The National Football League pre-season kicked off tonight with the annual Hall of Fame game. It was actually an entertaining game with several lead changes and a touchdown on the last play, winning the game for the Panthers.

Yes, the NFL exhibitions have begun, but no way can I watch any football in this humid, hot climate. It just doesn't mesh with my body chemistry. I don't get comfortable until November.

This season I get to watch mostly Geno Smith back with the Jets and the third coming of Jaxton Dart with the Giants. I really hate the Jets and their constant underachievement, but I also have always liked Geno. He is a hard luck QB, who has been good, but somehow never good enough. He's 35 and this is probably he's last chance to run an offense unless the Jets actually win a few games and make the playoffs. I hope so.

Now Dart is up to his third coming because last year he was treated like the second coming. It didn't quite work out, but he still has the swagger. I don't like him, but the Giants should be a better team this year. I won't say he will bomb out because he might have the skills it takes. I will say he hasn't proved it yet and that's why I don't like all the hype.

I'm still a Steelers fan and I still love watching Aaron Rodgers, but last year was just painful. It would be fun to see Rodgers go out big this season. Not sure he has it left, but we will probably see early.

Miami lost its first pre-season game, and according to some, they will finish the year fighting it out with the Jets and a couple of other teams at the bottom of the barrel.

They needed to start over with a new quarterback anyway. I wish they could get back Coach Brian Flores. The team was going somewhere with him.

I can still hope for a winning season.

The Seahawks had to go with the back-up quarterback after Darnold got injured in the first quarter but they still won. They didn't cover the spread, though. That's the same as losing for many.

I thought the 49ers-Rams game was going to be close but the 49ers ran away with that one: 27-7. I guess it is better to get there a week early and get acclimated and take some time to try some shrimp on the barbie. The 49ers looked fresh and the Rams looked like they just flew in and couldn't get into their hotel.

These teams are not prepared to play from the start because they do so little in practice and the regular starters barely make an appearance in pre-season games. Sure, it's because all the teams are afraid to get their stars injured before the season even begins, but then they really aren't ready for that first game either. Some will get hurt early because they just aren't used to playing a full game.

I don't know how anyone continues to bet on the spread. There are so many reasons why football teams stop playing in any game, legitimate and otherwise. Just straight up win or lose. The spread is for Fanduel suckers, of which there are millions.

You really have to have some kind of inside info (or really study stats across years) which you can pay for from some of the pro gamblers but even they can have some off-years. As for me, I might be around 45% on my line picks across my lifetime. Fortunately, I've always made picks for fun so I've never lost a dime that way. I went 3-2 this week. If Detroit had not allowed that Saints touchdown in overtime, I would've been 4-1.

I was in a pool at work in the 90's. We just picked winners. I won enough weeks that I made a little money (maybe $50) by the end of the season.

New York was rocking on Sunday. Jets, Giants, Yankees and Mets all won their games. There is joy in Muddville again. The euphoria is what makes me generally root against the home teams, but that's a side issue.

The Giants looked great and Jaxson Dart has already been voted MVP. However, it was more that the Cowboys were flat and look headed for another nothing of a season. I can't understand why Jerry Jones hasn't been able to make this team better or why he insists on sticking with Dak Prescott for years and years. The whole offense is Prescott and CeeDee Lamb and Prescott couldn't carry the team in his prime, never mind now.

The Jets looked great and this one I liked to see because Geno Smith deserves a shot at the playoffs. I hope it's not a flash in the pan game.

The Steelers are still my favorite and they won, but they are doing the same thing with this Coach as with the last one. They should dominate these games and they play to just hold on. I didn't care for what I saw from Rodgers so far.

The Chiefs had it easy, but didn't get going for a while. I'm hoping they are not back. Every time Kelse gets a yard, we have to look at Swift cheering him on.

Last line for all the NY fans. The Knicks were a miserable team for decades. The fans supported them anyway. Last year they won it all. This year ticket prices went up 700%. The cheapest seat used to be around $200, now it's around $1,300. So most of those supporters that used to get inside are going to have to cheer from the sidewalk in front of the Garden. Isn't it great to have a championship team again?

I don't know...the Giants did look good. Yes, their receivers got open on a few plays because of bad Cowboy coverage but this could be the beginning of the Giants doing to the Cowboys and Washington what the Cowboys used to do to the Giants and Washington.

Still, we are likely going to be proven wrong if we make our Super Bowl predictions based on Week 1.

I'm sorry the Knicks decided to kick a lot of their fans in the face. Those are loyal fans. Spike can eat the increase but the guy who saves his money while working at a grocery store can pay $200 a few times a season but he can't pay $1300 even once.

Hey Raven, how did you like all those celebrities who are suddenly longtime Knicks fans? I've seen Spike Lee courtside for years as in going back to the 90's at least. I don't remember ANYBODY else.

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
Hey Raven, how did you like all those celebrities who are suddenly longtime Knicks fans? I've seen Spike Lee courtside for years as in going back to the 90's at least. I don't remember ANYBODY else.

It's like an East Coast, West Coast thing. Many more celebrities turn up for Laker games, but the Knicks front row has always had a few that either live in Manhattan or grew up there. Besides Spike Lee, regulars are Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, Fat Joe and Mariska Hargitay. They are saying Timothee Chalamet is always there, but I don't remember hearing about him before last year. He even marched in the championship parade.

Lots of others just came to get in photos after they started winning. Taylor Swift showed up for one game with her good friend Hargitay. Maybe she was thinking of finding a point guard, or maybe she was getting a discount on her wedding at the Garden. I never knew she liked basketball.

Last year they were scrapy underdogs, this year they will be expected to repeat. There are a lot of corporations and celebrities who can afford the higher ticket prices, and they will show up as long as they win.