I would love to say that my feet began to root themselves in their spot while enjoying college football followed by the World Series on Saturday and then pro football followed by the World Series on Sunday, but this sadly did not happen. Because this watching did not happen, I would like to extend a belated “thank you” to my fellow employees for refusing to work Halloween weekend. I worked all three days last weekend and I missed a good amount of succulent sports. What did I miss? Oh, let’s see.
With the Trojans making a valiant trip to battle the Ducks in Eugene, this game would not only have a big impact on the Pac-10, but also possibly on the national title as well. Since I was at work, I had to wait and just check the final score at the end of the night. After work, I saw that the Ducks that had blown the Trojans out of the water and handed them a 47-20 loss, their worst of the “Carroll Era.”
The Trojans have now basically dropped out of the national title picture, and Ducks are making noise – quacking, if you will. It is interesting to think where the Ducks would be if they would have won their first game of the year versus Boise State University – a for-sure national title lock? The Ducks are flying strongly, and it should be interesting to see if they survive the season with their wings unclipped.
When it comes to basketball, I am a big fan of Brandon Jennings. In the Bucks’ season premiere against the 76ers Friday, our starting point guard was an assist and a rebound shy of posting a triple-double in his NBA debut. Notice I failed to use “professional debut” in that last sentence because Jennings actually went to Europe to play professional ball for a year after graduating from high school.
Being one of the top high school recruits, Jennings made a bunch of noise when he decided to play overseas, earn some money, and not go to school. His thought was that playing with older men would be more advantageous than playing against college-aged players. It looks like he may have made the right choice in preparing himself for the league.
Back in football news, the Gators of Florida played well against Georgia, even if one player was a fool. Herschel Walker ran for a lot of scores in his Bulldog days, but Tim Tebow has now run for more. With yet another display of his competitiveness, Mr. Tebow set the SEC record for career rushing touchdowns of any position player while trouncing the Bulldogs from Athens. Tebow had four touchdowns on the day – two passing – so how does that make him a fool?
It doesn’t – that role was filled by his teammate, Brandon Spikes. Spikes, a senior and a so-called “leader” on the team, decided to dig his hands into a Georgia player’s eyes after he hit the turf. The Gators were up by 21 with seven minutes left in the third quarter, but even with the game pressure off, Spikes showed his true personality.
With Vanderbilt coming up on the schedule, Florida coach Urban Meyer suspended him for the first half. Yes, that’s right, just the first half for intentionally trying to gouge out someone’s eyes.
On a side note, this incident brought me back to when Jim Sorgi was choked by Robert Reynolds during the Badgers’ victory over the defending national champs from Columbus. Reynolds grabbed Sorgi’s throat while on the ground and injured Sorgi’s trachea so badly that he was unable to return. Fortunately for us, Lee Evans decided to be on the receiving end of one of the biggest plays in Badger history to get us the victory.
Duke knows how to play with round balls on the hardwood, but they’re now showing that putting on pads for something other than lacrosse can lead to victories. With their victory over Virginia, they have now posted three straight wins for the first time in 20 years. Although they do have to face Georgia Tech and Miami in the next three weeks, they’re definitely showing the ability to post some wins and earn at least some respect in the ACC.
I didn’t have a brother growing up, but if I did, it would be safe to say we couldn’t hold a half-lit match next to the Rodgers brothers out in Corvallis, Oregon. In their seven-point victory over UCLA, the younger brother, 5-foot-7 running back Jacquizz, not only had 24 carries for 112 yards and 7 catches for 92 yards, but also a 14-yard touchdown pass.
The older brother, 5-foot-7 wide receiver James, not only had ten catches for 106 yards, but also four punt returns for 90 yards and five rushes for 28 yards – the final one being a 17-yard jaunt with 44 seconds left to put them ahead. Combined, the Rodgers duo combined for 442 all-purpose yards. Not a bad way to spend Saturday evening with your brother, right?
That’s all for this week. Until next time, I’m preparing my highlight video so I can play offensive line for the Packers.
Ramble on the roof: Working on the weekend
