Category: Observations

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, awaiting the snow apocalypse that must be coming, judging by the grocery cart grand prix going on at Kroger.

—There are still five top-level free agent starting pitchers looking for employment, but none seems destined to wear a Cincinnati Reds uniform in 2019.

The latest rumors — and baseball rumors change more often than a guy changing his Duluth Buck Naked Underwear — have the Fab Five all headed elsewhere.

Dallas Keuchel? San Diego. Gio Gonzalez? Oakland. Wade Miley? New York Mets. Drew Pomeranz? Washington. Clay Buchholz? Milwaukee.

The Reds, though, are rumored to still be in discussions with the New York Yankees for left hander Sonny Gray. The Yankees reportedly want two or three of the Reds best minor league pitching prospects.

—QUOTE: From legendary Negro League/Major League pitcher Satchel Paige: “My pitching philosophy is simple: Keep the ball away from the bat.”

—They are sealing off the top deck at Tropicana Park, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. That reduces the park’s capacity to 26,000 seats, smallest in the majors by more than 10,000. And that’s still 20,000 more seats than the Rays need.

—QUOTE: From Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra: “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”

—It was bad enough for Old Blues in Michigan that Ohio State undressed Michigan this year, 62-39. And to rub their noses in it, the Buckeyes hired two University Michigan assistant coaches.

Jim Harbaugh has to be hiding somewhere in the bowels of The Big House, where he can’t hear the newest cheer aimed his way: ‘O-H-O-4.’ Harbaugh is 0-and-4 against the Buckeyes.

—QUOTE: From Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh: “I drink a lot of milk. A lot of milk. Whole milk. Not the candy-ass two per cent or skim milk.” (Wonder if he drank anything stronger, like Dr. Pepper, after the OSU game?)

—As expected Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins is tossing his helmet into the NFL ring. Waiting to take his place is Justin Fields, the transfer from the University of Georgia.

Before Fields arrived, it was expected that Haskins’ backup, Tate Martell, would call signals next season. But now that Fields is studying calculus (or something) at OSU, Martell placed himself in the transfer portal. Maybe Harbaugh can get him.

Like Haskins, Fields is big — 6-foot-3, 225 pounds. Unlike Haskins, Fields can run, a legitimate 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. And he won’t run around you, he will run over you. Arm? Yes, he has two and his right one is very good.

—QUOTE: From former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes: “The five big mistakes in football are the fumble, the interception, the penalty, the badly called play and the blocked punt. And most of those originate with the quarterback. Find me a mistake-proof quarterback and you have the game won.”

—Speaking of quarterbacks, has there ever been a more polished, composed and talented 19-year-old true freshman than Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence? Ask Alabama.

I had intended to watch only a few opening moments of another Alabama-Clemson national championship game. But I was soon mesmerized.

Crimson was turned into Clemson — turn to ‘ri’ in the Crimson (Tide) to ‘em’ and you have Clemson. Not only that, Clemson removed the ‘bam’ from Alabama in that 44-16 annihilation.

All those talking heads on TV who predicted an Alabama win are now babbling that the Alabama dynasty is now buried in some Dixie graveyard. Oh, those knee jerk reactions.

It was supposed to be a bit of a ‘Bama reload last season and The Tide has nearly everybody back next year. They are trying to transfer the dynasty label to Clemson, which won this year with a load of seniors, Lawrence notwithstanding.

Nick Saban and his staff was severely outprepared and outcoached by Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and his staff. Alabama’s fake field goal, where the Tide had the holder lead the blocking for the kicker on fourth-and-four, was atrocious. And a couple of other fourth down gambles had Las Vegas giggling.

But, like him or not, Saban isn’t finished and it won’t be shocking to see him back in the title game next season. And maybe against Clemson.

—The Cleveland Browns did it right. They hired offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens as head coach. He and quarterback Baker Mayfield are joined at the hip. Once Kitchens took over as OC last season, the Browns offense was as innovative, unpredictable and efficient as any in the NFL.

Bold prediction (save this one to throw in my face, if you wish): The Browns make the playoffs next season.

Why didn’t the Browns keep interim coach Greg Williams? Couple of thoughts. They eventually would have lost Kitchens to another team. Baker Mayfield would have rebelled. And Williams’ past history with the New Orleans Saints (the bounty placed on opposing players) makes him persona non grata. Williams, defensive coordinator for the Saints, was suspended indefinitely after the BountyGate scandal.

QUOTE: From Bill Gates, American entrepreneur: “Everyone needs a coach. It doesn’t matter whether you are a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast or a bridge player.”

—When UD’s Flyers fell behind, 33-11, at George Washington Wednesday night, fans all over the Miami Valley clicked off their radios and turned on Last Man Standing re-runs.

Well, the Flyers were not The Last Man Standing. They mounted a furious comeback on the three-point shooting of Jordan Davis, seven of ‘em en route to 25 points.

Knowing that the Flyers rely mostly on the inside scoring of Josh Cunningham and Obi Toppin, GW constructed an igloo around the basket and prevented penetrating passes.

That permitted Davis to let it fly. He hasn’t had a good season shooting from outside the line, but he stepped up and astounded GW coach Maurice Joseph, he thought he had the perfect plan. “We didn’t think that kid could shoot that well,” he said glumly.

—QUOTE: From former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight: “The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.”

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, ready to visit my ophthalmologist to see if he can clear up my bleary eyes after watching what seemed like 158 bowl games over the last month

—The Ohio State University Buckeyes gave coach Urban Meyer a nice parting gift for his last game, a 28-23 Rose Bowl victory over the University of Washington, although the Buckeyes went into snooze mode in the second half. Well, more like they went into a coma.

After building a 28-3 lead early in the third quarter, OSU turned into a spectator. Washington had gone eight straight possessions without a touchdown, but scored three times in the fourth quarter.

The Buckeyes had to recover an on-side kick in the final seconds to hold off the yapping Huskies

So, not only did the Buckeyes gave Meyer that parting gift, they gave him a fourth quarter headache and had him clasping his temple in agony as the game wound down.

“That was a hell of a game,” said Meyer immediately after the game. “We won the Rose Bowl and got our 13th win. I’m very proud that over the years we’ve had the best players in the world. I’m going to enjoy this tonight and I don’t believe I’m ever going to coach again.”

He doesn’t ‘believe?’ Sounds as if he isn’t totally dead sure positive and we couldn’t see if he had his fingers crossed.

And, no Bengals fans. He isn’t the next Bengals coach. But how would Dwayne Haskins look in a Bengals jersey?
QUOTE: From Gene Perret, a screen writer for the Carol Burnett Show: “Retirement is when you return from work one day and say, ‘Hi, honey, I’m home — forever.”

—Dwayne Haskins gave himself a nice parting gift, for surely he played in his last collegiate game and will place himself in the NFL draft. And wouldn’t he be a nifty addition to the Cincinnati Bengals?

Haskins threw three touchdown passes in the first half, giving him 50 for the season. He was 25 for 37 for 251 yards.

It is not surprising that Haskins didn’t win the Heisman Trophy, but it was astounding how the voting unfolded.

Voters name three players on their ballots. And 38 per cent of the voters did not include Haskins on their ballot. Say what? As ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit said, “What were those guys watching?”

The guess here is that most of those 38 per centers were associated with the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12.

—QUOTE: From former Great Britain prime minister Winston Churchill: “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”

—The University of Kentucky, which for years played football just to fill in time before basketball season arrived, scored a nice Citrus Bowl victory over Penn State, 27-24.

Running back Benny Snell Jr. carried 26 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns. And he established a University of Kentucky career rushing record with 3,877 yards, a record that stood since 1975.

Snell is a big fan of Elton John’s song, ‘Benny and the Jets’ for obvious reasons and wore special shoes Tuesday with ‘Benny and the Jets’ inscribed on them.

It’s a good thing his favorite Elton John song isn’t ‘I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That.’ Nobody’s foot is that big. Well, University North Carolina-Asheville’s 7-foot-7 basketball center Kenny George wears size 25 and he could have the Gettysburg Address embossed on his sneakers.

—QUOTE: From former President Theodore Roosevelt: “Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.”

—It was a real shame that the University of Central Florida lost its outstanding quarterback, McKenzie Milton, to injury last this season.

UCF’s unbeaten season came to an end Tuesday in the Fiesta Bowl, but the Knights put up the good fight, losing 40-32 to LSU. Wonder what would have happened if Milton could have played. But as former major league pitcher Joaquin Andujar once said, “I’ll answer that in one word. . .youneverknow.”

—Iowa scored an upset in the Outback Bowl, stopping Mississippi State, 27-22. MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald was a one-man minstrel. He passed for 132 yards and threw a TD pass and he rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown.

But he threw two interceptions, including one in the final seconds. Iowa’s Jake Gervase picked off a pass in the end zone when it appeared Fitzgerald was taking Mississippi State to a game-winning touchdown.

—What is Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam thinking? One minute after the Browns ended their season in Baltimore Sunday, Haslam should have been standing on the sideline with a contract, shoved it in interim coach Gregg Williams face and said, “Sign here.”

Instead he said the team is conducting a search and will interview candidates for the head coaching job. Williams should contact the Bengals and say, “I’m available,” except he is much smarter than that and won’t go anywhere unless he can take Baker Mayfield with him.

—QUOTE: From Malcolm Forbes, publisher of Forbes Magazine: “Never hire somebody who knows less than you do about what he’s hired to do.” (Williams knows more football than Haslam does about running truck stops.)

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave while watching the Bengals come close against the Pittsburgh Steelers and simultaneously listening on the radio to the Cleveland Browns come close to the Baltimore Ravens. But you know what they say about coming close — coming close only works with hand grenades and horseshoes.

—Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield’s staredown of Hue Jackson during last week’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals drew world-wide attention as a bush gesture and rightfully so.

But what didn’t draw any attention from the fan drew attention from the NFL and it cost Mayfield. He was fined $10,026.

Why? Apparently he grabbed his crotch as he ran off the field after throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass.

Why the extra $26? State tax? A bonus for the person who spotted it on tape? Certainly that isn’t all that was in Mayfield’s bank account.

Mayfield was extremely good this Sunday against Baltimore, throwing three touchdown passes to set a record for TD passes in a season for a rookie. He threw for 376 yards, but his third interception on fourth down in the last minute stopped the Browns from ending Baltimore’s season. The Ravens won by the width of a bird feather, 26-24.

The Browns ran into a Stonewall. . .Baltimore quarterback Lamar “Stonewall” Jackson in the first half. Remember the cartoon dog who asked the question, “Which way did he go, George. Which way did he go?” That’s what all the Browns were asking about Jackson, especially Browns linebacker Joe Schobert, who missed tackles on Jackson three times in the first half.

QUOTE: From Civil War general Stonewall Jackson: “I like liquor — its taste and its effect — and that’s just the reason why I never drink it.” (I’m not sure if that’s an Absolut quote.)

—As expected, Clemson took apart Notre Dame and Alabama whipped Oklahoma in the NCAA playoff semifinals.

There is no doubt in this corner that Georgia and Ohio State would have been better and more competitive opponents for Clemson and Alabama than were Notre Dame and Oklahoma.

But we’ll never know, will we?

So it is another Alabama-Clemson national championship game and does anybody outside Alabama and South Carolina really care? Let’s hope there is a good college basketball game on TV that night.

—QUOTE: From Bill Shankly, former manager of the Liverpool soccer team: “Some people think football is a matter of life or death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more important than that.” (And you thought Vince Lombardi said that.)

—Wright State University coach Scott Nagy must feel as if he has been bitten by a cottonmouth. The Raiders, playing their first Horizon League game and predicted to win the league, lost in overtime, 75-72, to University of Illinois-Chicago on a last-second three-pointer from the right corner by Travell Washington.

UIC was playing without one of its best players and three players were ejected from the game with 11:23 left for leaving the bench during an on-court skirmish.

The Raiders bounced back Sunday by beating IUPUI (known as uhey-pooey), 72-64, behind 22 points by Billy Wampler and 20 by quick-and-agile guard Cole Gentry, who is as lyrical on a basketball court at Cole Porter. The Raiders are 1-and-1 in the Horizon league.

—University of Dayton forward Obi Toppin made ESPN’s SportsCenter’s Top Ten (No. 3) with his classic dunk Saturday against Georgia Southern. He took the basketball through his legs while in the air before dunking it home.

Said his coach, Anthony Grant, “That was a little risque for me. But there aren’t many players on this earth who can make that play.”

The Flyers finished pre-conference play 8-and-5, losing some tough games to some Top 50 teams.

The Flyers were picked in the pre-season to finish in the middle of the Atlantic 10 pack but Toppin, who has 35 dunks this season, begs to differ.

“I definitely think we can win the A-10,” he said. “We have a great group of guys who play together. We’ve been playing good and if we continue to play good we can win it.”

QUOTE: From former NBA star Charles Barkley: “I’m not a role model. Just because I can dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.” (Not even Barkley ever put a basketball between his legs while in the air en route to a dunk, not in a game.)

—One wonders sometimes what the thinking might be in the Cincinnati Reds front office. On December 10 they claimed left handed pitcher Robby Scott off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. Then 11 days later they designated him for assignment and on Sunday they ‘traded’ him to Arizona for cash considerations. It makes one wonder why they claimed him in the first place, although they did gain a few bucks.

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave awaiting the arrival of The McCoy Brood and the celebration of the McCoy Family Christmas, without anybody like Cousin Eddie and his RV.

—Cincinnati Bengals fans, God bless ‘em, can’t believe their team lost two games to the Cleveland Browns this season. A word to the wise from a life-long Browns fan: “Get over it and get used to it.”

This one has to sting in Pittsburgh, too. Steelers fans have to root for the Browns this week. To make the playoffs the Steelers must beat the Bengals and the Browns have to beat the Baltimore Ravens. Hey, Steelers fans. Happy New Year.

And I have to agree, while watching the New Orleans-Pittsburgh game, that the pass interference call on Pittsburgh’s Joe Haden (a former Cleveland Brown) was as bogus as bogus gets. Haden barely brushed the receiver on the fourth down play. It led to a New Orleans touchdown and Pittsburgh’s defeat.

Pass interference calls are not reviewable. With all the ticky-tack pass interference calls — it seems defenders can’t breathe on receivers — the NFL should make all pass interference calls reviewable. The one on Haden certainly would have been overturned.

And while we’re at it, Baker Mayfield fans in Cleveland have one question: “LeBron who?”The town once ruled by LeBron James now is owned by Baker Mayfield.

With his moxie, his in-your-face attitude, his brashness, he is the kind of athlete you love if he is on your team and you hate if he is on the other team.

—And speaking of LeBron James, when are athletes (and everybody else) going to learn that social media will come back to snap at you if you don’t be careful about what you post.

James apoloized, after-the-fact, of course, for posting on Instagram a lyric from rapper 21 Savage that read: “We been getting Jewish money, everything is kosher.” Anybody quoting anything from a rapper is asking for trouble.

—QUOTE: From Shanghai McCoy in the movie Rooster Cogburn: “I like myself better than anybody I ever met.” (No, he is not my relative because I like most people I meet.)

—Speaking of McCoy, another non-relative with my last name was embroiled in some minor controversy Sunday.

Buffalo running back LeSean McCoy did not start against New England, the first time he has not started a game in which he played since 2010. McCoy called it a situation and accepted resopsonsibility.

“The coach (Sean McDermott), we had a situation, and he was totally right. said McCoy. “It was a private situation. I’m a captain and I gotta be more accountable. Simple as that. He checked me, put me in place. That was it.”

I still have my Philadelphia Eagles jersey with ‘McCoy’ on back from when LeSean McCoy played for the Eagles. It is on its way to Goodwill.

—Another excellent story from the never-ending football bowl season emerged in Frisco, Tex., when Ohio University scrubbed San Diego State, 27-0.

OU running back A.J. Oullette rushed for 164 yards, his fourth straight game over 100 yards. The significance? Oullette, from Covington, O., was a non-scholarship walk-on. And he more than walked his way to 3,784 career yards for the Bobcats.

And his coach? He is Frank Solich, who at 74 is the oldest coach in Division I football.

—Quote from iconic boxer Muhammad Ali: “Old age is just a record of one’s whole life.” (At 78, I’d have to say I have a long record, but fortunately it isn’t on a police blotter.)

—Some unfortunate news about one of my favorite major league baseball players. Joe Smith, the Wright State University product from Cincinnati and a relief pitcher with the Houston Astros, tore his achilles tendon during a workout last week. He underwent surgery and will miss six to eight weeks.

—Quote: From Anonymous: “Remember the guy that gave up? Neither does anybody else.” (Knowing Joe Smith, this little mishap won’t hold him back and he’ll return throwing those submarine pitches.)

—Two LSU football players said an 18-year-old was trying to rob them. So one of the two players pulled a gun and shot the man dead. Yes, self-defense, if true. Question? What is an LSU football player, or any college football player, doing carrying a firearm? And it has yet to be revealed if the player owns a carry license.

—To all my faithful readers, even the unfaithful, a very Merry Christmas and may Santa Claus bring you all that is on your list concerning your teams. And, yes, Reds fans were given early presents from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave while watching some football bowl game, but don’t ask which one because all these fabricated bowl games between .500 teams just blur together.

—Are the NBA rims smaller than the college rims? Not really. It only seemed that way Wednesday night when Duke played Texas Tech in Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks (who don’t shoot so well, either).

Duke missed its first 14 three-point shots and trailed most of the first half and early into the second half, even though Texas Tech committed 15 first-half turnovers.

Duke finally hit a three early in the second half that tied that game, 45-45, and moved out to win, giving Texas Tech its first loss (10-1). Duke closed it out with a 16-2 run to win 69-58. The game resembled a mugging on Times Square at 3 a.m.

Duke had to do it mostly with super stud freshman Zion Williamson saddled with fouls. He had three in the first half, picked up his fourth early in the second half and fouled out with 3 1/2 minutes left. Four of his five fouls were offensive fouls — do they still call it charging?

Broadcaster Dick Vitale came up with a sensible proposal. Why not increase the personal foul limit to six. Makes sense.

“Madison Square Garden is sold out and they came to see kids like Zion Williamson,” he said. “The court is the same size, 94×50, but the kids are bigger, stronger and more physical. Make it six fouls for elimination.”

Amen, Dickie. Amen.

—Trevor Cahill to the Angels and Anibal Sanchez to the Nationals. And the pool of starting pitchers available to the Cincinnati Reds gets more shallow each day.

—Ray Snedegar, my great friend and Transportation Director, speaks often about his love for his hometown, Maysville, Ky.

His buttons popped even more when he discovered that Hall of Fame manager/player Casey Stengel once played for a semi-pro team in Maysville, the Maysville Colts.

Research revealed that the Maysville team took on all-comers, including major league teams, and in 1895 it won two of three from the Cincinnati Reds.

Stengel played one year in Maysville, 1910, for $500. That’s not for one game, that’s for one season, playing for Maysville in the Bluegrass League, Casey’s first professional season. He hit .269 in 69 games and was called up to the minor league Kansas City team.

—The football bowl season is in its full-blown glory, although most games are memorable only to the teams playing in them.

But there have been two games that caught my eyes.

Two years ago, UAB (Alabama-Birmingham) didn’t have a football team. The school junked it before bringing it back two years ago. This year the Blazers went 12-2 after beating Northern Illinois, 37-13, in the Boca Raton Bowl, the school’s first-ever bowl victory. Now that’s a heart-warming story emanating from a useless bowl.

And then Ohio University played in the DXL Frisco Bowl in, where else, Frisco, Tex. The Bobcats played San Diego State and won, 27-0, the first time the Aztecs of the Mountain West Conference had been shut out since 2004. In case you didn’t know, DXL is a story for extra-large men and OU’s win was, well, extra large.

Then there was the Gasparilla Bowl Wednesday night in Tampa. Despite losing their last five games, South Ho Florida, located in Tampa, got to play a home game in Raymond James Stadium.

Even though it was a home game for South Florida, like most of these early bowls games the stands were mostly empty. And USF lost to Marshall, 38-20. Marshall coach Doc Holliday is a real bowl gunslinger. He is 6-and-0 in bowl games. And is is a former assistant coach at Florida when Urban Meyer was head coach of the Gators. Coincidentally, USF coach Charlie Strong also was a Meyer assistant at Florida.

See? Even all these commercially-named bowls have interesting story lines.

—Beavercreek’s Mike Hauschild, son of University of Dayton sports information director Doug Hauschild, has signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, with an invite to the spring training major league camp. Most likely he will start in the Class AAA Memphis pitching rotation.

And, Reds fans, don’t hate on him because he is with the Cardinals. He is a great kid.

—Disgraced former University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino has signed on to coach in a professional league in Greece. And he is telling people he hopes to return to coaching in the U.S., preferably in the NBA. With his reputation, maybe he can coach the Mavericks.

—Josh Gordon? I’m at a loss for words. Super talent, super addict.

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, anxiously waiting to see Englewood’s Ryan Roth do his award-wining Tribute to Elvis show Saturday night in Miamisburg. He promised to do my favorite, American Trilogy.

—Pre-season prognosticators predicted that Eastern Michigan would be one of the Mid-American Conference’s best basketball teams this season and junior James Thompson IV, a 6-foot-10 center, would be the league’s best player.

EMU was 3-and-0 before playing at Duke Wednesday night and the first time I checked the score it was early in the second half and it was Duke 51, Eastern Michigan 15.

When it was over, Thompson had six points while Duke’s all-galaxy freshmen, Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett, had 21 and 20. Williamson had nine rebounds and Barrett had six assists. Both played little more than a half.

And the final score? Duke 84, EMU 46. Williamson, a 6-foot-7, 280-pounder, is averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 82 per cent (from the field, not the foul line) in three games. C’mon.

—Everybody keeps harping about how awful the Cleveland Cavaliers are without LeBron James. And Wednesday was Exhibit A. The 2-and-12 Cavaliers played another bad team, the 4-and-9 Washington Wizards. Washington scored 72 points. . .in the first half. The final: 119-95 and no need to mention who won. C’mon.

—Is Michigan’s basketball team that good or Villanova’s team that bad? The two teams who met in the NCAA championship game last April were matched Wednesday in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.

Villanova went in ranked No. 8 and Michigan was No. 18. And the game was at Villanova. Final: Michigan 73, Villanova 48. C’mon.

—How in the name of Amos Alonzo Stagg did this match-up ever come about? On Saturday, Alabama, the nation’s No. 1 college football team, plays The Citadel. Say what?

The Citadel is 4-and-5 with losses to Coastal Carolina, Charleston Southern, Wofford, Chattanooga and Samford (that’s Samford, not Stanford). The Bulldogs did beat Gardner-Webb.

If Alabama wants to score 100, it probably can. However, The Citadel basketball team beat Johnson (Howard Johnson? Johnson & Johnson? Lyndon B. Johnson?) on Wednesday night, 137-60. Maybe The Citadel should send its basketball team to Tuscaloosa instead of the football team. C’mon.

—If you’ve heard and read enough about Le’Veon Bell, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green/Kevin Durant, raise your hand. Yes, my hand is up.

If Le’Veon Bell wants to toss aside $14.5 million and gamble he’ll get more next years as a free agent, go get it big boy.

From all reports, all of Minnesota was happy to see Jimmy Butler leave the Timberwolves, especially Karl-Anthony Towns. One day after Butler was traded to Philadelphia, Towns led Minnesota to a victory over New Orleans with 25 points and 16 rebounds while Butler scored 14 for the 76ers in a loss to Orlando.

Golden State’s Draymond Green and Kevin Durant had an in-the-huddle argument that carried into the lockerroom after the game, resulting in the team suspending Green for a game without pay.

What was the problem? Durant was unhappy that Green kept the ball at the end of a tie game and turned it over when Durant was open for a pass. In the huddle, Green brought up Durant’s contract, which permits him to leave after this season if he wants and Green questioned Durant’s loyalty to the Warriors.

As Durant walked back on the floor for the overtime, which the Warriors lost, he was heard to say, “That’s why I’m out of here.”

Boys, boys, boys. And in this case, very big boys.

—And it is still somewhat disconcerting and discomforting to turn on the TV and see a live college football game on Wednesday night, complete with empty stands.

But that was a nice win for Miami over Northern Illinois, 13-7, in DeKalb, Ill. NIU was 6-and-0 in the Mid-American Conference. Miami, 5-and-6 overall, needs a win next week over Ball State to become bowl eligible.

It could be the Camellia Bowl, the Bahamas Bowl, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl or the Dollar General Bowl. Sorry, no Sugar, Cotton or Rose Bowl.

—The Reds have hired two new coaches, Brad Thorn and Jim McKay. No, no, no. Not the Cincinnati Reds. We’re talking about the St. George Queensland Reds of the Australian Super 15 Rugby Union.

In the last four years, the Reds have finished 13th, 15th, 13th and 14th in the 15-team league. Sound familiar?

—Speaking of somebody named McKay, one of my all-time favorite quotes came out of the mouth of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John McKay.

After a loss, McKay was asked what he thought about his team’s execution and he reportedly said, “I’m in favor of it.”

A couple of other McKay dandies: “We can’t win at home and we can’t win on the road. We need to play our games on a neutral site.”

And after cutting kicker Bill Capece, he said, “Capece is kaput.”

And another: “Kickers are like horse manure. They’re all over the place.”

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave knowing that those three super freshmen at Duke will be in the NBA next year, so why not just replace the Cleveland Cavaliers with Duke right now and be done with it.

—Ever wonder why the Mid-American Conference plays a lot of football games on week days with mostly empty seats?

It is called c-a-s-h. ESPN pays each MAC school $1 million a year to play during the week so it can fill air time.

—Speaking of the MAC, Miami University plays Wright State and Northern Kentucky on the basketball floor every year, but doesn’t play Dayton as it once did twice a year, home-and-home.

Why not? Just like the Flyers won’t play Wright State, they won’t play Miami. One of the excuses is that UD doesn’t want to play in the dark, dreary and mostly empty Millett Hall on the Miami campus.

Says Miami athletic director David Sayler, “We’ll play whomever wants to play us.” Xavier wants to play the RedHawks, but only at X’s Cintas Center and won’t go to Millett.

To show the difficulty in scheduling, Miami played somebody called Midway University Monday night. Midway is an NAIA school located on a horse farm 15 miles from Lexington, Ky. Well, if Midway is a horse farm, then the team should have the horses.

For the uninitiated, Midway plays in the NAIA Division II River States Conference. Other members? Glad you asked. Alice Lloyd College, Asbury University, Brescia University, Carlow University, Indiana-East, Indiana-Kokomo, Indiana-Southeast, Ohio Christian, Point Park (remember Cardinals pitcher John Stuper?), Rio Grande (remember Bevo Francis?), West Virginia Tech (remember Sedale Threatt?).

Quote of the week came from the mouth of Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield after the 28-16 victory over Atlanta: “I woke up this morning feeling real dangerous.”

Armed and dangerous? He completed his first 12 pass attempts.

Wonder how Nick Chubb woke up feeling before his record-setting 92-yard touchdown run, longest in NFL history by a rookie?

If the Browns keep this up, does interim coach Gregg Williams have a chance to be named head coach? Don’t ask Jim Riggleman.

—Tampa Bay placekicker Chandler Catanzaro kicked a 59-yard field goal in overtime earlier this season to beat the Browns, 26-23. Make that ex-Tampa Bay placekicker.

After he missed two short field goals Sunday in a 16-3 loss to Washington, the Buccaneers released him. For the season he was 11 of 15 in field goal tries, 73.3 per cent and 31st in the NFL. And he missed four extra point kicks.

This is clearly a case of, “What have you done for us lately?”

—The Cincinnati Reds saved a few bucks when outfielder Scott Schebler missed arbitration-eligible status by a few days. The cutoff this year was two years and 134 days of major league service and Schebler missed the cut by the fewest days of anybody in the majors. That hits him hard in he wallet.

Fans hope the Reds invest that money into their pot to acquire starting pitchers instead of more bobbleheads and tributes to The Big Red Machine.

—Did you hear about the wonder horse, Foiled Again, a 14-year-old harness superstar? He is on his farewell tour because by rule he has to retire at 14. The all-time leader in trotting purses at $17.5 million won at Hollywood Casino’s Dayton Raceway Saturday night.

Mull this one over. At 14, Foiled Again is 59-years-old in human age. And you thought Satchel Paige and Minnie Minoso were old athletes?

After Foiled Again won for the 105th time in 322 starts, driver Chris Page said, “He’s a war horse and the greatest horse to ever wear a harness. He loves his job.”

—Some interesting nuggets from the Bovado sports book in Las Vegas and if you have money you want to burn, let Vegas burn it for you.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 1,000-to-1 odds to win the NBA championship. Next highest odds are the Phoenix Suns at 500-to-1. The Cavaliers are 1-and-11 and you have to wonder what the odds are that they win 10 games this season. They are on pace to win seven.

And apparently Ohio State’s 26-6 win over Michigan State didn’t impress the odds gurus. The Buckeyes fell from 22-to-1 to 28-to-1 to win the CFB championship. They were even less impressed with OSU quarterback Dwayne Haskins. His odds to win the Heisman Trophy fell from 14-to-1 to 100-to-1.

—I arrived in Dayton in 1962 and these are some of the good restaurants that I frequented that are now no more, now with The Great Chef in the sky:

Annarino’s, Anticoli’s, Barnsider, Bissett’s Grubsteak, Dominic’s, King Cole, Neil’s Heritage House, Old Hickory BBQ, Peerless Mill Inn, Pepito’s, Stockyards, Suttmiller’s, Tropics. I miss them one and all.

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from the Man Cave, thinking on Armistice Day about my dad, who served in The Philippines in World War II. He brought home a Japanese sniper rifle and to the day he died he would not talk about it. Thanks to him and all who served and are serving in our military. We owe you all more than you’ll ever receive.

—The University of Dayton put up 63 points Saturday, and I don’t mean the basketball team. It was coach Rick Chamberlin’s football team, a 63-20 annihilation of Morehead State.

Tucker Yinger, running like a judge with a grudge, piled up 264 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns. He is 27 yards short of becoming UD’s all-time career rushing leader. The Flyers play their last game Saturday in Jacksonville and as one observer said, “The way he ran against Morehead he will get it on his first carry against Jacksonville.”

While Yinger starred, you have to love what Chamberlin did on one play. With the Flyers on the 1-yard-line, he lined up senior offensive tackle Ben Gauthier in the backfield, all 270 pounds of him. And he banged across for a touchdown on the only carry of his career, a real blue plate special play.

There is another Ben Gauthier, a co-writer of a TV show called ‘Inside the Woods.” UD’s Gauthier is known for ‘Inside the Tackles.’ In addition, Gauthier is part of a popular campus band appropriately called ‘The Girth.’

—Speaking of UD football, fellow Pioneer Football League member Davidson rushed for 789 yards Saturday in a game against league champion San Diego, the most rushing yards ever in any college game at any level. And Davidson lost, 56-51. How? San Diego quarterback Anthony Lawrence passed for 327 yards  and seven touchdowns. It is believed there actually were three or four tackles made during the game.

—Offensively, University of Dayton basketball red shirt freshman Obi Toppin is a pain in the paint to the opposition. He roams the base-line, waiting for a lob pass and then enacts a flying flush. In the first two games he has six dunks. While he is a crowd-pleaser so far, the 6-foot-9, 220-pounder needs work in one facet. While scoring 19 points Saturday night against Coppin State, playing 29 minutes, he had one rebound. Just one more rebound than legendary former UD player Bucky Bockhorn had while sitting behind his microphone at court-side.

—In these days of analytics and sabremetrics and launch angles and spin rates, I love this from out of the mouth of none other than Yogi Berra: “In baseball you don’t know nothin’.”

—The most inane, but accurate, assessment of the Cincinnati Reds for 2019 from ESPN.com: “Joey Votto isn’t the only star on offense. Scooter Gennett nearly won the batting title and Eugenio Suarez might be the best unknown slugger in the game. But if the Reds don’t add more pitching, they have no chance in a competitive NL Central.”

Well, duh. And there is chatter that the San Diego Padres are trying to engineer a trade for Suarez. If the Reds do that, fans might ignite a Fountain Square bonfire to toss in season’s tickets and all acquired bobbleheads. Suarez, by the way, is playing for the U.S. All-Stars, currently playing Japan’s All-Stars in Japan. He hit a double Sunday during a 7-3 U.S. win. Fans can watch the game on MLB-TV, if you get up at 5 a.m. for the start of games.

—This doesn’t bode well for Ohio State and it is something the football playoff committee will notice. Minnesota, a bad team that lost to an even worse team, Illinois, by 55-31 two weeks ago, beat Purdue Saturday, 41-10. Nobody needs remidning what Purdue did to the Buckeyes.

Note to the committee: How about an Ohio State-Purdue do-over, mother may I?

—What in the name of defense is going on in the NFL? These were halftime scores Sunday: New Orleans 35, Cincinnati 7. Buffalo 31, New York Jets 0. Indianapolis 29, Jacksonville 13. Chicago 26, Detroit 7.

How much of all this scoring is due to the fact that defensive players can’t breathe on the quarterback nor lay a pinkie on a pass receiver?

—Two Ohio stunners: New Orleans 51, Cincinnati 14 and Cleveland 28, Atlanta 16. And at this hour Marvin Lewis is still coach of the Bengals and Hue Jackson is not coach of the Browns.

—Some preferences: Coke Zero over Diet Pepsi, Fritos over Cheetos, Italian sausage over meatballs, chili over any soup except Oakwood Club’s French onion, onion rings over French fries, sweet pickles over dill pickles, Cheerios over Wheaties or corn flakes, white rice over fried rice, filet mignon over any steak, ketchup over mustard (even on my hot dogs), Swiss cheese over cheddar or American.