Random Thoughts To Welcome 2022

There's been a lot of debate about which NFL player deserves the MVP for this season. Is it Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers? Tom Brady of Tampa Bay? Outside favorite Jonathan Taylor, the talented running back of the Indianapolis Colts?

Brady gets love for having the numbers (for for being Tom Brady), but let's compare him with Rogers:

• Brady's team is 11-4. He's thrown for 4580 yards , 422 of  632 passes (66.8%) with 37 TDs,  11 INTs and a passer rating of 100.2.
• Rodgers is 12-2 (while the team is an NFL-best 12-3). He's thrown for 3689 yards, completing 323 of 475 (68%) with 33 TDs and only 4 INTs, a passer rating of 110.8.

For Brady, that's 157 more attempts, 99 more completions, 891 more yards but only 4 more TDs and 7 more INTs.

To be fair, former Wisconsin Badger running back Taylor has had a monster year for Indianapolis. Going into this week, he's rushed 297 times for 1,626 yards (5.5 average) and 17 touchdowns. He's added another 336 on pass receptions for 1,967 yards from scrimmage and 19 scores.

Should Rodgers stay hot in the final two games, he's certainly deserving of the MVP. As is Taylor.

Wouldn't mind seeing co-MVPs this year, which would be a win-win for Wisconsin fans!

We lost Betty White this week (and John Madden, Boston Celtic great Sam Jones and Dan Reeves as well; seems like celebrities always go in bunches). Betty, weeks away from turning 100, had a strong Midwest connection. Not only was she from Oak Park, IL but her late husband, Allen Ludden, had a Wisconsin connection I wasn't aware of -- born in Mineral Point and buried there after his death from stomach cancer at the age of 63.

A show of hands needed here: How many stayed up to the bitter end and watched the Wisconsin Badgers knock off Arizona State, 20-13, in the Las Vegas Bowl this past week? 

What an epic way to end the game, controlling the ball for nearly 10 minutes to "run out the clock." And I thought it was classy of Coach Paul Chryst to not stick in one more meaningless score when the club was inside the five with just over two minutes to play.

A lot of college coaches would have gone for the score. Glad we have a better mindset at Wisconsin.

Speaking of Chryst, after taking the Badgers to a 9-4 record this year (this after the team started 1-3), he is now 6-1 in bowl game appearances and has a Badger record of 65-23 (73.86%). Still, he and the Badgers are going to need better quarterbacking if they are to challenge for a national championship.

In it's run of 20 straight bowl games, Wisconsin is 11-9.

So, it's a pair of SEC teams (Alabama, Georgia) playing for another national championship in college football. Again.

Yawn. ('nough said)