NFL Kicks Off The Season, WNBA Regular Season Winds Down, and Anne’s $100 NFL Bet

Welcome to the Torg Stories Podcast. On this episode we discuss The NFL Kicks off the Season, the stakes are high as the WNBA Regular Season ends, and Anne’s $100 Bet.  

What I’m looking forward to watching to start this NFL season: 

1. Aaron Rogers in Pittsburgh. 
2. Jim Harbaugh coaching the Chargers. The khaki pants. I watched the sign stealer documentary. 
3. Pete Carroll in Vegas. I really liked his book. I think he’s the kind of 73 year old I have a chance to be. The energy active part; not the NFL coach part.
4. The Panthers looked much better at the end of last year. Can they keep trending up? 
5. Will Travis Kelce play better? Will Taylor perform at the Super Bowl? I didn’t realize how late that gets announced. Last year they announced in September. Also Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes. 
6. What will happen with Flacco and Sanders for Cleveland? 
7. Not the question: I am interested in UNC Chapel Hill. Belichick! 
8. I am interested in the Patriots coach Vrabel. I think he might be really good. 
9. Watching Josh Allen. Listening to Coaches Dan Campbell, Mike McDaniels. 

What seem to be 3-5 storylines as the season starts? 

1. Fox and YouTube TV announced a renewal of their carriage agreement on Thursday, ending a dispute that could have left subscribers to the streaming platform without access to sports content as the college football and NFL seasons begin.
2. Cowboys trade Micah Parsons to Packers. 
3. Lions lose coordinators. Ben Johnson to Bears and Aaron Glenn to Jets. 

Anne, what’s the story of you falling for the Indy Colts? You have strong opinions about the Colts quarterback situation. Some of my thoughts…

1. Jones is much more accurate: 63% to 47%. 

1. Richardson 8 TDs and 12 ints. Jones 8 TDs and 7 ints. 
2. Jones 200 more yards in one less game. 
3. Richardson rushed for 200 more yards and had 6 rushing TDs to 2 for Jones. 
4. From CBS sports: Anthony Richardson will be on the sidelines when the Indianapolis Colts visit the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9 and for the foreseeable future. Head coach Shane Steichen announced this week that Richardson had been benched in place of veteran Joe Flacco going forward. This comes after the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft has struggled with his efficiency throughout the season and, most notably, took himself out of a play in Week 8’s loss to Houston because he was tired. 
5. I am hoping Jones is good!

Who would you like to see in the Super Bowl if it’s not the Colts or Panthers? 

1. Steelers (Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers) vs. Rams (Lions, Bears)
2. I realize I am interested in a lot more AFC teams. I like watching the Bills, Pats, and I like the Dolphins coach. 

Here are the favorites to make the Super Bowl:

1. Ravens +700
2. Bills +750 
3. Eagles +750
4. Chiefs +850
5. Lions +1100

Who is supposed to be bad? 

• Saints, Browns, Jets, Giants, Titans 

Colts, Pats, and Dolphins are +8000 to win the Super Bowl. Panthers are +10000

Anne’s going to teach us 5 Things We Probably Didn’t Know About the Colts… 

Anne’s $100 bet. I have questions for Anne… 

1. A Colts win and/or a pro Colts parlay? You’ll be watching it in Vegas, right? 
2. You tend to bet on long shots. Are you looking for that? 
3. Would it be more fun to bet on the last night game or do you have plans? 
4. Would you want to hate watch anyone with your bet? 

Anne decided on Bills to beat Ravens, Allen to throw 2 TD passes, and Lamar Jackson to rush for one. 

Bill NFL Predictions… 

• AFC division winners: Bills 3 seed, Steelers 1 seed, Colts 4 seed, Chiefs 2 seed
• AFC wildcard: Broncos 6 seed, Ravens 5 seed, Patriots 7 seed 
• NFC Division Winners: Eagles 1 seed, Packers 2 seed, Buccs 3 seed, Rams 4 seed 
• NFC wild card: Lions 5 seed, Commanders 6 seed, Panthers 7 seed 
• Super Bowl: Chiefs over Packers 

Anne NFL Predictions…

WNBA Season is Almost Over Segment: 

1. WNBA teams out of the playoffs are trying much harder and much more competitive than NBA teams that are out of the playoffs. 

• For example, the CT Sun, who have only won 10 games, won 4 out of 5 recently. 

2. We were right about the Aces last time we talked. They’ve won 12 in a row and moved all the way up to 2nd place. 
3. I was wrong about the Sparks. They were very close but lost a 1 point game to the Fever that has them 3 wins out of the playoffs. 
4. It’s a 44 game season. Some teams have 4 games left and some have 7. 
5. 9 teams still mathematically in the playoff race. Click here to read them. 
6. Lynx clinched best record. 
7. Then Aces with 26 wins, Dream and Mercury with 25, Liberty with 24. That’s kind of the upper tier. 
8. Fever in 6th with 21 wins, Seattle one more win in 7th with 22 but have played more games, Golden State with 20 wins. 
9. For Fever, staying ahead of Storm could mean staying ahead of the Aces. BUT, Aces, Dream, Mercury, and Liberty could still shuffle a lot. 

As a Fever fan, who do you want or who do you want to avoid in those top teams? I’d want…

• Mercury for rivalry, Dream for slower in the middle, Aces for “mid” guard play, Liberty only because they aren’t the Lynx, and then the Lynx would be the last team I’d want. 

Thanks for listening to the podcast!