Protests next step
Meet Lee Dragna. No he's not a household name, and no he did not have an immediate opinion on the Alabama Senate race. (Wow, Democrat Doug Jones pulled a monster upset in the very traditionally red state that is Alabama. That's a pretty sizable loss for the GOP and Trump and, even with Roy Moore's baggage, looks to be an ominous sign for the upcoming 2018 election cycle.)
Anyhoo, back to Mr. Dragna, a Morgan City, La., resident who made some legal news this week.
Dragna, according to the New Orleans Advocate, filed suit in Louisiana's 24th Judicial District Court. He is suing the New Orleans Saints for around $8,000, which is what he spent on his season tickets this season.
No, it's not for a terrible product - something that the Saints could likely have been sued for in years past - since these Saints are one of the best teams in the NFL.
No, Dragna is suing the franchise and owner Tom Benson because the players protesting during the national anthem and the fall-out caused by it has prevented he and his family from enjoying the games.
"The Saints created that behavior by condoning it," he told the Advocate. "It's my thought pattern that they should not be allowed [to protest]. If you sell tickets to a gaming event for entertainment, you should not be allowed to turn it political."
Dragna attended the Saints' home opener against the Patriots and said he has not been to another game.
In addition to his statements about the protests - he clearly stated he disagrees with the protests - the side complaint may be the most interesting thing in the lawsuit.
Dragna included in the filing that the atmosphere in the stands created by the protests was "borderline dangerous."
He mentioned fans cussing and yelling and spilling beer after the protests, and after the scene from last Sunday in Jacksonville, the atmosphere in the stands of NFL games certainly appears to be an issue. Especially for someone looking to take their kids to a game.
(Side question here: In the aftermath of the Jacksonville brew-haha - see what we did there, Spy? - how did so many of those fans have beers to throw? In almost every sporting event we have ever been to, beer sales stops at either the 7th-inning stretch or the end of the third quarter. There were several beers being slung at the end of the fourth quarter at the Seattle player. Where did they come from?)
We think Dragna's suit likely will get tossed, but it's interesting, no?
Speaking of the upset
Lots of folks weighed in on the results of the Alabama senate special election. Steve Kerr. Chuck Barkley.
Here's one interesting spin on this in which lots of Alabama folks are claiming to have written-in Nick Saban on their ballot.
(Side note: Here's betting that Nick would be pretty aces in about anything he did, including politics. That said, here's betting he'd either choke someone or pull his hair out within about two weeks of being in Washington.)
We do not know how many people of the more than 22,000 who used the write-in option put Saban down, but you have to believe it was a sizable chunk.
The other thing worth noting here is that the race was so close - Jones got 640,520, Moore got 631,576 and there were 22,044 write-ins - that the write-ins actually could have made the difference.
Crazy right?
No less crazy than Senator Nick Saban. (Heck, every Auburn fan in the state would vote for him just to get him out of Tuscaloosa.)
All-America bowl contest
Here is the AP All-American football team, which was announced earlier this week.
Couple of things of interest here:
Oklahoma had as many first-team picks (three - quarterback Baker Mayfield, tight end Mark Andrews and tackle Orlando Brown) as the entire SEC, which had Auburn tackle Braden Smith, Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith and Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Clemson had six named to either the first, second or third team, the most players from any one school.
There was not a listing for All-America bowl contests, but if there was, we feel pretty strongly about the Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success (Bowler optional).
As for that contest, if you have not entered, time is starting to dwindle.
We have more than 50 entries already. Deadline is Friday friends and all picks must be in by end of BID-ness on Friday, Dec. 15. Entries must be emailed - yes emailed - to me at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.
Dilly. Dilly.
Note: Most of these games are in chronological order as they appear on the schedule. The Arizona Bowl is in late December, and we did not see the need to have NMSU and USU be a five-pointer.
ONE POINT GAMES (6 points possible)
New Orleans Bowl: Troy (-5.5) vs. North Texas
Autonation Care Bowl: Georgia State (-4.5) vs. Western Kentucky
Las Vegas Bowl: Oregon (-7.5) vs. Boise State
New Mexico Bowl: Colorado State (-5.5) vs. Marshall
Camellia Bowl: Arkansas State (-3.5) vs. MTSU
Arizona Bowl: New Mexico State (-3.5) vs. Utah State
TWO-POINT GAMES (12 points possible)
Cheribundi Tart Cherry (now that's a name) Boca Raton Bowl: FAU (-23) vs. Akron
Frisco Bowl: SMU (-5.5) vs. La. Tech
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (another excellent name): Temple (-7.5) vs. FIU
Bamahas Bowl: Ohio (-7.5) vs. UAB
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Wyoming (pick em) vs. Central Michigan
Birmingham Bowl: South Florida (-2.5) vs. Texas Tech
THREE-POINT GAMES (21 points possible)
Armed Forces Bowl: Army (pick em) vs. San Diego State
Dollar General Bowl: Toldeo (-7.5) vs. App. State
Hawaii Bowl: Fresno State (-3.5) vs. Houston
Heart of Dallas Bowl: Utah (-6.5) vs. West Virginia
Quick Lane Bowl: Duke (-3.5) over Northern Illinois
Catcus Bowl: Kansas State (-2.5) vs. UCLA
Independence Bowl: FSU (-14.5) vs. Southern Miss
FOUR-POINT GAMES (28 points possible)
Pinstripe Bowl: Iowa (-3.5) vs. Boston College
Foster Farms: Arizona (-3.5) vs. Purdue
Texas Bowl: Missouri (-3.5) vs. Texas
Military Bowl: Navy (-3.5) vs. Virginia
Camping World Bowl: Oklahoma State (-6.5) vs. Virginia Tech
Holiday Bowl: Michigan State (-3.5) vs. Washington State
Alamo Bowl: TCU (-2.5) vs. Stanford
FIVE-POINT GAMES (30 points possible)
Belk Bowl: Wake Forest (-2.5) vs. Texas A&M
Sun Bowl: N.C. State (-6.5) vs. Arizona State
Music City: Northwestern (-7.5) vs. Kentucky
Outback Bowl: Michigan (-7.5) vs. South Carolina
Taxslayer Bowl: Louisville (-6.5) vs. Mississippi State
Liberty Bowl: Memphis (-3.5) vs. Iowa State
SIX-POINT GAMES (30 points possible)
Cotton Bowl: THE Ohio State (-6.5) vs. USC
Fiesta Bowl: Penn State (-2.5) vs. Washington
Orange Bowl: Wisconsin (-6.5) vs. Miami
Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl: Auburn (-9.5) vs. UCF
Citrus Bowl: LSU (-3.5) vs. Notre Dame
SEVEN-POINT SEMIFINALS (14 points possible)
Rose Bowl: Georgia (-1) vs. Oklahoma
Sugar Bowl: Alabama (-2) vs. Clemson
TEN POINT BONUS (10 points possible)
NATIONAL CHAMPION (no line, just the winner):
This and that
- Excellent work here from TFP all-around ace David Paschall catching up with former Baylor School and Vandy star golfer Luke List. Dude has grabbed the game by the purse, making more than $2.3 million in the last 14 months.
-Wow, interesting reporting from SI's Tom Verucci here. According to Verducci's story, an unnamed Houston player says Yu Darvish was tipping his pitches, and that was the reason the Astros torched the Dodgers starting pitcher in games 3 and 7. The player said Darvish was tipping his slider - one of the best in the game, mind you - with his grip right after he got the sign from the catcher. Darvish pitched 1.2 innings in each start, allowing four runs on six hits in Game 3 and five runs on three hits in Game 7. The Dodgers lost both of those games and the series.
- Green Bay star Aaron Rodgers says he's been medically cleared to play. Rodgers has been on the sideline since breaking his collarbone on Oct. 15. He's fun to watch play. (Side question: Does it not feel like Rodgers commercials with Clay Matthews are on in the break of every NFL game?)
- OK, we're a sucker for the Year-End lists and such that flood the interweb this time of year. This one list - and remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder - is best new shows on TV. Agree or disagree, makes no matter to us. We did not see a single episode of any of them. That said, the most notable thing about this list is how many of these acclaimed new series are on network TV. One. Yes, one of the ten. (And while we are here, the same critic listed the top 10 TV shows of 2017 and none of them were on the four major networks.)
- We frequently discuss some of the biggest hits and misses from drafts gone past. We love the draft. You know this. This may be one of the most surprising. Kicker Roberto Aguayo, the controversial second-round pick, has been cut by a third team. The Panthers waived the former FSU All-American this week, potentially ending his career.
Today's question
Today is Dec. 13. Some heavy hitters blowing out birthday candles today.
Taylor Swift is 28. Jamie Foxx is 50. Dick Van Dyke was born on this day all the way back in 1925. Wow.
Steve Buscemi is 60 today. Rickie Fowler is 29.
On this day in 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured. Do you remember the name of that operation? It was Operation Red Dawn, because "Wolverines!" by Goodness.
Speaking legendary movies, we have been on a Star Wars theme this week.
The new movie is out Thursday night, and it will make a pile of cash. (In fact, there's a fair point to be made that Disney's monster revenue from the Star Wars films has, in part, allowed the media giant to absorb a lot of the losses at ESPN. So there is a sports connection, albeit quite strained.)
Anyhoo, here's an interview with Mark Hamill discussing his decision to come back for movies VII, VIII and IX. And let's face it, Mark, it's not like you had to move a lot of other acting gigs off your calendar.
So, for today's Star Wars Rushmore, let's go with the best quotes. Deal? Deal.
Whatcha' got, and remember the contest and the mailbag friends.