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Bar Chat

10/07/2024

Baseball Playoffs...No. 1 Alabama falls to Vanderbilt...

Add-on posted early Tuesday a.m.

MLB Playoffs

--Sunday night, the Padres evened their series against the Dodgers in L.A. with a 10-2 romp, hitting six home runs, two by Fernando Tatis Jr., while 38-year-old Yu Darvish gave San Diego seven innings of one-run ball.

The Los Angeles fans went way over the line, their atrocious behavior leading to a 12-minute delay in the seventh inning.  Now the Padre fans can give the Dodgers a taste of their own medicine on Tuesday night in Game 3.  Just don’t throw stuff on the field!

--Monday, we had Game 2, Tigers-Guardians in Cleveland, and the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, he of the 18-4, 2.39 ERA, surefire AL Cy Young season, threw seven shutout innings.

And it was scoreless heading to the top of the ninth.  Cleveland had brought in phenomenal closer Emmanuel Clase to get the last out in the eighth, and Clase, allowing just five runs in 74 1/3 during the regular season (0.61 ERA), never more than one run in a single outing, gave up a 2-out, 3-run homer to Kerry Carpenter in the ninth.  Stunning.  The Tigers evened it up at 1-1, taking Game 2, 3-0.

--Monday night, the Royals took a 4-1 lead over the Yankees and starter Carlos Rodon and went on to win it, 4-2, evening their series at 1-1.  Aaron Judge was 1-for-3, an infield single, with a walk, and is now 37-for-178 in his playoff career, a .208 average.

The Yankees are 3-for-19 in the two games with runners in scoring position.  Game 3 in Kansas City, Wednesday.

NFL

--In late games Sunday, the Broncos are a surprising 3-2, 34-18 over the Raiders (2-3), as rookie QB Bo Nix had his finest game to date, 19/27, 206, 2-0, 117.2, plus a touchdown on the ground.

And the Cardinals (2-3) shocked the 49ers (2-3), 24-23, after trailing 23-10 at the half.

San Francisco wasn’t helped by the fact kicker Jake Moody left the game in the second quarter with a high right ankle sprain, which led to the 49ers eschewing a 44-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter and then they were stopped on fourth down.

Sunday night, in a game whose start was delayed 90 minutes by severe weather, the Cowboys improved to 3-2 with a 20-17 victory against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, Dak Prescott leading Dallas 70 yards for the winning drive, completing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Tolbert with just 20 seconds left in the game.

Prescott was a tale of two quarterbacks, 29/42, 352, 2-2, 90.6, plus a lost fumble...three turnovers in all, but gaudy numbers otherwise.

Dallas outgained Pittsburgh (3-2) 445-226.  Not a fun evening for Steelers fans, waiting all that time, having paid big money.

--Monday night, the Chiefs (5-0) defeated the Saints (2-3) 26-13, though Patrick Mahomes was again less than scintillating, 28/39, 331, 0-1, 86.6...his fourth straight game with a passer rating under 90.

Travis Kelce did have his second straight solid effort, 9 receptions for 70 yards.

Saints quarterback Derek Carr left the game in the fourth quarte with an apparent oblique injury.

Mahomes was without prime weapon wide receiver Rashee Rice, who is on the IL and will miss at least four games, though K.C. is optimistic over his long-term prospects.

--To go back to the Bills’ loss to the Texans 23-20, on a Kai Fairbairn 59-yard field goal as time expired...there was a lot of talk Sunday night and Monday morning around the league about the manner in which the Bills lost.

The game was tied 20-20 with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Texans punted from the 49-yard line to the Bills, and the ball was downed at the Bills 3-yard line.

Josh Allen and the Bills offense took the field with 32 seconds remaining.  Buffalo would drop back to pass on first down. Allen heaved a deep ball down the left sideline that was incomplete to rookie Keon Coleman.

At this point, Houston had all three timeouts.  Opting to run would have forced the Texans to burn all of them before getting the ball back.

The Bills then threw again on second down, another deep ball down the seam to Mack Hollins which was incomplete. At that point, 21 seconds remained, and all signs pointed toward the Bills running the ball to have the clock run down.  Instead, Allen dropped back to throw on third down, and another incompletion.

Buffalo punted on fourth down.  Sam Martin had to launch his kick with his heels on the back of the end zone.  The punt was returned into Bills territory on the 46-yard line.

Houston still had 16 seconds left and all three timeouts!  CJ Stroud completed a short pass to the Bills 41.  Fairbairn nailed the 59-yarder for the win.

Buffalo should have taken the game into OT.

Yup, Buffalo coach Sean McDermott is being second-guessed rather heavily.  He conceded Monday he could have done better. 

--Patriots captain Jabrill Peppers was arrested over the weekend on assault, strangulation and other charges following a disturbance at a home, police said Monday.

Peppers, 29, appeared for his arraignment Monday in Quincy District Court.  He’s also charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a Class ‘B’ substance believed to be cocaine, court records show.

Braintree police said they were called to a home for an altercation between two people early Saturday. The charges allege Peppers shoved a girlfriend to the ground, shoved her head into a wall, and put his hands around her neck to strangle her.  Police said she was treated at home for injuries to her face and knees.

Peppers was arrested and posted bail.

Sounds like a real ‘high character’ guy, as those around football often say about the players in the league.

Golf Balls

--Kevin Yu earned his first victory late Sunday at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss., the second of the eight fall PGA Tour events that settle the top 125 and who earns full playing privileges for 2025.

Yu, 26, defeated Beau Hossler in a playoff.  He became the third Taiwanese player to win on the PGA Tour.  Yu played his college golf at Arizona State, finishing third in the 2019 NCAA Division I men’s championship.

Hard-luck Keith Mitchell, long recognized for his fabulous swing and talent, led the event heading to the final round but bogeyed the final hole to finish tied for third with Lucas Glover.  

Bill Haas made the cut, but once again had a poor weekend, finishing T55.

Local boy Ryan McCormick did not make the cut.  He’s running out of time to have a magical moment or two to keep his tour card for next year.

--Speaking of tour cards, the Korn Ferry Tour season ended this weekend, and 30 PGA Tour cards were earned in the playoffs.

Stuff

--The playoffs continue in NASCAR and in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, they had the ‘big one,’ a record 28-car crash – the largest in the modern history of NASCAR – with five laps to go, overtime then setting up a duel between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Brad Keselowski, Stenhouse edging Keselowski in a dramatic finish, William Byron third.

It was Stenhouse’s fourth Cup Series win, his second at Talladega, and the third in team history for JTG Daugherty Racing, co-owned by former NBA star Brad Daugherty.

--This is rather gruesome.  An American tourist from South Dakota was on a dream diving vacation with friends in Indonesia, when she was eaten by a shark.

The body of the woman, 68, was found inside the shark’s stomach after she was swept out to sea by strong currents.

A fisherman caught the shark in East Timor on Sunday, and the woman was found dead inside.

“The shark was caught but it was not in normal health.  I thought it had swallowed plastic or a fishing net,” the fisherman said.  “It was cut open to find the problem and inside there were the remains of a woman.”

Local officials said the corpse was in a black wetsuit when it was recovered from the shark’s stomach.

It gets even more grisly, having to do with photos, but I’ll leave it at that.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday.

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[Posted Sunday p.m., prior to late baseball/football contests...]

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

College Football Quiz: From 1979-1994, BYU quarterbacks led Division I in passing yardage eight different times, six different QBs.  Name them.  Answer below.

MLB Playoffs

--To set up the weekend, the Tigers prevented the Astros from getting to their eighth straight ALCS, which is really amazing, beating Houston 3-1 and 5-2.

The Royals, beating the Orioles 1-0 and 2-1, ran Baltimore’s postseason losing streak to 10 straight games.

The Padres swept the Braves 4-0 and 5-4.

And then we had the Mets.  Having split their first two games with the Brewers in Milwaukee, winning the first on Tuesday, 8-4, after their stunning regular-season final day dramatics the day before in Atlanta, and coming up short in Game 2, Wednesday, 5-3, reliever Phil Maton blowing a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth, giving up two home runs, while the Mets were just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, we moved on to a deciding Game 3 Thursday night and the Mets bats were again silent. 

Frankly, us fans had zero hope.  Our solid reliever, Jose Butto, had yielded two solo home runs in the bottom of the seventh, Brewers up 2-0 after Jose Quintana had given the Mets six shutout innings in a clutch performance.

And we went to the top of the ninth, 2-0, the Mets up against stud closer Devin Williams.

But leading off, Francisco Lindor worked out a walk.  Huge. Mark Vientos, though, was struck out.  Brandon Nimmo then singled, Lindor to third...and it brought up Pete Alonso.

Yes, freakin’ Pete Alonso, about to become a free agent, yet he talked all season of wanting to sign with the Mets for the long term.

Only thing was, Alonso has done zippo!  Nothing of consequence, the entire season.  Yes, he had some numbers, but unless you followed the team everyday you didn’t know much of it was in meaningless situations.  There was no signature moment, nothing to make you (or Mets management) say, ‘Boy, we better sign this guy for 7, 8 years...give him $200 million+.’

And then it happened.  The reason why we love sports, and baseball, so much.  Out of nowhere, but in the back of everyone’s mind as Pete Alonso strode to the plate, he delivered a signature moment...a signature moment for the franchise to boot!  Home run to right field.  The Mets tacked on an insurance run and it ended 4-2 as manager Carlos Mendoza rolled the dice with David Peterson, a starter, to close it out in the ninth.  On to Philadelphia.

After Monday’s dramatics, to have this happen on Thursday was beyond comprehension for the Mets, owner Steve Cohen, and the long-suffering fans.

“I’m just happy,” Alonso said moments after, “that I came through for the boys.”

For a guy who let the pressure get to him all season, we now wondered if this was a huge weight off Alonso’s broad shoulders and would it free him up for the Phillies series?

Not quite, but the Mets staged another comeback Saturday afternoon/evening in Philly.

Former Met Zack Wheeler was electric for the Phillies, seven innings, just one hit, struck out 9, but walked four and the Mets gradually got his pitch count up, 111, and he was removed for the eighth, the Mets down 1-0, whereupon New York proceeded to get one hit after another off relievers Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm, five runs, seven singles, the Mets adding a run in the ninth, and winning 6-2.

Manager Carlos Mendoza’s strategy of using Kodai Senga as the starter worked.  Everyone in the stadium knew Senga would be pitch limited and he gave up a leadoff homer to Kyle Schwarber, but that was it for the Mets staff (until a meaningless run in the bottom of the ninth).

After Senga pitched two, David Peterson came in to throw three scoreless, Reed Garrett had two shutout innings, Phil Maton pitched a scoreless eighth, and Ryan Stanek finished it off.  Sterling effort, Senga showing he could be a contributor later in the series, or hopefully the NLCS.

--The Yankees took Game One of their series against the Royals at the Stadium, 6-5, Alex Verdugo with the tie-breaking single in the seventh, New York overcoming a poor effort from ace Gerrit Cole, 5 innings, 3 earned.  Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. was 0-for-5.  [Aaron Judge went 0-for-4.]

--The Guardians shutout the Tigers 7-0,  Starter Tanner Bibee went 4 2/3 and then the Cleveland bullpen took over.  As Johnny Mac said prior to the start of the series, those discounting the Guardians are nuts because of their outstanding pen, which then last night threw 4 1/3 hitless innings.

--At a press conference ahead of the Dodgers’ series against the Padres, Shohei Ohtani, making his first playoff appearance, was asked if he was “nervous,” to which Ohtani, with a bemused look on his face, said, “No.”  End of question.

And Ohtani proceeded to hit a 3-run homer in the second inning Saturday night, L.A. going on to take the opener 7-5, overcoming a poor effort from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 3 innings, 5 earned.  For San Diego, their ace, Dylan Cease, wasn’t any better, 3 1/3, also 5 earned.

--On to Sunday, and the Mets had a 3-0 lead over the Phillies heading to the bottom of the sixth on home runs by Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso.

But Luis Severino, who had pitched terrifically for New York, gave up a 2-run bomb to Bryce Harper and a solo shot to Nick Castellanos, 3-3.

Brandon Nimmo then hit a home run for New York, top of the seventh, 4-3, and the Mets’ bullpen maneuvered through the bottom of the seventh, Carlos Mendoza opting to bring in closer Edwin Diaz to get the final out in relief of Jose Butto, striking out Kyle Schwarber.

Mendoza was looking at the top of the lineup, and the bottom of the eighth, and after Diaz got Trea Turner to strike out, Harper walked, Castellanos single him to third, Bryson Stott tripled in two, the Phils plated another run, 6-4 heading to the top of the ninth, Diaz blew it.  Drat!

But Mark Vientos did it again...a 2-run homer off Strahm, 6-6...and the Phils win it in the bottom of the ninth on a Castellanos single, 7-6, after Tylor Megill had first and second, two outs, having walked Bryce Harper.

On to New York, Tuesday, 1-1.  A crazy, classic game.

--The Reds hired Terry Francona, 65, to manage the ballclub. Francona and the team agreed to a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth season.

Francona, a 2-time World Series champ with the Red Sox, returns to the game one year after he retired following his 23rd season as an MLB manager.

Francona left baseball for health reasons but said after taking the year off he’s fine and reenergized.  The Reds are loaded with young talent.  This could work.

--Bidding on Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 home run ball reached $1.83 million as of Thursday, with two weeks to go on the auction, making it the second most expensive home run ball of all time, surpassing Aaron Judge’s American League record 62nd home run ball.

Last week Ohtani’s 40th home run ball, which put him in the 40/40 club, sold for $251,320.

--Finally, I learned of Pete Rose’s passing Monday and there wasn’t enough time to do him justice for my early Tuesday morning Add-on, so while you all have now had your fill of Pete Rose obituaries, for the archives I have to get down some basics, understanding in the 25+ years of Bar Chat, I’ve already written a ton on the man.

Rose was a Rookie of the Year, MVP, 3-time World Series Champion, won three batting titles, 2X Gold Glove, 17-time All-Star, had 200 hits ten separate seasons, 10Xs scored 100 runs in a season, never struck out more than 76 times, 17 seasons of 150+ games (holding the record for most games in history, 3,562), hit .321 in 67 postseason games...and those record 4,256 hits, best ever (Ty Cobb, 4,189, the only other player with 4,000).

But as we know, Pete Rose was placed on the sport’s permanently ineligible list in 1989 amid allegations of gambling on MLB games.  In 2004, when his autobiography came out, he admitted to gambling on games as a manager, and in 2015, he admitted he gambled as a player.  He was never eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Rose also served time in federal prison for tax evasion.  And he was accused in 2017 of statutory rape committed in the 1970s.  In a nutshell, he wasn’t a good guy, but one helluva ballplayer, earning the nickname “Charlie Hustle.”

Jason Gay / Wall Street Journal

“Pete Rose predicted his own bittersweet ending.

“ ‘Would it be horrible if I died next week and they put me in the Hall of Fame next year?’ he asked in a recent, rollicking documentary, ‘Charlie Hustle and the Matter of Pete Rose.’

“ ‘That’s happened to a lot of people,’ Rose continued. ‘They forgive them when they die.’

“Rose died Monday at age 83, unforgiven, still excluded from baseball’s Hall of Fame. He remains ineligible for consideration, trapped on baseball’s banned list for his sin of betting on baseball games, a violation of ‘Rule 21’ he denied for years until finally confessing.  He wore it like a letter for the remainder of his life.

“A prediction: Rose will make it inside someday. He will be inducted posthumously, not only because he was one of the greatest ballplayers to ever live, but because Rose was right, eventually much is absolved, especially once the perpetrator is gone.  More time will pass, baseball’s institutional resistance will soften and voters will finally be given the chance, and they will nudge him through.

“Nothing about that feels heartening.  It’s sad....

“He explained his lifelong gambling obsession as competitive juice, and he always defended his baseball betting with a stern declaration: I only bet on my own team to win.  The counter was that it didn’t matter, that everyone knew it was brightly against the rules, and not betting on his team sent a message that could be exploited by nefarious parties.

“Since when could Rose be trusted to tell the whole story, anyway?  Over time, the obfuscation became as problematic as the allegations.”

Bruce Weber / New York Times

“A lifelong adrenaline junkie who often operated out of sheer gall, Rose was long known to baseball officials as a fevered horse player with a network of unsavory associates and a rumored out-of-control gambling habit. During his nonpareil career as a player, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds, his hometown team, he was warned repeatedly by major league officials to curtail his gambling, and in the late 1980s, Rose, then the Reds manager, was investigated by baseball to determine if any of his activity was illegal.

“The report by the investigator, John Dowd, revealed that Rose had bet regularly with bookmakers on a variety of sports, and though Rose vehemently denied it, baseball included.  In August 1989, he was banned from the game by the commissioner, A. Bartlett Giamatti, and he was subsequently declared ineligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, which would otherwise have been a certainty.”

[Giamatti, a heavy smoker, died at 51 a week after his ruling on Rose, the stress of the Rose case possibly contributing to the heart attack that killed him.]

But Rose kept perpetuating his lie for 13 years, steadfastly claiming that though he gambled on other sports, he never bet on his own.  It wasn’t until 2002 that he admitted to the baseball commissioner at the time, Bud Selig, that he had, though the confession wasn’t public until two years later with the publication of his autobiography.

The Washington Post’s George Will once wrote of Rose: “The force of his severely narrowed will, which made him an All-Star, had – had to have – its dark side.  In the process of becoming a star, by dint of extreme concentration he became unusually self-absorbed and blind to the rules of living. Those are rules which, ignored long and thoroughly enough, can take a fearful toll.”

As to the nickname Charlie Hustle and where it came from, it was during Rose’s rookie year, 1963, when the Reds were playing the Yankees in an exhibition game.  Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle sat together watching the game on the dugout steps.  Rose was at bat.  After ball four, he sprinted to first base, something nobody in baseball – at any level – did after drawing a walk.

Ford and Mantle laughed.

“Look at that,” Mantle said. “There goes Charlie Hustle,” and now you know...the rest of the story.

College Football

Comments written prior to release of new AP Poll....

--It was a stunning Saturday in College Football, with four top ten teams going down.  Heading into play, you had just one matchup of Top-25 teams and it was looking to be a yawner of a weekend...but that’s when College Football grabs your attention most, when you least expect it.

Vanderbilt (3-2) had lost all 60 games against AP Top-five teams as they hosted No. 1 Alabama (4-1), and all the Commodores did was score the first 13 points, take a 16-point lead, and never trailed, Vandy stunning Bama 40-35, setting off a celebration for the ages in Nashville.

Diego Pavia (16/20, 252, 2-0, plus 56 yards rushing), outplayed Heisman Trophy candidate Jalen Milroe, who lost a fumble and threw a pick-six.  Bama didn’t sack Pavia once.

It was just last week, following Alabama’s big win over Georgia, that I wrote, “Coach Kalen DeBoer is out from under the shadows of Nick Saban, at least for one week.”

And that’s all it was. One week.  This is a humiliating loss for the Crimson Tide that DeBoer won’t soon live down.

As for Vandy and Pavia, the quarterback said after, “Games like these are life changing.”

Indeed they are.

Also in the Top Ten...No. 2 Texas, your next No. 1, was idle.

3 Ohio State (5-0) whipped Iowa (3-2) 35-7, as Will Howard was solid, 21/25, 209, 4-1.

But 4 Tennessee (4-1) fell to Arkansas (4-2) 19-14, after the Vols had a 14-3 lead in the third.

5 Georgia (4-1) is moving up a few notches with a 31-13 win over Auburn (2-4).

Ditto 6 Oregon (5-0), winners Friday night against Michigan State (3-3) 31-10 in Eugene, Jordan James with 166 yards rushing for the Ducks.

7 Penn State (5-0) had a ho-hum 27-11 win over UCLA (1-4).

8 Miami (6-0) staged a startling 25-point comeback with a 39-38 win over Cal (3-2), Heisman candidate Cam Ward 35/53, 437, 2-1, plus a 24-yard touchdown run.

9 Missouri (4-1) showed it was nothing but a pretender, getting demolished at 25 Texas A&M, 41-10, the Aggies outgaining the Tigers 512-254.  Big strides for A&M under new coach Mike Elko.

And 10 Michigan (4-2), which everyone knew was overrated, lost at Washington (4-2) 27-17.

But the upsets weren’t confined to the Top Ten....

11 USC (3-2) fell at Minnesota (3-3) 24-17.

12 Ole Miss (5-1) will be back in the top-10 with a good 27-3 victory at South Carolina (3-2).

15 Clemson (4-1) remains on a roll after a 29-13 at lowly Florida State (1-5), Phil Mafah with 154 yards on the ground for the Tigers.

16 Iowa State (5-0) continues to roll, 43-21 over Baylor (2-4).

SMU (5-1) is for real, following a terrific win on the road against 22 Louisville (3-2), 34-27.

23 Indiana (6-0) continues its dream season, 41-24 at Northwestern (2-3), as former Wake Forest players Justice Ellison and Ke’Shawn Williams both scored touchdowns again.

Friday night, 25 UNLV (4-1) lost at home to Syracuse (4-1), 44-41 in overtime, as Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns for the Orange, while LeQuint Allen rushed for two TDs, and had two TDs receiving.

And to close out Top 25 action, you had 21 Boise State (4-1) blasting Utah State (1-4) 62-30, as running back Ashton Jeanty has suddenly emerged as a Heisman favorite, Jeanty with another 186 yards on just 13 carries, including touchdown runs of 63- and 75 yards.

Jeanty became just the eighth running back in D-I history with 1,000 yards in his first five games, 95-1,031...a stunning 10.9 average per carry!

In other games of note....

Army and Navy are now 5-0!  Army whipped Tulsa (2-4) 49-7, 6-of-6 through the air, 160 yards, two touchdowns, and 321 yards rushing, five TDs, an 8.0 average per carry.

Navy rolled over Air Force (1-4) 34-7.

Army-Navy in December could be delicious for football fans.  I mean it always is, but this edition could really be special.

Rutgers lost its first, now 4-1, at Nebraska (5-1), 14-7, as RU coach Greg Schiano didn’t challenge a call where it appeared running back Kyle Monangai scored a touchdown, but it was ruled he was short.  Since it was a first-and-goal play, Schiano didn’t want to waste a timeout challenging it, but then Rutgers was stopped the next three plays.  Schiano claimed after the Big Ten offices had already ruled it wasn’t a touchdown.  It’s a controversy in these parts.

Duke (5-1) suffered its first loss at the hands of Georgia Tech (4-2) 24-14.

But Pitt is still undefeated, 5-0, with a 34-24 win at struggling North Carolina (3-3).  Freshman QB Eli Holstein threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns, while picking up 76 yards and a score on the ground.  Running back Desmond Reid caught 11 passes for 155 yards, while rushing for 55.  Fascinating.

So much for my saying Boston College was for real, the Eagles (4-2) falling to Virginia (4-1) 24-14, the Cavaliers finishing with 24 unanswered points after falling behind 14-0.

And lastly, you know how much I’ve been down on Wake Forest and coach Dave Clawson, with all the negative talk about how the school doesn’t have the resources to compete.

But I was so proud of the team yesterday, a gutty 34-30 win at North Carolina State (3-3), the defense bending, but not breaking.

The thing is, our quarterback, Hank Bachmeier, was dreadful for much of the game, misfiring time and time again, overthrowing receivers on what should have been easy big gains, if not TDs, but on a final drive, Clawson eschewed going for a tying field, converting on fourth down twice in a stirring effort by both Bachmeier (16/32, 154, 2-1) and receiver Deuce Alexander, Wake running back Demond Claiborne with his second rushing touchdown of the fourth quarter, Claiborne 20-136-2 overall, with a touchdown receiving.

Great, great win.  It will be a different mood this week in Winston-Salem, even as the Deacs (2-3) prepare to host Clemson.

[North Carolina State starting QB Grayson McCall was released from the hospital late on Saturday after being carted off the field following a scary head injury on a tackle.  The team announced in a statement: “He is alert and in good spirits and all scans were normal.”  McCall has had a number of concussions and serious head issues over the years, going back to his run at Coastal Carolina.]

--And now the new AP Top 25!

1. Texas 5-0 (52)
2. Ohio State 5-0 (9)
3. Oregon 5-0
4. Penn State 5-0
5. Georgia 4-1
6. Miami (FL)
7. Alabama 4-1
8. Tennessee 4-1
9. Ole Miss 5-1
10. Clemson 4-1...up 5
T-11. Iowa State 5-0
T-11. Notre Dame 4-1
13. LSU 4-1
14. BYU 5-0
15. Texas A&M 5-1...up 10!
16. Utah 4-1
17. Boise State 4-1
T-18. Kansas State 4-1
T-18. Indiana 6-0
T-18. Oklahoma 4-1
21. Missouri 4-1...down 12
22. Pitt 5-0...Yayyy, Pitt...sock it to ‘em...[1940s era cheer]
23. Illinois 4-1
24. Michigan 4-2...down 14
25. SMU 5-1...wow...Go Paul P.!

2 Ohio State at 3 Oregon next Saturday night, 7:30 PM ET.

--Gonzaga is leaving the West Coast Conference for the Pac-12 starting in 2026.  Of course this is for basketball, but it gives the Pac-12 an eighth school for hoops, joining Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State. 

And the Mountain West added UTEP from Conference USA, giving them the needed eight to be recognized by the NCAA when it comes to potential CFP berths.  So UTEP joins Air Force, UNLV, New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, San Jose State, and Hawaii.

NFL

--The Jets and Vikings hooked up this morning in London and what a s---show for Jets fans.  We were down 17-0 in the second quarter, the Jets and Aaron Rodgers unable to move the ball, Rodgers with two interceptions, including a pick-six, in the first half.

But the defense stiffened, Sam Darnold (14/31, 179, 0-1, 50.3) with a very Jets-like performance, and Rodgers began connecting with receiver Garrett Wilson (13-101-1), but their biggest play was just 16 yards, and in the end, Rodgers threw his third interception, game over, 23-17, as he just didn’t look good...29/54, 244, 2-3, 54.9.  Actually, he looked a lot like Wake Forest’s Hank Bachmeier did yesterday, missing a lot of open receivers, or underthrowing the ball.  Only difference is that in the end, Bachmeier came up big, Rodgers didn’t. 

[Aaron after the game also revealed he suffered a low ankle sprain...but he played the entirety.  As he said his performance wasn’t up to his standards.]

It didn’t help the Jets (2-3) once again had a non-existent running game, 36 yards on 14 carries.  It’s mystifying.  We have good backs, but the offensive line just isn’t opening up holes.

So Minnesota is 5-0.  And now Jets fans wait to see if we can acquire disgruntled receiver Davante Adams (unlikely).

--The Bills (3-2) looked like world beaters the first three weeks but have now lost two straight, falling to Texas (4-1) 23-20 in Houston on a Kai Fairbairn’s 59-yard field goal as time expired.

Josh Allen was just 9-of-30, 131 yards.  So much for the early MVP call, including after the Bills’ 35-10 beatdown at the hands of the Ravens a week earlier.

--The Ravens (3-2) continued to roll after their 0-2 start, 41-38 in overtime at Cincinnati (1-4) as Justin Tucker kicked a 56-yarder to tie it late in the fourth, and then won it in OT, after Derrick Henry’s 51-yard run set up the chippie 24-yarder.

Both quarterbacks played well, Lamar Jackson 26/42, 348, 4-0, 119.9, while the Bengals’ Joe Burrow was 30/39, 392, 5-1, 137.0.

The Bengal blew a 38-28 lead with about 8:50 to play.

Pretty tough to make the playoffs when you start out 1-4.

-- ‘Bad Andy’ showed up for the Panthers, Andy Dalton that is, 18/28, 136, 0-1, but it was more than that, as Carolina (1-4) fell to the Bears (3-2), Caleb Williams a terrific 20/29, 304, 2-0, 126.2, as he has now put together two outstanding, winning efforts in his rookie campaign.

--Speaking of rookies, Washington’s Jayden Daniels was so-so, 14/25, 238, 1-1, 85.1, though 82 yards rushing, but the Commanders are 4-1 for the first time since 2008, defeating the pathetic Browns (1-4), as Deshaun Watson sucked.  The Browns are stuck with this loathsome man.

--Despite the heroics of the ageless Joe Flacco, the Jaguars picked up their first win (1-4), 37-34, beating the Colts (2-3).

Flacco was 33/44, 359, 2-0, 121.3, but Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence came through, 28/34, 371, 2-1, 119.5.

--Thursday night, Kirk Cousins set a franchise record in throwing for 509 yards (the 25th player in NFL history to throw for 500, and just the 22nd different quarterback to do so), 42 of 58, four touchdowns but a critical interception late.

But Cousins overcame the pick and the Falcons had a jaw-dropping 36-30 overtime win over the Buccaneers, both teams 3-2.

Trailing 30-27 with under two minutes left, Cousins threw the interception to Lavonte David deep in his own territory, and it looked like that would do it.  Instead, Tampa Bay went backwards and didn’t even get to attempt a field goal. Cousins then drove Atlanta 46 yards in 1:14 with no timeouts, spiking the ball with one second left to set up a game-tying 52-yard field goal from Younghoe Koo.

After the Falcons won the overtime coin toss, more magic unfolded.

Cousins drove Atlanta into Tampa Bay territory when Drake London (12-154-1) got hurt after a hard tackle.

Into the game came Khadarel Hodge, Cousins threw a dart to him, and Hodge spun away from a diving defender, turned up field and outraced everyone to the end zone.  Game over.

--The Giants are 2-3 with a nice road win at Seattle (3-2), 29-20, Daniel Jones a solid effort and Tyrone Tracy Jr. with 129 yards on the ground in just 18 carries.

--The Athletic held an anonymous NFL player poll on Taylor Swift and 72.5% said they viewed the pop star’s interest in the game (and the coverage that stemmed from it) as positive for the league.  Only 4.9% of players polled viewed it as a negative, and 22.5% viewed it as neither negative nor positive.  [102 votes were cast. Players were granted anonymity to speak freely.]

“I think it’s been positive for the league,” one player said. “I think at the end of the day, it’s a business and you need to get as many eyes on it as possible. And she brings a lot of eyes, so, you know, if that increases the salary cap, I don’t think anybody’s gonna be too mad about that one.”

Another player who voted “positive” noted that “a lot of Swifties who don’t watch football are now watching it.”

But one player said, “I feel like she is getting unnecessary coverage.”

Augusta National Golf Club

They have tried to hide the story a bit, but officials at the site of the beloved Masters took a big hit from Hurricane Helene, as did the surrounding area, when it jogged a bit right rather than the forecasted route straight up Interstate 75 and slammed Augusta before then heading to the mountains of North and South Carolina, as well as Tennessee and Virginia.

Club chairman Fred Ridley acknowledged the damage to the club and its neighbors in the past week.

“Our Augusta community has suffered catastrophic and historic impact from Hurricane Helene,” Ridley said in a statement. “We currently are assessing the effects at Augusta National Golf Club.

“In the meantime, our focus and efforts are foremost with our staff, neighbors and business owners in Augusta. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as well as everyone throughout Georgia and the Southeast who have been affected.”

The Augusta area saw winds of up to 82 mph, with widespread downed trees and power lines, leaving he Central Savannah River Area without power and water.  Homes and neighborhoods were severely impacted, posing an immense challenge when it comes to holding the Masters in six months.  For one, housing for patrons will be a major issue.

Ridley hasn’t offered any real details on the club’s damage assessment, which includes downed trees across the property, including Magnolia Lane and flooding of Rae’s Creek in Amen Corner.  But consider this when trying to imagine what the club looks like...neighboring Augusta Country Club – which sits on the other side of Amen Corner and is closed indefinitely – estimates that more than 600 trees are down on the golf course.

Georgia Power, in an update to its customers in Augusta, Savannah and Valdosta, said: “This hurricane has been the most destructive in our company’s history, and we recognize the immense and numerous difficulties it has brought to our customers and communities.”

The utility company said 8,000+ power poles must be repaired or replaced, 1,500+ transformers need to be replaced...and think about how everyone else in the Southeast is clamoring for the same things.

The Washington Post reported last week that when it comes to Augusta, “daily life for many in this city has been reduced to a struggle for the basics: food, water, electricity and, for some, shelter.”

[Hopefully Hurricane Milton misses this area, but it’s not looking for Florida, again.]

Premier League

In action Saturday and Sunday...Liverpool edged Crystal Palace 1-0; Arsenal beat Southampton 3-1; Manchester City defeated Fulham 3-2; Chelsea and Nottingham played to a 1-1 draw, and Aston Villa and Manchester United tied 0-0. Villa wants to be considered one of the Big Boys in the league but can’t come up with home efforts like this one and be respected as an elite.

And then my Tottenham boys suffered a dreadful loss at Brighton.  Up 2-0 at half, the Spurs gave up 3 goals, falling 3-2.  Manager Ange Postecoglou said after, “It’s a terrible loss for us – as bad as it gets.”

Stuff

--I love a move the Knicks made this week, bringing Patrick Ewing back to the organization, 24 years after he left the Knicks in an ill-fated trade to Seattle.  Ewing was hired as a “basketball ambassador assisting in both basketball and business operations,” the team announced Thursday.

“As I said the day my number 33 lifted in the rafters at MSG, I will always be a Knick and I will always be a New Yorker,” Ewing said in a statement.  “I can’t wait to get started in this new position and to officially be back with the organization that I love so much.”

It’s all good.  More positive mojo in the building.

--A child in the Canadian province of Ontario died from rabies after being exposed to a bat in their bedroom, Canadian health officials have said.

The child’s parents “woke up with a bat in their bedroom,” but the local health official said they did not see signs of a bite or scratches and did not get the child a rabies vaccine as a result.

This is scary.  Seriously, I think of bats in my underground parking garage, which has all kinds of nooks and crannies where bats could hide out.  Of course I’m being paranoid, but consider this.

Since reporting began in Canada in 1924, “there have been 28 cases of rabies across six provinces, all of which were fatal.”  [BBC News]

Top 3 songs for the week 10/7/78: #1 “Kiss You All Over” (Exile)  #2 “Boogie Oogie Oogie” (A Taste Of Honey) #3 “Hot Child In The City” ( (Nick Gilder)...and...#4 “Don’t Look Back” (Boston) #5 “Summer Nights” (John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John & Cast)  #6 “Reminiscing” (Little River Band...great tune...)  #7 “Hopelessly Devoted To You” (Olivia Newton-John)  #8 “Love Is In The Air” (John Paul Young)  #9 “You Needed Me” (Anne Murray...Mom did not like her...it is what it is...) #10 “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend’” (Kenny Loggins...C+ week...)

College Football Quiz Answer: Six different QBs to lead Div-I in passing yardage, 1979-1994....

1979 – Marc Wilson
1980 – Jim McMahon
1983 – Steve Young
1984-85 – Robbie Bosco
1990-91 – Ty Detmer
1994 – John Walsh 

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

 

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