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“College Football–Should They Play”

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They all want to play.

College coaches, College Athletes.  Alumni.

And now Presidents and Chancellors are giving their approval for the start up of the final group of conferences, who initially cancelled their seasons months ago.

The Big 10 has announced a restart of their season, six weeks from now.
The Pac 12 Conference CEOs meet on Friday and could approve a restart too.

The SEC, the ACC, the Big 12 all refused to yield initially under the weight of the virus outbreak.  By next Saturday, each of the teams in those three conferences will have played their first games of the delayed season.

Game will be played despite the monstrous outbreak of positive covid tests on college campuses across the country.

And yet games are going on, or are about to start despite staggering stats.

LSU says a large majority of its players, reportedly 85 of105, have tested positive for the virus since testing began in early June.  Now those positive tests might have been for a headache, or the sniffles, or an increased temperature.

None of those players ever wound up in the hospital, just quarantined.

But there have been outbreaks at Wisconsin (78)…Texas Tech (56)….Houston, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Memphis, Kansas State, Alabama and more.

There is the scare of cardiac inflammation to the heart of those who get very ill.

Now daily testing has become the norm, despite the expensive cost for schools.  And as technology has grown, rapid results have become available.

So all these schools are ready to play, despite 197,000 nationwide deaths as of Thursday night, and the continued explosive number of positive tests.

Why is playing so critical despite what is going on nationwide?

America needs distractions from the life we are living at this hour.  The virus, fires, the economy, the political war zone heading towards the election, the divisiveness of our society.

Universities, crushed by financial losses with campus’ closed, need to generate revenue to offset deficits that could run as high as 60M a year for major schools.

Is anyone considering the risk-vs-reward?

So as the Pac 12 votes to join the Big 10 in coming back, all seems normal, at least on the field.  There will be games, there will be ratings, there will be a college playoff, and yes there will be polls every week.

Yes the NFL got thru training camps without feared outbreaks.  The NBA and NHL has been clean in the bubbles and hub cities.  Baseball survived the mess in Miami-St Louis and Oakland.

But college football involves not just players, but everyone else on campuses and that is scary.

And yet the Chancellors and Presidents and Athletic Directors all say the same thing.  Science has improved.  The system developed can work.

As excited as you might be to see these games on Saturday, just one question that needs to be answered.

Are colleges putting profits ahead of public health?

I’m scared by the health issues.   Am I the only one?

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“NBA–In LA–Same As It Has Ever Been”

 

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The NBA Western Conference playoffs begin on Friday.

The Lakers are there.  The Clippers will not be there.

Driven by the dominance of Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the Lakers are primed to go to the NBA finals for the first time in a long time.

Driven out by a terrible failure in their last series, the Clippers will be home, watching the games, like you and me, on TV.

How do you explain the forces that came together to end the Clippers NBA season.?

They blow a (3-1) lead in the series and get eliminated when the Denver Nuggets somehow run off 3-straight wins.

The Clippers had leads of 12…16…19 in those three games, and blew the leads and the games.

The franchise, which has worked so hard to find itself in the LA market, is now dragging an awful team record into the offseason.  The Clippers are (0-9) in ‘closeout games’ in their history, games that would have put them in the Western Conference finals.

Doc Rivers, as good a head coach, and league ambassador as he is, has failed for the 5th time to get to the conference finals.

The roster, so strong for half a season, came apart in the bubble.

Team chemistry, team conditioning, selfish play, and lack of leadership seemed to spell the end.

Montrzl Harrell, a reliable piece of the so called bench bunch, mourned the loss of a family relative for 3-weeks before reporting.  He never got in shape, never got with the flow of games and the team.

Lou Williams, who left the bubble for family issues, and then was seen in a strip club while away, came back, was hit with a suspension, quarantined, and did next to nothing when they needed him the most.  Hope the night at the gentlemen’s club was worth the price paid.

The volatile Patrick Beverly fought thru a calf injury, had health issues, and just never was the same player in the couple of series the team played in postseason.

A heart-wrenching setback for benevolent owner Steve Ballmer, who built and spent, and committed to trade away 5-first round draft picks to get these superstars.  His deals netted Kawahi Leonard and Paul George, but the two highest paid players could not will the Clippers thru the playoff series with Denver.

When last seen, Leonard was not talking and George should not have been talking, saying ‘this was not a Championship or Bust basketball season’.  What?  That’s why you play the game and make 40M a year, to win a championship.

And to think the Clippers traded five first round draft picks to get this guy and his attitude.

So the playoffs march on Friday with just 4-teams left.

Like it always is in Los Angeles.  The Lakers playing on.  The Clippers on the outside looking in.  The Lakers front page.  The Clippers borderline irrelevant after this obituary page type failure.

It could be a glorious off season for the Lakers.  For the Clippers it will be a bitter taste they will carry with them and wear around their neck this entire offseason.

All things the same right now in LA.

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“Aztecs–Leaving Town”

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The future looks promising at San Diego State, but this coming season, not-so-much.

In a stunning development, SDSU football is taking the show on the road…for the spring schedule they will play and for the fall schedule they will play in 2021.

San Diego State will play its home games at the Dignity Health Center in Carson, where the transplanted Chargers played for 3-years.

The move comes as SDSU hopes to fast forward the construction plans of its own Aztecs Stadium on the SDCCU sight.  They want all the time possible to tear down the old stadium, prepare the lands for all the on-campus construction, and not have to pay 12M a year operational costs of the old stadium.

But in doing so, the Aztecs will likely play many of the games without their home fans, who won’t make the trip north to Orange County.  It means Brady Hoke’s team will be a road team for the next two football seasons, covering 8-games in the spring and 12-games in the fall.

Athletic Director John David Wicker, who has guided the Aztecs Athletics Program thru the Covid crisis, and helped engineer the land purchase from the city for the campus expansion, has made the boldest move ever in his tenure as AD.  His comments:

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Significant announcement as to the future of the football program

We did not enter into this lightly
End of the day, opening the new stadium in 2022-we needed parking-spaces construction.
It is a cost saving us too
We were looking forward to opening at home
We are certain with starting of construction early…we can open for 2022.
Gives us additional time to demolish old stadium
Excited for students to play in what was an NFL stadium
Fans see better experience too
We have large presence of alums in Orange and LA counties
We are still San Diego State University-will be here forever
We will run up the road to play football
We will open a phenomenal stadium in 2022.

We looked in San Diego..but we are Division 1-team
Was not a facility in town-size wise  that could present a venue for us
Carson gives us great TV experience…fans experience

Biggest thing was timeline was to move forward with the sight
We needed time space for sewer-electrical lines installation-we get extra time

We have to tear down SDCCU stadium in first quarter in 2020 to clear land sight
Parking-ingress-egress-all the infrastructure…alot of things we have to do
We have been talking-looking at ideas for 3-years..learned more about sight

Covid and the 2020 season impacted the decision also.
We don’t know yet if fans will be in the building in the spring
We hope to have full house in the fall for the 2021-season

Not worried about being linked to the Chargers move to Carson
The Chargers left and couldn’t build a stadium.
We are building a stadium for San Diego here
We are disappointed we cannot close the old stadium the way we wanted
We are taking quick trip up the freeway-we will be back

Renting Carson is better financially for us
Getting the keys to the old stadium-we learned alot about costs to play there
We are happy for the price we have to pay and experience we will have

We have studied move for awhile while escrow was going on.
Getting on sight, understand construction timeline, had to move out
We just daylighted this idea..we have to see how many fans will travel north with us.

We hope fans will get much better experience in Carson.
Have had alot of conversations with Brady Hoke..he understands it helps us
The close up experience with the fans will be fun

Conference has been very supportive of this move
Spring schedule-alot of time with ADs and Medical groups
We are still going thru testing protocols with testing companies
It will be conference only schedule..in spring

Tear down of stadium will be slow process.
We must remove stadium infrastructure first
Must decide if we grind up cement to use in new construction
Stadium not in very good condition…cannot have a farewell for fans

Scheduling talks with Carson and MLS to share dates with LA Galaxy
Carson has no concerns about making schedule work

We will have Utah and Boise State among 7-home games in fall
Still talking about UCLA and whether they can be part of 2021 schedule.

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The Reaction via Social Media towards the Aztecs decision was not favorable:

Idiots
Terrible decision
2-hour drive-no way
Let the real fans see the game
Seen my last game
Give me my money back
Horrible decision
Division 1-team to draw crowds 5-to-10,000
We are out
One city-one team where.
Dumb
Lost my support
Big crowds-not
Worst decision all time
Shame on you SDSU
Wicker-you are Spanos
How did it work out for the Chargers
Failed promises
JD Wicker-liar
How is this a student centered decision
Punishing loyal fans
Abandon season ticket holders

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“NFL–What Happened–What I Think:

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CHARGERS…They found a tough guy running back in Joshua Kelly after Justin Jackson went down with another injury.  A tough blow losing LB-Drue Trnaquill with a broken ankle-he played so well last year.  I liked what I saw in the sideline-to-sideline action of LB-Kenneth Murray.  QB-Tyrod Taylor’s escapability can make plays stay alive, but can he lead scoring drives on a consistent basis.

RAIDERS…WR-Henry Rugg goes 45-yards the first time he touched the ball.  Impressed with new veteran WR-Nelson Agholor.  Josh Jacobs versatility, run and catch, looks bigger this year than last year.

COLTS…What a loss, the torn Achilles to RB-Marlon Mack, thus the need for a physical running back from the free agent market.  Alarming to see how bad the throws were that Philip Rivers made into impossible coverage, that led to picks, surely a flashback to last year with the Chargers.

RAMS…Statement game and a shift in personality, as they ran for (155Y) against a pretty good Cowboys defense.

PATRIOTS…These are not your Dad’s team from New England.  Cam Newton pulling off run-pass option plays in addition to pin point accuracy down the field.  A different and impressive start.

EAGLES….Knew if would be hard for the Eagles to overcome the loss of LT-Andre Dillard after losing RG-Brandon Brooks, but never imagined they would give up 8-sacks against Washington, though the Ryan Kerrigan led defense is good.  Now Philly has a wrath of injuries on the defensive side of the ball too after the opening day defeat.

BALTIMORE….Picking up where he left off last year, another great outing by Ravens QB-Lamar Jackson, his (275P-45R) day.

TAMPA BAY…A tough debut for Tom Brady.  His left tackle allowed 6-hits on the Bucs QB.  The Saints defense had 3-sacks and 3-takeaways in a blowout New Orleans win.  Brady was weak in the opening half, played well after that, but too big a holed to climb out of.  Coach Bruce Arians spread blame around everywhere.

CLEVELAND…How long is it till people start to wonder if Baker Mayfield can really be a good NFL-QB.  Awful opening day loss, and his start to the game included sacks, incompletions, an interception and a fumble.

WASHINGTON…Ron Rivera had to have IV’s at halftime in his fight with chemo treatments, and the team proceeded to rip off 23-straight points in their come-from-behind win.  The locker room needed it.

BENGALS…Joe Burrow was panic stricken early facing the Chargers blitz, but he was solid and dangerous in the second half.  and could have led Cincy to a win.

CAROLINA…Maybe you saw some potential on opening day with the trio of Teddy Bridgewater-Christian McCaffrey and newly acquired Robby Anderson.

SEATTLE…How is that for a start, Russell Wilson’s (31-for-35) passing day and the 4TD outing in Atlanta.  The Seahawks are so loaded.

ATLANTA…Matt Ryan has to throw for (450) in an opening day loss.  Too bad he cannot play defense.

ARIZONA…Some opening day showing by QB-Kyler Murray (230P-91R) and his new best friend DeAndre Hopkins (14R).  They are going to be good on offense.

PITTSBURGH….A very slow start by a tentative QB-Ben Roesthlisberger, but the Steelers got rolling reeling off 23-points in a row in the Monday night drubbing of the Giants.

DENVER…Drew Lock had a nice rookie season, and he looks even better his second year.  Adding Melvin Gordon, Jerry Jeudy and another tight end means they may be good on offense.

MIAMI…Let’s not be ridiculous.  Dolphins fans stormed talk shows and columnists wanted to start the countdown towards Tua Tagovailoa’s debut as quarterback after a 2-interception outing by journeyman starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.

JETS-GIANTS….Two bad losses opening day and not alot of help around the young QBs Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold.

49ers….Are doubts starting to creep in about San Francisco QB-Jimmy Garoppolo after his offense went (2-11) on third downs in their opening day loss.  He didn’t finish up the season last fall with good outing.

PACKERS…A year ago everyone covering that team wondered aloud how Aaron Rodgers and new coach Matt LaFleur.  No problem I’d say.  They are (14-3) in regular season games since opening day last year, after Rodgers (344Y) passing day.

VIKINGS…What an awful start at home on defense, giving up (522Y) to the Packers and having your defense on the field nearly 42-minutes.

BUFFALO…QB-Josh Allen meet WR-Stefon Diggs.  This should be fun.

SAINTS…When would anybody talk about defense winning games in New Orleans.  3-takeaways, 3-sacks in an opening day win over you know who, Tom Brady-Tampa Bay.

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“Chargers–Ugly Win–Lucky Win”

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They should have won….could have lost…haven’t proven very much.

The Chargers survived an anemic offensive show.  Survived a bad injury on defense.  Survived two impressive drives put together by rookie QB-Joe Burrow.

The Bolts beat the lowly Bengals with an unimpressive performance against an NFL doormat, thanks to a costly fumble by Cincinnati RB-Joe Mixon…an errant shovel pass by Burrow killing another drive….and a missed close in field goal by Randy Bullock, who had already kicked 3-three pointers.

When it comes time to configure playoff spots, no one cares how you got the wins, including who you beat.  This was a win, but really felt like a loss.

But the Bolts were lucky.  Heavy duty running back Joe Mixon killed one drive with a fumble.  Rookie QB-Joe Burrow got better and better as the game went on, but a high school shovel pass into traffic resulted in an interception killing a drive.

And a chip shot field goal by Bullock that would have forced overtime, missed wide right, ending a surging Bengals comeback.

The Chargers have found a power running back in UCLA rookie Joshua Kelly who powered for 60-yards off the bench changing the whole personality of a struggling offense.

QB-Tyrod Taylor did not turn the ball over, moved the pocket and scrambled when his OL struggled.   But he didn’t really scare anyone running the offense.

But he took 3-wicked hits, and was pressured out of the pocket  10-times in a rather uneven outing by the offensive front.  There has to be concern there.  Twice Taylor failed on 4th and short runs that ended drives, and this was against a team that was at the bottom of the barrell last year in virtually all stats.

Mike Williams had huge catches.  Keenan Allen didn’t do much.  Hunter Henry caught a few passes.

But in discovering Kelly’s nut-tough running, this  may be as big as the win itself.

On defense, the lead veteran in the secondary Casey Hayward had a bad outing.  Burrow completed 8-passes against Hayward.

Joey Bosa had a good first half, but disappeared as the game wore on.

Burrow took 3-sacks in the first half, looked panicked, then showed his moxie and athleticism, not getting touched in the 2nd half.  He took 5-hits and was pressured 8-times, but ran for a TD, and led scoring drives late, that should have resulted in  a win, not the last second loss.

Coach Anthony Lynn’s team had 5-penalties in a poor opening half.  The team had to recover its emotion after what appeared to be a gruesome possible ankle dislocation suffered by last year’s impressive rookie linebacker Dru Tranquille.

Joe Reed, the rookie from Virginia had an impressive 45-yard kickoff return, but the Chargers kick over teams gave up a 35-yard kickoff return and a 19-yard punt return.

A win is a win, but this was against a bad Bengals team, and it was a struggle, and it was almost a loss.

Next week, they get to play in their new home stadium in LA, So-Fi, the house the Rams built.

And next week, Kansas City comes to town with that firepower.  Tyrod Taylor better make plays; the defense needs to get better, or this weeks win won’t matter much if they don’t play better against one of the best, the Chiefs.

What the Bolts did, survive this, is better than what happened to the Cowboys-Eagles, Tom Brady and Philip Rivers, I guess, where really good teams got beat.

Ugly win, lucky win against Cincinnati.

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