Is This The End?
There was a time back in the mid 2000's when I completely gave up on the NBA. I used to watch the Detroit Pistons pretty religiously, and I even attended a few of their games down at the Palace of Auburn Hills on occasion. Then there was a huge betting scandal involving one or more of the officials and I basically quit cold turkey.
I'm actually kind of glad I did, because watching games these days I don't really even recognize the sport. With most the action taking place outside the three point line, hardly any defense, and so many steps traveling basically doesn't exist, it is a much different sport than it used to be.
Sadly, I'm kind of at that point with the NFL.
As a lifelong Lions fan, it's pretty easy to understand why I would feel that way. Don't get me wrong, the Lions do a pretty good job of shooting themselves in the foot on their own, but the refs certainly seem to make it easier for them to do it.
In addition to that, the introduction of legalized gambling on sports in general has you always wondering in the back of your mind if there isn't some form of influence taking place. The fact that so many people feel NFL games are scripted these days should be a wake up call. Plus, we all know that there is usually a thin thread of truth in any rumor.
Seattle took down Los Angeles in a thrilling overtime game this past week 38 to 37. No doubt if you do a bit of browsing online, you will likely find arguments that the Rams were cheated out of a win. I'll let you be the judge of that. Philadelphia took down Washington 29 to 18, Chicago had a huge overtime win over Green Bay 22 to 16, and Carolina beat Tampa Bay 23 to 20.
Minnesota bested The Giants 16 to 13, New Orleans stunned The Jets 29 to 6, and Cincinnati hammered the Dolphins 45 to 21.
The Titans embarrassed the Chiefs 26 to 9, The Chargers handled The Cowboys 34 to 17, and Buffalo had a closer game than it should have been against the Browns beating them 23 to 20.
Atlanta beat Arizona 26 to 19, Jacksonville disappointed the Broncos fans beating them 34 to 20, and Houston squeaked past The Raiders 23 to 21.
As I said, Pittsburgh handed the Lions another loss 29 to 24, though there has been a lot of speculation that the game was fixed. There was an offensive pass interference call at the end of the game that "stole" the win for the Steelers. I had already turned the game off by then. The Lions looked like trash. Goff sucks, defense is non-existent, nuff said.
New England beat Baltimore 28 to 24, and San Francisco had a big night last night against the Colts beating them 48 to 27.
That puts New England, Buffalo, Jacksonville, Denver, and The Chargers in the playoffs over on the AFC side. Leaving Las Vegas the newest worst team in the conference.
Meanwhile, over on the NFC side, Philly, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, and The Rams have all grabbed playoff spots while The Giants sit at the bottom of the pile in the NFC.
As for the playoff picture, Indy is on the outside right now and Houston is on the bubble. Being two games behind the Texans, they might not get the chance to squeeze in.
Likewise, the Lions are sitting right on the edge with Green Bay ahead of them. They would need to win ever game and have Green Bay lose every game remaining to even have a chance of making it in.
At this point, I am not sure I even care!
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