Steelers Pod - Steelers @ Buccaneers

The Steelers finally look remotely like themselves, getting their 1st win. My reaction:

Steelers Pod - Chiefs @ Steelers reaction

An abysmal defensive effort leads to a loss versus the Chiefs as Mahomes lights up Pittsburgh's secondary. My reaction

2018 Emmy's Preview

Now a warning.....my tv award picks, whether it be the Emmy's or Golden Globes usually suck. That being said, I decided to base these predictions off of a combined factor of likely winner vs who I'd like to see win.   (actor/show clips may contain spoilers)


Outstanding Supporting Actress - limited/movie:
Sara Bareilles - Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert
Penelope Cruz - The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Judith Light - The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Adina Porter - American Horror Story: Cult
Merritt Wever - Godless
Letitia Wright - Black Mirror: Black Museum


This seems like a close race, but I'd like to see this go to Judith Light. As good as Penelope Cruz was, Judith Light was just such a scene-stealer throughout American Crime Story.

Outstanding Supporting Actor - limited/movie:

Jeff Daniels - Godless

Brandon Victor Dixon - Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert

John Leguizamo - Waco

Ricky Martin - The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Edgar Ramirez - The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Michael Stuhlbarg - The Looming Tower

Finn Wittrock - The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

I could see the 3 American Crime Story nominees here canceling each other out. If that occurs, then this should go to Brandon Victor Dixon. He just went all out in Jesus Christ Superstar.

Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama:

Alexis Bledel - The Handmaid's Tale

Millie Bobby Brown - Stranger Things

Ann Dowd - The Handmaid's Tale

Lena Headey - Game of Thrones

Vanessa Kirby - The Crown

Thandie Newton - Westworld

Yvonne Strahovski - The Handmaid's Tale

I'm more or less flying blind here, but I'm going with Ann Dowd. 

Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama:

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - Game of Thrones

Peter Dinklage - Game of Thrones

Joseph Fiennes - The Handmaid's Tale

David Harbour - Stranger Things

Mandy Patinkin - Homeland

Matt Smith - The Crown

An underrated part of Stranger Things, I'm going with David Harbour.

Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy:

Zazie Beetz - Atlanta

Alex Borstein - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Aidy Bryant - Saturday Night Live

Betty Gilpin - GLOW

Leslie Jones - Saturday Night Live

Kate McKinnon - Saturday Night Live

Laurie Metcalf - Roseanne

Megan Mullally - Will & Grace

Will someone take this away from Kate McKinnon? As the MVP of SNL, I think she repeats.

Outstanding Supporting Actor - Comedy:

Louie Anderson - Baskets

Alec Baldwin - Saturday Night Live

Tituss Burgess - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Brian Tyree Henry - Atlanta

Tony Shaloub - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Kenan Thompson - Saturday Night Live

Henry Winkler - Barry

Another category where I'm flying partially blind, but I'm going Henry Winkler.

Outstanding Lead Actress - limited/movie:

Jessica Biel - The Sinner

Laura Dern - The Tale

Michelle Dockery - Godless

Edie Falco - Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders

Regina King - Seven Seconds

Sarah Paulson - American Horror Story: Cult

Just don't bet against Laura Dern.

Outstanding Lead Actor - limited/movie:

Antonio Banderas - Genius: Picasso

Darren Criss - The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Benedict Cumberbatch - Patrick Melrose

Jeff Daniels - The Looming Tower

John Legend - Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert

Jesse Plemons - Black Mirror: USS Callister

Darren Criss was just spectacular in American Crime Story. He really brought out the disturbing factors to his character, while making him feel real.

Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama:

Claire Foy - The Crown

Tatiana Maslany - Orphan Black

Elisabeth Moss - The Handmaid's Tale

Sandra Oh - Killing Eve

Keri Russell - The Americans

Evan Rachel Wood - Westworld

A very impressive field of nominees. I'm going with Sandra Oh. I could see Moss taking this, but Sandra Oh really deserves it.

Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama:

Jason Bateman - Ozark

Sterling K. Brown - This Is Us

Ed Harris - Westworld

Matthew Rhys - The Americans

Milo Ventimiglia - This Is Us

Jeffrey Wright - Westworld

Another loaded field. I could see this going to Matthew Rhys, but personally I'm going with Milo Ventimiglia. He brought it to another level in the 2nd season of This Is Us, especially during that episode (This Is Us fans know what I mean).

Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy:

Pamela Adlon - Better Things

Rachel Brosnahan - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Allison Janney - Mom

Issa Rae - Insecure

Tracee Ellis Ross - Black-ish

Lily Tomlin - Grace and Frankie

This seems fairly straight forward. I see Rachel Brosnahan taking this, given how Marvelous Mrs. Maisel broke out over the last year.

Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy:

Anthony Anderson - Black-ish

Ted Danson - The Good Place

Larry David - Curb Your Enthusiasm

Donald Glover - Atlanta

Bill Hader - Barry

William H. Macy - Shameless

This should, and I think will go to Donald Glover.

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program:

The Amazing Race

American Ninja Warrior

Project Runway

RuPaul's Drag Race

Top Chef

The Voice

It's about time that RuPaul's Drag Race gets this emmy.

Outstanding Limited Series:

The Alienist

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Genius: Picasso

Godless

Patrick Melrose

Not as packed of a field as its been in years past, but I'm going with The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. It may not have reached the high bar that season 1 set, but it still possessed a unique and well-told story.

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series:

At Home with Amy Sedaris

Drunk History

I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman

Portlandia

Saturday Night Live

Tracey Ullman's Show

Much like American Crime Story, Saturday Night Live wasn't able to reach that high bar it set during 2016-17, but it still provided quality content and relief through such a hectic political period.

Outstanding Variety Talk Series:

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

The Late Late Show with James Corden

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Given the writing emmy wins it's already gotten, I'm going with Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Outstanding Drama Series:

The Americans

The Crown

Game of Thrones

The Handmaid's Tale

Stranger Things

This Is Us

Westworld

I'm going out on a limb here, and picking The Americans. It wrapped up its final season to wide critical acclaim. It should finally get some awards recognition.

Outstanding Comedy Series:

Atlanta

Barry

Black-ish

Curb Your Enthusiasm

GLOW

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Silicon Valley

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Calling for a FX sweep, Atlanta should take this.

Steelers Pod - Steelers @ Browns Reaction

A tie opens up the Steelers season.....and I just don't know. I tried to collect some thoughts from just a bizarre opener (that maybe had a couple of bright spots).

Steelers Pod - Preview

The very first episode of "Steelers Pod", with a brief outlook on the Steelers leading up to their opener against Cleveland. I touch on the Le'Veon Bell holdout and the Steelers back-up QB situation.  Future episodes will arrive sometime after games (depending on game-time).

NFL Season Preview

It's that time again, the new season is about to kick off. Like always, I'll take my shot at predicting the season in this preview, and probably get it all wrong (I mean, who saw the Eagles going as far as they did last year?)

 As it's been in the era of Brady, I don't think there's too much to over-analyze here. The one question is how Sam Darnold responds with the Jets. I think it'll be a bit of a mixed bag. Other than that, with the Bills rolling with Nathan Peterman, I think the Patriots easily take the division again, and contend for the #1 overall seed.


1) Patriots 12-4
2) Jets 7-9
3) Bills 6-10
4) Dolphins 4-12

 On paper, this should be the Steeler's division to lose, though there could be a few bumps in the road, with continued questions about their defense. If those get answered, then they'll be a surefire Super Bowl contender. I'm fairly blah on the Bengals, but the Ravens could be interesting on the other-hand. I could easily see, whether through injury or performance, Lamar Jackson taking the reigns in Baltimore and guiding a middling team to a postseason spot. And maybe its just I don't want to see them fall any further (don't think that's actually possible), but with Baker Mayfield, I think the Browns start to right the ship, so to speak.


1) Steelers 11-5
2) Ravens 9-7
3) Bengals 8-8
4) Browns 6-10

 Now this could be an interesting division. Will the Jaguars be able to replicate their 2017 success? How will DeShaun Watson look coming off that knee injury? Will he have the same effectiveness right off the gate? And the Colts will see Andrew Luck make his long awaited return.


1) Jaguars 11-5
2) Texans 10-6
3) Colts 8-8
4) Titans 5-11

 There's a new sheriff in town in K.C, Pat Mahomes. He'll take over for Alex Smith, looking to bring a more high octane passing game to the Chiefs offense. The Chargers seem to always go on and off like a switch. The Raiders defense faced a recent upheaval with the trade of Khalil Mack.

1) Chiefs 10-6
2) Chargers 7-9
3) Broncos 6-10
4) Raiders 6-10

Playoff Field

1) Patriots
2) Steelers
--------------
3) Jaguars
4) Chiefs
5) Texans
6) Ravens


AFC Wildcard -
Ravens v. Jaguars

Texans v. Chiefs

AFC Divisional -
Texans v. Patriots
Jaguars v. Steelers

AFC Championship -
Steelers v. Patriots

The Cowboys will hope last year was just a one-off, in which they were without Ezekiel Elliott part of the time. However, without Dez Bryant, they look pretty barren at receiver. The world champion Eagles will be hoping to avoid that Super Bowl drought. It looks like Nick Foles will start Week 1, easing Carson Wentz back into the fold. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Exit Kirk Cousins, enter Alex Smith. How will he change Washington?

1) Eagles 10-6
2) Cowboys 7-9
3) Washington 6-10
4) Giants 4-12

The Packers will be looking to regroup after a down year in '17. With a fully (and handsomely paid Aaron Rodgers) they'll be looking to return to their contending ways. The Vikings will be seeing if they can get to that next level with Kirk Cousins at QB. You never know what you're going to get with the Lions (much like the Chargers).

1) Packers 12-4
2) Vikings 10-6
3) Lions 8-8
4) Bears 7-9

There always seems to be a different winner every year in the NFC South. I think we'll be seeing the Panthers, Saints & Falcons all in contention for playoff spots once again, with Tampa Bay just sort of stalling out.

1) Panthers 12-4
2) Saints 10-6
3) Falcons 9-7
4) Buccaneers 5-11

 Talk about a division in flux. After a significant overhaul, these Seahawks look like a shell of their former selves. The Rams will be hoping for continued improvement with Jared Goff who came to life last season. With maybe an actual effective QB, the Cardinals will be seeing what they can do. But its the 49ers that intrigue me. Jimmy Garoppolo really poured it on when he started down the stretch last year. What can he do over a course of a full season?

1) 49ers 11-5
2) Rams 9-7
3) Seahawks 6-10
4) Cardinals 5-11

Playoff Field

1) Panthers
2) Packers
---------------
3) 49ers
4) Eagles
5) Vikings
6) Saints

NFC Wildcard -
Saints v. 49ers
Vikings v. Eagles

NFC Divisional -
Saints v. Panthers
Eagles v. Packers

NFC Championship -
Packers v. Panthers


So that would set us up for a fascinating rematch of Super Bowl 45. The Steelers (forecast here to have a vengeful run to the super bowl with wins over the Jaguars and Patriots), and the Packers would both look to be hitting their stride.

Maybe I'm crazy......but I'm going with.........The Pittsburgh Steelers to win it all