Sarni's Scrolls: Brady "Analyzes" NFL

By Jim Sarni

Tom Brady discussed the state of the current NFL during an appearance Monday on "The Stephen A. Smith." The former quarterback fired away.

■ "I think there's a lot of mediocrity in today's NFL. I don't see the excellence that I saw in the past.

■ "I don't think the coaching is as good as it was. I don't think the development of the young players is as good as it was. I don't think the schemes are as good as they were.

■ "The rules have allowed a lot of bad habits to get into the actual performance of the game. I just think the product, in my opinion, is less than what it's been.

■ "I look at a lot of players like Ray Lewis and Rodney Harrison and Ronnie Lott and guys that impacted the game in a certain way -- and every hit they would have made would have been a penalty [today]

.■ "You hear coaches complaining about their own players being tackled and not necessarily -- why don't talk to their player about how to protect himself?

■ "We used to work on the fundamentals of those things all the time. Now they're trying to be regulated all the time."

All good points.

 The NFL has lost some of its edge. Should or will the league do anything about it?

Can't wait until Brady moves into the Fox broadcast booth next season.

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The NFL is eyeing flexing two games in December:■ Dec. 11 (MNF): Packers at Giants. For Jets-Texans.■ Dec. 31 (SNF): Packers at Vikings. For Dolphins-Ravens or Bengals-Chiefs

."It's not about getting into a better game. It's about getting out a game that no longer has playoff implication," Mike North, NFL VP of Scheduling told the "Philadelphia Inquirer."Now, remember that: playoffs over lousy teams.

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Groundbreakers," a new two-hour PBS documentary, which debuted on Tuesday, celebrates 50 years of female excellence in sports.

 Hosted by sports Billie Jean King hosts the film which weaves together the first-hand stories of eight icons who discuss how Title IX and their own achievements forever changed the course of women’s sports.

The interviews pair an athlete at the top of her game today with an athlete whose achievements helped pave the way for those who followed. The pairings:

■ King and flag football star Diana Flores.

■ Basketball legend Nancy Lieberman and Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim

.■ Soccer star and World Cup winner Julie Foudy and Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee.

■ Track and field world-record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee with four-time tennis Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka.

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Paul Azinger is suddenly out as NBC golf analyst after five seasons.The move comes as NBC and Golf Channel have made significant cutbacks in their coverage. Still, the decision surprised the 63-year-old Azinger as he had already set up a schedule for the 2024 season -- starting with next week's Hero World Challenge.Curt Byrum will replace Azinger at the Hero World Challenge, where Tiger Woods is making his latest return from injury.

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The NBA In-Season Tournament is doing what it was intended to do.■ Ratings are up.■ Fans are talking about basketball in November and December.■ Some players say there's extra energy in the contests.With 42 of the 60 tournament games played through Tuesday, the stakes are getting higher. Teams are playing to make the knockout stage. There are 10 games on Friday, followed by eight on Nov. 28

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The Davis Cup quarterfinals are underway in Malaga, Spain.Finland upset defending champion Canada on Tuesday.The remaining three matches (Tennis Channel):

■ Czech Republic vs. Australia, Wednesday, 10 a.m

.■ Italy vs. Netherlands, Thursday, 4 a.m

.■ Serbia vs. Great Britain, Thursday, 10 a.m.***ETC.

■ Maui Invitational: Final -- Purdue vs. Marquette, 5 p.m., ESPN; Consolation -- Kansas vs. Tennessee, 2:30 p.m., ESPN.

■ Monday night's Eagles-Chiefs game attracted $28.9M, making it the most-watched MNF telecast in 27 years. It's also easily the top game of the season.

■ Super Bowl odds at ESPN Bet: Chiefs +450, Eagles +450, 49ers +450, Ravens +800, Dolphins +900, Lions +1000, Cowboys +1000

.■ FSU's national championship odds have dropped from +950 to +3000 on DraftKings since the injury to QB Jordan Travis

.■ The 9-1 Eagles have won games by 5, 6, 3, 7, 5 and 4 points

.■ The Eagles cleverly trolled Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce after beating the Chiefs on MNF... posting a photo of a friendship bracelet, including beads with letters that spelled out "Eagles win.

"■ Dolphins-Jets disparity: New York has scored nine TDs this season; Miami scored 10 in one game, the 70-20 rout of the Bengals

s.■ Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has held preliminary talks with billionaire Ken Griffin over a deal that would include a minority stake in the team.

■ The Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy indoor, made-for-TV golf league will be delayed a year until Jan., 2025 after the venue's roof collapsed

.■ Notre Dame and NBC extended their media rights agreement to 2029 at double the current payouts.

■ Gonzaga-to-the-Big 12 talks are reportedly heating up again

.■ Adrian Beltre, Chase Utley and Joe Mauer are among the 12 first-time candidates on the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot.

■ Bill Walton at the Maui Invitational: "Is [Marquette forward] Oso Ighodaro related to Andre Iguodala?"

■ Prince Harry did the ceremonial puck drop at the Sharks-Canucks game in Vancouver. Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth dropped the puck 21 years ago when she was in Vancouver.

■ Chipotle has changed the name of one of its Kansas City locations because of how Travis Kelce spelled it in a text from 2011

.■ Pickleball injuries are driving up the cost of health care costs. America's new favorite sports will cost the U.S. between $250-500 million in health care this year.

■ Travel: Is Scotland the next big surfing spot?

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■ Nov. 21 was World Television Day, recognizing how television plays a vital role in presenting different issues that affect people

.■ The Rolling Stones are going on tour in 2024. Sixteen cities.

■ CBS's Blue Bloods will end with Season 14

.■ A second perfect score on "Dancing With The Stars" on Tuesday: Jason Mraz and Danielle Karagach.

■ Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is only the second most played Christmas song, trailing Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" currently on Spotify

.■ Alan Alda sold the combat boots and dog tags he wore as Hawkeye Pierce for 11 years on "M*A*S*H" for $125,000.

■ London rejected a proposal for another Sphere arena, citing light intrusion.

■ Stephen Colbert reported on Tuesday's monologue that "Some bats use their huge junk to have weird sex."

■ Did you know that... Scent compounds on a person's hands can identify his/her gender with 96.7% accuracy.

■ Have you put up your Christmas tree*

**THEY SAID IT

■ "Bill Self is beside himself right now." -- ESPN announcer Dan Shulman after Kansas fell behind Marquette 33-22 in the Maui Invitational semifinals Tuesday night

 "Locker rooms are like my mom's bathing suits -- I like to see them in one piece." -- Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, quoting Ted Lasso.

■ "Man, I'm focused on this week in terms of the development of Kenny [Pickett]. We're not urinating on the fire." -- Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.***

Jim Sarni, BC Class of '69, is a former sportswriter for The Boston Globe and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He resides in Fort Lauderdale and watches a lot of television. If you have a comment or an opinion, we'd love to hear from you Jksarni@aol.com