I’m always excited for the NFL season to be over, not because I particularly dislike the NFL, but because it allows everyone in the world to more fully turn their attention towards NIT season. Speaking of which:
Juwan Gary being hurt would be a real Gift of the Magi situation, UCLA isn’t back yet but winning again helped, Virginia is way deeper into the NIT mix than a lot of its fans realize, Rutgers was beautiful last NITe, Wazzu vs. Stanford will be beautiful toNITe, and we plan to have more tomorrow on both the Horns Down incident and the NIT as a whole.
This year, though, I’m even more excited for the NFL to end than usual. Because this year, once the Super Bowl ends, we’ll get two straight months of waiting to see how the Bears go about turning this Justin Fields/Caleb Williams situation into an outright disaster.
Planting the latest seed, news broke today that the franchise is interviewing Kliff Kingsbury to be its next offensive coordinator. Kingsbury has long been linked to Caleb Williams, having…served as a special offensive assistant for exactly one year at USC. The man who couldn’t win with Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech and oversaw a flop of an NFL franchise has now spent one year with Caleb Williams, giving him some tips while Lincoln Riley and Josh Henson ran the offense. It was not Caleb Williams’s most acclaimed year.
Is Kliff Kingsbury the Caleb Williams whisperer??
I don’t know what the Bears will do. To be honest, I don’t think it matters. I don’t think the Bears are all that bad at acquiring talented quarterbacks. I think the Bears just stink. But I am excited to see how, exactly, they will stink this time. It’s like opening a novel you’ve only heard great things about. You know you’ll love the ending, but you’re already getting excited about the journey.
Do the White Sox Deserve a Stadium?
Among other Chicago failures looking for a new stadium, the White Sox exist, and they’re looking at new sites, because evidently the problem with the team that hired Tony La Russa and is run by Jerry Reinsdorf and had a clubhouse so toxic last year that players traded away won’t talk about it (shoutout Joe Kelly) is…the stadium.
A therapist recently told me that moving wouldn’t make my problems go away.
And I wasn’t seriously thinking of moving!
Anyway, the latest proposed spot—a parcel of land in the South Loop—looks like a cool spot for a ballpark. I think the city of Chicago should spend all those resources it has to build it. But I think they should try to lure the Rays to inhabit it.
“In 2021 alone, he was punched by three different receivers.”
I think my colleague mentioned this recently, but we love Baker Mayfield around here. One of the last great Sports Illustrated articles before its current zombie era was the one about Mayfield coming to Oklahoma, walking on, and dominating intramural sports before he became eligible. Did he do too many commercials? Yes. But so, inevitably, did whoever we’re about to elect president this fall. (It’s a shame that NIT fans have to sit through political ads while we’re basically in church.)
Anyway, we got a big kick out of C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s back-and-forth with the Bucs’ QB, partly because Mayfield’s response made us laugh (“I don’t think he’s really watched film because he mentioned Russell Gage. We love Russell but Russell hasn’t played a snap all year for us.”) and partly because the Lions’ secondary sucks. The Lions’ secondary talks so much. The Lions’ secondary is also terrible. The Lions’ secondary is the platonic ideal of a defensive backfield. It’s just four or five Walmart versions of Jaire Alexander running around out there at any given time.
Pretty big trap game this weekend. I did say that if Dan Campbell needs a private army, I’d enlist, but pretty big trap game this weekend.
What If Djokovic Has Covid?
Novak Djokovic has a cold and is a little banged up, which is bad news as someone who bet him at very short odds to win the Australian Open. Sports gambling might not be the best way I use my money. (I don’t go to the doctor or the dentist, though, so I’m doing something right.)
Anyway, Djokovic is a little sick, and how funny would it be if he had Covid? Two years after missing the Australian Open because he refused to get vaccinated. That would be a nice little stir.
Following Up on the Rugby Dude
We spoke the other day about Welsh rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit’s bid to join the NFL, asking what position he’d play. Turns out, he’s trying to be a running back or a wide receiver. We found out because English rugby star Harry Mallinder is also trying to join the NFL, and the ESPN piece on Mallinder mentioned Rees-Zammit. ESPN covers rugby like no other outlet we regularly check for stories to include in these blog posts. Also, Mallinder is going to try to be a kicker or punter. I love how much rugby stars picking their NFL positions feels like Little Leaguers picking positions at their first ever practice.
This Evening
The Sens are playing the Canadiens right now, and in other cross-border action we care about (Ottawa is in Ontario but Montreal is in Quebec—there’s a border there), the Bulls play the Raptors. It’s probably best for both the Sens and the Bulls to lose, but I can’t help myself. Coby White’s smile is too pure, and it’s too funny whenever the Sens manage to win one. Especially at a time when they’re 1–6 in their last seven.
We mentioned this above, but Wazzu at Stanford is the Game of the NITe. We’re also very interested in Oregon at Colorado, Washington at California, and…Gonzaga at Pepperdine? I don’t know. Maybe just the Pac-12 games. The Pac-12 is a good friend.
