* Not that the Bucs need reminding, but nine wild-card teams have won Super Bowls. And having to play on the post-season road has never mattered less with stadiums of socially-distanced home fans. But, yes, Green Bay can still be brutal in January.
* The decision to bring in 43-year-old Tom Brady—40 TD passes and a resultant 11-5 record—was, as we’ve now seen, spot on. The Bucs are back in the playoffs with the highest scoring offense in team history.
* Alabama head coach Nick Saban makes $9.3 million a year. That’s the kind of number that reminds us that network-enriched NCAA football and basketball has morphed into the collegiate sports industrial complex. And it adds credence to the argument of those who advocate compensating players beyond scholarships, room and board.
* Canada, of course, is still the country with the most NHL players. The country with the second most: Sweden.
* Even without Nikita Kucherov, the Bolts should make the NHL playoffs in defense of their Stanley Cup. Without Charlie Morton and Blake Snell, the Rays won’t make the MLB playoffs in defense of their American League pennant.
* “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”–Rays General Manager Erik Neander.