My Thoughts After A Long Weekend
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
It’s hard to make comparisons between football and basketball teams, but after last night we’ll hear a lot of the same things being said about the Ohio State football team that were said about the Kentucky basketball team last November.
Both squads are loaded with next-level talent, in a league where they aren’t likely to be challenged on a game-to-game basis, and Ohio State should make it easily to the Big 10 Conference title game in Indianapolis in December.
After that, we learned from Kentucky there is no such thing as a “lock” for the national title. Since Ohio State will be in football’s Final Four (and they’re good enough they can afford a loss and still make it, as long as the loss is timely) it seems likely the Buckeyes will go into this year’s playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
Based on last night’s 42-24 win over Virginia Tech, the only team at the moment that can beat Ohio State is Ohio State. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
The two baseball front-runners, St. Louis and Kansas City, haven’t exactly been world beaters in the last week or so. There are ups and downs in each baseball season, and both squads are playing a lot of second-team guys and giving the regulars some rest.
But in a world where all the contenders have flaws, is it such a great idea to mess with the chemistry that got the Cardinals and Royals in those spots?
It’s a little bit maddening to have the Royals get not only swept, but whooped by the White Sox in Kansas City. I keep reminding myself that there’s a bunch of Omaha Storm Chasers on the roster, but I’d like to see a lot more offensive life from them before too many more days turn.
The Cubs seems fairly secure in making the playoffs, and I’m sure fans of the North Siders would rather they play that one-game wild card contest in The Friendly Confines. Personally, I like the schedule that keeps teams in their divisions as much as possible in the last month of the season. Right now, the Cubs are looking solid. Can they maintain that well into October?
Does an NFL team require a top-flight quarterback to win a Super Bowl? History suggests that, in the absence of a dominating defense, that the QB is the key. If that’s the case, can Washington even get a sniff of the postseason with Kirk Cousins at the controls?
According to multiple reports, Washington has shopped Robert Griffin III around the league, but can find no takers. I suspect part of that is the asking price; Daniel Snyder and Company will want to recoup some of their investment.
The thought occurs; I wonder if the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants like having Snyder in the league? His team seems to have more drama surrounding it than a junior high school, and for the other three teams in the NFC East, that’s worked out pretty well over the long term.
In the “I told you so” department, Tom Brady will start for New England Thursday night against the Steelers. I like the Thursday night home game for the Super Bowl champions to kick off the season, but the rest of the Thursday night contests need to be scheduled around bye weeks, including the Thanksgiving Day games.
Last, until yesterday I didn’t know the U.S. Open is the only major tennis tournament with a fifth set tiebreaker. I thought we were going to see one last night before South Africa’s Kevin Anderson hit Andy Murray with a 7-0 fourth-set tiebreaker to secure the upset.
I’m not the world’s biggest tennis fan, as I only watch three of the four majors. (I’ve never really watched the French Open, and there’s no real reason for it.) But I can appreciate the athleticism and the level of competition. I understand enough about the game that it can be enjoyed.[[In-content Ad]]
It’s hard to make comparisons between football and basketball teams, but after last night we’ll hear a lot of the same things being said about the Ohio State football team that were said about the Kentucky basketball team last November.
Both squads are loaded with next-level talent, in a league where they aren’t likely to be challenged on a game-to-game basis, and Ohio State should make it easily to the Big 10 Conference title game in Indianapolis in December.
After that, we learned from Kentucky there is no such thing as a “lock” for the national title. Since Ohio State will be in football’s Final Four (and they’re good enough they can afford a loss and still make it, as long as the loss is timely) it seems likely the Buckeyes will go into this year’s playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
Based on last night’s 42-24 win over Virginia Tech, the only team at the moment that can beat Ohio State is Ohio State. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.
The two baseball front-runners, St. Louis and Kansas City, haven’t exactly been world beaters in the last week or so. There are ups and downs in each baseball season, and both squads are playing a lot of second-team guys and giving the regulars some rest.
But in a world where all the contenders have flaws, is it such a great idea to mess with the chemistry that got the Cardinals and Royals in those spots?
It’s a little bit maddening to have the Royals get not only swept, but whooped by the White Sox in Kansas City. I keep reminding myself that there’s a bunch of Omaha Storm Chasers on the roster, but I’d like to see a lot more offensive life from them before too many more days turn.
The Cubs seems fairly secure in making the playoffs, and I’m sure fans of the North Siders would rather they play that one-game wild card contest in The Friendly Confines. Personally, I like the schedule that keeps teams in their divisions as much as possible in the last month of the season. Right now, the Cubs are looking solid. Can they maintain that well into October?
Does an NFL team require a top-flight quarterback to win a Super Bowl? History suggests that, in the absence of a dominating defense, that the QB is the key. If that’s the case, can Washington even get a sniff of the postseason with Kirk Cousins at the controls?
According to multiple reports, Washington has shopped Robert Griffin III around the league, but can find no takers. I suspect part of that is the asking price; Daniel Snyder and Company will want to recoup some of their investment.
The thought occurs; I wonder if the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants like having Snyder in the league? His team seems to have more drama surrounding it than a junior high school, and for the other three teams in the NFC East, that’s worked out pretty well over the long term.
In the “I told you so” department, Tom Brady will start for New England Thursday night against the Steelers. I like the Thursday night home game for the Super Bowl champions to kick off the season, but the rest of the Thursday night contests need to be scheduled around bye weeks, including the Thanksgiving Day games.
Last, until yesterday I didn’t know the U.S. Open is the only major tennis tournament with a fifth set tiebreaker. I thought we were going to see one last night before South Africa’s Kevin Anderson hit Andy Murray with a 7-0 fourth-set tiebreaker to secure the upset.
I’m not the world’s biggest tennis fan, as I only watch three of the four majors. (I’ve never really watched the French Open, and there’s no real reason for it.) But I can appreciate the athleticism and the level of competition. I understand enough about the game that it can be enjoyed.[[In-content Ad]]
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