The start of the National Football League regular season begins late next week.

Those of us who play fantasy football and care about winning should hunker down quickly and get ready for your annual player draft in the coming days.

Statistically speaking, I am considered an average fantasy football player.

This will be the 15th year of participating in a league run by my former boss along with several of his college friends.  Fortunately, our league is 100% for fun with no money involved.

My first and last experience in a for-profit league definitely did not go very well.

Decades ago, a team “owned” by me and a couple of co-workers lost “only” $60 ($20 apiece) at the end of the season.  However, the last place team in league netted a shocking loss of more than $200.

I had no idea before the season started that teams could win or lose that much money.

Live and learn.

That long-ago season nearly ruined how I watched NFL games.  While formerly a casual observer of televised football games on Sunday, my brain began to race like a calculator while watching the NFL that season.

For example, I remember cringing after Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White (the other fantasy team’s starting quarterback) completed a lengthy 65-yard touchdown pass.

Ouch!  That was a 12-point play for Danny White – six points for the TD pass plus another point for each ten yards gained on that touchdown play.  

Every TV “game break” NFL scoring highlight caused more temporary anxiety each Sunday.

That television break could yield exceptional joy (a player on our fantasy team just scored!) or sadness (the other team’s player had scored).

My wife quickly noticed my change in demeanor and suggested it was time to end the misery after one season. She was absolutely right.

I stayed away from the fantasy football scene for a long time. A former boss was nice enough to offer a spot in his “for fun only” Fantasy Football league 15 years ago.  His group prefers to take online jabs at one another rather than raiding each other’s wallets at the end of the season.

My current team (named “SwampGas”) has won 51% of its games with 131 wins and 128 losses over the years.

That makes me about as average at Fantasy Football as anyone can possibly get.

Oh, no!  I accidentally missed this year’s draft!  The computer just selected my players?!!

I am in a bit of shock today.  For the first time, I was not present at my computer to make my own player selections for our league’s annual Yahoo! Sports fantasy football player draft.

OK, I openly admit to being a “control” type of personality.

Sink or swim, I prefer doing my own research and selecting the players for my fantasy football team on draft night.

When you’re not at your computer on draft night, you lose the right to complain.

In your absence, the Yahoo! Sports computer will select a player in each round once it is your turn.  In true Wile E. Coyote Super Genius fashion, the computer selects what it believes to be the best player available in each round.

After this year’s draft ended, that same $#@! Yahoo computer then assigned my team a “C-” score!

I reviewed my 2026 computer-selected team today and now understand why I received such a lousy grade.  After seeing my team’s draft picks for the first time, I have two words for that Yahoo! Sports computer.

You’re fired!

We will now get to see if the computer’s picks produce better results than my own measly 51% career winning percentage.

Why was I so unhappy with the computer’s draft picks?

My fantasy football team received the infamous #10 pick in our ten-team league.  That meant that I picked last during the first round but then first in the second round.  There are just 30 seconds to make each selection.  That doesn’t leave much time to think. 

Then again, aren’t today’s AI computers supposed to be faster and smarter than us?

After making two quick early picks, you must wait again until making the final draft pick of Round 3 and the first pick in Round 4.

Statistically speaking, the winners in most ten-team fantasy football leagues generally come from team owners picking from the #4, 5, or 6 draft position.  That allows a little bit of time to review your next pick and observe any developing trends.

I could almost feel sorry for the Yahoo! Sports computer.

But I don’t, though.  It made a number of really questionable selections.

My third draft guideline (see below) was to draft players on top NFL teams which, generally speaking, also score the most points over the course of a season.

The Yahoo! Sports computer picked not one but two Washington Commanders players.

Washington was horrible last season and finished with a 5-12 record.  They aren’t expected to be much better in 2026, either.

The computer also selected one player from the woeful 3-14 New York Jets and another from the wayward 5-12 Cleveland Browns.

It selected zero players from either the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks or runner-up New England Patriots.  My team had no players from high scoring teams like the Detroit Lions or the Los Angeles Rams, either.

Time to get to work on repairing this year’s Fantasy Football team!

Today, I made a couple of roster moves to add 38-year old quarterback Mathew Stafford from the Los Angeles Rams as a back-up (behind Jalen Hurts – the computer’s selection for my starting quarterback).

I then added Detroit’s booming field goal specialist Jake Bates to replace Minnesota kicker Will Reichard.  Nothing against the Vikings kicker.  I simply wanted at least one player representing the Detroit Lions on my fantasy team roster this season.

My third move today was exceptionally questionable, but I have my reasons.

Pittsburgh Steelers 7th round selection Eli Heidenreich grew up in the Steel City.

He accepted an offer from the US Naval Academy to play college football.  Heidenreich’s versatility at Navy to run, catch passes coming out of the backfield, and return punts and kick-offs made him a standout college football player.

Eli Heidenreich will be required to report to the US Marine Corps to fulfill his military obligations after his NFL career ends. Let’s hope that won’t happen for a number of years.

I dropped Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs in order to make room for Eli Heidenreich on my roster today.  The Steelers listed him as a third-string running back.  Unless both of the other running backs get hurt, Eli Heidenreich is unlikely to play a lot this season.

That’s OK with me.  I simply liked his story and wanted a guy like that on my roster for good vibes.

More Fantasy Football tips from ol’ SwampSwami

Let’s roll-out my annual Top Ten suggestions to help you enjoy this upcoming NFL fantasy football season:

Best of luck this season with your Fantasy Football League team!

The post Your 2026 NFL Fantasy Football Guide appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

My dearly departed Mom was a big fan of daytime television soap operas. 

She got up early each morning and made breakfast for us four boys.  Then she sent us off to school and said goodbye to Dad as he drove downtown to work at his retail job.

Mom still had a sink full of the morning dishes plus loads of yesterday’s dirty clothes to wash, hang out to dry, and, later, iron.  My 4’10” mother stayed quite busy but found a way to keep up with her friends on weekdays.

She spent a portion of her day watching a few cheesy daytime television soap operas on her little black-and-white portable television.

Mom often referred to these characters (mostly the good characters) as her “friends.”

Declining ratings and increased production costs has seen a reduction in several long-time television “friends” which Mom once viewed.

Today, sports fans are glued to a new fast moving soap opera based in Baton Rouge!

There is less than one week before the LSU Tigers kick-off the 2026 football season against the ACC’s Clemson Tigers on Saturday night (6:30PM CDT on ABC) in Baton Rouge.  Both teams’ head coaches have a lot riding on making a good first impression.

Clemson’s Dabo Swinney is under growing pressure after a few disappointing (by recent Clemson standards) seasons.  The two-time national championship coach has been able to quell most of the “Fire the coach!” grumblings by reminding the press how much they all loved him a few years ago.  Coach Swinney is officially on the hot seat this season.

LSU’s new head football coach and his program have been making a lot of headlines since the end of last season.  Coach Lane Kiffin (whether purposeful or not) is a human headline machine.  Kiffin’s on-field success and frequent job changes have kept him in the media spotlight.

Tigers fans care only whether Kiffin can mastermind a way to help LSU capture its fifth national title in college football.  Coach Kiffin quickly hit the ground running with his new job.  LSU’s new coach is trying to do everything possible to make the championship dream happen for himself and the Tigers faithful.

The sports media has been working 24/7 jumping aboard the “Lane Train” as news out of Baton Rouge continues to play like a never-ending LSU-based soap opera.

“As the Tigers Turn”

Has it really been seven years since the 2019 LSU Tigers football team obliterated all comers in a 15-0 national championship season?

Much has changed since Louisiana’s own Ed Orgeron ruled the bayous as the head football coach of LSU’s fourth national champions of college football.

Heisman quarterback Joe Burrow, wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase have become highly paid NFL stars.

Other LSU players from that team are also enjoying nice NFL paychecks today.

That 2019 championship season came during the early days of the NCAA’s infamous Transfer Portal.   When coupled with the now-legal (but not in its intended form) Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), a virtual Wild West Show of athletes has been taking place as more players enter and leave programs annually.  

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron struggled during the ensuing years.

LSU’s record slipped to 5-5 in the 2020 COVID-plagued season and fell to 6-7 in 2021.

The likable but sometimes unfocused Coach O was shown the door following the 2021 season.  Orgeron laughed all the way to the bank to deposit his $17 million going away present courtesy of the wealthy LSU athletic supporters.

“Search for Tomorrow”’s Coach

LSU turned to Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly beginning in 2022.  The veteran coach immediately instilled more discipline to his football team.  Kelly’s 10-4 opening season in 2022 gave LSU fans a glimmer of hope for the future. It was followed by 10-3 in 2023 and 9-4 in 2024.

Brian Kelly set lofty expectations for LSU in 2025.  However, he pigeonholed problems behind the scenes (especially information about lingering injury issues with LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier).  After posting a modest 3-5 SEC mark and a 7-6 overall record, LSU wrote a $54 million exit check for Brian Kelly to skedaddle after last fall.

Lane – is a Many Splendored Thing

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has a history of short stays with his former employers.  The Rebels coach remained in Oxford for six years (a personal record!) before Kiffin shocked his team and the entire state of Mississippi by accepting the top job at SEC rival LSU.

The 2025 Rebels had just finished their best regular season ever (11-1).  They were heading into the College Football Playoffs for the first time in school history.  That’s when their coach admitted that he had accepted the vacant LSU job.

Upon arriving in Baton Rouge, Lane Kiffin immediately got to work on upgrading LSU’s football talent – especially on offense.  He went dialing for dollars utilizing the NCAA transfer portal combined with a very large ($40+ million) wallet filled with NIL bucks to sign dozens of new players.

In fact, Coach Kiffin just signed a few additional players over the past week which has created a new chapter to our growing soap opera story.

The Young and the…Ruthless?

Coach Lane Kiffin is just 51 years of age.  He exudes a boyish twinkle in his eyes along the sidelines as he watches his football team confound opponents with yet another timely and well-conceived offensive play call.

LSU’s new head football coach was hired to transform the Tigers’ offense into the upper echelon of the SEC.  The Tigers’ defense has been expected to remain top caliber again this season.

Saturday night’s first game in the Coach Lane Kiffin era will feature least 44 new LSU players taking the field against Clemson.  This year’s LSU football team looks like an assemblage of Frankenstein-styled parts.

The multitude of new players have been bought and paid for by LSU’s $13 million/year mad scientist/coach Lane Kiffin.

You’re going to need time to learn the names of your new players, LSU fans!

You will find a new transfer quarterback #10 Sam Leavitt (Arizona State) tossing passes downfield to new wide receivers #3 Eugene Wilson III (Florida) and #4 Jackson Harris (Hawaii).

Holy courtroom drama, Batman!  The SEC lawyers are joining the action in Baton Rouge on Thursday

LSU made more national news last week by signing several former college football players recently cut by their NFL employers during the preseason.

This spring, the NCAA ruled that, beginning this fall, college athletes will be granted five years of athletics eligibility over a five year period following their high school graduation.

However, a group of 16 former college football players (who had exhausted all four of their years of eligibility under the previous NCAA standard) filed a lawsuit in Louisiana.  They demanded the right to play a fifth season of college football this fall should their NFL employers release them following the final preseason games.

One of those players is former LSU linebacker Jack Pyburn.

He played at the University of Florida for three years but transferred to Baton Rouge for his final year in 2025.  Pyburn was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but has been released after the final preseason roster cuts.  He now wants to return to play football at LSU this fall.

So do former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quon Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris, among others.  They were former standouts for coach Lane Kiffin last season in Oxford.

Like Jack Pyburn, the two former Ole Miss players signed NFL contracts but have been cut by their teams.  They could quickly learn the playbook of their former coach – now at LSU.  

The SEC is furious about the new LSU football coach’s decision to add several former college players who signed and participated with professional teams over the summer.

Last week, the Southeastern Conference joined hands with the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 Conferences in a rare move of solidarity.

The four major college football conferences want to prohibit former players from the freshman class of 2022 from returning to school this fall to play football after they signed contracts to play for a professional sports league team. 

The ramifications for LSU could be massive.

The SEC’s proposed punishment could involve suspending coach Lane Kiffin for half of the current season.  Worse, LSU’s athletics program could be fined 50% of its $200 million annual athletics budget.

Ouch.

On Sunday, the SEC announced that the conference plans to abide with the court’s current decision (allowing the former NFL players to participate).  However, an additional hearing of this matter will occur this Thursday in the judge’s courtroom in Baton Rouge.

The SEC has retained a powerful legal concern based in New Orleans to vigorously attempt to get the judge to reverse positions in this matter on Thursday.

Wow!  This could become a high drama legal showdown taking place just two days before LSU hosts Clemson on national television Saturday night in Baton Rouge.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the SEC head coaches and administrators are fuming mad.  They are pounding the war drums and sound as if they are ready to toss LSU completely out of the SEC if they don’t forget about playing those ex-pro athletes this fall.

Louisiana State University has been part of the Southeastern Conference since its founding in 1932.

I can picture thousands of hands waving “Pick me, SEC!” in North Carolina, Clemson, and Florida State today!

Before ACC fans of those schools get too giddy, keep in mind that Disney’s ESPN and ABC own the television rights to SEC football.

If LSU were to (shudder) get booted from the SEC over this issue, the Big Ten or the Big 12 Conference (both televised by competitor FOX Sports) would quickly make an offer to the Tigers.

LSU might even consider going independent and negotiate its own national television contract like Notre Dame.  Why share the loot when you can keep it all for yourself, right?

I fully expect ESPN/ABC to intervene to tamp down the growing SEC anger in short order.

This year’s LSU “Black Hat” Tigers will the hottest college football commodity on television.  ESPN cannot afford to lose LSU anytime soon.

A good TV soap opera usually contains just a few small weekly plot twists.

By contrast, this new sports soap opera based in Baton Rouge has been making-up its own script from week to week.  Who knows where all of this will lead next?

Our next episode of “As the Tigers Turn!” should be a dandy.   Stay tuned!

The post New Plot Twists in the LSU Football Soap Opera! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

I am continuing efforts to persuade my lovely wife that she REALLY wants to accompany me and watch the new “Coyote vs. Acme” movie at theaters beginning Friday.

Like the cartoon duo, we are nearly opposites.  She (similar to the Roadrunner) always seems to find a way to defeat her creatively overthinking and occasionally overconfident spouse.

I have upgraded the offer to include a dinner bribe if she will accompany me to an afternoon showing of the movie this weekend.  She is still mulling the offer as of press time. Expect the location for dinner to be renegotiated soon.

Is that the sound of me going over the proverbial cliff again?  Poof!

Let’s celebrate the large number of “Wile E.” personalities in sports!

Those of us with “Wile E.” personality types share a common passion.

We chuckle as we come up with yet another absolutely genius idea.  Then we will spend an incredible amount of time and resources to develop our fabulous plan.

Finally, we hatch that idea and often end-up with yet another epic fail.

The other party seems to come out of the confrontation unscathed and happy to match wits with us again.  Beep-beep!

It is now time to honor this year’s nominees and winners of the SwampSwamiSports.com Wile E. Awards!

Drum roll, please…

Category 1: “Acme Credit Card” Award – for spending billions of dollars and still finding creative ways to fail

Nominees:

New York Yankees – Major League Baseball

Dallas Cowboys – NFL

Los Angeles Clippers – NBA

LIV Golf – Professional Golf

Background:

New York Yankees – The Bronx Bombers are frequent visitors to the baseball playoffs.  Alas, their last World Series title came 17 years ago in 2009 when the Yankees downed Philadelphia.  Tampa Bay (with a payroll of $111 million) sits in first place in the American League East today.  The New York Yankees have spent three times that amount ($334 million) for their second place position.

Dallas Cowboys – “The Curse of Tom Landry” still lingers over team owner Jerry Jones and his football team.  It has been 31 years and counting since Dallas made its last Super Bowl appearance.  Jerry Jones was the man who fired beloved Cowboys coach Tom Landry.  Landry passed away in 2000.  Dallas has yet to play in an NFC title game since the coach’s passing.  Hmm…

Los Angeles Clippers – This NBA franchise was purchased by former Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer in 2014 for $2 billion.  The Clippers’ “windows” for winning NBA titles have been stuck in the “clouds” since the year 1970.

This team has never appeared in an NBA Finals since the franchise began as the Buffalo Braves 56 years ago.

LIV Golf – The Saudi Public Investment Fund rolled out $1.5 billion just to buy enough pro golfers to start this new league five years ago.  LIV Golf has then lost an additional $1 billion every year since the league began playing in 2022.  They are now searching for new investors willing to lose hundreds of millions of dollars with them in 2027.

And the winner is…

LIV Golf!  This league’s arch-enemy is the stodgy PGA Tour.  The PGA has cleverly avoided nearly every trap which was set for them by upstart LIV Golf.  Never fear, LIV 2.0 is now on Wile E’s drawing board.  The golf league is rumored to be negotiating with “Acme” to provide new financing (a lot of it) if LIV Golf 2.0 returns in 2027.

Category 2: “Failure to Launch” Coaching Award – for getting their fans excited about winning a championship but failing to deliver results

Nominees:

Brian Kelly – former LSU football coach

Lane Kiffin – current LSU football coach

Lincoln Riley – current USC football coach

Bruce Pearl – former Tennessee and Auburn basketball coach

Brian Kelly – Kelly has been a very successful college football coach (primarily north of the Mason-Dixon line).  He was never able to get his football teams (Cincinnati, Notre Dame or LSU) into the FBS title game, though.  Brian Kelly (who received $54 million in a contract buyout to leave LSU last year) has become a broadcaster for CBS Sports this fall.

Lane Kiffin – Kiffin’s father (Monte) was a very successful NFL defensive coordinator.  The younger Kiffin became the offensive guru of the family.  Lane Kiffin’s teams usually win a lot of games, but he has yet to lead a team into a title game yet.  LSU fans will give him a couple of years – maybe.

Lincoln Riley – Much like Lane Kiffin, the sportswriters dubbed Riley as one of the most talented offensive minds in all of college football.  The 42-year old Lincoln Riley has been a big winner at both Oklahoma and USC.  Expectations have remained high for Coach Riley, but his teams haven’t been able to climb that mountain yet.   A better defense would help.

Bruce Pearl – This rather animated former college basketball coach won 70% of his games at Tennessee and, later, Auburn.  Known for his colorful clothing choices and “Super Genius” bravado, Bruce Pearl projected a very “Wile E. Coyote” confidence and style.  He retired a year ago without having coached in a national title game. Bruce Pearl now works as a college basketball analyst for CBS Sports.

And the winner is…

Brian Kelly!  BK has impeccable credentials.  He dressed and looked the part of a successful coach.  However, he also never tamped-down expectations and rarely gave a straight answer about the deficiencies of his LSU football teams.  Brian Kelly’s prickly personality failed to connect with LSU fans or the media.  He is not missed around the Baton Rouge area.

Category 3: “Thud” Award – Professional sports team which always seems to go over the cliff every season

Nominees:

Detroit Lions – NFL

Pittsburgh Pirates – Major League Baseball

New Orleans Pelicans/Hornets/Jazz – NBA

Buffalo Bills – NFL

Detroit Lions – This franchise came tantalizingly close to earning a trip to the Super Bowl a few years ago.  However, Lions fans knew (deep down in their breaking hearts) that the proverbial rug would likely be pulled from underneath them.  The Lions are now a perfect 0-60.  They have never played in a Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Remember the 1970’s hit song “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge?  If you do, then you also remember the 1979 World Series title for Steel City’s baseball team.  They haven’t returned to the top since then (47 years and counting).

New Orleans Pelicans – New Orleans has never seen any of its three NBA franchises play for a title. The New Orleans Jazz (1974-1979) moved to Utah.  Years later, the Hornets (2002-2013) buzzed back to Charlotte.  Even the New Orleans Pelicans (2013-present) have never placed a team into the NBA Finals.

Buffalo Bills – This proud NFL franchise earned its way into the Super Bowl in four straight years (1990, 91, 92, and 93).  Alas, they lost each time.  Much like our friend Wile E. Coyote, the Buffalo Bills are resilient.  This team has earned its way into the AFC playoffs for seven consecutive seasons.  The Bills reached the AFC title game on two occasions in 2020 and 2024.  As you might remember, Buffalo lost both times – to the Kansas City Chiefs (meep, meep!).

And the winner is…

The Buffalo Bills!  The Bills just keep coming back for more every season.  You’ve really got to admire this franchise for its dogged determination.  In September, Buffalo begins its first season of play in a new football stadium. 

Based on the team’s history, perhaps the stadium should have been named “Acme Field.”

Category 4: Wile E. “Super Genius” Award – National sports media personality who believes that he absolutely positively knows more about sports than the rest of us

Nominees:

Stephen A. Smith

Pat McAfee

Colin Cowherd

Tony Romo

Stephen A. Smith – Remember George Jefferson from the television show “The Jeffersons?”  Listen to Smith and tell me they aren’t related!  Stephen A. Smith is frequently on-point, but it takes him a long time to get there.

Pat McAfee – ESPN has been busy laying off staff recently while giving this talented blowhard even more cash.  McAfee (a former NFL punter) comes across like a pro wrestler delivering a promo to get people to come to tonight’s local matches.  He smartly built-up a massive YouTube audience of younger followers prior to joining ESPN.  Pro tip – Watch coach Nick Saban’s face contort whenever McAfee is speaking. It is pure Saturday morning TV gold.

Colin Cowherd – Pound for pound, he may be the biggest sports bloviator on television.  Cowherd does his homework, though.  He is on point with most of his commentaries.  It would be nice if Cowherd (and Stephen A. Smith) dialed down the volume a bit.

Tony Romo – The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback-turned-CBS analyst earns about $20 million per year (about $1 million per game).  His early years at CBS were fun and insightful.  Alas, Romo’s recent years have him sounding rather unprepared and out of sync with his broadcast partner.  Jim Nantz is one of the few TV professionals who can cover for Tony Romo’s increasing number of miscues every week.

And the winner is…

Tony Romo!  This particular award is intended for someone whose ideas and comments usually go awry and lead to a crash landing.  Tony Romo’s on-air performances in the last few years at CBS have been about as “Wile E.” as you can possibly get.

“Poof!”

The post SwampSwamiSports.com “Wile E.” Awards appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

It may be hard to believe, but it has been 16 ½ years since Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints captured their one and only Super Bowl title.

February 7, 2010 marked the greatest day in Saints history.

The New Orleans Saints began play as an NFL expansion team in Tulane Stadium against the Los Angeles Rams on September 17, 1967.  The opening kick-off was returned by Saints wide receiver John Gilliam for a touchdown as 80,000 fans roared their approval.

Sadly, the Saints lost Game #1 27-13 and finished their initial NFL season with a 3-11 record.

Twenty years later, the New Orleans Saints had yet to post a winning season.  Successful former USFL coach Jim Mora was hired to lead the team.  Coach Mora turned around this franchise and posted five winning seasons over the next seven years.

They finally made the playoffs for the first time in 1987.

WhoDat Nation was born in the mid 1980’s!

Fans gleefully chanted “Who Dat say they gonna beat ‘dem Saints?” as New Orleans had finally became a regular contender in the NFC.

Until they weren’t.

The 1992 NFL playoffs marked the final post-season appearance for the Saints for another eight seasons.  A surprising 2000 New Orleans Saints team finished 10-6 and finally won the first playoff game in the history of this long-suffering franchise.

In 2006, it was new head coach Sean Payton and newly acquired quarterback Drew Brees teamed-up to rebuild the Saints into a long-time NFC powerhouse over the next 15 seasons.

Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season.  He was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Coach Sean Payton “retired” a year later. He opted for the television booth with FOX Sports.  The Denver Broncos coaxed him to return to coaching with an eye-popping contract offer in 2022.

Sean Payton has turned-around another NFL franchise. 

His Broncos have become top playoff contenders in the AFC after only three seasons as the team’s head coach.

Those two legends are no longer part of the NFL franchise in New Orleans.  Saints fans still love their football team, but the playoffs seem like a distant memory.

Successive years of 5-12 in 2024 and 6-11 in 2025 are making many Saints fans wax nostalgic about “the good old days” of two decades ago.

Is Kellen Moore a miracle worker or will he become just another short term coach?

The Saints hired and later fired former defensive coordinator Dennis Allen after 2 ½ seasons following the departure of head coach Sean Payton.

The 2025 season saw New Orleans hand the coaching baton to Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore with the top job.  Moore was a dynamic quarterback in college with Boise State during the Broncos’ ascension in major college football twenty years ago.

Kellen Moore then played five seasons in the NFL before becoming the quarterbacks coach in Dallas.  He would be elevated to the team’s offensive coordinator for three seasons.  Moore earned a Super Bowl ring as the OC for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024.

Ironically, that Super Bowl victory came in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

Kellen Moore became the new head coach for the New Orleans Saints less than one week later.

Moore’s offensive knowledge did not seem to help the Saints’ putrid offense last season.  New Orleans scored only 18 points per game to finish in 28th place in the NFL.

Saints fans saw a glimmer of hope after second-round rookie draft pick Tyler Shough (pronounced “Shuck”) was inserted into the line-up for the second half of the season.

The Saints offense immediately caught fire as New Orleans won four of its last five games to finish 6-11.

An underappreciated Saints defense finished in the middle of the NFL pack (16th) and allowed only 22 points per game for the 2025 season.

Off-season moves have firmed-up the Saints offense

The 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh saw the New Orleans Saints select:

Round 1 – Jordyn Tyson, wide receiver, Arizona State

Round 2 – Christen Miller, defensive tackle, Georgia

Round 3 – Oscar Delp, tight end, Georgia

Round 4 – Jeremiah Wright, offensive guard, Auburn

Round 4 – Bryce Lance, wide receiver, North Dakota State

Round 5 – Lorenzo Styles, defensive back, Ohio State

Round 6 – Barion Brown, wide receiver/return specialist, LSU

Round 7 – T.J. Hall, defensive back, Iowa

That made three wide receivers and a talented tight end taken with the eight draft picks.

Fifth year wide receiver Chris Olave has grabbed passes for more than 1,000 yards in three of his four years with the Saints. 

He and quarterback Tyler Shough got their wish in the NFL draft.  There are significant new weapons with this impressive trio of wide receiver draft selections plus a top tight end prospect in Oscar Delp.

It’s hard to believe that running back Alvin Kamara is entering his tenth NFL season.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year has been slowed by injuries over his career.  Kamara has not played a full regular season since that initial 2017 campaign.

The team’s all-time leading rusher will be joined in the backfield this season by newly acquired running back Travis Etienne.  He comes to the Saints from the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Etienne (like Alvin Kamara) is exceptional at catching the ball coming out of the backfield.

This tandem should give NFC South defenses plenty to be concerned about.

The New Orleans Saints lost long-time offensive standout Taysom Hill to retirement at the end of last season.  This versatile former BYU quarterback had played back-up quarterback, tight end, and running back over his nine seasons with the Saints.  The oft-injured Hill became a fan favorite in New Orleans.

Can the Saints defense do it again in 2026?

A quick look at this year’s Saints draft picks showed that defense was definitely not a priority for the team.

Consider how ineffective the New Orleans Saints offense was in 2025.  The team’s inability to score points kept the Saints defense on the field for longer than the NFL average.  New Orleans’ 16th rated defense may show further improvement this season if the team’s offense stays on the field longer and give the defense more rest.

Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley (the former head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers) put together an opportunistic and relatively young defensive unit for the Saints in 2025.  The team collected 20 turnovers last season.  It was also ranked #3 in the NFL at shutting down the opposing offense on third down.

Former Alabama defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry and former Washington first round defensive end selection Chase Young led a hungry New Orleans Saints defensive unit in 2025.

New Orleans’ popular and eight-time Pro Bowl selection Cameron Jordan was drafted in 2011.  Now age 37, he remains a force at the other defensive end position for New Orleans.

A lack of depth may unravel the Saints this season

Injuries happen – especially in the NFL.  For as optimistic as things look for the Saints first team units, a lack of quality depth (especially at quarterback) could sink the Saints chances in 2026.

Preseason games generally feature back-ups so that the coaches can determine which players deserve a spot on the team’s regular season roster.

The Saints 34-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last weekend in the second preseason game showed just how weak this team’s back-ups seem to be.  They were skunked by the reserves from a Rams team which went 12-5 last year.

Seeing the other team’s reserves blank the Saints back-ups raised some warning flags about the upcoming season.

Speaking of back-ups, New Orleans is attempting to transform another top first round draft selection into a future weapon at quarterback.

Former New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (the #3 overall pick in 2021 out of BYU) threw more interceptions (25) than touchdowns (23) during his three years with New York.  Wilson was then shipped to Denver in 2024 and moved again last season to Miami as a reserve QB for the Dolphins.

Will head coach Kellen Moore (a former NFL quarterback) be able to restore the confidence of Zach Wilson and turn him into productive offensive weapon for the Saints?

Prediction time!

The first seven games in 2026 will tell us a lot about this year’s New Orleans Saints team.

New Orleans opens with two tough road games – at the Detroit Lions and at Baltimore to play the Ravens. They’re likely to be 0-2.

However, the next five games are all winnable (home for Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Minnesota), on the road at the New York Giants, and a (fake) home game in Paris against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

If the Saints are 5-2 or even 4-3 heading into the second half of the season, they have a realistic chance of going 9-8 this year.  That record might be good enough to win a very balanced (but weak) NFC South.

I predict the Saints will finish 8-9 this season.

Anything better than 8-9 this season will have all Saints fans (me, included) downright giddy about the future of this football team.

Put away those paper bags (at least for now), Saints fans.

It’s “Who Dat!?” time once again in N’awlins!

The post Hype or Hope for this year’s New Orleans Saints? appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Perhaps the searing August heat has begun to take its toll. 

We have just emerged from yet another weird weekend in sports with an assortment of strange things occurring.

Let’s (briefly) venture outside to review a few more odd August sports stories.

LSU expected to sign a tight end who was just cut by the Cleveland Browns?

Ole Miss football fans were already incensed about former head coach Lane Kiffin’s departure at the end of last season.  The Rebels will host Kiffin’s LSU Tigers in Oxford on Saturday, September 19 in a nationally televised made-for-media marquis match-up.

America’s most popular coach (to hate or to love) not only left Ole Miss before last year’s College Football Playoffs. 

He brought along a handful of his Ole Miss players and a few dozen of his assistant coaches and staffers to Baton Rouge, too.

On Sunday, we learned that Coach Kiffin is about to add a talented former Ole Miss tight end to the Tigers’ roster.  This particular tight end had been spending his summer practicing and playing for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.

How can a player who has been playing (even for a few months) with a professional football team be allowed return to play college football?

The NCAA recently changed its rules.  Beginning this year, college athletes will now be allowed five years of eligibility over a five year period. 

What about college athletes who participated last year assuming they were in their fourth and final year of eligibility?  They left school in the spring believing they had used-up all of their college sports eligibility. 

Oops!  Did the NCAA just overlook them in their new rule?

In general, there are not a lot of top college football players who started and played for four consecutive years now willing to return to college football this fall for a fifth season.  

Some have found paying jobs in the NFL.  Others are finding work outside of football.

As you might have guessed, lawsuits have been filed by some of last season’s college athletes arguing that the NCAA’s new rules should allow them the right to return to college to play in a fifth year this season.

Former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright played for Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin the past two seasons.

He finished his fourth year of eligibility last fall and spent the summer trying to make the final roster of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.

Dae’Quan Wright did not get to play in any of the Browns’ preseason games.  He was just waived by Cleveland. Once he clears waivers early this week (and no other NFL team signs him), Brown plans to return to college to play for his former college coach who now works in Baton Rouge.

But wait – doesn’t LSU already have a talented 6’7” tight end on their team?

Indeed, they do!

Junior tight end Trey’Dez Green was one of LSU’s top receivers last season. 

The south Louisiana product became a second team All-SEC tight end after his sophomore season last fall.

Green isn’t just 6’7” tall.  He is a talented basketball player who averaged 27 points per game as a center on his high school roundball team.  Green’s unique skills have many professional scouts drooling as he returns for his junior season in Baton Rouge this fall.

Why would LSU football coach Lane Kiffin want to add another tight end only two weeks before the Tigers kick-off the new season at home against Clemson?

Perhaps another way to look at this is why would Kiffin NOT want to sign another talented tight end right before the season begins.

Dae’Quan Wright (the former Ole Miss player) is already familiar with Coach Kiffin’s playbook.  LSU’s acquisition of a second talented tight end would also prevent the former Ole Miss football player from heading back to Oxford (or to Tuscaloosa, Austin, Auburn, etc.)

Let’s not fool ourselves.  This isn’t about Dae’Quan Wright’s loyalty to Lane Kiffin.

He is likely coming to LSU, because the price is right.

Oregon football coach Dan Lanning (like many of us) doesn’t like the court’s decision

This year’s AP preseason #2 Oregon Ducks are expected to make a run at the national championship.  Coach Dan Lanning does not care for the court’s ruling which would allow some football players to return to college after being cut by an NFL team this month.

Over the weekend, Lanning said, “Once you go to the NFL, I mean, you’re in the NFL.  You don’t get the opportunity to come back (to college football).  So, if you invite somebody back to your team, that means your kicking somebody else off your team, right?”

Indeed, it does!  That’s a very noble stance, Coach Lanning!

On the other hand, I wonder what the Oregon coach would do if his starting tight end from last year’s team wanted to return after being cut by an NFL team last week?

LIV Golf Season 5 ended with a Cinderella story winner!

Did you watch the FOX Sports Sunday afternoon coverage of (perhaps) the final round ever to be played by LIV Golf?

The upstart golf league has lost $6 billion in five years.  Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund pulled the plug on the money tree after yesterday’s final event of the 2026 season in Indianapolis.  The league’s future is shaky at best.

I watched as LIV Golf’s $300 million bonus baby Jon Rahm and $125 million bonus signee Bryson DeChambeau battled back and forth for the lead.  Rahm fired a nifty 63 on Sunday to edge DeChambeau’s bogey-free 64.

While those two very wealthy golfers traded blows Sunday afternoon, a 22-year old golfer on the verge of losing his spot on the LIV Golf tour quietly zoomed past both titans to claim the title.

Michael La Sasso won the US Amateur in 2025 after a great collegiate season at Ole Miss.  Winning the US Amateur title last summer earned La Sasso the right to play at The Masters and in this summer’s US Open – as long as he remained an amateur golfer.

La Sasso decided to forego his chance to play Augusta National and Shinnecock Hills and turned professional.  He joined LIV Golf to become part of absentee captain Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers golf team.

Michael La Sasso struggled this spring and summer in his rookie season as a professional golfer.

He was mired in 53rd place in the LIV Golf standings heading into this weekend’s season ending event.  The young golfer was on the LIV Golf chopping block (called “relegation”) if he was unable to earn enough money to move into the top 48 golfers.  He would have been out of a job – regardless of whether LIV Golf returns again in 2027.

La Sasso is definitely safe now!

He fired a sizzling 10-under par 60 in Round 2 and took a slim lead over tour veterans Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau entering Sunday’s big finale.

The climactic 72nd hole saw the rookie golfer calmly loft a nifty 20-yard pitch shot onto the green.  His ball rolled downhill and came to rest within one foot of the cup to insure Michael La Sasso’s one shot victory over Jon Rahm.

His 18-under par total carried a first place check worth more than $2 million.

Most importantly, the rookie golfer zoomed up to #14 in the final LIV Golf rankings for 2026.

Well played, Michael La Sasso!

The WNBA has learned well from professional wrestling

I will spare you the details concerning a few recent events featuring the Women’s NBA (WNBA), its fans, and several of the players this season.  You have likely read and heard enough.

Like professional wrestling, the WNBA has learned that any publicity (generally) beats no publicity.

Recent controversies have kept the league front and center in the sports headlines.

Quick – Can you tell me which team leads the WNBA today? (Answer – the Minnesota Lynx is 31-7 and leads the league by five games coming down the stretch)

The good news has been that WNBA attendance is growing.  Pay for players has been rising.  New teams have been added in the past few years with more new franchises on the horizon.

For all of the good news, some of the WNBA’s players and fans have been getting fighting mad recently.  This stuff has been coming right out of the professional wrestling playbook.

Sunday’s latest publicity stunt came as Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham and the Indiana Fever visited the Windy City to play the Chicago Sky.

Former NBA center Enes Kanter (who changed his last name to Enes Freedom a few years ago) recently declared that he wants to play in the WNBA next season.

The league’s current rules are too vague to know whether the 6’10” Enos Kanter-Freedom (his last name could change again by the end of this story) will succeed in joining the women’s basketball league next year.

That classic wrestling story line should serve to keep WNBA fans on edge for at least the next six months.

The aforementioned “Enes-the-Menace” decided to check-out a WNBA game.

He obtained a prime seat near the basket during Sunday night’s game in Chicago.

The 6’10” giant was spotted sitting in the crowd late in the third quarter by Chicago Sky guard “Nasty” Natasha Cloud.  Instead of heading toward her bench during a called timeout, an angry-looking 5’10” Cloud walked toward the towering 34-year old former NBA player.

Cloud appeared to spew a number of, uh, Chicago-styled greetings toward the giant ticket holder.  That’s when stadium security intervened.

“Enes-the-Menace” was escorted out of the building (wonder if he received a refund?).

For her part in starting this incident, “Nasty” Natasha Cloud was allowed to remain in the game.

As of press time, the WWE (oops, I meant the WNBA) has not addressed the Chicago Sky guard’s unexpected and unnecessary aggressive move toward a 6’10” paying customer.

Her distracted Chicago Sky team never recovered.  Caitlin Clark tallied 37 points and ten assists for the winners as Indiana darkened the Chicago Sky with an easy 113-90 victory.

Any publicity beats no publicity, right?

The post It’s Gotta be this August Heat! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

It’s here!

The same people who told you that Indiana was the 20th best team starting in 2025 are now suggesting that the defending college football champion Hoosiers will be the sixth best team in 2026.

Indiana went a perfect 16-0 last season.  They obliterated “name” football powers like Alabama 38-3 during their stampede to the national championship. 

Coach Curt Cignetti is still at Indiana.  Like every other major college football program, IU went shopping to buy another group of talented transfer players using NIL bonus bucks again in 2026.

So, why did the Associated Press demote last season’s undisputed champion Indiana from the top spot when they haven’t even played a game yet?

This year’s projected top five teams were Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Texas.

The top five consisted of two Big Ten schools, two SEC schools, and independent Notre Dame.

Interestingly, not one SEC team received a single first place vote in this year’s 2026 preseason AP poll.

Ohio State was the top pick on 40 ballots.  Oregon grabbed 14 first place votes.  Indiana (the #6 preseason pick) had eight first place votes, while Miami of Florida (#7 overall pick and last year’s national runner-up) had one first place ballot.

In defense of the AP, the poll results are solely the opinions of 60+ writers and broadcasters casting their vote in this national college football beauty contest.  No employees of the Associated Press are allowed to participate.

*Shameless self-promotion plug – This is yet another reason why the popular SwampSwamiSports College Football Top 25 Rankings never begins publishing its team rankings until at least four games have been played.  Come back and check-out my rankings once cooler weather and clearer minds return in early October.

Preseason rankings are simply a beauty contest intended to spur interest and media hype

The NCAA Transfer Portal and the advent of NIL to pay college athletes has really affected the prediction business.

Did you know that an estimated 3,700 college football players put their name into the hat to change schools in early January?

How could anyone know how good Indiana or LSU or any other top program is going to be this fall after their rosters have changed so much from last season?

Twenty years ago, we could take a good look at which teams were returning the most top players following a good season in the previous year.

Back then, we could try to assess the incoming freshman class for possible impact players.  Next, it was time to review the team’s football schedule to assess the difficulty of the upcoming opponents.

Today’s transfer portal game of musical chairs makes it quite difficult to predict which teams are going to shoot to the top of the charts by season’s end.

For example, LSU transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt from Arizona State is expected to provide a boost to the Tigers’ offensive output under new head coach Lane Kiffin.

How can anyone estimate Leavitt’s impact until he plays a few games for the Tigers to start the season?

Defending champion Indiana lost Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza to the NFL draft.  Will transfer quarterback Josh Hoover from TCU be worth the reported $2 million NIL deal he signed to come to Indiana?

Here’s a surprise.  The AP’s #1 team at Ohio State has a fairly tough schedule in 2026. 

The Buckeyes will visit #5 Texas in Austin in Week #2.  A three game stretch in mid-October finds Ohio State playing at #6 Indiana, at #14 USC, and at home for #2 Oregon.  Don’t forget the regular season home finale against #16 preseason pick Michigan.

It seems likely that Ohio State is going to lose one or more of those games.  That makes me suspicious of why the majority of AP voters handed the Buckeyes the #1 preseason ranking.  Did they even look at the schedule first?

If you like easy schedules, check out the playoff-friendly schedule for the AP’s #4 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The Irish won’t play a preseason top 25 team until Week #7 at #14 BYU.  The other two ranked opponents (#7 Miami and #19 SMU) travel to South Bend for games in November.

Notre Dame’s schedule appears to be deliciously easy.

Alabama comes in at #13?  The heat is building in Tuscaloosa

Nick Saban’s Alabama teams were nearly always ranked in the top ten during preseason.  No matter how many players Saban had lost to the NFL draft, a new layer of Alabama’s stockpile of talent was ready to be unveiled during the following season.

Not anymore.

Coach Saban’s replacement is busy dealing with today’s revolving door of NCAA Transfer Portal players.  More recently, he has been hitting-up Bama boosters for NIL bonus bucks in order to put a more competitive team on the field.

Yes, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is feeling the heat.

His 11-4 finish in 2025 included an ugly late season loss to SEC champ Georgia and a drubbing by eventual national champion Indiana.  The combined score in those two trouncings was 66-10.

Ouch!

Anything less than a spot in this year’s 12-team College Football Playoffs will be unacceptable to BamaFan.

Should this year’s team fail to deliver, Coach Kalen DeBoer and his boss will likely be swept out of Tuscaloosa in a (wait for it) crimson tide.

Alabama Athletics Director Greg Byrne inexplicably extended the contract for the increasingly unpopular head football coach Kalen DeBoer after last year’s embarrassing season-ending 38-3 loss to Indiana.

Kalen DeBoer will still receive an estimated $67.5 million if he should be fired after the coming football season.

For his part, Alabama AD Greg Byrne’s contract runs through the year 2031.

Byrne’s buyout will be peanuts compared to the bank which will be owed to the school’s football coach.

Impatient high rollers within the Bama athletics family may be getting ready to dig deep to raise funds to boot both DeBoer and Byrne should Alabama drop four or more football games again this season.

This year’s #13 preseason ranking is another indicator that the proverbial hat is already being passing around the great state of Alabama before the start of the football season.

Arch Who?

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning didn’t ask for all of the publicity coming out of Newman high school in uptown New Orleans.

Having a legendary grandfather and two uncles who excelled at quarterback in college and the NFL is extremely hard enough to live up to.  The national media then put a bullseye squarely on the back of Arch Manning four years ago upon his signing to play college football at the University of Texas.

Arch Manning sat on the bench for most of his first two years at Texas behind Quinn Ewers.

Manning was finally named the starter in Austin to begin the 2025 season.  A media-fueled “Arch Manning for Heisman” campaign prior to Week #1 turned into a massive flop.

Texas got off to a rocky start.  Manning eventually found his confidence later in the year to end 2025 on a positive note.  Texas finished 9-3.  Their win total included two overtime squeakers in road games at Kentucky and at Mississippi State.

Texas was left out of the college football playoffs.

Arch Manning now has a chance to deliver a championship season to the Longhorn faithful this fall.

The preseason #5-ranked Texas Longhorns are favored to finish in the top two of the SEC along with #3 Georgia.

Texas has the talent to have a terrific season. However, Texas has been loaded with talent for years in Austin.

It’s time to Arch Manning, Coach Steve Sarkesian, and this year’s squad of Texas Longhorns to step-up and prove it to everyone on the field this fall.

Can coach Curt Cignetti help bring a second straight title back home to Indiana?

The attention to detail shown by Indiana’s national championship squad last year was reminiscent of some of former Alabama coach Nick Saban’s finest teams.

Then again, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was once on Saban’s staff at Alabama.  IU’s coach took very good notes while observing the intense legendary football coach in action – both on and off the field.

Indiana’s Heisman Trophy quarterback (Fernando Mendoza) and his favorite receiver (Omar Cooper, Jr.) are gone.  Both were selected early in the first round of this spring’s NFL draft.  They will be replaced by talented incoming transfers at Indiana.

Coach Cignetti and his assistant coaches pay incredible attention to every detail on offense, defense, and special teams.  Last year’s 16-0 Hoosiers team played like a well-oiled machine in winning the national championship.

In tough games when the talent on the field appears to be nearly equal, Indiana proved an old adage about “The 5 P’s” was still valid.

Prior preparation prevents poor performance.

Bet against IU this year if you wish.  Not me.

The post Says who? Ohio State tops AP Preseason College Football Poll appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

LSU was front and center in national sports headlines in the past week.  Most every day, the stories just kept on coming.

“Recent Heisman Trophy winner wants his jersey retired or his Heisman back!”

How about this:  “LSU Defensive back replies, “It’s My Number now – Come and Take it!”

And then LSU had one of the saddest stories of the week with the headline, “Legendary LSU Baseball coach and Athletics Director Skip Bertman died Friday in Baton Rouge at age 88.”

Let’s cover that serious story first.

Skip Bertman was a man with a golden touch who quietly built LSU athletics into a national power

J. Stanley Bertman loved baseball from an early age. 

After his family relocated to Miami, the young “Skip” Bertman became a top local high school baseball player.  He signed to play college ball with the local Miami Hurricanes as an outfielder and catcher.  Bertman earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees at The U in the early 1960’s.

Skip Bertman then began his coaching career as a high school baseball coach at Miami Beach High School.  He took the team to a state championship and two runner-up finishes in 11 years.

Bertman returned to his college alma mater to work with legendary college baseball coach Ron Fraser.  Skip Bertman became the recruiting coordinator, pitching coach, and assistant head coach for the Miami Hurricanes from 1976-1983.  The Canes won the NCAA national championship in 1982.

LSU Athletics Director Bob Broadhead struck gold when he convinced Skip Bertman to leave south Florida and take over the LSU baseball team in the summer of 1983.

Over the next 18 years, “The Skipper” led LSU’s baseball team to five national championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 2000). 

The team made 11 College World Series appearances to Omaha during those 18 seasons.

When Bertman arrived in Baton Rouge, LSU baseball was played at the cozy confines of Alex Box Stadium.  This rather unique ballpark was put in service back in 1938. 

It was located right across the street from LSU’s monstrous Tiger Stadium football facility.  The ballpark also bordered alongside an active railroad track.  It seemed that a train would rumble by the baseball park during every LSU night game.

The success of Skip Bertman’s LSU baseball teams led to several expansions of Alex Box Stadium as sellouts became the norm by the late 1980’s.

A larger new facility with nearly 11,000 seats replaced the old baseball stadium in 2009.  This new ball park retained the original name of “Alex Box Stadium.”

In 2013, the name of the stadium changed to “Skip Bertman Field at Alex Box Stadium” in honor of LSU’s most successful baseball coach.

Coach Bertman coached 41 LSU players who went on to play major league baseball. 

Other former players have become successful coaches.  Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco (a catcher at LSU under Skip Bertman) guided his team to the College World Series title in 2022.

Skip Bertman became LSU’s Athletics Director from 2001-2007.  His leadership and fundraising skills led to a series of major upgrades to the school’s athletics facilities.  He led a number of local charity fundraisers after retiring from LSU.

Bertman had been hospitalized recently with heart-related issues.  He was 88.

High…uh…4.999!  It’s the battle for the right to wear #5 on the LSU football team

In one of the most bizarre sports stories last week, former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels (now playing for the NFL’s Washington Commanders) demanded that his former college not allow sophomore defensive back DJ Pickett to wear his former #5 this season.

After that didn’t work, the quarterback’s family demanded that LSU must stop utilizing Daniels’ name, image, and likeness effective immediately.  They may have also asked for the Heisman Trophy replica on display at LSU to be returned to the Daniels’ family.

As of this writing, LSU has not obliged any of those requests.  Nor should they.

Daniels was a transfer student from Arizona State who played his final two college football seasons at LSU in 2022 and 2023.  He won the 2023 Heisman Trophy following a brilliant final year with the Tigers.

Jayden Daniels became the #2 overall selection in the NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders in April, 2024.  He is entering his third season in ol’ DC.

Daniels joined running back Billy Cannon (1959) and quarterback Joe Burrow (2019) as LSU’s Heisman Trophy winners.

Jayden Daniels surprised the sports world last week with a demand that LSU not allow a current football player to wear his former #5 jersey this year.

For the record, Joe Burrow’s #9 has not been worn since LSU’s 15-0 perfect season culminating in the 2019 national championship.

The #9 football jersey for Joe Burrow and the #5 jersey for Jayden Daniels have not been “retired” by LSU.  At least not yet.

Billy Cannon’s #20 is the only LSU jersey which has been retired and officially removed from circulation in the football program.

LSU has “retired” the jerseys of three additional football players, though.  The jerseys of #4 (Charles Alexander – running back), #21 (Jerry Stovall – running back), and #37 (Tommy Cassanova – defensive back) were ceremoniously retired by LSU football.

LSU plans to retire the #7 jersey of quarterback Bert Jones in a ceremony scheduled for November 14 this fall.

Those four jersey numbers may still be worn by future LSU players, though.  Only Billy Cannon’s #20 is permanently out of circulation and unavailable for future football players.

For the record, this year’s 2026 LSU Tigers football squad will have one player wearing Charles Alexander’s #4 jersey, two wearing Jerry Stovall’s #21, and one who will don Tommy Cassanova’s #37 in the fall.

Why did LSU’s DJ Pickett persist on wanting to wear #5 this season?

Many major college football teams dress more than 100 players for home games.  Since teams are not allowed to utilize three digits on a football jersey, two players frequently wear the same jersey number in college games.  Most of the time, one will play offense.  The other is usually on defense or special teams.

Jayden Daniels played offense at LSU.  Cornerback DJ Pickett plays defense for the Tigers.

LSU’s DJ Pickett claims to have worn a #5 jersey from youth football and all the way through high school.

He said that former LSU football coach Brian Kelly had “promised” to allow him wear that number once he came to LSU.

Coach Kelly has confirmed that the promise was, indeed, made to Pickett.  However, Kelly also said that former player Jayden Daniels had not given the “OK” prior to Pickett’s freshman season in 2025.

So, DJ Pickett settled for jersey #3 last year as a freshman at LSU as part of Brian Kelly’s Tigers. 

Pickett had a sensational first year at LSU and was named to the freshman All-American team.

After Brian Kelly was fired and Lane Kiffin became LSU’s new coach beginning this season, DJ Pickett raised the “You guys promised me I could wear that #5 jersey” issue to his new coach again this summer.

Pickett doesn’t seem to care what Jayden Daniels thinks about wearing LSU’s #5 jersey this season.

DJ Pickett told the media last week, “It’s the number I was promised (by LSU).  I wish Jayden the best.  Good player, and he did real good here.  So, that’s all.”

The father of DJ Pickett was more emphatic.

Papa Pickett said last week, “Considering that Jayden is a legend at LSU and it’s out that he’s not supportive of my son wearing his number is very disappointing.  We wish in a perfect world that he (Daniels) would have given his blessing and, Tiger to Tiger, wish my son well.”

LSU football coach Lane Kiffin (being the seasoned politician that he has become) confirmed that he checked with LSU administrators and found no reason why Pickett could not wear the #5 jersey for the Tigers this fall.

LSU’s new $13 million per year football coach wants to stand up for his current group of players.  DJ Pickett will play an important role within LSU’s defensive unit this season in Baton Rouge.

Sports fans are having a field day making fun of this #5 kerfuffle

Needless to say, people outside of Louisiana have taken note of the childish back-and-forth going on surrounding LSU’s #5 football jersey.

Sports punsters around the country have been making jokes about their own possible unauthorized usage of the #5.  It seems that no one wants to mess with the irate family of Jayden Daniels when it comes to the use of the fifth digit.

Baseball’s New York Mets led the way.

The major league baseball team won a game over the Washington Nationals last week 4-1.  They declared on the team’s X.com site, “Stopped at 4 (runs) out of respect for Jayden Daniels.”

Another originated from sports ticket vendor Stub Hub.  On their website, tickets being sold for the Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders NFL game on September 27 will not allow bundling of five tickets together.

“Out of respect for Jayden Daniels, we’re only doing 4 or 6+.”

You get the picture.

One of the more interesting ideas I heard last week was for LSU to auction the replica Heisman Trophy and donate the proceeds to one or more local charities.  If the family of Jayden Daniels still wants the trophy back, they can buy it back from the winner.

I like it, but with one caveat.

“No bids should contain the number five out of respect for Jayden Daniels.”

The post The Big Stink-o over Cinco at LSU appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Those who follow my posts know that I have been a supporter of LIV Golf since Day 1 (Spring, 2022).

Every PGA Tour golfer should be thankful to LIV Golf for introducing some much needed competition during the past five years.  The stodgy PGA Tour’s tournament payouts have risen after LIV Golf began poaching several top golfers.

The remaining stars of the PGA Tour are now pocketing significant long-term benefits after a new incentive bonus system was instituted two years ago to retain top talent.

As of today, LIV Golf will need a major miracle to continue in 2027. 

It is officially “Hail Mary” time for the fifth year golf league.

Reports continue to circulate this week that LIV Golf is canceling its $40 million season-ending tournament near Detroit, Michigan in two weeks.  That would make next weekend’s (August 20-23) LIV Golf event near Indianapolis the final tournament of 2026.

It also might become the final event ever for LIV Golf.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil has the most difficult job in professional sports

How would you like to be in charge of an organization which just lost 100% of its funding, and your top performers are openly discussing jumping ship?

Chief Executive Officer Scott O’Neil took over the top role at LIV Golf after World Golf Hall-of-Famer Greg Norman left in early 2025.

O’Neil’s background included running Madison Square Garden Sports (basketball’s New York Knicks and hockey’s New York Rangers).  He later became CEO for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL New Jersey Devils.

O’Neil’s latest role at LIV Golf should be titled “Chief Magician” if this golf enterprise is going to survive into 2027.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has lost upwards of $6 billion after five years of bankrolling LIV Golf.  They finally saw the light and are bailing out after LIV’s final event this month.

Scott O’Neil has been scrambling for months trying to find new financial backers.  Those interested in LIV Golf will be investing in a sports league best known for hemorrhaging massive amounts of cash.

Good luck with that sales pitch!

Last week, Scott O’Neil said, “Notably, our next chapter will make our players the majority equity holders in LIV Golf…and gives the league the foundation to keep the game growing worldwide.  We anticipate finalizing terms in the coming weeks.”

Let’s analyze that last statement a little closer

LIV Golf’s CEO is saying that he wants to make the golfers the MAJORITY equity holders in the organization going forward?

My Dad was not a big fan of televised golf. 

Though one of his sons (me) fell in love with the sport at age 8, Dad often laughed as golfers agonized over their putts.  He would say, “If those guys were out there playing for their own money, this might be a lot more interesting to watch!”

If LIV Golf tees it up again in 2027, my Dad (viewing golf from heaven since 2001) may get his wish with players having their own financial stake in the golf league.

The LIV Golf bonus babies may determine the future of their own league

LIV Golf was able to get off the ground five years ago only after the Saudi PIF generously opened their wallets to buy talent.  More than $1 billion in bonus money was needed to sign a number of the top PGA golfers.

Remember Phil Mickelson?  The six-time major champion was one of the first top golfers to switch to LIV Golf.

He received a reported $200 million signing bonus.  Season One at LIV Golf featured the signings of Brooks Koepka ($130 million), Dustin Johnson ($125 million) and Bryson DeChambeau ($125 million).

The other fifty LIV Golfers (the league features 54 players) received varying amounts in signing bonuses, too. 

Former major champions such as Patrick Reed ($100 million), Louis Oosthuizen ($50 million) and Sergio Garcia ($40 million) came aboard in 2022 to help get LIV up and running (while assuring their own long-term financial futures).

Australia’s Cam Smith ($140 million) was added to begin the 2023 season.  Spain’s Jon Rahm ($300 million) followed in Year #3 and became the highest paid golfer in the LIV Golf portfolio.

Those nine LIV Golf signees I have mentioned required an outlay of more than $1.2 billion.

Let’s say that the remaining 45 LIV golfers were signed for a “paltry” total of $300 million.  That would have brought 2022’s total initial investment (before one hole of golf was even played) to more than $1.5 billion.

Each golfer’s LIV contract agreement is confidential.  My best guess would be most LIV golfers received a portion of their signing bonus up front (perhaps 25% or more) with the remainder being paid annually over the term of their agreement.

By the way, Jon Rahm’s $300 million agreement apparently covered six years (2024-2029 golf seasons).  He is now halfway through his contractual commitment.

SOS – There’s an iceberg dead ahead for the S.S. LIV Golf

The biggest problem with LIV Golf (in addition to their lousy TV contract with FOX Sports) is that the tournament payouts greatly exceed the revenues generated.  The cost of tournaments and operations has been unsustainable from Day 1.

Some reports estimate LIV Golf has lost upwards of $1 billion annually (excluding the money spent on those signing bonuses).

What is likely to happen to each of the highest paid LIV golf stars in 2027?

(Note – All signing bonuses and contract terms mentioned here are my own best guesses after reviewing a number of online resources).

Jon Rahm ($300 mm) – The most expensive golfer for LIV Golf appears ready to walk the plank and take a financial write-off soon. Rahm is just 31 years of age.  He has at least a decade of top level golf still ahead of him.

Rahm is under contract with LIV Golf for another three years.  If LIV Golf should survive into 2027, they must pay Rahm the fourth year portion of his contract/signing bonus.  Should LIV Golf file for bankruptcy at some point, Rahm would be fortunate to receive a dime once the Saudi’s bail out later this month.

My best guesses?

I predict that Jon Rahm will voluntarily walk away from LIV Golf soon.  He would keep whatever bonus money he has already been paid by LIV Golf.  Rahm would also forfeit the remainder of his contract and join the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) beginning in early 2027.  The talented Jon Rahm will eventually make his way back to the PGA Tour.

Phil Mickelson ($200 mm) – Lefty’s signing bonus/contract with LIV Golf was rumored to be for a four year period.  That means that Mickelson had received 100% of his signing bonus money after the 2025 LIV season ended.

Phil is now 56 years of age.  He was a non-factor in the majority of LIV Golf events since the league’s initial season in 2022.

Mickelson has been dealing with family-related issues in 2026 and did not participate in any LIV Golf events this year.  There are a lot of rumors flying about Phil’s family situation.  Regardless, Phil Mickelson’s competitive playing days appear to be over.

Cameron Smith ($140 mm) – The 32-year old Australian golfer won the 2022 Open Championship. 

He was the #2 ranked player in the world at the time he signed with LIV Golf prior to the 2023 season.  Cam Smith is captain of the popular LIV Golf Australian team called the Rippers.

Smith likely has one or more years remaining on his LIV Golf contract.  I expect him (and his Aussie team) to stick together in 2027 should the league somehow survive.  If LIV Golf goes under, Smith (like many non-US golfers in the league) may attempt to enter the DP World Tour in 2027.

Brooks Koepka ($130 mm) – Koepka quietly negotiated an exit deal from his LIV Golf agreement at the end of the 2025 season.  After meeting conditions set by the PGA Tour, Brooks Koepka rejoined the traditional golf tour this year.  He is ranked #82 on the PGA’s money list this year with earnings of $1.7 million.

Dustin Johnson ($125 mm) – Surprisingly, DJ signed a contract extension to remain with LIV Golf through the 2029 golf season.

Johnson is captain of the successful 4Aces golf team and seems to enjoy his role within LIV Golf.

Bryson DeChambeau ($125 mm) – Unlike Dustin Johnson, DeChambeau rejected a contract extension request by LIV Golf after the 2025 season.  His initial agreement will expire at the end of the 2026 season (less than two weeks from now).

The 32-year old DeChambeau has been the most vocal supporter of LIV Golf since the league began.

He might be negotiating to become part of the new ownership team if the league survives into 2027.  Bryson DeChambeau has nearly three million subscribers to his popular YouTube channel.  He is already one of the world’s most popular golfers.  DeChambeau will be fine.

Patrick Reed ($100 mm) – Like Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed pulled the plug on LIV Golf once his contract ended at the end of 2025.  He then reapplied for entry to the PGA Tour and, after meeting the Tour’s requirements, will become eligible to play again during September’s fall schedule.

All the remaining LIV Golfers – Most of the initial group of LIV Golf signees will have collected their entire bonus by the end of August, 2026.  Others who were added since Year #1 (2022 season) will likely remain with LIV Golf – should the league continue in 2027.

Summary

Keep your eye on any news involving Jon Rahm and LIV Golf.

If Rahm decides to walk away soon (and I think he will), the future of LIV Golf becomes even more doubtful.  Fewer top stars will mean that LIV Golf’s tournament payouts will take an even bigger cut in 2027.

The iceberg is in full view for LIV Golf.

It’s time to brace for impact!

The post LIV Golf – Turn out the Lights – the Party’s (almost) Over appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

It’s been 31 seasons since the Dallas Cowboys last played in a Super Bowl game.  That season-ending victory came at the conclusion of the 1995 NFL season on January 28, 1996.

Heck, it has been 31 seasons since the Dallas Cowboys have even played in the NFC Championship game!

Team owner and billionaire huckster Jerry Jones tried to convince Dallas Cowboys fans last summer that trading away the team’s best defensive player was a smart move.  Micah Parsons wanted ol’ Jer to pony-up with another high dollar contract to remain in Dallas.

Instead, the owner shipped Parsons to the Green Bay Packers right before the 2025 season began.  The defensive rushing specialist received what he wanted, though.

Micah Parsons signed a new contract in Green Bay last fall paying him $188 million over four years (a whopping $47 million per season).

Dallas received Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark from Green Bay plus two first round draft picks as part of the deal.

After losing Micah Parsons, Big D’s defense became a league-wide joke in 2025.  You can’t consider your team a title contender with a defense which allowed an NFL high 30.1 points per game last season.

Cowboys fans were understandably upset after team owner Jerry Jones dealt the team’s “lone star” defensive player one year ago.  Jones’ history of meddling with the team’s roster has backfired plenty of times during this 31 season title drought.

Despite the absence of a competitive defense, Dallas still finished with a fairly respectable 7-9-1 record last season.  Only the prolific offense of the Cowboys saved the 2025 team from being a total disaster.

Something feels different this year…

In April, Dallas selected safety Caleb Downs from Ohio State with the 11th pick in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft.  A two-time college football All-American, Downs was expected to be taken earlier in the first round.  The Dallas Cowboys appear to have capitalized on a little bit of good fortune.

Dallas then added another defensive pick with its second selection during Round 1.  Defensive edge rusher Malachi Lawrence played college football for UCF under the watchful eye of the Cowboys’ new defensive line coach, Demeitri Brim.

Last season’s “defenseless” Cowboys had just made two first round solid defensive picks in the NFL Draft.

Over the past week, the Cowboys re-signed defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (who was acquired from the New York Jets last season) to a new three-year deal worth $106 million.

Williams played college football at Alabama under Coach Nick Saban.  He is well liked by his new teammates in Dallas.

Is Maxx Crosby still a possible addition?

It’s no secret that Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby would like to come play for the Dallas Cowboys.  The former fourth round selection out of Eastern Michigan played his high school football in Colleyville, Texas – just north of Fort Worth.

Maxx Crosby plays his position with incredible effort and intensity.  He is a five-time NFL Pro Bowler entering his eighth NFL season – all with the woeful Raiders franchise.  He was briefly traded earlier this year (for two first round selections) to the Baltimore Ravens. 

Unfortunately, Crosby failed the physical exam after rehabbing a knee injury incurred last fall.  That nullified the deal and required Crosby to return to the Raiders.

Dallas made a competitive offer to the Raiders for Maxx Crosby (a first round and second round pick) but fell short.  Crosby’s knee injury may be healed sufficiently by now to warrant another trade offer from Dallas owner Jerry Jones over the next month.

There’s no doubt that Maxx Crosby would represent a significantly upgrade to the Dallas defensive front.  His intense style of play would quickly make him a fan favorite in Dallas. 

Keep an eye on this development in the weeks ahead.

Cowboys made Brandon Aubrey the highest paid kicker in the NFL

Seven million dollars per year sounds like a lot of money to pay for a field goal kicker.

That’s what Dallas placekicker Brandon Aubrey will receive for the next four years after recently becoming the NFL’s highest paid kicker.

Aubrey’s path to riches came without kicking a football in either high school or college.  He was a talented soccer player at Notre Dame and played professionally in Canada.

The USFL’s Birmingham Stallions gave Brandon Aubrey a pro football tryout and signed him.  Aubrey delivered booming kick-offs and field goals in Birmingham over his two seasons with the spring football league team.

The Dallas Cowboys signed him in 2023.  Brandon Aubrey made the NFL Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons.  He has booted six field goals of 60 yards or more in his career and provides the potent Dallas offense with a reliable scoring weapon.

What about Dallas wide receiver George Pickens?

Pickens (who played wide receiver in college at Georgia) was a second round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022.  His first NFL contract paid him nearly $7 million – over a four year period.

George Pickens and former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t seem to get along very well.  Pickens occasionally displayed less than 100% effort on the field at times.  That put him into the coaches’ dog house. 

He compounded his own troubles with the Steelers and their loyal fans by posting “Free Me” comments on social media.

The Steelers obliged and sent “Pouty” Pickens packing to Dallas in 2025.

For just a lowly 6th round draft pick, the Cowboys inserted George Pickens into the starting line-up last season and saw his on-field talent.  He snagged 93 passes for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns for Dallas last year.

Dallas’ primary wide receiver, CeeDee Lamb, benefited from having the speedy George Pickens on the field at the same time running routes to keep defenses off balance.

Following his productive 2025 season, Pickens demanded a new long-term contract from Dallas owner Jerry Jones.

Instead, the Cowboys recently placed its “franchise” designation on their new wide receiver. The team likely wants to see more than one season of positive results prior to plunking down big bucks for a long-term deal.

Don’t feel sorry for George Pickens.

He will receive nearly $24 million for the upcoming 2026 season.  That “franchise” designation requires Dallas to pay him the average of the five highest paid wide receivers in the entire NFL.

Dallas fans should watch closely to see if George Pickens will continue to show improvement this season or return into his former disgruntled self while playing in Pittsburgh.

Can quarterback Dak Prescott finally lead the Cowboys to an NFC title game?

Prescott is entering his 11th NFL season in Dallas.  His impressive personal stats and friendly personality have made him a fan favorite.

That said, Dak is only 2-5 in playoff games during his first decade in Big D.

The former Haughton High School (Shreveport area) and Mississippi State product is being paid $60 million per season.  A four-time Pro Bowl quarterback, Dak Prescott is now being paid at a high level that team owner Jerry Jones, head coach Brian Schottenheimer, and Dallas fans now expect a deep run into the NFL playoffs.

Unfortunately for Cowboys fans, Prescott has not delivered – yet.

Is Dallas a legitimate contender to win the NFC East this season?

Absolutely!

The NFC East has been dominated for the past several years by the Philadelphia Eagles.  Philly’s dominant defense and efficient offense has produced 50 wins against just 18 losses in the past four NFL seasons.  They won the 2024 Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.

However, Philadelphia’s core of top players on offense and defense has been dwindling by the year.  The Eagles posted an 11-6 record last season but were quickly bounced out of the playoffs in the opening round (at home) by San Francisco.

Wagering lines posted by Las Vegas oddsmakers show the Philadelphia Eagles remaining the favorite to once again capture the NFC East title in 2026.  The Dallas Cowboys are projected to finish one game behind.

Dallas must apply early pressure this fall to nudge the Eagles off their perch atop the NFC East standings.

The Cowboys’ 2026 schedule appears somewhat favorable.

Dallas plays nine home games and eight road games in the NFL’s 17-week regular season.  A pair of late season road games at defending Super Bowl champion Seattle and at the NFC runner-up Los Angeles Rams will likely decide the playoff fate for the Cowboys.

To the surprise of no one, “America’s Team” (ugh) will play in six nationally televised prime time night games.   Three (including the season opener at the New York Giants) will be featured on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.   Dallas will appear twice on Monday Night Football (ESPN) and one time on Thursday night (Amazon Prime).  

Prediction:

There is no doubt that Dallas has an excellent opportunity to return to the playoffs in the 2026 NFL season.  The defense will improve (it can’t be worse than last season’s 32nd place showing).  Dallas’ productive offense (2nd in the NFL in scoring last year) is back and seems ready to roll once again.

Regardless of whether defensive weapon Maxx Crosby comes aboard this year, I see Dallas improving to a record of 10-7 in the regular season.

That means that Dallas should make the playoffs – either as NFC East champions or as a Wild Card entry.

I have no clue about the playoffs.  Recent history would suggest that you might not wish to place any wagers on the “Boys” once the post-season begins.

Buckle up and enjoy the ride this season, Cowboys fans!

Perhaps this might even be the year when Dallas ends that 31-season “no titles” streak.

The post Will the Dallas Cowboys finally end “The Streak” this season? appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

I’m ba-a-a-ck!

Being a grandfather isn’t something that you train for.  It was quite challenging last week to go outside and shoot basketball for an hour in the summer heat with an 8-year old intent on dispatching his creeky ol’ Grandpa in morning games of one-on-one.

He took the overall 3-game series, but Grandpa held his own (at least for this year). 

Now, where did I put that tube of SportsCreme?

In fact, the past month has found my lovely wife and I spending a full week with each set of our five young (10 and under) grandsons.  We have enjoyed a total summer blast!

Now, the house is quiet again.  Our eight-year old rescued Old English Sheepdog (Molly) seems to be mourning the loss of our fine young gentleman visitors and their very patient Dad.

Molly enjoyed extra company during her morning and evening dog walks every day.

It has been difficult to keep close tabs on sports while traveling to visit or hosting our very sharp and fun-loving grandsons over the past month.

Some things appear to have changed a lot.  Others didn’t.

It’s time to catch-up.

Good news!  Saints legend Drew Brees was inducted into the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame!

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees led the Black and Gold to their only Super Bowl appearance and title in February, 2010.  He set numerous NFL passing records during his stellar 20-year pro football career.

The Texas-born Brees was an excellent student as well.  He majored in Industrial Management at Purdue University.  Drew Brees quarterbacked the Boilermakers football team to the Rose Bowl in 2001 as the team won a share of the Big Ten title.

The San Diego Chargers selected Brees with the first pick in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft.

It’s hard to believe that he played in San Diego for the first five years of his pro football career.

A trade to the New Orleans Saints in 2006 also paired Drew Brees with new head coach Sean Payton.  It would be a match made in WhoDat Heaven for us Saints fans.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in August, 2005.  The Louisiana Superdome was painstakingly repaired and refurbished the following year as New Orleans welcomed home its beloved football team along with a new quarterback and head coach.

Drew Brees’ infectious positive attitude and leadership skills helped the Saints improve every season leading up to that Super Bowl victory.

More importantly, the Saints’ rise served to boost the spirits of the entire Gulf South region during recovery efforts from both Hurricane Katrina and, a month later, Rita in southwestern Louisiana.

Sorry, Archie Manning supporters. 

The true GOAT (greatest of all time) for the majority of New Orleans Saints fans is Hall-of-Fame quarterback Drew Brees.  Congratulations!

Red-hot Red Sox are blazing in baseball’s American League!

The Boston Red Sox have won 27 of their last 32 baseball games through Sunday, August 9.  Boston was at the bottom of the American League East standings earlier in the season.

The BoSox are still seven games behind the Tampa Bay Rays with 45 games left to play in baseball’s seemingly never-ending 162-game regular season.  Late inning comebacks have been the rule during Boston’s recent hot streak during July and into early August.

Will the Boston Red Sox remain hot during this hottest month of the year?  Stay tuned!

The eight team UFL recently packed-up and left Houston and Birmingham.  Why?

Spring pro football’s United Football League (UFL) quietly exited two of its long-time markets less than two weeks ago.

The Birmingham Stallions won three straight spring football titles from 2022 through 2024.  A brand new college football stadium for UAB featuring nearly 40,000 seats played host for Stallions home games in each of the past five seasons.

The UFL’s billionaire owner and apparent league spokesman, Mike Repole, jousted with Birmingham football fans earlier this season about their lack of support for the team.

It’s no surprise that Repole just pulled the plug after attendance declined this year.  His excuse for leaving Birmingham is what has raised eyebrows in Alabama.

He said, “With Birmingham, this decision was 100% about the wrong sized venue.  Even on opening day, when 16,000 Stallions fans showed up, the energy, passion, and game atmosphere was not felt due to the size of the venue.”

Here’s a question for you, Mr. Repole.

Doing just as you requested, the Houston UFL franchise vacated its college football stadium at the University of Houston.  The Houston Gamblers moved into the city’s downtown soccer venue with 20,000 seats this season.  How do you explain why less than 7,000 fans attended Houston Gamblers football games this spring?  The team did exactly what you asked for and had even less success.  Houston’s UFL franchise is now defunct.

Perhaps Mr. Repole might consider that the UFL’s on-field product is simply not very good.  It is also played during increasingly hot spring weather – especially in the league’s southern markets.  UFL games – which are (generally speaking) low scoring and not very exciting to watch – have trouble attracting local fans when tickets were priced as low as $20 apiece.

The market, sir, has been and continues to speak to you quite loudly.

Golf – Welcome to the winner’s circle, Jackson Koivun and Asterisk Talley!

Two weeks ago, former Auburn All-American golfer Jackson Koivun picked-up his first PGA win at the 3M Open in Minnesota.  It was only his third professional start!

After Sunday’s middle-of-the-pack finish in his fourth PGA start at Greensboro, NC, the 21-year old Koivun has earned enough FedEx points to qualify for this week’s first round of PGA playoffs beginning Thursday in Memphis.

Let’s also welcome a 17-year old upcoming high school senior golfer to the winner’s circle.

Asterisk Talley (yes, that’s her real name) easily won her first USGA championship by taking the US Women’s Amateur title in Tennessee with an 8-up victory.  She had previously finished runner-up in the 2024 US Junior Girls Amateur and the US Women’s Amateur.

Congratulations to Ms. Talley!  Yes, there will forever be an Asterisk next to her last name on the US Women’s Amateur trophy.

LIV Golf remains on life support but wants to tee it up again in 2027

In this continuing soap opera, LIV Golf (completing its fifth season in late August) will lose its Sugar Daddy financial backers.  The Saudi Public Investment Fund (with over $1 trillion in assets) has lost more than $5 billion to start, fund, and prop-up this worldwide golf venture.  They are skedaddling by no later than the end of August.

Last week, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neal announced that a new lead investor has been secured.   Before you say, “Hooray!”, the golf league’s boss did not reveal a lot of specifics.  We don’t know who the investor is, how much money was actually being injected, or any other details which translate into a viable 2027 LIV Golf campaign.

Golfers expecting to participate in LIV Golf during 2027 (assuming there is a season) will be playing for smaller prize money and will likely be asked to share in the risk (and, if possible, the rewards) of the revamped league.

The future still looks shaky for LIV Golf.

The US Senate punted on 4th down to go on vacation and leave the future of college athletics hanging in the balance

When you woke up on Saturday morning, the United States Senate had adjourned to take a well-earned (sarcasm intended) full month of vacation.

Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) were finally able to bring their college sports bill to the floor of the US Senate over the past few weeks.  It showed some encouraging signs of passage.

The SEC and Big Ten finally jumped aboard to support the Senate’s “Protect College Sports Act” last week.  That was the equivalent to a two-minute drill in hopes of getting this bill across the Senate’s goal line prior to the legislative body’s annual August recess.

College sports conferences have been unable to get their primary rule maker and enforcement arm (the NCAA) to take consequential actions in recent years.  Guidelines and enforcement of rules in today’s transfer portal and NIL high dollar environment have many mid-sized and smaller universities considering dropping sports altogether.  The SEC recently suggested it was willing to break away from the NCAA and establish its own set of rules if something doesn’t change soon.

With the proverbial play clock running, some Senators (as they are prone to do) tried to add amendments to the college sports bill last week.  They wasted too much time and failed to bring it to a full Senate vote prior the month-long adjournment.

However, the Senators are promising to bring this college sports bill to a vote when they return in early September.

If that occurs, the sports bill must still be approved by the House of Representatives and then obtain the President’s signature to become law.

Sounds like a Hail Mary could be needed to complete this legislation with the mid-term elections coming up in November!

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