Bold Strategy

I really respect Andy Reid's strategy to play like absolute dogshit in the preseason, thus ensuring that opponents in the regular season don't get psyched up to play against them, paving the way for the Chiefs to win the division.

- - -

Cotton: It appears that Average Joe's is forfeiting the final match.
Pepper: That's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em.

Grantland's SNL Bracket

http://grantland.com/snl/

I'm not old enough to accurately comment on the first region. You can't really go wrong.

Farley/Hartman is too close to call. I guess Farley, but it's narrow.

Ferrell faces no competition.

Wiig-Sudeikis should be the regional final. I guess Sudeikis but he's not on the same level as the other regionals.

Will Ferrell has an easy road to the Finals on the right while the left is a bloodbath.

Once the 538 burrito bracket named their final 16, I predicted that 3 of the 4 would come from California. Cancun, Al & Bea's, and La Taqueria all seemed like shoe-ins. I figured the one not from California would be Tlaxcalli.

Well, they've named 2 of their final four, and I'm spot on so far.

Mrs. Hoagie Central has expanded on her original Manning injury prediction: I think he'll get through the first six games fine. I don't think he'll miss any games but I expect it to affect his performance. I expect him to be working through it on the sideline but downplay it in the media.

Royals Bandwagon

The last time the Royals made the playoffs, I hadn't yet turned two.

I have zero memories of the Royals being a good team. I don't really care about the Royals. I wouldn't buy a t-shirt even if they win it all. But I'll root for the Royals. (I'd also root for the Rockies but don't really care about them. The two franchises combined have a total of one postseason berth since 1996.)

That said, I'm ready to jump on the Royals bandwagon in October. (Regular season baseball is awful. Playoff baseball can be good sometimes.) Here's the current playoff picture.

The way it's shaping up now, the A's and Angels are the best teams in the AL, and the Royals could avoid both until the ALCS.

So yeah, if someone could start the engine on the bandwagon, I'll just run out and catch it as it goes by. (You're going to get some hop-ons.)

Since I moved to Denver, the Chiefs are 1-5 vs the Broncos.

Live from Billings, Montana

Okay, so I didn't get to Billings. I stayed two nights in Worland, WY for work and this is what was given to me at the hotel.

Breaking: We're Going to a Chiefs Game

Brit and I will be at Arrowhead Stadium on October 26, 2014, to see the Kansas City Chiefs host the St. Louis Rams.

We'll be in Kansas City for 24 hours. Barbecue will be consumed.

My wife is the best.

Big Ten Divisions

The Leaders and Legends existed for three years. They are no more. For posterity...

Leaders
Illinois
Ohio State
Penn State
Indiana
Purdue
Wisconsin

Legends
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern


Division Champs during this era:
Wisconsin, Ohio State x2, Nebraska, Michigan State x2

The new divisions are...

West
Illinois
Iowa
Purdue
Wisconsin
Nebraska
Minnesota
Northwestern

East
Indiana
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland

- - -

From Illinois's perspective, we lost Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana and gained Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Northwestern.

Wisconsin and Purdue remain unchanged in the division.
Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers, Maryland remain unchanged out of the division.

It's a small sample size, but of the 6 division champs in the Leaders/Legends era, 2 are now in the West, 4 are in the East.