Weekend winners
Lincoln Riley. Dude seized the moment in his second game as the Oklahoma coach. He turned quarterback Baker Mayfield loose and the Sooners handily beat THE Ohio State in the Horsehoe in a 31-16 win that was more decisive than the final score. Yes, we can discuss Mayfield’s postgame antics – if you want to call the flag-staking move into the middle of the logo bush league fine – but his play and the Sooners’ inspired effort look promising for Riley, the country’s youngest maker program head coach who has notched the biggest win of this regular season in his second career game. Speaking of Mayfield, how’s this for a monster stat: Dude is 10-0 as a road starter, averaging 300 yards passing per game with a 35-5 TD-to-Int. ratio while completing 71 percent of his passes.
Kirby Smart. After this, we will try to stay away from coaches with big wins. That’s pretty easy. Still, consider the following: There were no fewer than five UGA fans this weekend who told us that’s a game, as it unfolded they expected to lose, and that it was a relief. That matters in the perception of a newish head coach. There also were tens of thousands of UGA fans who made the pilgrimage to see Touchdown Jesus and the pageantry that is South Bend. Yes, they made the trip – and a lot of them made a sports-junkie bucket list decision with a game at Wrigley on Friday night and watching the Falcons at historic Soldier Field on Sunday – because of history. But the fact that those roughly 30,000 or more fans went and saw a win really gives Smart a lot of street cred with some powerful UGA bigwigs.
Tennis. Sure, a Federer-Nadal match at the U.S. Open would have been great. But how often do we even offer tennis as an option here. Nadal got his third U.S. Open title and his 16th major. He’s back to No. 1 in the world. On the women’s side, an American resurgence – all four of the semifinalist were from the U.S. – and it led to monster increases in TV numbers. As all the sports around us – yes, the Thursday night NFL opener TV numbers were down double-digit in the ratings – Sloane Stephens, a very likable underdog winner, helped generate a 1.9 rating Saturday against a strong college football slate. That was a 36 percent increase from last year.
Everyone who has pitched and helped during the last few weeks of hurricane issues in Houston and now in Florida with Irma. (Side note: You could sad the Weather Channel won the weekend, too. Those folks are crushing it and here’s betting that the ratings are through the roof.) Whether it’s stars and athletes raising money or the PSA commercials for the Red Cross or even something like Jet Blue sending an extra flight to get tourists from Turks and Caicos for free, the American spirit is never greater and more evident than when Americans are dealing with tragedy and crisis. On this day – 16 years after 9/11 – that is as true as ever, whether the hardship is natural or created by evil and hatred.
Giorgio Tavecchio. The Raiders added Tavecchio to the roster this weekend after long-time starting kicker Sebastian Janikowski was placed on injured reserve. All Tavecchio did in his NFL debut was go 4-for-4 on field goals, including two 52-yarders that were absolutely perfect and had plenty to spare. It was a great story that was made better by the fact that CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson told us that a big reason the Raiders signed Tavecchio was that he was left-footed like Janikowski, so the transition for the holder was easier. Three more side notes on the Raiders’ impressive win over: One, watching on TV, there seemed to be a TON of Raiders fans in attendance. Two, Amari Cooper had a rough day, uncharacteristically dropping seveal passes, including three potential TD passes on the same possession. Finally, Tony Romo was pretty doggone great in his debut in the CBS lead booth with Jim Nantz. They had pretty good chemistry for a first game, and Romo’s insight – he correctly predicted several plays and offered correct analysis on a third-down run from Oakland meant they were going to go for it on fourth – was spot-on.
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw takes a deep breath in the dugout before the team’s baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Weekend losers
Dodgers. Yes, they still have the best record in baseball. And yes they have a 99 percent chance of winning the NL West. But the Dodgers are in free fall, and the numbers are eye-poppingly historic. The Dodgers have lost 10 straight, and know this: No team has won a World Series in a season in which they had a 10-game losing streak. The Dodgers were 91-36 and tracking a possible run at the record of wins in a season. In less than three weeks, they are now 92-51.
Gus Malzahn. More on this in a moment.
Whatever is left of Joe Paterno’s legacy. According to this CNN story, police reports show that Paterno admitted to Mike McQueary that when McQueary came to pattern about seeing the Devil’s defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assault a boy in the shower it was not the first complaint Paterno had received. Man, Joe Pa said Nah, turned a blind eye and put who knows how many boys through a living hell “for the good of the program.” Does anyone out there think Paterno did not know about Sandusky’s evil and depravity long before acting? Anyone?
Sometimes you can’t help but wonder who picked these people that are manning important posts in the Trump White House. After Steve Bannon looked like a psychopath on 60 minutes, news comes of the White House social media director Dan Scavino Jr. Tweeting out wait for it the dreaded “Fake News.”https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-house-social-media-director-025119804.html
The bottom circle of the NFL teams, which screams the chances a team has without a quarterback. Forget the teams that rolled the dice with rookies – the second half of DeShaun Watson and the Browns with DeShone Kizer – the dregs around the league were dreadful. The Colts, minus Andrew Luck, got housed by the Rams. The Jets got rolled by the Bills. The 49ers got trucked by the Panthers. Tom Savage was terrible in a first-half meltdown as the Texans flopped against Jacksonville. The quarterback firm of Scott Tolzien (Colts – 9-18, 128 yards 0-2 TD-to-INT), Josh McCown (Jets -26-39, 187, 0-2), Brian Hoyer (49ers – 24-35, 193, 0-1) and Savage (Texans – 7-13, 62, 0-0) were 66-of-105 for a measly 570 yards and five picks and no scores. That’s roughly 5.4 per attempt, which is dreadful. Not surprisingly, those four teams were 0-4 and outscored 119-31. (And man, we backed the Savage-led Texans in our NFL picks which limited to a 1-3 start against the number. So it goes.)
The NCAA. Yes, in a time when the NCAA should be swimming the glow of two great weeks of college football and very little college basketball controversy, the NCAA figures out a way to step on their own feet. Yes, according to this story, the NCAA at first balked at the University of Houston and other programs helping Hurricane Harvey victims with free clothes and shoes that are given to those programs by sports merchandisers. Yep, apparently there are a couple of high-profile basketball recruits in Houston in this cycle, and the NCAA rulebook said giving that swag – to people who have lost everything ming you – could be an improper benefit if it found some of those hoops prospects. The NCAA relented after the social media storm became almost as powerful as Harvey, but it still does not take away from the simple fact that the NCAA is run by a bunch of tone-deaf imbeciles that obviously have never a) taken a PR class and b) has the humanity and compassion of a crash test dummy.
CORRECTS DATE – Penn State NCAA college football head coach James Franklin speaks at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago, Tuesday, July 25, 2017. (AP Photo/G-Jun Yam) College football coaches
There was a lot to get to from a college football weekend that was filled with highs. And lows.
And it all centers on the coaches, right? We always talk about the quarterback being the most important position in sports. And there’s an argument to be made there. But what about the college football coach? He carries the banner for the flagship entry point to almost every major school in the country.
He carries the emotion weight of a crazed fan base that wears its collective heart on its sleeve and the coach determines more times than not whether that shirt needs to be cleaned or framed. (Side note: If you think college fans are not bonkers, check out this story, where Baylor University fans are already on message boards wondering if they can get Art Briles back. We’re pretty sure he’s working on game plans with the Devil and Sandusky, though. The forum was eventually removed by moderators of the sicem365.com site.)
He lands the recruits. He fills out the staff. He is the lightning rod in controversy and celebrated like few others in good times.
Case in point: Where else other than major college sports does the double-standard of higher standards for kids/employees/amateurs than the adults/bosses/professionals land this firmly?
Example being the coaches with postgame zingers.
Couple things here: First, James Franklin dropped the mic on Pitt, saying that last year when the Panthers beat his Penn State, Pitt treated it like the Super Bowl. Franklin said Penn State treats beating Pitt like beating Akron. Then there was Uncle Shecky himself Nick Saban after a 41-10 win over Fresno State, who when asked about his team’s so-so performance, sarcastically praised the reporter’s opinion and then said after he watches the film if the reporter’s right maybe Alabama would “hire his ass.”
Were those funny or bad sportsmanship or even potentially rude from Saban? We believe that they were 100 percent funny and we desperately crave the human and real responses from coaches, who are becoming a collective group of robotic responders spewing the narrative they want to share rather than answering questions. In fact, as harsh as he can be at times, we think Saban is one of the best about offering honest answers to earnest questions. Heck look at last week’s response to whether he’s worth $11 million. But here’s the next question: If you think those coaches are being entertaining and real, isn’t Baker Mayfield doing the same thing? Why do we demand more and better and (fill in the black) from the 18-to-23 ‘amateurs’ while we view the multi-millionaire CEOs of these programs through a prism wrapped in kid’s gloves?
Now the other end of that spectrum – when things turn – they land firmly on the desk of the head coach.
Look at Gus Malzahn, who is supposed to be an offensive genius and has not delivered anything remotely offensive since he last belched after a late-night Waffle House meal. (Side stat: Auburn has now lost six straight to teams ranked in the top 10. Auburn’s last win over a top-10 team was Nov. 1, 2014 when Nick Marshall was the quarterback and it beat No. 7 Ole Miss.) Look at Brian Kelly, the Notre Dame coach who likely has the hottest seat in the country after the Irish bungled a very winnable game against Georgia and then threw a temper tantrum at the end of his postgame news conference. (Side stat: Notre Dame is now 1-8 in one-possesion games since the start of last season.)
Look at Kevin Sumlin, who needed a late rally for the Texas A&M Aggies to topple Nichols State 24-14 in a game tied at 14 in the fourth quarter. Yes, the letter sent to Sumlin that featured the N-bomb was embarrassing and awful and filled with hate. Does not change that Sumlin has struggled mightily.
What does it mean? Well, it’s clear we love our college football, right?
It’s also clear that the passion and power and purse strings make the college football head coach as valuable as anyone around in sports.
This and that
– Could have easily been in the winners category, but the list above it more worthy. But in case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven’t, the Indians have managed to win a few here and there, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar. Yes, that’s the legendary Harry Doyle from Major League, but the real Indians have won 18 in a row and have the best record in the AL.
– Also of note, the Fab 4 college picks went 5-0 against the number this weekend. You’re welcome. Now that’s entertaining – and 9-1 against the spread through two weeks.
– Wondering about your team, especially you Titans fans, after the opening weekend? Know this, winners of the opener are more than twice as likely (52 percent of the time) than losers on the opening weekend. who make the playoffs 24 percent of the time since the 16-game schedule was adopted. That means of the 16 teams that find defeat on the opening weekend, roughly four of them will find the playoffs. Have to believe the Patriots are one of those. Same with the Seahawks. Lots of people believe the Giants are good, too. So there’s that.
– Wow, Missouri fired defensive coordinator two games into the season.
– What a crazy NFL stat? Try the number 11 which delivered two eye-popping stats from the Steelers’ win over Cleveland. First, receiver Antonio Brown was targeted 11 times. He had 11 receptions. That’s crazy right? Now try this: Ben Roethlisberger now has 11 wins in Cleveland’s stadium. That means he has more wins in that stadium than any Cleveland quarterback sine Ben came to the league in 2004. Read that again.
Today’s question
We said a silent prayer when we got up this morning.
On this day, we can never forget the morning of 16 years ago and the mourning that followed. Some crazy things on this crazy day that is filled with memories. My grandmother’s birthday was on this day. That’s one you will never forget.
The Pentagon started its original construction on this day in 1941. Ben Franklin wrote the passage “There was never a good war or a bad peace.” Fitting, huh?
A couple of NFL giants – Ed Sabol and Tom Landry – were born on this day.
Johnny Unitas died on this day in 2002.
As for the question, feel free to offer weekend winners and losers.
On this day, and in honor of Beth Mowins doing the Monday Night Football nightcap tonight, let’s do a Rushmore of Female Sports Broadcasters.
Go. And God Bless America.