Welcome back to a delayed edition of Kolodkin’s Corner. This will feature the last NFL talk for a while, until at least the draft (or unless something truly momentous happens). This column will transition a bit and probably feature more variety. If you have questions, ideas or topics, feel free to email jkolodkin@bradfordera.com.
NFL season review
A quick look back at an NFL season that went by far too quickly.
The next generation of quarterbacks has taken grasp of the league. Tom Brady finally retired and the era of him, the Mannings, Big Ben, Philip Rivers and Drew Brees has come to a close. Only Aaron Rodgers is still around from that group and his status will definitely be a hot topic for the next several months.
An extra game aside, we witnessed some of the greatest single-seasons by skill position players ever.
Cooper Kupp captured the NFL receiving Triple Crown and nearly broke Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving record. Not to mention Kupp also won Super Bowl MVP. Jonathan Taylor led the NFL in rushing, rush attempts and rushing touchdowns.
He finished with 611 more yards than the next best rusher… 611!
The last time there was a gap that big, Chris Johnson ran for 2,006 yards in 2009. Earning 610 more yards than Steven Jackson, who totaled 1,416 for the St. Louis Rams.
Speaking of, just five seasons after moving from St. Louis to Los Angeles, and only three seasons after losing a Super Bowl, the Rams are the best team in the world.
While I’m not a fan of the expanded playoff, it’s hard to argue against the success of the expanded regular season.
Ratings were up with another game in the season. And more teams had a shot at the playoff, later in the season. It will be interesting to see if the audiences tune in as solidly for all 17 games next year, as they did this year.
But as for now, all we can do is wait… And hope our teams draft well.
College football
One of the basic tenets of economics is that everyone acts in their own self-interest. People will behave in a rational manner, in order to better themselves or situation (usually by increasing their wealth).
College football stands alone as a truly unique example of a sport and industry determined to make as many mistakes as possible.
The NCAA consolidated its power in the 1950s and for the seven-odd decades after, they fought tooth and nail to prevent athletes from making any kind of money whatsoever. The universities and colleges fought alongside them just as hard. Now, neither the NCAA nor the schools have any control over rules regarding NIL and it seems as though it’s just a matter of time before pay-for-play becomes real.
College football had 150 years to figure out how to create a system that worked for everyone.
They didn’t and now they’re complaining about it. Even worse, the college football playoff will not expand until sometime in 2024 at the absolute earliest.
This past summer, the leaders of college football were hailed for putting together a well thought out 12-team playoff. People couldn’t wait till it would be implemented. Now, there’s no telling if and when expansion will come at all.
Make no mistake, the majority of polls online show widespread support for playoff expansion. But the Big 10 has decided that the desire for auto-bids for Power 5 conferences is a must. As if the Big 10 would ever miss an expanded playoff.
The Pac-12 understands it needs expansion and that the league’s image has fallen drastically from its heyday in the 00’s and early 2010s. Yet the conference still voted against expansion talks due to the Rose Bowl’s angst. Nevermind that the Rose Bowl could be incorporated into the playoff structure or that the league should be far more concerned with its worrying future than its past.
The ACC has decided that there are too many other issues with collegiate athletics that need to be taken care of first. NIL rules, the new structure of the NCAA and making sure the number of games football players play in isn’t too high.
Meanwhile, the Big 12, the Group of 5 conferences and the big bad SEC are the ones pushing for expansion.
Denying tens of millions of people and thousands of young athletes the opportunity to compete at the highest level. The leaders of college football seem determined to keep making poor decisions. It just remains to be seen if they’ll feel any real consequences.
College
basketball
March is almost upon us.
Conference play is winding down and bracket watch is ramping up. It’s exciting because, at least right now, the title seems more open than last year’s contest.
Last season, it was a foregone conclusion that Gonzaga was at least one of the two best teams in the country while Baylor was one of the three best. Sure enough, the two teams marched through the big dance to the championship game.
This season feels a little different. While Gonzaga is still No. 1 in the AP Poll, and deservedly so, they don’t have a stranglehold atop the country. No team does.
Auburn was No. 1 for several weeks before losing multiple games. Similarly, Purdue lost to Rutgers and Indiana. There are other heavyweights that look Elite Eight bound, like Arizona, Baylor, Villanova, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Providence. But all have suffered big losses and have real weaknesses. Not to mention, the ACC is as bad as it may have ever been.
All in all, it just adds intrigue to what should be a fun March.
