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Tradition's Finest Episode 111 - The "Walk-On" Episode
Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast!
Episode 111 - The "Walk-On" Episode includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics:
- NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Football Week Twelve Analysis & Review: In this week's episode, JD & Spencer will discuss the major topics/storylines, analyze & review the in-game stats & each provide their individual takeaway's for the Week 12 slate of College Football games from across the country - - Be sure to tune in for an in-depth recap, and discussion of the following games & topics which are included in this week's College Football Analysis & Review segment:
Clemson Tigers at No.19 Louisville Cardinals
South Carolina Gamecocks at No.3 Texas A&M Aggies (**largest comeback in program history - - a 1-286 record in SEC play since 2004 when trailing by 27 or more points)
No.24 South Florida Bulls at Navy Midshipmen (**for a second consecutive week, the highest-ranked G5 program in the CFP rankings lost)
No.21 Iowa Hawkeyes at No.17 USC Trojans (**The Hawkeyes have now lost to four ranked teams this season by a combined 15 points)
No.11 Oklahoma Sooners at No.4 Alabama Crimson Tide (**Theme for the Crimson Tide: "Missed Opportunities & Turnovers")
No.10 Texas Longhorns at No.5 Georgia Bulldogs (**Does Texas have a "Georgia" problem that is very similar to Georgia's "Alabama" problem?)
- NCAA College Football Week Thirteen Preview & Predictions: In this episode's Week Thirteen preview, JD & Spencer provide their individual & independently-selected pick(s) and/or predictions for each of the following Week 13 matchups - as well as providing in-depth analysis & reasoning to explain the justification for their selection: **Be Sure to Share Your Picks with Us via Twitter/X - - @TraditionFinest OR Send Us an Email at [email protected]!!
No.22 Missouri at No.8 Oklahoma (-7.5) O/U41.5
Arkansas at No.17 Texas (-8.5) O/U57.5
"College Gameday:" No.15 USC at No.7 Oregon (-9 O/U59.5
No.20 Tennessee (-4.5) at Florida O/U57.5 No.11 BYU (-2.5) at No.25 Cincinnati O/U54.5
- NCAA: News & Storylines (cont'd) - - Virginia Tech has finalized a deal to make James Franklin the school's next head football coach, per the sources who informed ESPN of the hire on Monday - - Franklin is the former HC at both Penn State and Vanderbilt University, where he went an impressive & combined record of 128-60 over 15 seasons at the helm - - Franklin brings a resume that includes winning more than 68% of his games, an appearance in the semi-finals of the 2024 College Football Playoff, and a Big Ten Conference championship in 2016 - - Franklin's arrival in Blacksburg will give the Hokies their most accomplished HC since Hall of Famer Frank Beamer, who retired in 2015 after 29 seasons with the program - - Since that time, Virginia Tech has endured the underwhelming tenures of Justin Fuente, and most recently - Brent Pry - as the program struggled to assimilate to modern college football. . .Q: What are your thoughts regarding James Franklin being hired as the as the next head football coach for the Virginia Tech Hokies? Is it necessarily the best overall fit for the program? If you're James Franklin, do you at the very least reach out to Hokies' legendary QB, Michael Vick, about the possibility of him joining your staff at his alma mater? . . .The third edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night, with undefeated Ohio State remaining No.1 ahead of Big Ten foe Indiana, and the top 10 experiencing some key alterations - - A pair of top-tier SEC matchups & a massive upset led to a new No.4 team in the rankings. . Alabama vacated that particular ranking/spot after suffering a 23-21 loss at home to Oklahoma, with Georgia sliding into the "first-round bye" position after the Bulldogs dominated the Texas Longhorns 35-10 this weekend in Athens. . .In the recently released CFP rankings, the Sooners now sit at No.8, one spot ahead of Notre Dame & two spots ahead of the Crimson Tide (i.e., No.10) - - University of Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek, who earlier in the week had assumed the role as the College Football Playoff selection committee chairman, had some pretty interesting, but mostly asinine comments when it came to elaborating as to the "why" Alabama came in at No.10 in this week's CFP rankings: (1) Rushing offense struggles: Yurachek pointed to Alabama's inconsistent rushing performance as a major issue, noting that the Crimson Tide's season-opening loss to the Florida State Seminoles, was a "sign of some of the struggles Alabama was going to have rushing the ball," - He also referenced the games against South Carolina and LSU, where they ultimately won the game, but failed to rush for at least 100 yards rushing, and their inability to move the ball on the ground against Oklahoma; (2) Comparison to Notre Dame (CFP No.9): Yurachek explained that the CFP selection committee used metrics like the quality of losses when comparing Notre Dame & Alabama, further highlighting that Alabama's loss to FSU, who is currently 5-5 overall this season, was a 'difference-maker' in their decision-making process; and (3) Inconsistent performance: Yurachek also mentioned that the CFP selection committee also evaluated Alabama's need to score two late TDs to avoid the upset on the road versus South Carolina - as an example of a team struggling on the road & not running the ball very well, which factored into their decision to rank the Crimson Tide at No.10. . .Q: Is it not abundantly clear that the University of Alabama is evaluated under a different microscope lens than that of other D-1 programs? What about the evaluation of "quality of wins," or "number of wins over ranked opponents?" Do you agree with CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish should be ranked higher than the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff rankings? - - Even though Alabama dropped from the No.4 spot to No.10, the Crimson Tide still has favorable odds to advance to the SEC Conference Championship game, which would all but guarantee a spot in this year's CFP. . .According to ESPN Research, Alabama has a 71% chance to make it to Atlanta - with only one SEC game remaining - against archrival Auburn on the Plains - - No.3 Texas A&M and No.5 Texas Tech round out the top five, and possibly the most surprising alteration to the third edition of the CFP rankings: the Miami (FL) Hurricanes being announced as the 11th projected bid, despite being ranked No.13, yet they are four spots behind Notre Dame, a team that the Hurricanes defeated 27-24 in the season opener (so much for the No.1 criteria being evaluated or viewed by the CFP selection committee being "head-to-head" matchups) - - Finally, the Tulane Green Wave claimed the last of the 12 playoff spots as the highest-ranked Group of Five team in Tuesday's release at No.24 - but after consecutive weeks of the highest-ranked G5 program losing, could this potentially be "a hex" for Jon Sumrall & the Green Wave?. . .According to CFP chair Hunter Yurachek, should a Group of Five team not make the final CFP rankings, the CFP selection committee would then choose which conference champion is most deserving of the last (or final) bid - - The SEC Conference led the way again Tuesday with nine ranked teams, while the Big Ten had six, the Big 12 had five, and the ACC has three after Pitt dropped out of the rankings following their 37-15 loss to Notre Dame this weekend. . .Q: What are your overall thoughts on this week's updated CFP rankings? Which of the ranking(s) are you most surprised and/or intrigued about? . .
- NFL - - NFL Week 11 Review & Recap: In this week's episode, JD & Spencer will discuss, review & recap each of the following NFL games from Week 11 of the regular season - - **Be sure to tune in for an in-depth review, a highlight and discussion of the following game(s) from this past weekend's slate of games:
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
. . .And This Week's Tradition's Finest "Most Badass Celly of the Week" Award goes to. . .New York Giants QB Jameis Winston, who started on Sunday versus the Green Bay Packers in place of Giants starter, Jaxson Dart after suffering a concussion in last week's game - - Winston gave an electric pregame speech & kept the Giants (2-8) in the game against the Packers, but ultimately came up just short in a 27-20 loss on Sunday afternoon. . .On Sunday, Winston scored a go-ahead rushing TD from the 1-yard line midway through the 4th QTR, and he blessed us all with a TD celebration that is sure to become an instant meme: Winston busted out the Harlem Shake in the end zone . . .
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (**Carolina QB Bryce Young breaks franchise record for most passing yards in a single game/Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. out for the season after he underwent surgery to repair a partially torn left ACL suffered in Atlanta's loss in OT). . .
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos (**a new King of the AFC West emerging for the first time since 2016?). . .
Baltimore Ravens at "We're the Cleveland Browns" (**the Ravens defense spoiled QB Shedeur Sanders NFL regular season debut?). . .
- NFL (cont'd) - - Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase has been suspended one game without pay for spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers DB Jalen Ramsey, the league announced Monday - - The incident occurred in Cincinnati's 34-12 loss to the Steelers on Sunday - - After Chase initially denied his role in the altercation with Ramsey, video from Cincinnati's WXIX-TV revealed Chase clearly spitting in Ramsey's direction, which prompted Ramsey to throw a punch at Chase - - While Chase did appeal his suspension, it was upheld, and he will therefore miss his team's upcoming game against the New England Patriots in the Week 12 matchup. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the Ja'Marr Chase-Jalen Ramsey altercation that occurred in the Bengals-Steelers' Week 11 matchup?. . .
- MLB - - For months, debate has swirled about which MLB player would go on to win this year's American League (AL) MVP Award: would the honor go to New York Yankees RF Aaron Judge for the third time in four years after another extraordinary offensive season. . .OR. . .would it be awarded to Seattle Mariners' catcher Cal Raleigh, who smashed his way into the history books with 60 HRs in the 2025 season? - - Last Thursday, once all of the votes were counted, Aaron Judge just narrowly won the AL MVP Award, cementing his place among baseball's all-time greats by becoming the 13th player to win three or more MVPs, joining Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio & Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees' players to have accomplished this feat - - Statistically, the 2025 MLB season was the best of Aaron Judge's career in terms of overall offensive production - - According to ESPN, the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America was one of the closest in years, with Judge receiving 17 of the 30 first-place votes & 13 second-place votes, while Raleigh received the remaining 13 first-place votes, while finishing second on the other 17 ballots - - In other words, if just two writers would have switched their votes, the race for the AL MVP Award between Judge & Raleigh would concluded with a tie. . .Q: What are your thoughts on New York Yankees RF Aaron Judge being voted the AL MVP for the third time in four years? Should Cal Raleigh have been voted as the 2025 AL MVP? . . .Shohei Ohtani was named the National League (NL) MVP last Thursday, capturing all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in the wake of another dynamic offensive season that included a successful return to pitching, and was once again capped by a championship - Ohtani came back from a second surgical repair of his ulnar collateral ligament to make 14 regular-season starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers, posting a 2.87 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 47 innings, including 16 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings to end the regular season - - Ohtani has won four MVP Awards over the past five years - all of them in unanimous fashion, and only Barry Bonds, has been presented with more (i.e., seven) - - Ohtani is now the first player in MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL history to win both an MVP and a championship in each of his first two seasons with a team, according to ESPN Research. . .Q: Legit question: Is Shohei Ohtani the greatest MLB player of all time?. . .
- Miscellaneous - - Boxing: YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will face former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a professional heavyweight boxing match on December 18th at Kaseya Center in Miami, according to Paul's brand Most Valuable Promotions, who informed ESPN on Monday - - The fight, which will be streamed live on Netflix, is scheduled for eight 3-minute rounds, and the fighters will wear 10-ounce gloves, which is the standard for heavyweight fights - - Instead of an exhibition match against a hard-hitting professional boxer in Gervonta "Tank" Davis, who campaigned at 130 pounds, Paul will now face off against a two-time heavyweight champion & Olympic gold medalist in a sanctioned professional boxing match, who has fought as high as 256 pounds, over 100 pounds heavier than Davis. . .Q: Do you think that this boxing match will be "rigged?" If the boxing match is NOT rigged, how much of a chance do you give Jake Paul to actually win this fight & defeat Anthony Joshua?
Thanks for Listening!
View all episodes
By JD & SpencerWelcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast!
Episode 111 - The "Walk-On" Episode includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics:
- NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Football Week Twelve Analysis & Review: In this week's episode, JD & Spencer will discuss the major topics/storylines, analyze & review the in-game stats & each provide their individual takeaway's for the Week 12 slate of College Football games from across the country - - Be sure to tune in for an in-depth recap, and discussion of the following games & topics which are included in this week's College Football Analysis & Review segment:
Clemson Tigers at No.19 Louisville Cardinals
South Carolina Gamecocks at No.3 Texas A&M Aggies (**largest comeback in program history - - a 1-286 record in SEC play since 2004 when trailing by 27 or more points)
No.24 South Florida Bulls at Navy Midshipmen (**for a second consecutive week, the highest-ranked G5 program in the CFP rankings lost)
No.21 Iowa Hawkeyes at No.17 USC Trojans (**The Hawkeyes have now lost to four ranked teams this season by a combined 15 points)
No.11 Oklahoma Sooners at No.4 Alabama Crimson Tide (**Theme for the Crimson Tide: "Missed Opportunities & Turnovers")
No.10 Texas Longhorns at No.5 Georgia Bulldogs (**Does Texas have a "Georgia" problem that is very similar to Georgia's "Alabama" problem?)
- NCAA College Football Week Thirteen Preview & Predictions: In this episode's Week Thirteen preview, JD & Spencer provide their individual & independently-selected pick(s) and/or predictions for each of the following Week 13 matchups - as well as providing in-depth analysis & reasoning to explain the justification for their selection: **Be Sure to Share Your Picks with Us via Twitter/X - - @TraditionFinest OR Send Us an Email at [email protected]!!
No.22 Missouri at No.8 Oklahoma (-7.5) O/U41.5
Arkansas at No.17 Texas (-8.5) O/U57.5
"College Gameday:" No.15 USC at No.7 Oregon (-9 O/U59.5
No.20 Tennessee (-4.5) at Florida O/U57.5 No.11 BYU (-2.5) at No.25 Cincinnati O/U54.5
- NCAA: News & Storylines (cont'd) - - Virginia Tech has finalized a deal to make James Franklin the school's next head football coach, per the sources who informed ESPN of the hire on Monday - - Franklin is the former HC at both Penn State and Vanderbilt University, where he went an impressive & combined record of 128-60 over 15 seasons at the helm - - Franklin brings a resume that includes winning more than 68% of his games, an appearance in the semi-finals of the 2024 College Football Playoff, and a Big Ten Conference championship in 2016 - - Franklin's arrival in Blacksburg will give the Hokies their most accomplished HC since Hall of Famer Frank Beamer, who retired in 2015 after 29 seasons with the program - - Since that time, Virginia Tech has endured the underwhelming tenures of Justin Fuente, and most recently - Brent Pry - as the program struggled to assimilate to modern college football. . .Q: What are your thoughts regarding James Franklin being hired as the as the next head football coach for the Virginia Tech Hokies? Is it necessarily the best overall fit for the program? If you're James Franklin, do you at the very least reach out to Hokies' legendary QB, Michael Vick, about the possibility of him joining your staff at his alma mater? . . .The third edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night, with undefeated Ohio State remaining No.1 ahead of Big Ten foe Indiana, and the top 10 experiencing some key alterations - - A pair of top-tier SEC matchups & a massive upset led to a new No.4 team in the rankings. . Alabama vacated that particular ranking/spot after suffering a 23-21 loss at home to Oklahoma, with Georgia sliding into the "first-round bye" position after the Bulldogs dominated the Texas Longhorns 35-10 this weekend in Athens. . .In the recently released CFP rankings, the Sooners now sit at No.8, one spot ahead of Notre Dame & two spots ahead of the Crimson Tide (i.e., No.10) - - University of Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek, who earlier in the week had assumed the role as the College Football Playoff selection committee chairman, had some pretty interesting, but mostly asinine comments when it came to elaborating as to the "why" Alabama came in at No.10 in this week's CFP rankings: (1) Rushing offense struggles: Yurachek pointed to Alabama's inconsistent rushing performance as a major issue, noting that the Crimson Tide's season-opening loss to the Florida State Seminoles, was a "sign of some of the struggles Alabama was going to have rushing the ball," - He also referenced the games against South Carolina and LSU, where they ultimately won the game, but failed to rush for at least 100 yards rushing, and their inability to move the ball on the ground against Oklahoma; (2) Comparison to Notre Dame (CFP No.9): Yurachek explained that the CFP selection committee used metrics like the quality of losses when comparing Notre Dame & Alabama, further highlighting that Alabama's loss to FSU, who is currently 5-5 overall this season, was a 'difference-maker' in their decision-making process; and (3) Inconsistent performance: Yurachek also mentioned that the CFP selection committee also evaluated Alabama's need to score two late TDs to avoid the upset on the road versus South Carolina - as an example of a team struggling on the road & not running the ball very well, which factored into their decision to rank the Crimson Tide at No.10. . .Q: Is it not abundantly clear that the University of Alabama is evaluated under a different microscope lens than that of other D-1 programs? What about the evaluation of "quality of wins," or "number of wins over ranked opponents?" Do you agree with CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish should be ranked higher than the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff rankings? - - Even though Alabama dropped from the No.4 spot to No.10, the Crimson Tide still has favorable odds to advance to the SEC Conference Championship game, which would all but guarantee a spot in this year's CFP. . .According to ESPN Research, Alabama has a 71% chance to make it to Atlanta - with only one SEC game remaining - against archrival Auburn on the Plains - - No.3 Texas A&M and No.5 Texas Tech round out the top five, and possibly the most surprising alteration to the third edition of the CFP rankings: the Miami (FL) Hurricanes being announced as the 11th projected bid, despite being ranked No.13, yet they are four spots behind Notre Dame, a team that the Hurricanes defeated 27-24 in the season opener (so much for the No.1 criteria being evaluated or viewed by the CFP selection committee being "head-to-head" matchups) - - Finally, the Tulane Green Wave claimed the last of the 12 playoff spots as the highest-ranked Group of Five team in Tuesday's release at No.24 - but after consecutive weeks of the highest-ranked G5 program losing, could this potentially be "a hex" for Jon Sumrall & the Green Wave?. . .According to CFP chair Hunter Yurachek, should a Group of Five team not make the final CFP rankings, the CFP selection committee would then choose which conference champion is most deserving of the last (or final) bid - - The SEC Conference led the way again Tuesday with nine ranked teams, while the Big Ten had six, the Big 12 had five, and the ACC has three after Pitt dropped out of the rankings following their 37-15 loss to Notre Dame this weekend. . .Q: What are your overall thoughts on this week's updated CFP rankings? Which of the ranking(s) are you most surprised and/or intrigued about? . .
- NFL - - NFL Week 11 Review & Recap: In this week's episode, JD & Spencer will discuss, review & recap each of the following NFL games from Week 11 of the regular season - - **Be sure to tune in for an in-depth review, a highlight and discussion of the following game(s) from this past weekend's slate of games:
Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
. . .And This Week's Tradition's Finest "Most Badass Celly of the Week" Award goes to. . .New York Giants QB Jameis Winston, who started on Sunday versus the Green Bay Packers in place of Giants starter, Jaxson Dart after suffering a concussion in last week's game - - Winston gave an electric pregame speech & kept the Giants (2-8) in the game against the Packers, but ultimately came up just short in a 27-20 loss on Sunday afternoon. . .On Sunday, Winston scored a go-ahead rushing TD from the 1-yard line midway through the 4th QTR, and he blessed us all with a TD celebration that is sure to become an instant meme: Winston busted out the Harlem Shake in the end zone . . .
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (**Carolina QB Bryce Young breaks franchise record for most passing yards in a single game/Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. out for the season after he underwent surgery to repair a partially torn left ACL suffered in Atlanta's loss in OT). . .
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos (**a new King of the AFC West emerging for the first time since 2016?). . .
Baltimore Ravens at "We're the Cleveland Browns" (**the Ravens defense spoiled QB Shedeur Sanders NFL regular season debut?). . .
- NFL (cont'd) - - Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase has been suspended one game without pay for spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers DB Jalen Ramsey, the league announced Monday - - The incident occurred in Cincinnati's 34-12 loss to the Steelers on Sunday - - After Chase initially denied his role in the altercation with Ramsey, video from Cincinnati's WXIX-TV revealed Chase clearly spitting in Ramsey's direction, which prompted Ramsey to throw a punch at Chase - - While Chase did appeal his suspension, it was upheld, and he will therefore miss his team's upcoming game against the New England Patriots in the Week 12 matchup. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the Ja'Marr Chase-Jalen Ramsey altercation that occurred in the Bengals-Steelers' Week 11 matchup?. . .
- MLB - - For months, debate has swirled about which MLB player would go on to win this year's American League (AL) MVP Award: would the honor go to New York Yankees RF Aaron Judge for the third time in four years after another extraordinary offensive season. . .OR. . .would it be awarded to Seattle Mariners' catcher Cal Raleigh, who smashed his way into the history books with 60 HRs in the 2025 season? - - Last Thursday, once all of the votes were counted, Aaron Judge just narrowly won the AL MVP Award, cementing his place among baseball's all-time greats by becoming the 13th player to win three or more MVPs, joining Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio & Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees' players to have accomplished this feat - - Statistically, the 2025 MLB season was the best of Aaron Judge's career in terms of overall offensive production - - According to ESPN, the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America was one of the closest in years, with Judge receiving 17 of the 30 first-place votes & 13 second-place votes, while Raleigh received the remaining 13 first-place votes, while finishing second on the other 17 ballots - - In other words, if just two writers would have switched their votes, the race for the AL MVP Award between Judge & Raleigh would concluded with a tie. . .Q: What are your thoughts on New York Yankees RF Aaron Judge being voted the AL MVP for the third time in four years? Should Cal Raleigh have been voted as the 2025 AL MVP? . . .Shohei Ohtani was named the National League (NL) MVP last Thursday, capturing all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in the wake of another dynamic offensive season that included a successful return to pitching, and was once again capped by a championship - Ohtani came back from a second surgical repair of his ulnar collateral ligament to make 14 regular-season starts for the Los Angeles Dodgers, posting a 2.87 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 47 innings, including 16 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings to end the regular season - - Ohtani has won four MVP Awards over the past five years - all of them in unanimous fashion, and only Barry Bonds, has been presented with more (i.e., seven) - - Ohtani is now the first player in MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL history to win both an MVP and a championship in each of his first two seasons with a team, according to ESPN Research. . .Q: Legit question: Is Shohei Ohtani the greatest MLB player of all time?. . .
- Miscellaneous - - Boxing: YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will face former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a professional heavyweight boxing match on December 18th at Kaseya Center in Miami, according to Paul's brand Most Valuable Promotions, who informed ESPN on Monday - - The fight, which will be streamed live on Netflix, is scheduled for eight 3-minute rounds, and the fighters will wear 10-ounce gloves, which is the standard for heavyweight fights - - Instead of an exhibition match against a hard-hitting professional boxer in Gervonta "Tank" Davis, who campaigned at 130 pounds, Paul will now face off against a two-time heavyweight champion & Olympic gold medalist in a sanctioned professional boxing match, who has fought as high as 256 pounds, over 100 pounds heavier than Davis. . .Q: Do you think that this boxing match will be "rigged?" If the boxing match is NOT rigged, how much of a chance do you give Jake Paul to actually win this fight & defeat Anthony Joshua?
Thanks for Listening!