Scott Cole Show

"NBA 2K23 is like watching your favorite team clank a wide-open dunk to lose the game. They’d been playing well the whole time, with on-court gameplay that’s better than ever, plus various retro modes that are amazing for basketball history nerds like myself, and there is a litany of modes meant to hold your interest over for dozens, if not hundreds, of hours. So where does it all go wrong? The NBA 2K franchise has put such an emphasis on pay-to-win microtransactions that its most popular game mode, the online MyCareer, feels horribly discouraging from the outset due to the disadvantage you’ll face unless you’re willing to throw down extra cash. So even while NBA 2K23 emulates the game of basketball so well, both in its present form and illustrious past of the NBA – it’s just more difficult than ever to ignore the emphasis on sucking cash out of our wallets." -IGN

To kick off their 2022 NFL regular season, Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills take a trip across the country to take on the Los Angeles Rams.

The Rams, fresh off a Super Bowl victory in September, start their quest to repeat against a team billed as a favorite to reach the big game this season. Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp lead a Rams offense supported by Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey on defense. Meanwhile, Allen and star receiver Stefon Diggs look to take the Bills to the next level, beginning with Thursday night's 8:20 p.m. ET kickoff at SoFi Stadium.

Despite the seismic changes that took place during college football's offseason, the upcoming season will provide fans with a breath of familiarity.

Yes, the preseason College Football Power Rankings are once again led by perennial playoff teams, Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and Clemson. But last season's rankings had the Spencer Rattler-led Oklahoma Sooners at No. 2 and both Iowa State and North Carolina in the top 10 -- and we all know how that turned out.

Which team will we talk about as a bust next season? And which teams will tumble out of the rankings after two weeks this year? None of that matters now. It's August, and there's hope for all top 25 teams that made the preseason rankings.

Without further ado, this season's first Power Rankings.

The Vikings made it clear in no uncertain terms and actions that Mike Zimmer and his old-school defensive coaching style were the problem the past two years and that Kevin O'Connell, a 37-year-old first-time head coach, brings from the Super Bowl-champion Rams a new-school offensive approach that finally will make Kirk Cousins more than just a vastly overpriced .500 quarterback.

"I certainly believe even moreso now that we've got our leadership in place," co-owner Mark Wilf says. "We're going to work with Kirk as our quarterback … and for 2022, for sure, we're going to be super competitive."

The Vikings tinkered with the idea of trading Cousins and doing a total teardown. But O'Connell's offensive acumen and history with Cousins in Washington convinced ownership and new general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to extend Cousins' contract, lowering his salary cap hit from $45 million to $31 million, as the first of many moves designed to run it back with much of the same roster. Perhaps Adofo-Mensah, the NFL's first general manager from a purely analytics background, coined a new term when he described the process as a "competitive rebuild." Sans Zimmer, of course.

A year removed from Aaron Rodgers' offseason of discontent, he now has a new contract and a renewed commitment to a team that now includes him in key decision-making conversations. After back-to-back MVP seasons, the 38-year-old Rodgers is showing no signs of slowing down, although his recent playoff performance has drawn increased scrutiny.

Especially disappointing was the team's season-ending 13-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, a game that, despite their mistake-prone special teams' game-changing gaffes, the Packers should have won given that the defense didn't allow a touchdown and the Packers had such a big advantage at quarterback.

Instead, after back-to-back-to-back 13-win seasons, the Packers are now a dozen years removed from their last Super Bowl title, and to win another, they'll have to do it without one of the greatest wide receivers in team history — Davante Adams, whom they traded to the Las Vegas Raiders in March, creating the offensive concerns that even LaFleur and Rodgers acknowledged are understandable.

While the Jets are still not predicted to have a playoff-caliber season in 2022. Caesars Sportsbook has set the Jets' over/under win total at 5.5, which at least would be an improvement. Where do we have the Jets this year?

Mac Jones made all the right moves as a rookie — from his first minicamp pass to his final steps of the griddy dance following his Pro Bowl touchdown run.

In between, he threw 22 touchdown passes and led the Patriots to 10 wins and a return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus.

The first-round quarterback also said all the right things. Jones was deferential to Cam Newton during the spring and summer and even after seizing the starting job from the former MVP with a stellar training camp that included an impressive final push.

He refrained from commenting on anything that could cause a controversy — even declining to name a favorite Halloween candy.

Things will be a little different this season. Jones, who plays with a quiet confidence, will need to be louder as he takes on more of a leadership role on a team that added key pieces in all three phases.

This is the year for Tua to prove if this is his team or not. He has got help with Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson to go along with Jaylen Waddle. The Dolphins also added Sony Michel, Chase Edmonds, and Raheem Mostert to their offense. Miami also placed the franchise tag on Mike Gesicki, and he has been a very dependable tight end since he has been with the Dolphins. I have the Dolphins as my sleeper team and making the AFC Playoffs.

Key to Bills winning Super Bowl? Putting worst 13 seconds in team history behind them. What’s done is done, and those ignominious moments at Arrowhead Stadium will forever be part of the Bills’ story, just like the two AFL championships in the mid-1960s, the back-to-back 2-14 seasons of the mid-1980s, and the unprecedented winning of four straight AFC championships coupled with the loss of four consecutive Super Bowls in the early 1990s.

Fans wanted Matt Ryan out, congrats. Hope you enjoy your 3 wins. The rebuild in ATL starts now.