Starting Five

1. HBO: Boardwalk Empire. Cable News Channels: Boardwalk Waterloo. The Jersey shore is about to be battered by Sandy. Sandy Hook is about to be battered by Sandy. How dire is it? All of the Starbucks in Manhattan are closed! (we know). Emergency planning includes posting Tim Tebow atop Empire State Building and asking him to, shirtless, raise arms to the heavens. “Fine, go ahead,” says Rex Ryan, “but Mark Sanchez is still our starting quarterback.”

2. The San Francisco Giants sweep the Detroit Tigers to win the World Series. Yes, Marco Scutaro had the game-winning single and Ryan Theriot (a.k.a., “The Riot”) scored the game-winning run, marking the first time an NHL defenseman had done so. Most surprisingly, the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years and the likely American League MVP, Miguel Cabrera, struck out looking to end the game, the series and the 2012 season.

3. Cowboys fall behind 23-0, roar back to take lead, then lose in excruciating fashion at home to the New York Giants. Dez Bryant made a sick game-winning TD catch, but it was ruled that the tip of his finger touched beyond the end zone before any other part of his body landed. Clearly, as one ESPN anchor opined, Dallas needs to draft wide receivers with shorter fingers.

 

4. Weather Channel’s coverage of the 1991 Perfect Storm, featuring the impeccable tonsorial stylings of Stu Ostro.

5. The BCS standings have a top five of Alabama, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Oregon and LSU. Two of those five teams play USC, and another two play one another (this Saturday). Kansas State was doubly hurt by Notre Dame’s win at Oklahoma (the Sooners’ rating plummets, while the Irish remain undefeated), while a USC victory versus Oregon this weekend would assist the Irish in a similarly compounded fashion.

Reserves

Darren Rovell tweets, “Is it bad that I’m most concerned about my mancave flooding?” and yet another wave of Americans wonder what TV executives he has pictures of and with whom. RovellsMancave already has a hashtag.

And at the other end of the spectrum, this photo of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Regiment guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Don Draper and Zou Bisou in Hawaii. Filming has begun on Season 6 of Mad Men.

Your high school English teacher is secretly thrilled that an HMS Bounty sunk earlier today due to Sandy. No word yet on the status of William Bligh or Fletcher Christian.

Hey, who’s that deliriously happy nut job singing along to Journey at the World Series? Oh, it’s the former only lead singer of Journey. Steve Perry is quite the recluse, so this is like seeing a Sasquatch along side the highway (a real Sasquatch, not some dude in a Sasquatch outfit). Here’s another angle. It’s good to see Perry this happy. The only people who sing Journey tunes who appear happier than Perry are these guys.

Today’s thought: The Prius is the veggie burger of automobiles.

Fascinating profile of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a cover story from The Atlantic. Call him the “soda jerk” if you want, but we think he’s way ahead of the game on this one. There was a time in NYC when it was considered boorish to prohibit smokers from lighting up in restaurants and bars.

On our timeline this morning we had a few southerners griping that Hurricane Sandy is overhyped. That SEC mentality extends far beyond the gridiron, apparently.

Sports teams as potentially deadly forces of nature, a list (Whose idea was this anyway?):

Miami Hurricanes (NCAA)

Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (NCAA)

Pepperdine Waves (NCAA)

Alabama Crimson Tide (NCAA… oh, they’re a force of nature, alright)

Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)

Colorado Avalanche (NHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)

Chicago Fire (MLS)

San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)

Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA)

Tulane Green Wave (NCAA… thanks to @StumpTheRob)

Seattle Storm (WNBA… thanks to @JimMcDonald)