The Week That Was (August 11-15, 2025)

A roundup of what I wrote, read, watched, etc. over the past week.

Aug 16, 2025

In this space on Saturdays, I do a weekly round-up of sorts: Sifting through what I wrote that you might have missed during the week, what I’ve been reading and watching myself, and some other fun things that have been going on.

What I did this week

Here are the things I wrote or podcasted about during the previous week, sorted in descending order by quality, popularity and/or current relevance.

🏈 The 70 Best Returning QBs in College Football for 2025 - With the 2025 season approaching, I ranked the 70 most valuable returning FBS quarterbacks based on schedule-adjusted Points Above Replacement, including LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and Oklahoma’s John Mateer — plus some rising talents like South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers and Texas’ Arch Manning. In the process, I also ranked the biggest shoes to fill on campus this fall.
⚾ Is It Getting Tougher to Build a Bad, Expensive Baseball Team? - Payrolls and winning are getting more closely linked in MLB again, making truly bad, big-spending teams rarer. When were they at their peak — and why are they dying out? (Blame noncompetitive owners, smarter front offices and better player development alike.)
🏈 The Denver Broncos Are Schrödinger’s Team - The 2025 Broncos are a statistical paradox — unlucky enough last year to suggest further improvement is likely, but also primed for regression after dramatic gains on both sides of the ball (especially defense). Whether 2024’s rookie QB sensation Bo Nix can offset an expected drop-off on D will determine if they can challenge the Chiefs… or slide back toward mediocrity.
🏀 How the Fever are surviving without Caitlin Clark - Despite Caitlin Clark missing 60 percent of the season, the Fever have hung out around .500 without her — thanks to a softer schedule, improved defense and balanced scoring from some unsung sources. Still, their offense drops from elite to average without Clark, and a deep playoff run hinges on her full return.
⚾ Adam Wainwright Thinks These Cardinals Aren’t Done Yet, Probably Because His Cardinals Never Were - Wainwright tweeted his belief that the 2025 Cardinals can make a late playoff push — possibly shaped by his own experience on St. Louis teams that repeatedly defied the odds. From the 83-win 2006 champs to the miraculous 2011 comeback, the Cardinals’ history of improbable runs fuels the idea that anything is possible.
🏈 8 factors that predict potential underdog College Football Playoff contenders - At The Athletic, I identified eight key statistical factors — from past power ratings to turnover luck and coaching tenure — that often signal which unranked teams could crash the College Football Playoff race. For 2025, that means watch out for USC, Louisville, Auburn, and Virginia Tech (among others).
⚾ MLB’s Stretch Run Has Turned Into a Chaotic Free-For-All - Once a clear picture, MLB’s 2025 playoff landscape has erupted into chaos, with sudden hot streaks and collapses reshaping the odds. Early August has seen one of the sport’s most turbulent stretches in decades — and September could be even crazier.
🏁 Numbers say Chase Briscoe is peaking at the right time - Chase Briscoe has been NASCAR’s hottest driver for three months, leading the series in both Driver Rating and Adjusted Pts+ while racking up poles and top-five finishes in his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing. History suggests his late-season surge could carry into the playoffs — even if oddsmakers still see him as a long shot for the title.
- 🏁🎧 Cursed Connor and the Broken Collarbone - In this week’s episode of Podracing,
  Tyler
  and I broke down a chaotic weekend at Watkins Glen, where our guy Connor Zilisch wrecked himself in Victory Lane celebrating. That meant no rematch vs. SVG in the Cup race… and SVG cruised to his fourth straight road-course win. We ask: Is he too dominant? Then we spotlight Briscoe and preview Richmond — where tire wear reigns and strategy is make-or-break.

Some interesting things I read/watched this week

A collection of articles (with a heavy focus on my fellow Substackers), videos and other media that I enjoyed and/or found thought-provoking over the past week. I don’t always 100% agree with or endorse what’s linked here… but that’s also sort of the point.