Red Sox 3, Yankees 1

 

What a great way to return to the post-season after a four-year absence!

New York scored first with a solo home run in the 2nd inning, but otherwise it was a Garrett Crochet pitching masterpiece for most of the game. He went 7⅔ innings, striking out 11 and allowing only four hits and no walks on 117 pitches. 

Masataka Yoshida gave the Sox the lead in the 7th with a two-RBI single, and Alex Bregman hit an RBI double in the 9th to give Boston a 3-1 lead. 

And then it almost all came apart. The normally untouchable Aroldis Chapman gave up three straight singles in the bottom of the 9th, tying up the bases with no outs. As you can imagine, the home crowd in Yankee Stadium went wild and despite all the noise and with the game-winning run on first, Chapman still had ice water in his veins, and got the next three batters out without allowing a run on two strikeouts and a pop fly.

The Boston Red Sox win their first post-season game since 2021.

Game 2 of this Wild Card series in tomorrow at 6:00. Brayan Bello (11-9, 3.35 during the regular season) will face Carlos Rodón (18-9, 3.09). Not to look ahead, but it would be great to win tomorrow and sweep the Yankees not only because Yankees suck, but also to get a little rest before facing Toronto in the ALDS. Whatever happens, happens, but never forget that this embattled Red Sox team not only made the playoffs this year, but won their first playoff game. 

Arctic Finale

 

I have not yet seen an official announcement, but the tracker page seems to indicate that after a week in St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea's Pribilofs, the Yeva has dry docked. The Yeva's locating beacon shows the ship to no longer be docked in St. Paul's harbor but instead to be in what appears to be a large nearby shipyard.

Ella Hibbert has already announced that she will take the second half of her Arctic Ocean circumnavigation next year, sailing the Northeast Passage over the north coast of Russian and Scandinavia. St. Paul's, situated as it is in the middle of the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia, would be an ideal point from which to start next year's journey.

Tamara Klink has already dry docked the Sandinha 2 in Homer, Alaska, the Yeva's intended port before bad weather caused Ella to divert to St. Paul instead.

In any event, congratulations to both sailors and thank you for sharing your exciting journey with us. Can't wait to follow you next year!

We're No. 12!

 

Can't say we don't deserve it after yesterday's performance. The AP Poll dropped the 3-1 Georgia Bulldogs down from No. 5 in the rankings to No.12, behind new No. 10 Alabama but ahead of No. 15 Tennessee.

Ohio State remains No. 1, and Oregon moves up to No. 2 for their OT win over Penn State. Miami, holder of the lineal championship belt and Georgia's two championship rings, was idle this weekend but dropped from 2 to No. 3. The rest of the top ten are Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Penn State, Indiana, Texas, and Bama. No. 12 Georgia is behind No. 11 Texas Tech and ahead of No. 13 and 14 LSU and Iowa State.

We'll be back in the top 10. Next two weeks, we play unranked Kentucky (2-2) and Auburn (3-2), and then take our shot at No. 4 Ole Miss (4-0) at home in Athens. 

We have improvements to make no doubt, but Coash Smart will do what's needed. Ranked No. 12 in week four after a humiliating home loss isn't the end of the world, but hopefully will be the basement of how low we'll go this season.   

   

Red Sox 4, Tigers 3

 

Still don't care. 

However, the Red Sox finish the regular season, 89-73, third in the AL East and five back from the first-place Blue Jays, who are tied with the Yankees at 94-68 but claimed the division title based on their 8-5 season record over New York . 

However, the Sox have clinched the second Wild Card playoff spot and will play three post-season games in the Bronx starting Tuesday, time TBA.

The team met my goal for the season of making the playoffs, and I said I don't care if they win even a single playoff game. Not sure I still feel that way if we're playing the Yankees, though. The Sox were 9-4 against New York this season, and damn if I want to start losing to those bums now. 

So now I'm setting a post season goal - beat the Yankees in the Wild Card series, and then I don't care if you win even a single game after that.

Patriots 42, Panthers 13

 

This was a break out game for New England QB Drake Maye. He went 14 of 17 (82.4%) for 203 yards and two TDs, plus another 11 yards rushing, including a third TD. This is his third consecutive game with a greater than 75 percentage and at least two TDs. The only player in NFL history with a longer streak with those stats was Tom Brady, who had four in his first MVP season in 2007.

Carolina scored the first and last points of the game, but everything in between was all Patriots. TreVeyon Henderson (32 yards) got his first NFL TD. New England improves to 2-2, in second place in the AFC East behind unbeaten Buffalo.  

We play Buffalo next week.   

Alabama 24, Georgia 21

 

Every team has its kryptonite opponent. Georgia is Tennessee's - no matter how good the Vols get and no matter how poor a team the Dawgs field, Georgia always seems to beat Tennessee. Alabama is Georgia's kryptonite. 

The Tide is 10-1 in its last eleven games against Georgia. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is 107-13 against non-Alabama teams but 1-7 against 'Bama. In the last year alone, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is 2-0 against Georgia but 5-5 against Power 4 teams that aren't the Dawgs. Stats like those are why Georgia experiences such stress-inducing anxiety before an Alabama game, and why even mediocre Alabama teams swagger onto the field against Georgia with such confidence.

Case in point, last night: a self-assured Alabama started the game with two TDs on its first two possessions and went 8-for-8 on third-down conversions, while Georgia had to settle for punts on its first two touches. The Bulldogs seemed incapable of stopping Alabama, but Georgia eventually scored a TD in the second quarter and then finally forced the Tide to punt. However, the Dawgs fumbled the ball on the ensuing drive, resulting in an Alabama FG. A pair of TDs later, one by each team, and it was 24-14 at the half. 

Adjustments were made at halftime and Georgia prevented Alabama from scoring in the second half. The Tide even missed a FG on their first second-half possession, shades of Tennessee's missed FG against Georgia two weeks ago. After a third-quarter Georgia TD, it looked like a Bulldogs comeback was in the making, but Alabama kept Georgia from scoring after that. The Bulldogs couldn't make up the ten-point halftime deficit and No. 17 Alabama beat No. 5 Georgia, 24-21, in Athens.

So it happened again. I could rant about how much I hate Alabama. I do, but this loss, like so many of the previous losses, is on us. We lost this game more than Alabama beat us. We had home field advantage and we had the benefit of being the higher-ranked team. But they have our kryptonite. They are our kryptonite.

And talk about missed opportunities. No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 LSU both lost yesterday, and a win over Bama would probably have put No. 5 Georgia into the top three. Now, as it turns out, we have to wait for the AP poll to see how far down the rankings we fall.  

Tigers 2, Red Sox 1

 

Who cares?

Red Sox 4, Tigers 3

 

SOX WIN! BOSTON'S IN THE PLAYOFFS! 

OMG, OMG, OMG! This is freaking huge! We made it brothers and sisters! Ceddanne Rafaela hit a walk-off RBI triple to deep center in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Romy González, and Boston got a 4-3 win.  

The country may be going to hell, the world's on fire, and there are surely end times, but those feisty, never-say-die Boston Red Sox, the team that finished in dead last place in 2022 and 2023, have clinched a Wild Card berth. 

More words on all this later as it all sinks in. Now is the time to celebrate!

We made it!

 

Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 1

 

"Not today," Varsho said. 

Toronto's Daulton Varsho hit a grand-slam home run into deep right center in the sixth inning last night, ending a scoreless tie, and the Blue Jays went on to beat the Red Sox, 6-1. The loss denied Boston the chance to celebrate a playoff berth up in Toronto, but that only means we'll celebrate in Fenway instead - or slink into the back alleys of Kenmore Square for the post-season if we don't make it.

Also, just for the record, the loss eliminated the Sox from potentially winning the AL East. We're now four games back from first place with three games remaining, but few credibly believed we'd win the division anyway.  

Bello takes the loss for loading up the bases in the sixth, although reliever Justin Wilson gave up the grand salami. Trevor Story scored the sole Boston run. The Sox finish the road series in Toronto 2-1 and are still one win - or one Houston loss - away from a Wild Card berth.

The Astros didn't give us that gift last night - they beat the A's, 11-5, to avoid a sweep. They move on to L.A. where they will finish the season against the hapless Angels (71-87).

We finish the season at home against slumping Detroit. The Tigers are 86-73, but 2-8 in their last ten games. This will be a tough, competitive series. We're fighting to make the playoffs for the first time since 2021. The Tigers are trying to make it back to the playoffs after losing the ALDS last year but, more importantly, are trying to salvage a season that saw the worst collapse in modern MLB history. 

On July 8, Detroit had a 14-game lead in the AL Central and were in first place for 184 days. They led the division by 9½ entering the month of September. But the losses started coming just as Cleveland went on a winning streak and now they enter this series tied with the Guardians in the Central Division and are only a single game ahead of Houston in the race for the third and final Wild Card spot. Depending on this series, they could finish the season in first place, with a Wild Card spot, or out of the playoffs entirely.

Tonight, Kyle Harrison (1-1, 3.58) makes his third start for the Red Sox. The Tigers will start Casey Mize (14-6, 3,91), who hasn't faced the Sox yet this season, but is 0-1 in four career starts against Boston. 

The game starts at 7:00.

 

Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 1

 

Crochet delivers - eight innings of shut-out baseball with no runs and six K's and, most importantly, a big win for the Boston Red Sox. Masataka Yoshida hit a solo homer and an RBI single, González hit a two-RBI single, and Narváez hit a three-run homer. The Red Sox lead this all-important road series two games to none. 

And look what those wins have done - with the losses, the Blue Jays have fallen into a tie with New York for first place. If the season were to end with the standings the way they are right now, the Sox wouldn't have to face the Yankees in the Wild Card round, but would instead repeat this series with the Jays. As I said before, I don't care if we win a single playoff game (although that would be nice) - the goal for 2025 is just to make the playoffs. After that, we're playing with the house's money. But with four games remaining to the season, there's still no telling who will win the AL East and who will play in the Wild Card round. In fact, Boston is three games back from New York and Toronto with four games left to the season - although highly unlikely, we're not mathematically eliminated from winning the Division. 

But here's the thing - with four games remaining, the Red Sox magic number is now down to one! Last night, Houston lost (again) to those pesky A's, and the combination of a Red Sox win and a Houston loss brings Boston's magic number down to one. If we win tonight and sweep the Jays, or win any one of the remaining four games, or if Houston loses any one of its remaining games, we're in. We've made it to the playoffs and met our 2025 goal! 

It's a great time to be alive, isn't it?

Hilariously, the Detroit Tigers lost their eighth consecutive game last night. Between Houston's five-game losing streak and Detroit's eight, it almost seems like both teams are competing to avoid the playoffs. Tomorrow, the Tigers bring what's left of their post-season ambitions to Fenway for a final, three-game series against the Red Sox.

But let's not look ahead to tomorrow. Let's win this mother right here, right now, with a sweep of Toronto. Tonight, Brayan Bello (11-8, 3.34) takes the mound against Louie Varland (4-3, 3.10) for all the marbles. One additional bonus of Crochet's performance last night is that it let us rest Chapman, so he's available to close tonight if need be.  A Boston win would be incredible for the Sox and devastating for the Jays. Let's make it happen! 

Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 1

 

What a day! The Sox opened their crucial three-game road series in Toronto last night with a win, beating the division leader, 4-1. Narváez hit a two-run double and Lowe hit two RBI singles. Giolito allowed only one run on three hits in 4⅔ innings, and after that the bullpen was nearly perfect, allowing only one walk, no runs, and no hits over the remaining 4⅓.

Fun fact: it can be argued that the AL East is the toughest division in MLB because it's the only one with three teams that have season records over .545.  

Meanwhile, those pesky A's beat Houston, 5-1, in Oakland last night, and the combination of a Red Sox win and a Houston loss drops the Red Sox magic number for making the playoffs down to three. 

There are five games left to the season, and any combination of three Boston wins and Houston losses guarantees us a playoff spot. In fact, due to Boston's 4-2 season record against the Astros, we'd make the playoffs even if we don't achieve that magic number and the season ends with the two teams in a dead tie.    

But to make things even more interesting, Cleveland beat Detroit, 5-2, last night, and the combination of the Guardians' winning streak (9-1 in the last 10 games) and the Tigers' losing streak (seven consecutive losses) puts Cleveland in the lead in the AL Central and drops Detroit down to the third Wild Card spot, one game back from Boston. 

The Sox are 0-3 against the Tigers so far this year, so if the season ends with the two teams tied, Detroit would win the tie-breaker. However, Boston's last three games of the season are against the Tigers, so we'd have a chance to either eliminate them from the playoffs or tie up the season series. In the latter case, the tiebreaker then becomes the teams' intradivision record, then intraleague record, and then the ratio of vowels-to-consonants in the team owner's full name, and then a coin toss in the dead of night under a full moon over the entrails of a cat. 

Let's hope it doesn't come to that. A sweep of Toronto would solve everything and fortunately for us, it's Crochet Day. The might Garrett (17-5, 2.69) takes the mound tonight against the Jays' Max Scherzer (5-4, 5.06).

Let's go, Red Sox! Three more dubs, that's all I'm asking! Win, baby, win!

Terriers Preview

 

Impermanence is swift and seasons change, and as hard as it is to believe, the Boston University Terriers 2025-26 college ice hockey season begins next weekend.  

Both the men's and the women's teams are coming off of successful seasons, with hints of even greater achievements to come. Last year, the women won the Hockey East conference championship, and the men won the Beanpot and played in the NCAA National Championship game. 

The women's team keeps eight of the top ten scorers from last season, including senior Sydney Healey, who scored the OT-winner in the Hockey East championship game. The team also adds 10 newcomers this season, including seven freshmen. After an exhibition game this weekend against Montreal's Concordia, the women begin their season with two home games against Minnesota on October 3rd and 4th. 

The men return twelve starters from last year's team, including Rookie of the Year Cole Hutson, first-round draft pick Sascha Boumedienne, and Cole Eiserman, who led all NCAA rookies with 25 goals last season. Among the newcomers is runner-up Rookie of the Year Sacha Boisvert, who transferred from North Dakota. The men begin their season with an October 4th home game against Long Island University.

For guidance on the season, I threw the I Ching for both the men's and women's teams combined. The result was the 49th Hexagram, Ko (Revolution) - lake above, fire below. Fire ignites within the lake, defying the very conditions that should deny it birth and survival. Everyone believes in something once it is accomplished, the oracle notes. 

The moving lines are the most auspicious, reading, "You dodge the snares and snatch victory with the lightning speed and agility of a panther." 

The hexagram indicates success, and advises "Keep to your own course and difficulty will disappear." In other words, maintain a quiet and uncomplicated philosophy of life and the effect of the great changes that are occurring throughout the world will be small and insignificant. This is the teaching of the Stoic philosopher king, Marcus Aurelius.  

The hexagram also hints at dynasty. "Opponents lose their nerve and swear allegiance to you. You have won your revolution. Don't seek to climb higher. Instead stabilize the new order for the good of all."

Sardinha in Homer

 

Tamara Klink, the second woman and first Brazilian to solo the Northwest Passage in a sailboat, has safely arrived in Homer, Alaska.  

The Sardinha's odyssey ends, appropriately enough, in Homer.

Congratulations!

Rays 7, Red Sox 3

 

Early got pulled after giving up three runs in four innings and suffered his first Major League lose. Wilyer Abreu returned to the lineup after a month on the Injured List, but went hitless. Sox batters got 10 hits but the team left 10 runners on base, three in scoring position. The bullpen stunk, giving up four runs over five innings. Boston lost, 7-3, and the Rays avoided a sweep. 

Fortunately, for once, the rest of the league gave us a break. Cleveland finally lost a game, but more importantly, Houston lost to Seattle, also by a score of 7-3, so the Red Sox' magic number is now 5 with six games remaining. 

Over the last 10 games, of the four teams in contention for the three AL Wild Card spots, Cleveland is 9-1, New York is 7-3, Houston is 5-5, and Boston is 4-6. Unless something changes, it's obvious where this is headed.  

The Red Sox are off today. Tomorrow, we start a three-game road trip in Toronto (90-66). The Jays have a two-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East and will likely play the Sox tough in order to preserve that lead. Giolito (10-4, 3.46) will take the mound against Kevin Gausman (10-10, 3.38).

Houston ends their season on a West Coast road trip but against the bottom of the AL West, starting with Oakland (73-83), who seem to play tough only against us, and then the Angels (70-86). 

We can still make the playoffs. That's all I've wanted from this year's team since the season began. Just make the playoffs, and I don't care if we win even a single game after that. Obviously, we're in if we win five of the remaining six games, but given the injuries and our recent performance, that doesn't seem very likely. OTOH, we're in if Houston goes 1-5 on the road, but that seems equally unlikely. 

Or we can split the difference - we're in if we go 3-3 this week and Houston also goes 3-3. If Houston goes 3-3, we can even make it if we go only 2-4. 

Five. That's what it will take. And in the event that the season ends in a tie between Boston and either Cleveland or Houston, or both, we have the tiebreaker against both to our advantage.         

Steelers 21, Patriots 14

 

Today, the New England Patriots lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Foxborough for the first time since 2008, when Tom Brady was out for the season with a knee injury. Drake Maye went 28 of 37 for 268 yards, rushed for 45, and threw two TDs, but he also threw an interception and lost a fumble. Antonio Gibson also fumbled and Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled twice. To make matters worse, two of those turnovers came at the Steelers 2-yard line. 

It was New England’s first five-turnover game since that 2008 lose at home to Pittsburgh. Maye can pass the ball all he wants, but if the team keeps turning the ball over to the other team, this is going to be one long season. 

42-year-old Steeler QB Aaron Rodgers got only 139 yards, just slightly over half of Maye's total, and rushed for one whole yard.      

The Pats are 1-2, which sadly makes them the second best team in the AFC East. Both Miami and the Jets are 0-3. 

Next week, New England hosts Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers (1-2), who got their first win of the season today in a 30-0 shutout of the Atlanta Falcons.

Yeva in the Pribilofs

 

Ella Hibbert left Nome with the stated intention of taking the Yeva to either Kodiak or Homer, Alaska to dry dock the ship over the winter before resuming her circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean. I don't know if her plans have changed, however, as she's tacked considerably to the west and instead sailed to the tiny Pribilof island of St. Paul (population, 413). From the map, it looks like it has a pretty good harbor, and maybe even the capability of hoisting the Yeva to dry storage. There's an air strip, but St. Paul can't be as easy to leave or to access as, say, Kodiak or Homer (not that they're exactly a breeze to get to either).

Meanwhile, some 650 miles to the east, Tamara Klink is sailing the Sardinha 2 through the channel between Kodiak Island and the Aleutian mainland, water she says has a "bad reputation." She's battling foul weather and strong winds as she heads for Homer (hurray!), and from the sounds of her recent posts, that may be the end of her sailing for a while. Friendly reminder that other than a brief passport stop at Nome, she's been at sea since leaving Tuk back on August 31, and before sailing the Northwest Passage this season (the first Brazilian woman to do that solo), she spent all of last winter in the Sardinha in northern Greenland.

So, if Ella is indeed dry docking the Yeva in St. Paul and if Tamara finishes her epic odyssey in Homer, that may be it for this season's Arctic adventures.

Update: In a video log, Ella explained that she diverted to St. Paul to avoid a weather system in the eastern Bering Sea and that she will wait there a few days until the weather clears. The system is probably the same one that kicked Tamara around in the Gulf of Alaska. Once things calm down again, Ella will take off for Homer, probably taking frequent shelter as needed as the sailing season ends.

        

Red Sox 6, Rays 3

 

Back to back wins, finally, when we need them the most! It was an interesting day in the American League, but before getting into that, let's talk about yesterday's win.

Pitcher Kyle Harrison had a good game, striking out five over six innings and giving up only one run on four hits. After we replaced Justin Wilson with Justin Slaten, the relievers were about as good as one could hope. No Boston homers, but the bats are finally starting to wake up, with Bregman, Yoshida, and González all getting two hits each, and five players (Bregman, Yoshida, González, Lowe, and Story) hitting RBIs.

Best part: tied at 3, the Sox found the gumption to score three runs on five hits and a stolen base in the top of the ninth. The will to win is there!

Cleveland won a double header in Minnesota yesterday because of course they did, their 9th and 10th consecutive wins. Meanwhile, Houston lost to Seattle and as a result, both the Astros and the Guardians are 84-71 and due to tiebreakers, Cleveland took the third and final Wild Card spot away from Houston. The Sox have the second spot and are one game ahead of Cleveland in the Wild Card standings. 

With seven games left to the season, the Red Sox magic number is now six - any combination of six Red Sox wins and Astro losses clinches a playoff spot for Boston. 

The bad news is that Houston has one of the easiest schedules down the stretch in MLB. After one more tough game hosting Seattle, they have three in Oakland (who apparently are only good when playing against Boston) and three in L.A. against the Angels (70-85). We can't count on Houston losses to get us into the playoffs. 

The good news is that Boston holds the tiebreakers against both the Guardians and the Astros, so should the Wild Card race end with a tie, even a three-way tie among Boston, Cleveland, and Houston, the Red Sox will get the spot.

Seven more games - one more week of regular-season baseball. Tonight's game is a must-win for Boston. Sure, every remaining game is also a must-win, but especially this one as it only gets tougher from here, with the next three in Toronto and then the final three at home against Detroit. Those last three are gonna be motherfuckers, so let's make the most of tonight's chance.

Promising young rookie pitcher Connelly Early starts for the Sox tonight. In his two starts, Early has thrown as astonishing 18 K's in 10⅓ innings and has an 0.87 ERA. Let's get some of that Early magic going again tonight. The Rays will be starting pitcher Joe Boyle (1-3, 4.64) so the odds are in our favor.  

Six! Let's do this, Boston!

Red Sox 11, Rays 7

 

Can you believe it? That actually listened to me! I had some pretty harsh words for the Boston Red Sox after Thursday's loss (tough love) and they apparently responded, scoring more than one run in an inning last night for the first time since September 14 and earning a much-needed win against the Tampa Bay Rays. 

The game started in typical Red Sox fashion - an RBI single in the second inning, a solo Bregman homer in the third - but then Jarren Duran broke it open in the seventh with a massive, 401-foot, two-run homer to deep right center. 

And then the fun began. Leading 4-3, the Sox scored a whopping seven runs in the eighth inning alone with four singles, three walks, a double, a throwing error, and a hit-by-pitch. A total of 13 at-bats. The feeling of elation was almost giddy.

Then the fun ended. Up 11-3, reliever Chris Murphy loaded up the bases with two walks and a single in the bottom of the ninth, and then gave up a two-out grand slam home run, reminding us that despite all the joy, we're still only a pitch or two away from elimination. After the grand slam, Murphy still gave up to more singles before finally getting the last out and ending the game, but wow, what an ugly, scary end to what was otherwise a big win.

For the record, Garrett Crochet got the Rays to strike out nine times over six innings, giving up three runs on four hits.  

The Red Sox and the Astros are tied for the last Wild Card slot at 84-70. The apparently unbeatable Cleveland Guardians are 1½ games back. Last night, Cleveland won - again - their 8th consecutive win and 13th of their last 14. Otherwise, it was a good night for Boston across the MLB scoreboard - the Yankees lost, 4-2, to Baltimore, Toronto was humiliated, 20-1, by Kansas City, and Houston lost to Seattle, 4-0.

The Red Sox magic number is now seven. With upcoming series against Toronto and Detroit, the Sox aren't going to win seven of the remaining eight games, and we're going to have to rely on Detroit taking revenge for their recent sweep by the Guardians and returning the favor in Cleveland next week. Ideally, I'd love to end the season on a Boston 8-0 run, but realistically, if we can manage to go at least 4-4 and Cleveland can be contained to 6-3 (they have one more game than Boston on their schedule down the stretch), we're in.

Hope is a fragile thing. It's crushed when expectations are too high, and starves when they're too low. In between those two extremes, it constantly worries about what happens if the expectations it allows aren't met, and we're not sure if we can trust that most unreliable of witnesses. So it's one game at a time and cheer for one more win until the season's over. 

Tonight, we're putting those hopes on starting pitcher Kyle Harrison (1-1, 4.05), who started the season for San Francisco before getting traded to the Red Sox. He'll be facing the Rays' Adrian Houser (8-4, 3.11). Despite their pitching advantage, the Rays are 1½-run underdogs.

Let's go, Sox!

A's 5, Red Sox 4

 

Dear Red Sox:

Do you even want to win? Did your wife make some sort of travel plans for October, or is it you just want to be somewhere other than on a baseball field next month? 'Cause I got news for you - you're not going to make the playoffs. Your magic number's down to eight, but there's only nine games remaining and the way Cleveland's been playing, they're not going to help you with many losses. 

Yeah, as a matter of fact, the way Cleveland's been playing lately, why aren't I cheering for them but instead for you sad-sack motherfuckers?

WAKE THE FUCK UP, BOSTON! The post-season's on the line, the playoffs are right there for your taking, and you're playing like a team that doesn't have a Trevor Story, an Alex Bregman, a Garrett Crochet, and an Aroldis Chapman.   

I know, I know, rookie phenom Roman Anthony's out with an injury. Boo fucking hoo. Tough shit, boyos, them's the breaks. Man the fuck up and take out your frustrations by knocking the ball outta the park! Other than that one six-run inning against the Yankees (which was beautiful, by the way) you haven't scored more than one run in an inning since that 5-4 loss to the A's back on the 10th.

You're three games away from elimination! Act like it, goddamnit!

Your friend,

Shokai

P.S. Tomorrow's Crochet Day. Garrett's 16-5, 2.63 this season, 1-0 against Tampa Bay. If it's not too inconvenient and of course assuming that  you don't mind, could you please (please?) beat the Rays tomorrow?   

Red Sox 6, A's 4

 

It took an extra inning, but the Sox got a much-needed win. The magic number over Cleveland is now eight with ten games remaining. 

Giolito didn't have the stuff yesterday and gave up four runs in 4⅓ innings. Boston went deep into the bullpen the rest of the game, ultimately calling on seven relievers, but the effort paid off. Collectively, the bullpen got seven K's, and gave up zero runs on five hits and only one walk. 

It's the bats that have been the problem lately. The offense didn't exactly come alive last night, but after the bullpen took over, the Sox began chipping away at the A's lead with a single here, a fielder's choice there. The game went into a tenth inning tied at 4, and after an intentional walk followed by a bunt, Nick Sogard came off the bench and hit a single that scored Nate Eaton from third. The Sox won, 5-4. 

Forget about your Yankees and your Blue Jays. All that matters right now, besides the Red Sox winning of course, is Cleveland. The Guardians shut out Detroit last night, 4-0, their sixth straight win, 11th of the past 12 games. They are keeping the pressure on in the Wild Card standings, and with Boston and Seattle tied for the last available playoff spot, Cleveland trails by 2½ games.

The Sox have ten games left to the season. To clinch a Wild Card spot in the playoffs, the Red Sox need any combination of eight Boston wins or Cleveland losses. But we're struggling with the lowly A's - we lost the first game and needed extra innings to win the second - and it only gets harder from here. After  tonight's rubber game against Oakland, we play division rivals Tampa Bay (74-78), divisions leaders Toronto (89-63), and then AL Central-leading Detroit (85-67). 

Cleveland still has four more games against Detroit this season, plus three against Texas (79-74) and three against the Twins (66-86). I'm not gonna say who has the tougher schedule down the stretch, and instead wonder just how long the Guardians can maintain their current hot streak.

It's Brayan Bello (11-7, 3.25) versus G.T. Ginn (3-6, 4.69) this afternoon. Let's hope that Sogard's extra-innings heroics last night spark the team to take this series and get the remaining wins we need.

A's 2, Red Sox 1

 

One run? Are you fucking kidding me? Only one run, with the postseason on the line, up against a starting pitcher with an ERA of 4.17 on a fourth-place, 71-79 baseball team?  

Romy González, despite his .306 batting average, went 0-for-5, and Alex Bregman, despite his .275 average, went 0-for-4, like they were batting against the ghost of Sandy Koufax. As for our pitching, well, Connelly Early did pretty well in his second major-league start, giving up only one run over 5⅓ innings.  But why he was pulled after only 80 pitches for Greg Weissert, who promptly gave up the game-winning runs, well, you're going to have to ask Alex Cora that yourself because I have no answer.

Look, I get it - the injuries hurt and are really adding up. We're without 1st baseman Tristan Casas, 2nd baseman Vaughn Grissom, 3rd baseman Marcelo Mayer, outfielders Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu, and a whole bunch of starting pitchers and relievers. Hell, you could field a pretty good team with just the players on the Injured List (were they healthy enough to play). But we're clinging to the last Wild Card spot by a mere 2½ games, these are the last dozen games of the season, and the last six games are against division leaders. We needed to sweep these first six before running that final gauntlet, but here we are starting this run with a loss. 

There's now 11 games left to the 2025 season and our magic number is now nine - any combination of nine Red Sox wins and Cleveland losses will get us into the playoffs. The Guardians had six games in this closing stretch against AL Central-leading Detroit, but last night they beat the Tigers, 7-5, so between our loss and their win, we're no closer to the goal but now have one less game to get us there.   

Detroit, please, I'm begging you, do what needs to be done and beat that Cleveland team five more times this season. And Boston, I'm talking to you - your destiny's in your own hands, it's up to you whether or not you make it to the postseason. Beat them A's and beat them Rays and beat them Jays and beat them Tigers, and don't rely on other teams to carry you over the goal line. Look, I don't even care at this point if you win even a single postseason game - my goal for you this year was just to make it to the playoffs. We can talk about winning the division, the league, and the Series in the next years, but for now - just nine more wins, baby!

Giolito (10-4, 3.31) takes the mound tonight. He's up against Oakland's Mason Barnett (1-1, 8.53), who we roughed up for seven hits and three runs over 3⅔ innings back on the 10th. The Sox are favored by 1½ runs. This is where we make out stand, where we start our march to victory now that we got that stupid, pointless loss out of the way. This is our final push to validate all the hard work we put into this season.

C'mon, Boston! Make it so!

Yeva, Sailing Again

 

The Yeva has left Nome.

After several days of well-deserved R&R, Ella Hibbert has learned that Nome, Alaska doesn't have the capabilities of hoisting the Yeva for dry-dock storage through the winter. Therefore, she's set sail again, heading south to pass through the Aleutian archipelago and head to either Kodiak or Homer, Alaska. 

I hope that it's Homer just because I've been there twice, three times if you consider the one year that I went to Homer, took a boat across the bay to camp on the Kachemak Peninsula and returned to Homer the next day as two visits. OTOH, during the Korean War, my Dad was stationed in Kodiak, so there's that.

To get to Kodiak or Homer, Ella will likely sail through False Pass, a shallow, narrow inlet passable to sailboats and fishermen, but not tankers and cargo ships. False Pass is the easternmost passage through the Aleutians, and Tamara Klink and the Sardinha 2 are approaching the inlet right now and should be through sometime tonight. Where she's heading after that I have no idea, but I suspect it's someplace warmer and with less bears than Kodiak, Alaska.          

We're No. 5!

 

Okay, not bad, going in the right direction. We were the preseason No. 5, moved up to No. 4 after Week One, but fell back down to No. 6 after Week Two, and now we're back at No. 5. 

Oregon cruised past Northwestern, 34-14, but apparently that wasn't good enough for the pollsters, because they dropped the No. 4 Ducks down to No. 6. No. 5 Miami moved up to Oregon's old No. 4 spot, and the Bulldogs took Miami's old No. 5 spot.

Speaking of Miami, to no one's surprise, they beat South Florida Saturday, 49-12, and took possession of the college football lineal championship belt and Georgia's 2021 and 2022 national championship rings (South Florida won them from Florida the weekend before). Miami plays Florida next weekend, but if you think they're beating Miami and winning back the belt and rings, then you cray-cray.

Notre Dame lost, 41-40, to Texas A&M and are now 0-2, but still in the AP Top 25 for some reason, albeit No. 24. But that's just another reason why I hate Notre Dame - even when they go winless, the pollsters still feel compelled to include them among the best in the country.

Alabama (2-1), Georgia's next opponent after a bye week for both teams, beat Wisconsin, 38-14, and moved up the poll from No. 19 to No. 14. 

By the way, the SEC went 12-3 on Saturday. The SEC teams that lost games, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida, all lost to other SEC teams, Georgia, Vanderbilt, and LSU, respectively. Just saying. 

With Georgia off this weekend, the only game on Saturday worth paying any attention to, other than Miami-Florida for belt reasons, will probably be the SEC showdown between No. 11 Oklahoma (3-0) and No. 22 Auburn (3-0).  The Sooners are favored by 6½ points, but I'd like to see Auburn win the game because I don't think Oklahoma belongs in the SEC.

Red Sox 6, Yankees 4

 

What a weird game! The Red Sox scored six runs in the first inning, and then that was it for the rest of the game. The Yankees crept back in, slowly riding up like cheap underwear - a run here, another run there - but in the end, Crochet, Matz, Whitlock, and Chapman (sounds like a law firm!) held on and won the game.    

Crochet gave up three runs on five hits, but got a dozen strikeouts over six innings. In the top of the ninth, Chapman got the side out - three up and three down - on eleven pitches, striking out the last batter.

So the good news is we won. We live to struggle for another day. Seattle won again today, too, and in so doing took first place in the AL West and left the Wild Card race. The Houston Astros have entered the conversation and trail the Sox by one game for the Wild Card standings - the Yanks are first, Sox second, 'Stros third.

Not that it really matters, but Boston is 1½ behind New York in the AL East, and 5½ behind Toronto. Winning the Division isn't a realistic goal at this point, probably never was, and there's no prize for second place. All that matters is getting a Wild Card slot.

Boston has a day off tomorrow and then we host the A's (70-80) for three. We need to sweep that series, because that's as easy as it gets for the rest of the season. Twelve more games to go, and it's imperative that we lose one less game down that stretch than the Astros, who have Texas (79-71) and Seattle (82-68) to contend with, and then six games against sub-.500 teams.

But anyway, congratulations, Boston, for avoiding the sweep and beating the Yankees. Here's to seeing you rat bastards in the Wild Card series.    

   

New England 33, Miami 27

 

Okay, I'll be the first to admit this wasn't exactly a marquee matchup of NFL bests. It was arguably two of the worst in the league duking it out on South Beach. But of the two worsts, Miami was the worstest, and New England won, 33-27.

Not to be too derogatory - Maye went 19 of 23 (82.6%) passing for 230 yards against the virtually nonexistent Miami defense. But then, Tua went 26 of 32 (81.3%) for 315 against New England's D, so we shouldn't be bragging. 

The big play of the day was probably Antonio Gibson's 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. That should make the highlight reels. However, Mimi's Malik Washington's had a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown so, again, no bragging. 

New England kicker Andy Borregales missed the first two PATs. That won't make the highlight reels and is something we need to work on. However, he did make two FGs and a later PAT.

Rhamondre Stevenson did most of the heavy lifting on the rushing, gaining 54 yards on 11 carries. TreVeyon Henderson only got three carries for a total of 10 yards, less than even Maye (31 yards, including one rushing TD). 

The good news for the Patriots is we get to play Miami again this season, and in Foxborough at that. Oh, the benefits of being in the AFC East. Speaking of, at 1-1, New England is in second place in the standings, ahead of 0-2 Miami and the Jets. 

Steelers (1-1) and Aaron Rodgers in Foxborough next week. We'll have our work cut out for us.

Yankees 5, Red Sox 3

 

Bello gave up four runs, Fried gave up two. Bregman and Duran broke out of recent slumps and each hit solo homers, but Story, Refsnyder, and Narváez continue to struggle. Anthony, Abreu, and Mayer are still out with injuries.

With this loss, the Red Sox fall 2½ back from the Yankees and will most likely finish the season in third place. Toronto won last night and have a 5½-game lead over Boston in the AL East. 

But even worse, Seattle also won last night (they're 8-2 in their last 10 games) and are tied with the Sox for the third and last Wild Card spot. 

To say tonight's game is a must-win is an understatement. Not only do we want to avoid the indignity of a home sweep by the hated Yankees, but after tonight's game, but there's absolutely no room for error left if we want to make the post-season. The Sox have a dozen games left after this, and three of those are against Toronto (86-62) and three against Detroit (84-65), while the Yankees don't have any games left on their schedule with teams above .500. Seattle still has Houston (81-68) and the Dodgers (83-65), and it looks like the Sox' only path to a playoff berth is to, of course, win some more games, but to also hope for a Mariners collapse down the stretch. 

Fortunately, it's Crochet Day, and Garrett (15-5, 2.57) takes the mound against the Yanks'  Will Warren This is a rematch of the August 23rd game in the Bronx, which Crochet and the Sox won, 12-1, over Warren and the Yankees (Warren gave up five earned runs). Overall, Warren is 1-1 against the Sox this season, while Crochet is 2-0 against the Yanks. 

But this is the way it goes every goddamn season, isn't it? We enter the month of September in a pretty strong position, tank, and then lose a crucial series to New York. We may have finally broken the Curse of the Bambino, but the Yankees remain our kryptonite team. By the way, if the season ended with the standings the way they are today, we would face the Yankees in New York for the three-game Wild Card series. 

Prediction: I don't pretend to know the outcome of tonight's game, but I will predict that the ESPN announcers will fawn and swoon over the Yankees the entire game, verbally fellate Aaron Judge even when he's not at bat, and interview, say, the New York assistant equipment manger's ex-girlfriend when the Red Sox are at bat. It will be disgusting and I advise you to turn off the volume and listen to the WEEI broadcast instead.    

Yankees suck!

Georgia 44, Tennessee 41

 

If I live long enough to see another football game as exciting as this one, I'll die a very, very lucky man.

First of all and most importantly, the Dawgs won and start their SEC season 1-0 (3-0 overall). Just as importantly, there are flaws with this team on both sides of the ball, but fortunately flaws that can be dealt with and improved upon. Coach Kirby Smart is one of the all-time greats, probably the best in college football at this time, and he will fix that which needs fixing.

Let me recap the game itself, though: Tennessee scored first, a four-yard running TD by Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar. But Georgia came right back, and Bulldog QB Gunner Stockton scored a running TD of his own for six yards to tie the game up. 

Then the troubles started. Tennessee scored two unanswered TDs, including a 72-yard score on only the second play after the Georgia TD. By the end of the first quarter, the Vols led, 21-7. The Rocky-Top fans were deafeningly loud, and it wasn't looking good for Georgia.

The Bulldogs scored the first TD of the second quarter, and settled for a FG two possessions later. With one minute left in the first half, Georgia's Joenel Aguero intercepted an Aguilar pass at the Tennessee 30, and it looked like Georgia might take the lead before halftime. Unfortunately, backup QB Ryan Puglisi, brought into the game for just for this one play for some reason, threw an interception and gave the ball right back to Tennessee. At the half, the score was Tennessee 21, Georgia 17.

In the second half, Georgia got a pair of field goals and took a two-point lead, but Tennessee took the lead right back with a TD. Things started looking grim when Georgia exchanged another FG for a Volunteer TD, and the Vols took a 38-30 lead with a FG with six minutes left to play. Georgia entered this game on an eight-game win streak over Tennessee, and it was looking like the Vols were about to break that curse.

On their likely last possession of the game, the Dawgs drove down the field, and it seemed like it was all over for Georgia when the drive stalled out on the Tennessee 28. Down by eight with two and half minutes to go, it was no time for FGs, so on fourth and six, Stockton pulled out all the stops and threw a spectacular 28-yard pass to London Humphreys for a touchdown. Georgia completed the conversion and tied the game up at 38-38.

But that wasn't the end of regulation. Tennessee got the ball back with 2:32 to go, and drove back down the field on 14 plays to within easy field goal range, using up all the available clock. But as time expired, the Volunteers' kicker missed, and what seemed like a sure-thing, game-winning FG from the 26 went wide right. 

Overtime. Georgia won the toss and Tennessee went on offense first, but had to settle for a FG. On Georgia's first play in OT, Nate Frazier ran the ball 21 yards to the Tennessee four, and two plays after that Josh McCray got the game-winning TD. But even that wasn't without its own drama - the play was originally called second down, inches short of the line, but the call got overturned on video review to a Georgia TD.

The Dawgs head back to Athens with a perfect, 3-0 record, 1-0 in the SEC (I know I basically said the same thing up above, but it feels so good to repeat it).

Tennessee's a good team, but unfortunately for them, Georgia's their kryptonite team. Every team has a kryptonite opponent, a team they can never seem to beat no matter how good they get. But the Vols' Aguilar is a good QB and the Vols could well be contenders this year. Yes, but . . . Georgia's now won nine straight over Tennessee.

The Dawgs are off next weekend for an early bye week, and they'll need it before their next opponent -  the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia's own kryptonite team. Smart needs to work on the Georgia defense, which seemed so impressive the first two games this season, but got pushed around in conference play today. Stockton was impressive at times, but too many drives petered out and we had to settle for too many FGs. Give Kirby Smart two weeks to tune this team up, and we'll be as ready to host Bama as we'll ever be.   

Incredible game. No telling how the win will affect the AP rankings tomorrow.  

Yankees 4, Red Sox 1

 

No, no, no, this is not the result I wanted! This is THE crucial series of the entire season, the one that will probably determine who will make the playoffs and who will be watching the games on tv thinking, "Wait 'til next year." It's only the first game of this three-game weekend series and we can still salvage things, but this is NOT the way I wanted to start.

Giolito had a pretty good outing, striking out six over 5⅔ innings, but he gave up two runs and the Sox didn't support him with any hitting - Duran, Story, Lowe, and Yoshida all went 0-4 at the plate and Boston didn't even get their first of two hits all game until a Nick Eaton homer in the seventh.

The Yankees now have a 1½ game lead over Boston in the AL East, and of course Toronto and Seattle both won last night. The Jays lead the Sox by 4½-games and the Mariners are only one game back in the Wild Card standings. 

We go at it again this afternoon (goddamnit, the same time as the Georgia-Tennessee football game) with Brian Bello (11-6, 3.12) starting for the Sox against the Yanks' Max Fried (16-5. 3.02). This will be the third matchup of these two pitchers this season, and Bello has won both, a 1-0 thriller back on August 22 and a 2-0 nail-biter last June. 

Let's keep that streak going today, guys.

Arctic Update

 

Remember the Yeva? Ella Hibbert, its pilot, is about to enter the Bering Strait, leaving the Chukchi Sea  and "officially" completing the Northwest Passage over North America. After months of ice, storms, and close-quarters sailing, she's finally back in ice-free, open water again. She's heading toward Nome, Alaaka, the finish line of the Iditarod, and will find a place to dock the Yeva over the winter, and then return next year to sail the Northeast Passage over Russia and Europe to complete her solo circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean. 

Tamara Klink and the Sardinha 2 have also left the Passage and have already made it all the way to Nome. She passed between the two Diomede Islands, the U.S. on one side and Russia on the other, separated by less than three miles but by 20 hours (the International Date Line runs between them) and a geopolitical gulf far larger than the water that separates them. I have no idea where or what she intends to do next.   

A's 5, Red Sox 4

 

Look, I'm used to seeing the Boston bullpen blow games, but not when it's Aroldis Chapman giving up the game-winning run. It's like upside-down world - birds are falling out of the sky, children jump into the ocean to dry off, cats bark and dogs meow.

Refsnyder tied the game up in the top of the ninth with an RBI single to center field and then the ultra-reliable Chapman took the mound in the bottom of the inning. But he gave up a double to start the inning (shocking!) and the runner advanced to third on a line out. The next batter hit a single, the runner scored, and the game was over, 5-4, A's. Chapman takes the loss, his third of the season, and his ERA "skyrockets" to 1.14.

Fortunately for the Sox, the Yankees lost as well, another shellacking by Detroit (11-1), so we're still deadlocked with New York in the standings. The Blue Jays lost, too, 3-2, down in Houston, so Boston and New York are tied for second, three back from Toronto, with the Yankees clinging to a .001 point advantage in the standings.

Which sets things up for this weekend's series against the Yanks in Fenway. This is where the Red Sox have swooned in so many seasons before. I've been watching this team since the mid-1970s, and so many years we were doing well only to see everything unravel in September, culminating in an embarrassment by the Yankees. 

Not this year, not this team, not this series. Here's where we make our stand, our backs to the Green Monster, looking our enemy right square in the eye. Giolito will take the mound tomorrow (we're off today to travel back from the West Coast), followed by Bello and then Crochet. We're starting our best, we have home-field advantage, and New York are a bunch of pussies. 

Let's claim second place, let's knock New York out of the playoffs, and let's play some winning fucking baseball. Who's with me? Let's go!

Red Sox 6, A's 0

 

Before the game, the Sox decided to put unreliable starting pitcher Dustin May on the 15-day IL due to "right elbow neuritis," or as we say in the 'hood, "because he sucks." Instead they called up rookie pitcher Connelly Early from the minors to make his major-league debut, and, holy shit, he struck out 11 batters to tie a 48-year Red Sox record for a major-league debut. He went five shut-out innings, giving up only five hits and one walk. His ERA is currently 0.00. Way to go, Rook!

Not that we needed ace pitching to win this game. Romy González hit a homer on the fourth pitch of the game, and then Refsnyder hit a three-run homer in the same inning before the A's even got a single out.  González hit a RBI double in the second, and Yoshida made the game 6-0 with an RBI in the eighth. 

Meanwhile, the Tigers humiliated the Yankees in the Bronx, beating the bombers, 12-2. So Boston and New York are effectively tied for second in the AL East and for the top spot in the Wild Card standings, although New York (80-64) has a slight, .001-point advantage over Boston (81-65) only by virtue of having played two fewer games. Detroit will take another shot at the Yanks tonight.

Seattle won again, keeping up the pressure from behind in the Wild Card.

Rookie season continues: tonight, the Sox will start rookie Payton Tolle, who so far has had one good outing (8 K's and 2 runs), and one not-too-good outing (2 K's and 5 runs). He'll get a chance to improve his stats with the A's tonight against fellow rookie Mason Barnett (1-1, 9.00), who's also had one good start (8 K's and 3 hits) and one bad start (1 K and 8 hits). 

Need I remind anyone that a win tonight would complete a sweep of the A's, as well as potentially move Boston ahead of New York? 

Red Sox 7, A's 0

 

Yeah, sweep them A's! Story and Narváez hit solo homers. Garrett Crochet pitched 7 shut-out innings and got 10 K's with no walks, and the bullpen pitched two perfect innings - no hits and no walks. 

New York was off yesterday, so the Sox pick up a half-game on the Yankees, and trail them by only one. Seattle won, so we remain 3½ up in the Wild Card standings.

Tonight, we take our chances with Dustin May (7-11, 4.96). Which Dustin will show up tonight? The one who held the Astros to five hits and no runs back in August, or the one that gave up seven runs to Pittsburgh the weekend before last? He'll be facing the A's Jeffrey Springs (10-10, 4.13). The Sox haven't faced the veteran pitcher yet this season, but over the years, we've got 23 hits off him including four home runs over 26 innings.

Meanwhile, as we play the fifth-place A's (66-79), the Yankees have a game against first-place Detroit (82-62), so once again it's a chance to gain some ground in the standings. 

We're No. 6

 

The No. 4-ranked University of Georgia Bulldogs, 2021 and 2022 National Champions and 2022 and 2024 SEC Champions, won their game yesterday, 28-6. The AP sportswriters dropped them to No. 6.

I know, I know, I know - early seasons polls never mattered and in these modern times of 12-team playoffs, no polls that aren't the Selection Committee rankings are just popularity contests. But it's still a little galling to see Oregon (fucking Oregon, man) catapulted to the new No. 4, and while Miami holds steady at No. 5, the Dawgs are dropped to No. 6. 

Not that it matters. 

More about Belt Theory: One way to look at lineal champions is to trace one championship crown from winner to winner over the decades. That method goes from Rutgers, 1869, to, surprisingly, South Florida today. But another way to think about it is by individual-year champions. In 2021 and again in 2022, the Bulldogs won the National Championship and were literally given championship rings. But what if the rules were that if a team subsequently beat them, they'd have to hand over those rings? And then that team would have to turn the rings over to another team when they lost?

If that were the case, Georgia would have had to turn over their two championship rings to the Alabama Crimson Tide after the 2023 SEC Championship game. Bat Bama wouldn't have been able to keep the rings for long, because they subsequently lost their next game, the CFP Semifinal, to Michigan and the Wolverines would have gotten Georgia's two championship rings.

  

In Week 2 of the 2024 season, Michigan lost to Texas, and then on Week 8, Georgia beat Texas, 30-15,  in Austin. Many people, myself very much included, celebrated Georgia's win, but few realized that with the win, Georgia also got its two championship rings back under the lineal rule.

The story could have (should have) ended there, but unfortunately, tragically, Georgia lost to Ole Miss two games later and the Rebels took possession of the rings. But Ole Miss then lost the rings the next weekend to Florida, who just lost the rings to South Florida on Saturday, and the Bulls now have Georgia's two championship rings from 2021 and 2022. The Bulls also won the granddaddy lineal belt in that game, the one that goes all the way back to Rutgers in 1869. The Georgia Bulldogs want their two championship rings back, and wouldn't mind getting their paws on that lineal belt, too.

As I wrote on Saturday, there's no clear route for that to happen. South Florida plays No. 5 Miami next weekend and South Florida will lose. There may be a bittersweet moment when Miami quarterback Carson Beck holds the two rings of his former team, but he wasn't the starting QB for those championship years.   

Miami doesn't play anyone on Georgia's schedule this year and the Dawgs first chance to win their rings

back a second time may be the 2025 playoffs, should both teams quality and the seedings align so that they play each other before either is eliminated. Georgia may have to win them back from a team that beats the Hurricanes, or they may have to wait until 2026 or later before they get the rings back.

Yes, this is all fantasy and "what if" speculation. But it does make watching the games more interesting to me and adds another dimension of meaning to games other that just my team - why else would I care about South Florida vs. Miami?