Friday, September 11, 2009

Friday 09/11 Quickie: NFL Week 1, Steelers
USC-Ohio St, Michael Jordan, Marlins, More

An aside: I was in Boston for business school on 9/11. Every year on this anniversary, I find it very difficult to express myself with any sense of the appropriate gravitas. This was my attempt back then. Back to regularly scheduled programming...

*Hoops Hall induction: Is Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player of all time? Is he the greatest player of all time, in any sport? Today's SN column leads with my favorite personal memory of MJ -- naturally, from his erstwhile Wizards years. (here's the appropriate YouTube clip.)

*NFL Opener: I can't get too excited either way about the Steelers winning or the Titans losing -- unlike college football, either of them could lose, say, another 4-5 games and still make the playoffs. So what's this one win/loss?

No, what does irk me is -- as ever -- the NFL's overtime rules, which obliterate the notion of two teams earning it on the field through competition, in favor of the luck of a coin flip. I'm not quite sure why this isn't a bigger deal. Some day, it'll impact a Super Bowl -- by then it will be too late.

(NFL Week 1 picks -- aside from Pittsburgh over Tennessee, which I had yesterday -- coming later today.)

*CFB Weekend: Anyone who has watched Ohio State in big games over the last three years knows that this USC-OSU game is hardly worth the hype. Have folks forgotten last year? Yes, Pryor is finally in charge and yes, USC isn't nearly as good as their ranking, and yes the game is in Columbus -- that will make Ohio State's failure all the more acute. (Sorry, forgot to add: Yet again.)

(CFB Picks coming later today, too. Yes, I'm picking Notre Dame. I surprise myself sometimes.)

*Is it me, or did baseball suddenly evaporate, in the presence of the return of football? (And, for most, the end of their fantasy baseball seasons.) Part of it is that the playoff spots seem pretty secure -- sure, the Rangers might pass the Red Sox... but does anyone really think that will happen? The Rockies seem to have the NL Wild Card in hand -- although it's a shame to see the Marlins (with that MLB-lowest $36M payroll) right in the mix.

There's a lot more in today's SN column. In the meantime, drop by later today for NFL and CFB weekend picks. And don't forget to check out TimTeblog.com, where I continue to wring more out of one specific topic than anyone in the country.

-- D.S.

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