Wheelhouse Blog

New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks played better and deserved to win. But I am going to focus on how great this season was for the Pats. I love this team and we will be back. Pats season review blog to come soon.

Picks:

Pats win ❌

Pats cover (+4.5) ❌

Game/Betting Pick Results

Game: 0-1 This Week (44-19 This Season) (131-58 All-Time)

Spread: 0-1 (39-24) (121-63-5)

New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks

I think the Pats win and cover +4.5.

Winter Olympics

The Olympics are always cool ands start on February 6th. The main event I am looking forward to is hockey, with NHL players returning to the Olympics. The preliminary hockey round starts February 11th. Team USA has a legitimate chance to win the whole thing. Their battles last year with Canada in the Four Nations will lead to any Olympic match being supercharged.

March Madness

This is always a top tier sporting events even if my bracket never lives up to my standards.

NHL Playoffs 

Starting in May, this is one of the best playoffs in sports.

Premier League

Great time to get into English soccer. The games are often on weekends throughout the morning and afternoon (EST). They are also very fun to watch in bars with other fans, no matter what time the games start.

Name the four QBs to START a Super Bowl for multiple teams

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HINT 1

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Two of the four are all-time great QBs who starred in the 21st Century and both famously switched teams toward the end of their careers. They will both forever be entwined with the other due to their rivalry.

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HINT 2

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The third QB is a Hall of Famer. He was the QB of a legendary team (with a famous nickname) that lost to one of the above QBs in one of his Super Bowl Starts. He had a very unorthodox career.

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HINT 3

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The fourth and final QB started Super Bowl V for the Cowboys and Super Bowl XII for the Broncos. He lost both.

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ANSWERS BELOW:

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Tom Brady; Peyton Manning; Kurt Warner; Craig Morton

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos

The Good ☀️

Our defense continues to carry us. They are playing so well. Aside from one long pass play, the Pats defense stopped everything.

Once again, the offense played better in the 2nd half and in crunch time.

Maye and Stevenson ran the ball well.

What a blocked field goal by the Pats.

The Bad ⛈️

The theme of this postseason for us is ugly wins.

We played the field position game so bad. Our defense saved us many times when the Broncos had great starting field position.

The offensive line continues to be terrible. Will Campbell might need to move to guard in the long term.

The offensive play calling has been awful too. ROLL MAYE OUT instead of having him sit in a bad pocket that the the offensive line can’t maintain.

Why did Henderson barely play?

Picks:

Pats win ✅

Pats cover (-4.5) ❌

Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks

Rams win ❌

Rams cover (+2.5) ❌

Game/Betting Pick Results

Game: 1-1 This Week (44-18 This Season) (131-57 All-Time)

Spread: 0-2 (39-23) (121-62-5)

The NCAA transfer portal was introduced with the promise of providing student-athletes with greater freedom and opportunities. At its best, it facilitates mobility, allowing players to find better fits for their talents and ambitions while enabling programs to strengthen their rosters. However, beneath this seemingly progressive system lies a darker reality that is affecting the lives of thousands of college athletes.

According to a recent ESPN article, there are still 1,200 unsigned FBS scholarship football players—athletes who entered the transfer portal with hopes of finding better opportunities but now find themselves without a team. That’s one-third of all FBS scholarship players who entered the portal. 

The ESPN article detailed that since tampering is rampant, players with agents or representatives have a significant advantage, receiving offers and visits lined up the moment they enter the portal. Conversely, athletes who follow the rules find themselves starting their recruitment from scratch when the portal opens.

This situation is particularly sad for players who didn’t voluntarily enter the portal. Some are nudged out by coaching staffs with veiled suggestions like, “You’ll never play here.” Others receive poor advice from family members or unscrupulous agents. 

The Scholarship Dilemma

Another harsh consequence of the transfer portal is the loss of scholarship security. Once a player enters the portal, their current school’s scholarship obligation can end by the start of the next semester. If they can’t secure a new opportunity, they can be left without a team and the financial means to continue their education. 30 to 40% of all Division I athletes who enter the portal do not find new homes at Division I schools. Some drop to lower divisions, while others leave college sports altogether because they can’t afford tuition without a scholarship.

Considering that the vast majority of college athletes will never play professionally, the primary benefit of a collegiate athletic scholarship is education. Losing that opportunity not only affects an athlete’s immediate future but can have long-term consequences for their career and life trajectory.

What Can Be Done?

1. Regulating Agents and Representatives: In professional sports like the NFL, agents must be certified by organizations like the NFLPA to represent players. Could the NCAA implement a similar system to protect student-athletes from bad actors?
2. Holding Programs Accountable: Schools and coaches should not be able to pressure players into the portal without repercussions. Transparent policies and reporting mechanisms could help identify and address such behavior.
3. Improved Leadership: The NCAA’s leadership is ineffective. The creation of dedicated commissioners for sports like football and basketball could provide the competent leadership needed to address these issues.