Good morning, all! Happy Tuesday before Thanksgiving!
The clock is ticking on the future of UConn football coach Jim Mora. I explain it all in the above video.
Here are some other thoughts as I contemplate the state of the New York Giants:
By all accounts, Giants interim head coach Mike Kafka was the one who ordered the firing of defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. Kafka was gracious in his comments about Bowen but stated it was time to move on. I’ll say. Look, Kafka has wanted to be an NFL head coach, and he knows if he can pull a rabbit out of his hat, the Giants will remove the interim tag. I for one am rooting for him, as a Giants fan. The interim defensive coordinator is outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen. By all accounts, Bullen is the real deal, who is admired by the players and brings plenty of energy to the job. What’s Kafka got the lose? Good move.
Incidentally, I am getting some heat from my friends, who are Giants fans, but I do not believe the Giants are tanking. Remember, Kafka wants the interim tag removed. I think this team is capable of running the table or winning four of their remaining five with games against the Patriots, Vikings, Commanders, Raiders and Cowboys. If they do that, I believe the job is Kafka’s.
Turns out Monday was a tough day for NFL coordinators. Chip Kelly got the ax as offensive coordinator of the LV Raiders, who are a disappointing 2-9 under Pete Carroll. Kelly was the league’s highest paid OC, making $6M.
By the way, isn’t it interesting how Tom Brady’s broadcast roll on Fox sports has really given him and his Raiders (Brady owns 5% of the team) an advantage? That’s what we were told anyway.
New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner spoke to the media on Monday. He did not say much, talking in circles that would make the late, iconic Yankees manager Casey Stengel feel proud. Steinbrenner talked payroll - how it is not a guarantee for championship success - the Dodgers, the Yankees balance sheet, yada, yada, yada. The Yankees fan base is concerned with one thing: winning a World Series, something the signature franchise of MLB has not done since 2009.
It is SEC and everybody else in the college football ratings. Latest numbers show the SEC on ABC is blowing away the Big 10. Alabama has an especially loyal following, with games featuring the Crimson Tide garnering more than 8M viewers on average. I would expect those numbers will narrow a bit on Saturday, when Fox carries Ohio St. at Michigan. Game time at noon. Pregame show starts sometime this morning.
For decades NBC and MLB were joined at the hip. Then NBC lost the broadcast rights to CBS in 1990 and it was if the game did not exist. After a brief return on NBC in the mid-90s under MLB’s failed The Baseball Network, the NBC ignored the sport, when it was not carrying it. Now the network is back in the game and BOOM, who was interviewed on the SNF pregame show talking about the Los Angeles Rams? Retired Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Funny how that works isn’t it?
Congratulations to Colorado Rockies manager Warren Schaefer getting the interim tag removed by new head of baseball operations Paul DePodesta. I got to know Warren, when he managed the Hartford Yard Goats. He is a great guy and a very sound baseball man. I think you are going to find DePodesta is the guy who turns around the Rockies fortunes and that “Schaefer” is the one to lead the transition on the field. Congratulations to Warren and his family.
Joe Burrow will QB the Bengals on Thursday night at Baltimore against the Ravens. He will have his work cut out for him, as the Ravens make a late season charge to a divisional title. Baltimore and Pittsburgh are tied for first at 6-5 in the AFC North and they still have to play each other twice. Should be fun.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you so much for subscribing and have a terrific Tuesday!
DAN
