If you’re reading this, the world didn’t end, and that’s good. See you in The Fast Lane soon. Here are some random notes as we head into the final shopping weekend before Christmas…
There are a lot of people who are obsessed with the Mother Ship in Bristol. There are websites that are pretty much dedicated to hammering ESPN’s every move. That’s fine; ESPN is a $40 billion a year entity, and they can handle a hit or two. Usually I laugh at the critics. But this week, and their continued obsession with the Jets, slayed me. On Tuesday, the entire menu on the left side of the page was Jets. And SportsCenter never showed Chris Johnson’s 94 yard touchdown run while I was watching. They deserve the hit for that one…
I think this is going to be a great Mizzou/Illinois Bud Light Braggin’ Rights game. It’s a fun contrast in styles, with Mizzou featuring a bigger, stronger unit and Illinois dropping threes all night long. The Tigers are a different team without Kim English, Marcus Denmon and Michael Dixon. It’s not that they lumber, they just don’t score as fast as they used to. But their strength inside is the strength of their team. The Illini will have to exploit their speed and shooting and try to run the bigger Tigers. These two are really evenly matched, and this is a great game every year anyway.
In cleaning out my closet, it became abundantly clear that I don’t need any caps for Christmas. It’s not like you can give gently used caps to charity, and I hate throwing them away. So I have several hundred caps that aren’t going anywhere… As the Rams play Tampa Bay on Sunday, they’ll face a team that has dealt with severe offensive line injuries. There may not be a better guard tandem in the whole league than Davin Joseph and Carl Nicks. But Joseph was knocked out for the season during pre-season, and Nicks was sidelined for the year with a toe injury after week seven. Those losses are catching up with the Bucs. But they do have playmakers in guard Doug Martin and wideouts Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. If the Rams can get push up the middle, they can slow the Bucs down. If Josh Freeman can see downfield, the Rams will be in trouble.
Thirty-five years ago this week, December 18, 1977, the St. Louis Cardinals traveled to Tampa Bay, and the Buccaneers picked up the first home win in franchise history, 17-7. The Cardinals turned it over four times, Tampa Bay once. That’s one statistic that hasn’t changed. That was also Don Coryell’s last game as the Big Red coach, and Terry Metcalf’s last as a player. Any window that franchise had to win a Super Bowl closed when those two left…
Richard Dietsch of Sports Illustrated named our town’s Joe Buck as his sports media person of the year. Of course he is. He’s the lead voice of Major League Baseball, he’s one of the voices of football, and he’s superb at what he does. Well deserved recognition from SI…
The Angels traded DH Kendrys Morales to the Mariners this week. I wonder if Mike Scioscia will use Albert Pujols as a DH more. Last year, Pujols started 118 times at first base, three at third, and 34 at DH. Many of those were because of Pujols being nicked. If I were the Angels, I’d DH Albert at least 34 times again, and preserve his legs for September and October. Remember Lance Berkman saying first was harder on him than the outfield? Then Berkman got hurt playing first. Can’t hurt for L.A. of Anaheim to DH number 5. Bernie asked the question Thursday…what’s my favorite Christmas song?, and I immediately said White Christmas by Bing Crosby. But you HAVE to listen to B2K’s version of Santa Claus is coming to town. It’s on YouTube…
I honestly don’t think the NHL will suffer that much from this lockout. When the sport returns, people will go to see it. The fan base is too rabid. It IS a great sport, but unfortunately the NHL is run by a bunch of dolts. This lockout isn’t the Blues fault, and it’s not the players fault. It’s the owners’ inability to control their own spending, and their unwillingness to share revenue that are driving the stoppage. Too bad there isn’t a way to punish JUST the owners who are causing the lockout…
I NEVER get to see a movie in a theatre any more. Watched ‘Safe House’ with Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington on BluRay. It’s worth renting… I don’t think it’ll be possible to pick an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year until the season is over. It’s possible Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson will all make the playoffs. I probably dock Luck points because he has so many interceptions. RGIII has been electrifying, but Wilson has been the best of the group for the last month. Tough call…
D’Marco lives for the Christmas NBA games. I don’t believe I’ve ever watched one from start to finish. It is a great tradition, though; it signifies the REAL start of the NBA season…
Whatever you do, enjoy the holiday and your family and friends. And we’ll see you next week…