Running off at the typewriter. …
I absolutely get that TV networks run college football, and that’s the reason why the annual “War on I-4” rivalry game between UCF and USF has once again been moved to Black Friday. If ESPN wants the game to be played on the night of the day after Thanksgiving then, by gosh, that’s when it will be played.
Hopefully, UCF fans will embrace this Black Friday “tradition,” but, in my opinion, this goes against everything UCF is trying to build. The Knights’ biggest obstacle continues to be getting fans to actually buy tickets and show up for games. If this is the case then why have the biggest game of the season on a day when school is closed and many students and season-ticket holders are out of town for the Thanksgiving weekend?
If you want to build a future fan base and get fans excited about coming to games then you should play the biggest game of the year on a weekend when more fans are able to come. Move the game up a week — off of the traditional Thanksgiving “rivalry” weekend and put it on a regular Saturday when school is in session and the students are in town.
For two programs desperate for home attendance, why would UCF and USF eliminate a large portion of their massive student enrollments?
Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon competes in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Short stuff: Kyle Shanahan, pick up the white courtesy phone, Jean van de Velde is on line 2. … As the Magic continue to circle the drain, it might actually be better for Aaron Gordon to rest up for the dunk contest rather than play in the trio of remaining games before the All-Star break. Air Gordon can do more for the psyche of Magic fans by winning the dunk contest than going 1-2 in the next three games. … Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria stole the Marlins for $158 million in 2002 in an obscene buyer-friendly deal set up by former commissioner Bud Selig, he conned Miami politicians into building him a free stadium and now is reportedly getting ready to sell the team for a reported $1.6 billion. Terrible owner; terrific businessman. … And speaking of terrible owners, I’m sure you saw where Knicks owner Jim Dolan had legendary power forward Charles Oakley forcibly removed from Madison Square Garden the other night. Wouldn’t it be great if sports leagues themselves could forcibly remove clown owners like Dolan and the Lakers’ Jim Buss, who inherited storied franchises from daddy and have run them into the ground? As they say, Dolan and his ilk were born on third base and act like they hit a triple. …
And speaking of Oakley, the menacing enforcer of the 1990s Knicks, here are my three toughest players in Magic history: (1) Dwight Howard: He was a smiling, baby-faced assassin when he was the Magic’s three-time Defensive Player of the Year. (2) Scott Skiles: He once started a fight with Shaq at practice. Enough said. (3) Darrell Armstrong: Hey, you have to be tough to make the NBA as a walk-on. … Speaking of the Magic, did you see where Rich DeVos’s daughter-in-law, Betsy DeVos, is President Trump’s new Secretary of Education? Her first official act should be to give vouchers to all Magic season-ticket holders. … Good for the Big 12 for withholding revenue distribution payments from Baylor until the university removes the rape culture from the school’s sleazy football program. The conference should also force Baylor to erect a statue of Art Briles in front of the stadium with an accompanying plaque not commemorating the win total of his teams but the sexual assault accusations against his players. The statue, of course, would have Briles looking the other way. …
Are you kidding me? Did Steve Sarkisian really leave one of the greatest football programs of all-time at Alabama after just one game to to work for a one-hit wonder like the Atlanta Falcons? This is like voluntarily leaving the Beatles to join Aha. …One of the main events — Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar – has been announced for Wrestlemania 33 on April 2 at the Campground. That’s fine and all, but I’d much rather see Scott Skiles vs. Rob Hennigan. … Can you believe Danica Patrick’s main sponsor – Nature’s Bakery – has backed out on her? I guess you could say they didn’t think she was worth all that bread – especially when she kept delivering a bunch of bagels out on the track. Or perhaps this is the first indication that Danica’s NASCAR career is on the verge of being Baker-acted? Bada bing, bada bang, bada bong! ...
Last word: Kyle Shanahan, pick up the white courtesy phone, the ’64 Phillies are on line 4.
Photos from Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons on Feb. 5, 2017, at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Don't forget, you can click on OrlandoSentinel.com and read the wildly popular Open Mike blog and interactive extravaganza to get my freshest takes on what's happening in the world of sports. Here's a blog comparing Tom Brady to a former Magic legend:
Don’t listen to them, Tom Brady.
Don’t listen to all of the know-it-all pundits who say you should retire while you’re on top after leading the New England Patriots to an historic, euphoric 34-28 Super Bowl victory over the Atlanta Bird Brains.
I used to write stupid stuff like that, too, until I had a conversation many years ago with a past-his-prime Patrick Ewing when he played for the Magic. His glory days with the New York Knicks were far behind him and Ewing was a shell of his former self as he played out the final year of his career with the mediocre Magic.
I asked Ewing once why he didn’t just retire after the Knicks traded him and he looked at me like I was crazy. He then went on to explain that being a professional athlete is “fun.” I’m paraphrasing, but he essentially told me, “Why retire from a profession that pays me a few million dollars per year to play basketball, stay in five-star hotels, travel the country, hang out with your buddies and have an absolute blast.”
That was Ewing talking at age 39 — the same age Brady is now. Except Brady is still at the top of his game while Ewing was at the bottom of his. Brady is obviously still having the time of his life, he is already considered the greatest quarterback of all-time and there’s absolutely nothing he can do now to ruin his legacy. So why not keep playing as long as he possibly can?
Who cares if he goes out on top? Does anybody remember that Joe Montana didn’t go out on top? Does anybody remember that Joe Namath, Johnny Unitas, Michael Jordan, Hank Aaron. Willie Mays, Muhammad Ali and most other sports icons didn’t go out on top? Of course not. We remember athletes when they are on top of the mountain; not when they are over the hill.
Why would Brady retire from a profession where he not only gets to play a kid’s game for a living; he is still playing it at the highest level?
Several years ago, I interviewed a guy name Fred Ray, who, at the time, was an offensive lineman for the now-defunct Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. He was probably making $25,000 a year at the time and even he said he wouldn’t walk away voluntarily..
"Why would you ever want to give up the lifestyle of a pro athlete?" Ray said. “I'm an Arena League player, and I feel like I'm the luckiest man on earth."
Some of the pundits will tell you that Tom Brady should retire because he has nothing to prove.
But what they forget to tell you is that he also has nothing that could possibly be me more fun-tastic than playing professional sports.
Most interesting reader retorts, radio rabble, tangy tweets and message-board mockery of the week:
Three of my favorite quotes from the late-night talk shows after the Super Bowl:
Tiger Woods' latest comeback attempt is in serious jeopardy. Citing back spasms, Woods withdrew from the Genesis Open and the Honda Classic.
Tiger Woods' latest comeback attempt is in serious jeopardy. Citing back spasms, Woods withdrew from the Genesis Open and the Honda Classic.
Tiger Woods' latest comeback attempt is in serious jeopardy. Citing back spasms, Woods withdrew from the Genesis Open and the Honda Classic.
Tiger Woods' latest comeback attempt is in serious jeopardy. Citing back spasms, Woods withdrew from the Genesis Open and the Honda Classic.
UCF's 2017 football schedule was released by the American Athletic Conference Thursday morning.
UCF's 2017 football schedule was released by the American Athletic Conference Thursday morning.
Frank Vogel discusses the Orlando Magic's 128-104 loss to the Houston Rockets in this postgame video
Frank Vogel discusses the Orlando Magic's 128-104 loss to the Houston Rockets in this postgame video
Aaron Gordon discusses the Orlando Magic's 128-104 loss to the Houston Rockets in this postgame video
Aaron Gordon discusses the Orlando Magic's 128-104 loss to the Houston Rockets in this postgame video
Nikola Vuceic discusses the Orlando Magic's 128-104 loss to the Houston Rockets in this postgame video
Nikola Vuceic discusses the Orlando Magic's 128-104 loss to the Houston Rockets in this postgame video
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on FM 96.9 and AM 740.
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