Alright, so part of the reason I’d prefer to make my own publication (if I can even call this that) is that I get to decide what I write about on any given day or week. Sure, applying to be a freelance writer at an established sports institution would probably help me get a wider audience quicker but that feels like a shortcut to this whole storyline and I’d never really get the final say in what I write.
I already have elite proofreaders who are great at catching any misspellings and grammatical errors, plus a @PrTeam that keeps me in check. This week’s intro is a bit different and for @YouTheReaders who aren’t into Hoboken history, you may not find it all that interesting. The sports are just a few scrolls down.
Music Thematic Concept for this week is Baby It’s Cold Outside by Frank Sinatra and Dorothy Kirsten.
Field Trip: Hoboken Historical Museum
Last Friday I had off from work so after posting Week 14, ‘22 I went over to the Hoboken Museum for some first-hand research on Frank Sinatra. It was my first time going to the museum so I wasn’t sure what to expect. They had been doing some construction on the Sinatra lounge so I didn’t have access at the time but they said to come back later next week. They also mentioned they were waiting on a new item of Frank Sinatra that was getting shipped from the West Coast. So, yesterday on my lunch break, I walked over to the museum. Any time I walk far enough “Uptown” in Hoboken, I always make an effort to walk by the giant home plate on 11th and Washington because it was the Birthplace of Baseball. I know a lot of @YouTheReaders probably think so what, but I just find that bit of history so cool. Anyway, let me know what you think of my photography, here was the item…
In 1947, Frank Sinatra led a team of Hollywood celebrities including actor Anthony Quinn and songwriter Sammy Cahn in softball contests against other local LA celebrity teams. Their team name was the Sinatra Swooners. Ol' Blue Eyes was the Swooners' second basemen and his team’s cheerleaders included Virginia Mayo, Shelley Winters, and Ava Gardner (the bat girl pictured on the Cover of Week 15, ‘22). If you look up the Sinatra Swooners online all of the pictures are in black&white and the only jerseys I see for sale are grey and orange, their road uniform. This piece is extremely rare and was found in someone’s attic (they had no idea their recently deceased family member own this). Another Hoboken factoid: Orange was Frank Sinatra’s favorite color. (Source: Executive Director of the Museum, Bob Foster)
This bust of Frank Sinatra was made by sculptor Chris Dahlberg and was revealed this past Sunday (in honor of Frank Sinatra’s birthday which was 12/12/1915). @YouTheReader I told you I was doing this song for the Thematic Concept of the week on Black Friday. What are the odds that the Museum gets his jersey and it happened to be Sinatra’s birthday week? Sometimes I guess things are meant to happen for a reason. Even if it’s just random happenstance, not going to lie, I’m kind of shook.
After doing some research afterward, Victor Talking Machine Company was founded in Camden, New Jersey in 1901. From 1901 to 1929 it was the largest and most prestigious firm of its kind in the world, best known for the iconic “His Master’s Voice” trademark (if you zoom in where you see the dogs). In 1929, they merged with Radio Corporation of America (RCA). RCA would eventually spawn the first nationwide American radio broadcast called the National Broadcasting Company. @YouTheReader I just gave you a non-sports-related tidbit on the origins of NBC for the next time you’re watching Sunday Night Football.
Sinatra along with Martin and Davis Jr. performed for a packed Carnegie Hall in 1961. The Benefit Performance was for Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The SCLC’s goal was to redeem “the soul of America” through nonviolent resistance and the organization is still around today. This photo was taken afterward as the boys were letting loose.
My new side mission to this side hustle is researching W.A. Goodman & Sons so that the museum can authenticate when exactly the jersey was created and worn by Frank. The Executive Director of the Hoboken Historical Museum, Bob Foster, was awesome at providing details about Frank Sinatra and I’m thankful for him to allowing me to get access to the Sinatra Swooners’ jersey before it will be unveiled on display. He also provided me contacts with Hoboken local baseball historians which I will 1000% reach out to sometime this spring before Opening Day.
Exactly one week after I got a text while on the subway heading to work from my grandparents saying they found out about Aaron Judge resigning with the Yankees through Week to Week Notes, this publication got it’s first scoop.
Christmas Tree Update
@YouTheReader it’s probably not great to have the same water sitting in the tree stand from the first week, right? The needles at this point are cactus prickly sharp. Every time I dip my hand in to check if he’s decided to have a drink the water feels a bit mossy. Don’t worry I wash my hands immediately afterward (*Wink, Wink*).
Here we go, on to some sports…
World Cup Final
Sunday, Dec. 18 at 10 AM ET on FOX
Argentina
For Lionel Messi, a World Cup championship would once and for all cement his legacy as better than Cristiano Ronaldo. The last time Messi was in a World Cup final was in ‘16 when Argentina was bested by Germany. An Argentinian win on Sunday would make it their 3rd World Cup championship and first since 1986. Messi will be the 28th player of all time to have lost their first final and then get another chance. Currently, only 13 of the 28 players would go to take the ultimate glory on the world’s stage.
France
For Kylian Mbappé, a French victory would further stick out on the soon-to-be 24 (12/20/1998) year old’s resume. Only Brazil in 1962 and Italy in 1938 has ever successfully defended the World Cup. Credit to French Goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris (who plays for Tottenham), on what up until this point has been the most crucial save of the tournament.
Week 15 Picks
Warped Logic - Week 15 ‘22
Thursday Nighter
San Francisco 49ers 21 @ Seattle Seahawks 13
This game was the George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey show, which is just fantastic because they nearly put up a 50 burger in fantasy points for TD Bank’s eliminated squad. Whoops, I know you don’t care about my fantasy team or League 10965, but for those who were also eliminated from fantasy football and didn’t watch, Kittle caught 2 TDs and McCaffrey went for 137 all-purpose yards with a score. The 49ers have clinched the NFC West for the first time since 2019, the year they went on to play the Chiefs in the Super Bowl which is famous for being played right before COVID.
2-0 start to Week 15. Week 16’s Thursday Night game is the Jaguars-Jets at MetLife, have me down for 24-17 NYJ.
Off Peak Saturday
Indianapolis Colts @ Minnesota Vikings
Justin Jefferson set a new high for receiving yards in a game for the ‘22 season when he posted 223 in Week 14. Last week’s loss in Detroit was through no fault of his own, as the 3rd year star has now stacked up a clean 1,500 receiving yards for the season and with 4 games left to go is just 465 yards away from passing Calvin Johnson’s 1,964 yards in the ‘12 season (the all-time best single-season record). As for the guy throwing Jefferson the ball, Kirk Cousins joined the elite company of himself and Drew Brees as QBs to lose a game where they threw for over 425 passing yards, pass for 2 or more TDs, throw no INTs, and completed over 75% of passes. Yes, that was worded weirdly, but Cousins has now done that twice (Source: @JanikEckardt). While I have to admit I was very tempted at throwing a curveball and picking Colts Head Coach Jeff Saturday to win in his first Saturday NFL game, I’m at 49.28% at picking against the spread for the season and want to hit over the 50% mark by season’s end.
Prediction: 30-19 MIN (-4 MIN & Over 48.5)
Baltimore Ravens @ Cleveland Browns
After Joe Burrow publicly praised Myles Garrett, the soon-to-be 27-year-old stud pass rusher made good of the endorsement by sacking Burrow twice. Garrett now has 70.5 career NFL sacks and has eclipsed double-digit sacks every year with the exception of his rookie year where he had 7 sacks and missed 5 games with injury. If he can keep up his pace the rest of this season, he should be in line to be a 1st Team All-Pro for a third consecutive season. With Lamar Jackson ruled out with a knee, Tyler Huntley, the Ravens’ backup QB, is set to start in Cleveland. Huntley cleared concussion protocol only yesterday, so don’t be surprised if on Sunday the Ravens’ offense is in a state of flux.
Prediction: 13-9 CLE (-3 CLE & Under 37.5)
Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills
Miami’s QB, Tua Tagovailoa, has played substandard of late. After turning the ball over 3 times in Week 13, Tua only threw for 145 passing yards on 10 of 28 pass attempts. If you take out the 57-yard TD bomb he threw to Tyreek Hill, his stat line would have read 9 of 27 for 88 passing yards. Miami will be dealing with frigid and snowy Buffalo weather, so in preparation for the game, Head Coach Mike McDaniel bumped some YG/Drake and wore “I wish it were colder” shirts. Gotta love the psychological warfare he is expounding on his squad. That said, last week after playing the Jets, Josh Allen was told by a reporter that the Bills’ offense is “not looking like an offense that can win the Super Bowl”, to which Josh Allen just replied “Okay” with a head nod and nothing else.
Prediction: 34-16 BUF (-7.5 BUF & Over 42)
1 PM Slate
Detroit Lions @ New York Jets
Mike White told reporters that there is “no doubt” that he’s starting against the Lions this week. To recap White’s last Sunday: he left the game in the 2nd Quarter after the hit in the ribs. Came back in 2 plays later. Got hit in the ribs again (the GIF above) and went into the locker room for X-rays. Saw Joe Flacco completely pinch a loaf in his absence and returned at the start of the 4th Quarter where he finished out the game. After the game, White took an ambulance to a hospital for testing on internal injuries. **Insert T.O. Crying “That’s My Quarterback” GIF** The former 5th-round pick is willing to leave it all out there on the field and which displays part of the reason that his teammates would go to battle for him. As for the Lions, their Head Coach Dan Campbell praised Mike White’s toughness, and last week Jameson Williams caught his first career NFL pass - a 41-yard TD bomb.
Prediction: 21-14 NYJ (-1 NYJ & Under 44.5)
Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears
DeVonta Smith is listed at 6’0” and 170 lbs. but plays football fearlessly. From Weeks 1 to 10 in games where the Eagles had TE Dallas Goedert, Smith only saw 8+ targets 4 times. From Weeks 11-14, Smith saw 8+ targets every week. (Source: @Ihartitz) With Goedert trending in the right direction to return this Sunday, it’ll be interesting to see how the targets are divvied up. It’ll also be interesting to see if the Bears coming off a bye week can give fans in Soldier Field something to cheer about in the cold. Justin Fields leads the NFL in consecutive games with 50+ rushing yards with 7 in a row. (Source: @NFLonPrime)
Prediction: 31-20 PHI (-8.5 PHI & Over 48.5)
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Carolina Panthers
Don’t look now, but the Carolina Panthers are only 1 game behind the awful NFC South standings and are on a 2 game-winning streak with Sam Darnold under center. It’s only been 2 games, but let’s use Sam Darnold playing as the manipulated variable and team record, points per game, total yards per game, plus passer rating as the responding variable. With (without): team record 2-0 (3-8), PPG 26.5 (18.8), TYPG 339 (286.1), and passer rating 93.6 (74.7). (Source: @NFLGameDay) As @SharpFootball notes, Darnold last week only averaged 5.0 yards per attempted and the Panthers rushed for over 200 yards, but the former Jet QB has played turnover-free football despite the careless two-handed pass attempt seen above. Even with all that said, I’m Picketting the Steelers to win this week with or without Kenny Pickett playing (limited participant yesterday in practice with a concussion) because the Steelers are playing for the Mike Tomlin never coaching a team under .500 to end the season storyline.
Prediction: 12-10 PIT (+2.5 PIT & Under 38.5)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Houston Texans
Patrick Mahomes makes a play or two every week that just shouldn’t be allowed (see above). It doesn’t matter how awkward the arm angle is, he just always seems to make something out of nothing. Last week, Jerick McKinnon was the beneficiary of Mahomes’ magic as he scored 2 receiving TDs with 112 receiving yards. Believe it or not, but I remember McKinnon being a player I wanted the Jets to take a mid-round pick on back in 2014 out of Georgia Southern. Around that time in the UAlbany library was when I started doing 7-round simulated mock drafts on Fanspeak.com, this was even before Week to Week Notes for League 10965. He’s had some ups and downs but seems to have found a role in the past two seasons in KC. With Dameon Pierce doubtful this week, he’s got an ankle, I’ll focus on the Texans’ Head Coach. Lovie Smith is “currently on shaky ground” after starting the season 1-11-1 and a name to watch that might be Texan’s GM Nick Caserio’s top pick to replace Smith next year is Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. (Source: JFowlerESPN)
Prediction: 35-0 KC (-14 KC & Under 48.5)
Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints
Does anybody else just get dumbfounded by the fact that most fantasy football platforms list Taysom Hill as a TE? I mean, I get that the Saints sort of line him up like one, but he’s listed at only 220 lbs. and looks nothing like the rest of the TEs in the league. Anyway, an odd situation in Atlanta flew under the radar, according to @CoachJustinD Marcus Mariota was playing injured most of the season and Arthur Smith kept putting him out there. Mariota’s wife just had a baby and Smith had no idea she was pregnant. The coach benched Mariota in favor of rookie QB, Desmond Ridder, and Mariota decided to get knee surgery and spend time with his newborn. Ridder will be making his NFL debut in New Orleans right in the thick of the NFC South playoff race that is still up for grabs for the whole division. Someone has to win this game. We probably won’t see much offense out of Ridder vs Dalton, but I’ll take New Orleans because of the home-field advantage and predict a baseball score because I didn’t want to use any of the other score prediction numbers on this game.
Prediction: 6-2 NO (-3.5 NO & Under 43.5)
Dallas Cowboys @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Props to the cameraman here, they deserve a raise on this angle of the Zay Jones toe-tap alone. Sorry for not providing more from this GIF, Jones bobbled the ball with one Glove before securing it with two feet in bounds. According to @CBSSports, the Jaguars QB, Trevor “Sunshine” Lawrence has more games with a 100+ Passer Rating (7) than Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady. Lawrence has the Jaguars record at 5-2 in these games. The Cowboys avoided an embarrassing loss to their in-state rival (if you can even call Houston Texans a threat to the Dallas Cowboys brand). The Ezekiel Elliot-Tony Pollard backfield is having a really special season. While some may say Zeke should take a seat to make Pollard the true #1 RB, the former Ohio State Buckeye to the eye test still looks like a very useful RB at getting that tough extra yard or two that always seems to be needed. He’s also a more than willing pass blocker and Pollard may be a much more effective 1b RB who doesn’t need to be the bell cow in an offense to be special.
Prediction: 28-27 JAX (+5 JAX & Over 48)
4 PM Slate
Arizona Cardinals @ Denver Broncos
Kyler Murray’s ‘22 season is now over after he sustained a torn ACL on Monday night. That same game, DeAndre Hopkins made a ridiculous circus one-handed catch that didn’t count because both of his feet were clearly out of bounds. Good effort though. @YouTheReader what odds would you have given me 5 years ago when Jerry Jeudy was tearing it up at ‘Bama and Russell Wilson was still elite with Seattle that in the ‘22 I would take Colt McCoy over Wilson&Jeudy? Back in ‘17, I would’ve for sure thought Colt McCoy would be a college football commentator for the Texas Longhorns by now. He’s had quite the impressive star college football QB turned NFL 12-year vet backup career.
Prediction: 22-11 ARI (+3 ARI & Under 36)
New England Patriots @ Las Vegas Raiders
What do ya know, it’s December and Bill Belichick once again has an under-the-radar elite defense. The Patriots ranked 6th in yards allowed per game, 5th in points allowed per game, 3rd in team sacks, and 6th in takeaways (team interceptions + fumbles recovered). Matthew Judon’s 14.5 sacks this year only trail Nick Bosa by one. Judon also has a 3rd-year pro teammate out of Michigan, Josh Uche, pass rushing from the opposite end with 10 sacks so far this season. My bet is that Bill Belichick finds a way to even out the 18-19 record he has against his former assistant coaches or players. (Source: NBC Sports)
Prediction: 23-18 NE (-1 NE & Under 44.5)
Tennessee Titans @ Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers RB, Austin Ekeler, has an astonishing 93 catches on the season and still has four more games to play. The NFL record for catches in a season by a running back was Christian McCaffrey’s 116 he had in ‘19. (Source: FieldYates) He is the premier check-down target in the NFL, where like in the GIF above he can turn a catch for no gain into a 1st down. Last week, Derrick Henry ran for 121 yards and a score. It was the first time Henry went over the century mark on the ground since Week 9, however, King Henry is likely annoyed at himself because he fumbled the ball twice in a game for the first time in his career. While this seems like a game where the Chargers make mistakes and allow Mike Vrabel’s Titans to hang around in the game, I think the Chargers are the more talented team and are home.
Prediction: 33-29 LAC (-2.5 LAC & Over 46)
Prime Time
Sunday Scaries
New York Giants @ Washington Commanders
The Giants are coming off a rough one against the Eagles where even their punter Jamie Gillan had trouble executing a legal punt. In their last 5 games, they are now 1-3-1 but are still locked into the 7th seed if the playoffs were to have started today. This GMen team with the exception of Saquon Barkley is pretty well known for being unheralded. One name non-Giant fans may want to get to know is their emerging safety, Julian Love. Love leads the team in tackles and interceptions. He also ranks 1st in the NFL’s safety group in solo tackles, 2nd in tackles for loss, and 2nd in missed tackle %. The defensive back out of Notre Dame was originally a cornerback in college before transitioning to the last line of defense. This game was thankfully flexed into Sunday Night, it would be great if for the second time this year this matchup produced a tie, this time a primetime tie.
Prediction: 3-3 TIE (+4.5 NYG & Under 40)
Moody Monday
Los Angeles Rams @ Green Bay Packers
Had I been doing this writing bit in ‘21, Tutu Atwell would have for sure been on Sunday Scouts a ton. Coming out of Louisville, the speed was ridiculous and the size was the only issue. The Rams must have been high on Atwell as well because they took him with the 57th overall pick. He basically red-shirted his rookie year and was barely playing at the start of this season. With the Rams' season already down the drain, he should continue to be fed targets (saw a career-high 9 last week) to see if they have something in him. I selfishly hope he does well just so I could prove to myself that I was right on my assessment. Christian Watson has now scored a TD in 4 consecutive games. The record for most consecutive games a WR scored a TD was Jerry Rice with 12 straight in 1987, followed by A.J. Green with 9 straight in ‘12 and Davante Adams with 8 straight in ‘20.
SS Carlos Correa (from MIN): 13 years, $350 million with the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants gave the money they were going to pay Aaron Judge to the 28-year-old former Astro shortstop. While he is an upgrade in the SF lineup and a big name to sell to the Bay fans; that contract is the Giants’ banking that Correa will end up in Cooperstown donning orange, black, and cream which I don’t think is a lock at this point with his injury history. Something to keep in mind is this signing likely now makes Brandon Crawford (at 35 years old and in the final year of his contract) expendable. Could the Yankees try to off-load Gleyber Torres with either Aaron Hicks/Josh Donaldson attached for a switch-hitting sure-handed stopgap SS with 2 rings and a family connection? Crawford is Gerrit Cole’s brother-in-law. Yes, I just made a piece on Carlos Correa about the Yankees.
SP Carlos Rodón (from SFG): 6 years, $162 million with the New York Yankees.
Hal has opened up the checkbook this offseason. Retaining the top free-agent position player and now signing what was the top pitcher left on the market. After pitching to a middle-of-the-pack 4.14 ERA from 2015-2020, Rodón figured it out in his age 28 season in ‘21 for the White Sox (2.37 ERA, 12.6 strikeouts per 9 innings, and came in 5th in the AL Cy Young voting). His agent, Scott Boras, was not able to find him a massive long-term contract with teams being skeptical if he was a one-year wonder, so the southpaw landed on a short-term deal with the Giants that included an opt-out after the ‘22 season. He backed up his ‘21 outlier season by pitching to a 2.88 ERA, even 12 strikeouts per 9 innings, and finished in 6th in the NL Cy Young voting out on the west coast. @Carlos_Rodon55 will now slot in somewhere between Cole, Cortes, Severino, and Montas, which might just be the most starting pitching depth in talent that the Yankees have had since the teams of the 90s.
SP Chris Bassitt (from NYM): 3 years, $63 million with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bassitt’s departure from NY was written on the wall the minute he said, “We lose two or three games and it’s like ‘Holy crap, the whole world is burning down.’” Sorry Chris, but NY is a baseball town through and through. Enjoy Canada’s customs every time you hit the road or head back to your new home.
SP Kodai Senga (from Japan): 5 years, $75 million with the New York Mets.
Senga and Masahiro Tanaka won the gold medal together for Japan in the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo. For a Twitter scouting report (@mikemayer22): He’s touched 102 MPH, along with throwing a ghost forkball, slider, curve & cutter. Pitched to a 1.89 ERA in 148 innings this year in the NPB.
SP Noah Syndergaard (from PHI): 1 year, $13 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Thor is betting on himself by taking a 1-year prove-it deal with an LA team that routinely gets the most out of the league’s scraps. He’ll enter the season as the team’s presumed 5th starter and will likely shift to a key piece out of the pen with his 2.62 career playoff ERA in October.
SP Ross Stripling (from TOR): 2 years, $25 million with the San Francisco Giants.
After pitching to a 3.01 ERA in the AL East in ‘22, Stripling will be heading back to the West Coast. In 2016, he made his first big league start at Oracle Park and took a no-hitter into the 8th inning before being yanked because of pitch count. (Source: @PavlovicNBCS)
C Mike Zunino (from TBR): 1 year, $6 million with the Cleveland Guardians.
One year removed from hitting 33 dingers in ‘21, Zunino swings and misses a ton but when he connects he does damage. Last year, Cleveland as a whole only hit 127 home runs which ranked 29th out of the 30 ball clubs so adding his pop might be worth taking this 1-year flier.
Let’s Be Frank Finish
Frank Sinatra had a dark side and some serious character flaws but his music should still be played by people my age today. Sinatra’s Christmas music went viral worldwide at a time when radios and black&white TV sets were luxury items. @YouTheReader isn’t it kind of cool to think that if you listen to one of his songs there is a really good chance one of your grandparents, great-grandparents, (possibly) great-great-grandparents may have listened to this same song around Christmas time 80 years ago? We’re lucky to have old music, movies, and sports all at our fingertips. Just out of lucky happenstance people alive today have a connection with previous generations that were never possible before (unless you include reading and writing).
Nowadays someone could post a song like Baby It’s Cold Outside and there’s always the possibility that somebody will reply with a link to an article they didn’t write saying the song is sexist and promotes toxic masculinity. I’m not saying these conversations shouldn’t come up in person and I’m not condoning the undertones of this particular song with certain lines, but today far too often we’re too quick to write something off without broader context.
This doesn’t even necessarily have to be about Frank Sinatra. We live in an era where everything is about what is new. Nobody my age has any time to reflect on the past, or if they do, it’s always focused on strictly the negatives of the past. I’m not saying the extreme negatives should be ignored, but even a flawed character might have a good quote or two. Just like people from the past, we’re all flawed in some way, some more than others, and whether we like it or not we’re going to be judged just as hard by people 80 years from now as we judge people from 80 years ago. Just don’t forget that. So get off your high horse or get your head out of your own arse. Try to learn something from the past to try to make a better future that can last. If the Blue Check Mark Brigade on Twitter ever one day spit out their Starbucks over this mild take, hopefully, it doesn’t stain…
…but then again what the hell do I know? I’m just some no-name Village Idiot writing about sports with his head up his own arse who spent a portion of his week refreshing Twitter to see if the Yankees were going to sign their new free-agent prize, Carlos Rodón. Pretty hypocritical of me.
YouTube Rabbithole
College of Magic | Sunday on 60 Minutes
A nice story I watched on 60 Minutes last Sunday. @RandomGirlFromTheBar thinks David Gore and the children of The College of Magic should receive more attention and I concur, this should get looked into. The College of Magic was founded in 1980 and is the only school of its kind in the world. They accept children from 10 years and upward. Located in Cape Town, South Africa, the students come from all walks of life and backgrounds. Dr. Jean Baxen, the Department of Education at the University of Cape Town claims, “Teachers, parents, and children reported that one of the immediate benefits of involvement in magic is the sense of wellbeing and the development of a positive self-image.” Seems like a pretty interesting outside-the-box way of thinking, here’s the link to their website if you’d like to learn more.