by Julian Spivey
The Major League Baseball All-Star ballot is out for fans of the game to vote either for who they think is most deserving of a spot (my preferred way of doing it) or their favorite players into the midsummer classic, which will be held at Atlanta’s Truist Park on Tuesday, July 15.

The MLB All-Star ballot is done in segments. The first phase includes a player at each position from each of the league’s 30 teams. This phase, currently underway, runs from June 4 to 26. The top two players at each position (six for outfield) are then taken to phase two of the voting, where the recipient of the most votes gets the starting nod in the All-Star Game.

Since the league began this process, I’ve enjoyed doing this yearly piece where I look at the ballot and select which players I believe to be the most deserving of the spot solely based on the information given on the ballot: batting average, home runs, RBI and OPS.

*All statistics in this article are as of June 11.  

First Base: Jonathan Aranda (Rays) & Pete Alonso (Mets)

Perhaps the biggest surprise on either side of my ballot this season has been Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda. He’s hitting .314 with seven home runs, 36 RBI and an OPS of .878. My only fear with Aranda’s All-Star case is that he’s not a household name, even potentially among veteran baseball fans, to make the cut phase one of the ballot.

The decision on who to take on the N.L. side of the ballot on first base was the hardest of any spot on the ballot for me. I had to choose between Pete Alonso of the New York Mets and Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their numbers are close. Freeman has a higher batting average (by a good margin) and higher OPS, but Alonso’s power numbers are considerably higher, with eight more home runs and more than 20-plus RBI. This could be a good ballot fight to watch.

Second Base: Gleyber Torres (Tigers) & Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks)

I mentioned Aranda was the biggest surprise on either side of my ballot, but honestly, Gleyber Torres of the Detroit Tigers has a case for that, too. Torres was supposed to be a star with the New York Yankees, and it never panned out, but he’s putting up star numbers for the best team in baseball so far this season, the surprise Tigers. Torres is hitting .272 with five home runs, 30 RBI and a .770 OPS. Much like with Aranda, I wonder if Torres will have the chance at unseating a more famous second baseman like Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros for the spot.

Second base isn’t close at all in the N.L., the spot should go to Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte, who is hitting .297 with 12 home runs, 22 RBI and an OPS of 1.003 (only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani on my ballot have a higher one). Marte did miss some time this season due to injury, which might lead to some leaving him off their ballot.

Third Base: Jose Ramirez (Guardians) & Manny Machado (Padres)

There’s no doubt my picks for the hot corner are high-profile MLB superstars, even if I still consider Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians to be maybe the most underrated star in the league. Ramirez is hitting .331 with a dozen homers, 33 RBI and a .938 OPS. He does have intense competition from Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman for the spot. Machado has a fairly good hold on the N.L. spot as far as stats go. He is hitting .320 with 10 home runs, 39 RBI and an .891 OPS. His biggest threat could be the hometown Atlanta Braves fans trying to vote Austin Riley into the start at his home ballpark.

Shortstop: Jacob Wilson (Athletics) & Francisco Lindor (Mets)

OK, so maybe there’s a handful of ballot surprises in the American League … Sacramento Athletics (I don’t care what the league and franchise say, they play in Sacramento) rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson has taken the game by storm this season with a .366 average, eight homers, 38 RBI and a .922 OPS. I hope that lack of name recognition and playing for the A’s doesn’t affect his chances. Francisco Lindor of the Mets is no stranger to playing in the midsummer classic, and the veteran is making a great case for another appearance with a .282 average, 14 home runs, 38 RBI and .836 OPS.

Catcher: Cal Raleigh (Mariners) & Will Smith (Dodgers)

What has gotten into Seattle Mariners backstop Cal Raleigh this season? His 26 home runs lead the league (his career high is 34). He’s on pace to smash Salvador Perez’s record for most homers in a season by a catcher (48). Raleigh is hitting .265 with 53 RBI and a 1.001 OPS. Will Smith is looking to make his third consecutive All-Star appearance for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s hitting .324 with six homers, 37 RBI and a .930 OPS.

Outfield: Aaron Judge (Yankees), Riley Greene (Tigers), Byron Buxton (Twins) & Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks), Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs), Kyle Tucker (Cubs)

Aaron Judge is the best player in Major League Baseball right now, and it’s not particularly close. He’s hitting almost .400 at the 1/3 mark of the season, and his power numbers are through the roof, as usual. Cal Raleigh seems to be his only threat at winning the A.L. Triple Crown this season, and I’d have to think Judge will ultimately surpass Raleigh in homers. Judge is putting up one of the greatest seasons in MLB history. The other A.L. outfielders I’ve chosen are Riley Greene, from the league’s top team, the Tigers, and Byron Buxton, who is living up to expectations after years of injury issues. Greene is hitting .279 with 13 home runs, 44 RBI and a .819 OPS. Buxton is hitting .279 with 11 homers, 41 RBI and a .857 OPS.

A couple of Chicago Cubs outfielders are having great seasons: youngster Pete Crow-Armstrong and veteran Kyle Tucker, whom the team acquired from the Houston Astros in the offseason. Crow-Armstrong is hitting .271 with 17 home runs, 55 RBI and a .850 OPS. Tucker is hitting .274 with 13 homers, 43 RBI and a .895 OPS. Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks is having a great start to his season with a .260 average, 19 home runs, 43 RBI and a .915 OPS.

Designated Hitter: Rafael Devers (Red Sox) & Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)

There was a lot of attention given to the fact that the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman in the offseason, and Rafael Devers wasn’t happy about being moved out of his third base position to be the team’s designated hitter. Devers even began the season in a remarkable slump. Now he’s the hottest hitting D.H. in the A.L. and could wind up starting the midsummer classic alongside Bregman in the A.L. lineup. Devers is hitting .276 with 14 home runs, 57 RBI and a .911 OPS. As long as Shohei Ohtani is in baseball, he probably has a lock on the designated hitter spot in the All-Star game for whatever league he’s playing for – even in a season like this one, where a fellow D.H. like Kyle Schwarber for the Philadelphia Phillies is putting up huge power numbers. Ohtani is hitting .290 with a N.L.-leading 23 home runs, 39 RBI, and a 1.008 OPS.
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by Julian Spivey
I had this idea to try to figure out the greatest Indianapolis 500 field of all time. I didn’t impose many parameters on it. I knew 21 drivers have won multiple Indianapolis 500s. Those drivers were all a lock to make the field. That left just 12 more spots for drivers who have won the race. I made the decision you had to have won the Indy 500 to make the field. Sorry, Michael Andretti. I know your 431 laps led in the race are the 11th most in history, but if you couldn’t get the job done, I couldn’t fit you into the all-time field.

I didn’t want to make the call over which drivers who have only won the Indy 500 once deserved to start higher in this field than those who have won multiple times. So, you might be saying, “I’d rather have Mario Andretti or Scott Dixon in my car at the Brickyard than Takuma Sato.” OK, I’d probably too. But Sato won more Indy 500s. This isn’t the greatest drivers to ever appear in this race; it’s the all-time field for this particular race.

When it came to ranking drivers who had the same number of wins in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, there were statistical categories I used to differentiate between them, most of which involved Indianapolis Motor Speedway (top 10s, laps led and poles), but I also factored in championships won. Note: I only included championships for USAC, Champ Car and Indy Car. So, if you notice Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Jim Clark have fewer titles than you think they should have, that’s why.
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On January 16, 2006, the Washington Capitals played the then-Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona. Washington was leading 5-1 in the third period with about eight minutes left. Rookie Alex Ovechkin scored a highlight-reel goal by falling, curling and dragging the puck into the net while on his back. The crowd that day was in amazement at the replay, wondering how Ovechkin scored a goal like that. On the home bench for the Coyotes, the coach who happened to be on the wrong side of the blowout and the incredible goal that was scored against his team was the greatest player in NHL history, Wayne Gretzky. While Gretzky scored 894 goals in his outstanding career, he did not score a goal that was truly amazing and a goal that people still talk about to this day. Ovechkin scored his 32nd goal of the season in that game and would go on to score 52 goals for the 2005-2006 season. He would win the Calder Trophy that season as the top rookie in the NHL.
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The following year, 2006-2007, Ovechkin scored a league-high 65 goals, the only year he scored more than 60 goals in a season. Ovechkin has scored at least 20 goals every year. He has led the NHL in goals eight times. As he continued to set new marks, the hockey world thought not if, but when Ovechkin would become the new all-time leading goal scorer. The goal on that January day in 2006 should have been used as a reminder that perhaps the one who would surpass Gretzky in goals all-time would be right in front of him.

On April 6 against the New York Islanders in New York, Ovechkin surpassed Gretzky and became the all-time leading goal scorer in NHL history with his 895th goal. While the Capitals lost the game that day, it did not matter because this is one of those moments many people thought would never happen. When Gretzky played, you saw the tremendous skill that made him the best hockey player ever. In 1992, Gretzky passed Gordie Howe at 802 to become the all-time leading goal scorer. What was ironic about Ovechkin breaking Gretzky’s record was that Ovechkin scored 895 in his 1,487 game. That is the same number of games Wayne Gretzky played in his entire NHL career.

There is no doubt Ovechkin will become the first player in NHL history to score 900 goals. The question is how many goals he will finish in his career. Could he get 1000? I would say no, but never say never. The one thing you can give Ovechkin credit for is his durability. We all know hockey is a tough sport, but for Ovechkin to surpass Gretzky in the same number of games they both played is remarkable. Ovechkin could play another three to five years if he chooses that route.  His physical strength is incredible, and he is a true defender’s worst nightmare. Another astonishing fact is that Ovechkin has done this with one team his whole career. Ovechkin was drafted number one overall by Washington in 2004, but did not make his team debut until 2005 due to the league-wide work stoppage that canceled the 2004-2005 season. Ovechkin and other players like Sidney Crosby have reenergized the game of hockey since the return of play in 2005, and for 20 years, they have helped the league grow to new heights. 

​All these records, yet it feels like he’s not done. There will be a number for the most career goals in NHL history. What will be the final total? Will anyone break Ovechkin’s goal record? Congratulations to Alex Ovechkin, the greatest goal scorer in hockey history. 

NASCAR president Steve Phelps announced on Monday, March 31, that the sport and Tesla have reached an agreement for the car company to sponsor the sport’s truck series, which Craftsman previously sponsored.

The particular financials have yet to be released, but the truck series will solely run Tesla Cybertrucks as part of the sponsorship deal. This deal eliminates Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota from the truck series. Those manufacturers will remain with the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series.

“NASCAR is the blood of this country. In fact, I think Sunoco gasoline and motor oil run in the veins of red America,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said.

Phelps sees this as an excellent opportunity for the future of the sport.

“Nothing says America quite like Tesla! We’re proud to partner with the company and their Cybertruck line.”

The drivers of the NASCAR truck series had slightly mixed views on the collaboration between the sport and Tesla.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to build more of a true American first fan base,” said Billy Joe Burney. “Most NASCAR fans are already god-fearing conservative folks, but I think this is the pathway to making that number 100 percent.”

Two-time truck series champion Tony Vickers wasn’t a fan of the merger between NASCAR and Tesla. That is, until he learned that Tesla's CEO Musk has some key similarities with another legendary car maker of the past, Henry Ford.

“I’ve been a Ford driver all my career because. Not because I like how they drive, but because I appreciate founder Henry Ford’s views on the Jews. Oh, really? Musk doesn’t like ‘em either. Well, by God, bring those Cybertrucks on!”

It seems the one true standout against Tesla Cybertrucks coming into the NASCAR truck series was rookie Transam Jones.

“I have some major concerns about the safety of these Cybertrucks. Hell, they fall apart standing still. What do you think will happen when we get a bunch of ‘em in a pack at high speeds at Daytona?”
Phelps told the media on Monday that he didn’t believe there were any concerns about the safety of the Cybertrucks, and it was all a leftist ploy to make Musk, Tesla and America look bad.

“Those lefties can’t even tell the difference between a man and a woman … you think they know a damn thing about cars?”

Musk made some “vroom vroom” noises with his mouth as the press conference ended. 

 
Because of the unpredictability of motorsports, especially with how some of the tracks are in NASCAR – I’m looking at you, Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta – predicting the 16-driver playoff field for the Cup Series is no easy task. If you correctly pick 12 out of the 16 drivers at the beginning of the season, you’ve done a pretty good job. Here’s my attempt at predicting the 16 drivers that will make the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

*These rankings are in alphabetical order, not by how likely I believe the drivers are to win the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell is good for at least two-to-three wins every season. He won three last year in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota. He’s been in the top five in the point standings over the previous three years. He also has one of the best average finish stats in the sport. He should be a lock for the playoffs.

Ryan Blaney
Coming out of the penultimate race at Martinsville last season, I believed Ryan Blaney would become the first back-to-back Cup Series champion in over a decade. It wasn’t to be. But Blaney is one of those you should pencil in for multiple wins every season (though he did go winless in 2022). He won three races in 2024 with 12 top-5 finishes.

Alex Bowman
My prediction of Alex Bowman making the 2025 NASCAR Cup Playoffs is more a mark of faith in Hendrick Motorsports than Bowman himself. If you drive for that team, you’re likely bound to win a race in the first 26 events of the season to qualify for the playoffs. However, Bowman surprised me last year by doing that at the Chicago street race.

Chase Briscoe
Like all of the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing team, Chase Briscoe didn’t have a very good 2024 season, but he still found himself in the playoffs by winning the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. He’s now with the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team, opened by the retirement of Martin Truex Jr., and finds himself with the best ride he’s had in the Cup Series. Look for a significant improvement for Briscoe in 2025 and potentially his first multi-win season.

Chris Buescher
​I was shocked that Chris Buescher failed to make the NASCAR Playoffs in 2024 after a surprising 2023 campaign that saw him win three times. He won a race in the playoffs at Watkins Glen, which is probably the most surprising of his six career wins. He was the best driver in ’24 to miss out on the playoffs, and I don’t expect to see it happen again. He has a three-season winning streak right now, and I’m sure he’ll find a way to make it four in a row.

Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch’s talent and the way Richard Childress Racing looked in the last third of the 2024 season are the only reasons I’m predicting a return to the playoffs for Busch after missing out last season. It was the first season of his career in which he didn’t win a race, which can’t possibly sit well with him. I think he will do whatever it takes to find his way into Victory Lane in 2025, and if he and RCR can’t do that, it might be time for him to consider hanging up his steering wheel.

William Byron
William Byron has been among the winningest drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series over the last two seasons, winning nine races. Between that and his Hendrick Motorsports equipment, it would be dumb not to think he will win at least once in the regular season to make the playoffs. For some reason, Byron seems to be an early-year driver who tends to fade, at least as far as winning races late in the season, despite finishing third in the standings in the last two years.

Ross Chastain
Ross Chastain not making the NASCAR Playoffs in 2024 shocked me. He had won two races each in the two seasons prior, and there was no reason to believe that he and Trackhouse Racing would take a step back. Chastain, like Buescher, did win a race in the playoffs. There may be a reason to believe Trackhouse takes a step back this season with the addition of a third car potentially pulling resources. Still, I look for at least somewhat of a resurgent year for Chastain, even if it’s only him returning to his two wins in 2022 and 2023.

Chase Elliott
Statistically, Chase Elliott was one of the best and most consistent drivers in the Cup Series in 2024 despite only winning once. He had 11 top-5s, 19 top-10s and an average finish of 11.7. He also led 431 laps. The wins will start coming more often again for the driver, who has seen a couple of down years since winning five races in 2022.

Ty Gibbs
This has to be the year Ty Gibbs finally wins in the Cup Series, right? Frankly, the fact Gibbs hasn’t won a race in his first two full-time seasons is one of the more shocking things I’ve seen in recent NASCAR. He drives for one of the two-to-three best teams in the sport for his grandfather’s Joe Gibbs Racing team and has a ton of talent, which we’ve seen in the Xfinity Series. His top-10s and average finish weren’t all that better in his sophomore year over his rookie year, despite his playoff debut, he did lead more than 300 more laps than the prior year. They say the 100-race mark is the key number for drivers in the Cup Series, and Gibbs will reach that around the 1/3 mark of the season.

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin is the elder statesman of the NASCAR Cup Series now, which seems wild. We’ve seen with drivers of his ilk that once they get to around his age, they begin to win less and perform worse. However, Hamlin has managed to win multiple races every season since his winless campaign in 2018. Regression at this point wouldn’t be surprising, but he also won three races in 2024 and led more than 900 laps. I don’t see him falling off a cliff, which is what he’d need to miss the playoffs.

Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski finally snapped his long winless streak in 2024, winning for the first time as a car owner at Darlington Raceway. His consistency wasn’t all that special; in fact, he had fewer top-10s and a slightly worse average finish than the year before. There’s also some thought that Roush-Fenway-Keselowski Racing could take a step back this season by adding a third team. If there’s one driver in my predictions I’m most on the fence about, it’s Keselowski.

Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson is pretty much the year-in-year-out favorite to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship despite not having won the title since 2021. He led the series with six wins in 2024 and has won 13 races over the last three years. He’s going to get his share of trophies. It just comes down to if he can get them at the right time in the playoffs.

Joey Logano
Defending champion Joey Logano has won two of the last three NASCAR Cup Series titles. There’s this trend that I don’t believe in, that he’s only really a threat in even years. He finished 12th in the point standings in the year between his two most recent titles. His first title also came in an even year in 2018. He’s combined for eight wins in the last two even years and only two in the previous two odd years – but again, that must be a coincidence. I expect he’ll find his way into the playoffs, whether winning multiple races or not.

Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick came into 23XI racing in 2023 and instantly became the top driver of that team. He’s won five races over his two seasons with the organization and made it to his first Championship Four appearance last season, finishing fourth in the standings. He’s one of the most consistent drivers in the sport, and there aren’t many weaknesses in his game – though he’s yet to win at a short track. Look for him to win multiple races again this season.

Shane Van Gisbergen
Shane Van Gisbergen is an odd duck for NASCAR. If I had to place money on one driver to qualify for the NASCAR Playoffs, it would be Van Gisbergen. But then, if I had to put money on the playoff driver least likely to win the championship, it would also be Van Gisbergen. There’s zero chance he fails to win at least one of the five road course races in the regular season, which would qualify him for the playoffs. I suspect he’ll be average to less than average at the ovals. 

One of the most common posts I’ve seen on various social media sites leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX has been a variation of “I’m boycotting the Super Bowl” or “Boycott the Super Bowl.”

There are numerous reasons why people want to boycott the Super Bowl this year. President Donald Trump will be in attendance, the NFL is removing the phrase “end racism,” which has appeared on the end zones the last few years, there is a (wrong) perception that the Kansas City Chiefs are being helped by unfair officiating, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is a controversial misogynist, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce gave a diplomatic answer this week when asked about playing in front of the President, and I’m sure a plethora of other reasonings.

I agree with many of the reasons people want to boycott the Super Bowl, except for the “NFL is rigged” one—those people are bonkers.

If you want to boycott the Super Bowl because of any or most of these, I applaud you for being that strong.

However, I’ll watch the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles battle in Super Bowl LIX.

It’s been a hard few weeks for many of us. But we should try to enjoy the things in life we enjoy. One of those things for me is watching major sporting events, and though it may not be my favorite, there aren’t any bigger in this country than the Super Bowl.

The NFL, at times over the last decade, has driven me insane with some of the stupidity in which it operates, mainly the Colin Kaepernick controversy that should never have been controversial at all. I find both President Trump and Butker to be heinous, despicable men with harmful ideas and statements. I wish Kelce had given a better answer than the basic one he did.

However, I wouldn’t hurt the NFL, President Trump, Butker or anybody else if I don’t tune in to the game tonight. I would merely be depriving myself of something I enjoy.

And if I boycott the Super Bowl. I’d have to boycott next weekend’s Daytona 500, an event more significant to me than the Super Bowl, because President Trump is rumored to be attending the event for the second time in the last six years and attended last year’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I’d probably have to give up country music, a genre I enjoy. There’s no telling what I’d have to boycott over the next few years.

Maybe this makes me weak? Perhaps somewhat complicit.

But here’s one thing I know to be true. It will be a challenging four years, at least, for many of us in this country—perhaps the majority of us—so we need to take care of ourselves as best we can.   

For me, that means enjoying what I like.  

You do what you must to get by.

JS: Super Bowl LIX is this Sunday, February 9, on Fox at 5:30 p.m. (CST). For the second time in the last three years, America’s biggest sporting event will see the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles facing the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs won the matchup two years ago and are looking to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls.
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JS. Let’s talk about which team has the advantages at the key positions. Regarding the all-important position of quarterback, which team has the advantage?

EF: I like Jalen Hurts as much as the next person, but this is a no-brainer. It is Patrick Mahomes, and he has had a chance to win four Super Bowls in the last six years. It is his and Kansas City's fifth Super Bowl in the past six years, which is incredible. It is something we probably will never see again. It is truly remarkable. Don't get me wrong, Hurts making his second Super Bowl in three years is great, but Mahomes is having a fantastic run.

JS: Yeah, the experience and three rings already on Mahomes' hand mean you have to give him the advantage at QB. He also seems to play at his best on the biggest stage. But you're also right about Hurts leading the Eagles to a second Super Bowl in three years. He's a solid quarterback, and I don't think he gets enough credit for leading this team. He also doesn't turn the ball over much.

JS: Philadelphia has had the best run game all season behind Saquon Barkley, who I believe we've both said over the postseason should be the league's MVP. Barkley ran for over 2,000 yards this season and over three playoff games, has 442 yards, so nearly 150 per game. The Chiefs have been relying a bit more on veteran Kareem Hunt, who they picked up midseason to carry the load on the running game. He has 108 yards over two postseason games on 25 carries. Isiah Pacheco has had just 10 carries this postseason for 30 yards. This one is pretty lopsided in favor of Philly, isn't it?

EF: Yeah, this is not close. Barkley is having an outstanding year. Hunt will probably score a touchdown in this one, but Barkley will have a great game in the Super Bowl.

JS: How many yards do you think Barkley will put on the Chiefs' defense?

EF: Barkley is the reason the Eagles will be in this game. Plus, what works for Saquon is he has the best offensive line in the NFL. He has to be fired up playing his first Super Bowl. I would say he gets about 130 yards on the ground.

JS: I agree that Barkley is the reason the Eagles are in the fight. If the Chiefs defense holds him to under 100 yards, the Eagles won’t have a shot.

JS: I know it’s a bit unorthodox to talk about the defenses before we get to the receiver corps, but let’s do that now. Do you think the Chiefs will keep Barkley from running all over them - even though 130 is a lot of rushing yards, it would be under his postseason per game average. And which of these teams has the best defensive unit?

EF: There have been times when I have seen the Chiefs’ defense exposed. But I think they can make adjustments and get a big stop when they need to, especially if the game is close and we assume it will be close. I will have to give the Eagles a slight edge on defense. I think they have played better than the Chiefs throughout the entire season.

JS: Statistically, this season, the Eagles had the best defense in the league. Teams only averaged 278.4 yards per game against them. The Chiefs defense was ninth in the league allowing 320.6. In the postseason, the teams are a bit closer in this category. The Eagles' D allowed four fewer TDs on the season than the Chiefs. Both have allowed five touchdowns in the postseason, but notably the Eagles have played one more game. I think the Eagles have the advantage on D too.

JS: OK, let's get back to the receiving corps. The Eagles' primary wide receivers are A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson and tight end Dallas Goedert. The Chiefs’ biggest threat in the passing game is its veteran tight end Travis Kelce, along with receivers Xavier Worthy, DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Which team has the edge?

EF: This feels close between the two teams. I like the Eagles' receiving core with Brown, Smith and Goedert. However, the Chiefs acquired Hopkins in mid-season to go along with the veteran presence of Kelce and the rise of Worthy. I am going to take the Chiefs by an inch.

JS: Hopkins hasn’t done much this postseason. It’s likely because defenses are targeting him more, which has led to good postseason numbers for Worthy. Kelce has turned it up a notch in the postseason. It's no shock, as he’s always been Mahomes’s number one target. What’s wild is how often defenses have been leaving Kelce wide open. I’ll also give the Chiefs a slight edge at receiving.

JS: How do you think the special teams line up?

EF: Both teams have excellent kickers. Neither one has been perfect all season, but this will be a close game, and I have to give a slight edge to Harrison Butker over Jake Elliott.

JS: I know many people out there would love to see Super Bowl LIX end with Harrison Butker missing a game-winning field goal, and I can’t say I blame them. He’s one of the most despicable players in the league. But he’s also been one of the best kickers the game has had during his tenure with KC.

JS: Andy Reid is 3-2 in Super Bowl appearances. Nick Sirianni is 0-1. How big is the gap regarding the coaching advantage for the game?

EF: It feels massive because Sirianni can do some really dumb stuff that could cost the Eagles some games, but the talent overcomes his coaching sometimes. Reid is a mastermind, and I think we should debate the fact that Reid could be the greatest coach ever, especially if he becomes the first coach to win three straight Super Bowls. It is not even close as far as who the better coach is.

JS: So, what’s your prediction for Super Bowl LIX?

EF: It is going to be a great game. I am looking forward to it. I will say the Chiefs win a wild one, 38-35.

JS: I watched SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt a few nights ago, and he asked ESPN NFL analyst Damien Woody for a Super Bowl LIX prediction. This is paraphrasing, but Woody said Chiefs because he doesn’t want to feel like an idiot picking against them and being wrong. It does feel like that because it feels like you need to see them lose first. I didn’t like them to win the AFC Championship two weeks ago, and I immediately had that feeling. But do you know what? I just feel like it’s the Eagle's year. They almost beat them two years ago, and now they have this run game that’s hard to stop. I won’t predict a score but I will predict the Eagles to win Super Bowl LIX with an MVP performance by Barkley.

There were some excellent NFL Playoff games during the Divisional Round last weekend, but the biggest story seemed to be the perceived officiating bias benefiting the Kansas City Chiefs.

The perception that the league and its officials intentionally benefit the Chiefs has been going around for a while among fans of the game during the Chiefs’ successful run that has seen the team in seven consecutive AFC Championship Games.

This is the kind of thing that you’ll often see among sports fans when a team is on a significant run—we’re seeing it right now in baseball with fans claiming the Los Angeles Dodgers are ruining or breaking baseball with their free agent signings, despite the fact that the Dodgers have only won two championships in the last 30 years.

Sports fans tire of dynasties quickly and sometimes refuse to give credit where it’s due for a team’s success. Critics of the New England Patriots dynasty were/and still are quick to bring up things like Spygate and Deflategate for that team’s success. Since the Chiefs haven’t had any real scandals, fans must make up their own and have come up with the idea that the team benefits from rigged or at least biased officiating, especially when it comes to plays involving its star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.

But if you simply look at the facts, which are easy to do in the world of sports, because sports keep statistics for damn near anything, you’d see this isn’t the case.

According to The 33rd Team, the Chiefs have gotten the least amount of help from NFL officials since Mahomes became the team’s starting quarterback in 2018.

Since 2018, the Chiefs have ranked first in total penalty yards, meaning the team has literally had more penalties called on it than any other team in the league. The team ranks 21st (of 32) in total penalty margin. It’s dead last (32nd) in offensive penalties committed and 31st in defensive penalties committed.

If you want to shorten the sample size, as Sharp Football Analysis did, and go back to 2021, the Chiefs have had fewer penalties than their opponent in 52.9% of games – so not outrageously in the majority. That number has been more lopsided in the postseason. In 11 postseason games since 2021, the Chiefs have only had more penalties than their opponent once. But wouldn’t you expect a team in the postseason year-in-and-year-out and with three of the last five Super Bowl titles to be, I don’t know, the better team when it comes to penalties?

According to the Associated Press, the Chiefs have been penalized 147 more yards over the last three seasons than their opponents, including the postseason.

Do you think the team gets preferential treatment in the game's biggest moments? The AP also shows this hasn’t been true. During Mahomes’ tenure as QB, the Chiefs have the seventh-worst penalty differential in the fourth quarter and overtime in the league. They have also received 20 fewer first downs via penalty than their opponents in the second half of games in that span.

Then there are the people complaining about how Mahomes can’t be touched without the defensive team receiving a roughing the passer penalty, which happened twice in the Divisional Round last weekend against the Houston Texans (and both were explained by the league afterward).

When it comes to roughing the passer calls on quarterbacks per 100 pass attempts, a stat I didn’t realize was tracked until this week, Mahomes only has the seventh-highest percentage among active NFL starting quarterbacks. Statistically, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (who will face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday) receives the most roughing-the-passer calls against him. Both Mahomes and Allen started their careers as starting QBs in 2018. Allen has had 38 roughing-the-passer calls on hits on him. Mahomes has had 31.   

The problem is that people don’t care about facts these days. They care about perception, groupthink, what memes say and what they believe in their minds. They don’t want to do research or read articles about it. They want to cry, “The league is rigged! The refs are on the Chiefs’ payroll!”

If you want to think NFL officials give the Chiefs preferential treatment, go ahead. Just know it’s all in your head.

JS: The Kansas City Chiefs are on their way to the team's seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game, the second most in NFL history, following the 23-14 win against the Houston Texans on Saturday. The Chiefs completely took that game over in the fourth quarter but it seems all anybody wanted to do after the game was talk about the officials having a pro-Chiefs bias. Do you think there's anything to this, or is it just the biggest conspiracy theory in sports at the moment?
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EF: The officiating for this game and the late game last night was not good. The two calls against the Texans, you can probably say one of them for sure, were incorrect, and if there was a better replay system for questionable calls, I don't think it would have changed the final score, but at least it was human error. There is a conspiracy theory because people are tired of the Chiefs winning.

JS: Exactly. There is no actual bias - prove it if there is. You can't. It's just that fans get tired of great teams, and they make excuses as to why they're winning. The officials didn't get C.J. Stroud sacked eight times, and they weren't the reason Ka'imi Fairbairn couldn't put the ball through the uprights. That's why the Texans lost. I'm so over this dumb conspiracy theory. What should've been the big story of the Chiefs/Texans game?

EF: How good the Chiefs defense is. They sacked C.J. Stroud eight times and held Houston to 12 points. Yes, the Texans scored a meaningless safety, but after what Houston did last week, I thought Kansas City's defense was excellent.

JS: The second game on Saturday provided perhaps the biggest surprise of the NFL Playoffs thus far, with the Washington Commanders taking out the NFC's top-seeded Detroit Lions with a high-scoring 45-31 victory. How surprising was this?

EF: Very surprising performance by both teams. First for the Commanders, WOW! 45 points on the road in a short week. One of the most impressive performances by a team I can remember in recent years. Jayden Daniels is amazing. He is the next great one. The Commanders defense was excellent. Forcing five turnovers.

JS: How does Detroit look at this season? Is it a failure?

EF: It is a failure with all the high expectations coming into the season. They won 15 games, which is great, but they had many injuries, including losing Aidan Hutchinson for most of the season. Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn will likely get head coaching jobs very soon [Ben Johnson has since been hired by the Chicago Bears]. It will be a very interesting off season in Detroit.

JS: Saquon Barkley absolutely owns the Los Angeles Rams. 200-plus yards and two touchdowns against them in the regular season and 200-plus yards and two touchdowns against them in snowy conditions in the playoffs. For weeks, I’ve heard nothing but Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen for the NFL MVP. Saquon Barkley ran for over 2,000 yards this year and dominates the game. How is he not even in the conversation?

EF: If I could vote for NFL MVP, I would pick Saquon Barkley. Think about it: he went to an already good division rival, from the Giants to the Eagles, and made the Eagles better than they were last year, maybe better than what they were two years ago.

JS: The Rams still had a shot at this game in the end. What went wrong?

EF: They could not make the big plays when they had the chance. It was a valiant effort to make it a game late, but they needed someone to make one more play.

JS: The biggest divisional round matchup was the Buffalo Bills vs. the Baltimore Ravens. The game lived up to the hype coming down toward the end. And I hate to put too much on one athlete but it kinda felt like with his big fumble (only the second of his career) and dropping the 2-point conversion attempt that would’ve tied the game late that Mark Andrews blew the game for Baltimore.

EF: I agree with you. Both of us had a hard time picking this game. It was such a classic that lived up to the hype as you said. It is a bummer that one of these team's seasons was going to end tonight. It was the Ravens' season that ended. Mark Andrews lost the game but the Ravens had three turnovers and the Bills did not. Josh Allen's stats do not wow you, but still he did not have a turnover in the game.

JS: And so the Bills get to face the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game for the fourth time in the last five years and they have fallen to the Chiefs every time. Will the Bills fall to Kansas City again or is it finally their year?

EF: The Bills probably are the most confident when it comes to playing Kansas City because they have beaten them before. However, the Chiefs have won all the most important matchups of the season. It is hard for me to finally think Buffalo is going to win this game. But Kansas City really wants to win this three peat. I think we are going to see history this year.

JS: I think this is the year the Bills get it done. They're the only team to truly beat the Chiefs all season, given that the loss to the Broncos at season's end was a gimme with KC resting starters. KC has played so many close games this year and put teams away late. I just don't think you can do that against the Bills. I feel like we'll see bigger numbers from Bills quarterback Josh Allen than we did in the team's win over the Ravens. I've said before I can't pick against the Chiefs until I see them get beat but I'm going against that this time. Bills take this one in an attempt to when the franchise's first Super Bowl. That game is Sunday, January 25 at 5:30 p.m. (CST) on CBS.

The NFC Championship game, which is Sunday, January 25 at 2 p.m. (CST) on Fox will be the inner-division matchup of NFC East rivals Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders in Philly. It'll be the third matchup of these teams this season. They've split the regular season series 1-1. The Eagles won 26-18 in week 11 in Philly. The Commanders won 36-33 in week 16 in Washington. How do you see the third meeting playing out?

EF: Should be another close game between these two division rivals. I love the season the Commanders are having. No matter what happens in this game, they deserve a round of applause for a great season. New ownership, new front office, new head coach, and new quarterback. This is not the same Washington team we have seen for decades. It is a new leaf and we all love to see it. Having said that, I think Philly has been on a mission to get back to where they belong. Last year left a bitter taste in their mouth and getting Saquon Barkley was the start. I think the Eagles will take this one in a close but fun game.

JS: Yes, Washington has already clinched a great season no matter what happens the rest of the way. Few, if any, expected they'd be this good and go this far this season and here they are. I think it'll be a close game, but I agree with you that the Eagles will pull it out and make their second Super Bowl appearance in three years. This team is better than the one that narrowly lost to the Chiefs in 2023. Saquon Barkley looks like a man on a mission and I wouldn't want to be a defense tasked with trying to stop him at the moment.

​We are now down to the College Football Playoff Championship Game to conclude the 2024 season. Many people thought either Ohio State or Notre Dame would be in the game coming into the season. However, no one would have seen it coming by how they arrived. Neither team was ranked in the top five at the start of the playoffs. Both teams had shocking losses to unraked teams at home during the season. Neither team played in their conference championship game (Notre Dame is independent). However, for one of these teams, the season will end by becoming a national champion.

Let's start by talking about offense for both teams.

The Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish each have transfer quarterbacks in Will Howard (Ohio State) and Riley Leonard (Notre Dame). Each played well and overcame a lot of pressure from their fan bases this season. The key to the game will be who is able to make the biggest play and also who makes fewer mistakes.

You have Jeremiyah Love for Notre Dame against Ohio State's dynamic duo of Treyveon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins at the running back position. I think the Irish defense will have a tough time against the running duo for Ohio State. 

In the wide receiver spot, the Buckeyes have a talented freshman in Jeremiah Smith, who looks like he will be the next great wide receiver once he turns pro. I think Ohio State has too many offensive weapons for Notre Dame to stop. I am giving the Buckeyes the edge on offense.

Defense will be a massive factor in this matchup.

I like Ohio State's defense, led by defensive end Jack Sawyer, who is the leader on the team. He led the Buckeyes in tackles and made a key play in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl against Texas to clinch the title game for the Buckeyes. Also, Ohio State will have JT Tuimoloau, a fantastic linebacker, and Alabama transfer Caleb Downs, the leader in the defensive backfield. For Notre Dame, look for Rylee Mills, who led the defense in sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (8.5). In the defensive backfield, Jack Kiser (85) and Xavier Watts (75) are the two leading tacklers for the Irish. The biggest thing for me is who can make that extra play on defense that can help their team win the game. I believe Ohio State will play the better defense of the two.

Special teams will play a key role in this game too.

Mitch Jeter for Notre Dame has struggled for much of the season but has kicked well recently. Ohio State's Jayden Fielding has the better field goal percentage of the two, at 73%. Both kickers will probably make their field goals and extra points, but I will also give the Buckeyes this category.

The coaching matchup in this championship game is excellent. Both Ryan Day (Ohio State) and Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame) are excellent head coaches, and it is good to see that one of them will become a national champion head coach. It has been a while since these two great powerhouses in college have won a national championship. Ohio State has been looking for its first title since 2014 when head coach Urban Meyer led it. Notre Dame has been looking for its first title since 1988 when head coach Lou Holtz led it. I am rooting for Marcus Freeman. The reason is that Freeman is already the first black head coach to lead an FBS team to the national championship, and now he is looking to win it all on what happens to be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

I am excited about this game. Both teams played well and earned their spot in the championship game. I think Ohio State has more talent on the field, and I think their key players will be the difference in this one, leading them to victory.