Weekend winners
Ala-FREAKIN’-Bama. Dear Lord they are good. Really good. And while running some errands Saturday, we listened in to the UT Radio network, and Tim Priest was the voice of every Vols fan everywhere Saturday with a couple of really astute and angst-ridden observations that was punctuated with “This clock can’t run fast enough.” By the way, he said that midway through the first quarter.
Purdue. Everyone involved – from Jeff Brohm and his blueprint to completely exploit THE Ohio State with quick throws over the middle to the inspiration story of Tyler Trent that made everyone a Boilermakers fan – deserves a tip of the visor. Yes upsets are great, and yes, the home underdog at night delivers an extra impact of energy. But, we have to admit, watching Coach Urban Liar take one on the chin like that made us smile in our heart. Well played Purdue. Well played indeed.
The Dodgers. Yes, the Brewers had the better record and the better season, but Milwaukee still felt like an underdog story, right? Well, we were pulling for the big market and the big match-up of Boston-L.A. And never mind the fact that another couple of weeks Yaisel Puig is never a bad thing.
Mike Bleepin’ Leach. Dude coaches his clipboard off when it comes to calling plays. And the energy in Pullman, Wash., of all places Saturday afternoon was palatable. I am ready for someone in a high-profile locale to give this guy and that offense a chance to a big-boy spot that can attract talent. Side note: Gardner Minshew, the WSU QB, has completed almost 70 percent of his throws fro more than 2,700 yards and 23 TDs in seven games. He’s a grad transfer from East Carolina who committed to Alabama before changing his mind and heading to Pullman. So, yes, we were a late change of course from Alabama having a QB depth chart that right now could be described as the Heisman favorite in Tua, a former SEC player of the year in Jalen Hurts who is 27-2 as a starter, and the clear favorite for Pac-12 player of the year in Minshew. Yeah, that Saban guy is pretty good at attracting talent.
Adam Theilen. Dude has scored a TD in four straight games and has topped 100 receiving yards in all seven games this year. The NFL record for most consecutive 100-yard games is eight, held by some dude named Calvin Johnson, who was pretty dog gone good at tackle football. (Yes, Todd Gurley is a monster too, and the front-runner for NFL offensive player of the year ((which is code for the best NFL player not at quarterback)) but man, when was the last time a white dude was the best wide receiver in the NFL?)
Bonus pick: Drew Brees joined some elite company Sunday as he moved into the 500-TD passes club in a 24-23 win over Baltimore. He also got his first career win over the Ravens. Brees joined Peyton Manning and Brett Favre as the only QBs with wins over every NFL team.
Bonus pick, II: Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets quiet superstar dropped a 35-12-11 triple double on Saturday. Yes, triple-doubles are pretty common in today’s NBA. But dude was the first 30-plus-point triple double in which a player did not miss a FG attempt (he was 11-for-11 from the field) since some dude named Wilt. And not unlike those lists in which your name is there with Jack and the Babe, if you are on a basketball – or dating – list with Wilt Chamberlain, it likely means you are having a lot of success.
FILE – In this Nov. 4, 2017, file photo, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer walks on the field before an NCAA college football game against Iowa, in Iowa City, Iowa.Weekend losers
THE Ohio State. Yes, it’s rare that we have a winner and a loser from the same game, but I thoroughly enjoyed THE smackdown Purdue delivered. And speaking of smackdowns, how about this awful take from some dude named Matt Fortuna on Twitter, who called out Jeremy Pruitt after the game for quote-unquote “blaming the players” and the previous regime. Here’s his post and his rebuttal includes praise for Urban Liar and his first-year success at Florida and THE Ohio State. Uh, dude, completely different situations, and considering that Fortuna referenced a Meyer quote that had this gem “That’s like when I got here, everybody wanted me to say Jim Tressel left the cupboard bare. If I heard any assistant coach (say that) they’d be gone. You’re done.” Which means that Coach Liar will not tolerate his assistants bad-mouthing a player. Hitting their wife? Yeah, well, that’s apparently no big deal until everyone else finds out about it.
Jason Garrett. How is this dude still employed coaching the Dallas Cowboys? Seriously?
NBA defense. There are 10 teams allowing at least 120 points per game. Last year through the first week, there were two teams allowing that many.
Blake Bortles. GUH-ross. Seriously.
All of us suckers who throw hard-earned greenbacks into the lottery kettle. Yes, it may sound duplicitous Stewwie, but we are all for state-legalized sports betting and not a real big fan of the state run lottery. Especially after reading this story and how the Mega Millions folks have made it harder to win so the pots would get larger, like the upcoming drawing for $1.6 billion. Yes billion, with a ‘B’ folks.
Bonus pick: Missouri hoops. This is a tough blow as Jontay Porter, a potential lottery pick, wrecked his knee and will miss the season.
Fans watch the Chattanooga Lookouts game at AT&T Stadium in Chattanooga. Lookouts owners say they are ready to begin talks with officials about constructing a new stadium on the 141-acre site of the former U.S. Pipe/Wheland Foundry located in the South Broad District. / Staff file photoBID-ness question
Mike Pare is a pro’s pro in the newspaper world. He is aces and the Times Free Press is lucky to have him.
Especially for stories like this one in Sunday’s TFP.
Pare’s question – can Chattanooga support multiple sports stadiums – is completely fair and one that needs to be asked. And it needs to be answered, especially if tax dollars are headed in that direction.
The talks of the new soccer facility has never been linked to taxpayer funds, mind you, but the discussion in terms of the Lookouts wants for a new park has been linked to public money.
Thoughts?
This and that
– Friend of the show Keith Mitchell went 68-69 over the weekend and finished tied for 14th at the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges. He made more than $164 grand for the effort. Well done my man. Brooks Koepka won the event and moved to No. 1 in the world.
– Ravens kicker Justin Tucker could have been in the losers category, but sometimes how you handle the mistakes carries more weight than the original mistake. Still, can you imagine how Tucker felt after missing the first PAT of his career – he was 222-for-222 in the NFL and 71-for-71 in college before missing Sunday – in the final seconds that left the Ravens a 24-23 loser. Dude is as good as there is in the NFL at kicking a football. Seriously. But, in a sport that everyone else on your team is sacrificing years off their life (legitimately) fighting for a few extra feet here or there (legitimately) a kicker missing a gimme that costs a team a game like that, man, that’s a tough blow.
– This stat was pretty awesome. Under his name during the postgame news conference, the stat read that Tom Brady is 5-0 against the Chicago Bears. That’s cool. But the next stat blew my hair back. The Bears are one of five NFL teams who have never beaten Brady. That’s nuts.
– So too is this stat: The Browns have played four overtime games this season. The NFL record for OT games by a team in a season is five. (Packers, 1983.) The Browns are
– Hard to put a UT coach on the weekend winners list, but we actually give Jeremy Pruitt a thumbs up for his effort Saturday. Loved the onside kick call and especially loved his post game comments.
– LeBron moves the needle, and that’s even before the fightin’ Lakers started throwing blows. The Lakers-Rockets game drew a 2.5 overnight rating, the highest-rated NBA regular-season game on ESPN since the Warriors 73rd win game two years ago, which drew a 2.7 on April 13, 2016. LeBron’s two nationally broadcasted games – the season-opener against Portland drew a 2.6 – have by far been the most-watched NBA games of the first week of the season.
– Speaking of broadcasts and sports ratings, Game 7 Saturday night between the Brewers and Dodgers was the least-watched LCS Game 7 on record with a 4.9 overnight rating. Last year’s Game 7 between Houston and the Yankees had a 7.1 rating.
– Can’t really put the Fab 4 in the loser’s category, but man it was a 4-3 week that felt like it could have been more. Our three losses were the over in Auburn-Ole Miss (which included more than 900 yards of offense but the Rebels made six red zone trips that accounted for 9 points), UK going listless in a 14-7 win over Vandy and Utah State running out the clock inside the Wyoming 15 in the final 90 seconds to win but not cover. To make matters worse, we had the following snippets in the “Things to watch” portion of Thursday’s show: On NC State-Clemson, we wrote “Since 1994 an unbeaten team with at least 5 wins has gone on the road as more than a 14-point underdog eight times. Those teams are 0-8 against the spread, losing all of those games by more than the number;” On Michigan-Michgan State, we wrote, “But those who knock Coach Khaki will continue to point toward this rival games as a major gauge for his success in Ann Arbor. Saturday offers another chance as Michigan goes to MSU. Here’s a hunch that Harbaugh handles this one with flying colors – Khaki included;” and on THE Ohio State-Purdue, we wrote “Want another one that will be closer than most may expect? How about second-ranked THE Ohio State at Purdue, which has won three straight and leads the Big Ten in chunk passing plays (completions of 20-or-more yards).” Picking the right picks is every bit as important as picking the winners, friends. Ouch-standing. The 4-3 mark (57.1 percent) leaves us at 31-21-1. Still entertaining, but man, if feels like this one could have been a monster weekend.
Today’s questions
Weekend winners and losers por favor.
Do you agree with Titans coach Mike Vrabel going for two in the final seconds down 1 Sunday? Discuss.
As for today, well, there are a few birthdays – Jeff Goldblom and Christopher Lloyd included – but we’ll go here.
Jonathan Lipnicki is 28 today. He played the kid who told Jerry McGuire that the human head weighs 8 pounds.
Since 1990, who makes the Rushmore of child performances in movies. Discuss. (And we are thinking younger than a teenager.)
Discuss.