Category: Observations

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave after a fun-filled weekend of sports, except for us always downtrodden Cleveland Browns fanss.

—PHIL ‘ER UP: Let me get this right.

^A team that fired its manager, Joe Girardi, 51 games into the season, is going to the World Series.

^A team that won only 87 games and lost 75 is going to the World Series.

^A team that finished third in the National League East, 14 games out of first place, is going to the World Series.

Heck, when they fired Girardi, the team was only 12 1/2 games back. So under new manager Rob Thomson they actually lost 1 1/2 games in the standings.

But the Philadelphia (Going to the World Series) Phillies were 22-29 under Girardi and were 65-46 under Thomson.

It can be summed up in two words: ‘That’s baseball.’ And it is why we love it.

Philadelphia has the toughest fans in sports, but it was engrossing to watch them go berserk while the Phillies manhandled the San Diego Padres.

If an election were held today, Bryce Harper and/or Rhys Hoskins would be mayor of the City of Brotherly love and statues of them would replace William Penn’s atop City Hall.

On the day he fired Girardi, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said, “It has been a frustrating season for us up until this point, as we feel that our club has not played up to its capabilities.”

The man spoke the truth and he should win baseball’s Executive of the Year Award. . .even if he can’t keep a job after running baseball operations for the Expos Marlins, Tigers, Red Sox and now the Phillies.

Dombrowski put together World Series champions with the Florida Marlins in 1997 and the Boston Red Sox in 2006. And he always left teams on his own accord.

Now he has a chance to win a third 
World Series trophy with a third different team.

—TEE-ING OFF: A friend sent me a photo of a tee-shirt that somebody came up with. It is red and in white letters on the front it says: Rebuilding Every Damn Season,

Notice the first letter of each word.

—LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: StatCast tracks every ball hit by every player over the course of the season. And it says that if Aaron Judge played his home games in Great American Ball Park he would have hit 70 home runs. On the other hand, if he played for the Detroit Tigers in cavernous Comerica Park he would have only hit 42.

—QUOTE: From an anonymous baseball sage: “When life throws you a curveball, hit it out of the ball park.” (And it is so much easier to do in Great American Small Park.)

—CODE RED: Of all the outstanding things the Ohio State offense has accomplished, there is one facet that is absolutely amazing.

The Buckeyes have ventured into the red zone 35 times and come away with points all 35 visits. Even more amazing is they’ve scored 31 touchdowns only kicked four field goals.

And how about the defense that forced six Iowa turnovers? The Iowa defense had not given up more than 10 points this year in any game except Michigan (27) until the Buckeyes dropped 54 on them.

—FOLLOWING UP: In our last episode I mentioned the unprecedented success of the Mount Union football team. Well, they lambasted Wilmington College Saturday, 63-3. The Purple Raiders have won 55 straight Ohio Athletic Conference games and are 167-1 since 2005.

I also mentioned the shock and awe I felt when I saw Tulane ranked in the Top 25. And the Green Wave (6-1) won again Saturday, 38-28 over Memphis.

And I was concerned when I saw that Syracuse led Clemson, 21-10, because I said the then-unbeaten Orange would get their come-uppance in Death Valley. Then Clemson scored 17 straight to win, 27-21.

—QUOTE: From cartoonist/amusement park mogul Walt Disney: “The difference between winning and losing often is not quitting.” (What was it we said as kids, ‘Quitters never win.’)

—UNBEATEN GET BEATEN: So what do the polls know? Las Vegas knows better. Unbeaten UCLA (9) was ranked higher than Oregon (10), but Las Vegas had the Duck quack attack favored by 4 1/2. Oregon 45, UCLA 30.

And unbeaten Ole Miss (7) was ranked higher than LSU (unranked), but Las Vegas installed LSU as 1 1/2-point favorite. LSU 45, Ole Miss 20.

—QUOTE: From former The Ohio State University president Gordon Gee: “What do I know about college football? I look like Orville Redenbacher. I have no business talking about college football.” (Woody Hayes, Earle Bruce, John Cooper, Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer and Ryan Day did (and do) all the talking about Buckeye football. . .and in loud voices.)

—ROUGHING IT: The controversial roughing the passer incident don’t just raise their ugly whistles in the NFL. It happens, too, in the NCAA.

Syracuse was flagged for roughing the Clemson quarterback out of bounds on third-and-long. It gave Clemson a first down and the Tigers scored a touchdown.

Later in the game, same play. The Syracuse quarterback was wrestled to the ground out of bounds on third and long. No call. Syracuse had to punt and Clemson scored a touchdown.

That’s two touchdowns on a call and a no-all and Clemson won by a touchdown. No wonder the Tigers have won 37 straight home games.

—MANY EXTRA MINUTES: Rhode Island beat Monmouth Saturday, 48-46, in seven overtimes. That’s two overtimes short of the NCAA record — the nine overtimes it took Illinois to beat Penn State in 2021.

Talk about ridiculous. Isn’t it time for college football to adopt a rule similar to the NFL’s. . .a 10-minute overtime.

The college rule? For the first three overtimes, each team starts a series on the other team’s 25, trying to score a touchdown or field goal. After three overtimes, the ball is place on the 3-yard-line and the teams alternate trying to make two-point conversions.

That’s about as exciting as watching a McDonald’s employee put special sauce on a Big Mac.

ONE-WAY HANKIE DROP: While Texas was losing to Oklahoma State, 41-34, Texas was penalized 14 times. Oklahoma State was not penalized once. How does that happen?

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian wanted to ask the officials, “Can you guys only see burnt orange,” but he knew if he did they would drop a yellow hankie at his feet.

—SORE LOSER: I burned my orange Cleveland Browns hat Sunday afternoon. Like the team, it was defenseless. I would have burned it in a sack, but the Browns have suffered enough sacks this season.

By HAL McCOY

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, still debating. . .Yankees or Astros? Yankees manager Aaron Boone saved my career by imploring me not to quit in 2003 when I lost most of my eye-sight. But I am not a Yankee Doodle Dandy. Astros manager Dusty Baker is one of my all-time favorites, but I still can’t forgive the Astros for stealing a World Series by banging the drum (or trash can) slowly.

—THE GUARDIAC KIDS: Before they were escorted out of the playoffs, barely, by the New York Yankees, the Cleveland – – – – dians were the talk of baseball for their old-school, throwback style — put the ball in play with limited strikeouts, bust your butts on all balls in play (they led the league in infield hits), steal bases, take the extra base.

And do you know who Cleveland’s hitting coach is? His name is Chris Valaika, drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the third round in 2006. He never received much opportunity with the Reds. In two seasons, 2010 and 2011, he appeared in only 33 games.

Obviously he talks a good game and his players listen. They were the youngest team in baseball, 17 players made their major league debuts and they had the third lowest payroll in MLB.

Nobody picked them to finish higher than third in the American League Central and they won it by 11 games.

If Terry Francona isn’t American League Manager of the Year, they should just throw the trophy or plaque into Lake Erie.

—QUOTE: From Cleveland manager Terry Francona: “I think in any organization you want your manager to have a strong opinion. You don’t want them to just say, ‘Yes, sir’ to things they don’t believe in.” (Tito may believe that, but lots of Yes Men occupy a manager’s chair.)

—WHY CLEVELAND ROCKS: How to build a winner in one easy lesson. . .make dazzling trades.

In August of 2020, the Cleveland – – – – dians traded pitcher MIke Clevinger to San Diego and the fan base howled to the moon.

Why? Because they thought their teams was bamboozled. In return, Cleveland received starting catcher Austin Hedges, first baseman/outfielder Josh Naylor, starting pitcher Cal Quantrill, outfielder Owen Miller and rookie outfielder Gabriel Arias. All five contributed to the team’s gigantic success.

Meanwhile, Clevinger has fought injuries in San Diego. Oh, yea, the – – – – dians also sent Matt Waldon and Greg Allen to San Diego. Waldon is still in the minors and Allen played for Pittsburgh this season, 41 games and a .186 average.

Nobody on TV’s Let’s Make a Deal ever made a better deal.

—QUOTE: From baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield, drafted in the second round by the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, in the fifth round by the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and in the first round by MLB’s San Diego Padres: “I chose baseball because to me baseball is the best game of all.” (And you don’t have wild-eyed linebackers with mayhem on their minds bearing down on you.)

OH, PEDRO: Before Game 5 of the American League Division Series, TV analyst and Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez referred to the Cleveland baseball team as, “The Indians.”

Partner Ernie Johnson Jr. corrected him and said, “Guardians.”

Martinez proceeded uninterrupted and four more times he referred to them as, “The Indians.”

Take a vote. Did he do it on purpose?

While I usually use – – – – dians to refer to Cleveland, my old friend Tim Steineman came up with one, too. He calls them Clevelandians.

—MOUNT-ING VICTORIES: Has there ever been a football dynasty like the one anchored in Alliance, Ohio. . .the Mount Union Purple Raiders.

From 2005 until 2016, Mount Union won 112 straight Division III Ohio Athletic Conference football games, an NCAA record. They lost a game to John Carroll, 31-28, in 2016, 31-28.

Since then, the Purple People-Eaters have won 54 straight OAC games. . .and counting. That’s an OAC record of 166-1 since 2005. They are 6-0 this season, 5-0 in league play. John Carroll is the only team that ever gives Mount Union a shadow of a problem and they play this year on November 5 in Alliance.

Guess who will be favored?

—QUOTE: Mount Union’s football motto: “Winning. . .it’s what we do.” (Winning? It should be, “Annihilation. . .it’s what we do.” They are 6-0 so far this year, averaging 50 points a game to the opponent’s 5 points. They have won 65-0, 55-7, 59-0, 45-0, 28-6 and 49-14.)

—WAY DOWN YONDER (In New Orleans): I was shocked and stunned to find Tulane in AP’s Top 25 football poll. The Green Wave is 6-and-1.

For the past quarter of a century, Tulane has mostly been everybody’s punching bag and cupcake. Since 1998, when it was 12-0, Tulane has had 17 losing seasons in 24 years, mostly 3-and-9s and 2-and-10s.

The Green Wave’s best season since 1998 was 8-and-5 in 2002. Players of note? Well, there was Dub Jones, class of 1946, a runningback for Paul Brown and the Cleveland Browns of the old All-America Conference. And there was Max McGee, class of 1954, a wide receiver with the Green Bay Packers and Vince Lombardi.

Don’t you just love rags-to-riches stories?

—TRADE BAIT: During the third quarter of Sunday’s game, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Robbie Anderson was sent to the lockerroom by interim coach Steve Wilkes, Anderson’s sin was twice getting into the face during a heated debate with wide receivers coach Joe Dailey.

On Monday morning, Anderson was traded to the Arizona Cardinals for a sixth-round draft pick in 2024 and a seventh round pick in 2025.

Anderson’s response to being sent to the lockerroom during the game was, “I’m confused.” Now he can be confused in Arizona.

—QUOTE: From former NBA coach Gene Shue on making a trade: ”The way my team is doing, we could get Wilt Chamberlain in a trade and find out that he’s really two midgets Scotch-taped together.” (Hey, two Wilt’s would be better than one.)

—SHE’S AN AMAZON: Since Amazon makes deliveries to our house every day to Nadine, sometimes twice, we have our own truck. It’s call the Amadine.

—LAST CALL: I finally figured out why they stop selling beer at ball parks after the seventh inning. It isn’t to prevent inebriation. It is because by then every wallet and purse is empty and the credit cards are at their limits.

—DATE OF BIRTH: I turned 82 on Tuesday and Nadine said, “It’s just a number,” and I said, “Yes, a very high number.”

Got me to thinking who are the famous and infamous born on October 18 and I found: Mike Ditka, Forrest Gregg, Ed Biles (former Xavier and Houston Oilers coach), Willie Horton, George Hendrick, Thomas ‘Hit Man’ Hearns, Martina Navratilova and Brittney Grimes from the sports world.

Also, Chuck Berry, George C. Scott, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mad Dog Russo (TV sports talk show host), A.J. Liebling (journalist), Peter Boyle, Pierre Trudeau and, uh. . .Lee Harvey Oswald.

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATION from The Man Cave, bleary-eyed after staying up until 2 a.m. to watch the San Diego Padres send the Los Angeles Dodgers back north up Interstate-5 to put away their uniforms for the rest of the season. R.I.P. to a team that won 111 games, while the Padres won 89. And LA won 13 of 19 regular-season games against the Friars.

—FEELIN’ GROOVY: How about the three feel-good stories in the baseball playoffs — San Diego, Philadelphia and Cleveland. Well, they don’t feel so good in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York.

But the rest of baseball’s fandom love it that the Padres took out the 111-win ultra-rich Dodgers, that the Phillies wiped out the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves and the – – – – dians, youngest team in MLB and with one of the lowest payrolls, can send the high-profile, star-studded and also ultra-rich Yankees home with a win tonight in Yankee Stadium..

The baseball has been magnificent, especially the throwback play of Cleveland with its stellar starting and relief pitching, its stellar defense and even more stellar use of singles, doubles and stolen bases.

It all has been compelling television and it continues tonight with Cleveland and the Yankees playing Game 5, a winner-take-all showdown.

—TIDE ROLLED: When Alabama lost to Tennessee, 52-49, it was the most points scored against the Tide since Sewanee scored 54 in 1907.

Who? Sewanee. No, not way down upon the Suwanee River. It is Sewanne with an ‘e,’ not an ‘u.’

At the time, Sewanee was a college football power. In 1899, the Tigers were 12-0 with 11 shutouts. They outscored their opponents, 322-10. Five wins, all shutouts, came in a six-day period when they went on a road trip to play teams that are college football powers to this day.

On the other side, Sewanee may have had the worst team in college football history. The school was a charter member of the SEC and never won a conference game in eight years. They were shut out 26 times in 37 games.

They gave it up in 1938, retreated to Division III no-scholarships football, where they remain to this day.

And that’s your history lesson for today and there will be a pop quiz.

—COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUND-UP:

^After SMU scored a third quarter touchdown against Navy, the Mustangs’ mascot, a miniature Shetland pony named Peruna IX, ran from end zone to end zone, as he does after every SMU score, escorted by two handlers.

Except on this journey, Peruna IX left droppings along the way. The game was delayed while the handlers used paper cups and their bare hands to remove the horse puckies. One might think it was Peruna IX’s comment on his team’s play, but SMU won, 40-34.

^South Dakota State defeated North Dakota State, 23-21. Say what? And here I thought North Dakota State never lost. I covered an NDSU game once in Fargo and the snow was so deep you could walk down the middle of the downtown main artery, North Pacific Avenue, with no fear of being hit by a car.

^Syracuse University is 6-and-0. What a stunner. From my viewpoint, the last time Syracuse had a notable football team was when Jim Brown played there in 1957. . .or was it Floyd Little in 1966? Enjoy it, ‘Cuse supporters. The Orange play another orange-clad team next Saturday. Clemson. . .at Clemson.

^Everybody thought Utah’s 43-42 win over Southern California was an upset. Maybe it was, but the Utes were favored.

After the game, USC coach Lincoln Riley said, “We can’t control the officiating.” Hey, Linc, who can?

—BROWN-OUT: There is something positive suspended Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson can do. He can turn out the lights in First Energy Field.

A team that was supposed to compete, some even mentioned Super Bowl, already looks as if it is playing in the dark.

On Sunday, they lost their third straight, but they didn’t just lose, they disintegrated into a puddle of sweat, losing to New England, 38-15.

The Patriots started their third-string quarterback, rookie Bailey Zappe out of Western Kentucky. He was making his second NFL start and looked like Bart Starr.

The Browns couldn’t stop him on third down because the defense couldn’t stop a pedestrian on a walker. The offense was putrid, too. Browns quarterback Jacoby Brissett played as if he was sleep-walking. He threw two interceptions and the Browns turned it over four times.

Yes, the 2-and-4 Browns are only a game behind the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, both 3-3, but Cleveland has lost three in a row and plays worse each week.

—RING, RING: “Hello, Tom Brady? This is your wake-up call.” Ring, Ring: “Hello, Aaron Rodgers? This is your wake-up call.”

—TIGHTEN THE BELT: Cleveland – – – – dians post-season star so far has been Oscar Gonzalez, who is, uh a tad different.

His walk-up music is the theme song to SpongeBob SquarePants. And he holds his pant up with a belt borrowed from first base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. During the wild card series against Tampa Bay, he busted his belt sliding into first base and Alomar gave him his belt.

Gonzalez then hit the game-winning home run in the 1-0 15-inning win over the Rays, had the winning hit in Game 2 of the
ALDS and the two-run walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Yankees in Game 3.

He was wearing Alomar’s belt for all three hits and said, “Something tells me Sandy will never see it again.”

—BIG WHAT?: The so-called Big 12 conference right now has eight teams. When Oklahoma and Texas leave to join the SEC, the Big 12 will have eight teams.

But Cincinnati, Central Florida, Houston and Brigham Young are joining the Big 12 and, by gosh, they actually will have 12 teams.

And the Big Ten conference? There are 14 schools in the Big Ten and when Southern California and UCLA jump in there will be 16. So shouldn’t they change the name to the Big 16 or maybe The Sweet 16?

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, shared recently with Fricker’s executive Jim Manley, radio executive Jim ‘J.R.’ Richards, Press Pros Magazine publisher Sonny Fulks and Bob Woodward. . .no, not THAT Bob Woodward, this is a long-time radio executive living in Cleveland. The cigar smoke in the M.C. would choke a herd of elephants.

—CLEVELAND ROCKS: Why am I such a fan of the Cleveland baseball team, known to me all my life as the Indians?

I grew up in Akron, about 35 miles from old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, ‘The Mistake on the Lake.’

I was eight-years-old in 1948, 74 years ago, when the Tribe last won a World Series, when they beat the Boston Braves, who then moved to Milwaukee and then moved to Atlanta. I loved Lou Boudreau and Larry Doby and Ken Keltner. And I hated Ted Williams, who killed the Indians despite The Boudreau Shift, the original baseball shift.

I was devastated in 1954 when Cleveland won 111 games, then lost the World Series in four straight to the New York Giants, who then moved to San Francisco. I never forgave Willie Mays for making that lucky catch — yes, lucky — on Vic Wertz. And I loved Al Rosen, but could never get him in a baseball card, even though I purchased about a hundred packs.

I was president of the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1997 and one of my duties was to be one of the official scorers for Cleveland’s World Series against the Florida Marlins, who then became the Miami Marlins.

In Game 7 in Miami, Cleveland led, 2-1, going into the bottom of the ninth and I had my story all written…’Tribe Wins First World Series Since 1948.’

But the Marlins tied it. Then it was with a knife in my heart when I called an error on Cleveland second baseman Tony Fernandez in the 11th inning when he let Craig Counsell’s (Yes, THAT Craig Counsell) ground ball zip through his legs like a croquet wicket. It should have been an inning-ending double play.

Instead, Bobby Bonilla went from first to third and trotted home on Edgar Renteria’s walk-off single to end it.

With great pain and deep emotion, I hit the delete button on my ‘Tribe Wins’ story. Just like Cleveland’s win, the story evaporated into Cyberspace.

And that’s the last time the Indians sniffed a World Series. . .and now they are the — I still can’t say it – the – – – – dians.

—OH, BROTHER: Houston relief pitcher Phil Maton knocked himself out of a possible post-season roster spot when he took a swing at his locker and the locker scored a TKO.

Maton injured the pinkie finger on his pitching hand after a bad outing during the last game of the regular season.

He was angry because he gave up two runs and two hits in one-third of an inning to the Philadelphia Phillies. One of the hits was by his brother, Nick Maton. Perhaps that’s what angered him most.

Stupid is as stupid does.

—QUOTE: From famous cynical journalist H.L. Mencken: “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.” (And that includes most relief pitchers.)

—SOME EMPTY SEATS: MLB released its attendance figures and reported that total attendance this year was 64.5 million. The Cincinnati Reds contributed 1.3 million.

MLB attendance 15 seasons ago was 79.5 million. As Phil Castellini asked, “Where you gonna go?” Well, as about 15 million people decided between 2007 and 2022, not the ball parks.

—DOWN GOES POOLE: Draymond Green professed a deep love for Golden State Warriors teammate Jordan Poole, but that was no love tap Green laid on Poole during a team practice.

It was a punch that would make Mike Tyson proud. Green dropped Poole like a sack of sugar.

Of the incident, coach Steve Kerr said, “This is the biggest crisis that we’ve ever had since I’ve been coach here. It’s really serious stuff.”

How serious? Was Green suspended? Nope. He was slapped with a fine of an undisclosed amount, probably not enough to deprive him of a meal at Saison, one of San Francisco’s most expensive restaurants.

—RING ‘EM UP: The Colorado Avalanche must have depleted an entire South African diamond mine to adorn their championship rings.

The Avalanche won the NHL’s Stanley Cup last season and the team’s championship ring contain 669 diamonds.

If players wear those rings publicly, they best wear brass knuckles on the other hand to ward off thieves.

—FOOTBALL FOLLIES: Caught some of the Marshall-Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns game between innings of the baseball games.

The final was Louisiana 23, Marshall 13 and. . .wait second. Didn’t Marshall beat Notre Dame in South Bend? Sure did, 26-21. Then the Thundering Herd loses to the 2-3 Ragin’ Cajuns at home? Sure did.

Before beating Marshall, Louisiana had lost to University of Louisiana-Monroe, 21-17 and to South Alabama 20-17, neither of which you’ll find in the Top 100.

—QUOTE: From tennis legend Martina Navratilova: “Whoever said, ‘It’s not who won or lost that counts, but how you played the game,’ probably lost.” (Grantland Rice wrote that and he wasn’t covering a Marshall game.)

—MIC ME UP: Wish my daddy had taught me to talk better and had stuck a microphone in my hand instead of a baseball bat.

Why? Well, all the money in sports journalism is behind a microphone, not behind a laptop.

For instance: Jim Rome, a talk show host makes $30 million a year, about the same as most No. 1 major league pitchers. Stephen A. Smith, ‘The Mouth That Roars,’ makes $10 million.

The mere pikers are Bob Costas ($7 million), Mike Greenberg ($6.5 million), Al Michaels ($6 million), Joe Buck ($6 million), Skip Bayless ($6 million), Colin Cowherd ($6 million), Michael Wilbon ($6 million), Tony Kornheiser ($6 million), Mike Golic ($5 million).

The top paid female sports journalist is Michelle Beadle at $5 million. Geez, even Terry Bradshaw makes $2 million.

—QUOTE: From actress Cameron Diaz: “I have to remind my dad, ‘Journalists – no matter how many cigars they smoke with you – are not your friends. So don’t talk to them.” (I smoked hundreds of cigars with Trader Jack McKeon and he is still my friend. . .I think.)

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave while watching baseball morning, noon and night. What a treat.

—CHAPMAN REPORT: The Cuban Missile has been grounded.

Former Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman did everything but turn in his resignation to the New York Yankees this week.

The Yankees had a mandatory workout in preparation for their American League Division Series games against the Cleveland – – – – dians.

Chapman was a no-show. He stayed home in Miami, roaming South Beach or fishing in Biscayne Bay or firing bullets in his garage. . .something other than reporting for duty.

In response, the Yankees left him off the ALDS roster. That was easy to do because Chapman has been less than ordinary for the Yankee the past couple of seasons. He was 4-4 with a 4.46 earned run average this year and lost his closer’s role.

He has no clue where his 97 miles an hour fastballs are going, usually out of the strike zone or out of the park. And remember when he threw 104 and 105? He pitched only 36 1/3 innings and walked 28.

His full name is Albertin Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz, but his name in New York right now is Mud.

What he did was not surprising. He was never a candidate for The Good Guy Award while he worked in Cincinnati.

One night after a game in Great American Ball Park, my great friend and driver, Ray Snedegar and I, were on a street corner about to cross. First we heard a high-pitched whine like an F-15. Then a yellow blur, a Lamborghini driven by Chapman, whizzed around the corner at about 75 miles an hour. If I had stepped off the curb, my burial would have been 10 years ago.

—QUOTE: From major league pitcher Aroldis Chapman: “The way I feel, as baseball players we are warriors and our job is to be ready to do what we need to do on the field.” (I guess he felt he could do it better on South Beach than at Yankee Stadium.)

REBUILD OR BUILD?: A different perspective from my good friend Brian Pogue about the so-called Cincinnati Reds rebuild.

“Isn’t it just a build? How can it be a rebuild when there has been nothing to rebuild from?” he asks.

—THE GREAT EXPECTORATOR: Hall of Fame spitball pitcher Gaylord Perry pitched for five of the eight teams still standing in the MLB playoffs.

He won the Cy Young Award in 1978 with the San Diego Padres when he was 40-years-old. He also moistened baseballs for the Cleveland Indians and won the Cy Young in 1972. And he pitched for the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees.

How did he miss Houston, Los Angeles and Philadelphia?

—QUOTE: From Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry: “I reckon I tried everything on the old apple but salt, pepper and chocolate sauce topping.” (How about white ranch dressing and nobody would have detected it on the baseballs?)

—HEY, COACH: Is it true that Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor get on a conference call every week and discuss which one can call the most stupid play at key points of a game? Looks that way.

—NAME CHANGE: The NFL should change the penalty name of roughing the passer to tackling the passer. Judging from the horrendous calls this week when quarterbacks Tom Brady and Derek Carr were sacked, the only way to tackle quarterbacks is to huff and puff and blow the man down.

But then the NFL would put in a rule penalizing defensive players with bad breath.

Next thing you know, the NFL will arm quarterbacks with a can of Mace to ward off blitzers.

—QUOTE: From former Browns defensive lineman/broadcaster Mike Golic: “Why don’t they just put dresses on the quarterbacks and be done with it.” (But they can’t wear white after Labor Day.)

—THE NAME GAME: My stubbornness to refuse to refer to the old Cleveland Indians as the Cleveland – – – – dians, led me to check on some other nicknames.

Of the 12 teams to qualify for MLB’s post-season, nine once had different names. The Los Angeles Dodgers were once the Brooklyn Robins. The Houston Astros were the Houston Colt .45s. The New York Yankees were the New York Highlanders. The Atlanta Braves were the Boston Bees.

The Philadelphia Phillies were the Philadelphia Quakers. The St. Louis Cardinals were the St. Louis Brown Stockings. The Tampa Bay Rays were the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Cleveland Indians were the Cleveland Spiders.

The Seattle Mariners are an expansion team after the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee. The New York Mets are really the New York Metropolitans, but have adopted Mets.

—AVIARY REPORT: Ever wonder why so many sports franchises use birds for their nicknames? With my warped mind, I do. So I listed them.

^MLB: St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays.

^NFL: Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks.

^NBA: Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors (a flying dinosaur).

^NHL: Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings (part of a bird), Pittsburgh Penguins (yes, a penguin is a non-flying bird).

And, yes, this blog was for the birds.

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, pausing to throw my Cleveland Browns sweat shirt and hat into the trash can. But I can still wear my Cleveland – – – – dians gear, right. . .even if the shirt and hat both have Chief Wahoo on them?

—BROWN-OUT (Over and out): Need I say it? When it comes to the Cleveland Browns, it is same ol’ and same ol’ and same ol.’

A heavily talented team can’t get out of its own way and the coaching decisions certainly don’t help.

They lost to the Los Angeles Chargers, 30-28. With less than three minutes to play, down by two, they had a third-and-seven at the 15. A field goal gives them the lead, so don’t take chances.

Of course, they did. Instead of playing it safe with a running play to set up a go-ahead field goal, quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw an interception, his only mistake of the day, but a deadly one.

But wait? The Browns still had a chance. At fourth-and-two at mid-field with 1:14 left, the Chargers foolishly went for it and got stuffed, giving the Browns superb field position.

And they moved the ball to within makeable field goal range. Alas, with 11 seconds left, Cade York missed a 54-yarder wide right. He missed a 45-yarder earlier in the game. This was a guy who came into the game eight-for-eight on field goals and kicked a 58-yarder to beat Carolina in the opener.

—CHUBBY OPINION: I was fortunate to cover the 1964 Cleveland Browns and Jim Brown, the team’s last NFL championship (pre-Super Bowl).

To me, Jim Brown was the best running back in NFL history, but now. . .well, that was 58 years ago and maybe my memory is cloudy and fading.

But is Nick Chubb as good, or better? Once past the line of scrimmage, Chubb is unstoppable, like a runaway Bullet Train.

On the flip side, the current Browns defense can’t stop anything, not even my Gramma Bessie in a wheel chair.

—WHAT DRESS CODE: From my good friend Dave Bush: “Is it too much to expect these days for your MLB manager to dress out in a traditional uniform for a baseball game?”

Former Big Red Machinist Darrel Chaney agrees and said manager Sparky Anderson always said, “You gotta dress right to play right.”

Agreed. Most managers don’t even wear a uniform top. They are always in jackets, pull-over sweaters and hoodies.

My question is why is baseball the only sport where managers/coaches wear a uniform? They aren’t going to play and most of them are overweight and look frumpy and sloppy.

Why not dress in civilian clothes like they do in basketball and football. . .but not like Bill Belichick? Connie Mack managed the old Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years and always wore a suit, tie and fedora.

— R U KIDDING ME? — Sometimes things are just unexplainable, or is that inexplicable:

^The University of Dayton football team was favored Saturday against Butler. Not only did the Flyers lose, 31-0, but their streak of not being shut out ended at 501 games, the longest in Division I college football. They hadn’t been shut out since a 9-0 loss to Marshall in 1976.

^Speaking of not getting shut out, Texas whip-lashed Oklahoma, 49-0, ending the Sooners streak of not getting blanked at 311. It was the biggest margin of victory for Texas in the Red River Shootout. How the mighty do fall.

^That 1-0 15-inning Cleveland – – – – dians-Tampa Bay Rays extravaganza’s 14 scoreless innings passed the old post-season record of 13 scoreless innings in 2020: Atlanta Braves 1, Cincinnati Reds 0.

And isn’t it great that Manfred Man’s ghost runner isn’t used in the post-season. The drama in the Cleveland-Tampa Bay game was palpable. If they aren’t using it in the post-season, why in the name of Joe, Dom and Vince DiMaggio did they used it during the regular season?

^The Seattle Rediners stunned those folks up north by coming from seven runs down to eliminate Toronto from the playoffs. Behind, 8-1, the Rediners roared back to win, 10-9. Eugenio Suarez had two big hits and Luis Castillo pitched a gem in Game One.

^Virginia Tech’s defense went to sleep Saturday night with visions of a blue blur. That would be the blue No. 2 jersey worn by Pitt’s Israel Abanikanda. He should wear No. 1.

Abanikanda, a 5-11, 215 pounder, scored six touchdowns and ran for 320 yards during a 49-20 win. He broke Tony Dorsett’ single-game rushing record of 303 yards set in 1975 against Notre Dame.

Isreal hit the promised land (TDs) on runs of 38, 17, 29, 5 and 80, He led Pitt last year with season totals of 661 yards and seven rushing touchdowns.

Virginia Tech reported him to the Pittsburgh police as a fleeing felon who was carrying something the Hokies couldn’t take away from him.

^Was up late Saturday night as baseballs and footballs flooded my brain. For some reason, I was watching Stanford-Oregon State. Glad I did.

Stanford kicked a field goal with :58 second left, seemingly securing a 27-22 win. Uh, no. With :13 seconds left, Oregon State quarterback Ben Gulbranson bounced a pass off a Stanford defender’s helmet. O-State’s Tre’Shaun Harrison snagged it and ran 56 yards for a touchdown. Oregon State 28, Stanford 27.

Where was Stanford’s marching band when the team needed it?

STROUD ON CLOUD SIX: When Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for six touchdowns Saturday against Sparty, it was the third time in his career that Stroud threw a half dozen TD passes in a game, a Big Ten record.

Stroud’s pass accuracy rivals that of William Tell and it is conceivable he could knock an apple off a receiver’s helmet.

And his assortment of high-talented receivers? They could break free from a speeding cheetah and catch a speeding bullet.

Stroud’s full name is Coleridge Bernard Stroud IV. Now tell me where the ‘J’ comes from in the C.J. name? Is it Juggernaut?

—CLEVELAND ROCKS; My good friend Lee Standafer stole from Alabama and reverted back to the Cleveland – – – – dians old nickname when he sent me this message:

“Roll Tribe.”

—WHAT’S IN A NUMBER: Ever wonder why UFC puts a number behind their events? I did. So I looked it up, even though I’ve never watched any UFC matches.

Turns out that UFC puts a number, like UFC-280 behind their events that are on pay-per-view, and they are in numerical order, as in UFC-1 was their first on pay-per-view.

The only pay-per-view in which I ever invested was the Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield ear-chewing match that lasted three rounds. Tyson was disqualified for munching on Holyfield’s ear and my wallet learned a valuable lesson. Stay closed.

By Hal McCoy

They are the youngest team in the major leagues.

They have the third lowest payroll ($67.8 million) in the major leagues.

They have 14 players developed within their organization.

They were given just a seven per cent chance to win their division before the season began.

And the Cleveland Guardians say, “So what?”

They are headed to New York to play the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series after an unbelievable game Saturday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays.

In a game long enough for beards to grow several inches, Cleveland’s Oscar Gonzalez led the bottom of the 15th with a walk-off home run for a 1-0 victory, the longest 1-0 game in post-season history. And the game lasted 15 innings because the extra-inning ghost runner, the Manfred Man Rule, is not used in the post-season.

The home run came off former Cleveland pitcher Corey Kluber. There was 16 pitchers used, eight by each side. There were 426 pitches, 241 by the Guardians and 185 by the Rays.

The last one thrown by Kluber that landed in the left field seats was the only extra base hit in the entire game. The Rays finished with six singles and the Guardians finished with four singles and a home run.

Cleveland won Game One, 2-1, on a two-run home run by Jose Ramirez. And with the Gonzalez home run in Game Two Cleveland scored all three runs on home runs. The irony is that the Guardians were next-to-last in the majors in home runs. Only Kansas City hit fewer.

Tampa Bay, which finished the season by losing seven straight and nine of its last ten, scored one run in 24 innings of this best of three series.

The Rays home run was hit in Game One by former Cincinnati Reds prospect Jose Siri. But he struck out five times Saturday.

The two teams, both of which pride themselves on making contact, struck out 39 times, 20 by Tampa Bay and 19 by the Guardians. Andres Gimenez struck out five times for the Guardians.

Tristan McKenzie started the game for Cleveland and Tyler Glasnow started for Tampa Bay, a stark contrast.

McKenzie pitched 191 1/3 innings this season. Glasnow pitched 6 1/3, making only two late-season starts after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Both were nearly untouchable.

McKenzie went six innings and gave up no runs, two hits, walked two and struck out eight. Glasnow matched McKenzie with no runs and two hits over five innings and left after throwing only 63 pitches to protect his surgically repaired arm.

After McKenzie, the Guardians received scoreless pitching from James Karinchak, Trevor Stephan, Emmanuel Clase, Nick Sandlin, Eli Morgan, Enyel De Los Santos and winning pitcher Sam Hentges (three innings, no runs, three hits).

After Glasnow, the Rays received scoreless innings from Pete Fairbanks (barely), Jason Adam, Drew Rasmussen, Garrett Cleavinger, Shawn Armstrong and former Reds pitcher Brooks Raley.

But not from Kluber. He pitched a scoreless 14th before Gonzalez ended it dramatically for the 34,971, most of whom stayed the course.

After Game One took only 2:17 to play, Saturday’s marathon lasted 4:57.

There were few early opportunities for the Guardians to score, but they botched one in the sixth when they filled the bases with no outs and didn’t score.

Fairbanks started the inning, a guy who walked only three per cent of the batters he faced during the regular season. But he walked Myles Straw and Steven Kwan to open the inning. The athletic trainer and manager Kevin Cash trudged to the mound and discovered that Fairbanks had no feeling in the pinkie finger of his pitching hand.

He was removed and replaced by Adam. His first pitch hit Amed Rosario, filling the bases. with no outs. That brought up Cleveland’s best hitter, Jose Ramirez, and Adam struck him out. Josh Naylor then hit into a double play.

The Rays put their leadoff hitter on base in the 10th (walk), 12th (walk), 14th (single) and 15th (single), but couldn’t score.

They put a runner on third with two outs in the 10th, but Francisco Mejia lined to center fielder Myles Straw, who chased down nine line drives and fly balls.

They had runners on third and first in the 12th with two outs, but Guardians third baseman Ramirez made a backhanded stop on Manuel Margot that carried him into foul territory. His throw to first was in the dirt, but Josh Naylor dug it out as if his mitt was a shovel to save a run. . .the defensive play of the day.

They had runners on third and second with one out in the 15th, but Hentges struck out Mejia and Siri.

The bottom of the 15th ended quickly, the Gonzalez home run that sent the Guardians into the ALDS.

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, excitedly awaiting the post-season appearance of the Cleveland – – – -dians, but still wearing my Chief Wahoo hat. So I’m politically incorrect. Shoot me. . .but use a bow and arrow.

—JUDGE-MENT DAY: Nobody ever made a more daring wager on themselves than Aaron Judge, the American League’s all-time single season home run aficionado.

The New York Yankees offered him a seven-year $213 million contract before the season. He turned thumbs down because he becomes a free agent after the season and believes he can command much more. Maybe the Empire State Building and Grand Central Station from the Mets.

Then he started the season slowly and Yankee fans were booing him. Now he is a big Gotham City hero, definitely Batman. And isn’t it amazing that the last three players to set American League home run records were or are all Yankee right fielders — Babe Ruth with 60 in 1927, Roger Maris with 61 in 1962 and Judge with 62 in 2022.

We all know that Washington’s Tracy Stallard gave up number 61 to Maris and Jesus Tiroco of Texas gave up number 62 to Judge. But who gave up number 60 to Ruth?

Like Maris, Ruth’s historic home run also came against the Washington Senators and the pitcher was Tom Zachary.

Zachary had a 19-year major league career and the next year, 1928, he pitched for the Yankees and won Game 3 of the World Series. He won 186 games and lost 191. including the game Ruth hit number 60.

—WHAT’S IN A NUMBER: What’s the most famous number 99? Some might say it’s the drinker’s song: “Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall.” Or maybe it is the 99 worn by Red Grange, The Galloping Ghost.

And ’99’ was worn by Ricky ‘Wild Thing’ Vaughn, played by Charlie Sheen in my favorite baseball movie, ‘Major League.’

Right now, of course, it is worn by Aaron Judge. Unusual? Not really. The first major league player to wear 99 was Charlie ‘King Kong’ Keller with the 1952 New York Yankees.

In addition to Judge, players wearing 99 in 2022 included Hyun-Jin Ryu (Toronto), Taijwan Walker (Mets), James Karinchuk (- – – – dians), Keynon Middleton (D-Backs), Yennier Cano (Twins) andJesus Aguilar (Miami).

Notables to wear 99 in the past: Manny Ramirez (Dodgers, White Sox), Mitch Williams (Phillies, Astros, Angels), Turk Wendell (Mets, Phillies), Todd Hundley (Cubs) and Todd Frazier (briefly with the Pirates.)

—QUICK KNEE JERK: Less than 24 hours after the Cincinnati Reds lost their 100th game, we found out who was at fault. The scapegoats were five coaches and a medical staffer. They were all fired.

First base/base-running/infield coach Delino DeShields. Gone. Hitting coach Alan Zinter. Gone. Bullpen coach Lee Tunnell. Gone. Assistant coach Rolando Valles. Gone. Advance scouting coach Cristian Perez. Gone. Director of performance and health Geoff Head. Gone.

Manager David Bell signed a two-year extension after the 2021 season, so his contract is good through next season. Pitching coach Derek Johnson also signed an extension after the 2021 season.

—A PASS FOR THE DH: I still despise the designated hitter because it takes away so much strategy and too often makes the manager a cigar store Indian.

But I am giving it a free pass this year. If the National League hadn’t adopted the DH this season, we wouldn’t have seen Albert Pujols reach 703 home runs.

What Aaron Judge did this season and what Pujols did as primarily a DH for the Cardinals were the two most dramatic and exciting things in MLB this season. . .along with the Cleveland – – – – dians winning the American League Central.

Get this one. Pujols has 18 home runs since the All-Star break. Kyle Farmer led the Reds with its final roster with 14 home runs…for the entire season.

—QUOTE: From Albert Pujols, the recent discoverer of the Fountain of Youth: “I know, in my heart, I can hit anybody.” (Indeed, he can. His 703 home runs have come against 458 different pitchers, an all-time record.)

—THEY WENT SOMEWHERE, PHIL: The Cincinnati Reds announced their home attendance for 2022 as1.38 million, smallest in the history of Great American Ball Park.

It was the fewest fans since 1984 when they drew 1 .275 million. They finished next-to-last in the National League West with a 70-92 record.

And remember, paid attendance is tickets sold, not actual butts in the seats. Imagine all those corporation tickets wasting away unused in office desks.

Well, Phil Castellini, it looks as if scads and scores of fans found a place to go and it wasn’t GABP.

—QUOTE: From former manager Leo ‘The Lip’ Durocher: “Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand.” (In Cincinnati this year it was, “Few attended because everybody understands.)

—BRAVE OLD WORLD: On June 1, the Atlanta Braves were 10 1/2 games out of first place, then flipped the switch and won their fifth straight National League East title.

On June 1, the Cincinnati Reds were 13 1/2 games out of first place. . .and, well, as Paul Harvey used to say, “And now you know the rest of the story.”

—PUT IT TO MUSIC: Just minutes after the Reds lost their 100th game of the season, 15-2, three different fans sent me the video of a Cincinnati group called Blessed Union of Souls singing ‘Go Home.”

Some lyrics: “Go home, you’re done. Hit the showers, thanks for the run. You bums. You got crushed. Just beat it. You got no hope. Go home. Hey, pitcher, I guess that was your fastball. I don’t think you can get it past my grandma. Ball one. Ball two. You threw a strike and he yanked it out of the ballyard…”

And it goes on. Watch the entire video on You Tube. It’s hilarious.

—ODDLY SPEAKING: The Pittsburgh Steelers are 14-point underdogs at Buffalo this week. Those are the most points for them to be underdogs since 1969, the first year University of Dayton product Chuck Noll was their coach and turned them into a dynasty.

The big point spread is all because quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retired and the Steelers are in a def com search for a signal-caller.

WHO AND WHO?: As I watched ESPN2 one morning, a score scrolled across the bottom of the screen, but it didn’t identify what league it was.

The score was Igniters 122, Metropolis 115. It sounded like something out of Superman (The Metropolis Daily Planet). So I looked it up and it was from the NBA ‘G’ League. . .an exhibition game.

ESPN obviously was short on scroll material that day.

By Hal McCoy

UNSOLICITED OBSERVATIONS from The Man Cave, up at 3 a.m., can’t sleep, most likely due to the humongous sandwich I ate for dinner from the Submarine House. . .The Pistol, which has grilled pepperoni, Italian sausage, provolone cheese, Swiss cheese, mushrooms, green peppers, banana peppers, onions, pepper relish and marinara sauce, all of it falling off the bun with each sloppy bite.

—DEFEND-ING ROSE: One of the knocks on Pete Rose is that he was not a good defensive player and that position is indefensible.

Rose played more than 500 games at six defensive positions — left field, right field (two Golds Gloves), center field, third base, second base and first base. . .all but shortstop, pitcher and catcher.

Ironically, he signed as a catcher but the Cincinnati Reds had this guy named Johnny Bench.

Vandalia resident Benjamin Jones sent me a copy of his book, ‘Pete Rose Cooperstown Countdown.’ And he pointed this out:

“For three years (1973-75), Rose led all National League left fielders in assists (detractors said he had a weak arm) and range factor. In 1971, Rose led all NL right fielders in putouts. In 1965 he led NL second basemen in putouts. In 1980 he led all NL first basemen (playing for Philadelphia) in assists.”

Is that defense or what?

In addition, Jones pointed out that Rose had 806 hits while playing in his forties while Henry Aaron had 262. Rose scored more runs (366) in his forties than Aaron had hits. And he had more RBI (271) than Aaron had hits.

One caveat: Rose was 45 when he quit playing and Aaron quit when he was 42, so Rose had three more years to pile up his stats.

—QUOTE: From The Hit King, Pete Rose: “If you have someone equal in ability to me I will beat him every time because I will try harder.” (Even at age 45.)

—LITTLE DRUMMER BOY: Remember the guy in Cleveland who sat in the top row of the left field bleachers in Progressive Field and banged his drum, not so slowly, for the entire game.

He did it for 46 years, starting in 1973 and rarely missed a game through 2019, close to 3,900 games. Broadcaster Herb Score called him Big Chief Boom Boom. Now that the Indians are now the – – – – dians, he no longer appears.

The club, though, is putting a bronze drum and bronze bleacher seat in Heritage Park inside Progressive Field in his honor.

His name is John Adams and he is currently in Fariview Park’s O’Neil Healthcare. He undergoes kidney dialysis, has had open heart surgery, has a thyroid problem, a staph infection in his heel and a broken hip.

And yet he told Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com, “I’ve been blessed, I really have. God has been good to me. I have a pity party once in a while that lasts about ten seconds.”

—NINETY-PLUS: When the Reds fired general manager Wayne Krivsky, I asked CEO Bob Castellini at the press conference, “When is the team going to show some stability?” His answer was a gruff, “We just aren’t going to lose any more.”

Oh, really. How has that worked?

Since MLB went to a 162-game schedule in 1962, the Reds have presented their fans with 11 seasons of 90-plus losses. Counting this season, six of those 90-plus losses have come under the current regime.

—QUOTE: From California senator Diane Feinstein: “Winning may not be everything, but losing has little to recommend it.” (Well, where you gonna go?)

—RUN TO DAY-LIGHT: It is difficult and foolish to criticize a coach after his team wins a game, 49-10.

But. . .just out of curiosity, why does Ohio State coach Ryan Day call pass plays and wide runs when his Buckeyes are first-and-goal inside the five?

Just give it to those Peterbilt runningbacks and jam it between the tackles. . .the way you do it on second and third down. Look it up in the Woody Hayes playbook.

End rant.

—SEATTLE SLEW: For the first time in 21years, the Seattle Mariners are in the playoffs, with the help of former Reds Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker and Luis Castillo.

Of the 30 current teams, the Mariners are the only one never to compete in a World Series.

The Mariners were not the first major league team in Seattle. There was the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969. And that was their only year in town. They are the only MLB team ever to go bankrupt. Bud Selig’s group bought the team and moved it to Milwaukee as the Brewers.

When the Pilots moved, they were building the Kingdome for them. The place sat as empty as King Tut’s tomb until 1976 when the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks were born. The Mariners came into existence in 1977 and moved in.

—QUOTE: From pitcher Jim Bouton, whose then-controversial book, ‘Ball Four,’ was written about the ’69 Pilots: “Doubleday’s first law is that if you throw a fastball with insufficient speed, somebody will knock it out of the park with a stick.” (And Bouton would know. In 92 innings he gave up 13 home runs, some of which landed in Tacoma.)

—ON THE OTHER HAND: After watching wide receivers in several games make one-handed catches, an idea popped into my head.

With the huge yardage amassed by the passing game, make it more difficult. Require all receivers to catch passes with one hand. If you touch the ball with both hands, the yellow hankie flutters and it is a 15-yard penalty for illegal use of two hands.

Do I sound like Rob Manfred? I’m sorry.

Did you see ESPN’s Top Ten plays Saturday? No. 1 was from a Cincinnati Moeller High School game, a wide receiver catching a touchdown pass in the end zone. . .with one hand, of course.

—As my great friend and author Scott Russell would say, “Carry on.”