Brian Blank

Miami avenges their 2003 Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio.

75% chance of a bid thief out of the MAC. Has to be a record? kenpom.substack.com/p/conference...

Used vehicle prices moving up (more inflation).
www.coxautoinc.com/insights/man...
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) rose to 212.3, reflecting a 4% increase for wholesale used-vehicle prices (adjusted for mix, mileage, and seasonality) compared to February 2025.

Bama’s streak of 4 straight max byes is the 7th instance of at least 4 straight in league history and the first this decade.

10-20 UK
00-07 UF
92-99 Arky
92-99 UK
01-05 UK
23-26 Bama
11-14 UF

Outside of Auburn fans, I don't think enough is being made of Bruce Pearl holding a gun to the AD's head and making him hire his mediocre son to take over what had become an elite program. One of the most selfish acts in college sports history

Asking Rents Continue to Decline Year-over-year Every month I review rents and vacancy rates.

Asking Rents Continue to Decline Year-over-year
calculatedrisk.substack.com/p/asking-ren...

Got all of the week 1 conference tournament predictions up. Improbably, the 1-seed is favored in 14 out of 15 of these events. kenpom.substack.com/p/conference...

Lawler: Update on MBS Yields and Spreads From housing economist Tom Lawler:

Lawler: Update on MBS Yields and Spreads
calculatedrisk.substack.com/p/lawler-upd...

Gotta love beating your biggest rival for a commitment

Tennessee lost the battle against Alabama 71-69, but won the war...for offensive rebounds by gathering 25 of 47 possible chances. This boosted the Vols' season-long OR% to 45.4%. Just 15 teams have finished with an OR% above 44 since 1997 and 14 of those cases occurred in 2001 or earlier.

Bama Softball just took two off FSU in fairly convincing fashion and gave up a total of one run in the process. Murph may have gotten it back

Last night, teams averaged 76.4 ppg (thanks Alabama/Arkansas for your service). That beat the previous record for a February or March day over the past 30 years (min 50 games) by a point and a half. It was the 5th highest scoring day regardless of month. (This season now owns the top 6).

"From the preceding month, the PCE price index for December increased 0.4 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index also increased 0.4 percent."

YoY, the PCE price index increased 2.9 percent. Core PCE price index increased 3.0 percent YoY.

Inflation was higher than expected.

Canada had a strong incentive to lose because it meant avoiding the best team in the world in the semis. At least they didn't make a joke of the game and I wouldn't blame them for soft tanking. If you are into conspiracies, Brad Jacobs' last shot of the 10th end was an awful shot by his standards.

Goldman: "We boosted our Q4 GDP tracking estimate by 0.1pp to +1.7% (quarter-over-quarter annualized), reflecting stronger single-family housing starts and inventory accumulation than our previous assumptions."

Auburn is getting murked in Starkville right now because Josh Hubbard is currently beating them by himself. He has 35 of Clanga’s 49 points

"In the week ending February 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 206,000, a decrease of
23,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 227,000 to
229,000."

I'm sorry, but that just cannot be healthy.

Champions League recap: Grading all 36 teams, League Phase Best XI, more The league phase of the Champions League is over, culminating with a dramatic Matchday 8. Who was the best and worst in this stage of the competition?

A+: Arsenal and Bayern
A: Spurs??, Sporting and Qarabag
A-: Atleti, Atalanta, Inter, Leverkusen

D: Napoli, Slavia, Eintracht
F: Villarreal

I graded all 36 Champions League teams (and named a Best XI) after a wild and wacky Matchday 8.

www.espn.com/soccer/story...

It's official. We'll be adding a 20th entry to this list on Saturday.

Since December 14 exactly one opponent has shot better than 34.4% from 3 against Michigan would you like to guess who?

(Wisconsin, who beat them)

UConn stunned at home by 13-13 Creighton, which one would assume significantly damages their chance of a 1-seed. But whether UConn gets a 1 or 2 seed is irrelevant to their chance of winning of a title. The fact that they are not nearly as good as the other 1 (or 2?) seeds is the bigger issue.

Goldman on Q4 GDP: "Core retail sales declined 0.1% in December, below expectations, and the level of core retail sales was revised down by 0.4% in November. We lowered our Q4 GDP tracking estimate by 0.4pp to +1.6% (quarter-over-quarter annualized)."

Payrolls must be absolutely brutal.

3 things to know about Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nod for Fed chair Trump’s pick to helm the Fed is well known in the financial world, but his monetary policy views have evolved to align more with the president’s desire for lower rates.

Trump’s pick to head up the Federal Reserve is an experienced economist – but his willingness to defend the Fed against political pressure is still unknown. buff.ly/v3XaZ3H

AAR: "U.S. rail intermodal shipments fell 3.5% in January, their fifth straight year‑over‑year decrease as weaker port activity, softer goods demand, and ample trucking capacity continued to weigh on intermodal volumes."

For years, the cfb internet has hallucinated the existence of an "Auburn/LSU/Kentucky/etc fan who celebrates Alabama's championships" guy. That made-up guy has finally met his match

Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index: January 2026 Trends - Cox Automotive Inc. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) is a trusted benchmark for tracking wholesale used-vehicle prices in the U.S., which helps dealers and analysts gauge market shifts and anticipate retail t...

The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) rose to 210.5, reflecting a 2.4% increase for wholesale used-vehicle prices (adjusted for mix, mileage, and seasonality) compared to January 2025. www.coxautoinc.com/insights-hub...