Good morning everybody. Welcome to another Life, Love… Sport (Meltdown Edition). Good times all around this week in the world of sports. From Louisville sinking faster than the Titanic to the Saints officially marching out of town, to the Red Sox holding on for dear life, also like the Titanic, there is tons of stuff to discuss and digest. Try and keep up.
We start (yet again) in the wonderful world of amateur pigskin. I know that some readers would object to the fact that the LLS starts almost every week in the fall with college football. You’re just gonna have to learn to deal with it. Anyway, this past weekend, Louisville was a 36-point favorite against Syracuse at home.
If I were a betting man (and LLS in no way shape or form endorses gambling), I would’ve put some heavy money on the Cardinals to pretty much cover that spread, seeing how the Orange were last in every major offensive category coming into the game. However, a funny thing happened on the way to the victory. The defense forgot to show up.
And thus became the sorriest tale of the 2007 college football season. Brian Brohm can throw as many touchdowns as he wants, but if the defense can’t stop a leaky faucet, then the season is doomed.
If you were wondering about the University of South Florida Bulls, well, I’m glad to inform you that the current bandwagon team is doing fantastic. They beat up on North Carolina last week, 38-10 in preparation for the big showdown against West Virginia. Let it be known that LLS will be glued to the TV for this showdown of the titans. A potential BCS bid is on the line (because Rutgers can’t throw the ball).
One more rant, if you would be so kind. I loved Mike Gundy’s little tirade against a reporter. Sure it wasn’t very classy and sure his points weren’t very coherent. But I’ll be damned if he didn’t light a fire under his team with his spirited defense of his quarterback. I’m constantly shocked at the gall of some of the reporters when it comes to athletes. These are people who happen to have a gift for playing sports. They didn’t choose to be athletically gifted and they don’t deserve to be crucified by a bunch of fat, ugly and bitter sportswriters who can only dream of being half as gifted as the players they rip apart on a daily basis.
In the NFL, bad news bears for the Saints… and the Bears. Both teams looked awful for the past three weeks. It looks like the Saints are going back to where they belong in the pecking order of the NFC, right to the bottom. As for the Bears, Rex Grossman killed your team. Plus, it’s not like they have Randy Moss at the receiver position to help out.
Speaking of Randy Moss, everyone who was negative about the trade in April, please do us a favor and find a different sport to be a commentator on. He has caught a touchdown in every game. Meanwhile, Tom Brady is on pace to break the record for most touchdowns in a season, a record held by Peyton Manning. And because we hate all things Manning (except for those sweet pep-talks on the Visa commercials), no one would be upset.
Because you have been such great readers, I will let you in on a little secret. I hate following baseball when it’s football season. Baseball becomes boring and slow compared to the speed and thrill of football. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the fact that, apparently, there’s actually a pennant race this year, unlike last year, when all the playoff spots were nailed down in early August. I attribute this to two teams: the Red Sox and the Brewers.
The Red Sox haven’t won a division title in 12 years, so naturally when they got a 14 game lead in the division they started to celebrate, drink beers, kill baby seals, etc. It’s only when the Yankees made their late-season guerrilla attack on the division that the Red Sox started to play better. Playing the Devil Rays also helped.
As for the Brewers, they haven’t won a thing in 25 years. The newest crop of stars on the current team were not even alive when Milwaukee made the playoffs. Sadly, it looks like they won’t be breaking that streak this year. A positive from all this is that Lou Piniella and his crazy ass will be in the playoffs. Hopefully, the viewing public will have the pleasure of watching Lou berate an umpire during the playoffs. It’s going to be a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Final Fact
When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the state’s third largest city.
Maystrovsky’s article appears weekly. Maystrovsky is a member of the class of 2009.
