Sports Agenda for Monday (8/26/13)
Top Stories:
After seeing the Dolphins in person on Saturday, I'm pretty convinced on how their season may go. Plus, it's game week for COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!!! Oh, a little note on someone the Marlins thought wasn't worth investing big money in. And did I mention it's college football season?!?!?!
Quote of the Day:
"I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where's the self-help section?' She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose." – George Carlin
Miami Dolphins: (next game, Thursday vs. New Orleans)
The Fins starters effectively finished their preseason work on Saturday night and it was, um, yeah.
Offensively, the Dolphins have no running back with game-breaking ability or frankly, any running back who can get the tough yards after contact.
Daniel Thomas runs softly, I hate to say that, but it's the truth. He's had concussion issues, so it's understandable, but in football, that's not going to cut it.
Lamar Miller hasn't shown me anything in the preseason to make me think he's worthy of being a starter.
The rest of the running backs are less than inspiring as well.
Don't blame it all on the offensive line either, remember, Reggie Bush ran behind a similarly talented offensive line the last two years and averaged 5.0 and 4.3 yards per carry in the two years he was here.
Maybe Miller will get it going, but so far, I have yet to see anything that gives me much confidence in him.
Defensively, I liked what I saw, but once again, defense will only carry you so far.
If the offense can't score points, well, you know the rest of the equation.
It'd be nice too if the guys who are getting paid tens of millions of dollars could actually catch the ball in the end zone too. I'm looking at you Brandon Gibson and Brian Hartline.
Going into Thursday's game, not many positions will be up for grabs, but a few will.
The Fins still have a hole at right guard as John Jerry was only able to play a quarter on Saturday.
Lance Louis would theoretically be the top backup, because no Fins fan wants to see Josh Samuda in the starting lineup…trust me.
The Fins still don't have a tight end to speak of, at least one capable of being dependable.
It would be nice to see a special teams unit that can also hold on to the football.
By the way, am I the only one who thinks Greg Schiano, head coach of the Buccaneers, is really overrated and kind of a jerk?
Maybe it's just me.
The Bucs are going to struggle this year, mark my words.
Josh Freeman is doing to the Bucs what he did to Kansas State. Tease them with big play ability, show off a big arm at times, and lose the big games consistently.
Course it will be interesting to see the Bucs secondary with Darrelle Revis.
That could be fun to watch.
FYI, don't expect to see Drew Brees, Tannehill, or others on Thursday. It's going to be all backups fighting for one or two spots on special teams. So get ready for some interesting stories from Griese, Agler, and Moore.
Just remember Fins fans, it could be worse....
Cam Cameron could be the coach, or you could have to cheer for the Jets!
Miami Marlins: (off Monday)
I hesitated to write about this because it's all water under the bridge, but it's just gotten to be too much in my mind.
For those of you who don't remember, a few years ago, the Marlins had a young, up-and-coming slugger named Miguel Cabrera on the roster.
He looked like the real deal back then and baseball was drooling about him then.
Naturally, when it came time to pay him, the Marlins did what the Marlins do…sold him off to the Tigers.
I say sold him because essentially the Marlins gave him away for some peanuts and a warm cup of beer.
The Marlins traded Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo, Eulogio De La Cruz, Dallas Trahern, Burke Badenhop.
The supposed headliner for the Marlins was Maybin who was later traded to San Diego. This season, Maybin has 51 at-bats and hit .157.
Yup, this is the freaking Marlins we're talking about.
So how's Cabrera doing now?
As Tim Kurkjian of ESPN put it this morning, he's having one of the greatest season of any right hander in major league baseball history.
For reference purposes, the only comparisons to Cabrera's seasons include Bonds' 70 home run season (PED) and then further back to guys like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams.
When you're mentioned in that company….wow, just wow.
Miggy is on the cusp of winning another triple crown this season if he can keep the home run hitting up.
Check out his stat line this year: .360 batting average, .450 on-base percentage, 1.135 OPS, 42 home runs, 128 RBI's.
By the way…as a team…A TEAM….the Marlins have 72 home runs, or 30 more than Cabrera does by himself.
Yep, this is a Jeffrey Loria team alright.
Worst. Owner. Ever.
Geez, even Charlie Finley is saying, "C'mon Man." (if you don't know him, google him, you'll get a good read out of it)
College Football:
Did you hear the birds chirping this morning, the slight breeze blowing, the sun shining extra bright?
That's because it's football season!!!
The opening weekend features a lot of bad games (UM vs. FAU) and a few good ones too.
Because you guys like me, you really like me, here's the games to watch starting on Thursday!
Thursday:
5pm ESPN – North Carolina at South Carolina (it's Clowney vs. Renner, advantage Gamecocks)
8:15 p.m ESPN – Ole Miss at Vanderbilt (The Rebels come out storming, mark my words they will upset someone big this year)
10 p.m. CBSSports – USC at Hawaii (blowout city via L.A.)
Friday:
7 p.m. ESPNU – FAU vs. Miami (blowout city via UM)
7 p.m. ESPN – Texas Tech vs. SMU (defense is optional in this game)
Saturday:
12:20 p.m. - SEC Network Toledo at Florida (UF blowout, maybe)
12:30 p.m. - FIU at Maryland (too bad for FIU this season)
1:00 p.m. ESPN - Rice at Texas A&M (Johnny Manziel will not be signing autographs after the game)
3:30 p.m. ABC - Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma State (upset alert!)
3:30 p.m. Fox Sports South- Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Arkansas (upset alert!!!)
5:30 p.m. ESPN - Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (your annual SEC slaughter of the ACC)
7 p.m. ESPN News - Kentucky vs. Western Kentucky (upset alert, kinda, Kentucky's not that good usually)
7 p.m. ESPNU - Washington State vs. Auburn (defense is optional in this one as well)
8 p.m. ABC - Georgia vs. Clemson (GAME OF THE WEEKEND!)
8 p.m. ESPN - LSU vs. TCU (upset?)
10 p.m. FS1 - Boise State vs. Washington (PAC 12 action)
Monday:
8 p.m. ESPN – FSU vs. Pittsburgh (Jameis Winston, remember the name)
And next weekend, the NFL gets started!!!!
Have I mentioned I love football season?!?!
