For our readers who have been following the intense weekly football picks between myself and assistant sports editor Dylan Dariano, I am happy to report the conclusion of the bitter rivalry. As I’m sure everyone could have predicted from the start, I emerged victorious, as Dariano would inevitably drop the ball at the end. Going into Monday night, Dariano and I had identical records, both at 64-49.

The Major League Baseball offseason is fully underway as some major free agent signings have been made by teams all around the country. Huge names in the sport, including former MVPs such as Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander and Chicago Cubs first baseman Cody Bellinger, have signed massive contracts worth millions upon millions of dollars in the past few weeks. However, there is a trend in baseball that we have seen take shape over the last decades that only seems to get worse each year. That issue has to do with teams giving big-name players huge contracts for extended periods of time that almost never pan out. There has been no shortage of those types of signings this offseason, and they each come with their share of issues. 

Former Women’s National Basketball Association champion Brittney Griner is safe and sound on United States soil after ten months in Russian custody. The eight-time all-star has been held in Russia since February of this year, following a drug-related arrest. She had been detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport on her way to compete in the Russian Premier League where she has played for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) offseason since 2014. Griner was detained for possessing vaporizer cartridges containing hash oil, an illegal substance in Russia, for which she has a prescription in Arizona.

The Buffalo Bills finally look like they are back on track as one of the top teams in the National Football League after their fourth straight win and second in a row against a divisional opponent after their week fourteen victory over the New York Jets. New York won the first game of this series in week nine, as they defeated a struggling Bills team, albeit with a different starting quarterback. These are not the Jets of old, as they came into the game sitting at 7-5 fighting for their first playoff spot since 2010. Buffalo had to fight through a plethora of unfortunate weather conditions but found a way to scrape together the victory, taking down the Jets 20-12. 

The Geneseo men’s basketball team was back in action at home in Geneseo after a tough loss last Tuesday, where they faced the Keuka Wolves and lost 76-55 in a hard-fought game. The Knights had a lot of frustration after the tough loss and were looking to take out the Saints of St. Lawrence last Saturday, Dec. 10.

Throughout the 90s, former National Football League player Deion Sanders was a quarterback's worst nightmare. As a constant threat in the secondary, offenses had to make their game plan with him in mind. He was voted into a whopping eight Pro Bowls in his 14-year career, and has etched his name among the best as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Despite an already illustrious football career, he has since taken up coaching at the collegiate level, a journey that just may tarnish his legacy. 

The SUNY Geneseo Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams raced to a strong finish at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships on Saturday, Nov. 19. The men’s team finished third at the meet while the women’s team also came out strong and was able to finish in fifth place. Each team had members collect All-American honors in the showing which took place in East Lansing, Michigan.

The Buffalo Bills traveled to New England in week 13 of the National Football League season and faced the reeling Patriots on Thursday, Dec. 1. The Bills were sitting at an impressive 8-3 for the year, but were in a tie for first in the American Football Conference East division as a result of being winless against their division so far this season. They came into the game straight off of two solid performances in Detroit, albeit against mediocre Browns and Lions squads. The Patriots sat at 6-5 before this matchup with Buffalo, good for last in the division, but looked to bounce back while harming the Bills’ grand playoff aspirations. 

The Geneseo Ice Knights kicked off December with two wins, claiming victories on both Friday and Saturday last week. These wins add to an already impressive record and contribute to yet another memorable season for Geneseo. Despite having nearly half of the season ahead of them, the Knights have already amassed 8 wins, with hopefully many more to come.

The men’s club volleyball team ended their fall season with some impressive play at their final tournament of the semester last weekend, hosted by 12-time state champion and 2-time conference champion SUNY Brockport. The 12-team tournament was the second hosted by Brockport this season; the first was a massive 16-team competition in Oct., which saw the Knights walking away with two of three bracket championship titles, their first in organization history. Competition on Sunday included plenty of familiar teams, all of which are conference competitors that Geneseo will face in the spring season: Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), the University of Rochester (U of R), Niagara University, and Western NY Division I powerhouse University at Buffalo, as well as a team from SUNY Oneonta, who Geneseo has not competed against before. 

Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, has terrorized defenses for well over a decade. Leading the charge on a team that is decorated with historical accolades is no small feat, but a task that he has mostly been up for. The four-time Most Valuable Player award winner and Super Bowl champion has engraved his name among the best of all-time, but this season has been less than adequate for the 38-year old quarterback. A losing record this late into a career is often a sign that it might be time to hang up the spikes.

SUNY Geneseo’s Ice Knights looked unstoppable against SUNYAC opponent Potsdam last Friday, Nov. 11, winning 7-1. The team came into the matchup looking to win their fifth straight against the Bears, dating back to Jan. 2020. Sophomore forward Domenic Garozzo led the charge securing his second-career hat trick and first since the Knights won against Plattsburgh last season. 

Geneseo’s men’s basketball team took on the Medaille Mavericks at home on Tuesday, Nov. 15 as they went into their second game at home and fourth total on the season. The Knights looked to make it two wins in a row after defeating Stevens Institute of Technology this past Saturday in the Widener Tip-Off for Autism Awareness Tournament. Medaille went into the game looking to remain undefeated after taking down Cazenovia College in their first and only game of the season thus far. 

The men’s club volleyball team continued to power through their fall season, competing in a landmark tournament this past weekend—a year out from their first competition as a team in more than five years. The team attended a 15-team tournament hosted by Western New York Division I powerhouse, the University at Buffalo (UB).

The Buffalo Bills looked to turn things around against the Minnesota Vikings in week ten of their season this past Sunday, Nov. 13. The Bills surprisingly dropped their last matchup against the New York Jets, falling to 0-2 in divisional play. The Vikings, on the other hand, came into Buffalo sitting at 7-1 after winning seven straight games and looking like a real powerhouse in the NFC.

The Geneseo women’s soccer team has won their second-straight SUNYAC Championship, successfully defending their title. The win came in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as several overtime periods still were not enough. When it came down to penalty kicks, the Knights completed their 1-1 (4-3) victory over SUNY Cortland. 

The Bills came into week nine of the football season on a hot streak after winning four consecutive games. The team looked to face the New York Jets, who Buffalo has dominated over the past few seasons, beating them in each of their previous four matchups. However, this is not a typical Jets team—they are one of the biggest surprises of the 2022 season and sat at 5-3, previously holding a four-game winning streak of their own. 

As the 2022 National Football League season reaches the halfway point, many teams are showing just how good (or bad) they are. The Eagles are undefeated, and the Bills are continuing to impress. And on the other side of the spectrum is the Houston Texans, the worst team in the NFL. At 1-6-1, the Texans seem to do nothing right, and are yet again disappointing their somehow devoted fans.