Knucklehead of the Week
Philadelphia 76ers rookie big man Jahlil Okafor must be auditioning for a role in the sequel to Creed (great movie, btw). Okafor was suspended two games by his team after a couple bar/street fights. After that news came out, we learned that the former Dukie was busted for driving 108 mph on a Philly bridge. Okafor, who turns 20 in a couple weeks, needs to understand he’s a marked man now, and as an underage millionaire he probably should stay away from nightclubs for a while.
Some guy named Austin Davis will start at quarterback today for the Browns, who will be big underdogs against the Bengals. I’ll bet Johnny Manziel will get more TV time, though. Not since Tim Tebow has there been a pro athlete who gets so much attention for doing nothing.
Nice win by UD on Saturday against a North Florida team that shoots 3-pointers like free throws. The Flyers, who looked great while dominating the second half, are 6-1 and seemingly recovered from that spanking they took from Xavier (a really, really good team).
If UD can scratch out nine or 10 nonconference wins, the road to a respectable tournament seed should be smooth. Twenty-plus wins with this upgraded schedule will look good in March. Adding tough opponents to the early-season slate was a good move by UD. The next move to monitor will be how Dyshawn Pierre fits into the rotation.
I read with much interest a nugget in Marc Pendleton's high school notes column last week that outlined the OHSAA's partnership with an outfit called StatzHub. The plan is to put prep sports stats online and make money, with StatzHub and the OHSAA getting cuts. Who gathers the information? Students, who won't get paid. Good luck with that.
I don't like football players doing that stupid "feed me" motion after they've gained seven yards on an off-tackle run. It's just another way athletes draw attention to themselves. It's only a matter of time before someone whips out a smart phone on the field and snaps a selfie.
Thank you, Denver Broncos for sparing us another run at perfection by the Patriots. What a great finish in overtime in the snow last Sunday night. Glad I stayed up to watch the whole game. Wouldn't be surprised to see Denver go with Brock Osweiler at quarterback the rest of the way.
Trending up: Aaron Rodgers, Zack Greinke, David Price. The Packers quarterback threw an amazing Hail Mary pass to stun the Lions on Thursday night. The play was made possible by a borderline facemask call on the Lions. NFL defenses should have learned by now that if you look at Rodgers wrong a flag will be thrown.
Trending down: Florida offense, Jimmy Graham, Richard Pitino. Alabama got a bye into the College Football Playoff because it faced a Florida team that plays great defense but not much else. Its offense was bad and its kicking game was worse. Bama blocked a punt for a safety and blocked a field goal in the first quarter.
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