scott pianowski

Canada might get away with Jordan Binnington and win a gold medal. Obviously the other talent is ridiculous, best in the world, but geesh, their goalie has an .864 save percentage in the NHL.

Everybody knows Cale Makar is a god, but it's ridiculous he's never been Top 5 in the Hart voting for MVP. No way he's not one of the five best players in the world, and his output speaks for itself, too. The biases in the voting are frustrating.

Go read Lloyd Free's entry from the 1980 CHOPB. There's a great easter egg.

Bill Walton loved Maurice Lucas, famously named one of his kids after him.

Survive and advance Wednesday.

Very sad. A smart guy who never took himself too seriously. I got to know Doug a little bit and I really liked him.

Very sad to hear about Doug Moe's passing. His basketball teams always played an entertaining style; we need to celebrate that stuff more. I coincidentally played in a fantasy football league with him for several seasons; a good player and just cool to be around. RIP, Coach.

I go to buy the bucket. The clerk looks like a 19-year-old American version of teenage Rory. He's reading The Godfather. I say oh man, that's a coincidence, Robert Duvall died today.

Who's that?

I will now count deadhead stickers on Cadillacs.

Life in a Northern Town.

This Michigan basketball team is a gift. Basketball as it oughta be. Cohesive, imaginative, smart, fun.

I enjoyed this Patriot season tremendously, a house money season and a fun season. But you never know if it's going to happen again. I asked a good friend of mine what he thought the odds were of Maye getting back to the Super Bowl. He said 50-50. Sounds about right.

But even as the Mike Vrabel-Drake Maye story is just beginning, you never want to take a Super Bowl trip for granted. Dan Marino, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers all went just once. The Jets haven't been since I've been alive. Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen stuck on zero. It's hard.

It's a strange ending for Drake Maye, who was a legitimate MVP candidate all season but was bad in the playoffs. Still, he's just a kid and he's yet to have a good offensive line or an alpha wide receiver. Coachable, athletic, smart. I'm holding all my Maye stock.

Obviously a bad day for just about everything tied to the New England offense. They didn't block, they didn't get open, Drake Maye didn't play well, Josh McDaniels had no answers. Seattle forced much of this, of course. Patriots defense kept it close miraculously for 3Qs.

At least Jason Myers didn't win MVP. It would have been a historically bad pick. He made a bunch of kicks you'd expect anyone to make. Others were the cause of the win, he was a residual.

Kenneth Walker was a reasonable MVP, although I would have preferred Devon Witherspoon or Derick Hall. Seattle's defense is what decided the game. Unfortunately it's harder for defenders to separate and win the vote.

Given the shape of Sunday's game, all Sam Darnold really had to do was avoid the big mistake. He did that. His pocket awareness was very good against a defense that showed up. His redemption the last two years has been a blast to watch. Very easy to like.

I have a lot of affection and respect for the Seattle team and fanbase. It might be the smartest fanbase in the country. A ton of intelligent analysts from that area, too. Good for them. Enjoy it.

Let's collect some final Super Bowl thoughts before we put a period on the season. Thread to follow. First off, the right team won. Seattle's defense was the dominant unit of the season. Seattle wasn't that far from being undefeated. A very true champion. (thread)

Seven current MLB Hall of Famers had 2000s time with the Dodgers. Name em.

When you're down 22 and the game is just about over, maybe you don't spin the football.

Derick Hall probably should be MVP. Kenneth Walker might win MVP. Jason Myers is the Nickelodeon MVP.

My pain was temporarily relieved by Nearly Lost You by the Screaming Trees.

It probably won't matter but it's a mistake by New England, not going for two.

Run the Seattle flag play again.

Grossly underrated: The J. Geils Band.

Josh McDaniels, you're up.

Double Live Gonzo.

No penalties, not a lot of points so far. Game is flying by.

Harvey Danger bumper music. Love those guys.