Thinking out loud…while wondering if attending college is now the opposite of kidnapping? Schools demand 100 grand or they'll send your kid back home…
College football has kicked off across the country, and it usually doesn't generate the big headlines in New England. But there are a couple of items, if not teams, that are attention-worthy.
Leading off, the formerly sad-sack URI Rams. A football program once so ensconced in hopelessness, mediocrity was a big step up. There have been just four winning seasons in the past 37 years.
There was once an outcry (now tailored to a whimper) for the State U to drop the sport and play varsity ice hockey like the rest of their northeast neighbors.
Enter Jim Fleming as head coach. Now in his ninth season, the Rams have it rolling.
Ok, so 7-4 last year doesn't appear to be much on the surface, but others might disagree. These Rams were preseason ranked in the FCS Top 25 (at #22, and now ranked 20th) and just stormed through Stony Brook 35-14 on the road in their opener a week ago.
Pretty soon, might we hear calls for Rhody to move up to FBS like several other programs have done recently? Is that "We want Bama!" wailing in the distance in Kingston?
Instead, this week the Rams will settle for Bryant. The Bulldogs made their Big South debut at FBS program and Conference USA member Florida International last week and lost in overtime, after leading by double-digits. QB Zevi Eckhaus was named the Big South Player of the Week.
This week's matchup is in Smithfield, at Beirne Stadium. Perhaps these Rams won't be caught looking too far ahead, with visions of bowl games and postseason play dancing in their heads.
Brown, preseason picked for seventh in the Ivy League (Harvard and Dartmouth are at the top), will open its schedule next week at home – against Bryant.
UConn got its first win under new head coach Jim Mora last week, beating Central Connecticut 28-3…after losing its opener on the road at Utah State 31-20 on Aug. 27. Utah State lost to Alabama 55-0 last week, but I digress. The Huskies say hello to an old Big East rival, Syracuse, at Rentschler Field Saturday night.
BC and UMass haven't been as fortunate. The Eagles were grounded by Rutgers 22-21 at home and will play at a p*ssed-off Virginia Tech (read below for why they'll be p*ssed) this week. UMass lost in Don Brown's re-debut 42-10 at Tulane and play at Toledo this week.
Nationally, Texas hasn't been a 20-point underdog at home in at least 45 years. But they are this week with #1 Alabama invading Austin. Pay attention, Rhody.
Virginia Tech playing at Old Dominion last week went about as poorly as it could have for the Hokies. Their coaches got stuck in a press box elevator after halftime, with the team losing 10-7, delaying the game until they could return to their booth. Then, VT lost the game to the Monarchs, 20-17.
On top of that, the Hokies' locker room was broken into, and several items were stolen at some point during the loss. Whoa.
But thanks for visiting. Virginia Tech faces the BC Eagles in their home opener this week.
The big news late last week was the decision to expand the College Football Playoff to 12 teams, likely beginning in 2026 but possibly starting as early as 2024. For those gnashing their teeth and growling about major college sports these days, this essentially throws a life-preserver to non-Big 10 and non-SEC schools seemingly left out of the big TV money mix.
The expanded 'tournament' could more than double the current media deal paid out by the TV networks…north of $2 billion per year. Crazy money. Deciding on an equitable split should be a competitive sport unto itself.
And while the Big 10 has been rumored to be eyeing further expansion (Oregon and Washington, Stanford and Cal hello!) some within the Big Behemoth Conference aren't sure it's such a swell idea. Like Iowa, for one.
It's not NIL, nor is it pay for play. But pay for passing grades? Nebraska is going to pay its athletes for achievement in the classroom. Scholarship athletes can earn up to $5980 per semester, which means an athlete with good grades could earn more than $40K over four years.
My buddy "Big E" sez he ordered a chicken and an egg from Amazon this week. He'll let me know.
Tweet of the Week I, from @PatsPulpit: "RIP #QueenElizabethII who outlived 8 American Presidents, met 14, transcended the reigns of 5 Popes, saw the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, yet somehow, amazingly, never saw the #BuffaloBills win a Super Bowl."
Buffalo looked pretty solid in whipping the defending champ LA Rams Thursday night though, didn't they? Maybe even better than originally advertised. But the grind hasn't begun, yet.
NFL Week One storylines I'm going to follow: 1) Are the Bills the team to beat in the AFC? 2) Do the Chiefs have anything to prove without Tyreek Hill? 3) Is THIS TB12's final season – for real?
Patriot expectations are always high. New England has the third-most "Kickoff Weekend" wins in the AFC, behind Pittsburgh and Denver all-time. The Patriots are also 5-5 all-time in season openers against the Dolphins.
Looking for more trends? BB is batting .667 in season openers as a head coach…and the Patriots have the best September record in the NFL since 2000.
But it's always been tough to squish these fish of late. New England has dropped four of the last five in South Florida.
Bart Scott might want to have his own noggin checked out…amiright?
You know it will come down to this – the defense getting off the field on 3rd downs, and the Patriots getting six instead of three in the Red Zone. Oh, and minimizing penalties and turnovers, too.
Doesn't it always?
Rookestradamus has One Bold Prediction: Christian Barmore will have an All-Pro caliber season.
Dude was right last year about Josh McDaniels leaving, and Matt Judon returning to form. Just sayin'.
Tweet of the Week II, from @NFLResearch: "We checked. Belichick: 321 wins (inc. playoffs) McDaniel: 0 – The only larger disparities in wins between opposing head coaches occurred in 6 games coached by Don Shula in 1994 & 1995. The winningest coach in NFL history won all 6 of those games…with the Miami Dolphins."
Sorry to learn of former New England and Philadelphia offensive lineman Guy Morris passing away this week at age 71. Morris played at TCU and then 15 seasons in the NFL with the Eagles and Patriots…and was a member of the first Patriots' Super Bowl team in 1985.
He also was an assistant on the New England staff in '88 and '89, then coached collegiately at Kentucky and Baylor. Morris was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2016.
Have you seen the Netflix documentary on linebacker Manti Te'o? The world's most famous 'catfishing' victim (remember the 'fake' girlfriend?) comes across as completely sympathetic in this extraordinarily strange story, and maybe more than just a bit naïve as well.
A well told tale, that has a surprise twist to it. Howz that for a teaser?
For the second straight year, Captain Morgan (the rum, not the pirate) is sponsoring the NFL Fan of the Year contest. Submit your nomination to nfl.com/fanoftheyear. My vote is for my buddy Patscap.
And while you're at it, the Patriots are asking fans what the throwback look should be like for the two games they'll be wearing the cool, old-school uniforms this season. Anything with red, anything with the old Pat Patriot, and anything with the red, white & blue, stars and stripes "PATRIOTS" spelled out will do.
NFL broadcasts this year should bring in record ad sales. Not that the news is surprising. 30 second national TV spots are going for up to $860K. Ad rates overall are up about seven percent from last season – which means total revenue, from just ad sales, could bring in about $7 billion.
And the American Gaming Association reports a record 46.6 million fans will bet – legally – on NFL games this season. That's 18% of all American adults.
Not for nuthin', but there's a reason why NFL ownership is reluctant to change. Much of anything.
We're AMP'ed up, yes. Told you already. But let's not beat a dead horse any further with this one, k?
Amica Mutual Pavilion. Ten years, about $900K per year, ICYWW. Amica Insurance was founded in 1907, so there's at least as much history there as my daily, 35-year habit of iced coffee with cream and pumpkin. No extra sugar.
Did I miss something? Wasn't Ed Cooley already contracted "for life" three years ago? Sure, being named the national coach of the year warrants an extra scheckle or two in his new deal announced this week, but this deal is more about $$$ for his staff.
And about making sure the Friars are competing with the 'haves,' not the 'have nots' in this bold, brave new world.
PC's season schedule was released Friday, along with the Big East league schedule. The first of two exhibitions will be Oct. 20th against American International; the season opener is Election Night, Nov. 8th against Rider.
Other highlights? At URI Dec. 3rd, at Mohegan Sun against Miami Nov. 19 and Nov. 20 (vs. Maryland or St. Louis), at nationally ranked TCU Nov 30th. The Big East opener is Saturday, Dec. 17 at Seton Hall. The home opener is Tuesday, Dec. 20 against Marquette.
It will be a tough road to open league play – three of the first four Big East games are on the road for PC (including at Butler and at DePaul on New Years' Day), before getting UConn into the AMP for the first time in 10 years on Jan. 4th.
The Friars will close with two home games in March, against Xavier and Seton Hall, before the Big East Tournament.
The Big East will have more than 100 games on FS1, and 23 more on either Fox or CBS. All five league games on the final day of the season, March 4th, will be carried on either Fox or FS1.
How many days until Xmas? Santa will be bringing us Big East basketball in his bag. DePaul will play at Creighton on Christmas Day, as a prelude to the NFL game between Green Bay and Miami on Fox.
It isn't taking Sean Miller long to make an impact in his second go-round at Xavier…looks like the Musketeers have a potential Top 10 recruiting class coming in for 2023.
Edward in East Providence is happy. We have an American male reaching the semis of the US Open Tennis Championship for the first time in 16 years…and the Connecticut Sun are in the WNBA Finals, beating the defending league champs to get there. Life is good for somebody, at least.
Phil Mickelson said last week he hopes pro golfers on both sides (LIV and PGA) understand the importance of competition…that the LIV is providing competition, if not leverage, for those currently on the PGA Tour.
Perhaps. But two questions come to mind. One, is the sport really better without the golfer/athlete "earning" it in a 54-hole, no-cut event? And two, who won the Boston LIV tournament at The International last weekend?
Probably had to look that up, didn't you? And that's the point.
Feel bad for Andrew Benintendi if he has a broken wrist that will keep him out for the rest of this season. Don't feel bad for the Yankees, who are presently doing their best to imitate the Red Sox' 1978 swoon.
Now, who plays the role of Bucky "Bleeping" Dent in this remake of that baseball classic?
Red Sox outfielder Kike Hernandez has a new deal for next year, and a supposed "promise" from Chaim Bloom that next year's team 'will be better.' Does this mean that if the team isn't better, he can walk?
All I know is this: The Sox this week suffered their 9th straight loss at Tropicana Field, the longest single season losing streak EVER by a visiting team. Boston is 4-12 against the Rays this season and 18-39 against the AL East through midweek. #WTH
Minor league baseball players have voted to unionize and join the MLBPA. Considering the way minor leaguers have long been treated by baseball, with the average player earning between $400 and $700 per week only during the season (about $14K annually), that's not surprising.
What also should not be surprising – is invariably, you, me and fans everywhere will end up paying for whatever improved benefits they receive…because of increased costs to major league owners.
MLB did raise its minimum pay last year and began requiring teams to offer housing to most of their minor leaguers. Baseball earlier this summer reached a $185 million settlement with thousands of past and present minor league players who filed suit eight years ago – alleging minimum wage violations.
They're digging in the dirt along the Seekonk River in Pawtucket, with the proposed soccer complex construction underway but in a downsized deal from the original plans. The ProJo reported this week on the updated scenario – which now includes only the stadium project.
Surrounding infrastructure – apartments, businesses, and a hotel where the old Apex building sits – has been, um, tabled. But without the stuff around the new stadium, how will the public – the taxpayers – actually benefit, besides being able to watch pro soccer?
We passed a significant, historical, and tragic anniversary this week. It was 50 years ago when terrorists (later ID'd as members of the Black September Palestinian terror group) at the 1972 Munich Olympics took 11 Israeli athletes hostage, and eventually murdered them all.
It was just last week that an agreement was reached to compensate the families of the athletes who were killed…$28 million euros.
If you were alive at the time, it stands as one of the true "where were you" moments we all experience in life, good or bad. But 50 years after the fact?
Qualifies as a 'wow' for me. And the fact we're no closer to real, meaningful peace in the Middle East 50 years later qualifies as a 'whoa,' too.
Not only did we bid adieu to Serena Williams' dominance last week, but this week Sue Bird played her final WNBA game. The former UConn star goes out a 4-time WNBA champ, a 5-time Olympic gold medalist, a 13-time all-star, and the league's assist and games started leader.
Two of the greatest female athletes of our lifetime, of anyone's lifetime, step aside in a span of five days.
But hey…shut up, sit down in front, turn up the sound and pass the popcorn. Football's here.
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