The NFL, Cubs, and College Sports Predictions with David Pivnick of McGuireWoods LLP 9-9-26

0:00This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business and Becker Private Equity podcast. We're thrilled today to be joined by brilliant thinker and lawyer David Pivnik. Periodically, we talk sports with David Pivnik with both the start of the NFL season and our Chicago Cubs starting to fall apart. I wanted to get David's thoughts on what he sees going on this coming year. David, you're an avid cowboy's friend and I guess the first thing I wanted to ask you was your prediction for the Cowboys this year, what do you expect? Well, take a little, take a look. I am far more bullish on the Cowboys this year than I have been in several, which is probably a bad place to be considering how disappointing they've been so frequently. But they returned all 11 starters on an offence that was legitimately very, very good last year. All be at one of our off-eth alignment out for a month, the start of season. But we're bringing back the entire offense with a ton of talent there.

1:02And the defense is basically completely overhauled with a ton of new talent. So I think the offense is going to be a top five offense in the league and the defense should be at least competent this year, which I think boathed very well for a productive and strong season. So officially, so that I'll be heading on the road to go see the Cowboys play at Indianapolis and Green Bay this year and hopefully not leaving those towns disappointed at the end of the weekend. And do you see Green Bay with a couple injuries, a couple guy, one guy out because of some trouble he got into Josh Jacobs, I think, and then Mike Parsons out for a while. What do you see with the Packers this year? Do you see greatness or struggles? I see somewhere in between, frankly. I certainly don't see greatness. I don't think they're going to struggle either. I think they're a solid but not spectacular team that will be fine. I think they're better than Minnesota. But I think Detroit and

2:03Chicago are a class of the division and and and avid listeners will know I often give you grief about the bears and the pathetic state of that franchise as it normally stands. But I think the bears are going to win the division this year. And I think Green Bay will get into the playoffs as a wild card as well with that's right Detroit will get in as a wild card as well with Green Bay and Minnesota on the outside looking in. So I don't think it will be struggles in Green Bay but between the injuries, the Josh Jacobs likely suspension and distraction and just the talent level. I don't think they're going to have a great year either. And what about Shadr Sanders and Cleveland Browns? Any thoughts there or or or or not really what's the sense of what's going to happen there with your Sanders? I mean, I don't think Deshaude Watson is going to do a particularly good job as the starter. He hasn't been good or particularly healthy for several years. So I think Shadr Sanders will get a chance at some point. I don't know that that's going to go

3:06great. I think they'll put up probably better numbers than Deshaude Watson and they brought in some very talented rookie Rodney Severs with Denzel Boston and Casey Concepcion. So they've got a lot more talent on the offensive side of the ball to help the court. I just don't think Deshaude Watson or Shadr Sanders are likely going to be particularly strong NFL quarterbacks at this point in time. So the Browns are clearly rebuilding or trying to rebuild or do something other than compete and they certainly won't compete. I think it'll just be a matter of how bad they're going to be but it won't be pretty. Patriots, Patriots Seahawks tonight. You know, it's an interesting game. I always like starting the year with, you know, a similar rematch. It's been kind of fun reading on Twitter. You know, there's a lot of people criticizing the game due to a supposed lack of star power and one other response as I saw was a Patriot fan, you know, complaining that that's a ridiculous criticism when the Patriots

4:10supposedly have the best quarterback and the best quarterback in football. Both of which are insane and the best quarterback in football will be in the game tonight. Eli and I zone, you know, Devon Wintersfield. So I think it'll be great watching them play. I think Deshaude Hawks will have a very lively home crowd and will pull out what I expect to be a tight game tonight but I think it'll be a fun rematch and I look forward to fighting with my middle son during the game who recently bought a Drake Major as a much to my chagrin and he is very much a diehard cowboy fan but does really like Drake Bay which I really don't like. I know I should take Bay. I don't understandably so. Give me a take. Are the Chicago Cubs in the middle of a a v Wanted Meltdown? What do you see there? No, I think they'll be okay. I think the question is just can the pitching rise to the occasion in the playoffs which I think is definitely debatable

5:15but I, you know, I'm not convinced that the Brewer's offense is going to be good enough to get a long postseason run going. It's performing better than it did last year but I still think there's questions are there. I think the Brewer's based on record and performance today are the team to be in the national league but I think the Dodgers based on having the most talent of anyone in baseball are most likely to put it together so I think the Cubs have an uphill challenge mainly just because the Dodgers are so much talent to the Brewer's are a damn, damn good team that's incredibly well managed but I think the Cubs have a chance and you know in baseball as I'm sure you appreciate what to get to the playoffs and anything can happen and it will likely boil them to whoever's pitching gets hot at the right time so the Cubs are a little less armed to do that than some of the other teams is no pun intended but I think they could still pull it off and it'll just be a matter whether they can get the guys to click at the right time so I don't

6:17think it's a meltdown I think they'll be competitive to the end and I think they'll give everybody who they play in the playoffs a quality series I would be betting on the Dodgers are worse to come out of the national league but I certainly think the Cubs are in the mix. Thank you and let me ask you a question I'm going to ask you to rank two programs based on you know it's a spicable behavior and I'm going to ask you to rank them one and two and get your thoughts on them and you could tell us that somebody else belongs in the mix but the two teams we're talking about right now are LSU recently at a scandal because they're trying to fill the roster with essentially people that are already in NFL training camps are trying to recruit them back their coach Lane Confluent I guess that's how badly they want to win or the University of Michigan which seems to be endlessly involved in ethical scandals even though the fan base thinks through the best thing since sliced bread who is a sleazeier program Louisiana State University or the University of Michigan will

7:20bring it over to you. I think we're just examining over the last several years you got to there's sort of a double edge sword so one you got to give Michigan and its fans a tip of the cap they won national finals in basketball and football in the last couple years obviously much to your and my chagrin both of us obviously not big fans of Michigan but just as general statement the University of Michigan has sort of been right with scandal for the better part of a decade now and that's not just the football scandal but issues with the hockey program has obviously been issues with the basketball program dating back at least to ed jawed how it was the coach it had a controversial tenure this weekend we learned that despite being truly a preeminent academic institution one of the best public schools in the country one of the best schools in the country they apparently don't know how to count and struggle with just counting backwards from 8 to 0 so a lot of issues in Michigan and I think right now they're the program that's got the most

8:26scandals and most controversy LSU I don't like what they're doing I don't really respect what they're doing and I think it's part of a continued perversion of college athletics where it's not really about the college part and it's one thing to have athletes getting paid which I actually think is appropriate but I don't think that should be at the discounting of the academic institution of the fact that there actually is a scholastic quality to college athletic so LSU is not doing the right thing in my estimation but they're sort of just trying to play within the rules as they stand and trying to you know trying to maneuver loopholes as best as possible to capitalize so again I'm not commending them for that but they're trying to play in color within the lines they're just trying to see how far they can stretch those lines there's stuff that's been impacting Michigan it's been decided to be outside the line in many instances which is where I think they're in worship but they do get their titles they get to keep those banners

9:31well it does seem that Michigan has gone into an issue of sort of institutional ethical challenges and a far-ranged to that athletic program that athletic department whereas maybe LSU it's more limited to length Kiff went and his quest to win it all cost whereas Michigan seems to have been you know I mean I mean even had to think around this Michigan topic but they seem to have you know have gone down to the bowels of hell in terms of their ethics with their program so yeah I think that's a technical term I do think by the way circling back to Lane Tiffin for a second it's phenomenally ironic that he left a program last year at Ole Miss that was in the playoffs at had a chance to win a title to go to LSU as if it was you know necessarily a better job and better opportunity left you know the program that at Ole Miss on the eve of the playoffs left the team that he had built and and that were relying on him and that was the team that had a

10:34chance the the way the national title last year they were very much in the thick of it and on the cost so I understand people have lost the reasons for many decisions LSU is a prestigious program and obviously offered you know an absolute ton of money to Lane Kiffin but you know I think it's interesting when you say he's really focused on winning which I think is right but I think it's interesting that he left the program that was literally on the precipice of winning a national title right when he left it's just an interesting dynamic to me right well it's probably more fair to say that Lane Kiffin is first focused on his pocketbook and second focused on LSU winning yes that's probably a more accurate description I agree I think that's fair David as always a pleasure to visit with you on the Becker private equity and business podcast the best in the business David Pivnik on sports thank you so much for joining us thank you very very much thank for having me on Scott