The Sports Insanity Network

JERRY GAVE JIMMY HIS DUE; TIME FOR THE NFL TO DO THE SAME FOR DARREN WOODSON

By Mark Halpern

The NFL has seen thousands of players come and go, and it takes a lot to earn that Gold Hall of Fame Jacket. You have to leave your mark on the game. Darren Woodson of the Dallas Cowboys did precisely that.

Woodson was drafted in the second round by the Cowboys in 1992. He made an immediate impact with his hard-hitting and coverage skills. His defensive skills helped lead the Cowboys to 3 Superbowls in the 1990s (92-93-95), and he was named All-Pro five times and a perennial Pro Bowler.

When you look at safeties that have played the game, a few come right off the top of my head. Those names include Ronnie Lott of the 49ers, Jack Tatum of the Raiders, Brian Dawkins of the Eagles, and Woodson. Two of those guys are in the Hall Of Fame. Plenty more deserve to be mentioned, but these were right off the bat.

It has been a big issue in Dallas with coach Jimmy Johnson not being in the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor, which he deserved. During a recent Fox Sunday broadcast, Jerry told Jimmy he would be put in. This made every Cowboys fan’s day. Jimmy has now earned his spot in eternity in both honors. Now it’s time to put Darren in!

LAUNDRY DAY

By Mark Halpern

The Dallas Cowboys hosted the Seattle Seahawks this past Thursday night, which was a big game for both teams to keep pace in the playoff race. Dallas came into this game with the Eagles flying high above them, and the Seahawks are trying to stay in the race in the NFC West.

This was poised to be a premier showdown but turned into more of a joke by the end of the game than anything, and I will get to that soon. The Dallas offense picked up where it left off and has been working smoothly. Dak has been as good a quarterback as Mahomes for the Chiefs for the past few years. Dak has always had the weapons, just not the right play-caller. Mike McCarthy has proved me wrong that he can call a game. Yes, there were plays I didn’t like, but it’s all translating into wins. Dak had another impressive game, throwing for 299 yards and 3 TDs with no interceptions. Cee Dee Lamb was his favorite target as he caught 12 balls for 116 yards and a TD, and let’s not leave out Pollard, whose role has changed and is working much better being a run second team, giving him more chances not only out of the back, field but out in the open as well. To me, the player who stood out was Jason Ferguson. He was given the most challenging task a second year can be asked of, to replace Dalton Schultz but be like Witten, and he hasn’t disappointed. Ferguson had an impressive six catches for 70 yards and a great TD. We know what the offense can do, and it has been impressive.

The defense, however, was on cloud nine after DaRon Blands’ record-setting week last week. Well, he got shown up by DK Metcalf all night, and it was a mismatch as Metcalf beat him every time. DK had a huge day, 160 yards and 3 TDs. In the end, Dallas’s defense put up an impressive stand in the 4th quarter and took the lead late in the game, giving the Cowboys a 41-35 victory, moving them to 9-3 on the season.

Now for the reason for my title. I understand teams are going to make infractions and penalties throughout a game. There were 25 total flags thrown, of which 19 of them stood. There was no favoritism, as both teams were called for some of the pettiest infractions. Were there penalties that could have changed the game for either team? Oh, absolutely, but this referee crew was the WORST I have seen in my 39 years of watching football. The number of penalties per game is outrageous, and I’d like to see the NFL do something about it. People don’t watch the games for the officials but don’t tell them that.

Capital Visit

By Mike Rifkin

The 8-3 Dolphins visit the Commanders on Sunday. The Dolphins are coming off a 34-13 victory over the Jets on Black Friday. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 243 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Raheem Mostert had 94 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill had over 100 yards receiving, but the biggest play of the game came right at the end of the first half after Tua threw his second interception. The Jets tried a Hail Mary that was intercepted by Jevon Holland and returned for a touchdown. The Dolphins suffered a significant loss in the win, with EDGE rusher Jaelan Phillips tearing his Achilles, so they’ll need more from Emmanuel Ogbah.

The Commanders are coming off a 45-10 whooping at the hands of the Cowboys. Sam Howell had 300 yards passing with a rushing touchdown and an interception. The Commander’s defense gave up 431 yards of total offense and has played so poorly that Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio was fired on Friday. You can say many things about the Commanders, but I believe they found their franchise QB in Howell. Howell leads the NFL in Passing Yards and has 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, but has also been sacked 55 times this season.

Keys to the Game

Win the Trenches – Like I just said, Sam Howell has been sacked 55 times this season; Bradley Chubb and company can have a good day. On the flip side, the Commanders have an excellent defensive line, especially on the interior, so the interior of the Dolphin’s offensive line has to be good.
Running Game: The Dolphins average 145 yards on the ground per game, and Washington gives up 113.1 yards per game, so the Dolphins should be able to have an effective run game.
Win the turnover battle – The Dolphins have turned the ball over multiple times over the past few weeks, and it has hurt the defense at times. Nobody has a worse turnover differential than the Commanders. That’d be huge if the Dolphins could play clean and force a few turnovers.

What should AEW do in response to CM Punk’s return to WWE?

By Noah Trombley

This past Saturday, the wrestling world saw something we thought we wouldn’t see again: Cult of Personality hit, and CM Punk walked into a WWE arena for the first time in 10 years. After spending half the year in AEW and last wrestling at All In 2023, Punk has returned to the company where he wrestled from 2007 until his controversial exit in 2014. While the world can’t stop talking about what Punk will do in WWE, a big question for many is what AEW does in response to Punk’s return.

The short answer to that question is simple: AEW should do nothing in response. Don’t make Punk’s return make you think that you must do something drastic because of this. AEW started as a valid alternative to WWE, and they have genuinely stuck to that message and that motto to this day. AEW has prided itself on being the wrestling show for wrestling fans, while WWE is the sports entertainment show. AEW has some long-ranging stories from the devil that is haunting world champion MJF, the legendary Sting’s retirement tour, to the brand new continental classic that just started recently and looked to be their version of the famed G1 classic that New Japan Pro Wrestling runs every single year.

AEW has not only so many huge names in the company like Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and Claudio Castagnoli but also so many homegrown talents that have gotten organically over with the fans and have put the future of the company in good hands names like The Acclaimed, Darby Allin, MJF, and Swerve Strickland. Tony Khan needs to keep the ship going in the direction they are in, and it will get back to the heights that AEW saw at the beginning of its run when it was selling out arenas for Dynamite, Rampage, and Collision. AEW is going through a bit colder period right now with TV attendance down across the board, but they just went over to London and completely sold out Wembley in the aforementioned All-In and put on one of the PPVs of the year.

If AEW tries to do something too drastic because it believes it needs to bring back fans after the controversial firing of CM Punk back in September, then it could end up losing its way and hurting itself in the long run. Feel free to compete with something other than WWE. Continue to be what you’ve always been and be the pure wrestling show hundreds of thousands of people tune into every week to see and every few months for your PPV events.

With all this being said, there is one thing I would advise AEW to do in the next few months, but the same thing regardless of what happened with CM Punk. Tony Khan should push hard to get his PPVs to air on HBO Max, which Warner Bros also owns. That would get many more eyes on your PPVs that they put on, possibly monthly, and would be the move that could launch AEW into a whole new era.

Lone Star State Showdown

By Mike Rifkin

Two NFC Playoff hopefuls play on Thursday night as the Cowboys host the Seahawks. The two teams both are coming off of games on Thanksgiving.

The Cowboys are coming off a 45-10 beatdown of the Commanders. Dak Prescott continued his splendid play by going 22-32 for 331 yards and four touchdowns. CeeDee Lamb had four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown for the third consecutive game. Making it five touchdowns in five games for Lamb. The Cowboys’ defense did their thing by sacking Sam Howell four times. DaRon Bland set an NFL record with his fifth interception returned for a touchdown.

The Seahawks are coming off a 31-13 loss at the hands of the 49ers. Geno Smith, who had been bothered with an elbow injury, only threw for 180 yards and an interception. Smith was also sacked six times. Jaxson Smith-Njigba had two receptions for 41 yards, including an incredible one-handed catch. Smith-Njigba’s emergence has created quite the trio with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Lockett had 100 yards and three touchdowns the last time these two teams met. Running Back Kenneth Walker is doubtful for the second straight week with an oblique injury. Seattle’s defense has two outstanding young cornerbacks, Tariq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon.

Dallas has been rolling lately, and I expect that to continue on Thursday night. Seattle will keep it close, but a lot depends on Geno’s elbow. I like the Cowboys at home, 31-20.

In Need Of A Splash

By Mike Rifkin

MLB’s Winter Meetings start this weekend. Yes, free agency has begun, but history tells us that many significant deals go down at the Winter Meetings. Last year at the Meetings, Aaron Judge, Justin Verlander, Trea Turner, and Xander Bogaerts all signed massive contracts. This year, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (who has been posted), Blake Snell, Josh Hader, and Cody Bellinger are among the top names on the free-agent market. There has also been speculation on the trade front regarding Juan Soto, Dylan Cease, Corbin Burnes, etc.… Multiple teams will be aggressive at the meetings, but two teams need to make a splash, whether at the meetings or over the offseason.

The first is the San Francisco Giants, who did make a change at manager, firing Gabe Kapler and bringing in Bob Melvin. The Giants were in on all the primary free agents last year and whiffed. They did sign Arson Judge and Carlos Correa; the problem was Arson Judge was not real, and Correa failed his physical. The Giants ended up signing Outfielders Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto and pitchers Sean Manea, Taylor Rogers, and Ross Stripling. Conforto had 15 home runs and 58 RBI with a slash line of .239/.334/.384 in 125 games. Mitch Haniger had six home runs and 28 RBIs with a slash line of .209/.266/.365 in 61 games. Haniger was limited to 61 games because of injuries. An Oblique strain during Spring Training caused him to miss the first month of the season; in June, he fractured his forearm after getting hit by a pitch, and that caused him to miss two months. Manea and Stripling both had an ERA of over four. (Stripling was over five) and the two combined 59 games and 21 starts. Rogers had a 3.83 ERA in 60 games.

The Giants won 107 games in 2021 and lost to the rival Dodgers in the NLDS; in 2022, they finished 81-81; this past season, they were 79-83. In 2021, the Giants were second in all of MLB in Home Runs and ERA, respectively. This year, the Giants were eleventh in ERA and nineteenth in Home runs. You can make the case the Giants haven’t had a pure slugger since Barry Bonds; despite the three World Series titles under Bruce Bochy, those teams didn’t have a massive power source; it was by committee, and they were built on their pitching. The Giants can be dangerous if they can land a pitcher to pair with Logan Webb at the top of the rotation. Farhan Zaidi’s job could be in jeopardy if they whiff again this offseason.

Other teams have to make a splash, like the Cubs or Yankees, but the team I will say has to do something big here is the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox finished in last place in the last two seasons. General Manager Chaim Bloom was fired but did what ownership wanted: to cut salary. His first move was trading Outfielder Mookie Betts to the Dodgers, which has been a disaster for the Red Sox. Not because of what they got back but because Mookie Betts is one of the faces of the game. And having Betts, Rafael Devers, who hit 33 Homers and drove in 100 RBI, and last year’s signing Masataka Yoshida, who hit .289 with 15 home runs, would give the Red Sox some real thunder. The lineup could use a right-handed power source with Devers, Yoshida, Triston Casas, a finalist for AL Rookie Of The Year, and all left-handed hitters. The Red Sox were 21st in ERA this past season, and because of Chris Sale’s injury history, maybe they target pitching. Red Sox ownership isn’t happy about finishing in last place back-to-back seasons, but if they spend money this offseason, that could change.

The Giants and Red Sox were successful in the 2010’s. But now they need to make some noise because teams in their respective divisions have passed them by. If they don’t make splashes this Winter, their fanbases will not be happy.

Stars Shine Bright

By Mike Rifkin

It’s the season to be thankful, and one of the things the Tampa Bay Lightning were thankful for on Friday was the return of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Vasilevskiy missed the first 20 games of the season with back surgery, and the Lightning were able to hold their own with a record of 9-6-5. Vasilevskiy returned on Friday night in a showdown in Carolina.

The Lightning beat the Carolina Hurricanes 8-2 on Friday night. Brayden Point had a Hat Trick and five points, Nikita Kucherov had two goals and six points, Brandon Hagel had a goal and two assists, and Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist. The Lightning scored four goals on the power play on five opportunities. Oh yeah, back to Vasilevskiy, he returned to the lineup and made 22 saves on 24 Hurricane shots.

I said on the Breakaway Bandits podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/4c0N0MThfHU0Wbt8uEvcPZ) that teams would have to put the Lightning away before Vasilevskiy’s return. That hasn’t happened; the Lightning sit in third place in the Atlantic Division. This is a Lightning team that was eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and it might be the best thing that happened to them because they got an entire offseason to recover after three consecutive deep runs in the playoffs. If the Lightning stays healthy, they have the stars to make another deep run in the playoffs, but on Friday night, the most important thing was they got the best goalie in hockey back, but their other stars stepped up.

LEAF EXOTIC BASEBALL HALPERNS PULLING 1/1’S

By Mark Halpern

So, the 1/1 is a sports card podcast I usually record with my daughter Charlotte. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we couldn’t go live or record, and Charlotte wanted to break (not like I didn’t), so we decided to open our boxes, take pictures, and do our first blog.

Before we got into it, we had another addition to this break, and that was when my wife wanted to get in on the fun, so she opened some boxes, too. Now, my daughter has joined me in opening two cases, and she has a knack for getting 1/1’s in her boxes (only the second case), so we are off to a good, fun start.

So Leaf Exotic is a great way to get autographs and not just common and uncommon, with a few rare ones thrown in. No, you get three current, HOF, or rookie auto per box numbered ten or less, so you got a good chance per box to get someone who is known or very well known and reasonable price for three autographs.

Michelle Halperns Hits

Justin Crawford auto 6/6 Reggie Crawford (yes, his brother ) 3/3

Taj Bradley 6/6 Alexander Ramirez 4/4 Termarr Johnson 10/10 Alec Burleson 2/9

Chase Delauter 5/6 Ezequiel Tovar 1/2 Jace Jung 1/5 JR Ritchie Redemption 1/1 6 weeks

Cam Collier 4/4 Brandon Barriera 1/9 O’niel Cruz 9/9 Justin Campbell 4/5

Sammy Sosa 5/7

Dual Auto Drew Jones/Justin Campbell 1/1

Charlie Sheen (Wild Thing) Mythical auto redemption 1/1

Bobby Witt Jr 1/1

MARK “OLD OPS GUY” HITS

Dwight Gooden 2/6 Daniel Susac 1/2 Eury Perez 3/3

Curtis Mead 3/7 Christian Hernandez 2/4 James Traintos 6/7 Vaun Brown 4/8

O’Niel Cruz Mythical auto redemption 1/1 Spencer Jones 2/7

Mikey Romaro 4/4 Jordan Beck 1/6

Cade Horton 1/9 Maikel Garcia 4/7 Dustin Harris 1/4 Zach Neto 1/4

Jackson Chourio 2/5

Fransico Alvarez 5/7

Elly De La Cruz 7/7

Dual Jett Williams/Kevin Parada 1/1

Alexander Ramirez 1/1

Dual auto PEDRO MARTINEZ/MARIANO RIVERA 1/1

Saving the best for last Charlotte “Char Monkey” Halperns hits

Prelander Berrora 2/3 Kahial Watson 1/5

Joey Weimer 2/3 Drew Gilbert 2/2 Noah Schultz 2/7 Kumar Rocker 3/3

Sal Stewart 2/9 Gavin Stone 5/5 Landon Sims 5/5 Gabriel Arias 7/7

Brady House 1/2 Thomas Harrington 2/8 Royber Salinas 1/7 Zack Qin 5/8

Christian Encarnacion-Strand redemption 1/1

CORBIN CARROL 7/7 (NL ROY)

Jordan Walker 2/2

Gunnar Henderson (AL ROY) 1/8

Don Mattingly 1/2

Frank Thomas 1/1

Tony La Russa 1/1

This was a lot of fun. With redemptions and pulled cards, 11 1/1’s. I am not sure if there are hot cases out there, and that is possible as some products do have hot Cases, Boxes, and packs that give you have way more bang for your buck. In the following case, we will NATIONAL

TREASURES BASEBALL WHICH WE WILL BE LIVE FOR.

IF YOU WANT TO BUY THESE CARDS, THEY WILL BE WITH OUR CO-SIGNER TOP NOTCH SPORTS CLUB DURING CYBER MONDAY WEEK.

From all of us here at the Dugout of Millwood and The Sports Insanity network wishes you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, and we will see you all when we go LIVE for National Treasures; look at our Facebook search Sports Insanity Network and follow us on twitter @SInsanityReal. Also check out Top Notch Sports Club for Great Breaks, and if If you are looking to sell your cards, get in touch With the guys over at TopNotch, and they will help with all questions pertaining to something you are interested in Cosigning.

Thanksgiving In The Big Apple

By Mike Rifkin

The Miami Dolphins will play in the first-ever Black Friday NFL game this week as they take on their division rival, the New York Jets, for the first time this season at MetLife Stadium. The two teams split their two meetings last year, each winning at home. Due to concussions, Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa didn’t play in either game against the Jets last season. Skylar Thompson wound up playing in both meetings, including an 11-6 win in Week 18 to send the Dolphins to the playoffs.

The Dolphins are coming off a 20-13 win over the Raiders. The stars shined bright as Tua Tagovailoa threw for 325 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception; Tyreek Hill had another 146 yards and a touchdown. Jaelan Phillips had two sacks, and Jalen Ramsey had two interceptions.

The Jets are coming off a 32-6 beatdown at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. Very little has gone right for the Jets this year after Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles on the fourth play of the season. Zach Wilson has been benched in favor of Tim Boyle, who’ll make the start on Friday. The Jets’ offense did accomplish something in the loss to the Bills; they scored their first touchdown in over 40 drives and 13 quarters.

The Dolphins can take advantage of this Jets offensive line being brutal this season. They’ve given up 40 sacks so far on the season, and now right tackle Mekhi Becton is dealing with an ankle injury.

Keys to the game

Protect Tua – The Jets’ defensive line is deep, and they can get to the quarterback.
Braxton Berrios and Cedric Wilson – DJ Reed and Sauce Gardener will be on Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle; if Berrios and Wilson can come up with some big catches, that could be huge.
Christian Wilkins – The big man in the middle can set the tone. The Jets will want to run the ball with Breece Hall and Dalvin Cook; if Wilkins can reset the line of scrimmage and put the Jets in must-pass situations, Vic Fangio can send the house on Tim Boyle.

The Dolphins and Jets play for the first time this year on the first-ever Black Friday game. If the Dolphins can find a way to win, it might eliminate any thoughts the Jets have about bringing Aaron Rodgers back this season.

TURKEY TIME TRADITION

By Mark Halpern

When it comes to Thanksgiving, we all have our traditions as a family, friends, or even by ourselves. You could be sitting in front of a fire reading, having a family gathering where you hunt your dinner, have a friendly family football game, or you can be like the Dallas Cowboys and get ready to play their annual game of thanks against an undefined rival, the Washington Commanders.

Over the last few weeks, Dallas entered the easiest part of their schedule and have won the first two, beating the Giants two weeks ago and the Panthers this past Sunday. now, take on a team that can put up points so that the Defense will be on display this Sunday more than the offense. Dak and company will look for another consistent offensive game not only from himself but also from Tony Pollard (who seemed awakened), Cee Dee Lamb (who had his lowest yards of the season but a TD), Cooks, and Montgomery as the commander of Defense has not given the offense much in helping to win games. For the offense, look again for more explosiveness than last week in front of this home game (that is sold out) and pass the first run second. This will only work sometimes, but if anyone has noticed, the reverse has happened in the last two weeks, and Dallas has switched from a run first to a past first offense. We will see how that translates this week as Dallas is going for their 13th straight home win and to keep pace with the Eagles, who beat the 49ers (because of an ex-packer who doesn’t know how to catch)and have moved to 9-1 on the season.

The Defense doesn’t have a cakewalk of a game, as the Commanders have weapons that can catch and run, but their Quarterback has been regarded as a reliable starter. The Secondary will have to keep the radar clear as McLaurin, Dotson, and Thomas are good receivers with the speed and agility to make big plays. The Line will have to stop Brian Robinson Jr, who might not look like much, but give him a lane, and he can turn on the jets and hurt you. Look for Parsons and Lawrence to constantly be in Sam Howells’s face, trying to throw the rookie off his game and force some bad passes that turn into turnovers, and who doesn’t like a good turnover? (apple, please)

This game will be rough as there is no lost love for either team, considering their history throughout the years of NFL history. Look for the Cowboys to chow down on some good turkey after handing the Commanders a commanding loss of 38-20.