Tired of reading? Listen to a NotebookLM Audio Overview of today’s Town Crier:
It appears the Boston Celtics’ radio play-by-play announcer Sean Grande has blocked the crier. A bit of irony.
It must’ve been when the crier directly, or indirectly, said Grande was overly dramatic and hyperbolic. Based on the block, I guess the crier was proven to be right.
If you want to hear an over-the-top call, listen to his radio call of the Celtics winning it all. If you want to cringe, then listen to the call after they clinched a Finals berth. An educated listener would think he was doing radio for a franchise with the modern history of the Oklahoma City Thunder, not one with 17 titles at the time.
- If you want to listen to a Hall of Famer, listen to Grande’s partner, Cedric Maxwell. It’s a travesty he’s not in it. The Dave Parker of basketball omissions.
- The UConn football team reached bowl eligibility for the second time in three seasons under Jim Mora on Friday with a home win over Georgia State. Where, or if, the 6-3 Huskies play in the postseason is yet to be determined. Looking at the aggregate of online sources who make bowl projections, to steal/paraphrase the title of a favorite Beatles’ song, UConn’s options are here, there and everywhere. Possible bowl games include the following: the Cure Bowl in Orlando, the Frisco Bowl in Texas, the Boca Raton Bowl in Florida, the 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, the First Responder Bowl in Dallas, or the Salute to Veterans Bowl (formerly Camellia) in Montgomery, Alabama, thus far. If only the Fenway or Pinstripe Bowl were in play.
- Feel good stories litter college football, but starving or surprisingly intriguing teams who have already reached bowl eligibility are: Army, Navy, Pitt, Syracuse, Colorado, Texas Tech, Arizona State, Indiana, Illinois, Sam Houston, yes, UConn, Colorado State, UNLV, Washington State, Vanderbilt, and Louisiana. Fingers crossed for UL Monroe to reach bowl eligibility, and Kent State to earn its first win, in the coming weeks.
- Let’s put a wrap on the World Series. The classic matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees may or may not have lived up to the billing (depending on who you’d ask), but a Game 1 classic and a Game 5 comeback between two traditional ball clubs, and historic World Series rivals, made it memorable.
- Shohei Ohtani’s Fall Classic performance was anything but memorable. Still, the corpse of whatever we call what’s left of Sports Illustrated managed to make yet another cover mistake. Ohtani was on their online, or whatever, cover. More mismanagement from what used to serve as the word of American sports writing. Although we here at the crier root for Coach Prime, choosing him as “Sportsperson of the Year” in 2023 was, to put it lightly, misguided.
- Lots of people are dunking on Penn State coach James Franklin following yet another top 10 loss, this time, once again, at home to Ohio State. The gaffe to address in the crier’s mind came a week prior though, when backup Beau Pribula, in relief, led the Nittany Lions to a road win over Wisconsin. Franklin said, “He’s a big time player and he’s unselfish in a time in college football that a lot of guys are selfish.” Franklin’s praise for unselfishness rings a bit hollow, though, coming from a coach whose own commitment to ‘team’ came with a $70 million price tag (Franklin signed a 10-year, $70 million extension to remain in Happy Valley in 2021).
- We didn’t address a national holiday last week, the sports equinox, where the MLB, MLS, NFL, NBA, and NHL all were in action. It also took place in the midst of a 55-day streak where either an NFL or NCAA college football game is taking place.
- Texas State football coach G.J. Kinne, a former favorite of Diamond Degenerate, lost points last week for sporting a T.H.S.C.A. hat on the sideline. He’s playing the recruiting game, but does anyone need their ass kissed more than the high school coaches’ association of football by a state school. It looks like it’s the worst in Texas.
- Two Things to Try: the Double Sonic Smasher paired with the Garlic Butter Bacon Burger from your local Sonic. Let the crier know, because as of press time, it’s only on the to-do list. By Sunday, though, the deed will get done.
- The five-game WNBA Finals series between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx was exciting, but can we lose the exaggerated statements? A 67-62 overtime winner-take-all game wasn’t the showcase some pundits chalked it up to be. It wasn’t “beautiful basketball” as Holly Rowe said. Minnesota shot 36% from the field, 15.8% from 3, while the champion Liberty was 30% from the field and 2-23 (8.7% from 3), including a 4-15 showing from Breanna Stewart and 1-19 mark from Sabrina Ionescu. Marred by a mic in the huddle picking up a plea from the Liberty head coach to exaggerate a foul in the closing moments, combined with a somewhat phantom end-of-regulation call and a 25-8 free throw edge for New York, isn’t this a brutal, grind-it-out controversial finish to the best (or most popular) WNBA season in history? Is equality not calling it like it is?
- We poke fun at billionaire sports owners, especially those who rip teams away from other markets, here on the crier. In the case of Ryan Smith, despite most likely destroying hockey in the desert permanently and robbing hockey fans of the best logo and jerseys in the NHL, the move from Tempe, Glendale, err, Greater Phoenix for the Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City makes sense. Arena size and venue overall (how long could the Coyotes play at Arizona State), aside, the Utah Hockey Club appears to be a hit. They are 5-4-3, and their home environment is electric despite having the weird backdrop behind the nets from currently playing in a basketball-suited only arena. Hopefully the weird setup can be fixed in the years to come. Props to Smith though. The BYU grad, who also owns the NBA’s Jazz and is attempting to eventually bring an MLB expansion team into Utah, is putting his money, and dreams, where his mouth and mind is. The long term success of the Utah Hockey Club (or as we hope they’re called next year, and beyond, the Utah Yeti), notwithstanding, a tip of the cap already to Smith, who’s followed Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank in fan and family friendly pricing at concession stands in their place of play.
- Thread of the Week: The richest man in sports, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, who is estimated to be worth around $121 billion, opened his prized jewel of an arena, the Intuit Dome, last month in Inglewood, Calif. Check out all it has to offer below. Maybe one day Kawhi Leonard will play in it.
- The Meta Quest Xtadium app commercial promoting NBA games while portraying a Washington Wizards fan being almost literally teleported from a laundromat, to courtside, to view his favorite team, by putting on a headset, is somewhat comical. The Meta Quest 3S is on the market starting at $299. Courtside tickets for the Pistons at Wizards game in Washington, D.C. this month start at $336 each.
- Here’s an interesting bonus thread of the week.
- Uniform of the Week: The Red Grange throwback uniforms with the attached helmet picture may be the best throwbacks of all time. And although Army barely wearing gold helmets in their undefeated season has been disappointing, bonus points for making a boring all black helmet great with the skull and crossbones logo.
- Thanks to the Puck Whisperer for some horror Halloween movie recommendations that deviate from the classic or modern viewings of “Beetlejuice,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Hocus Pocus (1 and 2),” “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” “Trick ‘r Treat,” “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Hubie Halloween,” and “‘Salem’s Lot.” Other titles include: “X,” “Pearl,” “Maxxxine,” “Smile,” “Evil Dead Rise,” and “Talk to Me.” Is the only Thanksgiving-centric movie worth watching, “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles?”
