The NFL playoffs already are a success in my book, with the Kansas City Swifts missing them entirely and the Philadelphia Eagles having been shown the door Sunday.

No doubt the NFL and its shill announcers will pick other teams to build up to annoying levels, but for now we can just enjoy the games.

Attention turns to your Steelers and questions abound regarding tonight’s home game vs. the Houston Texans.

Can the Steelers win a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 season?

Can Aaron Rodgers put together good games back to back?

Can the Steelers win a 24^th straight Monday Night Football home game?

My answers are no, no and no, but I’m wrong a lot regarding such matters.

The Steelers get this far a lot, but of late do nothing once arriving in the playoffs. Mike Tomlin is a career loser at 8-11 in postseason games he has coached. This is not exactly Super Seventies Steelers stuff.

The sages on espn.com all picked the Texans, giving 3.5 points, about a week ago. The spread was down to 3 points in an updated post Sunday evening, but all still were picking the Texans, to win outright and to cover that spread. Interestingly, three of four took the over 38.5 bet to hit and only one picked under.

But the Steelers are getting love elsewhere, like on si.com, where the pick is to take the Steelers and the three points, while not explicitly calling for an outright Steelers win.

I can see the Steelers hanging close, an outcome made likely by the styles of both teams, but in the end I’d expect Houston to win by more than three points.

I really liked the under last week in the season finale vs. Baltimore, which looked good until the teams inexplicably started trading touchdowns late.

This kind of outlier means I’d forget the over-under and all the prop bets, just take the Texans to win and give the points.

Part of that hinges on my anticipation that Rodgers won’t star in the game.

I was struck, while watching the Philadelphia loss Sunday, that Eagles coach Nick Sirianni looks an awful lot like Rodgers, particularly with a winter cap pulled low over the brow, emphasizing the bony face and scruffy beard.

They are contemporaries in terms of age, with Sirianni being 45 years old and Rodgers, 42. But Sirianni is coaching, not maneuvering around the pocket with his walker.

The Steelers will protect Rodgers with lots of screens and other quick passes, but that Texans defense just might track him down a time or two.

Much is made of the Steelers beating Baltimore last weekend, neatly forgetting it took a choke on an attempted field goal by the Ravens for the Steelers to prevail.

Also, emotions run high that the return of wide receiver DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf from his two-game suspension will be the difference.

Maybe, but not likely.

Last, the Steelers are supposed to be guaranteed winners at home on Monday Night. But all streaks end, eventually.

The Houston defense is good. Quarterback C.J. Stroud, while inconsistent, tends to get it done eventually.

Texans win.

In the sort of classic psychological projection that is part and parcel of delusional leftist mentality, these people froth at the mouth while accusing the opposition of having exactly the same failings they exhibit.

Example: Leftists insist all Trump supporters are cult members blindly supporting Trump and incapable of rational thought that would allow disagreement. And the left didn’t neatly overlook the many foibles of Clueless Joe Biden, for example?

But many of the MAGA types I know do disagree at times with Trump. The ongoing flap over possibly charging Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell for allegedly fibbing to Congress is one of those times for me.

Powell put out a video over the weekend saying the justice department investigating him criminally for misstating aspects of the ongoing Fed building renovations while testifying to Congress was all political retribution because he hasn’t reduced interest rates as quickly as President Trump would have liked.

Yes, Jay, it sure does look political, just as your virtually unprecedented rate cut – and 50 basis points at that instead of the more common 25 basis points – just before the 2024 election looked like you were being political and trying to shepherd Cackling Kamala over the finish line in her race with Trump.

Trump holds a grudge. Consider many believe he decided to run for president in large part because Barry Obama chided him at a public event that he lacked credentials to serve in the office, as Barry did, for two terms.

Trump now has won two presidential elections, and many think a third, either matching or exceeding Barry’s total depending on your views regarding 2020, and either way has stripped Mr. Hope and Change of any more snippy one-liners.

You see, Barry holds grudges, too. Most politicians do.

But Trump is making a mistake in going after Powell. He’s rocking the boat unnecessarily since Powell’s term as Fed chairman is set to end in May, even though Powell could remain on the board of governors for two more years.

Perhaps Trump wants him gone totally, and has seen enough of a political bent in Powell that he knows the wizened guy will hang on as long as possible just to continue to play politics with the nation’s monetary policy.

Regardless, I think Trump should just let Powell’s chairmanship reach its expiration date, like a gallon of rancid milk, and move on with his agenda. Deal with Powell in a reduced role if needed down the line.

Investment markets were reacting to the Powell news early Monday. Gold was up more than $100 an ounce and silver was up more than $5. Stock market averages were down considerably.

Stock and bond markets want stability and everyone to get along. The precious metals markets tend to rise when people don’t get along.

I’m making money on the precious metals rise, but this is just one of Trump’s actions with which I disagree. It doesn’t mean, however, that I don’t support most of his acts and want more of the same.

This merely is a case of a MAGA type being a rational thinker, something those on the left might want to try for a change.

We are inundated with absurd takes on current events, a seemingly never-ending supply of inanity from those who should — and possibly do — know better. This prompts us to search for context by inserting such typical lunatic reasoning into everyday events and seeing how that plays out.

Consider first, a spelling bee at one of those ubiquitous Somali-run Minneapolis learning centers.

MODERATOR: Please spell the word “learning.”

YOUNG SOMALI CONTESTANT: 1,000 pardons (which is less than 25 percent of the pardons issued by your Clueless Joe Biden when he was the leader of this Great Satan country) could you use the word in a sentence?

MODERATOR: Yes. We are holding this spelling bee in a “learning” center.

CONTESTANT: Praise Allah, I will attempt to comply with your request. That would be L as in larceny. E as in embezzlement. A as in antisemitism. R as in racket. I as in infidel. N as in nefarious. G as in graft.

MODERATOR: Oh, sorry. You missed an N.

CONTESTANT: Again, 1,000 pardons (about the number of pardons Minnesota Democrats will require when this fraud investigation is completed) but I did have an N in my answer.

MODERATOR: That is correct, but the word “learning” has two N’s.

CONTESTANT: That is absolutely false and I fear I am beginning to detect Islamophobia. Did you not see the sign over the entrance? Clearly, it reads “Learing Center.”

MODERATOR: But, that was a mistake, a ridiculously basic error which has become a meme for the absurdity and corruption of these centers.

CONTESTANT: This is most regrettable. I humbly request another word, perhaps intifada. May this worthless one also suggest a sentence using the word: You will be subject to an intifada if you choose to remove me from this contest based on what you claim to be my misspelling of learning. As the useful leftist idiots who support me and others like me might say, we’re going to burn you, and this, down.

MODERATOR: Oh. Well, I guess that means you win, the rest of the spelling bee is canceled, and we can all go home. Nothing to see here.

Let us now move to a scene of football replay officials, be they college or pro, nitpicking ad nauseam videos that should elicit almost immediate verdicts, even as experts on the broadcasts think out loud regarding their eventual decision. In this case, they are looking at videos of the ICE shooting of an assailant, again in Minnesota.

REPLAY OFFICIAL 1: OK, do we have an angle that shows whether or not the individual hit the ICE officer with her vehicle?

REPLAY OFFICIAL 2: I’m hoping to land a gig with CNN, so I want to eliminate any such videos from this review and instead concentrate on videos that might call into doubt the behavior of the ICE officer.

BOOTH EXPERT: Fans on both sides are going crazy waiting for this crucial call. I’m not sure what they’re looking at. It seems pretty obvious to me.

TYPICAL ANNOUNCER: So, when you were officiating, did you face situations like this and how did you decide which way to call it?

BOOTH EXPERT: Well, again, back in the day, we had limited video and angles. But, in this case there is such clear and evident video, from pertinent angles, I can’t believe these guys are taking so long.

REPLAY OFFICIAL 1: What I’m seeing is the driver making a conscious effort to identify the ICE officer was in front of her vehicle, turning the wheels to point the vehicle toward him and, accelerating into him as the passenger seat occupant, who was back in the vehicle after trashtalking ICE people, urges her to go.

REPLAY OFFICIAL 2: Make sure CNN gets this next bit from me. I’m not sure the ICE officer had firm control of his firearm and both feet inbounds in front of the vehicle when the alleged, purported, supposed contact is claimed to have occurred, perhaps, possibly.

TYPICAL ANNOUNCER: An ironic coincidence just occurred to me. The shooting victim’s name was Renee Nicole Good, initials almost RNC, and when you type RNC into a Bing search, the entire first page of results has to do with the Republican National Committee. Just sayin’.

REPLAY OFFICIAL 1: I heard the network guys doing the game are getting impatient. As much as you LameStream media types and my fellow replay official would like to absolve the instigator of any guilt or responsibility, the video is clear, she committed the initial penalty and paid a price much stiffer than losing a few yards. Here’s more irony, considering her name, this truly was a Good shooting. Make sure Fox News gets that last bit.

A confused type tried to run down an ICE officer in Minneapolis, got shot dead for her efforts, and we have more political red meat for the deranged leftists of LameStream media and the political world who now feel licensed to whine about Gestapos, Nazis, the death of democracy, the shredding of the Constitution, and the need for free bus rides, cheaper housing and no voting regulations.

Quick to shoot from the lip, consistent in propagandizing rather than reporting or informing, the usual suspects are backed by their leftist foot soldiers who already are picking up their pre-printed signs and hitting the streets looking to gin up social upheaval. Early indications are the ample money from shadowy leftist billionaires isn’t producing as much action on the ground these days as it once did.

The obvious question is, what is wrong with these people on the out-of-touch political left that they see up as down, right as wrong, righteous as evil? Why do they persist in telling lies when we have ample video available to show exactly what happened? Spoiler alert: It didn’t go down even close to the way they are portraying it.

There are many other questions I’ve been asking.

If Tim Walz was so upset that President Trump branded him “retarded,” why does Walz seem bound and determined to live down to the characterization of his mental ability as witnessed by his handling of the Somali fraud and now the shooting of the ICE assailant?

Along a similar line, how could Minneapolis mayor Jacob a few Frey(s) short of a Happy Meal proclaim to have watched video of the deceased terrorist trying to run down the ICE officer and call the assertion that he shot her (it) in self-defense BS?

How come these scofflaws, most lately the guy who thinks he’s a woman who vandalized J.D. Vance’s house, to this lesbian ICE attacker, all seem to have what could politely be called “alternative” lifestyles?

Could it be all those years of having their odd choices lionized and held up as ideals that one should aspire to, perhaps warped their sensibilities?

Did anyone else read or hear that the ICE agent forced to shoot to protect himself and fellow officers in Minneapolis this week is the same guy dragged 100 yards last June in Minneapolis by an illegal in a vehicle?

Did you see his name is Jonathan Ross (no relation)?

Can you believe assorted Democrat buffoons in Congress have painted the Minneapolis shooting incident as racism, white privilege, or maybe failure of the social safety net to provide vehicles with bulletproof glass to facilitate running down federal law enforcement types?

Is anyone else noticing the dead attacker was referred to almost across the board as a “legal observer,” and can we assume this is a euphemism along the line of Maryland dad or Maryland husband?

Does “legal observer” mean delusional vigilante feeling entitled to interfere with arrests and attempt to injure duly appointed law enforcement officers?

Can anyone say with any certainty whether the deceased woman actually lived or worked in Minneapolis – I’ve read conflicting stories – or just showed up to do legal observation, perhaps on some leftist payroll?

Did you read she had one child – somehow – with her current wife, but two other children are said to live with the extended family?

Are you confused that someone who reportedly graduated with a degree in English could not understand the simple command to halt and not attempt to run over a member of law enforcement?

Do you think Walz thought maybe for a moment this would spare him from taking the fall for the Somali fraud case?

Amy Klobuchar’s antics regarding Tim Walz and his aborted run for re-election as governor of Minnesota struck home with me for an unusual reason. I, too, once was reduced to eating food with a comb.

If you are late to the party, Klobuchar is a reigning Democrat senator from Minnesota, who reportedly is considering replacing Walz in the gubernatorial run, while appointing hapless Tim to keep her Senate seat warm.

During the course of reading breathless reports of this typical Democrat demagoguery, one entry made a headline reference to Klobuchar being scandal-plagued.

The click-bait headline worked. I wanted to read about Klobuchar’s scandals.

If I had heard about it previously, it had been unceremoniously forgotten.

But, it was noted that Klobuchar, like most Democrats with even the slightest national name recognition, once thought she should run for president.

Klobuchar quickly exited that chase, in part, because of aides leaking how tough she was to work for, and citing examples.

One humorouos instance they shared was about a lackey forgetting to pick up plastic utensils so that Klobuchar could wolf down a salad on a flight. Klobuchar had to reach into her purse for a comb to eat the salad. She then berated the staffer for his oversight, and sent him to wash the comb after she had eaten.

As a side note, beware the fact checkers. One questionable such site, hopefully writing satirically, called the whole story into question, neatly ignoring that Klobuchar has admitted publicly multiple times to eating that salad with a comb.

I’m here to say that while I think Klobuchar is absurdly out of step with traditional American values and due to that is a dangerous person to have in a place of national prominence, I don’t hold it against her for eating with a comb.

Many years back, a cousin and I trekked to the Watkins Glen racetrack to view sports car racing. On the way to the hotel, we visited a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet, in Horseheads, N.Y., as I recall, getting the food at the drivethrough window.

Alas, upon returning to the hotel, we discovered they’d given us no forks, spoons or knives.

Klobuchar, in recounting her incident – the one the fact-checking site found to be unproven – likened herself to a real-life MacGyver, her reference being to a TV series that began in the 1980s in which the title character showed amazing improvisational skills in using everyday objects to get him out of jams.

Anticipating Klobuchar – and MacGyver – I had used an aluminum comb I carried with me daily to eat my mashed potatoes. The chicken was no problem, the legs and breasts being eaten easily by hand.

My cousin, lacking a comb, ate a chicken leg first, then used the bone to eat his mashed potatoes.

Reading the Klobuchar tale made me laugh and prompted a call to him, producing more laughter at the memories.

Notable, however, is that neither he, nor I, took out our anger regarding a lack of utensils on aides (we had/have none) or other innocent third parties.

Today’s scribblings are inspired by the words of the late, great Joe Schmidt – again. The man’s memorable, graphic maxim on life had inspired a post here the past July

As a refresher, Schmidt was a Pittsburgh native, played linebacker at Pitt, went on to play in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, including winning an NFL championship with them, then coached the Lions for six seasons and afterward moved on to a successful career running a firm that supplied the region’s auto manufacturers.

While still involved with football, Schmidt uttered the definitive observation on the human condition: “Life is a shit sandwich and every day you take another bite.”

Life isn’t easy, and it isn’t supposed to be, regardless of what you hear from the congenital whiners of Gen X or Gen Z. You put on your big boy pants and soldier on, which is what Schmidt said and did.

But, there are times when the sandwich is tastier, when the news is good and hope springs for even better.

This is such a time.

Just Monday, Tampon Tim Walz, bowing to the mounting Somali fraud scandals Democrats seem to have abetted in Minnesota, announced he would not run for re-election as governor there.

Considering the checkered military background of Walz, him running away is somehow fitting.

Walz went from denying the scandal and branding any that spoke of it as racists or islamophobes to acknowledging – sort of – massive corruption occurred on his watch. Oh, he still carped about Republicans taking advantage of the situation to make political hay.

You might say Walz fell on his sword, but this klutz would have missed the blade. Have you seen videos of him trying to load a shotgun?

It’s hard not to shudder at the thought that this fool would have been a mere heartbeat away from the presidency had Cackling Kamala’s Democrats been able to pull off another election “miracle” on par with 2020.

Now, Tampon Tim can go from screaming nonsensically at rallies, rejoicing that his state’s employee pension funds took a hit when Tesla stock declined, or doing photo ops as the human trophy of Democrat powerbrokers, back to wrangling his strange family that includes the cringeworthy turn-the-page hand gestures of wife Gwen, odd social media ramblings of daughter Hope and any foibles of son Gus (whose name should be Change to go with Hope, right?).

In typical Walz unintentional humor, Tim (referred to as Tim, not dad, by Hope) posted a video before a morning run to announce Tim is not running. You can’t make up this crap.

All of this came on the heels of a weekend that saw Nicolas Maduro surgically removed as dictatorial head of Venezuela, prompting the usual outcry from enemies of America, both foreign and domestic.

I was particularly encouraged, though, that many culled through the social media archives to find prominent Democrats in the not-too-distant past screaming for Maduro to be handled. They just didn’t like that Donald J. Trump did it this time.

There was a post from Clueless Joe Biden as a campaigner vs. Trump, calling Maduro a thug and dictator, accusing Trump of talking tough but doing nothing and Biden promising to do something about it once he was president.

Well, for four years of hiding in the potted plants as president, Biden did nothing. Less than a year on the job during his second term, Trump has eliminated Maduro as a problem, both for us and Venezuela.

Also, crying Chuck Schumer, the Democrat leader terrified the ultra-left wing of his party is going to send him to the old folks home for inept politicians, decried Trump’s weekend removal of Maduro. Yet, there Chuck was in 2020 complaining Trump had not dealt with Maduro.

It is true that if Trump walked on water tomorrow, Democrats and their lapdogs in LameStream media would headline: Trump Can’t Swim!

While it truly is heartening to see the Walz, Biden and Schumer types of this world be exposed for the hypocrites that they are, I’m more encouraged by the long game Trump seems to be playing.

It is becoming increasingly clear that blue states and cities have bastardized social programs and found a way to use them to funnel money toward maintaining Democrat political power, the better to keep the cycle repeating.

Similarly, Venezuela was a critical source of aid and comfort to our enemies, from a base in our hemisphere. From propping up Cuba, to helping China and Russia skirt economic sanctions and restraints, Venezuela was the international equivalent of Minnesota’s Somalis.

By cutting off the purloined money domestically, Trump is leveling the political playing field here. By taking out Venezuela, he is doing the same regarding matters of international security and economics.

Looming over all this is the very real possibility that Democrats will be able to pull a psyop on the American populace and take control of the House of Representatives in November.

That would neuter Trump and end all the great long-range plans. It is a very real possibility and it would result in more bites of Schmidt’s disgusting sandwich.

Until then, let us enjoy the moment.

I wasted three-plus hours of my life Sunday night watching the Steelers-Ravens game, a contest that could be summed up with a variation on a familiar sporting cliché.

Frequently, we hear it was a shame one team had to lose a particular game. In this case, it was a shame either team had to win. They both played poorly, on both sides of the ball and on special teams, too.

Along that line, it was fitting the Steelers prevailed, 26-24, when Ravens kicker Tyler Loop misfired badly from 44 yards as the clock expired.

I spent the night trying to assure a Steelers fan I’d invited over to watch the game that his Steelers were going to win, despite their many hiccups. That continued right up to Loop’s miss, which I told him would happen. It was a sentiment based on what had transpired earlier in the game.

This guy had misfired badly on a previous kickoff, booting the ball out of bounds. He looked as nervous as the proverbial long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh apparently forgot his team no longer had Justin Tucker, having sent him into kicker oblivion over accusations of misbehavior with massage therapists.

Instead of an Old Reliable veteran, Harbaugh sent out a vapor-locking youngster to attempt a field goal that was anything but a chip shot, with the game and the season on the line.

Failure was all but guaranteed.

Harbaugh instead might have tried to gain some valuable yardage on the final play from scrimmage instead of having Lamar Jackson give up a few yards in order to center the ball for Loop.

That centering failed to help Loop as he missed badly to the right.

And so, the curtain fell on a game replete with miserable play.

Twice in the fourth quarter the Steelers lost Ravens wide receivers on pass routes, leading to long touchdown completions. That same Steelers defense allowed Ravens running back Derrick Henry to go over 100 yards – in the first half. Usually proficient Steelers placekicker Chris Boswell missed his first PAT in more than two seasons with just under a minute remaining.

The Ravens defense was equally porous, including having a defensive back look like Bambi on ice during one late Steelers touchdown reception. It seems the next time an initial Ravens defender on the scene is able to execute a tackle will be the first.

Jackson and Aaron Rodgers interspersed their few good throws with many off-target efforts. Rodgers came alive after injuries depleted the Ravens secondary and produced some extremely vanilla coverages.

Jackson had pathetic passing numbers beyond the couple of absolute Steelers coverage breakdowns, managed to throw an interception, and showed none of his touted explosiveness running the ball.

The bottom line is two mediocre teams slopped around with the AFC North title on the line. The 10-7 Steelers won and move on to the playoffs, but don’t bother ordering Super Bowl tickets.

I awoke Saturday morning to news that Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife were on a U.S. warship, reportedly the first leg in a journey to New York to face justice.

Maduro et ux got there after one of those middle-of-the-night, pinpoint military raids that probably only the U.S. or Israelis could make with such successful precision.

The usual suspects – China, Russia, Iran, Democrats and LameStream media – are decrying the action, ordered by President Donald J. Trump. As my late mother used to emphasize to the kids in the family, you are known by the company you keep. Actually, she was more earthy, saying if you travel with (excrement), you stink with it.

Along that line, it is fitting that the deranged leftists among us would join our avowed enemies and back a thug drug lord, albeit one (formerly) with political portfolio.

I presume that LameStream media will begin the propaganda campaign by calling Maduro a New York father, once he arrives there. These same useful idiots would have labeled Hitler as a Berlin, or Brandenburg, husband, neatly ignoring his pathological behavior that led to the deaths of millions.

Perhaps some prominent stooges among the Democrat far-left wing can arrange to visit Maduro and have a few drinks, providing photo ops for their vacuous social media posts.

More of those leftist stooges will flood social media with allegations of military overreach (he was just sitting there in his country presumably minding his own narcoterrorist network, although admittedly while in hiding), racism (Maduro is not white), misogyny (presumably his captured wife is a woman), and maybe even fraud (Trump overstating the reach and power of the U.S. military, albeit such being a tough sell considering this success, but still a possibility with a typical left-wing zealot masquerading as a judge presiding over a trial).

Can the Supreme Court be called into emergency session to demand Maduro and his wife be returned to Venezuela?

Some seem to be surprised by this Maduro capture. The only surprise to me was the exact timing.

I read it might have happened a few days earlier but for some bad weather. Regardless, Trump has been perfectly clear that Maduro had to go as far as Venezuela leadership.

In typical Trump fashion, he first made sure he had all the negotiating cards. Recall him pointing out to that pathetic dwarf Zelenskyy months back that the Z guy held no cards in his tiny hands? Maduro was similarly challenged when it came to lacking a strong hand to play.

Late in the going, Maduro must have sneaked a peak at his cards and offered to deal, a plaintive request dismissed summarily by Trump. Too late.

This negotiation had reached the point of no return for Maduro. The outcome was inevitable.

I find symbolism in Maduro being headed to New York, the state of our largest city, which now is run by a socialist mayor who sounds a lot like Maduro. Many Venezuela residents bought into Maduro’s socialist claptrap, only to find themselves needing those free bus rides so they could trek to garbage dumps in search of dinner.

Leaders of Mexican drug cartels might want to pay attention to Maduro’s capture, too. Trump is citing executive authority, the same power that led to deposed Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega being captured. CBS news reports that the Maduro grab is 36 years to the day after Noriega was taken.

The allegations against Maduro and Noriega are similar – narcoterrorism.

But Maduro was taken relatively easily owing to the advancements in our military in those three-plus decades.

Yes, I’ve read how well-trained and formidable Mexican drug cartel militias are. But, if push came to shove in a full kinetic confrontation, I’m confident the U.S. military would bloody their cocaine-stained noses with ease.

Trump might want to redirect some of that sea and air power formerly off the Venezuelan coast to the western edge of the Gulf of America, or even to the Pacific Ocean below California, just to make his point with Mexican drug lords.

If he does, they might do well to check their playing cards quickly, and fold immediately if not sooner.

Once upon a time, Jan. 1, or in some years Jan. 2 or 3, was the zenith of the college football season. Most bowls were played in early January, the season was a wrap, and thoughts quickly turned to the next season. Not now.

The NFL calendar has been stretched similarly. You might not recall it, but the first Steelers Super Bowl win, in edition IX played in Tulane Stadium in New Orleans (there was no SuperDome back then), was contested Jan. 12, 1975. This season’s Super Bowl comes almost an entire month later, Feb. 9.

Stanley Cup Finals that stretch into late June, World Series games in November, etc., etc., etc., all indicate sports fooling with Mother Nature’s calendar.

Thus, we find ourselves early in January with only the four semifinalists for the national collegiate football crown having been determined and with yet another week of REGULAR-SEASON!! NFL games on the ticket.

What have we learned from football games contested over the past week and change?

• Texas Tech made big news this season spending $28 million in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money, mostly on its defense, en route to a Big 12 title and a spot in the playoffs. After watching Tech look hapless on offense in a 23-0 quarterfinal loss to Oregon, maybe the priority for 2026 should be to spend some coin buying an offense.
• It probably was merely coincidence that Oregon called a late timeout to ram in its final, meaningless, touchdown against that high-priced defense.
• By the way, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding Oregon’s NIL spending, but quarterback Dante Moore gets a reported $2.3 million and NIKE billionaire Phil Knight reportedly has donated about $1 billion over the years trying to get the Ducks a national title. There’s a good reason to root against Oregon.
• Indiana also has mystery regarding total NIL, but it has been reported quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Mr. Heisman Trophy, gets $2.6 million to play what used to be an amateur sport this season.
• Considering this reality, announcers and the NCAA should spare us the student-athlete crap.
• Among the more annoying aspects of football circa 2025 and 2026 is the bow to “analytics.” In recent days I’ve seen coaches inexplicably try to convert fourth downs in their own territory, and fail. I’ve seen coaches strangely go for two-point conversions early, when it didn’t make apparent sense, then opt not to do so later. Three thoughts on analytics: 1) If you go on fourth down at your 35-yard line, even if you succeed, you’re still most often maybe 30 yards or more from a field goal and 70 or so from a touchdown, so risk vs. reward is not there. 2) A valid sample size for football is hundreds if not thousands of occurrences, so there are going to be a lot of times when the result is failure. 3) Coaches are dealing with humans, not calculators, so there is emotional letdown that comes when these sporting gambles fail. Can you say momentum?
• I’ve read many are picking Baltimore over the Steelers in their division title showdown Sunday night, some by lopsided scores. Mostly, these pundits are factoring in the absence of Steelers wide-receiver DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf due his suspension for lack of self-control regarding a fan. Considering my track record, far be it from me to pick a winner. But, I’ve got to think Steelers chances are enhanced considerably by the determination of Lamar Jackson to play quarterback for the Ravens and likely produce more of his patented big-game gaffes.
• Back in the 1970s, Steelers fans used to hate Howard Cosell of Monday Night Football fame. Foam rubber bricks were sold back then to throw at the television and Cosell without actually harming either. I wish I had one of those bricks to toss at Cris Collinsworth Sunday night should I watch the Steelers-Ravens game with the sound activated. Collinsworth picks a player to deify each broadcast and I suspect it will be his frequent favorite, Jackson. Never mind that Jackson never has taken his team to a championship, he’s Tom Brady with mobility in the eyes of Collinsworth. Maybe I should use a real brick. I’m due for a TV upgrade.

The sun is shining, but the wind is blowing gales and, baby, it’s cold outside.

It is a good day to stay inside, trade the volatile metals markets and dispense some random thoughts on random topics as 2025 winds to a close.

• Talk abut 3-D chess, President Trump hitting China by putting the clamps on Venezuela certainly qualifies. While the general population pursues free stuff from the government, what Trump is doing escapes the attention of the masses, but will benefit them more than the price of gasoline declining.
• This is the latest iteration of the Monroe Doctrine, something we ancients learned about when American history was taught in schools, not distorted with the DEI brush. Said doctrine declared Americans would actively oppose foreign powers gaining influence in our hemisphere. Trump’s attention to Venezuela is as much about hamstringing the oil flow to China as it is about hammering a state sponsor of narco-terrorism.
• Mid-term elections are not until November, but the polls continue to rain down upon us, often contradicting each other. We are to believe that Democrats hate their party in historic numbers, but will sweep to a House of Representatives majority in said elections. Yet, other polls cite that finding of Democrat unrest as proof Republicans can hold their slim majority. The only poll that counts is the actual voting in November. Until then, it’s all just noise.
• It would seem to me the Republican election hopes will hinge on the economy. If Democrats are able to convince average Americans that their “affordability” problems are the fault of Republicans, then the Democrats will take the House. It is incumbent on Republicans to hammer the truths of increasing wages, lower taxes, lower interest rates, increased investment returns, economic gains overall, as well as asking how one can put a price on street crime being reduced considerably.
• Considering daily revelations about alleged fraud in Minnesota, it looks like Trump was correct to call Gov. Tampon Tim Walz retarded. For further evidence, dredge up video of Tampon Tim trying to load a shotgun and looking like Elmer Fudd having sexual relations with the weapon. There, but for the grace of God, was your vice president had Cackling Kamala won the last election. Yes, to quote Barry Hussein Obama, elections do matter.
• ESPN.com checks in with some interesting takes on the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. First, the Steelers have the most expensive defense in the NFL, yet rank near the bottom of the league in all significant defensive categories.
• As for Steelers fans hoping the Ravens will continue to be without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson for the teams’ season-ending game, they might note the two biggest Baltimore wins this season, against Chicago and Green Bay, came with Tyler Huntley playing quarterback. In those games, Huntley ran well, passed efficiently and avoided the turnover gaffes that define Jackson in key games.
• If you want insight on the pecking order on cable business and news outlets, check to see which hosts actually are working during the holiday season, and which ones get extended days off with a rotating cast of guest hosts filling in for them.