* Well, the Cleveland Browns once again won a game yet somehow many weren't overly excited. You see, as against the winless Oakland Raiders last week, the Browns struggled to win 22-17 over the 1-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While throwing for 300 yards, Brian Hoyer still had enough moments to make one wonder if he is the quarterback of the future. Once again the Browns sputtered inside the red zone in the first half. These last eight games of the season will be important for this franchise to determine if Hoyer is the guy. If he's not, then there is a decision that will have to be made: go with Johnny Manziel or draft another quarterback.
* Really like the undrafted wide receiver from Abilene Christian, Taylor Gabriel. He is a part of a receiving corp that has stepped up in the absence of Josh Gordon. I really think they should try this kid on kick and punt returns.
* With the performances of rookie wide receivers Mike Evans, Odell Beckham and Sammy Watkins, I don't know what Browns GM Ray Farmer was thinking in passing up on any of them.
* With the performances of rookie wide receivers Mike Evans, Odell Beckham and Sammy Watkins, I don't know what Browns GM Ray Farmer was thinking in passing up on any of them.
* Thursday night's game against Cincinnati may well decide the direction of this season for the Browns. With the bunched up AFC North and wild card teams, the Browns will need as many wins as possible. A loss would not be devastating but it will make the road to the playoffs all that much harder.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs begin a four game stretch tonight against the Arizona Coyotes where they will play 3 out of the next 4 on the road. It will be imperative that the Leafs continue their recent play in this 4 game stretch.
* It is really tiring to hear the constant goaltending debate both in the media and in Leaf Nation. I think it is clear that Leaf management considers Jonathan Bernier the number one goalie. If both Bernier and James Reimer play well, it only benefits the team. In spite of Reimer's great performance against Chicago, I would expect Bernier to play 3 of the 4 games with Reimer playing Sunday against the Ottawa Senators in the back end of a back-to-back weekend. Reimer has a very good record against the Sens.
* One has to wonder what is going on with the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers lost to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday and the rumors are really heating up about the future of Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. The most popular rumor has him going to his alma mater, Michigan. But keep an eye on the situation in Chicago where questions are being asked about Marc Trestman. The Seahawks held on to defeat the winless Oakland Raiders. Things were so bad that the 12th Man booed the World Champs off the field at halftime. There seems to be plenty of internal issues in that locker room and one wonders if Pete Carroll is the right guy to deal with the situation.
* Kudos to Mark Sanchez for a nice game filling in for the injured Nick Foles in Philadelphia's 31-21 win over the Houston Texans. Foles will be out 6 to 8 weeks, so Sanchez will have an excellent opportunity to further prove what a moron NY Jets General Manager John Idzik is. It was Idzik who drafted Geno Smith and basically pushed Sanchez out of New York.
* The New England Patriots continue their winning ways by dominating the Denver Broncos 43-21. The Patriots own the best record in the AFC, so much for the demise of Belichek and Brady.
* Really felt bad for Ole Miss on Saturday as they lost their star receiver with a broken leg and lost the game against Auburn all on the same play.
* I'm amazed at the amount of hate being directed at Knicks head honcho Phil Jackson. Funny how I don't remember hearing anything when he was coaching the Bulls and Lakers. By the way, I think Derek Fisher is going to make a good NBA coach.
* If the Yankees don't re-sign David Robertson, Brian Cashman is a bigger idiot than I thought. Robertson replaced the greatest closer in the game and did an excellent job. To allow him to leave and place the closing role on Dellin Betances is a huge mistake but what do you expect from a GM who stockpiles past their prime players.
* Reports out of New York also indicate that the Boy Genius Cashman is considering bringing back Stephen Drew to play shortstop. What a joke!!
* The Alex Rodriguez story continues as it is being reported that A-Rod paid his cousin, Yuri Sucart, $1,000,000 million dollars for his silence about A-Rod's PED use. Apparently, A-Rod is a key witness in the government's case against Sucart and Anthony Bosch.
* Monday the Chicago Cubs announced the hiring of Joe Maddon as their manager. This was a great move by Theo Epstein as the Cubs and their young stars appear to be ready to be contenders in the National League Central Division. The Cubs are being mentioned as being big-time players in this year's free agent market with Jon Lester and Max Scherzer being on their shopping list. Maddon should be the right guy to bring playoff dreams to the North Side.
* Wrigley Field is undergoing renovations so the Cubs held the Maddon press conference at the iconic Cubby Bear Lounge which is across the street from Wrigley. At the end of the press conference, Maddon called on a bartender to give everyone a shot and a beer and that it was on him. My kind of guy!!
* This past Friday was Halloween and the Western New York Sport's Leader, WGR 550, had a Candy Draft on Stupe & the Bulldog Show. Not that anything else was going on in the world of sports. Oops, I forgot the Bills had a bye so the NFL didn't exist this past weekend.
* And finally, whatever happened to The Coach, Chuck Dickerson.
* The Alex Rodriguez story continues as it is being reported that A-Rod paid his cousin, Yuri Sucart, $1,000,000 million dollars for his silence about A-Rod's PED use. Apparently, A-Rod is a key witness in the government's case against Sucart and Anthony Bosch.
* Monday the Chicago Cubs announced the hiring of Joe Maddon as their manager. This was a great move by Theo Epstein as the Cubs and their young stars appear to be ready to be contenders in the National League Central Division. The Cubs are being mentioned as being big-time players in this year's free agent market with Jon Lester and Max Scherzer being on their shopping list. Maddon should be the right guy to bring playoff dreams to the North Side.
* Wrigley Field is undergoing renovations so the Cubs held the Maddon press conference at the iconic Cubby Bear Lounge which is across the street from Wrigley. At the end of the press conference, Maddon called on a bartender to give everyone a shot and a beer and that it was on him. My kind of guy!!
* This past Friday was Halloween and the Western New York Sport's Leader, WGR 550, had a Candy Draft on Stupe & the Bulldog Show. Not that anything else was going on in the world of sports. Oops, I forgot the Bills had a bye so the NFL didn't exist this past weekend.
* And finally, whatever happened to The Coach, Chuck Dickerson.
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