Tuesday, September 21, 2010

09/21 Quickie: Saints, Hamels, Yanks

The Saints are 2-0 and the 49ers are 0-2, but San Francisco coulda-woulda-shoulda won that game last night. Then again, that's the difference between champs and also-rans.

The biggest question coming out of last night: How bad is Reggie Bush's injury? (A lower-leg break? Oh, that's not good at all. The word is that he'll miss 6 weeks.)

This Kenny McKinley story is awful, as is any death -- any suicide. Condolences to his family, friends and fans -- and to the Broncos family.

NFL Week 3: Of all the QB benchings, Mike Vick's seems most awkward -- he has clearly played well enough to be the starter, both on his own merits and because Kolb looked so iffy in his limited action in Week 1 (not to mention how he'll play post-concussion).

And now Andy Reid is in the position that as soon as Kolb throws an incompletion, people will be calling for Vick. Beyond the fact that Kolb could probably use every extra week to clear the cobwebs, why not ride the hot hand of Vick until he stumbles?

Phillies beat Braves behind Hamels: I am enjoying the NL West race as much as anyone, but I look at the Phillies playoff pitching of Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels and wonder how they could lose before winning the NL pennant.

Yankees top Rays in "Steinbrenner Monument" game, pushing AL East lead to 1.5 with three more to play head-to-head against the Rays this week.

Carmelo headed to Nets? I'd like to think that I was early on the "Derrick Favors for Carmelo is a great deal the Nuggets should jump at" bandwagon. Throw in some expiring contracts and a future (likely Lottery) Nets 1st-round pick and this is a no-brainer for the Nuggets, presuming that Melo is willing to sign a long-term extension with the Nets.

I like Arkansas' optimism for Alabama, but it will make the inevitable beat-down all the more painful. (By the way, I should say that I would like nothing more than for the Hogs to have their greatest win in decades by beating the Tide and sending the BCS into early implosion -- although this was the weekend two years ago that Florida lost to Ole Miss, in Gainesville, and you remember that turned out OK for the losing team.)

So about the Ohio Bobcat tackling Brutus the Buckeye? The guy wearing the Bobcat costume -- Brandon Hanning -- intended to tackle Brutus not just all along, but since he tried out to be the Bobcat. That is some kind of dedication. And he is entirely unrepentant, despite the fact that Ohio U. has banned him from all athletic activities and he has, in like two days, transferred.

Fun stuff, Part 1: I am involved in a Blogs With Balls-sponsored SXSW panel about sports media that was selected for the 2011 conference agenda. See you in Austin next March.

Fun stuff, Part 2: While taking in the Sports Marketing Symposium here in NYC, I will be doing a bit of guest-blogging for Darren Rovell over at his CNBC blog. (Have NO idea what I'm going to write about yet. Waiting for inspiration.)

Surprisingly light news day for the end of September -- the rhythm is a lot more predictable than the offseason.

-- D.S.

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