Weekend winners
Alabama and Georgia. They continue to distance themselves from the rest of a very mediocre-at-best SEC. Now, after two more blowouts - and the shotgun blasts that echoed across the top 10 - the Bulldogs and Tide may actually have positioned themselves where they have a mulligan if they need it. (Don't tell Kirby or Nick, though, because they certainly would think that was akin to rat poison.)
Our college picks. We took three underdogs last week, and South Carolina, Texas A&M and Texas delivered. We took double-digit favorites N.C. State (-11) and Alabama (-30) and they won by 18 and 32 respectively. We went 5-1 against the number. Our loss? Stupid Auburn. We're 24-14-1 against the number this year. That's 63.2 percent against the spread. That's entertaining.
And finally, as we wait for the court news on the awfulness with the Grundy County football program later today, we'll tip the visor to the kids and head coaches Josh Roberts and Josh Goodin of Signal Mountain and McMinn Central, respectively. Each team played hard and each deserved praise for spirit. Signal visited some elderly folks who live at Alexian on the hill; Goodin's team is still looking for win No. 1 with one game left in the year, and they played as hard as anyone fighting for a region championship anywhere. That's two staffs delivering lessons that will last way longer than the memory of Friday night's final score. Kudos.
Adrian Peterson. Yes, there were a lot of dudes who had big Sundays, but Peterson had a throwback effort that recalled highlights from his Hall of Fame heyday. How about this? He had four carries, 54 yards and a TD on Arizona's first drive. He had 27 carries for 81 yards in four games with New Orleans. Peterson's 85 rushing yards in the first half were more than the Cardinals had in any previous game this year. He finished with 134 rushing yards and two TDs.
Luke List. Yes, we're biased. And yes, Pat Perez won the PGA event and more than $1 million in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. And yes, Kuala Lampur is fun to say. But our guy List carded back-to-back 68s on the weekend to vault into the top 15. His tie for 13th at 12 under earned the tidy sum of $131,250.
Justin Turner. The Dodgers slugger - on the 29th anniversary of the most memorable walk-off homer in Dodgers history when Kirk Gibson went yard in Game 1 of the '88 series - delivered a three-run walk-off homer to give the Dodgers a 2-0 series lead over the Cubs in the NLCS. Fun postseason baseball. Side note: It was the first Dodgers postseason walk-off since Gibson's shot, and Turner said he believes it's the first walk-off homer of his life. He said after the game he thought about doing the fist pumps going around second base. For Dodgers fans, it was a goose-bump moment that ended a goose-s#$% sports weekend in just about every other way. Stupid Auburn.
Weekend losers
Tennessee and Butch Jones. Wow. Hard to find the right words to describe the dumpster fire that Knoxville has become. The fans are ready, John Currie. And after a 40-point loss at Tuscaloosa, and who knows what happens in Lexington, if Jones is still gainfully employed the number of fans dressed as empty seats for the Southern Miss game on Nov. 4 could be staggering.
Auburn and Gus Malzahn. Yes, the Tigers wideout dropped more passes than anyone could count, but you have a 20-point lead over a team - and crowd - that are on the verge of cashing out, and you let them escape in a second-half collapse reminiscent of Georgia last November. Awful. LSU was down 20-0 and 23-14 before winning on three big plays - including a punt return for a touchdown. The 20-point comeback win was LSU's largest since overcoming a 28-point deficit vs Troy in 2008.
Falcons and Matt Ryan. Hey, Ryan was the MVP last year and deserved to be. But since 2008, he has 5 losses in games in which his team has led by 17 or more points. No other quarterback in that time frame has more than three. Hey, on the bright side, this was not the most painful 17-point-plus lead that became a loss for Ryan and Co. in the last 10 months.
All these rules and replays. Man, the play at the plate in Game 1 of the NLCS that allowed the Dodgers to top the Cubs looked nothing like baseball. On a smaller scale, there also was the replay and overturn that turned a Jets TD into a touchback that allowed the Patriots to escape with a 24-17 win. (Side note: Our NFL picks were not weekend winners, going 1-3. We are now 11-12-1 against the number in the NFL. But hey, did you see those college stats?)
Fans of NFL. If we listed the biggest stars and individual talents in the league, three of the top four or five are now likely out for the season. Aaron Rodgers' broken collarbone Sunday means he'll most likely miss the season, joining Odell Beckham Jr. and J.J. Watt in street clothes. Now add in the fact that Ezekiel Elliott could miss the next six weeks because of a suspension and get ready for a lot of Tom Brady and who? Alex Smith? Egad.
Kaepernick signing?
Aaron Rodgers is going to miss a lot of time.
Jameis Winston was hurt Sunday and did not return. His status is unknown for Tampa Bay.
Denver quarterback Trevor Siemian appeared to injure his left shoulder badly enough that the artist formerly known as Brock Osweiler played most of the second half.
Three teams with playoff hopes turning to back-up quarterbacks with checkered-at-best histories or no histories of which to speak.
So naturally here comes a new round of "Hey, they should sign Colin Kaepernick" headlines and assumptions. Here's one.
While that narrative was taking its regular turn around ClickBait Landia, news came that Kaepernick was suing the NFL for collusion under the collective bargaining agreement as to why he does not have a job.
Hey, do we believe that his actions outside the huddle and his decisions without the ball in his hand are the reason he is currently a former NFL quarterback? Absolutely.
He's better than at least 10 guys we can name who have taken snaps in this league this year.
But you could say the same about Greg Hardy. Or Johnny Manziel. Or any number of guys about whom owners and/or front office staff believe the pros of ability are less than the negatives of distraction/customer irritation/whatever else you'd like to call it.
It's a long leap from not getting an offseason contract to collusion, though.
First, Kaepernick's lawsuit will have to prove that the multiple owners got together and discussed collectively not signing him.
The lawsuit will also have to address why there have been hundreds of other NFL players who have followed Kaepernick's lead and they are still employed in the league.
His defense team will also have to be able to make a strong case about the reason for Kaepernick's current lack of a contract. Remember, he opted out of his deal with the 49ers that was going to pay him eight figures this year.
We are fully willing to admit that the main reason Colin Kaepernick does not have a job as an NFL quarterback is because of his decision to protest during the National Anthem. But we are also fully aware that that admission is light years away from collusion.
And man, wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall in this week's NFL owners meeting in New York City?
This and that
- Late last night during the steaming pile of crud that was the Giants-Broncos NFL game, Al Michaels tried to make a joke. "The Giants are coming off a worse week than Harvey Weinstein." Of course, he's now being made to apologize because, well you know. So there's that.
- Speaking of postseason baseball, the Astros have a 2-0 lead in the ALCS heading into tonight's Game 3 vs. New York in Yankee Stadium.
- Man, want a crazy NFL stat? The San Francisco 49ers are the first team in NFL history to lose five straight games with each being decided by three points or fewer.
- Want another crazy NFL stat? C.J. Beathard is an NFL starting quarterback.
- The early TV numbers showed the viewing public was less than keen on a college football weekend that was devoid of a matchup between ranked teams. According to the numbers we saw, the Michigan-Indiana game at noon on Saturday was the highest-rated college broadcast of the weekend.
- Speaking of Kaepernick, here's a story of some Mississippi high school players who have been suspended for taking a knee during the anthem.
- Whoever was doing the play-by-play on the NLCS Game 2 on Sunday night actually said so-and-so will be batting seventh "if you are keeping a book at home." Do what? First question, how many folks actually know how to keep a book these days? Next question, isn't there a special level of baseball dorkitude if you are keeping a scorebook while watching on TV?
- Godspeed Don Welch.
Today's question
Weekend winners and losers. Who do you choose?
As for the other, well, are you surprised Butch was not fired on Sunday? Discuss.
On this day - Oct. 16 - in 1962, the Cuban missile crisis started.
On this day in 1923, the Disney Brothers cartoon studio was founded.
Angela Lansbury - true or false on a Monday, true or false you knew Angela Lansbury was still alive - is 92 today.
Shirley Booth, aka Hazel, died on this day in 1992. She was born in 1898. Man, imagine the changes in life she saw from 1898 to 1992.
As for a Mount Rushmore in honor of Hazel, who makes the Rushmore of the most famous TV or movie maids?