Connery’s Views from a recliner

On Saturday afternoon, the Duke Blue Devils lost an ACC road game to the Wake Forst Denon Deacons, (Wake Forest, lol!!!, Excuse me, the UNC fan in me came out for a second there).

Also lost for Duke was star sophomore, Kyle Filipowski, but it was the way he was injury that has everybody up in arms. Filipowski, waa injured, after the game, as Wake Forest fans excited stormed the court to celebrate their team’s victory.

Video showed Filipowski walking off the court, getting tangled amongst fans and then helped off.

Obviously, I, even a Duke hater, doesn’t want to see this. Filipowski is one of the country’s best players 🤮, on a good team, 🤮, you want him healthy, especially for the UNC-Duke rematch in a couple weeks.

So, yeah, when CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish says something has to be done about court storming, agreed. The NCAA or ACC, in this case, could enforce a rule, all players and university personnel off the floor before the celebration could commence. I have no problem with that.

That’s where my agreement with Mr. Parrish ends.

Parrish, would go on to say in speaking out against court storming, of Filipowski, ‘a player as recognizable as him’, ‘and a brand as recognizable as Duke’. That’s fine Gary, but the same thing happened recently to Caitlin Clark of Iowa, heard of her? To refresh your menory, she recently set a new record for career points scored by a woman in Division I and has basically introduced a ton of new people to basketball in the last two years.

My point? VIRTUALLY THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO HER!!!! WHERE WAS YOUR OUTRAGE THEN?!?

Indiana’s women team upset Clark’s Iowa team, Clark suffered an injury in a similar court storming incident, to which she confirmed in a press conference latee, she was okay. That was it, no outrage, no, ‘I’ve written colums on this’, ‘this is damgerous’.

But because it’s a brand, like Duke, Filipowski gets the coverage and the outrage? And don’t tell me Filipowski is more popular than Caitlin Clark, because on her worst day, that wouldn’t be true.

It’s hypocritical, unfair and nonsense.

You want to fix court storming, fine, look at a larger sample size than a kid from Duke turning an ankle because it affects the NCAA/ACC and Duke’s pockets and speaking about the ‘outrage’. Look at the incidents of students getting injured or worse.

It’s November. Veterans Day on Saturday, another college football season is winding down, it’s been a great year. Teams we expect to win have been, some upsets, Notre Dame can’t win a big game at home, I know Pop, been saying the same shit for the past 20 years, and that pesky realignment thing that set the college football landscape on it’s ear earlier this summer.

From that, you had Northwestern fire their coach over hazing allegations, he has since sued, but then it was about football.

As stated earlier, your Georgias, your Ohio State’s your Florida State were all the rage, Colorado became the media’s darling because of Deion, and then he remembered he had to coach against better competition and not talk his way out of bad play, they’re unranked.

Then there was Michigan, and Michigan looked loaded. Preseason No. 2, an experienced returning cast of characters, that fiery, ‘Michigan Man’, himself Jim Harbaugh at Coach, they had it all, AND, were blowing teams out. It was almost, too good to be true, until it was.

Recently, reports have suggested that Michigan has engaged in sign stealing, similar to the Astros in Major League Baseball. Michigan has of course, denied wrongdoing and stood by their coach and team. ‘Off Field Analyst’, Connor Stallions resigned, and since, the waters are getting murkier in Ann Arbor for the Wolverines, as pending punishment awaits.

Then Thursday night, this:

Michigan sent a letter to The Big Ten, ‘urging to respect due process’?

Code for: ‘Hi, um so we’re currently REALLY HiGH RANKED, and we have a tough road game at Penn State and then ya know the biggie at home with Ohio State, which could be 1 versus 2 on National TV, a ratings win for Fox, etc…..yeah so, since the guy you’re looking at resigned, ahem, please don’t suspend our Coach or punish us too badly, ok? OR, if we could handle this say, February, mid February? That’d be just swell of ya! And remember, other teams did it first!’

They got caught and now have to own it and live it down. Harbaugh, the Michigan Man, the Golden boy with all his swagger and bullshit had to cheat to win? All I’m saying is if this were Notre Dame, they would have been punished severely and swiftly, it would have been justified, everyone would say they got what they deserved, all the haters would rejoice,same with Alabama or Georgia, and Ohio State, Good Lord, same with places like USC and others. But, Michigan, it just drags on and THEY somehow want to appear victimized?

Why is Michigan getting so much rope here?!? Again, people hate Notre Dame, people HATE Nick Saban and Brian Kelly. I just feel like if it were other teams, players would be suspended, coaches would be suspended at the very least, seasons would be ruined.

If this happens at a Service Academy or Kansas State, it’d be buried.

But because it’s tradition, blue bood, that means dollars and potentially dollars lost for people that burn money, and that scares them shitless, so it’s a top story for ESPN who doesn’t even have the Big Ten anymore. That’s why, nothing will happen until after the season.

And, it is not right.

The scene is a posh Las Vegas hotel bar.

Seated at a spacious booth are the Commissioners of the Big Ten, the Big 12, SEC and ACC. Smells of cigarettes, cigars and expensive alcohol fill the room. The smells are cut off by the laughter of the four men.

Big Ten: Boys, we’ve done an AWESOME thing, USC and UCLA, and, now, Washington and Oregon to the Big Ten! Arizona, ASU, Colorado, Utah to the Big 12! Woo! Gordon Ramsey would be an awe of our knife skills of the PAC 12!

(Light laughter dies off)

…Too soon? Aw, the hell with it, do you know I received, yes me, I received calls about killing the Cal-Stanford rivalry and the ‘Big Game’?

His exasperation is cut off by a question from one within group, ‘And what did you say?’

‘I said, ask the ACC!!!!’

ACC President: And we’re working on it, believe me!

(More boisterous laughter, Big Ten and ACC toast glasses as Big Ten lights a cigarette and frowns)

Big Ten: ‘Aw, shit!’

(The others turn in unison)

‘No, don’t look, don’t look….Goddamnit!’

SEC: ‘Whats the matter?’

‘Notre Dame’s here. It was always The Power 5 and Notre Dame….we’ve been waxing them for years, why in the world are they here?!? They bitch and moan how’s it not fair but then have the balls to stay independent? Elitism at its worst!

ACC: Simple, they’re ACC eligible in virtually every other college sport, and um, Big Ten, fact you’re glossing over, this, ‘waxing’, get off your own high horse because you went to Ohio State, they were in the game, in Columbus into the fourth quarter, second, they beaten Clemson recently, can you say that, and Michigan?

But you want to know why they have a seat at our table year after year and we listen to them year after year….boys?

Big 12, ACC and SEC in unison: They make us money, a shit ton of it! So we listen to them…

(A well dressed man with a Gold pin and tie to match walks up)

Notre Dame: Gentlemen, congratulations, you’ve had quite the week! Quite the coup for you all! The Big Ten expanding to 18! Was it worth destroying a conference and traditions along the way for more money?’

Big Ten: You’re going to whine to me about ‘the poor traditions’ that the Big 10 destroyed? You’ve been on an island for years and chose to stay that way!

Notre Dame: (grinning, rubbing Big Ten’s shoulder), and yet, here I stand my friend, with two prime time home games this season against Ohio State and USC. Games, broadcast on NBC, streamed on Peacock, whom the Big Ten just a inked huge media deal last year to start broadcasting and streaming games this year. Once again, me being here, lining our pockets making us all a ton of money, so I am not the monster you make me out to be! But that’s right, you stick to your principled high ground and we’ll forget how you raped, I mean, basically torpedoed a tradition laden conference with amazing fan bases all for the sake of the same reason we’re all here, Money! But, no, while The Irish are setting ratings records against SC and Ohio State, you enjoy church on those Saturday evenings.

SEC: Burn!

Big Ten: Cocky asshole!’

Notre Dame: (Laughs) But Im not wrong! Next round on me, boys!

(The men adjourn to a posh suite, beautiful views, booze and food await).

SEC: So what brings you here, Irish?

Notre Dame: Future Business.

Big 10: See, you always do this! You ALWAYS want your piece! Schedules are already set years in advance, you already have Bama on the schedule in coming years , you play Texas and Florida in coming years as well, Miami as well…..take the bite you have….

Notre Dame: Ignore him. You know the CBS tagline, ‘The Best Game, the Best Conference, The Best Network?’ I know your contract’s up after 23.

You know what I hear? I hear that spoken by Fowler and Herbstreit in 2024 as Notre Dame visits Oklahoma or Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Prime Time. Think about it! The Irish in Tuscaloosa or Atlanta over Labor Day weekend to face Bama or Georgia in prime time, then the traditional Red River Rivalry, OU and Texas at noon on an October Saturday, Notre Dame against anyone, say for arguments sake, Tennessee at 3:30 PM, then Alabama/Georgia from Athens at night! What a tripleheader!!!

(The men blink in silence)

‘Of course, Fox has OU Texas for a while….and I’m just spit-balling here, it’s late. But, its fun to think about it isn’t it?

SEC: Realistically, what would it take for you guys to….

Notre Dame: A hell of a lot, but for now we’re happy to listen and be wooed by various suitors….Good night Gentlemen.

(Notre Dame exits, shaking hands with the others before leaving, even Big Ten who smiles and continues laughing as Notre Dame exits).

SEC: What now? An hour ago you couldn’t stand him!

Big Ten: He worked us, he absolutely fucking worked us, all of us! They aren’t joining anywhere any time soon. Why would they join us to share money with us, they contribute sure, but why would they want to join a conference and have their profits cut for no reason? Christ, and the worst thing is, we NEED THEM! Those games he proposed, the money stream would be endless! God I hate Notre Dame! But hate more when they are right!!!!’

I was born in 1982. ESPN was still gaining traction , and sports, particularly college sports in the 80s were AWESOME!

One thing that them particularly awesome was ESPN pretty much had wall to wall coverage. Football Saturdays, Texas OU, Colorado Nebraska, the snow on the turf fields was always so cool to me, Ohio State Michigan, watching with my Dad…

‘Justin, Go to Bed!!!!’

‘But Mom, UCONN-Georgetown!!!! Big Monday!!!, (what ESPN used to call the slate of games), and we have popcorn!!!’

‘You’re 5 and have school and its after 9!!!!’

Rivalries make sports great, proximity to schools, especially make them great. That’s what I grew up on.

I miss ALL of that!

Recently, college sports, particularly conferences are expandingx expanding, huge. The rivalries conferences that ,grew up on, see you later. The Big 8, became the Big 12 years ago and is growing, losing, Oklahoma and Texas, but gaining BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, UCF, (in one case welcoming back Colorado). The PAC 8, became the PAC 10, then expanded to the PAC 12 when it added Colorado and Utah years back, now? It’s a ghosttown. The Big 10 alone has poached USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, the latter two as recently as this evening. The Big ‘Ten’ now will have 18 teams!!!

I haven’t even mentioned the SEC, that small Southeastern Conference, now will include Texas and Oklahoma in 2024.

And then there’s Notre Dame. The outlier, the Independent, that everyone in the media and the analysts like to bad mouth about the special treatment they get and how it isnt fair. They remain Independent, with an exclusive deal with NBC/Peacock to broadcast their home games for an obscene amount of money. You don’t think the Big Ten want The Irish as Team 19? Or the SEC, Notre Dame in Prime Time on the SEC on CBS, Notre Dame on Campus in Norman, or Austin?

A memo to CBS, Disney and the Power 5 Conferences Notre Dame’s sitting atop it’s Golden Dome….they’re out there ladies and gentlemen.

Back to the rivalries, some are staying as is but some are dying. Why? First and foremost, money. Money and media deals are insane! This has pros and cons.

Pro: This opens the door….USC Ohio State on a snow cold night in November, Ohio State/Washington on a rainy cold Seattle afternoon, Penn State in Oregon in September, Alabama, on campus in Norman in Prime Time, the list is endless, a sports enthusiast’s dream!!!

The same goes for college basketball, an 19-11 Penn State needs a Quad 1 win and has to travel out West to beat either UCLA or USC? Again, cool stuff!

The Con: The slow death of the rivalry in some cases. For example, Washington and Washington State play traditionally at the end of the year in the Apple Cup, it’s history, it’s tradition, yeah the teams might not always be great, but it still means something to people.

Now, yeah, it’ll still mean something, but if Washington somehow has a great year, they don’t finish the regular with the Apple Cup, they could end it in East Lansing, or Iowa City. It just feels, and again, its the traditionalist in me, it just doesnt feel right.

The same for college basketball. USC needs that road win over Cal to close out the regular season, that won’t happen anymore, now USC might need that road win against Penn State. It just feels like money rules the day, over tradition, even over exposure and draft stock for players and coaches. As a fan, it takes something from the allure of it all.

As for the Pac 12? It’s now the Pac 4 with California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State. When these 4 went to bed last night, they were part of a Power 5 Conference, now they’re treading water, barely as a Mom and Pop Conference, craziness.

As I’m writing this, news just broke that Arizona, Arizona State, Utah will follow Colorado to the Big 12, giving the Big 12, 16 Teams!!!

But I’m telling you, as much as everyone hates to admit it, the eyes and ears of the college football world are on South Bend. As I said, the money Notre Dame could bring the networks and the conference lucky enough to snag them for the next wave of media rights deals, holy shit.

This annoys me. We all work our tails off to protect and provide for our families.

This guy is a multimillionaire at multiple colleges, makes public anti-gay remarks, does this public blanket apology, ‘ I was wrong, I love it here, love these kids and this university… I will change’

A DAY LATER

Has a DUI, resigns (as he should of) and now he’s like, ‘nope never happened, I waa just like that kid when we used to play whiffle ball in the backyard, see my last swing, (that DUI) equivalent to that last home last home run, the ball got stuck in the tree there. I’m entitled to a ‘do-over’. The ‘do-over is an unwrittten unspoken, grandfathered in rule. It just sticks! So…..do over! I’ll see my guys at practice!’

See, it, doesn’t and shouldn’t work that way. Bob Huggins, I am a nobody to you, you won’t read this, you could be the nicest, morally decent man in the world, who made a mistake. We all make them, I am my harshest critic, I make them every day.

But the fact remains Bob, you made a mistake, you have to atone for it and face some consequences here.

You cannot get by on your name and past success and just say, ‘nope I didn’t resign’, not in this time of social media where everything is accounted for.

Drop the entitled, elitism and take responsibility for your actions.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the following are my own. Frankly, they’re topics that I’m really passionate about, sports and celebrating sports figures after retirement, or posthumously, even if their off the field behavior hasn’t been the greatest, or of that of the ‘heroes’ they are made out to be on an off the field.

Specifically, Jim Brown. Jim Brown, Friday passed away at the age of 87. Jim Brown, the football player, was the definition of a beast. Before Barry Sanders, Emmit Smith, before Walter Payton, there was Jim Brown. 118 Games, he started all of them, 12312 yards, you read that right, in an era where teams didn’t pass much, 106 Touchdowns, in 9 seasons, 9!!!! Unreal! Jim Brown, Hall of Fame Running Back, considered by many to be the best player ever to play football period!

Jim Brown also did a TON in terms of social activism and race relations. His famed, Cleveland Summit, that drew support of other sports figures and their support of Muhammad Ali’s protest of and objection to Vietnam War. The Amer-I-can Program he founded to rehabilitate gang members and struggling kids. And, he even acted in movies and television.

WHAT A GUY! To steal a line from my favorite tv show, ‘How could anyone not like him?!?’

Continue reading to find out.

The timeline below is from a linked article from DeadSpin back in 2016. The link is below. I will post the timeline and a short commentary after.

https://deadspin.com/jim-brown-did-great-things-he-also-beat-woman-1784269329

1965: Jim Brown, everybody’s hero is accused of assaulting an 18 year woman, slapping her face, hip and stomach and forced her to have sex with him. Ultimately, the charges are dropped, after a jury of his peers, (in the city of Cleveland where was was still playing football at the time) find him not guilty. No worries there Jimmy, Cleveland and the football world still love ya and, sign of the times, right? Maybe?

Jim Brown: Football Hall of Famer, Activist, Actor, Loved by Millions, Alleged Domestic Abuser?

Two similar incidents happened in 1967 and 1971. In ‘67, Brown was accused of beating his then girlfriend, charges were dropped when she later claimed she, ‘fell’.

In ‘71, this time, two women, again accused the All American from Syracuse, of beating them and throwing them out of his apartment AND, you read that correctly, a flight of stairs! The worst part, the two women appeared WITH BROWN and LEFT WITH AFTER the preceedings!!!

Don’t worry Jim, you’re already a Hall of Famer, we’ll call this a, minor transgression? Still all the good social activism stuff, right?

From 1975 to 1985, Brown managed to stay out of notable trouble, but continued his activism and good deeds. Maybe this leaf is turning? We hope?

(Sigh)

1985

Brown is again accused of raping and assaulting a 33 year old woman, with the help of his then 23 year old girlfriend. The charges were dropped due to ‘inconsistent testimony’ because, in short, the accuser couldn’t remember exactly what happened.

A year after the ‘85 case, Brown would have the audacity to say, ‘I don’t have much chance if someone wants to get me?’

Jim Brown: Football Hero, Activist, Alleged Domestic Abuser, Sympathetic Figure after said Allegations?

In ‘86, there was a minor dust up that he and his wife sort of did PR damage control on, then in 1989 his Memoir hit, Out of Bounds’, where and I’m paraphrasing, he admits to hitting women, admits he never should have and admits he should have been more adult. What a concept!!!

Holy shit! We have hope for this, at the time 54 YEAR OLD MAN REALIZING HITTING WOMEN IS A NO NO!

1999 & 2000

Brown is again in the news, this time for making terrorist threats against his wife. An officer arrived to see Brown’s wife visable scared, shaken, nervous and like she had been crying. There was even a 911 call where his wife states that Brown, ‘hadn’t hit her that day’. That part of the tape was labeled, ‘inaudible’. All ol Jimmy did was take a shovel to and destroy his wife’s car, for this, he was sentenced to a year of domestic violence counseling, 3 years probation and 400 hours of community service.

Monique Brown later gave an interview comparing the jail time he would receive due to this case, more on that in a moment, to that of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. All this after the guy told her he’d ‘snap her neck’.

Jim Brown: Football Hero, Activist, Alleged Domestic Abuser, Civil Rights Survivor!!!

For his role in the 2000 ordeal, saying it was beneath him, Brown refused the domestic violence counseling and spent 4 months in jail.

That’s where the timeline ends and my comments begin.

Jim Brown: Football Hero, Activist, Movie Star, Alleged Domestic Abuser….

No, you know what? My point is, you want to remember him on the football, great, but he was an ASSHOLE off the field, especially to women. I’m sorry, I’ve already been slammed by sharing this opinion in some Facebook groups, but why is he getting a pass here?

Domestic abuse and violence against women, just no, it’s a trigger. Being around it, exposed to it in high school and college, it shouldn’t happen ever.

I’m going to post this and I welcome any feedback to those that read it, truly, and I’ll get pushback I’m sure, but discussion is healthy and I welcome it.

I’d be cold hearted if I didn’t say my condolences to the Brown family for their loss and the football community’s loss as a whole. Condolences also have to go out to the families of the women he victimized over the years.

In the coming days and football season, Jim Brown, the larger than life Hall of Famer will be honored and celebrated, and deservedly so. But, we must examine Jim Brown, and his actions off the field as well.

OBSERVATION: March Madness is the best time of year if you are a sports fan, and this year’s ‘Madness’ proved it.

REACTION: This tournament had everything! A 16 ( FDU) beating a 1, (Purdue), which has only happened once before, when UMBC beat Virginia, good for the little guy! The tourney had other upsets, K State over Kentucky, Duke got slapped in round 2, Princeton made a run! It was crazy, everythubg you want, ‘The Madness’ to be!

OBSERVATION: It’s time to REALLY start taking, ‘The U’, seriously moving forward.

REACTION: Coach Jim Larranaga showed again why he’s just a hell of a coach. He, not only, took his team to back to back Elite 8s and their first ever Final Four, but, it was the way he did it.

He adjusted!

Starting against Indiana in Round 2, Larranaga began a Master Class of Cause and Effects: How Adjustments can take away an opponent’s top scorer or playermaker. Indiana, Houston, Texas, all fell victim to subtle adjustments. Wow. The ACC is no longer just UVA, UNC and Duke, slide The U up on that top line for a long time to come. Watching battles in the ACC with Harrison is going to be awesome!!!

OBSERVATION: The trash talking is unnecessary.

REACTION: I’m sad to admit, I’m getting older, I turned 41 during March Madness. But, I miss when team sports were less about the individual and more about the team. The trash talking on both sides of the women’s championship was unnecessary on both sides, even if both didn’t have a problem with the other doing it. Caitlin Clark started it, albeit at her own bench, Angel Reese took it way too far by folliwing Clark around the court when the game was ending. The two should have just shook hands and be done with it.

Then, for LSU’s Angel Reese to say, ‘we put women’s basketball on the map’. Please. Ms Reese is probably too young for a VCR, DVRs are becoming obsolete….so, she youtube Pat Summit, followed by Tennessee vs UCONN, then UCONN Women’s basketball dynasty, those folks took the NCAA Women’s Tournament from a lower right corner box score on D12 to the big draw it has become today with ESPN’s wall to wall coverage.

Social media and the amount of access we have to these players and they have allows them to push unnecessary narratives. Be classy in defeat, but especially in victory, what example are you setting otherwise.

Final thought: I am going to miss the bell out of Jim Nantz in March. He isnt retiring completely from broadcasting but he’s the voice of March Madness and has been for as I can remember, it’s going to be different next season not hearing him call games. He ended last night with ‘I’m not ttying to capitalize on ‘Hello Friends’, (his signature intro, which started as a tribute to his Dad), ‘Thank you all, for being my friend’, You are most welcome, my friend.

Those that know me, know I’ve wanted to be a sportswriter/broadcaster since I heard the word statistic. Thankfully, with blogging, I’ve been able to kind of live out that dream.

I bring this up, because earlier this evening, Atlanta Hawks Play by Play man, Bob Rathbun had a seizure during the Hawks broadcast, live, on the air. Typing those words seems surreal, but it happened.

I’m not going to post the clip, I refuse, something this serious, shouldn’t earn me more clicks. This situation especially hit home for me, because, back in July, I myself experienced my own seizure. I was standing in my driveway, watching my wife and dog, and then I woke up in an ambulance.

Luckily, with the help of meds, I have been seizure free since then, and thankfully, all reports say Bob Rathbun is stable and hopefully on the way to a full recovery and broadcasting soon.

My point in writing this tonight, was, and yeah, in the heat of the moment, I loathe this phrase, ‘It’s a game!’, or ‘Its only a game!!’, usually spoken to me by my loving wife, after the Giants fumble, give up a score or blow a lead (YESTERDAY!!), and in those moments, I as a fan am insensed, veins are popped, I feel a slight twitch above my eye, and I usually end up turning off the game to cool down or lately have been advocating to be elsewhere for games, wings and Mt. Dew having nothing to do with it.

Point is, she’s right, it is just a game, and an event like tonight proves that and will time and again. Who wins tonight and where OBJ signs doesn’t mean much when life hits you in the face live in front of the world.

Continued prayers and a speedy recovery for Mr. Rathbun. Hug those close to you tonight.

Tennessee traveled to Athens to take on Georgia. Let me say that again, with proper wording, ‘No. 1 Ranked Tennessee took on No. 3 Georgia in Athens, GA, Saturday afternoon.’

See, even that, sounds weird. Not that Tennessee hasn’t been good or deserving, they beat Alabama, after all, but to have them ahead of Georgia? When all Georgia’s done is look pretty unbeatable, save a scare back against Missouri on 10/1? Tennessee still had a ton to prove, to earn.

Unfortunately, the feel good story that is Tennessee, took a bit of a hit today, Georgia beat them soundly, 27-13 and should reclaim No.1 when the CFP Rankings are released this week.

Besides Tennessee losing, the afternoon slate went pretty much as expected, Ohio State struggled, but shrugged off a sluggish start to be Northwestern, to stay firmly entrenched in the College Football Playoff picture. A lot of the teams involved im the Playoff hunt, played in the evening, and boy, what an evening it turned on to be.

First, you had Michigan, they played Rutgers, winning easily. Then, you had the game I was really looking forward to watching, Clemson-Notre Dame from South Bend, in prime time.

Now, sentimentally, Notre Dame has been my team since 1988. They were also my father’s team. One of my earliest sports memories that I can remember vividly is watching Miami-Notre Dame, October 15, 1988? on my couch with my Dad, eating popcorn, talking between plays about how in the hell the Irish were going to stop Miami. Miami was just so damn good, seemingly had an answer for eveeything, and they were gonna tell you alllll about it, which drove me fucking nuts!!!!

Anyways, that worked out, good memories Dad, Irish won, yay. Back to tonight, Notre Dame Clemson, I was excited. It was going to be another test for the Irish and first year coach, Marcus Freeman. And, Clemson, is always good, year after year seemingly.

It, also as a fan of Notre Dame always feels good to beat Clemson, maybe because Clemson is so good, maybe because their coach is named Dabo, who knows, I just can’t get on board with their hype train.

Luckily, the Irish won, in shockingly convincingly fashion, 35-14, and thankfully, Dabo Sweeney was classy in defeat.

As soon as Notre Dame ended, I flipped to Alabama LSU, no big deal. LSU took a 24-21 lead when true freshman, Mason Taylor, caught the go ahead touchdown!!!!! Then, Alabama just needed a field goal to tie as time expired, which they got, barely, holy shit!

Bryce Young and Bama get the ball at the LSU 1 yard line on a Defensive Pass Interference Call, that was really close to be tipped that would have negated the penalty. After review, the penalty stood, Bama cashes in 3 plays later, PAT good, 31-24 Bama. Buckle up because we’re not done.So we catch our breath and go to overtime, LSU wins the toss, goes on defense first, which is always preferred because that ensures you get the ball last, and thus, huge.

Bama cashed on three plays from the 1 yard line after a really close defensive pass interference call, the ball looked as it may have been tipped, which would have negated the penalty. The play was reviewed, the call on the field, Alabama eventually scored and added the PAT, 31-24 Tide.

Oh, but we are not done.

LSU gets the ball. Their QB, Jayden Daniels runs 25 yards, 31-30 Alabama, Death Valley (Tiger Stadium for you novice college football fans) is rocking!!!!

Ok Brian send out the kicker….Brian? um, Mr. Kelly?, somebody turn Brian Kelly’s headset on!!!! Kick the PAT….the offense is still….THE OFFENSE IS STILL OUT ON THE FIELD!!!! He’d going for two! Talk about a set of brass ones!!!!

And Alabama? They had no idea, guys were in and out, they had 12 guys on, and just got their 12th guy off before the snap. Daniels snaps the ball, remember that true freshman, Mason Taylor ran a 5 yard out, caught the ball, had the awareness to keep his feet in bounds and find the goalline, 32-31 LSU!!!!! The place is going crazy, radio and tv announcers alike are too, I’m getting goosebumps writing about it.

The ramifications of Alabama losing are massive. It drops them behind LSU in the SEC West, takes then out of the SEC Title Game (for now), and most certainly out of the College Football Playoff, barring sonething unforeseen.

As I said, what a Saturday.

It’s a Football Monday!!! Notre Dame knocked off a ranked Syracuse team, in the Carrier Dome, maybe finally getting some tracking, wonder whom they play next….Clemson….(Gulp). The Jets lost to the Pats, the Bills beat the Pack, and the Giants came up short in Seattle, I don’t want to discuss it.

What I will be discussing today, is, Kyrie Irving. Believe me, I wish I didn’t have to. Irving, as I’ve documented is a fantastic basketball player, an all time great for sure, but other the weekend he again proved why is so unlikable as a person, in my opinion.

Again, the following is my opinion, disagree, debate me, drop me a comment below, I’d love to discuss this with my followers, all 6, 4 of you? Anyways.

So, over the weekend, Irving shared antisemtic film, which in itself is absurd, again just my view, but what’s worse is he took it further. In addition to the film’s own portrayal of Jews, ‘Controlling banks and the media’, Irving not only dismissed criticism, but went on to share a clip of noted conspiracy theorist, and fellow all around good guy, Alex Jones ranting about ‘corrupt societies and ‘The New World Order’, simply with the caption, ‘It’s true’.

Taking the cake, an ESPN reporter, Nick Friedell, who deserves a fucking statue for his journalist integrity, called Irving out for his horeshit….AND IRVING DOWNPLAYED IT!!!!

Irving whined, when pressed, ‘I wasn’t promoting it!’ (The film)

Um, newsflash dude, you posted it on social media. You KEPT it on social media for multiple days. That’s called promotion, you self involved, obtuse asshole!!!!

But maybe’s he’s right. All those Pearl Jam videos I share from Youtube to my Twitter and Facebook feeds, not promoting the band that I love or anything, especially their older stuff that should never be forgotten ever, no promoting it to ny friends or new readersvir followers, I just do it for shits and giggles.

Here’s my problem. Kyrie, you wanna be that voice, be it. You wanna be that anti vaxxer voice of the voiceless, social changer, be it, but that includes not hiding and whining when someone calls you out on a stance you take.

I guess what I’m saying is, man up, please, for once, stick to your guns and don’t double talk if people don’t agree.