Sometimes, we see things and then sometimes we THINK we see things in the sports world. Our Lying Eyes fool us…for example..
…watching with YOUR LYING EYES…it may have appeared that Mizzou was going to challenge Georgia. Mizzou opened up their defense with 7-8 defenders close to the line of Scrimmage aimed at stopping the Bulldog rushing game—it worked through the 1st quarter. The Tigers grabbed an early lead …. Our hopes began to percolate…when Boo Smith returned a punt 29 yards to the GA-49 yard line and after a 1st down or 2….Harrison Mevis knocked through a 39 yd FG to give MU a 3-0 lead. That FACT that MU scored 3 points in the 1st Qtr rose our hopes..the previous 4 opponents had scored a total of 3 points in the 1st quarter collectively! But then our real eyes saw… Georgia adjust—dust off their passing game, pressured the MU offense, halted the running game and later went back to their bread-butter run game….then our real eyes read the final 43-6 Bulldogs despite GA easing off in 2nd half.
….When it was announced that Texas & OU were moving into the SEC, OUR LYINF EYES led us to think that it was a coup for the SEC to grab those 2 major name-brand teams. Your LYING EYES fooled you. Our real eyes saw Texas fell for the 3rd straight time to Iowa State 30-7. The score reflects clearly the Cyclones dominance—in the 2nd half, it was 27-0 Iowa State; Iowa State outgained Texas 209-6 in the 3rd qtr. The Longhorns are now 4-5 for the season. BTW…Iowa State’s coach, Matt Campbell, is a MUST hire for future SEC teams.
….OUR LYING EYES saw all the excitement & thrills of the MLB post-season games & games that were very enjoyable. But…our real eyes tell us that those memories aren’t going to last long. There are several topics that have been smoldering between the MLB & MLBPA. The ugly negotiations begin with a high likelihood— almost an expectation–of a work stoppage or strike. It’s all tough to swallow for Joe Common Fan when Billionaires & Millionaires are fighting over money. We’ll have plenty of weeks to discuss raising minor league pay, free agency standards, IL standards, yada-yada-yada.
….OUR LYING EYES tell us that if the MLB strikes/locks out, there will be damage (again)to the MLB. But, your real eyes will tell you that it’ll be a big boost for the new MSL team in the Lou. Likely some MLB fans will be lost… maybe forever…with a conversion to a shorter game, shorter schedule, to a sport with world-wide acceptance.
…. YOUR LYING EYES tell you that that money is the only major issue in MLB-MLBPA dispute. Our real eyes see a heavy hammer that’s chipping away at the fan base due to the length of each game. Apparently the measure taken by Comish…3 batter minimum….have impacted the game a whopping 34 sec/game!! The average MLB game is too long-3:11! Remember, they play 162x over 6 months. … not once a week for 12 or 14 weeks. The average post-season game took 3:40 minutes to play!. To put this in perspective, if watching baseball games was your 40 hr/week job. It’d be 12.9 weeks of work!! The post-season games trudged through a 3:40 hour pace. If one watched all those, it’d be another 2.3 days of your life. Change is required. To start with–a 15-second pitch clock, bigger strike zone, no stepping out of the batters box to tighten your batting gloves for the 2nd time in the last 2 minutes. Other suggestions will come later in greater detail.
….YOUR LYING EYES make some think that Tommy Edman needs to “up” his game. They want more from him! Your real eyes tell you that Tommy Edman was durable (led the team in Games Played-159) while playing a multitude of defensive positions. He led the team in doubles (getting into scoring position & 30 stolen bases (which makes a walk(38) or a single like a double). He was 2nd on the Cards in hits & runs scored. His OPS+ of 150 led the 2021 Cardinals. Your real eyes tell you that playing good defense, getting on base & using your speed all over the field is a huge asset!
…YOUR LYING EYES tell that a tournament game between #1 seed v #8 seed is a waste of time. But… your real eyes saw something different. The UMSL Women’s Soccer team (#8 seed) lost a home game to the the #1 seed McKendree on Oct 31 in the last regular season game of the year. Just 1 week later in a home game for McKendree @ Lebanon, Ill, the Triton played to a 1-1 tie through 2 OT then beat the Bearcats in a shootout! Yes…the #8 seeded team beat the #1 team! HC Maddie Moon & her squad defied your LYING EYES!
….YOUR LYING EYES told you that the Nearly Forgotten League would be made stronger by adding Jon Gruden & Urban Meyer as coaches this year. But your real eyes have told you something else…. Gruden is already gone after it emails were discovered that showed he used very ugly language about NFL players & league officials through the years. Meanwhile Meyer was caught on video acting inappropriately with a woman who wasn’t his wife. For the moment, he has survived being fired (or divorced). But…your real eyes know what’s going to happen!!
…1st of all—Thanks to the Eagles for the title. Then, as always, Thanks for the read! I’m happy to say that over the past 3 weeks, there has been over 2200 readers to the blogs! Thank YOU—and spread the word to any 1 sports fan. We grow 1×1. Thank YOU! You are strongly invited to respond to any part of this blog on my Facebook page (Bob Ryan). Or…you will no doubt enjoy reading the comments of many other readers. Want more…go to http://www.bobryansportsblog.com. Have a super week! Bob
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