TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | MAR 2019 39
Happy almost spring Sports Teaser fans! It’s March and the next thing
you know, it will be summertime on Tybee. Glorious! Lots of great things
happening in March, including the revelry and celebration of St. Patrick’s
Day in Savannah and, of course, on Tybee with the Irish Heritage Parade
(and maybe a green beer or 3). And in the sports world let’s don’t forget
March Madness but we’lll get to some basketball later.
Don’t be surprised but I’m starting off with the end of the NFL season
and the Super Bowl. There were some pretty good playoff games down
the stretch and I was wrong on both teams making it, but one should
have after getting robbed. I had the Saints playing the Chargers. Unless
you were living under a rock (and a sports fan of course) you know that
the Saints should have been in the Super Bowl if not for a horrible blown/
wrong/missed/God knows what call late in the NFC Championship that
went against the Saints and kept them from most likely kicking a field
goal to win the game and advance to Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta. The Saints
wide receiver was clearly pummeled by the Rams cornerback prior to
the ball reaching him which, as we’ve known since little kids, is pass
interference. The referees closest to the play swallowed their whistles
and the Rams eventually took over and ran the clock out to go to overtime
where they won. It was a farce and a tragic end to the season for a Saints
team that also lost on an inexplicable play last year to Minnesota in the
NFC championship. So what happened after the game? Nothing. It took
Roger Goodell 10 days to even come out and say hey we missed it and
we will do better and we’re sorry and blah blah blah. Crap. If that’s all he
was going to say he could’ve said it that night. It was definitely a black eye
for the league that had a fantastic season. Clearly something has to be
done to help rectify these obviously missed calls that shape some team’s
seasons and potential championships. This disaster was followed by the
lowest scoring Super Bowl game in history. Two offensive juggernauts
combined for 16 points and New England won (again) 13-3. Not only do
they have the GOAT (greatest of all time) Tom Brady, they are the GOAT
(greatest of all teams). You can’t argue with that. Maybe next year for the
Falcons and Jaguars! Maybe.
Baseball is here! Pitchers and catchers and players are swinging the bats
and shagging fly balls as spring training is underway. Opening day is just
about a month away and everybody is tied for the lead in their respective
divisions. I’ll have a little preview of the season in the next issue. Go
Braves!
Of course the big sporting event in March is college basketball’s March
Madness. There are some really great teams out there including Duke,
Virginia, Tennessee and Villanova, just to name a few. Kentucky and North
Carolina seem to be coming on strong as well, so basically chalk so far.
February is a brutal conference month so we’ll see what teams shake
out for a tournament run. Remember, all you have to do is win six games
in the tournament and you’re the champion. It’s going to be hard to beat
Duke and possibly Tennessee but anything can happen on any given night.
Lastly, but not least, we are just about a month away from The Masters in
Augusta. I can taste the egg salad and pimento cheese right now. There
are so many great players that have a chance to win and I’ll cover that
next month as well. Until then, have a great March and Erin Go Bragh!
SPORTS TEASER
By George Hassell