Roger Grossman
News Now Warsaw
Traditionally, the term “leftovers” refers to the turkey and the fixin’s in the days after Thanksgiving.
Why is that? Thanksgiving is one day, and generally means one big meal.
The holidays are two full weeks of gatherings and get-togethers that feature a beautiful combination of full, formal meals and snacky trays of things to dip into other things or to stack on top of each other for a blend of wonderfulness.
Today, I offer you a series of subject matters designed to be a holiday leftover platter.
Let’s start by talking about the Hoosier football team.
I will admit that I felt pretty good about the Hoosiers’ chance against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. I never thought Alabama had a place in the playoff, and that proved to be correct.
But I will also confess that I was pretty nervous about their semifinal game against Oregon last week. Rematches usually favor the team that lost the first time, but when the Hoosiers picked off that pass on the opening play and ran it in for a score, there was very little doubt as to how that night was going to end.
Now that IU is in the championship game Monday, the critics have found a new target to attack — the age of the Hoosier players.
Yep, many of them are grad transfers. So, yep, a lot of them are 23 years old.
But you’re dumb if you think I am supposed to feel sorry for the players of any school who get beaten by the Hoosiers because they’re older and bigger.
This is college football, and there are no rules in college football anymore.
Which brings me to my next thought.
It occurred to me while I was watching the first two rounds of these college playoffs that something was missing from the broadcasts. I don’t know when it stopped or why I hadn’t noticed it before, but I looked specifically for this thing I was missing in the two semifinals, and it was nowhere to be found.
What was it? The broadcasters stopped referring to the players’ areas of study. What are they majoring in? They don’t list them on the screen, and they don’t talk about them.
Ironically, they do mention the amount of money in the “contracts” the players have signed.
The Bears just keep playing crappy first halves and keep finding ways to crawl out of the holes they dig for themselves.
And that they pulled out two of these miracle comebacks in the last month against the Packers (and almost all three of them) is quite remarkable.
I still don’t believe this team has what it takes to do that two more times and make it to the Super Bowl, but I also am not going to put any money down against them…just in case.
The Cubs made two free agent acquisitions in that last week that should be very helpful.
They traded for starting pitcher Edward Cabrera of the Marlins, giving up prize outfielder Owen Cassie and two minor leaguers.
Then they signed free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a five-year contract.
If nothing else, Cubs fans now feel like their team is “trying” again.
I would like to introduce a rule change to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
It would apply to both girls and boys athletes in several different sports, but it would admittedly affect girls more. I don’t mean to be mean on this, but here it goes: I would like to see a rule in place that would require players to wear their hair in such a way that their jersey number is clearly visible.
If you are a referee, a scorebook keeper, a scoreboard operator, a broadcaster or a fan you know exactly what I am talking about.
I would apply it to any sports where the players have a jersey number, like soccer and basketball.
The crowd at the Northridge-Warsaw girls basketball game Saturday was tremendous in every way. Thank you to everyone who came to watch two of the best teams in Northern Indiana slug it out.
I like the new NFL kickoff rules. I hope they don’t change them during the offseason. Time for college football to adopt them next. Someone please ask the SEC schools if it’s ok…since they rule the sport and all.
Maybe the best college basketball story in the country centers around Winona Lake.
After all the guys who graduated and moved on from the Grace men’s basketball roster over the last two seasons, the Lancers are undefeated and once again on top of the NAIA poll.
How?
A genuine coach who has proven that he cares about his players and knows what he’s doing on the sidelines is at the core of it.
One last thought, and it’s about the Bears new stadium.
I wonder if the open-sided, roofed concept the Rams and Chargers have at SoFi Stadium would work in the Chicago climate.
Fans and players would stay dry and would be shaded in August and September, but the cold would filter in through the opening areas at the top of the seating during the colder months of the season.
Just wondering.
