Friday, November 29, 2013

11/29 Thanksgiving Hangover Quickie

(1) So, basically, Thanksgiving NFL in review comes down to whether you think Mike Tomlin intentionally tried to get in Jacoby Jones' way or not.

My instinct is no, because you can't fake Tomlin's "holy-smokes-I-better-scoot-over" reaction and because something like that becomes a thing that defines a coach (and not in a good way), which Tomlin wouldn't want. I appreciate that the entire thing looked iffy, but no.

(2) After watching yesterday's debacle in Detroit, we're all agreed that Aaron Rodgers is NFL MVP, right? (And a big/must win for Dallas, even if there should be no expectation they'll do anything if they make the playoffs.)

(3) It was an absurd moment, but $50K doesn't seem like enough of a punishment for Jason Kidd messing with the integrity of the game. (Then again, if the NBA suspended Kidd for a game or two, it would become apparent how much better the Nets are without him.)

(4) There isn't a more consequential inconsequential rivalry game than the Egg Bowl. Congrats to Mississippi State fans.

(5) Good weekend for rivalry games, but today is kind of threadbare. There's Arkansas-LSU at 2:30 if you want it, but Oregon-Oregon State should be worth it at 7.

(6) Otherwise, the best game you'll watch today is Warriors-Thunder at 8 on NBA TV (even if regular-season NBA is almost entirely inconsequential).

Get to that shopping, y'all.

-- D.S.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

11/28 Thankgsivukkah Quickie

*The best holiday tradition in sports is Thanksgiving day NFL.

(FWIW: No. 2 is Christmas Day NBA and No. 3 is New Year's Day NHL.)

*Don't forget to set your fantasy lineups.

*Lions over Packers, Cowboys over Raiders, Ravens over Steelers.

*I still think LeBron will eventually end up in Cleveland.

*This Jason Kidd "Hit me" thing is hilarious. He's a terrible coach otherwise, so more power to him.

*Katherine Webb should be rooting for Auburn.

*The No. 1 rule of Turkey Bowls: Don't get hurt.

-- D.S.

Monday, November 25, 2013

11/25 Thanksgiving Week Kick-Off Quickie

*Best way to start off the week: Diagnosis of plantar fasciitis. So basically I'm rolling with Nene.

*This is not just a good but a GREAT NFL season. Pretty amazing that over 7 days, the Patriots could be involved in two of the top 5 (top 3?) games of the season so far. Three other observations:

-- Gabe is a massive Carolina Panthers/Cam Newton fan, so the past 7 weeks have been kind of amazing for him (and for me to watch).

-- Mike Glennon: Offensive Rookie of the Year. Didn't see that coming.

-- We can debate his lack of ultimate (read: Super Bowl or even AFC title) success, but it's hard to think of a QB who makes the waning minutes of games more manic and fun than Philip Rivers.

*The Derrick Rose story is painful. The Kobe Bryant story is hilarious. The NBA will be so much worse for missing Rose this season -- but so much better with Angry Super-Paid Kobe the next two.

*My Football Four college football playoff ballot this week: (1) Alabama, (2) FSU, (3) Auburn, (4) Missouri. My protest abstention from listing Ohio State continues. They have a similar resume to Northern Illinois.

*College hoops is still ramping up, but Louisville ain't Louisville (clearly) and as impressed as I am with Duke's offense, the defense is going to keep them from winning the NCAA title.

*Nothing drives (self-)delusions of your child's exceptional athletic future like buying a pair of "youth small" wide receiver gloves.

-- D.S.