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11/06/2023
Who is No. 1? Ohio State or Georgia?
Add-on posted early Tuesday p.m.
NFL
--What an awful 24 hours for New York football fans. The Giants’ (2-7) worst fears were confirmed Monday when a MRI exam confirmed that quarterback Daniel Jones had torn his ACL, out for the season. It also means the Giants, who had just signed Jones in the offseason to a 4-year, $160 million extension (though they are off the hook after year 2), are forced to draft a quarterback in the first round next spring, when the hope was they could address other issues.
With backup Tyrod Taylor out at least another three games with a rib injury, the Giants are staring at a 2-15 final record, with undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito or veteran journeyman Matt Barkley at the helm, which is likely to really suck.
[The less said about Sunday night’s 30-6 Giants loss to the Raiders (4-5) the better, as Jones was hurt early and DeVito came in and tossed two interceptions.]
And then Jets fans had to watch our boys lose to the Chargers (4-5) in a must-win contest for both, Monday night in the Meadowlands. Forget the stats, Zach Wilson sucked at QB for New York (4-4).
Brian Costello / New York Post
“The best throws by a Jets quarterback on Monday night came about two hours before the game started when a recovering Aaron Rodgers was launching 50-yard passes during warm-ups.
“Unfortunately for the Jets, Rodger then donned a headset and Zach Wilson played the game.
“Wilson had a miserable night and the Jets did not score a touchdown in a 27-6 loss that dropped them to 4-4 this season and raised doubts about whether this team can really make a playoff run.
“The only encouraging sign offensively was Rodgers launching those passes in warm-ups and walking to the locker room rather than taking a cart.
“The Jets have to be wondering whether Rodgers on one leg would be better than Wilson right now.
“It was a script that has become familiar in the last two years.
“The defense played well enough for the Jets to win and the offense failed them.
“ ‘It’s inexcusable,’ wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. ‘It’s getting to the point where it’s disappointing. I hate coming off the field, looking our defense in the eyes, knowing we have to send them back out there after a three-and-out. Them boys are my dogs. They come out and ball and put us in a great position. It’s time for us to start returning the favor, man. It’s time. We’ve got to figure it out.’”
Wilson was a deceiving 33/49, 263, 0-0, 80.6. He was sacked eight times, fumbling twice on sacks, and it wasn’t all on the offensive line.
The Jets have not scored a touchdown in their last seven quarters and an overtime period.
They have eight offensive touchdowns in eight games.
As Brian Costello wrote: “Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett needs to get some heat.”
As for the Jets’ defense, they gave up just 191 total yards and held a very good quarterback, Justin Herbert, to only 16/30, 136, 0-0, 65.4. The Jets sacked Herbert five times.
The Chargers opened the scoring with an 87-yard punt return from Derius Davis, and their other scores were off turnovers, the Jets fumbling it away three times in all, including an egregious fumble by the normally sure-handed Garrett Wilson.
Meanwhile, more than a few Jets fans wonder just what does head coach Robert Salah do? My brother had the great suggestion the Jets need to bring in Wally Backman.
Now understand, my brother has been screaming for the Mets to name Wally as their manager for decades, but Salah is so listless, why not Wally? [Geezuz, inject something into Salah!]
--Since I posted early Sunday, just to go back to a few games, Houston has one exciting rookie quarterback in C.J. Stroud, who led his team to a dramatic touchdown in the final 46 seconds of a 39-37 win over the Bucs, after Baker Mayfield had thrown a touchdown pass to Cade Otton that seemingly wrapped up the game. [Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles stupidly didn’t understand his timeout prevented a 10-second runoff that probably would have prevented Stroud from engineering the miracle finish.]
Stroud ended up with an NFL rookie-record 470 yards passing, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. He joined Y.A. Tittle (1962) and Ben Roethlisberger (2014) as the only players in NFL history to go 470/5/0.
And talk about a game having a bit of everything, Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn picked up a quad injury, so running back Dare Ogunbowale – who had already kicked off multiple times for the Texans – booted a 29-yard field goal, becoming the first running back to make a field goal since Tony Galbreath in 1979.
Back to Stroud, he has 14 touchdown passes and just one interception for 4-4 Houston, a big surprise in the NFL this season.
--Dallas (5-3) had a crushing loss to the Eagles (8-1) in Philadelphia, 28-23, despite outgaining Philly 163-14 in the fourth quarter.
Early in the fourth, trailing 28-17, Luke Schoonmaker caught a Dak Prescott pass at the goal line on fourth down, but replay showed his knee was down with the ball inches short.
On the next drive, Prescott found Jalen Tolbert for a touchdown to cut it to 28-23. Prescott then appeared to convert the 2-point conversion, but replay showed he stepped out of bounds, diving for the pylon a half second too late.
Despite all of the mistakes, Dallas got the ball back down with 46 seconds remaining, needing a touchdown to win. The Cowboys got to the Eagles’ 6-yard line – due to a mix of playmaking and Philadelphia penalties – with 27 seconds left. Then Dallas went false start, sack, incompletion, delay of game, CeeDee Lamb (11-191-0) catch coming up short. Game over.
Prescott finished 29/44, 374, 2-0, 115.2, while for the Eagles, Jalen Hurts was 17/23, 207, 2-0, 130.2, with a touchdown on the ground.
MLB
--Mets fans, and perhaps Mets management, were shocked to learn Monday that Craig Counsel would not be the new Mets manager, but had agreed instead to stay close to his home outside of Milwaukee in signing a massive contract, five years, $40 million, to manage the Cubs, who in turn fired highly popular David Ross, beloved in the dugout and a key figure on the 2016 World Series team that broke the franchise’s more-than 100-year drought.
Counsel’s salary is reportedly double that of any other manager, and while he had a lot of success in Milwaukee with often middling rosters, the Brewers are 1-9 in their last 10 playoff games with Counsel at the helm.
With the Mets new president of baseball operations, David Stearns, having come from Milwaukee, it was long assumed Counsel would follow him, but Counsel gets to stay an easy drive from home, and doesn’t have to move his school-age kids.
So the Mets, who to their credit were interviewing other candidates, turned to Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza, with zero major-league managerial experience, but baseball executives seem to agree he could be a good one. Us fans can only say, who the hell knows….
--The Guardians hired longtime catcher Stephen Vogt to succeed the retiring Terry Francona. At 39, Vogt is MLB’s second-youngest manager. He retired from playing in 2022 and served as the Mariners’ bullpen and quality control coach in 2023. He was a super popular teammate in Cleveland and the players unanimously liked the selection.
--There were 13 first-time winners of the Gold Glove award, and since no Mets won, I couldn’t give a damn. Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier did win their fourth Gold Gloves, and I liked Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler picking one up, just because I liked him as a Met.
But, boy, I couldn’t see Anthony Volpe, the Yankees’ rookie shortstop, receiving a Gold Glove, from the times I watched games this year.
As for the big awards, Rookie and Manager of the Year, Cy Young and MVP, they come next Monday thru Thursday.
--We note the passing of former pitcher Dick Drago, 78, from complications following surgery, the Boston Globe reported.
Drago pitched from 1969-81, mostly for Kansas City and Boston, finishing 108-117, 3.62 ERA, with 58 saves. In 1971 with Kansas City, he went 17-11, 2.98, and he was a key reliever on the 1975 Red Sox team that lost to the Reds in that all-timer of a Fall Classic, 4 games to 3.
College Football
--Michigan moved to ward off possible discipline by the Big Ten Conference against the football program and head coach Jim Harbaugh in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal.
The Wall Street Journal reported that in an email to the Big Ten late last week, Michigan president Santa Ono warned that taking action before conducting an investigation would violate conference rules.
“The best course of action, the one far more likely to ascertain the facts, is to await the results of the NCAA investigation,” President Ono wrote to Big Ten commissioner Tony Pettiti on Thursday, before the two met Friday in Ann Arbor.
This was so predictable. In normal cases, yes, these investigations can take a while, everyone gets that.
But these aren’t normal times, Michigan potentially CFP bound and just weeks left before a decision on the playoffs is to be made. It’s natural an investigation wouldn’t be concluded until next spring or summer, let alone the Big Ten’s own probe.
But there is also a lot of hard evidence already.
The Big Ten is under incredible pressure from all the other schools, who have potentially taken it up the ass with the sign stealing and are pissed (sorry to be graphic, but this indeed is how they feel, and rightfully so).
If you don’t want to penalize the players, Harbaugh, as the man in charge, has to be suspended, and before the Ohio State game, Nov. 25.
So the Big Ten then did formally notify Michigan it could face disciplinary action, a Michigan official told ESPN on Monday. And Michigan has until Wednesday to respond.
Michigan and Harbaugh, should they be disciplined, would no doubt push back and try to delay any penalties until the offseason.
Ohio State can solve any potential messy issues by beating Michigan, of course. And that’s what most good college football fans will be rooting for.
Or maybe out of nowhere Penn State can beat the Wolverines this Saturday! [Doubtful, mused the editor.]
College Basketball
--The season opened Monday and James Madison upset 4 Michigan State 79-76 in overtime, helped in no small part by Boston College transfer T.J. Bickerstaff, who had 21 points and 14 rebounds.
JMU is on a roll, what with the football’s team success this season. [But I saw where JMU’s star defensive end Jalen Green will miss the rest of the season with an undisclosed injury. Green suffered the injury in Saturday’s win over Georgia State. He leads the nation in both tackles for loss (21) and sacks (15.5). A huge blow.]
There were no other upsets last night, nor even close calls in the Top 25.
Rutgers did lose to Princeton, 68-61.
--I watched the entire Wake Forest-Elon opener, Jets game on the TV, Wake on ESPN+ on the computer alongside, and I strangely wasn’t distraught as we fell behind 36-15! We cut it to 55-43 at the half, and ended up rolling, 101-78. Pretty good turnaround, 86-42!
My Deacs have a lot of new pieces and some key returnees and it’s an intriguing roster. I think we will be highly competitive by Jan. 1st and full ACC play.
NBA
--We had a Julius Randle sighting on Monday night at the Garden as James Harden made his debut with the Clippers and the Knicks won it 111-97, as Randle finally had a strong game, 27 points, 10 rebounds, 9-of-21 from the field, 3-of-8 from 3. More like it.
For the Clippers, Harden started alongside fellow stars Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook and Harden played well, 17 points, 6 assists, but none of the other three really shined, both teams now 3-4.
But tonight, Victor Wembanyama comes to the Garden!
Doh! Wednesday....my bad.
Golf Balls
--I posted early Sunday so I could focus on two non-football items, the PGA Tour event in Los Cabos, Mexico, and the NASCAR Cup Chase in Phoenix.
In golf, it was a dramatic finish as South African Erik van Rooyen won his second Tour event by going birdie-birdie-eagle to finish, two strokes better than Matt Kuchar and Camilo Villegas.
Van Rooyen and his caddie Alex Gaugert were highly emotional as the eagle putt went into the cup to clinch the win, because their mutual best friend, college teammate Jon Tasamar, had told them during the week he had about six weeks to live due to stage 4 melanoma.
--As golf was wrapping up in Mexico, Ryan Blaney was winning the NASCAR Cup championship. In a bit of a surprise, non-final-four Ross Chastain won the race in Phoenix, but Blaney had to outduel Kyle Larson, who finished third, and William Byron, who finished fourth, to claim the crown and hand team owner Roger Penske his second consecutive Cup title, following Joey Logano’s win in 2022.
It was particularly emotional for the likable Blaney, who you’ve seen doing Alzheimer’s commercials, his father Dave Blaney a former NASCAR driver who suffered from it. Ryan’s grandfather and uncle also raced, but none of them ever won a NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Back to Chastain, it was the first time since NASCAR initiated this playoff format in 2014 that the race winner was not one of the Championship 4 contenders. I had told you last time that the other drivers normally steer clear of the four gunning for the title, not wanting to muck things up.
Kevin Harvick finished seventh in the final race of his terrific Cup career.
And in the Premier League, Monday, Tottenham suffered its first loss of the season, 4-1 to Chelsea at home, Mauricio Pochettino making his return to Tottenham as his former club was down to nine men after two red cards the final 35 minutes.
Tottenham was still just down 2-1, however, heading into extra time and then Dr. W.’s Chelsea scored twice for the final margin.
The BBC described it as an “epic game which brought five goals, a further five which were disallowed, two red cards and a slew of VAR decisions in one of the Premier League’s most frenetic ever encounters.”
So after 11 of 38 matches, my Spurs trail Manchester City by one point in the standings.
Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.
-----
*Posted early Sunday p.m. prior to conclusion of Golf, NASCAR Cup Chase, and late NFL games.
Baseball Quiz: Bruce Bochy won his fourth World Series ring with Texas this week. Name the other five managers with four or more rings. Answer below.
College Football Review
Comments written prior to release of new AP Poll…
Rankings used are CFP’s.
--One team dominates the sport these days…Michigan, and what to do with it as the CFP rapidly approaches.
Connor Stalions, the Michigan football staffer at the center of the program’s sign-stealing scandal, resigned Friday, according to the school in a statement.
“Connor Stalions resigned his position with Michigan Athletics this afternoon. We are unable to comment further regarding this personnel matter,” the statement read.
Prior to Michigan’s statement, multiple reports suggested Stalions was fired.
According to The Athletic, Stalions “refused to cooperate with any internal or external investigations or discussions.” Per the Associated Press, Stalions “failed to show up for a scheduled hearing Friday and informed the school through his attorney he would not participate in any internal or external investigations.”
Stalions has been accused of buying tickets to games against Michigan Big Ten Conference and possible future College Football Playoff opponents, scouting and recording video that would be used to decode their in-game signals so the Wolverines could have an advantage in games. In-person scouting is against NCAA rules.
Stalions’ attorney, Brad Beckworth, told The Athletic that “Connor chose to resign because recent stories regarding his time with the University of Michigan have created a distraction for the team. He hopes his resignation will help the team and coaching staff focus on (Saturday’s) game and the remainder of the season. Connor also wants to make it clear that, to his knowledge, neither Coach (Jim) Harbaugh, nor any other coach or staff member, told anyone to break any rules or were aware of the improper conduct regarding the recent allegations of advanced scouting.”
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti met with Michigan President Santa Ono and athletic director Warde Manuel on Friday as the conference weighs whether to discipline the Wolverines’ football program for the scouting and sign-stealing scheme.
Stalions, 28, a retired captain from the U.S. Marine Corps and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, bought tickets, using his real name, to almost three dozen games over the past three seasons. According to ESPN.com 12 different Big Ten schools were scouted and the use of electronics and a paper trial were also found. Video has Stalions on the sidelines of a Central Michigan-Michigan State game.
Jim Harbaugh denies any involvement.
But the coaches and administrators in the Big Ten are increasingly furious.
During his weekly radio show Thursday, Purdue football coach Ryan Walters spoke on the sign-stealing allegations as the Boilermakers prepared to play Michigan Saturday night.
“It’s unfortunate,” Walters said when radio host Tim Newton inquired about preparations for Michigan based on the allegations. “What’s crazy is they aren’t allegations. It happened.
“There’s video evidence. There’s ticket purchases and sales that you can track back. We know for a fact that they were at a number of our games.”
Will the Big Ten act this coming week? Will the NCAA prevent Michigan from playing for the national title?
Stay tuned.
3 Michigan (9-0) then whipped Purdue (2-7) 41-13, as J.J. McCarthy threw for 335 yards and Blake Corum rushed for three touchdowns.
--So before I get into the rest of the games in the Top Ten and beyond this weekend….
I do have to note that I said there would be no surprises in the first CFP ranking and indeed there were…at least I was surprised.
1. Ohio State
2. Georgia
3. Michigan
4. Florida State
5. Washington
6. Oregon
I thought for sure it would be as the AP had it…1. Georgia 2. Michigan 3. Ohio State 4. FSU.
But Ohio State’s strength of wins (at Notre Dame, vs. Penn State) earned the Buckeyes the top spot. I should have seen this coming.
I do have to note that the CFP rankings did do a number on Air Force, and a potential Group of Five, New Year’s Six bowl game.
AP had Air Force No. 17, Tulane No. 21.
But the CFP has….
Tulane No. 24, Air Force No. 25.
So….
No. 1 Ohio State (9-0) beat Rutgers in Piscataway, 35-16, in an intriguing game (watched the whole thing) that was better than the final score.
Rutgers (6-3) led 9-7 at the half on three field goals, but then OSU got a 93-yard interception return off a throw from Gavin Whimsatt (10/25, 129, 1-1) that deflected off a receiver on a big hit and fell into the arms of Jordan Hancock, who took it back down the field for the dramatic, and deflating TD. Rutgers was threatening to make it 16-7, or 12-7 at the worst. Instead it was 14-9 Buckeyes.
RU, though, cut it to 21-16 early in the fourth on a Whimsatt touchdown pass, but then Marvin Harrison Jr., who only had four catches on the day, caught two short TD passes from Kyle McCord to seal the deal, Harrison finishing 4-26-2.
The star for Ohio State, however, was TreVeyon Henderson, who I said last week was as good as any back in the country, you just have to keep him healthy, and for a second straight week he was a beast, 22 carries for 128 yards and a touchdown, plus five receptions for 80, as in 208 total yards.
Rutgers got a big game out of running back Kyle Monangai, 24-159. And Rutgers outgained OSU for the game, 361-328.
No. 2 Georgia is 9-0 and SEC championship game bound, 30-21 winners over 12 Missouri (7-2), clinching the SEC East. I watched this one entirely as well, and Mizzou was tough, but quarterback Brady Cook threw two interceptions.
4 Florida State (9-0) beat Pitt (2-7) 24-7.
In a biggie in the Pac-12, 5 Washington (9-0) took charge in the conference standings with a wild 52-42 win at 20 USC (7-3), the Huskies now headed to a Pac-12 title showdown with Oregon, at least as of today.
Washington led 35-28 at the half and ended up outgaining the Trojans 572-515, yes, another pathetic effort by the USC defense, all on coach Lincoln Riley.
USC wasted a super effort from Caleb Williams, 27/35, 312, 3-0, plus a touchdown rushing, while for Washington, the star wasn’t Michael Penix Jr., but running back Dillon Johnson, who carried it 26 times for a staggering 256 yards and four TDs. This guy’s previous high this year was an even 100 yards.
So the Huskies got their mojo back, after two lackluster efforts the prior two weeks.
The aforementioned No. 6 Oregon Ducks (8-1) stayed Pac-12 and CFP eligible with a rousing 63-19 effort against Cal (3-6). My personal Heisman pick, Bo Nix, was 29/38, 386, 4-1, with receiver Tez Johnson catching 12 of Nix’s throws for 180 yards and two scores.
A Pac-12 title game rematch with Washington, for a bid in the CFP, would be rather delicious.
7 Texas stayed CFP relevant at 8-1, hanging on in overtime to beat 23 Kansas State (6-3). K-State had hit a 45-yard field goal at 0:01 in regulation to tie it.
Texas then kicked a 42-yard field goal in overtime, and stopped K-State on fourth down, the Wildcats correctly going for the win on the road rather than take their chances in a second OT.
Then we had 8 Alabama hosting 14 LSU, and Bama is headed towards an SEC title matchup with Georgia after a 42-28 win over the Tigers (6-3).
This was the third game I watched in its entirety, a tale of two fantastic performances by Bama quarterback Jalen Milroe, 15/23, 219 passing, 20-155-4 on the ground (the four touchdowns rushing a record for an Alabama QB), and for LSU, the great Jayden Daniels, 15/24, 219, 2-1 through the air, 11-163-1 rushing.
Milroe is making tremendous strides each week following his early-season benching, and Daniels is simply the most electric player in the game (even more so than Caleb Williams).
But after LSU took a 28-21 lead early in the third quarter, Bama (8-1) stiffened up and Daniels was forced out of the game for concussion protocol on a late hit. Here’s hoping Jayden doesn’t miss any action.
Unfortunately for college football fans, LSU is no longer in the New Year’s Six hunt, but whichever bowl game gets the Tigers has struck gold. Hopefully something like the Gator Bowl.
And give Nick Saban credit for figuring it out at Bama as well. They are right where they need to be.
9 Oklahoma’s CFP hopes went up in flames at 22 Oklahoma State, 27-24, both teams now 7-2, after this last matchup in their historic “Bedlam” series, which is sad, but I’m sure it will get resurrected, maybe every four years, something like that.
The Cowboys and Texas are the only two at 5-1 in the Big 12.
10 Ole Miss (8-1), whose only loss is to Alabama, beat Texas A&M (5-4) 38-35, with a 75-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes. Jaxson Dart threw for 387 yards for Lane Kiffin’s Rebels.
11 Penn State (8-1) defeated Maryland (5-4) 51-16.
13 Louisville (8-1) is headed towards an ACC title game showdown with Florida State after a 34-3 win over Virginia Tech (4-5).
The Sam Hartman Era should be over as 15 Notre Dame (7-3) lost at Clemson (5-4), 31-23, Hartman throwing two interceptions, including a Pick Six, while Phil Mafah, filling in for an injured Will Shipley, rushed for a career-high 186 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries.
Time for ND coach Marcus Freeman to give backup QB Steve Angeli the reins. Hartman has all seven interceptions he’s thrown this season in the last four games. Was it worth transferring out of Wake Forest like he did? He made at least $1 million in the deal, so I guess so. Has he impressed NFL scouts more than he would have staying one more year at Wake, I doubt it.
I do have to add this was a bit of sweet revenge for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney after his epic rant during the week (see Bar Chat Add-on if you missed it).
16 Oregon State is 7-2 after a 26-19 win over Colorado (4-5), Coach Prime struggling to keep it together down the stretch.
17 Tennessee (7-2) was a 35.5-point favorite over UConn (1-8) and they easily covered, 59-3.
18 Utah walloped Arizona State (2-7), the Utes 7-2.
21 Kansas is 7-2 after a 28-21 win over Iowa State (5-4).
Arizona (6-3) should finally be ranked after a 27-10 win over 19 UCLA (6-3), who lost their first two quarterbacks to injuries in the contest.
Which brings us to the battle for the Group of Five, New Year’s Six bid.
To prove to you I really do write some comments before the game writeups, let alone the new AP Poll, look at what I said about Air Force and the CFP ranking them behind Tulane.
I guess the CFP knew something. Army (3-6) beat 25 Air Force 23-3, as the Falcons committed six turnovers, four of them by quarterback Zac Larrier.
Army only had 253 yards of offense, but it didn’t matter.
What a massive letdown for Air Force fans, the team suffering its first loss, 8-1, and they’ll now fly out of rankings.
Meanwhile, 24 Tulane (8-1) is in the driver’s seat after a 13-10 road win at East Carolina (1-8).
In other games….
Boston College is 6-3 after a 17-10 win at Syracuse (4-5).
Nebraska (4-5) lost to Iowa (7-2), 10-7, in a total shitshow played at Wrigley Field. The field was a mess, loose turf all over, players unable to gain traction, and the Cornhuskers outgained the Hawkeyes a whopping 170-169!
Johnny Mac’s Coastal Carolina is bowl eligible, 6-3, after a 28-24 win over Old Dominion. Ethan Vasko, subbing at QB for the injured Grayson McCall, ran the ball 21 times for 170 yards and a touchdown.
The Group of Five, New Year’s Six bid is not all Tulane’s to lose, as James Madison and Liberty are both now 9-0. JMU beat Georgia State 42-14, while Liberty defeated Louisiana Tech 56-30, with former Wake Forest running back Quinton Cooley going off for 179 yards and two touchdowns for the Flames.
So speaking of Wake Forest, it’s time to discuss Thursday’s game at Duke, where it seemed there were about 800 fans in the stands in Durham, for whatever reason. If this game had happened last night, my tone would have been different, but time heals some wounds, though far from all.
Wake had this game in the bag, from the beginning, as Duke quarterback Riley Leonard and his backup were out with injuries, so Duke was starting its third-string quarterback, Grayson Loftus, who played like a third-string QB, 7/19, 86, 1-1.
Wake outgained Duke 400-267, and much-maligned quarterback Mitch Griffis had some good moments, 16/19, 241, 0-1, with two touchdowns rushing (the interception, though, was horrendous).
But we found a way to freakin’ lose, 24-21, on a last-second Duke field goal after our cornerback, DaShawn Jones, committed two awful 15-yard penalties that allowed the Blue Devils to maneuver down the field for a 26-yard chippie as time expired.
Our usually solid kicker, Matthew Dennis, turned into Graham Gano and missed two very easy field goals badly.
As in Wake should have won this game…and instead fell to 4-5, Duke 6-3. I was never more furious than I was Thursday night. And now after writing this up, I’ll all torqued off again!
Well…now your new AP Poll, with the CFP to follow Tuesday night on ESPN….
And we have some big developments at the bottom. No change in first nine.
1. Oregon (49) 9-0
2. Michigan (9) 9-0
3. Ohio State (3) 9-0
4. Florida State (2) 9-0
5. Washington 9-0
6. Oregon 8-1…quack quack
7. Texas 8-1
8. Alabama 8-1
9. Penn State 8-1
10. Ole Miss 8-1
11. Louisville 8-1
12. Oregon State 7-2
13. Utah 7-2
14. Tennessee 7-2
15. Oklahoma State 7-2…weren’t ranked in AP last week
16. Missouri 7-2
17. Oklahoma 7-2…down 7
18. LSU 6-3
19. Kansas 7-2
20. Tulane 8-1
21. James Madison 9-0
22. Notre Dame 7-3
23. Arizona 6-3
24. North Carolina 7-2
25. Liberty 9-0
USC out for the first time under Lincoln Riley. What a disaster.
So where will the CFP rank JMU and Liberty? If at all….
Ole Miss at Georgia, Michigan at Penn State highlight next week’s schedule.
NFL
--Talk about a giant non-event, that’s what the NFL trade deadline was. Washington offloaded talented defensive ends Montez Sweat* to Chicago and Chase Young to San Francisco, smartly, before having to pay either a second contract, and they picked up a second- and third-round pick for the two.
Young, after being the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft has been often hurt and an underachiever, though he’s been OK this season. Sweat has been solid, but the Commanders would no doubt have to overpay him to keep him out of free agency and they got a second-round pick for him. At 3-5, the organization realized they weren’t playoff bound this season and time to get something in return for the two.
*Sweat and the Bears then agreed to a four-year, $98 million contract extension on Saturday that includes more than $72 million in guarantees.
Meanwhile, the big loser of the trade deadline was 30-year-old superstar wide receiver Davante Adams, who remains stuck in Las Vegas.
So, the Commanders played the Patriots this afternoon in Foxborough and Washington won, 20-17, to move to 4-5, the godawful Pats 2-7.
--The Rams were in Green Bay and there is a lot of talk among the Packers faithful as to whether Jordan Love is, or can be, the answer at QB. When Green Bay started out 2-1 this year, Love threw seven touchdowns and just one interception. But since then, the Packers lost four straight and Love had four touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Today?
Love started out slowly but finished hot, 20/26, 228, 1-0, 115.5, as the Packers (3-5) easily handled the Matthew Stafford-less Rams (3-6) 20-3.
--The Vikings, in Week One of the Post-Kirk Cousins era, had rookie Jaren Hall making the start at Atlanta, and he was 5/6, 78 yards before exiting with a concussion in the first quarter, newly-acquired Joshua Dobbs coming in and wouldn’t you know, Dobbs was terrific, 20/30, 158, 2-0, 101.8, plus 66 yards and a touchdown on the ground, Minnesota (5-4) pulling it out over the Falcons (4-5), 31-28, for their fourth win in a row. Good for them.
--The Ravens may have found a new weapon, rookie running back Keaton Mitchell out of East Carolina, who in his first real action of the season had nine carries for 138 yards and a touchdown, as Baltimore (7-2) destroyed Seattle (5-3) at home, 37-3. If Mitchell’s for real, and no reason to believe he might not be, there is your Super Bowl Champion! Book it…obviously, as long as Lamar Jackson stays healthy, and he was a bit gimpy today, though quite effective, 21/26 for 187 yards and another 60 on the ground.
Baltimore, with the best defense in the NFL, by points allowed (Cleveland is first in yards per game), held Seattle to 151 total yards.
--Speaking of Trader George’s Browns, they are 5-3 after a 27-0 whitewash of the pathetic Cardinals (1-8), Cleveland holding Arizona to 58 yards of total offense!
Deshaun Watson was 19/30, 219, 2-0, 107.5, for the Browns.
Here’s the thing. Arizona is clearly headed towards the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Caleb Williams’ father has already threatened that Caleb might stay another year at USC if he doesn’t like the team he’s going to. I’d believe him…because as you know, Williams is making $millions (plural) at USC! Of course he’d be risking serious injury in another college season, but he’s not going to an Arizona organization that sucks!
Now if Williams makes it clear he’s not going to the Cardinals, the Cardinals can still draft him and move him on Draft Day for a king’s ransom.
Just musing…not too early to do so.
--Kansas City (7-2) defeated Miami (6-3) 21-14 in Frankfurt, Germany this morning, as the Chiefs held Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to just 104 yards receiving, combined, Hill (8-62), stripped of the ball after one of his receptions, fumble recovered by K.C. for a touchdown.
Patrick Mahomes was 20/30, but for only 185 yards, while Travis Kelce had just three receptions for 14 yards.
--Speaking of Vegas, the Giants are playing the Raiders there as I go to post, the first game after the Raiders fired both head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler on Wednesday.
“After much thought about what the Raiders need to move forward, I have decided to part ways with Josh and Dave. I want to thank them both for their hard work and wish them and their families nothing but the best,” owner Mark Davis said in a statement.
McDaniels, who joined the team last year, went 6-11 in 2022 and started this season 3-5 after losing on “Monday Night Football” to the Lions in Week 8.
Ziegler also joined in 2022.
The Giants received bad news Saturday as tight end Darren Waller and backup QB Tyrod Taylor were placed on injured reserve, meaning both are out at least four games. But Daniel Jones was returning today.
--Thursday night, Pittsburgh improved to 5-3 with a 20-16 win over Tennessee. Kenny Pickett had his fourth career go-ahead touchdown pass (this one to Diontae Johnson) within the final 5 minutes of regulation. That’s the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2022. And he only has 13 career touchdown passes.
Will Levis drove Tennessee to the Pittsburgh 19-yard line late, but Kwon Alexander picked off Levis’ pass into the end zone to seal it.
It’s Pittsburgh’s eighth straight win in a one-possession game, the longest such streak in team history.
And Pittsburgh also continues to win ugly. They’re the only team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to have a winning record through eight games despite being outgained every game.
--The Jets are hosting the Chargers on MNF tomorrow. They desperately need a wide receiver, some offensive line help, and a veteran backup QB, but none of that was forthcoming as the Jets stood pat at the trade deadline. Granted, it isn’t easy making trades mid-season, so many other teams looking for the same things, but not the greatest signal sent to Jets fans.
MLB
--Since I last posted, Texas won Games 4 and 5 in Arizona, 11-7, 5-0, taking the World Series 4-1.
In Game 5, Zac Gallen for the Diamondbacks and the Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi matched zeroes through six, Gallen with a no-hitter, while Eovaldi yielded four hits and five walks, but Arizona was 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position while Eovaldi was out there.
Gallen then yielded an RBI single to Mitch Garver in the seventh and exited but it was still just 1-0 heading to the top of the ninth, when D’Backs closer Paul Sewald imploded for a second straight outing in the Series and Texas won it, 5-0, as Aroldis Chapman and Josh Sborz finished the job for the Rangers.
Corey Seager won his second World Series MVP award and may soon add the AL MVP hardware. Seager had three home runs and six RBIs, while playing a scintillating shortstop. Overall in the playoffs, he had six home runs, 12 RBIs and a 1.133 OPS.
His double-play partner, Marcus Semien, homered in the ninth in Game 5, as well as homering and driving in 5 runs in the 11-7 Game 4 triumph, and Semien ended up playing in not just all 17 playoff games, but all 162 during the regular season.
In fact, Semien has played 161 or 162 games in each of the last four full seasons.
He ended up with 835 plate appearances, regular season and playoffs, breaking Lenny Dykstra’s record set in 1993.
And, of course, it was Semien and Seager who both signed big contracts to come to Texas in the 2021 offseason; Seager $325 million over 10 years, Semien $175 million over seven.
Two years later, Texas is your World Series champion, 13-4 in the postseason, 11-0 in road games.
Back to Eovaldi, he joined Stephen Strasburg (2019) as the only pitchers to go 5-0 in a single postseason.
But 2023 doesn’t happen without the Rangers hiring Bruce Bochy last October. The steady leader earned his fourth ring. Bochy made the Rangers champions.
For the record, two getting rings and perhaps some fans saying they don’t deserve them, though of course they do…are Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom.
Scherzer: 4-2, 3.20 in 8 regular season starts for the Rangers.
DeGrom: 2-0, 2.67, in six starts.
They get rings. That’s the way it works.
But the problem for Texas is they are on the hook for $22.5 million with Scherzer next year (the Mets paying $20.8 million), and, get this, deGrom is owed $155 million, 2024-2027!
As they say in the ‘burbs, that’s their problem, not mine.
I was very happy for Texas outfielder Travis Jankowski, the 32-year-old part-time player and former Met who had a solid season as a fourth outfielder for the Rangers and then stepped up when Adolis Garcia was sidelined with his oblique injury; two hits, two runs and two RBIs in Game 4.
--I think the baseball playoff format is just fine. All three 100-win teams – the Orioles, Dodgers and Braves – were eliminated in the divisional round and that’s just tough.
If you don’t want the division winners to have such a long layoff, six days from the end of the regular season, then go back to sudden-death wild-card games, which I have no problem with either.
--It’s now baseball’s juicy offseason, the Hot Stove League, and Mets and Yankees fans are hoping for big changes, Mets fans first wondering who the new manager will be. Craig Counsel isn’t necessarily a lock.
I was surprised the White Sox declined the option on Tim Anderson’s contract, making the shortstop a free agent. I’d sign the guy for two years.
Cody Bellinger hit the free agent market after declining the Cubs’ mutual option. His contract is going to be very interesting.
NBA
--In another year or so we’re all going to be saying, “It’s Victor Wembanyama’s world, and we’re all just living in it.” The 7’4” budding superstar poured in 38 points Thursday night in just his fifth NBA game as the Spurs beat the Suns, 132-121.
Wembanyama shot 15-of-26 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3. The 2023 No. 1 pick added 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
--The NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament started Friday. The 30 teams are broken up into six groups of five teams.
Each team plays four group stage games (one against every other team in their group).
The group winners and two “wild card” teams advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds.
All games except the championship count towards teams’ regular-season record.
The prizes are the brand-new NBA Cup and significant monetary awards for players on teams that advance past the group stage.
--The Knicks are off to a miserable 2-4 start, and as I noted last time, as Julius Randle goes, so goes the team, and his start to the season is beyond awful.
In the Knicks’ 95-89 loss at home to Cleveland on Wednesday, Randle was 3-of-15 from the field, 0-for-6 from 3. In Friday’s 110-105 loss at Milwaukee, Randle was 5-of-20, 1-for-9 from beyond the arc, the Knicks wasting a 45-point effort from Jalen Brunson.
The Knicks were a combined 15-for-69 from 3 in the two losses and are shooting an NBA-worst 39.9% from the field, 32.4% from downtown.
But Randle is shooting 27.1% from the field (26-96), 22.5% from 3 (9-40).
--We note the passing of North Carolina and NBA great Walter Davis, who died Thursday at the age of 69. He died of natural causes while visiting family in Charlotte, the university announced.
Davis is regarded as one of the best shooters to ever put on a Tar Heels uniform, a two-time All-ACC honoree. In his senior season, 1976-77, he led UNC to an ACC Tournament title and NCAA championship game appearance, where the Tar Heels lost to Marquette (personally, my freshman year at Wake Forest, where we lost in the Elite Eight to Marquette).
Davis finished his career in Chapel Hill with 1,863 points, 670 rebounds and 409 assists while playing for head coach Dean Smith. He then had an outstanding career in the NBA, 1977-1992, mostly with Phoenix, who tabbed him 5th overall in the 1977 NBA Draft. Davis went on to become Rookie of the Year, averaging 24.2 points per game, and he was a six-time All-Star, scoring 20+ six seasons, and averaging 18.9 ppg for his career, with an outstanding .511% field goal percentage.
The 6’6” shooting guard/small forward was smooth.
In 1974, as a freshman, Davis led a miraculous comeback in the final 17 seconds of a game against Duke, down eight points, with Davis capping it off with a game-tying jumper as the buzzer went off, North Carolina going on to win in overtime, one of the more memorable games in Carolina history.
Davis also won a gold medal as part of the U.S. team at the 1976 Olympics. At North Carolina he shot .531% from the field.
--College Basketball starts Monday!
Remembering Bob “Bobby” Knight
John Feinstein / Washington Post
“There was almost no one neutral on the subject of Robert Montgomery Knight, who died Wednesday at 83, after being ravaged by dementia for several years. Many swore by him; many swore at him. He was an emotional and intense person who inspired great emotions and intensity.
“Let’s begin with the easy part: He was a great basketball coach. He won 902 games at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech, retiring as the all-time winningest Division I men’s basketball coach – surpassed later by his pupil Mike Krzyzewski and a handful of others. He won three national titles, went to Final Fours and won an Olympic gold medal. His first national championship team in 1976 is the last Division I men’s team to go undefeated. Knight almost never drank, but each winter when the last undefeated team went down he would treat himself to a sangria and ginger ale.
“When the Hoosiers finished their undefeated 1976 season, Knight walked out of the Philadelphia Spectrum with his pal Bob Hammel, sports editor of the Bloomington Herald-Times. Hammel remembered being thrilled and saying to Knight, ‘You did it, you did it, you won the championship!’
“Knight’s response? ‘Shoulda been two.’ He was still upset that his 1975 team had finished 31-1, losing in the regional final to Kentucky. Knight never got over losses – it was part of his greatness as a coach and his frequent unhappiness as a person.
“Knight was an almost Shakespearean character: brilliant, thoughtful and tragically flawed. In the late 1980s, he happened to show up on a rare evening when high school recruit Calbert Cheaney had a bad night. He upbraided his assistants for dragging him to see a player clearly not good enough for Indiana. They explained he had caught Cheaney on a bad night and should see him play again. Knight told them he wouldn’t waste any more time, nor should they.
“Cheaney committed to Evansville – coached by Jim Crews, who had played on Indiana’s 1976 team and coached under Knight for eight years. Knight was at a summer camp game a few months later and saw Cheaney again. This time, the real Calbert Cheaney showed up.
“ ‘Why aren’t we recruiting that kid?’ Knight asked his assistants.
“The assistants told him he had ordered them not to recruit Cheaney. ‘Why don’t you just give him a call and see if he might have any interest in Indiana?’ Knight said.
“Cheaney, quite naturally, was thrilled. He chose Indiana, was the star of Knight’s last Final Four team in 1992 and is still the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer. Crews was stunned that his old coach had recruited a player who had committed to him.
“ ‘If some other coach did that to me, you’d call him every name in the book,’ Crews said to Knight. ‘I know coaches do this sort of thing, but how could you do this to me?’
“Knight responded by telling Crews he would be nothing in basketball if not for him. Crews finally said, ‘You know something, Coach; The saddest part of your life is that you treat your enemies better than you treat your friends.’
“The truth in that statement is very sad. Although they all stayed publicly loyal to Knight to the end, he got into huge fights with, among others, Krzyzewski, former Indiana star Steve Alford, longtime assistant coaches Ron Felling and Dan Dakich and – far less importantly – me.”
Feinstein wrote the book “A Season on the Brink,” with Knight giving him full access. Feinstein’s first book, about Indiana’s 1985-86 season, became a No. 1 bestseller.
“Not once did Knight back away from the access, even during some difficult moments for his team. Although he didn’t speak to me for eight years after the book’s publication – upset, of all things, with seeing profanity in the book – he eventually decided to ‘forgive’ me, and we had a distant though cordial relationship for the rest of his life.
“He could be cruel, and he could be downright mean. There were times, though, when he was as loyal of a friend as you could have. I saw both sides.”
Matt Schudel / Washington Post
“In the first basketball game he coached, Bob Knight lost his temper and broke his clipboard. It was only a junior varsity high school game in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, but it wouldn’t be the last time that the objects and people around him felt his wrath.
“During a coaching career of more than 40 years. Mr. Knight was one of the most complicated and polarizing figures in sports….
“(Victory) never seemed to be enough for the mercurial Mr. Knight… When Indiana won the NCAA tournament in 1976, 1981 and 1987, Knight was hailed as a brilliant coach and a master of motivation. As he drove his team toward perfection, he demanded absolute control. His voice was the only one heard at practice.
“ ‘Remember this, boys,’ he told his team in 1985. ‘There’s only one drummer you can listen to and that’s me.’
“When his expectations were not met – whether by players, referees, sportswriters or university officials – he exploded in furious and profane tirades. During a game in 1985, he flung a chair across the court in anger, leading to a two-year probation from the Big Ten Conference.
“The 6-foot-5 Knight wielded intimidation as a coaching tool. He choked at least one of his players in practice, head-butted another and once during a game appeared to kick a member of his team – his own son.
“ ‘My players put up with me,’ he told the Washington Post in 1985, ‘because they know that when I do things, even when I do things that I consider distasteful, I do it because I’m trying to help them be the best thing they can be, whatever it is. And I have enough of an ego to think I know better than anyone – professors, girlfriends, the guy in the dorm – what’s best for them.’
“His team used an unselfish ‘motion offense,’ constantly passing and setting screens to find an open shot. Above all, though, his Hoosiers were known for their relentless man-to-man defense, which frustrated opponents, forced them into mistakes and inevitably wore down their will.
“ ‘The average coach wants his team to score points,’ Knight told Sports Illustrated in 1981. ‘It’s his character, his machismo, whatever you want to call it, that’s at stake. So if I make a coach concerned enough about my defense stopping his offense, then he’ll forget about my offense.’
“Off the court, he ran a clean, scandal-free program, and more than 95 percent of his players who completed four years of eligibility received their degrees. He received his sport’s highest honor – election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – in 1991, midway through his career.
“Yet, for all his accolades and accomplishments, Knight was incapable of curbing his temper or his tongue.
“ ‘He can be as charming as anybody in the world or he can be the biggest horse’s ass in the world,’ Harold Andreas, the coach who hired Knight for his first job in Cuyahoga Falls, told Sports Illustrated in 1981.
“Knight railed against changing standards in sports and society, including the role of women. In a 1988 interview, he told NBC newscaster Connie Chung, “If rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.’
“He apologized for some of his transgressions, but his anger and menacing sense of defiance never abated. As his hair grew whiter and he dropped the boyish nickname of ‘Bobby’ in favor of ‘Bob,’ he remained unrepentant. His greatest enemy was always himself.
“ ‘I see absolutely no reason to change my ways,’ he said in March 2000.”
Weeks later, a video surfaced from three years earlier showing Knight choking one of his players, Neil Reed, by the throat during a practice.
Then that September, as Knight walked on campus, a freshman student said something to Knight that he found disrespectful, he grabbed the student by the arm, cursing him out, and within days, citing a “pattern of unacceptable behavior,” the university president, Myles Brand, fired Knight.
Matt Schudel:
“For years, Knight had stalked the sidelines in a plaid sports coat or red sweater. Not only had he brought championships and glory to the state, but he had raised millions of dollars for the university, including $5 million for the library.
“To some, he was a hero; to others, a disgrace. But, after 29 years as the basketball genius of Indiana, he was out of a job….
“Players and coaches who had stood by him began to turn against him. Dan Dakich, who spent 16 years playing and coaching under Knight, called him ‘a miserable human being.’
“ ‘I lost respect for him when he didn’t come back for his 1976 championship team,’ Dakich told sportscaster Dan Patrick in 2017. ‘Indiana was always about ‘us,’ the team…but he made me think…it’s really about him and his feelings.’”
Hall of Famer Bill Walton wrote in Time magazine in 2000: “Why is (Knight) so angry? He is who he is: a coach whose success is based on bullying and intimidating people. His style is rooted in boorish behavior, with which he psychologically terrorizes his players for his own benefit.”
But to close on a positive, whether Bob Knight deserves it or not, in 1981, when Landon Turner – who had helped deliver Knight’s second national title a few months before – was paralyzed in a car accident, and it was Knight who helped make sure he was cared for the rest of his days.
Mike Vaccaro / New York Post…in an interview with former Indiana player, Knicks coach and now coach at Indiana, Mike Woodson, Woodson told him:
“There are a lot of stories (like the Landon Turner one), and even I only know some of them. He was adamant about going to class. He was adamant that we lived with class. He used to tell us when we’d play a program that he knew was cheating, ‘They may drive better cars than you do, but you’re better men than they are.’ And we believed every word.’”
Growing up as a huge sports fan, I liked Bobby Knight, mainly because the program was scandal-free, and I loved charismatic figures like him. The press was also full of stories back then that despite his hard-ass nature, his players loved him and they stayed. They would tell stories later in life of how he made them better people.
But then things changed, societal attitudes changed, by the mid-1990s, and Bob Knight hadn’t. His players began to transfer, fed up with his act.
I was going to say that Bob Knight was as complicated a figure in the last 50 years as anyone in American life, not just sports.
But was it really that complicated?
NHL
--Thursday, the San Jose Sharks lost at home to the Vancouver Canucks, 10-1, their worst home defeat in franchise history.
Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes had a goal and four assists for a career-high five-point game, joining Jeff Brown as the only defensemen in Canucks history to score five points in a contest.
The Sharks fell to 0-9-1, sitting last in the NHL.
But get this, last night they lost again, 10-2! to Pittsburgh. Not only was this an NHL record-tying 11th straight loss to start the season for San Jose, but they are the first team to allow 10 or more goals in consecutive games since the Boston Bruins in 1965.
San Jose has only scored 12 goals this season, and its minus-43 goal differential is the worst for an NHL team ever through 11 games.
Meanwhile, the 2023 Bruins are once again off to a smokin’ start, 9-1-1, while my Rangers are 8-2-1, after a terrific 6-game winning streak, five of which were on a long road trip out West.
But the Vegas Golden Knights are 11-0-1.
--After the death of former Penguin Adam Johnson, Pittsburgh said they are exploring options for players to wear neck protection gear as soon as possible. Coach Mike Sullivan said they hope to at least implement the guards at practice and no doubt other NHL teams will follow suit.
Golf Balls
--The PGA Tour’s Fall Season continued this weekend at Tiger Woods’ new course in Los Cabos, Mexico, the World Wide Technology Championship, and after three rounds, two old familiar faces, one of whom had disappeared, were at the top of the leaderboard.
Camilo Villegas -19
Matt Kuchar -19
Erik van Rooyen -18
Mackenzie Hughes -17
Will Gordon -17
Justin Suh -17
It is the first time since 2017 that two players aged 40 or older share the 54-hole lead on Tour.
Kuchar, 45, is seeking his first PGA Tour title since the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2019, but he is the only man to have made it to the FedEx Cup Playoffs each year they’ve been contested (17).
Villegas, 41, has won four times but the last one was in 2014. Sadly, he and his wife lost their 22-month-old daughter back in 2020 to brain tumors. He had been in the golfing wilderness for years prior, and then after, but he has vowed to recommit himself and there have been little signs here and there his game is coming around. It’s kind of wild to think back to 2008, when he won The Tour Championship, that he was just about as popular as anyone in the game.
As I go to post, Kuchar leads by one over Suh and Villegas through 13.
--Alan Shipnuck has written a book on the LIV Golf Tour, “LIV And Let Die,” and I like his observations about Greg Norman, when interviewed by the Irish Times’ Malachy Clerkin:
“Greg Norman makes a good bad guy,” Shipnuck says. “Dan Jenkins had the famous line, ‘He looks like the guy they send to kill James Bond.’ And he’s got this massive ego. He’s been raging against the machine for three decades. So, perfect bad guy.
“I spent a lot of time reading about him and talking to people around him. And it’s like he’s always had this hole that he couldn’t fill, no matter what he accomplished. The guy’s got everything – he’s obviously fabulously wealthy, incredibly good looking. He’s a Hall of Fame golfer. Why can’t he just be happy? [Ed. See Bobby Knight.]
“He had this incredibly cold, complex relationship with his dad. After he boots away the 1996 Masters, the biggest choke job in the history of golf, he goes into the clubhouse and he tells them about that hug he got from Nick Faldo. He said it was the best hug of his life and that his dad never hugged him. And you’re like, ‘Oh my god, this guy has blown up professional golf because his dad wouldn’t hug him!’ It’s unbelievable. But it’s also so human.”
--As for the PGA Tour, Saudi Public Investment Fund (the backer of LIV Golf) alliance, a framework announced June 6, with a Dec. 31 deadline, as I previously noted the two were not close to a final agreement.
Davis Love III, who was tapped to help advise the PGA Tour on the deal, recently told Golfweek that he feels there’s no way the deal will be closed by Dec. 31, and that there has been no communication from the PIF.
“We made an offer,” Love said. “And if you don’t ever communicate, we can’t make another offer. It’s bizarre what’s going on. It’s a long way from anything. The sharks are circling. Now everyone wants to invest in the PGA Tour.”
Love is referring to the Tour apparently turning down an investment from major entertainment company Endeavor. Others are said to be interested.
One thing that is impacting negotiations now is the Israel-Gaza war. The PGA Tour made a statement early on supporting Israel, and the Saudis of course side with the Palestinians.
I wish the Tour would take a major investment from someone like Endeavor (a holding company for talent and media agencies, and a majority owner of the WWE and UFC, with the well-known Ari Emanuel as CEO, a great partner, in my eyes).
Doing so would help get the Justice Department off the Tour’s back, and keep the sponsor’s in line, which is job No. 1, golf fans!
Premier League
Saturday, Manchester City destroyed Bournemouth 6-1, as 21-year-old Belgian Jeremy Doku had a goal and four assists.
Manchester United picked up a badly needed 1-0 win at Fulham.
Newcastle had a huge 1-0 victory over Arsenal.
Today, Liverpool had a bad 1-1 draw on the road at 17 Luton.
Monday, Tottenham hosts Chelsea.
Stuff
--Talk about a downer, the $6-million Breeders’ Cup Classic Saturday at Santa Anita was missing a ton of star power. Not one horse in the Classic has won a Triple Crown race. The field of 12 has a grand total of five Grade 1 or Group 1 wins this year.
Normally, the Classic is the last race on the two-day card, but this year it was third-from-last so NBC could cut away to a college football pregame show that leads into the Michigan-Purdue game.
Arcangelo, winner of the Belmont and Travers stakes, was supposed to be in the race but was scratched and retired on Tuesday because of an issue with his left hind foot. Mage, winner of the Kentucky Derby, never made it to Santa Anita and was pulled from the race on Sunday after developing a fever. National Treasure, winner of the Preakness, ran in the Dirt Mile instead.
Geaux Rocket Ride was getting some attention after winning the Haskell Stakes, but he suffered a catastrophic injury last Saturday and was euthanized on Wednesday after the colt did not respond to surgery.
Forte, the Kentucky Derby favorite until he was scratched on race day, was pulled from the Classic last month after developing a quarter crack. He, too, has been retired.
So the favorite in the Classic ended up being Arabian Knight, a 3-year-old trained by Bob Baffert who missed the Triple Crown races and has won three of four lifetime starts, including the Pacific Classic at Del Mar.
But White Abarrio picked up support from the bettors before the race went off and White Abarrio prevailed, storming down the stretch to overtake Arabian Knight and finish ahead of Derman Sotogake and Proxy (Arabian Knight fourth).
This was the return to big-time race for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., who had served a 10-year suspension that began in 2013 after exhausting all his appeals fighting numerous charges regarding medication and administrative violations, including the discovery of syringes filled with unauthorized medication in his barn. Irad Ortiz was up on White Abarrio.
In the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, a supposed precursor for the Kentucky Derby, Fierceness (trainer Todd Pletcher, jockey John Velazquez, owner Mike Repole) won it by six lengths over Bob Baffert’s Muth.
But I didn’t realize that as heavily advertised as this race is, only two horses have won both the Juvenile and Kentucky Derby in the last 39 years!
So as Roseanne Roseannadanna would have said, “Never mind…”
--Nancy Armour / USA TODAY
“Tommy Tuberville’s incompetence would be laughable if it wasn’t so dangerous. And now, offensive.
“Not content with hamstringing the military by holding up promotions, the Republican senator from Alabama has stooped to insulting high-ranking officers, too, having the audacity to liken the stress a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff faces with what he endured as a college football coach.
“You read that right. Tuberville thinks working 18 hours a day drawing up defensive schemes and mucking up his offensive coordinator’s game plan is comparable to the 18-plus hours a day Gen. Eric Smith was working to protect the United States, our allies and, most importantly, the young men and women who serve.
“Smith, who is both the No. 1 and No. 2 person at the U.S. Marine Corps because of Tuberville’s performative antics, was hospitalized Sunday after an apparent heart attack.
“ ‘He’s got 2,000 people who work for him, OK? And somebody said he’s working 18 hours a day. Jack Reed blamed me for his heart attack,’ Tuberville said Thursday, referring to the Rhode Island senator who, unlike Tuberville, knows a little about the demands of military service after being a platoon leader, company commander and battalion officer during eight years of active duty in the U.S. Army.
“ ‘Come on, give me a break,’ Tuberville continued. ‘This guy’s going to work 18, 20 hours a day no matter what. That’s what we do. You know, I did that for years because you’ve got to get the job done.’
“Ah yes. The life-and-death decisions Smith has to make are exactly the same as what Tuberville faced when he had third-and-eight in the red zone and was trailing by five. Or needed to hire a new running backs coach.
“Yep. Exactly the same.
“Tuberville’s arrogance in comparing his former job to that of Smith’s doesn’t come as a surprise, sadly. This is someone who had the hubris to think he was up to the task of being a U.S. Senator despite no previous record of public service. And no, being a football coach at a public university doesn’t count, even in SEC country.
“It was obvious Tuberville neither understood the gravity of his new position nor cared to try when, shortly after he was elected, he described the three branches of government as ‘the House, the Senate and the executive.’ They are, as any third-grader can tell you, the legislative, judicial and executive.
“Had Tuberville simply cast the occasional vote and collected his $174,000 salary – ‘every dime’ of which he once promised to donate to veterans, mind you, but apparently has not – his presence in the Senate still would have been an embarrassment. But it wouldn’t have been catastrophic.
“Which is what it’s become.”
--I watched some of the New York City Marathon today, and the runners had an absolutely perfect day, pleasant temperatures, little wind, and so no surprise that Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia won the men’s race in course record time, 2 hours, 4 minutes and 58 seconds, topping the 2:05.06 set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011.
Albert Korir of Kenya, who won the 2021 NYC Marathon, finished second nearly 2 minutes behind, so not an exciting finish.
As opposed to the stellar women’s field that went down to the wire, as Hellen Obiri of Kenya, who has a delightful personality, won it in 2:27.23, outsprinting two Ethiopian women.
Americans Kellyn Taylor and Molly Huddle ran well, finishing eighth and ninth, respectively.
But Obiri was also the winner of the Boston Marathon in April, and if I heard right, she is the first to win both in the same year since 1989.
Top 3 songs for the week 11/6/76: #1 “Rock’n Me” (Steve Miller) #2 “Disco Duck” (Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots) #3 “The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald” (Gordon Lightfoot)…and…#4 “If You Leave Me Now” (Chicago) #5 “’Love So Right” (Bee Gees) #6 “Muskrat Love” (Captain & Tennille) #7 “She’s Gone” (Daryl Hall & John Oates) #8 “Tonight’s The Night” (Rod Stewart…and Britt Ekland…) #9 “Magic Man” (Heart) #10 “Just To Be Close To You” (Commodores…good tune…B week…)
Baseball Quiz Answer: Six managers with four or more World Series rings….
Joe McCarthy 7, Casey Stengel 7, Connie Mack 5, Walter Alston 4, Joe Torre 4, Bruce Bochy 4.
I’ll have a brief Add-on up top by early Tuesday evening.