Monthly Archives: December 2018

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 2 Comments

by John Walters

 

Starting Five

Bye, George

At the age of 94 the 41st president of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush, passes away. A decent (in all senses) president, a great American and an even better person.

Navy fighter pilot in World War II (at 18 he was the youngest fighter pilot in the service when he enlisted), later a Yale baseball player and alum, CIA director, vice president and eventually, president. Husband of 73 years. Few Americans have lived more decorated or estimable lives. The crib in Kennebunkport wasn’t half-bad, either.

2. Bye, Georgia*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v11A5uxEe9c

*The judges will also accept “Out-Smart-ing Yourself

“No! No. No no no no no no no no. No. Aren’t you something? No.”

Here’s what we believe happened. Kirby Smart designs a few plays and packages for 2018 No. 1 overall recruit Justin Fields so as to keep him from wondering if there are greener pastures elsewhere. This Punt Fake play is one of them.

Now Smart advises Fields to only attempt this play if the defensive alignment warrants it, otherwise punt. Alabama lines up in Punt Safe, so the fake should be called off. But Fields is a hot-shot freshman eager to make his mark, so he goes for it. Fail. Bama has a shorter field. Touchdown. Game over, Georgia’s playoff hopes over.

3. Hurts So Good

Hurts did the unthinkable: Make us root for an underdog Alabama story.

On the opposite side of the field, Jalen Hurts pens the Hollywood ending so few of us ever get. Replaced on this same field against this same opponent 11 months earlier, Hurts has his number called after starter Tua Tagovailoa suffers a friendly-fire high ankle sprain. Hurts, who would’ve scored the championship-winning TD two seasons ago if Bama’s defense had held against Deshaun Watson and Clemson, leads the Crimson Tide to a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns and the 35-28 win.


And yes, if you were keeping score on Saturday, two undefeated teams and reigning national champions (one more widely accepted than the other) found themselves trailing by two touchdowns in the second half and without their starting quarterback. Both came back to win.

That’s what champions do.

4. Pigskin Leftovers

Kyler Murray is a Grange Award finalist…

Stuff we wanted to say/write or just thought of saying/writing:

–Is it possible Kirk Herbstreit went HAM on Georgia because he had to pick someone for the final slot and that Oklahoma vs. Ohio State was a Sophie’s Choice? Because the Sooners and Buckeyes had more similar resumes, a choice of Ohio State would label him as a homer while a choice of Oklahoma would make him something of an apostate, even if most of us would agree that the Sooners have a better resume. By siding with Georgia he avoids having to explain why he preferred Oklahoma over OSU and also avoids appearing to favor his alma mater.*

*Note: We really believe Herbie believes Georgia belongs in. What makes no sense is his putting Georgia 3rd but also leaving Notre Dame in. If the Irish record fails to dazzle him as opposed to a team with two losses, is he then saying that he believes Notre Dame is superior to both Oklahoma and Ohio State? Because his words all season on College GameDay and Saturday Night Football have not indicated that. 

–Let’s pay tribute to Trevor Matich, our favorite under-utilized ESPN college football personality and the only one of 42 visible ESPN college football figures who picked Notre Dame to advance to the playoff.


— Folks we feel should be invited to appear on ESPN’s College Football Awards Show this Thursday night: Jalen Hurts, Doak Campbell Stadium Shirtless Bibliophile, Staredown Kid, Tyler Trent, Bill Snyder, LSU Death Stare Girl.

–Great idea by one of THE most loyal MH readers, Jacob-Jason Anstey. When I suggested that FCS games should be eliminated (or, if you are the FBS team that schedules it, then you will not be considered for the college football playoff), he wondered how come schools aren’t allowed to just schedule a preseason scrimmage versus an FCS school in August. This is brilliant.

–Clip ‘n Save for Saturday night (and never forget that Christian McCaffrey got totally robbed!!!)


–Inspired by all of his segments over the years, the MH staff, with an assist from our friend and former SI editor Dick Friedman, penned “That’s Rinaldi!” To be sung to the melody of “That’s Amore.”

When the cancer’s Stage 4

There’s a knock at your door,

That’s Rinaldi!

When your long snapper’s blind,

It’s a story he’ll find,

That’s Rinaldi!

Parents sigh, children die, girlfriends cry,

As we reach for the clicker

Tragedies and disease—help us, Rece!

There’s a pang in my ticker!

When you’re waiting to see,

All that’s bad that can be,
On a fall day!
You just know he will show,
Looking sad as can be–that’s Rinaldi!!

5. He Said Xi Said

He wanted a booth

No news is bad news from the G-20 Summit, as China and the U.S. agree on “No New Tariffs.” The good news is that the stock market jumped about 400 points and the better news is that Susie B. may have emerged from that dark mood that’s enveloped her the past month or so.

Reserves

Christyn Vs. Christians*

*The judges will also accept “Back In Black”

Notre Dame and UConn, which had split their past 16 meetings and entered 1 and 2, meet in South Bend. Led by 28 points from true freshman lefty Christyn Williams, the Huskies somewhat avenge last April’s Final Four defeat to the Irish. UConn has now won 122 consecutive regular season games but not the last two national championships.

Two For Tuohy

For the second straight year, North Rockland (N.Y.) High School junior Katelyn Tuohy wins the Nike Cross Country Nationals. Tuohy ran a 16:37 on a Portland golf course, breaking her own course record by seven seconds. Tomorrow never knows with women’s distance running, but at this moment Tuohy is in the same class as Mary Cain and Mary Decker.

Music 101

Long, Long Way From Home

The band Foreigner was comprised of three English members and a trio of Yanks, hence the name. They’re one of the best-selling bands of all time, with 80 million records sold. Coming along in that interregnum between the peak of rock and roll and ’80s New Wave, they get slotted in that “arena rock” bin of disdain by the “serious” rock critics along with Journey, Styx, Kansas, Rush and others. They’ll cry on their yachts about it.

This semi-autobiographical tune dips into the well of moving from a small town to New York City. The third single off their eponymous debut album, it peaked at No. 20 in late 1977.

Remote Patrol

The Last Alaskans

8 p.m. Animal Planet

There’s no business like snow business. This reality show chronicles four families who live in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and whose wives argue incessantly about dinner reservations and bridal showers. We think.

CHRIS PICKS!

by John Walters | Leave a comment

by Chris Corbellini

 

Week 13 Picks: Who wants the Lombardi Trophy?

“And you’re naming it after li’l ol’ me? Thanks, Pete!”

Maybe they are keeping their intentions quiet, maybe they are don’t know it yet, maybe it’s the same-as-it-ever-was New England Patriots, but I’m still asking: Who desperately wants the Super Bowl Trophy this season?

(Shakes head) It’s a question I can’t answer yet. So far, I’ve seen four teams dig deep and play above their talent, or annihilate a team so thoroughly I simply couldn’t exclude them. I can’t pick one of the four as a favorite yet, but here they are:

-The Seattle Seahawks

-The New Orleans Saints

-The Los Angeles Chargers

-The Dallas Cowboys.

Drew Brees may have gifted the Cowboys that late interception on Thursday night, but still, that defense just pursues. They are too young defensively to really feel the stakes. With QB Dak Prescott the sneaky run threat offensively, I see Dallas winning its first playoff game, and perhaps surprising from there. The Saints at home are a rocket, and the fuse has already been lit, motivation-wise (get Brees one more ring). The Chargers have the same rally cry with Philip Rivers, and now that Melvin Gordon is out, the Bolts offense will really need him to grip it and rip it through the air. The Seahawks showed me grit against the Panthers last week, and grit will carry them in December, with three winnable games ahead — two vs. SF, and the regular season finale vs. Arizona — and they also play the Vikings and Chiefs at their ear-splitting Stadium.

Yep, sure, all of them have franchise QBs. I’m sure you’re shocked about that fact. But this foursome also boasts those signature moments a team can build a second season around:

-Seattle had that Russell Wilson to Tyler Lockett 43-yard pass that set up the Janikowski FG to win it last week. It was a pearl of a throw, just football poetry on two different levels: 1) Wilson said “Remember me, d-ckheads? I’m still good at this” and 2) The coaching staff told all of us, whether true or not: “Look at us! Look! We’re a spread passing team now!”

-Dallas has the Brees interception. After all those head-shaking penalties, this Cowboys team still found a way to win it against the hottest QB in football. That got a rise out of the home crowd. This was important – as AT&T Stadium is not exactly an intimidating place to play.

-The Saints had the Eagles rout — the most impressive win of the entire NFL season.

-LA had that final goal-line stand in Seattle, batting Wilson’s final pass away, with zeroes on the clock, because the game couldn’t end on a penalty.

Of course, the Rams, Patriots and Texans are balling too, and they’ve had their moments through the first 12 weeks. Any of those three could peak during this holiday season, with the Rams being especially dangerous. LA could turn the playoffs into its run-and-gun playpen, routing one team after the next. And wouldn’t the NFL just love a LA-LA Land Super Bowl?

Still, my eyes are on that S-N-L-D foursome. Gonna be a fun December.

As always, home team in caps, with William Hill odds. I also added some percentages to correspond with the winners I picked – they represent the calculations made by The Quant Edge that those teams will cover the Vegas line. Full disclosure: I work at TQE as an advisor.

Carolina (-3) over TAMPA BAY (55.6%)

The Bucs will overcompensate and key on Christian McCaffrey in this one, after his two-TD, 100-100 rushing-receiving game last week against the Seahawks. I see Cam Newton and Greg Olsen getting chummy near the end zone more than once, and the Panthers winning it and staying in the NFC Wild-Card chase.

ATLANTA (-2) over Baltimore (57.5%)

Two starts. Two wins. The Lamar Jackson experience has been fun to this point. So much so his QB coach (James Urban) and offensive coordinator (Marty Mornhinweg) are due for raises, and perhaps promotions someplace else. Still, let’s see what happens when Jackson can’t play conservatively anymore – you know, when the Falcons, perhaps the most frustrated team in the NFL and losers of three straight, drop three Julio Jones TDs on the Ravens in the first half.

Indianapolis (-4) over JACKSONVILLE (58.3%)
The Colts are rolling – the winners of five straight. This game won’t be nearly as fast on Florida grass as it would be on Indy’s home turf, and tight end Jack Doyle is out for the year, and yet I still see Andrew Luck completing some throws into tight windows because he’s absolutely feeling it. You see it in his body language. That type of confidence is contagious – easily passed from offense to defense. Luck’s Colts win by a TD, and stick around in the AFC playoff picture. 

PHILADELPHIA (-6.5) over Washington (63.5%)The Eagles at home, in primetime, against backup QB Colt McCoy? This one seems almost too easy, and Philly is banged up at running back, but regardless, I’m not overthinking this pick.

Last week: 3-1

Overall: 20-25