By J. Daniel Pearson
For Positively Osceola
Discussions of what the future holds for the College Football Playoffs began heating up again last week, as the committee begins deciding what the new playoffs will look like when the current contract expires. One model that was discussed is a 12-team playoff where the six highest-ranked conference champions would get in, as well as six at-large teams. This format would ensure the highest-ranked non-power 5 teams would get in, which if that format was used this year it most likely would be Cincinnati. My gut feeling is many fans would be okay with this, but don’t think for a minute that the SEC is going to sit still for this. Commissioner Greg Stanky said as much when he pointed out that Florida, which was ranked 7th last year after narrowly losing an SEC championships game to eventual champion Alabama should get in before “…we put in a 20th, 17th, or 16th ranked conference champion” Furthermore, some leagues, including the ACC, are pushing for an eight-team playoff where all Power 5 champions are automatically included. I have a lot of mixed feelings on a lot of this but understand one thing – the real power brokers in college football will do whatever is necessary to ensure their interests will come first and “being fair” or “providing more access to the little guys” is going to be about number 4,567 on their list of priorities…
Speaking of Florida, has any team in the state had a more disappointing year or have been harder to figure out? Even after a 31-29 home loss/moral victory to Alabama in Week 3, many Gator fans were convinced their team was one of the best in the country. Fast forward to today when Florida has now lost four of their last five and fans are more than grumbling about Dan Mullen and his future as head coach…
Not sure about you, but the autocorrect feature on my phone makes me say things I didn’t Nintendo…
With so much money in pro sports, it’s understandable why a lot of guys hang on and play well past their prime. Many years ago, a 40-year-old Patrick Ewing was asked why he was still playing in the NBA while averaging six points a game for the Orlando Magic and he replied “millions of dollars a year, private jets and 5-star hotels, what’s not to like?” Still, there is something sad about watching once great warriors stumbling around the diamond, court or gridiron just for a paycheck. This brings us to the subject of , who announced his retirement from baseball last week at the age of 34. Posey, a seven-time all-star, 3-time World Series champion, and former MVP, walks away from the game after a season where he hit .302 and will receive some votes for MVP. Like Barry Sanders and a few others, Posey is stepping away while he is still one of the best players in his sport. And while he cited the grind and pain of playing a taxing position, he still was absolutely one of the best players in the game and walks away on top of his game. There’s something refreshing about that…
The ridiculous argument that the best team in college football could beat the worst team in the NFL should be further put to rest yesterday when the worst team in the NFL (Jacksonville) beat one of the best teams in the NFL (Buffalo) on Sunday. The fact remains is the worst team in the NFL has 22 guys starting in the NFL and has 33 other guys good enough to play in the NFL and right now the best team has exactly zero players in the NFL and at best, a few years down the road, may have 20 guys make an NFL roster. It comes down to this…it’s still a “men vs. boys” argument and I will take the men every time….
Clocks were turned back on Saturday night, I would like to turn mine back to 1983. I am not a particular fan of daylight savings time as it never made much sense to me. I agree with the Native American saying “Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket”…
Leave it to the great Vin Scully to point out: “Would you believe in the year Hank Aaron passed away, the @braves won 44 games before the All-Star break, 44 games after the break, and won the World Series the 44th week of the year. Aaron, of course, wore #44. Maybe the Braves had a secret weapon after all”….
By evidence of their run to the playoffs this year, the St. Louis Cardinals continue to be one of the best-run organizations in all of baseball. Former Houston Astros manager Hal Lanier, who coached third base for Whitey Herzog in the World Series and spent several years in their minor league system, says it’s the way the organization pays attention to details that makes them a cut above many other teams. “It’s the way they teach, everything is the same from Class “A” to the Majors. They have an expectation and way of doing things and it always remains consistent.” Lanier also talked about the Cardinals’ emphasis in all phases of the game, including defense. It should be noted that the record five St. Louis Cardinals, including three infielders won “Gold Gloves” this season as the best defensive players at their position…
Y’all have a good week…
By: J. Daniel Pearson
For Positively Osceola
J. Daniel Pearson, a long-time resident of Osceola County, has joined Positively Osceola as a freelance contributor. His JD’s Monday Morning Musings column is a regular feature and he will be covering events for us throughout the year. Dan is a former Public Relations Specialist for Florida State University, Boardwalk and Baseball, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the Orlando Predators, and other professional sports teams and has been a freelance reporter to many newspapers in the state.
