SEPT 26, 2016

Quote of Week

“To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.”

MY FAVORITE THINGS

Winchesters, Remingtons, and decoys of all kinds

Johnsons and Mercurys and Labs in the blind

Waders and goose down and ducks on the wing,

These are a few of my favorite things.

When the boots leak, when the ice creaks,

When the weather turns bad,

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don’t feel so bad.

Tree stands and beagles and thermoses of coffee,

Wool socks and warm gloves and air that is frosty,

Bucks that come crashing like big forest kings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Pointers frozen in place, coveys that flush in my face,

Creek banks and house sites and grown up places,

Streaking bob whites with snow on their wings.

These are a few of my favorite things.

When the temp falls, when the jeep stalls,

When toes freeze,

Then I remember the fun that I’ve had

And I don’t feel so bad.

With apologies to Rogers, Hammerstein and Julie Andrews and the entire cast of The Sound of Music.

FOOTBALL DOWN SOUTH

Football quote of the week

“My advice to defensive players is to take the shortest route to the ball and arrive in a bad humor.” Bowden Wyatt

THE GOOD               Clemson kept its title hopes alive by soundly beating Georgia Tech at home in Atlanta. I still think that any victory over the Ramblin Wreck is a big win. Michigan served notice that it will be a factor in the Big Ten by whipping a rebuilding Penn State, and Tennessee lived up to its pre-season hoopla by taking the Gators to the woodshed. Many of my readers are Florida fans, and they let their hearts overcome their brains last week. The Washington Huskies remained undefeated by edging Arizona in overtime. That may come to an end with Stanford next week.

THE BAD       The wheels came off the Georgia season Saturday in Oxford. They were bad on defense, horrible on offense, and generally played like a potted plant. Was Mark Richt really all that bad? The Hurricanes are 3–0, by the way. Ole Miss will remain in the Top 25, and probably move up a notch or two.

Gus saved his job, for the time being at least. His Tiger offense roared into the red zone with relative ease, and piled up a record six field goals—touchdowns, not so much. The game came down to LSU scoring a TD on the last play, only to find that they failed to snap the ball before time ran out. Les let this one get away. Here on the Plains, a win is a win, and this one was welcomed, complete with draping Toomer’s Corner in TP.

THE UGLY     Duke came to South Bend, and ignored the Golden Dome, Touchdown Jesus, and the Irish Guards, by handing the Fighting Irish another home loss. David Cutcliffe continues to out coach his opponents, keeping the Blue Devils in the limelight.

Kentucky managed to win a conference game by edging the hapless South Carolina Gamecocks in a close one. The game looked like a mutual effort to find a way to lose. Will Muschamp won that battle.

AND THE WHO CARES     My Mississippi State Bulldogs managed to outscore the Minutemen of UMass in a game that looked a lot like Kentucky and South Carolina. Any win is a good one when you’re 1–2, particularly if one of the losses is to a schedule padder.

NEXT WEEK.         The fifth week of the 2016 season is going to be relatively quiet. The highlight game will be played in Seattle, when Stanford comes calling on the Huskies. This game will have a lot to say about the Pac 12 Championship. I’ll be watching Miami play Georgia Tech at Grant Field. The Yellow Jackets are spoilers, and Mark Ritch better bring his A game.

There are two more worth-watching matchups in the ACC. North Carolina will play FSU in Tallahassee, and Virginia will go to Durham to face Duke. The Blue Devils will still be high after whipping Notre Dame, and that could go either way. Speaking of the Irish, they can get back on track by trouncing a hapless Syracuse team on the road. Lose this one, and there will be changes in South Bend.

In the SEC, Georgia will get repotted by Tennessee, Ole Miss will trounce Memphis, and LSU will take out its frustrations on Mizzu. My Bulldogs have the week off, so they won’t lose next Saturday.

Hunting photo is licensed under CC By 4.0 — linked to www.flicker.com