It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As a fan of most sports, this week or so is my favorite time of year. NFL and college football season is in full swing. It’s the most exciting part of the MLB season, even if your team isn’t in it anymore (maybe next year, Sox…). Hockey season, my second favorite, is just getting started. The NBA is wrapping up preseason games, and NCAA bball is starting to pop up randomly on ESPN. All that’s missing is some tennis…

I’ve been neglecting Bill Simmons this week, but I have been keeping an eye on baseball on my own some. I watched part of games 3, 4, and 5 of the Rangers v Yankees and the last in the Giants v Phillies series. I haven’t followed baseball as much this year, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, but where did the Giants come from? I didn’t see either of these matchups coming, and expected the Phillies to at least keep it closer when the matchup was announced. With the Rangers, I remembered them sweeping the Yankees in September and hoped whatever they figured out in that series would get them to beat the Yankees again now.  As a Sox fan, I am of course ecstatic that the Yankees lost, and decided I’d be happy with whatever else ends up happening as long as they’re out. It’s actually been more fun to watch the games this postseason since they’ve been so close in both matchups. Congratulations to both the Rangers and Giants on their well-deserved wins, and I look forward to what should be a close World Series.

I know it sounds blasphemous, but I was kind of glad to have a break from Gator football this weekend, I’m not gonna lie. The whole Dan Mullen v Steve Addazio homecoming loss last week was just heartbreaking. From what I hear, there is talk amongst members of the Gator Nation about who is to blame for this rough season. I, for one, am not a huge Steve Addazio fan after seeing the tangible difference since Dan Mullen left for Mississippi State, and am glad Urban came back before he could have had total (albeit, interim) control over the entire team’s fate. Some apparently are saying Urban is to blame, completely disregarding the whole 2 national championships and success on many other levels., etc. With Zook, we had reason to voice our frustration while marching on campus in small angry mobs. I really think this situation is just a huge change in personnel, both on the field and behind the scenes, and different personalities than we got used to seeing.  That being said, Cam Newton, our QB-in-waiting before Brantley, is doing a ridiculous job at Auburn, leading the team really well and looking pretty good in the Heisman race. Though it makes me wonder “what if…” a little bit, I still back Brantley 100% and hope things start to look better for my Gators asap.

PATs:

• The Magic managed to go undefeated through their pre-season games. I would have loved to have seen the matchup with the Heat, but it was cancelled due to unsafe court conditions. When I saw that go across the bottom line on Friday, I was confused for a sec (Unsafe conditions for an indoor sport? Really?), then later heard that it was because of the oil-based cleaning solution used on the court. So random. Either way, for those who actually still pay attention to the NBA, let the season begin!
• My Canes have had a tough start to the season, with their first 7 games on the road (or maybe “in the air” would be more accurate) between the Finland season opener and the West Coast trip. Now they’re coming home to play the Caps on the 27^th.  Since I couldn’t watch the games yet this season, I’ve been listening to the radio feed, and we’ve been doing pretty decent from what Chuck K. is saying. The team is noticeably younger this year, and while younger brings some inexperience, it also brings speed, which has been evident in our games as well. Skinner’s been great at putting up the effort as our regular guys have been adjusting to the new lines. Jussi, one of my favorite Finns, has continued his impressive play, saving the game against Phoenix in overtime with an assist from Joni, “his fellow countryman” as the announcers keep saying. For any Canes fans out there, there’s a group on Facebook campaigning for Jussi as a write-in for the All Star game called “Jussi Jokinen for 2011 NHL All-Star Game” if you’re interested in joining and getting Jussi the recognition he deserves after being left out of the Olympics!