Sports this 'n' that

 Hot stove league season has begun, with three prominent pitchers entering free agency.

The Mets' Sean Manaea opted out of his contract. So did Blake Snell in San Francisco, and Gerrit Cole with the Yankees.

World Series Dunce Gerrit Cole.

However, the Yankees, per Yahoo!, could retain Cole by adding another year to his deal, which had four more years to run.

The common thread, of course, is that all three pitchers are represented by reprehensible con man Scott Boras Badenov, who wants his myriad of clients to chase the money in free agency. He's the one to blame for the opt out clause in a lot of contracts. All this grifter is interested in is fattening his wallet even more than it already is.

The Mets, quite honestly, need Manaea back, but Boras instructed him to opt out after the season he had in Flushing. Snell wasn't exactly a Cy Young winner in San Francisco, so what make him & Boras think he'll make more money elsewhere? Cole, if he decides not to return to the Bronx, didn't endear himself to Yankee fans in the World Series with his "traffic cop" gaffe Wednesday night, but it was a sign that his best days are behind him, too.

The Yanks also declined the option on first baseman Anthony Rizzo, perhaps a sign they'd want to lure Pete Alonso away from the Mets. Hmmmmmmm.

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Karma came a'callin' in Happy Valley Saturday morning.

Prior to the Penn State-Ohio State game, which aired on Fox, ESPN's College GameDay was in State College as well, and Jason Kelce, in his first season with ESPN, was confronted by a pea-brained Penn State student.

To make a long story short, this jabroni, with a cell phone in hand, recording the incident for his own amusement, claimed, falsely, of course, that Kelce's brother, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, was gay for being in a relationship with singer Taylor Swift.

I honestly think this kid either left his brains in his dorm this morning, or had already finished a six pack from the previous night, because he clearly was asking for trouble. Jason Kelce turned, snatched the phone, and spiked it to the ground. What was the student thinking?

As for the karma? Penn State got spanked by Ohio State.

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It's clear Michigan will not repeat as National Champion this year.

The Wolverines were routed at home, 38-17, by the current #1 team in the country, Oregon, this afternoon.

Then again, former coach Jim Harbaugh isn't exactly doing much better in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers.......