HEY, GUESS WHAT!!! Summer is over. Oh, I know it is only the end of August. And, – according to the calender – Summer has at least three more weeks of running time. However, it is also the first day of football season – scholastic and college. Now… THAT means summer is over. I’ve been looking forward to this day since the first part of the year… when the colleges wrapped things up with those seemingly-never-ending Bowl games. And, of course, there was the Super Bowl. Heck, I don’t even remember when that was played. All I remember about that day is that the Seattle Seahawks battered the Denver Broncos all over the place… without any effort whatsoever. And, now (actually this coming Friday, August 29th) and Saturday (August 30th) no less than 25 scholastic games will get things going in the Erie region. Add in a chunk of college contests beginning Thursday (August 28th) and you have the best of all worlds. Yeah, I know the US Open Tennis contests is going on and that the ever-continuing golf tournaments are also being played… Plus a ton of other so-called sports events are getting into the record books. But – at least, according to this corner – the Wonderful World of Sports is now just that… because it’s football time. Oh, and don’t forget to add in the NFL. Those guys get their portion of the game underway next week – the opening affair featuring Green Bay Packers at Seattle in a Thursday night (September 4th) battle. ESPN The Magazine says the SeaHawks will win 33-21. The Magazine, by the way, has predicted the score of every regular season NFL game. Who cares that it simply cannot be 100 percent accurate? It’s football season… and most of us sports nuts are happy. Euphoric even!!!!!!
IN THE “OUCH” department… the Erie Otters are in the process of opening their training camp. And, THAT – my excellent group of readers – means WINTER is also near. Brrrrrr…..
THE AAA IS predicting 34.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more during the upcoming Labor Day weekend. I’m one of ’em. Only I won’t be driving. Anderson, the travel bus people, will be taking me and a host of others on a four-day trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and other places in that area… I am looking forward to that venture. But, because of that and the holiday, I won’t be around next week. Can you survive?
DIDJAKNOW that Mary Poppins a movie made in 1964 and one in which my kids couldn’t get enough of, has grossed $102,272,727 during the past 50 years? That’s a WOW!!!
THE MAJOR HIGH SCHOOLS (these are the ones that are more football school than educational school) are already in full swing. Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas is still considered as the top football team in the USA TODAY rankings after it clobbered Phoenix’ Brophy Prep 44-0 a week ago.
I’M CERTAIN ALL OF you college football fans are aware that after this regular season is complete there will be a four-team playoff for the national championship. Well, a number of publications have already gone on record as to naming the four teams that will be involved in the first showing of this new system. The BCS (Bowl Championship Series) is now kaput – replaced by the CFP (College Football Playoff). This, according to the various experts, is what the fans have always wanted. So, this is what they are getting. I like the way USA TODAY handles its sports pages, so I do rely sometimes quite heavily on it. That’s why I will tell you who this publication tabbed as participants in the first CFP. Florida State… Alabama… Oregon… Baylor. Michigan State, now picked as the Big Ten champion (since Ohio State lost its quarterback Braxton Miller due to a pre-season injury), is getting some votes – but not enough. Also, Oklahoma is being considered, but not enough. The same for LSU and South Carolina. We’ll all know just how accurate all this is around December 7th… Which is about three months or so away.
MY CHOICE FOR the four??? Hmmm…. I’ll go along with Florida State and Alabama. But, I also like Michigan State and perhaps Oklahoma. Okay, okay… I’m probably wrong. But, heck, that’s the history of this space when I try any kind of prediction… isn’t it???
SO, THE POWERS-THAT-BE finally decided on the fate of Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Josh Gordon. In case you missed… he is out for the year suspended by the NFL. And you know why. He failed his drug test (the NFL calls it “a substance abuse policy”) for something like the fourth time. Of course, this is a hit to whatever slim chances the Browns had of gaining a post-season berth. That’s because Gordon is probably the best receiver in the NFL. I’ve said it before (and I’ll probably say it again)… I simply don’t understand how any professional athlete can jeopardize his future by becoming a druggie. Now, I’ve never taken drugs of any kind (except for prescribed medicinal items) so I really don’t know what kind of pull they have. One thing is for certain. No one knows what Josh Gordon will do to fix this to continue doing stupid things. Heck, I even know a stupid older person – one who is 65. And that person is just stupid as Gordon when it comes to drugs. Bah… enough of this.
HEY, I GUESS I AM hip these days… at least when it comes to summer’s top ten movies. Of the top ten – I’ve seen three. That’s a .300 average which is not bad. The three I’ve seen are Maleficent (ranked No. 3), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (No. 5) and Godzilla (No. 7). How about that!!!!
OKAY, WITH FOOTBALL STARTING this weekend it’s time to declare my allegiance to one team or another. This, whether you’re interested or not. When it comes to the colleges, Penn State (naturally), is my No. 1 pick. I’m not much of a Pitt fan, but I do cater to Ohio State. This because during my almost 44 years at the Times-News, Ohio State used a number of Erie gridders – mainly Jeff Davis. I also have a soft spot for Notre Dame. That means I check out PSU, OSU and ND quite regularly. However, I may be whistling in the dark this season as none of the trio are expected to be in the running for a spot in the CFP. For instance, Penn State is a two-split underdog to Central Florida in its opener Saturday in Ireland. Ohio State, despite the loss of quarterback Braxton Miller, is a heavy 15-point choice over hard-hitting Navy while the Irish are expected to whip undermanned Rice by 21 points. Oh, one other team I pull for at times in Michigan State… plus I have a liking for Northwestern – the Wildcats an 11-point pick to bop California. In the NFL I have always been more of a Cleveland Browns fan than a Pittsburgh Steelers rooter… but I still cheer for both. And, I like to see any team Peyton Manning is connected with do well…
AND A FINAL NOTE… the Cleveland Indians are the worst fielding team in the major leagues – with over 100 errors already. Which is one reason why the Tribe is about to lose out in the race for a playoff spot.
-Jack Polancy
Superior Toyota 