KarateKen

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! 

21 hours ago, Patrick said:

The deluge of gambling ads across sporting events is a plague. I really dislike it, and while there are always going to be avenues to gamble, the accessibility of it is only begging for scandals. Having a toddler who watches sports, I am already getting ready for the eventual conversations about what it is, why he shouldn't do it, etc. 

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. 

On 11/9/2025 at 2:29 PM, bushido_man96 said:

Crazy that someone would train that hard to throw a fight.

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. 

2 hours ago, Patrick said:

It is hard to reconcile participating in a scheme like this for such little gain, but addiction is certainly a disease and gambling is one of many forms of addiction. 

I was watching a video about athletes and gambling, and evidently gambling is huge among pro athletes, many of them are likely somewhat addicted.  Part of the conversation was that athletes see it as a competition, to try and beat the casino, beat the game.  As you can guess, successful pro athletes are hyper competitive, and that extends past the competition on the field. 

I would also add that many top pro athletes are highly protected by the teams and the leagues they work for.  The Ravens initially defended Ray Rice, as one example.  A lot of these guys probably figure that they are above the rules because the leagues make so much money off of them, they want to protect that money train and keep it going, so a lot of these players might be under the impression that rules do not apply to them equally.  They have agents, media coaches, ect, who are helping shape a public image of the player which might be nothing like who they are when the camera is off. 

On 11/5/2025 at 10:33 AM, sensei8 said:

As long as the stadiums continue to sell-out, I believe the prices will continue to rise and rise. The sad thing, imho, is the type of the PLE isn’t important just as long as fans are willing to pay the astronomical prices at will.

I’ll just have to be satisfied with watching PLE’s on some streaming venue until I win the lottery, but that lottery will have to be a lot.

 

This is exactly it.  If enough people decide not to buy the tickets prices will drop.  

Part of the problem also is the resale market.  Some people are buying up lots of tickets and reselling them at a much higher price.  This causes the original prices to be raised also because the entertainer looks at the ticket prices in the resale market and says, "why should a reseller make more money on my tickets than I do?"  So, they raise the price to try and match it. Ticketmaster wants that ticket to keep reselling because every time it does, they get more money. 

Another week and another sports gambling scandal. The NBA, the UFC, and now MLB.  This is really getting out of hand. Two pitchers for the Cleveland Gradians, Emmanual Chase and Luis Ortiz, are facing criminal charges for rigging prop bets in games they pitched in.  The investigation started earlier this year because of unusual betting activity.  Ortiz was arrested on Sunday in is expected in court on Monday.  The accusation is that the rigging of the bets helped gamblers win at least 460,000 dollars in the Dominican Republic. Ortiz's lawyer has said his client is innocent and there is no credible evidence that he knowingly did anything wrong.  

It has been a busy day of sports news, including the first NFL head coach being fired this year.  That is Brian Daboll of the NY Giants.  The Giants were 20-40-1 during his time as head coach and the last straw was the loss to Chicago on Sunday, dropping the Giants to 2-8 on the season.  Mike Kafka will take over as interim coach. 

Thoughts to those who died in the recent plane crash in Kentucky.  There was also a near collision of planes outside LAX the other day.  Maybe not paying the ATC isn't a smart decision.  

As you might know, Felix the Cat is celebrating a birthday.  It was on this day (November 9, 1919) that Felix made his first appearance.  We were a cat family, and I have many memories of the Felix cartoons as a child. 

Felix is now 126 years old, that is 882 in cat years! 

I went as Dexter Morgan. 

You might not have noticed but the Anaheim Ducks are in first place!!  They are winners of 6 in a row and their 21 points is second best in the west behind Colorado.  Are the Ducks for real?  Too early to tell, as they got off to a good start in 2023 only to fall apart later in the season.  It has been a lot of long years for the Ducks, who have not been to the playoffs since 2018, the second longest in the league behind Buffalo.  During that stretch the Ducks have finished no higher than sixth in the division.  

1 hour ago, bushido_man96 said:

It seems like the bad news has just been rolling in this past week.  Condolences to the Tagliabues and the Kneelands.

On a less serious note, the Bills were on the wrong side of a butt kicking against the Dolphins as the 30-13 win for Miami ended my season in survivor league, so you guys don't have to sit through my ramblings about that for the rest of the year.  Another big upset was the Saints over the Panthers, and the Jets are on a rare two game win streak after beating the hapless Cleveland Browns.  The Ravens seem to be back from the dead, they have won three in a row and are 4-5, with games against the Browns and Jets the next two weeks, so they could be 6-5 and back in the hunt by Thanksgiving.  Colts and Patriots both win, so now three teams are 8-2, and the Seahawks win puts them at 7-2, same for the LA Rams.  While the best team right now might be Indy, their run game looks unstoppable, there is no clear frontrunner thus far.  The Bears and Bucs are both a quiet 6-3, while Washington continues to struggle and falls to 3-7 after getting blown out at home against the Lions. 

Aaron Rodgers is in LA tonight as the Steelers face the Chargers, and the 6-2 Eagles visit the 5-2-1 Packers Monday night, so two good matchups the next two nights. 

Fromer NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has died at age 84. Tagliabue was the league commissioner from 1989-2006. 

Another unfortunate story connected to the NFL, this one about former WR Antonio Brown.  Brown has been arrested on an attempted murder charge from back in June.  He was in Dubai and is being brought back to the US to face the charge.  Brown allegedly attempted to shoot and kill a man in Miami with a handgun, firing a bullet that grazed the alleged victim but did not kill him.  The charge is second degree attempted murder.  Brown has had several serious off the field issues over the years, none more serious than this one.  Many have pointed to a hit Brown took while he was with the Steelers.  It was a playoff game against the Bengals and LB Vontaze Burfict.  A very nasty and illegal hit to the head.  Someday I hope research is done on Brown's brain, very possible he has an extreme case of CTE. 

The Broncos are winning a lot of close games this year, and they did it again Thursday night, beating the Raiders 10-7.  Broncos are now 8-2, best record in the NFL, Raiders fall to 2-7. 

Allegations that at least one fighter was betting on himself to lose, then lost on purpose. Dana White has said the FBI is looking into it.  Two weeks ago, we saw the arrest of a current NBA player and coach for an alleged gambling scandal, and now this.  Bad timing for the UFC. 

Any thoughts? 

Fox Sports has hired former Saints QB Drew Breese to be part of their broadcast team, likely replacing Mark Sanchez who is facing legal problems.  Breese and Brady on the same network talking football.  

Another trade to discuss, the NY Jets have sent DT Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 second round pick, a 2027 first round pick, and DT Mazi Smith.  Many are critical of the Cowboys for this trade, saying it is way too much to give up for Williams, who has one sack this year.  Bill Simmons called the trade "bonkers," with his guest saying that Cowboys fans should be livid.  Dallas is 3-5-1 this year and ranks 31st in the league on defense.  

Has anyone noticed that when you do a Google search now the first thing at the top is Google AI?  Not sure what to make of that but I don't think it is good.  The AI is not reliable. I will give you an example.  I did a Google search about actor Harland Williams, a popular comedy actor from the 90s, asking a question about him.  Google AI stated something that he said as sarcastic but put it into the AI search as factual.  The computer can't tell the difference between jokes and truth, and if people read that and take it at face value they will be misinformed.  Can we get a fact check for AI? 

The Raiders have traded WR Jakobi Meyers to the Jaguars for two draft picks, 4th and 6th round, both in 2026. 

The Saints have traded WR Rashid Saheed to the Seahawks for two draft picks, a 4th and 5th round, both in 2026.  

Jaguars and Seahawks trying to improve their roster for a playoff run, Raiders and Saints planning for the future.  Good trade for all teams involved.

Greed is ruining everything.  

50 minutes ago, sensei8 said:

 

Btw, that 1 ticket will cost you $46,219.20. You do get to take your chair home with you.

 

How about NO.

6 minutes ago, sensei8 said:

Raiders…Raiders…Raiders!! There’s a saying that goes something like this…”Can’t win them all.” How appropriate when talking about the Raiders.

In O/T…

Raiders 29

Panthers 30 

Carroll went for the 2-point conversion but the throw was blocked.

Here’s what I don’t understand. Tie is better than a lose…or is it?!?

The Raiders aren’t one of the best 2-point conversion teams in the NFL:

This year, the Raiders have a 33.3% success rate. Last 3 games, they have amassed 0.00% 2-point conversion percentage, as well as last 1 games. At home, 0.00% success in 2-point conversion. Away, 50.00% 2-point conversion. Last year the Raiders had a 40.00% 2-point conversion overall.

Was Carroll gambling the percentage when her decided to go for the 2-point conversion instead of the extra point to tie the game.

Technically speaking, a tie is better than a loss. However, there are many factors to consider when deciding whether or not a tie is better than a loss.

In the NFL, a tie is better than a loss. That's what the data says, at least. In the past 20 years, there have been 191 tied games in the NFL. In those 191 games, the teams that tied ended up winning 55.6% of the time.

That’s what the data shows…before.

Nowadays the data says that it’s better to lose than tying.

This argument won’t ever be satisfied. I’m good with that.

I don’t question Carroll’s decision because after all, he’s the coach, and a darn good one, and who am I to question him!?!

As an armchair quarterback, I would’ve went for the tie!!

What do you think??

 

A tie is not going to get it done for the Raiders.  They are in a tough division and behind the eight ball after a terrible start.  Going for the win makes sense there. 

Colts lost to the Steelers, dropping them to 7-2, Patriots and Broncos both won, lifting them to 7-2, so three teams are an NFL best 7-2, and all in the AFC.  However, there are several teams sitting at 6-2.  One of them is the Bills, who beat the Chiefs on Sunday, drop the Chiefs to 5-4, third in the AFC West.  That is a tough division, and we could see three playoff teams from there, Chiefs, Broncos, and Chargers. The Vikings kept their season alive by beating the Lions, but at 4-4 Minnesota is still last place in the NFC North, another division that might produce three playoff teams.  There were high expectations from the Washington Commanders this season, but have been a disappointment, they lost to Seattle on Sunday, four losses in a row, and are 3-6.  The Cardinals have lost five in a row; seems they have not recovered from that fourth quarter meltdown against the Titans.  They face the Cowboys Monday night in hopes of ending that long losing streak.  The Falcons, who had a big win against the Bills a few weeks ago, suddenly are on a three-game losing streak of their own and find themselves in trouble.  

It is the middle of the season; this is where the contenders start to separate from the pretenders.