Boxing Challenge

   Only one match on a tepid boxing weekend and it's from Matchroom/DAZN from Birmingham, England for an interim flyweight title.

Former IBF champion Sunny Edwards faces 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gal Yafai for the minor title with the winner in position to next face WBC champion Kenshiro Teraji.

Edwards has fought once since the battering that he took in a courageous losing effort to Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez. winning a technical decision in eight rounds over former IBF light flyweight champion Adrian Curiel.

Yafai hasn't faced anyone of Edwards caliber as a pro but his extensive amateur career will carry him well against the former champion.

Edwards is a smooth boxer but lacks much of a wallop and Yafai is the harder puncher of the two.

The key here is how much has the punishment that Edwards took from Bam Rodriguez affected his ability to take a punch?

Yafai will test that and if Edwards retained his chin, this is a 50/50 fight.

Boxing Challenge

Flyweights 12 Rds

Sunny Edwards vs Gal Yafai

R.L and TRS: Yafai Unanimous Decision

V.S: Edwards KO 9

PPM

 The PPM returns with rivalry weekend in college play and the start of the playoff run in the NFL.

Last Week: 11-5 

Overall: 118-60

College

Ohio State over Michigan 27-14

Texas Tech over West Virginia 41-33

Bowling Green over Miami Ohio 24-21

Boise State over Oregon State 28-14

Missouri over Arkansas 25-20

Army over UTSA 23-20

Middle Tennessee State over Florida International 28-24

North Carolina over N.C.State 21-20

Georgia Southern over Appalachian State 40-37

Games of the Week

South Carolina over Clemson 24-21

Texas A&M over Texas 31-29

NFL
Broncos over Browns 24-14

Games of the Week

Eagles over Ravens 21-18

Chargers over Falcons 23-20

Premier League

Newcastle over Crystal Palace

Happy Thanksgiving

    Just a quick note to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

I'm working all day but this is my favorite holiday anyway because no matter your beliefs or thoughts, we all have things to be thankful for

Enjoy!

Cleaning Out the Inbox: Baseball Passings

     We move to tributes from the baseball world with three losses from the pitcher's mound and one professional hitter.

Goodbye to Luis Tiant at the age of 83. 

Known for his herky-jerky windup, Tiant won twenty games four times and led the American League in ERA twice in a career that saw him completely re-invent himself.

With the Cleveland Indians, Tiant was a fearsome young fireballer and in 1968, Tiant fired one of the best and yet unknown seasons in history when he finished 21-9, nineteen complete games, nine shutouts, 264 strikeouts, and an ERA of 1.61.

Hitters hit only .168 against Tiant in 1968 but an injury would see Tiant lose twenty games in 1969 and traded to the Minnesota Twins in 1970, who released him after the season.

Boston signed Tiant, who began to rotate his body with his back to the batter before turning around to throw, creating a deception for the hitter and arguably the most imitated windup on playgrounds and little league fields across the country!

Starting in 1972, Tiant won twenty games three times for the Red Sox and would win twelve games or more each season until he left Boston after the 1978 season.

Tiant retired after the 1982 season with 229 wins for his career.

Goodbye to Joey Jay at the age of 89.

The first player to make the majors after playing Little League baseball, Jay was also one of the most successful "bonus babies" of the 1950s ( if a player signed a bonus for more than $4,000, the player must remain on the big league roster for two years).

Jay signed for $20,000 with the Milwaukee Braves in 1953 and spent two seasons with the Braves before a seasoning stint in the minors.

After three seasons with the Braves, Milwaukee traded Jay to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1961 season, where Jay would win twenty-one games to lead the National League in wins for the surprising 1961 National League champions.

Jay won twenty-one games again in 1962 but Jay would pitch only four more seasons, winning thirty-three games with the Reds and the first season of the Atlanta Braves before retiring.

Goodbye to Rudy May at the age of 80.

A left-handed pitcher, who could start or relieve, May led the American League in ERA in 1980 for the Yankees and was known for his sharp curveball.

May won eighteen games for Baltimore in 1977 who rewarded him with a trade to Montreal.

May was also noted as the one pitcher that Hall of Famer Rod Carew would always ask out of the lineup when May was scheduled to be the opposing starting pitcher, due to Carew's struggles against May.

Goodbye to Rico Carty at the age of 85.

The National League batting champion in 1970 when he hit a sizzling .366, Carty was a career .299 hitter in fifteen seasons for six teams, most notably with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians.

Carty was known as a deadly hitter, hitting over .300 eight times and reaching double-digits in homers eleven times with three seasons that are quite incredible and almost forgotten by most fans.

In 1969, Carty just missed the batting title by not having the required plate appearances when he hit .342 in 339 plate appearances and hit sixteen homers and then actually won the batting crown in 1970, hitting .366 with twenty-five homers and one hundred one RBI, both seasons with the Braves.

Carty was elected to the 1970 All-Star Game as a write-in candidate, one of the few to accomplish that honor.

Carty's most amazing season, however, was 1978 when at age 38 and splitting the season between two terrible teams (Toronto and Oakland), Carty hit .282 with a career-high 31 homers and 99 RBI.

Ohio State derails Indiana 38-15

     Will Howard completed his first fourteen passes and threw for two touchdowns and Caleb Downs returned a punt seventy-nine yards for a touchdown to lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 38-15 win over the previously unbeaten Indiana Hoosiers in Columbus.

Ohio State's defense was dominant in the victory holding the Hoosier offense to barely over 150 yards of total offense.

10-1 Ohio State will host Michigan next week with a trip to the Big Ten title game and a rematch vs Oregon at stake.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Indiana's first possession was concerning as they ground out seventy yards on eleven plays for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Indiana wouldn't move the ball more than thirty yards again until their final possession when the game was decided.

2) The Ohio State defense was dominant after the first drive, turning the potent Hoosier offense into another inept attack but the running numbers are deceiving as the total is lowered by a twenty-three-yard loss on punter James Evans and quarterback Kurtis Rourke's losses of thirty-three yards.

3) One of the problems with last season's Buckeyes was special teams and this season's team used two big plays to turn this game around from those units.

One was during a brief rain mist, a snap to punter James Evans slipped through his hands, and while Evans recovered, Ohio State would take over at the Indiana seven and would take the lead shortly after.

4) And then there was Caleb Downs, who had been a standout returning punts for Alabama and was sent out to return a punt after the initial Indiana possession of the second half.

Sending out Downs was a tip that Ryan Day wanted to make something happen and it did as Downs took the punt on a hop and dashed seventy-nine yards for a touchdown.

5) When Ohio State was able to recruit Downs to transfer from Alabama, one of the skills mentioned was his punt returning, which the Tide used on occasion.

Downs is one of those special players that could be used in any capacity (PSST, including on offense), and don't be surprised if you don't see more of him in playmaking situations over the next few weeks.

6) The Ohio State pass rush cruised through the Indiana offensive line with five sacks and stayed in the face of Kurtis Rourke throughout the games.

Ohio State's pass rush was just short in the loss to Oregon often just missing sacks of Dillon Gabriel, it's an encouraging sign that the sacks are starting to come home.

7) The player of the game has to go to Cody Simon, who seemed to be everywhere with two and a half sacks, four solo tackles, and multiple assisted tackles with a forced fumble.

Simon was unblockable throughout the contest and continued to be the dominant player in the front seven.

8) Will Howard did throw one interception to go with his two touchdowns but it wasn't his fault as Jelani Thurman juggled the ball and Indiana plucked the ball from the air.

Howard avoided mistakes and didn't allow Indiana the one thing that they needed to win- Ohio State turnovers.

9) Give Curt Cignetti all the credit for getting Indiana to a place that it's never been but he gave Ohio State bulletin board material with his famous quote "Purdue sucks and so do Michigan and Ohio State" at a basketball game after his hiring.

Considering the difference between the two programs, it was far from smart.

10) And consider it a message when Ryan Day slammed in a final score when the Buckeyes could have kneeled out the clock.

Message sent- Ohio State is going to finish the job and know your place until you've made your space.

11) It's Michigan week- payback time.

PPM

   Another visit to the PPM with a Big Ten clash of top-five teams in Columbus heading the slate!

Last week: 7-5 

Overall: 107-55

College

Ohio State over Indiana 38-20

Texas Tech over Oklahoma State 37-31

Boise State over Wyoming 42-21

N.C. State over Georgia Tech 20-17

UTSA over Temple 45-17

Bowling Green over Ball State 27-14

Middle Tennessee State over New Mexico State 24-21

Georgia Southern over Coastal Carolina 29-27

Arkansas over Louisiana Tech 34-17

Washington State over Oregon State 35-14

Games of the Week

Notre Dame over Army 31-21

Arizona State over BYU 35-28

NFL
Steelers over Browns 20-14

Games of the Week

Chargers over Ravens 24-21

Cardinals over Seahawks 27-24

Premier League

Newcastle over West Ham

Browns outlast Steelers 24-19!

   It was one of those nights that I will remember fondly in the future when the Cleveland Browns are playing inside their indoor stadium, and I think of the home-field advantage that they once held but no longer possess.

The Cleveland Browns were helped by bad weather and a surprisingly animated crowd to lift the Browns to a 24-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers by a snowy Lake Erie.

Nick Chubb rushed for two touchdowns and fifty-nine yards and Jerry Jeudy caught all six passes for eighty-five yards, including several key catches that kept the Browns in the game.

Cleveland improved to 3-8 with the win and have ten days off before visiting the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.

Brownie Bits

1) First, this was the type of game that the Browns often found a way to win even in bad seasons.

Short week, bad weather, home field, a good team coming off a big emotional win (Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore last Sunday), and with most harping on a bad game for the Browns in a loss to New Orleans, the Browns were sitting on a shocker.

Just don't think the Browns have turned things around before going to Denver.

2) What I did see was Myles Garrett was going to notch one of those games that he posts a few times a year because he was motivated.

Garrett stated before the game that he felt disrespected by T.J. Watt's actions after Garrett won last season's Defensive Player of the Year award (Watt didn't congratulate Garrett and offered a tweet questioning the decision) and when Garrett is motivated- look out.

Garrett finished with three sacks and five hits on Russell Wilson, Watt never touched Jameis Winston.

I suspect that the stat line will be reversed in the rematch in two games.

3) I'm asked often by Browns and Steelers fans, which one I would take if I had to choose between Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt, and here is my answer.

If you were selecting for one game, both players were motivated and in top form, Myles Garrett is the better player.

If you were selecting the better player to be more productive over a seventeen-game season, I'd take T.J. Watt.

Peak Garrett, consistently great Watt.

4) One had to feel good for Nick Chubb, who rushed for two scores against the team that he was injured against last season.

Chubb still looks a bit tentative in cutting loose in returning from his second major knee injury but he's still running hard.

The jury is still out on Chubb's return to full speed but one can never doubt his willingness to try.

5) The Browns were a miserable one for ten on third down, converting their only success on their final drive.

However, the Browns tried on fourth down on four occasions and converted all four attempts, including Jameis Winston's twisting triple lindy over the goal line in the fourth quarter.

6) One thing about the Browns since the injury to DeShaun Watson has been the improvement in Jerry Jeudy.

Jeudy made two huge catches late in the game to keep drives alive, caught all six passes thrown to him in poor conditions, and has started to look like a solid NFL pass catcher.

7) The Browns secondary had some problems as they gave up three passing plays of thirty yards or more.

Cleveland allowed Calvin Austin to catch all three passes thrown him for seventy-eight yards, including a touchdown.

Greg Newsome appeared to have his problems with George Pickens, especially after the game when the two swapped punches and needed to be separated.

8) The Browns offensive line managed to do a good job in giving Jameis Winston time to throw as Winston was sacked only once.

That sack was key as Nick Herbig beat Germain Ifedi to strip Jameis Winston of the ball and set the Steelers up for a score then gave them the lead but in general, the O-Line was good enough against a good pass-rushing team.

9) The league announced after the game that the Browns scheduled Thursday, December 19th game against Cincinnati had been "flexed" out and moved to the standard Sunday since both teams have disappointing records.

I'd like to say I'm dismayed but I think it was stupid to give the Browns two Thursday games to start with, so no sympathy from me.

10) Finally, let's give some credit to the crowd that showed up.

For a team entering the game at 2-8, awful weather, and their team in chaos, the Browns fans refused to allow the traveling Steeler fans to buy up their tickets as so many fanbases have and take over their stadium.

The fans stayed throughout and were a major factor in the game, hats off to them!

Cavaliers pound Pelicans

    Ty Jerome popped in a career-high twenty-nine points as the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 128-100 punishing of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Georges Niang scored twenty in a victory that saw the Cavaliers' bench cleared midway through the third period.

Cleveland improved to 16-1 with the win and will return to action on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors in Cleveland.

Swashbucklings

1) The first thing that some may be wondering is this-

Shawn, the Cavaliers won their first fifteen games and you were nowhere to be found since the opener!

Well, with good reason- I have watched most of the games but I missed a few of the early wins due to conflicts with other sports or real life and once they hit the seven-game mark, I decided that I was going to wait until they lost to start writing about them.

In other words- superstition. 

2) New Orleans was missing Zion Williamson, C.J. McCollum, and Brandon Ingram, its three best players.

New Orleans is so battered that they signed Elfrid Payton before the game and started him. He played twenty-two minutes and scored eleven points and eight assists.

3) The Cavaliers weren't at full speed with Darius Garland and Sam Merrill suffering small injuries the night before in Boston.

Not sure how long each player will be sidelined but hopefully both are short-term absences.

4) Ty Jerome started in place of Darius Garland and responded with a career game with twenty-nine points in twenty-three minutes of play, twenty-seven of those points in the first half with seven three-pointers.

5) First-round selection Jaylon Tyson was given his first career start and responded with sixteen points, eleven rebounds, and seven assists.

I've liked what I've seen from Tyson so far in limited minutes.

6) The Cavaliers were so far ahead that they cleared the bench in the third quarter.

JT Thor, who I didn't even know was on the team, hit all four of his shots for twelve points in thirteen minutes, Tristan Thompson played over twenty minutes, and Australian Luke Travers, who I had forgotten about since the Cavaliers drafted him in 2022 played over thirty!

I Tell Ya' Herbie

  Back again with another column of thoughts on the college football world, a little thing we call I Tell Ya' Herbie.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            The season isn't over but my choice for coach of the year (and it could change) might be Kenny Dillingham of Arizona State.

Arizona State was predicted to be one of the cellar-dwellers in the Big 12 and the Sun Devils are 8-2 entering a home game against BYU that a win could clinch a Big 12 title game slot for the winner.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            If it's not Dillingham for coach of the year, the default winner could be first year coach Curt Cignetti at undefeated (just imagine saying that in November!) Indiana, who travel to Columbus to battle Ohio State.

I do think that it's fair to question Indiana's opponents (they haven't beaten a ranked team in their ten wins) and they didn't dazzle in beating a five and five Michigan team by five points last week but even projecting the Hoosiers to lose in Columbus, they will be heavily favored to beat rival and last place Purdue to finish 11-1.

I Tell Ya' Herbie: 

                             I'm not sure it's the best game of the week but it might have a case for the biggest if certain things come into play as unbeaten Army meets once-beaten Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium.

Army has beaten each of their nine foes by eleven points or more and a win here may move the Cadets closer to Boise State for the Group of Five automatic bid.

Notre Dame still has just one loss, that inexplicable loss to a 6-5 Northern Illinois in September, and with a win over Army, would have only a road trip to mediocre USC in the way of a CFP home game.

The Fighting Irish are fifteen-point favorites in the Bronx.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            I was surprised to see Florida Atlantic fire Tom Herman midway through his second season.

The Owls are 2-8 overall, 0-6 in the AAC, and were only 6-16 under Herman but Florida Atlantic isn't an easy place to recruit and play in a tougher conference than they did in their successful run under Lane Kiffin.

Herman must have wanted to get back into coaching badly to accept the FAU job for another reason.

Florida Atlantic places stipulations in coaches' contracts that if they are terminated and want to receive their full buyout, they must report to a mundane athletic department job away from the football program.

Herman's buyout is 4.1 million but the contract clause states that should Herman decide not to report to the job, Herman would paid a much smaller sum.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             The ACC will go down to the wire with several possible scenarios.

SMU (6-0) holds their destiny in their hands needing wins over two 5-5 teams (Virginia and Cal) to clinch the league title.

Clemson is in the clubhouse at 7-1 and Miami is 5-1 with games against 4-6 Wake Forest and at 7-3 Syracuse, which could be a difficult game.

If Miami wins out and SMU splits their games, the league would have three teams at 7-1 for two title game slots.

If SMU and Miami win out, SMU is in but there will be a tiebreaker needed between Clemson and Miami at 7-1 and without a head to head option, I'm not sure which would earn the title game ticket.

 

                            

                            

                            

Cleaning out the Inbox: Basketball Passings

      This edition of passings pays tribute to recent passings from the basketball universe. 

Goodbye to Dikembe Mutombo at the age of  58.

An eight-time All-Star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year known for his rebounding, shot-blocking, and infectious happiness around the game, Mutombo led the NBA in rebounding twice and in blocked shots three times after the Denver Nuggets drafted him fourth overall in the 1991 draft from Georgetown.

Mutombo would play eighteen seasons in the league for six teams with his number fifty-five retired by the Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks at the end of his career.

Mutombo is well-remembered for his finger-wiggling "No-No" after blocking a shot which earned him a part in a Geico commercial a few years back.

Goodbye to Jerrod Mustaf at the age of 55.

Mustaf was the first highly-rated recruit to choose Maryland since the death of Len Bias and would play two seasons with the Terrapins, averaging sixteen points a game before being picked seventeenth overall by the New York Knicks in the 1990 draft.

Mustaf played one season for the Knicks and three for the Phoenix Suns, averaging four points a game for his career before playing several seasons in Europe.

Goodbye to Wesley Cox at the age of 69.

Cox was the leading scorer for the Louisville Cardinals in the 1974-75 season, who made the Final Four for the first time in program history.

Louisville lost by one point to UCLA, the eventual national champions.

Cox was the first-round selection of the Golden State Warriors in 1977 and would play two seasons with Golden State, averaging 4.6 points per game.

Goodbye to Bob Love at the age of 81.

"Butterbean" was drafted by the then-Cincinnati Royals in the fourth round of the 1965 NBA draft but didn't become a star until moving to the Chicago Bulls in 1968.

Love would average twenty-one points or more for six years in a row for the Bulls, make three All-Star teams, and was named to the All-Defensive team on three occasions before his number ten was the second number retired in the history of the Bulls franchise.

Sunk in New Orleans, Browns Downed by Saints

    Before I begin, due to work issues, I was unable to watch the Ohio State 31-7 win over Northwestern with any type of normal attention, so I'm not going to do a game review for the Buckeye victory.

The Cleveland Browns received a stellar day from Jameis Winston in his return to New Orleans but a defensive inability to control the Saints Taysom Hill led to three fourth-quarter touchdowns and a 35-14 New Orleans win at the Superdome.

Winston finished with 395 yards passing and two touchdowns without an interception and Jerry Jeudy grabbed six passes for 142 receiving yards including an eighty-nine-yard touchdown.

Cleveland drops to 2-8 on the season and will have a quick return to action with a Thursday night game against the visiting first-place Pittsburgh Steelers.

Brownie Bits

1) I may be way off on this but whether the house cleaning is now or in January, this loss feels like the turning point when the fans and maybe even the Haslams see no more hope.

The Haslams may have silently decided to clean house after such a loss as I'm not sure that that anyone can feel like this can be turned around with the current people in charge.

2) The defensive breakdown in the fourth quarter from the supposed strength of the squad is another item that I just cannot grasp.

Poor tackling, players in the wrong places, and in a few cases, indifferent effort have been part of the franchise for years and often has been the tip-off that it's time for yet another regine change.

3) One thing that I have seen far too often over the last few games is Juan Thornhill getting lost with his assignments and then pointing out another player for fault.

The Saints (and others) get the ball to someone in the open field, the player cruises in for a score as my jaw drops open as in how did that guy get so open, and then the camera scans to Thornhill pointing to someone and jawing back and forth.

Thornhill was signed as a costly free agent before the 2023 season and played in eleven of seventeen games in that season and five of the ten thus far in 2024.

Thornhill's been a huge disappointment and I would wager that he will be a major candidate for a cap casualty in the off-season.

4) And there was Taysom Hill, the Victorinox of New Orleans, who seemed to become Nile Kinnick before the Brown eyes with three rushing touchdowns (including one of seventy-five yards), rushed for 138 yards, caught eight passes for another fifty yards, completed a pass for eighteen yards, and returned a kickoff for forty-two yards.

And Hill could have been better as he lost a fumble inside the Cleveland ten-yard line!

5) The Browns seemed astonished by Hill and his usage and what made that even worse was New Orleans interim head coach Darren Rizzi's interview at the half with Jen Hale (one of the better sideline reporters).

Hale asked Rizzi if he thought the Saints were using Hill too much in the game as the fumble occurred late in the half.

Rizzi's answer was that he didn't think they had used him enough and thought they would use him more in the second half!

Yet, no one either saw this or sent the message to the coaching staff and Hill just destroyed the Browns in a game that won't be forgotten for quite a while.

6) Dustin Hopkins was reliable last season and received a three-year contract extension from the Browns.

It appears 2023 was the aberration as Hopkins missed two field goals, one of them a twenty-seven-yard chip shot that he was given a second chance by a Saints penalty after missing from thirty-three yards.

Hopkins is currently fourteen of twenty this season and has missed two extra points.

7) The extension that Dustin Hopkins signed showed the issues with extending kickers as only the very best booters are elite every season.

Kickers are very much like relief pitchers in baseball- it's very hard to rely on them being consistent every season and one season's standout often is the next's disappointment and Hopkins is another example of not only that rule but how Andrew Berry has needlessly spent this team into cap problems.

8) Jameis Winston's numbers were good and didn't throw an interception, although the Saints did drop a few possible picks but where he was the most impressive was where he continued to improve the Browns receivers, who look closer to league average with Winston in the pocket.

Winston is still erratic but the Browns have a chance to win with him while I don't think the same should the Browns start Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

9) What I can do without are the interviews with Winston, where he rambles incessantly about the Almighty.

Now I'm more than fine with crediting the Lord and discussing his beliefs but couldn't Winston answer the questions that are asked as well?

It's clear that his teammates love Winston and he's got charisma to burn but you can at least speak a little on what you are asked before kicking into Benny Hinn mode.

10) The Browns suffered a big loss as left tackle Dawand Jones broke his ankle when Wyatt Teller rolled over Jones, snapping his ankle with an injury that will end Jones's season.

Germain Ifedi finished the game and might play against the Steelers but it could mean the eventual return of the noted "businessman" Jedrick Wills to the lineup for the following game against Denver.

11) David Njoku caught all nine passes thrown to him for eighty-one yards and is the reliable short man for  Jameis Winston's checkdowns.

Njoku is going to have a ten-plus, one hundred-yard-plus with scores game before this season ends, he's sitting on it, it's just a matter of time.

12)  Denzel Ward intercepted a Derek Carr pass in the game, which ordinarily wouldn't be a big deal but when you consider that the Browns had intercepted a whopping one pass after nine games.

13) The Browns are out of control and the fourth-quarter meltdown against the supposed strength of the team showed that this team is close to giving up and turning this season into a wreck for the ages.

Should Pittsburgh dominate the Browns on Thursday on national television, the Haslams could make a move if not THE move.

Boxing Challenge: Ramirez, Collazo unify, Barboza, Zepeda win

    After a Friday that saw the attention of the sports world focused on Arlington, Texas, the true boxing fan turned their eyes to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for an excellent card from Golden Boy Promotions.

In the main event, Gilberto Ramirez added the WBO cruiserweight title to the WBA version that he possessed entering the fight with a unanimous victory over Chris Billam-Smith.

Ramirez finally appears to have found a weight division that he comfortably resides in and he was able to control the always brave Billam-Smith throughout the fight.

Billam-Smith bravely fought through a nasty cut and landed his share of punches during a fight that was more interesting than expected.

Ramirez is expected to meet IBF champion Jai Opietaia next with three of the four titles at stake and Billam-Smith will always have fights available due to his proclivity for entertaining battles.

Junior welterweight Arnold Barboza notched the biggest win of his career with a unanimous decision win over former WBC and WBO champion Jose Ramirez in a pairing of two former stablemates.

Barboza landed the jab with ease against a listless Ramirez, who seems to have lost the fire for boxing in a career headed for stardom.

I've always thought Barboza was a solid contender that might be lacking that small difference between champion and challenger but it's more than time for Barboza to receive that chance.

As for Ramirez, he once appeared to be a star in the making but for various reasons turned down big fights and championship opportunities and if his energy has departed, he should consider retiring.

Lightweight contender William Zepeda is ranked first by all four sanctioning bodies but Zepeda was very fortunate to skim by former IBF junior lightweight champion Tevin Farmer by split decision.

Farmer isn't noted as a strong puncher but knocked Zepeda down in the fourth round and was just slick enough to trouble Zepeda, who usually overwhelms his opponents with constant offense.

Zepeda did enough offensively to get by Farmer, who has revitalized his career in recent days but this fight could have gone to either fighter close.

Scores were 95-94 times two for Zepeda and 95-94 for Farmer, which was my score.

This fight had several close rounds, so if I rewatched it, my score could change in a very close match.

The best performance on the card may have been Oscar Collazo's, who ended the reign of Knockout CP Freshmart, which was the longest in boxing entering the fight, taking his WBA minimumweight title by a seventh round knockout.

Collazo added the WBA title to the WBO belt that he held after knocking Freshmart down three times, once in the sixth and twice in the seventh with the fight ending without a count.

Collazo stated he wanted a full unified title, which has never happened in this division and is unlikely but showed the type of talent that might see him become a multi-division champion.

Oscar Duarte hammered out a unanimous decision over Batyr Akhmendov in the opening fight.

Akhmendov was effective early and banked some rounds but Duarte landed the harder punches and was the more effective fighter down the stretch.

Scorecards for Duarte at 96-94 (same as mine), 97-93 and 98-92.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 168 Pts (5)

TRS: 168 Pts (7)
Vince Samano: 107 Pts (2) 

Tyson-Paul overshadowed, Taylor, Barrios win

     Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson may have attracted the media and fan attention but while that sideshow may have been the main event, the real fights directly under it on the card were the saving grace in salvaging the evening.

While the main event lacked any excitement after round one as I gave Tyson the first round and then Paul won the next seven rounds backing away from a rapidly tiring former champion (I scored Paul the winner 79-73), the semi-main gave the fans more than their money's worth as Katie Taylor notched her second close decision win over Amanda Serrano in a terrific battle.

Serrano threw and landed more than Taylor, who was more efficient and landed harder punches.

Taylor headbutted Serrano several times, opening an ugly cut over Serrano's right eye via a fourth-round headbutt, Taylor would lose a point on the scorecards for a headbutt in round eight but the headbutt wouldn't figure in the decision with the three judges agreeing for Taylor by a score of 95-94.

I thought Serrano won at 95-94 but the result wasn't a robbery at all.

I would have no problems seeing these two hook it up one more time in the future.

Mario Barrios retained his WBC welterweight title when he drew with veteran Abel Ramos..

Barrios was dominating the fight when Ramos knocked Barrios down in round six with the champion fortunate to survive the round.

Ramos was knocked down in the second and Barrios was robbed of a knockdown in the first round when Ramos's glove touched the canvas and should have ruled a knockdown.

Had Barrios received credit for the knockdown, he would have won by split decision.

The official scores were 116-110 for Barrios, 114-112 for Ramos, and even 113-113.

I scored for Barrios 114-112 and even though Barrios-Ramos was an excellent action fight, Barrios is one of the most vulnerable champions in the sport after being pushed to the limit by the aging Ramos.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 163 Pts (0)

TRS: 161 Pts (1)
Vince Samano: 105 Pts (2)

Boxing Challenge

        The boxing weekend has started in Arlington, Texas but it ends in Riyadh with a solid Golden Boy card with two world champion unifications, the top lightweight contender in action, and two top junior welterweights finally facing off.

The main event will unify two cruiserweight titlists as WBA champion Gilberto Ramirez meets WBO king Chris Billam-Smith for more than only two titles but the likely chance to next meet IBF champion Jai Opietaia, who is thought by most as the top cruiserweight in the world.

Both are coming off impressive wins as Ramirez won his title over Arsen Goulamirian, while Billam-Smith defended his title by avenging his only career defeat over Richard Riakporhe.

This has the chance to be an excellent fight but both men aren't afraid to clinch and grab, so that is a concern for this one.

The undercard is excellent, with junior welterweight contenders Jose Ramirez and Arnold Barboza battling in a WBO eliminator featuring two fighters who were once under the same management.

Ramirez once held the WBC and WBO titles but hasn't seemed to be motivated in recent years and has been noted more for turning down big fights than recent ring action of late.

Barboza is unbeaten but struggled earlier this year in a split-decision win against Sean McComb.

A fighter is rarely the number one contender in all four sanctioning bodies but lightweight William Zepeda is the exception and the whirlwind will face slick boxing former IBF junior lightweight titleholder Tevin Farmer for a minor title.

Zepeda's aggressiveness is always in play, and Farmer's boxing style might be an excellent test for Zepeda against boxers before his title chance.

Farmer narrowly lost a unanimous decision in July to contender Raymond Muratalla, which brought Farmer back into the world title picture.

A strawweight title unification seldom occurs but the best two fighters in the division will unify in that division as WBO champion Oscar Collazo will meet WBA king Knockout CP Freshmart.

The unbeaten Collazo has defended his title three times while Freshmart is unbeaten in twenty-five fights.

The opener will be a welterweight ten-rounder between Oscar Duarte and late replacement Batyr Akhmedov.

Duarte knocked out former junior lightweight champion Joseph Diaz in his last fight, while Akhmedov has lost all three of his fights by close decision, including an awful loss that I thought he won easily against current WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.

Boxing Challenge

Unification WBA-WBO Cruiserweight Titles. 12 Rds

Gilberto Ramirez vs Chris Billam-Smith

Ramon Malpica and TRS: Ramirez Unanimous Decision
Vince Samano: Billam-Smith Unanimous Decision

Junior Welterweights. 12 Rds

Jose Ramirez vs Arnold Barboza

R.L: Ramirez Unanimous Decision
TRS: Barboza Unanimous Decision
V.S: Ramirez KO 6

Lightweights. 10 Rds

William Zepeda vs Tevin Farmer

R.L and TRS: Zepeda Unanimous Decision
V.S: Farmer Unanimous Decision

Unification WBA-WBO Strawweight Titles. 12 Rds

C.P. Freshmart vs Oscar Collazo

R.L: and TRS: Collazo Unanimous Decision
V.S: Freshmart Unanimous Decision

Welterweights. 12 Rds

Oscar Duarte vs Batyr Akhmedov

R.L: Duarte KO 8
TRS: Duarte Split Decision
V.S: Duarte Unanimous Decision

PPM

    It's another big week in football as the jockeying for position for the college football playoff, conference title games, and teams wanting to become bowl-eligible rounds the final turn with the NFL season in mid-swing too!

Last Week: 6-6 

Overall: 100-50

College

Ohio State over Northwestern 45-7

Bowling Green over Western Michigan 19-10

UTSA over North Texas 39-33

Texas over Arkansas 28-14

Oregon State over Air Force 21-17

Georgia Southern over Troy 34-24

Boise State over San Jose State 38-21

Games of the Week

South Carolina over Missouri 24-21

Tennessee over Georgia 27-24

NFL

Browns over Saints 24-21

Games of the Week

Ravens over Steelers 24-14

Bills over Chiefs 33-30

Boxing Challenge

      The boxing challenge will see two fights from the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul undercard take place, both with world titles at risk.

In the men's title bout, arguably the least deserving welterweight champion in years defends his WBC title against an equally undeserving challenger as Mario Barrios battles Abel Ramos.

Barrios, who somehow turned a knockout loss to WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis and the achievement of being the only person to lose to Keith "No Time" Thurman in this decade, into an interim title shot against Yordenis Ugas and was then promoted to full champion , can be a fun fighter when matched properly (not against the best in the division) and appears to be so matched against the veteran Ramos, who has lost three of his last five fights but always tries to give his best.

So while Barrios-Ramos could be an entertaining matchup, it's far from a worthy welterweight championship pairing,

The co-feature to Tyson-Paul is a rematch of arguably the biggest fight in women's boxing history as undisputed junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor meets Amanda Serrano in a return bout of their 2022 fight from Madison Square Garden that saw Taylor win a split decision.

While Serrano has been a professional for many more years than Taylor. Serrano is actually the younger fighter at thirty-six to Taylor's thirty-eight.

Neither woman is quite the same as they were two years ago and there is a little slippage from both fighters but it may make another excellent action battle.

Boxing Challenge

WBC Welterweight Title. 12 Rds 

Mario Barrios vs Abel Ramos

Ramon Malpica and TRS: Barrios Unanimous Decision
Vince Samano: Ramos Unanimous Decision

Women's Undisputed Junior Welterweight Title. 12 rds

Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano

R.L: Serrano Split Decision
TRS: Taylor Split Decision
V.S:  Taylor Unanimous Decision

I Tell Ya" Herbie

   On tap for another edition of  I Tell Ya' Herbie, our weekly notes about the world of college football.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            The surprising rise of BYU to the top of the Big 12 after being listed as one of the bottom-dwellers in the pre-season predictions has been one of the better stories in college football this season.

However, the holding call against Utah on a fourth down, which would have ended the game with BYU out of timeouts and Utah up three, was controversial.

A BYU loss would have completely scrambled the Big 12 title picture and made roughly a thousand tiebreaking scenarios for the conference title game very plausible.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             When you watch the BYU-Utah game (every year, not this year in particular) and see just how heated this rivalry is, you wonder why this game isn't mentioned as highly as others are when you discuss the best rivalries in the game.

I would think it hasn't gotten the publicity for two reasons.

First, the two programs were in the WAC/Mountain West for so many years that the "power conference" elite didn't care just how great of a rivalry this was and the other reason?

The schools in the Western time zone often receive the short end of the stick on topics such as this as other great rivalries such as Oregon-Oregon State, Washington-Washington State, and Arizona-Arizona State have only in recent years started to receive credit as elite-level rivalries.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             Another Western rivalry might be the most vicious of them all, even though both schools are more often than not at the lower end of the standings every year.

The Rio Grande Rivalry between New Mexico and New Mexico State has heat on the field but even more off the field, where the Lobos of New Mexico have used their pull inside the defunct WAC and its spinoff, the Mountain West, to keep the rival Aggies out of their league at every turn.

The Lobos have always been in the bigger league and in the state's bigger media market (Albuquerque to State's Las Cruces), so they have been the bigger name of the two and the Aggies have struggled to find a long-term fit in a conference due to their size and location.

New Mexico State's programs have had their share of problems away from the field and court  (the two teams canceled their home and home hoops series last season) and that is a factor in their problems finding a home.

Still, the two teams play each season in football (New Mexico won this year's game 50-40) and home and home in basketball, so they do play each other without conference ramifications at stake.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             The SEC race could be cleared up a little bit on Saturday with Tennessee's visit to Georgia.

The Volunteers, Texas A&M, and Texas are the only schools with one loss in SEC play but there are five teams with two losses (Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Missouri) and Texas plays Texas A&M, so there is a guarantee of six teams with two conference losses and there is a scenario (although highly unlikely) of eight teams finishing with two losses.

A Tennessee win over Georgia would clarify things a little but a Georgia win would really throw things into chaos.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            I write a lot in my boxing coverage about some fights being "crossroads fights", which means the winner moves onto bigger things and the loser takes a major step in their career.

I think one game this week could be a crossroads game in the Big 12 as 5-4 Baylor visits 5-4 West Virginia in Morgantown.

This year was looked to be a pivotal year by Neal Brown with West Virginia, who disappointed for most of the season before two road wins over Arizona and Cincinnati pushed them above .500 and perhaps put the Mountaineers into position to salvage their season.

Baylor's Dave Aranda looked to be moving on the hot seat with his Bears at 2-4 before they ripped off three wins in a row over Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and TCU to move them over .500.

The winner will be bowl-eligible and has a chance to finish strong enough to relieve the pressure on their coach for 2025, while the loser will need to perhaps win both of their remaining games to save their season.

Boxing Challenge: Ennis, Rodriguez retain titles.

      Two young champions defended their titles in Philadelphia with one dazzling and the other given a surprisingly difficult battle.

In the main event, IBF welterweight boss, Jaron "Boots" Ennis repeated his 2023 unanimous decision victory over Karin Chukhadzian but differently than in their first fight.

Chukhadzian spent their first fight in reverse and while he lasted the distance against Ennis, Chukhadzian made no fans in doing so and was the subject of raspberries entering the fight for receiving another undeserved mandated title opportunity.

To the surprise of everyone, including Ennis, Chukhadzian changed his tactics completely by embracing an aggressive attack, marching forward, and landing punches that few would have expected before the fight.

Chukhadzian even won a few rounds but was sent to a knee in round five from an Ennis charge and was deducted a point for holding in the tenth round.

Ennis won easily on the scorecards 119-107, 117-109, and 116-110, the latter was the same as mine but he took many more punches than expected and talked of possibly moving up to junior middleweight and vacating his welterweight title.

And while I have no desire to see Ennis-Chukhadzian III,  Chukhadzian's effort makes me want to see him against other fighters, something I didn't think I'd ever write entering this fight.

The star of the night made his appearance in the co-feature as Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez crushed former light flyweight champion Pedro Guevara in three rounds.

Rodriguez dropped Guevara in the third round with Guevara rising but was floored by an uppercut that ended the show without a count.

Rodriguez is rumored to possibly face Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez in what would be a big purse for each fighter but might not be competitive in the ring.

Raymond Ford looked very impressive in dominating Orlando Gonzalez in his junior lightweight bow, winning a unanimous decision and knocking Gonzalez down in the second and eighth,.

Ford won by scores of 100-88 times two (and my score) and 99-89 and looked like he could have a serious chance at a world title at 130 pounds.

In Bayamon, Puerto Rico, former IBF junior welterweight champion Subriel Matias returned from his upset loss to Liam Paro to knock out Roberto Ramirez in two rounds finishing Ramirez with a shot to the body.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 163 Pts (6)

TRS: 160 Pts (7)

Vince Samano:103 Pts (7)

Ohio State pounds Purdue 45-0

        Will Howard threw three touchdowns, and ran for another, and the defense kept Purdue off the scoreboard as Ohio State dusted off Purdue 45-0 in Columbus.

The Buckeyes improved to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten with the win.

Ohio State will travel to Wrigley Field, of all places, to face Northwestern next week.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Yes, Ohio State notched the shutout against Purdue but they were fortunate enough to have Purdue miss two field goal attempts,one of those tries from a mere twenty-one yards.

2) Jeremiah Smith's touchdown catch was his eighth of the season, which gives Smith the record for freshmen at Ohio State, previously held by Cris Carter.

3) Caden Curry's block of a first-quarter Boilermaker punt led to the first score of the game.

Ohio State hadn't blocked a punt since 2022.

4) The Buckeyes were able to have Devin Brown and Julian Sayin take a few snaps in the big victory but neither of the two completed a pass in their time in the game.

5) TreVeyon Henderson was the standout in the running game as Henderson finished with eighty-five yards on only six carries including a touchdown,

Henderson also caught three passes, including a thirty-two-yard gain.

This is shorter than usual as I didn't watch as closely as usual due to work issues...

Boxing Challenge: Davis Destroys Lemos

     Gustavo Lemos didn't show very much respect for the game when he missed weight for a lightweight title eliminator by a full division.

Keyshawn Davis would make Lemos pay for his lack of respect as Davis knocked Lemos down three times in the second round to force the referee to shorten the evening in Davis's homecoming to his native Norfolk, Virginia.

Lemos entered the fight after his first loss to junior welterweight contender Richardson Hitchins and somehow thought he was going to drop five pounds to fight Davis in a lightweight eliminator.

It was thought that Lemos could enter the ring at over one hundred fifty pounds, raising questions about Davis's ability to handle a larger fighter.

None of that mattered as Davis overwhelmed Lemos in the second with three knockdowns and showed complete control with an impressive victory that is likely to move Davis into a title opportunity against WBO lightweight champion Denys Barinchyk in his next bout.

Barinchyk is a talented champion as he showed in his upset of Emanuel Navarrete to win the vacant title but Davis is a step above in talent and I would favor Davis in that matchup.

The better question might be will Barinchyk take more money to defend against Davis in Norfolk or fight in a neutral site that gives him a better chance to win?

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 157 Pts (1)

TRS: 153 Pts (1)
Vince Samano: 96 Pts  (2)

Boxing Challenge

     The boxing challenge heads to Philadelphia with two of the brightest young champions in the sport defending their titles on a Matchroom/DAZN card.

The main event is a rematch of a fight that no one wanted to see once, let alone twice.

IBF welterweight champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis looked as poor as he had previously in a spectacular career when he won every round against a reluctant Karen Chukhadzhian in January 2023.

Chukhadzhian was determined only to last the distance, not to attempt to upset Ennis and every round was similar.

Most figured that was all that would be seen from Chukhadzhian but he won three fights against middling to average competition with the best win a decision over Harry Scarff, who is a fine domestic fighter in England but not world-class.

Those wins returned Chukhadzhian to the top of the IBF ratings and an undeserved rematch of a fight that was unwanted once.

Ennis had no choice but to make the fight or lose his title from the strip-happy IBF and I look for Ennis to attack and try to make this look as ridiculous as it is with an early knockout.

Another young superstar will defend his title as WBC junior bantamweight king Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez will defend his title against former WBC light flyweight champion Pedro Guevara.

Rodriguez earned his biggest career victory in his last fight when he stopped Juan Francisco Estrada in seven rounds to win the WBC title while Guevara upset Andrew Moloney via a split decision in May in Moloney's native Australia to earn his title shot.

Guevara has never been stopped in his four losses, so a knockout win by Rodriguez would be an added bonus to his expected triumph.

Former WBA featherweight champion Raymond Ford moves to the junior lightweight division for the first time against Orlando Gonzalez.

Ford won his title with an electric final round knockout of Otabek Kholmatov in March and came right back in June against Nick Ball on the "Five vs Five" card between Queensbury and Matchroom promotions.

Ford lost a split decision to Ball that was a very close fight and the best matchup on the Five vs Five card.

Ford faces Orlando Gonzalez, who once lost a decision to former WBO featherweight champion Robiesy Ramirez, who appears to be the perfect foil for Ford's junior lightweight debut.

In Puerto Rico, former IBF junior welterweight champion Subriel Matias returns from his title loss to Liam Paro against Roberto Ramirez in a fight that is somehow on pay-per-view.

Matias was considered to be the champion no one wanted to face before his loss to Paro and he'll attempt to rejuvenate his career against Ramirez, who has been stopped by William Zepeda and Abel Ramos and is being brought in to boost Matias with a spectacular knockout.

Boxing Challenge

IBF Welterweight Title. 12 rds

Jaron Ennis vs  Karen Chukhadzhian 

Ramon Malpica: Ennis KO 7
TRS: Ennis KO 3
Vince Samano: Ennis Unanimous Decision

WBC Junior Bantamweight Title. 12 Rds

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez vs Pedro Guevara

R.L: Rodriguez Unanimous Decision
TRS: Rodriguez KO 10
V.S: Rodriguez KO 7

Junior Lightweights 10 Rds

Raymond Ford vs Orlando Gonzalez

All: Ford Unanimous Decision

Junior Welterweights 10 Rds

Subriel Matias vs Roberto Ramirez

R.L: Matias KO 7
TRS: Matias KO 5
V.S: Matias Unanimous Decision

PPM

 Another week in the PPM with important games in the college football stretch run to the postseason and a Cleveland Browns bye week!

Last Week: 10-4 

Overall: 94-44

College

Ohio State over Purdue 41-7

Texas Tech over Colorado 40-38

Boise State over Nevada 37-17

Bowling Green over Central Michigan 21-13

Liberty over Middle Tennessee State 31-14

N.C. State over Duke 24-21

Oregon State over San Jose State 34-24

Games of the Week

Georgia over Ole Miss 34-24

LSU over Alabama 29-27

NFL

Games of the Week

Commanders over Steelers 21-17

Lions over Texans 30-24

Premier League

Newcastle over Nottingham Forest

I Tell Ya' Herbie

    It's time for our weekly look at the college football world entitled "I Tell Ya' Herbie"!

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             I usually don't write about Ohio State in the "Herbie" verse but their win over Penn State last Saturday caused a breakdown in the Penn State fan base and their coach had a small version as well.

James Franklin was returning to the locker room with his daughter and was heckled by fans upset with the latest Nittany Lion loss to Ohio State, their eighth in a row to the Buckeyes and the tenth in eleven games under Franklin.

Franklin fired back at the fan verbally and doubled down at a press conference later in the week.

Penn State's schedule is still soft down the stretch ( Washington and Maryland at home and at Purdue and Minnesota) which would put an 11-1 Nittany Lions easily in the CFP but with a fan base that is growing weary of Franklin's act, if Penn State lost their first round game in the CFP which is likely to be at State College, Could there be a full-fledged rebellion at Penn State?

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             One thing that I wonder about and the data won't be available for a few years is this-

Which will be more useful, the first-round bye or playing and staying sharp but taking the risk of injuries?

In the bowl era, the best teams were off for a month before the game and it could cost some sharpness but the chance of losing key players in the first round is a major factor.

It'll be interesting to review after the first few years.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            One of the games that play out through college football is the hot seat game as in what jobs could be open at the season's end and how each new hire affects another school.

This year looks comparatively light against past seasons as the SEC and Big 10 don't have many jobs in peril after Florida committed to keeping Billy Napier for a fourth season.

USC would be a desirable job but the cost of buying out Lincoln Riley's massive contract makes that unlikely for this season, which leaves Purdue as possibly the only job available in the Big Ten.

Purdue is 1-7 this season, 0-5 in the Big Ten, and 5-15 overall under Ryan Walters, who committed a gaffe last week in overtime against Northwestern that cost them the game.

Walters eschewed a field goal in overtime, went for it on fourth down, and was stopped which gave Northwestern the field goal to win the game.

Purdue might be the glamour job in the two top conferences this off-season, which says a lot for the stability in the leagues!

Boxing Challenge

     It's a Friday night main event from ESPN for the boxing challenge.

Undefeated lightweight Keyshawn Davis fights in what was a scheduled title eliminator but is now an over-the-weight bout with Gustavo Lemos, who missed weight by a few pounds.

Davis decisioned veteran Miguel Madueno in July and assuming that he defeats Lemos, Top Rank is targeting WBO champion Denys Barinchyk for an early 2025 challenge by Davis's first world title opportunity.

Lemos suffered his first loss in a junior welterweight eliminator to Richardson Hitchins in April and it seemed odd that he was in a lightweight eliminator after losing and dropping in weight.

Boxing Challenge

Lightweights 12 Rds

Keyshawn Davis vs Gustavo Lemos

R.L.Malpica and TRS: Davis Unanimous Decision

Vince Samano:  Davis KO 5

Cleaning out the Inbox: Football Passings

    Today our tributes are all from the football world.  

Goodbye to Pat Fischer at the age of 84.  

A four-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler for the Cardinals and then-Redskins, Fischer wasn't drafted until the seventeenth round in 1961 from Nebraska by the Cardinals.

Fischer played seven seasons in St.Louis before signing with Washington in 1968 as a free agent as one of only four players to use the "Rozelle Rule" to sign elsewhere as a free agent with the player's former team receiving compensation.

Fischer would play seventeen seasons in the NFL intercepting fifty-six passes in his career.

The 5'9 Fischer's battles with the Eagles 6'8 Harold Carmichael were legendary and if you can find onYouTube any of those highlights, they have to be seen to be believed!

Goodbye to Greg Landry at the age of 77.

Landry was taken eleventh overall by the Detroit Lions in the 1968 draft from Massachusetts and would spend eleven years as a Lion before being traded to the Colts in 1979.

Landry made the Pro Bowl in 1971 and was named All-Pro, leading the Lions to their only division title of the seventies but spent much of the time battling another quarterback for the starting position, first Bill Munson and later Gary Danielson.

Landry almost threw for 3,000 yards for Baltimore in 1979, playing in twelve games for an injured Bert Jones, and was one of the first players to sign with the USFL in 1983, leading the Chicago Blitz to the playoffs and leading the Arizona Wranglers to the Western Conference championship in 1984.

Goodbye to Billy Shaw at the age of 85.

Shaw was an AFL All-Star guard eight times and named All-AFL on seven occasions for the Buffalo Bills from 1961 to 1969, winning two AFL titles in 1964 and 1965.

Shaw was voted into the Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and is currently the only player inducted into the Hall who never played a snap in the NFL.

The AFL-NFL merger occurred in 1970 and Shaw retired following the 1969 season, which led to his lone designation in the HOF.

Goodbye to Lonnie Warwick at the age of 82.

Warwick was the middle linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings' "Purple People Eaters" defense from 1965 to 1972 before playing for the Atlanta Falcons for two years and wrapping up his career with the WFL's San Antonio Wings in 1975,

Browns trade Za'Darius Smith to Lions

      The Cleveland Browns were expected to be a team that would be active in trading some spare parts before the Tuesday draft deadline and the player who was a sure bet to be moved was moved Tuesday morning as Cleveland sent veteran defensive end Za'Darius Smith to the Detroit Lions.

Cleveland obtained a 2025 fifth round draft choice and a 2026 sixth-rounder in return for Smith and the Browns 2026 seventh rounder. 

The Lions needed a pass rusher after their standout defensive end Aiden Hutchinson suffered a broken leg last month and Smith was the best available rusher via trade for the Lions, who expect to be a title contender in the postseason.

The thirty-two-year-old Smith played in all nine games this season and his five sacks rank him second on the Browns behind Myles Garrett's seven.

Smith played in sixteen games for the Browns last year and finished with five and a half sacks in 2023 for Cleveland.

The Browns add a fifth for the next draft and move a seventh for a sixth in 2026 for a veteran that would have been unlikely to stick around a rebuilding team as an unrestricted free agent after the season.

The fifth could prove helpful in perhaps helping the Browns move up on day three of the draft to grab a player who should have been off the board but slipped a bit on the draft's second day.

The Lions add a proven pass rusher at a time of need as a rental for a reasonable cost, so both teams acquire something they need for a decent return.

Should the Browns make other transactions before the deadline, I'll be back with thoughts on those moves.

Road Trip: Wrapping it up

     The final day of the final leg of the road trip season was here and it started at Buc-Ees, the legendary gas station (don't call them a truck stop, no trucks are allowed) directly off I-40.

I'm not sure words can describe the activity all around when you enter a Buc-ees and that's before considering the mass of items, all of which seem to have the face of a very pleased beaver!

I had a list of things to bring home for Cherie, Rachel, and Posey, including their famous beaver nuggets, which are bigger versions with extra sugar of Kellogg's Sugar Corn Pops cereal.

I found all of their requested items but one and I used the rest of the time to check out the available food options since we would be stopping back for lunch.

The next drive was to Knoxville, home of the Tennessee Volunteers, to stop by Bargain Antiques.

Bargain Antiques is yet another former department store that has found new life with antiques.

I found a few things, a Kroger cloth grocery bag for Cherie, who always likes to pick up bags from grocery stores away from home, a small Green Lantern key chain ( from a booth with ninety percent off that cost me only fifty cents), and a Tennessee basketball program.

What I found most interesting was the parking lot which was so slanted that parking at the bottom of the lot must have felt like hiking up a mountain!

We hopped back on I-40 for lunch at Buc-ees, and because we had stopped by twice, we had some ideas about the food offerings.

Buc-ees has an amazing number of different sandwiches among other made-to-order items and I decided to try two different sandwiches in the smaller size.

I ordered a fried chicken sandwich (similar to Chick-fil-A) and a turkey sandwich.

The chicken was very good and the turkey was good but a bit chewy.

Driving home on a sunny day allowed us to take our time and make a few stops along the way with the best stop at Snoopers Antique Mall in Wytheville, Virginia.

I found two items there, two Topps posters from 1970's releases.

In the 60s and early 70s, Topps usually had an insert of some type in each pack of that season's baseball cards and in 1970, it was posters.

The 9x10 posters were printed on very thin paper and needed to be folded into eighths in order to fit the posters into a standard pack of baseball cards.

As a result, there are few in outstanding shape today as even if you haven't touched them since 1970, the materials are still vulnerable, which is the main reason that I never tried to collect the posters (or the other years that Topps used posters as the bonus prize).

However, for the price (four dollars each), and the condition (the seller had them flat and in plastic), I could not resist adding a Hawk Harrelson ( with the Indians and their red wishbone C caps) and Don Mincher (in the Seattle Pilots uniform that would not see the field in 1970) to my collection.

There were a few other shops in the area but I found nothing that I purchased, so the trip was over other than rolling the final miles out for the trip home. 

2024 was a good season for me.

I saw seven new ballparks in Portland, Maine, Worcester Massachusetts, Somerset New Jersey, Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio, Florence Kentucky, and Omaha, Nebraska to raise my total to eighty-nine.

It's starting to become harder to add stadiums with few close enough now for a day trip.

The closest stadium to the north (Non-MLB) is the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (in Manchester) with the exception of Brooklyn and Staten Island as there is no way I'm fighting that type of traffic for a minor league ballpark!

There are preliminary plans to add New Hampshire early next year along with a stop in Boston at Fenway Park, so that would move me to ninety-one but unless a longer trip comes into the picture (unlikely at this writing), New Hampshire and Boston may be the only new additions for 2025.

The closest stadium to the south that I need would be in South Carolina (Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Charleston, or a new stadium opening in Spartanburg for 2025). the nearest to the northwest would be any of the Indiana fields (Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, or South Bend), and the adjacent southwest stadium is even farther away in Memphis!

I've also added quite a few to the visited states list in 2024 with stops in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas for the first time.

However, the states that could be feasible to see for the first time are becoming fewer in number.

I suppose if I ever made the drive to Omaha again and if I wanted to drive somewhat out of the way, I could add Minnesota and/or Wisconsin.

South Dakota is only two hours away from Omaha, so I guess that could happen, and if I ever decided to add a Georgia park (or the new stadium coming to Chattanooga Tennessee), it wouldn't take much to add Alabama but as you can see, the low-hanging fruit has been picked!

It's been a surprisingly good road season with many memories made, and some cannot be repeated.

2025 has a high standard to meet.