Cubs Win

They still have a chance. The pitching, of course, was great on both sides. Chapman was outstanding in the end. Back to Cleveland for the last two games.

Football? Seattle lost. Detroit lost. Green Bay lost. But Dallas came back and won. Dallas is THE team to beat in the NFC.

Brady and the Pats?  The team to beat in the AFC.

Vikes tonight.

Skol Vikings!

Football

The late game today in Atlanta is the one I'm looking forward to. Green Bay might be 4-2, but no one thinks they are all that good. Atlanta has lost its last two but leads their division at 4-3.

Should be a good one.

Detroit has the Texans at Texas at noon. Detroit's three straight wins have put them in playoff contention. This game should show if they are for real. Both teams are 4-3.

New England has Buffalo. The only team that beat them this season. Of course Brady is back now, that could make a difference.

Cubs Get Klubered Again

Seriously, Corey Kluber is becoming the walking, talking, throwing embodiment of that stupid curse.

With that loss last night, the Cubs took another serious hit in their chance of breaking the 100+ year-old curse. As strong as the Cubs pitching was during the regular season, it's Cleveland's pitching that taking centerstage at this World Series.

Me? I went to bed early with the Tribe in control. Sometimes you can read the handwriting on the wall. It was spelled C-o-r-e-y K-l-u-b-e-r last night.

Pitching, Pitching, Pitching

I used to love a good pitcher's duel, but when your team is on the wrong end of 1-0 shutout, the game can get pretty long.

I'm not exactly rooting against the Indians, but I've come to the point, where I'll watch something else for an hour and then come back to see if there's any score yet. I did that twice last night. I used to be glued to my set for Series play, now I just hope they're done by 10 p.m. so I can can go to bed.

They weren't, so I went to bed.

Cubs!

And as an alternative:

Indians!

Better? Score!!!!

World Series Moves to Chicago

I've said it for years, and I'll keep saying it. When American League teams face National League teams, BOTH teams should have a DH. Always.

Cubs fans won't be able to see their new folk hero, Kyle Schwarber, play at home because he's not medically cleared to take the field on defense. They MAY see him pinch hit in the series, but without the DH role, they'll be missing one of their greatest weapons.

The rest of the baseball world has been using the DH for decades. From high school through every level of college and pro ball. Except the NL. If the commissioner wants to make a difference, this is something he should mandate. Next season would not be too soon.

Cubs and Wolves

The Wolves? 14-1 lead early. Lost it late. Same story. Different year.

Jake Arrietta was baseball's best pitcher in 2105. He was again last night. This is going to be a fun series.

Golden State Blown Out By San Antonio in First Game

129-100.

Kevin Durant hasn't helped The Warriors much as of yet. And LeBron and the Cavs blew out the Knicks as well.

Amusement reigns for NBA fans.

Kluber, Cleveland Make Life Difficult For Cubs And Their Fans

Corey Kluber, the Indians ace, has been dominate all season long. Last night, was more of the same as the Indians shutout the Cubs 6-0.

Cleveland now has a 1-0 series lead, home field advantage, AND Kluber available for two more starts by series end.

Already, at this point, the Cub's dream of their first World Series win in well over 100 years is starting to fade.  The Cubs have some very good pitching of their own, but, even this early, their backs are against the wall.

This series is far more interesting than I ever imagined a couple of weeks ago. Game two tonight.

And the Wolves play, too.

It should be a good night of sports.

T-Wolves

I'm glad the NBA season is starting.  This is the first time in a long time that I've been interested from the beginning of the season. I wish that I didn't have such high expectations. In Minnesota, those feelings usually add to disappointment.

I'll probably be over it by the middle of next week. Grizzlies tomorrow night.

Go Wolves!

World Series starts tonight.

Go Cubs!  But Cleveland is not a bad second choice.

Patched Offensive Line Finally Shows Its Cracks

That was painful. The O Line was awful. The kicking team missed coverage and the defense was exhausted by the end. Could this be the end of the fairytale season the Vikes were having?

Probably. That line isn't going to fix itself, and there are no good replacements just waiting to happen.

I'm just glad there is a World Series to watch this week...

And my Patriots won.

Colts VS Patriots

I came across this meme this week. Brady and the Patriots never needed a deflated ball, which is what they said all along...

Cubs Win!

The Cubs haven't been to the World Series since 1945, and they lost that one. They had went in 1932, also but hey lost that one, too.

1908 is the year that the Cubs last celebrated a best of seven series victory.

How would you like to be Cleveland right now? Only your own fans are going to to be pulling for you. Nearly everyone else will be rooting for the Cubbies.

Will the curse finally be lifted? Stay tuned.

Cyber Friday

Yesterday I didn't get a lot done. Internet, TV, and phone weren't available due to the nationwide cyber attacks.

I was forced to read, draw, paint, go for walks, and visit people.



Hmmmm....

Lynx Lose, Packers Win, Cubs Take Series Lead

When the Packers broke the arm of the Bears starting quarterback, they gave themselves the advantage they needed. Eventually they became the better team last night.

The Cubs young bats are coming back to life. They now have 3-2 series lead and are heading back to Chicago in hopes of clinching.

The Lynx lost by one. Their coach is angry, really angry at the officiating.

Cubs Pound Dodgers

Okay, THAT game got me watching again. I started watching when it was 4-0 and I went to bed when it was 8-2. What's funny is that was a little over one inning's worth of baseball.

Go Cubs!

Did I mention Cleveland beat Toronto to take their series?

Bears and Packers tonight. I'm anxious to see if the Packers can LOOK like the Packers again against the worst team in the division. If they lose, it's going to be a long season for Packer fans.

Fox Promo

I noticed this Sunday on the FOX postgame preview of this weeks Vikings game. They must not have the pictures they want yet for Bradford because they poorly photoshopped Sam's head onto Teddy's body and then updated the number. Pretty funny.

Dodgers Win

The Cubs have incredible pitching, but it's looking like the Dodgers do as well. Chicago hasn't scored many runs in this series. And Cleveland lost yesterday, too.

At least I'm watching a little bit and still interested.

Indians Take 3-0 Series Lead

I like rooting for the underdog. Most of us do. We're one small step closer to a possible Indians/Cubs World Series. We'll have to watch and see if that happens.

Go Cubs! Go Cleveland!

Sports

I no longer fear Aaron Rodgers.

It's possible that by season's end, that will all change, but right now, he looks, acts and throws like a regular quarterback. A very average quarterback. As a result, the Packers are now just an average team.

Yesterday, the Dallas Cowboys went to Green Bay and made the once mighty Packers look like the Cleveland Browns. The Cowboys are now the team to fear in the NFC. Their rookie QB and rookie running back  are going to become two of the hottest stars in the league by season's end. They are close to it now. The Packers? Let's just say Green Bay fans everywhere are fearing this is the end of the road for their team. They might make the playoffs, but no one anywhere is thinking Super Bowl any more.

And they don't know what happened.

Baseball was cool yesterday. Clayton Kershaw, quite possibly the best pitcher in this era, the guy with all of the injury problems this season, threw a gem of a game yesterday. The ONLY thing that may knock the Cubs out of the playoffs this year is extraordinary pitching. Yesterday the Cubs saw that. 1-0 was the final. Great game.

The Lynx? They tied their series with the Sparks. One game left now either way. IN Minnesota.

Cam Newton? The Panthers are now 1-5. It was a great day of sports.

Baseball and Football

With the Casually Observing Wife spending most of the day with her siblings, I decided to watch more sports than normal. I saw significant portions of both baseball games and most of two college football games.

The baseball was pretty good. Cleveland continues to pitch great, while the Cubs game had all of its fireworks after I went to bed. The right teams won, so either way I'm happy.

The football wasn't as good. Number one Alabama had way too easy a time with number 9 Tennessee. And Stanford, who I thought was going to be real good this year, looked awful in beating an even worse Notre Dame team. I decided to skip number two Ohio State's game when the family reunion came to our house.

Best part of the day? The reunion. Food, family, and fun. That's hard to beat that.

I'm really looking forward to the Green Bay/Dallas game today. I normally root for Green Bay, but because they are THE division rival once again, I'm kind of pulling for Dallas and their rookie QB. I just hope it's a great game. It would kind of be nice to see Green Bay sitting at 3-2 at the end of the day, but a 4-1 Packer team would force the Vikings to stay on their toes.

It's fun to enjoy football this much again.

Baseball

I watched a bit more of the game last night. At least pitcher's duels are relatively fast. I'm rooting for a Cleveland/Chicago World Series.

I tried watching the Lynx game last night but it was just awful. Truly awful.

Football VS. Baseball

I tried watching baseball last night. I ended up watching football instead. San Diego dominating Denver was way more satisfying than a national league pitcher's duel. I think football has passed baseball in my mind as the sport to watch. The Twins had such a horrible season that they have destroyed baseball for me.

I even tried the Wild last night.  The Blues scored during a commercial break from football to take a 1-0 lead. That I actually saw a goal was amazing. That filled all my hockey needs for the season.

I'm ready for more football. Even with the Vikes in a bye week, the NFL and college football blows away anything else on the schedule.

Conor McGregor Says He'll No Longer Fight in Las Vegas

The Nevada State Athletic Commission fined Conor McGregor, possibly the UFC's biggest star, $150,000 for his part in the pre-fight press conference water bottle "fight" that occurred before his bout with Nate Diaz.

McGregor, smart business man that he is, has told Las Vegas, that because of that, he will never fight there again. Vegas casino owners are furious. They make A LOT of money off UFC in general and McGregor in particular, and they now are ticked at the commission.  Part of the charm of boxing and UFC IS there fighters taking jabs at each other before the fight. It's part of the marketing and hype. It gets fans interested.

My take? At least they didn't use metal folding chairs like the WWE.

McGregor can choose to fight where he wishes. If anything really serious ever occurred at these pre-fight conferences, the police would handle it. The commission has over-stepped its authority. As the Rock would say, "know your roll and shut your mouth."

Vikings Top ESPN Power Rankings

Just to show you how little these rankings really mean, the Vikings actually dropped a spot (from fourth to fifth) in last weeks's poll. That they are number one now is actually a little surprising, even if they are the only undefeated team left in the league.

At least it seems that media experts are starting to appreciate what the Vikings have accomplished thus far this season. The Patriots, with Tom Brady back, moved up from number 4 to number 2 this week.

Does any of this matter? Nope. At the end of the season, the best team will have all of its members wearing rings. The polls will be forgotten.

Skol Vikings!

Vikes Sign Jake Long

With a string of injuries, the Vikings O line needs some veteran help. They got it in the form of Jake Long yesterday. Long, a former number one draft pick says he's as healthy as he's been since 2010. At 31, and after a pair of ACL tears, no other team was risking signing him.

The Vikings decided to take the chance. They need healthy guys that can play the position. If he stays healthy, he really is one of the best in the business. He has the bye week to prepare for the Eagles wide-nine defense.

Cubs Win!

Wow.

After losing in 13 innings the night before, the Cubs scored FOUR runs in the top of the ninth and won 6-5.

As my dad used to say, "didn't look for that."

I went to bed thinking the game was over long before that ending. I guess I'll never learn.

Go Cubs!

Panthers Now 1-4

heh

Baseball

Baseball is a magical beast.

Travis Wood, a relief pitcher for the Cubs, hit a home run against the Giants in game two. Last night, Jake Arietta, one of the best pitchers in baseball, hit another home run for the Cubs. It was a three run shot that gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead early over the Giants. That's the first time two pitchers have homered in the same playoff series since 1924.

Baseball is also a finicky beast. Arietta left after the sixth with a 3-2 lead. But the Giants did not quit. Long story short: 13 innings. Giants won 6-5.

I was in bed by then.

I'm sure Giants fans rejoiced after 5 long hours. I'm also pretty sure most of America missed that ending.

Baseball, you see, is also a tiring beast.

And Then There Was One...

Five weeks into the season, and the NFL has just one remaining undefeated team.

The Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings defense certainly acted like the league's top defense yesterday, but Bradford is starting to look like one of its top quarterbacks as well, releasing the ball quickly and finding open receivers  accurately. His 70% completion percentage is certainly among  the league's best.

And still no interceptions.

Did I mention that they are now missing three of their five starting offensive linemen?

And yet the running game is far more effective now than when Peterson was playing. McKinnon and Asiata are not setting the world on fire, but they are getting first downs and keeping drives alive. Their average per carry may still be disappointing, but they are moving the ball forward.

Adam Thielen had a career day receiving and Marcus Sherels had another punt return for a touchdown. It was a real TEAM win. AGAIN.

And you have the idea that they are still going to get a lot better.

Skol Vikings! 

Diggs Out?

The Vikings will take the field today perhaps missing the services of another one of their top offensive stars.

This is pretty common for the Vikes this season. Eventually this will hurt the Vikings. We'll see if it has an impact today. Officially, he's listed as "doubtful." Coach Zimmer is only saying that he won't start, but he may play. His groin injury has been bothering him for a couple of weeks.

Skol Vikings!!!

Baseball

Much like the NFL, MLB is trying to get you to subscribe to their network. Yesterday's playoff games were there, and not on the normal "free" cable networks.

Baseball playoff games used to be on network television. Everyone with a TV could watch them for free. Baseball ratings were soaring.

Then cable TV bought the rights to some of the playoff games. Only cable or satellite subscribers could watch them IF they were were lucky enough to have those channels in their cable lineup. Baseball ratings suffered a bit, but baseball made more money.

Then all of the playoff games were on cable TV. None were left for free TV.

Now some of the games are just on the MLB premium subscription channel.

My guess is yesterday's playoff games were the worst watched ever.

I think I'll skip the next few games myself as a means of protest. Baseball used to be America's number one past time. MLB is gradually killing the interest of once rabid fans. Soon no one will care about baseball. And MLB won't understand what happened.

I'm just letting them know, if you do this during football season, you are real idiots. You've killed the national past time, one broadcast contract at a time.

Playoff Baseball

How many times have we seen this. No score. Late innings. One run will win the game.

BAM!

Javier Baez hit the homer last night for the Cubs.

1-0 was the final.

Pitching is SOOOO important this time of the year. And the Cubs pitching is as good as anybody's.

Go Cubs!

Baseball

I watched more football than baseball last night, but finally decided to watch regular TV (Blacklist) over either. I missed the three home runs in the third by Cleveland. If I'd have seen that inning, I'd probably would have watched more baseball.

The problem with so many nights of football? Not all games are created equal. The Niners in primetime? I don't think so.

Baseball

I went to bed last night with the score tied 0-0 in the ninth, and two runners on for the Giants.

Yes, I missed the 3-run, game winning  homer by about a minute.

Still, it's playoff baseball, and I'm starting to get into it.

Baseball

I only watched a couple of innings of last night's game. I stopped watching when a Toronto fan threw a full can of beer at an Orioles outfielder, just missing his head. The police said they couldn't find him as he left quickly after the incident.

This had better not catch on. The next time it happens, the outfield stands should be emptied and the fans sent home. This is serious business. Can you imagine fans, trying to "help" their team, throwing a couple dozen cans of full beer at an opposing outfielder while trying to make a catch? This has happened in Canada before.

Toronto did win the the game. I now have someone to root against in the playoffs.

So much for Canadian nice.

Vikes Win

I can't express how good it feels to see a good, confident Vikings team play football.

Mike Zimmer is the best coach we've had since Bud Grant. He knows this defense. He's got Norv Turner adjusting his offense for Sam Bradford. And everyone looks surprisingly comfortable. A team isn't suppose to look this good when they lose their starting quarterback and one of the best running backs in history.

But they do, and for the third week in a row, they've beaten some of the best quarterbacks in football. And in each game, OUR quarterback has looked better than theirs.

And McKinnon, Peterson's replacement? 18 carries for 85 yards. This team is starting to look very good. The offensive line is protecting Bradford and providing a running game.

The only guy that's hurting us right now is Blair Walsh. We all saw what happens when he misses in a close game. He's still having problems. Despite how good the team is, that's the one guy that could leave us hanging.

NFL

The ONLY game that matters this week is tonight.

New England looked awful yesterday. Pittsburgh looked unbelievable last night.

And the Panthers got beat again.

A good day of football. Only three undefeated teams left.

New England's Quarterback Today

That's going to be a game time decision.

Go Patriots!

Joakim Noah The Latest Idiot Sports Star

Joakim Noah did not join his team, the Knicks, at dinner when visiting West Point yesterday. His reason? He's against war. He respects the kids, but he can't figure out why kids have to kill kids around the world.

I don't make this stuff up.

This country is raising the greatest non-thinkers in our history. And for you young readers, I just want to clarify that is not an accomplishment despite the word "greatest" being used.

Loss 103 and Counting

Now I have a morbid fascination with the Twins season.