It was not only a slow start concerning the pro football predictions (0-2-1) but two weeks ago my predictions in college football were (0-3).
Tonight Florida State will survive at Boston College winning (37-31).
Tomorrow night Alabama will be very impressive in its win vs Mississippi. Let’s say (34-16).
Auburn will upset LSU at Baton Rouge, winning (36-34).
One more than the usual three, an improved Syracuse team to win decisively, say (30-13) vs Central Michigan.
The WNBA playoffs begin with two games tonight. In one game, the East two seed Chicago Sky with league MVP, Elena Delle Donne host the Indiana Fever. Next, the defending champion Phoenix Mercury host the Tulsa Shock.
Unless the Shock pull a big upset/minor “shock” and advance vs the Mercury, Saturday’s game two vs the Mercury in Tulsa, will be the Shock’s last game in Tulsa.
Tomorrow night the top ranked New York Liberty host the Washington Mystics while the favorite to win it all, the Minnesota Lynx host the LA Sparks.
All “chalk” predictions are the Sky and Liberty in two straight games in the East while both the Lynx and Mercury will be extended to a third and decisive game before advancing.
If those 4 teams win, it sets up two compelling semi-final series. No matter what the results, at this time next week I will have WNBA semi-final series predictions.
Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky
I was stretching my thinking to come up with my feelings about the end of the Dallas Cowboys’ Sunday night home win vs the New York Giants. Then I saw this “take OFF” on it from the beautiful Paulina, a dancer at the wonderful Vivid Cabaret:
Paulina is a beautiful woman with perspective.
Recently I had a wonderful experience seeing a performance of the play “Stripped” at the Tank Theater (151 West 46th Street).
This powerful, moving, emotional and yes at times, humorous play about a relationship and relationships moved me greatly. Surely it moved others as the two actors Sara Fay George as “Emma” and Timothy Hopfner as “George” received a well deserved ovation.
Playwright Stephen Clark wrote “Stripped” in 2003 making it ahead of its time, even though the world and mores of relationships had changed. In fact, this remarkable writing is ahead of the curve and change, even in 2015.
The two actors are seen preparing for a magazine ad induced blind date which leads to revelation, introspection, and truly revealing “between the eyes” reality between the attractive duo.
The beautiful “result” resonates with anyone who successfully, unsuccessfully or somewhere in between tried to navigate the course not only in a romantic relationship, but did any real “digging” into true emotions.
Both Ms. George and Mr. Hopfner give heartfelt, brilliant performances and Mr. Clark’s writing is beyond and better than first rate. There is great direction by Monika Gossmann.
Three performances remain at The Tank Theater (151 West 46th Street in New York City). The first is Friday night September 18th at 7 pm, next on Saturday Sept. 19 also at 7, with the final performance on Sunday afternoon Sept. 20th at 3 pm.
Click the links below for reservations and more information.
RESERVATIONS: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2080821
www.thetanknyc.org http://teamonfireproductions.jimdo.com
Currently there is an all Texas baseball series, easily the biggest in the brief history of possible such events in the regular season, between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros.
Texas in their 55th season, 44th since becoming the Texas Rangers after being the expansion Washington Senators, has moved within a half game of the Astros in the AL West.
Neither the Astros in their 54th season and third in the American League, nor Rangers have ever won a World Series, with two of the World Series appearances belonging to Texas.
Coincidentally the other team firmly in the qualification race, (in their case the only realistic possibility is for the bogus wild card), are the Minnesota Twins, the franchise that also was the Washington Senators, the original ones, which became the Twins upon moving to Minnesota for the 1961 season.
In the end, Novak Djokovic and Flavia Pennetta prevailed at the US Open Tennis Tournament. For Pennetta, it was her first major title while the incredible Djokovic won his tenth.
Perhaps the biggest baseball game of the weekend manifested in a Houston Astros’ comeback win at Los Angeles, vs the Angels yesterday. The “Stros” trailed (3-0) going to the top of the 9th but avoided a 3 game sweep with a 5 run rally to win and are one and a half games ahead of the Texas Rangers in the AL West.
Houston is also in a possible battle with Texas, the Angels and Minnesota Twins for a playoff berth.
As far as the monolith that is the NFL, two things resonate with me after the first week of play.
The lesser one is that my record is (0-5-1) on three predictions each in week one of both college and pro football.
More important, the failure in my predictions means/meant little if anything. I purposely stayed away from the television(s) and saw only Denver hold off Baltimore, five minutes watched, if that.
If I, who once watched every possible minute, can walk away so can you!
Flavia Pennetta Wins The US Open and Retires, Kudos on Both
Some say all Hannah Storm (nee Hannah Storen as in the daughter of once ABA commissioner Mike Storen, as Gatsby knew “connections”) can do is read from a teleprompter.
On Friday after Roberta Vinci upset Serena Williams, she failed in that and not knowing caused an egregious Storm error.
In citing other big sports upsets, Storm said the upset win by the United States hockey team in the Winter Olympics semi-finals vs the Soviet Union was in 1988.
Of course even most casual sports fans know the game cited was played in 1980.
Once Storm welcomed us back to the wrong arena in the 1993 NBA Finals and far worse clamored for her school (Notre Dame), which still plays on her then network (NBC) to be voted national champions after Florida State’s win vs Nebraska after the 1993 season.
Hannah Storm: Why her and others like her?!!
It always pains me to go along with the crowd which is in itself being sheeplike, by not ever wanting to be as a sheep/follower, but I do agree with the masses that the Indianapolis Colts and their, to this point over rated quarterback, Andrew Luck will win the AFC South.
The Houston Texans will improve and finish second.
Jacksonville (Jaguars) will be next.
The Tennessee Titans will finish last.
Did you ever notice that so often in giving their season record predictions some forecasters do not add correctly and give figures that can not possibly occur.
Having given some team record predictions and not willing to make them all add up, I will not give projected records here. Lazy yes, but at least accurate and honest.
It will be an all-Italian women’s final at the US Open, that manifestation after two big upsets on Friday.
In yesterday’s first women’s semi-final match, two and a half to one underdog, Flavia Pannetta upset second seed Simona Halep.
Next came a shocker, but not quite the seismic upset the media is proclaiming it out to be.
Roberta Vinci, a nine to one underdog, spoiled top seed, Serena Williams’ bid to win the Grand Slam by prevailing in 3 sets.
Three is the operative number as that was the length in minutes of Williams’ post match press conference. She gets the ads and soaks up the glory, but alas the test in life is when you fail and Williams at least yesterday did the “bail.”
Finally on the subject of odds, the abrasive, but face it correct on much of the evil that is sports, Howard Cosell warned of the emergence of a glorified tout named Mike Francesa. The horror is that he and so many others bereft of class and true skill, permeate the airwaves.
Add to that, Francesa said Vinci was a 300 to one underdog, showing he could not even get it right concerning the insidious subculture of gambling from which he emerged.
Roberta Vinci ‘s Look and How I Feel
It was almost exactly 30 years ago today that the Toronto Blue jays and New York Yankees met in a very meaningful 4 game series at Yankee Stadium.
What would have been a repeat 30 years later is spoiled by you guessed it, the presence of the wild card team in baseball.
In 1985 the winner of the AL East (’twas the Blue Jays, who won 3 of 4 at Yankee Stadium that weekend 30 years ago and eventually the division title) moved on, while the non winner went home.
That likely is not the case this year, as both teams have the “safety net” of an almost certain playoffs qualification, even if they do not win the division.
The Kansas City Royals, the likely American League top seed this season, beat the Blue Jays in seven games in the 1985 ALCS en route to winning their lone World Series.
