Weekly Takes - Monday, September 4th Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, September 4th Edition

1. In signing Simon Benoit, the Leafs land a young, big, physical, and mobile defenceman who has played top-four minutes as recently as last season,

The only issue is he got crushed in those minutes, likely because he was on an awful Ducks team and since he is not a top-four defenceman.

That leaves the Leafs with an intriguing player to watch in camp.

Maybe he is an AHL defenceman after all. Or perhaps he can fill a Jordie Benn-type role for the Leafs.

The latter would be a success.

2. Extending Sheldon Keefe was a no-brainer for MLSE.

This does not stop them from firing him if things go sideways, as this does not impact their bottom line at all. What it does is contain the “lame duck” narrative heading into camp, making it worth it for that reason alone.

3. Hiring John Schneider made sense for the Jays at the time, as he was an up-and-coming manager with an up-and-coming team.

But he is not a big-league manager. I think the book is out on that.

4. My thoughts on the Angels waiving their trade deadline additions…

• MLB should have stepped in to stop this from happening, somehow. It is an embarrassment to the integrity of the sport. Teams out of contention should not be able to release players just so their owners can save a few dollars.

• This is an excellent example of why MLB needs to push the trade deadline back by a couple of weeks. July 31st was a great day to have the trade deadline when only two wild card teams made the playoffs. But with a third wild card spot in play – and thus more teams in the mix for a longer time – the deadline needs to be pushed back so the “pretenders” have more time to falter, leading to more exciting trade deadlines due to the fact that there would be more sellers.

5. My 2023 NFL Predictions….

AFC East

1. Buffalo (4)

2. Miami (WC1)

3. New York Jets

4. New England

AFC North

1. Cincinnati (2)

2. Pittsburgh (WC2)

3. Baltimore (WC3)

4. Cleveland

AFC West

1. Kansas City (1)

2. Los Angeles Chargers

3. Denver

4. Las Vegas

AFC South

1. Jacksonville (3)

2. Houston

3. Tennessee

4. Indianapolis

NFC East

1. Philadelphia (2)

2. Dallas (1)

3. New York Giants (3)

4. Washington

NFC North

1. Detroit (3)

2. Chicago

3. Minnesota

4. Green Bay

NFC South

1. New Orleans (4)

2. Carolina

3. Tampa Bay

4. Atlanta

NFC West

1. San Francisco (1)

2. Seattle (2)

3. Los Angeles Rams

4. Arizona

Super Bowl Prediction: Kansas City defeats San Francisco

My 2023 National Football League Individual Awards Predictions

- Most Valuable Player: Patrick Mahomes

- Offensive Player of the Year: Mahomes

- Defensive Player of the Year: TJ Watt

- NFL Rookie of the Year: Will Anderson

- Offensive Rookie of the Year: Bijan Robinson

- Defensive Rookie of the Year: Will Anderson

Coach of the Year: Dan Campbell

6. My Week One NFL Predictions…

• Lions (+6.5)

• Browns (+1.5)

• Bucs (+6)

• Panthers (+3.5)

• Steelers (+2.5)

• Commanders (-7)

• Saints (-3)

• Texans (+10)

• Bears (-2)

• Eagles (-4.5)

• Seahawks (-4.5)

• Broncos (-4)

• Dolphins (+3)

• Giants (+3.5)

• Bills (-2)

7. Seeing Mitch McConnel freeze at another press conference is a great reminder that term limits – and two terms at that – should be universal in any functioning society.

Career politicians should not exist. You get eight years to govern. That is it.