I’ve had the argument many times about the best sporting month. I contend March is the best, mostly because college basketball is my favorite sport and the drama of the NCAA tournament is unmatched. I must admit, though, Saturday was a most excellent day here in Casa de DDB. There were about 1,000,000 college football games on. Between CBS, ABC, NBC, ESPN, the local Big 10 games, and then some bonus coverage I seem to be getting, I had an almost limitless supply of games to choose from. On top of all that, there were three baseball playoff games to choose from. Little wonder I barely moved from the couch all day.
Being that I am a big college sports fan, I’m used to freshmen being over-hyped before they’ve done anything. Of course, I personally have never done that before. Anyway, after watching Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson Saturday, I’m confident in saying he lives up to the hype and SI cover he’s already received. That kid is phenomenal. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a true freshman play football at the level he’s playing at right now. Sometimes even the freakishly talented don’t really understand the game until the end of their first season. Right now, Peterson might be the best running back in all of college football. It was awe-inspiring to watch him combine speed with raw power, beating Texas defenders to an angle and streaking upfield on one play, and just annihilating players that tried to tackle him on the next play. It will be very interesting to see how he continues to develop and watch how long he stays in college. I recall Beano Cook demanding than Ron Powlus be given the next four Heisman trophies after an effective performance his freshman year. Archie Griffin might finally have some true competition for multiple Heisman wins.
Am I the only one who thinks, for the first time ever, the Boston Red Sox are not playing to override 85 years of history but rather simply to exorcise last year’s demons? There’s a huge difference in playing not to be Bill Buckner or Mike Tores and playing to make up for a missed opportunity the previous season. Fear vs. hope, to put it in electoral terms. That, along with superior starting pitching, are why I continue to believe they’ll beat the Yankees in the ALCS.
On the NL side, I don’t know if there’s a team that’s more fun to watch than the Cardinals. They’ve got the curious blend of best record in the league yet a small chip on their shoulders because of all the doubts about clinching so early, starting pitching, health of a few players, etc. They don’t have the personalities the Red Sox have, but the way they methodically go about winning game after game is a wonderful thing to watch. All the more reason why a Cards-Sox series would be great: outside the flamboyance of the Red Sox, the teams are very similar. They’ll both destroy you offensively. The Sox have better starting pitching, but the bullpen can let you back in the game. The Cards’ starters have some questions, but the most versatile pen in the majors can dig them out of any holes the starters leave.
I normally don’t like Fox’s Tim McCarver, but I enjoyed the slam he got in on Tommy Lasorda during last night’s game. Well done, Timmy McC!
I’m working on some thoughts on VH1’s And You Don’t Stop history of hip-hop. As you might imagine, I’ve loved the episodes I’ve been able to watch so far. I really need to crack open those boxes I brought back from KC and see what kind of late 80s gems are hidden in there.