Headliner; When your hot, your...

 There are times throughout the year that following sports can be a bit overwhelming. It’s sometimes hard to decide what to watch or listen to. Right now we have The NFL, College Football, Major League Baseball Playoffs, the Rugby World Cup, the start of the NBA season, The National Hockey League, MLS Soccer, The WNBA(just finishing), European Soccer as well as the build up to the Olympics in Paris, France next summer. For anyone that writes about sports it’s a hornet’s nest of athletic competition so bare with me. 

We’re half way through the season in college football and there is no clear favorite to win either the National Championship or The Heisman Trophy. The top four teams at present are Ohio State, Michigan, Florida State and Georgia however all of these teams have tough roads ahead of them. Michigan and Ohio State play each other in a couple of weeks and Georgia has the SEC championship game to contend with. Florida State is not immune to a loss as well so there is still alot up in the air. After witnessing some major upsets this past weekend I figure anything is possible. Every top team out there has a target on its back right now. Everyone is trying to position themselves for the playoffs. At this rate I can safely predict that the selection committee for the playoffs will have its hands full. Don’t count out the possibility that there will be some one loss teams selected due to the fact that several powerhouse teams are making a run and yes I’m thinking Alabama here. Having a championship series without The Tide is like a thanksgiving dinner with no turkey so stay tuned. The Crimson Tide has a way of spoiling everyone’s party. Just ask Tennessee!!

 It’s getting to be that time in the college football season when the selection process for the Heisman Trophy takes place. Your guess is as good as mine as to who will win it this year. The favorites seem to come and go like the wind from week to week. One week’s winner is next week’s looser.The Heisman has always been pretty much a quarterback trophy but once in a blue moon it will go to another skill position player. This year it’s a toss up between about 4 or 5 players whose names change almost daily. Three weeks ago I would have said that last year’s winner, Caleb Williams from USC, was the odds on favorite but a couple of losses and some sub par play has knocked him out of the running. On comes quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Of The University of Washington gaining momentum after an epic win over The University of Oregon only to fall from grace the following week. Next up is Drake May, quarterback back from North Carolina who promptly swallows a massive upset at the hands of unranked Virginia. See what I’m getting at here? If we can find a player who is consistently leading his team to a win week after week we might have a winner and no it won’t be Deone Sander’s son. It might be time to start talking about players from other positions, like kickers. Stay tuned for this one folks. 

There were a lot of broken hearts around NFL stadiums this week. None were damaged more harshly then the Buffalo Bills who took a thrashing by The Patriots. It was the only game where I actually found myself rooting for The Pats. The Bills Mafia have now lost to both Zack Wilson and Mac Jones while fielding one of the best defenses in the league, or so everyone thought. This past Sunday saw Josh Allen spend so much time on the grass that his uniform turned green. There’s something strange going on In Buffalo and it needs to be fixed or else the season will be over. It’s too close to Halloween to be frightened like this. 

Speaking of frightening games, The Detroit Lions lost 38-6 to a Baltimore Ravens team led by a surging Lamar Jackson. It was supposed to be a coming out party for The Lions but what it ended up being was an Irish wake. After being heralded by just about every sports writer in America (including myself) The Lions took a beat down that left many odds makers stunned. It just goes to show you that you never know what will happen from week to week.

I don’t think that anyone expected The Miami Dolphins to travel to Philadelphia and win against the Eagles. Sure there was hope(by me) that they could pull it off but as I discussed before teams from Philly are white hot right now. Additionally, the Miami/Philly game was claimed by my A.I. program as the one sure bet for the day (take Philadelphia at -2.5 it told me) and of course Captain Idiot went with the Dolphins. Go figure. They should maybe come up with an A.I. program for dummies because it would be a hit!!

Don’t look now sports fans but The San Francisco 49ers have lost two in a row falling this past Monday night to The Vikings in a national spotlight game. Is this the beginning of the end for Wonder Boy Brock Purdy? Is the honeymoon beginning to turn sour? Many are hoping and praying on their hands and knees that this is just a small wrinkle in his meteoric rise to super stardom in The NFL. His boyish good looks, home spun charm and squeaky clean image has been a refreshing addition to the NFL so let’s take a wait and see stance on the future of Mr. irrelevant and say a silent prayer that everything turns out ok. 

Just a few short days ago The Philadelphia Phillies we’re literally the hottest team on the face of Planet Earth. The were literally on fire and could do no wrong. Their batting line up was hitting more home runs then a video gamer on his third espresso and defensively they were giving up almost nothing.  Bryce Harper was being heralded as the second coming of Babe Ruth. 

Fast forward to this week and a completely different scenario. 

 After taking a 3-2 series lead over The Arizona Diamondbacks the return to Philadelphia seemed to insure the Phillies could win at least one of the two remaining games at home and punch their ticket to The World Series right? Wrong answer! In a epic and somewhat painful meltdown to watch the Phillies lost both games in what could only be described as the biggest choke job on the last 20 years of baseball. One more reason why it’s never smart to take things for granted in professional sports folks. 

The stage is now set for a World Series between two teams that no one could ever have foreseen being there last April, The Arizona Diamondbacks versus The Texas Rangers. Silent are the fans of the Astros, The Dodgers, The Braves and Brewers who thought that this was their year. It was not to be. Hundreds of millions of dollars I’m happy to say will not buy you a championship, just ask The Mets and The Yankees. Winning over 100 games during the regular season doesn’t mean squat if you loose in the playoffs. In just about every sport out there getting hot at the right time of year and at the right moment in The Playoffs means everything. So bring us the great fall classic and a good World Series I say! Play On!!