Good morning, all! I hope your weekend is going well!
Already Week 12 for the NFL and above is the latest episode of Picks for Kicks. I try to reverse the tables on what has been a two-week slump. It might be time to fire the general manager. Wait! I am the general manager!
JUST A BRIEF NOTE. THERE WILL BE NO NEWSLETTER ON MONDAY. BACK AT YOU ON TUESDAY.
HERE ARE SOME OTHER THOUGHTS ON THE SECOND-TO-LAST SUNDAY IN NOVEMBER:
Writing about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Saturday’s newsletter brings to mind the Sunday after Nov. 22, 1963. Except for the AFL, the games went on. The NFL played its full slate of games that Sunday, although the Chicago Bears were nearly speechless, as they embarked on a charter flight for a game against the Steelers. (Coincidentally, the Bears are playing the Steelers today.) Commissioner Pete Rozelle said he called the president’s press secretary, Pierre Salinger, and was told JFK would have wanted the games to be played. The NFL was not alone. The NBA and NHL also went forward with its schedule that day.
In The Game, Yale dismantled Harvard at Yale Bowl Saturday with a 45-28 victory, before 52,497. The Elis win the Ivy League title and will go to the FCS playoffs. It was The Crimson’s fourth straight defeat against the Bulldogs and their first loss of the season, after starting 9-0. Both teams finished the Ivy League schedule at 6-1, but Yale, which compiled an 8-2 overall mark, won the league by virtue of its head-to-head victory against Harvard. No telling if Harvard will receive an at large bid to the playoffs. The tournament bracket will be unveiled at noon today.
Have been reading stories on some websites wondering how come there have not been any big name baseball free agent signings yet? Please! The signing of the big names has always been a drawn out process. You may see some action early this week, before the Thanksgiving break, or the week after. Expect more activity when the winter meetings convene in Orlando two weeks from today. My point? There is nothing unusual about the lack of big name signings at this stage, less than a month after the World Series concluded. Meanwhile, expect these websites to provide more clickbait stories that will never come true.
The UConn Huskies football team pulled the fat out of the fire Saturday, blowing a big lead, then rallying to beat Florida Athletic, 48-45. UConn finished the regular season 9-3 and now awaits a bowl bid.
Meanwhile, as I wrote earlier and others did as well - No big surprise as it didn’t take a genius to reach this conclusion - UConn coach Jim Mora Jr. is reportedly being wooed by other schools. John Canzano, who hosts a statewide sports talk show in Oregon and writes on this platform, has stated Mora is in the mix of coaches under consideration as the next Oregon St. coach:
I wrote a couple of weeks back, UConn AD David Benedict needed to tear up Mora’s contract and give him a new one. My guess is he attempted to do just that but with Mora holding the leverage, the coach probably stated, let’s wait. My guess also is that Benedict, a very adept athletic director, already had a list tucked in his pocket, of possible Mora successors. To keep the UConn football momentum going, however, that list has got to contain notable names and not some hotshot or obscure assistant. Things are about to get interesting.
North Carolina, under first-year coach Bill Belichick (Perhaps you have heard of him.), will not be going to any bowl games this season, after dropping a 32-25 decision to Duke. The Tar Heels are now 4-7 with one game remaining at North Carolina St. next Saturday night. Wonder how former NC coach Mack Jones feels?
You are not reading or hearing things. The Central Connecticut State University men’s basketball team did beat Rutgers on Friday night. In fact, the Blue Devils put a hurtin’ on ‘em, winning, 67-54 in Piscataway, NJ. That must have been some bus ride home back to New Britain. Rutgers, incidentally, is coached by Steve Pikiell, a Bristol, CT native and basketball standout at St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol and at UConn. It was the Scarlet Knights first defeat, after four wins. CCSU is 3-2 under coach Patrick Sellers, who has done an outstanding job with that school’s program.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for your support and have great Sunday!
DAN
