Tired of reading? Listen to a NotebookLM Audio Overview of today’s Town Crier:
By Matt McDonough
We’ve reached the heart of the best month of the year: October.
The crisp, cool and refreshing fall air is upon us. The smell of the season is tantalizing. Apples are giving way to pumpkins. Halloween decorations are lining avenues. The sky’s blue hue is a perfect backdrop for the greens, yellows, oranges, reds, and browns of fall foliage. And as the colorful leaves start to fall and blow in the autumn breeze, giving us a sound that’s October’s soundtrack as they litter the streets, the sky gives way to beautiful purple, orange, and pink sunsets. The chill in the morning and evening greeting us coldly makes the midday sun feel much more warm. And the spooky season of scary movies and ghostly tales with the smell of pumpkin, cinnamon, and smoky fire in our noses makes the fleeting fall a season to savor.
For some, not all of the above is experienced. And that’s because for sports fans, October is the busiest, most action-packed month. We’re in the midst of a 55-day streak of there being at least one college football or NFL game on television, the MLB playoffs have reached the championship series, the WNBA in the Finals, NHL and college hockey has started, college basketball practice is on the horizon, the NBA preseason has already had some drama with opening night for the regular season a week away, and even the MLS season is winding down. All four major sports have seen/will see regular season and or playoff games take place during the month of October. College football Saturday slates are must watches. To some, the pumpkin patch or apple picking at an orchard is not as attractive as the couch and the clicker. And with the sports overload, even a mid-week Conference USA college football night game can have anyone saying let’s hold off on the hocus pocus. It’s a juggling act squeezing in the seasonal shows or holiday movies only relevant to this month while keeping tabs on the baseball playoffs.
At the end of the day, it’s important to somehow find the balance- and beauty- in both.
- Chris Berman’s “Fastest 3 Minutes” is still the best segment to watch in football. NFL’s “RedZone,” hosted by the great Scott Hanson, have garnered the attention of the masses, and rightfully so, the marathon of coverage ending with the touchdown montage from every game in the 1 and 4 p.m. windows is impressive. But Berman brings nostalgia to a viewer my age, and makes me miss the days of NFL Primetime on regular ESPN, hosted by him and Tom Jackson, during fall afternoons and evenings while growing up. Will have to settle for three minutes, but at least, thanks to Boomer, I still know when it’s Thanksgiving in Canada.
- Coming from someone who wears backwards hats all the time, including strap back slouch dad caps backwards, is it wrong to question if Dan Quinn looks odd rocking that style on the sideline as the head coach? Maybe the crier isn’t one to talk. Either way, early returns are great in Washington for Quinn, Jayden Daniels, and the Commanders.
- Bill Belichick is doing great in his media gigs. With the wins record still within reach, one would think he’ll have a shot at a job this winter. Less than halfway through the season, the Cowboys, Eagles, and even- dare we say- the Jets may vie for his services this offseason. Could the Raiders, Saints, or Bengals be possibilities? The best option from a Patriots’ fan perspective would be in Jacksonville with the Jaguars. The most shocking possibility? Los Angeles if Sean McVay enters the realm of television and leaves the Rams.
- Pathetic NFL commissioner Roger Goodell implied that a Super Bowl could go international one day. A London Super Bowl would be great for 32 people in the United States- the NFL owners. Goodell would have a Super Bowl on the moon or Mars if it meant more money for the league and the already ridiculously wealthy owners (which is, unfortunately, his job).
- To revisit a note from the last crier, the crier’s team is slumping in fantasy football, heading to a likely 2-4 following the conclusion of Monday’s game. After being eliminated in both survivor pools, a second chance lasted just a couple weeks. The other second chance pool is still full steam ahead thanks to wins for the Texans, Commanders and Eagles in three consecutive weeks.
- NFL referees are doing their best to make games unwatchable with the amount of flags thrown on penalties called.
- The Thread of the Week is not a thread, but a compilation. Paul Finebaum’s radio show is always good for passionate SEC football discussion and comedic relief during the week. This is a collection of the best following Vanderbilt’s upset of previously top-ranked Alabama.
- “American Pickers” debuted their new season on History Channel last week. And unless the crier’s duck bill and head was dipped under water, a tribute to Frank Fritz, a former host who died last month, was missing. Hope it’s there this week.
- “Only Murders in the Building” is three strong episodes away from their best season yet.
- “Unsolved Mysteries” once again released an underwhelming series of episodes in their new Netflix release.
- Sam Adams “Jack-O” pumpkin ale batch once again has eclipsed the OG Shipyard Brewing Company Pumpkinhead Ale this fall, but both are always great choices.
- Two Things to Try: the Krabby Patty at Wendy’s, commemorating the 25th anniversary of “Spongebob Squarepants,” and the McDonald’s Chicken Big Mac.
- Below is the Uniform of the Week. The Western Kentucky football team, like their mascot always has, delivered.
- In other uniform news, the Rockies, Nationals, and Marlins are all moving away from their current City Connect uniforms and will have new ones from NIke this spring. Those are some of the most tolerable and enjoyable sets in the crier’s opinion. The Red Sox yellow city connects are here to stay as alternate, with a new Nike city connect on its way. Despite the well-intentioned tribute, one can view it also as appropriating and profiting off a tragedy (Do the Red Sox owners give profits from the sales to Boston Marathon causes? Because they certainly don’t reinvest it in the team). Most like the yellow, the crier doesn’t. And the blue road alternates, which in my opinion would’ve looked better at home, are hitting the scrap heap in favor of the yellow and light blue even though they were the most recent uniform worn in a World Series clincher. No matter, the next Red Sox City Connect needs to incorporate monster-shade green for Fenway Park and the famous left field wall.
- The Yankees-Mets or Yankees-Dodgers would be marquee big market matchups in the World Series and be the best for ratings. The Guardians being there and winning their first since 1948 would be the best story.
- The Chicago White Sox, despite finishing a worst 41-121, actually finished the season high above their .253 win percentage. They went 5-5 in their last 10.
- Post the best Halloween shows and movies below in the comments. The crier is watching their usual rotation and a couple outliers and will rank them in November.
- Can someone just call me directly the next time the Northern Lights are above southern Connecticut?
- Here is the link for the Red Cross for those to consider a donation to help hurricane victims.
