EL BARRIO, EL FALLS: I hope you liked my half a DJ Eberle impression. I could complain about my schedule but it was really just laziness. I have been one of many federal workers deactivated by the toddler-in-chief’s demand for a wall. I didn’t want Angry Ward to yell at me like he does DJ, but I think Ward and DJ have a Dennis the Menace v Mr. Wilson thing going on. Anyway, the topics for today are: Jacob deGrom, Rolled Tide, NFL Playoffs.
Jacob deGrom: I want to first shout out our very own, gone but not forgotten, Big Al Sternberg. Since a certain Brodie Van Wagenen took over as the GM of the Mets, all of a sudden they are spending big in the market and making a splash. So what was happening when Sandy Alderson was in charge? Was all the penny-piniching not necessary? I think the problem as always were the Wilpons. They were busy paying off their Madoff debt/losses and now seems like they have some money to play with. Either that or they finally realized that with the pitching they have, there is finite window to try and win it all. What does this have to do with Jacob deGrom? Well on a night when Mookie Betts, the World Series MVP, set a record for second year arbitration, deGrom set a record for 3rd-year arbitration. deGrom has gotten a 9.2 million dollar pay raise. Now to be fair to Brodie and the Mets (see what I did there?) they didn’t really argue. They just let the arbitrator set the new price and paid it. The Mets are trying to re-sign deGrom, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, so this was just a show of good faith from them. I think to keep deGrom and the other half of the dynamic duo, Noah Syndergaard, they need to show them that they can also win or want to win. Hopefully this is step is noted by deGrom’s reps and he re-signs but a key part will be just how well the Mets do this season.
Rolled Tide: How good did it feel to watch Alabama get stomped?! I dislike Alabama so much. I find Nick Saban to be as unscrupulous as his mentor Bill Belichek and I feel Alabama gets away with bloody murder. QB Tua Tagovailoa‘s parents moved from California to Alabama to watch him play more along with his kid brother who is now tearing it up in HS. How much money and work did Alabama boosters and that HS Tua Jr. is at, who have their own boosters, pay the family, cover the cost of a move, job and house to get Tua? But no investigation needed and no need to pay college athletes. But it won’t stop there as now Saban has a coaching tree, since his assistants have benefited from this and have moved on to become head coaches or coordinators at other schools. I can’t stop that but it was nice to see them lose. I think I still haven’t gotten over them losing to LSU in the regular season and only falling to second so they get a re-match and win that game and with the same record they are national champions. It was years ago but I always felt it was unfair to LSU. For a laugh, you should good Nick Saban’s daughter, as she got into a fight, assaulted a bunch of girls in her Alabama dorm but wasn’t the one punished. Mind you, I don’t doubt that Dabo Sweeney and his Clemson team aren’t doing the same thing, just that I hate Saban more.
NFL Playoffs: Quick rundown of who I want to win this weekend and but who I expect will win.
Colts at Chiefs – I like Frank Reich a lot. Even when he was Jim Kelly‘s back-up. Funny how, he was not Indy’s first choice, as that was Belichek’s assistant, Josh McDaniels, but looks like again not being first choice didn’t effect ol’ Frankie. However, Chiefs fans and Andy Reid fans know a lot about great regular season’s followed by a playoff collapse. So with that said, I will root for the Chiefs to at least give their fans one playoff win before they choke.
Cowboys at Rams (Sat. 8:10) – I hate the Cowboys with a passion. I think Dak Prescott is overrated and if it was not for Alex Smith breaking his leg, I doubt they would be in the playoffs. Don’t get me started on Zeke Elliot‘s feed me act, either. The Rams moving to LA didn’t win my support but lets hope they can do what is needed and vanquish the Cowboys.
Chargers at Patriots (Sun. 1:10) – You already know I am against the Patriots so this should be easy. But you can never count them out and the Chargers are flying cross country, playing in the cold and its an early game. All these things count against them, not to mention Phillip Rivers is not exactly Mr. Clutch. I want them to win but the odds are this will be a Patriot win.
Eagles at Saints (Sun. 4:40) – I love Nick Foles and if him and the Eagles pull this off it will be a miracle. However, the Saints lost last season on a miracle catch and a dumb safety that went for the hit instead of the bat-down. I don’t think that happens this year. I think the incredible ride is over for Philly.
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