Chapter 18

I’m a week late for the anniversary, but by far my greatest sports experience was being in Jacksonville last year for the Jags Bills Wild Card game. I mentioned I was in Buffalo week 17 to cheer on my former high school teammate. But, as many of you know, I’m a huge Jags fan #DUUUVAL !! That day was wild. We pulled up to the parking lot and my dad saw a liquor company hosting a tailgate that he does business with at the local watering hole. We park and he goes up to the dude and tells them he buys lots of liquor from them back in Jersey. Next thing I know I have a cup in my hand. The only problem was they didn’t have any soda or water, they had liquor and that was it. Party time!

Me and my Dad have never been to Jacksonville, so we headed to the stadium a little early. The team store was PACKED when we got in. It was easily a 60 minute wait to pay. I never even seen Black Friday lines this long. My dad tells me to still pick out a jacket or something. I’m low-key not trying to waste my time in this line, even though the plan was to stop at the team store. I pick out the jacket, and my legend of a dad walks up to the EXIT and pays at the first open register. He cut the whole line so naturally it was truly a boss move. Thanks Dad, its still the best jacket I own.

The Jaguars stadium is on the smaller side compared to Metlife (well, so is almost every other stadium). Our seats were near the top, which was good enough for me because I was as hyped up for playoff football. When you walk out from the concourse in to the stadium, there are 25 rows of seats behind you, a 5 foot wide walk way, and one row of seats in front of that. In a sold out Jaguars playoff game, my dad picked two random seats on row one of the upper section, and we never moved once. Somehow it felt like these were the only two unused seats in the whole stadium. Dad, another boss move, you’ve taught me so much. Thank you!

If it wasn’t a playoff game, this would have been a weak game. There were a record number of punts for a playoff matchup, and it ended 10-3. Dion, my high school teammate, shut down the daunting #Sacksonville d-line as he stood strong as the Left Tackle. And the last play of the game was the greatest cornerback of all-time, Jalen Ramsey, sealing it with an interception. It is definitely a trip I will never forget. I still have the rally towel hanging up in my room along with an AFC South champions t-shirt. Hey, it was their first South title!

Recap:
Colts (+1.5) at Texans – HIT! Colts 21 Texans 7
Cowboys (-2) vs. Seahawks – Push. Cowboys 24 Seahawks 22
Chargers (+2.5) at Ravens – HIT! Chargers 23 Ravens 17
Bears (-6) vs. Eagles – Miss. Eagles 17 Bears 16
Clemson (+5.5) vs. Alabama – HIT!!! ClemSON 44 Alabama 16

Last week 3-1-1 #HOT
26-17-3 last four articles. Keke are you riding?!

I’m throwing this out there … Dag. Dag these games are tough! It’s the NFL playoffs, all eight teams have done something special this season. There is no given. Who’s hotter? How much will home-field advantage come in to play? Which team will execute better on special teams? So many factors come in to play come playoff time. It is pure football. Buckle up, it’s going to get bumpy!

Chiefs (-5.5) vs. Colts – The Chiefs are 1-6 ATS since Kareem Hunt was dismissed from the team, and Saturday they will face the hottest team in the NFL. The Andrew Luck led Colts are on fire right now. The Chiefs having a bye week intrigues me though. Andy Reid is an impressive 17-3 after a bye week in the regular season and 3-1 when he gets a bye in the playoffs. This track record makes me believe Reid and the Chiefs will be well prepared for the Colts. First-time quarterbacks in the playoffs this season went 0-3, with only Patrick Mahomes left to make his debut. Lamar Jackson, Mitch Trubisky and Deshaun Watson are no Mahomes. Mahomes is the THIRD quarterback in history to throw for 50 touchdowns in a single season, and it was Mahomes first season as the starter. The MVP is ready to get in a shootout behind his home crowd. Ya feel me? #MeAndMahomies
Chiefs 35 Colts 28

Cowboys (+7) at Rams – Since Cooper Kupp’s season ending injury, the Rams have not been the same offense. Jared Goff went from a budding star to an above average quarterback. This is understandable as Kupp was putting up WR1 numbers. The Cowboys look to invade Los Angeles Saturday night. It is expected that the crowd will be close to a 50/50 Rams/Cowboys split. It is still an advantage that the Rams wont have to fly out for the game, unlike the Cowboys. The Cowboys will look to slow the game down, letting Zeke “eat” rushing him close to 30 times again. Their star-studded defense will have its hands full, because while the Rams offense isn’t as dominant as it was, it is still damn good. This line is too high for me though, because while I think the Rams pull this one out late, I think the Cowboys keep it close. At the end of the day I trust Goff more than Dak in a game winning drive scenario. Then again, Bortles and the Jags did defeat Big Ben and the Steelers last year, in a game similarly set up to this one. Are the Cowboys the 2017 Jaguars, ready to shock the football world?
Rams 27 Cowboys 24

Chargers (+4) at Patriots – Did anyone see Rivers throw the ball last week? It was god-awful. He was throwing duck after duck. Is there an injury we don’t know about or was it an off day? I will say it was an off day. What will help Rivers is his elite tight end returns in Hunter Henry. Speaking of tight ends, Gronkowski is on the other side on the Patriots. The only thing is, the Chargers are one of the best teams against the tight ends, thanks to Derwin James and their loaded defense. The Patriots look pedestrian the last month of the season. Their running game was clicking at an elite level mid-season but has seemed to cool off. I think the lack of athleticism of the Pats playmakers finally catches up to them. The Chargers are better in almost all aspects on the field. The thing is the Pats have Brady and Belichick. That can only bail them out so much, and Sunday, I don’t think that will be enough. I expect the Chargers to win this one.
Chargers 28 Patriots 27

Saints (-8) vs. Eagles – Lets revisit last week’s Chapter 17 really quick.

“Why oh why do I do this to myself all the time. Last year in the playoffs, I didn’t believe in the Eagles. Wentz got benched this year, and I write them off again. The Eagles are riding high, winning the last [four], all led by Foles.”

Well here we are again. Sure I could pick the Eagles +8 and still think the Saints will win. The thing is, I’m expecting a massacre. This is more about the Saints then it is the Eagles. Do y’all remember the Minneapolis Miracle last year that eliminated the Saints? This team should have been in the NFC Championship game playing the Eagles. This time they get their crack at the Eagles and wont let it slip. The Saints defense finally is coming around back to last year’s form. The offense will have to perform better then it did at the end of the season, but that’s what bye weeks are for. Brees will be on the same page as Michael Thomas, and the running duo of Ingram and Kamara will keep this offense in fine tune. I don’t think this matchup will be like it was week 11, when the Saints won 48-7, but I expect a ten point margin of victory.
Saints 31 Eagles 21

**Basketball write-up**

My favorite form of basketball is college basketball. There is something different about the game compared to both the NBA and high school ball. Maybe it’s the balance between the two. To me, it there is nothing better! In Chapter 12 I gave a write up about the College of Charleston. I will briefly recap passage, plus I will talk about a few more teams who I really like this season as conference play begins. They wont cover every game, and the spreads could get high so it depends on the line, but come March, look for them to bust some brackets.

College of Charleston – Charleston is for real, and they will give a team a scare in March. They have two ballers averaging 20 points a game – their point guard Grant Riller and forward Jarrell Brantley. Last season, this team, which was still led by Riller and Brantley, was a #13 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They lost to #4 Auburn 62-58. This season they return a lot of that talent. They should keep up the dominance in the CAA. Teams like Charleston will slip up a few games through the season, so watch out for that lull. Keep an eye on Charleston this year.

San Francisco – First off, this team will host Gonzaga Saturday night, in what will be a packed small gym. Gonzaga is one of the best teams in the nation, but San Francisco will be no push over, and I cannot wait for this 10pm Eastern tipoff. The Dons have a super electric, small, senior point guard in Frankie Ferrari. His name fits him perfectly, as he is a blur on the court like a Ferrari. He runs the show for this squad leading them in assists at 5.7 a game. This team excels on the defensive end, as they work as a unit. They play help defense, and get aggressive with the pressure. San Francisco can suffocate some teams.

Canisius – This team is currently 5-9, why am I writing about them? Well, last year in conference Canisius went 15-3, and are off to a 2-0 start this season. The MAAC is one of the weakest conferences in America, but Canisius is a force to be reckoned with. They return two 17-point scorers in Molson and Reese who are off to a slow start but are beginning to heat up. These two guards can carry a team like Canisius in the MAAC all the way to some March Madness. I have to thank my buddy Tim, who noticed Canisius early last season, and we’ve been riding them since. Good find Tim!

Lipscomb – This team is deep. They have five players who average 20+ minutes, and six players who average more then 10 minutes. This fits in to their up-and-down style as they average the 17th most points per game so far. The coach does a great job with his rotations so the players don’t stop running when they are in the game. With this amount of players playing, anyone can go off on a certain night to beat you. They do have one conference star in Garrison Mathews. He has averaged above 20 points per game the past two seasons and only 17 points per game this season. Last year this team kept up with UNC in the first half of the opening round in the NCAA tournament. I expect them to be back this season, hopefully with an easier matchup.

Look out for these teams in conference play. They should all hover around the top of their conference, and all go on good winning streaks. And come March, you’ll be prepared when everyone else gets his or her bracket busted.

Thank you,
Goose