It’s been a crazy week with NFL Free agency and the March Madness. Let’s dive in!

Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend:

Aaron Rodgers was up to his normal shenanigans on Wednesday. He went on the Pat McAfee show to detail his decision that apparently wasn’t a decision. He said he went into his Darkness retreat 90% going to retire and 10% not retiring. But he came out “different”. I got news for you Aaron, you were already different. He then announced he is committed to playing for the New York Jets. He then said it because the Packers said they didn’t want him anymore and he wished they would have told him earlier. Dude, you have been playing this game every year for like 4 offseasons now. Everyone is over it, even the Packers. They are also tired of him skipping OTA’s and then complaining about all the players not doing what he wants them to do. Hey, I didn’t show up for practice but you should know all the things I want you to do without me telling you. He then went on to talk about how he is probably the greatest Packer ever and how no one bled green and gold more than him. He’s absolutely ridiculous. He said that reporters were ridiculous for stating he was demanding certain players being added to the Jets. Even though it is pretty obvious. This guy is a hoot. He is going to hate the NY press. Also, since he is going to be on a new team is he going to practice? Or is he just going to wing it like last year? My guess is he does the latter. Bold prediction, Packers make the playoffs and the Jets don’t.

Tigers vs Tigers:

Guys! Mizzou won a tournament game! We had not won a tournament game since 2010. That’s right, it has been 13 years since we have won a game in the big dance. Last time we won, Mike Anderson was our coach and JT Tiller and Zaire Taylor were on the team to give it some perspective. That’s how long it has been. Unfortunately, I was at work so I did not watch the game. But apparently it was real close until the last 4 minutes and then we ran away with it. That sounds about right as that is about how every game we play in goes. To make the situation better, Princeton upset Arizona. Arizona has good big players and I was worried about that because we are terrible at rebounding and guarding big guys. Now I am in no way assuming we will beat Princeton. We are Mizzou, I never assume we would beat anyone. But it is a much better match up for us. We could make a little run though. Sweet 16 and Elite 8 aren’t out of the question. Anyway, it should be a fun Tiger vs Tiger game. I mean if you are going to lose, it is hard to be mad about losing to Princeton.

Bengals “steal away” Orlando Brown:

I have seen this headline a lot. They did not steal him away. We didn’t want to pay him whatever big amount of money he wanted and so we moved on. Then he went to free agency and according to Adam Schefter, the league saw him as a right tackle, not a left tackle. The Bengals signed him to a 4 year deal. He got the largest bonus in history for an OT. It was a whopping half a million more than what we offered him last year. Lots of people on line apparently think Brown is good. Brown through most of the year lead the league in pressures allowed. People point towards his playoff success, but he was the one who allowed the guy to get by in the Jags game who hurt Mahomes. In the Bengals game he allowed 7 pressures. In the Super Bowl, the field was a mess and the Eagles defensive ends were slipping everywhere. Look, I have nothing against Brown personally. But he is not nearly as good as he thinks he is. I am yet to see a Chiefs fan upset about his departure. Instead, most seem to be excited about our defensive ends matching up against him against the hated Bengals.

Bracket Busters Bring Us Together!:

The Madness is the best. So much fun. And it gets everyone involved. Anyone can fill out a bracket. We have a family one going much like we do with fantasy football. Last night, Danielle, Walker, Savannah and I were doing well so Danielle’s sister is claiming conspiracy. I can say I did not help any of them with their brackets besides getting them logged in. Last night we were all cheering for 16 seed Northern Kentucky to beat 1 seed Houston, except for Danielle. Danielle’s strategy was to pick the higher seeds throughout the entire bracket. It is working out for her so far but this is also why she was cheering for Houston. But typically this is the one time you cheer for the team you picked to lose. Because upsets are fun and are what make the Madness great. Savannah bravely picked ku to lose in the first round because she knows we cheer against them. Even my sister got into the act and was very proud of herself for picking the Furman upset. Although to be fair, we all should have picked Virginia to lose. They haven’t won a game in the dance since they won it all and they are even the only 1 seed ever to lose to a 16. Mental note for next year, pick Virginia to lose. I am looking forward to more Madness tonight and this weekend. For the record, my final four is Alabama, Purdue, Texas and Gonzaga with Bama beating Gonzaga in the championship. This of course assumes that Bama doesn’t have half their team arrested for murder.

Paper Champions:

NFL Free Agency is quickly followed by everyone thinking their team is going to be awesome and everyone else’s team being trash. The talk on the radio around here in Denver is already about what a great team Sean Payton is putting together. Bears fans are claiming they are back even though most of their new team came from the Panthers who were not good last year. The Packers are going to be terrible without Aaron Rodgers even though they have a pretty solid team and we don’t know if Jordan Love is good or not, but he looked alright in limited time last year. Every team is going to win their division because they signed some cornerback or wide receiver. It’s a great 6 months or so for a lot of teams. And then the season starts. It’s all down hill after that for about 15-20 fan bases. So I say soak it up. Enjoy the ride. Fill your little heart up with misplaced enthusiasm. Just be careful as Tina Turner said, who needs a heart when a heart can be broken. Anyway, let me join in on the fun. My bold and way, way to early Super Bowl prediction is Chiefs over Saints.