In the run-up to Super Bowl LVIII on CBS, the free streaming service Pluto TV is launching a new pop-up channel, NFL Super Bowl Classics, that will feature past Super Bowl games and specials.
Pluto (the planet) was discovered by a 23 year old farmboy with no degree in astronomy who spent a year comparing photographs of the night sky, searching for a "star" that changed positions. He would later earn his Masters degree and teach at New Mexico State.
Looking for stars is a big business. The WSJ just published an article, They Created a Test to Identify Star QBs. How Did It Miss the Best One in Years?
C.J. Stroud faced criticism before the NFL draft due to a reportedly poor performance on a cognitive test called the S2 evaluation. Despite this, Stroud has had a successful rookie season, leading the Houston Texans to victory in the playoffs.
“I’m not a test taker,” Stroud said last April. “I play football.”
The test's co-founders, cognitive neuroscientists Brandon Ally and Scott Wylie, argue that the test is not meant to be a crystal ball for predicting success and that it is just one factor in a larger equation that includes physical skills and mental toughness.
Daniel Jeremiah accidentally leaked that Bryce Young scored highest in class on the S2 Cognition test. S2 measures how quickly athletes process information. Brock Purdy had the high score last year.
Notable elite scorers: Justin Fields, Joe Burrow, Drew Brees, and Josh Allen.
“We consider anything above the 80th percentile to be elite,” Ally said.
Speaking of elite, in 2016 the real estate company, Estately, released the most Google’d question from each state. Maryland’s?
“Is Joe Flacco elite?”
A couple years before that, in 2012, 4k TVs first came out for the first time. They started to become mainstream by 2014 or 2015.
Fox Sports was the first network to carry the Super Bowl in 4K HDR, in both 2020 and 2023.
However, those games were produced in 1080p HDR and then upscaled — or, converted — to 4K HDR for home transmission.
CBS Sports will be doing the same next month for the first time.
Compared to some of those early SB games you’ll see on Pluto TV, it’s like comparing the Hubble telescope to the James Webb. The JW telescope is 100x more powerful.
Here’s a picture of the Carina Nebula from the Hubble Telescope:
Here’s that photo from the James Webb in 4k.
Michael Strahan was the first NFL player to go to outer space…
and the first NFL drafted player to go into outer space was Leland Melvin.
Melvin was chosen by the Detroit Lions in the 11th round of the 1986 NFL Draft as a wide receiver.
In his official 2009 portrait, Melvin is all smiles with his two rescue dogs—Jake and Scout.
Getting the dogs into the NASA photoshoot was not easy.
“I had a van and I drove the dogs in,” Melvin told Gizmodo. “NASA doesn’t allow dogs to be on-site, so when I showed them my NASA badge, I kept the window up…and I had the stereo blasting because the dogs were barking. So I gunned it and the security guard didn’t chase me or anything.”
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17.3: With an average margin of victory of 17.3 points, this was the most lopsided Wildcard Weekend since the NFL last expanded the playoffs. Only one game was decided by less than two touchdowns.
50: The Number of Underclassmen Declaring for the NFL Draft has Declined by Nearly 50% Since 2018
2018: 106
2019: 103
2020: 99
2021: 98
2022: 73
2023: 69
2024: 54
1,186: The average ticket price for the Bucs-Lions game on Sunday is $1,186. That is the highest-priced divisional game EVER.
2002 [TRIVIA]: Since the 2002 season, which current playoff team has not been one and done in the playoffs? HINT: It's the longest current streak in the NFL.
Quotes
"It’s easy when everything’s going right, you’re winning games, guys love you ... When you’re 0-10-1 you find out about people, you find out about players and coaches ... I know exactly what [Goff] is, when it’s at its worst, and I’ll take that guy any day."
Dan Campbell on his team's character
“… you know he is usually going to break the mold and do something different, and that's probably what has made him a great coach."
Kirk Cousins shares his thoughts on Bill Belichick
I grew up in Cleveland man, they were throwing beer bottles at people... Buffalo, cold, playoff game, doesn’t get any better baby.”
Travis Kelce is ready to visit Bills Mafia
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Picks
Saturday, 1/20 @ 4:30pm
Texans (+9.5) at Ravens
On 12 or more days of rest, Lamar Jackson’s 1-6 against the spread (ATS).
Over the past three seasons, he's 6-16 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 or more points.
He's 1-8 when laying 7.5 or more.
Saturday, 1/20 @ 8:15pm
Packers at 49ers U50.5
Record
ATS: 45-57-4 (-16.05u)
O/U: 35-45-3 (-13.15u)
Highlights
Chris Jones gives an impression on the sidelines
Demeco Ryans Intercepts Flacco as a Coach and a Player
Calvin Johnson to Matthew Stafford on the sideline before the Lions-Rams playoff game: “I need one or two from you, and I’m not talking about touchdowns.”
Here is every single Josh Allen fake slide[/s] from 2018 to 2021