Sports Potpourri, October 2025
Hear it here!
Where do I begin?
Actually, these are the columns I relish writing. The ones where so many thoughts cross my mind after a weekend of sports activity. I’m not sure how important any of them are, but they provoked an opinion, so here goes.
Again, where do I begin?
Let’s start with the craziness of college football. First of all, let’s do away with the preseason rankings which look so foolish today.
Texas was ranked #1, followed by Ohio State, Penn State, and Clemson.
Ohio State is 6-0, but the other three are a combined 10-8. Why were the Longhorns ranked first in the first place? We all know why, they were a good team yes, but their quarterback was named Manning, Arch Manning, and he was going to be magic. But Arch Manning had never been a starter, and his resume was thin, to be kind.
But hype took over, and in today’s world, everything is hyped so much you become numb. It’s funny how television hypes games with all the fancy production and build-up and then the game starts, and it settles into what all games are. Some plays are exciting, and most are routine. And two and half hours later somebody wins. Few games live up to its hype.
How about Penn State? Without question the most disappointing story in college football. Losing to Oregon at home was a surprise for sure, but then getting beaten by winless UCLA, then losing to Northwestern in Happy Valley was stunning. The Lions are 3-3, and coach James Franklin was fired, the fourth head coach to get dumped in a season that is only at the mid-point mark.
Franklin has never won the big games, like Ohio State, and this year he couldn’t even win the lesser games. But get this. James Franklin had a buyout of somewhere around $50 million. He gets fired, he gets this kind of money? How does Penn State agree to pay anyone $50 million? Was James Franklin, who never won the big games, worth that kind of buyout?
Penn State’s hierarchy has some big questions to answer.
So far it looks like I’m way off base about my original projection that the Bill Belichick era at North Carolina would be a success.
At this point it looks like anything but, there’s still time, that is, if the coach still intends to stick it out. I can’t imagine he would throw in the towel so soon. That’s not what he’s about. Yes, the team has looked bad in losing three of their first five games and coming off a bye week. I figured the great Patriots leader would lure high school athletes hungering for a pro career, learning from the best, and getting the best coaching they could get. It hasn’t worked out that way, and the presence of his 24-year-old girlfriend appears to be a distraction. I’m not sure what the University higher-ups are thinking, maybe they’re thinking enough is enough.
But one year would be too premature.
I think we’ll need a second season to determine where Belichick and the Tar Heels are heading.
How many of you are aware of the Red Zone? That’s the TV channel that shows plays from every NFL game, jumping from one to another, particularly when a team is threatening to score. You don’t have to sit through a 3-hour game, with all the short runs, incomplete passes, and penalties. It’s all action. Scott Hanson, the host who takes you through the games is excellent.
Last Sunday was the reason we love the Red Zone. There were five one-possession game in the fourth quarter. A one-possession game is when a trailing team needs only one score to tie or take the lead. It was fast and furious how the coverage jumped from one to the other as the leads shifted. I’m not a fan of a split screen showing two games at one time (where is it exactly are you supposed to focus), but the Red Zone at one point showed five of those and while you really didn’t know which one to zero in on, you got the idea how exciting it was to see so many games hanging in the balance, all coming down to the finish.
The Chargers led by 13, only to see the Dolphins rally to take a 27-26 lead with 39 seconds remaining, only to see a Charger field goal win it with 5 seconds left.
The Cowboys and Panthers were in a seesaw battle that saw Carolina take a three point lead on an early fourth quarter touchdown. A Dallas field goal tied the game with nine minutes to play, before a Panthers field goal at the buzzer beat the Cowboys 30-27.
A field goal by the Saints early in the final quarter brought them to within 6 of the Patriots, with more than enough time to get a touchdown to take the lead. But it never happened, and New England hung on for the win, 25-19.
The Seahawks were dominating the surprising Jaguars until an early TD in the 4th narrowed Seattle‘s lead to 8, but there was no more scoring and Jacksonville went down to only its second defeat.
Then there was the duel between the between the Colts, off to a remarkable and unexpected start to the season against the Cardinals. Indy started strong, but the Cards took a one touchdown advantage into the final quarter. The Colts tied it early.
Arizona edged in front on a field goal, before an Indy touchdown with 4:30 on the clock pushed them in front, finally, to win 31-27 and go 5-1.
None of these games were pivotal matchups. Just another NFL Sunday. But if you were watching the Red Zone, you couldn’t have scripted it any better. It was the perfect storm.
The Tennessee Titans were the first NFL team to make a coaching change, but I wonder whether another isn’t far behind. The Titans fired head coach Brian Callahan who was 1-5 this year with a rookie quarterback Cam Ward. But what about the Miami Dolphins?
Many considered them a contender this season, but they have been an ineffective 1-5 after their loss to the Chargers. In a nutshell, the Dolphins clearly lack toughness and direction. The breaking point to me occurred after their game last Sunday when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in his post-game presser told the media he was upset that there were players who were either late or did not bother to attend players only meetings. Several takes here. First of all, Tua has underperformed big-time so far. He should be the last person to point fingers. Then there is the fatal move of airing internal problems of the team to the media in the first place. I’ve always felt that players only meetings were the first sign of a fractured group. Let’s keep the coaches away and talk ourselves. It rarely works. It is a sign that the head coach has lost his team. I don’t know Mike McDaniel, but after a promising first year as head coach, the Dolphins have regressed. McDaniel is a casual guy who doesn’t act or look like he is a strong leader.
He may be the worst dressed NFL head coach in history, and I believe the look and attitude drifts down to the team. Sorry to be a bit harsh, but I was surprised the Titans were the first team to change coaches.
Like you, I watch games on television. So, I have to ask, why do announcers scream at the top of their lungs? The fact is that a good authoritative voice is God-given. You can’t buy it, rent it, or even develop it. It’s simply a blessing.
The names Summerall, Scully, Keith Jackson, Dick Enberg, Joe Buck and Verne Lundquist to name a few never screamed. They didn’t have to. Their well-modulated voices just rose with the excitement. They were always in control. Those voices spelled drama. Most announcers aren’t blessed with those kinds of voices, so they have no choice but to raise them during big moments and as a result wind up screaming. It’s a bad sound. It’s as if they’re in the crowd themselves reacting. I guess it’s just the way it is.
We finish with the one sport that’s in the midst of their championship time of the year. Baseball. I’ve been critical of the way the game is now played, dealing with the home run or strikeout style, that’s taken away from the strategy that made the sport unique in the first place. Perhaps some of that is changing. I know the pitch clock has been an outright success. Games no longer drag.
The audiences reflect that with big increases in game attendance and television ratings. The two leagues are conducting their best of 7 championship series currently with the survivors moving on to the World Series.
Who will win? Blue Jays or Mariners in the American League, Dodgers or Brewers in the National. Someone I know, respect, and has a good deal of sports knowledge texted me that Toronto would win because they can score. I replied that pitching is always the deciding factor in baseball. In game 1, the Blue Jays managed only two hits and lost.
That could very well change as the series moves on. But good pitching always stops good hitting and that has never changed.
Long way to go, but we’ll see.
In any event, baseball is flourishing.
