Sports this 'n' that

Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray has seemingly done an about-face and, as of Wednesday, is considering the prospect of declaring for the NFL draft.

Now, we know that won't sit well with his baseball agent, Scott (20 Mule Team) Boras, who's only concerned about fattening his own already overstuffed bank account and wallet, anyway. However, the idea might just convince Boras to think about getting certification from the NFL Players Association, if enough NFL players are familiar with him through news articles.

However, in Oakland, one blogger had a herd of cows over Murray's announcement.

Jen Rainwater, a feature writer for Athletics Nation, decided to be a Twidiot and ranted on Murray. The tweets have since been deleted, but the damage was already done. To Rainwater, who lost her job on Thursday.

Rainwater wished ill on Murray for no other reason than the perception that he had already betrayed the A's organization before spring training even starts in Arizona next month. What Rainwater gets for being so callous and disrespectful is a set of Weasel ears. Seems only fitting.
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The Mets added roster depth this week with the signings of infielder Jed Lowrie and pitcher Luis Avilan.

Avilan, who has pitched for Atlanta, among others, was inked to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training in Port St. Lucie next month. Lowrie, whose resume includes stops in Boston, Oakland, and Houston, signed a 2 year, $20 million deal. Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen is Lowrie's former agent, which would explain some things.

The Mets are now three deep at second base with Lowrie joining Robinson Cano and Jeff McNeil. McNeil can also play third, as can Lowrie, and people on Reddit are already writing off New Jersey product Todd Frazier as if the Mets would deal the former Little League World Series hero. Uh, no, I don't see it happening.

If anything, spring training should be interesting just for the drama alone.
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After going 2-2 with our playoff picks last week, let's see if we can improve in the division round.

AFC:

Indianapolis @ Kansas City (Saturday): Colts QB Andrew Luck may just be the Comeback Player of the Year. However, there's no stopping the league's most exciting player to date, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, who is a candidate for MVP. This will be a shootout, but this time, the Chiefs will have the last word.

Pick: Kansas City.

Los Angeles @ New England (Sunday): Ho hum. This figures to be the Patriots' last home game of the season. Philip Rivers & the Chargers are hungry, looking to end the Patriot dynasty, at least for now. Figure that if all else fails in Foxborough, Bob Kraft will send officiating czar Alberto Riveron an extra case of macaroni & cheese to see things his way.........

Pick: New England.

NFC:

Dallas @ Los Angeles (Saturday): What figures to be the start of a big 24 hour period in LA will also be a proving ground for the Cowboys as well as the Rams. Dak Prescott & Dallas won a tight one to advance, just the 2nd playoff win in the last decade or so for Dallas. However, reality is about to set in for the Cowboys. Figure Aaron Donald & Ndamakong Suh will have a couple of meetings with Prescott in the backfield, and their defensive mates will bottle up Ezekiel Elliott, Cole Beasley, and friends.

Pick: Los Angeles.

Philadelphia @ New Orleans (Sunday): Does Nick Foles' Magic Carpet Ride II continue, or does the magic finally run out in N'Awlins? It's a revenge game for the Eagles, who were blown out of the yard by the Saints in the regular season.

What the league would love is for both conference title games to be 1 vs. 2. They'll get their wish.

Pick: New Orleans.

Of course, I could be wrong.
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Arizona hired former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury earlier this week, and ESPN bloviator Stephen A. Smith couldn't deal with it. Neither could a Dallas sports anchor. Kingsbury ankled USC to take the Cardinals' job after a losing record at his alma mater. Kingsbury was a star QB for the Red Raiders, but was a bust in the NFL 15 years ago.

Part of why teams have so much trouble winning has to do with the personnel on the field, players & coaches both. If communication is the issue, then changes are made. However, there's also something to be said about the level of competition.....!

The haters just need to shut up and wait 'til September.......