One more
So the Braves are left with the very plain two-word phrase that has plagued this franchise since they went worst to first in 1991 and Sid slid in '92 and the Crime Dog came to town and Chipper started his Hall of Fame career and, well, you get the idea.One more.
One more win gets the Braves in the World Series, of course.
Just like this point last year.But 'one more' is so much more because with the overlapping careers of Jones, Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz and Cox - Hall of Famers all - this club should have at least one more title.
And likely more than one more.
But after the Braves battered the all-but-beaten Dodgers pitching staff for nine runs, one more only is important over the course of winning nine innings one more time over the next three games.
One more. Just one more. (And while we're here, just one more is also high praise for the wheeling and dealing of Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos, who made the perfect moves at the deadline. And the outfield bounty - he needed at least two but he acquired four - he delivered for a couple of fringe prospects and the artist formerly known as Pablo Sandoval has been the difference in these playoffs. How about these postseason numbers? Eddie Rosario is 14-for-30 with five runs scored and eight knocked in. Joctober Pederson is 8-for-23 with three homers and nine RBIs. Adam Duvall is 8-for-28 with a homer last night and four RBIs. That'll do pig. That'll do.)
Fab 4 picks
Confidence. It's fleeting and mercurial.It can make all the difference in the world, but it rarely can be faked.
And we need some. Desperately.
So enough of the negativity brought by hecklers and haters. Enough of the self-inflicted bad karma of Flop 4 picks.
We're back, and we're fab folks.
Like Steph Curry off the dribble, let's pick and roll.
Alabama minus-14 in the first half and under 67. Is there anything about which we can be more confident than Alabama over UT at this juncture? And it has been rather comfortable too. Since Saban arrived in T-Town and grabbed the league by the throat, his control has been down right abusive over the Vols. He's 13-0 against UT with only two of those final scores in single digits and 10 of those wins were by at least 20 points. If Hendon Hooker can't play, get as much on Bama as your local entertainment broker or whatever dot.com you use will allow.
SMU minus-13.5 over Tulane. SMU is sneaky stout gang. Dana Holgerson has an offensive background and pedigree, and his unbeaten Mustangs are no exception. Sometimes it's math people. In Tulane's five games - all losses - against D-I opponents, it has allowed 40, 61, 28, 52 and 40 points, or an average of 44-plus per game. In its six wins, SMU has scored 56, 35, 39, 42, 41 and 31, or an average of about 40 per game. Hmmmmm, yes please.
Charlotte plus-7 over FAU. Speaking of confidence, Charlotte coach and friend of the show Will Healy has a tractor-trailer load of it, friends. And rightly so. He has an experienced QB and continues to check boxes with a 49ers program that will have a hard time keeping him longterm.
FSU minus-35 over UMass. Yes, it takes confidence to lay five TDs with an FSU bunch that makes teenage girls seem consistent by comparison. But remember, this is the confident version of the Fab 4 picks, and while FSU has not inspired confidence recently, we are extremely confident in the stinkiness of UMass, which allowed six TDs to Eastern Michigan earlier this year.
THE Ohio State minus-20 over Indiana. The Hallmark-inspired "I love you" bus that Indiana coach Tom Allen drove o surprising success last year has veered into the ditch. Talk about two teams headed in opposite directions: THE OSU has covered the last three with relative ease and scored at leas 52 points in each; IU is bagel-and-5 agains the number this year.
Northwestern plus-23.5 over Michigan. Perfect spot for the perfect foe for Pat Fitzgerald. Michigan and Coach Khaki are rolling, they're 6-0 and have a date with also unbeaten Michigan State next weekend. And here come the little ol' Wildcats - come here kitty cat, as David Bennett said a decade ago, which is still my favorite coach's tangent in press conference history - for a 21-12 Michigan victory in a snoozer.
Oklahoma minus whatever it is over Kansas. The Jayhawks are dreadful. The Sooners know they need style points. And when OU puts in its back-ups, their second-string QB was a Heisman front-runner last month, so there's that.
It's here
Sports often has a trickle down aspect. Think about the folks who would have never believed the 3-point line was coming to college hoops, never mind the shot clock.
Well, trickle down has happened again.
The New York high school sports leaders are allowing athletes to agree to and cash in with the Names, Image and Likeness deals.
Crazy, right?
And somewhere LeBron and Zion have too be shaking their head and wondering how much they could have made in NIL deals during high school.
Couple of things: First, high school hoops will be the area where the big dollars will flow. High school basketball players are the most easy to gauge to professional success.
It's not universal mind you but you have a better idea than say football or baseball stars at that age. Plus, the shoe companies are already neck-deep into the cess pool that is AAU.
The other thing is this truly makes the NIL scenarios for New York stars and the recruiting ramifications almost impossible for the NCAA to regulate, right?
This and that
- Keep firing away your nominations for this week's 5-at-10 Bracket Challenge, which will try to answer "What college stadium has the best gamely atmosphere?"
- You know the rules, here's Paschall's picks for the week.
- In the ALCS, some sketchy balls and strikes in the last couple of days have the Houston Cheaters heading back to Texas just one win from the World Series.
- Thursday night NFL features a likely QB showdown between Teddy Bridgewater and Case Keenum. NFL action, it's fantastic. (Gotta back the Broncos, right Vader?)
Today's questions
Fire away on a free for all Thursday.
And remember the Bracket nominations, the mailbag and the Eliminator Pool if you are still swimming.
As for today, Oct. 21, let's review.
Kim Kardashian is 41 today. Carrie Fisher would have been 65 today.
Judge Judy is 79 today.
My Fair Lady premiered on this day run 1964.
Does i make the all-time Rushmore of musical movies?