Look. I know not all of you enjoyed that F1 take yesterday. As your blogger, though, it’s my job to push you to be better, and you needed to hear it. We can all move on now, to other comparably important things. Starting with…
Memphis Plays Alabama Tonight Oh No Oh No Oh NO
Memphis, as you may know, is in free fall. Alabama is in…free rise? Is that the opposite? Alabama’s cruising. The two play tonight in Memphis, and it feels like there are two ways this can go, with one of them being an utter blasting by the Crimson Tide and the other being a Memphis upset that at least temporarily makes the defending champs feel stabilized. We’ll see.
Other College Basketball Bits
Two things from last week I’ve been forgetting to drop in: First, LaSalle’s smoke machine, and LaSalle’s expert response to the mockery they justly received. Well done all around. Second, one of my rideshare passengers wore a UNC-Greensboro mask, but when I asked the car where everyone was from (they were all in town for a work conference and live in different spots), she was silent (had a chatty coworker), which is either a relief for her or a big missed opportunity to tell the one rideshare driver in the United States who would react to, “I’m from Greensboro, North Carolina,” with wonder and joy.
(Favorite part of the first LaSalle video is the woman whose job it is to turn the thing on.)
The Champions League Can’t Draw
The ESPN story on this begins, “UEFA suffered embarrassment on Monday when…”
I love that.
Basically, in the Champions League, there are certain teams who can’t play one another at certain points (based on having previously played one another, and such things), and the group who was supposed to make sure those teams weren’t included in the random draws for one another messed up, so they had to do it again. I wouldn’t mention this, except it’s silly and fun and would never happen under as great an institution as whoever runs the Europa League. Speaking of which…
We Should Check in on the Europa League
I never know whether to capitalize “in” when it’s part of “check in” in a title.
It appears the Europa League knockout round draw was held yesterday, and as far as I can tell, it went off without a hitch. Next matches right around the Daytona 500 (real ones know). FiveThirtyEight has Borussia Dortmund as the favorite but only at 13%. West Ham is, I believe, the only remaining EPL team. We did get Sheriff, which is fun. They Braga in the knockout round. Whoops. They play Braga in the knockout round. Braga is not a verb. As far as I know.
Sens Play Tonight
The NHL is having a lot of Covid cancellations at the moment, but the Sens, many of whom recently had Covid, play on, visiting the…oh crap they play the Panthers tonight. In…where do the Panthers play? Are they in Miami? Is there a professional hockey team in Miami? That’s my best guess. I’m going to see how long I can go without finding out.
Anyway, probably big underdogs, since the Panthers have the best record in the league. Great opportunity to prank ‘em.
In other news, the Senators evidently reappointed Erin Crowe as CFO earlier this month. Glad to have another corvid on board.
Anthony Rizzo Moved Out
Rizzo moved his stuff out of his Chicago apartment this weekend, and I’m getting sad again. There was a report that Kris Bryant did the same. Goodbyes take a long time. A long, hard time.
Joe Kelly Free Agency Watch Lies in Wait
We’ll be ready when the lockout ends. Here’s our current read on his most likely destinations.
Lane Kiffin: Humor Surrounds Him
My favorite part of this photo shoot with Kiffin, a rental car (I think?), and a recruit is that the pair switched sweatshirts for one of the pictures. National early signing day tomorrow. Is that what they call it?
R.I.P. Jimmy Robson
Jimmy Robson, a Burnley great who helped the team to its 1960 title and 1962 FA Cup championship loss, passed away earlier today at 82, and while we are not the students of Burnley history we would like to be, we do, of course, join in the lament at his passing. Rest in peace, and wishes of comfort to those who loved him.
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Tonight’s viewing schedule goes Sens at six (Central), then Alabama/Memphis with the future of the Mississippi River Valley on the line. See you there.
