2 weeks into the season and there seem to be more questions going into week 3 than there were heading into week 1. Football is strange in that the more games you see, the less you know. Surprising results as well as unexpected results create a difficulty in predicting what may happen next. Heading into week 3 things may become even more muddled. Teams you thought were bad might beat a team you thought was good. That’s the beauty of the NFL. You just never know what is going to happen. Here is a look at the week 3 games. Take this with a grain of salt as I tend to fall victim to the recency bias of this league which has put a dent in my wallet for years and years. But I won’t stop. It is too much fun. Man I love this league. Lets get started.

Thursday Night Football – Panthers @ Texans

I love how Thursday Night football is basically like giving an addict the worst possible drug in the world, but since they’re an addict and there is nothing else to pick, they will continue to take the drug knowing full well that it will be an inferior product. This week is no different as on the surface it just smells like an ugly 22-17 game with a few missed extra points and a whole bunch of 3 and outs. Now I will say that there is definitely something exciting in this game. Christian Mccafery. This guy is electric. He is a swiss army knife of a player and may just be the single most exciting player at his position in my lifetime. But I won’t waste time on him because everyone knows his greatness. I am most interested in Sam Darnold. This guy was seeing ghosts in New York and was completely written off as a bust. But, much like the Ryan Tannehill renaissance in Tennessee, Darnold is off to an impressive start with his new team. Success in Football, more than any other sport I would argue, is a product of situation. In the case of Tannehill, it is clear that by providing him with adequate weapons, a half decent coaching staff, and a clear expectation that he does not have to do everything, he has has excelled. Darnold is in a similar situation. His support system is infinitely better than anything he ever had in New York. With a decent offensive line and a back like Mccaffery who is able to take some of the pressure off of his shoulders, Darnold is showing that he was not the issue with the Jets. I think it is so easy to write off quarterbacks because the eye test can be a liar so often. Did he look atrocious with the Jets? Absolutely. But was that him being a poor quarterback? Or was it a combination of a defence that could not stop anyone, thus forcing the offence to be in predictable throwing plays, a historically horrific coach, or perhaps playing in a market where the scrutiny is exponentially more intense than most other teams in the league. I am happy that Darnold is getting an opportunity to show why he was drafted third overall. By no means is this Panthers team a juggernaut, but if Darnold can produce the way he was expected to out of college, I can see Carolina being a playoff team that turns a lot of heads this season. I am of the belief that Darnold was a guy in a horrible situation, much like Tannehill, that is going to relish the opportunity to play for a team that is not cursed and has reported 0 ghost sightings.

Hear me now, Sam Darnold is good! This will be the Panthers first road game, and allbeit against a less than average Houston Texans team, it will be interesting to see Darnold play in a primetime game for the first time with his new team. I don’t predict this game to be very close as the Texans are going with Davis Mills (who?)… and if the Panthers are a true playoff team, they should go on the road and take care of business. I bought all the Darnold stock when it was announced he was going to be a Panther. This won’t prove one way or the other if my investment will pay dividends, but its a dam good place to start. Win this game and throw a couple TD’s. Panthers win 27-13

Colts @ Titans

Coming into the season it looked like the battle for the AFC South was going to be a battle between these two teams. It still looks very much like that as the Jags and Texans are probably going to end up being bottom 10 teams in the league. The Titans had a huge win in Seattle last week and Derrick Henry looked like his usual self again. Meanwhile the Colts fought hard against a SuperBowl hopeful LA Rams, though they ultimately fell short as Carson Wentz got hurt (duh) right at the end of the game.

If Wentz is hurt for any amount of time, I think the division is already over. Even if he isn’t hurt, I think the Titans figured something out in their win last week and will be a really tough team to play against the rest of the way. Tannehill is a really good QB on a team that doesn’t ask him to do that much. He might be the best play action QB in the league as he just seems to throw dimes when faking the hand-off. The play action for the Titans is so lethal because teams have to respect Derrick Henry. You have to stop the run first or else the Titans will just roll you. So that opens up a lot of opportunities to throw to their 2 superstar receivers. AJ Brown and Julio Jones seem like they haven’t fully shaken off the rust from the early season, but as soon as they get going this offence is going to be absolutely lethal. Meanwhile the Colts are dead in the water if Wentz is hurt as Jacob Eason (who?) is the next man up. I personally don’t think Wentz is very good anyways but he at least is capable of keeping his team in games. The Colts have an awesome O-Line and that is so key in todays NFL. Giving your QB time and creating holes for your running back is really what the game comes down to. I expect this game to be close just because division games are always close and the Colts are coming off a really close loss. The only way I see the Colts winning is by getting a few turnovers and holding a lead against the Titans. Tennessee’s offence completely relies on playing tied or with the lead. If the Colts can somehow get out to a lead, it will force the Titans to throw more than they want to in obvious passing situations. The Titans D is trash, but I don’t think the Colts offence is good enough to take advantage of that. Titans win this one. 28-14

Something that has been very noticeable over the last year or two has been the rise of European Soccer and F1 in North America. At no time in my life have these sports (F1 technically motor sport) been more prominent among the mainstream sports media. In the past, soccer was an afterthought and was mostly just used as an example of how wimpy European athletes are. Diving was the only aspect of soccer that I ever remember people talking about. It was mostly just an excuse to make fun of the sport and anyone who supported it. Meanwhile, F1 literally had no following among any of my peers, and watching a full race was never a plausible thing to do on a Sunday morning. But something interesting is starting to happen. With the increase in behind the scenes look at the inner workings of both these entities (Drive to Survive, All or Nothing), the layman is finally getting an inside look beyond the surface. Never before has an average American sports fan had the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of something so foreign to them. I think part of the problem in years past is that there was no introduction to these sports. They would just be on TV and audiences were expected to just naturally pick it up. But with the introduction of reality shows, the viewer is able to learn about the intricacies and personalities that make these sports so viable as a viewing experience.

When Drive to Survive debuted a few years ago, I had very scarce knowledge of F1 and its allure. The introduction to the sport that this show provided created an authentic interest in following up with the sport. This was mainly because I was given a proper reason to want to follow it. The show gave me an inside look at the true bad-assness, gluttony, skill and downright excitement that F1 provides. By learning about the players involved, the histories, the drama and the sheer logistics of an F1 race, I was instantly mesmerized and found myself wanting to follow the sport more closely. As streaming services continue to grow, I expect more and more casual fans to take a closer look at F1 and have a real opportunity to latch on to it.

Soccer is a little different as it is not a completely foreign entity in the zeitgeist of American sport. However, it had never been brought up in main conversations on talk shows, podcasts or blogs. The ability to look behind the scenes and see the true magnificence of European soccer has transformed the idea of soccer from one of ridicule and sheer boredom, to one of true appreciation. Now I’m not saying that it is anywhere near basketball, football or even baseball… but it is undeniable that it is beginning to break through in a way that has never been seen before. Access to shows like All or Nothing provide the casual fan the inside look at what soccer truly is. Its not just turning on a random game on a Saturday morning and seeing people dive all over the place. Instead, there is a bit of context and a reason to stay tuned in to learn more.

As these sports continue to cross over into the mainstream, it can be expected that the American viewer see the personalities show up on more mediums to discuss and introduce themselves. As more reality shows come available, more casual viewers will inevitably be sucked in, in a way never before possible. I expect the popularity of these sports to continue to grow at a rapid pace as the knowledge gap is being whittled down hourly… about the length of time it takes to watch an episode of All or Nothing or Drive to Survive.

While there is still a bridge to gap, I think the days of knowing soccer as the game of the divers, and F1 as the pointless racing, are fast becoming legitimate entities with true fandom and passion. With a proper introduction, there is no reason why these sports can’t fully crossover and become mainstream. This is only the beginning. Don’t be surprised if in 10 years, fantasy sport players start up an F1 league or a Premier League survivor league. These are early days, and the future is bright… with the globe becoming more connected by sport than ever before.

The Cup Finals start tonight and I have never cared less.

I don’t know if this is just me, but there are certain pro sports teams that stir-up 0 reaction out of me. Positive or negative, these teams just can’t cross the threshold in my mind that represents emotion. I choose to imagine that there is a literal barrier in my brain where this threshold is an actual physical thing. I’m picturing that children’s toy with plastic shapes. You know, that one where you can only push the triangle through the triangle hole, star through star, cylinder through cylinder etc…  (pro tip: you can shove the half moon shape  through the circle space if you just hammer that bitch hard). 

So certain teams are shaped in a way where they can, for better or worse, fit through this barrier (cross the threshold)! The barrier is the the hollowed out plastic piece with different shapes etched out on the surfaces. So in this wildly moronic thought experiment, the different pro sport teams are the different shapes that can only fit through certain slots. And some teams just don’t have a plastic shape that can fit through any of the slots. These are the teams that I just don’t give a shit about.

Many other teams do cross the barrier and burrow deep into your emotions. They evoke at least a fraction of an interest from you. Whether its a certain team, player, city, jersey, mascot or whatever other variable, there are certainly plenty of reasons why sports fans give a shit . Any one of these variables can influence your ‘give a shit’ meter. 

Kevin’s irrational and probably incorrect Definition of the day:

‘Giving a Shit’: -verb- *english/french origins* (Gi-Veeng-Ahh-Shit) 

—Having an authentic, organic, and meaningful emotional interest in a team that is not influenced by gambling.—

2 sides of a shit sandwich :

 The ‘give a shit’ meter has two sides. On the one side you have the teams/players that you root for. The hometown team its the classic example. But there are a number of different reasons why you may may give the slightest shit about the outcome of of a game.   On the other side of the spectrum you have the teams/players that you root against. The former is definitely the preferable mode of giving a shit, however the latter is an unavoidable manifestation of sports fandom that results in an ugly, and often pitiful mode of giving a shit. 

The bad kind of emotional investment

 Let me be clear… This emotional investment is never intended. It is a byproduct of having teams that you root for. It can not be avoided.  This is an egotistical, petty and completely unhealthy way of giving a shit. It’s basically like rooting for your friends to fail because you’re failing… not very nice right? But while I see how it is a poor way of dealing with my teams losing, I can’t help but give a shit… I love sports. I want to care about what I am watching. And caring for a team that I hate is still caring (and gives me something to watch on tv cuz I don’t have a life)

Juxtaposed to the original and far more popularized way of giving a shit, in this method, you are cheering for a certain team not to win. I want to point out this distinction between cheering for a team versus cheering for a team to not win. Let’s call team A the team that we hate and team B the opponent. Since team B is not a team that I give a shit about, I do not take feel any positive or negative emotion if that team wins. Rather, my emotional attachment is based solely on team A to not win. 

 Obviously you want your team to win the championship. But as hard as you may root for your favourite team to win, you probably root as hard, if not harder, against a rival team that has a chance of winning. At least I know I do. 

I didn’t realize how much I gave a shit about a team I hated until the Spring of 2011. Enter the Vancouver Canucks. i hate them so much. I hate everything about them. The jerseys, the players, the fans, the logo, the announcers etc… Even typing about them has my blood pressure raised just a touch. And it seems to rise exponentially when i remember how painfully close they were to actually winning the Stanley Cup against the Bruins in 2011. I was absolutely locked in that whole playoffs. My give a shit meter needle was flying off the dial. But it was in the most horrific way. 

I was glued in because that Stupid whale logo is able to permeate through my sport teams barrier and cause me to give a shit. Not because I enjoy them. But because my Flames are their arch-rival, and as much as I hate to admit it, they definitely are a team I care about. Watching them lose was one of the most satisfying sport moments I’ve ever had. Watching their moronic fans burn their own city was just icing on the cake. But that satisfaction only comes if the team moves you emotionally; positively or negatively. 

So lets get to this years finals

I do not give a shit. My brain barrier blocks both these teams from entering my emotional domain.The Bruins are under the umbrella of Boston sports, so one might argue that they represent a good rooting against opportunity. However, this is balanced out with the fact that Leafs fans hate the Bruins so much. And that balance is what prevents the Bruins from making me care whether they win or lose. If they win, it will be funny from the perspective of how hard they have owned the Leafs and I kind of don’t mind the Bruins because they didn’t let the Canucks win the Cup. If they lose, it will mean that Boston won’t get to celebrate another title and we won’t have to see this kid for at least another few months.

So ultimately, I don’t really care one way or the other if the Bruins win or lose. Give a shit meter = 3.5

Unlike the Bruins, the St Louis Blues qualify as one of those unfortunate teams to permanently remain trapped on the outer wall of my emotional threshold. 

Symptoms of being a team I don’t give a shit about:

• Lack of star players

• Being in the central time zone
• Having a bottom 5 payroll 
• Being in Cincinnati 

• Being in Arizona

• Having dwight howard on your roster
• Being in Carolina

Unfortunately, there are some unfortunate cases where a team may be asymptomatic, yet still be unable to cross the threshold. These cases are tragic because I cannot pinpoint a reason why I don’t care about a particular team. I simply have no interest in ever watching them regardless of what they may have going for them. For me, these teams include the Houston Texans, New York Islanders and the Pittsburgh Pirates. From all accounts, these are pretty good franchises that do not display any signs of being uninteresting. But for some reason, regardless of roster, season, logo or anything else that would alter my feelings of a team, I have never given a shit about them.

Now this brings me to the St Louis Blues. They have always been a team I don’t care about and there are plenty of reasons for it. The first being that they are located in the wretched Central Time Zone. This is a super personal no-no in my book. i hate games that start at 6 pm my time (mountain). Its always just right in the middle of the early game and late game. I’ll admit that this is a pretty wild, and certainly irrational take that I have but it is what it is. Sorry Central Time, you suck! 

The blues are also pretty classic for never having a top 10 superstar player on their team. They’re always known as being a really good ‘team’ with a lot of ‘good’ players. They rank second in the NHL inorder of teams I am least interested in . They’ve always been a completely meh team in my mind. I never liked them, never hated them. Never loved any of their players, never hated them. Never cared if they made the next round or if they got knocked out. Just completely bland. I didn’t ask for this. This is just how it worked. The Blue Note logo just couldn’t finagle its way through the hole. Give a shit meter: 1.6/10

And so now you see why I don’t really care about these finals. So in the spirit of that i Thought I would do something totally irrelevant to this years finals… Without further ado, here is my Cup Preview for if these teams faced each other in 1999. 

Blues (37-32-13): Eliminated in conference Semi-Final

Head Coach – Joel Quenneville (Had absolutely no idea he was ever the coach of the Blues)

Captain: Chris Pronger 

Leading Scorer: Pavol Demitra 89 points

This Blues team is really interesting. It’s got a nice mix of youth and experience. Leading the way are 24 year old superstars Pavol Demitra and Chris Pronger. The fact that  this team has two of the league’s most talented young studs, along with coach Q, It feels like they definitely should have won, or at least competed for a cup. But then I start to look at the remainder of their roster and it becomes pretty easy to see why this team couldn’t get over the hump. Here are my top takeaways:

• Al Macinnis was their third leading scorer at the age of 35
• Goalie tandem of Grant Fuhr and Jamie McLennan combined for an 891 sv pct
• Marc Bergevin threw a puck into his own net. People forget
• Pavel Demitra was an absolute stud. 89 points on a line with Scott Young and Pierre Turgeon. Next highest point getter was Turgeon with 65. One of the most underrated players I can ever remember. RIP
• Second line centre is Craig Conroy 

Overall, this team is pretty top-heavy. They are going to have to rely on their top dogs to produce. The star power is there, but they will need to get some secondary scoring if they want to have a chance. Additionally, their goaltending has to step it up in a big way. 

Boston Bruins (39-30-13) Eliminated in Conference Semi Final

Head Coach – Pat Burns

Captain – Ray Bourque

Leading Scorer – Jason Allison 76 points

The first thing that struck me with this Bruins team is how similar they seem to be constructed to the Blues. 23 year old Jason Allison is a star on the rise in this league. Meanwhile, the experience is also there as 38 year old Ray Bourque leads the team in ice time. This team is dangerous as they have 4 lines that they roll. With 4 of their top 6 scorers under the age of 25, the Bruins will have to show maturity beyond their years in order to have a chance at the Cup. 

Here are some takeaways from this Bruins team:

• Ray Bourque is third in team scoring
• Joe Thornton is 19 years old and has a 41 point sophomore season 
• Sergei Samsonov is 20 years old and has 51 points. (This guy was so good)
• Don Sweeney is on the blueline 
• Byron Dafoe is British according to hockey reference
• Their third line centre was Tim Taylor 

Conclusion and Prediction

All in all I think this is a really good matchup. Both teams are striving to win a championship for their respective future Hall of Fame D-men. Additionally, they both have some really nice young talent. I think this series is going to come down to the goaltending. One of Grant Fuhr or Jamie Noodles McLennan will have to grab the starting job and run with it. If neither of them can get hot, I find it hard to see a way for the Blues to slow down snipers like Jason Allison and Anson Carter. If one of them can take the reigns and provide adequate goaltending, I could see this series going the distance. 

The young Bruins forwards will be in tough against the pair of Pronger and Macinnis. These guys are probably looking at 30 minutes a night on average. As long as goaltending doesn’t sink them, I like the way the Blues D matches up with the Bruins attack. I think this ultimately tips the scales in the Blues favour.

Prediction: Blues in 7