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Sports: College Football Playoffs: Championship Game

Tomorrow night the college football season will end with Indiana and Miami facing off in the 2nd 12-team playoff championship game. Indiana has been very impressive with 2 blowout wins against Alabama and Oregon. Miami had to play a first-round game, which was a tough defensive struggle against Texas A&M, winning 10-3. They shut down Ohio State in the first half, and the defense added a pick-six to build a 14-0 halftime lead. Ohio State tried to come back, but the Miami offense was able to move the ball in the 4th quarter to pull out a 24-14 win. Against Mississippi, the Miami defense went into more of a bend-but-don’t-break mode, keeping them out of the end zone 4 times, limiting them to field goals each time. It was the difference in their last-minute win, 31-27. Indiana is the favorite, and rightfully so. They have been as impressive as any team could be in their first 2 playoff wins. Fernando Mendoza has had the hot hand in both of their wins. For the two games, he is 31 for 36, gaining 369 yards. That is an 86% completion rate. He has 8 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions. I have been split every round with my predictions. I also think Indiana will win the championship game. I do not see how you can go against them. Will I be shocked or even surprised if Miami pulls off the upset? Absolutely not. Here is what they have to do.

They need to keep Indiana out of the end zone just like they did against Mississippi. Can they eke out a turnover? This is not easy to do against a team that really protects the ball. In the last 3 games, they have turned the ball over only once on an interception against Ohio State. That was late in the 1st quarter of the Big Ten Championship game. Indiana has not turned the ball over for 11 quarters. The Miami offense has to avoid the 3-and-outs. They need at least to get a 1st down or two on every possession. Indiana’s defense is the best unit that Miami has faced. Special teams are good for both teams, but again Miami needs something to happen in that area if they are going to have a chance. Something negative for Indiana or positive for Miami. Both head coaches are intense. The Miami coach has been quite animated in the previous playoff games. If things do not go well for the Hurricanes in this game, he literally may not survive it. If Indiana wins convincingly, it should go down as one of the greatest seasons in college football history because of the playoff format now in effect. I would love to see an exciting down-to-the-wire championship game. Miami needs a lot to happen to make that possible. Their offense is the key to victory. They are hot right now. My guess is that Indiana’s defense will cool them off. However, if they do not, then it should be a great Monday night of college football.

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Sports: Steelers 2025 Season, Unlucky To Be So Lucky

The end of the Mike Tomlin era came to an end this week. He will go down as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. This blog is not about him as much as the Steelers and the 2025 season. On a superficial look at the season, it seems like it was essentially the same as the last 3 seasons. After all, the Steelers finished 10 and 7 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. This edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers was a very poor football team that made it to the playoffs almost on sheer luck. They were one of the worst-performing clubs in Steeler history and yet managed to finish 10 and 7. In games where they had huge turnover margins, they barely won. Some of their other wins were very fortunate. Let’s look at this team on both sides of the ball and see how they compare with Steeler teams of the past that were as bad or worse than this team.

Starting with the defense, who certainly had Joe Buck and Troy Aikman fooled as they kept referring to the Steelers as a great defense. Does this sound great to you? In total yards given up, they ranked 26th out of 32 teams. They were 29th in passing yards allowed. In points allowed, they were 17th. There were not that many teams in Steelers history that were ranked lower in the league than this year’s Steelers defense. When they were, they all finished with worse records, with one exception: the 1963 Steelers, who ranked 11th out of 14 teams in yards allowed. They finished with a 7-4-3 record. Their offense was good, ranking 6th in points and 3rd in total yards. All of the other teams with similar defensive records finished well below .500. One Steeler team did finish at .500. That team, along with the ’63 Steelers, had a very good offense. As you will see, this was not the case with the 2025 Steelers.

The Steeler offense ranked 25th in total yards and 15th in points scored. Points scored was the only stat that the Steelers ranked in the top half of the league. The Steelers were 22nd in the league in passing yards and 26th in rushing yards. When you look up and down at the team stats, they look more like Pirate team stats than a team that went 10-7 and won the AFC North. How did the Steelers do it? Many people look at the turnover differential and say that is why the Steelers had a good record. The Steelers had the 4th best turnover ratio, with 27 takeaways to 15 turnovers, for a net of +12. In two games against New England and Indianapolis, they had a net turnover margin of +9. They won those games, but both games went down to the wire. In the other 15 games, they had a margin of +3. In both wins against Baltimore, they were very fortunate. The replay reversal of an apparent touchdown catch in the first Ravens game gave them their first win. In the last game of the season, a missed field goal at the end of the game gave the win to the Steelers. Remember also that it took a game-ending 60-yard field goal to beat the Jets 33-31. Without some of their good fortune and two big turnover games, the Steelers could have easily gone 7-10 or worse.

In the opening round of the playoffs, the Steelers got 3 turnovers but could only put 3 points on the board related to the turnovers. They did this a lot during the regular season. There were 22 Steeler teams that were ranked 4th or higher in turnover ratio over their history. Only 3 of those teams scored fewer points than the 2025 Steelers. One of them was the 2023 Steelers, one of the worst offenses in Steeler history. They did finish 10-7. That team ranked 6th in points allowed and 21st in yards allowed. They were 3rd in the league in turnover ratio. In reality, the Steelers’ lucky season is really very unlucky. If they had finished the way they should have, around 7-10 or 6-11, they would have gotten a much higher draft choice. They would have been more open to a total rebuild. It would have been a more appealing draft pick if they had chosen to trade up. In the next 2 weeks, I expect the Steelers to have a new coach. He may be coming in at the worst possible time. Art Rooney II recently said the Steelers are not looking at rebuilding. The Steelers will have to make some major moves. They have more needs than the Pirates. They will need a quarterback, 2 wide receivers, a cornerback, 2 safeties, and a new lineman on both sides of the ball. Hopefully, the Steelers’ ability to acquire players will also start to get lucky. So far, it has not been lucky or very effective.

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The Pirate Morning Report: The 40 Man Roster, Position Players

The Pirates have had a surprising off-season so far. This is their busiest off-season, and supposedly they are not done. If Ben Cherington had just picked up the phone this winter, he would have had a busier off-season than last year. The new 40-man roster has 19 position players. There is talk of Konner Griffin making the team this spring. He is not on the roster, but if that is the case, that puts the Pirates at 20 players for 13 spots. On today’s blog, I will look at who I think has no chance of making the team, then the players that are locks for the final 13, so to speak. I will then take a look at what’s left for the remaining roster spots. This can all change if the Pirates make any more moves, and they say they are, but we all know that means nothing. I will discuss some of the moves they should make.

There are players, and surprisingly not that many, that I feel have no chance to make the team. The Pirates might not feel that way because, let’s face it, they think very strangely at times. Jack Brannigan, a recent addition to the roster, was added to protect him from being acquired in the Rule 5 draft. He is an infielder who has played 2nd, SS, and 3rd. His slash line at all minor league levels is .245/.356/.454. His highest level has been AA. It would be a stretch to see him make the team. Emanuel Valdez was acquired from the Red Sox last year. He played 1st base for the Pirates and was not impressive before his season ended with a shoulder injury. I am surprised he is still on the roster, let alone that he would make this team. Billy Cook would have had a chance if not for all the moves the Pirates have made. He is heading into his age 27 season with little chance of staying with the team this year. If the Pirates make any trades, I would not be surprised to see him as some kind of throw-in piece.

These are the players that will make the team unless they are traded: Joey Bart and Henry Davis. I still would not mind seeing either one traded, but if that doesn’t happen, I do not see the Pirates giving up on Davis at the start of the season. Nick Gonzales will be the shortstop or a bench player. Spencer Horwitz has 1st base locked down, especially the way he finished last year. Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds will be back, with the Pirates hoping for big bounce-back years. The new acquisitions Brandon Lowe, Ryan O’Hearn, and Jake Mangum will be on the team when they go up north. If you are counting, that leaves 8 players for the remaining 4 spots.

One of the names missing that many people consider a lock to make the team is Jared Triolo. First, let’s clear something up about Triolo that has been written about him in the offseason. Everyone is saying he finished strong last year. He did not. He had a big-time August. In 109 plate appearances, his slash line was .315/.417/.467. In September, in 107 plate appearances, his line was .240/.290/.380. That is not finishing strong. This gave him a season line of .227/.290/.356 for an 86 OPS+, significantly below league average. When third base is considered the big hole in your lineup and your main position is third base, I think there should be some doubt that you are going to make the team. Yes, he can play all infield positions and is a great fielder, but with that bat, I do not think it is enough to guarantee a spot on the opening day roster. In no particular order, here are the remaining seven players fighting for the four opening day roster spots: Rafael Flores, Nick Yorke, Jhostynxon Garcia, Endy Rodriguez, Jack Suwinski, Esmerlyn Valdez, and last but certainly not least, Konner Griffin. At this point, I am not going to hazard a guess as to who might make the opening day roster. I will say at the bottom of the list is Jack Suwinski. The only reason he was not on the no chance list is that the Pirates gave him a contract. If he has a huge spring, they might consider bringing him up north. It is still way too early to do much speculation, especially with the possibility of more moves to be made.

As mentioned earlier, the big hole in the lineup is at 3rd base. The Pirates could trade or sign Eugenio Suarez. In my mind one of the new trade options could be with the Cubs. They just acquired Alex Bregman. That makes 3rd baseman Matt Shaw expendable. After getting off to a slow start his rookie season. He finished pretty well his last 63 games, slashing .258/.317/.522. He hit 11 of his 13 home runs during the 2nd half. The Pirates have also been linked to trade talks with the Phillies for Alec Bohm. I am sure there are other 3rd base options out there. We can only hope that the Pirates can plug this major hole in their lineup. Spring training is about a month away. The off season has been better than most for the Pirates but that is not saying much. Will they finish this off or has been all it for show. Only time will tell. Hope there will be something to write about before February 1.

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Sports: College Football Playoffs, Semifinals

The bye teams took it on the chin again in the 2nd year of the 12-team format of the college football playoffs. Last year all 4 bye teams lost. This year only Indiana won as they easily disposed of Alabama 38-3. The bye teams’ failures were led by Ohio State, who lost to Miami 24-14. Miami jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead thanks to a pick-6 in the 2nd quarter. This was the first time Ohio State trailed by 14 all season, and it showed. One of the hallmarks of the Ohio State offense is that they took their time, ate up a lot of clock, and scored. They ran the fewest plays of almost any team in college football. This is all well and good when you are in the lead or the game is close. Despite the fact that they trailed by 14, they came out with no sense of urgency in the 2nd half. They scored on their first two drives of the 2nd half. They only got the ball one more time when the game mattered and could not cash in. Their vaunted defense could not get off the field, and Miami put 10 points on the board that sealed the deal. Oregon completely stifled the Texas Tech offense, and if they had taken advantage of all their opportunities, would have probably won the game 45-0. As it was, they easily won 23-0. In the 4th and final game, Mississippi continued to roll and upset Georgia 39-35. The key play of this game was when Kirby Smart decided to go for it on 4th and 2 on Georgia’s own 33-yard line. There was just under 10 minutes to go in the game, and Georgia trailed 27-24. The play was a disaster that resulted in a 10-yard sack and fumble. Mississippi wasted no time, scoring in just 2 plays and 29 seconds to take a 34 to 24 lead. Even though Georgia did come back and tie the game, we will never know if the outcome would have been different if Georgia had punted. One thing is for sure: the outcome could not have come out any worse. The bye teams are now 1 win and 7 losses in the playoffs. The obvious reason for this is the long layoff that these teams have to take. In the past, with 2-team and 4-team playoffs, the teams’ layoffs were equal. Now that we have this first-round game, the longest the 5 through 12 have off is about 9 to 10 days. The sample size is small, but if this trend continues, there will need to be changes. There are two easy solutions: go to a 16-team format, which would have no byes then, or start the playoffs the week after the field is set and play every week after that. At that schedule, the championship game would be played around January 1, with the pro playoffs not even starting. Let’s take a look at the semifinals.

There is no question Indiana looks poised to bring home the National Championship. They were most impressive in their drubbing of Alabama. They have a defense that nobody really seems to talk about much, and when the chips are down, the offense seems to come through. They will play Oregon on Friday night in Atlanta. Just like in the quarterfinals, they will not be able to mail it in, but with Curt Cignetti coaching, you just do not see that happening. I think Oregon has a chance, but they can’t squander the opportunities like they did against Texas Tech. The key will be, can Oregon slow down the Indiana offense? Both special teams seem to be solid. Of course, turnovers always play a role. Indiana is good at taking care of the ball. Oregon will have to be firing on all cylinders if they are going to pull off the upset. The first game has the two surprise teams: the Miami Hurricanes vs. the Old Miss Rebels. Miami’s defense has been the reason this team is in the semifinals. In the first 6 quarters of playoff football, they gave up only 3 points. No question, Ohio State moved the ball on them in the 2nd half. Maybe they knew that Ohio State did not like to play fast for whatever reason. When the game was on the line and Ohio State had the ball with a chance to tie or win the game, the Miami defense came through to stop the Buckeyes. Mississippi, on the other hand, has been an offensive juggernaut. They have never scored less than 24 points in a game all season. Miami’s offense has come alive somewhat at the end of the season. You get the feeling that if Mississippi can play their offensive game, then Miami just will not be able to keep up. My fearless prediction: Mississippi and Indiana for the title.

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Golf: Golf Season 2025 Wrap Up

There really isn’t all that much to wrap up since I wrote about the season on November 11. The reason being is that for the first time in 23 years, I did not play any rounds of golf in the month of December. I played only 8 more rounds the rest of the year, with the last being on November 24th. Mother Nature took over from that point, and that was that. I made it to 166 rounds for the year and managed to shoot my age 2 more times to reach a nice round number of 50. I must have thought it was a nice number because my last 2 rounds of the year I shot 76, including making a double bogey on the last hole of my last round of the year. I thought for sure I would make it to 170 rounds for the year, but it was not to be. The other news is that I got a new set of irons that arrived in mid-December. More about them when I start to play again. There is snow on the ground right now, but the temperatures this week are supposed to be in the 40’s all week through Saturday. There is supposed to be some rain also. Whether this will be enough to get rid of the snow is hard to say. It would be nice to get out and give those new irons a swing. As usual, I’m looking forward to 2026 to be able to try some new failed theories I have come up with as I am on this weather-induced hiatus. By far the shortest end-of-season wrap-up. It doesn’t take much to cover 8 rounds of golf.

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Sports: College Football Playoffs, Quarterfinals

The first round of the College Football Playoff had no major surprises. Oregon and Mississippi destroyed both teams that had no business being in the playoffs. In the two competitive games I was wrong on both games which is no surprise either. Oklahoma jumped out to a 17-0 lead on Alabama. Then Oklahoma started to give the game away. A punter that couldn’t punt and a pick 6 at the end of the half enabled Alabama to tie the game and completely turned the game around. It seemed to deflate the Oklahoma defense and a rejuvenated Alabama offense took over the game. There was no rejuvenating the Texas A&M offense. For the second straight game it really could do nothing. Field goal failures continued to plaque them. A late drive to tie the game ended in an interception and Miami pulled out the 10-3 win. The quarterfinals start on New Years Eve night.

Ohio State and Miami kick things off on Wednesday night. Then there is a triple header on Thursday starting with Oregon and Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. That is followed by Alabama and Indiana in the Rose Bowl. The last game of the day should be the most intriguing with Mississippi playing Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. To cut to the chase I think the 3 Big Ten teams will win and Georgia. Having said that, I think all the games will be competitive and all 4 picks will have to be on their game to win. There will be no gimme’s in this round. I think this will be the lowest scoring playoffs in history. These are very elite defenses with the final 8. The rematch between Mississippi and Georgia is by far the most interesting. They played a very strange game when they met earlier this year. Georgia scored a touchdown or field goal on every possession they had. There was no cheapies involved. The drives were all over 70 yards. Mississippi did the same thing until their first drive of the 4th quarter. This was when Georgia took their first lead of the game. I will be shocked if this rematch follows the same pattern. I expect all the games to be hard fought defensive games. Turnovers and special teams will be the keys to victory in all four games. A college football fans dream come true will start on New Year’s Eve.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Pirates 2nd Trade

The Pirates made their 2nd trade of the off-season this past weekend. They acquired Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum, and Mason Montgomery. They gave up Mike Burrows. I have a hard time believing how positively this trade has been received by the Pittsburgh media. The same people who think Ben Cherington should have been fired are now thinking he is brilliant. There is no question this trade could work out for all the clubs involved. The Tampa Bay Rays got two high prospects from the Houston Astros. In this blog, I will look at only the players the Pirates received and who they had to give up. The other news is that Japanese star Munetaka Murakami signed a 2-year, 34 million dollar deal with the Chicago White Sox. Another example of Ben Cherington being asleep at the wheel. Let’s look at the players that are involved in the latest Pirate trade.

Brandon Lowe: He is the biggest piece. Brandon Lowe has had some injury problems that have limited his ability in the last 4 years. His 4-year slash line is .241/.317/.444. His OPS+ over this time is 113. Last year he hit 31 home runs; he hit 16 on the road and 15 at home. He was much better on the road overall last year. He had a 134 OPS+ on the road and 98 at home. This bodes well for the Pirates. He is a below-average fielder, and that is being kind. He will turn 32 in July. This may not be a factor in Pittsburgh, but he has not performed well in the postseason. In 120 plate appearances, his slash line is .115/.167/.257. He will become a free agent in 2027. He is going to be a 1-year rental. The good news here is that many times a player performs really well in his last contract year. Even though the Pirates are not saying this, I would not be surprised if he becomes the primary DH. There is little question in my mind that he will be a considerable upgrade no matter where the Pirates use him.

Jake Mangun: Even though Lowe captured the headline, Jake Mangun may be the best piece of this trade. He will be 30 years old in March. He has only played one year in the majors. He does not have any power. He is a switch hitter. He had a nice 2025 season. He slashed .296/.330/.368 for an OPS+ of 96. He stole 27 bases with a 79% success rate. He is a plus fielder. He is essentially Tommy Pham with speed. He spent 4 seasons in AAA ball where he slashed .313/.357/.439. The Pirates may have found their leadoff man. What I find interesting is that the Rays never used him in that role. He batted in the middle of the lineup, 4 through 6. There is no doubt he would be considered a late bloomer. They do happen, and it would be nice for the Pirates if he turns out this way. He is not going to be a free agent until 2031. I would be even higher on this guy if the Rays hadn’t been the ones to let him go. Maybe it was his lack of power. If the Pirates use him right, and that is leading him off, he could be the best thing about this trade.

Mason Montgomery: Left handed relief pitcher. With the addition of him and Soto a weakness has turned into a strength. Montgomery was up and down between AAA and Tampa all of 2025. You have to wonder why? He appeared in 57 games for the Rays. In 37 of them he gave up no runs. In 13 others he gave up one run. His last outing on September 10th he gave up 5 runs in 2/3 of an inning which caused his ERA to jump almost a run to 5.67. He was sent down and never pitched again. Hopefully the new pitching coaches can help him with his command because this guy has good stuff. In 55 innings he averaged close to 13 strikeouts per 9 innings. At the very least he has some great potential from the left side.

Mike Burrows: The bad news is that he went to Houston. Whatever they do, they bring out the best in every pitcher that goes there. Even elite pitchers are even greater when they go to Houston. Gerrit Cole never achieved the heights that he did with Houston, even when he went to the Yankees. In his 2 years in Houston, he had an ERA+ of 164. If you take his best 2 years out of 5 in Pittsburgh, he averaged 130. Take his best two years in New York, and it’s 158. The same thing can be said about the great Justin Verlander. His best years were with Houston. They obviously see something in Burrows. Burrows last year only threw 96 innings, coming off Tommy John surgery. Fortunately, Houston is not in our division.

The Pirates have helped themselves with this trade. It would be hard not to help themselves with almost any acquisition. It will depend on how they use these players. Frankly, I like Brandon Lowe as the primary DH. Keeping him off the field should help with the defense and his health. He has not DH’d a lot, but when he has, he has been effective. In 2024, with 150 plate appearances as a DH, he slugged .598. Last year, he only had 39 PA’s but still slugged .638. Mangum looks to be the leadoff hitter that the Pirates have never had. He has speed and a good glove. That is the question. Will the Pirates use these players properly? Only time will tell. Mason Montgomery is another left-handed upgrade for the bullpen. There is still work to be done. The Pirates let one slip through their hands yesterday. It is looking more and more like Eugenio Suarez could be the next signing. Despite his many shortcomings—lots of strikeouts, low batting average, and not a great defender—he too would be an asset. I just can’t see him settling for a 2-year deal. He is going to turn 35 in July. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates take the risk and for how long. You never really know how a trade is going to turn out. If the Pirates had unloaded Mitch Keller in either of these trades I would be feeling a lot better about them. It is good to see the Pirates doing SOMETHING. I’m just not sure it is going to have much impact yet.

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Golf: The Pro Can’t Do This, Why Do You Think You Can?

There are lots of things that seem to frustrate golfers. Everyone wishes that their games were more consistent. Another one is the inability to take their game from the practice tee to the golf course. The reality is that the pros cannot do this either. The tour player is playing the game at its highest level. Their short games are unbelievable. They putt so much better than the recreational golfer. These are all things we can work on and improve. The pros, even though their games are so good, still seem to lack true consistency. They too can never predict how they are going to play based on their pregame warm-up. Let’s look at some examples of both problems. Then I will look at what is the best way to handle the problem, not solve it.

Even at the highest level of the game, the results can be inconsistent. My favorite example of this is when Peter Lonard won the Heritage Classic in the early 2000s. He shot rounds of 62-74-66 and 75 to win the tournament by two shots. His rounds varied by 12 shots worse, 8 shots better, and finally 9 shots worse on the last day. Lonard had won on other tours, but this was his first and only win on the PGA Tour. Even though this is the best example, there are many more instances of players having a great round one day and then shooting badly the next. There have been players who have had the first-round lead in tournaments but shot so poorly the next day that they missed the cut. We have seen players just barely make the cut and then play two great rounds over the weekend to win the tournament. With as much time as these guys work on their games and work hard, you would think they would be a little more consistent with their scores. The point of all this is simple: if this happens to pros on a fairly regular basis, then why do we get so upset when our scores may vary this much on a day-to-day basis? You can explain some of this due to the stress of playing in tournament golf, but certainly not all of it. Let’s get to the second issue before we look at how to handle all of this.

The problem of not being able to take our practice tee results to the golf course is a problem that has been discussed at length in articles, podcasts, and YouTube videos. To cut to the chase, all the solutions to this problem are simply wrong. I don’t care what you do on the practice range. Pretend to play a round. Change clubs at least every 3 or 4 swings. Go through your routine in great detail on every range shot. You are simply not going to fool the brain that this has anything to do with playing real golf. Another thing that proves it really can’t be done is to listen to the tour players after they have shot a particular round. After a very bad round, the player may talk about what a great warm-up session he had, but when he got to the first tee, the wheels fell off immediately. Other times, after a very good round, the player may speak of having a horrible practice session, and then when he got to the first tee, everything just fell into place. Then the final proof of the pudding is to simply watch the players on the practice range. During a big event, many times TV will cover players warming up on the practice tee. These practice tee swings do not even look close to the swings they will be taking coming down the back nine on a Sunday. Check it out. That’s not to say you do not need to practice. You have to take it for what it is worth. Anything from trying a new move or address position to just loosening up the golf muscles. This is what practice is for and nothing more. Do not try to recreate on the golf course. It is just not going to work.

So, what’s a mother to do? Number one, do not look for a solution to either problem. There is none. If there were, then you would not see the wide variance in the scores of tour players. What can you do when your game is going south? It starts with the first tee. Expect nothing and be ready for anything. If things are not going well, then get very conservative. Get the ball in play. Shoot for the middle of the green. Even in putting, just lag the ball to the hole on even shorter putts in the 15 to 20-foot range. Try to make some changes in your address position. Stand closer, open or close your stance, and change your ball position. I would not try to make any swing changes. You might try changing your rhythm or tempo. Sometimes swinging faster or slower will help. Be patient. Sometimes what changes a round is a lucky shot or a long putt that drops. All you can really do is as much damage control as possible and hope something turns it around. Finally, just accept it, get through it, and enjoy the day. Believe me, easier said than done, I will vouch for that. When it comes to practice and pre-round warm-up, you have to change your outlook. To be fair, there are just as many stories of guys having great or bad warm-up sessions and going out to play great or poor rounds. Do not look at any form of practice as the fastest route to game improvement. There are lots of golfers out there who really enjoy practice, and that’s great. It still boils down to once you get on the course, you have to find ways to perform. That is really the key to golf. I am not too sure there is really a wrong way to practice. What is wrong is what people expect from practicing. Remember, expect nothing and be ready for everything. It is your only hope in this goofy game.

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Golf: The Evolving Left Heel

When you start looking at golf swings over history, the use of the left heel is one of the biggest differences. It is hard to say exactly when the golf swings of the pros changed, so these years may not be exact, but we need to divide the left heel into three different generations of golfers: the pros from 1900 to 1935, the pros from 1935 to 1990, and finally, the pros from 1990 to the present. There will be some exceptions during these times, although for the present swing of the pros, I see no exceptions, which does not mean that there may be a few. From 1935 to 1990, the use of the left heel gradually and subtly changed over those years. Let’s go through the years and see what the left heel did.

From 1900 to 1935, the great players were Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Harry Vardon, James Baird, J. H. Taylor, Tommy Armour, Willie Anderson, Ted Ray, and Jim Barnes. They all lifted their left heel quite high during the backswing. There is no question they did this lifting of the left heel consciously. The left heel, in most cases, started to come off the ground just as the swing began. Many, but not all, even lifted the heel slightly on less-than-full shots. When it came to full iron shots, the left heel would come off the ground. It would not come off the ground quite as high as the driver, but there was no doubt the left heel came up for all shots. On the driver swings, the heel came way off the ground, where just the top of the shoe was touching the ground. Of all the great players of that era, Gene Sarazen’s heel came up the least on the driver swing. In fact, he came the closest to swinging the way the pros swung during the ’40s all the way through to the ’90s.

As we got into the 50s and pretty much into the 70s and the 80s, things began to change. The left heel continued to rise on the driver swings and most of the iron shots. However, for the short irons, the heel would remain on the ground for some players. Certainly, for short game shots, nobody would lift their heel. The great players during this time were Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, and Lee Trevino. This was the first boom period for golf, thanks to Arnold Palmer. While practically all the players raised their left heel distinctly for all long shots, it was more of a reaction to the turning of their bodies, especially their hips. They all felt that the left heel was being pulled off the ground by a full backswing turn. Nicklaus’s heel came way off the ground for his driver swing. The difference between this swing and the swing of the early 1900s was that at the beginning of the swing, the left heel did stay on the ground. Because the left heel came off the ground so late in the backswing, it was a much quicker up and down. It may have been more of a timing mechanism. It certainly was for Jack Nicklaus. He mentioned in his instructional books that he felt the first move to begin the downswing was to plant the left heel back on the ground. I looked at a lot of golf swings from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and all the players followed this particular rule. They all felt that the left heel coming off the ground was one of the last things that happened in the backswing. There was no question that practically all the good players raised that left heel.

Beginning in the late 80s and into the 90s, a new thought process was starting to take place when it came to the left heel. Good players started to have more of a rolling process when it came to the left foot and the backswing. These players included Greg Norman, Ernie Els, and Nick Faldo. From the rolling of the left foot came keeping the left foot on the ground through the entire backswing. This was to restrict the hip turn to create a stretch at the top of the backswing to create more power. In today’s game, we have practically all the pros with Tiger Woods topping that list. I did not get too technical here because even rolling the left foot inward does keep about 90% of the left heel on the ground. There is no question this is the modern swing. Keep that left foot on the ground throughout the swing. So how should this evolving left heel affect our game?

We all should consider at least trying to lift the left heel. There are two big benefits to lifting the left heel on the backswing. First and foremost, it guarantees that you will get your weight off the left foot during the backswing. The second benefit, which Jack Nicklaus mentions in his books, is that it will keep the hips level during the swing. As your left knee turns toward the ball, if you do not lift your left heel, you will feel your left hip move closer to the ground. What method should we use when we lift the left heel? Should we feel that the left heel is being dragged off the ground, or should we start lifting the heel as soon as the swing starts? I think you can experiment with either method, but I would start out with the left heel lifting right away, simply to get used to the move. One thing lifting the left heel will do is take the strain off the back and hips. I would practice by always incorporating the left heel lifting right at the beginning of the swing. For the real deal, if your results are better by lifting the heel late in the backswing, then go ahead and make that your backswing. Lifting the left heel has long been a forgotten part of golf. For us weekend warriors, I think it should be rediscovered.

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Sports: The College Football Playoffs

The teams are set for the 2nd 12-team college football playoffs. This imperfect system created by the NCAA showed its ugly head again as Notre Dame was left out of the tournament. It really boils down to giving too much opportunity to the non-power conference schools. There should have been a rule that only one of those schools can make the playoffs. If you want to have equal footing with the big boys, then you need to join and play the big boys. Simply put, to have both Tulane and James Madison in the playoffs is ridiculous. I don’t care if one or both pull off the big upsets. We all know at this point that the NCAA does not really have any empathy for the student-athlete. Every decision it has ever made has always punished the players and not the coaches and boosters that are at the heart of the corruption and greed of college football. But enough of that; it has been hashed out in many other media outlets. Let’s get on with the games that are set to begin December 19th.

The first game is by far the most intriguing. Oklahoma vs Alabama. Oklahoma, to me, is the most dangerous team in the playoffs. For parts of almost of every game they have played, they look terrible, especially on offense. They have had virtually no running game, and their defense has been given most of the credit for their success. After 8 games, their record stood at 6-2 and looked like they might be headed for another disappointing season under coach Brent Venables. Then they won 3 games in a row over Tennessee, Alabama on the road, and Missouri at home. In all 3 games, they were outgained by the opposition but managed to squeeze out victories. Then they dominated LSU, but 3 interceptions kept LSU in the game and in the lead midway through the 4th quarter. They scored on a 58-yard touchdown pass to take the lead 17-13 with 4 minutes to go in the game. Any misstep in those last 4 games and they would be sitting home as these playoffs begin. Will Oklahoma be able to keep the magic up? I think they will against an Alabama team that is reeling. They barely beat Auburn and were pretty much destroyed by Georgia. Oklahoma by 10.

The next game is Miami vs. Texas A&M. Texas A&M would have had the first-round bye if they had not lost to Texas in the last game of the season. The Aggies had many close calls against inferior opponents. They had the big comeback against South Carolina after trailing 30-3 at halftime. Miami, during this season, lost to Louisville and SMU. Other than their Notre Dame win, Miami never beat what you would call a playoff contender. Both of these teams did beat Notre Dame early in the season, which is what really knocked Notre Dame out of the playoffs. In Texas A&M’s only loss, they lost the turnover battle by two. In Miami’s loss to Louisville, they lost the turnover battle by three. Miami lost to SMU in overtime when they threw an interception at the goal line. They lost the turnover battle by one. They held SMU to 23 yards rushing but still lost. This should be a close game, with turnovers being a big factor. Miami does have a tendency to blow games. Whoever wins, it will be their last win of the season as they go on to face Ohio State. I feel Texas A&M will pull it out.

I will lump the last two games together. If Tulane or James Madison win their first-round games, it will be the biggest shock of the college football season. It will just add fuel to the fire that these non-power conference schools should be given more consideration, which I think is very wrong. This is really what kept Notre Dame out of the playoffs: both of these schools getting in. What even makes things worse is that neither team looked very good winning their conference championship game. Tulane, despite getting 5 turnovers, only won by 13. James Madison was only up by 3 going into the 4th quarter. Troy had lost to such powerhouses as Old Dominion and Arkansas State. Do I think that either one of those teams can pull off the upset? Not really. Tulane, I think, has the best chance since they took the pounding 45-10 earlier in the season to Mississippi. If they can keep it close going into the 2nd half, they might make a game of it. Certainly, Oregon and Mississippi look like shoe ins to get to the next round.

One of the most interesting things about last year’s playoffs was the fact that all the teams that had 1st round byes lost. If this happens again this year, it will be an even bigger surprise because the bye teams are much stronger this year. The most vulnerable of the group looks to be Texas Tech as they most likely play Oregon in the quarter-final round. Even though the bye teams look very strong, nobody will be playing any slouches if everything goes according to Hoyle. Despite some of the flaws in the selection process, it is so good to have a 12-team college football playoff. I will write a blog after each round with an analysis and fearless predictions. It all starts a week from Friday. We will all find out how right Hoyle is.