Good morning, Wednesday! You've got a tough act to follow, considering yesterday was my favorite day of 2021 thanks to the news of a new college football video game (more on that later.)
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Luckily, we get to kick off today with a packed newsletter -- one that features some Super Bowl history, some Hall of Fame talk, a cooking experiment with yours truly and, of course, a fun Wednesday mailbag.
Let's get right to it.
📰 What you need to know
1. Five Super Bowl records that may never be broken 🏈
If you're hoping for a record-breaking Super Bowl this weekend, there's decent reason to be optimistic. After all, we've got Patrick Mahomes and a loaded Kansas City offense on one side, and then you have the GOAT -- Tom Brady -- and his six rings on the other side. There's potential for greatness on Sunday.
But there are some records that seem like they'll never be broken, or at least not for a long, long time. Our Bryan DeArdo highlighted a handful of single-game Super Bowl records that may be untouchable in a column this week. Here are a few:
- Bears allow just seven yards rushing: In Super Bowl XX in 1986, Chicago held the New England Patriots to just seven rushing yards on 11 attempts. That figure is even more impressive when you consider Patriots running back Craig James finished sixth in the NFL in rushing yards that regular season, but the Pats gave up on running when they fell behind in the first half
- Rod Martin's three interceptions: Only one player in NFL history has recorded three interceptions in one Super Bowl and that honor goes to Rod Martin. The Raiders linebacker thrice picked off Eagles QB Ron Jaworski during a 27-10 win in Super Bowl XV. Incredibly enough, it wasn't enough to earn him Super Bowl MVP (Raiders QB Jim Plunkett took that home)
- Bob Griese's seven pass attempts: It was a light day at the office for Bob Griese in Super Bowl VIII. Griese threw the ball just seven times as the Dolphins' gameplan revolved around handing the ball off to game MVP Larry Csonka. Still, Griese completed six of those passes and Miami won the game 24-3, so ... solid day
With Brady and Mahomes leading these offenses, it seems safe to say that Griese's record is safe. All the others, though ... who knows? If we can't see a record-breaking game, we may as well just root for an interesting, competitive one.
2. Who's likely next to join the Baseball Hall of Fame? ⚾
There's a certain emptiness that needs to be discussed and addressed. No, I'm not talking about the emptiness in my soul, but rather the empty 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame Class. Nobody got into Cooperstown this year, which is sad and disappointing, but that means the discussion surrounding who will get in next year and beyond becomes even more interesting.
So, who is most likely to be inducted next? Are we looking at more years of nobody getting in? Our baseball expert Matt Snyder put together his rankings of the candidates, and here are some notables:
- David Ortiz: Snyder ranks Ortiz as the most likely to get in on next year's ballot, and that would make him a first-ballot inductee. His overall numbers may not be as impressive as some other guys, but his legacy is massive, especially given his status as arguably the greatest clutch hitter of all time
- Scott Rolen: "If Rolen doesn't make the 2022 class, he's going to continue his momentum enough to make the 2023 class. There's been so much movement here it wouldn't make sense for anything short of a big scandal to derail him."
- Carlos Beltran: He fell short of traditional markers like 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, but Beltran -- who will join the ballot in 2023 -- has an impressive all-around resume (except as a manager) and he's one of the more accomplished postseason hitters of his generation
Included on Snyder's list are some old-timers that might get voted in by the veterans committee, but excluded from the top 10 are all three of Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds and Rogers Clemens. Those controversial candidates only have one year remaining on the ballot, so 2022 will represent their last chance to get in via traditional voting. Snyder isn't confident any of them will make enough movement to cross the finish line.
I know I've said this before but, like, if we're not putting Barry Bonds in the Baseball Hall of Fame ... what's even the point of having one?
3. Why the Chiefs are in position to repeat as champs 🏈
I've heard that winning a Super Bowl is hard -- as a Patriots fan, you could've fooled me -- but winning back-to-back Super Bowls? That's insanely hard. Even New England only managed to do that once. So, how have the Kansas City Chiefs put themselves in great position to repeat?
Well, you have to do a whole lot of things right on and off the field, and it's not always the obvious things. Of course, having pillars like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Andy Reid are huge to finding sustainability, but the little moves to fill out the roster might be just as important.
Let's shine a spotlight on some under-the-radar moves that paid off in a big way for Kansas City:
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire: The worst part about winning the Super Bowl is getting stuck with the 32nd pick in the draft, but the Chiefs made that late first selection count. Despite being slowed by injuries as the season went on, Edwards-Helaire finished 4th among rookies this season in rushing yards (803) and scrimmage yards (1,100)
- Willie Gay Jr.: The Chiefs also hit with their second-round pick last year. Gay started eight games this regular season and had 39 combined tackles and a sack. Unfortunately, his season ended prematurely due to injury, but he still provided great value as a newcomer
- L'Jarius Sneed: The cornerback was a fourth-round pick last year and he made the most of opportunities during his rookie season. He made six starts and had three interceptions, tying him for second-most on the team
- Chad Henne: Do they make it past the Bills without Henne's late-game heroics?
TL;DR: The Chiefs were an already great team that absolutely nailed its draft picks last year. And that, my friends, is how you achieve sustained success and start pushing yourself into the dynasty conversation. Pay your scouts!
4. Cooking with Pete: Recipes to try on Super Bowl Sunday 🍔
Enough people seemed to enjoy my trial run on the TB12 diet last week that I have somehow become the food content guy here at CBS Sports. This is a strange place to be, considering I typically eat like crap and have very limited abilities in the kitchen.
That being said, when Rachael Ray's team asks you to try out one of her Super Bowl recipes, you damn well better strap on that apron and get to work (disclaimer: I do not actually own an apron.) And as you may have noticed over the past few days, I've been openly fantasizing about cheeseburgers to an uncomfortable degree, so when a recipe for "Cheeseburger Potato Skins" hit my inbox this week, it immediately caught my attention. I decided to give it my best shot and just hope that I didn't burn down my kitchen in the name of content.
By now you've probably got a good idea that I'm a boyish moron with no discernible skills other than talking about sports and tanking my own quality of living by choice, but I have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself for the end result of these potato skins. Did they come out perfect? No. Would Rachael Ray say that I did them justice? Probably not. But guess what? They tasted like cheeseburger potato skins (aka pretty delicious) and my kitchen is one piece, so that's good enough for me.
If they're easy enough for me to pull off, you can probably crush them yourself. If you want to try 'em out, you can find the recipe -- along with other recipes you should try to make for the Super Bowl -- here. Also, I'm more than willing to accept your own recipes (both food and drinks) as I capitalize on this newfound kitchen swagger. Send your (preferably easy) recipes to pete.blackburn@cbsinteractive.com.
📝 Odds & Ends
- The NFL says the Buccaneers can't fire cannons from the famed pirate ship inside their stadium during the Super Bowl
- The Buffalo Sabres have postponed their season until at least Feb. 8 because of COVID-19 issues
- Xander Schauffele and Lanto Griffin have spoken out on the latest Patrick Reed controversy and they're not thrilled
📺 What to watch tonight
🏀 Pacers vs. Bucks, 7 p.m. | BKN -8.5 | TV: ESPN
🏒 Bruins vs. Flyers, 8 p.m. | PHI +115 | TV: NBCSN
🏀 Suns vs. Pelicans, 9:30 p.m. | NO +2.5 | TV: ESPN
🥇 The best thing I saw yesterday
At long last, EA Sports announced it will revive its college football video game franchise. The rebooted franchise will seemingly be called "EA Sports College Football" (a departure from the old "NCAA Football" moniker) and release in the next year or two, though an official launch date hasn't been given yet.
🎁 Mailbag!
Have you been watching the NWHL? It's been a ton of fun, and I am enjoying it a lot! Any thoughts on their bubble tournament? -Kara
I have! The NWHL product is damn good and I've been especially impressed by the broadcast package they've offered via Twitch during the bubble. The presentation has been great and seeing the audience and excitement grow in the Twitch chats has been neat. (I would love to see the NHL get involved with Twitch offerings when they ink a new broadcast deal later this year.)
Obviously, seeing multiple teams opt out mid-tournament for various reasons has sucked and I think the league hasn't been perfect about the way that it's handled certain issues recently, but the hockey has been very entertaining.
You survived the TB12 diet, but what were your results? Did you lose weight? Do you feel better because of the diet? Would you recommend this diet? -John
I laid out some of my takeaways in this running diary but, on the whole, I don't really have any big thoughts on its effectiveness since I was only on it for a week (I actually gained a pound during those seven days.) I'm not going to say it was fun or enjoyable, but it wasn't quite as difficult to follow or cook the meals as I thought it might be. If you've got a moderate level of discipline and cooking ability, you can probably fare pretty well. The hardest part for me was not being able to snack or drink at night while watching sports. Also, the relentless farting was tough to endure.
How much money have you lost in Gamestop and AMC? -Drew
Zero dollars. Being too big of an idiot to understand anything about the stock market is finally paying huge dividends.
Can you please tell me why so many teams are not wearing their traditional color uniforms this year? I find it so confusing to see the Rockets and Nets wearing blue, the Lakers wearing white with blue and the Bucks wore something other than green. -Maravia
So I'm a big fan of the NBA/Nike embracing uniform creativity and variety with their four-jersey sets, but I'm also getting tired of seeing teams lose (or at least dilute) their established identities by deviating from regular uniforms so often. I think each team should still have a regular home and away uniform with a few alternates mixed in, but the league seems to be trending away from the traditional norms and more toward just letting teams wear whatever they want, whenever they want.
It's a bummer because I think the Celtics have the best (or at least most classic) uniforms in the NBA, but every time I tune into a game they seem to be wearing a (much worse) alternate jersey. In my opinion, the Celtics should wear their classic white at home and their classic green on the road, and that's it.
What did you think of 'The Little Things' on HBO? -Bailey
I wanted to like it so badly but, man, what a disappointment. It wasn't awful, but it ended up being entirely forgettable. It felt like it was building toward this big reveal and then never really got there, or at least didn't get there in satisfying fashion. Denzel Washington and Jared Leto turned in very solid performances, but I thought Rami Malek was awful and now I'm wondering whether we've been sold a bill of goods with that guy. His performance in the upcoming Bond movie might be make-or-break in terms of how I perceive him.
