Checking in on some sports things

Hope everybody is hanging in there, and most importantly staying healthy in these challenging times. I wish I could give you some sports news, but without sports, it’s tough to do. But I do have a couple of thoughts I wanted to run by you.

1. I was thinking about this, this morning and emailing with a friend of mine about it. Bo Nix versus Mac Jones or Bryce Young in Bryant-Denny in late November should be spectacular. Both teams should be excellent. Alabama has Najee Harris, Dylan Moses, the great DeVonta Smith and the powerful Alex Leatherwood back along with superb talent, including a sophomore class that learned so much from last year’s playing experience and is supremely talented. Linebackers Christian Harris and Shane Lee should be forces along with Moses. Auburn lost some players, but returns a lot. Seth Williams is back for Bo Nix and so is Anthony Schwarz, Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby, the 6.0, 4 star from Georgia, will be a stud at running back. There will be some more talented skill players. There will be some new players on the offensive line, but there is size, physicality, depth and talent there. I always like the defense under Kevin Steele. Sets up for a classic Iron Bowl Saturday, November 28th with CBS televising and time most likely at 2:30 PM CT. We’re not sure when college football season will start, but when it does, the blog will be ready to break it down with you and get us back to having a blast. Georgia, LSU, Florida and Tennessee should have outstanding teams next season as well. I’m looking forward to watching Kiff ( Ole Miss) and Leach (State) roam the sidelines. Missouri will have a new coach in Eli Drinkwitz, who came over from App State, where he had massive success in his first year, South Carolina is going to be better. Will Muschamp has recruited well the last couple of years and I like quarterback Ryan Hilinski coming back for his sophomore season. Kentucky will be solid once again under Mark Stoops. Mark is doing a super job in Lexington and they’re climbing their way up to the upper echelon of the SEC, certainly in the East. He recruits very well and can really coach’em up. Arkansas is still rebuilding now with first year coach Sam Pittman, the former offensive line coach at Georgia where he was highly successful, takes over. Seems like a solid man who can really recruit so he can possibly get that program going back in the right direction. I’m hopeful my Vanderbilt Commodores can get to a bowl game and build from there. Derek Mason has hired a new offensive coordinator, Todd Fitch from LA Tech, who has had good results at LA Tech and sounds really sharp. Mason also hired Ted Roof as defensive coordinator. Roof, a savvy veteran who was at Auburn for the 2010 national championship season, is coming off a year at App State as DC where his defense was the 18th ranked scoring defense in the country. Mason hired 3 or 4 new coaches as well. So he’s trying his best to turn it around. I’m just going to be supportive. He’s a good guy and I want him to succeed.

   So, when the season gets started, it’ll be spectacular. Clemson, of course, with Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne and Justin Rogers back on offense, the talent there, and the No.1 recruiting class in the country coming in, will, along with Alabama and some others, not counting out AU either, be the favorites to be in the playoff and win it all. Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Oklahoma will be powerhouses. I like Minnesota as a sleeper nationally. P.J, Fleck proved with his convincing victory over the Auburn Tigers in the Outback Bowl, 31-24, that his program is for real. So the season will be electric when it gets cranking. UAB under Bill Clark will be a potentially excellent team with a lot of players returning from last year’s 9-4 squad which was considered a rebuilding year by many in the program. Believe in what Bill is doing on the Southside and it’s just going to keep getting better.

2. Really would have been an exceptional NCAA Basketball Tournament this year with so many contenders. My Final Four was Duke, Gonzaga, Dayton and Michigan State, with Gonzaga over Duke in the championship. Watched Mark Few’s team in the West Coast Conference Tournament, which is a very solid conference, and was very impressed. We’ll get back to it next season. Pearly has the Tigers positioned for greatness and pulling for Nate Oats to do the same for the Crimson Tide. UAB hired Andy Kennedy as its next coach. Andy has got an awesome personality, he’s hilarious on the SEC Network, he’ll be able to recruit well though the recruiting competition in this state and around the state will be fierce. But he’s learned a lot from his previous jobs at Ole Miss and Cincinnati and he’ll put the Blazers back on the map as a tourney team which is where the program belongs.

3. I was disappointed that college baseball was cancelled but there was no choice for NCAA President Mark Emmert. Would have liked to have seen my Commodores try for a back to back national championships though the competition would have been very intense. Alabama had really improved and looked to be a solid team and Auburn has had it going for a while and looked primed for a big season. Then you have Florida, which was No.1 when the season was cancelled and won it all in 2017, Georgia was a top 10 team, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and LSU were outstanding teams. Would have been quite a tussle in the always brutal SEC to see which team could emerge as the SEC champion. There were probably going to be 10 teams from the conference make the NCAA Tournament. When MLB starts, I’ll have my preseason preview and predictions. Like what I’m seeing from the Atlanta Braves. Bravos should have a shot to win it all this season. The Yankees are back and stacked this season. The defending champion Nationals will give the Braves everything they want in the NL East. The LA Angels have added former Nationals stud third baseman Anthony Rendon to go along with the phenomenal Mike Trout, so they should be highly relevant. The NL East also has the Phillies with Bryce Harper and a ton of talent and the Mets have great arms. Of course, the Dodgers will be loaded after adding Mookie Betts and David Price in the offseason. The Astros, if they can handle the fan abuse, which may not be much after this crisis we’ve gone through and it shouldn’t be, are super talented and always have a shot. So MLB will also be electric. The NBA playoffs should be spectacular, and if you’ve never watched the NHL playoffs, I highly recommend it. It will have you on the edge of your seat. The blog will preview and predict both when they return.

4. The PGA Tour is on hiatus right now. We’ll have the majors at some point. They’re talking about the Masters taking place in October, and I can live with that and will be just as pumped. Gotta figure out the other majors. The PGA Championship has also been postponed and the U.S, Open and even the Open Championship could be in peril. Also, hoping the 43rd Ryder Cup will be played at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, a classic course. The PGA Championship is scheduled for Harding Park in San Francisco, the U.S. Open is at Winged Foot and the Open Championship is scheduled to take place at Royal St. George’s in England. The U.S.Open is June 18-21, and the Open Championship is July 16-19. The Ryder Cup is scheduled to take place Sept. 25th-27th. Really want to see these events take place, but know this is an extraordinarily unusual time, so will have to be patient and know that peoples’ safety comes first. It’ll come back next year and we’ll get some of it in this year most likely.

5. The Kentucky Derby has been pushed back to September. Not sure about Preakness and Belmont. Will keep you posted on those and preview and predict all 3 as 3 year old thoroughbreds Run for the Roses and attempt to win the Triple Crown.

6. Finally, a movie I know you’d enjoy that I watched yesterday is called Full Count. It’s the story of a young boy who wants to make it in the majors and works with his dad on a farm in Watkinsville, GA. Incredibly entertaining and inspirational movie. Highly recommend it.

Will check back in as soon as I have more. Take care of yourself and your family. God Bless.