From me to you: I hope that you and yours have had a very blessed Thanksgiving.
With that said, feast on this blog post; it's time to go around the world of sports, starting of course with football.
The Panthers beat the Cowboys to remain undefeated and did so convincingly, but to me what caught my eye just as much was the first game between the Eagles and the Lions. It caught my eye because of just how badly the Eagles performed and let a terrible Lions team (although they've been playing better) walk all over them.
You know, we're in the waning hours of Thanksgiving, but maybe the Eagles should be thankful that they get to play this game and make the millions of dollars that they earn. And maybe with that thought in mind, they should go out and give more than a token effort like they gave today. You can't call that effort acceptable in any way, and I'm surprised Chip Kelly still has his job tonight.
Then again, considering that he's found out that his system and the NFL go together like oil and water, perhaps he's jonesing for a return to the college game. I hear that LSU may have an opening soon....
Not saying it will happen, but can you imagine: Chip Kelly vs Nick Saban, every single year.
On the second game: Cam Newton didn't do much numbers wise but didn't have to do much today, especially since the Panthers defense picked off Romo three times (two of them for scores) and knocked Romo out of the game. Heck of a job by the Panthers to come to Dallas on a short preparation week and take care of business, remaining undefeated.
Time to double back to the previous weekend now briefly:
- I don't know if they'll make the playoffs, but certainly the Texans have played better since they cut the Oversleeper, Ryan Mallett. It's only three games since that point, but I wonder just how much damage he caused in that locker room because before he was cut, they weren't giving an ounce of effort at all as that performance in Miami last month could attest to. Of course it doesn't hurt that Watt has taken over this month and helped put the team on his back.
- Even when the Ravens win, they lose. They beat the Rams on Sunday but lost Joe Flacco (QB) and Justin Forsett (RB), both starters, for the season. Ravens vs Browns is the Monday night game this week; can you even imagine how awful a game that's going to be?
- Peyton Manning is allegedly three weeks at least from being able to play again. If Osweiler comes in and does his job like he did in Chicago though Peyton may have to fight to get his position back when he does come back though. He certainly wasn't worth a darn against Kansas City. It will be interesting to see how Osweiler does against the Pats.
On college football:
- I do not envy Urban Meyer this week prior to going up to Michigan; Buckeye soap opera is in full effect. You've got players pointing fingers and already declaring they're going pro, you've got your arch rival who is hungering to snap a three game losing streak against you and it's on the road. Meyer is a great coach but definitely has his hands full this week.
- And even if they win, they still have to somehow hope Penn State beats Michigan State...on the road. With Michigan State's standing in the Big 10 East and in the college football playoff, they very likely don't need any help; very likely scenario is beat Penn State and Iowa and you're in the four team playoff for the title. In fact, I'm sure Michigan State would rather see Iowa beat Nebraska than lose even though Iowa is ahead of them, if both teams take care of business, then Iowa vs MSU basically decides a berth in the playoff.
- Florida is ranked No. 12 in the playoff poll this week but I have no idea how, they've been playing like total horse hockey this month. 9-7 win over Vanderbilt, 24-14 over South Carolina, and 20-14 in OVERTIME over a 2-9 Florida Atlantic team. Now here comes Florida State; I don't think the Gators have been sandbagging for the Noles, but we'll see.
- Big game in college ball this week is the Bedlam battle in Stillwater Saturday night. It honestly all depends on who is QBing for Oklahoma IMHO; if Mayfield plays and all indications are he will start, then I don't see Okla State bouncing back from that flat effort against Baylor. A rivalry game may spark them up again, but I think Oklahoma is on a mission and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
On to a few baseball notes now:
- The Blue Jays apparently are not a major factor in the David Price sweepstakes; not surprising, since Price is a high-caliber pitcher who will demand a massive contract from someone. Apparently there are rumblings that teams such as the Red Sox, Dodgers, Cardinals, Cubs and Giants are poised to make a run at him. One team I am surprised to see not on this list is the one team that needs a top-caliber starting pitcher more than any other...the Yankees. I'm not surprised the Cubs are on this list; the Cubs fans I know have indicated to me they're going to make a major move for Price. The Cards...we'll see but they're not usually inclined to break out the big bucks for players like that. Dallas Keuchel of the Astros has apparently been trying to recruit Price but Luhnow is not going to be overpaying for him.
- The Astros traded infielder Jed Lowrie to the A's; the Astros got Brendan McCurry back in the deal. This one is hardly surprising considering Carlos Correa is the future; he came up when Lowrie was out with his thumb injury and Lowrie never really regained his footing. I like Lowrie, but no doubt it was time to part ways.
- One notable aspect of this deal is the Astros trimmed 7.5 mil off their payroll; they are possessed it seems with finding an elite closer; the lack of a great closer was a major reason the Astros lost to Kansas City in the playoffs this year. Jeff Luhnow, the general manager, also seems to want a veteran presence on his starting rotation.
Couple of college basketball quick hitters:
- The holy trinity of great University of Northern Iowa sports moments now has its third wheel: Kurt Warner winning the Super Bowl with the Rams, UNI beating Kansas in the NCAA tournament in 2010, and that same UNI basketball program beating No. 1 North Carolina last Saturday in Cedar Falls. That is a legitimately tough basketball program they've built in Cedar Falls, and they're competitive every single year. From all indications, they're going to be tough once again.
I know the Hawkeyes and Cyclones fans who follow that sport who are meeting at the lake in Panora today are drinking a toast to Roy Williams getting smacked across the face by any Iowa school; to say that Roy Williams is disliked in Iowa would be a gross understatement.
- It's early and they usually gag in March but so far, Kansas is off to a very good start; they won the highly prestigious Maui Invitational yesterday, beating a top 20 team to do so. Another in their long line of consecutive Big 12 titles is very likely in the cards for KU this year.
Finally from the pros:
- While things are better in Houston with the Texans, the same cannot be said for the team from Toyota Center. The team is third to last in the Western Conference, fired its coach, and lots of theories have been proposed as to why the team is so bad, but one seems to stick out in my mind; the alleged "Kardashian curse" which has hit star James Harden. That's right, the bearded Rockets star has been seeing Khloe Kardashian plenty. I'm not going to speculate on what goes on with them as I'm not really into that sort of thing, but my question is why? If you're going to be contending for a championship, you CANNOT have that sort of distraction.
- The Golden State Warriors are 16-0, the best start in NBA history. They are a powerhouse, no doubt about it. But let's not forget about the little old 12-3 San Antonio Spurs. The Warriors are going to get all the attention until these two teams play, but the problem is they won't play until after the new year. I'd like to know who the schedule maker was that decided that....
Until next time....
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