What's there to talk about in the sports world on this, the 12th day of October?
Hmmm....
In the NFL, you got some surprise teams on the good side (Lions, Bills, Niners), some on the bad side (Eagles, Falcons, Jets), dominant QBs and the defending champs looking every bit the part so far this year.
In college football, the SEC is once again making waves, with a November matchup between LSU and Alabama acting almost as a play-in game for the BCS championship in January. Also in this neck of the woods, you have the already bowl-eligible Illinois, 6-0 and facing Theeeeeeeeeee Reeling Ohio State Buckeyes.
In baseball, the playoffs have some exciting teams still left. Personally, I'd love to see a Verlander vs. Carpenter matchup in a week with a World Series game on the line.
Hockey season just opened, so for those into hockey, there's that.
So what about basketball? Yeah, not getting your blood bubbling that they're locked out?
I'm sure there are those diehard fans that are missing the sport and will miss watching the season from November through April, but when is the NBA our primary focus at this time of the year anyways? Most NBA fans I know are fans of one of the above sports more. I haven't heard much complaining about the NBA getting locked out, potentially for an entire season.
I also got a couple gambling friends who will be missing NBA if it's not in session, especially for the day-to-day fix that NBA feeds for gamblers. Look at it as a way to save some money, gents.
I don't mind a shortened season (50 games like 1998-99), since it will make the regular season games mean more. I would be disappointed if the season was cancelled, but my expectation of the season being done for is making it easier to deal with that possibility.
When the dark days of sports are accompanied by the dark days of winter in February and the Packers finish repeating as NFL champions, that's when most of us will notice the lull in the sports world and the sports depression will set in. If you're an NBA fan, I predict this is when the lack of NBA will affect you the most.
In the meantime, enjoy the best sports month of the year in the best weather month of the year.
Go Niners and Illini.
