Lots to get to today. Let’s make like a stripper (sorry, adult entertainer/shoe model/or whatever euphemism you prefer) go straight to the polls.
1. Philadelphia. OK, there are times and moments when franchises strike gold and turn a normal football team into a serious contender with a championship window that spans years. We are in that period for the Philadelphia Eagles, who at 6-1 have the best record in football. As the Eagles sit atop the NFL power rankings, they can thank the team at the opposite end of the spectrum for making it possible. In the 2016 draft Philly moved a slew of picks to go from No. 8 to No. 2 and take Carson Wentz, who right now is the MVP frontrunner and arguably one of the three most trustable quarterbacks on the planet. They gave up a lot, in terms of quantity. Here’s what Cleveland was able to net with all of the moves that involved all those Eagles’ picks: WR Corey Coleman, OT Shon Coleman, QB Cody Kessler, WR Ricardo Louis, S Derrick Kindred, WR Jordan Payton, OG/OT Spencer Drango, S Jabrill Peppers, and QB DeShone Kizer . The Browns also have Houston’s No. 1 in 2018 – which was dealt in a move that allowed the Texans to get Deshaun Watson – and the Eagles second-round pick in ’18, too. With Wentz in the fold, the Eagles dealt Sam Bradford for the first-round pick that became Derek Barnett. So. the Eagles dealt a bunch of replaceable and forgettable pieces for a stud duck quarterback and a gut who will average 10 sacks a year for the next decade. That’s how you build power quickly friends.
2. New England. We knew this was there fate, right? In fact, we saw one of the really good NFL analysts on ESPN a week or so accurately state that the addition of new corners would take close to half the season for everyone on the same page. (It may have been Louis Riddick, who is as good a listen as there is on football across any of the major outlets. Yes, the guys at Pro Football Focus and some of the lesser known outlets are aces too, but as for the name guys and known networks, Riddick is aces.
3. Kansas City. Maybe the NFL is rationing high-quality, entertaining games like governments do food during war times. Because we expected several good, fun, high-flying games last week and all we got was the Chiefs’ exciting 31-30 loss to the Raiders last Thursday night. There was the Packers-Saints, which was derailed by Aaron Rodgers injury. There was the hope for a Eagles-Redskins showdown that had its moments but turned one-sided late. There was the disaster that was Patriots-Falcons, and fog or no fog, watching that game front to back was akin to cruel and unusual punishment, especially for those devote Falcons fans praying for something looking like a creative play call. Left standing was the Chiefs, who are starting to force is into trusting Alex Smith, if for no other reason than they have surrounded him with a collection of skill players as good if not better than any WR1-RB1-TE1 in the league.
4. Pittsburgh. Did you know that 45-year-old Mike Tomlin is in his 11th season coaching these Steelers? Yes, 11. He’s 108-59 lifetime with a winning percentage of .647 that ranks 12th all-time among coaches who have been in the league for at least a decade. And you want to hear something crazy? As talented as these Steelers are – two of the five best skilled-position players on the planet and a young defense with hybrid linebackers who can really run all over the place – the emotional state of the club seems very imbalanced. Which is as common with the Steelers as confidence among Browns players and fans. For example for the Steelers: Antonio Brown complaining about touches; Le’Veon Bell complaining about touches; the national anthem discord; a rare sideline confrontation last Sunday before halftime between Tomlin and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger; and news that Martavious Bryant is bagging on a teammate on Twitter and wants to be traded. When was the last time a Steelers player asked to be traded? Exactly.
5. L.A. Rams. You have to wonder how the Rams are playing in L.A. right now with the Dodgers in the series and the Lakers starting a season with much-renewed hope and hype thanks to bringing a new Ball. In fact, a little standings research shows that the two new L.A. teams are a combined 8-6 with the the Rams (5-2) and Chargers (3-4) going a combined 3-5 in games in the city of angels and 5-1 in road games.
Powerless
28. Arizona. Yes, the Cardinals have three wins, which would place them ahead of the Bengals and the tied with a slew of completely forgettable 3-4 teams that really stink. (Crazy thing is, there likely is a four-loss team out there among the group Jets, Ravens, Chargers, Raiders, Bears and even Bucs that could very well make the playoffs. NFL parity. It’s fantastic.) The Cards though will not be among the chase since injuries have ended the season of their best player (running back David Johnson) and the quarterback (Carson Palmer, who broke his arm last weekend).
29. New York Giants. This is a hard team to watch, and know this: As we look for reasons that NFL TV numbers are down, the Giants are perennially one of the great draws with so many eye balls in NYC. That the far and away largest media market in the country has two teams that are a combined 4-10 and are being quarterbacked by Josh McCown and the artist formerly known as Eli Manning, well, you not going to see an NFL Network commercial that trumpets (cue old-school classic NFL films voice): Hey Big Apple, get behind your team and see if Josh and Eli can navigate the Jets and Giants back into the top 10 in the draft so your favorite team can take its quarterback of the future.”
30. Indianapolis. The Colts got drubbed by the Jags, who are on pace to set the NFL sack record. Yes, you read that correctly. The Colts have one more win than the Giants, but their record is not what they are. They are worse, considering those two wins were by field goals over the winless 49ers and the winless Browns.
31. San Francisco. Gross.
32. Cleveland. More gross, and made more hard to watch by the following two facts: 1) The quarterback roulette with rookie DeShone Kizer screams completely and totally “BROWNS” and why can’t they hire the guy that Costner played in Draft Day to run this bunch; 2) Future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas will now miss the rest of the season with a torn triceps. Hey, at least he won’t have to worry about the Browns making a charge to the postseason and missing a playoff trip.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez (14) hits a home run off Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jose Quintana during the second inning of Game 5 of baseball’s National League Championship Series, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)World Series
Growing up a Dodgers fan – the Dodgers Starter jacket just like the ones the big-leaguers wore that I got for Christmas in 1981 was about a good a Christmas present as I can remember – you kind of expected frequent trips to the World Series.
(How a Dodgers fan you ask for a kid that grew up in the shadows of Fulton County Stadium, home of the 120-loss, Dale Murphy-led Atlanta Braves? Well, one the first World Series I remember watching and paying attention too was the 1977 classic between Yankees-Dodgers. Dad has been a Yankees fan forever, like a lot of men his age, and we had to go with the other side because, well, fathers and sons. Plus, the Dodgers have the best uniforms in baseball. Period. End of discussion, and this will not be debated.)
In truth, if we had not been bitten by the Dodgers’ bug with back-to-back tough Series losses to the Yankees in 77-78, we more than likely would have become a Pirates fan and the suffering that has come with that since the glorious 1979 “We Are Family” bunch of Pops Stargell, Dave Parker, Kent Tekulve and the rest.
With losses in the ’77 and ’78 Series a title in 1981, NLCS trips in ’83 and ’85 and the magical run in 1988, being a Dodgers fan was not filled with a lot of hardships form the ages of 7 to 18.
But, since 1988 – and with the multiple postseason rounds – the Dodgers’ frustrations have been real. Yes, that seems far-fetched for the Astros, who’s postseason history is highlighted by the fact that Houston is the only franchise to win pennants in each league.
So, as the series starts tonight with Game 1 in 100-degree heat in L.A. as two of the best pitchers in recent memory take the mound. In truth, tonight is huge for each team, but it may be bigger for Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw, who has been an all-timer from March to the end of September and has struggled in the postseason.
In his 10 years in the majors, Kershaw is 144-64 with a 2.36 ERA and 2,120 Ks in 1,935 innings.
In his seven trips to the postseason, Kershaw is 6-7 with a 4.40 ERA.
Whatcha’ got Clayton?
What we do know the Dodgers have is a huge advantage in the bullpen. And that collection of relievers have been at their best in the last week to 10 days. In the NLCS, the Cubs sent 65 hitters to the plate after the fifth inning. None of the scored, as the Dodgers bullpen is riding a 17-inning scoreless streak.
We had Boston over Dodgers in our preseason picks. We are going to go with our heart here, and go Dodgers in 6.
A fan holds up a sign “Free Butch Jones” during the first half an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)Fall out in Knoxville
OK, Butch was being Butch on Monday.
Offering phrases and cliches and tidbits that, in truth, sound as hollow as ever.
Not sure why his coachspeak is more bothersome than all the other coachspeak out there, but it is, you know.
Well, as we head into the forever strange spot that UT is a almost a TD underdog against Kentucky, here’s our man and TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer’s take on the situation in Knoxville.
Weeds caught up with Brett Kendrick who says the sky is not falling in UTlandia, rather it’s merely raining.
OK. But the last time it rained this hard, there was a dude with a big boat he made and he was lining up a bunch of animals two-by-two.
Maybe we are too quick to judge in today’s times, wanting success like a Saban or a Smart, jumping to the front in year two. And sometimes we want it quicker, like Malzahn in year one, punching a microwave button that set an extraordinary high bar that Gus’ bus has fallen below since.
But that’s where we are, and it’s the climate. It’s also why these pressure packed jobs pay live-changing money because the causality rate is exceedingly high.
Most of the time, we are completely in line with what appears to be UT AD John Currie’s line of thinking (although a lot of UT faithful are wondering if he’s thinking at all): Do not replace a coach unless you have a better plan lined up.
But sometimes, different has to be embraced because the current is untenable.
The scenario right now with Butch feels that way.
And the longer the wait, the more work that will have to be done to reconnect with the fan base and recruits.
(Side note: Have you notice that all the people preaching patience and poise and wanting to give Butch more time are fans of other SEC schools than UT? That’s not a coincidence Mr. Currie.)
This and that
– Hey we may be the last person on the planet still holding out hope that Tiger Woods will ever return and contend one final time. There’s film of TW hitting stingers on Twitter. Ah, good times. It also drew some heckles from Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler. Man, golf would be a lot of fun with Tiger playing well against all these young guys.
– The best NBA player that no one can pronounce is killing it out of the gate. For those unaware, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is 6-foot-11 and plays on the perimeter. He’s known, understandably as the Greek Freak and his numbers per game are downright crazy: 38.5 minutes, 36.8 points, better than 65 percent from the field, with almost 11 rebounds and more than five assists per night. Buckets. Fill a stat sheet my man.
– Speaking of hot starts, rookie Ben Simmons went triple-double last night in his fourth career game. He’s the third NBA rookie to get a triple-double in his first four games. The first was Oscar Robertson, who made the triple-double cool. The second was Hambone Williams, and man, in truth, Hambone > nickname than the Big O. Not Hambone > than Big O as a player, but as a nickname, Hambone is pretty sweet.
– Thought this was interesting, and we all can have a bad season – especially when your starting quarterback goes down. But the longest streak of consecutive bowl trips – FSU’s string of 35 straight bowl invites – is in serious jeopardy. FSU is 2-4, and with a game cancelled because of the September storms, needs wins in four of is next five games, which are at Boston College, vs. Syracuse, at Clemson vs. Delaware State and at Florida.
– On this day in 1959, Wilt Chamberlain made his NBA debut. IF I offered a mini-Rushmore of the long ago former greats who were physically talented enough to be superstars today, we’d go with Wilt, Jim Brown, Walter Johnson and Babe Ruth. Anyone got one to crack that four?
Today’s question
True or false, the decision has already been made to fire or keep Butch.
True or false, the Dodgers win the World Series.
True or false, Carson Wentz is the best young quarterback in the NFL.
Feel free to leave a true or false as you see fit.
As for today, on Oct. 24 in 1929, “Black Thursday” happened as the stock market dropped 12.8 percent leading to the great crash and the Great Depression.
In 1931, Al Capone was sentenced to 11 years for tax evasion.
In 1962, this was the busiest day of the Cuban Missile Crisis as Soviet ships stop short of the U.S. blockade.
In 2008, “Bloody Friday” happened as many of the world’s stock exchanges experienced their worst declines ever and most fell 10-percent or more and started the Great Recession.
Kevin Kline is 70 today.
Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks each died on this day, Jackie in 1972, Rosa in 2005.
As we start the World Series, what’s the modern-era Rushmore World Series moments, say post-1980?
Go.