By Jim Vallet and Robert Perea
With a nod of appreciation to the rock band Chicago, I am taking the liberty this week to opine on several issues of today. Since there is no one else opining except me, I have to title this piece, “Monologue, Part I. And, I promise there will only be one comment about politics.
How can the government be shut down and most everyone goes paycheckless except Congress? Isn’t their job to represent us? Not only do they ignore what almost everyone needs (the government to serve us) they don’t suffer like most all other government employees. Ridiculous. My first suggestion: NO ONE gets paid during a shutdown.
I have to say one word about Shohei Otani–WOW!
The “tush push” will not be legal in the NFL next year. It’s just too hard (?impossible?) to officiate. How can anyone expect the officials to see what’s going on in the middle of literally tons of humanity bunched together like high schoolers at a concert?
The answer is, they can’t. That part is simple. What isn’t so simple is how to ban it. I heard a really dumb idea on “Good Morning Football” that would legalize the defense being allowed to push their players forward just like the offense is doing while executing a push on the tush. Can you see what would happen? Literally double the human mass now pushing in both directions. That would certainly make watching NFL football more fun and won’t possibly result in any injuries (lol).
One possible solution is to legislate offensive separation between players. Another is to outlaw the QB being under center at the snap. But it seems to me the simplest way is to ban pushing a ball carrier forward by a teammate. Take the push out of the tush push.
How long until we see a 70 yard field goal? If it doesn’t happen this year and the rules don’t change, it’ll happen next year. Since the NFL doesn’t seem interested in banning placekicking altogether, how about giving your opponent the ball on your own 20 after a missed field goal? Or, maybe we could just substitute party balloons for kicking footballs when trying a field goal.
The Kansas City Chiefs are winning and looking good, but something doesn’t seem right with that team. Is it the lack of an effective rushing game, or what seems to be an over-reliance on one player? Maybe it’s because there seems to be an erosion of “good guys” on that team.
Detroit Tiger pitcher Tarik Skubal and his team are reportedly “only” 250 million dollars apart on a contract deal. The “usual suspects”, i.e. the Dodgers, Yankees, and Mets supposedly are interested.
What a surprise. The only surprise to me will be if the Tigers are able to keep him. As a lifelong Tiger fan, I am frustrated but still hopeful. I hope they re-sign Skubal, but I oppose paying Skubal what seems to be a crippling amount for the Detroit Tigers.
First of all, the most pitches Skubal threw in one game in 2025 was 108. He did not pitch one complete game. You’d think that, when the Tigers REALLY needed him in the playoffs, they would extend him, right?
No. In Game 5 of the ALDS, Skubal was great for 6 innings. The problem is, this isn’t Little League and the game is 9 innings long. The Tigers’ ace threw less than 100 pitches before being removed after 6 innings with the Tigers leading by one, a lead they quickly relinquished in the 7th before eventually losing and getting knocked out of the playoffs in 15 innings.
It seems to me that if you’re going to pay one pitcher 350 million dollars that pitcher should finish what he started at least once and certainly go further in a knockout game. To say that Skubal gives his all until he has nothing left to give ignores the fact that Skubal’s job with the Tigers is to help the team win, not to get him ready to earn really big money somewhere else. Tigers, do what the Washington Nationals did with Bryce Harper and let him go. You didn’t win a championship with him, use that 350 million to fill some of the many holes you have.
Of course, a lot of my rant is bitterness. Skubal is a very good pitcher. But, to understand the hurt for Detroit, do you think Patrick Mahomes would still be in Kansas City or Josh Allen in Buffalo if the NFL didn’t have revenue sharing? WAKE UP, MLB!!
I don’t know how, but college and professional sports are going to have to deal with gambling. I feel hypocritical calling them out in a column where I am picking winners against the point spread. And, I know several good friends who have patronized illegal “bookies” in the past. This apparent connection between athletes and organized crime goes back at least to the 1919 Chicago White Sox and Lucky Luciano mentor Arnold Rothstein fixing of the World Series, although I suspect that Roman emperors had a few lira on one gladiator or another. Considering the ethics, or lack thereof, the emperors displayed on many occasions I gotta believe there were probably attempts to “fix” some of those outcomes 2,000 years ago. That so many people, our current President and my father among them, believe games and elections are often “rigged” is not without a solid foundation. And listening to some athletes speak, the realization of how much he can lose for joining any fixing enterprise for a much smaller gain has no brain to reside. All the elements for a “fix” are there. It’s only a matter of time until something much bigger is discovered unless something is done.
My friend Don is a huge basketball fan, and I am an equally fervent hockey aficionado. Don used to make fun of hockey by suggesting that hockey teams get sumo wrestlers as goalies. His idea was that they could just lie down and effectively block the whole net. I dismissed his idea as ludicrous.
But now, hockey goalies are huge-6’5” or bigger, and they kneel and block almost the whole net. The ridiculousness has become real. Goals are way down in spite of equipment advances that allow players to shoot the puck much harder with more accuracy than we could have ever dreamed because there’s no space to shoot the puck at.
This is an easy one. Right now the net is 6’ wide by 4’ high. Raise the height of the net to 4’6” and watch the number of goals soar, plus end the immigration hopes of many goalie Goliaths.
I’m here only to help. My kids used to ask me why I can’t just watch one game without coming up with a list of ways to make the game better. To answer them, I say “I don’t know.”
I like writing this type of column. Maybe I’ll do it again because I have lots of other ideas.
This year has not been a bad one to listen to me about betting the NFL, but you still wouldn’t be able to quit your day job. Here I go again. Lines are from espn.com on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
Denver Broncos (-1 ½) at Houston Texans: The Broncos are for real. The Texans have a real defense, but my jury has delivered a guilty verdict against their offense for being offensive.
Indianapolis Colts (-3 ½) at Pittsburgh Steelers: I think the Steelers are ok against ok teams, and not ok against good teams. This year, the Colts are a good team.
LA Rams (-13 ½) vs. New Orleans Saints: I have an idea for the Saints….Get a real NFL quarterback!
Buffalo Bills (+1 ½) vs KC Chiefs: The Bills are getting points at home?! I’ll take it even though the Bills have holes.
Dallas Cowboys (-2 ½) vs Arizona Cardinals: I have doubts that the Cardinals can exploit the bad Dallas defense, but I believe the Cowboys will score.
Seattle Seahawks (-3 ½) at Washington Commanders: Since I am writing this on Tuesday, I don’t know if Jayden Daniels will play in this one or not. If he doesn't, 3 ½ will be a good line to get Seattle at. If he does, can he make that big a difference?
Last week 5-1
Season 28-21
Robert’s picks
North Carolina (+2 ½) at Syracuse: In the first four games, the Syracuse offense was humming, the Orangemen were about to go 3-1 with a win over Clemson and things were looking good. The quarterback Steve Angeli broke his leg, and the offense went out with him. Backup quarterback Rickie Collins has thrown 8 interceptions, he’s averaging less than half as many passing yards per game as Angeli was, and the Orange haven’t won a game since. Now they’re favored. Despite all the negative publicity North Carolina has gotten, defense hasn’t been the problem for the Tar Heels, and I’ll take this defense plus points against a QB who isn’t ready for this level.
Central Florida (+3 ½) at Baylor: One of the betting rules I follow is to bet against favorites who can’t stop what the underdog does best. In this case, Central Florida is in the top 10 in the country in yards per carry at almost 6.0. The Baylor defense ranks 119th against the run. Central Florida’s defense is ranked in the top 20 in points per game and yards per play. A good defense and strong running attack getting points against a feeble defense is a winning formula a high percentage of the time.
Cal (+6) over Virginia: Virginia is 7-1, averaging 37.1 points per game and I’m taking Cal +6. Am I stupid? Wait, don’t answer that. Just consider, this is Virginia’s first trip to the West Coast under the ACC’s new alignment, and the teams going cross country in these new alignments have mostly struggled. Virginia hasn’t played a game west of Champaign, Illinois since 2019. Their last two games were close calls in which they scored 24, 22 and 10 points in regulation. On a long road trip against a feisty Cal team, I can’t see the Cavaliers playing their A game, and it takes an A game to win on the road by a margin.
Chiefs (-2) at Bills: I share a severe case of Chiefs’ Fatigue with a lot of other NFL fans, but I do think they’re hitting their stride, while since their opening week win over the Ravens, the Bills wins have come against the Jets, Dolphins, Saints and Panthers. But the playoffs are where the Bills have come up short against the Chiefs. Josh Allen is actually 4-1 against them in the regular season and the Bills can attack the Chiefs weakness, which is run defense.
Jaguars (-2 ½) at Raiders: The Jaguars went into their bye last week off of two terrible offensive performances, so the Raiders are the perfect ointment for what ails them. The Jags’ defense is very good, and the Raiders’ offense is near the bottom of the league both running and passing. This is the type of scheduling situation where most teams play their best game of the season.
Cowboys (-2) over Cardinals: The Cowboys have played three home games this season and scored 40, 40 and 44 in those games. I don’t expect 40 again, but the Cowboys can cook against a Cardinals team that only has four interceptions and 12 sacks so far.
Last week
College 1-2
NFL 1-2
Season
College 13-13-1
NFL 13-12
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