It’s been a great week in sports. We look back at the greatness in this week’s SSM.
Big name rookie QBs, getting their first wins Zach Wilson and Justin Fields, weekend winning twins Few and far between good days, for Jets and Bears fans Both fan bases should be glad, they both may have their man
Other end of the spectrum, Big Ben’s very old The end seems very close, his story has been told Hard to see a scenario in which he won’t get benched Steelers have a hard decision, need their QB thirst quenched
Baseball season’s winding down, and it’s playoff time Time for the big boys in the show to start their World Series climb Dodgers, Giants, and White Sox, among the other teams Will do whatever they can to win, by any and all means
There are certain things you can just depend on in life. Gravity holding you down, a Honda Accord lasting 20+ years, and Tom Brady winning Super Bowls. Before today, one of the things on that list was the economic stability of the Dollar Tree.
The self-titled discount store always held true to exactly what they offered: all items under their roof for a dollar. A simple transaction; you walk in, find some paper plates, bandaids, or light bulbs, you throw down a Washington, and you’re on your way.
And then today happened:
Buck up: Dollar Tree, the national chain of stores that promises everything for a buck, will begin introducing items on its shelves that will exceed $1. https://t.co/3SgjoWqihb#odd
What the hell is happening here? According to Dollar Tree’s fat cat CEO Michael Witynski: “[f]or decades, our customers have enjoyed the ‘thrill-of-the-hunt’ for value at one dollar – and we remain committed to that core proposition – but many are telling us that they also want a broader product assortment when they come to shop.”
Give me a break.
Where does it end? This is just the tip of the iceberg. I fear a future from our beloved corporations, who are nothing but honest to us, sounding like the following:
Home Depot coming out with a line of hamburgers
Best Buy no longer indeed offering the best options to buy
CarMax expanding to boat sales
Bath & Body Works hawking motor oil and brake pads
The Hershey Company moving into the fishing pole industry
Ralph Lauren taking their shot at the pet sale game
Electronic Arts selling jump ropes
A heartbreaking day in the discount store industry. I just hope Dollar Tree comes to their senses, and gets back to basics…offering high quality product at affordable prices, just like we always depended on.
Weeks come and weeks go. The only constant is change; and Sunday State of Mind.
La’el Collins, what the bloody hell? Bid any chance truthfulness a nice and quick farewell He tried to bribe his drug test taker, because he broke the rules Confirming he’s a liar, thought he could take us all for fools
The St. Louis Cardinals are hot as can be They cannot be stopped, and are 1,000 degrees Playing their best baseball at the perfect time To a Cubs fans like me, this equates to a crime
The Ryder Cup, finally has returned to the States Steve Stricker’s squad selections played better than great Europe had won four of five, the cup resided there The time has finally come for USA to have their share
We saw a new record, in the NFL Justin Tucker of the Ravens, who kicks the football well Hit a game-winning field goal, a 66 yard boot Tough beat for the Lions, still in a victory pursuit
Some people hate “Saturday Night Live.” Some people love “Saturday Night Live.” It seems to be something that no matter who you are, you have an opinion on the culturally iconic sketch comedy show that’s been on NBC since 1975. Everyone has their opinion on their favorite era, best player, and funniest sketch.
SNL will be back for their 47th season on October 2nd, and announced their host/musical guest lineup for the first month of shows. It’s always an interesting communiqué seeing who gets the call and what the potential is for each episode. With the first four shows announced, and with the love of ranking in my veins, let us erroneously subjugate which shows revs my comedy engine, from worst to first.
Malek’s debut hosting gig falls at four in our preseason SNL rankings that are based on nothing. Hard to imagine Malek, a serious and talented actor, finding his comedy chops and rocking Studio 8H. But, sometimes that’s when we get the best hosts! See Timothée Calamet from last year’s Coronavirus Holiday.
Also as long as Young Thug doesn’t bring out Camilla Cabello to perform “Havana,” which I think has a fairly low chance of happening, I’ll be happy there.
Folks, Kim K just keeps doin’ it. I don’t know how, but the the woman described by Google as an “American Socialite” can find her way into the White House in 2020, and now onto sketch comedy’s most popular stage. Similar concerns as noted above on Malek, but why the hell not try and send her out there, see what happens, and get some ratings in the mean time?
Halsey is a regular in the SNL rotation at this point, both as a musical guest and host. They’ve got the chops, and hopefully take part in a sketch or two.
Will they got for the easy “wow” joke? How about a nose joke? These have to be the biggest questions on the season debut. Owen Wilson has been in some of the greatest comedy movies in recent years, so this is a natural fit.
Kacey Musgraves has a smooth voice that works anywhere; I have no doubt that her second go around on SNL will work just fine.
The fourth and final episode of October comes in first on our completely meritless list; and this one’s all about the host. Jason Sudeikis, fresh off a whole mess of Emmy Awards for his work on “Ted Lasso,” is a top notch comedic actor with deep SNL roots. It would be a crime against comedy if we don’t get another edition of Sudeikis dancing in the background of “What Up With That?”
As for Brandi Carlile, let’s just sit back and enjoy.
Starting off young, fresh, and hip. While 19 turns out to be an incredibly strongly represented number, Unitas is widely known as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. Four championships, three MVPs, and a member of all three of the 50th, 75th and 100th NFL Anniversary Teams gives Johnny U the nod.
Honorable Mentions: Tony Gwynn, Willis Reed, Steve Yzerman, Jonathan Toews
Back to back Colts quarterbacks to get us started here. A member of the most recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee class, Manning put up some unreal numbers en route to two Super Bowl wins. Manning’s trophy case is busting at the seams with five MVPs, the 2012 Comeback Player of the Year Award, and number retirement plaques for his number 18 in both Indianapolis and Denver.
Todd Helton played baseball and football at University of Tennessee, and was a teammate of Peyton Manning’s. However, Helton makes our list for his accomplishments on the diamond. Helton retired in 2013 with a career average of .316, 369 home runs, and 2,519 hits. Along the way, he won three Gold Gloves, four Silver Sluggers, and a batting title in 2000.
Much like Unitas, Montana is a firm part of the “best quarterback of all-time” conversation. Montana lead the 49ers to four Super Bowl rings, while being the MVP in three of those four wins. One of the more accurate quarterbacks of his time, he lead the NFL in completion percentage five separate seasons.
If we’re including Johnny Unitas, it’s only fair to involve Bart Starr. The quarterback who lead the Packers to victories in Super Bowls I and II, while winning MVP in both games, finished his career with five championships, a regular season MVP award, and four Pro Bowls.
Taking a bit of gamble including Rose on our list, but here we are. The all-time hit king (4,256) does have a stellar on-field resumé. Seventeen All-Star games, three World Series rings, the 1973 NL MVP, and two Gold Gloves.
Honorable Mentions: Ernie Banks, Oscar Robertson, Dan Fouts
Of course the only man to score 100 points in an NBA game is making our list. Wilt the Stilt averaged a silly 30.9 points per game and 22.9 rebounds per game over his 15 year career. He also won two rings, four MVPs, was a seven time scoring champion, as well as an 11 time rebound champion.
The greatest quarterback of all time at the most important position in sports. TB12’s resumé is too long to outline here; but it’s headlined by his seven Super Bowl rings. On top of that, Brady has lead the league at one point in his career in passing touchdowns, yards, and rating.
Honorable Mentions: John Stockton, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Jim Kelly, Joe Namath, Bob Griese, Aaron Rodgers, Jarome Iginla
Being the center piece of a dynasty goes a long way in lists like these. Messier was the unquestioned leader & captain in Edmonton, where he lead the Oilers to five Stanley Cups. He also became the only player to captain two separate teams to Stanley Cup victories when he lead the Rangers to the cup in 1994.
Honorable Mentions: Barry Larkin, Larry Fitzgerald
Fran Tarkenton walked to Steve Young, Michael Vick, and the like could run. Not only did Tarkenton sling it for 47,003 yards and 342 touchdowns, he also ran for 3,674 yards and 32 touchdowns in his career. Another fun fact: his only MVP season came in 1975, his 15th year in the NFL.
Honorable Mentions: Walt Frazier, Guy Lafleur
Heavy quarterback representation here. Any other noise was a faint whisper from baseball. Abysmal showing by hockey and basketball. We’ll bid farewell to our ongoing series in the next edition of “Who Wore It Best.”
The Brooklyn Nets have a tentative reservation with the Larry O’Brien Trophy scheduled for next June. They are the odds on favorite to win the NBA championship at most reputable sports books, and have the best Big 3 in basketball.
With more time to gel, an already well-connected Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving are likely to run through the Eastern Conference next season, barring injury or jackass-ery.
So, for some reason, Nick Wright woke up this morning and chose violence:
Some NBA news:
There are a handful of Kyrie trades that potentially make sense for the Nets, Kyrie’s agents have made it known that Kyrie would simply *retire from the NBA* if Brooklyn were to trade him.
This could very well be a (smart) leak by Kyrie and his team, who have yet to get an extension signed with Brooklyn. He’s currently en route to becoming a free agent at the end of next season. At this point, it seems like things are trending towards The Nets and Kyrie sitting down and getting a deal done. This may just be the first round of unofficial contract negotiations: “If you don’t sign me, other teams want me, or I’ll just retire.” Heady play.
Or, if this is actually legit, and Nick Wright and his gang of sources nailed this scoop, would Brooklyn call Kyrie’s bluff? Hopefully not, because it’s truly a joy to watch Kyrie and his style of play. Only time will tell.
One of the best weekends in all of sports has arrived. The NFL is back and majority of the games have been played. Our annual tradition (one year running) of dedicating Week 1 a full SSM lives on.
We got started on Thursday, Bucs and the ‘Boys Another year of Tom Brady making defenses his toys Bucs held off Dak and his squad, escaped by only two TB12 keeps playing, wins continue to accrue
Seahawks and the Colts, met up at Lucas Oil Indy’s Week 1 hopes, did Russell Wilson spoil Seattle starts their campaign with a big road win Seahawks may be on a Super Bowl run once again
Jaguars and the Texans, oof these teams are bad Might see plenty of Urban, eating pizza while so sad Houston beat the Jags, must give them their due Texans should enjoy it now, wins likely to be few
Eagles and the Falcons, battle of the birds Falcons defense is so bad, it’s hard to put in words Jalen Hurts went out and looked like an All-Pro Good start for The Eagles, still a long way to go
Chargers and The Football Team, met up in DC What could be a high powered LA offense only put up 20 It was enough to get the win, Justin Herbert lead the way Win whatever way you can on any given Sunday
Steelers and the Bills, upset of the week Pittsburgh should not have have won this game, but played up at their peak The Bills seem to be loaded, plenty of wins ahead Getting off to a slow start should be a short term dread
Lions and 49ers, surprisingly high score Bit of a shocker here, thought this game would be a bore Still as most of us thought, Niners came out on top If San Fran keeps this offense up, they will be hard to stop
Bengals and the Vikings, week 1 overtime Burrow versus Cousins, both were throwing dimes Cincinnati held on, OT field goal, victory Brutal for all of us out there with Vikings -3
Panthers and the Jets, Darnold revenge game Played well against his former team, victory was claimed Zach Wilson threw two tuddys in his NFL debut Probably won’t take too long for Jets fans to start to boo
Cardinals and the Titans, down in Tennessee Arizona offense humming, lead by Kyler Murray Disappointing start for Derrick Henry, Tractorcito Shouldn’t be a huge concern, sure he’ll find his flow
Cleveland Kansas City, Browns and the Chiefs Brownies lead most of the game, their stay on top not brief Cleveland had more than a shot, fan’s mouths began to foam But we’ve all seen this before, comeback Patrick Mahomes
Patriots and Dolphins, ‘Bama QB battle Tua and Mac Jones, young guns back in the saddle It was Fins Up in New England though, Dolphins with the dub Mac played well in his debut, joined the NFL Club
Broncos and the Giants, in the Meadowlands Giants had a chance to win, slipped right through their hands Teddy Two Gloves did his job, Melvin Gordon too If Saquon doesn’t get more run, G-Men will be 0-2
Packers and the Saints, Jamies was the best Quarterback in this game, Rodgers did not impress New Orleans won the game, difference of five touchdowns Potential last season for A-Rod, started with a frown
Nightcap in LA, Rams versus the Bears Rams have themselves a real QB, defenses should be scared Stafford and McVay could be a coach/QB combo To get back to the Super Bowl, in short time we’ll know
The biggest sporting event in the great state of Iowa is this week. That’s right, it’s Cy-Hawk football week. While the Cy-Hawk, as noted in the picture above, is technically a series, the biggest event between The University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones is the annual football game. So much so, that the football game itself is worth three points, while the rest of the sports are worth two.
This year’s game is just a bit bigger, though. Both teams are ranked in the top 10, surprisingly the first time both teams have been ranked at all before kickoff. Additionally, ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Ames. Any college football fan knows when Corso and the squad are Comin’ To Your Citaaay, it just hits different.
On Wednesday, the Cyclone Equipment Staff announced their uniform selections for the big game:
Now, for the uninformed, it must be noted that these are typically Iowa State’s uniforms. In the interest of fairness, these are typically Iowa’s uniforms.
Before we dig any deeper here, transparency is key. I am a graduate of The University of Iowa. Hand up, I have some skin in this game. OK, now I feel better.
This is an ultimate troll by ISU, and I love it. As you can imagine, the troll worked perfectly and the Twitter mentions were an absolute dumpster fire. If you don’t have the time or the heart to look, here’s the generic back and forth:
Every Hawkeye Fan: LOLZ! Why does little brother have to dress like us?!?!
Every Cyclone Fan: I wasn’t aware Iowa owns the color black, dumbass!
This is what sports are all about. Rivalries are always fun, especially ones like this, where there isn’t a whole lot else to get up for sports-wise in my home state. So, let the corn on the cob boil, the Busch Light flow, and all Iowans come together for the most important game in a series that dates back to 1894.
What a long holiday weekend. So long that SSM was delayed until the following week. Let’s look back at the week that was in last week’s Sunday State of Mind.
College football’s back, a fact you can’t deny America’s favorite sport’s existence is no longer dry Had some big time matchups, more on that below We won’t be without football until we all see snow
Biggest matchup of the week was Georgia and Clemson Number three and number five, pregame sounded fun A battle of attrition, final score was 10-3 Georgia with the “upset,” week one victory
The other name brand matchup, ‘Bama and The U Crimson Tide and Miami, Bama’s lead just grew and grew Coach Saban and the boys took it to the Canes A 30+ point win, all that’s left were The U’s remains
Our final review of Week 1, FSU and Notre Dame Just another one of this debut week’s big time games The Irish got the dub, that’s the result that’s built in Best story from the game though, the returning McKenzie Milton
His name is not Brooksy. That is not the name of the person in the photo above. His name is Bryson, Bryson DeChambeau.
After Bryson, not Brooksy, continued to take L after L in his very public feud with Brooks Koepka, fans began calling Bryson “Brooksy” (remember, his name is not Brooksy, it’s Bryson).
The PGA Tour had apparently seen enough, and leaped to Bryson’s (not Brooksy’s) defense:
Listen, we’re an anti-bullying blog here at UDS. But if a professional athlete cannot handle fans calling him the wrong name, maybe your focus isn’t in the right place.
So, just to review:
– Bryson, not Brooksy, argued with rules officials whilst carding a 10 on the 15th hole at The Memorial Tournament last year.
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