Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The year is 2026. College football is a shell of its former self. Professional players are trying to return. Colleges are finding any and every judge that will allow them to break rules. In professional sports, things are just as chaotic. The Bears are still deciding between 12 different stadium sites. The White Sox are actually in a playoff race. Pat McAfee just became Emperor of the World. In these uncertain times, as the planet plunges into darkness, the people continue to ask one question:
Can Connor Cover?
Luckily for the people, over the next 20 or so weeks, I will answer that question. No, your eyes are not deceiving you, the column where I try to decipher the code that is the NFL has indeed returned for the fourth year. I know, I can’t believe I’ve been doing it for this long either. But, I’ve long said that writing this each week is one of my very favorite parts of my job, and that remains the truth. I just hope you all enjoy reading it half as much.
If you remember, last year we changed up the formatting a bit. Instead of picking every game every week and burning myself out quicker than it took the Big Ten to screw Western Michigan out of a win on Saturday night, I elected to pick just five games every week: my favorite favorite and underdog, both the Bears and Colts games, as well as a game of the week. That will continue into this year, as not only did it help with my sanity, it led to my best record yet, 47-36. Well, that and the fact that it allows me to make my introductions a little bit longer, and I know the real reason you all read is to see what’s going on in this brain of mine.
I won’t make you wait any longer. It’s been a while since we’ve chatted, so let me just give you all the run down on all things me.
Riding roller coasters, my favorite hobby, was certainly a big part of it. I went to four new parks, some good, some not so much (looking at you, Six Flags Darien Lake), and hit the milestone of my 150th different coaster. I set a new personal-best by riding Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer 25 times in one day, and spent more days riding rides than any summer prior.
A lot of people ask me what it is about roller coasters that has me so infatuated with them. Personally, I think it's the freeing feeling of throwing your hands up, letting out a scream and just feeling the forces of the ride. It’s pretty difficult to think about the horrors of everyday life when you’re going 70 MPH with the wind in your face and your butt out of the seat.
This column appears in the sports section though, and I’d be a fool not to mention the Chicago White Sox. Just before the Super Bowl, I mentioned that I was excited to watch them this summer, something that had not been the case for about a half-decade. They looked to be trending upwards with some solid young talent, but I couldn’t have predicted they would take such a large leap so soon. In first place since July 4th, the Pale Hose have been one of the best stories in baseball. Three guys with 30+ home runs. Looking to become the first team ever to win a division the year after losing 100 games, nevermind the fact that they had done it three times in a row.
The job is not done yet. The lead over Cleveland is slim, and the White Sox will have their work cut out for them over the next few weeks. Will they get it done? I sure hope so, but either way, it’s refreshing to be watching meaningful baseball games in September. This team means so much to me, and having them be worth caring about again was something I was deeply missing.
A lot of the time when I am out covering a game, someone will ask me about my health. I truly do appreciate how much this community cares. I am still a peritoneal dialysis patient, but after being on it for over a year now, I am happy to say I have more than grown accustomed to it as part of my routine every day. I still feel great, and am able to live my life like anyone else my age would, and I can’t express how grateful I am for that.
That about covers it. I’m still watching a ton of movies and playing a ton of video games. At the end of the day, I’m a simple man. I set on a quest to beat 50 games in 2026, but sitting at 24 currently, I don’t think I’m going to get there. I know, I know, this is riveting stuff. This first column is like syllabus week in college. I have to welcome everybody back, start with some icebreakers and ease back into things. Next week, we’ll be full steam ahead. No more dilly dallying, let’s pick some games.
(Also, I am not formally picking the game this year, but Missouri will beat the team to the west by a billion on Friday night.)
FAVORITE FAVORITE
Dallas Cowboys (-2.5) at New York Giants
Looking at the board this week, not a whole lot stood out to me in this department. In fact, it was the underdogs that I had to narrow down to just one. We’ll get to that in a second. I’m going with Dallas here mainly because I think they have the chance to put together a fantastic year on offense. Two top receivers in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. A young tight end in Jake Ferguson that is coming off a breakout year. Javonte Williams leads the backfield after doing the same. In the middle of it all is Dak Prescott, who has become pretty underrated at this point. On the other side, you never know what you’re going to get out of the Giants, even with John Harbaugh taking over. I could see this being a shootout if Jaxson Dart comes out firing, but I think the road team gets it done.
The Pick: Cowboys -2.5
BIG DAWG GOTTA EAT
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5)
In the four years I’ve been doing this column, two things have become very clear to me: underdogs in Week 1 usually have a pretty good showing, and the Cincinnati Bengals are usually pretty bad in Week 1. Both of those rules to live by are at a crossroads here, and the data is screaming too loudly at me to ignore. The Bengals are 0-4 against the spread in their last four openers, and the Bucs are an even enough match that I could see them either losing by a field goal or winning outright. I think both of these teams will have a chance at postseason play this winter, but for now, we’re riding with Tampa.
The Pick: Buccaneers +3.5
BEAR DOWN
Chicago Bears (-3) at Carolina Panthers
What a season the Bears are coming off of. A division title, a playoff win over the stinky Packers, crazy last-second win after crazy last-second win. It had it all. Do I think this season will be just as good? How could it? I do think the Bears will win a large amount of games though, starting with this one. The offense is poised to take a step forward as Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams continue to grow their relationship, but that defense is going to be a problem once again. It truly is a cruel twist of fate that a Bears team with a good offense is not allowed to have the Monsters of the Midway type defense we’ve grown accustomed to. The Panthers could be in the hunt for the playoffs once again, as the NFC South is as wide open as ever, but I’m going with the team that calls Chicago home (for now).
The Pick: Bears -3
THIS IS OUR COLTS
Baltimore Ravens (-3.5) at Indianapolis Colts
This is undoubtedly a tough opener for the Colts, who welcome back Daniel Jones after he suffered a season-ending injury late last year. I’m not sure what to make of the Colts here. Last season, they started the campaign as one of the best teams in football, but things began to fall apart before Jones got hurt. Jonathan Taylor had a massive year, but can he replicate it? It feels like this team has a lot more questions than it does answers as we head into the 2026 season, but you could honestly say the same thing about the Ravens! This is probably the toughest game to pick out of the five pack this week. At the end of the day, one team has Lamar Jackson. I have to go with that team.
The Pick: Ravens -3.5
GAME OF THE WEEK
San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (-3.5)
This game, which is Thursday night, is actually being played Friday morning locally in Melbourne, Australia. Because of this, the NFL opener was actually last night. A Wednesday. It won’t be long until our supreme overlords have us watching an NFL game every day of the week. Anyway, looking at the action itself, these two teams took completely different travel approaches. The Niners left last week, while the Rams plan to arrive with about 24 hours until game time. A lot has been made this offseason about LA having a dream team this year, as they are massive Super Bowl favorites. What if they began with a bit of hiccup? To me, this is a perfect zag when everyone else is zigging. Give me the Niners to win the battle Down Under.
The Pick: 49ers +3.5
Well, that’s a wrap on the first column of the year. Like I said earlier, this week I got my feet wet. Next time we chat, I’ll be diving in the deep end.
Cheers.
