BRONX, NY – How’s it going, everyone? I trust you’re all having a satisfactory autumn so far? I mean, except Jets fans, of course. For you guys, it’s Groundhog Day for going on 10 years now, no? Anyway, no sense dwelling on the negative. There’s plenty of interesting stuff to discuss and, besides, I’ve got a book launch party to attend. (More on that shortly.) Let’s get to it!
Baker Mayfield Could Be MVP. Has anyone watched Baker Mayfield play recently? Holy mackerel! For a guy whose career prospects once looked one half on the scrap heap and one half future gym teacher, he’s now playing at a MVP level. And he’s doing it virtually without any of his starting receivers or starting running back. This last Sunday, he pretty much singlehandedly beat the 49ers. He’s also got that “it” factor that’s brought up when it comes to the best starting quarterbacks. I’d go so far to say that he has more of that than some guys who already have won MVPs. If the Bucs every get healthy, watch out! I’d take Mayfield at this point in his career over almost every other QB in the league. Not all, but almost.
Check Out Ken Belson’s New Book! My friend Ken Belson—a sports business writer for The New York Times—just wrote a book on how the National Football League pretty much left other American major sports leagues in the dust and became the entertainment behemoth it is today. The book is called EVERY DAY IS SUNDAY (great title). Buy it.
My Lousy Mariners are Maybe Not-s0-Lousy. All the Seattle Mariners have done in under a week has been beat the Detroit Tigers in their epic 15-inning ALDS Game 5 last Friday night in Seattle, take one lousy day to rest, fly across the country to Toronto and beat the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALCS on Sunday, and then beat the crap out those same Blue Jays 10-3 on Monday to take a 2-0 series lead. No rest for the weary, as their series picks up with Game 3 in Seattle tonight. It’s been fun, but I keep waiting for them to hit a wall. Through it all, Cal Raleigh has cemented his case for MVP. I know the votes are already in and post season doesn’t count, but to watch what he means to his team on offense, defense, and leadership is undeniable. He will be a major league manager one day, and a good one. Book it. Go Mariners!
Penn State Fires HC James Franklin. I’m a Big 10 fan, but I could really care less about Penn State. They’re one of those new-ish Big 10 teams that really never felt like they belonged. But, I digress. Though James Franklin had an overall record of 104-45 with the Nittany Lions, his teams didn’t perform particularly well in big games against top-ranked opponents. But so do a lot of schools and coaches, eh? But, he got sh!tcanned. I find it almost laughable that 104-45 wasn’t good enough for the denizens of Happy Valley. What have they won recently anyway? Their last National Championship was in (*looking it up*) 1986? All of a sudden there’s an urgency? I’ll leave it like this: Penn State is apparently a lot more patient with pedophilia than they are with poor coaching.
Speaking of poor coaching, is Aaron Boone still managing the Yankees? You know who would know? Buddy Diaz! He’s up next here tomorrow.
