12/21/24
November 06, 2017
SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Idle brain moment:
Proposing an AFC divisional realignment to shake things up a bit, which the NFL could stand to do, and also to become more geographically correct.
AFC East: Jets, Patriots, Ravens, Steelers
AFC North: Browns, Bengals, Bills, Colts
AFC South: Jaguars, Titans, Dolphins, Texans
- Taking the Dolphins out of the East reduces the weather advantages/disadvantages, such as the Pats playing in Miami in early Sept. or the Fins playing in Buffalo in late December.
- The Jets-Pats rivalry is preserved, and the Steelers-Ravens rivalry is added, giving the league a compelling double pole presence in the nation's major media region. Also, the Pats have well established nemesis relationships with the Steelers and Ravens.
- The Bengals-Browns rivalry is preserved in the North, and the Bills get to escape the shadow of the New England. And it allows Cincy and Indy to vie for their geographic region the way the Bears and Packers do.
- A Jags-Dolphins in-state rivalry would be created in the South, which would be more interesting than any divisional rivalry either of those teams currently has.
- The AFC West is left as is. KC could be a candidate to move out of the division, but the Chiefs-Raiders rivalry is too longstanding to break up, even if the Raiders move to Vegas.
posted by beaverboard at 08:42 AM on November 06, 2017
AFC North: Browns, Bengals, Bills, Colts
Bills : 5-3
Bengals : 3-5
Colts : 3-6
Browns : 0-8
Yes, please!
posted by grum@work at 08:58 AM on November 06, 2017
Auston Matthews is so fast and elusive he makes players headbutt the boards in frustration.
posted by grum@work at 09:05 AM on November 06, 2017
Other fun NHL stuff:
Matt Duchesne was traded in the middle of the game last night, and he snuck off the ice as his injured teammate was being helped off the ice.
Oh, and because this is how things go, his first two games with his new team (Ottawa Senators) will be against his old team (Colorado Avalanche) when they play a pair of games in Sweden this weekend.
posted by grum@work at 09:08 AM on November 06, 2017
Can someone please talk about how much fun the Celtics are? They've become the first Appointment Television for me in a few years.
posted by yerfatma at 11:03 AM on November 06, 2017
AFC North: Browns, Bengals, Bills, Colts
But that eliminates the Bengals-Steelers rivalry!!
2000s--Steelers 15-6
2010s--Steelers 13-3
Why wasn't this change made years ago?!
posted by tahoemoj at 12:58 PM on November 06, 2017
Can someone please talk about how much fun the Celtics are?
OK, Fatty, I can do that. Being a season ticket holder, I have opportunity galore to wax eloquent on the team. Last year they were a gritty, tenacious team that had a number of weaknesses that in the playoffs were exploited by opponents to make games closer than they should have been. This year most of those weaknesses have been eliminated, they have added length at the point, 2-guard, and small forward positions, and the defense at the point guard position is improved. No longer can opponents use a pick to isolate a taller shooter on a 5'9" Isaiah Thomas. They are still gritty and tenacious, but now there is an element of skill that borders at times on the artistic. Case in point last night was Jayson Tatum in the paint, drawing the double-team, and finding Al Horford with an excellent bounce pass for an open corner 3. Kyrie Irving and Al Horford have developed a 2-man game between them where Irving's dribble drive skills will draw defenders off of Horford to leave him wide open for shots. If the defenders go to Horford, he will return the pass to a cutting Irving for a layup or open medium range shot. The basketball is now a lot purer, for want of a better word, than it was last year, but the crowds in TD Garden are still on their feet many times per game.
Fatty, you live close enough that you can jump on the commuter rail to TD Garden. Some week night when my wife or kid can't make it, I will let you know, and you can come down and watch them with me.
posted by Howard_T at 06:40 PM on November 06, 2017
That would be great though I'd need a bit of advance warning. Unless it's next Thursday in which case I could be ready at a moment's notice!
posted by yerfatma at 10:54 AM on November 07, 2017
Marlins decline Ichiro option and Marlins looking to trade Stanton and Gordon.
It's like Derek Jeter is looking to kill any reason to follow the Marlins as a fan.