The 2023-24 Owljock Bowl Board

 It's that time of year again.  Time to spread the word about 43 college football bowl games that are coming your way this holiday season, as sanctioned by the NCAA and mostly televised by ESPN.  Time to salute (?) the sponsors of such games who were willing to put corporate pride and a few million bucks aside, risking ridicule and anonymity to bring us pigskin entertainment.

First, a little background.

• Making up the four schools that will compete for the College Football Playoff championship in Houston January 8 are Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama.  No Georgia, the defending champion?  No Ohio State?  Not even undefeated Florida State?  You might say the Wolverines don't belong here because they allegedly stole signals during games, and coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended.  Alabama? Had they not defeated Georgia in the SEC title game, they wouldn't be here, right?
• This was the last season in college football before realignment rears its ugly head.  Next season, the SEC brings in Oklahoma and Texas.  The Big Ten gets even bigger with the addition of four west coast schools--USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.  Stanford and California will join the Atlantic Coast Conference.  Most of the other Pac-12 schools, with the notable exception of Oregon State and Washington State, will be off to other conferences.  Will the last one to leave please turn off the lights?
• The biggest story of the early season was Deion Sanders, whose "Prime Time" antics set up shop as the new coach of the Colorado Buffaloes.  His overhauled team won big games and big TV ratings before the bottom fell out as the season went along, which is why you won't be seeing him anywhere except for TV commercials this season.  That doesn't mean we've heard the last of Deion Sanders, though.  He's just getting started.
• The University of Minnesota has once again made the Bowl Board this season.  But at 5-7 and only a win at Iowa to claim the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, coach P.J. Fleck's squad missed many more opportunities to bring home the bacon.  They'll be making their third appearance at a bowl game in Detroit the day after Christmas, and only because they were "academically eligible".  Like we always say:  If the Gophers are in a bowl game, you'll know there's too many of them.

As always, the Bowl Board works like this.  We mention what game it is, who's playing, where is it, and where you can watch it.  Plus a brief description of the game's main sponsor.  

So . . . ready for it?

Saturday, December 16

Myrtle Beach Bowl:  Georgia Southern vs. Ohio (Conway, SC) ESPN

Cricket Celebration Bowl:  Howard vs, Florida A&M (Atlanta) ABC

Cricket is a wireless provider.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl:  Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana (New Orleans) ESPN

Freight shipping and logistics

Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl:  Miami (Ohio) vs. Appalachian State (Orlando, FL) ABC

Avocados and breast cancer awareness

Isleta New Mexico Bowl:  New Mexico State vs. Fresno State (Albuquerque, NM) ESPN

Locally based resort and casino.

LA Bowl:  UCLA vs. Boise State (Inglewood, CA) ABC

Hosted by Rob Gronkowski

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl:  California vs. Texas Tech (Shreveport, LA) ESPN

Defense contractor.

Monday, December 18

Famous Toastery Bowl:  Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion (Charlotte, NC) ESPN

All-day breakfast restaurant chain.

Tuesday, December 19

Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl:  TX-San Antonio vs. Marshall (Frisco, TX) ESPN

Coffee shop chain.

Thursday, December 21

RoofClaim,com Boca Raton Bowl:  South Florida vs. Syracuse (Boca Raton, FL) ESPN

Roofing repairs.

Friday, December 22

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl:  Georgia Tech vs. Central Florida (Tampa, FL) ESPN

Mortgage lender.

Saturday, December 23

Birmingham Bowl:  Troy vs. Duke (Birmingham, AL) ABC

Camellia Bowl:  Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois (Montgomery, AL) ESPN

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl:  James Madison vs. Air Force (Fort Worth, TX) ABC

Defense contractor

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl:  Georgia State vs. Utah State (Boise, ID) ESPN

68 Ventures Bowl:  South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan (Mobile, AL) ESPN

Gulf Coast developer.

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl:  Utah vs. Northwestern (Las Vegas) ABC

Building products distributor.

EasyPost Hawaii Bowl:  Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State (Honolulu) ESPN

E-commerce online shipper.

Tuesday, December 26

Quick Lane Bowl:  Bowling Green vs. Minnesota (Detroit) ESPN

Chain of auto service shops.

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl:  Texas State vs. Rice (Dallas) ESPN

Disaster reparation services.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl:  Kansas vs. UNLV (Phoenix) ESPN

Home mortgage lender.

Wednesday, December 27

Military Bowl presented by GoBowling.com:  Virginia Tech vs. Tulane (Annapolis, MD) ESPN

Bowling promotion website.

Duke's Mayo Bowl:  North Carolina vs. West Virginia (Charlotte, NC) ESPN

Southeast-based mayonnaise brand.

DirecTV Holiday Bowl:  Louisville vs. USC (San Diego) Fox

Satellite TV provider.

TaxAct Texas Bowl:  Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State (Houston) ESPN

Online tax preparer.

Thursday, December 28

Wasabi Fenway Bowl:  Southern Methodist vs. Boston College (Boston) ESPN

Cloud storage company.

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl:  Rutgers vs. Miami (New York) ESPN

Lawn mower manufacturer.

Pop-Tarts Bowl:  NC State vs. Kansas State (Orlando, FL) ESPN

Breakfast snack.

Valero Alamo Bowl:  Arizona vs. Oklahoma (San Antonio, TX) ESPN

Energy company.

Friday, December 29

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl:  Clemson vs. Kentucky (Jacksonville, FL) ESPN

Online tax preparer.

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl:  Oregon State vs. Notre Dame (El Paso, TX) CBS

Breakfast cereal.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl:  Memphis vs. Iowa State (Memphis, TN) ESPN

Nationwide auto parts chain.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic:  Missouri vs. Ohio State (Arlington, TX) ESPN

Tire manufacturer and blimp flyer.  New Year's Six game.

Saturday, December 30

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl:  Mississippi vs. Penn State (Atlanta) ESPN

Chicken restaurant chain.  New Year's Six game.

Capital One Orange Bowl:  Georgia vs. Florida State (Miami Gardens, FL) ESPN

Banking and financial services.  New Year's Six game.

TransPerfect Music City Bowl:  Auburn vs. Maryland (Nashville, TN) ABC

Translation services

Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl:  Toledo vs. Wyoming (Tucson, AZ) The CW/ Barstool

Sports entertainment website.

Monday, January 1, 2024

ReliaQuest Bowl:  Wisconsin vs. LSU (Tampa, FL) ESPN2

Cybersecurity company

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl:  Liberty vs. Oregon (Glendale, AZ) ESPN

Vacation home rentals. 

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl:  Iowa vs. Tennessee (Orlando, FL) ABC

Snack food

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential:  Alabama vs. Michigan (Pasadena, CA) ESPN

Financial services.  National semifinal.

Allstate Sugar Bowl:  Texas vs. Washington (New Orleans) ESPN

Financial services.  National semifinal.

Monday, January 8, 2024

National Championship Presented by AT&T (Houston) ESPN

Communications giant.

 

NBA, NHL: First Time Champions

NBA:  Nuggets Strike Gold

Back in 1976, the National Basketball Association made peace with its rival the American Basketball Association by joining forces, adding the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers and the New York (later New Jersey, now Brooklyn) Nets.  Of those teams, only the Spurs have won an NBA title, and they did it five times in a period between 1999 and 2014.

Until now.  The Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in five games to win their first NBA championship Monday in Denver, a 94-89 win.  Nikola Jokic, who scored 28 points in the final game, was the Finals' Most Valuable Player.

The Nuggets were leading the Western Conference all season with their dominant play, then defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns in the first two rounds of the playoffs.  But it took defeating LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference final for America to take notice of this team from the Rockies.

The Heat, behind the play of Jimmy Butler, made bigger headlines in defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoffs.  But they ran out of gas in the Finals.

Now let's see if the Nuggets can avoid being a one-shot Rocky Mountain wonder.

NHL:  Stanley Cup in Vegas, Baby!

The Vegas Golden Knights began play in the National Hockey League in 2017-18, and nearly became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in its first season, losing to the Washington Capitals.

Six seasons later, the Knights have brought the Cup to the Las Vegas Strip.  They blew out the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 Tuesday in Las Vegas after a mostly competitive series.  Jonathan Marchessault of the Knights won the Conn Smythe trophy for being the playoff MVP.

The Knights were at or near the top of the Western Conference all season, the defeated the Winnipeg Jets, Seattle Kraken (in their second season) and Dallas Stars to get to the finals.

The Panthers made more noise in the Eastern Conference after just barely squeaking in, defeating the Boston Bruins (who had set an NHL record for most regular season points), Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes.

Unlike the Nuggets, the Golden Knights have been competitive from the very start.  Do not be surprised if the Stanley Cup extends its residency in Sin City.

NCAA BB: LSU, UConn Win Titles. Clark and Reese Steal Headlines.

 First the results.  On Sunday, the Louisiana State (Lady) Tigers demolished the Iowa Hawkeyes to win the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 102-85 in Dallas.  This is the Tigers' first national championship, as well as being coach Kim Mulkey's fourth title, with the first three coming at Baylor.  The game was marked by questionable officiating, high scoring and a big to-do over who's zooming who (apologies to Aretha Franklin).  More on this in a moment.

On Monday, the men's college basketball tournament was won by Connecticut in convincing fashion, a 76-59 win over San Diego State in Houston.  In a tournament marked by upset upon upset, sending the top seeds home prematurely, the Huskies stuck around long enough to win its fifth NCAA title since the Millenium.  That, for some reason, qualifies them as a blueblood program to go along with Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas and UCLA.  In other news, Jim Nantz has called his last college basketball game for CBS, meaning he can spend more time covering golf and the NFL.  Ian Eagle takes over the Final Four mic next season.

But this is what people want to talk about:  An in-your-face gesture made at the end of the game by LSU's Angel Reese toward Iowa scoring machine Caitlin Clark, hiding her face while pointing to her ring finger in anticipation of the title she and her team was about to win.  Never mind that Clark had done the same thing in a previous game, this time a national TV audience saw what looked like a racial slap in the face.  It wasn't necessary, but then we're not used to seeing women athletes trash talking.

The thing is, Reese was in the right.  Her team had soundly defeated the Hawkeyes, she had won the Most Outstanding Player of the Women's Final Four, and certainly deserved that ring on her finger.  But we live in a time when the accomplishments of black athletes are overshadowed by more marketable white athletes of either gender. So they have to resort to things like this.

Clark, who's set a bunch of records on the court this past season to get her team into the Women's Final Four and defeating defending champion South Carolina, is certainly marketable  ESPN and ABC set viewing records for the tournament because people wanted to see her play, and because there was finally a reason to watch women's college basketball.  If she keeps this up, Clark could do the same for the WNBA.

But if Caitlin Clark needed a reminder that sportsmanship is a two-way street, she got one from Angel Reese.

Super Bowl 57: KC Wins Arizona Showdown

 Just like Wyatt Earp and his brothers and Doc Holliday had it out with the Clantons at Tombstone over a century ago, quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles had their own showdown at Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, Arizona.   Just like the Earps and Holliday, Mahomes and the Chiefs were left standing in a 38-35 win over the Eagles.

Trailing by ten points at the end of the first half and Mahomes hurting because of the same knee injury he had in a previous game, the Chiefs turned the second half around to tie the game at 35.  Then with time running out, a gift from the heavens--well OK, it was the officials--when a holding penalty was called on the Eagles.  This allowed Mahomes to take a knee three times near the Eagles end zone until,with only a few seconds left, the Chiefs' kicker could boot the winning field goal.  This tactic is as stupid as freezing the kicker, but sometimes cheating works--not that we condone it.

Mahomes won his second Super Bowl MVP for this performance, which helps explain why he is the NFL's top quarterback in the post-Tom Brady era.  This is the third championship for Kansas City, and the second for Mahomes and coach Andy Reid.  They were the number one seed in the American Football Conference, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs to get here.

Philadelphia was the top seed in the National Football Conference, defeating the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers in their playoffs.

This year's halftime show was done by Rihanna, a hit maker who hasn't been around much for the last few years, tending to her business interests and becoming a mother for the first time.  She ran through her list of tunes while walking through a series of platforms in midair with the greatest of ease.  The biggest headline came after the show, when it was announced that Rihanna was pregnant for the second time.  Unfortunately for her fans, this means less time making new music and preparing for a concert tour and more time tending to her family and her business interests.

Millions of dollars were spent on the commercials this year, and it seems they did more to confuse people than to sell its products.  Just how did the M&M Spokescandies take the power back from the clutches of Maya Rudolph? Companies sharing their ads to the point where you don't know who it's for? Jesus "gets" us? Are we supposed to believe Ben Stiller and Steve Martin like Pepsi Zero Sugar, or were they just acting?  Do we need another superhero movie?

According to estimates, 113 million of you watched all or part of Fox's telecast of the Super Bowl. It's the third highest number in TV history.  Kevin Burkhardt, who called the big game for the first time, was a nice change from the usual suspects--Joe Buck, Al Michaels and Jim Nantz.  But he needs work in bringing the drama.  Greg Olsen has been winning raves as a game analyst and should improve, at least as long as Tom Brady chooses to stay out of the Fox booth.

FIFA World Cup: Scars to the "Beautiful Game"

 Soccer (or football, as it's known in the rest of the world) has been called "the beautiful game" because of the way it's played, how goals are scored, and the unpredictability of it all.  Never was there a better demonstration of that than in Sunday's FIFA men's World Cup final in Qatar between Argentina and France.  For ninety minutes of regulation and thirty minutes of extra time, the two sides battled to a 3-3 draw, led by goal-scoring legends Lionel Messi of Argentina and Kylian Mbappe of France.  Then in the penalty shootout, Argentina outlasted France 4-2 to win its first Cup since 1986, setting off all sorts of celebrations in Buenos Aires and environs.  This is the best soccer has to offer, and most observers seemed to agree.

Croatia defeated Morocco to win third place, which is considered historic for the African country.  The little-regarded United States team got as far as the Round of 16 before Netherlands defeated them, which is quite a feat considering the Americans did not qualify for the 2018 Cup.

With apologies to Alessia Cara, the fact that this World Cup was held in Qatar exposed some scars to the "beautiful game" and who runs it.  This was a country that few know how to pronounce correctly, and is a little known Middle East fiefdom that saw no problem in limiting the rights of certain populations that resulted in bans on forms of clothing suggesting protest, or sacrificing the lives of migrant workers (allegedly against their will) to help build all those massive soccer stadiums in such a tiny country.  But they did show FIFA the money, and that's what counts.  Just like what it took for the Olympic Games to be held in Russia or China. Also, two journalists died while covering this World Cup:  Longtime American soccer correspondent Grant Wahl, and a photojournalist working for a Qatar TV channel.

Add to this the failure of a professional European soccer league, an American women's soccer league in crisis over allegations of various forms of harassment, and Major League Soccer's new TV deal with Apple TV + (home of "Ted Lasso") that lets Fox have some matches, but local telecasts go behind a paywall.

The next FIFA men's World Cup will be in North America in 2026, split between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.  Unlike Qatar, it will be played in the normal summer months of June and July, where you're not competing with the NFL and disrupting other European leagues.  Here's another opportunity for soccer to prove it can be beautiful without showing its scars.

The 2022-23 Owljock Bowl Board

 Another year, another Owljock Bowl Board.  We once again bring you the college bowl season schedule and the sponsors (plus one TV personality) willing to take the leap from obscurity to--maybe more obscurity?

This season there's 43 NCAA-sanctioned bowls that span from coast to coast (and sometimes beyond), with not only teams' reputations on the line but also a national championship.  As far as we know, games have yet to be canceled due to outbreaks of COVID and its other variants like they have been in the last couple of years.

But first . . .

• The College Football Playoff's final four this year is defending champion Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State and TCU (this year's Cincinnati).  What, no Alabama?  Something's not right here.  Well, after years of complaints that the same four schools get into the playoffs every year, the CFP has decided to extend its invitations to twelve teams beginning in 2024.  The number should really be eight, but ESPN would have two more years on its TV contract by then . . .
• The Big Ten has become a national conference to compete with the Southeastern Conference, adding Southern California and UCLA from the Pac-12 beginning in 2024.  And there may be more on the way if other conferences fail to keep its current members from leaving
• The TV landscape is also changing.  To match the SEC's move from CBS to ESPN, the Big Ten has partnered with Fox, CBS and NBC to televise games starting next season replacing the Worldwide Leader.

If you think the quality of the bowl games lack something, you may be right.  Not only are some players skipping games to save themselves for the NFL draft, but also for the transfer portal which allows them to change schools without penalty. 

So here it comes.  The bowl schedule includes who's playing, where's the game, where it's on TV (ESPN unless otherwise noted), along with a brief description of the game's main sponsor.  Know the drill?  Good.  Let's go.

FRIDAY, 12/16

Hometown Lenders Bahamas Bowl:  Miami-Ohio vs.  Alabama-Birmingham (Nassau, Bahamas) ESPN.

Hometown Lenders is a mortgage lending firm.

Duluth Trading Cure Bowl:  TX-San Antonio vs. Troy (Orlando, FL) ESPN

Duluth Trading sells work and outdoor apparel.  The "cure" is for breast cancer research.

SATURDAY, 12/17

Wasabi Fenway Bowl:  Cincinnati vs. Louisville (Boston, MA) ESPN

Wasabi is a cloud storage firm.  Game played at Fenway Park.

Cricket Celebration Bowl:  Jackson State vs. North Carolina Central (Atlanta, GA) ABC

Cricket is a wireless provider.

New Mexico Bowl: Southern Methodist vs. Brigham Young (Albuquerque, NM) ABC

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel: Washington State vs. Fresno State (Inglewood, CA) ABC

Jimmy Kimmel is a late night TV and awards show host.  Stifel is a brokerage investment bank.

Lending Tree Bowl: Rice vs. Southern Mississippi (Mobile, AL) ESPN

Lending Tree is an online mortgage broker.

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl:  Florida vs. Oregon State (Las Vegas, NV) ESPN

SRS is a building products distributor.

Frisco Bowl:  North Texas vs. Boise State (Frisco, TX) ESPN

MONDAY, 12/19

Myrtle Beach Bowl:  Marshall vs. Connecticut (Conway, SC) ESPN

TUESDAY, 12/20

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl:  Eastern Michigan vs. San Jose State (Boise, ID) ESPN

RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl:  Liberty vs. Toledo (Boca Raton, FL) ESPN

RoofClaim is in roofing repairs.

WEDNESDAY, 12/21

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl:  Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama (New Orleans, LA) ESPN

R+L Carriers is in the freight shipping and logistics business.

THURSDAY, 12/22

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl:  Baylor vs. Air Force (Fort Worth, TX) ESPN

Lockheed Martin is a defense contractor.

FRIDAY, 12/23

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl:  Louisiana vs. Houston (Shreveport, LA) ESPN

Radiance Technologies is a defense contractor.

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl:  Wake Forest vs. Missouri (Tampa, FL) ESPN

Union Home Mortgage is a mortgage lender.

SATURDAY. 12/24

EasyPost Hawaii Bowl:  Middle Tennessee State vs. San Diego State (Honolulu, HW) ESPN

EasyPost is an e-commerce online shipper.

MONDAY, 12/26

Quick Lane Bowl:  New Mexico State vs. Bowling Green (Detroit, MI) ESPN

Quick Lane is a chain of auto service shops.

TUESDAY, 12/27

Camellia Bowl:  Georgia Southern vs. Buffalo (Montgomery, AL) ESPN

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl:  Memphis vs. Utah State (Dallas, TX) ESPN

SERVPRO is in disaster reparation services.

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl:  Coastal Carolina vs. East Carolina (Birmingham, AL) ESPN 

TicketSmarter is an online ticket broker.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl:  Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma State (Phoenix. AZ) ESPN

Guaranteed Rate is a home mortgage lender.  Game is at Chase Field.

WEDNESDAY, 12/28

Military Bowl Presented by Peraton:  Central Florida vs. Duke (Annapolis, MD) ESPN

Peraton is a government security contractor.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl:  Kansas vs. Arkansas (Memphis, TN) ESPN

AutoZone is a nationwide parts store chain.

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl:  Oregon vs. North Carolina (San Diego, CA) Fox

SDCCU  is a Southern California-based financial services firm.  Game played at Petco Park.

TaxAct Texas Bowl:  Texas Tech vs. Mississippi (Houston, TX) ESPN

TaxAct is an online tax preparer.

THURSDAY, 12/29

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl:  Syracuse vs. Minnesota (New York) ESPN

Bad Boy sells lawn mowers.  Game played at Yankee Stadium.

Cheez-It Bowl:  Oklahoma vs. Florida State (Orlando, FL) ESPN

Cheez-It is a cheese snack.

Valero Alamo Bowl:  Texas vs. Washington (San Antonio, TX) ESPN

Valero is an energy company.

FRIDAY, 12/30

Duke's Mayo Bowl:  Maryland vs. North Carolina State (Charlotte, NC) ESPN

Duke's Mayo is mayonnaise sold in the southeast.

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl:  Pittsburgh vs. UCLA (El Paso, TX) CBS

Tony the Tiger represents Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl:  Notre Dame vs. South Carolina (Jacksonville, FL) ESPN

TaxSlayer is an online tax preparer.

Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl:  Ohio vs. Wyoming (Tucson, AZ) 

Barstool Sports is a sports website.

Capital One Orange Bowl:  Tennessee vs. Clemson (Miami Gardens, FL) ESPN

Capital One is in banking and financial services.

SATURDAY, 12/31

TransPerfect Music City Bowl:  Iowa vs. Kentucky (Nashville. TN) ABC

TransPerfect is in translation services.

Allstate Sugar Bowl:  Alabama vs. Kansas State (New Orleans, LA) ESPN

Allstate provides insurance and financial services.

Vrbo Fiesta Bowl:  Michigan vs. Texas Christian (Glendale, AZ) ESPN.

National championship semifinal.  Vrbo handles vacation home rentals.

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl:  Georgia vs. Ohio State (Atlanta, GA) ESPN

National championship semifinal.  Chick-fil-A is a chain of chicken restaurants.

MONDAY, 1/2/2023

ReliaQuest Bowl:  Mississippi State vs. Illinois (Tampa, FL) ESPN2

ReliaQuest is in the cybersecurity business.

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl:  Louisiana State vs. Purdue (Orlando, FL) ABC

Cheez-It is a cheese snack.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic:  Southern California vs. Tulane (Arlington, TX) ESPN

Goodyear makes tires and flies blimps.

Rose Bowl Game:  Utah vs. Penn State (Pasadena, CA) ESPN

MONDAY, 1/9/2023

CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T: Teams TBA (Inglewood, CA) ESPN

AT&T is a wireless provider and communications giant.

That is all.

 

 

 

 

Astros Ground Phillies in World Series

The World Series ended Saturday night with the Houston Astros taking down the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to win their second title since 2017.  No banging trash lids or taping signs, just solid pitching and timely hitting carried the day.

What stood out during the Series was the first-ever combined no-hitter in Game 4.  Cristiano Javier (who went six scoreless innings), Brian Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly combined to shut down the Phillies.  In this era of pitch counts and managers being afraid to leave their best arms in the game for too long, maybe this was inevitable.  It will probably be a long time before we ever see another Don Larsen, who threw the first individual World Series no-hitter for the Yankees to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers back in 1956.

Dusty Baker, who's had a quarter-century's experience in baseball managing, finally won the big one to general applause as the man who righted the Astros' ship after the events of 2017.  He's also the third Black manager to win a world championship behing Cito Gaston of the Toronto Blue Jays and Dave Roberts of the Dodgers.

What isn't so celebratory is that this was the first time since 1950 (when the Phillies played the Yankees) that white and Latino players were on the World Series rosters, but not American-born Black players.  Not a good look for Major League Baseball, which usually takes a day to celebrate the first Black man to cross the color line by making every player wear his Number 42 during a game.

The Astros got here by defeating the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees during the American League playoffs.  The Phillies as the National League wild card got through the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.

Also in 2022, Aaron Judge became the third Yankee to hit over 60 home runs, banging 62 to win the American League home run title.  That's an impressive amount.  But Barry Bonds hit 73 for the San Francisco Giants in 2001 in spite of allegations of steroid use, and even Judge says Bonds' record is the true one.

Fox is still the main telecaster of the World Series, but Joe Buck split for ESPN to call Monday Night Football.  He was replaced by Joe Davis, who should be used to following legends.  Davis took over for Vin Scully, the longtime Dodgers and World Series voice who passed away this year.

No matter how baseball screws up, Scully might say it's always a great day to play a game.