Jake The Sports Guy

03/09/2024

With the cusp of the NFL Season upon us, here are my 2024/25 season predictions!

Disclaimer: these are all based on no injuries.

NFC:
1. Packers (13-4)
2. Rams (12-5)
3. Cowboys (11-6)
4. Falcons (10-7)
5. Lions (12-5)
6. Eagles (10-7)
7. 49ers (9-8)

Just missed: Seahawks (9-8), Cardinals (9-8), Buccaneers (9-8)

AFC
1. Jets (13-4)
2. Ravens (13-4)
3. Chiefs (11-6)
4. Texans (9-8)
5. Bengals (12-5)
6. Browns (11-6)
7. Steelers (10-7)

Just missed: Dolphins (9-8), Colts (9-8)

All in on the Aaron Rodgers train. Jets are elite in about every category. Now, a healthy Rodgers is going to send them to the promised land and ride off into the sunset against his former team!

MVP: Joe Burrow
OPOY: Garrett Wilson
DPOY: TJ Watt
COY: Matt LaFleur
Comeback POY: Aaron Rodgers
OROY: Xavier Worthy
DROY: Laiatu Latu

30/07/2024

With regular season golf entering its closing stages of 2024, my mind is already thinking of major qualification for 2025 and how some championships have talked about possibly adding additional qualification for LIV players next year.

With that in mind, here is my take on what I believe would be the most fair way to do that:

The PGA Tour has 125 full status members that qualified from the previous FedEx Cup season. Of those 125, 30 make the Tour Championship. Those 30 players essentially all qualify for all 4 majors the following year. For context, 30 out of 125 is 24%.

With that being said, LIV has 54 full status members and 24% of that is roughly 13 players.

All things being fair, I believe the best qualification for LIV would be the top 10 individual finishers and all 4 players from the winner of the team championship. This would put the range of qualifiers between 10-14 players for LIV.

Now, that doesn’t mean LIV gets that many extra guys because 9 out of 10 times a few players in that top 10 will already be qualified by being a past champion. For example, currently 4 of the top 10 are already qualified for all 4 majors in 2025 which only adds 6-8 extra guys for next year. This proposal bridges a gap in the current divide of men’s golf and I think the majors have the best opportunity to help the current situation begin to heal.

This solution helps major fields continue to be the best each year and keeping the elite talent together at these events.

I think I speak for all golf fans when I say that we all want to see all of the best players at majors regardless of what tour they play on. Not doing this hurts the game and is a disservice to the fans. I believe both LIV and the PGA Tour can co-exist, and I think it starts with the games biggest tournaments to try and bring harmony to a very troubled state of golf.

24/05/2024

Celtics lead 2-0. Thoughts.

21/05/2024

My thoughts on Pacers-Celtics ECF!

05/05/2024

As we have reached the over halfway point in the LIV Golf League season, I would like to talk about the last missing piece for making it the most intriguing golf product on the market. This missing piece in no guaranteed contracts.

Currently, no team captain or player under an extended contract can be relegated from the league. I can understand that from a short term business standpoint because you don’t want your bigger names to be one and done early in order to establish continuity with your brand. However, with LIV moving through their 3rd season I believe it’s time to move past that.

This would build much more intrigue to the product and make each event even more high stakes while also making it a more credible league to others because the safety net is gone. This also would allow for a more consistent flow of talent into the league each year. Right now, those at 49 and below are relegated out and those in the 25-48 range are basically free agents come season end.

Imagine the storylines you could make with how the standings look right now? Names like Bubba and Westwood on the verge of being out amongst others who are not pictured. I find that exciting since most golf fans know that a few playing in LIV are past their prime and kind of deserve to be let out to pasture.

I think this is the way forward for the league along with an effort to get the top end of guys an automatic spot in majors. I find LIV a superior viewing experience to the PGA TOUR so getting those 2 things added to the league would, I believe, make it much more intriguing to the average golf fan and help LIV grow into the future.

What do you all think? Fan of LIV, or not? Let me know in the comments below!

20/02/2024

Big week for the Asian Tour again as 20+ LIV players will tee it up for the first International Series event in Oman.

As a golf fan myself, it shows how much the golf landscape has changed since LIV became a thing. The field this week in Oman will be much stronger than the Mexico Open on the PGA Tour.

LIV is in partnership with the Asian Tour and has helped give out more prize money for events like the International Series and given an automatic spot on LIV to the Order of Merit (OOM) winner after all 6 events are played throughout the calendar year.

The top 2-5 finishers for the International Series get a bye to the 2nd round of the LIV qualifying event in December.

The golf world will continue to change as chess pieces move from both sides of the aisle. Will there be an agreement with LIV and the PGAT? Will they always be separate entities? Something has to give.

To me, momentum seems to be building for LIV the longer the two sides stay apart which in the end could spell the decline of the PGAT depending on how long this drags out. I hope the golf world can unite once again in order to have all of the best players in the world playing against each other week in and week out.

19/02/2024

The last 25+ games begin this week in the NBA season and I’m going to show a good formula to look at to see which current playoff teams have the “championship formula”.

What is that exactly?

Only 1 team (2004 Detroit Pistons) has ever won the NBA Finals after finishing the regular season in the bottom half in either defensive or offensive rating. No team has ever won being 16th or worse in both.

So, with that being said, which teams qualify?

Current playoff teams who are 15th or better in offensive and defensive rating:

(Offensive/Defensive)
Celtics (5th/5th)
Clippers (10th/9th)
Thunder (4th/13th)
76ers (9th/14th)
Suns (11th/15th)
Pelicans (13th/8th)
Cavaliers (14th/2nd)

That ‘04 Pistons team was 16th offensively and 2nd defensively in their title run which means they almost made the criteria that’s been true since always. So, if you’re a little below average say 16th-20th in one category you have to be elite in another which I’d say is top 3 to 5. Teams that qualify for this criteria are as follows:

Knicks (16th/3rd)
Timberwolves (17th/1st)

What does this all mean? In short, you have to at the very least be above average on both sides of the ball to win a title. Obviously, the Celtics are the clear choice and favorite to win it all this year. However, pay attention to these categories once the playoffs begin to see which teams are “championship caliber”.

As for now, Boston is the team to beat heading into the final stretch and are primed to break their championship tie with the Lakers with #18 in 2024.

14/02/2024

Long time, no see.

I’ve felt compelled to share my sports thoughts on my page lately as I’ve taken a long hiatus from doing so. I’m not sure how often I’ll do this moving forward, but with football over my attention turns toward golf which has some interesting storylines this weekend.

First, the obvious return of Tiger as he will debut his new clothing line at his tournament at Riviera playing alongside his good buddy Justin Thomas. Tiger is still searching for that elusive record setting 83rd PGA Tour win and really has no shot of winning this week. Even still, the main thing everyone will be watching is to see how healthy Tiger is. If he can show some signs of life then the hype will begin to build for April.

Second, under the radar for sure but the Asian Tour will play the Malaysian Open to start their 2024 schedule. Why should you care? Two reasons.

1. The top 3 finishers get an automatic spot in the 2024 Open Championship at Royal Troon.
2. Top finishers at the end of the Asian Tour season get qualifications to either join LIV outright (1st place) or play in the qualifying event in December (finishers 2-5).

Notable players to watch for:
Current LIV Players: David Puig (Fireballs) Sam Horsfield (Majesticks)

2023 LIV players: Jed Morgan (Ripper)
James Piot (HyFlyers) Siwhan Kim (Iron Heads)

PGA journeymen: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jazz Janewattanod

Just a few names that might catch your eye among a few others who have appeared in LIV events before. As the majors continue to make it difficult for LIV players to qualify for their events, don’t be surprised if you see more names in events like these in order find themselves playing for those most coveted titles.

16/09/2022

Jake’s 5 Best Stakes for College Football Week 3

1. UCLA (-15.5) vs South Alabama
2. Wake Forest (-16.5) vs Liberty
3. Louisiana-Lafayette (-12.5) @ Rice
4. Troy (+12.5) @ Appalachian State
5. Oklahoma (-9.5) @ Nebraska

Upset Special:
North Texas (+136) @ UNLV

Last Week: (5-7)
On Season: (8-9)

11/09/2022

Jake’s Top 5 Stakes for NFL Week 1:

1. Ravens (-6.5) @ Jets
2. Packers (-1.5) @ Vikings
3. Under 43.5 for Giants @ Titans
4. Saints (-5.5) @ Falcons
5. Chiefs (-5.5) @ Cardinals

Upset Special:
Lions (+166) vs Eagles

09/09/2022

Gonna start doing “Jake’s Top 5 Stakes” for College Football and NFL each Friday and Saturday before the big games. These will soon turn into Reels that I’ll post here and on other social media platforms.

For Week 2 of College Football:
1. #12 Florida (-5.5) vs #20 Kentucky
2. UTSA (-2.5) @ Army
3. Iowa (-3.5) vs Iowa State
4. UAB (-6.5) @ Liberty
5. #16 Arkansas (-8.5) vs South Carolina

Upset Specials:
#9 Baylor (+136) @ #21 BYU
Navy (+195) vs Memphis

08/09/2022

In honor of the NFL season starting tonight, here are my 2022-23 season predictions:

AFC
1. Bills (15-2)
2. Colts (14-3)
3. Broncos (12-5)
4. Bengals (11-6)
5. Chiefs (11-6)
6. Ravens (11-6)
7. Chargers (10-7)
Just missed: Patriots (10-7), Dolphins (10-7)

NFC
1. Buccaneers (14-3)
2. Packers (14-3)
3. Cowboys (12-5)
4. Rams (11-6)
5. Redskins (11-6)
6. Cardinals (11-6)
7. Saints (10-7)
Just missed: 49ers (8-9), Eagles (8-9)

Conference Title Games:
Packers @ Buccaneers
Broncos @ Bills

Super Bowl:
Packers vs Bills

Super Bowl Champion:
Bills

What’s your reaction to my season predictions? Comment below!

04/09/2022

Thoughts on the ND-OSU game last night from a reasonable Irish fan’s perspective:

First off, I think I watched a different game than everyone else last night because people giving credit to Ohio State and thinking this validates them as a playoff contender is laughable. Why do I believe that?

1. Preseason rankings are a joke. Notre Dame was not a top 5 team going into that game in the slightest because of what they lost from last year. The “top 5 matchup” being promoted was all for eyeballs and ratings. The Irish will win 8-9 games this year and be a back end top 25 team because of how solid their defense is again.

2. Notre Dames offensive play calling coupled with a scared/inaccurate quarterback made Ohio States defense look good. Besides 2 lucky plays Notre Dame may not have scored all game. Buchner couldn’t throw an on target pass all night and was repeatedly bailed out by his receivers.

3. Ohio State is not a title contender and may not even get out of the Big Ten let alone are on the same planet as Alabama/Georgia.

4. I don’t get the CJ Stroud hype. 2nd big game ive seen him play and to think he’s in heisman conversation is something I don’t get. He’s a good college QB and that’s about it. Definitely elevated by his receivers and gets inflated stats on the cupcakes they beat up every year.

5. Last but not least, ESPN has to take Herbstreit off Ohio State games for the foreseeable future. The bias is so obvious and it’s nauseating.

Let me know what you all think below and if I’m right, wrong, or crazy.

06/04/2022

What kind of excuse are the LeBron defenders going to make this time? Guy gives up at the end of the season and team doesn’t even make the play in game. Definitely not and never will be my 🐐

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/sports/basketball/lakers-eliminated-playoffs.html

The loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday sealed their fate. It’s the second time the Lakers will miss the postseason since LeBron James joined the team in 2018.

10/02/2022

🚨 NEW EPISODE ALERT 🚨

Final episode of the season is out. Thank you all for listening this past year and I appreciate all of your support.

I can say I'm ready for the break and hoping it will help me regroup enough to be ready to come back soon. Hope you all enjoy the episode and I'll talk to you all soon.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ClC2fnc2KrxLpCaaCT8MQ?si=6ac312763ced4092

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jake-the-sports-guy/id1534797243

‎Sports · 2022

10/02/2022

Hey all, I’ve been enjoying my birthday today so my last episode for the season will drop tomorrow.

Talk to you all then!

03/02/2022

Hey all, I’m gonna be real about the podcast lately. The motivation and drive just has not been there. It’s felt like a chore and I always said that if it turned into that then I would stop doing it.

With that being said, I think I’m going to do 1 more show next week for the Super Bowl and take a hiatus like last year.

Could this be the cycle for the show? Maybe. But as for now, this podcast has felt like a burden for the last month or so and that’s not a healthy state to put out quality episodes for you.

One final episode for next week. Plans for after that? Who knows. Regardless, I’ll keep you all updated as for what I decide and appreciate every single one of you who has supported and listened to this podcast to this point.

Thank you.

30/01/2022

First the and now a shutout of the Americans. Fighting for what’s right bears good fruits. Canada leading the way in the battle against tyranny 🇨🇦

FULL TIME IN HAMILTON!

Still undefeated, still top of the table!