Sub-Urban Area

By: Mike Rifkin and Bill Murphy

Urban Meyer is one of the best coaches in the history of College Football. The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Meyer this offseason to lead their franchise. It was a failure from the start. The Jags have fired Meyer after 13 games. Meyer’s firing was the first time since 2007 the first time a non interim head coach was fired before the season was over, the last one being Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Bobby Petrino who was fired at 3-10 .  According to Tom Pellisero of NFL Network tensions are boiling over in Jacksonville. This is just the latest in a troubled 2021 for Meyer.

Chris Doyle was hired by Meyer to be director of sports performance. Doyle was the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Iowa for 20 seasons before a separation agreement was made. The agreement came after former players accused Doyle of racist remarks. Doyle resigned a day or so later. Urban said “Chris Doyle came to us this evening to submit his resignation and we have accepted. Chris did not want to be a distraction to what we are building in Jacksonville. We are responsible for all aspects of our program and, in retrospect, should have given greater consideration to how his appointment may have affected all involved. We wish him the best as he moves forward in his career.” Urban Meyer also said he and Doyle had “great relationship and he vetted him thoroughly with Trent Balkee and Shad Khan.” He didn’t otherwise he wouldn’t have made the hire in the first place. 

Then there is the Tim Tebow signing. He played quarterback for Meyer at the University of Florida and they won two National Championships together. Tebow had been out of Football for six years and tried to play minor league Baseball. But his old college coach signed him in May but not as a quarterback, as a Tight End, a position Tebow hadn’t played at the NFL level. It got a lot of media scrutiny and rightfully so, Tebow was cut in August but if Urban Meyer wasn’t the coach would Tebow have even gotten this chance? 

After a Week 4 loss to the Bengals Meyer stayed in Ohio to spend time with his family instead of going back with his team. Then a viral video started making the rounds of Meyer getting grinded on by a young woman. Urban later apologized to his team, but why could he not fly back to Jacksonville? It was a Thursday Night game. Just go back and fly back to Ohio on Friday, a coach is supposed to lead and Urban Meyer has not led by example. Jacksonville’s management after the incident said that Meyer needs to regain their trust. Not only did Meyer  lose faith from the front office , there was also lack of faith  from  the players, at the end of one practice when the team broke they yelled “ grinder “ at the end of the huddle.  

Now there is this report from Tom Pellisero that Meyer got into an argument with veteran receiver Marvin Jones, one of the locker room leaders. It got so bad Jones left the facility only to be called back by assistant coaches. Meyer also has reportedly called his assistants losers and has them defend their resumes. HE HIRED HIS ASSISTANTS so why are you challenging, when it is you who should be challenged. Urban is a great college coach but this is a whole different ball game. In a 37-7 loss to the Rams Meyer benched running back James Robinson after a fumble. He had one of his assistants to stop Robinson from coming back in. Rookie Quarterback Trevor Lawrence questioned Meyer on the sideline and eventually Robinson came back in. Lawrence said “ Bottom line James is one of our best players and he’s got to be on the field and we addressed it and I feel like we’re in a good spot and the whole team we’re good.”  No Trevor you aren’t in a good spot because leaks like this don’t come from good teams. The Jaguars aren’t competitive in a lot of games and if they were this stuff wouldn’t happen. 

Meyer was asked on Monday if defensive back Andre Cisco would get more playing time with four games left in the season. Meyer’s response was “Cisco is playing a little bit more, I believe. I don’t have his numbers in front of me, but that’s a conversation.” On Sunday against the Titans Cisco played a grand total of 0 snaps on defense, but did force a fumble on Special Teams. If you don’t know how many snaps a guy played just say that, instead Meyer continues to look clueless.  Then on Wednesday former Jags kicker Josh Lambo accused Meyer of kicking him before a game. Lambo said “ I’m in a lunge position. Left leg forward, right leg back. Urban Meyer while he is in the stretch says “Hey dips-t make your f-ing kicks tonight and kicks me in the leg.”  When Lambo told him to stop kicking him , Meyer responded with “I am the F***king head coach, I’ll Kick you all I F***k want . 

Lambo said Meyer didn’t bother to call the Special Teams Players by their names. It was “ Kicker, Punter, Long Snapper or S-Bag, Dips-t, or whatever the hell it was.”  This is not a way you treat your players. Coaches are supposed to show their players respect and believe in them. 

Urban Meyer is not a leader. Urban Meyer wanted to blame everyone else, but the person who was the ultimate problem. The ultimate problem is Urban Meyer is a greedy, selfish individual who will never get a second chance in the NFL. And if I am being honest I don’t know if he will ever get another major college opportunity. 

Link to Tom Pellisero article:  

https://www.nfl.com/news/tension-boiling-over-between-coach-urban-meyer-jaguars-players-staff

The Buck Starts Here

By: Mike Rifkin and Mark Halpern

Even though baseball is in a lockout the Mets still make news and for this season the news has been all positive. On Saturday the Mets hired Buck Showalter as their new manager. This is the first time the buck will start and end at the same place. Showalter has managed the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers and Orioles and has a career record of 1,551-,1,517. Showalter last managed the Baltimore Orioles in 2018.  Showalter has experience in New York, as he managed the Yankees before they went to their four consecutive World Series. Showalter knows what it means to thrive in New York and deal with the cheers and boos.  Steve Cohen has said repeatedly how much he wants to win. Everything that Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler have done this offense signifies that the Mets want to win right now

Buck was the perceived favorite to replace Luis Rojas as the manager. Even the famous Mark “Old Ops Guy” Halpern predicted this at the end of the season last year. The prior two managers the Mets hired were first time managers. Buck Showalter will bring accountability to the organization. He will not put up with nonsense and will have no problem dealing with any pre Madonna’s that could come his way. Showalter said “ There is accountability and responsibility and (New York) isn’t for everybody. We are going to find out who it’s for and who it ain’t.” Luis Rojas was heavy in the analytics, I think Buck’s experience and feel for the game will certainly help. Showalter said about analytics “If you think that I’m going to let somebody beat us by having analytical information or because someone on the staff doesn’t understand it, I’m not going to talk about it. We’ll show you.” Buck is a three time AL Manager of the Year, last winning the award in 2014. The only individual we know that will be on the coaching staff currently is Jeremy Hefner was brought back as the pitching coach. Showalter said about Hefner at his introductory press conference that “ he is very impressed with Hefner and I can’t wait to get back on the phone with him.” Showalter is the latest excellent move from the Mets this offseason after adding Max Scherzer, Mark Canha, Eduardo Escobar and Starling Marte to the roster. A roster that is already very talented with guys like Jacob DeGrom, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, etc… Last season the Mets made history by being in first place for 103 days and wind up having a losing record. 

 Do I think the Mets are done making moves? No, I would still like to see them add another arm in the rotation and the bullpen once the lockout ends. A lot of analysts have predicted that even with all the signings that the Mets are one of the teams to sign Kris Bryant.  Buck Showalter said about owner Steve and Alex Cohen “The love and passion that Steve and Alex have for the Mets and the things they are willing to do, that’s exciting.” All of this is music to Mets fans ears because there is a new sheriff in town and the Buck starts with him.

One Giant Question

By Mike Rifkin

The New York Giants announced that they are shutting down quarterback Daniel Jones for the rest of the season due to a neck injury. Jones, the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Duke, had a 64.3 completion percentage  with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, he also ran for 298 yards and two touchdowns. In his career Jones has a 62.8 completion percentage with 45 touchdowns and 29 interceptions, while running for 1,000 yards and five touchdowns. Jones’s career record is 12-25 and the Giants as a team have not made the playoffs since 2016. The Giants have a lot of questions this offseason and one of the biggest ones is if they should exercise the fifth year option on Jones? Jones’s fifth year option would cost the giants 21.3 million dollars. 

Nobody can say the Giants never gave Jones talent around him including signing wide receiver Kenny Golladay to a massive contract this offseason. Jones’s offensive lines have always been a problem and for the Giants that’s been a problem for years. But Giants fans keep waiting for Jones to take that next step or giant leap as a lot of young quarterbacks have. They have seen glimpses of that if you watch the Saints game or the game at Washington earlier in the season, but Jones has not been consistent since coming into the league. Jones said today “ I have spoken to Joe (coach Joe Judge) and we’ve had conversations about being the starter next season. There are things he expects me to improve on and I understand that and take it very seriously. That is my kind of approach.” I thought coming into the season this was a make or break year for Jones but even though at times he showed glimpses there are other times where he still makes rookie mistakes. I like the fact that he understands he has to show improvement but I have a hard time just handing him the starting job once again. 

There are a lot of good quarterbacks who will be on the market this offseason with Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson (legal situation pending), and maybe even Derek Carr. There could be other names like Jimmy Garopolo but I don’t know how much of an upgrade that really is. The Giants also have trade ammunition with two 1st round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft after they acquired the Bears first in this past draft. Right now those picks would be fifth and sixth overall. Now if the Giants are uncomfortable trading both those picks, trade one and their 2023 first round pick to get one of these guys if they want. Or the other route would be to sign Teddy Bridgewater or someone along those lines to at least compete with Jones.

If I was running the show with the Giants I would be more interested in Wilson or Watson (legal situation pending) than Rodgers. Watson is 25 years old and the thing that could entice Houston the most is it would mean trading him out of the conference. Now if Russell Wilson expresses interest in coming to New York that is something to definitely explore. The Giants have a lot of questions to ask themselves this offseason and one of the biggest ones is do they believe in Daniel Jones to give him 21.3 million dollars?

Dallas vs Washington

Boys D too strong for WFT O

Record 9-4

By Mark Halpern

The Dallas Cowboys took on the Washington Football Team for another important divisional battle on Sunday. This was the first meeting this year between the divisional rivals, and Washington has been on a hot streak lately, so Dallas had to come to play, and they did, but they didn’t.

    The Dallas offense was not the game’s story as many analysts thought it would be. The Dallas offense sputtered through this game. Dak Prescot was not looking his best as he passed for 211 yards 1td and 2 int. He seems uncomfortable, and that could be that his calf has not entirely healed yet. Zeke Elliot was showing that his knee is a real problem. He only had 45 yards rushing and chipped in one reception for 15 yards. He was seen hobbling towards the sidelines many times but kept fighting to come back in. Tony Pollard was not available for this game with a foot injury, so Corey Clement was thrown into the mix and did what he was asked to do, and that was to be a change of pace player as he finished with 44 yards on 13 attempts of his own. Cooper had the lone touchdown catch in the game, and Cee Dee Lamb and Gallup had 60 yards each on the day. The offensive line was somewhat shaky, giving up 4 sacks on the day. All in all, the offense looked weak.

     Now on the other side of the ball, the Cowboys showed why they are one of the most feared defenses in football. This was the first game since opening day that Lawrence, Parsons and Gregory, and Gallimore all were on the field together, and they didn’t disappoint. Between the 4, they amassed 8 tackles, 5 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, and 7 qb pressures. This was a huge missing piece of the defense for a while. The defense also forced and recovered 3 fumbles, 1 TD, and 1 interception on a beauty of a play by Randy Gregory. The Dallas defense was too much for Taylor Heinicke as he was constantly being pressured and being hit, the run game was nonexistent, and receivers weren’t open. Washington did have one fantastic play, and that was a Cam Simms 43 yard catch with Diggs right there stride for stride. That play lit a fire under the ass of the rest of the WFT team, but by that time, it was much too late as Dallas ended up winning 27-20, moving them to 9-4 on the season.

     A win is a win, whether by a blowout or one point. I have been listening to broadcasters criticizing the Cowboys for not winning by 20 more points. At the end of the game, all that matters is a score. Yes, I think the Dallas offense was weak and tired and didn’t look themselves at all but, in no way do I think they gave up after being up by so much. If the Dallas defense doesn’t have the game they had, it is very possible Dallas could have lost. However, they won, and they travel to New York next weekend to face the 4-9 New York Giants, who are just plain horrible. The big key to this game is that with a win, Dallas will win the NFC East and clinch a playoff berth and still have a good chance at a bye week if they keep winning. This team needs to jump this offense, and with the chances of winning the NFC East next Sunday, this should be the motivation that is needed.

TWIW – This Week In Wrestling VIII

Before I get into wrestling, I’d like to send my condolences to the family and friends of Blackjack Lanza who passed away on December 8th was 86

Blackjack Lanza was a 2006 WWE Hall Of Fame inductee and a 2016 inductee to the Professional Wrestling Hall Of Fame

He was a champion during the glory days of the territories in promotions like the AWA, WWA, NWA, GCW and the WWWF

RIP Blackjack

NWA – HARD TIMES 2

NWA World Women’s Tag Team Championship: The Hex (c) vs. Kylie Rae & Tootie Lynn vs. Missa Kate & Natalia Markova vs. Jennacide & Paola Blaze w/Taryn Terrell – The Hex plants Lynn with Hex Marks The Spot to pick up the pinfall victory and retain their titles

Homicide won the Battle Royal to qualify for the upcoming NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship Tournament

NWA Junior Heavyweight Championship Tournament Qualifying Match: Austin Aries vs Rhett Titus – Aries sends Titus into the ropes then hits a Rolling Elbow, followed by a Corner Dropkick. Finally Aries connects with The BrainBuster to get the 1-2-3

ROH World Tag Team Championship: The OGK (Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) (c) vs. Aron Stevens & JR Kratos – Bennett rocks Stevens with a forearm smash followed by Taven rolling Stevens for the pinfall.

Colby Corino w/The Fixers vs. Douglas Williams – Corino sends Williams shoulder first into the steel ring post then he plants Williams with The Sonsetter for the win

IMPACT Knockouts Championship: Mickie James (c) vs. Kiera Hogan – Hogan climbs to the top turnbuckle and attempts a flying crossbody block, but Mickie rolls her over to pick up the victory

NWA Worlds Television Championship: Tyrus (c) w/Austin Idol, BLK Jeez and Jordan Clearwater vs. Cyon (No DQ w/The Pope as Special Guest Referee) – Tyrus lands the Heart Punch and gets the 1-2-3

NWA National Championship: Chris Adonis (c) vs. Judais w/Father James Mitchell – Adonis applies the The Master Lock submission but Judias passes out and the ref calls for the bell

NWA World Tag Team Championship: La Rebellion (c) vs. The End – Wolf connects with a 450 splash on Parrow for the win

Nick Aldis vs. Thomas Latimer (If Either Man Is Disqualified, They Will Be Suspended For 2 Months) – Aldis connects with The Jackknife Hold to get the victory.

NWA World Women’s Championship: Kamille (c) vs. Melina – Kamille connects with The Spear to get the pinfall.

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship: Trevor Murdoch (c) vs. Mike Knox – In the corner Murdoch hits Knox with clubbing headbutts then connects with The Flying Bulldog to get the 1-2-3.

After the match, Matt Cardona appears. Knox then delivers a low blow to Murdoch. The Popes comes out and Knox starts to brawl with The Pope. Cardona attacks Pope from behind. Cardona throws the Pope into the steel ring steps. Finally, Knox kicks Murdoch in the face. Cardona poses with Ten Pounds Of Gold to end the show.

NXT – WAR GAMES

This is Beth Phoenix’s last night on commentary for NXT

WOMEN’S WARGAMES MATCH: Raquel Gonzalez, Io Shirai, Cora Jade & Kay Lee Ray vs. Dakota Kai, Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne – Early on Cora took a nasty landing off the top onto the tables with Jacy on them and I believed she legit damaged her arm, but she the rest of the team never gave up and hurt arm and all, Cora Jade got the pinfall on Jacy Jayne

NXT Tag-Team Championships: Imperium vs Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner – Aichner and Barthel connect with a double-team Imperium bomb for the pinfall on O’Reilly to retain their NXT tag-team titles

After the match Wagner turns on O’Reilly by trying to attack him, but O’Reilly got over on him then said, “This is a brotherhood” while he did the classic Undisputed Era taunt.

Hair vs. Hair Match: Cameron Grimes vs Duke Hudson – In the end Hudson gets Grimes up in the Razor’s Edge position but Grimes escapes and gets a roll up victory for the 1-2-3

Hudson tried to turn the tables on Grimes and shave his head, but Hudson finally gets his head shaved.

NXT Cruiserweight Championship: Roderick Strong (C) vs Joe Gacy – Strong connects with his double knee back breaker for the pinfall victory

Backstage Kyle O’Reilly Challenges Von Wagner To Steel Cage Match on the next episode of NXT

Men’s WarGames Match: Team Black & Gold (Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne & LA Knight) vs. Team 2.0 (Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller & Tony D’Angelo) – Bron Breakker Spears Ciampa through a table for the win.

This is going to set up a definite rematch between Ciampa and Breakker for the NXT Championship in the near future I believe

WWE – RAW

Steel Cage Match: Big E vs. Kevin Owens – Big E nails a Big Ending from the top rope and then crawls out of the ring for the victory. 

After the match, while E is celebrating, he gets attacked from behind by Seth Rollins, who then turns his attention to Kevin Owens. As Rollins is leaving Big E connects with a Belly to Belly Suplex on Rollins, then a Big Ending for Kevin Owens. Bobby Lashley then makes his way down to the ring and attacked all three men on his own.

Queen Zelina (w/ Carmella) vs. Nikki A.S.H (w/ Rhea Ripley) – Nikki A.S.H. lands a neckbreaker but misses a flying crossbody. Zelina then counters as she hits Code Red for the three count.

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Tournament Semifinal Match: AJ Styles & Omos vs. Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) – Omos attacks Ford on the outside, but gets counted out as Ford gets back to the ring in time. 

After the match AJ tells Omos he has to listen better and pay attention. Omos just walks away. Will we see one turn on the other in the near future?

United States Championship: Damian Priest vs. Robert Roode (w/ Dolph Ziggler) – Priest attempts a springboard onto Roode who quickly counters with a spinebuster. Priest is the 1st one up, grabs Roode for The Reckoning and the 1-2-3

Bianca Belair vs. Doudrop – Belair gets Doudrop up for the KOD, but Doudrop escapes and leaves the ring. She just keeps going and the ref counts her out

MizTV with Edge. These two verbally go back and forth and Edge brings up how Miz was treated and acted as a rookie in 2006. This will eventually lead to a match as the Day 1 ppv

RK-Bro-Nament: The Mysterios vs. Alpha Academy – The finish saw Chad Gable go up top and attempt a moonsault but Dominik moves and gets the pinfall

With that win, the Street Profits will face The Mysterios next week in the finals of the RK-Bro-Nament and who will become the #1 contenders.

Backstage, Austin Theory is warming-up inside Vince’s office as Mr. McMahon is on the phone. Vince tells him to sit and tells him thatunfortunately he won’t have a match tonight because he wasn’t ready on time. Vince tells him he’ll need to figure out some way to impress him. Vince tells Theory to use his brains to impress him and Theory leaves with a smile on his face.

Finn Balor vs. T-BAR – Balor goes up to the top and lands his Coup de Grace

After the match, Austin Theory jumps him from behind and starts taking a selfie with Finn

RAW Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan – after a great back and forth match, Becky gets the 1-2-3 with assist from the rope that the ref doesn’t see

NXT

Steel Cage Match: Von Wagner vs. Kyle O’Reilly – Wagner nails Kyle with a low blow then follows that up with a powerbomb for the pinfall

After the match Von continues to attack Kyle and hangs him in the tree of woah facing the cage door and then Von smashes his face with the door. This is probably the last time we see Kyle in NXT / WWE. Will he be AEW or Impact bound?

We are informed that Harland will make his in-ring debut next week

Breakker comes out and talks about the respect he has for the black and gold of NXT but he has one fall apiece against Ciampa and will anything to get to him again. This brings out Malcolm Bivens and lets him know that Roderick Strong is “THE” champion of NXT. He says he has his sights set on him. And will face Strong next week

Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs vs. The Creed Brothers – while distracted, Briggs rolls up Creed and gets the pin fall victory.

Duke Hudson and Cameron Grimes go back and forth about their hair vs hair match in which Hudson is wearing a wig. Grimes challenges Hudson to a no holds barred match

Carmelo Hayes vs. Dexter Lumis – Trick Williams interferes from the outside to break up the potential pinfall giving Lumis the win via DQ

MSK (Nash Carter & Wes Lee) continue looking the Shaman, who has been confirmed to be revealed tonight. We see them knock on a door and when it opens, it turns out the Shaman is actually Matt Riddle

Valentina Feroz & Yulisa Leon vs. Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jane – Jane connects with clothesline to Feroz and then a big kick right under the jaw for the 1-2-3.

Tiffany Stratton coming soon promo

Tony D’Angelo is challenged By Andre Chase for a match next week

Xyon Quinn vs. Santos Escobar – Lopez sneaks a pair of brass knuckles onto his hand of Quinn while he’s down, but both men eventually get up and Quinn realizes he has the knucks. As Quinn prepares to finish the match members of Legado Del Fantasma provides a distraction. Quinn heads over and knocks them off the apron with the knucks but then turns to Escobar, who hits his finisher and scores the pin fall victory.

Johnny Gargano addresses the audience. He’s not sure what the future holds, but right now he’s stepping away to be a father. As he’s finishing up he is attacked by Grayson Waller and put threw a table. Will this be the last time we see Gargano? His baby is due in February, so is anything, he’ll return to the ring hopefully by June or July at the latest. Time will tell

AEW – DYNAMITE

CM Punk starts things off in Long Island cutting a promo on MJF. There were loud boos in the building I’m guessing because MJF is from Long Island and came off as Long Islanders being superior and he’s returning as a hero of sorts. Punk insults the NY Islanders hockey team and puts of the Blackhawks. I’m guessing things will return to mainly cheers once out of Long Island.

Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal – Some of the participants were MJF, Shawn Spears, Wardlow, Lee Moriarty, Jay Lethal, Matt Hardy, Dante Martin, Lio Rush, Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Frankie Kazarian. During the match MJF eliminates Wardlow, who did not look happy and Dante Martin eliminated Ricky Starks.  When Dante eliminated Starks that left MJF and Dante Martin as the final two participants in the battle royal and will face each other next week. 

After the match Starks attacks Dante, who is also a member of Team Taz and is joined in by MJF which leads to Punk coming down to get involved

Jurassic Express & Varsity Blonds vs. The Acclaimed & Team 2point0 – During the match Eddie Kingston run down to the ring to attack Daniel Garcia and Team 2point0 who attacked him last week. After Eddie leaves Jungle Boy applies his snare trap submission finisher for the submission.

The Young Bucks vs. Rocky Romero & Chuck Taylor – The Bucks connect with a Meltzer Driver on Romero for the 1-2-3

We are informed that next week we will see Ruby Soho, Tay Conti and Anna Jay vs Penelope Ford, The Bunny and Nyla Rose. 

We also find out that next week Sammy Guevara’s Next TNT Title Open Challenge will be against Cody Rhodes, but Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky have something to say about it. Will they get involved?

Jamie Hayter vs. Riho – Riho picks up the pinfall

We go to Taz who announces that Fuego Del Sol will wrestle next week on the Winter is Coming special against Taz’s son, the “secret weapon” of Team Taz, his son, Hook

Main Event: Bryan Danielson vs. John Silver – Danielson wins via submission

After the match Bryan won’t release the hold which prompts Adam Page to come down and runs of Danielson. Page promises to defeat him next week and retain his AEW World Title.

IMPACT

Chris Sabin & Mickie James vs. Matthew Rehwoldt & Deonna Purrazzo – Coming off the top-rope, Mickie hits her double knees splash onto Deonna, but Deonna reverses the pin and uses help from both Rehwoldt and the ropes for leverage behind the referees back for the 1-2-3

Backstage, Gia Miller is with Matt Cardona. She talks to him about being added to the Impact World Championship match at Hard to Kill, which makes now makes it a triple-threat match against                     W. Morrissey and Moose.

Matt talks about that the only thing he has wanted since coming to IMPACT is a world title shot.                    W. Morrissey comes over and says that it’s typical of Mid card -Cardona taking something he didn’t earn. He says that’s why he’s at the spot he’s always been in his career. He says he deserves a one-on-one match at Hard to Kill. Matt has had enough and tells Morrissey that they can go to the ring and have a match, and if Morrissey wins, Cardona is out of the match. 

Rohit Raju vs. Lawrence D – No Contest since Josh Alexander comes to the ring and takes out both men.

After Josh takes out Raju and D, he calls out Jonah. Scott D’Amore comes out and tells him Jonah isn’t here tonight, but they will have a match at Hard to Kill. Josh says it isn’t enough and needs to take out Jonah before refocusing on Moose and the title. D’Amore tries to get through to Alexander, calling him family and saying he needs to get his emotions in check. Alexander heads out of the ring and he grabs Raj Singh and brings him in the ring. He nails Raju with a Falcon Arrow and gets back on the mic and tells D’Amore that this is an example of him keeping his emotions in check

The Learning Tree vs. FinJuice – Finnjuice get the pinfall

Moose offers to help Morrissey take out Cardona and make their match one on one, but he doesn’t trust Moose and will do it himself

Street Fight: Eric Young vs. Rhino – Heath, Swann, Willie Mack, Doering and Deaner all come down and get involved. This distraction allows Eric to his a low blow on Rhino, then a piledriver to the 1-2-3

The IInspiration & The Influence vs. Decay – Spear on Madison Rayne for the victory

Lady Frost is introduced as the newest member of the Impact roster

After that Gail Kim informs everybody that Lady Frost, Rachael Ellering, Jordynne Grace, Chelsea Green and Rosemary will all be in the 1st ever Knockouts Ultimate-X match

Main Event: (Hard To Kill Title Shot On-The-Line For Cardona) W. Morrissey vs. Matt Cardona – This was a real hard fought match but in the end Morrissey takes out the ref causing Matt Cardona to get the DQ win and will stay in the triple threat match.

WWE – SMACKDOWN

The show starts off with Sami Zayn in the ring recapping what happened to him last week. Paul Heyman comes in and talks to Sami, which leads to Brock Lesnar coming out as well. By the end, Lesnar hits another F5 on Sami before he leaves the ring

Los Lotharios (Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo) vs. Rick Boogs & Shinsuke Nakamura – Nakamura connects with a Kinshasa on Humberto for the pinfall

Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre – McIntyre nails Sheamus with a Claymore kick for the 1-2-3

Naomi vs. Sonya Deville (w/ special guest ring announcer Natalya and special guest ref Shayna Baszler) – Before the match starts Naomi goes after Natalya and Shayna before she gets back in the ring.  Sonya Deville takes off and runs away. Natalya, Shayna & Sonya surround Naomi when Xia Li debuts and helps out Naomi. 

Championship Contender’s Match: SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Toni Storm (If Toni wins, she gets a future shot at the champion) – In the end, Flair slams Storm’s head into the ring post. Storm isn’t moving. Flair stomps Storm against the ring post. The referee counts to five but Flair won’t stop. Which leads to Charlotte being DQed and Toni gets the win and future shot at the title

AEW – RAMPAGE

AEW World Tag-Team Championships: The Lucha Bros (C) vs. FTR – Fenix dives into a rolling cutter onto Harwood, then tries the same on Wheeler, but Wheeler counters with a Gory Bomb. Wheeler heads over to Penta, who hits him with a back-body drop. Penta looks for Fear Factor after that, but Wheeler avoids it. Penta and Fenix hit a double foot stomp off the top into a big finish for the pinfall. Was Cash’s foot under the rope?

Ruby Soho, Anna Jay & Tay Conti vs. Penelope Ford, The Bunny & Nyla Rose – Nyla connects with a powerbomb for the 1-2-3

backstage  Darby Allin & Sting are attacked by FTR and Tully BlanchardHook vs. Fuego Del Sol – Hook is making his in ring debut and is the son of Taz. The crowd is fully behind Hook, since this is in Long Island and Taz is an ECW original and from Brooklyn – Hook looked really good and I was very surprised and happy for him. Hook locks in the Kata ha jime aka the Tazmission

Time For A Change

By: Mike Rifkin

On Thursday night the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-28.  The Steelers battled back in the second half and even had an opportunity to tie the game, but Harrison Smith made a tremendous play. But the play people will talk about is that in the final moment Chase Claypool got a fourth down conversion and made a first down signal. Here is the problem: the Steelers were trying to spike the ball and they were out of timeouts. Earlier in the game Claypool was called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct, Coach Mike Tomlin said postgame that he benched Claypool because of the penalty. Claypool did lead the team with 8 catches for 93 yards. This wasn’t the first time Claypool and Tomlin saw eye to eye.

In November Claypool suggested that the team should play music during practice to make it more fun. Tomlin’s response was “Claypool plays wide out and I’ll let him do that. I’ll formulate the practice approach and I think that division of labor is appropriate.” You would have thought the Steelers would have learned from the antics of 2020. In 2020 there were viral videos of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster doing TikTok dances pregame. One game Smith Schuster danced on the Bengals logo and that game he had three catches 15 yards and a fumble. Tomlin said after that game he “he was aware and planned to talk to Juju.” Tomlin went on to say “But we’re professionals. I doubt any of those antics and things of that nature are legitimate motivating factors as you step into professional stadiums. But it’s about respect so we will have a conversation. But I understand it’s about the quality of play inside the white lines.” The Steelers had Antonio Brown and that is not the hole we are going down right now, but his antics rubbed off on Smith Schuster whose antics rubbed off on Claypool. 

The Steelers last season started the season 11-0 before losing four of five to end the regular season before getting manhandled by the Cleveland Browns 48-37. It was 28-0 in the first quarter, but after all the ups and downs the Steelers said they were ok with bringing back basically the same group this season and after last night’s loss have a record of 6-6-1 including a sweep at the hands of the Bengals. The Steelers are known for stability, they have had three coaches in 30 years. Maybe it’s time for the Steelers to blow this up. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has already talked about this being his last season according to reports. But maybe Roethlisberger isn’t the only one to blame. I know Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record, this year that can change. The Steelers have been one of the standard setters in the NFL over the last 15 seasons, but maybe it’s time for a rebuild and let Ben walk into the sunset and have a new voice of direction because this is not Bill Cowher or Chuck Noll’s Steelers.

They Got It Right

By: Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the NCAA announced the four teams competing in the College Football Playoff. The four teams will be Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, and Cincinnaitti. Those four teams will play each other on New Year’s Eve with the winners playing for the National Championship on January 10th. I usually give the committee a hard time and believe there needs to be expansion at some point, but this year they got the four teams correct. Now if you want to argue Michigan over Alabama for the number one seed we can have that conversation, but for now they got this right.

Let’s start with the defending National Champions the Alabama Crimson Tide. They went 12-1 7-1 in SEC play and beat then number one Georgia thoroughly 41-24. There were a lot of positives in this game including quarterback Bryce Young cementing himself as the winner of the Heisman Trophy throwing for 421 yards and three touchdowns. On the season Young had a 68.0 completion percentage 4,322 yards 43 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Alabama’s defense had two interceptions on the day and with this win claimed a playoff spot .The defense led by Sophomore Will Anderson who led the country with 15.5 sacks was eight in the country in total defense. The major negative in the game was losing receiver John Metchie to a torn ACL. Metchie, a Junior, had 96 catches for 1,142 yards and 8 touchdowns. Even with Metchie down the Tide still have Jameson Williams who this season had 68 catches 1,145 yards and 15 touchdowns and Brian Robinson the running back 1,071 yards and 16 total touchdowns. Also they have this Nick Saban guy as their coach (he is pretty good.)

Now to Michigan who won the Big Ten Title after drubbing Iowa 42-3. Personally this stunned me because I had a feeling after finally defeating Ohio State Michigan was primed for a letdown, but they decimated the Hawkeyes the same way they beat the Buckeyes they ran the football for 211 yards and scored four touchdowns on the ground. The Running game is led by Hassan Haskins who had 1,288 yards and 20 touchdowns.  Michigan comes into the playoffs as the lowest scoring offense of the four teams averaging 37.7 points per game. They are tied for fourth scoring defense allowing 16.08 points per game. Defense is led by edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo who had 14 and 11 sacks respectively putting them both in the top 10 in the country. Yes Jim Harbaugh got the monkey off his back by finally beating the Buckeyes, but this is what Michigan fans have anticipated since he took over. 

Then there is Georgia who was the number one team in the country until they played Alabama, that loss makes Kirby Smart 0-4 vs his former boss. Georgia’s defense was first in a lot of categories, but one category they were not first in was third down defense and Alabama took advantage of that by going 7- 14 on third downs. Georgia averaged 195 yards per game rushing in this game they were held to 109, which meant quarterback Stetson Bennett had to beat Alabama and he had two interceptions that really cost Georgia.  The Michigan Georgia game should be a dandy because it will be all about who is the more physical team.

Last but not least Cinderella crashes the party. The Cincinnati Bearcats defeated the Houston Cougars in the AAC title game 35-20 giving the Bearcats a perfect 13-0 record. Finally a non power 5 school breaks into the playoffs. Coach Luke Fickell who should be the national coach of the year brought his team in with a chip on their shoulder. In 2020 the Bearcats went undefeated and weren’t invited to the playoffs and lost to Georgia 24-21 in the Peach Bowl but they showed they can play with the big boys. This year they didn’t leave things to chance and scheduled two difficult road games at Indiana and at Notre Dame and with those signature wins the Bearcats are now heading to the playoffs. The Bearcats averaged 38.8 points per game which is ninth in the country led by quarterback Desmond Ridder who had a 65.9 completion percentage with 30 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, he also had 6 rushing touchdowns. They are fourth in scoring defense and seventh in total defense. The defense is tied for seventh in turnover margin which is the highest of the playoff teams.  

Here is my question to you: had Houston won the game, if Oklahoma State still lost, who is the fourth team? Is it Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Baylor,etc… We can give the committee grief another day and talk about playoff expansion then because for 2021 they got all four teams in the playoffs right. Until then we wait until New Year’s Eve to watch the four best teams in College Football play.

Garret’s firing and the future of the New York Giants  

By Bill Murphy 

After their Monday night loss against the Tampa Bay Bucs ,The New York Giants fired Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett after just two seasons with the team.  Since Garrett took over as offensive coordinator, the Giants offense has been anemic. In the 26 games, that  he has been offensive coordinator of the Giants has scored an average 18.2 points a game ranking them 25th in the league this year 23rd in yards , a league low of 42 offensive touchdowns , and have only had one game where they had scored 30 points or more and Daniel Jones has only thrown two deep passes per game  . When asked why Garrett was fired , head coach Joe Judge said “the offense needs to be more productive .”

Freddy Kitchens is now taking over for Garrett , who came to the  Giants last year after his stint as  Cleveland Browns head Coach .  While he is  considered  an offensive guru  , last he year he  was the offensive assistant to Garrett and took his spot during the game against the Cleveland Browns while he was on the Covid list and only scored 6 points during that game .  So we will have to see what will be the outcome of the rest of the season . Maybe Kitchens can provide more explosion to an offense that in the words of my father “ lacks imagination. “ As we look ahead to 2022 the big question would be who will be Garrets replacement , if Kitchens can get this offense going , than I say hire him back this year , if not I am hearing some buzz from fellow fans of many potential  candidates including Bills QB Coach  Ken Dorsey  and Alabama ‘s offensive coordinator Bill O Brien . Whoever the  new offensive coordinator  is going to have two big priorities and that is shaping Daniel Jones and fixing the offensive line . With Sunday’s win against the Eagles, The Giants offense still has a lot to work on as the offense has a new coordinator to work  with . 

After a week of craziness with Jason Garrett . news  broke before the game against the Eagles that the Giants General Manager David Gettleman will most likely not return for  the 2022 season . This will be a big move and maybe a sign of improvement to this franchise who is struggling right now , but there is one big question, what would be the future of Joe Judge and Daniel Jones?  If a new  general manager   comes in , they are going to want to bring their own head coach and potential quarterback. If  I was John Mara , I would give Judge another year because it turns out that  Judge and Garrett were not working out . If  Judge has another losing season then it is time for  a new coach . As of now , Mara  needs to tell all potential candidates that they want to keep Judge and Jones . 

The final thing is that there are talks that the Giants are considering trading up some first round draft picks for 2022 and 2023 for Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. To be honest, as much as I love Russell Wilson , the Giants priority in the draft should be to get offensive linemen to build up an already weak line.  While they can find offensive linemen in the later picks of the draft and maybe bringing Wilson to New York will bring  linemen  who want to play with him , The big concern is that Wilson is getting up there in age  and is right  now having an abysmal 3-8 season with Seattle . With six weeks left in the season , There are a lot of decisions that need to be made in the meadowlands for 2022 .

Signs Of Life In Miami

By: Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the Miami Dolphins pushed their winning streak to 4 games with a 33-10 drubbing of the Carolina Panthers. This recent winning streak has pushed the Dolphins record to 5-7 and on the outside looking into the wild card hunt. There are two major reasons the Dolphins have won four in a row and are trying to make a run to a wild card: the defense and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Let’s start with the defense that was a major factor in the team going 10-6. In 2020 the defense was third in the league with a turnover differential of +9, over the last four games the defense has forced 10 turnovers bringing this season’s turnover differential to -1. Let’s start with two rookies on defense showing up. In the first round of the NFL Draft the Dolphins had two selections the first was a wide receiver from Alabama (more on him later), but the second was Jaelan Phillips a defensive end from the University of Miami. As the season has gone along Phillips has been getting more comfortable in this defense. On Sunday against Carolina Phillips had three sacks, and over the four game winning streak he has five sacks giving him six and a half sacks on the season.  On the opposite side of him there is Emmanuel Ogbah who in 2020 had nine sacks, has six so far this season and three and a half have come during this winning streak. Ogbah is a free agent at season’s end and it would be smart of the Dolphins to bring back a player who has been so good for them. Now let’s go to the secondary. In the second round the Dolphins selected Jevon Holland, a safety from Oregon who had opted out of 2020 due to Covid and to prepare for the draft. Holland has really played well over the last four games with two fumble recoveries and two interceptions during the win streak and was all over the field in an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens a few games back. Then there is Xavien Howard who in 2020 led the NFL with 10 interceptions (should have been defensive player of the year). In the offseason he wanted more money and the Dolphins were able to restructure his contract. Early in the season Howard had a groin injury that hampered him but over the four game win streak Howard has a forced fumble, fumble recovery and an interception. 

Tua Tagovailoa deserves a lot of credit for what he has been through this season. Whether it’s an injury, horrendous offensive line play or Deshaun Watson rumors Tua has played his best football recently. Since 1950 there are four quarterbacks who had back to back games with 80% completion percentage or better with a minimum of 30 passing attempts. Their names are Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa. This year the Dolphins drafted a player Tua is very familiar with in receiver Jaylen Waddle from Alabama. Waddle on Sunday had 9 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown. During the four game winning streak Waddle has had over 60 yards in each game. At the trade deadline there was talks that the Dolphins were going to acquire Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson who is currently in a legal situation due to 22 women who have accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior. Watson would like to be a Dolphin from all reports, but if Tua plays as well as he has over the last four games will they do it? Yes Deshaun Watson is a top tier quarterback in the NFL when he plays, but with a bad offensive line and limited weapons Tua Tagovailoa is making it a difficult decision for the front office. Here is the ultimate question for Tua’s doubters: if the Dolphins win out and make the playoffs or just miss, will that show them enough? The Dolphins will look to push their winning streak to five on Sunday when they take on the New York Giants at Hard Rock Stadium

New Look Mets

By: Mike Rifkin

When Steve Cohen bought the New York Mets fans were thrilled because they knew and were told he was willing to spend his money. Last offseason the big splash was trading for Francisco Lindor and signing him to a 10 year 341 million dollar contract. This offseason Steve Cohen really spent on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

Let’s start with what happened on Friday: the Mets signed three players in Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha and Starling Marte. Escobar signed a two year 20 million dollar deal with the Mets to play third base, but also can play second base and last season played some games at first base. Last season Escobar had a slash line of .253 average, .314 on base percentage and .472 slugging percentage with 28 home runs and 90 RBI for the Diamondbacks and Brewers. Escobar’s arrival might signal the end for either Jeff Mcneil or JD Davis returning, but both could be impacted depending if the team brings back Javy Baez. 

The Mets also signed Outfielders Mark Canha and Starling Marte from the Athletics to contracts. Canha signed a two year 26.5 million dollar contract to play one of the corner outfield spots. Canha last year had a slash line of .231 average, .358 on base percentage, and .387 slugging percentage, with 17 home runs and 61 RBI. His .358 on base percentage was 14th in the American League.  Marte signed a four year  78 million dollar contract with the Mets. After being traded to Oakland from the Marlins Marte slashed .315 average, .389 on base percentage, and .464 slugging percentage with 12 home runs and 52 RBI. Marte brings the Mets an element they didn’t have: Marte last season stole 47 bases while the Mets as a team only stole 54. Marte, a 2 time gold glove award winner, should be at the top of the lineup and playing Center Field which should move Brandon Nimmo to the other corner thus eliminating any thoughts of Michael Conforto returning. Does this make Dom Smith available? But my thought would be if the Universal DH came into play the Mets could put Smith or Pete Alonso there while the other plays first base. 

The Cherry on top of all this was Monday when the Mets signed three time CY Young award winner and future hall of famer Max Scherzer to a three year 130 million dollar contract. Scherzer has been one of the best pitchers in baseball in the last decade. Last season he was traded from the Nationals to the Dodgers at the trade deadline posted a career best 2.46 ERA. Scherzer signed the fifth largest deal in Mets history behind teammates Francisco Lindor and Jacob Degrom as well as David Wright and Johan Santana. Scherzer also broke Gerritt Cole’s record of average annual value at 43.3 million dollars. Pairing Scherzer with Jacob Degrom who currently is the best pitcher in baseball gives the Mets the best 1-2 punch in baseball. 

These moves from Steve Cohen shows that he is not afraid to spend money if it means his team will win. These moves should excite the Mets fan base  because under the Wilpons the Mets wouldn’t have been in the mix. There is still some work to do, but for now it’s a new day in Queens and Steve Cohen has become the King of Queens.