Alright, guys, we haven’t noted about the NIT all week and we haven’t noted about the Packers. My blogger charter says I’m supposed to do both (and license plates—still no license plate bracket, sorry friends, maybe soon, probably not soon, I’ve been procrastinating so much from writing these notes—which is a thing I like to do—that I just went on Facebook, so I think I may need to take it easy this weekend).
Who’s the NIT of the Pack—sorry.
Who is the Packers of the NIT?
It’s West Virginia.
Achieved glory in the NIT’s early years, popped off again in the Jamie Smalligan era, have looked like they were gonna win a bunch for a few years now but haven’t done it yet. Also, some yellow in there.
Moving on.
Fight Watch: NASCAR
NASCAR’s at Darlington this weekend, and the question I think we all want to know the answer to is who is gonna wreck Ross Chastain, and is it happening this weekend or are we going to have to wait until later this playoff round? Also, can they still wreck him if he wrecks them first? Another procrastinatory thing I’ve been doing is playing online chess and sometimes, if I think I’m better than my opponent, I just start trying to take pieces no matter what. Get ‘em rattled. Hit ‘em before they can hit me. Maybe Chastain’ll do that.
F1 also drives around a racetrack this weekend, and IndyCar’s racing in Portland. Fun stuff (and F1).
Burnley Knows Who It Is
I mean this is a rather literal sense. With the transfer window closed, we now know who plays for Burnley and who doesn’t, which was the biggest offseason uncertainty. Sixteen new guys, thirteen players gone, holy butts what a summer.
The last detail is that Jordan Beyer, one of yesterday’s acquisitions, is on loan but Burnley reportedly has an option to buy him if they get promoted. The only other things of note are that 1) Sheffield United kept Sander Berge, 2) Blackburn kept Ben Brereton Díaz, 3) Burnley kept Josh Brownhill, who’s been balling out so far this year.
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Viewing schedule for the weekend:
Friday, 8:10 PM EDT: Twins @ White Sox (MLB TV, second screen)
Saturday, 7:15 PM EDT: Twins @ White Sox (FOX, second screen)
Sunday, 2:10 PM EDT: Twins @ White Sox (MLB TV, second screen)
Monday, 6:40 PM EDT: White Sox @ Mariners (MLB TV)
Four games back in the division? Five? Four? Whatever the number, big weekend for our Joe Kelly.
Friday, 8:15 PM EDT: Cubs @ Cardinals (MLB TV)
Saturday, 7:15 PM EDT: Cubs @ Cardinals (MLB TV)
Sunday, 2:15 PM EDT: Cubs @ Cardinals (MLB TV)
How far we’ve come, that Cubs/Cardinals isn’t on any national broadcasts this weekend. St. Louis really needs to figure its shit out.
Saturday, 12:00 PM EDT: South Dakota State @ Iowa (FS1)
Saturday, 3:30 PM EDT: Cincinnati @ Arkansas (ESPN)
Saturday, 8:00 PM EDT: Louisiana-Monroe @ Texas (LHN, third screen)
Saturday, 10:30 PM EDT: Boise State @ Oregon State (ESPN)
Sunday, 7:30 PM EDT: LSU vs. Florida State (ABC)
We’ll have a Bevo’s Fake Nuts tomorrow morning as Texas kicks off its season. You aren’t rid of the neuticles yet, readers. Also: Hopeful the Jackrabbits make some Iowa fans pee a little, I’ve fallen a bit for Arkansas but I also have an instinct to support Cincinnati, Boise State/Oregon State sounds like beautiful late-night television (especially with the chainsaws—I can say I’m watching horror and make people think I’m “edgy”), and I can’t wait to see how well Brian Kelly communicates with his southern players after nine more months nailing down the accent. I am pumped about this Brian Kelly season. Heard there’s a TV show? A docuseries? No this isn’t a Manti Te’o joke I actually think LSU is making one. Wrote that down somewhere.
Sunday, 9:00 AM EDT: F1 Dutch Grand Prix (ESPN)
Sunday, 3:00 PM EDT: IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland (NBC, third screen)
Sunday, 6:00 PM EDT: Southern 500 (USA, second screen)
I’m ready for this IndyCar championship push. Gonna do my own live standings. (I am not going to do any of that, I am still trying to learn who all the drivers are, two years into this adventure.)
Friday, 3:00 PM EDT: Burnley @ West Bromwich Albion (ESPN+)
West Brom, our friend from the 2020-21 Premier League, goes by the Baggies. There are differing explanations of how this nickname came to be, but a baggie is not a type of bird, as I personally wondered.
West Brom also goes by Albion, which makes sense. They, along with Burnley and ten others, were founders of the first professional soccer league (which they called the first professional football league). Since birthing the sport from their own loins, Albion’s hung around the top two tiers perpetually, with a brief dip into what’s now League One (might’ve been League One then, too, but definitely is now) in the 90’s. They’ve won three titles, but none since 1920, and they’ve won a few cups, most recently the FA one back in 1968. So, a little more historically successful than our Burnleys.
West Bromwich is in the West Midlands, and it appears to be a suburb of Birmingham these days. The population’s around eighty thousand, making it not dissimilar from somewhere like Evanston, Illinois. I think. I don’t really know this stuff, guys, I just go off a little bit of geography and a lot of population.
The lads are underdogs, but favored to at least get a point. A point would be nice. I’d like a point. For both Burnley and for myself.
