July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Sleep trumped Colts' comeback (10/07/03)
Rays of Enlightenment
I haven’t written a column in a while, so I figured it was time for some random thoughts:
I went to bed
at the conclusion of the Red Sox/A’s game with the Colts trailing the Buccaneers by 21. I woke up this morning to here ESPN’s Bob Picozzi tell me Indianapolis had rallied for a 38-35 overtime win.
I immediately headed to the TV to catch the highlights to find they not only came back, but rallied with 21 points in the final four minutes against the “best” defense in the NFL. Amazing.
The penalty called against Simeon Rice on Mike Vanderjagt’s missed kick was ridiculous, but Jon Gruden correctly pointed out that his team had plenty of chances to put the game away well before the referees got involved. If a team deserves to win a game, officiating can almost never deny it the victory.
Tampa Bay didn’t deserve to win. The Colts did.
It has been
an obviously difficult season for Jay County football. That said, a deep sectional run is not out of the question.
Despite the 1-6 record, the Patriots could be in the sectional championship game if they get their act together. The Sectional 12 grouping is perhaps the most lopsided in the state, with No. 1 Delta and No. 5 Muncie Central on the top side.
However, no other team in the draw has accrued more than two wins.
Those squads include Pendleton Heights, Greenfield and Muncie Southside, all 2-5, Connersville (1-5), Jay County and New Castle (0-7). Five of those teams are among the bottom 11 in the Sagarin Ratings in class 4A.
If any of those teams is lucky enough to get on the opposite side of the bracket as the big two in this evening’s draw they could be in the finals.
It seems I know nothing
about the NFL. In my season preview I discussed how much I liked the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, and that I wasn’t sold on the Kansas City Chiefs. After five weeks the Chiefs are 5-0 while the Chargers and Saints are a combined 1-9.
One of the events
I’ve been anticipating most is tonight’s volleyball match between Fort Recovery and No. 1 St. Henry. It should be an epic battle.
The volleyball season is nearing the end, although the Tribe should be hoping to make a deep run in the state tournament.
No matter what their tourney result, this is a special group of players. Get to the court to see them while you still can.
Baseball players
need to forget about the famous Pete Rose-Ray Fosse play. During the divisional playoffs I saw catchers bowled over time after time, each collision resulting in an out.
In each case if the player had just tried a strategic slide around or under the tag — especially in the case of the series-ending out by J.T. Snow of the Giants — they would have had a much better chance to score.
An even better example is Eric Byrnes of Oakland, who half-slid and successfully knocked the ball away from Boston catcher Jason Varitek, but was still tagged out as he headed back to the dugout because he never touched home plate.
My predictions may be
wacky, but one thing I do know about the NFL is that two of its most amazing coaches are Bill Parcells and Dick Vermeil.
Vermeil turned a pathetic St. Louis franchise around, and now he has a real Super Bowl contender in Kansas City. It took him just three years.
No matter what the Cowboys do the rest of the year, Parcells has turned America’s Team around. No one picked it to go to the playoffs, but a win at home over Philadelphia this week would put it in control of the NFC East.
Finally,
it’s time to say good-bye to one of our young athletes.
Josh Johnson, quarterback of the freshman football team, has played his last game as a Patriot. He and his family will be moving to Arizona this weekend.
The always confident Johnson — sometimes too confident, but always fun to watch — had quite the successful year for the team. He finished 28-of-40 passing (70 percent) for 394 yards.
Johnson tossed eight touchdown passes, and also carried the ball 27 times for 143 yards. He had 17 tackles for the Patriot defense.
Jay County will certainly be missing out as he spends most of his high school career in the desert. If he works hard, I’m sure his mix of talent and confidence will carry him a long way.
So, I’m taking this opportunity to say “good luck Josh.” If you get the chance this week, please do the same.[[In-content Ad]]
I went to bed
at the conclusion of the Red Sox/A’s game with the Colts trailing the Buccaneers by 21. I woke up this morning to here ESPN’s Bob Picozzi tell me Indianapolis had rallied for a 38-35 overtime win.
I immediately headed to the TV to catch the highlights to find they not only came back, but rallied with 21 points in the final four minutes against the “best” defense in the NFL. Amazing.
The penalty called against Simeon Rice on Mike Vanderjagt’s missed kick was ridiculous, but Jon Gruden correctly pointed out that his team had plenty of chances to put the game away well before the referees got involved. If a team deserves to win a game, officiating can almost never deny it the victory.
Tampa Bay didn’t deserve to win. The Colts did.
It has been
an obviously difficult season for Jay County football. That said, a deep sectional run is not out of the question.
Despite the 1-6 record, the Patriots could be in the sectional championship game if they get their act together. The Sectional 12 grouping is perhaps the most lopsided in the state, with No. 1 Delta and No. 5 Muncie Central on the top side.
However, no other team in the draw has accrued more than two wins.
Those squads include Pendleton Heights, Greenfield and Muncie Southside, all 2-5, Connersville (1-5), Jay County and New Castle (0-7). Five of those teams are among the bottom 11 in the Sagarin Ratings in class 4A.
If any of those teams is lucky enough to get on the opposite side of the bracket as the big two in this evening’s draw they could be in the finals.
It seems I know nothing
about the NFL. In my season preview I discussed how much I liked the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, and that I wasn’t sold on the Kansas City Chiefs. After five weeks the Chiefs are 5-0 while the Chargers and Saints are a combined 1-9.
One of the events
I’ve been anticipating most is tonight’s volleyball match between Fort Recovery and No. 1 St. Henry. It should be an epic battle.
The volleyball season is nearing the end, although the Tribe should be hoping to make a deep run in the state tournament.
No matter what their tourney result, this is a special group of players. Get to the court to see them while you still can.
Baseball players
need to forget about the famous Pete Rose-Ray Fosse play. During the divisional playoffs I saw catchers bowled over time after time, each collision resulting in an out.
In each case if the player had just tried a strategic slide around or under the tag — especially in the case of the series-ending out by J.T. Snow of the Giants — they would have had a much better chance to score.
An even better example is Eric Byrnes of Oakland, who half-slid and successfully knocked the ball away from Boston catcher Jason Varitek, but was still tagged out as he headed back to the dugout because he never touched home plate.
My predictions may be
wacky, but one thing I do know about the NFL is that two of its most amazing coaches are Bill Parcells and Dick Vermeil.
Vermeil turned a pathetic St. Louis franchise around, and now he has a real Super Bowl contender in Kansas City. It took him just three years.
No matter what the Cowboys do the rest of the year, Parcells has turned America’s Team around. No one picked it to go to the playoffs, but a win at home over Philadelphia this week would put it in control of the NFC East.
Finally,
it’s time to say good-bye to one of our young athletes.
Josh Johnson, quarterback of the freshman football team, has played his last game as a Patriot. He and his family will be moving to Arizona this weekend.
The always confident Johnson — sometimes too confident, but always fun to watch — had quite the successful year for the team. He finished 28-of-40 passing (70 percent) for 394 yards.
Johnson tossed eight touchdown passes, and also carried the ball 27 times for 143 yards. He had 17 tackles for the Patriot defense.
Jay County will certainly be missing out as he spends most of his high school career in the desert. If he works hard, I’m sure his mix of talent and confidence will carry him a long way.
So, I’m taking this opportunity to say “good luck Josh.” If you get the chance this week, please do the same.[[In-content Ad]]
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