Hooked on Sports

In today's podcast:

(1:27) John gets into the biggest results from Week 5 in the NFL, and who is to blame for the losses for the Bengals and Bills. Also the Giants proved they are closer to being the team they want to be, and the Chiefs and Vikings go into their bye weeks as the lone unbeaten teams.

(24:51) John gets into what has been one of the craziest baseball weeks ever, with so much late inning drama and amazing comebacks by the New York Mets and a week that could transform their franchise for the better. Then who is to blame for the Phillies' disaster, the vibes with the Padres-Dodgers series, Kerry Carpenter's dramatic 9th inning homer on Monday saving the Tigers season against the Guardians, and why the Yankees look uninspired against the Royals.

(37:38) John touches on the wild weekend in college football with so many upsets and some amazing matchups coming up on Saturday, including Texas-Oklahoma and Ohio State-Oregon.

(39:34) Is acquiring Karl Anthony-Towns the final piece for the Knicks in their quest to end their 50-plus year championship drought, and what is the genius behind LeBron and his son playing together for the first time?

(43:25) John reveals his official choices for the Stanley Cup playoff field and his pick to win the Stanley Cup in the 2024-25 NHL season, which makes its North American debut tonight, and he picks who wins the pivotal Game 5 of the WNBA Semifinals between the Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx.

In today's podcast:

(1:47) John highlights three key games around the NFL that will play a big picture into how the rest of the season is going to shake up, featuring two great QB matchups and the renewal of the most historic interconference rivalry in NFL history.

(12:24) Then, John makes his official picks and predictions for Week 5 in the NFL against the spread.

In today's podcast:

(1:59) - John says there is lots of intrigue in the NFC this week and he highlights three critical matchups that can shape how the scope of the conference will look like, by discussing Cowboys-Giants, Vikings-Packers, and Seahawks-Lions.

(21:12) John makes his selections for all the games in Week 4 of the NFL, looking to bounce back from back to back weeks of going 6-10 against the spread.

In today's podcast:

(2:44) John discusses the Minnesota Vikings' 34-7 win over the Houston Texans and whether or not they're the NFC's best team right now.

(6:18) The Dallas Cowboys' 28-25 loss to the Baltimore Ravens was preventable, and John says it could have been prevented before the league year started in March.

(9:40) The LA Rams saved their season with a pulsating 27-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and John explains the foundations the franchise laid out for such a win like that.

(12:55) John's Super Bowl Pick, the Detroit Lions, chipped their way to a 20-13 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and what else was revealed about this Lions team that can get them to the promised land.

(15:19) The New York Jets showed flashes of what they could be in a 24-3 win over the New England Patriots, but what is holding them back?

(17:27) The New York Giants avoided an 0-3 start with a 21-15 win over the Cleveland Browns, and John learned that one player can change the whole equation for the Giants if they want any success this season.

(20:21) The Buffalo Bills rolled to victory over the Jaguars 47-10. Is Josh Allen the MVP through 3 weeks? And what about job security for Jacksonville's head coach and general manager?

(24:37) The Cincinnati Bengals fell to 0-3 after losing 38-33 to the Washington Commanders and they turned a rookie QB into a Hall of Famer with a performance like the one Jayden Daniels turned in, so who is to blame for the trouble in the Queen City?

(31:13) John gives his takes on the current MLB playoff races, including the NL Wild Card race between the Mets, Braves, and Diamondbacks, with the first two beginning a crucial 3-game set tonight at Truist Park in Atlanta, the NL West race with the Padres and Dodgers facing off starting tonight, and the insane AL Wild Card race with the Tigers, Royals, Twins, and Mariners separated by 1.5 games for the final two playoff spots in the American League.

(36:24) Several contending teams, especially in the National League, were eliminated from postseason contention last week, including the Chicago Cubs, who John says might have been too overhyped after they brought in Craig Counsell to manage, the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, and Cincinnati Reds all missed the playoffs, while the Reds fired manager David Bell after six seasons, but John says the GM's job shouldn't be safe, either. Is there hope for the Texas Rangers in 2025, and the White Sox are on the verge of breaking the 1962 Mets record for worst record in modern baseball history.

(41:43) John offers his biggest takeaways from college football over the weekend, with big wins by Michigan, Tennessee, Illinois, and Colorado dominating.

(46:12) John rounds up the early action in the WNBA playoffs.

In today's podcast:

(1:45) John starts with the current state of affairs in the MLB playoff race with just 11 days left in the regular season and the intense wild card races in both the AL and the NL, and something that is going to be universal in college sports going forward that is being instituted next year at the University of Tennessee.

(14:14) John discusses the big storylines he sees heading into Week 3 of the NFL, including the Ravens trying to avoid an 0-3 start, the Eagles trying to recover after a bad loss at home against the Falcons, the Packers QB situation ahead of their matchup against Tennessee with Jordan Love returning to practice, and the Panthers benching former top pick Bryce Young. Then he makes his picks against the spread for Week 3 in the NFL.

In today's podcast:

John discusses the biggest takeaways from the Week 2 action across the NFL on Sunday, including the Las Vegas Raiders' gutsy comeback win on Sunday that sent the Baltimore Ravens to 0-2, the New Orleans Saints dropping 44 points on the Dallas Cowboys on the road, the Houston Texans defensive line proving too much for Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears, the Arizona Cardinals showing why they are for real in a blowout win over the banged up LA Rams, the Carolina Panthers might actually go 0-17 this season, the Jacksonville Jaguars inexplicably lose twice in a row to start the season, and the Miami Dolphins season might already be dead on arrival.

He also touches on Caitlin Clark's historic rookie season, Arch Manning, and the MLB playoff races with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

In today's podcast,

John discusses the things to take away from Monday night's game that saw the 49ers crush the Jets, and then previews Week 2 in the NFL, starting with 3 quarterback matchups he is most interested in seeing such as the showdown in Miami tonight between Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa.

Then, he picks every game against the spread in Week 2, hoping to improve upon his 8-7-1 spread record from Week 1 (as well as his 11-5 record picking winners and losers)

In today's podcast,

John talks about the impressive and disappointing QB performances that defined Week 1 of the NFL season, from Baker Mayfield dominating the Commanders, Daniel Jones' poor performance against the Vikings, and Deshaun Watson's bad day in the office for the Browns. The episode also includes Dak Prescott's insane $240 million contract extension reaction, Tyreek Hill getting detained by police, the NL Wild Card race, Notre Dame stunned at home by Northern Illinois, Texas thumps Michigan, Jamal Murray's contract extension, US Open champions crowned and a bright future for American tennis, the PWHL franchises getting team names, and more.

In today's podcast:

John discusses the matchups he is most forward to watching in Week 1 as the 2024 NFL season takes shape, which features all the primetime games over the next five days.

Then, he will pick every game in the NFL against the spread in the season opening week.

In today's podcast:

John unveils his entire list of predictions ahead of the 2024 National Football League season. He unveils his picks for the 14 teams that'll make the playoffs this season, win-loss records for all 32 teams, his awards predictions, conference title game matchups, and his pick for Super Bowl LIX in February.