January 31, 2022 8:30 a.m.

Joe Burrow arrived at Ohio State in 2015 and Urban Meyer's quarterback room had Cardale Jones, Braxton Miller and JT Barrett. He knew he had to wait his turn. And when his time to earn the starting job for the Buckeyes he was in a battle with Dwayne Haskins. Haskins won the job and Burrow decided he wanted to go elsewhere and play because he knew he could play at the highest level. He graduated in the spring of 2018 and had two years of eligibility left. When Burrow arrived at Ohio State, Luke Fickell was still on the staff. When Burrow was choosing where to transfer, Cincinnati, where Fickell had become the head coach, was a finalist with LSU. We know where Burrow chose to play, but the Bearcats were in the hunt and who knows what could have been...

To prove how much football experts and handicappers know, the Bengals were a 200-1 shot to win the Super Bowl before the season according to sportsbooks. The same odds for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had more bet on them to win the big game. The Chiefs and Bucs were the biggest favorites to win this year with the Rams and Bills after that...

December 13, 2020 in Gainesville, where 6th ranked Florida hosted a depleted LSU football team. Florida was in the hunt for a playoff spot and basically was playing in a playoff game. The Gators were favored by 23 and if Dan Mullen's team had beaten the Tigers, then Florida would face Alabama in the SEC title game and with a win would have been in the college football playoffs. But down 34-31 as the fog rolled in, Florida's Evan McPherson kicked a 31-yard field goal to tie the game at 34 with 2:51 left. LSU then faced a 3rd and 10 from their own 25. After a four yard pass, short of the first down, LSU was going to punt the ball back to Florida. But that's when Marco Wilson tossed the now famous shoe that cost Florida a 15-yard penalty and LSU's kicker, Cade York, would make a 57-yard field goal with 0:23 left to give LSU the lead, 37-34. Yet, Florida advanced the ball to the LSU 33-yard line with 0:02 left and out came Evan McPherson for a 51-yard field goal attempt. He was wide left and LSU won 37-34. Florida has never been the same. The Gators went on to lose to Alabama and Oklahoma in a bowl game and Dan Mullen was fired before the 2021 season ended. As for Evan McPherson? Well, the Bengals drafted in the 5th round of the 2021 NFL Draft and he kicked game winners for the team in the AFC Divisional game against the Titans and added to his legacy with a game winner against the Chiefs on Sunday. I think McPherson is doing ok...

Is he or isn't he? Has Tom Brady retired or did the media get it wrong? America needs to know. Do we? Here's my guess, Tom is retiring and there will be a black and white well produced video with a lot of slow motion highlights and memories that Tom and his people will release at some point. But someone leaked it. Why? Because most people can't keep a secret. Brady wanted the news to come out when he wanted it and someone got it out first. There was a scramble of denials and team releases and even Tom Sr. made clear his son has not made up his mind. But I do think it's true and I do think the Bucs become a fascinating team to watch in the off-season because the QB free agent is thin. Without a trade for Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson or even Jimmy G- where do the Bucs go? I don't see Bruce Arians sticking around to develop Kyle Trask. Could Tampa Bay become an average team again? It's possible...

Final thought: Tickets to the first Super Bowl between the Packers and Chiefs were $12. The early cost for tickets on the secondary market for the Rams-Bengals matchup? $6,600.