TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | NOV 2018 39
Hello Sports Fans! I can’t believe it’s been a whole month since I last
graced this space (ok, maybe I can when I was reminded of the deadline).
Glad to be back with you, so let’s get to it.
Since we last spoke the Ryder Cup was held in France (looked like a
South Florida course to me) and guess what? We lost ... again ... by a
lot! As it turns out, picking Tiger and Phil for the team might have been
good for TV ratings, but it didn’t do a whole lot points wise as Tiger pulled
another O-fer and Phil pretty much did the same. As I’ve always said,
not that many folks cared about the Ryder Cup until we started losing.
It’s been abundantly clear in the last 10-15 years that the Europeans
want it more and put their differences aside for 3 days of competition
against the USA. Maybe we’ll get it back in 2 years back on US soil, but
the real challenge will be NOT losing again in Italy in 2022 (more wine to
influence some bad US play).
On to college football - which has a little more interest around these
parts than privileged people chasing a white ball around (hurry up
Masters). With a mid-month deadline for this column (thanks again for
the reminder), I have for now lost one of my 4 college football playoff
teams in Oklahoma. They lost a hard fought game to Texas but could
always get back in it with likely shake-ups to come.
My Final Four at this point are Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Ohio
State. I still think that Bama and Georgia will be 12-0 when they meet in
the SEC Champ game in Atlanta and the loser still gets in. Clemson has
nobody left to play in the dreadful ACC and Ohio State looks really strong
with their win on the road at Penn State. I think that Notre Dame may
stumble at Southern Cal late in the season, but if they don’t they will have
one heck of an argument at 12-0.
How does the loser of the Alabama/Georgia get in? I think ultimately
by it being another close classic game and the harder schedule that
both will have played by then. UGA is about to go through a gauntlet
of 4 straight ranked teams so we shall see how good they are. Bama’s
schedule certainly toughens with LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn left
for them. It is shaping up to be a great finish to the season which I can’t
believe is essentially halfway over.
On to the NFL where the Falcons are stinking it up and the Jaguars are
faring OK for now. Things don’t look good for the Falcons, who have been
decimated by defensive injuries and not being able to protect Matt Ryan.
The NFC South is getting tougher with the Saints rolling and the Panthers
playing well. The Bucs have kind of come back to earth at FitzMagic has
become FitzTragic. The Jags looked great in beating New England then
got smashed in the mouth by the Chiefs just last week. I finally agree that
Blake Bortles is a stiff! He’s terrible. Right now the class of the league
lies with the LA Rams and the Chiefs with the Saints and Patriots (yes,
the Patriots) right behind them. There will be more surprises of course as
the season progresses.
Last but not least, the Braves had a hell of a year in baseball, winning
the NL East with a 90 win season and making the playoffs for the first
time since 2013. Most believe they were at least a year ahead of schedule
with the rebuild after enduring 4 straight 90 loss seasons! Although they
exited in the first round of the playoffs (let’s make that 9 straight playoff
series defeats - although who’s counting?), having some meaningful
September and October baseball around these parts was quite welcome
(right Rudy?). The future is bright for this young Braves team!
That’s it for this month folks, we’ll see y’all in December! Happy
Sporting!
SPORTS TEASER
By George Hassell