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Bar Chat

11/27/2017

And then there were, ah, six?

[Posted Sunday p.m.]

NFL Quiz: Only three have played in 350 or more regular season games, all kickers/punters.  Name ‘em. Answer below.

College Football Review

*Following written prior to AP Poll

It’s official, we have chaos after Friday and Saturday....or maybe not.

The ACC and SEC conference champions will be in the CFP...Wisconsin and Oklahoma if they win their conference title tilts.

But it’s those last two, and the potential for Ohio State beating Wisconsin, and/or Oklahoma falling to TCU, that represent a path to making the process the mess we so want it to be.

As for Friday and Saturday....

--Friday in Pittsburgh, No. 2 Miami was totally outplayed by Pitt (5-7), outgained 345-222 in a 24-14 win by the Panthers, freshman quarterback Kenny Pickett, making his first start for Pitt, going 18/29, 193, 1-0, plus 60 yards rushing and two touchdowns.  Miami’s Malik Rosier was his usual erratic self, 15/34, 187, 2-0, while the Hurricanes amassed just 45 yards rushing on 23 carries.  That’s just not getting it done, Miami falling to 10-1.

[Pitt, despite the win, is not going bowling for the first time after nine straight appearances, 2008-2016, though only one year did the Panthers finish in the AP Top 25 during this run, No. 15 in 2009.]

So I’m thinking Friday night, that’s the end of Miami’s CFP chances, even with a win over Clemson in the ACC title game, because it was such a bad loss.

Well that thought lasted about 27 hours, as Saturday we saw 6 Auburn (10-2) outplay No. 1 Alabama, 26-14, sending ‘Bama to 11-1 and the CFP bubble, as it will be Auburn vs. Georgia in the SEC conference championship, the winner in.

Auburn has now knocked off two No. 1s (the other then-No. 1 Georgia) in three weeks.  Remarkable.  For the Tigers, running back Kerryon Johnson was his usual workhorse self, 30 carries for 104 yards and a score, but he hurt his shoulder, the opposite one that had been hampering him.  Receiver Ryan Davis caught 11 of Jarrett Stidman’s passes for 139 yards.  Stidman was terrific...21/28 for 237 yards, plus 51 on the ground and a score; totally outplaying the Tide’s Jalen Hurts, 13/23, 177, 1-0, and 80 yards on the ground, though contained the whole game while he made some highly questionable decisions.

[I do have to say of the folks talking about Kerryon Johnson...the guy is good, but I can name about 20 backs having a better year than him; ergo, some of the talk of him being in the Heisman conversation is absurd.  And I do have to add that Dr. W. told me Auburn could beat both Georgia and Alabama long ago.]

Continuing....

3 Clemson put its stamp on things with a dominating 34-10 (34-0 after three) performance in Columbia against 24 South Carolina (8-4), outgaining the Gamecocks 469-207; 27-10 in first downs.  Kelly Bryant had two touchdown passes to Mr. Clutch, Hunter Renfro (who has to have every NFL GM thinking, “Is there a way we can steal this guy in the fifth round?”)

Note to the South Carolina fans throwing bottles at the Clemson players (one of which hit a policeman), your behavior was beyond atrocious and into the December file you go.

4 Oklahoma (11-1) blasted West Virginia (7-5) 59-31 in a game that wasn’t nearly that close, it being 45-10 Sooners at the half.

Baker Mayfield didn’t start (punished for poor behavior the week before), but he came in on the second possession, after the Sooners had scored on a 70-yard drive in two plays behind his backup, Kyler Murray.  Mayfield, your Heisman Trophy winner, was 14/17, 281, 3-0, while Rodney Anderson had 118 yards on the ground with four touchdowns.

No. 5 Wisconsin (12-0) completed its regular season as one of just two undefeated teams in FBS play (the other Central Florida), whipping Minnesota (5-7) 31-0 as, who else, Jonathan Taylor rushed for 149 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown, while quarterback Alex Hornibrook had one of his best games of the season, 15/19, 151, 3-0.  The Badgers held Minnesota to just 133 yards of total offense.

7 Georgia (11-1) was impressive in dismantling Georgia Tech (5-6) 38-7, with freshman quarterback Jake Fromm looking sharp, 12/16, 224, 2-0, while the great running back tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel had 139 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns.

Fromm, by the way, has 19 TD passes and just 5 interceptions on the season. 

But now it’s a rematch of Georgia-Auburn for the CFP berth and will Auburn manhandle Chubb and Michel a second time?

8 Notre Dame had a chance, after the Miami and Alabama losses, to make a statement for the CFP Selection Committee with a win over 21 Stanford in Palo Alto, but nooooo!  The Fighting Irish fell to 9-3, 38-20 decisive losers to the Cardinal, who are also 9-3 and headed to the Pac-12 title game against USC.

The loss for ND was equally deadly in that it took them out of a New Year’s Six contest, which was a lock with a win.  Quarterback Brandon Wimbush sucked, 11/28, 249, 2-2, while for Stanford, K.J. Costello had one of his best games of the season, 14/22, 176, 4-0, and Bryce Love rushed for 125 yards, despite not nearly being 100% physically.

9 Ohio State (10-2) is headed to its showdown against Wisconsin, the Buckeyes beating Michigan (8-4) 31-20, despite an injury to quarterback J.T. Barrett on the sidelines when a camera guy bumped into him, Barrett throwing a touchdown pass and rushing for a score before the reinjured knee forced him out of the game in the third, Dwayne Haskins then filling in very ably and leading a comeback with OSU down 20-14.

Barrett said he would be good to go next week. Coach Urban Meyer wasn’t so sure, vowing to track down and prosecute Camera Guy, who slipped away, like a Russian with a poison-tipped umbrella. It was three years ago that Barrett missed the Big Ten title game after breaking his ankle, only to have fill-in Cardale Jones rally Ohio State to the national championship.  Haskins is fully capable of doing the same thing...at least get them through Saturday.

For Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, a bitter disappointment as he just didn’t get any real quarterback play this season and that’s on him.

Harbaugh’s three years look like this.

2015...10-3...final AP rank of 10
2016...10-3...final AP rank of 12
2017....8-4....unranked

And he didn’t beat Ohio State; the Buckeyes having beaten the Wolverines six straight.

10 Penn State is 10-2 with a 66-3 win over 4-8 Maryland.  You’ve got to believe the Nittany Lions are very much in the New Year’s Six conversation.

In other games....

12 TCU is 10-2 heading into the Big 12 conference championship game, 45-22 winners over hapless Baylor, who finishes 1-11.  Kenny Hill had 325 yards and three touchdowns for the Horned Frogs.

14 Mississippi State fell to 8-4, 31-28 losers to Ole Miss (6-6) on Thursday night in the Egg Bowl, the Bulldogs losing top quarterback Nick Fitzgerald to a gruesome ankle injury (shades of the Celtics’ Gordon Hayward), an ugly dislocation, which sucks as Fitzgerald is a solid NFL prospect, though he did have a lot of picks this year. He’s a junior so now it’s virtually certain he’ll attempt to come back, if not next fall, the following one.

And in one of the more entertaining college games of the season on Friday, 15 UCF finished the regular season 11-0 with a stunning 49-42 win over rival South Florida, 9-2,.  It was 42-34 UCF with 2:20 to play, after a McKenzie Milton touchdown pass,  when USF’s Quinton Flowers (24/45, 503, 4-1) threw an 83-yard scoring strike to Darnell Solomon, getting the two-point conversion to tie it at 42-42 with 1:41 left, only to see Mike Hughes return the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for the 49-42 win.  An unreal ten minutes of viewing.

For the Knights, Milton was 29/44, 373, 4-1, and let’s face it, the guy is worthy of an invite to New York as a Heisman finalist but that’s not likely to be the case.  What an AAC title game it will be with Memphis next Saturday, the winner getting the Group of Five, New Year’s Six bid.

16 Michigan State ran its record to 9-3 with a 40-7 whipping of Rutgers (4-8), though this one was just 19-7 after three. Rutgers committed three turnovers and was outgained 431-112!  Five first downs!  12 carries for 14 yards!

17 Washington (10-2) sent Stanford to the Pac-12 title game by defeating 13 Washington State (9-3), who otherwise would have gone, 41-14, as Myles Gaskin rushed for 192 yards and four touchdowns.  For the Cougars, Luke Falk threw three picks.

Aforementioned 20 Memphis (10-1) is headed to the AAC title clash with UCF, 70-13 winners over East Carolina (3-9). This one was 49-0 at the half as Riley Ferguson had 299 yards and three touchdowns on just 9 of 13, while Darrell Henderson continued his phenomenal stretch, 10 carries for 122 yards and two scores.  Henderson has 504 yards on 44 carries (11.5 avg.) his last four games for the Tigers.  Memphis had 333 yards on the ground in just 34 carries with five touchdowns.

25 Virginia Tech should be headed to a solid bowl game at 9-3, 10-0 winners over Virginia (6-6), outgaining the Cavaliers 345-191. It was the Hokies’ 14th consecutive win in the series.

Boston College finished a rather startling 7-5 with a 42-14 victory at Syracuse (4-8), freshman A.J. Dillon rushing for 193 yards and three touchdowns, B.C. with 333 yards total on the ground and senior quarterback Darius Wade getting a rare start, 16/20, 248, 1-0.

Consider the Eagles started out 2-4, looking pretty dreadful in the process, and then coach Steve Addazio turned things around as B.C. won 5 of its last 6.  Great job by him.

Talk about a horrible season finale, Florida State finished 5-6, after being preseason No. 2, 38-22 winners over equally disappointing Florida (4-8).

Nebraska fired coach Mike Riley after the Cornhuskers finished 4-8 in his third season.  He was 19-19, the last loss 56-14 to Iowa on Friday, the first time in school history Nebraska had given up 50 points in three straight games. They also lost five home games for the first time since 1957.

Riley’s contract runs through 2020 and he is due a buyout of more than $6.6 million.

So everyone in Lincoln desperately wants UCF coach Scott Frost, the former national champion Nebraska quarterback who in his second season, having led the Knight to an 11-0 record, after the program had gone 0-12 the year before he got there (obviously the greatest turnaround in NCAA history).

Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos is openly lobbying for Frost, who is likely to choose between his alma mater and Florida, which is apparently preparing to offer him a king’s ransom.

One thing that would suck and that is if UCF beats Memphis and Frost, like so many others before him, takes the Nebraska or Florida jobs before their bowl game.  I hope some kind of arrangement can be worked out, but that is a full month of not recruiting, putting together a staff, and so on.

Back to Riley, his move three years ago from Oregon State, where he ran a solid program for 14 seasons, never made sense.

UCLA won its season finale, 30-27, over California to become bowl eligible, but quarterback Josh Rosen was forced out of what might have been his final home game as a Bruin Friday night; injury and bowl status unknown.

The Bruins then hired former Oregon coach Chip Kelly the next day to replace the recently fired Jim Mora, with school officials confirming Saturday that Kelly had agreed to a five-year contract worth $23.3 million, with a $9 million reciprocal buyout. He’ll be introduced Monday on campus.

Kelly was 46-7 in four seasons at Oregon, 2009-2012, including a loss in the BCS Championship game, with three top four final rankings, before he moved up to the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles, where he started out with consecutive 10-6 seasons, 2013-14, before being fired in Week 16 of the 2015 season, 6-9 at the time.  His tenure in Philly was filled with controversy, and it seemed clear he was more suited to the college game.

But San Francisco hired him, where he proceeded to have a disastrous 2-14 season last year, exit Kelly again.

Now, though, he is back where he belongs and UCLA is a great spot for him. He’s had a year away from the game to recharge, he has great resources at UCLA, and there’s no reason they can’t be a big winner again soon. But, yes, it is also a risk.  Kelly is very abrasive and dismissive, and not transparent.  He’s also innovative and runs the kind of up tempo offense that could play well in L.A.

Arkansas fired coach Bret Bielema after five seasons, following a season-ending loss to Missouri, capping a 4-8 campaign.

Bielema went 29-34 overall and just 11-29 in the SEC after being hired from Wisconsin following the 2012 season.

Since joining the SEC in 1992, the Razorbacks have made three SEC championship game appearances, but have never won the conference title.

So after the UCLA hire, you have the Nebraska, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Arizona State jobs open, with Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin expected to be fired.

ASU fired Todd Graham today, despite a 7-5 season and 6-3 in the Pac-12 after beating rival Arizona on Saturday, 42-30.   Graham went 46-31 in six seasons in Tempe, winning 10 games in both 2013 and 2014 (2-2 in bowl games), but in a statement from the athletic department, Ray Anderson said that despite the solid record, “In evaluating Todd’s body of work over a four-year period, it became clear that a change is necessary.” Strange.

And there is late word Sunday that Tennessee is hiring former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, currently defensive coordinator at Ohio State, while Florida hired Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen.

[As I go to post, there are protesters at Tennessee who don’t like the fact Schiano was at Penn State in the Jerry Sandusky era.]

Well, we know what the above means for Scott Frost.  Can you say Nebraska?  Or now the Mississippi State job is opening up (though I don’t consider that a big step up).  How about Arizona State?  Gotta love the weather in Tempe, Mr. “Frost”. 

Meanwhile, one of the great coaching jobs in America has been put in by Bill Clark of UAB.  Recall, this is a program that took a two-year break from the sport, due to funding and other issues, and was picked to finish at or near the bottom of the Football Bowl Subdivision in their first season back.

But with a 28-7 win this weekend over UTEP, the Blazers finished 8-4 and are bowl eligible.  Remarkable. Picture that Clark, after going 6-6 in 2014 in his first season at the helm, stuck around to resurrect the program.

Finally, Wake Forest played like crap in the second half after dominating in the first, but only leading 17-10, as Duke (6-6) became bowl eligible with a gutty second half, taking down the Deacs 31-23 behind Daniel Jones’ 25/44, 346, 2-3 performance that was much better than the stat line reads.  His counterpart, Wake’s John Wolford, was very subpar (and knocked around a lot), 16/33, 191, 2-2, while the Deacs couldn’t mount any kind of ground attack.

So Wake Forest finishes 7-5, which at the start of the season any Deacon fan would have taken, it’s just that we had some very painful losses (this game not being one I’m referring to), and 9-3 was easily within reach.

That said, two straight bowl games isn’t that shabby for the smallest Power Five school in the land.

And now, the new AP Poll....and boy is it close.

1. Clemson 11-1 (27)
2. Oklahoma 11-1 (24)
3. Wisconsin 12-0 (10)
4. Auburn 10-2
5. Alabama 11-1
6. Georgia 11-1
7. Miami 10-1
8. Ohio State 10-2
9. Penn State 10-2
10. TCU 10-2
11. USC 10-2
12. UCF 11-0
15. Notre Dame 9-3
16. Memphis 10-1

I agree with Ken P. that TCU doesn’t have a shot at a CFP berth if they beat Oklahoma, and they won’t be higher than 10 in the next CFP rankings, Tuesday night. 

To refresh your memory, Auburn’s two losses were 14-6 to Clemson, Week 2, and LSU 27-23, both away.  [LSU is No. 17 AP at 9-3]

NFL

In Thanksgiving games....

--Minnesota is 9-2 after a 30-23 win at Detroit (6-5), with unsung Case Keenum turning in another solid effort at quarterback for the Vikings, 21/30, 282, 2-0, 121.8, plus a TD rushing.

Keenum now has 14 touchdown passes, just 5 interceptions, with a solid 96.2 passer rating.  One of the better stories in the league, after he became starter following injuries to Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater.

Minnesota now has a legitimate shot at becoming the first team to play a Super Bowl at home, the game being played Feb. 4 in Minneapolis.

--Washington beat the Giants (2-9) 20-10 to stay barely relevant at 5-6....at least for another week...in what was a truly hideous game, Washington outgaining New York 323-170...170 yards offense!

Eli Manning, who really should be traded to a contender, was just 13/27, 113, 0-1, 44.2.  Heck, the Giants had 7 first downs!  [The Giants are nuts not to give backup Davis Webb a look to see what they have.]

For Washington, Kirk Cousins threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns, Jamison Crowder catching 7 for 141 and a score, while Samaje Perine rushed for 100 yards on 24 carries.

But this one was truly hideous.

Jerry Brewer / Washington Post

“The NFL’s great, oversaturated Thanksgiving tradition christened FedEx Field on Thursday night.  If there is any good left in this greedy world, it will be the last time the Washington Redskins – or any other team – hosts this event.

“The game was so bad the league should consider abolishing its third and unnecessary holiday affair, which has served as nothing more than prime-time filler the past dozen years.  Let families go to the movies, or watch Charlie Brown at home, or do something else that doesn’t require actual human interaction.  Let college basketball tournaments own the night’s sports programming. [Ed. or college football, for cryin’ out loud.]  Let ailing teams such as Washington and the New York Giants lumber through the season without being the victim of poor television programming foresight.

“That won’t happen, though, because the NFL would rather televise road kill than dare to test the theory that less is more.”

--San Diego once again is on a roll late, now 5-6 and in the wildcard hunt after starting out 0-4.  How many times have we seen a similar story in the Philip Rivers years, Rivers with a terrific effort on Thursday, 27/33, 434, 3-0, 149.1?

For Dallas, Dak Prescott was 20 of 27, but it was all dinks and dunks as he accumulated just 179 yards and threw two interceptions, giving him 5 picks his last two games, and zero TD passes his last three.

In fact, Dallas has been outscored 92-22 in those contests...three losses with Ezekiel Elliott out of the lineup, serving his suspension.

--Today, the Jets fell to 4-7 and out of the playoff race for all intents and purposes, 35-27 losers at home to Carolina (8-3) despite the Panthers’ Cam Newton playing poorly, just 11 of 28, 168, 0-0, 59.8.

It was a classic case of stats not nearly telling the full story, as the Jets’ Josh McCown was 19/36, 307, 3-0, 109.4, but he had a critical fumble in the fourth quarter, scooped up by Carolina’s All-Pro Luke Kuechly, who rumbled 34 yards for a score, and then after the Panthers stopped the Jets on the next possession, Kaelin Clay returned the ensuing punt 60 yards for a score.  What had been a 20-18 Jets lead was 32-20 Carolina in the blink of an eye. The Jets rallied for one more score but it wasn’t enough, Carolina’s next drive extended by an incredibly stupid roughing the passer penalty.

Plus normally sure-handed tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins dropped two touchdown passes, the second a controversial call with a TD being overturned, ala earlier in the year in the New England game, and any hope us Jets fans had of exciting football down the stretch went out the window.

The last five Jets games have all been games the team could have won, especially four of the five, today no exception.

--After this contest I had to go attend to family business at the local hospital and really didn’t focus on any of the other games.  [Stressful times for the family...and time consuming.]

But for the record, Atlanta is clearly back, three in a row to improve to 7-4 with a 34-20 win over Tampa Bay (4-7); Matt Ryan going 26/35, 317, 1-0, with Julio Jones the major beneficiary, 12 receptions for 253 yards and two scores.

Wait, I thought you said Ryan threw just one TD, Mr. Editor, you might be musing.  Yes, quite true, but receiver Mohamed Sanu, who played some quarterback at Rutgers back in the day, tossed a 51-yard TD pass to Jones.

The Eagles are 10-1 after a 31-3 win over the hapless Bears (3-8), Carson Wentz with three touchdown passes, zero picks and a 109.4 PR.  He now has 28 TD passes and just five INTs on the season.

New England is 9-2 after a 35-17 win over Miami (4-7) as Tom Brady had another typical game, 18/28, 227, 4-1, 114.1, with Rob Gronkowski hauling in two of the touchdown passes and Dion Lewis rushing for 112 yards.  Another Super Bowl, here they come...except your Bar Chat “Pick to Click” Steelers stand in the way...Pittsburgh playing Green Bay after I go to post.

The story of the year Rams are 8-3 after holding off the Saints, also 8-3, 26-20 in L.A., Jared Goff outplaying Drew Brees in the process, Goff throwing for 354 yards and two touchdowns.

Buffalo had a nice win at reeling Kansas City to move to 6-5, 16-10, as Tyrod Taylor returned as the starting quarterback for the Bills, going 19/29, 183, 1-0, 94.5.  The Chiefs are in freefall, losers of 5 of 6 after a 5-0 start.

Cincinnati improved to 5-6 with a 30-16 win over Cleveland, now 0-11.

Tennessee is 7-4 following a 20-16 road win over Indianapolis, now 3-8.

College Basketball

Boy, since I last posted we had a slew of upsets; like for starters No. 2 Arizona went down three times in three days!

So below is just a list of upsets involving Top Ten teams, plus Seton Hall, recognizing that these games, while important for seeding come March (perhaps), are still pretty meaningless.  The real business starts after New Year’s with conference play.

But for now.....

Wednesday

North Carolina State 90
2 Arizona 84

6 Wichita State 66
13 Notre Dame 67

Thursday

SMU 66
2 Arizona 60

Rhode Island 75
20 Seton Hall 74

Friday

18 Purdue 89...5-2 after suffering two losses of its own
2 Arizona 64...now 3-3

7 Florida 111 (5-0)
17 Gonzaga 105 in two overtimes, Zags 4-1

20 Seton Hall 72
Vanderbilt 59

1 Duke 85
Texas 78...in overtime...Duke’s Marvin Bagley III with 34 points and 15 rebounds.

Sunday night, 9 North Carolina (5-0) is going up against 4 Michigan State (4-1), while 1 Duke squares off against 7 Florida in Portland, as part of the PK (Phil Knight) 80 Invitational.

--One other game I can’t help but note. Alabama was forced to play the final 10:41 of its game against Minnesota in the Barclays Center Classic with just three players, after the entire bench was ejected following a wild scuffle and two of the remaining five players on ‘Bama were forced to leave the game.

Collin Sexton, Galin Smith and Riley Norris were the three remaining and Minnesota only won by 89-84, as Sexton finished with 40 points, setting an Alabama freshman record.

--Meanwhile, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, one of the true dirtballs in his field, continues to refuse to talk to university officials and the school’s legal counsel, despite Auburn being heavily involved in the recruiting scandal that has wracked the sport.  Pearl claims he’s done “a lot of things” to resolve the school’s ongoing investigation into the basketball program.  So talk!

NBA

--I have to admit I’ve watched a lot of the Knicks early on, and I’m not alone in that regard.  Their television ratings must be way up vs. last year.

But here’s what we know.  The Knicks are great at home, 9-3, and just godawful on the road, 1-6, after Saturday’s loss to the Rockets in Houston, 117-102, despite a second straight 39-point opening quarter outburst (and another blown early lead...it being 29-7 with 4:22 left in the first).  Though to be fair, the Knicks played without both Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter.

Wednesday, the Knicks had beaten Toronto in another inspired MSG effort, 108-100, with Tim Hardaway Jr. breaking out for a career-high 38 points, with 7 assists and 7 rebounds, the best all-around game for a Knick (pts., assts., reb.) since a 1991 Patrick Ewing contest.

But then Friday, the Knicks go to Atlanta to face the dreadful Hawks, 3-15, proceed to drop 39 on Atlanta in the first quarter (39-24), yet lost 116-104, due almost totally to 20 New York turnovers, the Knicks shooting 50.6% from the field.  [They did miss starting center Kanter big time...out with back spasms that carried over to Saturday.]

I’ve gotta say, having watched this entire game, that the Hawks really, really suck.  [Wake Forest’s John Collins was basically invisible; a deceiving 13 points, 5 rebounds in 24 minutes.] But Atlanta got its fourth win.

And I have to admit I was shocked to see Atlanta rookie forward Tyler Cavanaugh...the same Tyler Cavanaugh who played two non-descript seasons at Wake Forest, before transferring to George Washington, where he turned into a solid power forward who could shoot the three.

But I never would have expected him in the NBA.  Good for him.  [Bad on Wake for not recognizing his ability, or rather not coaching to it...the hideous Jeff Bzdelik years...ugh...Bzdelik Flashback...]

Atlanta lost at home to Toronto on Saturday, 112-78, to fall to 4-16.  That’s more like it.

--Meanwhile, last Wednesday, the Celtics had their win streak stopped at 16, 104-98 losers down in Miami, Boston falling to 16-3.

Boston then rebounded to beat Orlando 118-103 on Friday, and Indiana, 108-98, Saturday, so now they are 18-3. 

The Heat had a nice road win Friday at Minnesota (11-8) to even their mark at 9-9.

--And also Friday, Golden State blitzed the Bulls 143-94; Chicago just 3-14, the Warriors 14-5. Steph Curry had 26 of his 33 points (in 27 minutes) in the second quarter.  Make that 15-5, Golden State 110-95 winners over New Orleans (11-9) on Saturday.

--Today, Miami beat the Bulls in Chicago, 100-93, as Wake’s James Johnson filled up the stat sheet off the bench; 15 points, 7 reb., 6 asst., 2 steals, 2 blocks, +11 in 28 minutes. I’m still amazed how he resurrected his career with a major attitude adjustment.  Miami is 10-9, the Bulls 3-15.  Yikes!

And to close the circle on teams mentioned above, Minnesota defeated the Suns (7-14) to move to 12-8 this afternoon, 119-108.

Boy, if I was a T’Wolves fan I’d be fired up.  I love your club.  Towns, Butler and Wiggins are a helluva Big 3, and Jeff Teague is an above average point guard (Teague out today with a minor injury).  Plus the women in Minneapolis are beautiful and........

.....I was just informed I’m not allowed to say these things in our current climate.  Sorry.

MLB

--In the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, it seems that the Rangers, Twins and Yankees have the inside track in terms of what they can offer him in signing bonus, each with $3 million or more remaining in their international compensation pile, with only three other teams currently being able to offer him as much as $1 million (the Pirates, Marlins and Mariners).

The bonus money is key because under MLB’s new labor contract, any agreement reached with Ohtani, because of his age, 23, means he must sign a minor league contract until he is 25 – after the 2019 season.  [If he makes an MLB club in 2018, he would play for the major-league minimum in the $500,000 range.]

So starting late this week, Ohtani has 21 days to choose from the field of teams that file a $20 million posting fee with his club, the Nippon Ham Fighters, meaning not all of the above will necessarily do so.

--The New York Daily News’ Mike Lupica, in looking at the latest Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, and the ongoing steroids and eligibility debate, cites Bob Costas on one of the false narratives you hear at this time of year, “equating amphetamine use out of baseball’s past with steroids, as if both of them are exactly the same.”

Here’s what Costas said on the topic the other day:

“Steroids are performance enhancers. Amphetamines are performance enablers... (Amphetamines) do not, and did not, transform them, as steroids did. Simple proof: in the era when it is generally agreed that greenies were as common in clubhouses as bubble gum, there was no odd distortion of norms of performance.

“That doesn’t mean they should not have been banned.  One effect has been that older players on the back end of lucrative long term deals, can’t play 150 games anymore, or be as generally effective as the season and seasons roll on. So, along with the ban on PEDS, and emphasis on analytics, it has changed contract calculations. All reasonable. But not at all reasonable to remotely equate amphetamines to steroids.”

Premier League...and more....

--Freakin’ Tottenham could salvage only a late draw with lowly West Brom at Wembley on Saturday, 1-1, Harry Kane with the equalizer.  Understand that West Brom was playing under an interim manager, the head guy having been canned days earliler.

The Spurs were clearly tired after their midweek Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.  As Dr. W. keeps reminding me, when you’re in the Champions League, invariably, one becomes victim of the other.  The extra matches are indeed grueling.

Manchester United beat Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0.  Chelsea and Liverpool played to a 1-1 draw, Willian with a late equalizer for Chelsea at Anfield.

Today, Arsenal defeated Burnley 1-0, while Man City struggled mightily at Huddersfield, who led 1-0 at the half before City won its 11th in a row, 2-1.

And I can’t help but note that cellar-dweller Crystal Palace, playing much better of late, beat Stoke 2-1.

Standings...after 13 of 38 matches....

1. Man City 37 points (12 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses)
2. Man U 29
3. Chelsea 26
4. Arsenal 25
5. Tottenham 24...drat!
6. Liverpool 23

Relegation line....

17. West Brom 11
18. West Ham 10
19. Swansea 9
20. Crystal Palace 8

[Tues. / Wed. games in the PL this coming week.]

--In the Champions League, Chelsea joined Tottenham and Manchester City in qualifying for the last 16 with a 4-0 win at Qarabag on Wednesday.  Liverpool and Manchester United are also virtually assured of joining the others in their final games of Group play, Dec. 5-6, which would make it a record five teams in the knockout stage.

--And in the ongoing Division I Men’s Soccer Championship, Wake Forest took on Butler in the Round of 16, and the No. 1 seed Demon Deacons won 2-0 after a scoreless first half.  Upstart Colgate, though, lost to 4-seed Louisville by the same score.

In other games of note, Fordham upset 6-seed Duke on penalty kicks, 8-7, after a 2-2 contest in regulation and OT.

But 3-seed UNC beat SMU 2-0, while No. 2 Indiana outlasted New Hampshire 2-1.

So the top four seeds are in the Elite Eight.  C’mon, Deacs!!!

More next time....

Ski Season Underway...FIS Alpine World Cup

It’s particularly big this go ‘round, it being an Olympic year, and while the men and women have opened their campaigns, for now I’ll just report that America’s young phenom, Mikaela Shiffrin, who has 31 World Cup wins at age 22, and is the reigning Overall World Cup Champion, as well as reigning Olympic and World Cup champion in slalom, thus far has two seconds in three events...one slalom, one giant slalom.  25 of her wins are in the slalom and she is bound and determined to become a champ in the other disciplines.  But Shiffrin has admitted she’s already nervous about defending in the Olympics and we’ll see how this impacts her during the WC season.

And this just in...Shiffrin bagged win No. 32 at Killington today in the slalom!  You go, girl! Shiffrin beat out Petra Vlhova of Slovakia, who won the first slalom of the season in Levi, Finland.

All would appear to be right with Mikaela. What an athlete.

I should note that Victoria Rebensburg of Germany has won the first two giant slaloms.

[On the men’s side, no American has reached the podium in the first three events of the season.]

Stuff

--From the BBC: “A Canadian dog walker could not have survived over two days in the wilderness without the help of her border collie, a boxer and a puggie.

“Annette Poitras, 56, was walking the three dogs on Monday in the British Columbia backcountry when she fell, injured herself and lost her phone.

“She was rescued on Wednesday afternoon after a long hunt by Coquitlam search and rescue.

“Her husband says the three dogs helped Poitras stay alive during the ordeal,” all four taking care of each other over two days and two nights, with no supplies and periods of “torrential” rain.

“Mr. Poitras said Annette put her coat over Roxy, the short-haired Boxer, to keep the dog warm.

“She also watched one of the dogs dig a hole in the undergrowth to sleep in, and did the same.

“One of them was cuddling [her] and one of them was on guard and the other one was looking for food,” he said.

The dogs did not leave her side.

“Over 100 searchers combed the wilderness near Eagle Mountain to try and find Ms. Poitras after her husband reported her missing on Monday.”

Some of the rescuers eventually heard faint cries for help and loud barking and tracked down the group “well outside the normal trail system,” according to the local Surrey Now Leader.

Ms. Poitras was “alive and in good condition” and is recovering in the hospital.

--Ordinarily I wouldn’t post a story like the following, but this is both terrifying and beyond tragic.

“Authorities say a woman and her 19-month-old daughter were killed when the car she was driving struck a black bear in Northern California on Thanksgiving evening.”

The California Highway Patrol said it was around 6 p.m. when the bear came in front of the vehicle’s path.  The bear was struck and killed, but the impact of the bear killed the woman and her daughter.  A 4-year-old boy in the car suffered minor injuries. 

This happens all the time with deer, especially in my area (including Pennsylvania), but this one is different.

--Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife Commission will vote in January on whether to adopt a new wolf management plan that could eventually open the door for a wolf hunt for the first time since bounty hunting wiped out wolves in the state 70 years ago.  Idaho, which has a much larger wolf population, allows wolf hunting.

According to the Associated Press, Oregon wildlife officials have killed or authorized the killing of 14 wolves since 2009, and 12 more have been poached.

So I liked what Rob Klavins, a wolf specialist with Oregon Wild, a conservation organization, said. “When we had zero wolves 10 years ago, and now when we have 112 wolves, that’s certainly a success story – but we’re not done.  Can you imagine if there were only 81 known elk in the state of Oregon, or if there were 81 salmon?  We wouldn’t think of delisting them” from the protected list.  [The species lost its endangered status under Oregon law two years ago when the population hit 81 wolves.]

Needless to say, the number of conflicts with ranchers is rising, and an elk hunter claims he had to kill one in self-defense (wish the wolf had, err, you know....).

To be continued....Go Wolves!  No. 24 on the All-Species List.

Top 3 songs for the week 11/24/62: #1 “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (The 4 Seasons) #2 “Return To Sender” (Elvis Presley) #3 “All Alone Am I” (Brenda Lee)...and...#4 “Bobby’s Girl” (Marcie Blane)  #5 “Next Door To An Angel” (Neil Sedaka)  #6 “Limbo Rock” (Chubby Checker)  #7 “Don’t Hang Up” (The Orlons)  #8 “He’s A Rebel” (The Crystals)  #9 “Gina” (Johnny Mathis)  #10 “Ride!” (Dee Dee Sharp)

NFL Quiz Answer: Games played....

Morten Andersen, 382
Gary Anderson, 353
Jeff Feagles, 352

Next Bar Chat, Thursday.

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