I watched the England vs. France game on Saturday with some American friends at an English bar. It was a riot, it was a blast, a lot of things stood out, but I think the biggest was being reminded how much English folks care about their national team and also being reminded/learning that I am very on board with them caring this much. If I saw an American in a Landon Donovan jersey crying after that loss to the Netherlands, I’d have quietly thought to myself, “Get a grip.” But seeing a guy in a 1998 David Beckham jersey looking to all the world like he’d just lost a parent while his wife sobbed in his arms? Felt perfectly reasonable. (Also, I was reading a guy’s texts over his shoulder because I don’t respect people’s privacy and his mom told him she would bring cheeses, not cheese, and I found that British and endearing.)
This is, of course, a problem for the U.S. Men’s National Team. I am not capable of taking them seriously. I’m really sorry about this, but I’m just not. I would love to, but if I see that hypothetical crying Landon Donovan fan…my thoughts are my thoughts.
Shaka Smart Continues to Succeed
The three biggest stories in college basketball right now are that Illinois’s NIT quest is intact (more on that…tomorrow, unless something bigger happens we need to lead with), that Chris Beard is out of jail (here are this week’s Nuts), and that Marquette went into South Bend and beat the piss out of a bunch of guys whose little bubble keeps telling them are good.
Notre Dame is not, of course, good, but they’re capable enough to do things like wallop Michigan State here and there, and they aren’t terrible or anything, and Marquette just took it to ‘em. With Creighton sliding and UConn tops in the country at the moment, it’s Marquette and defending national champion Xavier duking it out for being the best team in the Big East that isn’t a bunch of try-hards (being ranked #1 is a very gifted-kid move, and I would therefore offer that UConn’s mom needs to chill the fuck out). Happy to see things working for a guy who was nice to us once and mean to us zero times.
Mike Leach Might Die
Man, we’re just full of great news today, aren’t we. Crying Englishfolk, domestic violence, Mike Leach on his deathbed…what a sad set of notes.
If you aren’t in the loop on this, Mike Leach reportedly suffered a heart attack yesterday and possibly accompanying seizures which may have caused brain damage. All Mississippi State’s really said is that he’s in critical condition at the University of Mississippi hospital down in Jackson. Prayers up.
Burnley and the Sens Won
Hey, there’s the good news! Burnley worked QPR on Sunday morning, the Sens worked the Predators on Saturday afternoon. More details tomorrow, let’s say, since we’re short on time, but there’s your happiness for today. Let’s get to tonight.
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Viewing schedule:
8:00 PM EST: Rice @ Texas (LHN)
Oh golly. And Texas is leaving Longhorn Network high and dry with the SEC move, so this probably isn’t one of those situations where the guys on the call will get the call from the guys and be told very explicitly not to talk about it. Right? Maybe they’ll keep it quiet. It’s a curiosity.
On that topic: There was a rumor going around all over the place this morning that the victim in the alleged strangulation was Beard’s daughter’s boyfriend. Which crafted as favorable a narrative as you could probably get in certain eyes (personally not a fan of choking kids, but others may feel differently), but was pretty forcefully contradicted by actual reporting. Anyway, I wonder where that rumor started. Was that organic? Or did someone try to muddy the waters?
9:00 PM EST: Creighton vs. Arizona State (FS1)
Game of the NITe. We are ready to welcome Creighton into our sphere of influence, and we trust Bobby Hurley enough to let him fly for a minute. He’ll come back. Bobby Hurley will always come back. And one of these days, we’re gonna catch him and make him coach in our tournament, where he belongs.
11:30 PM EST: New Mexico vs. San Francisco (some paid streaming service)
San Francisco’s down but not out, New Mexico’s undefeated and kind of a bystander in the NMSU shooting incident but it also happened in Albuquerque so I’m not letting them off the hook. That’s a scandal involving both schools right now, at least in this blogger’s mind.
8:00 PM EST: Liberty @ Oral Roberts (ORUSN)
I’m dying to know what the halftime entertainment is here. Hoping it’s wholesome and not, I don’t know, making a bunch of threats against a drag brunch. What if the halftime entertainment *is* a drag brunch? That would change everything.
7:30 PM EST: Ducks @ Senators (ESPN+)
Not to brag, but the Sens are a big favorite here. BIG favorite. Not to brag. That’s the news in NHL world.
8:15 PM EST: Patriots @ Cardinals (ESPN)
This is a terrible Monday Night Football, but on the bright side, that fantasy league I’m in with my high school friends that runs on a google spreadsheet? We’ve got a guy who needs James Conner to score thirty or something or else the championship’s set and he’s not in it. No situation is more fun in this world of intermittent, manual score updates than one where Kyle needs James Conner to have a big ol’ night.
