Here it is Halloween already and we are in the eighth week of the NFL season. It all happens so fast. No trick or treating at Casa de bmaz, we are going out to see Bridge of Spies tonight. But before that will be some football, baseball and Formula One activity.
In the NCAA there was a barnburner gross game Thursday night between ASU and the Oregon Ducks, where the Quackers won 61-56. I only watched about half of it, but it was simply terrible football by both teams, and ASU needs to fire their worthless coach Todd Graham.
Other than that, it is really a pretty dead slate in the college ranks. Can the surprising Temple Owls remain undefeated and knock off Notre Dame? Unlikely, but there is always hope! Minnesota just lost their charismatic coach, Jerry Kill, to a medically necessitated retirement this week. Can the Gophers rise up the inspiration and emotion to beat Michigan at home? On paper, no; but it is a game I want to see. In the SEC, the only interesting matchup is Georgia at Florida. If this was in Athens, you might have more faith in the Dawgs pulling the upset. But not in the Swamp.
But there is baseball on Saturday too. Last night the Mets got back in the series with a solid win over the Royals. As giddy as Royals fans were after the stunning 2-0 start at home in Kaufman Stadium, the way New York took care of business last night has to be sobering. And, man, the Mets hit the ball relentlessly. There are two more games in New York before the teams would head back to KC for games 6, and if necessary, 7. The Royals need to steal one of these next two games, or they are in dire straights. And that may need to be Saturday night as I am not sure Edison Volquez, scheduled to start game 5 for KC, has another lights out performance in him after the week he has had with his father’s death and funeral.
In the NFL, the game of the week, indeed the game of the season so far, is, of course, the undefeated Packers at the Mile High home of the undefeated Broncos. Rodgers versus Manning. You would normally expect this kind of storied matchup to be an offensive dogfight to the death. But not this time. Denver’s defense is world class, AND Demarcus Ware is returning to the lineup. But Green Bay’s defense is better than average and the Bronco’s passing and running attacks have both been anemic so far this year. In short, this looks to be a closer and lower scoring game that you would expect. The Cheesers are clearly the better team top to bottom, but never sleep on the broncs at Mile High. Must see TV for Sunday Night.
Frankly, it is hard to think about any other game, but we must. The other anticipated matchup of the week is already over, and it was over early with Brady and Bel simply dismembering the Dolphins. Wow. The Jets at Raiders could be a surprisingly decent clash. I think there is something going on out there in Raider Nation, they are at least a decent team, on both sides of the ball, again. The other game of real interest is Bengals at Steelers. Big Ben looks to be back, and Cinci is on a roll. I am very tempted to take the Stillers here, but Big Ben is usually rusty his first game back from an injury. This will be a telling game about both teams though. The poor chaps in London are saddled with yet another foul smelling stinker, and will have to drink lots of pints to watch the Lions and Chiefs.
The F1 Circus is back for the rare back to back weekends of racing, having moved from Austin for the USGP down to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez in Mexico City. This is actually pretty exciting, as F1 has not run a Mexican Grand Prix since 1992. Nigel Mansell dominated back in 1992, but there have been many memorable races at the old circuit. The first two practice sessions were uneven with a little weather affecting the process. Qualifying is at 2 pm EST and is, for some unknown reason, being carried on CNBC.
Well, there you have it, time to haunt this place and spook it up. Music this week is Spooky by Dusty Springfield.