I was looking at some football stuff on Tuesday night, and I noticed that the World Series game was close, so I turned it on, out of curiosity. I give baseball a hard time for being boring, stuck in the past, rife with crybabies, so I thought I’d give it a chance.
My verdict: same old baseball, with some new stuff added to make it worse.
When I switched on the game, they were in the middle of discussing the controversial play at first base, the subsequent upholding of that terrible call by replay review, and the ridiculous temper tantrum by Washington’s manager. The whole sequence combined some of the worst things I remember about baseball, idiot managers (dressed like players?!?) acting ridiculous, awful umpiring, with a new wrinkle, replay review failing to correct an obvious mistake.
(Aside: Are there any officials in pro sports WORSE that umpires? Say what you want about hockey, basketball, soccer, even football officials, they at least have to be athletic, and they don’t try to make the game about them. MLB umpires are THE WORST!)
So, I’m still giving a baseball a pass. I’m not alone, though. As it does every year, Sunday Night Football crushed World Series Game Five in the ratings. America has spoken, and its game is football.
Thursday Night
San Francisco at Arizona
Fact: I have been skeptical about San Francisco since the beginning of the season.
Fact: Despite their success, I have maintained some skepticism throughout.
Fact: San Fran is 7-0.
The niners’ defence has been spectacular this season; there’s no arguing with that. As well, the team comes into this contest having just hung a big old 51 on the scoreboard against Carolina. And, yet, I’m still not sure about their offence, particularly Jimmy Garoppolo. It’s not necessarily their (or his) fault; they (and he) haven’t really had to do much. Case in point: during their shellacking of Carolina, San Fran had TD drives that covered 27, 58, 5, and 41 yards, thanks to their defence. The offence also surrendered a Safety. Perhaps I’m being too stubborn (wouldn’t be the first time). After all, San Fran did sustain some long drives in the game as well.
All I know is that they’ll most likely be 8-0 after this game, and I likely still won’t be convinced. Upcoming contests against Seattle, Green Bay, and New Orleans will give a better measure of what to expect from this team come playoff time.
Winner: San Francisco