Fuck, most cities have celebratory riots.

Aw geez I outed us as being boring, sorry fellow kcers.

The 49ers clearly would have won if they had ran it. The Chiefs D is not as great as the talking heads desire to make the mass public believe. This SB should have been won by San Francisco, they are clearly the better team in every conceivable way. However if being the more talented team is all that mattered then SB 42 would have definitely turned out different, just like so many other ones back in the 1980's, but it comes down to what you do in those 60 minutes.

Did Kansas City earn it? What? That would be like asking if the sun rises in the east or not. Of course Kansas City earned it, they had the more dominant fourth quarter, but it was still a case of the 49ers not running the ball when they should have. This is the second time Kyle Shanahan has lost a SB because of his desire to call passing plays instead of rushing plays late into the 2nd half. So not only has Kyle allowed another team to come back from down 10 points in the SB but also allowed the biggest comeback in SB history - 25 points - by simply NOT running the ball late into the game.

With Betts and Price being traded to the dodgers, is there any REAL competition for the Yankees in the AL east now?

Tampa still figures to be really good. The Jays should improve with a full season of the 3 JRs and Ryu. Boston is still a really good team that had a down year last year, but can any of them even come close to the Yankees now? NYY won over 100 games last year while everyone was hurt. Full years from Judge, Staton, Voit and Andujar with the addition of Cole could be a 110-115 win team.

I was happy enough that the Chiefs won just becuase there’s a Canadian on the team, but this is fantastic - DT Derrick Nnadi pays the adoption fees for every dog at the Kansas City pound: https://m.facebook.com/KCPetProject/pos ... 3912887703

Well, on the Super Bowl- I really thought a couple key defensive breakdowns, particularly in the secondary and Mr. Motormouth Richard Sherman, were as much at fault for the 49ers loss as questionable playcalling late in the game.

If Sherman and the defense had known what the heck was going on instead of looking like keystone kops, Kansas City would have faced a certain punting situation at 4th and 15 from their own 30. Instead they go from that to 1st and 10 from the 49ers 15yard line, because they had a receiver running down the middle of the field all by himself with the nearest defender like 20 yards away. And on top of that, Sherman and that #56 (cant think of his name) were missing tackles and blowing cover assignments all game. 56 did somewhat redeem himself with the interception, but the next possession- he whiffed badly on a key tackle, looking like a confused and overmatched rookie.

I just don't see how you reached these conclusions. Anyways I hope we are back winning it next year and all the dumb comments will be so much easier to deal with. I think by the time Mahomes retires people will be tired of him winning everything, and he'll have the kind of general resentment Brady has accrued over 20 years from 95% of the country just from winning so much.

I think it’s fair to say that a team that has a lead in the fourth quarter “should win”. As much as the Chiefs deserve to be greatly celebrated for their comeback, San Fran should also feel like they really buggered it up.

SO who is excited for the XFL kickoff???

Actually, anyone watching UFC tonight? Overall, the card looks weak on paper but I think it will be a fun one. Something is telling me Reyes might be the one to beat Jon Jones... but it's also Jon Jones so maybe that's just how my brain is justifying me spending $65 on this pay-per-view tonight...

I also came to post a sarcastic comment about the XFL

Since I made four declarations in just the part you quoted, I think you should have been more specific.Since this part is immediately following how I reached conclusions, it is fitting that this is directed at me. So my comments were 'dumb'? They would only be dumb if they were based on nothing at all or factually wrong information. Just because you intuitively evaluated my claims instead of cross-examining them does not make my declarations dumb. Even if this was not directed at me, no one who might be selling the Chiefs as less than a god is just dumb. It is never good to evaluate a claim on intuition.
95%? Just throwing out random numbers now? I am certain you did not poll the football watching percentage of 331 million people, so that number is way off. It is significantly more common that people respect Brady in every way but just dislike that he does not play QB for their team. Why do you think teams are considering looking at him in FA - despite being 43 at the start of next season - even though some of their fans have turned their basement into an anti-Brady shrine that would make Ray Finkle blush?
- Also, do not compare any part of Mahomes career with Brady's. Mahomes is not going to win six titles and come just inches from winning three out of four on two separate occasions. Like I wrote above most people resent Brady's success with a team that is not their own and the fact they have to agree that Brady is the GOAT of the last half century.

Brady's record speaks for itself. Will Mahomes or any other player ever duplicate what Brady has done? Who knows. Too early to tell.

Generally speaking, a team that leads by 10 in the 4th should generally win, but things can happen. I once saw a college team, Washington State, rally from 21 points down with six minutes left in the 4th quarter- and win. There was a bit of luck involved- First, the other team's blithering baked idiot of a quarterback, Montell Cozert, literally pitched the ball to a Washington State defender who returned it for a TD. Then, the ball took a bad bounce on the ensuing kickoff, and ricocheted off one of the return team and was recovered by the kicking team as a live ball. But they scored the tying TD with less than a minute left to force OT and win.

I have watched a few bits and pieces of a couple XFL games and it's mildly entertaining, but I still doubt it lasts more than a single season. These alternate pro leagues generally don't have much of a history of success- just the way it's always been. Even the USFL only lasted maybe two or three seasons, tops.

Man, the Pacific Division is so fucking tight. I have a feeling the Oilers make it this year, so long as they keep up this STELLAR track-record and stop getting owned by fucking San Jose. But man, every single game is a must win at this point. I'm just glad we don't have any Toronto superfans up in this bitch, because lets be honest, with the way their division looks this year, they should be doing far better than they are.

I’m intrigued by the three convert options the XFL has, as well as the quicker play clock to speed things up. I would be happy if the league survives and football becomes a year-round sport, even though it would mean competition for players for the Canadian Football League.

Really? Too early to tell? The Chiefs have, with this team, maybe four or five more very strong years but that amount of talent comes with a hefty price tag. Andy Reid is a month from 62, who says he coaches another 10 years. Also, the AFC has a lot of emerging as well as great teams. Both the AFC East and AFC North should be dynamite next season, with all 8 teams in playoff contention past week 9. But, really? Too early to tell?

A few years after I began watching football I found a book in school library about the history of the Cleveland Browns, beyond just the success. How their massive success, coupled with the endless number of innovations, came about. So how unlikely is anyone equaling Brady? The upcoming season will be the 65th since the last time a single man was playing in his 10th league championship and winning the 7th title.

The first Superbowl I remember well was SB IX (Bradshaw's first) and shortly thereafter is when I found said book. My love for the game started mostly from that book and I have always maintained that - based on totality - Otto Graham is the greatest QB in all of history. Even though I watched Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana win 4 SB's, Aikman win 3 and Staubach win 2. No matter...

Otto is the only QB to ever win 7 titles. Closest to him? Tom Brady.
Otto is the only QB to ever complete a perfect season. As of 2020 - 151 years as a sport - no man has ever played QB to a complete perfect season for his football team. The closest? Tom Brady. One Tyree helmet catch away.
Otto lost 2 title games as a result of fluke lucky plays by the other teams offense in the last 90 seconds of the game. Otto was literally two lucky plays by the other team from being 9-1 in title games.
Otto is also the ONLY man in the entire history of US sports - regardless of the year/era - to be a starter for the league champions of two different sports. He won a major league basketball title and major league football title less than four months later. Only one other person has ever done this, Gene Conley, but he never started any game.

Not to put too fine a point on it but despite being a Pats fan since '72 I consider Graham the GOAT and until Brady wins his 7th title, he will always be 2nd greatest. Is he a better athlete and all that junk people add in? Probably but no one plays the game other than to win and no one ever won more than Otto Graham did. Greatest = Winning. Best = Subjective Opinion.
I saw a bit of the one game and I hope it succeeds. I don't need extra football but having a different league where personnel can try different ideas, forcing the NFL to adopt some changes, is excellent for the league. The NFL has since 1920 adopted most of their core ideas from what other leagues were doing, they proudly boast of being a copycat league and this will be no different. The first incarnation of the XFL, as embarrassing as that was, introduced the SkyCam. Not to mention it also could not have been too bad a stain because the name has not prevented another incarnation to start. I hope it succeeds. I really enjoy their kicking rules. It livens up that portion of the game. For so many decades the PAT was so gifted that most new fans thought a TD was literally 7 points.

Graham won 4 of his 7 "titles" in the second tier All-American Football Conference (this includes his undefeated season). He only won 3 NFL titles, and those are the only ones that really count.

The NFL doesn't count his AAFC titles; why should we? They weren't equivalent levels of competition. If Tom Brady joined the CFL or XFL and won titles there, would you count them?

No doubt Graham's record is one of the best there ever was but come on that's ridiculous to count titles he won outside of the NFL.

Because you, unlike the NFL, do not stand to lose assortments by inclusion. The Pro Football Hall of Fame encompasses all of football, from the birth of the sport in 1869 to present day, and they definitely include all of his achievements.A player/team can only scrimmage against whoever they have to. I am willing to bet those older players would have crushed you, so they could not have been that inane at competition. The Browns and 49ers both proved they would have competed for the NFL title in all four years they were in the AAFC, especially the Browns. A team does not accidentally go to six NFL title games after the NFL claims the team was subpar, mostly to avoid having to absorb the entire league. If you really want to go into all of the legalities on why the NFL waited until the very last available moment to absorb three AAFC teams we can, but it would be a lot simpler to just point out that the NFL stood to collapse if they had to absorb the entire AAFC after the '49 season commenced.

The AAFC is the reason three separate NFL owners had to pursue potentially illegal avenues to make payroll for their teams. The AAFC was winning, hands down might I add, the race to sign the best players and this was causing the NFL contracts to become stacked. It is important to note that the AAFC was the first American football league to not fold due to financial trouble, only the AFL 3 meets that distinction, and only ceased operations once the NFL accepted the AAFC's demands. This would also mean they had to accept the history of said teams, legally. Why do you think they took the proven to be bad business model of accepting a swing team for the Baltimore Colts? Or that they deliberately gave the Browns the hardest possible schedule, including to open the season against the two-time defending NFL Champion Eagles? Or how the NFL owners were resorting to tactics, to scout and steal the teams playbooks, before the playoff round against the Giants?

They were the only team to admit scouting the Browns before the season and were, not coincidentally, the only team to beat them that rookie year for Cleveland, actually beat them twice. How significant? Their first meeting that season the Giants shut down the Browns, in Cleveland, 6-0, the only time in Otto Graham's entire career (138 games) he was held scoreless. That would be 138 football games but he also scored points in every game he played in professional basketball (37). So in 175 professional contests, in 2 different sports and 3 different leagues, he was only held without scoring in 1 game. No man has ever played professional American football for, at least, that number of games and been held scoreless only once.

Are you going to hold to your dismissal of largely arbitrary reasons when someone criticizes a current generation QB in the future? Those QB's might have to deal with a 17 game season, virtually removing the 8-8 possibility. Would that mean football prior to the 18 week schedule is irrelevant and of a bygone era?Absolutely! A Professional football title is a professional football title. The game still has to be played and rather it is fair or not a QB is ultimately judged by championships and overall career winning. As a professional football player Tom Brady's achievements are second only to Otto Graham.If you look back at my post, the part about the XFL, where I mentioned how other leagues influence the monopoly the NFL has on American football. Not even the third incarnation of the AFL influenced professional football as the AAFC did, it literally rewrote what American football was. Ever wondered why the numbering system exists in football as it does? Too many players from the AAFC had odd numbers (RB's in the 70's and OL in the 20's. QB's in the 60's and LB's in 30's) so the three teams included forced the NFL to adopt the numbering system. Why significant? That was the first major change to the game of American football that influenced the lower levels. Until then the collegiate game influenced the pro game but this was reversed and has, ironically, changed very little since that 1952 implementation.

As a lifelong CFL fan, I damn well say our great league counts! Yes we have several rules that theoretically make offence easier, and the career passer ratings of Warren Moon and Jeff Garcia bear that out (better in the CFL than the NFL). Then again, y’all have the longer play clock and the extra down...
Flag-waving aside though, I can grudgingly admit that nowadays the two leagues are not comparable levels of competition. But in Otto Graham’s day and shortly thereafter we did post a 2-8 record in interleague exhibition play. That’s not good, but enough to say that in the 40s-60s, the CFL could sometimes almost be as good as the NFL
So it follows logically that the AAFC - a league that was good enough to be partially absorbed into the NFL - must have been even closer to parity. Discounting AAFC titles is pretty much the same as dismissing pre-merger AFL and NFL titles, which were only not Super Bowls in name only.

One thing does need to be said- and this isn't to discredit what Otto Graham and the Browns achieved back in the 40s/1950s- is there were far fewer teams back then. For most of the 50's, there were just a dozen teams, maybe 13 before the old Yanks (ex Boston/New York team) folded for good. There was only 2 divisions of six teams and oftentimes no playoff at all; the two division winning teams went straight to the championship game. Nowadays theres 32 teams and the postseason consists of 2 to 3 rounds of playoff games before reaching the championship. So it was somewhat easier then when there were fewer games per season (only 12), and fewer chances to be eliminated in a playoff game.

That is, however, interesting history about the AAFC that not many fans are aware of. I do know that the Browns, 49ers, Colts and I think the Rams (unless I'm mistaken) came from that league originally. And the Colts really struggled for a couple years after joining the NFL. They actually ceased operations for a season or two before being resurrected, I think.

Yeah. Anyways I'm not much of a historian but it is hard to imagine the competition in Otto Graham's day being anything like today. Similar to the NBA, the amount of money to be made in the NFL attracts the very top athletes in the country. There were great players in the 60's but I imagine the rosters were filled out with average athletes who wouldn't come close to a tryout today. I would say that makes Brady hands-down the best ever, but in another 40 years people will be arguing whether Brady could play in the Jetsons NFL of 2060 or if he was just a product of inferior competition. Anyways., I doubt anyone will ever equal his super bowl success, but it's fun to dream.

As far as the XFL, hope it does great, and I hope they can become like a minor league for the NFL. They need to reconcile their competition, so players are free to be called up, but with the amount of money involved I doubt the NFL will share with anyone. It would be great for players to be able to develop in games as opposed to the practice squads. Yes I am aware of preseason but it's not really the same sense of competition and urgency as a separate league with its' own trophy.

The Browns, 49ers and Colts were absorbed by the NFL for the 1950 season, and that incarnation of the Colts folded after one season.

I would argue the opposite of that. Fewer teams means less spots available, so only the very best got into the league. And I'm not sure about this, but I think each team’s roster itself has grown over time, as the sport’s gotten richer and able to pay more guys. So old-time players had to have more varied skills.
I can sort of see where a shorter schedule could be easier, but on the other hand, having a couple more games means a couple more chances to overcome laying an early-season egg. I’d rather be 6-5 with five games left, than 6-5 about to close out the season.

I mean, they also didn't have modern training techniques, nutrition or even any real health awareness.

And only one respond does need to be said - that is not a relevant factor in anyway. In fact, fewer teams means there is a better chance of parity. Case in point, the Los Angeles Dons had a four year run at 25-27-2, yet they are the only team to beat Cleveland twice in that 4 year run, once in '46 and once in '47. The Dons win against the Browns on October 12th 1947 was the last loss the Browns suffered until October 9th 1949. That 727 day length between defeats remains the longest for any team in the history of American sports and is the longest unbeaten streak in the history of American football.
- Also to use a modern example. The Patriots have dominated the AFC East and yet - since their dynasty start in 2001 - they have only swept the AFC East two times (2007 & 2013) and each time they ended up in the wild card round ('05, '06, '09 & '19) were the direct result of a loss to an AFC East team. Now the AFC East in this twenty year run has been considered lackluster and despite this the Pats have been unable to wholly dominate the division. Why? Because the more you play a team the better your chances in knowing them so well that it evens the tables.So what? There were only 26 teams in the NFL for the first four years I watched. Then there was only 28 teams for the next 19 years after that. What is your point? ... 50 years from now there might be 36 teams in the NFL, does that mean we should ignore Peyton Manning's achievements because he played at a time when there was 4 (or 5) less teams in the league? I really hope you can see how poor this argument is.But, again, so what? The regular season has been, literally since the NFL's inception in 1920, an elimination tournament. Even now the regular season is a tournament that decides which 12 teams will enter the single game elimination tournament.No the Rams actually were birthed in Cleveland Ohio and were part of the AFL 2. Did you even know that Red Grange started the original AFL in 1926?

The fact that football fans are unaware of this is actually quite sad to me. It is even more compounded by the fact that I never once heard anyone in the '70's, '80's or '90's try to make excuses for previous eras success.I was going to respond to the rest of your post but since you decided to be rude then I will refrain. I also do not recall when I asked if my comments were dumb.Which is one of the reasons why claiming that athletes are bigger today is not applicable. It is not just that the modern day has better equipment, gyms, personal trainers and health awareness but it is significantly easier to spend all day in the gym getting physically fit when you have inked a 5-year, $85-mil contract, with $55-mil guaranteed.

The average height of a QB in 1950 was between 6'0 - 6'2 (Sammy Baugh was a rookie in 1937 and stood 6'3) while the average height of a QB in 2020 is 6'2 - 6'4. I do not wish to spoil the illusion here men but unless the subject is of male genitalia, 2 inches do not matter. Besides the real reason that players are larger today in terms of mass is less about physical prowess and more about steroids and other growth hormones injected into the animals so as to keep up with the needs of more people. Steroids do not discriminate which species it enters and with several generations raised on meat from animals that are abnormally large (this deliberately done by hands in order to get more money from having larger animals) they will get large. That is why a teenage girl can have fully developed secondary sexual characteristics or teenage boys can pass for being early 20's.

Imagine how you would feel if you and someone else were up for receiving an honor you both rightfully deserve and the powers to be determines you got the job, not because of experience, qualifications or prior excellence, but because you are 6'4 and your colleague is 6'2. No one should ever use the argument from size because it is one of the easiest to refute.

Integration, though. Many teams wouldn't sign any Black players at all, and the ones that did often had strict if unofficial quotas. I don't think any sport had a more concentrated talent pool in the days of lily whiteness.

Picking up right where he left off in Oakland (and others), QB Pat McGroin had a dreadful game for the New York Guardians in the XFL today. 44 yards before being pulled in the fourth quarter

I think I’ve found my XFL team. I have long thought there should be more sports teams called the Dragons, and damn I love those Seattle Dragons uniforms. Also great to see one of my dad’s favourites Jim Zorn calling plays.
On the other hand, the Dallas Renegades name and logo remind of my hometown Ottawa Renegades in the CFL, whose every game we attended except the one I was too nauseous to get out of bed without toppling over.

Big-ass irony of the day: Fans looking to protest the sign-stealing Houston Astros at their pre-season opener, got their signs stolen
https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/02/22/fan ... tolen/amp/

This is going to be relentless. It's still mind-boggling to me how no player got suspended. I understand the rationale of the immunity to get information angle. I get the explanation the fans were given, but COME ON. It's SUCH Bullshit that none of these players were reprimanded. Where is the real incentive for players to not do the exact same thing in the future?

High and tight

Seriously considering taking a trip to New York in September for the Yankees vs. Astros games.

Two more years. Rickey Paulding, already 37, extended his contract with the Baskets Oldenburg for another two years. Still and always the best player the Basketball Bundesliga ever had. Hopefully there won't be a scandal about him mixing drugs into his kids' food because he says they love living in Oldenburg. Better than Detroit I guess.

In other news, professional tennis is not as attractive a sport as it used to be.

Talk about a triumphant return! Ottawa’s Bobby Ryan takes three months leave to complete the NHL’s substance abuse program, then pops a hat trick and a fight in his first home game of 2020.

Our team might suck this season but they play with heart and guts. Especially Ryan and Tkachuk give it everything they've got. I continue attending their games and having a great time. I might also try to attend some Belleville Senators playoff games this spring. The youngster look quite promising and Belleville is always worth a trip.

Hey, the Sens are posting a .750 record since Ryan’s Return. Just sayin’

News from my home state...

North Carolina girl wrestler dominates boys to become first ever female state champion

I wish the new league well, because I like football and more football is good - even if it offers another competitor for players to my favourite CFL. But, today was the first big balls-up for the XFL. Houston’s quarterback knelt on 4th down to end their 32-23 win over Seattle... except there was still time on the clock and nobody seemed to notice! There should have been a trnover on downs and one more play for Seattle from the 20yd line.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... -game/amp/