2025 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 18

For the final time this season, the coalition is back to pick NFL games.

I alluded to this last week, but at this point I think we can concede the group title to Adam. While we each dominated Joe, with me sweeping our three disputed games and Adam taking four of five, Adam and I split our six disputed games for Week 17. The result is that Adam has a lead that, unless I cheat, go contrarian over the final 16 games, then get absurdly lucky, he's winning this thing. And I won't do that, so early on, congratulations to him.

Adam celebrated (I guess), with a long trip back home to Dallas, so due to that I only have his teams for this week, so we'll skip the writeups for Week 18. Joe has not provided them to me as of Friday night, but his will be added if I get them ahead of kickoff.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. Adam missed his lone hero pick of Week 17 for a change, so his barb over text about skill did not carry over into the small Week 17 sample size while I hit on my lone one. As a group, we've hit at about a 59 percent clip on hero picks, though Adam does buoy that fairly heavily with his 19-8 mark in such games; the rest of us combine for a 31-27 record. The other stat line to help explain Adam's lead comes from split decisions, where Adam has the best mark to help boost his stock. Meanwhile, we went 0-3 on consensus picks, keeping us just above .500 for the year.

For our final go this season, Adam and I disagree on four games out of 16. Let's get to it!

2025 COAS Pigskin Pick ‘Em: Week 17

The coalition returns for its penultimate week of picking NFL games for the season!

The holidays threw everything for a loop so this is getting posted late, but the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, with the hope the football picks would soon be there.

It ended up being a solid week for me, but nonetheless Adam took three of four disputed games from me and four of five from Joe. For reference, I took two of three from Joe. Adam's lead in the group is now up to double digits, so I think he can start planning the parade again.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. The BS continues to be real as Adam hit on another two of his three hero picks last week, bringing him to a staggering 73 percent hit rate on those games with the highest volume out of any of us. Call it luck, call it skill, call it whatever, but that's a big reason for his sizable advantage. Meanwhile in consensus games, we're all still hitting around where we've been all season, so I can't complain on the whole.

As we look ahead to the Week 17 slate, including a number of holiday games, Adam and I disagree on six games, Joe and I on three, and the two of them on five out of 16.

From all of us at Confessions of a Sportscaster, have a Merry Christmas! Let's get to it.

2025 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 16

Just three weeks remain in the 2025 NFL season, so our quest of picking NFL games against the spread is nearing its conclusion for the year.

My attempt at a comeback hit a snag last week, as Adam took four of the six disputed games with me and Joe took three of four; the two of them split their six disputed games. As a result I find myself in the middle of the pack while Adam sustains his sizable lead in the group.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. Hero picks remain the name of the game here, as Adam continues his BS with yet another hit, this one on his late change because Phillip Rivers. I missed my two last week as my attempt to take the points on a couple high line games backfired. Meanwhile we all only hit on one out of three consensus games, but we've picked enough that we're still hitting on an excellent clip in those.

And so with time running out as we enter Week 16, Adam and I disagree on four games, Joe and I on three, and the two of them on five out of 16. Let's get to it!

2025 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 15

We're coming down to the home stretch of the 2025 NFL season, which means the coalition is getting down to the nitty gritty part of the season.

The gap narrowed ever so slightly as I took four of seven disputed games from Adam last week; I also took two of three from Joe and the two of them split their eight disputed games. This seems about par for the course when we have a ton of disputed games, and as such Adam's lead in the group is holding pretty close to what it's been at seven games with 64 to play.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. It was a good week for hero picks on the whole, as Adam's BS continues with a 3-1 mark on the week, while Geoffrey hit on both of his. We also had a fair number of even splits last week, and I got back into more of a positive mark in those games, and consensus games continue to hit at around the clip we've been at for most of the year.

So as we look ahead to Week 15, Joe and I disagree on four games out of 16, while Adam disagrees with each of us on six games. Let's get to it!

2025 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 14

Well, the good news is I had my Thanksgiving heater. The bad news is it didn't really carry over as we move into the home stretch of the coalition picking 2025 NFL games!

Adam retains his lead over the group thanks in part to taking two of three disputed games with me last week despite his being on a cruise, though we each swept our sets of disputed games with Joe (two for me, three for Adam). His lead remains about where it has been for a good chunk of the season. That 15-1 Week 2 gave him the cushion and we just haven't been able to catch up yet.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. We had a decent consensus week once again to keep our pace, but it was a great week for hero picks, as in the six games last week where someone went hero, five of them hit; this included Adam hitting on yet another one as he's 13-5 when he does so this season.

As we move on to this next week, Joe and I are pretty well aligned with just three disputed games out of 14. Adam is a little more out there though, disputing seven games with me and eight with Joe. Let's get to it!

2025 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 13

My day job and the column always collide around this time of year. I get into the "Accelerated deadlines" mode with ads, and with early football on Thursday we bring you the Week 13 edition of the coalition's picks a little early!

I called for the Thanksgiving heater to come a little early last week, and it did: I took six of eight disputed games from Adam and five of six from Joe; the two of them split their six disputed games. Adam advised me to cool my jets, and he has a point: he still holds a seven game lead, but there is a four way tie for second place now, and just ten games separate first from last place.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. We had no consensus picks last week, which was rare and might have partially explained why most of the group had a down week. As a whole, we went 4-0 on hero picks in Week 12, with the asterisk that three of them were mine and Adam had the fourth. The hit rate on these for the group as a whole is a hair over 60%; that is the best overall group rate since we started tracking these stats in 2016.

As I try to carry on momentum from last week, I won't be able to dig much into the deficit if I do at all as groupthink largely prevails. Adam disagrees with Joe and I on three games apiece, Joe and I dispute just two of the 16 tilts this week.

From all of us at Confessions of a Sportscaster, have a Happy Thanksgiving! Let's get to it.

2025 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Elimination Stage Round of 16 (Part 1)

When I started this project months ago, 88 teams entered between all the NBA champions since 1952, all the ABA champions, and some conference champions to fill out the field. We're now down to just 16 teams left.

All of our ABA champions are out, but three conference champions from the past 30 years are still alive. Meanwhile, half of our field left is champions from about the past 15 years, while we still have a little representation from the 1970s and 1980s still alive.

Seeding-wise, we had a lot less chalk in the Round of 32 than we did in the Round of 64. Just four of eight group winners remain (incidentally all in the top half of the bracket), while six of eight #2 seeds are still competing. The upset-minded teams at this point are one #3 seed, three #4 seeds, a #5 seed, and a #6 seed. At this point, anything can truly happen.

Maybe most incredibly as I started simulating series, I realized that the top four teams from Group A had all advanced to this stage. Group H was close behind with three teams in, but that includes one that finished in fifth place

As I did in each of the first couple rounds, this round will be broken up into a couple posts. Series being covered in Part 1 will be picked totally at random (with the caveat that I'm going down the selected list to not reveal any quarterfinal matchups at this point).

The up to date bracket, scores, and results from Group Play can be found here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!