A Hurricane Pray for those suf...

October 4th 2022

A Hurricane Pray for those suffering and onto Sports Chat as it’s my Job

Being a Floridian and an American it is important to me that before I start talking sports with you that I address the tragedies that unfolded this week due to Hurricane Ian. I must foremost acknowledge and send a pray to those people, as well as their families, friends, and to all my fellow humans that have been so negatively, physically and emotionally affected by the ongoing situation throw-out Florida and other parts of the country and the world. I know from personal experience having lost my home to a Hurricane in 2006. It’s very painful and depressing but at least I survived to rebuild, some did not as some did not from this Hurricane. That said my heart goes out to those trying to deal with this disaster as well as all those amongst us trying to support them in some way. I realize that talking about sports in light of this may seem pointless this week but it is my job, so I will offer a recap with less emotional vigor than I usually have.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that as college football teams continued to practice together, they’d get better. Gone are the games of the huge point spreads of 30 and sometimes even 40 points. Some teams have improved immeasurably and have shown it on the field. Other teams, in spite of practice, have failed to live up to the preseason and early season hype. Several teams with early season hopes of making the college football playoffs have been disappointed. Texas A&M and Oklahoma both had National Championship aspirations and both now sit at 3 wins and 2 losses. Notre Dame seems like a distant memory at this point, they’re 2 and 2. Texas A&M losing to Appalachian State and Oklahoma losing to Texas Christian University did not help their respective campaigns. With the prospect of tough conference play staring them down these are just two of the teams with a long road ahead of them.

It may only be week 5 in the college season, but I have to admit that I’m not sure if anyone can stop Alabama. I realize that an upset at any week is possible but the Crimson Tide looks like a well oiled engine firing on all cylinders. If you watch closely, the level of talent they have at every position is staggering. They literally have 4 star recruits that are numbers 2 and 3 in the depth charts. They constantly shuttle in players on both the offensive and defensive side of the game that leaves their opponents gasping for breath. Their Quarterback Bryce Young may be in my opinion the first legitimate two time Heisman candidate since Archie Griffin in 1975. The scary part is they get better every week. Remembering of course that it’s still relatively early in the season, I don’t see anyone challenging them. Roll Tide.

Sometimes I feel like the major sports media outlets forget that there are really good college teams at universities located west of the state of Colorado. What I’m trying to say here is that West Coast teams seem to get ignored even when undefeated. (It shouldn’t matter that The University of Colorado is 0-5 right now).There are several schools that I feel are legitimate contenders for the FBS playoffs series. USC and UCLA are both undefeated at 5-0. Several other schools sit at 4-1. The bottom line question thru all of this will be does a one loss school still have a chance at the playoff series? Only time will tell. As I’ve discussed before, as the the season rolls on teams get better. I’d really like to see someone other then the same 4 or 5 teams in the end of season playoff picture. Last year they threw in Cincinnati at the last moment but we all saw how that worked out.

My close out “must see” college football game this week will be Alabama vs. Texas A/M. After throwing verbal spears at each other over NIL money during the off season, Jim Bo Fischer and Nick Sabin will square off in what is sure to be a marquee match up on October 8.

It’s been a very up and down week in the NFL both literally and figuratively.

Everyone who watches the game has seen and knows the situation surrounding Miami’s Starting Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The missed diagnosis( or some say ignored diagnosis) of a concussion has not only sidelined a great player but also put his life and his future in The NFL in jeapordy. People are already being fired over the situation. I’m sure that more heads will roll. I’m not a doctor so I can’t comment medically, but I have enough common sense to realize that serious mistakes have been made. The visuals of the entire incident both last week and this week were disturbing to watch. This needs to be a huge wake up call for The NFL to realize that their system is very broken and needs to be fixed ASAP. Everyone involved needs to cease fire on the finger pointing and work 24/7 on fixing the problem.

We’re only four weeks into the season and as is usually the case there seems to be no clear picture of who the dominant teams are, at least in my opinion. Sure, Philadelphia is undefeated, but I thinks it’s been more luck and a cushy schedule than all out football brains and brawn. In short I’m not convinced Eagles fans.

The Kansas City Chiefs made it a good show beating Tom Brady and The Bucs 41-31 in what was billed as the Battle of Mahomes vs. Brady. Although the Chiefs looked strong in this game, their loss to the Indianapolis Colts a couple weeks ago shows me they still have vulnerabilities. Patrick Mahomes once again showed flashes of absolute brilliance but his overall play this year has been inconsistent. Teams are starting to break the code on how to defend him and his offense. As usual, Tom Brady looked pretty damn good for a 45 year old QB, but alas, there are no moral victories.

Everyone who is anyone in The Northeastern United States has the Buffalo Bills going to the Super Bowl this year. I have to admit I like their chances, maybe. Going into Baltimore on a cold, rainy, windy Sunday, they were able to outplay Lamar Jackson and The Ravens winning 23-20 after being down 20-3. A great come from behind victory. Considering the point spread was Ravens +3, I’m sure that hearts were broken when the Bills failed to score a touchdown in the waning moments. My big take away from this game is that Lamar Jackson is an amazing player even though they took an L. Whatever amount of contract money he’s negotiating for I’m not sure, but he’s worth every Penny.

Don’t look now, but the Jacksonville Jaguars are 2-2 and sit atop the AFC South. After being dragged thru a dismal year under Urban Myer in 2021, it seems they have been able to turn a corner. QB Tevor Lawrence is smiling again and throwing the rock with convincing poise and accuracy. My hat goes off to new head coach Doug Peterson, formally of The Philadelphia Eagles, for turning things around. The turn around should be a lesson and a warning to all that college coaches don’t always fit into the NFL. I never liked Urban Myer anyhow. I say Good Ridence.

Sadly, there remains one winless team in The NFL. The Houston Texans. Their fall from Texas grace has been long and painful, kinda like the Nepolian’s Retreat from Russia. A virtual wasteland. A few short years ago they were a team of super stars. JJ Watt, Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins. Now I barely remember they’re still in the League. It’s gonna be a long road back to prominence for Houston. It will be an interesting journey.

There are ALOT of teams with injuries plaguing their Quarterbacks. Dallas, New England, Miami, The New York Giants, are among a few relying on back ups. In Pittsburgh, it looks like Mitch Trubiski’s lack luster play has lost the starting job to rookie Kenny Pickett, finally.

Speaking of Texas, The Dallas Cowboys are undefeated under backup Quarterback Cooper Rush. What’s gonna happen when Dak Prescott returns(possibly next week). What’s gonna happen if the 100 Million Dollar QB returns and they lose? If the situation in Dallas tells us anything, it should tell us that loosing your star, starting quarterback doesn’t mean the season is over(Miami).

In closing this week’s comments, I’d like to point out one player and maybe place him up on a pedestal for a moment.

Trevor Lawrence, QB for the Jacksonville Jaguars. This guy is well remembered for his championship days at Clemson. In He was a number 1 draft pick in The NFL. His rookie season with Urban Myer as head coach. was pretty much a disappointing disaster. The drama surrounding the team and Urban Meyer’s fall from favor was played out for all to see on social media and in sports journalism. Thru it all, I never once heard a negative comment from Trevor Lawrence. He never came on social media and pointed fingers, he didn’t go on interviews and bad mouth coaches, or players, or management. He kept quite, he played the game he loves and he worked and waited patiently for better days. Who ever raised this kid raised him right. It’s great to see him happy again and playing well. I’ve become a huge fan. Go Jags!

No, I have not forgotten about the Baseball playoffs and Arron Judge breaking Roger Maris’s home run record. Television media would not allow me to do that as they cut into just about every game I was watching to show another at bat for Arron Judge. It was like finally getting a beautiful girl to dance with at a party, but then every few minutes some jerk politely asks to cut in. We need to coin a phrase for this action appropriate for all sports fans. Suggestions? Hopefully it happens soon.

Kev