This, That, and the Other....

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box.....

• The Grandstander went 3-1 in his NFL Wildcard Playoff predictions last weekend, missing only the Packers win over the Giants.  In truth, none of he games were all that great from a competitive point of view, although I loved the non-competitive nature of the Steelers thrashing of the Dolphins.
• For this coming weekend, I give you this....Patriots over Texans (Joe Starkey suggested today that, somehow, the Pats managed to get another bye week in the Playoffs), Falcons over the Seahawks (the fact that Seattle let a lousy Lions team stay with them into the fourth quarter prevents me from picking them), Packers over the Cowboys (just gotta go with Aaron Rodgers over the rookie Dak Prescott), and Steelers over the Chiefs (not going to back down from my prediction of a Super Bowl win for the Steelers).
• I also missed on the CFP game.  Congrats to Deshaun Watson and all the Clemson players on their victory.  To their sanctimonious coach, Dabo Swinney, well, all I can say is that he is one of the few guys I can think of that would make me want to root for Nick Saban.
• Got a chance to watch this Ron Howard-directed documentary this week:

• If you are a devoted follower and fan of the Beatles, I am not sure that you will learn anything new about the band from this, but it does give you a chance to see the group performing live in their touring years.  As everyone knows, The Beatles stopped making live performances in 1966, so any chance one gets to see them perform like this is a bonus.  There is also some color footage of the group performing at a concert in England in 1963 that is astonishingly good in terms of picture and sound quality, and that is something that I, at least, had never seen before.  I rate this a solid three stars, and will say that any fan of The Beatles should add a copy of this movie to their Beatles Library.
• Those same fans might also want to download or buy this CD which was recently remastered and reissued in conjunction with the Howard movie:

• Last week's issue of Sports Illustrated featured a cover story about Ben Roethlisberger, whom that called the "NFL's most polarizing player".   I wish someone at SI would explain what the point was in publishing that story.  It broke absolutely no new ground.
• That same issue featured and "SI True Crime" sort about former Cowboys running back Joseph Randle.  "True Crime", apparently, is now going to be a monthly feature in SI.
• With both stories, I felt like I was reading the National Enquirer, and not Sports Illustrated.  
• Sports Illustrated also announced that US Olympic gymnasts Simone Biles and Aly Raisman will be featured models in its upcoming swimsuit issue.  Miss Biles and Miss Raisman have made this choice freely, and I presume that they are being paid handsomely for doing so, but I hope that I never hear them complain that they are not being "taken seriously" as competitive athletes, or that they are being "objectified", now that they have chosen to be a part of this issue of the magazine.  I wonder what a true pioneer like Billie Jean King would have to say about this.
• I guess that this is just what print publications have to do in an increasingly digital age.
• Finally, I am enjoying this short series from Amazon that was written and directed by Woody Allen:

• Allen also stars in the show that also includes the great Elaine May as his wife.  I had seen that critics weren't too wild about this series, but I think it has its moments.  I have not finished watching the entire series and will wait until I do to give my final judgment, but, so far, not bad.

Football Weekends

Some thoughts on last week's football before moving on to this week's predictions.

• I felt bad for the Vikings kicker Blair Walsh after he missed what would have been a game winning field goal against the Seahawks.  Even his coach threw him under the bus in his post-game comments.  Never mind that Walsh had already kicked three FG's in the sub-zero temperatures, and that these were the ONLY points that the Vikings crummy offense were able to produce that day.  On the other side of the field in Minnesota was Russell Wilson, who, it should be remembered, threw a ridiculous interception on the goal line that cost his team the Super Bowl last year, but Wilson somehow gets a pass on this (it was the coach's fault!).  Walsh, on the other hand, will carry that Wide Left miss him for the rest of his life, and it will probably be in the first paragraph of his obituary.  Not fair.
• The Steelers won the battle in Cincy last week, but it certainly could cost them the war, as Antonio Brown has now been ruled out for the Broncos game, and an impaired Ben Roethlisberger will be at the helm on Sunday.
• Congratulations, I think, to Hue Jackson on being named the head coach of the Cleve Brownies. As is always pointed out, there are only 32 such jobs like this in the world, so when the opportunity presents itself, you have to take it, but Jackson surely goes to perhaps the most dysfunctional organization in football, if not in all of pro sports in America.  On the other hand, he goes to a team at rock bottom, so there is no where to go but up.  Still, what are the odds that he's still there in 2018?
• Chip Kelly, after screwing up in Philly, gets another shot as a HC in San Francisco (another dysfunctional organization).  I'm betting that this won't end well for the 49'ers. Or Kelly.
• The best game of the weekend turned out to be that CFP Championship game between Alabama and Clemson. Just a fabulous game.  Clemson's DeShaun Watson was the best player on the field, but the most valuable person on that field that night was clearly Nick Saban.  Like a lot of successful college coaches, Saban is not a lovable and maybe not even a likable guy, but man is he a great coach.  Clemson put it to the Tide on Monday night, and Saban truly had to "coach 'em up" to win that game.  The early call for an onside kick was brilliant, and it set the tone for the Alabama victory.  Plus, that kickoff return for a touchdown.  Fabulous game.
• Is Saban the greatest coach in college football history?  It's hard to proclaim anyone THE GREATEST in any endeavor, but Saban certainly belongs in the conversation with the Rocknes, Leahys, Bryants, and Paternos of years past.

Okay, on to this weekend.  Last week, The Grandstander went 3-1 in his predictions (4-1 if you count the CFP game).  Pretty good. As for this weekend....

Steelers at Broncos.  All things being equal, I would take the Steelers in this one.  After all, they handily beat the Broncos less than a month ago, so why shouldn't they do so again?  All things are not equal, though.  As mentioned above,  Brown will not play and Roethlisberger will be less, and perhaps far less, than 100%.  Oh, and while that Bronco QB may be close to washed up, he is still Peyton Manning and he will be well rested.  Sadly, I call for a Broncs win in this one.  I also predict that the first call to The Fan calling for Mike Tomlin's firing will come within 30 minutes of the final gun.  The first call for it on Facebook will come early in the second half.

Chiefs at Patriots.  The Chiefs thoroughly thrashed Houston last week, they are the hottest team in the NFL, and the Pats are ravaged by injuries.  However, using similar logic to my predicting a Bengals loss last week, I simply can't call for a Patriots and a Tom Brady loss until they actually, you know, lose a game like this. Patriots to end the Chiefs 11 game win streak this weekend.

Seahawks at Panthers.  Seattle got a bit lucky last week against the Vikings.  The Panthers are 15-1 on merit.  Seattle's Super Bowl appearance streak officially ends this weekend.  Panthers to win.

Packers at Cardinals.  Two weeks ago I said they the Cardinals will play in the Super Bowl this year.  That means that they have to start by beating the Packers tomorrow night, and, Aaron Rodgers notwithstanding, they will.  Remember, they beat the Packers by thirty points just a few weeks ago.  It may not be that decisive this week, but the final result will be the same.

As always, watch, but don't bet.

Playoffs Prediction Time

Yes, folks, the National Football League Playoffs begin tomorrow which means it's time for the much anticipated Grandstander Playoffs Predictions.  Because we were on vacation for two weekends of the Playoffs last year, I offered no predictions in this space, which I know disappointed so many of you out there.

Quit laughing.

Okay let's dive into it.

Steelers vs Bengals.  One of these years, the Marvin Lewis and his Bengals are going to actually win a Playoff game, but until they do, I just can't pick them to win one now.  (Kind of like picking the Cubs to win the pennant.)  Ben Roethlisberger is having the best year of his career, and with him leading the way, the Steelers offense has been, with some exceptions, virtually unstoppable.  The running back situation for the Steelers is a concern, and the Bengals defense is formidable, but they are still playing their back-up QB.  So, the Steelers prevail and go on to Round Two.

Chiefs vs Texans.  The Chiefs have won ten games in a row, a very difficult thing to do.  The Texans won in a weak division.  I can name one player on the Texans (J.J. Watt), and I don't know who their quarterback is.  I'm picking the Chiefs.  Hey, you don't get insightful analysis like that on the NFL Network, do you?

Seahawks vs Vikings.  The two-years-in-a-row Super Bowl Seahawks started slowly this year, but came on strong, and, much like the Steelers, became the proverbial "team that no one wants to play in the playoffs".  The Vikings have looked very good thus far this season and are playing at home.  This is a tough one to call, and when in doubt, I go with the better quarterback, which means Russell Wilson outplays Teddy Bridgewater and the Seahawks win.  One thing is almost certain - with sub-zero temperatures, and strong winds, this game could be the most interesting game, visually, of the weekend.

Packers vs Washington.  Be honest now, back in September, and even six weeks into the season, how many of you saw Washington making the playoffs?  They played in the worst division in the NFL this year, yet they finished strong, went 9-7, and are actually favored to beat the Packers in this game.  Unimaginable.  Using the same QB logic that I used in predicting the Seahawks over the Vikings, you would think that in a dual between Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins, that the Packers would be the choice, but over the last several weeks of the season, Cousins has been close to terrific.  So, I am going against the grain here and picking the 'Skins to beat the injury riddled Packers.

And let's go out one day further to Monday night....

Clemson vs Alabama.  As is often the case in the high echelons of College Football, Monday's Championship game matches two coaches, Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban, whom, all things being even, you would almost always like to see lose.  Still, I recall Swinney and his totally outrageous and over the top meltdown when he chewed out his punter after the kid made a dumb play in the ACC title game, behavior that made me immediately and intensely dislike him, so I know that I will be rooting for Alabama in this one.  Clemson has an outstanding college quarterback, but Alabama is, well, Alabama, so I am calling for the Tide to roll in this one.

By the way, if Alabama does win, that will be the fifth National Championship for a Saban-coached team.  If he pulls that off, does he not belong in the highest ranking of collegiate coaching pantheons?  He may be a dour and unlikeable guy, but he sure can coach, can't he?

So, there you are....Steelers, Chiefs, Seahawks, Redskins, and Crimson Tide.  As always, watch, but don't bet!