Thinking out loud…while wondering who else got more rain the day AFTER Henri blew through New England?
• For his sake, I hope all will continue well. But if his five-day Covid time-out costs him his gig, Cam Newton has no one to blame but himself.
• He chose to remain unvaccinated. Guess that cat’s outta the bag now. And I know he had Covid nearly a year ago, too. So why should he vax up with all those mighty antibodies around?
• Forget about protecting yourself further…or your friends, family, teammates, and coaches…your fellow humans…last I checked, rules are rules for a reason.
• Rules that the NFLPA agreed to. It’s the NFL’s world, we’re all merely bystanders and observers.
• Giants’ week practices = opportunity knocks/Mo Lewis moment for Mac Jones? Day One, absolutely. Day Two, he was a rookie again. A very good one, however.
• Before you anoint him the second coming…is he, right now, the best opportunity for the Patriots to be at their best and win? You know what BB sez.
• My bad. Sorry N’Keal. Musta been me that jinxed you.
• The Sony Michel trade this week was an inevitability, what with the sudden riches at running back. In spite of being a first round pick (at #31) in 2018, he was most decidedly NOT a bust as some media types claim.
• 2300+ yards in three seasons, plus his 2018 playoff performance averaging 100+ yards per game and scoring the only TD in the win over the Rams is not busty material.
• If he’s a bust, then your standards are wack. Maybe he wasn’t a first round talent, but he helped the team win a Super Bowl. ‘Nuff said.
• Hey Steph Gilmore, any time you’d like to show up and play this year would be great. Hopefully, it’s with the Patriots.
• Roster cutdown comes Tuesday. As always, a few guys will be on pins and needles. N’Keal Harry should worry. Not sold that they’ll stick with Nick Folk to kick. The final roster spot could also come down to Harvey Langi at linebacker, keeping Brian Hoyer or Gilmore’s obstinence.
• The NFL sez Buffalo’s new stadium is a priority. But will the City of Buffalo and the State of New York citizenry agree at a proposed price tag of $1.5 billion? Taxpayers are being asked to foot the entire bill.
• That wouldn’t play well in Pawtucket, would it?
• The lease on Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park is up after the 2023 season…which would mark the facility’s 50th anniversary.
• That’s not just old in stadium years…that’s prehistoric.
• Not for nuthin,’ but Gillette Stadium can now vote and drink. It’s 21 years old, and has already had a few mid-life crises facelifts, if you haven’t noticed any new wrinkles.
• Sports betting industry analyst PlayUSA sez we (as in all sports fans) might bet $20 billion on football this fall.
• That’s about $1.5 billion to sportsbooks, millions to the states where they operate. And zero to Massachusetts.
• Forbes this week reported Florida and Texas lead the nation in Jan. 6 Capitol riot charges. Last I checked, those two states also lead the nation in active Covid cases.
• That’s a helluva coincidence, don’cha think?
• But in the interest of full disclosure, Florida and Texas ARE two of the three most-populated states, too. So, there’s that. And, Florida has stopped reporting its’ daily number of Covid cases…so there’s that, too.
• Boston College announced Friday fans attending any on-campus athletic event will need to show proof of vaccination, or a negative Covid test within the previous 72-hours. Young people under 12 will need to mask up. BC has a 99% vax rate among students and faculty, football is 100%.
• LSU is also requiring proof of vax or at least a negative Covid test for admission into its’ football stadium this fall. Louisiana is among the top three states right now with the highest seven-day rolling average of coronavirus cases.
• And keep this in mind, while you criticize mask-wearing and dig in your heels over vaxxing: From Vanderbilt infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner this week – “The unvaccinated are a big highway of transmission. The vaccinated are a little side street.”
• The Yankees – these Yankees – are red hot. They won their 12th game in a row Thursday night, their longest streak since 1961 (when they last won 13 straight), the year Roger Maris broke The Babe’s single-season home run record with 61 dingers.
• Tweet of the Week, from @MikeLupica: “It doesn’t matter where you root in the Yankees vs. Red Sox rivalry. The fact of this season, with the two teams, is this – Brian Cashman pantsed Chaim Bloom at the Trade Deadline.”
• A Boston-New York wild card series, maybe? Yes, please.
• More Matt Barnes on the back end of the bullpen? No, please. And if the Sox end up on the outside of the playoffs looking in, the bullpen will be the ultimate culprit.
• Hey, could Mr. Immaculate Inning, Chris Sale, start and then close? That would be great.
• On the other side of the fence, the Orioles this week snapped a 19-game losing streak…the longest in MLB since the ’05 Royals lost 19 in a row. And they snapped it against the Angels’ once-in-a-lifetime stud Shohei Ohtani.
• Such is life in the present-day AL East.
• The ProJo’s Bill Koch had a good update piece on ex-Hendricken Hawk Rocco Baldelli’s struggles this season as manager in Minnesota. Two straight post-season berths, then 2021’s current mess (16 games under .500 at midweek), doesn’t necessarily mean he’s forgotten how to win.
• My lady buddy Bobbie bragged this week, telling me she gave birth four times and still fits into her HS prom dress. I gave birth zero times, exercise every day and still can’t fit into my pants from March.
• Mentioned the past couple of weeks about the impending move of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, no later than 2025…and perhaps much earlier. The thunder is rumbling in the distance.
• This week, the ACC, Big 10 and Pac-12 announced an alliance between the three leagues, to be ‘competitive’ with what will become the first 16-team “super conference” in college athletics, the SEC.
• This is all football-driven, but there are governance issues that will be addressed as well. And with the NCAA seeking to reorganize its’ charter this fall to potentially deregulate college athletics, it could also be the beginning of an autonomous “Super League” apart and separate from the NCAA.
• Yeah, money is talking louder than ever. Kinda sucks the fun right out of college football (and basketball) Saturdays.
• The idea behind the alliance is primarily for football scheduling partnerships, creating more ‘big game’ opportunities for television partners and their potential audiences. Some will certainly see this alliance as an instinctive reaction to the SEC’s bullying additions of the Longhorns and Sooners…and they wouldn’t be wrong.
• But if football is fighting for dollars and ratings – won’t basketball (and other sports) be forced to come along for the ride?
• This is where it gets tricky. The NCAA’s cash cow ($700+ million annually) has always been the men’s basketball tournament. But without these ‘Super League’ schools involved, if they go in their own direction to play by their own rules…it could put a huge dent in that March Madness steamroller.
• The NCAA Tournament is not just a cash cow – it is a living, breathing national sports tradition. Could you imagine the NFL messing with the Super Bowl? The constitutional convention this fall should be very careful. Notre Dame’s Mike Brey has suggested setting the tourney aside – and start retooling from there.
• I’ll wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. What about football-only conferences?
• And what should the Big East do here if anything? They don’t play football as we know…but football is still very much driving the college athletic bus.
• Should the Big East (again) consider a super league to keep up with the football schools? Not so much for the competition, but for the television deals undoubtedly being discussed and contracted? The current league TV deal with Fox expires after the 2024-25 season.
• The addition of UConn to the mix already makes the Big East more valuable than the current deal. Should there be other additions to ‘beef up’ the TV schedule as colleges and other conferences fight for eyeballs – and TV dollars?
• There’s one school – Gonzaga – potentially available that would make TV producers’ hearts go pitter-pat and perhaps bring more $$$ into Big East school coffers. Forget geographic boundaries or limits. That doesn’t account for anything anymore…except for nostalgia.
• From The Sporting News: “Of the 20 largest sports television audiences for the first half of 2021, the only two that did not involve football were the Baylor-Gonzaga NCAA championship game (16.92 million viewers) and Gonzaga-UCLA Final Four game (14.94 million).”
• Add BYU (a reported Big 12 candidate), maybe Saint Mary’s, Loyola Marymount, or Pepperdine (LA media market) or USF (San Francisco) as regional partners for the Zags…and still largely keep the mostly private school idea intact…even if you added another football entity in BYU. They’re already independent in the sport – as is UConn.
• Personally, I’d hate to go ‘back to the future.’ It ended disastrously as we know, despite the best efforts of former commissioner John Marinatto. Remember Boise State and San Diego State? But football was the driving force then.
• As it is again now. The Big East shouldn’t be an innocent bystander…waiting for football to run them over again. Just sayin’.
• And to have football run them over, with the NCAA currently in disarray, would be dumb. Everyone is acting in their own self-interest. The Big East should kick the tires on expansion.
• Dan Gavitt for NCAA Commissioner. Don’t shoot me, Danny. But you’d be a great fit – you have your Dad’s sense of camaraderie, collegiality, compassion and political science…and the NCAA Tournament has never been more popular.
• But could you put up with all of the greedy football backstabbing?
• Speaking of backstabbing – the Pac-12 announced this week they would NOT be expanding. At least not right now, if you read between the lines.
• Which should put the American Athletic Conference on HIGH alert, as the Big 12 now needs to add at least two schools to remain part of the Autonomous 5/Power 5/Football 5. Question: Which two could possibly replace Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12?
• Answer: None.
• If I’m the AAC, I’d try to poach first, rather than be poached again.
• On NCAA reform, Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman this week told a panel: “The NCAA can be trusted to try to reform…but my guess is they will probably need help, whether it’s in the form of pressure, or assistance, or some other device.”
• Or more specifically, help from Congress and/or the courts. Good luck with that.
• PC hoop has added a home game on Nov. 27th against St. Peter’s. Still waiting on dates to firm up for 2-3 more opponents. The Big East schedule is typically released in early September.
• Bryant released its’ men’s NEC hoop schedule this week, after finishing as conference runner up to Mount St. Mary’s last season and narrowly missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
• In non-league play, the Bulldogs are beefing up…they will play at URI, at Cincinnati, at Houston and at Clemson.
• Louisville has suspended head coach Chris Mack for the first six games of next season, in relation to his handling of the extortion attempt by ex-assistant coach Dino Gaudio.
• Did you see where the Greek Freak bought a piece of the Milwaukee Brewers, continuing a trend of superstar pro athletes investing in other sports properties and teams?
• Hey, Jackie Bradley – that’s MISTER Greek Freak to you, amiright?
• ICYMI, last week the Topps Trading Card Company lost its’ 70-year relationship with MLB, as baseball turned to Fanatics to begin producing tomorrow’s treasures in 2023.
• This week, Fanatics struck again…reaching a deal with the NFLPA to begin producing football cards in 2026. And that deal came after striking a 20-year deal with the NBA to replace Panini as its card maker in 2026.
• Seems like a pretty good week for Fanatics, no? They went from zero to 100 mph in the trading card biz. The company raised $325 million on an $18 billion valuation earlier this month – which surely caught the NFL’s attention.
• The league bought a 3% stake in Fanatics four years ago.
• Have a year, Matt Turner. Hottest goalkeeper known to humanity. US Men’s National Team savior. Leading the Revs to a potential Supporters’ Shield in MLS with the league’s best record. MLS All-Star game MVP, stoning the Liga MX All-Stars from Mexico in a shootout.
• He was also called back to duty with the USMNT this week. But don’t forget to add MLS Cup champ while you’re at it.
• If the producers of “Jeopardy!” need a guy to stand-in as host, I’m in. But I will admit, as reminded by my friend and former ESPN Radio co-worker Chris Moore…that might be tough to do with a “you idiot, how could you not know that?” reaction toward contestants.
• Tuukka Rask told the Greg Hill Show this week he’s ahead of schedule after surgery and wants to stay and play in Boston – this season. But do the B’s – should the B’s – want to keep him around with young guys waiting in the wings?
• The news of Dorchester’s Jimmy Hayes’ passing at age 31 this week was stunning. Think of the thousands of kids who skate (and grew up skating) from the area, and Hayes was the ONE who made it out of there to eventually win a natty at BC, and wind up in a Bruins’ sweater for a couple of seasons.
• Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts died this week at the age of 80. Eighty. Qualifies as a ‘wow’ and a ‘whoa.’
• The iconic Stones, among their fame and fortune, have long been noted (emphasis on long) for packing sports stadiums across Planet Earth…including a last stop at Gillette Stadium two years ago and a private playing for Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft in 2016.
• The group is apparently scheduled to play another private show at Gillette Sept. 20th, six days before finally kicking off its’ ‘No Filter Tour.’
• Watts’ final show – which came pre-pandemic in 2019 – was at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
• He was forced to bow out of the Stones’ upcoming tour due to health issues – his first missed gig since joining the group in 1963. Steve Jordan will pick up his sticks when (and if) the Gillette date and subsequent tour kicks off in St. Louis late next month.
• Oh boy. I’ve heard from several (many!) about vaccination, in and out of sports. Thanks especially to those of you who suggest sticking to sports in the middle of a very public, very global pandemic, and to those of you questioning my personal sanity. Not safety.
• Especially from Florida, where infections have reportedly increased more than 600% in the past week.
• Yeah. Love Florida. You take care. #smh
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