Big One, small 13
So the Big Ten is back. Yeah, so what do we think?
We think THE Ohio State is LEE-git. Like LEE MAJORS-git. The rest of the league, meh.
That may be the best team in college football. Seriously, and that’s with the firm grasp that Alabama’s wide receivers are the single best position group in the country and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence (The Hurlin’ Hercules like Ebby Calvin, Trev needs a nickname don’t you think? Hey, how bot Pokey?) is the country’s best player.
But THE Ohio State has the second best player in Justin Fields, and an offense spectacled with NFL players, and the defense, on paper, is deeper and more experienced than the Tide or the Tigers.
And they have a comfortable track that they have dominated. Dominated. You think Clemson has run roughshod over the ACC or the Bama is miles ahead of the rest of the ACC, well, you’d be right for the most part.
But THE Ohio State has been every bit as dominant, considering this (odds and over/unders from my buddies at SportsBettingDime.com):
> THE Buckeyes are 64-4 against Big Ten foes since 2012 (Wisconsin is next with 17 losses);
> THE Buckeyes are 1-to-3 picks to win the Big Ten East (bet $300 to win $100) and that’s in a division with the No. 6-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions;
> THE Buckeyes are 2-to-3 to win the conference (bet $150 to win $100);
> THE Buckeyes over/under win total is 8.5, and remember they have a nine-game schedule;
> In terms of the Heisman, Fields is listed as a 15-to-2 pick, and the next closet is Tanner Morgan, the Minnesota quarterback, who is listed at 62-to-1.
Any questions?
This day was coming
OK, we got a lot of World Series Game 1 breakdown – and some pre-Series analysis from an area legend and a longtime MLB pitcher and coach – below in the ‘This and that.’ The 8-3 win was clear, and maybe the bigger question is “Was the moment too big for the Rays?” Long term, I think the Rays will be fine and compete – they have too many flamethrowers and young talent playing the game the right way – but Game 1 seemed to consume them, especially starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow, the hard-thrower righty who walked six in a smidge over four innings.
But that’s to come, and you know the scores and the highlights, right? Right.
The day coming for baseball fans was the interview commissioner Rob Manfred gave before Game 1.
Manfred, who admitted to choosing his words carefully, personally wants to continue the rule changes put in for the COVID challenges of 2020.
On the playoff expansion, Manfred said, “I don’t think we would do 16 like we did this year. I think we do have to be cognizant of making sure that we preserve the importance of our regular season. But I think something beyond the 10 that we were at would be a good change.”
On the extra-inning tie-breaker with the runner on second, Manfred said, “I think the players like it. I think it’s really good from a safety and health perspective that keeps us from putting players in situations where they’re out there too long or in positions they’re not used to playing.”
He did not comment on the universal DH, and it’s important to remember that the CBA ends after the 2021 season, so all of the rule changes on the board must be collectively bargained and approved by the players too.
The takeaway for me is, Manfred said baseball lost $3 billion in revenue without fans in 2020, so if the playoff expansion does not happen – remember, the playoff TV money is exponentially higher than regular-season TV money and is shared across the game – there will be a work stoppage.
Period.
Say what?
OK, social media got into a stir because, well, isn’t that what social media is a heated crock pot of social stirring kerfuffles?
But this one seemed overly silly in a time when there are a slew of meaty topics on which to truly discuss. (Side note: Nice discussion yesterday friends, and while some of us lean more right of center and others are left of the middle, I too am pleased that we can converse here without it becoming Clay’s Playground of Putdowns. Well-played indeed friends. Side note to the side note: That civility is made even more difficult at times by communicating through the written word, because without tone or context or timing or inflection, something written sarcastic can very easily come across bombastic. Again, well-played.)
Where were? Oh, yeah the really silly uprising.
So, apparently the producers of the show The Bachelorette and the title character, young Miss Clare Crawley, are in the Twitter crosshairs because folks felt it inappropriate that a game of extreme dodgeball turned into strip dodgeball.
Where to begin? How about here:
I have never watched more than a few minutes of one of these prime time singles bars meets Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous meets Real World, but let me try this one-sentence summary on for size: The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are a parade of beefcakes superficially trying to swoon some hot pants in a shallow mockery of a speed dating process on steroids.
Fair?
So yes, in today’s quick-trigger outrage, people are saking if the roles had been reversed, would everyone would have cringed and said, “Nope, bad idea.” Yeah likely.
But when you tune into trash TV, can you really be outraged when trash gets even trashier? Because what do you expect from these shows at this point? Not rhetorical, just a question, if any of you and/or your family watch them, please let me know?
When the premise is that – open, on-air pitching of woo with cut throat moves, lies, pandering and the wink-wink, nod-nod hovering theme of whether any particular contestant and the Bachelor/Bachelorette did or did not do the hippity-dippity – isn’t the outrage as fake as the people on camera and the lasting uproar as lengthy as the relationships formed after the cameras cut off?
(Side question: Yes, I turned 50 earlier this month, but is the phrase ‘pitching of woo’ way older than my 50 years? I have to believe yes.)
Again, so much of the end of good TV as we know can be traced to entertainment embracing the reality (and on the news side, trying to make our reality more entertaining), whether it’s law enforcement, love or simple day-to-day life.
Are some quality reality TV – sure, and yes, if you don’t watch ‘Chopped’ well, I don’t know what to tell you – shows enjoyable? Of course, and if you like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, enjoy. I’m not judging, because in 2020 anything that can give you entertainment safely in your home, hey, that’s a win-win.
Heck, I love Game Shows – seriously, it’s surreal and kind of unhealthy, and if I could I’d watch Chopped, Game Shows, sports and Law&Order reruns, and you can take the rest – from Family Feud to Match Game. And I know what I am getting when I pull up a chair.
So, far be it from me to act surprised or clutch the pearls when Alec Baldwin has some question with a panel full of alcohol lifting B-list celebs that the right answer is a male body part or some new fangled phrase for “Makin’ Whoopee.” (Side question: OK, on a Which Way Wednesday, which is more dated, “pitching woo” or the ol’ Newlywed Game classic, “Makin’ Whoopee” and considering some of the old-timers – hi, Spy – and some of the spring chickens – how’s work Alejandro? – I’d be interested in the results?)
Isn’t these scantily clad crosses between the bathing suit competition and the talent show of a beauty pageant with the genuineness and grace of Chuck Woolery hosting the Love Connecton (Back in 2 and 2) the place we should expect something as stupid and borderline offensive as strip dodgeball?
And if you are willing to be on one of these shows and bare your soul (allegedly) showing your body parts is way less intrusive.
This and that
– From the “Of course they can” files, the NFL has several contingency plans for the rest of the season depending on the COVID impacts. Among them is moving the Super Bowl into March.
– Tua Tagovialoa has been named the starting QB in Miami. So there’s that. I personally like the move, especially – and you have to believe this – if Tua has been crushing it in practice and now, 11 months and a few days after the devastating hip injury, he’s 100 percent full speed. I think he’s going to be special. He’s a great presence, insanely accurate and effectively mobile. Plus, in Chan Gailey’s play-action playbook, Tua’s strengths are maximized. (Side question on a Which Way Wednesday, which nickname/universal one-name identification is more understandable considering the spelling difficulties, Coach K or just calling Tua, Tua or just calling Giannis, Giannis?)
– Dodgers rolled in Game 1. Game 2 is tonight – former Cy Young winner Blake Snell pitching for the Rays; the Dodgers will counter with some dude named Tony Gonsolin – and you can hear it on ESPN radio 105.1 the Zone here in town. Let’s go Dodgers.
– Here is TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer on legendary UTC equipment guru Mike Royster starting another football season, albeit it the strangest one in his 47 years.
– You know the rules, so here’s Paschall on Mac Jones being a dude throwing to a collection of NFL dudes.
– Speaking of Mac Jones, this CBSsports.com mock draft is eye-popping. First, I love the draft. You know this. Second, Jones is one of five quarterbacks pegged in Round One in that mock, going 22nd to Chicago, behind Trevor and Fields at 1 and 2, and Trey Fields (4) and Kyle Trask (19). And maybe more amazingly, Jones is one of eight – yes eight – Alabama players with a first-round projection.
– Had a couple of interesting chats this week on Press Row. Here’s Rick Honeycutt on Tuesday before the Dodgers’ Game 1 victory – which included a little Clayton Kershaw postseason vindication – and a slew of other stuff, including superstitions and the biggest beer drinker he’s ever come across. And here’s UTC football coach Rusty Wright from earlier in the week.
– Speaking of the Dodgers, Mookie Betts stole the show, and second and third base consecutively. It marks the second time in three years that Mookie has swiped a bag in the World Series and landed a taco for all of America from Taco Bell. Mookie Betts > almost every other big league player. Seriously. In a World Series game against the team viewed widely as the most fundamentally sound, Betts stole a run. Reaching with a walk, an uncontested steal of second, swiping third and scoring on a ground ball to first. Think about that. OK, if we all agree that Mike Trout is 1, and his numbers are legendary elite – like Ruthian, like dude has a 74.4 WAR and a slash line of .304/.418/.582 with 302 career homers in eight full seasons and two partial campaigns – the Betts is right there atop the group at 2. A group that includes Acuña and Freeman, Soto and Bellinger, Yelich and any of those cheating Astros. That fella can play.
Today’s questions
Which way Wednesday, starts this way
Which game show is best, Family Feud, Match Game, Who wants to be a Millionaire, Jeopardy!?
Which of Jay’s old-man phrases today is the most old-manish, “Pitching woo,” “Makin’ Whoopee,” “Spring chicken?”
Which MLB player behind Mike Trout would you draft if every position player was available?
Which quarterback would you rather have, Tua or Joe Burrow?
Answer a few, leave a few.
As for today, Oct. 21, let’s review.
The movie “My Fair Lady” premiered on this day in 1964.
The Phillies won the 1980 World Series on this day.
Whitey Ford would have been 92 today. Kim Kardashian is 40. Carrie Fisher would have been 64.
Judge Judy is 78 today. Rushmore of judges, and be creative. (I’ll update the Intimidator Pool details before lunch. Deal? Deal.)