger guys may not be ready so you have to bring in some veterans to hold down the fort until they are ready. This is not the way Toews and Kane should go out. I don’t think either one has enough hockey left in them to skate with a young team that is finally able to compete and make some noise around the league. Kane and Toews can probably bring the team back some pieces as well and let’s knock everything down and build it up from the foundation instead of half-arsed. The Blackhawks titanic has been sinking for years. Get the captains out and let the Jones scrubs sink with the ship.

If the Chicago Bears were to adopt a song from the rock band Aerosmith, what would it be? Dream on? Which makes sense the way the Bears franchise is run. It’s the same old Bears song and dance as I added the Bears to the title of the Aerosmith song I’m choosing. We can spin the wheel of meats and land on liver every time with all of the Midway Monsters problems. Today I’m talking about lack of weapons of mass destruction that Justin Fields has in his arsenal. Bears continue to find their receiver solution from a game of bologna darts seen on the Howard Stern show. Bears have been collecting castaways from around the league to fill in their receiver position. Latest trade has Bears sending a round 7 pick. At least it is not a number 1 to the New England Patriots for N’Keal Harry.

N’Keal Harry is 24 years old & was drafted by the New England Patriots back in 2019, 25th overall in the first round out of Arizona State University. Harry had promising back to back years of 1,000 receiving yards for the Sun Devils. Bears would be getting a nice big target for quarterback Justin Fields as Harry stands at 6’4″ at 225 lbs. Bears usually are known for picking rotten fruit or picking up the dented can at the market. Harry’s rookie season injuries haunted the young wide-out limiting him to 7 games where he caught 12 balls. In 2020, Soft Cam Newton relied on Harry as his second or third target on the field. Harry’s numbers went up with 33 catches, 309 receiving yards, and a pair touch downs. Bears know how to pick receivers as Harry wanted to be traded out of New England before the 2021 season. Bringing back memories of Cedric Benson’s hold out for the Bears. More injuries for Harry in the 2021 season and being in Head Coach Bill Belichick’s dog house limited his playing time to 12 games which resulted in only 12 catches for 184 yards.

The Bears cleaned house last season as they hired a new General Manager and Head Coach. The Bears have gone from wide receivers that take their emotions out on the field and let the opposing team get inside their head to earn stupid penalties. We all remember the likes of Javon Wims and Anthony Miller in two separate games versus the Saints, punching corner back C.J Gardner-Johnson and being ejected from the game. The Bears new regime has been collecting castaway receivers from other teams that have been in some trouble right after signing a deal in Chicago.

Bryon Pringle “Mr. Potato Chip” is a former Chiefs return specialist and wide receiver caught with a suspended drivers license doing donuts in a parking lot with his kid inside the car. Pringle signed a one year deal with the Bears and has been charged with reckless driving. Pringle had 42 catches last season from his quarterback Patrick Mahomes for 568 yards with 5 touchdowns. Career-wise, Pringle has 67 grabs for 898 yards with seven touchdowns. Pringle is only 28 years old & has potential but is questionable off the field. Then the Bears are taking a chance on David Moore who has been in the league for six seasons and on a few different teams. Moore is 27 years old, started with Seattle, then moved on to Denver, and then latched on to Green Bay. Moore, another brainiac, was caught sleeping in a Taco Bell drive thru after signing a deal to play for the Bears. That was a costly nap as police found drugs with the regular hand gun that stays close to the stash which will ring Moore up for drug and weapon charges. In Moore’s NFL career so far, he has caught 78 balls for 1,163 yards with 13 touchdowns. Bears new Offensive Coordinator has ties with Moore from Green Bay and another wide out, Equanimeous St. Brown, who also signed with with the team. St. Brown so far is the only good citizen out of the new arrivals coming to Chicago. St. Brown is 25 years old & another big target for Justin Fields as he stands 6’5″ and had only 9 grabs for 98 yards last season. In three seasons, St. Brown has caught 37 balls for 543 yards with one touchdown.

Ryan Poles, the new GM of the Bears, is like the Lion, Moon Racer, in the Christmas Special, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Instead of toys for the Island of Misfit Toys he is collecting receivers that no one wants and bringing them to a place where receivers go to die. Chicago!! Bears will back up their signings because it’s who you know. Luke Getsy is tied to Equanimeous St. Brown and David Moore who was the offensive coordinator in Green Bay before coming to the Bears this season. Bryon Pringle has ties to Poles who also hailed from the Kansas City organization. Even with the addition of N’Keal Harry, Darnell Mooney is the best receiver on the Bears roster. Mooney is not a number one guy though. Mooney is number two or a slot guy that can go over the middle and get those tough first downs on 3rd down. Bears are playing the numbers as they hope one or perhaps two of these guys can stick. Is this the best method to build up a young quarterback’s confidence? Justin Fields in his second year could have major problems and take a step backwards, lose confidence, and become another first round bust. First year with Mitch Trubisky the Bears may have had their worst receiving group ever. Jay Cutler did not have weapons when they first traded for the gunslinger from Denver. I still do not trust the Bears offensive line to be able to keep Fields standing the entire season. I don’t want a guy like Harry who will collect more injuries on the field than catches. Harry wanting out of New England tells me the Patriots camp was too hard for him. Many players say Bill Belichick is a bastard, his program is tough, and you have to have discipline to get through a typical season. If Harry came without wanting out AND had a shirt that said “I survived Belichick’s football camp and all I got was this stinking tee shirt,” then bravo he may be a piece the team could use. Bears head coach Matt Eberhaus is a defensive minded coach. We could see the Bears defense return as one of the better units in the league. A new staff inheriting Justin Fields with a bunch of nobodies to throw to, we may be looking for yet another guy behind center in 2023. The Bears season just turned “harrier” as we speak.

What do the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns have in common? It’s not a good thing that both cities have in common. It’s the problem behind center, the quarterback position which has haunted both franchises that make their home base on different lakes in the Midwest. Some thought Cleveland had their problem solved with Baker Mayfield being the face of their franchise the last few years. Mayfield indeed helped the Browns snap a long frustrating playoff drought. Injuries to Mayfield derailed the Browns last year, a team that had high hopes of making it deep into post-season play after making the playoffs the season prior. The writing was on the wall when the Browns gave away the house to land Deshaun Watson in a trade to Houston. Watson is an elite quarterback in the NFL, but a guy coming in with major baggage off the field with multiple sexual assault cases hanging over his head. Mayfield finally gets his wish as he has been dealt to the Carolina Panthers for only a fifth round draft pick that could turn into a 4th if Baker plays most of the upcoming season. Mayfield, a former first round pick by the Browns in 2018 from the University of Oklahoma, will be etched to that list of failed quarterbacks Cleveland has had since Bernie Kosar left town. Is Mayfield a failure? Could this deal haunt the Browns like all those bad football teams from recent years?

The Carolina Panthers have had lots of issues behind center over the last several years. The Panthers are not quite on the Bears’ and Browns’ list of Santa Clause’s naughty listings in his book of judgement. Panthers have had problems behind center since Cam Newton went soft. It took the Panthers a few years to figure that out. Panthers even brought back Newton last year when they saw the Sam Darnold experiment blow up in their face like a kid blowing out the candles leaving spittle all over the cake. Last year, P.J Walker was the best quarterback the Panthers had, and an XFL prodigy. The year before, the Panthers invested heavily into veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who they traded away after only one season. It’s surprising the Panthers had not resurrected the ghost of Jake Delhomme. Baker Mayfield, compared to the hot garbage Carolina has had the last few years behind center, is an instant upgrade.

Baker Mayfield has had only one winning season behind center for the Cleveland Browns in his first 4 years in the NFL. In 2020, Mayfield was 11-5 as the starter and led the Browns to the post-season, helping Cleveland win their first playoff game in a thousand years. Mayfield in post-season action is 1-1 with 4 touchdown passes to only one interception. It was the interception that haunted Mayfield last season as he threw 13 of them to 17 touchdown passes. Mayfield went 6-8 as a starter but showed grit playing with multiple injuries. Playing through pain & that football mentality ultimately would doom Mayfield out of the Dawg pound in Cleveland. Mayfield has played in 60 NFL games with a record of 29-30 as he completed 61.6% of his passes for 92 touchdown strikes and 56 interceptions. Before Mayfield took a step on the field, Tyrod Taylor was the Browns starting quarterback as the Panthers’ Superman had Kryptonite chills.

Carolina Panthers Wide Receiver Robbie Anderson has said that he did not want to play with Baker Mayfield several weeks ago. Is Mayfield a cancer in the locker room? Mayfield can bring an intense emotional “rah rah” type of voice to the locker room. Odell Beckham Jr. seems to be the only guy that lashed out at Baker Mayfield in Cleveland. Beckham Jr. not getting the ball is a problem for all quarterbacks in the league. Mayfield can be that guy who disrespected Ohio State’s logo during his college days playing for the Sooners. Can teams get sick of that type of leadership Mayfield has? In the NFL it sure can, but Mayfield’s injuries doomed him last year in Cleveland more than the team not backing him up on the field. Panthers have a young head coach in Matt Rhule and a young team that could work with Baker Mayfield’s leadership styles.

Baker Mayfield definitely needs a running game to help his passing game. If Christian McCaffrey can stay healthy and on the field for the Panthers, Mayfield will have one of the best backs in the game behind him. If Robbie Johnson buys in to Mayfield and team goals with D.J Moore, Mayfield has some nice targets to throw to. In the NFC South, we know Tom Brady and the Buccaneers are the top dog. We know the Atlanta Falcons without Matt Ryan, who was traded to Indianapolis is at the bottom of the barrel of the NFC South. New Orleans with Sean Payton stepping away from the game as head coach for the Saints. Do you trust Jameis Winston at quarterback without Payton whispering in his ear? Baker Mayfield in his final year of his rookie contract has lots to prove this upcoming season. Mayfield wants another contract. Mayfield wants to show he is healthy. Plus, Mayfield will be playing with a chip on his shoulder after his former team went after the rapist quarterback from Houston to replace him on the field, who was the face of the franchise. Will Mayfield’s commercials continue for Progressive Insurance with Baker and wife living in Panthers Stadium? Right now for one season, the Panthers could have a nice answer behind center for a change. I can see Mayfield sneaking the Panthers into post-season as a wild card. Beyond next season, maybe the Panthers could find a better option and not overpay for Mayfield’s services. With the Browns’ luck, Deshaun Watson will be suspended most of the season. Not sure I can say Mayfield leads a team to the Superbowl before Watson. Bernie Kosar never got the Browns to the Superbowl. Some things do not change like the Bears and Browns finding their answer behind center. The list will continue to roll out as trees will die from the waste of paper both these teams have had at the quarterback position over the few decades.

The USFL started with a bang at their opening night game several weeks ago with the Birmingham Stallions and the New Jersey Generals battling it out to the end in a well-fought game. The USFL save their best game for the end in the inaugural title game that featured the Philadelphia Stars and the Birmingham Stallions in an epic game with several lead changes late in the game. The dominoes fell for the USFL as they concluded the regular season after a simple ten-week season. Other Spring leagues had failed to complete their regular season as the American Alliance Football League ran out of cash flow. The pandemic wiped out the XFL in 2020 where they only made it to the mid-point of their season. The USFL created their own bubble with all their regular season action being played in Birmingham, Alabama. The top 4 teams standing at the end would move on to play the post-season games in Canton, Ohio on Tom Benson Field. The first round action of the USFL playoffs was not too shabby. The Stars knocked off the Generals in a close one. Then the Stallions shook off the New Orleans Breakers in the 4th quarter to move on. Last Sunday’s championship featured the top offense of the Philadelphia Stars against one of the best defenses in the league, which the Birmingham, Stallions have.

It was the USFL night when the stands were packed with fans. Great weather on Independence weekend. The Stallions would end up prevailing in a 33-30 shoot out in a game where both teams lost their starting quarterbacks. J’Mar Smith was 10-18, 131 passing yards with one touchdown pass for the Stallions as he had Birmingham up 20-9 at the half. Smith would leave the game in the second possession of the second half for the Stallions due to dealing with cramps and an injury to his midsection. Case Cookus, the best quarterback in the USFL, was having a great game, but took some big hits. He just kept getting up and leading the Stars down the field. In one hit, Cookus was asked about his teeth after and he said, “I got my wedding coming up in a couple of days… didn’t want my fiancee to kill me.”

Case Cookus in the 4th quarter hit his wide receiver Devin Gray for a touchdown strike to give the Stars the lead. Cookus also completed a two point conversion to his other wide receiver, Jordan Suell, who had a big night with a couple of scores as well. Cookus would end his night going 17-29 with 222 passing yards with three touchdown passes. Cookus night ended after being sacked by a Stallion defensive lineman, Dondrea Tillman. On the play, Cookus’ ankle bent the wrong way as he was carted off the field. The Stars suddenly did align up for this Philadelphia team.

THE REPLACEMENTS

The replacements did not fare well for each team. Both replacements were able to put points on the board but made mistakes. Stallions back-up Alex McGough, who was Birmingham’s starting quarterback week one, went 7-10 for 77 yards with 1 touchdown pass and interception. McGough did better than the Stars replacement K.J Costello who went 5-9 45 yards with a pick six late in the game to Stallions linebacker Scooby Wright who took it in for the score.

Costello would then lead a drive quickly down the field for the Stars and throw a touchdown strike to give the Stars life once again. Costello would then throw his second interception of the game and the Stallions would escape with the first reboot USFL championship.

RUNNING BACKS

BO KNOWS

Former University of Alabama running back Bo Scarborough looked like Bo Jackson from the game at Tecmo Bowl as he had a big night on the ground for the Stallions.

Scarborough, a likely candidate to be picked up by an NFL team, had 13 carries for 135 yards including a 70 yard scamper and a touchdown.

Former Notre Dame running back, Dexter Williams, played well in his first action of the year. Williams just signed with the Philadelphia Stars on June 29th as he had 8 carries for 29 yards with 4 catches for 73 yards. Just like riding a bike.

MVP HONORS

Victor Bolden Jr. gets the MVP award of the first USFL Championship. Boden Jr. had six grabs for 64 yards with a key receiving touchdown to help the Stallions win this one. . Bolden Jr. played a big role on special teams in the return game setting up the Stallions with good field position.

CONCLUSION

The Stallions and the Generals were by far the two best teams in the USFL during regular season. The Stars’ second half of regular season took off when the team had no choice other than to go with their second string quarterback, Case Cookus. Cookus turned out to be the best quarterback in the entire league. Stars went on to beat the Generals and almost took down the Stallions in the championship. Stallions showed they were the best regular season team in the USFL during their first season. Some would say the Stallions had the home field advantage as their games had the crowd in the bubble of Birmingham. Stallions showed they could win on the road and had the following of fans that showed up in Canton to watch them in the post-season then win it all. The Stallions had a solid team on both sides of the ball for which you have to give head coach Skip Holtz, son of legendary Lou Holtz, some credit in his first season coaching professional football which he seemed to really enjoy.

During the 1980’s, the first USFL Championship featured the Philadelphia Stars and the Michigan Panthers. Panthers won that one in a close one. The reboot of the USFL has the Stars losing the first championship, but this time to the Stallions. So yes, history has kind of repeated itself. After the first season in the 1980’s of the USFL, fans were excited for a second season. The USFL reborn has already said they are in for a second season as TV ratings were satisfactory. The one thing the reboot of the USFL has going for them that the 1980’s had to deal with, was listening to former owner of the Generals, Donald Trump, sway the league in the wrong direction. I know the USFL is not the NFL. The games were good throughout the regular season and the playoffs. The competition was not watered down. The inaugural USFL championship, I have to put on my list as one of the better title games in winner takes it all. Like to see a smaller city like Birmingham win a title. I will be looking forward to the second season of the USFL in 2023.

The Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, will stoop to any level in his quest to take over the country of Ukraine. Even use innocent pawns to extract what the devil wants. In mid-February, the Russian officials arrested 31-year-old Brittney Griner, who is a professional basketball player for the WNBA. She was arrested at Shermetyevo international airport near Moscow as her luggage contained vape cartridges filled with hashish oil. Yes Mary Jane, marijuana, pot. some call it the wacky tobacco. These days most of the world’s marijuana laws, if broken, can be compared to a parking ticket. Tell me how much I owe, I’ll pay you, and we’ll be on our way. Not in Putin’s mind as Griner is still incarcerated & now has 6 more months pending the outcome of her trial. Griner was arrested 4 months ago. On July 1st, Griner will have to change her sneakers from the basketball courts to the kangaroo court that the Russian authorities have to offer. It’s their own version of a PR stunt for Putin’s propaganda as he brainwashes his own people.

Brittney Griner is a Texan native from the city of Houston who played her college ball at Baylor University. Griner then was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA where she had played 9 professional seasons for the team that drafted her. Griner has played in 254 professional basketball games where she averages 17.7 points per game, and 7.6 rebounds while dishing out 1.8 assists per game. Griner has even played for her country, the good ole USA where she is 2x gold metal winner. Griner now might feel different about her country for leaving her to rot away in a Russian prison cell on trumped up charges by the evil Putin and his Communist ways of thinking.

The U.S Department has even classified the arrest of Griner made by the Russian authorities as her being wrongfully detained. The WNBA and dozens of Civil and Human rights organizations have demanded President Joe Biden and his sidekick, Kamala Harris, make a deal to get Griner released. What is the hold up as Russian leaders and the White house have had prisoner swaps a numerous amount of times? Putin’s mind set is he thinks Brittney Griner is the golden goose to get back Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout. He is serving 25 years in the U.S for selling arms to a Colombian terrorist group. Bout may be compared to the Cobra Organization’s henchman, Destro, in the GI JOE movie. Just a thug selling weapons to the highest bidder.

Seems kind of an unfair deal: a woman basketball player for a guy that gives bad people the tools to kill innocent people. Just another guy in Vladimir Putin’s circle jerk.

Many people have chimed in on the horrible situation Brittney Griner is in. Griner could face another ten years in a Russian prison cell if she is found guilty by this kangaroo court. What are the Russian people thinking about cases like this? Who run the courts over there? Many Russian citizens probably fear for their lives and have to go along with whatever Vladimir Putin puts out there. Some teammates of Griner have argued if it was Shaquille O’Neal being held against his will by the Russian authorities, he would already be home. Sports commentator Keith Olbermann had his own idea for how to get Griner out. The United States should arrest NHL Russian Superstar Alex Ovechin of the Washington Capitals & put him behind bars for ten years. No way he’d break Wayne Gretzky’s goal record doing hard time. Ovechin is a friend of Putin’s. No way we want to stoop to Putin’s level and have history repeat itself. The horrific rounding up of innocent American Japanese and German citizens to place them in concentration camps like they did in World War II. We’d rather launch a rocket right at Putin’s fat head. Hopefully the White House can put their pea-brains together and find a way a solution to get Brittney Griner released. Russian prison for ten more years means Griner’s basketball career, her livelihood is over. I’d rather take my chances playing Russian Roulette for my own release than wait on Joey Biden to do something. Some say we should not even be involved in NATO and avoid conflict with Russia. Until the red scum take your son or daughter hostage, as they want Alaska back in the deal, you will play the two-sided coin wondering why we let it get this far. We already let this get too far as Griner has been staring at the same walls for the last several months in her concrete cell.

It did not surprise me the Chicago Blackhawks would bypass some of the bigger experienced names available to take over the head coach duties. Guys with the experience with a track record of success as a head coach in the NHL, may not want to take the mess the Blackhawks have made for themselves with their current roster. Plus, the Blackhawks being exposed for the Kyle Beach cover-up for letting a sexual predator in Brad Aldrich go about his business without a care in the world. The Blackhawks have cleaned house with anybody linked to that off-the-ice scandal. The Wirtz family still owns the franchise that is at another fork in the road taking the side road that leads to the huge slide going down in the game of Chutes and Ladders. Perhaps a bigger name would want to be paid a King’s ransom for the job they are expected to do that may involve a bulldozer and wrecking ball. Once again the Chicago’s sports landscape has to settle for door number 3 or maybe 8 or 9 of a flea bag motel with no cleaning service available. Blackhawks hired Luke Richardson, a 53-year-old native of Ottawa to be the franchise’s 40th head coach of all-time.

Who the hell is Luke Richardson? Richardson is a former defenseman who played in the NHL for 21 seasons with six teams. Richardson was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1987, number 7 overall. Besides the Leafs, Richardson played for the Oilers, Flyers, Blue Jackets, and the Senators from where he retired and hung up the skates for good. Richardson scored 35 goals in his career, dishing out 166 assists in 1,417 games in the NHL. Richardson played in 69 playoff games as well during his long career as a player. After Richardson retired, he found a spot on the Senators staff in 2008-09. Richardson would eventually slide into the head coach role of the Senators’ AHL affiliate. Richardson would take on the role of head coach for the Binghamton Senators from 2012-16. Richardson would then head back to the NHL as he became an assistant on the New York Islanders staff & then moved on to the Montreal Canadians. In Montreal, it’s Richardson who took over the coaching duties for the Canadians when Dominique Ducharme tested positive for Covid. Richardson took over the team for 6 games during the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs and helped the team continue their magical run as the Canadians made their first Stanley Cup since 1993.

Kyle Davidson shook off the interim tag for the Blackhawks general manager’s job as he now is a permanent fixture after the team axed Stan Bowman for his ties in the cover-up. Davidson’s hire of Luke Richardson means the interim tag is off Derek King, as his duties for the Blackhawks had come to an end. Derek King went 27-33-10 after replacing another bad hire as head coach, Jeremy Colliton, who had the Blackhawks off to one of their worst starts in franchise history when shit hit the fan with the cover up.

Kyle Davidson is preaching patience as this may take a few seasons to get the roster to be competitive again and skating in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Davidson says his new guy, Richardson, checks all the boxes with a calm, cool, & collected voice that demands respect in the locker room. Hard work pays off for a team that wants to show up every night and play hard while gelling together. Looks like Richardson will have a long leash to play with while Davidson will have to make decisions about some key players. What can the Blackhawks get for the Cat? Alex DeBrincat, a young proven offensive force, should get you some pieces back in trade. Is this the farewell tour of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who will be reaching their mid 30’s and are on their final year in their contract? Will Kane and Toews play out the entire season wearing the Indian head sweater? Will Kane and Toews lift their trade clause and let Davidson find them a new home on another team? Kane may net you something big in a trade. Toews may not get you much the way he’s been on the down side of his career, but the Captain still can bring value to a team fighting to make the playoffs. Overall we will see some bad hockey at the United Center for the next few seasons. You can never buy into what the Blackhawks are selling. Like dealing with a guy trying to unload snake oil on you. The judge and jury of this Richardson move will have to take a “wait and see” approach. See how players respond to his coaching scheme. A positive thing about this hire is Richardson was a scrappy type of defenseman who has worn the Captain C on some of the teams he played for. Does that mean he is a good coach? Most of these coaches hired after a natural disaster never last through the full rebuild. We do know this Luke is not a Jedi master because he would be somewhere else leading a team to the promised land.

Empty stadium with a shiny piece of hardware… very USFL-like. USFL does what no other Spring football league has done in some time. Finish regular season. That means Summertime post-season play which means something when it comes to the gridiron. The USFL games have moved on from the state of Alabama where they played all regular season games. Post-season in the USFL will be played in Canton, Ohio at Tom Benson Hall of Fame field. Canton is the home of the Football Hall of Fame.

First round features two division championship games. The winners go on to meet in the USFL Championship for all the marbles. As the peanut gallery, we will throw in our two cents into the ring and predict each game in each division championship. We even went back in the past and dug out some dirt on the original USFL league in the 1980’s to see if any history will repeat itself.

GHOSTS FROM THE USFL PAST

Many times, history does repeat itself. In the current USFL, the Philadelphia Stars, New Jersey Generals, Birmingham Stallions, and the New Orleans Breakers have made the post-season. The Breakers are the only team from the original 80’s league that never played in post-season while the Stallions, Stars and the Generals all have played more than one post-season game in the original.

Breakers originated in Boston, Portland, and New Orleans in the original league.

BREAKERS POST-SEASON RECORD: 0-0

The original Generals were owned by Donald Trump!!! Trump did not make the USFL great.

GENERALS POST-SEASON RECORD: 0-2

Generals lost both post-season games they played in to the Stars.

The Stallions were able to get out of the first round when they made the post-season.

STALLIONS POST-SEASON RECORD: 2-2

Stallions are yet another team for whom both losses came from the Stars.

The Stars played in Philadelphia and Baltimore during the first stint of the USFL.

STARS POST-SEASON RECORD: 7-1

Stars made every championship, winning two out of the three played in the original league. The Stars’ only loss came from Michigan in the very first USFL championship game.

GAME #1.

#1. NEW JERSEY GENERALS (9-1) VERSUS #2. PHILADELPHIA STARS (6-4)

Regular season play: Generals 2-0 Stars

ADVANTAGES:

Quarterback: Stars

Offense: Stars

Defense: Generals

Coaching: Generals

THE GENERALS

The Generals are the hottest team in the league winning 9 straight.

Generals defense has allowed the fewest points in the division.

Generals offense produced the most yards per game in the entire USFL at 349.4.

Generals ground attack averages 160.9 yards per game.

Generals defense only allows a stingy 18.2 points per game.

THE STARS

The Stars are the highest scoring offense in the playoffs who average 26.2 points per game.

Case Cookus in six starts has completed 62.5% of his passes with 12 touchdown strikes to only 5 interceptions.

The Stars defense is one the best at forcing turnovers.

What will doom each team?

Generals: Head coach Mike Riley has had dueling quarterbacks most of the year. If both De’Andre Johnson and Luis Perez are available, Riley could pick the wrong one to take the most snaps.

Stars: The Stars have the worst defense out of all the teams in post-season. If the Stars defense can not get the key turnover, it could be a bloodbath.

PREDICTION: GENERALS 25-17 STARS

Mike Riley won coach of the year leading these Generals to 9 straight. Look for Riley to make his mark in the playoffs and he will be king of Spring football leagues. I like the two-headed monster at running back for the Generals with Trey Williams and Darius Walker in the back field. The Stars defense may try to stop the run, but that leaves the USFL MVP wide receiver, Kavante Turpin, to make a big play in the passing game.

Turpin had 44 catches & 540 yards with 4 touchdowns. Case Cookus is the best quarterback in the league, but struggled a little at the end of regular season. It’s very hard to get that hot hand once again. Generals are well-balanced and will move on.

GAME #2.

#1. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (9-1) VERSUS NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS (6-4)

Regular season play: Stallions 2-0 Breakers

ADVANTAGES:

Quarterbacks: Stallions

Offense: Stallions

Defense: Breakers

Coaching: Stallions

THE STALLIONS

The Stallions have the top scoring offense in the South Division.

The Stallions defense hold opponents to only 16.9 points per game which is second best in the entire USFL.

The Stallions can kill the quarterback, which they are the best in the league at with 27 sacks.

THE BREAKERS

The Breakers have the best defense in the entire league holding teams to a stingy 16.4 points per game.

Kyle Sloter is ranked number two in the league in passing yards.

The Breakers have the lowest scoring offense in the post-season only averaging 19.6 points per game.

What will doom each team?

Stallions: Not having home field advantage. Stallions played every game at home as the entire USFL played every game in Birmingham Alabama creating their own bubble. Playoffs will be in Canton, Ohio.

Breakers: Mistakes by Kyle Sloter who is second in the league in interceptions.

PREDICTION: BREAKERS 17-14 STALLIONS

This game will be a defensive struggle. DeMarquise Gates may be the best defensive guy on the field as he racked up 62 tackles with 6.5 sacks for the Stallions. I think the Breakers defense was the best with a slew of guys that can put the Denver Boot on any opposing offense. Stallions were very sloppy down the stretch. I think not having the fans will haunt this team whether they may travel.

The Stallions routine will be out of whack. When Kyle Sloter was right, the Breakers had glimpses of the best team in the league. Kyle Sloter has played through multiple injuries. Look for the quarterback to have a solid game and help his team move on.