Seadragon76

I think you're overreacting.. Yes, Boston has looked great so far. But, it's Brooklyn - a team that really cannot get out of their own way to save themselves (BTW, back stiffness my ass... Ben didn't want to take the fall should the Nets lose tomorrow night). Milwaukee is more then likely the next opponent for the Celtics and then they may have either Miami or Philadelphia. Nothing is guaranteed here. Golden State, on the other hand, looks like the best in the West by default because they seem to be the only top four seed to NOT have issues (despite Jokic taking Denver on his back today and staving off elimination). Phoenix is having to hold off a very game New Orleans team; Memphis is having a slug fest with Minnesota and Utah-Dallas might end up going down to the wire. The Warriors, on the other hand, look to be in great position with a 3-1 lead.

The Birmingham vs. New Orleans game next Saturday might be the best game in the young season... both unbeaten, a great offense against a great defense, and a strong home crowd for the Stallions despite being the road team.

With the Nets down 3-0, they have no choice to bring in Ben Simmons to try and save the day... Good luck with that, Brooklyn.

And thanks to his double finger salute to Boston fans, Kyrie is now out of $50K

Oh, I get it now: The pizza incident was Strike Three for him... kind of glad to have some sort of statement saying "Hey, he wasn't let go because he wanted pizza instead of chicken salad... he was let go because he was habitual rule breaker and the pizza incident was the last straw"

I think that being in Phoenix, who languished for years in the middle of the pack to near the bottom of the Western Conference before this resurrection, probably helps hide CP3 from the praise he should be getting.

I'm willing to give it a shot because it is spring football and the players out there are basically trying to impress NFL scouts with actual game play and the skills they have. The challenge is simple: Will this be sustainable? The momentum built by the AAF and the XFL before those leagues went under do tell of a precautionary tale of how these spring leagues can fall apart at a minute's notice, whether it was by lack of money or a worldwide pandemic.

Yeah, all the games are held at Protective Stadium for 8 of the 10 weeks with two weeks (Weeks 8 and 10) at Legion Field. I like to think it was a cost saving move on their end despite the level of success the AAF and the XFL had from having games on home fields of the teams there. If the games are good, people will watch... but, I don't know if that would be enough.

It is nice to see Minnesota finally break free from the doldrums they've been in for years and reach the playoffs. Yeah, it's a win in the Play-In Round, but it counts all the same... right? As for Brooklyn: *sigh* I honestly expected much better from the Nets then a Play-In Round berth. All that talent and they basically were bogged down by drama all season long - whether it was Kyrie Irving being a selfish dope when it came to vaccines, KD getting hurt and the inevitable third wheel that is now Ben Simmons, all this drama led to a team that didn't achieve what many pundits out there expected from them.

That's where Incarnate Word comes in. They will join the WAC next season alongside Southern Utah (and non-football school UTA). They're at eight for 2022. Lamar and Sam Houston State leave, dropping them to 6 schools in 2023. Rio Grande Valley's football program comes in for 2024, giving the WAC seven football playing schools in the foreseeable future. There's two ways the WAC can go about this: Either convince one of the non-football schools to start a program or snatch another school from another conference. I personally think asking one of the non-football schools might be easier to do.

And now, a curve being thrown... Lamar decides that the WAC is too hard for them, doubles back to the Southland in 2023

Dude, you HAVE to stop coming up with these half-baked ideas when it comes to realignment. Tennessee State is needed big time in the Ohio Valley with the conference adding two D-II call ups in Lindenwood and Southern Indiana next season. Having them go down some FBS based rabbit hole is suicidal at best.

Called it. To be fair, it was a needed move for the NEC since they lost Bryant. Adding Stonehill gives the conference balance again. They might not be done yet...

Time for the draw.. Here's the groups: Group A - Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands Group B - England, Iran, USA, UEFA Playoff Route A Winner (Wales vs. Scotland/Ukraine) Group C - Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland Group D - France, IC Play-Off 1 Winner (UAE/Australia winner vs. Peru), Denmark, Tunisia Group E - Spain, IC Play-Off 2 Winner (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand), Germany, Japan Group F - Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia Group G - Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon Group H - Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

With 29 of the 32 spots set, it's time for focus on the World Cup draw on Friday. Here's how that'll work... Each of the teams will be split into four pots based on the upcoming FIFA World Rankings, which are set to be released tomorrow (for this example, the current ranking is used). Each pot has eight teams, so they go like this: Pot 1: Qatar, Belgium, Brazil, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal Pot 2: Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, United States, Switzerland, Croatia, Uruguay Pot 3: Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Canada Pot 4: Tunisia, Cameroon, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, UEFA Playoff Route A winner (Wales/Scotland/Ukraine), Intercontinental Playoff A winner (Peru vs. UAE/Australia winner), Intercontinental Playoff B winner (Costa Rica vs. New Zealand)

Bryant's move is important on both sides. For America East, it's about getting a school that has seen its stock rise thanks to their recent success on the basketball court. Also, they are losing Hartford and Stony Brook. For the Big South, it puts them at six schools this season. This means they're able to keep their automatic bid for the time being (remember, the merger with the Ohio Valley is set for 2023). As for the NEC, it does hurt them because Bryant was doing so well. There are a few options out there for the NEC if they want to make a move - Rumor has it that New Haven and Stonehill are the targets for the NEC right now, but there might be more teams involved then you might think.

It's a draw, which means both the US and Mexico are still tied and still in great position to make the World Cup. Costa Rica edged out Canada 1-0 (caught the very end of that game - Canada had a chance, mind you), which is huge for Costa Rica as they leapfrog past Panama into 4th place. Sunday's games are going to be extremely important as Canada looks to seal their first trip to the World Cup since 1986 with a win over Jamaica, the United States can get in with a win over Panama in a huge game for both sides and Mexico can get in with a win over hapless Honduras.

I say it's a crap shoot because it's been a mess for the OFC. After being held up twice thanks to COVID-19, the organization settled on a simple 9 team tournament in Qatar just to make it work... well, it hasn't worked that well. Tonga withdrew before their qualifier against the Cook Islands after the underwater volcano erupted. Then, you have COVID-19 outbreaks causing both Vanuatu and the Cook Islands to withdraw from the tournament giving both Tahiti and the Solomon Islands a free semifinal berth. That's just Group A. Group B has been very calm and problem free.

Getting a point against Mexico will be important since both teams are fighting for the other two spots into the World Cup. That'll make the other two games easier since both Panama and Costa Rica are fighting for 4th place, which would be a spot in the playoffs against whoever survives the absolute crap shoot that is Oceania. A win over Mexico all but assures the US is getting in. A loss means Mexico's road is all but assured (their last two games are at Honduras and vs. El Salvador) while the US is pressing the panic button.

Am I the only one here that thinks it is very strange to have Herbstreit being the color commentary guy for TNF?

I should of just googled it, but thanks anyway @Sport. This and the Sonny Gray move strikes me as odd moves. Wasn't Cincinnati within striking distance of a playoff berth last year?

Seattle just made a trade with Cincinnati... anyone know how good Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez are? Because I get the feeling that Seattle is going all in with these moves and the expanded playoffs.

Just for kicks, a quick update on each league... IFL -Spokane was kicked out of the league because they lost their lease to the Spokane Arena. -This helps as the league is now at an even 14 teams with the expansion Vegas Knight Hawks competing in the Western Conference alongside Arizona, Bay Area, Duke City, Northern Arizona, San Diego and Tucson. -In the Eastern Conference are Bismarck, Frisco, Green Bay, Iowa, Massachusetts, Quad City and Sioux Falls. CIF -Four new teams were added in the Topeka Tropics, the Southwest Kansas Storm (based in Dodge City), the Billings Outlaws and the Rapid City Marshalls.

Hell. No. As a fellow Seahawk fan, I implore you to rethink that.

This hurts a lot... I mean, as a Seahawk fan, losing Wilson is tough. But, what Seattle gets in return from Denver is important - three players that could provide something, two first round picks (I assume it's this year and next year), 2 second round picks and a fifth round pick. The challenge now is not screwing this up.