Sport

My mistake. The initial TV view only showed the batted pass and I missed this clip. Still, that was the least impactful because the Bengals stopped them three plays later anyway. I think my other points stand. Also, I need to be clear, officials aren't the only reason the Bengals lost. They had plenty of chances to go take it and didn't. It's just lame when it feels like the field isn't level.

Again, Mahomes did the same thing - no call. Chris Jones hands to the face on that play - no call. Missed two blocks in the back on the Chiefs punt return. Phantom defensive holding that gave the Chiefs a first down on their third down do-over, which didn't end up mattering much because the Bengals forced a punt on the next set of downs, but still. A lot had to go wrong for the Ossai play to matter. The entire gripe is they put the flags away for one team, but kept throwing them on the other. I don't think that's an unreasonable stance.

I don't agree. Close enough to Perine to not be called most of the time - Burrow's been doing that all year without a flag. Then Mahomes does the exact same thing the next possession and they didn't get a flag. Either call it the same or don't call it. Also they missed Chris Jones hands to the face on Burrow's intentional grounding. The way you handle the extra third down botch is you don't flag a non-existent defensive holding on the do-over third down play to give them a whole new set of downs. A little make-good there for the Bengals would've been the just course of action. And you call the blocks in the back on the punt return that gave KC an extra 20 yards. Not saying it was rigged because I'm not an idiot. It's simply Hanlon's Razor in action. The Chiefs got some help in the second half that the Bengals didn't and all I'm saying is that's a bummer of an outcome.

that. That fourth quarter was an officiating joke. Worst officiated game I’ve seen since Super Bowl XL. I liked the part when they gave the Chiefs a fifth down and then had the balls to throw a defensive holding flag on it. If you’re gonna get :censored:ed by the officials it might as well be in a new and creative way. That wasn’t on the level and everyone here knows it. The out of bounds play was a penalty for sure, but the curious part is where the entire chiefs oline got to zip tie our defensive line in the same play. Also, they missed a rulebook block in the back on the last punt return, but I guess the Bengals should’ve won by two scores so I’m not allowed to be mad, right? Eagles by three touchdowns.

I agree with all of this. I watched fewer than 20 games last year, which would've amazed 2012 me. That was mostly because our Silver Spoon dumbass owner dared me not to watch, but still I wasn't really tuning into any other games around the league. I've tried to get into Ohtani and some other star players and for whatever reason I just don't care anymore. I think the worst thing about baseball right now is so many of the teams aren't doing all they can to win. You have teams in contention who are selling trade pieces at the deadline, actively not trying to make the playoffs. That's a huge problem. Imagine if the Ravens, Steelers, and Browns had done nothing to improve this offseason in order to win a very winnable division. That's the NL Central right now! 4 teams are going to just give it to the Cardinals. I felt a little bit melancholy when Rolen news came out because it reminded me of the last time the Reds mattered as a civic institution here. Now they feel like an outdated business that you can't believe people still use. Like Jai Alai or a travel agency or something. it's my mentality because none of this is serious business. It's just sports. The extent to which it matters is WAY overblown. Especially by you. I don't know where you got this idea that a guy good enough to make the hall of fame would only able to do it because he didn't have to play in a pressure cooker market, but it's really dumb. I don't know where you got this perception that cities outside of the Northeast are cultureless tumbelweed farms. None of these cities are Cousinfukk, Arkansas, they still have to deal with fan backlash, annoying media questions, and the pressure of performing because the difference between millions and the minors is like 3 hits a week. Also their opponents are the same major leaguers they'd see if they played in New York or Boston. The game's hard everywhere even if you're not being harrassed by 45,000 BBTVs every night.

Rolen is a fringe guy that I could've gone either way on and I always tend to lean towards just putting the fringe guys in because who cares. Matt Williams is a no, though. He was also probably on the juice, which I don't personally care about, but if you're not even a fringe guy and you were on the juice then no. Rolen is just the start and I want to caution you guys so you're ready for it - The voting bloc for the hall of fame is changing and along with it is thinking about where actual value in baseball comes from. Also Harold Baines and Jerry Reinsdorf lowered the line forever. There's going to be a lot more guys in the next two decades who get in who your initial reaction will be "THAT GUY'S NOT A HALL OF FAMER". Just get ready for that.

Matt Williams 46 WAR doesn't match Rolen's 70.

First of all, he was pretty good in his Phillies years so "he couldn't thrive in the "bright" lights" isn't even true. Second, he didn't go to Nunavut - He played before way more people in his St. Louis years than he did in his Philadelphia days when the Vet was an empty hole so LOL at "anonymity". The game's hard everywhere. You act like athletes have never struggled with fans or media anywhere else besides Philadelphia. I don't know how to convince you that you're not special. He was pretty good in the 06 WS, but also it's baseball where a guy could go 5 for 5 with 5 home runs and his team can lose. You can't hold only one ring against him. What does that have to do with anything? You feel differently than almost every voter. How else would you measure what a HOFer is? Their Q score?

Where do you come up with this stuff? This is Baylessian. If Josh Allen's defense hangs on for 13 more seconds I firmly believe he and the Bills would've won the Super Bowl last year. He was perfect in the playoffs last year and lost for reasons fully outside of his control. He was also injured this season.

You're going to make me say nice things about the Cardinals? Not cool. Stats are what we have to go off of. I'll ignore all the Philly Feelings grudge holding from over two decades ago because that's, frankly, a really silly thing to still be going on about. I'll just say he's got the 9th highest WAR by a third baseman ever, 8 gold gloves, 7 all stars games, RotY, key contributor on all those undeniably good Cardinals teams, played on a half dozen division championship teams*, and was on a couple World Series teams. To say he was not impactful is just incorrect. *including two for the Reds and winning the division with the Reds should count twice because look at us now.

Scott Rolen is the only player to get into the Hall of Fame this year. No complaints from me. Todd Helton missed by 11 votes.

Eagles Bengals

Sorry, guys, but I love that Coyotes alternate. The cactus on the pants is something I would've done in the concepts board when I was 14. Also, I'm watching Blue Jackets-Flames right now. First time seeing the Flames nu-blasty uniforms. Again, sorry, but I love these. I think I'm getting soft and less critical in my old age.

Are you sure he's not? He's comparing the Bills to the Bengals and I don't know after yesterday how you can say the Bengals don't have better coaching than the Bills. They went to the Super Bowl last year, they're one game away from going back again, and he calls the plays - You can't say Zac Taylor isn't one of the reasons they're winning these games. Also, coaching includes Lou Anarumo, who held the Bills to 10 points yesterday. Harbaugh's a good coach, though, and had the benefit of an extra game to prepare for the wildcard game. Due to the coinflip scenario, the Bengals didn't have that luxury and lost their starting right guard as a result. The Bengals were effectively asked to win their wildcard game twice, which is a really tough request for any team, let alone against a familiar opponent, let alone one who's already a bad matchup for the Bengals. The Ravens might be the best defense the Bengals see in the postseason. I wouldn't try to take any lessons from that game that had a lot of weird circumstances.

I know how you feel and I wish the Bengals hadn't been the team to eliminate the Bills. Don't take this personally as a Bills fan, but my frustration this offseason was that the Bengals were treated like a fluke while the Bills got all the benefits of the doubt. It's not your guys' fault, but they were the trendy pick of so many pundits. All of the NFL Network Sunday show people picked the Bills, for instance, which is just bad television. I really can't believe how not close it was and I'm really glad it didn't come down to a terrible call or something. I felt all week like if the Bengals were going to win they'd have to win by multiple scores so Roger couldn't manipulate a replay review to get his neutral site conference championship test*. By the way, that was a touchdown catch and that was a fumble. *I'm on Team: That's a hideously bad idea and I hope it never happens.

It’s very funny because the nfl coverage sphere seemed to anoint the Bills as the Chiefs primary threat because they lost a close game to the Chiefs, ignoring that the Bengals beat those same Chiefs twice. It almost felt like from my point of view the Bills got more respect for losing to KC than the Bengals did for beating them.

Only child. Coddled beyond belief. Her parents thought she was perfect, took it personally when the world did not bend to her will, never heard the word “no”, etc. Also, this was 2009 so the shoe was the extra heavy platform style. You could’ve used that thing as a hammer.

My college girlfriend used to hit me in the chest with a closed fist along with the occasional slap in the face because she knew I wouldn't do anything in response. She also threw a high heel shoe at the back of my head when I wasn't looking. Her anger management and conflict resolution skills were insane, like she thought the point of having a boyfriend was someone you boss around and get into public arguments with. The smallest thing would set her off and when I started dating my now wife the first time I went to her with a request I was sheepish like "hey do you mind if I go to X with X?" It was almost like I had PTSD and she, like a normal person, said something like "yeah I don't care. Why are you asking me?" I remember thinking oh so this is how it's supposed to be. I like the guy running around the arena floor like it's an accomplishment that he knocked out a guy who was CHECKS NOTES just standing there and let him hit him as hard as he could. You're a real strong tough guy. I find UFC pretty yucky, but at least the participants have an opportunity to fight back and there's strategy involved. What's the sport in hitting someone who is just standing there? Just go to a batting cage or hit golf balls at a driving range.

I'm very nervous about the offensive line injuries, but I hope you're right.

Remind me when that was. I just think the Chiefs are the third best team in the AFC and I don't think much of their defense. Nobody remind me of this when they win the AFCCG in 8 days.

I obviously could be wrong, but, especially with Mahomes' injury, if feels like the winner of Bengals-Bills is going to the Super Bowl.

I think he's both. He's from Wheeling, West Virginia and went to Carneggie Mellon and has a severe case of Steelers Brain. In any case, :censored: that guy. The late Brady era of the patriots were absolutely joyless, plodding, boring, and made football a chore. At least the Chiefs occasionally do cool stuff.

So they just gave Mahomes an orange peel and a couple Tylenol, right?

I give old players and coaches a pass for semi- rooting for their old teams on those shows, but just a guy who's just a fan? Nah it's really fu***ng not cool. He's the only person I've seen on that show who's ever done anything like that that I can remember.

Mike Florio is a Steelers fan at his core* which means he's both a moron and a bad person. He fabricates :censored: with zero evidence and then does this "I'm just sayin..." bullshrt. Like the time he speculated based on nothing that Joe Burrow would try to pull an Eli Manning and force the Bengals not to draft him. Then when everyone rightfully called him a stupid a$$hole for that he went "hold on I only said he could try that. It's an option for him." Dude's a Darren Rovell tier grade-a weenie and also sucks. *He even waved his terrible Towel on NBC when the Bengals and Steelers played on SNF earlier this season.