KICKING OFF WITH THOUGHTS ON SUNDAY’S NFL CONFERENCE TITLE GAMES…
Sunday’s NFL Conference Championship results:
NFC -- Atlanta 44, Green Bay 21.
AFC -- New England 36. Pittsburgh 17.
We don’t need two weeks of hype for Super Bowl 51 – but we’ll have to put up with it.
The Patriots versus the Falcons is a fun matchup to be sure.
Atlanta might have as much raw talent as New England and QB Matt Ryan has played like the league’s MVP this season, but Patriots are early 3-point favorites and deservedly so. They’re a supremely disciplined and confident football machine and they know how to win. Bill Belichick is an incredible coach and Tom Brady has played like an MVP for his entire career. I wondered if Brady had lost some zip on the ball at age 39 and he wound up throwing for 384 yards and 3 TDs on Sunday.
I’m sure Buffalo general manager Doug Whaley didn’t enjoy Sunday’s The Chris Hogan Show (9 catches for 180 yards and 2 TDs) but let’s face it, Hogan wasn’t going to do that as a member of the Bills. Two reasons: (1) the Bills don’t get to the playoffs and (2) he’s merely the latest of the discarded decent players who join the Patriots from other teams and become great with New England for at least a year or two.
FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 22: Chris Hogan #15 of the New England Patriots carries the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium on January 22, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Hogan wasn’t the only former Buffalo player who excelled Sunday for New England. Defensive tackle Alan Branch was a stone wall against the Steelers. The 10-year veteran was a starter for the Bills in 2013 and was cut after being arrested for drunken driving in Cheektowaga in August 2014. The Patriots signed him and he has taken advantage of the opportunity.
It’s bad enough that New England consistently outfoxes Buffalo in the draft, free agency and when they meet on the field. What hurts most is mediocre Bills who blossom as Patriots.
Brady and Belichick once again demonstrated why they are the two main reasons why the Buffalo Bills have not made the playoffs in 17 years.
Maybe the Falcons can be an inspiration for the 2017 Bills…
FALCONS AND BILLS IN THE LAST FOUR SEASONS
2013 – Falcons 4-12…Bills 6-10
2014 – Falcons 6-10…Bills 9-7
2015 – Falcons 8-8…Bills 8-8
2016 – Falcons 11-5*…Bills 7-9*
*Going in the right direction; bound for Super Bowl 51…**same old story.
INTRODUCING THE QBs THE BILLS WILL BE FACING IN 2017
Tom Brady (twice), Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers, Cam Newton, Derek Carr, Alex Smith, Jameis Winston, and Andy Dalton. How’s that for a Murderers’ Row?
Fortunately, Buffalo will play the Jets twice and Miami twice, and Denver once. With Tyrod Taylor, the Bills would have the advantage at QB. Without Tyrod, who knows?
FALCONS DEFYING THE ODDS SO FAR
Here were the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook odds on the four NFL conference championships finalists entering Sunday:
Opening odds last year – Patriots 8-to-1…Steelers 8-to-1…Packers 8-to-1…Falcons 40-to-1
Odds Week 1 –Patriots 6-to-1…Packers 8-to-1…Steelers 10-to-1…Falcons 80-to-1
Entering the conference title games – Patriots 5-to-4 (bet $4 to win $5)…Falcons 13-to-5 (bet $5 to win $13)…Steelers 4-to-1…Packers 4-to-1.
BOEHEIM CLOSING IN ON 1,000TH WIN…HOW TO CELEBRATE?
Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim has 996 victories at his alma mater. Or does he?
The official NCAA Record Book says Boeheim’s record at SU is 895-351. That reflects the 101 “vacated wins” from portions of the seasons the Orange were hit by NCAA sanctions.
Sports-reference.com lists Boeheim’s record as 996-351, noting that his mark “does not include forfeits or vacated wins.”
I believe most people – including me, probably most of you and definitely Coach Boeheim – consider 996 his real victory total.
SU is 11-9 with 11 games remaining this regular season, all in the ACC. Here are those games and the records of opponents - in the ACC (and overall):
Tuesday home vs. Wake Forest 3-4 (12-7)
Saturday home vs. Florida State 6-1 (18-2)
Feb. 1 at North Carolina State 2-5 (13-7)
Feb. 4 home vs. Virginia 5-2 (15-3)
Feb. 7 at Clemson 1-5 (11-7)
Feb. 11 at Pittsburgh 1-5 (12-7)
Feb. 13 home vs. Louisville 4-3 (16-4)
Feb. 19 at Georgia Tech 3-4 (11-8)
Feb. 22 home vs. Duke 3-3 (15-4)
Feb. 26 at Louisville 4-3 (16-4)
March 4 home vs. Georgia Tech 3-4 (11-8).
Can SU go 4-7 to avoid the first non-winning season in Boeheim’s 41-year career as head coach? Probably.
Can SU get hot and close fast enough to sneak into the NCAA tournament for the 33rd time in Boeheim’s career as head coach? Not likely.
Can SU earn a bid to the NIT and accept it if it came? Maybe.
Can SU win four games to give Boeheim his 1,000th “unofficial” coaching victory at SU? I think so – maybe with one or two wins to spare.
So how would SU treat that feat? Should SU ignore the victories vacated by the NCAA?
I hope so. And I hope it happens at the Carrier Dome.
MINNESOTA TWINS FARM SYSTEM IS RANKED NO. 1
The Minnesota Twins are ranked No. 11 on ESPN baseball writer Keith Law’s annual list of the 30 MLB farm systems. The Twins were ranked No. 3 last January and dropped because no young star emerged at the big-league level last season. I think he could be proved wrong in the near furure.
Law wrote, “The Twins might have three potential stars in the majors already – Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler – and could add one with the first overall pick in this June’s draft.”
Atlanta is No. 1 in Law’s rankings for the second straight year. The New York Yankees soared from 13th to 2nd, with three of their top six prospects obtained in trades involving Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller.
GROWING PAINS FOR THE KNIGHTHAWKS
The Rochester Knighthawks lost 16-8 at the Saskatchewan Rush last Saturday night and I wasn’t that close. The Rush, the two-time defending champions of the National Lacrosse League, entered the game with a 0-2 record and were hungry to please the home crowd of 15,007 in Saskatoon. It was no contest.
Saskatchewan is trying to join the 2012-through 2014 Knighthawks as the only teams in NLL history to win three straight championships.
The Knighthawks (1-2 record) and their fans aren’t accustomed to rebuilding, but that is what this team is doing. Rochester has 28 goals in three games and that is an anemic pace by NLL standards. Promising rookies Kyle Jackson, Josh Currier and Dan Lomas have combined for 12 goals and 21 assists, but there simply isn’t enough firepower on this roster
Minus familiar big-time stats Cody Jamieson (injured; rehabbing a knee), Dan Dawson (missing for personal reasons), Joe Walters (a holdout and presumably retired from the NLL) and Craig Point (released), it is no huge surprise. The Knighthawks don’t see3 the same on the floor or in the standings.
BOB’S EARLY LOOK AT BASEBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2018 FIRST-TIMERS
Will make it on the first try – Chipper Jones (at least 90 percent of the votes)
Should make it right away but might need to wait a year – Jim Thome (612 career HRs and not a hint of using PEDs in the Steroid Era)
Could be elected after a few years – Scott Rolen and Omar Vizquel
Nice careers but unlikely to ever be elected – Andruw Jones (great until age 29 but then faded fast), Johnny Damon (2,769 hits), Johan Santana (great for a short time but only 139 wins) and Jamie Moyer (late bloomer pitched in MLB when he was 49 years old; 269 wins looke good – but 209 losses and 4.25 ERA do not).
Unlikely to receive the 5 percent of votes required to remain on future ballots – Chris Carpenter, Livan Hernandez, Orlando Hudson, Aubrey Huff, Jason Isringhausen, Carlos Lee, Brad Lidge, Hideki Matsui, Kevin Millwood, Carl Pavano, Scott Podsednick, Kerry Wood and Carlos Zambrano.
SHORT SHOTS
Pittsford’s 25-year-old Dominic Bozzelli earned $232,000 for finishing Sunday in the PGA Tour CareerBuilder Challenge at La Quinta, California. It was his sixth career start in his first year on the PGA Tour. He had cashed $32,7124 in his five previous starts this year. In portions of four years on the WEB.COM TOUR (2013 through 2016), he won $286.457 in 35 events.
The Buffalo Bills have the No. 10 pick in the 2017 NF:L college draft. Since 1970, only two quarterbacks were selected with that pick – Matt Leinhart (USC) by Arizona in 2006 and Blaine Gabbert (Missouri) by Jacksonville in 2011. Those didn’t pan out very well.
The Buffalo Sabres rank 12th in the 30-team NHL in average home attendance (18,504) through 22 games; 19th in average road attendance (17,332); and 13th overall (17,893).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO…
Monday, January 23 – JT Barrett (22)…Addison Russell (23)…Hunter Renfroe (25)…Brandon Guyer (31)…Jeff Samardzija (32)…Larry Hughes (38)…Tito Ortiz (42)…Tanya Harding (45)…Julie Foudy (46)…Kevin Mahwe (46)…Mark Wohlers (47)…Richard Smehlik (47)…Sharman Obando (47)…Brendan Shanahan (48)…Eric Metcalf (49)…Petr Korda (49)…Jean-Francois Sauve (57)…Pat Haden (64).
Tuesday, January 24 – Scott Kazmir (33)…Mary Lou Retton (49)…Rob Dibble (53)…Mark Eaton (60)…Tim Stoddard (64)…Guy Charron (68)…Neil Diamond (76) can sing Happy Birthday.