COMMENTARY- JONATHAN SAYS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
You’ve got to hand it to Lloyd Carr’s Michigan team. It
might not be the best team in America, but the Wolverines
are out to save their season. Saturday’s 14-9 victory over Penn
State makes up for the home loss to Oregon earlier this year.
With the first conference game behind them, the Wolverines
can now focus on the mission at hand – win the Big 10.
One team that doesn’t deserve any credit? Notre Dame.
Something is going on in South Bend, and the smell isn’t
very pleasant. Regardless of the fact that the Fighting Irish
lost a number of starters from last season’s team, and the
early season schedule has been so tough, this season’s squad
should not be 0-4. In Notre Dame’s 119-year football history,
no team has started so poorly. There is no reason for Notre
Dame to have not been competitive in any of its games thus
far. Charlie Weiss’ team has lost its first four contests by an
average score of 33-7. Even during down years under former
head coaches Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham, the Irish
were at least competitive. Furthermore, you know something
is wrong when your starting quarterback is benched early in
the first game and then enrolls in a neighboring school the
following week without telling anyone. This is after he learned
the starting job is no longer his. The school and fan base will
probably have patience with coach Weiss because of his NFL
experience and solid (although misleading, in my opinion)
performances in his first two seasons. However, if Notre Dame
has a 2- or 3-win season, heads are going to roll.
One last note – it never has taken me four weeks, but I
have finally learned my lesson. Never, and I mean, never, pick
your favorite team to win every week. It’s hard for me as a
North Carolina and Miami Dolphins fan to watch my teams
lose every week knowing that I put blind faith in them to win
ball games. Please avoid the mistakes I make.
MLB
So the Red Sox are in the playoffs. Congratulations to them,
but now the real fun begins. Boston dominated the AL East,
but over the last couple of months, the team has allowed the
New York Yankees to slip back into the race for the division.
The Sox have yet to lock up the division, so it is still possible
for them to lose it and be the wild card entry in the American
League playoffs. I don’t care what anyone says – if New York
ends up winning the division, Boston will not make it to the
AL championship series. For Boston to lead the division nearly
from start to finish and then lose it in the end, that will hurt
more than anyone would like to admit.
