I Hope I Satiated Some Hoops Fans

  So I had an epidural to alleviate pressure on my neck, shoulders and a nerve near my collarbone. I probably shouldn’t have written a blog last week, but old habits die hard. Thus, I am going to cut down my usual verbosity. 

NFL Wild Card Weekend was exciting. All four games were different. The four teams which won deserved t go to the next round. 

Seattle gave San Francisco a fight—for a half. Then Brock Purdy, Christian Mc Cafferty and company awoke from the rain which enveloped Northern California when the sun shone on Santa Clara. San Francisco played like the powerhouse they have become. Purdy, the last player chosen in his draft, stayed perfect as the QB for the Niners, and has elicited comparison to a previous sixth round draft pick from Michigan, one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. 

Speaking of Brady, his Buccaneers fell to the Dallas Cowboys, breaking number 12’s personal unbeaten streak versus Dallas. Brady may have gone 35 for 66 in passing, accumulating 351 yards. Tampa Bay was never in it, save for a playoff record four missed extra points by Brett Maher, who has bounced around the NFL and CFL since 2013. 

Dallas goes to the West Coast to play the Niners. Travel might be a factor, as the Cowboys get less rest than their opponent after playing on Monday night while the Niners played on Saturday and flew nowhere. 

The speculation has begun as to whether Brady will retire or find a new team to play for. He has until March to make a decision. Given his previous track record, don’t expect his first answer to be the truth.

Baltimore gave Cincinnati everything it could handle, playing a second string QB who made a case for becoming the main man should the disgruntled Lamar Jackson move on. His list of suitors mirrors Brady’s, or for that matter Aaron Rodgers, who also is playing coy about his future. The game turned when Baltimore’s Tyler Huntley attempted to vault the line of scrimmage to break the plane of the end zone, only to have the ball swatted into the arms of the Bengals’ Sam Hubbard—and the local kid returned the ball 98 yards for a touchdown. 

On Saturday night I was looking forward to the Chargers-Jaguars game. Jacksonville QB Trevor Lawrence was a bit too excited for even me, as he threw four interceptions in the first half, trailing at one point by 27-0. His head coach, Doug Peterson—he led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl win—talked about calming his young QB down during the halftime intermission. It evidently worked, as the Jags pulled off the third largest comeback in NFL history, winning on a last second field goal. Jacksonville (Lawrence has a perfect Saturday record of 37-0 from HS, college and in the pros) moves on to play top seed Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes, while two Los Angeles offensive assistants were fired on Monday for the team’s inability to score much in the second half. 

Undermanned Miami threw a scare into Buffalo in Orchard Park on Sunday. Josh Allen reverted to his first year difficulties for a while, then righted the ship to stake Buffalo to the win. Emotions run high in Buffalo right now, and they should be even higher when the Bengals come to town to play for keeps after the Damar Hamlin Monday night game was shut down.

Lastly, Daniel Jones played like a champ. Against a Vikings squad which had been ripe for the taking. Now, Giants fans, can the defense hold up against a Philadelphia team which many pick to win it all? And will Jones and Saquan Barkley have another superb game like last Sunday?

Golden State and San Antonio set an NBA record for regular season attendance in the Alamodome, the Spurs former home. It was a fun game to watch—the Warriors romped. I wonder if those in the upper levels could make out who the players were?

Steph Curry and his mates went to the White House to be greeted by President Biden and Vice President Harris (an ardent fan from Oakland). Curry and Head Coach Steve Kerr went to the White House Situation Room on the visit. They must have been experts on situational basketball to have merited that perk. 

Some college basketball for those clamoring that I had forgotten it existed. I just don’t get too into the games until the conference play begins in earnest. 

Rutgers has made an appearance in the AP Top 25, landing at number 23. They might be out of it on Thursday night if they don’t win at Michigan State. RU has never won in the Breslin Center. The Spartans gave #3 Purdue all it could handle before losing in the final seconds on Monday. 

The Big Ten is always noted to be the toughest conference to play in. I think that many conferences are like that this season. 

Entering this week, the entire Big 12 had records above .500. Kansas, Kansas State, Texas and Iowa State are all legitimate Top 25 teams. And on Tuesday night, K-State downed their in-stater tormentors while the Cyclones beat the Longhorns. 

The SEC has a bunch of good and surprising squads. Alabama is the best right now, but their world was rocked by the arrest of one of the team’s players for capital murder. Only South Carolina and  Mississippi have records below .500. Georgia is at a heady 13-4, something perhaps that was unexpected. Kentucky has been muddling along this season, accumulating a 12-6 record. I can see at least seven SEC schools making it into March Madness. 

Pac 12 teams have road trips which are tough. UCLA, one of my favorites to make the Final Four, Arizona State and Arizona are the class of the league. 

Clemson sits atop the ACC. Miami, UVA, Wake Forest, Pitt and Syracuse look pretty good. NC State, North Carolina and Duke sit uncharacteristically in the middle of the pack. It is only mid-January . A lot of basketball is ahead of these teams. Like the SEC, maybe six or seven come from the ACC and another seven to nine from the Big Ten will make the tourney. 

UConn has stumbled since the Big East play started. Danny Hurley travels back to New Jersey to play at his alma mater, albeit in a different arena. He had a rollercoaster ride at the hall, chronicled by his Hall of Fame father, Bob Hurley, Sr., who chastised Seton Hall fans for being fueled by drinking and gambling. 

There are four Pirates currently with DI head coaching jobs. Hurry and Shaheen Holloway, the present Seton Hall coach, are the most prominent. Who knew that Seton Hall was a cradle of college coaching?

Xavier, Marquette, UConn and Providence are the best in the Big East. On any given night, any Big East team can truly beat any other Big East team, with the exception of Georgetown, which continues to flounder under the direction of Knicks legend, Patrick Ewing. 

Seeing Villanova struggling at 8-10 with the departure of its Hall of Fame coach is sad. Won’t you come back, Jay Wright?

Gotta go. My wife is angry enough with my typing. I hope I satiated some hoops fans.