KarateKen

Alright, let's break it down. We are 11 weeks into the season and here are the current seedings. I've added a number in parentheses that is the statistical probability that team will make the playoffs. NFC. 1. Eagles (99%) 2. Rams (99%) 3. Bears (69%) 4. Bucs (85%) 5. Seahawks (91%) 6. Packers (73%) 7. 49ers (85%) and there are two teams on the bubble Lions (74%) and Panthers (21%) AFC 1. Broncos (96%) 2. Patriots (97%) 3. Colts (90%) 4. Steelers (39%) 5. Bills (93%) 6. Chargers (60%) 7. Jaguars (64%) and the teams on the bubble Texans (30%) Chiefs (52%) Ravens (77%) While no team is mathematically eliminated of yet, if your team is not listed the chances of them making the playoffs are very low. Of the teams not listed, the two NFC teams with the best chance of making the playoffs are the Cowboys (6%) and the Vikings (5%). In the AFC it is the Dolphins (1%). The Titans have the lowest chance of making it, under 1%, and if they lose on Sunday they will be eliminated. Remember that the % is to make the playoffs, not to keep the current seeding.

Cleveland pitcher Emmanual Clase, who is being investigated for rigging bets, has made a public statement defending himself. Clase has plead not guilty and argues that the text messages the FBI we misinterpreted and are not about illegal sports betting. What were the messages about? Rooster fighting. Clase claims that the messages were about rooster fighting, something he does as a side hustle. That is not his legal defense, that is just his public statement. Glad Mr. Clase has cleared that up for everyone. Sheesh.

Another crazy story, it has been one after another. New York Jets defensive back Kris Boyd was shot on the lung on Sunday morning in Manhattan. He is currently in the hospital and in critical condition. Evidently Boyd got into an argument with another person outside a restaurant that got heated and lead to the shooting. The suspect remains at large.

It won't get any easier this week, they play the 8-2 Colts on Sunday who are coming off a bye week. Then the play the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, so that one will be easier. Also, they will get another shot at the Broncos on Christmas Day. If KC can get in, they will have a chance to get back to the Super Bowl, though they might have to win three on the road in the playoffs. A few teams have done it, and those teams also had great QBs. The Packers did it when Rodgers was there, I think in 2010, they were a wild card and won the title. Then in 2020 the Bucs did it with Tom Brady, three on the road and won a home Super Bowl. It's rare but it has happened. With the talent, experience, and coaching that KC has they might be one of the few teams in history that can pull it off.

Soon I am going to start Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It has been on my book self about six months, which might seem like a long time to get to a book, but for me it is not at all. I've got many books that have been on myself for well over a decade that have never been opened. There will always be more books than time to read them. Thus is life.

They beat the struggling Blues but today they lost to the struggling Wild. Minnesota has 22 points, fifth in their division, and gets the OT win against Vegas 3-2. Both teams seemed unhappy with the officiating. Hey, at least Vegas won the Cup a few years ago, this is season 25 for the Wild and they have never been to the SC Finals. Slow start for both teams to this season.

Well Live by the Sword Die by the Sword. Dan Campbell and the Lions went 0-5 on 4th down attempts Sunday night against the Eagles. The aggressive style has been his approach to coaching the team since he took over in 2021, and often times with great results. Not this game. Eagles win it 16-9 and improve to 8-2. Philly looked good on defense, pressuring Goff the whole game, deflecting several passes, forcing an INT, and getting the stops. They also looked sharp on special teams coverage. Lions drop to 6-4, putting them in third place in the division behind the Bears and Packers. We now have the Eagles, Rams, and Colts all at 8-2, and the Patriots and Broncos at 9-2. Other division leaders are the Steelers (6-4) Bucs (6-4) and Bears (7-3).

Tough loss for the Vikings today as they drop to 4-6 after a 19-17 home loss to the Bears, losing on a FG as time expired. Chicago is kind of a quiet 7-3, a big improvement over where they were a year ago. They are winning some of these close games, five of their seven wins are by less than six points. Last year they found crazy ways to lose those games. The Bills bounce back after a blowout loss to the Dolphins; they win at home against Tampa. The struggle continues for the Falcons, Giants, Cardinals, Commanders, Titans, and Bengals, all who lost again this afternoon. Jacksonville got a big blowout win against the LA Chargers and are 6-4, Chargers are 7-4. Right now, the 7-2 Seahawks and 7-2 Rams are in a tight game, Rams lead 14-12 in the 4th. The Broncos and Chiefs are in the third quarter, tied at 13. Big game tonight between the Eagles and Lions in Philly. This is the time of year the contenders start to separate from the pretenders. Let's Go! Edit: The Rams have defeated the Seahawks 21-19, Chiefs and Broncos now tied at 19-19 in the 4th. The number 19 is showing up in a lot of scores today, that is unusual. 2nd edit: Broncos have defeated the Chiefs 22-19. Another close win for Denver, moving them to 9-2, tied with the Patriots for best record in the NFL.

More sad news connected to game sport of football. Laney College coach John Beam, known for his role in the Netflix series Last Chance U, was shot on the college campus Thursday, and died the following day. The Las Vegas Raiders released a statement on their website showing support for coach Beam, who has been coaching football in Oakland for decades.

The Patriots are red hot, winners of eight in a row, longest in the NFL this year, and are a league best 9-2 after beating the Jets on Thursday. Drake Maye is the front runner for MVP right now and Mike Vrabel deserves a lot of consideration for coach of the year. They have won more games this season than the previous two years combined, and it is only mid-November. After finishing with a losing record the last three years, nine wins assures that the Patriots will have a winning record this season. The Jets fall 2-8.

Former Steelers, Patriots, Raiders, and Bucs WR Antonio Brown has plead not guilty to attempted murder and posted $25k to get out on bail. Brown will be under house arrest and is required to wear a GPS ankle monitor while awaiting trial. He was also required to give up his passport. No trial date has been set yet.

Charlie Sheen has joined the NA beer business, releasing a golden nonalcoholic beer called WildAF. Kind of a play on his Rick Vaughn character "wild thing." Not sure the exact date it will hit the market but sometime before the end of the year. I'd give it a try.

I have not had a chance to speak with Felix directly, but the word is he is very appreciative of the birthday wishes. And some people say cats don't care. Blasphemy!

Agree with this and @bushido_man96 response, it has gotten out of control. For me it is also damaging my ability to enjoy sports. It has all shifted to the gambling and corporate greed now. We are bombarded with sports betting ads, even ESPN and Fanatics have an online sports book. In the NHL the Vegas Golden Knights wear a patch on their jersey for a Las Vegas sportsbook. It is everywhere. Furthermore, now anytime someone's team loses, anything strange happens, or a call is missed, the fans of that team claim the game is rigged. I wonder if we will see some cutback on this now that we have several scandals in the news at once, but I don't expect much of that. There is too much money in it.

Two things that come to mind when something like this happens. One, could he be making more money throwing the fight and if he were to win it? And two, is there anyone else involved, such as the mob. It's possible that someone has a figurative gun to his head and it runs a lot deeper than one fighter making a bad decision.