What A Difference A Few Weeks ...

Six weeks ago the Detroit Lions were 1-6. If I had told you then that going into mid December they would be the hottest team in The NFL you would have called me crazy. Well, I didn’t tell you that and if I had I wouldn’t have been bonkers because right now The Lions are on fire. This past weekend the Lions took down Minnesota 34-23 in what was a victory that moved them closer to actually getting into the playoffs. The Lions in The Playoffs? Crazy times indeed! What’s more, Jared Geoff may have finally rediscovered his Super Bowl level talent in throwing 3 touchdowns with over 300 yards passing. His consistency and QBR rating is soaring. He has risen from the ashes like a Phoenix. The addition of first round draft pick Jameson Williams into the line up included a 41 yard bomb and a touch down for the rookie’s first career catch. Yes, the Lions are smoking hot right now, and no, I unfortunately did not have them in my picks. The pain continues.

Speaking of painful experiences, Tom Brady traveled to San Francisco in the hopes of improving the win record of Tampa Bay only to find out that Mr. Irrelevant at Quarterback does not make for an easy win guarantee. The 49’s walked all over Tom Terrific and sent him and The Bucs back to Florida with a 35-7 loss. Ouch! This one is gonna hurt for a while. Number 12 is having a very up and down year.

Looking back across the sports landscape this past week I find myself encountering a lot of pain both physical and emotional. Let’s take a few moments to ponder some of the more obvious ones.

The World Cup Soccer Tournament is down to just 4 teams. Sadly, England and Brazil, two of the favorites to win it all were both eliminated. For England the loss to France is something akin to a national catastrophe. Kind of like The Hundred Years War but in reverse. The loss and the blame for the early exit will be front page news for weeks. The loss was mentioned by The King and discussed in Parliament so you know it’s serious (NOT) Was it the players? Was it the coaching? Does it really matter? Not really. But the pain of having to watch a month long tournament without the ability to get blind ass raging drunk on beer may have been too much for the English fans. That, coupled with the loss, cuts deep. England needs to pull up their Big Boy Pants and get over it. They’ve got 4 years to figure it out. You’d think after 1776 they would have learned their lesson.

Not to be outdone in the trauma department, a Brazilian team jam packed with international class soccer super stars was knocked out by Croatia on penalty kicks. There were tears of both joy and pain. Actually there was a lot of tears on The Brazilian side of things, but when you’re making millions of dollars to play soccer I’m thinking it might not be too lasting. I hate to watch grown men cry.

The losses leave the final four teams after nearly a month of competition. France will play Morocco (the tournament’s Cinderella story) while Croatia gets to face Argentina and Lionel Messi in the the semi finals with the finals scheduled for this coming Sunday. I’m guessing it will be a barn burner, but let’s not forget that Sunday’s are for The NFL right?

We had a bit of a breather from College Football this week. The Bowl games are set as are the playoffs. They begin in a week or so. We did however have two major stories to follow, The Heisman Trophy winner and The Annual Army/Navy Football game.

As usual the Army/Navy game was a hard fought battle between two teams who basically run the ball on every play, and I mean EVERY play. There’s alot if tradition in this game. I spent over a decade in the military and I can tell you it’s must see viewing every year. There’s alot if trash talk. Who ever wins it gets to talk the most swag and brag about it for an entire year, before it’s played again. This years game went to double overtime for the first time in the game’s history. It was a very close game down to the wire. In the second overtime, Navy ran the ball on Army’s defense at the Army 2 yard line, but fumbled. Army was able to March down the field on the next series and kick a 39 yard field goal to win it. Game over. One kid is the hero, one kid is the villain. Thoughts and prayers for the Navy Midshipman who fumbled the ball away. It’s gonna be a tough week.

For me, this year’s Heisman Trophy winner was a surprise. I felt sure that Stetson Bennet from Georgia would end up with it, instead it went to USC Quaterback Caleb Williams. This guy didn’t even show up till 3 weeks ago. To be honest, I don’t put a lot of weight in The Heisman Trophy. For me it used to be a very, very big deal. I still remember Doug Flutie winning it while playing at Boston College. However, ever since Payton Manning was denied The Heisman while playing for Tennessee it’s become more of a popularity contest. I don’t really feel like it goes to the nations most valuable football player. It goes to the player from the college with the most pull in the media and this year it was Southern Cal.

For me personally the week was a painful one. My sports picks were zero for three in the pros, a first. I had to spend Monday hanging my head in shame after talking a lot , and I mean a lot, of trash all week. Thankfully there was no money involved so my car payment and my rent are secure. To make matters worse my beloved Miami Dolphins lost again, this time to a surging San Diego Chargers team. Will the Dolphins miss the playoffs again this year? It’s possible. The Dolphins remaining schedule has The Bills, The Packers, The Patriots and The Jets. Not exactly a easy final four by any means.

Lastly, just saying the words “Final Four “ sends shivers up and down my spine. NCAA Basketball is in full swing and hopefully soon we’ll start to transition into another great winter season of college basketball competition. Keep your eyes open for our special coverage and basketball pools! They’re sure to rival what has turned out to be an exciting football season!

Kev