Boxing Challenge: Prograis knocks out Zepeda

    The boxing weekend saw a world championship filled and the new champion staking a claim for a chance for a rematch to prove that he is the best fighter in the division.

Regis Prograis controlled his fight from the outset against Jose Zepeda for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title for most of the ten rounds and then convincingly finished Zepeda in the eleventh, leaving a beaten Zepeda sagging along the ropes and Prograis making an argument for a rematch with Josh Taylor.

Zepeda seemed to be making a late run at the win when he had his best round of the fight in the tenth before Prograis finished the evening in the following round.

I scored Prograis leading 98-92 entering the final round.

Prograis will defend his title for the first time against former WBC and WBO champion Jose Ramirez in a fight that was rumored and planned years ago and both would enter the fight with only one career loss- each of the duo losing to Josh Taylor in close fights.

Prograis-Ramirez is yet another excellent match that one could easily select either fighter to win.

However, after watching this effort from Prograis, I'd favor him as the victor.

In the co-feature, junior middleweight Charles Conwell won a majority decision (98-92, 96-94, 95-95) over veteran Juan Carlos Abreu in a WBC eliminator and moved on to another eliminator in the future.

I haven't watched this fight as of this writing, so I have no scorecards, etc.

The other two big bouts of the weekend would hail from London but on two competing cards.

Frank Warren's Queensberry promotion's main event saw a disappointing ending as Zach Parker surrendered after the fourth round due to a broken right hand.

I thought Parker won three of the first four rounds but Ryder continued to press forward as he typically does and one could see Parker throwing fewer and fewer right hands in the third ad fourth stanzas.

With the win, Ryder becomes a minor WBO champion but more importantly is now the mandatory challenger for unified champion Canelo Alvarez and the organization has ruled that if Alvarez fights anyone other than Ryder in his next two fights, they will be forced to remove their title from the Mexican star.

Ryder's not flashy and against elite boxers can be outpointed but he never stops coming forward and will give even the best of his division a physically taxing battle.

On the other side of London, Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing heaved a sigh of relief after Dillian Whyte won a majority decision over previously undefeated Jermaine Franklin of the United States.

Whyte and Franklin divided most of the middle rounds after Franklin started quickly in winning the first two rounds.

Franklin hurt Whyte in the ninth and appeared to be on the verge of an upset but Whyte staggered Franklin in the tenth and finished the fight strongly in the final round when he again stunned the American.

I thought the fight was close (I scored it a draw at 114-114) and didn't have a complaint with Whyte getting the win, although the scores of 115-115 ( I hate scoring even rounds and this judge scored two of them) and 116-112 x2, seemed a bit weird.

7-5 either way or a draw is an acceptable card, 8-4 (as two judges saw it for Whyte) for either fighter would be too much of a margin.

For Franklin, it re-establishes himself as a fighter that is deserving of future fights against contenders, and for Whyte, the win likely allows him to stay in line for a 2023 rematch with former champion Anthony Joshua.

Joshua and Whyte fought an action-filled battle in 2015 when both men hurt and pounded the other before Joshua stopped Whyte in the seventh round.

Joshua has been rumored to be in negotiations for a match against Deontay Wilder that has been wanted by boxing fans for years but Whyte makes sense in the event that Joshua-Wilder cannot reach an agreement.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 194 Pts (4) 

Ramon Malpica: 166 Pts (2)

Vince Samano: 158 Pts (4)  

Browns bounce Brady and Bucs in OT!

  David Njoku's incredible one-handed, over-the-head grab and pull of the ball into his torso while leaping into the air and managing to stay inbounds fourth down catch with thirty-two seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime. 

Nick Chubb scored on a three-yard run with nineteen seconds remaining in overtime lifted the Cleveland Browns to a 23-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and kept any mild heartbeat of a postseason berth alive.

Chubb finished with 116 yards rushing and Amari Cooper caught seven passes for ninety-four yards including a deep catch late in overtime that set up the game-winning score.

Cleveland improved to 4-7 with the win and will travel to Houston next week with some fellow named Watson starting and making his team and season debut at quarterback.

Brownie Bits

1) The catch by David Njoku to allow the Browns to reach overtime is one that has to be seen to be believed.

2) It's the type of play that Njoku has occasionally delivered in his seasons with the Browns and that the team hoped it would see more consistently after signing him to a long-term contract.

Njoku has so much talent and such tremendous physical attributes that he should be among Travis Kelce as the best in the league at his position.

3) And the forgotten man arrived as Anthony Schwartz suddenly appeared in the first half to score on a thirty-one-yard running play and caught a pass for seventeen yards.

Schwartz has been a disappointment since being selected in the third round in 2021 and for all of his vaunted speed, he hasn't been very good as in his kick-returning appearances either.

Perhaps Schwartz's best role may be to stop depending on him as a contributor among the team's top five receivers on the depth chart and use him as a "Swiss Army Knife" to use the current phrase for multi-dimensional contributors.

4) Myles Garrett may have re-injured his shoulder in the Browns win but he was in the Tampa Bay backfield all afternoon and finished with a sack and a half.

Garrett seemed to be pounding Tom Brady on every play in the final period and overtime and that's the type of impact that Garrett can have on a game when properly inspired.

5) Amari Cooper had a topsy-turvy game that began when a wide-open Cooper dropped a well-thrown ball from Jacoby Brissett in the fourth quarter on a fourth down.

The drop was so out of character that I was more than mildly surprised to see Cooper unable to catch the ball.

6) Cooper more than redeemed himself in overtime with a forty-five-yard catch to the Tampa three-yard line that would set up the winning touchdown.

The acquisition of Cooper certainly ranks at the top of the moves that Andrew Berry has made since taking charge.

7) Speaking of high/low, Cade York smacked another fifty-plus yard field goal and yet shanked a 39-yard try about as badly as a weekend duffer could doink a golf ball.

Such are the travails of dealing with a rookie kicker.

8) The Browns continued their pattern of first-drive dominance as they scored a touchdown on that drive and added a field goal on their next drive.

I'm not sure what it means that Kevin Stefanski has such control over the planned drives and struggles on the fly on play calling thereafter but the data on this is building in a particular direction.

9) I was surprised that Kevin Stefanski didn't go for the two-point conversion after David Njoku's touchdown reception,  not that kicking the extra point wasn't the right call but considering Stefanski's reliance on analytical projections that going for two seemed to be more of what I expected from him.

10)  The Browns now will own a unique note in football annuals.

The win was the first time that Tom Brady led by seven points or more with one minute remaining in the game and lost.

11) Jacoby Brissett was better than the Browns could have expected in his eleven games as the starter.

The Browns' 4-7 record under Brissett wasn't what they needed or hoped for when the handover to DeShaun Watson takes place but give the Browns a win that they literally handed to the Jets and 5-6 would have been more in the range hoped for.

Brissett wasn't great and some of his play showed why he has been a career backup but his play never reached the level of awfulness that cost the Browns games, which is more than they could have asked for.

Jacoby Brissett turned out to be what the Browns needed, a steady hand that may not have won as many games as hoped but blended a team with some class and professionalism that badly needed it.

12) And now we start seeing just what the Browns traded three first-round picks for in DeShaun Watson.

Don't expect miracles right away, although I do expect a win in his game against the terrible Texans but this will be a pre- pre-season of sorts to prepare Watson for what is hoped to be an excellent season next year.

Buckeyes throw a Shoe, lose to Michigan 45-23

   In what was expected to be a redemption game for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Ohio State put forth the most puzzling performance from the program in years and they were manhandled by the Michigan Wolverines in a 45-23 loss at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

C.J. Stroud threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns along with two late-game interceptions for Ohio State.

Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka each finished with over 120 yards receiving yards and a touchdown reception from each player.

Ohio State finishes the season at 11-1 and 8-1 in the Big Ten and with the defeat, they will now wait to see how the conference championships play out for their postseason destination and foe.

Olentangy Offerings

1) So many negative things to say and I hate to be one of those people griping about a one loss season.

However, if you ignore the issues, one never repairs them, so please forgive what will likely read as a tantrum over one defeat.

2)  Ryan Day is receiving heavy criticisms for some of his decisions during this game but most of those decisions I was basically fine with other than one time that he chose to punt early in the second half on a fourth and five on the OSU 49 after Michigan had scored to take the lead.

Ohio State's punt bounced into the end zone and Michigan drove eighty yards for a touchdown.

I would have gone for the first down there but otherwise the decisions were understandable.

3) Day is especially receiving some heat for his decision to kick a field goal with under eight minutes to go in the game on a fourth and four from the Michigan nine yard line.

I was okay with that as well for this reason- you are running out of possession so cut the lead to eight and hope your defense can hold.

It didn't as Donovan Edwards ran for a seventy-five yard score on the first play of Michigan's drive to place the game safely in their win column but I would have kicked the field goal as well.

4) None of that is to say that I have zero criticisms of Day, who has regressed as a play caller before my eyes over the last two seasons.

It's hard to believe that the bright innovative playcalling that earned Day the head job to begin with has degraded to this screen pass/short out pattern reliance that has become so predictable.

I think Day should give serious consideration to either handing that duty to Kevin Wilson or Brian Hartline or hire someone else because much like Kevin Stefanski with the Browns, Day has become almost bland after starting as the head man.

5) Don't believe me?

C.J. Stroud will be a top ten pick in next year's NFL draft, Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best wide receiver in the nation, Emeka Egbuka is developing to the point that he is a likely 2024 first rounder, and Julian Fleming was the top rated wideout in his recruiting class and could be anything from a first to a third rounder in his eventual draft class.

And for all of that talent, J.J. McCarthy threw more times downfield than C.J. Stroud did.

Not completed ( although that applies as well), attempted.

That's not using your talent properly.

6) When Ryan Day is asked about Dallan Hayden, he always refers to Ball Security as an issue despite Hayden not fumbling in his first season in Columbus.

I know Miyan Williams was able to return to the field (thirty-four yards on eight carries) in limited action and Chip Trayanum in his first major action at running back rushed well in leading the team with eighty-three yards (Trayanum played running back for Arizona State but transferred to OSU as a linebacker) but Hayden rushed so well against Maryland and I would have thought that performance (146 yards and three touchdowns) would have earned him more than two carries.

7) And with three long touchdowns allowed from the passing arm of J.J. McCarthy (one was a short pass with some awful arm tackling and the other two appeared to be blown coverages) how much blame should fairly go to defensive coordinator Jim Knowles?

Depends on if you blame Knowles for coverages that allowed Michigan the type of passing game big plays that one expects to see from Ohio State.

Were they bad coverages called or player breakdowns?

In either case, Ohio State isn't paying Knowles almost two million dollars a year to watch a performance like that on the team's largest stage of the season.

8) And in hindsight, a backbreaker was a Michigan eighty yard drive that ate almost eight minutes and could have been a Buckeye spark in holding Michigan to a field goal after rushing J.J. McCarthy into a hurried heave to the back of the end zone.

However, Ronnie Hickman was called for pass interference and even though an argument could be made for the pass being uncatchable, Michigan was bailed out and would score a touchdown on a McCarthy rush.

9) Five touchdowns of forty-five yards or longer against a Michigan team not known for its explosiveness looks really bad and I really can't blame the front seven all that much until the final two drive of the visitors.

10) J.J. McCarthy was a Buckeye fan growing up and as a recruit was thought to be a potential commitment but Ohio State decided to move towards Kyle McCord as their preferred passer in that recruiting class and McCarthy decided to commit to Michigan.

McCord has the inside track to start next season and prove that to be the correct decision but McCarthy has the attitude that it takes to win this game.

You may not like it or him but gotta respect the passion.

11) C.J. Stroud likely has played his final game in Columbus and he will likely leave with a legacy of the most decorated quarterback that didn't win anything.

I know the Rose Bowl win over Utah is nice but that doesn't carry the weight that it used to in program importance.

Stroud is rattled by a good pass rush and he's not the most mobile guy in the pocket.

I understand the financial aspect for Stroud and I can't blame him for leaving with the money involved for his draft projection but he needs another year of development in my opinion.

12) The worst part of this?

Ohio State will enter next year with another first year starting quarterback in either Kyle McCord or Devin Brown and will play the 2023 game in Ann Arbor, which is really a tough out and why winning this game was so important.

13) Because one loss can be explained as an aberration, two is a pattern, and the potential for three is there, Ryan Day thinks he will have heat on him for this year?

Try losing next year's game and fans will tag him with the hyphenated name of Ryan Cooper-Day.

14) This is also a tough loss for recruiting as recruits won't remember all the dominance of Ohio State in the series, they will only remember 2-0 and with the Covid year, next year's recruits would have been high school freshmen when Ohio State last defeated Michigan and the recruits that will be worked out for the following class would have been in middle school for the last Buckeye win.

The players want to win and play on the biggest stage possible and this isn't a problem for Ohio State yet but another loss or two and it could become one.

15) As for the playoff hopes, I really don't think that they deserve to after this but they are still alive with losses by LSU and Clemson on Saturday as well.

I think Ohio State may get in should TCU or USC lose their title games (TCU vs Kansas State, USC vs Utah) and almost definitely should both teams lose.

No one has a better loss of the one loss teams and Ohio State brings the two things that shouldn't count so much but do- Traveling fans and eyeballs on TV.

I think it would be very tough to take Ohio State over an undefeated TCU and maybe even over a one loss USC but from what I saw against Michigan, and while I want the Buckeyes to be successful, I'm not sure it matters if Ohio State would slide in at the fourth seed and play Georgia for the right to have the fact that Ohio State has become a finesse' program slammed into my face.

Again.

Boxing Challenge

 Thanksgiving weekend isn't always one that is associated with boxing but this weekend will have four interesting matchups that include a vacant world championship to be filled, a minor title that may produce an eventual challenge of Canelo Alvarez, a comeback for a heavyweight contender, and a title eliminator for arguably the most talented fighter that is off the radar.

The biggest fight of the weekend is on pay-per-view from the surprise winner of the purse bid, MARV Sports as one of the three junior welterweight championships that have been vacated by Josh Taylor will have a new titleholder as former WBA champion Regis Prograis faces longtime contender Jose Zepeda in Carson, California.

Prograis has only one loss, a close majority decision defeat to Taylor in 2019 that cost him the WBA title in the finals of the World Boxing Super Series, and has fought only three times since against limited competition.

 Zepeda has lost in both of his title challenges, losing to Terry Flanagan for the vacant WBO lightweight title in 2015 when Zepeda separated his shoulder in the second round and losing a majority decision to Jose Ramirez in a 2019 try for the WBC junior welterweight strap, that many thought Zepeda deserved the victory.

Since the Ramirez loss, Zepeda has won six straight fights including a win over Jose Pedraza, destroying once-touted prospect Josue Vargas in one round, and the classic 2020 fight of the year against Ivan Baranchyk that saw the two fighters combine for eight knockdowns with Zepeda ending the fight in the fifth with a spectacular KO.

On paper, this should be a terrific fight with both fighters having their share of supporters but I wouldn't be surprised if Prograis dominates this fight.

Prograis is the bigger puncher and who knows how much the Baranchyk fights have taken out of Zepeda?

I've underestimated Zepeda before and I would not be surprised to see him do it again but this feels like Prograis to me.

The co-feature will pit 2016 Olympian Charles Conwell and veteran Juan Carlos Abreu in a WBC junior middleweight eliminator.

It's a lower-level eliminator but a needed one for the very talented and underexposed Conwell, who I think only needs an opportunity and a platform to display just how good he could be.

Abreu has failed in each attempt to step up to title contention but he has only been stopped once in his six defeats, to Jaron "Boots" Ennis which is far from a black mark on a career, so should Conwell score a stoppage, it would be an impressive performance.

The remainder of the challenge is fought in England from two cards, two promoters, and two networks on Saturday afternoon.

ESPN Plus and Frank Warren promotions have a WBO minor Super Middleweight title that could eventually result in a few ripples in the 168-pound division as undefeated prospect Zach Parker will face rugged warhorse, John Ryder.

Parker has fought veterans and trial horses but will be in his first fight against a top-ten opponent.

The mauling Ryder is entering the fight after a split-decision victory over Daniel Jacobs that was somewhat controversial (I scored Jacobs a close winner) although the best win of his career.

Ryder made his name a few years in a title bid against Callum Smith that he lost a decision that I thought he should have been given.

The winner not only adds a belt to their trophy case but eventually could be the opponent for Canelo Alvarez, should Canelo ever follow through on his occasional comments on wanting to appear once in the United Kingdom.

On DAZN, Eddie Hearn's Matchroom promotion will match heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte against undefeated American Jermaine Franklin in a twelve-rounder that will try to add some shine to Whyte after his knockout loss to Tyson Fury.

Whyte is still clearly a top-five to top-ten level contender in the division despite being knocked out in two of his last three fights to Fury and Alexander Povetkin but needs a win to keep him in that range.

Whyte generally makes exciting fights and I could see Whyte having a career like his rival Dereck Chisora, where he never has problems getting fights even as he drops a level for that reason.

As for Franklin, at one time he was thought to be the best of the young American heavyweights but he has fought only one time in the last three years and that was against 20-21 (Record not year!) Rodney Moore and his best win is a decision over veteran Jerry Forrest, so even a somewhat damaged Whyte is easily the best opponent that Franklin has fought.

A Franklin win would send him jumping up the ratings and might have him in a bigger fight next year.

Boxing Challenge

Vacant WBC Junior Welterweight Title. 12 Rds 

Regis Prograis vs Jose Zepeda

Ramon Malpica: Prograis Unanimous Decision

TRS: Prograis KO 6

Vince Samano: Prograis KO 11

Junior Middleweights 12 Rds

Charles Conwell vs Juan Carlos Abreu

R.L and V.S: Abreu Unanimous Decision

TRS: Conwell Unanimous Decision

Super Middleweights. 12 Rds

Zach Parker vs John Ryder

R.L: Parker Unanimous Decision

TRS: Parker Split Decision

V.S: Ryder Unanimous Decision

Heavyweights. 12 Rds

Dillian Whyte vs Jermaine Franklin

R.L: Whyte KO 7

TRS: Whyte Unanimous Decision

V.S: Franklin KO 6

Road Trip: Ernie Davis and The Office

   The trip ended with another blustery wind blowing all morning and afternoon and it was colder still as we departed Batavia with our plans for the day for lunch on the way home set for a must-stop for any fan of "The Office".

However, fate threw an interesting turn when Cherie needed to stop and the next exit was Elmira, New York.

I couldn't seem to find any place to stop in Elmira.

No fast food stops, no convenience stores, no gas stations- Nothing.

However, as I toured Elmira, I saw a sign that read Ernie Davis Statue.

I instantly became intrigued as Ernie Davis was the 1961 Heisman Trophy winner from Syracuse, was the top pick in the 1962 draft by Washington before being traded to Cleveland for future Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell but would never play a game for the Browns as he would die of Leukemia in 1963.

Davis was also the subject of the 2008 film "The Express". which starred Rob Brown and Dennis Quaid.

Cherie wasn't totally familiar with Davis but I had to keep looking for a place for her and finally found her a Mcdonalds', which bought me some time to Google "Ernie Davis Statue".

Back on the road, armed with what I thought was the address, I traveled to the statue's presumed location and found what looked like a business located in a former school.

And no Ernie Davis statue.

So, I begin retracing my steps to try to remember where I saw the sign.

And after about ten long minutes, I saw the sign and wondered why there weren't any other signs.

Answer? 

The statue was in front of the Ernie Davis Academy that we had passed earlier but in the rush to find Cherie a place to stop, it didn't register that the statue was in front of the school!

So I felt like an idiot as I exited the car to snap a few pictures and it truly is a wonderful tribute to Davis with several granite blocks around the statue, two of them listing Davis's achievements and the rest each giving a portion of Davis's character to a block.

It's extremely well done and while I didn't know it existed until a chance encounter, I'm really glad that that was the exit that we needed to stop.

And that led us to Scranton and our planned lunch at Cooper's Seafood House.

 Fans of "The Office" know how authentic the show is about its connections to the city used as its TV home with its various items, mentions, and visits to Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Cooper's Seafood House is often mentioned on the program and on occasion, characters have eaten there (on the show, not the actual restaurant), and when I looked up Cooper's on the web, they have a very extensive gift shop of items from "The Office", which made it a natural stop for us as huge fans of the show.

The wind was cutting through the air sharply and it kept us moving quickly inside Cooper's!

The building has a wide base and it stretches out quite far from the dining room to the bar and the gift shop.

I loved the decor with lots of news clippings from the area, board games from the 70s and 80s hanging from the wall, and lots of items from The Office and Gilligan's Island!

I'm really not sure what the Gilligan's Island connection is but there was a small model of display for the show and its characters and plenty of pictures of Tina Louise and Dawn Wells.

After we checked the gift shop out to have an idea of what we would purchase after our meal, we walked to the other end of the restaurant to actually order.

The place was pretty busy but our food came out quickly under the circumstances with my order of a lobster roll sandwich and Cherie's crab version of the same proving to be quite good.

It wasn't the biggest sandwich that I have ever seen and it sure wasn't the cheapest but it was very good in its own right.

Cherie and I split a piece of Key Lime pie, which was quite large and the slice was more than enough for each of us to share.

I wouldn't rate it as good as the gold standard at Cootie Brown's but worth the order in any case.

We then returned to the gift shop, buying several gifts for others and each other for Christmas before heading down the road to return home.

Scranton is roughly three hours from home, so the drive was uneventful to finish the trip and I had a great time all told.

I'd definitely make this trip again, maybe a little earlier in the year to take better advantage of Antique World but I certainly would return.

A very enjoyable few days away from home and some nice items found for the collection made this trip a memorable one 

Cleaning out the Inbox: Non-Sports Passings

 We return with more tributes to persons that have recently passed away with this being entirely devoted to persons outside the sports world.

Goodbye to Jim McDivitt at the age of 93.

McDivitt commanded two missions in space, one Gemini and one Apollo, and both were key missions in American space history.

McDivitt's Gemini mission would see the first American (Ed White) take a spacewalk outside the capsule and his Apollo 9 mission that took place in Earth orbit was important in testing the lunar module before sending it to the moon.

An Air Force fighter pilot during the Korean War, McDivitt was selected as one of the second group of astronauts in 1962 and his Gemini flight established McDivitt as the first American astronaut to command his first flight in space.

McDivitt claimed, at first, to have seen a UFO during the Gemini flight but shortly after changed his story to the UFO's merely shadows of bolts on the outside of the spacecraft.

McDivitt would also appear as himself in an episode of "The Brady Bunch" during the show's final season in the episode where Greg is pulling a hoax on Peter and Bobby about UFOs.

Goodbye to Louise Fletcher at the age of 88.

Fletcher was a longtime character actress in television with two memorable roles with one winning the Oscar for best actress in 1975 for her role in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" which starred Jack Nicholson and would win the Oscar for best film with Nicholson adding best actor, Milos Forman for best director, and best-adapted screenplay for a clean sweep of the five largest awards.

Fletcher never capitalized on her role as "Nurse Ratched" to move onto stardom but she continued to work in television and film in supporting roles with her most memorable performances as the ruthless and pious Bajoran religious leader "Kai Winn" in the Star Trek series "Deep Space Nine".

Goodbye to Jim Bohannon at the age of 78.

The long-time host of the Westwood One radio network had hosted "The Jim Bohannon Show" which replaced "The Larry King Show" on the night owl shift in 1993 and Bohannon retired from the show only last month due to the illness that would take his life.

Bohannon also hosted "America in the Morning" for Westwood One (Formerly Mutual) from 1984-2015 and my favorite Bohannon program, a brief daily snippet entitled "The Offbeat" which would also air on his other two programs.

Bohannon is an inductee in two broadcasting Hall of Fames, the national Radio (2003) and the NAB version in 2021.

Goodbye to Robert Clary at the age of 96.

Known best for his portrayal of " Corporal LeBeau" on the 60s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes", Clary was an actual prisoner in World War II and spent almost three years in German concentration camps.

Clary was the final surviving member of the ensemble cast of "Hogan" and was part of the show for the entire six-season run.

Goodbye to John Y. Brown at the age of 88.

Brown's varied resume' lists owned the Kentucky Colonels to their only ABA title, folded the Colonels and take a buyout instead during the ABA-NBA merger that left Louisville without pro hoops ever since, took the money from the Colonel's sale and bought the Buffalo Braves, traded the Braves for the Boston Celtics with the new owners of the Braves moving them to San Diego, leaving a second town without pro basketball since, drove Red Auerbach nuts to the point that he almost left Boston to run the rival New York Knicks, and without consulting Auerbach, traded three first-rounders for Bob McAdoo.

That's just the sports portion as you then add Brown as the man that bought Kentucky Fried Chicken from the venerable Colonel Harlan Sanders, co-founded Kenny Rogers Roasters, married NFL Today star Phyllis George, served as Governor of Kentucky, and is the father of CNN's Pamela Brown.

Quite a life, even if it wasn't all for the greater good. 

PPM

 It's rivalry week in college football with so many trophies on the line in those games and the NFL heads toward the playoff stretch run in the PPM this week!

Last Week: 13-4 

Overall: 121-71

College 

Ohio State over Michigan 31-21

Oklahoma over Texas Tech 40-37

Boise State over Utah State 24-13

Ohio over Bowling Green 32-21

North Carolina over N.C.State 28-17

Oregon State over Oregon 31-28

Arkansas over Missouri 23-17

Houston over Tulsa 38-24

Appalachian State over Georgia Southern 30-24

Middle Tennessee State over Florida International 28-13

Games of the Week

USC over Notre Dame 34-31

Cincinnati over Tulane 24-19

Pro

Buccaneers over Browns 27-17

49ers over Saints 34-17

Chargers over Cardinals 35-20

Games of the Week

Cowboys over Giants 24-17

Titans over Bengals 27-24