An advice column for people who live with people who live for sports
What Happened on Thursday, November 6?
An Orange Brown-out in Cincinnati: The Cleveland Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals 24-3 in an NFL game that was difficult to watch, partially because strong winds kept the offenses grounded and partially because the fact that both teams have the same color palette made it difficult to tell them apart. In any event, the Browns are now tied for first place in their division but with seven games remaining, anything could still happen, the teams are so tightly bunched. Line: Brown beat Orange but to tell you the truth, I had trouble figuring out which team was which. Why don’t they have required secondary colorslike in Soccer?
Spurs rest and lose: The San Antonio Spurs are a team that wisely rests their older players in the second game of stretches when they have two games in two nights. It’s smart because it keeps them from getting injured in what is only a handful of the 82 games that make up the NBA season. It’s unfortunate that sometimes this falls during what would otherwise have been an exciting, nationally televised game. Last night, the Spurs rested some of their best players and the Houston Rockets zoomed by them, 98-81. Line: I know the Spurs do this just to be smart but sometimes it feels like they’re doing it just to annoy the league.
Demon Deacons fight hard: The Clemson Tigers were supposed to crush the Wake Forest Demon Deacons but the Demon Deacons determinedly decided to defy expectations. Oh, they still lost, but 34-20 is a thoroughly respectable score. Line: Clemson won but not by as much as I expected them to.
Lightning extinguish Flames: Team nicknames are fun, especially when they lead to unlikely events like lightning extinguishing a fire. The Calgary Flames have been one of the most surprising teams so far in the hockey season. After five straight years missing the playoffs, they’ve looked every bit a playoff team this year. They went into Tampa Bay having won their last three games but lost last night to the Lightning, 5-2. Line: I’m surprised at how well both teams are playing but especially the Flames.
