It’s been an exciting year for sports, on the local, state and national scene.
It has been an especially emotional football season, with feelings ranging from shock to sadness and some pure delight.
This past week has been no exception.
While I could probably pick one subject to write about, I figured I would just address one sporting event I was able to experience and a number of other issues that caught my eye.
First NFL Game
This weekend marked a milestone for me.
After attending countless Major League baseball games throughout my life, I had never been to a live NFL game.
That was until Sunday.
If you know me, you are aware that I don’t have the greatest eyes in the world, so when looking for tickets online, I knew I wanted to be close to the field.
Luckily, I was able to secure three for myself, my brother Alex and my dad.
We traveled to New Orleans on Sunday and made it to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in time to soak in the wonderful culture and daily debauchery of the average New Orleans sidewalk.
After eating a good lunch, we made our way to the stadium and then to our seats, which were located on Row 5 next to the end zone. These seats were truly amazing, and I was able to see what was going on with the players.
To top it all off, the Saints beat the Carolina Panthers for the second time this season, this time 31-21.
The Saints are now 9-3 after an 0-2 start in September. They have their usual powerful offense, but they are now equipped with a great defense that played its best ball on Sunday during the second half, as they held back Cam Newton and the Panthers.
Ohio State Out, Alabama In
The 11-1 Alabama Crimson Tide did not win their conference this season, but that did not stop its head coach, Nick Saban, from rightfully politicking on his team’s behalf for the fourth spot in the college football playoff.
There are those out there, Saban during select years included, who believe conference champions should get preferential consideration for the four available slots on the bracket.
The Alabama selection was controversial due to Ohio State winning its conference and Alabama losing that bid when it lost the Iron Bowl to Auburn.
Georgia complicated the committee’s decision by defeating Auburn in the SEC Championship Game, just weeks after Auburn put a stomping on the Bulldogs in the regular season.
Ohio State bested Wisconsin for the Big Ten title, but a previous blowout loss to Iowa, on top of Saban’s politicking, was obviously enough to keep the Buckeyes out of the top four.
This is one of those situations where either call would have brought down wrath and fury over the selection committee, but it’s also a situation where neither call would have been incorrect.
It’s easy to make an argument for Ohio State as a playoff team, but it’s not so easy to make an argument against Alabama.
The Crimson Tide held the No. 1 spot in the nation for the majority of the season, and Alabama’s lone loss came in the final week to a red-hot Auburn team. It would have been nice to see some fresh faces in the playoffs, but I can’t argue with the pick.
Giants Dump McAdoo
New York Giants Head Coach Ben McAdoo was going to be fired no matter what.
His unpopular benching of Eli Manning did little to move the needle either way.
The now 2-10 Giants have been a disaster all season, and McAdoo was looking to do anything that might resuscitate his squad and his chances of staying on past December.
It was a nice try, but it didn’t work.
Gus Gets Big Payday
Gus Malzahn’s Auburn Tigers might have lost in the SEC Championship Game to Georgia, but 2017 might turn out to be the head coach’s best yet.
After rumor and speculation, Malzahn and Auburn agreed on an extension and pay raise that amounts to $49M over seven years.
I am not an Auburn fan, but I must say that this is well-deserved.
Under Malzahn, Auburn has brought its fans consistent success.
The coach is both well-mannered and classy, and the Auburn program has been clean under his leadership.
I can’t think of a bad thing to say about the guy, and that’s as good a place to leave this as any.
