Last week kind of sucked. I had the worst cold I’ve had in years, and it totally wiped me out. I think I slept most of the day Wednesday and spent the next four days coughing constantly. Friday and Saturday I had a headache that no amount of ibuprofen or sinus medication would knock back. My night time attempts at sleep were interrupted by coughing, a sore throat, or general discomfort that kept me from sleeping for more than an hour at a time. As a bonus, S was on a girls weekend with her sisters, so I was hustling the girls around to events while also watching one of my nephews.
It feels like I’m finally coming out of it today, though. I appreciate all the thoughts and prayers.
I’ll save the update on the girls’ events for another post. Let’s talk about some other things that went on this weekend.
KU Football
I know there is much handwringing about the meek Jayhawks falling to Coastal Carolina at home by the baseball score of 12-7. People are talking about one particular play call that seemed straight out of the David Beaty time management system and totally out of place for a Les Miles team. Or the absolutely pathetic play by the quarterback and wondering how the “stud” juco guy Miles brought in hasn’t seen the field yet.
I have none of those negative emotions. Just because KU has a new, high-priced coach with an impressive resumé does not mean the program is suddenly better. Especially when the offensive line is still not good enough to play at the Power 5 level. Miles can bring in studs at skill positions every recruiting class, but until he recruits some kids that can legitimately play the line, the results will not change.
I had pretty limited expectations for this year. Two wins most likely, maybe steal a third somewhere. But this year was all about Miles using his juice to start bringing in players, update the culture, and set the team up to start winning next year, or even two years from now.
We’ve been waiting ten years. What’s 2-3 more? For now the team isn’t worth getting upset over.
Colts
I watched parts of the Colts game Sunday. They didn’t look bad! Jacoby Brissett looks legit. The offense looks balanced. The defense hung in against a tough offense and gave the team a chance to get back in the game. And then Adam Vinatieri left seven points on the field that could have turned an overtime loss into a regulation win. Age may finally be catching up with Mr. Reliable.
I figure the Colts are an 8-8 team, unless Brissett is really good.1 He just might be, but games like this are the ones that good teams find a way to win and mediocre teams let slip away. The good news is the Colts started 1-5 last year and still made it to the playoffs. Of course, that was with Andrew…
US Open
We were busy Saturday afternoon and evening, so I only saw a few moments of Serena Williams’ loss in the women’s final. I don’t think people appreciate enough what she’s going through right now. Listen, there’s no tactful way to say this: she’s still not in great shape after her traumatic childbirth experience. And yet she’s still beating people up and making it to Grand Slam finals before it all catches up with her. Maybe she’ll never get it back and this is how the rest of her career, however long it lasts, will go. But, good grief, I think it’s incredible that she is still such a force despite basically becoming a totally different person physically.
As for the men’s final, I checked in early and saw Nadal was up and then forgot about it between the Colts game and doing some pool cleaning. Fortunately my brother-in-sports John N texted me in the midst of the fourth set to let me know some terrific drama was underway. So I got to see the last 90 minutes or so of that epic match. There were so many wonderful twists and turns to the final set-and-a-half that made it impossible to stop watching. L watched with me, and I believe this was the first tennis match she’s ever watched. Naturally she was just killing me with questions, which got a little annoying as the tension built. But she recognized that this was a big event and hung in until Nadal had secured the win. That was a fine way to end a busy weekend.
1. I have a one-beer bet with a friend who insists they will go 10-6.