Sixth Year Seniors

Fernando good. Diego bad. Bowl picks guaranteed. Now let's get to basketball. Credit goes to big time programs scheduling big time games. Outsiders are taking over the Big 12. New faces may be taking over the SEC. Bedlam--and other big games--need to be on campus courts. Get rid of the neutral court games!

 We do it better than the bowl committees. Georgia Tech and Vandy headlines the non-playoff bowls. But we also find jewels with some Texas-on-Texas violence, a worthy opponent for Penn State, and a bowl that could become the next advertising star like the Pop-Tart Bowl. And we even liked two bowls enough to leave them alone. 

The playoff committee's need for an ACC team overshadowed Fernando Mendoza's Heisman Moment after the Big 10 title game. Boise State wins the Mountain West title and recalls CM Punk's epic 2011 WWE promo. It's OK, we'll explain it all. And in basketball, Iowa State destroys #1 Purdue at home.

The Coaching Carousel may be stupid, but the Playoff Carousel could be even stupider. How about the Chaos Theory when James Madison gets upset and UNLV makes the playoffs? It exists! More likely, the committee has to choose between Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami for two at-large spots. And two more Mortgage Plays for entertainment purposes only.

Lane Kiffin finally makes a decision, but it probably had more to do with the winner of the Iron Bowl than loyalty to Ole Miss or affinity for LSU. The question now is whether Texas makes the playoffs with three losses. The Big 10 title game matters because the winner goes to the Rose Bowl. And the ACC title game matters to see how the playoff committee twists itself into knots if Duke wins.

On the shank of Thanksgiving, we're thankful for basketball championships first thing in the morning, college football after the Thanksgiving meal and one more Mortgage Play on Saturday night.

A few unexpected losses can send a number of conferences into a tailspin. Another loss to Michigan will send Ohio State into more than a tailspin even if they rebound to win the national title--again. Don't be surprised to find Lane Kiffin hanging out at the Florida State/Florida game after an Egg Bowl victory. And maybe now the playoff committee will recognize James Madison.

A different perspective on the John Beam killing, Red Panda overshadowing ESPN's NBA halftime, a bit of basketball, and a Mortgage Play in an important American Conference game.

Texas A&M needs a miracle comeback to beat another bad team. Oklahoma may have punched its playoff ticket. Haynes King keeps Georgia Tech alive. Big 12 chaos could be just one game away. The Group of 5 may now go through Navy...or James Madison. And we pay tribute to Laney College football coach John Beam.

A Mortgage Play on one of the big SEC games, and a trio of parlays. But first, how not to set your career on freefall with gambling.

Fernando Mendoza may have had the Heisman Moment in Happy Valley, keeping Indiana unbeaten. Texas Tech dominates BYU in Lubbock. Can we take a playoff bid away from the ACC? Diego Pavia and Vandy still looking for recognition, while Texas A&M doesn't deserve what they have.

A day late, but dollars falling out everywhere. One Mortgage Play on the Big 12 Game of the Week, and banging big favorites trying to impress the playoff committee. Plus, the first week of hoops.

Tiebreaker scenarios unfold in the ACC, Big 12, American and Mountain West. Will Virginia's "non-conference" loss to NC State come back to haunt them? BYU will have many Big 12 fans when it meets Texas Tech this week. And we discuss the Disney/You Tube battle, and how it's not your typical rights fee negotiation.

Support your Shady Local Man by betting our guaranteed winners. Plus, we're talking the epic World Series Game 3 and ESPN's lack of real news coverage of the gambling scandal.

Lane Kiffin has more than just Florida looking to be his new home. Vandy keeps winning, yet still not respected. The American Conference begins its final playoff fight. Houston might be real in the Big 12, but needs help. And of course we talk poker, player props and the "stupid problem."

A little NBA, a little MLB, and props to NBC for making televised sports look beautiful. Then a pair of Mortgage Plays to make this weekend's games interesting.

Five teams suffer first losses. Two more coaches fired. If you want someone to blame for the massive payouts, start with agent Jimmy Sexton. Haynes King and GaTech still unbeaten, but Fernando Mendoza and newly minted Indiana coach Curt Cignetti stand in the way of the Heisman. UMass suffers a tragic loss. And CW knows how to treat Kings.

Bill Belichick and Jordan Hudson (and the North Carolina football team) are headed to Berkeley Friday and the Bay Area and wine country over the weekend. Will Belichick return with a job? Or a girlfriend? Plus, a pair of Mortgage Plays to expand on a 8-3 season. And we look back on Sister Jean and the 2018 Loyola CH basketball team.

James Franklin fired at Penn State two weeks after holding #3 in the AP Poll. Good thing Penn State and the Big 10 have private equity money to pay the bill. Is Bill Belichick next, and will it be before or after he and the girlfriend return from a Bay Area shopping spree? Meanwhile, Indiana is legit after surviving the Body Clock in Eugene.

We return with a pair of Mortgage Plays on opposite ends of the entertainment spectrum. One is a body clocker. The other is just plain bad. But winners cash all the same.

We continue to make money on college football, but first we spend a little time on the baseball playoffs. After a perfect 3-0 week, there's only one Mortgage Play, but it's on the Game of the Week in Tallahassee.

Penn State loses like it always does. Lane Kiffin, meanwhile, plays to win. Bama still has Georgia's number. That was Saturday. But if you missed Friday, you missed the best day of football so far. And the Haynes King Heisman campaign continues. Haynes King > Cam Newton?

Breaking news off the field interrupts our money-making ventures. But we still have three Mortgage Plays and thoughts on all the big games.

College football offered its last calm weekend. Unless you're in the Big 12, or Dabo Swinney, or Florida fans wishing upon Lane Kiffin. 

Only one Mortgage Play, and it's on a mostly unwatchable game. But profit is profit regardless of game quality. Plenty of weekend plays, and it doesn't take us thirty-three episodes to explain it all. Make Video Horizontal!

All the big games only taught us that possibly nobody's good at the top of the college football rankings. LSU ranked third? Seriously? Give us Haynes King for the Heisman. UCLA and Va Tech already started the firing process. Reverse Body Clocks in the Late Night Get Backs, Fat Guy Touchdowns and food truck fires.

We go straight for the jugular with more winning college football plays. Mortgage Play on Wisconsin at Alabama, plus opinions on Ga Tech/Clemson, A&M/Notre Dame, Florida/LSU and the Backyard Brawl.

South Florida grabs its second upset of the year, this time at the in-state SEC Gators. Florida fans are already naming a coaching replacement. With Liberty's CUSA loss, the Group of Five playoff spot has new contenders. Plus: Blowouts move the Heisman odds and border war pettiness reaches new heights in Missouri.

Two Mortgage Plays on a huge conference tilt and a in-state battle. Shop your numbers! Plus, we find out Mikey's true feelings about the Tar Heels.

Tommy Castellanos backs up his summer smack talk vs Alabama. Boise needs a new path to the playoffs. Ohio State knocks off #1 Texas, and now its time to bet on Arch for the Heisman. Plus a bundle of top catches, trick plays and upsets as college football really begins.

Picks on big games and garbage games for Week 1. They all pay the same when they win. No Mortgage Plays, but two parlays for entertainment purposes only. 

The playoffs really come down to who the fourth (and maybe fifth) SEC team will be. The playoff committee will shaft 12-0 Notre Dame. Can an American squad upend an 11-1 Boise team? Regional Rivalries in the Sun Belt. And look what the NIL has done to the MAC. Uggg...

Week Zero starts in Ireland and ends on The Island. Previewing the Big 10, ACC (except for Some Team), the Big 12, Mountain West and Conference USA. Can Ohio State repeat? Dabo now taking transfers. Why is the wide-open Big 12 opening in Ireland? Boise has a one-game season at Notre Dame. Liberty may go unbeaten and still miss the playoffs.

Catching up on all the summer shenanigans. The Iamaleavas left Tennessee and Arkansas. Jeff Retzlaff left BYU. Shedeaur Sanders may have taken a pay cut (and job security) leaving Colorado. Cooper Flagg left Duke to become a Maverick. And a superstar left the WWE.

A new college football season is around the corner. The Sixth Year Seniors are back in the dorms starting Monday.

The Florida Gators are handed the college basketball title on Monday, just two days after the best result of the tournament. Couldn't we have just stopped after Houston throttled Duke? The women's game proved the Caitlin Clark Effect is very real, while the Basketball Crown showed there might be a limit to what players and schools will do for money.

An all-chalk Final Four featuring a pair of SEC teams, despicable Duke and home-state Houston. Can the Cougars defense continue to shut down high-powered offenses--including that Cooper Flagg guy.

The NCAA tournament first two rounds held to form, with Arkansas and maybe BYU becoming the underdogs to root for. Call it a weird but boring first weekend, but with just enough highlights to keep it entertaining.

The four #1 seeds were pretty clear, but the last remaining teams offered the usual controversy. Now it's time to fill out brackets, choose your champs, and watch teams survive and advance. It's March Madness!

Edwardsville and Omaha will make their first-ever NCAA appearances after wins to start conference week. For those outside looking in, the NIT actually has a selection structure this year. And for those on the bubble, the math sometimes just doesn't work.

Recording a podcast just after a dentist appointment may or may not be a good thing...much like watching Michigan State basketball. Conference tournaments are the final step for Cinderellas Edwardsville and Omaha. Will there be more by next Monday?

The Ivy and West Coast crowned conference champions, and mid-major squads are trying to finish Cinderella seasons. In the majors, fourth place is just as valuable as a title. And on a side note, anyone seen a stolen Lamborghini?

Nothing went quite right this week. A new post-season tournament seems to challenge the NIT, a jersey retirement went awry, Kansas is faltering in a new Big 12, and Cinderella's lose traction in the Summit and Big Sky. Even the commercial is questionable.

Auburn and Duke both lose this week, but that may just make them more dangerous come March. Fellow conference unbeatens St. Mary's and Bryant also suffer first losses. Sun Belt and Atlantic Sun have a pile-up at the top. Game-winning shots from Greedy and Money Williams; now we need a feel-good movie. Plus, thoughts on Dick Vitale returning to the announce desk for the Clemson game. 

Auburn, Houston and Duke are separating from the field. It's rarely easy, and when it's easy the criticism is hard. Calipari wins in his return to Rupp Arena. St. Mary's closes the door on Gonzaga. St. John's has the New York vibe. Mississippi Valley State gets a W! Plus, thoughts on the Luca/Anthony Davis trade and the Super Bowl.

Johni Broome returns in two weeks from a 6-8 week ankle injury and leads Auburn to victory. Three other SEC games finish with late miracles. Houston steals a win at Kansas, and San Diego's victory at Air Force wasn't shabby either. Michigan State could be the savior to stop SEC dominance, or is it just their schedule? Plus, we look at all the remaining conference unbeaten and winless teams.

Auburn immediately sees a Ewing Effect off the Johni Broome injury. At the bottom of the SEC, Oklahoma finally wins, but not Arkansas. Temple storms the court after beating Memphis, and Oregon State does the same after knocking off Gonzaga. Cal and Stanford win on Tobacco Road. The best game you didn't see was at Fordham. And the Doug Gottlieb Watch becomes a regular podcast item.

If college football can do anything right this year, let Notre Dame beat Ohio State. The best team in college hoops loses its best player to an ankle injury. The previous best team suffers one of the worst #1 defeats ever. UConn finally loses on the mainland. And the West Coast offers some fantastic late night get back finishes.

Somehow Notre Dame is the fan favorite with four teams left in the football playoffs. In hoops, Tennessee is the last unbeaten standing. Drake goes from unbeaten to must-win in three games. Arizona posts resume-building wins to sit atop the Big 12. Illinois goes West and defeats the Big 10 Time Machine. And UConn is still unbeaten on the mainland.

NIL takes down another ACC coach, but it can make the CIT watchable. Norfolk and McNeese are not your normal small conference fodder. The MAC needs a total rebuild. Sedele Threat's son drags the show off the rails. The WCC might out-bid the ACC. The SEC is deep and talented, but don't forget the Big 12.

From the Northeast to the Big 10, 364 teams (except for a few ineligibles) are working their way to March Madness. UMass-Lowell and High Point are small conference threats. Drake and Bradley make the Mo Valley strong. The ACC has slipped. Connecticut is still unbeaten--on the mainland. The Big 10 may have a Pac-12 leader again.

A historically unnecessary first round of the football playoffs brings us to what should now be the start of the real playoffs. We need more bowl moments like Memphis and Florida offered. At least basketball saved the week, where the SEC shined and double-digit comebacks were common. And NAIA school North Texas-Dallas now holds a transitive win over Connecticut. Thanks, Memphis!

Belichick to Carolina makes no sense. Travis Hunter winning the Heisman makes sense, but is still wrong. No leads are safe in college hoops. And five Mortgage Plays to make Christmas merry.

Doing it better than the playoff and bowl committees. Army is in the playoffs. Renewing old rivalries (Oklahoma/Nebraska) and creating new ones (in-state violence for Texas and Illinois). Plus, a way to use Sanders and Hunter even after they opt out.

Bags of money have apparently gone missing. How else do you explain only three SEC teams getting into the college football playoffs? SMU snags a shocking bid after losing to a last-second field goal. And the Big 10 gets four teams despite Penn State and Indiana not beating anyone of merit. And Georgia has an injured QB issue that reminds fans for 2023 Florida State. In basketball, #1 and #2 each lose last week. Welcome to anarchy again!

Championship Week guaranteed winners, including one final Mortgage Play in the Big 10 title game. The SEC will still get five teams into the playoffs because...bags of money. And speaking of the SEC, what happened to ACC basketball Tuesday night?

Ohio State gets upset about a flag. Maybe they should have cared more about the game. Notre Dame may have the coveted #5 seed locked up. The clock is ticking on the Sanders/Hunter Opt-Out press conference. UMass and UConn can't even get a trophy right. And we have the worst 12 teams in a lose-and-advance playoff.

Spots for the Big 12 title game are on multiple poles during the final week of the season. Something no one has mentioned...what if Michigan beats Ohio State? Plus all the other conference ramifications, and a live reaction to the latest playoff projection. Then we turn to basketball, where Maui is Classic and the Missouri Valley takes over other tournaments. Finally, two Mortgage Plays and a Thanksgiving Starting Five. 

High ego, low gambling intellect, Vegas cleans up on the Tyson fight. A nuclear playoff option that excludes the Big 12. Remembering when Golden State was horrible. College hoop tourney television. And finally, four Mortgage Plays for those trying to rebound from the Tyson fight. Carry the news.

The road to the Big 12 title runs through Lawrence, Kansas. After knocking BYU from the land of unbeatens, now Kansas has a chance to disrupt the Colorado Buffaloes. Meanwhile, the Sun Belt and Conference USA are worth keeping eyes on during the final weeks of the season.

News and notes from across a multitude of sports (and other subjects). Then five Mortgage Plays, including two of the Late Night Get Back games.

A fake Bengal tiger shows up for the Alabama/LSU game. That went about as well as the Tigers' game plan. Gus Johnson no-sells Ohio State demolition of Purdue. He'll obviously be happier next week when he calls the PRIME TIME PRIME TIME Colorado Buffaloes game. And the Auburn hoops team races to the "How Stupid Can We Be" award just a week into the season.

The first 12-team football playoff bracket made a lot of noise but doesn't mean anything. What did mean something was the opening night of basketball. And what will mean something are four Mortgage Plays, starting Friday night.

Seven conference unbeatens go down to defeat, including four upsets, and we get the dramatic and unexpected return of Clemson-ing! Plus, Diego Pavia has High Freeze's number, and basketball makes it's long awaited debut.