Will It Be A Good Day For Tyler Warren In Fantasy?

If Draft Kings still existed as a fantasy sports provider here in the UK, I know exactly who I would have picked as my tight end for tonight's games.

Tyler Warren. 💯.

I sense the Indianapolis Colts rookie is going to have good production with Philip Rivers as his new quarterback.

Rivers had special on-field chemistry with a lot of tight ends in what should now be regarded as phase one of his career. The most obvious QB-TE partnership, when it comes to Rivers, is when he and Antonio Gates were Chargers.

With eighty-nine touchdowns, they're only behind the ninety that Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski scored in the history of the NFL.

It wasn't only Gates, though. 

Rivers had dual threats with other TEs. For example, Hunter Henry is another from Rivers' time at the Chargers. There's also Mo Allie-Cox and Jack Doyle from the year Rivers spent with the Colts. 

Allie-Cox and Doyle were two of my go-to guys in fantasy (daily and regular). Therefore, I suppose I haven't changed my tactics, have I? Here I am, five years later. and still looking for Rivers and his tight ends to do the business.

The Over-Under for Warren in the receiving yards market is 35.5. It's something I'd think about taking the Over on.

The Time Is Now

The time is now. Well, not now, but tonight.

John  Cena's career as a professional wrestler comes to an end in the headline bout of tonight's edition of Saturday Night's Main Event.

He'll face Gunther. I hope the end result is a Cena win. I have money invested in that result. 

Usually, I would be against anyone winning as their foot is almost out the door. It's different here, though. I believe the image people should have of Cena's last ever contest should be of him in triumph over the baddie. The foreign baddie at that. In Washington, DC of all places. It has to end well.

Hasn't it?

I'm going to miss John Cena the wrestler. To be frank, I didn't like much of his retirement tour. I feel they fluffed it by having him turn heel against Cody Rhodes in February only to retcon it by SummerSlam and have Cena back to being the good guy.

With that stated - I was happy to see John Cena break the 'record' of title wins. It was something I had been writing about for many years over at WWELeaks.org because it was one of the big stories WWE had in its bag. For it to be done at WrestleMania made it all the more significant. I got my victory lap in.

I know the exact moment when I accepted John Cena was the guy. It was May 22nd 2005. Cena had won the WWE Championship for the first time at WrestleMania 21 a month earlier. He faced previous titleholder - John 'Bradshaw' Layfield - in an 'I Quit' match. Going in, I wasn't looking forward to it.

Both guys pulled it off. Having low expectations made the match better than it likely was (I haven't rewatched it in many years). I came away from that PPV knowing WWE was in safe hands after losing the active careers of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and The Rock within that period.

He now leaves the company a lot better off than it was when he took the reins. A job well done.

The Pitts

I switched the Atlanta Falcons versus Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on as soon as I woke up this morning. As I was laying there messing around with my phone, I accidentally opened the NFL Fantasy app.

45.60. Those were the points my fantasy team had after last night. I had stumbled across a spoiler.

Considering I only had one player on my team playing in last night's fixture, I knew that I was set to see Kyle Pitts, the Atlanta tight end, have a good game.

And he obviously did.

166 yards and three touchdowns.

What a brill start for my team. It sure does need it. 

At 6-8, it isn't going to make the playoffs. It also won't be able to do better than the NFL Fantasy computer projected following the draft. It guessed the team would go 7-8, so - if I manage to do better than this week's opponent, who also happens to have the same record as me - I'll be able to prove that the computer was spot on.

Way back in September, the aim was to prove it wrong. I've given up that goal. I have to because the only way I can make it look inferior is to tank on purpose. 

The Final Neighbours (Again!)

It's impossible to beat the what was then final episode of Neighbours from 2022. Yet, here I am, sat at my laptop with the Amazon Prime Video app open on my TV ready to press play on what will be the second final episode of the Australia soap.

Yes, I did write 'second final episode'. It could be argued that this is the third final episode because the programme was originally cancelled by The Seven Network after its first four months, but was then picked up by Network Ten.

Anyway, to cut this history lesson short: today is the final day. I am entertaining the idea of adding 'for now?' but I suspect this truly is it. 

I'm just about to press 'Play'. My immediate response to the closing episode will appear under the aerial photograph of Ramsay Street.

 I suppose this was a fitting way to end the programme.

As I mentioned, in a post published on December 3rd, the major closing storyline focused on the freeway being built where Ramsay Street stands. Therefore, Paul Robinson and Shane Ramsay have been trying to coax the residents to move to their respective developments - Robinson Towers and Ramsay Hills.

A handful of previous characters were brought back. Most were from the latter years of the original run, so that was quite underwhelming. I sense there was no desperate need to have any of the previous cast there. They should have just ran with the current crop. I know that's a controversial take. My reasoning is simple, however: they already went down that route in 2022. And they brought back bigger names, so anything else is inferior in contrast.

The spotlight should have been shone on the Amazon era of characters. Let me die on that Ramsay hill.

The series closed with Susan Kennedy realising there could be an opportunity to save Ramsay Street by fighting the development plans. Acknowledging the odds were against them, she said there could be a way to tackle it after learning of successes by residents of other areas. I couldn't help but see the hidden message in there. A shred of hope of a return for the series? Susan had explored the option of battling the development with Karl and Paul Robinson. It was those three who were last seen as the camera/drone zoomed out, and up. 

It was fitting to close with Paul, Karl and Susan - the most tenured in the series' history. 

I'm going to miss Neighbours. Just like what I wrote three years ago, the soap was a huge part of my childhood after catching it one early summer when I was home ill from school. I watched it religiously. Sure, I lapsed for a few years during the 2000s, but found my way back to it.

I don't know if Neighbours will ever find its way back to me. If it ever does, in any form, I'll be there. But, it's not an expectant wait. I very much consider it done now. 

Rivers .vs. The Seahawks

In yesterday's post, I wrote about Philip Rivers potentially coming out of retirement to sign with the Indianapolis Colts. Well, the quarterback needy Colts did indeed make the move. 

Rivers has re-joined the most recent NFL team he played for and is signed to the Colts' practice squad.

Being part of the practice squad currently means Rivers, who will be on the upcoming Hall of Fame ballot because his career ended five years ago, will remain eligible for Canton consideration. However, should the team promote him to the main roster, the Hall of Fame wait resets.

The elephant in the room is this - if Rivers had no intention of playing, he wouldn't be doing what he's doing. 

Likewise, if the Colts didn't feel they were in a desperate enough position, they wouldn't be gambling on a forty-four year old high school coaching grandfather.

To be fair, this isn't accurate. Rivers should really be on the sofa wearing Chargers merch

With a trip to Seattle next up on the Colts schedule, I've taken a look at Philip Rivers' record against the Seahawks. You know, just to take this database of mine out for a spin. 

On paper, it looks.. Okay, I suppose.

Philip Rivers played against the Seahawks four times during his career with all of those fixtures being as a Charger. From those four games, the Chargers are 3-1 straight up.

For the gamblers out there, I've looked at his against the spread numbers as well. The Rivers-led Chargers went 2-2 ATS.

Three of those ties were on the road, which is the scenario Rivers and the Colts will be in on Sunday (if he is promoted to the main roster). From those games, Rivers is 2-1 straight up but 1-2 to the spread.

The only time Rivers was part of an underdog side against the Seahawks was in 2014. Then, as +5 home dogs, the Chargers upset their visitors 30-21.

Indianapolis, potentially Rivers, are currently +13.5 road dogs for the trip.

A look at Taylor's Pro Football Gambling Annual for the Colts' history against the Seahawks within the past thirty years doesn't look appealing for Indy fans like myself.

The Seahawks are 5-3 straight up overall from those games. They've gone 3-1 straight up as hosts. From a betting perspective, the Colts are 4-4 overall and 2-2 in Seattle. They're 1-2 against the spread as road dogs.

If I considered Rivers' numbers against the Seahawks as 'Okay', then I have to be fair and state that the Colts record against the Seahawks is not okay.

Daniel Jones Out.. Rivers In?

That's it.

Those were the words I thought as I watched Daniel Jones grounded during the Indianapolis Colts' game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday evening.

The Colts' quarterback had been playing for the past few games with a fractured fibula. Seeing him sat there like that, a few plays after hobbling more prominently than he had been, it was clear that the situation had gotten worse.

Jones punctuated that inkling by pulling off his helmet and whacking it a few times on the floor. 

Frustration.

Not just for Jones. For everyone associated with the Colts. As a fan, it felt for the first time in aeons that things were moving in the right direction. The wheels seemed to have started to lose their bearings following the bye week. If not that, somewhere in Berlin when Indy eked out an overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons.

Is that it, though?

At 8-5. the Colts are still in the hunt to the playoffs. Barely. According to reports, Philip Rivers - who played for the Chargers from 2004 to 2019 and then for the Colts in his final year as a pro during the 2020 season, is being brought into Indy today to see if he is good to go.

Five years removed from the league. It's a big ask. Making the playoffs could be bigger.

I'm on board, though. I've enjoyed the Colts 2025 season. If it's going to end this way, let it. It sure would be crazy fun to see Rivers come out of high school coaching and lead this team to the playoffs. 

So, no, that might not be it.

Not yet.

Two Years Since Squeak Left

Today marks the second anniversary of Squeak's passing. 

Even though a lot has happened between then and now, it doesn't seem like two years.

He was such a maverick. A cool one at that. I'll always remind myself of the time when I saw his paw pop out of the cat carrier and twist the mechanism to allow him to get out. It was like something you'd see in a Looney Tunes cartoon - Squeak managing to overcome something made by the ACME Corporation.

When he passed away, I wrote about how he would sit on my back at random times and how - before lights out - he'd manoeuvre his way closer to me, ahead of Oreo, so as soon as I'd ask Siri to switch everything off, he'd be able to jump on me for a hug. I happened to take a snap of him doing that unaware it would end up being on of the final photos we took together. It's one of the memories I am glad I caught. 

If only I was able to capture that moment with the paw opening the carrier.

To honour Squeak, I'm wearing a pair of socks Vicki bought me a few Christmases ago. I'm sure I've written about them before. Each sock has a black cat with a red collar on them (very reminiscent of Squeak). Written on the beige-coloured items is 'Life Is Better With Cats'. Such true words.