Some thoughts after Week 11 in the NFL:<\/p>\n
1) Hallelujah. The war between Disney and YouTube TV has finally come to a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
An armistice has been signed between the two television broadcast giants (YouTube TV is a subsidiary of Google). No, it\u2019s not the same thing as V-E Day or V-J Day some 80 years ago. But for the sports fan, especially the football fan when the game is in season, it feels like that. On Monday night, I got to sit in front of my flatscreen and I got to listen to Joe Buck and the Hall of Famer Troy Aikman once again.<\/p>\n
This is something that has happened before, and should never, ever happen. DirecTV has had run-ins with both NBC and CBS, and in both cases, there was an absence of their networks for about the same length of time as this one. An obscene amount of money (q.v. Pretty Woman<\/em>) is lost when these shutdowns happen. Actually, this resembles the recent US government shutdown in terms of fiscal effect on all parties involved. When this happens, it\u2019s hard to pick which side is the stupid side, when in reality, both sides are being stupid.<\/p>\n Oh well, time to cease being grumpy. Game on Monday night.<\/p>\n 2) Madrid got a decent game, just like Berlin did. Miami won in overtime, and the Spanish crowd was very entertained. Never mind that some top players were injured and did not play. Chances are the Spaniards didn\u2019t know or care.<\/p>\n The only thing, and Roger Goodell will never call me for my take on this, in my honest opinion, if you want to put an NFL team in Spain, I prefer Barcelona. It is a former Summer Olympic Games host, so they know about big-time events. It\u2019s closer to the ocean\/sea and perhaps Spain\u2019s hottest tourist\/vacation spot. The shots in and around Barcelona, despite it being 33 years ago, are still clear in my mental imagery.<\/p>\n So therefore, my first four European cities to get an NFL team are London, Berlin, Munich, and Barcelona. Make them a division unto themselves, and please figure out a good and reasonable schedule for each of these teams.<\/p>\n 3) Geek of the week:<\/strong> Whichever official called that pass interference on Detroit\u2019s Rock Ya-Sin which decided the winner of the Sunday night game at Philadelphia. If anything, A.J. Brown pushed off on Ya-Sin, and OPI should have been the call. Give the Eagles credit for shutting down the Lions\u2019 offense, but when officials decide games with questionable calls, it demeans the game involved and the entire sport.<\/p>\n 4) One guy who is definitely not a geek is Gene Steratore. In the olden days, this guy was famous for popularizing the credit card (or business card?) for its usage in determining if an offensive team had or had not made the line to gain for a first down.<\/p>\n It\u2019s now been several years later. Steratore has retired from officiating. CBS scooped him up as their rule and call advisor. As of right now, Steratore has emerged as the best in the business at what he does.<\/p>\n 5) The genesis of this now-mandatory element of football on television involves the Patriots. The Tuck Rule Game was instantly controversial, but it literally launched the Patriot dynasty when Walt Coleman spoke the words \u201cAfter review, the quarterback\u2019s arm was going forward\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n When the game ended, they threw the broadcast back to CBS\u2019s studio in New York. Jim Nantz was the studio host back then, and he asked the panelists their take on the game and the controversial call. Mike Ditka answered first, saying \u201cWell, Mike just got through explaining it to you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMike\u201d in this case, whom Ditka was referencing, was Mike Pereira, who back then was in charge of NFL officials. After the other panelists had their say, Nantz said \u201cA few minutes ago, I talked with Mike Pereira, head of NFL officiating, and he walked me through the entire process and why the call of incomplete pass was correct.\u201d<\/p>\n This explanation of perhaps the most costly penalty in Raider history and the most fortuitous penalty in Patriot history helped Pereira eventually ply his craft on TV during the broadcasts. As if they seem pre-ordained to start all new gimmicks (the Fox Box, the blue hockey puck, among other things), Fox hired Pereira to watch all the games in Los Angeles and interrupt when needed or asked for to explain a situation, clarify the rules, and tell the viewers how he would rule on the play. Not long after, all the networks moved quickly and hired their own rules expert, usually recently retired referees.<\/p>\n In the ensuing years, Pereira started it and for many years was the gold standard. Today, it is Steratore. He is clear, accurate, and comes off as the most expert of all who do this. In addition to his football duties, Steratore is also CBS\u2019 basketball rules expert and call explainer. Steratore is a former NCAA basketball official who has worked several March Madness games, among many others.<\/p>\n Now, if they will only stop bringing up that darned credit card\u2026<\/p>\n 6) Back to school:<\/strong> This year, college football now stops the clock with two minutes to go in the second and fourth quarter. This is a welcome addition to college football. The problem is, college football calls it the \u201ctwo minute timeout\u201d instead of the \u201ctwo minute warning\u201d. Just wondering why this is the case. Is this just an attempt to distance themselves from the NFL? They just want to be different? I have been a football fan since about 1966. For almost sixty years it\u2019s been called \u201ctwo minute warning\u201d in my living rooms and play rooms down and through the years. Is it too much to ask college football to use the same vernacular as the NFL? How would you view football if the NFL used the term \u201ctouchdown\u201d but college football used the term \u201ctouch up\u201d?<\/p>\n 7) What did you all think of those \u201crivalry jerseys\u201d the Patriots wore on Thursday night?<\/p>\n At first, I was reminded of the Red Sox \u201ccity connect\u201d uniforms. They don\u2019t look real good, but the Red Sox play well in them. This is especially true for the yellow and blue uniforms which pay homage to the finish line for the Boston Marathon in Copley Square. The Sox do not look particularly good in them, but their record in games wearing them is quite good. In 2025 they broke out a second set of those uniforms, these ones resembling the left field scoreboard.<\/p>\n For the Red Sox, the original unis are iconic.<\/p>\n But these new Patriot uniforms? I\u2019m thinking it over. The ones they have scream out, \u201cWhy the switch? The previous ones were fine!\u201d<\/p>\n And there are those who prefer red shirts and Pat Patriot.<\/p>\n 8) Admit it: that Buffalo-Tampa Bay game was fun to watch\u2026until Buffalo took the lead for good and won the game.<\/p>\n This game was a ton of fun for all you fantasy football devotees who played Josh Allen as your quarterback.<\/p>\n Six touchdowns. Three of them were rushes. In most leagues, a quarterback gets only four points for a passing touchdown, but six for a rushing touchdown. That adds on to all the passing yardage at 2.5 cents on the dollar. Leaving the math out of it, it was one heck of a game for the pride of Firebaugh, California.<\/p>\n 9) They showed Chicago kicker Chiro Santos getting the game ball for his game-winning field goal at Minnesota. He goes into this brief dance step with the player standing next to him. Santos looked pretty good doing it, perhaps he should go on America\u2019s Got Talent and see what shakes.<\/p>\n 10) Remember him:<\/strong> Two weeks ago, Cincinnati lost one of their most visible and famous former players, and all football fans lost a great former announcer. Bob Trumpy was one of the top tight ends in NFL history, certainly the best in Bengals history. He finished his career with 298 catches for 4600 yards and 35 touchdowns. But he is best remembered as one of the best broadcasting analysts ever. He worked many years for NBC, working with such men as Sam Nover, Bob Costas and Don Criqui. He would later work Super Bowls with Dick Enberg. Trumpy was also known for his radio work for NBC. He was inducted into the broadcasting wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. Sadly, Trumpy passed away about two weeks ago, on November 2. Of all the former athletes who later become broadcasters, Trumpy was indeed one of the great ones.<\/p>\n 11) As we welcome back ESPN into our homes on Monday nights, we are reminded of the unspeakable tragedy the Dallas Cowboys suffered during their bye week. The death by suicide of defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland on November 6 has brought suicide back into the sports fandom consciousness, as well as the entire NFL. Perhaps most uplifting is the fact that Dallas\u2019 opponent, the Las Vegas Raiders, wore black t-shirts that said on the backs \u201cSuicide Prevention 988\u201d. Kneeland seemed like an upbeat and driven player with his whole career and life in front of him when he suddenly left this world. In my 40 years of being a teacher, one student of mine took her life during a recent summer. I asked our school counselor \u201cWhy did this happen? She never exhibited any signs that she was suicidal!\u201d All you can do is tell everyone that help is available, and how to get that help when you need it.<\/p>\n 12) JaMarr Chase spit on Jalen Ramsey this past Sunday and got a suspension. Will that help the Patriots this coming weekend?<\/p>\n We\u2019re on to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n 13) Talk to me about why the Patriots only scored 27 points against the Jets last week when they should have scored maybe 47.<\/p>\n We\u2019re on to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n 14) How badly hurt is Milton Williams, and does he expect to miss playing time?<\/p>\n We\u2019re on to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n 15) Any update on Kayshon Boutte and Rhamondre Stevenson?<\/p>\n We\u2019re on to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n 16) Denver won and beats you in a tiebreaker. What are your thoughts of the AFC championship going through Denver and not Foxborough?<\/p>\n We\u2019re on to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n 17) So, will UNC make it to a bowl game?<\/p>\n We\u2019re on to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n 18) If the Giants come calling with a head coach job offer, do you take it?<\/p>\n We\u2019re on to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n 19) Did you think the Red Sox got jobbed when Ed Armbrister was not called for interference in Game 3 of the 1975 World Series?<\/p>\n We\u2019re on to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n 20) But coach, that play did happen in Cincinnati?<\/p>\n We\u2019re on to Cincinnati.<\/p>\n Aaaah, memories. That season ended with a Patriots Super Bowl win. Good times are back. Enjoy, one and all.<\/p>\n