Baseball playoffs, NFL games, college football, high school sports of all sorts, and a few items that may be of interest only to me make up today’s latest attempt to inform and entertain!
The Indi—(oops, Guardians) came back from a two-game deficit to win the final three in the AL Division Series in preventing the White Sox from achieving a remarkable “worst to first” story. The Tribe (oops, again) now take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the seven-game AL Championship Series beginning in Tampa Monday night.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers and Brewers kick off the NL title contests in Milwaukee as this column is being written. Once again, I’m pulling for the Brew Crew to knock off the two-time defending champions while I’m just hoping for a great series between the Rays and Guardians (finally got it right!).
The Bengals went on the road to hot and sunny South Florida to meet the winless Dolphins and got back on the winning track with a 31-24 victory as Joe Burrow and Company recovered some of their mojo. By upping their record to 3-2 the Stripes moved into a tie in the AFC North with the Steelers and the Browns, while the Ravens are 3-1 entering tonight’s game at Atlanta. The Browns came crashing down to earth after losing to a mediocre Jets squad in the rains of New Jersey 17-12.
THE and Indiana clash next Saturday in Bloomington as the Buckeyes seek revenge for last year’s Big Ten title loss to the eventual national champion Hoosiers. THE took out Maryland in the “Shoe” while IU scored twice in the fourth quarter to come from behind against a previously undefeated Nebraska Cornhusker squad. Get ready for FOX announcer Gus Johnson to bring his “A-game” to the national telecast!
How about Kentucky beating LSU by winning 35-34 on a “do or die” two-point conversion in overtime? What makes it really interesting is that the same thing happened the week before as the ‘Cats beat South Carolina by the same score in the same fashion!
In other games, number one Texas fell to Oklahoma 27-24 as the Sooners won this year’s version of the Red River Rivalry (say that quickly three times in a row!) on a last-play field goal while Georgia beat Alabama 20-17 in Tuscaloosa to take control of the SEC chase. In addition, the Defenders of Dordt College tamed the Doane Tigers 38-3, the Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies handled the Nelson Lions 35-28, and the Clarke College Pride swallowed a Homecoming loss to the Mount Mercy Mustangs 28-20.
Here’s a quick look at the high school sports calendar as mid-October arrives:
Cross Country squads participate in league and conference meets this weekend with district meets scheduled for the 24th; the State golf tournaments are underway this weekend with the D-II Arcanum girls playing two rounds ending Monday at the famed Firestone Country Club in Akron while the D-III National Trails boys tee it up Monday and Tuesday at the NorthStar Golf Club in Sunbury.
Boys and girls soccer starts down the tournament trail the week of the 19th while volleyball action begins the same week. Get ready for a lot of great action at different levels throughout the area as well as the state!
A huge football game takes place Friday in Troy as the Trojans host the Red Devils of Tippecanoe with the winner claiming at least a share of MVL Miami Division and overall titles. Tri-Village and Arcanum appear headed to a WOAC title clash on the 23rd in New Madison. Up north, Anna’s upset of Coldwater opened a path for Marion Local to claim yet another MAC trophy. The Flyers are 6-0 in league play, and by virtue of an earlier win over 5-1 St. Henry, hold their title aspirations in their own hands. Oh, by the way, Marion now has a 66-game regular season winning streak going.
Here are two items I saw in the Dayton Daily News this week that caught my eye—the famed US Route 66 turns 100 years old next month, the 2,448 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, being a major part of the further expansion of the US population to points west. The route crosses eight states (can you name them?) and remains 85% drivable after all of these years. Kathy and I responded to the immortal request to “come get your kicks on Route 66” and actually were “standing on the corner of Winslow, Arizona” a few years ago!
The other unfortunately came from the obituary section of the DDN; actress Eva Marie Saint passed away Tuesday at the age of 102. You film aficionados will already be aware that the actress was best known for her Oscar-winning role in the classic “On the Waterfront” with Marlon Brandon and for her role as a sultry spy in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller “North by Northwest”. Through the ‘50s and ‘60s, she appeared opposite some of Hollywood’s biggest names such as Cary Grant, Paul Newman, Yves Montand, and Gregory Peck. But what really was a surprise was that she was a 1946 graduate of Bowling Green State University!!
Finally, Route 66 passed through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas (only 13 miles), Oklahoma (where it was the background for the Dust Bowl migration of the ‘30s and the classic novel “The Grapes of Wrath”), Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Get in your car and head west! Have a great week!
