KarateKen

This came up once and our instructor said that he teaches his students everything he knows, rank appropriate of course. He said "any instructor that does not teach their students everything they know is cheating both the students, and the art." Not saying I agree or disagree, but that was his take on it.

What are your thoughts on RAF? There are a lot more eyes on it recently since some UFC fighters have been competing. I do not know anything about wrestling; I guess this is a different style than college wrestling.

At the risk of making a fool of myself, I am going to post some predictions for this weekend. I predict that the Rams will beat the Bears. I hope the Bears win, but the Rams have been my pick to win it all since August, so I am sticking with them as long as they are still in it. I do like Matt Stafford though and would be fine with him winning another ring, so either way it's OK. Then I am going to predict that the Bills go into Denver and beat the Broncos. Denver has won a lot of close games this year, and I question just how good the team really is. One of the things that makes the NFL so tough to predict is the lack of games. In a 17-game season, teams that are pretenders can look a lot better than they are. Is Denver that team? Also, don't get too focused on them having a bye week. There are many examples of teams over the years who get that first round bye then come out flat and lose on their home field, such as the Lions last season. This will be the Broncos toughest test yet. I know the Broncos have been great on defense. I know the Bills are banged up. I am going with the Bills. Then I am picking the 49ers to win in Seattle. This is the pick I have the least amount of confidence in, but I am just going with my gut. I am picking both #1 seeds to lose. The 49ers are banged up, and probably should not win this game in Seattle, but again, I am going with my gut. The only home team I am picking this week is the Patriots over the Texans. The Patriots defense last week was impressive, and so was Drake Maye. Good news for the Patriots is the Diggs hearing has been pushed back to after the Super Bowl. It's divisional round weekend, one of the best sports weekends of the year. Hope you enjoy it.

Harbaugh is now the new head coach of the New York Giants. A smart hire by the Giants, maybe he can turn that struggling franchise around. Giants have had three losing seasons in a row, and a combined 7 wins the last two years. Their last division title was in 2011. Harbaugh was arguably the most accomplished coach on the market this season. He won a SB with the Ravens in 2012, and his teams were often in the thick of if it, getting into the playoffs including a few AFC Championship Game appetences.

Thanks for this information, I will probably get some as well.

Speaking of teams that need a HC, add the Pittsburgh Steelers to that list. Mike Tomlin has stepped down at Steelers coach after 19 seasons, the morning after the team was eliminated from the playoffs by the Texans. To recap, since the list has gotten long, the following teams are looking for a HC: Raiders, Dolphins, Titans, Browns, Ravens, Steelers, Giants, Falcons, and Cardinals. Did I miss anyone?? If not, that is nine teams in need of a HC. And yes, Bob, I fully agree the Raiders need to upgrade at QB and OL. Would the Raiders be interested in Mike Tomlin?

Congratulations!

More and more people seem to be thinking this. With betting scandals in MLB, NBA, ect, I don't think it is unreasonable to question if the same thing is going on in the NFL. On another note, the Jaguars are eliminated after a 27-24 loss at home to the Bills. Jags had a good regular season, won the division, only to lose at home in the final minute for the first playoff game. My hope of a Bears/Jags Super Bowl has quickly been taken away. Oh well. Edit: The 49ers have won against the Eagles, ending the Eagles chances of repeating. Final score was 23-19. 49ers will visit the Seahawks and Rams will be in Chicago to play the Bears next week. It almost means both teams who were in the SB last year will not be in this year, something we haven't seen in a while. Two games left in the wild card round, both in the AFC. Chargers at Patriots tonight and Texans at Steelers on Minday night. Second edit: Patriots defense shuts down Herbert and the Chargers offense, winning it 16-3. Patriots advance and will host the Texans/Steelers winner. Third edit: Texans thump the Steelers 30-6 and advance. Here is the schedule for the divisional round, all times Eastern. Saturday: Bills at Broncos - 4:30 on CBS 49ers at Seahawks - 8:00 on FOX Sunday Texans at Patriots - 3:00 on ESPN Rams at Bears - 6:30 on NBC

The Rams and Bears both win and advance to the next round. I don't have a rooting interest in the teams this year so I would like to see some new blood in the Super Bowl, maybe a Bears Jaguars match up. Jags and never been to the big game and the Bears last visit was against the Colts in the 2006 season. I could use a break from teams like the 49ers, Eagles, ect that we have seen in recent years. Let's get some teams that have not been there in a long time!

Well, that was strange. Just a couple of days ago Mike McDaniel job was safe, then on Thursday he was fired. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross decided it was "time to move on," saying that he appreciated the hard work McDaniel put in, complimenting him as having a creative football mind. If the Dolphins hire Harbaugh, then we know why McDaniels got fired. The Dolphins were 7-10 this year, missing the playoffs for the second season in a row. In four seasons with Miami, McDaniel was 35-35 in the regular season and 0-2 in the playoffs. Early reports are the Lions are interested in interviewing McDaniel for their open OC position. Miami Dolphins are the newest of now eight teams looking for a head coach.

Another place to closely watch your surroundings is gas stations. If you are filling up the car, be sure to know who is near you, as gas stations are a common place of scammers and hustlers to confront you and try to ask for money. Often times they will approach you in large vehicle, kind of trying to box you in while you're filling up and will have multiple people with them. Try to fill up before you get down to empty so you have options, don't let yourself be stuck having to fill up at the next gas station just in case it is sketchy. As a rule, I fill up when I get to 1/4 of a tank, sometimes I do it at 1/2 a tank. Like a supermarket, everyone goes to a gas station which means it can lead to encounters with gang members, hustlers, crazies, and weirdos. We actually had a karate student who told a story about getting into a fight outside a gas station. Something to think about.

Todd Bowles was able to keep his job with the Bucs, but he is shaking up the coaching staff, replacing multiple people including the OC. Tampa finished 21st in total offense. This will be the 9th different OC Bakery Mayfield will have played under in his career.

Black Monday bleeds into Tuesday as the Ravens have fired head coach John Harbaugh after 18 seasons. That missed FG at the end of the game on Sunday cost him his job, and might have saved Mike Tomlin's, as there were chants of "fire Tomlin" from Steelers fans several weeks ago. While I did not expect this at the same time it is not surprising. The Ravens have not been able to get over the hump for a while, continuing to come up short in the biggest games against the best teams. Two Sunday night losses in the last three weeks, one to the Steelers and one to the Patriots, sunk Harbaugh's future with the Ravens. Now seven teams are looking to hire a head coach for next season: Giants, Titans, Raiders, Browns, Cardinals, Falcons, and Ravens. Mike McDaniel will be coming back for the Dolphins, but the team is looking for a new GM since Chris Grier was fired back in October. Miami was 2-7 but finished strong, securing McDaniel another chance next season. The Falcons are another team looking for a GM. Lions have fired OC John Morton, and Cowboys have fired DC Matt Eberflus. The Jes, Giants, and Commanders have all fired their DC as well.

Are you calling for Tom Brady to pull a Phillip Rivers??

NFL Black Monday is in full swing. As @sensei8 posted the Raiders have fired Pete Carroll after a disaster of a season. Also, the Falcons, Cardinals, and Browns fired their head coach. The Bengals have said they are bringing back Zack Taylor for next year, who will be on the hot seat. No word yet on if Tampa is going to keep Todd Bowles for another season or move on. The Bucs imploded in the second half of the season losing seven of their final nine games and missing the playoffs. The coach's abrasive press conference after the Thursday night meltdown loss to the Falcons failed the inspire the team much.