One huge QB snub among Pro Bowl rosters; How to fix college bowl season

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Good morning to everyone but especially … 

THE NFL PRO BOWL SELECTIONS

The NFL announced its Pro Bowl rosters Wednesday, and while it may not even be a game any more, it’s an honor, nonetheless. The 49ers led the way with nine selections.

• QB Brock Purdy (starter)
• RB Christian McCaffrey (starter)
• TE George Kittle (starter)
• FB Kyle Juszczyk (starter)
• T Trent Williams (starter)
• DE Nick Bosa (starter)
• DT Javon Hargrave
• ILB Fred Warner (starter)
• CB Charvarius Ward (starter)

Of course the goal for those nine — and any other Pro Bowl player headed to the playoffs — is to not be at the Pro Bowl and be preparing for the Super Bowl instead. The 49ers are certainly among those teams, as are the Ravens and Cowboys, who tied for second-most selections with seven.

Just like any honor, there are also snubs. Tyler Sullivan pointed out five, including …

• Sullivan: “You can make an outside argument for Josh Allen to win MVP, and yet he was left off the Pro Bowl roster. The Bills signal-caller has helped resurrect Buffalo’s season and now has them in a position to leap into first place in the AFC East if they can take down the Dolphins on the road on Sunday. … His numbers are nearly identical to Patrick Mahomes — who made the roster — and he even has thrown for more touchdowns. Allen also has more fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives than Mahomes this season and beat the Chiefs quarterback at Arrowhead in their head-to-head matchup this season. And we haven’t even accounted for Allen’s rushing stats.”

The Commanders, Packers, Panthers and Patriots didn’t have a single selection.

Honorable mentions

• Zach LaVine (foot) could be back soon.
• Will Shipley declared for the NFL Draft.
• LSU added four-star 2025 running back Harlem Berry.
• The Pacers put a QR code on their jersey

And not such a good morning for …

(SOME) BUSTED BOWL GAMES

Bowl season was awesome. If you want fewer bowl games, you clearly didn’t watch a Pop-Tart become a cultural icon (as I did) or player celebrate in a Cheez-It-themed hot tub (as I did) or Western Kentucky pull off a 28-point comeback thanks to two one-handed catches in the Famous Toastery Bowl (as I did). (Can you tell that I watch a lot of football?) (And that I’m really hungry?)

I’ll also be the first person to acknowledge there were some complete stinkers. And now, Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli is saying there needs to be changes.

Carparelli pointed to three “unregulated circumstances” — the early signing period, fall transfer portal window and prohibitive NIL no-gos — as major issues.

• The transfer portal opens in early December — before bowls start — and runs into early January.
• However, the three-day early signing period occurs in mid-December, shortly after bowl season begins.
• NIL deals don’t feature bowl game participation stipulations.

I think we all know which game exemplified Carparelli’s dissatisfaction: Georgia‘s 63-3 beatdown of Florida State in the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles were down 20+ players, including quarterback Tate Rodemaker (portal), and Kirby Smart was calling for change afterward. A day earlier, Ohio State lost the Cotton Bowl Classic to Missouri, 14-3, with Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord not just having gone into the portal but already found a new home weeks earlier.

I’ll be interested to see what (if anything) changes, and I wonder if tweaking NIL clauses might be the best way to go.

Not so honorable mentions

• Hey Shaka Smart (and other coaches), you’re not a player. Get off the court. That and more in Matt Norlander’s Court Report.
• Tyreek Hill left Dolphins practice due to a fire at his house. No one was hurt.
• It sounds like no one had fun on the 2018-19 Celtics.

NFL playoff projections and key players sitting

We’ve been running playoff projections all season. Through every team’s highs and lows, injuries and every single twist and turn that makes the NFL great.

Now it all comes down to one week, and our final projections — courtesy of SportsLine’s Stephen Oh — are here. The clinching scenarios will make your head spin, so Stephen’s helping us out a ton.

The AFC seven seed could go one of several ways. The computer says …

• Breech: “Colts — The Colts (9-7) and Texans (9-7) will be playing each other on Saturday night with the winner guaranteed to make the playoffs. The computer is giving a small edge to the Colts, who will be playing at home.”

Over in the NFC, where there are 256 potential seeding combinations, the Packers have a win-and-in game against the Bears. But, as Doug Clawson notes in his 13 zany and crazy things to know for this weekend, there’s a sense of déjà vu …

• Clawson: “For the second straight year they have a win-and-in scenario at home, in the final week, vs. a division rival they’ve dominated, who has already been eliminated, but enter the game on a hot streak. Last year they lost to the Lions. This year, they need to get past a Bears team they’ve won nine straight (and 17 of the last 20) against.  It’s not completely the same, though, as Jordan Love is the Packers QB instead of Aaron Rodgers. If the Packers beat the Bears to make the playoffs, they will be the youngest playoff team since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. The future is bright for Love and Co. if that’s the case.”

Justin Fields is talking that talk, too.

Overall, 13 of the 16 games this weekend have playoff implications. But there will be plenty of names sitting, too.

• Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford and Joe Flacco will sit. Prepare for Tyler Huntley, Blaine Gabbert, Sam Darnold, Carson Wentz and Jeff Driskel! Driskel will be the Browns‘ fifth different starting quarterback this year.
• The Chiefs are sitting several starters. So are the 49ers and Rams, so don’t expect much excitement, writes Jonathan Jones.
• Zach Wilson‘s season is over. His Jets career might be, too.

Early NBA All-Star Game starter picks

The first returns of NBA All-Star Game fan voting arrive today, and while fans don’t always take it super seriously — Zaza Pachulia nearly started the 2017 game — remember they’re balanced out by the media and players.

Jack Maloney selected the 10 players he would choose as starters, and leading the charge for the Eastern Conference is …

• Maloney: “Tyrese Haliburton — Haliburton made his All-Star debut as a reserve last season, and deserves to make his first start in the annual showcase in front of his home fans this time around. He’s taken his game to a completely different level this season and established himself as a premier point guard. His 12.7 assists per game lead the league and have him on pace to be the first player to average 12 assists for a season since John Stockton in 1995…. A 50/40/90 season is within reach with some better shooting from the line.”

But it’s not just the assists. It’s the lack of turnovers. Haliburton strengthened his case even further with another huge, historic performance Wednesday.

Jack did a great job with this — much better, I’m assuming, than the fans will do. Give it a read!

Prosecutors allege Wander Franco engaged in ‘commercial sexual exploitation’

Two days after Wander Franco was arrested in the Dominican Republic for failing to appear at a court summons, prosecutors accused the Rays shortstop of “commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering.”

• As we detailed Monday, Franco’s arrest was not due to his alleged relationship with a minor that put him on MLB’s restricted list back in August. Instead, it was because Franco failed to appear at a summons at the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Children and Adolescents to address allegations that he had inappropriate relationships with minors.
• Franco and his new legal representation met with prosecutors Monday to address the allegations. The prosecutors then delivered evidence to a judge Wednesday. The judge is expected to issue a ruling tomorrow.
• Prosecutors reportedly requested that the judge “hold Franco on an $86,000 bond, bar him from leaving the Dominican Republic and place him under house arrest.”
• Per reports, at least two people have filed legal action against Franco. A third has accused him of improper behavior without seeking legal action.

What we’re watching Thursday

Penguins at Bruins, 7 p.m. on ESPN
No. 1 South Carolina at Florida (W), 7 p.m. on SEC Network
Bucks at Spurs, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
Missouri at No. 7 LSU (W), 9 p.m. on SEC Network
Colorado at No. 10 Arizona (M), 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
Nuggets at Warriors, 10 p.m. on TNT