No way
The preseason AP football poll was released Monday.
You are not going to believe who was the preseason No. 1. Yep, it was Alabama.
Shocking, right?
OK, no one is surprised by this, and in truth Alabama has been ranked No. 1 at some point in every season dating back to 2008. That's obscene. And overwhelmingly impressive.
The top five is Alabama, Clemson (which may be more talented 1-through-22 than Alabama), Georgia, Wisconsin and THE Ohio State.
How impressed are the experts with this Alabama bunch? Check out these odds from 5Dimes.com:
Alabama to win the SEC West is -185, which means you have to be $185 to win a hundred;
Alabama to win the SEC title is +105;
Alabama to make the College Football Playoff is -325, which means you have to bet $325 to win a $100 on Alabama making the playoff. Crazy right?
You only get 2-to-1 odds to pick Alabama to win the whole thing.
Makes me think of the scene in Goodfellas when a young Henry Hill says, "One day, some of the kids from the neighborhood carried my mother's groceries all the way home. You know why? It was outta respect."
Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam speaks as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell looks on at right after they announced NFL team owners have reached agreement on a new league policy that requires players to stand for the national anthem or remain in the locker room, during the NFL owner's spring meeting Wednesday, May 23, 2018, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)Goodell doing Goodell things
Maybe this is my fault.
After all, I keep expecting the NFL to, you know, act and implement like a multi-billion-dollar-a-year operation.
We discussed the hubbub over the updated lowering the helmet rule that was announced and introduced right before the start of training camp.
Remember, there were several questions after each briefing and there were some teams who did not get the seminar until after their first preseason game.
The numbers - 51 flags through 33 games - make it clear that a) the league is dead set on calling this early and often; b) the players do not understand the fine line; c) the officials also do not understand the difference yet; and d) no one - coaches, fans, players, et al. - likes this.
And here's the kicker, it's a catchall that is being misused and is easily confused.
Here's one of the two penalties called in last night's game. Yes, the leaping, leg-raising offensive player - making a move that Johnny Lawrence and the Cobra Kai would be proud to use - was hit illegally by the defensive player.
Crazy right?
Now comes word that the league is going to send out more information and have a conference call to try to better define the rule.
Buckets of mismanagement. What does Roger Goodell and his cronies do all day, in between three-hour lunches and the occasional mani/pedi on Tuesdays and Thursdays?
This is only the biggest sports in America - a sport that accounted for 71 of the 100 most-watched TV shows in 2017 - and there could not have been more preparation and communication than dropping this in everyone's laps in August.
We are going through round two of trying to inform everyone - including the referees apparently - of what is legal and what is not. And, like most things handled by Goodell and his lackies, this is only getting revisited because of the public backlash.
And to make matters worse, it feels like the NFL finally tried to simplify what a catch is for the viewing public. That's a good job.
Now, no one knows what a legal tackle is. That, friends, is a Goodell job.
The game of inches?
We've heard that said about baseball. We've heard that said about basketball. We certainly could say that about basketball - whether it's in height or in an inch here or there on a shot.
But what about golf?
Friends, meet Kevin Dougherty. Dougherty was 36th in the Web.com standings heading into the final event of the regular season last weekend. Dude started golfing his ball and was in the top five on Sunday.
He needed birdie on the 18th hole Sunday to get his PGA Tour card. His approach came up just short and he needed to chip in from 25 feet for a 3 and punch his ticket among the top 25 on the Web.com Tour who would graduate to the PGA Tour.
Here's Kevin's game-of-inches moment.
Oh. My. Heartache.
Here's hoping Mr. Dougherty follows a similar path as Chattanooga's Keith Mitchell, who faced a very similar results last year in the Web.com regular-season finale.
Mitchell, as we all know, got his Tour card in the Web.com season-ending playoffs and made almost $1.5 million this year playing with the big boys.
This and that
- Here's TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer on the Braves bumbling bullpen.
- Speaking of Braves, man the plethora of young arms continues to appear. (Maybe one of those power pitchers could help the bullpen, huh?) Meet Bryse Wilson, the 20-year-old kid from North Carolina who was pumping 95-97 mph heaters through five innings of three hit ball in his first MLB start. There's a lot to like in that sentence if you are a fan of these blossoming Braves, who got off the snide with a 1-0 win in Pittsburgh on Monday. Gang, there's the plan, and then there's realizing that Wilson earned another start with that effort.
- OK, C.T. Pan is an excellent golfer. His communication as a husband though may have been lost in translation a little bit. When asked about his wife Michelle filling-in as his caddie last weekend when he finished second at The Wyndham, Pan said, "she doesn't help me much" and went straight to the old caddie adage and that "she just needs to show up, keep up and shut up." Oh my. (He was joking of course and gave that interview with a wry smile, but man, that's an interesting decision to have the Mrs. on the bag. Pan made $528,000 with the runner-up finish; no word on what Michelle's cut was. Either it was the normal 10 percent plus a tip, or if it's like the 5-at-10 compound, the Mrs. will take the lion's share of it.)
- Watching some Monday night football last night, we had four quick thoughts that had nothing to do with the trash helmet-lowering rule. 1) Andrew Luck looked very rusty, and did not throw a pass more than 20 yards downfield. 2) Joe Flacco looked like a boss. 3) Lamar Jackson looked great, terrible and everything in between. 4) Intrigued by the chemistry and the challenge of the new MNF crew of Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten and Booger McFarlane.
Today's questions
True or false Tuesday. Let's get it.
True or false, Roger Goodell gets manicures.
True or false, you would want your husband or wife as your caddie in a tournament that matters.
True or false, Alabama makes the college football playoff.
As for today - Aug. 21 - let's review:
It's national senior citizen's day. (If we had to go with a Rushmore of the most popular TV shows in an old-folks home, we'd go Braves baseball, Matlock, Murder She Wrote and Fox News. Thoughts?)
Happy birthday Hawaii, which became the 50th U.S. state on this day in 1959.
Wilt Chamberlain would have been 82 today. Kenny Rogers is 80 today. Usain Bolt is 32.
The animated movie Bambi was released on this day in 1942. Rushmore of animated/Pixar movie scenes that make you cry.
Because, friends, if it's not dusty for you when Bambi's mother buys the farm, well, sorry about you losing your soul and all.
Go.