One of the fantasy football guys I follow (and use lots of his memes and his ideas for this blog) closed his post this week asking everyone to stop and take perspective. And not in an accusatory way or one meant to elicit guilt, but just in a way to take stock of how fortunate most of us are and how lucky we are to have something as innocuous as (fantasy) football to take our attention from things going on around us.
What prompted him to say that was (a), of course, what’s going on in Israel and Gaza, which I’m not going to get into here because it’s not the venue and I’m not the right person. Suffice to say, as a father of girls and grandfather of young ‘uns, I’ve had a really rough time reading and seeing things this week. It’s just more than this old boy can take sometimes.
But that national writer also had a part b to bring perspective — his own grandchild had a school visitor scheduled, a local police officer coming to talk about public servants and first responders and K9s and sirens and fire trucks and lots of stuff that his grandson was super excited to see and hear about … but the event was cancelled because the police officer was killed in the line of duty mere days before the visit. He was married with a five year old son of his own.
Dang, the world can be cruel and harsh and I’m very humbled to be able to stop and write nonsense for an hour a week and watch men play a game on TV and be entertained and insulate myself from that world for a little while.
Shifting gears into that nonsense so that we can lose ourselves for a few moments, I’m going old school, stream of consciousness blog post…
I went to a Virginia Tech football game a couple of weeks ago. I hadn’t been in years. I’ve been a Tech hater all my life, for no other reason than I picked out UVA as my team when I was a little tyke. (Are you getting the sense that I’m a glutton for punishment when it comes to picking sports teams? ‘Tis true.) However, my youngest daughter is a senior at Tech this year and my stance has softened considerably. Not completely, but considerably. But my conclusion after attending the game is … those Tech fans deserve a winner. Man, what an atmosphere! They are into it from an hour before kickoff until the final gun sounds. All ages, from kids to college students to alumni to old timers. Chants throughout the game that everyone in the stadium knows. TWO great bands that had the whole crowd into their performances. Just a great time. I felt like I was part of something. Some old timer, half lit on Hokie beer, gave me high fives the whole game. We all know Enter Sandman, but it’s much more than that. I hope they find some past glory soon.
It warmed my heart to see the SPFL Transactions page this week. I LOVE seeing everyone into it. Honestly, I do! The Ghost of Megatron picking up players trying to turn around his season. The Thunder Monkeys cutting loose a beloved keeper — (hint: almost rhymes with Gag) — because circumstances warrant. Hot waiver wire commodities going to teams other than that handful of us that work the waivers like an old mule. Keep it up, that’s what keeps us all honest and makes the season a treat for months at a time.
I can’t believe none of you texted to check on me Sunday night after that shellacking by the Bay. It’s a funny thing, though, while I did take the cheese and think the Cowboys might be different this year, I wasn’t upset. I wasn’t even expecting anything different than what I saw on TV. I was resigned to defeat before the opening kickoff. People talk about obnoxious Cowboys fans but I swear, if they exist, it has to be a minority. We are a defeated people. My analysis is fairly simple — they have a really good roster. Their defense will still be fine. It may not be historic, but it’s very good. However, Dak Prescott is a very average quarterback. I think he’s a great guy and a good locker room and sideline presence. But he’s not very athletic, has a below average arm, and his legs are not what they were six years ago. He’s loathe to go deep or over the middle or run the ball. He simply cannot win games if he’s the focal point. And the Cowboys have a very average offensive coaching staff. God bless him, I like Big Mike. I think he and I could enjoy cheese curds together and talk football, but he’s not a tactician. And that’s what the NFL is nowadays. Mike McDaniel. Kyle Shanahan. Andy Reid. I think Dallas will rebound and make the wild card round. And leave me sitting me quietly in a post Christmas stupor once again. They have some pieces, but the cornerstones are cracked. I don’t see it changing anytime soon.
So what is Mr and Mrs Commish watching? Besides football? We have one episode of Netflix’s Wednesday series left to go. Awesome. It’s our second go around with it. The first time was in the spring, but we vowed to watch it again in the fall because we thought it would hit different. We were right. After that, we’re going right into The Fall of the House of Usher, made by the geniuses that brought us Hill House, Midnight Mass, etc. Reviews call it “Succession Meets Edgar Allan Poe.” Set the hook, man, I’m biting. Plus, we’ve got to squeeze in Hubie Halloween sometime.
I love October. The weather. The colors. The candy. The football. And the events. Last weekend, Mrs. Commish and I went to an after dark event in Abingdon’s old Sinking Spring Cemetery to hear some “spirits” come to life (after dinner at JJ’s Sport Bar with a full pound of jumbo shrimp and a pumpkin spice Old Fashioned). This weekend we’re going to Possum Fest in eastern Kentucky, which I’m not sure what it entails but it will surely include some food and spirits. Next weekend, we’re going to Sycamore Shoals State Park to experience an 1800s funeral at an old restored estate. (Yeah, we’re kinda weird. But we both love stuff like that. I’m not one of those opposites attract guys. I’m a birds of a feather kinda guy. Thankful for Mrs. Commish and her patience with me). And then the last weekend of the month, we’ll start with a granddaughter’s birthday party and end the day at Boos and Brews in Jonesborough — ghost stories in the park with some local cider and beer.
Yes, I’m a fortunate guy. I think we all probably are.
SPFL
In the Tommy Boy Division, the Piranha Brothers are still steamrolling along at 5-0, but Greased Lightning is still only a game back at 4-1. The Corn and Moops linger at 3-2, with the Turtles at 2-3. The Monkey erased that zero and now stand 1-4. In the Matt Foley, another perfect record of 5-0 is owned by the Bright 1s, but he has a little more breathing room with Beauty and the Beasts at 3-2. The Bitter Midgets are 2-3, the Heroes and No Names are 1-4, and Megatron still sputtering at 0-5.
Monkeys 129 – Names 124: The game of the week was from two teams on the south end of the polls, but the Monkeys got off the schneid, thanks to JaMarr Chase’s monster 54 point outing. The 49ers spanking of the Cowboys contributed 29 defensive points to the tally. The Names were led by D Hop (22) and Josh Jacobs (21).
Brothers 199 — Heroes 152: Good grief, do the rest of us a need a white flag? It’s looking like the Brothers’ year up in Rural Retreat, this week being led by DJ Moore (51) and Travis Etienne (39). The Heroes were a hard luck loser, but piled up some important points, led by Josh Allen (29) and George Pickens (28).
Turtles 130 – Megatron 88: It was a chilly weekend in the McMillan living room, with the Turtles cruising to an easy win, thanks to Breece Hall (32) and Mr. Taylor Swift (22). Megatron had Stefon Diggs (25), Jakobi Meyers (20) and two starting zeroes.
Corn 165 – Beauty 131: This was a slugfest between two contenders, but the Corn came out on top thanks to Justin Fields (36) and Tyreek Hill (34). Beauty’s leading Beasts were the Saints D (39) and Jalen Hurts (29).
Lightning 107 – Midgets 82: Imposter Alert! Imposter Alert! The league’s 4-1 team sleepwalked to another win this week? Hmmmm. Gabe Davis (22) and CJ Stroud (14) led the effort, while the Midgets had the Motor City Connection of Jared Goff (27) and Josh Reynolds (17) and … not much else.
1s 132 — Moops 112: The Bright 1s picked up the W, but at what cost? Leading scorer Devon Achane (25) is heading to the IR along with Anthony Richardson (4). The Moops were led by Puka Nacua (20) and Darren Waller (16).
Next Week
- Moops @ Brothers: Mercy!
- Midgets @ Bright 1s
- Beauty @ Heroes
- Megatron @ No Names
- Lightning @ Turtles
- Monkeys @ Corn
Hope yall have a great weekend and enjoy the football!
The Commish