It was a wild weekend in the world of sports. I'll go so far as to say it was a wild and woolly weekend in the world of sports.
• In all my decades of watching NFL football, I don't recall another Sunday with so many crazy finishes and unlikely endings. In recent years, my M.O. has been to pretty much watch the Bucs, then check out the second game for a bit. I usually don't last the entire game. The Sunday night game has to be really something I'm into for me to check it out.
But yesterday was a different story. I ate it up (except for the night game; by 9, I had switched to Dexter).
One of the network studio shows said that five games were decided in the last minute, and as far as their research department could determine, that had never happened on an NFL Sunday before.
My favorite finish was Arizona's win over the much-loathed Cowboys. After the Cardinals pissed away what seemed like a sure win, and Tony Romo was going to come up the All-American Hero again, the Cards' defense roughed up the 'Boys offense on their first drive in OT, and then blocked a punt for the instant win. Loved it.
• Who would've expected the Bucs to stomp all over the Panthers yesterday? Really? Bet-the-house sure that Tampa Bay would win? Not me. And not too many of my sports-loving confederates.
But it was a lovely sight wasn't it? I really thought the mid 90s heat was a big help for the Bucs. When Warrick Dunn was reeling off seven, 12, 16 yard runs in the fourth quarter, you knew that the Panther's D was done.
• My performance of the day goes to a player who did not put up gawdy stats and game-changing plays. All he did was be the ultimate teammate.
This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2008.