123: Penn State pain, Joe Burrow shines, Sam Darnold doesn't, and more!

In today's podcast: John discusses how Penn State's (9 overtime) loss at home coming off their bye week to an unranked Illinois team impacts the legacy of the James Franklin era with Penn State football and why the upset is such an encouraging sign for the Illinois program with first year head coach Bret Bielema (1:13). He also discusses whether or not the Cincinnati Bengals are the best team in the AFC after a 41-17 blowout win over the Ravens in Baltimore, and why the presence of Joe Burrow will be a boon for the franchise in the near future (11:38), the future of Sam Darnold and the Carolina Panthers after a poor performance on Sunday against the New York Giants, and whether or not the Giants should get credit for holding the Panthers to three points (18:32), if the Kansas City Chiefs can recover from a 3-4 start and a game where the Chiefs were limited to three points in a 27-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans (22:18), whether or not Kyler Murray is the front runner for NFL MVP honors after another dominant performance by his Arizona Cardinals against the Houston Texans (24:13), and if the San Francisco 49ers can solve their quarterback situation before it is too late (27:25). Plus, Ja Morant is turning into a superstar for the Memphis Grizzlies, but his 40-point performance against the Lakers on Sunday proved not to be enough as Russell Westbrook is showing why the Lakers can absolutely win a second NBA title in three years (32:25), Steph Curry continuing to show he's a video game character as the Warriors are off to a 3-0 start, headlined by a 45-point masterpiece on Thursday night vs. the Clippers (37:16), and about the Chicago Bulls' 3-0 start and whether the Bulls can sustain their strong opening (40:34)? The Vegas Golden Knights are off to a sluggish beginning, but can they shrug off the slow start and bounce back, given that John has them going to the Western Conference Finals (43:15), and why the New York Rangers' 4-0 road trip proves that they're a playoff-caliber team (45:18). Then, John offers his thoughts on the Houston Astros winning the American League (47:10), the Atlanta Braves heading to their first World Series since 1999 (50:01), and who wins the 2021 World Series (52:54).