Weekend winners
Borderline quarterbacks. Sure we could put Aaron Rodgers on here. But dude wins every weekend. What about guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick (who looked the part of post-fight Conor McGregor after the Bucs win Sunday) and Blake Bortles. Fitzpatrick is lighting it up and Bortles Service dropped almost 4 bills on the Pats - without his two best offensive pieces mind you - as the Jags looked the part of AFC favorite. Yes, it might make CBS TV execs tear their hair out, but an AFC title game with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo calling the action between the Chiefs and the Jags sure looks possible.
Patrick Mahomes. Wow, 10 TDs in two games. Dude sure looks the part right. And how about the offenses that have been built in Kansas City and in Los Angeles in an AFC West race that looks like it could be a lot of fun. And include a lot of points.
Ed Orgeron. Sadly, we can no longer jab or heckle Coach O. He has shut us up and made us like it with a painful, heart-ripping, soul-crushing 22-21 win at Auburn. That game has become one of the more emotional and dramatic among annual rivalries, but it seems LSU is getting the better of it more times than not. Side note: We could spend a lot of energy and ink on this one, but if Coach O is continually out-whatevering you (Gus Malzahn) then there comes a time that something needs to change. Auburn had the better team. The better quarterback. And still lost. Yes, the late pass interference calls were questionable, but neither of those converted the fourth-and-7. Auburn has been one play away - FSU in the 2013 title game; the loss to Texas A&M& in '14, against Arkansas, Miss State and Georgia in '15, against Clemson and Georgia in '16, against LSU last year - from being in it every year, but under Malzahn, the Tigers never seem to make that play. Under Coach O, LSU appears to have the ability to make that play.
The trio of Troy, North Texas and Akron. The Group of Five trio each got a million bucks or more to go beat up on big-conference blowhards at Nebraska, Arkansas and Northwestern.
Canelo Alvarez. Dude handled Triple G in the latest super fight between two of the baddest boxers around. Also of note, the sport has to be discussed among the weekend winners, considering that the decision win for Alvarez almost assuredly means there will be a fight No. 3 between the two. And, over the weekend, came news that Floyd Mayweather is going to fight again because, let's face it, the money is impossible to turn down for Mayweather.
Bonus pick: Anyone who bet on the NFL having two tie games two weeks into the season.
Bonus pick, II: Your UTC Mocs, who went on the road and handled their BID-ness in an impressive win over UT-Martin. Well done Fightin' Arths.
Weekend losers
Urban Liar. Coach Liar sat down with ESPN (and the'E' stands for emotional for this guy) Tom Rinaldi for an interview that aired over the weekend. Liar said he never knew of his wife Shelley's conversation with Courtney Smith. Poppycock. Sorry, there's simply no way we believe that. None. And when everything is built off a lie, everything else is part of the same stained fabric of falsehood. Want to know when Urban Liar is not telling the truth? His lips are moving. And every time he sits down and talks to reporters, he should be asked about this and his answers should be fact check to the previous lies he told. But, if we had any sway on the decisions of Coach Liar, we simply tell him, in the words of Brian Fontana in the Academy-snubbed classic "Anchorman" to love-struck Champ Kind, "Take it easy Champ. Why don't you stop talking for a while."
Home plate umpire Laz Diaz, who got into a confrontation with Bryce Harper. The kicker? Harper was in centerfield when Diaz called him out. Laz, handle your BID-ness at the plate. (Side note: Considering that Diaz is among the bottom five in home plate statistical analytics, looks like Harper may have had a case.)
Willie Taggert in general and FSU in particular. Wow, we had the 'Cuse plus the field goal at home because we like the Orange QB and coach combo. But no one expected Syracuse to line up and whip those four- and five-star names in the Seminoles uniforms. Could anyone be fired for one season? FSU is 1-2 with a come-from-behind win at home over Samford, and the 'Noles are favored in only three of their final nine games. Would 4-8 (or worse) be enough for Taggert to get walked?
Football touching the 5-at-10. OK, the picks prevailed. Hope you were entertained. But the Lil 5-at-10's flag football team coached by a bumblin' and stumblin' yahoo lost early Saturday afternoon. We all know what happened on The Plains where for the second consecutive year LSU turned a huge late big play and some Auburn struggles and a couple of very questionable P.I. calls in a season-crushing loss for Auburn. Sunday, our fantasy team in the The Pitch league hosted by Weston Wamp, lost on a late Sunday afternoon completion to Emanuel Sanders. Seriously, despite missing top-half-of-the-draft guys like Fournette, Baldwin and Alshon Jeffery - we started Duke Johnson for Pete Rozell's sake - we had a one-point lead on the strength of Kirk Cousins and Michael Thomas until the late completion ended an already rotten weekend run.
Jacob deGrom. Dude is putting up Cy-like numbers but can not get a win for anything. The Mets ace allowed three earned to the amazing Boston Red Sox while striking out 12 in seven innings Sunday. And other than one bad pitch to Brock Holt that became a two-run homer, deGrom was better than the numbers suggest, which is hardly a surprise for a dude with an 8-9 record. How strong is deGrom's case for lack of support to the rest of his Mets cohorts? In his last 10 starts - outings in which he has pitched at least six innings and has not allowed more than three earned in each of them - deGrom is 3-4 with three no-decision. Despite just having eight wins and a losing record, deGrom has a 1.78 ERA in 30 starts, 251 Ks in 202 innings and opponents are hitting a Mendoza-esque .202 against him. He deserves the Cy, no matter what his record is at the end of the season.
Bonus pick: Big Ten: Wow, talk about THE Ohio State and everyone else. Michigan's loss to Notre Dame was rendered pretty pedestrian considering Vandy went to South Bend and was a dropped pass from having it first-and-10 from inside the Irish 15 in the final minute in a 22-17 loss. Now know Rutgers got hammered by Kansas (yes Kansas), Northwestern and everyone's brilliant coach Pat Fitzgerald lost to Akron, Nebraska lost to Troy, Illinois lost to South Florida, Purdue lost to Missouri, Wisconsin lost at home to BYU and Maryland got housed by Temple.
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Bama bad for BID-ness?
Will anyone say that Alabama being like this is bad for college football?
Because we say it with the Warriors at almost every turn, but Nick Saban's run in Tuscaloosa makes Golden State's dominance looking fleeting.
Consider the numbers:
Saban has five titles in nine years. He played for a third and was toppled by a future NFL MVP quarterback in DeShaun Watson. He would have played for (and potentially won) if not for the single craziest ending in the history of the sport in the Kick Six game. He had the best team in country before losing to THE Ohio State when Cardale Jones made three amazing throws.
That's being the best team of 130-or-so programs every year but one in roughly the last decade.
He replaces coaches and players - good coaches mind you, and great players - every season and the beat (and the beatings) go on. Hell, this Alabama team is so great, not even Butch Jones and His Traveling Bag of Cliches and Coach Speak can derail it.
He has a quarterback who is 27-2 as a starter and a former SEC player of the year coming off the bench.
All that said, and know this: This is the best offense he's ever had. Heck, it may be the best offense any of us have ever seen. Alabama put 62 on Ole Miss on Saturday night - on the road - and it could have been 100. And that's not the last time we're going to say that either.
Which gets us back to the original question: Is Alabama's dominance bad for the game?
We say no, because we've always said no in terms of dynasties being bad for any sport.
Tiger was a dynasty, and golf hit all-time highs. (He's no longer a dynasty but the game is enjoying a surge in popularity because we want him to return to his previous glory.)
NASCAR rose to its Franensteinian place because of Dale Sr., who may not have been a Woods-like dynasty in an individual sport, but certainly was a dominant one-name star who made everyone enjoy having a rooting interest.
Same with the Patriots, and even the Yankees when they are good. (Although the hatred for the Patriots is woven into a lot of the controversy and the competition for Lombardis with Johnny Steelers Fans and Jimmy Cowboys Fans and even Gene 49ers Fans. And amazingly, considering the dominance of the Red Sox this year, the Yankees are going to have that spry underdog feel to them this fall.)
So, if you think Golden State is bad for the NBA, because until LeBron can get some more dudes in L.A., we still do not see any team in the league derailing a team that has four of the top 18 players in the league, you are obligated to feel like Alabama is bad for college football, right?
We think the opposite is true.
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This and that
- Dwyane Wade is returning to the Heat for one late season.
- The Fab 4 (times two) picks went 5-3 this weekend, hitting on Bama (minus-21) and Georgia (minus-31), and both of those covered like dream boats. (Does anyone say "dream boat" anymore? Discuss.) We also had Miami (minus-9.5) which covered with ease and Syracuse getting the points as it stomped FSU. We narrowly hit the over in the Oklahoma State-Boise State game and missed on Houston-Texas Tech, UT-UTEP over 47 and Oklahoma, which was laying 17 and won by 10. We are 12-8 against the number on the season. That's 60 percent, which is entertaining by almost every measure.
- Speaking of the Vols, we will not put them in the Weekend Losers after a win for the primary reason that every win in Pruitt Year 1 should not and will not be scoffed upon. Still, 24 points against a UTEP team which allowed 30 (at home) in a 20-point loss to a Northern Arizona team that just lost to Missouri State 40-8, is hardly acceptable. UT was better at every spot and came out flat, which is one of the main jobs for every head coach - to make sure his team is motivated, regardless of the opponent. And for the cautiously optimistic - and even the Orange-burned pessimists - among the UT fan base, looking the part against inferior foes matters as much as looking competitive against superior foes. And after what we saw Saturday from Alabama and Georgia, well, there are some very superior foes on the horizon.
- Excellent work here by TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer, who covered the Drive, Chip and Putt event at The Honors on Sunday. Good stuff.
- Much-needed wins for the Falcons (in overtime) and the Titans (who got a fun fake punt call for a TD, which also helped in our fantasy football setback) on Sunday. With the knowledge that only 12 percent of the teams who start 0-2 make the playoffs, well, those wins were paramount for two teams with postseason aspirations.
- Strange story here with Vontae Davis retiring during halftime of the Bills' loss to the Chargers. Side note: The Bills are dreadful.
- Not that anyone is surprised, but NFL defensive guys hate the new roughing the passer penalties. That said, Falcons safety Damontae Kazee will be writing a pretty sizable check for the fines coming after his dirty hit on Cam Newton.
- The Braves dropped back-to-back games to the Nationals and now lead the Phillies by 6.5 games with 13 games left. Brian Snitker for manager of the year folks.
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Today's questions
Weekend winners and losers. Discuss.
Loads of you survived Week 2 in the Survivor Pool. Results are pending Monday night, but a lot of folks cashed on the Rams and Chargers this week. Wise plays.
On this day 102 years ago, the legend of the Red Baron is born as he wins his first aerial combat race. Not sure when his frozen pizza empire started but we assume that was later.
On this day in 1972, M*A*S*H premiered on NBC. On this day in 1941, Stan Musial made his big league debut.
Billy the Kid would have been 159 years old today. Hank Williams would have been 95 today. Phil Jackson is 73. Jimmie Johnson is 43. (Is there a more anonymous all-timer than Jimmie Johnson, who has seven points titles, which is tied with a couple of dudes named Dale Sr. and The King? Johnson make Tim Duncan look like Shaq.)
In honor of Stan the Man Musial, let's go with the Rushmore of rhyming nicknames. Discuss.