In a night that featured Mick Cronin’s UCLA nadir (one would guess) and Maryland spending late offensive possessions throwing the ball backwards over their heads towards the hoop (they won anyway), it was Gonzaga who stole the NIT show. Gonzaga went to Santa Clara to play the worst Santa Clara team we’ve seen in three years, and Gonzaga lost. Yes, it was Steve Nash Night. But Gonzaga lost, which beefs up the loss side of their team sheet while leaving the notable–win column conspicuously empty.
Will Gonzaga make the NIT? Probably not. They’re still the WCC Tournament favorites, for one thing, but also, they’re most likely still a little too good. They have, though, put themselves in a spot where they either need to win in Lexington in February (fun scheduling, kudos) or hope Saint Mary’s or San Francisco is good enough to stay in the top 75 of NET if they’re going to get just one Q1 win. Just one. And they might need more than one to avoid us!
In other words…
Gonzaga, who hasn’t made the NIT since Bill Clinton’s impeachment, might be coming our way.
Dream on, Spokane. Dream on.
Arch Manning Bust Watch: Stay or Go?
My impression is that Arch Manning is staying at Texas even with Quinn Ewers returning for another year. I am about 99% confident in Arch Manning remaining at Texas. Archie Manning, Arch’s grandfather (and possibly the man calling his son Cooper and Cooper’s son Arch’s shots), spoke about this in November, saying he loved the trajectory Eli followed in college, going from redshirt to backup to starter.
If I was going to make a joke about Arch Manning being a bust, I would either say A) that he must be a bust for Texas to take back the current Heisman favorite or B) that he must be a bust to not believe in himself enough to go grab the job and win the title at some other school.
I don’t really feel like making that joke, though.
I like Ewers too much.
Although I will say: I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a QB competition at some point in the next 12 months for the Texas Longhorns. Either this spring, this summer, or after playing Oklahoma and Georgia in back-to-back weeks this fall, something equally likely to end with Texas in the national driver’s seat or Texas reeling.
(Congrats to Sark on the extension, by the way. Feel like that was happening regardless of the Alabama search? Maybe the search accelerated the formality, though.)
Matthew Stafford vs. The Moon, Home-Field by Latitude
Lions beat writer Mike Payton spoke to us on Wednesday on Twitter:
“For the weird moon people. The moon was a waxing crescent the last time the Lions won a playoff game. The moon on Sunday will be a waxing crescent.”
First of all, what the fuck, Mike? I am not a weird moon person. I am simply a moon person. I think we should let the moon make more of our decisions, and as a friend suggested this morning via text, we may now need to sacrifice Mike Payton to the moon to soothe its temper following this disrespect.
(CC: JIMMY KIMMEL. THE HUMAN SACRIFICE LINE WAS A JOKE. I DO NOT BELIEVE WE SHOULD SACRIFICE ANYONE TO THE MOON, AND I ESPECIALLY DO NOT CONDONE ANYONE TRYING TO SACRIFICE MIKE PAYTON TO THE MOON BECAUSE OF THIS JOKE. IF ANYONE TRIES TO SACRIFICE MIKE PAYTON TO THE MOON, I WILL STOP MAKING JOKES. SACRIFICING PEOPLE TO THE MOON IS A VERY SERIOUS OFFENSE. IT IS ONE OF THE WORST THINGS YOU CAN DO.)
Secondly, sounds like the Lions are going to beat Matt Stafford. Good for them.
In other NFL playoff thoughts, I’m sad we aren’t getting football at Lambeau this weekend, given the weather’s supposed to be so good across the northern half of the country. This makes me wonder: What if the NFL assigned home field advantage not based off of record, but through latitude? We’d have:
- Texans at Browns (cold and windy)
- Dolphins at Chiefs (already happening, but still cold and windy)
- Steelers at Bills (already happening, rumored to be in jeopardy because of lake-effect snow)
- Cowboys at Packers (Ice Bowl!)
- Rams at Lions (I’m fine with Ford Field in general but I’d like this game to be played at EMU)
- Buccaneers at Eagles (imagine what the Eagles would deal with from their fans)
The Chili Bowl: So Much Dirt
Speaking of chilly………
*crying laughing emoji* *crying laughing emoji* (sorry, been in the McAfee universe lately)
The Chili Bowl’s going on in Tulsa, and for those who don’t know what the Chili Bowl is, what happens is that someone fills up a convention center in Tulsa with dirt and then runs a giant collection of midget car races. Midget cars look like this, and they drift through the corners.
The event gets some big names. Kyle Larson raced last night. Flipped over twice. A lot of people flip over.
In other motorsport news, RIP to SRX, that short-track all-star series Tony Stewart started. Bummer it couldn’t take off. Felt like it was getting a lot of love when it launched, but that might have been due to motorsports having a little bump during Covid. Meaning: Either motorsports had a Covid bump in the real world, so SRX was getting a lot of love; or motorsports had a Covid bump in my life, so I felt like SRX was getting a lot of love. Either way, it’s over, and that’s too bad.
Marcus Stroman vs. The Mets
As a Joe Kelly blogger, I respect what Marcus Stroman did by agreeing to a contract with the Yankees yesterday. For years, Stroman and Mets fans quarreled because Marcus Stroman is the way he is and Mets fans are the way they are, and while there’s nothing wrong with either of those things, they were destined to quarrel. Now, Stroman’s going to play in close proximity to the Mess. He might have even taken a pay cut to do it?**
This would be like Joe Kelly signing with the Rangers, except if the Rangers played in Houston too.
**Maybe I’m missing something but I wish the Cubs had offered him that deal.
Oregon Seems to Like Cheese
We all remember that kid at the NIT quarterfinals last year with the cheese curds sign. I’m in Oregon now, though, and people seem pretty pro-cheese? I’m visiting Portland, specifically, and every place I’ve eaten has mentioned Tillamook cheddar on the menu in some fashion. I know Oregon’s not a huge dairy-producing state, but what they do produce is high-profile. They have strong dairy branding.
Anyway, I really like Portland so far. The people style themselves as weirdly as advertised, and the place is comfortable and pretty. That first part might change if the blizzard happens this weekend, but it could only help the second part. Lot of crows here, too. And I found a little baseball field attached to a middle school that looks out over the Willamette River towards the skyline? Portland gets it.
Also, I haven’t seen the hordes of homeless folks everyone warned me about. Have seen very few homeless, actually. I’ve been across the river from downtown—stayed by the convention center last night, going to be up by the University of Portland the next two or three nights—so maybe that’s what it is, but I’m not getting the vibe that the city’s in a dire position. Not that visible homelessness is an indicator of a city’s health, but having a lot of folks dealing with homelessness crowded together on the streets does create problems, for everyone—including the homeless themselves. (This has been the portion of the blog where Stu tries to assuage worries from new readers that he is politically extreme in any direction. Subscribe to our email newsletter!)
Also, I might get to do the stats at the Portland vs. Santa Clara women’s basketball game tomorrow night. My friend asked if I know how to do women’s stats, and I assume he means basketball and not those chest/waist/hips numbers. I know basketball. I feel uncomfortable about the chest/waist/hips thing.
Game of the NITe of the Weekend
With all due respect to Purdue, who is honoring the 1974 NIT champions at halftime tomorrow (bucket-hat tip to the Twitter account Cradle of Quarter Bottles for bringing this to our attention), the Game of the NITe of the Weekend is Arkansas at Florida. Does that not stir you up? Good. That’s the point.
Other things I care about:
- Burnley plays Luton Town in an hour. 18th and 19th in the table. Out of 20. Burnley’s already down four points to the Hatters (such a good name, I know), so, yeah. The lads need this one. Turf Moor better get rowdy.
- Shaka Smart and Marquette are off until Monday, but Texas plays at West Virginia tomorrow. Would be a pretty bad loss, guys. Just saying. (I’m really sad about Sean Jones’s knee. That man was so fast.)
- The Sens lost again last night, to the Sabres (in 2023, we could at least beat the Sabres), but the bright side of that game happening is that they only play once this weekend. They host the Sharks tomorrow, and the Sharks might be the worst team in the NHL. Unless that team is the Sens, of course.
- The Bulls host the Warriors tonight, which is funny. Imagine being the Warriors. You’re worried that your organization’s lost its fastball. You’re scared of being a post-dynastic franchise. Then, you get to go to the United Center and see what those things really look like. Spurs on Saturday in San Antonio. The Bulls might sweep these two games. The Bulls might get within a game of .500 before it all comes crashing down.
- Fargo will return home after her two-night sleepover. Excited to hear how sleepy she is.
- The Australian Open starts at some point. I’m not sure when. The time zone thing is too hard to figure out. Ons Jabeur (we mentioned this exactly one time, but Ons Jabeur is our favorite tennis player because she headered a ball while we were watching Wimbledon) plays Yulia Starodubtseva in her opener. Starodubtseva made it in through the qualifiers. She played at Old Dominion but is from Ukraine. She was in America when the war broke out. Helped ODU win Conference USA. All part of the soft diplomacy.
