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Mid-February was a long time ago. So was1908 and 1948.

Tonight they decide it all in game 7-of the World Series.

What a grind for the Cubs, with all that expectation, that started near HoHo Kam Park in Scottsdale, when spring training opened.

The Cubs blew apart the National League race early, and pretty much went wire to wire in winning the pennant.

No one was predicting any of this when the Indians opened camp at Goodyear, Arizona. They were just hoping to catch the defending World Series champs, Kansas City, or hold off the big money-big bat Detroit Tigers. The Tribe got the lead in the division in mid summer, and held off the challengers.

So tonight, two very different teams face each other. The Cubs have slugged their way back into the series with all those bats. From Kris Bryant to Anthony Rizzo, from Addison Russell to Javy Baez, and bunch of guys in between, a different hero has surfaced each night.

Ditto for the pitching, though Aroldis Chapman does make that bullpen more electric.

For Cleveland, there seemed to be lightning in a bottle some of these nights. The short rallies, the extensive use of bullpen by committee. They got back into series, they won series, but now they’ve let this series get away.

And tonight’s pitching matchup will be a dandy. Corey Kluber, pitching on short rest for the third start in a row, will need to have short innings, and stress free frames to slow down the bats. Kyle Hendrick, the ERA kingpin is so very crafty, he could silence the bats again.

And of course, the two guys in the dugout, know how to pull the strings, hit the right buttons, and move people around. This will be some chess game between Joe Maddon and Terry Francona..

The Cubs have not done it since 1908. The Indians since 1948. This wraps up what has been a spectacular post season iun baseball.

Drama, theatrics, lots of tension. What else could you want? Right.

A 7th and deciding game tonite, and you are going to get it in the World Series

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“NFL Player-You’ve Got Mail-You Have Been Fined”

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Mid week is upon us, and players will get those certified letters in the mail from the NFL headquarters on Park Avenue.

You know what they contain. “This is to inform you, you have been fined (fill in the amount) _____________ for violation of Rule ___ of the NFL:”

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfect leads the league in letters of this nature, some 291,000 poorer in his career, for all type of personal foul penalties for hits.

Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown is a regular contributor to the NFL players fund, for dress code violations, the color of his shoes, towels, things written on his equipment.

The Cowboys linebacker Rolando McClain has a bunch of his own mail, all linked to drug violations and suspensions too.

The Giants Odell Beckham can tell you sentence and verse what his letters say for all the excessive celebration penalties and fines he has incurred.

Tom Brady has just one letter in his file, but the file folder is thick with information, correspondence, and legal documents, the aftermath of ‘Deflategate’

The Rams top young pass rusher Aaron Donald has a couple of letters, attached with documentation of his fines for putting his hands on an official during a tantrum.

Meet the Seahawks Earl Thomas, who will get a letter and a fine for what he did on Sunday.

Thomas stripped the ball from a Saints running back and took it back 34-yards for a touchdown. He celebrated by jumping up and down with his teammates along the sidelines, then hugged a side judge in his excitement. It drew a flag, a penalty, and will bring a letter to his locker too.

The video is fun. Thomas jumping for joy, almost doing a dance with the ref, twirling him around as if he were a teammate, or a girlfriend at a polka, on the way to the Seahawks bench.

The official was smiling and surprised, then realized, he had to throw a penalty flag on the guy who made the play, and who touched him in his personal celebration of excitement.

It was funny to see the interaction between the safety and the side judge.

The NFL fines you for anything and everything that happens on Sunday. Today’s mail will bring one of the strangest pay penalties ever seen in the NFL.

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“Chargers-Tremendous Game-Terrible Loss”

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It was relentless, it was ruthless, it was dramatic, they left it all out there on the field, but in the end, it was another Chargers loss.

The Sunday setback in Denver, where the Bolts did everything but win the game, is typical of what this season has become.

A quarterback with great courage, a running back growing into big time status, and a pass rush that gets after it.

But that’s all San Diego, for there is nothing else there to hang your hat on.

Philip Rivers took a fierce pounding, 4-sacks, 13-hits, 11 pressures, 3-interceptions.

Melvin Gordon broke off a couple of big runs, and stood in there and slugged, even when there was virtually no running room.

The wide receiver’s crop looks spotty. Make a big play here and there, but drop balls, and not be very trustworth.

The offensive line played pporly. Rivers had to move off the spot all day, got hit, and had to run for his life. Goodbye accuarcy, but he never gave up.

The defensive front did all it could in the blitz package, and stood tall stuffing the run.

But the deficiencies were all over the place.

The linebackers cannot cover receivers. The secondary, aside from Casey Hayward does not cover well.

Punt returns continues to be a misadventure.

Josh Lambo had a kick blocked, missed a PAT, and the team failed to convert a 2-point conversion.

Coach Mike McCoy and Ken Whisenhunt have to be held accountable for not being able to establish a better protection package for Rivers.

And the play calling turned out to be fatal, when they had the ball at the 2-yard line, and shunned the run, to throw four passes, all incomplete, especially since Melvin Gordon had a 100-yard day and was wearing out the Broncos defense.. Goodbye potential win.

The Chargers playoff hopes for the most part are over. There are 9-teams ahead of them in the standings, fighting for AFC spots in postseason.

Does this loss, after the win in Atlanta, change anything about the status of Coach Mike McCoy? Probably not.

The team plays hard, never gives up, just does not have enough players, notably on defense, with all the injuries, and more injuries are piling up.

What I don’t to see is anyone giving Mike McCoy a contract extension between now and the end of the season. If you must, let him coach out the final year of his contract, and see if he can lead this team to better times, with all the injured players they get back healthy next season.

McCoy’s me are (1-11) vs AFC-West teams the last two and a half years. They’ve lost 8-in a row on the road in the division. And likely, no games in postseason ‘again’.

No such things as moral victories in the NFL. As Bill Parcells would say, ‘no medals’ for trying.

The biggest crime in all things Chargers, is the fact Philip Rivers is headed to the off-season with just 1-playoff win in the past 9-years.

The organization and his coaching staff have failed him over the years. You just need to check the scoreboard to see that.

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“Weekend Ahead-Crossroads & Ambushes”

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Friday Night Football…beware of an ambush in Logan, Utah.
Sunday Afternoon Football…a crossroads game in Denver.

So San Diego State, on a roll, takes a (6-1) record on the road, heading into Utah State this evening. The Aztecs program dominates Mountain West Conference football, but this won’t be a walk in the park.

As good as the SDSU defense is, this Aggies team is tougher than their up and down record (3-4) shows.

The Red & Black are putting up awesome numbers on defense and on the ground on offense.

SDSU is ranked 6th in the nation in total defense, in a world where everyone puts up 400-yards a game on Saturday’s. State is giving up (285) yards a game.

Even more impressive is what they have done in the midst of this 3-game winning streak in the conference. They are allowing (182Y) per game.

Think about that. They’ve allowed 1-touchdown in the last 3-games. They’ve allowed teams to get inside the 20-yard line just twice in the last 3-games. Add in 5-sacks, recorded 16-tackles for losses and have 2-takeaways.

And of course, the Aztecs are led by the leading rusher in the nation, DJ Pumphrey. with (1,391Y) rushing and receiving.

But Utah State is deceiving. The Aggies are averaging an impressive (390Y) per outing, and is a team that pounds the ball, makes you stop QB-Kent Myers run and throw scheme, and does go down the field too.

And this is a physcial U-tag defense, that may load the box, take Pumphrey’s big play ability out of the playbook, make it a low scoring game, and take their chances they can bust a play or get a turnover.

This is no pushover patsy, not up there, where the Aggies are (25-4) at home the last five years.

Big challenge for State, not to become a big upset victim.

On Sunday, it’s the beginning of a playoff push, or the end of their playoff hopes, when the Chargers play the Broncos.

Beating Denver without its head coach and with a rusty Trevor Siemian at quarterback two weeks ago was one thing, but now you have a fired up Siemian, coming off a big game, with Gary Kubiak back orchestrating everything on the sidelines.

Philip Rivers has never wilted in hostile conditions. He is (6-5) vs the Broncos, eventhough the Chargers are (9-25) in Denver going back to the mid-1980s-Dan Fouts era.

The Broncos are so tough at home, (34-7) the last 4-seasons, and they do get that crowd amped up.

Defense does it in Denver, and Wade Phillips does it well.

The Broncos lead the league in tons of categories when the other guy has the ball. Giving up just (285Y) per game, think about that stat is this high octane NFL.

They’re giving up just (175Y) an outing thru the air, in this era of great quarterbacks. Opposing QBs are completing just 55% of their passes against the guys wearing Orange.

Von Miller and his friends have 22-sacks, 62-hits on quarterbacks, and 13-takeaways in 7-games.

Yes the Chargers are dynamic thru the air, but Rivers has two ailing receivers right now in Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams, all that’s left of his wide out corps.

Take away 4-big runs by Melvin Gordon this season, and the rest of the time he is averaging 2.7-yards per carry, behind an offensive line that does not run block well.

The Chargers get superb work out of Josh Lambo, with a league leading 17-field goals. The offense leads the NFL, getting to the red zone 33-times this year, and getting 16-TDs in those trips.

But the problem remains the defense, though much more aggressive, thank you Joey Bosa, is still giving up 366-a game, and still gets gashed by the run, and opposing QB’s hit on 64% of their passes.

Sunday is a day the Chargers have to win, because the rest of the schedule gets easier if they come home (4-4). A loss sends them to (3-5) and behind virtually everyone in tie breakers.

The Aztecs find a way to win.
The Chargers have to find a way not to lose in a tough place to play.

Crossroads for one. Not allowing an ambush for the other.

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“Tons of Topics on the Table”

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Padres..GM-AJ Preller is back from his suspension and wants you to believe he and his front office people made a mistake in setting up files about data with injured players and that there was no intent to mislead anyone in trade talks….And how many years does he have in baseball, and ditto the same question for key execs like Don Welke, Logan White and Fred Uhlman?

Chargers..CB-Brandon Flowers is back practicing but you wonder how long he holds up, having had 3-concussions in two and a half years in San Diego…He should be worried about his future health.

Aztecs..It’s amazing the number DJ Pumphrey is ringing up at San Diego State, even more amazing, not much buzz in this community about the kid bypassing Marshall Faulkt’s records and moving up the NCAA rushing charts. The LA Times put it properly, great player, playing before empty seats, in late night television games, no one around the country watches.

Lakers..A surprise debut for the debut of Luke Walton as coach, this outgunning of the Houston Rockets last night. LA hits 12-3’s, and rallies with a very strong 4th quarter to beat down the James Hardin-led Rockets.

Clippers…Opening night for them on the road as fans of the franchise await a breakthru season. Anything short of reacing the NBA West finals means they should break up this team…they have enough franchise players, but just have not been able to get to the promised land of playing into April.

Cubs-Indians…You cna shut them out, shut them down for a bunch of innings, but what are you going to do in a 7-game series with the Cubs batting order. Chicago mashed the Indians pitchers to even the series at (1-1) and send it back to Wrigley Field with the Cubs holding home field advantage.

Gulls..Not sure what was more disappointing, the Ducks taking top goalie Dustin Tokarski to Anaheim, just a week into the season, the Gulls Matt Hackett giving up 6-goals to Stockton, or the lowest crowd ever to see the AHL team (5600-plus) at the Valley View Casino Center.

NFL on TV…The television ratings across the board on NFL telecasts are plunging, including the historic Monday Night Football, the Sunday Night games and the Thursday matchups. Reasons, maybe saturation, maybe Donald Trump on TV, or maybe alot of bad teams being scheduled in prime time games, where those TV events used to be “must watch matchups